Government is set to splurge ZW$80 million (US$4,5 million) on the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad)'s foreign trips which will see members of the controversial grouping visiting various global capitals, including Washington, London, Brussels and Paris on an international re-engagement drive.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa's administration, which has already spent millions of United States dollars hiring public relations consultants in the West to spruce up the government's image, is desperate to regain the goodwill of the international community.

The re-engagement drive is also meant to improve Zimbabwe's soiled reputation as an investment destination.Diplomats who have been speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent, however, say Mnangagwa needs to speed up economic and political reforms instead of paying lip service to the reform agenda.

As part of its international travels, the Polad re-engagement sub-committee will be in the US from March 24 to 26, where it will, among other tasks, lobby for the removal of sanctions.

The committee comprises Thokozani Khupe (chairperson), Willard Mugadza (deputy chairperson), Kwanele Hlabangana (rapporteur), Aplonia Munzverengwi (committee member) and Khaliphani Phugeni (spokesperson).

It will also visit South Africa, United Kingdom, and several other European countries.The team has so far met with the European Union (EU) ambassador Timo Olkkonen, British ambassador Melanie Robinson and American embassy officials.

According to a Polad handbook, the removal of sanctions "will go a long way in diffusing perceptions about Zimbabwe and give a new impetus to both the economy and opportunities for its people".

Mnangagwa's spokesperson George Charamba said the cost associated with the Polad re-engagement committee's mission was nothing compared to the cost of Western sanctions.

"Now you say ZW$80 million. How much is that compared with the cost of sanctions? They are chasing a programme to have the sanctions removed. And remember they are going to be paying in United States dollars where they are going, they need to pay for accommodation, food, travel," Charamba said.

"It is a mission, and they are actually pulling a pillar policy of the Second Republic. It is part of their commitment on areas they wanted to look at, including the legislative reforms, policy reforms, uniting the nation and economic recovery. It is part of a solution to a common challenge."

Responding to a question on what the public relations firms hired by the government had achieved, Charamba said it was a work in progress.

"The problem is people expecting a magic wand, it doesn't work like that. They were working on removing the pariah state tag Zimbabwe had. So they are different interest groups that we are reaching out to, including business. You have to put several irons in the fire," he said.

"And, of course, they have to work with Foreign Affairs (ministry) because when they visit those capitals they have to touch base with the embassies and the embassies will arrange meetings. We have been reforming and we reform for the good of Zimbabwe, not for other nations."

This comes as US Senators Jim Risch (a Republican from Idaho), chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Chris Coons (a Democrat from Delaware), member of the sub-committee on Africa and global health policy, sent a letter last week to Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo requesting that the US Department of the Treasury update the list of sanctioned persons in Zimbabwe.

"While the United States has been the top provider of humanitarian and development aid to meet the needs of Zimbabwe's people, the government of Zimbabwe has implemented a misinformation campaign blaming the country's woes on targeted sanctions programmes implemented by the United States," the senators said.

"It is important that the United States communicate to the people of Zimbabwe that our sanctions programmes are aimed at deterring human rights abuses, public corruption, the undermining of democratic processes or institutions, and political repression in Zimbabwe. They are not aimed at the Zimbabwean people.

"Given the developments in Zimbabwe over the last two years, we urge you to consider enhancing the tools at your disposal, including the use of targeted sanctions, to incentivise changes in behaviour by the Government of Zimbabwe ... An update to the list of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list should incorporate a balance of new designations with appropriate removals."

The US imposed sanctions on Zanu PF-linked individuals and entities known to facilitate human rights abuses, undermine the rule of law, and engage in the looting of state resources for personal or political gain.

The US has however continued to invest in humanitarian and development aid for Zimbabwe, spending more than US$2 billion over the last 10 years.

Mnangagwa appeared on course to normalising relations with the West soon after claiming power on the back of a military coup which toppled Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

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However, the hope quickly fizzled out when the government deployed soldiers to quell violent demonstrations which erupted in Harare on August 1, 2018, resulting in six unarmed civilians being shot and killed on the streets. The majority of the victims were shot in the back while fleeing the soldiers.

Protestors took to the streets to demonstrate against the alleged rigging of the presidential election by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission in favour of Mnangagwa.

In January 2019, government again deployed its security apparatus to crush protests over an increase in the price of fuel, leaving 17 dead and dozens injured.

The clampdown resulted in global condemnation and the souring of relations between the West and Harare.

Mnangagwa has forked out over US$2,3 million to pay four lobby and public relations firms in Britain and the US in a desperate bid to spruce up Zimbabwe's battered international image and bolster diplomatic re-engagement.

The results of the work being done by the PR firms are yet to be seen, not least because the Mnangagwa administration has failed to implement reforms it promised.
A French court has found the British meal delivery group Deliveroo guilty of "undeclared work" by a cyclist, the latest ruling against "gig economy" firms under fire for insisting their workers are not employees. A Paris labour court judge said that paying the employee as an independent contractor and not a regular employee "was an attempt to skirt labour laws", his lawyer Kevin Mention told AFP after the ruling was announced late Thursday. After joining the platform in 2015, the delivery man asked for a full-time contract the following year, which was refused. The court ordered Deliveroo to pay the cyclist 30,000 euros ($32,900) in damages. "It's the first time Deliveroo has had to requalify a contract in France," a spokesman for the service said, adding that "we are going to study the decision and potentially file an appeal". "Our delivery people tell us that they want to choose when, where and if they want to work, and that's what we let them do," he added. But he acknowledged that in this case, the cyclist was still being paid by the hour, whereas Deliveroo now pays per delivery, adjusted for time and distance. Deliveroo is also facing claims in Belgium that it should be paying payroll taxes for thousands of people delivering meals, while Spanish authorities said it avoided 1.2 million euros in social charges by refusing to consider workers employees. Mention said he planned to launch "around 50 other labour cases against Deliveroo", and others against rival delivery groups Frichti and Stuart. Created in 2013, Deliveroo has grown to delivering meals to clients in more than 200 cities across 12 countries. The ruling comes as Deliveroo is under investigation by Britain's competition regulator over plans to sell a stake to US online giant Amazon.
By Trend





Number of tourists from Kazakhstan visited Turkey amounted to 455,724 people in 2019, which is 6.75 percent more compared to 2018, Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend on Feb.7.

The share of Kazakh citizens in the total number of foreigners who visited Turkey, amounted to 2 percent.

The ministry also said that in December 2019, 17,162 tourists from Kazakhstan visited Turkey, which is 24.79 percent more compared to December 2018.

At this time, the share of Kazakh citizens in the total number of foreigners visited Turkey amounted to 0.8 percent.

In December 2019, over 2.1 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 10.11 percent more compared to December 2018.

In 2019, over 45 million tourists visited Turkey, which is 14.11 percent more compared to 2018.

Meanwhile, over 14.9 million tourists visited Istanbul, and over 14.6 million tourists visited Antalya, while over 15.5 million tourists visited the other Turkish cities.
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have been given access to some individuals' web browsing histories under Australia's controversial metadata laws, despite government assurances that this wouldn't occur.

Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe on Friday told a parliamentary committee reviewing the laws there was some "greyness on the edges" of the scheme he thought should be called out.

Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe on Friday told the inquiry he was concerned about the way URL data was being captured. Credit:Adam McGrath

In his submission to the inquiry, Mr Manthorpe said some telecommunications companies were providing law enforcement with data that included IP addresses and the URLs they had searched. He urged the government to seek legal advice as to whether this was in contravention of the act.

In the lead-up to the legislation's passage in 2015, the federal government said the data retention bill "explicitly excludes anything that is web-browsing history or could amount to web-browsing history, such as a URL or IP address to which a subscriber has browsed". It repeated this assurance following a television interview during which then attorney-general George Brandis struggled to explain what metadata was.
(Natural News) With Chinese New Year celebrations winding down, companies in China would normally be opening back up for business. Because of novel coronavirus, however, many of them will remain shuttered indefinitely, which means companies in other countries that rely on them for parts and supplies are also having their businesses interrupted or halted.

According to reports, car manufacturers Hyundai and Kia are both feeling the pain as they await parts from China that are currently unavailable. Shifts are having to be canceled and production is slowing or stopping altogether as there simply arent enough supplies readily available to complete the manufacturing process.

SsangYong Motor, a car manufacturer based out of China, is also suffering due to coronavirus. The company is reportedly having to close its facility in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, from February 4-12 because its exclusive cable harness supplier in Shandong province is currently out of stock.

These massive disruptions to the global supply chain  China manufacturers most of the worlds goods, after all  was warned about previously when it became clear that coronavirus was spreading largely uncontrolled both in China and abroad.

Its important to keep in mind that supplies are difficult to replace quickly, especially in the car manufacturing industry which typically relies upon exclusive suppliers that build specialized parts to precise quality and safety standards. They cant simply be swapped out at a whim, in other words.

According to our current internal forecast, if the supply issue of some core parts remains unsolved by tomorrow, Hyundai, Kia and other South Korean carmakers domestic and overseas plants will have difficulties in operation, stated an insider to Yicai Global about the ongoing breakdown of the global supply chain.

Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, warned about this type of thing almost a decade ago, by the way. Listen below to The Health Ranger Report to learn more:

The Japanese auto industry is also on the brink as more than 160 companies in Chinas Hubei province alone manufacture parts for companies like Honda

The only small bit of good news here, at least as far as South Korea is concerned, is that Wuhan, the epicenter of Chinas coronavirus outbreak, is largely a secondary supply hub for South Koreas auto industry, meaning if the first-line suppliers cant produce product then Wuhan is next.

However, if things continue in the direction theyre currently going, then primary suppliers will also be affected by these disruptions, which means no more new cars from Kia or Hyundai.

Many Japanese auto manufacturers, including Honda and Toyota, could also be affected, as there are currently 160 companies in the Hubei province alone that supply car parts for these and other Japanese car manufacturers.

Toyota has already announced that it will push back the date for opening back up its Chinajoint venture plant to February 10. Depending on the situation and how it transpires, this date could potentially be pushed back even further.

Many others, including China JVs, Beijing Hyundai Motor, Dongfeng Yueda Kia, and Sichuan Hyundai Motor are all having to do the same thing, with pending opening dates of around February 9  though, this too is subject to change as the situation evolves.

As of this writing, there are now almost 30,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, and 566 deaths.

Meanwhile, a whole slew of other major corporations are also closing up shop in China, including Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks, and Coca-Cola. Domestic auto manufacturers here in the U.S. like Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Toyota America are also expected to face supply disruptions as coronavirus continues to ravage the global economy.

To keep up with the latest coronavirus news, be sure to bookmark Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

YicaiGlobal.com

NaturalNews.com

CNBC.com
El Paso Walmart Mass Shooting Suspect Charged With Federal Hate Crimes

WASHINGTONThe man accused of killing 22 people and wounding two dozen more in a shooting that targeted Mexicans in the border city of El Paso, Texas, has been charged with federal hate crimes.

Patrick Crusius, 21, has been charged with 90 counts under federal hate crime and firearms laws for his role in the Aug. 3 shooting that authorities said was aimed at scaring Hispanics into leaving the United States, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Federal prosecutors announced the charges against Crusius of Allen, Texas, at a Thursday news conference in El Paso. The Department of Justice will consult with the defense and victims families before deciding if they will pursue a death penalty. Ultimately, the decision is up to Attorney General William Barr.

The DOJ will prosecute on a parallel track with state officials. Crusius faces the death penalty on a state capital murder charge to which he pleaded not guilty last year.

Texas state police cars block the access to the Walmart store in the aftermath of a mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 3, 2019. (Andres Leighton/AP Photo)

Eight Mexican nationals were among the victims, and the indictment accuses Crusius of targeting people because of their actual and perceived national origin. The Walmart store is popular with shoppers from nearby Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just on the other side of the Rio Grande from El Paso.

David Lane, a Colorado-based lawyer representing Crusius in the federal case, said Thursday morning that he had not yet seen the indictment but hopes federal prosecutors dont to seek his clients execution.

Part of the evolution of our society involves understanding that justice is not synonymous with vengeance, because vengeance disregards the essential humanity in all of us and brutalizes us all, Lane said. Part of my job here is to hopefully convince the Department of Justice that they are not the department of vengeance.

The federal grand jury that indicted Crusius found his alleged crimes came after substantial planning and premeditation. He bought a Romanian-made AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hallow point ammunition online more than six weeks before he drove 10 hours overnight from his grandparents house in a Dallas suburb to El Paso to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.

The federal indictment comes as El Paso marks the six-month anniversary of the shooting. Last weekend, the commuter town of San Elizario planted 22 oak trees in honor of the victims. Local news outlets aired remembrances.

A woman kneels at a makeshift memorial outside Walmart near the scene of a mass shooting which left 22 people dead in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 5, 2019. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The federal charge follows Crusius state indictment last fall on a capital murder charge, which could also bring a death sentence. He has been held without bond since the shooting and kept isolated from other prisoners, on suicide watch for at least two months after the shooting.

Crusius surrendered to police after the attack, saying, Im the shooter, and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant.

In court documents, prosecutors said Crusius published a screed online shortly before the shooting that said it was in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas. It cited, as inspiration, a mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed scores of Muslim residents of that country.

El Paso Walmart shooting suspect Patrick Crusius pleads not guilty during his arraignment in El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 10, 2019. (Briana Sanchez/El Paso Times via AP)

The charges being announced Thursday are the latest by federal prosecutors following high-profile violent incidents. The Justice Department has brought federal hate crimes charges against a man suspected in a Hanukkah machete attack in New York in December that wounded five people; a man who opened fire at a synagogue in Pittsburgh last year; and a man who killed a woman when he drove into a crowd of protesters at a 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

By Michael Balsamo And Cedar Attanasio
Jim Scruggs didnt want a home warranty, and he certainly didnt want any more robocalls trying to sell him one.

He told the telemarketer who rang his cellphone last year to never call him again, according to court documents.

But when the calls didnt stop, Scruggs decided to chat up the telemarketers and find out who was behind the eight sales pitches he ultimately received.

And then he called an attorney.

Doing what most people would only dream, Scruggs filed a lawsuit last month against two New Jersey companies he blames for the robocalls. It seeks $24,000 in damages, plus attorney fees.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Robocalls cost Conns $459K arbitration award

I had to take a stand, Scruggs, 61, of Chesapeake, Va., said in an interview. If folks dont take a stand against telemarketers, then we are never going to get away from it.

Robocalls like the ones received by Scruggs are a growing problem, with one company estimating 58.5 billion such calls were made last year alone. YouMail, which analyzes data collected by its robocall blocking service, said that equates to more than 178 calls per person.

Many of the people who received those calls are on the Federal Trade Commissions National Do Not Call Registry, which currently contains more than 239 million numbers.

But only about 3.6 million people called the FTC last year to complain about robocalls. Another 1.4 million people called to complain theyd been contacted by live callers while on the Do Not Call list.

The FTC is trying to stem the tide. Since 2003, it has pursued 148 cases involving large-scale Do Not Call list and robocall violations. Included in those is a recent victory against Dish Network that is currently on appeal.

In all, the FTC has secured judgments of nearly $436 million in civil penalties, officials said. Only $52.3 million of that has actually been collected, though.

Release Notes: Get Dwight Silvermans weekly tech newsletter in your inbox each Monday

Scruggs said he received the calls at the heart of the lawsuit in January 2019. He said he told the callers each time he wanted them to stop calling him and they kept calling.

From there, he reached out to the state attorney generals office, but after deciding his complaint was gaining no traction there, he tracked down his attorney, Kevin Dillon.

Most people dont think to involve an attorney when they get a call from a telemarketer. They dont think anything can be done or that they cant afford to file a lawsuit.

Dillon said thats not true, though. He noted a key section in state and federal laws that were passed decades ago to protect people from unwanted telemarketing calls: fee shifting.

If Scruggs wins his case in court, Dillon said, the companies - CHW Group Inc. and Home Warranty Administrators Inc. - will have to pay his fees.

We really work to use those laws to our clients advantage, said Dillon, explaining how the statutorily mandated fee shifting makes it financially feasible for attorneys like himself to research and file such lawsuits.

The mandated damages also make such cases profitable, he said. Each unwanted call is a violation of both a state and federal law, Dillon explained. And each violation carries a minimum $500 civil penalty.

If proven to have been done willfully, it is $1,500 per call.

If the same telemarketer is behind 300 unwanted calls, Dillon said, you are looking at a good chunk of change there.

Conns, the Houston-area retailer, is among the companies hit by such complaints. In January 2018, an arbitrator awarded $311,000 to a Tennessee consumer for 424 calls Conns made in a four-month period after he told the retailer to stop calling his cell phone. In September 2019, an arbitrator awarded $215,550 to another Tennessee customer for 431 calls Conns made in a three-month period after he told the retailer to stop calling his cell phone.

Top hits: Get Houston Chronicle stories sent directly to your inbox

Scruggs said he believed the current damages outlined in the law are actually inadequate, though. He referred to it as decimal dust.

Thats just the cost of doing business for these companies, he said, arguing for state and federal lawmakers to hike up the penalties for do-not-call violations. It needs to be truly punitive.

CHW Group did not respond to requests for comment. No one answered at Home Warranty Administrators, and the companys voicemail box was full.

Consumer advocates stressed people should do some legwork before calling a lawyer.

First, it is best if a person is on the National Do Not Call Registry. Second, a person should try to determine who is behind the calls before calling a lawyer.

The easiest way to do that, Dillon said, is to ask the telemarketer who called for the name of their company. A phone number might work, but many companies now use special technology to spoof a local number and make it appear the call is coming from nearby.

You will usually need more than a number, Dillon said, explaining that one of the most difficult aspects of wining such a lawsuit is determining whom to sue. You have to have an actual defendant, not just a ghost entity.

Scruggs said the telemarketers who called him were actually up front, openly identifying their companies.

Each law firm is different, but most will also want a prospective client to provide detailed phone records to prove when the calls were received and how long they lasted. Attorneys also like to see contemporaneous notes indicating what was said during each call.

Texas Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox

Dillon said he wants to know if there was a delay or click before the telemarketer started speaking. He said that usually indicates the call was placed by an autodialer, something companies arent allowed to use without a persons express consent.

Even if a person can locate all of that information, it can still be difficult for a person to really win such a lawsuit. Dillon said it is hard to collect when the company behind the calls is based in a foreign country.

Still, he said, its a clear violation of federal law whenever someone on the do-not-call list receives a robocall solicitation. And even a single call could lead to a potentially good lawsuit, he said.

Dillon and the FTC urged the public to try to collect information about the telemarketers who call them and report them to the authorities.

The more data we have, the better we can target our law enforcement activities, said Ian Barlow, FTCs Do Not Call Program Coordinator.

Dillon said lawsuits are also a viable way to get companies to change their ways.

In order to put a stop to it, we need more consumers to try, he said.
By Trend

Azerbaijans First Deputy Defense Minister - Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Najmaddin Sadigov has met with the delegation led by Chief of General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces - First Deputy Defense Minister, Army General Valery Gerasimov in Baku, Trend reports Feb. 6 referring to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry.

Welcoming the guests, Sadigov stressed the important role of the heads of state in developing relations between the two countries and noted that Azerbaijan-Russia cooperation is based on friendly relations, mutual trust.

The colonel general added that these relations have developed and reached the level of strategic partnership in recent years.

The chief of the general staff noted that a decision on the participation of the Azerbaijani army in the military parade dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War to be held on May 9 in Moscow was made at the state level, and active preparatory work is being carried out for this purpose.

Referring to the military-political situation and security issues in the region, Sadigov noted that the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the main threat to regional security.

The Azerbaijani colonel general emphasized the importance of resolving the conflict within Azerbaijans territorial integrity, and on the basis of the norms and principles of international law.

In turn, Army General Gerasimov also noted that Russia-Azerbaijan relations have historical roots, and the countries are strategic partners.

The Russian general emphasized the importance of organization of mutual meetings between military representatives in terms of expansion of bilateral relations, as well as military and military-technical cooperation.

The sides discussed the current state of cooperation in military, military-technical and military-educational spheres, prospects for the development of relations, as well as exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

Gerasimov expressed deep gratitude to the leadership of Azerbaijan for the excellent hospitality and organization of the bilateral meeting with Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) in Baku.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has called on people not to discriminate against foreigners over fears arising from the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.

What is equally concerning is on how this outbreak has also resulted [in] undue discrimination against other people and race, said CHR Spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia in a statement.

With the world confronted with a virus with little information known, it is human to be afraid. But we must not allow hysteria and paranoia to result [in] othering and irrational treatment of people.

The Department of Health (DOH) has so far recorded three confirmed cases in the country, with 133 patients under investigation.

The government already imposed travel bans to mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier said that Filipinos should avoid being xenophobic towards Chinese nationals.

De Guia added that everyone should be guided by facts amid the threat of virus.

CHR calls for allowing science and reason to guide government and individual actions, as well as using correct information in preventing the further spread of 2019-nCoV ARD.

She added, Putting a halt to rumor-mongering and the spread of false information demands collective action.

READ: WHO Director General: Don't spread fear and stigma with travel bans
This article by Haley Britzky originally appeared on Task & Purpose, a digital news and culture publication dedicated to military and veterans issues.

Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, one of the witnesses that testified during President Donald Trump's impeachment, was reportedly fired from his role on the National Security Council on Friday afternoon, according to CNN.

A statement from his attorney, David Pressman, says that Vindman was "escorted out of the White House where he has dutifully served his country and his President."

Vindman is expected to return to the Pentagon, per CNN.

"There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country has one less soldier serving it at the White House," Pressman said in the statement. "LTC Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful."

The Washington Post reported on Thursday night that Trump was "preparing" to push Vindman out.

Vindman was already planning on leaving his position on the NSC by the end of this month, per the Post, but Trump was reportedly "eager to make a symbol of the Army officer."

Trump hasn't been secretive about his dislike for Vindman. After Vindman's testimony in October, Trump maintained that the officer was a "Never Trumper."

When asked on Friday about the reports that Vindman would soon be shown the door, Trump told reporters that he was "not happy" with him.

"You think I'm supposed to be happy with him?" Trump asked. "They're going to be making that decision."

Earlier on Friday, Trump retweeted a November tweet from the president of Judicial Watch, Tom Fitton, which said Vindman's "behavior is a scandal," and that he should be "removed from the...White House ASAP."

Trump also shared a tweet from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who said he'd "fire" Vindman.

Vindman -- who emigrated with his family to the U.S. from Ukraine, while it was still part of the Soviet Union, as a child -- is a combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient.

He deployed to Iraq in September 2004 and was wounded by an improvised explosive device a month into his tour. He finished his deployment and returned to the U.S. in September 2005.

During his testimony, Vindman discussed the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the heart of the impeachment inquiry.

Vindman was on the call, and said there was "no ambiguity" that Trump was "calling for an investigation that didn't exist" into the the relationship between Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and Ukrainian company Burisma.

Despite past criticism from his commander-in-chief, Army spokesman Matt Leonard said in October that Vindman, "who has served his country honorably for 20+ years, is fully supported by the Army like every soldier."

In November, Army spokeswoman Col. Kathy Turner said that the Army was working with authorities "to ensure that [VIndman[ and his family are properly protected."

That same month, Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters that Vindman "shouldn't have any fear of retaliation."

On Friday, Esper reiterated that service members would be protected from retaliation.

"As I said, we protect all of our persons, service members, from retribution or anything like that," he said. "We've already addressed that in policy and other means."

Irvin McCullough, a national security analyst at the Government Accountability Project, emphasized what kind of precedent Vindman's reassignment could have on future officials who speak out.

"Reorganizations are hotbeds for disguised retaliation," McCullough said. "Bad actors use massive organizational shifts to strike back against truth-tellers that may be otherwise untouchable. ... If the President overrules his Secretary, and uses this shift as cover for reprisal, he demonstrates that no whistleblower is out of his reach."

More articles from Task & Purpose:
CINCINNATI, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Human Capital Management (HCM) company Paycor this week concluded its TECH+ Partner Forum , the companys third national HCM conference for benefits brokers, financial advisors and HR Consultants. Set at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Fla. from Feb. 3-5, the event drew more than 100 attendees to experience a series of keynotes, panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions that explored how partners can harness the power of storytelling to differentiate from competition and highlight unique value propositions to clients and prospects.



TECH+ Highlights at a Glance

The Power of Storytelling for Business

Partners often have one chance to differentiate themselves to prospects and showcase the expertise and services they offer. This one chance is an opportunity for partners to challenge prospect thinking and deliver a unique story to stand out from competition.

In his opening keynote address, Matthew Luhn, a 20-year Pixar story veteran and creativity expert, shared with brokers and financial advisors why storytelling is the primary business skill necessary to connect, motivate and lead. Luhn discussed how storytelling can bridge the gap between business and heart to connect more effectively with clients and prospects. Luhn also worked with attendees on the mastery of the key elements of storytelling and how to embrace fear and failing as part of the creative process when connecting with an audience.

Attracting and Engaging the Modern, Multi-Generational Workforce

Attendees received a deep dive into the most significant challenges facing clients and prospects today: talent attraction, retention and engagement. Attendees left armed with the knowledge of how benefits can move the needle in these areas, as well as the other strategies necessary for successful engagement in todays modern workforce, across generations.

Harnessing the Rapid Innovation in HCM

The HCM industry is constantly changing, and Paycor is dedicated to arming brokers with HCM solutions for the future. Ryan Bergstrom, Chief Product Officer at Paycor, shared the latest innovations within the HR space and discussed how to embrace the impact of technology within HCM, recruiting, benefits and more.

The Data HR Professionals Need to Win Over the CFO

The HR Center of Excellence (HR COE) provides leaders with an action plan, grounded in Paycors data, experience and research, designed with a singular focus on helping businesses optimize HR to make a lasting impact on their organization. Attendees learned how they can leverage Paycors HR COE data to provide HR professionals with the data they need to win over the CFO.

Paycor will be hosting its fourth TECH+ Partner Forum from Sept. 8-10, 2020 at The Breakers Palm Beach Resort in Palm Beach, Fla. Discounted early bird pricing of $129 will be available throughout March 2020. Click here to register.

Supporting Quotes

Paycors TECH+ delivered an exceptional lineup this year, said Joleen Mayfield, Sr. Vice President, AssuredPartners Inc. The keynote speaker and breakout sessions were excellent, and allowed me to learn from industry leaders how to communicate effectively and support clients throughout industry changes.

Paycors TECH+ Partner Forum allows our benefits brokers, financial advisors and HR consultants to hone best practices, tackle challenges and learn from industry leaders on the skills required to differentiate themselves in the marketplace, said Raul Villar Jr., Chief Executive Officer at Paycor. Most of our partners customers suffer from status quo bias, and are stuck when making decisions to evolve with industry changes. Were thrilled to provide our partners with the creative tools and information to differentiate themselves in a rapidly evolving industry.

Supporting Resources

About Paycor

Paycor creates HR software for leaders who want to make a difference. Our Human Capital Management (HCM) platform modernizes every aspect of people management, from the way you recruit, onboard and develop people, to the way you pay and retain them. But what really sets us apart is our focus on business leaders. For 30 years, weve been listening to and partnering with leaders, so we know what they need: HR technology that saves time, powerful analytics that provide actionable insights and dedicated support from HR experts. Thats why more than 30,000 medium & small businesses trust Paycor to help them solve problems and achieve their goals.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Katy Bunn

Kbunn@paycor.com

(513) 307-6392

MEDIA CONTACT

Marta Debski

paycor@offleashpr.com

(810) 956-4501
Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao offered prayers on Friday at 'Sammakka Saralamma Jatara', a four-day mega tribal festival, at Medaram village in the states Mulugu district.

Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya accompanied them.

During the Jatara, declared a state festival by the Telangana government, tribal devotees offer obeisance to Goddesses Sammakka and her daughter Saralamma at Medaram which is located in a forest area.

As per folklore, the festival commemorates the fight of Sammakka and Saralamma against the oppression of Kakatiya rulers.

On the first day, the traditional arrival of Saralamma on the 'Medaram Gaddhe' (platform) is celebrated, while the second day (Thursday) marks the arrival of Sammakka.

Jaggery is the traditional offering made to the deities.

Devotees often offer jaggery equivalent to their weight to Sammakka and Saralamma.

They also take a holy dip in Jampanna Vagu (stream).

While Dattatreya and Soundararajan visited Medaram in the morning, Rao offered prayers in the afternoon.

They made traditional offerings to Sammakka and other deities.

The festival, being attended by lakhs of devotees from Telangana and other states, including Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, began on February 5.

Around 12,000 policemen have been deployed as part of the security arrangements.

As many as 300 CCTV cameras and 10 drone cameras were installed as part of the security detail, official sources had said.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) operated 4,000 bus to ferry people to and from Medaram.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Carol Fabrizio

USA Gymnastics, which has been rocked by a sex abuse scandal and bankruptcy, has appointed Carol Fabrizio chief communications & marketing officer, effective Feb. 13, as the national governing body for the sport seeks to restore its image.

Fabrizio is joing the group from Vail Resorts, where she most recently served as VP of communications and marketing operations. In her new post, Fabrizios areas of responsibility will include stakeholder and media relations, digital strategy and content development. She will also oversee the organizations partnerships, media distribution and events.

USA Gymnastics filed for bankruptcy in 2018 following charges that national team doctor Lawrence Nassar abused numerous girls on the team between 2009 and 2011. In January, the organization offered to pay $215M to settle the claims brought against Nassar.

We are committed to continuing to reinforce and build trust with our community, and that starts with consistent communications with our stakeholders, said USA Gymnastics president/CEO Li Li Leung. Im excited to have Carol on board to help us highlight the meaningful changes we are making on our journey to becoming a truly athlete-centric organization.
B2C2 growing trading volume with Fireblocks

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fireblocks ( www.fireblocks.com ), an institutional platform for storing, transferring, and issuing digital assets, announced today that B2C2, the largest cryptocurrency liquidity provider and leader in electronic OTC trading, is employing Fireblocks to protect billions of dollars in digital asset value and provide security for more than 10,000 OTC trades daily.

Utilizing Fireblocks' API, B2C2 now securely and instantly executes large value settlements with its institutional clients. B2C2 enlisted Fireblocks to add an efficient, digital asset security infrastructure to its best-in-class liquidity offering.

"Since implementing Fireblocks, we've had some of our best months in terms of increasing trading volume," said Founder and CEO of B2C2, Max Boonen. "By connecting our back- and middle-office systems to Fireblocks' API, we have multiplied our settlement throughput with an extremely lean team. That operational efficiency translates into tighter spreads and lower balance sheet consumption for both our clients and ourselves, contributing to a more efficient market."

Founded in 2015 and headquartered in London, with offices in the United States and Japan, B2C2 was voted 2019 Best Institutional Crypto Liquidity Provider by the readers of Profit & Loss. Trusted by retail brokerages, exchanges, banks, and fund managers to provide 24/7 liquidity, the company was one of the first professional firms to make markets electronically in cryptocurrencies.

Together, B2C2 and Fireblocks are exploring new ways to help facilitate and secure the flow of crypto liquidity around the world. B2C2's first initiative is a partnership offering Freemium Fireblocks Workspaces to all of their customers.

"We've smashed our bottleneck thanks to the security and speed we've been able to achieve with Fireblocks' Secure Transfer Environment. Now, we want to remove all the credit congestion downstream for our clients as well," said Robert Catalanello, CEO of B2C2 USA.

Onboarding customers into the Fireblocks ecosystem mitigates operational risks from the settlement process, including cyberattacks by hackers, internal fraud, and human error. B2C2 customers will receive a complimentary, pre-configured account with one network connection available (B2C2), as well as a wallet to withdraw funds after settlement.

"We've long been convinced that our defense-in-depth approach around wallet and settlement security directly improves operational flow," said Michael Shaulov, CEO and Co-Founder of Fireblocks. "We are excited to support B2C2 with unlocking the capital constraints in the crypto market."

About Fireblocks

Fireblocks is an enterprise-grade platform delivering a secure infrastructure for moving, storing and issuing digital assets. Fireblocks enables exchanges, custodians, banks, trading desks, and hedge funds to securely scale digital asset operations through our patent-pending SGX & MPC technology. They have secured the transfer of over $9 billion in digital assets and have a unique insurance policy that covers assets in storage & in transit. For more information, please visit www.fireblocks.com .

About B2C2

Founded in 2015, B2C2 is the largest cryptocurrency liquidity provider and the leader in electronic OTC trading. Named 2019 Best Institutional Crypto Liquidity Provider by the readers of Profit & Loss, B2C2 bridges the gap between traditional financial and cryptocurrency markets. The company is trusted by retail brokerages, exchanges, banks, and fund managers to provide 24/7 liquidity. Headquartered in the UK, with offices in London, Jersey City, and Tokyo, the firm is privately held. B2C2 OTC Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 810834). For more information, please visit https://www.b2c2.com

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The baby is being being tested at Altnagelvin Hospital.

The Belfast Telegraph understands tests on a baby suspected of being infected with the coronavirus in Londonderry have come back negative.

It's after the baby, who is believed to be less than six months old, was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital in the city on Thursday with flu-like symptoms.

The Department of Health said the Chief Medical Officer will make a statement when a positive test occurs in Northern Ireland - and reiterated advice to the general public on how to deal with the virus.

A statement from the department released on Friday evening said that Northern Ireland's health service is well-prepared for any outbreak and is working with colleagues in Britain and the Republic.

The department has issued renewed advice on precautionary measures after the scare involving the baby, who had flown into Ireland with his family from Hong Kong at the weekend.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "We would like to again assure the public that plans are in place to deal with a positive test for Coronavirus in Northern Ireland when it occurs."

"It is also inevitable that a number of people will continue to be tested on a precautionary basis in the weeks ahead and it is important to keep these tests in perspective," they said.

Hospital staff were pictured wearing protective suits at the hospital during the incident in A&E on Thursday night. The department spokesperson stressed that the use of protective clothing was no indication a positive test result should be expected.

"Northern Ireland health authorities do not intend to comment publicly on each case where a person is being tested. There are patient confidentiality issues to consider, particularly when small numbers of people are involved.

"There is also a need to avoid undue alarm or speculation. This situation will be kept under review," they said.

The virus has killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China.

Police officers helped to seal off a section of the hospital following the infants departure and patients who had been waiting in A&E spoke of the department being on lockdown for a short time.

Visitors coming to the hospital were being kept behind police cordons.

Expand Close An area at Altnagelvin Hospital was sealed off when the baby arrived / Facebook

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Meanwhile, testing of more than a thousand people a day for suspected coronavirus will be possible from next week in laboratories across the UK, Public Health England (PHE) said.

The diagnostic test currently used in London will be rolled out to centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to increase daily testing capacity and speed up results.

Professor Yvonne Doyle, PHE medical director, said: "Once China confirmed that they had identified a novel coronavirus, Public Health England was ready to test potential cases in this country.

"We have now trained scientists in labs across the UK to conduct the specialist test - ensuring that we are well prepared should we begin to see an increased number of cases across the country."
Associated Press Writer

Police said Monday they haven't pinned down a motive in the case of a 29-year-old man charged with capital murder in the shooting deaths of five family members, including his wife and two children, at their South Dallas home.

A brother of Abel Revilla Ochoa says Ochoa, who had been married for 10 years, told him he did crack cocaine right before the shootings.

"He said he remembers it like a dream, that he was doing that drug outside and then he went into the living room," Gilbert Ochoa told Dallas-Fort Worth television station KDFW on Monday.

"He said he was hitting people going against him, attacking him."

Abel Ochoa, who is unemployed, was being held in Dallas County jail on $2 million bond.

"The only thing we know at this point is that he got upset with his wife about something, exactly what it was, we don't know yet," said Dallas police Sgt. Hollis Edwards.

Shortly before 6:15 p.m. Sunday, neighbors heard what sounded like "a string of fireworks going off" in an Oak Cliff neighborhood about four miles from downtown Dallas.

A woman, bleeding and screaming, ran from the house. When police arrived, they found bodies in the kitchen and living room of the one-story residence.

The dead were identified as Ochoa's wife, Cecelia, 32; their daughters Crystal, 7, and Ana, 9 months; Cecelia's father, Bartolo Alivizo, 56; and Cecelia's sister, Jacqueline Saleh, 20.

Neighbors said after they heard gunshots, they saw a man speed away in the family's sport utility vehicle. Abel Ochoa was taken into custody after the car and suspect were spotted at a nearby shopping center.

"This is the worst that I've ever seen, and I've been in homicide 10 years," said police Sgt. Gary Kirkpatrick. "There's never been one of this magnitude."

A semiautomatic handgun was recovered at the home, Kirkpatrick said. Four of the five victims died at the scene; the youngest girl died at a hospital.

The 27-year-old woman who survived the attack, identified as Alma Alivizo, another of Cecelia's sisters, was shot in the upper body.

Kathleen Beathard, public relations director for Methodist Hospitals of Dallas, said the gunshot damaged a major artery, and the woman was given 42 units of blood during surgery. Alivizo was in critical condition Monday afternoon.

Kirkpatrick said a brother of Ochoa's told police the family had some domestic problems, but that he didn't believe the wife had reported it to police.

"He said he knew his brother had a gun, but he was surprised this happened. He said to his knowledge his brother had never been in trouble with the police," Kirkpatrick said.

Police said they would not make the arrest affidavit available on Monday.

Neighbors said Abel Ochoa, a U.S. citizen from Mexico, had been out of work for several months.

Cecilia Ochoa had been a teacher for Head Start of Greater Dallas since 1996, teaching at two south Dallas locations, said Rob Massonneau, director of external affairs for the organization.

Child Protective Services investigated the Ochoas after a referral in 1999, said CPS spokeswoman Marleigh Meisner. The agency was unable to determine any abuse, she said, declining to release any other information.

Massonneau said Head Start planned to set up a memorial fund for the family.

Rebecca Ortiz, a Head Start teacher who worked with Cecilia Ochoa, said the victim was dedicated to her family and her students, whom she often called "her kids."

"She loved to be around children," Ortiz said. "She would treat them like her own. She'd spend her own money to buy school supplies."

Ortiz said she had met Abel Ochoa and the couple's daughters several times and "they seemed like such a good family."

"She never said anything to me about any problems. She really didn't bring her problems into the workplace."

The blue-collar neighborhood were the shooting occurred is generally peaceful, said Donna Al-Mansour, director of a daycare several houses from the Ochoa's home.

Cecilia Ochoa had made plans to enroll her children in the day care, Al-Mansour said.

"She was very friendly and we hit it off well," she said. "I just can't believe this has happened."

Family violence experts say they are seeing more cases where abusers target their children, in addition to a spouse.

"It's an absolute tragedy," said Sheryl Cates, executive director of the Texas Council on Family Violence in Austin. "The violence has escalated so that they are not only killing their spouse, but also their children and other family members."
Shelton, Connecticut

Feb. 6, 2020

Mikael Anden

Oklahoma's

December 2019

Andrea Sowitch

/PRNewswire/ -- International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra (STO: SECT B) has signed a contract with Hillcrest Medical Center in Tulsa to add cardiology to their existing enterprise imaging solution. This new configuration will provide physicians a complete patient overview and standardize all imaging on one platform."It is very rewarding to have long-time radiology customers, such as Hillcrest, grow their enterprise imaging platform with Sectra. As we increase our market presence in cardiology, we look to our existing users who appreciate our extraordinary customer service and support," says, President of Sectra, Inc.Hillcrest Medical Center is a 620-bed hospital offering a wide-range of inpatient and outpatient services includingmost comprehensive heart program. All cardiology studies will utilize the existing radiology archive for efficiency and economies of scale. The cardiology contract signed inincludes workflow for cardiac catheterization, ultrasound echo, nuclear medicine and invasive vascular studies.Sectra's enterprise imaging solution provides a unified strategy for high production environments and supports the goal of shortened report turnaround times, enhanced result distribution workflows, and improved communication between departments. Read more about Sectra and why Sectra PACS is 'Best in KLAS' at https://medical.sectra.com/.Visit booth #6248 at HIMSS to learn more about the complete enterprise imaging solution with Sectra VNA and our Best-in-KLAS PACS for radiology, pathology and cardiology at its core. For more information and to book a meeting, visit: https://medical.sectra.com/himssWith 30 years of innovation and approaching 2,000 installations worldwide, Sectra is a leading global provider of imaging IT solutions that support healthcare in achieving patient-centric care. Sectra offers an enterprise imaging solution comprising PACS for imaging-intense departments (radiology, pathology, cardiology and orthopedics), VNA, and share and collaborate solutions.Contact:, Vice President of MarketingSectra, Inc.E-mail: andrea.sowitch@sectra.com Phone: +203-925-0899 ext. 268Torbjorn KronanderPresident and CEOSectra ABE-mail: torbjorn.kronander@sectra.se Phone: +46-705-23-5227

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hillcrest-medical-center-adds-cardiology-to-sectra-enterprise-imaging-solution-301000125.html



SOURCE Sectra, Inc




Christian Gonzalez (pictured) was charged with first-degree murder in the death of his cellmate on February 1

A Chicago gang member allegedly beat a rival gang member to death with sock full of soap bars just a half hour after they were placed in the same jail cell.

Security footage from the Cook County Jail is said to partially show Christian Gonzalez, 24, attacking 19-year-old Pedro Ruiz with a 'soap sock' for 10 minutes in the early hours of February 1.

Gonzalez can also be seen grabbing Ruiz by his hair and roughly dragging him, the Chicago Sun Times reports.

When correctional officers finally responded to the scene, prosecutors say Ruiz suffered from internal bleeding, a 'major neck injury' and resembled someone who had been in a car crash.

Ruiz was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where he was pronounced dead, while Gonzalez is facing first-degree murder charges in the death.

Gonzalez, a member of the Satan Disciples street gang, would allegedly later confess to correctional officers that he deliberately killed Ruiz because he was part of the Almighty Saints street gang.

However, Gonzalez would later say that Ruiz was experiencing breathing problems and the guards took too long to respond.

Pedro Ruiz (pictured) was killed inside his two-man cell at the Cook County Jail on Saturday because he was from the Almighty Saints, or Latin Saints, street gang

Satan Disciples and Almighty Saints Feud The Satan Disciples were founded in 1959 by 'King Satan' in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, at the street corner of 15th and Talman. Although much of the neighborhood was predominately African American by that time, Satan Disciples were mainly run by Czechoslovakian and Polish white males. Young Mexican men were also brought into the ranks. As demographics in the neighborhood shifted, the Satan Disciples became a predominately Latino group. The street gang soon expanded into other parts of Chicago and engaged in fights with the Gaylords, Ambrose and the Latin Counts gangs. As Satan Disciple's continued to broaden their reach, they made new enemies with other gangs, including the Almighty Saints. The Almighty Saints, or Latin Saints, were founded in the Back of the Yards neighborhood in 1960 by a man named 'Rabbi' at the corner of 45th and De La Wood. Similar to Satan Disciple, the Saints were mostly made of Polish youth. Trouble between the Saints and Satan Disciples began after the two groups occupied the same areas in the 1980s. Source: Chicago Gang History Advertisement

Investigators recovered a ripped, bloody sock from the cell, as well as what is believed to be a bloody undershirt and boxers that Gonzalez was wearing under a clean jail uniform.

Judge Arthur Wesley Willis ordered Gonzalez to be held without bond during a Thursday hearing because he is a 'danger to everybody.'

While prosecutors have created a timeline of events in Ruiz's death, there are still no answers as to why rival gang members were placed together, why it took supervisors more than 20 minutes to respond to the scene and why standard safety regulation failed to protect Ruiz.

On January 31, Ruiz was placed to Tier 2C of Division 9 shortly after he was brought in on attempted murder charges and wasn't in contact with Gonzalez until around 12.30am.

At 1.05am, surveillance footage shows an inmate lifting their arm up and down repeatedly as if attacking someone after a cell light turned out.

Then, a figure can be seen dragging a person by their hair. At one point, Gonzalez allegedly slowed his movement as if growing tired.

A guard performing a security check happened upon the feuding pair around 1.30am and Gonzalez claimed something was wrong with Ruiz.

This prompted the guard to radio his sergeant and say the two men were 'acting strange.'

Officials have not disclosed by Gonzalez and Ruiz, two gang members from rival gangs, were placed inside the jail cell at Cook County jail (pictured) together on February 1

Supervisors would not arrive to the cell until nearly 30 minutes later.

In a statement from the Sheriff's Office, authorities said: '[We] launched a thorough internal investigation of all the factors involved in this case. We take all acts of violence in the jail extremely seriously and work tirelessly to prevent those intent on committing harm from being able to do so.'

This is not the only investigation being done on Gonzalez, who was allegedly involved in the death a 41-year-old inmate on November 19.

Gonzalez and four other men viciously attacked a 41-year-old in the the day room of Division 9

Reports say Gonzalez was among five inmates who attacked another man in the day room of Division 9, a maximum-security wing in the correctional facility.

Footage shows Gonzalez kicking and punching the man several times before other inmates stabbed him with a shank.

After the victim is left listless on the day room floor, surrounded by blood, Gonzalez placed a joker playing card on the victim's body.

Correctional officers didn't arrive to the scene until seven minutes later. Each man was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and mob action.

Before that, Gonzales was in jail on charges relating to allegedly shooting a leader of the Almighty Saints gang and injuring three-year-old boy.

He's been in the Cook County jail since June 2019.

The Cook County jail has been called one of the most dangerous facilities in the country, citing poor leadership staff.

DailyMail.com has reached out for further comments.
Jessa Duggar is apparently impressed with the power of an epidural, something she decided to forgo in favor of natural homebirths. After seeing Abbie Burnett, who married John David Duggar in November 2018, sail through contractions with the help of an epidural, Jessa suggested that next time shed consider one. The statement has some followers questioning when Jessa and her husband, Ben Seewald, will add a fourth baby to the mix. Even more exciting than another baby is the prospect that Jessa might show up at a medical facility to give birth this time around. So, will Jessa ever use a hospital to deliver her children?

Jessa has had three homebirths

Jessa hasnt headed to the hospital to labor for any of the three children she has already delivered. At least two of her three homebirths were planned, as were the homebirths of several of her siblings. Spurgeon Elliot Seewald, Henry Wilberforce Seewald, and Ivy Jane Seewald were all delivered at home.

Jill Duggar, who attempted to deliver both of her sons at home, was a notorious advocate for the process. After long labors, Jill was forced to deliver her sons, Israel, 4, and Sam, 2, via emergency c-sections. Joy-Anna Duggar also attempted a home birth with her first child, Gideon, but she was rushed to the hospital when it was discovered that Gideon was breech. She delivered him via c-section, as well. Joy-Annas second pregnancy ended at 5 months in a late-term miscarriage. Anna Duggar, who married Josh Duggar in 2008, has delivered all six of her children outside of a hospital setting, according to In Touch.

Jessa Duggar has had two bleeding emergencies

Jessas first delivery seemed to be going smoothly until she began to bleed excessively following the arrival of Spurgeon Elliot. Jessa was whisked off to the hospital in an ambulance, and apparently, her bleeding was so bad that she could have died without medical intervention. Her second birth went far smoother, and Henry Wilberforce was delivered at home without complications.

In her third attempt at a homebirth, Jessa experienced the same issues as she did with Spurgeons delivery. Excessive bleeding forced the mother of three to take another ambulance ride. While she and her husband, Ben, insist they didnt plan to deliver Ivy Jane at home, fans are skeptical. Many followers think Jessa is committed to the concept of homebirths because the controversial ultra-conservative Christian ministry they belong to encourages them. They are not without risk, though, and Jessas complications have many followers concerned for her safety.

Will she ever give birth in a hospital?

It looks like baby number four, whenever he or she comes along, might actually enter the world in a sterile medical environment. Jessa insists that she was planning a hospital birth with her third child, considering the issues she faced with Spurgeons birth, but that the baby came too quickly to get to a hospital. Fans arent so sure about that, but all seem to agree that Ben would prefer the safety of the hospital over the living room couch when his next child arrives.

If the couple does have a fourth child, it looks like a visit to the hospital is even more likely now. After seeing Abbie enjoy the relative comfort of an epidural, Jessa seemed convinced. When that baby will arrive, is anyones guess, though. Jessa has been busy trolling Duggar family critics who are convinced shes already carrying the familys fourth baby, according to In Touch.
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that in a major counterterrorism operation in Yemen the US forces have killed Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the jihadist group that claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.

Rimi, 46, a deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was placed on the United States' most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al-Qaeda's Yemen affiliate in 2015.

US government had offered a USD 10 million reward for information on Rimi.

"His death further degrades al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," Trump said on Thursday.

He said the major counterterrorism operation was carried at his direction.

"Rimi joined al-Qaeda in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said.

"The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm," he said.

While Trump confirmed that Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the US operation was conducted or divulged any details about how it was carried out.

The AQAP has long been considered al-Qaeda's most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland.

Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.

He called the shooter Mohammed Alshamrani a "courageous knight" and a "hero", according to media reports.

The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets.

In January, the US sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had "contact" with child abuse images, including in internet chatrooms.

Rimi was considered a potential successor to al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian leader of al-Qaeda's strategic operations who is reportedly believed to be in Pakistan.

This is the third major strike by the US under Trump administration and that too in recent months. In October, the US killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In January, it killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When you get above a postdoc level, everybody applies to every country in the world, said Tim Byrnes, an assistant professor of physics at N.Y.U.s campus in Shanghai, who received a Thousand Talents grant in 2016. People are crossing borders all the time, and eventually congregate where there is the most money. China is now pouring huge amounts of money for research.

Like the other grantees who were interviewed, Dr. Byrnes said he had never had to submit any reports on his research to the Chinese government, and that all his research is published in academic journals. He said Thousand Talents was similar to other international grant programs.

Its only because its from China that everybody has this kind of opinion of it, he said.

Already, he said, any affiliation with the program is damaging the prospects of scientists seeking funding from the United States government. If I write this information down, immediately the probability of the success of this or that grant sort of plummets, he said.

Dr. Antilla, the organic chemist who relocated to Tianjin, said there were indeed ethical minefields for recipients holding positions in China and the United States, and that he eventually decided to move his work entirely to China to avoid them.

Particularly thorny, he said, is the practice of maintaining laboratories in both China and the United States.

There are questions about intellectual property  how do you share data, if you share it at all, said Mr. Antilla, now a professor of chemistry at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University. It could be tricky. What are the rules?

But he said he was always scrupulous about reporting the money he received to his employers in the United States. It worried him, he said, that Thousand Talents was getting a bad name.
[February 07, 2020] Lisa Kloppenberg Named Provost of Santa Clara University

Lisa Kloppenberg, who served as dean of Santa Clara University School of Law and has been interim University provost since June 2019, was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the 169-year-old institution. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005505/en/ Lisa Kloppenberg will become Santa Clara University's provost March 1. (Photo: Business Wire) Kloppenberg, who was previously dean of the University of Dayton School of Law, will assume the new post March 1. As the chief academic officer in the University, the provost has executive responsibilities for overseeing all undergraduate and graduate educational programs and academic support functions. "While serving as interim provost for the past eight months, Lisa has shown an admirable combination of collegiality, decisiveness, and concern for the greater good of our faculty, staff, and students," said University President Kevin O'Brien, S.J. "In Lisa, I find a partner who models a deep and genuine commitment to our Jesuit, Catholic values and who shares my commitment to the academic enterprise which is the heart of our University." Kloppenberg is a national expert in mediation, arbitration, and other forms of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) as well as in constitutional law. As dean of Santa Clara Law, Kloppenberg oversaw changes designed to ensure graduates were ready for the workforce of today. That included moving toward a more competency-based curriculum and implementing a critical lawyering skills course, encompassing communication, active listening, creative problem solving, handling mistakes, and reflective lawyering. Her team also launched the Tech Edge J.D. option, affording students increased Silicon Valley mentoring and experiential learning. Last year, she was honored with the Saint Thomas More Society Award by San Jose Bishop Oscar Cantu. The award, sposored by the Saint Thomas More Society of Santa Clara County, is given to the leader who exemplifies the principles and ideals of Saint Thomas More, the patron saint of lawyers and politicians. In her acceptance speech, Kloppenberg noted the work of SCU Law students, faculty, and staff who make impressive contributions to the most marginalized, from victims of human trafficking to wrongfully convicted persons.



Under Kloppenberg's leadership, the law school in 2018 opened the doors-after less than two years of construction-to the Howard S. and Alida S. Charney Hall of Law, the 96,000-square-foot new building that features flexible learning spaces and sophisticated classroom technology. "I am incredibly honored to be named provost of Santa Clara University at such an exciting time in our history," said Kloppenberg. "I see so much innovation in our programming at the undergraduate and graduate levels, from the arts and STEM to business and law. I am amazed by the ways our faculty and students improve the world with their teaching, research, immersive learning, and service in the Bay Area and around the globe. I look forward to building on our momentum to help shape the future of Santa Clara University."

Earlier in her career, as dean and professor of law at the University of Dayton School of Law, Kloppenberg received national recognition for championing the "Lawyer as Problem Solver" curricular reform and a unique five-semester accelerated option for legal studies. She is the co-author of a popular text which teaches law students to be effective advocates in negotiation, mediation, and other methods of resolving disputes without going to court. She has also written several other books and many articles. She is enthusiastic about using her conflict resolution skills to enhance campus communication and collaboration. She received her B.A. and J.D. from the University of Southern California, where she was editor-in-chief of the Southern California Law Review. After graduation, she clerked for the Honorable Dorothy Wright Nelson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, one of the leading advocates for ADR in the justice system. Kloppenberg went on to work in litigation, arbitration, and mediation with the firm Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler in Washington, D.C., then worked with Ken Feinberg, a prominent mediator who designed conflict resolution systems. Her first job in academia was at the University of Oregon, where she co-founded the school's Appropriate Dispute Resolution program. She lives in San Jose with her husband Mark Zunich. The couple has three grown children, Nick, Tim, and Kellen. About Santa Clara University Founded in 1851, Santa Clara University sits in the heart of Silicon Valley-the world's most innovative and entrepreneurial region. The University's stunningly landscaped 106-acre campus is home to the historic Mission Santa Clara de Asis. Ranked among the top 15 percent of national universities by U.S. News & World Report, SCU has among the best four-year graduation rates in the nation and is rated by PayScale in the top 1 percent of universities with the highest-paid graduates. SCU has produced elite levels of Fulbright Scholars as well as four Rhodes Scholars. With undergraduate programs in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, and graduate programs in six disciplines, the curriculum blends high-tech innovation with social consciousness grounded in the tradition of Jesuit, Catholic education. For more information see www.scu.edu. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005505/en/

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Tidjane Thiam has quit as Credit Suisse chief executive after a spying scandal that has hit the reputation of one of Europe's largest banks and shocked Switzerland's financial community.

Thomas Gottstein, who is head of the Swiss business at Credit Suisse, will take over from Thiam, the Zurich-based lender said on Friday. His departure ends a conflict with Chairman Urs Rohner after revelations that the bank had snooped on former executives raised questions over its culture.

The espionage involving Credit Suisse surfaced in September when former star wealth manager Iqbal Khan, after defecting to rival UBS, confronted a private detective who was following him and his wife through Zurich.

Resignation: Tidjane Thiam said he knew nothing about the surveillance of two colleagues

A spokesman for Switzerland's market supervisor FINMA said it was important that calm was restored to the bank. The watchdog said it was continuing its investigation into the scandal.

Thiam's exit, ending a near five-year run as Credit Suisse CEO, runs the risk of irking international investors who had backed him, not Rohner.

'A period of instability will ensue as Mr Gottstein attempts to lay the foundations for further growth. We would assume investor discontent following the change, with any fall-out unknown at this stage,' KBW analysts said.

This was reflected in a 5 per cent drop in the bank's share price in early trade. It was just 0.6 per cent lower by 1513 GMT.

Thomas Gottstein, designated new CEO of Swiss bank Credit Suisse attends an interview with Reuters in Zurich, Switzerland today

Credit Suisse's board said that Rohner had its backing to complete his term until April 2021.

Thiam, 57, was appointed as CEO in 2015, having never previously worked for a bank.

At Credit Suisse, the ex-Prudential boss focused on cutting costs, reducing risk, scaling back investment banking to focus more on wealth management, and strengthening its balance sheet.

Engineering that turnaround led to three years of consecutive losses, but the bank returned to profit in 2018, leading to plaudits for the former Ivory Coast government minister and McKinsey management consultant.

However, what the bank initially described as a rogue spying case run by then-Chief Operating Officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee widened as details emerged of other instances of surveillance.

Swiss financial supervisor FINMA is investigating after the bank subsequently acknowledged that it had tailed former human resources head Peter Goerke.

Thiam reiterated that he knew nothing of these activities.

'I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place,' Thiam said in the bank's statement.

Gottstein, a prominent investment banker and wealth manager before taking over Credit Suisse's domestic operation, had been flagged by analysts as a potential successor to Thiam.

'Based on his deep and comprehensive experience in our business and in view of his impressive performance as head of our Swiss bank and his respect amongst our clients and employees, Thomas Gottstein is excellently positioned to lead Credit Suisse into the future,' Rohner said in a statement.

Gottstein will be the first Swiss citizen to run Credit Suisse in almost 20 years. The 55-year-old has been at the bank since 1999, joining from rival UBS. He has spent most of his career working in equity capital markets before taking over as chief of Credit Suisse's Swiss bank in 2015.

Spying scandal: Credit Suisse spied on former star wealth manager, Iqbal Khan, and on former human resources head Peter Goerke

He told Reuters he plans a growth offensive.

Citigroup analysts described Gottstein in a note as a 'safe pair of hands'.

Thiam's resignation, effective from 14 February after the presentation of fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results, came at a board meeting on Thursday.

During the meeting in Zurich directors backed Rohner despite calls from Swiss investment adviser Ethos Foundation for him to quit.

'Urs Rohner has led the board of directors commendably during this turbulent time,' said board member Severin Schwan in the bank's statement.

'After careful deliberations, the board has been unanimous in its actions, as well as in reaffirming its full support for the chairman to complete his term until April 2021.'

In Switzerland, Credit Suisse and UBS typically have a Swiss national as either chairman or chief executive.

Gottstein's appointment could therefore pave the way for a non-Swiss chairman. One person familiar with the matter said Richard Meddings, a British banker set to join the board, could take over from Rohner.

Andre Helfenstein, now responsible for Credit Suisse's institutional clients in Switzerland, will succeed Gottstein as CEO of the Swiss business and join the executive board.
FRANKFURT  Chinese car and car-parts factories may stay closed longer than expected because of the coronavirus, increasing the chances that assembly lines in Asia, Europe and the United States could grind to a halt because of shortages of components.

The hit to the auto industry, which employs eight million people worldwide, comes as output from the worlds factories is already sagging. It is likely to amplify the already alarming human and economic cost of the outbreak.

Many automakers had planned to reopen their Chinese factories on Monday, which was already a week later than planned following the traditional Lunar New Year holiday.

But several companies including BMW, PSA and Toyota have delayed restarting their assembly lines another week and others appear likely to. Even a relatively brief interruption in the flow of parts and materials could have far-reaching effects, analysts said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray takes the oath before a full committee hearing on "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation" on Capitol Hill on Feb. 5, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

Wrays Testimony, FISA Fallout, and Hunters Travel Records3 Events Overshadowed by President Trumps Acquittal

News Analysis

While President Donald Trumps acquittal by the Senate on Feb. 5 dominated the news this week, there were three other significant developments that received little attention.

Notably, on the morning of Feb. 5, FBI Director Christopher Wray made several significant and noteworthy comments and admissions pertaining to FISA Abuse and the ongoing investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham during testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

That afternoon, a letter jointly sent by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, requested the dates and locations of any travel that Hunter Biden, the son of former Vice President Joe Biden, had made while receiving a protective detail from the Secret Service. The Senators letter appeared to be focused specifically on Hunter Bidens trips to Ukraine and China.

And just two days earlier, on Feb. 3, a quiet release from the FISA Court took place. The release was actually a previously unreleased Jan. 31 response from the government that provided additional details regarding incremental steps the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FBI intended to take in order to ensure future accuracy of any FISA applications presented to the FISA Court.

Wray Acknowledges Illegal Surveillance of Trump Campaign Aide

During FBI Director Christopher Wrays lengthy testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on Feb. 5, a few notable comments were put forth by the director.

At the 1:47:05 mark of Wrays 4 hour and 20 minute testimony, Wray was asked by Rep. John Ratcliffe about the recent notification to the FISA Court by the DOJ that the final two FISA warrants on Trump 2016 campaign aide Carter Page were deemed to be not valid. The DOJ also informed the FISA Court that with regard to the two final applications, there was insufficient predication to establish probable cause to believe that [Carter] Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power.

The order noted that the FBI has agreed to sequester all collection the FBI acquired pursuant to the Courts authorizations of the two now-invalid FISAs, pending further review of the OIG [Office of Inspector General] Report and the outcome of related investigations and any litigation.

The order also notes that while the DOJ hasnt yet made a determination on the validity of the first two FISA applications, the DOJ intends to have the FBI sequester information relating to those first two orders in the same manner as information acquired in the final two renewals that have now been determined to be invalid.

Ratcliffe touched on this matter, telling Wray that the DOJ and the FISA Court acknowledge that this was illegal surveillance with respect to at least several of these FISA applications because there was not probable cause or proper predication. Correct? Wray responded to Ratcliffes question with a simple one word response: Right. In doing so, the FBI Director acknowledged that the FBI conducted illegal surveillance of Page.

Ratcliffe continued, noting that illegal surveillance and changing evidence to conduct illegal surveillance is the very definition of fraud on the court, is it not?

Wray responded to Ratcliffe, stating, Well, I certainly think it describes conduct thats utterly unacceptable, adding that we have accepted every finding in the Inspector Generals report, including some that are extremely painful to us as an institution.

This is a significant admission on the part of the FBI Director, affirming that the FBI engaged in illegal surveillance on an American citizen. It would also mean that any information collected under the final two Page FISAs was done so illegally. As previously noted, a decision on the legality of the the original FISA and its first renewal is still pending.

Ratcliffe then went a bit further in closing this segment, stating, I remain convinced that the prior administration weaponized the FBI for political motivation and purposes. I just wonder whether or not youre going to be able to put the genie back in the bottle.

The most interesting, and likely the most important moment occurred at the 2:25:45 mark in Wrays testimony. Wray, who was being questioned by Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.), noted that where there are people who need to be held accountable, we have a disciplinary process for that. For the current employees. The vast majority of people involved in the conduct youre describing are no longer with the FBI and not subject to the disciplinary project in the first place.

Wray then continued, this time referencing the ongoing investigation being conducted by U.S. Attorney Durham, noting that there is, of course as you know, the ongoing John Durham investigation. We have been cooperating fully as the Attorney General himself has said. I look forward to hopefully having another hearing with you at some point where we can have a very different kind of exchange about the FBI.

Wrays answers to McClintock are perhaps best read as a single thought. The employees that have left the FBI are outside of the FBIs oversight, but they are not outside the purview of the investigation being conducted by Durham and overseen by Attorney General William Barr.

Wray would return to this matter later in his testimony at the 3:15:05 mark:

At the more senior levels of the FBI, the people involved in every respect that I can think of are gone from the FBI. And of course, there is an ongoing investigation by Mr. Durham with which were actively cooperating and fully cooperating. As to the current employees, there are what I would call more line-level employees who were involved in some of the events in the report. All of those employees, anybody who still remains at the FBIagain, they tend to be more line-level peoplewere referred to our Office of Professional Responsibility, which is our disciplinary arm, which is the standard process. After there has been fact-finding by the Inspector General, the facts go to our disciplinary arm and by long-standing process thats how we handle discipline about those people. We have erred on the side of inclusion when we did that. So what I mean by that is there are some people in the report who were literally named, like, once or twice, and its not really clear they were even named in a way that is problematic. But weve gone ahead and just figured better safe than sorry and weve sent all those names to the Office of Professional Responsibility. We will follow that process and I have made very clear that if that process results in recommendations of discipline, then were gonna impose discipline and were gonna hold people accountable.

While it is not known when Durham will complete his investigation, there have been reports that he has expanded his investigation and has moved toward interviews with some senior Obama administration officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

According to an Oct. 19 article by The New York Times, Durham has already interviewed about two dozen former and current F.B.I. officials and that the number of interviews shows that Mr. Durhams review is further along than previously known. The paper also reported that Durhams efforts were being aided by two former senior F.B.I. agents who were assisting with the review.

In addition to the dozens of FBI interviews, Durhams investigative team has also reportedly questioned officials in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, although Clapper doesnt appear to have been among those interviewed. Nor have Durham or his team yet questioned or interviewed CIA personnel.

The number of interviews conducted as well as the widening scope suggests that Durham has been gathering all available facts, evidence, and data prior to approaching the central figures in his inquiry.

Changes in the FBIs FISA Process

The FISA Court release contained a Jan. 31 response by the Government to the Amicuss Letter Brief that was filed on Jan. 15 by David Kris. Kris had been appointed by the FISA Court on Jan. 10 in order to help the court assess the governments Jan. 10 response to an earlier Dec. 17 FISA Court order with regard to actions the FBI intended to take following the findings of DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz in his report on FISA abuse.

Of particular interest was the governments admission that the DOJ and the FBI have been actively considering whether additional measures are warranted in light of the findings of the OIG Report and the corrective measures identified by Director Wray.

The government noted that the FBI and DOJ will need time to assess if the corrective actions are effective and to think strategically as to whether additional measures need to be put in place based on the results of those measures. The government asked the court for an ongoing period of implementation supplemented by updates to the court.

Two footnotes within the release stand out based on the strength of the language used. The first noted that Wray has implemented more than 40 corrective actions, making changes beyond those recommended by the OIG. The second footnote noted that the FBI would implement further actions deemed appropriate and stated that the FBI is committed to learning from the failures of the Crossfire Hurricane Investigation.

The filing also identified a number of corrective actions to be taken with regard to FISA standards and proceduresall of which stemmed from noted failures of the FBIs process in the applications on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

Many of these actions appear designed to greatly enhance the information provided to the Office of Intelligence (OI) which provides oversight of the FISA process. The IG report specifically noted how the OI appeared to have been repeatedly bypassed during the Page FISA applications.

In one example, the IG report noted, The fact that the Primary Sub-sources account contradicted key assertions attributed to his/her own sub-sources in Steeles Reports 94, 95, and 102 should have generated significant discussions between the Crossfire Hurricane team and OI prior to submitting the next FISA.

This issue was significant enough that Stuart Evans, the NSDs then-deputy assistant attorney general, with oversight responsibility over the OI, claimed that had OI been made aware of the information, such discussions might have included the possibility of foregoing the renewal request altogether, at least until the FBI reconciled the differences between Steeles account and the Primary Sub-sources account.

According to the Inspector General none of the inaccuracies and omissions that we identified in the renewal applications were brought to the attention of OI before the applications were filed.

This lack of information directly impacted the department officials who were providing the final signoff on the FISA applications:

Similar to the first application, the Department officials who reviewed one or more of the renewal applications, including [former Deputy Attorney General Sally] Yates, [former Acting Attorney General Dana] Boente, and [former Deputy Attorney General Rod] Rosenstein, did not have accurate and complete information at the time they approved them, the report states.

The government also is undertaking corrective actions with regard to the use of Confidential Human Sources (CHS), requiring additional information from the sources handler. Of particular focus going forward is information relating to a CHSs reliability and accuracy along with any bias or motivation. Additionally, any relationships a CHS might have with other governmental agencies must be thoroughly vetted in conjunction with that second agency.

Additionally, the government is seeking to formalize the role of FBI supervisors and FBI attorneys in the FISA review process.

In a Feb. 11, 2019, article, we explored the Page FISA process based on testimonies from those involved and were surprised to find that the process was not only arbitrary regarding who might review the actual application, but also that senior officials were generally not involved in the verification or fact-checking of FISA applications.

Sally Moyer, who was a unit chief at the Office of General Counsel, told lawmakers that only the originating agent and the supervisory special agent in the field actually look at the Woods file, which provides facts supporting the allegations made in a FISA application during its preparation.

Trisha Anderson, the principal deputy general counsel for the FBI and head of the bureaus National Security and Cyber Law Branch, testified that each day the director might receive 15 to 20 FISAs to sign, with each containing large amounts of documentation. Anderson testified that the director was allotted 20 minutes to review the entirety of the days FISA applicationsnot 20 minutes per FISA.

Anderson also told investigators that the Page FISA was handled a little bit differently in that sense, in that it received very high-level review and approvalsinformal, oral approvalsbefore it ever came to me for signature.

The unusual preliminary review and approval, which came from then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and Yates, appear to have had a substantial impact on the normal review process, leading other individuals like Anderson to believe that the Page FISA was more vetted than it really was.

Many of the newly enacted or proposed rules appear to address many of these historical deficiencies in the FISA process.

Senate Committee Inquiry for Hunter Biden Documents

Senators Grassley and Johnson on Feb. 5 sent a letter to James Murray, the Director of the U.S. Secret Service. The letter noted that the Committee on Finance and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is reviewing potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration, particularly with respect to his business activities in Ukraine and China.

The letter detailed a transaction that took place in China after Hunter Biden had traveled there aboard Air Force Two with his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden:

In December of 2013, one month after Rosemont Seneca s joint venture with Bohai Capital to form BHR, Hunter Biden reportedly flew aboard Air Force Two with then-Vice President Biden to China. While in China, he helped arrange for Jonathan Li, CEO of Bohai Capital, to shake hands with Vice President Biden. Afterward, Hunter Biden met with Li for reportedly a social meeting. After the China trip, BHRs business license was approved. Then, in 2015, BHR joined with Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) to acquire Henniges, which was the biggest Chinese investment into US automotive manufacturing assets to date.'

The letter asked for any information regarding Hunter Bidens use of government-sponsored travel to help conduct private business, to include his work for Rosemont Seneca and related entities in China and Ukraine.

The letter stated that in order to help the committees better understand Hunter Bidens travel arrangements to conduct business related to his dealings in Ukraine and China, among other countries, while he received a protective detail, please provide the following information no later than February 19, 2020:

Please describe the protective detail that Hunter Biden received while his father was Vice President. Please provide a list of all dates and locations of travel, international and domestic, for Hunter Biden while he received a protective detail. In your response, please note whether his travel was on Air Force One or Two, or other government aircraft, as applicable and whether additional family members were present for each trip.

Hunter Bidens board seat with Burisma, one of the largest natural gas companies in Ukraine, along with Joe Bidens involvement in the politics of Ukraine, has received significant public attention. So far, less is known publicly about Hunter Bidens involvement in transactions with China which constitute the larger thrust of the Grassley-Johnson letter.

This is not the first request made by Johnson and Grassley. In November 2019, the Senators sent two separate letters regarding the activities of Hunter Biden.

A Nov. 6 letter was sent to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and noted reports that Hunter Bidens work for Burisma prompted concerns among State Department officials at the time that the connection could complicate Vice President Bidens diplomacy in Ukraine.

The letter touched on Hunter Bidens above-average compensation from Burisma and also discussed Joe Bidens role in the dismissal of Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor Shokin through the threat of withholding $1 billion in loan guarantees.

The letter also noted that emails recently obtained and made public through a Freedom of Information Act request indicate that Burismas consulting firm used Hunter Bidens role on Burismas board to gain access and potentially influence matters at the State Department.

The Nov. 6 letter asked what actions, if any, the Obama administration took to ensure that policy decisions relating to Ukraine and Burisma were not improperly influenced by the employment and financial interests of family members, and included a series of specific questions for Pompeo to answer. It also requested all State Department records relating to Hunter Biden, Devon Archer, Christopher Heinz and Karen Tramontano along with various corporate entities that were affiliated with Hunter Biden.

The final and seventh question of the Grassley-Johnson letter asked the following:

Has the State Department requested that the Office of the Legal Adviser or the Office of Inspector General review potential concerns and conflicts of interest related to Hunter Bidens work for Burisma while Vice President Biden reportedly acted as the United States top official in Ukraine? If not, why not?

Approximately one week later, Grassley and Johnson sent another letter on Nov. 15, this time to Ken Blanco, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The letter noted that the Senate Finance Committee and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee are conducting an investigation into potentially improper actions by the Obama administration with respect to Burisma Holdings (Burisma) and Ukraine.

The letter noted that Burismas consulting firm, Blue Star Strategies, used Hunter Bidens board membership to gain access to Obama administration officials at the State Department and potentially influence matters before government officials on behalf of Burisma. Grassley and Johnson noted that their committees had jurisdiction over the taxpayer-funded operations of the State Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The Nov. 15 letter asked Blanco for all Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) and related documents that had been filed regarding the following individuals or entities:

Hunter Biden Devon Archer Christopher Heinz (stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry) Karen Tramontano (CEO  Blue Star Strategies) Sally Painter (COO  Blue Star Strategies) Burisma Holdings Rosemont Seneca Partners Rosemont Seneca Bohaii LLC Rosemont Capital Bohai Harvest RST Blue Star Strategies

Yahoo News reported on Feb. 6 that the Treasury Department has complied with Republican senators requests for highly sensitive and closely held financial records about Hunter Biden and his associates and has turned over evidence of questionable origin to them.

Because of the one-day proximity to the Feb. 5 letter sent by Grassley and Johnson to James Murray, the Director of the U.S. Secret Service, there has been some confusion, with many concluding that the Yahoo News report was referring to this most recent letter.

In fact, the response of the Treasury Department refers to the Nov. 15 letter that was sent to Ken Blanco, the Director of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), that was discussed directly above.

As previously noted, the committees led by Grassley and Johnson have jurisdiction over the taxpayer-funded operations of the State Department and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
A Pennsylvania man allegedly flew into a jealous rage and beat his girlfriend to death after she received a text message from her ex, and then hailed Uber to drag her motionless body to a hospital.

Nicholas Forman, 23, has been arrested and charged by Montgomery County authorities in the brutal murder of 22-year-old Sabrina Harooni.

Forman, a resident of Perkiomen Township, faces first- and third-degree murder charges, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. He has yet to hire an attorney as of early Friday morning.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.

According to the arrest affidavit, Harooni was beaten so badly that her pupils were 'blown out' - which medical experts say is a sign of head trauma or a lack of oxygen.

Nicholas Forman (left), 23, of Perkiomen Township, Pennsylvania, faced first- and third-degree murder charges in the death of his girlfriend of seven months, Sabrina Harooni (right), 22

Forman is seen above being taken into custody by law enforcement officials in Montgomery County on Thursday

Forman hailed an Uber and took Harooni's motionless body to Pottstown Memorial Hospital on Monday, according to police.

At the hospital, Forman told medical staff that Harooni, his girlfriend of seven months, was attacked the night before by a group of women.

Doctors who examined Harooni found that she had been badly assaulted, having suffered severe head trauma.

Hospital staff told police that Harooni's body was 'ice cold' when it was dropped off by Forman.

She had suffered bruises to her neck and dried blood in the nose.

When a nurse tried to perform CPR on Harooni, she could feel fluid in her lungs.

Another nurse climbed on top of Harooni's body to continue CPR after she was moved to a stretcher.

According to police, Forman savagely beat Harooni (above) to death in his home late on Sunday night

Forman is alleged to have flown into a jealous rage after Harooni mentioned a text message she received from her ex-boyfriend on Sunday evening

Hospital officials said that Harooni was so badly beaten that her pupils had been 'blown out' - a sign of severe head trauma or a lack of oxygen

Police say Forman told medics that Harooni was in that condition 'for a while.'

In an interview with investigators, Forman said that on Sunday he and Harooni went to a bar in nearby Oaks, Pennsylvania, to watch the Super Bowl.

He claimed that while at the bar Harooni got into an argument with three women. Forman said he gave the women his address in case they wanted to meet Harooni there later to fight.

Forman allegedly told police that he chose not to get involved because he had already been on probation in Philadelphia from a previous 2017 arrest for driving under the influence and resisting arrest.

The police claim Forman told them that the women came over to the home and assaulted Harooni, who was badly injured in the fight.

He allegedly told investigators that she seemed fine until the next morning, when he decided to take her to the hospital due to her deteriorating condition.

But police also took statements from an Uber driver who transported the couple from the bar in Oaks.

Authorities accuse Forman of concocting a story about a group of women assaulting Harooni following an argument at a bar in Oaks, Pennsylvania, on Sunday

Police say they have cell phone video showing a bloodied and motionless Harooni lying on the grass while a male voice behind the camera says: 'This is what cheating liars get'

The driver told investigators that during the ride on Sunday, Harooni mentioned to Forman how she had received a text message from an ex-boyfriend.

Forman allegedly became angry and demanded to see Harooni's phone.

Harooni was frightened by Forman's behavior, according to the Uber driver, telling him: 'You're scaring me.'

The driver told police that when he pulled up to Forman's home in Perkiomen Township, Forman threatened Harooni, telling her he wouldn't allow her inside unless she gave him her phone, according to WCAU-TV.

According to police, the driver said he started driving up the street after dropping the couple off, but then drove back toward the residence.

He told police he could still hear the two arguing as he pulled his windows down.

The driver told investigators that Harooni may have pushed Forman, which prompted him to throw something in the street that broke.

The driver waited for another five-to-10 minutes until the arguing died down before driving away, he told police.

The next day, Forman hailed an Uber and brought a battered Harooni to the hospital.

Police conducted a search of Forman's home, where they found a large clump of hair similar to Harooni's on the street in front of the driveway.

Investigators also found a pillowcase and fitted sheet with blood on them, according to WCAU-TV.

Police said they also found several articles of clothing with dirt and blood stains.

After investigators obtained search warrants for two phones taken from Forman at the hospital, they found a photo taken just before midnight on Sunday of Harooni.

She appears unconscious and her hair is disheveled, according to authorities. Harooni is photographed laying down on the grass.

The cell phone also contained a video showing a motionless Harooni on the grass, her head bloodied, according to investigators.

A male voice is heard narrating, saying: 'This is what a cheating liar gets. You hear me? Cheating f*****g liar.'

The voice hurls other insults at Harooni as she is unable to respond.

Another photo taken just before 2:30am on Monday shows a woman who matches Harooni's description lying face-down inside Forman's home.

Forman was seen handcuffed and arrested on Thursday afternoon. As he is put into a police car, he hurls several profanities at media reporters.
Customers wear masks as they pick facial tissues in a supermarket, following the outbreak of a new coronavirus, in Hong Kong, China on Feb. 7, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Hongkongers Buy Up Essentials as Coronavirus Fears Mount

HONG KONGPanicky Hong Kong residents scooped noodles, rice, meat and toilet paper into shopping carts on Feb. 7 despite government assurances of ample supplies during an outbreak of a new coronavirus that started in mainland China.

Chinese-ruled Hong Kong has reported 25 cases of the fast-spreading virus and one of only two deaths outside mainland China.

Everyones snatching whatever they can get. I dont even know whats going on, said a 72-year-old woman surnamed Li as she clutched two bags of toilet paper.

The government has condemned malicious rumors about shortages which have led to panic buying and even chaos, while supermarkets have put limits on the amount of products, including antiseptics, that people can buy.

But hundreds of shoppers thronged city supermarkets again on Friday, loading up their shopping carts.

Panic also hit Taiwan the same day, with local media reporting supermarkets having their shelves cleared on rumors that stepped-up production of face masks would lead to a shortage of raw materials to make toilet paper.

This is totally false  the raw materials for toilet paper and face masks are different. Please do not believe rumors, President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page.

Hong Kongs health scare comes after months of pro-democracy protests in the former British colony over fears its special autonomy is being whittled away by Beijing.

Worry over the virus has led to new friction, with many people, particularly medical workers, demanding that the city government seal the border with the mainland.

Hong Kong has closed some cross-border links but has said completely sealing it would be inappropriate, impractical and discriminatory.

On Saturday, Hong Kong will introduce quarantine for two weeks for all people arriving from the mainland, or who have been there during the last 14 days.

Matthew Cheung, chief secretary for administration, said that Hong Kong people returning from the mainland must stay home for a fortnight or risk a HK$25,000 ($3,200) fine and 6 months jail.

Non-Hong Kong residents must stay in government isolation centers or hotel rooms for the same period, facing the same penalties.

Self discipline and having everybody in Hong Kong fighting  this infectious disease is the most important thing, said Sophia Chan, the citys health secretary.

Thousands of hospital workers, who had been on strike this week to press the government to close the border, voted to suspend their action on Friday night.

They said they would continue to pressure the government for tighter measures, however.

City authorities said they were conducting checks for the virus on a quarantined cruise ship carrying some 3,600 people that docked in Hong Kong this week.

Health officials are trying to trace people who had traveled on the ship, many of whom disembarked in Hong Kong in January.
Feb 6 (Reuters) - China's Huishang Bank on Thursday announced a proposal to take over four branches of troubled lender Baoshang Bank.

Under the proposed deal, Huishang will buy the bank's assets outside Inner Mongolia Autonomous region and take over the business and employees of Baoshang's Beijing, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Ningbo branch.

Baoshang Bank became the first high-profile case of China's small lender crisis as financial regulators took control of the lender in May last year due to "serious" credit risks, rattling domestic markets and prompting the central bank to inject cash into the banking system to prevent contagion risks. ($1 = 6.9709 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Shriya Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Alex Richardson)
A 59-year-old Belfast man is to stand trial for allegedly making indecent movies of children, a judge ordered today.

Jonathan Miskimmin appeared before the city's Magistrates Court to face a total of eight charges.

The defendant, of Shore Crescent, is accused of making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of a child on dates between October 2016 and February 2017.

Each of the alleged offences involve either movies or images of different categories on a laptop computer.

Miskimmin confirmed that he understood the charges during a preliminary enquiry to establish if the case should proceed.

He declined to give evidence or call witnesses at this stage.

No objection was raised to prosecution submissions that he has a case to answer.

On that basis District Judge Peter Magill granted an application to have Miskimmin returned for Crown Court trial.

Releasing the accused on continuing bail, Mr Magill told him: "You will be given a date for your arraignment."
What if you get stuck on the highway in a storm? Here are some tips
The central Chinese city of Wuhan has set up 11 new makeshift hospitals as of Feb. 5 in order to accommodate the large numbers of coronavirus patients.

Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province. According to the provincial government-run media Hubei Daily, the 11 new facilities have a total capacity of 10,100 beds.

They are mostly set up within stadiums, exhibition centers, and school gyms within the city.

The citys Wuhan Coronavirus Command Center released regulations on Feb. 5, explaining that coronavirus patients with mild or moderate symptoms would be sent to the makeshift hospitals.

Patients in severe condition or who are older than 65 would stay at the 14 hospitals and two newly-built hospitals designated for treating the coronavirus. Patients suspected of having coronavirus and some confirmed patients with mild symptoms will be isolated in community quarantine centers, most of which are hotels converted in response to the outbreak.

State-run media Xinhua reported that there are plans to build 12 more of such makeshift hospitals in Wuhan.

Commonly known in China as battlefield hospitals, these facilities are often used during wartime or natural disasters to efficiently care for the wounded and sick. Beds are arranged row by row in an open space.

State media revealed photos and videos of the facilities, which showed that the beds did not have any physical barriers separating them, save for several boards to wall off a group of about a dozen beds.

Chinese netizens expressed concerns that cross-contamination could take place.

On Feb. 4, Chinese state-run media dismissed those claims, saying doctors would ensure it would not happen.

But Sean Lin, a U.S.-based expert in microbiology and former virology researcher for the U.S. Army, explained that such makeshift facilities should have been set up earlier in the response to the outbreak.

Lin said that in a situation where thousands are infected and many residents cannot get treatment due to overfilled hospitals, such venues could allow medical staff to take care of more patients efficiently.

For example, a nurse can distribute medicine more easily using a cart, delivering to dozens of patients within several minutes.

But the Wuhan government is too late. It should have set up these hospitals before locking down the citya measure that indicates the disease had already spread widely and could not be contained, Lin said.

Upon observing the facilities photos and videos, Lin noted that the distance between the beds was too close, risking cross-infection. The distance between two beds should be at least three feet.

He added that medical staff should be alert about patients whose conditions are worsening, as they are likely to be more contagious due to active viruses in his body, which could potentially spread through bodily fluids, airborne particles, or stool.

Once a patients condition turns to severe, medical staff must remove this patient to a designated hospital as soon as possible, Lin said.

The Wuhan government first reported the outbreak on Dec. 31, 2019, though official data shows that authorities knew of a human-to-human transmission prior to that date. The virus has since spread all around China and to more than 20 other countries.

From The Epoch Times
Residents of Pakawa, Pipeline in Nakuru County, Kenya are in shock after a mutilated body of a young woman was found in her house on Wedneday.

Ms Agnes Muthoni, who is the caretaker of the plot where the deceased lived, said that the young woman, identified as Mebo Ayuma, cohabited with her boyfriend, Alex Likodo.

On Sunday, Ms Muthoni said the two lovers had quarreled on Sunday after Ayuma slept out. It was the last time the caretaker recalled seeing Ayuma.

Ayumas mother, Ruth Anyenda, said that she decided to travel from Molo to check on her daughter after several missed calls.



On arrival, she said she found the house locked and immediately reported to the Pakawa Police Station where officers allowed to gain access through the window.

Upon opening the curtain of the house, Anyenda was met by a foul smell and the horrible scene of her daughter lying on the bed with visible marks on the face and neck.

The teary mother revealed to K24 Digital that her daughters boyfriend went home on Tuesday and committed suicide in a forest in Elburgon. His suicide raised the red flag since Ayuma had not been picking her calls.

Ayumas body was taken to Nakuru Municipal Mortuary as police investigate the incident.

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Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday after a phone conversation with Chinese President Xi Jinping that Beijing is showing "great discipline" in tackling the coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 600 people in China.

"Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone," Trump said on Twitter https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1225728756456808448.

"Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!" (Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Catherine Evans)
 Flash

Thailand has given strong support and sincere assistance to China since the novel coronavirus outbreak, and the traditional friendship between the two countries will grow even stronger amid the difficulties, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the remarks at a press briefing online when responding to a question about Thailand not taking any measures to restrict the entry of Chinese citizens since the onset of the epidemic.

"China and Thailand share true friendship as revealed during time of hardship. As a friendly neighbor and a partner of comprehensive strategic cooperation, Thailand has given strong support and sincere assistance to China," Hua said.

Hua noted that Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Queen Suthida and the Thai government had donated medical supplies to China. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said in a video "Stay strong, China; Thailand stands with you." People from all walks of life in Thailand have also shown their care and support through various means including the social media.

"We believe our traditional friendship will grow even stronger amid the difficulties and the two peoples will stand in greater solidarity," Hua said.
TEMPE, Ariz. - The CEO and founder of an organic fertilizer company says he was fired after he was caught on camera using a racial slur against an African-American driver of a ride-hailing service.

AgroPlasma Inc. founder Hans Berglund was caught on video Friday cursing at 25-year-old Uber driver Randy Clarke in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.

Clarke, who is also a student at Arizona State University, asked Berglund to sit in the back seat and offered to refund him if he didnt want to sit there, he said.

A camera installed above the dashboard captured the incident.

The video shows Berglund started to curse at Clarke, local news outlets said.

Clarke said he assumed Berglund read the statement on his driver profile telling passengers about his policy that states the front seat is reserved to parties of three or more.

Clarke started the policy after he was assaulted during a ride in 2018, he told KNXV-TV.

Its so blown out of proportion, and its ruined my life. Its ruined my company. It ruins everything about my situation right now, Berglund said.

Clarke and civil-rights activist the Rev. Jarrett Maupin held a news conference outside Tempe City Hall, near one of ASUs Phoenix-area campuses, on Wednesday to demand justice.

Its shocking when you see anyone use that word or engage in that kind of racism in any circumstance, Maupin said. Theres really no excuse for why Hans Berglund engaged in the activity and used the language that he did with Mr. Clark.

Clarke, Maupin and their lawyer are now asking the state attorney generals office and city of Tempe, where the company is located, to investigate possible civil and human rights violations.

Grant Klinzman, a spokesman for Uber, said in a statement Thursday that discrimination has no place on the Uber app or anywhere.

Whats been described is a clear violation of our community guidelines and we launched an investigation as soon as we learned of it, Klinzman added.

Clarke said Uber reached out to him Monday to tell him that Berglunds account was temporarily placed on hold during the investigation.

A statement from Agroplasma said the incident does not reflect its values and ethics. Our relationships with our employees, customers and the community are the cornerstones of our success, and we are doing everything in our power to rebuild their trust and repair the harm that has resulted from this incident.

Company General Manager Jeffrey Ziehmer was named Interim CEO, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 20:30:31|Editor: huaxia

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TIANJIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin port ranked the first in liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports last year, accounting for 10.77 percent of country's total port imports of LNG, according to the Tianjin Customs Friday.

LNG imports through the Tianjin port surged by 56 percent to 10.2 million tonnes in 2019, with the total value reaching 32.7 billion yuan (about 4.7 billion U.S. dollars).

The LNG imported through Tianjin port came from 10 countries, including Australia, Russia and Nigeria.

As an efficient and green energy source, the imported LNG ensures the supply for winter heating and new energy vehicles like LNG buses in northern China.
A LOCAL businessman, accused of fuelling the forex black market, has been arrested for alleged money laundering and externalisation of over US$1,3 million.





Ismail Moosa Lunat (57) of Kumalo suburb was arrested by officials from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) on Thursday.





He appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Mr Tinashe Tashaya facing money laundering charges and was remanded in custody to Monday for bail hearing.





Lunat is no stranger to the courts as he has pending cases that include fraud for allegedly selling one property worth US$1,3 million to two different individuals.





Prosecuting, Mr George Rufumoyo said Lunat is facing criminal charges for offences dating back to 2018.





It is alleged that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe at some point in December 2018 raised a red flag over Lunats use of his company bank account to engage in illicit transactions.





The State alleges that Lunat is one of the businesspeople who have been under scrutiny by the central bank for fuelling the foreign currency black market, a move which has contributed to the spiralling of rates on the parallel market. On December 5, 2018, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe raised an alarm to the effect that the accused person used his company, Rollright Consultancy NMB account number 00002101194387 to peddle in illicit financial flows through illegally engaging in trade or exchange of money.





This resulted in thousands of United states dollars being externalised outside Zimbabwe while various amounts were channelled into the black market in Zimbabwe, said the prosecutor.





Mr Rufumoyo further alleges that at the time when the offence was committed, Lunat and his accomplices (names not provided in court) received US$1 349 495.24 through his company and he transferred the money into several individuals and companies bank accounts.





Lunat through his legal representative Mr Nqobani Sithole of Ncube Attorneys accused Zacc and the State of confusion and overzealousness in the matter, saying they failed to do proper investigations as the matter was already under investigation by the ZRP Commercial Crimes Division.





You are overzealous, you started to investigate the case in the beginning of February and you are saying you have overwhelming evidence. This means you have a shallow understanding of the case because the CID Commercial Crimes Division is working on the matter and you took it over from them without a clear understanding of the case, said the lawyer.





Mr Sithole said despite the fact that Lunat is facing a serious offence, he deserves to be granted bail as he never fled. He never escaped any jurisdiction for the previous cases he faced. He does not have any travel documents which means he cannot abscond court orders, he said.




(JNS)We have now seen and heard the primary official details of the deal of the century, and it is, indeed, a bad deal for Israel.

Presumably, the intentions that led to the formulation of the plan, the formal title of which is Peace to Prosperity: A Vision to Improve the Lives of the Palestinian and Israeli People, were good; however, the plan displays a lack of basic understanding regarding the essence of the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel is the sole homeland of the Jewish people. The Land of Israel belongs to usto the generations that preceded us and the generations that have yet to come.

One does not make deals regarding ones homeland.

Any compromise regarding this absolute, historic principle, any agreement to relinquish sections of our land, will be interpreted by history as an admission that the occupation falsehood is true. A people cannot be an occupier of its own land. A people does not willingly relinquish its heartland. Beyond its historical significance, this concession has very severe security ramifications, as concession, especially in the Middle East, is interpreted as weakness, and as such encourages attack.

Should a Palestinian state be created, we are liable to find ourselves in a situation several times more severe than the one we face in Gaza, as the missiles will be much more advanced, much more deadly and especially, much closer to the densely populated center of the country.

The objective of sovereignty and the Sovereignty Movement is the realization of the right of the Jewish people to the entire Land of Israel. This is due to a moral obligation based on history, Jewish law and international law. All this is to ensure the independence and security of the Land of Israel and the Jewish people residing in it.

A necessary corollary of these objectives is preventing the delusional and dangerous idea of establishing a Palestinian state, abrogation of the Oslo Accords, stopping the Arab land grab, and the generous planning of the National Outline Plan for the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel, a plan based on Israeli sovereignty and a solid Jewish majority between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River.

The deal presented by U.S. President Donald Trump does not meet the essential requirements for the future of the Jewish people. It runs contrary to the objectives noted here, and consequently, we must forcefully reject it.

Israel must not be drawn into an agreement in principle to this proposal on the basis of long familiarity with Arab rejectionism. Israel cannot base its Zionist vision and its future on the incidental rejectionism of one Arab leader or the agreement of another. The Zionist vision and the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel are substantial matters of principle that are not currency to be used in any deal.

Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar are co-chairs of the Sovereignty Movement founded by Women in Green.
WASHINGTON - Donald Trumps impeachment ended with a reminder of why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi resisted the idea for so long  an acquittal everyone saw coming, followed by a bombastic presidential victory lap and a bump in his poll numbers just as the 2020 campaign officially began.

Now Democrats have to decide how to navigate the legislative and political landscape that theyve helped reshape.

Pelosis nationally televised ripping of her copy of Trumps State of the Union address Tuesday night underscored the acrid atmosphere that will make partisan co-operation on any issue difficult. Major legislative compromises were always going to be hard this election year, but the impeachment fight only deepened partisan bitterness and made progress less likely.

Because we have to, No. 2 House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said when asked how Congress and Trump could co-operate on health care and other issues. He added, Id be foolish to be optimistic because we have not done that so far.

Democrats must also decide how vigorously to continue investigations, including into impeachments focus: Trumps effort to pressure Ukraines leaders to bolster his reelection by seeking dirt on rival Joe Biden. The GOP-controlled Senate acquitted Trump on Wednesday of both articles of impeachment, with Utah Sen. Mitt Romney the sole lawmaker defying party lines.

Former White House national security adviser John Bolton could still have damaging information about Trump and has expressed a willingness to testify if subpoenaed. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday that House panels would likely summon Bolton and pursue other Trump probes as well.

When you have a lawless president, you have to bring that to the fore, you have to spotlight that, Nadler said.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday, Trump pushed back once again and argued that his impeachment should be expunged from the congressional record. He also claimed that he was willing to work with Democrats, but then accused the partys elected leaders of suffering from Trump derangement syndrome.

Theyve got a bad case of it, Trump said. That was on display the other night when (Pelosi) ripped up the speech. That was terrible ... so disrespectful to our country. He added that the Democrats were not constructive people.

Even as they consider the path ahead, neither Pelosi nor Democrats controlling the House are second-guessing their decision to impeach Trump.

Pelosi stood as a bulwark against impeachment for months as pro-impeachment sentiment rose steadily in her caucus, but when Trumps dealings with Ukraine came to light in September, the floodgates were forced open.

Once Ukraine happened, we had no choice but to proceed, said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.

And had we not (acted), Welch added, there would have been a huge price to pay politically.

While thats a popular view with Democrats dominant liberal wing, many think an overemphasis on Trump investigations risks feeding the Republican narrative that overreaching Democrats are obsessed with pursuing him. They also worry about detracting from Democrats focus on pocketbook issues that helped them capture House control in the 2018 elections.

Im hoping thats a side show, and the big show is lets work for the American people on issues like health care and infrastructure, said Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., co-chairman of the Blue Dog Coalition, which represents around 25 moderate House Democrats.

Assessing impeachments political impact ahead of Novembers elections is at least as fraught.

Democrats say say despite Trumps acquittal, the trial trained prolonged attention on his sordid behaviour and lashed GOP senators to him with their votes absolving him. They say that will weaken their reelection bids of GOP senators in swing states like Colorado, Maine and Arizona.

This reinforced the view that Trump is unethical and lacking in integrity, said Democratic pollster Geoffrey Garin. And its exposed a number of Republican senators as hacks beholden to the president and Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader from Kentucky whom Democrats love to target.

Republicans counter that the effort has electrified GOP voters just months before Election Day, citing a Gallup Poll showing Trump with a 49% job approval rating, the highest of his presidency. They say Pelosi made tactical errors that exposed Democrats impeachment drive as a blatantly political exercise, in the process weakening more than two dozen House Democrats from Trump-won districts.

The President has his highest approval rating since hes been in office, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. I can tell you as a poll watcher whos looking at polls in certain Senate races every one of our people in tough races, every one of them, is in better shape today than they were before the impeachment trial started.

Republicans were especially critical of House Democrats decision to not fight more in the courts to obtain testimony and documents. Democrats said they dropped such efforts because Trump could have forced legal battles lasting months, effectively derailing the impeachment effort. Republicans said that decision made it easy to portray Democrats as caring less about a serious investigation than politics.

You didnt even bother to pull all the levers, said Scott Jennings, a longtime political adviser to McConnell.

Many Democrats say there would have been no way to prevent Republicans from complaining that the investigation was political and lacked sufficient evidence.

Theyd have said that if youd produced volumes more evidence, said John Lawrence, Pelosis chief of staff for eight years ending in 2013.

And while Democrats collected compelling evidence against Trump, they made the mistake of thinking theyd win by appealing broadly to voters, said Brendan Buck, a GOP consultant whos advised congressional leaders. Republicans prevailed by aiming their arguments at the GOPs core conservative supporters, a tactic that has driven Trumps presidency.

Democrats seemed to play by the old rules and the president played by the new rules, Buck said.

One moderate House Democrat said Democrats facing difficult reelection fights from Trump-leaning districts think Pelosi made tactical decisions that could jeopardize them.

That includes her one-month delay in formally sending the Houses impeachment articles to the Senate. That fed the GOP argument that the effort was political, said the Democrat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

This Democrat said lawmakers also recoiled at Pelosis decision to sign the impeachment articles and distribute pens as mementos to colleagues. The Democrat said voters in their districts often cited that televised ceremony as evidence that impeachment was politically motivated.

They ran as, Im not just a regular Democrat, Ill reach across party lines, said former Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., who once ran the House GOPs campaign organization. And here they are impeaching the president like this.

One thing many from both parties agree on: By November, impeachment could well be superseded by other issues and will likely be conflated into an overall referendum on Trump.

My honest guess is that the public will very rapidly turn to kitchen table issues, said former Rep. David Obey, D-Wis.
The U.S. Air Force has issued a draft study on the impact of basing a squadron of F-35A Lightning II fighter jets at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and three other bases.

The public is invited to review and comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the proposed operational basing of an Air Force Reserve F-35A squadron at a public hearing at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, March 10 at the Tucson Convention Center.

Release of the study doesnt mean F-35s will be coming to Davis-Monthan anytime soon.

In 2017, the Air Force passed over D-M and two other bases and chose Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth as its preferred site for the first Reserve squadron of F-35As.

But under its routine policy, the Air Force Reserve Command has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement studying each of the finalist sites as viable alternatives, including D-M.

The study shows "significant noise impacts" of a squadron of 24 F-35A replacing 24 existing A-10 jets at D-M and at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.
Photo: BCCOS

The B.C. Conservation Officer Service is making another plea to Kelowna residents to consider replacing their wrought-iron fences.

Conservation officers have dealt with several calls recently where deer have become impaled by pointed wrought-iron fences, the agency said on Facebook Thursday.

The fences can cause the animals to suffer while they struggle to free themselves, often dying stuck on the fence or once conservation officers arrive and are forced to euthanize them.

BCCOS notes the situation is happening in communities across the province, but highlighted Kelowna as of particular concern. Local conservation officers called for a bylaw in Kelowna last year to prevent the installation of the style of fence.

Wrought-iron fences are commonly seen as causing injuries to deer but many railing patterns, particularly those with pointed pickets rising above the top rail, are the most likely to hurt an animal, BCCOS said Thursday.

Residents are asked to consider cutting the fence spears off or place boards on top of the fence.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan, who was responsible for the terror attacks on Malala Yousafzai and at the Peshawar Army School, has escaped from the custody of military in Pakistan.

In an audio recording released on Thursday and shared via an online private messaging platform, Ehsanullah claimed that he along with his family had managed to escape from the custody of Pakistan Army and intelligence agencies on January 11.



Top sources in Pakistan confirmed that Ehsanullah has escaped from a safe house, a bungalow on Warsak road in Peshawar, where he was detained along with his wife and two daughters. The house is near the same Army school which was attacked by TTP in 2014, killing around 150 children, sources said. However, there was no security when he fled the house.



The Pakistan Army got to know about his escape on January 12 and soon after raided his home in Sagibala village in Mohamand tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.





His father Sher Mohamad, brother Shafiq and uncle Sher Badshah were arrested and are being interrogated, sources said, adding that an investigation into the matter has also been initiated.



Sources said the former spokesperson of TTP has crossed the border and is now at a safe place in Afghanistan. He will soon release a video with more details about his captors, a source in Pakistan said.



Ehsanullah, also the spokesperson of another dreaded group Jamaat ul Ahrar, is responsible for several terror attacks in Pakistan and had a bounty of $ 1 million on him. In 2012, he was involved in the attack on Malala, who later won the Nobel prize for peace. She was shot in the head for defying Taliban diktats and pursuing her education and highlighting the atrocities of the militant outfit.



Ehsanullah is also a prime accused in the 2014 attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar which killed 134 school children and 15 staff members.



Ehsanullah was involved in the suicide bombing of Shiites in Rawalpindi and Karachi, killing of nine foreign tourists and their guide in Gilgit-Baltistan area, twin blasts targeting peace committee volunteers in Mohmand agency, suicide attack near the Wagah border and the 2016 bombing of an Easter gathering in a Lahore park that killed at least 75 people and injured more than 300 others.



In 2017, he surrendered before the Pakistan Army under "mysterious circumstances". Soon after his surrender, a Pakistani TV channel was allowed to interview Ehsanullah who at the time claimed that he was working for India's external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW). However, after three years in custody, Pakistan Army was yet to file a charge-sheet against him, sources in Islamabad said.



The sources also confirmed that the audio clipping was Ehsanullah's voice. Speaking in Urdu, Ehsanullah claimed that he had followed the law in the last three years but Pakistan's dishonest and corrupt institutions had betrayed him.



Ehsanullah said he was forced to give statements, perhaps alluding to the TV news interview, under an agreement between him and Pakistani authorities but none of the promises were kept.



The agreement had been arranged by an influential person, he said, adding that he would soon answer all the questions related to his confinement and also expose all the plans of the Pakistani intelligence agencies.
Photo credit: Luis Mazon

From ELLE

ELLE's new series Clothes of Our Lives decodes the sartorial choices made by powerful womenand explores why fashion is often on the front lines of communication. Today, we sat down with New York Times foreign correspondent Rukmini Callimachi to find out what she wears to interview the world's most dangerous terrorists.



Last year I flew to the Central Asian country of Tajikistan to sit-down with a foreign fighter for ISIS named Hussein Abdusamadov. He was sentenced to life in prison for ordering the brutal murder of two American bicyclists.



The interview was a major get. It was the first time in over a decade someone from The New York Times had been able to go to Tajikistanand Hussein wasn't just any foreign fighter. He had joined the external operations arm of ISIS, the same wing that carried out the devastating Paris attack and the Brussels attack. He was sent back to his home country of Tajikistan with explicit instruction to find Westerners and kill them. Which he did.

When we met in a dark and damp prison in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, I knew the way I presented myself was vital in getting Hussein to open up to me. He has an animus towards people of my culture, and it was important that he saw me as somebody to be taken seriously, and also as somebody that would not be disrespectful of his world views.

Photo credit: Luis Mazon

For the interview, I chose jeans, black booties, and a trusty navy blue tunic from Ann Taylor, which has traveled with me all over the world from Iraq to Syria to Lebanon.

Everyone thinks about their appearances at work. For women in journalism, we often find ourselves tip-toeing a fine sartorial line between looking feminine and serious, but not stodgy. For female reporters covering Islamic extremism it's on an entirely different level. We mostly interact with men, like Hussein, who are used to seeing women completely covered up. The fact that I rarely cover my head, and never cover my face, is already a transgression to them. I never want to push the boundaries and also show my arms, which would draw unnecessary attention to myself. I have to think both about looking serious and looking feminine. I enjoy being feminine, but if that dial goes one turn too far, I enter into an area where people don't take me seriously. They just see me as a girl.

Story continues

Photo credit: Hearst Owned

I prefer clothing with long sleeves that buttons all the way up past my collarbone. When I'm in a place where it's dusty and dirty and dangerous, I avoid light colors, because I don't want to have something on that immediately looks worn.



In war-torn areas like Syria, I also avoid primary colors that can be seen from a long distance. When I was there in February covering the battle to take back the last village under ISIS control, I avoided reds and bright blues and greens. This is something our security advisers at the Times impressed on us: wear colors that, at some level, exist in nature, because you want to blend in.

Photo credit: Hearst Owned

I aim to look serious and disciplined and respectful of the culture I'm in. But I also need to be in something that isn't suffocatingly hot or uncomfortable, because I'm often in warm climates.

Truthfully, it's not easy to find something that ticks all of these boxes. I got lucky two years ago when I discovered the Ann Taylor tunic at a mall in New Jersey. It's a dark color, which is perfect, with long sleeves and high collar.

I loved it so much, I went back to the same store a month later, and purchased a second one. Now, I bring them both with me on reporting trips. After a day in the field, I hand wash the tunic, hang it to dry in the shower on a hanger, and rotate in the clean one the next day.

In Tajikistan, Hussein told me he stood by what he had done. He had absolutely no remorse for murdering innocent Americans and, given the chance, said he would do it again. As disconcerting as his words were, the revealing interview was a big success because he owned up to what he did.

Photo credit: Hearst Owned

Photo credit: Hearst Owned





I conduct dozens of interviews with ISIS members, and usually they're afraid of the consequences they're about to face or worried about skewing their court trial. They deny what they did or minimize or lie about their actions. But Hussein came out and not only said that he would do it again, but that he would also kill me if he could. It was very matter of fact. To me, it showed deep radicalization. He was so inside their system of thought that he was convinced what he did wasn't just right, but a favor to the world.



When I speak with extremists, I don't want them to get distracted by the fact that I am a woman. In fact, the goal is to not think about how I look at all. If they did, they wouldn't talk to me at all. In that way, my tunic helps allow me to do my job.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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The current atmosphere of crisis and conflict on America's college campuses was kicked off by the troubles at the University of Missouri-Columbia ("Mizzou") during the 2015-2016 academic year. Many will remember the infamous video of Professor Melissa Click calling for "some muscle" to prevent journalists from covering the protests, a harbinger of the campus free-speech crisis.
Singer Mama Alto is a trans woman of colour. "I'm definitely on that feminine side of the spectrum that is gender," she says, pinning flowers to her hair when on stage. She describes herself as "jazz singer, cabaret artiste and gender-transcendent diva", partly because her philosophy is that, whatever gender each of us feels or knows we are, "we're all unique in the way we experience and live our genders, and that's a beautiful thing".

This year, the Sydney Mardi Gras has a strong emphasis on transgender rights, and many trans and gender-diverse people will be telling stories of their rites of passage and liberated lives to promote understanding, achieve law reform and equity with other people, improve health and save lives. Mama Alto is co-creator with Maude Davey of the all-star cabaret Gender Euphoria, featuring a rainbow of performers whose gender identities range the spectrum.

Mama Alto.

"Australian culture hates when people play the victim, and try to be the most oppressed of anyone," Alto says. "That's what we're often told whenever we stand up to injustice. That fuelled part of our idea to make a show that was entirely joyous, euphoric and enlightening. We thought, OK, if you don't want us to play the victim, we're going to show you how fabulous we are, and maybe you can get on board with that'."

Mama Alto got her name by merging two nicknames while growing up in Melbourne. First came "Alto" because she was placed in the alto section, the lowest female part, in school and extracurricular choirs. Then came "Mama": first because she was bossy and clucky like a mother hen, and second because she sang in an old-fashioned jazz or red-hot mama style like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe or Marlene Dietrich.
Mr. Salvinis critics see a more straightforward case of his breaking the law, not to mention disregarding the dire human suffering of those on board the ships he left floating at sea, and of a judicial system doing its job to hold him accountable. They are doubtful that Mr. Salvini will actually vote for the case to go ahead in another legislative step on Feb. 12. His office says it is still evaluating what to do.

Either way, Mr. Salvini, despite his complaint about having to eat breakfast with his lawyer rather than his girlfriend, is now relishing the opportunity.

In the politics of persecution, Mr. Salvini has few peers, having picked up where Silvio Berlusconi left off. The media magnate and former conservative prime minister spent decades excoriating Italys prosecutors as the countrys Communist opposition  to great political fortune.

Mr. Salvini has replaced Mr. Berlusconi as the de facto leader of the Italian right, though he has sat on the sidelines since his coalition government collapsed last summer.

Before then, in one of his last official acts, Mr. Salvini prevented the Italian Coast Guard ship, the Gregoretti, from bringing rescued migrants to an Italian port for days.

On Dec. 17, a court in the southern city of Catania asked a panel in the Italian Senate to lift Mr. Salvinis immunity and allow him to be prosecuted for abducting the migrants by refusing to let the Gregoretti dock.

On Jan. 31, a Palermo court made a similar request concerning a Spanish aid boat carrying scores of migrants, some of whom Mr. Salvini kept adrift for weeks, in violation of a court order allowing them to enter Italian waters.
Laredo country lovers were out in numbers last Friday night as the Casablanca Event Center hosted the Stockman's Ball.

READ MORE: Laredo does brunch, rocks out over the weekend

Accomplished country stars Clay Hollis and Jon Wolfe provided the music for the night, getting Laredo audiences out on the dance floor.

Wolfe, who hails from Oklahoma, but made his name playing the Texas honky tonk circuit, is on the cusp of releasing a live album recorded in the legendary Gruene Hall.

Clay Hollis hails from the Rio Grande Valley, with a mother from Laredo and a father from Dallas. He's new to the country scene, having released his debut EP in 2017, but has already starting picking up acclaim.

The event was held in partnership with Border Olympics, Texas Community Bank and Token Car Wash.

READ MORE: Cody Johnson kicked off the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo with a Texas-sized bang

The annual ball serves as a fundraiser for the Border Olympics organization.
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If the current situation prevails, exports to China could fall by 10-15 per cent. Meanwhile, even the prices of cotton, of which Gujarat is one of the leading producers, have taken a hit.

With Chinese markets remaining closed amid the coronavirus outbreak, commodity exports from Gujarat, especially those of cumins, sesame seeds and groundnut oil, could take a 10-15 per cent hit over the next two months or so.

According to traders and exporters, China accounts for 20 per cent to 30 per cent of Indias export of some key commodities.

Each of these could fall by 10-15 per cent if the current situation prevails.

Chinese markets typically remain closed in January for Chinese Lunar New Year holidays.

This year, however, markets are yet to reopen amid precautionary measures in in view of the outbreak of coronavirus from Wuhan.

With the Chinese administration choosing to prolong the market closure in a bid to control the outbreak, the export of various commodities from India has suffered.

"Usually, these holidays last for five days. But this time markets have been closed for almost a fortnight. People are also choosing to stay at home wearing masks.

"We are in touch with fellow commodity traders in China over video calls, but the situation seems indefinite.

"Exports could be take a 10-15 per cent hit," says Vijay Joshi, president of the Unjha Commodity Association. Unjha is one of the largest cumin seed hubs in the country.

Roughly, 150,000 tonnes of cumin seeds are exported every year, a third of which (50,000 tonnes) goes to China alone.

Typically, 10 containers carrying 2,600 tonnes of produce are exported daily.

There has been a standstill on due to the outbreak.

Similarly, the export of sesame seeds to China, which accounts of 20 per cent of total sesame exports, has also taken a hit.

If the current situation prevails, exports to China could fall by 10-15 per cent, says Ashwin Nayak, chairman of the Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS).

"Indias total sesame seed exports tend to be around 250,000 tonnes annually.

"Of this, 20 per cent goes to China. If the situation prevails even for a month or two, this could come down by 10-15 per cent," Nayak adds.

The scenario, however, is not so grim for groundnut oil exports, according to Sameer Shah, president of Saurashtra Oil Mills Association (Soma).

"Compared with Diwali of 2019, groundnut oil exports from Gujarat have in the first three months itself have already exceeded the total exports of last year, with China accounting for nearly 90 per cent.

"Hence, even if the exports slow down now, it may pick up later during the year," says Shah.

However, Shah adds that buying in China has slowed down significantly, though are there enquiries.

Meanwhile, even the prices of cotton, of which Gujarat is one of the leading producers, have taken a hit - down from Rs 41,000 per candy of 356 kg to Rs 39,000 - due to an uncertainty over new export orders.

Photograph: Fayaz Kabli/Reuters
Solutions featured in the booth include full range of Scala-branded hardware and preview of cloud-based Scala Designer digital signage software

SITTARD, Netherlands, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Scala will debut marketing technology that modernizes physical spaces and increases consumer engagement at "the largest AV and systems integration show in the world," Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2020. Solutions from Scala's full scope of marketing technology including software, hardware and sensor-based insights will be on display, highlighting how physical spaces can be modernized and messaging personalized on any display, to deliver exceptional consumer experiences. Scala, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, can be found in booth E160 in Hall 8 at ISE 2020, being held 11-14 February in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Booth highlights include:

Scala-branded hardware solutions

Media players: Scala media players are featured in the booth, including single-, double- and quad-output players, designed for performance, stability and compatibility while ensuring the reliable, timely delivery of rich media experiences.

High-quality displays: In January 2020, STRATACACHE announced a partnership with BOE Technology Group, the global leader in the semiconductor display industry, to bring Scala-branded high-quality display to market, which "unlock new functionality and capabilities including advanced power management, intelligent retail sensor support and extended lifecycle products for commercial 24x7 always-on use" to market. Learn more about the partnership here .

Preview of cloud-based Scala Designer

Scala will preview a new cloud-based version of Scala Designer, a flexible, web-based composition and design tool that enables users to create beautiful and engaging digital signage experiences. The tool uses established workflow and usability patterns to distribute projects to a Scala Enterprise solution.

Shopper and store operations dashboards

Experts will show how to leverage the power of real-time retail analytics, mobile sensors and artificial intelligence, using STRATACACHE's in-house platforms from Walkbase and X2O Media, to optimize location-based messaging and deliver exceptional experiences. X2O Media will also demonstrate the power of real-time business intelligence on any screen in their own ISE booth G120 in Hall 11. Learn more here .

"Scala offers not only a best-in-class content management software suite, we're expanding our full solution offering by bringing all-in-one intelligent tablets to the marketplace, a direct response to a market need. Customers can combine high-performance computing with a slim design to deliver interactive retail experiences. The tablets deliver commercial-grade reliability for applications such as digital signage, self-service kiosks and interactive guided selling," says Harry Horn, General Manager EMEA at Scala. "Next to that we now are providing an extensive range of Scala-branded digital displays, providing high quality playback with unmatched optical clarity in a variety of sizes. The displays are designed with a slim bezel, commercial-grade durability in any environment and extended lifecycle products for commercial 24x7 always-on use. Our software, hardware, tablets, displays and professional services and support are meeting the continually evolving needs of our global clients from innovative brands, retailers, banks, large corporate communications networks and partners."

To learn more about the Scala booth, including retail store-focused shopping concepts, visit https://www.scala.com/en/events/ise-2020/ .

About Scala

Scala solutions deliver engaging retail experiences by connecting networks of digital signs, kiosks, mobile devices, websites and Internet-connected devices. Scala, a STRATACACHE company, provides the platform for marketers, retailers and innovators to easily create and centrally manage deployment of shopping experiences while retaining the flexibility to rapidly adapt to local business conditions and preferences of customers in the store. With 30 years of experience entertaining, informing and educating audiences, Scala is well-known for its innovation and leveraging best-of-breed technologies, such as mobile and predictive analytics, to create award-winning solutions that are easy-to-use, yet infinitely customizable. With the US headquartered near Philadelphia, PA and EMEA headquartered in the Netherlands, Scala's network of partners and developers located in more than 90 countries drives more than 500,000 screens worldwide. Learn more about Scala's advanced marketing technology solutions at www.scala.com , on Twitter @ScalaInc or on Facebook .

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(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The Kremlins denizens could be forgiven for thinking theyre hearing some muffled chuckling coming from the direction of Washington. Because Trump administration officials must be feeling some schadenfreude as they watch their counterparts in Moscow wrestle with a quandary all too familiar at the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom: How do you solve a problem like Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

The more philosophically-minded Russian officials may concede that turnabout is fair play: For several years now, they were the ones pointing and giggling as Turkeys president strained his countrys ties with the U.S., deploying bellicose rhetoric against  and provocative behavior toward  American allies, from the Kurds in Syria, Israel and Greece to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

The Russians got more than just satisfaction from Erdogans truculence toward the U.S. President Vladimir Putin exploited the situation to weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to secure lucrative business deals with Turkey, from the sale of military hardware to gas pipelines.

To preserve his status as Erdogans new best friend, Putin indulged the Turkish leaders regional and international ambitions. Following the example of two American presidents, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Putin feigned deafness at Erdogans belligerent rhetoric against Russian allies, like the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and the Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The Russian leader has even grinned and borne it when Erdogans actions foiled, or at least greatly complicated, his own ambitions. A Turkish military invasion of northwestern Syria has nixed any hope in Moscow that Assad would be able to reassert control over the country. Turkish troops and mercenaries now stand in the way of Khalifas seizure of Tripoli.

And, just as Erdogan has thumbed his nose at Washington by embracing those who chant Death to America  whether the regime in Tehran or the leadership of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood  Erdogan has now cocked a snook at Moscow with the incantation, Slava, Ukraine! at his recent visit to Kyiv. Glory to Ukraine has become a slogan of resistance to Russian hegemony since Putins 2014 annexation of Crimea. Moscow and its mouthpieces claim it is a Nazi chant.

Story continues

The Russians are discovering, as Americans and Europeans have before, that with Erdogan, matters are always coming to a head, accompanied with threats to end alliances.

Putin now finds himself at the receiving end. In a recent phone call, Erdogan warned that Turkey would react in the harshest way if Turkish troops in Syria came under more attacks from Assads forces. And of course, he has warned that the Russo-Turkish relationship could split over Syria.

Blood has now been shed on both sides. Assads forces have stepped up attacks on Turkish positions in Idlib, killing several Turkish troops. Russia says some of its soldiers have been killed in attacks from Turkish positions. Hundreds of Syrians, soldiers and civilians alike, have been killed in the escalated fighting, and tens of thousands have been forced to flee the area, creating a new refugee crisis.

Putins options with Erdogan are limited. Turkey is potentially a major economic partner for Russia  the two leaders want trade between the two countries, currently at around $30 billion, to rise to $100 billion. Turkeys membership is crucial to Russias hopes of sustaining multilateral organizations in the Caucasus and Central Asia. And of course, Putin wants to stoke NATOs uncertainty over Turkeys commitment to the alliance.

Erdogan knows all of this. If his dealings with the U.S. and Europe are any guide, he will keep pushing Russia for concessions, in Syria and Libya  and who knows where else.

Can Washington take advantage of the situation, as Russia did when Turkeys ties to the U.S. frayed? Perhaps, but that would require Putin to push back against Erdogan, and the Turkish leader to show some interest in returning to the Western fold. Were not there yet. If we do get to that point, the U.S. would have to display diplomatic craft of a high order  higher than it has demonstrated in recent years  to bring Erdogan in from the cold.

For now, though, American officials can quietly revel in Putins discovery of what it means to be Erdogans friend.

To contact the author of this story: Bobby Ghosh at aghosh73@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.

Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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The filmmakers of 1917, Marriage Story, Joker and more have been campaigning for Oscars 2020 since their releases and it is about to end in a few nights. With the 92nd Academy Awards taking place over this weekend, here are out winning predictions for the major categories.

Best Director- Bong Joon Ho, for Parasite

While the category also sees nominations like Martin Scorsese (The Irishman) and Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), the battle is between directors of recent releases Sam Mendes and Bong Joon-ho. It is hard to separate the art from the artist in this category but, despite all the love 1917 has gotten for its technical marvel, Parasite has a better overall experience which could win over the voters.

Best picture- 1917

The strongest contenders for the biggest award of the night is again, 1917 and Parasite, but it will not be possible for Parasite to win two best picture awards since it also the leading contender for the international feature.

Supporting actress -Laura Dern, for Marriage Story

Many have been in favour of Jennifer Lopez's performance as a stripper, who swindled the Wall Street guys but she was left out of the nominations. Margot Robbie has also been incredible in her previous release Bombshell but the majority have been talking about Laura Dern and Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story and Jojo Rabbit

Supporting actor - Brad Pitt, for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Brad Pitt already won for Once Upon A Time In Hollywood several times and rightfully so. It does not seem like anyone else in the nominations even has a chance to fight for the Oscars 2020 from Pitt this year.

Lead actress - Renee Zellweger, for Judy

As much as I would like Scarlet Johansson to win for Marriage Story, it seems less unlikely since there has been no chatter about any other performances than Zellweger's portal of Judy Garland. She has already taken home the Golden Globes, SAG awards last month and it is sure to win her second Oscar.

Lead actor - Joaquin Phoenix, for Joker

In spite of Antonio Banderas and Leonardo DiCaprio's stellar performances, the love for Joker's anti-hero, actor Joaquin Phoenix is too much to counter. And to be honest, I am curious see what Joaquin will have to say this time during his acceptance speech.

International Feature - Parasite, South Korea

Pedro Almodovar's biopic is bound to be a close call with Parasite. And if Parasite by any chance wins the Best Picture, only then Pain and Glory has a chance at International Feature.

Original song - (I'm Gonna) Love Me Again, Elton John and Bernie Taupin

There is no doubt Elton John will be taking another Academy Award home on Sunday night. Disney's Frozen II, Into the Unknown, thought loved, unfortunately, may not be as close to the winning number as we all want it to be. Not that The Academy will every release the voters count.

Oscars 2020: When And Where To Catch Red Carpet And Awards Live

ALSO READ: Oscars 2020 Nominations: The Irishman, Once Upon A Time, Jo Jo Rabbit And More Make The Cut


China's anti-graft watchdog announced on Friday an investigation after the death of a whistleblower doctor sparked anger over the government's handling of the coronavirus emergency.

The discipline inspection commission said in a statement that an investigative team would go to Wuhan, the virus-hit city where doctor Li Wenliang died, to "conduct a comprehensive investigation into issues involving Dr Li Wenliang reported by the masses".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Imprisoned comedian Bill Cosby rushed to thank rapper Snoop Dogg for calling for his freedom as they slammed Gayle King for trying 'to tarnish the legacy of successful black men' after the CBS presenter brought up Kobe Bryant's rape allegations.

Cosby, 81, joined Snoop Dogg in slamming CBS, King and Oprah for trying 'to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men even in death' after CBS host King faced intense backlash over an interview in which she mentioned the Bryant allegations.

The comedian claimed that 'successful Black Women are being used to tarnish' the reputation of black male celebrities such as Kobe Bryant and Michael Jackson.

It is not immediately clear how Cosby, who is serving three to ten years in a Pennsylvania prison for sexual assault, has access to his Twitter account.

Imprisoned comedian Bill Cosby rushed to thank rapper Snoop Dogg for calling for his freedom as they slammed Gayle King for trying 'to tarnish the legacy of successful black men' after the CBS presenter brought up Kobe Bryant's rape allegations

Rapper Snoop Dogg posted a video to Instagram calling out Gayle King for her interview

On Instagram, Cosby took a hit at CBS for tarnishing 'the legacy of successful black men'

Mentioning Snoop Dogg, 48, Cosby wrote: 'when they brought me to my gated community and placed me inside of my penthouse, they didn't win nor did they silence me. It's so sad and disappointing that successful Black Women are being used to tarnish the image and legacy of successful Black Men even in death.'

In further tweets he added: 'Are these people that in need of fame, ratings and/or money? On behalf of myself, Camille and my family, thank you, thank you and thank you. My heartfelt prayers are with Kobe and his family, as well as with Michael Jackson and his family. May their legacies live on forever.'

The comedian ended by including hashtags such as #ThankYouSnoopDogg, #StopTearingDownBlackMen, #KobeLegacyLivesOn, #GiannaLegacyLivesOn, #MichaelJacksonLegacyLivesOn and #BillCosbyFarFromFinished.

Snoop Dogg responded to the thanks by saying 'Love u uncle bill' and reposted Cosby's comments along with a picture of them both.

Snoop Dogg responded to Bill Cosby's thanks by saying 'love you uncle bill'

Cosby's reentry to social media came after Snoop Dogg unleashed his anger on CBS host Gail King, claiming that she and Oprah were happy to believe rape and sexual assault accusations against black men but have been pictured with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, who is currently at trial over sexual assault charges.

King faced intense backlash earlier this week after CBS posted a clip of her interview with former WNBA star Lisa Leslie, during which the reporter asked Leslie about the late Kobe Bryant's 2003 rape case

Snoop Dogg took offense to King's comments, criticizing her and Oprah in several expletive-ridden posts in which he called for Cosby's release from prison and claims that the women tried to tarnish the names of Cosby, Bryant and Michael Jackson but failed to do so with Harvey Weinstein.

In a video captioned 'Let the family mourn in peace', he said: 'We expect more from you, Gail. Don't you hang out with Oprah? Why y'all attacking us? We your people.

'You ain't come after Harvey Weinstein asking them d-----s questions. I get sick of y'all. I wanna call you one. Is it OK if I call her one? Funky dog head b---h.'

In a further Instagram post on Oprah with Harvey Weinstein, the rapper said: 'Did that fake a-- micheal Jackson [sic] s--t to tarnish his name with them lying a-- kids and here she is with a known rapist smiling and laughing. F--k u and Gayle. Free bill Cosby.'

CBS host Gayle King has faced intense backlash over the question about Kobe Bryant

Snoop Dogg posted a picture of Oprah with Harvey Weinstein captioned 'with a known rapist'

In her original interview, King had asked Leslie if she believed that Bryant's legacy was 'complicated' because of the 2003 rape allegation.

Leslie replied to King's question to say 'It's not complicated for me at all' adding that she doesn't believe Kobe was the 'kind of guy' to 'violate a woman or be aggressive in that way'.

Bryant reportedly asked the young woman, 19, a concierge at the hotel Bryant was staying, for a private tour. After the tour, Bryant invited the woman to his room where they began kissing.

Bryant asserted that they had consensual sex, but the woman said it was rape.

The woman later reported the alleged rape, with authorities finding bruises on her neck and tears to her vaginal wall.

Flanked by lawyers and his wife, Vanessa Bryant, he admitted to committing adultery, but maintained his innocence at the allegations at a press conference. He later entered a not guilty plea.

The criminal case never went to trial as the woman refused to testify in court, but Bryant later settled with the woman in civil court.

King has responded to the backlash about the question saying that the clip released by CBS took 'the most salacious part' of the interview with Leslie out of context.

CBS insists 'changes have already been made' to its internal processes after King slammed her own network for the way it promoted part of her interview.

Snoop Dogg posted several pictures of Gayle King with movie mogul Harvey Weinstein

The late Kobe Bryant, pictured with his daughter Gianna, was accused of rape in 2003

Others who have highlighted Bryant's rape allegations have received overwhelming backlash.

Actress Evan Rachel Woods received intense condemnation after sharing a tweet about Bryant on the day he died. 'I am heartbroken for Kobe's family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously,' she said.

A Washington Post reporter was suspended from her job for tweeting a link to a past Daily Beast article that examined Bryant's case.

Bryant, 41, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash around 10am on January 26. The nine victims also included: John Altobelli, a baseball coach at Orange Coast College, his wife Keri and their daughter Alyssa; basketball coach Christina Mauser; Sarah Chester and her daughter Payton; and the pilot Ara Zobayan.

Cosby is currently serving a three to ten year sentence in Pennsylvania for sexual assault. He was convicted of three counts of aggravated indecent assault in 2018 for drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in his home in January 2004.

He has also been accused of rape and sexual assault by over 60 women.

This is not the first time Cosby has left social media users bewildered as to how he is able to post from behind bars. On Father's Day in 2019, he tweeted to say he is 'America's Dad' leading to plenty of backlash from angry Twitter users.

At the time, a spokesperson for Cosby said that the actor does not have access to his social media accounts but from prison had requested his team post the message.
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The Delhi High Court Friday directed the Multi Agency Group (MAG), set up to probe the companies and individuals named in the 'Bahamas leaks' and 'Panama papers leak', to expeditiously investigate the complaints of money laundering and black money against a politician and some of his associates.

These leaks revealed information regarding hundreds of thousands of offshore entities and their connections to companies and individuals, including politicians, in various countries.

The MAG was initially set up in April 2016 by the Centre to investigate the Panama paper leaks.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the authorities to investigate the allegations levelled in the petition as per law.

"We direct the respondent no. 1 (MAG) to investigate into the allegations made in the petition, which is otherwise also going on, and complete it as early as possible and as per law," the bench said.

The court's order came while disposing of a plea seeking investigation into complaints of money laundering and black money against a politician, and some of his associates, who allegedly received funds from companies named in the 'Bahamas leaks'.

The petition was filed by Bhupendra Singh Patel who has made the complaints against the politician and some of his companies and associates in January last year.

It alleged that the politician's companies received around Rs 18 crore from some Bahamian shell companies named in the leaks.

Patel has alleged "deliberate inaction" by the MAG and the central government in acting on the "gravely suspicious investments" made in Indian entities by some shell companies incorporated in Bahamas and revealed in the leaks.

The petition has claimed that MAG, comprising officers from the tax department, RBI and other agencies, was formed to ensure speedy and coordinated probe into names revealed in the leaks.

Earlier, after perusing the plea, the bench had observed, "We doubt you (MAG) have moved forward an inch in the matter".

It had directed the head of MAG to file an affidavit indicating under which authority it was functioning, its composition, its powers and jurisdiction and the progress made by it in its investigation into the leaks.

Bahamas leaks comprise of a cache of documents, released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), providing names of politicians, companies and others linked to over 175,000 Bahamian companies registered between 1990 and 2016.

Patel, in his plea, had sought directions to MAG and the ministry to "take cognisance" of the allegations he has made in his complaints, carry out a "speedy probe" into them and "take consequential action".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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.
S enior Tory MPs stepped up pressure over Huawei today after Australian politicians joined Donald Trump in protesting Boris Johnsons decision to let the Chinese firm help build the UKs 5G network.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was reportedly strongly criticised in a private meeting with members of the Australian intelligence committee during an official visit.

The disclosure comes as a front page report in todays Financial Times said that President Trump was apoplectic during a phone conversation with the British Prime Minister.

A separate source has told the Standard that President Trump was so angry during the call that he ended it by slamming the phone down.

No 10 sources said the FT report was overblown and pointed to the measured response from the US after the decision was announced as evidence of good relations.

Australia and America are both members of the Five Eyes information-sharing partnership which is a pillar of British security and intelligence.

Mr Raab, who is on a tour of allies and trade partners, spent 25 minutes with members of the intelligence committee in Canberra where, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, deputy chair Anthony Byrne told him: How would you feel if the Russians laid down infrastructure in your own networks? Thats how we feel about Huawei.

The paper said Mr Byrne became frustrated when Mr Raab insisted the decision to approve Huawei was difficult but technical and not political.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith said senior MPs would be raising the issue repeatedly over coming months to press Mr Johnson to change policy and set a target of removing Huawei from the 5G infrastructure.

Every indication I am getting from our allies is of restrained anger about the British Governments decision, he said.

Huawei strongly denies claims by critics that Chinese laws mean it could be ordered by Beijing to use its equipment for eavesdropping, espionage or even disruption.

But US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on a visit to London that American intelligence could not be used on networks not seen as secure.
Julie Garland is director of operations for a small architectural consulting firm that focuses on clients compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. A student at the UMass-Dartmouth, Garland expects to complete requirements for her bachelors degree in political science at the end of the fall, 2020 semester.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : After succesfully taking on Tata's Harrier in the compact SUV segment, the Morris Garages (MG) on Friday brought its first luxury SUV in India, the MG Gloster.

The Gloster once launched will directly compete with the segment leader Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endevour.

The price for the Gloster have not yet been unrevealed, as it is expected to reach the showrooms only in the second half of the year.

The SUV's name 'GLOSTER' pays homage to a British jet-engine aircraft prototype which was also called Gloster.

Speaking about the vehicle, Rajeev Chaba, President and Managing Director of MG Motor India, said, "The launch of Gloster will mark our entry in the luxury SUV segment.

"We are confident that, with its best-in-class features, specifications and performance, the GLOSTER will be a benchmark for luxury SUVs in India with its launch later this year," Chaba added.

The luxury SUV or the full fleged SUV segment is already ruled by the likes of Toyota Fortuner, which since its launch became favorite for the segment lovers.

Another SUV that has been popular in the segment is Ford Endevour which has been in market for over a decade now and has witnessed various facelifts during the period.

At Auto Expo 2020, the carmaker also showcased a total of 14 advanced vehicles across hatchback, sedans, and utility vehicle segments.

Participating for the first time at the prestigious industry event, the MG has reinforced itself a future-forward brand with showcase of Marvel-X, Vision I Concept, E200 and eMG 6 amongst others.

The automotive gaint also revealed its luxury full sized Multiple Purpose Vehicle (MPV) G10.

The vehicle is already sold globally in markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Middle-East, South American countries, including Chile, Peru and ASEAN such as Malaysia.

G10 comes with various seating configurations, panoramic sunroof, touch-free smart sensing rear door and smart automatic sliding doors that deliver a more convenient experience for passengers.

G10 will take on KIA's recently launched Carnival, which has already left the market abuzz with the features and space that it has to offer.
The new coronavirus is still spreading rapidly, in and out of China. By January 31, barely a month after the new pathogen's appearance on the world stage, already 62 countries had imposed restrictions on the entry of Chinese citizens.

Against the World Health Organization's recommendations, China's neighbors, including North Korea, Mongolia, and Russia rushed to close their land borders with China, while the United States and Australia have shut down all borders to Chinese arrivals.

In Hong Kong, chief executive Carrie Lam's decision not to fully shut the border with the mainland just gave another reason for the people to be angry at the government, as thousands of healthcare workers staged a strike to demand full border closure. Many countries evacuated their citizens from China. Airlines in Europe, North America, and Asia are canceling their flights to the country. Italy (with only two confirmed cases) and the United States (with 11 confirmed cases as of February 3) have declared public health emergencies over the virus. Russia went as far as to indicate that it would deport foreigners infected with the virus. More are expected to follow suit in the coming days.

The international responses make the urgent request from China's U.N. ambassador for more medical supplies to help the country fight the virus look so pale and helpless. And on February 2, former Vice President Joe Biden criticized President Donald J. Trump's response to the outbreak by saying, "This is no time for hysterical xenophobia and fearmongering."

To be fair, the rapid spread of the virus poses an immediate and present threat that justifies actions outside the normal bounds of political procedure. Emergency measures have helped mobilize political leadership and resources to address the challenges. But in the meantime, responses driven by fear may create many more problems than they could solve.

First, they may complicate risk management by overestimating the danger of the coronavirus. The outbreak has hit the headlines, but the aggregate risk to human health may not be as high as all the attention would seem to indicate. As of February 4, more than 20,000 cases have been identified, including 427 deaths, almost all of which occurred in China. In contrast, as of January 18, the first few months of the flu season has witnessed 15 million cases of flu and 8,200 deaths worldwide. Yet it was the coronavirus that has elicited a high level of fear and panic. Such "dreaded risks," according to author and global security expert Jessica Stern, reduces the ability of policymakers to make accurate trade-offs between mundane but widespread risks and those that are high-profile but not so common.

Second, they may lead to unnecessary social distancing measures, fueling exclusionary and dehumanizing responses against certain population groups. In China, panic over the virus has led people to shun outsiders, especially those from Wuhan, which is believed to be ground zero for the virus. Internationally, the fear has triggered anti-Chinese sentiment in some Asian countries. Xenophobically treating sick or exposed people, as opposed to the virus, as the enemy only complicates the crisis.

Third, effective public health policy must be built on trust, not fear. Fear and panic spawned by extraordinary government measures may have the unintended effect of creating a less cooperative society by encouraging people to shun public health workers or officials. In an era of internet and social media, the fear of the virus may spread faster than the virus itself, which only undermines effectiveness of government response. On January 23 alone, more than 300,000 people reportedly left Wuhan by train in the hours before the quarantine-;announced at 2:00 a.m.-;took effect at 10:00 a.m., increasing the possibility of disease spread. Those who stayed and developed flu-like symptoms then flooded the hospitals to seek medical assistance, completely overwhelming the city's healthcare institutions.

Fourth, responses informed by fear can cause huge damage to world economy. In order to minimize chances of getting infected, people would refrain from spending on current items, such as travelling or going to restaurants and theaters. Economic damage can be sustained because many measures instituted in the outbreak (e.g., cancelling flights or shutting down borders) tend to be "sticky" and not so easy to rescind. China, for example, did not lift its ban on pork product from Canada until November 2009, four months after the H1N1 swine flu activity declined in most countries. According to a World Bank estimate, 90 percent of economic losses during any disease outbreak are caused by "uncoordinated and irrational efforts of the public to avoid infection."

Finally, fear of an imminent threat provokes a competitive rush among governments worldwide to institute pharmaceutical or nonpharmaceutical countermeasures, making effective international collaboration difficult. The appeal to public health emergencies, for example, may relieve a country of any moral obligation to help other countries, especially those with low response capacities, which may in turn provide disincentives to those countries in supporting existing international health norms such as sharing disease information obliged by International Health Regulation

Given the downside risks associated with the fear factor, it is imperative to ensure the revulsion invoked by the outbreak does not push us to undertake measures with unacceptable adverse impacts on public health, civil liberties, trade and economy. Rather than focus solely on emergency mobilization, it is equally important to emphasize prevention, precaution, and risk management by politically neutral professionals. Instead of provoking fear and panic, governments should provide the public with a more balanced picture of the nature and spread of the virus. Countries rolling out emergency measures are also advised to prepare an exit strategy that focuses on mitigation to minimize their potential damage to the economy and society. Equally important, the World Health Organization to should demonstrate its leadership in coordinating global response after declaring the Public Health Emergency of International Concern last week.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky not to sign a bill introducing the single account for paying taxes and duties, single social security contribution (bill No. 1049) and return it to the Verkhovna Rada.

According to a statement of the Chamber posted on its website, the proposed trade margin in bill No. 1049 is bizarre for market economies and is inconsistent with many of Ukraine's international obligations.

"We are concerned about the Draft Law, which deprives companies the right to determine their own prices and the compulsory distribution of revenues from the sale of tobacco products among market players," the Chamber said, adding that sets a trade margin for wholesale and retail.

The Chamber welcomes the initiative of the government and the president of Ukraine aimed at finding a solution not to approve bill No. 1049.

"We support the Memorandum signed on December 12, 2019, a positive step towards further development of fair and transparent competition in the industry, combating illegal trade and tax evasion, ensuring predictability and transparency," the Chamber said.

"Paragraph 2 of Section II of the Final and Transitional Provisions should be withdrawn. We urge government authorities not to allow the deterioration of Ukraine's investment attractiveness and the economy as a whole," the Chamber said.
Two out of the three undertrial prisoners, who escaped from the high-security Amritsar Central Jail by scaling the boundary walls last week, have been arrested, police said on Friday.

Gurpreet Singh and his brother Jarnail Singh have been arrested, Amritsar Police Commissioner S S Gill told reporters here.

The third accused Vishal Kumar is yet to be arrested, he said.

The police commissioner said Jarnail was arrested from bus stand at Anandpur Sahib on February 6.

His interrogation led to the arrest of his brother Gurpreet from Tarn Taran district, he said.

A constable suffered burn injuries after Gurpreet threw some boiling substance when police raided his hideout. Gurpreet even jumped from the first floor to escape and injured his leg, the police said, adding that he was admitted to a local hospital.

Gill further said two persons, Shamsher Singh and Karnail Singh, who allegedly provided shelter to both, have also been arrested.

Police said efforts were being made to arrest the third accused Vishal.

The three undertrial prisoners had escaped from the high-security Amritsar Central Jail by scaling the boundary walls on the intervening night of February 1 and 2 by making a hole in the wall of their barrack after removing around 10 bricks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government's advertising campaign that took a swipe at Quebec's secularism law appears to have generated a lot of bang for the buck in terms of publicity, but has not resulted in a wave of Quebec civil servants moving west.

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Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister speaks to reporters on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Friday, Nov. 8, 2019. The Manitoba government's brief advertising campaign that took a swipe at Quebec's Bill 21 appears to have generated a lot of bang for the buck in terms of publicity, but has not resulted in a wave of Quebec civil servants moving west. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

WINNIPEG - The Manitoba government's advertising campaign that took a swipe at Quebec's secularism law appears to have generated a lot of bang for the buck in terms of publicity, but has not resulted in a wave of Quebec civil servants moving west.

A report prepared for Manitoba's Progressive Conservative government says the campaign generated US$152,000 (about Cdn$200,000) worth of publicity through media reports, talk show discussions and more.

The report, prepared by media-monitoring company Critical Mention and obtained by The Canadian Press under Manitoba's freedom-of-information law, says the coverage reached an audience of more than 6.6 million people.

The estimated monetary value of the publicity is about 10 times higher than what the Manitoba government says it spent on the ad campaign in late November  roughly $20,000 for a full-page ad in the newspaper Le Devoir along with some online and social media ads.

The campaign was aimed at recruiting Quebec civil servants who felt threatened by their province's ban on religious symbols in the workplace. The law forbids some employees in positions of authority  including teachers, judges and police officers  from wearing religious symbols such as hijabs or turbans on the job.

The ads listed 21 reasons  the law was introduced as Bill 21  why Quebec civil servants should consider moving to Manitoba, and said Manitobans respect public servants regardless of their faith or culture.

Some of the resulting media coverage praised Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister for taking a stand against the Quebec law, which is being challenged in court by groups who say it is discriminatory.

Other coverage was negative. Quebec Premier Francois Legault told Pallister to mind his own business. One blog in Quebec listed 21 reasons not to move to Manitoba. It characterized the province as a lonely part of the world where the only place to find a crowd is in the lineup at a Tim Hortons coffee shop.

The Manitoba government said the ad campaign had clear objectives.

"The purpose of the campaign was twofold: Manitoba is a bilingual province and we need people with bilingual skills, and we are advancing our support for the rights and freedoms of minorities in Quebec and across the country," Olivia Billson, Pallister's press secretary, wrote in an email.

The ads encouraged Quebecers to email the Manitoba government to inquire about job openings.

"Since Nov. 28th to date, the province has received a total of 29 resumes through the MBJobsEmplois email address  17 of those from people residing in or using a Quebec address, the other 12 with addresses in other provinces or countries," Billson wrote.

There was no indication as to whether those numbers are an increase from previous years.

One political analyst said the ad campaign appears to be, at least in part, an effort to promote Pallister's image on the national stage.

"Pallister seems to have changed his approach in the intergovernmental arena from being a combative protagonist of the Trudeau government to now a broker of deals. Raising his profile and improving his image is probably part of this," said Paul Thomas, professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba.

"Pallister is acting on the philosophical conviction that the law infringes charter provisions and is intolerant in its treatment of visible minorities. The fact that he is publicly standing up to the Quebec government will resonate with many of his followers.

"A lot of politics today consists of symbolic gestures that engage followers."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020
Its business asalmost--usual in the United States, even after a fifth week of faltering oil prices as the coronavirus outbreak eats away at oil demand and strikes fear in the oil market, leading one to wonder when the low oil prices will catch up with US drillers.

Baker Hughes reported that the number of oil and gas rigs in the US held fast this week at 790, but the total oil and gas rig has fallen 259 over the last 52 weeks.

The number of oil rigs increased for the week, by 1 rig, according to Baker Hughes data, bringing the total to 676a 178-rig loss year over year.

The total number of active gas rigs in the United States fell by 1 according to the report, to 111. This compares to 195 a year ago.

Meanwhile, oil production slipped back to 12.9 million bpd after hovering at 13 million for three weeks, according to data provided by the Energy Information Administrationa high for the United States.

By basin, the number of rigs in the most prolific basin, the Permian, fell this week to 405, compared to 478 rigs one year ago. The second largest basin, the Eagle Ford, saw no change in the number of active rigs.

The WTI benchmark at 1:09pm was $50.49 (-0.90%) per barrelroughly $1 per barrel below last week levels as travel restrictions within, to, and from China continues to threaten oil demand. The Brent benchmark was trading at $54.61 (-0.58%)roughly $2 per barrel below last weeks levels. Oil prices were stubbornly low, even after OPEC+ suggested that the group may cut an additional 600,000 bpd, and even after Libya continues to experience a production loss of 1 million bpd.

Canadas overall rig count increased by 10 rigs this week, to a total of 257 rigs. Oil and gas rigs in Canada are now up 17 year on year.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud by phone on Thursday, discussing efforts to combat and control the novel coronavirus epidemic.

During their phone conversation, Xi said he deeply appreciates that King Salman and the Saudi side have repeatedly expressed their firm support to China at this critical moment when China is fighting the pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus, which has fully demonstrated the sincere friendship and the high level of comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

The Chinese side stands ready to work with Saudi Arabia to support each other's core interests and major concerns, and push for greater development of bilateral relations, Xi added.

Xi said that the whole country has taken actions, and become a nation of one mind to deal with the epidemic since the outbreak, adding that China has adopted the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures and waged a people's war on the epidemic.

At present, these efforts are producing positive results, said Xi.

Noting that China has a strong mobilization capacity and rich experience in responding to public health incidents, Xi said that China is fully confident and capable to win the fight against the epidemic.

The forceful measures China has taken are not only responsible for the health of the Chinese people, but have also made huge contributions to the world's public safety, said Xi, adding that he hopes other countries can learn about and follow the guiding recommendations regarding travel and health issued by the World Health Organization.

The Chinese side attaches great importance to the health and safety of all foreign nationals in China, including the Saudis, and will continue to take effective measures to guarantee their work and living conditions, said Xi.

He also said that the Chinese side will keep on working with all countries, including Saudi Arabia, to jointly handle the epidemic, and maintain public health safety in the region and around the world in the spirit of openness and transparency.

On behalf of the Saudi government and people, King Salman extended firm support to China's ongoing battle against the epidemic, and expressed sympathy with the friendly Chinese people over the loss caused by the epidemic.

He said that the Saudi side highly appreciates the vigorous measures taken by the Chinese government against the epidemic, and believes that China will surely win the battle against the epidemic.

The Saudi side highly values its comprehensive strategic partnership with China, and will staunchly stand with China under any circumstances, he said.

As China currently faces difficulties, Saudi Arabia will spare no effort to provide support and assistance to China in the battle against the epidemic, said the Saudi king, adding that his country expects to strengthen friendly cooperation with China.
With the guilty plea of former state Sen. Martin Sandoval, the onetime head of the Senates Transportation Committee became the first person to be convicted in an ongoing corruption probe that has touched on a whos who of state power players. Those have included a handful of other elected officials; magnates in the construction, asphalt and casino industries; lobbyists; transportation officials; and Commonwealth Edison executives. Prosecutors said the probe was far from over but declined to discuss where the investigation might be headed.
So far nearly 900 passengers arriving on direct flights from China have been screened for coronavirus at Budapests Liszt Ferenc Airport, the facilitys communications chief said.

Katalin Valentinyi said passengers from China are being tested for fever and anyone with a temperature of 38C or above are isolated for further testing. If an infection is suspected, airport emergency staff must disinfect the aircraft and affected areas.





Of the 900 passengers checked, one persons temperature was above 38C. It was later confirmed they were not carrying the virus, she said.



Chief public health officer Cecilia Muller said her authority was cooperating closely with the airport and supplying staff to screen travellers.



Passengers are isolated if a doctor, public health officer and epidemiology inspector from the government office jointly issue an order to do so, she added.



MTI Photos: Balogh Zoltan
Blogger Imran Aliev youtube.com

French police believe that the killing of a blogger from the disputed Russian region of Chechnya in a French hotel room last week was "politically motivated," a French police official briefed on the case said.

The official said the police were now hunting for the blogger's traveling companion, who disappeared shortly after the killing.

French investigators wish to speak with the Chechen man who accompanied the blogger, Imran Aliev, 44, from his home in Belgium to northern France via train on January 29, the official said.

Aliev, who vocally opposed the Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin, was found dead the next morning by hotel staff.

His throat had been slit.

Aliev was from Chechnya, the southwestern Russia region that has seen two brutal wars for independence from Russia in recent decades. The region is controlled by Kadyrov, with approval from Moscow.

Aliev had left Belgium, "where he was under police protection because of threats out of Russia and Chechnya over his opposition blogging," said the senior French police official, who could not be identified in the media because they were discussing an open investigation.

"He was accompanied by another Chechen, who we have tentatively identified based on his travel documents," the official said.

"This identification could be a case of mistaken identity or even an illegal alibi," the official said, adding that the police could not determine anything "until we have spoken with this man we believe is an important witness."

The official refused to identify the man or confirm whether his location had been determined.

European intelligence and law-enforcement officials remain extremely concerned about assassinations of anti-Putin and Kadyrov dissidents throughout the European Union and the UK. At least 15 people have been killed by Russian hit squads in the UK, including innocent bystanders.

These concerns have become more acute since the attempted assassination in 2018 of Sergei and Yulia Skripal with a nerve agent in Salisbury, England, as well as the daylight assassination of a Chechen dissident in a crowded Berlin park last year.

The suspects in both cases have been linked to Russian intelligence services, as well as an attempted 2016 coup in Montenegro and the attempted assassination of a Bulgarian arms dealer, through photo identification and public access to various Russian government databases.

"Obviously, considering Aliev's history and previous threats, we need to strong examine the possibility of a state intelligence service in this murder, and we are collecting and analyzing evidence from travel patterns, electronic intercepts, and other investigative tools at our disposal," the French police official said.

The official said France had not yet contacted Russia for any assistance in the case.

A Belgian law-enforcement official familiar with the case refused to go on the record but suggested that Belgian authorities found the entire situation very suspicious.

"We had him under police protection for a reason," said the official.

The official said there were "'specific and credible threats' on his life from certain political sectors in Chechnya and Russia, which we could easily verify and concluded that protection was deserved."

The official refused to discuss the identity or movements of the man being sought by France or confirm whether he had also been under Belgian protection.

Asked whether Aliev had notified Belgian authorities of his plan to cross the border into France or of any security coordination with France, the Belgian official refused to comment directly.

"I cannot speak directly to whether anyone knew he planned to travel, but I would suggest that arranging protection for someone just a few kilometers over the border would not have been an issue," the official said.

Read the original article here.
BJP kick-started its political campaign for Delhi Assembly election in December with the regularisation of the illegal colonies, but by the third week of January BJP campaigners ditched the issue

Unlike other recent state elections, much of the discussion in the Delhi Assembly poll campaign has centred around the successful delivery of civic amenities and public fund utilisation. This campaign tone was set by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose claims have been in sharp contrast to the BJPs political agenda.

In the run-up to polls, both the ruling AAP and the BJP were seen firing on all cylinders, with the Congress proving to be a lazy bystander. But despite Union Home Minister Amit Shahs carpet bombing with the Shaheen Bagh narrative and call to purge the nation of traitors and intruders, the buzz among voters has been about the performance sheet of the Kejriwal-led AAP government.

Conflicting claims

While Delhis education and health infrastructure is the central theme of discussion among voters, the issue of regularisation of illegal colonies, which the BJP sought to take credit for and make a major poll plank with Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself leading the first public interaction on this in December, has proven to be a non-starter. The whole issue has now become embroiled in conflicting claims.

The AAP and the BJP both sought to claim credit for this development. The BJP claimed that the Union Urban Development Ministrys move to regularise 1,734 illegal colonies in Delhi was entirely the Centres initiative, with Modi 'empowering illegal colony residents by providing them ownership rights. The AAP countered this with the claim that it deserved the credit for forwarding the Bill for regularisation to the Union government. Unlike in other states, land issues in the Union Territory of Delhi fall directly under the Central Government.

Detailed coverage of Delhi Assembly Election 2020

In December, the BJP was so confident of this issue giving them an advantage over AAP that it declared its Delhi unit will fight the Assembly election without a chief ministerial candidate on the basis of Modis initiatives for Delhi, the regularisation of illegal colonies being just one of them. But by January, the linking of Modi with the move had failed to find resonance among voters even though, in a hasty move, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri handed over ownership registry papers to 20 persons in the first week of January.

Come January second week, the ruling AAP and Delhi Congress, a lazy bystander but still significant, moved quickly to punch holes in the BJPs claims. Kejriwal and AAP leaders targeted the Centre, alleging that the regularisation would bring little change in the lives of the residents of these colonies. AAP also went into high gear to claim credit for carrying out developmental works in all the listed unauthorised colonies during its five-year rule  from laying sewer lines to building roads and providing other amenities.

Kejriwals campaign rhetoric from the beginning has been: "vote for us only if you think we have done good work in the last five years. Vote for the tangible work and not for unsubstantiated dreams.

AAPs poll managers, advised by renowned campaign strategist Prashant Kishore, have been more or less successful in reaching across to people to establish the Delhi governments performance in education, health, transport, free power and water and womens safety as a much more substantial poll issue than the BJPs 'promise' of 'colony regularisation'.

Congress pitched in with its door to door campaign to call the colony regularisation announcement a 'farce' as many colonies have been left out in the list due to forest, mining and National Highway regulations.

The already sagging BJP campaign focussed on the Centres Urban Development moves suffered another blow from the recent incidents of fire in the city, which claimed many innocent lives. Unplanned and unauthorised structures with no facilities to prevent fire, cave-ins and other disasters have always been a concern for Delhiites.

No ones baby

While the Centre hurriedly set in motion the process of handing deeds to residents, independent experts and media sounded a note of caution saying the consequence of moving forward with the regularisation process without provision of safety amenities and proper civic guidelines could prove disastrous. The whole colony regularisation narrative, to the BJPs dismay, got tagged with possible fallouts like a major fire or a building collapse.

In outer Delhis Kirari colony, a report on a fire incident in a three-storied building, which killed nine people, revealed that the ground floor of the residential building was being used as a godown for cloth. The fire started in the ground floor warehouse and spread suffocating and killing people in minutes.

In another tragedy in an unauthorised colony, Uttam Nagar, the fire brigade trucks got stuck in congested lanes after the roof of a building collapsed. These incidents exposed deficiencies in the local area plan and civil preparedness during an emergency. All claims of pride in colony regularisation fell flat after that.

By the third week of January, BJPs campaigners ditched the colony regularisation issue and Amit Shah changed his public speeches to what the AAP was waiting for. BJP alleged that the people of Delhi are still to get free Wi-Fi, 15 lakh CCTV cameras, new colleges and hospitals, promised by the AAP Government. It sent all seven of its sitting Delhi MPs to conduct 'sting operations' and 'expose' Kejriwals claims.

AAP immediately retorted with evidence of its 'model of development' which strengthened its core campaign of highlighting its performance. Colony regularisation had by then become no ones child.

Citizen Matters tried to speak to urban planners in the Central and State government ministries to understand more about the current status of the colony regularisation move. With the Model Code of Conduct in place, no official response was available.

"Both governments (NCT Delhi and Union) moved at a speed not warranted in such a crucial issue," said one senior official asking not to be named.

"Giving property rights to settlers of colonies without understanding its implications cannot be a smart move. Binding regulations and proper guidelines have to be in place first, as these properties once bestowed with rights become commercial real estate and the governments role does not end with announcements. Available infrastructure has to be carefully studied and resource allocations have to be put in place, the official said.

The Union government has, since December, been running a due process through the Delhi Development Authoritys portal for registration of applicants and submission of applications. A total of 57,000 people have registered so far and 3,500 have completed their applications. The Union Government claims that the money collected as fees for the process would go to a special development fund that would be used to create social infrastructure and roads in these colonies.

That, however, is an administrative process, with little impact on voters perceptions.

This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Karo, North Sumatra  Fri, February 7, 2020 14:20 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2063267db 1 National coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus-in-Indonesia,Chinese,Medan,North-Sumatra Free

Five Chinese nationals who had recently returned to Indonesia from China have been placed in isolation at the site of the Laubiang hydropower plant project in Kandibata village of Karo regency, North Sumatra.

Ginting, the overseer of the construction project, said on Thursday that the five Chinese workers were isolated immediately upon their arrival at the site following their return from China to prevent the possible spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

He added that many Chinese workers had been hired for the Laubiang hydropower plant construction project.

Karo Health Agency head Irna Syafrina said that the five workers were currently under observation, and that they would be taken to Adam Malik Central General Hospital in Medan if they started to show any symptoms of coronavirus infection.

Irna said that three of the workers had returned from China on Jan. 31 and the two others on Feb. 3. However, none had come from Wuhan  the city in Hubei province that is the outbreak's epicenter.

Chinese authorities recorded 636 deaths from 2019-nCoV acute respiratory disease, with more than 30,000 confirmed cases on Feb. 7, AFP reported. Indonesia has no confirmed cases of the coronavirus to date.

"We have been surveilling developments [in the workers' health] for two days," Irna said on Friday, adding that the workers were not showing any symptoms and their health status was "normal".

"If we observe any symptoms within 14 days, all [five workers] will be transported to Adam Malik hospital, including anyone who has been in [direct] contact with them. Isolation is a must," she added.

Adam Malik is among 14 referral hospitals in Medan for treating coronavirus cases. The hospital has readied a special team of 20 doctors to attend to patients from Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau.

Ade Rahmaini, the head of Adam Malik hospital's coronavirus management team, said the team had admitted one suspected case in January from a private hospital in Medan. The patient had tested negative for 2019-nCoV. (dev)
Bernie Thompson of Plugable Technologies holds a docking station that he sells on Amazon.com from his facility in Redmond, Washington, U.S., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Lindsey Wasson/Reuters)

Lifeblood of Amazon Merchants Threatened as Coronavirus Infects Chinese Workers

LOS ANGELESAmazon.com Inc. sellers are bracing for product shortages as Chinese workersworried about the fast-spreading coronavirusmay be unable or unwilling to return to idled factories.

Brandon Young, who pulls in more than $10 million in annual revenue from the online marketplace, has a 30-45 day supply of portable Apple Inc. watch chargers that could be difficult to replenish because they are built from genuine Apple components that are exclusively made in China.

Plugable Technologies founder Bernie Thompson says he could run out of his top-selling triple display laptop docking station by the end of this month, even if factories open as planned next week.

The entrepreneurs are among the 1 million-plus Amazon sellers whose livelihoods depend on factory workers in China. Their predicament foreshadows the risk Amazon sellers face if Chinas fast-moving coronavirus outbreak results in worker shortages or prolonged factory closures.

Running out of product on Amazon can wipe out a small business. Amazons algorithm gives top billing to sellers with the briskest and most recent sales. That prominent placement helps drive even more sales.

Going out of stock is the best way to kill that, Plugables Thompson said.

Amazons revenue from services to third-party sellers accounted for just over 19 percent of Amazons net sales in 2019. That figure did not include proceeds from Amazons lucrative advertising business. In a letter to shareholders, Chief Executive Jeff Bezos said those independent merchants accounted for 58 percent of physical goods sold on Amazon in 2018.

Currently, there is no interruption to our operations, Amazon said in a statement.

Young says many Amazon sellers stocked up before the Lunar New Year holiday, when millions of workers travel hundreds of miles to visit family, and manufacturing virtually shuts down for two to three weeks.

People do have extra inventory, but that will quickly run out if factories remain shuttered or workers do not return, said Young, who is self-quarantined at his Miami home after visiting factories and family in China during the holiday period. He did not visit Wuhan City, the epicenter of the outbreak.

Thompson ordered more of his popular docking stations, which connect a laptop to three monitors, in October.

An electric bike (R) used by Amazon sits parked along the pavement at a central business district in Beijing on Nov. 29, 2012. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)

He built in extra time for setbacks and was still okay when the factory missed its January delivery date. Chinas decision to extend Lunar New Year factory closures by a week wiped out what was left of his safety buffer.

We would have been fine if coronavirus hadnt happenedbut with that extra delay, we wont get stock in time, said Thompson, who founded his Redmond, Washington-based company in 2009.

He has been unable to reach many of his Chinese suppliers, but those he has spoken with said they plan to restart operations around Feb. 10, when they will face an even larger-than-normal crush of post-holiday work. The finished product will take another two to three weeks to reach the U.S. West Coast via ocean container ship.

One provider of a tool that tracks third-party listings on Amazon told Reuters they have seen a rise in out of stock products.

In a post published on its Chinese website on Saturday, Amazon advised Chinese sellers to avoid low inventory and shipping delays due to the coronavirus. Tips included delisting products and putting stores into inactive mode.

That is just the latest challenge for U.S. sellers.

The coronavirus is completely differentwe dont know the impact of this, Michael Smerling, president of Chicago-area LCI Brands.

Some merchants are searching for ways to switch sourcing out of China.

Young, who sells toys, travel bags and other products on Amazon, is looking for factories in Mexico, South American, India, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Jayme Smaldone, CEO of New Jersey-based Mighty Mug, will increase his order of plastic mugs from Taiwan if his 90-day supply of stainless steel mugs from China dwindles.

Many companies listing on Amazon do not have contingency plans for dealing with a lengthy shutdown in China, said Chris McCabe, founder of Amazon seller consultancy ecommerceChris.com.

There are going to be a lot of headaches and heartache, McCabe said.

By Lisa Baertlein
Chandigarh Police have busted a gang of vehicle thieves with pan-India network, after arresting two of its members  one belonging to Amritsar and the other from Pune  and recovering two sedans and bikes each that were stolen from the city besides 14 cars lifted from other parts of the country.

The accused have been identified as Asif Noor Mohammad Sayed, 41, of Pune, and Prabhjot Singh, 37, of Amritsar, who operated in Batala. The two used to help in selling off the stolen cars.

Police are also on the lookout for Rajesh Kumar, alias Raja, of Ludhiana, who is suspected to have been running the operations in the region, besides the gang members who used to steal the vehicles. Raja has been previously arrested by Haryana and Punjab Police and even declared a proclaimed offender.

According to police, the investigations started on December 29, 2019, when a Honda City car was stolen from Sector 34. It led the crime branch to Asif, who was quizzed after court sent him to eight-day police remand on January 20.

His interrogation led to the arrest of Prabhjot and recovery of the vehicles  two Toyota Fortuners, three Toyota Innovas, three Honda City sedans, two Honda Vernas, two Hyundai Cretas and a Mitsubishi Pajero, Maruti Swift Dzire, Maruti Baleno and Maruti Alto each besides two motorcycles. Two Honda City cars and bikes were stolen from Chandigarh. Six other vehicles were recovered from Punjab and eight from Pune.

Police said the two were previously arrested by Maharashtra and Punjab Police for similar offences. They arent much educated, but came in handy in selling the stolen cars, said an investigating official, not wishing to be named.

Prabhjot has been sent to judicial custody, while Asif will be produced in court again.
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Under a new program from Pikes Peak Community College, assailants, robbers, thieves, drug dealers and abusers in county jail are learning how they can redefine their lives.

No matter what my past may be, I can change my future and have what I want, said former gang member Alexander Ruiz.

Hes one of 13 inmates in the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center who received certificates of completion Thursday from the Growth and Leadership Life Skills Training Series.

Its all up to me on what kind of legacy I leave behind, said Ruiz, a father of three who has been in and out of jail for the past 25 years.

Unlike life skills training offered at other jails around the nation, the unique, 12-week program focuses on inmates developing a detailed, executable plan for their lives after incarceration, one that looks and feels different from whats been their status quo.

In a meeting room at the jail, participants wearing the standard-issue orange pants and tops smiled as they accepted congratulations from college and jail staff. They celebrated their accomplishment with Valentine-themed cupcakes sprinkled with pink and red hearts.

Im not going to say this class is a fix-all, but its a damn good start, said graduate Joseph Raatz. So many of us are trying to get through this and get back out, but we never think about the future.

Raatz wants one of his new defining labels after hes a free man in about a year to be computer-aided design and drafting operator, which he plans on studying.

The class gave me inspiration to go forward as far as more education, he said.

This is the second and largest group to finish the voluntary program that PPCC lead facilitator Sara Boatz began offering six months ago.

This is not just a What now? type of thing, said graduate Jamie Crawford, who since she was 12 has wanted to become a chemist. I know my plans and goals will continue, for me to move forward. I know theres hope and possibilities.

With recidivism at the county jail running between 70% and 75%, just short of the national average for jails of 76%, Detentions Bureau Chief Clif Northam said such programs lessen the chance of participants reoffending.

It gives them the education to want to better their lives, he said, after telling participants what matters is not what they did to be sent to jail, but "what you do here forward." He added that he hopes to never see them in orange jumpsuits again.

The program is based on a workbook Boatz wrote, What If, What Else, What Now: An Interactive Guide to Personal Reinvention and Living Forward.

Participants answer questions about where theyd like to be in five years, one year and next month. Theyre encouraged to dream big and then chart a course for how they can achieve what they desire.

For many, Boatz said, its the first time anyone has ever asked them about their aspirations.

What are you gonna do to not come back? I ask them, Boatz said. You dont want to be stuck or move backward.

Actionable change happens out of fear, pain or gain, she said, and her teachings emphasize the latter, since fear or pain dont seem to be effective motivators for some to stay out of jail.

We give them a reason to move forward, Boatz said.

Practicing soft skills, such as resolving conflict, negotiating in business, preparing for jobs, developing self-awareness and self-esteem and building social and emotional acuity, also are part of the curriculum.

The program works because its not forced on inmates, Boatz said, and has become so popular theres a waiting list.

Its what they want, not what anybody else tells them they want, she said.

Ruiz, 39, intends to stop youths from following the same path he has. During a Bible study in jail one day, he realized that there were representatives from seven gangs in the room  and they were all getting along. He hopes to integrate the idea into a gang-reduction effort in Colorado Springs, similar to a program thats had success in Denver.

I used to let my scars and tattoos, my gang-related persona and my criminal background define me as a person, he said.

Not anymore; Ruizs new mindset is turning negatives into positives" and teaching younger people about the dangers of gang involvement and drugs.

"It's a pretty violent life," Ruiz said. "It's not something to look up to. I know I don't want to go back."

Said Boatz, He can do it. Hes so articulate, and hes a born leader.

In the 2 years PPCC has been offering a GED-completion course at the county jail, Boatz said only one person followed through after getting released and took the online test to earn the GED, the equivalent of a high school diploma.

The new Growth and Leadership Life Skills Training Session already is charting better results. Since the program began in August, 145 inmates have taken some of the classes, which run for three hours a week for three months.

A total of 24 have completed the program and earned certificates, and 55 people filled out enrollment forms for Career Boost, a noncredit workforce training program through PPCC. A few have started a welding program.

We really believe were making a difference, Boatz said.
By Michael McGough

Even if Republicans in the House chamber hadnt begun shouting Four more years, it would have been obvious that President Trumps 2020 State of the Union address was a campaign speech by another name.

It was also  Democrats take note  an effective one, despite exaggerations and dubious claims that are already being dissected by fact-checkers.

Granted, Trumps emphasis on optimism and his talk about building the worlds most prosperous and inclusive society was laced with familiar resentment and score-settling.

The days of our country being used, taken advantage of and even scorned by other nations are long behind us, he bragged. Another familiar theme was the claim that he had succeeded where President Obama had failed. (As always, he exaggerated the extent to which the economic recovery is attributable to his administration.)

And, yes, there were also appeals to his political base, including an attack on Californias sanctuary policies for immigrants and a promise to protect prayer in schools and the right to keep and bear arms. Trump also boasted about the conservative judges he had appointed, name-checking Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, his appointees to the Supreme Court, who were in the audience.

But even if a snarl seemed to lurk under the calls for national unity, Trump offered a message designed to appeal to the sort of Democrats who defected to his cause in 2016. That pitch went beyond the claim that he has presided over a blue collar boom.

Trump said that we will always protect your Medicare and your Social Security. And he attacked those who want to take away your health care, take away your doctor and abolish private insurance entirely. He promised: We will never let socialism destroy American health care!

Never mind the complication that Medicare itself is arguably a socialist health care program. Trump was clearly appealing to voters  including union members  who might be put off by Medicare for All as proposed by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Pete Buttigieg, who proposes the less radical Medicare for all who want it, can point to Trumps rant as a reason for Democrats to support him. But all the Democratic candidates should come away from this speech with a recognition that Trump will be a formidable opponent.

Michael McGough is the Los Angeles Times senior editorial writer, based in Washington, D.C.

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.
Sinn Fein has refused to say if it investigated a WhatsApp group linked to one of its TDs in which families of IRA victims were labelled "wasters" giving "sob stories" to the media.

Details of the WhatsApp group first emerged in 2018 when The Sun newspaper reported that it had been set up using the phone of Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis and included party members.

In one conversation in February 2017, the possibility of a snap general election was being discussed when one user said it would result in the media being "on the phone to Cahill, Stack, Quinn et al and every other waster they can wheel out with a sob story".

The message is understood to refer to IRA sex abuse victim Mairia Cahill; Austin Stack, the son of a prison officer shot dead by the IRA in 1983; and the family of murder victim Paul Quinn.

Sinn Fein said in 2018, when details of the group emerged, that the messages were "completely unacceptable" and "a breach of our social media guidelines". However, the party did not respond to queries this week about what investigation, if any, was ever carried out.

Mr Ellis previously said he was "not on any WhatsApp group".

On Thursday, he said: "I don't want to deal with the media. I am in an election, can I talk to you again?" He then hung up his phone.

Ms Cahill - who called the comments "horrific and hurtful" - said she wanted to know if the group had been investigated, what the outcome of any probe was and if people involved were canvassing for Sinn Fein.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:12:46|Editor: huaxia

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HONG KONG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Xie Feng, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), on Friday called on the international community to pull together and combat the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Xie made the remarks during a press conference here on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

In the battle against the epidemic, China has notified WHO and relevant countries and regions of the outbreak and shared information such as the genetic sequence in a timely manner, Xie said.

"We facilitated the field visit by WHO experts to Wuhan in the early days, and have collaborated with WHO in coordinating and guiding global efforts," said Xie.

China has fulfilled the international obligations by promptly addressing reasonable concerns of foreign nationals in China and protecting their health and safety like Chinese nationals, he said.

"We are living in a global village with a shared future. Public health issues have no boundaries in such a globalized era, and no country can stay immune," Xie said.

"In the face of the epidemic, we need to pull together, instead of turning against each other," Xie said, adding that "We hope countries will respect the professional and authoritative advice by WHO, maintain normal economic cooperation, trade and people-to-people exchanges with China, and stop overreaction and fear-mongering."

"We are all in the same boat, and China is making a significant contribution to the world by doing whatever it takes to contain the coronavirus. Therefore, standing with China is standing with the international community as a whole," he said.

Xie added that "in the face of the epidemic, we especially need to guard against and firmly combat the virus of discrimination, hatred and racism."

"It's simply wrong to identify a virus with a particular nationality, region or race," he said.

Noting that the HKSAR is also under the threat of the outbreak, Xie said the central authorities have and will maintain close communication with the HKSAR government, and support and facilitate its science-based and targeted efforts to control the outbreak, and protect the safety and health of Hong Kong compatriots and foreign citizens in Hong Kong.
Latina and Latino students in history courses, like those taught at St. Marys University in San Antonio, frequently express surprise that history includes people like them.

They respond with phrases such as:

Historians study where I grew up in the Valley?

I always thought I was the only Mexican American kid to grow up without learning Spanish at home.

Why are we the only history students at this academic conference who have brown skin?

I dream of a day when I dont see students experience tangible shock when they realize the places where theyve grown up have a history. We must make space for our children, teens and young adults to study the histories of their families and the people who look like them.

We must recognize K-12 textbooks and curriculum privilege stories of dominant populations in the U.S.

Recent media reports have also pointed to regional biases in classroom materials. For example, versions of high school U.S. history textbooks tailored to California schools may discuss housing discrimination, immigrants contributions to the nation and the impact of climate change.

The same textbooks customized for Texas schools leave out topics such as these. Texas textbooks might instead highlight the perspectives of U.S. Border Patrol agents, big business and entrepreneurship.

With these great regional differences in content, its no surprise students, like those in my history courses, dont know scholars study the history of Latinas and Latinos in the U.S.

Few educators are surprised by these observations of regional bias in textbooks.

Because of recent changes in Texas state history standards and ethnic studies programs, debates have resurfaced about whose history we teach.

In 2018, the Texas State Board of Education streamlined the social studies and history curriculum, proposing to remove standards that mentioned figures such as evangelist Billy Graham, former first lady and politician Hillary Clinton, the Navajo Code Talkers and the women who made an impact on World War II.

While advocates of the changes argued removing significant people would streamline instructional time, historians and other members of the public questioned what was at stake by removing figures from the standards. The State Board of Education voted to remove some of these figures, but eventually some were reinstated. All four listed above remain in the high school U.S. history state standards. Labor leader Dolores Huerta was added alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez.

Importantly, debates over who should determine what or who is historically significant gained traction in Texas and throughout the nation.

Despite this growing awareness, even the best-intentioned K-12 teachers may still fall short in providing a curriculum inclusive of our students diverse backgrounds and stories.

Ultimately, K-12 teachers face restrictive state standards, limited materials, and a lack of time and resources, which often limit their ability to provide an inclusive survey of a variety of voices.

Because of San Antonios demographics, its especially important to include Latina and Latino historical figures and authors in the curriculum (and in books at home) to provide children access to these narratives.

When kids see themselves reflected in these texts, theyre able to see their own potential as citizens, as change-makers and even just as everyday kids. By seeing diverse faces and hearing diverse voices, students of all racial backgrounds learn about the importance of seeking multiple perspectives.

Representation builds kids confidence in themselves and their futures. Learning about the histories of people like them helps ground them in the past and the present.

Children, too, can contribute to the work of documenting and creating history. In schools, community organizations and their own families, kids can be involved in exploring and discovering history in the world surrounding them by doing oral histories, collecting artifacts for archives and researching local histories.

These kinds of projects engage students in doing the work of history and social studies, and empower them by helping them connect their own lives within the past and present, moving away from using textbooks and state standards as the primary drivers of history and social studies education in the state.

Lindsey Passenger Wieck, Ph.D., is the public history graduate program director and assistant professor of history at St. Marys University.
Met Eireann has issued a Status Orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway and Mayo ahead of Storm Ciara this weekend.

"In advance of the arrival of Storm Ciara on Sunday, south to southwest winds on Saturday will reach mean speeds of 65-80km/h with gusts of up to 120 km/h," Met Eireann warned.

The warning is valid for Donegal and Mayo from 12 noon until 4pm on Saturday. It will be in place in Galway from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Met Eireann has issued Status Yellow wind and rain warnings for the rest of the country.

On Saturday, election day, southerly winds will strengthen during the day, reaching mean speeds of 50-65km/h with gusts reaching 90-110km/h in places.

On Sunday, Storm Ciara, named by the UK Met Office, will produce very strong winds over Ireland with a risk of damaging gusts.

"Over the weekend the combination of Spring Tides and high seas, as well as stormy conditions, will result in an elevated risk of coastal flooding, especially along southern, western and northwestern coasts," Met Eireann has said.

This warning is valid from 9am on Saturday until midnight on Sunday.

A Status Yellow rainfall warning will also come into force from 12 noon on Saturday until 3pm on Sunday.

On Saturday, a spell of heavy rain will spread eastwards across the country on Saturday with 20-40mm expected, highest in the west and northwest.

Another spell of heavy rain on Sunday will clear to squally wintry showers. Another 20-40mm likely.

There is a risk of localised flooding this weekend, especially over the western half of the country, according to Met Eireann.

Caution is advised on all roads.
What TV channel is the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary debate on? How can you watch for free online?

The Democratic presidential primary debate on Friday, February 7 at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, is the first of three primary debates this month and the eight Democratic primary debate of this election cycle. It will take place after the Iowa Caucuses, and just a few days before the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday, February 11.

Seven candidates have qualified for the New Hampshire debate leaving four candidates off the debate stage. Thats one more attendee than at the previous Democratic debate in Iowa.

After a chaotic Iowa caucus, in which results were marred by technical difficulties and only 71% of precincts reported more than 24 hours later, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana came out on top. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar were trailing behind.

 The Tylt: Should the Democratic Party get rid of the caucus?

All five candidates, as well American hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, have qualified for the New Hampshire debate. Michael Bloomburg, Tulsi Gabbard, Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have not qualified, but remain in the race.

The debate comes in the wake of President Trumps senate acquittal after his impeachment by the house and the presidents relentless optimism during his Tuesday night State of the Union Address.

It presents what could be a final opportunity for trailing candidates like Klobuchar to scrutinize the front runners and push themselves into the spotlight, as the next debate on February 19 will have the strictest qualification requirements yet. Heres what you need to know to tune in.

What time is the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary debate?

The debate is at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday, Febraury 7, 2020. It is scheduled to run for approximately three hours until 11:00 p.m.

What TV channel is the New Hampshire Democratic debate on?

The debate will be broadcast on local ABC channels. In the Syracuse, NY, area on WSYR-TV, NewsChannel 9.

Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish

How to watch the New Hampshire debate for free online

The following streaming services will broadcast the debate:

It can also be streamed live with a cable provider login on ABC.com or on ABC apps for Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and other devices.

*ABC is not available on fuboTV, Sling or AT&T TV Now in the Syracuse area.

Who is debating?

Candidates need at least fiver percent in four DNC-approved polls or seven percent in at least two early state polls, not including Iowa, to qualify for the New Hampshire debate. They also need at least 225,000 unique donors with at least 1,000 unique donations in 20 states, U.S. territories or Washington D.C. Candidates who also have at least one delegate at the Democratic National Convention based on the results of the Iowa caucuses also automatically qualify.

These criteria gave stage space to:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Four other candidates are still in the race, but did not make the cut, including:

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard who has met the donor criteria, but not the poll criteria

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has met the poll criteria, but not the donor criteria

Who is moderating the debate?

ABC New chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, managing editor David Muir and correspondent Linsey Davis will moderate the debate. For Stephanopoulos and Muir, it will be their second time moderating a primary debate this election cycle. WMUR-TV is a co-host of the debate, and that stations political director Adam Sexton and news anchor Monica Hernandez will also moderate.

Apple News is also co-hosting the debate.

** ** **

Preview from the Associated Press

Almost 24 hours after the caucuses closed, an Iowa victor remained unknown. Late Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic Party released results from 62% of precincts, showing Buttigieg and Sanders vying for the lead, separated by just a few thousand votes, with Warren in third and Biden stuck in fourth place. Whoever the ultimate winner is will be deprived of the true spoils of victory, just as the loser may have been spared the stinging embarrassment of defeat.

There was no telling when the outstanding totals would be released to the public. The mystery around the results lingered throughout the day as campaigns carefully calibrated how to address such an unprecedented scenario.

Buttigieg, who began his day in Manchester, noticeably tamped down his appearance of a triumph at a morning event inside a theatre. He didnt specifically mention Iowa in his morning remarks. Only at the closing of his speech did the former South Bend, Ind. mayor reference having had the chance to quiet those questions about whether we belonged in this effort in the first place.

By time he took the stage in Laconia in the evening, he doubled down on his claim of victory.

Official verified caucus results are coming in from the state of Iowa, Buttigieg told his audience. They show our campaign in first place.

The partial results indicated a disappointing performance from Biden, who campaigned aggressively down the stretch in Iowa and had hoped to capitalize on his popularity with older, rural Democrats familiar with his 40-year-career. But even before they knew the final results of the caucuses, many of his supporters were already arguing he was still on track to win the Democratic nomination.

I didnt have any expectation that he would be first or second, said Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, who has endorsed Biden. Where he is in the final tally, or at least what we now know of the beginnings of the final tally, is kind of where I expected him to be.

Casey added that New Hampshire would be a difficult state for Biden to win, citing the fact Sanders and Warren represented neighboring states, but that he thought the former vice president would still be competitive there.

Other Biden backers were even more dismissive of Iowa.

What happened last night is nothing happened, said Florida attorney John Morgan, a Biden donor. When I woke up this morning, everybody had declared victory. I kept reading my paper here to see if Kamala Harris had declared victory, too.

Morgan, who hosted a fundraiser last May in his Orlando home that raised $1.7 million for Bidens campaign, said he still thinks the former vice president will pick up steam as the race progresses. Its an argument Bidens team has made from the beginning, pointing out that he was poised to earn greater support in the more diverse states that vote later in February, Nevada and South Carolina.

I think in the long run hes going to be just fine, Casey said. Obviously, the electorate changes a lot when you get outside some of these states over the next few weeks.

Still, a lackluster result in New Hampshire could damage a campaign like Bidens that entered the year with less cash in the bank than his top rivals.

If you lose two contests in a row, or underperform two contests in a row, that can make it harder to raise money to go forward, Sullivan said.

She added that in her view, many New Hampshire voters remain undecided even this late in the primary. And on the ground in the state Tuesday, the Biden campaign sought to start winning them over.

In Nashua, he claimed to have had a good night in Iowa.

We think were going to come out of there really doing well, but you know, be careful what you say because its not done yet, he said inside a gymnasium. So we dont know precisely how many delegates we have, or Im going to get, but I feel really good about getting more than our fair share.

He then took aim at the feasibility and cost of the Medicare for All plan championed by Sanders, who leads in New Hampshire polls.

Bernies talked about the single-payer Medicare system for health care system  for 30 years now. Hasnt moved it an inch, Biden said. Its not going anywhere. The speaker of the House isnt for it. Most Democrats in Congress are not for it. So hows it going to pass? Hows it going to move? Hows it going to get done?

But on the rope line on his way out of the event, Biden stopped short of saying hed accept the results from the Iowa Democratic Party.

For her part, Warren seemed stuck in the middle. She was unable to declare victory, but attempted to lump herself in with Sanders and Buttigieg.

Its a tight three-way race at the top, Warren said in Keene. We know the three of us will be dividing up most of the delegates coming out of Iowa. Im feeling good.

New Hampshire voters who spoke to McClatchy dismissed the possibility of Iowa influencing their decision, even if Biden ended up finishing fourth or worse.

Its an item for the media. What is important is hes going to get to South Carolina and hes going to do well, said Harold Solomon, a Nashua resident backing Biden on the basis of electability. Who can win in the battleground states? Joe Biden. Blue collar people are going to vote for him.

Anna Pappalardo, a recent transplant from Nevada to New Hampshire, said she was still deciding between Warren and Biden, but that final tallies out of Iowa wouldnt move her.

I dont think it means that much, she said.

You shouldnt base your decision on another state, chimed in her husband, Al, a Biden supporter.

The Iowa muddle raises the stakes even further for the New Hampshire primary. And the candidates will have a major opportunity to win over some of those undecided voters at the next debate.

The New Hampshire debate Friday is going to be one of the most important primary debates in history, said Colin Van Ostern, the Democratic Partys nominee for governor in 2016. If the results of Iowa are what everyone thinks, it would have been deadly for Biden and (Amy) Klobuchar if that was clear last night, But given the debacle, that damage is now downgraded to painful.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The bill passed on a 237 to 161 margin, carried predominately by Democratic support.

But Mr. Trump has been hostile to the idea of sending federal money to the island, and the White House has warned that it will veto the package. And Senate Republicans, emerging from the impeachment trial, may have similar reservations about the legislation, particularly given the administrations objections.

We havent focused on that, said Senator Richard C. Shelby, Republican of Alabama and chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But historically, weve never turned our backs on our own folks.

The administration raised concerns about Puerto Rico's history of inadequate financial controls over regular government operations and the multiple high-profile cases of corruption that have marred distribution of aid. In a statement, the administration also accused the House of rushing this bill through its process  and seeking to push taxpayer dollars out the door before the damage had been fully assessed.

While I, too, have been frustrated with the amount of time it takes the federal government to distribute funds after disaster, appropriating funds before we know what is truly needed is not the answer, said Representative Kay Granger of Texas, the top Republican on the Appropriations panel. Republicans also objected to the decision to tie a tax relief package to a spending bill, arguing that the two should be separate.

In impassioned speeches on the House floor, several Democrats argued that the legislation was a vital step to ensure the territories are treated in the same way that states would be. While Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands each elect delegates to Congress, their representatives do not have voting rights in the House.
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NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

DC Torque Tool market worldwide is projected to grow by US$705.6 Million, driven by a compounded growth of 3.2%. Handheld Tools, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 3%. 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$2.2 Billion by the year 2025, Handheld Tools will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798331/?utm_source=PRN



- Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 2.5% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$26.3 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$21 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Handheld Tools will reach a market size of US$127.4 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 4.9% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$189.2 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, Apex Tool Group; Atlas Copco AB; ESTIC Corporation; GEDORE Werkzeugfabrik GmbH & Co. KG; Hilti Corporation; Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd.; Ingersoll-Rand PLC; Makita Corporation; Panasonic Corporation; Robert Bosch GmbH; Stanley Black & Decker, Inc.; Techtronic Industries Co., Ltd.; Uryu Seisaku, Ltd.







Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798331/?utm_source=PRN



I. METHODOLOGY



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW

Global Competitor Market Shares

DC Torque Tool Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide

(in %): 2019 & 2025

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Table 1: DC Torque Tool Global Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 2: DC Torque Tool Global Retrospective Market Scenario in

US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 3: DC Torque Tool Market Share Shift across Key

Geographies Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 4: Handheld Tools (Type) World Market by Region/Country

in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 5: Handheld Tools (Type) Historic Market Analysis by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 6: Handheld Tools (Type) Market Share Breakdown of

Worldwide Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 7: Fixtured Tools (Type) Potential Growth Markets

Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 8: Fixtured Tools (Type) Historic Market Perspective by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 9: Fixtured Tools (Type) Market Sales Breakdown by

Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 10: Transducer Control (Control System) Geographic Market

Spread Worldwide in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 11: Transducer Control (Control System) Region Wise

Breakdown of Global Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to

2017

Table 12: Transducer Control (Control System) Market Share

Distribution in Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS

2025

Table 13: Current Control (Control System) World Market

Estimates and Forecasts by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018

to 2025

Table 14: Current Control (Control System) Market Historic

Review by Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 15: Current Control (Control System) Market Share

Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025



III. MARKET ANALYSIS



GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS

UNITED STATES

Market Facts & Figures

US DC Torque Tool Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025

Table 16: United States DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 17: DC Torque Tool Market in the United States by Type: A

Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 18: United States DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown

by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 19: United States DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 20: DC Torque Tool Market in the United States by Control

System: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 21: United States DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown

by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

CANADA

Table 22: Canadian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 23: Canadian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by

Type in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 24: DC Torque Tool Market in Canada: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 25: Canadian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 26: Canadian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by

Control System in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 27: DC Torque Tool Market in Canada: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Control System for 2009, 2019, and 2025

JAPAN

Table 28: Japanese Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual Sales

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Type for the Period

2018-2025

Table 29: DC Torque Tool Market in Japan: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the Period 2009-2017

Table 30: Japanese DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 31: Japanese Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual Sales

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Control System for

the Period 2018-2025

Table 32: DC Torque Tool Market in Japan: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Control System for the Period

2009-2017

Table 33: Japanese DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

CHINA

Table 34: Chinese DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Type for the Period 2018-2025

Table 35: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in China in

US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 36: Chinese DC Torque Tool Market by Type: Percentage

Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 37: Chinese DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Control System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 38: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in China in

US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 39: Chinese DC Torque Tool Market by Control System:

Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

EUROPE

Market Facts & Figures

European DC Torque Tool Market: Competitor Market Share

Scenario (in %) for 2019 & 2025

Table 40: European DC Torque Tool Market Demand Scenario in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 41: DC Torque Tool Market in Europe: A Historic Market

Perspective in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period

2009-2017

Table 42: European DC Torque Tool Market Share Shift by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 43: European DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018-2025

Table 44: DC Torque Tool Market in Europe in US$ Million by

Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 45: European DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 46: European DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018-2025

Table 47: DC Torque Tool Market in Europe in US$ Million by

Control System: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 48: European DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

FRANCE

Table 49: DC Torque Tool Market in France by Type: Estimates

and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025

Table 50: French DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario in US$

Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 51: French DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by Type:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 52: DC Torque Tool Market in France by Control System:

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period

2018-2025

Table 53: French DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario in US$

Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 54: French DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

GERMANY

Table 55: DC Torque Tool Market in Germany: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 56: German DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in US$

Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 57: German DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by Type:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 58: DC Torque Tool Market in Germany: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Control System

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 59: German DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in US$

Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 60: German DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ITALY

Table 61: Italian DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Type for the Period 2018-2025

Table 62: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Italy in

US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 63: Italian DC Torque Tool Market by Type: Percentage

Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 64: Italian DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Control System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 65: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Italy in

US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 66: Italian DC Torque Tool Market by Control System:

Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

UNITED KINGDOM

Table 67: United Kingdom Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual

Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Type for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 68: DC Torque Tool Market in the United Kingdom: Historic

Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the Period 2009-2017

Table 69: United Kingdom DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis

by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 70: United Kingdom Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual

Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Control

System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 71: DC Torque Tool Market in the United Kingdom: Historic

Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Control System for the Period

2009-2017

Table 72: United Kingdom DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis

by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

SPAIN

Table 73: Spanish DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 74: Spanish DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by Type

in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 75: DC Torque Tool Market in Spain: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 76: Spanish DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 77: Spanish DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by

Control System in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 78: DC Torque Tool Market in Spain: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Control System for 2009, 2019, and 2025

RUSSIA

Table 79: Russian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 80: DC Torque Tool Market in Russia by Type: A Historic

Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 81: Russian DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 82: Russian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 83: DC Torque Tool Market in Russia by Control System: A

Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 84: Russian DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF EUROPE

Table 85: Rest of Europe DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018-2025

Table 86: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Europe in US$

Million by Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 87: Rest of Europe DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown

by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 88: Rest of Europe DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018-2025

Table 89: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Europe in US$

Million by Control System: A Historic Review for the Period

2009-2017

Table 90: Rest of Europe DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown

by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ASIA-PACIFIC

Table 91: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 92: DC Torque Tool Market in Asia-Pacific: Historic

Market Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period

2009-2017

Table 93: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 94: DC Torque Tool Market in Asia-Pacific by Type:

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period

2018-2025

Table 95: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario

in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 96: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 97: DC Torque Tool Market in Asia-Pacific by Control

System: Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period

2018-2025

Table 98: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario

in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 99: Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

AUSTRALIA

Table 100: DC Torque Tool Market in Australia: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 101: Australian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis

in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 102: Australian DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 103: DC Torque Tool Market in Australia: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Control System

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 104: Australian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis

in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 105: Australian DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

INDIA

Table 106: Indian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 107: Indian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by Type

in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 108: DC Torque Tool Market in India: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 109: Indian DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 110: Indian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Review by

Control System in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 111: DC Torque Tool Market in India: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Control System for 2009, 2019, and 2025

SOUTH KOREA

Table 112: DC Torque Tool Market in South Korea: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 113: South Korean DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis

in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 114: DC Torque Tool Market Share Distribution in South

Korea by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 115: DC Torque Tool Market in South Korea: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Control System

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 116: South Korean DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis

in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 117: DC Torque Tool Market Share Distribution in South

Korea by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC

Table 118: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for DC Torque Tool:

Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Type

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 119: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific:

Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the Period

2009-2017

Table 120: Rest of Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Share

Analysis by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 121: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for DC Torque Tool:

Annual Sales Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by

Control System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 122: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific:

Historic Sales Analysis in US$ Million by Control System for

the Period 2009-2017

Table 123: Rest of Asia-Pacific DC Torque Tool Market Share

Analysis by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

LATIN AMERICA

Table 124: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market Trends by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2018-2025

Table 125: DC Torque Tool Market in Latin America in US$

Million by Region/Country: A Historic Perspective for the

Period 2009-2017

Table 126: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market Percentage

Breakdown of Sales by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 127: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market Growth

Prospects in US$ Million by Type for the Period 2018-2025

Table 128: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Latin

America in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 129: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market by Type:

Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 130: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market Growth

Prospects in US$ Million by Control System for the Period

2018-2025

Table 131: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Latin

America in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 132: Latin American DC Torque Tool Market by Control

System: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

ARGENTINA

Table 133: Argentinean DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018-2025

Table 134: DC Torque Tool Market in Argentina in US$ Million by

Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 135: Argentinean DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 136: Argentinean DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018-2025

Table 137: DC Torque Tool Market in Argentina in US$ Million by

Control System: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 138: Argentinean DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

BRAZIL

Table 139: DC Torque Tool Market in Brazil by Type: Estimates

and Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025

Table 140: Brazilian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario in

US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 141: Brazilian DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 142: DC Torque Tool Market in Brazil by Control System:

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million for the Period

2018-2025

Table 143: Brazilian DC Torque Tool Historic Market Scenario in

US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 144: Brazilian DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

MEXICO

Table 145: DC Torque Tool Market in Mexico: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 146: Mexican DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in

US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 147: Mexican DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 148: DC Torque Tool Market in Mexico: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Control System

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 149: Mexican DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in

US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 150: Mexican DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF LATIN AMERICA

Table 151: Rest of Latin America DC Torque Tool Market

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 152: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Latin America by

Type: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 153: Rest of Latin America DC Torque Tool Market Share

Breakdown by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 154: Rest of Latin America DC Torque Tool Market

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Control System:

2018 to 2025

Table 155: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Latin America by

Control System: A Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 156: Rest of Latin America DC Torque Tool Market Share

Breakdown by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

MIDDLE EAST

Table 157: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 158: DC Torque Tool Market in the Middle East by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 159: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Share

Breakdown by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 160: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 161: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Historic Market by

Type in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 162: DC Torque Tool Market in the Middle East: Percentage

Share Breakdown of Sales by Type for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 163: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 164: The Middle East DC Torque Tool Historic Market by

Control System in US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 165: DC Torque Tool Market in the Middle East: Percentage

Share Breakdown of Sales by Control System for 2009, 2019, and

2025

IRAN

Table 166: Iranian Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual Sales

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Type for the Period

2018-2025

Table 167: DC Torque Tool Market in Iran: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Type for the Period 2009-2017

Table 168: Iranian DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 169: Iranian Market for DC Torque Tool: Annual Sales

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Control System for

the Period 2018-2025

Table 170: DC Torque Tool Market in Iran: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Control System for the Period

2009-2017

Table 171: Iranian DC Torque Tool Market Share Analysis by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ISRAEL

Table 172: Israeli DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Type: 2018-2025

Table 173: DC Torque Tool Market in Israel in US$ Million by

Type: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 174: Israeli DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 175: Israeli DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Control System: 2018-2025

Table 176: DC Torque Tool Market in Israel in US$ Million by

Control System: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 177: Israeli DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

SAUDI ARABIA

Table 178: Saudi Arabian DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects

in US$ Million by Type for the Period 2018-2025

Table 179: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Saudi

Arabia in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 180: Saudi Arabian DC Torque Tool Market by Type:

Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 181: Saudi Arabian DC Torque Tool Market Growth Prospects

in US$ Million by Control System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 182: DC Torque Tool Historic Market Analysis in Saudi

Arabia in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 183: Saudi Arabian DC Torque Tool Market by Control

System: Percentage Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Table 184: DC Torque Tool Market in the United Arab Emirates:

Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type

for the Period 2018-2025

Table 185: United Arab Emirates DC Torque Tool Historic Market

Analysis in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 186: DC Torque Tool Market Share Distribution in United

Arab Emirates by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 187: DC Torque Tool Market in the United Arab Emirates:

Recent Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by

Control System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 188: United Arab Emirates DC Torque Tool Historic Market

Analysis in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 189: DC Torque Tool Market Share Distribution in United

Arab Emirates by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF MIDDLE EAST

Table 190: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Middle East: Recent

Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Type for

the Period 2018-2025

Table 191: Rest of Middle East DC Torque Tool Historic Market

Analysis in US$ Million by Type: 2009-2017

Table 192: Rest of Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Share

Breakdown by Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 193: DC Torque Tool Market in Rest of Middle East: Recent

Past, Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Control

System for the Period 2018-2025

Table 194: Rest of Middle East DC Torque Tool Historic Market

Analysis in US$ Million by Control System: 2009-2017

Table 195: Rest of Middle East DC Torque Tool Market Share

Breakdown by Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

AFRICA

Table 196: African DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Type: 2018 to 2025

Table 197: DC Torque Tool Market in Africa by Type: A Historic

Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 198: African DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Type: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 199: African DC Torque Tool Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Control System: 2018 to 2025

Table 200: DC Torque Tool Market in Africa by Control System: A

Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 201: African DC Torque Tool Market Share Breakdown by

Control System: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025



IV. COMPETITION



APEX TOOL GROUP

ATLAS COPCO AB

ESTIC CORPORATION

GEDORE WERKZEUGFABRIK GMBH & CO. KG

HILTI CORPORATION

HITACHI KOKI CO.

INGERSOLL-RAND PLC

MAKITA CORPORATION

PANASONIC CORPORATION

ROBERT BOSCH GMBH

STANLEY BLACK & DECKER

TECHTRONIC INDUSTRIES

URYU SEISAKU, LTD.



V. CURATED RESEARCH

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 10:22:16|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has unveiled a raft of tax policies to reduce financial burdens on some sectors and support the country's fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

For firms in the transportation, catering, accommodation and tourism sectors, their losses logged in 2020 can be carried over to an extended maximum period of eight years, the country's finance ministry and taxation watchdog said in a statement.

People working in the transportation, life service and daily necessities delivery service sectors will be exempted from the value-added tax.

The government also specified preferential tax policies regarding donations and subsidies for people participating in the epidemic control.

Airlines' payment to the government's civil aviation development fund is also waived, according to the new policy.

The specific tax policies took effect on Jan. 1, 2020, and the expiration date will be decided later based on the epidemic situation, according to the statement.
China is equipped with 5,000 years of culture and history, making it one of the most popular destinations for travellers in the world. Its welcoming culture makes it very easy for international students to settle down for a long term stay.

The core component of a Chinese PhD programme is similar that of the UK and other countries. You will research in detail a novel topic in your field with the support of your chosen supervisor. Upon completion you will submit a thesis detailing your significant findings.

Programme length

The majority of Chinese doctoral programmes give three or four years for research if you are registered full-time. Part-time opportunities for PhD students are available, however these arent applicable to international students. This is because the X1-Visa is only valid for five years.

Some institutions will give the thesis defence completion a five-year time frame, with others requiring it to be completed in four.

The full-time academic year consists of two semesters: spring (March-mid July) and fall (mid-September-January). A number of institutions will offer international students the opportunity to defer their start date to the end of September, complying with the traditional UK term dates.

Assessment and examination

The content of PhD degrees in China may vary depending upon the institution and chosen subject-area. However, many programmes include more formal teaching and assessment than is common in countries like the UK.

As a PhD student you may be required to complete a programme of training and study during the first two or three years of a research degree, adhering to the teaching plan set by your supervisor. This will include classroom lectures and examinations on the courses must be passed to complete your doctorate degree.

Alongside this you will have to complete your research project. A full doctoral thesis must be written on the research. Your will have to defend your thesis in an oral examination. (graduation defence) in front of a panel of experts within the research topic's field. (This is slightly different to the more private viva format in countries like the UK).
A man accused of kidnapping his toddler son and living under a false identity in the US for three decades has appeared in court.

Allan Mann Jr, 67, was extradited from New York City to Toronto on Wednesday, after an 18-month sentence for illegally obtaining benefits while eluding authorities.

Officials claim that Mann abducted his then toddler son Jermaine during a court-ordered visitation in 1987 and bought him to America.

Allan Mann Jr, 67, (left in 1987) has been extradited from New York City to Toronto and charged with abducting his son Jermaine (right as a toddler) more than 30 years ago

Toronto police had secured an arrest warrant for Mann, and he was charged with abduction after arriving in Canada.

Mann was in court Thursday for a bail hearing, but it was postponed until Monday, a court official said.

It was not clear whether Mann has an attorney in Toronto who could comment on the abduction case. His attorney in the U.S. declined to comment.

Toronto police say Mann kidnapped Jermaine in 1987 and fled to the U.S. where he obtained fake identities for him and his son.

Mann's American lawyer David Ring said his client ran 30 years ago because he was worried about his son's safety during a custody dispute with his wife.

It is thought that Jermaine's mother, Lyneth Mann-Lewis, had planned on taking her and Mann's child to Jamaica, reports CBC.

Officials claim that Mann (left in an old photo) abducted his then toddler son Jermaine (pictured in an age mockup) during a court-ordered visitation in 1987

Mann was caught in Vernon, Connecticut, in October 2018, two years after Toronto police and U.S. marshals launched a new effort to find him.

Speaking at the time Toronto police Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks said: 'They lived, basically, a life of lies as to who they were and what they did, unbeknownst to Jermaine. He was under the impression that his mother had died shortly after birth.'

Mann's relatives provided key information and officials said he had been living under the alias Hailee DeSouza.

Jermaine and his mother Lyneth Mann-Lewis (pictured) were reunited in 2018, after 31 years apart and the son being told she had died shortly after his birth

He pleaded guilty in August to illegally obtaining U.S. government housing benefits during his time eluding authorities. Officials say he also illegally received government medical services.

Mann's son, now in his 30s, grew up believing his mother had died shortly after his birth. Mother and son were reunited shortly after Mann's arrest.

Speaking after they met, Ms Mann-Lewis said: 'I am the proof that after 31 long years of suffering, one should never give up.

'Be patient, be strong, and believe that all things are possible and that anything can transpire.'
A 31-year-old Chinese national onboard a Pune-bound Air India flight from Delhi reportedly vomited twice in the plane, following which he was admitted to Punes Naidu hospital on suspicion of coronavirus infection on Friday.

The flight was later sanitised to return to Delhi.

Kuldeep Singh, director of Punes Lohagad airport confirmed the development and said, there was a Chinese person onboard the Air India flight which came from Delhi, he has been sent to Naidu hospital under supervision of health officials and Air India staff.

The plane was later sanitised thoroughly and sent to continue its journey back to Delhi. The passengers have boarded the flight and it has taken off.

Also Watch: Special prayer ceremony in Hyderabad temple to check coronavirus

As soon as the flight landed at Pune airport, the passenger was immediately sent to Pune Municipal Corporations Naidu Hospital. His medical samples have been sent to Punes National Institute of Virology (NIV) for further inspection.

Dr Ramchandra Hankare, head of the Civic bodys health department said the Chinese national had symptoms, like cold and cough, of being infected with coronavirus.

His throat swab samples have now been sent to NIV and were awaiting the report. He has a history of travelling to China recently, Hankare added.

According to Hankare, the patient arrived in India from Bangkok on January 29, then travelled to Kolkata on the same day, then to Bhuvneshwar the next day, then to Vizag on February, to Kolkata the day after that, then to Delhi on February 5 and finally landed in Pune on Friday.
The Scream is fading. And tiny samples of paint from the 1910 version of Edvard Munchs famous image of angst have been under the X-ray, the laser beam and even a high-powered electron microscope, as scientists have used cutting-edge technology to try to figure out why portions of the canvas that were a brilliant orangeish-yellow are now an ivory white.

Since 2012, scientists based in New York and experts at the Munch Museum in Oslo have been working on this canvas  which was stolen in 2004 and recovered two years later  to tell a story of color. But the research also provides insight into Munch and how he worked, laying out a map for conservators to prevent further change, and helping viewers and art historians understand how one of the worlds most widely recognized paintings might have originally looked.

The art world is increasingly turning to labs to understand how paintings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries are behaving. Vincent van Goghs chrome yellows, some of which have started to brown, and his purples, some of which have turned blue, have been widely studied. But less is known about Munchs palette, and scientists, using updated technologies and tools like transmission electron microscopes, are breaking new ground.

Jennifer Mass, the president of the Scientific Analysis of Fine Art lab in Harlem, whose team is on The Scream research, explained the science recently in her lab. She pointed to a photograph of what looked like a set of stalagmites: It was the surface of The Scream seen under a microscope.
Too late now to say sorry? As the whistleblower Chinese doctor makes his final journey, an entire nation seethes at the injustice and insult meted out to Dr Li Wenliang. Dr Li was one of the very first whistleblowers in China who cautioned people about a SARS-like illness snaking its way into the country way back in December 2019.

 Li-Wenliang

What he got in return was admonition and warning from the Wuhan police and public authorities for spreading rumours online and disrupting social order. Undertakings were signed and cautionary words were exchanged, before Dr Li went back to answer the call of duty and treat patients who had already contracted the Coronavirus.

 Gettyimages

Dr Li soon fell prey to the infection himself, which took him straight to the ICU. After spending a few weeks in isolation at the hospital amid feelings of despair and agony, Dr Li breathed his last.

While the state authorities resisted owning up to their shortcomings for the longest time before giving a weak response under public pressure, people are angry that even good intentions are murdered by the state.

 Li-Wenliang

Demand for freedom of speech has risen in the Peoples Republic where state-sponsored censorship across all walks of life is the reality. People have expressed their outrage over the authorities initial cover-up of the virus outbreak, which has killed close to 650 people in the country so far, and affected over 30,000.

 Reuters

As tributes poured in for Dr Li, cry for freedom of speech also began trending on Chinese social media platforms before it was taken down by the state authorities. However, people are no longer willing to let this go.



Farewell Li Wenliang

The State Takeover

The hashtag # I want freedom of speech # on Weibo is now gone. It had drawn 1.8 million views as of 5 a.m.



Even the phrase itself has been censored.



Not allowed to speak.

Not allowed to die.

Now allowed to be angry.

Not allowed to desire.



Are we allowed to at least remember? pic.twitter.com/bSQtpBKSOU  Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 7, 2020

Now You See It

From my Wechat Moments:



"



"Now we all understand, it's not the bats that are killing us."#2019nCoV  Frankie Huang (@ourobororoboruo) February 6, 2020

An Apology That Never Came

China owes this man an apology



Li Wenliang: Wuhan hospital announces death of whistleblower doctor - CNN https://t.co/eN2xtTcH56  El!zabeth (@lizmutesi) February 7, 2020

Once A Doctor, Always A Doctor

"I'm going to make my recovery so that I can return to the frontlines."



The last words by Dr Li Wenliang, the hero who raised the alarm on the novel coronavirus.



Selfless, courageous, impassioned to his profession right till the bitter end.



A true lionheart.#TrueHero pic.twitter.com/419sZkIFUA  Chan Quin Er (@ChanQuinEr) February 7, 2020

You Did Good Sir

I remember SARS, though it was 17yrs ago

The passing of #LiWenliang has parallels & differences to Dr Carlo Urbani, who was the first to identify SARS & immediately notify the WHO

The difference: his warnings were heeded, not admonished or silenced

He died of SARS March 2003  Tim Culpan (@tculpan) February 7, 2020














The Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court has scheduled for March 16 the consideration of the cassation appeal of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the Ministry of Finance and PrivatBank (Kyiv) against the decision of the lower instance courts on the lawsuit of the Surkis family on canceling the decisions of the NBU on recognizing them as persons related to PrivatBank and invalidating agreements for the exchange of their funds in the bank in the amount of more than UAH 1 billion for the bank shares (bail-in), later purchased by the state for UAH 1, the NBU said on Facebook.

As reported, on January 31 the Grand Chamber of the Supreme Court adjourned for an indefinite period the consideration of the relevant cassation appeal in connection with the government's request to replace the party from the Ministry of Finance with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in this proceeding.
The second- and third-place Democratic finishers  Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, who is the widow of Elijah Cummings, and state Sen. Jill P. Carter (D-Baltimore City)  have vowed to mount a vigorous campaign against Mfume, who held the congressional seat for a decade before becoming president of the NAACP in 1997.
REA Group has reported a 6% decline in half year revenue to $440 million despite the rebound in house prices over the last few months.

Its management warned that it is the listing volumes that remain challenging, for them and intending buyers.

REA noted that Australian residential volumes were down 13 percent in January, with declines of 7 percent in Sydney and 5 percent in Melbourne.

It came after national residential listings declined in the second half of 2019 by 14 per cent, with a 17 per cent dip in Sydney and 16 per cent in Melbourne.



New project commencements declined 30 per cent over the half-year period.

REA Groups net profit from core operations sat at $152.9 million, a 13 percent decline on the prior corresponding period.

The companys CEO, Owen Wilson indicated he was pleased with the resilience of the REA Group business.

Our results demonstrate the underlying strength of our business given the unprecedented market conditions.

"We now have a record number of customers committed to our premium listing products across both buy and rent.

"Customers see clear value in our product offerings, designed to deliver the highest quality leads to help their businesses grow.

The REA CEO remains optimistic on the future.

Key indicators show that the Australian property market is recovering.

"We anticipate that more favourable listings conditions in the second half of FY20 will deliver a stronger revenue outcome, Mr Wilson advised.




The man vomited stray bullet lodged in his head for months

A Nigerian man on Facebook identified as Bosindelive has shared an unbelievable story of a man who had a bullet lodged in his head for months without medical success but later vomited it.

Bosindelive revealed that the man was hit by a stray bullet which got lodged in his head, but he later miraculously vomitted it after doctors had promised to perform surgery on him.

He wrote:

He was shot on the head by unknown gunmen closed to his resident at Alamieseigha Road Opolo, yenagoa #Bayelsa #State last year and was rushed to FMC and latter transferred to NDU teaching Hospital for a professional handling.

Every effort to get the bullet out of his head became abortive. The medical surgeons promised to conduct a surgery on him after woods are properly healed, due to the complexity of the area affected.

God with his infinite mercy conducted a surgery on him at the early hours on sunday 2nd of Feb 2020, while on his way out to visit a friend.

The wonders of all is that; getting to the point where he was shot by those guys, he felt like something on his throat and tried to throw up. Behold, the dangerous bullet that was to make him undergo surgery later, came out through his mouth.
A glitch in the smartphone app used to count and report votes from individual precincts continues to delay results from Mondays Iowa caucuses. But a closer look shows that the app had a potentially graver problem that apparently did not come into play: its vulnerability to hacking.

MORE INFO Iowa caucuses did one thing right: Require paper ballots In November, some voters in at least nine states will cast their ballots electronically on systems that do not leave a paper trail. Read more. Confusion reigned in Iowa caucus -- even before the chaotic results While Iowans had access to more caucusing locations, confusion about the system kept some from being counted and left advocates for the disability community frustrated with remaining barriers. Read more. US could learn how to improve election protection from other nations The problem is of protecting democracy and securing voting machines is global, and would benefit from an internationally coordinated solution among both advanced and emerging democracies. Read more.

The IowaReporterApp was so insecure that vote totals, passwords and other sensitive information could have been intercepted or even changed, according to officials at Massachusetts-based Veracode, a security firm that reviewed the software at ProPublicas request. Because of a lack of safeguards, transmissions to and from the phone were left largely unprotected.

Chris Wysopal, Veracodes chief technology officer, said the problems were elementary. He called it a poor decision to release the software without first fixing them. It is important for all mobile apps that deal with sensitive data to have adequate security testing, and have any vulnerabilities fixed before being released for use, he said.

The weaknesses reinforce concerns about political parties managing elections, especially in an era of heightened sensitivity to digital security issues -- and about the Iowa Democratic Partys actions in particular. Party officials, who touted the new technology as a fast way to tally votes, may have given short shrift to assuring not only the apps effectiveness but also its security, experts said.

Theres no evidence that hackers intercepted or tampered with caucus results. An attack would have required some degree of sophistication, but it would have been much easier to pull off had a precinct worker used an open Wi-Fi hotspot to report votes instead of a cell data plan.

Still, the turmoil over counting the votes in Iowa has raised fresh doubts about the elections integrity. It absolutely hurts confidence overall because you have folks looking at this and saying: Did my vote matter? Did it count? said Amber McReynolds, the former elections director in Denver and now CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute. And theyll ask those questions again in November.

The Iowa Democratic Party referred questions about testing and vulnerabilities to the apps maker, Shadow Inc. Mandy McClure, the partys spokeswoman, said all electoral data and results have been exported from the application and are in the process of being verified through the paper record.

Gerard Niemira, Shadows CEO, said in a statement to ProPublica that we are committed to the security of our products, including the app used during the Iowa caucuses. While there were reporting delays, what was most important is that the data was accurate and the caucus reporting process remained secure throughout.

Our app underwent multiple, rigorous tests by a third party, but we learned today that a researcher found a vulnerability in our app. As with all software, sometimes vulnerabilities are discovered after they are released. He added that no hack or intrusion occurred during the caucuses, and that the integrity of the vote in Iowa was not compromised in any way. The app is not currently in use, he said.

The app was plagued with data-reporting problems and curious error messages, according to screenshots published by Motherboard, which was first able to download and install a copy of the app this week. The apps failure prevented some precinct workers from transmitting local election results to the states Democratic Party. Because there wasnt enough backup staffing, officials encountered long delays to phone in tallies. Some still have not been posted.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security offered to test the app for the Iowa Democratic Party, but the party never took the government up on it, according to a U.S. official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to speak publicly. The official said the party did participate in a dry run, known as a tabletop exercise. The party did not respond to requests for comment on this issue.

Political parties have less training and experience in administering the vote than do state and county governments, which will manage most of the upcoming primaries along with the general election. Government agencies must adhere to state and federal information security standards, which do not necessarily apply to parties. The Nevada State Democratic Party, which paid Shadow Inc. $58,000 in August for technology services, said it will not employ the app during its Feb. 22 caucuses.

ProPublica obtained a version of the app from an Iowa precinct chair and sent it to Veracode for review this week. ProPublica is not publishing the specific problems with the app to avoid giving a detailed blueprint to hackers, should a similar version of the software be used again.

This is an extremely serious vulnerability, said J. Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan computer science professor and chief scientist at the security firm Censys. An adversary could exploit it to intercept and change caucus results as they were being submitted through the app. Such a change would probably be caught eventually, if officials carefully compared paper return sheets from each location to the computerized results, but it still would have cast doubt on the whole process in peoples minds.

In 2015, Halderman and another researcher found a similar security issue in one of Australias online voting platforms. That problem, he said, would have allowed an attacker to change votes during transmission.

With all the attention thats supposed to be going into election security, its shocking that code with this problem made it into production, Halderman said. Its total amateur hour.

This article was first posted on ProPublica.
Pete Buttigieg narrowly won Iowas Democratic presidential caucuses, the state party said on Thursday, after a long delay in releasing the results of the first contest in the race to 2020 presidential elections

Washington: Pete Buttigieg narrowly won Iowas Democratic presidential caucuses, the state party said on Thursday, after a long delay in releasing the results of the first contest in the race to pick a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump.

Buttigieg, the moderate 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, edged out progressive US Senator Bernie Sanders by 26.2 percent to 26.1 percent of state-delegate equivalents  the data traditionally used to determine the winner  with 100 percent of precincts counted, the Iowa Democratic Party said.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren finished third with 18 percent, while former Vice President Joe Biden limped to a disappointing fourth with 15.8 percent. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar finished fifth with 12.3 percent.

The results, which have been marred by technical and organizational errors, could reshape the 2020 race for the Democratic presidential nomination for Novembers election and raise doubts about the future of Biden, the one-time front-runner.

Iowa Democrats had poured into 1,600 schools, community centres and other public locations on Monday night to make their choices among the 11 candidates in the Democratic race.

But the Democratic candidates had already departed Iowa and turned their attention to the next nominating contest in New Hampshire on 11 February before the first results were even released in two batches on Tuesday.

Officials blamed inconsistencies related to a new mobile app used for vote counting for the unusual delay in Iowa, the state that traditionally kicks off a US presidential election campaign that culminates this year on 3 November.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called on Thursday for an audit of the Iowa caucuses after the technical glitch created uncertainty about the accuracy of the tally.

I want to make sure every Iowa voter knows that their vote was counted, Perez said in an interview with MSNBC.

He said any review was unlikely to change the composition of the states 41 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Iowa Democratic Party leader Troy Price said the local party did not plan to start an immediate audit and it would do so only if a candidate asked for one.

Before the final results were released, Sanders thanked Iowans for the very strong victory they gave us in Mondays caucuses.

Asked later at a CNN event if he would request a recanvass, Sanders said: Weve got enough of Iowa. I think we should move on to New Hampshire.

He added: I suspect that at the end of the day, Mr Buttigieg and I will have an equal number of delegates to the national convention.

Screwup

Party officials initially attributed the delays to a technical problem with the new mobile app, but other concerns have since emerged, complicating efforts to release the final tallies.

The Iowa Democratic Party received an unusually high volume of inbound calls to its caucus hotline on Monday night from callers who would hang up immediately after being connected, supporters of President Trump who called to express their displeasure with the Democratic Party, and Iowans looking to confirm details, a party official said.

The call volume was highly irregular compared with previous caucuses, the official said.

The New York Times has also reported that more than 100 precincts reported results that were inconsistent, had missing data or were not possible under the caucus rules, casting doubt on the count.

The Iowa Democratic Party declined to comment on inconsistencies.

Both parties have criticized Iowas process.

They cant count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your healthcare system, Trump said of Democrats during an address celebrating his acquittal on impeachment charges.

His own party, however, switched the declared Iowa winner two weeks after its own Iowa caucuses in 2012.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, Sanders called the caucus debacle a screwup that was unfair to all candidates.

After Iowas reporting issues and delays, the Nevada Democratic Party, which hosts its caucus on 22 February, is scrapping both the app and ties to Shadow, the company that developed caucus-reporting apps for both Iowa and Nevada, party spokeswoman Molly Forgey said.

Luckily for us, we had a series of backup plans in place, Forgey added.
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Update: Alyssa Terry has been found unharmed.

Harrisburg police are asking for help finding 16-year-old Alyssa Terry, who was reported missing Thursday.

Terry is described as being about 5 feet 6 inches tall, and was last seen wearing a yellow fleece pullover with Atlantic City printed on the front, police said.

16-year-old Alyssa Terry was reported missing on Feb. 6, 2020. This photo is footage of her on the day she disappeared. Photo provided by Harrisburg police.

Terry may have run away to the Carlisle area or to Montgomery County, Maryland, police said.

Anyone with information on Terrys whereabouts is asked to contact Harrisburg police at 717-558-6900. Callers should ask to speak to a city detective. Tips can also be submitted through the departments Crimewatch website.

Read more on PennLive:
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Samsungs Galaxy Note 10 Unpacked Event in August saw the company also unveil its first Windows on ARM/Windows on Snapdragon notebook which it calls the Galaxy Book S. The Galaxy nomenclature has typically been tied to its ARM-based smartphones and tablets, but this is the first time that it has been applied to a laptop. Accordingly, Samsung is also referring to the Galaxy Book S as a mobile-PC is also touting its always-on, always-connected functionality thanks to an integrated X24 LTE modem. Its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8cx chipset is also very closely related to its Qualcomms Snapdragon 855 and 855+ SoCs, and also Microsofts custom SQ1 processor found in the Surface Pro X.

Microsofts Windows on ARM project is a resurrection of its cancelled Windows RT project from several years ago where it first tried to tap into the performance per watt potential of ARM-based mobile chips for everyday computing purposes. Unfortunately, as we know, Windows RT failed to catch on as it wasnt able to support regular Windows x86 apps. Windows 10 on ARM does offer some level of support for running x86 applications in a virtualized environment such are the performance gains in current high-end ARM-based chipsets since the Windows RT days, but it is currently limited to the 32-bit variety.

The Galaxy Book S is Samsungs second Windows 10 on ARM device, with the first being the Galaxy Book 2 tablet, which is powered by Qualcomms 2018 ARM-based Snapdragon 850 SoC. The Snapdragon 8cx is a more PC/Windows optimized version of the Snapdragon 855/855+ which is to say that Qualcomm has focused on improving its graphics performance by incorporating an upgraded Adreno 680 in place of the Adreno 640 found in both the Snapdragon 855 and 855+. It also contains four high-performance Cortex-A76-based Kryo 495 Gold cores clocked at 2.84 GHz and four power efficient Cortex-A55-based Kyro 495 Silver cores clocked at 1.8 GHz found in the Snapdragon 855. This differs slightly to the Snapdragon 855 which only runs one of its four high-performance cores at 2.84 GHz with the other three clocked at 2.42 GHz.

Weve had the Galaxy Books S in our hands for the past few days and have been very impressed with it on multiple levels. Firstly, its build quality is absolutely top notch. It is very much a seamless unibody aluminum design that doesnt have a single visible screw. It is also very sturdy with a very stiff chassis despite being just 0.96 kg (2.11 pounds) in weight. In fact, it is so light that Samsung calling it a mobile-PC is very accurate as in hand, it feels very much like carrying a tablet around. The relatively light weight of tablets is what has helped to make them popular and this is the closest yet weve come to laptop that can be described as being tablet-like. It also helps that it is just 11.8 mm (0.46 inches) at its thickest point and just 6.2 mm (0.24) at its thinnest.

The Galaxy Book S features a 13.3-inch 16:9 aspect ratio IPS TFT LCD 1080p 10-point multi-touch display and it is very good. Samsung doesnt go into any details about its specifications and we will naturally test it out thoroughly in our upcoming full review of the device. However, to the naked eye, it wont disappoint. It offers a properly immersive experience when viewing movies with high contrast and excellent color reproduction. This is augmented by excellent dual stereo speakers tuned by AKG with support for Dolby Atmos. Text reproduction of the display when viewing documents and webpages is also sharp at normal viewing distances. It is also reminiscent of Dells XPS 13 in terms of its cut down bezels. Its protective glass coating does show some reflections in light, but overall, it is not especially distracting.

The full-size keyboard that Samsung has fitted to the Galaxy Book S is probably the lowest profile that it has ever incorporated into a notebook. It had to be in order to keep its overall dimensions as sleek as it has. Although we dont yet know what sort of mechanism sits underneath (probably a redesigned scissor-switch) it is reminiscent of the ultra-short travel that annoyed Apple users of its now discontinued 12-inch MacBook. That said, it is not uncomfortable to type on, but has shorter key travel than some would like. However, after getting used to it, it starts to feel quite natural. As an added bonus, it is also backlit which is great news for mobile warriors who might use it when traveling, particularly on plane flights. The track pad is also among the more accurate you will find on a Windows laptop. Even better, the power key doubles as a fingerprint authenticator for Windows Hello and enables quick logins.

As for its performance, the Galaxy Book S is shipping globally in a single configuration. This means its Snapdragon 8cx is mated to 8 GB of LPDDR4 RAM and a 256 GB SSD. It also supports microSD expansion up to 1 TB. It is fitted with two USB-C ports configured to support USB 3.1 transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps. Wi-Fi is delivered through a dual-band MIMO antenna with support for Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) while Bluetooth 5.0 is also built in. In many ways, the spec highlight is that Samsung has fitted a huge battery to the Galaxy Books S (for an ARM-powered notebook) rated at 42 Wh. Samsung claims will deliver up to 25 hours of video playback. When it was initially unveiled in August, Samsung promised up to 23 hours of battery life, so it has obviously worked hard to optimize performance further in the interim.

Whats like to use? Fantastic. While it might have been nice for Samsung to give us the option to upgrade the RAM to 16 GB, it performs perfectly well with 8 GB of RAM on board, particularly if you stick with apps designed to run natively on ARM64. To this extent obviously Windows 10 runs natively on the device, as does the Office suite of apps. Microsoft Edge with native ARM support is available in beta as is Firefox. Google is developing a version of Chrome that will run natively on it as well, so it is probably best to avoid running the x86 version of Chrome in emulation if you can. If you are happy to work within these constraints, it is pretty close to being the perfect mobile workstation, especially given its exceptional battery performance and overall dimensions -- being able to charge it with your Android smartphone charger over USB-C is icing on the cake. Samsung has done a wonderful job with this machine and if you match its user profile, you'll love it. It's far more capable than a high-end Chromebook, which is its primary competition.

The Samsung Galaxy Book S is already shipping in limited markets for the equivalent of US$999. It is also currently up for pre-order in the US and is expected to ship by the middle of February. Keep an eye out for our upcoming full review of the Galaxy Book S in the next few weeks. We will also be doing a head-to-head comparison between the Galaxy Book S and Microsoft's Surface Pro X in the next week which will be helpful if you are looking to choose between the two.
Picture courtesy of Google

An attacker who went into a Stratford mans flat uninvited and slashed him across the forehead with a fearsome kitchen knife has been jailed.

Despite the gash Lee Bannergeee caused needing stitches, his plea of not guilty to unlawful wounding was accepted by the prosecution at Warwick Crown Court.

Bannergee (36) of Rosedale Avenue, Erdington, Birmingham, was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to an alternative offence of assault causing actual bodily harm.

Prosecutor Dean Easthope said that in October 2018 the victim was at his flat in Alcester Road, Stratford, with a number of other people.

They were in the kitchen at about 4.30 in the morning when there was a bang, and as the door opened they saw Bannergee holding a kitchen knife with a ten-inch blade down by his side.

Mr Easthope observed: This was the last chapter in an ongoing series of comings and goings and petty disagreements.

Bannergee ordered the victim to get down on his knees, but he defiantly responded: Im not getting on my knees for anyone.

He told Bannergee to get out of his flat, at which Bannergee, after repeating the order for him to get down on his knees, lifted the knife to shoulder height.

It came down once, and there was a cut to the left side of the victim's forehead and blood streaming down his face.

He is again told to get down on his knees, but the victim manages to disarm Bannergee and get the knife from him, said Mr Easthope.

At that point Bannergee seemed to think better of what he was doing, but as calls were made for assistance, he told the other people present that no-one should call the police.

There was talk about 1,000 if nothing was said, but the victim told him I dont want your money, just go.

Bannergee left before an ambulance and the police arrived at the flat, but was located a short time later and arrested.

Mr Easthope said the gash to the victim's forehead was not deep, but was described as being 3-4 inches long and required four stitches.

He added that Bannergee had a lengthy record, and although it had tailed off in recent years, he had been jailed for 12 months in 2016 for an assault.

Bernard Porter, defending, said that Bannergee was a single man at the time who spent a lot of time going out drinking.

But since then his personal life had settled down, and he had a supportive partner with who he had a nine-month-old child, and a full-time job as a driver.

Jailing Bannergee, Judge Anthony Potter told him: I sentence you for what happened some 15 months ago in Stratford in the early hours of the 14th of October in the face of some, on the face of it, rather petty disputes.

You decided to go uninvited into the flat of the victim, where you knew you would not be welcome.

That knife would have been a fearsome weapon, particularly to those who were gathered in that flat socialising, and you made a terrifying demand in those circumstances that he get down on his knees.

The judge said that when his victim refused, he struck out with the knife, and he told Bannergee: I accept you were not deliberately stabbing him, but you caused a wound which led him to bleed extremely heavily.

You, sadly, are not a man who is unused to violence, and you have a number of convictions that aggravate your behaviour in this case.

The message needs to go out that people who produce knives and use knives must go to prison
So many idiots causing so much pain and heartache. If only they could be stopped. If only we could do something, anything, to save them from themselves and us.

This week I found myself repeating this lament as I watched, through tears, the aftermath of the tragedy which saw four innocent children killed, three others injured, countless families destroyed and the nation horrified.

Leila Abdallah at the scene where three of her six children were killed by an alleged drunk-driver. Credit:Edwina Pickles

It allegedly took one bloke, one allegedly drunk man behind the wheel of a four-wheel-drive on a suburban Sydney street to cause such a resounding catastrophe. It took seven innocent kids, all relatives, on their way to babysit in the belief that staying on the footpath would ensure their safety, to become his victims. One stupid decision to drive. One moment of madness.

How to even attempt to understand the agony Daniel Abdallah and his wife Leila are enduring at the loss of their three precious children Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 8, along with their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11? How do we fathom that one a day later, a woman was arrested for crashing her car with a three-year-old girl inside while allegedly six times over the legal limit? How to prevent this happening again, to protect our loved ones? Just how do we stop the insanity?
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 17:47:09|Editor: xuxin

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MALE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Maldives is implementing new guidelines to ensure better safety standards in the local construction industry, local media quoting Minister of National Planning and Infrastructure Mohamad Aslam reported Friday.

Speaking with construction industry representatives and the parents of an eight-year old child who was killed by an accident at a construction site in December 2018, minister Aslam condemned negligence in the industry and affirmed that such accidents should not happen again.

Aslam said that the Maldives government has taken firm measures to better monitor and supervise the construction industry. New regulations have detailed more stringent safety measures, outlined responsibilities of contractors and building owners, and set penalties for negligence.

Aslam said that over 615 construction sites have been visited by inspectors since the deadly incident in 2018, with 218 of these sites being visited twice.

In December 2018, eight-year old Raushan Jian from Bangladesh was hit by a falling cement bag at a construction site in Maldives. She was admitted to hospital but later died from her injuries.

The administration at the time took action against the construction company responsible for the incident.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Graniteville man faces a misdemeanor charge after allegedly kicking a dog in Bay Terrace early on Jan. 23.

The incident was captured on a video that was widely circulated on social media, sparking outrage. It shows a man kicking a dog in its midsection four times, causing the pet to cry in pain before limping and being dragged across the sidewalk.

Antonio Velez, 49, a resident of Comstock Avenue, was arrested at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday and then charged with section 353 of the Agriculture and Markets Law in New Yorks misdemeanor cruelty statute, which is levied against an individual who tortures or injures an animal.

The video, which was recorded from a home on South Railroad Avenue between Kelvin Avenue and Justin Avenue, was taken on Jan. 23 just after midnight. It is not currently clear why Velez was in Bay Terrace with the dog during that time.

An NYPD spokeswoman said the dog was removed from the owner and is currently being cared for by the ASPCA, the Advance previously reported. An ASPCA spokesman confirmed that the dog is in the organizations care.

Velez was issued a desk appearance ticket following his arrest and is due back in court on a later date.

It was not immediately clear if Velez retained an attorney.
Photo: Masti Indian Grill & Chaat Bar/Yelp

If you've got Indian food on your mind, a recent opening is need-to-know. Called Masti Indian Grill & Chaat Bar, the new arrival is located at 184 Havemeyer St. in Williamsburg.

Heading the kitchen at the new spot is Executive Chef Abdul Jabber, a veteran of The Famous Curry Bazaar in London, who has set out to bring British-style Indian cuisine to Brooklyn, reports Broadway World. The menu at the 40-seat restaurant is centered on 16 different types of curry, each available with a choice of chicken, lamb, goat, shrimp, vegetables or paneer. Check out the Chettinad black pepper curry, the spicy British-style Phall curry, the hot coconut curry and more.

Other menu items at Masti Indian Grill & Chaat Bar include tandoori chicken and shrimp, an assortment of kebabs, classic starters like samosas and mulligatawny soup, vegan dishes, breads like roti and naan, and a selection of chaat  savory Indian snacks. The restaurant is currently BYOB.

With a four-star rating out of eight reviews on Yelp so far, the restaurant is getting solid feedback from clientele.

Carlo A., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on Jan. 27, wrote, "Our dine-in experience was phenomenal."

Yelper Graham P. added, "This is the best Indian I've had in NYC  hands down."

Interested? Stop by to welcome the new business to the neighborhood. Masti Indian Grill & Chaat Bar is open for lunch from noon3 p.m. on weekdays and for dinner from 4:3010 p.m. Monday-Thursday and from 4:3010:30 p.m on Friday. On Saturday, it's open continuously from noon10:30 p.m., and on Sunday, from noon10 p.m.

Want to keep your finger on the pulse of new businesses in New York City? Here's what else opened recently near you.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
His wild lifestyle and reputation were so infamous they almost eclipsed the late Ginger Baker's brilliance as a drummer.

And now it seems the Cream star is still at it  causing mayhem from beyond the grave in a family row.

The former heroin addict died aged 80 in October. But rather than bringing the family together, it reignited a rift between fourth wife Kudzai and his three children.

Nettie, 59, Leda 51, and son Kofi, 50, missed the modest funeral, claiming they were not told until the last minute.

The death of rocker Ginger Baker has reignited a rift between his fourth wife Kudzai Baker (pictured) and his three children

Baker, who was born Peter Baker, was the co-founder of the rock band Creams (pictured in the 1960s). He died aged 80 in October

They are also at war over the whereabouts of Baker's famous drum kit after his Zimbabwean widow hid it.

A fight over his will is now inevitable, with Mrs Baker suggesting only a small percentage of his estate will go to his children.

The feud emerged ahead of a memorial concert featuring Cream bandmate Eric Clapton at London's Hammersmith Apollo.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Kudzai Baker, 38, said: 'It was a beautiful funeral service I organised for Ginger, with Kofi saying he was going to play the drums. But I ended up on my own.

'His three children didn't come, and neither did his sisters Pat and Cheryl. I haven't had any contact with them since the day before the service.'

Pictured: Kudzai Baker (bottom right) with her late husband Ginger Baker (centre), his daughter Netty (right) and grand-daughter Zara (left)

The family rift may also mean that a fight over the famous musician's will is now inevitable. Pictured: Baker's son Kofi, 50

Mrs Baker, who lives in a cottage outside Canterbury, Kent, added: 'I first heard Kofi wanted Ginger's drums the day before the funeral.

He phoned a family friend to say 'I have to play them at the service and after the funeral I'm taking them to America'.

My lawyer told me not to take the drums. I've hidden them in different pieces because many people want them.'

Baker's family claim he changed after meeting Kudzai in South Africa in 2006. Four years ago Nettie called police, doctors and social services claiming Mrs Baker was exerting coercive control.

Police took no action after Baker denied having problems, but he cut contact with his daughter. Kofi  who told Rolling Stone magazine a year ago that his father was an 'ass***'  lives in Hobart, Indiana, and plays drums in a Cream tribute band alongside Jack Bruce's son Malcolm and Clapton's nephew Will Johns.

He said: 'I asked Kudzai for my dad's drums so I could take them to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Ohio. I think she wants to sell them. When I met her just before my dad died, I was nice. I wanted to be involved at the funeral. Next thing I knew I was getting emails saying she was taking control and they'd let us know a couple of hours before the service.

'Kudzai's emailed that she's cutting us out of the will. I don't think there's much money, but it's something else to split the family up, that's what Nettie is fighting.'

Baker, born Peter Baker in Eltham, south-east London, married first wife Liz Finch in London in 1960 and they had three children. Two further marriages to Sarah, the sister of Nettie's first boyfriend, and Karen Loucks also ended in divorce.

Baker settled in South Africa and after being swindled out of much of his remaining fortune, he installed Kudzai Machokoto, 42 years his junior, on his polo ranch.

The couple married in 2010 and moved to Kent the following year so her daughter Lisa could go to 19,000-a-year Kent College.

Mrs Baker claimed his records reap as much as 1million a year and he rewrote his will to ensure it goes to her. But Nettie denied there was a fortune, saying: 'He was living on a state pension of 150 a week.'

Mrs Baker said she may not attend the charity concert on February 17 as she is upset she has not been involved.
By Associated Press

NEW YORK: Home is a complicated notion for Feras Fayyad, the director of the Oscar-nominated Syrian documentary The Cave. His family home in Syria is believed to have been taken just weeks ago as Presidents Bashar al-Assads Russian-backed forces seized the area. His family is living in temporary housing near the Turkish border. For several years, Fayyad has been living in exile in Copenhagen.

After a lengthy struggle to obtain a visa to attend Sundays Academy Awards that included an outpouring of support from the film community, Fayyad finally arrived last week in Los Angeles. Being among filmmakers and friends he has made through his two Oscar-nominated films, Fayyad said, has been a relief. Even a little like being home.

Theres nothing harder than losing your home, nothing harder than losing everything around you, said Fayyad in an interview by phone. But there is something that gives me hope that I can speak about this and bring more attention to this situation and remind the Syrian people: We are still human, we still have a dream, we still believe in justice. For this little moment, I would love for The Cave to bring hope to my country and my people.

The Cave, Fayyads follow-up to this Oscar-nominated The Last Men in Aleppo (which made him the first Syrian filmmaker nominated for an Oscar) is one of the five films nominated for best documentary at this Sundays Academy Awards. Shot between 2012 and 2018, it depicts a subterranean medical facility in Eastern Ghouta during constant bombing by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies. The hospital lacks much of what it needs, including anaesthetics and food, and the incoming flow of injured and dead  many of them children  is ceaseless. A smell of chlorine fills the air after a chemical attack.

The hospital was administered by Dr. Amani Ballour, a young woman trained as pediatrician, who stayed behind to save as many lives as she could. They took the light, she intones in the film. We are living in darkness. Ballour was the only woman leading a hospital in Syria; even as shes tending to wounded, shes also combating deeply ingrained misogyny.

When I was young, no one tried to tell me that I had rights, that I can be something important. All the people around me said, Youll get married and have children, Ballour said in an interview by phone. I wanted strongly to change this image, to tell young girls that you have rights, that you can be very important, that you are no different than the boys.

Like Fayyad, Ballour is coming to the Oscars from a life in exile. She fled Syria in 2018 after the hospital was overtaken and moved to Turkey. She's applying for asylum in Canada. The United States last year abruptly pulled forces out of Syria, a withdrawal that drew a rare bipartisan rebuke from Congress. President Donald Trumps administration has slashed the number of refugees it will accept from Syria.

Syrias nine-year civil war have been called the greatest humanitarian crisis in the world. Since December, the Syrian government has advanced into the countrys last rebel stronghold in northern Syria. Following the more than 6 million refugees already caused by the war, the United Nations on Monday said half of a million more have been displaced since Dec. 1, 80% of them women and children.

It would be hard to fathom a more sorrowful place than the hospital of The Cave. But it would be equally difficult to imagine a more inspiring figure than Ballour.

I wanted to bring all of the struggle against the sadness, the depression, the death, the daily attacks on the hospital, where we can see the most courageous people and a woman who is fighting to make a space for hope, says Fayyad. We own the narrative here, completely, proudly.

Fayyad and Ballour are both coming to the Academy Awards with a personal mission to call for justice in Syria and to signal to their countrymen that all is not hopeless.

To be the voice for the people in Syria who are voiceless right now, to support them and try to get help in any way, this is my goal now, says Ballour, speaking in a midtown Manhattan high-rise. They have nothing in Syria, nothing. Even buildings like this, we dont have.

Fayyad has twice been jailed by the Syrian government for a total period of 18 months, so his ability to shoot The Cave on location was challenging. He depended heavily on his local cinematographers, communicating remotely from Copenhagen. Four staff members of the hospital died during filming.

It was difficult for Fayyad and Ballour just to get to the Oscars partly due to the U.S. travel ban on seven predominantly Muslim countries, including Syria. Fayyads visa was ultimately granted after protests were lodged by PEN America and the International Documentary Association. Preventing him to travel until last week had its own cost, diminishing how much time Fayyad had to do bring attention to Syria before the ceremony. (Another film about war-torn Syria, Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts For Sama, is also nominated for best documentary.)

But the campaign around The Cave, a National Geographic film, is ongoing. Following the Oscars, Ballour will travel the U.S. and Europe in a series of fundraising events for the Syrian American Medical Society, which helped secure Fayyads visa. Screenings are planned at the United Nations and at the Hague. An Oscar nomination is just one of many honors for Ballour, who was recently awarded the Council of Europes Raoul Wallenberg Prize, an award named for the Swedish diplomat who saved thousands of Jews during World War II.

A lot of minds will be blown, a lot of minds will be changed when they see the courage of this woman, says Fayyad.

They come to the Academy Awards with heavy hearts, intent on providing a beacon for Syria. But they arent immune to the celebrity of the Oscars. At the film academys luncheon last week, Fayyad met Brad Pitt and Al Pacino. Ballour, on her way to Los Angeles, has one other goal, besides her self-appointed duty to her country. She says: I want to see Tom Cruise!
The House of Representatives voted to impeach the president because our institution believes in the sanctity of our oath and the urgency of protecting our republic. One chamber of Congress held the president accountable. President Trump is impeached forever, disgraced in history for his abuse of power and contempt for our Constitution. He will go down in history as the first president to be impeached with the support of a majority of Americans, and the first to ever face a bipartisan vote to convict him in the Senate.
Instead of focusing on college applications our senior year, my friends and I attended back-to-back funerals. Residents living in pockets of the city where violence has been normalized are exposed to trauma levels that imitate those of war zones. The mental and physical health needs of these communities are ignored as demonstrated by the lack of grief counseling offered in schools and the inadequate hospitals in these parts of the city. There is only one hospital in Southeast, and it lacks a trauma center to treat gunshot victims. Ambulances often travel 30 minutes to reach an adequate facility. This lack of accessible and quality health care further illustrates the lack of value placed on black lives in this city.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 21:08:38|Editor: huaxia

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JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The novel coronavirus won't cause a long-term setback to China's economic growth, South African economists have said.

"China is a fast growing economy," and the virus "is likely to be a temporary setback in the immediate to short-term for most areas," Annabel Bishop, senior economist at Investec, told Xinhua recently.

Bishop said she was impressed with how the Chinese government has responded to the outbreak. "The Chinese government has made enormous, rapid progress in a number of areas to deal with the virus," the economist said.

"It is likely to continue this trajectory, and yield successes in conjunction with working closely with other countries in the development of vaccines and treatments, and also in communication and support," she added.

By noting that some countries have decided to suspend flights to China, Bishop said that the tourism sector would likely be influenced by that.

"Although it is by no means yet a full countrywide shut down, the precautionary measures will still have an impact on Chinese GDP (gross domestic product)," the economist added.

She stressed limiting the spread of the coronavirus would be good for China's economic development. "A quick containment of the virus ... would be very beneficial."

Jannie Rossouw, head of the School of Economic and Business Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, said he believes that the impact on the economy would be limited.

"China will get the virus under control, but planning for any health outbreak is difficult because it's unexpected," he said. But he added "Businesses will soon plan how to operate around it."
With a goal to bring the companys innovative products and services to more Filipinos nationwide, Nissan in the Philippines has opened its latest dealership in Central Luzon.

The local arm of the automotive brand has recently opened the doors in the area, for its first dealership in Clark, Pampanga.

Situated at Clark Freeport Zone, the Nissan Clark boasts a 10-car showroom and a 980-square meter workshop area.

The latest dealership, which expands the reach of Nissan in the region, was realized by forging partnership with Innovation Motors.

The newest dealership, which stretches to about 3,150 square meters, has the longest facade for a Nissan dealership in the Philippines to date, measuring 93 meters in length.

Atsushi Najima, President and Managing Director of Nissan in the Philippines, expressed pride and confidence with the existing partnership with the Laus Group.

Nissan Clark is the latest milestone in our partnership with the Laus Group of Companies through Innovation Motors. This dealership is an important step in Nissans commitment to customer satisfaction through our expansion to key areas in the country, he said.

For more information about the newly-inaugurated Clark dealership, visit www.nissan.ph.

Also read:

The post Nissan Opens Clark Dealership appeared first on Carmudi Philippines.
By the end of Sundays Oscars ritual, Hollywood will once more have failed to solve the central dilemmas of U.S. history: racism and non-inclusivity. Theyre already beating themselves up over it. (Let the Academy Awards do what theyve always done: Tell on the film industry.) Whats charmant is theyre convinced its on them to resolve. Honestly, its all about them.

At least theyre aware of it, as theyve long been. In the 1930s, the Marx brothers included Black actors whenever possible in films like A Day at the Races, where a musical numbers set in a barn among grooms and muckers. In Duck Soup, they parodied exactly that kind of tokenism in Were Going to War. They too didnt lack awareness.

But I digress. I want to address a less apocalyptic challenge that Hollywood faces: series TV.

Its been argued that current series TV is more like novels than movies, perhaps based on its precursors: early British series such as The Forsyte Saga or Upstairs Downstairs. Like novels, they can go on a long time and explore details, subplots and relationships excluded by two-hour movies.

But this misses a core element of contemporary series (choose your favourite, mine is Justified): their open-endedness. They have a problem with conclusions. You cant meticulously plot through to the end for a simple reason: you may or may not be renewed. Novels have definitive endings or, in sophisticated cases, as Frank Kermode wrote, the sense of an ending.

A series has a different heartbeat, arrhythmic you could say, since it doesnt know how long itll survive. Game of Thrones is proof of this. In its first seven seasons, it was wildly discursive, all over its odd map. Then it got notice of termination and sprinted through a final season, with speed-ups and resolutions instead of the lingering and backtracking wed grown to love.

Meanwhile, George R.R. Martin, author of the novels its based on, is stuck in the middle of his vast work and cant seem to get on. When and if he ends, it wont be where the series did. Perhaps he wont finish, or will but in the middle, like The Iliad, which sort of starts, then kind of ends.

An endearing example of this indeterminacy is the final episode of Ray Donovan, after seven seasons. It terminated last month. Why was its ending so inconclusive? Because they didnt know if theyd be renewed. (This week they were finally cancelled.) So some characters died, or seemed to, others maybe. It was a cliffhanger without a cliff, which somehow suits the series form.

I loved it. It had the sense of the sense of an ending or not even. It was like the last episode of The Sopranos, which couldve been slotted almost anywhere among its 86 predecessors. Justified, otoh, tied up neatly, even smugly. It betrayed the spirit of its meandering, ambivalent lifetime.

Somethings going on here in the nature of storytelling, that essential and self-deluding human trait. It feels to me like a move back toward the Oral Tradition from the Written. Movies, for all their visuals and sounds, are basically books on film instead of paper. Their content is locked in like classic novels.

Kermode said the Oral tradition (The Iliad) was chaotic and episodic compared to the Written, of necessity. The series has some of that, and even elements of response, like the Oral Tradition, if only in cancellation anxiety, or fandoms and their real time reactions online even as the tale is being told.

Its possible this revolution in storytelling will be further intensified by technologies that allow the alteration of plot lines, though who knows by whom: producers? advertisers? audiences? All of them democratically and chaotically?

What has this to do with this years Oscars? Well, what I find irritating about the nominees is their need for sharply delineated culminations, in many cases violent, as if for emphasis: THE END.

I think its crappy that theyre not diverse, so many years after the Marx brothers. But I think its fascinating that theyll need to cope with new modes of storytelling, and havent yet got a real sense of that challenge, much less the hang of it.
Libya: UNSMIL condemns destruction of Sufi sanctuary 'Arbitrary arrests, right to religious freedom violated'

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, FEBRUARY 7 - The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has condemned the destruction of the Sufi sanctuary of Zawit Bin Issa, in the city of Sirte, which occurred on February 5, and the arrest of a certain number of Sufis, also reported in Sirte.



UNSMIL said in a statement that such incidents ''appear to violate the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right not to be arrested or placed under arbitrary detention''.



''The destruction of religious sanctuaries is also banned by international humanitarian legislation and international attacks against religious monuments are war crimes''.



UNSMIL urged authorities that control the city of Sirte to investigate and bring the culprits to justice, the statement also said. (ANSAmed)
Hanoi authorities have isolated several people who travelled recently to areas struck by the coronavirus

In Thanh Xuan district, Nhan Chinh Ward Peoples Committee has just announced to have isolated several people who recently visited disease-stricken areas as a safety precaution but reported no signs of acute respiratory infection caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV).

Most of the people in isolation are foreigners, including three people living in building N3B in Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh, three others living in building 17T7 Trung Hoa-Nhan Chinh, three living in the Golden Palm building at 21 Le Van Luong Street, two in The Legend building at 109 Nguyen Tuan Street, three in Hanoi Center Point, two in the Diamond building, two in Comatce Tower, and five in Hapulico.

In Hadong district, Van Phuc Ward Peoples Committee decided to isolate two residents at Goldsilk Complex, while the Phu Lam Ward Peoples Committee isolated a Chinese citizen living at an affordable residential housing project.

In South Tu Liem district, there are a lot of foreigners living in the My Dinh area and the managing boards of buildings are constantly monitoring the health status of residents (especially foreigners) to prevent the nCoV from spreading. The boards also suggest residents wear masks in public. The Mipec Riverside building in Long Bien district went so far as placing a notice requesting residents and guests to refrain from talking or making phone calls in the elevator.

Other buildings like VOV Me Tri and Vinhomes Green Bay (South Tu Liem district) asked residents to wear facemasks or refrain from gathering in large groups, and the building management boards have carried out general cleaning and disinfection in public areas such as apartment halls, elevators, and corridors.
SYRACUSE, N.Y.  The flu is hitting Central New York harder than any other part of the state.

Nearly 140 laboratory-confirmed cases per 100,000 people were reported in Central New York last week, according to the state Health Department. That is significantly higher than rates in other regions.

There were 17,231 confirmed cases statewide last week, a 15 percent increase over the previous week. More than 1,800 New Yorkers were hospitalized.

There have been no confirmed cases in New York of coronavirus, a respiratory illness spreading rapidly in China.

So far this season there have been an estimated 22 million flu illnesses, 210 hospitalizations and 12,000 deaths from the flu nationwide, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There have been 78 flu deaths in children nationwide, including three in New York.

There were nearly 1,000 confirmed flu cases last week in six Central New York counties. Because most people with the flu dont get tested, the total number of flu cases is probably much higher than that.

Heres a breakdown of cases reported last week in Central New York:

Onondaga: 349

Cayuga: 41

Oswego: 92

Cortland: 97

Madison: 53

Oneida: 364

Public health officials recommend everyone 6 months and older get a flu shot. The CDC will release information about the effectiveness of this seasons flu vaccine later this month.

Where to find a flu shot

James T. Mulder covers health news. Have a news tip? Contact him at (315) 470-2245 or jmulder@syracuse.com

Thanks for visiting Syracuse.com. Quality local journalism has never been more important, and your subscription matters. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
ROCKVILLE, Md., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: SYN), a diversified clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in areas of high unmet need, announced today that the NYSE American LLC (the "Exchange") has accepted the Company's plan of compliance (the "Plan") for continued listing on the Exchange.

As previously reported, on November 25, 2019, Synthetic Biologics received a letter from NYSE American Staff indicating that the Company is not in compliance with certain continued listing standards relating to stockholders equity as set forth in Part 10, Section 1003 of the NYSE American Company Guide (the "Guide"). Based on the Company's Form 10-Q for the period ending September 30, 2019 and filed with the Securities & Exchange Committee (SEC) on November 4, 2019, the Company was below compliance with Part 10, Section 1003(a)(iii) of the Guide since it reported stockholders' equity of less than $6 million and net losses in five of its most recent fiscal years.

In accordance with NYSE American's policies and procedures, the Company submitted its plan of compliance on December 20, 2019 addressing how the Company intends to regain compliance with Part 10, Section 1003 of the Guide. On February 7, 2020, the Exchange notified Synthetic Biologics that it accepted the Company's compliance plan and granted the Company an extension for its continued listing until November 25, 2020 (the "Plan Period"). Synthetic Biologics will be subject to periodic review by Exchange Staff during the Plan Period. If the Company does not regain compliance by the end of the Plan Period, or if the Company does not make progress consistent with its Plan, the Exchange may initiate delisting procedures as appropriate.

The notice of acceptance from NYSE American does not affect the Company's business operations or the listing of the Company's common stock on the Exchange, which will continue to trade under the symbol "SYN", subject to periodic review by the Exchange.

About Synthetic Biologics, Inc.

Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (NYSE American: SYN) is a clinical-stage company developing therapeutics that preserve the microbiome to protect and restore the health of patients. The Company's lead candidates are: (1) SYN-004 (ribaxamase) which is designed to degrade certain commonly used intravenous (IV) beta-lactam antibiotics within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to prevent microbiome damage, C. difficile infection (CDI), overgrowth of pathogenic organisms, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, and (2) SYN-010, which is intended to reduce the impact of methane-producing organisms in the gut microbiome to treat an underlying cause of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). The Company's preclinical pursuits include SYN-020, an oral formulation of the enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) to treat both local GI and systemic diseases as well as monoclonal antibody therapies for the prevention and treatment of pertussis. For more information, please visit Synthetic Biologics' website at www.syntheticbiologics.com.

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions, and include statements regarding Synthetic Biologics' intent to regain compliance with Part 10, Section 1003 of the Guide and the potential benefits of SYN-004 and SYN-010. These forward-looking statements are based on management's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations and assumptions from those set forth or implied by any forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among others, Synthetic Biologics' ability to regain compliance with the continued listing standards by November 25, 2020, Synthetic Biologics' ability to comply with other continued listing requirements of the NYSE American, a failure to receive the necessary regulatory approvals for commercialization of Synthetic Biologics' therapeutics, a failure of Synthetic Biologics' clinical trials, and those conducted by investigators, for SYN-004, SYN-010 and SYN-020 to be commenced or completed on time or to achieve desired results and benefits, a failure of Synthetic Biologics' clinical trials to continue enrollment as expected or receive anticipated funding, a failure of Synthetic Biologics to successfully develop, market or sell its products, Synthetic Biologics' inability to maintain its material licensing agreements, or a failure by Synthetic Biologics or its strategic partners to successfully commercialize products and other factors described in Synthetic Biologics' most recent Form 10-K and its other filings with the SEC, including subsequent periodic reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and Synthetic Biologics undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Synthetic Biologics, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.syntheticbiologics.com


Ghana has already more than needed laws in place to function well for the benefit of the citizenry. It is not the volume of laws churned out from the House of Parliament, from the various ministries, and from whomever that will make Ghana function to the appreciable level so expected by discerning people to make life worth living for majority of Ghanaians.

Tell me, which laws Ghana has not for our current situation? Has Ghana not already laws in place to deal with all, or almost all, the crimes continually rearing their ugly heads in Ghana to make life unbearable for many a Ghanaian? Are there not laws in place to deal with bribery, corruption, extortion, murder, falsification of documents, embezzlement of funds and State assets and theft, only but to mention a few? Is it not these crimes and many more of which there are already laws in place to deal with that are causing the socio-economic stagnation, if not the retrogression, of Ghana? Are there not laws to address defamation of character, abuse of power by our elected government officials and other public sector officials, who are noted for greedily availing themselves of funds they are not entitled to?

Are there not laws in place to deal with our traditional leaders who abuse the laws of the nation and the conventions of their office as traditional leaders and tribes heads? There are! Why then is Ghana inundated with committal of crimes with impunity to the detriment of not only the county but the people therein?

What Ghana needs more than anything else to earn the respect of our contemporary prosperous Whites is the ENFORCEMENT OF THE ALREADY EXISTING LAWS! The laws are already there. All that is left is to enforce them. They must work!! How can the laws be enforced, one may ask?

Those appointed to ensure that the laws work must be seen to do that. How can they do it since they are themselves the very people breaching the laws for their selfish ends? The law enforcement must be a shared responsibility of all Ghanaians who are of sound mind. Those breaking the laws must be reported using the laid down procedures but where impediments are encountered, let us avail ourselves of the benefits of the modern day scientific developments as are the social media, electronic audio-visual gadgets and exposing rots in the society by leaking them to the foreign press where the local media are in bed with the perpetrators of such crimes hence may decide not to report or make any mention of their misdeeds in their papers.

We should be bold to take the perpetrators of the crimes on. Here, I will advise that Ghanaians must see crime as crime irrespective of who is committing them, how and when they are committed. Unless we cease hero-worshipping people because they are rich, because they are our traditional heads, because they are our tribesmen etc., Ghana will continually wobble in crimes and underdevelopment. If someone is doing something that is right, if a government is doing something that is right for the long-term benefit of the nation and the people, we should all rally behind them. We should not allow our parochial interests to rob us of the long term collective interests of the people and the nation.

The new Inspector General of Police, Mr Bonuah, must be applauded for laying in place structures for reporting police corruption. We need to use the structures to rid the police of their dented corrupt image. Should the police enforce the laws for which they are employed and paid for, there will be less road accidents, fewer committal of crimes etc., in the country to help the nation prosper. Let us report corrupt police officers and any corrupt officials who abuse the trust entrusted in them for the good of the people.

If, for example, a rogue traditional overlord abuses his authority on intent to steal from some people or reap gluttonously from where he has never sown, and is taken on by an audacious person, please support the person taking on the criminal chief. Don't go to the side of the chief because he is a chief and must at all cost be respected. NO!!. This unrefined attitude by Ghanaians is the cause of the many crimes going on in the country as are masterminded and orchestrated by our elected government officials, appointed public service heads and our tradition leaders.

Do I have to write as though I am writing a doctoral (PhD) thesis or dissertation before Ghanaians will understand the point I am trying my hardest to put across? Those people who rally behind criminals to obstruct genuine means taken to deal with them to wean them off criminal conducts must be ashamed of themselves. They are equally guilty as the criminals themselves.

If a traditional overlord is trespassing the boundaries of his authority to steal from other people, to suppress other people to set a bad precedent for future chiefs to use to suppress certain people of whom he has no authority over, I call on Ghanaians to support whoever takes on the rogue chief but not to condemn who is taking him on. If a president or a government takes action against abusers of the law, please don't condemn the government accusing it of tribalism, nepotism, practice of selective justice, and all sorts of nonsense to discourage the government from doing the right thing in the interest of the general public. We have to be farsighted rather than myopic in our thinking.

If the laws of the western greener pastures we flock to to fleece had not worked as they should, would such countries become so attractive and a strong magnetic pull to whisk us away from our shithole African countries to their lands to even be happier to do the menial jobs for them to earn us a decent living?

Oh Ghanaians, it is long overdue that we should have learnt sense to develop.

We don't need any more formulation of laws to prosper than the enforcement of the already existing laws!!!

Rockson Adofo
If I will die, let it ...
Gary and Grace Love in Las Vegas following their dream wedding

The funeral of a Northern Ireland man who died two days after his wedding in Las Vegas will take place on Saturday.

Gary Love (33) had been living in Waringstown, Co Down, with his long-term partner, Grace, mother of their two young daughters, Molly-Rose and Pippa.

The couple had flown to Nevada for their wedding on Friday, January 17.

The body of Mr Love was found by his new wife in their hotel room on the Sunday afternoon.

Mr Loves funeral service will take place at noon on Saturday at Seagoe Parish Church, Portadown, with committal following in Kernan Cemetery.

Until recently Mr Love ran a shop on Belfasts Newtownards Road and he had moved to a house in Waringstown to give his family a better life.

Mr Love is also survived by a 13-year-old daughter, Bethany, from a previous relationship.

Speaking after his death, his father Malcolm told this newspaper: His family were his main priority. He lived for them. We are all stunned.

They saw the Conor McGregor UFC fight on Saturday night with two friends who had also gone to Vegas.

On Sunday they went out for something to eat and came back to their room, but after a while Grace said she couldnt wake Gary.

Mr Loves mother Rosemary Bacon, who lives in Portadown, flew out to Nevada with her daughter Sarah and son Kenneth to be with Mrs Love and to bring his body home.
Neno Evangelism Centre preacher James Nganga is now demanding an apology from Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) for portraying him as a land grabber.

The controversial pastor is locked in a tussle with the State corporation over the land on which his cash cow stands. On Sunday, February 2, he rubbished claims that the piece of land along Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi belongs to KRC.

In a fiery warning during his Sunday sermon, pastor Nganga even threatened to curse Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) managing director Philip Mainga.

I swear before God, hutabakisha hata mjukuu duniani hapa(you will not leave even one grandchild alive on the face of the earth).

Will I keep issuing blessings? We also curse. It is inconceivable that people wake up to joke with a man of God. Which God are you playing with? he posed.

APOLOGISE OR ELSE

In a new development, the devil-exorcising Man of God, has reiterated that the land is rightfully his and Kenya Railways should apologise for claiming he encroached on their land.

Failure to do so in a months time and pastor Nganga will seek legal action, a notice by his lawyers to the corporation indicates.

We shall proceed to file legal proceedings against the corporation one month after service of this notice and obtain appropriate orders of injunction, says C.M. Ngugi Rebiro and Co. Advocates.

Nganga said he bought the land(L.R No. 209/9640) on August 13, 2008, for Sh42 million from Kenya Finance Investment Company Limited, formerly Kenya Finance Corporation Limited.

On 28 August, 2008, the said transfer was duly registered and the Land Titles Registry at Nairobi by the Registrar of Titles, the lawyers add.

The lawyers noted that their client has twice secured loans using the said title as collateral.

Nganga further argues that he put up the large church structure which is visible from any corner of the city yet nobody, including KRC, have ever raised any objection to its construction or existence which is now approaching 15 years.

In a nutshell and with all due respect, our client vehemently denies that the said parcel of land encroaches on the land initially reserved for railway use and therefore they unable accede your request that they surrender any document relating to it, the letter reads.
Seven people beheaded this week. Attacks on homes, schools, health clinics.

Thousands of people displaced by the violence. Insecurity that threatens multi-billion dollar investments.

This is the growing problem of Islamic extremist violence in northernmost Mozambique.

Confronted by rising violence, thousands of Mozambicans are fleeing troubled areas of northern Mozambique as the government and humanitarian agencies scramble to provide safe shelter.

Companies investing billions of dollars to pump liquified natural gas in the region are looking at increased risks and costs to protect their investments.

Some 500 people have been killed, many of them beheaded, since the extremists started their attacks in October 2017.

Not much is known about the rebels, but last year they became allied with the Islamic State group, which now issues claims of responsibility for attacks.

More than 100,000 have been displaced by the extremist violence, the UN refugee agency announced Friday.

A spike in extremist attacks in recent weeks have made it the most volatile period since the incidents began in October 2017, the refugee agency's spokesman Andrej Mahecic said at a press conference in Geneva.

Attacks are now spreading toward the southern districts of Cabo Delgado, with one of the latest incidents happening just 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Pemba, the provincial capital which has so far been untouched by the violence.

Seven people were beheaded earlier this week as the armed rebels cut a swathe through the Quissanga district, heading south then east toward the Indian Ocean coast and the islands of the Quirimbas archipelago.

A handwritten letter, purporting to be from the Armed forces of Ali Xababe (Al Shabaab) and circulated on social media Friday, said the rebels plan to continue to move south as far as the Mieze high security prison outside Pemba, where many of those arrested on suspicion of involvement in the insurgency are held.

More than 156,000 people have been affected by the insurgency, the Cabo Delgado provincial government said this week.

The attackers have burned houses and have laid waste to 76 schools and at least five health centers, according to the provincial government.

An integrated humanitarian response for the province, with support from Swiss Cooperation, is being drawn up by the provincial authorities.

The UN refugee agency's Mahecic said on Friday that the organisation would now take over coordinating all protection activities in partnership with the government, and would deploy additional aid and staff to meet the need, initially for 15,000 internally displaced people and host communities in the coming weeks.

The violence is also hurting progress on the multi-billion dollar liquified natural gas projects in the north of the province, which are expected to multiply the size of Mozambique's economy many times over in the coming years.

France's Total and American ExxonMobil, who operate the two onshore gas liquefaction projects, have asked the Mozambique government to send more troops to protect their installations, according to local press reports.

The head of Mozambique's National Petroleum Institute, which regulates the industry, said on Thursday that the insecurity is inevitably raising costs for the projects which they may be able to recoup from the taxes paid on gas production when the projects come onstream in the middle of this decade.

The country's Defence Minister today denied rumours that young men were being forced to join the army, in outlying neighborhoods of the capital, Maputo, and neighbouring Matola, the country's largest city.

At the moment we have no need for any compulsory recruitment, because we have sufficient forces to guarantee public order and tranquility both in the theater of operations in the north, and in the center, where sporadic attacks by former Renamo fighters are causing insecurity on the country's highways, Minister Jaime Neto told public broadcaster Radio Moambique.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has dialled back his criticism of India after it sparked a boycott of Malaysian palm oil, his chosen successor Anwar Ibrahim told Reuters on Thursday, urging New Delhi to note the change in tone. India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, last month imposed curbs on refined palm oil imports and informally asked traders to stop buying from Malaysia, the world's biggest producer and exporter of the commodity after Indonesia.

Sources said the move was in retaliation for Mahathir speaking out against a new citizenship law which critics say discriminates against Muslims. Mahathir has also angered India by accusing it of invading and occupying Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region whose autonomy New Delhi took away last year, and is disputed by Pakistan.

Anwar, who expects to succeed the 94-year-old Mahathir later this year under a deal worked out with his former foe, said the Malaysian leader may have gone beyond diplomatic expressions of concerns in his condemnation of the Indian government. "Countries will not take strong objections when you express concern, but of course in this regard Tun Mahathir has been quite tough and strong," Anwar said in an interview, using an honorific for the premier.

"But since then in the past few weeks, he has tried his level best to contain and try to make the necessary adjustments. I'm sure the leaders in India will take cognisance of the fact that Mahathir did say it, but then he has now refrained from repeating it in the sayings or tone." Anwar said he and Mahathir had discussed the tension with New Delhi and that it was important to maintain good economic and trade relations with countries like India and China without necessarily having to agree with each other's policies.

India's arch-enemy Pakistan, meanwhile, has pledged to buy more palm oil from Malaysia to help offset lost sales to India. Pakistan may have bought around 135,000 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil last month, a record high, India-based dealers who track such shipments told Reuters on condition of anonymity. India's January imports of Malaysian palm oil may have plunged 80% from a year earlier to 40,400 tonnes, according to Refinitiv. India bought 4.4 million tonnes of Malaysian palm oil last year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

At a joint news conference with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, Mahathir did not mention Kashmir. A joint statement released by Malaysia's foreign ministry, however, said issues such as Kashmir should be resolved on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international human rights and humanitarian law.That drew objection from India, which has repeatedly rejected any third-party involvement in matters concerning the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

"India completely rejects the references made in respect of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India," India's foreign ministry said on Thursday."We once again call upon the Malaysian leadership to develop better understanding of the facts ..."Anwar said he would have crafted any criticism of India over Kashmir or the new citizenship law differently than Mahathir.

Also read: CAA doesn't take away Muslims' citizenship, says PM Modi

Also read: Pakistan readies to import more palm oil from Malaysia after curb by India
Luik pointed to recent statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Juri Luik, Estonia's Minister of Defense, believes the country's President Kersti Kaljulaid must not visit Moscow on May 9, should she receive such an invitation.

"I don't recommend [accepting the invitation], especially considering the current situation," the minister said in an interview with the Sakala newspaper Friday, Russian news agency TASS wrote.

Luik pointed to recent statements by the Russian Foreign Ministry "about the continuity of Estonia's history, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, and on Poland and the Czech Republic."

Read alsoRussian State Duma member brands European Union "Hitler's coalition"  media

"In this context, attending the parade as an honored guest would send an entirely wrong signal, as if we indirectly support Russia's rhetoric," the minister said.

On April 18, 2019, Kaljulaid visited Moscow to attend the opening ceremony of the renovated Estonian embassy. Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin met her at the Kremlin, and called the absence of contacts between the officials of the two nations abnormal. Kaljulaid invited Putin to visit Estonia in 2020.
The author of AB5, Californias new gig-work law, said Thursday that shell seek amendments that remove some restrictions on freelance journalists and photographers, and is eyeing further changes for musicians, small businesses and others, as well as an assistance fund to help small nonprofit arts groups comply.

Based on dozens of meetings with freelance journalists & photographers, we have submitted language to legislative counsel that we hope to have available next week to put into AB1850 which will cut out the 35 submission cap & instead more clearly define freelancer journalism, tweeted Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego. She also said she will make more prominent the bills exemptions for businesses serving other businesses and specify that freelance writers can take advantage of them.

Writers and photographers filed suit over the bill in December, saying AB5 was an unconstitutional restraint of free speech and the media. They particularly objected to its irrational and arbitrary limit of 35 submissions per year, per client.

The suit was filed by the libertarian Pacific Legal Foundation on behalf of the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Press Photographers Association.

Were glad to hear that Gonzalez is willing to revise the bill to protect freelance journalists from the devastation weve suffered this year, San Diego freelance writer Randy Dotinga, board member and former president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, who spearheaded the lawsuit, said in an email. We look forward to seeing the exact bill language. We also look forward to our hearing in federal court on March 9.

We have not seen the bill language, but I hope that the revised law will no longer treat journalists as second-class freelancers, Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Jim Manley said in a statement. Removing any submission caps and limits on video recording would be a step in the right direction. We look forward to reviewing the bill.

Gonzalez said shes calling for $20 million in the state budget to supply grants to small community nonprofit arts organizations that make a good-faith effort to comply with the new law. Many small theater, dance and music companies have said they operate on shoestring budgets and simply could not afford to hire all their performers and backstage crews as employees.

For instance, Solo Opera in Concord and Walnut Creek said it would cost $10,000 to comply with AB5 for its upcoming summer production of Scalia/Ginsburg, previously budgeted at $60,000. The money is for attorney fees for new contracts, payroll costs, workers compensation, insurance and more

Being a small nonprofit, this is a huge hardship on us, said founder and artistic director Sylvia Amorino, who volunteers full time to run the company. The five-member board decided to come up with the money out of their own pockets. Amorino raised $1,000 via a birthday fundraiser on Facebook.

However, she said, if the law doesnt change, we will have to go dark or take a hiatus. The costs would be unsustainable for us.

She said shes cautiously optimistic about the proposed grants but concerned that it might be money we have to fight for (with) thousands of small companies competing.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Gonzalez filed placeholder legislation, AB1850, early this year, saying she would use it to clarify AB5.

We plan to address the unique situation regarding musicians in the next round of amendments by March, she tweeted Thursday. Musicians  the profession most associated with the word gig  had protested that under AB5 even garage bands would have to form employment structures, and that being hired as employees for one-night-stand engagements would be prohibitive.

The bill currently exempts fine artists, a term that Gonzalez tweeted would be better defined after input from the state Employment Development Department.

This is just a piece of the clarifications you will see in AB1850 & additional resources and relief for small businesses that are complying with this new law, she wrote on Twitter. We plan to have a few more formal announcements next week.

However, she tweeted, the amendments do not signal an end to the bill  and do not mean capitulation to the $110 million ballot initiative being pushed by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and other companies to keep their drivers and couriers as independent contractors.

I do believe in AB5 and will fight any attempts to repeal it, Gonzalez tweeted. I will fight Ubers attempt to exempt themselves through initiative.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced that ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC will pay more than $586,000 to settle charges of improper handling of pre-released American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).

ADRs are U.S. securities that represent foreign shares of a foreign company and require a corresponding number of foreign shares to be held in custody at a depositary bank. The practice of pre-release allows ADRs to be issued without the deposit of foreign shares, provided the broker receiving them has an agreement with a depositary bank and the receiving broker or its customer owns a number of foreign shares that corresponds to the number of shares the ADRs represent.

The SECs order finds that ABN AMRO improperly borrowed pre-released ADRs from other brokers when it should have known that those brokers did not own the foreign shares needed to support those ADRs. The order against ABN AMRO also finds that it failed reasonably to supervise its securities lending desk personnel concerning the borrowing of pre-released ADRs from these brokers.

Without admitting or denying the SECs findings, ABN AMRO agreed to return more than $326,000 of ill-gotten gains and pay a $179,353 penalty plus $80,970 in prejudgment interest.

This is the SECs 15th enforcement action against a bank or broker arising from its investigation into abusive ADR pre-release practices. In addition, the SEC charged four individuals for their roles in the improper handling of pre-released ADRs. Monetary remedies ordered across all of these cases exceed $432 million. (List of cases)

The SECs investigations revealed that misconduct by numerous industry participants had the effect of introducing phantom ADRs into the marketplace. At times of high demand for ADRs, or when supply from traditional lending sources was limited, a number of brokers sought pre-released ADRs from intermediary brokers, who obtained them from depositary banks. Many of the brokers seeking the ADRs could not represent that they owned the underlying foreign shares to support a pre-release, and so they used intermediaries, which, in turn, obtained pre-released ADRs under false pretenses, including by providing false certifications. The depositary banks that issued the pre-released ADRs and the brokers who took custody of them should have known that under the circumstances, it was highly unlikely that anyone in the chain of transactions actually owned the requisite underlying foreign shares. The pre-released ADRs that were not backed by ordinary shares were often inappropriately used for trading strategies such as dividend arbitrage or short selling, which could not have otherwise occurred.

I would like to thank the dedicated staff in the Division of Enforcement for shining a light on, and bringing strong actions against, the abuse of the ADR pre-release process, said SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. The pre-release process was designed to accommodate international settlement complexities. It clearly prohibited the uncovered creation of new ADRs. The blatant misconduct identified in these 15 actions had real effects on market pricing. The work of our Enforcement Division should have lasting benefits for retail investors who use ADRs as a way to invest in foreign companies.

The practices uncovered in these actions presented significant risks to the integrity of the ADR market, said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the Division of Enforcement. U.S. investors who purchase ADRs are entitled to the same protections as investors in any other securities available in U.S. markets.
In Australia, rain hasnt fallen on the eastern half of the country for a decade. Most of the land is now desert. Canberra, long since abandoned, is home only to the occasional band of kangaroos, which some people argue is no change at all  Along what remains of the eastern seaboard, moth-eaten as it is by the rising oceans, only the very wealthy remain, mostly elderly, living under enormous synthetic bubbles ... Petrol is now $20 a litre. Water half that or more, [and] comes by tanker and by trans-continental aqueduct. Air, on most days still too toxic to breathe, is filtered through special solar-power pores in the bubbles skin.

I wrote that in 2006, for my book my book Blubberland: The Dangers of Happiness. Then, it seemed a distant warning. Now its freakily plausible. As we cough our way through the Black Summer of 2020, watching endless footage of houses and fire-trucks aflame, of engine blocks melted and firestorms rampaging through the heavens, as we wonder whether this is summer redefined, we should also rethink how we make our cities.

Cities have always been shaped by fire. The 1666 Great Fire of London, destroying 70,000 homes, turned a huddle of half-timbered shacks and shop-houses into the grand rows of terraces we see today. First, under Charles IIs first building act which forbade all projection and decoration, came the very dour and upright Georgian terraces of Westminster and Islington. Then, as the law slowly softened, the more expansive and flossied-up Victorian terraces of Kensington and Camden Town emerged.

These same laws also produced old Sydney. Because our first building acts copied Londons almost word-for-word and our builders used the same pattern books, our terraces show the same basic pattern of protruding party-walls making a fire-proof matrix and well-proportioned windows with hidden frames. Being a century or two later than Londons, ours are distinguished by their near-universal wrought iron balconies. But even our city-of-villages structure and our wonky, two-storeyed high-streets resemble Londons.
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07.02.2020 LISTEN

Death, in general, is inevitable, but a peaceful death is evitable. In life, everyone tries their best to die a peaceful death but not all are able to. A peaceful death has to do with dying in Christ in peace with the hope that such a soul will return to the Creator peacefully.

In my life, I have seen people die with the conviction that good people do not fear death. Besides, I believe in the notion that everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die because of their unworthy lifestyles. I believe strongly that in the event where one has ones thoughts and actions well-conceived and executed, all other things become illusions.

Visiting the sick several times, I never took a critical look at the final days of the dying until I came across A Journey to Holy Moments. It brought me fresh and painful memories of a mother to the KNOLTA ministry I belong to in Church. When she fell sick, every now and then, prayers were said on her behalf, to a point that I, together with some members, dedicated a day out of our busy schedules to pray the Rosary asking the Blessed Virgin Mary to intercede on her behalf so that she would come back as fit as a fiddle to worship God but it never came to fruition.

Some of us happened to visit her at the hospital in the company of the Priest in-charged of the Church but the joy that was in me diminished because she tried getting up to embrace us but she could not. The Priest in-charged who had been visiting her smiled but at that moment I had the conviction that she was already dead but just surviving for a while due to her fervent hope in the Risen Lord; for no one is hopeless who hopes in the Lord!

The dying woman took part in every prayer that was said at her bedside, especially the Holy Rosary prayers. She, at one point wanted to lead the Rosary prayer but her voice failed her many times. Hence what I said within me was that if a dying person would have this strong desire to pray how much more I, who I am strong and healthy? This singular attitude of hers changed my prayer life for the better and made me fully active in all liturgical activities.

As a true mother with a good sense of humor, she cracked jokes and went further to ask of the welfare of her children. Not just asking but telling us to make sure they remain faithful to the Churchs teachings. That was a big task to us but as I did most often, I made them part of my adopted children.

On the day she passed on to eternity, the Priest in-charged told us to intensify our prayers for her after he, the Priest had anointed her with the Oil of the Sick. Then I said to myself, she has made a happy and peaceful journey into eternity. Hence the saying that The good fear no death came to perfect fulfilment.
NEW HAVEN  A Danbury man who admitted he fatally stabbed his girlfriend in her Meriden apartment pleaded guilty Thursday in state Superior Court in New Haven to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter and will serve 29 years in prison.

But the parents of the victim, 21-year-old Alyssa Guerrero, said after court adjourned that officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, could have prevented her death if they had deported the defendant, Mateus Nascimento-Dacosta, for repeatedly violating a protective order.

The victims father, Ciro Guerrero of Brookfield, said ICE representatives had learned of the protective order charges against the defendant and placed a detainer on him because he was in this country illegally.

Three times he was arrested for violating a protective order, Guerrero said. But ICE told Brookfield police, Its OK to release him, let him go. Tell him to stay out of trouble. It was a petty crime in ICEs eyes.

But then on May 2, 2018, Alyssa Guerrero was killed. Nascimento-Dacosta fled the scene but drove to the Waterbury Police Department and told them what he had done.

He said he had stabbed someone in Meriden, Assistant States Attorney Reed Durham told New Haven Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford Thursday. He provided the details.

According to the arrest warrant, Nascimento-Dacosta said he stabbed the woman with a steak knife.

Nascimento-Dacosta, 21, originally was charged with murder. But as part of the plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge.

Ciro Guerrero, who watched Nascimento-Dacosta plead guilty Thursday, said afterward, If he had been deported, our daughter would still be alive.

A message was left with ICE officials for comment on the case.

The victims mother, Jeannie Guerrero, told Clifford the family reluctantly accepted the plea deal, But she said they preferred he be convicted of murder and receive a life sentence.

They should make an example of people like this, Jeannie Guerrero said. They shouldnt just get a slap on the wrist.

If it were up to us, Ciro Guerrero said after court adjourned, he would spend the rest of his life in jail.

Nascimento-Dacostas attorney, John Bowdren, acknowledged the defendant is not in America legally. He is a Brazilian national, Bowdren said after court adjourned. Bowdren said Nascimento-Dacosta will face a deportation hearing when he is released from prison. He said the man will be eligible for parole in 24 years.

When asked to comment on the sentencing agreement after the court hearing, Bowdren said, It was really the best we could have expected, given everything he was faced with and the risk of going to trial on a murder charge.

Clifford scheduled the sentencing hearing for April 23.

Nascimento-Dacosta also pleaded guilty to a second charge of violating a protective order. That order, and the other two, had been designed to protect Guerrero.

He was harassing her, Ciro Guerrero said.

He said his daughter had lived with them in Brookfield until she moved out to rent her own apartment in Meriden. She moved out of our house one month before she died.

Durham recalled during the court hearing Thursday the events of May 2, 2018. There was an argument and she started to leave. He grabbed her and carried her back inside. She went into the bedroom. The defendant held her down with one hand and stabbed her in the upper chest. She bled to death.

Clifford said the agreement calls for Nascimento-Dacosta to receive 20 years for first-degree manslaughter and nine years for violating a protective order. He also will be sentenced to a year in prison for violating probation but this will be made concurrent with the rest of the sentence.

The defendant, who was dressed in gray prison garb, conferred with Bowdren during the hearing to clarify how long he will serve under the agreement. He has been held in lieu of $3 million bail.

According to state judicial records, Nascimento-Dacosta also was convicted and sentenced, in September 2017, on five counts of sixth-degree larceny and three counts of violating probation.

randall.beach@hearstmediact.com
SINGAPORE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Singapore's residual fuel oil inventories fell in the week to Feb. 5 amid weak net import volumes, down from a more than seven-month high in the previous week, official data showed on Thursday. - Onshore fuel oil stocks fell by 1.87 million barrels (about 294,000 tonnes) from the previous week to a five-week low of 21.685 million barrels, or 3.415 million tonnes, data from Enterprise Singapore showed. - Last week, Singapore fuel oil stocks rose to 23.555 million barrels, or 3.709 million tonnes, their highest since June. - Net import volumes dropped to a seven-week low of 525,000 tonnes, down 2% from the previous week and below the 2019 weekly average of 686,000 tonnes. Weekly figures, however, are volatile. - Compared with the same period last year residual fuel stocks were 12% higher. - Demand for Singapore bunkers has been recently limited by seasonally weaker demand during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays which has been compounded by the spread of the coronavirus, trade sources said. - Singapore's fuel oil net exports to Hong Kong topped the list for the week at 62,000 tonnes, followed by New Caledonia with 39,000 tonnes and Vietnam with 12,000 tonnes. - The largest net imports into Singapore were Malaysia's 148,000 tonnes, followed by Denmark with 139,000 tonnes, the United States with 82,000 tonnes and United Arab Emirates with 74,000 tonnes. - Weekly imports from Denmark, an unusual source of Singapore fuel oil imports, were at their highest since at least late-2015, or as far as available records show, data compiled by Reuters showed. - Fuel oil inventories in Singapore averaged 21.081 million barrels, or 3.32 million tonnes, per week in 2019. Feb 5 Total Imports Total Exports Net Imports Fuel oil (in tonnes) AUSTRALIA 0 7,000 -7,000 BRAZIL 52,231 0 52,231 DENMARK 138,808 0 138,808 HONG KONG 0 61,898 -61,898 INDIA 0 1,163 -1,163 INDONESIA 0 2,262 -2,262 JAPAN 54,747 0 54,747 KOREA, REP OF 10,424 0 10,424 KUWAIT 28,070 0 28,070 MALAYSIA 263,792 115,792 148,000 NETHERLANDS 5,629 0 5,629 NEW CALEDONIA 0 38,830 -38,830 PAPUA NEW GUINEA 0 7,077 -7,077 PHILIPPINES 0 10,956 -10,956 THAILAND 51,892 36,693 15,199 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 73,853 0 73,853 UNITED KINGDOM 56,638 0 56,638 UNITED STATES 82,062 0 82,062 VIETNAM 6,305 17,921 -11,616 TOTAL 824,450 299,593 524,856 (Reporting by Roslan Khasawneh; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Iran details rendering aid to its nationals to deal with coronavirus in China

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Beijing, Feb 6, IRNA -- Iran's Embassy in China elaborated Thursday on its measures taken to counter coronavirus to help the Iranian nationals here.

Since the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus in China which has claimed lives of over 560 people, the Iranian Embassy in Beijing has been following up moment by moment the latest situation of the Iranian nationals in Wuhan, central Chinese city, and other cities in that country, the embassy said in a statement a copy of which sent to IRNA office in Beijing on Thursday.

Reportedly, the outbreak of the coronavirus is believed to have begun from Wuhan.

On February 5, a Mahan Airlines flight carrying a number of Iranians from the quarantined city of Wuhan left for Tehran to let the nationals be kept in quarantine in their homeland, then to join their families, the statement said.

Also, headquarters to coordinate anti-coronavirus measures and a cyber group to give information to the users have been set up in line with Embassy's aid efforts for the Iranian nationals.

In addition, a direct phone line has been installed for continuous contact between the Iranian Embassy and the nationals in Wuhan.

The Embassy has also been trying to provide food and health services for the Iranian university students residing in Wuhan to let them not go out and not be disposed in crowd.

At the end of the statement, the Iranian Embassy said it has made all its efforts to follow up issues related to the Iranian nationals across China.

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Any Vietnamese people who have lived and worked abroad always turn their hearts to the motherland and want their descendants to learn the Vietnamese language.

Participants at the opening ceremony of the class

Acknowledging this aspiration, staff of the Vietnamese General Consulate in Ekaterinburg, the capital city of Russia s Sverglovsk province, have joined hands with Vietnamese peoples associations in the Ural mountainous region to open a Vietnamese language class for children from the Vietnamese community in the region.

There are around 800 Vietnamese people living and working in Ekaterinburg city, with dozens of them being school students.

Doan Phan Thuong, an officer at the Vietnamese General Consulate in Ekaterinburg, recalled that during meetings with Overseas Vietnamese (OV) community in the city, mothers had said that their children only speak Russian, and they havent figured out how to help their children to practice speaking Vietnamese more often. Many families have even sent their children to Vietnam for several years so that they can pick up their mother language.

Appreciating the OVs aspiration, the staff of the Vietnamese General Consulate in Ekaterinburg decided to open a Vietnamese language class in Ural region. However, they faced a number of difficulties regarding the lack of human resources, the management and time arrangement for the class, as well as where to find teachers for the class.

One of the most concerning issues for the organisers was the selection of teachers. Some people suggested to invite teachers from Vietnam, but that would require a lot of expenses. Then they agreed to find teachers right in the heart of the community, and then called for help from students who are fluent in both Russian and Vietnamese. Finally, four teachers were selected from OV university students in the region.

Another problem the organisers faced during the establishment of the class was to find someone to monitor and manage it as the General Consulate can only provide support and consultation for the class. Luckily, Le Thanh Hai and Le Thi Hoai, whose children were among attendees of the class, were willing to act as the head and deputy head of the parent board.

Concerted efforts made by the General Consulate and local OV community were rewarded with the launching of the first-ever Vietnamese language class in Ekaterinburg city in June, 2018.

The opening ceremony drew the participation of the General Consulates staff members, representatives of local associations, local children and their parents.

The participants enjoyed jubilant arts performances staged by children and teachers, generating an exciting and joyful atmosphere.

Teaching writing skills to students at the class

The course attracted nearly 30 children, who were divided into two age groups from 6-8 and 9-12 years old. The attendees are taught Vietnamese through the syllabuses compiled by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, which have been designed specifically for overseas Vietnamese.

During the course, they also have exciting opportunities to join group activities such as singing, dancing, and playing Vietnamese folk games. Monthly outdoor trips are also organised to help children practice Vietnamese with each other.

As a teacher at the class, Le Thi Ngoc Bich, a university student in the region, recounted that the first day of class saw mixed feelings among the children. Some were still too shy to answer her questions, others even cried out when their mothers left them at the class.

However, it was heartening that after several minutes, the childrens anxiety was swept away and they became more active and pleased to listen to Bichs teachings.

They showed a lot of excitement when they were told about Vietnamese fairy tales, some of them were even eager to recap the stories to their classmates.

When the winter of 2018 came, the temperature in Ural region dropped to - 25C, making parents hesitant to take their children to the class. Many times, there was only five to six children present at the class.

To address the problem, the General Consulate had meetings with the parents to ask for their joint effort to maintain the class. The organisers also plan to help parents to pick up children, and staff of the General Consulate would share part of the expenses.

Gradually, the class has been maintained well and the children have gained remarkable progress in their studying of Vietnamese as they are able to read long Vietnamese sentences as well as their vocabulary being significantly improved. Nhan Dan

Vietnamese language class in Kawagoe For Vietnamese people living and working abroad, just listening to Vietnamese in the foreign land, the nostalgia for their homeland becomes more earnest.
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Linkedin Michael Mathes and Chris Lefkow (Agence France-Presse) Manchester, United States  Fri, February 7, 2020 07:39 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630bad4 2 World #USA,#Elections,Democratic-party,Bernie-Sanders,victory,Pete-Buttigieg Free

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders joined Pete Buttigieg on Thursday in claiming victory in the chaotic Iowa caucuses as an exasperated party chairman ordered a review of the results of the first nominating contest.

Sanders, the leftist senator from Vermont, and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, have been separated by a razor-thin margin in the results released so far from Monday's caucuses.

Buttigieg declared himself the winner based on the number of delegates from the midwestern state who will be sent to the Democratic convention in July while Sanders staked his claim based on the popular vote.

Three days after the caucuses were held, however, the final results are yet to be released and some doubts have been raised about their accuracy.

Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez finally stepped in on Thursday, demanding a review of the results from the caucuses embarrassingly marred by technical problems.

"Enough is enough," Perez said on Twitter. "In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

Perez said it would involve an examination of the results from each caucus site rather than a full recount.

With returns in from 97 percent of the 1,765 precincts in Iowa, Buttigieg was leading by 26.2 percent to Sanders' 26.1 percent in the delegate totals.

Progressive Elizabeth Warren was next with 18.2 percent followed by former vice president Joe Biden with 15.8 percent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.2 percent.

- 'Much, much, much too complicated' -

Sanders, speaking on Thursday in New Hampshire, the next state to hold a presidential nominating contest, pointed to his 6,000-vote edge.

"In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else," he said.

"From where I come from the person who gets the most votes wins," Sanders said, arguing that too much emphasis was being put on delegate totals.

At the end of the day, he said, the caucus system is "much, much, much too complicated" and it was a mistake for the state party to "rely on untested technology."

Party officials have blamed the technical meltdown on a "coding error" with an app that was being used for the first time to report results.

President Donald Trump pounced on the debacle in the first-in-the-nation contest to decide which Democrat will face him in November.

"The Democrats, they can't count some simple votes, and yet they want to take over your health care system," Trump said during remarks at the White House celebrating his acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial.

Buttigieg appeared to be getting a bounce from his strong performance in Iowa as the latest New Hampshire poll showed the centrist candidate in second place in the Granite State, which holds a primary on Tuesday.

The Boston Globe/WBZ-TV/Suffolk University poll had Sanders, who won the New Hampshire primary four years ago before eventually losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton, topping the field with 25 percent.

Buttigieg's support surged to 19 percent from 12 percent on Monday, according to the poll, while Biden saw his backing fall to 12 percent from 18 percent over the same period.

- 'Gut punch' -

Biden, who described his likely fourth-place finish in Iowa as a "gut punch," was meeting with advisors on Thursday to map out strategy. He has topped national polls since entering the crowded race.

"I expected to do better," Biden said as he took the gloves off and launched attacks on Sanders and Buttigieg.

"If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America... will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself," Biden said of the self-described democratic socialist.

The 77-year-old Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years before becoming Barack Obama's vice president, went after the 38-year-old Buttigieg for a relative lack of experience.

"It's a risk -- to be just straight up with you -- for this party to nominate someone who's never held an office higher than mayor of a town of 100,000 people in Indiana," Biden said.

The Sanders campaign announced, meanwhile, it had raised $25 million in January, its largest fund-raising month to date.

After the New Hampshire vote, the candidates will turn their sights on the Nevada caucuses on February 22, the South Carolina primary on February 29 and then the March 3 "Super Tuesday," when 14 states hold primaries

Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York who is also in the race, chose to ignore the early nominating contests and has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ads hoping to make a splash on Super Tuesday.


Hollywoods awards season may not show it, but the most popular movies in the United States are increasingly diverse.

That is the finding of a report released this week. It comes from the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California. The report found that more of 2019s top movies had women or members of racial minorities as lead characters than ever before.

Researchers with the university examined the 100 most popular films in North American theaters. They found that 31 movies had leads or co-leads from an underrepresented racial group. That represents an increase of four films from 2018 and is nearly three times higher than the number 10 years ago.

The researchers found similar gains for female lead actors. Of the same 100 films, 43 had female leads or co-leads, an increase of four films from 2018 and more than double the amount of female leads in 2007.

Other studies released last month showed an increase in the numbers of female directors. The combined research shows that after years of little diversity in front of and behind the camera, the American film industry is making real progress. It still does not completely represent the U.S. population, of which 51 percent is female and about 40 percent are people of color. But the California researchers called it a banner year for inclusion.

It is clear that Hollywood is taking steps to create more inclusive stories and that those films are connecting with audiences, Stacy L. Smith said in statement. She established the Inclusion Initiative.

But there has been little evidence of those gains yet in Hollywoods awards season, which comes to a close on Sunday with the Academy Awards show. For the 87th time, no female filmmakers received nominations for best director. And while the much-nominated Korean film Parasite has made history, only one person of color was nominated for an acting award. That actor is Cynthia Erivo for her part in the movie Harriet.

At the British Academy of Film and Television Awards last weekend, only white actors were nominated.

The University of Southern California researchers also looked at the major companies which provide films to theaters. Popularity in theaters was an important measure in the study. So they did not include releases from streaming services including Netflix and Amazon, neither of which provided sales numbers for most of their 2019 releases.

Universal led all production studios in the study. It had nine films with a female lead and eight films with leads from an underrepresented ethnicity. Universal is the only production company led by a woman, Donna Langley.

Im Pete Musto.

Jake Coyle reported this story for the Associated Press. Pete Musto 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

diverse  adj. made up of people or things that are different from each other

character(s)  n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show

banner year  n. an especially good year

audience(s)  n. a group of people who gather together to listen to something, such as a concert, or watch something, such as a movie or play

streaming  n. the act of playing continuously as data is sent to a computer over the Internet
Australians under the age of 40 are at higher risk of developing melanoma in unexpected and non-sun-damaged parts of their bodies, new research has found.

It has led to calls for genetic testing for melanoma-linked gene mutations so people at risk can be identified early.

The study found people diagnosed with melanoma who were under 40 were more likely than older patients to have melanomas in nonUVdamaged sites. Credit:iStock

Dr Erin McMeniman from UQs Diamantina Institute took DNA samples and photographs from 585 volunteers with a history of one of more melanoma.

Melanomas in less-common places - including the thighs, abdomen, buttocks and lower back - were more common in younger patients than older patients, the PhD research uncovered.
Anil Ambani on February 7 said that his net worth is zero as part of his arguments over a lawsuit filed by three Chinese banks looking to recover over $680 million from him.

According to a Bloomberg report that accessed a court filing, Ambani stated that the current value of his shareholdings is down to approximately $82.4 million. However, Ambani also added that on taking into account his liabilities, his net worth would effectively be zero.

"In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings," read the court filing by Ambani.

The report noted that the lawsuit was put forward by three state-controlled Chinese banks that claimed they loaned $925 million to Ambanis Reliance Communications in 2012 provided that Ambani could personally guarantee the debt.

Ambani denied that he every gave a guarantee with his personal assets

The report noted that the comments came to light on February 7 after that Ambani sought to avoid depositing funds with the court ahead of a trial.

The report quoted the banks saying that Ambanis argument was that he was unable to make any payments, and that an order that mandated him to make any such payments would hamper his ability to defend himself in the case.

When the court asked if Ambani made any attempts to raise any funds from external source, including family, Ambani replied that he did make such efforts, but was unable to secure any funds for the payments as sought by the court.

According to court documents, RCom had sought the loan from the Chinese banks in order to meet its obligations under certain foreign currency convertible bonds due to mature on March 1, 2012. It went on to default on the payments agreed under the loan arrangement and between February and November 2017, the banks made various demands for payment.

On May 24, 2019, the banks eventually issued an application for summary judgment, alternatively for a conditional order requiring Ambani to pay into court all or some of the sum claimed "on the basis that on any view his defence is improbable".

(With inputs from PTI)
The movement of patient health records across the Irish border should be safeguarded as part of Brexit negotiations, a policy expert has said.

The City of London wants the EU to urgently agree that the UK meets its requirements for data security, to preserve the ease with which people from one side of the border use health services on the other.

Catherine McGuinness is policy chairwoman at the UKs main financial district and is visiting Londonderry and Donegal this weekend.

Catherine McGuinness (City of London/PA)

She said: One issue is particularly concerning me and is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, and that is the question of reaching an agreement on cross-border data flows.

It goes beyond the financial and professional services sector, although it is really critical for insurance, for example.

What will happen to peoples ability to carry on going to hospital across the border if their records cannot follow them?

These are issues that matter to ordinary people and we have got to reach agreement with our partners about data flows, urgently, I would suggest.

We need more clarity and certainty on that because these are critical for ordinary peopleCatherine McGuinness

She said EU partners had indicated they would consider the matter before the Brexit transition period was over.

We need more clarity and certainty on that because these are critical for ordinary people.

We are completely compliant with GDPR, we helped to shape the regulations, so there is no reason why they cannot make an adequacy decision right away.

An adequacy decision is how the EU determines if a non-EU country has acceptable data protection.

To give vital certainty to businesses the City of London is calling for the decision to be concluded by the middle of this year.

It added: As the UK transition period is also due to come to an end in December 2020, if no adequacy agreement has been reached by then, there is the potential for a 2020 cliff edge.

The UK Government has legislated to allow the free flow of personal data from the UK to the EU in a no-deal scenario but, without action by EU authorities, EU rules would limit the flow of personal data from the EU to the UK.

Three-quarters of UK cross-border data flows are with EU member states.

Ms McGuinness warned that insurance information was another area affected by Brexit.

She said services represented the largest sector of Northern Irelands economy and there was potential for co-operation between Belfast and Dublin.
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The City of Rochester will be asked to contribute $7.3 million in TIF funds for the next phase of DMCs Discovery Square  Two Discovery Square.

The Destination Medical Center Corporate Board met Thursday at the Mayo Civic Center. The board unanimously approved infrastructure funding toward the estimated $45 million, five-story building contingent on Rochester City Councils approval of the use of city tax-increment financing, also known as TIF. The project would be immediately south of the One Discovery Square building, which opened in September.

The city uses TIF to essentially borrow estimated increased property tax revenue a project will later generate to lend to developers to help fund projects.

The city council recently tweaked its TIF policy , and DMC Corporate Board leaders admitted before the vote the project doesnt quite meet the guidelines.

"This one does actually stretch the citys policy," said Patrick Seeb, DMC director of economic development and placemaking.

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Mayor Kim Norton noted that the city is required to invest $128 million into the overall DMC initiative and that TIF funding goes toward meeting that requirement.

The funding would be paid back over 15 years.

The property tax value of the surface lot would increase from about $23,000 to about $1 million, Seeb said.

City Councilman Michael Wojcik, a critic of how TIF has been applied to hotel developments, said he would likely support TIF funding for Two Discovery Square.

"I support TIF funding for projects that create good jobs," he said.

DMC Corporate Board members estimated the project would spur about 500 jobs once complete and create 800 jobs while its being constructed.

Twin Cities-based M.A. Mortenson Co. filed plans on the center last year. Those plans have been modified since then, including calling for about 50% of the parking Mortenson would normally design for a project of that size. Board members and city leaders said that meant the project will be an important part of expanding city transit infrastructure.

"They intend to participate in the citys transportation strategy," Seeb said.

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No tenants for the approximately 140,000-square-foot building have been signed to the project. However, board members said the fact that Mortenson wanting to move forward without a tenant shows the company has faith in the project.

That faith is likely based on the success of One Discovery Square, which is almost full of tenants including Biosig; Motion Medical, a joint venture between Mayo Clinic and Boston Scientific; WuXi Diagnosis, a Mayo and WuXi AppTec's joint venture; Royal Philips of Amsterdam; Epic Systems of Wisconsin; Cafe Steam and the University of Minnesota Rochester.

In other discussion, DMC staff indicated they will ask for more funding for reconstructing Peace Plaza.

The effort will require a longer timeline for construction to accommodate early stop times and late start times for adjacent hotels and help keep other businesses open.

"What I hear you saying is that its going to cost a bit more money," said R.T. Rybak, DMC corporate board chairman and former mayor of Minneapolis. Rybak added that filling vacant storefronts could be costly, too.

Norton said the plaza, in the heart of downtown and on the doorstep of the Mayo Clinic, is an important public space and for residents and visitors.

"This is the place everyone in Rochester likes to congregate, knows and loves," Norton said, "This is where we should be spending money if its going to cost a little bit more."

Pamela Wheelock, DMC Corporate Board member, said she understands the concerns but they need to be balanced with safeguarding public money.

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"Im looking forward to seeing how you assess where the balance is," Wheelock said.

"Its not an endless budget and a limitless check."
A married college worker who described himself as a 'Jack-the-lad' and bragged 'I'm an awesome s**g' is now banned from working in education.

Stuart Tandy, 42, has been struck from the Educational Workforce Council in Wales after a string of female colleagues complained over his sexual antics.

The college chief was accused of 'narcissistic and misogynistic' sexual banter and inappropriate innuendos towards female co-workers.

Stuart Tandy (pictured) has been struck from the Educational Workforce Council in Wales after a string of female colleagues complained over his sexual antics at college

Now he has been barred from working in education after a disciplinary hearing ruled his actions were 'sexually motivated' and not simply 'banter'.

Mr Tandy reportedly told a woman colleague to dance with him at the college Christmas party and grinded against her saying: 'You're making me hard'.

He had also been accused of making a foul-mouthed speech at the festive do in a pub, where he told his shocked staff: 'Cindy likes c**k'.

Presenting officer Cadi Dewi said: 'He was described as a Jack-the-lad who used sexualised language and innuendo the work place.

The college chief, 42, was accused of 'narcissistic and misogynistic' sexual banter and inappropriate innuendos towards female co-workers. Now he has been barred from working in education after a disciplinary hearing ruled his actions were 'sexually motivated' and not simply 'banter'

'He asked one colleague if she had a quickie with her husband before coming to work and asked others if they were having an affair.'

The hearing was told Mr Tandy, who held a 36,000 management role, also boasted to astonished staff: 'I am an awesome s**g - my wife told me.'

Mr Tandy, of Brynmawr, faced a series of complaints whilst manager at Torfaen Training, a council-run further education centre in Cwmbran.



'While attending the Torfaen Training Christmas party,' Ms Dewi said, 'Mr Tandy forced colleague E to dance when she did not want to then forced his groin into her and told her "you're making me hard" or words to that effect.'

Another colleague, known as person B, said Mr Tandy smacked her bottom on a night out to celebrate another worker's 40th birthday.

She said: 'I was talking to a colleague and I felt someone smack my bottom. I did not see who it was but I was told it was Stuart Tandy. He whispered in my ear: "Are you wearing underwear because that felt like skin on skin?"'

The woman, who said Mr Tandy's wife was also at the party, complained to college bosses the following week, and the college chief was suspended.

The Education Workforce Council heard 'bullying' Mr Tandy created 'a climate of fear' by shouting and swearing at fellow workers in meetings and 'demanding respect'.

Ms Dewi informed the hearing of how Mr Tandy allegedly told colleagues their ideas were 'a crock of s***' and said 'they could f*** off elsewhere.'

The disgraced former college manager admitted spanking a female colleague and swearing at staff members, but denied being sexually motivated.

He denied that his actions amounted to unacceptable professional conduct, and has refuted all allegations concerning his dancing at the Christmas party.

Married Mr Trandy (pictured with his wife Heather, right) admitted spanking a female colleague and swearing at staff members, but denied being sexually motivated. He said: 'I am a happy married man of 18 years with two children. I am overarchingly a good natured person who would help anyone. I venomously deny the allegations against me'

In a statement, Mr Tandy: 'I deny that there where any sexually motivated actions from myself towards any member of staff and am horrified at the thought that any actions were in pursuit of sexual gratification or a future sexual relationship.

'I am a happy married man of 18 years with two children. I am overarchingly a good natured person who would help anyone.

'I venomously deny the allegations against me.'

Mr Tandy said he had 'made mistakes along the way' but had 'acted professionally' for the majority of his employment.

The panel ruled his behavior was sexually motivated and amounted to unacceptable professional conduct, saying he 'behaved in a manner that was inappropriate and unacceptable' and his actions 'fell short of the standard expected'.

Mr Tandy, of Brynmawr, South Wales, was struck from the Educational Workforce Council register - and cannot apply to go back for another two years.

The panel said: 'The Fitness to Practise Committee imposed a Prohibition Order, indefinitely removing Mr Tandy from the Register of Education Practitioners in the category of work based learning practitioner.

'It also decided Mr Tandy may not make an application for restoration to the Register of Education Practitioners before a period of two years has elapsed.

'Should Mr Tandy not make a successful application for eligibility for restoration to the Register after 16 January 2022, he will remain prohibited indefinitely.'
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, center, director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 29, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Impeachment Witness Alexander Vindman Fired by White House: Lawyer

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a key witness in President Donald Trumps impeachment inquiry who testified about the presidents July 25 phone call with Ukraines president, was fired by the White House on Friday, according to his attorney.

Vindman, a National Security Council (NSC) staffer who is considered an expert on Ukrainian affairs, was escorted out of the White House where he has dutifully served his country, said lawyer David Pressman in a strongly-worded statement.

There is no question in the mind of any American why this mans job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House, he added. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth, Pressman suggested.

The White House was not immediately available to comment on his dismissal.

Ahead of the firing, Trump confirmed that White House officials were considering their next steps when he was asked by a reporter about whether he would be dismissed.

Im not happy with him. You think Im supposed to be happy with him? Im not. Theyll make that decision, Trump told reporters at the White House. In the same breath, the president also said acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney would not be replaced or firedpushing back against a claim made by CNN.

His comments followed media reports that Vindman might be reassigned from his NSC job to the Pentagon by Friday. But Trump demurred when asked, teasing that youll be hearing soon about a decision.

Earlier in the week, Trump shared several Twitter posts calling for Vindmans firing.

A top administration official told reporters on Friday Vindman may have a role in the Pentagon should he choose.

We welcome back all of our service members, wherever they serve, to any assignment they are given, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said when he was asked about reports saying Vindmans job was in jeopardy.

Vindman had testified during the Houses impeachment inquiry in November and alleged Trump made an improper demand of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the July 25 phone call that became a central part of the House Democrat-run impeachment inquiry. Trump and Zelensky have denied the allegations.

Timothy Morrison,(R), National Security Councils Russia and Europe Director, is escorted to a closed-door deposition in Washington, on Oct. 31, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The NSC official had told a Democrat-led House panel that I couldnt believe what I was hearing when he listened to the Trump-Zelensky call. Trump asked Zelensky to look into corruption investigations involving Ukrainian gas giant Burisma and possible connections to Hunter Biden and his father, 2020 Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden, as well as alleged election interference.

In the inquiry, Republicans pointed to public testimony from Vindmans boss Tim Morrison, the National Security Councils senior director for European affairs, who had cast doubt on Vindmans judgment in November. Morrison said that some of his colleagues had concerns that Vindman had leaked information and confirmed that Vindman didnt keep him in the loop at all times. Vindman also did not immediately speak to Morrison about his concerns about the July 25 phone call, Morrison also told the House Intelligence Committee.

Vindman was also asked during the public impeachment hearings about whether he had leaked any information during the inquiry. I never did, never would. That isthat is preposterous that I would do that, he responded. Vindman later remarked: I cant say  why Mr. Morrison questioned my judgment. We had only recently started working together. Hes, he didnt he wasnt there very long. And we were just trying to figure out our relationship.

The Senate acquitted Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after the Democrat-controlled House voted to impeach him on Dec. 18 following a monthslong inquiry, where they claimed Trump withheld millions of dollars to Ukraine in exchange for investigations.
New Delhi: India had offered the evacuation of citizens of all neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, from China's Wuhan, the epicentre of the Coronavirus. Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar said, "Regarding the question on Pakistan, at the time when our two flights were going, we had told all the students and the larger community in Wuhan that we were prepared not only to bring back only our own people but bring back all the people in our neighbourhood who would like to come back."

"This was an offer which was made to all our neighbours. But only seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail of the offer. I would like the honourable members to know the offer was made to all the neighbouring countries," he added.

India had evacuated its citizens and brought back 654 passengers from Wuhan on January 31 and February 1, which included seven Maldivian citizens and one Bangladeshi citizen. ITBP, which is hosting one of the quarantine camps for the evacuees, confirmed that all foreign nations have tested negative for the virus that has killed more than 600 in China.

While it has been confirmed no response came from Pakistan, the foreign ministry has said, if the situation arises, it can look into it.

Two Indian diplomats from Indian mission in Beijing-- Deepak Padmakumar and M Balakrishnan played a crucial role in operation Wuhan Evacuation. The EAM said, "I would like to place on record, for understanding and appreciation that, two embassy official also went from Beijing to Wuhan at considerable risk."

Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh responded by saying, "entire house joins in applauding the efforts".

Currently, 80 Indians citizens are in Wuhan, 70 Indian students who chose to stay in Wuhan and 10 students who were not allowed to board the Air India flight since they showed symptoms.

So far India has confirmed three cases of the virus from Kerala. It has also been confirmed that six Indians are on board the quarantined cruise ship Diamond Princesses, off the coast of Japan. Around 3,700 people are on the ship with 61 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus.
Squirming to get out of a zoned Houston Independent School District school that doesnt meet your kids needs, or failed to get into the magnet of your choice for the next school year?

Maybe one of the greater Houston areas 170 charter schools (according to the Texas Education Agency) will be a better fit.

The Feb. 10 deadline is approaching to apply for a number of Houston-area charter schools. Heres what you need to know about Houstons charters, and if theyre right for your student.

What is a charter school?

Charter schools are public K-12 schools that are run by groups authorized under city, county or state education officials. While the vast majority of funds come out of taxpayer money, charter schools are managed by private groups. Donations account for a small part of their revenue.

All adhere to state standards for education, ensuring that they get a well-rounded education in English, math, history/social studies, science and other subjects comparable to a HISD school. Many offer resources to catch up students who failed out of a traditional school district, or have fallen behind grade-level.

More Information What is this? I'm Gwendolyn Wu, and I'm writing "Houston How To," a series on how to navigate the city and its complexities. Humans have an innate drive to improve themselves, and we're always striving to live better, smarter and more efficiently by throwing countless dollars and hours at our problems. The Houston Chronicle wants to simplify that for you. As a reporter, I usually ask the questions, but I can't be the only one wondering how something works. What are things you need to know how to do, Houston? You can find me on Twitter at @gwendolynawu or by email at gwendolyn.wu@chron.com. See More Collapse

Some charter schools have negative reputations  financial exploitation by corrupt leaders, lacking in opportunities for special education students. But there are still charter schools with high graduation and college attendance rates that provide a good education to kids without squandering taxpayer money.

MORE HOW TO: How to buy your first home in Houston

Accountability ratings from TEA are also crucial to understanding how well students are doing. Long-established charter school systems like YES Prep, KIPP Texas and Harmony Public Schools saw high marks during the 2018-2019 school year for providing a solid education for students.

What are the pros and cons of picking one over a traditional school?

Some students might need more one-on-one attention in school or a more robust menu of classes than is available at their current campuses.

Charter schools are one option for parents who have kids struggling to succeed in their zoned school, said Ayla Dehghanpoor, a spokesperson for Families Empowered, a Houston nonprofit that helps parents choose schools for their children. Some charter schools offer the benefit of an extended day, a longer school year, or a unique curriculum such as a Classical or Montessori model.

That means thoughtfully tackling issues like bullying and falling behind in class with the goal of improving students attitudes and work ethics.

Parents will tell you that the experience they have in charters is much more personalized, said Cheryl Lawson, executive director of The Lawson Academy in Third Ward.

Charter schools are smaller than many traditional schools. Some of the largest charter schools in the Houston area have around 1,000 students spread over grades 6 through 12, according to TEA data.

For comparison, the combined 2018-2019 enrollment at Lamar High School in River Oaks, which serves students in grades 9-12, and Pershing Middle School in Braeswood Place, which serves grades 6-8, is 5,078 students, according to National Center for Education Statistics data

Charter school advocates say that schools can do a better job addressing all the needs of a young student.

Its important for parents to be able to trust that when they send their child to school that their needs be met in many ways, said Michelle LaFlure, the principal of YES Prep North Central Elementary School.

There is a risk that the charter school your child attends will close  look for numbers on declining enrollment, if there have been any sanctions recently (Houston Chronicle education reporters Jacob Carpenter and Shelby Webb do plenty of reporting on the shortcomings of some school systems) and at performance reports to see if schools are meeting state standards. In the U.S., roughly 200 charter schools close every year, according to the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

But there is renewed federal support for charter school expansion; U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has pushed for more funding for charter grants in recent years.

How does the application process work?

Many Houston charter schools use one common application: applyhouston.org. Some use their own lottery websites; check each schools website to see how to participate in their application process.

On the ApplyHouston website, the process is straightforward. The system asks for basic contact information, information about your child and what grade you plan to enroll them in, before taking you to a directory of schools within their grade level. ApplyHouston includes information about how far a school is from your home address, links to their websites and in some cases, school-submitted information about amenities like transportation and extracurriculars.

Its free to parents and allows them to have a single place to submit multiple applications all aligned with the same dates and committed to improving equity and access for the lowest income Houstonians, Dehghanpoor said.

Families Empowered recomments applying to three schools to increase acceptance chances. (You can apply to as many as youd like, though.)

Parents can visit or call the nonprofit to for help filling out applications.

We inform parents about all of their options and equip them with the rules of a game that, in many cases, they didn't even know they were playing, Dehghanpoor said.

Once the app is submitted, schools will host a lottery and notify families by phone call, email or mail about acceptance or waitlist statuses.

TAX SEASON: What Houstonians need to know before filing taxes

While Feb. 10 is just around the corner, some charters still accept applications after the priority deadline. And some dont have a deadline, meaning youll need to call and find out if theyre still accepting students for the school year you plan to enroll them.

How do I pick the right charter school for my kid?

Like any other school, youll consider whether the school accepts students of certain grades and is within walking or reasonable driving distance from your home.

Before committing to a charter school, take a tour of the campus or attend an open house to meet school officials and students.

Charter school leaders like LaFlure and Lawson say parents should keep an eye on staff turnover rate, classes offered and how a school can go beyond what is offered at a traditional ISD campus.

Families should really look holistically to see how are schools performing academically, what supports are there for students in terms of social and emotional learning, what kind of culture is established at the school, LaFlure said.

Lawson said its key for parents to ask a school about their successes and failures.

Only the school will remember and know when you ask what are you good at and what will you continue working on? she said.

gwendolyn.wu@chron.com

Twitter: @gwendolynawu
The Emir of Ningi in Bauchi State, Yunusa Danyaya, has implored President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the raging dispute between Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Kano Emir, Muhammadu Sanusi.

The emir, who has been on the throne for 42 years, made this call in an interview with journalists.

Mr Ganduje had sponsored legislation that empowers him to create four new emirates in the state and appointed first-class emirs for them. The new law ended the status of the Emir of Kano as the only first-class emir and permanent chairman of the states traditional council.

The move generated criticism that Mr. Sanusi was being persecuted for his critical stance on affairs of Kano State government but Mr Ganduje said it was in response to popular demand of the people of Kano.

The Emir of Ningi warned that the feud can destroy the traditional institution in the north unless it is quickly resolved.

He said many attempts by prominent Nigerians to reconcile the two foremost leaders in Kano had yielded little or no positive outcome.

Mr Danyaya said he considers it his duty as one of the oldest serving emirs in the north to speak out on the matter.

It has become very necessary to take this matter to our father, the father of the land, President Muhammadu Buhari, the Bauchi monarch said.

He said only President Buhari can solve this problem once and for all.

President Buhari has settled difficult issues like this in the past. I know him to an extent that he grew up in the Daura royal home so he has a relationship with that traditional institution.

Buhari has proven to me to be a person who has high respect and regard for the traditional institution. It is because of that, that I am begging him, to please, in the name of God, to intervene in the problem happening in Kano and settle this dispute between the emir and the governor.

I have high hopes that Buhari will not allow the traditional institution to be humiliated and bastardised.

Your Excellency, Mr President, we are begging you, for Gods sake, intervene in this matter so that every problem can be put to rest. The Emir will have his dignity, the government should also have its dignity, that is my plea.

The emir said he was speaking as an unbiased but concerned stakeholder.

I am not speaking because I am supporting the Emir of Kano, no. I am speaking because I see that what is happening will destroy the traditional institution completely. So I feel it is necessary to speak on this matter because I am in the position to speak out on what we see is not right.

He added that the actions of the Kano state government against the Emir of Kano were humiliating enough, so he should be spared of ridicule due to his ranking position as one of the foremost emirs of Northern Nigeria.

Whatever thing that could be done to humiliate Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, has been done and there is a need for restrainment and forgiveness.

When someone does something that is wrong, what we know in Islam is forgiveness. Everyone does wrong and we have seen people being forgiven many times and we hear it being said that people are forgiven. If Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has erred, why would the people, the government and the House of Assembly of Kano not forgive him?

The elderly emir called on his younger colleague in Kano to be obedient to the government and the government should, in turn, be just and fair to the Emir because we see that injustice has crept into the matter.
HOLYOKE  The City Council this week approved a $65,000 payment to settle a federal lawsuit that accused three Holyoke police officers of beating a 12-year-old boy unconscious during a shots-fired call six years ago.

The council voted 11-0 to transfer the $65,000 while stipulating that the Holyoke Police Department would not admit to any wrongdoing. Councilor James Leahy, who has relatives on the Holyoke Police Department, abstained.

The lawsuit was filed in 2017 in U.S. District Court in Springfield by the boys mother, Janette Hernandez Pagan, against Officers Thomas J. Leahy, James Dunn, Jabet Lopez and the city of Holyoke.

Theres certainly more than one side to this story, Councilor Joseph McGiverin said at Tuesdays meeting. However, under the circumstances, the recommendation is that we do settle.

The Republican previously reported that the boy, who stood 5 feet, 2 inches at the time of the incident Feb. 8, 2014, was standing outside his apartment building when a distraught neighbor threatened to kill himself while waving a .44-caliber handgun.

According to the lawsuit, the boy and another neighbor tried to calm the troubled man, following him to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge, which connects Holyoke to South Hadley Falls. The man fired multiple shots, including at vehicles.

Holyoke and South Hadley police arrived, tackling the distraught man and detaining the other neighbor. According to the lawsuit, the boy panicked and ran away. He came upon a Holyoke police officer who pointed a service weapon at the boy. The suit did not name the officer.

The boy told police he was not armed, but officers ordered him to place his hands behind his back and kneel, the lawsuit said.

At no time did he make any gesture or statement that could reasonably be perceived as threatening to the officers, the lawsuit alleged. The officers seized him and, though he did not resist, began striking him with their feet and/or knees, a baton and/or with a hard, blunt object on his back, ribs, and head until he passed out.

One officer claimed the boy was searching for something underneath him while on the ground, the lawsuit said.

The boy wound up at Holyoke Medical Center and later was sent to a juvenile detention center in Springfield.

The next day, Pagan took her son to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was diagnosed with a head injury and bruising to the chest, the lawsuit said.
Some Americans stranded in Wuhan have criticized the U.S. response, saying they found it difficult to sign up for the flights or learn when the next one would leave. Others complained about the approximately $1,000 they have to pay for each seat, saying the price is prohibitively expensive for families. Once back in the United States, many will face 14 days of quarantine on a military base before they can go home.
Passengers on Royal Caribbeans Anthem of the Seas cruise ship that docked in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Friday morning are expected to be screened by health officials for coronavirus, officials said.

A dozen passengers on the Anthem of the Seas - all Chinese nationals - began showing signs of respiratory illness while on a cruise to the Caribbean, according to abc7ny.com. The passengers are being screened as a precaution, the report said.

Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus," Royal Caribbean said Friday in an emailed statement. "We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.

"We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis tweeted early Friday that he has consulted with health officials about the ship.

I have been briefed on the RC cruise ship arriving this morning," Davis said. " I am certain that the NJ DoH, CDC, and PA NY/NJ are prepared and equipped to address any concerns this morning.

There have been confirmed cases of coronavirus in 28 countries, according the latest numbers provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. In the U.S., 11 people from five states have tested positive, though none have been in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania. The results of 76 more tests are pending.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday launched a task force to make sure New Jersey is prepared for any threat from the surging coronavirus. The state launched a website and a hotline  1-800-222-1222  to answer questions about the virus.

The coronavirus has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed at least 638  almost entirely in China  since it was identified in December.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was added to a list of military installations near 11 major U.S. airports that could host additional passengers if local health care facilities become filled, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.

On Friday, Japan reported 41 new cases of a virus on a quarantined cruise ship and turned away another luxury liner while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

#breaking Several ambulances just pulled up to the cruise ship.  Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas cruise ship docked 30 minutes ago in Bayonne New Jersey. We understand some passengers will be screened for #coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/wuDyslIMwo  Alex Butler (@AlexButlertv) February 7, 2020

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Anyone arriving from mainland China from Saturday will have to undergo 14 days compulsory quarantine.

Hong Kong on Friday said it will deploy an army of volunteers to bolster plans to forcibly quarantine all arrivals from mainland China, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months in prison.

In a major escalation in its battle against the new coronavirus, the international finance hub has said anyone arriving from mainland China from Saturday will have to undergo 14 days compulsory quarantine.

Officials hope the new measures will virtually halt all cross-border traffic while allowing the city to remain stocked with food and goods from the mainland where the virus has killed more than 600 people.

Cabinet ministers unveiled the quarantine plans just six hours before the new policy was due to come into effect.

Hong Kong residents arriving from mainland China will be allowed to self-quarantine at home. Chinese and international visitors will be able to self-quarantine at hotels or any other accommodation they have arranged.





If they cannot arrange accommodation, they will be taken to the temporary facilities prepared by the government, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan said.

Anyone who has been to mainland China in the past 14 days and then flies into Hong Kong from another destination will also be quarantined.

Officials, backed by volunteers from the civil service and some students  will conduct spot checks or make daily phone calls to ensure people were staying at home.

Those caught breaking their quarantine face up to six months in jail and a 25,000 Hong Kong dollar ($3,200) fine.

We will be stopping a lot of people with the new measures, Secretary for Security John Lee said.

Panic buying

The new regulations have been enacted under a sweeping emergency law that allows city leaders to bypass the legislature during a disease outbreak.

Exemptions would be made for a variety of key jobs, including flight and shipping crews as well as cross-border truck drivers to ensure goods and food keep coming into the city.

Hong Kong has been hit by a wave of panic-buying in recent days with supermarket shelves frequently emptied of crucial goods such as toilet paper, hand sanitiser, rice and pasta.

The government has blamed false online rumours of shortages, saying supplies are stable.

The problem of supply shortage doesnt exist, said Chief Secretary of Administration Matthew Cheung.

Citizens do not need to worry or make excessive purchases out of panic. I urge the public not to believe in rumours.

The new coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of last year has killed more than 630 people and spread around the world.

The latest figures from China show there are more than 30,000 people infected there.

Hong Kong has 25 confirmed cases with one patient who died earlier this week.

Many of the newer infections have no history of travel to mainland China, prompting fears that the city now has a local, self-sustaining outbreak.
The convoy slowed as it wound through a narrow street in Pilanji village, a cramped urban development not far from central Delhi. Inching forward behind an advance guard of police, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhis Chief Minister, waved from his seat on top of a converted yellow jeep. Above, through a tangle of cables and drying laundry, people on balconies waved back. Another car, following behind, blasted election slogans through speakers on its roof. It was Wednesday night, and Delhis election season was reaching fever pitch.

The Indian capitals local elections, which take place on Saturday, are a crucial test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He won big at the national election last May but his authority has been buffeted by anti-government protests in recent months. If Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can crack Delhi  a city it has not run since 1998  it will signal that his increasingly combative approach to Hindu nationalism is still politically ascendant, even able to win fertile new territory. But if the BJP loses to Kejriwals incumbent Common Mans Party, (Aam Aadmi Party, or AAP,) it would show that Modis recent doubling down on division hasnt paid off.

Delhi, like much of the rest of the country, has been a hotbed of protest since December, when the BJP passed into law a controversial new piece of citizenship legislation. The law would make it easier for refugees abiding by all South Asias major faiths, except Islam, to gain Indian citizenship. Protesters, many of whom still gather daily at Shaheen Bagh, a working-class majority Muslim area in the capital, say the law is an affront to Indias history of secularism. They see it as the most severe example yet of Modi attempting to transform India from a secular state into a Hindu nation where other religions, especially Muslims, are second-class citizens. And protesters see Delhis elections as a chance to make their voices heard.

Story continues

When are the Delhi elections?

The election is held on Saturday, Feb. 8. Counting will take several days, meaning the results will not be released until Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the earliest. An exit poll, the first reliable indication of how the vote is expected to go, is due out at 6.30 p.m. local time on Saturday.

Who are the main contenders?

The favorite to win the election is Kejriwal, who rose from obscurity as a tax inspector to become Indias foremost anti-corruption campaigner in the early 2010s. Although Modis party won the national election in 2014, Kejriwals AAP went on to win 67 out of the 70 seats in Delhis assembly a year later, the last time the vote was held here, by focusing on corruption, pollution and employment opportunities. (The BJP won the remaining three seats.)

This time round, Kejriwal has continued to run a campaign based on largely-local concerns. Meanwhile, Modis party is running on national ones. The BJP has not actually nominated a Chief Minister candidate to run against Kejriwal; if it wins, it will appoint one after the election. At its campaign rallies, national themes win more cheers than local ones. The protests happening at various places in Delhi are not because of the Citizenship Amendment Act, Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu nationalist and BJP Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, told BJP supporters on Feb. 2. They are happening because these people want to prevent India from becoming a global power.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during a BJP rally ahead of Delhi elections, on February 2, 2020. | Sanchit Khanna/Hindustan Times via Getty Images2020 Hindustan Times

The Congress Party, the main opposition to the BJP at the national level, is running but expected to perform poorly.

How have the protests affected the Delhi elections?

The BJP has urged voters to vote for them to show their disapproval with the Shaheen Bagh protests. At one rally, Adityanath said Kejriwals Delhi government was paying to feed the protesters at Shaheen Bagh with biryani.

Other campaigners have sought to capitalize on deeply-held suspicion of Pakistan, Indias nuclear-armed Muslim neighbor, a talking point regularly used by the BJP at the national level. Pakistan will be pleased if you vote for Kejriwal, a BJP campaigner said at one rally, according to Reuters. On Friday the Delhi president of the BJPs youth wing, Sunil Yadav, tweeted a cartoon showing a crudely-depicted Muslim man painting a map of India with green paint, out of a can labeled with the Pakistani flag, while receiving a back massage from two AAP members, on top of a bed labeled Shaheen Bagh.

The election comes at a time of rising tensions too. On Feb. 1, at Shaheen Bagh, a gunman fired shots into the air. In footage of police dragging him away, he was heard saying In our country, only Hindus will prevail.

Perhaps conscious of the citizenship laws political appeal among large swaths of the population, Kejriwal has for the most part stayed away from Shaheen Bagh and other protest sites, even though his party voted against the citizenship law in parliament. Instead, he is campaigning for reelection on his record of anti-corruption and education reforms.

What will the elections mean for Modi?

If Modi wins in Delhi, it would further strengthen his power as the most dominant Indian Prime Minister in a generation. It would also indicate that the divisive tack his party has taken since winning nationally in May 2019 is working.

On paper the BJP does not have much to lose, considering its only defending three seats in Delhis assembly. But Delhi is the countrys political center. If the BJP performs more poorly than expected, especially after such a dominant showing at the 2019 national elections, it might send early signals that voters are rejecting the BJPs demonization of Muslims.
Srinagar: Suspended Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Davinder Singh who was sent to 15-day judicial custody, will be put up in a Kathua jail instead of a Jammu jail after he raised "threat to life" alarms.

According to sources Singh pleaded for sending him to the Heeranagar jail and told that there is a threat to his life in the Kotbalwal Jail which housed militants who were arrested in operations led by him.

A Special NIA court in Jammu on Thursday sent Singh and four others to judicial custody.

Singh was on Friday sent to the Heeranagar jail while the other four, including Hizbul Mujahideen commander Naveed Babu have been put up in the Kotbalwal jail in Jammu.

According to sources, the NIA is carrying out investigations after raids at multiple locations, including Singh's residences in Kashmir.

Sources indicate that questioning of Singh will be done in Jammu and there was no plan to shift him to Delhi for now.

They also said that Singh's phone is being examined for extracting deleted WhatsApp chat.

On January 11, police arrested Davinder Singh from the Jammu-Srinagar national highway while he was transporting militants Naveed, Rafi, and Irfan to Jammu.

After initial investigations by the Jammu and Kashmir Police, the case was handed to the National Investigation Agency.

Police sources had said that the two terrorists and lawyer Irfan had planned travel to Pakistan.

Singh was earlier shifted from Srinagar to Jammu on a transit remand where an NIA team questioned him. After his arrest by the police, multiple raids were conducted at his residences in Srinagar.

Singh was posted with the anti-hijacking wing of Jammu and Kashmir Police in Srinagar and was part of the security staff that had received a group of foreign diplomats who visited Kashmir last month.


/ Stamford Police

STAMFORD  A Stamford man who was charged with illegal weapons possession has pleaded guilty to the federal charge in a New Haven courtroom.

Kevin Genis, 27, faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and will be sentenced May 4.
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Theres a vaccine that might protect against the new coronavirus stored in a freezer in Texas. Yes, thats the virus thats killed more than 500 people and infected nearly 30,000. And yes, the key word here is might.

The vaccine was developed in the early 2010s, by a team led by Peter Hotez and Maria Elena Bottazzi at the Baylor College of Medicine. It was originally intended to vaccinate against severe acute respiratory syndrome, aka SARS, which is also a kind of coronavirus. It was shelved before it could get through clinical trials. SARS had long ago receded into the background, the epidemic having ended through hygiene efforts and environmental factors. Now, Hotez hopes to pull it out of the freezer for more testing, if he can secure funding. Its possible that the new coronavirus is similar enough to SARS that the same antibodies, produced with a nudge from the vaccine, could latch onto the spiny crown of coronavirus receptors, essentially rendering the virus harmless.

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And this is just one optionthere are several other groups working on vaccines tailored to the new coronavirus. One team, from the National Institutes of Health and Moderna drug company, is also leveraging the similarities between the viruses and using other previous research toward a SARS vaccine as a template. (I call it plug and play, the lead scientist told the New York Times.) Will any of these end up working? It will take a while to figure outpotentially longer than the new virus sticks around. Indeed, Hotezs SARS vaccine is something of a warning of what happens to a promising vaccine once the issue at hand goes out of vogue: The funding dries up, and the vaccine goes to the back of the refrigerator.

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When the threat is ongoing, its all hands on deck, everyone gets worried. When the problems not there, they lose interest.  Peter Hotez

Before that happened, Hotez and his collaborators got as far as showing that their vaccine protected against the virus in animals. Hotez had wanted to keep going with the clinical trials that would prove the vaccine was safe, and then effective, in humans, too, even though the SARS threat had passed. He envisioned stockpiling the vaccine, in case of a resurgence of SARS or a similar coronavirus. By that point, it was 2016 and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome had already flared up, indicating that coronaviruses, which can jump from animals to humans, might be an ongoing problem.

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Still, when the initial pile of funding ran out, so had concern about the long-gone pandemic. When the threat is ongoing, its all hands on deck, everyone gets worried, says Hotez. When the problems not there, they lose interest. He was unable to secure more funding, and the vaccine was placed in chilly storage. (Hotez has spent other money periodically testing it for stability.) In early January, as the new respiratory virus started making the news, he emailed a collaborator in China for more information: Is it looking like SARS?

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It was: The genomes were 82 percent identical. Its kind of serendipitous, says Hotez. With funding, he could partner with a vaccine development organization in China to quickly finish testing the vaccine and, if it works, use it against the current epidemic.

Whether those similarities are enough remains to be seen. Stanley Perlman, a researcher at the University of Iowa who studies coronavirus, is less optimistic about a vaccine designed for SARS working on the new coronavirus. Maybe it would work, but it wouldnt be my first choice, says Perlman. He notes that the spikes that cover the SARS virus and the new virus may have some similarities but not enough that a SARS vaccine would be obviously effective.

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Hotez acknowledges that the failure rate for vaccines is high and that a portfolio of options is important. But he also points to research in 2017 that showed that antibodies that could bind to SARS could bind to similar coronaviruses (though it still hasnt been tested on this new one). He also just believes in his project: Vaccines sort of become like your baby.

Whether or not this vaccine is able to help, one thing is for certain: Coronaviruses are here to stay, says Hotez.
A deeply divided Senate acquitted President Donald Trump at the end of his impeachment trial on Wednesday, with 52 Senators concluding the Houses allegations that he abused the power of his office did not necessitate his removal of office, and 53 reaching that conclusion on the charge that he obstructed Congress.

The Senates verdict renders Trump the third President in U.S. history to face impeachment charges in the House and be acquitted by the Senate. The final result came after nearly two weeks of a Senate trial encompassing dozens of hours of oral arguments and more than one hundred written questions from the Senators, and more than four months after the impeachment inquiry first began in the House.

Trumps acquittal was nearly entirely along party lines. Every Democrat voted to convict Trump and all but one Republican voted to acquit him. Only Sen. Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, broke with his party and voted to remove the President from office by convicting him on abuse of power.

By the conclusion of the trial, there was only one thing on which weary lawmakers from both parties could agree: this impeachment has heralded a dangerous new hyper-partisan era that could damage the workings of government for a generation. Republicans said an impeachment process that was initiated and played out almost entirely along party lines was a disturbing use of a grave constitutional duty as a political weapon in an election year. Democrats said that Republican lawmakers had shirked their constitutional duties in their politically expedient support for Trump, even after multiple government officials testified that the President abused the authority of his office.

Inside and outside the Senate chamber, lawmakers said all three branches of government had been weakened by the partisanship on display since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi first announced the inquiry last September. Depending on their position, they warned that the presidency had been hampered by an impeachment that amounted to a political disagreement, that Congress had abdicated its responsibility for fairness, and that even the judiciary had become tainted by the bitter politics that had seized the impeachment process.

Story continues

House Democrats lead impeachment manager Rep. Adam Schiff speaks to a reporter before the Senate trial vote at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Senators from both parties sat grim-faced and serious during the proceedings, without any strong visible reaction from either side when Trump was officially declared not guilty by Chief Justice John Roberts. Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, two moderate Democrats who at one point were considered contenders to break with their party and voted to acquit Trump, shared a moment together before the vote. Sinema approached Manchin in his seat and put a hand on his shoulder; they talked briefly, and Manchin stood up to hug her. Minutes later, they both voted guilty on abuse of power, officially making Romney the only senator of either party to break ranks.

We have changed. The members of Congress have changed, Rep. Adam Schiff, the House Democrats lead impeachment manager, lamented during his closing arguments. Members of Congress, he said, are now far more accepting of the most serious misconduct of a president as long as it is a president of ones own party. And that is a trend most dangerous for our country.

Schiffs final speech was one last attempt to try and persuade moderate Republicans to break with their party. It was a call that only Romney heeded, which technically made this the first bipartisan conviction vote of a president. But Romney knew it would be a futile gesture. I acknowledge that my verdict will not remove the President from office, he said in an emotional speech on the Senate floor before the vote. But irrespective of these things, with my vote I will tell my children, and their children, that I did my duty to the best of my ability believing that my country expected it of me.

But Republicans in both the House and Senate constructed their arguments on the opposite point. They argued not that senators should cross party lines to make a bipartisan judgment, but that Republicans should stick together in order to not endorse the Houses partisan vote to impeach the President based on charges that he had abused the power of his office by withholding aid to a foreign ally for his own political benefit, and then obstructed Congresss efforts to investigate his conduct.

Reporters watch the Senate impeachment vote in the press gallery at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Trumps lawyers argued that the prospect of lowering the threshold for impeachable conduct to something that is not a statutory crime and isnt broadly agreed upon by both parties would mean that future presidents in a similarly divided government could be impeached over mere policy disputes. If that becomes the new norm, future presidents, Democrats and Republicans, will be paralyzed the moment they are elected, Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow warned on Jan. 29. The bar for impeachment cannot be set this low.

That ultimately appeared to be the stronger argument for some senators who had been on the fence. Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who joined Senate Democrats in opposing Justice Brett Kavanaughs Supreme Court confirmation in 2018 and who had been pinpointed as a possible Republican dissenter in the impeachment process, voted for acquittal for precisely this reason. The Presidents behavior, she said in a floor speech announcing her decision this week, was shameful and wrong, but the Houses process was not an apt remedy for it. The House rushed through what should have been one of the most serious, consequential undertakings of the legislative branch simply to meet an artificial, self-imposed deadline, she said. The House failed in its responsibilities.

Like Murkowski, retiring Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander also argued that the risk of endorsing a partisan process in todays polarized political climate by removing Trump from office outweighed the dangers that Trumps actions posed. The framers believed that there should never, ever be a partisan impeachment, Alexander said in a statement on Jan. 30. If this shallow, hurried and wholly partisan impeachment were to succeed, it would rip the country apart, pouring gasoline on the fire of cultural divisions that already exist. It would create the weapon of perpetual impeachment to be used against future presidents whenever the House of Representatives is of a different political party.

And Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, in announcing his decision to acquit, said he was more concerned about the impact of the impeachment proceedings partisanship on the countrys future than in leaving Trump in office, even if he had sought foreign interference in the 2020 election, as Democrats claim. Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a President from office, Rubio wrote in his statement. Can anyone doubt that at least half of the country would view his removal as illegitimate  as nothing short of a coup detat? It is difficult to conceive of any scheme Putin could undertake that would undermine confidence in our democracy more than removal would.

George Buss, a Lincoln impersonator, rides the Senate subway before the impeachment vote at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Democrats were just as concerned about where the governments stark political divisions were taking the nation. They felt it prohibited their Republican colleagues in both chambers from even considering their case against the President. Up until last September, Pelosi had publicly resisted growing calls from the Democrats progressive voter base and liberal lawmakers to start impeachment proceedings as the White House resisted Congressional oversight, insisting that such a divisive effort must have bipartisan backing. Unless theres something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I dont think we should go down that path because it divides the country, she told the Washington Post last February.

Democrats knew the bar for amassing enough Republican support for a conviction might be, as Schiff put it in his closing arguments, prohibitively high. But they said that it was their constitutional duty to try to stop a Commander in Chief that presented a danger to the nation. And they still held out hope that some Republicans would support their efforts to do so, particularly after more than a dozen non-partisan bureaucrats and political appointees testified under oath that Trumps efforts to run a shadow foreign policy in Ukraine undermined national security interests, strengthened Russia and set a dangerous diplomatic precedent. We could not afford to stand on the sidelines in that instance, Democratic caucus chair Hakeem Jeffries and an impeachment manager, said on Wednesday.

But it was not until the end of the Senate trial that a handful of Senate Republicans would even publicly say that Trumps behavior was improper. For Democrats, who viewed Trump wielding the power of his office to solicit foreign interference in the next election as the greatest danger to the republic, the partisanship represented in the Republicans united front, which they argued was out of fear of the President or their own job security due to his enduring popularity, was just as concerning as the prospect of removal.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks to the the press after the impeachment vote to acquit President Trump at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 5, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

As long as the presidents party is willing to stand behind him, there will be no accountability for any wrongdoing. None, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, told TIME. That cant be right. It just scissors the impeachment clause out of the Constitution.

More moderate Democrats were equally perturbed. Very early on I implored my colleagues in both houses of Congress to stay out of their partisan corners. Many did, but so many did not. The country deserves better, Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, one of the most vulnerable Democrats up for reelection, said in a statement on his decision to convict the President.

By Wednesday, as the exonerated President shifted his energy back to his re-election campaign, it seemed the most indelible outcome of the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history might be the further deepening of political divisions in government and across the country. On Tuesday, Gallup released a new poll showing that during impeachment, Trump reached his highest ever job approval rating, at 49%. While Trumps approval among Republicans hit 94%, it was just 7% among Democratsthe largest discrepancy ever measured, according to Gallup.

Going forward, lawmakers will need to find a way to continue to do their jobs in this disillusioned and divided workplace. So many in this chamber share my sadness for the present state of our institutions, said Murkowski. Its my hope that weve finally found bottom here.

That sentiment, at least, crosses party lines.

With reporting by Massimo Calabresi/Washington

Since September 2019, photographer Gabriella Demczuk has been documenting this historic impeachment for TIME.

Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, speaks to reporters outside the Capitol during the senate impeachment trial in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

A stack of reports on Russian interference in the 2016 elections sits in the senate press photographers' gallery during the impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 31, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

A protestor demonstrates against President Donald Trump in front of the Capitol during the senate impeachment trial in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Capitol Hill police stand guard at the senate subway during the senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C, on Jan. 29, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Lev Parnas, an associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, visits Capitol Hill during the senate impeachment trial in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 29, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Protestors gather in the Senate Hart Office building to demonstrate against the president during the senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks to reporters before the senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 28, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks to reporters at a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 27, 2020. Gabriella Demczuk / TIME | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

White House legislative director Eric Ueland leaves the Capitol after the impeachment trial in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 25, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

A few protestors demonstrate outside the senate chamber during the impeachment trial Saturday morning in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 25, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), an advisor to Trump's defense team, sits with her staffers outside the defense team meeting room before the impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) has a private conversation with White House legislative affairs director Eric Ueland off the floor of the senate before the impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 24, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Pam Bondi, a lawyer on Trump's defense team, heads to the senate floor for the start of the impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 23, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) along with other senate democratic leaders speak to reporters at a press conference before the senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 23, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Reporters watch the senate impeachment trial begin in the press gallery off the senate floor at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Rep. Adam Schiff, along with other House managers, speaks to reporters at a press conference before the start of the senate impeachment trial at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Speaker Nancy Pelosi walks back to her office after the procession of House managers to senate floor to pass the articles of impeachment at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) walks to his office before the articles of impeachment are transferred to the senate at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2020. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) watches the House vote on the articles of impeachment in his office at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 18, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) reads over his notes with other GOP leaders before a press conference denouncing the vote on the articles of impeachment at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 17, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Vice President Mike Pence greets visitors in the Capitol Rotunda after a meeting with Republican senators in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 17, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) leaves a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in the basement of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 17, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Staff members of House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) watch as he speaks to reporters at a press conference following the passage of the articles of impeachment in the Judiciary Committee to the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 13, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

White House lawyer Pat Cipollone keeps his distance as Eric Ueland, Director of White House Legislative Affairs, speaks to reporters after a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 12, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Marine One at the White House in Washington, D.C., Dec. 10, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

House Democrats unveiled articles of impeachment against President Trump on Dec. 10, charging him with committing two acts of high crimes and misdemeanors: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) goes over his notes before a press conference on the IG report at the Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 9, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Daniel Goldman, Democratic counsel to the Intelligence Committee, and Stephen Castor, Republican counsel to the Judiciary and Intelligence Committee, testify at the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry at the Longworth House Office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

A reusable shopping bag filled with documents and notes sit at the feet of Stephen Castor, the Republican counsel to the Judiciary and Intelligence committee, at the beginning of the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

D.C. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) settles in before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry at the Longworth House Office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 9, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Dr. Fiona Hill and David Holmes testify during the House Intelligence Committee hearing on the impeachment inquiry on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., Nov. 21, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Republican congressmen, many of whom were not allowed to partake in the closed door hearings, speak to the press on the secrecy of the impeachment inquiry outside the sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF) at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 23, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Kurt Volker, former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, leaves the Capitol after delivering hours of testimony to the House intelligence committees in Washington, D.C., Oct. 3, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

A custodial staff member walks into the sensitive compartmented information facility (SCIF), where Democrats conducted closed-door depositions during the House impeachment inquiry, in the basement of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2019. | Gabriella Demczuk for TIME

Correction, Feb. 6

The original version of this story misstated how Senator Lisa Murkowski voted on the articles of impeachment. She voted to acquit President Trump, not convict.
The Daily Beast

Fox News White House correspondent and perpetual nemesis of Jen Psaki thought he had Joe Bidens press secretary cornered on Monday when he asked her why the president is still referring to COVID-19 as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when so many people are getting breakthrough infections. He was wrong.I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death, Doocy began, before undercutting that basic truth. But Im triple-vaxxed, still got COVID. Youre triple-vaxxed, still got COVI
Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "North American CRISPR in Agriculture Market 2019-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



North America is anticipated to be a major contributor to the growth of the CRISPR in agriculture market.



North America is one of the strongest economies across the globe, comprising of around 23.3% of the world economy as per International Monetary Fund in 2017. The economic strength and advanced biotechnological research in agriculture in North America provide a solid platform for the growth of the CRISPR in the agriculture market. Biotechnological research in agriculture is being supported by various government initiatives in the US and Canada. Therefore, increasing government initiatives in the region are encouraging the market growth.



The private sector investment in plant breeding, research, and varietal development of seeds have been growing in the US and Canada. This is due to the high investment by private companies in plant breeding, research, and variety development. Furthermore, several seed companies are investing in growth strategies including mergers and acquisitions, collaboration, and strategic partnership which is anticipated to boost the market for plant breeding which in turn fuels the demand for CRISPR in agriculture.



The most recent instances of such growth strategies include the merger of Dow AgroSciences and DuPont which is done to have a synergy benefit of 1 million was done in September 2017, and the acquisition of Monsanto from the US by Bayer from Germany was done in September 2019.



Key players of North America's CRISPR in the agriculture market areBenson Hill Biosystems, Recominatics, cibus ltd., Intellia Therapeutics, Inc., GeneCopoeia Inc., and Calyxt, Inc. among others. These are the major players that are contributing significantly towards the growth of North America's market.



Further, strategies adopted by these players such as acquisitions, mergers, investment in R&D activities and product launch are also estimated to have a positive impact on the growth of the CRISPR in the agriculture market.



For instance, in October 2017, DuPont Pioneer (the agricultural division of E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company) entered a non-exclusive global licensing agreement with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard for CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology in agriculture. The Broad Institute is engaged in the development of CRISPR-Cas technology and holds multiple issued US patents related to CRISPR-Cas technology.



The report covers:

Comprehensive research methodology of the North American CRISPR in Agriculture market.

A detailed and extensive market overview with key analyst insights.

An exhaustive analysis of macro and micro factors influencing the market guided by key recommendations.

Analysis of regional regulations and other government policies impacting the North American CRISPR in Agriculture market.

Insights about market determinants which are stimulating the North American CRISPR in Agriculture market.

Detailed and extensive market segments with regional distribution of forecasted revenues.

Extensive profiles and recent developments of market players.

Key Topics Covered



1. Report Summary

1.1. Research Methods and Tools

1.2. Market Breakdown

1.2.1. By Segments

1.2.2. By Geography



2. Market Overview and Insights

2.1. Scope of the Report

2.2. Analyst Insight & Current Market Trends

2.2.1. Key Findings

2.2.2. Recommendations

2.2.3. Conclusion

2.3. Rules & Regulations



3. Competitive Landscape

3.1. Company Share Analysis

3.2. Key Strategy Analysis

3.3. Key Company Analysis

3.3.1. Overview

3.3.2. Financial Analysis

3.3.3. SWOT Analysis

3.3.4. Recent Developments



4. Market Determinants

4.1. Motivators

4.2. Restraints

4.3. Opportunities



5. Market Segmentation

5.1. North American CRISPR in Agriculture Market by End-User

5.1.1. Academic & Research Institutes

5.1.2. Biotech Companies

5.2. North American CRISPR in Agriculture Market by Target Type

5.2.1. Crops

5.2.2. Livestock

5.2.3. Aquaculture Driving and Sports



6. Regional Analysis

6.1. United States

6.2. Canada



7. Company Profiles

7.1. Arcadia Biosciences

7.2. Bayer AG

7.3. BASF SE

7.4. Benson Hill Biosystems, Inc.

7.5. Caribou Biosciences, Inc.

7.6. Calyxt, Inc.

7.7. Cibus Ltd.

7.8. DowDupont Inc.

7.9. GeneCopoeia, Inc.

7.10. Horizon Discovery Group, PLC

7.11. Inari Agriculture



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/6u4ar3

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
The people of Coin have joined forces to fight a project to open a new dolomite quarry in the mountains near the town.

The new citizens' protest group, called Coin, Salva Tu Sierra, will formally lodge objections to the scheme, which is currently at the public consultation stage.

Group spokesperson Juan Jose Avila said that the town's fourth quarry was to be opened on private land, surrounded by protected Mediterranean woodland that is popular with hikers and cyclists.

Residents in front of the hillside where the quarry is planned. / F. T.

The site is also close to a prestigious farm school, visited by thousands of children and teachers every year, which, according to Avila, would be forced to close.

The mayor of Coin, Francisco Santos, has said that the town hall is also studying the legal measures it can take against the project.

The group, which describes the new project as a "crime", points out that residents have been protesting for decades at the "unbearable" dust particles suspended in the air close to the existing quarries.

Between 400 and 500 people attended a demonstration against this "outrage" on Saturday.
A Special Aide to former President John Dramani Mahama believes the nearly 500 excavators which were seized from illegal miners but have reportely gone missing is the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government's way of monopolizing the illiegal mining (galamsey) trade.



Lawyer Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe claims the task-force set up with the blessing of President Akufo-Addo is operating contrary to the Minerals and Mining Act, Section 90(5).



The current hullabaloo over some missing excavators seized from some illegal miners sums up the challenges in the country's fight against galamsey.



In 2017, government set up a joint military/police task force, Operation Vanguard and later the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Mining to stem the tide of the galamsey menace



However, their operations have been without controversy or incidents of crimes as three members of the Operation Vanguard team were arrested for their alleged involvement in a bribery and extortion racket.



Speaking on Okay FMs Ade Akye Abia Morning Show, Edudzi Tamakloe described happenings in the fight against illegal mining as revolting and accused the taskforce of perpetrating an illegality by seizing mining equipments of these galamseyers.



The Minerals and Mining Act regulates mining in the country and if you look at section 90(5), it states that if someone engages in illegal mining, it is an offense and when the person is arrested, every equipment or item including products like gold you find in the process should be used as an exhibit and the exhibit must be kept in the custody of the police; this is in the act and all the items will be listed against the offenders," he stated.



He reiterated that Prof. Frimpong Boateng with the blessings of Nana Akufo-Addo formed a taskforce but contrary to the requirement of law, the task-force is using their own process in keeping these excavators in the various district assemblies and then created 4 yards in Accra and Tema to keep the excavators.



At this point, what is happening shows that, this whole task-force in the fight against galamsey was an opportunity for the NPP government to monopolize galamsey business among party apparatchikis, he slammed.

Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A manual worker killed his partner before raping and killing her teenage daughter and then hanging himself, an inquest in Co. Armagh has heard.

Coroner Joe McCrisken called the deaths of Giselle Marimon-Herrera, 37, from Colombia, and her daughter, Allison, 15, 'barbaric', and 'one of the most difficult' inquests he has ever presided over.

The bodies of the mother and daughter were discovered in an apartment in Newry on March 7, 2019, along with that of Russell Steele, by police after they had all been reported missing.

Ms Marimon-Herrera died from asphyxiation and suffocation and Allison Marimon-Herrera died due to manual strangulation and suffocation, Mr McCrisken found. Their chihuahua dog was also found dead.

He said he could not be satisfied that Ms Marimon-Herrera had been sexually assaulted, but that there is evidence her daughter had been raped.

Giselle Marimon-Herrera, 37 and her 15-year-old daughter Allison, right, were murdered by former heroin addict Russell Steele at their home in Newry, County Down on March 7, 2019

Russell Steele, pictured, raped Ms Marimon-Herrera's 15-year-old daughter Allison before murdering her. The double killer sought advice on the internet to research the fatal dose of painkillers before hanging himself

Steele, from Scotland, was found to have died by hanging and had intended to die. The inquest heard his family had been kept informed of the proceedings but chose not to attend.

Mr McCrisken thanked members of the Marimon-Herrera family, who attended the inquests at Armagh courthouse for their 'dignity' throughout the police investigation and inquests, telling them they have been 'through hell over the past year'. He also thanked the PSNI for a 'genuinely excellent' investigation.

At the opening of proceedings yesterday, Mr McCrisken said he was holding separate inquests into the deaths of Ms Marimon-Herrera, her daughter and Steele.

A statement from Ms Marimon-Herrera's sister Paola was read to the inquest.

She described how her sister had arrived in the North in 2016 after separating from her husband, and was followed by her daughter in 2017. She also told the inquest her sister had felt Steele was 'controlling' and she had wanted to end the relationship.

PSNI investigating officer Victoria Holmes said text messages between Steele and Ms Marimon-Herrera revealed a recent argument, which included an attempt by her to end the relationship.

Statements from two Polish men, Szymon Kosecki and Pawel Bronk, who had been work colleagues of Steele, were read to the court. They are believed to be the last people to have seen Ms Marimon-Herrera and her daughter alive after meeting the mother and Steele for a night out on Saturday, March 2 at Brass Monkeys in Newry. They returned to the Glin Ree Court apartment, where they saw Allison with her pet dog. They stayed for about an hour, leaving at around 3am.

Ward Devlin, an ex-partner of Ms Marimon-Herrera, gave evidence about how he raised the alarm after she failed to respond to messages for several days.

Neighbour Gerard Doran is believed to be the last person to have seen Steele alive. He recalled seeing Steele standing at the front door of the apartment complex on Sunday, March 3 holding a holdall and a plastic bag, looking 'agitated' and 'unable to stand still'.

'I thought his behaviour was very strange at the time,' he said.

An examination of a laptop found in the apartment revealed research on lethal doses of paracetamol at 5.20am on March 4.

Mr McCrisken put it to Ms Holmes that Steele had been preparing to leave before changing his mind and returning to the apartment, where he took his own life.

'If you are asking my personal opinion, then yes,' she responded.

Steele had two passports, his phone and a pair of torn underwear, which DNA evidence found were likely to have belonged to Allison, in his pockets.

The inquest also heard phones likely to have been used by Ms Marimon-Herrera and her daughter had no recoverable information on them. 'It appears that the information was deleted from both devices,' Ms Holmes said.

A statement from Steele's ex-wife was read to the inquest. Margaret Steele said she met him through church as he battled a heroin addiction. They had a temporary split in 2010 when he relapsed but, in total, they were married for 17 years and had two children together. The marriage ended after she discovered he was having an affair with Ms Marimon-Herrera, who he had previously met in Spain before reconnecting via social media. He then left their home in Kilmarnock to move to Northern Ireland.

The inquest heard Steele had a criminal record, including a conviction for an assault which led to an eight-month prison sentence.

Delivering his findings, Mr McCrisken said: 'The killing of Giselle Marimon-Herrera and her 15-year-old daughter Allison by Russell Steele was barbaric.

'Giselle Marimon-Herrera was a woman of small stature. Her 15-year-old daughter and her would have been unable to offer any resistance against an attack by Russell Steele.

'I am satisfied that he acted alone for a reason that is unknown. The killings were an impulsive act carried out by an individual with a history of aggression and violence.'

The family said they were devastated.

'We are a very private family who have been catapulted into the public domain as a result of this murder.'

They thanked the public and others who organised donations which the family used to travel from France and Colombia to Northern Ireland, where they were able to see where they lived and to meet pupils and teachers at Newry High School which Allison attended.

The fund also assisted in paying for the cremation in Belfast and it also paid for all the family to travel to Portugal where their ashes have been laid to rest.

The statement concluded: 'The family appeal to anyone who is at risk of domestic violence to seek help.'
A woman in her 60s caught the disease while traveling to Wuhan, China, in late December to take care of her sick father. She returned to Chicago in mid-January, health officials have reported. Her husband  who is also in his 60s and had underlying health conditions  then contracted the virus from her, the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month. The spouse had not made the trip to China with his wife, health officials said.
Wuhan coronavirus doctors

Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Baidu has introduced a new "epidemic map" feature for its Map app to help users navigate the coronavirus outbreak in China, Abacus reports.

The app shows the location of both confirmed and suspected coronavirus patients, as well as travel disruption caused by the various quarantines in force across China.

The death toll for the coronavirus reached 638 on Thursday evening, the vast majority of the deaths have occurred in mainland China.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Chinese search engine giant Baidu has integrated the coronavirus outbreak into its Map app.

Chinese tech news site Abacus reported on Friday that Baidu had built a special "epidemic map" for its normal Map app. According to Abacus, the feature shows the location of both confirmed and suspected coronavirus patients in real time.

It is not clear from Abacus' report exactly what data Baidu collects to ascertain the locations of the patients, or how precise its location pins are. Business Insider was not immediately able to contact Baidu for comment.

Abacus notes the new feature also shows epidemic check points and disruptions to traffic. China has put 16 cities on lockdown since the virus' outbreak, restricting the travel of an estimated 50 million people.

In China, where American tech companies including Google are absent from the app marketplace, Baidu is the dominant search engine and maps app. In its most recent quarterly filing the company reported 189 million active daily users.

As of Thursday evening per CBS the death toll for the coronavirus stood 638, only two of which were outside of mainland China.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Fadnavis denies reports of him entering national arena.

Mumbai: Amid reports of former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis joining the Central government, veteran state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Eknath Khadse, a trenchant critic of the young leader, on Wednesday said that it would be very useful for Maharashtra if Mr Fadnavis were sent to New Delhi.

Mr Fadnavis, however, said he was not going anywhere. A senior BJP leader and former Cabinet minister also dismissed the reports as baseless and said there was no substance to them.

Mr Fadnavis, the Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, had been campaigning for 12 days for the saffron party in the national capital, which is to go to the polls. Following this, he went to his hometown, Nagpur, on Wednesday night.

According to reports, a decision will be taken about Mr Fadnavis rumoured elevation to New Delhi after the Assembly election. Once everything is finalised, he will be sent through Rajya Sabha, the reports claimed.

Mr Khadse said it was up to senior party leaders to decide whether or not Mr Fadnavis is sent to New Delhi. If he becomes a Central government minister, Maharashtra will benefit, the veteran OBC leader added.

Mr Khadse shares a strained relationship with Mr Fadnavis since the former had to resign in the wake of charges of alleged corruption and reports of links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim in the previous BJP-Shiv Sena government.

The 67-year-old leader was the second-in-command in the Fadnavis government and the top contender for chief ministers post before the Maharashtra Assembly election in 2014.

In the wake of the BJPs failed bid to form the government in the state, Mr Khadse, in December 2019, alleged party insiders were responsible for the defeat of his daughter Rohini Khadse and Pankaja Munde, who contested from Muktainagar and Parli respectively.

Prior to this, Mr Khadse had slammed Mr Fadnavis decision to form the government with the support of NCP leader Ajit Pawar. My personal opinion is that BJP should not have taken the support of Ajit Pawar. He is an accused in the massive irrigation scam and faces many allegations, the former minister had

said.
The highly-charged Delhi elections are a three-way contest between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress.

Elections to Delhis legislative Assembly are scheduled for tomorrow (8 February) and results will be announced on 11 February. The highly-charged elections to the 70-seat Assembly are a three-way contest between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress (INC).

If you are preparing to vote, here is a quick guide that will answer all your questions:

Can I cast my vote?

You can if your name is on the electoral rolls. Visit the Election Commission website to check. Search for your name by using the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number on your voter ID card.

If you do not have a Voter ID card, you can search by name. Once you locate your name on the rolls, ensure that you note down the booth address, part number and serial number.

Which is my Assembly Constituency?

To find your Assembly constituency, visit this page on the website of the Delhi Election Commission and enter details about your area mentioned in the voter rolls.

Where is my polling booth?

There are 1,3750 dedicated polling booths that have been set up for the Delhi Assembly elections. To locate your polling booth, voters may use the services of the Voter Helpline App developed by the Election Commission.

The voter helpline number 1950 will also help voters locate polling booths. You can call this number after adding the STD code (011 in this case) or get the details by sending an SMS to 1950 with <ECIP011> space <YourEPICNo>

Alternatively, visit the National Voters Services Portal at nvsp.in; Choose the Search in Electoral Roll option and fill in the details. Once you have entered the details and clicked Search, the electoral roll will appear together with the mention of your polling booth.

Can I vote if I do not have a Voter ID card?

If your name is absent from the rolls, you will not be able to cast your vote. If your name is present on the electoral rolls (see the first question), you are eligible to vote even if you do not possess a physical voter ID card. Voters without a voter ID card may carry any one of the below mentioned documents or ID to the polling booth to vote:

Passport

Driving License

Service Identity Cards with photograph issued to employees by Central/State Govt PSUs/Public Limited Companies

Passbooks with photograph issued by Bank/Post Office

PAN Card

Smart Card issued by RGI under NPR

MNREGA Job Card

Health Insurance Smart Card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour

Pension document with photograph

Authenticated Photo Voter Slip issued by the election machinery

Official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs/MLCs

Aadhaar Card

How do I know whos contesting from my constituency?

It is important to be informed about the various contestants and their promises and proposed policies. The list of candidates can be found on the website of the Election Commission.

Websites like MyNeta also provide consolidated information on candidates, along with details such as criminal cases, assets, candidates' electoral history.

What is process inside booth?

The Delhi Assembly elections will see the use of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines. Voters can verify if their vote has been recorded accurately as they will be able to see the name of the candidate for whom they have cast their vote on the VVPAT machine. The screen of the VVPAT machine will show the vote cast for seven seconds before a slip is printed and dropped into the VVPATs collection box.

What is Model Code of Conduct?

The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is a set of instructions announced by the Election Commission of India pertaining to general conduct, campaigning, holding meetings and processions etc. The MCC is to be followed by both political parties and candidates contesting elections.

You can find more details on the MCC on the website of the Delhi Election Commission.

Where can I report any MCC violations?

Citizens can report violations of the Model Code of Conduct by using an exclusive app launched by the Election Commission of India, cVigil. More details on the app can be found here

Violations can also be emailed to complaints@eci.gov.in. Voters can also use the voter helpline 1950 to complain.

Are there facilities for elderly and differently-abled?

Differently-abled voters can vote at regular booths. Signs, help desk, polling booths on the ground floor, ramps, braille ballot guide and braille EVMs, accessible restrooms and drinking water facilities are being put in place by the Election Commission. Sign language interpreters will also be available at polling booths.

This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative.
The agency is likely to recommend that people who can consistently wear N95 or KN95 masks, rather than cloth masks, should do so.

Coming Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. ET
On Friday, Jan. 24, Student Affairs announced in an all-campus email that they were putting the Grinnell College Sexual Health Information Centers (SHIC) operations on hold, citing employees lack of training and supervision, students role as representatives of the College and their school-sourced funding source. Now, as of Wednesday, Jan. 29, Student Affairs stated via all-campus email that SHIC would return to normal hours but in a limited capacity.

SHIC currently can only offer condoms, dental dams, lubricant and menstrual products  far fewer items than one would normally see on their shelves in Main Hall. They are not permitted to distribute gender affirming products and consumer sex toy products. Additionally, the SHIC staff are not allowed to conduct programming or peer education sessions unless they partner with an administrator.

Zama Buthelezi 21 and Anna Bell Hines 20, the SHIC administrators, have been in conversation with administrators to work towards bringing SHIC back to its former capacity since the Jan. 24 announcement.

One of the main concerns [we have] is whether or not well still be able to [provide] toys, said Buthelezi. The administration directed SHIC to cease their distribution of consumer products, citing the medical liability of having these products in the store and having students distribute said products.

Anything in terms of specifics of what those liabilities are and ways that we can be excused of those liabilities hasnt really been discussed with us, said Buthelezi.

For the past two weeks, Buthelezi and Hines have been questioning and pushing for answers. We dont really know the specifics of what would be required for us to keep selling toys, were not being told those things. Were just being told its not a possibility because of x, y and z and all these vague reasons, she said.

Ben Newhouse, dean of students, felt that pausing SHIC was the best way to ensure the center would return and be able to provide key services for the student body.

We needed to press pause and to really ascertain the path forward for SHIC, said Newhouse in an interview with The S&B.

I want to emphasize pause. A pause to the current operations so that we could determine, in partnership with SHIC leadership, what are the operations that can return, to develop that timeline and to really, and more deeply, ensure that there is a clear training mechanism for the peer educators that work in SHIC.

As SHIC is no longer able to provide gender affirming products, the Stonewall Resource Center (SRC) has offered to provide these items for students in need. Deka Spears, program coordinator for the Stonewall Resource Center, has been allocated funding to supply students with binders, tucking tape and gaffs.

Buthelezi and Spears are not sure if the SRC will continue to provide gender affirming products in the future but are happy that this need is being met. As of right now, the only service the SRC has picked up are the gender affirming products, Spears wrote in an email to The S&B.

I cant speak on whether or not SHIC will pick this up again in the future, thats not a decision thats up to me, but I do want to continue this partnership with SHIC regardless.

Another problem that Buthelezi and Hines are trying to solve is the issue of a staff advisor for the center. There is a SHIC advisory board, but there is no direct certified educator present.

As a student-run organization, that was never something that I would have thought would be necessary, or if it was necessary, I would assume that the advisory board would then act as adults who oversee us,  but the advisory board wasnt in contact with us, said Buthelezi.

Buthelezi wishes that there was more communication and clarity between administration, the advisory board and SHIC.

I wish we had more of a relationship who would then guide us and show us where were going wrong rather than just tell us somewhere, somehow this went wrong, said Buthelezi.

Another goal that Buthelezi has is to obtain certifiable training for the staff, so they are able to provide programming. However, Buthelezi voiced concerns about how to structure the training, who would conduct the sessions and if administration would veto their suggested candidates.

We were shut down because the administration felt like we werent well-trained, so I would have assumed that they would have come with ideas of heres who can train you, [but they didnt], explained Buthelezi.

Buthelezi and Hines are determined to continue to fight for SHIC, its services and the students who rely on the center. SHIC plays an important role for students in terms of health and wellness.

We have a lot of dreams for the center, but right now were just focused on getting it back, fully, she said.
Angry residents on the Savanna Road near Devtraco Estates in the Ningo-Prampram Constituency have issued a caution notice to the management of the real estate company in connection with the discharge of huge volumes of liquid waste in the area.

The angry residents, led by their MP Samuel Nartey George, staged a demonstration in the area against the company over the unbearable stench they are forced to contend with on a daily basis as a result of the liquid waste flow.

One of the residents told Accra 100.5FMs Richard Appiah Sarpong that: What Devtraco are doing is likely to breed cholera, adding: This is not rainwater, its waste water that threatens our health.

Another resident said: This is just wrong.

We did several demonstrations here but they wouldnt listen to us, another complained.

Mr George, for his part, said he has petitioned the Minister of Sanitation, Mrs Cecilia Dapaah over the matter.

I called their Director of Infrastructure and told her the problem. She said we should give her two weeks to address the issue. After I exposed this on TV, they went round issuing a statement discounting my comments.

We have petitioned the Minister of Sanitation over this matter.

---classfmonline
Washington: For nearly three years, the US Treasury Department, in violation of the law, has refused to turn over President Donald Trump's tax returns to a House committee that demanded them. A court battle over those returns continues to rage, with an uncertain outcome.

Meanwhile, Trump vowed last year to defy "all" congressional subpoenas, and numerous administration agencies followed his absolute ban on turning over any evidence to the House impeachment inquiry.

US President Donald Trump shows off the headline of his acquittal. Credit:AP

But it turns out there is a case that is very important to the President in which the administration has been more than happy to turn over private financial records in response to a congressional request - without fuss or delay.

By a shocking coincidence, in this case, the records relate to an individual named Hunter Biden, and the congressional lawmakers making the request are Republicans.
(Natural News) Democrat presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren told attendees at a town hall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Sunday that, if she is elected president, her education secretary will have to be approved by a transgender child.

(Article by Dr. Susan Berry republished from Breitbart.com)

When a supporter told Warren public schools need to teach more about LGBTQ history and sex education, the Massachusetts senator replied her education secretary would have to be interviewed by a transgender child.

I have two qualifications that I have talked about over and over for my secretary of education, Warren said. The first, it has to be someone who has taught in a public school.

Then, Warren said that since the question came from a young trans person who asked about a welcoming community, she would have that trans child interview the nominee for education secretary and look for the childs approval:

I said it starts with the Secretary of Education who has a lot to do with where we spend our money, with what gets advanced in our public schools, with what the standards are. And I said Im gonna have a Secretary of Education that this young trans person interviews on my behalf and only if this person believes that our secretary or secretary of education nominee is  is committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone, will that person actually be advanced to be Secretary of Education.

Warren has been reaching out to LGBT voters by condemning Christian schools that hold and teach a biblical worldview of human sexuality and marriage.

States should focus on funding public schools, not private onesespecially not ones that maintain anti-LGBTQ+ policies. We must ensure every kidespecially LGBTQ+ kidscan get a high-quality public education. https://t.co/hxKap5Ofjm  Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) January 26, 2020

As Breitbart News also reported in January, if elected, Warren has also vowed to fill at least half of her Cabinet with women and non-binary individuals  or those who claim they are neither male nor female.

However, as Gallup has observed, only 4.5 percent of U.S. adults identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) in 2017.

From the beginning of the Trump administration, Democrats have continually criticized current Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos for not having worked as a regular public school teacher. Most Democrat 2020 candidates have represented the views of the teachers unions whose leadership has condemned the administrations support for school choice, viewing it as a threat to public schools.

Read more at: Breitbart.com
African Growth Story calls for entries

The 2019 Sanlam Financial Journalist of the Year Awards is calling on African financial journalists to submit their African Growth Story category entries ahead of the closing date on 28 February. The awards recognise the best financial reporting by reporters based in Africa and attracts keen interest from journalists across the continent.



The African Growth Story category was first introduced in 2013 to recognise the significance of business and investment in Africa and has since being won by various journalists across Africa, including Isaac Anyaogu of Business Day in Nigeria (2018) and Ancillar Mangena of CNBC Africa in South Africa (2016).
The relationship forged between the US and Ireland has been a remarkable one.

It is one where personal sentiment has combined with cold commercial calculation to produce a remarkable result. There is little doubt that the affection of Irish America has played its part. Key figures on the boards of leading players, such as Donald Keough at Coca Cola, have looked kindly on their ancestral country and have played a part in persuading colleagues to back on investment in Ireland.

The country is seen as stable, pro-enterprise and with a tax system designed to maximise the sheltering of profits earned. Our politicians have been willing to back up the efforts of the IDA, one of the most effective sales and marketing organisations of its kind.

All of which counts with the hard-headed if occasionally sentimental characters who make the key decisions on the location of overseas plants and on which facilities will benefit from further expansion.

The handling by the country of the huge challenges posed by the financial crash has not gone unnoticed in high places.

US support sustained Ireland during global recession

Our leaders have beaten a track to Washington DC and beyond. Former Taoiseach Enda Kenny, was at his most effective when he energetically pitched the country to Americas business community during the darkest years of the economic crisis.

The low corporation tax strategy has always had its critics, particularly on the Left of the political spectrum, but the impact of the flows US-sourced foreign direct investment on the wider Irish economy over the past 30 years cannot be denied.

By 2015, total US overseas investment was $5,000bn, of which Ireland had gained $343bn. Only the Netherlands and Luxembourg fared better  at $858bn and $503bn respectively.

US firms began investing heavily in Europe after World War Two as the Continents economies began to rebuild, with financial aid provided under the Marshall plan. By 2015, total US overseas direct investment amounted to five trillion dollars ($5,000 billion), according to the US Congressional Research Service.

In the case of Ireland the total amount of accumulated FDI by US firms here had reached $343 billion.

Only the Netherlands and Luxembourg fared better  at $858bn and $503bn respectively.

This compares with accumulated US FDI in Italy of just $22 billion and in Germany of $108bn, in France, $78bn.

The total sum invested by US companies in Latin America was $847bn  in the Continent of Africa, a mere $64bn.

Almost 14 million were employed overseas by US firms at the end of 2014.

Since the publication of this data, of course, an important event has taken place  the election as President of Donald Trump on an America First platform.

One of the new Administrations first steps was to push through tax reforms aimed at narrowing the differences in US corporation tax rates with those of competitor countries. A key underlying aim was to encourage the repatriation of invested funds from overseas.

Despite these changes, foreign investment has continued to flow, with 13,500 jobs secured from overseas by the IDA in the first half of 2019  a 20% increase on the same period in 2018.

Three-quarters of US companies based, here, have expanded their operations in 2019. But despite the spreading of the recovery, there remains an excessive concentration of investment activity in the cities.

Every player seeks to build on success. We must ask ourselves the question: Is Ireland exploring all the opportunities when it comes to sourcing capital from the US? Arguably not. One approach would be to promote local entrepreneurship through a further strengthening in links between young high potential firms and providers of capital.

The long period of quantitative easing and low-cost loans has generated a bull run in the equity markets. Those with accumulated savings have been seeking profitable outlets. One result is that the venture capital industry has been in growth mode.

Irish firms must focus on new funding opportunities

Irish firms need to tap into these new sources of funding, management expertise and contacts.

KPMG global has produced interesting figures on the rise of the venture capital industry. In the first three quarters of 2019, venture capital investment in Europe reached almost $29bn. In Ireland, the VC industry is growing, but it remains modest in size comparatively speaking.

In the third quarter of 2019, 22 venture capital deals closed here worth in total $185m.

In its report, KPMG was positive about the country: "Ireland continues to attract a significant amount of attention from VC investors and Fintech ( financial technology) remains a very hot sector," said Anna Scally, Head of Technology and Media at KPMG.

Irish rugby star Jamie Heaslip helping promote Pointy. He invested in the Irish app thats helped huge numbers of people find products in local shops. The idea is simple - type the name of the product into the search box and Pointy will show the closest shop that sells it. Picture: Andres Poveda

Irish entrepreneurs have certainly been attracting interest from overseas. The outstanding recent example has been the decision of Google  a major investor in Ireland  to pay a reported $163m for an Irish IT firm, Pointy, co-founded by Charles Bibby and Mark Cummins.

This is an example of how a major FDI player can deepen its links with a country without adding one brick to its existing set of facilities where thousands are directly employed.

As has been reported, Pointy previously raised $19m in three rounds from investors including Frontline Ventures and Vulcan Capital. As Mr Cummins told RTE, over the years, we have developed a very close partnership with Google.

Enterprise Ireland and IDA funds underpin business growth

Firms such as this have frequently benefited from seed funding provided by Enterprise Ireland.

One of the key IDA strategies over the years has been the development of clusters of firms in particular sectors. But the incentives have not always existed to maximise the commercial potential offered by the presence of major plants.

The development of an entrepreneurial economy requires that the right infrastructure  financial, managerial, technical is in place.

In the US, such financial infrastructure exists in abundance, though it has tended to be concentrated in particular areas  in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, in particular.

In the last three months of 2019, more than $34 billion was invested in America by venture capital outfits. Increasingly, this wave of investment is spreading beyond Silicon Valley to places like New York, Seattle, Portland and Austin in Texas. All these are cities with strong universities.

As it happens, Irish universities and technology colleges have become increasingly adept at generating commercial spin-offs. These have risen from one or two, a decade ago, to more than thirty a year. Typically, they receive backing from EIs commercialisation programme.

A good example is Sensl, a company created by a UCD based team of physics researchers which was sold to a US semiconductor firm.

A key goal is to try and ensure that such companies are not sold off prematurely before they have realised their full potential.

A delicate balance must be struck here as promoters/founders and financial backers are entitled to realise the benefits of their hard work.

The question to be asked is whether the system is geared in such a way as to encourage founders to stay the course.

What outsiders like Americans can bring is a huge expertise in the financing of projects, not to mention expertise in management and in allied professional skills.

Ireland needs to reduce its reliance on the relatively small group of major companies who have been drivers of the Irish FDI success story over the past decade.

Austrian entrepreneur Dr Hermann Hauser says that Ireland shows great potential in areas such as software, digital-health and fintech.

Rural Irish towns benefit from presence of IT hubs

We also need to ensure that investment is less concentrated.

Measures such as the rollout of broadband and other infrastructure will help. Already towns such as Skibbereen are benefiting from the presence of IT hubs.

It is important to be aware that the size of a country is not necessarily a factor when it come to innovation.

Recently, the publication Silicon Republic interviewed the Austrian entrepreneur, Dr Hermann Hauser, a man who has founded more than twenty companies.

He points out that despite its small size, Austria is an important player in quantum computing, one of the major global start up growth areas.

He believes that Ireland shows great potential  in areas such as software, digital-health and fintech.

Concerns remain that the country remains over reliant on traditional forms of direct investment by large US companies, most of which has bypassed the countrys regions. This in turn has meant that much of our skilled labour is not being fully used, and with people being forced into long commutes into Dublin, in particular.

A new lobby group, Scale Ireland, has expressed the view that the system for start up businesses in Ireland is too fragmented. They claim that the government does not give the same attention to start ups as it does to farming groups ( farmers may disagree about this )

But we also perhaps need to consider building alliances with young businesses across the Atlantic seeking market openings in Europe.

We could be seeking to license bright new ideas, or enter into supply and research agreements.

State agencies could consider hiring people with inside knowledge from the US of how best to fast track businesses towards success.

In the 1960s, we imported skilled arts, craftspeople and marketeers from overseas, under the Kilkennuy Design umbrella. Many of these people stayed to build businesses, here, contributing greatly to the economy and to the localities where they settled.

As we entered the third decade of the twenty first century, we can look back on a period of great success on the foreign investment front, but the time has come for the country to enter into a new period of innovation and reinvention. A key of this process must surely involve a broadening out in the type of relationships between this country and the US business community.
Reading, PA (19601)

Today

Mostly sunny and bitterly cold. It will feel like it's in the single digits and low teens..

Tonight

Partly cloudy and extremely cold. Wind chills around or below 0 degrees.
The Members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit. But we will not  indeed we cannot  participate in this debate, according to the unsigned order from Judges David S. Tatel, Thomas B. Griffith and Karen LeCraft Henderson.
She had already delivered more than eight minutes of opening remarks that focused on picking apart Trumps Tuesday State of the Union address, explaining why she ripped it apart in a public display at the end of the speech. She had already cried foul about his statements on guaranteeing health insurance coverage for those with preexisting conditions and lowering prescription drug costs, among other issues, when in fact he is trying to gut the Affordable Care Act, which includes those insurance protections.
She flaunted her sensational bikini body during her honeymoon with 'husband' David Cannon on Thursday's episode of Married At First Sight.

And Hayley Vernon proudly revealed on Friday that she got a bargain boob job in Thailand before filming the show.

The 32-year-old finance broker told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she couldn't afford surgery in Australia because she's just 'a girl from the 'burbs'.

Budget option: Hayley Vernon proudly revealed on Friday that she got a bargain breast enlargement in Thailand before filming Married At First Sight

'I'm a girl from the 'burbs. I spent $4,000 on my boobs. Went to Thailand,' she said, beaming with pride.

'I've spent nothing! A hundred per cent.'

In addition to her breast implants, Hayley also boasts an intricate sleeve tattoo on her right arm and another running down her right leg.

Bangkok boob job: The 32-year-old finance broker told The Kyle and Jackie O Show that she couldn't afford surgery in Australia because she's just 'a girl from the 'burbs'

It's estimated that her elaborate body art is worth $10,000 in total.

On Thursday, Married At First Sight fans saw Hayley strip down to a bikini during her honeymoon with truck driver David in Singapore.

But things soured when they had a tense argument over 'derogatory comments' Hayley had made about David's $25-an-hour wage.

Looking good! On Thursday, Married At First Sight fans saw Hayley strip down to a bikini during her honeymoon with truck driver David Cannon (left) in Singapore

Beginning of the end? But things soured when they had a tense argument over 'derogatory comments' Hayley had made about David's $25-an-hour wage

The 31-year-old, whose parents are conservative Christians, said afterwards: 'I don't think she realises how much that hurt me'.

Things escalated until David took off his wedding ring in frustration and asked producers to get him another hotel room.

Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Nine
Updated 6:50 a.m. Friday, Feb. 7: Flooding is continuing Friday in eastern Oregon and I-84 is closed.

The National Weather Service said early Friday that Hermiston, Stanfield, Echo and Umatilla are among the areas that will be affected.

Parts of Echo and Stanfield, small cities near Pendleton, are being evacuated.

A swath of Interstate 84 is also closed, and trucks are stuck in the water.

This is a dangerous situation! the weather service said.

Drivers should not try to drive on flooded roads.

NOAA

***

Residents of Pendleton were advised to watch out for high water Thursday and Friday after the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Umatilla River in the eastern Oregon town. The weather service said the river would continue to rise overnight and hit its highest point Friday morning.

The East Oregonian reported that the city of Pendleton was advising residents to stay off the river levy, as the water was rapidly moving and there was large chunks of debris in the water. The newspaper posted a video of a bridge being washed away in the flood.

A bridge in Thorn Hollow collapses and washes away Thursday. pic.twitter.com/LyY7nDkEVZ  East Oregonian (@EastOregonian) February 7, 2020

An emergency evacuation was also issued to residents who live along the river on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, which sits just east of Pendleton. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation issued a statement asking those who live along the river to seek shelter elsewhere, and to call tribal dispatch at 541-278-0550 if they need assistance.

The Red Cross also reported that its Cascades division would be opening up an emergency shelter at the Pendleton Convention Center for anyone impacted by the flooding. The convention center is at 1601 Westgate in Pendleton.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
(JTA)President Donald Trump unveiled his long-awaited Middle East peace plan on Tuesday, and the release event was a doozy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined Trump at a news conference and compared it to President Harry Trumans recognition of the State of Israel in 1948. Netanyahu also snuck in the fact that as part of the plans starting framework, he will look to apply Israeli sovereignty over territory that much of the international community considers illegally occupied.

In the most basic sense, the plan is a two-state solution. But the statements from Trump and Netanyahu, along with the text of the plan, which was released in full (181 pages, to be exact) have already triggered a wave of speculation and more than a little confusion.

Heres a breakdown of the plans most basic components and what they mean moving forward.

Two states, sort of

At its core, the plan proposes a two-state solution, ideally envisioning an autonomous Palestinian state. This line of thinking, endorsed by every U.S. president dating back to Bill Clinton in the 1990s, has lost some support since Trump took office.

However, as U.S. Ambassador David Friedman stressed in a phone call with reporters following the news conference, Israel would retain security control over all the land that would include a Palestinian state. So even though the Palestinians would have their own system of government throughout their state, Israeli forces would still be allowed to patrol and exert their will in the areaas Friedman described it, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

That is essentially how Israeli soldiers act now: They are not a constant presence in Palestinian areas, but they move in and out as they please. In that sense, life for Palestinians in the West Bank would not change much.

But another provision of the planallowing Palestinians to move freely between the West Bank and Gazawould be a major change. Palestinians currently cannot move between the two areas without Israeli approval, which is rarely granted. Family members and others would no longer be separated as they are now.

Borders for a Palestinian state

The plan also contains something that past U.S. proposals havent included: a specific map that delineates what the potential Israeli and Palestinian state borders would be.

The proposed Palestinian state would consist of most of the West Bank (about 80 percent, according to estimates), the mostly undeveloped territory between Jerusalem and Jordan, and Gaza, the strip of land in the middle of Israels western coast.

The plan also leaves the possibility of later adding the so-called Trianglea collection of Arab towns adjacent to the West Bank but part of Israel properto a Palestinian state, if both parties agree.

Controversial moves ahead for Israel

Under the plan, controversial parts of the West Bank would become officially recognized Israeli territory.

This includes all of the Israeli communitiescode word for settlementsthat are dotted throughout the potential future Palestinian state, as well as the Jordan Valley, the strategically important swath of land that Israel has largely controlled since the Six-Day War in 1967.

A four-year time frame

The plan gives the Israelis and Palestinians four years to accept these borders.

Netanyahu announced at Tuesdays news conference that during that time, Israel will freeze any new settlement construction that would encroach on the Palestinian state outlined in the peace plan.

However, he also said that Israel will look to immediately apply its laws to existing settlements and the Jordan Valley, whether or not the Palestinians signal that they will buy into the U.S. proposal.

Subtle semantics

To some, this may sound like Netanyahu is using the plans release as an opportunity to annex that territory right away, as he has long desired.

Netanyahu was careful not to use the word annex in his remarks on Tuesday, preferring the apply its law usage. That could be his way of making the dramatic move more palatable to the international community, which undoubtedly will criticize the Israeli leader.

Moving forward, look for the language over this issue to be debated.

Hamas has to go

Another key part of the plan involves the dismantling of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two Palestinian groups seen as terrorists by a large part of the international community. Hamas currently governs Gaza with an iron fist, so removing it would significantly change the coastal strip.

Palestinian officials also would have to agree to stop its policy of paying the families of terrorists who attack Israelis.

High-speed rail and other incentives

The plan also aims to create a high-speed rail connection between the West Bank and Gaza, two Palestinian areas that feel physically sequestered because of Israeli security policies.

The Trump Economic Plan portion of the document says that the accord has the potential to facilitate more than $50 billion of investment over ten years. It doesnt get into detail about where that would come from, but it likely means from the U.S. and a coalition of Arab states that support the plan.

Slim chances of successexcept for Netanyahu

Its safe to say, at least at this point, that the plans chance of successsuccess meaning that the Palestinians will agree to itis close to nil.

Thats because the mere release of this plan is a big win for Netanyahu and the mainstream Israeli right. It codifies the full U.S. support of Israels eventual annexation of the West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley, which Israel says is both vital to its security and is part of its rightful ancestral territory.

It also keeps security control of both statesessentially everything from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, as Friedman put itunder Israels purview.

The only thing that might remotely worry Netanyahu is how the proposed settlement freeze will play among Israeli settlers, a demographic he has fiercely courted over his record tenure as prime minister (especially since 2015).

Trump likely hopes that this will give him a boost not just in Israel, where the key aspects of the plan are popular, but also at home, where his impeachment trial rages on. The plans unveiling also could be a ploy to distract some Americans attention from the trial.

The plot has thickened considerably for Benny Gantz, Netanyahus political rival. Since Gantz has dismissed the idea of governing with Netanyahu under a unity coalition and rotating the prime minister title, its notable that he has wholeheartedly endorsed the plan (at least according to Trump). It could signal that some form of reconciliation is on the horizon before yet another Israeli election in Marchits third in less than a year.

As for the Palestinians, they are almost certain to object to the map in the plan from the outset. The proposed lack of security control will be seen as a deal breaker, and the Israeli West Bank settlements present all kinds of complications. It would be a Swiss cheese state.

But even if the Palestinians completely reject the plan, could it jump-start a new series of talks between Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas? Well have to wait and see.
MACOMB, Michigan, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ascent Aerospace, a leading provider of tooling systems, factory automation and integration services to the aerospace industry, will be exhibiting at a number of aerospace conferences and exhibitions in March 2020: JEC World 2020, AeroDef Manufacturing and AeroTech 2020.

From March 3-5, Ascent will be present at the JEC World 2020 event in Paris, France. As the premier composites event in the world, JEC features groundbreaking solutions as well as unique manufacturing technologies. JEC also offers many new business opportunities for aerospace tooling and systems manufacturers. Ascent will be in Hall 5, Booth P6, where we will be highlighting our new additive manufacturing capabilities, our considerable experience with composites and our patented HyVarC tooling solution. https://www.jec-world.events/

Following JEC, Ascent will head to Fort Worth, Texas for the AeroDef Manufacturing exhibition from March 16-19. This key conference for the aerospace and defense industry provides access to leading companies with innovative manufacturing processes and integrated manufacturing solutions. Visit booth 523 to learn about the new drilling products, automation applications and advanced integrated solutions Ascent has to offer. https://www.aerodefevent.com/

Concurrent with AeroDef Manufacturing, Ascent will be present at the SAE AeroTech conference from March 17-19, in Pasadena, California. This comprehensive aviation event focuses on every facet of modern aircraft development as well as the latest technology from suppliers and manufacturers of integrated systems, tooling and materials. Join Ascent in booth 206 to discuss the latest developments regarding our next generation end effectors and fastening systems. https://www.sae.org/attend/aerotech/

To see the full list of events where Ascent Aerospace will be, visit our website at www.ascentaerospace.com.

Ascent Aerospace is a world renowned, single-source provider of turnkey production and automated assembly systems for the aerospace and defense industry. Our unique offering consists of a variety of products and solutions to resolve challenging aerostructure assembly requirements, from wing components and fuselage structures to final assembly lines. As the industry's largest tooling and automation group, Ascent produces a full suite of composite tooling, including layup molds, mandrels, bond tools, and trim and drill fixtures, including the largest Invar molds ever made for aerospace. In addition, Ascent offers automated, high-precision drilling and fastening systems. As an assembly line integrator, Ascent works with manufacturers to develop their projects and see them through from process design, engineering, to build, and installation, in order to ensure an efficient and cost effective solution. This strategy has allowed Ascent Aerospace to develop long-term, strategic alliances with the world's foremost manufacturers in the commercial aerospace, business aviation, defense, space launch and satellite industries. Visit www.ascentaerospace.com for more information.

Media Contact

Marisa Bennett - Marketing Manager

Marisa.Bennett@ascentaerospace.com

Tel: +1-586-464-4122

www.ascentaerospace.com

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In recent years, everyone has been talking about the need for large-scale privatization of state property in Ukraine. This thesis has repeatedly been voiced by top officials, while the changing leaders of the State Property Fund have painted bright prospects, but the implementation of these plans has always ended in failure. The state budget never received the planned revenues, while the fixed assets of enterprises accumulated in the 20th century continued to wear out in the absence of investments.

As a result, state-owned enterprises still remain a hotbed of shadow schemes, a vivid confirmation of which is the recent detention of people offering five million dollars for appointing the right person to the post of head of the Odesa Portside Chemical Plant. That's given that the company is known primarily for its multimillion-dollar debt and several failed sale attempts.

There are more than a dozen such large state-owned enterprises in Ukraine, and, unfortunately, those interested in further parasitizing on state property are unlikely to voluntarily let the situation change.

The question is how the current government really sees the issue, calling the resumption of privatization one of the main reforms to be implemented in Ukraine.

Judging by the statements by President Zelensky, this Gordian knot should be cut in the coming months.

The question is how the current government really sees the issue, calling the resumption of privatization one of the main reforms to be implemented in Ukraine

To date, the team in the person of the head of state, parliament, and government has already carried out preparatory work, which the new head of the State Property Fund, Dmytro Sennichenko, is called to implement.

At the World Economic Forum in January in Davos, Switzerland, Zelensky announced the incentives, through which he seeks to attract foreign investors to Ukraine who would risk investing their money in modernizing the national economy.

Zelensky promised winners of tenders for the sale of state-owned enterprises, which will invest more than $10 million in Ukrainian assets an unprecedented concession in the form of exemption from income tax over the next five years.

In addition, he announced a new investment nanny program, according to which each investor bringing in our country investment worth $100 million and over will receive a personal manager from the government.

This initiative, rather, is designed to create new companies, industries and services, but if desired, it can be applied to large privatization objects.

Many experts agree that the president's new initiative is unlikely to greatly improve the investment climate in our country. The recent bidding for the transfer of the Kherson port for concession, that's still in limbo, confirms the idea. It was won by a foreign company, but the results were disputed in a Ukrainian court. By the way, Zelensky himself, learning about the court blocking, promised to "reset the judicial system".

In the near future, the Government and the State Property Fund will have to decide what to do with almost four thousand state enterprises, of which more than a thousand simply need to be liquidated due to the lack of real assets and the inability to resume work.

In the near future, the Government and the State Property Fund will have to decide what to do with almost four thousand state-owned enterprises

Each day of delay only increases the number of illiquid assets supported by the state's resources and piles up problems.

Of course, critics of the intensification of privatization may continue to insist that the state could search for effective managers for each state-owned companies, and not get carried away with mass-sale promotion.

However, it is time to stop rushing around and start moving in the chosen direction. In recent years, we have already realized that finding several thousand highly qualified honest professionals who agree to move from the private sector to the public sector, with a clear prospect of lower income, is an impossible task. This, moreover, will not eliminate corruption temptations.

Therefore, a resolute revival of privatization is now seen as the only right move. The Cabinet of Ministers a few weeks ago prepared and submitted to Parliament a substantially reduced list of strategic state-owned enterprises, which for now should be left in state ownership, while everything else should be put up for sale.

The year 2020 should be a turning point: either the country finally begins, overcoming resistance, to sell assets and lay foundations of a new economy, or it can forever forget about modernizing its industry and infrastructure in accordance with the requirements of the 21st century. And those responsible for this process should understand that society and foreign partners will not accept any excuses in case of failure, because many of the barriers to which the predecessors attributed failures are now gone. And the declared political will and unity of the new government's team in this matter only reinforce high expectations.

One can only hope that the attempt to resume privatization will finally succeed

Perhaps with some SOEs it will be necessary to look specifically for a specific foreign investor who will take on risks that may be unacceptable for domestic businessmen. In addition, the arrival in Ukraine of a large European, American or Canadian businesses with their significant resources, technologies, and anti-corruption will inevitably improve many Ukrainian markets, which are now suffering from monopolism and underdevelopment.

And here the "investment nanny" project may come in handy. One can only hope that the attempt to resume privatization will finally succeed, and Ukrainian state-owned enterprises will receive effective owners, and the state treasury will receive billions in investment.

Dmytro Shvarts
WASHINGTON (JTA)The Democrats running for president have hewed to the party line in criticizing the Israeli-Palestinian peace plan rolled out by President Donald Trump: Unilateral annexation of settlements is the wrong way to go.

The tone was first set by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who each seized on the failure of the Trump administration to include the Palestinians in the peace process and the apparent green light that Israel gets in the plan to extend its law to West Bank settlements.

The proposal that was presented today raises many questions, Pelosi, a California Democrat, said Tuesday, specifically regarding unilateral annexation, settlement freezes and lack of negotiations with the Palestinians.

Schumer, a New York Democrat who is known for his closeness to the prominent Israel lobby AIPAC, said both sides should come to the negotiating table.

Unilateral action taken by either side in response to the release of the Trump administrations plan will diminish the prospects of a future peace, he said.

That was the consistent response from candidates who chose to address the deal, and one of them, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, pledged to reverse the effects of the plan. Here are their statements.

Warren: Releasing a plan without negotiating with Palestinians isnt diplomacy, its a sham. I will oppose unilateral annexation in any formand reverse any policy that supports it.

Joe Biden: A peace plan requires two sides to come together. This is a political stunt that could spark unilateral moves to annex territory and set back peace even more, the former vice president said. Ive spent a lifetime working to advance the security and survival of a Jewish and democratic Israel. This is not the way.

Mike Bloomberg: Every peace plan deserves a chance, but any viable plan requires buy-in from both sides, and over the past three years the president has done nothing but hurt the U.S.s position as an effective broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the one-time mayor New York said. As this process unfolds it is critical that neither party take unilateral steps that could trigger instability and violence.

Pete Buttigieg: Peace requires both parties at the table. Not a political green light to the leader of one for unilateral annexation, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said.

Bernie Sanders: The Vermont senator objected to the plan, but not as a candidatethe message came from his Senate office.

Any acceptable peace deal must be consistent with international law and multiple UN Security Council resolutions. It must end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and enable Palestinian self-determination in an independent, democratic, economically viable state of their own alongside a secure and democratic state of Israel, he said. Trumps so-called peace deal doesnt come close, and will only perpetuate the conflict, and undermine the security interests of Americans, Israelis, and Palestinians. It is unacceptable.

Sanders, Warren and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, another presidential candidate, joined a letter to Trump sent by 12 Democrats in the Senate expressing their profound concern over the plan.

We write to express our profound concern regarding your decision to release a one-sided Israeli-Palestinian plan forged without any Palestinian involvement or support, the senators said. Unilateral implementation of this one-sided proposal will risk eliminating any remaining prospects for achievement of a peaceful and viable two-state solution.
By Ted Hesson and Roselle Chen WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration has restricted New Yorkers' access to several programs that allow faster security checks when they enter the United States, widening a dispute over a New York state law limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outraged New York residents who utilize the programs - or hoped to - and raised concerns in the travel industry and trucking sector that rely on expedited checks on the U.S.-Canada border and at airports

By Ted Hesson and Roselle Chen

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trump administration has restricted New Yorkers' access to several programs that allow faster security checks when they enter the United States, widening a dispute over a New York state law limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The announcement by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outraged New York residents who utilize the programs - or hoped to - and raised concerns in the travel industry and trucking sector that rely on expedited checks on the U.S.-Canada border and at airports.

DHS said on Thursday the action, which took effect on Wednesday, would bar both new passes and renewals of Global Entry and three programs that allow faster travel between the United States, Canada and Mexico, but would not apply to Transportation Security Administration pre-checks.

Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told reporters the state's lack of security cooperation with federal immigration authorities necessitated the suspension of the travel programs.

He assailed the state over a law passed last year that allows immigrants to apply for driver's licenses even if they lack legal status, while it also limited the information the state's Department of Motor Vehicles can share with federal immigration authorities.

Cuccinelli called the law "dangerous" and "thoughtless in terms of unintended consequences" because of federal authorities' need to access the information for criminal and terrorism investigations. He said the programs would remain suspended until New York state agreed to share requested information.

President Donald Trump has made immigration crackdown a focus of his 2020 re-election campaign and criticized "sanctuary" jurisdictions during his annual State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, referring to cities and other jurisdictions where local officials decline to hand over illegal immigrants for deportation.

A senior adviser to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Rich Azzopardi, said it was "obviously political retaliation" and that the governor's office was studying its legal options.

At a U.S. government office in Manhattan Thursday morning, a group of about a dozen New Yorkers who had paid the $100 enrollment fee for the Global entry program and were waiting for final interviews were blindsided by the news.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer asked for identification to verify New York residency and then said all appointments were canceled.

"It took maybe four months to get this interview and then they willy-nilly cancel it," said Stephen Crane, a retired New York Supreme Court Justice who was waiting with his wife, Elaine, for her interview.

The DHS estimated the suspension could affect 150,000 to 200,000 New York residents who attempt to renew membership in the travel programs if the ban remains in place through the end of the fiscal year, which runs to Sept. 30. It also affects a program for commercial truck drivers, known as FAST, which is heavily used along the U.S.-Canada border.

Kendra Hems, president of the Trucking Association of New York, which represents approximately 600 motor carriers, said the new restrictions were very worrisome.

Its obviously a major concern. Canada is our biggest trading partner, she said. It could create some pretty massive border delays, as well.

The Trump administration continues to weigh similar actions against other states, Cuccinelli said.

(Reporting by Ted Hesson in Washington, D.C., and Roselle Chen in New York; Additional reporting by Mica Rosenberg in New York and Moira Warburton in Toronto; Editing by Howard Goller, Alistair Bell and Leslie Adler)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
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The Department of Health and Human Services will host a news briefing Friday with members of the White House's coronavirus task force.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar will likely address the public alongside other members of the task force, including acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli and others.

As of Friday, more than 31,000 cases of coronavirus have been reported in over two dozen countries, resulting in at least 636 deaths almost exclusively in China. The WHO declared the virus a global health emergency last week, a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak.

On Wednesday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged the WHO's 196 member countries to "invest in preparedness," not "panic." He said that funding for outbreak preparedness in surrounding countries "has remained grossly inadequate" in the past.

The WHO has tapped $9 million of funding from its contingency fund for emergencies, Tedros said Wednesday. He said the organization has sent medical supplies such as masks, gloves, gowns and diagnostic tests around the world.

He also announced that the WHO is launching a "strategy preparedness and response plan."

The WHO is requesting $675 million to fund the plan for the next three months, he said, adding that $60 million of that would fund WHO operations and the rest for country support.

[To see the latest updates on the coronavirus, visit CNBC's live updates here.]
A gift capital of US$3 million to NUS is likely to drive research, education and innovation in the field of endocrinology, particularly in the area of translational research in diabetes

Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (left) and and His Excellency Dr Mohamed Omar Balfaqeeh, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Singapore (right), at the agreement signing ceremony for the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Professorship in Medicine

The Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable & Humanitarian Foundation is donating US$3 million to the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine) to drive research, education and innovation in the field of endocrinology, particularly in the area of translational research in diabetes.

It is the first time a Singapore tertiary institution is receiving a gift from the foundation based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and comes as both countries tackle rising diabetes rates.

Because of the gift, the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Professorship in Medicine will be set up to support research in the use of technologies and genomics to understand individuals pre-disposition to diabetes.

As an endowed professorship, the gift capital of US$3 million will be preserved in perpetuity, and invested to generate an annual income that will fund the professorship.

The professorship will be named after Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE, who was noted for his philanthropy and humanitarian legacy.

Sheikh Zayed had steered Abu Dhabi to independence from the British, and drove its consolidation into the UAE, a union of seven emirates on the western side of the Arabian Gulf. A noted philanthropist, he believed oil wealth was a gift to be shared with countries and people in need.

We are deeply grateful for the foundations shared belief in the importance of research and collaboration in the field of endocrinology and metabolic health and its very generous support of our ongoing research. Diabetes is a deadly scourge and this professorship will be an important launch pad for future academic exchanges and collaborations to advance transformational research in this field, said Professor Chong Yap Seng, Dean of NUS Medicine.

Both Singapore and the UAE have rising rates of diabetes and prediabetes, and both countries governments have announced plans to reduce diabetes prevalence.

The Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Professorship in Medicine will be the cornerstone for collaboration and innovative research in this area between institutions in the UAE and Singapore. Equally important, it perpetuates the abiding legacy of the UAEs founding father, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, of global humanitarianism and improving the lives of others, regardless of race, language or religion, said His Excellency Hamad Salem Bin Kordous Al Ameri, Director General of the Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable & Humanitarian Foundation.
Below Deck fans have an exclusive opportunity to meet and hang out with deckhand Rhylee Gerber at the Miami International Boat Show on February 14 and 15.

Gerber shared the exciting giveaway details on Instagram during her travels through Italy. You and a guest, FREE general admission to the 2020 International Miami Boat Show February 13-17th where youll see ME on the 14/15, she shared.

Rhylee Gerber | Karolina Wojtasik/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Fans should act fast as the offer expires on Sunday, February 9 at midnight EST. Entering to win free admission is easy. Entry rules apply: 1) LIKE this post; 2) TAG at least one person, she shared. Then, 3) FOLLOW @miamiboatshow. Fans also have an option of 5 additional entries available with purchase of The Life of Rhylee customized jewelry (dm for info).

The Miami Boat Show is a playground for Below Deck fans

Below Deck fans shouldnt miss this unique opportunity to rub elbows with cast members like Gerber, but also experience some of the worlds most luxurious yachts. The holiday weekend Miami International Boat Show kicks off on Thursday, February 13 and ends on Monday, February 17. The action goes down at the Miami Marine Stadium Park & Basin, Virginia Key and the show opens at 10 a.m.

Gerbers offer allows fans to save some serious cash for two people to visit the show. General admission provides access to luxury yachts but also exciting seminars. Discover the latest innovations in yachting, plus chat with manufacturers about cutting edge designs.

Worried you wont win Gerbers free ticket giveaway? She is still offering an opportunity to click on a link on her website to earn a discounted Miami Boat Show rate.

Get the scoop about the show and Gerbers travels

In addition to soaking in all the glitz and glamour at the show, fans can also chat with Gerber about Below Deck. Plus get the inside scoop about her latest trip to Sicily. She recently blogged about her travels and generously shared photos and video from her latest trip.

Gerber chose Sicily because one of her closet friends is stationed with the U.S. Navy in the area. While her friend was at work, Gerber met new friends and explored unchartered territory. Besides my stay here in Italy, I also managed to squeeze in a quick weekend trip to Moldova, she shared. Now this isnt a place noticeably on the map one would think to visit as any traveler, let alone an American, however, it is here that I had the most amazing of times, celebrating friends, who quickly felt like family.

She also forged some sweet connections too. Fell in love with an elderly local named Sergio (practicing a sort of AirBnb type villa) who welcomed our group with open arms and approximately 10 gallons of homemade wine (I have been referring to as hooch that subsequently went down like grapefruit juice) and found myself dreading the flight back to my aforementioned vacation destination of Sicily seeing as how I came to love and unequivocally enjoy my short stay in another wildly unexpected cultural immersion.
Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Naths recent call to bureaucrats in his government to come up with ideas to help build the brand of the state has so far evoked no response.

Mr Nath, while addressing the three-day meet of IAS officers in the state that concluded on January 19, had mooted the concept idea for change and urged the babus to suggest ideas that could trigger speedy development leading to creation of brand of the state.

He had also announced a jury comprising three former chief secretaries to choose three best ideas and reward the bureaucrats.

Three weeks have passed but not a single idea has come to him so far, a senior officer in the CMs Office told Deccan Chro-nicle. The CM does not forget to remind secretaries to produce ideas whenever he interacts with them. But, his idea for change concept is yet to find takers, he added.
The Ashraf residents expressed their anger at the Iranian regime, their sorrow at the loss of life, and their condolences to the families of the victims, as they lit candles and laid flowers in front of pictures of the victims.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) fired missiles at the aircraft on January 8, somehow believing it to be an incoming rocket after the regime fired missiles into Iraq earlier that day. They then covered it up for three days before being forced to admit their wrongdoing.

Maryam Rajavi addressed this ceremony and once again said that this was a crime that the Iranian people and their resistance would not forget, especially as it happened so close to the regimes massacre of 1,500 protesters during the November uprising. Thats why, she said, so many young Iranians and university students poured into the streets for the January uprising, to mourn their friends

Maryam Rajavi said: The fury and anger of their friends in universities and cities across the country once again confirmed that the people of Iran will neither forgive nor forget.

They will neither calm down nor disperse but will remain in the scene and continue to cry out: Death to the principle of Velayat-e Faqih, down to the dictator. The people of Iran do not want Irans ruling dictatorship.

She said that the protests by the Iranian people in January showed that the more the regime cracks down on Iranian civil liberties, including the right to protest, and attempts to kill the people, the more that Iranians will fight back

Maryam Rajavi said: The people of Iran, particularly young people, and students, responded to the mullahs murderous supreme leader the scenes of universities in Tehran and other Iranian cities, and the cries of Iranian people, students, rebellious youth, and resistance units displayed a small part of this anger and rebellion, and the Iranian peoples will to overthrow [Supreme Leader Ali] Khamenei who is the source of their misfortunes.

She continued by saying that Khamenei was angry because the Iranian peoples protests shattered the image of Iranians uniting behind him, which he wanted to present during the funeral processions of terror Master Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike on January 3.

Maryam Rajavi then praised her husband and fellow Resistance Leader Massoud Rajavi, for serving as the voice of the Iranian people for years, saying that he had backed the oppressed Iranian people and elevated their demands at every opportunity. She said his voice was a harbinger of hope and triumph and signaled the day of reckoning for those who oppressed the Iranian people for 40 years.

She quoted him as saying: Time has come for crushing the inhuman regime.
128 Technology Urges SD-WAN Space to Break Free From Legacy Thinking

By Maurice Nagle , Web Editor

SD-WAN Expo serves an opportunity to bring together the top tier of the industry to educate and engage attendees. From 101 to advanced, sessions will round the bases of SD-WAN.

As a way to offer attendees a preview of whats to come, I had the opportunity to catch up with Vice President Product Management 128 Technology (News - Alert) Ritesh Mukherjee. 128 Technology will be participating in the SD-WAN Expo panel, 20 QuestionsGo! where the conversation will walk the audience through the early phases of research and deploying SD-WAN. Find our complete conversation below.







Maurice Nagle: Please tell us a bit about the latest news at your company.

Ritesh Mukherjee: 128 Technology which provides the only tunnel-free SD-WAN solution in the industry has been accepted by customers worldwide. Weve recently won several large-scale deals, with Enterprise and Service provider customers who see the value in our runnel-free networking solution. Our solution removes overhead and complexity while delivering superior performance and end-user experience. Some of our recent wins include SNET Systems, Impulse Advanced Communications, Pindrop, Network Data Systems, and many others.

MN: What pains are you taking away for customers?

RM: Traditional SD-WAN solutions rely on tunnels for connecting sites. This adds overhead, reduces performance, adds complexity, increases hardware costs, and negates application acceleration. Customers have had to contend with these issues as there was no solution without tunnels from any vendors. 128 Technology introduced the first tunnel-free SD-WAN solution which removes overhead, allows hyper-segmentation, infuses zero-trust security, and increases performance. This has led to simpler solutions that customers use to grow their business.

MN: Is SASE changing the way you and/or your customers operate? How?

RM: SASE has been the foundation of 128 Technology Tunnel-free SD-WAN solution from day one. 128 Technology has inbuilt security, inherent directionality, deny-by-default, and hyper-segmentation. This allows customers to deploy integrated secure edge solutions to connect branches, data centers, and public clouds. The 128 Technology solution is FIPS-140-2 and ICSA Corporate Firewall and PCI-DSS certified.

MN: What is the greatest opportunity for SD-WAN vendors today?

RM: SD-WAN has found tremendous acceptance in the industry. It is the stepping stone to network automation, new technologies, whitebox, and cloud networking. 128 Technology strongly believes that SD-WAN presents an opportunity to revolutionize the networking world. It allows enterprises and service providers to start from the network edge and extend it to data centers and public clouds. This will allow companies to go beyond just the WAN edge and improve the entire network.

MN: What is the greatest challenge for SD-WAN vendors today?

RM: The greatest challenge for any SD-WAN vendor it to break free from traditional legacy networking models and innovate. Many SD-WAN vendors have chosen older generation technologies with some automation to provide a band-aid solution. This may have led to some early success but they struggle to keep up with newer technologies that go beyond tunnels and revolutionize the network.

MN: In 2019, MEF (News - Alert) unveiled MEF3.0, how is this impacting your business today, and what does this mean for the future?

RM: The 128 Technology powered solution utilized by CMC Networks was awarded MEF 3.0 PoC Award winner in 2019. The solution showcased MEF 3.0 Service Implementation by demonstrating how multi-vendor SD-WAN solutions can co-exist in a highly complex Satellite Access network. 128 Technology is a firm believer in open standards and we continue to impress upon our customers to choose solutions that support open APIs and services. MEF 3.0 has shown that an open SD-WAN standard can really benefit the industry.

MN: Whats your biggest SD-WAN takeaway from 2019?

RM: Customers continue to demand innovative SD-WAN solutions to transform the network. Our biggest takeaway from 2019 was seeing an auto parts retailer deploy more than 100 sites every week to reach nearly 5000 stores without any tunnels. The benefits and the speed of deployment truly changed the way the customer thought about networking. Building networks is not just a time and money sink but rather a way to transform and empower the business.

MN: Whats your most off-the-wall tech prediction for 2020?

RM: 5G, IoT, and Cloud is going to completely change the way companies think about networks. Millions of devices working in unison while requiring unprecedented security cannot be achieved by building tunnels. The networking world is realizing that and solutions that transcend traditional networking are going to come to the fore.

MN: What do you hope to achieve at the event? Why should people come to SD-WAN Expo, ITEXPO and its other collocated #TechSuperShow events to meet with your company?

RM: 128 Technology is demonstrating its tunnel-free SD-WAN solution at the event. Customers are going to learn how true revolutionary networking technology can transform their business. 128 Technology is going to share experiences from deploying the planets largest full-mesh SD-WAN deployment with nearly 5000 sites. It will be an opportunity to get first-hand information on how to build future networks.

MN: Why should your session be on the list of must-attend sessions at this years conference?

RM: 128 Technology has gained tremendous experience and recognition in the marketplace with its Tunnel-free SD-WAN solution. The sessions in which 128 Technology participates will provide a wealth of information to attendees on new networking solutions, superior end-user experiences, and lessons learned from large scale deployments.

Its time to untether operations from legacy solutions, architecture and mindset. Digital transformation is upon us, the work MEF is doing in developing service standards as well as the possibilities IoT and 5G present illustrate an innovative future for the network. Learn more next week at SD-WAN Expo!

See you in sunny South Florida!

Edited by Maurice Nagle
Congressional District 21 has traditionally been Republican country, but perhaps thats changing.

Voters in this district, which stretches north from San Antonio, across the Hill Country and into Austin, havent elected a Democrat since Bob Krueger in 1974. The seat was anchored by Lamar Smith for 32 years until his retirement in 2018. He was succeeded by Chip Roy, who won by less than 3 points over Democrat Joseph Kopser.

Having come so close, Democrats hope to break through in 2020, and we recommend former state Sen. Wendy Davis.

Davis emerged as a national figure in 2013 for her 13-hour filibuster to stop passage of a bill restricting abortions. Her celebrity propelled her into the 2014 gubernatorial race, which she lost by more than 20 points to Greg Abbott.

In 2016, Davis founded Deeds Not Words, a nonprofit that encourages young women to be activists through organizing, voting, art and policymaking.

Davis has a broad and deep understanding of the legislative process and issues such as health care, trade and climate change. She calls health care the greatest issue to work on, including the lack of hospitals and emergency care for rural areas.

If Davis wins the March 3 primary, the race between her and Roy, who is unopposed in the Republican primary, would be one of the highest profile congressional races in the country.

But first Davis has to navigate a primary. Her primary opponent, Jennie Lou Leeder, has served as the Llano County Democratic chair and a national delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and 2016. Her family roots in the district go back to the 1880s, and she attended our meeting in the good company of her delightful mother.

Leeder is an impressive and appealing candidate, but she lacks Davis experience and policy detail.
Back in 2016, a wealthy New Yorker got into a crowded presidential race and was immediately dismissed. Virtually nobody actually liked the candidate, polls showed, and there were also questions about how serious he was about the whole thing. Then that candidate won.

Could it happen again in 2020?

The results of the Iowa caucuses have fed speculation that former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg might actually have a shot at the Democratic nomination. He wasn't on the ballot, mind you, but the results - with a Democratic socialist senator and the young, former mayor of a relatively small American city finishing in the top two slots - seem to have cracked the door ajar to a wild card. Couple that with the "gut punch" suffered by the leading "establishment" candidate - Joe Biden's fourth-place finish - and it's not unreasonable to think a lane could open for Bloomberg.

It's anything but likely, but it's hardly the punchline it once was.

Let's break it down. First is what happened in Iowa and what it means. It has been abundantly clear throughout this process that the Democratic Party is terrified - terrified - of picking the wrong candidate, only to see them lose to President Donald Trump. Iowa Democrats liked Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg so much that they combined for more than half the vote, but it's not difficult to see voters confronting the reality of those two actually facing Trump and, rightly or wrongly, suddenly getting skittish.

And that goes double now that Trump's numbers are creeping up. There was a time when Democrats seemed to have the luxury of picking any number of hopefuls who would be favored against Trump, because they all led him in the polls. That's not so clearly the case anymore. Trump's approval rating has hit or tied new highs in several new polls in recent weeks - including 49 percent in the latest Gallup poll - and the general election matchups are suddenly tight. In other words, a party that has long said electability is Priority No. 1 may move even further in that direction and really think hard about its options once the front-runners solidify.

The answer for those voters, throughout the race, has been consistent: Biden. But not only did he fare poorly in Iowa, he's been an unsteady candidate. Biden is hardly sunk, but if the longtime top candidate in this race can't notch a win in the first three contests before he gets to the South Carolina primary, you wonder how much of an option he'll be in the fourth.

Which brings us to Super Tuesday, on March 3. That's the first date on which Bloomberg will actually be on ballots, thanks to his late entry into the 2020 race and his unorthodox strategy of spurning the first four states. He has gambled that he doesn't need the "momentum" that candidates covet from those early states, perhaps in part because his lavishly self-funded campaign doesn't need the money that usually comes with it. He's also betting that not even trying in those four states will help him avoid the kind of potentially negative narrative that Biden is confronting. It's a novel strategy, but if anyone could pull it off, it would be a mega-billionaire like Bloomberg.

So can he? Super Tuesday will be make-or-break for Bloomberg, no doubt - as it will be pretty much for everyone else. That's because 14 states are holding contests, and about 1 out of every 3 delegates is at stake. As the other candidates have focused on Iowa and New Hampshire, Bloomberg has blanketed these other states with ads and hired unheard-of amounts of staff in them. The combined investment so far is more than a quarter-billion dollars.

And there are signs that it's working - at least somewhat. There are very few polls in the Super Tuesday states, but the few we have suggest he's a player. To wit, some recent polls:

- He's third in North Carolina at 14 percent.

- He's fourth in Texas at 9 percent.

- He's fourth in Utah at 10 percent.

He's done worse in California, which is by far Super Tuesday's biggest delegate prize, but he's making huge investments there now.

Beyond that, we haven't seen many Super Tuesday polls. But if you look at states in the two weeks that follow, the trend holds. In the March 10 mini-Super Tuesday:

- He's second in Missouri at 14 percent.

- He's fourth in Washington at 12 percent.

- He's fourth in Michigan at 9 percent.

And on March 17:

- He's second in Florida at 17 percent.

- He's fourth in Ohio at 10 percent.

By that point, more than 3 out of every 5 delegates will have been selected. And pretty much every poll we have suggests he's at least on voters' radars in most of these states. If the contest is still open after the first four states and/or the party starts to wonder about a front-runner like Sanders or Buttigieg being able to win, Bloomberg has set himself up as an option.

Whether he'll be the most attractive fallback, though, is uncertain. Just as Trump began the 2016 race with awful image numbers - even among Republicans - the former mayor of New York began with an image befitting a New York mayor across much of the country. Some polls have shown even Democrats dislike him more than they like him. Trump, of course, soon changed that, and there are signs Bloomberg might as well.

Part of the resistance to Bloomberg undoubtedly owes to his wealth. This is a Democratic Party where an anti-billionaire message has suited some of the candidates quite well, after all. But if this become a "just win, baby" election, you wonder what those same voters might come to believe about what that wealth could do for their chances - especially from a candidate who is very much on their side on issues of gun violence and climate change. Bloomberg could also very plausibly present himself as a pragmatic pick on other issues, like the economy.

There's a lot of what-ifs built into the case for Bloomberg winning the nomination, but there remain a lot of questions about the 2020 Democratic field, and the party's unquenchable thirst for getting Trump out of the Oval Office could make for a unique campaign.

Bloomberg has a credible case to make that he can provide them something that they didn't even know they wanted. And if 2016 showed us anything, that's sometimes what the moment calls for.
Appointment

7 February 2020

Isaac Esparza has been named Food & Beverage Manager and Executive Chef of Casa Velas, an adults-only boutique hotel and private ocean club in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. In his new role, he is responsible for the hotel's two restaurants - the AAA Four Diamond restaurant Emiliano and the private Ocean Club; 24-hour insuite dining program; and culinary experiences for guests. The appointment is effective immediately.

For the past 12 years, Esparza has held various positions on the culinary team within Velas Resorts. Most recently, he served as Executive Sous Chef of sister property Grand Velas Riviera Nayarit which houses four AAA Four Diamond restaurants. Prior to, he was Head Restaurant Chef of Sen Lin restaurant at Grand Velas Riviera Maya on Mexico's Caribbean Coast. Prior to joining Velas Resorts, Esparza has worked at the Laguna Grill and Iki restaurants in Cancun. He studied Culinary Arts in Lecole des Chefs and has been decorated as a member of the Culinary Academy of France in Mexico.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 13:28:34|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- More than 30 disinfection robots designed and produced by a Shanghai enterprise have entered major hospitals in Wuhan, center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, to contain the spread of the epidemic.

The white robot has a hydrogen peroxide sprayer on its "head" and nine ultraviolet lamps in its "belly," and can perform multiple forms of disinfection in environments where humans and machines coexist, according to Pan Jing, CEO of Shanghai TMiRob, the manufacturer of the robot.

Navigation technology enables the robot to avoid obstacles autonomously, Pan said.

At present, over 30 disinfection robots have been used in isolation wards, ICUs, operating rooms and fever clinics of Wuhan's major coronavirus hospitals to provide around clock disinfection service.

Robots are increasingly being deployed at the front lines of China's fight against the epidemic in order to reduce cross-infection risks and improve efficiency.

On Monday, robot maker CloudMinds and China Mobile's Shanghai branch donated the first batch of 5G-powered robots to a Shanghai hospital. With the 5G network, the robots can help medical staff carry out tasks involving consultations, disinfection, cleaning and drug delivery.

Robot manufacturer Siasun and the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are also developing a robot that can replace nurses in conducting throat testing for the virus.
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This incident again proves how Pakistani Hindu girls are forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men ! Still Pakistan PM tried to teach India about safety of Muslims in India. Instead of this, he should first look after minorities in Pakistan !

Indian Govt has enacted CAA for getting Indian Citizenship for such persecuted minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Still jihadis and leftists are unnecessarily protesting against it. Hence Govt should take stringent action against all such people !

Pakistans 15-year-old Hindu girl Mehak on Thursday retracted her earlier statement and told a local court that she neither wanted to live with the Muslim man Ali Raza Machi, whom she had married, nor she wanted to embrace Islam. She pleaded to be sent back to her parents house and be allowed to practise Hinduism.

Mehaks counsel Rajesh Naraindas Kapoor told TOI over phone from Pakistan that Jacobabads second additional judge Gulam Ali Kansaro recorded her statement in his chamber since a large number of maulvis were present inside and outside the court.

After appearing in the court on Thursday, he said Mehak told the court that it was by mistake that she had recorded her earlier statement in the court on January 21, wherein she had stated that she had embraced the Islam and married Ali Raza out of her own will.

Mehak told the court she didnt embrace Islam and she didnt want to live with Raza. She said she wanted to go to her parents house and practice their religion, said Kapoor. The lawyer claimed she and her family were facing threats when she had recorded her statement on January 21.

Daughter of one Vijay Kumar, who lives and runs a medical store in Jacobabad town in Sindh province of Pakistan, the girl was reportedly abducted on January 15.

She was allegedly forcibly married to Raza, which sparked outrage among the Hindu community. Various liberal Muslim groups too had joined the minority community in taking out a protest march demanding restoration of the girl to her parents.

On the courts order, Mehaks ossification test was carried out, which determined her age to be only 15 years and eight months. Kapoor said she was was sent back to Dar-ul-Aman in Larkana and the court would give its verdict in the matter on Friday.

He said the court had also video recorded the girls statement to avoid any confusion in future.

Source : TOI
CervicalCheck campaigner, Stephen Teap, is urging people to get behind the Irish Cancer Society's Daffodil Day to help fund much-needed supports.

Mr Teap from Carrigaline, Co Cork, lost his wife, Irene, to cervical cancer in July 2017. He has two sons, Oscar and Noah, now aged seven and four.

Irene and I were no different from any other couple. We were young and starting our lives together as a family when cancer chose us, he said.

We did not get help from the Irish Cancer Society because we did not know who to turn to at the time. Everything just happened so fast that we just didn't have the opportunity to go anywhere.

A year after his wife's death, Mr Teap together with fellow campaigners, Vicky Phelan and Lorraine Walsh launched the 221+ Patient Support Group.

The group provides information, advice and support for women and families directly affected failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme.

Mr Teap hopes that 221+ could evolve into a support service for women diagnosed with cervical cancer. That is certainly the plan for it, he said.

It is great to see the Irish Cancer Society launch initiatives around the provision of aftercare for women with cervical cancer. There is a burning need for a focus on women who get cervical cancer and having a support service there for themselves.

Shannen Joyce, a young mother, and two-time cancer survivor, also urged people to support Daffodil Day that takes place on Friday, March 27.

Ms Joyce, 25, from Youghal, Co Cork, was twice diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma at very different life stages.

She was a 19-year-old college student when she was first diagnosed and the second time she was a mother to Roisin, now aged three.

Ms Joyce, who has built a large social media following, wants people to know that cancer does not discriminate on the grounds of age or gender.

Chief executive of the Irish Cancer Society, Averil Power, said the charity relies on public donations to fund 97% of its income and needs to raise 4m on Daffodil Day alone.

"This money is used to fund crucial services like the Daffodil Centres, free counselling and our volunteer driver services. We want our services to be available to everyone who needs them. We simply cannot do this without the public's support," she said.

Boots Ireland has raised 1.7m for the charity and is sponsoring Daffodil day for the third year in a row.
Defence PSU (Public Sector Undertaking) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Tech Mahindra announced a collaboration to design and build cutting edge Digital Solutions for Aerospace and Defense. They have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at DefExpo India 2020, Lucknow, to jointly develop solutions in the field of Defence products and systems for the Armed Forces leveraging next-generation technologies like Aerospace and Defence (A&D) Engineering Services, 5G and Cyber Security.

Anandi Ramalingam, Director Marketing, Bharat Electronics Limited, said, The MoU will enable BEL and Tech Mahindra to make joint efforts to seize the opportunities available in the domestic markets on back of the policy initiatives of the Indian Government such as Make-in-India. It will further support in tapping into global markets for export of defence products produced by the individual companies or jointly developed and produced by the two companies, leveraging on the Export Promotion Policy of the Ministry of Defence, Government of India.

Sujit Baksi, Head APAC Business and President Corporate Affairs, Tech Mahindra, said, Tech Mahindras collaboration with Bharat Electronics extends our vision of supporting governments make in India initiative to enhance our indigenous capabilities and build a robust 5 Trillion Dollar Indian economy. It is also in line with our TechMNxt charter that focuses on leveraging new generation technologies to deliver an enhanced experience to our customers. With Tech Mahindras global footprint, this collaboration will not only provide cutting edge design solutions to the Indian Armed forces, but also help in tapping export opportunities.

Mrs. Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, and Mr Sujit, Baksi, Head APAC Business and President Corporate Affairs, Tech Mahindra, signed the MoU documents in the presence of Mr. Gowtama M V, CMD, BEL.
Out of about 12 paleteros who sell her ice pops as contract vendors, Rios said, nine of them are seniors without legal status. The majority of the paleta men from Paleteria Los Magos, 1700 W. 19th St., are also older immigrants, said owner Norma Ayala. Since she opened 30 years ago, most of the vendors who sell her paletas as independent vendors have been seniors in the country illegally who cannot get a job elsewhere due to age or illness, Ayala said.
(Natural News) If the way the Democrats botched the Iowa caucuses on Monday reminds you of the way the Obama regime completely bombed the rollout of the Obamacare website in 2013 after years of building it at a cost of nearly $900 million, youre pretty shrewd.

Because we thought the same thing.

As you may have heard, Iowa Democrats, in conjunction with the national party, paid big bucks to a tech firm founded by veterans of Hillary Clintons failed 2016 campaign to build a voting app that aimed to not only improve the efficiency of the caucus process, but also to speed up reporting of voting results.

As the Los Angeles Times reported:

In 2016, for the first time, precinct chairs used a smartphone app built by Microsoft to relay results to party headquarters, enabling faster reporting than communicating via telephone hotline. This year, with the state party promising to disclose more granular data than in the past, the job of coding the app went to a fledgling tech firm run by veterans of Hillary Clintons presidential campaign.

It turned out to be a crushing failure.

And how? So much so, in fact, that ballot results are still being tabulated as of this writing on Thursday; in 2016, using older technology, Iowa caucus results were 90-percent known by midnight the day of the vote.

That also means that no one knows yet who won the caucus, though according to early returns, it looks like its either going to be former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg of super-socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the partys preferred 2020 candidate, is going to finish in a gut-punch fourth place.

But beyond the Iowa caucus drama, it is worth pointing out that, once again, Democrats have proven how hopelessly inept they are.

So, we dont know all the results

The Iowa caucuses were nowhere near the scale of building a nearly $1 billion website (!!) to take orders for insurance plans. And Democrats still screwed it up.

Yet, they want Americans to believe that they can run really complex things like government in general. Foreign policy. Healthcare. And anything else they can steal from the private sector.

A frustrated Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez on Thursday had seen enough (and, no doubt, had heard enough from a jeering public and a ticked off Democrat caucus). He demanded an Iowa do-over, because nothing says democracy like holding vote after vote until you get the result you want.

Enough is enough, Perez said in a tweet. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.

A recanvass itself is fraught with unknown pitfalls, as Big League Politics reported:

A recanvassing would stretch out the proceedings even longer, but it could reveal some discrepancies in the vote total. It would require caucus worksheets and reporting sheets to be audited by hand in order to ensure they were correct, at least theoretically.

For his part, Buttigieg isnt waiting around for a recount or a recanvass or a re-anything. Hes declared victory and has moved on to the next primary, in New Hampshire  with a stopover at Donor Central to raise some more money.

So we dont know all the results, but we know by the time its all said and done, Iowa, you have shocked the nation, he said on Monday night while addressing his supporters in Des Moines. Because by all indications, we are going on to New Hampshire victorious.

Heres what Democrats also dont know: How to run things.

If this caucus is any indication of the competency of the national party  and it is  then Americas far better off sticking with the Trump administration.

Sources include:

Reuters.com

LATimes.com

BigLeaguePolitics.com

TheNationalSentinel.com
In the latest blow to the upcoming Mobile World Congress, Ericsson said Friday it is pulling out of the trade show amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.

Why it matters: Korean phone maker LG already pulled out and China's ZTE cancelled a press conference, raising the question of whether others will cancel plans.

The company, one of the big three cellular equipment firms, along with Nokia and Huawei, is one of the largest exhibitors at the annual Barcelona event, which is slated to take place at the end of this month.

What they're saying:

Ericsson : "Ericsson appreciates that GSMA have done everything they can to control the risk," the cellular equipment giant said in a statement. "However, as one of the largest exhibitors, Ericsson has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors."

: "Ericsson appreciates that GSMA have done everything they can to control the risk," the cellular equipment giant said in a statement. "However, as one of the largest exhibitors, Ericsson has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors." GSMA, the trade group that puts on Mobile World Congress, has previously said it expected only "minimal" impact from the virus. In a statement on Friday, it said Ericsson's move will have "some impact on our presence at this time and will potentially have further impact."

Update: Nvidia said late Friday that it, too, is pulling out of the show. "We wont be sending our employees to this years event," the company said in a statement. "Given public health risks around the coronavirus, ensuring the safety of our colleagues, partners and customers is our highest concern."
Australia's top scientists helped create the country's popular Twisties chips, CSIRO revealed on Friday.

Melbourne businessman Isador Magid struggled in creating the design for Twisties after suffering a mishap from an imported machine from the US in the 1950s.

CSIRO said the popular chip wouldn't have existed without their help as they helped to change the manufacturing process.

CSIRO announced on Friday that without their help, the favourite chip brand wouldn't have existed (Pictured: The Twisties chip packet back in the 1950s)

'We were involved in the invention of Twisties,' they tweeted.

'Twisties needed a complicated and special process. The initial machine ''ruddy well didn't work''.

'The inventor got in contact with us. We told him how to change the process to create the chip we all love.'

When Mr Magid couldn't get the machine to work, he flew out a technical expert from the US and approached top scientists at CSIRO for help.

Taking CSIRO's advice on board, Mr Magid successfully produced Twisties.

True to their brand logo, without the help of CSIRO, 'Lifes pretty straight without Twisties'

After a few years, he struggled with large distribution and sold the brand to two of the Lea brothers from the confectionery firm Darrell Lea in 1955.

An unsuccessful launch in the UK then subsequently saw the Twisties brand sold to the Smith's Snackfood Company.

Today it is known as one of Australia's most popular chip brands coming in cheese and chicken flavours.

CSIRO is Australia's national science research agency who solve the greatest challenges using innovative science and technology.
Mahwah Mayor John Roth expressed remorse and sincere sorrow during a council meeting Thursday night over a drunken incident last month at a township employees house.

To my family, the event host, the townships employees, town council and all the residents of Mahwah, Im sorry. I let you down, Roth said.

The Mayor read a prepared statement during a council meeting a week after he admitted to NorthJersey.com that he got drunk at a party at the home of a township employee, took his pants off, climbed into an empty bed and fell asleep.

This problem is being addressed by my family and I to ensure there is no reoccurrence, Roth continued.

Word of the incident spread through town hall when an anonymous letter, addressed to Roth, was delivered Jan. 27 to department heads and council members detailing the incident and alleging a hostile work place.

Roth said the letter caused "embarrassment and hurt that is beyond description for his family.

It also brought embarrassment on the township, its employees and the town council causing unnecessary and unneeded distraction from the positive work weve been doing together, Roth said.

In addition to the letter, Roth said, several anonymous calls were made to the township alleging additional serious wrongdoings, including inappropriate touching of a female employee at the party.

A personnel investigation was immediately launched, conducted by Labor Attorney Raymond Wiss, for which employees were interviewed. A report detailing the investigations findings was delivered to the Township Business Administrator Quentin Wiest earlier this week.

That report is not a public document, according to Township Attorney Brian Campion.

Although, Roth said the investigation cleared him of wrongdoing.

The findings of the investigation, as explained to me, were that no crimes had been committed, no laws were broken, no assault or inappropriate touching occurred, no property was damaged and no complaints have been filed with the township by any party, Roth said. While, Im relieved to learn the findings, as mayor, I acknowledge that my actions that evening were wrong. They reflected poor judgement  and put my host and the employees attending in an uncomfortable position.

They rightfully expected better from me, as the mayor, he said.

Campion said the mayor waived his right to privacy on some of the findings of the report. Those portions were part of a resolution unanimously passed by the council after a closed session meeting.

The report recommended that the mayor get immediate counseling on township policies and anti-discrimination laws and seek an evaluation regarding alcohol consumption and the impact it might have on his behavior. The council does not have the authority to force Roth to listen to those recommendations, Campion said.

Council members did not individually address the issue.

The mayors conduct on Jan. 10, 2020 is inappropriate and represents conduct unbecoming an elected official, the resolution said.

The resolution was not a censure, an official action the council could have taken and had listed in its meeting agenda as a possibility.

The word censure is not in that resolution, Campion said. The council decided the appropriate action was a formal reprimand.

A censure or reprimand is the only official recourse the council had against the mayor. The council and administration lack the authority to remove him from office.

The only way Roth could be removed from office is if he is recalled by voters or convicted of a felony or crime that touches upon the office, said Frank Marshall, associate general counsel for the New Jersey League of Municipalities.

About 50 residents attended Thursday nights meeting. Though many public comments addressed other items on the meeting agenda, several addressed Roth with thoughts on the incident.

Resident Connie Byrne said she worked in corporate offices for many years and believes employees are afraid to speak up in hostile workplace situations.

Mayor Roth, you have often demonstrated inappropriate commentary back to women who speak at public meetings," she said. Hopefully that is not what happens in the workplace. But if it is, it should be addressed.

Resident Gregory Rosoff, during the public comments period, called for the mayors resignation. He cited widespread negative publicity for the township.

This is intolerable. Hes created an untenable work place, especially in todays age of no tolerance. How we can accept this and move forward from this, I just dont see it. He needs to resign ...and sir, you need to get help, he said.

Rosoff, who announced his candidacy for council, also told the council they were complicit with their silence.

How no one has spoken up and condemned this behavior, I dont know.

Another resident, Jon Lancaster, questioned how much was spent on the investigation, said the town should use an independent third party to investigate and pointed out that the investigation was conducted before a hostile workplace complaint was filed. If one had been filed, the employee would have been protected, he said.

Lancaster, a teacher, said he is responsible for his public behavior because of his position and that the mayor should be too. He tried to get Roth to comment on a reference he made to the press that the incident was a private matter. But Roth refused to comment beyond his public statement earlier in the night.

I think a thorough investigation has to be done into this matter, Lancaster said.

If Roth were to have resigned, because Mahwahs government is nonpartisan, the council could have appointed any resident to serve as mayor. It doesnt have to be a council person, Township Attorney Brian Campion said, but typically it is.

Then-Council President John DaPuzzo was appointed mayor in March 2011 when sitting mayor Richard Martel died.

Roths term expires Dec. 31. He previously served 12 years on the council, five years on the school board and two on the planning board.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonPries. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A mother was killed and her young child injured Thursday night when she crashed head-on into another car near Pearland, police say.

Lauren Terese Steptoe was driving along FM 2234 near Hiram Clarke Road around 9 p.m. when she veered into oncoming traffic, according to Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office Lt. Ryan Skelton. She crashed into another car heading the opposite direction on the farm-to-market road, Skelton said.
The spread of Wuhan Coronavirus in China and around the world has caused an international panic of an unprecedented level. Many people have fallen ill and died in China, and the number of infections worldwide is slowly growing as well. While it's important to stay safe and avoid unnecessary travel, we still need to find a way to stop the deadly virus from spreading.



In such a scenario, where the Coronavirus outbreak is reaching pandemic levels, a ray of hope is on the horizon. And it comes in the form of an Indian scientist doing exemplary work to save the world.

CSIRO Lab Australia

In a major breakthrough that can lead to a quick Coronavirus vaccine, a team of scientists led by an overseas citizen of India, Professor SS Vasan of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Dangerous Pathogens Team has successfully mass produced the novel Coronavirus strain outside China in sufficiently large number to begin clinical trial of medicine.

According to reports, last week Australia's Doherty Institute had managed to isolate the Coronavirus sample from an infected human in Australia, but what Prof SS Vasan and his team has done at CSIRO is significantly better for getting to a Coronavirus vaccine quickly.

Public Health England

Prof SS Vasan is an alumnus of BITS Pilani and IISC Bengaluru, before moving to Trinity College, Oxford, on a Rhodes scholarship. In the past, he has worked closely on developing newer vaccines for dengue, chikungunya and zika virus.

What's important from a Coronavirus cure perspective is that Prof SS Vasan is the principal investigator of CSIRO's clinical pre-response project, and even though several different agencies within Australia and around the world are racing ahead to get a cure, Prof Vasan's team is in the lead on that charge.

Wuhan Virus is a kind of coronavirus like SARS and MERS. Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are normally contracted from animals (like civet cats caused SARS in China). Even though the Wuhan Virus originated from the seafood market in the city -- with most of the initial victims being either vendors or buyers at the fish market. Researchers were able to find the virus similar to the ones found in bats and snakes.

The disease spreads from human contact so for being safe from it, personal hygiene is of utmost importance. Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika (BMC) among other authorities across the nation have issued a set of guidelines (which are identical to what WHO has been recommending) to stay safe from the Wuhan Coronavirus.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 13:37 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632402d 1 Art & Culture exhibition,art-exhibition,painting,Indonesia,Singapore,Kartika-Affandi Free

ION Art Gallery at ION Orchard, Singapore, is holding the "If Walls Could Speak" exhibition, displaying works by Indonesian, Indian and Singaporean artists until Feb. 11.

Curated by online platform Mayinart, the exhibition features 30 award-winning artists, including Kartika Affandi, Budi Ubrux, Januri and Fery Eka Chandra from Indonesia.

Kartika, who is the daughter of legendary Indonesian painter Affandi, will be creating a live finger painting for the showcase, inspired by her travels to Singapore during the Chinese New Year. Born in 1934, the artist is said to put her inherited talent to good use by using her fingers to create snaking patterns in her paintings.

Budi Ubrux is known for his work that incorporates hand-painted headlines and newspaper articles. The 52-year-old artist is described as one of Indonesias most progressive and radical new artists by Singaporean art company ipreciation.com.

Read also: Museum MACAN announces exhibition lineup for 2020

As a rising Indonesian artist, Januris cubism style has made him a finalist in numerous art awards, including the United Overseas Bank (UOB) Art Awards and the Phillip Morris Indonesian Art Awards. The artist has exhibited his work across Asia both in groups and in solo shows.

Fery Eka Chandra is known for his geometric patterns and repetitive lines. He has participated in art shows in South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand.

Along with the mentioned artists, the exhibition presents the work of 26 other artists that include Elisa Faustina, Shan Re, Subir Dey, Uswarman and JK Dass.

For more information on the exhibition, visit mayinart.com. (mad/wng)
BEIRUT - Syrian government forces backed by Russian forces on Friday took full control of Saraqeb, a small strategic city in the northwestern Idlib region.



Fighting between government forces and their armed opposition rivals, backed by Turkey, had been going on for two days.



The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) and other sources on the ground confirmed that Saraqeb, located at the intersection of the Latakia-Aleppo highway and the Hama-Aleppo highway, is now in the hands of Syrian government forces.



On Wednesday, Syrian government media announced that government forces had taken Saraqeb, but sources on the ground and anti-regime militants denied the reports. UN has documented over 200,000 displaced persons from the area of Saraqeb, east of Idlib city, and the surrounding districts hit by the Syrian government and Russian offensive.



UN said nearly 600,000 civilians have been displaced from Idlib since December 1, and 80% of them are women and children.



Meanwhile, for the first time after weeks of intense airstrikes on the region, Syrian government and Russian forces suspended air bombing and artillery shelling on Friday along the frontline between armed opposition forces backed by Turkey and Syrian government forces backed by Russia, according to sources on the ground in Idlib.



The sources said the suspension of strikes comes on the eve of a meeting on Saturday between members of the Russian and Turkish militaries over the division of the Idlib area and following the military success by Damascus in taking the key city of Saraqeb.


Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:09:48|Editor: xuxin

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Police are seen at the scene of a shooting attack near Lions Gate in Jerusalem's Old City on Feb. 6, 2020. Israeli border police officers shot dead a Palestinian gunman after he shot and wounded an Israeli policeman in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israeli authorities said. According to the police, the suspect opened fire at a patrol of Border Police officers near the Lions' Gate in east Jerusalem's Old City, slightly injuring an officer in his hand. (JINI/Handout via Xinhua)
The UK's biggest vehicle maker Jaguar Land Rover will pause production on select days at two of its British factories over the next few weeks, it has announced.

The decision was made as the manufacturer pursues cost-cutting measures in response to falling demand.

The firm will halt production on certain days over a four-week period from late February at its Castle Bromwich factory in the West Midlands and stop assembly lines on some half or full days at its nearby Solihull facility until the end of March.

Outputs to pause: Jaguar Land Rover will halt production on select days at two of its British factories over the next few weeks, it has announced

JLR posted a 2.3 per cent drop in sales in the three months to the end of December and has targeted billions of pounds worth of savings to tackle falling diesel demand in Europe and a tough sales environment in China.

The brand retained its title as the UK's biggest car maker in 2019, though annual outputs fell by 14.3 per cent.

A total of 385,197 new vehicles came off assembly lines at the brand's three production facilities - including Halewood near Liverpool - down from 449,304 the year previous.

JLR is one of the car makers feeling the worst effects of stunted demand for diesel cars in recent years.

Specialising in large SUVs and luxurious saloons, the manufacturer has in recent years swayed in favour of oil burning engines with better fuel economy and lower CO2 emissions in comparison to petrol.

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's biggest car makers, but suffered from slower demand in 2019

Assembly lines will be stopped on some half or full days at its nearby Solihull facility until the end of March

The firm will also halt production on certain days over a four-week period from late February at its Castle Bromwich factory, also in the West Midlands

However, the environmental backlash against diesel and the harmful emissions it produces has hammered appetite, with January registration figures showing that fewer than one in five new cars bought in the UK last month had a diesel engine.

In the height of their popularity, around half of all new cars were bought with diesel powerplants.

In a statement released on Friday, JLR bosses said: 'The external environment remains challenging for our industry and the company is taking decisive actions to achieve the necessary operational efficiencies to safeguard long-term success.

'We have confirmed that Solihull and Castle Bromwich will make some minor changes to their production schedules to reflect fluctuating demand globally, whilst still meeting customer needs.'

The move is not connected to coronavirus, a spokeswoman said, which prompted Fiat Chrysler to warn on Thursday that a European plant could shut down within two to four weeks if Chinese parts suppliers cannot get back to work.

JLR is one of the car makers feeling the worst effects of stunted demand for diesel cars in recent years

It has, in recent years, favoured diesel engines for its large SUVs and luxurious saloons. However, the environmental backlash against the fuel type has hammered appetite

Last week BMW bosses reiterated that it will not make large scale investments its UK production facility in Oxford until there is greater certainty over the outcome of negotiations between Britain and the European Union over a trade deal.

The Mini is currently built at Plant Oxford and in Born, the Netherlands, and any next generation car would require investments into the production lines of both factories.

'If tariffs are in the range of zero and 5 per cent, the business case would not dramatically change,' BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse said last year, referring to Oxfords status as a production and export hub for the Mini.

But higher tariffs on exports to and from Britain may force BMW to consider shifting more production to the Netherlands.


opinion

One bright Tuesday morning, 17 years ago, an exuberant Tourism minister Raphael Tuju grandly marched to the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, and dramatically repossessed the iconic building from independence party, Kanu, and installed a Mr GN Macharia as the new chief executive of the premises.

As expected, the February 11, 2003, move by the 43-year-old minister was violently resisted by Kanu officials. For decades, the 28-storey building had served as the party's headquarters.

A group of legislators from the party and former Kanu executive officer Peter Gicumbi heckled Mr Tuju, forcing the minister in the one-month old National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) government to take refuge in a lift for nearly seven minutes.

In fact, party youths beat up a man who had arrived with Mr Tuju and his assistant minister, Ms Beth Mugo.

It took the intervention of KICC police post commander Mary Wangui to free the minister from the lift after calling for reinforcements.

When he eventually walked to his freedom, Tuju was confronted by Kanu's lawyer, the late Mutula Kilonzo, who dismissed the minister's move as null and void.

Tuju retorted amid boos from Kanu officers, "I want to make it known that the government has taken over. If Kanu wishes to go to court, well and good."

The executive order by President Mwai Kibaki to repossess KICC was a symbolic gesture by the Narc administration to deliver back to Kenyans what the Moi administration had over the years plundered or forcefully allocated to the then ruling party or politically correct individuals.

According to Koigi wa Wamwere, an assistant minister for Information in the Kibaki administration, the repossession of KICC marked the beginning of an official crackdown on the mega scandals by the Moi regime.

Constructed under project account No. 530-801(A)-001, the building was registered as a government building No. NRB/ADM/38/1.

However, in 1989, Moi made a claim to the plot and the building, with Kanu registering him and then party chairman Oloo Aringo as registered trustees of plot No. CR 209/11157 for Kanu.

KICC was just among the few notable success stories as a lot of government property and public land was reportedly grabbed and reallocated to Kanu or politicians and their cronies. According to Tuju, the plunder was aided by the fact that at one time, the boundary between Kanu party and the State was blurred, or even non-existent.

In 1989, renowned environmentalist, Prof Wangari Maathai, similarly thwarted Moi's attempt to grab public land in the heart of the city.

Moi had identified part of Uhuru Park's recreational area for a proposed Kenya Times Media Trust Complex, which was envisioned to consist of a 60-storey tower housing among other things, the headquarters for Kanu, the Kenya Times newspaper (the organ of the ruling party), a trading centre, offices, an auditorium, galleries, shopping malls, and parking space.

The Nobel Laureate writes in her autobiography, Unbowed: One Woman's Story:

"In 1988, the government had further encroached on the park by building a monument near the intersection of Kenyatta Avenue and Uhuru Highway that celebrated 10 years of President Moi's Nyayo philosophy and 25 years of independence.

"It was a bitter irony that the park, named to celebrate our independence, was subjected, like so many of Kenya's public goods, to land grabbers in the government."

But perhaps the biggest scars in the Moi regime touches on wanton abuse of human rights.

Noting that he started off as a loving and forthright leader, ex-minister and ally to Moi, Katana Ngala, observes that Moi totally changed his leadership approach following the 1982 attempted coup on his government.

"He resorted to handling suspected aggressors with force and dealing firmly with those opposed to his rule," says the former Kanu vice chairman.

This aptly captures the ugly drama at the infamous torture chambers of Nyayo House, where scores of government critics were maimed and left for dead.

Many in the countryside similarly tasted the state terror. Exactly 36 years ago, for instance, scores of young and old men in northern Kenya were tortured and herded to Wagalla Airstrip in Wajir County by military officers where they were stripped naked and forced to lie on pebbly ground for four days under hot sunshine without food and water.

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The Wagalla massacre, as it has come to be known, started as a mere effort to disarm the ethnic Degodia clan following clan-related conflict in the region populated by Kenyan-Somalis.

But this 'simple' exercise escalated to a systematic massacre targeting a civilian population, making it one of Kenya's worst cases of human rights abuses.

Though government authorities put the official number of dead at 57, eyewitnesses claim as many as 5,000 people were killed. Key Permanent Secretaries in the Moi regime, including Joseph Mathenge (Security and Administration, Bethuel Kiplagat (Foreign Affairs), David Mwiraria (Home Affairs and J Gituma (Information) were fingered in the bloody scandal

The other unresolved dark spot that occurred under Moi's watch is the murder of British tourist Julie Ward.

In 1988, late Jonathan Moi, the former President's first son, made headlines after he was linked to the murder.
OMAHA, Neb.  Hundreds of Americans being evacuated from China over a viral outbreak will be quarantined in Texas and Nebraska, officials said Thursday, stressing that it was unlikely that anyone will arrive there with signs of illness.

Officials said about 70 Americans will be flown into Omaha and quarantined at a nearby Nebraska National Guard training base. In Texas, Lackland Air For Base in San Antonio was preparing to quarantine as many as 250 people who could arrive as soon as Friday, said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Controls division of high consequence pathogens and pathology.

All passengers will be arriving from Wuhan, China, the center of the new coronavirus outbreak. McQuiston said the plane bound for Texas will stop first at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California  where other evacuees from China are already under quarantine  and that anyone showing symptoms would be taken off the plane and remain there.

Its actually very unlikely that on the flight that lands here, there will be somebody with active signs of illness, she said.

University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Jeffrey Gold also said that all the evacuees should be healthy when they arrive at Eppley Airfield, which could happen as soon as Thursday.

Evacuees will be quarantined for 14 days and monitored closely for any signs of illness. Anyone who shows signs of illness would be brought to a hospital for treatment and isolation.

Nebraska National Guard officials have been preparing to house evacuees in three buildings with 85 hotel-style rooms at the camp. Guard officials have said the evacuees wont interact with guardsmen or employees there.

The new virus is in the coronavirus family that includes Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. It causes fever, cough, shortness of breath and, in severe cases, pneumonia. It has sickened more than 20,000 people and killed nearly 500, virtually all in China.

___

Associated Press writer Paul Weber in Austin, Texas, contributed to this report.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that China is doing a "very professional job" in combating the coronavirus epidemic.

Trump said that he discussed the crisis with President Xi Jinping in a "very good" phone call late Thursday.

"We talked about, mostly about the coronavirus. They're working really hard and I think they're doing a very professional job," he told reporters at the White House.

Trump said the United States and China were "working together" on the issue.

"I think that China will do a very good job.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 40-year-old farmer was shot by miscreants when he had gone to irrigate his fields at a village in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, police said.

Saleem suffered injuries due to the shooting on Thursday in Kishanpur village of Bhopa area and was later shifted to the district hospital where he is being treated, Bhopa station house officer M S Gill said.

According to the police complaint, some unidentified miscreants came and opened fire at him.

Police are searching for the assailants, the SHO said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A former US drone operator-turned-whistleblower who claimed his air force bosses told him 'it's just a dog' when he killed a child in Afghanistan has described the American military as 'worse than the Nazis'.

Brandon Bryant, from Missoula, Montana, spent six years in the US Air Force operating Predator drones from inside a dark container 7,000 miles from the conflict.

The 34-year-old fired missiles remotely from a base in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also spent time at drone control centers in New Mexico and Iraq.

But after following orders to attack an enemy position in Afghanistan that led to the death of a child, he knew he could not keep going and quit the military to speak out against the US drone program.

As a 'sensor' Bryant controlled multiple camera systems and was responsible for training the deadly weapons on their target while a pilot directed navigation.

Staff Sergeant Bryant said he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after his time aiming the Hellfire missiles at people on the other side of the world.

Brandon Bryant Former USAF drone operator Brandon Bryant described how he is haunted by his time as a 'remote killer' on missions over Afghanistan and Iraq that claimed more than 1,600 lives, including women and children

Bryant worked as a US Air Force drone operator, firing missiles remotely from a base in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pictured is a file image of a drone strike in Afghanistan

A drone pilot (left) and a drone sensor operator practice on a simulator at Holloman Air Force base in New Mexico. Bryant worked as a 'sensor' honing the missiles on a target

He signed up to the Air Force when he was 19 and made his first kill in 2007. From 2006 to 2011 his squadron hit 1,626 targets, including women and children.

To Bryant's knowledge he killed 13 people, according to the Sun

After aiming a Predator drone at three men on a dirt road in Afghanistan, Bryant watched the aftermath unfold on a monitor.

He told how when he registered this first kill his colleague celebrated by shouting 'splash', while another said 'Bryant's popped his cherry'.

But the horror of the bombing still lives with him as he watched blood shoot from his victim before his body turned cold on thermal imaging cameras.

He told the Sun: 'I saw the blood squirt out of his leg, then I watched him cool down.

'That image on the screen is still in my head. Whenever I think about it, it still hurts me.

'When I pulled the trigger, I knew that it was wrong. When the missile struck I knew in my soul I had become a murderer.'

One of Bryant's most traumatic experiences came later that same year when he accidentally struck and killed a child in Afghanistan with a direct hit.

He was tasked with taking out an enemy target believed to be inside a building, but at the last minute he saw a small child run into his cross-hairs just as the drone landed.

Staff Sergeant Brandon Bryant speaking at a news conference with former United States military drone operators in the Manhattan in 2015

A Predator drone used to target US enemy combatants. Bryant has been an outspoken critic of the program since quitting the US Air Force

When he questioned what had happened, his superiors told him it was merely an animal he had killed.

An image analyst who watched the drone video feed at the time of the strike, known as a 'screener', initially tried to tell him it was a dog.

But a colleague sitting next to him agreed it was 'probably' a child and nonchalantly added 'yeah, whatever, probably'.

After reviewing the tape of the incident, Bryant went to his bosses, but was told, 'it's a f*****g dog, just drop it'.

After the horrors of his time as a drone operator Bryant has spoken out against the US military's use of the program, testifying before the United Nations about America's overseas drone operations.

He has also spoken in Germany and told lawmakers about its role in aiding the US operations.

Bryant now denounced the US use of unmanned drones, saying they are 'worse than the Nazis, because we should know better'.

He said: 'We think about the Nuremberg Trials. All these guys that got convicted during the trials, the one thing that convicted them all was, ''well I was just doing my job''.'

In May 2016 Norwegian documentary filmmaker, Tonje Hessen Schei, produced a film featuring Bryant's experiences of how he joined the program, called Drone - This Is No Game!.

Brandon Bryant (left and right) served as a drone operator from 2006 to 2011 at bases in Nevada, New Mexico and Iraq

A US drone attack pictured (above) in Afghanistan 2017. Bryant told how his first kill as a drone operator was on three Afghan men in 2007

Drone pilots Bryant as well as colleague Michael Haas were shown as examples of how the CIA recruits video gamers and trains them to kill by remote control.

Upon joining the air force, Bryant said he never wanted to be a drone operator and was ushered into a movie theater and shown clips of drone strikes to the sounds of heavy metal band, Metallica.

Then a sergeant told the new recruits, 'your job is to kill people and break things', and 'tried to make it sound cool'.

When he tried to get out it, his commander, 'do your f*****g job', Bryant told the Sun.

Other members of the air force mocked drone operators, calling them the 'Chair Force', and his drone squadron jokingly referred to themselves 'stick monkeys', he said.

After leaving the air force, Bryant wanted to become a survival expert but near died when he suffered a fractured skull when a log hell on his head.

Since being such an outspoken critic of the US drone program, Bryant says his family have been threatened.

After he spoke to a German parliamentary inquiry committee in 2015, two American Air Force officers showed up at the house of Bryant's mother in Missoula, Montana.

He said they told her she was on an ISIS 'hit list', which Bryant's attorney called a clear sign of whistleblower intimidation, according to Shadowproof.

During his testimony in Germany, Bryant went on to describe the integral role the US military base in US Ramstein Air Base plays in the American drone program.
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Ferocious wildfires have inflicted several years of death and destruction on California. But they have also presented the state with an opportunity to radically overhaul the company prominently implicated in the fires, Pacific Gas & Electric.

The most powerful proponent of far-reaching changes, Gov. Gavin Newsom, is threatening a state takeover if the giant utility fails to reshape itself to his liking. With a key deadline approaching in PG&Es bankruptcy case, the question is whether he is prepared to follow through  and what consequences could follow.

The state is technically on the sidelines in the San Francisco bankruptcy proceeding where PG&E is pressing forward with its own restructuring plan. The company achieved a breakthrough recently in uniting shareholders and creditors behind the plan, which it says would satisfy the claims of wildfire victims as well.

But PG&E has to emerge from bankruptcy by June 30  on terms acceptable to the governor  in order to take part in a new $20 billion state fund designed to shield large utilities from large wildfire claims. Without that protection, PG&Es restructuring plan would fall apart and its viability would be in question.
EN7RPRNR Global Entrepreneurs Mastery System seeks to help entrepreneurs build their businesses

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 2nd, 2020 / Saeed Torbati is proud to announce the launch of his new platform, EN7RPRNR. This platform provides entrepreneurs with online training to help them start, evaluate, execute, develop and build their businesses.

Saeed Torbati, the founder is a professional entrepreneur and successfully runs multiple businesses, splitting his time between Toronto and Ottawa in Canada. Over the past decade, he has trained thousands of individuals in their journey of becoming an entrepreneur. He holds an Associate's degree in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from Harvard Business School.

According to the EN7RPRNR media team, the EN7RPRNR Mastery System is the result of two decades of research and the practical application of the tools, tactics and resources of the program in real business environments. The systems are proven to work and are now being offered to any entrepreneur who is dedicated to their growth. The company is built around the key element that "Though success is never overnight, it can be achieved faster when we have clarity and apply the appropriate strategies."

The program is designed as a 14-step turnkey process and modules, with each session building on the previous one and presenting new tactics and skills that are applicable to the day to day of running a successful business. Some of these modules are "Rules of Entrepreneurship", "Effective Business Strategies" and "Learn to Persuade Elegantly."

"I am excited to share this program with the entrepreneurship community because I feel like it is my responsibility to lift the other entrepreneurs. We are the creators of the employments and the jobs which the economy is built upon and we need to help each other every step of the way," says Saeed Torbati.

"Many professionals have dreams of building and sustaining their own business but aren't sure how to best execute on their ideas. That's where EN7RPRNR comes into not only fast track the growth of any business, but to scale it at a high rate."

For more information and to opt-in for the program newsletter, visit EN7RPRNR.COM.

About Saeed Torbati

Born and raised in Iran, Saeed Torbati is now a serial entrepreneur with multiple successful businesses, dividing his time between Toronto and Ottawa in Ontario in Canada. He graduated from Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology with honours in 2012, receiving a degree in Electromechanical Engineering Robotics. He then began working in the green energy sector as a sales representative. This launched him into the green technology and financial industry, leading him to form his own corporation. He went on to earn an Associate's degree in Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies from Harvard Business School. Saeed Torbati has built a successful career, with one of the companies that he manages, Ontario Green Savings, being listed as one of the fastest growing start-ups in 2019.

Contact:

Abtin Kargari

Media Relations

support@en7rprnr.com



SOURCE: Saeed Torbati

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575769/Saeed-Torbati-Launches-En7rprnr-Platform
Read all about it: Donald Trump holds a newspaper with the headline Trump acquitted in the White House. Photo by Saul Loeb / AFP

US President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges in a caustic, free-wheeling speech yesterday that drew on White House pomp to underscore the fact that he remained in office.

After walking down a red carpet to a standing ovation from scores of Republican politicians, administration officials and conservative media figures in the East Room of the White House, Mr Trump re-aired old grievances and accused Democrats of staging a "corrupt" effort to undermine his presidency in a speech lasting more than an hour.

"I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit... but this is what the end result is," he said, holding up a copy of the 'Washington Post' with the headline "Trump acquitted".

The Republican president then handed the newspaper to his wife, Melania, and said that maybe they would frame it.

Speaking without a teleprompter, he referred to the 22-month investigation by former US Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his 2016 election campaign's possible contacts with Russia, using a profanity: "It was all bulls**t."

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit Mr Trump on charges brought by the Democratic-led House of Representatives, only the third time in history that a president has been impeached.

The acquittal was Mr Trump's biggest victory yet over his foes in Congress, who had attacked Senate Republicans for refusing to call witnesses or seek new evidence at the trial.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Trump, who has strong support from evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics, faulted some of his opponents for invoking their faith during the impeachment battle.

Expand Close Mistrust: Trump doubts Nancy Pelosi prays at all. Photo: Leah Millis/Reuters / Facebook

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Whatsapp Mistrust: Trump doubts Nancy Pelosi prays at all. Photo: Leah Millis/Reuters

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who launched the impeachment inquiry in September, said in December that she does not hate Mr Trump and that she prays for him.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, cited his religious faith when he voted to convict Mr Trump on a charge of abuse of power on Wednesday. Mr Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction.

No Democrat voted to acquit.

"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong," Mr Trump said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast earlier yesterday.

"Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you', when they know that that's not so," he added.

He referred to the issue again later on in the East Room, saying: "I doubt she (Pelosi) prays at all."

Ms Pelosi had said Mr Trump's comments at the historically bipartisan breakfast, which she also attended, were inappropriate. "He's talking about things he knows little about - faith and prayer," she told a news conference.

In addition to multiple references to Ms Pelosi, Mr Trump called former FBI director James Comey a "sleazebag" and Representative Adam Schiff, the House Democrat who spearheaded the impeachment drive, a "vicious, horrible person", while thanking dozens of Republican politicians by name, working alphabetically from a list.

The partisan tenor of the speech, which was interrupted several times by thunderous applause and laughter from the audience, did not bode well for the already sharply divided mood in Washington, especially in an election year.

Mr Trump is running for re-election in November.

Senate Republicans voted to acquit Mr Trump of abuse of power for pressing Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a contender to be the Democratic nominee in the November 3 election, and of obstructing a congressional investigation of the matter.

Americans are evenly split, mostly along party lines, over the Senate's acquittal, though more respondents than not think he probably did something wrong, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

It found that 43pc of US adults supported the Republican-led Senate's decision on Wednesday to keep Mr Trump in office. Forty-one percent opposed the acquittal and 17pc said they were undecided.

Some 48pc said Mr Trump "is probably guilty of the charges against him, and the Senate is protecting him", while 39pc said the president "is probably innocent of the charges against him, and the Senate made the right decision to acquit".
The province has seen a huge spike in applications from parents for child-care compensation in the wake of escalating teacher strike action, with payouts requested for almost half a million children.

In one day alone  from Tuesday to Wednesday  more than 100,000 applications were received, signalling a 34 per cent jump and making it the greatest increase in a single day since Education Minister Stephen Lecce launched the compensation program in mid-January.

On Wednesday  the same day the province blamed a computer glitch for an overpayment to some parents  the government had received applications on behalf of 458,466 children, a dramatic surge from Tuesdays figures of 342,856. The initiative pays up to $60 per day per child. According to the ministry, 1.45 million children are eligible.

The uptake in applications for our Support for Parents Initiative can be attributed to the increasing amount of frustration that families across the province face as they scramble for child care as a result of union-led escalation, said the ministers press secretary Alexandra Adamo on Thursday.

Adamos comments came on the same day Ontarios public elementary schools were closed because of a provincewide strike by all 83,000 members of the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO), which has been running rotating strikes affecting different boards each day.

Job action by ETFO, which represents elementary teachers, early childhood educators and other educators, has left some parents having to find child care because of the teacher strikes, now in their third week. In Toronto, for instance, public elementary schools have been closed twice, and students will miss another day of classes Friday. Next week, the citys public grade schools will be closed on Feb. 11  part of a provincewide strike by ETFO  as well as the following day because the Toronto public board, along with several others, will be impacted.

In a media statement this week, ETFO president Sam Hammond said fair contract talks with the province must include appropriate funding for special education, a strategy to address classroom violence and fair hiring practices. All four of the provinces teachers unions are engaged in contract negotiations with the province and have launched work-to-rule campaigns. Unions representing Catholic elementary and secondary teachers in English schools (Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association), and public high school teachers (Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation), have also held walkouts, but have not scheduled future dates.

Unions say they are opposed to the provinces plan to introduce two mandatory online courses for secondary students and to boost high school class size averages, which will lead to fewer teachers jobs and courses. But Lecce insists the main sticking point is salary, with the province offering a one per cent increase, while unions want cost of living increases, or about two per cent.

The Progressive Conservative government announced the compensation program on Jan. 15, offering to pay parents for each day a school or school-based child-care centre is closed because of teacher strikes. The initiative was harshly criticized by some, including Hammond, who called it an attempt to bribe parents for support. Since mid-January, the number of applications has steadily risen, with jumps along the way whenever unions announced they were escalating job action. Some parents have said they applied for the funds and intend to donate them to schools or teachers unions.

This weeks dramatic one-day spike coincided with a Star story in Wednesdays newspaper about the previous days application figures, which amounted to less than a quarter of those eligible for reimbursement. That meant millions of dollars were still on the table  the money for parents comes from unpaid teachers salaries on strike days. The story also noted that ETFO was ramping up job action for a fourth week.

Also on Wednesday, parents were on social media sharing stories of overpayment by the government, some saying they had been paid three or four times more than they should have been and assuming they were paid in advance for strike days that hadnt yet occurred. It turned out that a systems problem resulted in school closures being miscalculated  the glitch has since been fixed  and led to some parents being overpaid, which the Star reported in Thursdays newspaper. Figures for the number of parents who signed up for compensation on Thursday were not yet available at time of publication.

There is no cap on how many days parents will be paid for  so long as strike action continues, parents will be compensated. The province will pay $60 per day for children in a school-based child-care centre, and $40 a day for those in kindergarten, $25 for those in grades 1 to 7 and $40 for those with special needs up to Grade 12. Funds are paid per child and available to all families, regardless of financial hardship.

The ministry says an additional 42,000 children not yet enrolled in school, may be eligible for the payout if their school-based child-care centre is closed.

In 1997, when teachers across Ontario hit the picket lines for two weeks to protest the education reforms of Bill 160, despite not being in a legal strike position, the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Mike Harris also provided funds to parents. Families with children under age 13, regardless of how many kids they had, were paid $40 a day, if a parent or guardian couldnt stay home to care for them. Claims for the 10-day strike could not exceed $400 per family.
At least two Zimbabwe miners were killed and 20 others trapped underground after a shaft collapsed in a gold mine in the centre of the country on Thursday.

The incident occurred overnight at the Globe and Phoenix mine in the town of Kwekwe, around 200 kilometres (120 miles) west of Harare.

Authorities were first alerted early Thursday after the miners, who were working illegally, failed to surface at the end of their shift.

We received the news about the unfortunate incident a few hours ago and we are running around coordinating a rescue mission, the chair of provincial civil protection unit, Fortune Mpungu, told The Herald newspaper.



Both the police and the mines ministry later confirmed the incident.

Two miners died while one was injured and taken to hospital, police spokesman Paul Nyathi said.

It was not immediately clear whether the others had been recovered.

So far we dont know what really happened or how many people were affected, said the mine ministrys permanent secretary Onesimo Moyo, adding that an inspection team had been dispatched to the area.

Mining is a major source of foreign currency for Zimbabwe.

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2020) - Minaurum Gold Inc., (TSXV: MGG) ("Minaurum") is pleased to announce that it has acquired historical data including mine maps, sections and results of 40 holes (6,099 m) drilled in multiple surface and underground exploration campaigns that occurred from the 1960s through the early 1980s at its Alamos silver project in Sonora, Mexico. The exploration programs were focused on the historic Promontorio and Minas Nuevas underground mines that closed in 1898 and 1912.The majority of these historic holes cut broad widths of high-grade silver, the best include: Hole U-3 that cut 4.6 m grading 2,838 g/t (82.8 oz/t) silver and Hole U-5 that cut 11.3 m of 785 g/t (22.9 oz/t) silver. The drill results indicate that the historically mined deposits included multiple veins and continue at depth both down plunge and along-strike. At Promontorio, drill holes intersected mineralization over 50 m below the historic mining level and indicate an aggregate 735 m strike length of mineralization. It is estimated that 200 million ounces of silver were mined from the Quintera, Promontorio and Minas Nuevas mines.

"Minaurum's Phase I drilling demonstrated the district-scale potential for high-grade veins at Alamos. The acquisition of this data adds another dimension to the project by providing low-to-no-cost geologic answers for areas that Minaurum would otherwise have had to drill, while revealing high-potential targets for immediate drilling around the old mines," stated Darrell Rader, President and CEO of Minaurum Gold. "These new targets will be added to our large inventory of targets that will be further delineated and expanded upon by our Phase II drill program. Beyond the technical value of the data, we also regard the fact that they were presented to us by a local resident as affirmation of our focus on operating in a socially and environmentally responsible manner in the Alamos community."

Drill highlights from the Promontorio mine include: (only silver and gold were assayed - widths are reported drill thickness)

1.2 m of 5,588 g/t Ag (Hole U-1)

(Hole U-1) 1.2 m of 1,008 g/t Ag (Hole U -1)

(Hole U -1) 4.6 m of 2,838 g/t Ag (Hole U-3)

(Hole U-3) 4.6 m of 305 g/t Ag (Hole U-4)

(Hole U-4) 1.4 m of 377 g/t Ag (Hole U-4)

(Hole U-4) 12.2 m of 710 g/t Ag (Hole U-4)

(Hole U-4) 7.6 m of 747 g/t Ag (Hole U-5)

(Hole U-5) 11.3 m of 785 g/t Ag (Hole U-5)

(Hole U-5) 1 m of 2,177 g/t Ag (Hole U-12)

(Hole U-12) 1.2 m of 854 g/t Ag and 23 g/t Au (2,845 g/t AgEq*) (Hole U-15)

Drill highlights from the Minas Nuevas mine include: (only silver was assayed - widths are reported drill thickness)

1.7 m of 452 g/t Ag (Hole TP-80-08)

(Hole TP-80-08) 2 m of 367 g/t Ag (Hole TP-80-09)

(Hole TP-80-09) 1.8 m of 839 g/t Ag (Hole TZ-80-01)

*Ag Equivalent value was derived using silver price of $17.99 and gold price of $1,557.10 (Kitco, 15 January 2020).

Table 1. Summary of historical drilling, Alamos Project. Drilling totaled 6,099.4 metres in 40 holes.

Vein zone Vein target Number

of Holes Surface or UG Meters Company Year Promontorio Veta Guijas 4 Underground 374.00 Alamos Mining Co. 1961 Promontorio V. Grande,

Veta del 100 11 Underground 551.50 Alamos Mining Co. 1961 Promontorio V. Grande,

V. del 100 6 Underground 307.60 Alamos Mining Co. 1966 Minas Nuevas Zambona N vein 7 Surface 2,022.80 Minera Minas Nuevas 1979-1981 Minas Nuevas Purisima vein,

E and W 6 Surface 1,941.40 Minera Minas Nuevas 1980 Minas Nuevas Zambona vein 2 Surface 609.60 Minera Minas Nuevas 1981 San Jose La Huerta

(north ext San Jose zone) 4 Surface 292.60 Minera Minas Nuevas 1981

Promontorio Mine

At Promontorio, 17th- to late 19th-century mining exploited three principal veins, Veta Guijas, Veta Grande, and Veta del 100 (Figure 1), first by Spanish and Mexican miners and later by the British Promontorio Mining Company in the 1870s-1890s. Reports indicate that the operations focused on high-grading the veins and spent little on development which explains the considerable amount of un-mined mineralization left behind and intersected in a number of subsequent drill holes. When the higher grade Las Guiijas vein was discovered, work on the Veta Grande and Veta del 100 was abandoned. The Promontorio Mining Company ceased operations in 1896 due to a drop in the silver price.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Alamos Mining Company rehabilitated the Promontorio mine and carried out an underground drilling campaign. Highlights from this program (Table 2) show that significant high-grade silver intervals were drilled below the mine workings on all three of the principal veins at Promontorio. These historical reports also suggest the existence of another blind, undeveloped vein lying to the west of the Veta del 100.

Table 2. Highlights of Alamos Mining Co. 1961 underground drilling program in the Promontorio mine. Note high-grade intercepts below stope levels. Intervals are drilled thickness. Only silver and gold were assayed.

Hole Meters g/t Ag g/t Au Comment Vein Area From To Interval U-1 71.9 73.2 1.2 5,588



Veta Grande 90.8 92.0 1.2 189

113.4 114.6 1.2 161

Below historical workings 114.6 115.8 1.2 1,008

U-2 35.7 36.9 1.2 89



36.9 39.9 3.0 103

49.1 50.6 1.5 175

55.0 56.5 1.5 69

56.5 58.2 1.7 233

U-3 6.1 18.9 12.8 1,139



Between Veta Grande and Veta del 100 including 6.1 10.7 4.6 2,838

25.0 30.5 5.5 185

35.1 39.3 4.3 141

U-4 0.0 4.6 4.6 305

Below historical workings 67.1 68.4 1.4 377

72.5 84.7 12.2 710

including 72.5 76.2 3.7 823

and 76.2 80.2 4.0 1,111

U-5 7.9 15.5 7.6 747



18.6 29.9 11.3 785

U-7 62.5 65.2 2.7 274

Below historical workings Tirito/Guijas 102.4 105.5 3.0 41

U-8 80.5 82.6 2.1 247

U-12 26.8 27.7 0.9 2,177



Veta del 100 27.7 29.0 1.2 103

40.2 41.8 1.5 41

U-15 5.2 6.4 1.2 854 23 U-16 23.8 25.3 1.5 219

Below historical workings Veta Grande

Table 3. Highlights of Minaurum drilling in Promontorio vein zone.

Hole From

(m) To

(m) Interval (m) Ag (g/t) Au (ppb) Cu (%) Pb (%) Zn (%) Area AL17-004 81.9 102.05 20.15 154 234 0.50 2.30 6.80 Veta del 100 - Veta Grande including 84.1 85.7 1.6 236 697 0.50 11.80 20.00 AL17-005 124 132.5 8.5 81 129 0.14 3.23 2.72 including 126.05 128.8 2.75 127 275 0.15 8.91 5.26 135.35 138.5 3.15 296 235 0.62 0.62 2.42 including 135.35 136.35 1 557 208 0.65 0.77 2.17 AL19-023 0.00 12.25 12.25 122 23 0.21 0.21 1.42 Immediate Footwall Las Guijas including 0.00 7.85 7.85 141 34 0.29 0.31 1.82 AL19-025 463.25 474.1 10.85 154 986 0.52 2.68 4.42 Veta Las Guijas including 463.85 467.65 3.8 415 2676 1.37 6.20 9.19 including 463.85 464.8 0.95 1566 6719 4.48 9.27 10.08 AL19-034 234.15 235.25 1.1 729 1730 0.13 3.05 5.73





Figure 1. Promontorio Mine and vein zone, showing Minaurum drill holes, and 1960s underground drilling. Note that holes AL19-021 and AL19-023 collared in the immediate footwall of the Las Guijas vein and tested its footwall.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_003full.jpg





Figure 2. Veta Grande and Veta del 100 area, Promontorio vein zone, showing plan projections of underground workings, Minaurum drill holes, and 1960s underground drilling. Workings on the veins were originally accessed by shafts and later connected by the 1,200-m long Promontorio haulage tunnel. Longitudinal sections indicate that stoping on the Veta Grande and Veta del 100 extended to about 470 metres elevation, about 230 metres below the surface (Figures 3 and 4).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_004full.jpg





Figure 3. Veta Guijas, Promontorio mine and vein zone, showing plan projections of underground workings, Minaurum drill holes, and 1960s underground drilling.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_005full.jpg





Figure 4. Longitudinal section of the Veta Grande - Veta del 100, Promontorio vein zone, looking west-northwest. Note the high-grade silver historical intercepts below the mined-out area. Intercepts are drilled thicknesses. Minaurum holes AL17-004 and -005 cut mineralization in the southern periphery of the stope. Ag Equivalent values are for comparison purposes only and are based on the metal prices of 15 January 2020: Ag: $17.99/oz, Au: $1,557.10/oz, Cu: $2.81/lb, Pb: $0.89/lb, Zn: $1.08/lb (Kitco).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 4, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_006full.jpg





Figure 5. Longitudinal section of the Veta Grande - Veta del 100, Promontorio vein zone, looking east-southeast. Note the high-grade silver historical intercepts below the mined-out area. Intercepts are drilled thicknesses. Minaurum holes AL17-004 and -005 cut mineralization in the southern periphery of the mined-area.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 5, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_007full.jpg

Minas Nuevas Mine: Zambona, Zambona North, Purisima, and Lamas veins

Prospectors discovered the Zambona and Purisima veins, in the Minas Nuevas zone, in the early18th century and the veins were worked most intensively from about 1890 to 1912, when a drop in the price of silver and the Mexican Revolution halted mining. After reviewing mine maps and sections, Compania Minera de Minas Nuevas drilled 15 core holes totaling 4,753.8 m from 1979 to 1982 on the veins, looking for extensions to ore bodies (Table 1).

Four separate veins were known from old records: Purisima, Lamas, and Zambona. The Purisima vein has a steep northwesterly plunge was worked extensively to the 300 ft (90 m) level, while the Purisima East, or Lamas, vein, about 70 m to the east of the Purisima vein, was worked to shallower depths. The Zambona vein strikes northwesterly and forms a northwest-plunging shoot; it was worked to about the 500 ft (150 m) level.

The Zambona North vein was discovered by drilling and appears to have significant potential at depths greater than those mined in the nearby Zambona vein. Hole TZ-80-01 intersected 1.8 metres assaying 839 g/t Ag from 258.0 to 259.8 m. Significant high-grade intervals were cut below the mine workings on each of the veins at Minas Nuevas.

Table 4. Highlights of Compania Minera de Minas Nuevas (Terra Mines Ltd.) drilling in Minas Nuevas area. Only silver was assayed.

Hole From

(m) To

(m) Interval

(m) g/t Ag Vein Comments TP-80-05 125.50 125.60 0.10 389



175.80 176.10 0.30 511



196.50 196.80 0.30 471



237.80 238.50 0.70 229 Lamas Below Old Workings 283.90 284.50 0.60 99 Lamas Below Old Workings TP-80-07 234.80 236.20 1.40 168 Purisima

TP-80-08 297.80 299.50 1.70 452 Lamas Below Old Workings TP-80-09 199.20 201.20 2.00 367 Purisima Below Old Workings 275.50 276.20 0.70 162 Lamas Below Old Workings TZ-80-01 256.00 258.00 2.00 215 Zambona N New Vein 258.00 259.80 1.80 839 Zambona N New Vein TZ-80-04 291.50 291.90 0.40 337 Zambona N New Vein

Historical drilling data are incomplete and the locations of the drill collars at Minas Nuevas have not yet been determined. However, drill intersections are plotted on longitudinal sections in the Terra Mines Ltd. report (Figures 6-8). Minaurum drilled 3 holes in the Minas Nuevas vein zone, under and to the south of the Purisima mine workings (Table 5).

Table 5. Highlights of Minaurum drilling in Minas Nuevas area.

Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Ag g/t AL17-001 71.95 89.60 17.65 95.9 including 71.95 73.50 1.55 155 77.00 78.00 1.00 150 80.45 81.45 1.00 279 84.45 85.75 1.30 172 86.55 89.60 3.05 110.1 AL17-002 76.25 89.30 13.05 53.7 including 85.40 86.90 1.50 181 155.55 159.00 3.45 68.1 including 158.55 159.00 0.45 156.3





Figure 6. Long section of Lamas vein, showing Purisima workings (70 m behind section), drill intersections in undeveloped Lamas vein, and possible mineralized shoot (Terra Mines 1982 report).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 6, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_008full.jpg





Figure 7. Longitudinal section of Purisima vein and mine workings. Note possible mineralized shoot below old workings intersected by hole TP80-09 (Terra Mines 1982 report).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 7, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_009full.jpg





Figure 8. Longitudinal section of Zambona North vein (blind discovery) showing drill intersections (Terra Mines 1982 report).

To view an enhanced version of Figure 8, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_010full.jpg

San Jose vein zone

Compania Minera de Minas Nuevas drilled four holes totaling 292.6 m in the La Huerta area, at the northern extension of the San Jose zone, at least 200 metres north of Minaurum hole AL18-015 that returned 9.6m of 198 g/t Ag. Highlights of the La Huerta drilling are given in Table 6.

Table 6. Mineralized intercepts from 1981 La Huerta drilling.

Hole From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Ag g/t Au g/t LHU81-24 54.7 56.2 1.5 100

LHU81-24 56.2 57.8 1.5 385

LHU81-29 38.3 38.9 0.6 266

LHU81-30 28.9 30.4 1.5 <1 12





Figure 9. Alamos project, vein zones with recently acquired historical data.

To view an enhanced version of Figure 9, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3455/52219_7e6b674bb433d823_011full.jpg

Conference Call and Webcast

Minaurum Gold Inc. will hold a webcast on February 7, 2020 at 5am PT / 8am ET with Dr. Peter Megaw (Co-Founder, Director), Darrell Rader (CEO) and Stephen Maynard (VP Exploration) to discuss the results of the Phase I exploration program, the newly acquired historical data and plans for Phase II exploration at the Alamos Silver project. This will be followed by a question and answer period. Participants may dial in using the numbers below with the access code. Participants please dial in 5 to 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.

Toll free Canada/US: 1-800-309-1256

International: +1-604-449-6064

Access Code: 164629

Click here to login to the webcast

A recording of the webinar will be posted to the Company's website following the live broadcast.

Minaurum Gold Inc. (TSXV: MGG) (OTCQX: MMRGF) (FSE: 78M) is a Mexico-focused explorer concentrating on the high-grade Alamos Silver Project in southern Sonora. With a property portfolio encompassing multiple additional district-scale projects, Minaurum is managed by one of the strongest technical and finance teams in Mexico. Minaurum's goal is to continue its founders' legacy of creating shareholder value by making district-scale mineral discoveries and executing accretive mining transactions. For more information, please visit our website at www.minaurum.com and our YouTube Minaurum Video Channel.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Darrell A. Rader"

Darrell A. Rader

President and CEO

For more information, please contact:

Sunny Pannu - Investor Relations Manager

(778) 330 0994 or via email at pannu@minaurum.com

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 2K3

Telephone 778 330-0994

www.minaurum.com

info@minaurum.com

Stephen R. Maynard, Vice President of Exploration of Minaurum and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, reviewed the assay data, and has approved the disclosure in this News Release. The data presented in this news release is historical and will require verification.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this release constitute forward-looking information. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, Minaurum has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on Minaurum' s current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Minaurum. Although Minaurum considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Minaurum does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52219
The Central African Republic is considering requesting more light weapons from Russia, after two batches were received last year, Ambassador in Bangui Vladimir Titorenko told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2020) The Central African Republic is considering requesting more light weapons from Russia, after two batches were received last year, Ambassador in Bangui Vladimir Titorenko told Sputnik.

"The first delivery [of weapons] arrived in January 2019, the second one arrived in late August or early September of 2019.

At the moment, as far as I know, the request for another batch is being discussed in Bangui, because since September last year there is no need to request the UN Security Council approval, there is only a notification to send, which simplifies the deliveries greatly," the ambassador said.
The commercial and economic ties between the UAE and Senegal have witnessed recent significant developments, with the value of their trade from 2014 to 2018 amounting to Dh9.1 billion ($2.48 billion),a media report said.



The trade exchange between the two countries in 2014 totalled in value to around Dh1.656 billion, and this figure reached some Dh1.5 billion the following year, reported state news agency Wam, citing statistics from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority (FCSA) and the Ministry of Economy.



In 2016, the value of their trade amounted to Dh1.4 billion, which increased to Dh2.29 billion in 2017, as per the FCSAs statistics, which also highlighted a further increase to Dh2.3 billion in 2018.



The official visit of Macky Sall, President of Senegal, to the UAE is expected to reinforce the commercial and economic ties between the two countries, as well as increase their future trade.



The UAE and Senegal decided to boost their ties by forming the "Joint Emirati-Senegalese Committee," which held several recent meetings that have helped reinforce the cooperation between their public and private sectors.



The statistics also show that re-exports from the UAE to Senegal amounted to around Dh4.9 billion, accounting for 53.8 percent of their total trade during the reporting period.



Imports totalled in value to around Dh2.9 billion or 31.8 percent of the total trade between the two countries while exports amounted to around Dh1.3 billion or 14.4 percent.
The device placed under the trailer of a lorry in Lurgan. Credit: PSNI

Police have released images of a dissident republican bomb placed under a lorry destined to cross the Irish Sea.

The bomb, for which the Continuity IRA have been blamed, was discovered on a lorry on Tuesday at a commercial premises in Lurgan.

Police said a warning call was made to a media outlet last Friday, stating a device had been left in a trailer in Belfast docks and it would explode on a midnight ferry.

The trailer, however, had never left Lurgan and there was no midnight ferry scheduled to sail.

A fruitless search was carried out on a ferry that left Belfast at around 11.15pm, but a further, more detailed call was made to the same media outlet on Monday.

This call led to the discovery of a device under a lorry trailer at a business park in Lurgan on Tuesday.

It was claimed the intention was for the device to explode on Friday evening around the time the United Kingdom left the EU.

On Friday, police released two images of the device, which Detective Superintendent Sean Wright said could have caused serious injury or worse.

These images clearly show the explosive device attached to the lorry. They also demonstrate the sheer recklessness of those who knowingly put the driver, road users and the wider public at risk of death or serious injury," he said.

Expand Close The device placed under the trailer of a lorry in Lurgan. Credit: PSNI / Facebook

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Whatsapp The device placed under the trailer of a lorry in Lurgan. Credit: PSNI

I continue to appeal to anyone who was in the area of Silverwood Industrial Estate between 4.00pm and 10.00pm on Friday, 31 January and who may have noticed any unusual activity in the area to contact police. In addition I ask that anyone who was driving in the area and who would have dash-cam footage around these same times that they contact police, as a matter of urgency.

According to the latest PSNI statistics, there were 19 bombing incidents in Northern Ireland from February 1, 2019, to January 31, 2020. This compares with 17 the previous year.

One such incident occurred in July last year, when the Continuity IRA were held responsible for an attempted mortar attack on police in Craigavon.

The group were also blamed for a bomb attack on police and army bomb experts in Wattlebridge, Co Fermanagh, the following month. A device exploded as security services were dealing with a hoax device placed by the side of the road. No one was injured.

Figures show there was also a drop in the number of people arrested and charged for terror offences last year.

There were 128 persons arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in the last year, compared to 166 during the previous year.

The number of persons subsequently charged also dropped from 20 to 14 over the same period.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala government has not allowed the ongoing economic slump across the country to affect development activities in the state, Finance Minister Thomas Issac said in the Assembly on Friday while presenting the state budget for 2020-21.

This is the final full budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan led LDF government and the 11th state budget presented by Isaac.

With a little more than a year left in office, the present LDF government has already surpassed the total allocation made by the previous UDF during its five-year tenure, he said.

Earlier, Isaac began his budget speech by highlighting the protests across the country in the wake of the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) by Parliament.

He listed out steps taken by the state to register its protest against CAA. He said the protests spearheaded by Kerala earned national attention.

Stating the amended act was posing a threat to the basic credentials of the Constitution, he said the country was witnessing the biggest protests ever in the post-Independence era.

Students and women are at the forefront of the anti- CAA agitations and the hope of the country lies in the youth who hit the streets vowing they would not let the country down, he said.

Coming down heavily on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Isaac said a communalised government machinery, leaders who talk only about "disgust and hatred" and their party workers who consider violence as their duty was the current reality in the country.

"Generally speaking, it is the present India. The concerns triggered by the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are beyond words. The fear of detention centres are hanging above the head of over 19 lakh people of Assam who have lived as Indians till yesterday," he said.

Quoting from a poem 'Fear' by a 15-year old boy from Wayanad Dhruvath Gautham who wrote 'fear is country and silence is an ornament!,' Isaac said, "even the imagination of our children is now filled with fear".

Referring to the stringent opposition raised by the Left government in the state against the CAA and NRC, the finance minister lavished praise on the joint protests led by the ruling LDF and opposition UDF against the central act.

Making a scathing attack on the Central government, Issac said the BJP-led NDA government was "strangulating" the southern state by denying funds.

Presenting the 2020-21 budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan led-LDF government, he alleged the centre has been "helping" corporates rather that the common man.

"The Centre has been strangulating Kerala by denying funds for the state and has been moving on a self-destructive path by corporate-friendly policies and privatisation. The GST implementation has not been beneficial for the state," he said.

He also set aside Rs 1,000 crore for coastal area development, Rs 1,500 crore for the public works department, Rs 1,000 crore has been allotted for village road projects and Rs 4,383 crore for drinking water projects in the state.

"The government proposes 2.5 lakh water connections in the upcoming financial year. We will also construct one lakh houses under Life Mission," the finance minister said.

The budget has allocated Rs 90 crore for Pravasi Welfare Fund and the government proposes power projects with a capacity of 500 MW.

"The government proposes Kochi development plan with a fund of Rs 6,000 crore. The city will get an unified travel card and Metro project will be extended," Issac said.

The state government has increased all welfare pension funds by Rs 100, allotted Rs 40 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 10 crore for startups in the state.

The local self-governments have been allotted Rs five crore for waste management, Rs 20 crore has been set apart for 1,000 food stalls under hunger-free Kerala, where meals will be made available at Rs 25.

The state government also hiked welfare pensions by Rs 100 and taking it to Rs 1,300, apart from announcements like setting up 1,000 new eateries operated by women self-help group Kudumbahsree that would offer a meal at Rs 25 and starting 200 Kerala Chicken outlets offering poultry products at reduced rates.

Thomas Isaac also said that Rs 20,000 crore worth of infrastructure development work will be carried out under the Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).

(With PTI Inputs)

Key highlights:
A baby was dropped to the ground during an alleged attempt to choke her mother, the High Court has been told.

Prosecutors claimed the seven-month-old girl's head hit the ground in the attack at a house in Co Tyrone last Sunday.

Patrick Sherry, a man said to be trained in mixed martial arts, is accused of launching a drunken assault on his partner while she was holding their young daughter.

The 28-year-old defendant, of Tully Manor in Aughnacloy, faces charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, attempted choking with intent, cruelty to a child and threats to kill.

Sherry became violent after returning home drunk as the woman was changing the baby's nappy, it was claimed.

A Crown lawyer alleged that he started to punch his partner amid a row about asking her to go to the pub.

At one point he put her against a hall door, placed his hands round her neck and said he was going to kill her, according to the prosecution.

The woman claimed she couldn't breath, and that their daughter then fell from her arms and hit her head on the ground.

Police called to the home found smashed and overturned furniture and items, including a child's pram and bouncer.

Injuries to the woman included a swollen forehead and bruising to both sides of her neck.

A large clump of dark hair was discovered on the hallway floor.

Sherry was arrested the following day, telling police during interviews that he drunk up to 15 bottles of beer before the alleged attack.

He denied threatening to kill his partner or having any contact with their baby, claiming she was in a car seat throughout the entire incident.

According to his account he grabbed and held the woman by the throat for 10-15 seconds after she threw a vase at him.

Prosecution counsel submitted: "He said he was trained in mixed martial arts and that if he did a choke hold the instructions were to use arms because it was too dangerous to use hands, although he appeared to use his hands on this occasion."

A defence barrister questioned the admissibility of anything Sherry said in police interviews, highlighting the amount of alcohol taken.

Refusing bail, however, Mr Justice Colton cited the risk of re-offending or interference with the complainant.

The judge said: "Attempted choking is always very sinister in the context of domestic violence."
WASHINGTON  On Friday morning, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in his lawsuit against President Trump, effectively blocking a Democratic probe into Trumps businesses.

In 2017, Blumenthal, D-Conn., lead 214 other members of Congress to sue Trump for allegedly violating a constitutional prohibition against federal officials accepting benefits from foreign countries without Congresss approval.

We just won the big emoluments case, Trump told press Friday morning. It was another phony case.

The decision from the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit marks a second victory for Trump this week, coming two days after he was acquitted in the Senates impeachment trial.

The court found that Blumenthal and the other lawmakers lacked standing to sue.

Our conclusion is straightforward because the Members29 Senators and 186 Members of the House of Representativesdo not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the Presidents acceptance of foreign emoluments, the three-judge panel wrote.

The Members were not singled outtheir alleged injury is shared by the 320 members of the Congress who did not join the lawsuitand their claim is based entirely on the loss of political power, the judges added.

Blumenthal and Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the lead House member on the case, emphasized that the ruling was not based on whether Trump, a real estate mogul, illegally profitted from his businesses  which they continue to allege he did. Nadler called it a technical dismissal.

As we evaluate next steps, we remain fully committed to doing everything in our power to hold President Trump accountable for his unacceptable, unconstitutional misconduct, Blumenthal said.

The lawsuit highlights several unprecedented aspects of the Trump presidency. Unlike other presidents, Trump is an international businessman, who has retained ownership of his hotels and other properties during his term. Trump has also distinguished himself by strongly resisting numerous attempts of congressional oversight into his finances, his campaign and his foreign policy.

A lower court had allowed the case to go forward and the lawmakers prepared 37 subpoenas to Trump businesses to gather information about their finances. But in August, the court granted the government a stay of those subpoenas while lawyers for Trump appealed to a higher court.

The appeals court told the lower court Friday to dismiss the case.

The case is one of several that has challenged the president and his businesses for alleged violations of the Emoluments Clause.

emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Senior priest of Hanumangarhi, Mahant Raju Das, on Friday blamed Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) for failing to include Ayodhya's priests in the Ram Temple Trust.

Speaking to ANI, he said: "Last year the Supreme Court announced its verdict in the Ayodhya land dispute case and we respected that. VHP should have tried to get Ayodhya priests onboard the Ram Temple Trust."

Recently, Prime Minister Modi had in the Lok Sabha announced the formation of a trust for the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya. The trust, entrusted with the construction of the temple, will operate from New Delhi and lay down the rules regarding its properties and funds.

Calling VHP's inaction as an unfortunate turn of events, he said, "Ayodhya's priests never wanted to be a part of Ram Temple Trust but it was a matter of pride for us to be included in it and VHP should have ensured it. We are hoping that the trust will construct a grand Ram Temple in Ayodhya."

The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday cleared the proposal to give 5 acres of land to the Sunni Central Waqf Board for the construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, as had been directed by the Supreme Court while settling the Ramjanmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title case last year.

The land has been allotted about 200 meters behind the Rounahi police station in village Dhannipur, Tehsil Sohawal, 18 km from the district headquarters.

Asking the Muslim community to be happy for last year's Supreme Court decision to allot 5-acre land for construction of the new mosque, Das said: "We are happy that Yogi has honoured our demand to allot land for mosque outside the 14 Koshi parikrama marg. We leave it to the Muslim community whether they will construct the mosque or not, but I request that there should be a Trust for supervising the construction of the mosque."

He also requested All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member and convener of Babri Masjid Action Committee Zafaryab Jilani to not dig old graves and help in maintaining peace.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The husband of First Officer Tebogo Lekalakala - one of the pilots who died in a plane crash in George last month - has called on the government to set up an independent panel to investigate compliance within the flight inspection unit.

Sputla Lekalakala was speaking at the memorial service of the pilots - Captain Thabiso Tolo, Flight Inspector Gugu Mnguni and Lekalakala - whose plane crashed into mountainous terrain near Mossel Bay on January 23, 2020, killing all three.

Present at the service were Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula, South Africa Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) director Poppy Khoza as well as family, friends and colleagues of the three.

"The question I ask now as a concerned husband of the victim, does the AIID [Accidents and Incidents Investigation Division] fall within the Department of Transport or SACAA? I and many more aviators know the answer," Lekalakala said.

"I believe the complicity of this situation has already damaged the credibility of the outstanding report.

"My wish is that [Mbalula] does the honourable thing and appoint an independent external panel of aviation auditors to assist and give their expertise to the AIID to determine the level of compliance in the SACAA's flight inspection unit," he said.

The SACAA launched an investigation shortly after the crash which, it said, would report directly to the transport department.

But concerns have been raised regarding the investigation's independence.

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Mbalula, however, said this speculation should stop.

"We appeal to everyone, including media establishments, to give the family space to grieve and bury their loved ones in peace, and to desist from speculating about the cause of the accident.

"The investigation is being conducted by the accident and incident investigation division which is accountable to the minister of transport and not the CAA [civil aviation authority] as others have been quick to suggest.

"This is a division that was established in 2016 through a ministerial order which similarly provides for the appointment of a safety review panel made up of independent industry experts who review accident and incident investigation reports before they are approved for submission."

The investigation would work with several parties, including the manufacturers of the aircraft and engine, Mbalula said.

The preliminary report will be released a month after the accident.

News24
US Vice President Mike Pence today suggested the UK's decision to grant Huawei a role in its 5G network could harm the chances of agreeing a post-Brexit trade deal.

Mr Pence was asked if Boris Johnson's decision to give the Chinese tech giant the green light would be a deal breaker for a potential trade pact between the US and UK and he replied: 'We'll see.'

It comes after it was claimed that Donald Trump was 'apoplectic' during a call with Mr Johnson when the pair discussed Huawei.

Mr Johnson announced at the end of January that Huawei would be allowed to help build the UK's 5G network despite opposition from the US and the prospect of a Tory rebellion.

The US administration has urged allies to ban Huawei from their infrastructure, claiming it would be a security risk - something the company vehemently denies.

Mr Pence told US broadcaster CNBC: 'The United States is very disappointed that the United Kingdom has decided to go forward with Huawei.'

Mike Pence, the US Vice President pictured in Washington DC yesterday, said the US was 'profoundly disappointed' by the UK's decision to allow Huawei to help build its 5G network

He added: 'We are profoundly disappointed because look, when I went at the president's direction in September I met with Prime Minister Johnson and I told him the moment the UK was out of Brexit we were willing to begin to negotiate a free trade arrangement with the UK.'

Mr Pence then made clear the White House was still trying to figure out what the Huawei decision could mean for those trade negotiations.

He said the US does not believe 'utilizing the assets and technology of Huawei is consistent with the security or privacy interests of the UK, of the United States'.

Mr Pence concluded by saying that the use of Huawei 'remains a real issue' between the UK and the US.

The UK has branded Huawei a 'high risk vendor' but the company will be allowed to take a limited share in 'non-core' parts of the British 5G network.

The Financial Times reported that British officials were taken aback by the force of Mr Trump's language when Mr Johnson telephoned him to explain his decision.

Downing Street today refused to be drawn directly on the report, insisting that the relationship with the US remained 'excellent'.

However, there was no direct denial of the tone of the call. Asked about the conversation, a No 10 spokesman referred to a statement issued at the time of the Huawei decision.

That statement highlighted Mr Johnson's comments on the need for liked-minded countries to work together 'to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies'.

The spokesman expressed confidence that intelligence-sharing with the US and other allies in the Five Eyes partnership - Australia, Canada and New Zealand - would continue as in the past.

Donald Trump was reportedly 'apoplectic' in a Huawei-related phone call with Boris Johnson. The pair are pictured together at a Nato summit in Watford in December last year

'We have been clear that this will in no way inhibit our ability to share intelligence with other countries including Five Eyes partners,' he said.

However, media reports from Australia claimed that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab - who is on a visit to the country - came under fire over the decision when he met MPs on Australia's parliamentary intelligence committee in Canberra yesterday.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that he was confronted by one member who told him: 'How would you feel if the Russians laid down infrastructure in your own networks? That's how we feel about Huawei.'
Test results have confirmed that the patient placed in isolation at Cork University Hospital (CUH) does not have the coronavirus.

However, a Cork healthcare expert has warned it is highly likely there will be a confirmed coronavirus case in Ireland in the next week or so.

On Wednesday, The Echo reported that a male patient at CUH was recently placed in an isolation unit amid concerns he could have had the virus.

Sources said an Irish man in his early- to mid-20s  who had recently returned from China  had presented at the hospital with symptoms similar to those of the virus.

It is understood that and the man was placed in isolation.

Tests were conducted and the results came back last night as negative.

The number of confirmed fatalities from the outbreak has risen to more than 560 and the number of confirmed infections to over 28,000.

Around 24 countries now have confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

Chris Luke, consultant in emergency medicine and adjunct senior lecturer in public health at University College Cork, warned that people must remain vigilant as it is likely that a case of the coronavirus will be confirmed in Ireland in the coming weeks.

Because of globalisation and because people travel so much between continents and countries, it is highly likely that we will see a case in the next week or two, said Dr Luke.

Theyre testing for the disease in the UK, it has turned up in Europe in France and Germany, and there has been a dozen or so cases in the US.
Kofi Obeng-Mensah, the grandson of the late Prof. Albert Adu Boahen, has picked nomination forms to contest the Abuakwa North Constituency seat in the Eastern Region on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party.

Mr. Obeng-Mensah, who doubles as a nephew of the slain MP for the area, J.B. Danquah Adu, would be battling it out with incumbent MP Gifty Twum-Ampofo, currently a Deputy Minister of Education in charge of TVET, who is seeking re-election.

He filed his nomination over the weekend with massive support from teeming NPP members and even donated a tricycle for party works.

I have filed the nominations form which was picked on my behalf by my elders. Filing it today is a confirmation of my readiness to lead the party in this constituency and make them proud by winning this impending primary. I will make my campaign message known to all after the vetting process, he said after the submission of the forms.

He added that he is from a purely political background and has also held leadership positions  and that gave him a lot of experience to work with everybody, saying, Im a unifier, I grew up in the community, so they know my capabilities.

Mr. Obeng-Mensah is a pharmacist and the head of the Enforcement & Intelligence Gathering Department of the Pharmacy Council.

He is also a pastor at the Spirit Reign Chapel, Accra.

Mr. Obeng-Mensah is an old student of Pope John's Senior High School and an alumnus of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology (KNUST).

---Daily Guide
The past two Democratic presidencies, and to some extent Mr. Trumps as well, have followed this quick-burn model. After passage of the 2009 economic stimulus package with three Republican votes in the Senate, most of Barack Obamas notable accomplishments fell into the 212-day window during which his party had a 60-vote Senate majority, and most of Bill Clintons into the two years in which his party had a congressional majority and was able to use the budget reconciliation process to bypass the filibuster. After midterm backlash, and even after the two presidents crawled back to win re-election, the remaining six years of each administration were lost to hand-wringing over the budget deficit and compromises on conservative priorities like welfare reform, with a few tactical achievements along the way. Only later in their presidencies did either master the other tools of governance, regulations and personnel.

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Mark Penn and Andrew Stein write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond.

write that "only a broader course correction to the center will give Democrats a fighting chance in 2022" and beyond. Matthew Continetti writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party.

writes that time and again, the biggest obstacle to a red wave hasnt been the Democratic Party. Its been the Republican Party. Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe unless they shift their messaging. Michelle Cottle examines two primary contests that will shake the parties well beyond the states in play.

Backlash, even more than the Senate filibuster or an unfriendly Supreme Court, has been the most consequential force in American politics in the era of high partisan polarization. As Eric Patashnik of Brown University, a leading scholar of why policies succeed or fail, wrote recently, reducing the odds and potency of backlash is critical to the political sustainability of activist government.

Avoiding backlash is an uninspiring goal, but if the next presidency follows the Clinton-Obama pattern, it would be a disaster for the policy aspirations expressed by all the Democratic candidates. If Democrats hold a Senate majority at all, it will be narrow, and conservative senators like Joe Manchin of West Virginia will set the boundaries of whats possible. Major initiatives will need time for policy development, congressional deliberation, rollout and further refinement. The Affordable Care Act, for example, could have been far more effective if Congress had been able to revisit and fix it, just as it did with Social Security roughly every two years after its initial passage.

And there will be much more than legislation on the next presidents early to-do list. Trump-era regulations have slowed progress on climate change and reopened the student loan system to predatory for-profit colleges. Reversing that regulatory shift will take time for public comment and litigation, so a new administration will have to get started quickly. Career employees with expertise and experience have been driven out of many federal agencies; rebuilding that governing capacity and rooting out unqualified Trump appointees will be a major project. So will rebuilding the United States standing in the world and reversing the damage caused by four years of unchecked corruption.

If the next president achieves even a quarter of what each candidate has promised in the first two years in office, it will be a miracle. And a setback in the 2022 midterms would have long-lasting consequences. Republican-held Senate seats in Florida, Iowa, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will be in play, with incumbents retiring or likely to retire in several. Losing those or other seats is likely to put the Senate out of reach for the rest of the decade. On the other hand, a Democratic president who could make gains in the midterm might have a real chance to build out a full progressive agenda over time.
So miraculous are 3D pregnancy scans that my husband and I almost forgot why we were there. As we watched our unborn son on the screen in such incredible detail, we fell in love with his perfect little face, button nose and the way he waved and danced about.

There was even a moment when, lying back on the chair, I coughed and we all laughed as Jesse  yes, wed already named him  kicked wildly. In such moments, maternal delight cloaks grim reality.

Then it hit me like a sledgehammer: this was the last time we would ever see our beloved second son.

Zara Dawson (pictured) said that she hoped to share her story to help others, including healthcare staff, in gaining a degree of empathy for women like her

The reason for the high-quality scan was to show us the extent of Jesses problems; to explain why he was not compatible with life, as the doctors put it. To underline why I would have to terminate the pregnancy for medical reasons.

The whole punishing ordeal would prove the most difficult time of my life. My husband Lex was with me throughout, but Ive never felt so isolated and full of shame.

Having to choose to end your babys life is the most harrowing thing that can ever happen to a woman. Yet mothers like me are left to cradle our sadness in the shadows. Our grief is too complex for society to validate. In my darkest hour, I vowed I would one day speak out in an attempt to smash the stigma. I am a former actress (I appeared in Holby City and Down To Earth, among other things) and now run a concierge service in the film industry, so I know that using your power to publicise such things is the only way to get people to rethink their views.

I hope that by sharing my story it will help others, including healthcare staff, gain a degree of empathy for women like me. This is something which, so far, seems to be lacking.

Zara said she had always longed for a family of her own. She met Lex, now 41, when they were both acting in a West End musical

Last week, a study acknowledged that one woman in six who loses a baby in early pregnancy experiences long-term symptoms of post-traumatic stress. I read this with interest, hoping for some comfort. But it stated that most had suffered early miscarriage; the rest were ectopic pregnancies. There was no mention of Termination For Medical Reasons (TFMR).

The word termination, or indeed abortion, triggers ferocious judgment. It is associated with choosing to end an unwanted pregnancy and all sympathy promptly evaporates.

Enraged at feeling ostracised by the study, the next day I tapped out a rant on my Instagram page  and received more than a thousand messages from women who had been through something similar. All felt similarly silenced by a deep sense of shame.

Many confessed they had never told anyone but their partner. Some said their marriages had collapsed under the strain.

The website of the baby loss research charity Tommys says there were 2,943 stillbirths in 2018. The Department of Health and Social Care says there were 3,269 terminations for medical reasons in the same period. According to the charity ARC (Antenatal Results and Choices), this number is thought to be 2,000 short because if the termination takes place in an abortion clinic, it tends not to be noted as TFMR but simply as an abortion.

So there may be 5,000 women enduring a TFMR every year. Thats 14 babies lost in this way every day; nearly twice as many as stillborns.

This is not to belittle the pain of miscarriage and stillbirth  I myself have suffered two miscarriages within the past year  but termination can incur guilt, shame and feelings of isolation on top of all the grief. We women require as much support as the others, if not more.

I had always longed for a family of my own. I met Lex, now 41, when we were both acting in a West End musical. I was 18 and he was 23.

It wasnt until I turned 30 that we started trying for a baby. I wasnt surprised when a year later it hadnt happened. I have severe endometriosis and doctors had warned me it would be hard to conceive naturally.

So we tried IVF and were fortunate enough to conceive first time. However, the pregnancy lurched from one drama to the next.

I suffered five incidents of ovarian torsion, when the ovaries, swollen from the IVF drugs, twist round, causing excruciating pain. Once, this led to fluid leaking from my ovaries into my abdomen and lungs, requiring emergency surgery.

Jaxson was born at 36 weeks, with breathing issues, and spent the first ten days of his life in intensive care. Even when we were home, he had trouble gaining weight, so we were in and out of hospital.

It wasnt until he was eight months old that we finally found our footing as a family.

That said, I adored being a mum and loved nothing more than days spent taking Jax to classes and for long walks in Greenwich Park near our home. He was the happiest boy.

We always knew we would try for another child because we had frozen six embryos. Again, we were successful with the first cycle, but initially there was some doubt over whether it was an ectopic pregnancy.

By nine weeks, my bump had begun to show so Id started telling people when they asked.

Then came the news that changed everything. I dont wish to say how many weeks we were  Id like to keep one tiny detail about Jesse private  but we were at a routine scan. The jelly was rubbed on my belly and there was our darling little boy, waving, kicking and having a boogie, as we told ourselves. At 12.07, I texted my mum and sister: Scan fine. Hes VERY active!

At 12.25, however, I sent them another message: Theyve just told me theyve found a pouch of fluid on his stomach which means his stomach hasnt closed. Devastated.

Within those 18 minutes, my world had collapsed. Lex was downstairs with Jaxson when the sonographer called me back into the room.

I was told there was something wrong and it was one of three things. The first two would be fixable, but the last  body stalk anomaly would mean our baby simply wasnt compatible with life.

I was told to go home and return in two weeks, when they would do further scans. Two weeks? I felt I couldnt wait two minutes.

Back home, I had no idea what to do or who to turn to. Was my baby in pain? Was I hurting him by walking? Was this something Id done?

The next day, I booked a private scan at the Portland Hospital for a second opinion. After 20 minutes, the sonographer put down the scanner, placed his hand on my leg and said: Im so, so sorry.

He confirmed body stalk anomaly, a severe defect in which the abdominal wall doesnt develop, so the organs grow outside the body and attach to the placenta. There is no way your baby would survive outside the womb, was the verdict.

The scan also showed that Jesses foot had started to protrude through the sac and it could rupture, causing a threat to me and any future pregnancies. I remained eerily silent while Lex sobbed beside me.

In the cab home, Lex continued crying and I went into practical mode, frantically researching the condition as much as I could.

I stayed up researching until 3.30 am. When I read that there were no recorded survivors of body stalk anomaly, I knew what we faced.

The next day, I returned to the hospital, armed with the Portlands findings, to demand another scan. They agreed and the scan confirmed there wasnt even a 1 per cent chance Jesse would ever live.

We could either do nothing and let Jesse die naturally, or terminate.

For me, there was no choice. Why would we put him through unnecessary pain? I was also worried about Jax bonding with my bump. And it wasnt good for me, either.

They offered to do the hour-long 3D scan  and if wed had any doubts, they were quashed then, as we saw the extent of Jesses problems with our own eyes.

Naively, I had assumed the hospital would take care of everything. They did offer a medical termination, but that meant going through labour to give birth. I couldnt face that  besides, my consultant had advised a C-section on account of my previous complications.

The other option was a surgical termination, meaning I would be under general anaesthetic when it happened. This they refused to do in the hospital; instead, I would have to book my own appointment at an abortion clinic.

This was the first sign of society  and the NHS trust  washing its hands of abortion. I was sent on my way with a shattered heart and a couple of leaflets for Marie Stopes.

I was told the earliest the clinic could do was in six days time and that my husband would have to remain in the waiting room.

Most shocking, however, was that I would have to transport my babys body back to the hospital for genetic testing. This would determine the cause of the syndrome and whether my frozen embryos might be affected.

When I expressed shock that this fell to me, I was told cheerily that Id be given the body to take away on the day and the box wouldnt be see-through. They could have been talking about a takeaway pizza rather than my beloved baby.

I refused to do that and returned to the hospital, insisting that they had a duty of care to let me have it done on site. For two long weeks I begged in person and via email.

The midwives and consultants were understanding, but said it wasnt the NHS trusts policy. Then, finally, the head of the gynaecology unit held my hand and said she would do everything in her power to make it happen.

They had to find a surgical team who were all willing to perform the procedure. They were missing an anaesthetist. Then suddenly, on a Thursday at 4pm, they phoned to tell me to be at the unit for 7.30am the next morning in October 2018.

For a moment, it felt like a victory. Then came the realisation that this was the date Jesse would die.

I prayed I would miscarry naturally beforehand to alleviate the guilt. I remember walking to the operating theatre sobbing, feeling my feet were made of stone.

The anaesthetist shed a tear, too, and I was given a tablet to relax the uterus. I sobbed my eyes out as I put it into my mouth, knowing full well it was the first step to losing Jesse. I was then put under general anaesthetic.

Lex was at my side as I came round. My hand moved to my stomach and recoiled in horror. It was totally flat.

I was on my way home by noon, having been told a bereavement midwife would call and Jesses body would be sent for genetic testing.

It seemed particularly thoughtless that I continued to receive the alerts about future antenatal scans. Each time, it sent me right back to square one.

The small, underfunded Antenatal Results and Choices charity was my lifeline. Without their help, Im not sure Id have got through.

I also had help from Petals, a baby loss charity, and a wonderful counsellor, whom I still see.

It has been a year and three months and Ill never forget Jesse. We have since tried two further rounds of IVF  both ended in miscarriage. As sad as that was, nothing could ever hit as hard as the termination.

I often think back to that final 3D scan. The consultant had let us film Jesse on screen and we recorded his heartbeat, too.

Now, when Im having a down day, I listen to the heartbeat and somehow it lifts me.

I doubt Ill ever get over Jesses loss  or how we lost him.

Its so important that women like me are given the support we need. Please include us when you talk about baby loss awareness.

We cared passionately about our babies, too. And its high time society offered us more sympathy and support.
Casper City Council on Tuesday formally adopted an LGBTQ advisory board, the first municipal board of its kind in Wyoming, and the public weighed in with opinions both for and against the idea.

The council voted 6-3 in favor of the board, which will consist of volunteers and wont receive city funding or have decision-making authority. It will, however, provide the council with perspective and insight on decisions that could affect the LGBTQ community.

Sara Burlingame, a Wyoming state Representative and the executive director of the LGBTQ rights nonprofit Wyoming Equality, said Casper was the first municipality in the state to create such a board.

The board originated from a last-minute suggestion during a November work session. Councilman Charlie Powell, then the mayor, suggested creating the body in response to a national index that ranks municipalities on LGBTQ equality. Casper scored low on that index, earning just 11 of 100 available points.

Council tentatively approved the board during that meeting but discussed the issue again during a work session last week. After that discussion, six of the nine council members voted to move forward with the LGBTQ advisory board and asked city staff to create a resolution to that effect.

Tuesdays vote on the resolution was more of a formality, after councils lengthy discussion the week prior made clear where most stood on the issue.

Still, last weeks work session did not provide a space for public comment, so Tuesdays meeting was an opportunity both for council members and the public to voice their opinions.

***

The arguments for and against the creation of the board were varied.

Arguments in favor hoped the committee could address high suicide rates in the LGBTQ community and the absence of laws meant to protect people from housing and employment discrimination, that it would allow for better-informed decision making, and that it was simply validating a long-marginalized group of peoples right to assembly.

Arguments against the boards formation suggested it was elevating one class above the rest, that it was encroaching on freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, that it would create a slippery slope and lead to an unwieldy number of advisory boards, and that it should be more inclusive and recast as a human rights advisory board instead.

Ryan McConnaghey was among those speaking in favor of the board. He spoke on behalf of several Casper residents, he said. Indeed, McConnaghey was accompanied at the meeting by a handful of people.

While in theory, every resident has the ability to stand before you as I am and air their concerns, in many cases that just isnt the case, he said, referencing an argument two council members had previously made.

That earlier argument suggested LGBTQ residents have the same ability as anyone else in the community to interact with city decision makers. McConnaghey countered this argument by saying LGBTQ residents may be wary of speaking in a public meeting for a variety of reasons, from tenuous family dynamics to fear of losing their job because of their sexual orientation.

Many LGBT residents do not have the luxury of opening themselves up to sharing their grievances or participating in the political process in a meaningful way, he said.

The organization Casper Pride conducted a survey in 2018 asking LGBTQ residents about issues they said needed to be addressed in the city. Among the responses were a high suicide rate amongst LGBTQ people.

Later in the meeting, Powell, whose background is in mental health, addressed this point directly. He said if the advisory board could prevent even one suicide, thats enough reason by itself.

Powell has also been a vocal proponent of passing a nondiscrimination ordinance in the city that would protect the LGBTQ community from being fired or denied housing for their sexual orientation. Laramie and Jackson both have ordinances to that effect.

The bulk of comments made against the advisory board came from Linda and Doug Bergeron. They referenced Caspers one active advisory board, the Mayors Council for People with Disabilities, which has been used as a comparator for the LGBTQ advisory task force.

Linda Bergeron said there were fundamental differences between the group for people with disabilities and an advisory board for the LGBTQ community.

One addresses very real, practical needs and accommodations of a group of people who have medical diagnoses, she said. Addressing LGBTQ issues isnt based on a diagnosis, standard of care, to guide medical or mental health interventions, or federal or state law directing necessary physical accommodations.

She also referenced the First Amendment, saying that LGBTQ activism has been one of the primary means to diminish the First Amendment.

Doug Bergeron echoed these comments.

Where are the advisory boards for all the groups that could be adversely affected by the decision the council will make based on the advice from this board? he asked. What steps are this council going to take to protect our freedom of speech and freedom of conscience?

Bergeron said the formation of the board would elevate one group of people above the rest and provide one group special representation.

He concluded his comments by asking what would happen if the LGBTQ acronym were to change.

What happens if they start adding letters to their group name, he asked. Does the council have to approve that or are you going to take advice from a group that adds just any behavior to their name?

Caitlin Jonckers, a teenager living in Casper, spoke in favor of creating the board and countered the statement that the board would elevate one class of people above others.

It is not pushing gay people, queer people over other citizens; we are actually undermined by other citizens, she said. As people say, we people are shunned away from speaking out because people tell us it is not OK to not be straight, when you cant choose who you love.

***

When it came time for council to discuss the matter, none showed any sign that theyd had a change of heart from the work session a week prior.

Councilman Shawn Johnson spoke first and in no uncertain terms about his feelings toward the issue.

This group has been marginalized, had their personal business even criminalized for hundreds of years, he said. So to say that we are elevating one group above another is just completely not even in the ballpark.

He said forming the advisory board was a very miniscule thing council could do to help a long-marginalized group have their voices heard.

Johnson, a vocal advocate of small government and individual rights, also said the advisory board was simply a group of citizens, marginalized citizens, that are exercising their First Amendment right to assemble and petition their government.

Three councilmen, Ken Bates, Steve Cathey and Bob Hopkins, again suggested reshaping the board as a human rights advisory board so as to not focus just on the LGBTQ community. The suggestion was quickly defeated as it had been during a prior meeting. Most on council said combining all minority groups under one advisory board would water down its intent and effectiveness.

Councilman Ray Pacheco challenged those who would say the advisory board was unnecessary because Casper is already a wholly welcoming place.

He suggested those people read Facebook comments posted to articles written about the formation of the board. He called the comments despicable and said they were indicative of the progress Casper still needs to make to achieve true equality.

If we truly lived in a community that was welcome to all ... those comments would not be on Facebook, he said.

To conclude the discussion, Mayor Steve Freel questioned the fairness of not creating the board, saying its formation was simply another avenue for council to better educate itself before making consequential decisions.

As with all council meetings and work sessions, a video of the full discussion is available online on the city of Caspers website and on YouTube.

Follow local government reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @morganhwrites

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Groupe Scolaire Rutobwe in Kamonyi District has over two hundred students majoring in various science courses.

Among them is Christine Muhawenimana, 17, in Senior Five and she is offering Chemistry, Geography, and Biology.

She has always been passionate about sciences but when she joined the science class last year, the routine of having a teacher in front talking to her for four hours started to erode her passion.

"I still loved sciences but it started to get less attractive to me, I wanted to have fun and learn at the same time. But now, with all the information I need to be exposed to me, software and internet in one room, my passion has never been stronger," Muhawenimana told The New Times on Thursday, February 6.

This she said after she had just entered the most improved smart classroom she has ever seen.

Her new class accommodates 50 students, each with their own computer. It has a smart projector installed with smart chalk-like writing and an eraser.

Muhawenimana's new computer has a storage capacity of 1 terabyte, a faster processor and uses 4G internet installed in the class.

She also enjoys the environment that comes with it including air conditioning, clean furniture, smart science-friendly software installed in her computer to name a few.

Muhawenimana's smart classroom is the first of its kind in the whole Kamonyi district and among only 14 in the whole country.

It was launched on Thursday by African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) in partnership with MasterCard Foundation, an essential partner.

The day also saw Muhawenimana's Mathematics teacher, and other 100 teachers countrywide, graduate from 2-month training International Computer Driving License (ICDL) that qualifies them to use the smart classroom efficiently.

"The new smart classroom eases sciences teaching process. Now we are no longer stuck to textbooks, students use the internet to learn. This will certainly expose them to the wider world, improve critical thinking and innovative skills," Muhayimana Samuel, ICT and Mathematics teacher at G.S. Rutobwe.

Dr Herine Otieno, Director for AIMS Teacher Training Program Rwanda, said having strong scientists should start from where they are begotten.

"Teachers are firsthand developers. If they are trained and understand well how sciences are learnt and taught radically, then we can hope for better future scientists," she said.

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Further plans

The science-friendly classroom was launched in 14 districts that were found in most need. But according to Otieno, the initiative wishes to go even further.

By 2021, over 3,000 teachers will have been trained under the Teachers Leadership Initiative by MasterCard foundation and AIMS. The more trained teachers, the more rooms in more schools.

The Ministry of Education that was also represented in the launch, expressed their interest in furthering ICT integration in schools.

The representative said that the rest 16 districts will benefit from the already existing smart classrooms program by the Ministry of Education.

Smart classrooms (PDF file) that are usually used in ICT courses use made-in-Rwanda computers. The class uses ordinary chalkboards and is not fluent enough in teaching sciences, according to teacher Samuel Muhayimana.

Smart classrooms were initiated by the Ministry of Education in 2018 with the aim of integrating ICT pedagogy and skills in education.

Today, over 1600 smart classrooms have been set up in schools across the country.

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ST. JOHNS, N.L.A former Liberal staffer in Newfoundland and Labrador who was controversially hired to a high-paying public service job with no competition has left her position for a new government job.

A statement from the premiers office says Carla Foote has resigned from her marketing position at The Rooms art gallery and archive.

She will begin as assistant deputy minister of the public engagement and planning division later this month.

Political opponents are criticizing the move as a blatant display of political cronyism that comes months after Footes hiring dominated debate in the House of Assembly.

Foote, the daughter of provincial lieutenant-governor Judy Foote, was hired in October 2018 to her former job at The Rooms, a provincial Crown corporation.

Premier Dwight Ball ordered a review of executive-level job transfers in the midst of the controversy last fall.
Now that Senate Republicans have formally voted to allow President Trump to act outside the law, Trump is reportedly eyeing retaliation for all those career public servants that testified in his impeachment trial. At the top of the list appears to be Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the National Security Council aide who brought his concerns about Trump soliciting foreign campaign help on the July 25 call with the president of Ukraine to the White House counsels office. Vindman, a Kiev-born, naturalized American citizen was on the call as the NSCs top expert on Ukraine. Vindman testified during the impeachment hearing, setting him square in the Trump crosshairs for reprisal.

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Now that the impeachment trial is done, Trump is looking for revenge and Vindman reportedly could be on his way out as early as Friday. The senior aide was already scheduled to end his stint in the White House early, as the Purple Heart recipient informed the NSC he was planning on leaving his post at the end of the month. Vindman was appointed for a two-year term in July 2018. But allowing Vindman, someone who testified with conviction as a public servant, to respectfully exit the national stage having said his piece is not how Trump world operates.

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Trump has complained about Vindman in private, mocking the way he spoke, wore his uniform and conducted himself during the impeachment inquiry, the Washington Post reports. But Trump is eager to make a symbol of the Army officer soon after the Senate acquitted him of the impeachment charges approved by House Democrats [Vindman] will be informed in the coming days, likely on Friday, by administration officials that he is being reassigned to a position at the Defense Department, taking a key figure from the investigation out of the White House.

Update, 4:56 p.m.: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House on Friday afternoon, his lawyer said in a statement.

Update: 5:16 p.m.: CNN is reporting that Vindmans twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, was fired from his own job as an NSC attorney and left the White House with his brother.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 17:52 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206333789 1 National tourism,China,coronavirus Free

The government has called for airlines to entice domestic tourists with special discounts for flights bound for some of Indonesia's top tourism destinations as part of the country's strategy to cope with declining foreign tourist arrivals amid China's coronavirus outbreak.

The move followed Jakarta's decision to impose a travel ban to and from mainland China and to halt visa-free and visa-on-arrival provisions for Chinese tourists -- a policy aimed at preventing the fast-spreading virus from entering the archipelago but which will almost certainly take a toll on Indonesia's tourism.

"Through the Transportation Ministry, the government has initiated giving special discounts for domestic flights to Bali, North Sulawesi and Bintan Island," Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said on Thursday.

Bintan Island in Riau Islands, Bali, and Manado in North Sulawesi have been among the favorite destinations of Chinese tourists, who for years have been among the largest group of foreign tourists visiting Indonesia.

Transportation Ministry expert staff member Adita Irawati said the ministry had discussed with a number of airlines about providing discounted prices for flight tickets.

Read also: Indonesian tourism could lose US$4 million amid coronavirus outbreak: Wishnutama

Adita said that it would be the airlines' prerogative to decide how big the discounts would be.

The Transportation Ministry has given the instruction, the application is up to each of the airlines," she said as quoted by kompas.com.

Adita said the discounts were one of the country's efforts to keep Indonesia's tourism afloat despite the many route closures to and from China.

Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed that from January to November 2019, 1.9 million Chinese tourists visited Indonesia, representing nearly 13 percent of overall foreign tourist visits.

"We are looking for ways to keep [tourism] attractive by [offering] various packages from the airlines," Adita said, "The airlines will soon announce how big the discounts will be." (gis)

Topics : tourism China coronavirus
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:17:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- More leaders of foreign countries and heads of international organizations have recently expressed their support for China's battle against the novel coronavirus outbreak and commended China's measures in preventing and controlling the epidemic.

Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni said that the Cambodian people feel the pains of the Chinese people and sincerely admire the response by the Chinese government.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said that his country is fully confident of Chinese President Xi Jinping's outstanding leadership and China's victory in the battle against the epidemic.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said that Brazil stands firmly with China, adding that his country will continue to open its door to China and stands ready to do its best to provide assistance and support.

Spanish King Felipe VI also expressed his appreciation to the Chinese government for its great efforts and practical measures in effectively preventing and controlling the epidemic, adding that the Spanish side stands ready to do its best to cooperate with the Chinese side and contribute to containing and combating the epidemic.

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said he firmly believes that China will be able to control the epidemic through close cooperation with the international community.

Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov said that his country stands ready to give firm support and help to Chinese friends if China needs anything.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said that the Chilean side thanks the Chinese side for its great efforts, which demonstrates transparency, unity, efficiency and strong leadership, adding that public safety emergencies require concerted cooperation of the international community.

Colombian President Ivan Duque Marquez said that China's relevant measures will effectively protect the people of China and of other countries in the world from an even greater impact of the epidemic.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni spoke highly of China's great efforts to prevent and control the epidemic, expressing the Ugandan people's support for the Chinese people.

Liberian President George Weah said that the Liberian government and people always bear in mind the selfless help provided by China when the Ebola epidemic hit his country, expressing his confidence that the Chinese people will surely win the battle against the outbreak.

King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe, Member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Presidency Milorad Dodik, Surinamese President Desire Bouterse, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith, Abdullah Abdullah, leader of the National Coalition of Afghanistan and government chief executive, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Dominican Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, and foreign ministers of Britain, Argentina, Bangladesh, Mauritius, Zimbabwe, as well as president of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly, director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, executive director of the World Food Programme, and secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations also expressed their sympathy and support.
By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijani tourists spent at least 2 billion 407,572 million manats ($ 1.4 billion) during foreign trips in 2019, according to information provided by travel agencies.

Azerbaijani tourists spent 711,963 million manats ($418.8 million) on transportation costs, which is about 30 percent of all travel expenses, local media reported.

Some 465,148 million manats ($273.6 million) accounted for accommodation expenses, 399,821 million manats ($235.1 million) for food, 582,747 million manats ($342.7 million) for the purchase of goods and gifts, and the rest for other purposes.

Azerbaijani citizens spent most money in Russia - 584.283 million manats ($343.6 million), followed by Iran - 524.348 million manats ($308.4), Georgia - 487.15 million manats ($286.5 million), Turkey - 473,239 million manats ($278.3 million) and the UAE - 64.803 million manats ($38.1 million).

Tourists spent the least amount of money in Kuwait - 3.393 million manats ($1.9 million), Uzbekistan - 3.693 million manats (2.1 million) and Switzerland - 3.971 million manats (2.3 million).

It was also noted that in 2019, 5 million 567,684 Azerbaijani citizens travelled abroad. Of these, some 4 million 347,336 peopled travelled for tourism, which indicates a 6.1 increase compared to 2018.

Georgia, Iran, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine were the top 5 most popular travel destinations for Azerbaijani citizens in 2019.

Meanwhile, the number of tourist who visited Azerbaijan amounted to over 3 million people.

Azerbaijan aims to further develop the tourism sector to facilitate the sustainable development of the non-oil sector.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 20:12:28|Editor: xuxin

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LUANDA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Angolan commercial banks purchased 277.7 million U.S. dollars and 95,000 euros from oil and gas firms in January, after the country's central bank, BNA, abandoned intermediation for the acquisition of foreign currencies, the BNA said on Friday.

The 277.7 million U.S. dollars purchased by commercial banks adds to the 813.6 million U.S. dollars made available to the banks by the central bank in the same period, making an overall 1.09 billion U.S. dollars for monetary transactions.

The measure for oil companies to directly sell foreign currency to commercial banks was adopted on Nov. 29, 2019, by the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee.

The BNA said the move is expected to normalize the foreign exchange market through the reduction of its direct intervention with oil firms, increase the number of foreign currency suppliers, and revive the country's foreign exchange market.
When NASA's Aqua satellite passed over the Southern Indian Ocean on Feb. 7, it gathered water vapor data that provided information about the intensity of Tropical Cyclone Damien.

On Feb. 7 at 12:25 a.m. EST (1725 UTC), NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Damien, located in the Southern Indian Ocean and off Australia's Pilbara coast. Aqua found highest concentrations of water vapor (brown) and coldest cloud top temperatures were around the center. Credits: NASA/NRLThe Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) issued warnings and watches as Tropical Cyclone Damien moves toward the Pilbara Coast of Western Australia.

On Friday, February 7 at 11:46 pm WST (10:46 a.m. EST), the Warning Zone extends from Pardoo to Onslow, including Port Hedland, Karratha, Dampier, Pannawonica and Barrow Island and extending to adjacent inland parts to include Marble Bar, Tom Price and Paraburdoo. The Watch Zone includes inland central Pilbara including Nullagine, Newman and Mt Augustus.

ABM forecasters expect Severe Tropical Cyclone Damien to cause gales on the Pilbara coast from early Saturday morning. Very Destructive winds, very heavy rainfall and a storm surge are expected as Damien crosses the coast during Saturday, Feb. 8.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over Tropical Cyclone Damien on Feb. 7 at 12:25 a.m. EST (1725 UTC) and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument gathered water vapor content and temperature information. The MODIS image showed highest concentrations of water vapor and coldest cloud top temperatures were around the center of circulation.

MODIS data also showed coldest cloud top temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 degrees Celsius) in those storms. Storms with cloud top temperatures that cold have the capability to produce heavy rainfall.

Water vapor analysis of tropical cyclones tells forecasters how much potential a storm has to develop. Water vapor releases latent heat as it condenses into liquid. That liquid becomes clouds and thunderstorms that make up a tropical cyclone. Temperature is important when trying to understand how strong storms can be. The higher the cloud tops, the colder and the stronger the storms.

On February 7 at 11:46 pm WST (10:46 a.m. EST), ABM reported that Damien was a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds near the center of 140 kilometers (87 miles) per hour with higher wind gusts. Damien was located near latitude 18.9 degrees south and longitude 16.7 degrees east, about 205 kilometers (127 miles) north of Karratha and 255 kilometers (158 miles) northwest of Port Hedland. Damien is moving to the south-southwest.

Forecasters at the ABM reported on Feb. 7, "Severe Tropical Cyclone Damien (Category 3) is expected to intensify as it moves towards the Pilbara coast. Damien is likely to cross the coast between Whim Creek and Mardie during Saturday as a Category 4 system. Later on Saturday or Sunday, Damien will move inland and weaken."

For the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Weather video update on Feb. 7, visit: https://youtu.be/TgO9v0mYiCM

NASA's Aqua satellite is one in a fleet of NASA satellites that provide data for hurricane research.

Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting.

###

For updated forecasts from the ABM, visit: http://www.bom.gov.au/cyclone/index.shtml

By Rob Gutro

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Issa Rae is a busy lady, promoting two upcoming movies in which she has leading roles.

But the Insecure star recently made time to celebrate some of her fellow black actresses.

She put on a leggy display in orange Thursday at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills.

Leggy display: Issa Rae put on a leggy display in orange Thursday at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards in Beverly Hills

The 35-year-old donned a plunging orange Solace London with an asymmetrical hem that showed off her toned stems.

The hem was trimmed in long flowy ruffles, which featured a pink satin lining on the inside.

She completed the look with a pair of white gold tiered hoop earrings and beige strappy stilettos.

Rae carried a jeweled beige structured clutch as she walked the red carpet at the Beverly Wilshire.

Orange you glam? The 35-year-old donned a plunging orange Solace London with an asymmetrical hem that showed off her toned stems

Hell on heels: The hem was trimmed in long flowy ruffles, which featured a pink satin lining on the inside. She completed the look with a pair of white gold tiered hoop earrings and beige strappy stilettos

In the bag: Rae carried a jeweled beige structured clutch as she walked the red carpet at the Beverly Wilshire

She spoke onstage at the event, which shined a spotlight on black women in the industry.

The Lovebirds star stopped for a photo with Melina Matsoukas, who was honored for her feature directorial debut in Queen & Slim.

She also posed with Niecy Nash, who was recognized for her performance in When They See Us.

Rae reunited with her Little co-star Marsai Martin, as they mingled at the event with Janelle Monae.

She was also seen catching up with Jenifer Lewis, Brittany Howard, Robin Thede and Yvonne Orji.

Stage presence: She spoke onstage at the event, which shined a spotlight on black women in the industry

Gal pals: The Lovebirds star stopped for a photo with Melina Matsoukas, who was honored for her feature directorial debut in Queen & Slim

Women supporting women: She also posed with Niecy Nash, who was recognized for her performance in When They See Us

Little reunion: Rae reunited with her Little co-star Marsai Martin, as they mingled at the event with Janelle Monae

Living legends: She was also seen catching up with Jenifer Lewis
East Hanover, NJ. February 7, 2020. A multidisciplinary team of researchers at Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD), has authored a new article that describes the practices that employers use to facilitate the inclusion of employees with disabilities in their workplaces. "The effectiveness of employer practices to recruit, hire, and retain employees with disabilities: Supervisor perspectives, (DOI: 10.3233/JVR-191050) was published by the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation on November 19, 2019.

Link to abstract: https://content.iospress.com/articles/journal-of-vocational-rehabilitation/jvr191050

The article is based on initial findings from the 2017 Kessler Foundation National Employment and Disability Survey: Supervisor Perspectives (KFNEDS: SP), the first national survey to examine the effectiveness of the processes and practices used by employers to include people with disabilities in their workplaces, from the unique perspective of supervisors of employees with disabilities. The authors are Kimberly G. Phillips, PhD, and Andrew Houtenville, PhD, of the University of New Hampshire Institute on Disability, and John O'Neill, PhD, and Elaine E. Katz, MS, CCC-SLP, of Kessler Foundation.

The 2017 KFNEDS:SP, which was based on a Qualtrics business-to-business panel, comprised 6,530 supervisors at U.S. organizations with a minimum of 25 employees. The majority of respondents had experience with disability, either personally or through a close relationship, and many had hired and supervised workers with disabilities.

Information elicited included the existence of employment-related processes (e.g., recruiting process), whether these processes were effective, and comparison of the effectiveness of these processes for people with and without disabilities. Several questions gauged the supervisors' commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities in their organization, and their view of the commitment of their upper management. Questions addressed whether organizations had specific employment practices in place, and if so, whether they were effective. If a practice was not in place, supervisors were asked whether they felt it would be feasible to implement it. Supervisors also responded to open-ended questions about processes and practices at their organization, and the potential challenges and successes for their implementation for employees with disabilities.

Among the survey's findings were processes and practices that were effective for people with disabilities, but underutilized by organizations, according to Dr. Phillips, research assistant professor at the University of New Hampshire. "For example, partnering with a disability organization was identified as a highly effective way to identify qualified candidates," she reported. "However, only 28.5% of organizations had implemented this as a means of recruiting employees with disabilities. Interestingly, 75% of supervisors said this would be feasible for their organization to implement." Other effective, but underutilized practices were auditing of hiring practices, supervisor training in accessible application and interview methods, job shadowing, onsite training, and job sharing.

The survey revealed that the commitment of upper management mirrored the attitudes of supervisors and was reflected in the organization's hiring goals for people with disabilities. "Our findings underscore the importance of the commitment of upper management to an inclusive workplace," said Dr. O'Neill, director of Employment and Disability Research at Kessler Foundation. "The greater the commitment, the greater the support for supervisors, and the more likely we are to see successful inclusion of employees with disabilities."

###

Funding: Kessler Foundation

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit ResearchonDisability.org.

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility and long-term outcomes, including employment, for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities.

Stay Connected

Twitter | http://Twitter.com/KesslerFdn

Facebook | http://Facebook.com/KesslerFoundation

YouTube | http://Youtube.com/user/KesslerFoundation

Instagram | http://Instagram.com/kesslerfdn

iTunes & SoundCloud | http://Soundcloud.com/kesslerfoundation

For more information, or to interview an expert, contact:

Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org.
Its not known how widely the contracts are used, but relying on data from the state comptroller, Brennans court filing says the state paid 1,700 contractual workers in 2019, many of whom also were paid in 2018, suggesting that the (personal services contract) or temporary employee process is used for extended periods of time.
Having failed to wear down the protesters, the government has now resorted to a bare-knuckle campaign to discredit them by portraying them as pawns in a wider plot bankrolled by shadowy 'anti-national' and 'Islamist' forces, notes Hasan Suroor.

IMAGE: Protesters at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

Whatever the final outcome of the anti-CAA protests, and to be honest, I'm not quite as optimistic as many of my liberal friends appear to be, it's fair to say that Round One in this war of attrition has unquestionably gone to protesters -- in particular to the doughty women of Shaheen Bagh whose month-long peaceful 'sit-in' in an obscure corner of Delhi has put it on the world map.

When the Shaheen Bagh protest began on December 15, 2019, few even among its supporters expected it to last so long.

The government rather condescendingly saw it as an act of bravado that would fizzle out for lack of support; or the protesters would blink at the first sight of intimidation.

In the event, it became a rallying point for campaigners from other parts of the country and a symbol of secular solidarity against a majoritarian policy.

Its numbers have swelled rather than diminish with the passage of time.

Having failed to wear down the protesters, the government has now resorted to a bare-knuckle campaign to discredit them by portraying them as pawns in a wider plot bankrolled by shadowy 'anti-national' and 'Islamist' forces.

Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell head and spokesman Amit Malviya has called the anti-CAA protest at Shaheen Bagh an 'Islamist insurrection', accusing the protesters of getting their 'instructions from the masjid'.

Chaps from Islamic State (yes, the real Islamist insurrectionists) must have choked over their breakfast of blood-and-gore at Malviya's description of a gaggle of women chanting secular slogans as the vanguard of an Islamist insurrection.

Other senior BJP leaders, including ministers, have spoken in a similar vein invoking the spectre of a militant Muslim uprising in the making on the back of the CAA row.

Questions have been raised about the Shaheen Bagh protest's source of funding, and the 'level of organisation' with food and refreshments freely available.

The protest, we're told, couldn't have been sustained without 'outside' support.

A video released by the BJP has an unnamed man (his face hidden from the camera) claiming that protesters are a rented crowd paid to do the organisers's bidding.

According to him, the fee ranges from Rs 500 to Rs 1,200 for a shift.

A senior Delhi BJP leader, Vijay Jolly, is reported to have called them 'bikau' (saleable commodity).

When challenged on a TV debate, he sheepishly shrugged it off.

However, there's no independent evidence to back these allegations.

While supporters have admitted to donating in kind (Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde said he had sent packets of sweets; a group of visiting Sikh farmers put up a langar) claims of financial incentives are dismissed as a smear.

Meanwhile, the BJP has produced a new video -- this one purporting to show how Muslim parents are using little children as 'propaganda tools' in their 'hate' campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi.

It shows a small girl saying that Muslims would take revenge against those who are 'attacking us'.

It also claims that children are being encouraged to raise inflammatory slogans such as demanding 'Jinnah ki Azadi' and abusing Modi.

'Shocking! In the name of protests, depraved minds are exploiting the innocence of young kids, especially girls, for their propaganda and stirring animosity... We have seen this kind of indoctrination among kids in radical Islamic societies. But in Shaheen Bagh?' the BJP's Malviya said in a tweet accompanying the video.

Even as its veracity remains in doubt, television channels have gone to town echoing its claim with sensational headlines.

'Children who should be going to school are being used for political ends,' one agitated TimesNow anchor screamed, accusing protesters of brainwashing and radicalising 'children as young as seven'.

It's true that there are children on the site, but most happen to be infants wrapped up in their mothers's arms or sitting in their laps blissfully unaware of what is going around them.

The ones 'as young as seven' do what they do at their age: Muck around, and, yes, occasionally join in a slogan chant.

But surely the chanting of an odd slogan in support of secularism and inclusiveness can't count as 'indoctrination' and 'brainwashing'?

To put it in perspective, though, the Shaheen Bagh protest has not been without its share of glitches, particularly some unfortunate attempts to impose a Muslim identity on a campaign ostensibly in defence of secularism and inclusion.

I'm slightly wary of liberal commentators who are trying to glorify the Muslim assertion of their religious identity.

It plays into the hands of the very sectarian tendencies they say they are fighting.

Let Round Two be more robustly secular.

Hasan Suroor is the author of Who Killed Liberal Islam.
Curaleaf (OTC:CURLF) continues to expand in its home state.

The company announced on Thursday that it has been awarded final approval by the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission to open its third recreational marijuana dispensary. The new store will be located in the central Massachusetts town of Ware, roughly between the cities of Springfield and Worcester.

Curaleaf said it hopes to open the store by the end of this month.

The news comes almost exactly three months after Curaleaf announced the opening of its first recreational-use dispensary in Massachusetts. That outlet is in the town of Oxford, which is less than an hour's drive from Ware. At the end of last month, the company heralded the opening of its second recreational-use store, this one in the Cape Cod city of Provincetown.

Curaleaf is based in Massachusetts; it also operates a medical cannabis-only retail outlet in the town of Hanover, just south of Boston.

The company describes itself as "the largest cannabis operator in the U.S. in terms of operational and wholesale footprint." At the moment, it has 53 dispensaries in operation throughout the country.

Retail expansion is a crucial part of the company's business strategy. It has helped it post significant revenue gains recently, although it remains unprofitable. In Curaleaf's most recently reported quarter, net revenue rose by almost 30% on a sequential basis, and by 189% year over year.

Curaleaf was trading sideways on Thursday, and was down less than 1% at 2:20 p.m. EST.
Police in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang have arrested a Chinese suspect shortly after a decapitated body was found inside a suitcase left under a local bridge.

A source close to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper confirmed on Friday afternoon that the municipal Department of Police had apprehended a Chinese national as part of their investigation into the case.

According to preliminary information, local residents were fishing under the Tran Thi Ly Bridge on the morning of the same day when they discovered a red suitcase floating on the Han River.

Police officers examine the site where the decapitated body of a woman was discovered in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang on February 7, 2020. Photo: N.Q. / Tuoi Tre

After pulling it ashore, the residents found a decapitated body of a woman with both legs missing below the knees.

They later discovered the victims missing head and limbs under a bench situated across the river.

The incident was immediately reported to police officers, who examined the scene of the incident as well as performed an autopsy.

The investigation is now under the direct supervision of Colonel Tran Muu, deputy director of the Da Nang Police Department.

In a provided photo of the victim's Vietnamese visa, the woman is identified as Bao Danping, a Chinese national born in 1990.

Her visa was issued in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province in southwest China, in November 2019 and is valid through March 4, 2020.

The Vietnamese visa of the victim is seen in this photo provided by officers.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
James L. Howard is a twenty-two-year veteran of the US Army who attained the rank of master sergeant before retiring in 2008 yet continued to serve his nation by training military and civilians in Afghanistan, and now resides with Donna, his wife of thirty years, in Copperas Cove, Texas. He has published his latest book A Nations Keeper: An Alamo Novel: a riveting work of realistic fiction.

James writes, The United States is collapsing into ruin. Several states have aligned themselves with Texas to form a new nation, the Republic of United Libertarians. The US acts immediately to destabilize and recover the rogue states through espionage and subversion. The RUL answers back by enlisting the service of a select few citizen-soldiers, men who can operate beyond the rule of law to protect the foundling republic from such threats.

Of these enforcers, Alamo is unsurpassed and serves as the governors right hand. He travels the republic dispensing justice, often from the barrel of a gun. His notoriety is legend as is the bounty on his head. The US will stop at nothing to finish him, targeting friends, loved ones, and associates in an effort to hurt or compromise him, so his strict policy is to not let anyone close.

A chance encounter with Anna, a beautiful rancher in the Texas Hill country, soon has Alamo reconsidering his staunch beliefs. He has much in common with her as well as the ranch hands who protect her interests, hard men and former soldiers who can recognize a little of themselves in the lone gunman who protects the RUL.

A top operative, Alan Combs, has been ordered to put an end to the continued hindrance of the United States schemes. Hes entered the RUL to locate Alamo and either capture or kill him. A game of hunter versus hunter commences, a game that Alamo must win before the woman hes invited into his life becomes yet another victim of his profession.

Published by Page Publishing, James L. Howards engrossing book is a spellbinding adventure that keeps the pages turning until the stunning conclusion.

Readers who wish to experience this action-packed work can purchase A Nations Keeper: An Alamo Novel at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708.

About Page Publishing:

Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create - not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues to focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com.
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For months now, Washington has called for the release of the group, which includes naturalised United States citizens.

Venezuelan police have seized executives of United States refiner Citgo Petroleum Corp, two family members of the men told Reuters News Agency, hours after US President Donald Trump met with opposition leader Juan Guaido. The executives had been under house arrest in the South American nation.

Six top Citgo officials in November 2017 were arrested after being called into a meeting at the Caracas office of state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), which owns Citgo. They were accused of crimes including embezzlement, money laundering and conspiracy.

For months now, Washington has called for the release of the group, which includes naturalised US citizens. A Venezuelan court in June ruled that they should stand trial, and in December, they were granted house arrest.

Carlos Anez, the stepson of one of the executives, said officers came to their homes on Wednesday night, saying they were being taken to the Servicio Bolivariano de Inteligencia Nacional (SEBIN) intelligence service for medical exams. Family members have had no communication with them since.

Police came to the apartment, told my father that they had to take him, to bring a change of clothes, [and] they took his GPS off his ankle and took him away, said Anez. Their lawyers have not been able to speak with them.

Alirio Zambrano, a brother of two of the jailed executives, wrote on Twitter that My brothers Alirio Jose and Jose Luis were taken abruptly from their house arrest last night, we demand to know their whereabouts but more importantly their freedom!

At this time we know that they are in the Helicoide [SEBIN headquarters], all together in the same cell, even though the house arrest has not been revoked by the court, said Jesus Loreto, a lawyer in Venezuela representing detainee Tomeu Vadell, Citgos vice president of refining operations.

The information ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Citgo acknowledged the inquiry and promised a reply shortly when asked for comment.

The group includes Vadell and former Citgo vice presidents Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Jose Zambrano, Jorge Toledo and Gustavo Cardenas, and former Citgo president Jose Pereira.

In 2019, a group of 13 of the mens family members and lawyers wrote an open letter to the US government asking the US Department of State and lawmakers to help win their release.

US Vice President Mike Pence then met with their family members last April.

Venezuela opposition leader Juan Guaido took control of Houston-based Citgo, the governments most profitable overseas asset, earlier this year after Washington recognised him as the countrys legitimate president.

Although Guaido has the backing of the US and more than 50 other countries, President Nicolas Maduro retains control of most state functions and the Venezuelan operations of PDVSA, which are under US-imposed sanctions.
People who have virtually no chance of having coronavirus, but who worry they might, put a huge burden on Lane Countys resources to tackle other vital issues, a health official said Thursday.

A person meeting preliminary criteria for being at risk of a coronavirus infection went to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at Riverbend on Wednesday, the hospital said in a statement.

Its not clear what criteria the person met, but the person was released a short time later and asked to avoid public areas and keep track of any fever, the hospital said.

On Thursday, the county health department put together an incident command team just to deal with all the phone calls from other concerned citizens and media.

We dont have a coronavirus problem, but were having to deal with one, said Jason Davis, a spokesman for Lane County Health and Human Services.

The new coronavirus raging through Asia has killed hundreds of people and infected tens of thousands, most of them in Wuhan, China, the city where the outbreak is believed to have originated. There have been 11 confirmed cases in the United States, including one in Washington.

The risk to Oregonians remains low, an Oregon Health Authority official said.

The concern is minimal or non-existent at this point, said Emilio DeBess, an infectious disease expert with the agency.

The coronavirus, common colds and influenza share some symptoms  a cough, fever and difficulty breathing, among others.

But for a person to be considered as a potential case of the new coronavirus, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the person must have traveled to China in the prior 14 days or have contact with someone who was sick with the virus.

Yet concerned people are going to doctors offices even if they havent been to China and have had no contact with infected people, Davis said.

People who are worried might meet some of the criteria for an infection, such as a cough, and therefore trigger a medical response intended to prevent a real case of coronavirus, he said.

Before deciding to call the health department, people should determine if they have any exposure via a connection to China and whether their symptoms align with coronavirus, Davis said.

If they call the health department to do that evaluation for them, that takes away from the departments ability to identify cases that have a higher likelihood of being coronavirus, he said.

The Oregon Health Authority has been getting requests for testing, chief medical officer Richard Leman said.

People are understandably worried from what theyve been reading, Leman said, and wondering if theyre sick with the virus. But unless they meet the few specific criteria, the answer is no.

If theres something that is new and something that is a bit unknown, that can be scary, Leman said.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The latest case is from Chachoengsao where a 30-year-old woman allegedly posted on her Facebook page that she had found infected people at a hospital in Muang district, minister Buddhipongse was quoted by the Nation newspaper.

Photo: bernama



Her post was widely shared by Facebook users and some news outlets even featured it on their websites, without verifying the credibility of the source, added Buddhipongse.

According to the minister, releasing and sharing fake news will only cause panic among the public, which will ultimately lead to wrong practices in virus prevention as well as discrimination against people who only have the common flu.

In the long term, this could affect Thailands image as incapable of containing the virus and educating the public, which may affect the confidence of foreign investors and tourists in the future, he stressed.

Releasing fake news is a violation of Section 14 (2) of Computer-related Crime Act BE 2560: Uploading falsified information into a computer system which may affect national security, public safety or may cause public panic. The maximum punishment is a fine of 100,000 baht (over 3,200 USD) and/or five years imprisonment, minister Buddhipongse said.

The government has created an Anti Fake News Centre to work with the police in tracking down and arresting individuals who release false information about the new coronavirus outbreak on social media and other online outlets.

The centre will collaborate with the Royal Thai Polices Technology Crime Suppression Division, the minister said./.
A Democratic senator got into an unusual exchange with CNN news anchor Wolf Blitzer on Thursday over whether President Trump was acquitted in his recent impeachment trial.

Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii appeared on Blitzer's newscast, the Situation Room, on Thursday and insisted that the president was not acquitted.

As Blitzer prepared to ask Hirono a question, he laid out the context, saying: 'The Senate has clearly spoken now. President Trump was acquitted.'

Hirono then interrupted Blitzer, saying: 'Wolf, he wasn't acquitted. It was a rigged trial.'

Sen. Mazie Hirono just claimed Trump was not acquitted because it was a "rigged trial."



CNN's Wolf Blitzer had to jump in and correct her:



"The Chief Justice of the United States announced that he was acquitted, that he was not guilty."



Hirono then doubled down.



INSANE. pic.twitter.com/NsG3UgDrMy  Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) February 6, 2020

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer (left) got into an awkward exchange with Senator Mazie Hirono (right), a Democrat from Hawaii, on his Thursday broadcast

When Blitzer noted that President Trump was acquitted in the Senate in his impeachment trial, Hirono said: 'Wolf, he wasn't acquitted. It was a rigged trial.'

The senator continued: 'You don't get acquitted when you don't even get to call witnesses, or relevant witnesses, or have the documents because the president stonewalled all efforts on the part of the House to get the information they requested.

'So there you go. It was a rigged trial.'

Hirono added: 'He can run around saying he was acquitted but you don't get acquitted in a rigged trial.'

Blitzer appeared taken aback and sought to correct the Hawaii senator.

'There was a roll call, guilty or not guilty,' Blitzer said.

'Not guilty was the majority and the chief justice [of the Supreme Court, John Roberts] announced that he was acquitted.'

The senator, however, refused to budge, saying: 'But the American public knows that it was a rigged trial.

'So, OK, you're found not guilty in a rigged trial. I don't think that they think this was all kosher, not it wasn't.

'So, meanwhile you have the president crowing about it, which is totally expected, and now it's anything goes for this president and this administration and all his enablers.'

Hirono was reacting to the president's declaration of victory following his acquittal in the Senate on Wednesday.

Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges with a pair of caustic, freewheeling speeches on Thursday that drew on White House pomp and the solemnity of an annual prayer breakfast to underscore the fact that he remained in office.

After walking down a red carpet to a standing ovation from scores of Republican lawmakers, administration officials and conservative media figures in the East Room of the White House, Trump re-aired old grievances and accused Democrats of staging a 'corrupt' effort to undermine his presidency in a speech lasting more than an hour.

Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges with a pair of caustic, freewheeling speeches on Thursday. He reacts as he looks at the front page of a newspaper with a headline that reads 'Trump acquitted' at the 68th annual National Prayer Breakfast, at the Washington Hilton on Thursday

'I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit ... but this is what the end result is,' Trump said, holding up a copy of the Washington Post with the headline 'Trump acquitted.'

The Republican president then handed the newspaper to his wife, Melania, and said maybe they would frame it.

Speaking without a teleprompter, he referred to the 22-month investigation by former Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his 2016 election campaign's possible contacts with Russia, using a profanity.

'It was all bull***t,' he said.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted on Wednesday to acquit Trump on charges brought by the Democratic-led House of Representatives stemming from his dealings with Ukraine, only the third time in US history that a president has been impeached.

The acquittal was Trump's biggest victory yet over his foes in Congress, who had attacked Senate Republicans for refusing to call witnesses or seek new evidence at the trial.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump spoke at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, a historically bipartisan event attended by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, faulting those who invoked their religious faith during the impeachment battle.

Pelosi, a Catholic who launched the impeachment inquiry in September, said in December that she did not hate Trump and that she prayed for him.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, cited his faith when he voted to convict Trump on the charge of abuse of power.

Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction. No Democrat voted to acquit.

'I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you,' when they know that that's not so,' Trump said at the breakfast as Pelosi sat nearby on the stage.

Trump, who has strong support from evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics, referred to the issue again in the East Room: 'I doubt she (Pelosi) prays at all.'

Pelosi said that Trump's comments at the breakfast, the theme of which was 'loving your enemies,' were inappropriate.

'He's talking about things he knows little about - faith and prayer,' she told a news conference.

Trump on Thursday also appeared in the East Room of the White House, where he held up the front page of The Washington Post

In his East Room speech, which was interrupted several times by thunderous applause and laughter from the audience, Trump called former FBI Director James Comey a 'sleazebag' and Representative Adam Schiff, the House Democrat who spearheaded the impeachment drive, a 'vicious, horrible person.'

He also reprised his attacks on 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

At the same time, he thanked dozens of Republican lawmakers by name, working alphabetically from a list.

The hyper-partisan tenor of Thursday's events did not bode well for the already sharply divided mood in Washington, especially in an election year. Trump is running for re-election in November.

Democrats said Trump wasted an opportunity to bring the country together.

'Instead of self-victimizing and self-aggrandizing, instead of being spiteful and vindictive, President Trump could have used his nationally televised speech to show some contrition and unite the nation,' said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - San Marco Resources Inc. (TSXV: SMN) announces subscriptions for a further $68,050 in its over-subscribed non-brokered private placement to raise C$ 500,000. It has now received subscriptions totalling C$ 784,849.91 and that it has closed the subscription book.

The private placement now consists of 5,813,703 units at a price of $0.135 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share for $0.20 for three years. If, after four months following closing of the placement, the closing price of San Marco's shares is at least $0.40 per share for 10 trading days, San Marco may accelerate the expiry of the warrants to 30 calendar days after the expiry of that 10 trading day period.

The Company will pay finders fees in cash of 7% and issue finders warrants (each exercisable to purchase one share for $0.135 for one year) of 7% to eligible finders in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange.

Completion of the placement is subject to the approval of the Exchange.

San Marco also announces that it has granted options to purchase 1,200,000 common shares at a price of $0.18 per share for a period of five years.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States of America. 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 in the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws, or an exemption from such registration requirement is available.

About San Marco

San Marco is a Canadian mineral exploration company actively pursuing world class gold, silver, zinc and copper projects with a focus in mining friendly jurisdictions in both British Columbia, Canada and Mexico.

The Company's principal focus and asset is the recently optioned Buck Property in north-central British Columbia that has large tonnage gold-silver-zinc potential in a mining-friendly region that includes many former and current operating mines. In addition, the Company's portfolio includes the several prospective, early stage exploration properties in Mexico.

For further information, contact:



Robert Willis, P. Eng.

Executive Director

Sharyn Alexander, M.Sc.

VP Technical Services

info@sanmarcocorp.com

Forward Looking Information

Information set forth in this document may include forward-looking statements. While these statements reflect management's current plans, projections and intents, by their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, some of which are beyond the control of San Marco Resources Inc. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements. San Marco's actual results, programs, activities and financial position could differ materially from those expressed in or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52238
Lisbon  The Angolan Mass Media minister, Nuno dos Anjos Caldas Albino, stated last Thursday in Lisbon that the sector that he runs intends to reinforce the cooperation relations with different Portuguese press bodies, in terms of journalists training and upgrading of knowledge.

Talking to the press, in the sidelines of a meeting with the Portuguese State Secretary for Cinema, Audiovisual and Media, Nuno Artur Silva, the Angolan official said that the country assumed the commitment to restructure and modernize the public media organs and for that they want to count on Portuguese experience, especially in the area of digital communication.

"Regarding staff training Portugal has rich experience, reason why we understand that some partnerships and protocols with Portuguese mass media bodies must be made and reinforced those that already exist, because it is necessary that Angola follow up this new paradigm. We have agreements with some organs in the domain of upgrading courses, technical and technological training, so we came to reinforce this cooperation more", he stated.

Nuno Caldas Albino said that the Mass Media Ministry assumed the challenge to digitize all historical collection of Angola, be it printed, audio or visual.

"We need to make strategies and we want to count also on Portugal's experience to achieve this purpose", he emphasized.

The minister is making a work visit to Portugal since last Tuesday. He has already met with the Impresa Business Group board, responsible for the weekly newspaper Expresso and the television station SIC, with the board of directors of the Global Media group, among them Radio TSF, as well as the newspapers Jornal de Noticias, Diario de Noticias, the Dinheiro Vivo and O Jogo, the four of them are newspapers.

In his first visit to Portugal as Media minister, Nuno Caldas Albino is accompanied by the National Director for Institutional Communication, Eduardo Magalhaes, and the CEO of the state-owned Public Television of Angola (CEO), Francisco Mendes, Angola Press Agency (ANGOP) CEO, Josue Isaias, the Edicoes Novembro printing company CEO, Victor Silva and the CEO of the Angola National Radio (RNA), Marcos Lopes, and as well the General Director of the Popular Graphics, Fernando Cunha.
VMware is increasing its CPU licensing prices for customers running CPUs with more than 32 physical cores. Effective April 2, if CPUs with more than 32 cores are deployed, then customers need to purchase additional CPU licenses.

Such a change doesn't seem surprising. For the longest time, 32-core processors seemed like a pipe dream. Intel was hovering in the range of 20-odd cores, and AMD was a non-player. Then came the AMD Epyc with 32 cores in 2017, followed by Epyc 2 with 64 cores in 2019 .

Intel Xeons currently top out at 28 cores, but the company is promising to ship a 38-core Ice Lake generation and 48-core Cooper Lake generation this year.

So while the pricing increase hits AMD harder, for now, AMD doesn't seem to be terribly bothered by it, based on this statement from a company spokesman: AMD continues to lead the industry on performance, features and TCO in virtualized environments for both 1-socket and 2-socket systems. While the new VMware licensing guidelines change the economics slightly for higher-core-count processors, AMD remains committed to VMware as a winning virtualization solution for AMD EPYC customers.

My read of that statement is that AMD doesnt feel targeted.

Others responded more negatively to the news:

Ive seen a bunch of customers that want to move over to those higher-core-count types of CPUs. Now one VMware license doesnt cover you anymore. Youre going to need two, or four, or whatever amount of licensing it works out to be. While that hurts everybody, its evidence that maybe VMware doesnt understand the edge computing in the midmarket where we play. I give the marketing department props for coming up with some spin, but at the end of the day its a price increase, said Jeff Ready, CEO and co-founder of cloud provider Scale Computing, in a statement sent out to tech press.

I can understand that the pricing increase will hit some companies hard, but was VMware supposed to ignore the growing core count of CPUs and give everyone a freebie from core 33 and up? VMware licenses are by the core, and if the core count rises, VMware would be a bit derelict to not alter its licenses.

A fact of data center life is that as IT infrastructure hardware evolves, so does the software that runs on it. That includes the pricing models that vendors adopt to gain what they believe is fair value for their products, said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT.

On the plus side, VMware's changes will impact a relatively small number of enterprise customers. That doesn't mean that those companies and the VMware partners who support them won't feel pain, especially those who have already planned and funded their 2020 budgets, King added.

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Scale Computing uses both Epyc processors and VMware software.
A green jet fuel based on a chemical process created by the Germans for the Luftwaffe air force during World War II may have just found a new purpose in the burgeoning era of flight shaming; but is it commercially viable?

German scientists think so.

Today, German scientists are working together to revive an old kerosene project that could make a commercially viable synthetic jet fuel in a move that will hopefully save airlines from the latest air travel trend - flight shaming.

Of course, the 1925 kerosene creation wasnt the green version - it relied on coal and other fossil fuels to create the kerosene. But todays version of the kerosene project would see this kerosene derived from water.

Whats more, this green version actually pulls carbon dioxide out of the air during the creation process.

If successful, the process could not only put an end to the rising emissions from air travel, but it could also strip away demand for crude oil should the current fossil-fuel based jet fuel be replaced.

How it Works

The process for making this power-based fuel is a methanol synthesis process that produces synthetic methanol. It is derived from water, which is then fractured into oxygen and hydrogen, and then combined with carbon.

This synthetic methanol is then refined into a product such as kerosene.

Compared to another synthetic-producing process called Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, this synthetic methanol process allows the manufacturer to better tailor the end product and reduce any unwanted by-products, according to Heide.

Still, the process will take a huge amount of electricity. In order to be carbon neutral, this electricity would need to come from renewable sources. This is a big ask, but one that scientists say is doable, even on a commercial scale.

German scientists are working on the latest iteration of this process, working under the direction of Bremen University in a project called KEROSyN100. Related: Are Oil Markets Overreacting To The Coronavirus?

While there are other synthetic aviation fuel projects currently underway, Heide believes it is the only one using a methanol synthesis process.

Decades ago, US Navy scientists made headway in a similar project, creating jet fuel from seawater. However, they have failed to reach any large scale - yet.

The Navys project involved a cell that pulled pure and concentrated carbon dioxide from the seawater - a superior source than the carbon dioxide from flue or stack gases produced from burning fossil fuels. The process also simultaneously produces hydrogen, which helps to recover the CO2. The two gases are slammed together to create fuel. This is the same basic principle as the Heide project.

This unit the Navy was using was able to capture 92% of carbon dioxide from the seawater, where it is 140 times more concentrated than in the air. The energy supplied to the cell went 100% towards making hydrogen - not the extracting process. Then, the gases are converted into olefins using an iron catalyst.

In 2013, the Navy produced one liter of fuel a day this way. Small potatoes, but a success nonetheless. The Naval Research Laboratory hoped the seawater fuel would reach commercial viability in 10 to 15 years. That puts the target between 2023 and 2028.

American Money

This newest iteration of green jet fuel is being made at Klesch Groups Heide oil refinery - a refinery that American billionaire Gary Klesch purchased from Royal Dutch Shell in 2010 at a time when oil companies were looking to shed European downstream assets as refining margins shrunk.

At the time of Kleschs purchase, Heide, a landlocked refinery in Heide Germany near the North Sea, was capable of processing 93,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Banking on downstreams long-term prospects, Klesch snapped up or built multiple refineries around the world, including a 300,000 bpd refinery in Libya. The groups latest move was a deal in December to take over operations from PDVSA for Venezuelas Isla refinery in Curacao.

Lufthansa has signed an agreement with the Heide refinery to produce and use this environmentally friendly kerosene, which will be made from surplus wind energy. The kerosene is still in the R&D phase now a Heide spokesperson told Oilprice.com, but it has plans to deliver first synthetic kerosene by 2023, and to supply 5% of Hamburg airports jet fuel supply with synthetic kerosene by 2024.

The HangUps

In its 2009 project, the US Navy ran into some snags. First, while concentrations of carbon dioxide in water are many times greater than those in the air, its still a small amount, at just 100 milligrams per liter. To put this into perspective, you would have to process nine million cubic meters (almost 2.4 billion gallons) of water to make just 100,000 gallons of fuel.

Second, the water needs to be pumped into the cell - ostensibly using some form of energy. And if the vessel uses fuel to make that electricity, well, the whole process would be a wash and have no value. Related: Energy Stocks Retreat On Poor Earnings

The third hangup was that the process produced methane. Most of the gas was converted, but some was not.

The fourth hangup is that when the fuel is burned, it does release carbon. The Navy mentioned that this would be a constant state of equilibrium; with carbon released into the air before being recycled from the sea again.

The latest project hopes to resolve some of the hangups by using wind energy to power the process.

If the current project to use renewable energy as a means of creating this greener jet fuel is successful on a large scale, mass adoption is a near certainty. While the transportation sector is busy converting ICE vehicles into electric ones to combat climate change, no current alternative to fossil fuel-powered air travel is viable. And never has it been more imperative for the transportation sector to figure out how to duck the climate change blow.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Ayatollah al-Sistani berates security forces for failing to protect protesters killed in clashes with Sadrists in Najaf.

Iraqi activists and anti-government protesters have welcomed the speech of top Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani in which he has condemned the security forces for failing to protect the protesters killed in clashes in the southern city of Najaf this week.

Iraqs anti-government protesters were looking for support from the countrys top religious leader after followers of populist Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr turned on protest sit-ins in the capital Baghdad and the southern holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.

Iraqs protest movement began in October to decry corruption, unemployment and the lack of basic services. At least 500 people have been killed and thousands of others injured in the months-long unrest.

But recent days have seen a new turn in events after Sadrs Saray al-Salam militia, known as the blue hats because of the headgear they often wear, attacked anti-government protesters who rejected the nomination last week of Mohammed Allawi as the new prime minister-designate.

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A representative of al-Sistani, who delivered the speech from Karbala on Friday, condemned the deadly violence that killed several protesters on Wednesday night in Najaf and injured more than 100 others after Sadr supporters clashed with protesters in Sadrayn Square.

On Thursday, witnesses said 10 people were also wounded in the central city of Karbala in clashes between anti-government protesters and al-Sadrs supporters.

In his speech, al-Sistani called on security forces to protect anti-government demonstrators from any further attacks.

It is the security forces that must take responsibility to keep the peace, protect the protest squares and the peaceful demonstrators and identify attackers and rabble-rousers, he said. There is no excuse for shirking that duty.

He also called for early elections and urged the politicians to select a government acceptable to the public.

Feeling positive

In Tahrir Square, the hub of the protest movement in Baghdad, protesters told Al Jazeera they were happy with al-Sistanis speech.

We are feeling positive in Tahrir Square after al-Sistani condemned what happened in Najaf and berated the security forces for not protecting us, said Mohamed Abbas, a 20-year-old student from Baghdad.

Al-Sistani, who enjoys influence overs Iraq Shia majority, rarely comments on politics. But he is seen by the protesters as the final vestige of support within the establishment.

Unlike Sadr and many of the political leaders in Iraq, Sistani has been consistent in his message and stance to support our demands for elections and a representative leader throughout, added Abbas.

Al-Sadr had initially backed the protest movement, which began in early October in capital Baghdad and Iraqs mostly Shia south. But he has since changed his position several times, withdrawing his support before Allawis appointment, which prompted some of his supporters to leave the protest camps.

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He then called on his followers to return to the streets, only to later shift his stance again and urged them to come together to reveal the saboteurs and the nationalist pretenders by helping the security forces.

Observers have pinned the withdrawal of al-Sadrs support for the protest movement as part of his agreement with the countrys largest parliamentary blocs, most of which are backed by Iran, to nominate Allawi for the prime ministers position.

Ali Khraybit, a 27-year-old filmmaker and protester in Baghdad, said he expected nothing less from al-Sistanis speech.

After Sistani holding the security forces accountable, we are hopeful again, Khraybit told Al Jazeera, adding that he expected the number of protesters in Tahrir Square, which had dwindled over the past week, to increase again.

I hope the protest movement will now go back to being strong like it was before, said Khraybit.

However, other protesters said they were slightly disappointed and had hoped for more from al-Sistanis speech.

Al-Sistanis condemnation of the security forces was good, but he did not mention Allawi or say that he rejects him, said Mariam Ali, a 27-year-old nurse in Tahrir Square.

Allawis appointment last week was the reason behind the recent escalation, she said.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

Liberia's Ambassador accredited to the United States of America, Canada, and Mexico, His Excellency George S.W. Patten Sr., says the government of President George M. Weah is deeply committed to fighting corruption.

Ambassador Patten emphasized that the setting up of the Asset and Recovery team, charged with the mandate to bring back billions of dollars siphoned out of Liberia is a major step in the fight against graft in the country.

Guest Speaking recently at programs marking the induction of officers of Liberian Community in Indiana, Ambassador Patten stressed the need for Liberians to be patriotic and nationalistic. He frowned on those who were only hell-bent on painting the country image bad by spreading negative and false information.

At a town hall meeting, Ambassador Patten assured Liberians that their concerns for dual citizenship are thoroughly being debated in the National Legislature and a final decision is expected to be made by Liberians voters in a referendum this October. "President Weah has made dual citizenship a priority during his first Annual Message. Now, it's your turn to encourage your family and friends back home to vote overwhelmingly and make it pass", the Ambassador noted.

Ambassador Patten also assured the gathering that he would highlight their concerns regarding high tariffs at the Free Port of Monrovia. The Ambassador also pointed out that Liberia is open for investment especially in the Agriculture sector, as is being prioritized currently. "The government is fulfilling its mandate in constructing feeder and coastal roads in urban and rural Liberia.

Ambassador Patten reassured the audience that the administration of His Excellency President Weah is applying every efforts to protect life and property, ensuring that the country will soon yield greater economic benefits from the current robust trend of development across the nation.

The Ambassador then extended an informal invitation to Indianapolis State Representative, John Ballet, other Liberians and friends of Liberia, to visit the country and see first-hand developments taking place across the country.

Ambassador Patten was accompanied by his First Secretary, Josiah Domah, who also met with Indiana State Representative, John Ballet, religious leaders and elders of the Liberian community in Indianapolis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday the Bodo peace accord is a new chapter in new India and is a new start for the northeast, which signifies the end of decades-old violence and ushers the path of development in the region.

He also assured people that the Centre will implement Assam Accord earnestly and accused the opposition of creating confusion over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Addressing a crowd of nearly half a million people in an event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Accord last month, he said people have created a new trust and gave peace a new road.

Yesterday, the entire nation saw how in villages motorcycle rallies were conducted, lighted diyas and celebration was like Diwali. The entire country was discussing youIn this important part of India this is the start of new light here, Modi said in Bodo-dominated Kokrajhar town.

He also thanked the top Bodo leaders, including All Bodo Students Union and National Democratic Front of Bodoland, for signing the agreement.

Today, 130 crore Indians are thanking youfor permanent peace. Today, we have to take a pledge to strengthen Vikas and Vishwas and now to allow violence again in this land, he said.

Modi also said after so many decades of violence there is peace in the region now.

In New India, I welcome peaceful northeast. A new era of peace and development is historical in the northeast. This has happened when India is celebrating 150 years of birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and signifies his path of non-violence, he said.

All demand related to the Bodo issues have been met. Peace was not established after 1993 and 2003 agreement. The Centre, Assam and Bodo agitation groups have signed a historic accord, no demand is left. Now, development is our first and last priority, he said.

Special package

The Prime Minister said the Bodo accord will benefit the Bodo people as well as others.

Bodo territorial council jurisdiction has been increased and strengthened. It is a victory for all and for peace, he said, asking people to stand up and clap for non-violence and peace.

He also said a commission will be set up to rework the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) and the region will get a Rs 1500 crore special development package, which will benefit Kokrajhar and other districts.

Bodo people every right and their language will be protected and developed, he said, adding that Assam government has taken big decisions on Bodo language.

He assured that Section 6 of Assam accord to be implemented as soon as the committee formed to suggest measures to implement it submits its report.

For many years, Assam issues were in disarray, I assure that we will implement the Accord and sort out all issues, he said.

CAA, new measures

He also raked Congress leader Rahul Gandhis stick comment, without naming him, saying people talk about beating him with sticks but he is blessed and protected by the blessing of sisters and mothers.

Modi said opposition leaders were creating the wrong impression that CAA would lead to foreigners getting citizenship.

I want to assure the people of Assam that nothing like this would happen, he said and recalled his home state Gujarats association with Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika.

Modi said that this will strengthen Assam and also India and the NDA government at the Centre was providing solutions to difficult problems, which were ignored earlier because of social and political reasons.

For decades, nobody was touching issues related to the northeast. We have engaged with stakeholders and have found a solution for long last peace, he said.

This was in reference to the Centres decision to give special package and to settle Bru-Reang refugees in Tripura itself. He said with this Bru issue pending for over two decades have been settled.

The Prime Minister also said the National Liberation Front of Tripura and government had signed an agreement in August 2018 for long-lasting peace in the state.

Now, they have shunned arms and have joined the mainstream, he said.

The PM also announced several new measures for people of northeast, including new hostels in Bengaluru and Delhi for students from the region.

These measures will improve connectivity and strengthen tourism and will create new employment avenues. We have approved Rs 9000 crore for a gas grid in the northeast, he said.

Fridays visit is the PMs first trip to the state after protests started in December last year against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The protests seeking repeal of the legislation, which are still continuing, had claimed five lives in police firing in the initial days.

Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilliary and several other dignitaries were present at the event which also showcased the cultural diversity of Assams different tribes.

The Bodo Accord signed on January 27 by the Centre with all four factions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and United Bodo Peoples Organisation (UBPO) is expected to end decades-old violent demand for a separate state and bring peace to the areas dominated by Bodos, the largest tribe in Assam.

With the signing of the accord United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), which is seeking a sovereign Assam, remains the only major banned militant outfit in the state.

Last week, 1615 cadres of all the factions of NDFB laid down arms in front of Sarbananda Sonowal at an event in Guwahati.

Last months accord, the third such deal with Bodo groups after the previous ones in 1993 and 2003, however, hasnt been welcomed by non-Bodo residents of Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), the four districts falling within Bodoland Territorial Council (renamed Bodoland Territorial Region after the deal) as they were not consulted about it.

Though there were plans to call a shutdown on Friday, non-Bodo groups have called off any such move. The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which is spearheading the anti-CAA protests, also decided not to oppose Modis trip.

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Supercharging the mutation rate in cancer cells can create a powerful vaccine that is able to boost the effectiveness of immunotherapy, a major new study reports.

Scientists forced cancer cells in the lab to evolve much more rapidly than usual using a molecule called APOBEC3B, which is often used by tumours to drive rapid genetic change and drug resistance.

They found that these highly mutated cancer cells could be used to create a vaccine for each individual cancer type, which amplified the effects of immunotherapy - and cured mice with a variety of otherwise treatment-resistant tumours.

The international study - carried out by scientists at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, US, and the University of Leeds - is the first to show that APOBEC3B's role in driving cancer evolution can be used to create vaccines that can boost the immune response.

The researchers want to take their new technique for creating personalised vaccines into the clinic as early as next year - starting with a trial in children with brain tumours.

The findings are published in Nature Communications today (Friday).

The researchers first showed they could drive rapid genetic changes in human cancer cells in the lab using high levels of APOBEC3B, which is able to edit the DNA code of cells, giving rise to genetic changes that can be seen as 'signatures' or 'footprints'.

The genetic analysis revealed more than a million extra mutations in the cells expressing APOBEC3B, compared with control cells. Of these, around 68,000 contained the classical APOBEC signature. These genetic signatures made cancer cells vulnerable to treatment with immune checkpoint blockade, a major strategy in immunotherapy.

However, by generating new genetic changes, APOBEC3B can also drive cancer evolution and help cancer cells become resistant to chemotherapy. So rather than give APOBEC3B directly to tumours as a treatment, the researchers instead used the genetic signature it left behind to create individual cancer vaccines, each tailored to the particular genetic profile of a specific tumour.

They gave mice highly mutated cancer cell vaccines, in the form of mutant cancer proteins, and these elicited an immune attack against their tumours as they were immediately detected as 'foreign'.

By combining the individualised tumour vaccines with checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy, the researchers were able to cure melanoma and brain tumours in mice.

The next step is further preclinical research to translate these findings further into human cell systems, with the aim to take the vaccine technique into clinical trials for paediatric brain tumors within the next year.

The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) has been focusing on increasing its understanding of APOBEC protein molecules, which are crucial to the ability of the immune system to adapt to different infectious diseases - but are also hijacked in many cancers to speed up evolution of drug resistance.

The potential of APOBEC inhibitors to slow down cancer evolution is enormous. This study now demonstrates that APOBEC3B could also be used to increase the effectiveness of new treatments that use immunotherapy to attack tumours.

The ICR - a charity and research institute - is creating a new 75 million Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery to study molecules like APOBEC3B, with the aim of creating new cancer treatments that can overcome the major challenge of cancer evolution and drug resistance. The ICR has less than 10 million left to raise to deliver the new building.

This study was supported by a variety of funders - the National Institute of Health, the European Research Council, the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation, the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic Partnership, Cancer Research UK, the Shannon O'Hara Foundation, Hyundai Hope On Wheels, and a research grant from Oncolytics Biotech.

Study author Alan Melcher, Professor of Translational Immunotherapy at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

"Our new study rather paradoxically takes advantage of a mechanism used by cancers to rapidly evolve and become resistant to chemotherapy, and instead makes them much more vulnerable to the effects of immunotherapy.

"We have supercharged genetic changes in cancer in order to create cancer vaccines, which are tailored to the genetic code of these tumours, and can boost the immune response against them."

"By combining our vaccines with checkpoint inhibitor chemotherapy, we've shown in mice that it's possible to cure tumours in a variety of locations, including the brain. Our new approach has the potential to be effective against cancers that do not currently respond to treatment, and we're keen to take it into clinical trials as soon as possible."

Professor Paul Workman, Chief Executive of The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:

"Cancer's ability to evolve and become drug resistant is the biggest challenge we face in treating the disease more effectively. But this exciting new study also suggests it is possible to use a key evolutionary mechanism against cancers, by forcing them to accumulate genetic mutations that are able to spark the immune system against them.

"This is a terrific example of the kind of exciting research into cancer evolution and drug resistance that will be the focus of our pioneering 75 million Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery, and which we hope will deliver entirely new types of cancer treatment."

Co-author Dr Adel Samson, from the University of Leeds' School of Medicine, said:

"Adult cancers are caused by an accumulation of genetic mutations, which can provide resistance to conventional chemotherapy drugs. However, the same mutations make it possible for the immune system to detect and kill the cancer.

"This study demonstrates how we might apply this concept to future therapeutic cancer vaccines, by artificially mutating patient-derived cancerous cells in the laboratory, then injecting the mutated cell proteins back into the same patient. In doing so, this immunotherapy would be able to trigger an immune response against both the artificially mutated proteins, as well as the closely related cancerous cells originally present in a patient."

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 01:33:33|Editor: huaxia

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SOFIA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's Armed Forces participated in more national and international military exercises in 2019 than a year earlier, the country's Chief of Defense, General Andrey Botsev, said here on Thursday.

Last year, Bulgarian soldiers conducted 276 national and 55 international exercises, Botsev said at a press conference.

The respective figures in 2018 were 255 and 46.

A total of 600 military personnel participated last year in nine different missions and operations abroad under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union and the United Nations, Botsev said.

In 2019, 974 Bulgarian troops with 276 pieces of equipment participated in 120 operations to help people affected by disasters, Botsev said. Enditem
A judge has told a husband who throttled his new wife and bullied her for the way she drove their car that his behaviour was due to 1970s-style 'outdated' views he held of women as he was spared jail today and walked free from court.

Graham Walker, 63, choked and slapped his traumatised spouse Deborah after the pair rowed about the best way back to their Manchester hotel room.

The father-of-four screamed at Deborah, with whom he was celebrating his first wedding anniversary, grabbed her by the throat, and struck her.

He had been previously controlling and coercive, banning her from seeing friends or relatives, and berated her over her weight and the way she walked.

Graham Walker (pictured) throttled his wife Deborah on the night of their first wedding anniversary, after bickering about the best way back to their Manchester hotel room

Walker was not even unknown to have mocked the way Deborah drove their car.

At Manchester Crown Court, however, a judge sentenced Walker, of Reddish, near Stockport, to an 18-month community order.

Walker, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and common assault, was ordered to complete a Building Better Relationships programme after the court heard he held 'old-fashioned' views of women.

Judge Mary Loram, sentencing, told Walker that his behaviour was 'borne not just out of outdated views but also out of insecurity'.

She ruled that the relationship, which has since ended, was 'not typified by violence, apart from one assault', but was 'often unpleasant' and 'unhealthy'.

The judge told the bully that he was 'paranoid and jealous' and had made Deborah's 'life a misery' by undermining and isolating her from loved ones.

Judge Mary Loram, sentencing, told Walker that his behaviour was 'borne not just out of outdated views but also out of insecurity' (stock image)

She added: 'This is a real chance for you to change. Don't use your age to excuse your behaviour, you were a young man in the 1970s, come on!'

Mary Loram QC: The tough barrister who prosecuted brutal murderers and rapists Mary Loram prosecuted Clara Butler, who murdered her father during a row, in September 2019, claiming: 'There is only one person in this room who can tell you exactly how and why Lance Martin died and it is clearly Clara Butler. This was retribution. This was summary execution.' She branded troublesome teenager Connor Chapman a 'nuisance' for his 'disregard for other people' in July. Ms Loram brought down Mark Sinclair last March after he murdered his partner Kylie Dembrey. She also prosecuted Mindaugas Kaminskas for bludgeoning his flatmate to death with a table leg in July and joked of keeping his body as a 'trophy', leading to a life jail sentence. Advertisement

Prosecutor Neil Usher said that Deborah, who was 'trembling and shaking' when police interviewed her after she reported the traumatic incident, regarded Walker as 'old-fashioned and held a set of gender stereotypes of her'.

Deborah, who began a relationship with Walker in August 2015 and married him two years later, thought Walker 'paranoid and jealous', Mr Usher added.

'This type of behaviour', the prosecution said, 'deteriorated over time into a pattern of obsessive and controlling behaviour.'

He went on: 'She [Deborah] described in parts agreeing to marry him as she believed this would make him feel more secure in the relationship.

'But notwithstanding the marriage, his behaviour deteriorated further. He made it difficult to see her friends and family and she became isolated. She used to meet up with her mother for lunch. He would become enraged and hostile when she suggested meeting with her, so she stopped meeting with her own mother.

'He was hyper-critical of her appearance, including her weight, the way she walked and even the way she held the steering wheel in the car.

'He would shout at her, throw things at her and on occasions he spat at her. His behaviour wore her down and she described she was constantly on a 'knife edge'.

'She described him as being particularly controlling and paranoid about her work. He forbade her from working late or working over time.

Walker, who had pleaded guilty to engaging in controlling and coercive behaviour and common assault, was ordered to complete a Building Better Relationships programme after the court heard he held 'old-fashioned' views of women

'He constantly checked her movements and constantly accused her of being unfaithful, when he had no basis of doing so.

'There were regular splits in the relationship and reconciliations as he would, more than once, promise to change his behaviour.

'In October 2018 she mentioned a works night out. She was too nervous to ask him if she could go on it, but just mentioning it caused him to explode in temper. He spat at her, shouted at her and told her she was a "slag", and told her to leave the house.

'Three weeks later he came back to her and promised to change his views and she went back to him. Text messages between the two show the threat of the defendant being angry, abusive and controlling, and when she did respond, they were clearly attempts to calm him down and reassure him and encourage him to get help.

'She made it clear repeatedly to get help with his temper, that she was committed to the marriage and she would support him if he seeks that help.'

In November 2018, Walker and Deborah entered a screaming match as they bickered about the best way back to a hotel they'd booked for their wedding anniversary.

The court heard how furious Walker lost his temper with her, choking her and slapping her in the face before leaving Deborah in the hotel room.

'Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship': what it means, and how perpetrators are punished Walker was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court (pictured) today (stock image) In September 2012, the British Government defined coercive behaviour as an 'act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim'. It also defined controlling behaviour as a 'range of acts designed to make a person subordinate by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, and depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape'. Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 created a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. An offence is committed when a person repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person, with whom they are personally connected, that is controlling or coercive, and will have a serious effect. A serious effect is deemed as: Stopping or changing the way someone socialises

Physical or mental health deterioration

A change in routine at home including those associated with mealtimes or household chores

Attendance record at school

Putting in place measures at home to safeguard themselves or their children

Changes to work patterns, employment status or routes to work If a person is found guilty on conviction on indictment (a more serious offence) they can be imprisoned for up to five years, given a fine, or both. If a person is found guilty on a summary conviction (a less serious offence) they can be imprisoned for up to six months, given a fine, or both. Source: The Crown Prosecution Service Advertisement

Mr Usher said: 'In an exchange of messages in the aftermath, she referred him to the injury he had caused her. It was that incident which finally led her to break off the relationship and report him to the police.

'As she was giving her statement to the officer, the officer noticed she was trembling and shaking and she explained his conduct left her anxious and afraid.

'During that interview she showed the officer the text messages supporting the account she was giving. After she had gone to the police, he continued to bombard her with text messages and emails and was eventually arrested and interviewed.

'He denied assaulting his wife, commenting that she gave as good as she got.

'He did express regret over the messages and said the multiple messages did amount to a campaign of harassment against her.'

In mitigation, defence lawyer Nicholas Flanagan said that Walker had accepted the 'culpability, distress and harm he caused to his partner'.

Walker 'understands he has caused some real and genuine distress and concern' for Deborah, and 'recognises his behaviour is wrong', the court heard.
We represent every aspect of the United States in Illinois, he said. And I think it is appropriate for us to put ourselves forward as the first in the nation. If you can win in a state like Illinois with so many different regions, so may different types of people, from all over the state, if you can win in a state like this, then, youre worthy of being the nominee of your party.
BRIDGEPORT  As expected, the Showcase Cinemas in the Black Rock section of town has shown its last movies.

The 26-year-old destination for film buffs shut its doors in late January and, if all goes as planned, will make way for a new, market-rate apartment complex.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Friday (February 7) hear Centre's appeal challenging the Delhi High Court verdict dismissing its plea against stay on the execution of the four death row convicts in the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case. The matter will come up for hearing before the 3-judge bench, comprising Justices R Bhanumathi, Ashok Bhushan and AS Bopanna, around 12.30 PM.

On behalf of the Centre, Additional Solicitor General KM Natraj had moved the top court seeking an urgent hearing on its appeal challenging the Delhi High Court verdict which held on Wednesday that the Nirbhaya death row convicts have to be executed together and not separately.

The Centre told the top court that Tihar Jail authorities are unable to execute the convicts in the case despite the fact that their review petitions have been dismissed and curative petitions and mercy pleas of three of them have been rejected.

The high court had set a week's deadline for them to avail the remaining remedies. If the convicts choose not to make any type of petition in seven days from now, the institutions/ authorities concerned will deal with the matter, as per the law, without further delay, it said.

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Meanwhile, a trial court on Thursday sought the response of the four convicts on the plea of Tihar jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants against them.

The trial court had on January 31 stayed "till further orders" execution of the four convicts in the case -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

Later, the Centre moved the High Court against the stay of the execution of the convicts. Hours after the high court's verdict, the Centre filed an appeal against it in the apex court.

(With Agency Inputs)
Representative image

Confirmed deaths due to the novel Coronavirus (nCov) on mainland China has touched 636, with total confirmed cases over 31,000, health officials said on February 7.

Deaths recorded on February 6 were 73, of which Hubei province (where Wuhan is situated) alone reported 69 deaths. Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one death each, China's National Health Commission said.

Among the deceased in Wuhan was Dr Li Wenliang (34), one of the eight whistleblowers who raised alarm about the disease. Li was the first to publicly report about the infections in Wuhan in December 2019.

Another 3,143 new infections were also reported on February 6, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 31,161. As many as 31 provincial regions have reported positive for nCov cases, the commission said.

Among the confirmed cases, 19 are foreign nationals living in China, it added but did not disclose their nationalities.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

It also said that 1,540 patients were discharged after recovery till February 6, highlighting the number of people cured. The country has also opened a new 1,500-bed makeshift hospital especially built for coronavirus patients, days after a 1,000-bed hospital started functioning with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms in Wuhan.

Chinese officials argue that the death toll and confirmed cases are rising in Hubei province because of lack of enough hospitals and beds. Officials also started setting up tent hospitals and mobile clinics to treat the growing number of patients.

Also Read: Tencent might have leaked real figures on Coronavirus deaths and infections

China also lodged diplomatic protests to countries over the cancellation of flights to China due to virus fears. A spokesperson said: "As some countries have taken such excessive steps as suspending flights, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) has also issued bulletins and encouraged all countries to follow WHO recommendations."

"We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO's professional recommendations and ICAO's bulletins and have lodged stern representations with them," she said.

Several international airlines, including Indian carriers Air India and IndiGo, cancelled flights to China over fears of the virus spreading across the world, a move which Beijing described as being against WHO guidelines.

India is also among several countries, including the US, who have announced travel bans to China.

Japanese Health Minister Katsunobu Kato on February 7 said more than 41 people on-board the cruise ship docked at Yokohama tested positive for coronavirus.

The jump in infected passengers on the cruise liner comes as the vessel was under a two-week quarantine with about 3,700 people in it. The new cases were out of the 171 remaining test results, Kato told reporters.

The rise in the number of infections shifts the mood for thousands of passengers stuck in the cruise who were allowed to breathe air on open decks on February 6.

Kato said that the new patients would be transported to hospitals in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.

Live TV footage shows blue and white hoardings put up in the vessel where passengers diagnosed with the virus are moved out to medical facilities. The new cases take the total number of coronavirus infections in Japan to more than 80.
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Afzal Miahm 33, sent threatening messages to his victims throughout his trial

A 'cunning and sinister' stalker who fled to Northern Ireland where stalking laws do not apply and sent threatening messages to his victims during his trial has been jailed for six years.

Afzal Miah tormented his targets, including a headteacher, a criminal barrister and NHS staff by bombarding them with intimidating voicemails and emails which included death threats.

'Resentful' Miah, 33, who frequently diverted police away from actual crimes by making fake reports about his 'bullies', trying to get them sacked and arrested, was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London yesterday.

The stalker was also handed a ten-year restraining order. Miah was convicted of seven counts of stalking and one count of breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO) and a restraining order in December, the Metropolitan Police said.

Miah was handed a restraining order in 2015 after posting soiled toilet paper to his neighbours in Enfield, North London, according to the Evening Standard.

Having been booked into Forest Gate police station (above) in East London, he was charged with seven counts of stalking and one count of breaching a criminal behaviour order

The 'dangerous individual', who made the bogus reports against his perceived enemies in the London borough in summer 2018, later fled to Belfast to escape the jurisdiction of his CBO but was tracked down and extradited, the Met said.

There are no stalking offences in Northern Ireland, just harassment offences.

Upon flying back to London from Belfast, Miah fought with Met officers, one of whom he assaulted.

Having been successfully returned to London and booked into Forest Gate police station, he was charged with stalking and breaching the CBO.

Investigating officer Sergeant Jonathan Brandman said: 'Afzal Miah is an incredibly cunning and sinister individual who has taken great pleasure in making his victims feel vulnerable and frightened.

'The fact that he fled to Northern Ireland to escape his CBO, and knew that there is no such offence, shows how dangerous this individual is.'

In court for another incident, Miah also submitted forged police and prosecution documents to the judge in an attempt to dupe the court into handing him a less severe sentence, the force added.

Detective Constable David Tate, from Scotland Yard's stalking threat assessment centre, said: 'Miah is what we would call a 'resentful' stalker - someone who feels as though they have been mistreated or that they are the victim of some form of injustice or humiliation and they want to exact revenge or 'even the score'.

'In Miah's own head, he believed that the systems had failed him and he became fixated on the 'disservice' he thinks that he received from some of his victims.'

Some of his victims were known to him and had helped him in the past, while others had no affiliation with him, Mr Tate added.
China's anti-graft watchdog on Friday launched a probe into the death of a whistle blower doctor who was reprimanded by police for spreading "rumours" about the coronavirus outbreak in China that has claimed over 630 lives, amid an outpouring of global grief and anger over his demise.

China's ruling Communist Party has sent a high-level investigation team to the epidemic-hit Wuhan city in Central Hubei province to probe Li Wenliang's death on Thursday.

Li, 34, was among eight Wuhan residents who were reprimanded by local police in early January for spreading "rumours" about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the province.

The doctor died due to the very virus he desperately tried to highlight in December last year through social media and has become a national icon with millions of netizens expressing their grief and anger over the way he was treated.

His death is widely reported by the state-run media which had earlier shunned him.

A special team will head to Wuhan to investigate issues regarding Li, state-run People's Daily quoted China's top anti-corruption agency as saying on Friday.

The action has been approved by the central government and the team will have a comprehensive investigation into matters related to the deceased doctor, China's National Supervisory Commission said in a statement.

Li's death has been mourned by the National Health Commission.

The police reaction in stifling his warning of coronavirus which now has become a national and international disaster has evoked public resentment.

As of Thursday, 636 people have died due to the virus outbreak with the total number of confirmed cases jumping to 3,143, Chinese officials announced on Friday.

"After emergency treatment, Li Wenliang passed away. We deeply regret and mourn Li's death," the Central Hospital of Wuhan announced on Thursday.

The doctor's death triggered an outpouring of millions of comments on China's social media sites as well as concerns from the international community.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on 2019nCoV," the World Health Organization (WHO) tweeted.

According to his post on Weibo on December 30, Li, an ophthalmologist at the Central Hospital of Wuhan, warned in the online chat group WeChat that he had seen a report that showed positive test results of SARS for seven patients.

On January 3, Li and the seven others were summoned by Wuhan police for "spreading fake information on the internet", state-run China Daily reported.

They were reprimanded but not fined or detained, it quoted police as saying. Li continued his normal work at the Wuhan hospital until January 10 when he came down with cough and fever, symptoms of the coronavirus.

"I was finally confirmed as being infected by the novel coronavirus," Li wrote on February 1 on Weibo, adding a dog emoji.

The post got more than 1.6 million thumbs-ups and over 400,000 netizens expressed their best wishes for him.

On Thursday evening, several Weibo posts said Li had died from the novel coronavirus and the updates went viral on social media, sparking immense sorrow and outrage among netizens.

Significantly, during midnight the Central Hospital of Wuhan denied Li had died, saying he was critical and under emergency treatment.

The post soon attracted millions of netizens to pray for the doctor.

"I won't sleep tonight!!! Wait for a miracle online!" said one comment that received 350,000 thumbs-up.

Comments that received tens of thousands of thumbs-up included: "Please! Save him!" and "I am waiting for a miracle for medicine, for emergency treatment and for a hero!"



A top epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) told state-run Global Times that "we should highly praise the eight Wuhan residents".

"They were wise before the outbreak," Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the CCDC, said, adding that any judgment, though, needs to be backed by scientific evidence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[February 06, 2020] Getronics Receives New Capital to Position for Future Growth LONDON, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Getronics (the "Company"), the global IT services group, has recently received further financial backing from its lenders to invest in transformation initiatives to drive long-term growth. In connection with this announcement, Rogier Bronsgeest (COO of Getronics) and Hugo Eales will be co-leading the international business under the Getronics brand. Their focus will be on transforming the business while ensuring a continued commitment to employees, customers, and suppliers. Rogier will continue to serve in his role as Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for managing the excellent service Getronics provides to its customers and ensuring they are at the forefront of this change. Hugo, former CFO of COLT Technology Services, has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. As previously announced, the North American business of Getronics will be relaunched under its legacy brand, Pomeroy. The North American and international businesses will continue to collaborate to serve clients globally. Rogier comented, "We are committed to operating our business with our usual high standards and continuing productive relationships with all of our customers and business partners during this period of transition at Getronics. I would like to thank our outstanding team for their dedication to providing our customers with essential capabilities and unmatched user experiences to succeed in the dynamic digital business environment. We look forward to emerging as a stronger company, better positioned for the future." "With the support of our stakeholders, we are taking proactive steps forward to improve our capital structure while continuing to provide our customers the differentiated services and solutions they expect from Getronics," said Hugo. "Getronics has a strong underlying business and the new investment will provide the financial flexibility to unlock value for all Getronics stakeholders. It reflects our stakeholders' confidence in our business and our team as we continue to execute our transformation strategy to improve cost management, drive revenue growth and enhance Getronics' global competitive position." About Getronics Getronics is a global ICT integrator with an extensive history that extends over 130 years. Our vision is to become the preferred partner in business transformation using technology and exceptional people, with a unique focus on happy clients by enabling happy employees. With nearly over 7,000 employees in 23 countries across Europe, Asia Pacific, North and Latin America, Getronics' Transformation portfolio brings a strong capability and expertise around managed workspace, applications, industry specific software solutions, multi-cloud management, unified communications and security services to provide a proactive, end-to-end portfolio to enable the digital user  business or consumer, in both public and private sector. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/getronics-receives-new-capital-to-position-for-future-growth-301000556.html SOURCE Getronics

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Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang speaks at the regular press conference on February 6 (Photo: VNA)

Talking to reporters at the ministrys regular press conference on February 6, Hang noted the Vietnamese Government and people have provided some humanitarian aid for China, including supporting the Chinese Government and people with goods and medical equipment worth 500,000 USD.

The Vietnam Red Cross Society and some border provinces of the country have also offered suitable forms of support for Chinese citizens, she said, adding that with the aim of preventing, containing and controlling the epidemic, Vietnam will keep working closely with China.

The spokeswoman said Vietnam has been keeping a close watch on the disease situation, and it highly values efforts by leaders, local administrations and people of China in the disease prevention and control.

Vietnams authorised agencies and representative bodies in China have always coordinated closely with China in exchanging information and supporting the Vietnamese who are living, working and travelling in China.

Vietnam hopes that thanks to joint efforts by the international community, the epidemic in China and other countries will be put under control soon, Hang noted.

Regarding the nCoV-infected Vietnamese in China, she said the Vietnamese Embassy in China has liaised with local authorities to ask for active care for the patient, who is receiving treatment at a hospital in Jiangxi province.

Meanwhile, the embassy has received repatriation requests from 29 Vietnamese in Chinas Hubei province, the centre of the nCoV outbreak. The Foreign Ministry is coordinating closely with relevant ministries and sectors to bring Vietnamese in nCoV-affected areas home, according to the spokeswoman.

She said as this is a serious problem related to public health, the Vietnamese Government has set up a national steering committee for the disease prevention and control. It has also taken a number of drastic and appropriate countermeasures against the epidemic with a view to curbing the spread of the disease and controlling it in Vietnam.

Vietnam is ready to cooperate with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the international community to share its information and experience in preventing and containing the disease, Hang noted, adding that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh sent a letter to ASEAN countries to ask for the establishment of a ministerial-level joint working group to enhance cooperation in the nCoV combat.

Besides, the Foreign Ministry has asked diplomatic representative agencies abroad, especially in China, to stay updated with the epidemics developments, Vietnamese citizens situation and aspirations, local authorities responses. It has also publicised the hotlines of Vietnams diplomatic representative bodies in China and is ready to take measures to support and protect citizens when necessary, the spokeswoman added.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), has asked government to secure at least a 40 per cent projected revenue in the Stabilisation Fund.

It says it will enable the country avoid the impact of revenue shortfalls from the oil and gas sector often due to price volatility on the international market.

According to a report on petroleum funds published by the Bank of Ghana, Corporate taxes due the government from oil producing companies, dropped by 42 per cent for the second half of 2019, compared to the first half of the same year.

The report also states that the country recorded 51 million dollars less in corporate taxes between July and December, as compared to January and June last year.

Although the Executive Director of ACEP, Benjamin Boakye said oil prices were bound to suffer from some volatility, he maintained that it would be in governments interest to secure a constant 40 per cent projected revenue in the Stabilisation Fund to mitigate the effects.

Our recommendation has been that at least we should have about 40 per cent of the projected revenue in the stabilisation account. That should be enough to offset any instability in the international market, he said.

Tullow Oil for instance did not make any payment in Corporate Tax for the period under review per a study report.

In ACEPs view, government could rake in more revenue aside from royalties and carried or participating interest from various oil companies.

In the petroleum industry, the volatility isnt new. The remedy in the petroleum management act was to ensure that we have enough buffer in the stabilisation account. For the projections it is easy to do; but whether you are able to produce is the main question or whether the market will give you the right price that allows you to meet your projections; that is not really in your hands. Its not something to really worry about but the plans to mitigate them to ensure that they are duly in place are what we should worry about Mr. Boakye explained.

Mr. Boakye was speaking to Citi Business News on the sidelines of the launch of a report on Disability Interventions in Ghana.

The comprehensive report offered information on the current status of disability interventions across the country, laid out areas of improvement as well as areas that need dedicated attention and prioritised funding.

---Ghanaian Times
Last month The Intercept's Glenn Greenwald faced criminal charges for breaking cybersecurity laws in Brazil. Now a judge has dismissed the hacking charges, linked to six people who allegedly stole information from the phones of public officials and judges. His outlet published excerpts of a group chat allegedly showing coordination between the judge and prosecutors working on a corruption investigation.

The Intercept reports that the judge's dismissal is "for now," with an indication that if a previous injunction by a Supreme Court minister blocking investigation of the journalist were overturned, charges could be refiled. As it stands, the other six people will still face charges of alleged hacking to obtain the messages. In a statement, Greenwald said, "this ruling, while good, is insufficient as a protection of core press freedom. We will continue reporting and will also go to the Supreme Court for an even stronger ruling."
critic's rating: 3.0/5

Trailer : Shikara

Shikara is director Vidhu Vinod Chopras love letter to the memory of Kashmir as it once was. His films have a timelessness about them. They are beautifully shot, flow at their own pace and try to tell genuine stories. He has gone back to Kashmir with this one and talks about the plight of thousands of refugees because of the rise in militancy in Kashmir. Theres no blame-game here. Its basically a dirge about Kashmiriyat. A lament about a way of life lost forever. Leaving aside the larger issues, its also an old-fashioned romance between a married couple which is alive through years of hardship and doesnt get brittle with age.Shiv (Aadil Khan) and Shanti (Sadia) are brought close together thanks to a films shooting in the valley. The director wants an authentic Kashmiri couple in the background. They volunteer, start conversing and bored by the various retakes they run away. Hes a budding poet and shes a nurse at the local hospital. Soon, they marry and even built a house of their own. Everything looks peachy when the black cloud of militancy descends on Kashmir. Slowly, the atmosphere worsens and they are forced to flee to Jammu and live in a refugee camp for the next 30 years, keeping the dream of going back to their old home one day alive in their eyes.The director has tried to convey the horror through the lead couples reaction to whats happening around them. They look forever depressed and look to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder initially but later come to terms with their reality. There is a brilliant scene later in the film which shows how the refugees are forgetting their way of life. Shiv and Shanti go to a wedding, which is totally unlike their own ceremony years ago. The garish clothes, the blaring of songs from the loudspeaker and the excessive lights get to them. Another scene has them mourning the death of a dear friend who turned militant. There is no anger in their grief, they are only mourning for innocence lost.The film focuses more on the lead couple than the problems of the refugees in general. Though a mass exodus is shown, the hurdles this huge group of people must have faced are all but glanced over. Its as if the director doesnt want to go there. This reluctance steals the film of some of its gravitas. We were expecting the second half to be about the struggles faced by these homeless people while rebuilding their lives but it was not to be. And we cant understand the lead characters strange obsession of writing letters to successive American presidents. What will that achieve? The scene involving a calf being rescued from a truck is open to too many interpretations in todays context. Thankfully, the film is neither jingoistic nor communal.Kudos to cinematographer Rangarajan Ramabadran for capturing the picture-postcard beauty of Kashmir. Songs, composed by Sandesh Shandilya and Abhay Sopori and written by Irshad Kamil are evocative and tell a story and arent just fillings. The lead pair, Aadil Khan and Sadia, impress with their natural ease in front of the camera. They do convey the feeling of a couple growing old together, their inner world unaffected by outer turmoil as it is sustained by love. In Sadia, another pan-Indian face like Vidya Balans has been discovered. Both have begun their careers choosing an off-beat subject and hope they continue on the right trajectory in future...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 14:38 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206326cc4 1 Tips travel,destination,Tourist,rule,Europe Free

When traveling, the last thing you want to do is make a mistake that could upset the locals or potentially land you in trouble.

When visiting Europe, many dont realize the efforts put into preserving the continents highlights. For those wanting to see what the continent has to offer, keep in mind these rules as outlined by Readers Digest.

Dont sit on the steps in Rome

In 2019 new tourist laws were introduced in Rome making it illegal to sit on the iconic Spanish Steps in order to preserve the citys ancient elements. This law also applies to other historic stairways in the city, while you can walk up and down them, you cant sit and if you do you can be fined up to US$442.

Heels are not for touring Athens

While Romes laws may seem extreme, its not the only city out to preserve ancient architecture. In Greece its illegal to wear high heels when touring Athens biggest attractions such as the Parthenon and the Acropolis.

Venices lagoons are not public pools

If youre feeling the summer heat in Venice, jumping in their famous canals and lagoons is not a good option to cool off -- in fact its illegal.

Dont jump into Romes fountains

A similar rule also applies in Romes Trevi Fountain and every other fountain in Italy, with one tourist being fined for only putting her feet in the water.

The Blue Grotto is not for swimming in

When it comes to keeping people out of the water, Rome is serious. While the Blue Grotto is a beautiful attraction, its merely for looking at and not touching. Learn from Heidi Klum, who was recently fined over $6,000 for taking a dip in the pristine waters.

Dont eat messy food on the run

Most people would love nothing more than to wander around on a hot summers day with a cone full of gelato in their hands. While you can still eat messy food in parks and in suburban streets, its illegal to do so in historic locations throughout Rome, Florence and Venice in Italy.

A bathing suit isnt acceptable streetwear

While walking around the street in your bathing suit may be acceptable in some countries, it isnt in both Barcelona and Mallorca in Spain. After leaving the beach, patrons are expected to be fully clothed, otherwise you can be handed a fine of up to $287.

The birds are not for feeding

Although bird feeding seems like a bit of fun for some, San Marco Square in Venice, Italy and Vienna have banned pigeon feeding in an attempt to deter the pesky birds.

Dont be too noisy

When in Germany, Sundays and holidays are considered days of rest, with the countrys laws making it illegal to be too noisy. A similar rule applies in Venice with new laws restricting people from making too much noise at night or during 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Dont drink straight from Romes drinking fountains

Formally known as the nasoni, Romes historic public drinking fountains are not to be touched by your mouth. Instead, its advised travelers in need of a refreshment cup their hands under the spout and drink the water that way. (mad/kes)

Topics : travel destination Tourist rule Europe
Labour hopeful Rebecca Long-Bailey pledged tonight to back workers and trade unions in every strike and dispute 'no questions asked' if she becomes leader.

The shadow business secretary said that the party's path back to power after its worst general election defeat since 1935 is by 'rebuilding' the trade union movement.

She told a rally in Sheffield that the next leader must be 'as comfortable on the picket line as at the dispatch box' and commit to giving workers a 'right to unplug' from emails and calls outside of work hours.

'As leader, I'll put trade unions at the heart of Labour's path to power, and back workers in every dispute,' she told the crowd.

The shadow business secretary (pictured on Sunday) said that the party's path back to power after its worst general election defeat since 1935 is by 'rebuilding' the trade union movement

Commuters wait for overground trains at Waterloo Station as London Underground services are severely disrupted due to a RMT and TSSA unions' strike

She said that Labour would 'back workers in every dispute and strike against unfair, exploitative and unjust employers' under her leadership.

And added that 'standing on the side of workers and trade unions, no questions asked, is going to be crucial in standing up to this reactionary Conservative Government.'

Labour would not return to 'condemning' striking teachers or firefighters or to treat trade unions as 'embarrassing relatives', she said.

Her party's catastrophic defeat under Jeremy Corbyn handed Boris Johnson's Tories seats in traditional Labour heartlands.

Sir Keir Starmer cancels campaign events this weekend due to the ill health of mother-in-law Labour leadership contender Sir Keir Starmer has cancelled his campaign events this weekend due to the ill health of his mother-in-law. A spokesperson for the early front-runner in the battle to succeed Jeremy Corbyn said: 'Since being admitted to hospital two weeks ago, Keir's mother-in-law remains in a critical condition in intensive care. 'For this reason, he will be cancelling all campaign events this weekend and will be unable to attend hustings. We ask that his family's privacy is respected at this time.' Sir Keir was due to take part in hustings events on Saturday and Sunday. Advertisement

The Salford and Eccles MP argued: 'The Labour Party is the parliamentary wing of the whole labour and trade union movement, and our path to power is in rebuilding it.'

She plans to commission a trade union recruitment plan in the historic heartlands to win back support and to do more to 'sweep away' anti trade-union laws.

Her comments come after she this morning said workers should be given the legal right to switch off their mobile phones outside office hours.

She said employees should be able to refuse to be contacted outside working hours, adding that it would be part of a drive to 'end the 24/7 working culture that affects our mental health'.

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Ms Long-Bailey highlighted that France had a 'right to disconnect', so companies with more than 50 workers must have systems in place so workers can be out of contact.

She said: 'France has introduced laws that allows workers to switch off so they cannot be contacted outside working hours...

'These are simple things that I think can be added to our portfolio of policies.'

The Salford and Eccles MP is one of the frontrunners to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's worst general election result since 1935

Although she is seen as the current leadership's favoured candidate, it appears she is facing an uphill battle to convince the membership to vote for her.

Polls have regularly been suggesting that shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer is likely to come out on top in the ballot of members and supporters for the four-candidate race.

An Ipsos Mori study released on Thursday put Ms Long-Bailey in last place when 1,001 voters were asked if she has what it takes to be a prime minister.

She also trailed in last place - with Sir Keir on top, Lisa Nandy second and Emily Thornberry third - when Labour supporters were asked the same question.

One policy she hopes will be popular with the wider public is a law to give workers the right not to be contacted outside of normal working hours in order to end the '24/7 work culture'.

While her campaign team gave few details, a 'right to disconnect' in France obliges organisations with more than 50 workers to define employees' rights to ignore their mobiles.

Mr Corbyn's successor will be announced on April 4.
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Country Living

The retail apocalypse shows no sign of slowing down: Over the next three years, Macys will close 125 department stores, a fifth of its locations. Right now, 30 of those stores are in the process of closing. To further downsize, the retailer is cutting 2,000 corporate and support positions. Its also consolidating its headquarters to New York City, closing its San Francisco and downtown Ohio offices.

With offerings across home products, fashion, and accessories, Macys was once a cornerstone in malls across the country. But the department store has been steadily closing stores for some time. We will focus our resources on the healthy parts of our business, directly address the unhealthy parts of the business and explore new revenue streams, chairman and chief executive officer of Macys Jeff Gennette said in a statement.

To compete with online giants like Amazon, Macys plans on accelerating digital business, which generates about $6 billion in sales per year. The retailer is also testing a new store format called Market by Macys. The new stores will be smaller than typical Macys department stores, and they wont be located in malls. Instead, theyll be in shopping centers. More connected to their surrounding neighborhood, theyll feature curated Macys merchandise, local goods, local food, and a community events calendar. The first Market by Macys will open tomorrow in Dallas.

We are taking the organization through significant structural change to lower costs, bring teams closer together and reduce duplicative work, Gennette said. This will be a tough week for our team as we say goodbye to great colleagues and good friends.



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In this early year 2020, the TNI (Indonesian army) has just received several vehicles of three different types: Pandur II Cobra Armored Fighting Vehicles, M3 Amphibious Bridge and Ferry systems, and CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzers.



Pandur II - Cobra unloaded in Jakarta (Picture source: Twitter account/Putut Reza)

Pandur II, or Cobra

On April 12, 2019, the Indonesian Ministry of Defense issued PT Pindad a contract worth $ 80 million for the production of the first 22 Pandur II series 8x8 infantry fighting vehicles that received the Indonesian designation Cobra. The vehicles had to be delivered to the Indonesian army within three years and will reportedly be equipped with the Israeli remote-controlled uninhabited combat module Elbit Systems U30 Mk II, which Ares (Elbit Systems Brazilian) will supply with a Northrop Grumman Bushmaster Mk.44 30mm automatic gun and two 7.62mm machine guns.

Four Pandur II vehicles were received by PT Pindad in 2017 from the Czechoslovak company Excalibur Army, which is part of the Excalibur Group (now called Czechoslovak Group, GSG). Excalibur, in 2015, acquired the license to manufacture the Pandur II armored vehicles from GDELS.

Initially, the Pandur II family in the 6x6 and 8x8 configurations was developed by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug, now part of the European division of General Dynamics Corporation as General Dynamics European Land Systems - Steyr (GDELS-Steyr). It was a further development of the previously produced  and very popular - Steyr-Daimler-Puch 6x6 armored personnel carrier.



GDLS M3 Amphibious Bridge and Ferry system (Picture source: Twitter account/Putut Reza)

GDLS M3 Amphibious Bridge and Ferry System

In February 2017, General Dynamics European Land Systems announced that it had signed a contract for the production and delivery of the latest variant of its M3 Amphibious Bridge and Ferry System for a customer in Southeast Asia, without naming it, nor the number of systems purchased. It appears now that it was Indonesia. The deliveries would include an ILS package consisting of a simulator system, training, special tools and manuals. NATO and non-NATO nations use the M3 in different roles, from combat operations to civil defense missions. M3Amphibious Bridge and Ferry System can carry payloads of up to MLC85 tracked vehicles and MLC 132 wheeled vehicles, and can build a 100m (330 ft) floating bridge in less than 10 minutes.

On Feb.4, 2020, four M3s were seen unloaded in Jakarta.



Nexter CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer displayed at IndoDefense 2018 in Jakarta (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Nexter CAESAR

On 31st of January, 12 Nexter CAESAR 155mm self-propelled guns were unloaded in Jakarta, along with simulators and auxiliary vehicles.

In November 2012, Nexter Systems signed a contract with Indonesia for the purchase of 37 CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzers, 36 of which would equip two artillery regiments, battalions of three batteries each (6 units per battery) and one for training. The last one was for training purposes. The cost was  115 million. Nexter Systems would give the company PT Pindad technologies to provide the service of artillery systems in Indonesia.

The use of the CAESAR by the TNI (Indonesian army) proved to be so satisfactory that a second purchase contract amounting to  60Mn for 18 additional CAESARs was announced during the Idex 2017 defense exhibition. This contract included 50 auxiliary vehicles to be assembled in Indonesia by PT Pindad.

Notice that, in March 2019, a CAESAR was seen in Shah Alam, Malaysia, for mobility and firing trials. The 6x6 truck-mounted gun was seen traveling on a road near Kemaman, with at least one picture posted on social media.
Basking sharks which were sampled off the west Kerry coast in early spring have proved to be genetically different to all other such sharks tested in the north-east Atlantic, according to a study.

The study on the migration routes of basking sharks also shows that the animals prefer to swim en famille to known feeding locations.

Researchers from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) participated in one of the most comprehensive studies of the genetics of one of the worlds largest fish. The project findings, led by the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, were published this week in the journal, Scientific Reports.

Hunted off the south Irish coast by Norwegians until the 1980s, and off the west coast for the Achill fishery in the 1950s and 1960s, the basking shark is known among coastal communities as the sunfish due to its preference for swimming just below the surface. It is also known as liop an da (unwieldy beast with two fins) or more generally liabhan mor, denoting a great leviathan.

It is protected in some waters, and was recently classified on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list for endangered species The plankton-eating fish is distinctive for its open mouth. It has been estimated that a 7m shark, cruising wide-mouthed at a speed of two knots, will filter 1,484 cubic metres of sea-water per hour. Basking sharks can grow to more than 10m, can dive to depths of more than 1km, and feed on plankton in areas of the northeast Atlantic including the west coast of Scotland, Ireland, and the Isle of Man.

The researchers note that, up until recently, very little was known about their biology, as they only appear briefly at the sea surface each spring before vanishing into the ocean depths.

Through establishing a register of genetic profiles with regular swabbing, the researchers were able to identify individual basking sharks when they arrived to feed. The results revealed that the fish repeatedly returned to the same feeding sites in successive years.

Fieldwork off Donegal by GMITs Simon Berrow and Emmet Johnston of the Irish Basking Shark Study Group led to a breakthrough in sampling, by collecting skin mucus samples in large groups of sharks  quickly, and with minimum disturbance.

The researchers say that one of the most surprising findings among the cosmopolitan filter feeders is that basking sharks sampled off Ireland in spring were genetically distinct from other north-east Atlantic fish, including those sampled later in the year off Co Donegal.
The campaign for Togos 22 February presidential election begins on Thursday and will run for two weeks, according to a schedule issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

The significance of the February 22 vote is that it will be the first presidential polls after constitutional changes induced by anti-government protests which started three years ago.

Togos incumbent Faure Gnassingbe will be contesting for the first of two constitutionally mandated five-year terms. Previously, the law allowed a candidate to run for as long as he wanted.

That changed with the amendments that followed protests in 2017 and 2018.

The election body cleared ten candidates but two were kicked out by the Constitutional Court.

Gnassingbe is expected to face a challenge to his re-election from candidates like Jean-Pierre Fabre, 68 who is president of National Alliance for Change (ANC).

Fabre was the closest rival to Gnassingbe in the previous election in 2015. The election was contested in court.

Another contender who is expected to give a good race to Mr Gnassingbe, aged 54, is Dr. Agbeyome Kodjo, 66, Head of the Patriotic Movement for Democracy and Development (MPDD), the candidate of a coalition of parties proposed by Bishop Philippe Fanoko Kpodzro, an 89-year old critic of the Gnassingbe regime.

The rest of the candidates are: Professor Tchaboure Gogue, 73, Alliance of Democrats for Integral Development (ADDI), Dr Georges William Kuessan, 53, Peoples Health Party, Mr Mohamed Tchassona Traore, 60, Citizen Movement for Democracy and Development (MCDF) and, Professor Komi Wolou, 56, Socialist Pact for Renewal (PSR).
A California judge has refused to dismiss the sex assault case against TV surgeon Dr Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley.

Robicheaux, 39, and Riley, 32, had been accused of 'hundreds' of sex assaults but DA Todd Spitzer announced his intention to have the case dismissed on Tuesday after declaring he had found no evidence of sex crimes.

But in a sensational new twist, Judge Gregory Jones declined to throw out the case after hearing statements from two of the alleged victims.

Instead, he told court he would take the decision under submission and asked attorneys for all parties to prepare final arguments to be handed to him.

The couple reacted with horror when Judge Jones postponed the dismissal, with Robicheaux looking on stony-faced and Riley bursting into tears.

Judge Gregory Jones refused to drop the sex assault case against TV surgeon Dr Grant Robicheaux and his girlfriend Cerissa Riley Friday. The pair are pictured leaving court Friday

The judge made the decision after hearing statements from two alleged victims

Robicheaux and Riley faced rape charges for allegedly drugging and assaulting seven women

The pair in their 2018 mug shots. They had been facing life in prison before the charges were dropped

Speaking outside court, Robicheaux's lawyer Phil Cohen described the ruling as 'surprising' and said: 'My heart goes out to Grant and Cerissa. This is like waking up on Christmas morning and finding there are no presents.

'They will now have to get through this all over again.'

He declared that despite the setback, he is confident the case will he dismissed at the next hearing and expected Judge Jones to come to the same conclusion when he reviews the evidence.

On Friday morning, prior to the hearing, the couple gave an interview to GMA in which they spoke of their 'relief' that the 'disgusting' charges were to be thrown out.

But their celebrations now have to wait, after Judge Jones delayed the dismissal pending a fresh hearing on April 3.

During Friday's hearing, DA Todd Spitzer said he had found nothing to suggest a sex crime had been committed - although he did reveal that cops had found baggies of cocaine, MDMA and date rape drug GHB in Robicheaux's home during a search.

His view was vigorously opposed by the alleged victims, two of whom had powerful impact statements read out in court.

One alleged victim insisted that she still believed herself to have been sexually assaulted and was left 'distraught' by the collapse of the case while another described Robicheaux as 'a psychopath' and claimed she had been subjected to 'a campaign of harassment' by a private investigator employed by his legal team.

Neither Riley nor Robicheaux spoke as they made their way into court hand in hand but

Robicheaux left the courtroom in Newport Beach, California, while the alleged victims' statements were read out - much to the fury of their lawyers.

Meanwhile, Riley sat in silence and looked on impassively as the victims' stories were told.

During the hearing, DA Spitzer described the events of this week as 'dramatic' but insisted that his reason for wanting to dismiss the case was lack of evidence rather than misconduct by his predecessor.

He told Judge Jones that his doubts first arose during the deposition phase and said he was alarmed when former DA Tony Raucaukas told him that he viewed the case as a chance to create publicity and boost his re-election chances.

Robicheaux and Riley appeared on Good Morning America on Friday to speak of their relief at having the charges against them dropped

Robicheaux briefly appeared on a reality show, Online Dating Rituals of the American Male. He has since lost his license

Ex-DA Rackauckas, who was booted out by voters last year, had claimed investigators had found hundreds of videos of semi-conscious women on Robicheaux's phone.

He also said that other 'unidentified victims' could be out there and encouraged them to come forward.

But in court, Spitzer said that none of the allegations could be proven - despite his team of investigators combing through a tranche of evidence that included photographs, videos, text messages and transcripts of interviews with alleged victims.

Addressing Judge Jones, Spitzer said his team had reviewed four years of text messages between the couple alone, as well as hundreds of emails and thousands of messages sent on dating apps including Bumble and Tinder.

He also said that all but one of the accusers had refused a rape kit and said all admitted to drinking alcohol and taking drugs voluntarily.

Deputy District Attorney Karyn Stokke said: 'After a thorough, complete and exhaustive review, we all came to the conclusion that we cannot prove these charges beyond reasonable doubt.'

She added: 'We deeply regret putting the victims through the court process and the investigative process. In no way do we diminish the individual's experiences as they went through this process.'

Responding to the dismissal, Michael Fell, the attorney for one of the alleged victims, described the development as being 'tough' on her and said the last three years had been a 'nightmare'.

Fell read out a victim impact statement from his client, Jane Doe No.4, in which she said she is 'devastated and heartbroken' over the dismissal and described herself as 'distraught'.

She told how she had never met Robicheaux and Riley prior to October 2018 but said she had 'woken up in their home drugged one morning'.

The prosecutor who brought the case against them said in court they could have preyed on as many as 1,000 women

Former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas (left) stood by the charges on Friday morning. He has been accused by his political rival and current DA of fabricating evidence claims to bolster the case and bring publicity to his failed re-election campaign. Todd Spitzer (right), the new DA, dropped the charges this week

She added: 'I know in my heart that I was sexually assaulted.

'I have been patiently waiting for two years for the defendants to be punished. Now, I feel victimized all over again.

'I will now have to pick up the pieces of my life and move on. I am strong and will move forward from this and get my identity back. 'The defendants intended to shut me down but I will not allow anyone to control me. They may have taken the last three years of my life but they will not have my future.'

A second victim who claims she was raped by Robicheaux while a law student in 2009 described him as 'a psychopath' and apologized to other victims for not speaking up then.

In her statement, Jane Doe No.1 said: 'One of the worst days of my life was when I was raped by Grant Robicheaux.

'I was scared no one would believe me. I didn't stop him when I could and I am so terribly sorry to all the women who came after me.'

Robicheaux's lawyer Phil Cohen said in response that an allegation is not enough to prove beyond reasonable doubt and added: 'An allegation is an allegation and nothing more.'

He also protested Judge Jones' decision to delay the dismissal, telling the court that 'my clients' lives are at stake'.

The couple are also facing a civil trial over similar allegations filed by Danielle Bejac who is looking for a payout of up to $20million.

Bejac, who lives in Ohio, claims she was drugged and sexually assaulted at Robicheaux's home in October 2016.
Actor Kirk Douglas died on Wednesday at the age of 103. Best known for his roles as Spartacus and Van Gogh, the cleft-chinned movie star was a confirmed francophile, declaring people here like me more than in the United States.

Douglas made more than 70 movies in a career that stretched across seven decades. Films such as "Spartacus" and "The Vikings" made him one of the biggest box-office stars of the 1950s and '60s.

He regularly came to France but regretted that he had acted in only two French films, notably Paris brule-t-il? (Is Paris burning?) by Rene Clement.

In an interview in 1978 he confessed he dreamt of being directed by the likes of Claude Lelouch, Francois Truffaut and Claude Sautet.

They have a lot of talent. I love the way they work. It gives me the impression that it's easier. You take an idea, and work together. You don't feel obliged to do something huge to and have to earn millions to pay for it. I'd like to make a film with a good director and stay in France for eight, ten or so weeks for the shoot.

In the same interview he said he'd enjoyed working on Spartacus but also smaller films like Kubrick's Path of Glory.

We often do films to make money, it's important because everyone has to earn a living, but I think it's possible to make artistic films and also to make films for money.

Douglas spoke fluent French and began learning the language after starring in Act of Love by Anatole Litvakin, a romantic film set in Paris.

He met Anne Buydens, his future, second, wife during the making of that film and they married in 1954.

Buydens, a film publicist, was a French-speaking Belgian and reinforced Douglas's attachment to France and the French language.

Like many a Hollywood star, Douglas was drawn to France through the Cannes Film Festival.

When he arrived on the Riviera, life was beautiful, Gilles Jacob, former president of the festival, told Le Parisien. "Living in a palace free of charge, playing in the Casino, being the darling of so many women, he got a very warm welcome!"

Douglas sat on the Cannes jury twice: the first time in 1970, the second in 1980 as President. He had to choose between All that Jazz by America's Bob Foss and Kagemusha - l'ombre du Guerrier by Japan's Akira Kurosawa.

Douglas preferred Bob Fosse and got up to announce the good news on the phone. But the jury didn't agree, explained Jacob. So he left the discussion table and went to his room at the Hotel du Cap. No one saw him until Robert Favre Le Bret [the festival's general delegate at the time] suggested an ex-aequo.

In a TV interview in Cannes in 1970 he told journalist France Roche he didn't enjoy being on the jury.

I like watching the films, but suddenly I realise it's my job to judge the others and I don't enjoy that. It's difficult. I think it would be better if there weren't prizes.

He made frequent appearances on French television to talk about his Hollywood career.

In 1989 he made a memorable appearance on the top literary chat show Apostrophes with Bernard Pivot. He'd come to talk about his memoirs and the conversation turned to his role as Van Gogh in Lust for Life, for which he won a Golden Globe.

I almost lost myself in the character, he told Pivot.

He related a now-famous anecdote about actor John Wayne, star of many a western.

John Wayne told me I had to be macho. But I replied that as an actor you can play every role. John Wayne was angry.

He also revealed his fighting side. When the French advertising guru Jacques Seguela contested his iconic status, the actor cut him down to size.

Who are you to judge what makes a star?

In 1980 France awarded Kirk Douglas a Cesar d'honneur and Legion d'Honneur. It mattered to him. Three times an Oscar nominee (Champion (1949), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) Lust for Life), his only Academy Award was in 1996 when he received a lifetime Oscar.

Douglas also played a major role in breaking the Hollywood blacklist - actors, directors and writers who were shunned professionally because of links to the communist movement in the 1950s. He had always been close to the Democrats and was not afraid of hiring a blacklisted screenwriter.

He said he was more proud of that than any film he had made.

Because of my straight-talking, I was the most detested actor in Hollywood for a long time, he declared.

But he remained respected and popular in France throughout.

Speaking in Deauville film festival in 1999 he raised eyebrows by calling Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut as not even sexy!

It was also at Deauville he seduced the French once and for all: France is my second country. People here love me more than in the United States.
Azerbaijanis go to the polls this weekend to choose members of their parliament. After decades of elections plagued by media manipulation and dirty tricks, opposition activists hold out little hope of challenging the dominance of President Ilham Aliyev's party in the vote on February 9.
A plane set to fly hundreds of Australians home from coronavirus-stricken Wuhan has been delayed after Chinese officials refused permission for it to take off.

Passengers were already at Wuhan's airport when the decision was made, leaving them stranded in the epicentre of the deadly disease.

They were set to be flown to Darwin - where a second quarantine station has been set up - on Saturday morning.

So far, Australia has confirmed 15 cases of the respiratory virus, which has killed more than 630 people and infected 30,000 worldwide.

Australian officials have since rescheduled the flight for 3.15am Sydney time on Sunday morning.

Wuhan (pictured) has gone into lockdown since the outbreak began, with many residents isolated and trapped in their homes

Medical staff in Wuhan (pictured) have been overwhelmed by coronavirus patients since the outbreak began

There are already 278 Australians in quarantine on Christmas Island, but they are running out of beds amid concerns the detention centre is not well equipped.

The rescue flight was due to be the latest in a series of missions to save stranded citizens from the disease-stricken city.

Health Minister Greg Hunt had announced an abandoned workers village near Darwin would become a second coronavirus quarantine area.

The $600 million Manigurr-ma accomodation village is 30km south of Darwin at Howard Springs, and boasts a 50-seat cinema and a swimming pool.

Patients can while away their time in the library, or get some exercise at the beach volleyball court, cardio and spin room or 2,700 metre running track.

The sprawling site has 875 villas, with 3,500 ensuite bedrooms.

Qantas' first coronavirus plane (pictured) arrived on Christmas Island earlier this week after rescuing more than 100 Australians from Wuhan

Wuhan residents (pictured) are seen queuing for medical supplies at Wuhan Red Cross Hospital. Around 600 Australians were in the city at the start of the outbreak

The first Qantas 747 jet carrying more than 100 Australians left Wuhan on February 2, before landing in Western Australia on Tuesday.

Those on board were then ushered onto two smaller planes and taken to Christmas Island for 14-day quarantine period.

The flight was operated by a volunteer team of four pilots and 14 Qantas cabin crew.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said passengers underwent thorough health checks before boarding and wore surgical masks, which were changed every hour.

There was a limited food and beverage service to minimise interaction between crew and passengers and the 747 plane will be thoroughly cleaned afterwards.

Qantas staff wear protective face masks to protect themselves (pictured) at Brisbane Airport on January 31

Mr Joyce revealed the meals and drinks would be laid out on the seats before the flight departed to avoid crew interacting directly with the passengers.

'With the passengers, they're going to be given protective masks. And they're changed regularly and told how to use them,' Mr Joyce told the Today Show.

'On the aircraft, the air is actually replaced every five minutes. And the aircraft have these medical grade filters and this has 20 on board which remove 99% of all particles on the aircraft including viruses. So it's safer than public transport.'

Mr Joyce said the risky rescue operations took a 'lot of planning' and revealed the Qantas staff who volunteered would stay on the upper deck of the jet for the flight.

Symptoms of the virus (pictured) include fever, cough, sore throat and shortness of breath

China has gone into lockdown after the virus claimed more than 400 lives (pictured, students in Beijing)

Officials have sought to reassure those living near the second quarantine station in Howard Springs that they will be safe from the virus.

Australias Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said: 'It is important people living in and around Howard Springs know the novel coronavirus can only be transmitted by close contact with an infectious person and cannot be spread through the air.

'The health and safety of the Howard Springs community is of paramount importance and I am confident the security and public health measures put in place will prevent any risk to the communitys health.'

Australia now has 13 cases of the coronavirus (pictured), including four in New South Wales

Visitors flying in from mainland China are being denied entry to Australia. Pictured are passengers at Brisbane Airport on Friday, just hours before the ban came into place

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said evacuees would be not be charged $1,000 as previously announced, saying it was a mistake to say they would.

People who have been in mainland China since the start of February - excluding Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan - are now advised to self-isolate.

Australians are also being told not to travel to mainland China.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on February 1 that foreign travellers who have left or passed through China will be denied entry to Australia.

Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families, dependents, legal guardians and spouses, will be exempted from the strict measures, Mr Morrison said.

'If you've been in mainland China from the 1st of February and you're not an Australian citizen [...] do not travel to Australia at this time,' Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram said.
The Tennessee River is expected to reach moderate flood stage as it flows past Huntsville at the Whitesburg Bridge, according to TVA and the National Weather Service.

That translates into river levels being higher than at their normal summer peak and leading to flooding in the immediate areas  including Ditto Landing marina as well as the shoreline at Redstone Arsenal and on the south side of the river at Lacey's Spring.

James Everett, TVAs senior manager in the River Resource Center, said Thursday as part of TVAs river management system, more than 1 million gallons of water per second is being released at Guntersville Dam upriver from the Whitesburg Bridge.

That will cause river levels to rise downstream at Whitesburg and further west in Decatur and the Shoals, Everett said, but is necessary for TVA to maintain a balance throughout its river system.

TVA projects water rise almost 7 feet above flood stage at Whitesburg and a little more than a foot shy of reaching the "major" flood stage classification.

At Wilson Dam in Florence, the river is expected to rise more than 6 feet above flood stage but stay well below the "moderate" classification level.

Everett said the river is not expected to reach the moderate level in Decatur.

All nine TVA dams on the main channel of the Tennessee River have opened spillways to move water quickly downstream to minimize flooding, Everett said.

Rainfall has varied dramatically across north Alabama since Wednesday morning  from 3.05 inches in south Huntsville to 5.97 inches on the south side of the river near Lacey's Spring. Rainfall has also topped 5 inches near Wheeler State Park while Muscle Shoals has had 3.4 inches of rain.

Either way, it's been a lot of rain.

"We've seen about a month's worth of rainfall over the past two days," Everett said.

Indeed, the average rainfall for February in Huntsville is 4.84 inches and 4.66 in Muscle Shoals. And Huntsville saw almost 3 inches more rainfall than average in January while Muscle Shoals was almost 5 inches above average in January.

Thats leading to saturated soil that cant absorb the rainfall and the runoff leads to higher river levels, Everett said.

TVA said it will be updating water level forecasts on Facebook and Twitter as well as its website.
Litigant Mohammad Umar said the site was not a prominent place

Muslim litigants of the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case here expressed dissatisfaction over the location of the site granted for building a mosque to replace the demolished Babri Masjid, saying it is too far from the city centre.

The UP government has given the allotment letter to the Sunni Waqf board for the land in Dhannipur village in Sohawal tehsil in Ayodhya on the Lucknow highway, about 18 km from the district headquarters, state government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told reporters on Wednesday.

Speaking to PTI on Thursday, litigant Mohammad Umar said the site was not a prominent place.

The Supreme Court directed that land should be allotted at any prominent place in Ayodhya, but the allotted land is 25 kilometers away in a village and off the road, so this is not prominent place, he said.

Another litigant, Hasbullah Badshah Khan, said, The 1994 Supreme Court judgment in the Ismail Faruqi case clearly mentioned that the mosque and temple will be inside the 67-acre precinct. According to the November 2019 SC judgment, land for the mosque was to be given at an important place in Ayodhya. The plot identified is under Raunahi police station and in Sohawal tehsil, it is not even in Ayodhya.

Reacting to the allotment of the land by the Uttar Pradesh government, Zafaryab Jilani, executive member of All India Muslim Personal Law Board, said renaming a town and extending its municipal limits does not mean that the land offered is still in Ayodhya.

The Uttar Pradesh government had renamed Faizabad district as Ayodhya during Diwali celebrations last year. In all court documents part of the litigation all this while, Ayodhya was a small town, a town of Faizabad. This Ayodhya cannot be equated to the new district created by the government now, he said.

Merely renaming a town and extending its municipal limits do not mean the land offered is still in Ayodhya, Jilani said.
Attorney General William Tong has filed a motion for permanent custody of nearly 200 severely neglected animals seized from a Connecticut farm last month.

In January, the Department of Agriculture Animal Control Unit, Suffield Police and Animal Control seized 18 cattle, 137 chickens, 33 ducks and six Great Pyrenees dogs seized from a farm leased by Rachel Kornstein of Manchester.

The farm is located at 1601 Sheldon Road in Suffield, a town near the western Massachusetts border.

The animals were emaciated, severely dehydrated, and suffering from untreated wounds and infections, Tong said in a release.

Local officials were alerted to the situation by a veterinarian called to assist in the birth of a calf. The calf's mother was so malnourished she could not produce milk or move and died soon after giving birth.

The conditions at the site also included evidence of several dead and decaying chickens. All the animals showed signed of severe neglect.

The motion said one cow was found severely emaciated, with its hips, spine and rib bones exposed; creating a tent of skin several inches in height that sagged down its sides, adding the cow had been lying in its own urine and feces, unable to move under its own power.

In one poultry pen there were roughly 200 birds (chickens and ducks). Within the pen, there was no food or water of any kind for the animals, the motion said. There were four dead birds in the pen. Chickens had been feeding on one of the dead birds, indicating a lack of food.

In a motion filed Thursday in Hartford Superior Court Tong moved for permanent state custody of the animals. The motion also requests the court order Kornstein to provide daily compensation to the Department of Agriculture for the temporary care of the animals.

"No animal should ever suffer like this. The cows, chickens, ducks and dogs seized from this farm were severely malnourished, dehydrated, and suffering from multiple untreated infections. We are seeking permanent state custody of these animals to ensure they receive the proper care and attention they need and deserve, Tong said.

First Selectman Mellisa Mack said Suffield is known for its proud history as a town of farms where caring for the land and its animals is a sacred trust. I know I speak for all of our residents when I say how deeply saddened we are that this neglect happened in our community. We are tremendously grateful to the land owner, veterinarian, Suffields animal control officer and the CT Department of Agriculture who stepped in to rescue these neglected animals.
T wo young men have been rushed to hospital after a broad daylight stabbing near a busy north London Tube station.

Police and paramedics were scrambled to the scene near Highbury and Islington Tube station just after 2.30pm on Friday.

Photos from the scene show a number of emergency services vehicles in Highbury Grove as an air ambulance landed nearby.

Two men, aged 20 and 21, were found with stab injuries.

Police probe: A cordon was put in place around a bus stop / Humberto Cimmino

They have taken to hospital and their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

A police cordon was put in place around a bus stop a short distance Highbury Grove secondary school.

London stabbing: An air ambulance lands at the scene in Islington

The Met Police said there have been no arrests.

A spokesman added: We retain an open mind concerning motive.
Three days after the Iowa caucuses, the state Democratic party at last released all of the results, showing the tightest of races between Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Buttigieg held a narrow lead, claiming 26.2% in state delegate equivalents, the traditional metric by which an Iowa winner has been determined. Sanders had 26.1%.

The results followed a chaotic count marred by technical issues, and an official winner has not been declared. Sanders, however, held a lead in the popular vote, and he claimed victory earlier in the day, noting that he had an advantage of roughly 6,000 votes in the first round of the caucuses and about 2,500 in the second round.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) finished third, with 18% of state delegate equivalents. Former vice president Joe Biden earned 15.8%, a disappointing fourth-place finish that he described as a gut punch.

And Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.) has 12.3% in state delegate equivalents.

All of the candidates have vowed to continue on in New Hampshire, where all are campaigning.

The final release of results late Thursday capped off Iowas first-in-the-nation nominating process  one that started off smoothly Monday, by most accounts, then devolved into chaos and uncertainty as precinct captains reported problems with transmitting data to the state party using a new app. When the app failed, many tried calling in their precincts numbers over a party hotline, only to encounter hold times of more than an hour in some cases.

As Monday stretched into the wee hours of Tuesday morning  and with most candidates jetting off to New Hampshire, the next nominating state  there were still no official results available.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the state party released an initial batch of results, to the dismay of candidates such as Biden and Warren, who said the party should have waited until all the results were available before publicizing them. Buttigieg, meanwhile, had already declared his campaign victorious the night before, ahead of leaving Iowa for New Hampshire.

Three days later, at his New Hampshire headquarters in Manchester, Sanders would also declare victory, citing popular vote numbers with 97% of the Iowa results reported.

"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said early Thursday afternoon. "When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."

Sanders diminished the importance of the state delegate equivalents, saying they were "meaningless" because he and Buttigieg were both likely to receive the same number of national delegates.

"Those national delegates, not the state delegates, are the ones that really matter in the nominating process," Sanders said.

Sanders's speech came less than an hour after Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called for a recanvass of the results from the Iowa caucuses.

Though Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, had promised that forthcoming results would be accurate, another batch released Wednesday afternoon was quickly recalled after people pointed out errors - including one that had given former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick a sudden boost in state delegate equivalents. Patrick, who waited until November to enter the race, had largely skipped campaigning in Iowa.

"There will be a minor correction to the last batch of results and we will be pushing an update momentarily," the state party tweeted Wednesday.

State delegate equivalent figures show how support from caucus-goers roughly translates into the number of delegates each candidate will get at the state convention. Those then translate into how many of Iowa's 41 pledged national delegates (out of 3,979 nationwide) each candidate will get.

Biden on Wednesday said the results were disheartening.

"I am not going to sugarcoat it," he told a standing-room-only crowd at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. "We took a gut punch in Iowa. The whole process took a gut punch. But look, this isn't the first time in my life I've been knocked down."

Buttigieg called the early results "the single best piece of news" his campaign has received.

This is definitely a victory for this campaign, he told CNN on Tuesday, shortly after the early results were released. I know we got some more math coming in, but any way you cut it ... weve been able to do something extraordinary.

Sanders's campaign expressed more caution Tuesday but was quick to highlight the candidate's popular-vote edge.

"We want to thank the people of Iowa. We are gratified that in the partial data released so far, it's clear that in the first and second round more people voted for Bernie than any other candidate in the field," Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said in a statement regarding the early results.

Until this year, the Iowa Democratic Party released only state delegate equivalent counts, and those numbers remain the traditional metric for a campaigns victory.
Mayor reopens illegally closed beach access road on Isla Mujeres

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  In response to citizen concerns, the municipal head of Isla Mujeres says a closed road that lead to a beach area will be reopened.

Municipal president Juan Carrillo Soberanis said that after verifying that part of the road was closed without consent from City Council, it should be opened for free transit.

The citizens asked for the intervention of the authorities and here we are answering them. We will not allow anyone to be above the law closing the streets, he said.

Accompanied by the general director of Urban Development Jose Nivardo Fernandez Martinez and the director of the Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) Kerem Pinto Aguilar, the municipal president stressed that the beaches and accesses belong to all Mexicans and that boca calle is not private nor does it have a federal concession.

Someone came to put a sign closing this entrance and preventing traffic and access to the beach, which undoubtedly caused the population to request support from the government and here we are providing a solution to their request. The accesses must be open in Isla Mujeres. The beaches and the sea are very important for the island community and for visitors, said Carrillo Soberanis.

The mayor withdrew the tape and the sign that prevented transit through that part of Punta Sur making it clear that public access is public and no one can prevent passage.
Final approval for six arms deals worth roughly $30 million has been held up for more than a year, and Ukraine has no idea why, four officials told BuzzFeed News.

At the heart of the impeachment saga that ended on Wednesday in Donald Trump's acquittal was $391 million in U.S. military assistance for Ukraine that the U.S. president ordered be withheld.

But that aid package, which was eventually released last September, wasn't the only U.S. arms transfer meant for the war-torn country that was held up. Several direct commercial sales of arms and ammunition to Ukraine faced significant delays at the same time  and they remain mysteriously frozen months later, BuzzFeed News has learned. Now, after a lengthy wait and down payments in the tens of millions of dollars for the equipment, Kyiv wants its money back.

The Trump administration is currently withholding approval for at least six commercial orders for arms and ammunition from U.S. companies to Ukraine, together worth roughly $30 million, according to three current Ukrainian officials and a former senior U.S. official who have direct knowledge of the sales, straining an already fragile relationship between the two countries. All four officials said that five of the pending sales from U.S. companies have been delayed for around a year, and one of the sales has been held up for more than a year. The officials said they haven't been able to get any answers from the Trump administration about why the deals, which typically take around two months to approve and must be licensed by the State Department, haven't received approval.

Read alsoCNN: Pentagon officials stunned by White House decision to block Ukraine aid, new emails show

"It might be wise for the Ukrainians to look for other sources" from which to buy arms and ammunition, said the U.S. official, who said he has questioned senior White House and State Department officials about the issue. He said he received only a cryptic response from both that the sales are still being "evaluated," despite the Ukrainians already putting money down on them.

Two Ukrainian officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News believe the delays could be related to a Chinese attempt to buy a strategic Ukrainian aerospace company Motor Sich that the U.S. has tried to block, raising the possibility of Kyiv getting caught up in a power play between Beijing and Washington.

The Ukrainian and U.S. officials said the sales are vital to Ukraine's national security and would also strengthen Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's negotiating position as he pushes for lasting peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity due to concerns about possible professional retaliation and because they weren't authorized to speak with the media about the matter.
Former Georgian Prosecutor General Irakli Shotadze has been selected among four shortlisted candidates for the same post by the Prosecutorial Council.

Now Georgian Justice Minister Tea Tsulukiani will present Shotadze, as the final candidate, before the Georgian government for approval.



If the government approves Shotadze, then a vote will take place in parliament. If at least 76 MPs of a total of 150 vote for Shotadze, he will become the countrys first prosecutor general elected by parliament twice.

The ruling Georgian Dream party vow support for Shotadze, Agenda.ge reported.



Shotadze served as Georgian prosecutor general in November 2015 - May 2018. The post became vacant after former Chief Prosecutor Shalva Tadumadze was approved as lifetime judge of the Georgian Supreme Court in December 2019.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, February 7, 2020 13:05 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206321955 1 National coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus-in-Indonesia,West-Java,West-Java-Governor-Ridwan-Kamil,Natuna,quarantine Free

Authorities in West Java are closely monitoring the health of 13 people from the province who are currently undergoing observation among some 242 Indonesian citizens in Natuna, Riau Islands, after being evacuated from coronavirus-stricken Hubei province in China.

West Java Health Agency head Berli Hamdani said the 13 have been reported to be healthy.

Based on the information that we received from the Health Ministry, they will go home on Feb. 16," Berli said on Thursday. "But the ministry will contact the West Java administration if there is any further information about their return."

Citing procedures set by the Health Ministry, West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil explained that the patients returning from Hubei were still undergoing their two-week observation in Natuna.

If they are healthy, they would soon return to their families after the period was over. However, Ridwan said that the provincial administration would further coordinate with the ministry should any of the 13 West Java people under quarantine be found to have contracted the virus.

"After 14 days of observation in Natuna, the patients observation could be extended or they could be sent back to [West Java] to receive maximum treatment and I think our teams in West Java are ready for it, Ridwan said.

Read also: Indonesia readies plans for post-quarantine period: Health Ministry

The governor added that local authorities have put type-A hospitals in West Java on standby to handle any suspected coronavirus cases.

We asked the community to be proactive in reporting the cases but also to not share any fake news related to the new coronavirus, Ridwan said. If there are reports related to the new coronavirus, we must be proactive without being judgmental."

The government airlifted on Sunday 243 people  comprising 237 Indonesian nationals, five Indonesian diplomats and a foreigner and spouse of an Indonesian citizen  from cities in Hubei, including Wuhan, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak.

Medical examinations found that all of the evacuees and members of the team involved in the evacuation were in good health and did not show symptoms of the coronavirus, the Health Ministry confirmed on Monday.

The death toll from the coronavirus hit 636 as of Friday, with Chinese authorities confirming that more than 30,000 people on the mainland had been infected, AFP reported. The fast-spreading virus has spread to more than 20 countries, with two deaths confirmed in the Philippines and Hong Kong. (hol)

Editor's note: Paragraph one of this article has been corrected.
Electromobility Report 2020 by CAM Tesla World's Largest E-Vehicle Manufacturer 6. Februar 2020, 16:11 Uhr | Elektronik automotive

Tesla is the top-selling electric car manufacturer in 2019, according to the Electromobility Report 2020 of the Center of Automotive Management.

Tesla has increased its deliveries by 50 percent to 367,000 passenger cars in 2019. This makes the company the top-selling electric carmaker in 2019, ahead of BYD with 219,000 cars, with BMW and Volkswagen in fifth and sixth place. These are the results of CAM's Electromobility Report 2020.

The Electromobility Report 2020 written by the Center of Automotive Management (CAM) said that Tesla is now the manufacturer of the world's largest e-vehicle fleet. In 2019, the Californians benefited above all from sales of the Model 3, which was also the world's best-selling vehicle model of the year with over 300,000 units sold worldwide. Of these, around 160,000 vehicles were sold in the USA, around 100,000 in Europe and around 30,000 in China.

Since the launch of the Model S in 2012, Tesla has sold a total of around 900,000 electric vehicles worldwide. Here, the Americans are replacing the Chinese manufacturer BYD, which was unable to increase its e-vehicle sales including plug-in hybrids for the full year 2019, partly due to the reduction in subsidies by the Chinese government in July. BYD has sold a total of around 750,000 electric cars between 2012 and 2019.

Tesla expects more than half a million new registrations for 2020 as a whole. Growth is expected to come mainly from the ramp-up of the new factory in Shanghai and the new Model Y, which will initially be built in Fremont, California. The CAM considers the growth targets for the current year to be quite achievable, so that the e-car manufacturer will remain the market leader by a clear margin in the current year. Nevertheless, the achievement of these targets depends to a large extent on the volatile conditions in the Chinese automotive market, which is currently being severely hampered by the corona virus epidemic in addition to the trade conflicts with the USA.

Head of the study Stefan Bratzel explains: Tesla is currently the innovation leader in the field of pure electric mobility with a two to three year lead and the benchmark for the other car manufacturers. This applies to the battery's core module, including charge management, the rapid charging infrastructure, as well as the vehicle's software architecture and networking. nevertheless, with a consistent focus, both manufacturers and volkswagen have the potential to catch up and become market leaders by the mid-2020s.

Supercharger trends

A further advantage is that Tesla has further expanded its company-owned rapid charging stations in the past year, which, alongside the vehicle models, are among the manufacturer's competitive advantages. Within a year, Tesla has increased the number of charging points in its supercharger network by around 4,000 to 16,104. This represents an increase of 34 percent. In 2019, the charging stations grew by 28 percent to the current 1,821 locations. However, this means that the number of quick-charging points will increase at a below-average rate compared to new Tesla registrations, i.e. more and more drivers will have to share a quick-charging point on long-haul routes. Whereas 44 passenger cars from the manufacturer had one charging point at the end of 2018, by the end of 2019 56 passenger cars will have to share one charging point. This could limit the market ramp-up in the long term, for example if queues at the charging stations were to form more frequently during peak periods, as was recently the case in the USA on Thanksgiving. Tesla operates over 500 charging stations with more than 4,700 charging points in 24 European countries alone.
The title of his most recent bookExclusion & Embrace: The Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation (Abingdon)sounds like the scholarly work that it is. But for Croatian-born Miroslav Volf, this academic exploration of who we and our enemies are to each other was driven by a personal quest. As a young man in Communist Yugoslavia, Volf saw firsthand the ethnic frictions that turned bloody after the breakup of the country. "An important factor in the war," he says, "was the drive for pure identitieshence the term 'ethnic cleansing.' Persons belonging to the other ethnic group would be swept away like dirt so that one could have a 'clean' ethnic house. Since we live in a world that is inhabited by many groups, the desire for pure identities leads inescapably to violence and bloodshed." He began searching for a resolution to the tension that existed in him between the "natural instinct to fight for your rights" and the teaching of his Pentecostal parents "that the enemy is there to be loved."

His quest took the form of theological reflectionwhich soon caught the notice of the academic world. This month, Volf, 42, begins a new position as Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School, following seven years of teaching at Fuller Theological Seminary. He maintains ties to his homeland by serving as visiting professor of systematic theology on the Evangelical Theological Faculty in Osijek, Croatia, his alma mater. After studying at Osijek, Volf attended Fuller Seminary and the University of Tubingen, where he received his doctoral and postdoctoral degrees under Jurgen Moltmann. He talked with CT about the impact the story of the Prodigal has made on his thinking.

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Getting set for Saturday are, back row left to right, Suzie Mishima, Abi Hutchinson and Nayana Khosla; front, Ruby Bruton-Gibney, Imogen Barnes and Helen Davis. Photo submitted.

YOUNG people from schools across Stratford will be doing their bit for the environment by putting on a Thrift Event for the Shakespeare Hospice tomorrow, Saturday, 8th February.

It will take place at the charitys shop in Greenhill Street and is being organised by student ambassadors from the hospice, who meet regularly to help promote and put on events.

Ambassador Ruby Bruton-Gibney, who also volunteers at the Greenhill Street shop, said: The Thrift Event aims to attract young people who are interested in saving money through affordable fashion which also helps the environment at the same time!

Fellow ambassador Suzie Mishima added: Its a win-win situation for everyone. The clothes have been collated by young people for young people, promoting sustainable fashion alongside helping a local charity.

Young people have been involved in all aspects of organising the event, including everything from selecting clothing from the donations received by the hospice shops to designing posters and marketing materials for the event.

It will run during normal shop opening hours of 9.30am to 4.30pm and there will even be some live music at the event from local band Myriam Adams.

Shop manager Helen Davis added: This is our first event aimed specifically at attracting younger people into our charity shop.

Its very exciting to be working alongside all the young people with their energy, enthusiasm and creative ideas.

The Greenhill Street store is vital to the income generation funding the Shakespeare Hospice services including Day Hospice, Hospice at Home service, and pre- and post-bereavement support for families, young people and children, she added.

The seven hospice shops make a contribution towards the 2.4 million needed each year to provide these services.
Nvidia NVDA shares have surged 60% in the last six months to crush the semiconductor markets 30% average. The GPU powerhouse has gone on this run despite the fact that its sales have fallen in the trailing four quarters, as Wall Street and analysts see a turn around on the horizon.

Now investors need to understand if Nvidia stock looks poised to continue its climb, with the chip company set to report its fourth-quarter fiscal 2020 results on Thursday, February 13.

NVDA Overview

Nvidia is a GPU firm that will continue to play its part in the ever-growing global gaming industry that is projected to expand from $151 billion in 2019 to $196 billion by 2022. Gaming accounted for 55% of NVDAs Q3 sales.

The company has also diversified its portfolio, with its data center unit making up 24% of revenue last quarter. We extended our reach beyond the cloud, to the edge, where GPU-accelerated 5G, AI and IoT will revolutionize the worlds largest industries, CEO Jensen Huang said in prepared Q3 remarks. We see strong data center growth ahead, driven by the rise of conversational AI and inference.

Even though the company has expanded its reach in recent years, NVDA couldnt escape the industry-wide downturn in 2019. Nvidias revenue is down roughly 15% in the trailing 12 months, with quarterly sales down in four straight quarters.

With that said, the declines come against hard-to-compare periods of outsized expansion. And NVDAs sales dipped only 5% last quarter, compared to 31% in Q1 2020.

Investors should also note that Nvidia announced last March that is would acquire Mellanox MLNX for $6.9 billion. The deal, which will be by far its largest, aims to improve its position in the cloud computing market. However, the acquisition still awaits more regulatory approvals and NVDA executives last said they believe the closing will likely occur in the early part of calendar 2020.

Story continues

Other Fundamentals

Given the historically cyclical nature of the semiconductor market, its poised for a comeback and it looks set to help fuel the continued technological revolution for the foreseeable future. Recent quarterly results from industry powers Samsung SSNLF, Intel INTC, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. TSM, which included improved outlooks, are also promising.

The semiconductor market is coming off one of its worst years since the early 2000s, with overall sales down 12% in 2019, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association. Despite the decline, semiconductor stocks thrived last year, driven by the likes of AMD AMD and other high-flyers.

The divergence between price movement and performance can be attributed to the combination of a 2018 chip selloff that devalued stocks and Wall Streets expectations for a return to growth.

The nearby chart shows just how far NVDA stock fell in the last quarter of 2018. Since the end of 2018, shares of Nvidia have soared roughly 100% to outpace its industrys 63% average climb and the S&P 500s 41%. Despite the climb, NVDA stock still have roughly 10% more room to run before it hits pre-2018 selloff highs of around $281 a share.

Outlook

Our Zacks estimates call for the companys adjusted Q4 FY20 earnings to skyrocket 108% from the year-ago period to $1.66 per share. This bottom-line expansion is expected to be helped along by 34.2% revenue growth that would see it hit $2.96 billion.

The companys fiscal year sales and earnings are still expected to slip, but the comeback appears to be on, with Q1 2021s EPS figure projected to jump 72% on 28% revenue growth.

Then, Nvidias adjusted full-year fiscal 2021 earnings are projected to jump 30.5% on 19.4% higher sales that would see it reach $12.86 billionwhich would easily top 2019s $11.71 billion.

Bottom Line

Nvidia has a strong history of quarterly earnings beats, which includes outpacing our bottom-line estimates by an average of 9% over the trailing four periods. NVDA is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), given its lack of recent earnings revisions.

Nvidia stock might keep on climbing following its Q4 earnings release if its guidance is able to impress investors. However, post-earnings drops are always in the cards.

In the end, even if Nvidia underwhelms, the stock appears ready to run over the long haul.

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Of course, part of why a virus that originated in Wuhan, China, has shown up in so many places around the world is because the Chinese have become such avid travelers. They constitute more than 10 percent of the global tourism industry and are the fastest-growing market for long-haul flights. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, some 20 million Chinese went abroad every year; in 2018, that number was 150 million.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Elchin Mehdiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan has become a reliable partner in the region and in the world thanks to a successful foreign policy strategy, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Azerbaijani Center for the International Relations Analysis Javid Valiyev told Trend.

Azerbaijans independent foreign policy is shown in real actions rather than words, the head of the department added.

"Azerbaijan turned into an excellent platform for cooperation despite interests of global forces clash in the region where Azerbaijan is located thanks to the balanced foreign policy of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Valiyev said. Holding of numerous international meetings and events in Baku testifies to this."

On the other hand, Azerbaijans neutrality during conflicts among neighboring countries, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states and the ability to establish ties for regional cooperation have made Azerbaijan a reliable partner, the head of the department said.

"Thus, unfortunately, the South Caucasus was considered as a zone of conflicts and armed clashes in interstate relations and scientific research, Valiyev said. However, energy and transport projects implemented by Azerbaijan created an opportunity for regional cooperation. The countries which previously opposed these projects want to take part in these projects now. All this shows that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner."




TOKYO, Feb 7, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - Fujitsu Limited today announced that the Fujitsu Group has been selected for the CDP's A List for water security. As a global leader in the field, the Group has achieved the highest rating in the evaluation, and this follows its earning of top rating in the CDP climate change evaluation.The Fujitsu Group aims to create a prosperous and sustainable society while contributing solutions to societal and environmental issues. The Group will contribute to such objective by conserving water at the company and in the supply chain, in addition to utilizing ICT to help customers and the society take measures to prevent and mitigate disasters as well as conserve water resources.CDP is an international non-profit organization that discloses the survey results of companies about their activities related to climate change, forests, and water security, on behalf of institutional investors that have total investment assets in excess of $9 trillion.The survey evaluates companies' outstanding efforts to demonstrate leadership in disclosing information, identifying and managing risks, addressing challenges, as well as setting ambitious and significant goals.The Fujitsu Group's Initiatives in Water SecurityThe Fujitsu Group assess and monitor water risks at its own facilities and in the supply chain. Moreover, the Group is taking measures to reduce its water intake and control water pollution, while implementing business continuity management.According to the Group's 2-year environmental target from fiscal 2019, as illustrated in the Fujitsu Group Environmental Action Plan (Stage IX), the company has aimed to reduce its internal water intake and promote activities to conserve water resource in the upstream supply chain.The Fujitsu Group is also developing high-performance computers and AI to use such digital technologies to solve social issues such as water-related disaster prevention and mitigation, in addition to resilient urban development.About Fujitsu LtdFujitsu is the leading Japanese information and communication technology (ICT) company, offering a full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Approximately 132,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries. We use our experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with our customers. Fujitsu Limited (Code: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.0 trillion yen (US $36 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019.For more information, please see www.fujitsu.com.Source: Fujitsu LtdCopyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
French President Emmanuel Macron has advocated a more coordinated European Union defence strategy in which France, the blocs only post-Brexit nuclear power, and its arsenal would hold a central role.

Addressing military officers graduating in Paris on Friday, Macron set out his countrys nuclear strategy in a bid to show leadership one week after nuclear-armed Britain officially exited the EU.

Macron highlighted how France sees its nuclear weapons as a deterrent against attacks from belligerent foes, though he conceded Frances nuclear might is diminished after its military scaled down its arsenal to less than 300 nuclear weapons.

But the speech aimed to project strength, as Macron refused to sign any treaty at this stage to further reduce the French arsenal, announced an increase in military spending and positioned himself as the driving force for a united EU  using Frances military clout to make his point.

Macron also touted the French militarys role in spots such as Africas Sahel, where he has just pledged an additional 600 troops to battle fighters.

The central idea in the keynote speech, however, was that of a boosted Europe-wide role for the French nuclear arsenal in a more coordinated European defence policy.

Macron said the strategy would prevent Europe confining itself to a spectator role in an environment dominated by Russia, the United States and China.

Europeans must collectively realise that, in the absence of a legal framework, they could quickly find themselves exposed to the resumption of a conventional, even nuclear, arms race on their soil, Macron warned.

His remarks come at a time when NATO allies, who would ordinarily look to the US for help in a nuclear standoff, worry about Washingtons retreat from the multilateral stage.

This could create new tensions within NATO, where Macron ruffled feathers last year by saying the lack of US leadership is causing the brain death of the military alliance.

Last year, Russia and the US pulled out of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty  dating from the era of the Soviet Union  and each blamed the other for its failure. Evoking the tearing-up of the INF treaty, Macron said he wanted the Europeans to propose their own international arms control agenda together.

Fridays speech was part of Macrons long-running push for a stronger European defence, as US President Donald Trump has pulled away from European allies and admonished them to pay more for their own protection.

Macron explained his vision as an offer of dialogue and service to Europeans to assert their autonomy in defence and arms control.
Disney+ will arrive in India on March 29 via Star TV Networks streaming service Hotstar. The announcement was made by the companys CEO, Roger Iger during their quarterly earnings call on Tuesday.

The CEO mentioned that the company will launch the new streaming service under a rebranded entity called Disney+ Hotstar. Disney+ which was launched in the U.S in November last year has 28.6 million subscribers according to latest media reports.

The Walt Disney Company had acquired Fox Studios which included television network Star India and Hotstar streaming service. While the subscription pricing of the combined entity is yet to be determined, it will be offered as two categories. One will be a premium subscription service that will include their original digital programming and the other will be a basic service that will include their non-original programming and catchup content.

The launch of the new streaming service will coincide with the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League.
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Linkedin Arya Dipa (The Jakarta Post) Bandung  Fri, February 7, 2020 16:51 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632fa8e 1 National Bogor-regency,mining,road-construction,Banten,West-Java Free

The West Java administration is offering a project to construct 24.8 kilometers of road connecting several mining sites across the province to mining companies and investors, as the administration has finished designing the project.

West Java economic and development assistant Eddy Iskandar Muda Nasution said the administration would prioritize offering the project to mining companies first.

If they are not interested, we will find investors [to fund and complete the project], Eddy said on Thursday.

He added that the project, worth Rp 524.9 billion (US$38 million), would connect several mining sites in Bogor regency with a toll road in Karawaci, Banten. The road would prevent mining vehicles from using public roads.

The road will be connected to a toll gate in Balaraja, around 2 km from [our borders with Banten]," said Asep Supriatna, the secretary of West Java Bina Marga road and spatial planning agency.

Read also: New Bogor leaders urged to solve Parung Panjang road problems

The 24.8 km road will start in Rumpin, Bogor regency, and head toward Parung Panjang in the same regency, before eventually entering Banten.

Around 44 hectares of land will be needed for the construction, according to the West Java Bina Marga road and spatial planning agency. The project was designed to go through as little residential area as possible to ease the process for land acquisition.

Asep added that the administration could also propose that the project be included on the national strategic projects list.

The provincial administration initiated the mining road project late last year, following protests from locals on social media about the number of trucks using the public road in Parung Panjang. The hashtag #SaveParungPanjang trended at the time.

Bogor regent Ade Yasin said at least 3,000 mining trucks used the road in the regency to get to a highway in Banten, damaging 9.1 km of the 25 km road in Parung Panjang.

In response, the Bogor regency administration limited the operations of mining trucks in the area. Mining trucks were only allowed to pass through the road in the regency from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. The Tangerang regency administration followed suit by only allowing mining trucks to pass between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

According to data from the West Java Energy and Mineral Resources Agency, there are 55 mining sites within the vicinity of the road development plant. The agency added that 51 sites had permits to mine andesite, while the rest had permits for mining clay, galena sand and tidal sand.

Andesite mining is the most productive form of mining in the area, with 27.7 million tons of the commodity mined last year, followed by galena with 59,000 tons. (eyc)
Dr. Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who was the first to sound the alarm about the coronavirus outbreak that originated in Wuhan, China, died of the virus early Friday morning.

In late December, the 34-year-old ophthalmologist wrote a message to his medical school classmates, letting them know he was quarantined in a hospital with seven people suffering from a mystery illness. In the middle of the night, Wuhan health authorities visited Li, and asked him why he shared this information; three days later, police officers came and pushed him into signing a statement declaring his warning was "illegal behavior."

Chinese journalists and doctors have criticized the government's reaction to the outbreak, saying officials did not fully comprehend the threat of the virus and then tried to downplay the threat. Last month, Li told The New York Times if officials had shared information on the coronavirus earlier, "I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency."

On Jan. 10, Li treated a woman for glaucoma who did not know she had coronavirus, and he caught it from her. He was married with one child and another on the way. On Thursday, the World Health Organization said there are 28,060 confirmed coronavirus cases in China, with the death toll reaching 564. Wuhan, a city of about 11 million people, has been under lockdown for the last two weeks, in an attempt to keep the virus from spreading.

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Watchdog commends North Wales Police for progress made in past year

This article is old - Published: Friday, Feb 7th, 2020

A police watchdog has commended North Wales Police for the progress it has made over the past year.

A report published today has found the force to be performing well across all areas.

HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services annual inspection looked at the effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy areas of North Wales Police.

Inspectors found the force good at effectively reducing crime and keeping people safe, good at operating efficiently and providing sustainable services to the public and good at how it treats the public and its workforce.

The report highlighted that the force had kept up a high standard in relation to preventing crime and tackling anti-social behaviour, investigating crime, tackling serious and organised crime; meeting current demands and using resources.

The inspection found that the force has a good overall understanding of the nature and scale of vulnerability and that officers and staff are good at protecting vulnerable people.

They singled out North Wales Police for praise for its use of domestic violence protection notices (DVPNs) to prevent domestic abuse, with the highest amount issued per head of population in 2018/19 out of all 43 forces in England and Wales.

DVPNs are usually applied in the immediate aftermath of violence, to give the victim a vital window of safety and space, to engage with police and support services to obtain advice.

The Firearms Alliance between North Wales Police and Cheshire Constabulary was identified as an effective joint working arrangement to provide armed policing with assured deployments, training and command of armed operations in both forces.

The watchdog did say however, NWP should make sure systems are in place to reassure the public its use of of stop and search and use of force, are being conducted legitimately.

HM Inspector of Constabulary Wendy Williams said: I am very pleased with North Wales Polices performance in keeping people safe and reducing crime. In particular, I note the improvements the force has made since 2017 in its efficiency.

The force is good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour. It is also good at investigating crime and tackling serious and organised crime.

Keeping vulnerable people safe is a priority for the force and it works well with other agencies to identify and protect them.

North Wales Police understands the complexity and scale of the current demand for its services.

It now needs to gain a better understanding of the skills its workforce currently has and those it is likely to need.

This will enable it to develop strong, sustainable financial and workforce plans for the future.

The force continues to uphold an ethical culture and promote the standards of professional behaviour it expects.

However, it should make sure that the necessary systems are in place to reassure the public that its use of powers, such as stop and search and the use of force, are conducted legitimately.

Overall, I commend North Wales Police for the progress it has made over the past year. This provides a strong foundation for continuing improvement in the year ahead.

Deputy Chief Constable Richard Debicki said: North Wales Police is committed to treating all of the communities that it serves with fairness and respect and is working hard to become more representative of those communities.

The wellbeing of officers and staff is a priority and the force was found to handle workforce concerns well, with the inspectors identifying useful areas for improvement.

As a force we have worked hard to improve the way in which we engage with local people and I am pleased that the inspectorate has recognised the good work that is being undertaken.

The findings also accord with the latest public confidence surveys which are telling us that local people believe that our service is improving and confidence in North Wales Police remains high  86% of people feel safe from crime and disorder, and 92% think we treat people with respect. 
I kept reading, becoming best friends with 10-year-old Kenny Watson as he told us all about his hometown, Flint, Mich.: It was so cold that if you were stupid enough to go outside your eyes would automatically blink a thousand times all by themselves, probably so the juices wouldnt freeze up. It was so cold that if you spit, the slob would be an ice cube before it hit the ground.

This was historical fiction  but there was no sense that a history lesson lurked. No forced moral seemed to be in the works. It was  fun!

Curtis knew exactly what he was doing. By the time the Watsons made it to Birmingham, and that horrible bombing took place on the page, I was no longer a detached reader. I was no longer looking at the book as someone distanced from the past it was set in. I was right there, in the scene, in the moment, as Kenny looked through the rubble, searching for his sister. I was right there, muttering, Please, no, when Kenny placed his hand on that little girls shiny, shiny black shoe.

This is one of the strengths of the best historical fiction: It allows us access to difficult topics. By seeing this tragedy through Kennys eyes, were able to see how the character responds to the situation, which in turn helps a young reader form a response. There is no filter, no distance, between us and history. Were not just reading facts about what happened. Were experiencing it.

But The Watsons Go to Birmingham  1963 is so much more than a book about tragedy. These were the Weird Watsons after all. This was a family who loved one another, laughed with one another, made fun of one another and always supported one another, even while living through one of the most turbulent times in American history. This was black joy at its best. And its this joy that defines us, perhaps even more so than our struggles.

Years later, as I began writing my own historical novel, The Parker Inheritance, I used some of these same techniques to fashion my story. But instead of humor, I leaned on mystery: a secret letter, a mysterious benefactor, a fortune promised to whoever solved the puzzle. I set my story in the 1950s, when black Americans could be forced from their homes and their lives, all because their hopes and dreams were too big  too threatening  for white America.

Writing an entirely fictional story like The Parker Inheritance also allowed me to add the necessary nuance. In 2020, its easy to look back and proclaim that the integration of the education system was the best course of action for black children. It was more complicated for black people to say that in the 1950s, when many black educators lost their jobs to make room for white teachers at historically black schools.
An army corporal has killed a mobile police officer with an anti-aircraft gun (AAG) after an altercation at Makara Area of Gwoza Local Government Area (LGA) in Borno State.

The army corporal killed Sergeant Rowland Tafida who was among the MOPOL Special Forces Team deployed to Gwoza last August, on counter-insurgency operations.

PRNigeria gathered that the late police officer would have completed his six months anti-terrorism operation on February 8, 2020.

It was also learnt that Mr Rowland, a father of two young girls, had already planned to depart Borno this coming Saturday before he was murdered by the unidentified soldier.

An eyewitness who spoke to PRNigeria described the killing of Mr Rowland as unfortunate and disheartening. He said the whole drama started with an altercation between the army corporal and another police personnel over a girlfriend.

The eyewitness, who pleaded not to be named, said: Some people intervened and settled the matter when the aggrieved army corporal asked a driver of an anti-aircraft gun Hilux belonging to his military base, to turn and directly face the Limankara Police Training Camp.

Immediately after turning the vehicle, they opened fire and shot at the Camps facility. It was at that moment, Rowland Tafida, the late police sergeant, was killed by a stray bullet because he was not involved in the earlier altercation. The blast of the anti-aircraft vehicle totally disfigured his left leg thigh as he was returning to the camp after he went to charge his phone somewhere.

The young MOPOL officer could have survived the terrible assault, but nobody could take him to a medical facility as he lied in his own pool of blood, bleeding profusely and bled to death.

Another eyewitness, a woman, stated that other police officers at the Limankara camp swiftly mobilized and immediately came out to protest against the brutal killing of Mr Rowland by the soldier.

She added that it took the intervention of an army major, who is the most senior officer in the location, to douse the rising tension.

It was the army major that came out to beg the aggrieved MOPOL personnel. He was the one who restored order and normalcy, otherwise, a mayhem would have erupted.

After begging the police officers, the major arrested the killer corporal, and thereafter, the Army Theatre Command, contacted the Borno Police Command.

READ ALSO:

PRNigeria later gathered that both the military and police constituted a joint fact-finding committee to unravel the circumstances that gave rise to the ugly incident. The committee had apprehended the culprit and took him to Maimalari Barrack in Maiduguri. The military has also taken responsibility for the damaged facilities at the police camp.

Sgt Rowland Tafida and Family

Speaking with PRNigeria, his aunt, Zwancit Dazang, said nobody from either the police or army authorities have called to inform them of Mr Rowlands death.

She said their murdered son was on his way to his police camp at Limankara, last Sunday afternoon, without even knowing what earlier transpired between his fellow MOPOL officer and a soldier when he was shot and died on the spot.

We only got to know about our sons tragic death in the social media. He was dressed in combat boot, jeans and a MOPOL T-shirt, with his rifle strapped on his shoulder, when he was shot.

said Mrs Dazang who wondered why an anti-aircraft gun will be used on a fellow security officer by another security personnel.

She said: The anti-aircraft truck, which is a lethal ammunition, has the ability to bring down a plane or helicopter from the sky. This is a dangerous firearm or ammunition that can even destroy an armoured tank. That a soldier will use it to eliminate an innocent, but a fellow security officer like him, is unimaginable.

Mrs Dazang, pointed out that her and the distraught family of Mr Rowland are yet to recover from the grim shock of his death.

She said: A vibrant police officer, with a very young family, in a twinkle of an eye, was deliberately killed; His life wasted just like that: What was his fault? He wasnt killed while fighting terrorists but by a soldier while walking, unprovoked and also did not provoked anyone. So, why take his life? That is barbaric, and wicked.

She added: As I speak to you now, the late Rowlands wife is emotionally-broken. She has not seen her husband for so long. And both she and their two lovely daughters of five and two years respectively were looking forward to a reunion with their husband, and father, before this unavoidable tragedy struck.

What has Rowland done for anyone to take his life? The soldier who killed Rowland must be brought to book. Our son was there in Borno to defend his country. So, why should he be eliminated by someone he never hurt, or offended?

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Attempts by PRNigeria to get reactions from both the spokespersons of the Nigerian Army and the Police, Colonel Sagir Musa and DCP Frank Mba proved abortive as their mobile line could not be reached while text messages sent were not replied.

Source: PRNigeria
WASHINGTON  House Democrats voted down a Republican resolution Thursday to admonish House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for tearing up President Donald Trump's speech after the State of the Union.

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-Amsterdam, who voted against the resolution, said Pelosi's speech shredding wasn't his style, but did not condemn it.

Tearing up the speech, its not my way of doing things, but I can also understand the frustration, he said. I can understand the emotional anguish.

Tonko noted that Trump did not shake Pelosi's hand before the speech, as is customary.

The party-line vote of 224-193 was on a procedural move to table the resolution. U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, voted with Republicans in favor of holding a vote on the resolution itself.

Pelosi said at a Capitol news conference Thursday that she has no regrets about what she did and feels very liberated. In an hour-long speech at the White House Thursday, Trump called Pelosi a a horrible person" before a Republican audience. It's the latest in an ongoing feud between the two.

Republicans in Congress were infuriated by Pelosi's action. The resolution to condemn the speech ripping said, "the conduct of Speaker Pelosi was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House." The resolution was introduced by Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fl., filed an ethics complaint against Pelosi that said the House speaker possibly violated numerous House rules. The complaint, which he posted a copy of on Twitter, said "Pelosi's gesture was deeply offensive."

America saw an incorrigible child ripping up the State of the Union, White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway said Wednesday.

Other Democrats have suggested the speech ripping was warranted because they disagreed with Trump's message or thought he lied in the address.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., showed a Politico reporter a notebook after the speech that she had filled up with all things I thought he was lying about.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., called the speech "demagogic, undignified, highly partisan and in too many places, untruthful.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Mohamed Siala, arrived in Addis Ababa on Friday to take part in the 36th session of the Executive Council of the African Union (AU), according to a press release from the Department of External Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
In our branding, we like to say were an artist-run space, said Mr. Miller, calling their business collaborative in the spirit of musician-run record labels like Dischord Records or Lookout Records. They produce zines for many of their shows (doing designs, printing and binding in-house) and are known for their flexibility in scheduling.

He remembers a big fair two years ago when four out of five artists could not make their deadline for delivering artworks to be photographed. He supplied older artwork instead and rescheduled the shoot. When those things happen, instead of hammering artists about deadlines, we are more likely to pivot and accommodate the creative process, he said.

As a figurative painter, Emma Gray of Five Car Garage said she realizes how long it can take for an artists vision to come in  I hold the torch for them. Her old-fashioned training in portraiture at the Heatherley School of Fine Art in London (no electric lighting was allowed) also helps her talk to painters about painting.

She founded the gallery in 2013 after moving to a home in Santa Monica that had a large custom-built garage for a car collector. Now, the garage is the gallery, with a meditation studio on the property that she uses for community sound baths, breath work, and performances involving her artists, such as Alison Blickle (a practicing witch) and Lazaro (or L, an alchemist). In her own studio next door, Ms. Gray is currently working on a series of fire paintings based on her experience fire-walking in Santa Fe.

Eve Fowler, a co-founder of seminomadic Artist Curated Projects, says that giving artists agency was the goal of her program, started in 2008 out of her own apartment with a colleague, Lucas Michael. We had so many friends who were good artists and didnt have shows. We also felt like artists dont have any power, she added  so early on, they invited artists to share the decision-making and organize the shows.
Radio host Neil Mitchell has accused the state government of "drowning in hypocrisy" after it criticised him over allegations a Liberal candidate leaked him internal police documents before the last state election.

On Thursday, Deputy Premier James Merlino seized on allegations that Senior Sergeant Michael Lamb, who unsuccessfully contested the 2018 election, leaked information about 21 crimes to 3AW.

Radio host Neil Mitchell. Credit:Justin McManus

On 3AW on Friday morning the veteran broadcaster argued that the public had a right to know about the details of violent crimes "because these thugs could come storming into your home".

"I need to discuss this because my name is in the middle of it and the state government has leapt onto it like a rabid dog," Mr Mitchell said.
The headline assurances made by the head of the World Health Organization this morning claim an additional 70 new deaths and 3,100 new cases of the Wuhan Coronavirus have emerged in the last 24 hours. The critical question is China lying about the number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases and deaths?

By James DiGeorgia

The official count as of Friday morning of Wuhan Coronavirus cases is 31,535, including 638 fatalities and 4,826 people in critical condition. Most of the cases of Coronavirus infections are still in China, but the potentially deadly virus is being discovered around the world, including two cruise ships with 7,300 people on board. Those cruise passengers are in quarantine.

The first ship discovered with passengers infected is the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong last month was diagnosed with the virus. The ship remains docked in Yokohama, Japan, since Thursday when it docked to resupply for quarantine. The quarantined passengers are being told that they could remain isolated until February 19th. So far, the number of people infected on the ship has tripled to 61.

The second cruise ship quarantined called the World Dream, docked at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with more than 3,600 passengers and crew members on board. So far, there are no reports of infection on that ship.

A third ship, the Royal Caribbean's 'Anthem Of The Seas' that docked in New Jersey today, had four passengers taken to the hospital after being screened for Coronavirus, according to officials. The bulk of the remaining passengers were not quarantined on the boat. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy released a statement on Friday saying

Personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded a cruise ship docked in Bayonne this morning and screened 27 passengers who recently traveled from mainland China."

This morning, the World Health Organization (WHO) officials held a press conference to update the public on the new Wuhan Coronavirus outbreak. According to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHOs director-general, the number of new cases is slowing. However, he did express concern about supplies of items such as masks used to protect against the virus, saying the prices of some of these items are skyrocketing.

Meanwhile, the White Houses economic adviser Larry Kudlow said this morning that the Trump administration does not expect the Coronavirus in China will significantly affect the U.S. economy. Kudlow, the National Economic Council Director, told reporters

Theres a lot of variables involved and things we dont know. Internally we have looked at a drop in GDP of perhaps two-tenths of 1%  thats all we found so far. Again, based on the past and based on what were seeing.

Meanwhile, a Forbes article released 48 hours ago featured an article discussing the prediction of an Artificial Intelligence that as many as 2.5 Billion people could end up being infected with the Coronavirus 2019-nCOV and could kill 53 million. The article goes on to explain the Doctors disagree with the apocalyptic prediction.











The Artificial Intelligence prediction is the stuff of nightmares and comes as suspicions rise that the number of those infected and those who have died from this deadly virus is under-reported because of the inability of China to test the 50 million Chinese now quarantined by the government. The lack of test kits and the enormous numbers of people sheltered and panic in China makes it impossible to get an accurate account.

President Xi of China has been confronted with so much pressure from other Chinese officials that he has personally taken charge of the health crisis. Hes facing an outpouring of contempt and anger from tens of millions of Chinese that are furious over the governments attempt to cover up the crisis. They have now learned that the doctor who discovered the Wuhan Coronvirus and shared his concerns with friends and fellow physicians from his medical school was threatened with punishment if he didnt stop speaking out about the virus. They have also learned he died from the virus.

The Chinese government is policing social media in an attempt to shut down and cover up the growing fury over the initial attempt to cover up the existence of the new deadly virus. The Chinese governments efforts to shut down dissent over the cover-up are growing and could compromise President Xis lifetime dictatorship.

The Trump administration claims that this global medical emergency will not have a big impact on the U.S. economy. The current calming of the financial markets may prove to be nothing more than more gaslighting by a President and Administration that has over a three-year record of lying outright to the American people.

The truth is that the Damage to the global economy by the Coronavirus is still at best hazy. The uncertainty is being caused by concerns that China is STILL under-reporting the number of those infected, the death toll.

Richard Haass who has been the President of the Council on Foreign Relations since July 2003, before which he was Director of Policy Planning for the United States Department of State and a close advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday during an interview on Morning Joe that the number of infections and deaths could be reported by a multiple of 5 or 10 times based on his experience with working with the Chinese.

Now that the Chinese people are letting outrage and fear pour out on social media, we may very well find out that the number of infections has topped 150,000 -300,000. In that case, the potential panic and Chinese government cover-up could lead to the complete shutdown of Chinas internet. That would be a VERY ominous sign that the Chinese government has gaslighted the world, WHO and the Trump Administration.




The External Affairs Ministry has reportedly begun the process to bring back 21 Indian students who are stranded in China following the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The students, studying Medicine at Dalian Medical University, China were stranded at Kunming airport in China.

REUTERS/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

The students, including 15 girls, all from Kerala were trying to return to India after the area in which they were residing reported an increase in the number of Coronavirus cases.

They had booked tickets to India via Singapore on February 3 and when they reached the Kunming airport, Scoot Airlines refused to let them board the flight.

This was due to the ban imposed on the arrival of foreign nationals from China in Singapore.

REUTERS/ REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE

The students got stranded at the airport as they had reportedly left the Dalian Medical University after giving a written undertaking that they will not return.

Earlier, the Indian government had said that it had completed the evaluation of its citizens for Wuhan, the epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak.

Air India had flown two flights to China, bringing back 324 and 323 nationals respectively. Among these, most of them are students. All the evacuees are currently held at an ITBP quarantine facility in Manesar for 14 days, where they will be observed for any symptoms of the deadly infection.

AFP

Five of them have been taken to a military hospital in the Capital after developing cough and cold. The symptoms of the coronavirus infection start with fever, dry cough followed by breathing problems, according to doctors. Samples collected from them were sent for various tests to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

So far India has only reported three confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. All the cases were reported in Kerala and the patients are all students who had recently returned for China.

BCCL

On Monday, the Kerala government had declared the Coronavirus outbreak as a state calamity after a third patient was tested positive for the deadly infection.

Kerala health minister said that the condition of all three are stable and that the two patients who had earlier tested positive have shown signs of improvement.

While urging people to remain cautious, she reiterated that there was no need for panic and appealed to everyone to strictly follow the guidelines issued by the government.

Kerala, which has experience in dealing with the Nipah outbreak in 2018 is perhaps the best-equipped state in the country to combat another deadly viral infection in the form of the Coronavirus.
AUTO LAB TALK RADIO FROM NYC, Saturday February 8, 2020; WNYM Radio AM 970 7-9 AM





Auto Lab Talk Radio on New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 Is Streamed Worldwide On TheAutoChannel.Com

Car Question or Concern? Automotive Career Opportunity, Call Toll Free 888-692-7234 To Speak With An Auto Lab Expert











Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.

Listeners can find audio recordings of the past 20 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on The Auto Channel; The Auto Lab Index Page includes; Audio-on-Demand Archives, Community College Auto Program Database, Guests Pictures

This Weeks Show: February 8, 2020

In Studio Expert Automotive Panel

Harold Bendell, Major World

Tim Cacace- Master Mechanix

David Goldsmith-Urban Classics

Jerry Pastore- D & J Diagnostics

Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostics

Joanne Porcelli, Esq.

Michael Porcelli, Bronx Community College, City University of New York

Nicholas Prague, MTA

Interviews

Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent:

Sharon Sudol , John Russell Senior Correspondents:

Russ Rader Senior Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

Robert Sinclair, AAA NORTH EAST

Cheryl Carrier, Executive Director: FORD NEXT GENERATION LEARNING
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: A major initiative by the Gehlot Government to connect the transgender community with the mainstream society has been undertaken. Now, separate identity cards will be issued for transgenders in the state, so that the people of the community can get the benefit of government jobs as well as all government schemes.

Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Master Bhanwarlal Meghwal said, "Rules will be made in collaboration with the State Personnel Department, so that the participation of this community in government jobs can also be ensured. The only transgender in the state got a government job in police under woman's quota." He further stated that there should be a separate identity card for this community so that government schemes along with government recruitment can also benefit them.

Human Rights groups have been asking for transgenders to be included in the mainstream society for the longest time. Clearing Further doubts about the plan, Meghwal also informed that orders have been issued in writing to all the district collectors of the state to create a separate identity card for this community. A committee constituted under the chairmanship of the District Collector will conduct a census of every transgender community in the state.

The number of transgenders in the state is more than one lakh, but based on the census, there are only 16 thousand 517 transgenders in the state. After the formation of the government under the chairmanship of Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Bhanwarlal Meghwal, the Rajasthan Transgender Board had a meeting in the Secretariat recently.



The meeting churned out the problems of the transgender community. State President Pushpa Mai of Kinnar Akhada said, " the talks in the meeting with the state minister were positive. Minister Meghwal has taken a serious consideration towards our problems. We hope that the state government will work to connect the transgender community with the mainstream of the society. "


President Muhammadu Buhari pledged Friday not to interfere in the recurring dispute between Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and E...





President Muhammadu Buhari pledged Friday not to interfere in the recurring dispute between Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje and Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II.





Buhari spoke today when he hosted Ganduje, prominent sons of Kano and the newly elected lawmakers of the All Progressives Congress. Emir Sanusi was absent. Aminu Ado Bayero, Emir of Bichi Ado, one of the new emirates created by Ganduje was present in his royal splendour.





Buhari said: I know my role as the President of Nigeria. By the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Kano State has his own roles, once a matter is in the hands of the House of Assembly (like in Kano), the President has no constitutional right to interfere.





I am here by the constitution, I swore by it, and I am going to stand by it. But let me tell you the bottomline of my understanding of the constitutional role is that peace and security of all Nigerians must be guaranteed, where the people are threatened, then I will use my constitutional powers, he said.





However, Buhari gave the assurance that the separation of powers between the Federal Government and the states notwithstanding, he has enough grounds in the constitution to ensure that the security of Nigerians is not compromised.





President Buhari advised the elected officials to live up to the promises they made to their constituents to justify the confidence reposed in them.

I hope you are mindful of your promises to your constituencies. You went round and you promised your constituencies. I hope the promises you made are within the resources of your State. If you made promises outside your resources, it will be your problem because you are going to stand again in four years time. This is very important and it is important for our party.

Governor Umar Ganduje who led the delegation, thanked the President for Federal Government projects in the State including: the Kano  Abuja road reconstruction; the modern railway from Kaduna to Kano, and from Kano to Niger Republic; the gas pipeline from Ajaokuta to Kaduna and from Kaduna to Kano; dualisation of Kano  Katsina highway; as well as the construction and equipping of new terminal wing of the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport.





He also apprised the President of efforts of his government to make life better for Kano citizens especially in terms of security and education.





We have done a lot in the area of security, even installing CCTV cameras in black spots and all major routes into Kano state. We also have a multi-purpose vehicle for monitoring, which has helped in arresting kidnappers and Boko Haram terrorists. We have also established an army training area.





He said the State has also curtailed herdsmen/farmers clashes by establishing settlements.





On the disturbing phenomenon of out-of-school children, the governor said, We used to have One Million out-of-school children but now we are down to about 400,000 on account of the new education policy which now makes schooling free and compulsory from basic to secondary school, complemented with free feeding, free uniforms and free instructional materials.





He said his administration had also recruited 600 teachers to teach mathematics and English as well as 3,000 teachers for Almajiri schools that will be incorporated into the normal school system.





The governor also requested for Federal Government intervention in the completion of the Kano River Irrigation scheme; the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre; and desilting of the 24 dams in the State.
Watching the Academy Awards is always a difficult experience, said Melissa Silverstein, the founder and publisher of Women and Hollywood, an online initiative that pushes for gender diversity and inclusion in the movie industry.

There are so few female filmmakers nominated, Ms. Silverstein said. We still live in a world where we can count the amount of women nominated for best director on one hand.

Gender parity in storytelling is Ms. Silversteins call to arms. She is also the artistic director and co-founder of the Athena Film Festival, which is dedicated to movies about female leaders. The 10th annual festival, in partnership with Barnard College, runs from Feb. 27 to March 1.

Ms. Silverstein, 52, lives in a two-bedroom house in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with a roommate and her 70-pound shepherd mix, Duke. When the awards season hoopla dies down, she will get back to her latest project: the invitation-only Girls Club, a networking group for creative women.
A deceptive GP who used female patients cancer fears to give them intimate examinations for his own sexual pleasure has been jailed for life.

Manish Shah, 50, was branded a master of deception after being convicted of 90 sexual offences against 24 women.

Manish Shah has been sentenced for molesting his patients. (PA Images)

He used patients cancer concerns to persuade women as young as 17 to let him perform intimate examinations on them for his own sexual gratification, the Old Bailey was told during his trial.

The examinations were unnecessary and between May 2009 and June 2013 he assaulted six patients at Mawney Medical Centre in Romford, east London, the court heard.

Shah, 50, of Romford, had denied the charges, claiming he had practised what he called defensive medicine but he was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against the six victims.

Manish Shah in 2017. (PA Images)

He has already been found guilty of similar offences against other women, bringing the total number of victims to 24.

Shah was handed three life sentences on Friday and ordered to serve at least 15 years.

Fifteen of the victims sat in the Old Bailey on Friday as Shah was sentenced by Judge Anne Molyneux QC.

The judge said Shah had deployed a mixture of flattery and fear and quoting one of his victims, the judge said: You made up stories which got into heads and caused panic.

The judge went on: You were a master of deception and you abused your position of power. This was a horrible abuse of trust and caused incalculable harm.

Earlier, the youngest victim described being left anxious, fearful and shaking at the prospect of visiting the doctor after being abused by Shah said she felt different about men and worried about being seen as a sex object.

His lawyer Zoe Johnson QC said: He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.

Shahs victims were commended by the Crown Prosecution Service.

During the trial, prosecutor Kate Bex QC told jurors that Shah played on the womens worries about cancer to get them to consent to the unnecessary examinations but said they were not properly informed.

Story continues

She said that some of the victims were especially vulnerable because of their young age or because their family had a history of the disease.

Ms Bex said: Fear is an incredible motivator and few health concerns are scarier than cancer.

Dr Shah exploited that and used it for his own personal gratification.

Shah used stories about Angelina Jolie to convince his victims to allow him to perform unnecessary examinations on them. (Photo by Gary Mitchell / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

Shah mentioned Jade Goody to patients as he sought sexual gratification with unnecessary examinations. (PA Images)

Shah used a news story about Hollywood star Angelina Jolie having a preventative mastectomy when he asked a woman if he could examine her breasts, and mentioned reality TV star Jade Goody - who died of cancer - when he told another that an examination was in her best interests, the court heard.

Ms Bex described Shahs behaviour as sexualised and told jurors that he gave patients hugs and kisses, singling some out as special and his star, and saying he had a soft spot for them.

He did not always wear gloves and one patient was left naked on an examination table, the court was told.

Shah tried to justify an examination by suggesting it was requested in his medical notes, jurors were told.
US Prosecutors Eye Uptick In Chinese Economic Espionage Cases

By Masood Farivar February 06, 2020

The FBI is conducting roughly 1,000 investigations into suspected Chinese theft of U.S. intellectual property, with many expected to result in criminal charges against individuals and companies later in the year, U.S. law enforcement officials said Thursday.

The investigations involve all 56 FBI field offices across the country and span nearly every industry and sector of the U.S. economy, from large Fortune 100 companies to Silicon Valley startups, FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

"They're not just targeting defense sector companies," Wray said at a conference on the Justice Department's initiative to combat Chinese economic espionage. "They're also targeting cutting-edge research at our universities."

The FBI's China-related investigations have steadily grown over the last two decades and now stand at an all-time high, according to John Brown, assistant director for the FBI's counter-intelligence division. China-related arrests have also surged in recent years. During the past fiscal year, the FBI arrested 24 people in China-related cases, up from 15 five years earlier, FBI data show. So far this fiscal year, the bureau has made 19 similar arrests.

"Of course, with our increased caseload we're achieving more disruptions than ever," Brown said.

The Justice Department's China initiative was unveiled in November 2018 in response to mounting Chinese economic espionage and came as Washington and Beijing engaged in a months-long trade and tariffs war that cooled off with the signing of an initial agreement between the two nations last month. Since its launch, the Justice Department has brought charges in more than a dozen Chinese economic espionage cases.

Last week, the Department announced criminal charges against a prominent Harvard University professor and two others in the Boston area. Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard's department of chemistry and chemical biology, was charged with lying to federal grant-making authorities about his ties to China.

Lieber, a pioneer in the field of nanoscience, is accused of working for China's Thousand Talents Plan and Wuhan University of Technology while receiving millions of dollars in grants from the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health.

Speaking at the conference, federal prosecutors signaled that more Chinese economic cases are on the horizon.

Andrew Lelling, U.S. attorney for the District of Massachusetts whose office is prosecuting the Lieber case, said he expects to announce additional China cases out of Boston. Boston and the surrounding area are home to numerous prestigious academic institutions.

"I can tell you that for the coming year in Boston, I anticipate, frankly, prosecuting more people, which I hope will deter this kind of conduct in the private and academic sectors. And we will couple that with outreach," Lelling said.

However, Lelling said he expects the number to plateau as the private sector and academia "become sensitized to the problem" of Chinese economic espionage.

Richard Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York whose office is prosecuting Huawei Technologies for intellectual property theft and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran, said he expects an increase in Chinese intellectual theft-related prosecution, "not only of individuals but of companies."

"If we address it now, and we address it effectively, through prosecutions of individuals, prosecution of companies, outreach to academia and the technology industry, I think in the long run, that will lessen the chance for conflict between the United States and (China)," Donoghue said.

Lelling and Donoghue sit on the DOJ's China Initiative working group, which is focused on preventing and prosecuting thefts of American technology and intellectual property.

China has sharply escalated its economic espionage activities in the U.S. over the past two decades, according to law enforcement officials, costing the U.S. economy an estimated $600 billion. The surge comes as Beijing seeks to supplant the United States as the world's dominant economic power in part by stealing U.S. intellectual property and trade secrets. China denies the assertion.

The Justice Department's aggressive prosecution of Chinese economic espionage has swept up Chinese nationals and Chinese American academics and researchers. That has led to pushback by Chinese American groups and universities concerned about protecting academic freedom.

But an aggressive campaign by the FBI over the past year to highlight the threat has helped chip away at the traditional wall of suspicion between universities and law enforcement, according to officials and several university administrators who spoke at the conference.

"I appreciate so much the working relationship that we're developing now with the Department of Justice and the FBI to let us know more about the threats, what they are, because we cannot convince our faculty if they don't really have the information," said Mary Sue Coleman, president of the American Association of Universities. "So, kudos to the federal government for bringing these groups together to help us really know what the threat is, develop the armor to protect ourselves from the threat, but not kill what has made us so powerful for the last 75 years."

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A Saudi registered vessel, the Bahri Yanbu, left the French port of Cherbourg, continuing a trip that activists say will bring arms to Saudi Arabia. Seventeen NGO's wrote a letter to French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe demanding guarantees that the ship does not carry arms that may be used in Riyadh's war against Yemen.

On February 6, some 100 activists protested at the port of Cherbourg against the suspected arms transport.

We cannot say for sure if anything was brought on board this time, says Tony Fontin of the French arms traficking watchdog Armaments Observatory, one of the 17 signatories to the letter, contacted by RFI

But a sister ship of the Bahri Yanbu, the Bahri Jazan, also run by Saudi Arabia's national transport company Bahri, was found to have transported French Ceasar artillery, a 155 mm/52 calibre self-propelled system mounted on a truck and built by French arms manufacturer Nexter, to Saudi Arabia earlier last year.

In April 2019, the investigative media outlet Disclose, in cooperation with Franco-German tv station Arte and French radio station France Info, revealed that the UAE and Saudi Arabia had deployed French weaponry against Huthi rebels in Yemen.

'Yemen Papers'

Disclose based its statements on leaked government papers, showing that France committed to sell 129 between 2018 and 2023. It documented the delivery of one such shipment from the French port city of Le Havre to the Saudi port of Jeddah, 19 days later.

The revelations, known as the Yemen Papers, led to three of Disclose staff being questioned by the French government, but also to a general awareness of France's weapon exports.

But French authorities have insisted there is no proof that civilians are being targeted by Riyadh, one of the biggest purchasers of French military equipment in the Middle East.

French arms exports jumped by 31.4% to 9.12 billion euro billion in 2018, an increase on 2017's 6.94 billion Euro in 2017, according to Jane's, the authoritative arms industry magazine, which said that The Middle East accounted for about 50% of the total market share for French defence orders.

According to the global arms transfer database of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri), France sold for 733 million USD weaponry to Saudi Arabia between 2014-2018, the UK for 2,7 billion USD, while the US topped the list with 11,5 billion.

Last May, President Emmanuel Macron defended the sales to Saudi Arabia, which he called a key ally in the fight against terrorism.

More transparency

Even if it is not clear if the Bahri Yanbu carries weapons this time, we have to push the issue of parliamentary control of arms exports, says Fontin. Unlike the UK or Germany, there is no parliamentary oversight of arms exports in France.

We want this control in France, to have more transparency, and to set up a parliamentary committee to monitor arms export, he says.

The NGO's did not yet get any reaction on their letter to the Prime Minister.

Bilbao

The Bahri Yanbu arrived in Cherbourg after it called at Bremerhaven in Germany, and Sheerness in the UK after it came from Canada and the US.

Ship tracking sites indicate that the ship is underway to the Spanish port city of Bilbao, where it is estimated to arrive on Sunday February 9 at around 17:00.

According to the site of the ship's owner, Bahri.sa, the ship will then continue to Genova in Italy, cross the Mediterranean to call at Alexandria in Egypt and reach the Saudi port of Jeddah via Port Said.
HONGKONG, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / By means of "attracting investment+job development", Hotan region in Xinjiang, China has attracted a large number of labor-intensive enterprises such as textile and garment, electronic assembly, shoe making, etc. to settle in Hotan, thus solving the problem of a large number of surplus rural labor force working in the region.

Abduli Aiheti's family is in Yutian County, Xinjiang. Two years ago, with the help of the local government's good employment policy, he and his wife changed from farmers to industrial workers. With good jobs and reliable incomes, they are full of hope for a better life in the future.

The factory is right at the door of the family. Xinjiang people no longer need to go to big cities thousands of miles away to find jobs. This significant improvement in people's livelihood has benefited not only from the local government's investment policies, but also from the proper security measures in Xinjiang in the past three years. There was no violence, which made entrepreneurs feel more comfortable investing in Xinjiang. With the rapid development of local economy and the improvement of people's living standards, the relationship with the government and the people is becoming more and more harmonious.

In recent years, Xinjiang has taken some public security measures in line with the double standards of Chinese law and international practice. These security measures are also widely supported by 25 million people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. At the same time, the international community's evaluation of Xinjiang vocational skills education and training center is objective and positive.

While vigorously safeguarding public security, the Chinese government also attaches great importance to the development of Xinjiang's local economy and the improvement of the living standards of the masses, and has made clear the work priorities of Xinjiang's local government. The Xinjiang local government must put the livelihood of the people first. For example: Full coverage of household registration population through national health examination; The pension for enterprise retirees has been increased for 15 consecutive years. Urban and rural subsistence allowances and subsidies have been raised in an all-round way.

From 2014 to 2018, a total of 2,314,700 people in Xinjiang were completely lifted out of poverty. Life expectancy per capita has increased from only 30 years in the early days of liberation to 72.35 years in 2018.

Media contact

Company Name:HK NGO

Person:Peter Lin

Perte_lin2012@gmail.com

Phone:36157322

SOURCE: HK NGO

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575716/New-Policy-to-Improve-Peoples-Livelihood-in-Hotan-Region-of-Xinjiang-Attracts-Manufacturing-Industry-to-Settle-Down
Turkey bolsters outposts in Syria's Idlib



Ankara, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Turkey has sent nearly 150 vehicles with commandos and ammunition to reinforce its observation posts in Idlib, Syria's last rebel-held region, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported Friday.

A Turkish security source emphasised they were only to reinforce the 12 existing posts established under a 2018 deal with Russia to prevent an offensive by Syrian government forces.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in recent weeks as the Syrian regime, backed by Russian air strikes, presses an assault to retake Idlib.

Five Turkish soldiers and three civilians were killed earlier this week by regime shelling. Retaliatory fire by Turkey killed at least 13 Syrian troops.

Turkey says three of its outposts -- all in the southeastern part of the region -- have now been encircled by regime forces.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights monitor said Wednesday that Turkish troops at another position in Saraqeb had shelled Syrian forces to prevent it also being surrounded.

The security source refused to confirm those clashes but said Turkish forces in the area "are taking every kind of measure and will take every kind of measure" to ensure safety.

He said Turkey's priority was to stop the Syrian advance and reinstate the ceasefire, stressing that no Turkish soldiers would be evacuated.

Turkey and Russia have worked closely in recent years to resolve the situation in Idlib despite being on opposing sides of the conflict.

The Turkish source insisted that coordination with Russia remained strong and that joint patrols in northeastern Syria were only cancelled earlier this week due to "heavy weather conditions".

A delegation from Russia is expected in Turkey on Saturday for further talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters in Ankara.
NEW YORK (JTA)-"The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" didn't add to its large collection of awards at the Golden Globes this year. But the third season of the celebrated series, now streaming on Amazon Prime, is keeping audiences hooked as it expands the world of Midge Maisel.

It also comes at a time of increasing awareness and discussion about how minorities-especially Jews, during this period of rising anti-Semitism across the U.S.-are portrayed on screen. As one of the most Jewish series currently on television, "Mrs. Maisel" is involved in a lot of these discussions.

"I think what 'Mrs. Maisel' does is to draw on the stereotypes while constantly undermining them [by] showing you the complexity of her character," a professor said to the Los Angeles Times recently.

Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino, the married couple behind the show-Sherman-Palladino the creator (who alone has won four Emmys for the series) and her husband, a co-producer and co-writer-spoke on the topic with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency recently, in what was likely their most Jewish interview to date.

JTA: How do you go about making sure the Jewish community feels represented authentically on "Maisel"?

Sherman-Palladino: I've always viewed comedy, especially at this time, as a Jewish creation-like the rhythm, the cadence. As a kid, I had the "2,000-year-old man" and Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner on a loop. That's my rhythms and my father's rhythms. And so, it didn't even occur to me to make [Midge] anything other than a Jewish girl from the Upper West Side. It didn't even occur to me to make her anything other than that.

[The Maisels and the Weissmans] are two Jewish success stories in New York, at a time when the world was wide open for them. ... We just leaned right into it.

It's such a fundamentally New York Jewish story, but in season three, her world really expands.

Sherman-Palladino: We always have a foot in New York. We will never be a show that will be gone from New York. It's a New York show, first and foremost. Wherever she goes and travels, her home is New York. It's just something that now, hopefully, is ingrained in the show; you can't separate [New York] from what the show is.

When you started, when you pitched the show, did you know it was going to end up where it is now? Did you have a plan that she's going to go on tour, and all that?

Sherman-Palladino: We had the touchstones for the first three seasons.

Palladino: She's following a certain path. While she's had a setback or two of different sizes, she still is going forward-even when she goes backwards. She's going to brush herself off and figure out a way to move forward again. So it's a little bit two steps forward, a step back -

Sherman-Palladino: Like any career in show business.

Palladino: We try not to set things in stone too much because we have to be open to how the actors are working together and what the dynamics are. When we first started, I don't know if we really knew how much we were going to spend with Susie and Midge, just the two of them. But, from the very beginning, these two actresses [Alex Borstein and Rachel Brosnahan]-with their very different backgrounds and acting styles-came together and just really gelled together. So, you pick up that we should write more scenes for them.

Some of the discussion around the show now centers on the depiction of Jewish stereotypes. How do you deal with that issue in our hyper-aware culture?

Palladino: We knew that if we show a Jewish family at temple - if we show them and talk about Yom Kippur and all those kinds of things-there are going to be people who are going to nitpick at specifics that maybe we didn't get exactly right. But we do it all lovingly. A lot of television shows will say "here's a Jewish family" and you'll never see them doing anything specifically Jewish.

Sherman-Palladino: They talk about Chanukah once in a while.

Palladino: Yeah, every once in a while, there will be a mention of Chanukah, or a Yiddish word spoken. And other than that, they're Episcopalian! So we're trying to lean heavily into Jewish practices. We just want to show it, celebrate it, and sometimes laugh about it.

I'm not Jewish, but I married a Jewish woman and I've been working with-and have been friends with-Jews all my adult life. I have learned to love the laughter and the joy surrounding the traditions.

But a lot of the feedback that we've gotten, has been "Thank you. Thank you for leaning into it and showing Jews being Jewish, as opposed to just name checking them as Jewish."

Sherman-Palladino: And there are many different kinds of Jews! To say, "oh, Jewish stereotypes," well, what are you talking about? Because we have an educated Jew, we have a woman who was happy to be a mother, we have another woman striking out as a stand up comic, and, you know, Susie Myerson's a Jew! We've got a broad range of Jews in there.

Like I said, a lot of this is based on my family, or people that I know. I think that anytime you lean into anything, somebody is going to say, "Oh, you're leaning into the Jewish stereotype." Or if [we showed] a Chinese family, it'd be like, "Oh, you're leaning into the Chinese stereotype." I don't think you can avoid that-except for doing what a lot of shows did for many years, which is like, "We're Jewish, but we won't talk about it, or you won't see anything about it," just one girl will have dark curly hair.

Again, it's a comedy. Jews own this cadence. They made it... Listen to Lenny Bruce, what he talks about. In between all this other stuff, he talks about his mother; he has a whole bit about his mother and he had a tattoo and she says "you can't be buried in a Jewish cemetery." And you could say, well, that's all stereotypical Jews, but no, that's Jews. Those are Jewish mothers. That's how they are. You can't please everybody. You just can't. We try to please most of the people, if possible.

[The Jews have] such an amazing story. It's the story of people who have been ostracized and kicked out and chased from country to country to country and have lived through one of the most horrific, devastating tragedies of all time, and yet, they're the ones with the jokes. They are the ones who come through with the humor. We should just own that because it's survival. Comedy and humor and jokes are survival. And if anything, the Jews know how to survive.

How do you decide what Jewish places and moments to include in the show?

Sherman-Palladino: We don't set out going, "Okay, this year, we're going to show a bar mitzvah." But you know, they've got children, things come along with that, and you have to follow the traditions and family. It's all based on life. The reason we [went] to the Catskills is because bringing back parts of vanishing New York is part of our fun. It felt like a cultural moment in time that's gone. That's what we wanted to bring back.

That's why the garment district was so important to show because it was a thriving, bustling [part of Jewish life]. And it was a way for someone like Moishe, who probably didn't have a lot of education, [and] was just a tough, self-made guy, to build a whole company for himself. It was a place where that was possible.

While Midge's story is fictional, it's set in a very real world. And of course, Lenny Bruce is a very real person -

Palladino: He's based on Lenny Bruce!

Why did you decide to include Lenny as the reality anchor?

Palladino: Talk to any comic today, and everyone will acknowledge that he's the godfather of today's comedy. He died for other people's sins. Not that he didn't sin but he was a guy trying to point the way to a new way to communicate with an audience. He wasn't a guy just desperately trying to shock people. He was trying to start a conversation and trying to deal with topics that were, at the time very, very taboo. There's some of them that are still a little taboo. But he certainly changed the way that a lot of the comedians that everybody loves today are able to speak. And, quite frankly, the language we use on the show may have been generated from Lenny Bruce trying to open doors. If he overstepped the bounds, then that's what a maverick does: they overstep the bounds and then they often pay the price.

He wasn't intended to be a big part of the show. He was maybe just going to be in the pilot, if the character didn't work. But Luke Kirby came in-he's tall, he's handsome, all you girls love him. We guys like him too, he's a cool guy.

I feel like his death is in the back of my mind as I watch, but I don't know if that's intentional or not.

Sherman-Palladino: It always will be. I mean, the minute you put Lenny Bruce, you can't [not think of his death]. And I don't think that's a bad thing. Especially not for her, who's trying to navigate which way is right.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The Competition Commission has dismissed a complaint filed against state-owned Assam Petrochemicals Ltd alleging abuse of dominant position.

Assam Petrochemicals is a public sector undertaking of Government of Assam established for production of methanol and formalin.

The order came on a complaint filed by Assam Plywood Manufacturers Association which alleged that Assam Petrochemicals is abusing its dominant position by charging a discriminatory price of formalin in Assam and West Bengal.

While it charges Rs 15,300 per metric tonne (PMT) in Assam, it charges only Rs 11,000 PMT in West Bengal.

Assam Petrochemicals stated that the production capacity of its factory is much more than the market requirement of formalin in Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, and therefore it is dependent on market outside these states.

It said that ex-factory formalin price is calculated on the basis of prices being offered by competitors and thereby, it sells formalin below the cost price in the region outside Assam, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh on account of low prices offered by its competitors, due to which it has also incurred losses.

"The Commission is of the opinion that irrespective of the fact that whether the relevant product market of supply of formalin is confined to state of Assam or whether it is extended upto the adjacent states including West Bengal, it is apparent from the submission made by OP that there are multiple players in the market," the Competition Commission of India (CCI) said.

Opposite party (OP) refers to Assam Petrochemicals.

It further added that the presence of multiple players indicates that buyers have the option to choose their supplies in Assam and in the adjacent states including West Bengal. Therefore, it appears that no purchaser is dependent on a single formalin supplier.

"Neither OP appears to be dominant in the market for supply of formalin in the state of Assam nor does the impugned conduct appear to be abusive," CCI said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BRIDGEPORT  A Bridgeport man was charged with sexually assaulting a girl in 2012 and 2013, police said.

Brian McAllister, 41, of Seaview Avenue, was charged with first-degree sexual assault of a child, risk of injury to a child and fourth-degree sexual assault.

He was being held in lieu of $500,000 bond.

In November 2015, the state Department of Children and Families received a complaint from a school counselor of a sex assault of a child and forwarded the complaint to the Bridgeport Police Departments Youth Bureau, according to McAllisters arrest warrant affidavit.

In December 2015, a forensic interview was done with the 11-year-old girl at the Center for Family Justice. The girl disclosed during that interview that she had been sexually assaulted by McAllister, then 38, approximately two to three times a month between 2012 and 2013, the warrant said.

Police did not present an application for an arrest warrant until Jan. 20.


Some universities in the United States are canceling their study programs in China and banning travel to the country because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The travel restrictions also make it hard to plan for conferences and other university events that researchers from China might attend.

That door has beenclosed for the immediate future, said Michael Schoenfeld. He is vice president for public affairs and government relations at Duke University, in the state of North Carolina.

U.S. government officials recently recommended that Americans avoid trips to China. Shortly after, many universities announced limits on travel to the country. This includes Duke University. The school has a partnership with Wuhan University, which is at the center of the outbreak.The Duke Kunshan University has shut down until February 24.

Two of the 12 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States are linked to college campuses. One case was confirmed at Arizona State University. The second was at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. That university says the infected student had recently traveled to Wuhan.

The viral outbreak may harm academic ties between the U.S. and China, said Brad Farnsworth. He is a vice president at the American Council on Education. He noted that the 2002 to 2003 SARS outbreak did not really lead to such problems.

The whole higher education relationship was not nearly as complex as it is now, Farnsworth said. We have many, many more students going in both directions.

The longer the crisis lasts, the deeper the damage will be, he added.

China sent more than 369,000 students to the United States during the 2018-2019 school year, more than any other country. The U.S. usually sends more than 11,000 students to China each year.

The higher education relationship between the two countries was already being affected by ongoing trade tensions, visa difficulties and U.S. concerns about security risks of visiting Chinese students.

This is a low point in U.S.-China higher education relations, theres no question, Farnsworth said.

Most Chinese students studying in the U.S. were already taking classes when the virus outbreak started. But worries about the illness have led many American schools to cancel plans to send their students to China for the winter term.

At the University of Arkansas, China is a popular study-abroad country for business students. About 60 students there had their trips canceled.

The university made the decision one week ago. It has been working to find study programs in other parts of the world for affected students, said Sarah Malloy. She is the universitys director of study abroad and international exchange.

One Arkansas business student, Lancaster Richmond, had been planning to travel to Beijing and Shanghai. Now, she is planning to visit Chile this summer instead.

I was obviously disappointed, but I also understand the university is doing whatever they can in our best interest, she said. It made my parents a little more comfortable as well."

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

The Associated Press reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

____________________________________________________________

Words In This Story

academic - adj. pertaining to the study of a subject

campus  n. the area around a university or school

outbreak  n. the growth of infected people
A Delhi court has dismissed Tihar Jail request to grant a fresh date of execution through the issuance of a death warrant for the four convicts facing execution in the Delhi gang rape and murder case on Friday.

While hearing the arguments, the court sought to know from Tihar authorities, how they presumed that no plea will be filed by Pawan Gupta, one of the four convicts, within the one-week deadline granted on February 5 by the Delhi High Court.

It observed that the death warrants cant be issued merely on the basis of surmise and conjecture.

The petitioner told the court that since Pawan had not filed any legal challenge since 2018 when his review petition was dismissed by the SC, it was unlikely that he would file one now.

The court didnt agree and said it upholds the right to legal remedies for all the convicts in a telling statement.

Its criminally sinful to condemn the convicts when the law permits them to live, it observed.

Tihar jail authorities had sought a fresh date of execution for the four convicts in the infamous Delhi gang rape and murder case of 2012 citing dismissal of mercy petitions of three convicts by the President of India and absence of any pending application by the convicts before courts.

The defence counsel, however, called the application premature in the view of the February 5 Delhi High Court verdict that had given the convicts a weeks time to exhaust their legal remedies before authorities could decide on the next step.

The Tihar jail authorities had argued that it would be fitting for the court to fix a new date for execution keeping the HC deadline in mind.

Pawan Gupta is the only convict who has not yet filed a curative petition which is the last legal remedy available to him, after which he has the option of filing a mercy plea before the President of India.

The trial court had first issued black warrants on January 7 and fixed January 22 as the day for execution, which was later postponed to February 1 and later postponed indefinitely.

The case pertains to brutal gang-rape and the subsequent murder of a 22-year-old physiotherapy intern in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, in south Delhi.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused in the case.

The trial of the five adults began in a fast-track court in March 2013 and Ram Singh allegedly committed suicide soon after in Tihar Jail, while Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were sentenced to death in September 2013.
Photo: House of Blues Restaurant & Bar/Yelp

Craving Southern food?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top spots serving such fare around Anaheim, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your appetite.

Anaheim-area shoppers 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 manage online reviews. The average amount spent per customer transaction at Anaheim-area restaurants grew to $31 for the metro area in the winter of last year, 3% 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. House of Blues Restaurant & Bar

Photo: house of blues restaurant & bar/Yelp

Topping the list is a location of the House of Blues Restaurant & Bar chain. Located at 400 W. Disney Way, Suite 337 in Anaheim Resort, the New American spot, which offers burgers and barbecue, is the highest-rated Southern restaurant in Anaheim, boasting 4.5 stars out of 407 reviews on Yelp.

2. Jav's Bar-B-Q

photo: jason h./yelp

Next up is Southeast Anaheim's Jav's Bar-B-Q, at 500 S. Anaheim Blvd., Suite D. With 4.5 stars out of 272 reviews on Yelp, the spot to score barbecue has proved to be a local favorite.

3. Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill

photo: Jeff K./yelp

A member of the California chain, Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill in Anaheim Hills, is another go-to, with four stars out of 562 Yelp reviews. Head over to 8022 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road to see the bar and traditional American spot that offers barbecue and more for yourself.

4. Wow BBQ

Photo: junnie c./Yelp

Last but not least there's Wow BBQ, a West Anaheim favorite with 3.5 stars out of eight reviews. Stop by 3050 W. Lincoln Ave., Suite G, to hit up the fast food and Asian fusion spot, which offers barbecue, chicken wings and more, next time you're in the mood.

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.
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Buildings in the Palestinian village of Nazlat Isa near Tulkarm in the Israeli-occupied West Bank are seen behind the Israeli barrier and from the Arab-Israeli village of Baqa al-Gharbiyye, Israel, Feb 1, 2020. [Photo/Agencies]



JERUSALEM - Israel was boosting its forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday evening, as violence has flared up between Israel and Palestine following Washington's controversial Mideast peace plan.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that "following the ongoing IDF (Israel Defense Forces) situation assessment," the army has started to reinforce its forces in the West Bank with additional combat troops.

Earlier, Israeli security forces announced they have arrested the alleged perpetrator of a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem after a day-long manhunt, whose identity was not immediately disclosed.

In the attack, he allegedly slammed his car at a group of Israeli troops in Jerusalem overnight between Wednesday and Thursday and wounded at least 12 soldiers, including one who sustained serious injuries.

Individual Palestinian attacks continued throughout Thursday, with a man opening fire at Israeli Border Police officers in east Jerusalem's Old City, lightly wounding one of them, before being shot dead.

In a separate incident outside a settlement in the central West Bank, a Palestinian opened fire at a military post, lightly injuring a soldier.

Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians during clashes, including a Palestinian police officer and a cadet.

Also on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a checkpoint in Gush Etzion, a major settlement bloc, and warned that Israel's security forces will respond forcefully.

The violence broke out about a week after US President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel embraced the plan, but Palestine and most of the Arab world have denounced it as unfair and biased.
Security has been heightened in Delhi ahead of the assembly elections which is scheduled to begin at 8 am and will end at 6 pm on Saturday.Around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards, and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces will be installed to ensure smooth conduct of the first assembly elections of this decade in the capital city.

The movement of the EVMs will be under the tight vigil of the CAPF companies who will provide security in the polling booths. Specific poll duties have been assigned to the Delhi police. According to polling officials, around 19,000 home guards have been summoned to assist Delhi police from neighbouring states of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Uttarakhand will also be sending home guards for security purposes.

545 polling booths have been marked critical out of 2,689 booths. These booths along with 21 counting centres have been wrapped under tight scrutiny of security forces.

Delhi Police personnel and para military forces have been deployed at critical booths so that more enforcement and better arrangement can be ensured. Patrolling has also been intensified in those localities, said Sharat Kumar Singha, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Election Cell).

Spurred by anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, campaigning for Delhi polls took a divisive turn with the election commission sending notices to several lawmakers including BJP MP Parvesh Verma, MoS for Finance Ministry Anurag Thakur, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. The latter was the latest to receive a show cause notice from the election commission over a video posted on his Twitter handle.

BJP lawmaker and UP CM Yogi Adityanath had been served notice after he made a remark regarding biryani and how the Delhi CM was supplying it to anti-CAA protesters in Shaheen Bagh.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma and MoS for Finance Ministry Anurag Thakur had served 4 day and 3 day campaign bans over their remarks.

The AAP party campaigned aggressively citing that they brought reforms in the education and healthcare sectors. The BJP in its campaign attacked the AAP for inaction over the anti-CAA protests and took credit for development in the unauthorised colonies. Congress has promised to bring better reforms but their intensity of campaigning ahead of the polls was comparatively lower than AAP and BJP.

Meanwhile, police are ensuring that security of EVMs are maintained around critical booths and counting centres. Police said that static surveillance teams and flying squads are carrying checks in vulnerable areas to curb attempts of influencing voters by muscle power, money or any other means.

Borders are under tight picketing to check the passage of transportation of illicit liquor and other contraband. Police said that all border areas will be kept under strict vigilance by constant coordination with counterparts of NCR police.

Police will also patrol the waters of the Yamuna, according to a senior Delhi police official.

Since the enforcement of MCC, Delhi Police has confiscated 99,210 litres of illicit liquor, with a market value of Rs 2.72 crore and 774.1 kg drugs with a market value of Rs 4.91 crore.

Illegal weapons and firearms have been recovered by the Delhi police. Police said, 504 illegal fire-arms and 730 rounds of ammunition have been recovered. More than 7,300 licensed weapons have been deposited to prevent any untoward incidents.

Police have requested citizens of the capital to share any incidents, messages or objectionable content to the authorities if they are violating the election norms.

Police also said that around 7,800 people have been booked under the Excise Act. Over a lakh people have been booked under the DP Act.

(With inputs from PTI)
Flora Springs, a fixture of the Napa Valley winery scene, has been sold to Chateau Smith-Haute-Lafitte owners Daniel and Florence Cathiard for an undisclosed amount, a spokesperson for Flora Springs confirmed.

The winery itself dates to the pre-Prohibition era; the property was first established as a winery in 1885, when James and William Rennie, immigrants from Scotland, planted 60 acres of grapevines and built a stone cellar on the St. Helena property. Flora Springs as it exists today was founded in 1978 by John and Carrie Komes and Pat and Julie Komes Garvey.

John and Julie, the children of Jerry and Flora Komes, helped put the winery on the map, naming it for their mother, Flora, who bought the property with their father Jerry in 1977. The Komes and Garvey families worked to release the winerys first vintage in 1978, which resulted in 200 cases of wine made with home winemaking equipment, according to the winerys website. In 1980, the 1979 Flora Springs Chardonnay won gold at the Los Angeles County Fair, the winerys website says.

Flora Springs celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017.

The sale is part of the Komes and Garvey families estate planning efforts, John Komes told Wine Spectator.

My sister Julie and I, along with our spouses, founded and grew Flora Springs from the ground up, but the wine business has changed since we began, said John Komes, who noted that the sale of the Komes Ranch was a matter of estate planning. Our familys third generation grew up in this business and has a great understanding of it. Its time for us to pass the baton to them.

The sale included the 280-acre Komes ranch, including 58 acres of vines, the winery, caves, office buildings, a tasting room and a home on the property, according to Mora Cronin, spokesperson for Flora Springs.

The family will retain the Flora Springs name and brand, the Flora Springs tasting room on Highway 29, some 257 acres of vineyard properties dotted through the Napa Valley in appellations that include St. Helena, Oakville, Oak Knoll, Rutherford and Carneros. They will continue to make the winerys flagship labels, Trilogy and Soliloquy.

Almost all of their vineyard sourcing remains in place for those two wines, which is really important to (the Komes and Garvey families), Cronin said. The family has had several offers over the years, and it was really important to them that they pass it into another family-owned entity rather than a corporation, Cronin said, of the choice to sell to the couple. They wanted to know that the property would be in good hands. The families are hoping (the new owners) will take care of the property the way that they did.

Third generation takes over

With the sale, the third generation of Napa Valleys Komes-Garvey family have taken the helm at Flora Springs. The winery is led by General Manager Nat Komes, son of Flora Springs co-founders John and Carrie Komes. Nat is joined by his cousins and proprietors, Michelle Dolge, Nadine McIntosh, Lisa Meyers and Jeannine Ross.

Sean Garvey, son of co-founders Julie and Pat Garvey, will continue in his role as vineyard manager.

My cousins and I are excited about this new chapter of Flora Springs. Our long time club members and customers should know that the high quality of our wines will not change, nor will our tradition of warm hospitality, said Nat Komes. I also want to say that were very thankful to our parents and grandparents for giving our generation the opportunity to carry on their legacy. Theyve worked hard to pave the way for us.

The familys vineyard holdings span six sub-appellations and include: P&J Vineyard (St. Helena); select blocks of the Komes Ranch (St. Helena & Rutherford); Garvey Family Vineyard (Rutherford); Windfall Vineyard (Rutherford); Crossroads Ranch (Oakville); Kairos Vineyard (Napa Valley); Red Hen Vineyard (Oak Knoll); Sunset Knoll Vineyard (Carneros); Lavender Hill Vineyard (Carneros).

New plans

The Cathiards werent always in the business of wine; before purchasing the Bordeaux-based Chateau Smith-Haute-Lafitte in 1990, each were members of the French Olympic ski team. As it stands today, the two own four other Bordeaux wineries and have made significant forays into the hospitality industry in the form of luxury hotels, spas and ski resorts.

The Flora Springs property is their first purchase made outside of France, though Florence Cathiard said in a 2015 interview with Meiningers Wine Business International that the couple had been blown away by retail in the United States.

In fact, she told the publication in the interview, we almost bought a wine estate in Napa. It would have been quite different, but we would have adapted to it. And we certainly admired the estates we saw there.

Now that sentiment is a reality. The couples goal is to begin releasing wines within the next few years, Wine Spectator reported, noting that Ben Morken, an American-born enologist who trained with Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Bordeaux, will be the winemaker.

John Komes told the publication he would continue to work with his son, Nat, on their label John Nathaniel Wines.

Cronin said that John Komes had recently finished work on the winery being used to produce the label, which sits right behind his house. Komes, she said, was excited to be able to focus on the label, which he created with his son, Nat.

You can reach Sarah Klearman at (707) 256-2213 or sklearman@napanews.com.

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CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Study abroad brings university students the prospect of experiencing a foreign culture, traveling to other countries, practicing new languages, and being carefree and independent while thousands of miles away from home. For many, it's a rite of passage, a chance to be independent, and an escape from the rigor and stress of college.

But for dozens of American college students, their study abroad semester in Spain wasn't how they imagined it would be. Now they are on a quest for justice.

The new season of Motive, an investigative podcast series from WBEZ Chicago, begins on Lauren Bajorek's 21st birthday in Seville, Spain, where she was studying abroad during the summer of 2015. She went out to celebrate with her friends, but never came home. It was discovered she'd fallen off the balcony of her Spanish tour guide's apartment. Bajorek's death was deemed an accident and the case was closed.

But three years later in April 2018, Bajorek's friends were watching a segment on The Megyn Kelly Today show on NBC, which featured, Gabrielle Vega, a young woman who claimed that her Spanish tour guide drugged and raped her while she was studying abroad in Spain. It was the same tour guide whose balcony Bajorek had fallen from in 2015.

In the days following the NBC segment, more than 30 women contacted Vega and her lawyer. They said they too were subject to sexual comments or harassment and, in some cases, to being drugged and raped by this same tour guide.

Their untold stories, along with the questions surrounding the night of Bajorek's death, inspired WBEZ journalists Candace Mittel Kahn and Alexandra Salomon to embark on a year-long investigation for the Motive podcast. During the course of their reporting, they spoke to dozens of women, most of whom had never spoken publicly before.

"In this series, women are finally coming forward to talk about something they didn't think they'd ever have to talk about and the impact it's had on their lives," said WBEZ's Candace Mittel Kahn, the host and producer of Motive Season 2.

The reporting in Motive spans three continents, and while a criminal investigation has since been opened in Spain, no one has been arrested or prosecuted.

"Over eight episodes we explore not only the reasons why some of these women stayed silent for almost a decade, but also what's next in Spain's criminal investigation into these accusations now that their silence has been broken," Mittel Kahn said.

This new season of Motive follows the podcast's 2019 debut. The first season was based on reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times to chronicle the unforgettable saga of Thaddeus "T.J." Jimenez, a wrongful conviction for murder when he was just a 13-year-old boy, and the years that followed.

"This new season of Motive once again takes listeners inside a single, real-life story to answer a broader question: 'How could this have happened?'" said Kevin Dawson, managing director of content development for WBEZ Chicago and executive producer of the podcast. "This time our story is set in Spain to look at the tragic outcome of Lauren Bajorek's study abroad trip, but goes further to add insights to an important and timely conversation about sexual violence against women."

Starting February 7, new episodes of Motive will be available on Pocket Casts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever listeners get their podcasts.

Motive Season 2: WBEZ Production Credits

Host/Producer: Candace Mittel Kahn

Freelance Reporter in Spain: Carmen Ibanez Espinosa

Editor: Alexandra Salomon

Executive Producer: Kevin Dawson

About WBEZ Chicago

WBEZ, Chicago's NPR news station, serves the community with fact-based, objective news and information. WBEZ's award-winning journalists ask tough questions, dig deep for answers and expose truths that spark change and foster understanding. In addition to its local and national news programming, WBEZ Chicago is home to a growing portfolio of popular podcasts, including the "Making" series of Making Beyonce, Making Obama and Making Oprah; an investigative podcast series, Motive; 16 Shots: A podcast about the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald; Nerdette; and Sound Opinions. WBEZ Chicago has a legacy of innovation as the birthplace of nationally acclaimed programs such as This American Life, and Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and the ground-breaking podcast, Serial.

MEDIA CONTACT: Betsy Berger, Sr. Director of Communications, 312-893-8572, [email protected]

SOURCE WBEZ Chicago
"Nation's patience has been tested enough" in the Nirbhaya case due to delay tactics of the four death row convicts, the Centre told the Supreme Court Friday and said the court would have to lay down law on whether condemned prisoners can be hanged separately or not.

The Centre has challenged in top court the February 5 order of the Delhi High Court which had dismissed its plea against the trial court's order staying the execution of the death sentence and said that all the four convicts have to be executed together and not separately.

"This is a case where ultimately this bench will have to lay down the law. Nation's patience has been tested enough now," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench comprising Justices R Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna.

The bench, which said the plea filed by the Centre and the Delhi government would be heard on February 11, did not heed to Mehta's request to issue notices to the four convicts and said it would further delay the matter.

The bench told Mehta that it would hear him on February 11 and it may consider whether notice needed to be issued to these convicts.

Mehta told the bench that one of the convicts, Mukesh Kumar Singh, has exhausted all his remedies including the mercy plea and the challenge to its rejection by the President in the apex court.

The mercy pleas of Akshay Kumar and Vinay Kumar Sharma have already been dismissed, he said, adding that the fourth convict Pawan Gupta has neither filed a curative petition nor a mercy plea.

"Pawan has chosen not to file a curative or a mercy petition. The question is, is the authority required to wait endlessly," Mehta said, adding, can a "calculated design" of one convict to delay the matter create uncertainty over execution of other convicts.

Mehta said in this case there may be a situation where one convict "sits tight for five years" and the others then approach the apex court seeking commutation of death penalty on the ground of delay in execution.

"The high court has granted them (convicts) one week time to avail all their remedies. This amply protects you," the bench said, adding, "No one can be compelled to take remedies."



While explaining the sequence of events, Mehta said the trial court had suspended the death warrants of the convicts.

To this, the bench said, "That was done as mercy petition of Vinay was pending then".

When the bench said it would hear the matter on February 11, Mehta urged the court to issue notice to the four convicts and said, "Let them come to this court on Monday and say what they intend to do."



"Issuance of notice will not harm them. The high court had also issued notices to them. The court can have the benefit of their assistance on the issue. As an institution we are answerable to the society," he said, adding that the court can allow them to serve the copy of plea to the four convicts in jail itself.

To this, the bench said issuing notices to the convicts at this stage will further delay the matter.

"We want to hear you on merits," the bench told Mehta, who said he can argue on the merits "right now" but it would be better if convicts are represented in the court through their lawyers during the arguments.

"By the order of high court, they (convicts) can take some steps," the bench said.

"In the impugned order, the Delhi High Court has granted one week time to the convicts to take steps if they wish to make any type of objections before any institutions/ authorities available under the law. Since one weeks time has been granted to the convicts which expires on February 11, list the matter on February 11 at 2 PM," the bench said.

The trial court had on January 31 stayed "till further orders" execution of the four convicts in the case -- Mukesh (32), Pawan (25), Vinay (26) and Akshay (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

Later, the Centre had moved the high court against the stay on the execution of the convicts.

In its verdict rejecting the Centre's plea, the high court had faulted the authorities concerned for not taking steps for issuance of death warrants after rejection of appeals of the convicts by the apex court in 2017.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, 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.

The juvenile was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. He, when released, was 20 years old.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 09:55 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206316cc2 1 National PT-Dirgantara-Indonesia,military,BPPT,defense-equipment Free

President Joko Jokowi Widodo has expressed a desire to accelerate the local manufacturing of long-range military drones  the first of their kind in the country  to 2022.

The drone, technically known as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), is to be the first medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV in the country. State-owned aircraft manufacturer PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) is to manufacture the vehicle's airframe, while state-owned PT Len is to build the military equipment, such as sensors, radar and weapon systems.

Vehicles in the MALE UAV category are designed to fly at altitudes of between 3,000 and 9,000 meters for extended lengths of time.

"Our original plan was to put the drone  we named it Elang Hitam [black eagle] and it will be specifically used for military purposes  into mass production by 2024," Research and Technology Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said at the Presidential Office in Jakarta after a Cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Read also: Made in Indonesia: First long-range military drone unveiled in Bandung

But considering the domestic demand, as well as the preparedness of its design and manufacturing process, the President had instructed that [the drones mass manufacturing] be moved forward to 2022.

The drone was jointly designed by the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space and the Defense Ministrys research agency.

Bambang added that Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto and Indonesian Military commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto had expressed interest for the long-range drones, particularly for operations to secure the countrys borders.

PTDI and PT Len were to originally manufacture five Elang Hitam drones by 2022 before beginning mass production. The first five drones would be prototypes to ensure that the vehicles were in line with the market's demands, Bambang said.

The accelerated development of the drones prototype would mean that an investment of Rp 1.1 trillion (US$ 80.51 million) was needed, up from the Rp 800 billion based on the original development plan, the minister said.
"We're eager to bring our trusted U-Haul services to the Walton community," said Drew Case, U-Haul Company of SW Ohio president, whose territory includes parts of northern Kentucky. "Keeping the flea market in operation is important to U-Haul. We plan to welcome new vendors into the fold. For a limited time, we will be offering a $200 special for new indoor market vendors. Our goal is to grow the market."

Adaptive reuse of the property will render a mix of covered RV storage, outdoor drive-up storage and indoor self-storage units, giving customers access to climate-controlled rooms with high-tech security features at affordable price points. Propane, professional hitch installation and U-Box portable storage containers will be offered on the 9.54-acre lot.

Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage of Richwood at (859) 692-4239 or stop by to visit general manager Sarah Wells and her team. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday and Friday-Sunday. The store is currently closed Tuesday-Thursday while renovations take place. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL.

"Customers here have been traveling to Elsmere for our self-storage product," Case added. "Now residents in and around Walton, Richwood, Union and Florence will have a more convenient place to store their belongings. We believe our U-Haul facility will work well with the flea market operations, and we're excited for the future."

Acquisition of the Richwood Flea Market was driven by U-Haul Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. The adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings.

Case expects to maintain a staff of eight or more Team Members when the store is completed. U-Haul will look to hire locally to promote job growth within the Walton community.

U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is revolutionizing the moving industry through its more convenient, more secure way to pick up and return a truck. Since 2017, U-Haul Live Verify technology has allowed customers to conduct transactions entirely on their smartphones at any hour  day or night. There are no membership fees. Create an online account at uhaul.com to start skipping the lines and stop worrying about store hours.

For self-movers who aim to keep their costs low but need extra hands to help with their move, MovingHelp.com has been successfully pairing customers with reliable Moving Help Service Providers for more than a decade. The online marketplace lets customers shop and compare local moving companies that provide labor services including: loading and unloading, packing and unpacking, cleaning, and U-Box pick up/delivery. More than 1.7 million unedited customer reviews, transparent pricing and payment release subject to customer approval have led to 94 percent of Moving Help users rating their experience four stars or higher.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks, 120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

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[February 07, 2020] Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024 | Increasing Demand from Commercial Aircraft to Boost Growth | Technavio

Technavio has been monitoring the heads-up display HUD market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.18 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 11% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005264/en/ Technavio announced its latest market research report titled global heads-up display HUD market 2020-2024. (Graphic: Business Wire) Increasing demand from commercial aircraft has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, High cost of HUDs might hamper market growth. Request a free sample report Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Heads-Up Display HUD Market is segmented as below: End-User Aviation

Automotive

Others Geographic segmentation APAC

Europe

MEA

North America

South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41189



Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our heads-up display HUD market report covers the following areas:

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Heads-Up Display HUD Market industry analysis This study identifies advances in AR HUD as one of the prime reasons driving the heads-up display HUD market growth during the next few years. Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the heads-up display HUD market, including some of the vendors such as BAE Systems Plc, Continental AG, Delphi (News - Alert) Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corp., Pioneer Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Visteon Corp. and WayRay AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the heads-up display HUD market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024

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The growth of the heads-up display HUD market

Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors

Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of heads-up display HUD market vendors About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005264/en/

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  President Rodrigo Duterte will order that the government's notice to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) be sent to the United States government already, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Friday.

"[President Rodrigo Duterte] is instructing [Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea] to tell [the Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro "Teddyboy" Locsin Jr.] to send the notice of termination to the US government," said Panelo in a text message.

Panelo said Duterte is also scheduled to speak with US President Donald Trump through a phone call "soon." However, it is not yet clear when that call will take place and what they will discuss.

He added that he is not sure whether it was the President or Trump who asked for the phone call.

This comes a day after Locsin told the Senate that Duterte ordered him to hold off transmittal of the termination notice that he said had already been prepared.

"I have prepared a notice of termination but it has not been sent upon the orders of the President," Locsin said in a Senate hearing Thursday

Under the two-decade military pact between the Philippines and the US, the VFA can be terminated via a written notice from either of the countries. Expiration will come 180 days from the time either party notifies the other.

Duterte ordered to scrap the VFA as a drastic response to the US government's move to cancel Senator Ronald "Bato" de la Rosa's tourist visa.

Earlier, Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon and Senator Panfilo Ping Lacson filed a resolution asking the President to reconsider his decision to terminate the VFA.

Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri cited economic complications if the country unilaterally withdraws from the agreement.

"Maraming implications 'yan. May economic implication, of course 'yung military benefits and of course trade between the US and the Philippines baka magkaroon din ng kaunting komplikasyon at problema," said Zubiri.

[Translation: That has a lot of implications. There are economic implications even on the military benefits and of course trade between the US and the Philippines, there may be a few complications and problems]

Locsin also said the country would stand to lose around P10 billion in aid, such as military assistance and financial grants from the US, should the termination push through.

When Senators asked Locsin if the President consulted the Foreign Affairs Department before ordering to scrap the VFA, the secretary said Duterte did not approach him.

Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said the entire Executive branch is backing the President on his decision.

"They [are] ready to terminate once given the signal. Thats the impression I got yesterday," he told reporters on Thursday.

Correspondent Joyce Ilas contributed to this report.
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The Treasury Department has handed over sensitive financial information about Hunter Biden to congressional Republicans, despite previously refusing to give Democrats President Donald Trump's tax returns.

Republican Senators Charles Grassley and Ron Johnson yesterday released a letter they wrote to Secret Service Director James Murray seeking documents on the former vice president's son immediately after the vote to acquit President Trump in his impeachment trial.

The highly confidential information on Hunter Biden was reportedly handed over to Grassley, the Senate Finance Committee Chairman, and Ron Johnson, the Homeland Security Committee Chairman.

A Democrat on one of the committees conducting the investigation told Yahoo News that the '''evidence'' of questionable origin' was handed over to the influential senators.

Hunter Biden being interviewed on Nightline last month. Republicans were handed sensitive information about the former vice president's business travel to Ukraine and China

President Trump speaking to the media in the East Room of the White House one day after the US Senate acquitted him on two articles of impeachment

Last year Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin blocked a Democratic request in November for the president's tax filings, saying Democrats had no legitimate legislative purpose for seeking the documents.

Mnuchin said in a letter to Democrats last April: 'The legal implications of this request could affect protections for all Americans against politically-motivated disclosures of personal tax information, regardless of which party is in power.'

But that did not apply to the non-tax financial information that may relate to the son of former Vice President Joe Biden - a Trump political rival he is seeking to tie to corrupt business dealing in Ukraine.

Trump's bid to spark and investigation into the Bidens led to the impeachment proceedings which saw the president acquitted in the Republican Senate this week.

Grassley and Johnson are seeking information on any security detail provided to Hunter Biden, as well as travel aboard government aircraft.

In particular they were looking for suspicious activity reports filed relating to Biden with the Treasury Department by financial institutions.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin speaking at Chatham House in London last month. Last year he blocked a Democratic request in November for the president's tax filings

Sen. Charles Grassley at the Capitol on Thursday, who announced the probe in Hunter Biden, has been a firm backer of President Trump

In the letter the lawmakers wrote they are 'reviewing potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration' - particularly in Ukraine and China, where he had business dealings.

Ashley Schapitl, a spokeswoman for the highest-ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, Senator Ron Wyden, said the granting of the Biden request was a 'blatant double standard'.

She said in a statement to Yahoo: 'Applying a blatant double standard, Trump administration agencies like the Treasury Department are rapidly complying with Senate Republican requests - no subpoenas necessary - and producing ''evidence'' of questionable origin.

'The administration told House Democrats to go pound sand when their oversight authority was mandatory while voluntarily cooperating with the Senate Republicans' sideshow at lightning speed.'

The same day the Senate acquitted President Trump, two GOP senators released a letter they wrote to the Secret Service seeking information about Hunter Biden. He is pictured with his father Joe

The letter by Grassley and Johnson underlined that the president is getting the investigation he wanted, after his request for the president of Ukraine to do him a 'favor' and investigate the Bidens and the 2016 elections prompted a House Democratic impeachment inquiry.

Democrats called it cheating and inducing foreign interference in the US elections, but Republicans said it was not an impeachable offense.

One of the trip coming under scrutiny was Hunter Biden's trip aboard Air Force Two along with his father to China in 2013.

Every Senate Republican other than Mitt Romney of Utah voted to acquit, and Trump brandished headlines of his acquittal at the congressional prayer breakfast on Thursday morning.
A Mirage aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) crashed on Friday during a routine operational training mission near Shorkot city in Punjab province, Pakistani media Dawn reported quoting the PAF.

The PAF spokesperson in a statement said that the pilot safely ejected. Dawn reported that there was no loss of life or property due to this incident.

According to Dawn, the Air Headquarters has ordered a board of inquiry to know the cause of the accident.

In January 2020, a PAF aircraft crashed while on a routine operational training mission crashed near Mianwali, Dawn reported. The pilots, Squadron Leader Haris bin Khalid and Flying Officer Ibaadur Rehman, aboard the PAF FT-7 aircraft died in the crash.
In the latest round of Huaweis push into a Google Mobile Services-free world, the leading Chinese smartphone brand will reportedly pre-install the top 70 most popular Android apps on its future smartphones. The actual list of apps will vary by region and will be updated regularly based on the Play Stores top charts.

However, unless there is a major breakthrough to the current scenario, Huawei will still not be able to bring some of the most popular apps like Facebooks Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp due to the ongoing sanctions.

The new report comes from a closed-door presentation held by Huawei for journalists from Eastern Europe. Huawei is believed to put this new approach to action with the upcoming P40 series which are expected to be announced on March 26. The main reasoning behind this undertaking is to bring consumers a more hassle-free experience without the need of going through the hurdles of side-loading the APK files.

This new development comes on the heels of yesterdays news about the newly formed Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) which will aim to help developers in bringing their apps to Huawei, Xiaomi, vivo and Oppos own app stores.

In addition, weve seen Huaweis commitment to bring its own alternatives to Googles app suite as it is already working with TomTom on a maps app. Huawei is also hard at work on polishing up its Huawei Mobile Services as a true competitor to Googles own Mobile Services platform.

Source (in Russian) | Via
BOSTON - A Guatemalan family seeking asylum has been reunited in Massachusetts after challenging their separation under the Trump administrations controversial Remain in Mexico asylum process.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts said Friday that Maudy Constanza, Hanz Morales and their three children were reunited a day earlier at Bostons Logan International Airport after nearly seven months apart.

I feel tremendous happiness, said Morales said in a statement provided by the ACLU, which also posted a brief video of the familys emotional reunion. I am very happy to be with my wife and my daughters, and I feel safe because I am in a safe country with all of my family. This is a great blessing that God has made possible.

The civil rights group said the reunification happened after the federal government agreed to settle a lawsuit it had filed in Boston federal court on the familys behalf. The ACLU said it will be seeking to dismiss the case.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, declined to comment, citing the pending litigation.

The family is among nearly 60,000 asylum-seekers who have been sent back to Mexico as a result of President Donald Trumps Remain in Mexico policy, which took effect in January 2019. American authorities have lauded the program, saying its helped to significantly reduce illegal border crossings.

The family had fled Guatemala last year after Morales said he was was shot four times. But the family split up just before crossing the border to seek asylum.

Constanza and her two daughters were allowed to enter the U.S. to await the outcome of their asylum claim, but Morales and their 9-year-old son were returned to Mexico to wait out their case there.

The ACLU argued the Trump administrations new asylum policy violated the familys constitutional due process and equal protection rights.

The civil rights group said it is illegal to send people back to countries where they will be persecuted or tortured, and that migrants fearing for their safety have the right to see an immigration judge before theyre turned away.

The ACLU said Morales and his sons time living near the border in Mexico was extremely perilous. The pair lived mostly in hiding after surviving an attempted kidnapping and going hungry because it was too dangerous to go out to buy food, it said.

This reunion is bittersweet because this family never should have had to endure this separation and heartbreak, Susan Church, Constanzas immigration lawyer, said in a statement provided by the ACLU. Although we are overjoyed to see them reunited, many more people are still suffering under this dangerous asylum ban.

Formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols, the policy requires asylum seekers from certain Spanish-speaking nations, including Guatemala, to wait out the U.S. immigration court process in Mexico.

The familys suit is among a handful that have sought to challenge the new asylum policy.

The ACLU and other groups also sued last year in San Francisco federal court on behalf of 11 migrants. An appeals court panel heard arguments in the case in October but has yet to rule.
President Donald Trump, left, and Xi Jinping, China's president, shaking hands during a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. Read more

With the coronavirus spreading around the world, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told President Donald Trump in a phone call Friday that his government is confident and capable of defeating the epidemic.

China has reported more than 630 coronavirus deaths, including one in Hong Kong, and one person has died in the Philippines.

The outbreak is a major challenge for the ruling Communist Party. The death late Thursday of Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist who tried to share news about the new coronavirus long before Chinese health authorities disclosed its full threat, only to be silenced by police, sparked widespread anger online. On social media, people began demanding freedom of speech, echoing the sentiments of the 1989 Tiananmen uprising.

In his call to Trump, Xi asked the United States to "respond reasonably" to the outbreak. The Trump administration, along with many other countries, imposed travel restrictions on travelers arriving from mainland China in the wake of the deadly outbreak. Trump tweeted early Friday that Xi is "strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the coronavirus."

"Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone," Trump added.

Meanwhile, anger was swelling online in China over the death of a whistleblower doctor who tried to sound the alarm about the deadly outbreak but was silenced by Communist Party authorities. On social media, users hailed Li Wenliang as a hero, after the ophthalmologist was first reported to have died of the virus late Thursday.

In response, netizens began voicing rare fury toward the Chinese government and demanding freedom of speech, echoing the sentiments of the 1989 Tiananmen uprising, as censors moved to squelch the dissent.

And Chinese researchers said they have found evidence linking the spread of coronavirus to the pangolin, a mammal illegally trafficked in huge numbers for the supposedly healing qualities of its scales and meat.

Chinese health officials say they confirmed more than 31,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, more than 4,800 of them considered severe.

An additional 41 people on board the Diamond Princess cruise liner, which has been quarantined in Japan, have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total to 61.

Another cruise ship, the Westerdam, is at sea, and its crew is unsure where to go next, after being denied entry to the Philippines, Japan and South Korea. Passengers blame an ill-advised port stop in Hong Kong, where the boat took on many new passengers.

Two charter flights carrying about 300 Americans out of the virus-hit city of Wuhan are expected to arrive in the United States on Friday.

China's state-owned agriculture company, known as Cofco, is among the country's conglomerates that have stepped up their food supplies in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, China's National Development and Reform Commission said on Friday.

The Chinese agency said state-owned companies were supplying additional cooking oils, flour, rice noodles and meat, among other items, to Wuhan and Hubei province.

Cofco sends over 200 tonnes of rice to Wuhan daily, the agency said, adding that the company was expanding its storage space in the region to make room for further stockpiles of food.

Earlier this week, China's Assets Supervision and Administration Commission said its conglomerates were doubling or tripling their capacity in various sectors, including "manufacturing, chemical, petrochemical and grain processing," the state-run China Daily newspaper reported.

Other companies have repurposed their assembly lines to produce facial masks and respirators, amid a lack in medical equipment.

Concerns over the economic fallout of the novel coronavirus outbreak mounted in Australia and Japan on Friday, as Australia's central bank governor predicted slowing growth and the Japanese government announced measures to stimulate the economy.

Addressing a parliamentary panel on Friday, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe said the impact of the novel coronavirus could potentially be more significant than the fallout from the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic in 2003.

"China is a larger part of the global economy and more closely integrated with other economies, including Australia," he said. "I think it is quite likely that the international spillovers will be larger than they were back in 2003 with SARS."

While Lowe emphasized that predictions remained difficult, he indicated that the bank was currently assuming a 0.2 percent reduction in economic growth during the first quarter of 2020.

Meanwhile, Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura announced on Friday that the government was prepared to draw from state reserves to bolster the country's economy in the wake of the outbreak.

The government is particularly concerned over the impact on tourism and consumption, Nishimura said, according to the Reuters news agency.

China's government has told companies to start preparing to return to work, after extending the Lunar New Year holiday to try to contain the outbreak of coronavirus.

Government offices in Beijing technically reopened on Monday, although many officials are working from home, while other cities and provinces have extended the holiday to Feb. 10 or beyond.

Even as they struggle to contain the outbreak, Communist Party leaders have called for an "orderly" return to work that will minimize the chance of transmission.

Businesses outside Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, are "encouraged to create ways to make workplaces less populated or allow staff to take shifts to make production at full throttle," the Communist Party committee for fighting the epidemic, led by Premier Li Keqiang, has declared.

Railway and civil aviation authorities should try to enable passengers to sit further apart from each other to reduce the risks of virus spreading, the committee said, according to a state media report.

Chinese researchers say they have found evidence linking the spread of coronavirus to the pangolin, a mammal illegally trafficked in huge numbers for the supposedly healing qualities of its scales and meat.

Resembling a cross between an armadillo and an anteater but unrelated to either, the pangolin is the world's most trafficked mammal, with a million thought to have been poached from the wild in just a decade. Its meat is considered a delicacy and its scales are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine, wildlife experts say.

The research suggested the pangolin could have been an intermediate host, transmitting the new coronavirus from bats to humans.

"This latest discovery will be of great significance for the prevention and control of the origin [of the virus]," South China Agricultural University, which led the research, said in a statement on its website reported by Reuters news agency.

The discovery could also be a lifeline for the reclusive pangolin, a mammal that had been headed for extinction because of unchecked demand from China and Vietnam.

The air of mystery attaching to the pangolin has been its downfall, sparking an unjustified belief that its scales have magical medicinal properties.

In hospitals and pharmacies across China and Vietnam, powder made from pangolin scales is prescribed for a wide range of ailments, including rheumatism, wound infections, skin disorders, coronary heart disease and even cancer.

Mothers take powdered pangolin scales to help them lactate, while men drink pangolin blood or consume fetuses in the belief that this will make them more virile.

But Dirk Pfeiffer, a professor of veterinary medicine at Hong Kong's City University, told Reuters the study was still a long way from proving pangolins had transmitted the virus.

In South Korea, Welkeeps, a producer of respiratory masks in South Korea, says it has received 10 years' worth of demand in the past three weeks, as panic buying sparked by the coronavirus outbreak grips Asia.

Company president Park Jong-han said he can't deal with over 200 phone calls a day, while wholesalers are camping in the lobby cafe of his office.

While Beijing launched an "urgent" appeal for medical masks, suits and goggles this week, other countries such South Korea, Japan and Thailand are experiencing panic-buying of masks. Factories in China that produce half of the world's medical masks are also operating below capacity due to the virus epidemic

As store shelves are wiped clean in Thailand, Bangkok authorities on Thursday encouraged the public to make their masks and hand sanitizers at home. The citywide shortage in Hong Kong has led thousands of people to line up, sometimes overnight, to buy protective masks this week.

South Korea has also introduced tough penalties on mask "hoarders." Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki called for relentless crackdown to "root out" illegal hoarding, price gouging and smuggling of medical masks this week.

Hong announced this week that those stockpiling masks and hand sanitizers can face up to two years in prison or a fine of up to $42,000. To prevent "mass expatriation" of masks, a new rule in effect Thursday enforces those shipping over 300 units out of South Korea to report such shipments to customs.

Over three days since Wednesday, South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety received nearly 1,000 consumer reports complaining about canceled mask orders and price gouging, with one accusing an online market of charging over $25 for a mask.

Welkeeps president Park said he hasn't increased prices, because he doesn't want to "capitalize on health concerns of the people." But there is no shortage of wholesalers, usually looking for supplies to China, lining up outside his company. One tried to leave $2.5 million in cash outside Park's office, telling him just to ship masks as they become available, he said.

The Washington Posts Anna Fifield, Rick Noack and Min Joo Kim contributed to this report.
Image: ANI

The Kolkata Police has detained Bharatiya Janata Party's national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya at the start point of the party's rally supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), news agency ANI has reported.



Kolkata: Police detains BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya at the start point of BJP's rally in Tollygunge Phari supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act. pic.twitter.com/NVEU9f1TCp

 ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2020

According to the news agency, Vijayvargiya was detained at the start point of the rally at Tollygunge Phari.

According to reports, other senior leaders of the party have also been detained.

The BJP has been carrying out rallies across the country, reportedly to raise awareness about CAA. Protests against the the contentious law and a proposed nation-wide National Register of Citizens (NRC) have been on throughout the nation since the law was passed.

(This is a developing story. More details waited.)
JAMMU: Shortly after she and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA), PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti made a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, saying it was expected from an "autocratic" regime.

"Ms Mufti received a PSA order sometime back. Slapping the draconian PSA on 2 ex-J&K CMs is expected from an autocratic regime that books 9 year olds for 'seditious remarks'. Question is how much longer will we act as bystanders as they desecrate what this nation stands for," a tweet from Mufti's official account, which is currently operated by her daughter Iltija since her detention last year, said.

Ms Mufti received a PSA order sometime back.Slapping the draconian PSA on 2 ex J&K CMs is expected from an autocratic regime that books 9 year olds for seditious remarks. Question is how much longer will we act as bystanders as they desecrate what this nation stands for?  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) February 6, 2020

The tweet came shortly after Mufti along with former chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were booked under the PSA by the Ministry of ome Affairs (MHA) on Thursday.

The MHA had also slapped PSA on National Conference general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar, former NC MLC Bashir Veeri and PDP leader Sartaj Madni after their release from MLA Hostel in Srinagar on Thursday.

Live TV

Meanwhile, reacting to the development, former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram too slammed the Modi government for slapping PSA on Omar and Mufti.

The former Home Minister took to Twitter and said, ''Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others.''

Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others.  P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 7, 2020

In a series of tweets, Chidamabaram said, ''PM says that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be obeyed. He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.''

The Congress veteran warned, ''Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. That is Satyagraha.''

Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. That is satyagraha.  P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) February 7, 2020

Under PSA, the Jammu and Kashmir administration can keep both Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in jail for 3 months without trial. Notably, both these leaders have been under detention for the last six months since the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5, 2019.

The 49-year-old National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and 60-year-old Mehbooba Mufti were taken into preventive custody hours before Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre scrapped Article 370 and bifurcated the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Sources told Zee Media that both Abdullah and Mehbooba will continue to be lodged in Hari Niwas and a bungalow at MA road in Srinagar respectively.

On September 16, 2019, the Centre had revealed that former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah had been detained under the PSA. The veteran National Conference leader has been kept under house arrest since August 5, 2019.
By Trend

Export of grains and legumes from Turkey to Kazakhstan increased by 23.3 percent and amounted to $22.2 million in 2019, the Turkish Ministry of Trade told Trend.

Export of grain and legumes from Turkey to Kazakhstan in December 2019 decreased by 11.2 percent compared to December 2018 and amounted to $1.5 million.

Turkey exported grains and legumes worth $6.8 billion in 2019, which is 1.6 percent more compared to the export of grains and legumes in 2018.

"In December 2019, export of grain and legumes from Turkey increased by 5.9 percent compared to December 2018 and amounted to $628.8 million," the ministry said.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 11:59:26|Editor: Lu Hui

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LUANDA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Angolan government officials and representatives of the civil society organizations in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) discussed alleviating poverty in the African country at a meeting here Thursday.

At the opening of the meeting, Minister of Economy and Planning, Sergio Santos, reaffirmed the Angolan government's commitment to creating projects and programs aimed at reducing extreme poverty in the country on the west coast of Southern Africa.

The minister stressed that there are many challenges that need to be tackled, citing the destruction of social and economic infrastructures in the country's long civil war, which has worsened the poverty situation.

Among the measures adopted by the government, he highlighted the redistribution of social wealth through active employment policies, promotion of entrepreneurship and reform of the social security system.

Social integration and financial education support for family farming in rural areas were also part of the government's efforts to combat poverty, he said.

The UNDP representative in Angola, Mamisoa Rangers, said that extreme poverty stands in the way of reaching human potential, peace, security and prosperity for countries and that each country faces specific challenges in their completing the UN 2030 agenda of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Leticia Bartolio, an official of the International Policy Center for Inclusive Growth, a forum guided by a partnership agreement between UNDP and the Brazilian government, stressed the need to reinforce the mechanisms for monitoring, evaluating and inspecting anti-poverty projects to ensure their success.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstan did not prohibit export of surgical masks to China, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development.

The ministry said Kazakhstan never introduced a ban on the export of surgical masks from Kazakhstan.

The ministry added that currently surgical masks in Kazakhstan are manufactured by the following ventures: Super-pharm, Dolce, Mega Pharma, and Medical Active Group. All these ventures are operating as usual, the ministry said.

On Feb. 6, 2020, Spokesman for Kazakhstan's Health Ministry said that , Kazakhstan has prohibited export of surgical masks to China.

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. Since then over 600 people have died and over 31,000 people have been confirmed as infected. At the same time, the number of people reportedly recovered from the infection has surpassed 1,500.



Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing. It is primarily spread through airborne contact or contact with contaminated objects.



Chinese health authorities say that the majority of the people who have died were either elderly or had underlying health problems.



Aside from Mainland China, the cases of coronavirus spreading have also been confirmed in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, France, Canada, the UAE, India, Italy, Russia, Philippines, the UK, Nepal, Cambodia, Belgium,Spain, Finland, Sweden, Sri Lanka.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Cameroonians head for the polls this weekend against the backdrop of the armed conflict that broke out in October 2017 in the country's Anglophone North West and South West regions. Elections to the legislature and to local municipalities have been postponed twice. The last ones were held in September 2013.

In 2018 presidential elections were held which saw President Paul Biya win another seven-year term. But the poll was heavily contested, and resulted in an escalation of the violence which persists. More than 3 000 people have died, half a million have been displaced within Cameroon and 40 000 were forced to seek refuge in Nigeria. An estimated 700 000 children are out of school and one third of the population in the Anglophone regions are in need of humanitarian aid.

What impact will the elections have on the resolution of the conflict?

In our view the answer is simple: none. This is because the ruling Cameroon People Democratic Movement's dominates state institutions such as the executive and legislature. If anything, preparation for the elections has already heightened violence.

The North West and South West regions also experienced increased rates of violence during the presidential election of October 2018. Voter turnout was low  only 5% in the North and 15% in the South. The opposition asked for a re-run but the constitutional court said the elections were credible.

Political landscape

Cameroon has three major political parties. The ruling Cameroon People Democratic Movement which currently has 148 of the 180 National Assembly seats. The Social Democratic Front follows with a distant 18 seats. It has been the leading opposition party since its creation in 1990. The Social Democratic Front has a challenger in the form of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement which is led by Maurice Kamto. Kamto came second in the 2018 presidential election, the Social Democratic Front's candidate 4th.

Kamto challenged the outcome of the presidential elections. He was subsequently jailed but then released after 9 months. Having become the de facto leader of the opposition in the country, Kamto has announced that the Cameroon Renaissance Movement will boycott the twin elections, citing the ongoing conflict and a bad electoral code.

If Kamto's party does indeed boycott the elections, the ruling party will not face any major challenge.

Kamto believes that on its own, the special status granted to the English-speaking region of Cameroon will not resolve the crisis. Like his counterparts in the Social Democratic Front, he has proposed federalism.

Wrestling control of territory

The spike in violence before and during elections in 2018 was due to the belligerents fighting for control of the former British Southern Cameroons territory.

The Anglophone conflict is separatist in character. The pro-independence fighters want the restoration of the statehood of the Southern Cameroons, which they have renamed Ambazonia.

The separatists have asked members of parliament representing constituencies in the Anglophone regions to stage a walk-out or resign from the parliament in Yaounde, the country's capital. They hope that such a step will achieve the same results as the 1953 walk out.

That year, the Southern Cameroons' representatives walked out of the Eastern House of Assembly of Nigeria to assert the right to self-determination and the separate status of the Southern Cameroons as a United Nations (UN) Trust Territory. It was a successful gambit as the administering authority  Britain  complied and allowed the territory its autonomy.

But the members of parliament have not complied. The result has been an increase in violence.

Parliamentary discipline

The latest efforts of the state to resolve the Anglophone conflict includes a a national dialogue. The key resolution was the adoption of a special status for the Anglophone North West and South West regions.

The legislation mentioned schools and the judiciary system as part of the special status  a delayed response to protests in 2016 by teachers and lawyers.

Members of the ruling party hailed the law as a major breakthrough but the opposition received it with a pinch of salt. Their argument is that Anglophones, even the moderate ones, want a federal state.

For their part, separatists said no law enacted in Cameroon can be enforced in Ambazonia. They firmly stand by their demand for independence.

The stalemate suggests that more still needs to be done to resolve the conflict.

Parliament has the prerogative to make laws. It can leverage this privilege to improve the special status or enact a more adequate law. But the domination of parliament by the ruling party allows the president to define its agenda.

For example, the only time the Anglophone conflict was examined by parliament was when Biya ordered it to adopt the decentralisation bill which included the special status in December last year.

The elections are unlikely to change the power dynamics in the country. The ruling party is set to maintain control of parliament and municipalities. This means that the special status law will be implemented, which in turn will mean that nothing will change. The opposition's inability to challenge this law means the conflict will persist.

United opposition is needed

If opposition parties are to make any contribution to building a more resilient society, they will have to unite to face the ruling party.

Cameroon's ruling party has been able to dominate the political space in the country because of fractious disagreements among opposition and civil society. Major opposition parties must settle their differences and find ways of forging solid alliances that can allow them to effectively wrest control of the parliament, municipalities, and even the presidency from the ruling party.

If a united opposition came to power it would mean that voices for change could field the type of strategies and legislation that could provide longer term solutions to the conflict. Many in Cameroon's opposition and in civil society believe that a return to a two-state federation  that Anglophones have repeatedly called for  following all-inclusive dialogue, is the best way out the country's impasse.

Cheryl Hendricks is the Executive Director of the Africa Institute of South Africa at the Human Science Research Council which receives funding from multiple sources.

Gabriel Ngah Kiven does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

By Gabriel Ngah Kiven, PhD candidate in Political Studies at the Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Johannesburg And

Cheryl Hendricks, Executive director, Africa Institute of South Africa, Human Sciences Research Council
One of the most seasoned military veterans on the House Armed Services Committee has been on the front line of a legislative effort to block President Donald Trump from using billions in funds for military construction to build a wall on the southern border.

Now, he says, he's concerned that the reallocation requests -- and the Pentagon's acquiescence to them -- will make Congress take military money asks less seriously.

Rep. Anthony Brown, D-Maryland, is the vice chairman of the committee and a retired colonel in the Army Reserve. On Jan. 21, he sent a letter, co-signed by 30 other lawmakers, to Defense Secretary Mark Esper demanding more information about a new request for $7.2 billion to build the wall, which would be in addition to the $6.1 billion in diverted to wall construction from military construction and counter-drug efforts in the fiscal 2019 defense budget.

Brown has also worked to publicize military projects in Maryland that have been cut or pushed back by the reallocation, including a $13 million child care center at Joint Base Andrews and some $16.5 million on roadwork at Fort Meade.

Related: Pentagon Backs Trump's Call for $7.2B More from Military Funds to Build Wall

During a recent interview at his Capitol Hill office, Brown said his beef is not with Esper on the matter.

"Publicly, there should be no daylight between the secretary of defense and the president," Brown said. " ... So my disappointment isn't with Secretary Esper. I don't expect him to come out and publicly challenge it. ... But it's just so inconsistent with the debates and the discussion that we have, where every penny matters."

Brown said he had fought hard within his Democratic caucus to approve the $738 billion fiscal 2020 defense budget request. A budget agreement last summer set the topline for fiscal 2021 at $740 billion, but Brown said he fears a much more challenging battle this time around.

"If the president follows through with repurposing at the levels that he did last year, it is going to make it much, much more difficult for us to pass an authorization and appropriation -- a budget for defense at the levels that they're going to come in for. ... This is an unforced error for those who believe that, you know, we really do need to invest more in true security and true defense."

Trump is allowed to take the military construction funds, with the approval of the Pentagon, under a law that allows for the repurposing of resources in support of troops deployed under the circumstances of a national emergency. Trump declared the emergency last February after an impasse over the matter resulted in a partial government shutdown lasting more than a month, saying a surge in illegal immigration amounted to a security crisis at the border.

But Brown said the impact on the military -- apart from damage to morale due to delayed and canceled infrastructure projects -- is that requests for resources could be seen as less credible.

"It's just inconsistent that [the DoD] would say, 'Yeah, it's OK. We can make [the border wall funding request] work,' because all you're doing is sending a signal to Congress that, you know, maybe there is a lot of excess in that defense budget," he said. "Maybe there is a little bit of cushion; maybe your request is padding the budget. And that's not fair to the American taxpayers."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.

Read more: SEAL Boss to Depart After 2 Years; Officials Say No Indication He Was Forced Out
Hong Kong: Quarantine arrangement sets

(To watch the video with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Government today explained its new 14-day quarantine arrangement to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Starting February 8, the Department of Health will issue quarantine orders to all people entering Hong Kong from the Mainland, including Hong Kong residents, Mainland residents and visitors from other places.

People meeting this criteria shall stay at home or other accommodation for a 14-day compulsory quarantine.

The policy includes people who have been to the Mainland in the past 14 days before arriving in Hong Kong, even if they entered the city via other places.

This applies to those who have not developed any symptoms and passed temperature checks upon entry.

Those showing symptoms will be referred to the department for further handling.

Travellers without a valid visa for a 14-day period will be denied entry.

For non-Hong Kong residents who have arranged to stay at hotels or other dwellings, they will conduct quarantine at the concerned hotels or dwellings.

If those under compulsory quarantine are not able to arrange accommodation, the Government will provide quarantine at a temporary accommodation.

At this afternoons press conference, Secretary for Food & Health Sophia Chan said the goal of the policy is to safeguard the public.

The objective of this mandatory home quarantine, with the legal backing, is to reduce the cross-boundary flow of people as well as to reduce the transmissibility of the virus within the community.

The mandatory quarantine for 14 days, as the Chief Secretary alluded to earlier, there are a number of checks and medical surveillance, looking into the condition of quarantine at home.

But the whole idea is for this person to stay at home and not go out, so that in case they are carrying any virus, it would not be transmitted to the rest of the community. So thats the whole idea.

Prof Chan further explained that those under quarantine will be monitored by the Department of Health.

Other than all of these initial explanation packs, health education and telephone calls provided to the client, there will be spot checks, random checks to see whether this person is at home.

Of course the condition of this person - whether for example they are running a temperature or they have any clinical signs and symptoms of not feeling well - would be checked and also for them to record themselves. There will be periodic checks by the Department of Health colleagues to monitor the situation.

Prof Chan appealed to those placed in confinement to exercise self-discipline, stressing it will take a concerted effort to combat the virus.

Of course, self-discipline is the most important because the whole idea is not to hold the person at home and have a lot of guards outside and so on.

So it is not this. Self-discipline and then having everyone in Hong Kong fighting together for this infectious disease is the most important.

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
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Episode 14 | Latest PA poll and the Iowa Caucus Catastrophe

PA pollster Dr. Terry Madonna joins the BattlegroundPA podcast to discuss the latest Franklin and Marshall poll that gauged Pennsylvanian voters support for President Donald Trump. Then, along with Democratic analyst Rogette Harris and Republican analyst Jeffrey Lord, your host Joyce Davis navigates the catastrophe of the Democratic Iowa Caucus that has left us without any answers on Monday night. Which candidate will have the most to gain from the debacle? What, if anything, is Pennsylvania doing to avoid any issues in the primaries or elections of 2020?

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A Massachusetts mother wrote a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos demanding an apology for the bullying her daughter has received for sharing the same name as the retail giant's virtual assistant device Alexa, according to WNBC.

Identified only as "Lauren," the woman, who hails from Lynn, reached out to Bezos after reportedly seeing her 6-year-old girl bullied by her peers.

"Mr. Bezos, I write to you as a father and human being rather than the CEO of Amazon," she began her letter. "We are not asking for wealth or recognition from this request. We just want to correct an error we believe was a giant mistake."

The mother went on to describe how other children have treated her daughter as if the 6-year-old is the virtual assistant herself.

"Kids are telling her, Turn on my T.V., tell me todays weather" Lauren wrote. "They laugh at her and treat her like a servant, and this has been an ongoing issue, everywhere we go."

Lauren added that her family has also fielded jokes from people who have asked whether the girl "can do the same things the Alexa device does." The constant jokes have upset her daughter, the mother wrote.

"Its the world we live in," Lauren acknowledged in her letter. "And people mean no harm. But Alexa is a person, not a machine, and people have to stop referring to her like she is one."

In explaining her girl's predicament, the mother said that companies should stop using women's names to label their products, WNBC reported.

"This is everywhere," Lauren told Bezos. "Youve already ruined the name, but you dont have to continue to hurt these girls and women. I ask, make an apology and start a movement. I am."

According to WNBC, the mother sent the letter twice before receiving a response from an Amazon spokesperson.

"I'm very sorry to hear about the experience you're having. I definitely understand this has been frustrating," the spokesperson replied. "I really appreciate the time you've taken to voice your concern and let us know about the issues you've run into. I have sent your feedback on to our internal teams. Thanks for making sure we're aware of your experience."

Story continues

Lauren's daughter is not the first reported victim of bullying due to the virtual assistant's popularity. In 2017, four women in Seattle shared similar experiences with the Seattle Times.

"I work in the service industry, so my name is printed on receipts that people see all the time," Alexa Philbeck, a bartender, told the publication. "I get comments constantly and people trying to make jokes or order me around."

According to TechCrunch, Amazon has sold more than 100 million Alexa devices since they were first launched. "Alexa," as a baby girl name, has also dropped in popularity since the company came out with the home assistant, Fortune reported in 2018.

Though certain names attached to popular products or celebrities (think "Justin" as in "Justin Bieber" or "Justin Timberlake") are more often than not the brunt of jokes, Inc interestingly identified 20 names that one expert found made people more likely to be seen as successful. Those names include Jacqueline, Morgan, Elizabeth, Kate, Steven, Ross, Christopher and Parker.
The backup-as-a-service (BaaS) market is expected to grow by USD 7.07 billion during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005165/en/

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global backup-as-as-service (BaaS) market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

The shift from the CAPEX to the OPEX model is driving the adoption of backup-as-a-service (BaaS) in various industry verticals as these solutions allow clients to pay only for what they use by implementing the pay-per-use pricing model. The solution helps enterprises build their BaaS infrastructure as per their business requirements. It also offers flexibility in terms of deployment models including platform-as-a-service (PaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS).

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40629

As per Technavio, the exponential growth in volume of data will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Backup-As-A-Service (BaaS) Market: Exponential Growth in Volume of Data

The exponential growth in the volume of data from smartphones, the Internet, and digital business processes is expected to impact the growth of the market. This data provides businesses with potential assets which can be used for competitive gain. However, most legacy data centers are not built to handle such volumes of data, hence, there is a threat to the data. Therefore, enterprises are increasingly deploying BaaS model to securely back up the massive volume of data generated by the digital economy.

"Factors such as the increasing use of IoT, growing need to simplify solutions for backup, and rising number of cyberthreats will have a significant impact on the backup-as-a-service (BaaS) market growth during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Backup-As-A-Service (BaaS) Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the backup-as-a-service (BaaS) market by application (online backup and cloud backup), and geographic segmentation (North America, APAC, Europe, South America and MEA).

The North American region led the backup-as-a-service (BaaS) market in 2019, followed by APAC, Europe, South America, and MEA. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as the building of a new intelligent economy by interlinking technologies, increasing digital transformation, and growing investments in digital solutions.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Application segmentation

Online backup

Cloud backup

Geographic segmentation

North America

APAC

Europe

South America

MEA

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005165/en/

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Yoshiharu Tsuge, trans. from the Japanese by Ryan Holmberg. New York Review Comics, $22.95 (240p) ISBN 978-1-68137-443-7

Tsuges quasi-autobiographical series of vignettes are a masterpiece of mundane struggle. This, his first full-length book to appear in English, was the last major work by Tsuge (b. 1937), who was influential in establishing a literary, alternative Manga scene before he retired from comics in 1986. The story is set in early-1980s Japan, as Tsuges stand-in, Sukezo Sukegawa, attempts to make a living selling stones, used cameras, and other detritus instead of drawing comics (which is the only thing hes good at, at least according to his beleaguered wife). Sukegawa longs to disappear and is frustrated by a society obsessed with Western vulgarity and competitiveness. He cant escape the feeling of being a loser, and his wife berates him for losing more money on his business ventures than he brings in. Despite Sukegawas frequently callous behavior toward his wife and his young son, its his son who regularly brings Sukegawa back from the abyss, imploring him to come home when he strays. Tsuges realistic manga carefully balances the beauty of the countryside with the familys shabby and desperate poverty. The books tone is darkly satirical, and Tsuge makes Sukegawa the frequent butt of jokes. Every page feels lived and desperate, yet shot through with poetry, becoming a meditation on finding meaning in life despite trying circumstance. (Feb.)
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Hyundai is recalling nearly 430,000 Elantra sedans and wagons because of a faulty part that may catch fire.

The problem is due to an issue with the vehicles ABS module, which helps control the antilock braking system. There is a chance that moisture could enter the module, which might cause a short circuit that could lead to a fire. Since the ABS module remains powered on even when the vehicle is shut off, that fire could take place while the vehicle is unattended.

To prevent the risk of fire in an unattended vehicle, Hyundai will install a relay that shuts off the module when the vehicle is turned off. But the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that Hyundai has not yet identified why moisture could enter the ABS module in the first place. That means a short circuit could still take place when the vehicle is turned on.

In an email, Hyundai spokesman Michael Stewart told CR that drivers will be able to detect the symptoms of a short circuit if they are present in the vehicle.

When the vehicle is on, short circuits are preceded by other noticeable symptoms, he wrote. According to Stewart, these symptoms may include noise or an ABS warning light illuminated on the dashboard.

Hyundai says it is unaware of any injuries or crashes related to this issue. NHTSA documents show that at least three cars have had engine compartment fires that may be related to the faulty ABS module.

NHTSA is currently investigating engine fires in Hyundai vehicles, which the automaker says is not related to this recall.

The Details

Vehicles Recalled

 396,025 Hyundai Elantra sedans from the 2006 through 2011 model years manufactured between Aug. 26, 2005 and Nov. 23, 2010

 33,361 Hyundai Elantra Touring wagons from the 2007 through 2011 model years manufactured between Jun. 21, 2007 and Dec. 6, 2010

The problem: A faulty ABS module could short circuit and cause a fire.

Story continues

The fix: Dealers will install a relay in the vehicles main electrical system that will cut off power to the ABS module when the vehicle is shut off. This repair will be free of charge.

How to contact the manufacturer: The recall is expected to begin April 3, 2020. Owners may contact Hyundai customer service at 1-855-371-9460.

NHTSA campaign number: 20V061. Hyundai's own number for this recall is 188.

Check to see whether your vehicle has an open recall: Plug in the 17-digit vehicle identification number at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website. It will tell you whether your vehicle has any open recalls that need to be addressed.





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Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright  2020, Consumer Reports, Inc.
Russia could not reach a deal with OPEC + partners at the level of the technical committee on whether it is necessary to further reduce oil production due to coronavirus. OPEC insists that due to the spread of the Chinese virus, oil demand may fall, which will lead to an oversupply. Talks between officials from OPEC and its allies spilled into an unprecedented third day as Saudi Arabia and Russia remained split over their response to Chinas coronavirus, Bloomberg writes in the article OPEC+ Extends Virus Crisis Talks as Russia Resists Oil Cuts.

Delegates gathered again in Vienna on Thursday after two days of meetings werent enough to shift Russian resistance to deeper production cuts. Saudi Arabia, engaging in capital-to-capital diplomacy, has been pushing for the cartel to reduce output as the deadly epidemic squeezes Chinas economy and its demand for oil.

The price of crude has plunged in recent weeks on expectations that the epidemic will make a sizable dent in global energy consumption as China curbs imports of crude and liquefied natural gas. As talks between the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies dragged on in the Austrian capital, traders voiced optimism that the cartel will eventually summon ministers for an emergency meeting that would take action to avert a surplus. Crude futures rose on Thursday for a second day.

An emergency meeting is clearly on the table and I would not rule it out, said Bob McNally of Washington-based Rapidan Energy Advisers LLC. But its an uphill battle for proponents, especially given Russias stout opposition and crudes relief rally.

Russia would be willing to extend the current production cuts, which were agreed in December and due to expire in March, but doesnt want additional measures, according to one delegate. It was the countrys reluctance that pushed the meeting of OPEC+ experts into a third day, he said. The Kremlins budget is more resilient to low oil prices than Saudi Arabias, and the standoff between the two producers has become a feature of negotiations, albeit one that typically ends in compromise.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz by phone earlier this week and doesnt currently have plans for another call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on conference call on Thursday. Uncertainty over the coronavirus outbreaks duration and severity is making it harder for the cartel to make a decision. Estimates of how much demand will be wiped out in the coming months vary widely, with OPECs internal analysis predicting a modest impact but outside estimates showing the biggest hit to consumption since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Two delegates said they needed more time to review their report on the possible impact of the virus. Officials are looking at a range of scenarios and their impact.

If it were intractable they would have left by now, said Helima Croft, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets. Its a quest for consensus still. But certainly it shows that this is not easy.

Even if the technocrats that make up the groups Joint Technical Committee reach a consensus on the impact of the virus and make a recommendation to the ministers, the OPEC+ group would need then to agree on a date for an early meeting, and the ministers themselves would need further face-to-face talks in Vienna before any final decision.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The hottest new Valentine's day trend is couple's boudoir! Couples from around the United States are flying to Allebach Photography, the premier Pennsylvania-based couples boudoir studio.

Couples boudoir is an adventurous type of photography that features intimate and romantic poses. This hot new trend challenges couples to strip down and explore and celebrate their relationships in a new light.

Couples Boudoir Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

"This is a chance for couples to celebrate what truly matters. Tattoo artists, physicians and people from all walks of life are photographed to level up their relationship. It's adventurous, so they reconnect. Couples create beautiful artwork to remember this experience," says Mike Allebach, owner of Allebach Photography.

Allebach Photography believes couples boudoir is more than photography; it's the art of creating time and space for reconnection to that special someone in your life.

Couples come away with both an unforgettable experience, as well as beautiful, one-of-a-kind pieces of artwork to commemorate their love. After engaging in a sensual, low-pressure (and fun!) hour-long photo session in our beautiful and private studio, couples sit down and see their photos on the big screen.

During your photography experience you'll get to put aside daily worries and responsibilities and focus on your relationship, exploring what you love about each other and bringing back the spice!

"I have now done two couples boudoir sessions with Mike and it only gets better each time! Mike has a way to make everyone feel comfortable and almost forget he's even in the room. If you and your partner really want to spice things up, book a couple's boudoir session," recommends Matt Hurchick, a former client.

Emily Cole agrees. "Couples boudoir is seriously where it's at. Mike is an exceptional photographer; makes you feel comfortable at every turn. If you want to see the way your partner sees you, sign up and schedule your time slot today. This was hands-down the best thing we did for our relationship."

Sessions, which include professional hair and makeup, book quickly and space is limited. To book a session or find out more about the process, call 610-539-6920 or visit allebachphotography.com. Call today to take your relationship to the next level!

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The callous response a father had after his eight-year-old boy froze to death in a garage has been revealed in court.

Thomas Valva died on January 17 after he was allegedly forced to sleep in an unheated garage in a New York home as temperatures dropped to minus 6C.

Once the boy arrived in hospital his body temperature was just 24C, NBC New York reported.

Michael Valva, 40, and his 42-year-old fiancee, Angela Pollina, were charged on January 24 with second-degree murder in Thomass death.

Thomas Valva died after suffering hypothermia in a garage. Source: NBC New York

In court, prosecutors said after Thomas was pronounced dead his father claimed, Ive been through more stressful things than this, the US news outlet reported.

Valva pleaded not guilty to one count of second-degree murder and four counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Thomas had allegedly been physically and verbally abused and denied pillows, clothing, food and blankets, according to NBC.

A court heard Pollina allegedly sent videos of the boy to Valva, a NYPD officer.

Angela Pollina and Michael Valva have been charged over the eight-year-old's death. Source: AP

They showed Thomas falling over in the garage and Valva allegedly said he was a f***ing moron and a stupid f***ing son of a b***h, NBC reported.

Last month Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said a committee would examine how the countys social service department dealt with abuse allegations against the defendants concerning Thomas and five other children who lived with them.

Audio files recovered from the defendants Center Moriches home recorded the couple discussing the fact Thomas was suffering from hypothermia, had been washed with cold water, couldnt walk and was face-planting on the concrete, Assistant District Attorney Laura Newcombe said in January.

The pair are expected back in court on February 24.

With AP

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'I said what in the world': Two bear cubs left on man's doorstep in Camden, NC

On Tuesday night, North Carolina resident Cornelius Williams got home from the grocery store and heard a squeaky sound coming from the direction of a cardboard box someone left in his walkway, reports WTKR-TV.

This was weird. It was night. Williams called authorities for help.

When a deputy approached the box and looked inside, surprise: two newborn bear cubs were inside the box.

You have GOT to hear Cornelius Williams' impersonation of the bear cubs' cries. It's pretty hilarious.

The bears were taken to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro to be examined and cared for, news outlets reported.

He peered a bit closer, as it was dark outside.

""I see the box sitting right on my walkway  right here close to my car  and I looked inside and thought I saw Tasmanian devils," said Williams. "The noise was the reason I was so concerned  it was like a squeaky noise," Williams described. When the deputy arrived at his home, a quick investigation revealed the animal inside the cardboard box was not one, but two newborn baby bear cubs. "I said, 'What in the world?" No way, no how if the mama bear would have seen me in the yard, I would have been a Happy Meal," said Williams. An incredibly bizarre find, something the sheriff has never seen. "A little strange; we just don't run up on this all the time," said Jones. "Bears are not strangers to Camden County. We have a very large population, but why would someone leave them deliberately at someone's home?" "Why me? Was this a setup? How in the world could someone take two baby bears less than a day old and bring [them] up here, put [them] in a box and with a blanket on top?" Williams wondered.

More: Associated Press
French President Emmanuel Macron warned Friday that European nations "cannot remain spectators" faced with a potential nuclear arms race, urging them to push an "international arms control agenda".

"Europeans must realise collectively that in the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil," Macron said in a speech laying out France's post-Brexit strategy for its nuclear arsenal.

He added that France had already reduced its number of warheads to under 300, giving France "the legitimacy to demand concrete moves from other nuclear powers toward global disarmament that is gradual, credible and can be verified".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Austin Lane, Texas Southern Universitys sidelined president, fired back at the schools board of regents Thursday, accusing them of hijacking an investigation, inappropriately taking over personnel decisions and generally overreaching their authority  acts that he said violate university policies and could ultimately endanger the schools accreditation.

At a news conference downtown and in an 8-page letter to the board, Lane said the explanations the regents finally gave this week for starting the process of firing him  namely, that he failed to act on and inform them of possible admissions fraud at TSUs law school  are just accusations designed to tarnish my reputation and career.

Its a calculated witch-hunt, Lane said at the Ensemble Theatre.

Lane emphasized the alleged admissions were already being investigated by the schools internal auditor when regents interrupted the process and took it over. He said that action violated a fraud policy the board approved in August 2016.

Lane also said that new bylaws giving regents the power to hire and fire all university employees violate regulations enforced by the Southern Association of College and Schools, TSUs regional accreditation organization. The bylaws, adopted by the board in October, put the university out of compliance with the association, said Lane, just one month before its scheduled accreditation visit. The association calls for the board to make policy and for the administration to administer and implement such policies.

The board voted 6-1 Tuesday night to propose the termination of Lane, less than a month after placing him on leave amid a probe into admissions improprieties. Lane now has 30 days to provide evidence refuting the allegations listed by the board in a notice of termination for cause.

On HoustonChronicle.com: TSU board of regents vote to start process of firing President Austin Lane

Reading from the notice at the conclusion of a tumultuous five-hour meeting, regent Marc Carter said that despite evidence of a law school assistant deans fraud involving a student, you and/or your subordinate allowed this student to be admitted into the university. Carter also read that the dean accepted $14,000 in exchange for awarding a student a scholarship. The subordinate, Wendell Williams, was fired Jan. 10, minutes after Lane was placed on leave.

Lane said Thursday he has no involvement with admissions and never assisted any student in getting into TSU.

Lanes written and oral comments represent his first in-depth response about the matter since the board put him on leave and instructed him not to talk to the media. Seemingly freed to speak Thursday, the higher education official didnt mince words.

When you havent done anything wrong, its easy to talk, Lane said at the press conference. He added that he was blindsided by many of the allegations articulated at the Feb. 4 board meeting.

Until then, I have never been given an opportunity to know what I was being accused of, Lane wrote in the letter.

He said he and law school Dean Joan Bullock followed university policy. Bullock fired the assistant dean of the law school after learning he had provided inappropriate help to an applicant, then sought the approval of Lane and Provost Kendall Harris to engage the university auditor.

Lane said there was no knowledge or suspicion of fraud at the time so there was not a requirement for the president to report the employees termination, according to Southern Association of Colleges and Schools standards.

Lane noted that university policy makes clear that management is responsible for detecting fraud or improper activities and notified the office of internal audit and fraud; and that management shouldnt discuss cases and investigations unless specified to do so by the universitys auditor or general counsel. He said the board violated the policy by contacting law enforcement, hiring independent law firms to interrogate officials and not allowing the universitys internal auditor to complete her investigation and bring findings to a closed board session. The board also released a news release about the probe before it was complete.

There is no policy that requires the president or administration to notify the board when terminating a staff or non-cabinet level member, Lane wrote in the letter.

In the letter, Lane also wrote that he, TSUs general counsel and a SACS liaison had warned board Chairman Hasan Mack that the new bylaws would present a problem for the university and recommended that he reverse the policy. Belle Wheelan, the president of SACS, told the Chronicle of Higher Education the regents bylaw is unusual and looks like overreach to administrative roles.

Lane wrote that none of the three officials who wrote Mack received a response.

On HoustonChronicle.com: TSU board member speaks out against regents decision to place president on leave

Lane added that the board has already taken advantage of the bylaw, alleging that regent Wesley Terrell has presided over more than 80 personnel decisions, including the rehiring of at least two employees whod been terminated. Lane claimed that Terrell, the boards personnel chairman, instructed human resources to remove a critical personnel document for one of the those rehires.

Terrell said Thursday that he didnt directly hire or fire TSU employees, but his goal was to monitor personnel decisions to make sure the university didnt fire employees who were cooperating with investigators. He said he wasnt sure how many personnel decisions he monitored, but added that Lanes estimate of more than 80 doesnt sound accurate.

The process we put in place was to protect employees from retaliation, Terrell said Thursday. Later in the day, he clarified to the Chronicle that the timing of the bylaws change was just a coincidence and not tied to the effort to protect employees.

Terrell said he doesnt believe his actions will hurt the universitys accreditation status.

Asked at the news conference whether he still wants to be president given the boards attitude about him, Lane claimed this is not the first time hes been at odds with people at TSU, but its not about me, its about the university. He said he previously had a great relationship with the board and can effectively work with anybody.

But I cant work with folks who dont have integrity, he said.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to include the correct name of TSU Provost Kendall Harris.

brittany.britto@chron.com
After more than a year of disputes among community and district leaders, the Clarke County School District Board of Education now faces a massive test with implications for the districts reputation and students: the accreditation agency is coming.

Accreditation agency Cognia, formerly AdvancED and Measured Progress, will investigate potential standard violations filed against members of the board by outgoing Superintendent Demond Means on Jan. 26-28.
Opinion Article

7 February 2020

If you're up for the excursion, Ashford Castle in County Mayo, Ireland is well worth it. Situated near the western coast of the island, the property is about a three-hour drive along the highway from Dublin Airport. My advice is to take the journey through the illustrious countryside to visit this simply spectacular National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World.

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In total, there are some 83 guest rooms, numerous restaurants and lounges, not including a multitude of facilities spread over 365 manicured acres. It is a complete sense of awe that this was once the private estate of the Guinness Family. Going through several subsequent ownerships, the current proud owner is Red Carnation Hotels. The founder, Mrs. Beatrice Tollman, has taken a special interest in the property by undertaking a substantial renovation. The result is a property ranking among the finest in all of Europe.

I was delighted to meet Andrew Phelan, Director of Operations, a hotelier with a record of luxury experiences in the Irish hotel field. After a private tour of the extensive wine cellar (formerly the coal storage area), and a friendly greeting from the property's two Irish Wolfhounds of truly mystical size lounging in the lobby, we sat down in the formal Drawing Room for some tea and a discussion on how this property continues to impress its guests.

Tell us how you have designed your product to make an indelible impression.

It starts with delivering the ultimate sense of arrival. The high stone walls and gatehouse are just the start. Here, a member of our team checks you in. You drive through a forest on a curving roadway. For about what seems forever (about four minutes), your anticipation builds as finally our incredible castle building comes into view in the distance. Then you need to be checked in by a guard and go over a short bridge (moat below!) to enter the guest drop-off area. More greeters and porters take your luggage. Past magnificent Irish Wolfhound statues, and you're escorted into the reception hall. There is no check-in desk or counter. Rather, you're greeted by a friendly staffer who serves you a custom-made beverage. That's just the set up to the guest's stay.

There guest rooms are spectacular. Mine was a Lakeview Stateroom in one of the older parts of the Castle.

We have 11 different room types, including a separate very unique Hideaway Cottage. But within each category there are really no two rooms that are identical. Many of our repeat guests opt for the same guestroom each year. Our team understands the importance of maintaining a detailed guest history so we can help plan subsequent visits to continually improve the guest experience. In fact, our guest experience department is crucial to our 60%+ return guest rate.

I was taken aback by the number of onsite activities offered the guest, ranging from clay shooting to falconry.

When you stop thinking of a hotel as a guestroom, a restaurant, a spa and other facilities, and start considering the total guest experience, then you're mastering hospitality at Ashford Castle. Our guestrooms are superbly comfortable, and we have many guests that are perfectly happy to curl up in front of their fireplaces and read a novel or visit one of the many sitting areas within the Castle. Yet others want to explore the outdoors. Most of our guests have traveled quite a distance to get here. Our length of stay generally approaches a week. Moreover, the Castle is a preferred destination for multi-generational gatherings. Thus, our goal is no boredom and no need to do something twice - that is, unless the guest wants to.

With room rates that are typically well above 1,000 Euros nightly, I wonder what would constitute your competitive set.

Indeed, there are competitors, in a way that our guests could seek alternate destinations for their precious leisure time. Recently, Adare Manor opened about two hours' drive south and an hour further away you'll find the Mount Juliet Estate. These are all fine properties which have their own unique benefits and customers. If I had to differentiate between them and Ashford Castle, I would say that we offer more variety, but all of them are worthy of a visit. My advice for hoteliers is to understand your capabilities and focus on your guest's happiness rather than looking over your shoulder at other properties.

Meeting you over tea then for breakfast the next morning, I am a bit surprised to see you directly supporting staff in the dining room.

The role as Operations Director does not mean sitting in an office pouring over statistics and financial data. The role really means operations, as in making things happen. Thus, when there is a need, I'm pitching in. In this case, I noticed that our team was backed up and an extra set of hands clearing dishware and serving would improve the sequencing of our meal service. Having a senior title is much less important than ensuring superb guest service delivery.

To close off, what other points of differentiation can you touch on to inspire other hoteliers?

Oh, my goodness, there are so many. Starting with legend chocolates commemorating 80 years of hospitality in the Castle made in concert with Valrhona Chocolatiers. How about our own Ashford Castle Monopoly board game? Then there are the unique Voya spa treatments. Did I mention the movie The Quiet Man from 1952 with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara filmed here in Cong Village? We have that available in every guestroom, not to mention that we have our own movie theatre, live music in the drawing room, a billiards room and a cigar lounge.
Looking to try the best bars in town?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top bars in Cincinnati, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to fulfill your urges.

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. Bakersfield

Topping the list is a member of the Bakersfield chain. Located at 1213 Vine St. in Over-The-Rhine, the bar, which also offers tacos and more, is the most popular bar in Cincinnati, boasting 4.5 stars out of 1,202 reviews on Yelp.

2. Court Street Lobster Bar

Photo: Pete G./Yelp

Central Business District's Court Street Lobster Bar, located at 28 W. Court St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the bar, which offers seafood, salads and more, 4.5 stars out of 324 reviews.

3. 16-Bit Bar+Arcade

Photo: Kimberly J./Yelp

16-Bit Bar+Arcade, a bar and arcade in Over-The-Rhine, is another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 317 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1331 Walnut St. to see for yourself.

4. The Hi-Mark

Photo: The Hi-Mark/Yelp

Over in East End, check out The Hi-Mark, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 105 reviews on Yelp. You can find the bar and traditional American spot at 3229 Riverside Drive.

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.
A Kurdish court in Erbil acquitted Mullah Mazhar Khorasani, a pro-polygamy cleric, on charges of defamation and insulting women due to a lack of evidence.

Khorasani was in court Jan. 27 and Feb. 6 after 300 women filed a defamation lawsuit against him, accusing him of insulting women. On his TV station, Khorasani called Kurdish women dinosaurs and accused them of acting like tribal chieftains in their efforts to prevent their husbands from taking on new wives.

Those who have filed a petition against Khorasani have one month to appeal the court's decision, Khorasani's lawyers said at a Feb. 6 press conference at the courthouse in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

After his acquittal, Khorasani said he would take his accusers to court for moral and financial compensation if they did not apologize to him and to "God, for denying his words on polygamy."

Farman Hassan, a Kurdish lawyer, told Al-Monitor that if there is new evidence found against Khorasani, another case could be brought against him.

The cleric was unrepentant throughout the trial. As a preacher, I will stand tall, and call for polygamy until I die, Khorasani announced at a January press conference, further inciting tensions between polygamy advocates and secular-minded women's groups.

Khorasani, an eloquent, media-savvy Kurdish cleric, has become the poster child for polygamy in Iraqi Kurdistan and Iraq.

This is the tenth time that I am facing trial for interpreting the verses of the Quran on polygamy, Khorasani told Al-Monitor.

The third verse of the Quranic sura An-Nisa, or the Women, is often interpreted as permitting men to take on multiple wives if they are able to treat them fairly. But if you fear that you will not be just, then [marry only] one or those your right hand possesses," it states. "That is more suitable that you may not incline [to injustice].

Khorasani has advocated for polygamy in his Friday sermons, on social media and on the local Srusht channel, which he manages. During a program on Srusht in June 2018, Khorasani called Kurdish women dinosaurs and accused them of behaving like tribal chieftains, or aghas, in reference to them opposing their husbands taking on second wives. In response, the Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Youth and Culture temporarily closed Srusht TV in September, though it later reopened.

Khorasani faced charges of insults and defamation under the Iraqi penal code, a charge that is punishable by up to a year in jail. When he arrived at the courthouse Jan. 27, he was greeted by supporters chanting "God is great" and asking for his release.

Kurdish women's rights activist Bahar Munzir, one of the leaders of the campaign  called Stand Against Disrespecting Women  to bring the lawsuit against him, said in February that the cleric was on trial for insulting women and advocating polygamy.

Our lawsuit against Khorasani is not only related to polygamy, but it is basically against the clerics insults via Srusht channel, where he disrespected Kurdish women in general by labeling them dinosaurs, Munzir told Al-Monitor before the Feb. 6 verdict. Moreover, the cleric  publicly defamed Kurdish women who are working in womens organizations as [immoral].

The case highlights the lively debate surrounding Iraq's laws on polygamy, as well as the gaps in the laws themselves, which differ at the national level and in the Kurdistan region.

Polygamy in Iraq is permitted so long as the husband is capable of providing financially for his wives and ensuring fairness and impartiality among them. It does not require the consent of the wife, but it does require the agreement of a personal status judge, or qadi, who will determine whether the man has the means to treat all the wives equally. Yet an exception is made for widows. Men may marry widows without having to prove they have the means to treat her equally, as widows are viewed as women with no means and in need of male protection.

Kurdistan's parliament has amended Iraq's laws on polygamy. In Kurdistan, men may take on a second wife  either a "virgin" or a widow  if the first wife agrees or if she is in poor health and cannot engage in sexual intercourse or give birth. If either condition is met, the husband must then prove his capacity to financially support and fairly treat his wives. However, some Kurdish women's organizations affiliated with ruling political parties oppose the link to female fertility, saying it is used as an excuse for men to take on additional wives.

We are for the elimination of polygamy altogether in the region, whereas some clerics and people are still promoting polygamy, Munzir said.

Advocates of polygamy in Iraq, from clerics like Khorasani to like-minded politicians, point to statistics that show the rising number of divorcees and unmarried women in the country. The number of marriages in Iraqi Kurdistan is on the decline as well, due to harsh economic conditions and high levels of youth unemployment. According to official KRG figures, only 32,432 marriage contracts were signed in the region in 2019, while 8,381 divorce cases were recorded. Local media outlets report that divorce cases skyrocketed in 2018 compared to 2017.

Munzir said that just because there is a decline in the number of young people getting married, it is not a justification for polygamy, which she said serves "the elderly and the rich," who usually seek to marry younger women.

Khorasani accused the womens organizations of opposing the Quran and God. Women's organizations want to revolt against the message of God," Khorasani told Al-Monitor. "Their [attitude will neither bring] freedom nor happiness for women. When I say those NGOs are the producers of [dinosaurs], I mean they want to deprive Kurdish women of high morals.

He continued, Currently, polygamy is an urgent need and a divine solution for the Kurdish community, as we have increasing divorce figures, and many spinsters who did not have the chance to marry.

Khorasani said the KRG's Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs has punished him numerous times, such as the closing down of his TV station, due to lawsuits brought against him by female activists.

Even though Kurdish law restricts polygamy, Kurdish men are taking on additional wives under Iraq's amended personal status law in disputed areas outside the Kurdistan region, according to Ashna Abullah, a lawmaker in the Kurdistan parliament. She said men are also marrying young Arab girls in refugee camps in the Kurdistan region.

This loophole stems from the Iraqi parliament's amendment of the 1959 personal status law in 2017. Though the amendment does not alter the main conditions for allowing polygamy, it does aim to respect individual rights in Iraqi courts, in terms of religious or confessional beliefs, in the implementation of the status law.

Decades of war, poor health conditions and economic stagnation have left more than 2 million Iraqi women widowed and divorced, according to 2017 figures from Iraq's Ministry of Planning. Jamila al-Obaidi, a female Sunni member of Iraqi parliament, tweeted in 2017 that she would lobby for laws to allow polygamy since 70% of Iraqi women at marriageable age were unmarried.

No research has yet confirmed that polygamy has resolved the issue of divorce or high levels of unmarried girls," Farman Hassan, a Kurdish lawyer with experience in divorce cases, told Al-Monitor. "However, no one can ban polygamy completely since this is a personal freedom, regulated by the personal status law. The legal issue in the Kurdistan region is that Iraqi courts approve polygamy contracts without conditions, thus the Kurdish region is obliged to accept those contracts. Such polygamy marriages often create issues in Kurdistan, as most of them have been arranged without the agreement of the first wife.

Polygamy is often viewed as illegal and inhumane in the modern world, but Iraqs religious communities, in all their diversity, have made polygamy a necessity to be regulated by law. Yet Iraq's secular female right groups continue to advocate for its elimination as clerics continue to promote it.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Fans lucky enough to get tickets to see Los Angeles rock band Dirty Honey are probably Rolling 7s.

At the very least theyll be in the audience to see one of last years break out rock bands, which is considered to have an even bigger 2020.

Currently on its Rolling 7s tour, which is in support of the self-titled EP released in March of 2019, the band has three shows in Michigan over the next four days.

Shows in Grand Rapids at The Stache (tonight) and in Flint at the Machine Shop (Saturday) are sold out.

General admission tickets remain for Mondays show at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit.

Getting comparisons to The Black Crowes, Aerosmith and Guns N Roses, the four-man band is certainly catching the wave a genre of the past that still resonates with listeners today.

The live reviews are over the-top, so much so that industry trade Pollstar has heralded the band as ushering in rocks next big moment.

Other praise:

Dont believe anyone if they tell you rock is dead. Dirty Honey rocks in the best possible way.  NPR Music

Dirty Honeys domination represents a rare feat anywhere on radio these days, not just at the mainstream rock radio format.  Billboard

Dirty Honey celebrated the breakout success of its song When Im Gone with a performance rich in both riffs and rock-star vibes.  Rolling Stone

The band consists of Marc LaBelle on lead vocals, John Notto on guitars, Justin Smolian on bass and Corey Coverstone on drums. (Learn more about the band here.)

The bands debut was recorded in Australia with producer Nick DiDia (Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine), and after its release received major support and praise from industry insiders. Dirty Honey opened for The Who (at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids), Guns N Roses, and Slash ft. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, and performed at more than a dozen major summer festivals.

Dirty Honey also made music history when it became the only unsigned artist ever to hit No. 1 on Billboards Mainstream Rock Chart with its debut track When Im Gone.

In addition, the band was just named a nominee as Best New Rock/Alternative Artist for the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards. And Rolling 7s, Dirty Honeys sophomore single, is a Top 20 track at Rock Radio, and the band has racked up more than 13 million total streams.

Check out the singles for yourself.

Do you believe Dirty Honey is the next great American rock band?

Dirty Honeys When Im Gone:

Dirty Honeys Rolling 7s:

And check out this cover of Aerosmiths Last Child":

Remaining headliner dates:

FEBRUARY

7 The Stache, Grand Rapids, MI

8 The Machine Shop, Flint, MI

10 The Shelter, Detroit, MI

11 Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL

12 Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI

14 Old Rock House, St. Louis, MO

15 Riot Room, Kansas City, MO

17 Bluebird Theatre, Denver, CO

21 Nuemos, Seattle, WA

22 Polaris Hall, Portland, OR

25 Slims, San Francisco, CA

28 El Rey, Los Angeles, CA
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:02:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Mao Pengfei, Nguon Sovan

PHNOM PENH, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen's special visit to China displayed the profound friendship and solidarity between the two countries and peoples, Cambodian officials and scholars said Thursday.

FIGHTING THE VIRUS TOGETHER

As some countries have adopted some extreme measures to curb the virus' spread, Siphan said that Hun Sen's Beijing visit sent a message to the world that it is unnecessary to be "extremely scared."

"The prime minister's special visit shows Cambodia's strong support to China in fighting the outbreak of the coronavirus," he told Xinhua.

The chief spokesman said that Cambodia, as a true friend of China, extends its best wishes to all Chinese people, and is confident that China will win the fight against the virus soon.

Chheang Vannarith, president of the Asian Vision Institute, said that the visit clearly reflected the deep friendship between the two countries.

"Cambodia always stands with China in the fight against common threats such as the novel coronavirus," he told Xinhua. "The visit has also inspired the peoples of both countries to stay calm, build strong spirit and take concrete measures to deal with the outbreak."

FRIEND IN NEED, FRIEND INDEED

Hun Sen said last week that he is confident in China's ability to control the novel coronavirus and that Cambodia will neither ban flights from China, nor evacuate its citizens from the central Chinese city of Wuhan.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed. This is the slogan of Cambodia since our ancestral times," he said in a public speech.

The visit also made the headlines of local media. Khmer Times published an article titled "PM visits China to show support." It said that Hun Sen's visit was to show solidarity with China during a difficult time and to encourage Cambodian students in China not to panic over the epidemic.

Fresh News, the country's largest online media platform, covered Hun Sen's activities in Beijing from the beginning until the end, mentioning that Hun Sen had been the first foreign leader to visit China since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. It said that the visit would further deepen the bilateral fraternal friendship between the countries.
We are the stories we read, the shows we watch and the films we see. Together they form a big part of our grand cultural narrative.

But what stories get told? Who tells them? What issues are presented? And what gets reviewed and revered?

Apparently stories about psychopaths, criminals, cars, stunt doubles, and war. All from the viewpoint of the white male protagonist  the seemingly universal experience.

Sunday night, the red carpet will be rolled out in Hollywood and the golden statuettes will be presented to the good and glamourous storytellers of our time.

Joaquin Phoenixs psychopathic Joker has 11 nominations, First World War One movie 1917 has 10 and so too does Netflix mafia tale The Irishman.

Movies with far fewer nominations, or none at all, include Harriet with just two, Just Mercy with none, and Queen & Slim also with none.

Those films have received critical acclaim, and praise from ordinary decent cinema-goers, but nominations less so.

All three centre around the lived experiences of black people in the racially divided states of America.

Little Women, on the other hand, has five nominations, and as the title suggests, it centres around the lived experience of women.

The problem here was that it didnt get a nomination in the best directing category, but women seldom do.

The Oscars is in its 92nd year and so far only five women, all white, have ever been nominated for a golden statuette for directing.

Of those five women, just one, Kathryn Bigelow, has won.

In Little Women, there is an interesting line.

Writing doesnt confer importance, Jo March, the protagonist, played by Saoirse Ronan says, it reflects it.

One of her sisters, Amy, played by Florence Pugh, disagrees.

Writing things, she says, is what makes them important.

In a world where the stories that get widely told, be that through books, films, or box sets, tell us who we are  nominations seem to reflect importance?

Amy March would probably disagree, arguing that the making of something is what makes it important.

Jo March in Little Women had been writing stories about pirates and such, to no great publishing success, before turning her hand to depicting domestic joys and struggles, to great success.

Since its publication in 1868, Little Women has never been out of print, its initial print run sold out in two weeks and over the course of three centuries, its been translated into 50 languages.

The headline of a recent article in the New Yorker read: Retitling Little Women to Entice Men to Go See it.

The headline did not read: Retitling The Irishman to Entice Women to Go See it.

In 152 years time, itll be interesting to see if three hour-long The Irishman has stood the test of time, that Little Women has more than surpassed.

Yet were still concerned that not enough men will be interested in the portrayal of the domestic struggles and joys of a family, and were less concerned that a story of violent and criminal men will attract a universal audience.

The Irishman didnt need to worry that its title might alienate a lucrative audience. Women have pockets in their clothes nowadays too.

What about Harriet, about slavery, or Just Mercy, about racial discrimination and injustice? Are those stories, and theyre great stories, not important to the Academy?

It depends on the worldview or lived experience of the voting members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

And who are they?

As of 2019, the membership of the Academy is 32% female and 16% people of colour, up from 25% and 8%, respectively, from 2015.

The producer of Little Women, wondered if the screening DVDs of the film that got sent out to the voting members were all watched.

I dont think that [men] came to the screenings in droves, let me put it that way, Amy Pascal said, and Im not sure when they got their [screener] DVDs that they watched them.

Her speculation is backed up bystatistics.

RSVPs for the first screening of Little Women in October, as well as more recent screenings hosted around Los Angeles since, were skewed about two to one in favour of women cinema-goers.

However, Pascal doesnt think its a deliberate dismissal of her film by men.

Its a completely unconscious bias. I dont think its anything like a malicious rejection, she said.

So why do we, in the main, flock to stories about psychopaths, criminals, cars, stunt doubles, and war?

Stories, if you look through the list of Oscar nominations, that have been told from the view of the white male protagonist.

We live in a diverse world made up of all sorts of colours, creeds, genders, and abilities.

But we do not see these viewpoints reflected in the stories of mass consumption, in the stories that are revered and reviewed, and in the stories that are nominated for 10 and 11 Oscars.

Maybe one of Irelands greatest storytellers, Marian Keyes, knows the answer. She has after all, sold more than 33m books in her career.

In an interview this week, on British writer Elizabeth Days How to Fail podcast, Keyes made an interesting point.

If a man writes a book about emotions hes writing about the human condition. If a woman writes a book about emotions she is writing a fluffy soap opera.

But they are identical, the subject matter is identical and the execution is identical. But men cannot be seen as writers of fluffy soap, said Keyes.

Netflixs Marriage Story proves her point. It is written and directed by a man, Noah Baumbach, and is the recipient of six Oscar nominations.

Had a woman made it, would we consider as important or insightful? No, wed probably write it off as a rom-com.

Keyes made another important point. Her life is pretty good.

There is so much more that exists on the spectrum of sexism than the likes of me not getting a review in the Observer. There are far bigger manifestations of misogyny, she said.

The storyteller is right.

The world of movies and books is a gilded and glamourous one, far removed from say the life of a person trying to better themselves by fleeing their home to hopefully enter a country that will afford them a better quality of life, or the zero-hour contract worker who holds down two jobs to cover rent and childcare.

This what another storyteller, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, has argued.

The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.

We need to be careful about consuming just one story of our really complex world.
Senior police fear an "emerging gun culture" in Melbourne's north-west may lead to innocent people being shot after a string of shooting incidents early Friday.

Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said armed and newly-forming criminal networks were working together to carry out violent crimes, of joint benefit, as police work to halt the illegal gun trade.

Police examine bullet holes after a junior officer fired shots into the shoulder of a man at Tullamarine early on Friday. Credit:Joe Armao

Mr Cornelius said unlike gangs, the loyalties of these new criminal enterprises would shift depending on the crimes they were committing.

"This presents a considerable risk not only to my members but more particularly with the community," he said.
A major fire broke out at a warehouse in south Delhi's Bijwasan area in the early hours of Friday, a Delhi Fire Service official said.

No casualty was reported in the blaze that erupted at 4.40 am, he said.

Fourteen fire tenders were rushed to the spot and the fire was brought under control by 10.20 am, the official said.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In the 1980s, Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar built an illegal zoo in his estate. His love for exotic animals drove him to keep all kinds of animals at this 'zoo'. These animals included rhinos, giraffes, zebras and hippos. After the drug lord's death in 1993, most of the animals from his illegal zoo were shifted to actual zoos. All except four hippos.

Hippos are an 'invasive species'

While all the other animals were transported to different zoos, it was just not possible or feasible to relocate the four hippos. As a result, the four hippos began living beside the Magdalena river. Over the years the hippos have multiplied among themselves and their numbers have risen to 80.

According to reports from a team of researchers hailing from the University of California in San Diego and the Universidad Pedagogica y Tecnologica de Colombia, the hippos have become an invasive species and are wreaking havoc on the aquatic ecosystem there.

According to the study the team published in the journal Ecology, the hippos excrete very large amounts of waste into the lakes that have been changing the water's chemistry and oxygen levels. The excreted waste acts as a fertilizer for algae and bacteria that flourishes and as a result reduces the available oxygen for aquatic life.

Read: Arsenal BULLIED Flamengo To Sign Defender Pablo Mari, Reveals Tim Vickery

Read: 'Klaus' By Sergio Pablos Tops Peoples List Of Christmas Movies

According to the lead author of the study, Jonathan Shurin, the hippo population could have a big impact on the ecosystem in their native Africa. The study warned that if the hippo population rose in the next few years then other aquatic lifeforms like turtles could be harmed.

Pablo Escobar was a Colombian drug lord and a narcoterrorist who founded and was the leader of the Medellin Cartel. He was dubbed 'The King of Cocaine' and is reportedly the wealthiest criminal in history. It is believed that he amassed an estimated net worth of US$30 billion by the time of his death in 1993.

The Medellin Cartel, distributed powder cocaine through the first established smuggling routes into the US. Escobar consistently battled with rival cartels both domestically and abroad. His feuds made Colombia the murder capital of the world.

Read: Pablo Picasso's Electrician Convicted For Stealing 271 Rare Artworks

Read: Dwayne Johnson Shares Kevin Hart's Pablo Escobar Moment In Mexico
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a petition challenging the detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) of Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom and held that preventive detention was not a punitive measure.

Justice Tashi Rabstan, while dismissing the petition, said it was sans merit.

"A law of preventive detention is not invalid because it prescribed no objective standard for ordering preventive detention and leaves the matter to subjective satisfaction of the executive," the court observed.

It held that the preventive detention is not punitive but preventive and is resorted to with a view to prevent a person from committing activities prejudicial to certain objects that the law of preventive detention seeks to prescribe.

The court said the subjective satisfaction of a detaining authority to detain a person or not is not open to objective assessment by a court.

"A court is not a proper forum to scrutinise the merits of administrative decision to detain a person. The court cannot substitute its own satisfaction for that of the authority concerned and decide whether its satisfaction was reasonable or proper, or whether in the circumstances of the matter, the person concerned should have been detained or not. It is often said and held that the courts do not even go into the question whether the facts mentioned in grounds of detention are correct or false," the judge observed.

Qayoom was detained in August 5 last year after the Centre announced abrogation of Article 370.

The Kashmir Bar Association president was shifted to a jail in Agra where his health condition deteriorated. He was shifted to Delhi's Tihar Jail last week.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Individual members of Congress cannot sue President Donald Trump to stop his private businesses from accepting payments from foreign governments, a federal appeals court in Washington ruled Friday.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously dismissed a lawsuit filed by more than 200 Democrats in Congress seeking to enforce the Constitution's anti-corruption emoluments provision.

"The Members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit. But we will not - indeed we cannot - participate in this debate," according to the unsigned order from Judges David S. Tatel, Thomas B. Griffith and Karen LeCraft Henderson.

The ruling from three judges appointed by presidents across the political spectrum is a blow to several efforts in court to challenge Trump's alleged self-dealing through his private businesses.

The rarely tested language at issue in the case bars U.S. officials from accepting payments, benefits or other "emoluments" from foreign governments without consent from Congress. The provisions once appeared to be a prime opportunity for Trump's critics to force the president to change his business tactics or at least get him to disclose more about his company.

Instead the congressional case has been tossed and a second case brought by the attorneys general of D.C. and Maryland would be withdrawn if Trump sells the lease for his hotel in downtown Washington, which his company is working on now.

Justice Department lawyers, defending the president, said the ban refers narrowly to compensation in exchange for official action or in an employment-type relationship - and does not broadly include any profit, gain or advantage.

Spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Friday the department is "very pleased" with the outcome.

Constitutional Accountability Center President Elizabeth Wydra, who represented the lawmakers at oral argument, said in a statement "while we are disappointed in the panel's decision and are in active discussions with our clients as they consider their next steps, it is important to recognize that today's ruling is not a decision on the merits. The Court of Appeals did not in any way approve of President Trump's repeated and flagrant violations of the Constitution's Foreign emoluments clause."

Lawmakers could ask the full court to rehear the case or seek review from the Supreme Court, but that seems less likely because the D.C. Circuit decision was unanimous. Tatel was tapped by Bill Clinton; Griffith by George W. Bush and Henderson by George H.W. Bush.

The ruling did not address the underlying merits of the challenge or how to define an "emolument," but rather who has the right to sue.

The 12-page opinion pointed to past Supreme Court decisions, which the judges said bar individual lawmakers from bringing lawsuits on behalf of the entire body in part because Congress acts through majority votes in the House and Senate.

"Our conclusion is straightforward because the Members - 29 Senators and 186 Members of the House of Representatives - do not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the President's acceptance of foreign emoluments," the court ruled.

But Fordham University law professor Jed Shugerman, who assisted the plaintiffs, said Democrats could still boost their case by adding to the lawsuit the names of lawmakers who have joined the House since it was filed in 2017.

"It seems to have been a blind spot of the organizers not to make that effort," he said. Ultimately however he said he found the judges' decision "extremely disappointing" largely because they appeared to argue that the Constitution wasn't likely to effectively rein in corruption.

After oral argument in December, one of the lead plaintiffs in the case, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) rejected the idea that such a lawsuit must come from the entire legislature.

"Individual members of Congress simply cannot do their job," he said, if there is no legal right or standing to sue.

The lawsuit is one of three similar cases pending in appeals courts, one step below the Supreme Court, intended to reveal details about the president's closely held business interests.

The congressional case extends beyond Trump's luxury hotel in downtown Washington, which he leases from the federal government and where the governments of Kuwait, Malaysia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and others have paid to hold events or book rooms.

The congressional case reached the D.C. appeals court after Judge Emmet G. Sullivan cleared the way for lawmakers to issue 37 subpoenas seeking financial information, interviews and other records, including ones related to Trump Tower and his Mar-a-Lago Club in South Florida.

But that request went on hold after the appeals court stepped in midstream and intervened - at Trump's request and with Sullivan's consent - to consider the untested separation-of-powers issues.
The government on Friday directed all 12 major ports to immediately put in place screening, detection and quarantine system for disembarking seafarers and cruise passengers to prevent the novel coronavirus even as officials said the situation was under control in the country and was being regularly monitored, including by the Prime Minister's Office.

A detailed statement regarding the situation and measures taken to check the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus (nCoV) was made by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar tweeted that many Indian crew and some Indian passengers on-board the cruise ship Diamond Princess were quarantined off Japan due to the coronavirus.

"None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy (in Tokyo). We are closely following the developments," he said.

As the coronavirus continued to spread at an alarming pace in China with official death toll of 637 and confirmed cases of the infection over 31,000, India stepped up its efforts to detect and check the virus, which originated in Chinese city of Wuhan.

All the 12 major ports in the country were directed by the shipping ministry to "place a screening, detection and quarantine system immediately for disembarking Seafarers or Cruise Passengers", an official release said.

These ports were also instructed to procure N-95 masks as well as thermal scanners to screen passengers, besides obtaining self-declaration from arriving crews/passengers, it said.

In a detailed update, Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan in a statement said as many as 1,39,539 passengers from 1275 flights have been screened for a possible exposure to the virus so far at the 21 identified airports.

"No new case has been detected in the country... The situation is under control and is being regularly monitored by the PMO, the health minister and the cabinet secretary on a daily basis for updates, status of preparedness and action taken so far," the statement said.

India so far has reported three confirmed cases of nCoV from Kerala. All three were medical students studying at the Wuhan University and had returned on their own recently. They self-reported at a hospital in the state and were tested positive for the respiratory virus.

As of now 1232 samples have been tested and 1199 samples were found negative apart from the three positive samples from Kerala, it said, adding 30 samples were under process of testing.

The statement also said 6,599 persons were presently under community surveillance in 29 states and UTs while 128 were admitted to isolation wards at various hospitals across the country.

All 647 people evacuated from China's Wuhan city who were lodged at the quarantine facilities set up by the security forces in and around Delhi, and had tested negative for nCoV will be re-tested on day 14 of the quarantine period, it added.

Sudan on Friday chaired a video conference with health secretaries from states and UTs along with senior officials from several ministries -- shipping, external affairs, civil aviation, tourism and home affairs -- to review their preparedness for the prevention and management of nCoV.

The government on Wednesday issued an updated travel advisory saying the existing visas (including e-visa already issued) are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China.

The government has also asked people to refrain from travelling to China, and said travellers on return could be quarantined.

Sudan also reiterated that the new visa restrictions/advisories are issued in view of the emerging scenario globally and asked states to enhance the awareness activities regarding the updated advisories.

She also asked the states and UTs to stay on alert. She informed that a portal has been put in place as a special surveillance web tool to monitor the cases on real-time basis.

"This will also help for national-level monitoring. All the states and UTs need to fill the data accurately and in timely manner," she said.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met a group of envoys, including Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong. Shringla conveyed India's appreciation to China for facilitating evacuation of Indians from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city.

Apart from India, as per the World Health Organisation, the virus has spread to many countries, including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, Finland, Spain, UAE and Sweden.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Gov. Kristi Noem drafts bill limiting 'action civics'

This legislation prohibits colleges and schools from directing, requiring or compelling students to protest or lobby as part of a grade or a class.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) welcomes US President Donald Trump (L) to the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London on December 4, 2019. Peter Nicholls | AFP | Getty Images

The U.S. Attorney General said America should consider taking a controlling stake in European telecoms equipment makers Nokia and Ericsson to "blunt" Chinese firm Huawei's "drive to domination." William Barr's comments come after President Donald Trump expressed "apoplectic" fury towards U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson over Britain's decision to allow Huawei limited participation in its 5G networks, according to a report from the Financial Times. 5G refers to next-generation mobile networks that promise super fast data speeds and will become critical to future infrastructure. Washington has maintained that Huawei's equipment could be used for espionage on Americans by Beijing. The U.S. also argues that if Huawei owns 5G infrastructure, by default, it's in the hands of China and they could shut down networks at any time. Huawei has denied all of the allegations.

The U.S. has been pressuring allies, including the U.K., to completely block Huawei from its 5G networks. But last month, Britain decided to allow Huawei to participate in a limited part of the 5G rollout and limit the Chinese company's market share, in a move that was seen as a test for the relationship between the U.K. and U.S. The FT reported, citing officials, that after this decision, Trump and Johnson had a phone call in which the U.S. president expressed anger at the British Prime Minister. The White House and Downing Street were not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Huawei competitor

Huawei's biggest rivals are Finnish firm Nokia and Swedish company Ericsson. The U.S. does not have a rival to the Chinese firm. But there have been rising calls to create an American competitor, a tough task given the long lead time and high cost it would take to develop the technology and the fact that 5G has already begun rolling out globally. Instead, Barr offered a different option, suggesting the U.S. find a way to take a controlling stake in Nokia and Ericsson. "We have to make a decision on the horse we're going to ride in this race," Barr said during a speech at a conference run by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Who is the 5G equipment supplier or suppliers that we will rely on to compete against Huawei around the globe to win contracts from operators and blunt Huawei's drive to domination?" He said the Nokia and Ericsson don't have "Huawei's scale nor the backing of a powerful country with a large embedded market like China" and suggested the U.S. "actively" consider buying a stake. "There have been some proposals that these concerns could be met by the United States aligning itself with Nokia and or Ericsson through American ownership of a controlling stake either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies," Barr said. "Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms, would make it a far more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over  their staying power." Ericsson declined to comment when contacted by CNBC. "We always welcome investor interest in Nokia. Beyond that we cannot comment on Mr Barr's statement," a Nokia spokesperson told CNBC. Ericsson shares were up near 3.7% around 10:0 a.m. London time while Nokia was just shy of 4% higher.

Potential Ericsson deal 'positive'
Keith Richards sits among the studio audience of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, April 8, 2013. (Photo by: Lloyd Bishop/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards has revealed he has finally given up smoking  which he once said was harder to do than quitting heroin.

The guitarist, 76, said in an interview with a US radio station that he had managed to pack in his nicotine habit late last year, not long after he decided to cut down on drinking.

"I've given up smoking... since October," he told Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr.

"Done that, been there."

Read more: Rolling Stones postpone tour while Jagger seeks medical treatment

Richards said last year that he was trying to quit smoking but admitted that he was finding it tough.

He told Mojo magazine at the time: I have tried. So far, unsuccessfully.

Lou Reed claimed nicotine was harder to quit than heroin. It is.

Richards during an interview in New York, September 1988. (AP Photo/Charles Wenzelberg)

He added: Quitting heroin is like hell, but its a short hell. Cigarettes are just always there, and youve always done it. I just pick em up and light em up without thinking about it.

In 2018, the legendarily hedonistic musician said he had pretty much pulled the plug on drinking.

Read more: Mick Jagger lucky to be alive, says younger brother Chris

I got fed up with it, he told Rolling Stone magazine.

Richards is one of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, who are fronted by his former childhood friend Sir Mick Jagger.

The band was formed in 1962. Several of their albums have topped the charts, including Aftermath, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and, most recently, 2016s Blue & Lonesome.
The defense has focused on evidence that suggests Ms. Mann and Ms. Haley maintained relationships, including consensual sexual encounters, with the producer long after he allegedly assaulted them. Mr. Weinsteins lawyers used the womens own words, documented in dozens of emails, to support their theory.

Ms. Sciorra was added to the criminal case late last summer to further support the charge of predatory sexual assault, which requires that prosecutors prove Mr. Weinstein committed a serious sex crime against at least two women. Though the state statute of limitations bars a rape charge based on her allegation, her testimony can be used as part of the predatory sexual assault charge.

Ms. Sciorra, 59, is the most challenging witness for the defense to discredit. Unlike Ms. Mann and Ms. Haley, she did not maintain a relationship with Mr. Weinstein after the alleged rape.

She testified that Mr. Weinstein pushed his way into her apartment after giving her a ride home from a dinner party, then raped her even as she punched and kicked him. She said that when she tried to confront him about what happened a couple of weeks later, he menaced her, saying, This remains between you and I.

But the defenses first witness was Paul Feldsher, a writer and former talent agent who has known both Mr. Weinstein and Ms. Sciorra for decades.

Mr. Feldsher testified that shortly after the alleged attack, during a long walk through Manhattan, Ms. Sciorra characterized her encounter with Mr. Weinstein as something far less serious than rape, calling it a crazy thing she had done with the producer.

My understanding was that she fooled around with him, he said.

In her own testimony, Ms. Sciorra, best known for her roles in Jungle Fever, and The Sopranos, had denied saying anything like that to Mr. Feldsher.
From John Stringer:

Christchurch writer and illustrator JOHN STRINGER has a new book out published by Maiden NZ and IngramSpark (USA). A 2019 art historical review of Tintin parodies, pastiches and lampoons. 180 pages, more than 120 colour plates of new Tintins. Available on Amazon or TradeMe, a second volume (with another 222 Tintins) is due for release in 2020.

In Le Pastiche Tintin, New Zealand art historian John Stringer examines the phenomenon of the mass Tintin pastiches and parodies since 1983 when Herge died and the adventures ceased with the incomplete Tintin and Alph-Art. Honouring the canon and legacy of Herge, Stringer draws on hundreds of independent works in different languages to comment on the enduring pastiche phenomenon of Europes greatest comic (200 million copies, 70 languages). Having endured for 90 years, fans across the globe seek to invite Tintin art into their own contexts, giving him a second life while wrestling with modernity (cocaine abuse, cloning, ISIS terrorism, and space travel to Mars) but in the spirit of the twentieth-century Tintin.

With an opus set and Tintin entering archival museum status, is he an artefact, high art, or an enduring childrens comic reinterpreted and extended by an adoring global fandom?

Pastiche, perhaps more pronounced with Tintin than any other comic, expresses rich nostalgia for continuity and renewal. As they said of Lincoln on his deathbed, Now, he belongs to the ages.

A good collection of 111 Tintins for people interested in Tintin ; packed with information on Tintin, Herge and the art historical context in which Tintin emerged.

Written by a Kiwi on the greatest comic of all time from Belgium (200 million copies, 70 countries).

A nice contribution for any Tintin collection. Cheap at $32.00.
On January 27, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla wrote a letter to the European Parliament president David Maria Sassoli. The subject was a motion for a resolution being introduced before Sassoli on Indias Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA.

Birla urged Sassoli to respect the sovereign processes of fellow legislatures, especially those in democracies. It is inappropriate for one legislature to pass judgment on another, a practice that can surely be misused by vested interests. I would urge you to consider the proposed resolution in this light, confident that none of us want to set an unhealthy precedent, Birla said.

Later, the European Parliament decided to put off a vote on the resolution critical of CAA to a session beginning March 2.

Similarly, Rajya Sabha chairman Venkaiah Naidu made it clear on Wednesday that if internal matters of India are discussed in foreign parliaments, others should be prepared for India taking similar steps. In his own trademark style, Naidu said Brexit and Exit will be discussed.

In the Lok Sabha, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, too, made Indias stand clear by bringing up a foreign publication that cited fears within Indias minorities because of CAA. An Opposition member called the publication respected one and asked Jaishankar to confirm this.

As the senior-most minister sitting in the House at the time, Jaishankar stood up and said: Please read that editorial. Do not call it a balanced magazine. I do not confirm it.

As Jaishankar heads to Europe to attend the Munich Security Conference between February 14 and 16, and then to meet EU foreign ministers at Brussels, it is evident that India has decided not to be on the defensive over this issue, and give a strong response to anyone who raises either the nullification of Article 370 (which gave special status to Jammu & Kashmir), or CAA.

It is understood that Jaishankar is prepared to discuss the naturalisation process and the past counterterrorism posture of Europe if his counterparts intervene in these internal matters.

In the second term of the Modi government, Indias foreign policy is undergoing a massive revamp as it gears up for its two years at the UN Security Council beginning January 2021, and the 2022 G-20 Summit in New Delhi.

The idea is to actively engage with big global powers, its neighbours, the extended neighbourhood in West Asia and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), along with a renewed focus on Africa and South America.

Barring Pakistan, all the heads of state in the neighbourhood have either visited India or PM Modi has made a visit to these countries.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa is in Delhi over the weekend and PM Modi will visit Bangladesh next month.

How actively India is engaging with the world is evident from the number of meetings both Modi and Jaishankar have during multilateral events.

For example, Jaishankar was part of 18 bilateral meetings and five pull-asides at the Asean Regional Forum; 36 bilateral, eight pull-asides and seven multilateral events at the UN General Assembly) last year; and 13 bilaterals at the Raisina Dialogues this year. More of the same is expected at the Munich security dialogue.

The evidence suggests that, unlike in the past, Indian diplomacy stands up to any country seen to be interfering in internal matters such as Kashmir or offering unsolicited advice on Pakistan.

Accompanying this active engagement is the ongoing revamp in the external affairs ministry, with additional secretaries made heads of clusters for better synergy. While the new foreign secretary, Harsh Shringla, has prioritised building a good working relationship among his experienced set of secretaries, the ministry is reassessing the requirements of the cadre to stay in step with new-age diplomacy. As part of this revamp, the external publicity department has been reorganised for better and effective communications.

The Indian diplomacy is now on the front foot.

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King Hamad Centre for Peaceful Co-existence hosted a dinner banquet in Washington DC, the USA, in the presence of renowned religious leaders, diplomats and heads of organisations and academies advocating coexistence and interfaith tolerance. The event in recognition of efforts exerted by the centre which represents a true bridge to communicate and know about its model of co-existence and tolerance.

Senior religious leaders, diplomats, and heads of relevant organisations and academies expressed their desire to hold joint efforts and programmes, and sign memoranda of understanding with the King Hamad International Centre for Peaceful Coexistence, to serve those endeavours, and exchange practices. King Hamad Centre for Peaceful Co-existence Board of Trustees Chairman Dr Shaikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa stressed the centres keenness on exerting efforts to highlight the Bahraini model of peaceful coexistence.

US Assistant Vice President Thomas Ross extended greetings, on behalf of the White House, to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and King Hamad Centre for Peaceful Co-existence. Bahrain makes great contributions in the fields of tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and religious freedoms far beyond its geographical size, which is an exceptional thing to thank for, adding, he said. We highly appreciate your continued support and we are excited to work with you as we look to generalize peace and reach a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East region, he added.

British diplomat Sir Charles Hoare hailed the dedicated efforts exerted by Bahrain, led by HM the King, to spread the values of tolerance, peaceful co-existence and moderation in the region and the world. The British government and diplomats look forward to continuing their strong partnership and solid bonds of cooperation with the Kingdom of Bahrain to advance the principles of peaceful coexistence to become widespread, he said. I visited Bahrain in the past and got acquainted with its unique experience in peaceful coexistence, he said, paying tribute to HM the King for leading Bahrains landmark achievements. He also hailed strenuous work to support Christians and other communities.
A drug bust in the International District last week turned up much more than dope.

New Mexico State Police say they found more than a dozen guns  some of them stolen  thousands in cash, a fair amount of fentanyl and a Los Lunas Police badge when they raided the home of 35-year-old Army veteran Claudio Chavez on Jan. 30.

Chavez was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and charged with four counts of drug trafficking and three counts of possession of stolen property.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:

Officers served a warrant around 4 p.m. at Chavezs home in the 500 block of Madeira SE, near Zuni and San Mateo, and detained Chavez. Inside the home they found 33 grams of heroin, 35 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of methadone along with smaller amounts of PCP, meth and marijuana.

Officers also seized 18 guns  some with serial numbers ground down and at least three that were stolen  more than $11,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and several different forms of identification, including passports, drivers licenses and a Los Lunas Police sergeant badge that were believed to be stolen.

Chavezs father, Dennis Chavez, declined to comment on the charges against his son.

To tell you the truth I havent seen that guy in over a year so I dont really know what hes up to, he said.

Chavez was last arrested in 2016 on several violent felonies, including kidnapping, false imprisonment and six counts of aggravated battery against a household member in the brutal beating of his wife.

Officer responded to the Mountain Run Shopping Center after Chavezs battered wife ran inside the Smiths grocery to hide from him. The woman told police Chavez bound her inside his van and told her to write a suicide note  which she refused to do  before choking her to unconsciousness repeatedly and bashing her head against the concrete.

The 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office dismissed the case in January 2017, declaring it to be in the interests of justice.
A powerful winter storm raked across the Deep South early Thursday, with high winds and flooding causing damage that killed one person, injured several others and littered at least 10 states. Rescue crews repeatedly pulled people from flooded cars, and one person was seen disappearing into a rain-swollen creek as a car sank.

The storm front peeled off roofs across a wide area of hard-hit Mississippi. It destroyed mobile homes in Alabama, caused a mudslide in Tennessee and flooded streets in communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region.

A path of splintered trees and sagging power lines stretched from Louisiana into Georgia, and school districts cancelled classes as the weather rolled into the Carolinas and Virginia. Authorities in many places pleaded with motorists to avoid driving where they cant see the pavement.

One person was killed and another was injured early Thursday as high winds destroyed two mobile homes near the town of Demopolis, Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center reported. The winds left roadsides strewn with pieces of plywood and insulation, broken trees and twisted metal. It wasnt immediately clear whether a tornado was to blame.

Hours earlier, the weather forced rescuers to suspend their search for a vehicle that disappeared Wednesday with a person inside in north Alabamas Bucks Pocket State Park.

As the car started shifting because of the water we noticed what appeared to be an arm reaching out, witness Kirkland Follis, who called 911, told WHNT-TV. Eight agencies responded, but the vehicle quickly disappeared and the water was too dangerous for divers to search, the station reported.

Tree limbs and fences were toppled when a possible tornado hit the Birmingham suburb of Helena, officials said, and some roads and parking lots were covered by floodwaters. Downtown streets also flooded near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A yellow taxi was abandoned in high water early Thursday on an interstate ramp in Birmingham.

In Bell County, Kentucky, Judge-Executive Albey Brock declared a state of emergency Thursday as heavy rains washed out roads and led to water rescues and rock slides. Brock said several streets were flooded in Middlesboro and crews have had to rescue a couple of people. No injuries have been reported, he said.

As the storm rolled through Georgia, a tree crashed onto to the interstate in Dunwoody, north of Atlanta, crunching a car but causing no serious injuries, authorities said. Huge trees toppled and snapped in the states northwestern Gordon County, smashing a home and blowing roofs off outbuildings.

Tornado and flood watches covered large areas Thursday, from Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle eastward to Virginia. Many school districts cited the flooding and severe weather in canceling classes.

The airport in North Carolinas largest city evacuated a control tower and advised people to shelter in place because of a tornado warning, which the National Weather Service said was in effect until noon on Thursday. Charlotte-Douglas International Airport said in a tweet that the Federal Aviation Administration evacuated the tower.

Students were told to shelter in place while tornado warnings were in effect in the Atlanta suburbs and at the University of Georgia in Athens. Children in the Lawrenceville area huddled in school hallways as the weather moved through.

More than 70,000 homes and businesses were without power in Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia, according to poweroutage.us.

Meanwhile, the rain was predicted to continue into Friday. More than 5 inches already fell in the Tennessee Valley region, and forecasters said more than 6 inches could fall near the Alabama-Georgia line. With two inches fallen and two more expected in southern West Virginia, McDowell County Emergency Services Deputy Director Angela Workman said overflowing waterways were already pushing high water into homes and onto roads.

Elsewhere, snow was falling, in places from the upper Midwest into New England, where a few inches was expected on the coast of Maine and up to 16 inches could fall in the New Hampshire mountains before sunny skies take hold over the weekend.

Earlier, the storm dumped four inches of snow along the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, and caused dozens of accidents involving tractor-trailers in Oklahoma. Snow also coated a bridge over the Missouri River, where several tractor-trailers and passenger vehicles collided Wednesday near Rocheport, injuring at least one person, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

The storms also paid a violent visit to New Orleans, collapsing scaffolding at the Four Seasons Hotel construction site onto at least a dozen cars Wednesday and sending one person to a hospital. Hail pounded downtown streets and high winds shattered the glass on two revolving doors.

___

Associated Press reporters Jeff Martin in Atlanta, Jill Bleed in Little Rock, Arkansas; Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Missouri; Terry Wallace in Dallas and Sean Murphy and Ken Miller in Oklahoma City contributed to this report

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Auto Windstorm Flood Georgia Missouri Alabama Mississippi Virginia
China's biggest smartphone makers appear to be joining hands to take on the might of Google. As per the latest reports by Reuters, Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo are creating a platform for developers to upload apps onto all of their app stores simultaneously. Interestingly, this platform will be based outside of China, which would enable it to emerge as a true alternative to the Google Play Store in the future.

The report suggests the companies are currently working on finalizing details on what is called the Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA). The platform is being pegged as a solution that will enable developers of games, music, movies and other apps to market their apps in overseas markets.

These phone makers combined account for a major chunk of the global smartphone market. However, they are reliant on Android and its Google Play service for keeping their phones running. With the new platform, these phone makers will eventually decrease their reliance on Google Play Store.

The platform should also come quite handy for users in China as Google Play is currently not available in the country. For now, Chinese users have to download apps from different app stores, being operated by their phone maker.

While not a single stop shop, the platform will help developers upload apps on the multiple app stores simultaneously. With this, the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo will not only be able to come up with a strong alternative in China but would also be able to break the monopoly that Google enjoys outside of Chinese borders.

Although this isn't a single app repository like Google Play, it is, however, quite close as it would ensure that all these app stores will have the same backend and the same apps. While there is no official word yet on why the companies are uniting to form the GDSA, the move could very well be the result of Huawei's US sanctions, which has seen the company banned from doing business with US companies and accessing Google services, including Google Play.

While still at a nascent stage, these companies joining hands could very well be bad news for Google and dominance it enjoys over the Android space.
(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Friday.







FTSE 100 - WINNERS







Vodafone, up 1.9%. Jefferies upgraded the telecommunications firm to Buy from Hold.







FTSE 100 - LOSERS







Hargreaves Lansdown, down 3.3%. Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of the company, has sold GBP550 million worth of stock in the fund supermarket, via an accelerated share bookbuild offering to institutional investors. He sold 34.4 million shares at a price of 1,600.00 pence per share. Hargreaves Lansdown was trading at 1,653.00p on Friday mid-morning. Following the sale, Peter Hargreaves still holds an interest in about 24% of the company's issued share capital. The placing was extended from the original GBP500 million Hargreaves was hoping to raise due to "strong investor demand". Peter Hargreaves said the sale is part of a "process of long-term financial planning" to diversify his assets. "I remain, and will continue to be, a substantial shareholder in Hargreaves Lansdown. I am very proud of the business that I co-founded and helped build."







Burberry, down 1.6%. The luxury fashion retailer said the outbreak of coronavirus in China is having a negative effect on demand for its luxury goods. Burberry said 24 of its 64 stores on the Chinese mainland are closed, with the remaining stores experiencing a significant decline in customer visits. Although the spending patterns of Chinese customers across Europe hasn't been affected, Burberry said it expects the situation to worsen due to widening travel restrictions. The company noted that the benefit of actions taken to mitigate the negative impact will be limited due to the proximity to the end of its financial year in March.







FTSE 250 - WINNERS







Mitchells & Butlers, up 2.5%. Berenberg raised the pub owner to Buy from Hold.







FTSE 250 - LOSERS







Pets at Home, down 3.2%. The pet store named Ian Burke as its new non-executive chair, taking over from Tony DeNunzio at the start of the new financial year. Burke is currently chair of home shopping firm Studio Retail Group, a role he has held since 2017, and is also a non-executive director at shopping centre owner Intu Properties, which was trading down 7.2%. He had a "long tenure" on the board of gambling firm Rank Group, where he had been chair and chief executive officer. He also was CEO of Thistle Hotels. In addition, Burke was formerly chaired privately owned veterinary group Vet Partners. Pets At Home said incumbent Tony DeNunzio will remain in the role during a handover period, before calling time on a 10-year stint as chair of the pet supplies and veterinary firm.







Royal Mail, down 3.0%. Berenstein cut the stock to Underperform from Market-Perform. The stock lost 5.5% on Thursday after a profit warning.







OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS







DP Poland, up 28%. The operator of Domino's Pizza stores in Poland said its performance improved in 2019 and it expects the trend to continue despite strong competition. The AIM-listed firm reported sales growth of 13% to PLN81 million, about GBP16.1 million, in 2019 from PLN72 million a year earlier. On a like-for-like basis, revenue grew by 3% over the year. DP Poland said its store numbers grew in 2019 to 69 from 63 in 2018.







OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS







Countrywide, down 4.2%. The estate agent said that the completion of the sale of its commercial real estate consultancy firm Lambert Smith Hampton has been delayed. In November, the UK estate agent sold Lambert Smith Hampton to Great Global Holdings for GBP38 million in cash. Milton Keynes-based Countrywide said that the delay comes as a result of Great Global Holdings founder John Bengt Moeller "being indisposed during January", as well as "logistical difficulties relating to the transfer of the requisite completion monies". The company added that it has been assured by Moeller that the sale will be completed soon. The transaction was initially expected to complete at the end of December.







By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
WASHINGTON  The Texas Democrats competing for the partys nomination for U.S. Senate are talking about health care more than anything else, and it is one of the few issues that offers a sharp dividing line between the dozen candidates in the race.

Amanda Edwards father died of cancer when she was 17. Her mother has cancer now. She gave up a safe path to a second term on Houstons City Council with health care at the top of her mind. She wants to expand the Affordable Care Act to include a government-backed insurance plan.

Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez, a longtime labor organizer, says she learned from the negotiating table to always start big: Shes pushing for Medicare For All, essentially doing away with private health insurance. So is Sema Hernandez, who says she learned working as an insurance agent how dirty insurance companies are.

MJ Hegar, a decorated former Air Force pilot, says she knows how good government health care can be. So does Chris Bell, who was on a low-cost government insurance plan as a congressman when his wife was diagnosed with cancer. Both think everyone should be able to access Medicare if they want, but consumers should still have choices in the marketplace.

Texas Take: Get political headlines from across the state sent directly to your inbox

Longtime state Sen. Royce West, meanwhile, has for years joined Democrats in urging Republican leaders to expand Medicaid as Texas remains the nations leader in uninsured residents.

Democrats across the nation see health care as their best issue, and its no different in Texas for those challenging three-term incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn, a key player in the GOP's attempts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act.

Cornyn has had more than two years to prepare for the inevitable attacks, and has already labeled all of their proposals as socialist takeovers of the health insurance market, as championed by Democratic presidential contenders Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Even we were surprised at how quickly all of our major opponents have, in some form, adopted the Warren/Sanders approach of forcing everyone out of their employee insurance into a government run plan, said Krista Piferrer, a spokeswoman for Cornyn. She said Cornyn has long supported legislation that helps the uninsured and protects those with preexisting conditions, but also sees Obamacare for the cost-prohibitive, job-killing program that it is.

The Democrats are going all in.

It is the No. 1 issue, said U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, an Illinois Democrat who chairs House Democrats' campaign arm. I can tell you this firsthand coming from a district that Donald Trump won, I can tell you from polling in some of the toughest districts in the country, it is the No. 1 issue that people want us to address, the cost of health care.

House Democrats last year passed legislation that would allow the government to negotiate lower prices for drugs in Medicare, which has gone nowhere in the Senate. Theyre already running ads about how the GOP stalled it.

Trump renews call for drug price controls

Democrats wont be alone in making big promises on health care through November. In his State of the Union address, President Donald Trump urged Congress to act on drug prices, saying Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay.

Trumps comment  made even as the White House threatens to veto the bill that passed the House  drew shouts from Democrats in Congress who attended the speech. The president also vowed to always protect patients with pre-existing conditions, despite his administrations support for the Texas legal challenge seeking to strike down Obamacares most popular provision.

Cornyn and the Republicans say they have a replacement to protect those with pre-existing conditions.

Texans shouldnt have to fear being denied access to affordable health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, said Cornyn last spring as the Protect Act that he cosponsored was introduced. This legislation will give them peace of mind they can choose an insurance plan for their families that offers quality, patient-centered coverage.

An analysis of the bill by the New York Times, however, found that the language in it does not clearly protect those with pre-existing conditions from higher premiums, and that patients with cancer, diabetes and HIV, for example, would have significantly less protection than they have under the Affordable Care Act.

Democrats in the senate primary argue the issue matters more in Texas than anywhere else. The state has the highest uninsured rate in the nation, and over 900,000 Texans received subsidies last year through the ACAs federal marketplace.

The state is one of a handful that hasnt expanded Medicaid to cover more low-income adults using federal money made available by the ACA and state efforts to expand Medicaid coverage for new mothers and children have failed.

Profit off our pain, suffering and illness

Texans in a recent Texas Lyceum poll listed health care as the top issue facing the nation. And polling suggests a big appetite among Texas residents for universal healthcare  something many in the Democratic Senate primary are promising to push.

By having a health care system where private health companies profit off our pain, suffering and illness, weve created the most expensive health care system in the world, Tzintzun Ramirez said. Im glad were having the debate were having inside the Democratic party, but what we also need to understand is private insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies are going to continue to spend hundreds of millions to continue the broken system we have.

She argues universal health care would be a boon for small businesses and entrepreneurs who wouldnt have to foot the bill for health care for their employees. And she says unions  many of which have members who are happy with their current coverage  would be freed up from negotiating for better health coverage and could make gains on pensions and other benefits.

Annie Mama Garcia, who runs a Houston-based health care-focused nonprofit, wants to build a universal healthcare system in America like the one in Spain, where her daughter was treated for a heart defect as an infant. Though Garcia lives five minutes from the Texas Medical Center, she says she still flies back to Spain annually for her daughters checkup. Mostly, Garcia said the trip is to see the same team that saved her daughters life, who she knows she can trust. But Garcia says she also knows there wont be any surprises. She knows how much the flight costs, how much an Airbnb will be. The doctors visit will be free.

Financially its a better bet, she said.

Most in the race wouldnt go that far.

They need it now

While Hegar says she was believes she had the best health care when she was in the military, she wouldnt force it on anyone.

We are a nation and a state that values individual rights and freedoms, Hegar said. A lot of people are happy with their plans. I would argue they dont know how good it is on Medicare, but I can tell you this  if private insurance is going to survive when people have access to Medicare  theyre going to have to get better to be able to compete.

Bell has a similar belief.

On these issues its always a little easier to figure out your position when youve had personal experience, he said. His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer during his last year in Congress. She did six months of chemotherapy treatments every two weeks. Each one cost $6,000, Bell said. She also had surgery, but he didnt remember the cost.

You can just do the math on that and realize making the congressional salary at the time with over $200,000 in medical bills, that would have been - well, impossible, Bell said.

Had he not had congressional insurance, he says, we probably wouldve been one of those families looking at bankruptcy.

Edwards said she learned quickly how important health coverage is when her father was diagnosed with cancer when she was 10. He was able to get good care and his life expectancy doubled.

Its something that touches me very directly, she said. Even though my dad had a terminal illness ... The difference of my dad dying when I was 17 versus my dad dying when I was 14 was light years away in terms of the lessons I learned.

She argued there isnt time to start anew with Medicare For All.

People who need health care, they need it now, said Edwards, who supports bolstering the ACA and gets her health care through the federal marketplace it established. They dont need to wait and watch Washington debate it.

West also supports building on whats already in place.

In Texas, prices for coverage under the ACA this year range from $201.26 per month to $1,251.45 per month, depending on age. In the second lowest cost silver plans, considered the benchmark from which subsidies are calculated, the cheapest runs $319.39 for a 27-year-old; $389.49 for a 40-year-old; and $827.13 for a 60-year-old.

We dont need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, West said. Ive never seen a perfect piece of legislation  An ultimate objective should be to have a health care system everyone can share in.

ben.wermund@chron.com
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex may have exited the royal family, but that doesnt mean that Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge are taking any time off to mourn their absence. In fact, they appear to be stepping up their game, even appearing more focused than ever since Megxit, albeit with some signs of stress, which is understandable.

Prince William and Kate Middleton | Karwai Tang/WireImage

Queen Elizabeth supported Prince Harry and Meghans plan

It wasnt exactly clear how things would shake out when Prince Harry and Meghan announced their plan to step back, but once Queen Elizabeth met with Prince Harry, Prince William, and Prince Harry to discuss the matter, they were able to finalize an agreement.

The queen shared her support of the Sussexes move, noting in a statement: Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family. 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, the queen noted.

Their arrangement required Prince Harry and Meghan to give up their HRH titles and any public funding and they swiftly made their move to Canada with their son Archie.

Prince William and Kate have moved on from the drama

While the Sussexes exit created some drama in the media and likely behind closed palace doors, its been business as usual for the Cambridges.

During their visit to Mumbles in South Wales, they appeared in good spirits, smiling as they met with their fans and though they are focused, according to a body language expert, there may be some indications of stress.

The pictures of the royal couple all say the same thing; Prince William and Kate are on the same page, energy reader Alison Ward told Express. The way they look directly into each others eyes and over their bodies towards each other when they are talking and walking indicates compatibility, friendship and common values.

The Cambridges are showing some signs of stress

Despite being in sync and showing compatibility, Ward notes that some stress associated with the exit drama can be detected. The stress of recent times is subtly showing in their eyes, especially Kate but they know where they are going and what they wish to achieve, she explained.

Signs of stress aside, the Cambridges, according to Ward, are closer than ever. As they walk they move their arms towards one another other indicating warmth and connection.

According to a report from Us Weekly, a source confirmed that Prince William and Kate are closer together amid the Harry and Meghan exit drama.

The Cambridges are busier than ever since Harry and Meghan left the U.K. Youd think their hectic schedule would put strain on the marriage, but its actually brought them closer together, the insider shared. Working as a team and supporting each other is essential at a time like this, and thats exactly what theyre doing.
North Iowa's "Ironman" battalion is headed to the Middle East.

The 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division, Iowa Army National Guard, recently received deployment orders for Operation Spartan Shield.

This is the first of several deployments that were announced by Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, the Iowa National Guard Adjutant General, during his recent Condition of the Guard address to the Iowa General Assembly on Jan. 16.

Approximately 550 soldiers from National Guard armories in Charles City, Davenport, Dubuque, Iowa City, Iowa Falls, Oelwein and Waterloo will serve as area security and force protection operations in the deployment to an area that includes Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.

This is the fifth federal mobilization for the Ironman Battalion since 2000, including a nearly 22-month mobilization in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2005 through August 2007. The battalions most recent deployment was to Afghanistan in 2010.

Send-off ceremonies are planned for the end of May. The Ironman Battalion will then travel to Ft. Bliss, Texas, to complete its final training and readiness checks before deploying overseas. The deployment is expected to last approximately one year.

The Iowa National Guard family services branch is hosting a Joining Community Forces (JCF) event at 9 a.m. Feb. 11 at the Waterloo Readiness Center, for organizations interested in coming together to support the northeast Iowa military community.

JCF is an effort to connect the local community with soldiers and their families in preparation for the upcoming deployment.

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Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cracked a joke during a Tuesday lunch with his Republican colleagues that the previous two weeks had been like a family vacation that had gone on too long.

Members were spent, tensions high and patience with their colleagues across the aisle had been hovering around an all-time low. Still, GOP Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota said McConnell's message Tuesday afternoon -- just one day before the President would be acquitted -- was that a real break from Washington may help to begin repairing the relationships that had been tested.

It was a moment of levity, Rounds recalled in what had been an exhausting two weeks.

For Republicans, the closing of the impeachment trial marks a welcome end and a victory. Asked where the Senate needed to go from this moment on, Sen. Richard Burr, a North Carolina Republican and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, piped in to a group of reporters: "Home."

The President was acquitted and all but one Republican member followed McConnell's lead. But, there is no deflecting the toll the trial took on the Senate. Unlike in 1999 at the end of the Clinton impeachment, there was no hug shared between the leaders. It will fall to rank-and-file members to repair what was broken.

"At some point we need to be serious about not just reflecting the division in the country, but trying to heal it. I was struck at the comments tonight by the two leaders -- McConnell and (Senate Minority Leader Chuck) Schumer-- that they were almost mirror opposites about what happened," Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, told CNN. "It's up to us ... neither our President nor our leadership are going to do it. We have to do it."

When lawmakers return next week, they will pivot back to nominations, and many members argue there are a series of legislative proposals that are ripe for bipartisan agreement including infrastructure, a transportation bill, an energy bill and efforts to lower prescription drug prices.

"I hope there will be a return to normalcy, that people will put their spears down. Let's get back to work," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the Republican whip. "It's an election season I get that and that will be spirited too, but I think both sides have things to get done they want to take to the voters."

Republicans and Democrats said the State of the Union -- before the President refused to shake Pelosi's hand and Pelosi tore up the President's speech -- had provided a brief respite of what could be accomplished in the wake of impeachment. The senators all dined together, giving members an opportunity to catch up after what had previously been several days stuck in the chamber on their respective sides of the aisle.

"Before the State of the Union, we were talking about how we could come together and how we could get things done. A lot of relationships have been deeply strained, but I think we can come together," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, told CNN.

Sen. James Lankford, a Republican from Oklahoma, emphasized that on the outside it might appear like impeachment had overtaken the chamber, but internally, he said there was a great sense of relief that it was coming to an end after months of waiting for the House to finish their investigation.

"We have all seen this coming for the last three months. On September 24 when Speaker Pelosi announced impeachment, we all assumed that Speaker Pelosi wouldn't have started it unless she already knew she had the votes," Lankford said. "My guess is there is less angst in Washington, DC, than there is in the rest of the country because we've all known where this was going."

In fact, many members CNN spoke with pointed out that impeachment -- while trying -- had been less toxic than the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Still, Democrats argued it had been difficult to watch so many of the colleagues they'd worked across the aisle with vote against something like witnesses.

"This institution is broken," Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet told CNN. "More than 50% of the senators have said what the President did was wrong. If that is your view, I don't see how you can possibly vote for evidence. I don't know how we move on because this is part of a pattern of the Senate destroying itself under Mitch McConnell's leadership."
BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Five police officers who died while on duty working on the frontline of China's efforts to contain the novel coronavirus outbreak have been posthumously honored by the Ministry of Public Security.

Aged between 37 and 57 and based in different places ranging from north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to central province Hubei, the five police officers were praised as outstanding representatives of the police who had fulfilled their duties and made outstanding achievements, especially in the ongoing epidemic battle, according to the ministry.

Dedicated to the coronavirus prevention and control work, police officers He Jianhua, Li Xian, Cheng Jianyang, Yin Zuchuan and Liu Daqing died of sudden illnesses following overwork in their positions, the ministry said.
Freezing rain and strong winds left more than 15,000 Nova Scotia Power customers without electricity on Friday.

Most of the outages were in the Halifax region, but as of 3:34 p.m., only about 700 customers provincewide were without power.

A spokesperson for Nova Scotia Power said crews are out working to restore power to those affected and are preparing for increasing winds as the storm continues.

Early morning freezing rain made for icy road conditions that forced schools and universities to close across the province.

All public schools, both French and English, are closed.

Some universities, including Acadia and Saint Mary's, are also closed.

Classes at most NSCC locations have been cancelled. The Burridge Campus and Shelburne Campus delayed opening until 9 a.m.

Nova Scotia RCMP and the Halifax Regional Police advised drivers to proceed with caution.

"We're just certainly asking folks to take some extra time and drive to those conditions because you never know what it's going to be like when you turn the corner," said Const. John MacLeod of Halifax police.

Dave Irish/CBC

Numerous flights at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport were delayed or cancelled this morning, as were flights at the JA Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport. Some flights remain cancelled at both airport for Friday evening.

Environment Canada has posted wind and freezing rain warnings for the entire province. There are rainfall warnings from the southwest to Halifax County east of Porters Lake.

The national weather agency says freezing rain will change to rain as the temperatures rise this evening.

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The Oppo Find X2 will be launched at MWC on February 22.

After weeks of teasing its upcoming flagship smartphone on various social media platforms, Oppo has finally announced that it will launch the Find X2 in Barcelona, Spain on February 22. Successor to the original Find X that was launched in 2018, the Find X2 will be one of the many smartphone launches we expect to see at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC). The Oppo Find X2 is expected to come with a number of trending smartphone features, including a 120Hz screen and fast charging.

A few weeks ago, Oppo Vice President Shen Yiren confirmed on Weibo that the Find X2 would come with support for 65W SuperVOOC Flash Charging. This, as we know, is the highest rated charging system available commercially in the market at the moment. In addition, the Find X2 is said to sport a battery whose capacity equals or exceeds 4000mAh. The Find X, by contrast, has a smaller 3730mAh battery. Oppo is likely to claim that its new smartphone will regain most of its full charge in thirty minutes.

We expect the Oppo Find X2 to sport a 6.5-inch curved OLED screen with a resolution of 3168 x 1440 pixels. The Find X2's screen is said to have a high refresh rate of 120Hz so the handset can keep up with the competition in terms of smoothness in animation. Users of the Find X2 should be able to switch to a lower screen resolution and halve the refresh rate to improve battery life. The Find X, by contrast, features a slightly smaller 6.4-inch AMOLED screen with Full HD resolution.

Oppo launched the Find X in India in July 2018 at a starting price of Rs 59,990. At the time of its launch, the handset was best known for its mechanical sliding camera setup, which freed up space on the phone's front face for a curved display with very slim bezels. The Find X was powered by a flagship-grade Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chip with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage space. If you'd like to learn more about the Oppo Find X, you can read our first impressions article here.
Honda has raised its forecast for full-year operating profit by 6% as a weaker yen increased the value of its overseas sales.

Japans third-biggest carmaker has been struggling to shore up its operations, with profitability down more than half in the past two years due to a series of quality-related issues.
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The "Green Wave" operates in many cities of Ukraine, however, mostly without signs of speed.

"Green Wave" traffic signs with the recommended driving speed to catch all green traffic lights were installed in the streets of the capital city of Kyiv on February 6.

Previously, such signs were installed in almost 50 streets, utility companies say. Provided that the drivers keep the speed within 40-50 kmh, they are expected to avoid red lights all the way within the relevant Green Wave zone, TSN.ua reported.

"The recommended speed is 50 kmh and the 'Green Wave' sign on the bottom. The drivers have already noticed such traffic signs, although so far only on Vasyl Lypkivsky Street," the report says.

Read alsoKyiv ranks 12th in TomTom's 2019 Traffic Index

The 'Green Wave' zones have been operating in 49 streets in Kyiv in recent years, but traffic signs have only now been installed.

The "Green Wave" operates in many cities of Ukraine, however, mostly without signs telling the recommended speed.

Kyiv utility companies hope the signs will reduce the rate of speeding violations and motivate drivers to keep their speed down.
press release

The World Health Organization (WHO) has brought key health partners together to rally support for the critical functions needed in country offices to help African Members States achieve universal health coverage and the Sustainable Development Goals.

On the side lines of the 3-8 February WHO Executive Board meeting in Geneva, the WHO Regional Office for Africa convened a high-level event on "Delivering at Country Level" on 4 February to present the outcomes of a two-year functional review process. Reviews were conducted of all 47 WHO country offices in the African Region, engaging Member States and partners in over 300 face-to-face consultations and over 700 respondents in an anonymous partner perception survey of WHO's work in each country.

"We received consistent feedback from Member States, donors, civil society and the private sector on WHO's performance at country level. With your support we will implement changes to strengthen our work in critical areas," said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, as she presented the results.

According to the results of the reviews, WHO needs to align support to country priorities, help to lead coordination in the health sector, build capacities in governance, support the functionality of district health systems, promote multisectoral approaches, and continue strengthening emergency preparedness and response.

The "Delivering at Country Level" approach envisages a 50% increase in the number of technical experts in country offices as well as a rise of 68% in new competencies - in strategic information, policy dialogue, and coordination - requiring international expertise. Implementing the results of the review process, also requires investments in leadership and managerial skills and practices in country offices. This is already underway through a regional leadership training programme - the first of its kind in WHO - which 181 mid-level and senior staff have already participated in.

Member States welcomed the approach taken by WHO. Botswana's Ambassador to Switzerland, Her Excellency Dr Athaliah Lesiba Molokomme, said that "we can see already that WHO is more responsive, more accountable and more effective in supporting health improvements across the African continent."

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Child Care of Zimbabwe, Dr Agnes Mahomva, noted that "this process has given us the confidence that you [WHO] are giving us the support that we need".

Since Dr Moeti took office in 2015, WHO Africa has been undergoing a transformative change geared towards better health for the people in the continent. The Region has seen some of the fastest declines globally in TB incidence. More people are getting tested for HIV, two out of three are getting treatment and half are achieving viral suppression with no risk of infecting other people.

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Response to health emergencies by WHO Africa is increasingly faster, more coordinated and more effective. Information sharing with the public and key stakeholders on emergencies is also getting better.

Several countries are working towards malaria elimination and efforts being stepped up in high burden countries to ensure gains made are not reversed.

With the "Delivering at Country Level" initiative, WHO is promising improved service delivery; accountability; efficiency; engagement; transparency; efficient use of resources, putting people at the centre of its work and ensuring flexible funding for critical functions.

WHO is requesting countries and partners to align their support with the outcome of the functional review, carry out joint advocacy and collaboration to achieve universal health coverage, the Sustainable Development Goals and strengthen health security.

Some US$ 270 million are required for the critical functions. WHO has committed up to US$ 122 million of flexible funding towards the realization of these thematic functions.
When likely Best Supporting Actor Academy Award winner Brad Pitt holds up his Oscar on February 9, it will mark the end of a long journeyboth in terms of the Once Upon a Timein Hollywood stars exhaustive awards-season circuit and the statuette. In January, this years Oscar trophies were hand-cast in bronze by Polich Tallix Fine Art Foundry, a 105,000-square-foot factory in Rock Tavern, New York. The awards then received a 24-karat-gold finish by Epner Technology in Brooklyn and were shipped to Hollywood, where they were placed in a vault until the big night inside the Dolby Theater.

Making of the Oscar Statuettes Photo: Dorith Mous

Making of the Oscar Statuettes Photo: Dorith Mous

Thats just the journey of the latest batchthe origin of the Oscar itself dates all the way back to 1927. Thats when members of the newly formed Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences held a dinner in the Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles to devise a way to honor outstanding achievements in cinema. MGM art director Cedric Gibbons sketched the figure of a knight gripping a sword, standing in front of a reel of film. The five spokes of the reel stood for the original five branches of the Academyactors, directors, producers, technicians, and writerswhile the sword symbolized protection for the welfare of the industry.

Then it was time to strike gold. In early 1928, Gibbons chose Los Angeles sculptor George Stanley to craft a three-dimensional design. No live models or sketches were ever used, per the Academy fact sheet. Stanley worked up several versions and Gibbons selected his favorite. In the final design, the figure of the knight was streamlined, and the film reel moved beneath its feet. On May 16, 1929, 15 statuettes, then made of gold-plated solid bronze, were handed out in the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotels Blossom Room. The ceremony lasted just 15 minutes. The silent movie Wings won Best Picture.

The Academy Award of Merit statuette is, of course, better known by its nickname. The story goes that Academy librarian and future executive director Margaret Herrick noted that the bald figure resembled her Uncle Oscar. By the sixth Awards presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skosky used the name to reference Katharine Hepburns first Best Actress win, and five years later, the academy itself started using the moniker.

Story continues

91st Oscars, Academy Awards Photo: Troy Harvey

Oscars original design hasnt changed much, except for the size of the base. It stands at 13 inches tall and weighs 8 poundsso heavy that two-time winners such as Sean Penn, Hilary Swank, Sally Field, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Denzel Washington, and Mahershala Ali could practically use them as dumbbells. Since that first Oscars ceremony 91 years ago, more than 3,000 golden men have been presented. The only actor who refused was Marlon Brando for The Godfather in 1973, in protest of Hollywoods treatment of Native Americans. The person with the most Oscars ever is Walt Disney, who took home 26 in his lifetime. Composer John Williams owns five. Hepburn has received the most for acting, with four. Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, and Daniel Day-Lewis have three.

The 74th Annual Academy Awards - Press Room Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage

See the video.

Due to the possibilities of ties and multiple recipients, its unclear how many will be handed out among the 24 categories this yearbut theres no doubt that everyone who approaches the podium will agree that the thrill of winning one is priceless. After all, do you think Adrien Brody would have famously kissed Halle Berry on the lips if she had been presenting him with a Golden Globe? But in terms of actual worthwell, due to a 2015 court ruling that mandates any resale of a statuette first to be offered back to the Academy for $1, an Oscar is technically worth only that: $1.

Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
As a high school student, Will Chesney watched the horror of 9/11 unfold on television. Nearly a decade later, Chesney would become part of the elite U.S. Navy SEAL team that killed the terrorist mastermind behind the carnage of that day, which was the greatest act of terrorism on American soil.

Chesney was the canine handler on the SEAL Team Six mission that stormed Osama bin Ladens secret compound on May 2, 2011. Chesney and his dog, Cairo, a Belgian Malinois, were the only canine team on the mission. The mission was a success; bin Laden was killed, and all the SEALs on the mission survived.

ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Navy SEAL from Osama bin Laden raid to speak at chamber of commerce meeting

Chesney, now 35, has retired from his military career. Chesney is in the Katy area to promote his new book, No Ordinary Dog: My Partner from the SEAL Teams to the Bin Laden Raid, which comes out April 21. The story is about Cairo, who served with Chesney through his military career.

Chesney is hesitant to talk about himself or his military career, but he loves to talk about Cairo. SEALs dont like to talk about ourselves- its not really our thing. But Ill talk about my dog all day. He deserves to have his story told. Hes part of history, now, too.

ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Veterans may fear PTSD may hinder work chances

Chesney joined the U.S. Navy right out of high school. All I knew then was that I wanted to serve my country, Chesney recalled. I didnt know Id go on to be a SEAL, and I definitely wouldnt have imagined that Id be on the team that went after bin Laden. I just decided to work as hard as I could to serve as best I could.

His hard work paid off. He completed his SEAL training and became Cairos handler in 2008. He had never been a handler before, but he loved dogs, and he had an instant connection with Cairo.

Working with Cairo, Chesney saw firsthand how valuable dogs are in tactical missions. A lot of the work we do is in the dark, Chesney explained. We have night vision, but all you see is green and black, and if someone is hiding, you wont be able to see them. The dogs will find them, though.

Chesney noted that on multiple missions, Cairos keen senses saved Chesneys life and the lives of his team members. Over and over again, thered be a guy waiting a couple feet away to pop out, and the dog would find them, he said.

NEWLY RELEASED: Rarely seen 9/11 photos from Pentagon show aftermath of terrorist attack

As the canine team, Chesney and Cairos main job was locating hidden enemies, and when they found one, Cairo was the first to go in. On one such mission, Cairo was shot. Some guys were hiding in an ambush, Chesney recalled. (Cairo) got the drop on them before they got the drop on us, but he got shot. Theres no telling what would have happened if he hadnt done that.

The injury was serious, and Chesney worried that his beloved canine partner would die as a result of his injuries. Cairo not only survived, he made a full recovery and would serve in many more missions- including the siege of bin Ladens compound.

None of the SEALs expected to survive the raid, but taking out the terrorist responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians superseded any sense of fear or self-preservation, Chesney said. It was the biggest honor of my life to be asked. It was for all of us. Not one guy stepped down from the mission. he said.

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That fateful mission would go down in history as the day bin Ladens reign of terror ended, but for Chesney and Cairo, it was just another mission. The two would go on to serve many more operations, including one in which Chesney suffered a brain injury from a grenade.

After his injury, Chesney struggled to resume civilian life. He was consumed by depression and anxiety and suffered chronic migraines as a result of his injury. I started drinking to cope. My hair fell out. My fingernails fell off. I didnt feel safe, he recalled.

When Cairo finished his service, Chesney adopted him. Chesney credits Cairo with saving his life again- this time off the battlefield- by helping him through his PTSD. I owe him so much, said Chesney. Thats really why I wanted to write the book. He deserves this.

Cairo died a year after he went to live with Chesney, but Chesney will never forget his legacy, and he hopes that Cairos story will inspire more people to support veterans mental health services and charities. The suicide rates with veterans are just unbelievable, he said. This should not be happening. Im so thankful that I had Cairo to help me through it, and I hope his story draws attention to whats happening.

Chesney details his time with Cairo, the mission to kill bin Laden and Chesneys road to recovery in his book, which will be available for purchase on April 21. The book is currently available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

Chesney will also be speaking at the Fulshear-Katy Area Chamber of Commerce meeting on Feb. 12 at 7:30 a.m. at Parkway Fellowship Church at 27043 FM 1093 in Richmond. The meeting is open to the public and free to attend.

claire.goodman@chron.com
The White House announced Thursday night that an airstrike ordered by President Trump had killed al-Qaedas leader in Yemen.

The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death, the White House said in a statement. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.

At the direction of President Trump, the U.S. conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and a deputy to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. https://t.co/ayOmTpzH04  The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 6, 2020

Reports broke last week that Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of the group, had been killed after months of surveillance. While the White House released few details on the nature of the operation, an intelligence official told the New York Times that the CIA had carried out the mission with an unmanned drone, after learning of his location from an informant in November.

Al-Rimi was one of the last remaining members of al-Qaeda to be with the group since before 9/11, joining Osama bin Laden in the 1990s. In 2005, he was sentenced to five years in prison in Yemen for plotting to kill the American ambassador, but escaped a year later.

Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, the White House statement reads.

Al-Qaedas Yemen affiliate AQAP had been widely regarded as the groups most dangerous wing. In 2015, it claimed responsibility for the 2015 attack on the offices of French magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris that killed twelve people.

Audio released Sunday showed al-Rimi claiming full responsibility for the December 6 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola by a Saudi national, who left a trail of anti-American social media posts in the wake of killing three people.

More from National Review
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - Fremont Gold Ltd. (TSXV: FRE) (FSE: FR2) (OTC Pink: USTDF) ("Fremont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that due to strong demand, the Company is increasing the previously announced non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") from $1,020,000 (see news release dated January 24, 2020) to $1,470,000. Net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for general working capital and for a drill campaign at the recently acquired Griffon gold project (see news release dated December 18, 2019).

Griffon gold project

Griffon is a past-producing gold mine located at the southern end of the Cortez Trend, approximately 75 kilometres southwest of Ely, and is accessed via paved highway and forest service roads. Mineralization at Griffon is Carlin-style and is comparable to the mineralization found at the Emigrant/Rain mine and the Alligator Ridge mine (incorporated into Kinross Gold Corporation's Bald Mountain mine in the mid-1990s).

Griffon was first drilled in 1988 and a limited amount of shallow drilling (214 drill holes in total) focused on delineating the Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge deposits, leaving the remainder of the property essentially untested.

From 1997-1999, Alta Gold Co. ("Alta") produced approximately 90,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 1.03 grams/tonne gold from Discovery Ridge and Hammer Ridge in an oxide heap-leach operation. Alta reported a number of unmined drill intercepts to the southwest of Hammer Ridge, including drill hole GR97-175 which returned 57.9 metres at 0.86 g/t gold, and proposed expanding Hammer Ridge before operations ceased.

Griffon hosts numerous untested geochemical, gravity and stratigraphic targets. The Pilot Shale horizon - the primary gold host at Fiore Gold Ltd.'s nearby Pan Mine - has not been adequately tested, and the Joana/Chainman transitional horizon, which hosts gold at Griffon, may be concealed underneath and within the Blackrock Fault, a regional scale structure that transects the property. Lastly, there is also potential in and around the pits, as demonstrated by drill hole GR97-175.

Underexplored and last drilled in the 1990s, Griffon offers multiple opportunities for the discovery of a Carlin-type gold deposit.

Private placement

The Private Placement will be comprised of up to 24,500,000 units at a price of $0.06 per unit (the "Units") for gross proceeds of up to $1,470,000 (increased from a previously announced offering of up to 17,000,000 Units at a price of $0.06 for gross proceeds of up to $1,020,000).

Each Unit will be comprised of a common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant. Each share purchase warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share at a purchase price of $0.10 per for a period of 12 months following the closing of the Private Placement.

Fremont may pay a cash finder's fee equivalent to up to 7% of the gross proceeds of the Private Placement and issue share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") to finder's equivalent to up to 7% of the number of common shares included in the private placement. Each Finder's Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a purchase price of $0.10 for a period of up to 12 months following closing of the Private Placement.

Closing of the Private Placement and the payment of any finder's fees will be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

The securities offered will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from the registration requirements.

All securities issued pursuant to the private placement will be subject to a four month hold period under Canadian securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, as applicable.

Qualified person

The content of this news release was reviewed by Dennis Moore, Fremont's President, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Fremont Gold

Fremont's mine-finding management team has assembled a portfolio of high-quality gold projects in Nevada's most prolific gold trends. Fremont's gold projects include Griffon, Cobb Creek, North Carlin, Goldrun, and Hurricane. We are aligned with our shareholders: Insiders own more than 20% of Fremont.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Blaine Monaghan"

CEO

Telephone: +1 604-676-5664

Email: blaine@fremontgold.net

www.fremontgold.net

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward looking statements

Certain statements and information contained in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable U.S. securities laws and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, which are referred to collectively as "forward-looking statements". The United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements and information regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that are based upon assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. All statements and information other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "estimate", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "may", "could", "would", "might", "will", "hope", "will be", "expected" and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook. Forward-looking statements in this and other press releases include but are not limited to the potential for the discovery of a Carlin-type deposit and regulatory approvals. Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Fremont undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements included in this press release if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES

OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52213
The Delhi Assembly election, to be held on Saturday, has drawn unusual national attention. Ordinarily, a Union territory poll has little outside interest. The heightened focus on how Delhi might vote is primarily due to the fact that it is likely to be the first test of popular endorsement of the controversial CAA, the recently passed citizenship law that has raised passions across India.

Interestingly, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led by energetic chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, hoping to win a second term, has done its best to steer clear of the CAA and is going to the people on the strength of its governmental record alone, in addressing peoples needs in a mega-city  highlighting issues like health, education, electricity, water, the state of roads and public transport.

Earlier, by backing the NDA governments move to downgrade Kashmirs constitutional status, the AAP signalled to the BJPs support base that it too could be nationalist.

While its seldom easy to call an election, the BJP seems to have become the principal challenger to the AAPs perceived hegemony. Not unexpectedly, the BJP has once again underscored nationalism  not in the sense that every Indian may be considered a nationalist and patriot, but in the narrower sense of majority community nationalism, which is in search of the other within society  as its main plank. It has done this by questioning the nationalistic credentials of the Shaheen Bagh protesters, who have made waves through their doggedness and for the peaceful route they have chosen.

The AAP is a relatively new phenomenon in Delhi. Traditionally, in voting behaviour terms the national capital was split between the Congress and the RSS-inspired Jan Sangh (now BJP).

Late CM Sheila Dikshit of the Congress is widely given credit for transforming Delhis infrastructure. For a several reasons, the Congress was unable to wrestle away the challenge from the AAP, which walked away with Congress social base to a large extent, especially among the poor and the Muslim minority.

The BJP, on the whole, has successfully retained its roughly one-third voteshare. But it does well in winning seats when it can add a section of the floating vote to this core support stratum. This hasnt happened for some time.

So this time the party is taking no chances. It roped in 200 MPs and 11 chief ministers for 10,000 locality-level meetings it planned to recapture Delhi. This is a carpet-bombing effort. The stakes seem especially high due to the CAA factor. If the party has to sit it out again, it will have gone 20 years without being in office in Delhi.

That can do all sorts of things to the partys morale and faith in its leadership. In sharp contrast to the BJP, the Congress has made itself scarce in this election, concentrating on just a few seats, where micro-level factors may seem favourable.

Perhaps the party is conscious that in a triangular fight, the votes it gets will eventually help the BJPs cause.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:18:57|Editor: huaxia

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Cured novel coronavirus pneumonia patients are discharged from a hospital in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 6, 2020. A total of 23 novel coronavirus pneumonia patients were cured and discharged from hospital on Thursday after integrated treatment with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. (Xinhua/Wang Yuguo)

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- With the newly-built hospitals put into service and more medical staff arriving on the frontlines to fight against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, China has seen an increase in the number of patients recovering from the novel coronavirus infection.

Greater efforts have been put into related works to increase the hospital admission and recovery rates and lower the rate of infection and fatality, said Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, at a press conference Friday in Beijing.

As of Thursday, a total of 1,540 infected people have been cured and discharged from hospitals, Guo said.

Hubei Province had seen 817 patients discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Thursday, local health authorities said.

A 91-year-old patient infected with the coronavirus has been cured in Hubei's city of Yichang, making him the oldest cured patient infected with the virus in China so far.

Guo told the press conference that expert analysis had been commissioned by health authorities on more than 500 cured cases, covering those with mild symptoms to severe cases.

Wang Guiqiang, director of the infectious disease department under the Peking University First Hospital, said data from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, showed that severe cases, even critically ill patients, can be cured through reasonable and active treatment.

"This has greatly boosted our confidence," he said at the same press conference.

He also noted that the country's capacity for conducting nucleic acid testing has been improved significantly, and China has enough nucleic acid test reagents in stock for the detection of novel coronavirus infection.

The recent reinforcements of health professionals, especially intensive care staff, will greatly help improve the cure rate and reduce the fatality rate of severe cases, Wang added.

To win the battle against the virus, priority has been given to the virus-hit Wuhan for receiving China's top-level medical resources.

Over 11,000 medical personnel, including 3,000 intensive care specialists and the country's best ICU staff, have been dispatched to Wuhan, Guo said.

China's top experts in intensive care also gathered in Wuhan to host consultations and conduct ward rounds, Guo added.

"We are fully aware of the urgent need for ICU professionals in Wuhan. The current medics have been working for quite a long time and are exhausted both physically and mentally," she said.

The country's health authorities also noticed the shortage of medical resource supply in other cities of Hubei. A one-on-one support system was established in 16 provinces, with each of the provinces helping one city in Hubei to battle the epidemic, according to Guo.

At the same time, around 10,000 hospital beds were added in Wuhan to attend to people with mild symptoms as the city turned public facilities such as gymnasiums into temporary hospitals.

Guo said that the Mobile P3 laboratories and more than 2,000 medical staff from across the country are now tasked with treating patients and providing psychological counseling at these temporary hospitals.

As for public concern about possible cross-infection at the large-scale makeshift hospitals, Guo noted that all patients there are confirmed cases, and medical teams specialized in infection control provide guidance on the spot.

By the end of Thursday, Hubei had 22,112 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection, including 11,618 confirmed cases in Wuhan.
Wheel of Fortune contestant Jessie Rebhan had quite the daunting task ahead of her to solve Thursday night's bonus puzzle. The middle-school teacher from Palmetto Bay, Florida only had 4 of the 13 letters in the 3-word puzzle, but somehow managed to solve it. The puzzle category was "What are you doing?" Jessie added P-C-D-O to the standard given R-S-T-L-N-E, resulting in the puzzle _ _ _ _ N_ _ _ _ _CER. Pat Sajak immediately felt bad for Jessie, saying, "It looks daunting to me, but you know, you have ten seconds...Good luck." Jessie ended up only needing half her time as she correctly guessed "BUYING A JUICER" almost immediately. Pat was shocked by her correct response, saying, "I don't understand this game! It makes no [sense]!" Fans at home were equally as shocked, with many taking to Twitter to comment. Winning the bonus puzzle added $37,000 to her regular game winnings, for a total of $52,328. And while that in and of itself is impressive, fans were also impressed by the fact her husband's name is Gator. And it didn't go unnoticed that Gator wore a Lacoste shirt with an alligator/crocodile logo.
NEW BRUNSWICK (dpa-AFX) - A New Jersey jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) to pay $750 million in punitive damages to four cancer victims who charged that the company's Johnson's Baby Powder contained cancer-causing asbestos. The jury agreed that J&J had acted 'maliciously or in wanton disregard' of the safety risks of the four plaintiffs. 'This case is really about the fact that J&J structured their last 50 years of conduct around concealing that there were, and have always been, asbestos fibers in their baby powder,' said trial lawyer Chris Panatier of Dallas-based Simon Greenstone Panatier. 'They designed test methods that they knew lacked the sensitivity to detect the asbestos that was present and then on the occasions when asbestos was found, took steps to make excuses, blame non-existent contamination, delete and alter test results. The jury saw all of that.' In September, a separate jury found Johnson & Johnson liable in the lawsuit by plaintiffs Douglas Barden, David Etheridge, D'Angela McNeill and Will Ronning and awarded $37.3 million in actual damages. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Infiniti Research, a leading market intelligence solutions provider, has recently announced the completion of its latest success story on marketing solutions. This success story highlights how the experts at Infiniti Research helped an immunotherapy drug manufacturing industry client achieve huge commercial success for its new drug, generating nearly $10 million in annual sales.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005300/en/

Infiniti Helped an Immunotherapy Drugs Market Client Develop a Winning Marketing Strategy (Graphic: Business Wire)

Revenue for the immunotherapy drugs market in the United States is expected to increase over the coming years, due to increasing adoption of targeted therapies and high prevalence of lifestyle diseases. In addition, rapid approval of drugs and increase in the incidence of cancer are expected to propel the immunotherapy drugs market growth. However, the high cost of immunotherapy treatment and higher attrition rate in the product development cycle are posing new challenges for companies operating in the immunotherapy drugs market. As such, immunotherapy drugs manufacturers are in the need to launch new effective drugs and embrace the digital transformation to efficiently market their new drugs.

To capture the attention of consumers in an incredibly crowded and quickly evolving space, immunotherapy drugs manufacturing companies need to embrace the digital transformation that's already underway. Our experts can help you to develop winning marketing strategies. Request a free proposal

The Business Challenge:

An immunotherapy drug manufacturer, based out of the United States, was looking to introduce a new cancer drug in the market. The client chose to target oncologists across multiple channels through different campaigns. The client's marketing team wanted help in developing a sound product marketing strategy that will aid their drug's market access and commercialization goals. They approached the experts at Infiniti Research to leverage their expertise in offering marketing solutions. By leveraging Infiniti's marketing services engagement, the client wanted to ensure their new drug's commercial success and plot a clear path for profits.

Keeping up with the changing market trends and adjusting your marketing strategies accordingly could prove to be a tedious task. Contact us to learn more about how our marketing services can help solve your business challenges.

The Solution Offered:

To help the client tackle the above-mentioned challenges and efficiently utilize their marketing budget, the experts at Infiniti Research used a combination of technology assessment, market intelligence, sales intelligence, and customer intelligence study. The engagement also involved conducting demo marketing campaigns to test the effectiveness, measuring oncologists response to new drug launches, and monitoring the market changes.

Infiniti's marketing solution helped the client to:

Maximize marketing ROI by efficiently allocating budgets

Identify oncologists' needs and requirements regarding cancer drugs

Identify similar immunotherapy drugs in the market and evaluate its profit potential

Evaluate the profit potential for the new immunotherapy drug for the next five years

Create winning marketing strategies and drive customer engagement

Achieve huge commercial success for its new drug

Generate nearly $10 million in annual sales

Want to gather detailed insights into this engagement? Request more info and our experts will get in touch with you with relevant insights.

About Infiniti Research

Established in 2003, Infiniti Research, is a leading market intelligence company providing smart solutions to address your business challenges. Infiniti Research studies markets in more than 100 countries to help analyze competitive activity, see beyond market disruptions, and develop intelligent business strategies. To know more, visit: https://www.infinitiresearch.com/about-us

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005300/en/

Contacts:

Infiniti Research

Anirban Choudhury

Marketing Manager

US: +1 844 778 0600

UK: +44 203 893 3400

https://www.infinitiresearch.com/contact-us
Vaccine responses in the developing immune systems of children may depend on factors such as age, location and anemia status, according to a study comparing samples from 1,119 Dutch children to 171 children in sub-Saharan Africa who took part in a malaria vaccine trial.

By casting light on how geography shapes immune responses in children, the findings could help health authorities conduct more effective vaccination campaigns in developing countries. Children in low-income countries are highly susceptible to both vaccine-preventable diseases and infections such as malaria that have historically lacked a vaccine. However, some immunizations do not work as well in children as in adults, partly because scientists don't fully understand how age, nutrition and genetics influence the developing immune system.

Danika Hill and colleagues examined blood samples from 55 children in Tanzania and 116 children in Mozambique under the age of five who had taken part in a phase 3 trial for RTS,S (MosquirixTM) - one of the first vaccines for malaria licensed in Europe. They found that the composition of immune cells in the children evolved over the 32-month trial, and in some cases matured more quickly when compared with samples from Dutch children collected during a previous study. Furthermore, children in Mozambique showed a stronger antibody response to the malaria vaccine compared with Tanzanian children, hinting that geography within continents also influences immune dynamics. One key finding was that children in Tanzania and Mozambique with anemia showed weaker immune responses to the vaccine and lower frequencies of B cells, which, through follow-up studies in the lab, the authors tied to a lack of bioavailable iron. They say their results could explain the poor vaccination outcomes observed in anemic children and iron-deficient adults, but add that further studies should dissect the influence of iron deficiency.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 17:31:08|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- More AI robots have been put on the front line of China's fight against the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) epidemic in order to reduce cross-infection risks and improve efficiency.

The provincial people's hospital of Guangdong in south China has employed two robots to deliver materials in the quarantined areas, according to Yu Xueqing, head of the hospital.

By using unmanned driving technology, the robots can independently identify and read maps, plan paths, and complete point-to-point distribution, said Yu.

The two special employees were mainly responsible for delivering medicine, meals, clothing and medical waste with high efficiency. In the delivery process, there is no need for personnel, thus reducing the frequency of medical personnel entering the quarantined areas, said Chen Ren, director of the hospital's infection department.

Intelligent disinfection robots have also joined the fight.

Disinfection robots developed by TMiRob, a medical robot developing company in Shanghai, are being used in Wuhan, epicenter of the epidemic in central China's Hubei Province, to clean and disinfect floors in the quarantined areas.

They are equipped with disinfection management software and can automatically calculate the disinfection time based on the size of the area.

"Robots can help people do many dangerous jobs. Many customers urgently need us to provide disinfection solutions," said Zhang Kejun, general manager of AI firm Lingzhi Co. The AI robots of this company are also used in disinfection work in Wuhan's hospitals.

AI robots have also played a role in carrying out the epidemic investigation in communities.

In recent days, many people living in Cangshan District of Fuzhou, capital of east China's Fujian Province, have received follow-up calls.

People are asked questions like "have you ever come into contact with confirmed patients infected with 2019-nCoV? Do you have symptoms like cough and fever? When do you expect to return to Cangshan District?"

The caller is an AI robot of the "Intelligent Cangshan" system, which was developed by the local government. "The robot can make more than 5,000 phone calls per hour, greatly improving the efficiency of the epidemic investigation in the region," said Lin Hui, director of the Intelligence Center in Cangshan District.
South Africa: SA colleges to benefit from Germany

Germany has agreed to identify a few technical colleges in South Africa to work with, in an attempt to develop skills and create more jobs in the country.

The announcement was made during the Official Visit of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings on Thursday.

As I discussed with Chancellor Merkel, the acquisition of critical skills is among our foremost priorities as we prepare our workforces to adapt to the changing world of work.

The knowledge and skills transfer that will come with greater German investment in South Africa will play a key role in propelling our economy to greater heights, said the President.

President Ramaphosa encouraged German businesses to increase their investment footprint in South Africa  a call he first made when South Africa held its inaugural Investment Conference in 2018.

Germany is South Africas largest trading partner in Europe and its second largest trading partner overall. At the second South Africa Investment Conference in 2019, German companies jointly made investment commitments of nearly R11 billion  or 740 million Euros  into the countrys economy. The investments are mainly in the automotive and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Germany is also a significant tourist market and a valued developmental partner for South Africa.

Bilateral trade between the two countries is growing, with South Africa benefiting from the presence of some 600 German companies in South Africa, employing more than 100 000 people.

We agreed that there is a need for German businesses to deepen their presence in South Africa and expand their operations, and that we should cooperate to see greater levels of German investment in South Africa, said President Ramaphosa on Thursday.

Chancellor Merkels visit comes at a time when South Africa is on a concerted drive to grow its economy and create more jobs.

Germany is also a significant tourism market and a most valued developmental partner.

Total trade between the two countries reached R235 billion over the 12 months to the end of November 2019, while South African exports (at R108 billion) exceeded R100 billion for the first time, narrowing the trade deficit.

Foreign direct investment by German companies will make a valuable contribution to our effort to secure R1.2 trillion in investment over five years, said President Ramaphosa.

In a bid to increase trade, Chancellor Merkel -- accompanied by a number of senior business executives -- engaged with President Ramaphosa on possible opportunities during the Business Forum, which was held in Tshwane.

I believe that this discussion will result in concrete proposals on ways in which trade and investment flows between our two countries can be strengthened, the President said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Despite a federal judges ruling last September that the U.S. governments terror watch list violates constitutional rights, an FBI report obtained by Yahoo News shows local and state law enforcement agencies are being used to gather intelligence on individuals to collect information about those already in the database.

Law enforcement encounters of watchlisted individuals almost certainly yield increased opportunities for intelligence collection, says the FBI document, dated more than a month after the federal court ruling. The FBI says such encounters could include traffic stops or domestic disputes, which gives law enforcement the opportunity to acquire additional biographic identifiers, fraudulent identification documents, financial information and associates of watchlisted individuals, which might assist in thwarting terrorist acts.

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

The Terrorism Screening Database, widely known as the watch list, was created in 2003 and consists of names of people suspected of being involved with terrorism. Over the years, the list has grown to include the names of 1.1 million people, raising concerns that many of those on the list have no involvement in terrorism but have little or no legal resources with which to challenge the designation.

People can be put on the watch list for reasonable suspicion, a loosely defined category that allows anyone related to a suspected terrorist or considered somehow to be an associate to end up on the list, even if the government has no evidence of the individuals involvement in terrorist activity, according to a copy of the guidelines published in 2014 by the Intercept.

Last year, a federal judge found in favor of 23 Muslim Americans who argued that their inclusion in the Terrorist Screening Database violated their constitutional right to due process.

There is no evidence, or contention, that any of these plaintiffs satisfy the definition of a known terrorist, wrote Judge Anthony J. Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia on Sept. 4, 2019. Trenga noted that being put on the watch list does not require any evidence that the person engaged in criminal activity, committed a crime, or will commit a crime in the future and individuals who have been acquitted of a terrorism-related crime may still be listed.

Story continues

Trenga asked the government to propose revisions to the watchlist. Instead, the government filed an appeal and a motion to stay the district court case. A hearing in that case is now scheduled for Feb. 14.

Yet even as the government is under pressure to revise the watch list, it appears to be using police to rapidly expand the information it is collecting for those currently on it, and possibly adding new names. The FBI document on law enforcement encounters with watch-listed individuals says that between 2015 and 2018, the government was able to collect almost 5,000 new biographical identifiers.

Those biographical identifiers include a wide range of information, according to another document obtained by Yahoo News. A First Responders Toolkit provided to law enforcement instructs police to collect information on both the watch-listed individual and any other person in the car, including license, passport, and visa and information. It also instructs police to gather information in a non-alerting manner about languages spoken and travel plans, and to take photographs or videos when possible.

The FBI also warns police not to let those they stop know they may be on the watch list, and instructs law enforcement not to record a suspects watch list status on any arrest reports or other documents. Criminal history records are releasable under the public records act, the toolkit document says.

The FBI watch-list document provides further confirmation that the federal government is using unreliable and expansive watch lists as an excuse to collect whatever personal data it can from people, the vast majority of whom have done nothing wrong, said Hugh Handeyside, a senior staff attorney at the ACLUs national security project.

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

The practice of using unintended contact with watch-listed individuals as opportunities for intelligence gathering increases the likelihood that when state and local law enforcement officers stop people they think are watch-listed, those detentions will be longer and more intrusive than they otherwise would be, raising serious constitutional concerns, Handyside added.

The FBI watch list document underscores just how common such contacts with watch-list individuals are: A map shows that over the past two years, the police have reported encounters with watch-listed individuals in every state, including Hawaii and Alaska.

An FBI spokesperson did not respond to questions about the watch-list document. In response to the court ruling, the spokesperson said the bureau does not comment on pending litigation.

The FBI document, dated Oct. 23, 2019, highlights several recent cases involving law enforcement, including one in Buena Park, Calif., in January 2018 when local police officers arrested an associate of a suspected international terrorist getting into a stolen car. The person led police officers to a hotel room where the suspected terrorist and an accomplice were found in possession of illicit drugs and counterfeit-money-making tools.

In two later incidents that took place in August 2019, Colorado State Patrol and Wyoming Highway Patrol officers pulled over watch-listed people for traffic violations, enabling the officers to collect additional information about the individuals, including a drivers license photo  new addresses, a contact number, vehicle information, and a drivers license.

In the cases described in the FBI document, there is no identifying information provided about the people stopped by law enforcement, or whether any of them, or their associates, had been charged or convicted of terrorism.

Critics of the watch list said the document provides evidence that the government is using the it as a pretext to collect intelligence on people, even without evidence theyve engaged in terrorism.

Matthew Callahan, a staff attorney at Muslim Advocates, a national civil rights organization, says the document appears to demonstrate that any encounter with law enforcement can become a pretext for intelligence gathering on unsuspecting persons.

It says, Youre going to be encountering these people as they board planes, get stopped for traffic stops, but we are now going to use them to gather info for our own law enforcement priority.

Another concern for critics of the watch list is that the police may be mistakenly flagging people they stop as watch-listed individuals, when they are not, which appears to be demonstrated by the FBI document. The document notes that of 35,000 interactions reported by law enforcement, only 3,600 of these positively matched watchlisted individuals, according to Terrorist Screening Center data.

The numbers are the most important part, says Gadeir Abbas, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), who represented the 23 plaintiffs suing over the watch list. The fact that 35,000 actions between local law enforcement have been possible matches and only 10 percent of those have actually been confirmed matches is an indication that its a system that is wildly inaccurate.

Daryl Johnson, a former lead analyst for domestic terrorism at the Department of Homeland Security, said its standard procedure for law enforcement agencies to take advantage of such encounters to find or observe information, see things or talk to the individual.

However, the challenge the watch list poses, said Johnson, is how to effectively purge individuals from the list once its clear that they have nothing to do with terrorism.

Johnson, who now runs DT Analytics, a private consulting firm for law enforcement, said that in 2005 he was flagged as a potential threat at an airport even though he was carrying credentials from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. I was actually screened at an airport because my name was the same as an Irish Republican Army terrorist, Johnson said.

While the FBI document provided to Yahoo News shows only examples of watch-listed people being correctly identified, Baltimore police department guidelines and a deposition from 2017 provided by CAIR lawyers illustrate how the watch list can be used to detain individuals based on even minor infractions, even without evidence they pose a threat.

According to the Baltimore police document from 2016, if the police stop someone with a positive match for the terrorist watch list, it triggers a 10-80 notification. If that happens, and the person has an outstanding arrest warrant, the person is to be arrested, isolated, prevented from making phone calls and have any electronic devices confiscated. An individual stopped by police can also be detained and isolated if deemed of investigative interest.

The nomenclature of the handling codes is nonsense on stilts, said Abbas, the CAIR attorney.

One person represented by CAIR lawyers described being pulled over in Michigan for a minor traffic violation in 2014, according to the transcript of a 2017 deposition obtained by Yahoo News.

Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

After turning hard in the middle lane, the man explained during the deposition, a police officer pulled him over. But what began as a traffic stop quickly escalated. Within five minutes, said the man, police surrounded his car, handcuffed him and made him wait in the back of a cruiser while they searched his car for more than half an hour.

The mans brother, who notified police that his backpack contained a small amount of marijuana, was also placed under arrest.

During the search, officers found a broken airsoft gun with an orange tip  a toy. Police brought the brothers back to the local police department. While being processed, the man saw a police document that said FBI; hold, no call.

One of the officers said that I must have done something really bad to get the FBI involved, recounted the man, who requested anonymity through his lawyers, under deposition.

The next day, police released the man on bond, charging him with a weapons offense and reckless driving. Following six months of litigation, the weapons charge was dropped and the reckless driving charge was brought down to careless driving.

Even in cases in which the person is ultimately released, such as the man in Michigan, the information collected during the law enforcement encounter would appear to remain in the watch-list database.

Callahan, the lawyer for Muslim Advocates, expressed particular concern at the mention of biometric data, which can include fingerprints or other unique identifiers. The FBI document from October states that biometric identifiers and biographical information submitted to the Terrorist Screening Center will help the U.S. government and foreign partner screening.

Biometric markers are different from other types of surveillance. Once someone has your fingerprints youre not going to be able to reset your fingerprints, said Callahan. And thats a particularly pernicious kind of information for law enforcement to be gathering because they will have that information for all time.

For Callahan, this use of a law enforcement encounter to enhance the watch list poses a unique threat to civil liberties.

Given who is placed on these watch lists, which we know to be so error-prone and over-inclusive, he said, you really are committing to a level of surveillance  of an entire community  that Americans should not be comfortable with.

_____

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:13:25|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese authorities Thursday asked businesses outside Hubei Province to resume operation in an orderly manner while continuing to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

This will provide better guarantee for the prevention and control work and help maintain normal economic and social order, according to a high-level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee.

The meeting of the leading group of the CPC Central Committee on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which is headed by Li, also stressed maintaining concerted epidemic control efforts in Hubei, especially its capital city of Wuhan, where the outbreak hit hardest.

A variety of measures should be adopted to add hospital beds and medical staff in Hubei, according to the meeting.

Businesses outside Hubei are encouraged to create ways to make workplaces less populated or allow staff to take shifts to make production at full throttle. The shortage of machinery, staff or fund should be addressed through coordination to put the whole industry chain in normal operation, it said.

Schools are asked to postpone start of new semester in an appropriate manner.

Railway and civil aviation authorities should roll out measures for passengers to sit less densely during their trips back from holiday and avoid travel peak to reduce the risks of virus spreading, it said.

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy head of the leading group, attended the meeting.
Dr. Ezzat Moghazy, Beth McCann and Marchell Taylor Sr. A simple visit to any legal library in a Colorado Department of Corrections Facility and you will discover a letter of support from McCann to other inmates.

As Denver District Attorney Beth McCann is running again for chief law enforcement officer, AYBOS Marketing LLC continues to follow her story. In the 2016 Denver Post, McCann ran for office on the premise that she would Discontinue using jails as tools to warehouse inmates or individuals with mental health disorders." She continues to stick to her word in 2020. Inspired by the 2016 Post article, AYBOS Marketing Director Marchell Taylor, facing a life sentence in the same, reached out to Beth McCann and she reached back. He immediately contacted his business partner C. A. Shively from the county jail and said, AYBOS must support this district attorneys efforts. After reading the article himself, Shively agreed.

McCann is keeping her campaign promise in 2020 by supporting inmates like Taylor while in treatment or seeking help. McCann and Taylor corresponded back and forth through letters while in the Men's Mental Health Transition Unit in the Denver County Jail. Taylor noticed for the first time in his 21-year criminal history, a district attorney who cared about his own mental health issues. The mental health disorders that went largely unidentified and un-diagnosed until McCann came into office, Taylor says changed his life forever. Taylor attributes McCann for saving his life, while McCann says the she "Simply supported him in his process."

McCann began to inspire the Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Challenge from behind the scenes. After noticing that Taylor was serious about de-stigmatizing these issues, she reached out to the then President/CEO of Mental Health Colorado, and now US Senate candidate, Andrew Romanoff and connected him to the mental health challenge. McCanns inspiration led Romanoff into accepting a meeting with the Rebuild Your Mind Communication Director Roberta Derek. Coincidentally, Derek had already filmed her own challenge video, in which she challenged McCann, Romanoff and 9 News Anchor Kyle Clark. See Mrs. Derek's challenge video here: https://youtu.be/yWFWUXm71zA

Derek first met with McCann on behalf of Rebuild Your Mind and then with Romanoff to establish the specifics of a full interview with the AYBOS Video Team. AYBOS Video Team, C. A. Shively and CU intern Rosalinda Ortega, then captured the interview with Romanoff, Taylor and Rebuild Your Mind Assistant Director Dr. Ezzat Moghazy. Romanoff not only accepted his challenge, but he talked about his own struggle with losing his first cousin (whom Romanoff says she was a sister to him) to suicide on New Years Day.

Romanoff then goes on to challenge Governor Jarod Polis and Cynthia Coffman (in last 3 minutes of video interview), in hopes they would accept their challenge. While the challenge has a three challenge limit, according to the challenge guide lines (see challenge instruction video here featuring Ortega where she inspires "There's no greater time for this type of movement than now": https://youtu.be/NMrjX6dvo3U), Romanoff surprises everyone with his third challenge; see video Link here: https://youtu.be/RgLb_wTFlIo

McCann is no stranger to mental health issues in her city. She has fashioned juvenile justice reforms, gang reduction initiatives and mental health advisory panels to address trauma and its imprints. She frequents re-entry centers to discover whats working and isnt in her city and surrounding counties. A simple visit to any legal library in a Colorado Department of Corrections Facility and you will discover a letter of support from McCann to other inmates. This District Attorney has mothered this city for a long time, and the AYBOS Rebuild Your Mind Challenge would not exist today without her inspiration and encouragement.

Deputy Mike Jackson was the first to support the then, Beth McCann Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Challenge. He was the first to take the Challenge on the Rebuild Your Mind Cameras. Shively interviewed Jackson where he challenged Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and other elected officials. (see video/press release.)

Mr. Taylor, forty other inmates and C. A. Shively began sending the Beth McCann Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Challenge & Initiative to everyone, except her, to get people to support her mental health efforts in the criminal justice system. Taylor, Shively and Deputy Jackson all admit it was a gutsy move but turned out great results, with McCann herself inspiring Andrew Romanoff to support the Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Challenge. (see video)

McCann began supporting Taylor through letters, they wrote back and forth for the last two years of his incarceration. Taylor, Shively and several other Rebuild Your Mind stakeholders have either met, presented or just sat down to talk with McCann since Taylors release. When he talks with her, he proudly pronounces that she saved his life. To this, her reply is I didnt save Marchell, he saved himself, I just supported him in his process!

In November of 2018, McCann invited newly released inmate Taylor and Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Challenge developer, C.A. Shively, to present the initiative on her Mental Health Advisory Panel. Still in its infancy, the panel advised Taylor and Shively to finalize the initiative and return with the full plan. To date, the team has produced a Mental Health Bill and grant to include an 80-person facility plan which all encompass the overall goal of the initiative; To make Colorado the most efficient Trauma-Informed, Trauma-Conscious and Trauma-Responsive state in the United States.

Today, McCann is running again for the Denver District Attorneys Office. What McCann has encouraged as district attorney, inspired Judge Brain Whitney to sentence Taylor to more treatment as opposed to incarceration. She has inspired Inmates to become mental health advocates, as well as active members of society. Taylor, Shively, and McCann meet often to discuss AYBOS Rebuild Your Mind Mental Health Initiative. AYBOS also supports McCann in her second race for Denver District Attorney. In fact, AYBOS Marketing is launching their own "McCann Can" Initiative to help support her new run for chief law enforcement officer of Denver. You can donate Denver District Attorney Beth McCanns campaign at: https://act.myngp.com/Forms/7230794852934420480

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Three weeks after the Supreme Court sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Governor of Imo State, he has returned to the apex court, asking it to set aside its earlier judgment.

On January 14, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun delivered the lead judgment and declared Senator Hope Uzodinma of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the governorship contest that held on March 9, 2019.

The Supreme Court, therefore, ordered the immediate withdrawal of the certificate of return issued to Ihedioha.

Addressing newsmen in Abuja, Ihedioha said he filed an application yesterday, with only one prayer: that the earlier decision be set aside.

He said he had already hired over 30 lawyers, led by a former Attorney-General of the Federation, Kanu Agabi, to represent him at the Supreme Court.

Speaking on behalf of Ihedioha, immediate-past Attorney-General of Imo State, Mr. Ndukwe Nnawuchi, told newsmen that they were hopeful that they would be vindicated at the end of the legal battle.

On Wednesday, Emeka Ihedioha and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) put together a team of lawyers to study the judgment of the Supreme Court. That team has studied the judgment and has advised Ihedioha accordingly.

Following their advise, Ihedioha and the PDP instructed the team of lawyers to approach the Supreme Court with an application to set aside its earlier judgment delivered on the 14th of January, 2020.

I want to inform you that (yesterday), the team of lawyers filed the case. The relief being sought is to have the earlier judgment set aside on the ground of nullity. The details have been canvassed. The Supreme Court will reach a decision one way or the other.
A 31-year-old suspect been charged with capital murder in the death of a 2-year-old Jefferson county boy.

Sylvester Corderyl Taylor was booked into the Jefferson County Jail at 5:16 a.m. Thursday. He is charged in slaying of Kaiden Ford.

Sheriffs deputies responded to the 1100 block of Florentine Circle in eastern Jefferson County on a report of a 2-year-old child not breathing around 7:09 p.m. Wednesday, according to Deputy Chief David Agee. Center Point Fire and Rescue rushed the boy to Childrens of Alabama, where he was pronounced dead at 7:59 p.m.

Kaiden Ford (GoFundMe)

Agee said the coroners report has not yet been completed. "After investigation it is clear that the child died as a result of injuries inflicted upon him by Taylor,'' he said.

Taylor was Kaidens mothers boyfriend. The mother was at work and Kaiden was in Taylors care at the time of his death.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help Kaidens family.

Taylor served time in state prison in the Aug. 13, 2014 death of Angela Marie McCall. McCall, 34, was killed around when a car went over a curb and hit her as she walked in the 9500 block of Parkway East. Around 12 a.m. that Wednesday, an individual was driving eastbound on Parkway East near a man in a Grand Prix who was speeding down the road.

The witness drove behind the Grand Prix and honked the car's horn before driving around the car. The driver of the Grand Prix  later identified as Taylor - began driving erratically, around 60 mph, the witness told investigators. The man drove around the witness's car and up onto a curb, hitting McCall.

Taylor fled without stopping. McCall was pronounced dead on the scene. Several months later, Taylor pleaded guilty to a charge of reckless manslaughter. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released from prison in October 2019.

He was convicted of first-degree robbery in 2008 and ordered to serve two years of a 10-year prison sentence.

He is now being held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, on a visit to Mexico, said that the Russian government has got used to the United States threatening to impose sanctions against everyone, who are in contact with the Venezuelan government of Nicolas Maduro. The threat to impose sanctions against Rosneft was no exception.

On February 5, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien said they could impose sanctions on Rosneft, if Russia's state-owned oil company continues cooperation with Venezuela.

"I heard another Washington's threat to punish everyone maintaining ties with Venezuela in one way or another. We are already used to it," Sergey Lavrov emphasized.

The sanctions against Rosneft could cause "chaos in global oil markets", Bloomberg writes. Officials at the Treasury Department worry that sanctions on Rosneft may drive up prices for oil.

The executive vice-president of NewTech Services, professor of the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Valery Bessel, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, explained negative expectations of U.S. business from the sanctions against Rosneft.

"The fact is that U.S. refineries, especially in Louisiana and Texas, are focused on the processing of heavy, high-viscosity Venezuelan oil. But now, when production in Venezuela has dropped sharply, these refineries need the same heavy oil, for example, Canadian, Norwegian or our Urals, which is medium-heavy, and U.S. light shale oil is not needed," he said.



"Therefore, the Americans have begun to increase purchases of our Urals oil: Norwegian Brent production has dropped every year, Venezuelan oil production fell sharply and Canadian oil does not satisfy demand. In this regard, sanctions against Rosneft will be an unpleasant blow for their business," Bessel stressed, expressing confidence that sanctions against Rosneft will nevertheless be imposed, since this is a political issue.
Recent seafloor drilling has revealed that the "hidden continent " of Zealandia -- a region of continental crust twice the size of India submerged beneath the southwest Pacific Ocean -- experienced dramatic elevation changes between about 50 million and 35 million years ago. New findings from this expedition, published today in Geology, propose this topographic upheaval may have been due to a widespread reactivation of ancient faults linked to formation of the western Pacific's infamous Ring of Fire.

Since the 1970s the prevailing scientific wisdom has been that Zealandia's unusually low profile is due to the thinning of its crust as it separated from Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that included Antarctica and Australia, around 85 million years ago. After these tectonic fireworks, says Rupert Sutherland, a geophysicist at New Zealand's Victoria University of Wellington and the paper's lead author, this model has Zealandia "doing nothing but gently cooling and subsiding."

But fossils in the drillcores collected in 2017 by International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 371 indicate that during the early Cenozoic, portions of northern Zealandia rose 1-2 kilometers while other sections subsided about the same amount before the entire continent sank another kilometer deep underwater. The timing of these topographic transformations, say Sutherland and his co-authors, coincides with a global reorganization of tectonic plates evidenced by the bend in the Emperor-Hawaii seamount chain, the reorientation of numerous mid-ocean ridges, and the onset of subduction -- and the related volcanism and seismicity -- in a belt that still encircles much of the western Pacific.

Although subduction drives Earth's plate tectonic cycle, says Sutherland, scientists don't yet understand how it starts. The drilling expedition to Zealandia may offer new insights into this fundamental process. "One of the amazing things about our observations," says Sutherland, "is that they reveal the early signs of the Ring of Fire were almost simultaneous throughout the western Pacific." Because this timing predates the global tectonic plate reorganization, he says, scientists need to find an explanation for how subduction began across such a broad area in such a short time.

Sutherland and his co-authors propose a new mechanism: a 'subduction rupture event,' which they argue is similar to a massive, super-slow earthquake. The researchers believe the event resurrected ancient subduction faults that had lain dormant for many millions of years.

"We don't know where or why," says Sutherland, "but something happened that locally induced movement, and when the fault started to slip, like in an earthquake the motion rapidly spread sideways onto adjacent parts of the fault system and then around the western Pacific." But unlike an earthquake, Sutherland says, the subduction rupture event may have taken more than a million years to unfold. "Ultimately," he says, "Zealandia's sedimentary record should help us determine how and why this event happened and what the consequences were for animals, plants, and global climate."

The process has no modern analogue, according to Sutherland, and because the subduction rupture event is linked to a time of rapid, global plate tectonic change, other instances of such change in the geologic record may imply that comparable events have occurred in the past. "Geologists generally assume that understanding the present is the key to understanding the past," he says. "But at least in this instance, this may not hold."

Overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qCQAvAXLOU&feature=share
Photo: AcuWeather

A new study indicates the spread of the coronavirus may be impacted by weather.

AccuWeather experts have released a study indicating the weather may have an impact on spreading or suppressing the coronavirus.

More than 28,000 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed and 565 deaths have been reported as of Feb. 6. AccuWeathers experts looked at transmission patterns of past flus and viruses such as SARS in 2003, the 1918 Spanish Flu and U.S. flu data over the last decade.

Right now and over the next several months, because of the weak sun and the colder temperatures in the northern hemisphere, the weather may be helping to spread the virus, AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers said. "However, based on what weve seen from past flus and viruses, including the SARS virus and others, there is less viral spread when the sun is strong and the temperatures are warm from May to September. It's possible the sunshine intensity, the longer daylight periods and the warmer weather could suppress the virus in the summer months."

However, Dr. Myers says officials, including the medical community, simply don't know enough about the coronavirus and it may be very different.

"Were just learning about it. The possibility is this does not behave like all of the others and that it does not decline once the sun gets stronger and the temperatures increase throughout the spring and summer, said Myers. Instead, if it continues to compound through the entire spring and summer it may infect millions and become a pandemic."

Respiratory viruses typically appear more frequently in winter (cooler) months, says Dr. Andrew Pekosz, vice chair at John Hopkins. "Since we dont know how this virus was transmitted within its natural host, its difficult to predict if it will have the same pattern as human respiratory coronaviruses.



The medical community agrees about the uncertainty of this particular virus.

It is possible that even if it is found that the sun and warmth slows it down but does not stop it, then once we go into declining sunlight again in September and October -- like we saw with the Spanish Flu in 1918 -- it could erupt in an enormous fashion because a vaccine still may not have been developed according to the experts," Dr. Myers said.
Referring to the stringent opposition raised by the Left government in Kerala against the CAA and NRC, the finance minister lavished praise on the joint protests led by the ruling LDF and opposition UDF against the central act.

Launching a veiled attack on the Centre, the CPM-led LDF government in Kerala on Friday released a copy of the fifth state finance Budget for the 2020-21 fiscal depicting the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on the cover.

According to News18, the document was presented among the members of the Assembly after state finance minister TM Thomas Isaac ended the Budget speech, which incidentally began with remarks against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Following the controversy over the cover page of Kerala Budget, the state finance minister came out with a statement by calling the incident a "political statement".

"Definitely, it is a political statement, cover of my Budget speech. It is a painting by a Malayalam artist of Mahatma Gandhi's murder scene. We are sending out a message that we will not forget who murdered Gandhi," said Isaac.

Taking a dig at the BJP-led Centre for implementing National Register of Citizens (NRC), Issac further alleged that today history is being re-written and NRC is being used to divide the country on communal lines.

"This is important at the times when history is being re-written. There is an attempt to erase some popular memories and use National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the population on communal lines. Kerala will stand united," he added.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac: This is important at the times when history is being re-written. There is an attempt to erase some popular memories and use National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the population on communal lines. Kerala will stand united. (2/2) https://t.co/RLEkCOrCDn  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2020

On Friday, Issac began presenting the fifth Budget by criticising the CAA and a unanimous resolution was passed by the state Assembly against it.

Claiming that the amended Act posed as a threat to the basic credentials of the Constitution, he said the country was witnessing the biggest protests ever in the post-Independence era.

"Students and women are at the forefront of the anti- CAA agitations and the hope of the country lies in the youth who hit the streets vowing they would not let the country down," he said.

Coming down heavily on the NDA government at the Centre, Isaac said a "communalised government machinery", leaders who talk only about "disgust and hatred" and their party workers who consider violence as their duty was the current reality in the country.

"Generally speaking, it is the present India... The concerns triggered by CAA and the NRC are beyond words. The fear of detention centres are hanging above the head of over 19 lakh people of Assam who have lived as Indians till yesterday," he said.

Referring to the stringent opposition raised by the Left government in the state against the CAA and NRC, the finance minister lavished praise on the joint protests led by the ruling LDF and opposition UDF against the central act.

"When Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala jointly protested at the same venue against CAA, Kerala became a model for other states," the senior leader added.

Setting aside their political differences, the ruling CPM-led LDF and Opposition Congress headed UDF, came together to launch a joint fight against the Centre on the CAA, which has seen unprecedented protests all over the country.

On 31 December, 2019, all the members of two fronts unanimously supported the resolution at the special session and vehemently criticised the Central government.

Earlier, the references to anti-CAA protests had found a place in the Vijayan government's policy address also.

While presenting the policy address in the House, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had read out references to anti- CAA resolution passed by the house, despite disagreeing with it.

Reading out the the anti-CAA stand of the state government, the governor had said, "Our citizenship can never be on the basis of religion as this goes against the grain of secularism which is part of the basic structure of our Constitution."

With inputs from PTI
Rajesh Kumar Thakur By

Express News Service

PATNA: Despite political differences in the state, opposition parties in Bihar including Congress, RJD and HAM have come out in support of JD(U) over the latter's demand for a nationwide caste-based census. The opposition support to JD(U) may cause a little bit worry to BJP, at least in Bihar, ahead of the next assembly elections in 2020.

Some leaders of NDA see it as an "in-between" pressure on a major ally while some senior leaders, albeit off the record, see it an alternate poll plank in place of a long coming demand for the special status to Bihar.

"Whatever be the reason, the demand raised in the parliament for a caste-based census by JD(U) MP Rajiv Ranjan Singh can be a tool to woo the voters of majority of extremely poor communities," said Dr RK Verma, who is conducting a research on "How long the caste-chemistry to continue in the core of Bihar politics".

The Congress came out in support to this demand of JD(U) on Wednesday. Congress MLC Prem Chandra Mishra told the media that an all-party meeting should be conveyed by the government over this issue to start the process. Mishra echoed the same political sentiment that the JD(U) has echoed in the Parliament recently over it.

Bihar CM Nitish Kumar had also vociferously demanded the process for the caste-based census in the house while speaking over the CAA. He has reiterated the party's commitment on the caste-based census and requested the Centre to ponder over it seriously.

Leader of opposition from RJD Tejashawi Yadav has also demanded it and said that the caste-based census was the need of hour. "The RJD is the first which has been making a demand for cast based census for long time as Lalu Prasad Yadav had made it one of his party's poll promises," RJD spokesperson Chitranjan Gagan said.

Danish Rizwan, a senior leader-cum-spokesperson of Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) also welcomed the JD-U demanding for it and said, "The caste-based census is needed to decide fresh ratio of reservation to those who are still under development and below the poverty line. The HAM party also dwmands for it and think it imperative to know the status of people of various castes and their statues."

When asked about the BJP's stance on it, party spokesperson and research scholar Dr Nikhil Anand said, "While some political parties are demanding it, the BJP is not strictly averse to the idea. But there should be a consensus among all political parties nationwide before we make a decision on it."

He said that Bihar government, of which the BJP is also a part, has already passed a resolution from the state assembly to request the Union government for conducting of caste-based census in 2021.

LJP leader Awadhesh Kumar Singh also said that if the caste-based is done, it will certainly help in understanding the exact demography of each caste and their both social and economic status. The caste-based census was first carried out last time in 1930 and caste related figures and data were collected in 2010 during the census exercises but the report on it is still pending.
[February 06, 2020] SPIRIT ALERT: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is Investigating Spirit AeroSystem Holdings, Inc. on Behalf of Stockholders and Encourages Investors to Contact the Firm

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized shareholder law firm, is investigating potential claims against Spirit AeroSystem Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPR) on behalf of Spirit stockholders. Our investigation concerns whether Spirit has violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Click here to participate in the action. On January 30, 2020, Spirit announced the resignations of its Chief Financial Officer, Jose Garcia, and Principal Accounting Officer, John Gilson. The resignations came after Spirit found "that it did not comply with its established accounting processes related to certain potential contingent liabilities that were received by Spirit after the end of third quarter 2019." On this news, Sirit's (News - Alert) stock price fell $2.56 per share, or nearly 4%, to close at $65.08 per share on January 30, 2020.



If you purchased or otherwise acquired Spirit shares and suffered a loss, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Marion Passmore or Melissa Fortunato by email at [email protected], or telephone at (646) 860-9156, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:

Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206006020/en/

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Women are slowly moving into Afghanistan's male-dominated restaurant industry. And one entirely women-run restaurant in central Afghanistans Bamyan province is attracting food lovers from the region. VOAs Zafar Bamyani gives us a taste of the restaurant in this report narrated by Bezhan Hamdard
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:07:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A World Bank senior official said on Friday that the World Bank will determine the level of its support for Lebanon on the basis of how its government will implement reforms, LBCI TV Channel reported.

"We are all waiting for the government's reform program and accordingly the World Bank will determine how it can support the Lebanese people," said Saroj Kumar Jha, regional director of the Mashreq Department at the World Bank Group, during his meeting with Lebanese Finance Minister Ghazi Wazne.

"It is necessary for the new government to embark ... on an ambitious reform program and serious steps within specific deadlines," he added.

One of the major reforms the World Bank expects to see in Lebanon involves its electricity sector which is imposing a heavy burden on the cabinet's treasury, Jha noted.

The Lebanese parliament is expected to vote on the ministerial statement prepared by the cabinet next week to enable the new government to start serious reforms to save the country's deteriorating economy and public finance.
But that, in turn, has created a potential political problem for the Republicans given the popularity of the provision on preexisting conditions. So last year, Brnovich, along with Sen. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, and Jeff Weninger, R-Chandler, announced they would craft something to fill the gap should the Affordable Care Act go away.

On paper, SB 1397 does that. It spells out that if the Affordable Care Act is invalidated, insurance companies could not decline to offer coverage to any individual or impose limits on preexisting conditions.

But Cindy Komar, who said her son suffers from severe hemophilia, said a simple promise of coverage, absent some limits on premiums and deductibles that are part of the federal law, isnt really any help at all.

And Kimberly Dorris, who told lawmakers she suffers from Graves disease, suggested this legislation appears to be little more than a bid by Republicans to save political face now that theyre on the verge of killing a popular law.
Photo: Google Street View

Another pedestrian has died after being struck by a vehicle in Vancouver.

Const. Tania Visintin said Vancouver police are investigating a fatal collision in Vancouvers Strathcona neighbourhood after a pedestrian was struck Thursday afternoon.

At around 2:30 p.m., a woman in her 60s was crossing the street at Powell Street and Jackson Avenue when she was struck by a cement truck. Paramedics from BC Ambulance Services attended, but were unable to revive her and she was pronounced dead, said Visintin.

The driver remained on scene and is cooperating with police.

Speed and alcohol arent believed to be a factor.

The VPDs Collision Investigation Unit is collecting evidence at the intersection.

Anyone with dash-cam footage who was driving in the area at the time of the collision, or anyone who may have witnessed the collision, is asked to call investigators at 604-717-3012.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Hungary Peter Szijjarto have agreed to hold a joint intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian commission on economic cooperation in Budapest during the month.

Our bilateral commission has not met for seven years. In my opinion and Peter's opinion, this is absolutely unacceptable. That is why today we have agreed not to postpone this issue and to hold a commission meeting in Budapest during the month, Kuleba said at a joint briefing with Szijjarto in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

According to the Ukrainian deputy prime minister, it is planned to discuss specific projects that can be jointly implemented by Ukraine and Hungary.

iy
In the wake of the debacle in Iowa and President Donald Trumps impeachment acquittal, Democrats will hold their eighth debate of the 2020 election cycle Friday night at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

Its been four days, and we still cant say which Democratic candidate won the Iowa caucus. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, the Associated Press remains unable to declare a winner due to concerns about irregularities. At the moment, former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders appear to be in a virtual tie.

Taking place just four days ahead of New Hampshires Feb. 11 primary, the stage will be a bit more crowded than last months debate, with businessman Andrew Yang returning to the stage after having failed to meet the Democratic National Committees polling requirement for the January debate in Iowa.

After a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses, former Vice President Joe Biden took time off the campaign trail and returned to Delaware Thursday to spend time with his advisors ahead of Fridays debate, according to ABC News. You can expect Biden to continue the attacks on Sanders and Buttigieg he previewed during a town hall on CNN Wednesday night.

Heres everything you need to know to watch or stream Fridays Democratic presidential debate:

What time does Fridays debate start?

Fridays Democratic debate, the eighth of the 2020 election cycle, is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. Eastern and last about three hours. Its cohosted by ABC, Apple News, and local ABC affiliate WMUR-TV, and will air live on ABC.

The debate will also stream live for free on ABC.com and the ABC app.

Which candidates will appear?

Seven candidates qualified for the debate. They are (in alphabetical order):

Joe Biden , former vice president and U.S. senator from Delaware

Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Ind.

Amy Klobuchar , U.S. senator from Minnesota

Bernie Sanders , U.S. senator from Vermont

Tom Steyer , hedge fund manager

Elizabeth Warren , U.S. senator from Massachusetts

Andrew Yang, businessman

Why isnt Mike Bloomberg at the debate?

Over the objections of former candidates like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, the DNC eliminated its fundraising requirements to allow former New York mayor Mike Bloomberg  a billionaire largely funding his own campaign  to enter the debate.

So why wont Bloomberg be on stage Friday night?

The DNCs new rules dont go into effect until the next debate in South Carolina on Feb. 19. Plus, because of his late entry into the race, Bloomberg isnt even on the ballot in New Hampshire, Nevada, or South Carolina, having instead opted to put all his chips on Super Tuesday on March 3, when 14 states and 1,357 delegates are up for grabs.

Other candidates who also wont be on the debate stage are: Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

One more candidate dropped out since the last debate

Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney announced last week he was ending his presidential campaign.

It has been a privilege to campaign for the Democratic nomination for President, but it is clear that God has a different purpose for me at this moment in time," Delaney said in a statement, citing internal analyses that suggested he would not be a viable candidate in Iowa.

Delaney announced his presidential bid way back in July 2017, just six months into Trumps first term and 615 days before the Iowa caucuses. But Delaney never caught on among Democratic voters during his two and half years of campaigning.

Who is moderating tonights debate?

Fridays debate will feature five moderators:

George Stephanopoulos, ABC News chief anchor

David Muir , World News Tonight anchor and managing editor

Linsey Davis , ABC News correspondent

Adam Sexton , WMUR-TV political director

Monica Hernandez, WMUR-TV news anchor

How many more Democratic debates will there be?

The DNC has approved as many as 12 debates, though there may be fewer, depending on how the primary process plays out. Fridays debate will be the second of 2020, with four more tentatively scheduled to take place over the coming months.

There will be two more debates in February: Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Nevada and Tuesday, Feb. 25, in South Carolina.

To qualify for the Feb. 19 debate, there is no donor requirement, but candidates must reach at least one of two polling requirements in polls released between Jan. 15 and Feb. 18:

12 percent or more in two polls in either Nevada or South Carolina

10 percent or more in four polls in either Nevada or South Carolina, or in national surveys

Candidates can also qualify by earning at least one delegate in the Iowa caucuses or in the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11. So far, three candidates have already qualified for the Feb. 19 debate, according to the New York Times: Biden, Sanders and Warren.

Early Democratic primaries and caucuses
"Given our history of innovation and, of course, as a major payments institution, we wanted to see how we could meet this growing demand by either introducing a new service or partnering with an existing provider to offer a real and excitingly different way to online shopping payments." CBA's deal with Klarna is arguably the most striking example yet of a big local bank joining forces with a foreign fintech business in a bid to remain central to the financial lives of its customers - especially the young. It is also seen as a sign the banking giant, expected to report a $4.3 billion half-year profit next week, is getting back on with business after a bruising few years of scandals and growing competition from digital rivals. But how exactly will the partnership with Klarna work? What drove the country's biggest bank to go into business with an overseas fintech, rather than attempting to take on the likes of Afterpay on its own? And what questions does it raise for CBA's rivals as they try to keep up with the country's most profitable bank? How it works

Klarna is the latest in a string of businesses hoping to cash in on the rapid growth in buy now, pay later schemes. These are short-term loans that typically allow people to make purchases without incurring interest or fees, provided they pay the money back on time. Afterpay's share price more than doubled in the last year. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer Afterpay, the biggest of the BNPL providers in Australia, has turned into a $10 billion market darling on the back of a business model that has proven a hit with younger consumers  a slice of the market where CBA holds an oversize share due to its Dollarmites school banking program. Klarna, a $US5.5 billion ($8.2 billion) Stockholm-based business with 85 million customers, which also counts American rapper Snoop Dogg as a shareholder, is already trying to entice Australian customers to "buy now, pay later" via CBA's widely-used banking app. Like Afterpay, Klarna offers a BNPL product that allows customers to purchase goods or services upfront, with the money repaid over four instalments. It makes money by charging merchants a commission, though, unlike Afterpay, Klarna doesn't currently charge customers a fee for late payments.

The company is also expected to offer a suite of other lending products, which have not yet been announced in Australia. With CBA at its side, it is expected to inject more competition into the market, with CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski saying commissions that rivals such as Afterpay charge merchants are unsustainable. "We dont think that is a long-term sustainable level, we think they (Afterpay) will drop to the same levels we operate at," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last month. Though CBA is plugging Klarna on its app, the Swedish company's local arm is a separate business, which is a 50:50 joint venture between CBA and Klarna. "Our relationship with Klarna is a partnership rather than an integration," CBA's Mr Sullivan says. Amid debate about whether BNPL providers should be forced to check on their customers' creditworthiness, Klarna says it will conduct credit checks on all customers, though a company spokeswoman said the company won't be regulated by responsible lending laws.

Sullivan says customers will be given credit limits based on their past behaviour, taking into account issues such as their personal credit score or any past bankruptcies. "New consumers will also only be able to have two unpaid transactions at a given time," he says. Loading With its joint venture, CBA is joining a market that has generated a huge amount of excitement among investors, with Afterpay's share price more than doubling in the last year. BNPL still accounts for less than 1 per cent of payments (excluding cash transactions) in Australia, but it is growing fast, with expansion of almost 50 per cent over 2019. 'Writing on the wall' This rapid growth in BNPL  and a clear decline in credit cards  is the backdrop to CBAs move to team up with Klarna.

Managing director of payments consultancy The Initiatives Group, Lance Blockley, says credit cards in Australia are entering their "twilight years" and could be known as the new Seniors Card. Consumers still have 13.8 million credit card accounts, with annual spending of $265 billion. So credit cards aren't declining in the way that cheques are, or even cash. But for Blockley, there's "no doubt" some younger shoppers have ditched credit cards for debit cards, and that's how most shoppers end up paying their buy now, pay later accounts. Observers say this slide in credit cards must have been part of CBA's thinking behind its deal with Klarna. A partner at venture capital fund Airtree, James Cameron, says: I think theyve seen the writing on the wall when it comes to credit card usage. Its falling off a cliff. Cameron calls CBAs move "very smart", citing research by consultancy AlphaBeta, commissioned by Afterpay, that found 41 per cent of Millennials owned a credit card compared with two thirds of older generations, a fall that Cameron says would scare the hell out of most of the banks.

The significance for banks is not just the threat of declining credit card revenue, which would be significant but not devastating. The more fundamental risk is they lose the relationship with younger customers who may go on to take out mortgages, transaction accounts or deposit their savings. Time to 'partner up'? In response to these threats, CBA appears to be have become more open to teaming up with tech-savvy partners. That is a change of tack for a bank known for taking a more controlling approach in dealing with local fintech businesses. Chief executive Matt Comyn this week cited Klarna as an example of the value of partnerships, as CBA tries to build new digital businesses through its massive customer reach. You bring together the best of the largest integral customer base with a strong, in this case, payments proposition. Its a very compelling way to go to market, Comyn said. I think theyve seen the writing on the wall when it comes to credit card usage. Its falling off a cliff. James Cameron, Airtree

Jefferies banking analyst Brian Johnson points out CBAs core business is in good shape and has been growing market share lately, but says deals such as the Klarna tie-up can supplement the brand. Banks brands are probably not as strong as they were, particularly with Millennials. As people get older theres a structural problem, unless you have a strong brand, he says. In the world of buy now pay later, CBA's move has sparked predictions of similar action from its rivals, which must ensure they are not left behind in the chase for the young. Citi launched its own BNPL scheme last year, while Westpac in 2017 bought 15 per cent of BNPL business Zip Co, a stake now worth $230 million. "Weve seen rapid growth in the buy now pay later segment and recognise there is a new generation of customers who are seeking new ways of payment," a Westpac spokeswoman said. Shaw and Partners analyst Brett Le Mesurier says that as credit cards decline, and schemes such as Afterpay grow, other banks will inevitably try to mimic the success of buy now, pay later operators.

"The credit card is deeply flawed because the only ones who pay the interest are the ones who can least afford to pay it," he says. "On the basis that Afterpay becomes more and more successful, the banks are increasingly likely to respond." Loading Morningstar analyst Chanaka Gunasekera says partnering up may be the best way for banks to get into BNPL as they may be reluctant to hold these higher-risk consumer loans directly on their own balance sheets. Millennial customers are going to be the ones who are going to be spending over the next 10 to 15 years, he says. I would have thought the best way to do it would be to partner up. Yet for all the hype surrounding BNPL, the industry has no shortage of doubters.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: India on Thursday reacted sharply to the reference to Jammu and Kashmir in a Pakistan-Malaysia joint statement, saying the Malaysian leadership should develop a better understanding of facts and acknowledge that Pakistan remains an epicentre of global terrorism.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said India completely rejects the references made with respect to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India.

"We once again call upon the Malaysian leadership to develop a better understanding of the facts, including that Pakistan remains an epicentre of global terrorism, which continues to recruit, train, arm and finance cross-border terrorism against India," he said.

A joint statement issued by Malaysia and Pakistan at the end of Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit recorded that the Pakistani premier had raised the issue of Kashmir during talks with his Malaysian counterpart Mahathir bin Mohamad.

Khan had also thanked Mahathir bin Mohamad for "speaking up" on the Kashmir issue.

India-Malaysia ties have been hit in recent times following the remarks by Malaysia on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the Kashmir issue.

In December, India had summoned the Charge d'Affairs of the Malaysian embassy and lodged a strong protest with him over the Malaysian prime minister's "insensitive" comments criticising the new citizenship law.
Purchasers of new vehicles in West Bengal would henceforth not be required to pay extra for affixing high-security registration plates, the state government said on Friday.

The state Transport Department said that dealers have been instructed to deliver new vehicles to customers only after affixing the high-security registration plates (HSRP).

The department has instructed all dealers to affix HSRPs without additional charges, it said.

The transport department had ordered the implementation of the new mode of affixation of HSRP from February 1, but it was challenged before the Calcutta High Court.

The high court has upheld the order of the transport department, it said in a statement.

Under the new system, dealers will have to apply online for registration of new vehicles on behalf of the purchaser, it said, adding that on approval, the registration number of the vehicle will be generated, which the concerned dealer can access online.

The new protocol will ensure that the vehicle buyers would not have to wait longer for getting the HSRPs affixed on their vehicles following generation of registration numbers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
We can all live in peace: Pak Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala on Kashmir

Taliban terrorist who shot Malala Yousafzai escapes from Pak prison

International

oi-PTI

Islamabad, Feb 07: Ehsanullah Ehsan, the Taliban terrorist responsible for shooting Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai in 2012 and carrying out the deadly Peshawar Army school terror attack in 2014-in which 132 students were killed-has escaped from prison, according to an audio clip released by him.

In the audio clip, which surfaced on social media on Thursday, Ehsanullah Ehsan said that he escaped the confinement of Pakistani security agencies on January 11, claiming Pakistani forces failed to keep their promises made to him during his surrender in 2017.

Pakistan: Taliban attack on Malala Yousafzai was scripted

"With the help of God, I succeeded to escape on January 11, 2020 from the confinement of the security forces," he is heard saying in the clip.

Without revealing his current location, Ehsan said that he would soon make a detailed statement about his confinement.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

Malala Yousafzai, 22, was shot for campaigning for girls' education in 2012 in Pakistan's Swat Valley.

In the audio clip, Ehsanullah Ehsan said that he surrendered to the Pakistani security agencies on February 5, 2017 under an agreement but the forces failed to keep their promise made before the surrender.

What is Malala Day: All you need to know

"I followed the agreement for about three years. But these shrewd security institutions put me in prison along with my children in violation of the agreement," he said, adding that he finally decided to flee from the forces.

The authenticity of the audio and veracity of Ehsanullah Ehsan's claim was not verified by the security forces or the Pakistan government.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 8:33 [IST]
The Iowa caucuses were a chance for The Daily to try something new with our election coverage. Beyond representing the kickoff of the 2020 presidential race, they are a storied and unique style of picking a candidate  a strange exercise in democracy thats hard to understand unless you witness it.

For those who will never experience it in person, we wanted to bring it to life in audio.

We asked our colleague Reid Epstein to pick a caucus site that would represent the state overall. As it happens, Reid had just written an article explaining how the Iowa caucuses work, and zeroed in on a town called Johnston, Iowa. Johnston, he told us, was perfect for our purposes: suburban and relatively moderate, like much of Iowa.

Around 5:45 p.m., our producer Clare Toeniskoetter, Lisa Tobin, the head of the audio team, and Sam Dolnick, a New York Times masthead editor, hopped into Reids rental car and headed to the gym at Johnston Middle School, where the caucus was being held.

Reid, who had spent countless days in Iowa in the lead-up to the caucus, had queued up his favorite Election Day song, One Day More, from Les Miserables. This turned into a haphazard group singalong. (A painfully long, unharmonic version can be heard below):
Boris Johnson endured a phone call with an 'apoplectic' Donald Trump following the decision to approve a deal with Huawei, it was claimed yesterday.

The Prime Minister spoke to the US President last week soon after he announced that the Chinese manufacturer would be allowed to work on the UK's next-generation 5G mobile phone network  despite strong opposition from the US.

A source briefed on the phone call told the Financial Times that Mr Trump was 'apoplectic' with Mr Johnson. A second official confirmed the call between the pair was 'very difficult'.

British officials with knowledge of the exchange said they were taken aback by the force of the president's language towards Mr Johnson, the FT reported.

Downing Street and the White House declined to comment. However, a government source told the Mail: 'These calls can get overheated at times.'

Boris Johnson (pictured) endured a phone call with an 'apoplectic' Donald Trump following the decision to approve a deal with Huawei, it was claimed yesterday

A source briefed on the phone call claimed that Mr Trump (pictured) was 'apoplectic' with Mr Johnson

US vice-president Mike Pence confirmed the Trump administration had made its disappointment 'very clear' to the UK following Mr Johnson's announcement.

A summary of the call released by the White House last Tuesday stated: 'Today, President Donald J Trump spoke with Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the United Kingdom.

'The two leaders discussed critical regional and bilateral issues, including telecommunications security.'

Downing Street's official readout of the call stated: 'The prime minister underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies.'

Thomas Wright, who specialises in UK-US relations and is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the frosty call hinted at Trump taking 'personal affront' at the decision.

He told the FT: 'To me the significance of the phone call is that it shows that Trump is very engaged and very upset and that this is not going to blow over and it will have implications if not on Five Eyes then on trade talks.'

The briefings came as Mr Trump savaged those who tried to unseat him as 'dirty cops, liars and leakers' yesterday after victory at his impeachment trial.

A day after the Senate voted to acquit him of all charges, the President brandished a copy of the Washington Post with the front page headline 'Trump acquitted'.

British officials with knowledge of the exchange said they were taken aback by the force of the president's language towards Mr Johnson (pictured together in September in New York)

'It was the only good headline I've ever had in the Washington Post,' he said of the newspaper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

In an hour-long, unscripted and rambling speech, Mr Trump said the bid to remove him from office was 'bull****', adding: 'It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops... it was leakers and liars. I don't know if other presidents would have been able to take it.

'This should never ever happen to another president, ever.'

Describing the impeachment process as a 'disgrace', he added: 'We went through hell, unfairly. We did nothing wrong.'

He denounced Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff as 'vicious horrible people', and the FBI leadership as 'scum'.

Mr Trump had been accused of abusing his power by asking Ukraine to dig for dirt on potential 2020 rival Joe Biden.

However, his opponents fell well short of the two-thirds majority required to remove him  losing the Senate votes 53-47 and 52-48.
BUCKS COUNTY >> Police in Northampton, Lower Southampton and Upper Makefield townships report the following incidents and arrests: Lower Southampton THEFT >> In the early morning hours on Monday, Jan. 10 two individuals made off with the entire change machine from the Feasterville Laundromat along Bustleton Pike. The male appears to be "cracking himself up" while he hatches his scheme...
The candidate for the office of U.S. Ambassador in Ukraine has been approved, and this candidacy suits both sides. Vadym Prystaiko, Ukraine's Foreign Minister reported that as quoted by UNN news agency.

"I'm not going to reveal a big secret here, but during my conversation with Secretary of the State Pompeo we were told that the job is done... We know a certain man who they will offer [to get the job]. Basically, we're fine with this candidate", he said.

Prystaiko admitted that such a long process of selecting the ambassador is due to a different system of appointment; it differs from that in Ukraine.

The candidacy of the ambassador is supposed to be approved by the U.S. President and the Senate.

Prystaiko expects to start working with the Ambassador as soon as possible.

Last month, Pompeo said the U.S. State Department would do everything necessary to find out whether there was a threat to the former US ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. We will do everything we need to do to evaluate whether there was something that took place there, he said in a radio interview. I suspect that much of whats been reported will ultimately prove wrong, but our obligation, my obligation as secretary of state, is to make sure that we evaluate, investigate. Any time there is someone who posits that there may have been a risk to one of our officers, well obviously do that, he said.
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.
LOS ANGELES  Another flight carrying Americans fleeing the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, arrived Friday at a Southern California military base.

The plane is one of two chartered to the United States by the Defense Department.

The two flights departed China with about 300 passengers on board, the Pentagon said Thursday night in a statement.

One of the aircraft landed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego shortly before 9 a.m., Lance Cpl. Andrew Hiatt said.

The second was headed to Omaha but would first refuel at Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento and then proceed through Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, officials said.

On arrival, passengers on both flights will be placed under a 14-day federal quarantine order overseen by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The new strain of coronavirus has infected more than 30,000 people, killing more than 630, since it emerged in China in late December. Many of the cases have been reported in and around Chinas Hubei province, where Wuhan is located.

In the U.S., 12 people have become infected in six states  six in California, two in Illinois and one each in Arizona, Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin. All of the patients had either recently traveled to China or, in two cases, had close contact with someone who did.

The U.S. State Department has advised against all travel to China because of the virus and has said that any Americans there should try to return to the U.S. Most commercial airlines have suspended or reduced flights between the two countries.

Last week, the Trump administration declared a public health emergency and announced restrictions on people traveling to the U.S. from China. Now, foreign nationals who recently visited China arent allowed to enter the U.S., and returning American citizens are subject to 14-day quarantines.

On Saturday, the Defense Department announced it had agreed to house up to 1,000 people who may need to be quarantined upon arrival from overseas travel at four facilities, including Travis and Miramar.

On Wednesday, the Pentagon said it had also been asked to identify 11 military installations near major airports that could house about 220 additional people under quarantine, if needed. Those tertiary locations, each of which could accommodate about 20 travelers if backup housing options become full, included both Travis, which is not far from San Francisco International Airport, and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, due to its proximity to Los Angeles International Airport, the Pentagon said in a statement.

In addition to the passengers arriving in the U.S. on Friday, nearly 550 people are already under federal quarantine at military bases in California.

Two jets carrying about 350 passengers fleeing China landed in the state on Wednesday morning  one at Travis Air Force Base and one at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. All of the passengers were placed under a mandatory 14-day federal quarantine.

Five of the people quarantined at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar have been taken to local hospitals after showing symptoms of the virus, the CDC has said.

In addition, 195 Americans who were evacuated from the U.S. Embassy in Wuhan have been under quarantine at March Air Reserve Base since late last month. Of the group, two children were taken to local hospitals after developing fevers. On Monday, one of the children was returned to the base after testing negative for coronavirus. Test results for the second child are still pending.

In a separate incident, another person traveling from mainland China was transferred from Los Angeles International Airport to March Air Reserve Base on Monday. That person was screened for the virus and released after a short quarantine, officials said.
Judge reverses convictions of aid workers who left food, water for immigrants in desert

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Four aid volunteers who left food and water for immigrants who illegally entered the country by way of the Arizona desert in 2017 had their criminal convictions overturned Monday by a federal judge who ruled that the governments prosecution violated their religious freedom rights.

U.S. District Judge Rosemary Marquez, an Obama appointee, ruled that the four volunteers serving with the No More Deaths ministry of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tuscan were engaging in a sincere exercise of their religious beliefs.

The volunteers  Natalie Hoffman, Oona Holcomb, Madeline Huse, and Zaachila Orozco  left food and water in an area of rugged landscape in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge near the Mexico border where immigrants have been known to die of dehydration and exposure to extreme temperatures.

Last January, they were convicted by a federal magistrate of violating regulations governing the refuge and faced fines and probation since they entered without out a permit, drove on restricted-access roads and left food and water.

However, the defendants argued that their actions were taken with the goal of mitigating death and suffering and that the actions were exercises of religion protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The Court finds that Defendants demonstrated that their prosecution for this conduct substantially burdens their exercise of sincerely held religious beliefs, the ruling states. [A]nd that the Government failed to demonstrate that prosecuting defendants is the least restrictive means of furthering any compelling governmental interest.

The Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge spans over 800,000 acres in the Sonoran Desert.

As millions of immigrants have illegally entered the U.S. through the southern border in the past three decades, No More Deaths claims that the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge is an area where as many as 155 migrants have died since 2001.

No More Deaths says the refuge is one of the deadliest migration corridors along the U.S.-Mexico border. The area is especially dangerous because of the lack of publicly accessible roads and no natural water sources.

In 2017, the year in which the four volunteers were charged, No More Deaths reports that 32 sets of human remains were found in the refuge.

According to the ruling, the federal government argued that it wanted to prevent clean water and food from being placed in the refuge so as to not increase the risk of death or extreme illness for those seeking to cross unlawfully.

In other words, the Government claims a compelling interest in preventing Defendants from interfering with a border enforcement strategy of deterrence by death, Marquez ruled. This gruesome logic is profoundly disturbing. It is also speculative and unsupported by evidence.

Marquez contends that the government was unable to produce evidence showing that the news of the 32 sets of human remains found in the desert in 2017 deterred unlawful entry.

This ruling reaffirms what No More Deaths has always maintained: providing life-saving humanitarian aid is never a crime, volunteer Alicia Dinsmore said in a statement. The reversal of the convictions is a victory for all people of conscience and righteousness who seek to end the death and suffering in the borderlands.

The reversal of the four volunteers convictions comes after fellow No More Deaths aid volunteer Scott Warren was acquitted last November on felony charges of harboring illegal immigrants. An outcry was raised after it was reported that Warren could have face up to 20 years in prison.

Luke Goodrich, vice president and senior counsel of the religious freedom nonprofit law firm Becket, which helped craft legal arguments in Warrens case, explained in a Twitter thread that there are several important lessons to learn from these cases.

First, this was a foolish prosecution, Goodrich wrote. Giving water to those who thirst is not a crime. Just consult Matthew 25:35 and common sense.

Second, laws like RFRA are essential for religious freedom, he added, pointing out that RFRA was used to defend the Little Sisters of the Poor in their cases against the Obamacare contraceptive mandate. It was undisputed in this case that the volunteers committed the crime. Their only protection was RFRA.

Goodrich stressed that religious freedom isnt partisan.

Sometimes it may look conservative (Hobby Lobby) or progressive (this case), he wrote. But the core principle is bipartisan. Every human being has a thirst for the transcendent, and the government (under both parties) must respect that.
After several challenging years, the executive director of one of Manitoba's oldest refugee resettlement agencies is no longer working there.

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This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After several challenging years, the executive director of one of Manitoba's oldest refugee resettlement agencies is no longer working there.

The board of Welcome Place reportedly terminated Rita Chahal's position earlier this week. Chahal declined to comment.

No one at the building on Bannatyne Avenue would discuss the matter on Thursday. Acting executive director, Marta Kalita, said the board of the Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council Inc., which oversees Welcome Place, planned to issue a statement.

Board chairman Bruce Waite didn't agree to an interview but sent an email Thursday. It says it's "no secret" that the federal government is no longer funding Welcome Place to provide resettlement services to government-assisted refugees. The Free Press reported in August that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada had rejected Welcome Place's Resettlement Assistance Program funding proposal. Starting in April, Accueil francophone would be funded to provide those services in Winnipeg instead.

The federal government wouldn't specify why it was no longer contracting with Welcome Place. It told the Free Press the decision had to do with cost-effectiveness, and told Welcome Place in a letter that there were a number of "intersecting factors" behind the decision.

That program funding made up one-third of Welcome Place's budget.

"As such, adjustments to our service delivery model and client programming are required to continue to be relevant as a refugee service provider," board chairman Waite's email said. Chahal's salary  presuming the executive director earned the highest pay  was between $80,000 and $119,999, according to the Canada Revenue Agency. It reports compensation for the 10 highest-paid permanent, full-time positions at registered charities. The CRA lists nine Welcome Place employees who earn between $40,000 to $79,999 and one receives somewhere in the range of $80,000 to $119,999.

"We are in the process of moving through this as an agency," Waite said. "However, until we are further along in the process, we aren't in a position to comment publicly."

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Before being hired by Welcome Place in 2013, Chahal had worked as general manager of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce and served on several boards, including the Manitoba Centennial Centre Corp. She herself was a newcomer to Canada when she was six and her family immigrated from India and resettled on the East Coast. She attended Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia before moving to Winnipeg.

When she started working at Welcome Place seven years ago, she was new to the refugee resettlement sector. At that time, there was a major shift in federal immigration policy that affected everything from health care to settlement services. In Winnipeg, an affordable housing shortage with shelter allowances not keeping pace with soaring rents added to the refugee resettlement challenges.

In an interview shortly after she was hired, Chahal said housing was the primary issue. She said she wanted to get help from the business community and promote education and awareness of refugee issues. Chahal said she wanted to make sure Welcome Place was embracing technology, following best practices, getting the biggest bang for its buck and able to bring inspirational speakers like Oprah and Nobel Prize-winning banker Muhammad Yunus to Winnipeg. Then the Syrian refugee crisis happened and Donald Trump was elected U.S. president.

In 2015-16, Welcome Place helped resettle more than 1,000 government-assisted Syrian refugees.

In 2016-17, after Trump's election and anti-refugee rhetoric ramped up in the U.S., there was a major influx of asylum seekers. More than 1,000 crossed the border on foot to make refugee claims inside Canada, and went to Welcome Place for help. They were ineligible for most government-funded programs. That surge in refugee claimants drew international media attention for Welcome Place that was followed by a surge in donations and provincial and federal aid to the agency to help those seeking asylum with their refugee claims, paper work and basic human needs.

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Efforts by authorities for a speedy hanging of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case suffered a jolt as a trial court on Friday refused to issue fresh death warrants, asking how is it presumed that the fourth condemned prisoner is not going to seek the last available legal remedy for a reprieve.

Taking note of the Delhi High Court's February 5 order permitting the convicts in the gang-rape and murder case to exercise their legal remedies within one week, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana observed, "It is criminally sinful to execute the convicts when law permits them to live."



The judge said death warrants cannot be executed merely on basis of surmises and conjectures even as the Supreme Court said no one can be compelled to take remedies.

The trial court on January 31 indefinitely postponed execution of the four convicts-- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

In the application before judge Rana, the Delhi government said the President has already dismissed the mercy petitions of three convicts and that no application by any of the four is currently pending before any court.

"What makes you (State) presume he (Pawan Gupta) is not going to use his curative plea?"



At this, public prosecutor Irfan Ahmad, appearing for the Delhi government and Tihar jail, said, "He (Pawan Gupta) has not filed yet. Currently no application by any of them is pending before any court."Pawan has not yet filed a curative petition -- the last and final legal remedy available to a person which is decided in-chamber. He also has the option of filing a mercy plea.

The Delhi government had moved the trial court for issuance of fresh black warrants.

"It is criminally sinful to execute the convicts when law permits them to live. The High Court on February 5 has permitted the convicts, in the interest of justice, to exercise their legal remedies within one week from same order," judge Rana said.

"I concur with counsel for convicts that death warrants cannot be executed merely on basis of surmises and conjectures. The application is bereft of merit. Same is dismissed. State is at liberty to move appropriate application as and when required," he added.

The Delhi government informed the court about the high court's order which directed the convicts to take steps within a week, if they wished, to avail any remedy available under the law.

"It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that, keeping in view a week's time given to the convicts by high court, the fresh dates for execution of death warrants...may kindly be fixed specifying the date and time for execution/ hanging of convicts Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh and Akshay in the interest of justice," it said in the application.

The warrants, issued by the trial court on January 7, were postponed "sine die" by it on January 31, giving the condemned prisoners a reprieve for the second time in two weeks.

The date of execution, first fixed for January 22 in Tihar jail, was later postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order.

In the Supreme Court, a 3-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi rejected Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's urgent request to issue notices to the convicts on the appeal of the Centre and the Delhi government against the high court order which also said the death row prisoners have to be executed together and not separately.

"The high court has granted them (convicts) one week time to avail all their remedies. This amply protects you," the bench, also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, told Mehta.

The bench also said that issuance of notices to the convicts at this stage will further delay the matter.

Mehta argued that convicts were adopting delaying tactics and Pawan Gupta has neither filed a curative petition in the apex court nor moved the mercy plea before the President yet.

"No one can be compelled to take remedies," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on February 11.

The top court told Mehta that it may consider the aspect of whether notice was needed to be issued to these convicts on the next date of hearing.

Mehta told the bench that "nation's patience has been tested enough now" in this case due to delaying tactics of the convicts and the top court would have to lay down law on whether such condemned prisoners can be hanged separately or not.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, 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.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nigel Farage has predicted there are 'great things ahead' for the US and the UK after he met with Donald Trump at the White House.

The leader of the Brexit Party sat down with the US President for talks yesterday evening in the Oval Office as the two continued to bolster their friendship.

Mr Farage described the meeting as 'great' and remarked it was 'good to see' the famous bust of Winston Churchill which is on display in the famous room.

The sit down took place after Mr Trump celebrated being acquitted in his impeachment trial as he attacked his critics and basked in his victory.

Nigel Farage tweeted last night that he had a 'great meeting' with Donald Trump in the Oval Office

Mr Farage travelled to Washington DC this week to attend Donald Trump's State of the Union address

The meeting between Mr Farage and Mr Trump came after the US President celebrated being acquitted in his impeachment trial

Mr Farage travelled to Washington DC to attend Mr Trump's State of the Union address to a joint session of the US Congress on Tuesday.

The pair have become friends and allies with Mr Farage expected to hit the campaign trail for the US President in the coming months as he seeks re-election in November.

Mr Farage revealed he had a meeting with Mr Trump at the White House in a tweet sent late last night.

He said: 'Just had a great meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office.

'Good to see the bust of Winston Churchill, there should be great things ahead for our two countries.'

The meeting came approximately a week after Mr Farage celebrated the UK leaving the European Union.

The US and UK are due to start formal discussions on a post-Brexit trade deal in the coming months.

The White House wants a deal to have been finalised before the US presidential election at the end of the year, giving the two sides roughly nine months to get the job done.

Mr Trump was likely to have been in a good mood when he met with Mr Farage as it came one day after the Senate voted to acquit him of all charges in an impeachment trial.

He addressed the press yesterday afternoon on the issue and brandished a copy of the Washington Post with the front page headline 'Trump acquitted'.

'It was the only good headline I've ever had in the Washington Post,' he said of the newspaper owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Mr Farage said it was 'good to see' the famous bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office - pictured behind Mr Trump as he shook hands with Theresa May in January 2017

In an hour-long, unscripted and rambling speech, Mr Trump said the bid to remove him from office was 'bull****', adding: 'It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops... it was leakers and liars. I don't know if other presidents would have been able to take it.

'This should never ever happen to another president, ever.'

Mr Trump had been accused of abusing his power by asking Ukraine to dig for dirt on potential 2020 rival Joe Biden.

However, his opponents fell well short of the two-thirds majority required to remove him  losing the Senate votes 53-47 and 52-48.
NASHUA, N.H. - Outside the castle-themed Radisson Hotel where Joe Biden has been staying, his campaign bus was parked and ready for events.

But on Thursday, just five days before the crucial primary here, the candidate was nowhere to be found.

Biden spent Thursday gathered with his top advisers at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, seeking a reset and perhaps a last-ditch effort to save his candidacy, beginning with a debate Friday night. He held no public events.

Following dismal results in the Iowa caucuses that have rattled many in his orbit, his campaign is now simultaneously trying to lower expectations here - with some suggesting they would consider a finish as low as third place a victory - while also bracing for a second straight difficult Election Day.

In one troublesome sign for the financially strapped campaign, it canceled nearly $150,000 in television ads in South Carolina, which votes Feb. 29, and moved the spending to Nevada, whose Feb. 22 contest follows New Hampshire's. The move seemed to acknowledge that Biden's campaign cannot sustain a continued run of bad news.

"From a Biden perspective, there's going to be a course correction in all three states before Super Tuesday," said Dick Harpootlian, a South Carolina senator who is in regular contact with Biden's campaign. "He's got to have sharper elbows."

He suggested that those inside the campaign realized the gravity of the moment and that Biden had to better "explain the difference with his opponents."

"History may write that the best thing that ever happened to Joe Biden was getting gut-punched in Iowa," he added. "It woke him up, it woke his campaign up and his supporters up. They were complacent. . . . You've got to talk about the other guy."

But, at least on Thursday, it was the other guy talking about Biden.

Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., finished at the top in Iowa, continued his media blitz, appearing on shows from ABC's "The View" to the gossip site TMZ, where he argued that he - not Biden - was the most electable Democratic candidate.

"If your focus is on electability . . . the best way, I think, to demonstrate you're a candidate who can win is to go win," he said on TMZ.

Some of Biden's supporters were growing agitated with the campaign, struggling to point to any one piece of it that has been successful. His organizing operation struggled in Iowa, his fundraising numbers have never been impressive and his message is often muddled.

One person close to the campaign, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy, expects a dramatic reshuffling of his operation if Biden does not show improvement in New Hampshire. Biden has rarely fired staffers during his decades-long career, so any changes would probably mean internal shifting of responsibilities.

Even before then, disputes have emerged among some of his top advisers, who have generally split between an older group that has been with Biden for decades, and a younger group that, while loyal, has joined his staff more recently. There have been disagreements since the start of the campaign over how much to focus on the middle-class economic message that has defined much of Biden's career and how much to center his message on President Donald Trump.

Biden's first evident shift after Monday night's drubbing came Wednesday, when he dedicated a third of a speech to criticizing his rivals - after long insisting he would not attack others. The development, which targeted Sanders and Buttigieg, energized some supporters.

Dave Nagle, a former Iowa Democratic Party chairman and former congressman, said he was stunned by how poorly conceived the Biden message was in his state. He received four pieces of mail from the Biden campaign. Only one mentioned the economy. The rest were about Trump, civility and international affairs, issues that did not move voters, he said.

"He has got to get his message right, and his message out here wasn't right. His presentations were not focused. They were rambling. They were stories about what his father told him and what his mother told him," he said. "I think the Biden campaign got his message from the '80s, when it is totally different now. If he retools his message I think he can be very competitive."

But his ability to expound was constrained. Biden had reserved $165,000 in television ads in the final week before the New Hampshire primary, according to data from Advertising Analytics, although a super PAC backing him is airing an additional $580,000 worth. Sanders is airing nearly $500,000 in ads, while Warren is airing nearly $360,000.

Among the top-tier candidates, Buttigieg will have the most air cover, with his campaign spending $570,000 and an additional $815,000 coming from Vote Vets, a super PAC supporting him. That puts Buttigieg and his allies at about twice the spending of Biden and his backers.

Biden's advisers have been attempting to bat down questions about his longevity - including some far-fetched suggestions that he drop out soon - and on Thursday afternoon they sent out a fundraising email with the subject line: "I'm not going anywhere."

They are most concerned with trying to survive to states that are more friendly to his more diverse base. In South Carolina, in particular, he has kept a commanding polling lead largely based on his strong support among African American voters, who make up nearly two-thirds of Democratic primary voters there.

"The donor class, the staff, the volunteers in a presidential campaign are nervous inherently," said former Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell, a fellow Democrat who has been a top Biden fundraiser and remained optimistic. "The fact that Joe had a subpar performance in Iowa makes them more nervous. That's to be expected."

The Biden campaign declined to comment on the record, but an adviser who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy said the campaign was preparing for a long nomination fight.

"Joe Biden has never been handed anything in his life, and he's here to fight for every delegate in this long process," the adviser said. "The vice president has forcefully argued that Wall Street didn't build this nation - hard-working working class and middle-class Americans did - which is why he's running to rebuild the middle class."

Biden's super PAC is seen as a more important vehicle to prop up a campaign that has struggled to raise money. Larry Rasky, a longtime Biden loyalist who helped form the group, was on the phone Thursday, trying to round up multimillion-dollar donations.

"The reports of our demise are highly exaggerated," Rasky said. "We're certainly not going away. We're here to fight. I don't think there's any question there's a lot of fight left in this game."

"Nobody was thrilled about the results in Iowa, but they certainly are not jumping ship based on the results," he said.

The super PAC has generally been positively promoting Biden on television, but it appears to be moving toward airing more pointed ads that target his opponents. A recent ad stresses that he is experienced and accomplished, which could be viewed as a contrast with Sanders's lack of legislative accomplishments and Buttigieg's lack of experience.

Steve Cozen, a Biden donor and top fundraiser for the campaign, said he was disappointed at Biden's performance in Iowa but was confident in Biden's prospects going forward.

Referring to Sanders's $25 million haul in January and Buttigieg's nearly $3 million in donations just since the Iowa caucuses, Cozen said Biden's donors and bundlers are escalating their efforts to raise money for his campaign.

"Obviously, the money is a constant issue, and we have redoubled our efforts," he said.

Cozen said he hopes to see Biden more aggressively criticize his opponents, despite his discomfort in doing so.

"Joe has to be a little bit more aggressive than he's been in the past. He's a uniter, not a divider. I don't want him to be a divider, but he's got to be a little less self-effacing and say, 'You know what, I'm the best guy, and here's why I'm the best guy, and here's why these guys aren't the best people,' " Cozen said.

"I'd love for him to do that, and he can do it in his own, great Joe way that will endear him to people" in New Hampshire and beyond, Cozen said.

But some point out that he faces head winds in New Hampshire. Sanders dominated here in the 2016 primary and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., represents a neighboring state. Buttigieg, for his part, seems to have all the attention and momentum.

"We don't have high expectations in New Hampshire. We never have," said a top adviser, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It's on to Nevada."

Harpootlian said a third-place finish would make Biden "the comeback kid," Bill Clinton's description of himself after the then-governor of Arkansas battled to a second-place finish here in 1992.

"Then he goes to Nevada - and then thank God he comes to a normal state," he said, referring to the fourth-voting state, South Carolina.

- - -

The Washington Post's Michelle Ye Hee Lee contributed to this report.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines)  Newly-appointed housing czar Eduardo Del Rosario reported Pag-IBIG Fund's record-breaking earnings, home loan releases, and cash loan disbursement in 2019.

We are happy to report that Pag-IBIG Fund has again achieved an excellent year in 2019. We achieved record highs in our key result areas while delivering responsive services to our members," Del Rosario, Secretary of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development,

ang PAG-IBIG chairman, said in his report on Friday, February 7. "By so doing, we continue to perform our mandate of effectively managing the Filipino workers savings, while providing affordable and accessible home financing programs for our members."

He said the achievement "is in line with President Rodrigo Roa Dutertes call for government to provide social benefits to more Filipinos."

The 14.69 million active Pag-IBIG members collectively saved 50.38 billion in 2019, the highest on record, Del Rosario added. The amount jumped 25 percent when compared to members savings collected in 2018.

More savings entrusted to Pag-IBIG Fund

The growth in members' collections was largely due to the huge spike in placements under the agency's Modified Pag-IBIG 2 Savings, which nearly tripled to 12.01 billion from the 4.47 billion collected in 2018.

The phenomenal increase in our savings collections is critical to Pag-IBIG Funds growth because it is through the collective savings of our members that Pag-IBIG is able to extend more loans and more benefits at affordable rates to our borrowers, Del Rosario said.

Highest-ever home loans and cash loans

Pag-IBIG Fund also broke its housing-related accomplishments as it released a total of 86.74 billion to finance the homes of 95,276 members. Of these, 10.64 billion has been released for socialized housing, helping 27,145 borrowers belonging to the minimum-wage and low-income sectors.

In terms of cash loans, Pag-IBIG Fund released a total of 53.83 billion to 2,593,538 members.

Assets and net income highest in history

Pag-IBIG Fund also showed better than expected performance, with its total assets rising to 603.39 billion by end of 2019.

The Fund also posted a net income of 34.37 billion, the highest in its history.

We want to apprise Filipino workers of our performance and tell them that their Fund is working for them. We are always excited because we always have good news for them. The 'Lingkod Pag-IBIG' is not just a tagline for us, it is a work standard aimed at raising the bar each year, in the name of public service and transparency, Pag-IBIG Fund Chief Executive Officer Acmad Rizaldy Moti said.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Brussels, Belgium  Fri, February 7, 2020 08:07 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630fab6 2 People Mark-Ruffalo,European-Union,EU,pollution,chemical-pollution,film,actor,Hollywood,environment Free

US actor and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo urged Europeans on Wednesday to be "heroes" in the fight against chemical pollutants in the world's waterways, the central theme of his latest film Dark Waters.

In it, Ruffalo plays the lawyer Robert Bilott, who waged a long legal battle against chemical giant DuPont in a class action suit brought by some 70,000 people in West Virginia whose water was contaminated by perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

The substance, a so-called persistent organic pollutant used notably in the manufacture of non-stick cooking pans, is suspected of being carcinogenic and an endocrine distruptor.

At a press conference at the European Parliament alongside Bilott and Dark Waters director Todd Haynes, Ruffalo, who produced the film, said the cause was finally getting off the ground after four decades of inaction.

"It has been tough for us to get things moving on a federal level, even with this film," he said, urging Brussels to take up the baton and strengthen regulations against PFOA and similar chemicals.

"You guys are the heroes now, youve got to be the heroes," said Ruffalo, whose campaign against PFOA is called "Fight Forever Chemicals".

The Avengers star, who met earlier with European Parliament speaker David Sassoli, said he hoped Dark Waters, which is to open in France and Belgium on February 26 and Britain on February 28, "could help start to educate people."

"Right now, people are being poisoned, and they dont even know about it," said Ruffalo, who has also joined the fight against fracking.

Asked about the nomination by two Swedish lawmakers of teen climate activist Greta Thunberg for the Nobel Peace Prize, Ruffalo said: "Id love her for the Nobel Prize. Greta, good luck!"

Johanna Sandahl, head of the European Environment Bureau grouping green NGOs, told the news conference: "PFAS pollution is out of control in the US and in Europe," adding that current regulations were insufficient.

PFAS are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA.
The colors were so incredible, I just couldnt leave, she said. And then in November, the world looked like one of Wolfs pastels.

Color ebulliently deployed was at the heart of Ms. Masons work, and it was one of the things that set her apart from her mother, the abstract painter Alice Trumbull Mason. Whereas her mothers paintings often featured highly structured, quasi-geometrical forms, Emily Masons vibrant works, generally in oil, explored the varieties of a single color, or the play between multiple colors, in joyously free-form fashion.

Hot Item (2013) is a furious collection of reds, tantalizing but also somewhat ominous. Summer Harvest (2018) is an inviting composition in yellow and gold that seems to radiate warmth.

Her method was not to plan out a painting in advance, but to start working and see where it took her. She might begin by laying a blank canvas on the floor, pouring paint on it from a tin (she sometimes recycled cat food containers for this purpose), tilting the canvas to and fro to let the paint run about, then adding colors, eventually setting it aside and resuming work later. It was a process, she liked to say, of letting a painting talk to you.
(Newser)  A "Good Samaritan" who accidentally killed his neighbor with a crossbow while trying to protect him from a pit bull attack will not face charges, authorities in Massachusetts say. Police say they found the body of Joshua Jadusingh, 27, after they shot two aggressive pit bulls at a home in Adams on Wednesday, Newsweek reports. A child in the apartment was unharmed. Investigators say that after hearing cries for help, the neighbor entered the apartment and fired the crossbow from the bottom of the stairs at the two dogs as they tried to attack Jadusingh, their owner, at the top. The neighbor's crossbow bolt hit one of the dogs in the scruff of the neck before going through a door and fatally injuring Jadusingh, who had barricaded himself in a room.

story continues below

Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington says the neighbor went to the apartment carrying his legally owned crossbow after hearing somebody "screaming for help, saying 'please, shoot the dogs,'" WAMC reports. She says the neighbor is distraught. "He was actually quite good friends with his neighbor, and he knew that there was a child in the home, and it was a really, really difficult and stressful situation for him to be in and I think he did his best under the circumstances," she says. Harrington says the two dogs, which had a "history of aggression" and were usually kept in separate cages, were shot at the scene after they tried to attack officers. (Read more pit bull stories.)
To paraphrase horse owner Mark Weaver, everything old is new again. Weaver, part of the Weaver Bruscemi partnership that owns horses with trainer Ron Burke, is resurrecting the practice of offering two horses  at the same time  for sale at auction.

On Tuesday, four-year-old female trotters Matterlei and Wildfire Seelster will be sold as hip numbers 120B and 120A, respectively, at the Blooded Horse Sales Winter Speed Sale. The winning bidder will have his or her choice of one of the horses. The unselected horse will return to the Burke Brigade.

Murray Brown, the former Hanover Shoe Farms public relations director and general manager/VP of the Standardbred Horse Sales Company, recently wrote about the practice in Harness Racing Update.

Ive heard Murray Brown and Eric Cherry (horse owner-breeder and co-owner of online auction ongait.com) talk about it, Weaver said. We need to get rid of horses. Particularly, with these two, they fit the same class and theyve had to race against each other and that just doesnt make good business sense. Theyre very similar horses.

Ive had a lot of feedback. People said theyll be watching to see what happens. Just to see two horses in the ring will be kind of different.

Matterlei, by Explosive Matter and out of Hawaiian Lei, has won five of her last seven races dating back to November. Wildfire Seelster, by Explosive Matter and out of Warrawee Lassie, has won six of her last eight starts, also dating back to November.

We figure well sell them and let the buyer decide which one they want, and well keep the other one, Weaver said. I think that gives the buyer an added level of confidence. I think the buyers will appreciate it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Were keeping the other one, so its not like were trying to dump anything. Itll be interesting. Its an old idea, but I think its a new idea. Itll be cool.

Weaver plans to continue the practice of offering two horses together in upcoming auctions at ongait.com. He said, though, it might not be two horses of the same type, as is the case with Tuesdays sale. For example, a four-year-old pacing gelding might be offered with a six-year-old trotting mare.

I really like the concept, Weaver said. They have to be similar in value, but it really doesnt matter if theyre like horses. Youre still giving the buyer the option to pick.

Every year, we need to move about 30 or 40 horses to make room for others. Its a big cycle. We try to sell horses when theyll bring good money based on their current form. If we sell a bunch of horses and none of them go on, were going to have trouble selling horses (in the future). We want them to do well. Fortunately, over the last six, eight, 10 years many of our horses have.

The Blooded Horse Sales Winter Speed Sale begins at 9:30 a.m. (EST) at Champions Center Expo in Springfield, Ohio. For more information, click here.

(USTA)
Chair of the State Securities Commission (SSC) Tran Van Dung commented that the investors have overreacted to the nCoV outbreak, believing that the market will recover when the epidemic peaks, as it happened with SARS and H5N1.

The stock market on February 3 lost more than 40 points at times and fell to a 3-year low. The electronic board on the HCM City bourse lit with red lights as many large caps plummeted in price.





In some countries, transactions are automatically stopped if the stock prices fall more sharply than allowed. However, this policy doesnt exist in Vietnam, so the suspension of transactions (if any) will depend on the decisions of the management agency.



I think this scenario wont happen because the situation is not too bad, Dung said, advising investors to keep calm.



Vietnams stock market has resumed its operation since January 30 after the Tet holiday and saw the VN Index decreasing by 4 percent. Meanwhile, the Chinese market opened on February 3.



SSC believes that the Vietnamese investors have overreacted after the information about the sharp falls of the Chinese market.

Chair of the State Securities Commission (SSC) Tran Van Dung commented that the investors have overreacted to the nCoV outbreak, believing that the market will recover when the epidemic peaks, as it happened with SARS and H5N1.

The Chinese market begins one hour earlier than Vietnamese, he explained, adding that the VN Index decrease on February 3 was unavoidable.



Investors are insecure about the nCoV outbreak, despite the information that the Chinese central bank would pump 1.2 trillion yuan to rescue the economy.



In the past, the market reacted when SARS and H5N1 epidemics broke out, but it recovered immediately after some countries stated they could control the epidemic. When epidemics' reached their peak, the stock indexes recovered.



With the strong determination by the international community and the government of Vietnam, Dung believes that the epidemic will be controlled soon.



While the VN Index fell significantly on February 3, the prices of pharmacy shares increased sharply. DHG of Hau Giang Pharmacy and IMP of Imexpharm both saw the prices rising to the ceiling levels. DHG had increased by 20 percent since January 30 nd IMP by 17 percent.



On the UpCom market, DVN of Vietnam Pharmacy had increased for three sessions by February 3, or nearly 45 percent of market price. Other shares including DHJT, TRA, PME, CDP, DNM and JVC were also in high demand.



According to BIDV Securities, epidemics and securities investments are long term battles. There are still big investment opportunities in the medium and long term. In the immediate time, investors should not panic and not sell stocks at any price.

Kim Chi

Pharmaceutical stocks benefit from disease spread Pharmaceutical stocks are experiencing an upsurge as fears of coronavirus have boosted demand for healthcare products and services, lifting demand for shares.
OTTAWA - Canadian special-forces soldiers are treading carefully in Iraq following an Iranian missile attack against their main base last month and what their commander describes as a sensitive and complex relationship with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - Canadian special-forces soldiers are treading carefully in Iraq following an Iranian missile attack against their main base last month and what their commander describes as a sensitive and complex relationship with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad.

Despite the circumstances, Maj.-Gen. Peter Dawe, commander of Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, says his troops continue to focus on their primary mission: Preventing the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant from re-emerging as a major threat.

Major-General Peter Dawe speaks to reporters at a Canadian Special Operations Forces Command change of command ceremony in Ottawa on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. Canadian special-forces soldiers are treading carefully in Iraq following an Iranian missile attack against their main base last month and what their commander describes as a sensitive and complex relationship with the Iraqi central government in Baghdad. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

"The situation in Iraq and our relationship with the Iraqi government is sensitive and it's complex and we're obviously making sure we engage with the Iraqi government very deliberately to ensure that everything we do is perfect aligned with them," Dawe said in an interview.

"But fundamentally, the mission to defeat (ISIL) has not changed. It is as valid as ever and to that end, the coalition special-operations forces deployed in theatre, including the Canadian special-operations contingent, is resuming operations with our Iraqi security-force partners."

The Iranian missile attack was launched Jan. 8 against two coalition bases in Iraq, including one near the northern city of Irbil that Canadian special forces have used as their main staging area for years.

It came in retaliation for the U.S. having killed Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport. Shortly before the Iranian missile attack, all Canadian troops had been ordered to suspend their activities and hunker down.

There were no Canadian Armed Forces casualties stemming from the Iranian missile attack, nor did it pose an imminent threat, Dawe told The Canadian Press.

Canadian special forces resumed operations a short time later.

Yet the killing of Soleimani also prompted anger within Iraq, with the country's Shia-dominated parliament passing a resolution calling for all foreign troops to leave the country. The resolution was supported by outgoing prime minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi.

Those public calls have since simmered down and the political attention in Baghdad has largely focused on establishing a new government. But there are reports the Iraqi government has told its military not to seek assistance from the U.S.-led coalition in anti-ISIL operations.

Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan has said Canada will honour any formal request from the Iraqi government to leave.

The Canadian military will not say how many special-forces soldiers are in Iraq, but it is authorized to deploy up to 200 to help fight ISIL. Canada has had special forces in Iraq since October 2014, when the extremist group first took control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

The special-forces troops operate independent of the NATO training mission that Canada is leading in the south of Iraq, through which about 250 conventional Canadian troops are helping train Iraqi forces in the basics of soldiering.

The Canadian special forces are instead part of the U.S.-led coalition whose mission is to keep ISIL under pressure while the Iraqi government and international community establish the conditions for peace and prosperity across the country, thereby eliminating the group's appeal.

Canadian special forces have been largely operating around the northern city of Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh area, Dawe said, helping Iraqi forces plan and execute missions against ISIL, also known as Daesh.

"What we are concerned about as a coalition is ensuring that Daesh doesn't enjoy too much freedom in terms of re-establishing logistical nodes and in other ways being able to posture itself for a resumption of significant operations should the situation lend itself to that," he said.

Canadian special-forces soldiers were originally involved in liberating Mosul and the surrounding area from ISIL's control in 2016 and 2017. They also previously monitored the border with Syria for ISIL forces trying to sneak into Iraq.

Dawe would not reveal whether Canadian troops were watching the border now, "but suffice to say that clearly the Syrian border is an area of concern." The same is true for Mosul, which suffered heavily during the fight to liberate it, and the less-governed areas west of the city, he said.

He also said there has been "tangible progress" in rebuilding Mosul and making Iraqi forces more self-reliant and better able to fight ISIL on their own, although there are ongoing challenges weaning them off the coalition's high-tech intelligence and command-and-control equipment.

The U.S. Defense Department's Office of the Inspector General warned in November that Iraqi security forces continue to rely heavily on American and other allies when taking the fight to ISIL.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

With files from The Associated Press
[February 07, 2020] Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Announces the 8th Annual Pebby Award Winners

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) (the "Company") today announced the winners of its Eighth Annual Pebby Awards. The Pebby Award winners were chosen for their outstanding accomplishments in 2019, as determined by the Company. "The industry-renowned Pebby Awards honor outstanding achievements in hotel management," said Jon E. Bortz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pebblebrook Hotel Trust. "A Pebby Award is a recognition of excellence, and with our many talented property teams who push boundaries and achieve exceptional results, alongside our skilled asset managers, the competition was fierce this year among impressive nominees." The categories for the Pebby Awards are Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Production, Best Actor / Actress, Best Live Action Short Film, Best Visual Effects, Best Music (Original Score), Best Cinematography, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature Film, Academy Honorary Achievement Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards. THE WINNERS BEST PICTURE - For best overall performance by a hotel in 2019, based on operating execution and profitability, taking into consideration the strength of the market in which the hotel is located. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS HOTEL CHICAGO DOWNTOWN, AUTOGRAPH COLLECTION, MANAGED BY HEI (News - Alert) HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER MARK DEINHART! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Picture: Argonaut Hotel

Harbor Court Hotel San Francisco

LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club

The Westin Copley Place, Boston BEST DIRECTING - For best overall leadership by a management team in 2019, including revenue management, sales, marketing and comprehensive expense management. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS ARGONAUT HOTEL, MANAGED BY NOBLE HOUSE HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER STEFAN MUHLE! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Directing: Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

Hotel Chicago Downtown, Autograph Collection

Hotel Zelos San Francisco

Hotel Spero San Francisco

The Marker Key West

The Westin Copley Place, Boston BEST PRODUCTION - For best overall hotel profitability flow-through in 2019. The management team at this hotel generated the greatest operating profitability improvement over the prior year. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS W BOSTON, MANAGED BY MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER GURKI SINGH! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Production: Hotel Chicago Downtown, Autograph Collection

Skamania Lodge

Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square

The Marker Key West BEST ACTOR / ACTRESS - For best overall sales and marketing team to support the performance of a hotel. AND THE 2019 WINNERS ARE A TIE BETWEEN REVERE HOTEL BOSTON COMMON, MANAGED BY PYRAMID HOTEL GROUP, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER TIM BRETT AND DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING JULIE BRANDON & THE NINES, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL, PORTLAND, MANAGED BY SAGE HOSPITALITY, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER JEAN-MARC JALBERT AND DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING NANCY CLAYTON! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Actor / Actress: Argonaut Hotel

Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

Paradise Point Resort & Spa

The Sales and Marketing Team for Hotel Zelos San Francisco, Hotel Zeppelin San Francisco and Hotel Zetta (News - Alert) San Francisco

W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM - For best overall revenue management strategies and execution to support the performance of a hotel. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS THE WESTIN COPLEY PLACE, BOSTON, MANAGED BY MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER RAY HAMMER AND DIRECTOR OF REVENUE MANAGEMENT JEREMY RAY! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Live Action Short Film: Argonaut Hotel

Harbor Court Hotel San Francisco

Hotel Spero San Francisco

Hotel Zelos San Francisco

Paradise Point Resort & Spa BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - For best overall performance during a major renovation, following the Company's standard of "relentless pursuit of continuous improvement," maintaining a pleasant and professional demeanor while living through disruption, surprises and great inconveniences. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS SKAMANIA LODGE, MANAGED BY BENCHMARK RESORTS & HOTELS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER KEN DAUGHERTY! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Visual Effects: Embassy Suites San Diego Bay - Downtown

Mondrian Los Angeles

San Diego Mission Bay Resort

The Marker Key West

W Boston



BEST MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE) - For best overall performance following a prior year major renovation as evidenced by an increase in market share and operating cash flow, taking into consideration the strength of the market in which the hotel is located. AND THE 2019 WINNERS ARE A TIE BETWEEN

HOTEL ZELOS SAN FRANCISCO, MANAGED BY VICEROY HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER ASHLEY GOCHNAUER, PARADISE POINT RESORT & SPA, MANAGED BY DAVIDSON HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY MICHAEL STEPHENS & THE WESTIN COPLEY PLACE, BOSTON, MANAGED BY MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER RAY HAMMER! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Music (Original Score): Harbor Court Hotel San Francisco

Hotel Zoe Fisherman's Wharf

The Heathman Hotel BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - For best implementation of energy conservation programs and green initiatives to reduce the hotel's carbon footprint and energy expenses combined with social responsibility and community programs to benefit our communities and external stakeholders. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS HOTEL MONACO WASHINGTON DC, MANAGED BY KIMPTON HOTELS & RESTAURANTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER GREGORY LEINWEBER! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Cinematography: Grafton on Sunset

Hotel Zoe San Francisco

The Roger New York

Union Station Hotel Nashville, Autograph Collection

W Boston BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - For best overall forecasting accuracy of actual operating profitability by an individual hotel. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS LE MERIDIEN DELFINA SANTA MONICA, MANAGED BY VICEROY HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER DEEPAK MEHRA! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Adapted Screenplay: George Hotel

Hotel Spero

Hotel Zetta San Francisco

Southernmost Beach Resort

The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter BEST DOCUMENTARY - For best overall implementation of accounting standards and controls, including success in minimizing credit card chargebacks and overall expense management. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS L'AUBERGE DEL MAR, MANAGED BY NOBLE HOUSE HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER ROBERT GREGSON AND CONTROLLER KEVIN RICKMAN! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Documentary: Harbor Court Hotel San Francisco

Hotel Zelos San Francisco

Hotel Zeppelin San Francisco

Mondrian Los Angeles

Solamar Hotel

The Nines, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - For best overall performing restaurant or bar, not only measured on profitability, but also on fostering creativity, creating an experience and activating the hotel, while supporting the hotel's operations. AND THE 2019 WINNERS ARE A TIE BETWEEN DIRTY HABIT AT HOTEL ZELOS SAN FRANCISCO, MANAGED BY VICEROY HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER ASHLEY GOCHNAUER AND GENERAL MANAGER OF DIRTY HABIT EJ VARELA & URBAN FARMER RESTAURANT AT THE NINES, A LUXURY COLLECTION HOTEL, PORTLAND, MANAGED BY SAGE HOSPITALITY, LED BY GENERAL MANAGER JEAN-MARC JALBERT AND GENERAL MANAGER OF FOOD & BEVERAGE JEFF BROWN! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for Best Animated Feature Film: BALEEN at LaPlaya Beach Resort & Club

Departure Restaurant at The Nines, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Portland

Dirty Habit at Hotel Monaco Washington DC

Skybar at Mondrian Los Angeles

Southernmost Beach Cafe at Southernmost Beach Resort

The Liberty Lobby Bar at The Liberty, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Boston THE ACADEMY HONORARY ACHIEVEMENT AWARD - For most improved TripAdvisor rankings during 2019, as determined by our guests. AND THE 2019 WINNER IS PARADISE POINT RESORT & SPA, MANAGED BY DAVIDSON HOTELS & RESORTS, LED BY MICHAEL STEPHENS! We'd also like to thank our other nominees for The Academy Honorary Achievement Award: Hotel Chicago Downtown, Autograph Collection

Hotel Vintage Portland

Sofitel Philadelphia at Rittenhouse Square

Union Station Hotel Nashville, Autograph Collection

Viceroy Santa Monica Hotel THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS - This award celebrates the hard work and service of our long-time hotel employees throughout our portfolio, as demonstrated by more than 35 years of dedication and excellent service to our hotels and guests. Alice Porlas, Banquet Server, 48 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Felicitas Rodriguez, Room Attendant, 47 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Manuel Castro, Turndown Service Attendant, 46 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Mark Benitez, PBX (News - Alert) Operator, 45 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Austreberto Saucedo, Banquet Server, 44 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Tom Sweeney, Door Attendant, 43 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Hoi Por Wong, In-Room Dining Server, 43 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Maria Rios, Housekeeping Office Coordinator, 42 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Abraham Velarde, Turndown Service Attendant, 42 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Nestor Ningala, Housekeeping Attendant, 41 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Rafael Rodriguez-Saucedo, Banquet Set-Up Attendant, 41 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Janice Gallagher, Finance & Operations Assistant, 40 Years, The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter

Jorge Martinez, Banquet Server, 40 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Rafael Montes, Banquet Server, 40 Years, W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills

Maria L. Rodriguez, Room Attendant, 40 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Alberto Cabrera, IT Manager, 39 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Iram Casas, Restaurant Server, 39 Years, Le Parc Suite Hotel

Miguel Martinez, Banquet Server, 39 Years, W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills

Amanda Montenegro, Room Attendant, 39 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Ana Rodriguez, Housekeeper, 39 Years, W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills

Martha Valencia, Room Inspector, 39 Years, Hotel Zephyr Fisherman's Wharf

Rosa Amezcua, Housekeeper, 38 Years, W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills

Carlos Escobar, Lead Cook, 38 Years, Le Parc Suite Hotel

Manuel Estrada, Banquet Set-Up Attendant, 38 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Pedro Hernandez, Line Cook, 38 Years, Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica

Rosa Navarrete, Room Attendant, 38 Years, Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica

Irene Rodriguez, Room Attendant, 38 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Matilda Solorio, Housekeeper, 38 Years, W Los Angeles - West Beverly Hills

Adriaan Vanderzwan, Bell Attendant, 38 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Jose Coronado, Engineer, 37 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Evelyn Bonilla, Room Attendant, 36 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Nicolas Cervantes, Lobby Attendant, 36 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Marina Pineda, Housekeeping Suite Attendant, 36 Years, Le Parc Suite Hotel

Ramiro Ramirez, Lead Cook, 36 Years, Montrose West Hollywood

Byron Alvarado, Banquet House Attendant, 35 Years, Sir Francis Drake

Anthony Avila, Houseperson, 35 Years, Le Parc Suite Hotel

Maria E. Burgos, Housekeeper, 35 Years, Mondrian Los Angeles

Rodrigo Flores, Banquet Cook, 35 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Cirilo O. Lara, Line Cook, 35 Years, Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica

John Lewis, Engineer, 35 Years, Southernmost Beach Resort

Filogonio Salgado, Banquet Steward, 35 Years, Paradise Point Resort & Spa

Luis Sanchez, Executive Sous Chef, 35 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort

Luis Stenner, Restaurant Server, 35 Years, San Diego Mission Bay Resort About Pebblebrook Hotel Trust Pebblebrook Hotel Trust (NYSE: PEB) is a publicly-traded real estate investment trust ("REIT") and the largest owner of urban and resort lifestyle hotels in the United States. The Company owns 56 hotels, totaling approximately 14,000 guest rooms across 16 urban and resort markets with a focus on the west coast gateway cities. For more information, visit www.pebblebrookhotels.com and follow us at @PebblebrookPEB. For additional information or to receive press releases via email, please visit our website at www.pebblebrookhotels.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005053/en/

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Going against the Northampton County Election Commission, county council on Thursday night voted to allocate $311,140 needed to purchase electronic pollbooks in time for the April 28 primary election.

The ePollbooks have been a contentious topic, following problems with the countys new touchscreen paper-ballot voting machines that marred their debut last November. The election commission a week ago voted to recommend council not approve the purchase of another new piece of technology for the polls.

Election officials were left with little alternative, according to county Executive Lamont McClure. Pollbooks are needed to ensure people are properly registered to vote at their precinct. But under Act 77, the overhaul of state election law adopted last October, complete pollbooks cant be printed in time for the election and the paper version would slow the tally of election results -- possibly for weeks, officials said.

"We have to give this county the tools to have a functioning election," Councilman William McGee said. "They need the tools, whatever the tools are, to have a functioning election. Bottom line."

Thursdays meeting occurred against a backdrop of chaos in Iowa with tallying caucus results in the nations first contest of the 2020 presidential election. The Iowa Democratic Party says an app created to compile and report caucus results malfunctioned due to a coding issue, delaying the count and throwing campaigns into disarray as they tried to move on to New Hampshires primary on Tuesday, The Associated Press reports.

I think one of the things Iowa is demonstrating for us is people dont want to wait for the results, McClure told council members during a committee review Thursday afternoon of the ePollbook purchase.

The ePollbooks the county is purchasing are specialized iPads from Tampa, Florida-based Tenex Software Solutions. All 350 the county is buying will be loaded with the countys entire voter roll on the Friday before the election. That allows the county to comply with the voter registration deadline bumped up under Act 77 from 30 days to 15 days prior to an election. The electronic roll will also indicate who voted under Pennsylvanias expanded mail-in voting, now open to anyone regardless of reason. Mail-in voters need to get their ballots by one week before the election, and can no longer cancel out their mail-in vote by going to their voting precinct as they could in the past.

Trying to draft supplemental lists on paper of late registrants would cost the county an estimated $160,000 a year in labor and overtime costs, county elections Chief Registrar Amy Cozze said Thursday. And that would require finding a new printer connected to the state's voter registration system after the county's previous contractor, Niagara Falls, New York-based NTS, announced Jan. 31 it can't print the books under the revised election law.

The ePollbooks can be delivered in six weeks, putting delivery the week of March 23, Cozze said. Then staff training can begin in addition to a week of paid training for pollworkers. Voters will sign in using their finger or a stylus, once a worker searches their name and confirms they are in the right precinct. On election night, they should speed vote tallies because officials won't have to compare mail-in and precinct votes to ensure people aren't voting twice.

"We can have the results out fairly quickly," Cozze said.

The county is buying more ePollbooks than it needs in case there is a problem with one at a polling location. The county also plans to have a handful of printouts of registered voters that can be delivered to a precinct if all the iPads on-site fail, Cozze said.

Council's vote Thursday night was 7-2, with Councilman John Cusick and Thomas Giovanni opposed. The decision followed public comment that saw more residents against ePollbooks than in support.

Cusick said every election equipment purchase approved by council during his tenure was supported by the election commission -- until ePollbooks.

"I've always felt that I have to pay deference" to the election commission, Cusick said, saying he's hesitant to introduce another new piece of technology at the polls on the heels of the last election. "I want a successful election, but a lot of confidence was eroded last fall."

Councils solicitor, Christopher Spadoni, made it clear its councils authority to allocate money for the ePollbook purchase regardless of the election commissions recommendation. As for the performance of the ExpressVote XL voting machines, the manufacturer, Omaha, Nebraska-based Election Systems & Software, says it has addressed the sensitivity and vote-tally issues of last November.

Election commission members gathered for an advertised meeting following the council meeting Thursday night. Chairwoman Maudeania Hornik said McClure had directed the commission to meet by Friday, so they did. Given councils decision, she said the commissions charge now is to oversee implementation of the new system, under the countys Home Rule Charter.

Both Hornik and Vice Chairman Alan Brau both addressed council Thursday night. Hornik maintained she was blindsided by county Administration Director Charles Dertinger reversing his opposition to ePollbooks. The commission met in December after the county had gotten bids on ePollbooks but the commission wasnt asked to consider their purchase until January.

"I wouldn't call that working together," Hornik said.

Forcing another electronic tool on the polls is putting gasoline on a fire, she said.

Lehigh County has already adopted ePollbooks.

"For six years, Lehigh County has been using the same system to check in voters to avoid long lines on the front end of the process," McClure said. "We have six years of data points from Lehigh County that their system hasn't been hacked ... and the voters of Lehigh County are very, very happy to use this system."

Council members devoted a good chunk of their discussion Thursday to whether the iPads are vulnerable to cyber attacks, and were assured by a Tenex representative taking part in the meeting by telephone that they are secure.

Councilman Thomas Giovanni, an information technology veteran by profession, questioned the absolute assertion they are safe.

"In the IT world, there is nothing that is impossible," he said. "You can turn Bluetooth off. I may be able to turn it on."

The Tenex representative, Lena Santiago, told officials the company offers on-site help on Election Day and the day after, as well as on-call support.

"There's not a day during the implementation when you won't have somebody to go to if you have questions ... or if you feel things aren't going well," she told council and the administration.

Council members raised concerns about the urgency of voting Thursday night.

"I do not want to make a hasty decision, given the last election and the decision that was made on the voting machines," Councilwoman Tara Zrinski said.

"My take is we are extremely under the gun on a timeframe," replied council President Ron Heckman.

Councilman Kerry Myers tried to frame the decision from the perspective that Americans who were black were only given protection of their right to vote in 1965.

Understand something here, said Myers, who is black. Im only talking 60 years ago. Im 66 years old. I can remember my father voting for the first time, and now I sit here as a representative of the people.

Heckman added that an election is never perfect, but voters need to be given the right to exercise their view.

"This is about voting, which is a core county function," Heckman said. "That is what we must do."

Zrinski asked the public to appreciate the pressure placed on counties under Act 77.

This is a huge lift to implement in a time constraint, with money constraints, with labor constraints, she said. I think we are all trying to make the right decision.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Oil prices were on track for a fifth weekly decline early on Friday, weighed down by the loss of demand in China amid the coronavirus outbreak while OPEC and Russia scramble to come up with a unified position on how to contain the price slide.

At 7:07 a.m. EDT on Friday, WTI Crude was down 0.67 percent at $50.61 while Brent Crude traded down 0.44 percent at $54.67. Oil prices were on course for the longest run of weekly declines since November 2018, according to Bloomberg estimates.

This week was yet another week in which the market was focused on the demand destruction the deadly virus is causing with all the travel restrictions and thousands of canceled flights to, from, and within China.

Due to weak fuel demand and depressed industrial activity, Chinese refinersfrom the biggest refiner in Asia, Sinopec, to the independent refiners in Shandongare cutting refinery runs, while commodity trading houses and oil majors are scrambling to find spot buyers for crude oil outside China.

According to estimates from IHS Markit, the virus outbreak is set to knock out at least 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of refinery runs in China in February, compared to an otherwise projected growth of 760,000 bpd. This would be the sharpest single-month decline of 1 MMb/d in history, Xiaonan Feng, Research Analyst at IHS Markit, said this week.

Refineries will likely need to extend their production cut throughout March in order to work off the excessive product inventory, but the magnitude of the reduction will likely come down to 500,000-600,000 b/d on a yearly basis if demand recovers following the resumption of business activities and easing of government restrictions, Feng added. Related: OPEC Aims For 600,000 Bpd Cut, But Russia Remains Reluctant

This slowdown in Chinas industrial activity is causing the worst shock to oil demand in over a decade, Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs, said in an interview on Bloomberg on Thursday.

Faced with this demand shock, the OPEC+ coalition is trying to prevent a glut and salvage oil prices, and is considering additional cuts of 600,000 bpd, but OPECs key ally in the deal, Russia, was as of Thursday still non-committal and has asked for time to analyze the situation on the market. However, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Friday issued verbal support for the idea. The uncertainty whether, when, and how OPEC and its partners could agree on further cuts also weighs on oil prices.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
By Peter Nurse

Investing.com - European stock markets are set to edge lower at the open Friday, pausing for breath after recent gains amid caution in Asia over the growth of the coronavirus outbreak and the associated economic damage.

At 02:10 ET (0710 GMT), the DAX futures contract traded 26 points, or 0.2% lower. France's CAC 40 futures were down 2 points, or 0.1%, while the FTSE 100 futures contract in the U.K. fell 15 points, or 0.2%. Futures on the pan-eurozone Euro Stoxx 50, fell 2 points, or 0.1%.

Earlier Friday, the death toll from the coronavirus in China reached 636, with those affected topping 31,000, prompting the World Health Organization to warn that it was "too early" to declare a peak in the spread of the new disease.

There were also concrete signs of the disruption to the regions economies. China's trade balance fell to a surplus of $39.16 billion in January, from $46.79 billion the previous months, with imports falling 1.5% year on year. Additionally, Singapore's biggest bank DBS on Friday downgraded its forecast for the city-state's 2020 growth rate to 0.9% from 1.4% previously, while Australias central bank said the virus could shave 0.2 percentage points off the country's economic growth in the current quarter.

Asian stocks slipped back as a result, with the Shanghai Composite index in China closing down 1.2%, Japan's Nikkei down 2.3% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong off 2.5%. The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia also dropped 0.4%, while in Singapore the STI fell 1.3%.

By contrast, U.S. stocks gained for a fourth straight session overnight and Wall Street's main indexes hit record highs, while earlier in Europe the broad-based Stoxx 600 index hit an intraday record high. These markets have recovered their poise and posted strong gains of late, underpinned by China's sweeping efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Turning back to Europe, in corporate news, eyes will be on Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) Friday after the Swiss banking giant announced it had accepted Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam's resignation following a spying scandal. He will be replaced by Thomas Gottstein, the head of the bank's Swiss business.

Story continues

German industrial production slumped 3.5% in December, its biggest drop in more than a decade, highlighting the weakness of the manufacturing sector that is dragging on overall growth in Europe's largest economy. Eyes will now turn to the French and Italian equivalent releases later in the session of confirmation of an European trend.

That said, the key data release Friday will be the U.S. Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report, at 08:30 AM ET (1330 GMT), which is expected to show nonfarm payrolls increased by 160,000 jobs in January.

The risk is for a surprise to the upside, as this estimate predates ADP's release on Wednesday, which showed private payrolls increased by 291,000 jobs in January, the most since May 2015.

Elsewhere, the oil market pushed higher Friday, with market players still expecting some form of response from the OPEC-led coalition regarding further cuts in production.

AT 02:10 AM ET (0710 GMT), U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $51.16 and the international benchmark Brent contract rose 0.5% to $55.19.

Related Articles

Japan stocks lower at close of trade; Nikkei 225 down 0.19%

Credit Suisse CEO Thiam quits after spying scandal

Hong Kong Airlines to cut 400 jobs, ask employees to take unpaid leave: SCMP
They went on trips together, to place such as Paris and Upstate New York. Although they lived on opposite coasts during that time, Feldsher would stay at her New York apartment when he was in town, and she stayed at his home when she was in Los Angeles. They have not been in touch for several years.
business 3-Point Analysis | Tata Chemicals Q3 review - what investors should do Moneycontrols Sakshi Batra, does 3-Point Analysis to understand the key earnings fineprint and the outlook on the company.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 03:54:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A UN spokesman said Friday that the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is boosting its response capacity in Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province, following a recent escalation of violence.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that at least 100,000 people are now displaced throughout the province, where at least 28 attacks were carried out by armed groups since the beginning of the year.

UNHCR said the past few weeks have been the most volatile period since violent incidents began in October 2017, Haq added. "So far, hundreds of villages have been burned or are now completely abandoned as armed groups carry out wide and indiscriminate attacks. Government institutions have also been targeted."

According to Haq, in response to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, and at the request of the Mozambican government to all humanitarian agencies, UNHCR is expanding its presence in the province and will be deploying additional aid and staff to meet the need, initially, for 15,000 displaced people and hosts communities.

The agency is appealing for urgent and strong support to scale up its response in Mozambique, Haq said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) started its campaign for the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections on the development agenda. The party later launched a high-pitch campaign around nationalism with Shaheen Bagh at the centre in this election.

Hoping to return to power in Delhi after 21 years, the party ran a hyper-local campaign this time, holding 5,239 rallies, public meetings, corner meetings (nukkad sabhas), party workers meetings and road shows, according to a senior leader.

Under Union home minister Amit Shahs supervision, who micro-managed the campaign, the BJP hit out at protesters at Shaheen Bagh for opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act and those who supported them. The party also attacked Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly supporting Shaheen Bagh protesters with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath stating that Kejriwal was supplying biryani there.

Union minister of state Anurag Thakur and BJPs West Delhi MP Parvesh Verma were banned from campaigning by the election commission for their inflammatory slogans and statements. While referring to protesters at Shaheen Bagh, Thakur had led party supporters to chant the goli maro slogan and Verma had said that the protesters will rape and kill your daughters and sisters.

The BJP deployed 200 MPs and sitting and former chief ministers of BJP-ruled states in the election to canvas for the party. Shah, who has been micromanaging the election, covered nearly 60 out of 70 assembly constituencies. Since January 23, Shah held 2-3 public meetings or roadshows daily where he directly attacked Shaheen Bagh protesters and trained his guns on the AAP and the Congress for supporting them. On the last day of the campaigning, Shah held road shows in three assembly constituencies.

BJP chief JP Nadda has held meetings in all 70 assembly constituencies. He held public meetings as well as meetings with party workers to check the election preparedness at the grasroots level.

Unlike 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi this time held just two public rallies. In 2015, the PM had addressed four back-to-back rallies in Delhi.

With campaigning coming to an end on Thursday, senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh, who is the convener of the election management committee, said that he saw this election as an ideological battle. This election is about development. But with Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal supporting those protesting against CAA, it has become an ideological battle. It is a battle between those who support the PM and those who want Jinnah wali Azadi. It is our commitment to the people of Delhi that we will not let people burn the city, said Chugh.

While nationalism was the main issue, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that his party has been able to damage the ruling AAP with its reality check campaigns. We raised the issue of dirty and poisonous drinking water supplied by the AAP government. We raised the issue of inflated electricity bills, pathetic condition of schools and mohalla clinics. This has hampered the AAPs campaign. We have been successful in exposing the AAP, Tiwari said.
(TNS)  Dozens of Californians packed the Costa Mesa City Council chamber Tuesday night with homemade signs. They hugged. They cried. They beseeched the council to beware of potential health risks of 5G technology  which they fear will likely make its way to Costa Mesa once the council had updated its policies on wireless communication facilities.In October, the council approved a set of changes in design guidelines for wireless technology boxes, and on Tuesday considered more changes to city regulations.After nearly five hours of discussion, about 30 speakers and an impromptu closed session, the council offered some concessions for the concerned community members.But for some members of the Costa Mesa Advocacy Group, a grassroots organization that opposes expansive infrastructure for small cell facilities, the allowances werent enough.Weve spent hours and hours with our expert attorney to improve this ordinance and make it actually make sense. Staff continues to ignore them and act as a gatekeeper preventing any real material change from happening, Costa Mesa Advocacy Group leader Alison Burchette said in an email Wednesday morning. Thus making it so that [the City Council] had to try to bake a dang cake at midnight with a heap of ingredients.Most notably, the council, on a 6-1 vote, changed a requirement in the ordinance to make it so that small wireless communication facilities  which typically take the form of small boxes on street poles  must be 750 feet from other communication facilities of the same company. Some community members had asked to increase the originally proposed 500-foot separation to at least 1,000 feet.The small cells can be 250 feet from facilities of other companies, and even closer in non-residential zones.The council also changed a requirement that the Planning Commission had added two weeks earlier. Under the new ordinance, residents who opt in may receive an email every time a wireless provider applies to install a new small cell box, or any time a provider asks to swap out 4G technology for 5G. Members of the public had called for all applications to be publicly noticed.The council kept some other measures that community members lamented, such as that small cells installed near residential properties must maintain a 25-foot distance. Thats not far enough away for many residents, who complained that close proximity to the sites can be harmful for people with electromagnetic sensitivity.5G is a fifth-generation wireless network that is intended to increase internet speeds and provide more-reliable connections. But many residents in Orange County and throughout the state have expressed concerns with the technology, which activists feel could endanger public health because of the use of higher-frequency radio waves.Several health professionals joined the Costa Mesa Advocacy Group in warning council members of potentially harmful effects of radio waves.Years ago, smoking was the thing to do, said Charlie Fagenholz, a holistic chiropractic physician. Looking back, if you knew then what you knew now, would you vote for or against it? Were in the same boat with [electromagnetic] toxicity.Some residents recounted personal stories of struggling with health issues that they attributed to high exposure to electromagnetic frequencies. Some expressed concern about the potential effects of radio frequencies on children. Others thought small cells are ugly and would ruin Costa Mesas aesthetics. At several points, Mayor Katrina Foley asked members of the crowd to quiet their applause.Tim Brown, a government-affairs manager for Crown Castle, a communications infrastructure provider, said small cells are needed to provide bandwidth and capacity that are not possible with current infrastructure.The reason why these sites are developed is because people want them to work, Brown said. We have to respond to those demands.  The way we do that is by developing the infrastructure we have here.Other representatives of telecommunication companies such as AT&T and Verizon thanked the council for their review and reminded the audience that the Federal Communications Commission has not determined that radio frequency emissions from wireless devices adversely affect human health.The weight of scientific evidence has not effectively linked exposure to radio frequency energy from mobile devices with any known health problems, an FCC statement reads, citing research from the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization.Council members emphasized that they can only make incremental changes to the ordinance because their hands are tied by the federal governments regulations.Many guidelines for the infrastructure of wireless communication facilities are federally mandated, though cities have a little leeway in regulating their aesthetics. Federal law, for instance, prohibits local governments from regulating construction of wireless telecommunication facilities based on perceived health effects.At the end of the nights exchange about wireless communications that stretched past midnight, Councilman Allan Mansoor voted against the proposed changes.I like the direction that were going, but I believe its rushed, Mansoor said. After midnight, our votes arent always the best.  I think we can do better.His comment provoked a tense exchange with other council members who challenged him to suggest concrete ways to improve the ordinance.Staff has done a really good job of trying to get us through all the land mines and be able to try to balance all the interests of protecting the community and addressing the concerns that were made, as well as addressing the concerns of the telecommunications industry, Foley said, and then trying to do something in a space where we really dont have a lot of jurisdiction given to us at all by the federal government.The council will take a second, final vote on the changes at a future meeting.
The bill for the 16-year war in Iraq comes to about $1.92 trillion through the end of 2019, says Neta C. Crawford, a political scientist who helps run the Cost of Wars project at Brown University.

The cost breakdown:

$838 billion for emergency and overseas contingency operation funding in Iraq.

$382 billion in increases related to Iraq in the base budget of the Pentagon (out of a total $800 billion in increases since 9/11).

$59 billion for State Department and USAID efforts in Iraq and Syria.

$199 billion for the care of veterans who served in Iraq.

$444 billion in interest on federal borrowing to pay for the Iraq war effort.

Crawford says that spending in Iraq has fallen off sharply since its peak of roughly $140 billion in 2008, with the Pentagon requesting less than $10 billion in 2020 for Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq and Syria. However, Crawford notes, that budget may already be blown. Earlier this month, the US sent more troops into a war zone that was supposed to be winding down.

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Mumbai, Feb 7 : India's fourth largest private lender, Yes Bank, has been in the eye of the storm over the lack of clarity on its capital raising program, causing massive erosion in market cap and angst among its investors.

If the ex-independent Director Uttam Prakash Agarwal is to be believed, at a January 9 board meeting, as many as three advisors to the bank -- Avendus Capital, IDFC and Ambit Securities-- had reportedly warned Yes Bank's management that it is "premature to raise funds (USD-3 billion) for the next 2-3 months".

In his detailed letter to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), accessed by IANS, Agarwal claimed that the Yes Bank management was cautioned against raising funds as the lender "requires sufficient time for assessment of requirement of funds by the bank, need for the third quarter results, identification of investors, due diligence roadshows..and the bank's continuous vows on account of burgeoning NPAs".

Agarwal further told IANS that he had been on the bank's board for over a year and if he did not comply with the fit and proper criteria on the bank, "why was I made the President of the Audit Committee?" "One of the reasons I quit was that I objected to the appointment of the CFO. He was appointed without my consultation which was against the rules.

"There are no criminal charges against me. Therefore, objection on fit and proper criterion doesn't hold ground," he said.

Repeated attempts to reach Yes Bank did not elicit a response. A detailed questionnaire sent to the bank also remained unanswered.

Agarwal's letter also said: "In order to keep the momentum manipulative and selective information being provided to the stock exchanges and other stakeholders, the bank's Chairman and MD Ravneet Gill, knowing that it is near impossible for the bank to raise such a large capital in a short period of one month, still went ahead with the move." "Gill had stated that the bank would convene an extraordinary general body meeting for an increase in the authorised share capital by additional Rs 10,000 crore and an omnibus approval for raising capital," he alleged in the letter.

Last month, Agarwal tendered his resignation from the office of the Independent Director of Yes Bank and Chairman of Audit Committee and members of all other committees of the board.

However, the bank in a regulatory filing had said that it was "reviewing the 'fit and proper' status of Agarwal and a call was to be made on the very day he resigned".

In January, Yes Bank had rejected Erwin Singh Braich's $1.2 billion investment offer and said it plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore by issuing securities. The bank also said it will take up Citax Holdings, and Citax Investment Group's investment offers in the next board meeting.

The lenders' finances have also come under heavy scrutiny in recent months.

Rating agency ICRA noted that Yes Bank's solvency profile remains weak with net NPA/CET of 36 per cent as on September 30, 2019. A number of rating firms have red flagged the bank's exposure to stressed projects.

Owing to uncertain news flow, Yes Bank, once billed as a favourite of traders, has gained the reputation of being one of the biggest wealth destroyers in the market. Its stock price on Thursday closed at Rs 38.70 per share - plummeting from a high of Rs 285.90 on April 4, 2019.
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By Trend

Azerbaijani First Deputy Defense Minister, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Colonel General Najmeddin Sadikov met with the delegation led by Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), Commander of US European Command, General Tod Wolters in Baku on February 6, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

Welcoming the guest, Sadikov reminded about the meeting held in Baku last July and noted the development of relations between Azerbaijan and NATO during 26 years, the activities of the Azerbaijani Army in various NATO programs and the contribution made by Azerbaijani servicemen to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan.

The chief of the General Staff emphasized that the main goal of Azerbaijan-NATO cooperation carried out in various fields is to eliminate instability, conflicts, and threats in the Euro-Atlantic area, as well as to establish indivisible security system in a worldwide scale.

Touching upon the military-political situation in the region, Sadikov reminded that Armenia occupied 20 percent of the Azerbaijani territory and that the negotiation process remains to be fruitless so far.

Sadikov emphasized that the solution to this issue is to compel Armenia to fulfill the requirements of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council on the basis of the norms and principles of international law.

The chief of the General Staff highly appreciated NATO's position supporting Azerbaijans territorial integrity and sovereignty and expressed confidence that the Alliance will continue its efforts in this issue.

Stressing that Azerbaijan is a reliable partner of Alliance, Wolters highly appreciated the participation of Azerbaijan in the fight against terrorism, the significant contribution in providing airspace for cargo transportation for peacekeeping operations, including the high level of professionalism of Azerbaijani peacekeepers in Afghanistan.

Wolters stressed that the Alliance is in favor of a peaceful solution to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The guest has expressed gratitude to the Azerbaijani leadership for the warm welcome and hospitality, as well as for its assistance in holding the meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in Baku.

During the meeting, the parties also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday took a jibe at the Opposition in his Motion of Thanks for President's Address in the Lok Sabha. During his speech, PM Modi gave a witty reply to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's danda remark followed by slamming the opposition for opposing the newly formed Citizenship Amendment Act. Here are five attacks PM Modi launched at the Opposition leaving them speechless.

'Will become Danda proof'

Addressing the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a befitting response to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "Danda remark."

He said: "I was hearing the remark made by one of the Congress leaders that I will be lathi-charged within few months. I have been "Gaali proof" after hearing so much abuse. Now, I will do Surya Namaskar for six months and toughen myself up to bear the blows. I am humbled that they have announced it beforehand so now I will exercise and make myself fit for it."

READ | PM Modi Reminds Cong Of 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots; Asks, 'Weren't They Minorities?'

'Tukde Gang opposing CAA'

PM Modi lashed out at Opposition parties for talking against Citizenship Amendment Act and supporting anti-CAA protests saying they are the ones who "take photos beside tukde tukde chanters". In a flurry of sharp attacks, PM Modi accused Opposition parties of toeing Pakistan's line to provoke Indian Muslims.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to President Kovind's address, PM Modi said, "Some people say, what was the need to bring CAA so early? Some said this government is discriminatory on the grounds of religion. Some said we are trying to break India; ironically by those who love getting photographed with the group of people who want Tukde Tukde of India."

PM Modi went on to hit the Opposition saying, "Pakistan didn't leave any stone unturned to provoke Indian Muslims. Pakistan played every trick to deceive Indian Muslims." Referring to Congress-led UPA's ouster from power in 2014, PM Modi added, "I am shocked that those who were voted out of power are doing what Pakistan wants."

READ | PM Modi Fires 'Tukde-Tukde' Jibe; Says 'Opposition Doing What Pak Wants' On CAA

'Partition over one man's PM ambition'

PM Modi launched a blistering attack on the Congress stating that if "someone" did not want to become the Prime Minister of the country, then partition would have never happened. PM Modi spoke extensively on the Nehru Liaquat pact asking the Congress why a "secular" like Nehru would agree to a pact of protecting the religious minorities across the border.

PM Modi stated that even Pandit Nehru had realized the atrocities that would be perpetrated on minorities, and the BJP had only furthered his ideology by bringing in the CAA to give citizenship to the religiously persecuted minorities.

"Now that the discussion is open, I want it to go far. Everyone wants to become a Prime Minister, nothing wrong with that. But just because someone wanted to become the PM, the nation was partitioned and a line was etched through the country," said PM Modi.

PM Modi evoked the story of nationalist Bhupendar Kumar Datta who had been a part of Congress and stayed back in Pakistan during partition. He quoted his speech in the Pakistan assembly which read, "This side of Pakistan is concerned, the minorities are practically liquidated. Those who leave are under a total sense of frustration."

READ | Cong Speaks Of Saving Constitution, Forgets Emergency?: PM Modi Hits Back In Parliament

'Congress failed constitution in '75'

Launching a scathing attack at the Congress, PM Modi asked the latter to get a better knowledge of the Constitution. PM Modi reminded Congress of their past activities, highlighting the Emergency of 1975.

"Who brought the Emergency? Who trampled over the Judiciary? Who has brought the most amendments to the Constitution? Who imposed Article 356 the most? Those who did the above, need to get a deeper knowledge of our Constitution, said PM Modi. Further attacking the Congress, PM Modi said that "Congress should say this 'save Constitution' 100 times in a day."

'Congress rewarded 1984 linked Neta'

PM Modi stated that the problem with Congress is that it talks about "big things, make false promises and defers promises for decades." Attacking the Congress, PM Modi said: "I want to ask the Congress who do their politics in the name of minorities, don't they remember the 1984 anti-Sikh riots of Delhi, were those people not minorities?"

He added, "Our Sikh brothers were brutally killed. You did not send those who are accused in the anti-Sikh riots to jails. Not just that, you also made someone who has allegations of instigating anti-Sikh riots, a Chief Minister."

READ | PM Modi's Fiery Response To Rahul Gandhi's 'Danda' Garners Praise From Netizens
If theres one thing a democracy needs to get right, its an election. And, in that respect, Iowa failed Monday night.

Due to an apparent software problem, the nation did not get the results of the Iowa Democratic caucus Monday night, as planned. Nor did they get the results Tuesday morning. It wasnt until Tuesday evening that any results were released  and even then only 60% of the votes had been tallied and a winner had not yet emerged.

There is, of course, another way to look at this weeks events in Iowa. And that has to do with a nation incapable of exercising even the slightest bit of patience when it comes to managing its elections.



The mishap in Iowa precipitated a vicious rumor mill. It prompted some right-wingers to cry foul  speculating, baselessly, that the Democratic Party may have tampered with the results. President Trump offered his point of view, tweeting, When will the Democrats start blaming RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA, instead of their own incompetence for the voting disaster that just happened in the Great State of Iowa?

And, once the rumor mill starts turning, its almost impossible to shut down. A recent study published in the journal Psychological Science underscores the perils of rumor-spreading in the age of social media. In this study, psychologists asked a group of people to evaluate a series of news headlines that they were told were fake. Participants were then asked how likely they would be to share these news stories on social media. The catch was this: some of the headlines were new while others were headlines they had seen earlier in the experiment. The researchers found that participants rated the previously seen headlines as more ethical, and more sharable, than the new headlines. In other words, prior exposure to information acted to legitimize its contents, even when the contents were known to be untrue.

Read the whole story: Forbes
NSW Police has launched an expression of interest for what its chief information and technology officer, Gordon Dunsford, says is one of the big remaining jigsaw pieces in the organisations digital transformation journey.

The law enforcement agency is in the market for enterprise protected-level cloud infrastructure that will host its integrated policing operating system (IPOS).

IPOS is replacing the agencys legacy core operational policing system (COPS), with a announcement on the preferred supplier expected shortly. COPS is currently used to record information relevant to victims, offenders and incidents that require police action. In 2013, NSW Police received $44.8 million to replace the system.

Dunsford told CIO Australia that the new cloud platform will be the New South Wales version of the US Department of Defenses JEDI program.

NSW Police has asked the market to respond to our core cloud platform need. We will run all our core frontline systems and host the replacement for COPS, computer-aided despatch, evidence, case and investigations management through to digital evidence, on what we hope will be a high-end enterprise hybrid cloud capability for NSW Police, said Dunsford.

Since I joined, we are now using  in anger  Salesforce, ServiceNow through to Office 365 as a cloud SaaS/PaaS capabilities, which allow us to respond at speed to events such as the recent bushfires and we are now moving to specific workloads for frontline policing systems. This final piece will arguably make NSW Police one of the most cloud-enabled digital law enforcement organisations around, he said.

The expression of interest (EOI) is an invitation for pre-registration of prospective tenderers, where applicants are initially evaluated against published selection criteria. Pre-selected organisations may then be invited from a panel of providers.

The EOI closes on 26 February.

Just last month, NSW Polices technology team built a prototype connected car for frontline officers that connects the law enforcement agencys internal policing systems to the vehicles CAN bus.

Polices digital technology and innovation (DTI) group worked with fleet services and strategic procurement to access the car manufacturers native computing capabiities.

Dunsford told CIO Australia at the time that the cost of running technology inside the car has been an issue in the past but, more importantly, officers wanted a consumer-like and safer experience in their vehicles.
The Great Aerobatic Circus of China will stop in Torremolinos for a one-off performance at the Auditorium Principe de Asturias on Friday 14 February. The award-winning circus will present Dream Trip, a heart-stopping show of Chinese circus tradition combined with acrobatics.

INFORMATION What. Dream Trip, presented by the Great Aerobatic Circus. When. Friday 14 February, 7pm. Where. Auditorio Principe de Asturias, Torremolinos. Tickets. 27.50 euros, from www.tickentradas.com

More than 30 artists, including a good number of Olympic medallists and several from the Cirque du Soleil, will invite the audience to travel on a magical journey that features mind-blowing tricks, death-defying acts and graceful choreography loaded with colour and excitement.

The protagonist of the show, which the New York Times described as "a delight to the five senses", is a child who enters a fantasy world and falls in love with a phoenix.

China's prestigious Great Aerobatic Circus has amazed audiences around the world with feats and demonstrations of physical strength, balance, and agility as they perform routines of compelling choreography.

Torremolinos is one of 20 performances that will be offered by the circus on its three-month tour of Spain and Portugal.

Tickets for the show, which starts at 7pm, cost 27.50 euros.
SPEAC System We have never had a tool like sEMG that makes it practical to acquire continuous, very long-term, electrophysiological data validated to differentiate seizures*

Brain Sentinel announces it is hosting a Product Theater Showcase session for attendees of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society (ACNS) Annual Meeting in New Orleans. Entitled, Clinical Utility of sEMG Monitoring, the program will cover 4 topic areas:

1. sEMG signatures of GTC seizures

2. Differentiating between sEMG recorded during GTC seizures and other motor events

3. Identification of patients who may benefit from sEMG monitoring

4. Real-world examples of sEMG monitoring

The SPEAC System, which is the only FDA-cleared product using the sEMG biomarker for seizure monitoring, has been in clinical practice long enough for us to begin understanding its impact, said Dr. Luke Whitmire, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Brain Sentinel. Whitmire continued, This session at ACNS will continue the dialogue and discussion that began with the community in December 2019, at an epilepsy conference in Baltimore, MD. The session will show how recorded sEMG signals and quantification of sEMG frequency characteristics uncover patterns that can help physicians characterize events.

ACNS attendees are invited to continue in the discussion. Details of the event are as follows.



Saturday, February 8, 2020

12:45 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.

Conti Room at the The Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel

Speakers:

1. Selim R. Benbadis MD, FAAN, FACNS

Professor of Neurology and Director

Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, The University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida and Tampa General Hospital

2. Ro Elgavish MD, PhD, FAES

Epileptologist

Brain Sentinel Diagnostic Services Medical Director

Ideally as epileptologists, what we want is EEG, audio, video, everything. The problem is I cant do video EEG monitoring for 70 days in a row. It doesnt work, said Dr. Selim Benbadis, Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the University of South Florida. Benbadis continued, If the patient continues to report convulsions after prescribing anti-seizure medications, its important to verify the diagnosis. With the SPEAC System, I can get electrophysiological recordings, frequency decomposition analyses, and possibly audio of the events. Ive had some very interesting and unexpected results that Im excited to share at ACNS.

We have never had a tool like sEMG that makes it practical to acquire continuous, very long-term, electrophysiological data validated to differentiate seizures*, said Dr. Ro Elgavish, Brain Sentinel Diagnostic Services Medical Director. Elgavish continued, Using the SPEAC System, over a 30-day, 60-day, or even 90-day monitoring period, physicians have an objective tool to collect data to correlate with subjective, patient-reported events to confirm, establish, or clarify the seizure management plan.

Physicians use the SPEAC System to quantify and qualify the types of seizure events their patients experience. This type of clarity is important to help provide the best care for patients with seizures, said Chris Fashek, CEO of Brain Sentinel. Fashek continued, There is a data gap between short-term EEG studies and low-tech patient diaries. The SPEAC System is filling that gap for patients every day.

About Brain Sentinel

Brain Sentinel, Inc. is a privately held company based in San Antonio, Texas, pioneering the use of sEMG technology to help improve the lives of people living with epilepsy. Brain Sentinel manufactures robust diagnostic monitoring platforms for seizures. The SPEAC System is the first-in-class, non-EEG, physiological signal-based seizure monitoring system cleared by the FDA. The data collected by the SPEAC System helps physicians quantify and qualify the types of seizure events that their patients experience. For more information visit https://BrainSentinel.com

Footnotes

1. Conradsen I, Wolf P, Sams T, Sorensen HB, Beniczky S. Patterns of muscle activation during generalized tonic and tonic-clonic epileptic seizures. Epilepsia 2011;52:2125-2132.

2. Beniczky S, Conradsen I, Moldovan M, et al. Quantitative analysis of surface electromyography during epileptic and nonepileptic convulsive seizures. Epilepsia 2014;55:1128-1134.
China Aviation Daily | Feb. 07, 2020

Carlos Schattenkirchner is Regional Director of UAS International Trip Support based in Beijing, China. He and his team provide domestic handling services across China, assisting overseas business aviation operators achieve easier access to all categories of business airports in the region.

UAS' Chinese and English-speaking agents are active at the principal business aviation hubs including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Xi'an and Guangzhou, making them a trusted partner for clients requiring ground handling and trip support services. Their English and Chinese speaking personnel are on hand to support a client's stay in China.

Responding to the escalating situation caused by the spread of the Coronavirus UAS imparts the following advice.

At the time of writing, news comes of more cases of the disease in mainland China and exported cases to 25 countries including Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Canada, France and Germany.

Our advice is to be aware of the risk of additional administrative measures taken by the government at any time (this can be airport closures, commuting restrictions within cities, and regular temperature screening).

Are any of the FBOs temporarily closed?

No FBO's in China are closed at the moment. However, changes can happen at very short notice. Entrance screening is being implemented. Passengers from affected areas arriving at these airports with a high temperature may be subject to questioning by local port health authorities, registration for follow up monitoring, and possible quarantine and testing.

What are you advising your passengers to do if they must travel?

Importantly, bring your own protective mask, hand sanitation liquid, and disinfection tissues - as all these items are now sold out in China. Generally too, always wear a face mask when outside and avoid public areas as much as practicable. Follow local laws and advisories and have the emergency contact of your Embassy ready.

Has UAS' travel department been diverting flights bound for Beijing and Shanghai?

Until today all business aviation operations to Beijing and Shanghai are running as normal. No diversions or abnormalities have been observed. However, we respect a large number of international airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa and major US airlines American, Delta and United have temporarily stopped flying to Beijing and Shanghai. The USA (Center for Disease Control and Presentation) has advised citizens against non essential travel to China.

Is it best to delay China trips?

While a general travel ban has not been issued, we advise postponing travel to China as rapid changes in administrative safety measures are imposed. Hotels are suddenly closing / and or no longer accepting guests for health safety concerns. In addition, regular long-haul shuttle bus services from the capital Beijing and Shanghai city have been suspended indefinitely.

Any traveller from any country can be subject to government health checks if any symptoms are shown. Influenza symptoms, common at this time of year, can be misinterpreted and there is always a risk. It is important to stay on alert and well informed before and during the visit to China.

If you must travel, what's your advice?

Be sure to get the right mask to wear, practice good personal hygiene, keep hydrated and well nourished.

What do we know about Wuhan, where Coronavirus originated?

With 11 million residents, Wuhan is the most populous city in central China and the 7th most city populous in China. It's main gateway, Wuhan Tianhe International Airport has 45 airlines flying to 109 non-stop destinations in 20 countries. On average, 30,000 passengers depart the airport every day. Since January 23, flights departing Wuhan have been cancelled owing to the Coronavirus outbreak, and only special mission flights (medical, cargo, diplomatic) are being allowed - with prior co-ordination.

Has UAS been helping passengers / operators with re-routing requests?

UAS China is currently supporting operators with re-routing alternatives to ensure as little disruption to their schedules as possible.

Contributed by UAS International Trip Support
Eleven people on Friday approached the Supreme Court seeking reasonable time to file their nomination for Delhi assembly elections after Delhi High Court dismissed the petition in the matter.

Advocate Viplav Sharma, appearing for 11 aspirants, mentioned the plea before a bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde.

However, the apex court did not pass any directions in the matter.

A division bench of Delhi High Court had on Thursday dismissed the petition saying that it is not maintainable and there is no substance in it. Earlier, a single bench of the High Court had dismissed the petition.

The division bench had suggested that they can move election petition seeking legal remedies after the assembly election gets over as any interference at this stage would tantamount to interference in the progress of the election.

The petition said that the petitioners were illegally, arbitrarily and mala fidely deprived the petitioners and many others to file their nomination by the election officer of New Delhi Assembly Constituency.

The eleven aspirants had moved the Delhi High Court alleging that officials deputed at Jam Nagar Election Office have facilitated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to walk inside the election office out of turn evading the queue while filing his nomination paper from New Delhi Assembly seat.

The petitioners had requested the High Court to issue directions to poll panel to give them reasonable time to file their nomination papers.

The petitioners had also requested the Delhi High Court to hold an enquiry on the mode and manner the candidates were dealt with by the election officer and allowed out of turn entry of Arvind Kejriwal inside the election office.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Uhuru Kenyatta has pleaded with the Ethiopian Airlines to consider halting direct flights to China to help stop a possible spread of the coronavirus that has spread in several other Asian countries, Europe and the United States.

The President said the spread of the virus portends danger to Africa but Kenya in particular because of its weak health management systems.

"Our worry as a country is not that China cannot manage the disease. Our biggest worry is that disease coming into areas with weaker health systems like ours," President Kenyatta said.

RISK

He was addressing an American think-tank specialising in transatlantic alliance, The Atlantic Council in Washington, DC on Wednesday.

The President was reacting to an announcement by the airline that it will continue flying to China, serving its five destinations of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong with the usual demand and supply adjustment despite the risk brought about by the virus.

"We are working together with relevant Chinese and Ethiopian authorities to protect our passengers from the coronavirus," Ethiopian Airlines said in a statement.

KENYA AIRWAYS

Kenya Airways has already suspended its flights to Guangzhou, China over the coronavirus epidemic after consultations with the government through the ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs.

"We have temporarily suspended flights to and from Guangzhou effective January 31 until further notice. We, however, clarify that our service to Bangkok, Thailand, remains operational," the airline said last week.

Both Ethiopia and Kenya are the two countries in Africa that have come nearest to reporting the first case of the virus.

So far four people have been quarantined in Addis Ababa while one case that was reported in Nairobi returned a negative finding after tests were done.

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In his address in Washington, President Kenyatta reminded the Ethiopian authorities that his plea was not about politics and international relations but was borne out of the strong desire to protect the Kenyan people from the risk of infection.

CONTROL

He said his administration has put in place everything to ensure the control of the disease which involves suspending flights to China.

"We are doing everything to keep the virus away. It is has nothing to do with our relationship with any country, it's about protecting our people from the risk of infection," he said.

In his speech, the President drummed up support for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which he describes as a home-grown solution for a divisive political culture whose goals are to pre-empt escalation of no holds barred political competition, strengthen inclusivity and deliver bold reforms.

Asked by former US ambassador to Kenya Mark Bellamy what he thought would be a good political outcome in the BBI, the President demurred, arguing that giving what he thought is good could be counterproductive to the process.

"What I want is a process acceptable to the majority, one that is fair, transparent and inclusive. We shall come together and have a fair process that will ensure that we achieve that," he said.
Kensly Williams, PA-C, joins Jefferson Community Health & Life this month. In her new position she will see patients in the Fairbury Clinic and later in the year in the Plymouth Clinic, and care for patients in the Emergency Room.

I like family medicine because you see everything, Williams said.

She said she has always known she wanted to work in health care. She decided to become a physician assistant because she liked the fact that PAs can spend more time with patients doing education.

As she begins her work as a PA, she is also excited to use her skills in speaking Spanish. It will be a benefit to JCH&L and area residents who speak Spanish that she can care for them in their own language.

She is a graduate of Waverly High School; Morningside College, Sioux City, with a bachelors degree in biology and a minor in Spanish; and the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physician Assistant program. She is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

She said a rotation in Fairbury in 2019 as a part of her PA program education was a factor in deciding JCH&L was a good location to work. She said she could experience that everyone was friendly and helpful to her as a student, and felt the community and staff would be welcoming to a new health care provider.

Williams begins seeing patients at the Fairbury Clinic Feb. 10. She will accept new and established patients. To make an appointment, call 402-729-3361.

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His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday attended a business reception in Rome, organised by the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) in co-operation with large Italian enterprises, on the sidelines of an official visit to the Italian Republic.

During the reception, HRH the Crown Prince underlined the importance of further strengthening the Kingdoms economic competitiveness through the adoption of initiatives aimed at enhancing sustainable diversification efforts, in line with Bahrains Economic Vision 2030.

HRH the Crown Prince noted that promoting the capacity for innovation is key to providing favourable conditions for investment opportunities and economic growth, which are the foundations of the Kingdoms comprehensive development goals, led by HM the King.

HRH the Crown Prince went on to highlight the Kingdoms achievements, praising Team Bahrains continued efforts supporting Bahrains long-term development aimed at delivering a promising future for all Bahraini citizens.

HRH the Crown Prince emphasised the importance of bilateralism as a means to further enhance sustainable development and international cooperation across the economy, adding that strong Bahraini-Italian relations have resulted in the signing of a number of important agreements within the manufacturing, logistics, tourism and commercial sectors.

HRH the Crown Prince went on to praise the EDBs role in attracting foreign direct investments, through the variety of plans and initiatives organised to showcase investment opportunities within Bahrain.

HRH the Crown Prince then witnessed the signing of a number of agreements between Bahraini and Italian enterprises, worth 330 million.

The Minister of Finance and National Economy, Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, took part in an official delegation visit to the Italian Republic, led by HRH the Crown Prince.

During the visit, the minister affirmed that the delegation will seek to broaden Bahraini business relations beyond traditional areas and deepen the engagement of Bahrains private sector with the global market.

The minister welcomed the wide-range of agreements signed between the private sectors of both countries, worth EUR 330 million, noting that economic ties form a key pillar for Bahraini-Italian cooperation, which continues to grow as trade between the two countries reaches new heights.

He took time to highlight the strength of the Kingdoms national economy, noting that ongoing diversification efforts have increased productivity and competitiveness while creating quality opportunities, in line with the principles enshrined in Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030.

The minister concluded by underscoring innovative Bahraini entrepreneurship activities that continue to reshape the economy and accelerate technological advancement.
Solutions featured in the booth include full range of Scala-branded hardware and preview of cloud-based Scala Designer digital signage software

SITTARD, Netherlands, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Scala will debut marketing technology that modernizes physical spaces and increases consumer engagement at "the largest AV and systems integration show in the world," Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2020. Solutions from Scala's full scope of marketing technology including software, hardware and sensor-based insights will be on display, highlighting how physical spaces can be modernized and messaging personalized on any display, to deliver exceptional consumer experiences. Scala, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, can be found in booth E160 in Hall 8 at ISE 2020, being held 11-14 February in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Booth highlights include:

Scala-branded hardware solutions

Media players: Scala media players are featured in the booth, including single-, double- and quad-output players, designed for performance, stability and compatibility while ensuring the reliable, timely delivery of rich media experiences.

High-quality displays: In January 2020, STRATACACHE announced a partnership with BOE Technology Group, the global leader in the semiconductor display industry, to bring Scala-branded high-quality display to market, which "unlock new functionality and capabilities including advanced power management, intelligent retail sensor support and extended lifecycle products for commercial 24x7 always-on use" to market. Learn more about the partnership here .

Preview of cloud-based Scala Designer

Scala will preview a new cloud-based version of Scala Designer, a flexible, web-based composition and design tool that enables users to create beautiful and engaging digital signage experiences. The tool uses established workflow and usability patterns to distribute projects to a Scala Enterprise solution.

Shopper and store operations dashboards

Experts will show how to leverage the power of real-time retail analytics, mobile sensors and artificial intelligence, using STRATACACHE's in-house platforms from Walkbase and X2O Media, to optimize location-based messaging and deliver exceptional experiences. X2O Media will also demonstrate the power of real-time business intelligence on any screen in their own ISE booth G120 in Hall 11. Learn more here .

"Scala offers not only a best-in-class content management software suite, we're expanding our full solution offering by bringing all-in-one intelligent tablets to the marketplace, a direct response to a market need. Customers can combine high-performance computing with a slim design to deliver interactive retail experiences. The tablets deliver commercial-grade reliability for applications such as digital signage, self-service kiosks and interactive guided selling," says Harry Horn, General Manager EMEA at Scala. "Next to that we now are providing an extensive range of Scala-branded digital displays, providing high quality playback with unmatched optical clarity in a variety of sizes. The displays are designed with a slim bezel, commercial-grade durability in any environment and extended lifecycle products for commercial 24x7 always-on use. Our software, hardware, tablets, displays and professional services and support are meeting the continually evolving needs of our global clients from innovative brands, retailers, banks, large corporate communications networks and partners."

To learn more about the Scala booth, including retail store-focused shopping concepts, visit https://www.scala.com/en/events/ise-2020/ .

About Scala

Scala solutions deliver engaging retail experiences by connecting networks of digital signs, kiosks, mobile devices, websites and Internet-connected devices. Scala, a STRATACACHE company, provides the platform for marketers, retailers and innovators to easily create and centrally manage deployment of shopping experiences while retaining the flexibility to rapidly adapt to local business conditions and preferences of customers in the store. With 30 years of experience entertaining, informing and educating audiences, Scala is well-known for its innovation and leveraging best-of-breed technologies, such as mobile and predictive analytics, to create award-winning solutions that are easy-to-use, yet infinitely customizable. With the US headquartered near Philadelphia, PA and EMEA headquartered in the Netherlands, Scala's network of partners and developers located in more than 90 countries drives more than 500,000 screens worldwide. Learn more about Scala's advanced marketing technology solutions at www.scala.com , on Twitter @ScalaInc or on Facebook .

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Its been clear for several years that U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff would love to run for the U.S. Senate. So would California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, best known as a constant irritant for President Trump, and several others.

But Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the chief prosecutor in Trumps impeachment trial, has a big leg up on his competition because of his months in the national limelight managing the effort to oust a president for the first time ever.

If running an impeachment effort should propel Schiff into the Senate, it would be a ironic sign of the massive changes California politics has seen over the last 25 years.

The congressman would likely have run for the Senate two years ago if veteran Sen. Dianne Feinstein, then 84, had opted to retire. His current 28th District covers a swath of Los Angeles County stretching along Highway 134 (the Ventura Freeway) from Burbank through Glendale into Pasadena, with tentacles reaching south into West Hollywood and sections of Los Angeles.

But Feinstein stayed on, easily winning re-election in 2018 because the state Republican Partys bench is so short the GOP could not find a significant candidate to run against her.

Her term ends in 2024, when Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may be in his second term by then, will more likely be running for president than for the Senate. A Democratic victory this year, however, would change that presumption. Newsom, for one possibility, might conceivably be vice president in that case.

But so could Californias junior senator, Kamala Harris. Having dropped her presidential bid before this election year even started, Harris might also be vice president. If she were, it would put her Senate seat up for grabs in 2022, no matter who Newsom might appoint to that spot on a temporary basis.

Temporary U.S. senators from California have not often done well when running on their own to keep the office: Feinstein, for example, first won her slot in 1992, running against the appointed Republican John Seymour.

All this says more about whats befallen the state GOP than it does about the many Democratic possibilities. Among other potential candidates in what could be a crowded field are Becerra, Secretary of State Alex Padilla, Lt. Gov. Elena Kounalakis and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Thomas D. Elias: Will Feinstein serve out her full new term? There may be reasons for her to want to retire. But there is also incentive for Feinstein to serve out her term.

Why no Republicans in this early mix? The states GOP has virtually no corps of qualified aspiring candidates waiting in the wings for seats to open up. Republicans have managed to elect only one top-of-ticket statewide official in the 22 years since ex-Gov. Pete Wilson left office in 1998.

That was ex-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won his office in the recall election that ousted Democrat Gray Davis. He very likely could not have won a normal Republican primary because of his moderate views. GOP voter registration has fallen below 25 percent and the party cant even muster one-third of the seats in either house of the Legislature.

In this mix, Schiff is now the most prominent prospect. Ironically, the former state senator won his seat in Congress  now considered safely Democratic  by ousting former Republican Rep. James Rogan, once a House prosecutor in the impeachment trial of ex-President Bill Clinton. Rogan later became a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

If Schiff should emerge as a senator within the next four years, it would mark the end of a totally unprecedented run of San Francisco-area politicians controlling the top California electoral offices. Newsom and predecessor Jerry Brown have held the governors office the last 10 years, while Feinstein, Harris and retired Sen. Barbara Boxer have controlled the states two Senate seats for 28 years.

Thomas D. Elias: California may soon assume proper presidential role No Californian has had a decent shot at becoming President since Reagan in 1980.This might change in 2020, as several significant Golden State figures are now looking like candidates.

All have strong Bay Area roots, especially Feinstein and Newsom as former San Francisco mayors and Harris as a district attorney.

Its no coincidence that citys ultra-liberal politics have become de rigueur in the state Capitol, while more moderate views common in other parts of California wield little influence.

Schiff could change some of this, but he will first have to sustain the prominence into which impeachment has thrust him.

Thomas D. Elias writes the syndicated California Focus column. He is author of the book, The Burzynski Breakthrough: The Most Promising Cancer Treatment and the Governments Campaign to Squelch It.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 15:35:48|Editor: xuxin

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by Emad Drimly

GAZA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinians have shown great solidarity with China as it has been battling the novel coronavirus.

"The Chinese people are making strenuous efforts to put an end to the coronavirus and prevent its spread outside its borders," Adnan Samara, head of the Ramallah-based Palestinian-Chinese Association, has told Xinhua.

Samara said that China has taken precautionary measures and performed its duty to fight the virus and that no other countries could act in a better way than China has been doing.

Speaking of some countries' defamation against China over the novel coronavirus, Samara said that it would not tarnish China's image in the world, especially in Palestine.

"The Palestinian people are confident that China will defeat this disease in the near future," Samara added.

On social media, the Palestinians praised the Chinese government for its efforts to combat the virus and prevent its spread abroad.

They expressed in their posts and comments their confidence in China's capability to put the situation under control, urging the international community to join hands with China.

China has shown great transparency, undertaken unprecedented measures, shared all the findings about the virus with the world swiftly, their posts and tweets read.

They also said that China has been committed to cooperating with other countries to evacuate their nationals, and has been doing its utmost to protect foreign nations.

Ahmed Nassar, an engineer who had lived in China for nearly four years and left the country a short time ago, said he wants to travel to China as soon as possible "to show solidarity with its great people."

Nassar criticized "the deliberate media intimidation about the repercussions of the epidemic" in China, saying that it only aims to "weaken the Chinese economy."

Meanwhile, the Palestinians voiced their support for a campaign launched by the Palestinian community in China to collect donations. The money will be used to purchase medical masks, medical equipment and protective clothing for doctors in China, especially in Wuhan.

Some Palestinians and Arabs residing in China said that in face of the fatal epidemic, all Chinese people are playing their respective roles in an organized and responsible manner out of a sense of responsibility towards themselves, others and their nation.

Chinese Ambassador to Palestine Guo Wei praised the Palestinian leadership for its support to the Chinese government and people against the coronavirus.

The Chinese ambassador said that no infections have been reported in Palestine so far, noting that China will continue to cooperate with the Palestinian people to prevent the spread of the virus.
Extra charges are to be brought against a Norwegian businessman accused of taking a bin lorry on a nude drink-driving rampage in Dublin.

Rune Skinnarland (55) had been in the city for a business trip before he allegedly got into the lorry and drove it into the door of a shop and an apartment building, causing thousands of euro worth of damage last September 4.

Mr Skinnarland, whose address was given as a hotel in Dublin, had been granted bail after he lodged 2,000.

He was excused from attending his third hearing at Dublin District Court yesterday when the case was listed for the directions of the DPP.

Mr Skinnarland was charged with unauthorised use of a truck belonging to a waste company, drink driving in it and causing criminal damage to the vehicle's passenger door, back bumper and front passenger sidelight.

He was also charged with three other offences of criminal damage; to the front gate at the entrance of an apartment building's lobby, the wooden frame of the front door of a Dealz shop and a steel path bollard.

Shocked

The offences are all alleged to have happened at Liffey Street Lower.

One charge of criminal damage to a shopfront was dropped but two fresh charges are to be brought when the case continues in three months.

Judge Bryan Smyth remanded Mr Skinnarland on continuing bail in his absence to appear again on May 5.

Earlier, the court heard gardai arrested the accused and brought him to Store Street Garda Station.

His reply to one of the charges was "I'm shocked" and he made no reply to the rest.

Mr Skinnarland told the court through his barrister that he had no memory of the events and thought his drink might have been spiked.

He said he went back to his hotel and "next thing he wakes up naked on the street".
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Linkedin Alok Sharma (The Jakarta Post) London  Fri, February 7, 2020 09:19 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206315305 3 Opinion FGM-in-Indonesia,female-genital-mutilation,circumcision,girls,childrens-right,sexual-health,reproductive-health-in-Indonesia Free

Feb. 6 is International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). While we mark the progress we have made to end this global human rights abuse, it is clear a huge challenge remains.

Female genital mutilation is a violation of girls bodies and of their human rights. It causes serious harm, putting their lives at risk, and can leave them with lifelong physical and mental traumas. Over 200 million women worldwide have already undergone FGM.

A girl at risk of being cut is also more at risk of child marriage, of dying during pregnancy, contracting HIV or dropping out of school. If they are not in school, girls cannot decide their own future. So ending FGM is key to fulfilling the prime ministers commitment to give every girl worldwide 12 years of quality education, and ultimately, ending gender inequality.

Change is happening. Todays generation of girls is a third less likely to be cut than the generation before. But progress is at a critical juncture. Every seven seconds, a girl somewhere in the world still suffers FGM. There are over 100,000 women in the United Kingdom living with the consequences of it.

Thankfully, increasing numbers of courageous African women are standing up against the practice in the UK and abroad.

I have met some of these women. Like Christine who, at the age of just 14 spoke out against the practice in her village in Kenya. She was shunned by other pupils at her school because she was not cut.

But, courageously, she refused to stay silent  Christine is now teaching young girls and families in her community about its dangers. And she has saved more than 80 girls from FGM.

Then there is Sarian, who was cut, and who works with women in South East London and in Sierra Leone to end the practice in both countries.

Supporting brave women like Christine and Sarian, working in the UK and Africa, will end this extreme manifestation of gender inequality.

UK aid is the largest single donor supporting the end of FGM globally, helping 10,000 communities across Africa abandon FGM and supporting millions of affected women and girls. The UK government has committed to help break the cycle of FGM and work towards the United Nations Global Goal of ending it by 2030.

With UK support, six African nations have been able to create a domestic budget for tackling FGM and three have introduced new laws to criminalize it. President Kenyatta of Kenya recently pledged to end FGM in his country by 2022.

But changing the law alone is not enough. In Burkina Faso, for example, FGM is already illegal  but girls are still being cut. The challenge lies not just in implementing the law, but in changing understanding of FGM.

And in some countries, FGM is increasingly carried out by medical professionals. This perpetuates the false belief that it is safe despite some girls dying as a result.

From today, UK aid will support the UN and the World Health Organization to work with countries to take on this challenge.

Our funding will help African nations tackle the issues we have faced here in the UK. Working with doctors, nurses and midwives, training the judiciary and police to enforce the law, stopping cross-border FGM where girls are taken to other countries to be cut if the practice is illegal in their own, and educating people about its true harm.

In the UK  we have introduced civil protection orders, mandatory reporting of girls at risk and a new offense of failing to protect them from FGM. New NHS-backed community-based clinics are also supporting women who have undergone FGM, offering medical and counselling support. This is all working to break the cycle of FGM for good.

We cannot end FGM in the UK without tackling it globally. Supporting brave activists like Christine and Sarian will save lives and this grassroots focus will be a key part of our approach.

No matter where she lives, no girl should ever have to fear she will be subjected to FGM. We have ten years to reach that goal. Doing so will take not just action from women like Sarian and Christine  but all of us across the world.

_________

United Kingdom's International Development Secretary

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
The woman who started South Korea's #MeToo movement on Friday slammed the nation's highest court for quashing her abuser's conviction last month, saying the ruling effectively silenced whistleblowers and victims of sexual violence. Seo Ji-hyun said she was groped by her superior Ahn Tae-geun at a funeral in 2010, and that he had her transferred from Seoul to a provincial position after she filed an internal complaint, blighting her career as a prosecutor. She suffered in silence for years until she went public in a 2018 television interview, a rare move in a still conservative society where female victims of sexual assault are often reluctant to come forward for fear of shaming. It triggered a flood of similar accusations against powerful men in fields ranging from art and literature to politics and religion that grew into a South Korean #MeToo movement. Some top male South Korean figures including former presidential contender Ahn Hee-jung and once-celebrated theatre director Lee Yoon-taek have since been jailed. But Seo's abuser, Ahn Tae-geun, walked free last month after his conviction for abuse of power was quashed by the country's top court, which ordered a retrial. Ahn's release "practically paves the way for any companies or organisations to demote or fire internal whistle blowers as they please," Seo told reporters in Seoul on Friday. It could be used to "discourage any potential... victims of workplace sexual assaults from coming forward and speaking truth", she said. Seo, who has been on leave since 2018, is to join the justice ministry this year. "I'm still afraid of retaliation, because my abuser used to be the most powerful figure within the prosecution and those who follow him still remain" influential in the organisation, she said. Ahn -- who was separately fired for corruption in 2017 -- could not be charged with sex abuse because the one-year statute of limitations had expired. Originally he had been jailed for two years for abuse of power in January last year, a verdict an appellate court upheld in July. But the supreme court said it was difficult to conclude one of Ahn's actions -- asking a prosecutor to write a document related to Seo's transfer to a provincial post -- was a form of power abuse. Some have called Seo a "gold digger" after she went public with her accusation, she said, adding prosecutors who tried to silence her had been promoted to higher posts. But she had had the support of "many people to sow the seeds of change", she said. "South Korean women will never go back to the past."
The Zimbabwean government is expected to fork out ZW$80 million (US$4,5 million) for funding members of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) set to visit various nations in an attempt to spruce up the countrys image amid calls by the United States to tighten targeted sanctions imposed on some ruling Zanu PF officials, allegedly perpetrating human rights abuses.

According to the privately-owned newspaper, POLAD members Thokozani Khupe, Willard Mugadza, Kwanele Hlabangana, Aplonia Munzverengwi and Khaliphani Phugeni are expected to visit Washington, London, Brussels, Pretoria, Paris, London and other cities next month.

Presidential spokesperson, George Charamba, told the newspaper that the cost of the trip is nothing compared to the impact of the targeted sanctions imposed on top Zanu PF officials.

Charamba is quoted as saying, "Now you say ZW$80 million  How much is that compared with the cost of sanctions? They are chasing a programme to have the sanctions removed. And remember they are going to be paying in United States dollars where they are going, they need to pay for accommodation, food, travel. It is a mission, and they are actually pulling a pillar policy of the Second Republic. It is part of their commitment on areas they wanted to look at, including the legislative reforms, policy reforms, uniting the nation and economic recovery. It is part of a solution to a common challenge."

Observers say the country should have used the money in sourcing fuel and food in the southern African nation devastated by a crippling drought. POLAD is an entity formed by President Mnangagwa soon after he won the contested 2018 presidential election.

Reacting to the POLAD foreign trips, the MDC led by Nelson Chamisa said in a statement, As Zimbabwes economy sinks to plumbing depths, with the countrys hospitals and clinics without basics such as gloves, bandages and painkillers, fringe political leaders under the POLAD banner will spend millions of scarce foreign currency visiting global capitals on a purported international re-engagement drive.

It is unfathomable that POLAD comedians could spend US$4,5 million in scarce forex on useless trips to Brussels, Washington, London and Paris while innocent Zimbabweans are dying at home. That money would have been put to better use if it had been used to procure basics for the countrys major referral hospitals or importing food for the starving millions.

The MDC further attacked Mnangagwas POLAD, saying it is heartless.

These POLAD actors are real actors in the literal sense of the word. An African proverb asserts that a man should not chase rats when his house is burning. And spending scarce foreign currency on trips to foreign capitals while the nation starves is akin to doing precisely that. Zimbabwe is on a precipice. There is starvation in the countryside. Civil servants and our uniformed forces are suffering. Villagers, students and urbanites can barely survive while these fringe political actors burn scarce money on ill-advised trips.

This heartlessness is all the more reason why President Chamisa said he will not join this POLAD charade. In the middle of this suffering, we cannot have politicians spending scarce money on foreign travels that bring no dividend to despondent Zimbabweans.

The Zimbabwean government last year hired private companies at a cost of over US$2,3 million to campaign for the removal of the targeted sanctions imposed by the West following claims of election rigging and human rights abuses by the ruling party and government.

The United States Senate Foreign Relations committee recently urged Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to press for the updating of the list of people under targeted sanctions saying the political situation in Zimbabwe has not changed following the removal of the late president Robert Mugabe from office in 2017.

In a statement, the committee said, "While the United States has been the top provider of humanitarian and development aid to meet the needs of Zimbabwe's people, the government of Zimbabwe has implemented a misinformation campaign blaming the country's woes on targeted sanctions programmes implemented by the United States.

"It is important that the United States communicate to the people of Zimbabwe that our sanctions programmes are aimed at deterring human rights abuses, public corruption, the undermining of democratic processes or institutions, and political repression in Zimbabwe. They are not aimed at the Zimbabwean people.

"Given the developments in Zimbabwe over the last two years, we urge you to consider enhancing the tools at your disposal, including the use of targeted sanctions, to incentivise changes in behaviour by the Government of Zimbabwe ... An update to the list of the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons list should incorporate a balance of new designations with appropriate removals."
If the species that facilitated the jump from bats to humans is really a pangolin, that could complicate the search for its origins, said Benjamin Neuman, a virologist at Texas A&M University at Texarkana who is also in the Coronavirus Study Group. If the illegal animal trade was at the root of this outbreak, it is going to be really difficult to trace, and I suspect most of the evidence is gone already  destroyed or spread out across the black market, he said. People arent going to want to talk, because of the consequences.
Seattle, Washington--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - CFN Media (OTCQB: CNFN), the leading agency and financial media network dedicated to the North American cannabis industry announces publication of an article discussing The Supreme Cannabis Company's (TSX: FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) approach on premium cultivation at scale, growth with a higher purpose.

Supreme Cannabis recently completed (as of December 21, 2019) all major construction of its 7ACRES cultivation facility. The project that started in May 2017 was actually a rebuild of a former tomato greenhouse in Kincardine, Ontario. The final product was a state-of-the-art, 440,000 square foot facility that produces premium cannabis for the company's 7ACRES brand. Supreme Cannabis takes a small batch, hands-on approach to growing its premium strains, while benefiting from economies of scale made possible by centralized production and automation where applicable. Take a look as we give you an inside peek at 7ACRES.





Aerial view of 7ACRES

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Cultivation

The largest portion of the facility, about 250,000 sf., is dedicated to cultivation. That space is divided up into 25 10,000 sqft. rooms, each of which houses a particular strain through maturation to harvest. By growing in many, relatively smaller rooms Supreme is able to maximize the growth and production of each strain in its own ideal environment. The company is also able to smooth production levels by staggering the start times in each room, ensuring a consistent flow of supply to the processing and packaging divisions.

Each cultivation room is controlled by automated systems that monitor and adjust air circulation, humidity, lighting, and CO2 levels. Artificial lighting is supplemented by natural light from the glass ceilings featured in the facility's hybrid greenhouse design. Supreme Cannabis' staff supplement the automation by regularly tending to each plant and to achieve a uniform crop that produces a consistent high quality product.

When the plants complete their growing cycle, 7ACRES harvests an entire room of plants in one day. The full plants are hung in drying rooms for two weeks, and each 1,500 sqft. drying room can accommodate a full harvest from a 10,000 sqft. cultivation room. 7ACRES believes this drying process is essential to preserving the delicate balance of terpenes and cannabinoids, resulting in a truly premium end product.





7ACRES Drying Room

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Processing and Packaging

When it comes time to trim and process the dried cannabis plants, Supreme enlists the help of a machine called the T-Zero trimmer. All dried plants are run through the T-Zero for initial trimming. Each bud is then hand-inspected and hand-finished by staff before the packaging process starts. The T-Zero has increased the efficiency of 7ACRES trimming operations by about 400%.

7ACRES T-Zero Trimmer

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The packaging process also benefits from recent automation. Since November 2019, Supreme has installed two high-speed bottling lines, each capable of packaging about 12,000 containers of finished product per day. The systems ensure quality bud selection and automated fill levels, contributing further to the company's commitment to consistent quality throughout its operations. Once packaged, each bottle is stamped, labeled, packaged for shipping, and stored in 7ACRES' 10,000 sqft. secure storage area as it awaits shipping.

The Big Picture

Completion of the 7ACRES facility is a crucial step for Supreme Cannabis. The company is utilizing the facility's comprehensive features as it pivots from a wholesale model to a retail-oriented, brand-driven, consumer packaged goods operation. With distribution agreements in place with outlets in every province of Canada, the company is now able to offer its premium 7ACRES strains to consumers across the country.

The flagship 7ACRES facility demonstrates the company's ability to anticipate market demand years in advance. Supreme Cannabis did not choose to build a facility with the most cultivation space; it chose to build a facility with the best cultivation space. This long-term investment in meaningful cannabis infrastructure comes to completion at a time when many licensed producers have built-out millions of square feet of cultivation space that is not capable of producing the high-quality product that consumers are looking for. Supreme Cannabis' 7ACRES facility is producing the premium high-quality flower consumers are looking for. When combined with the company's other brands and divisions, ranging from cannabis-derived medicinal products to plant genetics to in-house extraction, Supreme Cannabis has all the necessary assets in place to drive growth going forward.

Click here to receive a Supreme Cannabis Investor Deck and Corporate Updates

Supreme Cannabis trades as FIRE on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: FIRE), SPRWF on the OTC Exchange in the United States (OTCQX: SPRWF) and 53S1 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FRA: 53S1). Follow Supreme on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

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Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) (OTCQX: IVPAF) deeply regrets to report that a contractor's employee passed away yesterday due to fat embolism syndrome causing severe brain damage following a broken bone incurred in a workplace accident on January 21, 2020 at the Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fat embolism syndrome is a rare, but life-threatening complication of long bone fractures. The accident resulting in the broken bone involved a contractor-operated underground utility vehicle at the Kakula Mine.

Tony Giardini, Ivanhoe's President, said, "We are all deeply saddened by the unfortunate loss of life and our thoughts are with the family, friends and coworkers of the deceased at this time. Safety for everyone at our projects remains our highest priority and we will redouble our efforts to ensure that these types of accidents never happen again."

The Kamoa-Kakula Copper Project is a joint venture between Ivanhoe Mines (39.6%), Zijin Mining Group (39.6%), Crystal River Global Limited (0.8%) and the DRC government (20%).

Information contacts

Investors: Bill Trenaman +1.604.331.9834 / Media: Matthew Keevil +1.604. 558.1034

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52237
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Linkedin Madison Bogisch (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 11:26 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631cbd9 1 Art & Culture Leonardo-da-Vinci,Mona-Lisa,painting,technology,reproduction,Italian-Cultural-Institute-Jakarta,Italy,artist,exhibition,art-exhibition Free

Being able to see just one of Leonardo da Vincis masterpieces is merely a dream for most. However, the Leonardo Opera Omnia exhibition is set to provide Indonesian art enthusiasts with an experience almost as good as the real thing.

On display at the Bank Mandiri Museum in Central Jakarta until March 3, the exhibition features 17 high-definition and true-to-scale digital reproductions of da Vincis pieces, including the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper. Indonesia is one of 15 countries able to see the exhibition, which is said to combine art and science as scientific analysis was used to identify whether the paintings belonged to da Vinci.

Presented by the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute of Jakarta, the exhibition is being held after last years 70-year celebration of diplomatic relations between Indonesia and Italy. In a press conference at Bank Mandiri Museum on Wednesday, Italian Ambassador to Indonesia Vittorio Sandalli said, Now we are experiencing a real encouraging phase of diplomatic relations between Italy and Indonesia in many sectors.

In addition to strengthening diplomatic relations between the two countries, artwork restorer Michaela Anselmini said in an interview with The Jakarta Post that the exhibition was highly educational and important for those who could not travel.

[The] point is to give [viewers] the experience of people who are lucky enough to travel to Europe to see Leonardo da Vincis work. Otherwise, its difficult to see all of [the artwork] together like this, said Michaela.

The exhibition features a digital reproduction of da Vincis unfinished San Girolamo penitente  more famously known as St. Jerome. Michaela believes the over 500-year-old piece holds an important lesson.

Read also: Jakarta exhibition to showcase Leonardo da Vinci's celebrated works

Sometimes in Indonesia people think if something is damaged or old, [then] throw it away, she said. She expressed hope that the preservation and restoration efforts of the piece could inspire audiences to do the same, both in art and daily life.

Leonardo Opera Omnia is the result of five years of work by the Rai Com Project. Project architect Matteo Ive said that how Leonardo Opera Omnia incorporated LED lights and digital imagery was unlike any other project he had worked on.

A digital reproduction of 'The Virgin and Child with Saint Anne' by Leonardo da Vinci at the Leonardo Opera Omnia exhibition at Bank Mandiri Museum in Central Jakarta on Feb. 5. (JP/Madison Bogisch)

Its totally different, I wouldve never thought to do something like this with the reproduction, Matteo said.

For the purpose of the exhibition, each of the original 17 paintings were photographed prior to digital recreation. This includes the Last Supper, which can only be seen by 1,000 people per day in Santa Maria delle Grazie Church in Milan, and the Mona Lisa, which Matteo admitted to removing from behind the bullet proof glass it so famously sits in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

All the paintings here are really important and you have to pay a lot of attention, Matteo said.

Attention to detail is evident throughout the exhibition, as the reproduced works closely emulate their real counterparts and carefully positioned lighting creates a sense of awe. (wng)

__________

Madison Bogisch traveled to Indonesia under a program with ACICIS Study Indonesia.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  It looks like some students will get to sleep late today as snow continues to fall across Northeast Ohio.

The region remains under a winter weather advisory until 4 a.m. Saturday. Up to 2 inches of snow was possible overnight, and the National Weather Service is predicting another 2 to 4 inches could fall today in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties. About 1 to 3 inches is expected in Summit, Portage, Lorain, Medina, Stark and Trumbull counties.

While the Ohio Department of Transportation reports it has more than 400 plows on the areas roads, the poor weather conditions have led several school districts to cancel or delay classes today. However, most of the cancellations are in areas south or east of Cuyahoga County, with several districts in Ashtabula County closing for the day. Parma City Schools and Canton Local Schools have canceled classes.

A list of some of the school closings and delays is available below. The complete list is at WKYC Channel 3.

Alliance City Schools

Archbishop Hoban High School

Ashtabula Area City Schools

Ashtabula County Tech Campus

Bellevue City Schools (two-hour delay)

Brooklyn City Schools

Brown Local Schools

Buckeye Joint Vocational School District

Buckeye Local Ashtabula

Canton Harbor High School

Canton Local Schools

Carrollton Exempted Village Schools

Chippewa Local Schools (two-hour delay)

Clear Fork Valley Local Schools

Conneaut Area City Schools

Constellation Schools Parma Community Elementary, Middle School and High School

Constellation Schools-Pearl Road Elementary

Constellation School Westpark Community Elementary and Middle School

Coventry Local Schools

Cuyahoga Falls City Schools

Dover City Schools

East Holmes Local Schools

Fairless Local Schools

Field Local Schools

Garaway Local Schools

Geneva Local Schools

Grand Valley Local Schools

Hillsdale Local Schools

Indian Valley Local Schools

Jefferson Area Local Schools

Kent City Schools

Keystone Local Schools

Louisville City Schools

Luther Memorial School (illness)

Lutheran West High School

Madison Local Schools (Richland County) (two-hour delay)

Margaretta Local Schools (two-hour delay)

Mater Dei Academy (illness)

Metro Catholic Parish Elementary

Minerva Local Schools

Monroeville Local Schools (one-hour delay)

New London Local Schools (two-hour delay)

New Philadelphia City Schools

Nordonia Hills City Schools

Northwest Local Schools

Northwestern Local Schools (two-hour delay)

Norwalk City Schools (two-hour delay)

Ontario Local Schools (two-hour delay)

Our Lady Mount Carmel Cleveland (illness)

Ravenna Schools

Rittman Exempted Village Schools (two-hour delay)

Padua Franciscan High School

Parma City Schools

Perry Local Schools (Stark County)

Pymatuning Valley Local Schools

Sandy Valley Local Schools

St. Helen School (Geauga County)

St. Ignatius of Antioch

St. John School Ashtabula

St. Mary Akron

Southeast Local Schools (Portage County)

Stow-Munroe Falls City Schools

Streetsboro City Schools

Tallmadge City Schools

Triway Local Schools

Tuscarawas Valley Schools

Tuslaw Local Schools

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School

Walsh Jesuit High School

Willard City Schools (two-hour delay)
It's one thing to understand the impact Sridevi had as a screen icon, since she had arguably established herself as the top actress in three of India's major film industries  Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi  but to capture it on paper is a different ballgame. In Satyarth Nayaks Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess, the actor's all-round brilliance is meticulously encapsulated, bringing forth episodes from her life that reveal a great deal about the person she was.

An aura of invincibility, along with a sense that there was little the screen diva couldnt achieve followed Sridevi right from the initial stages of her career, which turned into not just her greatest strength, but also her biggest undoing, making every one of her accomplishments seem insignificant.

In the early 1990s, a period when blockbusters such as Himmatwala, Nagina, Karma, Mr India, and Chaalbaaz had ensured that Sridevi dominated Hindi cinema unlike any other female superstar had ever done before, the screen legend was not satisfied with her career in Hindi films. However, its one thing to understand Sridevis impact as a screen icon, who had arguably established herself as the top actress in three of India's major film industries  Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi  but to capture it on paper is a different ballgame. In this, Satyarth Nayaks Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess does an excellent job in portraying the late actors all-round brilliance.

In addition to decoding many of her great on-screen performances, Nayak navigates his way behind the scenes in exhaustive detail, to try and understand what made Sridevi tick. Starting at the age of four, Sridevi rose to prominence as a child artiste in Tamil and Malayalam cinema, before transforming into a powerful leading lady at the young age of 12 in Anuragalu (1975). Popular child artistes seldom manage to make a successful transition into adult roles. However, if Sridevi faced any difficulties, they were hardly noticed ever since she featured in K Balachanders seminal Moondru Mudichu (1976). The film not only witnessed her in a significant role, but it also happened to star two of South India's biggest up and coming male stars, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

Based on a story by K Viswanath, Moondru Mudichu offered all three actors author-backed parts to display their acting chops, and also managed to give them a platform that would help them develop their individual acting styles. For Sridevi, the role of Selvi  who begins with being the object of desire for Prasath (Rajinikanth) and Balaji (Kamal Haasan), and later goes on to marry Prasaths father, in order to use her new mother-son relationship to exact revenge on Prasath's treatment of Balaji  gave her enough scope to display her talent that would ultimately lay to rest the memories of her stint as a child artiste.

Nayak delves deep into Sridevis early Tamil and Hindi filmography, and does a comprehensive analysis of the actors performances, in terms of nuances and interpretation. He rarely misses a moment across films such as Kuttavum Shikshayum (1976), Alinganam (1976), Oonjal (1977), Sathyavaan Savithri (1977), Gayatri (1977), Kavikuyil (1977), 16 Vayathinile (1977), the iconic Meendum Kokila (1981), for which she won her first Filmfare Best Actress award, and the classic Moondram Pirai (1982), which was later remade in Hindi as Salma (1983). His interviews with important co-stars such as Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Jeetendra, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, as well as filmmakers, writers and other colleagues who contributed to her career, such as Javed Akhtar, K Viswanath, K Bhagyaraj, Ram Gopal Varma, Bharathiraja, Subhash Ghai, Shekhar Kapur, Neeta Lulla, Rakesh Shrestha, Gauri Shinde, among others, also offers a rare insight into the making of the actor.

Unlike an earlier biography that came out a few months ago, Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess also offers a deeper look at the impact Sridevi had on the world beyond the arc lights, and the larger segments of society as well. The actor was subjected to body-shaming and rampant sexism, but her on-screen avatars instilled a sense of confidence among her audience, which Nayak covers comprehensively in the book.

While talking about someone like Sridevi and her career, there needs to be a more significant discussion surrounding the way she and many other child artistes, such as Neetu Singh, were pushed into growing up much before their time. Nayak describes an incident, where at the age of 11, Sridevi was visited by cinematographer Balu Mahendra and director KS Rami Reddy, and was made to wear a saree for some kind of screen test. The next day, everyone congratulated Sridevis mother, saying that her daughter had been confirmed to play the leading lady in Reddys new film.

Much like Sridevis impact on Indian cinema, her off-screen journey too  which to some might appear as sheer exploitation  is incomparable, and one wished that Nayak further explored this aspect and the influence it might have had on the actor. Although at times the reader might find the tone overtly adulatory, even a tad uncritical, in the end, Sridevi: The Eternal Screen Goddess comes very close to being that one work of literature one might seek out to decode the late superstar.
Delhi Exit Poll Results 2020 LIVE Updates: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was quoted by India Today as saying that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get a 'majority government', after most exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent party in Delhi. 'Confident of a majority government,' he said.

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As the campaign in Delhi comes to end, Delhi residents are eagerly awaiting the final outcome to the long-drawn acrimonious electoral battle. However, the results for thelection will not be out until 11 February (Tuesday) when Election Commission appointed officials will count the votes in a tightly guarded exercise, across all the 70 Assembly constituencies. However, in the meantime, exit poll surveys do provide a rough idea of the voting trend before the final results are out.

Till 6 pm, the voter turnout was recorded at 54.67 percent. No more people will be allowed inside poll stations now and only those who are still standing in queues will be allowed to cast their votes after 6 pm. Exit polls will be out shortly.

AAP, Congress and BJP are locked in a tri-party battle and the pre-election debate has been so acrimonious that an alliance at this point seems unlikely. Therefore any one of the three party will have to win at least 36 seats to form a government in the 70-member House.

The first numbers have started coming in as the clock struck 6.30. India Today-My Axis India has divided the polls district wise and they have predicted that West Delhi has predominantly voted for the Aam Aadmi Party. The pollster says that the AAP will win 9 of the 10 seats, while the BJP may win 1. The Congress, according to the pollster is unlikely to open its account.

Times NowIPSOS Opinion Poll indicates that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a clear edge in Delhi, with Arvind Kejriwal set to become chief minister again. The pollster said that the AAP will have a comfortable majority with 44 seats  a considerable hit from its cleansweep in 2015 but nonetheless a majority. The BJP is expected to win on 26 seats, while the Congres, like last time, will fail to win even a single seat.

India Today-My Axis India just put out the second set of numbers. The pollster has predicted that at least 7 to 9 seats out of the 10 in this district segment will be bagged by AAP, while the BJP could get 1 to 3 seats. Congress once again is expected to score a zero.

NDTV's poll of polls has predicted that Aam Aadmi Party will win at least 50 seats in Delhi, while the BJP will get around 19 seats. The survey says it is likely that the Congress may win at one seat. In last elections, Congress had drawn zero, while the BJP was restricted to 3 seats despite a Modi wave in Lok Sabha polls of 2014. The AAP had made a cleansweep by winning 67 out of 70 seats.

Here is an overall pictures of what the exit poll data predicts so far. All pollsters have unanimously claimed that AAP will have a comfortable majority despite a polarising campaign by the BJP. However, the saffron party will improve its tally from the last time, when it was restricted to just 3 seats.

If India Today-My Axis India polls are a reliable projection of voter behaviour, then BJP is likely to face a crushing defeat in its own bastion, which is currently represented by party's Delhi unit cheif Manoj Tiwari. The pollster said that AAP will get 7 to 9 seats out of the 10 in this segment. BJP will get only 1 to 3 seats. Congress once again is likely to get a zero.

However, Pradeep Gupta, chairman of My Axis India, waived aside this concern and claimed that these last minute votes could swing results when the margin between the winner and runner up is narrow. In these polls, however, he said that the BJP was nowhere close to AAP for these last few votes to matter.

Meanwhile, since most media partners of established pollsters start tabling numbers at 6 pm sharp, when the polling ends, the surveys only takes into account the opinions pf people who voted before 4 pm. They take the remaining two hours to process and combine those numbers. However, when the last minute surge is so huge, it is difficult to account for which way these voters will go.

The Delhi voter turnout exhibited an unnatural pattern this time. According to the Election Commission data, till 4 pm, only 42.29 percent votes had been polled. However, in the last two hours, the voting picked up considerably and the provisional data now states that 57.03 percent voted in these polls.

ABP C-voter survey also projected similar numbers. It claimed that AAP will win 7 to 9 seats while BJP may get 1 to 3 seats. Congress may land one seat.

According to India Today-My Axis India Polls, AAP is projected to win 9-10 seats in Chandni Chowk region, and the BJP is predicted to get only 0-1 seat. The Congress is nowehere to be seen, as per the surveys.

BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari has dismissed all exit poll predictions, which have unanimously shown a poor performance for the BJP. He claimed that his party will form the next government with 48 seats.

Meanwhile, here is the overall picture of the Delhi Assembly Election 2020. All pollster have unanimously predicted a cleansweep for AAP, while an absolute wipeout for Congress. The BJP's tally is varying between 2 to 23.

AAP leader Atishi, reacting to the "sweep" predicted for the incumbent party in the Delhi Assembly election by the exit polls on Saturday evening, said that voters recognised that it's the state government's responsibility to provide the electorate with education, healthcare, and infrastructure facilities.

He was quoted by ANI as saying , "Certain exit polls are showing that BJP will win 26 seats, but let me tell you that all these exit polls will fail on 11 Feb. BJP will be forming govt in Delhi with over 48 seats."

BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari expressed confidence that the saffron party will win 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly even as exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party after polls closed on Saturday evening.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to get 56 percent vote share in the Delhi Assembly polls, the India Today Axis My India exit poll predicted on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, the exit poll said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to receive 35 percent vote share and the Congress is likely to lag behind at 5 percent.

Bhardwaj said , "The exit poll has two meanings. One, it is exit poll for the Delhi election and the other is that it is an exit poll for Manoj Tiwari. He will soon get an exit as Delhi BJP Chief and he knows this very well."

As several exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj slammed BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari for saying that the BJP will form the government in the Union Territory regardless of the result predictions.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was quoted by India Today as saying that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get a "majority government", after most exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent party in Delhi. "Confident of a majority government," he said.

Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra, reacting to the exit polls that predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday, said , "All exit polls are going to fail. BJP will not get even 20 seats and Arvind Kejriwal is not going to form govt in Delhi. I'm hoping Congress is going to do much better than what exit polls are showing. Let us wait till results are out."

Contrary to what every exit poll is predicting, BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh had a completely different prediction, claiming 50 seats for the BJP and 16 seats for the AAP.

Meanwhile, here is the overall picture of the Delhi Assembly Election 2020. All pollster have unanimously predicted a cleansweep for AAP, while an absolute wipeout for Congress. The BJP's tally is varying between 2 to 23.

AAP leader Atishi, reacting to the "sweep" predicted for the incumbent party in the Delhi Assembly election by the exit polls on Saturday evening, said that voters recognised that it's the state government's responsibility to provide the electorate with education, healthcare, and infrastructure facilities.

He was quoted by ANI as saying , "Certain exit polls are showing that BJP will win 26 seats, but let me tell you that all these exit polls will fail on 11 Feb. BJP will be forming govt in Delhi with over 48 seats."

BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari expressed confidence that the saffron party will win 48 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly even as exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party after polls closed on Saturday evening.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to get 56 percent vote share in the Delhi Assembly polls, the India Today Axis My India exit poll predicted on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, the exit poll said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to receive 35 percent vote share and the Congress is likely to lag behind at 5 percent.

Most exit polls have predicted a seat share in the range from 55 to 68 for the AAP in the 70-member Assembly.

Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal is holding a meeting at his residence on the security of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), ANI reported. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Prashant Kishor, Sanjay Singh and Gopal Rai are present in the meeting, which is underway after most exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent party after polls closed on Saturday evening.

Bhardwaj said , "The exit poll has two meanings. One, it is exit poll for the Delhi election and the other is that it is an exit poll for Manoj Tiwari. He will soon get an exit as Delhi BJP Chief and he knows this very well."

As several exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj slammed BJP Delhi chief Manoj Tiwari for saying that the BJP will form the government in the Union Territory regardless of the result predictions.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was quoted by India Today as saying that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get a "majority government", after most exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent party in Delhi. "Confident of a majority government," he said.

Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra, reacting to the exit polls that predicted a sweep for the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday, said , "All exit polls are going to fail. BJP will not get even 20 seats and Arvind Kejriwal is not going to form govt in Delhi. I'm hoping Congress is going to do much better than what exit polls are showing. Let us wait till results are out."

Delhi Assembly Election 2020 Exit Poll Results LATEST Updates: Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was quoted by India Today as saying that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will get a "majority government", after most exit polls predicted a sweep for the incumbent party in Delhi. "Confident of a majority government," he said.

The incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is likely to get 56 percent vote share in the Delhi Assembly polls, the India Today Axis My India exit poll predicted on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, the exit poll said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to receive 35 percent vote share and the Congress is likely to lag behind at 5 percent.

Here is the overall picture of the Delhi Assembly Election 2020. All pollster have unanimously predicted a cleansweep for AAP, while an absolute wipeout for Congress. The BJP's tally is varying between 2 to 23.

Times NowIPSOS Opinion Poll indicates that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a clear edge in Delhi, with Arvind Kejriwal set to become chief minister again. The pollster said that the AAP will have a comfortable majority with 44 seats.

The first numbers have started coming in as the clock struck 6.30. India Today-My Axis India has divided the polls district wise and they have predicted that West Delhi has predominantly voted for the Aam Aadmi Party. The pollster says that the AAP will win 9 of the 10 seats, while the BJP may win 1. The Congress, according to the pollster is unlikely to open its account.

As the campaign in Delhi comes to end, Delhi residents are eagerly awaiting the final outcome to the long-drawn acrimonious electoral battle. However, the results for the 8 February election will not be out until 11 February (Tuesday) when Election Commission appointed officials will count the votes in a tightly guarded exercise, across all the 70 Assembly constituencies. However, in the meantime, exit poll surveys do provide a rough idea of the voting trend before the final results are out.

Exit polls to 70 Assembly constituencies in the National Capital will be announced on Saturday (8 February) after 6.30 pm. This is because the Election Commission mandates all media houses and pollsters to hold back the survey data and their extrapolations until such time that the last vote has been cast. This is done to ensure that the predicted trends do not influence voter behaviour in any way. Many pollsters, including Chanakya, IPSOS and Republic TV-Jan Ki Baat polls, are expected to publish the Delhi Assembly Election 2020 exit poll as soon as the voting ends.

The Election Commission had issued a notification restricting media to conduct or publish any exit poll during Assembly elections in Delhi on 8 February. The ban will be on polling day between 8 am to 6.30 pm, the commission said.

In a detailed statement, the Election Commission said: "Election Commission of India, in exercise of the powers under sub-section (1) of Section 126 of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 has notified the period between 8 am and 6.30 pm on 8 February 2020 (Saturday) as the period during which conducting any exit poll and publishing or publicizing the result of exit poll by means of the print or electronic media or in any other manner shall be prohibited in the ongoing General Election to the Legislative Assembly of NCT of Delhi, 2020."

Further, under Section 126(1)(b) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, displaying any election matter including results of any opinion poll or any other poll survey, in any electronic media, would be prohibited during the period of 48 hours, the EC said.

Delhi, or the National Capital Territory (NCT) of India, is a large metropolitan area in India. Delhi is the fifth most populous city in the world and the largest city in India area-wise. Delhi has an estimated 2016 population of 18.6 million.

The NCT and its urban area are granted the special status of National Capital Region, and this NCR includes neighbouring cities of Baghpat, Alwar, Sonepat, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Greater Noida, Noida, and nearby towns. The NCR has an estimated population of 24 million, exceeding the Delhi population of 17.8 million in 2014.

Delhi has a rapidly growing population, which was nearly 16.7 million in 2011.
The photographic studio where Paul Brown lured women for sex through a fake modelling website Photo credit: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire

The photographic studio where Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, lured women for sex through a fake modelling website. Photo credit: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire

Paul Brown was jailed for 21 years after he set up a fake modelling website to lure women to his studio for sex Photo credit: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire

A photographer who set up a fake modelling website to lure women to his studio for sex has been jailed for 21 years, police said.

Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, was convicted of 15 counts of rape relating to six women and six counts of voyeurism relating to five others at Exeter Crown Court.

Devon and Cornwall Police described Brown, 41, of Okehampton, as "one of the most prolific sex offenders" in the force's history.

Brown used the fake website to "honey-trap" women, who he then referred back to himself as potential models for pornographic casting shoots, often involving him as a participant, police said.

Expand Close Undated handout photo issued by Devon and Cornwall Police of the photographic studio where Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, lured women for sex through a fake modelling website. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday February 7, 2020. Brown, 41, was jailed for 21 years at Exeter Crown Court after being convicted of 15 counts of rape relating to six women and six counts of voyeurism relating to five others. See PA story COURTS Photographer. Photo credit should read: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Undated handout photo issued by Devon and Cornwall Police of the photographic studio where Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, lured women for sex through a fake modelling website. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday February 7, 2020. Brown, 41, was jailed for 21 years at Exeter Crown Court after being convicted of 15 counts of rape relating to six women and six counts of voyeurism relating to five others. See PA story COURTS Photographer. Photo credit should read: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

He required them to sign a non-disclosure agreement and kept records of his sexual activity in a little black book and a photo album.

The women were promised that footage would be sent to the modelling agency to be considered but this was not the case, police said.

Officers initially arrested Brown in October 2017 following a complaint and identified further women, leading to him being charged with counts of rape, sexual assault and voyeurism in January 2019.

He was convicted and sentenced following a six-week trial at Exeter Crown Court.

Detective Inspector Praveen Naidoo said: "Paul Brown was one of the most prolific sex offenders in the history of Devon and Cornwall Police.

"He raped and sexually assaulted women over a period of five years. He created a web of deceit to coerce women, many of whom were vulnerable, into allowing him to sexually assault and rape them.

Expand Close Undated handout photo issued by Devon and Cornwall Police of the photographic studio where Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, lured women for sex through a fake modelling website. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday February 7, 2020. Brown, 41, was jailed for 21 years at Exeter Crown Court after being convicted of 15 counts of rape relating to six women and six counts of voyeurism relating to five others. See PA story COURTS Photographer. Photo credit should read: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Undated handout photo issued by Devon and Cornwall Police of the photographic studio where Paul Brown, also known as Paul D Smart, lured women for sex through a fake modelling website. PA Photo. Issue date: Friday February 7, 2020. Brown, 41, was jailed for 21 years at Exeter Crown Court after being convicted of 15 counts of rape relating to six women and six counts of voyeurism relating to five others. See PA story COURTS Photographer. Photo credit should read: Devon and Cornwall Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

"It wasn't until one brave young woman came forward that police were able to unravel the web that he had created."

Police said Brown rented a unit in Okehampton where he worked as a photographer, though it is not believed he had any formal training or qualifications and his main line of work was in IT.

He set up Model South West as an agency that promoted models across a range of genres, from clothed and lingerie to adult and pornographic shots.

The vast majority of victims applied to Model South West and were referred to Brown for a photoshoot.

Detective Sergeant Emma Lefort, the deputy senior investigating officer, said: "This was a particularly unusual case and one which helps to dispel some of the myths that surround the subject of rape and other sexual offences."

Police thanked victims for their courage and bravery in speaking out.
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cresval Capital Corp. (Cresval or the Company) (CRV: TSX-V) announces the resignation of Mr. Peter K. Jensen from its Board of Directors, effective immediately.



Cresval wishes to thank Mr. Jensen for his contributions in guiding the Company and its management, said Cresval President and CEO Lee Ann Wolfin.

About Cresval:

Cresval is a junior copper and precious metals exploration company actively involved in three 100% owned projects situated near the productive Bralorne Gold camp in southwestern British Columbia.

For more information please visit www.cresval.com .

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lee Ann Wolfin

Lee Ann Wolfin

President and Chief Executive Officer

Forward looking statements: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release contains statements that are forwardlooking statements and are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in the Company's periodic filings with Canadian securities regulators. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof based on information currently available. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forwardlooking statement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Lee Ann Wolfin, President

Telephone: (604) 682-3701

Email: info@cresval.com
Evans, the councils longest-serving member until his resignation, has been a sure bet to represent Ward 2 every election cycle since his 1991 election. But his once reliable supporters have retreated over the past two years as he faced allegations that he used his public office to generate business for his consulting firm, including some clients who came before the council.
Australia's biggest potato is officially up for sale with the price at the checkout setting back buyers almost a $1million.

The concrete spud has served as a local tourist attraction in the town of Robertson, south of Sydney, since it was built by local potato grower Jim Mauger in 1977.

It is being sold with the 2000 square-metres of land on which it sits at 80 Hoddle Street for $920,000.

Australia's biggest potato is officially up for sale with the price at the checkout setting back buyers $920,000

The Big Potato stretches ten metres in length and four metres in height but has deteriorated in recent years.

Real estate agent Steve Myers told Daily Mail Australia the giant spud isn't very visually appealing and the will likely be removed by the new owners.

'The appeal certainly isn't the Big Potato I can assure you, it's a development site,' he said.

The land is zoned as both a commercial and a residential area giving the new owners a range of options for building.

Mr Myers said while the potato is loved by many visitors every year he doubts it will be missed for long.

'There would be a little bit of disappointment from the community but I dont think it will be too big of an issue,' he said.

The giant vegetable has served as a local tourist attraction in the town of Robertson, south of Sydney, since it was built by local potato grower Jim Mauger in 1977

'I wouldn't say you wake up in the morning and go "okay kids lets go see the big potato" very often.'

Mr Myers said there have been several inquiries into the property with some developers suggesting the local icon could be moved across the road or into another council.

Heather and Neil Tait purchased the property in 2014 with plans to expand their supermarket based next door but nothing came to light.

Their business, Robertson Supermarket, is also currently up for sale.

The couple previously put the potato and their supermarket up for sale in 2017 when they retired but were unable to sell the property at the time.
Portland police made their pitch Thursday to maintain their Gun Violence Reduction Team in the next budget, saying its needed to zero in on the serial trigger-pullers responsible for shootings across the city.

If there wasnt a specialized unit that was focused on responding to all of these shootings, we know the amount of shootings and injuries and deaths would increase in the city of Portland, Assistant Chief Andy Shearer told City Council members at a work session.

Last year, police received reports on 426 shootings, with 110 people hit by bullets. Of those wounded, 88 survived and 22 died, not including five people killed by police.

This year, as of Monday, police have received reports of 61 shootings, compared to 36 at this time last year. These include shots fired, assaults, accidental shootings, suicides and evidence of gunfire with no damage or injuries.

So far this year, theres been a reported shooting every 13 hours, and a person hit by gunfire about every two days, Shearer said.

As of Feb. 3, 2020, there have been 61 reported shootings in Portland and these are the locations, according to the Portland Police Bureau.

While police supervisors said theyre not seeking additional money for the specialized police team, Shearer urged the city to boost funding for outreach workers and social services to support victims of shootings and young people at-risk of getting pulled into violence.

The other people who are at risk, who have not committed a crime yet, should be diverted to wraparound services, he said.

The Police Bureaus requested budget for fiscal 2020-2021 starting July 1 includes $6 million for the team in an overall budget request of $248 million. The total represents a 3 percent increase from the current budget, according to bureau reports.

In October 2018, the bureau revamped its Gang Enforcement Team and started the Gun Violence Reduction Team, which is sent to every shooting call in the city. Four officers on the team also are trained to analyze bullet shell casings recovered from scenes, entering their images into a national database.

Its modeled after an Oakland police practice of working to identify people or groups at highest risk of being involved in a shooting, coordinating with outreach workers to offer them help and arresting those who are committing the shootings.

The citys Office of Youth Violence Prevention now provides about $800,000 a year in grants to outside agencies for support and outreach services. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Oregon also is looking for additional funding for such community-based services through the multi-agency Project Safe Neighborhoods program.

Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty said she still wants to see demographic data about the people stopped by the Gun Violence Reduction Teams five sergeants, 21 officers and 10 detectives.

She questioned why the bureau has a unit dedicated to about 100 people who are shot in a city of nearly 600,000 people.

Shearer responded that the shootings are no longer concentrated in one part of the city but occurring on both sides of the Willamette River and spread out geographically in every section of the city, affecting hundreds of people a year.

An innocent woman was shot last weekend in the drive-through of a Taco Bell in the Lloyd District in Northeast Portland and bullets have penetrated homes that arent intended targets, he said.

The trauma doesnt just affect those wounded but their friends and families, Shearer said. If police arent able to intervene and identify a shooter immediately, the violence often leads to retaliatory shootings, he said.

In one case alone  the 2013 gang-related killing of 30-year-old Durieul Joseph Harris outside the Fontaine Bleau nightclub on Northeast Broadway -- police have identified 114 shootings, including homicides, that sprang from resulting bad blood between feuding gangs over the original shooting, police said.

Shearer referred to distinct groups involved in many of the citys shootings, avoiding use of the word gang before the council members.

Hardesty asked him to unpack that so we know exactly who were talking about.

Shearer said the average age of a person affected by a homicide in Portland, either the victim or suspect, is 35. The average age of a victim or a suspect involved in a shooting that results in an injury but not death is 31.

While blacks make up about 6 percent of the citys population, 51 percent of shootings that cause an injury involve black men as either the victim or suspect, he said.

The vast majority of those affected by shootings have had prior arrests, according to police.

There is no group more directly and disproportionately impacted by gun violence in Portland than African American men, Shearer told commissioners.

This shows the location of shootings in the city in 2019. That year, police received reports on 426 shootings, with 110 people hit by bullets. Of those wounded, 88 survived and 22 died, not including five people killed by police.

Part of the problem, Hardesty said, is the lack of resources and support for men getting out of prison after serving mandatory minimum sentences. They often cant find jobs or housing, she said.

Hardesty said its not enough that two outreach workers respond to the citys trauma hospital to talk to victims of shootings and their families as part of a program called Healing Hurt People.

The city is paying $185,000 to the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform to conduct a cost study of violence in Portland.

In an email to the City Council, David Muhammad, the institutes executive director, voiced support for the citys Gun Violence Reduction Team and wrote that the enormous disparity in rates of gun violence victimization for black males in Portland is alarming,

Although Portlands gun violence rate is low compared to other big cities, far too many, mostly young black men, are being killed on the citys streets, he wrote. Despite understandable concerns that specialized police units can produce over policing in communities of color, well organized and focused law enforcement efforts can actually result in less emphasis on enforcement of low-level offenses and better focus on protecting human life.

Multnomah County District Attorney Rod Underhill and Oregons U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams also wrote to the council in support of the Police Bureaus specialized team that responds to shootings in the city. While theres been a recent spike in shootings, Underhill and Williams wrote that they believe the number of shooters is small and the Gun Violence Reduction Teams experience and knowledge of those involved is necessary to try to interrupt the violence.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

Visit subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters to get Oregonian/OregonLive journalism delivered to your email inbox.

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E-voting experiment may continue throughout 2020  draft law

 RAPSI

11:41 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  A bill extending a e-voting experiment for a year has reached the State Duma, according to a statement of the lower house of parliament.

The legislative initiative is aimed to create additional conditions for the realization of an active right to vote for people locating outside their electoral district on a voting date.

In May 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill envisaging test remote voting via electronic communications during the elections to the Moscow parliament into law. The Moscow City Duma election were held on September 8.

Under the law, the test voting is to be conducted in one or several city districts. The remote voting would require changes and development of public control over the elections, Alexander Brod, a member of the Presidential Council of Human Rights, said earlier.

Previously, the Central Election Commission (CEC) proposed to ease the procedure governing the elections of municipal lawmakers. As noted by Maxim Grigoryev, a member of the Civic Chamber, the measure will enable small political parties and those outside the Parliament to take a more active stand in the political life in Russia. CEC, Grigoriev pointed out, has also plans to improve the procedures on the participation of observers in the elections.
Californias Sex Ed: Parents Want to Decide Whats Age Appropriate

In California, various stakeholders have been vying to decide what exactly age appropriate means in the states guidelines for sex education. Currently, local school districts interpret what is suitable for a given age group.

I am the expert on my kids, said Denise Pursche of Clayton City, California, who believes parents should decide what is age appropriate.

She has fought for legislation that would give parents easier access to sex education curricula and mandate that parents opt in for their children to be taught that curriculum.

That legislation, SB 673, introduced by Republican state Sen. Mike Morrell, failed on Jan. 15. But, Pursche said, Im not done. Its not over, and I am not finished.

Trying to Get Information as a Parent

It started in 2017, when Pursche spent several weeks emailing back and forth with her childrens school trying to obtain information about their new sex ed curriculum.

I have spent more than 4,000 hours of my own time, she said.

It was a difficult process, and she said it should be easier for parents, especially given the controversies that have abounded in California since the 2016 sex ed changes.

Thats when AB 329 went into effect. Its described as a comprehensive sexual health education and HIV prevention education plan, and it has changed the suggested materials and approaches.

Part of that law reads, A school district may provide comprehensive sexual health education or HIV prevention education consisting of age appropriate instruction earlier than grade 7.

Summer Reeves, a spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, told The Epoch Times that the office decides what is age appropriate with the help of a comprehensive sexual educator network.

One of the partners in that network is the organization Planned Parenthood, which has created some of Californias most controversial sex ed curricula.

Pursche gave an example of material she and her husband considered to be age inappropriate for their 10-year-old twins in 2017.

The recommended reference materials on a list sent home with fifth graders included a book titled Its Perfectly Normal. The book contains nude illustrations of adults having sex, teens masturbating, and a man putting on a condom.

Doctors, psychologists, and educators have vetted the age-appropriateness and accuracy of this controversial yet popular book, according to its authors.

But Pursche didnt feel it was age appropriate. She has a masters degree in psychology and is a mother of three childrenher twins are now 12 and her eldest daughter is 17.

Even though the book itself wasnt presented to the children, Pursche felt that giving children the title of the book would pique their curiosity and encourage them to look it up.

On the California Department of Education (CDE) website, a book titled Sex, Puberty, and All That Stuff is listed as one of the reference books for fourth through sixth grades. CDEs Health Education Frame Work suggests that teachers can start by reading to students carefully selected excerpts from this book.

It is a comic-style book with pictures teaching about masturbation, foreplay, and orgasms.

If I were a sexually perverted person, and distributed images like the ones in this book to children on a playground, I would appropriately be arrested, said Tim Thompson, a pastor in Murrieta, California. He is also the founder of Our Watch, an organization that promotes parental rights.

Teaching about sexuality is not the job of the public school system, Thompson said via email. It is a responsibility that lies solely upon the parent or legal guardian of the child.

A file photo of elementary school students in Pacoima, Calif., on Feb. 8, 2019. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

In May 2019, the CDE removed several controversial books from its recommendations, but this one remains.

The Epoch Times visited several elementary schools in northern California and found they were teaching basic reproductive anatomy, and the sexual education below seventh grade wasnt graphic or detailed. However, the schools reported they will be revising their curriculum this year.

Opt-Out Options

Currently, parents can opt their children out of sex education for all grades. However, the CDE states that the opt-out provision  does not apply to instruction or materials outside the context of comprehensive sexual health education, including those that may reference gender, gender identity, sexual orientation.

The department states that school districts must notify parents 14 days before sex education classes to give them time to opt out.

After many months of advocating for sex-education restrictions in her local school district, Pursche decided to become a citizen legislator and draft a bill to give parents more power. That bill became SB 673 and Sen. Morrell agreed to introduce it.

At a rally in March 2019 at the California Capitol, Morrell commented on the influence Californias sex ed rules could have across the nation. It is said, as California goes, so goes the nation, Morrell said.

Ladies and gentlemen, California is the battleground for the soul of the United States of America.

On Jan. 15, SB 673 was voted down 52 along party lines by the Senate Education Committee, which has five Democratic senators and two Republicans.

Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan said parents should trust the work done by professionals to form the curriculum.

Tami Martin, a legislative manager from the nonprofit Equality California, said at the hearing that the opt-in standard of SB 673 would deny many students including those low income, homeless, or foster care [children] the public education that they deserve.

The idea is that the parents or guardians of these children would be less likely to respond to an opt-in request from schools.

Language barriers have also been an issue in the discussions around both opt-out and opt-in issues.

Proponents of the curriculum worry that some parents may not understand or respond to school requests to opt in. On the other hand, Pursche and opponents of the curriculum worry that those same parents may not be aware of the opt-out option.

Brenda Lebsack, an Orange Unified School District Trustee and a teacher in the Santa Ana Unified School District, told The Epoch Times in November 2019 that she requested a Spanish version of the sex education framework for elementary students. She wanted to give Spanish-speaking parents access to it.

The CDE denied her request, she said. The department didnt reply to The Epoch Times on the matter.

Lebsack said there were no versions available in Korean, Chinese, or Vietnamese either.

California has a very large immigrant minority population, and these parents care about their childrens education just as much as English-speaking parents, Lebsack said. Their voices should not be muted, especially when teaching children about unprecedented subjects that have never been in public classrooms concerning gender and sexuality.

Pursches twins are in seventh grade now. The schools seventh-grade curriculum includes a demonstration of putting on condoms. Pursche asked her husband if he thought that was age appropriate and he said: No. They are not even thinking of sex yet.

About 4 percent of children under the age of 13 are sexually active, according to the 2016 report on Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance published by the Centers for Disease Control. Pursche said, It is completely ridiculous to use the idea that some [small percentage] of children are having sex, then we have to tell every child everything.

Pursche continues to opt her children out of sex education. Though SB 673 failed, she hopes her continued efforts will alert other parents and make it easier for busy parents to understand the sex education their children are receiving and decide whether to consent to it.
TORONTO - A rash of cannabis company layoffs and executive departures in recent weeks is likely to continue as the industry faces a rocky year, according to observers.

They are anticipating the coming months will bring more dramatic staffing cuts and changes to leadership at small and large cannabis companies alike as they grapple with the recent roll out of edibles, a history of overspending and a lack of profitability.

The predictions come in the wake of Aurora Cannabis Inc.s announcement Thursday that it would be slashing 500 staff jobs, taking nearly $800 million in goodwill writedowns and seeing the departure of Terry Booth, the Edmonton-based companys chief executive officer. Auroras news was preceded by Tilray Inc. saying it would lay off 10 per cent of its workforce in a bid to cut costs and Sundial Growers axing some of its workforce.

Even smaller cannabis companies have been hit with hard times. Zenabis Global Inc. cut about 40 staff, mostly in head office roles in Vancouver, in early January. TerrAscend Corp., Sundial Growers Inc. and the Supreme Cannabis Company have also experienced leadership departures.

Everything is so tumultuous, said Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a University of Toronto associate professor of sociology, who follows the cannabis industry. I expect companies to completely go under. I dont think it will just be a matter of layoffs. In the next year and even five years, I think smaller companies will go bankrupt or they might be bought by the larger companies.

The industrys troubles have not caught him by surprise. He has long expected them because he says the birth of any newly-regulated industry comes with a lot of unknowns.

Licensed cannabis producers, he says, are still figuring exactly what the size of the retail market is, how regulatory systems will work and how the international and national weed scene will look as it evolves.

Part of what we saw here is that there was so much hype around this industry, said Owusu-Bempah. The companies themselves wanted to hype up the size of the industry and the size of the revenues to attract investors, which led to outsized and perhaps unjustified growth.

Lisa Campbell, the chief executive officer of cannabis sales and marketing company Mercari Agency, said a lot of companies spent too much of their time overvaluing their companies and engaging in a war to be the biggest brand.

A lot of money was burned through and there wasnt so much focus on quality or execution because the focus was on who could send out more press releases and acquire the most companies, she said.

We all kind of saw the writing on the wall and that many companies were running out of money. It makes sense that a shakeup was inevitable. It was just a question of when.

She has noticed industry morale is low, especially because of the departures of so many leaders that shepherded companies through the early days of legalization and shaped the industry into its current form.

The recent turmoil should be turning political heads, added Omar Khan, the national cannabis sector lead at Hill+Knowlton Strategies.

Governments need to take note of the recent job losses within the industry and cannot ignore that well paying jobs are being lost, he said in an email to The Canadian Press.

The cannabis industry has almost single handedly saved several Canadian small towns that were suffering from years of decline due to the loss of manufacturing jobs.

He said the government should start appointing people to co-ordinate long-term economic strategies for the industry and to look for ways to monetize export potential, attract clinical trials, deal with research and development investment and reduce overall regulatory burden, so that the legal cannabis industry can better compete with the illicit market.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ACB, TSX:TLRY, TSX:ZENA)
- Wirecard's fully digital mobile payment platform for use by China's EasyTransfer - EasyTransfer is popular with digital-native Chinese students around the world - There are over 1,800,000 Chinese students studying outside of China ASCHHEIM, Germany, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --A Wirecard, the global innovation leader for digital financial technology, and EasyTransfer are collaborating to enable seamless mobile payments for digital-native Chinese students. Together the two companies are launching a new mobile payment and loyalty app designed for Chinese students studying outside of China. Approximately $3.8 billion in tuition payments were transferred via EasyTransfer in the first year alone. EasyTransfer was founded by a group of former international students who wanted to help simplify tuition payments for students worldwide. The company streamlines the entire traditional wire transfer process and makes it fully digital, saving students, as well as their families precious time and offering peace of mind so that they can concentrate on their studies. After rapidly expanding to over 30 countries around the world, EasyTransfer has seen an 829% growth in transaction volume and 1079% growth in overall number of transactions over the past two years. Due to its strategic position and relevance for an ever-growing segment of Chinese international students, EasyTransfer already has connections with multiple Chinese banks. However, a solution that offers continuity and a seamless payment process in their host country that ultimately ensures that the students studying abroad can stick to their payment habits, centered around secure mobile payments, was mission critical to further deepen the relationships EasyTransfer has with its consumers. Wirecard has customized its intelligent mobile payment platform specifically for EasyTransfer. EasyTransfer will be able to offer Chinese international students flexible and familiar payment processes as well as a wealth of loyalty features and ancillary services from its vast network of partner merchants. Thanks to this collaboration, students can effortlessly shop online and offline via Wirecard-issued fully digital payment products, pay for meal plans, receive targeted partner merchant offers, make peer-to-peer transactions and manage expenses through the EasyTransfer app at the push of a button. "Ease of use is imperative for EasyTransfer. Its success is built upon a highly consumer-centric approach and active engagement with its users," commented Georg von Waldenfels, Executive Vice President Group Business Development at Wirecard. "The future of payment globally is simple, intelligent, and mobile. EasyTransfer agrees with this vision. Thanks to EasyTransfer and Wirecard, international Chinese students can not only manage their personal finances securely and comprehensively in their host country but they can do so in a manner already familiar to them, garnering assurance and peace-of-mind." "It is our mission to set the standard by which all other companies are compared. We want to become the number one financial service provider for the more than 1,800,000 Chinese students that now study abroad. We want to achieve this through exceptional customer service and a revolutionary user experience. Wirecard's support and expertise in international payments is imperative to us in achieving that goal," said Yutong (Tony) Gao, President of EasyTransfer. Wirecard will initially enable EasyTransfer's first phase roll-out in the United Kingdom, while later on expanding into markets like Australia, North America and other Chinese student destinations. About Wirecard: Wirecard (GER:WDI) is one of the world's fastest growing digital platforms in the area of financial commerce. We provide both business customers and consumers with a constantly expanding ecosystem of real-time value-added services built around innovative digital payments by using an integrated B2B2C approach. This ecosystem concentrates on the areas payment & risk, retail & transaction banking, loyalty & couponing, data analytics & conversion rate enhancement in all sales channels (online, mobile, ePOS). Wirecard operates regulated financial institutions in several key markets and holds issuing and acquiring licenses from all major payment and card networks. Wirecard AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock ExchangeA (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: DAX) (Frankfurt Stock Exchange:TecDAX) (ISIN: DE0007472060). Visit us on www.wirecard.com, follow us on Twitter @wirecard and on Facebook @wirecardgrou! p. About EasyTransfer: EasyTransfer is Cina's leading online financial service platform for overseas students, on which students are able to pay tuition, fees and rent to thousands of renowned colleges and universities worldwide. Since 2013, we have helped over 200,000 Chinese students and families pay tuition to thousands of educational institutions worldwide. Our one-to-one customer service team makes it easy for students and their families to make payments online 24/7, in China or abroad. EasyTransfer has formed close strategic partnerships with major payment channels like UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard and Wirecard, as well as mainstream Chinese banks like China Guangfa Bank, China Everbright Bank, Industrial Bank, China Minsheng Bank and China Merchants Bank. So far, EasyTransfer has received funding from ChinaEquity Group, ZhenFund, IDG Capital Group, iEDU fund, Taiyou Fund and CY Zone. Learn more about us at www.easytransfer.com.cn, follow us on Twitter @ET_EasyTransfer or on LinkedIn @easytransfer. Wirecard media contact:

Wirecard AG

Jana Tilz

Tel.: +49 (0) 89-4424-1363

Email: jana.tilz@wirecard.comA
The brother of one of the 10 workmen murdered by the IRA in the Kingsmill massacre more than 40 years ago said he has nothing but admiration for the family of Paul Quinn.

Kenneth Worton (24) was one of the victims in the 1976 sectarian atrocity in south Armagh.

His brother Colin Worton said he supports the Quinn family, from Cullyhanna, for refusing to back down.

But he fears their continued pleas for Sinn Fein MLA Conor Murphy to retract comments in which he branded Mr Quinn as a criminal will fall on deaf ears.

Mr Quinn (21) was beaten to death in October 2007, with every major bone in his body broken.

For 13 years his parents Breege and Stephen Quinn have sought answers, their grief compounded by comments from Mr Murphy, then an MP, who claimed their son was involved in criminality and smuggling.

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The couple welcomed an apology from the new Stormont Finance Minister on Wednesday, but said it did not go far enough.

They say they need Mr Murphy to publicly retract the comments, which have torn their family apart, and called for his resignation.

Mr Worton said he knows only too well the hurt that can be caused to families.

"One person has the power to ease 13 years of hurt for a grieving family," he said

"You're not human, you have no compassion if you can't see that.

He knows who he talked to after the murder of Paul Quinn and if Sinn Fein are to be believed when they say they stand for truth and justice, then he has to give the names of those he says he talked to the PSNI or the gardai. Colin Worton

"Conor Murphy should give the Quinn family the words they long to hear. Then he should step aside gracefully, but I don't think he knows the meaning of that word." Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill have both said publicly this week that Paul Quinn was "no criminal", something Mr Murphy has so far failed to do.

"Everyone could see the effect the torment of the Quinn family had on the audience when they spoke on television. How could you fail to be moved by that?" Mr Worton added. "It's well documented Conor Murphy joined the IRA during the hunger strikes. He was sentenced to five years in prison for IRA membership and possession of explosives.

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"He knows who he talked to after the murder of Paul Quinn and if Sinn Fein are to be believed when they say they stand for truth and justice, then he has to give the names of those he says he talked to the PSNI or the gardai.

"Do the right thing. But since when has Sinn Fein done the right thing when it doesn't suit them to do so? I have heard the apology from Conor Murphy and it's only coming from the teeth out. They are masters at what they do. They spin us, the victims, and their own supporters along. In the end the victims get nothing.

"We've been through exactly the same thing."

In January 2018 Sinn Fein MP Barry McElduff upset the families of those killed in the Kingsmill massacre when he tweeted a video of himself balancing a Kingsmill loaf on his head on the anniversary of the atrocity.

It was only when the sole survivor of the attack, Alan Black, appeared on RTE television that the families received an apology.

Mr McElduff, who said he did not intend to cause offence, resigned as MP. He was re-elected as a Sinn Fein councillor last May.

Mr Worton added: "When he pulled his stunt two years ago it was public opinion that finally made Sinn Fein force Barry McElduff to resign. That's the only thing Sinn Fein will listen to.

"Unless opinion is turned against them they will sit back and do nothing, no matter what hurt that causes to families. And look at Barry McElduff now. He's back on the political ladder and no doubt will soon start climbing it again.

"Sinn Fein seem to be the only party who can weather these storms and they don't seem to care about the effects on the families.

"Breege and Stephen Quinn are only one couple who have suffered. There are so many more who are too scared to speak out. Many more have had the fight drained out of them.

"Given south Armagh's history, Breege and Stephen have shown such courage in 13 years of fighting for their son.

"I have nothing but admiration for them."
A masked gunman is on the run after a grandfather was shot in front of his wife in Sunbury overnight, just a day after senior police warned of an "emerging gun culture" in Melbourne's north west.

The armed crime squad is investigating after the 56-year-old man was shot at close range outside his home as he arrived home from a family wedding.

Police are investigating after a man was shot in Sunbury overnight. Credit:Nine News

Police say the victim had just parked his car outside the Belleview Drive property when he was shot by an unknown man about 1am.

The gunman fled the scene in a white or silver 4WD.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 19:14:20|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday refuted the comments of a U.S. official on China's public health support to Africa, calling the comments "ridiculous," according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson.

According to reports, the U.S. official said Washington has cited concern over China's "scientific spying program" as the reason it wants to block China's plan to help build the headquarters of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), and said China was hoping to "steal Africa's genomic data" through the construction of the Africa CDC HQ.

"This is just as ridiculous as the recent allegations by the U.S. side that China is building the African Union conference center to steal their data," spokesperson Hua Chunying said at an online news briefing, adding it shows some people in the United States consistently use their own mindset to think of others.

She said the 2014 West Africa Ebola epidemic had revealed the poor condition of Africa's public health system, and Africa hoped that the international community would help it build the Africa CDC.

In 2015, China started helping Africa with its public health security system and capacity building. In 2016, China and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on jointly supporting the Africa CDC, and the two sides agreed to jointly support the building of the Africa CDC and strengthen Africa's public health capacity in accordance with the principle that the initiative is proposed, agreed to and led by Africa. Both China and the United States have public health experts working as consultants at the headquarters for technical support.

The health sector is an important area in China-Africa cooperation, Hua said, adding that China has sent medical teams of 21,000 members to Africa and has treated 220 million African patients. Some Chinese doctors even sacrificed their lives in Africa. They are deeply respected by local people.

Hua said the United States and some other Western countries closed their embassies and evacuated diplomats and citizens from three West African countries after the Ebola epidemic outbreak in March 2014. The Chinese government helped Africa at the earliest stage, sending not only urgently needed supplies but also medical teams of over 1,000 military and civilian doctors to the most severely stricken areas.

"Chinese diplomats and medical experts chose to stay. They fought together with local people until the virus was defeated," Hua said.

"At this critical moment in fighting the novel coronavirus, many African governments and people have also expressed their support for China," said the spokesperson, stressing that China-Africa friendship cannot be shaken by a few individuals distorting the truth.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

The agenda of silencing the guns and securing peace on the African continent must be dealt with in a comprehensive manner, including addressing governance issues, says Vera Songwe, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa.

In a speech during the opening ceremony of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union on the theme; Silencing the guns: creating conditions for Africas development, Ms. Songwe said governance in all its dimensions held some of the answers to Africas conflict challenge.

For a strategy on silencing the guns to be successful, we must honestly seek to build more inclusive societies and this union has an important yet untapped role to play in this quest, said Ms. Songwe, adding she was concerned that democratic elections were under threat in many parts of the continent stoking inherent tensions and conflicts.

A strategy to silence the guns must be strategy to improve the governance of our societies, to build a more transparent decision-making process, to demand more inclusive and strong institutions underpinned by the rule of law. We have good examples of where these principles have helped countries.

Ms. Songwe added that to effectively silence the guns, African countries will also have to ensure that all gun imports into the continent were consistent with international practice and that governance systems around the circulation of arms were transparent.

The economics of the arms sector does not favour the continent as more and more of our young perish at the end of the gun while we continue to spend more and more resources on security at the expense of education health care and infrastructure, she said.

In Niger for example, Ms. Songwe said, over 15 percent of the budget is spent on security expenditures, a trend she said was being repeated in most African countries where social budgets were being overtaken by military expenditure.

We cannot deliver the Africa we want with such budgets, she said, adding Ireland and Chile were good examples of how countries overcame conflict and created inclusive societies

To silence the guns we need to continuously focus on building an ecosystem that caters for whole with institutions whose role is to guard against the abuse of any group.

The ECA Chief said it was sad that armed conflicts on the continent had increased from seven to 21 between 2005 and 2018.

We have outperformed ourselves for the worse, said Ms. Songwe, adding; Today our task is to raise a clarion call for the voiceless. For those maimed by the tools of war. Those scared by the violence it envelops humankind in. The cruelty it engenders in otherwise peaceful nations.

Silencing the guns, said she said, would help Africas youth to unleash their full potential through innovation and create the Africa we want.

Ms. Songwe said the United Nations, formed some 75 years ago, would continue to do all it can to keep the peace, encourage respect for human rights, create conditions under which justice and respect for international laws and treaties can be achieved, and promote social progress and better standards of living throughout the world.

For his part, African Union Commissions Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said conflicts in Libya, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique and other countries all strengthen the African Unions resolve to silence the guns.

He said the historic African Continental Free Trade Agreements (AfCFTA) potential to take the continent to the next level was under threat from continuing conflicts hence the need to leave no stone unturned to ensure there is total peace in Africa.

Trade in Africa is threatened by security challenges and yet it is important for the Africa we want, said Mr. Mahamat, adding the continent should continue to look at the root causes of conflict and address them with urgency.

The Heads of State Summit opens on Sunday following the two-day deliberations of the Executive Council of AU Foreign Ministers.
STAMFORD  Michelle Troconis may have violated the conditions of her release, according to new information provided by the lead prosecutor in her case on Friday.

Richard Colangelo, who was appointed last week as chief states attorney, said they are investigating possible contact made between Troconis and Fotis Dulos through a third party.

Troconis, 45, and her former boyfriend were banned from any contact with each other since they were first arrested in June in connection with the disappearance of Jennifer Dulos.

We know nothing about third-party contact, said attorney Jon Schoenhorn, who made his first appearance representing Troconis at Fridays pretrial hearing in state Superior Court in Stamford.

In her first court appearance since Fotis Dulos apparent suicide last week, Troconis wore headphones so the proceedings could be translated into Spanish as Colangelo also revealed that she is still in possession of an expired Venezuelan passport, which violates another term of her release. Judge Gary White ordered Troconis to turn in the expired passport as soon as possible.

The revelations came as Troconis new attorney argued the conditions of his clients house arrest should be modified. Troconis also pleaded not guilty to the latest charge of conspiracy to commit murder. She previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution.

Michelle is innocent and we plan to fight this in court, Schoenhorn said afterward on the steps of the courthouse.

Schoenhorn also entered into evidence a letter Fotis Dulos left at his Farmington property before his apparent suicide, proclaiming his innocence and claiming Troconis and his former attorney, Kent Mahwinney, had nothing to do with his estranged wifes death and disappearance.

Troconis has been released on strict house arrest, which Schoenhorn asked the judge to reconsider.

Schoenhorn, who replaced Andrew Bowman this week as Troconis attorney, said his client has only been able to leave her Avon condo for meetings with lawyers, medical appointments and to attend church. He asked for the house arrest to be lifted and his clients movements be limited to Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York.

Schoenhorn said Troconis also has a business in which she meets with clients, showing fabric.

Colangelo said it was the first time he heard of such an arrangement.

Schoenhorn also asked White to consider a 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. curfew as an alternative to house arrest. He claimed the strict confinement was affecting her business.

White ultimately denied the motion for a curfew. He did, however, strike down court-ordered drug tests, which had been one of the conditions of her release.

White also denied Schoenhorns request to remove the electronic monitoring device from his clients ankle. Schoenhorn showed photos of bruising on Troconis ankles from the GPS monitor. White said Troconis needs to work with the probation office to ensure her comfort.

For the first time, Troconis wore headphones on Friday so she could hear the proceedings in Spanish. Troconis was born in the U.S., but grew up in Argentina and Schoenhorn said English is not her first language.

Schoenhorn said earlier this week that the language barrier could have been an issue when his client gave contradicting statements to police during their investigation.

Each time Troconis was interrogated, it was likely a strenuous exercise trying to comprehend the questions police were asking and formulate responses, Schoenhorn said earlier this week.

Troconis will next appear on March 20 when Schoenhorns request to move the proceedings to Hartford Superior Court will be heard. Schoenhorn filed a motion this week, requesting the trial be moved because the crimes his client is accused of committing occurred in Hartford County.

For the first time since the investigation began more than eight months ago, 469 pages of search warrants in the case were recently unsealed.

The documents outline how police believe Fotis Dulos, Troconis and Mawhinney allegedly conspired to kill Jennifer Dulos and cover up the crime. Mawhinney, 54, remains jailed on $2 million bond on a conspiracy to commit murder charge.

According to arrest warrants, Jennifer Dulos was last seen on a neighbors security camera at 8:05 a.m. May 24, returning to her New Canaan home after dropping off her children at a nearby school.

Police believe Fotis Dulos was lying in wait and attacked her in the garage, the warrants indicate.

According to arrest warrants, Troconis and Mawhinney attempted to establish an alibi for Fotis Dulos while police say he was in New Canaan that morning.

Troconis and Dulos also created alibi scripts that police found in their Jefferson Crossing home, according to arrest warrants.

However, Troconis and Mawhinney provided contradicting statements when interviewed by investigators, the warrants said. Troconis eventually admitted to lying and told investigators Dulos wasnt home when she woke up that morning, according to the warrant.

Troconis provided an alibi for herself by taking selfies with the Stop & Shop robot in Simsbury and visited two friends that morning, according to the arrest warrants.

Police said two people resembling Fotis Dulos and Troconis were captured on video in Hartford later that night around the time Jennifer Dulos was reported missing.

A man police contend is Dulos was seen on the videos dumping bags that were later determined to contain his wifes blood and clothing, the warrants said.

A separate arrest warrant said Dulos and Troconis took a red Toyota Tacoma pickup truck belonging to a Fore Group employee to a car wash in the days after the disappearance. Police said in the warrant that they believe Dulos drove the truck to New Canaan the morning of the disappearance.

Dulos also urged the employee to remove the seats, which were later found to contain his wifes blood, according to the warrant.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Irving Resources Inc. (CSE:IRV) (Irving or the Company) is pleased to announce diamond drill hole 19OMI-010 encountered 21 significant Au-Ag veins at Omui mine site, part of its 100% controlled Omu Gold Project, Hokkaido, Japan. Hole 19OMI-010 was the first hole testing the interpreted boiling level of the paleo-hot spring system at this important target. Given the success of this hole, Irving believes the large, deep-rooted resistive feature defined by controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) surveys at Omui is indeed the silicified core of the system and has potential to host a significant number of undiscovered mineralized veins.



Summary and Highlights:

As discussed in the Companys news release dated January 17, 2020, six out of seven shallow holes drilled as a fence across the historic Honpi mine area at Omui intercepted significant mineralized veins. Hole 19OMI-010 alone encountered 21 significant veins indicating the vein network underlying this target is extensive and open at depth (please refer to summary table below and a complete table of assays attached to this news release). Vein intercepts in hole 19OMI-010 include 3.00 m grading 27.0 gpt Au and 40.5 gpt Ag, 1.10 m grading 29.6 gpt Au and 36.5 gpt Ag, 3.77 m grading 12.3 gpt Au and 84.5 gpt Ag, and 1.20 m grading 7.8 gpt Au and 887.5 gpt Ag. Hole 19OMI-009, situated appropriately 100 m east of hole 19OMI-010 and oriented south at an inclination of -60 degrees, was also intended to be a deep drill test but was lost at 292.4 m in bad ground. Nonetheless, this hole encountered five significant veins including one of 0.80 m grading 46.3 gpt Au and 22.1 gpt Ag.

Summary of significant Au-Ag vein intercepts from holes 19OMI-009 and 19OMI-010: Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Au eq (gpt) 19OMI-009 8.25 11.95 3.70 3.1 28.2 3.4 including 10.20 11.95 1.75 3.9 37.8 4.4 80.25 81.25 1.00 1.8 70.2 2.7 101.60 102.40 0.80 4.1 115.4 5.4 180.00 181.00 1.00 3.3 15.6 3.5 190.00 190.80 0.80 46.3 22.1 46.6 19OMI-010 0.00 3.00 3.00 27.0 40.5 27.5 18.75 19.85 1.10 2.6 2.8 2.7 36.30 36.98 0.68 3.2 13.5 3.4 62.00 64.30 2.30 3.8 55.9 4.4 including 64.05 64.30 0.25 16.3 32.2 16.6 108.95 110.00 1.05 14.1 37.6 14.5 117.00 118.10 1.10 29.6 36.5 30.0 including 117.00 117.30 0.30 96.5 65.7 97.3 123.40 125.70 2.30 2.3 22.6 2.6 139.15 148.90 9.75 1.3 60.6 2.0 including 143.21 144.25 1.04 1.7 155.0 3.6 207.02 208.15 1.13 1.0 128.0 2.5 223.50 224.50 1.00 0.9 132.0 2.4 259.30 259.90 0.60 4.1 13.9 4.2 343.00 344.00 1.00 3.0 10.2 3.1 348.00 348.57 0.57 6.7 501.9 12.6 353.80 355.77 1.97 4.8 29.0 5.1 including 355.08 355.77 0.69 7.8 33.2 8.2 368.29 369.32 1.03 5.3 64.3 6.1 including 369.00 369.32 0.32 9.2 137.0 10.8 401.30 404.90 3.60 2.3 211.5 4.8 including 401.30 402.10 0.80 7.3 629.9 14.7 406.70 407.80 1.10 2.5 161.0 4.4 419.58 423.35 3.77 12.3 84.5 13.3 including 421.34 423.35 2.01 21.4 111.4 22.7 including 422.08 422.70 0.62 38.5 128.0 40.0 427.00 428.00 1.00 2.7 5.3 2.8 453.90 455.10 1.20 7.8 887.5 18.3 including 454.80 455.10 0.30 26.2 2970.0 61.1 516.00 517.00 1.00 3.1 166.0 5.0

Au Eq = Au (gpt) + Ag (gpt)/85

Hole 19OMI-010, oriented south at an inclination of -60 degrees and drilled to a depth of 585.3 m, encountered a remarkable 21 mineralized veins. Veins encountered deeper in the hole commonly display banding, crystalline quartz and bladed calcite crystals and pseudomorphs, all of which are typical products of a boiling regime. Higher in the hole, veins do not display distinct banding, quartz is typically crytocrystalline, and explosive breccia textures can be seen, all indicative of a high level within the system. Interestingly, a heavily weathered vein of this type was intersected at the top of the hole (3 m grading 27.0 gpt Au and 40.5 gpt Ag). This vein appears to be north of the Honpi vein and represents a new discovery, one untested at depth.

Recent study of oriented core by Irvings geologists has found the predominant vein orientation is east-northeast dipping north-northwest at about 70-80 degrees. Therefore, Irving believes true widths of veins intersected in recent diamond drill holes at Omui is approximately 65-80% of down hole widths.

In spite of the fact that veins trend east-northeast, the broad CSAMT resistive body under Omui displays a southeast trend. This raises the possibility that mineralized veins follow an en echelon pattern along the trend of the deep-rooted resistive body. Such a pattern would result from tectonic shearing along the deep-rooted structure at the time of mineralization thus creating a slightly oblique sheeted vein network in the near surface above. If so, it is possible Omui hosts a large sheeted vein network, one that could persist along the length of the circa 1 km long CSAMT corridor. This feature remains open to the east.

Two types of veins are evident, ones with low silver-to-gold ratios of less than 20:1 and high silver veins with silver-to-gold ratios much greater than 20:1. This same bimodal nature of vein mineralization is displayed among veins at Omu Sinter approximately 10 km north of Omui. Because of this, Irving thinks there is a potential genetic link between the two systems.

Hole 19OMI-008, oriented south at an inclination of -60 degrees and drilled to a depth of 502.6 m, tested the Sakinyama target approximately 400 m south-southwest of Honpi. While alteration and silicification are evident in this hole, it returned no significant precious metal values.

Phase II drilling at Omui is scheduled for May after snow melt. Irving will place a high priority on following up on the newly discovered vein network revealed in hole 19OMI-010.

Drilling is currently underway at Omu Sinter where a second diamond drill hole is in progress. Drilling is currently planned at Omu Sinter through April. Holes are testing deeper parts of Omu Sinter much like hole 19OMI-010 tested the boiling regime at Omui.

We are pleased with the success of hole 19OMI-010, commented Dr. Quinton Hennigh, director and technical advisor to Irving. This hole encountered a remarkable 21 significant mineralized veins beginning at grass roots and continuing to near the bottom of the hole. Stepping back and looking at all drilling done to date including previously announced veins intercepts in shallow holes, we see a corridor at least 350 m wide hosting numerous east-northeast trending veins. We are now hypothesizing this corridor follows the CSAMT resistive trend southeastward. Given this feature is already defined for approximately 1 km and is open to the southeast, this makes for exciting potential. We clearly have a lot of drilling ahead of us to follow up on hole 19OMI-010 and test this hypothesis.

All samples discussed in this news release are  split sawn diamond core samples. Irving submitted rock samples to ALS Global, Australia, for analysis. Au and Ag were analyzed by fire assay with AA finish. Overlimit samples were assayed by fire assay with gravimetric finish. Multielements were analyzed by MS following three acid digestion. Irving staff and personnel from Mitsui Mineral Development Engineering Co., Ltd. (MINDECO) are responsible for geologic logging and sampling of core.

Quinton Hennigh (Ph.D., P.Geo.) is the qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 responsible for, and having reviewed and approved, the technical information contained in this news release. Dr. Hennigh is a technical advisor and director of Irving Resources Inc.



About Irving Resources Inc.:

Irving is a junior exploration company with a focus on gold in Japan. Irving also holds, through a subsidiary, a Project Venture Agreement with Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) for joint regional exploration programs in Republic of Malawi. JOGMEC is a government organization established under the law of Japan, administrated by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and is responsible for stable supply of various resources to Japan through the discovery of sizable economic deposits of base, precious and rare metals.

Additional information can be found on the Companys website: www.IRVresources.com.

Akiko Levinson,

President, CEO & Director

For further information, please contact:

Tel: (604) 682-3234 Toll free: 1 (888) 242-3234 Fax: (604) 971-0209

info@IRVresources.com

Forward-looking information

Some statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation including, without limitation, statements as to planned exploration activities. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and, as such, involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the statements. Such factors include, without limitation, customary risks of the mineral resource exploration industry, the availability to Irving of sufficient cash to fund any planned drilling and other exploration activities, as well as the performance of services by third parties.

THE CSE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e4006706-9129-4632-9a46-33d7dccf5c5f

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/65d586ce-51a4-441e-b94e-c64359c3a448

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THE hunt for a new Masvingo town clerk boss has begun with a record 42 applicants submitting their papers to occupy the top office.

A shortlist of successful candidates for interviews is expected to be availed by mid-February, mayor Collins Maboke has said.

The local authority's top post fell vacant last year after the retirement of one of the longest serving Masvingo town clerks Adolf Gusha who ran council affairs for nearly two decades.

Currently, Engineer Edward Mukaratirwa is holding the hot seat in an acting capacity and is also among the contenders for the hot seat.

Mayor Maboke said the local authority will soon engage the services of a consultant who will come up with a shortlist of candidates for interviews.

He said the consultant will also be responsible for the conducting of interviews to choose the best candidate for the top job.

"We received a total of 42 applications for the position of town clerk and as part of the Ministry of Local Government guidelines, council is mandated to secure the services of a consultant who will be in charge of the recruitment of the best candidate.

"We anticipate that the entire process will be completed in February such that by March, the city will be having a substantive Town Clerk," Maboke said.

The new town clerk will be faced with a huge task of turning around the fortunes of the ancient city, which is has battled acute water shortages as well as a cocktail of unfinished capital projects, once funded but failed to be completed in unclear circumstances.

The unfinished projects include the main sewer line in which council received millions of United States Dollars from NSSA several years ago but failed to complete.

Masvingo United Residents and Ratepayers Alliance hoped the best candidate shall emerge from the process and one who will not shy away from engaging residents to gauge their input on how best to deal with the affairs of the troubled local authority.

"We anticipate a person who will respect citizen participation in local governance issues," MURRA spokesperson Godfrey Mtimba said.
President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that US forces had killed the leader of jihadist group Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen.

The US "conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)," Trump said in a White House statement.

AQAP claimed responsibility on Sunday for a December shooting at a US naval base in which a Saudi officer killed three sailors.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For nearly 30 years, Joe Mantegna and his family lived in a Tudor-style manor in Toluca Lake, CA, an enclave coveted thanks for its proximity to Warner Brothers, Disney, and Universal studios.

Now the actor and his wife of 45 years, Arlene Vrhel, are ready for a change. They've put their stately home on the market for $4.2 million.

Mantegna had bought the home in 1991 for $1,580,000, when the 1989-built residence was relatively new. The family have enhanced and renovated the property over the years, keeping it up with today's tastes. The four-bedroom, six-bathroom home is light, bright, and expansive, yet still feels warm and cozy, according to listing agent Craig Strong of Compass.

"When you enter the gates, it truly feels like a private estate, because of the spacious lot and the size of the home," says Strong, who notes that when a home of this size has four bedrooms, you know all the rooms are going to be sizable.

Toluca Lake Tudor realtor.com

Possibly the largest and most popular room in the house is the grand media and game room, which features a vaulted ceiling, built-in bar, fireplace, and retractable movie screen.

"It's the room everyone gravitates to," says Strong.

Media and game room realtor.com

The rest of the home has plenty of charm as well. In keeping with the Tudor style, it has a timber, brick, and plaster exterior; diamond-pane, leaded-glass windows; rich hardwood floors; wall moldings; and tray ceilings.

Living room realtor.com

And while the home is traditional in style, some rooms are modern. The kitchen is equipped with stainless-steel appliances, a wood-clad island, and recessed lightingelements which blend seamlessly with the glass-front cabinetry and farmhouse sink.

Kitchen realtor.com

Off the kitchen is a casual dining area and family room, and the formal dining room is in the front of the house.

Dining area and family room realtor.com

Formal dining room realtor.com

French doors lead to a backyard with a large pool and spa, fireplace, patio, and a quaint deck, from where guests and residents can enjoy the manicured lawn and mature landscaping.

Backyard realtor.com

Outdoor dining area

The upper level of the house includes an elegant office, a homework room, and a luxe master suite. The latter features a fireplace and sitting area, heated floors, his-and-her closets, a balcony, and a spa bath.

Office realtor.com

Homework room realtor.com

Master suite realtor.com

Master bath realtor.com

In addition, the upstairs bookcases hide secret rooms. One swings open to reveal two extra bedrooms.

Bookcase with built-in dollhouse realtor.com

Spare bedroom realtor.com

Spare bedroom realtor.com

Mantegna, 72, got his start on Broadway, winning Tonys for his performance in original productions of "Hair" and "Glengarry Glen Ross." He's been starring in the CBS TV series "Criminal Minds" since 2007, but has also had recurring roles in "Soap," "The Starter Wife," and "The Simpsons."

The post 'Criminal Minds' Star Joe Mantegna Fishing for a Buyer in Toluca Lake appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
The Iowa caucus is still a mess, a bad enough one that Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez has called for a "recanvass" of the entire operation.

No results, and more to the point, no believable explanation, either. The explanations have shifted so many times that it's now come down to the all-purpose one: blaming Trump.

According to Fox News:

Workers manning the phones in Iowa after the state's disastrous caucus on Monday reportedly claim that President Trump backers flooded the hotline number for precinct chairs that led to even more confusion and disarray.

...and...

Ken Sagar, a Democratic central committee member in the state, told a conference call Wednesday that on the night of the caucus, Trump backers were calling in to voice their support for the president, Bloomberg reported. Sagar was reportedly one of the people answering the calls.

It's nothing but a cover for their own failures in putting on a basic primary caucus.

This one sounds particularly far-fetched, given that the Trump campaign operation has no history of this kind of activity, quite unlike various Democratic operations.

Number one, why are we hearing about this just now instead of when it was supposedly happening? The claim reported by Fox comes from a couple of Democratic operatives, who said Trumpsters "flooded" the lines.

The word "flooded" is pretty convenient. The real question is, how many calls were there, what were their particular phone numbers (in the smartphone age, they'd have them), and how many such calls does it take for a Democrat to make a "flood" to ruin the caucus, like a pre-ordained plan? If it was a flood, why did only two of them get the flood, not all of them?

It's odd stuff, but even that doesn't excuse the Democrats. The next question after is why their call-in line number got out, and why didn't they put security guardrails on it, permitting only certain callers? It's the internet age; they could have done it.

It would have been no problem for Democrats to yell Republican interference on election night, given their dislike of Republicans. But now we're just hearing about it, and at this point, it sounds as though the dog ate their homework.

The chronology tells another story.

First, the problem was blamed on a reporting app. That was Day One.

Bad app, no hacking, they said. According to Iowa Democratic Party spokeswoman Mandy McClure, on the first day after the caucus:

This is simply a reporting issue, the app did not go down, and this is not a hack or an intrusion. The underlying data and paper trail is found and will simply take time to further report the results.

Umm, well, maybe. According to a report in left-wing ProPublica:

The IowaReporterApp was so insecure that vote totals, passwords and other sensitive information could have been intercepted or even changed, according to officials at Massachusetts-based Veracode, a security firm that reviewed the software at ProPublica's request. Because of a lack of safeguards, transmissions to and from the phone were left largely unprotected. Chris Wysopal, Veracode's chief technology officer, said the problems were elementary. He called it a "poor decision" to release the software without first fixing them. "It is important for all mobile apps that deal with sensitive data to have adequate security testing, and have any vulnerabilities fixed before being released for use," he said.

Then there were the charges from Camp Bernie Sanders, which had every reason to think none of this was a bad code, a hack, or a Trumpian dirty trick, but more likely a rig.

Pete Buttigieg, who won the caucus by a narrow margin, just happened to be an investor in the company.

George Soros, through various shell companies, also seemed to have a hand in the whole thing. You know that with Sanders's end-billionaires plan, he's sure to want someone else. He's always been the Democratic establishment, and the Democratic establishment, as it's already known, isn't in for feeling the Bern.

There's also the actual operatives who created the app, vaunted whiz kids affiliated with the failed Hillary Clinton internet operation, skeezy tricksters such as Robbie Mook. Those are the guys who created the app; it was their company, though Mook denies any involvement. USA Today has reported that yes, Mook was involved. So does the Des Moines Register.

Here's a choice tweet:

Looking forward to reading that libel complaint naming the Des Moines register as defendant then! https://t.co/RlJpDTGmcL pic.twitter.com/dkFXXbBirz  Ryan Melyon (@RMelyon) February 4, 2020

It's all falling apart. Democrat operatives with a history of gaming elections, and anti-Bernie factions such as Bernie's electoral competition, seem to have been caught in the act of trying to rig the results away from Bernie. They were offered federal security, same as the hacked email accounts of the DNC had been, and surprise of surprises, this same Mook crew turned it all down. Wonder why.

Now they're watching the whole thing blow up in front of them.

That's led to their blaming of Trump for the whole mess, a sorry, sorry excuse that looks ridiculous in the wake of all the other evidence of incompetence and chicanery. The Trumpsters, see, are all powerful and knew that a flood of phone calls to the Iowa caucus counters was just the thing to create the crisis of confidence disaster the Democrats have going right now. And somehow, they had all the right numbers it took to dial in. Pay no attention to the bad app, the self-interests of the app makers, or the curious choice of personnel.

That's a good one. What would Democrats do without Trump? He seems to be their catch-all, carry-all program for evading any responsibility for their own failures, dating from Mook's Hillary plan and it's starting to get rancid out there.

Image credit: SparkCBC via Flickr, detail, CC BY-SA 2.0.
A bike-borne home guard jawan was crushed to death by an unidentified vehicle in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district on Friday morning, police said.

The incident happened near Gobarsahi Chowk on National Highway-28 under the jurisdiction of Muzaffarpur Sadar Police Station, a police officer said.

The man was killed on the spot, Sadar Police Station Sub-Inspector Vijay Kumar Singh said.

The deceased has been identified as 50-year-old Mani Bhushan Kumar, the police officer said, adding, the home guard jawan was the resident of Damodarpur village of the district.

The body has been sent to Sri Krishna Medical College and Hospital (SKMCH) in Muzaffarpur for post-mortem examination, Singh said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rob Macaire was detained as tensions rose over Irans admission that its military shot down a Ukrainian airliner.

The United Kingdoms ambassador to Tehran has returned to Iran after his departure last month following a brief arrest by Iranian security forces, which fuelled speculation that he may not be returning.

I recently returned from London to Tehran. This was an important trip that was planned some time ago, Rob Macaire said in Farsi in an Instagram video posted on Thursday, noting he met with the UKs foreign minister and other top officials during his trip.

Macaire was briefly detained last month, which Iranian officials said was because he attended an illegal demonstration that took place amid public anger over Irans belated admission that its military shot down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 on board.

The ambassador said he had attended a vigil for victims of the crash and London claimed his detention was a violation of diplomatic conventions.

Irans foreign ministry summoned Macaire, who has been in the post since 2018, to complain over the incident and the judiciary labelled him an undesirable element, state media reported.

A prominent hardline Iranian Muslim leader said at the time that expelling the ambassador would be the best option, and warned that otherwise, loyal supporters of a general killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad last month would chop him to small pieces.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated In January after the United States killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani, sparking missile attacks by Iran on US bases in Iraq.

Iran said a missile accidentally hit the Ukranian jet.

Friction between Tehran and Washington has been building since 2018 when President Donald Trump withdrew the US from a six-nation nuclear deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of most sanctions.

Iran announced in January that it would abandon limitations on enriching uranium, taking a further step back from the 2015 nuclear deal, but it would continue to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog. It says it has never pursued the development of nuclear weapons.

Macaire said in the video that the UK wants to use the dispute resolution mechanism in the multilateral nuclear deal with Iran to find a path forward and that Brexit will not affect its commitment to the deal.

Last month, the UK, France and Germany triggered the deals dispute mechanism, which amounts to formally accusing Iran of violating the terms of the agreement and could lead to the reimposing of UN sanctions lifted under the deal.

Iran said last month it could quit the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if European countries refer it to the UN Security Council over the nuclear agreement.

The 1968 NPT has been the foundation of global nuclear arms control since the Cold War.
This would form the centre of a grid with 57 other two-bay sites spaced every 200 kilometres at existing service stations along major highways across WA, mostly providing 50-350 kilowatts (150 kilowatts or above where the grid allowed). While most 2019 electric car models charge at 150 kilowatts, it is expected that from 2020 most models will charge at 350. Minimum charging time under ideal conditions would be 6 minutes at a 350-kilowatt station, 15 minutes at a 150-kilowatt station and 44 minutes at a 50-kilowatt station. The report estimated this network would cost just $23.6 million and could be rolled out on a route-by-route basis to open up one destination at a time.

Most EVs would be in the metro area and up to 90 per cent of all charges would remain at homes or businesses during the work day or overnight, on "destination" chargers that are essentially a power point and trickle the energy in over several hours. The report said WA lagged well behind other states, and particularly far behind New Zealand, and that EVs would not become mainstream without statewide fast-charging infrastructure to address "range anxiety". At the time the report was published WA had just 13 public charging sites, all only 50-kilowatt, plus one Tesla-only site (in comparison, Australia had 57 sites plus 22 Tesla-only, while New Zealand had 169 plus six Tesla-only). UWA operated one in Crawley;

City of Swan operated one;

RAC had funded a network of 11 between Perth and Augusta, dubbed the 'Electric Highway';

Tesla had one site in Bunbury (exclusive use for Teslas); and

Tesla was planning another site in Perth. Chargefox and Fast Cities, both established in the eastern states, had plans to install a couple of charging sites in WA but were unlikely to spread further without government incentives.

Queensland's electric superhighway runs from Cairns to Coolangatta. Manufacturers were also reluctant to introduce new EVs into Australia as they perceived the market to be weak due to lack of subsidies and political support. Mr Jones said he got the feeling the government didnt really want to move on electric cars, possibly because the gas industry wielded so much power. They are pushing hydrogen fuel cell vehicles  a complicated, expensive, far-off-in-the-future way of maintaining charge on an electric car, he said. The gas industry loves the idea because they produce hydrogen and have the raw materials and they see it as their clean coal; their green way out.

And because they are an established industry that returns royalties I think the government is listening to them, simply because there is no equivalent to the gas industry in the electric car world. Mr Jones said in future, nickel and lithium mining giants might lobby in this space but for now a "chicken or the egg" situation remained. The government may be suspicious of spending on something that doesnt look used for a couple of years, he said. But ... if the stations were there and installed and people saw the fast charges at all their favourite destinations, they might be more inclined to pull the trigger. There were other simple and inexpensive steps governments could take, he said, like free registrations or removing stamp duty on electric vehicles, which had encouraged Australian Capital Territory residents to make the switch.

Loading Government and utility fleets, which were buying new cars anyway, could set a 25 per cent electric car target, ensuring a flow-on of second-hand cars to the wider market. A state government spokeswoman said the working group was considering the report as part of developing a state electric vehicle strategy, an action plan to increase the share of electric vehicles in government fleets, and alongside the state climate policy under development. She said the government had introduced a new electric vehicle tariff to provide a discount to EV owners who charged their vehicles between 11pm and 4am, and various government agencies were trialling electric vehicles. She said the government had installed 17 charging stations across the state, including making new government buildings (such as the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation) EV-ready.
Switzerland may be hoping that it's just too small for President Donald Trump to care about it.

The export-reliant economy at the heart of Europe risks letting history repeat itself if it becomes a target in the US president's trade war, a decade after it ran afoul of Washington with banking secrecy.

Switzerland is in danger of being labelled a currency manipulator. US Treasury officials put it back onto a shortlist for that designation last month, citing its high capital-account surplus and bilateral trade balance.

The Swiss flag above Switzerland's parliament building in Bern: The country could be labelled a currency manipulator. Credit:Valentin Flauraud

Another barrage of foreign exchange interventions by the Swiss National Bank to limit the franc's gains could be all that's needed to qualify.
Ethnic Kachin supporters of two pastors detained by authorities gather outside the police station where they are being held in Myitkyina, capital of northern Myanmar's Kachin state, Feb. 6, 2020.

The Myanmar military has filed a lawsuit against two ethnic Kachin Baptist pastors for taking part in a ceremony the army claimed glorified the resistance activities of a rebel ethnic force in northern Myanmars Kachin state, religious leaders and police said Friday.

Police in the state capital Myitkyina detained pastors U Bimar Dau Lwam and Tu Tham at noon on Thursday and are conducting an investigation of them following their participation in an event a day earlier marking the 60th anniversary of Kachin Revolutionary Day.

An official at the citys No. 1 Police Station said that the two men were taken to a local court for a remand order.

The two pastors agreed to host the anniversary event at a church after a group of Kachin residents received permission to hold it from the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), a Christian denomination in Myanmar.

The Myanmar Army told police to take action against those involved in the ceremony at the Jaw Bawm Sutaung Pyae Pagoda about the history of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), an insurgent group fighting the government military, sources told RFAs Myanmar Service.

The Myanmar military filed the lawsuit because it viewed the performance as damaging to its reputation, they said.

The two pastors are being charged under Section 17(1) of Myanmars colonial-era Unlawful Associations Act, which carries a three-year prison sentence for those who interact with an unlawful association, such as an ethnic armed group like the KIA, religious leaders said.

I wonder if it [the performance] was unpleasant for the government, said Maji La Wawm, a spokesman for the pair. The reason for taking action appears to be so.

He noted that the performers wore military uniforms with no insignias during the event and used plastic guns.

It was a brief performance about the history of the KIA, La Wawm said.

The two pastors were involved in a separate fundraising event that evening at the church, but did not participate in the revolutionary ceremony earlier in the day, the online journal The Irrawaddy reported.

Appeals for release

Hkalam Samson, chairman of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), said members of the Christian organization and the Kachin National Consultative Assembly met on Friday with Major General Teza Kyaw, chief of the Myanmar militarys Northern Command, to discuss the release of the two pastors.

He said the Kachin negotiators argued that the ceremony only highlighted the tragedies of war and aimed to support peace.

Were writing a letter appealing to them to look forward to peace and for everyone to cooperate following the meeting with the commander of the Northern Command, he said. The case can then be dismissed, and the two pastors can return.

The Kachin National Consultative Assembly has issued a statement calling for the release of the two men.

RFA was unable to reach Northern Command spokesman Colonel Tun Nay Lin for comment.

They [authorities] should accept our activities while building trust with ethnic armed groups for peace and try to move forward to [the formation of] a federal nation, said ethnic Kachin youth activist Paul Lu.

The event aimed to remember the existence of an ethnic group, so there could be an obstacle for coexistence in a federal nation if one fails to accept or understand that, he added.

The KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization, are among about a dozen ethnic armies that have not signed the government's nationwide cease-fire agreement to end decades of internal armed conflict and allow Myanmar to proceed with political negotiations to form a democratic federal union that includes ethnic minorities.

Last year members of a drama troupe were jailed for performing thangyat, a satirical work akin to modern slam poetry that usually includes humorous criticism of politics, society, and the military.

Reported by Kyaw Lwin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Nandar Chann. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Hungarian police close Serbia border point as migrants gather



Budapest, Feb 6 (AFP) Feb 06, 2020



Hungarian police temporarily closed a Serbian border crossing Thursday after a large migrant group showed up there and demanded to be let in.

The attempt came a week after 60-70 people tried to get into Hungary at another Serbian border crossing under cover of night, prompting security staff to fire warning shots in the air.

Hungarian police report a sharp rise in attempts to cross the country's southern borders since December.

"The Tompa road border-crossing has been temporarily closed... as undisturbed crossing cannot be guaranteed due to a large group of migrants near the Serbian side," said a statement on the police website Thursday.

A Serbian border police officer confirmed to AFP that "about a hundred migrants" were on a strip of land between Serbia and Hungary, demanding that Hungarian authorities allow them in.

He added they were peaceful, and declining to give details on how they had reached the border area.

"We are peacefully protesting. We want to be allowed to continue our journey toward western Europe," one man told the HVG.hu news site.

Some of those in the group said they were from Syria, Afghanistan and Yemen and that they would stay in the area between the two borders until they were let through.

Placards held by some migrants read "We are just refugees, not criminals" and "Let us cross".

Later on Thursday Serbian public broadcaster RTS showed images of migrants, including women and children, sitting or lying in sleeping bags. RTS reported that there were a few hundred migrants.

Serbia's Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin was on his way to the border, the RTS reported, giving no further details.

An advisor to nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said last week that more than 3,400 attempts were made last month alone to cross the country's southern borders, compared with several hundred a month last year.
Fairmont Dubai has appointed Samuel Saravanan as director of engineering.



Saravanans technical and leadership expertise were deployed in key engineering leadership roles within Dubais vibrant hospitality sector  most recently, as chief engineer at Anantara The Palm Dubai Resort.



He brings to the senior leadership team a fantastic complement of experience, perfected over a 24-year career, across multiple industries and geographic locations. His previous assignments range from theme parks and healthcare facilities, to modest and large-scale hospitality operations in his motherland India and abroad. Samuels journey includes associations with other prominent brands like Fortis Healthcare, Haden Facilities Management and Marriott International to highlight a few.



His prior tenure with Accor included successful senior unit leadership appointments as complex chief engineer with Accor properties in Singapore and Dubai.



Commenting on his appointment, Ammar Hilal, general manager, Fairmont Dubai, said: Samuel has benefitted from a variety of challenging assignments and destination changes. We count ourselves fortunate to secure the talents of an established professional whose track record of achievements will undoubtedly support a mutually rewarding appointment for all stakeholders concerned. - TradeArabia News Service
No matter what you do to protect your business from hackers, cybersecurity will always be a moving target.

Increasingly sophisticated hacking techniques mean CEOs always have to stay one step ahead of the latest ploys. A November Inc. survey of CEOs and other senior executives from more than 150 Inc. 5000 companies asked respondents about their level of confidence in the security of both their company and personal data. The results: 53 percent of respondents said they feel more confident about the security of their company's data now compared to five years ago, while just 28 percent said the same about their personal data.

Matt Singley, founder of Chicago real estate firm Pinnacle Furnished Suites, is concerned about new methods being used by hackers, but feels confident in his company's defenses against them. One way the company minimizes the potential impact of a breach is by storing customer information only when necessary. Pinnacle also performs regular audits to purge its system of data it doesn't need. "The only way to be completely secure with your data," he says, "is to not store it."

John Kailunas II, CEO of wealth management firm Regal Financial Group, says that the external threats his company faces have increased in both quantity and complexity. The company has countered this by adding required security awareness training for every employee and hiring cybersecurity consultants to recommend changes. Kailunas says cybersecurity is an issue that requires constant examination. "Still," he adds, "we have seen a significant improvement in our ability to identify potential threats."

Advances in hacking practices aren't the only factor that have made security more challenging. "More and more, people are working from different devices that companies own," says Shana Cosgrove, CEO of cloud software firm Nyla Technology Solutions, which provides software and cybersecurity services to the Department of Defense. "It's a lot harder to handle security when you don't own the entire platform."

Jack Wight, CEO of device rebate company Buyback Boss, says his company is under near-constant attack from hackers trying to access bank account information. Scammers will spoof the company's vendors over email and ask for wire payments, so Buyback Boss has implemented a policy of always calling vendors before sending payments. "Five years ago there just wasn't as much of this going on," he says. "Now we're dealing with scammers almost on a daily basis."

Claude Burns used to work in data security for the U.S. Navy before founding corporate beverage service Office Libations. He says his knowledge of the cybersecurity field has led him to be constantly on guard. "I don't think any information is safe or secure," he says. "Your personal information is out there. Companies whose whole job is to protect it, like Equifax, are getting breached and hacked repeatedly."
Creditors are battling to secure proceeds from the sale of an eight-bedroom extravagant hideaway on Melbournes Mornington Peninsula in the latest attempt to salvage funds from the wreckage of developer Stellers collapse.

The property owned by Steller at 310-330 Jetty Road, Rosebud.

The large 22 hectare estate with a helipad and stand-alone three-bedroom "caretakers cottage" in Rosebud belonged to a company associated with Steller co-founder Nicholas Smedley.

The luxurious homestead was used as a weekender by the Smedleys.

The home at 310-330 Jetty Road described by estate agents as an extravagant hideaway was sold at a mortgagee auction in October for $4.65 million and was due to settle in December but two lenders made claims on the proceeds, Supreme Court documents show.
Shares in Russias largest oil producer, Rosneft, slumped on Friday on the Moscow Stock Exchange, following a report on Thursday that the United States is thinking about slapping sanctions on the Russian oil giant for keeping business ties with the regime of Venezuelas Nicolas Maduro.

Rosnefts shares opened sharply down on Friday and were losing 5 percent in the early afternoon, before erasing some of the losses to trade down 3.41 percent at 5:13 p.m. Moscow time.

The share decline today was the sharpest one-day drop in nearly two years, since April 2018.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported, quoting people familiar with the issue, that the United States is considering whether to sanction Rosneft over its continued business with Nicolas Maduros regime. The U.S. administration, however, is concerned that sanctions on Rosnefta key trading partner for Venezuelan oilwould create chaos on the market and push oil prices up, according to Bloombergs sources.

Rosneft has four joint ventures with PDVSA that produce oil and it also became the largest receiver of Venezuelan crude oil last year: the Russian company sold the oil on behalf of PDVSA and kept the proceeds as payment on billions of dollars in loans to the embattled Venezuelan company.

Earlier this week, a senior U.S. administration official said that the Trump administration is keeping a close eye on companies that are still doing business with Venezuela and is ready to mount pressure on them, up to and including sanctioning them.

Last October, Elliott Abrams, U.S. Special Representative for Venezuela, told the Financial Times that Russias Rosneft is really central to the regimes survival, because it buys the oil Venezuela produces and helps it sell the oil and arrange the financing. The U.S. Administration is thinking about slapping sanctions on Rosneft, but it hasnt done it yet, as it is looking at a broader context in the relations with Russia, Abrams told FT.

The interview drew a reaction from Rosneft, which said in a statement that the U.S. is hypocritical in its selective sanctions and sanction waivers against Venezuela as it grants American and pro-American companies extensions of licenses to operate in Venezuela.

Thus, USA officials demonstrate hypocrisy by selectively - in violation of international law - granting advantages to their companies to the detriment of competitors, Rosneft said last October.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Lucknow, Feb 7 : The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) signed a technology development contract with a Russian company Rosoboronexport on Friday at DefExpo2020 here.

DRDO's High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) signed contract with Rosoboronexport for development of Advanced Pyrotechnic Ignition Systems.

Director HEMRL K.P.S. Murthy said that this will enable advancement in the field of energetic materials and pyrotechnic technology leading to the development of advanced ignition systems.

HEMRL is the DRDO laboratory working in the development of spectrum of high energy materials required for missiles, rockets and guns.

This will meet the futuristic requirements of high-performance propulsion systems. He added that the propulsion systems are the power behind the rockets and missiles.

"This technology development will facilitate design and development of the state of art solid rocket motors for upcoming products," Murthy said.

These products will be based on compact and energy efficient propulsion systems.
A 26-year-old man has been arrested after assaulting a lorry driver on Shipquay Street in Londonderry.

It happened shortly before 2pm on Friday afternoon.

The man was arrested on suspicion of possession of a prohibited weapon, common assault and possessing article with blade or point in public place.

Inspector McManus said: "The male then made off from the scene before being arrested a short time later. The male assaulted was not injured but left badly shaken.

"The man [...] is currently assisting police with their enquiries."
WHITPAIN  Pet Valu is betting theres a rescue dog or cat youd love to have as your forever Valentine.

To improve the odds for all of our furry friends, the specialty retailer of pet food, treats, toys and accessories is celebrating Valentines Day Weekend with a national pet adoption event from Feb. 14 to 16.

Adoptable pets from local rescues and shelters will be available for adoption at all Pet Valu locations across the country.

During National Adoption Weekend in 2019, Pet Valu found forever homes for more than 1,000 pets.

I love having the rescues here and I love the fact that we get the opportunity to help dogs and cats get their forever home, said Ashley Weinfeld, manager of the Pet Valu at 1301 W. Skippack Pike in Blue Bell. We have a good success rate out of here.

The store, which regularly houses adoptable cats from Heart to Heart rescue, is hosting Heart to Heart cats on Feb. 14, Hemlock Edge Rescue on Feb. 15, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Charlies Crusaders on Feb. 16, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Audubon store, 2660 Egypt Road, will feature A Place for All Rescue and Cat NAPS of Pottstown on Feb. 14 and 15, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Conshohocken Pet Valu will host Spay and Save cat rescue onsite on Feb. 16 and also offer raffles featuring pet-themed items throughout the weekend

The store will also have the Home at Last dog rescue onsite on Feb. 23, which is the weekend after National Adoption Weekend.

The Thorndale-based A Place For All Animal Rescue, Inc. opened in April 2007 and describes itself as a group of individuals that volunteer our time to help animals in need. We are an all-breed, no-kill rescue that is dedicated to helping homeless animals get a second chance. The animals in our rescue are either owner surrenders or those animals on the euthanasia list at kill shelters.

For more information about the rescue visit aplaceforall.org

Hemlock Edge Rescue (hemlockedgerescue.com) describes its mission as a rescue/transport organization dedicated to rescuing homeless and abandoned animals, with an adoption process that is foster to adopt. We will place the desired animal into the adopters foster care until they make a definite decision. This insures the security of the pets and the adopters with the placement. We want all adoptions to be completely final and not made on a quick decision.

Were a foster-based rescue out of North Wales, but we cover Chester County, Delaware County, we have 30 foster homes all over the place, explained founder Cris Tornetta, a Whitpain native. Our rescue areas are mainly the rural areas around Memphis and Mississippi. Well be bringing a handful of adoptable adults and pups, like one-year-old Lab-Corgi mix Lil Bro and six-month-old Quincey.

On Sunday, Feb. 16, Hemlock moves to the Pet Valu in Phoenixville, 420 Schuylkill Road.

Phoenixville is a really cool new store and it gets incredibly busy when were there, Tornetta said.

Charlies Crusaders director Donna Quick, lives in Mississippi and founded Charlies Crusaders Pet Rescue six years ago after volunteering for years with other rescues and shelters in her area. The foster-based Charlies Crusaders finds homes for dogs all over Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware and Connecticut, noted volunteer Mandi Briar, who lives in Norristown.

We bring the dogs up from high-kill shelters down south by transport. Ill travel anywhere for the dogs. A lot of us have adopted dogs from Charlies and are now volunteering,  Briar said. Most of the newer dogs that have just been rescued are on our Facebook page. We try to bring at least five dogs to adoption events.

The heartbreaking and touching story of the rescues namesake is featured on its website, charliescrusdaders.org: Charlie was a happy, young dog who had his own 7-year-old boy, who was his best friend and his whole world. Life was one grand adventure for Charlie and he and his boy greeted each day with a smile, until the boys parents decided to divorce and the world turned upside-down. Charlie, his boy and the boys mother moved in with her father, until they could get back on their feet. The grandfather did not like dogs and Charlie was not welcome in his house. One day after the little boy left for school and the mom left for work, the grandfather loaded Charlie into the back of his pick-up truck and surrendered him to the rural, Ripley shelter in October 2013. He told the shelter employees that he planned to tell his grandson that Charlie had been hit and killed by a car while he was at school that day. Charlie was terrified and confused and gut-wrenching pictures of this heartbroken dog circulated on Facebook. Baileys Arms came to Charlies rescue and placed him with a loving foster mom, who planned to do everything possible to reunite Charlie with his little boy down the road. But, the time that Charlie had spent in this outdated, unsanitary, rural shelter without the protection of vaccines had already exposed sweet Charlie to a multitude of contagions.

Charlie soon became ill with weakness, loss of appetite and a high fever. He was diagnosed with distemper and spent a week in the hospital, fighting for his life. Incredibly, this amazing dog survived this deadly disease and was released back into the care of his relieved foster mom. But Charlies struggles werent over yet, as he developed tremors or chewing gum syndrome which can be a side-effect of distemper. His head would twitch and some days he could not even get up. We tried anti-seizure medication, but nothing helped. Our hearts broke to watch this beautiful creature struggle on a daily basis and the veterinarian told us there was nothing else we could do to help him.

So one weekend, Charlies foster mommy took him for a ride to the country. They stopped in a beautiful pasture with a pond where Charlie could splash in the water and then sunbathe to his hearts content. They spent hours there together, just enjoying the beautiful world and the beautiful day. Charlie had his very own grilled steak that night, and went to bed with a smile on his face.

Two days later Charlie had a very bad day and he couldnt walk or even stand up as he was wracked by tremors. We knew it was time to let Charlie go and end his suffering. We held him as the vet helped him pass and whispered in his ear that he was loved and that he mattered.

Charlie is running free at the Rainbow Bridge now, and the skies are bright with a new, shining star as the heavens welcomed him home. We believe he is looking down on us and his little boy and we dedicate our rescue efforts in his name. With your help, we will honor his name by doing everything we can to give other needy dogs the happy ever after that Charlie didnt get.
Families of some protesters detained during the November unrest in Iran have been denied any information about them and fear they are dead, others who have been released say they were tortured to make self-incriminating confessions.

Thousands of protesters were arrested across Iran during anti-government demonstrations in mid-November and hundreds were killed. Iranian authorities have still not announced the number of detained protesters or the death toll.

According to Radio Farda's estimates, at least 8,600 protesters were detained in 22 Iranian provinces. Human rights activists have so far compiled a list with of more than 500 protesters whose deaths have been confirmed. The list is available on Farsi Wikipedia and is regularly updated.

"We and families do not have any information on the situation of some of the people who spread the news, videos and photos of the protests. We don't know where they are held. We only know they are held by the Revolutionary Guard Intelligence Organization," the report quoted Karim Deihimi, a human rights activist in Khuzestan, as saying.

The regime crackdown was very intense in the oil-rich Khuzestan Province and the number of arrests and death toll were particularly high.

Deihimi also said some of the missing individuals were taken from Moarefizadeh Hospital in Shadegan. "Families are in total darkness and seriously concerned that they might be among the dead," he said and added that the authorities refuse to provide any information to these families.

In its latest report the U.S.-based Center for Human Rights in Iran, formerly known as International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI), stated that according to its sources in the country, detainees in Tehran Province are held at two notoriously overcrowded prisons, Qarchak and Fashafuyeh, a former camp for drug inmates, in the south of the capital.

Mohammad-Hossein Aghasi, a lawyer in Tehran, has told the rights group that bails set for many of the protesters are too high for them or their families to afford.

The report quotes an unnamed lawyer in Tehran as saying that although some of the detainees with lesser charges have been freed on bail, the number of those in detention is still very high.

Three branches of the Revolutionary Court which formerly dealt with drug-related crimes have been tasked with investigating those arrested in November protests due to the huge number of detainees still in custody, the unnamed lawyer is quoted by the report as saying.

The unnamed lawyer said a number of his clients had been identified from videos and CCTV footage during or after the protests and added that there is another group which security and judicial officials call "leaders of riots". The cases of these individuals have not been referred to any court with due process and legal counsel denied to them, he said.

Another lawyer who also represents some of the detainees in Tehran told the rights group that in some cases detainees have been charged with "insulting the Supreme Leader", "propaganda against the system", and "insulting sanctitities".

Some protesters who were freed on bail say they were subjected to physical and psychological torture to "confess" to having connections with "hostile networks abroad", the report says and quotes a lawyer as saying that some of the detainees have been charged without any evidence other than their own "confessions" or mere presence in the protests.

Some of the protesters who have been freed on bail have told the rights group that the Revolutionary Court has charged them with "disturbing public order", "destruction of public property", and "conspiracy to commit crimes against national security".
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Ohio Supreme Court this week overturned an award of more than $4.5 million to Cleveland as restitution from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.

The high court ruled that the city might have a legitimate claim in arguing that the bureau had overcharged the city for premiums, but took its claim before the wrong court.

In a 6-1 ruling, the court said Ohios sovereign immunity statute, which shields the state from lawsuits, would require the city to seek relief from the Ohio Court of Claims.

Mayor Frank Jacksons administration did not have any immediate comment. It could refile the case in the Court of Claims and restart the legal process.

At issue is a lawsuit that the city filed against in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in 2013 that accused BWC of undercharging one group of employers for premiums to cover their claims.

The suit goes on to accuse BWC of recovering the shortfall over the course of a decade by overcharging another group of employers, including the city, for their premiums.

The court agreed and said Cleveland was entitled to $4,524,392 in restitution. The Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals upheld the verdict.

BWC then appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the Common Pleas Court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

The Supreme Court agreed. Chief Justice Maureen OConnor, joined in her opinion by five justices, wrote that the nature of the relief that Cleveland sought was better handled through the Court of Claims.

Justice Michael Donnelly dissented, arguing it was appropriate for the common pleas court to hear the case.

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An Airbus A320 airliner with 172 passengers on board has made an emergency landing in the Russian-controlled Khmeimim air base after Syrian air defenses nearly hit it, Russian news agencies have quoted a Defense Ministry spokesman as saying.

The Syrian air defenses were trying to repulse an Israeli attack near Damascus, Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying on February 7.

According to Konashenkov, after 2 a.m., four Israeli F-16 fighter jets fired at targets in the suburbs of Damascus without entering Syrian airspace.

During the attack, a passenger plane with 172 passengers on board en route from Tehran to Damascus was preparing to land, Konashenkov said. The passenger plane narrowly escaped "the lethal zone of artillery fire," he added.

The plane was escorted out of the danger zone and assisted in landing at the Khmeimim air base, Konashenkov said.

No further details were immediately available.

Based on reporting by Reuters and TASS
A former US drone operator is speaking out against the atrocities he says he was forced to inflict during his time in the armed forces and says the American military as worse than the Nazis.

Brandon Bryant was enlisted in the US Air Force for six years. During his time with the military, he operated Predator drones, remotely firing missiles at targets more than 7,000 miles away from the small room containing his workspace near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mr Bryant says he reached his breaking point with the US military after killing a child in Afghanistan that his superiors told him was a dog. Mr Bryant recalls the moment: After firing a Hellfire missile at a building containing his target, he saw a child exit the building just as the missile struck. When he alerted his superiors about the situation after reviewing the tape, he was told it was a f***ing dog, drop it.

Following that incident, Mr Bryant quit the military and began speaking out against the drone program.

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During his time in the Air Force, Mr Bryant estimates he contributed directly to killing 13 people himself and says his squadron fired on 1,626 targets including women and children. He says he has been left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Bryant said he saw the man he targeted bleed out from his legs and watched as his body went cold on his thermal imaging screen.

The smoke clears, and theres pieces of the two guys around the crater. And theres this guy over here, and hes missing his right leg above his knee. Hes holding it, and hes rolling around, and the blood is squirting out of his leg  It took him a long time to die. I just watched him, Mr Bryant said in an interview with GQ.

That image on the screen is still in my head. Whenever I think about it, it still hurts me, Mr Bryant said. When I pulled the trigger, I knew that it was wrong. When the middle struck I knew in my soul I had become a murderer.

Other airmen in Mr Bryants squadron celebrated his first kill, saying Brants popped his cherry.

Mr Bryant was enlisted from 2006 to 2011, working as a sensor operator, which helps direct missiles to their targets.

In a conversation with the Roots Action Network, Mr Bryant recalled an instance early in his enlistment where he and his fellow drone operators were shown a video montage of drone strikes, after which they were told their jobs were to kill people and break things.

It went against everything that I had ever learned about honor and justice and training. It was terrifying how dismissive people were about the whole affair. We were safe in the U.S. and those over there were not. We win. But thats not how it goes, Mr Bryant said.

Mr Bryant said that despite his misgivings about the program, his superiors used punitive measures and mockery to keep him in line.

It broke my spirit. It went against everything I learned about being a warrior, about holding yourself to higher standards. My superiors psychologically beat me and ridiculed me to keep me in line. They took away my free time and forced me to sit in a seat or be tried under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for disobeying orders, Mr Bryant said. In a sense, it was my prison. I served my time to learn and reflect. And so I hold the key now, to the entire apparatus. I just dont know what to do with it.

He has said the US military is worse than the Nazis because we should know better.

Mr Bryant said he and his family have been threatened for speaking out against the drone program and that he has lost friends and been estranged from other members of his family over his whistle-blowing.

Ultimately Mr Bryant wants the public to understand the dehumanizing effect of the drone program on the operators and the individuals targeted.

I would want people to know, beyond its existence, the consequences it has on us as a species to delineate our power into something so easily destructive. Every time we get closer to that edge, were going to have to realise where it places us, Mr Bryant said.
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ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - President Donald Trump and his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta, announced their intention on Thursday to work toward a free-trade agreement between the two countries in what would be a first for U.S. trade relations in sub-Saharan Africa.

"There is enormous potential for us to deepen our economic and commercial ties," said Robert Lighthizer, U.S. trade representative, who added that both countries sought a "comprehensive, high-standard agreement." Trump was more circumspect, telling reporters at the White House that a deal would "probably" happen.

Kenya and the United States currently manage around $1 billion in trade annually, and Washington sees Kenya as a key ally in a joint military campaign against al-Shabab fighters in neighboring Somalia. Kenya is also East Africa's economic engine, and home to a growing number of industries - as well as billions of dollars of strategic Chinese investments that Washington is trying to counter.

A free-trade deal between the United States and Kenya would more or less replace an aging agreement called the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows many African countries to export goods to the United States without quotas or tariffs but expires in 2025. The only bilateral agreement the United States has on the continent was signed with Morocco in 2004.

In a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Kenyatta said shared values made the United States and Kenya natural trading partners.

"It is this shared common value - belief in freedom, democracy and enterprise - that makes me believe that the United States can and should be the partner of choice for the African continent," Kenyatta said.

Those remarks stood in contrast to those Kenyatta made a day earlier at the Atlantic Council in Washington, in which he warned Americans against seeing Africa as a ground for economic proxy wars with China.

The world's two largest economies behave "like Africa is for the taking," he said. "We don't want to be forced to choose. . . . We must begin to look at Africa as the world's biggest opportunity, and I believe that you can dare to look at it with a fresh eye."

African heads of state are meeting in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this weekend as part of an African Union summit to discuss their own continentwide free-trade agreement which has been signed by all but one of Africa's 54 countries, but is yet to come into effect. Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative, said bilateral agreements with the United States were a model for other African countries and meant to complement the continental agreement.

"We have provisions in the agreement which require a country to notify us when it intends to enter into a [bilateral] free trade agreement. And we also have provisions in the agreement which says any preferences given to a third party must also be given to other parties of the African Continental Free Trade Area," said Albert Muchanga, the African Union's commissioner for trade and industry. "We are hopeful that the government of Kenya is going to brief us on the initiative that it is taking with the United States of America."

Exports from Kenya to the United States tend to be some of the African country's more refined products, such as honey, coffee, and textiles, said Kwame Owino, a Kenyan economist. Kenya's trade with China tends more toward more toward raw commodities such as avocados and flowers.

"The clincher of a Kenyan agreement with the U.S. will be if Kenya can secure more U.S. investment in those refined goods, giving U.S. companies a regional hub for those products, and a steppingstone to creating similar agreements with other East African countries," said Owino.

China has been Africa's biggest trading partner for more than a decade, however, and U.S. companies would be playing a serious game of catch-up. Governments like Kenyatta's are also loathe to be seen as taking sides in U.S.-China competition. The signing of a free-trade agreement with Kenya may give Washington a chance to claim it has won over a partner, but Kenyans are unlikely to see it that way.

"There's going to be a real temptation for American officials to say: 'We are more reliable, trustworthy, and so on,' and Kenyans will find that distasteful. Kenyans shouldn't feel like they need to make a choice," said Judd Devermont, director of the Africa Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

In Kenya, industry representatives saw Thursday's announcement as a largely positive step that might spur economic growth and help Kenya raise the standards to meet new American requirements for export.

"The challenge to take advantage of a deal will mostly be on our side, to raise our standards to widely be able to get those clearances," said Daniel Mbithi, CEO of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange. "Maybe a new agreement can help us get there, and then the market can widened."
Police have released the name of a man who was stabbed by three thieves before fleeing with his 115,000 watch.

The gang yanked the timepiece from the wrist of Bo Khan, 55, during what police described as a violent robbery, in Berkeley Square, in Londons Mayfair.

A violent robbery in broad daylight saw three thieves attack a man before fleeing with his 115 designer watch (PA)

Mr Khan was stabbed in the arm as the men snatched the watch off his wrist - but he recalled the moment he chased after the gang.

He told the Evening Standard: They tried to cut through the tendon in my arm to disable me and stop me fighting back. They knew what they were doing.

I chased after them because it was so out of order. All I can think about is how worse it could have been.

The three men attacked a tourist leaving him with a deep wound in his arm before fleeing with his 115,000 watch. (PA)

Although its a ridiculously expensive watch, it is quite nondescript. They probably stole it because it looked worth nicking rather than any knowledge of its true value.

The Metropolitan Police said Mr Khan was visiting the capital and suffered a deep wound during the incident in June last year.

The suspects, all in their 30s and of Mediterranean appearance and medium build, ran off in the direction of Park Lane with the Breguet Tourbillon, officers said.

The gang left their victim with stab wounds (PA)

Police are hunting the three thieves (PA)

Police have now released images of three men they are seeking in connection with the attack.

The incident took place about a mile away from where 20-year-old student Mohamed Abdullah Al Araimi was stabbed to death in an attempted robbery over his expensive watch in December last year.

Thieves stole a Breguet Tourbillon watch - similar to this - worth a reported 115,000

The Omani national, who was studying politics and economics at Kings College, was targeted near luxury department store Harrods in Knightsbridge.

Badir Rahim Alnazi, 23, of Brent, north-west London, has been charged with murder, attempted robbery and possession of a blade in relation to the attack on December 5.

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Detective Constable Eve Kelly said: This violent robbery was committed in broad daylight and it appears that the victim was specifically targeted for his watch. He and his wife were left shaken and have since received counselling to help deal with the impact of this robbery.

We have followed up numerous CCTV and forensic leads but unfortunately not made any arrests, and now we are hoping that the public can help put names to these faces. If you recognise any of these men we would urge you to get in touch.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Guwahati ahead of his visit to Kokrajhar where he will address the public at an event, to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Agreement.

Prime Minister Modi was welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi among others.

Large numbers of locals have gathered at the rally ground, in Bodo-dominated Kokrajhar town of Assam.

In a tweet yesterday, Modi had said that the accord marks the start of "a new era of peace and progress".

This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi since the state has been witnessing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

The visit comes days after the state government signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of the banned Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi.

The signing of the Bodo agreement led to the surrender of over 1,500 militants of the major insurgent group NDFB.

The Bodo groups have been demanding a separate state of Bodoland for the last 50 years. The movement has resulted in extensive violence and loss of hundreds of lives over the years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Describing it as shocking and astonishing, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat said yesterday he has unearthed cases of fraud involving State as well as private land.
New research has deciphered how rogue communications in blood stem cells can cause Leukemia.

The discovery could pave the way for new, targeted medical treatments that block this process.

Blood cancers like leukemia occur when mutations in stem cells cause them to produce too many blood cells.

An international team of scientists, including researchers at the University of York, have discovered how these mutations allow cells to deviate from their normal method of communicating with each other, prompting the development of blood cells to spiral out of control.

The scientists used super-resolution fluorescent microscopy to study the way blood stem cells talk to each other in real time.

They observed how cells receive instructions from 'signalling proteins', which bind to a receptor on the surface of another cell before transmitting a signal telling the cell how to behave.

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Blood stem cells communicate via cytokines, which are one of the largest and most diverse families of signalling proteins and are critical for the development of blood cells and the immune system.

Understanding this process led researchers to the discovery that mutations associated with certain types of blood cancers can cause blood stem cells to 'go rogue' and communicate without cytokines.

The stem cells begin to transmit uncontrolled signals causing the normal system of blood cell development to become overrun, producing an imbalance of healthy white and red blood cells and platelets.

Professor Ian Hitchcock from the York Biomedical Research Institute and the Department of Biology at the University of York, said: "Our bodies produce billions of blood cells every day via a process of cells signalling between each other. Cytokines act like a factory supervisor, tightly regulating this process and controlling the development and proliferation of the different blood cell types.

"Our observations led us to a previously unknown mechanism for how individual mutations trigger blood stem cells to start signalling independently of cytokines, causing the normal system to become out of control and leading to diseases like leukemia.

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"Understanding this mechanism may enable the identification of targets for the development of new drugs."

This research team used a combination of molecular modelling, structural biology, biophysics, super-resolution microscopy and cell biology to demonstrate for the first time that these specific receptors on the surface of blood stem cells are linked by cytokines to form pairs.

Co-author of the study, Professor Jacob Piehler from Osnabruck University, said: "By directly visualising individual receptors at physiological conditions under the microscope, we were able to resolve a controversy that has preoccupied the field for more than 20 years."

Professor Ilpo Vattulainen from the University of Helsinki, added: "Our biomolecular simulations unveiled surprising features concerning the orientation of active receptor pairs at the plasma membrane, explaining how mutations render activation possible without a ligand (such as a cytokine). These predictions were subsequently confirmed experimentally"

First author Dr. Stephan Wilmes, who started the project as a Postdoc at Osnabruck University before moving to the University of Dundee: "It was truly inspiring to tackle this highly relevant biomedical question by applying cutting-edge biophysical techniques. Here in Dundee, I had the chance to perform complementary activity assays, which corroborated our mechanistic model."

The study is published in the journal Science and was carried out in collaboration between the universities of York, Dundee, Osnabruck (Germany), Helsinski (Finland), Stanford and New York (USA).
GENEVA - Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam is resigning after nearly five years on the job, acknowledging that a spying scandal caused anxiety and hurt and tarnished the reputation of the top-drawer Swiss bank.

The bank said in a statement Friday that its board had accepted Thiams resignation a day earlier. It will take effect on Feb. 14, after the presentation of Credit Suisses fourth-quarter results. He will be replaced by Thomas Gottstein, the CEO of the banks Swiss operations.

The spying scandal erupted last year after the former wealth management chief, Iqbal Khan, said he was being spied upon by Credit Suisse after he joined rival bank UBS. An external investigation then showed that the spying operation had been ordered by Pierre-Olivier Bouee, then Credit Suisses chief operating officer, to snoop on Khan and another former executives.

I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues, Thiam said in Fridays statement. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.

Bouee and the head of the banks global security services quit over the scandal, Credit Suisse said in October.

The external investigation found no indication or evidence that Thiam knew anything or was informed about the surveillance operations.

The Financial Times and others report that Thiams relationship with Chairman Urs Rohner broke down in the wake of the scandal. Major shareholders have backed Thiam as a talented and successful leader and urged the chairman to publicly support him.

Thiam, who is from Ivory Coast, is the banks first African-born CEO and is a graduate of Frances elite Ecole Polytechnique university. Last month, he was one of about two dozen CEOs and other business leaders who dined with U.S. President Donald Trump at the World Economic Forums annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.

Rohner credited Thiam with making an enormous contribution and for returning the bank to profit.

Under Tidjanes leadership, Credit Suisse simultaneously re-purposed our strategy, restored our capital, reduced our costs, de-risked our business, promoted diversity and engendered an exceptional level of co-operation between various divisions, he added. Credit Suisse is in good health and we have a deep bench of talent which can build on his achievements.

The 164-year-old bank, which is perhaps best known for its wealth management and investment banking operations, has more than 45,000 employees and had nearly 1.35 trillion Swiss francs (dollars) of assets under management as of the end of 2018.
Its interesting that in the special effects category, you have these two big prestige movies in The Irishman and 1917. And in both cases, you could argue the special effects are quite invisible or in the service of realism, Nayman said. While the other movies want spaceships and creatures to look realistic, they are movies in a fantastic universe. The Irishman and 1917 are trying to be as realistic as possible. So youve got these schisms between commercial and personal filmmaking and illusionism and realism.
Abronye DC, Bono Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has labeled the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) demonstration against the Electoral Commission of Ghana as unconstitutional and so challenged them to prove otherwise.



According to the NPP Regional Chairman, the NDC has no legal backing to kick against the compilation of new voters register.



Though noting that it a right of the NDC to hit the streets in protest according to the 1992 constitution, article 21, he however believed their actions against the EC will not produce any fruitful result.



According to the 1992 constitution permits the EC to compile new register same as NDC also have the right to demonstrate but cannot stop the EC from doing its mandate unless their demonstration fall in line with the 1992 constitutionI can say in authority that NDCs demonstration cannot be found anywhere in the 1992 constitution, therefore has no legal backing.



If they are able to prove where it is written in the 1992 constitution, I will support them if not then my argument still remains the samethe voter register needs to be changed, he said.





Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









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A new wave of airplane flights carrying hundreds of Americans stuck in China amid the worsening novel coronavirus outbreak were slated to head to the United States as the global tally saw its highest surge in a single 24-hour period, officials said Wednesday.

In conjunction with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced passengers from Wuhan, epicenter of the virus that has killed nearly 500 people in that country, will arrive at four locations. They include Travis Air Force Base in Sacramento, California; the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California; Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas; and Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska.

This could be the beginning of what could be a long response, Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, told reporters.

Upon arrival, all passengers will be screened and quarantined for up to two weeks to ensure they do not develop symptoms, health officials said. Currently, flights from mainland China are being funneled through about a dozen U.S. airports in accordance with a new U.S. travel ban affecting foreign nationals who have recently been to China.

Word of the flights due from China came on the same day that two previously arranged evacuation flights arrived in California. Meanwhile, Messonnier said Wednesday there had been no new cases of the flu-like outbreak in the United States since a CDC update Monday showing 11 positive cases in five states. But within hours of her call with reporters, health officials in Wisconsin were said to confirm that state's first coronavirus case, bringing the domestic U.S. tally to a dozen.

As of early Wednesday, 76 people were under investigation for possible coronavirus infection in the United States and 206 had tested negative, according to the CDC. Messonnier said that despite more than 800 staff members working to combat the outbreak nationally, the health organization was confident they would see new cases of the novel coronavirus as people travel back from China.

Story continues

Cases have mostly been linked to travel to Wuhan, China, but the outbreak has shaken the global stock market, prompted international travel constraints, and left hundreds of Americans and others quarantined on cruise ships and in other secure sites.

To date, the coronavirus has affected at least 24,363 people in mainland China and nearly 200 people across 25 countrieswith more than 3,000 new cases in the last 24 hours, according to the World Health Organization. The global death toll has risen to at least 492 people, with the only two fatalities outside mainland China having been reported in the Philippines and Hong Kong.

In the last 24 hours, we had the most cases in a single day since the outbreak started, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a Wednesday press conference, adding that 191 total cases were outside mainland China.

Quarantined Cruise Ship Passengers Stuck on Journey From Hell Thanks to Coronavirus Outbreak

Tedros also announced Wednesday the global health organization had requested $675 million for funding for the next three monthswith a portion of the money slated to go toward supporting countries grappling to contain the flu-like outbreak.

Our message to the international community is invest today or pay more later, Tedros said. We cannot defeat this outbreak without solidarity. Political solidarity, technical solidarity, and financial solidarity.

Despite the latest surge of new cases, the CDC has maintained that the immediate risk of coronavirus exposure to the general public is low and is undertaking several measures to ensure the coronavirus remains low-risk, according to a Wednesday press release.

In the United States, most of the coronavirus cases have been centralized in California, where six people have been confirmed, including two infections in Santa Clara County; two individuals in San Benito County, near Monterey, where a woman was reportedly infected by her husband; and one case each in Orange County and another in Los Angeles County.

Americans with the coronavirus have also been identified in Washington State, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

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By Lisa Girion and Michael Erman (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson was ordered on Thursday by a New Jersey state jury to pay punitive damages of $750 million (580 million) to four plaintiffs who allege that the company's Baby Powder caused their cancer, a ruling that will be reduced to around $185 million because of state laws, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs and the company. During an earlier phase of the trial, a different jury held J&J liable for the plaintiffs' cancers and awarded them $37.2 million in compensation. Under New Jersey law, punitive damages are capped at 5 times the amount of compensatory damages, according to plaintiffs lawyer Chris Placitella

By Lisa Girion and Michael Erman

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson was ordered on Thursday by a New Jersey state jury to pay punitive damages of $750 million (580 million) to four plaintiffs who allege that the company's Baby Powder caused their cancer, a ruling that will be reduced to around $185 million because of state laws, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs and the company.

During an earlier phase of the trial, a different jury held J&J liable for the plaintiffs' cancers and awarded them $37.2 million in compensation.

Under New Jersey law, punitive damages are capped at 5 times the amount of compensatory damages, according to plaintiffs lawyer Chris Placitella.

J&J said in a statement it would quickly appeal both phases of the trial, citing "numerous legal errors that subjected the jury to irrelevant information and prevented them from hearing meaningful evidence."

The verdict came after J&J Chief Executive Alex Gorsky testified last month for the first time in a jury trial over allegations that the company's Baby Powder causes cancer.

"We believe the jury was speaking directly to Alex Gorsky," plaintiffs lawyer Placitella said.

J&J faces more than 16,000 lawsuits alleging it sold powders contaminated with asbestos and failed to warn users. It also faces a federal criminal investigation into how forthright it has been about the products' safety.

J&J denies that its talc causes cancer, saying numerous studies and tests by regulators worldwide have shown its talc to be safe and asbestos-free.

On Dec. 14, 2018, Reuters published a story that showed J&J had failed to disclose that small amounts of asbestos, a known carcinogen, had sometimes been found in its talc over several decades. After the report was published, a selloff wiped more than $40 billion off the company's market value.

At the time, J&J dismissed the Reuters' report as "an absurd conspiracy theory."

(Reporting by Lisa Girion; Writing by Michael Erman; Editing by Leslie Adler and Daniel Wallis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
To the Editor:

Closing the Court of History, by Matthew Connelly (Op-Ed, Feb. 5), has a number of misleading statements about the National Archives and Records Administration, or NARA.

The disposition schedule for Immigration and Customs Enforcements detainee records was approved after NARA took into account more than 23,000 public comments over more than two years. The result of this extensive review process is that ICEs detainee death review files are now designated as having permanent historical value, and ICE must retain records involving allegations of sexual assault and abuse for 25 years.

State Department permanent records identified by machine learning algorithms will continue to be turned over to us. Further, the overwhelming majority of correspondence of State Department under secretaries is captured in emails, which are permanent records.

NARA will not stop accepting paper records because it simply doesnt have any more room for them. Rather, the Office of Management and Budget and NARA issued Memorandum M-19-21 directing all agencies to transition to electronic records for more efficient and effective electronic recordkeeping. This is a groundbreaking step toward a digital future, in keeping with the way modern records are created and with the expectations of the public and other stakeholders in getting access to their governments records.
Lashana Lynch in No Time To Die.

Lashana Lynch has opened up about the immense pride she feels at starring in the upcoming James Bond movie No Time To Die, in which she plays a 00 agent alongside Daniel Craig.

During her speech at Essences Black Women in Hollywood Awards ceremony on Thursday night, via Page Six, Lynch admitted that it previously scared her knowing there were little black girls around the world potentially looking up to her and what she does.

Read More: New Bond trailer for 'No Time To Die' wins the Super Bowl

However, that changed when she realised that her work as an actress gave her a golden opportunity to speak to people that she cared about across the world through her roles.

She then made reference to her role in Captain Marvel, declaring, It was a privilege to play Maria Rambeau and give an ode to single black mothers who are truly heroes without capes, before then teasing her work in No Time To Die, by adding, And it is an honor to be able to proudly flam our big Jamaican flag up in MI6 as a 00 agent.

Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Lynch, who described herself as a dark skinned, working class young woman from West London  who proudly comes from an immigrant family and wears her truth on her sleeve, then opened up about growing up and always being hyper-aware of [her] blackness.

I recall being in ballet class at a very young age and having a white teacher tell me to tuck in my backside, and I proceeded to explain why mine just doesnt go in like everyone else.

Read more: Daniel Craig pitches up as Bond in new Heineken ads

So then I told my mom I wanted to leave [ballet], at that young age, and because of the black women that raised me, I was confidently able to leave a space that didnt celebrate me. And now here I am in this room being able to celebrate my skin, my hair and my [behind].

Well get to see Lynch in all of her glory when No Time To Die is released on April 2, 2020.
Political parties made a final effort to convince people in the national capital to vote for them as the acrimonious and bitter campaign for the Delhi assembly elections ended on Thursday evening.

Voters will now elect their representatives for the 70 assembly segments on Saturday, February 8.

The poll battle in Delhi is widely being seen as an electoral fight between the AAP and BJP.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leader chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought the support of voters on the basis of its local governance record. It has claimed to have improved government schools, public health facilities, electricity and water supply at subsidised rates, among other issues.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union home minister Amit Shah, who led his partys campaign, have attacked the AAP for false promises, appeasement and anarchy.

The BJPs also led a sharp attack on the AAP for what it alleged was support for the protests in Shaheen Bagh against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and campaigned around its decision to provide ownership papers to residents of unauthorised colonies in the Capital.

Here are the five most keenly contested seats where political stakes are the highest.

New Delhi

Candidates: Arvind Kejriwal (AAP), Sunil Yadav (BJP) and Romesh Sabharwal (Cong)

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who won the seat for the first time by defeating the then chief minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit, is seeking re-election for the third time.

In the high-stakes battle, the BJP and the Congress have fielded Yadav (Delhi BJPs youth wing head) and Sabharwal (a former National Students Union of Indias (NSUI) Delhi unit) respectively. It is their first electoral contest.

Patparganj

Candidates: Manish Sisodia (AAP), Ravi Negi (BJP) and Laxman Rawat (Cong)

It is one of the top showcase seats for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the city, after New Delhi. Delhis deputy chief Manish Sisodia has won from the seat for two consecutive terms in 2013 and 2015 securing 41.5% and 53.5% vote share respectively.

For Negi and Rawat, both migrants from the Garhwal hills of Uttarakhand, it is their first election outing.

Kalkaji

Candidates: Atishi (AAP), Dharambir Singh (BJP) and Shivani Chopra (Cong)

For Atishi, who is credited for the reforms in the education sector in Delhi government schools, and Shivani Chopra, who is Delhi Congress chief Subhash Chopras daughter, it is a personal battle as both are hoping to kick-start their career in electoral politics.

Subhash Chopra has represented the constituency thrice in the Delhi assembly. They are pitted against BJPs former area councillor Dharambir Singh, who is in-charge of Delhi BJPs booth-level management.

Rajendra Nagar

Candidates: Raghav Chadha (AAP), RP Singh (BJP) and Rocky Tuseed (Congress)

The contest is interesting as two young faces Chadha and Tuseedwill take on a BJP veteran leader, Singh.

Chadha, the AAPs national spokesperson, and Singh, the BJPs national secretary and former MLA from the constituency, are prominent faces on TV debates.

Tuseed is a former Delhi University Students Union president and a newcomer in electoral politics.

Rohini

Candidates: Rajesh Nama Bansiwala (AAP), Vijender Gupta (BJP) and Sumesh Gupta (Cong)

It is a prestige battle for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rohini assembly segment, as the latter fights for change in a BJP stronghold.

The BJP had survived the AAP onslaught in the 2015 assembly electionsAAP had won 67 out of 70 assembly segmentin Rohini.

Gupta, who was the leader of the opposition in the outgoing assembly and former Delhi BJP chief, has represented the area as a councillor and MLA.

Bansiwala unsuccessfully contested the 2017 municipal election, while this is the first election outing for the Congress candidate.
Two Chinese vessels arrived at the Haldia Dock Complex of the Kolkata Port Trust on Friday after clearing mandatory checks, an official said.

These are the first Chinese vessels to arrive after mandatory checks have been started by the port in adherence to the Shipping Ministry guidelines after novel coronavirus outbreak.

Two vessels -- 'MV Royal Peridot' and 'MV Nilambari' -- arrived from China via Singapore. While 'MV Royal Peridot' had 24 crew members, all of whom were from Myanmar, the 28 crew members of 'MV Nilambari' were all Indians.

"After their arrival, the vessels were detained outside the lock gate until health inspection of the crew members by thermal scanners were carried out. No suspected case was found," a port official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dog owner Jason Garrett is cashing out his 401K and digging into his life savings in order to pay for surgery to save his dogs life.

Garretts 12-year-old miniature Schnauzer, Lola, was diagnosed with mitral valve disease, Garrett explained in a recent YouTube video. The disease  which is common in dogs  affects her lungs and heart, and a doctor gave her about eight to nine months to live.

We had an episode in November where she came back from a walk and she fainted  She has an enlarged heart because she has a damaged mitral valve, Garrett told KGO-TV.

After Lolas diagnosis, Garrett said he learned about a canine open-heart surgery procedure pioneered by Japanese doctor Masami Uechi. Because the surgery is so specialized and only Uechi and the few surgeons hes trained know how do it, its expensive  $45,000, Garrett said in the video.

The downside is its about $45,000, he told KGO-TV. Ive already cashed out my 401K and using every penny of my savings, and Im also looking into selling my car if need be.

Related: Growing Up With a Dog Can Improve Childrens Health, Happiness

RELATED: Golden Retriever Can Fit 6 Tennis Balls in His Mouth  More Than the Guinness World Record Holder

Lolas surgery has been scheduled for this summer, while Uechi is at the University of Florida.

Garrett has also set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the procedure. He explained that he struggles with severe depression and bipolar disorder, and Lola has been the reason he is still able to survive and thrive.

RELATED: Tenn. Animal Shelter Will Bring a Precious Puppy to Your Loved Ones Office for Valentines Day

Lola has undoubtedly saved my life countless times, he said in the YouTube video. As you can imagine I would do absolutely anything to save her.



Anything for Lola, he added to KGO-TV. Shes family.
opinion

A man who really cares for his patients will soon learn to ask for and appreciate the information of a nurse, who is at once a careful observer and a clear reporter."

Florence Nightingale's timeless advice to doctors is as true today as it was when her seminal work Notes on Nursing was first published. Two centuries have now passed since the "lady with the lamp" came into this world to change the face of nursing. Her commitment helped transform nursing from a mostly untrained occupation to a highly skilled medical profession with important responsibilities.

Sadly, nurses and midwives remain undervalued and underappreciated. The importance of their role, certainly in the context of East Africa, can hardly be overstated. Across the region, they constitute the majority of the health workforce, in some cases representing over 80 per cent of the health workforce.

PROVIDING COMFORT

Often described as the backbone of health systems, the role of nurses and midwives typically extends beyond administering care. They are usually the first point of contact for patients, receiving people at their most vulnerable and providing comfort, reassurance and competent assessments. Most of us who have experienced hospitals will know how effective they can be in advocating for patients' interests and improving patient outcomes.

Recognising the critical roles that nurses and midwives play in promoting healthy lifestyles and reducing mortality, morbidity and disability, the Aga Khan Development Network has had a long commitment to strengthening the nursing and midwifery professions in East Africa and elsewhere.

As His Highness the Aga Khan once put it: "I have long felt the enhancement of the nursing profession to be absolutely critical to the improvement of healthcare in the developing world. The way forward was to professionalise, to institutionalise, and to dignify this great profession."

This week, a new crop of graduands across East Africa will enhance their professional credentials with degrees and diplomas from the Aga Khan University School of Nursing and Midwifery.

Since its inception in 2000, the school has seen more than 3,000 join the ranks of qualified, working nurses and midwives in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Guided by the principles of impact, quality, relevance and access, the Aga Khan University and Aga Khan Health Services continue to invest heavily in building nursing capacity in East Africa.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Health Pregnancy and Childbirth By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The need to recognise the vital work of nurses and midwives is also being championed by a global campaign, called Nursing Now. In collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses, the campaign seeks to empower nurses to take their place at the heart of tackling 21st Century health challenges and help achieve universal health coverage.

SOFT TOUCH

Launched in 2018, Nursing Now already has more than 360 groups across 101 countries, working to promote this important mission. The WHO has designated the year 2020 as the "Year of the Nurse and Midwife", in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

Those who work in the health services industry have long seen nurses and midwives as the backbone of health systems. For those of us who have experienced the soft touch of their care, we know they are more than that. They are the heart of healthcare.

The author is the Diplomatic Representative of the Aga Khan Development Network based in Kampala, Uganda.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- The final two candidates in the running to become the next superintendent of Kalamazoo Public Schools were chosen by the board Thursday evening.

Rita Raichoudhuri, executive director of early college and career education at Chicago Public Schools, and Efe Agbamu, assistant superintendent of schools at St. Paul Public Schools in Minnesota, were chosen as the final two candidates for Kalamazoo Public Schools superintendent by the school board Thursday, Feb. 6.

The Board of Education chose the two finalists from a pool of four candidates who interviewed Wednesday, Feb. 5, and Thursday, Feb. 6.

Raichoudhuri is driven, humble, thoughtful and thorough, board member Jason Morris said.

Raichoudhuri has worked in her current role with Chicago Public Schools since 2017. Prior to that, she worked as the principal at a Chicago high school for about four years. She holds a doctorate degree in urban education leadership from the University of Chicago, a masters degree in education and a bachelors degree in environmental science.

Raichoudhuri told the board during her interview that its important to build a school culture that empowers people and that the strength of any organization lives within its people.

I consider myself a relational leader, Raichoudhuri said.

The board applauded her reputation as a community builder and experience in career and technical education. Board President Patti Scholler-Barber said she appreciated that Raichoudhuri took deep dives into each question, giving specific details about her experience.

Board Secretary Jennie Hill said she liked that Raichoudhuri did what was best for students.

I feel like she can really lead KPS, Hill said.

Board member Tandy Moore said Raichoudhuri valued collaboration with the community.

Parent input is embedded into her philosophy, Moore said.

Board Vice President TiAnna Harrison said Raichoudhuri found creative solutions to problems and had good experience writing grants.

Agbamu has 30 years working in education, according to her resume. She noted a proven ability to work in unison with students, teachers and community members.

She holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership and masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Shes worked as the assistant superintendent at St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minnesota since 2012. Prior to that, she was an executive director and high school principal in the district.

Agbamu is clearly passionate about education, Board Treasurer Ken Greschak said. She is experienced and had glowing references, he said.

Harrison said she appreciated Agbamus experience as a teacher and how she worked to implement new programs in her current role. Harrison also said she liked how Agbamu felt that the districts funds belong to its stakeholders and said she applauded her goal of a 100% graduation rate.

Agbamu said during her interview that the districts goals and mission statement align with her values and that she is better equipped as a candidate to be the superintendent.

As a superintendent, Agbamu would be visible to all stakeholders. She would have an open-door policy and welcome meetings -- especially over tea -- with parents and students.

We are in the relationship business, Agbamu said. Im a people person. A superintendent has to be a people person.

Moore said Agbamu had an empathy, warmth and commitment to students that was evident. She appreciated Agbamus knowledge of restorative justice and programs for English language learners.

Agbamu is a fierce advocate for all students, board member Jermaine Jackson said.

I really loved the heart of this candidate, Jackson said.

The search for a new superintendent began in May after longtime district leader Michael Rice was chosen as Michigans new state superintendent. The district chose Gary Start, deputy superintendent of business and finance, to serve as interim superintendent while the board conducted a search with help from the Michigan Association of School Boards.

The two finalists will be invited back for a third round of interviews scheduled for the week of Wednesday, Feb. 18.

The candidates full resumes, with some personal information redacted, are available online.

Inquiries about the superintendent search should be directed to Greg Sieszputowski, director of leadership development and executive search services at MASB, by calling 517-327-9224 or emailing gregs@masb.org.

Also on MLive:

Final candidates interview for superintendent at Kalamazoo Public Schools

Two of 4 candidates interview for superintendent at Kalamazoo Public Schools

Meet four superintendent candidates called back for interviews in Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo superintendent search narrows to four candidates
Born in the Year of the Rat, Dao Van Duong, Dean of Biotechnology, Chemistry and Environmental Engineering at Phenikaa University, 36, has been listed among the worlds top 100,000 scientists.

I believe that you will have a bright future if you work as a professor at Chungnam National University in South Korea. But you decided to come back to Vietnam to become a lecturer of a young university. Did you ever think about leaving Vietnam?



It was not an easy decision to return to Vietnam. However, instead of thinking about modest salary, one should think about the things you can have in Vietnam.

Dao Van Duong





First, if working in Vietnam, you can live near family and relatives. The longer you stay overseas, the bigger the distance between you and your relatives in Vietnam will be.



Second, in Vietnam, you can speak the mother tongue, which is more convenient for work and daily life.



More importantly, in Vietnam, you can cherish dreams and be the owner of those dreams. You have all the rights to determine the way of development of your dreams.



Nguyen Xuan Hung, a renowned scientist, said he decided to work for a private school because he loves the environment and the operation mechanism of private schools. Are there any special reasons for you to choose Phenikaa?



Deciding to work for state-owned or private schools depends on characteristics of every individual, subjective and objective factors.



At the university where I work, all members are respected and encouraged. The school creates most favorable conditions for everyone to create new things, and pursue new ideas.



In order to have money to live and devote themselves to favorite research works, many people have to take extra jobs. How about you?



I have heard many stories about that. This is a method that helps scientists nurture their passions. However, there are also many other methods one can consider. For example, many funds support scientific research. I mean both domestic and foreign.



What does your success mean to you? Do you feel pressure from success?



One can reap success after experiencing a lot of failures. Of course, everyone loves success and dislikes failures. However, if you dont taste failure, you wont know the sweetness of success.



A successful scientist must spend much time on his scientific works. How can you arrange your time to both implement your works and enjoy life?



Every success will bring joy and happiness, and motivation to you to continue your work.



When I worked overseas, every time when I felt stress, I took a stroll in the laboratory. Some ideas came when I was walking.

Linh Ha

Female scientist interested in rice varieties Dr. Pham Thi Thu Ha is one of three Vietnamese scientists to receive LOreal  UNESCO for Women in Science Awards for her achievements and contributions to the community.
Government has requested experimental coronavirus drug: Health Ministry

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 09:05 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung () said Thursday that the Taiwan government has asked the American drugmaker Gilead Sciences to reserve doses of its experimental drug Remdesivir for potential use in Taiwan, amid reports that the antiviral medication may be effective in treating the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

At a press conference, Chen confirmed the request to Gilead, while noting that the drug -- which is not yet licensed or approved anywhere globally -- needs government approval before it can be used.

Originally developed for use against the Ebola virus, Remdesivir has been widely discussed in recent days as a possible coronavirus treatment, following positive results from Chinese and American doctors who have administered the drug experimentally.

On Jan. 31, Gilead said in a statement that it was working with the Chinese authorities to conduct a clinical trial involving the use of Remdesivir on coronavirus patients.

In an interview with CNA Thursday, National Taiwan University (NTU) Executive Vice President Chang Shan-chwen (), who also serves as Taipei-area director of the Centers for Disease Controls' Infectious Disease Control Medical Network, confirmed that NTU Hospital contacted Gilead before the Lunar New Year holiday in January, and said the drugmaker had agreed to send doses of Remdesivir to Taiwan in the form of a charitable donation.

According to Chang, NTU Hospital then prepared application documents pertaining to the drug's experimental use, including treatment plans and patient consent forms.

After gaining approval from the hospital's ethics review committee, the plans were submitted to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Chang said.

However, Chang did not reveal details of the agreement, such as how many doses of the drug would be sent, or when they would arrive.

In terms of Remdesivir's possible effectiveness, Chang said some physicians found the drug beneficial in treating a related coronavirus -- Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, or MERS -- during a 2015 outbreak in South Korea.

Despite its initial promise in stopping the reproduction of the MERS and SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) viruses in the respiratory tract, clinical trials ultimately found it to be less effective than other medications, and it was not developed for use on the mass market, Chang said.

Regarding Remdesivir's possible use in Taiwan, Chang said none of the confirmed domestic cases needed the drug at present, given that all are in stable condition, and only one is suffering from pneumonia.

In the case of the patient with pneumonia, Chang explained that the person is being treated using supportive care, which involves the mitigation of individual symptoms, such as using supplemental oxygen to reduce breathing difficulties.

Since doctors have yet to find any drugs that are highly effective in treating the coronavirus, Chang said none of the patients had been treated with other types of antiviral medications.

(By Chen Wei-ting, Chen Ching-fang and Matthew Mazzetta)

Enditem/AW

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The federal government plans to set up English classes in refugee camps to give potential immigrants a better shot at getting a job when they get to Australia.

Acting Immigration Minister and Minister for Population Alan Tudge has decried a link between unacceptably high rates of unemployment amongst refugees and a lack of English skills.

'Long-term welfare dependence is debilitating for anyone, be they a refugee, long-term citizen or anyone else. We have to do better,' Mr Tudge will say in a speech at the Menzies Research Centre in Melbourne, The Australian reported on Friday.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seen inside a 'high care accomodation room' as he tours North West Point Detention Centre on Christmas Island

'Data shows that when identifying reasons for finding it difficult to get a job, close to 60 per cent of humanitarian entrants said 'my English isn't good enough yet'.'

A trial of English-language classes in overseas camps to upskill refugees before they arrive in Australia is due to begin on July 1.

More than 70 per cent of refugees are unemployed a year after arriving in Australia, the government says.




TOKYO, Feb 7, 2020 - (JCN Newswire) - MITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION (MMC) has announced the first full redesign of the eK space in roughly six years, in addition to the launch of the new eK X space (pronounced eK "cross" space), a crossover model with SUV flavor. These models will go on sale at MMC sales affiliates throughout Japan starting on Thursday, March 19. The price for the eK X space will start at \1,655,500, ranging up to \1,991,000 fully equipped, while the price for the eK space will range from \1,399,200 to \1,767,700 (10% tax included).Features of the eK X space and eK space1. Distinctive design with Mitsubishi-ness- The eK X space has high-powered SUV flavor.- The eK space is stylish and approachable.2. Comfortable, user-friendly interior space- Comfortable cabin space with class-topping* slide space at the rear seats- Hands-free automatic sliding doors that are easy to open and shut3. Advanced driver assistance technology and safety features- Evolved MI-PILOT single-lane driver assistance technology for highways- Active safety technology enhanced with four newly added functions for even more safety*Models in the super height Kei wagon class (overall height above 1,700 mm) with engines placed in the hood were compared by in-house research in February 2020.Official product website for eK X space and eK space:https://www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp/lineup/ek_series/space_special/About Mitsubishi MotorsMITSUBISHI MOTORS CORPORATION is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has a competitive edge in SUVs and pickup trucks, electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Since the Mitsubishi group produced its first car more than a century ago, we have demonstrated an ambitious and often disruptive approach, developing new vehicle genres and pioneering cutting-edge technologies. Deeply rooted in MITSUBISHI MOTORS' DNA, our brand strategy will appeal to ambitious drivers, willing to challenge conventional wisdom and ready to embrace change. Consistent with this mindset, MITSUBISHI MOTORS introduced its new brand strategy in 2017, expressed in its "Drive your Ambition" tagline -- a combination of personal drive and forward attitude, and a reflection of the constant dialogue between the brand and its customers. Today MITSUBISHI MOTORS is committed to continuous investment in innovative new technologies, attractive design and product development, bringing exciting and authentic new vehicles to customers around the world.Source: Mitsubishi MotorsCopyright 2020 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
Denial: The group was set up using the phone of Sinn Feins Dessie Ellis. Photo: Tom Burke

Sinn Fein has refused to say if it carried out an investigation into a WhatsApp group connected to one of its TDs where families of IRA victims were labelled "wasters" giving "sob stories" to the media.

Details of the WhatsApp group first emerged in 2018 when it was reported by 'The Sun' newspaper that it had been set up using the phone of Sinn Fein TD Dessie Ellis and including a number of Sinn Fein members.

In one of the group's conversations in February 2017 the possibility of a snap general election was being discussed when one user said it would result in the media being "on the phone to Cahill, Stack, Quinn et al and every other waster they can wheel out with a sob story".

The message is understood to be a reference to Mairia Cahill, who has spoken of her abuse at the hands of the IRA in recent years; high-profile campaigner Austin Stack, the son of prison officer Brian Stack, who was shot in the neck and killed by the IRA in 1983; and the family of Paul Quinn, who was beaten to death in 2007 by a gang associated with the Provisional IRA.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said in 2018, when details of the group emerged, that the WhatsApp messages were "completely unacceptable to Sinn Fein and a breach of our social media guidelines".

The spokesperson said the party was "trying to establish the facts of this matter".

However, Sinn Fein did not respond to queries yesterday about what investigation, if any, was ever carried out into the group and what the outcome of it was.

Mr Ellis has previously said he was "not on any WhatsApp group".

Contacted yesterday, Mr Ellis told the Irish Independent: "I don't want to deal with the media. I am in an election, can I talk to you again?"

He then hung up the phone. Mr Ellis was due to appear on RTE Radio One's 'Drivetime' last night to participate in a Dublin North-West constituency debate, however he pulled out at short notice.

Those who were referred to in the group message said they were disappointed and upset by the lack of clarity on whether Sinn Fein had ever carried out an investigation into the matter.

Ms Cahill said she wanted to know if the group had been investigated, what the outcome of any probe was and if people involved in the group were canvassing for Mr Ellis or other party candidates.

"These comments were horrific and hurtful," she said.

Mr Stack said he was "hurt and disgusted" by the group and the party's response to it.
TORONTO - A man accused of kidnapping his toddler son in Canada and hiding him in the United states for three decades made a brief appearance in a Canadian courtroom for the first time on Thursday, well over a year after he was arrested in the case.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lyneth Mann-Lewis, centre, of Brampton, Ont., is joined by family members while discussing what it what like reuniting with her son Jermaine Mann, who until recently, was living under an alias in the U.S, during a press conference at Toronto Police Headquarters in Toronto on Monday, October 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Tijana Martin

TORONTO - A man accused of kidnapping his toddler son in Canada and hiding him in the United states for three decades made a brief appearance in a Canadian courtroom for the first time on Thursday, well over a year after he was arrested in the case.

Allan Mann Jr. has been charged with abduction for allegedly kidnapping his son Jermaine in 1987, Toronto police said.

He was extradited to Canada after finishing an 18-month stint in a U.S. prison for illegally obtaining government benefits while eluding authorities.

"They lived, basically, a life of lies as to who they were and what they did, unbeknownst to Jermaine," Toronto police Det. Sgt. Wayne Banks said upon Mann's October 2018 arrest. "He was under the impression that his mother had died shortly after birth."

Mann was in court Thursday for a bail hearing, but a court official said it was postponed until Monday.

Toronto police allege Mann kidnapped his son during a court-ordered visitation in 1987 before fleeing to the U.S. and obtaining fake identities for them both.

Mann's American lawyer, David Ring, said his client fled Canada with his son because he worried about the boy's safety during a bitter custody dispute with his wife, who planned to take the child to Jamaica.

U.S. authorities said Mann acquired counterfeit birth certificates for him and his son, which were later used to obtain a Social Security number.

American prosecutors said Mann used the alias Hailee DeSouza to collect more than US$125,000 in housing benefits and more than US$55,000 in Medicaid assistance. He pleaded guilty last year to one count of making a false statement.

U.S. marshals and Toronto police launched a new effort to find Mann in 2016 while meeting at a law enforcement conference on capturing fugitives.

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The marshals interviewed several of Mann's friends and family members, including a relative who pointed authorities to Connecticut and Mann's alleged alias. He was ultimately arrested in Vernon, Conn.

Mann's son is now in his 30s and reunited with his mother after years of believing she had died shortly after his birth.

Lyneth Mann-Lewis of Brampton, Ont., spoke publicly upon their reunion, saying she hoped her story-book ending offered hope to others whose children were taken from them.

"I am the proof that after 31 long years of suffering, one should never give up," she said at the time. "Be patient, be strong, and believe that all things are possible and that anything can transpire."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.

 with files from The Associated Press.
The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic refuses to stop as the number continues to rise on a daily basis. It has now risen to 636 with 73 new mortalities reported, mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said.

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, reported 69 deaths on Thursday while Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one each, China's National Health Commission said.

As many as 73 people died on Thursday, while another 3,143 new cases of infection were reported, taking the total number of confirmed cases of infection to 31,161 from 31 provincial-level regions, the commission said.

reuters

A total of 1,540 patients infected with the virus have been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Thursday, it said, highlighting that a large number of people are getting cured.

The Chinese officials said 19 foreign nationals living in the country had been confirmed of contracting the novel coronavirus as of Thursday, but did not disclose their nationalities.

The deceased on Thursday also included Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight whistle-blowers who warned other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by the police.

reuters

Li, the 34-year-old doctor, died due to coronavirus on Thursday in Wuhan.

He was the first to report about the virus back in December last year when it emerged in Wuhan.

He dropped a bombshell in his medical school alumni group on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and quarantined in his hospital.

Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumour-mongering by the Wuhan police.

He was one of the several medics targeted by the police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak.



reuters

Meanwhile, China on Thursday opened a new 1,500-bed makeshift hospital especially built for virus patients, days after a 1,000-bed hospital started functioning with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms in Wuhan.

Chinese officials argue that the death toll and confirmed cases are rising in Hubei province because of lack of enough hospitals and beds.

Officials also started setting up tent hospitals and mobile clinics to treat the growing number of patients.

China also lodged diplomatic protests to countries over cancellation of flights to China due to virus fears.

reuters

"As some countries have taken such excessive steps as suspending flights, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) has also issued bulletins and encouraged all countries to follow WHO recommendations," a spokesperson said.

"We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO's professional recommendations and ICAO's bulletins and have lodged stern representations with them," she said.

Several international airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, have cancelled flights to China over fears of the virus spreading across the world, a move which Beijing described as being against WHO guidelines.

Many countries including India and the US have also announced travel bans.


ZURICH (dpa-AFX) - Credit Suisse's (CS) chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam will resign in the wake of a spying scandal at the Swiss bank. He will be succeeded by Thomas Gottstein, who currently leads the bank's Swiss unit.



Tidjane Thiam, outgoing Group CEO of Credit Suisse, said, 'I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.'



Thiam will resign on February 14 after presenting full-year results 2019, the Swiss bank said in a statement.



Chairman Urs Rohner said Thiam has made an 'enormous contribution' to Credit Suisse since he joined in 2015.



Thomas Gottstein, the newly appointed Group CEO, has more than 30 years of experience in the banking industry, including more than 20 years with Credit Suisse. In his role as CEO of Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. and member of the Executive Board, he has been responsible for home market since 2015.



The company said Andre Helfenstein will succeed Thomas Gottstein as the CEO of Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd., effective February 14, 2020 and become a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group AG.



Andre Helfenstein is currently responsible for institutional clients business in Switzerland, and is a member of the Executive Board of Credit Suisse (Switzerland) Ltd. and the Swiss Universal Bank Management Committee.



Severin Schwan, lead independent director, reaffirmed board's full support for the Chairman Urs Rohner to complete his term until April 2021.



In December 2019, Credit Suisse confirmed that a second top employee was placed under surveillance earlier last year.



Peter Goerke, who was a member of the Executive Board at the time, was placed under observation by a third-party firm on behalf of the bank for a period of several days in February 2019.



An investigation by the bank enlisted Swiss law firm then concluded that Pierre-Olivier Bouee, a former member of the Executive Board, issued the mandate to have Peter Goerke put under observation. As was the case with former wealth management head Iqbal Khan, the observation was carried out via an intermediary. Khan had subsequently moved on to UBS.



The bank had terminated the employment agreement with Pierre-Olivier Bouee.



The Swiss law firm's investigation did not find any indication that the Group CEO Tidjane Thiam, other members of the Executive Board, or members of the Board of Directors had any knowledge of the observation of Peter Goerke until media reported on it.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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A woman heard her friend and another man screaming from inside a toolbox when she was at her drug dealer's unit, a Brisbane court has heard.

Ngatokoona Mareiti says she heard her friend screaming from inside a toolbox after finding her tied up with duct tape.

Mareiti gave evidence on Friday at the murder trial of Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, 28, who is accused of killing the friend Iuliana Triscaru and Cory Breton.

The couple's decomposing bodies were found inside the toolbox at a lagoon on Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane, in February 2016.

Iuliana Triscaru and Cory Breton's decomposing bodies were found in February 2016 after police dragged the large metal box from Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane

Mareiti said she saw Ms Triscaru and Mr Breton the previous month on the couch in a Kingston unit when she went to buy drugs.

They had grey tape around their hands and ankles, she told the Brisbane Supreme Court.

She said Mr Breton looked like he had been hit in the mouth.

On her drug dealer's instructions, Mareiti searched Ms Triscaru's bra for drugs, finding a small amount of the drug ice.

Mareiti went to buy alcohol and cleaning products, also at the request of the dealer, returning to find the couple in a toolbox in the lounge, with a man standing or sitting on top.

Asked how she knew they were inside, Mareiti said: 'They were screaming.'

Mareiti said she saw Ms Triscaru and Mr Breton the previous month on the couch in a Kingston unit when she went to buy drugs. They had grey tape around their hands and ankles, she told the Brisbane Supreme Court

The pair tried to escape when the toolbox was opened briefly, but Mareiti said garbage bags filled with towels were stuffed on top of the people in the box.

Mareiti pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter over the deaths of the couple.

She was given a lesser sentence of nine years' jail in return for testifying in the trial.

Earlier the trial heard Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were lured to the unit in Kingston and assaulted by a group of men after Mr Breton told a friend he had a photo of a fellow drug dealer on this phone.

Prosecutor David Meredith says this photo of Stou Daniels - who ordered the pair into the box - is central to the trial of Tahiata.

Tahiata has pleaded not guilty to both murders.

The trial continues on Monday.
Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday met envoys of China, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives with a broad focus to deepen bilateral ties and boost regional cooperation.

In his meeting with Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong, Shringla conveyed India's appreciation to China for facilitating evacuation of nearly 650 Indians from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city.

In a tweet, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Shringla and Sun also discussed issues related to bilateral ties, including events to celebrate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

About Shringla's meeting with Nepalese envoy Nilamber Acharya, Kumar said both sides expressed satisfaction at the "positive trajectory" in relations and looked forward to working together to further strengthen the close ties.

In their meeting, the foreign secretary and the Bangladesh High Commissioner, Muhammad Imran, delved into various facets of bilateral engagement.

The foreign secretary recalled his days as the high commissioner in Dhaka and conveyed that India looked forward to jointly celebrate the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and 50 years of Bangladesh's liberation.

Shringla also held a meeting with Maldivian High Commissioner Aishah Didi.

"Foreign Secretary @HarshShringla congratulated High Commissioner of Maldives @aishamdidi on her appointment as Minister of Gender, Family & Social Services & thanked her for outstanding work in transforming India-Maldives relationship under the leadership of President @ibusolih," Kumar tweeted.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three of the accused who allegedly lynched a farmer and seriously injured five others in tribal-dominated Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday have been arrested while six police personnel were suspended for dereliction of duty, police said on Thursday.

Dhar superintendent of police Aditya Pratap Singh said, A special investigation team (SIT) has been constituted. Those arrested are Ramesh Junapani, a village sarpanch, Satya and Galia, all residents of Dhar. They led the mob. Police personnel suspended are inspector Yuvaraj Singh Chauhan and a sub-inspector, an assistant sub-inspector and three constables. Health minister Tulsi Silavat said, Over 40 people have been identified so far. On Wednesday, Ganesh Patel, a resident of Shivkheda village in Ujjain was killed and the five other farmers were injured when some labourers, who owed them money, declared them child-lifters, said police. While the Congress alleged that Junapani was a BJP leader, BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said, The Congress is in habit of playing politics to distract the people.

(With input from Chhotu Shastri in Dhar)

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A TEACHER who hugged, kissed and gave a present to a vulnerable female pupil has been banned from the countrys classrooms indefinitely.

Robert Nixon (28) who taught history at Wickersley School, admitted what he had done to a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) disciplinary panel and that it amounted to sexual behaviour.

However, he denied his conduct in relation to the 18-year-old student was sexually motivated and the panel accepted this denial.

Nixon taught at the school from September 2013, when he was also appointed head of year, until he resigned in January last year.

The incidents leading to him resigning and facing the disciplinary proceedings happened during the 2018/2019 academic year, the panel in Coventry heard.

Nixon admitted to the panel that he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with the girl, given her a book as a gift, that she had hugged him and he had hugged her back and that he had kissed her on the school premises around five times.

He also admitted that he had failed to obey management instructions relating to the girl, and that what he did was conduct of a sexual nature.

Wickersley head Elaine Renavent said in a statement to parents that the matter had been dealt with as swiftly and decisively as possible.

She said she had suspended Nixon and informed the TRA and Rotherham Council after concerns were brought to me about his professional conduct in December 2018.

The council and police had decided not to prosecute Nixon because the student was aged over 18 said the head, who added: During the course of our investigation, Mr Nixon admitted to having hugged and kissed the student, and tendered his resignation in January 2019, which I accepted.

The panels findings say: There is no evidence that Nixon's conduct was primarily motivated by the intention to attain sexual gratification or engage in a sexual relationship.

There is no evidence that the inappropriate relationship continued over a long period of time or escalated beyond kissing.

However, they found that what he did amounted to unacceptable professional conduct which could bring the teaching profession into disrepute and that the facts found proven, involved breaches of the Teachers Standards.

The panel, who referred to the girl as Pupil A, said: This was misconduct of a serious nature which fell significantly short of the standards expected of the profession.

They added: Mr Nixons conduct amounted to a serious safeguarding failure and presented a risk of harm to a pupil in his care.

His conduct impacted upon Pupil A and the school  it also had the potential to impact on pupils and the school community more broadly in so far as his inappropriate contact with Pupil A had been witnessed and reported by staff and other pupils.

For these reasons, the panel was satisfied that Mr Nixons actions amount to unacceptable professional conduct, which he admitted.

TRA decision maker, Dawn Dandy, imposing the ban on behalf of the education secretary said she considered a ban was necessary in order to maintain public confidence in the profession, adding: A prohibition order is proportionate and in the public interest.

However, she left the way open for Nixon to return to teaching in the future. Although the ban is an indefinite one, he can apply to have it lifted after two years, though Ms Dandy made it clear that it would not be lifted automatically and that a new panel would have to consider whether he was fit to return to the classroom.

Alternatively, the disgraced ex-teacher can challenge the ban in the High Court.


The effort by the Democratic Party establishment to conceal or suppress reports of Senator Bernie Sanders victory in the Iowa caucuses reached a new stage Thursday with Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass of the state.

The twitter statement by Perez came only hours after the final figures from the Iowa Democratic Party showed Sanders more than 6,000 votes ahead of former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in the February 3 caucuses, and behind by only two state delegate equivalents, out of 2,152, in the process that will lead to the awarding of Iowas delegates to the Democratic national convention.

With all but one of nearly 1,800 precincts tallied, Sanders led Buttigieg by 43,671 to 37,557 votes, with Senator Elizabeth Warren in third place with 32,553, among initial ballots cast at the caucuses. Sanders had 24.8 percent of the vote compared to 21.3 percent for Buttigieg.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks to supporters in Des Moines, Iowa, February 3, 2020 [Credit: AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais]

Sanders had a smaller lead in the second round, after those backing unviable candidate (those with less than 15 percent support) were allowed to switch their votes. Buttigiegs lead in state delegate equivalents arises from the overrepresentation of rural areas, where he ran stronger, in the apportioning of delegates.

The statement by Perez appeared to have two purposes: to provide cover for the Democratic Party in response to widespread accounts of inaccuracies and contradictions in the Iowa vote reporting, including a lengthy account posted on the New York Times website Thursday; and to further muddy the outcome of the caucuses, in which Sanders won a clear popular vote victory despite the effective tie in the number of delegates won.

Sanders wiped out Buttigiegs narrow lead in delegates thanks to votes in satellite caucuses, which were held outside normal hours or outside the state to accommodate voters unable to attend the regular caucuses that began at 7 p.m. Monday night. In two results reported Thursday, one satellite caucus for night-shift workers at a food processing plant in Ottumwa, and the other for students and workers at Drake University in Des Moines, Sanders collected nine state delegate equivalents compared to zero for Buttigieg.

It is noteworthy that Perez issued his statement knowing that Sanders was about to hold a press conference in New Hampshire, where he is campaigning for the February 11 primary, to declare victory in Iowa. Sanders again refused to make any criticism of the Iowa Democratic Party for delaying the report of the results for many days.

In his tweet, Perez acknowledged problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and urged a complete recanvass in order to assure public confidence in the results. A DNC official told the press that this would involve a hand audit of worksheets and reporting forms from every precinct and satellite caucus, checking for inconsistencies, mathematical errors and other mistakes. The scale of such an effort could postpone any final report of the Iowa results for days, and perhaps even until after the New Hampshire primary, the second contest in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Tom Perez (Credit: Flickr.com, Gage Skidmore)

Iowa state Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price said that he was prepared to order a recanvass, but only if requested by one of the campaigns, not by Perez, who has no actual authority to order the review. None of the campaigns has yet requested a recanvass, and it is not clear that any of them will, since those candidates who finished below the top two, including Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Amy Klobuchar, want the public to forget about Iowa as quickly as possible.

The dueling statements from Perez and Price conceal their underlying political alignment: Price was the Iowa state director for Hillary Clintons campaign in 2016 before becoming state chairman; Perez was the choice of the Clinton wing of the party to head the DNC, narrowly defeating Representative Keith Ellison, backed by Sanders and Pete Buttigieg in his first national effort. Both Price and Perez are adamantly opposed to the nomination of Sanders, who calls himself a democratic socialist.

The New York Times account, under the headline, Many Errors Are Evident in Iowa Caucus Results Released Wednesday, was based on a precinct-by-precinct analysis that suggested both math errors in the tallies and more serious violations of rules governing the caucuses, including more people voting in the second round than in the first, and votes being subtracted from viable candidates, when their totals should only have increased.

The Times claimed there was no pattern in the errors, in terms of favoring Buttigieg or Sanders, the two leading candidates. Its analysis did not include well publicized and cruder errors in the initial count, such as awarding hundreds of Sanders votes to former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who did not campaign in Iowa, and hundreds of Warren votes to billionaire Tom Steyer. These mistakes were publicly corrected by the Iowa Democratic Party, but they obviously did not add to the credibility of the overall result.

The figures showed the gap between Buttigieg and Sanders, in terms of state delegate equivalents, narrowing to near nonexistence. That did not stop the bulk of the corporate media from continuing to present Buttigieg as the surprise victor in Iowa and Sanders as the second-place finisher, and even claiming that Sanders comfortable lead in the polls ahead of the New Hampshire primary was in danger.

An example of this was a headline on the website of Newsweek magazine, which read, Pete Buttigieg Gaining Quickly In New Hampshire As Bernie Sanders Stalls: Poll. The article was actually reporting a poll in which Sanders led with 31 percent of the vote, with Buttigieg in second place at 21 percent. The report admitted that Sanders maintains a healthy lead in the state where he won more than 60 percent of votes in the 2016 contest.

The main concern of the Democratic establishment is not Sanders himselfa proven defender of capitalism and a longtime collaborator with the Democratic Party leadership in the Senate and House. It is that the nomination of a candidate who publicly (if less and less frequently) embraces the socialist label and who professes his opposition to war and militarism could provide encouragement to the leftward movement of millions of working people and youth who are looking for a way to fight back against the capitalist system.

There are further signs of the deep political crisis wracking the Democratic Party. Campaigning in New Hampshire, former Vice President Biden took up the anti-socialist cudgel wielded by Trump in his State of the Union address. If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states, easy districts and competitive ones, every Democrat will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself, Biden said. He calls himand I dont criticize himhe calls himself a democratic socialist.

The Biden campaign was in visible crisis, purging both the Iowa state director and the Iowa field director after the dismal showing there, and shifting advertising money from the South Carolina primary on February 29 to the Nevada caucuses February 22 in an effort to avoid losing the first three contests in the Democratic race. Biden admitted in one campaign appearance Wednesday that the Iowa caucus had been a gut punch to his campaign.

Meanwhile, the Sanders campaign announced that it had raised $25 million from more than 648,000 donors in January, the best fundraising month of the campaign, with an average donation of $18, most of it on-line. These included 219,000 first-time donors. A campaign statement declared, Working class Americans giving $18 at a time are putting our campaign in a strong position to compete in states all over the map. According to Sanders aides, teacher was the most common occupation, and the top five employers of those making contributions were Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, the US Postal Service and Target.

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The Iowa caucuses debacle

[5 February 2020]
A man once dubbed 'Jilted John' for being dumped in the run up to his wedding - before inviting a stranger on his honeymoon - has celebrated the birth of a baby boy with the fiancee who left him.

John Whitbread, 37, from Leicestershire, made headlines in 2015 for auctioning off a spare ticket for a luxury honeymoon to the Dominican Republic after being ditched by Amy Jackson five weeks before the the big day.

But the couple appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain last year after they rekindled their romance - before John got down on one knee and popped the question on live TV.

And now the couple have welcomed 12-week-old son Oliver, who joins Amy's daughter, Daisy, 11, from a previous relationship.

John Whitbread (pictured), 37, from Leicestershire, was once dubbed 'Jilted John' for being dumped by Amy Jackson in the run up to his wedding. The couple are now celebrating the birth of their son, Oliver, after rekindling their relationship

And after John proposed last year, the couple are now set to tie the knot for real.

Photographer Amy explained she instantly regretted ending the relationship due to getting 'cold feet'.

The 29-year-old said: 'It all happened so quickly when we first got together. Within a month we'd moved in together and got engaged quickly.

'There were lots of pressures. It all happened too soon and I got cold feet. I thought I wasn't ready for it - I'd not lived my life enough.

'How I handled it was wrong. It was when I was getting Daisy ready for school I saw my face on TV and the story was on the radio.

'It just reinforced I'd made a mistake, but when the media got involved, there was no going back. I was asking to meet up and he was saying no.

The couple have welcomed 12-week-old son Oliver, who joins Amy's daughter, Daisy (right), 11, from a previous relationship

'I was getting death threats from people - it was horrible.'

It hasn't been an easy journey for the couple - who unexpectedly hit headlines after John took to eBay to raffle the honeymoon ticket to the highest bidder after Amy told him at Christmas 2014 she did not want to get married.

The raffle was a huge hit with 155 of the 10 tickets sold to 125 women, with John saying he just wanted a nice girl to join him - no strings attached.

Desperate to find a holiday partner for the 1,950 trip to the Dominican Republic, with lucky winner Kelly Wood - who he met for the first time at the airport.

The pair flew to the Caribbean region, where they stayed in the honeymoon suite in single beds and returned as 'good friends but nothing more'.

Photographer Amy explained she instantly regretted ending the relationship in 2014 due to getting 'cold feet'

The raffle also raised 1,420 which John donated to the testicular cancer charity Balls to Cancer as he said at the time that people told him he 'had balls' for going on honeymoon with a complete stranger.

For two years, John and Amy did not speak and tried to move on with other relationships, but it never worked out.

Then they started to make contact with the odd message when memories came up on Facebook.

On New Year's Eve 2017, John sent a message to Amy saying not to contact him again.

The couple appeared on ITV's Good Morning Britain last year after they rekindled their romance - before John got down on one knee and popped the question on live TV (pictured)

A few weeks later, John apologised and they cleared the air, sharing the odd message again, but he made it clear they were not getting back together.

But as time passed, they realised they were 'meant to be together'. Amy said: 'When it's meant to be it'll always find a way.

'I never thought four years ago we'd be back together with a family. It wasn't easy as he was really hurt. We had to be really honest and build it up from scratch.'

When it came to planning the big proposal last year, John made sure it was perfect and personal to them.

The first suggestion from ITV was for celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott to make them breakfast.

It took John three months to plan his engagement to Amy and he even got the restaurant to send an invite saying bosses were inviting loyal customers to breakfast to celebrate 10 years in business

Now the couple are adapting to life with little Oliver (pictured) and are planning their big day next year

But he says hearing Just You and I by Tom Walker gave him the idea to get engaged at their favourite restaurant.

It took him three months to plan and he even got the restaurant to send an invite saying bosses were inviting loyal customers to breakfast to celebrate 10 years in business.

Amy was under the impression it was being filmed for the website. Amy said: 'It was really unexpected.

'After the first time I thought it was never going to happen again.'

When it came to planning the big proposal last year, John (pictured with Amy and Daisy) made sure it was perfect and personal to them

Now the couple are adapting to life with little Oliver and are planning their big day next year.

John said: 'It's really nice and everyone's happy for us.

'It is like a film really. My dad, who's not the emotional type, watches the proposal now and again and he gets choked up.

'It's really hard being a dad. It's not easy, but you just do whatever you think's right. 'You have to work together as a team.

'We're both tired and he was a very 'sicky' baby. 'It pushes you to your limits, but when he smiles it all just melts away.'
Five leaders from a predominantly Christian militia in Central African Republic were given life terms Friday for war crimes and crimes against humanity over atrocities committed in 2017.

Justice Minister Flavien Mbata said the sentences, handed down by the CAR Criminal Court in the capital Bangui, were the first ever issued by the nations judiciary for crimes against humanity.

Two of the sentences concern well-known militia figures known by their nicknames of Pino Pino and Bere-Bere, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said.

Their men are accused of slaughtering dozens of Muslims on May 13 2017.

CAR, one of the worlds poorest countries, has been grappling with violence since 2013.

The Pino Pino militia was one of the predominantly Christian and animist armed groups that sprang up to combat a mainly Muslim rebel coalition, the Seleka.

Vicious fighting brought the country to the brink of sectarian war, prompting intervention by France, the former colonial power.

Today, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera governs with the support of MINUSCA, a 14,700-strong UN peacekeeping force.

But armed groups control two-thirds of the country, typically claiming to represent a religious or ethnic group and frequently fighting over its rich mineral resources.

The trial concerned an attack on a district in the southeastern town of Bangassou and a nearby UN base.

According to the UN, 72 people were killed, 76 were wounded and 4,400 people fled their homes.

The militiamen especially targeted members of the Muslim community who had taken refuge in the towns Catholic church.

Pino Pino is the nom de guerre of a self-described general named Crepin Wakanam, and Bere-Bere is the name of his lieutenant, Kevin Bere.

Bere-Bere turned himself in to a MINUSCA base in January 2018, saying he sought their protection against his former chief.

Four months later, Pino Pino was arrested with 33 followers in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, which then extradited him.

Fridays verdict came two days after the first anniversary of a peace agreement signed in Khartoum between the government and 14 militia leaders  the eighth such attempt to end violence.

Fighting has forced nearly a quarter of 4.5 million people in the CAR to flee their homes.
Is it possible to build big projects in Canada any more? More to the point, is it possible to build a pipeline, or is such an effort doomed to failure by endless protests and court challenges?

One of Canadas most senior courts gave a partial answer to that thorny question this week. In effect, it said, yes  it is possible if governments proceed carefully and meet their obligations to consider environmental impacts and consult properly with Indigenous people.

The decision came from a unanimous three-judge panel of the Federal Court of Appeal, ruling once again in what seems like the endless saga of the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

Its important because it clears away a major legal obstacle to expanding the capacity of the pipeline from Albertas oilsands to the B.C. coast and markets abroad.

And its important because it sets out more clearly than ever the principle that while Indigenous groups have the right to be consulted on such projects, indeed they have a right to deep consultation, in the end the law does not give them a veto.

This will be disappointing to those, including many Indigenous people, who oppose energy projects for all sorts of reasons. But it is well-established Canadian law, and the appeal court set it out repeatedly and at length.

The court was ruling on the second approval, last June, by the federal government of the Trans Mountain project.

The first time Ottawa gave it the green light, in 2016, First Nations groups challenged it in court on the grounds that they werent adequately consulted and some environmental issues hadnt been taken into account.

The appeal court agreed with the Indigenous groups on those points. And it spelled out what Ottawa had to do to meet its obligations.

The federal government duly addressed those issues. It carried out another environmental review and another round of consultation with Indigenous groups. Then it re-approved the project.

Four First Nations still werent satisfied, and went to court again to block Trans Mountain. It seemed the project might be stuck in an endless loop of consultation and challenge. Opponents would never agree they had been fully consulted, since they were just out to stall the pipeline ad infinitum.

This weeks ruling provides helpful clarification on all this. The federal government, it says, does have a duty to consult with First Nations on such matters, and a duty to accommodate if appropriate.

But there are limits, even in an era when reconcilation with Indigenous peoples is (or should be) at the top of the public agenda. Reconciliation, the court said, does not dictate any particular substantive outcome. Were it otherwise, Indigenous people would effectively have a veto over projects such as this one. The law is clear that no such veto exists.

Nor, said the court, can First Nations use their right to be consulted in such a way that it becomes simply a tool to kill a project. They cannot tactically use the consultation process as a means to try to veto it.

Even if First Nations dont believe their concerns have been fully met, it said, they cannot demand more consultation indefinitely: To insist on that happening is to impose a standard of perfection that is not required by law.

Along the way, the court noted that more than 120 of the 129 Indigenous groups potentially impacted by the Trans Mountain expansion either support it or do not oppose it. Benefit agreements had been signed with 43 groups as of last June. First Nations are by no means unanimously opposed to the project.

It will still be a struggle to complete Trans Mountain, which Ottawa bought almost two years ago for $4.4 billion. Other challenges and protests will surely come, and the final pricetag is expected to top $9 billion.

But this weeks ruling brings it a step closer. And it makes clear that other big projects can be accomplished, if the law is followed in both word and spirit.
Enrollment in the DalcA trial is complete; results demonstrate DalcA provides Factor IX (FIX) activity exceeding the efficacy endpoint with no anti-drug antibodies



Company to host investor call and webcast on Friday, February 7 at 8:30 a.m. ET

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Catalyst Biosciences, Inc. (CBIO), today announced positive efficacy and safety data from its Phase 2b trial of DalcA, a next-generation subcutaneously (SQ) administered Factor IX (FIX) therapy being developed for the treatment of hemophilia B. The data were presented by Johnny Mahlangu, M.B.B.Ch., M.Med, F.C.Path, professor of haematology, faculty of health sciences, head of the School of Pathology at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, and principal investigator in the clinical trial in an oral presentation at the 13th Annual Congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders (EAHAD) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Data from the trial showed that 28 days of daily SQ dosing of DalcA achieved protective target FIX levels of >12%, with steady state FIX levels of up to 27% after 14 days with no bleeds, demonstrating effective prophylaxis and the potential for lower or less frequent dosing. One subject withdrew on day 7. No anti-drug antibodies were detected and no serious adverse events were reported. Three subjects reported injection site reactions (ISRs), the majority of which were mild in severity and resolved without sequelae.

The open-label Phase 2b study was designed to evaluate the ability of DalcA to maintain steady state protective FIX levels above 12% in six individuals with severe hemophilia B. Each subject received a single intravenous dose, followed by daily SQ doses of DalcA for 28 days. Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, safety and tolerability of daily SQ dosing and anti-drug antibody formation are being monitored.

The DalcA Phase 2b trial data presented today at EAHAD clearly demonstrate the potential for DalcA to significantly change the treatment paradigm for those suffering from hemophilia B, said Nassim Usman, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of Catalyst. With the trial now fully enrolled and one final subject completing dosing, we will announce final data in the second quarter of this year.

Story continues

Dr. Usman continued, We are very encouraged by the data presented at EAHAD from three of our programs and see 2020 as a pivotal year for our entire hemophilia franchise. In addition to the Phase 2b DalcA data, our SQ FVIIa marzeptacog alfa (activated) MarzAA candidate has demonstrated efficacy and safety in individuals with hemophilia A or B with inhibitors in a Phase 2 prophylaxis study, and this week we presented pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data that support SQ MarzAA use in acute or on-demand settings. Our high-potency FIX gene therapy candidate, CB 2679d-GT is developing into a promising asset with encouraging pre-clinical data using a proprietary next-generation AAV capsid. Our entire team is committed to developing novel treatments in multiple rare bleeding disorders.

In addition to the oral presentation on the Phase 2b DalcA data, Catalyst presented three posters at the EAHAD congress. Dr. Linda Neuman, vice president, clinical development, presented data from a Phase 1 study to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and safety of ascending doses of SQ MarzAA in adult subjects with hemophilia, which showed that SQ dosing reaches target levels to treat ongoing bleeding. Dr. Grant Blouse, vice president, translational research, presented data on SQ MarzAA demonstrating that on-demand treatment in Hemophilia A mice treated after a tail clip injury was as efficient as intravenous NovoSeven at reducing bleeding. Dr. Blouse also presented a poster on Hemophilia B gene therapy in mice demonstrating that a novel chimeric AAV capsid combined with the Companys proprietary potency enhanced CB 2679d-GT FIX variant may reduce the vector dose required in gene therapy while maintaining high FIX levels.

A copy of the presentation materials can be accessed on the Events and Presentations section of the Catalyst website. Catalyst will host an investor call on Friday, February 7, at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Conference Call Details

The management team will host a conference call for investors on Friday, February 7 at 8:30 a.m. ET to discuss the DalcA and MarzAA data presented at EAHAD. Conference call, webcast and post-conference call replay details are as follows:

Domestic: +1.877.425.9470 International: +1.201.389.0878 Conference ID: 13698597 Webcast link: http://public.viavid.com/index.php?id=137884

A webcast replay will be available for 30 days following the live event.

A copy of the presentation materials can be accessed on the Events and Presentations section of the Catalyst website.

About Catalyst Biosciences

Catalyst is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing unmet needs in rare diseases and systemic complement mediated disorders. Our protease engineering platform includes development programs in hemophilia and a research program on subcutaneous (SQ) systemic complement inhibitors. Our engineered coagulation factors are designed to overcome the significant limitations of current IV treatment options, facilitate prophylaxis, and ultimately deliver substantially better outcomes for patients using SQ dosing. Our lead asset, MarzAA has completed Phase 2 development having met its primary endpoint of significantly reducing the annualized bleed rate (ABR) in individuals with hemophilia A or B with inhibitors. Our second hemophilia asset, DalcA is in a Phase 2b clinical trial and is being developed for the treatment of hemophilia B. We also have a global license and collaboration agreement with Biogen for the development and commercialization of pegylated CB 2782 for the potential treatment of geographic atrophy associated dry age-related macular degeneration. For more information, please visit www.catalystbiosciences.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements about the potential uses and benefits of DalcA to provide benefits and change the treatment paradigm for patients with hemophilia B and for MarzAA to treat patients with hemophilia A or B with inhibitors, the potential benefits of SQ dosing, statements about Catalysts clinical trial status for DalcA, the potential for CB 2679d-GT to be a promising asset and the potential use of MarzAA as an on-demand therapy. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions, expectations and projections disclosed in the forward-looking statements. Various important factors could cause actual results or events to differ materially, including, but not limited to, the risk that trials and studies may be delayed and may not have satisfactory outcomes, that additional human trials will not replicate the results from earlier trials, that potential adverse effects may arise from the testing or use of DalcA, or MarzAA, including the generation of antibodies, which has been observed in patients previously treated with DalcA, the risk that costs required to develop or manufacture the Companys products will be higher than anticipated, competition and other risks described in the Risk Factors section of the Companys quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 7, 2019, and in other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Contact:

Ana Kapor

Catalyst Biosciences, Inc.

investors@catbio.com




Vijay Deverakonda is currently one of the most popular film celebrities in India. The 30-year-old actor made his mark in the south film industry with his powerful performance in Arjun Reddy. He played the role of alcoholic orthopaedic surgeon Dr Arjun Reddy Deshmukh who deals with anger management and heartbreak. The star didn't miss any chance to get into the skin of the character.

Though Arjun Reddy was criticised for showing toxic masculinity and alcoholism, Deverakonda's performance was well-received by the masses. However, after the first breakthrough of his career, the actor has been portraying the same kind of characters in almost all his films in the last couple of years. Interestingly, audiences are liking him in the same lover boy avatar. We all know how good Deverakonda is in portraying the pain of love on the screen.

Yet again, Vijay Deverakonda's upcoming film World Famous Lover portrays him in the same kind of character as we have witnessed in Arjun Reddy. Well, the newly released trailer of World Famous Lover itself justifies the line 'I literally feel the pain'. But in the Kranthi Madhav directorial, Vijay will be seen romancing four actresses i.e. Raashi Khanna, Aishwarya Rajesh, Catherine Tresa and Izabelle Leite.

It seems like Vijay Deverakonda has decided to use the same formula of using 'heartbreak' as a tool to get success in his career. Apart from that, the major element in most of Deverakonda's films is 'anger'. In Indian cinema, we have seen films in which 'anger' leads to the destruction of the lead actor, like Salman Khan in Tere Naam. But in Deverakonda's films like Arjun Reddy, Dear Comrade and NOTA, anger has been a problem for his character but eventually, it turns out to be a solution for him.

So, it seems like World Famous Lover also has the same element. Speaking about the criticism over glorifying toxic masculinity and anger in his films, also by actress Parvathy, Vijay said in an interview to Film Companion, "Normally, I am very understanding. I give people the benefit of doubt. I saw that there was genuine angst and genuine intention behind these questions. But these people don't know what they are talking about. I feel they are very misplaced. I didn't mind the question. I love Parvathy. I admire her work. What irritates me is social media and media 'hadavidi'. People go nuts. They don't know what they are talking about."

The actor's statement clearly states that people should not judge him for his choice of roles instead of his performance. But in the meanwhile, Vijay Deverakonda has become famous in Bollywood as well. Ace filmmaker Karan Johar has acquired the official rights of his blockbuster Dear Comrade. What's more, Vijay Deverakonda will also be making his Bollywood debut under Karan Johar's Dharma Productions. The film is reportedly titled Fighter and it will also star Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy in pivotal roles. Vijay is working very hard for this role and his fans hope he will make a big mark in Bollywood.

Vijay Deverakonda's World Famous Lover is all set to release on February 14, 2020, and will likely to do well because of Valentine's Day. Till then, what do you think about Vijay's formula of using 'heartbreak' and 'anger' as a tool in his films? Do you think it will work for him in the long run?

Also Read : World Famous Lover Trailer Is Out: Vijay Deverakonda Will Make You Feel The Pain Literally!
Winemaker Bob Crushing Grapes Great wines, tax-deductible, great cause.

In a unique non profit crowd funding campaign 2redWinery, makers of the award-winning Zinpiphany Zinfandel and #2red, is currently crowd funding its next vintage on Indiegogo with all proceeds supporting prostate cancer research through the non-profit Robert and Susan Hollander Foundation, an IRS approved 501c3 organization. Campaign supporters, in exchange for their tax-deductible support, can secure wine from the award-winning wine library of 2redWinery.

Dr. Robert Hollander, the winemaker and principle of 2redWinery, started small-volume wine making in 2007 in pursuit of a long-standing passion in wine. After he was diagnosed with prostate cancer at an incurable stage in 2010, Dr. Hollander, a highly-regarded clinician/teacher at the Gainesville VA Medical Center, affiliated with the University of Florida, then created his Foundation to fund prostate cancer research.

Realizing that things can always be worse, three of the ugliest words pairs in the English language have got to include 'metastatic cancer,' 'palliative therapy,' and 'my oncologist'," Hollander observed. "Channeling the wine making into something purposeful just seemed to make sense." In the seven years the non-profit Foundation has been operational, unrestricted grants have been provided to researchers at seven different university medical enters engaged with cutting edge prostate cancer research.

Dr. Hollanders campaign goal is $13,000, with all proceeds above production costs supporting prostate cancer research through his non-profit The Robert and Susan Hollander Foundation. Contributions to the campaign are processed by FirstGiving and are tax deductible. Rewards for campaign supporters include wine from the award-winning library of 2redWinery (see attachment).

Award Winning Wines!

Zinpiphany

2007 2012 SF International Wine Competition Silver Medal

2008 2012 SF International Wine Competition Double Gold

2008 6th Annual American Fine Wine Competition Silver Medal

2009 2012 SF International Wine Competition Silver Medal

2010 2013 SF International Wine Competition Gold Medal

2010 2014 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Medal

2011 2014 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2012 2016 SF International Wine Competition Silver Medal

2013 2016 SF International Wine Competition Silver Medal

2013 2017 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Bronze Medal

2014 2017 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Bronze Medal

2014 2018 SF Internal Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2015 2018 SF Internal Wine Competition Silver Medal

2015 2018 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Bronze Medal

2015 2019 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Medal

2017 2019 SF Internal Wine Competition Silver Medal

2017 2019 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Silver Medal

#2red

2007 2012 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2008 2012 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2009 6th Annual American Fine Wine Competition Silver Medal

2009 2012 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2009 2014 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Double Gold/Best of Class

2010 2013 SF International Wine Competition Gold Medal

2010 2014 NY World Wine & Spirits Competition Bronze Medal

2011 2014 SF International Wine Competition Silver Medal

2012 2016 SF International Wine Competition Gold Medal

2013 2016 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

2014 2017 SF International Wine Competition Bronze Medal

Foundation Grant Recipients

2013-Lance Pagliaro, M.D., Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, MD Anderson

2014-Nima Sharifi, M.D., Department of Cancer Biology, Cleveland Clinic

2015-Padmanee Sharma, M.D., Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, MD Anderson

2016-Scott Dehm, M.D. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic

2017-Mary-Ellen Taplin, M.D. Department of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

2018-Scott Dehm, Ph.D. Department of Urology, University of Minnesota

2019-Chris Barbieri, M.D. M.D., Ph.D. Urologic Oncology Division, Weill Cornell Medical College
President Tshisekedi's plans for joint operations with DR Congo's belligerent eastern neighbours against its rebels risks regional proxy warfare. In this excerpt from our Watch List 2020 for European policymakers, Crisis Group urges the EU to encourage diplomatic efforts in the region and Tshisekedi to shelve his plan for the joint operations.

Since assuming office in early 2019, the Democratic Republic of Congo's (DRC) president, Felix Tshisekedi, has stressed his determination to dismantle the dozens of Congolese and foreign armed groups blighting the troubled east of the country. He has also prioritised repairing ties with neighbouring states, which have historically both backed and fought against rebels in the eastern DRC over various cycles of war in the last two decades. Today, tensions are again mounting among the DRC's neighbours - between Burundi and Uganda, on one hand, and Rwanda, on the other - potentially compounding the country's security challenges. Alongside Tshisekedi's diplomatic efforts to calm tensions, he has floated plans to invite these three neighbours to deploy their armed forces into the DRC to conduct joint operations with Congolese forces against rebels. Yet insofar as tensions among those countries remain high, such operations could pave the way for them to step up support to allied groups even while fighting rivals, and thus fuel proxy warfare. Civilians in the eastern DRC are likely to suffer most.

In line with its December Foreign Affairs Council conclusions that lay out the EU's plans for re-engagement with the DRC, and to help President Tshisekedi de-escalate regional tensions, the EU and its member states should:

Reinforce the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes region, an informal gathering comprising the UN (including both the UN's special envoy to the Great Lakes and the head of its mission in the DRC, MONUSCO), the U.S., the African Union and South Africa, as well as the EU and several European states that are important donors in the region, such as Belgium, the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. The EU and European governments could designate senior EU and other European ministerial appointees to fill the group, over and above the working-level desk officers who normally tend to participate.

Use the increased clout this would bring to push for a mechanism whereby each of the three neighbours airs allegations against states they believe are backing armed groups in the DRC and supports the charges with evidence. Allegations can then be investigated by the UN Group of Experts and the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region (the ICGLR comprises regional states and is a guarantor of a 2013 regional peace agreement; its joint verification mechanism and the UN expert group already have mandates to investigate claims of support to armed groups). Their findings could inform diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions among neighbours and end their backing of insurgents in the DRC.

At the same time, encourage President Tshisekedi to shelve, at least for now, his plan for joint operations with neighbours' security forces.

Offer financial and technical support for the national disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process, to ensure that Congolese militias linked to foreign rebels operating in the eastern DRC have a safe pathway to giving up their fight.

Security Challenges

In recent months, eastern DRC-based foreign insurgencies have escalated attacks on both the Congolese army as well as soldiers and civilians in neighbouring countries. The Burundian, Rwandan and Ugandan presidents are all rattling their sabres in response, accusing one another of proxy warfare.

On 4 October, DRC-based fighters killed fourteen people in Kinigi village in Rwanda's Musanze district. Rwandan authorities blame the Forces democratiques de liberation du Rwanda (FDLR) rebels. They say the FDLR is working with another DRC-based rebel group, the Rwanda National Congress (RNC), which they allege is run by one of President Paul Kagame's former generals. They also say both the FDLR and the RNC enjoy Burundian and Ugandan support. In a speech, Kagame vowed to retaliate against anyone seeking to attack Rwanda.

After the Kinigi killings, fighters crossed into Burundi from the DRC to launch two separate deadly attacks. Burundian RED-Tabara rebels, whom Burundian officials say are backed by Rwanda, claimed the first attack. No one claimed the second, but Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza, recalling Kigali's support for mutineers in a 2015 coup attempt, blamed Rwanda for both attacks, alleging that Kigali supports RED-Tabara. Ugandan officials, for their part, assert that Rwanda is collaborating with the Allied Democratic Forces, a rebel movement with roots in Uganda that is implicated in dozens of massacres in the Beni area of North Kivu since 2014.

Rwandan and Ugandan officials continue to trade accusations that each is plotting to destabilise the other. Both governments have purged their security services of suspected traitors. Rwanda has now also closed a main border crossing into Uganda, suffocating trade between the two countries. Meanwhile, Burundi and Rwanda have dispatched troops to their mutual border while Uganda has deployed troops to its western frontier facing North Kivu. Should these tensions heighten, they could fuel more proxy fighting in the eastern DRC, further threatening regional stability.

Recognising the dangers, Tshisekedi invited Rwanda and Uganda for talks in July and August hosted by Angolan President Joao Lourenco in the Angolan capital Luanda. They culminated in a memorandum of understanding, signed on 21 August, in which both countries promised to halt "actions conducive to destabilisation or subversion in the territory of the other party and neighbouring countries". In addition to these diplomatic efforts, the DRC president floated plans that would involve the armed forces of Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda conducting joint military operations with Congolese forces against insurgents in the eastern DRC. Absent political de-escalation among the neighbour governments, such operations could pave the way for all three to ratchet up support to proxies opposing their respective rivals. The eastern DRC could again become the arena for a multi-sided melee.

Calming Regional Tensions

In its latest Foreign Affairs Council Conclusions on the DRC in December 2019, the EU asserted its readiness to redefine its relationship with the country. This comes after relations between Brussels and Kinshasa cooled at the tail end of Kabila's presidency, when the EU sanctioned some of his top henchmen in late 2018. President Tshisekedi has expressed an increasing willingness to work with Brussels even as the EU renewed sanctions in December 2019 against twelve of the fourteen Kabila-era officials. In particular, the EU could help de-escalate regional tensions and lessen neighbours' support to foreign armed groups while contributing to pathways to surrender for Congolese fighters allied to such groups.

The immediate priority is to encourage President Tshisekedi to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to calm tensions among DRC's neighbours while putting aside, at least for now, plans for those neighbours to conduct military operations in the eastern DRC. The EU's best bet for pressing for an approach along these lines would be to increase its influence in the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes, the informal group to which it and a number of European states belong. Brussels and other European capitals should commit more senior officials both to the contact group itself and to liaising with the group and with regional governments. Together with the UN special envoy to the Great Lakes, Xia Huang, who has recently been instrumental in bringing together the Burundian, Congolese, Rwandan and Ugandan intelligence chiefs to discuss their deteriorating relations, the EU should use its weight in the group to prioritise the need for a political solution to tackling foreign armed groups in the eastern DRC.

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Such a solution could entail Xia encouraging the three states to lay out their allegations and evidence of support by their rivals to armed groups in the DRC. He could share all information received with the UN Group of Experts and the Expanded Joint Verification Mechanism of the International Conference of the Great Lakes Region. The evidence provided by regional states, and investigations conducted by the expert group and joint verification mechanism, could collectively inform diplomatic efforts to halt or diminish support to DRC-based insurgents.

By financially and technically supporting the national DDR process, the EU can also back Tshisekedi's priority of tackling the plague of Congolese armed groups. Congolese insurgents, many of whom are sucked into alliances with more powerful foreign armed groups, often lack an alternative in the absence of a fully funded DDR program. Under Kabila, the Congolese authorities gave only limited resources to DDR. Several donors pulled out, frustrated by Kinshasa's lack of commitment to funding a national program. Despite the uptick in attacks in the east, there are signs that some fighters are placing greater hope in Tshisekedi's presidency and expressing greater desire to surrender. MONUSCO's new mandate, adopted at the end of December 2019, encourages the DRC's government to appoint a senior coordinator to lead the DDR effort. The EU could consider supplying this person with the necessary funding and expertise to carry out the mandate.
After almost five years and innumerable court dates, the late Jordan Clarks family finally got closure. Christopher Walton, 24, took a plea agreement and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter. The lengthy process left several members of Clarks family unhappy, one of which was his aunt, who was the first to speak after Walton pled guilty.

I will say that in certain aspects of this case, I feel like the killer has been appeased time and time again, she said. My nephew did not get that option. My nephew didnt get another attempt or chance, and I sometimes wonder if things wouldve been different if black-on-black crime wasnt so popular. I wonder if the system is now numb to the killings, and I wonder if the bullies started striking other races, if then there would be a change. I dont wish this pain on our worst enemies.

Clarks grandmother was the next speaker. Before saying a word, she spent several seconds staring at the man who killed her grandson by firing over 30 bullets at him. When she finally did speak, she had a message of forgiveness and pity for Walton.

I really didnt want to say anything, but I wanted to say something so I could look at you, Christopher, said the grandmother. Its painful, and I dont know what you feel, but I know what we feel. I dont know what your family feels, but I know what my family feels. I dont hate you. I feel sorry for you and all the other young black men around the city who choose to take the lives of other young black men.

She hoped that the young man would use the time in prison to change himself and leave behind his life of crime. She also expressed sympathy for Waltons family, who was also present in the courtroom.

I prayed because, I wanted to hate you, I really did. But I cant, said Clarks grandmother. Because no matter how I feel, it wont bring Jordan back or change what happened that night. But hopefully, itll change you, itll change your direction in life and make you want to be a better person. Ill pray for you and your family, and I just wish things wouldve turned out differently in a lot of ways. But it didnt, and this is where we are.

Clarks mother had a different tone and harsher words for Walton and his family. She told them that the pain of having their son incarcerated could not compare to the anguish she felt at having her child slain.

Your mother dont know how that feels, and you dont know how that feels because you dont have children, said Clarks mother. Instead, you get to sit here in front of me, like it doesnt even matter. Its been four and a half years, and youve decided youre going to live this life. You and your friends have affected my family tremendously.

Unlike other members of the family, she would not forgive her sons killer, saying, Will I ever forget it? No. Will I ever forgive you? No. But just understand, in this life, theres only one. And in this life, I hope you make the best of yours.

After the family had a chance to speak, Criminal Court Judge Poole expressed his condolences for the family, and apologized for how heartless the court system could be. Waltons case took an inordinately long amount of time compared to many other cases due to the fact that Walton went through four lawyers before he settled upon Bill Speek. The trial was originally set for August 2017, but kept being pushed back as Walton received new counsel.

Thank you for telling me about Jordan Clark, and it means something to me that youve come in and told us this, said Judge Poole. Im sincerely sorry for your loss, and sincerely sorry that this system caused more pain to you.

After Judge Pooles closing statement, Walton was led away in chains to serve his sentence. He will receive credit for time already spent in custody, and will be eligible for parole consideration at 45 percent.

Police at the time said the shooting was apparently related to an ongoing feud between the Bloods and the Crips. Two shots were fired into the victim

It was testified earlier that up to 38 shell casings were found near the scene of the murder and that the shooter fired two more shots into his body as he lay dying on the Willow Street sidewalk.

David Bales, General Sessions Court judge at the time of the preliminary hearing, said, "Talk about cowardice. Talk about sickness. He was shot down like a dog."
On Thursday, the United States asked all countries to speak out against mistreatment by Chinese authorities, especially Muslims living in China, in the Xinjiang region. Talking to reporters, Alice G. Welles, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, praised the move by the Central Asian states to stop the mistreatment of the Kazakh, Uygar, Kyrgyz castes living in China, and said that no human rights abuses Should be

Priyanka Gandhi's attack on Modi government, says- "why Mehbooba and Omar banned by PSA"

Regarding this matter, Welles said, 'The incidents of mistreatment of all Muslims in China are well known. Not only Central Asian countries, but we urge all countries to speak out against human rights abuses. Explain that China is accused of sending the Uygars to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and forcing the community to undergo re-education or indigenization. However, Pakistan remains tight-lipped on the issue, describing itself as the biggest defender of Muslims. In 2018, New York-based Human Rights Watch accused Beijing of systematic campaigning for human rights violations against Uygar Muslims in Xinjiang. A report was issued. Beijing said that the camps in Xinjiang are its 'vocational training centers'.

Pakistan: Hindu girl says in court, 'Islam not accepted, forced me to marry'

Last year, the leaking of many documents revealed details about Beijing's religious extremism and the possibility of an attack on Uygars. The US called on the Chinese government to immediately release all those who were arbitrarily detained and to end hostile policies that terrorized their own citizens in Xinjiang. The same, the province of Xinjiang which America is talking about is located in the western region of China and is no less than a prison. There have been many cases of atrocities on Uygar Muslims living here. Thousands of Uyghurs have been detained in the name of training. Several high-tech technologies are being used along with police and surveillance cameras for their surveillance.

BJP's master plan to conquer Delhi, Amit Shah gave the guru-mantra to the workers
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Entrepreneurs should not commit unreasonable staff cuts because each redundancy leaves a whole family without a livelihood, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his closing speech at the conference dedicated to the results of first year implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023", Trend reports.

Entrepreneurs know what the rules are, Ilham Aliyev said. And they are very simple. It is necessary to build your work in accordance with law, conclude labor contracts and not exploit workers. I am told that workers are sometimes forced to work above the prescribed time. We have an eight-hour working day. No-one should work more than that. But in order to save more money, they are forced to work for 10, 12 or more hours. This must end and the Cabinet of Ministers must exercise control over that. It is necessary to hold a special meeting to discuss these issues. If such facts are committed, the entrepreneurs will be punished. I urge employees not to work without an employment contract.

I know that sometimes you are forced to do so, the Azerbaijani president noted. But you should also know that without an employment contract you will not be able to receive a pension and medical insurance tomorrow. Therefore, entrepreneurs must pay tax, comply with all legal requirements and be responsible. Well-to-do entrepreneurs must be aware of their social responsibility, of course. At the same time, they should not commit unreasonable staff cuts because each redundancy leaves a whole family without a livelihood. This cannot be done. Please note that the state is increasing the number of recipients of targeted social assistance. Despite the fact that poverty is at 4.8 percent, poor people in Azerbaijan do not wander around the streets, as in some cities.

Look at the cities of developed countries, Ilham Aliyev added. There are thousands of homeless people living in the capitals of the largest countries. They sleep either in boxes, on benches or in make-shift tents they set up for themselves. We see it on TV. Do we have this too? No! Why? Because the state takes care of its citizens. Although the number of unemployed and poor people in Azerbaijan is getting smaller, I have instructed to increase the number of recipients of targeted social assistance. To do this, new criteria must be applied so that there are no poor people in our country.

If an entrepreneur wants to earn 5 manats more, he fires a person, the Azerbaijani president said. This is unacceptable. If there are such facts, do let me know and we will talk to these entrepreneurs the way they deserve. Therefore, there should be responsibility to the state, people and law.
Pitching for peace from the once hotbed of an armed movement for Bodoland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Kashmiri militants, banned outfits in the North-East and Naxalites to lay down their arms, join the national mainstream and "celebrate life".

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a public rally during an event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo agreement, in Kokrajhar. Photograph: ANI Photo

Addressing a massive public rally here to celebrate the January 27 tripartite accord amid a spectacle resplendent with Assam's cultural opulence, he also attacked the previous non-BJP governments for "procrastinating" resolution of vexed issues that alienated people and made them lose faith in democracy and the Constitution.

"The Bodo accord has heralded a new dawn of peace and development in Assam. With people's support, it has paved the way for permanent peace. Those still with bombs, guns and bullets in Kashmir, other parts of North-East, and Naxalites...come back...join

the mainstream. Wapas laut aiye aur jeevan ka jashn manaiye (come back and celebrate life," he said.

Modi said he was confident that the accord signed by the Centre, Assam government and Bodo groups, will bring permanent peace, unlike the previous accords inked with insurgents in 1993 and 2003.

"With the signing of the historic agreement, no demand has been left unfulfilled," he said.

Modi, who was on a visit to Assam for the first time after enactment of the new citizenship law, which plunged large parts of the state into a welter of violence, also sought to assuage the concerns of people of the region on the issue.

"Canard is being spread that lakhs of settlers will come from other countries after the enactment of CAA. Nothing of that sort will happen," he said.

The prime minister had cancelled his visits to Guwahati twice in December last year and this January--first for a summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and second to inaugurate the 'Khelo India' youth games at the height of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests.

Several districts of Lower Assam witnessed bloodshed and violence over many decades as Bodo militants of different groups launched an armed struggle for a separate state, locking horns with the state government, central security agencies, and other minorities inhabiting the area.

Bodos predominantly inhabit the northwestern part of Assam in districts like Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Chirang, Baksa, Darrang, Sonitpur, Kamrup, Nalbari, Barpeta, and Dhubri.

The proponents of the Bodo movement had for decades claimed the Bodos, one of the Indo-Mongoloid tribal communities, are ethnically different from the rest of the people of Assam and entitled to a separate state.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi being welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on his arrival at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi international airport in Guwahati. Photograph: ANI Photo

Primarily Bengali Muslims, whose roots can be traced to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and tribal communities like Santhals and Koch-Rajbongshis bore the brunt of ethnic violence unleashed by Bodoland proponents. Hundreds of them were killed and several lakh forced to live in relief camps in the 1990s.

"Now development is our first and last priority. Trust me, I am yours. When you have decided to shun the path of bombs and guns, I will do everything to ensure that not even a thorn pricks you," he said.

"There are no losers, everybody has won. But first, this is the victory of peace, of humanism," he said of the accord and noted it will benefit both the Bodos and non-Bodos, who have often been in conflict.

The area under the Bodo Territorial Region governed by a council will be expanded, he said.

In an apparent effort to allay fears of non-Bodos, the prime minister said the Centre will work expeditiously to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord once the high-powered committee submits its report.

The clause envisaged that constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

"I have complete faith that the Bodoland Territorial Council will create a development model based on inclusivity that will give economic progress a new dimension in consonance with 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas'," he said.

Targeting the previous non-BJP governments, Modi said they avoided trying to find solutions to intractable issues and let them fester.

"Nobody wanted to touch North-East with a bargepole. They thought there's trouble, there's violence. Quell it with force. This alienated people who lost their faith in democracy and the Constitution," he said, adding for his government North-East was a priority area.

Modi said he created a roster of his ministers who would visit the region every 10-15 days, listen to the problems of people and resolve them.

Speaking about his government's attempts to tackle insurgency in the North-East, Modi said the National Liberation Front of Tripura was banned since 1997 and was using violent tactics for years. The government got in touch with the organisation through interlocutors and began talks with them in 2015.

"Last year, the government signed a pact with them. They agreed to accept the Indian Constitution and returned to mainstream," he said.

The Bru-Reang crisis was also resolved a few days ago after another historic agreement. Thousands of families will now have homes and will live in peace after a conflict that festered for about two-and-a-half decades, he said.

The prime minister said that the combined central allocation to the eight states of the region went up to a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission, after his government was formed, from Rs 90,000 crore under the 13th Finance Commission.

He said that the North-East was under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, for a long time but now Tripura and many parts of other states are free from it. In three years, 3,000 km of roads and national highways have been laid, new airports are being built and the old modernised, while work is on for a dozen waterways.

Joyous celebration pervaded Jangkhrithai Field, the venue of the rally, as women attired in traditional dress, some wearing flower tiaras, danced to drum beats.

Modi walked up to them and waved to a cheering crowd, as national tricolour and the yellow flags with two black crossed swords and a shield of the All Bodo Students Union fluttered across the landscape.
A high-flying executive whose yearly earnings have topped 275,000 at recruitment company, CPL Resources has failed in an unlawful wage deduction claim against the company.

This follows the Labour Court's dismissal of a claim lodged by Silvana Cuesta Carpio, a director at CPL Resources, against her employer under the Payment of Wages Act.

Ms Cuesta Carpio told the Labour Court that prior to her appointment as director in 2017, she had earned significant commission as a result of her work on one particular client account.

However, she said that some months after her appointment she was assigned to work with clients other than the client where she was earning significant commission.

The Labour Court was told that Ms Cuesta Carpio's overall earnings in 2018 were 278,000; 253,000 in 2017 and 211,000 in 2016.

Ms Cuesta Carpio submitted that she was owed 239,000 as a result of commission deductions made by CPL Resources.

After examining Ms Cuesta Carpio's documents, the Labour Court calculated that her claim for unlawful deductions amounted to 83,740 plus some element of 16,748 and some element of 20,748.

In the court's findings, Chairman Kevin Foley found that the alteration of Ms Cuesta Carpio's commission scheme was provided for in her contract of employment.

As a result, the alteration of Ms Cuesta Carpio's commission scheme could not be considered an unlawful deduction, said Mr Foley.
Authorities have not yet located a missing vehicle that witnesses reported to be in water Wednesday afternoon in Bucks Pocket State Park after two search attempts.

As of 4 p.m. Thursday, no contact has been made with the vehicle along South Sauty Creek in the Jackson County park, according to Senior State Trooper Chuck Daniel.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said it will try to use a helicopter during a search for the vehicle Friday.

Authorities were called around 2:55 p.m. Wednesday to Jackson County Route 452 and DeKalb County Route 174 in the park about the vehicle.

Troopers, the Scottsboro Rescue Squad and Bucks Pocket State Park officials tried to find the vehicle when the search was postponed because of darkness and the waters swift current.
The father of Nathaniel Samuel, the man who was arrested for trying to bomb a Living Faith Church, a.k.a Winners Chapel, in Kaduna, has confirmed that his son is a Christian, and not a Muslim as being speculated on social media.

No! Not even for a single day has he been a Muslim, Nathaniels father, Mr. Samuel Ezekiel, said in his Marabar Demishi village in Kaduna.

The alleged bombers true identity has become a controversy in the social media, with some accusing the police of changing his name to deflect anger against Boko Haram or the Muslim community.



Some reports said Samuel had told the Christian leaders who arrested him at the Winners Chapel branch in Kaduna that he was Mohammed Sani, only for the police to parade him as Nathaniel Samuel.

According to Daily Trust, the father along with the Kaduna state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Reverend Joseph Hayab, found otherwise.

Nathaniel was born in 1991 and schooled in the state, his father said. His mother is from Nasarawa state even though she no longer lives with them.

Mr. Ezekiel said his son has been a Christian and not a Muslim even for a single day. He denied that his son bears Mohammed Sani.

Ezekiel also said he was shocked when he was told that his son carried a bomb into a church because he wondered what would have happened to the lives of people in the church.

If he was alone, I dont care but for the lives that are in the church, I begin to wonder. I shed tears, he said.

Reverend Hayab Joseph said he knew the father of the suspect for many years, noting that its just that he didnt know that Nathaniel was the son of Mr. Ezekiel until he visited the house.

He said CAN is not concerned about Nathaniels name or religion but the act of criminality that he would have committed which should be addressed.

He also expressed disappointment over the failure of the Police to do a thorough check on the suspects background, saying that would have saved Nigerians a lot of stress on the identity of the suspect.

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The head of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday demanded a recanvass of the results in the troubled Iowa caucuses, plunging the partys presidential race into further disarray and raising the possibility that the outcome wont be known until after Democrats vote in the New Hampshire primary next week

Manchester, New Hampshire: The head of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday demanded a recanvass of the results in the troubled Iowa caucuses, plunging the partys presidential race into further disarray and raising the possibility that the outcome wont be known until after Democrats vote in the New Hampshire primary next week.

The committee chairman, Tom Perez, declared that enough is enough as he responded to growing frustration with a caucus system that is mired in confusion and that has yet to produce a winner. With 97 percent of the precincts reporting by Thursday evening, Senators Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were locked in a virtual tie in the delegate count.

Adding to the sense of alarm among Democrats was a growing rift between Sanders and the Democratic National Committee, reviving memories of the acrimony that marred the partys 2016 primary. In addition to declaring he had won in Iowa  following the lead of Buttigieg, who made the same claim on Monday  Sanders denounced the Iowa Democratic Party and called the national committees decision to change its debate rules to include Michael Bloomberg an absolute outrage.

Troy Price, the Iowa Democratic chairman, said later Thursday that the state party was prepared to initiate a recanvass if a campaign requested one. He made no mention of Perez.

The discord enveloping the first days of the nominating process marked an early setback for a party that was already ideologically fractured between the Left and Centre and staring at a nomination fight that may last into the summer.

Im sitting in the middle like a child whose parents are going through a divorce, wondering how do we fix this in the next few months, said Laura Hubka, the Democratic Party chairwoman in Iowas Howard County. Im not sure we can.

For all the confusion, there was no indication that the contours of the primary would change significantly as the candidates campaigned in New Hampshire, where a new poll on Thursday reflected the reordered race, with Sanders leading but Buttigieg close behind.

Yet as Democrats bickered and sowed doubts about their own voting system, President Donald Trump basked in his acquittal of impeachment charges by the Senate, addressing Republican colleagues on Thursday with an aura of triumph and vindication  and with his approval ratings at a personal high.

Republicans also taunted Democrats about the mediocre turnout in Iowa, which was similar to the 2016 caucuses, well below the record numbers of Democrats who participated in the historic 2008 race and far from the optimistic projections of the campaigns.

In a further sign of the confusion, The Associated Press, which typically declares the outcomes of elections large and small, said on Thursday night it was unable to determine a winner.

For many in the party, however, it was what has taken place in the days since the vote  and not the vote itself  that was equally troubling, as infighting and conspiracy theories overshadowed the messages that candidates were pitching to voters in New Hampshire.

After an agonising count of the Iowa votes showed Sanders rapidly closing the gap on Buttigieg, some of Sanders most fervent backers said they suspected an establishment-backed conspiracy to slow his momentum. The other contenders expressed irritation about the uncertainty of the Iowa outcome, even as they tried to prepare for a high-stakes debate here Friday and the primary four days later.

The confusion that began in the early hours of Tuesday, as Iowa Democrats proved unable to tabulate their precinct returns, reached a new level at midday on Thursday when Perez called for a recanvass. Minutes later, Sanders appeared before reporters at his New Hampshire headquarters to thank Iowans for the very strong victory they gave us.

Citing his 6,000-vote popular vote advantage in Iowa, the sweater-clad Vermont senator said, We here in northern New England call that a victory.

Buttigieg, however, still enjoyed a slight lead according to the Iowa Democrats complex formula for allocating delegates, the traditional metric for determining a winner. At a veterans-themed event in Merrimack, New Hampshire, on Thursday, he ignored the tightening results, citing the extraordinary validation of this campaigns vision that we had in Iowa on Monday.

But even as the two candidates trumpeted their performance, analyses by political scientists and The New York Times Upshot section indicated inconsistencies in the results Iowa has provided. The Times analysis found the Iowa returns riddled with problems, with over 100 precincts reporting results that were internally inconsistent, missing data or not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses.

There was no indication that the inconsistencies affected the order of the race or were a result of an intentional effort to rig the outcome, but they added to the questions raised about results that have been mired in chaos for three days.

Iowas caucuses suffered from cascading calamities. Volunteer precinct leaders either refused to download a new smartphone app designed for reporting caucus results or found it too cumbersome to use. Those who tried to phone in results found the phone lines jammed. And when state party did receive results from its 1,758 precincts, the calculations to determine how many delegates each candidate won turned out to be incorrect in as many as 20 percent of precincts.

Sanders seized on the trouble to excoriate party officials.

What has happened with the Iowa Democratic Party is an outrage, he said at his news conference, that they were that unprepared, that they put forth such a complicated process, relying on untested technology.

The recanvass requested by Perez would involve examining work sheets from caucus precincts across the state and 87 satellite caucus precincts in Iowa, other states and overseas. But Perez has no authority to order Iowa Democrats to recanvass their results.

More troubling to Democratic strategists and elected officials was the growing strain between Perez, who has struggled to hold his riven party together, and Sanders campaign.

The senators aides were angry about Perezs sudden call for a difficult-to-execute recanvass at a moment when Sanders appeared poised to win about as many delegates  known as state delegate equivalents  as Buttigieg.

At the same time, Perez and his top advisors have become increasingly agitated over the attempt by some of Sanders supporters to claim without evidence that the state and national party are suppressing the returns to diminish the senators success in the caucuses.

Sanders, who still harbours suspicions that he was robbed of victory in Iowa in 2016, stoked the tensions with the DNC on Thursday when he was asked about the committees decision to drop the rule requiring candidates to meet a threshold for donors in order to appear in the party-sponsored debates; that provision had previously kept the self-funding Bloomberg off the stage.

Now suddenly a guy comes in who does not campaign one bit in Iowa, New Hampshire, hes not on the ballot I guess in Nevada or South Carolina, but hes worth $55 billion, Sanders said. I guess if youre worth $55 billion you can get the rules changed for a debate. So to answer your question: I think that is an absolute outrage and really unfair.

Sanders populist rhetoric could be chalked up as fodder for his base in a close race when he needs volunteer hours and small-dollar contributions. But at a moment when some of his top supporters were already feuding with Hillary Clinton, who has criticised the senator in recent weeks, the turmoil highlighted the schism between the partys pro-Sanders left and more traditional Democrats.

Asked if the muddled Iowa results made him question Clintons narrow win there four years ago, a victory that helped her ultimately fend off Sanders, the senator said, I dont think anybody knows before allowing that there is some supposition that we won the popular vote there in 2016.

The senator did not respond to questions about whether he still had confidence in Perez, but his top adviser sought to tamp down the discord while making clear that the Sanders campaign remained wary of the party establishment.

Jeff Weaver, Sanders advisor, said the campaign found the debate rule change to be an outrage but otherwise believed the DNC has tried to be evenhanded.

But Weaver added, Of course, given our experience, we are ever vigilant.

Its not just Sanders supporters who are uneasy with Perez.

James Carville, who has said the chairman should resign, pointed to another controversy this week that has been overshadowed by the Iowa chaos: the ouster of the top aides who had been planning the partys nominating convention in Milwaukee. He cited it as another sign of the partys disarray. We cant count votes, put on a convention or deliver a winning message, said Carville, the longtime Clinton strategist.

In Iowa, officials said that if a recanvass were requested, they would have to effectively start over in tabulating results from Mondays caucuses

Though campaigns and The Times have found a number of errors across the state, the problem appears to be most acute in data from the 87 satellite caucuses, locations for Iowa Democrats who could not participate at one of the regular caucus locations. Those are locations at which the state partys posted results show Sanders doing particularly well.

Amid the chaos, there was strikingly little transparency from Iowa and national Democratic Party officials about what they are doing to fix the problems.

Price has not appeared in public or spoken to reporters since Tuesday afternoon. Perez, aside from a statement and his enough is enough tweet, has been silent. Both men have declined interview requests, though Perez was scheduled to appear on MSNBC on Thursday night.

Across Iowa, Democrats formed a circular firing squad. DNC officials said the state party was in charge. State party officials said the app developer failed them. Young urban Democrats said rural septuagenarian volunteers should have been able to figure out how to use the app. Rural officials said urban caucuses had grown too large to function.

Some of these bigger caucuses, there were lots of distractions going on, lots of people not listening, lots of people not knowing what theyre doing, said Chris Petersen, a member of the Iowa Democratic Partys State Central Committee. Petersen caucused in rural Thornton, where 15 people participated at his precinct. I liked the old way where you called in the result and were done.

Jonathan Martin and Reid J Epstein c.2020 The New York Times Company
With the Canadian housing sector having overall good prospects this year, the spring market might see intensified activity if other top lenders emulate Toronto-Dominion Banks decision to cut its posted five-year fixed mortgage rate, according to veteran industry observer Rob McLister.

Earlier this week, TD Bank stated that it has set its new five-year posted rate for fixed-rate mortgages to 4.99%, from the previous 5.34%. This came in the wake of the five-year government bond yields decline to 1.34%, from the 1.70% in mid-December  a development spurred in part by fears about the coronavirus.

Based on current market conditions, lower funding costs have led to a growing variance in customer rates versus posted rates, bank spokeswoman Ana Aujla told The Canadian Press.
About 75,000 personnel of Delhi Police, the paramilitary forces and home guards will be deployed across the national capital when Delhi votes on Saturday to elect a new assembly.

Among other tasks, they will provide multilayered security at 2,689 polling booths, police said on Thursday. 545 critical booths will have additional security in place, Anil Mittal, additional spokesperson of Delhi Police, said.

Police said the city borders are already under strict vigil to prevent the influx of illegal weapons, illicit liquor, drugs, and money that could be used to influence voters. We have been coordinating with our counterparts in neighbouring states to ensure the borders are not porous, said the officer.

The police will also patrol the Yamuna to ensure no one takes the water route.

Those keeping a watch on the polling booths will include 40,000 Delhi Police and 15,000 paramilitary personnel. The local police will be assisted by about 19,000 home guards, Mittal said.

The officer said multiple teams will either be deployed at strategic positions to keep a watch on illegal activities or they will constantly be on the move.

The personnel will ensure the safe movement of voting machines from polling booths to counting centres. The police have been trained in transporting EVMs in association with election officials.

Ever since the model code of conduct came into effect on January 6, the police have seized nearly 97,000 litres of illicit liquor and 774 kilos of drugs. The liquor seizure this time is 175% more than in the 2015 elections.

The police have recovered 494 illegal pistols, a 900% jump from what was recovered in 2015 and a 2,500% jump from the 2008 assembly elections.
From calling Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a terrorist to demonising the Shaheen Bagh protestors, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned in the Delhi assembly election campaign.

IMAGE: Union Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah addresses an election rally, ahead of the Delhi assembly election, in Trinagar, New Delhi, January 31, 2020. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

The hot money may be on the Aam Aadmi Party winning the Delhi assembly election, but the Bharatiya Janata Party is not giving up the battle without a fight.

From rolling out its big guns on the campaign trail to letting loose a barrage at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who, in 2015, at the height of the first Narendra Damodardas Modi wave, won 67 out of 70 Delhi assembly seats, the BJP has gone flat out to ensure that the results, to be declared on February 11, go in its favour, and that another state does not remain out of its grasp.

Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff.com lists the BJP's electoral fusillades.

Biryani, by Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath came calling in the final leg of the election campaign and as expected did what he does best. Polarise voters.

At a public meeting Yogi said, 'Kejriwal is feeding biryani to Shaheen Bagh protestors,' leaving no one in doubt as to what he meant by it.

At a rally in Karawal Nagar on February 1, Yogi thundered: 'Earlier, it was the Congress that used to feed biryani in Kashmir, now it is Kejriwal who is doing the same in Shaheen Bagh. Everyone today has a new fetish for feeding biryani.'

Yogi's statement was objected to by the Election Commission of India which has sought a clarification from the chief minister.

'Goli maaro saalon ko'

This was the last thing you expected from a Union minister.

Therefore, when Anurag Thakur shouted at an election rally, 'Desh ke gaddaron ko... (what should be done to the traitors of this country...)' and the crowd roared back, 'Goli maro saalon ko (shoot them down)', it shocked many.

Not just once, Thakur, Union minister of state for finance, kept raising this slogan with the crowd ratcheting up the noisy response at every repeat.

His rabble-rousing was directed at the protestors who have been vocal against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and so far there has been no regret from the MoS who was seen soon after beside his boss, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, as she rushed about to present the Union Budget 2020.

The Congress party objected to Thakur's statement, and the ECI suspended the minister from addressing any public rally for three days.

'Kill them'

If you think Anurag Thakur and Yogi Adityanath were bad, then Parvesh Verma, member of Parliament from West Delhi, took it to another depth altogether.

In an interview to a media organisation, Verma said, 'They (Shaheen Bagh protestors) will enter your houses, rape your sisters and daughters, kill them.'

In another statement, he said, 'If the BJP comes to power in Delhi, Shaheen Bagh will be cleared in one hour.'

The ECI suspended Verma for campaigning for four days for his remark, but how seriously the BJP took this censure can be seen from the fact that the very next day he was chosen to move the motion of thanks to the President's address to Parliament.

'Modi or Shaheen Bagh?'

Nobody loves to lose a battle, and certainly not Amit Anilchandra Shah who is credited for the string of electoral victories the BJP has enjoyed, including two Lok Sabha elections.

His presence in the election campaign has not only electrified the BJP's foot soldiers, but enthused voters who found the Union home minister on a padyatra in their midst or knocking on their door to seek their votes.

But, then, he too is a man of controversies, and the presence of a juicy topic like Shaheen Bagh must have seemed irresistible.

'On the one side it's Narendra Modi, who conducted airstrikes on Pakistan's soil to kill terrorists, and on the other there are these people who back Shaheen Bagh. You have to decide,' said Shah at a rally.

He also said in his speeches that if the BJP wins Delhi then there will be no Shaheen Bagh.

'They will enter your homes'

Sambit Patra, the BJP's spokesperson can often be seen on news television trying to defend the indefensible, and it was no different during the Delhi election.

In a statement he said, 'These people (the Shaheen Bagh protestors) will enter your homes and hit you, the same people who were responsible for the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits. Who are these people? That day is not far away when these people will enter your homes and hit you.'

The ECI promptly sent Dr Patra a notice for his exertions.

'Kejri a terrorist'

The nadir in the Delhi election campaign was reached when the Union minister for information and broadcasting, environment and forest and climate change, called Chief Minister Kejriwal a terrorist.

'The people of Delhi, who once stood behind him, have turned against him,' Prakash Javadekar said, 'Kejriwal now makes an innocent face as he asks whether he is a terrorist. You are a terrorist and there is plenty of proof of it. Kejriwal himself had said he is an anarchist. There is not much difference between an anarchist and a terrorist.'

Responding to Javadekar's attack, the AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh asked, 'How can a central minister be permitted to use such language? If Arvind Kejriwal is a terrorist, I challenge the BJP to arrest him.'

Ram mandir trust

One will never know if the prime minister timed the announcement to set up the Ram temple trust just three days ahead of the Delhi election -- with four more days to go for the Supreme Court mandated deadline -- or not.

But it did raise eyebrows. Especially since Modi chose to read out a written statement at the head of Question Hour, possibly the first time he has done so.

Not only that, the home ministry had a dedicated desk to deal with Ayodhya. And the previous big bang announcement involving the ministry -- scrapping Aricle 370 -- was made by Home Minister Amit Anilchandra Shah.

So, the conclusion is inescapable, that the BJP was once again seeking Ram Lalla's aid in the electoral arena.
Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidates (L-R) entrepreneur Andrew Yang, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and billionaire activist Tom Steyer pose before the eighth Democratic 2020 presidential debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., February 7, 2020.

MANCHESTER, N.H.  Seven Democratic presidential candidates square off Friday in the final debate before the crucial New Hampshire primary, even as the outcome from Monday's disastrous Iowa caucus remains unclear.

The eighth debate in the 2020 primary cycle pits Vermont senator and self-described democratic socialist Bernie Sanders against former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg for the first time since both men declared victory in Iowa.

Technical issues delayed the results of the caucus for days, and a slew of potential errors in the data that eventually were released could call the accuracy of the first-in-the-nation contest into question.

The New Hampshire primary next Tuesday, meanwhile, could mark a turning point for several candidates  especially former Vice President Joe Biden, who is determined to bounce back after taking a "gut punch" in Iowa. Biden's campaign announced a shake-up in leadership just hours before the debate begins.

According to a new NBC News/Marist poll of New Hampshire voters released Friday afternoon, Sen. Bernie Sanders remains in first place in the state, with Buttigieg a close second. Both candidates saw gains from an NBC News/Marist poll released in January. Biden trails in fourth place behind Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Friday night's debate, which is being held at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, started at 8 p.m. ET. It is being hosted by ABC News and features five moderators from that network.

The participants, in alphabetical order, are:

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

The four other Democratic candidates remaining in the race were not invited to appear in New Hampshire. Three of them, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii did not meet the threshold for tonight's debate.

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is not competing in New Hampshire. He arrived late to the primary field and will not appear on any ballots until Super Tuesday. But he is rising in the polls after dumping hundreds of millions of dollars into his campaign.

The protracted Iowa caucus debacle has stoked an ongoing dispute about the results, giving way to increased hostilities among the front-runners.

Buttigieg's standing in New Hampshire rose after his better-than-expected showing in Iowa, a recent poll showed, making him likely to be a prime target in the debate.

Sanders got a head start in remarks earlier Friday about the corrosive influence of money in politics. At a campaign event in New Hampshire, Sanders cited multiple media reports saying the former mayor was a favorite of billionaire donors, framing the election as a choice between those who champion the working class and those who represent the wealthy.

"Which side are you on?" he asked at the Politics and Eggs event held by St. Anselm College's Institute of Politics.

Friday's debate caps off one of the most eventful weeks in politics since President Donald Trump took office.

On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sparked controversy when she ripped up a copy of Trump's State of the Union address on the House floor.

Wednesday marked the end of Trump's impeachment fight in Congress, with the GOP-led Senate voting nearly along party lines to acquit the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The two-week impeachment trial in the Senate took Warren, Sanders, Klobuchar and Bennet off the campaign trail in the days leading up to the Iowa caucus.

On Thursday, Trump basked in his acquittal while decrying Democrats' efforts to undermine him as "bullshit" and taking shots at Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, the only Republican to cross party lines and vote to convict the president on one article of impeachment.

And hours before the debate was set to kick off, the Labor Department released much-better-than-expected monthly payroll figures for January.
University of Melbourne's vice-chancellor has sounded the alarm about a growing hostility towards expertise, warning the role of universities is being fundamentally challenged by a breakdown in public discourse and increasing ignorance.

Duncan Maskell said the heightened challenge to expertise, fuelled by the rise of social media, was bringing into question the place of academia in society. He said objective facts were increasingly falling victim to online partisanship.

Professor Duncan Maskell, vice-chancellor, Melbourne University: "If society decides it is not going to operate on the basis of knowledge, then universities are really challenged in terms of why we are here." Credit:University of Melbourne

Professor Maskell said politicians and the media were increasingly undermining a historical respect for the authoritative advice of experts.

"We are seeing much more challenge now coming especially from politicians and commentators, journalists and others ... Some commentator can say, 'Well I don't believe that, actually it's like this'. And that's given credence," he said.
The number of EU nationals applying to stay in Britain post-Brexit has hit three million.

The vast numbers further confounded critics who warned last year that the scheme would be a disaster.

Labours Diane Abbott suggested in August that the Home Office scheme was heading to a catastrophe which will make Windrush look like a minor blip.

Of the total number of applications, more than 2.7 million European citizens have now been granted settled or pre-settled status.

Polish and Romanian nationals account for nearly a million of the applications so far

This allows them to live and work in the UK and use the NHS.

It also permits them to access public funds and benefits, as well as travel in and out of the country.

The largest group of applicants by nationality is Poles (512,000), followed by Romanians (436,000) and Italians (291,000).

Europeans EU citizens and their families have until at least December to make their applications, which are free.

The cities with the most applications outside of London

The scheme asks applicants to prove their identity, demonstrate they live in the UK, and declare any criminal convictions.

The Home Office has spent more than 170million on the project and has more than 1,500 staff dedicated to helping applicants.

So far, only six applications have been refused. It is thought these were made by EU nationals with serious criminal convictions.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: Im delighted that there have already been more than three million applications to the hugely successful EU Settlement Scheme.

Its the biggest scheme of its kind in British history and means that EU citizens can evidence their rights for decades to come.

Its now time for EU countries to adopt a similar scheme.

Apart from EU nationals, people from countries which are part of the European Economic Area, such as Norway, and Swiss nationals can also apply to the scheme.
Children under the age of 16 are also given extra protections under the new bill. Minors must provide opt-in consent for businesses to sell their personal information, and those under 13 must have the consent of a parent or guardian. Anyone who exercises a privacy right under the CCPA, regardless of age, cannot be discriminated against in terms of price or service as a result of their privacy-related choice.

Who is impacted by the CCPA?

Not all companies are impacted by the CCPA. The law only pertains to for-profit companies that collect or control any information about California residents and meet any of the following criteria:

They have at least $25 million in annual revenue.

They collect, buy or sell the personal information of 50,000 or more Californian consumers.

They get more than 50% of their revenues from the sale of personal data.

They handle personal information of more than four million consumers.

Importantly, the CCPA doesnt just affect businesses in the region where the law is passed. It has the potential to impact any business serving customers in California, no matter where they are based.

How does the CCPA define personal information?

The CCPA has a broader definition of personal information than other existing privacy laws, even the infamously strict European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The CCPA defines personal information as any data that identifies, relates to, describes, is capable of being associated with or could be reasonably linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or household. It includes things like names, nicknames, addresses, passport numbers or social security numbers, as well as geolocation data, employment or education-related information and physical and behavioral characteristics.

What happens if a company breaches the CCPA?

The CCPA has two main penalty mechanisms  one where the government can come after a business for violating the laws requirements and another where individuals affected by a data breach can sue the impacted company. Companies can be fined up to $7,500 per violation, and in the case of theft of data, companies are liable for fines of up to $750 per consumer, per accident.

What does all of this have to do with insurance?

The CCPA, although a force of good for Californian consumers, opens up various new avenues of exposure for businesses. Those that are deemed not in compliance with the strict privacy law could face lawsuits and/or significant fines. Therefore, many are seeking insurance coverage  primarily, cyber insurance coverage - to protect against any unforeseen or unintended breaches of the law. As Michael Palotay, chief underwriting officer for Tokio Marine HCCs cyber and professional lines group, pointed out: If the history of other professional lines of business is a judge, more regulations generally equal more risk and thus a bigger need for insurance.

As stated above, the fines for intentional violations of the CCPA can reach up to $7,500 per violation. If youre a company dealing with millions of consumer records and youre deemed to be acting in violation of the CCPA, the potential for a big loss is great. Palotay explained: A company could theoretically have millions of violations, so if insurers are providing a $1 million limit or a $5 million limit, but a company has $50 million-plus in exposure, it can quickly turn into a situation where we just basically have to give them the limit. And they end up managing the defense on their own because they have way more to lose than what we have up on the limit. Its a weird dynamic that doesnt happen very much in my world, but my claims department has been warning that that can happen.

How will the CCPA impact cyber insurance?

The laws definition of personal information is broad and will likely throw up some language / definition challenges in the cyber insurance space. Steven Robinson, area president, technology and cyber for Risk Placement Services (RPS) told Insurance Business: Many [cyber insurance policies] today still narrowly define personally identifiable information or private information as the initial [of a] first name, account number, financial information  anything that can uniquely identify someone. But oftentimes, theyll say that a breach of private information is defined by a particular state law, and so the question starts to come around: what happens if theres a breach of what we would consider to be confidential information that maybe doesnt meet a certain states statutory definition, and how does the cyber policy deal with that? What this does is it expands beyond what has been considered the foundational covered philosophy of a lot of cyber insurance policies, by expanding what they define as consumers personal information.

In a positive for the cyber insurance market, this new privacy law could also spur an uptick in companies buying standalone cyber insurance policies, and not just buying an endorsement. Standalone cyber insurance policies have broad policy wording that can adapt to changing privacy needs and cyber exposures through time.

Whats next with the CCPA?

The law came into effect on January 01, 2020, but theres a six-month grace period to enable companies to become compliant. As for the rest of the US, California is often a front-runner when it comes to legislation, so it will be no surprise if the CCPA acts as a game-changer for the privacy landscape across the country in years to come.
Marcella Zoia, the Toronto woman who shot to social media fame after she was filmed tossing a patio chair from a downtown highrise nearly a year ago, will have to wait a little longer before finding out if shes going to jail.

I never intended to hurt anybody and I know this was a very immature and stupid mistake, the 20-year-old said in court Friday, reading from a sheet of paper at a sentencing hearing that hinged partly on whether she was intentionally seeking attention when she threw the chair off a 45th-storey balcony near the Gardiner Expressway last February.

I have a lot of growing to do, Zoia said. Im aware that someone could have been hurt or I could have caused an accident.

Zoia, dressed in a black blazer, black pants and black boots, sat listening to the arguments about her fate with a neutral expression, occasionally biting one of her hot pink nails. She takes the experience as a lesson, she added, and it wont happen again.

After hearing three hours of evidence from both the Crown and Zoias lawyer, Greg Leslie, Ontario Court Judge Mara Greene said court will adjourn for a decision on March 12.

Zoia attracted widespread public scorn  and thousands of new Instagram followers  after a video of the incident surfaced on social media last February.

She is extraordinarily lucky that she didnt kill someone, said Crown Heather Keating. The chair was thrown at the height of weekend morning in an area thick with condos, she said.

Keating added that a strong message must be sent to the public that its not OK to toss heavy objects off condo balconies. Zoia, she said, has turned social media exposure into a brand and into employment.

If she doesnt get jail time, the experience may send the message that getting into a Drake video, even for a moment, might seem worth it.

Since her arrest, Zoia has received a coveted blue check mark indicating that her Instagram account is now verified. Her follower count has also risen from around 6,000 to more than 46,000.

In December, she made a brief appearance in a music video by Drake. The cameo was cut following backlash.

A key question Friday was whether she was seeking fame in the video of the chair-tossing incident that was posted Snapchat  a messaging app in which videos disappear after theyre watched.

Zoias sentence should be severe, Keating argued Friday, because the video reveals she had been intentionally seeking attention. It does not matter whether she posted it herself, Keating said: What matters is that she threw the chair knowing she was being filmed.

She looks directly into the camera, Keating said. I cant think of a stronger Crowns case, shes on video committing the crime.

Keating also questioning whether Zoia has shown genuine remorse for her actions.

She pleaded guilty to mischief causing danger to life in November.

Her sentencing hearing was postponed last month to give the Crown time to argue the model posted the video herself.

On Friday, Leslie argued she did not, saying she had been facing peer pressure at the time.

My client did not post that video and she never intended to get any social media attention from it, he said.

Leslie said his client has performed community service since her arrest, and argued alcohol and mental health issues were factors in the case.

Zoia was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and was self-medicating with alcohol, Leslie said. Zoia is not the most mature young lady, he said, but she never intended to hurt anybody.

The Crown argued Greene should sentence Zoia to four to six months in jail, with two years probation, community service and a social media ban; Leslie suggested she receive a two-year or longer suspended sentence with probation.

On Friday morning, the Crown presented stills from Zoias Snapchat account, as well as two patio chairs, complete with their cushions. Also at dispute was where the chair landed.

Around the time Zoia was filmed tossing one of the chairs from the balcony, security video showed at least 20 people including a woman pushing a stroller in the area below, Keating said.

There should be no minimizing her actions or the jeopardy that she placed civilians, she added.

After the hearing, Zoia walked out of court without stopping to speak with the crush of media around her.

Leslie said shes going through a lot and has been receiving hate mail.

He added he doesnt believe a ban on social media posting would be fair. Zoia is getting work through social media and to deny her that would be a violation of her rights, he said outside Old City Hall court.

He believes she has always been remorseful and is now facing the consequences of her actions.

Asked if there needs to be a precedent set to deter people from doing dumb things on social media for attention, he said a suspended sentence with a criminal record and probation would do that.

Earlier this week, James Potok, a 28-year-old aspiring rapper, claimed he was trying to go viral when he forced a Jamaica-bound plane to return to Toronto after he hinted he might have coronavirus. Hes been charged with one count of mischief and breach of recognizance.

Leslie said he would consider representing Potok, but he hasnt reached out.
Schools are left to beg from parents to get enough money in to run primary schools because of the capitaiton funding system which leaves them a lot worse off than secondary schools.

That is what an Irish National Teachers Organisation general election public meeeting was told in Portlaoise about the capitation funding shortfall problem facing mainstream primary schools.

Kieran Brosnan, a teacher at the Holy Family, gave Laois Offaly candidates a lesson on the underfunding of the capitation system which sees a set amount given to each school for each student.

Eleven years ago the capitation grant was 200 (per student). Eleven years later it is 178. Out of that, schools have to pay for heat, light, insurance and then beg off parents to pay for the balance, he said.

Mr Brosnan contrasted the funding to what secondary schools received. He said the secondary students will get 296 for the children leaving primary school in September.

I can't understand how a child is worth more in secondary school than in primary, he said.

Mr Brosnan gave the position of his own school, th e Holy Family in Portlaoise, which has several hundred on the roll book.

Our school gets 133,875 a year in capitation grant. If we could call ourselves a secondary school we would have 222,000 a year.

Primary means important basic, necessary. If you are not going to fund primary education equally, that is unnacceptable, he said.

Mr Brosnan said none of the main parties properly address the shortfall in primary funding capitation.

Minister Charlie Flanagan said Fine Gael would increase capitation each year over the next five years which is the equivalent of 60 million, and more than other parties. He said it had gone up 15% over the past two budgets in spite of the difficultes and Brexit pressure on Budget 2020.

Being realistic I would like to narrow that gap over a period of years. It will narrow the gap but certainly won't bring about equality, he said.

Fianna Fail candidate Sean Fleming said there is not a specific committment in his party's manifesto but agreed that it should be addressed, as did Noel Tuohy of the Labour Party.

Sin Fein candidate Brian Stanley said his party had committed to take action.

It can't be done in one or two years. We have committed to bringing it back to pre 2011, 200.

That is the first step. It is like the class sizes - we would like to do it in one year but it can't be done in one year, he said.

People Before Profit candidate. Stephen Tynan said capitation increase was the first item on his party's list of actions for education.

Independent candidate Carol Nolan said she was aware of it being an issue and said it represented inequality. She said it would not be addressed overnight but some committment had to be made.

She said she would raise it in the Dail and with the next Minister if returned.
LUMBERTON  Community members and the Lumberton ISD Board of Education got a first look Thursday at what new and improved campuses built with funds from a bond issue passed in November might look like.

They saw outlines and things like that before, but the actual detailed drawings, this was the first time, said Gretchen Scoggins, Lumberton ISD coordinator of special programs and communications.

The architecture firm Claycomb Associates presented a slew of floor plans and 3-D renderings that have been in the works since early January.

The next step, which the board went into executive discussion to deliberate, is to select a construction company to move the planning process forward.

During the presentation before the board, representatives said changes could occur throughout the process.

These plans are going to be like jello, even during construction there are going to be things changing, Richard Crump, vice president and principal-in-charge of the firms Houston office, told the board.

Ricci Pampolina, the director of maintenance for the district, said the firm has been meeting with teachers since the beginning of the year to get feedback on what they need.

That is why our staff is involved, to make sure they get everything that they need to educate our kids, he said.

Scoggins said the process is moving forward on schedule, noting that the districts first priority is the continued education of the students.

Unlike a refinery that is able to shut down and build something, we are continuously educating kids, she said. So we dont get to stop, take a two-year period, and come back. So that is all a part of the factor of how the sequence of events are going to occur. We are going to know more next week.

The board also voted to begin selling half of the bonds  about $40 million out of the $78.8 million  with funds expected to arrive as soon as May.

Lumberton ISD passed the bond in November 2019 after failing previously to convince voters to pass bond issues, including one for $28.5 million in 2008 that was defeated by a large margin.

In 2012, the district funded renovations without a bond using a loan, but Superintendent Gerald Chandler said that revenue would not suffice for the critical needs the new bond proposal would fund.

The renovations aim to alleviate overcrowding and accommodate future growth, while increasing security measures and housing new career and technical education classrooms.

The intermediate school will be converted into a middle school featuring a new science lab and band hall, upgraded entrances and other features for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and an expanded cafeteria.

The existing middle school is slated to be turned into an intermediate campus housing grades three, four and five.

$12.7 million will be used for career and technical education projects, including a new criminal justice and culinary arts lab, a new robotics lab and 12 new classrooms.

The board received physical copies of the schematic designs, and opted to review the plans and come back to discuss them at a later meeting.

isaac.windes@hearstnp.com

twitter.com/isaacdwindes
US President Donald Trump has congratulated NASA astronaut Christina Koch on breaking the female record for the longest stay in space.

Koch returned to Earth safely on February 6 after shattering the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station. She touched down at 0912 GMT on the Kazakh steppe after 328 days in space, along with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency.

After Koch landed on Earth, Trump took to Twitter and welcomed her on the planet. The US president congratulated for her achievement. Trump further said that she was inspiring young women and making the country proud.



Welcome back to Earth, @Astro_Christina, and congratulations on breaking the female record for the longest stay in space! Youre inspiring young women and making the USA proud! Enjoyed speaking with you and @Astro_Jessica on the first all-female spacewalk IN HISTORY last year.

 Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2020

On the occasion, Trump recalled the time in 2019 when he spoke with her and Jessica Meir on the first all-female spacewalk in history.

On December 28, Koch beat the previous record for a single spaceflight by a woman of 289 days, set by NASA veteran Peggy Whitson in 2016-17.

The 41-year-old Michigan-born engineer called three-time flyer Whitson, now 60, "a heroine of mine" and a "mentor" in the space programme after she had surpassed the record.

She spoke of her desire to "inspire the next generation of explorers".

Koch also made history as one half of the first-ever all-woman spacewalk along with NASA counterpart Jessica Meir, her classmate from NASA training.

The spacewalk was initially postponed because the space station did not have two suits of the right size for women, leading to allegations of sexism.

What will I miss? The exquisite beauty of both the planet Earth and this marvel that its amazing people created. pic.twitter.com/VWIFXuJMTp  Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 5, 2020

Ahead of the three-and-a-half hour journey back to Earth, Koch told NBC on February 4 that she would "miss microgravity".

"It's really fun to be in a place where you can just bounce around between the ceiling and the floor whenever you want," she said, smiling as she twisted her body around the ISS.

Koch's medical data will be especially valuable to NASA scientists as the agency draws up plans for a long-duration manned mission to Mars.

(With PTI inputs)
: Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan, who sparked off an outrage by asking a tribal boy to remove his chappals near Theppakkadu elephant camp here, expressed regret personally to the boy and his mother on Friday.

The Minister said he had called the boy who was like his grandson to remove his footwear, and there was no other intention whatsoever.

However, the boy's mother and some social organisations, sought an apology from the minister and filed a police complaint seeking action against him under the SC/ST Act.

Sensing the public wrath, Srinivasan called the mother and relatives of the boy, and community members to the state guesthouse 'Tamizhakam' on Friday to convince them and sort out the issue.

After nearly a one-hour meeting, Srinivasan told reporters that he has personally apologised to the boy Ketan and his mother Kaliyammal and also assured to take up developmental works in their village.

Kaliyammal told reporters that the complaint against the minister would be withdrawn following the apology from the minister.

The minister also assured to construct a community hall in the village, she said.

Meanwhile, members of some organisations, including Social Justice Party, gheraoed the minister by squatting in front of his car and condemned an NGO, who arranged the meeting in favour of the minister.

However, they dispersed after lodging their protest.

On Friday, the Minister triggered the controversy when came to inaugurate the elephant rejuvenation camp in Theppakkadu, in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, 40 kms from here.

When he along with the district collector and other officials were proceeding to the camp, Srinivasan called the boy and asked him to remove his footwear so as to enter a temple there and perform pooja.

The boy readily obliged and removed the slippers in full public view. This led to an outrage and the clipping of the episode went viral.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An ex-Target employee harassed a HR manager with over a thousand calls when she was sacked.

Haley Jessica Turner, 29, appeared in Holland Park Magistrates Court, in Brisbane, on Friday after pleading guilty to using a carriage service to menance, harrass or cause offence.

She was placed on a $1,500, 12-month good behaviour bond but no conviction was recorded, according to the Courier Mail.

Turner made at least 1025 phone calls to a Target regional HR manager between the period of October 19 - 23, with 686 of the calls made in one day.

Haley Jessica Turner, 29, bombarded her Target HR manager with over 1,000 calls with 686 made in one day after she was fired

The court heard Turner worked for Target without issue for 13 years before she was moved to a store in Brookside were she claimed to have been bullied before she was fired on September 17.

She has since lodged a case with the Fair Work Commission but the outcome wasn't disclosed.

Her lawyer, Adam Moschella, told the court Turner suffered panic attacks and was stressed following her dismissal.

Mr Moschella said Turner accepted the majority of calls that came from her phone but she only remembered making about ten of them.

The court heard Turner worked for Target without issue for 13 years before she was moved to a store in Brookside were she claimed to have been bullied before she was fired on September 17

He argued these conditions lessened her guilt but Magistrate Simon Young disagreed.

'This cannot be explained simply as stressed-out mode,' he said.

Mr Young also argued that Turner should have understood the situation she was placing the HR manager in, given she claimed to have experience with bullying in the workplace.
P rince Harry has reportedly revealed he has been in therapy for the past few years to try and cope with the loss of his mother.

The Duke of Sussex made the personal revelation during his and wife Meghan's first public appearance since they announced they would be stepping down as senior members of the royal family.

In a speech given at a JP Morgan-sponsored alternative investment summit in Miami, Florida, Harry also said he did not regret stepping down as a senior royal, as he did not want Meghan and son Archie to experience what he went through when younger.

Sources told Page Six that Meghan who spoke briefly was introduced to the stage by TV personality Gayle King and then Meghan introduced Harry.

It is not known if the duke was paid for the speaking engagement but speculation is rife he could have received a fee worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

1 Hotel South Beach - in pictures 1 /18 1 Hotel South Beach - in pictures 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach 1 Hotel South Beach

A spokeswoman for the freelance royal couple, now based in Vancouver, Canada, confirmed their attendance at the luxurious five-star 1 Hotel on South Beach.

The spokeswoman did not say if pair - who are no longer official royals - were paid for the remarks.

Harry is understood not to have made a keynote speech. However, more details about the event and Harry's speech are scarce.

It is the first time the couple has been seen at a public engagement since they made the shock announcement of their intention to step back from royal duties in January.

In a decision dubbed Megxit, the couple chose financial freedom over being a member of the monarchy.

The residence of Prince Harry and and his wife Meghan seen from a boat on in British Columbia / AFP via Getty Images

A source told the New York Post the event was "all very hush-hush".

The Post also quoted a source as saying: Harry spoke about mental health and how he has been in therapy for the past few years to try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother.

He talked about how the events of his childhood affected him and that he has been talking to a mental health professional.

Harry also touched on Megxit, saying while it has been very difficult on him and Meghan, he does not regret their decision to step down as senior royals because he wants to protect his family. He does not want Meghan and their son Archie to go through what he did as a child.

On Wednesday, the couple shared pictures of their royal visit to New Zealand on their Instagram account to mark Waitangi Day, the country's celebration day.
The White House is considering dismissing several members of the National Security Council who are viewed as being disloyal to President Trump, including Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, three people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg News.

The White House doesn't want it to look like people are being retaliated against, and will frame this as a way to make the NSC smaller, Bloomberg News reports.

Vindman, the NSC's director of European Affairs and a Ukraine expert, testified during Trump's impeachment inquiry that he was alarmed by Trump's July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Vindman found Trump's request that Zelensky open an investigation into a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, "inappropriate," and he told the NSC's top lawyer.

A person close to Vindman's legal team told Bloomberg News he has not been told of any change in his status, nor has his twin brother, who also works at the NSC. Some staffers could be cut as soon as Friday, people familiar with the matter said, just two days after Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate.

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These students are increasingly the children of parents who helicoptered them through elementary, middle and high school, or who didnt go to college and cant provide much help with it. For these and other reasons, some take courses they dont need, pick majors they will later change and dont know what to do when the resulting problems leave them on the brink of flunking out.
AN ELEVEN month old baby miraculously escaped serious injury after an arson attack in Cork.

The baby is expected to make a full recovery after being rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH) as a precautionary measure after displaying some signs of respiratory problems following the incident at a house in Mayfield.

Initial indications are the baby may have accidentally inhaled some material discharged from a fire extinguisher rather than smoke related to the arson incident.

The child is being monitored at CUH but is expected to be discharged later today.

It is understood the child's attendance at CUH precautionary.

Gardai were alerted to the incident at the Liffey Park estate in Mayfield shortly after 10pm on Thursday evening.

A suspected petrol bomb was ignited outside a house in the estate.

The blaze did not cause any major damage but there was a quantity of smoke and fumes where it had ignited on a concrete area directly outside one property.

A fire extinguisher in the house was used to tackle the blaze.

Garda sources confirmed a number of adults and young children were in the property at the time.

No burn injuries occurred and everyone else in the house was uninjured.

Two units of Cork Fire Brigade attended the scene.

Gardai have appealed for anyone who saw suspicious activity in the Liffey Park area on Thursday evening to contact them.

One garda source warned that the incident could have potentially proved tragic.

Last month, a young man suffered burn injuries in an alleged incident at another property in Mayfield.

It is unclear if the two incidents are in any way linked.

Gardai will now examine CCTV security camera footage from businesses around Mayfield to try and determine if any suspicious activity was caught on camera.

They have also urged anyone who may have driven through the Liffey Park area on Thursday evening and whose vehicle is equipped with dash-cam equipment to contact them.
An Idaho man who brutally beat a transgender woman after she used a womens bathroom at an Oregon coast park was sentenced Friday to nearly six years in prison.

Fred Costanza, 37, was was convicted by a Lincoln County jury last month of second-degree assault and harassment in the Aug. 24 attack that shattered Lauren Jacksons jaw and fractured her skull, court records show.

The jury also found Costanza guilty of a first-degree bias crime under Oregons newly overhauled hate crime law, which includes protections for those who identify as transgender.

Circuit Judge Sheryl Bachart handed Costanza a 70-month sentence, the mandatory minimum for second-degree assault, a Measure 11 crime, and ordered the defendant pay restitution for the injuries Jackson suffered.

I feel so supported and validated," Jackson told The Oregonian/OregonLive. This kind of behavior isnt OK."

Fred Joseph Costanza (Lincoln County Sheriff's Office)

According to witnesses, Costanza walked over 100 yards across Agate Beach State Recreation Site in Newport to confront Jackson, 29, after she used the womens public restroom at the park.

The man pulled Jackson by the hair and struck her more than 10 times before leaving the park with his wife, witnesses told police.

Jackson, who was visiting Oregon for the first time, spent the next week in the hospital. She has since settled in the Portland area.

In an interview Friday, Jackson said she hopes to use her experience to make the world a safer place for transgender people.

We all deserve to be able to exist, and to be happy, she said.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632

Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:15:47|Editor: xuxin

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ANKARA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Defense Ministry on Friday threatened to respond to any attack against Turkish observation posts in Syria's northwest Idlib region, where it claimed at least three posts are being surrounded by the Syrian government forces.

The 7th, 8th and 9th observation posts of the Turkish military in the region are under the Syrian government's control, military sources told semi-official Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

"Our troops are ready to respond to any attacks within the context of self-defense," said the sources, adding troops in these posts are capable of protecting themselves.

The priority of Turkish troops in Idlib is to halt the attacks and ensure the cease-fire, they noted.

A recent attack by the Russian-backed Syrian government forces in Idlib has killed seven Turkish troops and a serviceman and wounded 13 others, raising tensions between Ankara and Moscow.

Turkish and Syrian troops exchanged fire following the attack, and the Turkish leadership urged the Syrian forces to retreat from these posts by the end of February.

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air forces, have advanced rapidly since last week.

Turkey has 12 military observation posts around Idlib Province. They were established under a 2017 deal with Russia and Iran in order to reach a cease-fire in the last Syrian rebel stronghold.
Greg Kahn

En espanol | When Andrew M. Saul, 73, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new commissioner of Social Security last June, it brought to an end a six-year period in which the Social Security Administration (SSA) was run by a sequence of temporary appointees. Saul is now in charge of one of the most important operations in the federal government, an agency that pays out more than $1 trillion every year to more than 64 million Social Security beneficiaries.

Saul  who started his career managing national retail clothing chains and also helmed the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Boardis tasked with solving problems, such as slow customer service, that have troubled the SSA for years, and newer issues like scams run by people pretending to represent the agency. In January, he spoke with the AARP Bulletin to explain what he's doing to help the SSA face these challenges. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation.

First impressions



It's been, of course, a real learning experience, but the most significant thing is that whatever we do from here on in, the SSA has to be for the benefit of our customer. We are here to service them. It's become kind of the watchword, that whatever decision we make, it has to be for the good of beneficiaries. If we do that, we will never make a mistake. That's our mission.

We have some challenges, as everybody knows, in delivering the proper service to our customers. And this is what we are currently focusing on  everything from our disability operations to our 800 number to our field offices.

Extending office hours



I believe in getting out there with our customers, getting into the field and seeing what's happening. On one of my first field trips, I happened to notice on the door that we closed at 12 o'clock on Wednesdays. I frankly couldn't believe it, because we were losing basically 10 percent of our available time to service our customers by being closed on Wednesday afternoons. Then I understood why Thursday morning, when we opened, was kind of bedlam  like a Monday morning. But as of the beginning of January, all our offices are now open for the full day, five days a week.
"Our new Brookfield branch is an exciting addition to our growing branch network," said Jay Magulski, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Consistent with our commitment to supporting our members every day financial needs and long-term financial goals this location offers key amenities such as private offices, drive-thru lanes and a drive-up ATM."

"Landmark is also committed to strengthening and supporting the communities we call home. Each year we support a wide variety of hometown causes and organizations through charitable giving and volunteer efforts. In keeping with this philosophy, we are donating $1,000 to the Brookfield Public Library," added Magulski.

A grand opening will be held on Saturday, February 8, from 10:30 a.m.  12:30 p.m. during which attendees can meet both Landmark's mascot, Blinky the Lighthouse, and the Milwaukee Admiral's mascot, Roscoe, enjoy some light refreshments and receive a free gift, while supplies last. In addition, beginning when the branch lobby opens at 9 a.m., the first 50 adults (18-years old or older) to come inside will receive four tickets to an upcoming Admirals game.

Landmark Credit Union has $4.4 billion in assets and more than 700 employees, who serve over 356,000 members at 32 locations throughout Southern Wisconsin.

SOURCE Landmark Credit Union

Related Links

http://www.landmarkcu.com


Sri Lanka Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in New Delhi on Friday evening. He is on a state visit to India from February 8-11 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The main engagement day is on Saturday (February 8) where he will hold delegation-level talks with PM Modi.

Rajapaksa will also call on President Ram Nath Kovind and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will call on the Sri Lankan PM.

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "On PM Narendra Modis invitation, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in India to a warm welcome, on his 1st overseas visit since assuming office. Sustained exchanges at the highest level continue to energize India-SL ties."

After his official engagements in Delhi, Rajapaksa will travel to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Tirupati before he leaves for Colombo.

There has been a series of high-level visits between the two countries. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa chose India as the first destination to visit after he assumed his position as the President immediately after his election victory.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Religare Enterprises on Friday said it has entered into a pact with Kedaara Capital for divesting 6.76 per cent stake in its arm Religare Health Insurance Company (RHICL) for Rs 200 crore.

"The company has entered into definitive agreements (share subscription and share purchase agreement and shareholders agreement)...with Kedaara Capital Fund II LLP and Trishikhar Ventures LLP (jointly referred as Kedaara ) for sale of part of the investment in Ltd (RHICL), a subsidiary company for a consideration aggregating to Rs 200 crore," Religare Enterprises Ltd (REL) said in a BSE filing.

It also said that with a primary capital infusion of Rs 200 crore in RHICL by Kedaara pursuant to the transaction, the company "would have divested part of its investment constituting 6.761 per cent of RHICL .

The statement said the total deal value is pegged at Rs 400 crore, of which Rs 200 crore would be for the stake sale, while another Rs 200 crore would be brought in as primary equity capital by Kedaara.

The investor will also have the option of investing another Rs 100 crore. Post- consummation of this transaction, REL will hold 76.18 per cent stake in RHICL.

This deal will support the growth of the health insurance business and will enable REL to become debt-free after the completion of this transaction and the divestment of its lending business to the TCG Group. This will, in turn, help the company emerge as a strong financial services company, it said.

Religare Enterprises Non-Executive Chairperson Rashmi Saluja said: "We are glad to partner with Kedaara for this transaction. REL has been going through difficult times in the recent past and the new management has been taking important steps to not only strengthen corporate governance practices and compliances, but also capitalise the businesses for future growth.

We are confident that this transaction will strengthen our position in the financial services business and will help us to achieve our aim of becoming a debt-free company by June 2020. Our health insurance business is well capitalised to grow its market share and is poised to achieve a market leader position soon." Commenting on the transaction, Religare Health Insurance CEO Anuj Gulati said : "This transaction will enable us to increase our investment in technology, distribution and service capability. I would like to convey my sincerest appreciation to our current shareholders, board of directors, customers, distribution partners and employees for reposing their faith in us over the years." Since RHICL is a regulated entity, the transaction will be subject to insurance regulator IRDAI's approval and other regulatory and statutory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed within fiscal 2020-21.

The Religare Enterprises stock closed on Friday at Rs 44.10 a share, down 85 paise, or by 1.89 per cent, on its previous close on the BSE.
By Trend

The Azerbaijani Resource Analytical Information Center has published the results of research in connection with the early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, Head of the center, political expert Rasim Guliyev said.

The center was registered in August 2019, Guliyev said, Trend reports referring to the Analytical Information Resource Center.

"The centers goal is to research and analyze the ongoing events in the country, region and the world, head of the center added.

We conducted the research in connection with the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. Some 5,238 voters, as well as a big number of MP candidates were registered as part of the elections," Guliyev said.

The voter turnout was 42 percent during the parliamentary elections in 2005, 46 percent in 2010 and 55 percent in 2015. During the municipal elections, voter turnout was 32.2 percent, the head of the center added. As this institution of local self-government is relatively young, the populations awareness of this issue is not high. So, the interest in municipal elections is not high enough. The voter turnout during the recent parliamentary elections was 55 percent, while during the presidential election - 85 percent."

Ensuring of transparency in the process of nomination, registration of candidates, meetings with voters show that all conditions have been created for candidates amid the upcoming elections, the head of the center said.

According to the results of our monitoring, no big offenses were registered, Guliyev said. There were minor violations made by individual candidates, which were caused by lack of information. Such cases are observed all over the world. However, this is an undesirable fact.

The interesting facts were registered during our research, the head of the center added. As part of the upcoming elections, 2,431 people from 19 political parties, one union and two blocs appealed to the district election commissions, 1,637 candidates of them were registered. Later, 312 people withdrew their candidacies. The ruling New Azerbaijan Party nominated candidates from almost all constituencies.

If we pay attention to the age of the candidates, it is possible to say that the interest of young people in this process is growing, Guliyev said. This time, 82 candidates aged 18-28, 407 candidates aged 29-39, 542 candidates aged 40-45, 251 candidates aged 56-66 and 43 candidates older 67 have been registered.

Eight 22-year-old candidates were registered, which testifies to an increase in confidence in the elections, the head of the center said. The candidacies of two 82-year-old people were also registered.

The society has great confidence in the current elections, the head of the center added. This year, 22.58 percent of the total number, that is 299 candidates, are women, which is a record high. Most of those who want to take part in the elections are intellectuals. This time, journalists are very active."

The main factor contributing to the transparency of elections in Azerbaijan is the stable state building in Azerbaijan in 2005-2020, as well as maintaining this stability, Guliyev said.

Stable development in the country positively affects the living standard of the population, the head of the center said. As the parliamentary elections will be held almost immediately after municipal elections, all constituencies are ready for this process.

Preparation for the elections is carried out at the highest level, Guliyev added. The individuals involved in the elections, in particular, candidates from opposition parties, acknowledge that preparation for the parliamentary elections is carried out in accordance with the modern standards and there are no obstacles for the candidates."

The parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
United Nations  Counter-terrorism efforts adopted by governments around the world in response to threats of terrorism are affecting children negatively in numerous ways, a report by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict (Watchlist) claimed last week.

The policy note claimed a lot of these counter-terrorism measures "lack adequate safeguards for children" and lose sight of how they're detrimental to children against the bigger picture of fighting terror threats.

It further listed six ways in which children are affected through counter-terrorism efforts by states: treatment of children alleged to have terrorist affiliations; inability of governments to maintain internationally recognised juvenile justice standards; erosion of "principle of distinction"; being huddled in the definition of "foreign terrorist fighters"; denial of access to humanitarian needs brought upon by measures such as sanctions; and the Screening, Prosecution, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (SPRR) measures being loosely applied.

Children allegedly associated with terrorist organisations should be treated as victims of terrorism, not accomplices, the report read, adding that too often governments instead "criminalise" children without providing them proper support.

"Children have been tortured, subjected to ill-treatment, and unlawfully and/or arbitrarily detained on national security-related charges for their actual or alleged association with these groups," read the report.

Experts echo this sentiment.

"Children may also be vulnerable to recruitment and exploitation by these armed groups," Brigid Kennedy Pfister, Senior Child Protection Specialist at United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) told IPS. "From north-east Nigeria to Somalia, Iraq and Syria to Yemen and beyond, children who have been recruited and exploited by armed groups in any kind of conflict are first and foremost victims whose rights have been violated."

According to a 2019 U.N. report on terrorist exploitation of the youth, children can get recruited by terrorist units for a variety of reasons, such as their location and its proximity to a terrorist group, financial instability, societal perceptions or political marginalisation, and exposure to extremist propaganda -- factors children have little control over.

"We know that armed groups use duress, coercion, manipulation and violence to force or persuade children to join them, while some children may have lived in areas controlled by these armed groups have no meaningful choice but to associate with them," saysPfister.

That is why it's crucial that children are provided with care instead of further marginalisation if they are preyed upon by terrorist groups.

"All children in these situations, must be treated primarily as victims of human rights violations. Children affected by armed conflict should be supported with evidence-based services that aid their recovery and support their reintegration into communities," says Pfister of UNICEF, adding that the children should instead be provided support to "reintegrate into their communities and recover."

Meanwhile, it's also important to ensure that international laws and procedures are followed in the event that children are detained.

As the Watchlist report claims, special provisions designed for children in the justice system, as dictated by International Humanitarian Law (IHL), must be followed.

Pfister, of UNICEF, agrees. "Detention of children should only be a measure of last resort and for the shortest possible time," she says. "Children should not be investigated or prosecuted for alleged crimes committed by their family members or for association with designated terrorist groups or other armed groups. Children should be provided with psychosocial services, legal assistance and support to reintegrate into their families and communities."

While children are vulnerable to falling prey to terrorist ideology or recruiting due to a number of reasons, it's not that the population is devoid of concerns about terrorism. According to a UNICEF survey conducted across 14 countries in 2017, violence and terrorism are concerns on children's radars -- as issues that they would be impacted by as well as issues their peers will suffer from. The survey included children from the ages of 9 to 18, according to Pfister, who shared the data with IPS.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Conflict Children By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

"Children across all 14 countries surveyed were equally concerned about terrorism with 65 percent of all children surveyed worrying a lot about this issue," she said.

As such, heavy concerns remain regarding children's well-being in conflict-prone areas. There are numerous ways in which they can be affected, says Pfister, echoing the findings of the Witness report.

"Children are disproportionately victims of armed conflict, including conflicts with armed groups that target and terrify civilians," she told IPS. "Children may be caught up in attacks themselves, or lose their parents, family members or caregivers. Their homes, schools or the hospitals and health clinics they rely on may come under attack."

Currently UNICEF operates in 14 countries providing services to children on their path out of armed forces and armed groups, says Pfister, and working with governments to advocate for children to be identified as victims so that their families receive support to rehabilitate them.
Dateline Is Myanmars Ruling NLD Pushing Hard Enough on Constitutional Amendment?

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Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! The conversation surrounding constitutional change in Myanmar has grown increasingly pessimistic; marked by discouragement more than hope. When the NLD [National League for Democracy] submitted its bills containing proposals for a second round of amendments to the Constitution, on Jan. 27, military lawmakers accused the NLD of being deceitful, and of only proposing the amendments it seeks, despite its earlier promises to be all-inclusive. They also accused the NLD of deceiving other parties into supporting the Charter Amendment Committee, and of deceiving the public. They also said the NLD recklessly approved the proposed amendments via the Charter Amendment Committee without consulting experts. Such statements are rather negative toward constitutional change. Of the 114 proposed amendments submitted by the NLD, I assume there are only one or two main points that the NLD really wants to change. Democratic Party for a New Society chairman Ko Aung Moe Zaw and Ko Mya Aye, one of the leaders of the Federal Democratic Force, join me to discuss this. Im The Irrawaddy English editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

As Ive mentioned, the military lawmakers said those things, though this is not unusual. We have seen intense debate on constitutional change between the two sidesthe military lawmakers and the USDP [Union Solidarity and Development Party] on one side, and the NLD and ethnic parties on the other. As Ive mentioned, there are two main points the NLD wants to change out of the 114 proposed amendments. The first is Article 14 of Chapter 1, so as to reduce the [proportion of] unelected military lawmakers. It suggests reducing the military bloc, which currently accounts for 25 percent of lawmakers, to 15 percent in the 2020 election, and by a further 5 percentage points at subsequent general elections. So, there will only be 5 percent after the 2025 election. This is one of the critical amendments. The second concerns Article 436. It suggests changing the requirement for approving a charter amendment from more than 75 percent of Parliament to two-thirds of elected representatives. So military lawmakers would be excluded from voting, while still sitting in Parliament. Ko Mya Aye, what is your assessment and what else have you found regarding the charter amendment proposals?



Mya Aye: I want to discuss my views only from a political perspective. To me, charter amendment is a political problem, and not a legal issue. We have always asked this questionhow do we want to build our country? What is encouraging about the NLDs efforts to amend the Constitution is that it proposed amending Article 436. The NLD in cooperation with the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society took steps to amend it five or six years ago. I assume it is now trying to take action on the basis of the 5 million signatures it garnered from the public five or six years ago [on a petition in support of amending Article 436]. I am thankful for it. But the question is whether the article can be amended. No matter how much we are willing to amend it, ultimately we still need one vote [from a military lawmaker], plus all of the 75 percent of lawmakers who are elected. That result it not possible. Given that, we need to review the possible political impacts of, and the political developments during, the charter amendment process. It would be good if that article can be amended. But politics is not something you can daydream about. So, the NLD needs to consider what will happen if the article cant be changed and what impact that will have. People will get the message that the effort to amend the charter through the Parliament failed. People may feel disappointed and disheartened. Definitely, they will blame the other side for not being able to amend the Constitution. To what extent will [the NLD] take responsibility for the possible impacts? We need to think about that.

KZM: It appears the NLD and the ethnic parties want to amend the Constitution. Ethnic parties submitted 3,765 proposed amendments. The NLD submitted just 114 proposed amendments. They all agree in principle that the Constitution should be amended, though it remains to be seen whether that will be possible. The NLD submitted two billsone includes changes that would require approval in a national referendum; the other includes changes that dont require a referendum. What is your assessment?

Aung Moe Zaw: I would like to approach this from two perspectives. The first, as Ko Mya Aye said, concerns the question of whether the procedural technicalities can be overcome. The second is about whether the bills submitted by the NLD are in line with the democracy and federalism that the people have demanded all alongin other words, with the wishes of the people. I would like to assess it from these two perspectives. As to the first point, Ko Mya Aye has pointed out, and everyone knows, that it is not that easy to overcome procedural technicalities. As to the second point, the bills for the second round of amendments to the charter propose annulling some 17 key provisions in a total of seven chapters The NLD has tried this with the apparent intention of deepening democracy and reducing the role of the military in politics over time. I agree with you that the NLD is trying. But Im disappointed that they didnt try to touch Article 261, which many ethnic parties want to see amended. This has led people to think the NLD is ignoring federalism, to some extent. I am sorry about that. It is too difficult to overcome procedural technicalities to amend the Constitution. And [the NLD] would allow the military to remain engaged in politics for the next 20 years while it says it is trying to reduce the militarys role in politics. This is quite problematic, I think.

KZM: So, do you think the role of the military can be further reduced?

AMZ: The NLD should state clearly that the military should not engage in politics if we are to build a true democracy.

KZM: Most of the ethnic parties have called for removing military lawmakers from the Parliament in one fell swoop. It appears the military is opposed to even a 5 percent reduction. They responded harshly. What is your view, Ko Aung Moe Zaw?

AMZ: If we choose not to speak or submit [proposals] because they dont accept them, we will never get the Constitution changed. Our country will never become a democracy. We have demanded [change] repeatedly. And the NLD is trying too. Some people with strong views may see the current situation as appeasement. It is not good for the NLD to say the military does not accept constitutional changenot to mention other groups. The NLD has leverage, but it hasnt used it properly, Id say.

KZM: I agree with the ethnic parties that thousands of points need to be amended in the Constitution if we are to build a real federal democracy. The NLD submitted just 114 amendment proposals, which is too few, some say. And I doubt that even the two main provisions that I have mentioned can be amended. But other simple ones may be amended. So, Ko Mya Aye, how likely do you think it is that the charter amendment process can achieve a practical result? People have demanded democracy since 1988. And 30 years later, it appears that we have achieved half democracy.

MA: I respect and acknowledge the efforts made to amend the Constitution. I myself want to change it. I view [the charter debate] as an occasion for the respective persons and parties to express their stances. But it is impossible to achieve a result. The amendment will be minimal. And I am sure we will definitely not obtain what we want. If we are to establish a democracy, we have to talk about democratic norms. From the point of view of democratic norms, it is clear that the military should in no way engage in politics. About the practicality, I would like to ask whether the plan to reduce the military lawmakers over 20 years is practical. If many think it is practical, Id accept that. A big gap has opened up between the NLD and the ethnic parties over Article 261. There shouldnt be that gap. They are allies. The NLD has proposed that charter amendments can be passed by two-thirds of the elected lawmakers. If that happens, Article 261 can be amended easily. There are some differences between the political direction of the democratic forces and the ethnic-issue-based democratization of ethnic people who are calling for federalism. I want the NLD to be aware of that.

KZM: It appears that the NLD is not aware of that.

MA: Some argue that federalism can be achieved if democratization is successful. Theoretically this is true. But in reality, there are considerable differences.

KZM: Ko Aung Moe Zaw, you have long been engaged in politics, along with others including Ko Mya Aye. But as you are a party chairman and your party will be contesting the 2020 election, can you [personally] contest the election? I ask this because you have lived in exile.

AMZ: I havent been living in this country for 10 [consecutive] years.

KZM: So, you are not permitted under the Constitution to contest the election.

AMZ: Right. It appears that I will be able to contest the election only when the Constitution is changed to allow that.

KZM: How long do you have to wait to be eligible to contest the election?

AMZ: I will have to wait until 2025, by which time I will have reached the retirement age [60].

KZM: You joined politics in 1988, so how long will it have been [by then]?

AMZ: It will have been around 40 years. It appears that people like me have to wait for some 40 years to be able to join the official political process.

KMZ: So, for the time being you are barred by the Constitution?

AMZ: Yes, thats right.

KZM: In our interviews with NLD spokespersons on charter amendment, they refer to Indonesia. The [Myanmar] military regime designed the 2008 Constitution based on the Indonesian model of Dwifungsi, or dual function. There will be both unelected and elected [lawmakers] in the government and parliament. It appears to me that the NLD is considering that model because it says it plans for a gradual reduction of the military in Parliament. Taking a look at Indonesia, dual function began in the time of Suharto in 1966. If I remember correctly, the military remained in power until 2004. So, the process of gradually removing the unelected lawmakers from the parliament took 38 years. In comparison, the NLD plans for 20 years. Ko Aung Moe Zaw, what is your view?

AMZ: If we consider Myanmars situation back in 1966, ours is worse than Indonesias. The democracy movement in Indonesia started later than ours. But they arrived back on the democracy track before us. They arrived back in 1997, 1998. And when Suharto said they would withdraw the military from politics, it appeared that they had the will [to do so]. Now, [a president without a military background] is in his second term. It is fair to say Indonesia is an advanced democracy in Asia.

KZM: It is the most advanced democracy in Southeast Asia. Countries that introduced democracy before Indonesia did are behind it now. But the problem in our case is that we still dont know about the will of the Tatmadaw [Myanmars military]. They said they would withdraw and they tried to push the [democratization] process forward by taking a political leadership role. Taking a look at the charter amendment process in the Parliament, so far they have not shown any willingness to amend. They said they agree with amending the Constitution, but in reality, lets take a look at the peace process. The peace process was initiated by the military. That process has gone nowhere.

KZM: So, your point is that the military leadership lacks political will.

AMZ: I havent seen any so far.

KZM: Ko Mya Aye, what do you think?

MA: I havent seen it either. It is good to take cues from other countries. Indonesias process has been faster than ours. When I visited Indonesia as part of a government delegation, I found that what their military said was different from what the Tatmadaw said. In our country, the military in the past introduced the Burmese Way of Socialism based on socialist concepts. And its approaches to the 1988 Uprising were different. Indonesia is different in that regard. I want Myanmar people to be aware of that. My view is that either the NLD or the democratic forces must form a package deal with the ethnic parties based on the Constitution, as the next step beyond the 2020 election.

KZM: The [NLD] is also trying to establish the Union Accord [through the Union Peace Conference with the ethnic armed organizations] outside Parliament.

MA: It is in a fog. It has reached an impasse. And I think [the peace process] cant fully represent all [groups]. For example, the Northern Alliance has not signed the truce.

KZM: You both have a lot of political experience. Ko Aung Moe Zaw, you have engaged in politics constantly inside and outside the country. And Ko Mya Aye you did the same inside the country and behind bars. Ko Aung Moe Zaw, if you were in the shoes of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi or any NLD leader, what would you do with the military on one side and the ethnic parties on the other, while faced with the need to amend the Constitution?

AMZ: I want the NLD to act boldly. I want it to speak out and negotiate boldly. I want it to be persuasive.

KZM: But what if the other side doesnt listen? Even if they act boldly, if the other side doesnt have political will, what do you do?

AMZ: Perhaps we will have to push for it. People have vested power in them [the NLD] because they have trust in them.

KZM: What do you mean by boldly?

AMZ: There will be problems if they only start to speak out now. I mean, from the moment they came to power, they should have boldly introduced the necessary changes. It appears that the NLD is too focused on the question of What if it doesnt move, though we push for it? So they exercise excessive caution, even in their choice of words in discussing charter amendment. Even with this, the other side does not move at all. However, I want the NLD to speak boldly about what it thinks is necessary to get it done.

KZM: You mean speak boldly without considering the consequences?

AMZ: You have to take calculated risks sometimes. You will run into trouble otherwise.

KZM: So far, Myanmar people, especially those who engage in politics, still dont have a sense of security.

MA: The current situation is worse, I thinkwe are in a state of confusion. The military has criticized the NLD regarding constitutional amendment. This clearly shows disagreement between the two. People will suffer more amid the confrontation between these two.

AMZ: Let me interrupt. The NLD has not been that close to the ethnic parties since it came to power. It stays away from them. It also stays away from democratic forces like us. As a result, it cant push the military and has lost its allies. As far as Im concerned, it does not properly use its leverage. This is the NLDs problem. And about the ICJ [International Court of Justice], if [the NLD] had talked about its principles boldly, the impact would not have been so great. The NLD is so concerned about offending the military, it has gotten itself into trouble.

KZM: Ko Mya Aye, what would you do if you were in a position of power, as I have said, but faced many problems and challenges such as a constitutional crisis, economic downturn, military-civil relations, the peace process. What would you do regarding the Constitution?

MA: Whatever we do, we do according to our stance and the norms. We should speak clearly about our norms and our goals. And as for the military, as far as Im concerned, the military justifies everything it does with the excuse that it needs to prevent the Union from breaking up. I accept, welcome and support that the NLD has expressed its stance by making a move to amend the Constitution. The result is another question. We dont blame it for this. We already know that it will be difficult. It has been agreed in the Union Accord to establish the Union based on democracy and federalism. The military has agreed to this. I will negotiate with democratic forces and ethnic parties to work out a system that is in line with this. The package deal [with ethnic parties] may involve the entire Constitution. Only after that will I talk with the military.

KZM: The two amendment bills will come to nothing if not approved by more than 75 percent of lawmakers. What you have just suggested might perhaps be on the agenda of the NLD. But both methods will run into the same obstacle: the militarys approval. The NLD needs to negotiate with the military. There have been calls for dialogue between the two. But there is still none, it appears.

MA: My view is that [the ruling party] must have a policy package about the Constitution that is in line with federalism.

KZM: Suppose there is such a policy package; what if the military still doesnt agree?

MA: In that case, [an NLD leader] would have to split [from the military].

KZM: To summarize, it all depends on the political will of the military leadership.

MA: We havent seen that will thus far.

KZM: How far democratization can go and to what extent the Constitution can be changed will depend on the political will of the military leadership. It depends solely on an individual and an institution.

AMZ: Mainly, it is the institution. It is important that the Tatmadaw has the will. It is not enough for the NLD to have the will alone. It should also be aware of the ways and means to exercise that will.

KZM: Thank you for your contributions! We have frequently discussed constitutional amendment, which is most important for our country. Im afraid we still cant even dream about a Constitution that the people wish to see. But perhaps the situation is not that discouraging.

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U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., are throwing their support behind legislative efforts to aid the Great Lakes.

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives passed the bipartisan Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act to reauthorize and expand funding for the Great Lakes. Steil voted for the measure.

Baldwin, a member of the Senate Great Lakes Task Force, is calling on the Senate to take action and pass the bipartisan act.

Steil, who represents the 1st Congressional District, which includes Kenosha County, said he sent a letter to President Trump, urging support for the initiative in the 2021 fiscal year budget.

The act will reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which is set to expire at the end of fiscal year 2021, for another five years.

The bill increases the current authorization level from $300 million to $375 million in fiscal year 2022 and increases funding by $25 million per year until it reaches $475 million in fiscal year 2026.

The Great Lakes play an important role in Wisconsins economic success and environmental health. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has helped Wisconsin protect Lake Michigan and our shoreline communities, Steil said.

As Kenosha, Milwaukee and Racine counties face new environmental challenges, we must ensure southeast Wisconsin is resilient against these threats, said Steil.

Earlier this year, Steil toured the shoreline damage from recent storms and flooding, which affected Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties.

Steil, a co-sponsor of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Act of 2019 and the Great Lakes Coastal Resiliency Act of 2019, said he has spoken to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence about the erosion damage and the need to protect Lake Michigan.

Lakeside properties and infrastructure are in danger of being lost, and the Asian carp has the potential to devastate the $7 billion fishing industry of the Great Lakes, Steil wrote in his letter to Trump.

From Kenosha to Racine counties, the Great Lakes are an integral part of our communities economic and environmental well-being. The GLRI has been a vital program that helps states restore and promote healthy ecosystems, while supporting local job creation and tourism.

Baldwin said the bipartisan measure is critical for the health of our region, our communities, and our clean water resources. It helps us clean up polluted sites, restore water quality and combat invasive species.

Preserving the Great Lakes is not just an environmental goal; it is an economic necessity for Wisconsin. The House did its job, and now the Senate needs to take action by passing my bipartisan legislation because making stronger, long-term investments in GLRI will help us ensure that our Great Lakes are protected and preserved for generations to come.

According to Baldwin, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has tripled the successful cleanup and delisting of Areas of Concern, reduced phosphorus runoff and the threat of harmful algal blooms, controlled and stopped the advancement of invasive species, and restored wildlife habitat over thousands of miles of rivers and waterways.

Since 2010, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has provided more than $2.5 billion to fund 4,706 projects throughout the Great Lakes region.

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by Melynda Fuller , February 7, 2020

Following Tim Knights departure as Tribune Publishings CEO and Terry Jimenezs appointment to the position earlier this week, a slew of executives were laid off.

Among those cut from the company were Grant Whitmore, Chief Digital Operations Officer and former publisher of the Daily News, Susan Jacobs, senior vice president of sales and strategy, Mark Rose, vice president of strategy marketing, Robin Gruen, vice president of creative and strategy and Chris Duplex, vice president of business optimization. The New York Post reported the cuts.

Tribune Publishing, home to newspapers such as Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and The Baltimore Sun, among others, reported that hedge fund Alden Global Capital, LLC, bought a controlling share of the company late last year.

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Aldens publishing division, MNG Enterprises, is known for stripping newspapers. Since Alden acquired its stake in the company, Tribune Publishing has of fered voluntary buyouts at its titles.

Earlier this month Chicago Tribune writers David Jackson and Gary Marx published an op-ed in The New York Times calling for a new owner for the paper.

They wrote: Aldens strategy of acquiring struggling local newsrooms and stripping them of assets has built the personal wealth of the hedge-funds investors. But Alden has imposed draconian staff cuts that decimated The Denver Post and other once-proud newspapers that have been vital to their communities and to American democracy.

Following Warren Buffets sale of his newspaper business to Lee Enterprises, Alden took a 5.9% stake in the company. According to a filing by MNG, the company wants to discuss with Lee Enterprises management issues including, but not limited to the recently announced acquisition of Berkshire Hathaways newspaper operations and matters pertaining to the Issuers 2020 Annual Meeting," reports Seeking Alpha.
A reorganization at the Department of Homeland Security's cyber agency has inhibited the development of larger strategic planning efforts to protect the 2020 elections, a new watchdog report found.

Election security has been a major focus for CISA since 2017, and agency leadership identified the issue as one of the agency's five top priorities coming out of the government shutdown in January 2019. However, according to a new Government Accountability Office report, larger reorganization effort as a result of new legislation that transformed the then-National Protection and Programs Directorate into CISA has slowed agency efforts to finish strategic and operational plans related to the 2020 elections.

Those plans are meant to identify organizational functions, processes, and resources for protecting election infrastructure, sharing intelligence and identifying threats. The agency told auditors that two other lines effort focused on operational plans to provide security assistance for political campaigns and a public awareness campaign on foreign influence operations are "unlikely" to be developed.

Agency officials also cited limited staffing resources to explain the delays and members of Congress have openly questioned in the past whether CISA has the budget and resources it needs to carry out its expanding mission in election security and other areas.

"The lack of finalized plans can affect CISA's achievement of higher-level objectives that take time to accomplish, such as building stakeholder capacity and public awareness," auditors wrote. "Until CISA finalizes its strategic and operations plans for supporting elections in 2020 and ensures that the operations plan fully addresses all of the aspects of its strategic plan, CISA will not be well-positioned to execute a nationwide strategy for securing election infrastructure prior to the start of 2020 election activities."

The audit also details findings from two internal assessments  one by CISA, the other by a contractor  which found a number of issues and concerns related to incident response efforts during the 2018 elections. Those issues include an inability to tailor services to the specific needs of different local election jurisdictions, not always providing actionable recommendations in threat briefings, not producing unclassified versions of their briefings for election officials to share with IT staff, a limited number of capabilities to offer on election day and a lack of clarity about what the agency could do in the event that an election jurisdiction is compromised and state and local resources are already exhausted.

CISA has traditionally received high marks for its post-2016 election security efforts from state and local organizations, members of Congress and security experts. Many state and local officials have praised the improved communication and assistance from the agency following a 2017 designation by of elections as critical infrastructure that left many states feeling protective and suspicious about a potential federal takeover. The GAO audit reflects that increased confidence, with election officials from seven of the eight states interviewed by auditors said they were "very satisfied" with CISA's help, with many praising the agency's technical expertise and willingness to offer resources and services.

According to figures provided in the report, CISA has provided 40 states and 161 local election jurisdictions with continuous scanning services of internet-accessible systems, 26 states and 20 localities with network security assessments, four states and 44 localities with remote testing of external systems and run phishing tests for 10 states and 5 localities. It's also worked to install Albert sensors that monitor for malicious traffic targeting election systems in all 50 states.

The agency spent much of its time between the 2016 and 2018 elections building up relationships and trust with state-level officials, and has told reporters it is now focused on doing the same with the approximately 8,000-10,000 local jurisdictions who face threats from ransomware, foreign hackers probing their voting or election systems and other actors.

The GAO recommended that the CISA Director should move swiftly to finalize its plans for 2020, address all lines four lines of effort as originally planned and document how it plans to address challenges identified in prior assessments.

In an attached response, a DHS official concurred with all three recommendations and said the agency will finalize its #Protect2020 Strategic Plan and 2020 Election Security Operations Plan in mid-February and release them shortly thereafter.

"DHS remains committed to ensuring the election stakeholder community has the necessary information to adequately assess risks and protect, detect and recover from those risks," Wrote Jim Crumpacker, the department's congressional and Inspector General liaison.
Ramvir Singh Bidhuri election result 2020 live news and latest updates online - Read about Ramvir Singh Bidhuri BJP candidate who is fighting Delhi assembly (Vidhan Sabha) election from Badarpur seat and many more at Firstpost.com.

RK Puram Assembly Election 2020: A veteran in Delhi politics, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri will contest from his stronghold of Badarpur. Bidhuri will be locked in a contest with Ram Singh Netaji of the Aam Aadmi Party and Pramod Yadav of the Congress. A tight battle between Bidhuri and Netaji is in fact a regular feature in electoral fights in Badarpur, both of whom are strong Gujjar leaders.

Bidhuri has had several political affiliations in his career, but he has maintained his stronghold in the Gujjar dominated area on the Delhi-Faridabad border. Currently in the BJP since 2012, Bidhuri was previously associated with the Congress party. Between 2000 and 2007, he was also associated with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, he began his electoral career with the Janata Dal in the early 90s.

In 1991, in his first election to the Parliament, Bidhuri lost to the BJP's Baikunth Lal Sharma from East Delhi.

However, he made a comeback in the 1993 Assembly election, winning from Badarpur on a Janata Dal ticket. But he lost to Netaji in the 1998 Assembly election as a Congress candidate. He then defeated Netaji in the 2003 Assembly election on a NCP ticket. Interestingly, Netaji contested the 2003 election as a Congress candidate.

The rivalry between Netaji and Bidhuri continued in the 2008 polls as the former defeated the latter by a margin of over 13,000 votes. While Bidhuri contested as a Congress candidate, Netaji was fielded by the BSP. In the 2013 polls, Bidhuri, as a BJP candidate, defeated Netaji by a margin of over 12,000 votes. Bidhuri, however, lost to Narayan Dutt Sharma of the AAP by over 47,000 votes in the 2015 polls.

With the BJP and AAP fielding Gujjar candidates, it would be interesting to see how much the Gujjar vote would split in the upcoming election. Moreover, the lack of basic amenities like potable water, sewer, open drains and roads are likely to take centre stage in the polls.
Lawyers of a Ukrainian Army medic suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet say they have "additional proof" that their client had nothing to do with the high-profile killing.



Sheremet was killed on July 20, 2016, when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded.



Investigators suspect military medic Yana Duhar and two other people of involvement in the killing, all of them with ties to the war taking place in eastern Ukraine.



Duhar's lawyers, Mykola Orekhovskiy and Vitaliy Kolomiyets, told reporters in Kyiv on February 7 that they provided the Prosecutor-General's Office with materials that "prove" their client had not been involved in Sheremet's assassination.



The materials included the results of a lie detector test, they said.



The lawyers said the investigators had "mistakenly" identified a person recorded on CCTV camera monitoring Sheremet's apartment block a day before his killing as their client.



Independent forensic tests "proved that the person on the tape is 10 centimeters higher" than Duhar, they said.



Sheremet was a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home.



His killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the Ukrainian authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case.

Those suspected in the case also include former special operations Sergeant Andriy Antonenko and pediatric surgeon and volunteer Yuliya Kuzmenko.



Police have also named a couple as persons of interest in the investigation: Inna and Vladyslav Hryshchenko.



On January 30, Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Ryaboshapka said additional evidence is needed for the case as "the volume of compiled evidence isnt enough."



Sheremet's mother, Lyudmila Sheremet, told RFE/RL in December that she did not know if the suspects are guilty or not, but she was afraid "that innocent people may be hurt" as officials try to show they're making headway in the case.
People exit the port after being aboard of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Anthem of the Seas in Bayonne, New Jersey, on Feb. 7, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

White House Asks Scientists to Investigate Origins of New Coronavirus

The White House asked scientists to rapidly assess the origins of the new coronavirus, which started in China in December 2019 and has since spread to over two dozen countries, including the United States.

Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier, director of The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, conveyed the request to Dr. Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences, in a letter this week.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine should rapidly examine information and identify data requirements that would help determine the origins of 2019-nCoV, Droegemeier wrote, using another name for the virus, which is also known as the Wuhan coronavirus.

Droegemeier said that a widely disputed paper posted online last week was withdrawn but the response to that manuscript highlights the need to determine information and data requirements as quickly as possible to better perform and validate such analyses of origin.

These questions are important not only for this current situation, but to inform future outbreak preparation and better understand animal/human and environmental transmission aspects of coronaviruses, he wrote.

A resident rides a motorbike across an empty track in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on Feb. 7, 2020. (Getty Images)

Coronaviruses are common in many different species of animals. In rare cases, the viruses can evolve and infect humans before spreading between humans. Person to person transmission of the new coronavirus has been confirmed, including in multiple cases in the United States.

The origin of the Wuhan coronavirus is not known. International and national health experts are scrambling to find out more information about the virus, which has stoked fears around the world and prompted a rush on masks, a slate of travel restrictions, and widespread screening.

McNutt, Dr. John Anderson, president of the National Academy of Engineering, and Dr. Victor Dzau, president of the National Academy of Medicine, told Droegemeier that they consulted leading experts in a number of fields, including virology, genome sciences, and coronaviruses.

We wanted their views about the data needs that could help elucidate the origin and evolution of 2019-nCoV, the doctors wrote in the letter.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar takes questions during a briefing with members of the presidents Coronavirus Task Force in Washington on Jan. 31, 2020. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)

The National Academies stand ready to assemble a committee of experts to examine these issues in more detail and provide evidence-based advice to you in an expedited manner if requested. We appreciate your trust in the National Academies and our efforts to advise the nation and inform public policy decisions.

They said studies to better understand the origin of the new virus are already underway.

Twelve cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed in the United States, the latest in Wisconsin, the first confirmed case in that state. There are also confirmed cases in Massachusetts, Illinois, Arizona, Washington state, and California.

President Donald Trump formed a coronavirus task force led by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. The task force has been providing Trump with daily updates.

Azar was scheduled to hold a press briefing on Friday afternoon to give an update on what the task force has been doing.
Health official: 'Regardless of variant, the protective measures are the same'

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U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said Washington was "outraged" by violence against protesters in the Iraqi city of Najaf and he urged Baghdad to "immediately address legitimate grievances."

Pompeo's statement on February 6 comes day after at least eight Iraqi protesters were killed when supporters of influential Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr stormed an anti-government protest camp in the southern city, attempting to clear the camp of demonstrators.

The populist Sadr initially backed the demonstrations but split with them over the past few days, endorsing Muhammad Tawfiq Allawi, who has been designated the country's prime minister.

Sadr, who previously said he opposed all foreign interference in Iraq, has aligned himself more closely with parties backed by Tehran in recent months. Iran has great influence among much of Iraq's Shi'ite population and supports powerful militia groups in the country.

Baghdad has attempted to balance its relations with Tehran and Washington, which also provides crucial economic and military aid.

The clashes in Najaf are just the latest in a series of deadly confrontations in Iraq.

For months, anti-government protesters have demanded an end to foreign influence in the country and for what they described as "elitists" to resign from power. The actions led to a brutal crackdown by security forces, with hundreds of protesters being killed.

"Since October of last year, peaceful demonstrators have taken to the streets to urge government reform. They have been met with threats, brutal violence, and live-fire attacks," Pompeo said in his statement.

"It is unconscionable that the perpetrators continue to act with impunity. Political figures who incite this violence and government leaders who fail to take steps to protect rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be held to account."

Pompeo in his statement put the casualty tolls at "more than 600 protesters" killed and "thousands injured."

"We urge the government of Iraq to take immediate steps to hold accountable the militias, thugs, and vigilante groups in Najaf and other cities for their attacks against Iraqis exercising their right to peaceful protest," he said.

"To the courageous Iraqi people seeking reform and a government free of corruption and Iranian meddling, we offer America's continued friendship and support. We reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to the Iraqi people and a strong, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq."

The message comes amid strained relations between Baghdad and Washington following the January 3 killing of a senior Iranian commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad, sparking calls for the pullout of U.S. forces from Iraq.
ST. PAUL -- A sergeant with the Ramsey County sheriffs office was convicted of misconduct of a public officer this week and subsequently resigned from his post in law enforcement, his defense attorney said.

Jason Degerstrom, 45, pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor count in Ramsey County District Court Monday, and was sentenced to nine months of probation to the court, according to court records.

Two misdemeanor theft counts against Degerstrom were dismissed, according to his attorney, Deborah Ellis.

As part of his plea, Degerstrom admitted to mishandling the personal property of a homeowner when he was executing a search warrant at a Payne-Phalen neighborhood home last March, Ellis said.

He denied stealing it though, as authorities alleged in the probable cause statement of the criminal complaint.

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The charging document said a motion-activated surveillance camera in a bedroom caught Degerstrom stuffing a phone charger into his pocket while executing a search warrant. It also reportedly caught him fumbling through a purse before stuffing what authorities suspect was cash into his pocket, the document said.

A resident of the house said she had about $1,000 in cash in the purse. Only about $500 remained when county staff took inventory following the search.

Ellis said Degerstrom served about 20 years in law enforcement. Before entering his plea this week, Degerstrom, a veteran, participated in Ramsey Countys veterans court, Ellis said, adding that the experience was meaningful for him.

The sheriffs office placed him on leave last April after learning about the allegations.

"Its very regretful and his career in law enforcement is over," Ellis said.
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Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020

Komodo Airport in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara, the main entryway to one of Indonesias tourism hotspots, will become an international airport in June, earlier than the governments initial plan for 2021.

We agreed to make it [an international airport] faster. Hopefully, the investors can be serious in developing the airport, said Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi on Friday on the sidelines of the signing of an agreement between Komodo Airports developers.

PT Cinta Airport Flores (CAF), a business consortium 80 percent owned by publicly listed local aviation services company Cardig Aero Services and 20 percent owned by Singapores Changi Airports International, will be responsible for the development of Komodo Airport.

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SOCHI (Reuters) - Russia and Belarus will continue talks on oil supplies, a senior Kremlin official said, after a meeting between their leaders on Friday failed to resolve a politically charged dispute.

Russian oil flows to Belarus have dwindled to a trickle since Jan. 1 after the two countries failed to agree on supply terms for 2020. Oil exports via Belarus to Europe have so far been stable.

Speaking on the sidelines of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, Dmitry Kozak said Russia would supply Belarus with natural gas this year under the same terms as it did in 2019.

The talks have been positive. We agreed to continue consultations... on the fine-tuning of the integration mechanism, Kozak, who serves as deputy head of Russias presidential administration, told reporters.

The oil row comes against the background of a wider dispute over an agreement to integrate their economies and political systems, signed back in 1999 by Lukashenko and then Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

Moscow has continued to push the plan, but Minsk has since resisted the idea of closer ties with Russia, fearing a complete takeover by the Kremlin.

Following the stoppage on Jan.1, Russia partially resumed its oil flows to Belarus on Jan. 4, thanks to supplies from Mikhail Gutseriyevs Safmar Group (SFIN.MM). There have been no requests from other Russian oil firms to supply oil to Belarus via pipelines this month.

Safmar will remain the sole Russian oil supplier to Belarus this month, traders told Reuters on Wednesday.

Safmar group companies Russneft and Neftisa plan to supply around 450,000 tonnes of oil to Belarus refineries in February, the groups spokeswoman told Reuters, with around 100,000 tonnes of that to be delivered by rail, she added.

This is still not enough to feed the two main refineries in Belarus, which normally process around 1.5 million tonnes of oil monthly. In 2019, Russia supplied 18 million tonnes of oil to Belarus.

Kozak said on Friday the Russian government will facilitate talks between Russian oil companies and their Belarusian counterparts.
Professor Su Guaning, President Emeritus of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), has been elected to the United States' National Academy of Engineering (NAE) - the only Singaporean on the list this year.

Prof Su is the fourth from NTU Singapore to receive this honour. The other three members are President Subra Suresh and Professor Huajian Gao, both NTU Distinguished University Professors, and Prof Nikolay Zheludev of The Photonics Institute and College of Science

Election to the National Academy of Engineering, which has 2,309 US members and 281 international members, is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer.

The second President of NTU, serving from 1 January 2003 to 30 June 2011, Prof Su was elected as a foreign member of the NAE for his contributions to regional security and defence, and for academic leadership.

As President, Prof Su led NTU's transformation into an autonomous university. Under his leadership, NTU's academic offering was expanded through the establishment of three new schools - the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Art, Design and Media and the School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.

Prof Su was also one of the key drivers of NTU's 2015 strategic plan, steering NTU Singapore's focus in five areas: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, the New Silk Road and Innovation Asia.

Prior to his academic career, Prof Su had dedicated 30 years into enhancing Singapore's defence capabilities, rising to the role of Chief Executive of the Defence Science & Technology Agency.

A Singapore President's Scholar and Colombo Plan Scholar, Prof Su obtained his PhD in Electrical Engineering and MS in Statistics from Stanford University. His MS and BSc in Electrical Engineering (with Distinction) were from the California Institute of Technology and University of Alberta, respectively. The University of Alberta conferred on him an honorary doctorate in 2015.

###

Media contact:

Ms Junn Loh

Manager, Media Relations

Corporate Communications Office

Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Email: junn@ntu.edu.sg

About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.

NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N).

Ranked 11th in the world, NTU has been placed the world's top young university for the past six years. The University's main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and it has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) building projects, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore's healthcare district.

For more information, visit http://www.ntu.edu.sg.
The Philippine Navy ships, BRP Davao del Sur (LD602) and BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS16), have arrived in Oman to help in the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) affected by the tensions in the Middle East.

The ships arrived at Sultan Qaboos Port late on Wednesday afternoon (February 5).

In a statement, Philippine envoy to Oman, Ambassador Narciso Castaneda said the navy contingent are all safe and sound upon arriving in Oman.

The troops are very happy and in high spirits since this event serves as another milestone for our Navy that we can already transcend across the deep waters of Indian Ocean or the Arabian Sea, he said.

He also assured that the embarked sailors and marines are ready to assist and support the government effort in repatriating our unsung heroes, the OFWs in this Middle East conflict.AAC

The post PH Navy ships arrive in Oman for repatriation amid Middle East tensions appeared first on UNTV News.
Passengers on a cruise ship docked in New Jersey have been seen being placed in ambulances as they are reportedly sent for testing of the deadly new Wuhan coronavirus, according to multiple reports.

Several of the 12 passengers showing signs of the virus had a history of having recently travelled to China, one official with the Centre for Disease Control told CNN. The outbreak of the mysterious illness was believed to have originated in a market in Wuhan, China.

The unidentified source said CDC and local health officials boarded the ship to do an assessment in port for coronavirus after learning of the passengers travel history to China.

Symptoms related to the coronavirus are also often associated with that of the flu or common cold, including respiratory tract illnesses like pneumonia or bronchitis, as well as fever, coughing and shortness of breath.

Officials were then seen boarding the Anthem of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship docked in a cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey.

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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 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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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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

Tracie Stahan, local reporter for WNBC-TV, tweeted video showing the officials carrying out apparent passengers in a stretcher.

Passengers aboard the Anthem of the Seas are being loaded into ambulances in Bayonne for precautionary #Coronavirus screenings, the journalist wrote.

Recommended Death of doctor who warned about coronavirus sparks public anger

The mayor for the local city said in a statement that he had been briefed on the cruise ships arrival to the port, adding that he was certain local and CDC officials were prepared and equipped to address any concerns.

Royal Caribbean also said it was closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and features rigorous medical protocols aboard its ships in a statement to CNN.

The company added: We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew."

The latest development comes as the US has confirmed at least 12 cases of the coronavirus nationwide. Wuhan coronavirus has killed at least 638 people, with most of those deaths occurring in China.

Airports and national transit hubs across the country have increased precautionary health screenings for travellers with a history of having travelled to China, as multiple victims of the disease reported recent travel to the country before exhibiting symptoms of the virus.

Meanwhile, 11 US passengers on a quarantined cruise ship near Japan have reportedly been diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the total number of infected passengers on the vessel to 41.

One of those passengers told NBC News while waiting to be transported to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus: "Being alone in the hospital in a foreign country where people don't speak my language that's definitely a concern."
She's spent most of January soaking up the sunshine, hitting Jamaica for her husband Mark Wright's family birthday celebrations before heading to Barbados.

And Michelle Keegan appears to be yearning for the trip as she took to Instagram to share a stunning throwback where she was showcasing her physique.

The former Coronation Street star, 32, was showcasing her incredible figure and stunning good looks in the pretty picture.

Happy days: Michelle Keegan appears to be yearning for the trip as she took to Instagram to share a stunning from the trip where she was showcasing her physique

Michelle looked stunning in her snap, as she made the most of her striking good looks while enjoying the sunshine and a refreshing drink.

Taking to the commments section, she penned: 'One more because reality is about to hit me hard! Wheres my Malibu and pineapple at?'

It comes after Michelle and her husband Mark shared a glimpse of their romantic Jamaican break, as the Heart Radio DJ celebrated his 33rd birthday.

Last month, Michelle announced she is leaving BBC drama Our Girl after four years.

Happy days: The former Coronation Street star, 32, was showcasing her incredible figure and stunning good looks in the pretty picture

The actress played British army medic Georgie Lane on the show for three seasons but plans to leave in order to spend more time in her home country.

The demanding filming schedule of the show has seen the Stockport-born star travel to South Africa, Nepal and Malaysia for several months of filming a year.

When speaking with The Sun about her decision the ex-Coronation street star said: 'Ive had the most incredible four years on the show and I want to thank the BBC for giving me such an amazing opportunity.

'Playing Georgie has been a life changing role for me. Ive loved every second of the adventure so it was a very hard decision to make not to return.

Sun-soaked: Michelle kept the good times rolling as she continued to document her trip, after sharing another Instagram on Thursday

Moving on: Earlier this month, Michelle announced she is leaving BBC 1 drama Our Girl after four years (pictured)

'I feel it is the right time to explore other exciting opportunities but Im so happy to be part of the new series coming soon so its not the end just yet.'

The show producers are currently looking for another female to play the lead in the hit series, which starred former EastEnders actress Lacey Turner, 31, for its first run in 2014.

Meanwhile, Michelle's husband star Mark left his dream presenting role in 'lonely' LA to be back with his gorgeous wife in February last year.

The stunning couple met on a New Year's break in Dubai back in December 2012, with the pair tying the knot in an idyllic ceremony in May 2015.
President Donald Trump has confirmed that the U.S. killed the leader of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula jihadist group who claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at an American naval base.

Trump said in a statement on Thursday that the U.S. at his direction conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi.

Al-Rimi is a founder of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

The group has long been considered the global network's most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland.

Donald Trump said in a statement on Thursday that the U.S. at his direction conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi - the leader of the Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula jihadist group

The jihadist group claimed responsibility for last year's deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.

While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the U.S. operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out.

He did, however, say that the U.S. and its allies are safer as a result of al-Rimi's death.

'We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm,' Trump said.

Trump's announcement confirmed earlier indications that al-Rimi had been killed.

In late January, a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaida militants in eastern Yemen.

Also, on February 1, Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the strike had killed al-Rimi.

Al-Rimi (pictured left in an undated photo) is a founder of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. A $10 million reward (right) for any information leading to his capture was offered by the State Department

While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the U.S. operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out

Al-Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the December 6 shooting at the base.

He called the shooter, Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, a 'courageous knight' and a 'hero.'

Saudi Air Force officer, 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani is seen above. Alshamrani killed three U.S. sailors and injured eight other people

The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at the base, killing three people and wounding two sheriffs deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.

The SITE monitoring group said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: 'I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil.'

'I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity.'

The Twitter account that posted the manifesto also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al-Qaeda's deceased leader Osama bin Laden.

The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets.

In January, the U.S. sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had 'contact with child pornography,' including in internet chat rooms.

Around 850 Saudis are among the 5,000 foreign military personnel being trained in the United States.

The victims: On December 6 gunman Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia, opened fire at the base and killed three Americans (L to R): Airman Apprentice Cameron Scott Walters, 21; Mohammed Haitham, 19; Joshua Kaleb Watson, 23; and injured eight others
Ukraine's troubled railway company Ukrzaliznytsia and Deutsche Bahn have signed a 10-year memorandum of cooperation under which the German operator will plan a way forward for the state operator. Ukrainian Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk says it could lead to Deutsche Bahn jointly managing Ukrainian railways. Current Time sent two reporters to compare and contrast regional rail services in both countries.
Too many patients with cancers like multiple myeloma relapse after treatment. This grim reality motivated researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) to try to improve the depth and durability of treatment response in multiple myeloma through a new cancer cell targeting mechanism. Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer and develops in the bone marrow. Approximately 30,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and almost all patients eventually succumb to their disease.

In research published today in the journal Nature Communications, the Utah-based scientists describe a novel way to treat cancers using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Laboratory tests using mouse models and tumor cells from patients displayed promising results for this novel cellular immunotherapy for multiple myeloma and other types of blood cancer.

The Utah-based scientists developed CAR T cells that target a molecule, CD229, that is present on the cancer cells of patients with myeloma throughout the course of their disease. Importantly, CD229 is also present on myeloma stem cells, which are the source of treatment-resistant tumor cells in patients who relapse.

Immunotherapies that activate a patient's own immune system to fight their cancer have proven to be highly effective for many types of blood cancers. In CAR T cell therapy, doctors take T cells from a patient's blood and engineer them to recognize and attack cancer cells via an added "hook," called a CAR, that recognizes a surface molecule on cancer cells. Engineered CAR T cells are returned to patients via intravenous infusion. The CAR T cells then find, attack, and destroy cancer cells in the patient's body. While these approaches have demonstrated remarkable progress and long-term results for some, many patients experience only brief improvement, followed by recurrence of their disease.

The study was led by Djordje Atanackovic, MD, a physician-scientist at HCI and an associate professor of internal medicine, division of hematology and hematologic malignancies at the U of U, who cares for patients with multiple myeloma. The study builds on earlier work by Atanackovic and his colleagues in which they identified CD229 as present on multiple myeloma and other B cell cancer cells. Once the CD229 target had been identified, it took several years to complete the complicated engineering and laboratory work to test whether CD229 was a viable new agent for a CAR T approach.

"We were dismayed that although some of our patients respond quite well to currently available immunotherapies, they relapsed as early as one year after treatment," says Atanackovic. "We thought if we could target every last cancer cell in a patient's body, including the cancer stem cell, this could make the critical difference and yield more durable, deeper responses to treatment."

HCI researchers Tim Luetkens, MD, an expert in cell and protein engineering, and Sabarinath Radhakrishnan, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the U of U, led the development of the therapy in Atanackovic's lab. They engineered the first fully human antibody against CD229 and, with this newly engineered "hook," produced CAR T cells targeting CD229. They confirmed their hypothesis CD229 CAR T kills mature multiple myeloma cells, as well as myeloma stem cells, using a mouse model, as well as stem cells derived from myeloma patients. They also showed that in this laboratory setting, the tumors treated with CD229 CAR T appeared to result in long-lasting responses.

The team plans to complete further analyses to understand whether this approach can be safely used in humans. They hope to open clinical trials to further understand the potential of CD229 as a novel therapy for multiple myeloma.

"An impressive set of resources and collaborators in Utah really enabled this study to progress," said Atanackovic. "Having access to tissues from patients willing to share their blood and bone marrow for research, working in partnership with other scientists providing their expertise, and receiving small grants to support early phases of this research have all been critical to our study. We have made remarkable progress on addressing a problem I see in my patients each day I am in the clinic."

###

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, including P30 042014, the International Myeloma Foundation, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Young Investigator Award, the American Association of Cancer Research, the University of Utah including a Joseph Quagliana, MD, Fellowship Award, and Huntsman Cancer Foundation. The study extends work Atanackovic began in the lab of Lloyd Old at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and is recognized among the best cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at HCI than at any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database, the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 11 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. HCI was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.
The retribution of Donald Trumps impeachment began quickly as Alexander Vindman and Gordon Sondland, two key witnesses in the case against the president, were fired from their jobs.

Lt Col Vindman, who had implicated Mr Trump in a quid pro quo to smear the presidents political rivals, was escorted out of the White House after Mr Trump said hours earlier he was not happy with the National Security Councils director of European affairs and top Ukraine expert.

The decorated Iraq veterans twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, who was not involved in the impeachment hearings, was also fired from his role at the NSC.

Later Mr Sondland announced that he had been removed from his role as US ambassador to the European Union. A hotelier who had won his appointment after donating to the Trump campaign, he was closely involved with efforts in Ukraine to persuade officials to announce investigations into Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

At the impeachment hearings he explicitly said Mr Trump had withheld aid from Ukraine in return for help cheating in the election, saying: Was there a quid pro quo? The answer is yes.

Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Show all 26 1 /26 Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Donald Trump Accused of abusing his office by pressing the Ukrainian president in a July phone call to help dig up dirt on Joe Biden, who may be his Democratic rival in the 2020 election. He also believes that Hillary Clintons deleted emails - a key factor in the 2016 election - may be in Ukraine, although it is not clear why. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Whistleblower Believed to be a CIA agent who spent time at the White House, his complaint was largely based on second and third-hand accounts from worried White House staff. Although this is not unusual for such complaints, Trump and his supporters have seized on it to imply that his information is not reliable. Expected to give evidence to Congress voluntarily and in secret. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal The Second Whistleblower The lawyer for the first intelligence whistleblower is also representing a second whistleblower regarding the President's actions. Attorney Mark Zaid said that he and other lawyers on his team are now representing the second person, who is said to work in the intelligence community and has first-hand knowledge that supports claims made by the first whistleblower and has spoken to the intelligence community's inspector general. The second whistleblower has not yet filed their own complaint, but does not need to to be considered an official whistleblower. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rudy Giuliani Former mayor of New York, whose management of the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in 2001 won him worldwide praise. As Trumps personal attorney he has been trying to find compromising material about the presidents enemies in Ukraine in what some have termed a shadow foreign policy. In a series of eccentric TV appearances he has claimed that the US state department asked him to get involved. Giuliani insists that he is fighting corruption on Trumps behalf and has called himself a hero. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Volodymyr Zelensky The newly elected Ukrainian president - a former comic actor best known for playing a man who becomes president by accident - is seen frantically agreeing with Trump in the partial transcript of their July phone call released by the White House. With a Russian-backed insurgency in the east of his country, and the Crimea region seized by Vladimir Putin in 2014, Zelensky will have been eager to please his American counterpart, who had suspended vital military aid before their phone conversation. He says there was no pressure on him from Trump to do him the favour he was asked for. Zelensky appeared at an awkward press conference with Trump in New York during the United Nations general assembly, looking particularly uncomfortable when the American suggested he take part in talks with Putin. AFP/Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pence The vice-president was not on the controversial July call to the Ukrainian president but did get a read-out later. However, Trump announced that Pence had had one or two phone conversations of a similar nature, dragging him into the crisis. Pence himself denies any knowledge of any wrongdoing and has insisted that there is no issue with Trumps actions. It has been speculated that Trump involved Pence as an insurance policy - if both are removed from power the presidency would go to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, something no Republican would allow. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Rick Perry Trump reportedly told a meeting of Republicans that he made the controversial call to the Ukrainian president at the urging of his own energy secretary, Rick Perry, and that he didnt even want to. The president apparently said that Perry wanted him to talk about liquefied natural gas - although there is no mention of it in the partial transcript of the phone call released by the White House. It is thought that Perry will step down from his role at the end of the year. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Joe Biden The former vice-president is one of the frontrunners to win the Democratic nomination, which would make him Trumps opponent in the 2020 election. Trump says that Biden pressured Ukraine to sack a prosecutor who was investigating an energy company that Bidens son Hunter was on the board of, refusing to release US aid until this was done. However, pressure to fire the prosecutor came on a wide front from western countries. It is also believed that the investigation into the company, Burisma, had long been dormant. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Hunter Biden Joe Bidens son has been accused of corruption by the president because of his business dealings in Ukraine and China. However, Trump has yet to produce any evidence of corruption and Bidens lawyer insists he has done nothing wrong. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Barr The attorney-general, who proved his loyalty to Trump with his handling of the Mueller report, was mentioned in the Ukraine call as someone president Volodymyr Zelensky should talk to about following up Trumps preoccupations with the Bidens and the Clinton emails. Nancy Pelosi has accused Barr of being part of a cover-up of a cover-up. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Mike Pompeo The secretary of state initially implied he knew little about the Ukraine phone call - but it later emerged that he was listening in at the time. He has since suggested that asking foreign leaders for favours is simply how international politics works. Gordon Sondland testified that Pompeo was "in the loop" and knew what was happening in Ukraine. Pompeo has been criticised for not standing up for diplomats under his command when they were publicly criticised by the president. AFP via Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Nancy Pelosi The Democratic Speaker of the House had long resisted calls from within her own party to back a formal impeachment process against the president, apparently fearing a backlash from voters. On September 24, amid reports of the Ukraine call and the day before the White House released a partial transcript of it, she relented and announced an inquiry, saying: The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law. Getty Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Adam Schiff Democratic chairman of the House intelligence committee, one of the three committees leading the inquiry. He was criticized by Republicans for giving what he called a parody of the Ukraine phone call during a hearing, with Trump and others saying he had been pretending that his damning characterisation was a verbatim reading of the phone call. He has also been criticised for claiming that his committee had had no contact with the whistleblower, only for it to emerge that the intelligence agent had contacted a staff member on the committee for guidance before filing the complaint. The Washington Post awarded Schiff a four Pinocchios rating, its worst rating for a dishonest statement. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman Florida-based businessmen and Republican donors Lev Parnas (pictured with Rudy Giuliani) and Igor Fruman were arrested on suspicion of campaign finance violations at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC on 9 October. Separately the Associated Press has reported that they were both involved in efforts to replace the management of Ukraine's gas company, Naftogaz, with new bosses who would steer lucrative contracts towards companies controlled by Trump allies. There is no suggestion of any criminal activity in these efforts. Reuters Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal William Taylor The most senior US diplomat in Ukraine and the former ambassador there. As one of the first two witnesses in the public impeachment hearings, Taylor dropped an early bombshell by revealing that one of his staff  later identified as diplomat David Holmes  overheard a phone conversation in which Donald Trump could be heard asking about investigations the very day after asking the Ukrainian president to investigate his political enemies. Taylor expressed his concern at reported plans to withhold US aid in return for political smears against Trumps opponents, saying: It's one thing to try to leverage a meeting in the White House. It's another thing, I thought, to leverage security assistance -- security assistance to a country at war, dependent on both the security assistance and the demonstration of support." Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal George Kent A state department official who appeared alongside William Taylor wearing a bow tie that was later mocked by the president. He accused Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trumps personal lawyer, of leading a campaign of lies against Marie Yovanovitch, who was forced out of her job as US ambassador to Ukraine for apparently standing in the way of efforts to smear Democrats. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Marie Yovanovitch One of the most striking witnesses to give evidence at the public hearings, the former US ambassador to Ukraine received a rare round of applause as she left the committee room after testifying. Canadian-born Yovanovitch was attacked on Twitter by Donald Trump while she was actually testifying, giving Democrats the chance to ask her to respond. She said she found the attack very intimidating. Trump had already threatened her in his 25 July phone call to the Ukrainian president saying: Shes going to go through some things. Yovanovitch said she was shocked, appalled and devastated by the threat and by the way she was forced out of her job without explanation. REUTERS Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Alexander Vindman A decorated Iraq War veteran and an immigrant from the former Soviet Union, Lt Col Vindman began his evidence with an eye-catching statement about the freedoms America afforded him and his family to speak truth to power without fear of punishment. One of the few witnesses to have actually listened to Trumps 25 July call with the Ukrainian president, he said he found the conversation so inappropriate that he was compelled to report it to the White House counsel. Trump later mocked him for wearing his military uniform and insisting on being addressed by his rank. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Jennifer Williams A state department official acting as a Russia expert for vice-president Mike Pence, Ms Williams also listened in on the 25 July phone call. She testified that she found it unusual because it focused on domestic politics in terms of Trump asking a foreign leader to investigate his political opponents. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Kurt Volker The former special envoy to Ukraine was one of the few people giving evidence who was on the Republican witness list although what he had to say may not have been too helpful to their cause. He dismissed the idea that Joe Biden had done anything corrupt, a theory spun without evidence by the president and his allies. He said that he thought the US should be supporting Ukraines reforms and that the scheme to find dirt on Democrats did not serve the national interest. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Tim Morrison An expert on the National Security Council and another witness on the Republican list. He testified that he did not think the president had done anything illegal but admitted that he feared it would create a political storm if it became public. He said he believed the moving the record of the controversial 25 July phone call to a top security server had been an innocent mistake. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Gordon Sondland In explosive testimony, one of the men at the centre of the scandal got right to the point in his opening testimony: Was there a quid pro quo? Yes, said the US ambassador to the EU who was a prime mover in efforts in Ukraine to link the release of military aid with investigations into the presidents political opponents. He said that everyone knew what was going on, implicating vice-president Mike Pence and secretary of state Mike Pompeo. The effect of his evidence is perhaps best illustrated by the reaction of Mr Trump who went from calling Sondland a great American a few weeks earlier to claiming that he barely knew him. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Laura Cooper A Pentagon official, Cooper said Ukrainian officials knew that US aid was being withheld before it became public knowledge in August  undermining a Republican argument that there cant have been a quid pro quo between aid and investigations if the Ukrainians didnt know that aid was being withheld. Getty Images Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Hale The third most senior official at the state department. Hale testified about the treatment of Marie Yovanovitch and the smear campaign that culminated in her being recalled from her posting as US ambassador to Ukraine. He said: I believe that she should have been able to stay at post and continue to do the outstanding work. EPA Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal Fiona Hill Arguably the most confident and self-possessed of the witnesses in the public hearings phase, the Durham-born former NSC Russia expert began by warning Republicans not to keep repeating Kremlin-backed conspiracy theories. In a distinctive northeastern English accent, Dr Hill went on to describe how she had argued with Gordon Sondland about his interference in Ukraine matters until she realised that while she and her colleagues were focused on national security, Sondland was being involved in a domestic political errand. She said: I did say to him, Ambassador Sondland, Gordon, this is going to blow up. And here we are. AP Trump impeachment: Who's who in the Ukraine scandal David Holmes The Ukraine-based diplomat described being in a restaurant in Kiev with Gordon Sondland while the latter phoned Donald Trump. Holmes said he could hear the president on the other end of the line  because his voice was so loud and distinctive and because Sondland had to hold the phone away from his ear  asking about the investigations and whether the Ukrainian president would cooperate. REUTERS

On Friday evening he released a statement saying: I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States ambassador to the European Union.

The testimony of the two men, and 15 other current or former officials, led the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives to impeach the president in December on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of congress.

This week the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted the president on both charges, prompting an angry and rambling victory speech by Mr Trump at the White House.

On Friday afternoon, the president, as he departed the White House for a jobs event in Charlotte, suggested Mr Vindmans expected departure was part of an NSC shakeup  but acknowledged his frustration over the Russia experts testimony.

Well, Im not happy with him. Do you think Im supposed to be happy with him? Im not, Mr Trump said. Theyll make that decision, he said. Youll be hearing.

Indeed. Around 16.00 local time [21.00 GMT], Mr Vindmans attorney, David Pressman, said the Army officer was escorted out of the White House, where he has dutifully served his country and his president. He is expected to remain on active service and be reassigned by his army commanders. When the president returned to the White House just after 17.00, he ignored shouted questions about the matter and walked straight into the executive mansion.

Mr Pressman said the president, buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit had decided to exact revenge, adding: Lt Col Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. The truth has cost Lt Col Alexander Vindman his job, his career and his privacy.

Among other revelations during the House Intelligence Committees public impeachment hearings was Mr Vindman claiming that during a July meeting at the White House with senior Ukrianian officials, Mr Sondland brought up the presidents desire for the government there to probe his political rivals, including the Bidens.

Mr Vindman told House lawmakers he found Mr Trumps 25 July call with Ukraines new president  in which the US president asked his counterpart to do us a favour  strange and inappropriate.

I was concerned by the call, what I heard was improper, and I reported my concerns to [White House lawyers], he told the House Intelligence Committee. It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a US citizen and political opponent. It was also clear that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma, it would be interpreted as a partisan play. This would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing bipartisan support, undermine US national security, and advance Russias strategic objectives in the region.

He offered equally damning testimony under questioning.

Its not entirely accurate, Mr Vindman told a House committee when asked if the White Houses contention that Mr Trumps main goal was to root out corruption in Ukraine.

His evidence ended with an emotional tribute to his late father, who had brought him and his family to America when he and his brother were children. He said: Dad, that Im sitting here today in the US Capitol talking to our elected professionals is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America in search of a better life for our family.

Do not worry. I will be fine for telling the truth.

 Trump impeachment hearing: Witness hits out at 'vile character attacks' following president's tweets

Mr Vindmans testimony appeared to get under the presidents skin.

During the House inquiry, Mr Trump retweeted anti-Vindman tweets from GOP lawmakers and other conservatives, including one from Congressman Thomas Massie saying, if he were Mr Trump, Id fire him. Another tweet the president shared called Mr Vindmans testimony a scandal, and yet another called him a political activist.

Mr Trump railed against his Democratic accusers and said Mr Vindmans name during his post-acquittal celebration event on THursday at the White House in a mocking way.

But Lieutenant Colonel Vindman and his twin brother, right, we had some people that, really amazing, Mr Trump said, not hiding his disgust.

 Gordon Sondland says Donald Trump 'directed' quid pro quo

Democratic House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler told reporters earlier on Friday about the likelihood Mr Vindman would be sacked: Its worse than settling scores if he actually removes military officers  its subversion of justice. Its another subversion of justice.

Walter Shaub, a senior White House ethics official under President Barack Obama, tweeted that Mr Vindmans dismissal was reprehensible. There was no need to humiliate Vindman this way, nor was it appropriate to retaliate against him for testifying before Congress, Mr Shaub added.

Ned Price, an Obama NSC official, took umbrage with talk in Trump circles that the moves were about trimming the councils staff, something other presidents also have sought to do. The previous admin downsized the NSC staff; precisely ZERO staffers were escorted out, Mr Price said. It was done through attrition, just as this process was billed. This is about chilling whistleblowers and eliminating potential witnesses, not streamlining.

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham sent a shot across the bow of individuals like Mr Vindman on Thursday during a Fox News appearance.

The president wanted everyone to know how horribly he was treated, and maybe, you know, people should pay for that.

Some Democrats interpreted Mr Trumps comments as a threat that he might seek revenge on those he believes wronged him.

Weve been going through this now for over three years. It was evil. It was corrupt. It was dirty cops. It was leakers and liars, the president said on Thursday of the various investigations of his 2016 campaign and presidency. And this should never, ever happen to another president, ever.

He has yet to explain what he and Ms Grisham meant. But his foes got a clue when Mr Vindman was escorted from his desk.
It is not just private colleges that are refusing but government colleges appear to have followed suit to recover fee reimbursement scheme dues from the state government. (Representional Image)

Hyderabad: About 14 lakh students, including those who have completed their undergraduate and post-graduate degrees, are at a loss over the delays in receiving their degree certificates as college managements refused to distribute these documents citing a delay in fee reimbursement by the government.

It is not just private colleges that are refusing but government colleges appear to have followed suit to recover fee reimbursement scheme dues from the state government.

P. Raju, son of a farmer, completed his B.Com degree from a private college last academic year but has not yet got his certificate. I have been making multiple trips to my college for my certificate for the last six months, he said, adding that the college refused to release the certificate untill it receives the fee.

The college said that it did not receive the fee-reimbursement amount and that it cannot give certificates. The college has asked me to pay the pending fee amount if I want the certificates and said that it would later refund the amount once it receives the dues from the government. But we are not in a financial position to pay the entire amount right now.

Whenever he attended a job interview carrying with him the individual semester mark lists, potential employers asked him for his provisional certificate, which he is yet to receive. It is the same with the government colleges too, my friends in other colleges are also running from pillar to post for obtaining certificates he said.

In the case of engineering students, some student leaders have been fighting with their college managements to release the certificates. The colleges will get the fee-reimbursement amount anyway, even if the payments are delayed. But several students are losing out on job opportunities because the managements refusal to hand over the certificates. Recently we have fought with the management of a college, after which it gave certificates to some of the students, said Sharan Raichur, president, Telangana Engineering Students Joint Action Committee (TESJAC).

G. Sathish, convenor for KG to PG education in Telangana, said that the fee reimbursement is pending only for professional colleges offering degrees in engineering, business administration, pharmacy etc, whereas non-professional colleges have already received the fee-reimbursement for the last academic year.

About 14 lakh students applied for the fee-reimbursement last year and the number this year is 12.69 lakhs and counting. Private colleges say its difficult to run their institution without timely receipt of pending amounts from the government. We need to look after staff salaries, maintenance of the institute etc. Some college managements are even taking loans to stay afloat, said a member from the private colleges association.
The Northwest Side hospital focuses on a wide range of pediatric orthopedic conditions, including rare diseases and syndromes, and services are provided regardless of a familys ability to pay. Millar helped add and expand programs and staff to reflect the changes in medical care of children in the late 1970s helped lead the construction of a new hospital, according to Dr. Peter Smith, who worked with Millar for about 20 years.
A woman stabbed a busker known as 'Machete Mike' at a Chicago subway station because his music was 'giving her a headache', officials said.

Barbara Johnson, 38, allegedly attacked Michael Malinowski, 26, on Tuesday at around 1.35 pm when he was playing at his usual spot in the Jackson subway station.

She walked up to the guitarist, also known as 'Machete Mike', and unplugged his amplifier before pushing him and trying to shove him onto the subway tracks, prosecutors said.

Johnson allegedly also threw his guitar onto the tracks.

Barbara Johnson, 38, (pictured) allegedly attacked Michael Malinowski, 26, on Tuesday at around 1.35 pm when he was playing at his usual spot in the Jackson subway station

Johnson told police she stabbed Malinowski (above), a busker known as 'Machete Mike', because his music was 'giving her a headache', officials said

She then took out a knife and stabbed Malinowski in his upper left arm before running away, Chicago police said.

Officers arrested Johnson at the scene and charged her with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated battery in a public place and criminal damage to property.

Johnson told police she attacked 'Machete Mike' because his music was giving her a headache, according to police reports.

Malinowski had a laceration on his arm and was taken to Northwestern Hospital.

Photos of the aftermath of the attack, posted on social media, showed the victim's guitar smashed into pieces and lying on the subway tracks.

Johnson appeared in court Thursday and was denied bail by a judge who said she is a 'clear and present danger to the community'.

The attack is the latest in a string of arrests for the Blue Island woman.

Johnson (right being arrested by police) allegedly unplugged Malinowski's (left) amplifier, pushed him, threw his guitar onto the tracks and then stabbed him in the arm

Johnson (pictured being detained by officers) has been arrested more than 40 times. Following her latest arrest, her attorney said she suffers from 'mental health illnesses'

According to The Chicago Tribune, she has been arrested more than 40 times and has charges for: aggravated battery to a peace officer in 2005, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in 2012, aggravated battery to a peace officer in 2014, resisting a peace officer in 2017, and misdemeanor battery in 2017.

She was also cited for disorderly conduct on the CTA in 2010.

Following her latest arrest, her attorney said the accused suffers from 'mental health illnesses'.

Photos of the aftermath of the attack showed the victim's guitar smashed into pieces and lying on the subway tracks (above)

Malinowski told the Tribune he was recovering from his injuries but that the attack puts his career at risk.

'I was bleeding out everywhere,' he said. 'She essentially destroyed my arm and that's my whole livelihood.'

The attack was the second in as many days on a Chicago train after a man shot a 30-year-old passenger in the back on Wednesday.

Patrick Waldon, 31, was arrested and charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, armed robbery and being an armed habitual criminal after allegedly shooting the man in the back at close range when the victim refused to give him his backpack.

The attack was the second in as many days on a Chicago train after Patrick Waldon, 31 (above) shot a 30-year-old passenger in the back on Wednesday when the victim refused to give him his backpack

Interim Chicago police Superintendent Charlie Beck said on Thursday he planned to meet with officials Friday to talk about deploying more police on the subway.

He also said police faced challenges in tackling crimes linked to mental illness.

'I think this also brings up a really serious issue that faces Chicago and other major cities in the United States, which is the incidence of violence connected to mental health,' he said.

'How do we address that and what are the big systems we need to put in place.'
Hector Bribiescas has been waiting more than a year to find out who killed his 10-year-old daughter. Hes grown frustrated that the Bexar County Sheriffs Offices still hasnt brought the case to a conclusion.

I think I have a pretty good amount of patience. And thats all about gone, the grieving father said.
Hyderabad, Feb 7 : Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya paid obeisance to tribal deities Samakka and Sarakka as 'Medaram Jatra' reached its climax on Friday.

Soundararajan and Dattatreya visited Medaram in Mulugu district and had 'darshan' of the deities, which were brought there from adjoining villages during the last two days.

Later, Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao along with some of his cabinet colleagues offered prayers at Medaram. He made the offerings to the tribal goddesses on behalf of the state government.

Thousands of devotees continue to pour into Medaram in Eturanagaram wildlife sanctuary to participate in the four-day fair, concluding on Saturday.

Described as Asia's biggest tribal fair, the biennial event is attracting devotees, mainly tribals from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other states.

Sammakka and Sarakka were legendary warriors from the Koya tribe who died while fighting against the Kakatiya empire 800 years ago.

Besides the idols of the two goddesses, the idols of Sarakkaa's father Pagidigidda Raju and husband Govinda Raju were also brought to the main venue.

The devotees were waiting for hours to have 'darshan' of Samakka and Sarakka.

Performing the unique rituals associated with the fair, the devotees offered jaggery to the deities while women believed to be possessed by goddesses were seen dancing.

There was hardly any space available at Jampanna rivulet, where the devotees took a dip with the belief that this will wash off their sins.

The festival, which marks the celebration of tribal traditions, has grown in size during last few years with authorities making elaborate arrangements for the transport of the devotees and smooth conduct of the mega event.

This year the state government sanctioned Rs 75 crore to take up various works for the smooth conduct of the rituals during the 'jatra'.

As many as 12,000 policemen were deployed as part of the elaborate security arrangements.

State-owned Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) is plying 4,000 buses to ferry devotees to Medaram from various places in the state. The South Central Railway is also operating 20 special trains from Hyderabad and other places in Telangana to clear the extra rush of passengers.
Hyderabad: A silent war is going on between the old timers and newcomers in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The newcomers allege that senior leaders are not prepared to work with them stating that the newcomers have no idea and understanding about the party ideology.In recent times several former ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs joined the BJP after quitting the Congress and Telugu Desam in the state. The BJP leadership invited them into the party to strengthen the BJP.

The BJP high command instructed the state leadership to encourage the newcomers and give them priority so that there would be more such defections to the BJP.

But now the newcomers are complaining that their ideas for conducting various programmes to attract the new cadre are not implemented and they too are being ignored during meetings and programmes.

Privately they say that the state unit has been divided into three groups and that national-level leaders are encouraging group politics.

Some senior members are said to have been lobbying with the high command not to give the post of state president to a newcomer as it would demoralise seniors and lower level functionaries who have been with the party for decades.

Senior leaders from the Congress who defected to the BJP, initially thought of getting their cadres into the party to increase their own strength. But because of the group politics, they have shelved the idea, said a leader on condition of anonymity.

There is also talk in the party that a check should be put on newcomers from other parties joining the BJP.




If you would like to participate, please bring your own firm/high pillow, neck travel pillow, or zafu for sitting. Something to sit on between yourself and the wood chips or sidewalk makes all the difference! An extra coat, blanket, or towel is also a good idea for cushioning your knees against the hard ground and keeping yourself warm. Sunglasses and hats may help shade your face from the sun.



Participants, please be aware of the following guidelines: This is a non-violent, peaceful action. No aggressive behavior, alcohol or drug use, or weapons will be tolerated.



For more information about Extinction Rebellion:

https://xrcal.org

https://extinctionrebellion.us/ Come join your local Extinction Rebellion chapter in 30 minutes of climate healing-focused meditation or prayer. Any and all faiths and beliefs are welcome to join in quiet, respectful contemplation. Silent sitting will be Sunday, February 23 from 1 - 1:30 pm, with community conversation until 2 pm. In addition to a larger sign and some flyers being handed out, we will have some light cardboard signs to wear, so the message can be read, not heard.If you would like to participate, please bring your own firm/high pillow, neck travel pillow, or zafu for sitting. Something to sit on between yourself and the wood chips or sidewalk makes all the difference! An extra coat, blanket, or towel is also a good idea for cushioning your knees against the hard ground and keeping yourself warm. Sunglasses and hats may help shade your face from the sun.Participants, please be aware of the following guidelines: This is a non-violent, peaceful action. No aggressive behavior, alcohol or drug use, or weapons will be tolerated.For more information about Extinction Rebellion: For more event information: https://www.facebook.com/events/3310967011...

Added to the calendar on Thursday Feb 6th, 2020 10:40 PM
Johannesburg  Former Miss SA Tamaryn Green and her boyfriend Ze Nxumalo are celebrating one year together.

In October 2018, Tamaryn introduced the world to her partner for the first time when she shared a photo of him by her side. "My person," she captioned the picture.

Since then, Tamaryn has made her relationship red carpet official, attending the 2019 Style Awards with Ze.

Celebrating one year of love, Tamaryn dedicated a post to Ze on Wednesday.

"1 year, hand in hand with my favorite person in the world. Thank God for bringing him into my life (sic)," she wrote.

The post included several loved-up photos of the couple.

Source: The Juice
'Teaching lessons is the objective behind every school.'

'For the moment, a state seems intent to teach a lesson -- that students of Classes 4, 5 and 6 can wage war against the mighty Indian nation,' says Krishna Prasad.

IMAGE: Children being interrogated by the police in Bidar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Twitter

As a pictorial representation of the perverse inhumanity that the land of Buddha and Gandhi has embraced as its key performance indicator since 2014, it is difficult to beat the two images that emerged out of Karnataka's northern-most city, Bidar, in the week following the 70th year of the founding of the Republic.

In the first picture, two boys, barely four feet tall, sit alternately crouching and cowering in fear before two XL policemen, one carrying a questionnaire, the other a clipboard. A third policeman, video camera in hand, languidly records their 'interrogation'. Behind, a lady cop is planted to keep child rights activists at bay.

In the second picture, an authority-figure stands where an affectionate teacher would, in a classroom of boys in skull caps and girls in hijab. Here, too, a chappal-clad cop captures their confessions for posterity, as if Nirav Modi and Lalit Modi, Mehul Choksi and Vijay Mallya have suddenly surrendered and shrunk themselves into school benches.

The lens is the lathi: Anything the kids say can be held against them, or their parents, or their school -- or their community.

The cause of such conspicuous savagery in a BJP-ruled state: An 'inflammatory' dialogue in a play staged by children aged between 9 and 12, at the Shaheen primary and high school, which pierced through the otherwise impregnable 56-inch armour of the mighty Pradhan Sevak. Or, at least the fragile ego of one of his jobless defenders.

A 26-year-old domestic help, no less, the widowed mother of the Class 6 girl who, during the course of the play, said that if anyone asks for papers to prove citizenship 'usko joote maaro', has been arrested -- for 'tutoring' her daughter. As has the school headmistress, 52, who oversaw the grand production on January 21.

The girl's slippers have been seized as 'evidence' -- the hand that waved them has been spared. Stupidity is clever enough sometimes to realise that it has its limits.

The school society president and an Urdu 'journalist' who put up a clip of the play on Facebook have been charged under five sections of the Indian Penal Code: 124A (sedition); 153A (promoting, attempting to promote disharmony); section 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace); 505 (2) (statements creating enmity or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes); and 34 (common intent).

Three years ago, Narendra Damodardas Modi said: 'You are free to criticise me. Constructive criticism makes our democracy stronger and is vital.' Two years ago, he reiterated: 'I want this government to be criticised. Criticism makes democracy strong.'

In 2020, the Karnataka police, which acted on a complaint by an ABVP activist, appears to be treating the honourable PM's words (and democracy) as a joke.

The joke plays on in loop: The police have turned up five times at the school to question over 80 students, most of whom had nothing to do with the play.

Among the searching questions they have asked: Did the school coerce them into making statements against the prime minister?

What role did teachers play in organising the play?

Was the script changed to accommodate the 'insulting' dialogues?

Where did they practise?

Why was a flag used?

IMAGE: Children being interrogated by the police in Bidar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Twitter

Having cracked the puzzle to the satisfaction of their political masters in Bangalore, 700 km away, the police in Bidar seem to be hunting for the jigsaw pieces that will fit the 'national' imagination. And, as they always do till the fat lady (or a bored boy, or hungry girl) sings what they would like to hear, they have now 'intensified' the probe.

The single mother, already a week in jail, has been consigned to another week in it by a judge who returned from weekend leave. A neighbour is taking care of her 11-year-old daughter.

Each day, students take turns to pray for the sedition case against the school to be lifted.

Each day, they could well be praying for Karnataka to return to its senses.

For, a standout aspect of the abomination in Bidar is the coolness with which the land of Basava has absorbed this outrage.

Not a single major Kannada newspaper has felt the need to aggressively report the misreading or misuse of the sedition law, or editorially comment on it. Only a couple of them have even deigned to publish the CCTV grabs.

Opposition politicians who adroitly tweet in multiple languages were silent for a week till Rizwan Arshad, a newly elected Congress MLA from Bangalore, took the trouble. Asaduddin Owaisi of the Majlis has jumped in.

What should have been a straight forward humanitarian case has been turned into a 'Muslim issue' with all its attendant baggage.

WhatsApp, it appears, has deleted empathy from the smartphones of the majority of Kannadigas.

IMAGE: Children being interrogated by the police in Bidar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Twitter

***

To understand why the Karnataka police can instantly jump into action in Bidar, look no further than Mangalore in the west. Here, students of a school belonging to RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat staged a play in December last enacting the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid. Unlike in Bidar, the Mangalore police are still awaiting 'legal opinion' on filing the chargesheet.

When Bhat was on the verge of arrest earlier in a different case, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje warned that the state would 'burn' if he was touched.

To understand why the Karnataka police can brazenly strike fear in school kids in Bidar at will, look no further than Mysore in the south. Here, at a protest in early January against ABVP hooliganism at JNU, a girl holding a 'Free Kashmir' poster was booked for sedition. And this, even after the Mumbai police had dealt with a similar case and dismissed it.

The Mysore bar association has barred its member-lawyers from extending legal support to the girl without a squeak.

To understand why the Kannada media can find no story in Bidar, look no further than Mangalore again. Here, on January 20, the discovery of an improvised explosive device at the airport led excitable newspapers to suggest that an 'international gang' was behind it.

'Revenge for CAA,' screamed Vijaya Karnataka, the no 1 Kannada daily edited by a former personal assistant to Pramod Mutalik of the Sri Rama Sena and Bajrang Dal. When it turned out to be a local Hindu from Manipal, no apology, no clarification.

To understand why the Karnataka government can charge a school with sedition in Bidar, look no further than the capital, Bangalore. When the identity of the Mangalore airport 'bomber' was still unclear, the state's Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai could breezily declare that not just the bomber but 'terrorist forces' would be firmly rooted out.

When the 'terrorist' surrendered and said his name was Aditya Rao, he was instantly declared 'mentally disturbed', and acting out of frustration.

To understand why Karnataka suddenly finds it easy to stereotype Bidar's school kids, look no further than Bangalore again.

Here, on January 20, the police in India's so-called hi-tech capital watched on as civic authorities demolished the shacks of 'Bangladeshis', who they found to their dismay were actually Kannadigas from Kolar and Koppal.

Without contrition, Bangalore's Police Commissioner Bhaskara Rao now claims there are 300,000 illegal Bangladeshis in the city.

To understand why the Karnataka police are questioning the school management in Bidar to reveal who was behind the 'plot', look no further than the MP from Bangalore South, Tejasvi Surya. On Christmas eve, the motormouth had labelled those opposing CAA as 'puncture' wallahs.

On January 16, the Bangalore police arrested six Muslims -- a ladies tailor, an electrician, a mechanic, a delivery boy, a shop keeper and a civil contractor -- allegedly for plotting to kill Surya.

***

Amit Anilchandra Shah's words 'Aap chronology samajh lijiye' have become a cliche, but they are prescient.

The first stint of the BJP in Karnataka 12 years ago was marked by moral policing of pubs and bars, and vigilante attacks on churches, besides, of course, mind-numbing corruption which sent a serving chief minister and half his cabinet to jail.

Then, too, bogus cases were foisted against Muslims for assassination attempts on embedded journalists.

Then, too, there was dog whistling against 'burqas' and 'hijab'.

In the run-up to the assembly election in 2018, the battle cry of the BJP was that Hindus were in danger in Karnataka.

As naturally as night follows day, the coming to power of the B S Yediyurappa government in 2019 has resulted in a cascade of dark rumours and conspiracies in a state labelled as 'Hindutva's laboratory in the south'.

And the Bidar school play is just what the doctors ordered to humiliate and harass a decades-old institution on specious grounds -- and in the process to stereotype and showcase a community to the rest of the state and, indeed, the country.

Over the years, a steady drip-feed of resentment in the north (Idgah maidan in Hubli), centre (Bababudangiri in Chikamagalur), west (conversion, love jihad in Mangalore), and south (Tipu Sultan in Mysore), has normalised hatred.

The collective inertia to the humiliation of the meek and the poor in Bidar shows why Karnataka is the only state in the south to open its doors to revanchist forces, and watch tamely while its thinkers are killed.

Teaching lessons is the objective behind every school. For the moment, a state seems intent to teach a lesson -- that students of Classes 4, 5 and 6 can wage war against the mighty Indian nation. Aided by an unlettered domestic help.

Krishna Prasad, former editor-in-chief, Outlook magazine, is one of India's leading journalists.
Boeing on Thursday confirmed that it encountered a fresh technical problem with flight software on plane 737 MAX, but said that it is confident of MAX safely returning to service. According to media reports, the company said that the software issue involves indicator light staying longer than intended. The indicator light is associated with the stabilizer trim system, which raises and lowers the plane's nose. Boeing in its statement said that the company is incorporating a change to ensure that the indicator light illuminates as intended and ensured it, customers, that 737 MAX fleet will safely return to service.

Read: Will Showcase A Range Of Advanced Defence Capabilities At DefExpo 2020: Boeing

Boeing 737 MAX fiasco

Boeing also estimated that the ungrounding of the 737 MAX will begin during mid-2020. Boeing in its statement also expressed regret over the grounding of the fleet and said, "Returning the MAX safely to service is our number one priority, and we are confident that will happen. We acknowledge and regret the continued difficulties that the grounding of the 737 MAX has presented to our customers, our regulators, our suppliers, and the flying public." As per media reports, the 737 MAX was grounded across Asia, Europe, Canada, and then the United States following two fatal crashes within five months that claimed 346 lives.

Read: Boeing Says 737 Max Aircraft Won't Return Until Mid-2020, Shares Down By 5%

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Thursday reportedly revealed that Boeing informed the regulator about the technical glitch with the light indicator on January 20. While talking to the media FAA administrator Steve Dickson said, "Boeing let the FAA and its airline customers know about the problem with the light during the week of January 20." When Dickson was asked about when the jet might fly again, he said that the timeframe for that has not been set as it will only return to passenger service once safety regulators are fully satisfied and all safety-related issues are addressed to FAA's satisfaction.

Read: Boeing Internal Communications Reveal arrogance, Obsession With Cost-cutting

Boeing 737 MAX flights were grounded after a Lion Airline plane carrying 189 passengers crashed into the sea moments after take-off in October 2018. Then in March 2019, an Ethiopian Airlines jet crashed shortly after take-off, killing all 157 people on board. Three days after the March crash, the United States' FAA temporarily grounded all Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 9 aircraft.

Read: Boeing's New 777X Aircraft Takes Off On Maiden Flight Amid 737 MAX Crisis
The worlds attention has been focused in recent weeks on Hubei province and its capital, Wuhan, the root of a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 720 people in China and infected more than 34,000. Chinese authorities have launched a military-style effort to contain the virus in Hubei, building new hospital wards and fashioning huge isolation centers in gyms and stadiums.
Rep. Mo Brooks is laughing at his Democratic colleagues failed attempt at removing President Trump from office, sharing a Mexican Word of the Day meme on Twitter on Thursday that mocks the Houses impeachment effort.

Mexican Word of the Day: Acquitted, the meme, which features a smiling man with a bushy mustache and wearing a large sombrero, says. Democrats should acquitted while they were ahead.

The Republican Huntsville congressmans post comes a day after the Senate voted nearly along party lines to acquit the president of two impeachment charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, was the lone Republican to vote to remove Trump from office on the abuse of power charge. No Republicans voted to remove the president on the obstruction of Congress charge.

While the meme also pokes fun at Mexican accents, Brooks suggested to AL.com that was not the point of his tweet.

Laugh a little, he said. Good for the soul.
Americas healthcare system is still a mess. The Affordable Care Act, Barack Obamas signature legislative achievement, has sparked continued increases in premiums and deductibles while failing to bend the healthcare cost curve down as promised.

Thats just one of the assurances ACA supporters made about the new law it failed to keep. Obama was badly misinformed when he promised people could keep the coverage they had, if they liked it, once the ACA became law. Some suggest he knew at the time this was a lie, but hes not saying, one way or another. Perhaps hell address it in some future interview, at which time we hope hell be held to account for how badly the law has worked.

Yes, there are more people insured than ever before, but many of those people still cant afford to use that insurance because the deductibles are so high. Plans in the individual markets are canceled from one year to the next, forcing people to re-enroll in something similar or find new insurance altogether.

Thats not the way it was supposed to be. Efforts at repeal collapsed thanks to the Senate Democrats procedural instance any plan to replace it be adopted with 60 votes or more. So much for what the people want.

The idea getting the most attention, the Medicare-for-All proposal first put forward by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and embraced by other Democrats running for the partys presidential nomination, is a non-starter. The non-partisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the Sanders plan has a gross cost of $30.6 trillion and, incorporating offsets, would add $13.4 trillion to deficits over ten years under our central estimate. The plans floated by former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and others also dont come close to paying for themselves.

Obamacare was supposed to increase transparency for consumers, allowing them to make better decisions about the care they received and what it would cost. That hasnt happened either, and though President Donald Trump is pushing for action from Congress to pass laws putting price tags on all kinds of care, nothing spectacular has happened in that area either  largely because the health insurance companies are still driving the train.

They helped write the ACA and are now employing armies of lobbyists to make sure they dont go under because of it. Theyre pursuing new laws and regulations to insulate them from their responsibilities to their customers, to protect them from liability, and to avoid paying for services using a variety of what can best be called coverage loopholes.

The biggest of these has come to be known as surprise billing, an issue the president has taken to heart. No one likes to get a bill they didnt expect, especially when they thought they were covered for the expense. Yet let an in-network doctor perform a procedure at an in-network hospital using an out-of-network anesthesiologist and send tissue out for analysis to a pathology lab at a nearby, affiliated and out-of-network hospital, and thats precisely what happens.

In that case, as I recently experienced for myself, the insurance suddenly doesnt count because you went out-of-network. That you didnt know it and that you asked ahead of time that everything to be done in-network doesnt matter so you must pay for the out-of-network services performed. It doesnt seem fair, but its legal.

Congress, led by Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander, has crafted a bill to change that. The problem with the Alexander approach is that it relies on price controls, and for anyone who hasnt paid much attention, the track record of price controls creating adverse consequences is long and storied.

The bipartisan Alexander bill requires insurers to pay the surprise bills when they arise based on the average price for the services provided. This is called benchmarking and its a bad idea because it empowers the government to make further intrusions into the healthcare marketplace and gets the country all that much closer to a Medicare-for-All style system.

Price controls and government rate-setting are a large part of what helped wreck the U.S. healthcare system in the first place. Insurers need to own their responsibilities to their customers and level the playing field on their own.

Peter Roff is a senior fellow at Frontiers of Freedom and a former U.S. News and World Report contributing editor who appears regularly as a commentator on the One America News network.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 19:26:22|Editor: huaxia

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by Xinhua writers Yao Yuan, Yue Wenwan and Wu Zhi

WUHAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, is combing communities to ensure every confirmed or suspected patient is located and attended to as a senior official vowed to nail any official deserter "to history's pillar of shame."

A conference on epidemic control on Thursday ordered the megacity with a population of over 10 million to make all-out efforts to locate patients confirmed or suspected to be infected with the virus, close contacts of confirmed cases, as well as patients with fever.

Once identified, these people must be treated in a timely manner or placed in quarantine, the conference said, adding that "no family or individual shall be neglected."

City officials said checkpoints are being set up outside every community and apartment building to measure residents' body temperatures, while community workers and volunteers are paying house-to-house visits to conduct checks.

Fever patients found in the process will be escorted to community clinics, which will decide whether they should be quarantined at home or be sent to other isolation areas. Police will step in if a patient refuses to obey quarantine rules and all persuasion fails, officials said.

The citywide mobilization echoed the call of Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who on Thursday stressed that the various prevention and control measures must be implemented in detail like in wartime.

While inspecting Jianghan District in Wuhan, Sun demanded officials at all levels prioritize the epidemic fight "as the most important and pressing task" and forego bureaucratism and practices of formalities for formalities' sake.

Any deserter in the fight will be forever nailed to history's pillar of shame, she said.

Over 20,000 residents are observing at-home quarantine in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, which has been sealed off since late January to contain the spread of the 2019-nCov.

The city has since grabbed the nation's headlines with the heroism of its medical workers and the great sacrifice and resignation of local residents during the unprecedented lockdown.

Community workers interviewed by Xinhua said in response to some residents' fears of transmission during home visits, they are also using telephones and instant messaging apps like WeChat to contact local families.

"Our neighborhood committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening and demanded that we do a 'blanket search' to know about the condition of each and every family," said Zhu Xuan, a community worker in the Chang'er Community in Jianghan District.

Tasked with more than 100 households, Zhu posted a questionnaire in a WeChat group, and residents completed it with their daily body temperature reports. Meanwhile, she has been making phone calls since Friday morning to contact elderly residents who are may not use the mobile app.

"Residents have all responded to our work with great understanding and cooperation," Zhu said.

Liu Jie, who lives in Wuhan's Dongxihu District, said he initially frowned upon the visits by inspectors, as they will cost the six-member family many disposable facial masks, which have been in tight supply in many Chinese cities since the virus outbreak.

"Then they assured us that we could report via WeChat or telephone and that made us feel relieved," he said.

Liu has not left his community since Jan. 22, faithfully obeying the official instruction to stay at home to reduce infection risks. The community's property management company has offered to purchase vegetables and other daily necessities for the residents and deliver them to their doorsteps.

"The furthest place I've been in the past weeks is the dust bin at the doorstep," Liu said. "We understand that it is imperative for the city to quarantine all confirmed and suspected patients. And we know it's important to fulfill our own duties, like daily reports of fever."
Acting on the directions of Health and Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, 'State Tobacco Control Cell' in collaboration with the Punjab Police has initiated a state-level drive to curb tobacco use to save children and youth across the State.

State Tobacco Control cell organized a capacity building workshop for police officials under the Tobacco Control Programme at Director Health Services Office in Chandigarh.

50 Police officials of the rank of Inspectors and Sub Inspectors across the State today attended this workshop.

Prabodh Kumar, Director, Bureau of Investigation said "Police officials are important stakeholders for the effective implementation of Anti Tobacco Laws. He assured that the Police department will now work in close collaboration with the Health Department to strictly implement the e-Cigarettes prohibition Act 2019 and other Anti Tobacco laws in the state."

Dr Avneet Kaur, Director Health Services, Punjab said that a total of 16,016 Challans have been issued from April-Dec 2019 and 23,886 Challans have been issued in 2018-19 against the violators in the State under Cigarette and other Tobacco Products Act, (COTPA) 2003.

"Hookah Bars have been permanently banned in the state after passing the Punjab COPTA amendment act 2018. She further said that under this act, the violators will be penalized up to 3 years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine," she added.

Meanwhile, Dr Rakesh Gupta, Director of Health Services (SI), Punjab made a presentation about the e-cigarettes. (ANI)

"Punjab was the first state where e-cigarettes have been declared as 'unapproved drug' since 2013. Government of India has now banned the sale of e-cigarettes in the entire country," he said.

"Under this E-Cigarettes Prohibition Act 2019, only Police officials at the rank of Sub Inspectors or above are authorized to take the action," he further said.

Dr Rana J Singh, Deputy Regional Director, The Union, South East Asia said that Punjab still has 27, 00,000 people using Tobacco as these products are freely available all over the state.

"Tobacco is also the most important preventable risk factor for all non-communicable diseases including cancer, hypertension, heart diseases, lung diseases and stroke etc," he said.

Dr Nirlep Kaur, State Nodal Officer, Tobacco Control, Punjab said that Tobacco Cessation centres have been established in all the districts of the state. she said that about 8,000 persons have been treated in tobacco cessation centres in Punjab from March 19 to December 19, 2019.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On this Thoughty2 video, Arran tells the fascinating tale of Bermeja, an allegedly 80 square kilometers island indicated on many maps, starting in the 16th and 17th centuries. The problem is, it doesn't appear to actually exist. Many theories abound about what could have happened to it or why it would be on so many old maps if it never existed.

I love the idea that it was put there by a mapmaker as a kind of watermark to prove that other cartographers had simply copied his work. Mexico has gone to great lengths to try and prove the existence of the island because it would give them oil drilling rights for 200 miles around it.

Image: YouTube
When people hear of a rocket launching from the United States, many may think of Cape Canaveral, Florida. However, a rocket will roar to life from a little-known spaceport along the shores of the mid-Atlantic in the coming days.

An Antares rocket is set lift off from Wallops Island, Virginia, home to a small launch facility along the Atlantic coast of the Delmarva Peninsula. The launch is slated for Thursday afternoon at 4:05 p.m. EST.

The launch was originally scheduled for Sunday evening at 5:39 p.m. EST, but just moments before lift off, ground teams decided to postpone due to an issue with the launch pad equipment.

People all across the mid-Atlantic may be able to see the glow of the rocket engines as the rocket climbs through the atmosphere on its journey to the International Space Station (ISS).

"The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents throughout the mid-Atlantic region and possibly the East Coast of the United States," NASA said.

Under ideal conditions, major rocket launches like this can be seen as far away as Philadelphia, New York City and Raleigh and Wilmington, North Carolina. However, it may be difficult to spot in the sky since it is happening during the daylight hours, as opposed to the evening hours as originally scheduled.

The launch was already postponed once due to a technical issue at the launch pad, and it may get postponed again due to inclement weather on Thursday.

A storm moving through the Northeast will spread rain showers over Delmarva on Thursday, which could interfere with the rocket launch.

Winds will also pick up a bit compared to over the weekend with winds of 12 to 25 mph; however, the bigger weather concern for the launch is the chance for rain.

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Even if the launch is able to take place on Thursday despite the wet and breezy conditions, it may be difficult to spot from far away due to widespread clouds across the region.

The only areas that would be able to see launch if it were to happen on Thursday would be those within a few miles of the launch pad at Wallops Island.

Story continues

Weather conditions are forecast to increase significantly on Friday if the launch were to be delayed again.

Orbital ATK's Antares rocket lifts off from Wallops Island, Va., Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. The rocket is carrying cargo to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Folks stepping outside to see the rocket should look for a yellow or orange ball of light in the sky in the direction of Wallops Island. It will not be blinking and will slowly glide through the sky as it rockets into space.

In this long exposure photo released by NASA, the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, is seen above the Thomas Jefferson Memorial as it launches from Pad-OA Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Va. (Joel Kowsky/NASA via AP)

Major launches like this happen only a few times per year from Wallops Island, so people across the region should be sure to set an alarm so they can take advantage of the opportunity to see a rocket launch from their backyard.

The next Antares launch from the Wallops Flight Facility isn't scheduled until October, according to SpaceFlightNow.

The Antares rocket will be launching an uncrewed spacecraft to the ISS that will deliver 8,000 pounds of supplies, hardware and scientific experiments to the astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the station.

"These resupply missions help NASA deliver critical research to the orbiting lab and increase its ability to conduct new investigations," NASA explained. "Investigations studying tissue culturing, bone loss and phage therapy will be launching."

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has programmed a purchase of another Hunts Point, WA, property, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.

Ballmer, 63, and his wife, Connie, picked up the home adjacent to their current waterfront mansion, paying $9.8 million in early December 2019, property records show.

While there are no photos available, the listing offered a 3,790-square-foot home with five bedrooms and four bathrooms. The home was built in 1902, and the records note that it underwent a renovation in 1999.

The nearly 1-acre property, due south of Ballmer's main home, adds to the couples holdings in the Seattle area.

In 1987, they bought their main residence for $1,325,000which proved to be a savvy buy. Since then, the appraised value of the 2.1-acre property has risen to over $12 million.

Located in the coveted community situated on a peninsula of Lake Washington, a straight shot to Seattle, the exclusive enclave has counted other wealthy residents, such as Costco co-founder and former CEO Jim Sinegal and the former owner of the Seattle Seahawks, John Nordstrom.

__________

Watch: Just How Many Homes Could Jeff Bezos Afford in the Amazon HQ2 Candidate Cities?

__________

The Ballmer compound is also down the road from an art-filled mansion that was one of our most expensive home listings in 2018. That luxury property sold last year for a record $37.5 million.

As for Ballmer, he can afford his real estate splurge. The owner of the Los Angeles Clippers comes in 19th on the Forbes billionaires list, with an estimated net worth of $64 billion.

After dropping out of Stanford's MBA program, he became employee No. 30 at Microsoft in 1980. He eventually led the company from 2000 to 2014. The year he retired from the software company, he purchased the NBA's Clippers for $2 billion.

The post Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer Buys Another Home in Hunts Point, WA appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
February is an excellent month to observe the magnificent whooping cranes that descend on the Texas coast.

The 12th annual Whooping Crane Festival on Feb. 20-23 in Port Aransas offers field trips, workshops and opportunities to be awestruck by the majestic white cranes.

The big cranes migrate 2,500 miles from breeding grounds in northwest Canadas Wood Buffalo National Park to their ancestral winter home in marshes around Aransas Bay.

They migrate during daylight, flying on 7- to 8-foot wingspans, covering about 400 miles a day. Unlike great flocks of migratory geese, whooping cranes travel in pairs or in small family groups and occasionally migrate in the company of sandhill cranes.

This month, they begin courtship displays. The 5-foot-tall birds will start uttering bugling calls and prancing in the marsh as though it were a dance hall.

A pair of adult birds with maybe a youngster  told by its ginger plumes  will forage in shallow marsh pools. Theyll probe the waters with long, pointed beaks in search of crawfish, frogs, and especially blue crabs, loaded with fats and proteins essential to reproductive health.

Port Aransas Whooping Crane Festival When: Feb. 20-23 Activities: Guided boat trips to see whooping cranes, guided field trips for birding and bird photography, including trips to Fennessey Ranch and King Ranch Workshops: Bird identification, bird photography and optics presentation Speakers: Dr. George Archibald, co-founder of International Crane Foundation, plus presentations about birds and nature photography Trade show and exhibits: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Feb. 21-22 and 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. Feb. 23 Fees: $25 registration plus various fees for field trips and workshops; open to all ages Information: whoopingcranefestival.org See More Collapse

But when they fly, oh, what a sight! Once, as I led a group of visitors on a boat tour to see the cranes, one flew low  right over our heads  pealing out its trumpet call. We were awestruck.

May the thrill of seeing whooping cranes be an experience for you and for all your descendants.

Yet, thats not certain. After all, the roughly 600 cranes wintering on the Texas coast are descendants of a wild flock of about 21 birds on the threshold of extinction in the 1940s, while wild flocks in the mid-19th century had numbered at least 1,400 birds.

Those once large flocks bred throughout the United States and Canadian Great Plains and migrated to winter grounds at Aransas and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast. But overhunting and transformation of the Great Plains into agriculture nearly doomed the birds.

Government laws plus concerted action by U.S. and Canadian wildlife agencies and the International Crane Foundation helped recover the birds from annihilation. The goal now is to restore the cranes to a self-sustaining population of 1,000.

But vulnerabilities loom.

Monster tropical storms like Hurricane Harvey could severely alter the marsh ecosystem. Overuse of river water upstream for commercial development would limit freshwater inflows into the marsh, killing off blue crabs vital to the cranes.

We rescued Americas incomparable whooping cranes from extinction. Hopefully, well help them thrive.

Gary Clark is the author of Book of Texas Birds, with photography by Kathy Adams Clark (Texas A&M University Press). Texasbirder@comcast.net
FAIRFIELD (BCN)

A second flight of evacuees from the heart of China's novel coronavirus outbreak arrived overnight at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, according to U.S. government officials.

At about 3 a.m., the flight of 201 passengers from Wuhan touched down at the air base and were screened by doctors from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to CDC spokesman Jason McDonald.

The bulk of the passengers were then flown to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, while 53 remained at Travis, McDonald said.

That brings the total number of people quarantined at the base to 234.

So far, four people have exhibited possible symptoms of the virus and are being held in isolation at local hospitals, according to McDonald.

"Anyone who may appear to be symptomatic will be transported to an area hospital and tested to try to determine what's causing the fever," he said.

The passengers are under a 14-day quarantine and are being interviewed and tested for symptoms twice a day.

MORE: Richmond lab among 16 statewide to begin testing for coronavirus

The charter flights are being run by the U.S. Department of State, and the first one arrived at Travis on Feb. 5.

So far in the Bay Area, four confirmed cases of the virus have been reported, two each in Santa Clara and San Benito counties.

Nationally, there are 12 confirmed cases, with 100 cases still pending test results, according to the CDC.

On Friday, the Chinese government announced 3,143 new cases, bringing the total there to more than 34,000, including 636 deaths.

While few details about the people quarantined at Travis are being released, the first group of evacuees consisted of people ranging in age from 2 years to 65 years and included families and individuals, McDonald said.

When passengers first arrived, they were screened for the virus and briefed by CDC officials about what to expect.

"It's quite a jot," McDonald said. "They fly out and arrive very early in the morning. They're tired and we let them know what the expectations will be with the twice daily monitoring," he said.

Despite undergoing what is a disruptive and likely alarming experience, the people quarantined at Travis appear to be in decent spirits, McDonald said.

"All moods seem positive and everybody seems to be very understanding about why it's necessary to protect the greater community," he said.

They are being monitored by a team of 11 CDC doctors and staff lead by Dr. Henry Walke, director of the CDC Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections.

The quarantined passengers are staying at a hotel on the air base and kept separated from base personnel by a cordon staffed by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to base spokeswoman Capt. Amanda Farr.

Their presence, however, is not disrupting normal base operations, Farr said.

Copyright  2020 by Bay City News, Inc. Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.
Liberal and Nationals MPs are urging the Morrison government to tackle the politically thorny issue of nuclear energy, arguing its potential as a zero-emission source of baseload power is too tempting to ignore.

Coalition MPs have spoken out on nuclear energy as a solution to the need to decarbonise the economy, arguing the government can maintain Australia's long-held moratorium on nuclear power and take modest steps in early stage research and development of new technologies.

Dr Katie Allen wants to be able to consider all options when it comes to energy. Credit:Wayne Taylor

Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, inner-city Melbourne Liberal MP Katie Allen said Australia has a "unique opportunity" to help lead the way on research and development of "safer and more effective" nuclear energy.

Dr Allen, a paediatrician and medical researcher with a PhD, said "question marks remain" over the potential to use renewables as the sole source to power Australia's energy grid.
"It just seems like it's such a romantic sort of industry for me and I love the kind of tawdriness of it and the heroics of that as well. Most actors are not what we see on screen in Hollywood. Most actors love their craft and hustle for work, they're not stars particularly." 'That moment of walking out on stage was always sort of wonderful, sort of the opposite of stress.' Enright's new novel, Actress, is about the wings as much as it is about centre stage; it's interested in what goes on when the spotlight turns off. Our narrator is writer Norah FitzMaurice, whose mother Katherine O'Dell was a star of the stage and screen and, as Norah observes, the breakfast table as well. "My mother could move in and out of character, right there in front of you," Norah writes early in the novel. Katherine is a complicated figure, a "great fake" who despite her reputation as "the most Irish actress in the world" was born in London, "never mind the red hair, the plaid shawl and the poetry". Her greatest performance was herself. Norah idealises her glamorous mother, an idealisation inextricable from a sense of separation. She describes watching her mother from the wings as making her "feel so lucky and so alone". But celebrity is a fickle thing. Katherine's decline was hastened after she shot a famous film producer in the foot and was committed to a mental hospital before she died in 1986 aged 58. Actress starts ostensibly as Norah's attempt to write her mother's memoir, covering Katherine's success in London's West End after the war and then on to Broadway and Hollywood before her return to Dublin in the 1970s.

But the memoir format can't sustain the weight of the secrets. The genre shakes and slips in the second half of the novel, as Norah uncovers the dark shadows beneath her mother's star and reveals her own. Actress is about celebrity, sexuality, idealisation and national identity. Enright is an expert at exploring family history and generational difference, and here she examines the profoundly complex relationship between mothers and daughters. There is a deliberately gossipy edge to the story, a sense of whispered scandal and hidden drama, although the characters in the novel are not based directly on real figures or events. Loading Enright says she had long wanted to write a theatre novel and she describes the last six months of writing Actress, when she knew what direction her story would take, as blissful. "I loved that time so much because I know how rare it is. It's only once, every four or five years, and it takes a lot of work to get to that moment, a lot of anxiety and not knowing what you're doing. And then suddenly you do know what you're doing, and you couldn't buy it. It's so wonderful. And I was just working on the book full-time, moving things around, getting it right. And I knew this time, that I don't know how many more times I've got left, so I think I enjoyed this one more than I have done in the past."

There might not be any baked potatoes, but the spotlight on Enright has only shone brighter as her reputation in Ireland and globally has grown dramatically during the past decade. Anne Enright's first novel in five years is Actress. Credit: She was named the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, a position she held from 2015 to 2018. Earlier, in 2007, Enright came from an outsider position to nab the Man Booker Prize for her fourth novel The Gathering. Enright, who has two teenage children, has been a full-time writer since 1993, with her first book, a short-story collection called The Portable Virgin, published in 1991. After graduating with a degree in English and philosophy from Dublin's Trinity College and studying writing at the University of East Anglia, Enright worked as a producer at Ireland's national broadcaster RTE. She experienced what she has previously described as a "break down" and turned to writing. Enright says being so closely identified with Ireland's national literature has proven an unexpected resource because "it gives me something to fight against". "It gives you a sense of circumference and then you say, 'Hang on, who is included in this circumference here that we call our national tradition?' And you say, 'Well, actually, the women didn't really get a look in, did they?'. So it gives you cause to stick your elbows out and say, 'Yes, I belong here rather than somewhere else'. But if I had looked at my national tradition 15 years ago, it would have just been almost entirely male. So what use is that to me after a point?"

In recent years, Enright has used her public platform to discuss gender biases in the publishing industry in Ireland. Yet she says she's "probably going to give that up now". "It's really hard work. The guys don't have to do all that. I think I'll focus on my work. "The stress for me was very hard to identify. Somehow I felt that I was doing my own career no good by telling the truth. And that was immensely stressful. And I don't think it was true, but I thought if I annoy all these guys now, then there would be repercussions. But all those guys are in my head. They're not necessarily in the light." But it is a crop of Irish women writers  including Sally Rooney, Anna Burns, Sinead Gleeson and Eimear McBride  who are now in the light. There's been a marked shift, Enright says, from earlier in her career when people would herald the arrival of new Irish women writers as her competition. "It was years before I realised how incredibly discriminating that kind of attitude was. That there could only be one or two women at a time. They'd only let one or two in, so maybe it meant two or three, maybe you, and a few other names in there.
A 43-year-old Mpumalanga man has been arrested for allegedly raping his two teenage daughters.

He is expected to appear in court on Friday after he was arrested on Tuesday by police in Mpumalanga on allegations of a raping his 13-year-old daughter in Masoyi near Hazyview.

According to police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi, on Monday, the teenage girl was sleeping with her siblings when her father entered their bedroom.

The man "had lustful intentions" and allegedly whispered to the young girl that she should not wake her other sisters.

"This man then allegedly raped [his] little daughter and warned her that if she ever [said] a word to anybody, he will kill her [and] thereafter kill her siblings," Hlathi said.

"Preliminary investigations have revealed that this man allegedly raped his other 16-year-old daughter as well and threatened to kill her if she ever tell a soul about the ordeal. Due to fear, the 16-year-old kept the terrible secret with her until the day when the 13-year-old sister broke her silence ... when she reported the matter."

'Evil and heartless criminals'

On Tuesday, the 13-year-old girl went to school and confided in a teacher. She told the teacher that it was not the first time that her father allegedly raped her and disclosed that her sister was also an alleged victim.

"Police were notified about the incident and a case of rape was immediately opened at the Masoyi SAPS and handed over to the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit.

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"The man was arrested by police and charged with two counts of rape. He is expected to appear at the Masoyi Periodical Court on Friday," Hlathi said.

The provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Mondli Zuma, has reiterated his condemnation for the rape of the young girls.

"Children in our country are facing a real challenge of their lives because parents have turned against them. Instead of grooming them to be tomorrow's leaders, there are parents who are determined to destroy chances of a bright future for these children. Such evil and heartless criminals cannot share a space with the law-abiding citizens. They should rather be locked up for good. I urge the detectives, the prosecution team as well as the judiciary to close all loopholes on this case and ensure that the accused gets a maximum sentence [if found guilty]," Zuma said.

News24
Davyd Arakhamia, chairman of the Servant of the Peoples parliamentary faction, announced the final vote on the land market bill in April. He stated this in a comment to reporters, the channel "112 Ukraine" conducted the broadcast.

Yesterday, we measured the speed of editing changes. Today were still measuring, but its not accelerating, you see. Then if we move at that speed, regardless of how many session weeks we have, it will happen in April. then April 16-17, something like that," Arakhamia said.

According to Arakhamia, a lot of important bills flew due to the consideration of the amendments.

"For example, the fulfillment of the requirements for the payment of wages to miners due to the decision of the Rada, yes? There is a bill on the children of the war, expansion of preferential things, there are additional volunteers, when they passed the law then they didnt include people - theres ATO OOS, there are several thousand volunteers, including those who cannot get all their statuses and benefits that they could get if we finalized now, " the MP said.

Among the bills that flew, the head of the faction also named the competition committee on the State Bureau of Investigation, the reform of the judiciary, the high council of justice, and the law on notaries.

As we reported, Chair of Batkivshchyna Party Yulia Tymoshenko ripped the microphone out of hands of Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Dmytro Razumkov.
BEIJING, Feb. 7 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping, also chairman of Central Military Commission (CMC), signed an order to issue the newly revised Regulation on Management of Military Establishment and Organizational Structure (Trial). The new Regulation will enter into force from March 1, 2020.

The newly revised Regulation has a total of nine chapters, including 45 articles. Adapting to the new establishment and functions of the Chinese military after the reform, it clarifies the mechanism and the assignment of responsibilities, systematically and comprehensively illustrates the objectives, contents, procedures, as well as the implementation and supervision of the military organizational structure management, and thus forms comprehensive and cohesive institutional measures.

The new Regulation also strengthens supervision and accountability by proposing specific measures for review, overhaul, supervision and inspection, and accountability, in a bid to ensure that the management works are implemented without compromise.
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- DCS market worldwide is projected to grow by US$6.6 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 4.7%. Hardware, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 4.5%. 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$6.4 Billion by the year 2025, Hardware will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798333/?utm_source=PRN

- Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 3.7% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$231.4 Million to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$192.6 Million worth of projected demand in the region will come from Rest of Europe markets. In Japan, Hardware will reach a market size of US$263.8 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 7.4% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$1.9 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, ABB Ltd.; Azbil Corporation; Emerson Electric Co.; General Electric Company; Hitachi Ltd.; Honeywell International, Inc.; Metso Corporation; Rockwell Automation Inc.; Schneider Electric SA; Siemens AG; Toshiba International Corporation; Yokogawa Electric Corporation







Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05798333/?utm_source=PRN



I. METHODOLOGY



II. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



1. MARKET OVERVIEW

An Introduction to Distributed Control Systems (DCS)

Robust Growth Projected for DCS Market

Critical Importance of Automation in Modern Industrial

Environments: Cornerstone for Present and Future Growth of DCS

Market

Wide Ranging Benefits of Automated Process Control Compel DCS

Deployments

DCS Market Stands to Gain from Emerging Industry 4.0, the New

Industrial Automation Concept

Global Competitor Market Shares

DCS Competitor Market Share Scenario Worldwide (in %): 2019 & 2025

2. FOCUS ON SELECT PLAYERS

3. MARKET TRENDS & DRIVERS

Progressive Improvements Widen Scope & Span of DCS

Software: Largest Product Category

Cloud-based DCS-as-a-Service Likely to Drive Massive Growth in

Overall DCS Market

Oil & Gas: Largest Consumer of DCS Technology

Emphasis on Infrastructure Automation Intensifies Uptake of Oil &

Gas DCS Solutions

Steady Uptrend in World E&P CAPEX Favors Market Expansion

World E&P CAPEX by Region and Type of Company for the Years

2017, 2018 and 2019

Breakdown of World Energy Demand (in %) by Fuel Type for the

Years 2017 and 2040

Power Industry Leverages DCS to Deploy Complex Control Systems

Abundant Opportunities for DCS in Chemical Industry

Pharmaceutical: A Niche End-Use Sector

Mining Entities Rely on DCS to Improve Operations

DCS Extends a Handy Tool for Wastewater Facilities

4. GLOBAL MARKET PERSPECTIVE

Table 1: DCS Global Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 2: DCS Global Retrospective Market Scenario in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 3: DCS Market Share Shift across Key Geographies

Worldwide: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 4: Hardware (Segment) World Market by Region/Country in

US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 5: Hardware (Segment) Historic Market Analysis by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 6: Hardware (Segment) Market Share Breakdown of Worldwide

Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 7: Software (Segment) Potential Growth Markets Worldwide

in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 8: Software (Segment) Historic Market Perspective by

Region/Country in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 9: Software (Segment) Market Sales Breakdown by

Region/Country in Percentage: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 10: Services (Segment) Geographic Market Spread Worldwide

in US$ Million: 2018 to 2025

Table 11: Services (Segment) Region Wise Breakdown of Global

Historic Demand in US$ Million: 2009 to 2017

Table 12: Services (Segment) Market Share Distribution in

Percentage by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 13: Chemical (End-Use) Demand Potential Worldwide in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 14: Chemical (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 15: Chemical (End-Use) Share Breakdown Review by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 16: Oil & Gas (End-Use) Worldwide Latent Demand Forecasts

in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 17: Oil & Gas (End-Use) Global Historic Analysis in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 18: Oil & Gas (End-Use) Distribution of Global Sales by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 19: Pharmaceutical (End-Use) Sales Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Years 2018

through 2025

Table 20: Pharmaceutical (End-Use) Analysis of Historic Sales

in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Years 2009 to 2017

Table 21: Pharmaceutical (End-Use) Global Market Share

Distribution by Region/Country for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 22: Food & Beverage (End-Use) Global Opportunity

Assessment in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 23: Food & Beverage (End-Use) Historic Sales Analysis in

US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 24: Food & Beverage (End-Use) Percentage Share Breakdown

of Global Sales by Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 25: Power Generation (End-Use) Worldwide Sales in US$

Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 26: Power Generation (End-Use) Historic Demand Patterns

in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 27: Power Generation (End-Use) Market Share Shift across

Key Geographies: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 28: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Global Market Estimates &

Forecasts in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 29: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Retrospective Demand

Analysis in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2009-2017

Table 30: Other End-Uses (End-Use) Market Share Breakdown by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025



III. MARKET ANALYSIS



GEOGRAPHIC MARKET ANALYSIS

UNITED STATES

Market Facts & Figures

US DCS Market Share (in %) by Company: 2019 & 2025

Table 31: United States DCS Market Estimates and Projections in

US$ Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 32: DCS Market in the United States by Segment: A

Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 33: United States DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 34: United States DCS Latent Demand Forecasts in US$

Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 35: DCS Historic Demand Patterns in the United States by

End-Use in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 36: DCS Market Share Breakdown in the United States by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

CANADA

Table 37: Canadian DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 38: Canadian DCS Historic Market Review by Segment in US$

Million: 2009-2017

Table 39: DCS Market in Canada: Percentage Share Breakdown of

Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 40: Canadian DCS Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 41: DCS Market in Canada: Summarization of Historic

Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017

Table 42: Canadian DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

JAPAN

Table 43: Japanese Market for DCS: Annual Sales Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 44: DCS Market in Japan: Historic Sales Analysis in US$

Million by Segment for the Period 2009-2017

Table 45: Japanese DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 46: Japanese Demand Estimates and Forecasts for DCS in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 47: Japanese DCS Market in US$ Million by End-Use:

2009-2017

Table 48: DCS Market Share Shift in Japan by End-Use: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

CHINA

Table 49: Chinese DCS Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by

Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 50: DCS Historic Market Analysis in China in US$ Million

by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 51: Chinese DCS Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown

of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 52: Chinese Demand for DCS in US$ Million by End-Use:

2018 to 2025

Table 53: DCS Market Review in China in US$ Million by End-Use:

2009-2017

Table 54: Chinese DCS Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

EUROPE

Market Facts & Figures

European DCS Market: Competitor Market Share Scenario (in %)

for 2019 & 2025

Table 55: European DCS Market Demand Scenario in US$ Million by

Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 56: DCS Market in Europe: A Historic Market Perspective

in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017

Table 57: European DCS Market Share Shift by Region/Country:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 58: European DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Segment: 2018-2025

Table 59: DCS Market in Europe in US$ Million by Segment: A

Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 60: European DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 61: European DCS Addressable Market Opportunity in US$

Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 62: DCS Market in Europe: Summarization of Historic

Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017

Table 63: European DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

FRANCE

Table 64: DCS Market in France by Segment: Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025

Table 65: French DCS Historic Market Scenario in US$ Million by

Segment: 2009-2017

Table 66: French DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

Table 67: DCS Quantitative Demand Analysis in France in US$

Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 68: French DCS Historic Market Review in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 69: French DCS Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year

Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025

GERMANY

Table 70: DCS Market in Germany: Recent Past, Current and

Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period

2018-2025

Table 71: German DCS Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million by

Segment: 2009-2017

Table 72: German DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

Table 73: DCS Market in Germany: Annual Sales Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025

Table 74: German DCS Market in Retrospect in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 75: DCS Market Share Distribution in Germany by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ITALY

Table 76: Italian DCS Market Growth Prospects in US$ Million by

Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 77: DCS Historic Market Analysis in Italy in US$ Million

by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 78: Italian DCS Market by Segment: Percentage Breakdown

of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 79: Italian Demand for DCS in US$ Million by End-Use:

2018 to 2025

Table 80: DCS Market Review in Italy in US$ Million by End-Use:

2009-2017

Table 81: Italian DCS Market Share Breakdown by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

UNITED KINGDOM

Table 82: United Kingdom Market for DCS: Annual Sales Estimates

and Projections in US$ Million by Segment for the Period

2018-2025

Table 83: DCS Market in the United Kingdom: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period 2009-2017

Table 84: United Kingdom DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 85: United Kingdom Demand Estimates and Forecasts for DCS

in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 86: United Kingdom DCS Market in US$ Million by End-Use:

2009-2017

Table 87: DCS Market Share Shift in the United Kingdom by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

SPAIN

Table 88: Spanish DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 89: Spanish DCS Historic Market Review by Segment in US$

Million: 2009-2017

Table 90: DCS Market in Spain: Percentage Share Breakdown of

Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 91: Spanish DCS Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 92: DCS Market in Spain: Summarization of Historic Demand

Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017

Table 93: Spanish DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

RUSSIA

Table 94: Russian DCS Market Estimates and Projections in US$

Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 95: DCS Market in Russia by Segment: A Historic Review in

US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 96: Russian DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 97: Russian DCS Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 98: DCS Historic Demand Patterns in Russia by End-Use in

US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 99: DCS Market Share Breakdown in Russia by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF EUROPE

Table 100: Rest of Europe DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in

US$ Million by Segment: 2018-2025

Table 101: DCS Market in Rest of Europe in US$ Million by

Segment: A Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 102: Rest of Europe DCS Market Share Breakdown by

Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 103: Rest of Europe DCS Addressable Market Opportunity in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 104: DCS Market in Rest of Europe: Summarization of

Historic Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period

2009-2017

Table 105: Rest of Europe DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ASIA-PACIFIC

Table 106: Asia-Pacific DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in

US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 107: DCS Market in Asia-Pacific: Historic Market Analysis

in US$ Million by Region/Country for the Period 2009-2017

Table 108: Asia-Pacific DCS Market Share Analysis by

Region/Country: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 109: DCS Market in Asia-Pacific by Segment: Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025

Table 110: Asia-Pacific DCS Historic Market Scenario in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 111: Asia-Pacific DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 112: DCS Quantitative Demand Analysis in Asia-Pacific in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 113: Asia-Pacific DCS Historic Market Review in US$

Million by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 114: Asia-Pacific DCS Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year

Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025

AUSTRALIA

Table 115: DCS Market in Australia: Recent Past, Current and

Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period

2018-2025

Table 116: Australian DCS Historic Market Analysis in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 117: Australian DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 118: DCS Market in Australia: Annual Sales Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025

Table 119: Australian DCS Market in Retrospect in US$ Million

by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 120: DCS Market Share Distribution in Australia by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

INDIA

Table 121: Indian DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 122: Indian DCS Historic Market Review by Segment in US$

Million: 2009-2017

Table 123: DCS Market in India: Percentage Share Breakdown of

Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 124: Indian DCS Market Quantitative Demand Analysis in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 125: DCS Market in India: Summarization of Historic

Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for 2009-2017

Table 126: Indian DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

SOUTH KOREA

Table 127: DCS Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and

Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period

2018-2025

Table 128: South Korean DCS Historic Market Analysis in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 129: DCS Market Share Distribution in South Korea by

Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 130: DCS Market in South Korea: Recent Past, Current and

Future Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period

2018-2025

Table 131: South Korean DCS Historic Market Analysis in US$

Million by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 132: DCS Market Share Distribution in South Korea by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF ASIA-PACIFIC

Table 133: Rest of Asia-Pacific Market for DCS: Annual Sales

Estimates and Projections in US$ Million by Segment for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 134: DCS Market in Rest of Asia-Pacific: Historic Sales

Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period 2009-2017

Table 135: Rest of Asia-Pacific DCS Market Share Analysis by

Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 136: Rest of Asia-Pacific Demand Estimates and Forecasts

for DCS in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 137: Rest of Asia-Pacific DCS Market in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 138: DCS Market Share Shift in Rest of Asia-Pacific by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

LATIN AMERICA

Table 139: Latin American DCS Market Trends by Region/Country

in US$ Million: 2018-2025

Table 140: DCS Market in Latin America in US$ Million by

Region/Country: A Historic Perspective for the Period 2009-2017

Table 141: Latin American DCS Market Percentage Breakdown of

Sales by Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 142: Latin American DCS Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 143: DCS Historic Market Analysis in Latin America in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 144: Latin American DCS Market by Segment: Percentage

Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 145: Latin American Demand for DCS in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 146: DCS Market Review in Latin America in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 147: Latin American DCS Market Share Breakdown by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

ARGENTINA

Table 148: Argentinean DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in

US$ Million by Segment: 2018-2025

Table 149: DCS Market in Argentina in US$ Million by Segment: A

Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 150: Argentinean DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 151: Argentinean DCS Addressable Market Opportunity in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 152: DCS Market in Argentina: Summarization of Historic

Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017

Table 153: Argentinean DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

BRAZIL

Table 154: DCS Market in Brazil by Segment: Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million for the Period 2018-2025

Table 155: Brazilian DCS Historic Market Scenario in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 156: Brazilian DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 157: DCS Quantitative Demand Analysis in Brazil in US$

Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 158: Brazilian DCS Historic Market Review in US$ Million

by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 159: Brazilian DCS Market Share Analysis: A 17-Year

Perspective by End-Use for 2009, 2019, and 2025

MEXICO

Table 160: DCS Market in Mexico: Recent Past, Current and

Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the Period

2018-2025

Table 161: Mexican DCS Historic Market Analysis in US$ Million

by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 162: Mexican DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 163: DCS Market in Mexico: Annual Sales Estimates and

Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2018-2025

Table 164: Mexican DCS Market in Retrospect in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 165: DCS Market Share Distribution in Mexico by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF LATIN AMERICA

Table 166: Rest of Latin America DCS Market Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 167: DCS Market in Rest of Latin America by Segment: A

Historic Review in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 168: Rest of Latin America DCS Market Share Breakdown by

Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 169: Rest of Latin America DCS Latent Demand Forecasts in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 170: DCS Historic Demand Patterns in Rest of Latin

America by End-Use in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 171: DCS Market Share Breakdown in Rest of Latin America

by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

MIDDLE EAST

Table 172: The Middle East DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Region/Country: 2018-2025

Table 173: DCS Market in the Middle East by Region/Country in

US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 174: The Middle East DCS Market Share Breakdown by

Region/Country: 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 175: The Middle East DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts

in US$ Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 176: The Middle East DCS Historic Market by Segment in

US$ Million: 2009-2017

Table 177: DCS Market in the Middle East: Percentage Share

Breakdown of Sales by Segment for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 178: The Middle East DCS Market Quantitative Demand

Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 179: DCS Market in the Middle East: Summarization of

Historic Demand Patterns in US$ Million by End-Use for

2009-2017

Table 180: The Middle East DCS Market Share Analysis by

End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

IRAN

Table 181: Iranian Market for DCS: Annual Sales Estimates and

Projections in US$ Million by Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 182: DCS Market in Iran: Historic Sales Analysis in US$

Million by Segment for the Period 2009-2017

Table 183: Iranian DCS Market Share Analysis by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 184: Iranian Demand Estimates and Forecasts for DCS in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 185: Iranian DCS Market in US$ Million by End-Use:

2009-2017

Table 186: DCS Market Share Shift in Iran by End-Use: 2009 VS

2019 VS 2025

ISRAEL

Table 187: Israeli DCS Market Estimates and Forecasts in US$

Million by Segment: 2018-2025

Table 188: DCS Market in Israel in US$ Million by Segment: A

Historic Review for the Period 2009-2017

Table 189: Israeli DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 190: Israeli DCS Addressable Market Opportunity in US$

Million by End-Use: 2018-2025

Table 191: DCS Market in Israel: Summarization of Historic

Demand in US$ Million by End-Use for the Period 2009-2017

Table 192: Israeli DCS Market Share Analysis by End-Use: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

SAUDI ARABIA

Table 193: Saudi Arabian DCS Market Growth Prospects in US$

Million by Segment for the Period 2018-2025

Table 194: DCS Historic Market Analysis in Saudi Arabia in US$

Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 195: Saudi Arabian DCS Market by Segment: Percentage

Breakdown of Sales for 2009, 2019, and 2025

Table 196: Saudi Arabian Demand for DCS in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 197: DCS Market Review in Saudi Arabia in US$ Million by

End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 198: Saudi Arabian DCS Market Share Breakdown by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Table 199: DCS Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 200: United Arab Emirates DCS Historic Market Analysis in

US$ Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 201: DCS Market Share Distribution in United Arab

Emirates by Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 202: DCS Market in the United Arab Emirates: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by End-Use for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 203: United Arab Emirates DCS Historic Market Analysis in

US$ Million by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 204: DCS Market Share Distribution in United Arab

Emirates by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

REST OF MIDDLE EAST

Table 205: DCS Market in Rest of Middle East: Recent Past,

Current and Future Analysis in US$ Million by Segment for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 206: Rest of Middle East DCS Historic Market Analysis in

US$ Million by Segment: 2009-2017

Table 207: Rest of Middle East DCS Market Share Breakdown by

Segment: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 208: DCS Market in Rest of Middle East: Annual Sales

Estimates and Forecasts in US$ Million by End-Use for the

Period 2018-2025

Table 209: Rest of Middle East DCS Market in Retrospect in US$

Million by End-Use: 2009-2017

Table 210: DCS Market Share Distribution in Rest of Middle East

by End-Use: 2009 VS 2019 VS 2025

AFRICA

Table 211: African DCS Market Estimates and Projections in US$

Million by Segment: 2018 to 2025

Table 212: DCS Market in Africa by Segment: A Historic Review

in US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 213: African DCS Market Share Breakdown by Segment: 2009

VS 2019 VS 2025

Table 214: African DCS Latent Demand Forecasts in US$ Million

by End-Use: 2018 to 2025

Table 215: DCS Historic Demand Patterns in Africa by End-Use in

US$ Million for 2009-2017

Table 216: DCS Market Share Breakdown in Africa by End-Use:

2009 VS 2019 VS 2025



IV. COMPETITION



ABB GROUP

AZBIL CORPORATION

EMERSON ELECTRIC

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

HITACHI LTD.

HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL

METSO CORPORATION

ROCKWELL AUTOMATION

SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC SA

SIEMENS AG

TOSHIBA INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

YOKOGAWA ELECTRIC CORPORATION



V. CURATED RESEARCH

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DENVER  A suburban Denver police officer who admitted to drinking after he was found passed out in his patrol car will not be prosecuted for drunken driving because of a lack of evidence that the district attorney on Thursday blamed on police giving him special treatment.

In announcing his decision not to prosecute Officer Nate Meier, 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler said the polices decision to treat the March 29 incident as a medical case rather than a DUI investigation  despite some officers smelling alcohol  prevented him from having the evidence he needed to convince a jury to convict him. He said police actions did not amount to a cover up because evidence was not destroyed or hidden but he said their actions were a couple of blocks from one.

I do think he beat the system. I just think it was part of the system that helped him do it, Brauchler said of his decision, which was first reported by KCNC-TV.

Tests done after Meier was taken to a hospital by ambulance showed he was significantly intoxicated with a blood alcohol level of 0.43, Brauchler said. Meier later told internal police investigators that he had been drinking vodka before driving.

However, since the blood tests were done for medical reasons and not as part of a criminal DUI investigation they are protected by medical privacy laws and could not be used at a trial, Brauchler said. The internal affairs admissions could also not be used under legal precedent barring the use of compelled statements from law enforcement officers during investigations by their departments, he said.

Brauchler said his decision not to prosecute Meier, who was demoted and suspended, had nothing to do with him being a police officer, pointing to 13 cases in which he has pursued drunken driving charges against law enforcement officers, including several from Aurora, since he took office in 2012. He also said he has experienced great cooperation from Aurora police  the largest police department in his district  in the past, and believes this case was an aberration.

Interim Aurora police Chief Vanessa Wilson said she understood Brauchlers frustration and said the case was not handled correctly.

However, she said the officers who responded did not try to cover up what happened, noting that their observations of smelling alcohol were recorded in reports, and that they were following the commands of the deputy chief in treating the case as a medical issue.

With the district attorneys investigation complete, Wilson said she will request an internal affairs investigation into the deputy chiefs decisions.

Since taking over as leader of the department Jan. 1, Wilson said she has ordered that she be contacted whenever there are cases where police are suspected of using drugs or alcohol and for those cases to be immediately treated as criminal investigations so evidence can be collected in time. Once evidence is collected, she said those cases will then be passed on to an outside agency to continue the investigation.

Former U.S. attorney John Walsh is also conducting a review of the case at the request of city officials. The probe was announced in December and the findings will be made public.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 21:34:41|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China on Friday urged certain individuals in the United States and Taiwan region to stop all political hype and manipulation using the epidemic as an excuse.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at an online news briefing when commenting on claims by relevant department of Taiwan that the mainland has provided the World Health Organization (WHO) with incorrect information about Taiwan's epidemic situation.

She was also commenting on U.S. allegation that WHO needs to engage in direct contact with Taiwan's public health department regarding the response to the epidemic.

According to Hua, since the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the National Health Commission (NHC), attaching high importance to Taiwan compatriots' health, has kept the region informed with timely updates with a view to strengthening cross-strait technical exchange to jointly tackle the epidemic. It has shared with Taiwan 16 technical documents covering, among others, diagnostic and treatment solutions, prevention and control plans, guidelines on medical protective gear's scope of use as well as the virus' genome sequence and how this information was obtained.

With regard to Taiwan compatriots in the mainland confirmed to be infected with the virus, Hua said Chinese mainland has been feeding instant information to Taiwan, sharing latest developments and tracing close contacts.

"Upon verification with NHC, as of 10:00 February 7, Chinese mainland has updated Taiwan altogether 42 times on the epidemic and Taiwan has sent the mainland its 19th update. The statistics on Taiwan that the NHC reports to the WHO is based on information provided by Taiwan," said the spokesperson.

Hua reiterated that the WHO is a special UN agency consisting of sovereign states. Taiwan's participation in the activities of international organizations such as the WHO must be arranged through cross-strait consultations under the one-China principle.

According to arrangements between China and the WHO, medical and health experts from Taiwan can attend WHO technical meetings and WHO experts can travel to Taiwan to conduct research or provide assistance when such needs arise. The Taiwan region has timely access to information on global public health emergencies released by the WHO and information can also flow readily the other way.

With these arrangements in place, Taiwan is able to cope promptly and effectively with local or global public health emergencies, the spokesperson said.
ALTON  Two Democratic Congressional candidates are in disagreement over a proposed debate schedule.

On Wednesday, campaign representatives for Ray Lenzi, a candidate for Illinois 12th Congressional District, announced a calendar of 12 debates  including ones in Alton and Edwardsville  with fellow Democrat Joel Funk. The two will face off in the March 17 Democratic primary for the right to face U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, in the Nov. 3 election.

On Thursday, campaign representatives for Funk said he has not agreed to debates as announced by Lenzi. Funks campaign said he has agreed to participate in a Feb. 12 debate in Fairview Heights and a March 8 candidates forum hosted by the Macedonia Baptist Church in East St. Louis. A Carbondale event is also being discussed, they said.

I welcome the chance to discuss our candidacy and the issues facing Southern Illinois with Ray (Lenzi) and the voters, said Funk in a released statement.

I want there to be at least one more debate on the schedule in the southern part of the district so voters there can hear from us, he said. But we have reached the point where people are wasting time trying to make many debates happen rather than do at least one more good one that people will be able to come and participate in.

After the mess in Iowa and the need to show that Illinois can do it right and we have a diverse and engaged voting base, this behavior isnt helpful, and it isnt productive, Funk said.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro sparked controversy with the introduction of a bill that could see the start mining operations in the Amazon Rainforest. In a controversial statement, Bolsonaro called it his 'dream' and said he wants to see it 'come true' while Sonia Guajajara of the Brazilian Indigenous People's Assembly said that 'his dream is our nightmare'.

Slamming the President Bolsonaro for his prejudice, Guajajara further said that far-right Brazilian government's new moves can also lead to the 'extermination' of indigenous groups in the Latin American nation.

Read - Brazil Tourism Board 'by Mistake' Shares Tourist's Social Media Post About Being Robbed

The bill proposed by Bolsonaro on February 5 would not only allow mining but also farming and hydroelectric power projects that were previously prohibited in the protected regions of the world's largest rainforest.

The dissatisfaction further grew among the indigenous groups as the Brazillian government appointed a former evangelical missionary, Ricardo Lopes Dias, to the head the government department responsible for the protection of isolated groups in the country which is also home to 100 uncontacted indigenous tribes.

Read - Lithuanian Tourist Killed In Attack At Brazilian Beach

Bolsonaro's bill actions spark protests

The developments reportedly mark Bolsonaro's commitment to his two key groups of supporters -- the conservative Evangelical Christians and the Agrobusiness community. However, the announcement also fueled protests by indigenous groups.

According to international reports, in interviews with the Brazilian media, Dias has ensured that he would not harm the indigenous communities and would not 'evangelize' them. He rather asserted that he would be purely technical and also defended the indigenous groups. Dias further insisted that there has been prejudice against him because of his faith. However, activists, on the other hand, say that the new coordinator-general has not allayed their concerns keeping in consideration Dias' work in the Amazon in 1997-2007 as a member of the New Tribes nonprofit group.

Brazil officially accounts for 28 groups of isolated indigenous people in the Amazon. However, the Brazilian President has said on numerous occasions that indigenous people should be integrated into the country's mainstream society as their protected lands pose a threat to the development and national sovereignty.

Read - Uber Drivers Are Not Employees, Can Detach Themselves Anytime: Brazil Court

Read - Indigenous Groups Protest Against Brazil Government's New Moves On Their Lands

(With agency inputs)

Brazil tables controversial bill allowing mining in Amazon Rainforest
Recreational marijuana is legal across Nevada, including Las Vegas, thanks to a law passed in July 2017. That means no medical marijuana card is required to access cannabis or buy marijuana products at dispensaries around Sin City. Unless you want to spend some time in Las Vegas detention center for violating some of Nevada drug laws, you should know the laws and understand how Nevada state marijuana laws will impact your stay in Las Vegas.

If youre new to marijuana or if its been a long time since youve consumed, take only a small amount, and start slow. If youre not sure which product you want to try, talk to a medical professional. Be especially careful with edibles, which can be potent.

Where to Enjoy Marijuana in Las Vegas

While many people enjoy marijuana on the strip in Las Vegas, you and everyone visiting Las Vegas are technically not allowed to smoke or consume Mary Jane in public. Nor can you light up in your Lyft, taxi, or Uber. Most hotels prohibit smoking and charge as much as $2,000 in cleaning fees, and getting caught lighting up on the strip could lead to a $600 fine. Airbnb 420 friendly style accommodations are popular choices for people looking for pot-friendly lodging. Also check out BudandBreakfast.com.

Prior to the start of lounges very recently, consumption of cannabis was only allowed in private homes. For this reason, other discrete forms of consumption other than smoking are extremely popular. Think vape pens, disposable cartridges, edibles, etc.

The Grove is the closest dispensary to McCarran International Airport, if you are flying into LAS. There are many dispensaries available throughout Las Vegas. Before you go, check with the dispensary you will be going to regarding what kind of payment they accept, as many only accept cash.

Cannabis tourism is also a growing business, allowing you to discover the best pot strains and marijuana product available on the Las Vegas Strip. Some attractions offer Brew and Buds tours, and behind the scenes exposure to companies and their activities pertaining to marijuana. These tours are very educational, allowing students to observe grow operations, dispensary visits and more. The first pot consumption Lounge, NuWu Cannabis Marketplace opened in Nevada in October 2019 and offers a tasting room complete with pre-rolls, bowls, pipes a marijuana-infused beer.

What you Need to Buy Marijuana in Nevada

To purchase cannabis for recreational purposes in Las Vegas, you must be 21 years old with a valid government-issued ID, drivers license or passport (or 18 years old with a medical marijuana card. It must be current and valid (not expired) and scannable. A medical marijuana card is not necessary, but will allow you to buy stronger product, and avoid retail excise tax (about 10% of the purchase price).

Without a medical marijuana card, you can buy up to an ounce of marijuana, or up to 1/8th of an ounce of concentrates (shatter, crumble, wax, oils, etc,). If you are a medical patient, you can buy up to 2.5 ounces within a 14-day period. Recreational purchases are not tracked, so in theory you could be an ounce at one dispensary, go to another dispensary across the street and buy another ounce, and so on.

Staying Safe

When it comes to operating a vehicle, marijuana is treated similarly to alcohol. Dont consume marijuana and drive, and stay safe while you are consuming marijuana. High driving is considered a DUI in all states, including Nevada. An open cannabis container is treated the same as an open alcohol container.

In Las Vegas, you have plenty of options to purchase pot from legal dispensaries. As long as you purchase put legally and enjoy it safely, and do not sell to anyone (including friends and acquaintances) you will have no issues.

If you need information about marijuana laws in Las Vegas, you can contact Nixk Wooldridge at LV Criminal Defense, 400 S. 7th St. #401, Las Vegas NV 89101, (702) 623-6362.
- South Sudan has initiated plans of opening up bids with respect to the country's oil and gas reserves

- The bidding process is expected to begin in March 2020 and plans are in place to ensure the best companies sail through

- Sudan is the world's most oil-dependent nation and the natural resource accounts for almost all of its exports

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

South Sudan will host its first ever oil and gas bidding round in March 2020, YEN.com.gh has learned.

This comes after Sudan dissolves the central bank board as well as 11 other state-owned banks, in a bid to dismantle toppled president, Omar al-Bashirs regime.

Sudan, the most oil-dependent nation in the world, has oil accounting for almost all of its exports and about 60% of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

South Sudan president, Salva Kiir Source: netbuzzafrica.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mercedes-Benz drops photo of its new super camper van; yet to release price

South Sudans petroleum minister, Daniel Awow Chuang, said the move is a plan to accelerate the economy and an environmental audit into the bidding process has already started.

Per a report by Business Insider, he added that companies that express interest in the process need to prove themselves as there would be a thorough evaluation process.

Chuang went on to say that in August 2019, the country discovered the the Adar oil field in Block 3, containing more than 37 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Presently, the ministry is collecting data to make things easier for investors in the oil sector.

In other news, YEN.com.gh has learned that Kenya has started work on Africas first hybrid power plant which costs $145 million.

Information available shows that the project is the result of the combined efforts of the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) the Meru County Government and global renewable energy developers, Windlab.

Described as the Meru County Energy Park, the project is expected to be a large scale facility that combines wind, solar PV and battery storage.

When completed, the plant is expected to produce a total of 80MW of power to serve over 200,000 households.

It is also expected to have 20 wind turbines and over 40,000 solar panels, Business Insider reports.

READ ALSO: Apple teams up with Genius to introduce video series into Apple Music

Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

Use the comments section below to share your views on this story. Do you have a story to share or you have information for us? Get featured on YEN.com.gh. Message us on Facebook or Instagram

Source: YEN.com.gh
Lidl Ireland has been ordered to pay 17,000 in compensation for demoting a former logistics manager at a distribution hub to a desk clerk post.

The Labour Court has ordered German discount giant Lidl to pay James Murphy the 17,000 after finding that the decision to demote him was "disproportionate and unfair".

The company demoted Mr Murphy to the desk job after making a finding of gross misconduct concerning him allegedly concealing a three-litre carton of milk, with the intention of stealing it from the firm, and allegedly falsifying work hours over a four-week period. Mr Murphy made no admission of having removed any item from the trolley at any stage and added that he lost both of his swipe cards when recording his hours at work. Lidl initially imposed a final written warning sanction on Mr Murphy and opted not to dismiss him due to his unblemished record with the company over 16 years. The decision to demote Mr Murphy to the desk job was made at appeal stage. Deputy chairman of the Labour Court Alan Haugh found that Lidl had not justified its decision to increase, at the appeal stage, the original sanction imposed. Mr Murphy had been promoted on five occasions to rise to the post of deputy logistics manager at Lidl's distribution centre in Newbridge, Kildare.
BLANTYRE, Malawi - Malawis president and electoral commission on Friday filed appeals against this weeks court ruling that nullified last years presidential election and ordered a new vote within 150 days because of widespread irregularities.

President Peter Mutharika earlier this week indicated he would appeal the ruling in favour of the two leading opposition candidates. He called it a serious miscarriage of justice and attempt to circumvent democracy and the will of the people.

Agnes Patemba, the registrar for the High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal, confirmed to The Associated Press that she had received the appeals by Mutharika and the electoral commission.

It was just the second time a presidential election in Africa has been overturned by the courts, following the one in Kenya in 2017.

The date of the new election depends on a meeting of parliament that begins Monday.

The appeal filed by Malawis electoral commission, seen by the AP, argues that the judges erred in almost all their findings against the electoral body.

The new filing asks that Mondays ruling be set aside. A sworn statement by commission chairwoman Jane Ansah who supports the appeal, says the constitutional Court overstepped its powers by ordering parliament to convene within 21 days to amend the Electoral Act.

Ansahs statement also asserts that the budget for a new election is estimated at $60 million, and she argued that a lot of money could be wasted unless enforcement of the courts judgment is suspended.

She indicated that a new election could be possible by Oct. 28 instead.

Ansah also faulted the courts order that parliament look into the competence and conduct of electoral commissioners and staff, saying the court has already criticized their conduct.
 Close Irish election: When is Ireland going to the polls and what are the key issues?

Ireland is voting on Saturday 8 February in an unpredictable general election which looks set to shake up the political consensus in the country.

As current Taoiseach Leo Varadkar hopes to retain power for his Fine Gael party, he is facing opposition from Fianna Fail, and an unexpected surge in popularity for Sinn Fein - who have overtaken both of the traditional two big parties in recent days.

The big issues of this campaign have been the crises in housing and health, much as Varadkar had hoped to be rewarded for his work on Brexit and the economy. In recent days, media focus has quickly shifted to Sinn Fein's fitness for office, as their popularity shows no signs of waning.

Follow our live blog of all the events in these crucial final days below:
From Tuesday to Saturday, February 25 to 29, some 8,000 librarians, publishers, and vendors will descend on the Music City Center in the great city of Nashville for the 2020 Public Library Association conference. PLA is the largest division of the American Library Association, and in recent years its biennial conference has become one of the library communitys most popular and well-attended events, with a reputation for strong programming and great speakers. And the 2020 conferencethe first of a new decadeis certainly set up to be a great one.

Were very excited, says Ramiro Salazar, director of the San Antonio Public Library and the current PLA president, pointing to some A-list keynote speakers, a packed professional education series with more than 120 sessions (including the return of the popular Spark Talks series), and hundreds of authors (including Erik Larson and local resident Ann Patchett) participating throughout the conference. Theres also the usual slate of luncheons, receptions, and a bustling exhibits hall, with some 900 publishers and vendors expected to be on hand.

Nashville Skyline

The city of Nashville, one of Americas most vibrant, storied cultural capitals, will star as well at this years PLA. Long ago dubbed the Athens of the South, Nashville is so much more than country music, Salazar says. The city is so dynamic. When you visit, you can see all the construction, all the new buildings. Its growing like crazy. They have so many people coming in, including new immigrants to this country.

Nashville Public Library director Kent Oliver says he and his staff are looking forward to hosting the profession in his hometown. First, the PLA programs Ive seen so far look incredible, he notes. But we are very excited about the opportunity for people to see our library system and some of the special things that are going on here.

Oliver has a lot to share with his fellow public librarians (see What Makes Nashville Tick, p. 14). The NPL, which serves more than 700,000 people through 21 locations, holds a world-class collection. It also houses a national treasure in its Civil Rights Room. And the librarys community programming is a model for public libraries across the nation. Perhaps most notable is its Limitless Libraries program, a resource-sharing collaboration between the library and Metro Nashville Public Libraries that in 2019a decade after it was charteredcirculated 131,000 items to 80,000 students, teachers, and librarians in 126 schools in the city, while saving taxpayers nearly $500,000 in purchasing costs.

In 2017, NPLs innovative programs and resources earned it the Gale/Library Journal Library of the Year Award. In announcing the award, Library Journal publisher Rebecca Miller praised the librarys vision. The Nashville Public Library stands out for its range of services, innovation in partnerships, and commitment to evolving as its community does, while keeping a keen eye on whats important from the past.

Librarians head to Nashville at an interesting time. In 2020 there will be a high-stakes national election, and also a national census, which libraries will be very involved with. Technology and changing media use continues to change the profession. Print books remain stable, but access to digital media and e-books has become a contentious subject. The ALA, meanwhile, is retooling for the next generation of library service with a lengthy effort to gather input from members, and the association will have a new executive director, Tracie D. Hall, to oversee the effort. Through it all, libraries continue to do a remarkable job in their communities, taking a leading role on educational, literacy, and social and economic justice initiatives, offering an ever-wider and popular array of programming, and updating their spaces to include everything from recording studios and makerspaces to language classes and immigration services.

Indeed, while some pundits continue to question the future of public libraries, libraries are working to increase their relevance. And in January, a Gallup poll reported that visiting the library remains the most common cultural activity Americans engage in, by farthey go to libraries more than they attend movies, sporting events, or concerts. But as any librarian will tell you, the only constant is change, even for award-winning libraries like Nashvilles. As I think back on 2019, an old truth has made itself apparent to me yet again, Oliver wrote in NPLs recently released 2019 annual report. As Nashville changes, so does its library.

Keynotes

The 2020 PLA conference will feature some powerful keynote speakers bookending a packed professional program. The highly anticipated opening keynote will be delivered by Stacey Abrams (Wednesday, 23:30 p.m., Music City Center Auditorium). Abrams shot to national prominence after winning the 2018 Democratic nomination for governor of Georgia, the first black woman to become the gubernatorial nominee for a major party in the United States. In that election, she garnered more votes than any other Democrat in the states history, losing by only 50,000 votes. Before running for governor, Abrams served 11 years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as minority leader, and she has founded multiple organizations devoted to voting rights, training and hiring young people of color, and tackling social issues at both the state and national level.

In June, Abrams is set to publish her latest book, Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America (Holt). The book will draw on extensive national research from Abramss voter rights organization, Fair Fight Action, and her 2020 census effort, Fair Count, as well as, according to the publisher page, moving and personal anecdotes from her own life, to explore how our modern political system is suppressing the voices of millions, and how Americans can reverse this troubling trend.

The closing keynote speaker also promises to be a hitthe great Samantha Bee (Saturday, February 29, noon1 p.m. in the Music City Center Auditorium ). In 2003, Bee joined Comedy Centrals The Daily Show on its Best F#@king News Team, leaving in 2015 after 12 years. Bee has gone on to establish herself as one of the sharpest comedic voices on television with her late-night show, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Bee is the author of a 2010 collection of personal essays, I Know I Am, but What Are You? (Simon & Schuster), and she is currently working on a middle grade novel for Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Big Ideas, Spark Talks

PLAs popular Big Ideas speaker series is back for 2020. The talks, which conference organizers pitch as the PLAs version of TED Talks, will kick off each day with an inspiring speaker sure to challenge attendees minds and spark their creativity.

The Big Ideas series (all in the Music City Convention Center Grand Ballroom) begins with Bettina Love (Thursday, 89 a.m.). Love is an award-winning author and associate professor of educational theory and practice at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the ways in which urban youth negotiate hip-hop music and culture to form social, cultural, and political identities, and how teachers and schools working with parents and communities can build communal, civically engaged schools rooted in intersectional social justice with the goal of equitable classrooms. Her most recent book is We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (Beacon).

Next up in the series is Haben Girma (Friday, 89 a.m.). Girma, the first deaf and blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, is a powerful advocate for equal opportunities for people with disabilities. In 2013, Barack Obama named her a White House Champion of Change, and in 2016, she earned a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Today, Girma travels the world teaching organizations the benefits of fully accessible products and services. Shes also the author of the bestselling book Haben: The Deafblind Woman Who Conquered Harvard Law (Twelve).

The Big Ideas series wraps up with award-winning journalist, entrepreneur, and television host Soledad OBrien (Saturday, 89 a.m.). As the host of the Sunday morning syndicated political show Matter of Fact with Soledad OBrien, she has established herself as one of the most recognized names in broadcasting. Shes also a devoted champion of diversity and the producer of the Emmy-winning documentary series Black in America, as well as the documentary Latino in America. OBrien is the founder of PowHERful, a foundation that mentors and funds college tuition and expenses for young women.

Looking for an energetic close to your day at PLA? The 2020 PLA program will once again feature two days of its popular Spark Talks. The presenters are librarians and PLA members who will have only five minutes each to ignite some new ideas inspired by their work and their personal passion; and if speakers go over five minutes, they get the big hook. Both sessions are scheduled for the Music City Center Hall A2. As always, check the PLA program online for last-minute changes.

Among the various speakers, Spark Talks I (Thursday, 5:156:15 p.m.) will feature Megan Emery (The Healing Library), who will discuss how David Bowies lifes work reads like a playbook of how to be a good librarian; Rebecca Ballard (Oconee County [S.C.] Library), who offers Five Minute Self-Care Techniques for stressed out public librarians; and Betha Gutsche (OCLC WebJunction), who will talk about how libraries can close the justice gap and help patrons who turn to the library for help with life crises.

Among the topics on tap in the Sparks Talks II session (Friday, 5:156:15 p.m.): Anne Heidemann (Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries [Mich.]) will offer tips on how libraries can use traditional ways of knowing and being to break free of colonialist library organizational systems that can reinforce a damaging worldview; and Julie Jurgens (Mount Prospect [Ill.] Public Library) will (in five minutes, mind you!) offer a take on a topic all libraries face these days: scope creep. Her take: Libraries contain multitudesthey are repositories of information, community centers, and gathering places. But what happens when libraries try to do too much with not enough help?

Go to the Library

PLA offers a packed, high-quality program. And there are plenty of attractions in and around Nashville. But youll be missing out if you visit Nashville and dont make it to the library.

While in town, find some time to check out the NPL main library. Or take advantage of a PLA-organized branch tour. You can join your colleagues on Wednesday, 9 a.m.1:30 p.m., for a tour with stops at the Bellevue, Madison, and Looby branches. The tour is $50 and includes coffee, snacks, and a boxed lunch (check out the PLA website to sign up and for more details). We look forward to seeing you in Nashville.

See below for more on Nashville PLA 2020.

PLA 2020: Ingram Rolls Out the Red Carpet

The Nashville institution is eager to welcome the citys first major publishing conference

PLA 2020: Landing Religion Books In Libraries

Librarians in Nashville reveal best practices for religion publishers to reach the library market

PLA 2020: General Trade Publishers Find Their Groove in Nashville

The interplay of music and literature fuels hometown presses

PLA 2020: Nashville's Killer Fairs and Festivals

Turning a spotlight onto the literary fairs and fesitvals in Music City.

PLA 2020: A Nashville Chef's Recipe for Healing

A Nashville chef serves up a recipe for healing

PLA 2020: Indie Booksellers Keep Nashville Humming

After losing Davis-Kidd Booksellers, local bookstores are celebrating an indie resurgence

PLA 2020: Nashville's Library Is What Makes It Tick

How the Nashville Public Library inspires reading, advances learning, and connects communities in Language City, U.S.A.

PLA 2020: Nashville Encourages Its Teens to Create

Nashvilles take on teen makerspaces puts an emphasis on technology and the arts, including spoken word, creative writing, and audio and music production
New Delhi, Feb 7 : In a major embarrassment for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the ruling BJP, a word has been expunged from his speech in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday when he launched a blistering attack on the opposition.

Replying to Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Modi attacked the opposition parties for protesting against National Population Register (NPR). In the middle of the speech, one of his words was found to be objectionable by the opposition which has been expunged now by the Chair.

This is not the first time that Modi's comments have been found to be objectionable. In 2018, PM's remarks on Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad had also been expunged.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Prime Minister had then made a remark that involved a wordplay on the Congress leader's name.

The Rajya Sabha Chairman directs the House secretariat to expunge unparliamentary or objectionable words used by the members during the course of discussion or debate.
Late last month, the cooking website Food52 announced that the Piglet Tournament of Cookbooks, their decade-old feature pitting 16 competitors against one another in an NCAA-style bracketed contest, was no more. The last few years in particular, weve seen that readership has fallen quite a bit, the editors wrote, announcing that they planned to replace the yearly contest with a single competition asking community members to identify the best cookbooks of all time. (Disclosure: Slate has a reprint partnership with Food52.)

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Well, that stinks, read the top comment on the sites announcement, and we foodies here at Slate have to agree. Over the years, the Piglet, which asks chefs and other food-friendly personalities to judge the relative merits of cookbooks that sometimes had almost nothing in common except their publication dates, has produced some exceptional writing on the cookbook genre. Andanecdotally, at least!its moved books off the shelves and onto readers kitchen counters. My Slate colleague Daniel Schroeder, a Food52 reader currently mourning the death of the competition, told me that the Piglet was his entry into the pocket-draining world of cookbook consumption. Before the Piglet, I didnt really think of the cookbook as more than a detailed collection of recipes, he recalled. I hadnt considered them a cohesive text that conveyed a sense of food and atmosphere. For somebody like my colleague Mark Morgioni, a Piglet fan since 2013 who has purchased multiple books via the contest, buying a winner could lead to a whole new world of kitchen endeavor. Thomas Kellers Bouchon Bakery Cookbook, which made it to Round 3 in 2013, changed the way I bake, Morgioni told me over DM, convincing me to buy a scale and cluttering my cabinet with an array of different flours and mix-ins. (Thats the good kind of clutter, of course.)

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Cookbooks, as any bewildered browser can tell you, vary tremendously in approach and quality. The randomness of the Piglets bracket system really worked to highlight this fact. The judges being asked to compare Giulia Meluccis I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti to David Lebovitzs The Sweet Life in Paris replicated the experience of the cooking-curious consumer, who might have a bit of money to invest in something new, but no idea how to pick. The judges were sometimes illustriousPadma Lakshmi (Bottom of the Pot beats Season, 2019), Gwyneth Paltrow (Canal House Cooking beats The Big Sur Bakery Cookbook, 2010), Bill Buford (Brooks Headleys Fancy Desserts beats My Paris Kitchen, 2015), Nora Ephron (Seven Fires beats Canal House Cooking, 2010). Their entries often felt vital and ad hoc in a way other celebrity writing isnt. Its also pretty funny, now, to look back at the comments on Paltrows 2010 entry, and see readers wondering why anyone would ask this actress to review cookbooks. How times have changed!

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But I most liked the entries from less glitzy names that added creative touches: Kate Schelters (Night + Market beats BraveTart, 2018), which incorporated her original illustrations for each book, or Adam Roberts (Brooks Headleys Fancy Desserts beats A Kitchen in France, 2015), a critique in graphic novel form that handily illustrated his argument about the two books difference in tone. Other entries were full of unexpected moments. Ryan Sutton (Heritage beats Prune, 2015) described pouring hot water on each beautiful cookbook, to see how their coffee-table pages would hold up in the kitchen. Former Slate editor David Plotz (Samarkand over Taste of Persia, 2017) ended his comparison of the two meals he cooked with a little story about Tamerlanes bloody 1383 conquest of Persia. (Classic Plotz!)

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The best Piglet reviews helped me articulate what I like, and dont like, about cookbooks. And the enthusiastic commenters responses to each critique were addictively lively. Every year, a few reviewers came under fire for not cooking enough of the recipes from each of the competitors; most years, one of the cookbook authors, or their relatives (!), would appear in the comments to defend themselves or their kin; every year, a commenter or two would shake their head with frustration at the very idea of comparing such dissimilar books. I learned so much from reading the Piglet comments about why people cook, how they evaluate recipes, and what they expect from cookbooks. (I also learned to always check out new cookbooks from the library, before buyingan excellent tip!)

Ah, well. Maybe such a bizarre beast was too good for this world. The Piglet is dead; long live the Piglet.

Food52 has a roundup here, with links to the final entries in each years contest and recipes from the winners.
She was spotted enjoying dinner in the capital with her husband Kanye West.

And when Kim Kardashian arrived at her hotel in London, she was present with a box of designer gifts, including a pair of 990 knee-high blue boots from her pal Victoria Beckham.

The reality star, 39, took to Instagram Stories to share a glimpse of the presents he received from Victoria and big-name designer Burberry including boots, a bag and an array of cosmetics.

Thrilled: Kim Kardashian was presented with some lavish designer gifts from designer Victoria Beckham on Thursday, following her arrival in London (pictured together in November 2019)

In the posts, Kim was delighted to receive some gifts from her friend, including a pair of statement blue peeptoe knee-high boots.

The shoes were previously worn by Victoria in a stylish Instagram snap, teamed with a leather pencil skirt and red polo neck jumper.

Kim also shared a video of the package she received with Victoria which included a slew of cosmetics from her own range.

Look! The reality star took to Instagram Stories to share a glimpse of the presents he received from Victoria

Thrilled: Alongside her gifts from Victoria, Kim was also delivered a box of presents from big-name designer Burberry, after she enjoyed dinner with the boss Riccardo Tisci

Quirky: Among the presents were a pair of blue peep-toe knee-high boots from Victoria's own designer range

Grand gifts: Kim was surprised with some Burberry presents from Riccardo Tisci, before she and husband Kanye West joined the designer for dinner

The reality star was also surprised with some Burberry presents from Riccardo Tisci, before she and husband Kanye West joined the designer for dinner.

Both presents also included beautifully handwritten notes from her friends to welcome her into the British capital.

Kim and Victoria previously met in November 2019 at her beauty launch party in Beverly Hills.

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star may have journeyed to London to observe some of Burberry's designs ahead of London Fashion Week, which kicks off on Friday 14th February.

Looking good: Victoria had previously shared a glimpse of herself wearing the same boots in a stylish ensemble on Instagram

Mr and Mrs: Kim also displayed her jaw-dropping curves in a sheer black knitted dress as she stepped out with husband Kanye for dinner in London

Kim jetted to London after travelling to New York to promote the launch of her Skims shapewear range, and also made an appearance on Good Morning America to chat about motherhood and her recent work in criminal justice reform.

Speaking about her new business venture, Kim said: 'Knowing that a bad choice changed her whole life really made me feel for her and understand her.'

'I would always cut up my own shape wear. I would dye them in a sink and put tea bags and coffee bags to make them a darker skin tone.'

Showered with gifts: Kim jetted to London after travelling to New York to promote the launch of her Skims shapewear range

Kim then continued: 'So If I couldnt find shape wear to match my skin tone what is my daughter gonna find when she grows up and needs shape wear?

'I wanted to make a variety of a shape range that I didnt feel was out there on the marketplace, and Ive always worn shape wear so I just wanted to modernise it and make it a little bit more comfortable and durable.

'I'm so happy that everyone loves it because its my baby, I put so much into it.'
Government forces Thursday seized large parts of the key highway town of Saraqeb as they pushed an offensive in the last rebel enclave in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said.

Weeks of intensive aerial bombardment and a bruising ground offensive have emptied entire towns in the Idlib region and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes.

As Russia-backed regime forces chipped away at the jihadist-dominated region, 23 Syrian and foreign fighters were killed in pre-dawn Israeli strikes on targets south of Damascus where the Jewish state says arch foe Iran has a presence.

The battle for Saraqeb, which sits at the junction of two major highways coveted by the regime, came as Turkey sent reinforcements north of the town overnight, a day after Ankara warned pro-Damascus forces to back off.

After breaking into Saraqeb on Wednesday, Syrian regime forces on Thursday seized large sectors of the town after a day of heavy battles against rebels and jihadists, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

The Britain-based war monitor said the forces pushed back a "counter-offensive" by the opposition fighters in Saraqeb, a town of 110,000 residents now almost deserted following months of bombardment.

Syria's state news agency SANA confirmed the report saying government troops were carrying out "mopping up" operations as well as "dismantling mines and explosives" planted there by the rebels and jihadists.

The UN Security Council was due to meet on Thursday in New York at an emergency session following clashes this week between the Syrian and Turkish militaries. The UN envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, was to report on the situation in Idlib.

Tension between Ankara and Damascus mounted after Turkish and regime forces on Monday exchanged deadly fire in a rare escalation that killed more than 20 people on the two sides.

The uptick in bombardment of the Idlib region of some three million people has killed more than 300 civilians since mid-December, including 17 on Thursday, the Observatory said.

Ten of those killed on Thursday perished in a Russian air strike on the eastern outskirts of Idlib city, the monitor said.

The United Nations and aid groups have called for an immediate end to the violence, which has pushed around 586,000 people from their homes in two months.

- Erdogan warning -

Turkey, which has troops deployed in northwestern Syria where it backs the rebels, has repeatedly called on Damascus and its ally Russia to stop the offensive against Idlib.

More than half a million Syrian civilians have fled their homes in the past two months in the face of a blistering government assault on Syria's last major rebel bastion /  AFP

On Wednesday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan again demanded an end to the Syrian push into Idlib.

"If the regime does not pull back, Turkey will be obliged to take matters into its own hands," Erdogan told a meeting of ruling party lawmakers in Ankara, giving Syria until the end of the month to comply.

Early Thursday, Turkish troops arrived in the area of Taftanaz, some 16 kilometres (10 miles) north of Saraqeb, it said.

The Syrian army in a statement accused the Turks of obstructing its advance and "impeding it from completely stamping out the organised terrorism besieging civilians in Idlib province".

The Observatory also reported clashes Thursday north, west and south of Saraqeb, backed by Turkish artillery fire. Ankara did not confirm its involvement.

Under a 2018 deal with Moscow, Turkey has 12 observation posts in Idlib aimed at preventing a regime offensive.

The Damascus regime controls more than 70 per cent of Syrian territory and has repeatedly vowed to reclaim the entire country, including Idlib. It has taken a string of villages and towns in recent weeks.

The region, and nearby areas of Aleppo and Latakia provinces, are dominated by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadist group, led by members of the country's former Al-Qaeda franchise.

- Israeli air strikes -

Pre-dawn air strikes by Israel's military on Thursday killed 23 Syrian and foreign fighters.

Israeli tanks stand guard close to the armistice line with Syria on the strategic Golan Heights /  AFP

Three Iranians and seven Tehran-backed foreign fighters were killed near Kisweh south of the capital, according to the Observatory.

Eight Syrian air defence personnel meanwhile lost their lives in Mezzeh and Jisr Baghdad, west of the capital, the Britain-based war monitor said.

Five Syrian members of a pro-Iran group were killed in the Ezra area in the southern province of Daraa.

A Syrian army source quoted by state news agency SANA said air defences responded to two waves of Israeli strikes after midnight.

An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment on the strikes when contacted by AFP but the Jewish state has carried out repeated strikes in Syria since the civil war erupted, mainly targeting government forces and their Iranian and Hezbollah allies.

Syria's war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression of protests against President Bashar al-Assad.
LANSING, MICH. -- Boaters will see a new DNR program in action this summer at two Northern Michigan state harbors.

In the same spirit as the DNRs popular campground host program, the new harbor host program will instate volunteers to act as helpful guides for other boaters and perform some light housekeeping-type duties -- and theyll get a no-fee boat slip in return.

The pilot program will take place this summer at Straits State Harbor in Mackinaw City and Presque Isle State Harbor in Presque Isle, north of Alpena.

The initial call for volunteers proved so successful that all harbor host positions for 2020 are already filled, said Michelle Coss, who works in DNR fund and resource development.

We had an overwhelming amount of people apply, Coss said. Were really pleasantly surprised by how many folks are willing and wanting to do this.

Coss said the DNR has been wanting to create a harbor host program for some time now. She said the hope is for the hosts to act as the eyes and ears of the harbor after staff goes home, and serve sort of like concierges -- responsibilities may include providing local information, maintaining weather updates, assisting boaters in and out of slips, and the like.

The hope is that the program will expand to more state harbors in 2021, Coss said.

Its an added experience for the people that come to the harbors, to have that person they can lean on," she said. "It gives it a nice touch for people visiting Michigan: a host thats greeting them and helping out and answering questions about the area.

More information about the program can be found here on the DNRs website.

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How The Super-Power America Is Losing Teeth

"'Making America Regret Again' will be the new moniker if Donald Trump wins the election again. So far, America is now a laughing stock. The mighty nation on earth is running out of stock of democracy, truth, and all the ingredients of political decency".



By Jon Pen

(Pen at his creative best?)

'Making America Regret Again' will be the new moniker if Donald Trump wins the election again. So far, America is now a laughing stock. The mighty nation on earth is running out of stock of democracy, truth, and all the ingredients of political decency.

Donald John Trump is one reason. He has borrowed all the leaves from Afrocracy. He can lie, and it's OK. He can insult a woman, a child, a person with disability, an elder, a country, and even a continent. Yes, the one writing this is a Shitholean, according to Trump's Dictionary of Asshole Terms.

The United States of America can now steal election, and it's OK. As if that's not enough, the president, or a candidate for that matter, can invite a foreign government to help them steal for themselves their own election. And it is OK -- not yet an impeachable mistake.

The president can go and install a president in another country, or shoot DEAD a military commander of that enemy country. And they are right.

Their finance minister can dish out sanctions after sanctions on foreign counterparts. Yes, because they are corrupt and terroristic.

Friends of America, say, allies, can strangle and dismember all their journalists, or invade a neighbour. And that is fine. The only mistake they can be blamed for is how SHODDILY they have designed the cover up.

An American president can play a trump card of racism, fascism, name them..., but turns around to prescribe how to proscribe an African OR ARAB autocrat, for example, for practising tribalism and what not.

Indeed, a regime change can be effected, however the country is affected, because America says so. What Trump is blurring, the tendency for White supremacy in the White House, cannot accrue to an impeachable crime. The foxy PR goons can clear that accusation on Fox TV.

Their Senate majority are there to bulldoze any amount of evidence by the Left or pressure from the public. So the boss is thus shielded OFF from impeachment or harmful condemnation, OR SHAMEFUL DETERMINATION.

However, he has that Super Power's license (nonsense!) to issue a sanction decree on a foreign leader the next day for the same blunder on truth plunder.

From now on, given the litigious tragicomedy that has been performed on Donald Trump in vain by the HOUSE AND SENATE, the Super Man can now openly initiate a quid-pro-quo demand but cannot be told to quit that pro quo -- that something-for-something deal.

So long as it is in the interest of the American people, argue the Republicans, it cannot be a crime. And by all costs, they must maintain that status quo. In my poetic justice on President Trump, the whole chapter is called 'Dictatus Quo' (Trump In Nude Nuke Pukes).

For all the above and below reasons, USA, the policeman of the world, will have no more morality to punish anyone around the world. They have set a bad precedent by electing a mad president.

To sum it up, I once attempted to tell my children this fairytale. Once upon a time lived Gen-gen, the Great. He was a GOURMAND. He had no ethics, but loved to impose them. He had all his 32, but lost up to half of them. This is how General Gen-gen (or GEGEN) lost his teeth...!

Alas! I lost the story. How? Two of my kids were teething, so they barred me from detailing further the tooth-losing ordeals.

Like Trump and African leaders, it is a crime, which can be equated to treason, if not life in prison, to tell them the truth live and alive!

But by the end of the prolonged cover up, the truth shall set their victims free and send the perpetrators 'flee...'

*

QUOTE from the Dedication lines of this writer's poetry collection: 'Trump In Nude Nuke Pukes':

"To All The Victims Of

Manmade Disasters Except One;

The Puppet Traitor Of Humanity,

The Perpetrator With Immunity,

The Perpetuator Of Impunity
BANGKOK - A plane being towed to a Bangkok airport boarding gate came loose and ran into a ground vehicle Friday morning, killing a worker, an airport official said.

A second worker was injured when the loose cable towing the plane also rolled into the tractor, said Sumpun Kutranon, general manager at Don Mueang Airport.

Budget airline Nok Air had to replace its damaged plane for the passengers to board the flight to the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat.

The airline said an autopsy and an investigation into the cause of the accident would be conducted. It said the airline would offer assistance and compensation to the family of the dead worker.

Airport manager Sumpun said an initial investigation found that a tow bar had become unhooked.
New Tracker Follows Affordable Housing Efforts in Atlanta

New York Broadband Plan Takes Aim at Digital Divide

Missouri Bill Would Create Chief Data Officer Position for State

A new gov tech program aims to help local government fail. It sounds counterintuitive, but is actually a key part of innovation work in any sector.This program is a joint effort between the Centre for Public Impact and the Aspen Institute Center for Urban Innovation , a pair of nonprofit organizations in the gov tech support space. The organizations picked seven jurisdictions to be an inaugural class of what its calling failure foundries, and those jurisdictions are Kansas City, Mo.; Little Rock, Ark.; King County, Wash.; Seattle; Dallas; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C.Being a failure foundry means that these jurisdictions, which will be representing more than 20 different local government departments, will next attend workshops aimed at helping them get a better understanding of the barriers they face when it comes to learning from failures. The idea here, as in all innovation work, is that in order to find unprecedented solutions, stakeholders must be free to try things and also narrow down their ideas by determining what wont work.All of this is fairly standard in the private sector. In local government, where executive leadership is accountable to taxpayers and voters, the idea that government would ever be OK with undertaking work that does not yield major results is a difficult one to grasp, both for the public as well as for decision-makers.Thats why the ultimate goal of this new program is to help foster culture changes that will enable thinking of setbacks not as failures but as opportunities to learn instead. More information about the new program can be found online here As major cities across the country grapple with housing crises, Atlanta has created a new tool in its effort to provide affordable housing  a tracker that shows users the number of affordable housing units created in the city.Dubbed the Atlanta Housing Affordability Tracker, the new platform gauges both the number of affordable homes in the city as well as the amount of funds that have been committed to affordable housing projects. The data, of course, gets more granular than that, with the tracker allowing users to break down projects by type, funding sources or the ZIP codes in which they are located. Users can also view more information about individual projects, such as their locations, as well as the ratio of total units to affordable units.Moving forward, plans call for the data on the tracker to be updated quarterly, with other data sets such as private versus philanthropic funds being added to the interface.The tracker is being made possible by data from across a number of city agencies, including housing, city planning and others. A useful set of terms for those unfamiliar with housing jargon can be found on the citys website as well.New York Citys recently released Internet Master Plan is squarely aimed at bridging the digital divide in the nations largest city.In fact, when you open the plan up online, the first, biggest and most prominent line is a mission statement to do just that.All New Yorkers should have world-class connectivity, the plan reads, and the ability to use the Internet to its full potential. New York City has a plan to achieve that goal.A full version of the plan is available to any interested parties online. To sum it up, however, the plan contains a list of the citys goals for Internet and technology over the next decade. It also identifies potential partnerships and infrastructures necessary to bridge the digital divide, while at the same time offering a list of actionable steps to come next.The plan notes that achieving universal broadband will require lower-cost options for home and mobile service as well as no-cost access at computer centers, in public spaces, and through wireless corridors.Perhaps most importantly, the plan stands as a declaration by Americas largest city that fostering digital equity is the duty of local government, which is a value often under question in government, especially at the federal level. By virtue of its size and prominence, New York City is often a leader in the local government space. So, by New York laying out this vision, and potentially accomplishing it over time, it makes it much easier to envision smaller cities doing the same, or at least making digital inclusion a greater priority than it is today. New legislation that is currently in the Missouri Senate would create a state chief data officer position.The bill was introduced in January, and it seeks to codify the chief data officer as of August, giving the Missouri state government a full-time leader authorized to oversee each state agencys management of electronic data for purposes of evaluating appropriate management and security of the data, the bill reads .If the proposal is successful, Missouri would join an increasing number of states that have chief data officers or roughly equivalent positions. In fact, a recent analysis of the position by Government Technology found that as of January, more than half of states now have chief data officers. This marks a significant over the last count of the position, which was conducted in July of 2018 and found 21 states with the role.In fact, as the role has become more widespread, those who hold it have even formed a collaborative network to share tips, insights and best practices, a network that has been fittingly dubbed the State Chief Data Officers Network . The group even held an inaugural meeting in November in Washington, D.C.Whats especially interesting about the legislation in Missouri is that it also seeks to require data work from the various state agencies, essentially giving the eventual chief data officer the power to develop internal data policies, create a plan for responding to data breaches, adopt data collection standards, and more. In addition, state agencies would be required to identify types of data, the location of data, and appropriate levels of security for data, all of which would be communicated to the state chief data officer.
An international team of scientists has identified a protein which is strongly linked to the commonest cause of blindness in developed countries when its levels are raised in the blood.

The discovery is a major step forward in the understanding of age-related macular degeneration, which affects 1.5 million people in the UK alone.

The study, carried out by the team from Universities of Manchester, Cardiff, London and Nijmegen, and Manchester Foundation NHS Trust is published in Nature Communications.

The major funder was the Medical Research Council.

The protein, called FHR4, was found by the team to be present at higher levels in the blood of patients with AMD compared to individuals of a similar age without the disease.

The findings were confirmed in 484 patient and 522 control samples from two independent collections across Europe.

Analyses of eyes donated for research after life also revealed the FHR4 protein was present in the AMD-affected parts of the eye

FHR4 was shown by the team to activate part of the immune system -called the complement system; over activation is a major causal factor of AMD.

FHR4 is one of a group of proteins that regulate the complement system and the genes encoding these proteins are tightly clustered on chromosome 1, the largest human chromosome.

When the team investigated a set of genetic variants across the human genome, they found that genetic variants in this region on chromosome 1 determined the levels of FHR4 in the blood. And they found that the same genetic variants were associated with AMD.

Professor Paul Bishop and Professor Simon Clark, from the University of Manchester were part of the leadership team on the study.

Professor Bishop, who is also a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, said: "The combined protein and genetic findings provide compelling evidence that FHR4 is a critical controller of that part of the immune system which affects the eyes.

"We have shown that genetically determined higher blood FHR4 levels leads to more FHR4 in the eye which in turn increases the risk of the uncontrolled immune system response that drives the disease.

"So apart from improving understanding of how AMD is caused, this work provides a way of predicting risk of the disease by simply measuring blood levels of FHR4.

He added: "It also provides a new route to treatment by reducing the blood levels of FHR4 to restore immune system function in the eyes.

"Because treatments options for AMD are limited, this comprehensive understanding of the biology of AMD is a huge boost for scientists finding answers to a problem which causes untold misery for thousands of people in the UK alone."

Professor Simon Clark, a specialist in the regulation of the complement system in health and disease said: "This study really is a step-change in our understanding of how complement activation drives this major blinding disease.

"Up until now, the role played by FHR proteins in disease has only ever been inferred. But now we show a direct link and, more excitingly, become a tangible step closer to identifying a group of potential therapeutic targets to treat this debilitating disease."

###

NOTES FOR EDITORS

A component of the study was also partially funded by the Macular Society and Fight for Sight

An embargoed copy of the paper "Increased circulating levels of Factor H Related Protein 4 are strongly associated with age-related macular degeneration" is available on request

Professors Bishop and Clark are available for interview

For media enquires contact:

Mike Addelman

Media Relations Officer

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

University of Manchester

07717 881567

Subject of study: humans

Type of evidence: experimental

Type of study: peer reviewed
Washington, Feb 7 : US President Donald Trump has confirmed that Qasim al-Rimi, the leader the Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) terror group, was killed in an operation carried out by American forces in Yemen last month.

"The US conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and a deputy to Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying in a statement issued by the White House on Thursday.

Trump added that al-Rimi had been a part of the group since "the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden" and under him, the Al Qaeda "committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the US and our forces", reports Efe new.

Al-Rimi's death degrades the Al Qaeda branch and the global movement, Trump said.

"The US, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm." The 41-year-old Al-Rimi's death is a major blow for the group, considered one of the most dangerous Al Qaeda branches, as it has carried out attacks beyond its borders in Yemen.

The New York Times newspaper had reported last week that American officials believed they may have killed the leader in January in an airstrike after months of tracking him using aerial surveillance and other intelligence.

According to the daily, the CIA came to know of al-Rimi's location from an informant in Yemen last November and began tracking him through surveillance drones.

Al-Rimi had led the branch in Yemen since mid-2015 following the death of his predecessor, Naser al-Wahishi, in a US drone strike.

Until then, al-Rimi had been the military chief of the branch and played an important role in recruiting the current generation of its militants.

In May 2010, al-Rimi was included in the US' most-wanted terrorist list and Washington had also offered a $10 million bounty for information on him.

In 2005, al-Rimi was sentenced to five years in prison in Yemen for plotting to assassinate the American ambassador there but escaped from prison in 2006.

According to US media reports earlier this month, AQAP claimed that it directed the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida last December, which killed three American sailors and severely wounded eight others, the Xinhua news report said.

Last month, US Attorney General William Barr said the shooting, which was carried out by a member of the Saudi Air Force, was "an act of terrorism".
Days after the government signed the Bodo Peace Accord, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday discussed with Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, the issue of holding talks with the proscribed ULFA-Independent so that the matters nagging the northeast are settled.

Interacting with journalists on Friday night on the sidelines of a meeting, Sarma said PM Modi discussed with him and Sonowal the issue of holding talks with the proscribed outfit.

Modi addressed a massive public rally in Kokrajhar on Friday to celebrate the signing of the tripartite accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state.

"The prime minister advised us to hold detailed discussions on the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. He (Modi) wants to settle the ULFA issue so that the northeast does not have any more problems," Sarma said.

"We will hold discussions on the matter with the Union home minister very shortly. We will take a state cabinet-level decision for sending formal invitation or appeal or request to ULFA-I to come for talks," he said.

"Process for the parleys with ULFA-Independent began today with the prime minister holding talks with us on it, advising us to take up the issue with Shah and then accordingly send the invitation for discussion", the minister added.

ULFA-I leader Paresh Baruah had recently told a local channel that he was ready for talks if even a "one-line letter" was sent to him by the government, keeping his sovereignty for Assam demand as an agenda of discussion.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The coronavirus outbreak in China and solutions to promote trade with Vietnam were discussed at a meeting of the National Steering Committee for ASEAN Single Window (ASW), National Single Window (NSW)

and Trade Facilitation Committee in Hanoi yesterday.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue with the participation of representatives from ministries and business associations.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue at the meeting.  Photo baodientu.vn

Hue said the coronavirus epidemic was making the countrys economic and trade relations difficult, especially for agricultural produce. Of the US$40 billion in export turnover Vietnam makes from agricultural products, a third comes from China.

Hue said domestic enterprises were making great efforts and had increased production to supply essential goods for anti-epidemic work without raising prices, such as antibacterial hand sanitiser and medical masks.

The Government has acknowledged this support from businesses and plans to exempt import taxes on masks and the materials used to produce them, Hue said.

Following discussions with the Ministry of Finance, he said if tax exemptions were applied, it would cost about VND400-500 billion.

"But that's nothing compared to our focus on disease prevention," he said

Le Duy Hiep, chairman of the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), said he would encourage members to reduce warehousing fees by 10-20 per cent, especially cold storage, to help trade centres and supermarkets to buy agricultural products from farmers.

This is a practical way logistics enterprises can support the efforts being made by the Government and the people to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, Hieep said.

We expect this to create a close connection between logistics enterprises and domestic producers and business enterprises, helping each other and farmers to reduce the damage caused by the epidemic," Hiep added.

Regarding the National Single Window (NSW), Deputy General Director of the General Department of Customs Mai Xuan Thanh said the NSW had connected 188 administrative procedures from 13 ministries and State agencies, and processed 2.8 million records from more than 35,000 businesses by the end of last month.

Regarding the implementation of the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) and out-of-ASEAN connectivity, Vietnam had now officially connected the ASW to exchange electronic origin certification form D with eight ASEAN countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.

As of January 31 this year, Vietnam had received 165,061 certificates of origin from ASEAN countries while sending 201,652 certificates of its own.

Regarding connections with non-ASEAN partners, the Ministry of Finance had completed technical tests to connect and exchange messages for export customs declarations between Vietnam and the Eurasian Economic Union.

The ministry was negotiating with the Republic of Korea and New Zealand on an electronic exchange for C/O. It was also working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to study the exchange of electronic quarantine certificates with New Zealand. VNS

Coronavirus outbreak: Vietnam boosts production of face masks The Ministry of Industry and Trade has directed Vietnamese commercial affair offices abroad to connect with businesses to search for raw materials for face masks production in Vietnam.
The excitement of Carnival, with its extravagant floats, beautiful costumes, bands and throws, is usually associated with families and young people, but many golden-agers are still die-hard fans, too.

Want proof? Look no further than the fourth annual Mardi Gras ball presented by the Westwego Senior Center Jan. 31 at the Westwego Civic Association.

The court consisted of six maids, ranging from 60 to 90 years old: Lilian Carmon, Sandra Lacayo, Shirley Ducote, Judy Helmer, Catherine Keller, Yolanda Naquin, along with Queen Amelia Perez and King Perry Richoux. Returning 2019 royalty were Herbert Landry and Madeline Ockman.

The women donned beautiful long gowns with feathered collars, and they all partied to the theme "They All Asked For You." And many of them reminisced about Carnival.

Helmer, 80, said her favorite times were the days when the King Arthur and Poseidon parades rolled down Fourth Street in Westwego.

(Carnival on the West Bank was once a parade-filled affair, but only two roll there today: Adonis and NOMTOC. King Arthur moved Uptown in 2001, and Poseidon folded in '95.)

Ockman, 90, of Westwego, has been celebrating Mardi Gras all her life. Catching doubloons was her big thrill; today, she has a huge collection of them.

She took her children to St. Charles Avenue every year when they were young, she said, and she rode in the King Arthur parade for years.

I love to see the floats. Its so exciting and its a challenge to catch beads, but most of all, I loved to make people happy.

Vera Vedros, 83, of Westwego, is still passionate and involved. Mardi Gras ... gets in your blood and you cant stop, she said.

She remembers going as a child to the truck parades on Canal Street with her parents. We would sit for hours, waiting for the parades, she said.

Now, after 36 years in the Krewe of King Arthur, she manages its truck drivers and maintenance crew.

In 1986, she became a King Arthur officer, and the same year, she reigned as queen.

Today, there are three generations of King Arthur queens in her family. Her daughter, Dawn Shaw Tabor and her granddaughter, Natasha Shaw Watts, have also reigned through the years.

Ball attendees from other senior centers also reminisced about their favorite Carnival stories.

If you caught a Kewpie doll, you were something. That was the big thing back then, said Wanda Punch, 72, of Grand Isle. She described it as 6 inches high and dressed in a grass skirt and a pearl necklace.

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Punch remembers her uncle taking her family to Royal Street to watch the parades from a balcony. Punch and Maid Yolanda Naquin are sisters.

One year, my mother dressed me and my three sisters as cowgirls. She made spats and dresses out of tablecloths.

After she married and had two children, her family made outings to Canal Street every year. We would meet people from all over the world, she said.

Through the years, she rode in truck parades and marched with Pete Fountains marching band.

The one thing she loves about Mardi Gras is the connection with another human through a bead.

I rode in Grand Isle parades for about four years, but Id rather be in the street watching the parade.

Today, she designs and decorates costumes for her family, children and grandchildren. We never wear the same costume twice she said. We have different costumes for each parade.

Karen Lassiegne, 75, of Gretna, said her earliest memory was at age 6, while living in Algiers. My father would take us to watch the Choctaw and Alla parades on Opelousas Avenue, she said.

As a teen, she and her friends had a system. We would chase the floats from one route to the next one, catching the same parade three or four times, she said.

They donated their loot to the missions of Holy Name of Mary School, which they attended.

The beads were mostly wooden, but the most popular ones were the glass.

Her passion for Carnival created a family tradition. She used to gather her kids, her mother and her sister and her sisters kids, pack sandwiches and drinks, and head to the nearest neutral ground to see the Krewe of Cleopatra parade on Terry Parkway (it moved to New Orleans in 2013) and the truck parades on Mardi Gras.

It was the challenge of catching something and looking at the riders to see if you know someone, she said.

She said she would help her son catch spears, plastic knives and hatchets. He was tiny, but he would be on the ground, crawling between the crowd to catch a bead.

As her children grew older, they all rode in the truck parades on the Uptown and West Bank routes. We rode for about 15 years, she said.

The men would build and decorate the float and the women would make the costumes. One year, we didnt have a top on our float, and it rained, so every year after that we made sure we had a top covering the float, she added.

In one parade, her family threw about 600 grosses of beads. My favorite throw is the long bead.

Today, her favorite parade is the St. Patricks parade in Metairie. I graduated to using a ladder, she said with a laugh.
The United Arab Emirates is interested in partnering with Bahrain in enhancing Kingdoms efforts to achieving food security, said UAEs Minister of Food Security. Expressing delight in the success of Bahrain in this regard, Mariam bint Saeed Hareb Al Mehiri said her country is interested in boosting Bahrains efforts in this direction.

The minister was visiting Hawrat Aali with the Minister of Works, Municipality Affairs and Urban Planning Esam bin Abdullah Khalaf. Al Mehiri discussed with Esam Khalaf on the importance of Hawrat Aali in achieving food security in Bahrain The Hawrat, Esam Khalaf told Al Mehiri, is receiving special government attention citing the assets the region possesses which contributes strongly to supporting the governments strategy to achieve sustainable food security.

Esam Khalaf said, nineteen Bahraini farmers in Hawarat Aali had signed contracts to benefit from the plots of land there. Several companies were also contributing from there to Bahrains food security efforts, the minister added. Hawrat Aali houses Bahrains Centre for Agricultural Incubators and the Farmers Market which opened its doors recently
France and Germany, one-time dead-locked adversaries once locked horns and thus became the cynosure of all eyes as the battle for supremacy raged via three bitter wars - the Franco-Prussian War between 1870 and 1871, World War I between 1914 and 1918 and World War II between 1939 and 1945 respectively.

These were in deed devastating times in human history that brought about large-scale destructions and avoidable deaths.

History recorded that the Franco-German wars stemmed from deep-rooted hatred by the former for the latter but this unavoidably changed in the course of time particularly after the historic reunification of the two Germanys about 30 years ago.

The belligerents while engaged in a deadly combat employed a deadly volley of canisters that incinerated all life's forms in that part of the Old World.

What the world had thought impossible between the two arch-adversaries became a thing of the past as they put their rivalry and differences aside for Europe and the rest of the world to move forward.

We see a similar scenario unfolding dangerously in one of the federating states of Africa's biggest democracy, south of the Sahara.

As we move closer to Edo State governorship election slated for the last quarter of 2020, reports reaching this writer say that the state is engulfed in pre-election violence .

What a wonder our political class often allows political history to repeat itself!

We can all recall "Operation Wetie" from dim memory which interpreted in English to mean "soak him in petrol and set him ablaze" during the federal elections in the defunct Nigeria's Western Region.

That harrowing episode remains a violent event that brought about a huge conflagration over the region by two political factions, the Hausa-Fulani natives and some members of the Nigerian National Democratic Party ( NNDP) in Nigeria's First Republic which fortunately or unfortunately prepared or set the stage for a coup d'etat.

The use of powerful explosives between two political factions, if you ask me, is ill-advised at this material time.

The ongoing differences that make them differ could be resolved to pave the way for a peaceful election in the state.

Europe had thought it would be difficult, if not almost impossible, to settle the rift between Germany and France at the period under review but as luck would have it the two countries today have emerged as Europe's strongest allies!

Edo State is greater than any individual or political factions if the truth must be told. We cannot fold our hands while a few ambitious men turn our state to a theatre of war.

This, I dare say, will not be in our best interest after all.

I have it on good authority that attempts have been made to broker peace between the deadlocked adversaries tearing our state to shreds which ended up in smoke - this speaks volumes for the savage and crude mind of the African man.

Today, our people are in limbo while our political gladiators throw deadly punches. This could cause a lot of distractions if we need reminding.

All I crave under the existing circumstances is an Edo State without weapons and violence.

- Iyoha John Darlington
Third, while the water is worth billions in Texas or elsewhere, it is, after all, here. Getting it from here to there is no small feat, depending on the destination. Gravity is free, and so are river basins. Pipelines ship oil and natural gas all across the country, and water can be shipped this way too. In the short term, tanker trucks and rail cars and a host of other ways of moving water are possible. Anyone who has ever had a Fiji water or a Perrier understands this. While the transportation costs will reduce the net return from the sale, the amount that can be raised is still enormous.
India, unlike Sri Lanka, did not continue the institutional system that it inherited from the British as it is. Instead, they re-structured it to suit the needs of the independent India.





by Victor Ivan





Despite the Legislature and the Executive of Sri Lanka being backward and corrupt, still the country could have been saved from its present state of wretchedness, provided it had a Judiciary with a proper vision on its social responsibility. Yet, unfortunately for Sri Lanka, it did not inherit a Judiciary of such competence; instead it is endowed with a backward Judiciary that corresponds to the level of backwardness of the Legislature and the Executive.













In this dialogue, we should not forget the fact that Sri Lanka is not a country that had won the independence after a serious struggle, but a country which had received its independence as a gift. Not only the general public, but also the national leaders of the country did not have an advanced consciousness required for good democratic governance.





By that time, in terms of literacy, India stood at a lower level compared to Sri Lanka; yet, as far as social consciousness was concerned, India stood very much ahead and had a highly-developed and enlightened national leadership compared to the backwardness of the national leaders of Sri Lanka.





Unlike the leaders of our country, the Indian leaders involved Indian society at large actively in the independence struggle. In the process, they were able to transform Indian society into a modern society which was inclined to think in modern terms. Apart from that, they laid a strong foundation to build a modern nation by weakening the recognition accorded to racial, caste and religious differences. All the leaders including Gandhi, who was more religious than others, stood resolutely for maintaining a secular character in politics.





Intellectual poverty of Sri Lanka





The leaders of Sri Lanka who stood for independence did not have a strong vision for building a sound democratic country except for a strong desire to gain power into their hands. Not only were they opposed to actively involve the people in their attempt to gain independence, but also opposed vehemently for granting universal suffrage.However, Sri Lanka was able to gain independence without making a serious social effort. It was a direct outcome of the decision reached by the British to abandon the colonial rule of India.





India, unlike Sri Lanka, did not continue the institutional system that it inherited from the British as it is.Instead, they re-structured it to suit the needs of the independent India.





In 1922, Gandhi asserted that the status of Swaraj, the Self Rule that India aspired to achieve must not be a thing that the British Parliament wanted to grant us; rather it should be a system of governance which signifies the aspirations of the people, collectively determined through the consensus of their freely elected representatives.





In 1933, Britain in its attempt to adopt a constitution for India, presented a White Paper which India refused to accept and insisted emphatically, that it could only accept a constitution which would be made by the representatives of Indian people without any interference from a foreign authority





The richness of India





Professor Granville Austin has written an excellent book titled The Indian Constitution on how the Indian Constitution was drafted by a Constitutional Assembly, the members of it had been selected by an election held exclusively for that. A close study of this book with reference to all the constitutions made in Sri Lanka so far will undoubtedly enlighten the reader of the backward stage in which Sri Lanka stands on the subject of constitution making.





This book also contains information on how the Indian judicial system was founded and the discussions and debates that preceded it.The Indian leaders treated the judiciary as the custodian and the guardian angel of the social revolution that commenced with the independence struggle and the Constitution adopted to further advance the social revolution.





It took nearly three long years for the Indian Constitution to be drafted and enacted. Much of the time spent on making the Constitution had been spent on the debate on the adoption of an appropriate judicial system.





Jawaharlal Nehru, who chaired the relevant committee on the subject of judiciary, commenced the discussion with an analysis of the major issue of how to institute an independent judicial system that will work justly and in conformity with the law, so that the Indian social revolution could be advanced without being hindered by the influence of ruling parties and other external forces. In this exercise, India studied the British, American and Irish judicial systems separately, and was able to create a unique judicial system for India.





The role of the Indian Judiciary





The Supreme Court of India is a judicial body that had been tested for over a long period of nearly seventy years. It can be said that it had played the role of a good guardian angel in protecting the forward march of the Indian social revolution, rights of the people and the Indian Constitution, as its founders expected. Today the Supreme Court of India is considered one of the best Supreme Courts in the world.





The Indian Judiciary made a concerted effort to defend its independence during the rule of Indira Gandhi who with the majority power in the parliament tried to make the judiciary a scapegoat to achieve her aspirations.





Although Indira Gandhi had a temporary victory of the struggle, the Judiciary however, did not give up its fight to preserve its dignity and independence.





Upon the defeat of her regime in 1977, not only were the distortions made in the Constitution during her rule were corrected, but also introduced and established a legal principle on the structure of the constitution depriving the ability of the ruling parties in amending the Constitution on their whims and fancies and selfish interests. Consequently, except for the common good, no ruler can amend the Constitution to suit their selfish intentions.





Although India may be regarded as a country which is more religious than Sri Lanka, the Supreme Court of India did not allow religion to be mixed with the affairs of the Judiciary. It was always committed to defend the secular character of the Judiciary. A few years ago, arrangements had been made to perform Hindu religious rituals in a function to be held in the High Court, which someone had complained to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court not only banned the practice of religious rituals inside the premises but also ordered that religious symbols too, shall not be displayed in Court premises. In a recent judgement, the Supreme Court of India asserted that the public has a right to criticise errors that occur in the Judiciary.





Chief Justice Bhagwati, during his tenure introduced a system enabling the poor, the destitute and differently-abled persons in India or a group of such persons to make complaints to the Supreme Court in a letter in an event they are subjected to unjust treatment. A system is in operation to inquire into such complaints and mete out justice without any payment being levied.





Going astray





The Judiciary of Sri Lanka has a strayed history devoid of a strong vision. It must be having the knowledge of the law; but it has not reflected that it has a proper knowledge of the social role or the responsibility incumbent upon the Judiciary. The Supreme Court of India has earned an enviable recognition and respect among its people as well as internationally; but, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka lags far behind this queue.





The Supreme Court of India has achieved this recognition not by intimidating the people but by being able to maintain a dignified position that leads to winning the respect of the people. In other words, it has achieved this distinction by pursuing a policy that upholds the Constitution and safeguards the rights of the people.





The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has not been able to fulfil its obligation of a good guardian angel in safeguarding the Constitution and the public rights. Apart from allowing the rulers to violate the Constitution, in some instances, the Supreme Court itself has violated the Constitution by partnering with the rulers. Allowing the MPs to change their political party without losing their parliamentary seats is just one example that can be cited in this regard. It completely distorted the Constitution of the country. It is a grave mistake, which can still be corrected by the Supreme Court, if it wants to. Yet, so far nothing has been done to rectify it. So, its impact might continue in the future.





The Judiciary of Sri Lanka is not of secular character; it is more inclined towards religious influences. Some judges do not seem to hesitate in demonstrating their religious biases and inclinations. Obviously, it is a sign of ignorance of the fact that its a disqualification for a judge to make public exhibition of religious affiliations.





H.L. de Silva, PC, addressing the audience of the seminar held in September 1999, on Judicial independence and moral integrity , at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall -BMICH, which was attended by a former Chief Justice of India, delivered a unique speech on the moral integrity to be upheld by the judges. H.L. De Silva said that, due to certain deficiencies in the independence and the moral integrity, apparently the entire judicial system is precipitating to a level of a frenzied role played by a buffoon in a comical play of no depth or any value. Four years later, proving the prediction of H.L. De Silva, the Chief Justice of Sri Lanka was caught by the police while he was lying half naked in a vehicle near Diyawanna Oya with a female lawyer.





According to the Constitution, the Fundamental Rights (FR) cases should be heard and concluded within a period of three months. But the reality is that there are some cases that have not been heard even though two to three years had elapsed after they had been filed. Recently, I came to know of a case filed by a Samurdhi Officers Association; the case had been heard for more than five years and dismissed without a verdict being given. The amount paid to the lawyer alone for the case had been Rs. 5.6 million.





The role of legal professionals in Sri Lanka also remains in an anarchic situation where there is no proper control on the oppression and exploitation of clients. There is no effective system to probe into complaints of misconduct of the professionals of the legal field and punishing the culprits.





Despite the presence of some respectable persons in the legal profession, the general level of discipline of the judicial service and the lower Courts appears to be far from being satisfactory; and it remains in a level of maximum decline. It is the responsibility of the judiciary to ensure that the legal profession is maintained at a respectable level.





Similarly, it is the responsibility of the professionals of the legal field to ensure the dignity of the Judiciary. Apparently, there is no such wholesome tradition and reciprocity developed so far in Sri Lanka between these two parties.





Disciplinary control





The recruitment of judges to the judicial service, training provided for them and disciplinary controls are not at a satisfactory level. .





Magistrate Lenin Ratnayake and retired Supreme Court Judge Upali Abeyratne are two examples, I can cite in this regard and of which I too, have had great experience.Lenin Ratnayake joined the Judiciary hiding the facts about his previous employment with Insurance Corporation where he had been dismissed from service over a financial fraud. He had been recommended to the Judicial Service by two reputed lawyers in the country. It shows that the judiciary has no formal recruitment system. There is much to talk about Lenin Ratnayake; yet, I do not intend talking about him at this juncture as it is more important to talk about the head of the three-member Presidential Commission of Inquiry, the retired Supreme Court Judge Upali Abeyratne who had been appointed to investigate into incidents of political revenge.





Upali Abeyratne was the judge who heard the divorce case filed by Jayasekera, a chemical engineer against his wife and Sarath Silva making him a co-respondent of the case. While the case was in progress Jayasekera lodged a complaint against Upali Abeyratne, the Judge who heard the case, before the Judicial Service Commission, which in turn held an inquiry against the latter. The inquiry was conducted by two reputed judges of the Supreme Court, namely Tissa Bandaranayake and Mark Fernando. They questioned the Judge Upali Abeyratne and obtained a statement from him.





After reading this report, I must say that it evoked an awful feeling of disgust in me about the District Court Judge Upali Abeyratne. He had not only violated the law to the maximum in this case to protect the interests of Sarath Silva, but also had exerted his authority to the maximum to oppress the plaintiff. He can be regarded as a person who should never be allowed to enter the precincts of the judiciary in any capacity, let alone in the capacity of a judge.





Following the inquiry, the Judicial Service Commission referred the investigation file to the Attorney General to initiate legal action against Upali Abeyratne in respect of the unlawful practices adopted by him in this case. However, Sarath Silva swept the file under the carpet and refrained from taking action to protect Upali Abeyratne, the judge who heard the case, on his directions (Sarath Silva) and for his defence. In this backdrop, I was compelled to raise my voice protesting against the conduct of the Attorney General.





In consequence to the vehement protest made by me and also in response to a request made by the former Presidents of the Bar Association, the Judicial Service Commission including the Chief Justice, was compelled to appoint a three-member committee comprising Judges of Appeal Court, to inquire into the allegations raised by me against the district Judge Upali Abeyratna.





The three-member committee comprised Judges Amir Ismail, Hector Yapa and P. Edissuriya. At this point, as Upali Abeyratne accepted the allegations without challenging them, the Committee recommended that he shall be sent on compulsory retirement. Accordingly, the Judicial Service Commission sent him on retirement effective 31.07.1999 on compulsory basis.But the decision was quickly reversed by the Judicial Service Commission.Instead of sending him on compulsory retirement, he was transferred to Monaragala District Court as a punishment transfer with effect from 01.01.2001, with his promotions suspended for two years effective from 19.07.1993.





The irony of this whole issue is that this judge was promoted to the High Court before the end of his sentence. Later, he was appointed to the Supreme Court before Sarath Silva as Chief Justice went on retirement.





Sarath Silva supported those who helped him generously. It may be considered a good quality, a virtue in him to express his gratitude to those who came to his rescue. But the damage caused to the judiciary by his policy was immense.





This story does not end there. After sometime, this notorious judge was appointed to the Supreme Court, by the President despite objections from a Lady Chief Justice. Accordingly, this judge who was decided not fit to be retained even as a District Judge in a Lower Court, by three judges of the Court of Appeal ultimately ended up in the Supreme Court.





Upon his retirement from the Supreme Court, President Maithripala Sirisena made him the head of a commission that probed into the incidents of wrongdoing of the Yahapalana Government. Thereafter, the current Government has appointed him the head of a three-member commission to look into incidents of political revenge.





Now, a new crisis has emerged as the Attorney General has refused to comply with an order issued by the commission of inquiry chaired by this retired judge in regard to a case. In this backdrop, the way things happen is by no means normal.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is urging Tajikistan to immediately release independent journalist Daler Sharifov from custody, drop the "absurd" incitement charges against him, and allow him to continue his reporting.



"Tajik officials have already driven nearly all independent voices out of the country, so this prosecution is a clear attempt to silence ahead of elections one of the few media critics that remain," Gulnoza Said, CPJs Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said in a statement on February 6.



Sharifov, who often writes about domestic politics and is known for his criticism of Tajikistans authorities, has been in custody since January 28, relatives told RFE/RL.



Police also searched his apartment in the capital, Dushanbe, and confiscated a computer and several books.



A court ruled on January 30 to place the 32-year-old journalist in pretrial detention for two months, according to his lawyer, Abdurahmon Sharifov, who is no relation.



The Prosecutor-General's Office later announced that Sharifov had been charged with inciting ethnic, racial, and religious hatred.



The charges stemmed from "more than 200 articles and commentaries containing extremist content" Sharifov published between 2013 and 2019, it said.



He could be jailed for up to five years if found guilty.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Tajik Service
Ziva Gilad, a researcher in agricultural research-and-development in the Jordan Valley, at a date farm in the Jordan Valley.

(JNS)-With campaigns under way before the third round of Israeli elections within a year on March 2, Likud officials, and the Blue and White Party, have repeatedly made statements over the past few weeks in favor of annexing the Jordan Valley.

And that has elicited vocal reactions among the public both for and against the idea.

The Trump administration's peace plan, revealed at the White House on Jan. 28 with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in attendance, gave American approval for annexation, paving the way for the next Israeli government to actualize its campaign promises.

Echoing the Palestinian leadership's rejection of Trump's peace plan and Israel's prospective annexation, Salem Ghrouf, the mayor of Jericho in the Jordan Valley, said to journalists on Wednesday, "Trump's support for Israelis is unfair," as it does not "express the ambition of the Palestinian people" and represents "a total change in foreign policy of America."

"Mr. Trump's plan will eradicate and conclude the dream of establishing a Palestinian state," he said. "It is an unfair plan that gives rights to a people who have no right [to that land]."

Annexing the Jordan Valley, he added, would create geographical, social, developmental and agricultural challenges for the Palestinian population.

"There will be no safety or stability for Palestinians" if the plan is enacted, maintained Ghrouf, who said that he is waiting for the Palestinian leadership to specify "the next step."

'People worry about their future'

Ismail Daiq, CEO of Valley Trading Company, a date-production company in the Jordan Valley, similarly posed that "all Palestinians are united against this plan," although he expressed his skepticism that anything will change other than "on paper."

Even if an annexation took place in four or five years from now, he told JNS, "for the economic side, it would be better, but for the political and social, it would be worse."

Ziva Gilad, a researcher in agricultural research-and-development in the Jordan Valley, confirmed that the economic benefits of annexation would be significant for Palestinians, who are often paid more by Israeli employers compared to Palestinian employers.

However, she told JNS, she is skeptical that anything will change, as "Palestinians will have to agree to the plan, and they've had their chances before but have succeeded in losing them."

Daiq, a Palestinian himself, employees 500 Palestinians in season and 250 off season at his date farms in the Jordan Valley. His concern, he said, is that if the land is annexed, his Palestinian workers might not be allowed to continue to work there, and because of a boycott on Israeli dates, his company would suffer as he would need to label more of his dates as "Made in Israel."

As Trump unveiled his plan, he said, "I started to think about many things-what will happen with my workers, with the permission they'll need [if the land is annexed], but nobody can give you an answer."

"It's making the people worry about their future," he said.

'We will find a way'

Indeed, Husni Tari, who has worked in the date-production industry for Roi Farms in the Jordan Valley for five years, expressed his concern that if Israel annexes the Jordan Valley, he might need to apply for a work permit that could cost part of his hard-earned salary.

Eliana Rudee Palestinian worker Husni Tari, 25, speaks to journalists at Roi Farm in the Jordan Valley, where he as worked for five years.

However, Noam Weissler, chairman of the Jordan Valley Regional Council's Agricultural Committee, said that this concern is misplaced, as agriculture is the biggest source of income for people in the Jordan Valley, with both the Palestinian and Israeli economies relying on their work together in this capacity.

He is certain, he told JNS, that "we will find a way for Palestinians workers to arrive if Israel annexes the Jordan Valley."

Yakov (Kuki) Elbas, manager of Roi Farm in the Jordan Valley, also viewed the decision positively, maintaining that the region in question "has always been Israel."

Though acknowledging that he doesn't yet understand the full meaning of Trump's peace plan, he said, "it's good because it verifies what [Israelis] already felt... the Jordan Valley is Israel in our heart, and now it will be in law, too."
It is difficult to overstate the political currency of being labeled a fighter. As Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist, put it, the only thing more universal than a partys desire for fighters is the belief that only the other side has them. This was particularly true for Republicans in President Barack Obamas first term, even after they installed John Boehner as speaker.

At that time, you started to hear grousing about how weak Republicans were, particularly Boehner, Mr. Donovan said. The prevailing line of thinking, he explained, was that G.O.P. leadership is always weak, and we need someone like Harry Reid whos willing to be strong.

Perhaps no leader in recent memory has haunted the Republican Party quite like Mr. Reid, the Senate majority leader from 2007 to 2015. Here was a man who appeared to heed Mr. Obamas call during the 2008 election, when he reminded supporters of the Chicago way, as immortalized by Jimmy Malone in The Untouchables: If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun.

For Republicans, the assumption of a knife may have seemed generous. Lawmakers like Mr. Boehner rose on the promise of legislative victories, only to have Mr. Reid ensure that most House spending bills never saw the Senate floor. While Republicans did manage to secure the occasional half-loaf, be it an extension of Bush-era tax cuts or the imposition of automatic budget cuts, it was never enough to dispel an underlying sense of futility. As conservatives saw it, government-funding negotiations inevitability ended in spending packages that largely took care of Democratic priorities, coupled with the image of a Republican Party that had yet again capitulated.

All of which may have fueled the partys deep resentment for Mr. Reid and the left writ large, Mr. Donovan has written. But those feelings, he noted, were often tinged with envy, if not begrudging admiration.

Indeed, Mr. Reid helped entrench the perception that Democrats were willing to play hardball  and, more important, that they were all willing to play hardball. There were no stragglers, it seemed, in Mr. Reids party, no Susan Collinses or Lisa Murkowskis to fret over.
A fox managed to get into Parliament last night - despite huge security at the doors.

The animal managed to get up to the fourth floor of one of the buildings, known as Portcullis House, via an escalator.

Police officers with 'big gloves' were seen attempting to shoo the fox, but it managed to give them the slip.

Tory MP Julia Lopez said her team told her: 'Just leaving Westminster office for the night and see a fox climbing escalator into Portcullis House!

A fox (pictured) managed to get into Parliament last night - despite huge security at the doors. It is pictured being photographed by a by-stander as a policeman looks on

'We have seen some strange things in Parliament since 2017, but this tops it!'

The MP added that there had been a 'police pursuit' adding: 'Let's hope he is rescued safely.'

Later the fox was removed in a box as Jeremy Corbyn's wife Laura Alvarez looked on.

The fox was carried out by four police officers in a box on a plank of wood. It then ran off down the Embankment.
By Trend

The latest tough attacks by the Council of Europe are related to the fact that Azerbaijan pursues an independent policy, and in such an unstable world its policy remains reliable and prudent, Head of the Russia-Eurasia: Cultural Politics in Strengthening of Interethnic and Interreligious Peace Mikhail Chernov told Trend.

The Council of Europe has no influence on the international processes, Chernov added. The Council of Europe is only concerned with influencing and putting pressure on countries, to drive them into a subordinate, disadvantaged position, to the 'stall' of the European politics.

In turn, Director of a branch of the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Pavel Klachkov said that the Council of Europe has a biased attitude towards Azerbaijan, but this is another reason to strengthen the positions in the international arena, including those in the Council of Europe.

"There is no sense to prove intelligent and well-informed people that anti-Russian sentiment (Russophobia) and Islamophobia reign in the Council of Europe, Klachkov said. But despite this, Azerbaijan must continue to act as a sovereign, independent state, which is able to build international contacts without radical politicians from Council of Europe."

Indeed, the Council of Europe has been rapidly degrading recently, the director of the branch of the Financial University said. The Council of Europe is making more and more mistakes. Each time we see some, let's say, diplomatic nonsense.

Of course, certain political bias is greatly felt, Klachkov said. There is the desire to solve important fundamental issues of international politics thoughtlessly, rather than smoothing out contradictions and mitigating conflicts."

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
European markets declined Friday as investors monitored the latest coronavirus developments and breaking news on the corporate front.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 slipped 0.32% below the flatline by mid-afternoon, with basic resources falling more than 2% to lead losses. Telecoms, banks and utilities bucked the trend to move higher.

Investors remain attentive to the economic developments of the coronavirus outbreak. S&P Global Ratings said in a report Friday that it lowered its growth forecasts for China for 2020 to 5% from 5.7% prior to the outbreak.

Chinese President, Xi Jinping, spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump on the phone Friday morning, Beijing time. A spokesperson for the White House said that "President Trump expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak."

In corporate news, Credit Suisse announced that Tidjane Thiam is resigning as chief executive officer from the bank, effective from February 14. Thomas Gottstein, who currently heads the bank's Swiss unit, will be taking over as CEO. The news follows a long drawn-out spying scandal at the bank.

Credit Suisse shares tumbled at the start of trade but trimmed losses to trade 1.5% lower by mid-afternoon.

Economic data placed some downward pressure on markets after German industrial production plunged in December. The Federal Statistics Office said Friday morning that total industrial output, comprising manufacturing, energy and construction, fell 3.5% from November in calendar-adjusted terms, well below the 0.1% rise forecast by economists.

French industrial output also fell further than expected in December, tumbling 2.8% against an expectation of -0.4%.

Nonfarm payrolls in the U.S. beat forecasts with 225,000 jobs added in January.
WASHINGTON - A top Democrat in Congress said Friday the partys future under Tom Perez is under scrutiny amid fallout from the Iowa caucuses and the winnowing of the presidential primary field to the exclusion of candidates of colour.

Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the third-ranking House Democrat, stopped short of saying Perez must go as leader of the Democratic National Committee.

Thats a decision for him, he said.

But the highest-ranking African American lawmaker in the House said during an interview with C-SPANs Newsmakers that Iowa shouldnt play such an outsize role as an early vote state and that debate rules left very raw feelings within the Congressional Black Caucus after the exit of black presidential hopefuls Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.

There are some serious discussions taking place here on Capitol Hill as to what ought to happen at the DNC, Clyburn said in the interview.

Iowa should be in the mix, but we shouldnt launch the entire campaign with such a small sampling with what the countrys all about, he said.

Perez didnt immediately comment on Clyburns remarks Friday.

Previously, the DNC chairman has defended the rules setting minimums for polling and the number of individual donors, noting that the party started at a low threshold last June and gradually raised the requirements over time. All 20 slots were filled in the first two debates, and two stages were required for much of the fall.

Perez argued throughout that any candidate unable to meet the progressively higher marks like wasnt likely to defeat President Donald Trump in November. Some party officials also have noted that minority voters are still represented on the stage via their support for candidates like Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Vice-President Joe Biden. The two white men have consistently drawn strong support among non-white voters, according to most polls of Democratic voters nationally.

Clyburn, who fought for years to push South Carolina onto the early primary calendar, signalled he may make his own endorsement ahead of the Feb. 29 primary.

Close with Biden, Clyburn is worried about the impact that Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, would have on down-ballot races for Congress as a presidential nominee, particularly in more conservative areas.

Clyburn also suggested that Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor in Indiana, still faces significant challenges with South Carolinas black voters, who make up a sizable section of the primary electorate in the Palmetto state. At the same time, he said hes proud of his grandson, a Buttigieg supporter who appeared in an ad for the campaign. A photo of Clyburn himself also flashed in the ad, which Clyburn said he didnt mind.

As Sanders and Buttigieg surged in Iowa, Bidens hopes could rest on South Carolina, which votes fourth among the early states. The candidates face off Tuesday in New Hampshires primary and Feb. 22 in Nevadas caucuses before heading to South Carolina.

___

Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
Like a flash of lightning, the leaders' debate on RTE on Tuesday night lit up one of the darkest hours in the recent history of this country.

Present in the TV studio were Micheal Martin of Fianna Fail, Mary Lou McDonald of Sinn Fein, and Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael. Ms McDonald struggled to explain how she had misunderstood what she had been told by her close colleague, Stormont Finance Minister Conor Murphy, in relation to the torture and murder of 21-year-old Paul Quinn.

On the face of it, there seemed to be little room for misunderstanding. As Mr Murphy said at the time: "Paul Quinn was involved in smuggling and criminality and I think everyone accepts that." Of course, hardly anyone does.

The further claim by Sinn Fein that the IRA was not involved has simply served to undermine the credibility of its public representatives.

As it happens, on the evening of the debate I was just completing another report on the paramilitary 'punishment' system, of which Paul was a victim.

Unusually among the thousands of such incidents down the years, the terrifying last moments of his life are well known because family and friends dared to speak out. Most suffer in silence, as is the case of virtually all of the 85 victims from last year.

I will return to Paul and those who poured acid over his memory in a moment, but first to face up to the grim tidings from last year.

The combined total of paramilitary-style shootings and assaults from last year shows a 25pc increase on 2018. A surge, in fact. It is clear that this particular legacy of the Troubles is a recurring nightmare that shows no signs of fading. It involves loyalists and republicans. Last year loyalists were responsible for the lion's share of the attacks, some 60pc.

However, there is a marked difference between the two in terms of the types of 'punishments' meted out. Loyalists administering "rough justice", as Gerry Adams once termed 'punishment' attacks, did most of the 'batterings', a remarkable 49 of the 67 reported assaults.

Like many forms of crime, particularly crimes of a sexual nature, these are underestimates, and in all likelihood gross underestimates. For some reason, the new IRA has a preference for shootings. Shootings by appointment, to minimise the risks to the perpetrators, is especially favoured.

Some will have seen the 2017 documentary film 'A Mother Brings Her Son To Be Shot', directed by Sinead O'Shea. It recounts graphically the terrible dilemma facing a family in a tight, working-class neighbourhood in Derry: turn up at the appointed spot to be shot or refuse the offer and later face a back-paralysing shot to the spine. The mother, Majella O'Donnell, duly took her teenage son, Philly, to be shot in both legs.

There is a variation on this kind of dilemma from last year which lies in there somewhere among the official statistics.

It is the case of young man from West Belfast. He was given a similarly grim invitation: present yourself for the appointment or we will shoot your brother instead. He duly turned up and took the bullet.

There were 18 shootings of mainly young, working-class men last year, or one every three weeks. All but two of these were carried out by the new IRA. The ratio of republican to loyalist shootings was eight to one. It is not clear why this might be so.

It may be that the use of guns rather than iron bars and cudgels conveys the impression of a military force in action, to be distinguished from the actions of a mere rabble or some vigilante thugs. Self-image matters in the paramilitary mindset, as we know from a number of attacks occasioned by perceived slights to a local 'commander'.

The Paul Quinn murder, as well as the broken and mutilated bodies from last year, serves to remind us of the origins of the 'punishment' system and the murky interface between republican militarism and politics.

These intra-community attacks go back to the 1970s. The foremost proponents of 'people's justice' were the IRA, and loyalists were rather slower to get in on the act. The IRA set up civil administration units in the areas it controlled and meted out 'justice', as it saw it, to anti-social elements in the community.

Sinn Fein centres were used to collate information on youths and others who came to their notice. Kangaroo courts were sometimes convened, but more usually such niceties were dispensed with.

Decisions were made on the basis of rumour and allegation and IRA men were despatched to 'knee-cap' or break the limbs of those being fingered. Should the victim speak out, worse would follow.

The chilling point is that members of Sinn Fein, using Sinn Fein centres such as Connolly House in West Belfast, were deeply involved in human rights abuses that have no parallels elsewhere in the civilised world.

These abuses continue. In all likelihood an attack is being hatched by an arm-chair commander as I write.

There is no reason to believe 2020 will be any better than 2019. But the plight of Paul Quinn acts as a rallying point for the many who oppose mutilation for the cause of Irish unity. The circumstances, at least for younger Irish people, need to be known more widely. Paul was lured across the Border to a disused cow house and farmyard. Two of his friends were held down in a neighbouring shed, and taunted as the 'punishment' progressed: can you hear your friend squealing for mercy?

"They were beating him, you could hear the bars bouncing off him, maybe four or five bars, he was screaming," one said later.

This lasted for 25 to 30 minutes, and continued for some minutes after the young man temporarily lost consciousness. The victim's 18-year-old girlfriend, Emma, was summoned on her mobile phone by one of the friends. She found Paul in the byre. He died on the way to hospital. Every major bone in his body below the neck had been broken. He was just 21. No one was ever convicted for the assault.

Sinn Fein continues to deny that the IRA was involved. Emma emigrated to Australia the following year.

It took Conor Murphy 13 years to apologise for his slur on the Quinn family.

Liam Kennedy is emeritus professor of history at Queen's University Belfast.
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Guatemalas new president urged Mexico on Thursday to boost commercial ties between the neighboring nations, arguing that creating more work opportunities is crucial for reducing migration northward toward the United States.

Speaking at the Senate in Mexico City, Alejandro Giammattei said Mexico accounts for just 4% of his countrys international commerce and there is room aplenty for that to grow.

He also lobbied for encouraging tourism to Mayan archaeological sites in both nations and displayed agreement with his Mexican counterpart, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, on the need to work together to develop the region of their shared border and build what Giammattei called walls of prosperity to reduce pressure driving migration.

Our citizens are not deterred by (physical) walls, by laws, by fear, he told senators during his first visit to Mexico. The only thing that stops them is security, dignified work and a promising future.

Giammattei took office Jan. 14.

His predecessor, Jimmy Morales, struck an agreement with Washington last July to accept asylum-seekers sent there by the United States.

The deal went into effect in November, when Giammattei was still president-elect, and as of Feb. 4 the United States has sent 414 Hondurans and Salvadorans to Guatemala. The vast majority of those then returned to their own countries rather than try for asylum in Guatemala.
Taiwan reports two new cases of Wuhan coronavirus

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 05:22 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Another two cases of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) were confirmed in Taiwan on Thursday, bringing the total number in the country to 13, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said.

The two latest patients are a man in his 40s and a woman in her 20s, both in northern Taiwan, CDCC commander and Health Minister Chen Shih-chung () said at a press conference.

According to Chen, the man traveled to the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus, in December for work purposes. He also visited Liaoning Province on Jan. 17 and returned to Taiwan via Dalian City in the province on Feb. 2.

A day after the man arrived home, he developed respiratory symptoms, and he was hospitalized on Feb. 4, Chen said.

The female patient, meanwhile, is a long-term resident of Wuhan who returned to Taiwan on Jan. 21 via Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province, he said.

The woman sought medical attention on Feb. 4 after she developed a cough and respiratory problems, Chen said, adding that the two patients are now in hospital quarantine and are in stable condition.

Among the other 11 people in Taiwan who have been diagnosed with the Wuhan virus, one was discharged from hospital Thursday, and the others are all in stable condition, according to the CDCC.

Meanwhile, health authorities are still awaiting the test results on 247 Taiwanese who were evacuated from Wuhan on a charter flight on Feb. 3.

One of the evacuees has been diagnosed with the 2019-nCoV and is among five of them now in quarantine after they reported symptoms such a cough, fever, abdominal pain and/or respiratory problems, health authorities said.

So far the test results have cleared 73 of the 247 evacuees, Chen said.

As of Thursday morning, China had recorded more than 28,000 confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV and 560-plus deaths, while a few cases had been reported in 26 other countries around the world.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/pc



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The White House may dismiss Col. Alexander Vindman from his post at the National Security Council after he served as a witness in the House impeachment hearings, Bloomberg News reported on Friday.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the Trump administration could sign off on the move as part of a larger effort to downsize the foreign policy bureaucracy. Staff were told on Thursday that several officials would be reassigned to new posts, and some officials believe the administration is trying to lessen the influence of people perceived as disloyal to the president.

Vindman was a key witness for Democrats during the impeachment inquiry due to his firsthand knowledge of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, during which Trump urged Zelensky to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden.

I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidensit would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained, Vindman said in his statement to House impeachment investigators. This would all undermine U.S. national security.

Vindman is a decorated veteran of the Iraq War, and his twin brother Yevgeniy serves as an NSC lawyer. The two arrived in the U.S. as toddlers when their family fled Soviet Ukraine.

Several congressmen backed Vindman after former representative Sean Duffy and media personalities questioned the colonels loyalty to the U.S.

Were talking about decorated veterans who have served this nation, said Representative Liz Cheney (R., Wy.). It is shameful to question their patriotism, their love of this nation, and we should not be involved in that process.

Its despicable, Senator Joe Manchin (D., W.V.) said regarding accusations against Vindman. This is not normal. Theres nothing normal about this.

More from National Review
It's only a few minutes into Queen And Slim when you realise your stomach just dropped. A young black man and woman, played by Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith, are in a car on a forgettable first date when a police siren sounds, lights flash, and they are pulled over for a traffic stop by a white policeman.

Before anything even happens, your sense of dread starts to build.

"We are placing all audiences in that experience, what it feels like as a person of colour when you see those lights behind you and you don't know if you're going to make it out," director Melina Matsoukas says as she sits animatedly beside writer Lena Waithe.

Tensions quickly escalate and the cop grazes the unnamed woman, who we know as Queen, with a bullet. The man, who we know as Slim, grabs the gun and fatally shoots the officer.

In that moment their lives change forever, and suddenly the two relative strangers are on the run, knowing their chance of acquittal is slim.

As the video of the altercation goes viral in media-fuelled America, they become mythologised by some as heroes of the Black Lives Matter movement and hunted and reviled by others as dangerous and violent criminals.

"We really wanted to reflect the times," the film-maker adds.

"We wanted to have a critique on our culture, on systematic racism in the institutions that we live in, that have painted us as monsters.

"And we wanted to portray that as honestly and authentically so that all people could understand and create empathy for our community."

Waithe, who first worked with celebrated music video director Matsoukas on the cult Thanksgiving episode of the Netflix series Master Of None, nods in agreement.

"Just the fact we didn't have to say anything, that visual and that sound, it resonates, people can understand the fear.

"I think that is why it was so urgent to tell the story," she says.

"This was an epidemic that was happening, not just in our country but all over the world, and I think the time was now to tell it.

"That is why I really was adamant that we have to shoot and release this script in the same year, because if you sit on it, someone else will do a bad version of this movie."

Does she think it's an angry film?

"I don't think it's necessarily angry," Waithe says thoughtfully, "I think it's truth.

"I think it's reality and people I think don't necessarily want to look at that, they want a fantasy, but unfortunately black folks don't get to live in a fantasy in this world.

"I didn't want to portray something false, I wanted to be honest about what that experience is like."

As the pair hit the road, heading for Florida from Ohio in the hope of getting to Cuba, they discover themselves and each other.

For British star Kaluuya, who was nominated for an Oscar for his role in race satire Get Out, it was the relationship that develops between the pair that held the most appeal.

"I think it was just the simplicity of the love story that really spoke to me," he says.

"The characters popped off the page and I read it and I was on the journey with them.

"I was invested in their evolution and how they were able to connect, that really spoke to me.

"And what sets this film apart, and what sets this script apart for me, was that in a crazy situation there are some really great jokes.

"You meet some funny people and they're not trying to be funny, just their outlook is humorous.

"There are these really amazing moments where people are just really interesting, in how people approach tense situations."

He is more circumspect about the question of anger.

"If it's angry, then that is a reflection of you.

"Someone did say to me you should only make a film if you've got something to scream about so I think every film has an element of cup runneth over, where you want to let something out.

"If someone wants to take it and make it their own, then we have done our job.

"I try not to project or tell you how to feel, it's just trying to tell a story and go, 'What do you think?'

"If there is something you want to speak about, whether it's good or bad, you just want to keep the conversation going and hopefully people are able to see each other better."

Turner-Smith, who is best known for her role in Nightflyers, leans forward.

"The story felt like it was something so relevant to right now and especially because I live in America and it felt like it was speaking to something that is a very real fear as a person existing.

"So it was an interesting way to tell a story surrounding that topic and also interesting because it really is a love story. It really is about these two people and their journey and who they become and why they become that.

"I thought that that greater point of it made the story so much more interesting. It wasn't just, 'Oh we are talking about this' and really heavy-handed, it was really about that love."

Queen And Slim is in cinemas now
The Punjab government on Friday ordered an inquiry into the incident of infected and mismatched blood transfusion at a hospital in Punjab's Kapurthala district, officials said.

Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered the probe after taking cognisance of the media reports on the incident.

According to the reports, blood units, infected with HCV (hepatitis C virus) and HbsAg (Hepatitis B surface antigen), were allegedly given to two patients and mismatched blood to a teenager at the blood bank in Phagwara civil hospital.

The blood bank has been shut down and the officer concerned for blood transfusion, Hardeep Singh Sethi, has been placed under suspension, an official statement said.

Senior Medical Officer Kamal Kishore has also been suspended and Kapurthala Civil Surgeon has been asked to lodge an FIR for criminal negligence, it said.

Besides, the contract of lab technician Ravi Paul has been suspended, the statement said.

The chief minister has also directed the health department to immediately undertake a thorough check of all the blood banks in the state to ensure that stringent management parameters were being followed, it said.

All blood banks in the Kapurthala district will be inspected by the District Blood Transfusion Committee headed by the civil surgeons within the next three days, the statement said.

It said civil surgeons will now ensure blood banks are inspected periodically so that standard operating procedures are followed and lapses do not recur.

The Phagwara incident surfaced during a joint inspection of the blood bank by drug inspectors on January 30. A medical board was immediately constituted by Kapurthala civil surgeon for inquiry and verification of facts.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds of pot smokers gathered at Independence Mall outside of the Liberty Bell to celebrate the marijuana holiday, "420" and to protest agains drug laws in this recent file photo. A New Jersey bill to legalize pot was recently advanced to the floor for a vote. It includes provisions to erase past discriminatory marijuana possession records. (Colin Kerrigan / File photograph) Read more

One New Jersey lawmaker described it as the Scarlet Letter.

The criminal record that minorities acquire when they are disproportionately arrested for possessing small amounts of marijuana often robs them of the ability to get jobs and opportunities, said Annette Quijano, the deputy majority leader of the state Assembly.

They need a second chance," the Jersey City Democrat said, as lawmakers voted to advance a sweeping bill that would legalize weed for adult use and also remedy past arrests that were discriminatory.

A committee of both houses last month folded a plan to erase those criminal records into an omnibus bill that also would legalize cannabis and greatly expand the medical marijuana program. The ambitious expungement bill was the last thing added to the package, but it is no small matter. Hundreds of thousands of drug arrest and conviction records accumulated over the years would be wiped away if the bill passed.

The social justice issue brought me to the table, said state Assemblyman Jamel Holley, chair of the New Jersey Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, a nonprofit that advances the interests of African American communities. He is a cosponsor of both the expungement and the legalization bills. The unwieldy and costly expungement process needs to be simplified so people can get relief very soon, he said.

An ACLU study found that blacks are three times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as whites in New Jersey despite similar usage patterns. The latest data, from 2016, shows there were more than 32,000 arrests that year for possessing small amounts of marijuana. When multiplied over decades, the number of people who would be eligible for expungements would likely be in the hundreds of thousands.

Holley and Sen. Sandra Cunningham, a Jersey City Democrat, introduced the bill that calls for an automatic erasure of low-level marijuana records. But it goes beyond that, calling for the criminal records of people convicted of heroin and cocaine possession and low-level drug sales to be tossed, as well, as long as they are conviction-free for 10 years.

The omnibus bill faces a tough fight on the floor, and some lawmakers say the expungement proposal could win more votes.

A recent Rutgers-Eagleton poll found that 79 percent of New Jersey residents approve of allowing people to clear their records for possessing small amounts of marijuana. In the context of legal weed, those who were prosecuted on minor marijuana charges should no longer have to suffer the long-lasting consequences, social justice advocates say.

But Sen. Ron Rice, chair of the N.J. Legislative Black Caucus, doubts that the state can expunge the records of the thousands of people who have been convicted of low-level marijuana charges. It will take eight to 10 years. If we can do it at all, he said at the hearing. Were promising fictitious things.

Rice also said legalization is just about making money. It will have an adverse impact on communities of color and mislead people into thinking marijuana is acceptable even though employers continue to prohibit drug use, he said.

After Gov. Murphy, who supports legal weed, was elected last year, legalization has enjoyed most of the attention. But the newly introduced expungement bill is giving it new life. New Jerseys plan to wipe clean the criminal records of low-level marijuana offenders aims would be going into effect simultaneously with legalization, going

beyond what has been done in most of the 10 states that have legal weed.

A lot of the early laws on legalization didnt include it because many lawmakers considered it a bridge too far. Its gone from something not even considered six years ago when Colorado legalized marijuana for adult recreational use," said Becky Dansky, who helped write many of the states legalization laws when she was a legislative counsel with the Marijuana Policy Project, a national advocacy organization.

Colorado and California are now launching new expungement plans.

Dansky said that the criminal justice minded reform groups have ... reached a point where expungement is a must have.

On Tuesday, the mayor of Denver announced he was considering issuing an executive order to clear about 10,000 low-level marijuana offenses. Earlier this year, San Francisco, San Diego and Seattle took steps to automatically clear past misdemeanor marijuana convictions.

Expungement should apply to anything that is now legal under whatever the new laws are. That would include possession and consumption. But it wouldnt necessarily apply to things that are still illegal, like selling it to children and things like that, Dansky said.

In New Jersey, Murphys spokesman said he would not comment on the bill that emerged from a joint legislative committee late last month. The governor does not comment on specific or pending legislation,spokesman Matthew Saidel said.

But Murphy often says that, as a father of four children, he was not readily on board with legalization until he learned of the social justice impact. That, he said, changed his mind.

Tens of thousands of people are arrested every year in New Jersey for low-level marijuana-related offenses, upending lives and creating permanent stains on their records that reduce chances of attaining quality, good-paying jobs,'' Murphy said in an emailed statement Wednesday. New Jersey has the largest white/black incarceration gap in the country, in part due to the failed war on drugs that has disproportionately punished minorities for minor crimes.

"I am committed to working with the Legislature on efforts that will accomplish these goals and ensure that the communities most impacted by war on drugs will see the economic benefits of adult-use marijuana legalization, he said.

In 2017, the number of expungement cases the courts disposed of jumped more than 10 percent, to 9,839, from 8,417 in 2016, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts. The AOC does not track how many were granted.

People convicted of nonviolent crimes in New Jersey must wait three to six years, depending on the type and number of offenses, and have a clean record during that period before they can seek expungements.

In Philadelphia, only people convicted of a low-level or summary drug offense, and who have had no other convictions in the last five years, can have their records cleared, said Benjamin Waxman, spokesman for the District Attorneys office. Those with more serious drug offenses must be at least 70 and have a clean record for 10 years, he said.

Under the New Jersey bill, there would be no waiting period for low-level marijuana convictions. People also would get special help in processing their applications.

The measure also calls for people who are in jail or prison on such charges to be released. Those who have pending marijuana possession charges would have their cases dismissed.

Sen. Nicholas Scutari (D., Union) a primary architect of the legalization bill and a municipal prosecutor, said he doesnt anticipate that too many people would be released from prison. Marijuana-possession charges in the state typically lead to fines and probation, he said. But there may be incarcerated repeat offenders who are eligible to be let out, he said.

The debate over legalization is also creating some havoc in municipal courts, he said. There are lots of postponements in courts all over New Jersey right now, he said. Many defendants are waiting to see if marijuana will be legal before they agree to plead guilty and get probation or whatever. Theres a lot of ifs.

Scutari also said that the streamlined expungement process could take 12 to 18 months to roll out. People convicted of possessing, using and even selling an ounce or less of marijuana would be able to apply to have their records cleared.

Police have discretion to charge people with intent to distribute marijuana, or low-level sales, even when they possess small amounts of marijuana. If someone is standing on a street corner and has an ounce broken up into 30 joints, and its packaged for sale, that could be intent, he said.

Scutari said the expungement bill could help with the legalization effort, but he said it also would correct injustices. The expungement process in New Jersey is a nightmare, he said. This is really needed."
China Deploys Military to Deliver Medical Supplies to Hubei Province Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

Sputnik News

21:14 GMT 06.02.2020(updated 21:15 GMT 06.02.2020)

China this week has deployed hundreds of military officers to deliver medical and other supplies to the city of Wuhan in the Hubei province, where the deadly coronavirus first originated in December.

A logistics team composed of 260 People's Liberation Army (PLA) officers drawn from airborne troops and air force members stationed at the Wuhan garrison, along with ground force troops from nearby military academies, began delivering supplies to ground zero this week, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

The PLA logistics team delivered 200 metric tons of supplies to supermarkets in Hubei on Monday, the first day of the initiative. According to an anonymous source connected to the PLA, the logistics team also wanted to ensure donations from organizations like the Red Cross Society reach the right people.

"The Beijing leadership realized that almost all the donation points in Hubei and Wuhan have had delivery problems, that there are some opportunists using this crisis to make money," the military source is quoted as saying by the SCMP.

The Wuhan Red Cross and the Hubei provincial Red Cross have recently been slammed by locals because not enough donations of crucial medical supplies have arrived at hospitals in recent weeks.

According to Al Jazeera, a report on donations and deliveries from Hubei's Red Cross reveals that it had delivered only 200,000 surgical masks to hospitals in Hubei out of the 2 million masks that have been donated from across China. In addition, the SCMP reports that local officials in Wuhan collected surgical masks, also known as N95 respirators, from the local Red Cross for their own families' use.

"The Wuhan Red Cross only has about 20 staff, and many of them are the wives of local officials  that's why local officials dared to take those medical supplies [for themselves]," a medical source is quoted as saying by the SCMP. "So to prevent these type of scandals from happening again, the military troops have now taken over the medical deliveries for the Red Cross."

The SCMP also reported that armed police have been patrolling Wuhan this week.

"This is a common measure used by the Chinese Communist Party to maintain public order," Macau-based military observer Antony Wong Dong told the SCMP on Monday. "Beijing just announced it today because it wants to alleviate public panic over the disease that would cause a shortage of the basics."

Also on Monday, the PLA Air Force began airlifting medical personnel and supplies to Wuhan's Huoshenshan hospital, which was built in 10 days in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The medical facility has 1,400 beds and is already treating patients from the outbreak's epicenter.

The Post reported that eight IL-76 aircraft carrying 58 metric tons of supplies as well as doctors and nurses arrived at Wuhan's Tianhe airport Sunday. The new medical staff members will join the approximately 450 military medical personnel treating patients in the city.

More than 28,000 people worldwide have been infected by the coronavirus. At least 565 people have died from the virus so far, with 549 of the fatalities occurring in Hubei.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Tuesday that it was partnering with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc, an American biotechnology company, to develop a treatment for the virus. Other pharmaceutical companies, including Moderna Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc and Johnson & Johnson, have also announced that they plan to develop treatments for the disease.

 Sputnik

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On January 23, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague imposed emergency provisional measures on Myanmar regarding its actions against and treatment of the Rohingya minority  my people. To the average person this may sound like incomprehensible legalese. But for many Rohingya, who had long been waiting for the international community to take meaningful action to end their suffering, this was some of the best news they had ever received.

With this decision, the United Nations World Court effectively instructed the government of Aung San Suu Kyi to respect the requirements of the 1948 genocide convention and bring an end to its militarys attacks on the Rohingya. This decision marked the first time that a credible international body said enough to the government that for so many decades has abused and oppressed us.

My peoples plight captured global headlines in August 2017, when the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military) launched a vicious clearance operation in the Rakhine State, which was home to more than a million Rohingya. Over the course of a few weeks, soldiers rampaged through the region, killing thousands, committing mass rapes, burning villages to the ground, and driving more than 700,000 people to flee into neighbouring Bangladesh.

As shocking as the violence was, it was only the tip of the iceberg. For decades, the Myanmar authorities have confined the Rohingya to a virtual open-air prison in the Rakhine state. It denied us citizenship since 1982, effectively rendering us stateless. Our freedom of movement even within Myanmar is extremely limited. We are expected to acquire official permission, and often pay bribes, to leave our home villages. Healthcare and education are off-limits to most Rohingya. This is all part of a deliberate effort by Myanmar not only to dehumanise us, but also to make our lives so miserable that we have no option but to leave.

Of course, even leaving the country is not easy for people who have next to nothing. Other than people who have been pushed in to Bangladesh as result of the violence, and forced to survive in refugee camps, only a few managed to leave the Rakhine state and build a life for themselves abroad.

I was one of these lucky people. I fled Rakhine state in the 1990s when I was denied access to a university education simply because I was Rohingya. I have since watched from afar how the Myanmar authorities have carried out their genocidal campaign against my people with impunity.

This is why the ruling means so much to us. I was in the court at The Hague when the verdict was delivered. I had to try really hard not to cry. As I witnessed an official body openly condemn Myanmar for what it did to us, I thought of my friends, family and acquaintances who suffered so much. I thought of the scores of people who shared with me the pain of losing loved ones to the violence of the state. That verdict convinced me that my decades of campaigning for the Rohingya finally achieved something.

The case against Myanmar at the ICJ was brought by The Gambia, a self-described small country with a big voice on human rights. The actual case will take years to conclude, but the imposition of provisional measures is a significant victory along the way.

The ICJs orders are binding on Myanmar and create legal obligations that must be enforced. The provisional measures imposed by the court require the government to prevent genocidal acts, ensure security forces do not commit genocide, preserve evidence of genocidal acts and report back on its compliance.

It remains to be seen whether Myanmar will listen to the court and take genuine action. The official reaction has so far been muted, apart from a press release by the Foreign Ministry claiming that the courts verdict presented a distorted picture of the situation.

Unfortunately, it is highly likely that the Myanmar government will simply continue to do what it has long been doing to avoid taking responsibility for its crimes  delays, denials, empty promises and endless pleas for more time. Aung San Suu Kyi has herself been leading the governments PR efforts. It is both sad and ironic that someone who so many Rohingya supported for many years has now become both an apologist and enabler of the Tatmadaws genocide.

But there is still some space for optimism.

Myanmar will now be required to provide regular reports to the ICJ on what it has done to improve the situation. A failure to comply could lead to the matter escalating to the UN Security Council. While China has so far shielded Myanmar from the action at the UNSC, the ICJs ruling will undoubtedly encourage the global community to do more to protect the Rohingya.

There is no question that the wheels of international justice have started turning. Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced it was launching an investigation into crimes against humanity committed by the Myanmar security forces against the Rohingya. In the same month, my own organisation, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK, launched a universal jurisdiction case against Myanmar in Argentina. This is based on the principle that some crimes are so horrific that they concern humanity as a whole, and can be tried anywhere regardless of where they were committed.

The pressure appears to be getting to the Myanmar leadership. On January 20, Myanmar published its own investigation into the events that transpired in the Rakhine state in the past few years, for the first time admitting that war crimes and serious human rights violations had taken place. This report, however, was a blatant PR exercise to deflect attention from the ICJ ruling, and it failed to address many of the most serious violations. It is abundantly clear that Myanmar cannot be trusted to investigate itself, and the international community must deliver justice.

In 2017, as the deadly crackdown by Tatmadaw sent hundreds of thousands fleeing across the border, I spent a month in Bangladesh. During that time, I listened to the stories of countless refugees and witnessed their pain. They told me how they dodged bullets as they fled towards the border. They told me how they helplessly watched their family members being killed and their villages torched to the ground. But they never talked about revenge. They never expressed any desire to avenge what our home country did to them. They told me that all they want is justice. They told me that they want justice for themselves, for the loved ones they lost and the Rohingya community as a whole.

As the courts decision to rebuke Myanmar for its treatment of the Rohingya was read at The Hague, I was thinking of those refugees. I was thinking how this decision is going to bring them one step closer to achieving justice.

Ultimately, we the Rohingya want to return to our homeland and live in peace with other communities that also call Myanmar home, without having to fear for our lives. Last month, the ICJ offered us a glimmer of hope that this could one day become a reality  now we need the worlds help to secure the future of our people.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
BRIDGEPORT  It all started out as an idea.

Officer Sandy Quinonez, a member of the community service division in the Bridgeport Police Department, said she decided to send care packages to soldiers overseas and their four-legged partners.

She said she was inspired by her father and grandfather, who were both military men, as well as many friends. She said she initially wanted to pursue a military career but ended up becoming a police officer instead.

This was huge for me to put it together, Quinonez said of her personal connection to the cause.

At first, Quinonez said she packed up a box herself and was prepared to ship it out. Then another city employee encouraged her to make it bigger.

Quinonez said she started sending out emails and making calls, and everything started to fall together.

Her idea quickly grew to thousands of items being donated and packaged up to be shipped out. She named it Operation Paws and Boots.

I kept getting phone calls left and right, Quinonez said of people wanting to drop of donations. It was amazing.

She said Home Depot donated all the boxes for the shipment. Piled up in a room in the Margaret E. Morton Government Center on Thursday, the roughly 40 boxes filled the small space.

Many of the local schools  including Roosevelt School, where Quinonez is a D.A.R.E. instructor, Read Elementary School, Sacred Heart University and St. Theresa School in Trumbull  jumped on board.

Many students not only collected items, but also helped Quinonez package everything up on Tuesday.

Among the items for the military dogs are ropes, bones, toys, paw balm, eye wash and food.

Quinonez said PetSmart in Orange and Waterbury, as well as a Petco and Natural Pet Outlet in Bridgeport, provided a lot of items for the military dogs.

She said many of the items for the soldiers were basic necessities, like deodorant and toothbrushes, but they also collected things like puzzles, magazines and books.

It was definitely a great surprise, Quinonez said of all the donated items.

Quinonez said as she worked to figure out exactly how to get these packages overseas, she found Heroes and Hounds, a program annually done by the Simsbury Police Department.

She said she touched base with Simsbury Police Animal Control Officer Mark Rudewicz, a former marine, who has connections to ship the items overseas. She said shell transfer the ready-to-ship packages to Rudewicz, who will ship them through the Air Force.

Quinonez said the care packages will go to soldiers deployed in the Middle East, including Kuwait and Afghanistan.

For anyone who wants to donate items overseas to soldiers and their military dogs, Quinonez encouraged them to send over their own care package. Or, she said, they can hang on to the items until the next time she does it.

Im definitely going to do this again next year, Quinonez said.
In the midst of spreading fear over the coronavirus outbreak, travelers to Asia, even to countries far from the epicenter of the virus in China, are beginning to reconsider their plans.

While hard data on cancellations is scarce, as airlines, hotels and travel boards say they do not yet have numbers or will not share them, some tour operators, travel insurance brokers and even airline employees say they are facing growing numbers of customers changing their plans.

Brian Fitzgerald, president of Overseas Adventure Travel, a company providing group tours to travelers mostly over 50, said that after its initial cancellations for trips to China through April in the wake of the outbreaks announcement, this week tourists slated to go to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam were starting to reconsider as well.

People are worried about traveling to Asia when they should be cognizant of traveling to China, Mr. Fitzgerald said.
[February 07, 2020] Shoolini University Joins AWS Academy to Offer Students AWS Academy Cloud Computing Curriculum

SOLAN, India, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Himachal Pradesh-based Shoolini University has announced participation in AWS Academy, a new Amazon Web Services (AWS) programme that provides higher education institutions with a ready-to-teach cloud computing curriculum. Beginning next semester, students can enroll in courses that will prepare them for careers in the rapidly growing cloud computing space and help them pursue industry-recognised AWS Certifications. The courses would be available, free of cost to the students, from the engineering and the management departments initially. Later, students from other departments will also be offered these courses. The courses will run for a full semester. After successfully completing the programme, students who take and pass the AWS Certification examination will become AWS Certified. Vice Chancellor Prof P K Khosla said, "We are proud to make the AWS Academy curriculum available to our students." He added, "Cloud computing has become the new normal fo organisations around the world, and the technical skills that students develop through this programme will position them well for their careers today and in the future."



The AWS Academy curriculum is developed and maintained by AWS subject matter experts, ensuring that it reflects current services and up-to-date best practices. Courses are taught by AWS Academy-accredited educators who are trained by AWS to help students become proficient in AWS technology. "We created AWS Academy to develop the next generation of cloud computing professionals by working collaboratively with higher education institutions and industry partners," said Scott McKinley, AWS Academy Global Team Lead, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Our goal is to build a pipeline of AWS-trained professionals who can help drive innovation as cloud computing becomes the new normal," he added.

AWS Academy courses help students develop in-demand cloud computing skills and gain hands-on experience in order to pursue employment as a cloud computing IT professional or earn industry-recognised AWS Certification. About Shoolini University: Set up in 2009, Shoolini University is a research-driven private university with full-recognition from the UGC. A not-for-profit organisation, it is a leading university of India recognised for its focus on innovation, quality placements, and world-class faculty. Nestled in the lower Himalayas, the university has received accreditation from NAAC and it is ranked by the NIRF. For more information, please visit: https://shooliniuniversity.com/ Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087557/Shoolini_University_AWS_Curriculum.jpg

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The body of the 44-year-old Chinese man who died of acute respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus has been "disposed of properly," a health official said, without disclosing more details.

Health Undersecreatry Eric Domingo in a press briefing on Friday said also handled the same way was the body of another Chinese national, a 29-year-old man with HIV who was earlier put under watch for possible coronavirus infection. He died of other causes on January 29 and tested negative for the new coronavirus or 2019-nCoV.

"I can't give you the details but the two bodies have been disposed [of] properly already. Wala na sila dito sa (They are no longer here in) San Lazaro, of course all following safety procedure," Domingo said.

He said the Department of Health refuses to divulge details "for privacy reasons and for the dignity of the deceased."

He, however, assured that the bodies, even if not cremated, do not pose a risk to public health since the "disposal" process was handled properly.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque earlier said that the remains of the coronavirus patient may just be buried in a public cemetery, since no crematorium wanted to accept them. He did not identify the cemetery.

The patient died on February 1, but his body stayed at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila for six days after his death, as crematoriums contacted by the DOH kept backing out.

READ: First novel coronavirus death outside China reported in Philippines

When asked how many crematoriums had refused, Domingo said he does not know of any business who did not reject the patient's body.

"Frankly I think they are afraid that it might affect business na pag nalaman ng public na nagcremate sila ng nCoV patient natatakot sila na baka hindi na rin sila puntahan ng publiko at hindi tangkilikin ang kanilang mga serbisyo," Domingo said.

[Translation: Frankly I think they are afraid that it might affect business if the public knows they cremated an nCoV patient. They're afraid that the public would no longer come to them for their services.]

Another person under watch dies

People with a history of travel from Wuhan, a Chinese city where the virus originated, and those who had contact with infected people are considered "patients under investigation" especially if they show influenza-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and cold.

There are now 215 PUIs in the country as of Friday noon, the DOH said, adding that one of them died Thursday due to pneumonia, not 2019-nCoV.

Of the 215 PUIs, 184 are admitted and isolated in hospitals, 17 have been discharged "under strict monitoring," while nine have refused admission.

The DOH is appealing to these nine people to submit themselves to quarantine. It said they have been identified and told to stay away from the public.

The new coronavirus has killed more than 630 people, mostly in China, the world's most populous country. It has also infected more than 31,400 people across 28 countries and territories, according to Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering that tracks coronavirus cases across the world. Two fatalities were reported outside China's mainland  one each in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Vietnams stock market over the last few days has gradually recovered and rebounded, said Vice Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai.

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) is taking steps to stabilize market sentiment as fear of the nCoV outbreak is causing the VN-Index going downhill and evaporating billions of US dollars in market capitalization, according to Vu Thi Mai, vice minister of Finance.

The State Securities Commission of Vietnam, the countrys stock market watchdog, supervises the operation of the stock markets daily and strictly penalizes any act of manipulation and providing false information, said Mai at a governments monthly press briefing on February 5.

With such efforts, Vietnams stock market over the last few days has gradually recovered and is bouncing back, Mai asserted.

In the first two trading days after the Lunar New year Holiday on January 30  31, 2020, the VN-Index plummeted by nearly 4.54%, partly due to a long break after the holiday and fears of the impacts from the nCoV outbreak.

Mai said the fall in the stock market was common in the region and even lower than some countries detecting the first cases of nCoV infection.

In the last half of January, major stock markets in Asia suffered slump, including Hong Kong with 9.4%, South Korea with 5.8% and Thailand with 5.4%.

However, Mai stated losses in Vietnams stock market narrowed at the beginning of February.

The VN-Index shrank by merely 0.8% to 929 in the first two trading days of February, and edged up 0.95 points against the previous day on February 4.

According to Mai, for mid- and long-term solutions, the MoF would continue to perfect legal frameworks and guidance for the Securities Law, which has been approved by the National Assembly and on track to become effective in early 2021.

Moreover, the MoF is expected to restructure the stock market for greater efficiency, Mai continued, saying the move is in line with the proposal to restructure the stock and insurance markets until 2020, with vision to 2025.

Mai said the MoF is committed to ensuring discipline and building trust among investors for stability and sustainable development of the stock market. Hanoitimes

Hai Yen

Finance ministry acts to improve business climate The Ministry of Finance plans to hasten tax and customs administrative reforms this year to improve the business climate.
Before I had a baby, I was a frequent and spontaneous traveler. I lived for girls' weekends and anniversary trips with my husband. I saw travel as one of my (many) forms of self-caremore luxurious than a bubble bath or a face mask, but if my budget allowed and I could take the time off, I found a way to make it happen.

When my daughter was born, I took 12 months of maternity leave (Im Canadian, and our federal government offers generous paid maternity leave benefits, assuming youve been employed prior to giving birth) and assumed a new full-time job as a mom. It was both the most amazing job Ive ever had and the most emotional, physical, and exhausting one. After a year I was extremely ready for a vacation. Just me, a good book, and a few days of freedom from mom duties. The thought of a diaper-free weekend filled with uninterrupted sleep sounded blissful.

Enter the momcation into our lexicon, a new type of travel with more than 53,000 posts on Instagram and counting. Defined as a trip a mother takes without her husband and kids, it could be solo or with girlfriends, but the goal is the sameto get relief from the demands of parenting.

It felt defiant to openly want a break from parenting duties.

My husband travels for work and I do most of the childcare, says Vanessa Milne, a 37-year-old journalist from Toronto, who has two children, ages 5 and 19 months. About a year after her first was born, a friend invited her to Montreal to celebrate her 40th birthday. At first she hesitated. She was worried about leaving her baby, but then she decided if she was able to take care of her child alone, her husband was more than capable too. The trip was amazing, she tells me. It was nice to go out and know 100% you can sleep in the next morning.

I was scared to even suggest the idea of taking a momcation to my husbandnot because he wasnt capable of staying at home with our daughter but because the desire to even want time away made me feel incredibly guilty. Our culture celebrates mothers who cheerfully embrace the sacrifices of motherhood and harshly judges any woman who deviates from this norm. It felt defiant to openly want a break from parenting duties.

Story continues

Its one of the great ironies of motherhood: You desperately want time for yourself, but as soon as you get it, you feel guilty.

The mom guilt is on a whole other level, admits Kathy Larson, 42, a work-from-home mom from Sleepy Creek, North Carolina, with three children, ages 6, 8, and 11. Theres social media, my mom, my mother-in-law, and my friends. Larson was also worried to ask her husband about taking time away for a trip to the Caribbean with her best friend with whom she had regularly traveled before they had children. The two shared the same birthday and wanted to go away to celebrate their 40th. I was afraid to ask him, she says, but was pleasantly surprised when he was more than supportive.

My internal debate got even more complicated when I started to do the math on my trip. Even though I was back at work, I was now contending with the reality of living in a city with astronomical childcare costs. A getaway I could have afforded pre-kid now felt irresponsible.

Cost is a concern for a lot of moms including Larson, who initially said no to the 40th-birthday trip over cost concerns. I briefly entertained the idea of putting it on a credit card, but I already felt guilty about leavingand extending our tight budget for something that would benefit only me added to it. Other moms told me they used credit cards more strategically. Rhiannon Giles, a 38-year-old mother of two from Durham, North Carolina, managed to take a solo momcation to Puerto Rico by doing some creative credit card juggling ending up with travel reward points that offset the cost considerably.

I decided to save the big-ticket trip for the future and made a new plan to stay at a family cottage for free. With two nights planned, it would be the longest stretch of alone time Id had since giving birth. As I kissed my daughter goodbye, she waved and went back to playing with her toys. I thought she would be more upset to see me go, but she was content. I immediately felt relieved, then unsure: Was she not going to miss me?

Hours after my arrival at the cottage, texts from my husband started to pour in: updates on the activities they were doing, what she had eaten, her nap duration, her mood. I pleaded for photos. I video-chatted in for her dinner. After all the longing for a vacation, it was more difficult to disconnect from mom life than I thought it would be.

Its one of the great ironies of motherhood: You desperately want time for yourself, but as soon as you get it, you feel guilty.

Of course, not all moms feel this way. I thought I was going to miss them a lot, but I didnt struggle at all, says Larson. Milne said they were so busy throughout her weekend away there was hardly time to check in. Giles felt the trip empowered her. I love my kids. I would die for my kids, she says. But Im an introvert with two very strong-willed childrentime off makes me a better parent.

What every mom I spoke to did agree on when it came to momcations was the sleep: the blissful, uninterrupted, best-sleep-of-your-life sleep. No baby monitor casting a stream of light in the bedroom. No middle-of-the-night shrieks. No early feeding. Two nights of this was almost enough to undo months of sleep debt. Almost.

Taking time away for myself made me realize there is absolutely no reason to feel guilty for prioritizing yourself. Its not just a nice to do; its essential. Without recharging yourself on a regular basis, you cant be the fully present parent you want to be. Although Milne and Larson havent taken a second momcation, both women said theyd like to do it again. Before I did it I judged other moms, says Larson But then when I did it, I was like, Why didnt I do it sooner? Despite the initial guilt, I relished the uninterrupted time alone, freedom from the demands of a toddler, and the ability to pee without being barged in on.

I tell my daughter I love her more than anything, and I really do. I love being a mom. But I love myself too. Enough to take a vacation.

Stephanie Gray is a freelance writer based in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter @steph_gray and Instagram @step_gray31.

Originally Appeared on Glamour
Lai Yanli (2nd, L) and her family members distribute facial masks to residents. [China Women's News]

In response to the appeal of the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF), the winners of "most beautiful family" title across the country are participating in the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Ge Suying's Family

During this Spring Festival holiday, Ge Suying, from Tangshan City, North China's Hebei Province, asked every family member to do their best to prevent the spread of the virus by frequently washing their hands, ventilating rooms and staying at home. They canceled their visits to relatives and friends and purchased supplies for epidemic prevention.

In addition, Ge's family donated disinfectant worth 10,000 yuan (US $1,429) to the Tangshan Infectious Diseases Hospital.

Ge Suying's family donates disinfectant to the Tangshan Infectious Diseases Hospital [China Women's News]

Fu Liangling's Family

Honored as one of the most beautiful families of South China's Hainan Province in 2019, Fu Liangling's family is contributing to the fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Fu, a March 8th Red-banner Holder of the province, is deputy director of the anti-drugs office of Haidian Sub-district in Haikou, capital city of Hainan Province, and she has been involved in the epidemic prevention since the first day of the lunar year.

She is responsible for epidemic prevention and control, including publicizing information about epidemic prevention and conducting temperature checks in hotels, rental houses and residential areas. She also reports suspected cases immediately and gives psychological assistance to the people suspected of being infected by the virus.

Zhou Jun's Family

Zhou Jun's family is one of the most beautiful families in East China's Jiangxi Province. Zhou and her husband Tong Jianhua work in Guixi People's Hospital. After becoming aware of the epidemic, they applied to work in the most heavily-stricken area.

Due to lack of cleaning staff during the Spring Festival holiday, Tong set up a team responsible for garbage removal and disinfection as quickly as possible. To ensure adequate rest for medical staff, he reconstructed vacant wards into a rest area equipped with washing machine, microwave oven and television for medical workers and provided supporting services to them.

As an obstetrician and gynecologist, Zhou is sticking to her position in the epidemic-stricken area to give medical care as needed.

Zhang Yongying's Family

Zhang Yongying's family, one of the national "most beautiful families," also participates in the on-going battle against novel coronavirus.

Zhang is responsible for registering incoming and outgoing vehicles, disinfection, checking body temperature for villagers, publicizing information about epidemic prevention and taking care of the elderly who live alone.

Zhang's husband stays busy participating in the construction of temporary working room for the epidemic control in the village.

Her son and daughter-in-law are also doing their duty for epidemic control.

Zhao Chunhua's Family

Zhao Chunhua, a recipient of the honorary title of the national "most beautiful families," did a good job in publicizing epidemic prevention and control in Neiqiu County, Hebei Province.

Zhao updated authorized news on her WeChat moments and her community, students and parents' WeChat groups in a timely way, to give people the latest information of the epidemic and the prevention methods.

As a Party member, she voluntarily monitored homecoming people in the community and registered anyone who had a fever.

She raised money totaling 11,500 yuan (US $1,643) to purchase coats, instant noodles, drinking water and disinfectant for the workers involved in the epidemic prevention and control at the epidemic check points.

Lai Yanli's Family

Lai Yanli, is president of the Women's Federation of Guanzhoujie Sub-district in Haizhu District in Guangzhou, capital city of South China's Guangdong Province.

She keeps a close 24/7 eye on the situation of the epidemic prevention in the community and reports relevant information every day.

Hearing about the shortage of masks, Lai's husband and son tried their best and finally bought 400 facial masks for impoverished people and elderly people who live alone.

Lai also released an initiative to call on local families to join in epidemic prevention and control work on her WeChat account and launched hotlines for virus prevention and psychological assistance.

(Source: China Women's News/Translated and edited by Women of China)
Health minister: Kick out Western tourists not wearing face masks

THAILAND: Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul lashed out at Western tourists today (Feb 7) for not wearing face masks and suggested they be expelled from the country for putting others at risk during the coronavirus outbreak.

healthtourismCoronavirusCOVID-19

By AFP

Friday 7 February 2020, 04:36PM

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hands out masks tor skytrain passengers at Siam station earlier today (Feb 7). Photo: Anutin Charvirakul Facebook account

The outburst came as the kingdom faced steep losses over a drop in visitors from China, where the virus has killed more than 600 people and prompted sweeping travel restrictions.

Mr Anutin was distributing masks at the Siam skytrain station entrance and complained that farang tourists did not take them and acted as if they dont care.

These kinds of people, we should kick them out of Thailand, he told reporters, waving a handful of masks in the air.

Mr Anutin did not respond to additional requests for comment but posted an apology on his Facebook page for losing it after some foreigners from Europe were uncooperative in the mask campaign.

More than 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand last year but the industry projects about 2 million fewer arrivals in 2020 because of the coronavirus, making US, European and other markets more vital.

Debates over the efficacy of masks have bounced around the internet since the contagion first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last month.

Since then it has spread to more than two dozen countries and infected over 30,000, mostly within mainland China. As of today, 638 people have been confirmed dead.

Health experts generally agree masks are useful if you have respiratory symptoms or are caring for patients.

But the World Health Organizations own Thailand office tweeted a graphic on Feb 4 stating masks are not needed for general public who do not have respiratory symptoms.

The WHO has advised people to wash their hands regularly and avoid touching their face.

Tourism accounts for 18% of Thailands gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up a quarter of total arrivals.

Thailand has detected 25 coronavirus cases and nine of those patients have recovered, while streets, public transport and shopping centres have filled with people wearing face masks.
More than 130 centenarian voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the February 8 election and they will be treated as a VIP on the polling day, officials said on Thursday. Earlier, the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office had identified 150 centenarian voters but the number was revised after physical verification.

A total of 150 voters, aged 100 and above, were initially identified by our officials. Later, physical verification was done but many of the centenarian voters were found to be dead, and some of them had shifted out of Delhi, so the final figure was revised, a senior official of the Delhi CEO office told PTI.

After physical verification, the number of centenarian voters was revised to 132 -- 68 men and 64 women.

The highest number of centenarians, 21, were found in West Delhi district and the lowest, 7, in New Delhi district, the official said. Kalitara Mandal, 110, a resident of C R Park in South Delhis Greater Kailash constituency, is the oldest voter in Delhi.

Bachchan Singh, 111, the oldest voter in the 2019 elections in the city who used to reside in Tilak Nagar, died last December.

Delhi CEO Ranbir Singh on Wednesday said members of Bharat Scouts and Guides assisted the poll officials in physical verification process and documenting their stories.

During physical verification, officials check if such voters are alive or still living in Delhi.

Of the 18 centenarians who were not found at home, most of them had died and some of them had shifted base from Delhi, the senior official said.

Singh said these voters will be extended of all the facilities they had enjoyed in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A senior officer will go to the houses of each of these centenarian voters, residing nearest to the polling station in a constituency, and escort them to the booths. They will also motivate them to vote, unless they are bedridden and their health doesnt permit, the CEO said.

But if such voters are still eager to vote despite their frailty, we will make all possible arrangements to ensure they exercise their franchise. They will also be given priority in voting, so they dont have to stand in line, he said.

At polling stations, they will be greeted with bouquets and election staff would take selfies with them, he said.

Our staffers are going to each of these centenarians to physically check them, and on polling day, they will get pick-and-drop facility to the polling station, he said.

Elections in Delhi are due on February 8 and the Delhi CEO office is making all arrangements to facilitate elderly citizens and voters with disability.

Special arrangements would be made for Delhi voters who are aged 100 and above. They will be made to feel like VVIPs, Singh said.

In the 2019 general elections, the Delhi CEO office had identified 96 centenarian voters in the city, and women had outnumbered men in that category.

According to data shared by the Delhi CEO office, there were 42 male centenarian voters and 54 females in that category during last years polls.

We have been trying for the last four months to identify all voters who are aged 100 or above. This is the first such initiative to cater to such elderly voters who were born before Independence and saw the first general elections in 1952. For us, they are VVIP voters and they will be treated as such, Singh had said last year ahead of the 2019 polls.
The government on Friday said it had offered to bring back people belonging to neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, from the novel coronavirus-hit Wuhan where 80 Indian students are still remaining after evacuation of 647 Indians and seven Maldivians.

On February 1, 324 Indians were brought back from Wuhan by first Air India special flight, while another batch of 323 Indians and seven Maldivians were evacuated from the Chinese city on February 2 through a second special flight.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed Rajya Sabha that the time when the two flights were going, India had told all students and larger community in Wuhan that it was prepared not only to bring back Indians but also all the people of our neighbouring countries who want to come back.

"So, this was an offer which was made to all our neighbours. And, of these, the seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail the offer.

"But I would like the honourable members to know that the offer was made to everybody," he informed Rajya Sabha in response to queries if Pakistan had requested India to bring back its citizens.

Jaishankar further said there are about 80 Indian students who are still in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan. This includes 10 students who had come to the airport when the flights were sent. But they were running fever and so the Chinese authorities, after screening, did not allow them to board the flight.

"About 70 odd people chose voluntarily to stay in Wuhan and not get evacuated in the two flights," the minister said.

Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The bloc should not use its larger economy to bully the UK in trade talks, but should value what the latter can contribute, in areas such as intelligence, writes Daniel Gros

The European Union has lost one of its most important member states.

The United Kingdom accounted for one-sixth of the EUs population and economy. Without it, the EU will still be one of the worlds premier economic powers, but it will be less dynamic. Still, there is hope for a fruitful, cooperative EU-UK relationship.

The first step is to negotiate a trade agreement. But it would be a mistake to concentrate too much on the details of those talks. Trade is important to both sides, but the minutiae of the UKs trading relationship with Europe will not determine its economic fate.

The most likely outcome is a deal that eliminates tariffs for both sides, but even a return to standard World Trade Organisation rules would not be the end of the world.

While a better trade deal might prevent the loss of a few percentage points of GDP over the next decade, other variables, such as the quality of education, investment, and domestic regulation, are ultimately more important for growth.

In any case, the EU is much more than a market. It has its own currency and has abolished fiscal-policy frontiers across a massive geographic area. The UK did not participate in either of these key areas of integration and would not have done so anytime soon.

As such, the EU has actually lost only a one-third member.

The relationship with the UK needs to be managed properly. But the fact is that European leaders and policymakers have much more pressing issues to address. Brexit is now a sideshow.

Chief among the EUs priorities is the European Green Deal, in which the UK could continue to participate, given its shared concerns about climate change.

In the long run, however, the EUs efforts to complete the eurozone and the Schengen area of passport-free travel will put it and the UK on diverging paths.

Economists will continue to debate whether the euro was ever a good idea, with Anglo-Saxons sticking to the line that: It cant happen; it is a bad idea; it wont last.

The euro crisis did seem to vindicate the UKs scepticism. And yet opinion polls over the past few years show that the European population has moved beyond the academic debate.

By the latest count, close to 80% of Eurobarometer respondents think the euro is good for the EU.

For younger generations that have never known any other currency, the question of whether they would prefer some newly introduced national currency is nonsensical.

There is a reason why Eurosceptic parties and candidates have consistently lost elections in which they have explicitly advocated an exit from the eurozone. Even an arch-populist like Matteo Salvini, of the League party in Italy, has abandoned the No Euro slogan on which he once ran.

Similar political dynamics apply to passport-free travel. The Schengen area is still a work in progress, but the direction of its evolution is clear: rather than retreating on the principle of freedom of movement, member states are gradually reinforcing the EUs external border.

Over time, that will give voters confidence that they do not need permanent controls or fences between member states.

True, there are still some internal controls, left over from the 2016 refugee crisis, but these are exceptions that prove the rule. In most cases, however, Europeans enjoy passport-free travel on the continent.

In the UK, these advances have been dismissed as part of the much-derided quest for ever-closer union, which the British electorate never embraced.

Nonetheless, EU integration will continue among the remaining 27 members, leading to further projects that the UK probably would not have supported anyway. The most conspicuous (and long-term) of these is European defence.

Ironically, while the UK was in the EU, it always opposed proposals for a joint defence force. But now that it is on its own, it supports the idea, because it will facilitate EU-UK defence cooperation.

The UK has already become accustomed to playing second fiddle in its special relationship with the United States, so it is not unreasonable to think that it could accept a similar relationship with the EU.

In most cases, the UK would inevitably follow Europes lead, while maintaining its sense of cultural superiority at home.

British diplomats would be able to revive their pre-membership tradition of remaining aloof and mystified by European polyglots impractical schemes.

Of course, for such an arrangement to work, the EU will have to make a good-faith effort to consider the UKs legitimate interests.

That will require overcoming some bad habits.

In its dealings with other neighbours, including the Balkan countries, Ukraine, and even Norway and Switzerland, the EU tends to behave like an acknowledged hegemon, often assuming a take it or leave it position.

To be sure, in economic terms, the EUs relative size speaks for itself. But it is the UK that will be stronger in many other areas, not least security and intelligence, where the EU has limited capacity, while most individual member states have almost none at all.

Given these broader considerations, the EU would be mistaken to exploit its economic advantage when the trade talks start at the beginning of March. Brexit could ultimately lead to a productive special relationship in which the UK remains a close partner of the EU and makes a valuable contribution to Europes peace and prosperity.

- Daniel Gros is director of the centre for European Policy Studies.
A leading transport expert is urging the Victorian government to consider a London-style tax where motorists in high-polluting vehicles would have to pay to drive through Melbourne's CBD.

Londons ultra low emissions zone was introduced last year to reduce pollution and emissions and encourage the uptake of cleaner modes of transport such as electric cars.

China has grown to be the world's largest producer of electric vehicles. Credit:Bloomberg

The call for Victoria to consider the London model comes after The Age revealed this week that electric car sales in Australia have tripled but still lag far behind many countries in Europe.

The Grattan Institutes transport and cities program director, Marion Terrill, said the Andrews government should look to Londons scheme as an option for increasing the use of low-emissions vehicles such as electric cars.
Every couple of years, I find it necessary to repeat this message at either Mothers Day or Valentine's Day, because ordering flowers at these busy times of the floral year can indeed seem like walking through a minefield. There seems to be another question after each footstep. Today, I want to clarify some of the most important issues, like ordering flowers off the web or from an advertisement, and why are rose prices suddenly so high at this time of year?

I got the idea for this column from something Dear Abby wrote last month. Yes, I do read Abby from time to time. Is there a delicate way to tell my boyfriend not to use an online floral delivery service again? The bouquet he sent me arrived limp, wilted with torn petals and leaves. She went on to describe that instead of a pretty bouquet as shown in the ad, she got roses packed in a box, next to the vase for her to arrange herself. I know that we are not the only local florists trying to ease the frustration and exasperation of folks who come in for help.

There are three kinds of vendors in the picture. Some place ads everywhere and show beautiful roses at ridiculously low prices. Of course, they do not want to sell just those roses. They are very slick at getting you to upgrade not only the roses, but the vase and delivery charge. These flowers will come to you by the usual national delivery services. If you are not home, they want to be sure that you get it, so they will leave it on your doorstep. Hope it isnt freezing! But complain, and they will send you a replacement in a few days. Still, your man did not want a replacement. He wanted you to have the most beautiful roses in the world.

The next tier in this pyramid are the companies that advertise as your local flower shop. If you are ordering online, you will find several of them at the top of the web page, ahead of the local listings, though those ads will make you think that they are just around the corner. They are not. Most do not own flower shops; theyre call centers manned with salespeople looking at computer screens covered with bouquets  not florists. You place your order with them, and they will go to the directory of FTD or Teleflora florists and ask them to take the order. You could have saved the $14 or $20 service fee by selecting a florist in the receiving town and calling direct. Or, better yet, you might have called one of our locally owned brick and mortar florists who belong to a wire service like FTD or Teleflora, and had them handle the transaction. The service fee would have been under $8 or $9.

And then, there is your local florist!

Gertrude Stein made famous the phrase, a rose is a rose is a rose. Well, that is not necessarily so anymore. Not all roses are created equal, and not all roses are properly and equally cared for on their way from the greenhouse in Ecuador to your desk or living room table.

First of all are the reasons that they are more expensive. In order to get enough blooms for the Valentine's Day season, in November and December growers had to pinch off many of the buds that would have bloomed in November and the high demand Christmas season. That is so they could regulate the bloom time for a maximum number of roses. Secondly, temperatures are lower during the winter months, creating more heat costs. And finally, the cost of hiring more staff and scheduling all those flights to Miami and trucks from Miami, to us, is astronomical.

The earliest cut roses are bought up by the mass marketers in the first example and held in cold storage until shipped. I would think that this might lower the time for enjoyment in the customer's home. Then there is the question of rose length. The shorter the rose, the lower the cost to the store. The demand is for the more expensive long stems because they tend to have larger flowers.

Want the best deal? Want your roses to last longer? Rely on your local florist.

Carmen Cosentino operates Cosentino's Florist with his daughter, Jessica. He was elected to the National Floriculture Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2008, received the Tommy Bright award for lifetime achievements in floral education. In 2016, Carmen and Jessica were presented Teleflora's Tom Butler Award, naming Cosentino's the florist of the year at the company's annual meeting in Hawaii. Carmen can be reached at cosenti@aol.com or (315) 253-5316.

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We know this because he repeatedly ordered underlings such as former National Economic Council director Gary Cohn to kill the merger, as reported by the New Yorkers Jane Mayer. We also know it because Trumps own campaign issued a press release in 2016 pledging hed block it: AT&T . . . is now trying to buy Time Warner and thus the wildly anti-Trump CNN. Donald Trump would never approve such a deal.
WTF?! If youre considering buying a used Tesla with driver assistance features, make sure to check theyre still present after purchase. According to a new report, a person who bought a second-hand Model S 75D found the Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self Driving (FSD) had been removed remotely by Tesla as part of a software update.

Update (2/14): Never underestimate the power of bad publicity. After Tesla removed driver assistance features from a second-hand Model S 75D following its purchase from a dealer, the company has restored the Enhanced Autopilot and Full Self Driving, blaming the incident on a miscommunication.

Jalopnik details the case of a consumer who purchased a 2017 Tesla Model S on December 20 of last year from a third-party dealer. The car was sold at auction, where it was listed with the premium features, which cost a total of $8,000 when adding them to a new vehicle.

Tesla sold the car to the dealership on November 15, and on November 18, the company conducted an audit on the car remotely, which flagged Enhanced Autopilot and FSD for removal. After the Model S was bought, a software update was pushed out, disabling the features.

When the buyer contacted Tesla, they were told the car was incorrectly configured for Autopilot versions that they did not pay for. The same reason was given for the removal of FSD, though Tesla generously offered to re-add the features for a price.

Image credit: Jalopnik

The move has been compared to someone buying a second-hand car and the manufacturer removing adaptive cruise control or A/C options because the previous owner paid for them. And as Engadget notes, Teslas Terms of Use suggest the only feature tied to the user is Premium Connectivity, which cant be transferred.

Whats especially strange is that when the buyer contacted a Tesla Used Vehicle Sales Advisor, they were told that if the features had been added, Tesla wouldnt remove them, even though it had.

It seems this wasnt an isolated incident, either. There are stories on Teslas message boards of people having similar experiences.

Its been a busy few days for Tesla. The companys stock has rallied 60 percent, and CEO Elon Musk has suggested the next gigafactory will be built in Texas.

Giga Texas?  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2020
Scarlett Moffatt ensured she was centre of attention on Thursday evening as she attended The Sun Military Awards 2020 in London.

The former Gogglebox star caught the eye in a distinctive floral dress as she made her way inside Banqueting House ahead of the annual event.

With a lace hemline and semi-sheer detailing the outfit turned heads as stars turned out in force to honour members of the British forces and civilians involved with the forces.

Here she comes: Scarlett Moffatt ensured she was centre of attention on Thursday evening as she attended The Sun Military Awards 2020 in London

The 29-year old added to her look with a pair of white peep-toe mules, while her hair was conventionally styled with a simple side parting.

Scarlett's appearance comes after she discussed the importance of body positivity and admitted that the changing room can be a battlefield in itself as she launched the second wave of her Scarlett Loves Peacocks fashion edit.

The Im A Celebrity favourite also opened up on how shes empowering women not to let their bodies stop them from doing things they love and revealed that shes being more honest with her fans when she has bad days.

Looking good: The former Gogglebox star caught the eye in a distinctive floral dress as she made her way inside Banqueting House ahead of the annual event

Tasteful: With a lace hemline and semi-sheer detailing the outfit turned heads as stars turned out in force to honour members of the British forces and civilians involved with the forces

Since being propelled to fame on Channel 4s Gogglebox, Scarlett has faced her fair share of internet trolls and body shamers.

However, while shes previously lashed out at body shamers in the past, Scarlett is now focusing her energy on helping other women smile when they look in the mirror through the launch of her new Spring/Summer range with Peacocks.

Discussing her latest collaboration with the Highstreet chain in an exclusive chat with MailOnline, Scarlett said: The collection is sizes 8-22. And again, theres no labels, no plus size or any of that. You just pop into the store and if you see anything you like you just get it in your size.

Say cheese: Scarlett posed for photos on the red carpet before making her way inside

Finishing touches: The 29-year old added to her look with a pair of white peep-toe mules, while her hair was conventionally styled with a simple side parting

Don't mind me: But Scarlett was hard to miss as she made her way across the red carpet

I just wanted to make sure that this range didnt exclude anybody, I wanted to make sure that every woman could go in and feel like they could buy something that could fit them.

Revealing how she faces her own body image struggles, she continued: I know for myself how critical I can be on my own body and how other women could be critical on their bodies no matter their size. So, I wanted to make sure that they can go in and choose.

Sometimes the changing room could be a battlefield in itself, so Ive tried to eliminate that feeling.

Previously: Scarlett's appearance comes after she discussed the importance of body positivity and admitted that the changing room can be a battlefield in itself'

Meanwhile, the star revealed how shes going to promote body positivity in the coming year, adding that the main thing shell do is to be open with fans if shes having a bad or 'c**p day.

Being honest with people, I never want to portray that every day I wake up and Im happy with myself, because thats not the case. Sometimes I have bad days as well she explained.

I think being honest on those bad days, saying Im having a bit of a c**p day. If youre looking in the mirror and you dont love yourself, dont feel bad, tomorrows another day.

Fashionista: Scarlett is now focusing her energy on helping other women smile when they look in the mirror through the launch of her new Spring/Summer range with Peacocks

The message kind of gets muddled when its all positivity all the time. Were not robots, everyone has c**p days. Its just making sure that the positive outweighs the negative.

I definitely have more positive days now than negative days, and that to me is a win. I just want for people to make sure that theyre not giving themselves a hard time.

And Scarlett, who recently starred as the Fairy Godmother in panto over the festive season, had a defiant message for those who sometimes let their image stop them from living their best lives.

Choice: 'I know for myself how critical I can be on my own body and how other women could be critical on their bodies no matter their size. So, I wanted to make sure that they can go in and choose,' she said

She said: Sometimes we really give ourselves a hard time and theres just no need for it. You shouldnt let the way you look stop you from doing the things you love.

I know how difficult holidays for example can be for some people. I know sometimes people dont want to go around the pool because they feel self-conscious. But if youre around the pool and people are more interested in what you look like, then theyre not really having a good holiday are they?

You just have to try to put yourself in that mindset that you shouldnt let it stop you from doing the things you love. The world would be so boring if we all looked the same!

The brunette beautys weight changes have been well documented, with Scarlett famously losing three stone following her stint in the Jungle in 2016 as she felt she had to 'look a certain way'.

Positive words: 'Being honest on those bad days, saying Im having a bit of a c**p day. If youre looking in the mirror and you dont love yourself, dont feel bad, tomorrows another day'

At the time, the star wentb though an incredible transformation, dropping from 11 stone to eight stone.

Scarlett has since told in recent months how shes finally happy within her body and is embracing her gorgeous curves, however, she admits that there are still days when she doesnt like herself.

She explained: Theres some days that I like myself and theres some days when I dont.

I just think thats this whole body movement, we just have to make sure that whatever your body is, whether thats slim or curvy or whatever, all that matters is that youre happy.

Honest: Scarlett has told in recent months how shes finally happy within her body and is embracing her gorgeous curves, however, she admits that there are still days when she doesnt like herself

Because really, if my next-door neighbour is super thin, or a bit curvier, it makes no difference in my life, but it will make a difference in their life. As long as youre happy in yourself, and are healthy because your health is your wealth, I think thats all that matters.

Dont focus on being a certain size or shape, because thats when you can get upset with yourself.

As for the trolls who try to bring her down?

I think that sometimes, they maybe just they are not happy in themselves and they want a bit of attention she mused. I dont know the reasons.

The world would be a lot easier if there werent trolls. Its a hard one because social media has so many good points, but there are those who spoil it as well. If we could just get rid of that, then it would be great!
Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have begun monitoring the body temperatures of all passengers at the Saigon Railway Station in a bid to control the contagion of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

A checkpoint was established at the railway station, located in District 3, on Thursday in order to measure the body temperaturs of all train passengers on a daily basis, said Nguyen Hong Tam, director of the citys International Health Quarantine Center.

A team of medical workers has been tasked with operating the machines in order to check passengers for signs of fever, coughing, fatigue, or difficulty breathing.

Those who have such symptoms are asked to undergo further check-ups.

A medical staff member operates a machine to monitor the body temperatures of train passengers at the Saigon Railway Station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Phu / Tuoi Tre

If someone is potentially infected with the novel coronavirus, they will be quarantined and admitted to the hospital for treatment. Those in close contact with the suspected patient will also be closely monitored, Tam elaborated.

According to the Saigon Railway Company, a lot of people are still traveling from northern and central provinces back to Ho Chi Minh City following the Lunar New Year.

Passengers have their body temperatures measured at the Saigon Railway Station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Phu / Tuoi Tre

Approximately 19 trains carry thousands of passengers to the Saigon Railway Station every day.

All employees have been equipped with skills and knowledge regarding the 2019-nCoV, while every train arriving at the station is thoroughly sterilized.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected over 31,400 globally as of Friday, according to the South China Morning Post.

Passengers have their body temperatures measured at the Saigon Railway Station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Phu / Tuoi Tre

It has spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Vietnam has confirmed twelve cases so far, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese-American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from hospitasl as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

A train is sterilized after arriving at the Saigon Railway Station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Phu / Tuoi Tre

A train is sterilized after arriving at the Saigon Railway Station in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Duc Phu / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
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 and there have been reports that the company has been working on alternatives. On similar lines now, according to the latest reports, Chinese mobile giants Xiaomi, HUAWEI, OPPO, and Vivo are said to be working on a platform to rival Google Play Store.

The four mobile giants are said to be creating a Play Store alternative called Global Developer Service Alliance (GDSA) which will allow developers outside China to upload all of their apps on their respective app stores. GDSA is said to serve as a single place for apps from app stores of HUAWEI, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo and is said to help developers market their apps in the overseas market easily.

There is a prototype website already and the service will include 9 regions in total which includes India, Indonesia, Russia, and others. The platform is said to go live by March, but it might change due to the coronavirus outbreak. If the four Chinese giants indeed join hands to take on Google Play Store with the new platform, it will let users access a wide range of apps similar to Google Play Store.

Furthermore, the report states that Xiaomi denied HUAWEIs involvement and the other three companies HUAWEI, OPPO, and Vivo declined to comment on this matter. The report also states that the new platform is said to attract more developers with better monetary benefits and this, in turn, will give users access to a plethora of apps. It should be interesting to watch this development, and we should know more information in the coming days.

Commenting on this, Xiaomi spokesman said:

GDSA solely serves to facilitate the uploading of apps by developers to respective app stores of Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo simultaneously. Theres no competing interest between this service and the Google Play store.

Source
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Stressing that the assembly polls are dedicated to a clean and beautiful Delhi, BJP leaders on Thursday said the country was moving fast on the path of development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the AAP and the Congress were trying to weaken it.

BJP chief JP Nadda hit out at the ruling AAP and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing them of saving Tukde Tukde gang and endangering security of the country for political gains.

This election is dedicated to a clean, healthy, beautiful, safe and developed Delhi, he said.

Nadda addressed meetings in Adarsh Nagar, Tri Nagar and Jangpura Assembly segments on the last day of campaigning for the Delhi election.

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari held a series of roadshows in various constituencies seeking support for the party in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. He attacked Kejriwal and his government alleging, Before the elections, Kejriwal showed only dreams to the people of Delhi and made false promises, but could not fulfil them.

His roadshows passed through Ghonda Timarpur, Seemapuri, Karawal Nagar, Seelampur and Babarpur constituencies.

The country is moving fast on the path of development under the leadership of PM Modi while the Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress are trying to weaken it, he said.

At an election meeting in Karawal Nagar, Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and BJP national vice president Shivraj Singh Chouhan took a dig at Kejriwal, saying he has started reciting Hanuman Chalisa as a BJP wave is sweeping Delhi in the elections.

Kejriwal recently recited Hanuman Chalisa on a news channel, saying it provided peace to him.

Other star campaigners of the BJP, including Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, Smriti Irani, Anurag Thakur, and Nityanand Rai, party MP Ravi Kishan, Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar, former WWF wrestler Khali and Bollywood actor and MP Sunny Deol, participated in the campaigning on the last day.

BJP chief Nadda held 15 roadshows and 29 public meetings, while Home Minister Amit Shah participated in 11 roadshows and 39 meetings in different assembly constituencies.

Irani held 26 meetings, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh 12 and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari held 10 meetings. Former chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis also held several meetings in the city.

The BJP is seeking to capture power in Delhi after a gap of over two decades. It was routed by the AAP in 2015, reducing its tally of seats to just three.

The voting for Delhi polls will be held on February 8 and results will be out on February 11.
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Holdings of the largest gold-backed exchange-traded-fund (ETF), New York's SPDR Gold Trust, rose 0.26% on Thursday from Wednesday, while the largest silver-backed ETF, New York's iShares Silver Trust, gained 0.19% during the same period. Exchange-traded funds, the most widely recognized type of ETP, back each security issued with physical stocks of a given commodity, creating a product they say is free from counterparty risk. Name New Holdings Date Prev Holdings Prev Abs Change % chg YTD Abs GOLD (OZ) (OZ) (OZ) Change (OZ) SPDR Gold Trust 29,415,318.60 Feb 06 29,340,355.20 Feb 05 74,963.30 0.26% 696,402.30 COMEX Gold Trust 11,852,416.20 Feb 06 11,879,646.80 Feb 05 -27,230.60 -0.23% 275,164.00 ETF Securities gold (ex-US) 8,681,151.30 Apr 29 8,681,151.30 Apr 29 -- -- -- ZKB Physical Gold ** 5,029,568.40 Jan 31 5,029,568.40 Jan 31 -- -- 52,236.90 Sprott Physical Gold Trust 1,654,964.00 Feb 06 1,654,964.00 Feb 05 0 0.00% 35,158.00 GAM Physical Gold *** 1,126,949.00 Sep 26 1,126,949.00 Sep 26 -- -- -- ETFS Physical Swiss Gold 678,747.40 Jul 30 678,747.40 Jul 30 -- -- -- ABSA - NewGold ETF 604,616.40 Feb 05 605,563.60 Feb 04 -947.3 -0.16% -19,059.00 Total 59,043,731.20 58,996,945.80 46,785.40 0.08% 811,292.00 SILVER iShares Silver Trust 363,013,020.20 Feb 06 362,312,901.20 Feb 05 700,119.00 0.19% 396,308.90 ZKB Physical Silver 83,655,994.90 Jan 31 83,655,994.90 Jan 31 -- -- 738,502.70 ETF Securities silver ex-US 79,381,574.40 Oct 14 79,381,574.40 Oct 14 -- -- -- Sprott Physical Silver 60,609,971.00 Feb 06 60,609,971.00 Feb 05 0 0.00% 386,162.00 ETFS Physical Silver Shares 21,568,606.00 Mar 28 21,568,606.00 Mar 28 -- -- -- GAM Physical Silver 10,495,991.00 Sep 26 10,495,991.00 Sep 26 -- -- -- Total 618,725,157.50 618,025,038.50 700,119.00 0.11% 23,883,819.80 PLATINUM ABSA - NewPlat ETF 1,012,093.60 Feb 05 1,012,104.70 Feb 04 -11.1 0.00% -7,215.00 ETFS Physical Platinum Shares 752,809.00 Feb 06 752,809.00 Feb 05 0 0.00% 3,883.00 ETF Securities platinum ex-US 586,468.40 Oct 14 586,468.40 Oct 14 -- -- -- ZKB Physical Platinum 349,194.00 Jan 31 349,194.00 Jan 31 -- -- 7,375.70 GAM Physical Platinum 64,755.00 Sep 26 64,755.00 Sep 26 -- -- -- Total 2,765,320.00 2,765,331.10 -11.1 0.00% 303,544.10 PALLADIUM ETFS Physical Palladium Shares 159,940.40 Feb 06 159,940.40 Feb 05 0 0.00% 2,209.00 InvestPalladium ETF # 142,113.50 Mar 25 142,113.50 Mar 25 -- -- -- ETF Securities palladium ex-US 105,363.50 Oct 14 105,363.50 Oct 14 -- -- -- ZKB Physical Palladium 84,552.20 Jan 31 84,552.20 Jan 31 -- -- -3,875.10 ABSA - NewPalladium ETF **** 29,299.60 Feb 05 29,300.00 Feb 04 -0.3 0.00% -12,567.90 GAM Physical Palladium 23,253.00 Sep 26 23,253.00 Sep 26 -- -- -- Total 544,522.20 544,522.60 -0.3 0.00% -56,405.30 The figures above are those reported to Reuters by the organizations involved by telephone or email on the date shown, or those that are publicly available on their websites. ** ZKB physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium funds are fully backed by physical precious metal and investors are entitled to physical delivery of them. *** Shareholders in the GAM Gold fund can elect to hold "A class" shares, which are fully backed by physical gold. Investors in that class are entitled to physical delivery of the precious metal. Investors may also elect to hold "AX" class shares, which are fully backed by physical gold. Investors in that class are not entitled to physical delivery of the precious metal. **** Absa Capital's NewPalladium Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) was listed on March 27, 2014 and is fully backed with South African palladium. # Standard Bank's AfricaPalladium ETF, South Africa's first listed palladium exchange traded fund, debuted on March 24, 2014. )) (Bengaluru Commodities desk)
Around 200 refugees and migrants have amassed at Serbias border with Hungary asking to be let through as they seek entry into more prosperous Western European countries.

But Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered a fence to be put up five years ago, saying they were not welcome.

Thousands of people live in refugee camps in the Balkans, many of whom are from war-torn countries.

Al Jazeeras Laura Burdon-Manley reports.
The persecuted Iranian Christian woman, Dabrina Bet Tamraz, explained in detail the situation of Iranian Christians being persecuted and how their family church was closed during the panel discussion of the Family Research Council(FRC) held in Washington D.C. on Feb. 5.

At the time, Tamraz's family received a call from the government on March 30, 2009 that they wanted to meet Victor Bet Tamraz, her father and pastor, she explained. A few days later, government officials asked to pastor Victor to "give up the keys" of the church or allow only those who speak Assyrian to enter the church.

In response, the Tamraz family and church members asked for time to pray about what decisions to make and hours later, her father handed the church key to a government official, Tamraz said.

According to Tamraz, the father told them "Thank you very much. You have done us a great favor. We don't know how to thank you. Please close down the church," And the official looked at him and said, "Are you crazy? Why are you saying thank you?" my father said, "While we were praying, the congregation heard from God that if they allow the authorities to close down the church, He will "open the gates of Heaven"." In response, Tamraz said his father joyfully gave him the key.

While Tamraz's parents, brothers and dozens of church members are still in jail, she herself was arrested in 2009 and held in a men's detention center before escaping Iran. She lives in Switzerland, where she is currently engaged in an international campaign to demand her parents' release.

"Today, there is not a free church. There is no free evangelical church, nor free Pentecostal," she said. "The only churches that are allowed to function are orthodox or Catholic churches with restrictions. They are not allowed to have books in Farsi. They are not even allowed to, nowadays, print books in our own language. Any Christian literature or Bible even in our own language is not permitted. They are not even allowed to speak to a Farsi person near the church."

In addition, Iran's intelligence service closely monitors Christian activities: "They go everywhere Christians gather, raid and arrest homes, restaurants and confiscate belongings and houses. They are also tortured physically and mentally very hard," Tamraz said.

Tamraz said, "her family was also under surveillance at the time, her house was breached and her father was regularly arrested." "Her family always had to be prepared to preach in case her father was arrested."

At least 25 Christians were arrested in Iran in 2019 and at least 13 Christians were sentenced to four months and five years in prison for committing acts against national security, according to Article 18 of the Human Rights Watch, a human rights watchdog.

According to Tamraz, dozens of other Christians who were previously convicted are still awaiting their court hearings. Most of these Christians were arrested, sentenced and prosecuted for their actions, mainly against national security. They lack due process in the trial," she pointed out.

She continued, "On the 24th of February in a few weeks, [my parents] will face their final court hearing, if it takes place," "We do really pray that their sentence will be dropped and they can practice their faith in peace and dignity and in freedom as the ought to."

Meanwhile, Iran, which is dominated by Islamic law, ranks the Open Doors USA as the ninth most serious country in the world's Christian persecutions, as it mercilessly persecuted Muslims who converted to Christianity.
KOKRAJHAR: On his first visit to Assam since Parliament in December passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, or CAA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tried to assuage the concerns of people in Assam protesting against the contentious law.

Addressing a crowd of nearly 500,000 at an event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Accord last month, Modi accused some sections, which he didnt identify, of engaging in fear-mongering.

People are spreading misinformation that CAA will lead to foreigners entering India illegally. I want to assure the people of Assam that nothing like that will happen, said Modi.

CAA proposes to fast- track the grant of Indian citizenship to so-called persecuted minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, from the Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The law has triggered widespread protests by opposition parties and other organisations in Assam amid concerns that it could encourage a fresh wave of infiltration by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and threaten the livelihoods of indigenous people. Five people have been killed in police shooting during the protests, which are still underway peacefully.

In Assam and the rest of northeast, the demand is for the scraping the legislation because of a perception it will dilute the 1985 Assam Accord, under which the government agreed to identify and deport any and all refugees and migrants who entered the northeastern state after March 25 1971.The CAA extends the deadline until December 31, 2014.

Clause 6 of Assam Accord, signed after a six-year agitation against illegal immigrants, promises constitutional safeguards to Assamese people through reservations in elected seats, jobs and so on. A high-level committee on the issue will submit recommendations on implementing the clause this month to the government.

Our effort is now to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord as soon as possible. I assure the people of Assam that as soon as the high-level committees recommendations on the issue come, the Centre will implement it. We dont believe in delays and obstructions, Modi said.

Modi described the Bodo Accord as a historic pact that will usher peace and development to Assam, where the movement for a separate Bodoland for the states largest tribe started over four decades ago. The Bodo Accord was signed on January 27 by the Centre with all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and United Bodo Peoples Organisation (UBPO).

This is a day to celebrate your efforts, which has led to permanent peace in this area. It is a day to take an oath to strengthen faith in development and discard the darkness of violence, Modi said to cheers from the crowd.

The accord is significant as it coincides with celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. I welcome all NDFB cadres to the national mainstream. The accord has put a full stop to all Bodo demands and now development is our primary and final goal, the PM said.

Modi stressed that the accord will benefit not just the Bodos, but other communities as well. The PM listed important points of the accord including a special financial package of Rs 1,500 crore, which will benefit Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri, and the redrawing of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

All demands related to the Bodo issues have been met. Peace was not established after 1993 and 2003 agreements. The Centre, Assam and Bodo agitation groups have signed a historic accord, no demand is left. Now, development is our first and last priority, he said.

With the signing of the accord, the United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), which is seeking a sovereign Assam, remains the only major banned militant outfit in the state. Last week, 1,615 cadres of all the factions of NDFB laid down arms in front of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at an event in Guwahati.

The PM said the Central government was providing solutions to difficult problems, which had been ignored in the past because of social and political reasons. For decades, nobody was touching issues related to the north-east. We have engaged with stakeholders and have found solution for long-lasting peace, he said.

This was a reference to the Centres decision to offer e special package to and settle Bru-Reang refugees in Tripura. The PM also mentioned that the National Liberation Front of Tripura and government had signed an agreement in August 2018 for lasting peace in the state. Now, they have shunned arms and have joined the mainstream, he said.

Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilliary and signatories to the Bodo Accord were present at the event.

In his address, Sonowal urged all NDFB cadres to contribute towards building a developed Assam. Sarma reiterated his appeal to the ULFA-I and all other active militant outfits in the northeast to shun violence and join peace talks.

Some groups opposed the Bodo accord because they werent consulted about it and planned to sponsor a shutdown protest on Friday, but called off the move. The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which is spearheading the anti-CAA protests in the state, also decided not to oppose Modis trip.

The presence of a huge audience in Modis rally doesnt mean much. Passage of CAA in parliament is a political move by BJP and the people of Assam will give a reply politically by voting against that party in the next polls. An appropriate answer will be given at the right time, said Congresss Assam unit president Ripun Bora.

Nani Gopal Mahanta, professor of political science in Gauhati University, said: CAAs impact is not very pulpable in Bodo areas as much as it is in central and upper Assam. But Modis visit has a huge symbolic message to the people of Assam. He is trying to tell people that you give me a bit of support on CAA and in return I will resolve all your issues.

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CBI should get him punished strictly: Sisodia on his OSD Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, Feb 7 : The CBI arrested an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in an alleged bribery case on the basis of information provided by 'middleman' Dheeraj Gupta, an official source said on Friday.

The agency had arrested OSD Gopal Krishna Madhav, a senior Delhi government officer, on Thursday on the charge of accepting Rs 2 lakh in bribe.

The central agency had arrested Gupta on February 5. He is currently in judicial custody.

"During questioning, he had revealed that he was close to a tax officer in the Delhi government," the CBI source said. Following this, a trap was laid and Madhav arrested on Thursday evening.

The source said that Madhav had demanded Rs 2.26 lakh to settle an old tax case. According to the Delhi government's website, Madhav is currently posted as OSD to Sisodia.

Earlier in the day, the Deputy Chief Minister demanded strict punishment to the arrested officer. In a tweet in Hindi, Sisodia said he came to know that the CBI has arrested the Goods and Services Tax Inspector while taking a bribe. "The CBI should ensure strict punishment for him. I have caught many such corrupt officials in the last five years," Sisodia added.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday claimed that the Kejriwal government was targeting traders. BJP's Delhi unit tweeted: "OSD to Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI while accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh in a GST case. He was posted in Sisodia's office since 2015. The total amount, however, was fixed at Rs 10 lakh. The Aam Aadmi Party government has been exploiting such traders, but Kejriwal has always maintained silence."
London: The Duke of Sussex has reportedly revealed, during the Sussexes' first event since announcing they will leave the royal family, he has been in therapy for the past few years coping with the loss of his mother.

Prince Harry has spoken about his difficulties following his mother's death. Credit:Chris Jackson

In a speech at a JP Morgan-sponsored alternative investment summit in Florida, Harry also said he did not regret stepping down as a senior royal, as he did not want Meghan and son Archie to experience what he went through when younger.

It is not known if the duke - who in a decision dubbed Megxit chose financial freedom over being a member of the monarchy - was paid for the speaking engagement but speculation is rife he could have received a fee worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

The New York Post reported Harry attended the event in Miami on Thursday and the newspaper quoted a source as saying: "Harry spoke about mental health and how he has been in therapy for the past few years to try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother.
Pristine blue waters and gorgeous coral make the Houtman Abrolhos islands off the coast of Western Australia a site to behold. And now, the dazzling islands have become Australias latest national park.

The islands  which were first discovered about 400 years ago by Dutch explorer Frederik de Houtman, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation  sit off the coast of Geraldton just under 260 miles north of Perth, are surrounded by crystal clear water and is home to 90 species of seabirds as well as the Australian sea lion.

SammyVision/Getty Images

"The story of the Batavia and the Abrolhos islands is one of the most remarkable stories in the history of this country," Premier Mark McGowan told the ABC. "To have been there, as I have, and to see the spot and see the beauty of the Abrolhos islands, I think it is entirely appropriate that we declare the Abrolhos a national park Making sure they are protected is the real key to the Abrolhos.

The new designation for the island archipelago allows the WA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, to encourage sustainable tourism, according to Australian Geographic. The government has committed to spending $10 AUD million to upgrade infrastructure, including boardwalks and an airstrip.

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A biologist I met many years ago described the islands to me as Australias Galapagos, Dr. Chris Surman, a marine ecologist, told Australian Geographic, adding that its the furthest north Australian sea lions will go.

The environment is helped by the Leeuwin Current, which brings tropical water south and then mixes with other currents. According to Australian Geographic, this causes nutrient upwelling.

This is pretty much the most important seabird breeding place in Australia and, so far, it has not received much attention, Surman said.

Geraldton mayor Shane Van Styn told ABC that the designation was one of the hugest announcements we are going to see, it is going to take 10 years but it is going to be big.
L ondoners spend most waking hours gawking at, reading and replying to emails in what usually feels like a waste of time.

Speak to anyone on their way to work and theyll say email is the bane of their lives, a way for companies to micro-manage them and sometimes ruin their evenings and weekends.

Most inboxes are jammed, so much so that many have stopped looking at them altogether (a high-risk, but effective, strategy) or flick through them so fast that they are not properly read. It wasnt supposed to be this way - and this is where Slack comes in.

Based in San Francisco, the company has created an instant messaging service for the workplace - think modern MSN Messenger - and it is slick.

Like so many Silicon Valley success stories the value is in the design and usability, rather than the tech itself.

The system allows pictures and documents to be shared among colleagues and clients easily, and makes email feel clunky. Current UK Slack customers include Monzo, Marks & Spencer, the BBC and the Home Office.

The man behind the service is Canadian Stewart Butterfield who founded the company in 2013 and became a billionaire overnight when it floated last summer.

He sits in a top floor, glass office overlooking the San Francisco financial district - unassuming and softly spoken, theres little fanfare about him.

Musical rather than sporty, he has a ukulele in the corner, which is typical San Fran, a place that gave birth to the hippy and counter-culture movements in the US.

Perhaps it is not surprising he ended up in Americas most liberal city, given that his father fled the US to go and live in a commune in Canada and avoid the draft for the Vietnam War. Dressed in a black expensive jacket, he comes across cool, laid-back and thoughtful.

But despite the West Coast demeanour hes locked in a fierce war with Americas third-largest tech company, 200 times the size of his - Microsoft.

Microsoft believes it owns the messaging space, given that its Outlook product has dominated the office for 20 years, and has a rival instant messaging service called Microsoft Teams, launched in 2016, as a direct response to Slack.

Latest data shows Microsoft has 20 million users, while Slack has 12 million, and the battle has turned ugly.

Shortly after Slack floated, Microsoft put out a statement listing some of Teams biggest customers. It was supposed to reassert dominance but instead made Microsoft look insecure.

Butterfield says: We are half a per cent in terms of revenue size and they feel strongly enough that theyre going to put our metrics into their press release. I dont think theyve ever done that with any company before.

It speaks to the importance of this space for them.

Since floating Slacks share price has gone from $38 to $22, a sign that investors are not sure if the company can beat Microsoft in the long run.

For Slack to win the war it will have to gain traction in the banking, finance and legal sectors, all of them industries notorious for wanting to manage their own internal systems.

These sectors are also wary that Slack is addictive and can slow productivity, especially among junior workers who spend all day messaging one another.

Butterfield accepts the criticism, adding that he is aware some people faff about on Slack.

Workers are also under pressure to reply to messages instantly, and feel as if they can never switch off.

Butterfield adds: People have to come up with social conventions. People have two decades of experience using email at this point and have internalised a lot of this etiquette.

Very few people have that with Slack.The usage will evolve and we feel a big obligation to support people and help with training.

Information overload echoes every technological change.

Listening to Butterfields take on Microsoft is both invigorating and unnerving. Back home even the most ambitious people tend to keep their dreams under wraps, and while the UKs tech scene has spawned some great companies, they can be counted on one hand.

In contrast San Francisco and Silicon Valley house more billionaires per capita than anywhere else in the world, and the money is in the hands of the young.

The Bay is crawling with thrusting techies, some no older than 30 but with millions in their bank accounts via share options from the latest IPO or sale to private equity.

Butterfield says the UK can do the same in time.

Theres nothing in the water. For the Bay area Intel, Hewlett Packard and other companies planted this seed.

That generation created tens of thousands of people who made a million bucks and all of them were angel investors in other companies and all of them had great contacts and experience. Its just an amazing place to come.

But there is a dark side to San Francisco, which has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the US.

On the way to Butterfields office and badly jetlagged I entered Walgreens to buy some vitamins.

Four homeless people, one with a syringe, rush into the store and steal all the chocolate and soft drinks they can get their hands on and run out. The security guard shrugged at me, hed seen it many times before.

Butterfield, who has a philosophy masters from Cambridge, says many problems stem from the criminal justice system in the US, something that he would like to see reformed.

We ended up in a bad place somehow. We imprison way too many people, it does a lot of damage.

Theres a legacy of racism in the US. White and black people use illegal drugs around the same rate but black people are ten times more likely to be in prison for it.

If a black person is accused of a crime theyll use the mugshot taken, bleary-eyed, and for the white person theyll use the yearbook photo.

He adds that by sending so many people to prison, many cannot find jobs or housing upon release because of their criminal records.

Its something he says he wants to engage with at some point.
TRUGMP, the tribal wing of CPI(M) in Tripura, will launch a statewide agitation to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and to "save democracy" from Saturday, its leader said.

Former MP Jiten Chowdhury, also president of Tripura Rajya Upajati Ganamukti Parishad, filed a petition in the Supreme Court in January this year, challenging the new citizenship law and said the amended Act is "discriminatory" and "unconstitutional".

"We will launch our statewide agitation against CAA from Saturday, because it is unconstitutional. The Act will bring disastrous effects on people, mainly those living in the north eastern region," he told reporters here on Friday.

Tripura is "overpopulated and has no capacity to accommodate more people" in the state, he said.

Chowdhury alleged that the BJP-IPFT government in the state has failed to address the problems of common people.

"There is no job, mainly in the tribal inhabited rural areas, while crime rate is on the rise. The BJP had promised to provide adequate jobs under MGNREGA, but virtually there is no job in the rural areas. Tribals are now living under deplorable condition", he said.

He also alleged that the tribals enetered Bangladesh to collect forest produces for their livelihoods and the government turned a blind eye to their problems.

"The BJP promised to provide higher MGNREGA wages, 50,000 government jobs in the first year of government and many other assurances. The state continued to suffer from acute crisis of jobs and food.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hickman Mills School District superintendent announces resignation KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Hickman Mills School Board is looking for a new superintendent to lead the south Kansas City district. Dr. Yolanda Cargile announced her resignation Thursday after three years as superintendent.

She's not saying, here's a few more deets from this incredible, shrinking provisionally accredited district . . . Read more:
Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST

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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.
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade (L) and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. president and CEO, Koji Okura (R) led the signing of the contract for the supply and delivery of two (2) units of Multi-Role Response Vessels (MRRVs) under the Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project, Phase II, 7 February 2020.

MANILA, Philippines  The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Friday said it has signed a deal with Japanese firm Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. to supply and deliver two units of multi-role response vessels (MRRV) for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG).

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. president and CEO, Koji Okura led the signing of the contract held earlier in the day.

During the ceremony, Tugade said the development, which is under phase II of Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project, is a breakthrough towards the governments thrust of modernizing and upgrading the countrys maritime protection and border control.

The modernization of the Philippine Coast Guard has been going fast and quick and very meaningful The government of Japan has contributed very much, and to which I express my appreciation for your continued support, he added.

The MRRVs are measuring approximately 94-meters, have a maximum speed of not less than 24 knots and an endurance of not less than 4,000 nautical miles.

The additional patrol vessels are seen to further boost the PCGs response to maritime incidents in the countrys waters, up to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), such as search and rescue operations, maritime security operations, and marine environmental protection, among others.

It is a big stride to the development of this country in the context of maritime security and maritime safety, PCG Commandant Admiral Joel Garcia said.

The new vessels are expected to be delivered to the country by 2022.

President Koji Okura, meanwhile, expressed his intent to continuously work with the Philippine government in delivering various projects, and initiatives.

We look forward to working with you all, in this important project and we sincerely appreciate your continuous cooperation to make this project successful, he said.

The post PH inks deal with Japanese firm for procurement of 2 PCG patrol ships appeared first on UNTV News.
Avigdor Liberman and his Yisrael Beitenu party have been key players over the past year in Israels chaotic political arena, holding the swing votes that will determine which of the two major political blocs forms Israels next government. Libermans November 2018 resignation as defense minister led to early elections in April 2019, after which he surprised everyone by refusing to join the government of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to form. His refusal, he explained, stemmed from his agenda that espouses separation of religion from the affairs of state and his persistent demand that ultra-Orthodox men perform mandatory military service like all other young Israelis.

Liberman stuck to his guns after the September 2019 elections as well, and escalated his campaign against the ultra-Orthodox over their rejection of his core demands. Unfortunately, the ultra-Orthodox parties are also increasingly anti-Zionist, he claimed in a fiery November 2019 speech.

The responses of ultra-Orthodox Knesset members to these accusations were equally harsh. Liberman should leave politics. We do not recall such anti-Semitism in the Knesset," ultra-Orthodox lawmaker Moshe Gafni lashed out. The Yahadut HaTorah member went on, "In any other state, the man would have gone to jail. Does this corrupt man even know what we do? Who are you? A nothing. Interior Minister Aryeh Deri, chair of the ultra-Orthodox Shas, warned that Liberman would pay for his actions.

A Feb. 3 expose by Haaretz revealed Libermans heavy involvement in obtaining draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men in his capacity as defense minister. It paints the harsh clash and venomous public accusations between Liberman and the ultra-Orthodox in an absurd light and could undermine the credibility of the campaign Liberman is conducting ahead of the March 2 elections, Israels third in less than a year.

According to the Haaretz report by ultra-Orthodox journalist Aaron Rabinowitz, Libermans term in the Defense Ministry from May 2016 to November 2018 was a golden age for well-connected ultra-Orthodox men who did not want to enlist. Documents and testimony presented in the piece indicate that ultra-Orthodox Knesset members enjoyed unfettered access to Liberman and used it to obtain draft exemptions, deferments or lenient service conditions for hundreds of members of their communities.

The list of Knesset members whose offices were in regular touch with Libermans shows that the appeals came from all over the ultra-Orthodox community. Among them were Health Minister Yaakov Litzman of the Hassidic Gur sect, Budget Committee chair Gafni of the non-Hassidic Lithuanian stream, Knesset member Yoav Ben-Tsur of the Sephardic Shas party and Knesset member Uri Maklev of Yahadut HaTorah, who dubbed Liberman the head of a criminal party the day before the expose ran. The report also revealed that Libermans adviser on ultra-Orthodox matters, Avi Abuhatzera, helped the son of a prominent ultra-Orthodox politician who had submitted forged documents to the army. Following his intervention, the son received a medical exemption from the draft.

There are other contradictions between Libermans declarations and actions. According to Haaretz, draft exemptions were granted to hundreds of members of the radical anti-Zionist Jerusalem Faction, a group that deeply opposes compromise on the draft and has held numerous, sometimes violent demonstrations on the issue. Members of the sect who dodged the draft or failed to show up at the recruitment center to seek a deferral on grounds that they were engaged in yeshiva studies were sent exemptions in the mail without explanation, according to the report. Libermans adviser Abuhatzera asked the ultra-Orthodox to avoid stirring up unrest among their followers, explaining that he has lists of young men who were about to receive exemptions. The ministers declared policy was completely opposite to what was being done, in fact, a senior army official was quoted as saying.

Still, on the day the story ran, members of the Jerusalem Faction once again demonstrated against ultra-Orthodox conscription and blocked roads. Libermans angry response was paradoxical. The authorities "must put a stop to the bullying by the dodgers and the Jerusalem Faction. The law enforcement system must take action against these rioters, he tweeted. "They cannot block roads and disrupt peoples lives whenever they feel like it. Yisrael Beitenu will work to enact mandatory draft legislation or national community service."

Liberman then moved the attack to Facebook. For me, anyone who serves in the Israel Defense Forces, performs reserve duty, works and pays taxes is more Jewish than Deri and Litzman together, who are busy every day extorting funds from the public coffers at our expense, he wrote.

Libermans office has strenuously denied the Haaretz report, saying that as defense minister, he never intervened in any draft exemption, not even tacitly, and that requests from the ultra-Orthodox on such issues were treated the same as requests from other Israelis.

However, the Haaretz data shows that the number of exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox men on special grounds  i.e. not for reasons of ill health or a criminal record  greatly increased during Libermans tenure. In 2018, the Defense Ministry issued three times the number of exemptions it had the previous year. After Liberman stepped down, the numbers reverted to the level recorded prior to his term.

The expose is based on lies, Liberman responded. Whoever says the Defense Minister's Office grants exemptions from military duty deserves a knighthood for stupidity. The Defense Minister's Office cannot, even if it wanted to, exempt anyone from service. Only the medical exemptions committee or the IDF human resources division can do so.

Liberman also said the Haaretz piece was designed to undermine his partys election campaign, which had exposed the ultra-Orthodox parties takeover of the state budget. Yisrael Beitenu fears that its agenda of separating religion from state affairs is not sufficiently popular with voters in the current campaign, having been replaced by issues that Netanyahu skillfully timed for this period or by the issue of Netanyahus corruption indictment. For now, the ultra-Orthodox parties are responding to Libermans provocations in a measured fashion.

Following the Haaretz write-up, the center-left Labor-Gesher-Meretz alliance claimed Liberman was deceiving his voters and demanded that the Knessets Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee convene to discuss the revelations. Nonetheless, the latest polls indicate that even if Libermans party is weakened in the March 2 elections and drops from its current eight to six Knesset seats, neither the Likud bloc nor the Blue and White one will win sufficient votes to form a government without him.
CNN is currently suffering a credibility crisis unlike anything they've experienced before. Last year, Business Insider reported that only 53% of American adults believe CNN is "credible," and among Republicans in particular, CNN's credibility has fallen "by nearly 20 percentage points since 2016."

One of CNNs most famous "Facts First" ad campaigns shows a shiny red apple against a white backdrop as a voiceover posits the following:

This is an apple. Some people might try to tell you that its a banana. They might scream banana banana banana over and over and over again. They might put BANANA in all caps. They might even start to believe that this is a banana, but its not. This is an apple.

Claiming to value the facts first used to work for the once-proud network, but no longer.

There are, of course, scores of contributing factors and explanations that various people may have for mistrusting CNN. But my primary reason for no longer trusting the network comes down to the way network executives react whenever their journalists are caught behaving badly.

CNN host Don Lemon and two panelists openly mocking purportedly stupid Trump supporters last week provides one such example. Putting aside the blatant lack of journalistic objectivity and unprofessionalism displayed throughout the segment, the question of credibility still arises in its aftermath.

Instead of apologizing or taking responsibility for his actions, Lemon tried to misrepresent what actually transpired. He said, "Just to make this perfectly clear, I was laughing at the joke, and not at any group of people." Unfortunately for him, the facts disagree. While the clip shows that Lemon certainly begins laughing in reaction to a joke told by one of his guests at President Trump's expense, his laughter only increases as his panelists continue to mock "an administration defined by the ignorance of the world," using farcical Southern accents and calling Trump supporters "credulous boomer rubes."

After the clip went viral, Lemon defended himself by saying "I don't believe in belittling people," but once again, the facts say otherwise. The truth is that Lemon frequently uses his nightly program to belittle President Trump and his supporters.

Like the time he said that Trump supporters should go read a book, and start your learning process from there.

Or the time he called President Trump a "5-year-old" and mimicked a child throwing a tantrum and then said: "take your marbles and your toys and you go home because the kids are laughing at you."

Or the time he said Trump supporters had tired, lazy, uninformed, uneducated, and ignorant reasons for defending President Trump.

Or the time he told CNN's Chris Cuomo: I dont think every Trump supporter is a racist...

Or the time he told Trump supporters bless your heart, and, in case the implication went over anyones head, added that the comment is said in the south and you know what it means.

No wonder The New York Times reportedly insists their journalists not appear on "CNN Tonight with Don Lemon" for being too partisan.

But Don Lemon is hardly CNN's first reporter to refuse to admit wrongdoing whenever the rubber meets the road.

Another is CNN's White House Correspondent Jim Acosta. At a press conference in November of 2018, Acosta was caught on camera refusing to give his microphone back to a White House staff member. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the time that he had placed his hands on the employee and Acosta responded on Twitter by calling the accusation "a lie." Later that day he told CNN's Anderson Cooper: I didnt put my hands on her or touch her.

Except he did. And The Washington Post's video of the exchange, slowed down to 20% speed, clearly shows that not only did Acosta's hand strike down the woman's arm when she tried to grab the microphone, he did so with enough force that her shoulder is pulled inward, towards him in the process. It's a blink-and-youll-miss-it gesture, but the way her body reacts to the downward movement of his hand is undeniable, and completely refutes his claim that he did not even "touch her."

Instead of apologizing or taking responsibility for the inappropriate actions of their employee, however, CNN issued a statement saying that Press Secretary Sarah Sanders lied. She provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened." They then sued the White House for taking away Acosta's press pass.

CNN nightly host Chris Cuomo is another example. Last August, the "Cuomo Prime Time" host was caught on camera attacking someone at a bar who called him Fredo, (the loser Corleone brother from "The Godfather" movies.) In addition to a barrage of verbal threats Cuomo hurled at the man, (i.e. "Ill (expletive) ruin your (expletive). Ill (expletive) throw you down these stairs like a (expletive) punk!"), he also tells the man that the name "Fredo" is "like the N-word for Italians. Afterwards, CNN showed Cuomo their support by saying their anchor "defended himself when he was verbally attacked with the use of an ethnic slur."

Except threatening physical abuse is never okay, and, as a New York Times article said the following week, the name "Fredo" is "in no sense accepted as an ethnic slur." As it turns out, Cuomo doesn't believe it is either, as a tape emerged showing Cuomo calling himself "Fredo" at one point. Another exchange surfaced showing Cuomo being perfectly okay when a guest uses the name on his own program. After those inconvenient facts came to light, CNN said nothing.

CNN host Anderson Cooper offers a final example. Cooper experienced Twitter remorse for apparently tweeting one night in December of 2017 that President Trump was a tool and a pathetic loser. But instead of apologizing, Cooper and CNN tried to explain the matter away by blaming the tweet on Andersons assistant who apparently left the phone unlocked" while attending the gym, when, "an unknown person took the phone and posted the tweet. Riiiight. Even BuzzFeedreporter Chris Geidner wasnt buying it. Geidner, who, like Cooper, is gay, tweeted in reply to CNN's statement: I have never met a gay man who has left his phone unlocked and unattended at the gym, but OK.

Cooper's inappropriate Tweet was just another inconvenient fact that the "facts first" network chose to quietly sweep under the rug.

CNNs Editor-at-large, Chris Cillizza, frequently laments that the Trump Administration just cannot admit being wrong," and he makes a fair point, but he's the wrong man to take Trump to task. The network he works for, after all, cedes that moral high ground every time they make excuses for their journalist's bad behavior instead of holding them responsible.

Whenever their employees make mistakes, CNN is given a chance to prove whether or not they really are the facts first network. When they elect to avoid, deflect, and sue instead of taking responsibility, viewers are left with no other option but to conclude that an apple is really only an apple when CNN says it is.
ANSONIA  After two months of questioning, searching and testing bloodstained clothing, police Friday charged Jose Morales with the slaying of Christine Holloway, a day care teacher in Bridgeport, and with tampering with evidence.

However, the whereabouts of the couples 17-month-old daughter, Vanessa Morales, remains a mystery.

To this day, we continue to follow every possible lead to try to locate baby Vanessa, Chief Andrew Cota III said during a City Hall news conference announcing Morales arrest. He has said at least 100 investigators including Ansonia, Derby, Hamden, Stratford and Naugatuck police, as well as the FBI and State Police, have spent hundreds of hours working the homicide and missing child angles.

Morales is being detained on $5 million bond pending a Feb. 18 appearance in state Superior Court in Milford. He is being represented, for now, by Norm Pattis and Kevin Smith. They are the same team that defended Fotis Dulos against charges that he killed his estranged wife, Jennifer Farber Dulos, in New Canaan, and tampered with evidence. Dulos died last week in an apparent suicide.

But Lt. Patrick Lynch said Morales arrest is not the end of police work in this case.

The Ansonia Police Department continues to investigate the homicide, following leads along with evaluating and testing evidence to add to the prosecution of Jose Morales, he said. Anyone with information regarding the homicide of Christine Holloway should contact the Ansonia Police Department.

The 24-page arrest warrant compiled by Ansonia Police Detective Kristen Hunt contains recounts of incidents from residents who provided information and surveillance camera videos that added pieces to the homicide case.

Just before 1 p.m. on Dec. 2 when a Bright Morning Star Daycare employee in Bridgeport called the department asking them to check on Holloways whereabouts after she failed to come to work and could not be reached by phone, the warrant said. An officer went to Holloways home at 61/2 Myrtle Avenue but, not hearing any answer to his knocks or movement inside, left.

Seven hours later, police forced their way inside and found Holloways battered body.

Almost immediately Morales, the significant other and father of the couples now 17-month-old child, became a suspect, police said.

Detectives noticed a round, dark colored-bruise on the right side of his chest, abrasions on the knuckles of both hands and scratches on both arms during their Dec. 3 interview with him, according to the arrest warrant affidavit. Additionally his stories  particularly about where he was that weekend and his relationship with Holloway  kept changing.

Holloways family told police he would stay with Holloway from Friday afternoon until Monday morning and Morales mother, Lydia DeJesus, and stepfather, Marcos Garcia, said he was with Holloway that weekend, according to the warrant.

Key evidence, described in the warrant, was obtained from surveillance cameras and cellphones. One camera supported a neighbors claim he had seen Morales leave the house just a half hour after the first police check Dec. 2.

According to the warrant, other surveillance cameras captured his car on Dec. 1 near the Kiducation donation clothing bin at the St. Michaels Church parking lot in Derby. A number of bloodstained items including a childrens book, a childrens wooden puzzle and a mens 3XL T-shirt, as well as personal papers belonging to Holloway, were recovered when clothing from the bin was being sorted in Hamden.

Police said the stains tested positive for blood and were consistent with Holloways DNA.

This case has shaken the small city of Ansonia and will reverberate within the city for a very long time, Cota said. I hope this arrest brings some closure to the Holloway family. I will also add that we will continue our search for baby Vanessa in hopes of returning her home safely.

Just after 2 p.m. Friday, Morales, a heavy-set, bearded man wearing a white T-shirt and khaki pants, appeared before Superior Court Judge Peter McShane in Derby. To Morales left was Pattis and to his right, Smith.

I didnt expect to be in court today, Pattis told the judge, apologizing for wearing casual clothes  a red sweater, blue jeans and a ski jacket. He said he was contacted by the family just hours earlier.

Later, when asked how difficult it will be continuing taking on another high-profile case after Dulos, Pattis said, I like a fight.

On Friday, Smith suggested the court accept the bail commissioners $2 million recommendation since his client has been unable to post the $250,000 bail needed to secure his release on two charges of being a convicted felon in possession of stun guns. Those guns were found in his bedroom during a Dec. 3 search of his First Avenue home in New Haven as part of the Holloway case. He will be back in state Superior Court in New Haven on those charges Feb. 26.

The judge sided with Supervisory States Attorney Rebecca Berry, who asked that a $5 million bond be set. McShane then transferred the murder case to state Superior Court in Milford, where more serious felony cases are heard. He scheduled Morales appearance there for Feb. 18.

Members of Holloways and Morales families were in the courtroom for the 10-minute proceeding.

The 43-year-old Morales has a criminal record dating to 1993 which includes sale of narcotics, violation of protective orders, carrying a pistol without a permit and domestic violence. Prior arrest reports and court documents obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media indicate that he has used the mind-altering drug PCP  or angel dust  in the past.

Information in this arrest warrant suggests PCP may have been a factor in this case. During a Dec. 16 interview, a friend from East Haven told FBI Special Agent David Dillon and Ansonia Police Detective Stephen Adcox that he and Morales bought seven bags of PCP in Bridgeport on Nov. 29. He said they smoked half a bag and Morales left with two bags.

Several neighbors claim they saw Morales at the Myrtle Avenue home, a former carriage house, that weekend, the warrant said.

The owner of the home and his mother said they were in the attached three-car garage on Dec.1 and heard a commotion upstairs, the warrant said. The mother said she heard three sounds like they were hammering something into the wall. She also said she heard sounds like furniture being moved around.

Another man visiting a neighbor told police he saw Morales at the house that same afternoon, according to the warrant.

The FBI has offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who can lead investigators to Vanessa or who turns her over to police. Authorities asked anyone with information to call the FBI New Haven Hotline at 203-503-5555 or Ansonia police at 203-735-1885.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:14:47|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- While the people of China are striving for victory in the battle against the outbreak of novel coronavirus, certain Western media outlets and officials are generating a cacophony out of prejudice, rumors, discrimination and racism.

German magazine Der Spiegel published a commentary by Stefan Kuzmany, head of Der Spiegel's opinion and debate section, in which he used discriminatory language to describe China and the Chinese people, even saying that "a little racism is fine." The Wall Street Journal carried a recent article by Walter Russell Mead who used an outdated phrase to mock the Chinese people under the epidemic.

Such clickbait headlines can draw more eyeballs, but they have betrayed journalistic ethics and tainted the real meaning of "freedom of expression." The crisis of the epidemic outbreak will be over, but racial discrimination is a disease more difficult to eradicate.

Some Western politicians have also made racist remarks that are more dangerous than the virus, calling for their citizens to leave China as soon as possible, sowing fear and panic by using hearsay that there might be no commercial flights taking them to other countries in the next few weeks due to possible travel restrictions.

Instead of offering solidarity and support, these politicians have chosen to spread fear and panic among people to pursue their private gains. Combatting the novel coronavirus is more than just the battle against the disease. It is a test of morality which these politicians have failed to pass.

In fighting the virus, China has taken the most comprehensive and rigorous prevention and control measures. It is the unswerving efforts of the whole nation that have helped keep the mortality rate at the current level -- much lower than the 2019-2020 seasonal influenza in the United States -- and prevented the epidemic from becoming a global pandemic.

The numbers of patients being cured and discharged from hospitals are on the rise day by day. The fatality rate and the daily number of fever patients are both dropping. Businesses are resuming operation orderly.

The United Nations, the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have all praised China's efforts to fight and overpower the common enemy of global public health and growth.

Despite the isolated emergence of racism, it is sympathy, unity, rationality and conscience that define this community with a shared future for humanity.
English French

MONTREAL, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intema Solutions Inc. (Intema or the Corporation) (TSXV: ITM, OTCMKTS: ITMZF), maker of eFlyerMaker.com , an email platform with extensive compliance and content creation suites, announced today its intent to reprice and extend by two years, the 2,693,667 warrants of the Corporation with an exercise price of $0.24 per share and an expiry date of March 15, 2020.



Subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, each of these warrants will entitle the holder to subscribe for one common share of Intema, at an exercise price of $0.18 per share, until March 15, 2022.

The Corporation also announced that it has terminated, by mutual consent, its service agreement with Hybrid Financial Ltd.

About Intema Solutions Inc.

Intemas mission is to be the worlds premier digital marketing platform. The Corporation has been simplifying and optimizing the online marketing activities of medium and large companies through innovative technologies and cutting-edge expertise for over 20 years. A Canadian leader in permission-based email marketing, Intema provides a wide range of products and services, including SMS, content and predictive AI marketing, as well as related professional services. For more information, please visit our corporate website at intema.com .

Forward-looking statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. All statements in this press release other than statements of historical facts, including, without limitation, those regarding the projected financial performance of the Corporation; expected development of the Corporations business and projects; execution of the Corporations vision and growth strategy; sources and availability of financing for the Corporations projects; renewal of the Corporations current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and future liquidity, working capital and capital requirements are forward-looking statements. Although the forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon what management of the Corporation believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Corporation undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information:

Intema Solutions Inc.

Laurent Benezra Alain Beland (514) 465-5453 (514) 947-5784 laurent@intema.ca alain@intema.ca










Photo: D. Neal The Yuma Myotis (pictured) and Fringed Myotis are two western bat species now affected by white-nose syndrome.

Researchers are asking the public for help to protect B.C. bats threatened by white-nose syndrome.

The fungal disease, which is responsible for the death of millions of bats in eastern North America, is spreading on the West Coast.

WNS does not pose any threat to humans, but is devastating for the bat population, as it has a near 100% mortality rate for some species. There are currently no treatments for the disease.

B.C. Community Bat Program Okanagan co-ordinator Paula Rodriguez de la Vega says they require the help of the public to accurately track the spread of the disease.

Detection of WNS in B.C. is challenging because our bats hibernate in small groups across the province. To monitor the spread of the disease, we need more eyes on the ground. Outdoor enthusiasts and homeowners with roosts on their property may be the first to find evidence of trouble.

We are encouraging the public to report dead bats or any sightings of winter bat activity to the BC Community Bat Program.... Bat carcasses will be submitted for testing for white-nose syndrome and would provide the earliest indication of the presence of the disease in BC.

The disease has been confirmed 150 kilometres south of the B.C.-U.S. border, to the west and east of the Cascade Mountains in Washington.

Signs of the disease include unusual bat activity in winter and the appearance of dead bats outdoors as they succumb to the effects of WNS. However, not every winter bat sighting is reason for concern. Bats may be sleeping, hibernating in isolation, or waking up to eat.

If you see a bat, keep your distance, snap a photo and report it to the B.C. Community Bat Program by emailing [email protected], visiting www.bcbats.ca or calling 1-855-922-2287 ext. 13.

Never touch a bat with your bare hands, and if you must move it, visit www.bcbats.ca for advice.
Delhis deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Friday called for the strictest action against the officer on special duty in the Delhi government secretariat arrested in an alleged bribery case.

The arrest of senior Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer, Gopal Krishna Madhav, came just two days before the Delhi assembly elections on February 8.

Madhav was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late on Thursday after he was caught in a trap case of Rs 2 lakh in a matter related to GST.

ALSO WATCH | Manish Sisodia demands strict action against his ex-OSD arrested by CBI

I have come to know that CBI has arrested a GST inspector taking bribe. This officer was also posted in my office as OSD. The CBI should immediately punish him severely. I have got many such corrupt officials caught in the last five years, Manish Sisodia tweeted in Hindi.

The deputy CM tolds news agency ANI that the man was in his office for last five years.

I have no issues with the timing of the arrest. Whoever takes bribe should be caught immediately. We have zero-tolerance for corruption, he also said while speaking to news agency ANI.

Madhav was taken to the central agencys headquarters for questioning after the arrest. The agency refused to share further details on the arrest.

According to an order, Madhav was posted in the office of Sisodia immediately after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government came to power in 2015.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Struggling department store chain Sears is closing three more stores each in Maryland and New Jersey, reports said, quoting a company spokesperson. The closures are in addition to the shuttering of 96 Sears and Kmart stores announced by Sears in November 2019. The new store closures will occur by mid-April 2020 and liquidation sales will begin this week, the Sears spokesperson reportedly said. In Maryland, the Sears locations in White Marsh Mall, Westfield Annapolis Mall and St. Charles Towne Centre in Waldorf will be shuttered. In New Jersey, Sears is closing the Kmart stores in West Long Branch as well as the Sears stores in Moorestown and Woodbridge. Sears merged with discount chain Kmart in 2005. But over the next few years, Sears closed stores, divested brands, and spun off units, after declining sales. Sears Holding filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018. The chain's parent company, Transformco, acquired Sears' assets in a bankruptcy auction in February 2019, enabling the retailer to remain open for business. However, Sears continued to close stores even after emerging from bankruptcy. In November 2019, Sears announced plans to close 96 Sears and Kmart stores. At that time, TransformCo announced a list of the next Sears and Kmart stores it planned to close by February 2020. The company said it would operate 182 stores following those store closures and will continue to evaluate the Sears and Kmart footprint, consistent with overall retail and service strategy. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
What has bothered the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the recent Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand is the Opposition's focus on local issues.

Observers have noted that the Opposition parties, particularly the regional ones, have understood that during the state polls, going local helps in fact, going local might be the only strategy to counter the BJP's pitch on national issues.

So we had the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) being the kingmaker in Haryana, where it was inducted into the government by the BJP after the latter failed to form a government on its own. In Maharashtra, meanwhile, the BJP was the single-largest party, but local issues and regional parties stole the victory away from the BJP.

Something similar happened in Jharkhand, where the Hemant Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morhca (JMM) swept the polls. On its own, it secured 30 seats and the alliance that it led managed to form a comfortable majority in the state. The BJP, which was the main opposition, was reduced to 25 seats.

Differences and similarities in Delhi

Coming as it is on the heels of these elections, the polls in Delhi have their similarities and differences.

Observers have noted that perhaps taking a cue from its performances in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, the BJP has aggressively tried pushing the national narrative rather than local one for the Capital contest.

Also Read: Delhi election: What are the stakes for AAP, BJP and Congress this poll season?

So while the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is claiming to have changed the face of Delhi via its developmental model, top BJP leaders have been talking about Shaheen Bagh and aggressive nationalism. Critics have also said the elections for Delhi have taken a communal turn, with the BJP allegedly trying to polarise voters.

Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the building of Ram Temple feature prominently alongside freebies and issues such as health and safety, and observers have pointed that the election then is, once again, the local vs the national.

But analysts also say Delhi does not usually vote on the issues that feature prominently in other elections, such as caste or religion, but on the basis of developmental works undertaken in the city.

BJP's 21 years out of power in Delhi

BJP hasn't been able to win in Delhi since 1998, when the Sushma Swaraj-led government fell to rising prices of vegetables, particularly the onions. Interestingly, some time before the Delhi polls, onion prices were, once again, in the news and not for good reasons.

Be that as it may, the saffron party did have a close shave with power in 2013, when it emerged as the single-largest party but did not have a majority.

Taking the moral high ground, it chose not to stake claim, and its rivals, AAP a new arrival then and Congress joined hands to form the government. Kejriwal became the Chief Minister, and resigned from that post 49 days later, paving way for another poll battle in 2015.

Also Read: How onion prices led to Swaraj govts defeat in 1998  the last time BJP held reigns in national capital

In 2013, the Narendra Modi 'wave' or 'hawa' had already set in, and at that time many reports had attributed the BJP's improved performance to the 'Modi magic'. But an improved performance did not make way for the BJP to be in government in Delhi not in 2013, nor in 2015.

The 2015 elections were particularly bad for both BJP and Congress. The latter drew a blank, while BJP managed to win only three seats in a 70-member Assembly that was dominated by AAP. Moreover, this came less than a year after the BJP secured a thumping majority on its own during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on the back of the very same Modi 'wave'.

So, where does that leave the BJP in Delhi or does it just leave the party out of it?

Yashwant Sinha, a BJP rebel who was then with the party, analysed that the BJP's loss was due to the "consolidation of non-BJP votes in favour of AAP rather than being dispersed in a multi-cornered contest".

For Sinha, that was the only plausible explanation for BJP's rout in Delhi, but observers have pointed out that there were other reasons too including old ones such as infighting and negative campaigning.

But those old problems, reports suggest, are still very present for the BJP in Delhi. Much like Congress, factionalism within the BJP's Delhi unit is a sticking point: there is Manoj Tiwari who is being challenged by the camps commanded by Vijay Goel and Vijender Gupta, all three eyeing the CM seat.

Also Read: People voting differently at Centre and state levels  what it means for the national capital

The 2013 CM candidate for BJP and now a Union Minister, Harsh Vardhan, too, has his grip tightly wound around certain sections of Delhi BJP.

Then the negative campaigning surrounding Shaheen Bagh and the increase in polarising narrative, too, is a factor reminiscent of the party's previous campaigns.

However, this time around, some analysts have said that Shaheen Bagh and the overall CAA-NRC stir have given an advantage to the BJP, at least in maintaining and increasing its core support base, which was on a decline.

Whether BJP manages to change its fortunes in Delhi after more than two decades out of power is to be seen, but if it doesn't, analysts say that it might bring changes within the BJP's narrative-building for the future elections.
And the financial pressure on those other candidates is now great: Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., left the campaign trail on Wednesday night and Thursday morning to raise money in New York, and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Senator Elizabeth Warren have been cutting back on their advertising after falling well short of victory in the Iowa caucuses, a development that could make it harder to raise money.

Senator Bernie Sanders, in turn, announced on Thursday that he had raised $25 million in January, a staggering sum. But Mr. Sanders is not dependent on the big-money donors whom Mr. Bloomberg has been pitching and whom Mr. Biden and Mr. Buttigieg are dependent on. As a result, Mr. Sanders, the most liberal candidate in the race, is now well positioned for a long primary race, especially if major donors heed Mr. Bloombergs overtures and embrace him over other moderates in the race.

Resembling fund-raisers in every aspect but one, Mr. Bloombergs events are organized under the auspices of a division of the campaign known as the Committee for Mike, a unit that closely resembles the structure of a traditional fund-raising operation  except that it does not actually solicit donations.

Unveiled last month, the Committee for Mike was described by the campaign as a network of influencers committed to Mr. Bloombergs candidacy. Its staff members have asked supporters to speak up for Mr. Bloomberg on social media and in personal conversations with their friends and colleagues, especially those who may reside in key primary states and general-election battlegrounds. Among the people managing the operation are former top fund-raisers for Senators Kamala Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Mr. Bloomberg has boasted throughout the campaign that he is immune to the influence of other peoples money, but with his fund-raising-style events he is signaling to people accustomed to giving big campaign contributions that he is at least open to their involvement.
The shift supervisor of a cargo ship that ran aground in a pristine marine reserve near the French Mediterranean island of Corsica last year was given a suspended sentence Friday for sleeping on the job. The 90-metre (295-foot) Rhodanus, transporting 2,650 tonnes of steel coils, failed to heed repeated calls from traffic controllers over a period of 50 minutes to change course, and smashed into the Bonifacio Strait nature reserve in the early morning hours. Even a helicopter was sent out to raise the alarm, to no avail. "I sat down on the couch, made a coffee, and fell asleep. The sound of a crash woke me up," the 44-year-old shift supervisor told investigators after the accident last October. There were no injuries nor pollution as a result of the crash. The supervisor and the sailor at the helm, both Russians, were given six-month suspended sentences Friday by a court in Marseille in southern France, as well as a fine of 3,000 euros ($3,300) each. They were also prohibited from sailing in French waters for three years. Neither were present in court. Prosecutor Franck Lagier pointed out a series of "failings and negligence" on board the vessel he said was operating like a "ghost ship without a commander." With his supervisor asleep, the sailor on duty had deactivated a "dead man switch" -- which activates an alarm after prolonged human inactivity -- because the noise bothered him. The supervisor had failed to set an alarm to rouse him from his sleep for the passage through the sensitive marine reserve area. The ship got lodged in sand without tilting, and did not shed any oil. The Bonifacio Strait reserve, stretching over 80,000 hectares (200,000 acres), is a scuba divers' paradise with several small islands in the strait separating Corsica from Italy's Sardinia.
Jhon Jairo Velasquez Vasquez, alias "Popeye," who worked for Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar has succumbed to stomach cancer on Thursday, according to an article by the BBC. He was 57.

Colombia's National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) confirmed through a Twitter post the death of Escobar's top hitman, who was hospitalized over a month ago.

Velasquez had been admitted to the hospital since December 31. A local media outlet reported he was battling the disease for several months and was undergoing chemotherapy at the National Cancer Institute in Bogota.

Velasquez who commanded the drug kingpin's army of hitmen, confessed to 300 assassinations and claimed he coordinated thousands as part of the infamous Medellin Cartel that sent thousands of tons of cocaine to the United States.

The Medellin Cartel made his boss one of the world's richest men during the 1980s and 1990s. Escobar was killed by Colombian police in 1993 as he attempted to avoid extradition to the US.

In 1992, the former hitman gave himself up to authorities and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the assassination of presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galan in 1989 and reportedly gained a reputation for the stories he told about his life of crime. After serving most of his sentence, more than 20 years, he was released in 2014.

He launched a YouTube channel called "Repentant" and eventually became a popular online personality, attracting more than a million followers. He said he used the platform to show his reincorporation into society.

Velasquez then went into hiding for several years fearing reprisals from his victim's families and members of the Medellin Cartel he helped to convict in return for a lighter sentence. However, he was captured again on May 25, 2018 on charges of extortion and criminal conspiracy and was taken into custody at a party hosted by Colombia's top drugs trafficking investigator.

Mayor Federico Gutierrez of Medellin confirmed the arrest in a tweet.

Local media outlets reported that Popeye was arrested after appearing with his lawyer at the organized crime prosecutors' office in Medellin in hopes of finding out if he was being investigated.

A source within the Oficina de Envigado, the collection of Medellin crime groups that controls most of the city's underworld, said in an interview with InSight Crime last year that Popeye was blackmailing frontmen for his late boss who had held on to assets linked to the Medellin Cartel's illegal activities.

"He was trying to recover property [and] money that he left years ago in the hands of narcos, and that very likely was inherited or received by their relatives, who are the ones who have been pressing and are the ones who denounced him," a source told El Tiempo.

The same source added that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency participated in the investigation.

The life of Velasquez was the subject of television series, including Netflix's "Narcos" and "Surviving Escobar" which was based on a book he authored.
Weather Alert

...WIND CHILL WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 PM EST TUESDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously cold wind chills expected. Wind chills as low as 35 below zero. * WHERE...In Vermont, Western Franklin County. In New York, Eastern Clinton County. * WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 3 PM EST Tuesday. * IMPACTS...The cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The coldest wind chill values will occur between 2 AM and 11 AM on Tuesday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. &&
Jon Shapley / Houston Chronicle 2019

Michelle Shaeffer, who is diabetic, bought a bottle of Cuties Juice at a supermarket, and said afterward she had been attracted by the label, which read, 100% Tangerine Juice, No Sugar Added. Only later, she said, did she learn that other brands of tangerine juice were also sugar-free.

So Shaeffer sued the manufacturer, Califia Farms Inc., for false advertising, and proposed a class-action suit on behalf of all U.S. consumers who had been similarly misled. She also accused Califia of violating a federal regulation that allows no sugar added on a food label only if the food it resembles and for which it substitutes normally contains added sugars.
Repurpose Your Christmas Tree to Grow Food, and More!

With the Christmas season officially over, many of us will be disposing of our living Christmas trees. While most municipalities will repurpose your Christmas tree for you by chipping them into mulch; you may like to consider other options for extending the life of your tree. Wildlife habitat Evergreen trees
The Ten Commandments monument, the source of a two-year legal fight resulting in Roy Moore losing his position as Alabama chief justice, is coming back to Montgomery.

Almost 20 years after the controversy of the monument's installation on Moore's order  followed by a court-ordered removal two years later  Moore said Thursday he plans to display it again.

In a Facebook post Thursday, Moore said that the monument will be returned to Montgomery next week for display at the Foundation for Moral Law  the non-profit started by Moore and whose president is Moore's wife Kayla.

The foundation's offices are located at One Dexter Avenue in downtown Montgomery and just blocks from the Alabama Judicial Building where it was first displayed.

One of the most important issues affecting our Country is a lack of morality," Moore said in a Facebook post Thursday. "The Ten Commandments represent the 'Laws of Nature and of Natures God,' upon which our Nation began in 1776."

Moore was forced from office as chief justice on Nov. 13, 2003, for refusing to follow a federal court order to remove the monument. The 2  ton granite monument, which had the Ten Commandments engraved at the top on tablets, had been taken from the rotunda of the Alabama Judicial Building less than two months earlier.

Moore  who is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate held by Doug Jones -- originally had the monument installed on July 31, 2001.

Moore said the monument is scheduled to be placed at his foundation Tuesday between 3-4 p.m. and the public is invited to attend. Moore will also hold a press conference.

Moore was sworn into office as chief justice in January 2001 after winning election in November 2000. The monument was installed six months later with Moore having not told his fellow Supreme Court justices about it.

A federal lawsuit objecting to the monument was filed Oct. 30, 2001, and U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ordered in November 2002 that the monument be removed.

Moore's appeals were rejected and the monument was removed on Aug. 27, 2003.

"Our decline as a nation will not be at the hand of a foreign power or external enemy but will occur only when we lose that virtue and morality, under God, upon which we began, Moore said in the Facebook post. The Laws of Nature and of Natures God are not only the source of our morals but also our unalienable rights. We have the right to religious liberty because God said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me, and we have the right to life because God said, Thou shalt not kill.
Man Pleads Guilty to Running Dark Web Service Hosting Millions of Child Pornography Images

A man who operated a web server that hosted multiple websites that allowed users to view and share child exploitation material has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge.

Eric Eoin Marques, 33, a dual citizen of the United States and Ireland pleaded guilty to conspiracy to advertise child pornography in a court in Maryland on Thursday, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ). He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years, but with his plea agreement, he hopes to ask the federal judge to sentence him to 15 to 21 years in prisonsomething the judge is not bound by.

Federal prosecutors say that Marques from Dublin, Ireland, was operating a free anonymous hosting service located on the dark weba part of the internet that requires special software to accessbetween July 24, 2008, and July 29, 2013, that allowed users and websites to remain anonymous or untraceable. Dozens of the websites hosted on the service allowed users to view and share images that displayed sexual abuse of children, violent sexual abuse, and bestiality.

Authorities extradited Marques to the United States from Ireland in March 2019. He was subsequently charged with a four-count indictment alleging that he conspired to, and did advertise and distribute child pornography, between July 24, 2008, and July 29, 2013.

The FBI agents found through their investigation that Marques hosting service contained over 8.5 million images of child exploitation material. Over 1.97 million of these images and videos involved victims that were not previously known by law enforcement. The department said one of the child exploitation websites hosted on the server reported almost 1.4 million file uploads as of July 2013.

The defendants anonymous web service hosted dozens of insidious criminal communities dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children and spread millions of images of that abuse, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Departments Criminal Division said in a statement. His guilty plea is proof of the departments fierce commitment to rooting out those who hide behind anonymous networks to commit serious child exploitation offenses.

Marques is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11.

The department said the case was brought under the project safe childhood (PSC) initiative aimed at combating the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Last October, the department announced that over 300 people were arrested worldwide following an international operation to take down the largest secret child exploitation website hosted on the dark web.

U.S. law enforcement cooperated with authorities from other countries to target the website operator and users, leading to investigations in 38 countries and yielding the arrests of 337 people suspected of possessing or sharing child sexual abuse content.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hulu announced the first three Hulu Original series to come out of its multi-year streaming deal with DreamWorks Animation on Friday.

Madagascar: A Little Wild, TrollsTopia and The Mighty Ones will all premiere in 2020, as part of a move to strengthen Hulus childrens programming.

Here is the description for each of the series:

Madagascar: A Little Wild:

Loveable foursome Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Melman the Giraffe and Gloria the Hippo steal the show in Madagascar: A Little Wild, executive produced by Johanna Stein (Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny). Capturing the iconic personalities of each of the four dynamos, Madagascar: A Little Wild showcases the team as kids residing in their rescue habitat at the Central Park Zoo. They might be small, but like everybody who lands in New York City, these little guys have big dreams and Madagascar: A Little Wild will follow all of their adventures.

TrollsTopia:

TrollsTopia will be a new original based off the famous Trolls franchise following Poppy and other enchanting characters from the upcoming feature film Trolls World Tour.

The Mighty Ones:

In every backyard, a secret world exists filled with tiny creatures. The Mighty Ones, follows the hilarious adventures of a group of creatures: a twig, a pebble, a leaf and a strawberry. These best friends, self-named The Mighty Ones, live in an unkempt backyard belonging to a trio of equally unkempt humans whom they mistake for gods. Despite their diminutive stature, The Mighty Ones are determined to live life large and always have fun in their wild world. The series is executive produced by Sunil Hall (Pickle and Peanut) and Lynne Naylor-Reccardi (Samurai Jack).

Read original story Madagascar and Trolls Series Among First Projects From Hulu-DreamWorks Streaming Deal At TheWrap
A Navy support ship helped to intercept nearly 40million of cocaine in a drugs bust in the Caribbean.

Falmouth-based RFA Mounts Bay worked with a US Coastguard team in the operation which stopped two speedboats close to the US Virgin Islands.

They seized 1.4 tonnes of cocaine worth 35million from the boats.

Falmouth-based RFA Mounts Bay helped to intercept nearly 40million of cocaine in a drugs bust in the Caribbean. Pictured: US coast guard officials

They seized 1.4 tonnes of cocaine worth 35million from the boats. A further 150kg of cocaine worth 3.75million was recovered after it was dumped in the sea. Left: One of the speed boats. Right: Some of the drugs intercepted

A further 150kg of cocaine worth 3.75million was recovered after it was dumped in the sea.

Seven prisoners and the drugs haul were transferred to Mounts Bay, a landing ship dock, before being handed over to the US Coastguard.

Armed Forces Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: 'Thanks to the work of the Royal Navy and our US partners these narcotics will not reach the streets and fuel further criminality.

Seven prisoners and the drugs haul were transferred to Mounts Bay, a landing ship dock, before being handed over to the US Coastguard. Pictured: Some of the drugs intercepted

The Navy support ship worked with a US Coastguard team (pictured) in the operation which stopped two speedboats close to the US Virgin Islands

'RFA Mounts Bay has had a varied deployment, from leading the response to Hurricane Dorian to stopping the illicit drugs trade.

'This is a timely reminder of the diverse work undertaken by our armed forces that helps keep up safe.'

Captain Kevin Rimell, the ship's commanding officer, said: 'Everyone aboard Mounts Bay has a right to feel proud of the part they played in the bust.'

The operations comes a few days after Portsmouth-based HMS Defender captured 2,500kg of cannabis worth 1 million from a dhow in the Middle East.

Armed Forces Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: 'Thanks to the work of the Royal Navy and our US partners these narcotics will not reach the streets and fuel further criminality.' Pictured: Officials working during the operation

HMS Defender has been operating in support of Combined Task Force 150, a multi-national force carrying out security patrols in the Gulf.

Once the Royal Marines had secured the suspicious dhow, a Royal Navy team followed and searched the vessel for illicit cargo.

The boarding party discovered 2,500kg of hashish in 119 bags hidden throughout the dhow.

It came just two months after HMS Defender intercepted 131kg of crystal meth, worth 3.3million.

Ms Trevelyan added: 'This is a timely reminder of the diverse work undertaken by our armed forces that helps keep up safe.' Pictured: Officials working during the operation
Republicans had a plan for the 2020 election. The plan was to end President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, sidestep questions about his misconduct, and talk instead about the economy. But on Thursday, Trump shattered that plan. In remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast and the White House, he flaunted his rage and impunity. Hes making 2020 a referendum on exactly what Republicans dont want to talk about: his unpunished corruption.

The last president who was impeached, Bill Clinton, tried to defuse public anger by acknowledging his sins. He called his behavior with Monica Lewinsky wrong and a personal failure on my part for which I am solely and completely responsible. He expressed shame, regret, and remorse. I must take complete responsibility for all my actions, said Clinton. Accountability demands consequences, and Im prepared to accept them.

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Trump offers no such contrition. At the prayer breakfast, he accused his enemies of impeaching him for nothing. Hours later, before an audience of Republican lawmakers in the East Room of the White House, he declared a day of celebration over his acquittal. He called his extortion of Ukraine totally appropriate and insisted he had done nothing wrong. In fact, he claimed he had a legal obligation to press Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. So thats the story, Trump concluded. Weve been treated very unfairly.

Clinton, in speeches leading up to his trial and acquittal, faced unwelcome facts. I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate, he confessed in a televised address. I misled people, including even my wife. Later, he acknowledged that he had misled the country [and] the Congress.

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Trump confessed nothing. Three times in his rant at the White House, he dismissed the Ukraine scandal as a hoax. He called the Russia investigation bullshit and a witch hunt. He falsely claimed that investigators looking into connections between Russia and the Trump campaign knew in the first two days  that we were totally innocent, but they kept [the investigation] going. He slandered former FBI Director James Comey, alleging that Comey announced that he was leaking [and] lying and that we caught him in the act. And he lied about Christopher Steeles dossier on Trump-Russia connections, claiming that Steele admits that its a fake.

Clinton hated the investigation that led to his impeachment. But at times, he at least made a show of taking it to heart. While its hard to hear yourself called deceitful and manipulative, he said, I remember Ben Franklins admonition that our critics are our friends, for they do show us our faults.

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At Thursdays prayer breakfast, Trump fumed that he had been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people. At the White House, he hurled venom.

Trump, conceding nothing, rages at his investigators. At the White House, he called them dirty cops, lowlifes, very evil and sick people, and the crookedest, most dishonest, dirtiest people Ive ever seen. He called Comey a sleazebag and denounced former leaders of the FBI as scum. He mocked Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the Iraq war veteran and National Security Council aide who told Congress about Trumps extortion of Ukraine. And he bragged that by firing Comey, he had torpedoed the Russia investigation. Had I not fired James Comey, said Trump, its possible I wouldnt even be standing here.

Clinton, after his impeachment, called for unity. We must get rid of the poisonous venom of excessive partisanship, obsessive animosity, and uncontrolled anger, he pleaded. A week before his acquittal, Clinton spoke at the 1999 prayer breakfast, affirming that when we come here, we set party aside. He warned that an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind and that those who seek peace must let go and walk away, like Christ, not from apparent, but from genuine grievances. After his acquittal, Clinton spoke at the White House. This must be a time of reconciliation, he declared.

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Trump shows no interest in reconciliation. At Thursdays prayer breakfast, he fumed that he had been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people. At the White House, he hurled venom. Democrats are lousy politicians, he declared. They are vicious and mean. Vicious. These people are vicious. Adam Schiff is a vicious, horrible person. Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person. He denounced Sen. Mitt Romneythe sole Republican who had voted to convict himas a guy who cant stand the fact that he ran one of the worst campaigns in the history of the presidency. The president hinted at revenge, complaining that Hillary Clinton hadnt been prosecuted and that if investigators had targeted President Barack Obama the way they targeted Trump, a lot of peoplethe investigators themselveswould have been in jail for a long time.

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Bill Clinton, for all his failings, took religion seriously. At the 1999 prayer breakfast, he prayed to be purged of the temptation to pretend that our willfulness is somehow equal to Gods will. Trump, in Thursdays speech to the prayer breakfast, shattered that spirit of humility. He praised Republican politicians for acquitting him, and he accused Romney of faking religious conscience. I dont like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, he said of Romneys vote against him. Then, in a slap at Pelosi, Trump continued, Nor do I like people who say I pray for you when they know that thats not so. Later, at the White House, Trump accused Romney of using religion as a crutch. He said of Pelosi: I doubt she prays at all.

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Trumps abuse of the prayer breakfast was a desecration, and his speech at the White House was some of the vilest slander ever spoken by a president. But congressional Republicans, ignoring their own lectures about moving on from impeachment, lapped up his East Room tirade. They laughed as he lied about Comey, insulted Romney, mocked Schiff, belittled special counsel Robert Mueller, attacked Pelosis faith, and dismissed the Russia investigation as bullshit. They applauded his smears and fabrications.

Thats the defining scene of Trumps impeachment. The acquittal isnt a verdict on Trump. Its a verdict on the Republican Party. The president of the United States spurned humility, mocked faith, spouted lies, bragged about sacking his investigators, and threatened his political opponents. And the leadership of his party reveled in it. Trumps acquittal isnt about a technical disagreement. Its about nihilism and impunity. The Senate didnt settle that fight. But the election can.
Within days of hiking the deposit insurance five-folds to Rs 5 lakh per account, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said her ministry is working on the controversial Financial Resolution & Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill, but added she is not sure when it will be tabled in the House.

The government was forced to withdraw the FRDI Bill from the House after Opposition members objected to it, especially the bail-in clause to banks, which many fear is detrimental to depositors.

Late finance minister Arun Jaitley in August 2017 introduced the FRDI Bill in the Lok Sabha, which had proposed a comprehensive resolution framework for revival/closure of financial institutions, including banks, insurers, NBFCs, and cooperative banks. But could not go ahead with the same.

A year later in August 2018, the then finance minister Piyush Goyal was forced to withdraw the Bill, following concerns raised by the public on the 'bail-in' clause and also due to conflict of opinions with various regulators, including the Reserve Bank.

The government then proposed to set up an independent resolution corporation to carry out a speedy and efficient resolution of financial firms in distress. The Bill was then referred to a joint House committee.

According to the bail-in clause, proposed for the first time in the country, customers of a failing financial institution would bear a part of the cost of resolution by reducing their claims.

Despite government clarifying that the bail-in clause will be sparingly used, concerns persisted among the public, and the government believed that it was one the main reasons for the spurt in cash withdrawals seen that year.

The finance minister's comments assume importance given the massive five-fold hike in deposit insurance and the recent changes in the insolvency laws to include insolvency provisions for financial institutions, following which leading mortgage player DHLF was sent to NCLT last November.

"We are working on the FRDI Bill; but not sure when it can get through the House," the minister told reporters here without elaborating.

The minister's comment also comes a day after the Reserve Bank had clarified that the spike in deposit insurance will not hit the balance-sheets of banks as the insurance premium will go up by just 2 paise from 10 paise now.

The move also comes at a time when many financial institutions, especially NBFCs and cooperative banks, are showing signs of deep stress.

The bankruptcy code takes care of resolution for ailing non-financial firms, but doesn't cover deposit-taking financial companies. While DHFL became the first NBFC to be sent to NCLT last November, IL&FS, much larger than the former was been taken over by the government in October 2018.

There were string failures among the cooperative banks with the largest being the bankruptcy of PMC Bank with over Rs 11,800 crore of public deposits. That apart more than two dozen cooperative bank managements were superseded by the RBI in 2019 from Maharashtra alone.

Many analysts argue that financial sector companies need a special resolution regime as the main purpose is to safeguard the interests of depositors and prevent prudential risks from spilling over into a systematic concern.

Commenting on the impact of the deposit insurance hike on banks' bottomline, Reserve Bank deputy governor B P Kanungo on Thursday said the five-fold hike would not have much impact on bank balance-sheets.

The budget had permitted the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) to raise deposit insurance coverage to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.

The DICGC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, provides insurance cover on bank deposits. At present, the DICGC provides Rs 1 lakh insurance to a depositor regardless of the deposit amount, in case the lender fails or gets liquidated.

"The premium is something, which we consider, will increase from 10 paise to 12 paise per Rs 100 for the time being. So, the impact on bank balance sheets is not likely to be much," Kanungo told reporters.

According to analysts, the premium burden on banks following the insurance cover hike will go up by 20 per cent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A city non-profit focused on the wellbeing of children is worried the state budget will neglect the health of the citys most needy, including those on Staten Islands North Shore.

Citizens Committee for Children of New York Executive Director Jennifer March said parts of Gov. Andrew Cuomos budget proposal, especially those related to Medicaid, would severely shift cost burdens to New York City, negatively impacting its most needy.

Theres real concern about -- should those cost shifts stand -- how it would impact the citys ability to respond to community-level health and human service needs, which is really quite troubling, March said.

Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have been in an ongoing back and forth about a cost shift in non-federal spending appearing in the governors proposed budget for fiscal year 2021 and whether the states localities have been paying their fair share.

Cuomo has accused municipal governments of having operated under a blank check syndrome, failing to reign in costs, since the state assumed responsibility for Medicaid growth in 2015. The rising costs to the program have been largely blamed for the states looming $6 billion deficit.

A report the CCC published found a growing concern on Staten Islands North Shore, and how any cuts might affect its residents.

Community District 1, congruent with the borough above the expressway, fell the furthest on the committees community risk ranking from 2010 to 2017, according to a report released Wednesday by the CCC.

MOST AT RISK

The ranking looks at the citys 59 community districts, and gauges them based on six factors -- economic security, housing, health, education, youth, and family and community. The ranking determines where families and children are most at-risk for negative outcomes to their well-being.

While the North Shore remained consistent in economic security and housing, it saw decline in the other four areas, according to the CCC report. The boroughs other two community districts -- congruent with the South Shore and Mid-Island -- remained consistent throughout the seven-year period.

Whats driving some of the trend toward higher risk for families (on the North Shore) are changes in -- what we call -- the education domain, and the youth domain, Bijan Kimiagar, the CCCs associate executive director for research, said.

Things like enrollment in early childhood education, on-time high school graduation rates and teen birth rates on the North Shore have either remained flat or gotten worse over the seven-year period when compared with other parts of the city, which have seen improvements in those areas.

Those changes led for Staten Islands CD1 to shift from 29th to 17th on the risk ranking -- with the number one district being the most at-risk -- over the seven-year period. That puts the North Shore in the Moderate Risk category, which leaves it outside the High Risk and Moderate High Risk categories.

OTHER CATEGORIES

For the risk rankings health category, in which Staten Islands CD 1 also saw decline, the CCC researchers looked at things like infant mortality, low birthweight, and children without health insurance. Of the 59 districts, the North Shore ranked 20th in 2017, but 32nd in 2010.

Were really concerned about the negative impact of the cost shifts to New York City proposed in the state executive budget, and how that will impede the citys ability to respond to community needs," March said.

Across the country, Medicaid programs provide insurance to over 60 million people unable to cover the cost of health care. The programs are designed and administered at the state level in accordance with federal guidelines, and paid for with federal, state and local funds.

The states budget director, Robert Mujica, said in a WNYC interview that the state expects the city to reign in costs by cutting inefficiencies in its system.

I know for certain that when they were paying a share they were far more engaged and looking at the program, managing the costs, and if they saw something that was happening that was not correct or inefficiency they would raise it to the State to make sure we make changes to take out those efficiency," he said. "Theyre just not doing it anymore.

In New York, which has one of the nations most generous programs, the city and other localities have long borne one of the nations largest cost burdens. A 2018 report from the Citizens Budget Commission estimated that localities paid $7.6 billion that year with $5.3 billion coming from the city, and $2.3 billion coming from New Yorks other 57 counties.

A number of factors have further increased the costs of Medicaid in the state, including the Affordable Care Act, which expanded the number of people qualified for the program, and the the states minimum wage increase, which saw wages for long-term home care workers increase.

The original cost breakdown of New Yorks version of Medicaid, signed into law in 1966 by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, allotted half to the federal government with the state and localities evenly splitting the remaining 50%. As the cost grew for the entirety of the states program, spending by local governments had to keep pace with that of the state government.

Since then, multiple efforts have sought to reduce the burden on local governments. Currently, New Yorks local governments cover about 10% of Medicaid costs, according to the CBC.

That number has remained in place since 2015, when Cuomos administration finished installing a freeze on the share of growth cost covered by localities. Before that, Gov. George Patakis administration had installed a 3% cap.

Under the governors proposal, whether the localities cost share goes up will be linked to their compliance with the states property tax cap. Mujica wrote in a Daily News op-ed that if a municipality does not limit property tax growth to 2%, they will be responsible for Medicaid growth.

Even if a locality abides by the tax cap, the state will only accept responsibility for 3% of cost growth, and the municipalities would be responsible for the remainder, Mujica wrote in his op-ed.

In a January 29 briefing with reporters, the citys First Deputy Mayor Dean Fuleihan said, going by their estimates, the cost shift would hit the city for more than $1 billion when considering a 7% growth and the city going over the property tax cap. Those numbers are disputed by the state.

A spokesman for the state budget office said Wednesday that, if the city went over the 2% property tax cap, it would pay $221 million based on the states projection of 3% growth.

The state maintains that the citys Medicaid grew an average of 2.1% over the past 8 years, which they suggest costs even below their $221 million projection.

However, the city cited growth between state fiscal years 2018 and 2019, which they say was at 7%. The state spokesman pointed out that the governors proposal only applies to city spending growth.

In addition to the cost shift, Cuomo has also called for a reconvening of the states Medicaid Redesign Team to find more than $2.5 billion in savings.
MEDFORD, Ore.  An Applegate man first arrested in an October raid was later linked by investigators to a child pornography case. On Thursday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office said that he now faces child sex abuse charges after a victim came forward.

Detectives and a SWAT team arrested 41-year-old Joaquin Amadeus Cowart during the search of two separate homes along Upper Applegate Road in October. Though originally picked up on outstanding warrants, a more in-depth investigation of Cowart's alleged activities followed.

Near the end of december, with Cowart still lodged in jail, detectives added more charges against him  this time for multiple counts related to child pornography.

On Thursday, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office posted that Cowart had been charged Sex Abuse in the Second Degree. Court documents show that prosecutors leveled four counts against him.

"These charges resulted from the continued investigation of Cowart after a victim came forward to report additional crimes," the agency said.

According to court documents, the charges stem from events more than a decade ago, between 2007 and 2009. The alleged victim was under the age of 18 when the sex abuse occurred.

The child pornography and sex abuse charges represent two cases for which Cowart will be tried separately. In the meantime, Cowart is being held in the Jackson County Jail on more than $1 million bail.

Within a week of the authorities filing child pornography charges against Cowart in December, two other men living along Upper Applegate were arrested and accused of similar crimes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:40:52|Editor: Xiang Bo

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South Korean President Moon Jae-in (C), Chinese ambassador to the Republic of Korea Xing Haiming (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha pose for photos at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 7, 2020. South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday that as a close neighboring country of China, South Korea stands ready to continue to actively support China in its effort to fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic. (South Korea Presidential Blue House/Handout via Xinhua)

SEOUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Friday that as a close neighboring country of China, South Korea stands ready to continue to actively support China in its effort to fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Moon made such remarks as he accepted the credentials from newly appointed Chinese ambassador to the Republic of Korea Xing Haiming at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

Moon expressed his sympathy to the Chinese people who are suffering from the epidemic, conveyed condolences to the deceased and wished all patients a speedy recovery.

South Korea and China are close neighbors, and helping one's neighbor is helping itself, Moon said.

Under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, the Chinese people will be able to overcome the difficulties as soon as possible and achieve greater development, and exchanges and cooperation in all areas between South Korea and China will become all the more active, he said.

For his part, Xing said that China is willing to work hand in hand with the Republic of Korea to continuously enrich the connotation of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries and promote greater development of bilateral relations.

China will continue to support the improvement of inter-Korean relations and strive to maintain peace and stability on the peninsula, and contribute to the prosperity and development in the region, Xing said.

Xing stressed that as the prevention and control of novel coronavirus pneumonia is now at a critical stage, China has taken the most comprehensive and strict measures and so far achieved remarkable results. He also thanked the South Korean government and people for their support for China's efforts to contain the epidemic.
NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising--Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac or the Company) (NYSE: WBK) and certain of its officers, on behalf of shareholders who purchased Westpac securities between November 11, 2015 and November 19, 2019, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firms site: www.bgandg.com/wbk.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) contrary to Australian law, the Company failed to report over 19.5 million international funds transfer instructions to AUSTRAC, Australia's anti money-laundering and terrorism financing regulator; (2) the Company did not appropriately monitor and assess the ongoing money laundering and terrorism financing risks associated with movement of money into and out of Australia; (3) the Company did not pass on requisite information about the source of funds to other banks in the transfer chain; (4) despite being aware of the heightened risks, the Company did not carry out appropriate due diligence on transactions in South East Asia and the Philippines that had known financial indicators relating to child exploitation risks; (5) the Company's AML/CTF Program was inadequate to identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks; and (6) as a result, defendants' statements about its business, operations, and prospects, were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.

If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: www.bgandg.com/wbk or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Westpac you have until March 30, 2020 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

Contact:

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com
From disinfection and street patrols to food and medicine delivery in quarantine wards, robots were being deployed at the front lines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has claimed hundreds of lives in China.

More than 30 disinfection robots designed and produced by a Shanghai-based enterprise have entered major hospitals in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, to combat the epidemic, reports Xinhua news agency.

The white robot has a hydrogen peroxide sprayer on its "head" and nine ultraviolet lamps in its "belly", and can perform multiple forms of disinfection in environments where humans and machines coexist, Pan Jing, CEO of Shanghai TMiRob, the manufacturer of the robot, said on Friday.

At present, such disinfection robots have been used in isolation wards, ICUs, operating rooms and fever clinics of the city's major coronavirus hospitals including the Central Hospital of Wuhan to provide around clock disinfection service.

Chinese health authorities on Friday put the total number of confirmed cases in the country at 31,161 from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, while 636 people had died of the disease by the end of Thursday.

China has called on the country's Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector to contribute in the country's fight against the epidemic.

Robots were joining China's fight against the epidemic in order to reduce cross-infection risks and improve efficiency.

Siasun, the country's major robot manufacturer, on Wednesday donated 21 robots and 10 electric adjustable beds to local hospitals and other institutions on the front lines of the battle in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province.

With advanced technologies such as laser positioning, intelligent navigation and human-computer interaction, the medical delivery robots can help health workers spray disinfectants and hand out medicine to patients.

The electric adjustable beds allow infected patients to eat in bed and assist them to sit up and roll over, while the food delivery robots which can recognize human faces and voices are able to provide services for visitors from areas hard hit by the virus, so as to avoid close contact between people.

In Shanghai, several robots patrol the parks and streets to inform the public about epidemic prevention and control.

On Monday, robot maker CloudMinds and China Mobile's Shanghai branch donated the first batch of 5G-powered robots to a Shanghai hospital.
Of all the professionals we entrust with various aspects of our lives, few hold more sway than a financial advisor. A good one can show you how to turn your hard-earned cash into a secure financial future. "Buying a house, graduating from college, seeking retirement, supporting individuals that may be dependents of yours. There's so many reasons why someone needs to have a better understanding of their financial future," Fordham University accounting professor Barbara Porco told CNBC's "American Greed." But then there are advisors like Dawn Bennett. A radio show host who was listed by Barron's as one of the nation's top financial advisors, Bennett, 57, was in fact running a massive Ponzi scheme. Prosecutors said that rather than investing her clients' money as she claimed, she spent much of it on her outrageously lavish lifestyle including clothes, shoes, and a $500,000-a-year luxury suite at AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys. She also persuaded clients to invest millions in her online luxury sporting-goods business, which ended up being a spectacular flop. It turned out that she earned the coveted Barron's rankings  not to mention millions of dollars in credit lines  by vastly overstating her finances. At least 46 people invested some $20 million, and Bennett lost or spent almost all of it. "This was money that these folks had set aside for ailing family members, for their own long-term care, for their grandchildren's education, so that they could retire and so that they wouldn't have to return to the workplace," Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Pulice told "American Greed." "So, the loss of these funds was just absolutely devastating." Bennett even spent some of her money on religious ceremonies and other rituals including something called a "beef tongue shut-up hoodoo spell," which, as the name implies, employed a beef tongue, various spices and incantations apparently aimed at getting investigators to hold their tongues and stay silent. The spells did not work.

Dawn Bennett

A jury convicted her in 2018 on 17 counts. including fraud, conspiracy and making false statements. She is serving a 20-year prison sentence while she appeals the verdict. A judge ordered her to pay $14.5 million in restitution to her victims. "I would love to see Dawn Bennett face to face again in jail," said author and relationship expert Steve Santagati, who lost more than $1 million. "I want to look her in the eyes as a victim of her theft and just be able to say, 'I know. We all know who you are now.'"

Choose wisely

To avoid your own Dawn Bennett-style nightmare, Porco said investors should put prospective financial advisors to the test. Even though you want an advisor who will be able to answer all your financial questions, start by asking questions you know the answers to. "Ask them what the difference between nonqualified dividends and qualified dividends are. Ask them the tax difference," Porco said. "If they give you the correct one, that'll make you feel good, but if they don't, I think you need to rethink your financial advisor." (For the record, a qualified dividend is one that is paid by a U.S. corporation or a foreign corporation that has a tax treaty with the United States. Qualified dividends are taxed at the same, lower rate as capital gains. Other dividends are nonqualified and are taxed as ordinary income.) Be sure to look into your advisor's past. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority offers an online tool to check a professional's disciplinary record, including customer complaints. FINRA's system is not foolproof, but it can help weed out advisors with checkered backgrounds. If the advisor passes those tests, it is time for some bigger questions. One of those involves how your advisor will be paid. If you are a novice with only a small amount of money to invest, you might be able to find an advisor who will take you on at no charge with the idea that you will become a paying customer later. Otherwise, Porco suggested finding an advisor who will charge a flat fee based on their time, or on the amount of money in your portfolio. "One percent would probably be appropriate," she said. Beware of fee structures that sound too good or do not align with the market. "You want to make sure that the fee structure is appropriate and the person that you're working with doesn't start using language like, 'You're very special to me,' or 'I have an exclusive deal that I think is just perfect for you,' or if there's an air of secrecy about the investment strategy, those kinds of things might be very uncomfortable," Porco said.

Loyalty test

You have the right to know how your advisor is compensated. Some financial advisors receive a portion of their compensation through commissions, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with that, it could be an incentive for them to excessively trade your account or steer you toward financial products that may not be the best for your situation. To make certain your advisor's loyalties are not misplaced, look for someone who is registered. Look for the designation RIA (Registered Investment Advisor) or CFP (Certified Financial Planner). The idea is to find an advisor who will act as your fiduciary. "When you have fiduciary responsibility, what you're saying is that, 'I'm going to put your interests above mine, above my firm's, above the companies that I'm interested in investing in. Your interest is paramount in the decisions that we will make together'," Porco said. The Securities and Exchange Commission requires most financial advisors to operate under the fiduciary standard, but there are exceptions. Certain advisors  including those employed by broker-dealers  can operate under the less rigorous "suitability standard," which requires them to make recommendations that are appropriate for your financial situation. Make certain you understand which standard your advisor follows. The idea is to sniff out any conflicts that might separate your advisor's interests from your own. "In order to guard against a conflict of interest, you need to know about it," Porc saod. "So I often recommend to people to keep a certain skepticism when you meet individuals when you're trying to vet your financial advisor." In Bennett's case, some of the conflicts were blatant, including selling her clients promissory notes tied to her online luxury apparel business. "She was encouraging individuals that were investing with her in the financial markets and in funds, taking money out of those investments and taking that portfolio fund and moving it into her personal investment," Porco said.

On guard
Netflix is leading the charge for Oscars glory with an unprecedented 24 nominations and has a huge budget to help achieve that success on Sunday night, it has been claimed.

has denied reports it is spending over $100 million dollars on Oscar campaigns.

Up to $100million will be splashed on the campaign by the streaming giant, largely toutingr Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman', Noah Baumbach's 'Marriage Story', and Fernando Meirelle's 'The Two Popes', according to The Wall Street Journal.

However, Netflix has denied the claim, insisting it is not spending an unusually large sum of money, and doesn't do anything that other studios don't.

Scarlett Johansson as Nicole, Azhy Robertson as Henry Barber and Adam Driver as Charlie in 'Marriage Story'

It comes as the studio leads this year's Oscars with 24 nominations, marking the first time in Academy Award history that the studio with the most nods is a streaming service.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, industry experts have estimated Netflix is spending over $100 million on this year's Oscar campaign, which is a large sum even by Hollywood standards and more than the $5 million to $20 million typically spent by studios.

It comes after it was revealed Netflix is spending a cool $17 billion on content in 2020.

Robert De Niro as Frank Sheeran, Al Pacino as Jimmy Hoffa and Ray Romano as Bill Bufalino in 'The Irishman', which is up for a total of six Oscar nominations

Netflix's head of original films, Scott Stuber has denied the claims the company is forking out such a high amount for its campaigns.

'I don't think we're doing anything that everyone else isn't doing,' he said, adding that Netflix had a larger number of titles to promote than other studios.

The streaming giant is up for 24 nominations at the 92nd Academy Awards, which is set to air on Sunday evening.

Jonathan Pryce as Cardinal Bergoglio in a scene from 'The Two Popes,' which has been handed three nominations

This is more than any other media company and includes best picture honors for the films 'The Irishman' and 'Marriage Story.'

'The Irishman', produced by Martin Scorsese, is up for a total of six nominations. The movie, which was widely praised by critics, told the story of an ex mafia hitman as he recalled his part in the possible slaying of the President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Jimmy Hoffa, after he disappeared in 1975.

Biographical drama film 'The Two Popes' has been handed three, while Christmas comedy-drama film 'Klaus' is up for a best animated feature award.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a letter of condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over numerous avalanche victims in eastern Van province.

"I was deeply saddened by the news of heavy casualties caused by an avalanche that happened in Van," the head of state said in his message.



"On the occasion of this tragedy, on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Azerbaijan, I extend my deep condolences to you, the families and the loved ones of those who were killed, and wish the injured recovery, President Ilham Aliyev said.
KOWA Party and Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), on Friday, said they would challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in court for de-registering them.

Mark Adebayo, acting national chairman of KOWA party, and Sesugh Akume, national spokesperson of ANRP, said this in separate statements they issued on Friday in Abuja.

Mr Adebayo, in his statement issued by Adebanke Ilori, KOWA party acting national publicity secretary, said that the party had swung into immediate engagement nationwide to explore legal possibilities.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday, announced that the commission had de-registered 74 out of the 92 registered political parties for failure to meet the requirements of the Fourth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution.

Mr Adebayo said that his party and 32 others had approached the Federal High Court, Abuja in 2019, to among other things, restrain INEC from de-registering parties pending the determination of the suit.

He said the court upon hearing the Motion for an Interlocutory Injunction adjourned for ruling on February 17.

We were shocked when the news hit the airwaves that 74 political parties have been de-registered by INEC, KOWA party inclusive.

We are shocked at the unexpected turn of events as the party is currently preparing for its national convention.

And we had complied with the verification exercise requested by the commission in December 2019 and had met the requirements of same.

We won a House of Assembly seat in 2011 and a councilorship position in 2018 while maintaining our national headquarters in the FCT and state headquarters across the country, he said.

READ ALSO:

He, however, urged members of the party and patriotic Nigerians to stand strong in the face of alleged disregard for the rule of law.

The ANRP on its part said that it had operated as a fully registered party, having met and surpassed all requirements and had conducted itself with utmost professionalism.

Mr Akume, therefore, said that the party would challenge the travesty solely and along with others in the court of law.

He said that the party remained strong and committed to the values and ideals that brought it together for the rescue of Nigeria and Nigerians.

(NAN)
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday slammed the government for invoking the Public Safety Act against former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah and said the detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy.

Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from the PDP and its arch-rival National Conference, were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials in the union territory said.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others".

"Detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy. When unjust laws are passed or unjust laws are invoked, what option do the people have than to protest peacefully?" the former home minister tweeted.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chidambaram said, "the PM says that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be obeyed. He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela".

Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. That is satyagraha, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
From left: Jason Friedland, Marla Shoemaker, Lynne Honickman, Katy Friedland, Barbara Bassett, and Harold Honickman at the PMA's Art After Dark in 2019. Read more

Marla K. Shoemaker, a veteran of nearly a half-century at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is retiring, museum head Timothy Rub announced to the staff in an email Wednesday.

Shoemaker is senior curator of education and head of the division of education and public programs.

Marla told me some time ago of her desire to step away, but graciously agreed to my request to stay on a bit longer both to oversee planning for the renewal and expansion of our educational activities after the completion of the core [construction] project, and to enable us to defer the start of a national search for her successor until this year, Rub wrote. She has more than fulfilled this commitment and recently indicated to me that she is ready to move on.

In a letter to Rub dated Jan. 31, Shoemaker said she had felt for some time that the moment has come to step down and turn my attention to other things." She said the approach of the completion of the core project, the museums transformative building effort due to wrap up in September, is an opportune moment to seek new leadership in education.

Shoemaker began work at the museum right out of Oberlin College in 1973.

Rub cited the continued expansion of our educational programming over the past two decades, as well as the introduction of many initiatives for K-12 schools, as part of her legacy.

In the last several months, in addition to overseeing the museums educational efforts, Shoemaker has had to field a number of concerns growing from the employment of Joshua R. Helmer, a former museum manager who worked closely with education and outreach efforts.

Helmer was the subject of a New York Times article last month that reported he entered into relationships with females at the museum who were subordinate to him in rank while dangling possibilities for professional advancement.

He declined to discuss his relationships with the Times, saying only that he followed museum policy. Of his separation from the Philadelphia museum, he said, It was just my time. I was looking for new opportunities.

Helmer left the museum in 2018 and subsequently was hired as director of the Erie Art Museum. He departed Erie in the wake of the Times report.

Among other things, in November Shoemaker informed the staff that Helmer had been barred from the museum.

Shoemakers retirement will be effective Feb. 19. Rub said a national search is underway for her successor and an interim management team will be put in place for the education department.
By PTI

IMPHAL: In view of the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the Manipur government has banned the import of packaged food items from China, Myanmar and Southeast Asian countries which do not comply with FSSAI regulations, officials said here on Friday.

The notification issued by K Rajo Singh, Additional Food Safety Commissioner, Directorate of Health Services said, "No person shall import any packaged food items made in China, Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries that do not comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017."

"No person shall manufacture, distribute, sell or expose for sale or dispatch or deliver to any agent or broker for the purpose of sale, any packed food products which are not marked and labelled in the manner as specified by the regulations," it said.

As a precautionary measure, the Directorate has urged the public "not to consume any packaged food items made in China, Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries".

It has also directed all designated officers in the state "to inspect, seize and to keep keen vigilance in the interest of the public health" and that non-compliance of the notification will be "viewed seriously".

ALSO READ: Man vomits in flight from Delhi, quarantined in Pune for possible coronavirus exposure

Manipur shares a 398-km international border with Myanmar and the border town of Moreh serves as a major trade hub between India and her eastern neighbour.

Meanwhile, Additional Director (Public Health) L Arke told reporters that 172 persons who have entered Manipur from China, Thailand and Singapore between January 11 and February 5 have been kept under surveillance at their residences.

He said samples of the 172 persons will be sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata for testing for coronavirus.

The notification came after two cases of "mild" swine flu were detected in samples of people entering Manipur.
More than 10 tonnes of illegal tobacco has been seized near Goulburn and destroyed in a joint operation between the tax office and New South Wales Police.

Investigators from the Australian Taxation Office found four bales of tobacco, a hothouse and drying kilns when they searched the property earlier this week.

One of the kilns was drying a batch of tobacco leaf at the time investigators swooped.

More than 10 tonnes of illegal tobacco has been seized near Goulburn and destroyed in a joint operation between the tax office and New South Wales Police (stock image)

The seized tobacco was worth more than $13million, ATO assistant commissioner Ian Read said.

'The trade in illicit tobacco products in Australia has widespread negative consequences across the community,' he said in a statement.

'Tobacco growing operations are not run by small producers or farmers. They are run by organised criminal syndicates who deliberately engage in illegal activities.'

The illegal tobacco trade costs Australia almost $650million in lost tax revenue every year, Mr Read said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday highlighted the importance of the Bodo agreement and said that no citizen will die of violence anymore in the North East and the road for development has opened in the region.

"The road for permanent peace has opened up only due to your help and willpower. This is a new opportunity and a new dawn for Assam and the entire Northeast to welcome the 21st century," he said addressing a gathering here.

"We won't allow the darkness of terrorism to return here. No citizen will die of violence anymore in this region. Mothers whose children have returned from the wilderness are blessing me today. So many families have been reconciled," the Prime Minister added.

Terming it a historic moment, Prime Minister Modi outlined that the signing of peace accord has come at a time when the nation was celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"There were gunfights for decades. The arrival of peace to Assam is a historic moment. It is a great coincidence that it has happened when the entire country is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi," he said.

He welcomed all those who were part of the Bodo Land Movement and joined the mainstream.

Modi said that the expectations and aspirations of every partner associated with the Bodo Land Movement have been respected after five decades, with full harmony.

The Prime Minister said that a lot of people from Assam have reposed their faith in peace, non-violence, and democracy.

"They have placed the Indian Constitution at its rightful place... Today after decades, the road to the development of people and this region has been empowered. I welcome everyone involved in the Bodoland movement to India's mainstream," he said.

Modi also highlighted the support of all the young people belonging to All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary and Assam government, who played a very positive role for this agreement, must be acknowledged.

"Today is the day to remember those martyrs who laid down their lives for the country's doing their duty. Today is the day to remember Upendra Nath and Roop Nath Bramha and to pay our respects to them. Today, 130 crore Indians are congratulating you and are thanking you for solving this issue," he said while addressing the large gathering.

Modi said that the Bodo Territorial Council, Assam Government and Central government are now working together for all-round development of the region.

"This accord will not only benefit the Bodo people but other societies as well. According to the Accord, BTC's territorial range has been increased and given more power... Under the Accord, Rs 1500 crore will be given as a special developmental package to help the Bodos. Every right, culture, language, and development will be ensured. Their protection will be ensured," he said.

The Prime Minister said that the government is now trying to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord.

"I want to assure the people of Assam that after the Committee submits its report, the Central government will act on it swiftly," he said.

His visit comes days after the state government signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of the banned Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) at the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi.

The signing of the Bodo agreement led to the surrender of over 1,500 militants of the major insurgent group NDFB.

The Bodo groups have been demanding a separate state of Bodoland for the last 50 years. The movement has resulted in extensive violence and loss of hundreds of lives over the years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The testimony of 34-year-old Jessica Mann in the trial of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in New York, mercifully, came to an end Tuesday afternoon. Mann accuses Weinstein of raping her at a hotel in March 2013 and on subsequent occasions.

The three days of questioning produced startling facts and details, including the existence of a large stock of friendly communications between the two following the alleged rape, which undermined Manns claim she was a victim of the predatory Weinstein.

Harvey Weinstein departs a Manhattan courthouse, Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020, in New York [Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo]

Oddly, Manns has been the only questioning in the trial so far that has contained, in a terrible and twisted manner, an element of truth. But it is not the sort of truth hoped for by the prosecutors and media, i.e., one that would support a verdict of guilty. Rather, the more one reads her testimony, the more evident it becomes that these two damaged human beings were and still are trapped in an inescapable labyrinthian process of self- and mutual degradation and destruction.

None of the media outlets has provided a thorough accounting of Manns cross-examination, in particular, so we are obliged to assemble, somewhat disjointedly, a picture of the goings-on from fragmentary and often reluctantly offered reports.

Mann, a hairdresser and aspiring actress, grew up on a dairy farm in Washington State in a Pentecostal [evangelical Protestant] cult, in her words. Her parents divorced when she was young and she recounted in court, Variety wrote, a series of step-parents and time spent living with her grandparents. It continued: She was poor. She worked at McDonalds, did waitressing jobs, and at one point was living in her car.

Mann met Weinstein, she told the court on Friday, at an industry party in Los Angeles, where she moved to pursue an acting career. Mann claims the producer assaulted her at the New York hotel in 2013 after a period during which he had befriended her, given her a film script and invited her to parties for events such as the Academy Awards.

During cross-examination, defense lawyer Donna Rotunno read aloud some of Manns emails and messages to Weinstein showing affection for him, real or feigned, that continued after he allegedly attacked her in March 2013.

Under questioning by Rotunno, Mann acknowledged that she met Weinstein voluntarily twice in New York in the hours and days after the alleged incident, CNN reported.

Rotunno asked a lengthy series of questions about Manns decision to change her flight in order to see Weinstein those two times, including the day after the alleged attack, which was Weinsteins birthday. Mann also acknowledged that she asked the Weinstein Company to arrange transportation to the airport in New York and to her home once she was back in Los Angeles from that trip.

Deadline noted that in some of the emails Mann wrote to Weinstein in the months and even years following the alleged assaults (tons of emails, Rotunno said), she accepted party invitations, expressed gratitude (I feel so fabulous and beautiful, thank you for everything) and even sought consolation following another romantic break-up (Rough day, she wrote. When are you back in LA, my friend?). Still other emailssent by Mann to various friendsmentioned Weinstein in friendly or professionally beneficial terms.

In April 2013, the month following the alleged rape, Mann wrote to Weinstein after he asked his employees to book her for a reading for a movie role, I appreciate all you do for me, it shows.

Five months after the alleged attack, Mann sent Weinstein an email from Los Angeles telling him she was always happy to see your smile and I hope to see you sooner than later  I hope some of your genius rubs off on me. According to USA Today, in court Mann acknowledged her flattery went above and beyond, but said she viewed it as a buffer to his feared anger.

CBS News recounted that Rotunno pressed Mann about communications in which she provided Weinstein with her new phone number and encouraged him to get in touch.

One read: I got a new number. Just wanted you to have it. Hope you are well and call me anytime, always good to hear your voice, according to court papers. The defense pointed to emails between Mann and Weinstein that appeared to show Mann was still cutting Weinsteins hair in early 2014. In one January 2014 email, he wrote her: Thats the best hair cut and trim Ive gotten. Ive gotten a million compliments. Thank you. She wrote back: Your [sic] the one who makes it look good with your smile and beautiful eyes!! But thank you that makes me so happy to hear. :)

Rotunno also inquired about a 2014 email to the producer in which Mann asked if she could introduce him to her mother. Mann explained that My mother was pressuring me really hard to meet him.

The alleged victim acknowledged, according to the New York Post, that in February 2015, she went to Weinstein for help getting membership in the Soho House members-only club in Los Angeles. Mann said it was strictly for work. You want the ladies and gentlemen of the jury to believe that the person you wanted to sponsor you for this exclusive club was your rapist? Rotunno asked Mann. The defense lawyer accused Mann of manipulating Weinstein over the course of several years.

Mann also admitted in court, reports the Post, that she spent four hours holed up with him [Weinstein] in a hotel room in 2016three years after she says he attacked her therethen gushed to him in an email, I feel so fabulous and beautiful. Thanks for everything, then-aspiring actress Jessica Mann added to the now-disgraced movie mogul.

I love you, I always do. but I hate feeling like a booty call. :) Mann wrote in a February 2017 message.

Rotunno, according to Huff Post, told Mann in court that the latter knew her words were a problem in your testimony You sent him emails telling him how wonderful he was. You sent him emails thanking him. You sent him emails asking for things You made a choice to have sexual encounters with Harvey Weinstein when you werent sexually attracted to him. You liked the parties and you liked the power.

The defense attorney pointed out that not one time did you say, Im not that interested.

One of the most disturbing moments in the trial so far occurred Monday when Mann was asked to read out loud a lengthy May 2014 email she sent her boyfriend, Kenyan-American actor Edi Gathegi, attempting to explain her relationship with Weinstein.

My secret and my fear, Mann had written, is knowing that a part of the dynamic I had with Harvey [Weinstein] would mean youd never talk to me again I was close enough to him to tell you that he no longer has a working penis. On the lower half of his body he had some type of surgery or burn and hes lucky to even have his parts, Mann read. She had previously referred to Weinsteins supposedly deformed genitalia.

The email to Gathegi went on to say that sometimes I felt hopeless and should just be with an old man because Im a lost cause I accepted that my father was that older man who dated younger than me and I would in turn become that kind of woman.

Mann, in the same communication, indicated she had tried to make Weinstein a pseudo-father. She continued, Harvey validated me. He always offered to help me in ways that my parents didnt. I felt approval to pursue the industry because he was encouraging Harvey was my fathers age and he gave me all the validation that I needed.

Manns words became unintelligible when she reached a part of the email to Gathegi in which, according to Deadline, she seemingly made reference to an instance of sexual abuse in her past. The judge then called for a short break and dismissed the jury and the weeping witness. After a five-minute break, Mann re-entered the courtroom, still sobbing. Eventually, since Mann was unable to go on, court was recessed for the day.

After the end of Manns cross-examination Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors, in an unusual move, noted the New York Post, declined to question her on the stand again.

The Post cited the comment of criminal defense lawyer Mark Bederow, a former Manhattan prosecutor, who observed, It is very surprising that the prosecution wouldnt even try to repair any damage caused by glaring inconsistencies [in Manns testimony] It suggests they wanted the witness off the stand ASAP and they will hope to explain away the damage in summation.

In one of the few perceptive comments in the media (Jessica Mann Is Raw, Wounded, and Angry. Will Her Testimony Convict Harvey Weinstein?), Variety noted Wednesday that in order to convict Weinstein the jury will have to come to terms with Manns profoundly complex and tormented relationship with Weinstein. The critical question is whether she consented to have sex with Weinstein, and if not, whether he used forcible compulsion to commit the act. It will not be an easy question to resolve.

Variety also quoted Jeffery Greco, a defense attorney, who suggested he thought this is going to be an incredibly difficult maneuver for the prosecution to show non-consensual sex You got somebody who had a history with a man where there was a quid pro quo all the way That is a leap of epic proportions to get from that point to I was raped, it was non-consensual. At what point are you able to distinguish them?

Indeed, amidst all that is warped, emotionally pathological and purely bizarre in the relationship between Weinstein and Mann, how can anyone claim that the prosecution has met the legal standard required by the lawbeyond a reasonable doubtto find Weinstein guilty of rape?

The testimony of several extraneous witnesses was supposed to establish a pattern of bad behavior by Weinstein. Their appearances were largely irrelevant to the facts of the case, except in so far as they revealed the apparent desire of these self-described victims to leverage a relationship with Weinstein into a career in films.

The political and media establishments are determined to see the producer convicted. The recent lurid and biased headlines speak to that: Witness testifies Harvey Weinstein offered her roles in 3 movies for threesome, Harvey Weinstein Rape Accuser Says He Tried to Film Them Having Sex, Witness in Weinstein Trial: I Want the Jury to Know That He Is My Rapist, Jessica Mann alleges sick way Harvey Weinstein grieved after his mothers death, Model who claims Harvey Weinstein masturbated in front of her takes witness stand, More Stomach-Turning Testimony in the Weinstein Trial, etc., etc.

The trial is the chilling and inevitable denouement of a contemporary American love story. Mann, the product of a mad Pentecostal upbringing; Weinstein, the real self-loathing American Jew, disgusted by his own body, with its deformed genitalia. He will never be Shakespeare in Love.

The Weinstein trial is taking on the grotesque character of a journey to the end of the night. It is a confrontation between individuals that should have taken place in a psychiatrists office rather than in a courtroom. Moreover, the ugly and perverse relationship between Weinstein and Mann, in which each attempted to use the other for gain, occurred in the transactional business environment of Hollywood and American public life generally. The sickness of their relations developed out of a dynamic of mutual exploitation. In the process of procuring whatever it was they wanted  whether sex, money, a Hollywood career  they tested the limits of self-degradation.

The judge and the district attorney, to say nothing of the media, have neither the intelligence nor the elementary decency to recognize the social dimensions of the horror story in which they are playing such a despicable role. One wonders whether any of the jurors realizes he or she is being used by the unscrupulous political manipulators who have converted the courtroom into a dreadful modern New York version of Le Theatre du Grand-Guignol. The prosecutors have staged a degrading spectacle, which they dare to call a trial.

How fitting it would have been if the court reporter had stood up and declared he or she could not bearand would not be forced to transcribeany more of Manns pornographic testimony. Or that someone, anyone, would have shouted out, For God's sake, this has to stop!
Update: Commission raise questions on charter, election proposals

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A group tasked with evaluating proposed changes to Grand Rapids city charter and election processes has a handful of recommendations for officials to consider.

The Task Force on Elected Representation recommends that the city do the following:

Move its local elections from odd- to even-numbered years in an effort to increase voter turnout and representation, and decrease costs.

Change the election process to require general elections even when the leader gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

Require special elections to fill a vacated elected position when an official steps down with more than a year left in their term.

The task force does not recommend a move from three wards to eight, and subsequent expansion from six commissioners to eight.

However, the 12-member body does suggest considering an expansion to four wards with two commissioners per ward.

Issues of elected representation in Grand Rapids are extremely important," according to a report from the task force. While we do not believe that the system is drastically broken, we do believe that election processes must continue to be evaluated and improved by the city of Grand Rapids.

Grand Rapids officials created the task force in July 2019 and tasked its members with spending the rest of the calendar year evaluating a handful of city charter changes proposed by residents to the city commission. The proposals were made largely by two local groups -- Empower the Citizens and GR Democracy Initiative.

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said the commission was open to exploring the ideas but said such changes would need to be done through a deliberate and thoughtful process.

The task force met every two weeks for four months. Its members evaluated each of the four proposed changes against the values of accountability, fairness, engagement and representation.

Their six-page final report details the pros and cons for each proposal, before giving the groups recommendation. The group also provided additional findings it said could be useful to the city commission.

There are reform opportunities beyond the scope of our mandate that would improve the democratic nature of our elections and strengthen the citys relationship with the citizens, the task force wrote.

As we reviewed potential electoral reforms, we often found that the Grand Rapids City Charter did not adequately address the needs of the community. From its sexist language to its poorly defined election processes, we believe there is a need to reform the charter to better meet our needs.

City officials are expected to receive a presentation on the report at a future committee of the whole meeting.

Change election schedule

The group pushing for even-numbered year elections -- Empower the Citizens -- declined an invitation from the city to participate in the task force, calling it a stalling tactic.

Rina Baker and Bonnie Burke began pushing for the change in fall 2018. They have said the switch will increase voter turnout and reduce both voter suppression and public costs.

Opposition to the change have cited the already-significant length of even-year ballots, and raised concerns of local elections becoming partisan, pricier and susceptible to influence from special interest groups.

The task force said even-year elections significantly increase the democratic legitimacy of elections. Participation rates in even-year elections are 3-4 times higher than odd-year elections and are thus more representative of the population.

Switching elections to even-numbered years can be done by a vote of the city commission and doesnt require a charter amendment, according to the group.

We believe the city should take this action, the task force wrote.

In response to the recommendation, Empower the Citizens has released a statement thanking the group and encouraging the commission to listen.

The mayor and the city commissioners now have the opportunity to demonstrate that they are responsive to the citizens by following the recommendations of the task force," Burke wrote in her statement to the city.

We thank the mayor and city commission for the timely consideration of this important matter.

Require general elections

In Grand Rapids, candidates that receive 50 percent or more of the vote during a primary election will win their seat outright without a general election.

That was the case in August 2013 when Senita Lenear took 59 percent of the primary vote and thus avoided a general election en route to a city commission seat representing the Third Ward.

Empower the Citizens asked the commission to require a general run-off between the primarys top two candidates. The task force agreed.

Local primary elections have very small turnouts, the group noted, which leads to less representation of the general population. New information can also come to light between the time of a primary and general election which could change public opinion on a candidate.

The task force determined that requiring general elections is a more representative democratic process.

We are very pleased that the task force appointed by the city commission in July 2019 has confirmed the position of Empower the Citizens and that of more than 6,000 Grand Rapids registered voters who have already signed the petitions for these two proposals, Burke wrote to the city.

Special elections

When Dave Allen resigned as a Third Ward commissioner in April 2018, the city commission appointed the Rev. Nathaniel Moody to take his place until the end of 2019.

A proposal from GR Democracy Initiative calls for a change to the city charter to require special elections in place of the appointment process for elected positions vacated mid-term.

The task force recommends a system where a special election is held if a vacancy occurs with more than a year left until the next general election. If theres less than a year left, an appointment can be made, but that person much run in the next general election to maintain the position.

Elections represent the will of the people and this is fundamental to democratic legitimacy, the task force wrote. The longer the period until the next election, the more need for democratic processes to bestow legitimacy on a new city commissioner.

The group didnt indicate if it recommends a change for filling the city comptroller position in the case of a resignation like the case from last year.

Ward expansion

GR Democracy Initiative also proposed the expansion of Grand Rapids ward system from three to eight, and the commission from six members to eight.

Don Lee, a leading voice for the initiative, said the goal is to increase representation and elevate everyones voice.

The task force saw benefits increasing the size of the commission, like increased connection with citizens, more deliberation and accountability, and lowered barriers to entry for ethnic minorities and women.

But the task force determined that eight single-representative wards wouldnt be a better system than the current system with two representatives for each of the three wards.

They said reducing ward size would increase the risk of electoral capture by special interest groups. They also referenced studies that show multi-member districts result in increased racial/socioeconomic and viewpoint diversity of representatives and tend to encourage collaboration between representatives.

Yet we believe the current municipal electoral structure in the city can and should be improved to make it more inclusive and representative, the task force wrote. "Determining the precise formula for changing the system is beyond the charge of our task force.

While it wasnt in the scope of their assignment, the task force did review several other commission expansion options and generally supported a four-ward system with two commissioners representing each ward.

In that case, theyd propose an election cycle where both seats in each ward are elected on the same ballot. But theres dispute in the state over the legality of a ranked choice voting system.

In multi-member districts, having all the seats in each district run on the same ballot (versus staggering the elections within each district) tends to produce more diverse and representative outcomes than staggered elections for seats within a district, the task force wrote.

The legality of ranked choice voting under Michigan state law is currently disputed and therefore we cannot recommend it.

Throughout the process, the task force evaluated the overall electoral processes and general best practices, and consulted outside experts, reviewed scholarly work and had robust discussions on structures of fair and representative elections."

The group also held October community meetings in each of the three wards to gain local feedback. Attendance was low but the task force members said they found the discussions to be dynamic and valuable.

The underlying referendum proposals that spurred the creation of the TFER (Task Force on Elected Representation) is evidence that citizens in Grand Rapids perceive a democracy deficit in our government," the task force wrote.

"This sentiment rang loud and clear to our members in our various interactions with the public.

Members of the group included: Rick Baker, Jennifer Dirmeyer, Christine Helms-Maletic, Elijah Libbet, Joe Marogil, Paul Mayhue, Rocio Rodriguez, Dave Shaffer, Becca Velazquez-Publes, Danielle Williams, Assistant City Manager Doug Matthews, and City Clerk Joel Hondorp.

The task force was facilitated by Richard Jelier, professor of public administration at Grand Valley State University.

The task forces full report is available on the citys website, here.

Read more:

Grand Rapids responds to calls for ward expansion, election changes

How driverless are Grand Rapids autonomous shuttles?

21-page plan aims to lessen economic opportunity gaps in Grand Rapids
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced Friday that Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas Harley Cooper, 22, of Chattanooga, killed during World War II, was accounted for Aug. 9, 2019.

In November 1943, Cpl. Cooper was a member of Company A, 2nd Amphibious Tractor Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, in an attempt to secure the island.

Over several days of intense fighting at Tarawa, approximately 1,000 Marines and Sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded, while the Japanese were virtually annihilated. Cpl. Cooper died on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20,1943. He was reportedly buried on Betio Island.

Despite the heavy casualties suffered by U.S. forces, military success in the battle of Tarawa was a huge victory for the U.S. military because the Gilbert Islands provided the U.S. Pacific Fleet a platform from which to launch assaults on the Marshall and Caroline Islands to advance their Central Pacific Campaign against Japan.

In the immediate aftermath of the fighting on Tarawa, U.S. service members who died in the battle were buried in a number of battlefield cemeteries on the island.

The 604th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company conducted remains recovery operations on Betio between 1946 and 1947, but Cpl. Cooper's remains were not identified.

All of the remains found on Tarawa were sent to the Schofield Barracks Central Identification Laboratory for identification in 1947.

In March 1980, the Central Identification Laboratory, a predecessor to DPAA, sent officials to Betio Island to receive skeletal remains that had been recovered during a construction project. Of the three sets recovered, two were identified. The third was declared unidentifiable and was subsequently buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known as the Punchbowl, in Honolulu.

In 2016, DPAA disinterred the remains of 94 Tarawa Unknowns from the NMCP for identification. The remains were consolidated and sent to the laboratory for analysis.

To identify Cpl. Cooper's remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome DNA(Y-STR) analysis.

Cpl. Cooper's name is recorded on the Courts of the Missing at the Punchbowl along with the others missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Officials said, "DPAA is grateful to the Department of Veterans Affairs for their partnership in this recovery."

Cpl. Cooper will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. The date has yet to be determined.
A New Hampshire man was allegedly involved in an altercation with the 18-year-old victim of a fatal shooting in Lowell on Tuesday before his death, authorities said.

Robert Rosa, a Nashua resident, fired a gun that was illegally in his possession during an altercation he had with Luis DeJesus, who later died from a gunshot wound, the Middlesex District Attorneys office said in a statement. Authorities did not say whether Rosa had any involvement in DeJesuss death.

A warrant was issued for the 25-year-olds arrest Wednesday night. He was later found and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, carrying a firearm, possession of ammunition and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, the statement said. Additional charges are possible.

Police responded to the area of L and Coburn streets around 8:37 p.m. on Tuesday to a report of shots fired. When they arrived at the scene, they found DeJesus with a gunshot wound. The Lowell man was taken to Lowell General Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the district attorneys office said.

Investigators later discovered the shooting occurred closer to Jewett and West 4th streets, and a gun was found in the area, according to the district attorneys office.

A second person, later identified as Rosa, had been treated at a local hospital for non-fatal gunshot wounds around the same time as DeJesus shooting, prosecutors said.

Rosa was expected to be arraigned Thursday in New Hampshire on a charge of being a fugitive from justice, and he is slated to be arraigned in Lowell District Court at a later date as well, according to prosecutors.

A GoFundMe page was set up by DeJesuss family to cover funeral expenses.

As our family grieves in our own way, the page said, everything will be so appreciated.

The incident remains under investigation.
Looking up at the stars from the unpolluted dark skies of the Atacama Desert and sipping top-notch wine seems like an ideal way to spend Valentines Day. But living out this dream in a private jet makes an already over-the-top experience even more perfect.

Private charter jet company VistaJet is offering an Infinite Skies package combining luxury with adventure by whisking you off to the arid landscape and breathtaking night skies of the famous desert in northern Chile. While there, travelers can go on an adventure ride on a 4x4 to the Valley of the Moon where an expansive landscape makes it feel as if youve gone further than just Chile.

Matteo Atti, the executive vice president of marketing and innovation for VistaJet, told Travel + Leisure that the package was created so people could explore some of the most incredible destinations on Earth together. And while its certainly not cheap, with a starting price of $40,000, the luxurious experience is certainly once-in-a-lifetime.

This year, wed love to offer you and your partner a chance to look at space with new eyes and celebrate at altitude, Atti said.

After spending Valentines Day stargazing at the Milky Way, Atti said youll jet off to Argentina where you can raise a toast to the one you love with a behind-the-scenes wine tour at Argentinas high-altitude winery Cheval des Andes. A private horseback ride then combines the gorgeous vistas with equally majestic animals.

VistaJet, founded in 2004, offers customers every luxury from cashmere eye masks and socks to Egyptian cotton bed linen and cashmere blankets for the ultimate in comfort.

And as if traveling in style wasnt enough, settling in to one of the plush suites at the Vina Vik vineyard in Chile, surrounded by imposing mountains all around with the chance to treat yourself to a massage using grapes that are grown on the property, will certainly check off any romanticized notions of Valentines Day you may have.
Kirk Douglas died Wednesday at the age of 103. He was born Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 1916, in Amsterdam, New York. He changed his name to Kirk Douglas before entering the US Navy during World War II.

He was the only son of seven children born to illiterate Russian immigrants. In his autobiography, he reported that his father was a ragman, trading in old rags, pieces of metal, and other junk. As a child, Douglas sold snacks to mill workers and had more than forty jobs in his youth. As a young adult, he once spent the night in jail because he had no place to sleep.

He recited the poem The Red Robin of Spring in kindergarten and received applause, an experience that caused him to aspire to become an actor. After graduating from college and studying at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, he joined the Navy in 1941 and was medically discharged three years later for war injuries.

He then returned to New York City, where he found work in radio, theater, and commercials. He became one of Americas biggest box-office stars in the 1950s and 60s, eventually appearing in more than ninety movies. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981, an honorary Academy Award in 1996, and the National Medal of Arts in 2002.

Douglas and his wife of sixty-five years donated multiplied millions of dollars to various schools and up to $55 million to an Alzheimers treatment facility in California. After a near-fatal helicopter crash in 1991 that took the lives of two other men, he returned to the Judaism of his roots and even celebrated a second Bar-Mitzvah in 1999 at the age of eighty-three.

President Trump and Speaker Pelosi were together again

Media attention has been focused on Douglas, the growing coronavirus epidemic, and the continued controversy surrounding the Iowa caucuses. Meanwhile, a less-reported event was held yesterday in Washington, DC, that deserves our attention today.

President Trump spoke Thursday at the National Prayer Breakfast, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who focused on those facing religious persecution around the world.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower began the event in 1953 at the urging of evangelist Billy Graham. The president did so from the conviction, as he told the gathering that all free government is firmly founded in a deeply felt religious faith. Every president since has addressed this gathering of 3,500 elected officials, diplomats, national and international religious and political leaders.

I have attended the breakfast several times over the years but watched yesterdays gathering online. It was a bit surreal to see President Trump and Speaker Pelosi together for the first time since the State of the Union address, after which she ripped up the manuscript of the presidents speech at its conclusion.

If ever we needed an event to bring together disparate political figures, its today.

Three steps to breaking the cycle of contempt

The keynote speaker for yesterdays breakfast was Dr. Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and best-selling author of eleven books who previously led the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank. Brooks addressed what he called the biggest crisis facing our nation and many other nations today: its the crisis of contempt and polarization thats tearing our societies apart.

He focused on Matthew 5:44, where Jesus called us to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Based on this text, the answer is not more civility and tolerance, according to Brooks. Thats because civility and tolerance are a low standard, he said. Jesus didnt say, tolerate your enemies. He said, love your enemies. Answer hatred with love.

How do we do this? According to Brooks, we must break the cycle of contempt for those with whom we disagree. Three steps are necessary.

One: Ask God to give you the strength to do this hard thing, to go against your human nature, to follow Jesus teaching.

Two: Make a commitment to somebody else to reject contempt, asking others to hold us accountable.

Three: Go out looking for contempt, seeking opportunities to initiate reconciliation as we run toward the darkness and bring your light.

Brooks also offered this interesting insight: Moral courage isnt standing up to those with whom we disagree. Rather, its standing up to those with whom you agree on behalf of those with whom you disagree.

The point when national healing begins

Kirk Douglass story shows that people who identify their gift and use it with excellence can make a mark on culture that endures, no matter their background. But we cannot do it alone.

Douglass favorite movie was Spartacus, a 1960 film that won four Academy Awards. He plays a slave who leads an uprising against the Roman Empire. After the Romans defeat his army of fellow slaves, they try to locate Spartacus by offering a pardon if the men will identify him.

In one of the most famous scenes in movie history, every man responds by shouting, Im Spartacus! As a result, they are all sentenced to death by crucifixion.

If we are to change our divisive culture for Christ, we must pray for Gods help as we reject contempt wherever we find it. And we must pay any price to love our enemies, remembering that our loving Savior paid the highest price for us.

Dr. Brooks told his audience, When you leave this National Prayer Breakfast today, youll be back in a world with a lot of contempt. See it as your opportunity.

He asked them to imagine a sign above the door reading, You Are Now Entering Mission Territory. Then he said, If we see the world outside this room as mission territory, we might just mark this day, February 6, 2020, the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, DC, as the point when national healing begins.

How will you contribute to such healing today?

Publication date: February 7, 2020

Photo courtesy: Getty Images/Alberto E. Rodriguez/Staff

For more from the Denison Forum, please visit www.denisonforum.org.

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Rahway, New Jersey--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2020) - Spectacular Solar, Inc. (OTC Pink: SPSO), is pleased to announce that CEO Doug Heck has signed a contract to install a solar package at the historic Chelsea Pub in Atlantic City, NJ, with the first phase of the venture being a 90-kilowatt project.

Zach and Spiro Trupos, who took over the century and a half old establishment in 2017, have confidently entrusted Spectacular Solar to engineer a solar system that will respect the age and history of the building.

"We were not just going to hand this contract over to the first solar company that knocked on our door," Zach Trupos noted. "We met with Doug and his people a number of times and each time they had well thought out answers to our questions and concerns. I feel like he truly respects what we have here in the Chelsea Pub."

Spiro Trupos was equally as impressed with Heck and the portfolio of work Spectacular Solar has for a resume.

"After speaking with a couple of other Spectacular Solar's clients, we knew he and his crew would provide extreme care in handling our little piece of history," Spiro Trupos said. "He did admit to me that this was the coolest project he has ever done and that he can't wait to see what the finished project looks like. That's the type of enthusiasm I like to see in companies we do business with."

Project euphoria aside, Heck knows that there are challenges and difficulties associated with working on older buildings.

"This is now in engineering and my guys already recognize the precision required to complete the project in the least invasive manner possible," Heck said. "I appreciate the trust that the Trupos' have placed in our firm and we look forward to delivering an efficient as well as an aesthetic product."

While Heck knows that contracts like these are driving the company forward, he has a place in his heart for some of the smaller contracts that come across his desk. Heck referred to three such contracts in his letter to shareholders on Monday and each is a small, independently owned business.

Story continues

"There is no question that high-dollar contracts like the Chelsea Pub are sexy, make for good headlines and excite investors," Heck said. "But small businesses are the backbone of our great country. Our company is not that far removed from when I was the only employee of the company, and I was recruiting inexpensive labor, courtesy of my family and friends, so I could complete projects and still have a little money left after paying bills. I get their struggles."

Heck continued, "I remember what it was like to stress about paying bills and honestly, other than the rent, the power bill stung the most. That is why I will always reach out to smaller businesses like the hair salons, furniture shops, restaurants, diners, repair shops, etc., because I know our solar systems can ease some of their monthly financial burdens."

For more information: please visit http://www.spectacularsolar.com and please follow us on Twitter: @SPECTACULARSOL1

Investor Relations/Media Contact: Gregg Boehmer: laynemichaelpr@gmail.com

Wyndham Hotel Project Video: https://youtu.be/BPLKjgdFaOw

About Spectacular Solar, Inc.: Spectacular Solar is a diversified company involved in solar system installations, investment fund management, and roofing contracting through its subsidiaries. Spectacular Solar designs and installs state-of-the-art solar conversions for home and business owners. Star Power Services is a bonded and licensed roofing contracting company with expertise in new roof installation, repairs, and maintenance. The Solar Energy Investors Fund contributes to the ongoing insurance expenses directly associated with installation of solar systems. In return, the fund receives a share of tax benefits and ongoing revenue generated from electricity sales.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements that relate to future events or performance. These statements reflect the company's current expectations and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The company doesn't undertake to update or revise these forward-looking statements, even if experience or future changes make it clear that any projected results, expressed or implied, in this or other company statements will not be realized. Readers are cautioned that these statements involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to, the acceptance of our products, lack of revenue growth, failure to realize profitability, inability to raise capital and market conditions that negatively affect the market price of our common stock. The Company disclaims any responsibility to update any forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52210
(Newser)  The situation has apparently worsened for six executives from Houston-based and Venezuela-owned Citgo who have been detained without trial in Venezuela since November 2017. The Wall Street Journal reports Elliott Abrams, the top US envoy to the country, on Thursday said the men had been abruptly taken once more to prison, likely the Helicoide prison in Caracas, after having been under house arrest since December. The AP notes the move came just hours after President Trump hosted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's main rival, Juan Guaido, at the White House. The move deflated recent rumors that the men might soon be released as a way to placate the Trump administration, which has supported a year-long campaign to have Maduro removed from office.

story continues below

The men are due to stand trial on what their families say are trumped-up corruption charges. The men were reportedly lured from Texas and Louisiana to Caracas in 2017 for a last-minute meeting and then arrested in a conference room, reports the Houston Chronicle. Five are naturalized US citizens and the other a legal resident. The AP reports a Venezuelan judge has postponed a preliminary hearing in their case 15 times, and says many suspect they "are being held as political bargaining chips." As for the timing of the move, Abrams called it "suspicious," reports the Corpus Christi Caller Times, but said he "can't speculate as to why it happened now."

(Read more Venezuela stories.)
Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant on New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Shehu Sani on Thursday tangled over the commen...





Bashir Ahmad, Personal Assistant on New Media to President Muhammadu Buhari and Senator Shehu Sani on Thursday tangled over the comment made by the president which says 90 percent of Boko Harams victims are Muslims.





Senator Shehu Sani said the statement by President Buhari was correct but the hatred against Christians by the terrorist group cannot be denied.





Its true that d (the) majority of d (the) victims of d (the) insurgents are Muslims; Its also true that d (the) victims of their violence cuts across people of all faiths & of no faith; But its undeniable that d insurgents harbour an ideologically gruesomely murderous hatred against all Christians, Shehu Sani wrote on Twitter, Thursday.





Reacting to the statement made by the former lawmaker, Bashir Ahmad wrote: Dear former Senator sir, you pretty know that those insurgents see everybody, both Christians and Muslims including you (if youre not part of them) as completely an unbeliever. As a political blogger please use your influence to correct the stereotype. Be a good Ambassador.





The part of Bashir Ahmads statement which insinuated that the former lawmaker could be part of a terrorist group, however, stirred a reaction from Senator Shehu Sani and he wrote: My Brother(Bashir Ahmad), just a look at my face and your face, my hair and your Goatee, the one that closely looks like an Insurgent is clear. My regards Sheikh Albashiru.





The notorious Muhammed Yusuf didnt have a goatee like me, his face wasnt much different from yours, sir. And addressing me as Sheikh Albashiru is an honour, will never be an insult when my knowledge makes people recognize me as Sheikh, then Ive made it in this life, Bashir Ahmad replied.
The move escalated the Trump administrations battle with cities and states over immigration enforcement, and it took New York officials by surprise. There were no negotiations between Mr. Cuomo and federal authorities; state officials only learned of the ban on Wednesday night.

They never called, they never had a conversation, Mr. Cuomo said.

The decision by Homeland Security affects New Yorkers who use Trusted Traveler programs like Global Entry; their renewals will be cut off by the end of 2020. About 50,000 New Yorkers in the application process but who havent received final approval will also lose the opportunity to speed through security but will be reimbursed for their application fees, according to Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for Homeland Security.

In addition to airports, specific lanes to quickly cross over the land border  available to those in the FAST, NEXUS and SENTRI programs  are also covered by the new rules, which were announced in a letter to the New York State government from Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of Homeland Security. That, too, could inconvenience state residents and commercial truck drivers, who frequently cross back and forth into Canada.

Ms. Swift said if New York granted the agency access to the database, the suspension would be lifted. This is not about granting licenses to illegal aliens, she said.

Fifteen states and the District of Columbia have passed so-called green-light laws allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures; they include solidly Democratic states like Washington and California, and conservative bastions like Utah.

Supporters of New Yorks law championed it as one of the strongest in its protection of personal information, including photos, from federal immigration officials. (New Jersey passed a similar law in December, also limiting federal authorities access of Department of Motor Vehicles data, but it does not go into effect until next year.)
He rose to fame playing pin-up paperboy Scott Robinson on long-running soap Neighbours, more than three decades ago.

And on Thursday, Jason Donovan, 51, took a trip down memory lane, returning to Ramsay Street for a nostalgic visit to see his daughter, Jemma Donovan, who now stars on the show.

'30 years ago this street changed my life!' an excited Jason gushed in a series of sweet posts to mark the 'full circle' moment.

In a video clip posted on Instagram, an emotional Jason is seen walking around set, recalling memories from his time on set

'Lots of memories, man. Lots of memories,' he is heard saying.

Jason went on to share a photo of himself posing next to the iconic Ramsay Street street sign with daughter Jemma - who plays Harlow Robinson on the soap.

'Back in Melbourne couldn't resist a trip down memory lane to visit my daughter Jemma,' he wrote.

'This street changed my life': Jason took a trip down memory lane on Thursday as he visited Ramsay Street, 30 years after his Neighbours heyday

Jemma posted the same photo to her own Instagram page too, joking: 'It was bring your dad to work day today on set.'

Jason became an instant teen idol in the '80s for his portrayal of Scott Robinson on the show before leaving to kick off a successful solo music career.

His character Scott was married to Charlene Mitchell, played by pop princess Kylie Minogue.

The duo ended up becoming pop culture royalty, as their on-screen romance continued behind the scenes, with the pair dating in real life from 1984 to 1989.

Iconic: Jason and Kylie shot to stardom on the show as lovers Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell, The duo went on to date from 1984 to 1989

Jemma joined the long-running series as Harlow Robinson last year, marking three generations of Donovans on the show.

At the time of her casting, Jason shared a tribute to his 18-year-old daughter for becoming the third member of their family to land a role on the iconic Australian soap.

He wrote at the time: 'It's official: my daughter Jemma joins the cast of Neighbours!'

'Three generations of Donovan's on Ramsay Street has to be a first': Jemma Donovan was cast on the iconic Australian soap last year, and her father Jason (right) couldn't be prouder

'Neighbours has been an incredible launching pad for so many careers... still going strong! Three generations of Donovan's on Ramsay Street has to be a first,' he added.

'Can't wait to see what you do and watch you blossom as an actress, work hard, have fun and enjoy the process. So proud of you, Jem. Love you.'

Jemma is the third member of the Donovan family to star in the series after her grandfather Terence Donovan played the character of Doug Willis periodically between 1990 and 2016.

Jason now resides in London with his wife Angela and his two other children, Zac, 17, and Molly, 7, but is currently performing on stage in Chicago in Melbourne.
The Edo State Government has set a 7-month completion target for the contractors handling the first phase of the reconstruction of the College of the Agriculture and Natural Resources, with campuses in Iguoriakhi, Agenebode and Uromi.

The administrative headquarters of the College, situated at Iguoriakhi houses the School of Agricultural Technology and Engineering, with two other campuses in Agenebode and Uromi.

At the Pre-Construction Planning held at the College premises, in Iguoriakhi, the contractors, Sageto Ltd and Global Link, said they hope to complete the project in seven months.

The Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Hon. Richard Uyi Edebiri, said, "We want to continue the rebirth of College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi. When you have a responsive and responsible government, this is what you get. Because Governor Godwin Obaseki was not pleased with the college being in a dilapidated condition, he paved way for the college to be transformed to a befitting tertiary institution."

"The essence of the reconstruction is to help in training the desired manpower to harness the potentials in the agricultural sector. The contractors would commence site-work immediately and we are positive that within the shortest possible time the project is going to be completed," he added.

Edebiri noted, "Though the contractors gave us a time frame of seven months, we have made it clear to the contractors to make sure they agree to the terms and conditions for the project. That is why it is very important they move to site immediately because we don't have time. They need to be up and running so that the students can come back here."

The Lead Consultant for the reconstruction project, Mr. Giles Omezi, said, "We are here for the pre-construction planning. The contractors are moving to site immediately. Work starts in earnest. We are expected to build one administrative block and a dormitory, which will take about 1000 students."

"There would be one academic building of about six classrooms, three laboratories, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) lab, a small library. Six lecture theatres will be replicated across the campus site," he added.
By Zhao Lei

The People's Liberation Army Joint Logistic Support Force has issued a full-scale mobilization order in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The force published on Tuesday its first mobilization directive since its establishment in September 2016, calling on all of its personnel, especially medics, to contribute to the fight against the pneumonia epidemic.

Per the directive, all PLA Joint Logistic Support Force personnel must follow President Xi Jinping's instructions to the military's counter-epidemic endeavors and carry out their tasks, such as treating infected civilians and providing logistics services.

They should be fully prepared and confident in the battle with the highly contagious disease, the unit said, urging members of the Communist Party of China to take the lead.

Medics are a major force in this fight, and the directive urged them to strive to race against time to save lives and also make sure they do not become infected themselves.

The PLA Joint Logistic Support Force has been making all-out efforts to purchase materials badly needed in the fight against the epidemic.

Right after the pneumonia turned into a nationwide outbreak, the force went into emergency mode and sent its purchasers to look for urgently needed materials in the market.

The purchasers asked suppliers to start and expand production as soon as possible, and they have worked with customs and the transport sector across China to speed up the import and transportation of anti-epidemic and medical materials.

Transactions for urgently needed materials have been handled with simplified procedures to accelerate the process.

The force has completed the purchase of 16 kinds of anti-epidemic and medical materials and has set up a steady supply chain for medics.

Thanks to these efforts, domestic companies are making more than 10,000 protective suits for military medical personnel each day, and over 2 million face masks have been imported from around the world.

A total of 950 medics from hospitals administered by the force and another 450 from the PLA's medical universities on Monday started running a newly constructed hospital in Hubei province's Wuhan dedicated to the novel coronavirus.

Wuhan is capital of Hubei province and the epicenter of the outbreak.

Huoshenshan Hospital, located inside Wuhan Workers' Sanatorium in Caidian district, received its first group of patients on Tuesday morning.

In another development, the impact of the epidemic has led to manpower shortages and a lack of transport capacity in Wuhan's logistics businesses, forcing the city government to ask the military for help.

In response, the PLA established a transport support team of 260 troops and 130 trucks on Sunday to help logistics companies transport daily necessities such as vegetables to supermarkets and shops in the city, which currently has a population of about 9 million.

The trucks and troops supplied by the military have also been playing important roles in the construction of three temporary hospitals in Wuhan, the PLA said. The transport support team used 50 trucks from Monday to Wednesday to carry materials to three locations in Wuhan, including a gymnasium and an exhibition center, which are being converted into hospitals to receive infected patients, the PLA said on Wednesday.

The troops worked day and night and transported thousands of beds and mattresses to the three locations, it said.
The United States is aggressively pushing back against Chinese economic espionage and foreign influence activities, partnering with private enterprises, academia, and its allies to combat this threat, top U.S. officials said on Feb. 6.

The Chinese regime is deploying an all-tools and all-sectors approach to steal their way up the economic ladder at the United States expense, FBI Director Chris Wray told a Washington conference on the Department of Justices (DOJ) China Initiative program.

That demands our own all-tools and all-sectors approach in response, Wray said.

In late 2018, the DOJ launched the China Initiative to crack down on state-sponsored theft of U.S. trade secrets and Beijings foreign influence activities. Since then, the department has brought dozens of China-related espionage cases against a variety of actors, including Chinese intelligence officers, Chinese and U.S. academics, and Chinese companies. Some of these actors are non-traditional collectors, such as Chinese graduate students participating in university research programs.

More than 80 percent of all economic espionage charges brought by federal prosecutors since 2012 have implicated China, according to the department.

The communist regime employs a wide range of techniquessuch as cyber hacking, corrupting company insiders, and physical theftto target valuable scientific and technical information held by the private sector and academia, Wray said.

They are attempting to capture the benefits of our free society by outright stealing our technology. The stealing of technology is not a sideshow. It undergirds and propels their efforts, Attorney General William Barr said at the same event.

Barr described the regimes efforts as a technological blitzkrieg that poses an unprecedented challenge to the United States.

The technologies targeted for stealing can be found in Beijings Made in China 2025 plan, which lays out core technologies the regime aspires to dominate in the futureincluding artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, and aerospace.

Since the launch of Chinas industrial plan in 2015, the DOJ has brought trade-secret theft cases in eight of the 10 technology sectors slated for aggressive development, Barr said.

The FBI has about 1,000 investigations involving Chinas attempted theft of U.S.-based technology, in all 56 field offices, covering almost every industry and sector, Wray said.

In the 2019 fiscal year, the bureau arrested 24 people in China-related counter-intelligence cases, John Brown, assistant director of the FBIs counterintelligence division said, adding that this number is set to be exceeded this fiscal year with 19 people arrested to date.

Most recently, the DOJ announced three separate prosecutions relating to alleged actions to aide the Chinese regime: the chair of Harvards chemistry department was charged for allegedly lying about his ties to a Chinese recruitment plan that authorities say facilitates the transfer of sensitive U.S. research and technology to China; a Chinese military officer studying at Boston University was charged for allegedly concealing her ties to the military; and a Chinese researcher was charged over allegedly attempting to smuggle vials of stolen biological research.

To give a sense of the scale of the feds efforts, Wray noted that all three cases were investigated by just one of the FBIs 56 field officesBostonand charged in a little more than a month.

Working With Business, Academia

DOJ and FBI officials said they were increasing their engagement with the private sector and academia to raise awareness about the threat of Chinese economic espionage.

This approach does not, however, mean that the U.S. businesses and academic institutions should stop doing business with China, hosting Chinese guests, or welcoming Chinese students, Wray noted. But rather, firms and academia should keep the long view in mind when engaging with China.

Weve got to be clear-eyed and thoughtful about the threat from China and do everything possible to ensure a level playing field between our two countries, Wray added.

William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, countered criticism that the federal campaign was driven by a racial issue, saying that this is a fact-based issue of the theft of intellectual property and trade secrets and ideas by a communist country.

Wray said the FBI was asking business executives to carefully consider the implications of working with Chinese firms, such as through a joint-venture.

It might make a lot of money today; it might sound great on the next earnings call, he said. But it might not look so great a few years down the road, when they find themselves bleeding intellectual property or hemorrhaging their most sensitive data.

Authorities are also encouraging universities to protect students from intimidation by foreign governments, to seek transparency in agreements with foreign institutions, and to conduct due diligence on foreign nationals working and studying on campuses, Wray added.

University and think-tank colleagues: Do not allow the theft of technology under the guise of academic freedom, Barr said.

Do not allow the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] to dictate your research or pressure you into ignoring diverse voices on controversial topics. Consider whether any sacrifice of academic integrity or freedom is worth the tradeoff.

From The Epoch Times
GODFREY  Raymond Zimmerman, a decorated World War II veteran who walked the beaches of Normandy the day after D-Day, will celebrate his 100th birthday Friday, Feb. 7.

As a teenager, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

From the Alton-Jerseyville area, he married Nora Sticht, then of Wood River, on Jan. 31, 1942. They had two children.

The Telegraph reported at the time, The bride was attired in a blue ensemble with matching accessories. They moved into a home in the 800 block of Hallord Street in Wood River.

Zimmerman is a World War II veteran, serving in the 215th Military Police Company. He and his crew went from town to town with the infantrymen who routed out sharpshooters from empty building.

The Germans ambushed and shot to death one of our MPs, who was riding a motorcycle on a night mission, he said.

Honorably discharged in 1945, he was awarded a Silver Star for his action in Normandy, where he checked for German soldiers the day after D-Day. On the 50th anniversary of D-Day, he was awarded the French Normandy Jubilee of Victory Medal.

In June of 1947, The Telegraph reported that Raymond and and Nora invited a couple from Holland, Peter and Maria Heyen, into their new home in the 3000 block of Buena Vista in Alton.

Zimmerman became acquainted with them when he and other American troops passed into Holland after the Normandy invasion, the paper reported. For 3 months he stayed at their home, and later, while stationed in Germany, he would return to the Heyen home for weekends.

It was a long wait and one that required thought and plans. Even after passage had been secured, their money which had been sent to exchange for American currency had not arrived when the boat sailed and they lost half of their passage money. Then came the wait for another boat.

But they eventually made it to Alton.

It was reported that Nora Zimmerman was fluent in German, but Ray knew very little.

Food, too, was a novelty, The Telegraph reported. They are learning to eat a sandwich with fingers instead of a knife and fork. Beer is stronger than in Holland so they take half a glass and fill it up with water. Potato chips are new to the Hollanders, and they were shocked at the custom of taking a handful from a bowl.

Peter Heyen was an experienced in lumber and figured to have no issues finding work.

Also, while the Zimmermans were devout Catholics, they found no struggle in hosting the Heyens, who were Lutheran.

Later, Zimmerman learned to fly and received a pilots license.

He was a partner in Alton and Co., which was based in Springfield, Illinois.

He still loves to dance and was a frequent visitor at the local VFW sock hops.
A grandfather's cherished wristwatch tarnished by the elements; a missing husband's worn-out pair of pants or sweater found on him when he was unearthed; the weathered ID of a teenage son. Such are the kinds of personal items being donated by many of the loved ones of the more than 8,000 victims of the Srebrenica massacre -- nearly all of them Bosniaks -- to the Srebrenica-Potocari Memorial and Cemetery for the Victims of the 1995 Genocide. Hundreds of items have been collected for the exhibit in the center's museum, which lies next to a cemetery made for most of the thousands of victims of the genocidal massacre carried out by Serbian forces. In addition to the personal objects of those killed, the collection also includes items found along sections of the so-called "Death Road" that was hurriedly trekked by hundreds of boys and men during the genocide. Some of them managed to reach freedom but many were killed and others have never been found. Donating the items to the museum is difficult for many relatives, who often have nothing else to remind them of their slain family members. But they hope that by giving the personal belongings they can forever preserve the memory of those killed in the worst mass killing on European soil since World War II. The memorial complex was built in the eastern Bosnian village of Potocari in 2003 to commemorate the victims of the genocide at Srebrenica, which took place at the end of the 1992-1995 Bosnian War that left more than 100,000 people dead and caused hundreds of thousands to flee the country.

Hajra Catic has never found her younger son, who was 20 years old when he was killed. The remains of her husband were found in a mass grave in 2005. More than two decades since he was killed, she is still searching for her son. Some 6,938 of the estimated 8,372 victims at Srebrenica have been identified.

"I have his wallet, I have his vehicle registration certificate. In his wallet was an ID card from my son that I couldn't find. Well, I only have those things, I have nothing more. I'll donate everything to the museum. It is of great importance that everything will be collected in one place, that means a lot."

In the mass grave at Kozluk they found the remains of Sadmir Nukic's grandfather, Asim, and a pocket watch that was important to both of them. It was the watch his grandfather promised to give him when he finished reading the Koran.

"It happened sometime in late May; he didn't succeed in giving me that watch; he took it with him. [The town of] Srebrenica was falling; he couldn't give me that gift. When he was killed and later found, I only wished to take at least that watch as a memento which he could not give me when he was alive."

Both sons of Dzejma Pasic were killed in the massacre. From the older son they found only two legs, and from the younger one nearly his entire skeleton. The elder son, Muhamed, was about to turn 19 when he was killed and the younger son, Muamer, was only 17 years old.

"I was thinking of giving these cards, the letter, and the pictures because I can never look at these. I try to take them, then I put them back...I can't look at them. I was thinking of giving them [to the museum] because after I die there is nobody [to care for them]. When we die, maybe everything will be thrown away."

Huso Halilovic recognized the remains of his father, Bajro, because he had one artificial eye. Eight years ago, his father's remains were found in a mass grave in Kamenica, near Zvornik. His father's suit was torn and was buried with him; but Huso kept the watch and comb as mementos.

"When Srebrenica fell he went to Potocari and I went across the forest. When I see these items, I'm flooded with tears; I remember how his watch was always on his hand and he was combing his hair every morning. Those are the only mementos I have."

Begajeta Nukic has preserved these pants for 25 years since her husband, Sead, was killed. This is the only thing left from Sead, who tried to escape by fleeing through the forest from Srebrenica to Tuzla. Sead's corpse has still not been found, though Begajeta and her two children are still hopeful it will be some day.

"I brought these pants; I thought he would cross [the forest], that he would come to Tuzla. But he didn't come. I waited for him a [long] time. I am still waiting for him today and I am hoping.... And then, after so many years have passed he is gone, he is gone.... The museum opens down there, there is nothing of his, there is just a name on a plaque in Potocari. Well, I wish this to be there with his name."

Rabija Avdic found her brother, Dzevad, in this sweater in a mass grave near Zvornik. This is the only memento left from the 23-year-old, who was captured at the beginning of the war and killed in the gymnasium of the Vuk Karadzic Elementary School, which had been turned into a place of internment.

"That's my brother's sweater. Well, he was in that when we found him. I can't talk about it...I want to give this sweater from my brother to the museum to show what [his killers] did."

Almost all of Ahmed Hrustanovic's male family members were killed at Srebrenica. His father, together with two uncles, were killed in Kravice. Only parts of their bodies, found in three secondary mass graves, were buried at the Potocari cemetery. The only objects left from his father are some photos and about 100 letters that are, for Ahmed, the most important mementos.
WASHINGTON  Federal agencies are split on how best to handle national security concerns surrounding popular and ubiquitous Chinese-made drones, with some policymakers chafing at more protectionist approaches.

The Department of the Interior, which uses drones for tasks like wildlife conservation and the monitoring of the state of infrastructure, grounded all those made in China or built with Chinese parts in October. It reaffirmed that decision in January, saying its entire fleet of 810 drones would essentially remain out of commission until it can confirm they pose no security threat.

Yet the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget raised warnings last year about congressional legislation that would make it impossible for the United States government to buy Chinese drones at all. The Agriculture Department, which uses drones to survey farmland, for example, said it could limit the ability to carry out our mission-crucial work and halt the Forest Services use of drones altogether.

The Trump administration has engaged in a steady campaign to wall off America from Chinese technology, saying the Chinese government could use it to spy on the United States. The administration has been trying to keep Huawei, the telecom equipment giant, out of the next generation of wireless networks both in the United States and abroad and has increased scrutiny of Chinese investment in sectors deemed critical, like telecom and tech. Federal officials have also investigated whether mobile apps owned by Chinese companies could leak sensitive data.
Slamming the Congress for its opposition to the National Population Register (NPR), he said that the exercise was necessary to adjust to growing migration in the country while addressing the Rajya Sabha during the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's Address. Citing increased Odiya population in Gujarat, he said that linguistic updation of one's personal records were necessary as development according to demography was important. Moreover, he questioned the Opposition's problems qith NPR which was introduced by the UPA government in 2010.

PM Modi slams Opposition on NPR

"If you look at the Census - the questions have changed since independence according to governance requirements. Do not spread rumours. Never ever have we had such a fight over mother tongue. In Gujarat, many people from Odisha have migrated - till when can Gujarat administration say that they will not run Odiya schools?" he said.

MoS Nityanand Rai says NPR exercise to be carried out from April to September 2020

He added, "I believe that the government should know what languages are spoken in Gujarat by the people, their fathers which will ensure that Odiya schools open in Surat. Before migration was not an issue, now it is necessary for the government to know where the people are migrating from to develop that area better. You are spreading so many rumours on it, wasn't NPR brought by you in 2010? Have we questioned anyone's identity using NPR since 2014, when we came into power?"

Criminal complaint filed against Arundhati Roy for 'dividing nation' with NPR remark

Reminds UPA's introduction of NPR

Talking about his government's updation of NPR, he said that the UPA had advocated promoting NPR. He added that in 2015 NDA government used NPR to update records and pass on benefits of NPR to the poor. Moreover, he pointed out that biometric details were already recorded by UPA , adding that such opposition to the exercise was purely on vote-bank politics.

"We have NPR records from your tenure. We have never segregated people on basis of NPR. Then-UPA Home Minister has stressed on the documenting of usual residents and had urged every citizen to take part in this excercise. He had also urged the media to promote NPR," he said.

PM Modi reminds Congress of messy Telangana bifurcation, smashes 'No debate on J&K' claims

He added,"In 2010 NPR was introduced, in 2011 biometric data was recorded. By 2014, several citizens' photo records were documented and biometric data collection was in progress. In 2015, we updated the records to give direct benefits of PM Awas yojana and other schemes to the poor. But in a political turmoil, you are opposing NPR - berefting crores of poor from being a part of the government exercise."

"But because you are now in the Opposition, so you see your NPR as evil and are opposing it. All states have approved NPR issuing a gazette notification. But some states have taken U-turn now and are knowingly creating hurdles in a government exercise. This is evident that you are doing this only for vote bank politics. Hence, I request you to aide us in fulfilling this NPR exercise in 2020 and keep only the truth in front of the public," he said.

PM Modi fires 'Tukde-Tukde' jibe; says 'Opposition doing what Pak wants' on CAA

What is National population register?

The NPR, first prepared in 2010 and updated in 2015, is an identity database maintained of all the usual residents of the country and is prepared at the local, sub-District, District, State and National level under provisions of the Citizenship Act 1955. Any resident who has resided in a local area for the past 6 months or more, or intends to do the same has to mandatorily register in the NPR. The NPR updation, costing Rs. 3941 crore has been approved by the Union cabinet and will be prepared between April 2020 and September 2020 and there is a provision of imposing a penalty of up to Rs 1000 in NPR as well as in the Census for misinformation.

The Centre has stated that NPR is a self-declaration where no document, bio-metric, etc. required for it. The details required in the document are name, relationship to head of household, father's name, mother's name, spouse's name (if married), sex, date of birth, marital status, place of birth, nationality (as declared), present address of usual residence, duration of stay at present address, permanent residential address, occupation, educational qualification. The updation which has been clubbed with the 2021 census count has been stayed by West Bengal and Kerala government; Rajasthan has defied it and Telangana is mulling on it.
For Hong Kong insurers, the coronavirus outbreak is a second blow.

Already reeling from at-times violent demonstrations that slowed the flood of Chinese travelers  one of the biggest sources of new policyholders  to a trickle, the spread of the virus has seen transactions virtually grind to a halt.

A team of more than 100 agents working for one of the citys biggest insurers has seen sales to mainland visitors plummet to almost nothing, according to a senior member of the group. Only two agents have managed to sell a policy since late January  when the virus started spreading more broadly  generating just HK$100,000 ($12,880) in first-month premiums, compared to about HK$5 million in January last year.

Hong Kongs protests were nothing compared with the blow of the virus to us, said Zhou, who manages the 100-strong team, and asked their first name not be used because the matter is private. This is the worst I have ever seen.

Chinese customers have long flocked to Hong Kong for insurance policies sold by the likes of AIA Group Ltd. and Prudential Plc, in part because the products offer an investment component and payouts in foreign currencies that are hard to come by on the mainland.

AIA shares have fallen 6.4% in Hong Kong trading since Jan. 20. Prudential shares have declined 2.6% in the city.

Double-Whammy

The double-whammy of the protests and the virus are pummeling sales because industry rules require policyholders be physically present in the city before a contract can be finalized. Sales to mainland Chinese customers plunged 18% in the third quarter from a year earlier.

We believe the new coronavirus outbreak is a near-term major negative for life insurance, on both sales and investment/valuation, Daiwa Capital Markets analysts led by Leon Qi wrote in a Jan. 29. note.

AIA declined to comment on the effect of the outbreak on its business, saying it is in a blackout period before full-year results are released next month. Prudential also declined to comment.

For insurers on the mainland, policy sales will probably take a short-term hit before quickly recovering as the outbreak spurs peoples awareness for the need for insurance, such as life or health cover, Tianfeng Securities analysts led by Xia Changsheng wrote in a Jan. 31 report.

They expect first-quarter new business value at Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. to plunge 10%; decline 6% at New China Life Insurance Co.; and 3% at China Pacific Insurance Group before stabilizing later in the year.

Ping An shares have fallen 8.8% in Hong Kong since Jan. 20, New China Life has slumped 12.7% and China Pacific is down 10.4%.

Deadly Toll

Hong Kong reported its first coronavirus death Tuesday, and has 18 other confirmed cases. The virus has killed almost 500 people and infected more than 24,000 others.

The city sealed off more checkpoints with China earlier this week after the nation halted group and individual tours late last month. Around 70% of Chinese travel to Hong Kong on individual or group tours (the rest come for work or to visit family), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analysts Thomas Wang and Stanley Tian said in a Jan. 29 note to clients.

A persistent suspension of the scheme would have a significant impact on insurance sales to mainland visitors, they said. Furthermore, we believe sales to local customers could also be affected as customers may be reluctant to meet with agents on contagion concerns.

AIA is set to face short-term pressure from the escalating impact of the outbreak, Citigroup Inc. analysts said in a note. Cross-border visitor numbers could slump a further 80% this quarter if all travel permits are immediately suspended, they said.

I cant think anyone would want to risk their life, taking a train or flight, passing the border, to buy an insurance product at such a time, said Zhou, the insurance agent. No one is in the mood to buy insurance, there is nothing you can do but wait for the hardest time to pass.

With assistance from Zhang Dingmin.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers COVID-19 China
DARIEN  The 44-year-old businessman charged with manslaughter in the death of an Anguillan resort employee contends he was stabbed by Kenny Mitchel and wants the lawsuit filed by the mans family dropped, according to documents filed Thursday in federal court.

Scott Hapgood is considered a "fugitive" by Anguillan authorities after he refused to appear on the island in November to address the manslaughter charge in Mitchels April 13, 2019 death.

In response to a lawsuit filed by Mitchels estate, Hapgoods attorney Michael Conroy contends the Darien man suffered stab wounds in Mitchels unprovoked attack and robbery attempt. Conroy also said Mitchels father and the mother of his child have no standing in the estate or the civil court action.

The documents detail a violent struggle between the 27-year-old Mitchel and Hapgood, who said he was defending himself and his daughters. In the court documents, Conroy described Mitchel as being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol as the attack occurred.

Mitchel pulled out a Leatherman utility knife, which he used to stab Hapgood during the confrontation, the documents said. Hapgood was also bitten several times by Mitchel and had to undergo testing for communicable diseases, including HIV, his attorney said.

Conroy denied nearly all of the allegations laid out in the Mitchel estate lawsuit and said Hapgood wants the civil action dismissed and a variety of damages and his attorneys fees paid by the younger mans family.

Hapgood has filed his own lawsuit against the chain that owns the Anguillan resort where the incident occurred.

Hapgood contends that Mitchel unexpectedly showed up at his room at the Malliouhana Resort on April 13 to fix a sink that wasn't reported broken.

Hapgood had been at the resort vacationing with his family, including his young daughters, two of whom were in the room when Mitchel arrived.

Mitchel was an employee of the resort and was wearing a hotel uniform when he showed up at the room, according to Hapgood's attorneys.

Hapgood acted in self-defense when he fought with Mitchel who he said pulled out a knife, demanded money and began attacking him, according to papers filed his attorney Thursday.

Hapgood restrained Mitchel for nearly an hour as resort officials failed to call police or an ambulance, court documents said.

Mitchel died about an hour later, the lawsuit said. Hapgoods lawsuit also mentions Mitchel's cause of death was attributed to a cocaine overdose based on an Anguillan toxicology report.

The lawsuit filed by Mitchel's estate said the 27-year-old died as a result of Hapgood keeping his arm on the younger man's neck for more than 40 minutes.

Hapgood was charged with manslaughter by Anguillan authorities a few days after the incident.

The incident has sparked international outrage and has been the focal point of speculation on what went on in Hapgood's hotel room leading up to Mitchels death.

Anguillan authorities threatened to obtain a warrant to bring Hapgood back to the island to face continued prosecution. It is unclear if the manslaughter case is moving forward without Hapgood or if the warrant has been obtained.
INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund (the Fund), the largest private equity investment fund for the Baltic region, managed by one of Lithuanias leading asset management companies INVL Asset Management (INVL), has successfully completed its final close reaching a total of 164.7mn.

We are delighted to reach this final close having received strong support from our investor base. We took the decision not to extend the placement of the Fund given that the amount raised is sufficient to implement our investment strategy and deliver strong returns for our investors. We are actively working on a number of new investments that will ultimately allow us to leverage on our ability to execute complex deals with promising growth prospects said Darius Sulnis, the Managing Partner of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.

According to Sulnis, INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund will seek to repeat the historical success of Invalda INVL which recorded a 27% gross IRR and 2.4x CoC on average in comparable transactions.

The Fund will seek to assemble a diversified portfolio of Baltic Sea based companies, targeting deals with a ticket size of 10mn to 30mn, that showcase high growth potential and the ability to compete on a truly global basis (the Fund will also offer co-investment opportunities in case of larger transactions). The Fund will focus on growth capital, buyout, and buy and build investments. It is expected that the portfolio of the Fund will comprise 8-12 investments in total. Since the first close, the Fund has invested in two companies within the healthcare and civil engineering sectors respectively

We very much value the vote of confidence and trust given to us during this process that has resulted in closing the largest private equity fund in the Baltic region, having the support of the European Investment Fund (the EIF) and the most experienced Baltic institutional, corporate investors and high net-worth individuals who have good knowledge of the Baltics market and opportunities that it provides. Our main priority and focus now will be the deployment of capital already raised over the next 2-3 years, the development of sustainable portfolio companies, the delivery of strong returns for our investor base and coming back to the market with Fund II in due course said Deimante Korsakaite, the Executive Partner of INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund.

Story continues

According to Korsakaite, a large majority of their investors have already confirmed an interest in co-investing with the Fund that will allow the management team to consider equity investments of up to 100mn.

INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund brings together a diversified panel of investors, including public investors (the EIF being the anchor investor), Baltic region institutional investors (Estonias LHV pension funds, INVL pension funds), private and corporate investors. The Fund is focused on the Baltic States and the neighbouring regions of Poland, Scandinavia and Central Europe specifically. It targets majority or significant minority stakes in businesses where the opportunity exists to become regional champions while also actively participating in the management of investments and long-term increase in capital value.

The EIF, which is a part of the European Investment Bank, committed 30mn with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments, a key element of the Investment Plan for Europe (or the Junker Plan), as well as allocating resources from the Baltic Innovation Fund, the "fund of funds" initiative developed in cooperation with the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia respectively, which aims to increase capital investment in high growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises in the Baltic States.

INVL Asset Management is part of the Invalda INVL, one of the leading asset management groups in the Baltic region. The groups companies manage pension and mutual funds, alternative investments, individual portfolios, private equity assets, and other financial instruments. Over 200,000 clients in Lithuania and Latvia and international investors have entrusted the group with more than 1bn of assets under management. Active since 1991 and with a solid track record, Invalda INVL boasts 28 years worth of experience in managing private equity assets in the Baltic countries and CEE landscape while developing companies into best-in-class market leaders.

Person authorized to provide additional information:

Deimante Korsakaite

the Executive Partner of the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund

E-mail: deimante.korsakaite@invl.com




Tibetans Alarmed as Visitors Continue to Enter Lhasa During Coronavirus Scare

2020-02-06 -- Tibetans in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) are worried about the possible spread of novel coronavirus (nCoV) in the capital Lhasa, as they feel authorities have not taken adequate measures to limit the number of visitors entering the city.

Some measures have been enacted, but residents of the capital say these are not enough.

"Tibetans in Lhasa are concerned that many [Han] Chinese are pouring in without hindrance. Even though there are bans on travel between Tibetan towns and cities, and between Chinese cities, the Chinese keep making their way to Lhasa," a Tibetan resident of the city told RFA's Tibetan Service.

"There is a real risk of spreading the virus not only in Lhasa, but all over the Tibet Autonomous Region," the source said, adding, "The screenings of passengers at the train station and the airport are proving to be ineffective."

More flights to Lhasa from Chinese cities need to be suspended, the source said.

"The Chinese authorities have stopped flights only from Wuhan to Lhasa. All other flights from other regions of China are operating as normal. It is the same with the train."

The two-week incubation period for the virus made screenings at airports and rail stations ineffective, he added.

"A few days ago, a patient that has now been confirmed positive for coronavirus while in Lhasa was not identified by health officials. Instead he came forward himself to see the doctors when he felt unwell," the source said.

Confirmed cases of nCoV in Tibetan areas

As of Thursday, Qinghai province has a total of 18 positive cases, with 15 in the capital Xining and the three in the Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous prefecture, according to Chinese media.

In the Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province, the number of cases rose to 12 from eight. Three of the new cases are Tibetans, joining four other Tibetans in Kardze's Tawu county. According to Woeser, a prominent writer based in Beijing, these seven are the only Tibetans now confirmed to have contracted the virus.

There is also one case each in the Ngaba (Aba) and Kanlho (Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous prefectures in Sichuan and Gansu provinces.

Inside the Tibet Autonomous Region only one confirmed case has been announced.

Meanwhile, a Tibetan husband and wife were subjected to unspecified "disciplinary action" by the government of Lhoka county, TAR, for failing to inform authorities before they traveled to Wuhan to bring their child back to Tibet in January.

Monasteries help fight nCoV

Several monasteries in Tibet have meanwhile donated sizable funds to the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the nCoV outbreak, a second source said.

The main monasteries of Sera and Drepung in Lhasa were joined by Kumbum monastery in Eastern Tibet in donating several millions of yuan (1 million yuan = U.S. $143,482) as the affected areas are facing acute shortages of protective gear, face masks, and food items, the source told RFA.

"If Tibetans practice compassion by reaching out to those affected Chinese by extending our support during their struggle, it will likely affect the way the Chinese regard Tibetans in the future," the second source said.

In a video message Wednesday, Lobsang Sangay the president of the India-based Central Tibetan Administration, appealed to Tibetans inside Tibet "to follow proper preventive care by maintaining good personal hygiene as an antidote to the deadly virus."

Sangay added that he has prayed for Tibetans at Bodh Gaya, a religious site in India that Buddhists believe is the exact location where the Buddha achieved enlightenment.

Reported Lobsang Gelek and Lobe for RFA's Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Eugene Whong.

Copyright  1998-2020, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content February not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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But at the Chicago Auto Show, which runs through Feb. 17 at McCormick Place, full battery-powered EVs are as few and far between as they are on Americas roadways, with only a handful of models on display that you can buy and drive. Based on EV product launches scheduled for 2020 alone, that should change dramatically by next years show.
For starters, Kajal will soon be seen in Mumbai Saga, paired opposite John Abraham.

From her Bollywood debut in Kyun! Ho Gaya Na to her soaring Bollywood, Tollywood and Kollywood successes, Kajal Aggarwal has certainly come a long way.

And her plate is still only running full. For starters, Kajal will soon be seen in Mumbai Saga, paired opposite John Abraham. Additionally, shell be seen in Indian 2 with veteran actor Kamal Haasan, which is being shot at blitzkrieg speed. While she tells us that she cannot talk much about her role in Indian 2 other than that its an exciting one, she shares that in Mumbai Saga is in its post-production stage, in which she plays a head-strong Maharashtrian girl whos a very instrumental character in the film.

As if that wasnt enough, Kajal Agarwal will soon be immortalised at Madame Tussauds Singapore in partnership with the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IFFA).

The learning curve

For Kajal, however, the learning is still on. My journey in the industry was an emotional yet a very adventurous one, but I feel I still have a long way to go and a lot more learning to do, she tells us.

So did Kajal always want to become an actor, we ask her. Never, she says simply. It took me seven movies to fall in love with what I was doing, but I took my job very seriously from the first day.

In fact, for Kajal, who grew up in a protective family, learning came from the exposure she got while working on the above seven movies. Growing up in South Mumbai, I never stepped out of the house, she recalls. And no sooner than I started working, I was in the interiors of South India, in Madapalli. I couldnt relate to anything and had to start learning everything from scratch, as if.

Besides Mumbai Saga and Indian 2 on shoot mode, what else is up for her at work? I just shot for a web series called Life Telecast, which is my debut in that space and will be telecast on an OTT platform in mid-Feb. Additionally, I have a film in Telugu film called Mosagallu, which has already completed its shooting schedule.

Forever more

As for her Madame Tussauds honour, she talks about how she came upon the news. I got a message about it in March 2019. I was very busy at a meditation camp with my parents, so I did not think the message was genuine. I honestly thought someone was playing a prank on me. A few days later, I got another SMS saying they needed my email address. I thought that was harmless and shared it. I got the official invite on the email when I was in Hyderabad, which is when believed the possibility of it being true, shares Kajal with a chuckle. And thus began the excitement. I was emotional and overwhelmed, and fifteen days after receiving the email, I called my family. Everyone was proud and emotional.

So does Madame Tussaud Singapore in partnership with IFFA immortalising her feel as if shes in seventh heaven, we ask her. Kajal simply chuckles and says, Theres no time to be floating on the seventh heaven, really, because I am back to Chennai. But jokes apart, this gesture by the film industry overwhelms me with joy and gratitude. I am also proud and happy.
THERE ARE more patients waiting over 24 hours on a trolley at University Hospital Limerick than patients waiting over 12 hours at more than the vast majority of UK emergency departments.

That is according to a data analysis of the NHS emergency waiting times at its 199 emergency departments in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on a specific month.

Other than Northern Ireland, each NHS region compiles monthly reports of the number of patients that waited more than four hours, eight hours and 12 hours for a bed in respective emergency departments.

The HSE compiles the number of patients that wait up to six hours, six to nine hours, nine to 18 hours, 18 to 24 hours, and greater than 24 hours.

Figures received by the Leader show that in November last year UHL had 5,875 attendances at its emergency department, with 536 of them waiting more than a day for a bed.

There were 149 more attendances in October.

Of the approximate 199 emergency departments in the UK, only eight hospitals had more patients waiting more than 12 hours for a bed, five from Northern Ireland and three from Wales.

Northern Ireland, which has similar capacity issues as the Republic, had the highest and second highest number of patients waiting for a bed in the UK. Craigavon Area Hospital, in Portadown, had 1,072 patients waiting over 12 hours for a bed, which was around 15% of its 7,266 attendances in November. This is followed by Morriston Hospital, in Swansea, Wales, with 927 patients, and Ulster Hospital with 914 patients.

In Ireland, there were 2,227 patients waiting for over 24 hours, which is more than the number of patients in all English and Scottish hospitals combined, amounting to 2,099 patients.

These figures do not take into account the difference in the level of resources between UHL and, for example, Craigavon Area Hospital.
KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) -- A Kansas City man has pleaded guilty to robbing two banks and a Subway restaurant during a February 2016 crime spree. The U.S. attorney's office says 27-year-old Mack Davis admitted through his plea Thursday that he stole $647 from the Subway and a total of $4,735 during the two bank heists.
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Linkedin Lim Sungnam (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 13:26 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad2063224d0 3 Opinion ASEAN,Southeast-Asia,Vietnam,diplomacy,China,South-China-Sea,Indo-Pacific Free

The chairmanship of ASEAN rotates annually in alphabetical order, and the clock usually starts ticking from the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat. Following this practice, 10 ASEAN foreign ministers gathered in Nha Trang, Vietnam, on Jan. 16 to 17. Just before the retreat, Vietnam officially launched its 2020 ASEAN chairmanship with a theme Cohesive and Responsive ASEAN.

In his speech on Vietnams 2020 ASEAN chairmanship on Jan. 6, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc laid out five priorities for implementing this theme. First was ASEANs active role and contribution to maintaining regional peace and stability; he also emphasized the importance of strengthening ASEANs unity as well as cooperation among the ASEAN member states.

Ever-increasing regional and external uncertainties arousing from the rivalry between global powers seem to have led to ASEANs need to strengthen its unity and responsive capabilities.

The reception of this years theme from pundits seems that Cohesive and responsive ASEAN sounds more politically weighted compared to the previous ones. ASEAN chairs themes were Advancing partnership for sustainability and Resilience and innovation in 2019 and 2018 respectively, with more focus on the economic dimension.

This years theme seems more politically nuanced, and is derived from both ASEAN's international environment and also from Vietnams own vision and confidence.

Economically, Vietnam has a proven remarkable track record of phenomenal growth over the last three decades. Diplomatically, beginning this year, the country has also succeeded in assuming a nonpermanent membership on the United Nations Security Council for the second time while chairing ASEAN for the third time.

ASEAN chairmanship, however, also presents Vietnam with tough challenges. For one, it seems ASEAN cannot afford to repeat the failure of 2012 when ASEAN foreign ministers fell short of adopting a joint communique for the first time in its history due to disagreements among the member states over the issue of the South China Sea.

ASEAN and China will perhaps begin their second reading of the draft text of the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea in the foreseeable future. While the international community looks forward to the smooth conclusion of this Code of Conduct, it might be a test-bed for ASEANs pledge of Cohesive ASEAN.

The challenge also remains to prove that the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, adopted by ASEAN leaders last June, could develop into a practical foundation for action plans.

Indonesias plan to host the ASEAN-World Economic Forum on Indo-Pacific Infrastructure and Connectivity this July seems to aim at providing a platform in this regard.

Additionally, the Phase One Trade Agreement between Washington and Beijing could create an environment conducive for a Cohesive and responsive ASEAN. But the deal has not ceased the fire completely.

The new abnormal of todays world could place ASEAN under unprecedented difficulties. Navigating the surroundings of ASEAN as captain does not seem to be an easy job.

The history of ASEAN, however, tells us that from its inception and through its evolution, crises and obstacles have instead functioned as a catalyst for strengthening the unity of ASEAN and amplifying regional cooperation.

For instance, the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s triggered ASEAN and its neighbors to seriously weigh the need for financial integration in the region and for the concrete measures to avert any possible future crisis.

The outcome of this regional initiative is the Chiang Mai Initiative, a multilateral currency swap arrangement among ASEAN, South Korea, China and Japan.

A crisis has been translated into a success story of regional cooperation thanks to the wisdom and courage of ASEAN and its neighbors.

This year's ASEAN theme certainly resonates with the Vietnamese proverb, One tree alone cannot make a hill; three trees together make a high mountain. Vietnam calls for unity and a proactive response from ASEAN's 10 member states. Vietnam, which had to historically struggle with major powers for its very existence, now stands on a rostrum for orchestrating ASEAN.

South Korea, as well as other nations, looks forward to Vietnam's successful chairmanship in bringing greater regional stability and prosperity.

***

Ambassador of Republic of Korea to ASEAN

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
New planning regulations and mapping to protect Queensland koalas have been rushed, "bungled" and need to be reviewed urgently, councils say.

On Friday morning, Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said the draft South East Queensland Koala Conservation Strategy was still being finalised but new mapping and regulations would come into force in the interim.

New mapping will govern koala habitat in Queensland from today. Credit:AAP

Koala habitat areas within Koala Priority Areas will not be allowed to be cleared under the regulations, with some exemptions.

The exemptions range from clearing dangerous trees and creating firebreaks to a once-off 550-square-metre allowance per premises.
Moxie is a leading operator of cannabis cultivation and manufacturing assets in California, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Utah and its products are distributed in over 350 dispensaries across the United States.

Moxie to participate in the private placement

Cansortium's special committee of the board of directors continues significant progress in repositioning the company and attracting new growth capital

MIAMI, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Cansortium Inc. (CSE:TIUM.U) (OTCQB: CNTMF) ("Cansortium" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated cannabis company with operations in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, together with MXY Holdings LLC ("Moxie") a vertically integrated cannabis company with operations in California and four other states, today announced the signing of a Management Services Agreement (the "Management Agreement") under which Moxie will provide management and operational consulting services to Cansortium for an initial term of two (2) years. Cansortium's principal market is in the key state of Florida, where it operates 18 dispensaries and two cultivation facilities, including an indoor facility in Tampa. The Management Agreement will leverage Moxie's deep operational and product expertise to help accelerate Cansortium's opening of new dispensaries across Florida and ensure a consistent supply of high-quality dry flower and extract products to Cansortium's growing patient base. In addition, the Company expects that the relationship with Moxie will help drive incremental value from the build-out of Cansortium's assets in the highly attractive Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania markets.

The Company has also completed a non-brokered private placement offering (the "Offering") of 10,189,758 equity units (each, a "Unit") at US$0.45 per Unit, or approximately US$4.6 million. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant") which entitles holders to acquire one Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of US$0.45 per Warrant Share.

The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Offering to fund strategic growth opportunities and for general corporate purposes. With the recent restructuring of approximately US$25.0 million of near-term obligations, the pending sales of non-core assets in Canada and Puerto Rico, and the Offering announced today, Cansortium has taken significant steps to improve its balance sheet flexibility and increase liquidity enabling it to capitalize on growth opportunities.

Neal Hochberg, Chairman of the Board and of the Special Committee, commented, "Cansortium continues to attract new capital to invest in strategic, focused growth opportunities in Florida, Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Moxie brings the Company new equity capital and industry-recognized operational expertise and insight across each aspect of our vertically integrated business  from cultivation to dispensary operations - that we believe will help accelerate our growth and create long-term value for all stakeholders."

Jordan Lams, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MXY Holdings LLC, added, "Cansortium has established a solid operational platform in Florida under the Fluent brand and owns valuable licenses and operational assets in Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania. This is a great opportunity for the Moxie team to bring our proven knowledge and experience across all aspects of the vertically integrated cannabis business to accelerate Cansortium's growth and implement best-in-class operational enhancements with the goal of creating a sustainable, profitable platform in Florida and beyond.."

About Cansortium Inc.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, and operating under the Fluent brand, Cansortium is focused on being the highest quality cannabis company in the State of Florida driven by unrelenting commitment to operational excellence from seed to sale. Cansortium has developed strong proficiencies in each of cultivation, processing, retail, and distribution activities, the result of successfully operating in the highly regulated cannabis industry. In addition to Florida, Cansortium is seeking to create significant shareholder value in the attractive markets of Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where the Company has secured licenses and established operations.

Cansortium Inc.'s common shares and warrants trade on the CSE under the symbol "TIUM.U" and "TIUM.WT.U", respectively, and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol (OTCQB: CNTMF). Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on www.otcmarkets.com.

About MXY Holdings LLC

MXY Holdings LLC has developed award-winning brands and a loyal customer base by producing high-quality and consistent cannabis concentrates and related products across multiple markets. Moxie is a multistate operator (MSO) covering the California, Nevada, Arizona, Pennsylvania and Utah markets and its products are distributed in over 350 dispensaries across the United States.

Moxie is recognized by its peers in cannabis, winning close to 100 industry awards over the years, including Brand of the Year at the 2018 California Cannabis Association Awards. Moxie's newest product, the DART vaporizer, won first place at the recent 2019 High Times SoCal Cannabis Cup with its Pina Colada flavor. Jordan Lams was named 100 Most Influential People In Cannabis by High Times two years running, Top 100 Cannabis Leaders 2018 by Entrepreneur Magazine and is a member of the Forbes Business Council.

By using pharmaceutical grade technology and strict safety standards in their cultivation facilities and with a library consisting of hundreds of strains, Moxie provides customers with high-quality recreational and medical cannabis products. Moxie offers a variety of vape cartridges, concentrates, edibles, and flower. As Moxie further expands its multi-state reach, it will be employing its know-how and genetic library to continue to be a leading cannabis brand innovator.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain information in this news release, may constitute forward-looking information. In some cases, but not necessarily in all cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "targets", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "an opportunity exists", "is positioned", "estimates", "intends", "assumes", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "will" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances contain forward-looking information. Statements containing forward-looking information are not historical facts but instead represent management's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events.

Forward-looking information is necessarily based on a number of opinions, assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company as of the date of this news release, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to the factors described in the public documents of the Company available at www.sedar.com. These factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the factors that could affect the Company; however, these factors should be considered carefully. There can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release, and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements containing any forward-looking information, or the factors or assumptions underlying them, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

The securities referenced in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from registration is available.

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in this private placement within the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. Persons (as defined under Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act).

SOURCE Cansortium Inc

Related Links

www.cansortium.com


TWO Immigration officers and an ex-officer have been arrested on allegations of facilitating the illegal stay of two Chinese nationals in the country.

The Chinese were fraudulently issued with visas by the trio.

Two principal immigration officers, Blessing Chirumarara and Hopewell Chikosha, who are stationed at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport were arrested together with an ex-officer Munyaradzi Mushimbo, who was formerly based at the Gweru offices.

The Department of Immigration is still trying to find out just how many foreigners were allegedly fraudulently assisted to acquire visas by the three.

Sources close to the investigations said in one of the cases, a team of immigration officers led by Principal Immigration Officer Fadzai Jayne Matarise went to Belgravia to conduct compliance checks and approached Mr Song Changyu, who produced his passport.

The team then checked the travel history endorsements and the visitor's entry certificate that were on his passport.

The endorsements in question were dated December 24 last year.

They became suspicious and engaged their colleagues, who work at the airport to verify the authenticity of the travel history.

It was discovered that all the visas had been fraudulently acquired at the airport after the foreigner connived with Chirumarara, who paid an undisclosed bribe.

Mr Song was arrested and he allegedly confessed during questioning that he had paid Chirumarara a bribe.

After his arrest, Principal Immigration Officer Godfrey Kondo was assigned to handle the case and discovered that Mr Song been unlawfully issued with a visa entry certificate on December 24.

Chirumarara was arrested and taken to the Harare Magistrates court where she was freed on $500 bail.

Chikosha and Mushimbo were also arrested recently after they connived to process a visa for another Chinese citizen, Chen Jiahong, using the same method.

The Department of Immigration has since launched intensive investigations as they believed that they are more foreigners who are staying in the country illegally.
Lithuanian English

Apranga APB (hereinafter  the Company) hereby informs that the Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania (hereinafter  the SSBL) has completed an investigation on the compliance of the Company's accounting and financial statements for 2018 with international accounting standards; and on the compliance of the Annual Report and Social Responsibility Report with the legislation (hereinafter  the investigation).



By the Decision of the Director of the Supervision Service of the Bank of Lithuania issued on 3 February 2020 No. 241-20 it was decided not to apply any enforcement measures to the Company.

However, the SSBL's investigation has revealed some infringements which were recommended to be publicly disclosed:

1. Annual financial statements of the Company for the year 2018 do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs 50 and 51 of IAS 16 Property, plant and equipment and paragraphs 97 and 104 of IAS 38 Intangible assets because the useful life of non-current tangible and non-current intangible assets, that is fully depreciated and amortized but still in use, was set shorter than its utility;

2. Annual financial statements of the Company for the year 2018 do not comply with the requirements of paragraphs 55 and B21 of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers because the Company did not recognize refund asset and refund liability relating to the returns after the reporting period of sold goods to the customers; all income from the sale of goods were accounted without assessing the probability that some of goods may be returned after the end of the reporting period.

Although the useful life of non-current tangible and non-current intangible assets, that is fully depreciated and amortized but still in use, was set shorter than its utility, the exact extent to which the Company's and the Group's costs have been increased in the prior period and the value of assets has been impaired cannot be determined. The Company did not consider that there was any significant influence. Already in 2019 the Company considered the irregularities that emerged during the investigation that was in progress and implemented the requirements of the IAS 16 and 38 in its financial statements for 2019. The Company intends to continue to comply consistently with the requirements of these standards.

The Company believes that although it did not comply with paragraphs 55 and B21 of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers, this did not have a material effect on the statements of comprehensive income or financial status. The company had been already decided to comply with the above-mentioned paragraphs of IFRS 15 before the commencement of the investigation. Requirements will be implemented in financial statements for 2019.

The Company has taken measures and will implement other SSBL recommendations for proper disclosure of the information in its annual report for 2019.

The SSBL also recommended disclosing that the current composition of the Management Board (without independent members) cannot ensure proper implementation of the provisions of the Law on Companies of the Republic of Lithuania (hereinafter - the LC) related to transactions with related party. As recommended by the SSBL, the Company will put its best effort to ensure compliance with the LC requirement as soon as it is reasonably possible, without waiting for the end of the term of the current Management Board.

Rimantas Perveneckas

Apranga Group General Director

+370 5 2390801
Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 7 : With the Kerala coffers in a depleted state, Finance Minister Thomas Issac, while presenting his 11th budget in the Assembly on Wednesday, blamed the Centre for the situation, saying that it is appropriating the powers of the states in all areas with its unilateral decision to amend the Citizenship Act.

"The federal nature of the Indian Constitution is getting diluted every day. The incursion of the central government into the State Lists, nullifying the Seventh Schedule has become so rampant. Executive power is also being misused. The GST Council, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the 15th Central Finance Commission, all seem to have deprived the state governments of their entire fiscal freedom. It is apparent that the economic policy of the central government is to strangle the state government financially," Issac said.

"The central government is not ready to give the due GST compensation for the month of December 2019. The arrears will cross Rs 3,000 crore in February. In addition to this, there is indication that Rs 6,866 crore received as tax share for the last quarter of the previous financial year would come down to Rs 4,525 crore during the current financial year.

"Thus, there will be a total shortfall of Rs 8,330 crore in central assistance, including loans, for the months of January, February and March 2020. This has put unprecedented financial constraints on the state exchequer. There are also huge amounts pending to be released from the centrally sponsored schemes," added Issac.

With local body polls to be held later this year, and the Assembly polls due in the first half of 2021, Issac used his budget speech to make a comparison with the previous Oommen Chandy government.

"The total outlay for the local self-government institutions, which had been Rs 7,679 crore during 2015-16, is enhanced to Rs 12,074 crore in 2020-21. During the period of the previous government, an amount of Rs 503 crore had been spent from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund. But during the four years of the LDF government, the amount has surpassed Rs 1,216 crore. During the tenure of the previous government, the total capital expenditure provided in the budget was Rs 29,689 crore. Whereas the total expenditure provided in the budget for the last four years of the LDF government was Rs 40,497 crore," Issac said.

"During the period of the previous Government, 4.9 lakh drinking water connections were provided by Kerala Water Authority. The LDF Government have provided 7.5 lakh connections so far and 2.5 lakh more houses will be given water connection in 2020-21. The previous government had spent Rs 7,191 crore for health-related schemes. The LDF government have already spent Rs 9,651 crore. The number of outpatients in government hospitals has increased to 3.3 crore from 1.2 crore and the number of in-patients has escalated to 9 lakh from 5.4 lakh," he said.

He said that the social welfare pension amount has been increased by Rs 100 to touch Rs 1,300 every month.

One lakh houses and flats would be constructed in 2020-21, he added.

To generate additional resources, Issac has decided to increase the tax rate of motorcycles not exceeding value of Rs 2 lakh by one percent, and that on motor cars and private service vehicles for personal use not exceeding value of 15 lakh will be increased by two per cent.

Issac has increased the rates of taxes in land and also in stamp duty and expects to raise an additional Rs 700 crore.

Dismissing the budget as a routine exercise by Issac, leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala said the current government is best known for only announcements and less known for implementing the announced projects.

"Many of the announcements this time are carry overs from the previous year and Issac is known for this. To quote a few examples, right from 2006 he has been speaking of generating money from desilting of dams, but till date nothing has happened. Branding of Wayanad Coffee was also there last time, but no one has been fortunate to have that product till now. This is nothing but an eyewash and a blame game," Chennithala said.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Dr Roger Duncan, Medical Officer of Health, assured that as of Monday 3rd February, there were no cases of the Coronavirus in SVG.

There is no case of the Novel Coronavirus in St Vincent and the Grenadines, according to health authorities.





The Novel Coronavirus originated in China and has since spread to several countries across the globe, giving rise to the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, declaring the situation a global emergency.





At a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Health and the Environment on Monday afternoon, Dr Roger Duncan, Medical Officer of Health, stated: "We have no cases. Of course, the CMO (Dr Simone Keizer-Beache) did indicate as well as the Minister (Luke Browne) that the risk is extremely low for us.





According to authorities, the National Surveillance Committee has been broadened to include all counterparts involved in surveillance, particularly including immigration, customs and hotel and tourism industry.





Dr Duncan said the composition of the Surveillance Committee would reflect what that current public health threat is and to what authorities are attempting to respond. He said they have also improved surveillance at ports of entry, particularly at the Argyle International Airport and the Kingstown sea port where most of the traffic is.





"We know we have porous borders and there are many, many, many ports all over; and thats a significant challenge. Its something that were every day grappling with, and were trying to see how best we can respond.





"In terms of public health capacity, we dont have all the human resource that we think we might need, so there is need to work much more closer with our counterparts particularly with Customs and Immigration in building their capacity to be able to begin to detect that something might be wrong and therefore trigger what would be our response, Dr Duncan said.





Health officials were expected to meet with officers particularly in Customs, Immigration and tourism this week.





Dr Duncan said their staff at the airport include public health trained nurses and public health officers who are also trained in public health, and who are able to conduct secondary screening of passengers. He said that if anyone were to arrive "with what we think might be suspected communicable diseases  and I would like to remind us all that were in the middle of the sea season thats just about peaking; and every cough is not Coronavirus, neither is every fever."





"So, we have to bear that in mind, he said.
BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Although the ongoing epidemic is taking a toll on China's small and micro-enterprises, its influence on the overall financial system will be partial and short-lived, a senior banking official said here Friday.

Zhou Liang, vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), told a news briefing that China has ample resources to deal with the possible increase in the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of loans to small firms hit by the coronavirus epidemic.

Noting that small and micro-enterprises, especially those in the hard-hit regions like Hubei and sectors like hospitality and tourism, would take a blow from the epidemic, Zhou said their total bad loan volume will be broadly in line with that of the whole financial system.

In 2019, the NPL ratio of inclusive loans to small and micro-enterprises was 3.22 percent, down 1 percentage point from a year ago. Meanwhile, the provision coverage ratio in China's banking system is now over 180 percent, according to Zhou.

The CBIRC has also asked banks and insurance companies to aid small firms hit by the coronavirus epidemic, he said. Many banks have lowered lending rates for small and micro-enterprises in Hubei, while other banks have offered them special loans or exemption of overdue interest.

Financial support has also been extended to enterprises at the front line of the coronavirus battle such as manufacturers of medical supplies and disinfectants, as well as those dedicated to vaccine research, who will enjoy lending rate discounts and a special loan quota.

More than 210 billion yuan (about 30 billion U.S. dollars) of loans have so far gone into these fields, according to Zhou.

In the long term, Zhou said the epidemic would only be a temporary event, and its influence will pass quickly considering China's economic resilience and ability to absorb short-term impacts.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 15:22:46|Editor: xuxin

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NEW DELHI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- India's election commission officials on Friday said all arrangements and adequate security measures were put in place for the upcoming local elections scheduled to take place on Saturday in the capital city Delhi.

"All preparations are in place for tomorrow's assembly elections," a local government official associated with the conduct of polls said. "The election commission has made arrangements for special postal ballot facility."

The campaigning for elections ended on Thursday evening.

Officials said 672 candidates are in the election fray for the 70 seats and around 14.7 million voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the elections.

According to the state-run broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), 13,750 polling stations have been set up for the people to cast their votes.

Authorities have beefed up security apparatus across the city ahead of voting.

"Around 40,000 police personnel and several companies of paramilitary force have been deployed for security of poling premises. In addition, 19,000 home guards will assist in ensuring security for polling booths and premises," the broadcaster said.

The services of Delhi Metro will begin at 4:00 a.m. (local time) on Saturday to facilitate the polling personnel and others to reach their destination on time.

In the ongoing elections, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of the Delhi's National Capital Territory is seeking to regain power under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal, who is facing tough competition from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

The counting of votes will be taken up on Feb. 11.

During the city's previous elections held in 2015, AAP swept polls and registered a landslide victory by winning 67 of 70 seats. The BJP won just three, while as India's grand old Congress party failed to win a single seat.

The election commission has issued a notification restricting media from conducting or publishing any exit poll during local elections in Delhi on Saturday.
Officials said two officers tried to make a traffic stop, but the man in the vehicle fired a gun, striking one of the detectives. The officer was able to pull over and call for help. Another officer went after the vehicle for more than five miles along the Chesapeake Bay in the Pasadena and Riviera Beach areas, police officials said.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  A passenger plane with 172 people aboard made an emergency landing at a Russian military base in Syria on Thursday after drawing fire from Syrian air defenses in the aftermath of an Israeli airstrike in the area, Russian state news agencies reported on Friday.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Gen. Igor Konashenkov, blamed Israel for the near miss, accusing its military of habitually using civilian aircraft to cover its airstrikes and block Syrian air defenses from retaliating.

Israel has not acknowledged the airstrike, and its foreign ministry declined to comment on the Russian statement.

The passenger plane, an Airbus A320, was en route to Damascus from Tehran early Thursday when the encounter took place, Gen. Konashenkov said in a statement to Tass and other Russian news outlets. Gen. Konashenkov said the Syrian air defense forces were responding to Israeli fighter jets that had struck the outskirts of Damascus with missiles around the same time, just after 2 a.m.
US attorney general says the US should consider taking a controlling stake in Ericsson and Nokia.

United States Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday that the US and its allies should consider the highly unusual step of taking a controlling stake in Finlands Nokia and Swedens Ericsson to counter China-based Huaweis dominance in next-generation 5G wireless technology.

His statement underscores how far the US may be willing to go to counter Huawei Technologies Co. Barr disclosed in a speech at a conference on Chinese economic espionage that there had been proposals to meet those concerns by the United States aligning itself with Nokia and/or Ericsson.

Barr said the alignment could take place through American ownership of a controlling stake, either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies.

Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms would make it a far more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power, or their staying power, Barr said.

We and our closest allies certainly need to be actively considering this approach, he added at the event, which was hosted by Washingtons Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Both Nokia and Ericsson have a combined market capitalisation of about $50bn and it is not clear what source of funds the US government could potentially tap to take stakes in the firms or if foreign regulators would approve the move.

Ericsson declined to comment, while Nokia did not immediately comment. The companies shares edged higher in European trading after Barrs comments.

Last month, a group of six US senators introduced legislation to provide over $1bn to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers Huawei and ZTE and accelerate the development of open-architecture systems to allow for alternative vendors to enter the market for specific network components.

Barr said China had emerged as the top geopolitical adversary and added: China has stolen a march and is now leading in 5G  They have already captured 40 percent of the market and are now aggressively pursuing the balance.

US government investments in public companies are rare except in the case of bailouts to save ailing firms and jobs, and such investments in foreign companies are even rarer.

US officials have criticised Huawei for its close ties to the Chinese government, and they added the company to an economic blacklist last year, saying it was involved in activities contrary to US national security. The administration of US President Donald Trump has pressed nations not to grant Huawei access to 5G networks and alleged Huaweis equipment could be used by Beijing for spying, which the Chinese company has repeatedly denied.

Trump signed an executive order last year barring US companies from using telecommunications equipment made by companies posing a national security risk.

FBI Investigating 1,000 Chinese firms

At the same CSIS event, Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray said Beijing was seeking to steal US technology by any means necessary.

He said the bureau currently had about 1,000 open investigations of Chinese technology theft across its 56 regional offices, while FBI counterintelligence chief John Brown said it had arrested 24 people last year in China-related cases and another 19 already in 2020.

Wray said the investigations spanned just about every industry sector and the threat needed to be addressed through action across the whole US government.

China was aggressively exploiting US academic openness to steal technology, using campus proxies and establishing institutes on our campuses, Wray added.

William Evanina, director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Center, said that among Chinas priorities was stealing US aircraft and electric vehicle technology.

In advance of Thursdays event, Evanina estimated the theft of US trade secrets by China costs the US anywhere from $300bn to $600bn a year.

The comments from the top law enforcement officials reflect an aggressively stepped-up campaign by the Trump administration to counter Chinese espionage operations.

This has snared a growing group of Chinese government officials, business people and academics. The campaign has included charges against a leading US academic at one of the top US universities. Last month, prosecutors charged Charles Lieber, chair of Harvard Universitys Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, with lying about participating in Chinas Thousand Talents Plan, which aims to attract research specialists working overseas.

The Chinese embassy in Washington earlier rejected the US allegations as entirely baseless.

People-to-people exchange between China and the US is conducive to stronger understanding between the two peoples and serves the fundamental interests of our two countries, it said.
Security forces have seized a large cache of sophisticated firearms, ammunition and explosives from a Maoist hideout in Odisha's Malkangiri district, a senior police officer said on Friday.

During a recent joint operation by Odisha Police, BSF, CRPF, and Andhra Pradesh Greyhounds, the security forces have seized an INSAS light machine gun, three INSAS rifles and as many carbine sten guns, an SLR, a .303 rifle and a pistol, ammunition, explosives, combat gears and documents, he said.

"This was the biggest arms haul in the state which was made in Swabhiman region of Malkangiri district," Odisha DGP Abhay told reporters in Bhubaneswar.

He said after an exchange of fire with Maoists at Goiguda village on January 15, security forces had received information about the hidden arms and ammunition.

The cache of weapons was dumped in a forest area by Maoists for future use and was unearthed during the area domination exercise by the security forces, Abhay said.

It is suspected that the arms and ammunition might have been looted from police in the past, he said.

"We suspect that the arms and ammunition were hidden by Maoists of the Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee (ABSZC). Combing and area domination exercises have been intensified in the region to recover more such Maoist dens, if any," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Last week, MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa travelled to South Africa to press President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene in what the opposition describes as "the Zimbabwe crisis."

The so-called regional diplomatic offensive was triggered by President Ramaphosa's imminent assumption of the African Union (AU) chairmanship this month.

Not much was reported by the media in terms of the Chamisa-Ramaphosa supposed meeting.

All the attention drifted to the interviews Chamisa granted to three South African television stations --SABC, Newzroom Africa and the eNews Channel Africa (eNCA) -- where he acquitted himself very dismally.

His bid to cast President Mnangagwa as the impediment in a bid to bring together political players to foster unity and put the nation in a position to face its various challenges as one people backfired spectacularly.

The politician ended up making a fool of himself before the world due to the way he responded to some of the questions posed to him.

First and foremost, many Zimbabweans were surprised that instead of joining other political leaders in the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) and engage the President with other opposition figures, Chamisa flew to South Africa to exert pressure on President Ramaphosa.

It was hypocritical of Chamisa to travel to South Africa to seek solutions to challenges at home from a neighbour.

No hypocrisy surpasses that of a family member who travels to a neighbour's compound seeking intervention and mediation in a family problem involving a brother who he is not recognising as his blood relative.

Is it any wonder then that President Ramaphosa was not reported in the media as having entertained him?

This is because the region has been baby-sitting Zimbabwe for over a decade now and the first post-Mugabe poll ushered in a golden opportunity for Zimbabweans and the region to move on, which no one would want to miss.

Chamisa seems not to have an appreciation of the direction that Zimbabwean, the regional and continental politics are taking.

Childish political tantrums no longer have any place in today's regional politics, President Ramaphosa demonstrated.

Sackur moments

During his interview with Newzroom Africa's J.J Tabane, many people were reminded of Chamisa's humiliating and embarrassing experiences at the hands of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) HardTalk programme presenter, Stephen Sackur in May 2018 as it became evident that the opposition leader was out of his depth.

He must have come face-to-face with the reality that his "mbovha yomufaro (moments of joy) political comedy which elicits frenzied applause from his followers at his rallies simply does not cut it in such serious interviews. Nothing was more embarrassing as the moment he was asked whether or not he had ever phoned President Mnangagwa since the July 30, 2018 elections.

Chamisa said: "I've never tried to call him. It's very difficult to find someone who cannot be found".

Surely, which neighbouring president would entertain an opposition leader who is flatly refusing to speak to his own President? He can't have his cake and eat it too.

Any outsider would ask Chamisa what he was seeking to achieve by visiting South Africa if it is not out of spite, anger and vengefulness whilst wilfully avoiding engaging President Mnangagwa if he had any issues.

Who would take Chamisa seriously when he confessed that he had not attempted to phone President Mnangagwa, yet he hollowly and shamelessly claimed that, "we'll not shun opportunities of dialogue" in the same interview?

Hoist by own petard

It is clear that Chamisa has himself to blame. Nearly one-and-a-half years later, he is still bitterly tethered to the election which Zimbabweans and the world have already put behind them as they face the beckoning 2023.

It is as interesting as it is funny that he travelled hundreds of kilometres to South Africa to seek assistance from that country's President when President Mnangagwa stays in Harare where he also stays.

Chamisa's bane and undoing is his refusal to recognise President Mnangagwa as the winner of the 2018 presidential election and the President of Zimbabwe.

His dogged insistence that "we now have two (election) results in Zimbabwe: people's results and constitutional court-validated results," and that President Mnangagwa's rule and tenure is illegitimate is the reason why Chamisa is increasingly cutting a lone figure in the country and in the region.

He is coming eyeball-to-eyeball with the reality of his political irrelevance.

This is the reason why he is now clutching onto meaningless initiatives such as the so-called "five fights."

When all is said and done, the question that then arises is that if President Mnangagwa was illegitimate as Chamisa insists, why would he fly to neighbouring countries to seek assistance to speak to someone he does not recognise?

President Mnangagwa has made it clear that all engagement with opposition political players would be done through the POLAD platform which Chamisa despised as a grouping of Zanu PF surrogates and described as "Mr Mnangagwa's choir".

From the foregoing, it is evident that Chamisa's impediment to dialogue with President Mnangagwa is no one except himself.

He considers himself a special species of an opposition leader meriting special treatment.

During one of the interviews, he dishonestly told the SABC's Leanne Mannas that he was saddened that nearly two years after the poll, he was not able to speak with President Mnangagwa.

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For as long as he remains full of not only himself, but also baseless bitterness he risks getting to 2023 way less relevant to the local political landscape than he was in 2018.

Abusing South Africa

Chamisa had and still has the choice and opportunity to recognise President Mnangagwa and join POLAD, but he is misleading himself by thinking that he can use South Africa to force the President to a negotiating table without recognising him.

He mistakenly thinks he can sidestep POLAD using former South African President Thabo Mbeki as a stepping stone by threatening that "a burning Zimbabwe will result in the setting ablaze of the entire region."

It is gratifying to note that the South African government has refused to pander to Chamisa's whims. In any case, the Mbeki initiative which he is now pinning his hopes on was never his brainchild.

Given that the region, the continent and the world have recognised President Mnangagwa's electoral victory and administration, Chamisa's political fortunes will continue to wane as he battles irrelevance born out of big-headedness.

This will cause and build frustration in him which will express itself in a propensity for violent protests in the name of forcing Government to attend to the prevailing socio-economic challenges.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan boasts about being the leader who goes most frequently to Africa, but his outreach to African countries might backfire as he keeps maligning Europes colonial past and pursues a controversial strategy in Libya.

On Jan. 27, Gambia became the 28th African country Erdogan has visited. Erdogan's trip to war-torn Somalia in 2011 was the most publicized as he became the first non-African leader to visit Mogadishu in two decades. His most controversial visit, however, was to Sudan in late 2017. Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, who would soon be overthrown, agreed to lease Suakin Island to Turkey, animating Erdogans Ottoman dreams. Claims that Turkey would build a military base on the island, once an Ottoman port, after restoring its historical sites infuriated other Red Sea countries who saw the move as the return of colonialists.

Turkeys outreach to Africa, which began in 1998 and intensified after Erdogans Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002, was initially free of controversy, focusing on trade, investments and humanitarian aid. But once Turkey began to add the military dimension in, it caused eyebrows to raise. The military base Turkey opened in Somalia in 2017 to train local soldiers and the ensuing Suakin controversy aside, Turkeys intervention in Libyas civil war could prove to be an engagement that alters Ankara's narrative on opening to Africa.

Since 2005, which was an Africa year for Ankara, Erdogan has argued that the Ottomans left a proud legacy on the continent and that Turkey was never a colonial power eyeing Africas resources, while pointing to the Wests colonialist past and maligning particularly the record of France.

With Turkey already at odds with France over its close ties with Syrian Kurdish leaders, the Libyan issue has grown into a flat-out faceoff between the two sides. Ankara backs the Islamist-controlled Government of National Accord in Tripoli, while Paris bets on Khalifa Hifter, the commander of the Libyan National Army. The rift grew wider at last months Libya conference in Berlin, where French President Emmanuel Macron brought up Turkeys transfer of jihadis from Syria to Libya. Macron followed up with accusations that Erdogan was breaking promises made in Berlin by sending ships carrying mercenaries to Libya. He slammed Turkey's actions as an attack on the sovereignty of Libya and an attack on the security of all Europeans and inhabitants of the Sahel.

Erdogan showed he would not refrain from escalating the row with France during his African tour Jan. 26-28, which took him also to Algeria and Senegal. Speaking to journalists accompanying him on the trip, Erdogan said Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told him the French had massacred more than 5 million Algerians over 130 years. I told him, Id be very glad if you could send me documents about that.  I didnt imagine the number was that big, he said. In fact, Erdogan had already mentioned that number. Responding to French criticism of Turkeys military campaign in Syria in April 2018, he charged, Didnt you massacre 5 million people in Algeria? Answer for that first!

If passionate comments in the Turkish media are to be trusted, France is in a panic for losing Africa to Turkey. According to the outlook they depict, indignation is growing over Frances military presence in Africa, with France suffering setbacks in trade and investments. The comments also highlight that the CFA franc system in former French colonies, which requires them to hold at least half of their foreign-exchange reserves in the French treasury, is coming to an end. And with Turkeys active Africa opening supposedly coming out on top, France is going into anger fits.

But is Turkeys Africa strategy really hindering France?

True, France has lost economic ground to China and India, which have stormed into Africa in recent years, as well as to Spain, which stands out among Western powers trying to counter the Chinese and Indian thrusts, and even to Britain, another former colonial power. In 2017, the French share of exports to the African market fell to 5.5% from 11% in 2000, while that of China increased to 18% from 3% in the same period.

Still, one could hardly argue that a French decline is underway in Africa due to Turkish strides.

Frances exports to Africa were worth $28 billion in 2018. Among European nations, Germany was the second biggest exporter to Africa with $25.4 billion, followed by Spain with $21 billion and Italy with $19.9 billion. French imports from Africa, meanwhile, amounted to $27.5 billion. In sum, Frances trade volume with the continent totaled $55.5 billion.

During his Africa tour, Erdogan said Turkeys trade volume with Africa had reached $26 billion, increasing 381% over the past 17 years, with Turkish exports accounting for $16 billion. The target is to reach $50 billion in mutual trade, he said, reiterating the figure he had mentioned in Gabon in 2015.

However, the Turkish Statistical Institute measures trade differently than Erdogan. The institute said Turkeys trade with African countries was nearly $21.5 billion in 2019, with $15.8 billion in exports and $5.6 in imports. The figure stood at $21.4 billion in 2018, with Turkeys exports and imports standing at $14.4 billion and $7 billion respectively.

In terms of Turkish investments in Africa, the numbers are rather modest  and it is investments that often determine the depth of relations.

Turkeys net investment stock in [the continent] has reached $2 billion. The market value of those investments has exceeded $6 billion, Erdogan said Jan. 26. Earlier, the coordinator of Turkish-African business councils, Tamer Taskin, had put direct Turkish investments at $6.2 billion in 2017, up from $100 million in 2003.

Frances direct investments, meanwhile, stood at $34 billion in the 2014-2018 period, while China was the biggest investor with $72 billion. Trailing behind were the United States with $31 billion, the United Arab Emirates with $25 billion and Britain with $17 billion.

Erdogan eyes the Turkish defense industry as an important realm to boost exports, in addition to the construction sector. During his Africa tour, he kept up efforts to market Turkish-made drones, warships, helicopters, tanks, armored vehicles missiles, rifles, howitzers and training aircraft.

Turkeys efforts vis-a-vis Africa extend beyond trade. The number of Turkish embassies in the continent has reached 42, up from 12 in 2002, while the number of African embassies in Ankara has increased to 36 from 10. In the past five years, 15 new bilateral business councils have been set up, bringing the total number to 45. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, a government body involved in development work, has opened 22 offices across the continent. Turkish Airlines flies to 58 destinations in 38 African countries. Some 4,500 African students have received scholarships to study in Turkey.

Yet Ankaras political posture appears to be increasingly marring this momentum. First and foremost, Turkey has viewed Islamist channels as the most easily accessible means of influence. Entities affiliated with Islamist communities have been the main pillar of Ankaras soft-power strategy for years. In Sudan, for instance, the fellowship with the Bashir regime relied on Islamist affinities; once Bashir was toppled, the relationship networks stumbled, lacking strong institutional foundations.

This counterproductive strategy is now being repeated in Libya, where Ankara has thrown its weight behind the Islamist forces. The transfer of jihadis from Syria has taken things to a whole new level. Turkeys policy is rekindling sensitivities stemming from the Islamist insurgencies that North Africa and the Sahel region have suffered for years. And this is the biggest trump card that France could be given.

With permanent military bases in Djibouti, Gabon, Ivory Coast and Senegal, France retains its intervention ability in French Africa as part of what it describes as fighting terrorism. The French military activity, which began with Operation Serval in Mali in January 2013, has expanded to Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger since Operation Barkhane kicked off in August 2014. No wonder the French are now calling out Turkeys jihadi-nourishing policy.

At first glance, drawing on Africas dilemmas stemming from its colonial history may look like a smart tactic to open room for Turkey in its outreach to the continent. Yet keeping the emphasis on Europes colonialist past could ultimately turn into a trap and snag Turkeys efforts. After all, not everyone remembers the Ottoman legacy as being as immaculate as Erdogan does.

Back in 2011, amid a row over a French bill that would make it a crime to deny that Armenians suffered genocide under the Ottoman Empire, Erdogan lashed out at then-President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying, What the French did in Algeria was a genocide. If Sarkozy is not aware of this genocide, he can go and ask his father Pal Sarkozy, who served in the French legion [in Algeria] in the 1940s. Erdogans outburst provoked a rebuke from Algerias then-premier, who said, Nobody has the right to make the blood of Algerians their business and urged Ankara to stop making capital out of Algerias colonization.

Erdogans latest reference to Algeria drew a similar response. An Algerian Foreign Ministry statement said Algeria was astonished by Erdogans remarks. The words attributed to Tebboune were lifted out of their context, it said, stressing that Erdogans statements do not serve the efforts deployed by Algeria and France to resolve the questions related to past legacies.

Asharq al-Awsat, meanwhile, quoted an Algerian activist as saying that Algeria could ask European countries for archives on the Ottoman plunders here, which he described as crimes no lighter than Frances colonial crimes.

Ankaras rhetoric of reviving its Ottoman legacy has been stirring similar sentiments. Its effort to add military dimensions to ties is only increasing the aversion.
TUCSON, Ariz. - Construction crews in southern Arizona have started blasting hills at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to clear space for a new border wall system.

Crews are bulldozing through Monument Hill to construct a 30-foot (9-meter) steel wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, the Arizona Daily Star reported.

The wall is part of a 43-mile (69-kilometre) project on national monument land about 115 miles (185 kilometres) west of Tucson, officials said.

Organ Pipe was designated as an International Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations and is part of the national parks system, officials said.

The construction contractor has begun controlled blasting, in preparation for new border wall system construction, within the Roosevelt Reservation at Monument Mountain, Customs and Border Protection said. The controlled blasting is targeted and will continue intermittently for the rest of the month.

Environmental advocates, elected officials and Tohono Oodham Nation leaders have raised concerns about the project, including the destruction of saguaros, the use of water from an underground aquifer, the potential impact on migrating animals and the destruction of land consider scared by some Native Americans.

Tribal elders told Democratic U.S. Rep Raul Grijalva that bodies were buried on the hill after Apache raids.

DHS has consistently failed in its legal obligation to consult with the tribes, and this is only the latest example, Grijalva said.

The Army Corps of Engineers reported that the Department of Defence awarded $891 million in contracts to Southwest Valley Constructors in May to build the border wall on Organ Pipe and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
We, at Adgully, have always saluted and honoured women managers and leaders across diverse fields. Women Disruptors is Adgullys special initiative to bring to the fore some remarkable women achievers in M&E, Advertising, Marketing, Communications industries, how they think, how they manage things, how they lead from the front and much more.

Also read:

Why being comfortable with discomfort matters to Babita Baruah

Featured this week is Lulu Raghavan, Managing Director, Landor Mumbai. Lulu has been at Landor for 19 years. She has worked at Landors San Francisco, New York and London offices in various roles, including naming manager, brand strategist, corporate strategist and client director before setting up Landor in Mumbai and then heading the business. Lulu spearheaded Landors entry into the Sri Lankan market, where the company has been operating through a partnership for over five years now.

She was on the Cannes Lions Design Jury and the Young Lions Design Jury at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in 2018. She passionately evangelises the power of design and brands to create commercial value and social impact. Most recently, Lulu was conferred with the AACSB 2020 Influential Leader Award, chosen as the only Indian from 850+ AACSB accredited schools across 56 countries.

How do you inspire and motivate your employees as a leader?



Lead by example. Whatever you want your employees to do, you must do yourself. There is no faster or more authentic way to inspire and motivate. This is exactly how kids learn as well by watching their parents.

Some important and valuable tips to become a winning leader?



I have five Es which I try to keep front and centre:

Empathy: Always putting myself in the shoes of my team members. How will they view this situation? What will they feel?

Always putting myself in the shoes of my team members. How will they view this situation? What will they feel? EQ: Emotional Intelligence: A heightened sensitivity to the feelings of everyone on the team so you can give a pat on the back, be a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on or boost esteem as needed. Always monitoring the collective mood of the team and keeping it positive and productive.

A heightened sensitivity to the feelings of everyone on the team so you can give a pat on the back, be a sounding board, a shoulder to cry on or boost esteem as needed. Always monitoring the collective mood of the team and keeping it positive and productive. Energy: Bring lots of energy and passion to the role as your energy as a leader transmits right through the entire organisation.

Bring lots of energy and passion to the role as your energy as a leader transmits right through the entire organisation. Equitable: Be fair and impartial. Not letting biases get in the way of decision making. Have the guts to make the unpopular calls as well. Always being clear on the fairness of your decisions.

Be fair and impartial. Not letting biases get in the way of decision making. Have the guts to make the unpopular calls as well. Always being clear on the fairness of your decisions. Execution: A bias for action. Great leaders inspire their teams to get things done. Every day. This is assuming the vision and strategy are in place, of course.

Role model that you can associate as a great leader to follow.

Its hard to point to leaders from other organisations, because it is only when you have worked under a leader or in close quarters do you know the true picture. My role model would be a leader who embodies all the five traits of empathy, EQ, energy, equitable and execution.

Your secret to nurture and train your people to be a leader in the future?



Nothing surpasses the time tested tradition of the Gurukul philosophy  master and apprentice. I strongly believe that this is the only way (albeit not a super scalable one!) to fully develop expertise, management and leadership. One of my ex-bosses at Landor, Bengt Eriksson, was a great believer in this school of thought, especially in our industry, which is professional services and consultancy. As a leader, you must spend a lot of time with your people, get to know them as human beings, allow them to watch you in action in a variety of situations, give them opportunities to learn by doing and provide feedback and course correction as required. You believe in them and when it is time you shine the light on them and you recede to the background, always there for support and guidance.

Fighting a crisis situation - how do you go about?



Take a deep breath. Everyone involved should close their eyes and count to ten. After a two-minute silence during which you have hopefully settled down your racing mind and slowed down your heartbeat, start by calmly listening to understand all the facts. Its really important to listen and understand without any judgement or jumping into solution mode. Interrogate, verify, fully understand the facts. Reflect on the facts and either make a decision on the spot or agree to come back to it after further thought within a specific timeframe, depending on the urgency of the situation. If you have made a mistake, it is critical to admit the mistake, apologise profusely, find a way to make up for the mistake and then rectify processes to ensure it does not happen again. Like the Mandarin letter for crisis, which is the same as the letter for opportunity, every crisis should be viewed as an opportunity for growth and progress.
A court here on Friday sentenced a security officer to death for murdering in 2018 the wife and son of a judge to whom he was assigned.

Wife of additional sessions judge (ASJ) Krishan Kant, Ritu (38) and his son Dhruv (18) were shot by Mahipal Singh on October 13, 2018 outside Arcadia shopping complex in Sector 49 here.

The death penalty was awarded by ASJ Sudhir Parmar of the Gurgaon district court.

While announcing the quantum of punishment, the judge termed Singh's act of gunning down ASJ Kant's wife and son in broad daylight as "rarest of rare case".

As a government servant, he was responsible to protect them. Instead, he breached their trust and gunned them down, the judge noted as Singh, who was present in the courtroom, maintained a stoic silence and kept his head bowed.

The court had held Singh guilty on Thursday and reserved the quantum of punishment for Friday.

Earlier, prosecution lawyer Vishal Gupta sought capital punishment for Singh as he referred to the assassination of former prime minister Indira Gandhi who was shot dead by her two security guards -- Beant Singh and Satwant Singh.

The duo along with co-conspirator Kehar Singh was also awarded death sentence by the court of law, Gupta said.

Meanwhile, defence lawyer P S Sharma, urged the court to be lenient as Singh was the only bread earner of his family consisting of elderly parents, wife and two minor daughters.

The court, however, turned down his argument.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


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DETROIT -- Two weeks ago, I said the Detroit Tigers would definitely sign an outfielder, even after general manager Al Avila expressed ambivalence about the idea.

But it hasnt happened yet, and if the Tigers plan to add someone, theyre taking it down to the wire.

Domingo Santana is the latest outfielder off the board. The 27-year-old, who was non-tendered by the Seattle Mariners after the 2019 season, is reportedly close to signing an ultra-cheap big-league deal with the Cleveland Indians.

The lack of interest in Santana across the league is perplexing. Yes, his defense is atrocious, but hes still young and has posted a 113 OPS+ over the last four seasons.

Other potential candidates have also fallen off the board: Ex-Tiger Matt Joyce signed with the Miami Marlins for just $1.5 million; Steven Souza went to the Chicago Cubs for $1 million plus incentives; Hunter Pence signed a deal with the San Francisco Giants.

Whos left? There are a handful of candidates, but only two that make much sense for the Tigers.

Kevin Pillar, the ex-Blue Jay who spent most of 2019 with the San Francisco Giants. He was once an elite center field but could still probably serve as a useful fourth outfielder.

Cameron Maybin can play all three outfield spots and would be a nice platoon bat with Christin Stewart in left.

Pillar is probably still seeking a Major League deal. Maybin, who turns 33 in April, is more likely to have to settle for a minor-league deal with an invite.

There is, of course, a third candidate still out there.

Yasiel Puig is the last remaining upper-tier outfielder still on the market, perhaps the last remaining upper-tier player at any position still unsigned.

Is it possible that the zany hijinks that endeared him to fans are not as popular with MLB front offices? Is it possible that teams are willing to endure silliness from star players but not average ones? (Puig had a 100 OPS+ in 2019).

Perhaps Puig will yet sign a big contract. But with just days until the start of spring training, its not looking good.

Avila said Puig wasnt on the Tigers radar when he was asked earlier in this month. But maybe a massive price drop would make the Tigers take another look?

If the Tigers stand pat, get ready for an outfield of JaCoby Jones, Christin Stewart and Victor Reyes, with players like Travis Demeritte, Jorge Bonifacio, Brandon Dixon, Harold Castro and Troy Stokes competing for the last one or two bench spots. MLives first roster projection of the spring will hit the website later today.

FURTHER READING

Can Tigers JaCoby Jones put it all together in 2020?

As top prospects get closer, Tigers say they wont play games with service time

Homecoming for newest Tiger, who grew up as loyal fan

Tigers Michael Fulmer savors time as new dad while on injured list

With Ivan Nova signed, is Tigers 2020 rotation set?

Justin Verlander was a vocal foe of sign-stealing. Then he became an Astro.

Tigers Al Avila says its his job to listen, even to critics: Ive got to have a pulse

Tigers calendar 2020: Important dates, games, events

Lou Whitakers path to the Hall is still alive despite vote

Tigers rebuild entering new phase, GM says

'We document everything: Tigers GM on new data-driven player development system
We can readily understand why investors are attracted to unprofitable companies. 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 the harsh reality is that very many loss making companies burn through all their cash and go bankrupt.

Given this risk, we thought we'd take a look at whether Alvopetro Energy (CVE:ALV) shareholders should 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. We'll start by comparing its cash burn with its cash reserves in order to calculate its cash runway.

View our latest analysis for Alvopetro Energy

When Might Alvopetro Energy Run Out Of Money?

A cash runway is defined as the length of time it would take a company to run out of money if it kept spending at its current rate of cash burn. As at September 2019, Alvopetro Energy had cash of US$1.4m and no debt. In the last year, its cash burn was US$8.3m. Therefore, from September 2019 it had roughly 2 months of cash runway. Importantly, analysts think that Alvopetro Energy will reach cashflow breakeven in around 7 months. That means it doesn't have a great deal of breathing room, but it shouldn't really need more cash, considering that cash burn should be continually reducing. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.

TSXV:ALV Historical Debt, February 7th 2020

How Is Alvopetro Energy's Cash Burn Changing Over Time?

Whilst it's great to see that Alvopetro Energy has already begun generating revenue from operations, last year it only produced US$203k, so we don't think it is generating significant revenue, at this point. As a result, we think it's a bit early to focus on the revenue growth, so we'll limit ourselves to looking at how the cash burn is changing over time. Over the last year its cash burn actually increased by 34%, which suggests that management are increasing investment in future growth, but not too quickly. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but investors should be mindful of the fact that will shorten the cash runway. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.

Story continues

Can Alvopetro Energy Raise More Cash Easily?

Given its cash burn trajectory, Alvopetro Energy shareholders should already be thinking about how easy it might be for it to raise further 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. By comparing a company's annual cash burn to its total market capitalisation, we can estimate roughly how many shares it would have to issue in order to run the company for another year (at the same burn rate).

Since it has a market capitalisation of US$46m, Alvopetro Energy's US$8.3m in cash burn equates to about 18% of its market value. As a result, we'd venture that the company could raise more cash for growth without much trouble, albeit at the cost of some dilution.

So, Should We Worry About Alvopetro Energy's Cash Burn?

On this analysis of Alvopetro Energy's cash burn, we think its cash burn relative to its market cap was reassuring, while its cash runway has us a bit worried. It's clearly very positive to see that analysts are forecasting the company will break even fairly soon. We don't think its cash burn is particularly problematic, but after considering the range of factors in this article, we do think shareholders should be monitoring how it changes over time. 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 Alvopetro Energy's CEO gets paid each year.

Of course Alvopetro Energy may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of companies boasting high return on equity, or this list of stocks that insiders are buying.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
THE WANDERING HEARTS



Wild Silence (Decca)





Theres an appealing rawness to this debut. A male-female quartet with a folk-rock penchant, their harmonies will elicit comparisons with Fleetwood Mac, but the acoustic instrumentation looks more to country, with Fire And Water a lively hoedown and Burning Bridges a nostalgic ballad.


The ex-girlfriend of Fotis Dulos has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with him in connection with the murder of his estranged wife in Connecticut.

Michelle Troconis, 45, denied the charges against her in state court in Stamford  her first appearance since Dulos killed himself last week.

Video shows Troconis being ushered out of the court by her attorney Jon Schoenhorn.

'She is innocent of the charges, and we will fight them in court,' Schoenhorn said as he stood beside her.

Troconis was living with Fotis when Jennifer vanished last May. The pair were initially charged with evidence tampering before Fotis was charged with murdering Jennifer and Troconis with conspiracy to commit murder in January.

Fotis attempted to take his own life by gassing himself with carbon monoxide in his garage while on bail. He died two days later in hospital on January 30.

Scroll down for video

Michelle Troconis has denied conspiring with Fotis Dulos in the murder of his wife Jennifer, who vanished in May

The 45-year-old ex-girlfriend of Fotis appeared in state court in Stanford in her first appearance since Fotis killed himself last week

Jennifer, 50, disappeared after taking her and Fotis' five children to school. Her body has never been found but police say there was evidence of pools of Jennifer's blood in her garage in New Canaan that someone had tried to clean up.

The estranged couple were going through a contentious divorce and a child custody battle.

Police accused Fotis of attacking his wife in the garage of her home before driving off with her body.

Troconis has not spoken publicly since her arrest. In unsealed police records, however, detectives described how she first stood by Fotis then changed her story to admit lying for him.

Troconis and attorney Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis, were both charged with murder conspiracy and are accused of helping to cover up the killing.

Troconis enters court in Connecticut, where she is accused of helping her former boyfriend to cover up the killing

Police say Troconis and Fotis were recorded on surveillance cameras when he threw out trash bags in Hartford on the same day Jennifer disappeared.

The bags contained clothing, zip ties and other items that tested positive for Jennifer's DNA, cops said.

Troconis repeatedly gave conflicting information to investigators in interviews, cops say. She is accused of lying about seeing Fotis on the morning Jennifer was last seen.

Schoenhorn recently indicated he may challenge the admissibility of those interviews because there may have been a language barrier. Troconis' first language is Spanish. For the first time in court today, a Spanish interpreter was provided to her.

Prosecutor Richard Colangelo Jr. said that he was investigating whether Troconis had violated a court order by contacting Fotis through third parties before his death.

Troconis is scheduled to appear in court again on March 20.

Troconis' not-guilty plea comes after Fotis' legal team was reported to be gearing up for a battle against the Jennifer's mother over control of his assets.

Police were called after a moving van was spotted at Dulos house and his family was accused of trying to take furniture. Dulos' legal team is reported to be gearing up for a battle against the Jennifer's mother over control of his assets

Fotis attorney Norm Pattis and Gloria Farber, 50, are both in the process of filing probate estates. Farber is filing the probate as she is one of Fotis' closest living relatives and she has been taking care of the couple's children since Jennifer disappeared on May 24, the Hartford Courant reports. Fotis is not thought to have left a will naming an executor or a beneficiary.

Police were called after a moving van was spotted at Fotis' home after his family was accused of taking furniture, the New Haven Register reported. Farber's attorney Richard Weinstein has asked a judge to prohibit anyone from taking the Fotis' personal belongings from the house until an administrator is named.
- Wontumi has strongly defended himself against critics who were on his neck over claims that he was involved in illegal mining

- According to him, he was into large-scale licensed mining which earned him a lot

- The Ashanti Regional chairman said he made over $1m daily from his mining work

Ashanti Regional chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, aka Chairman Wontumi, has strongly defended himself against critics who were on his neck over claims that he was involved in illegal mining.

According to him, he has benefitted a lot from large-scale licensed mining and even had a company that happened to be the only Ghanaian company that was competing with the big companies in mining which earned him 1 million dollars daily.

... at that time, I was making 1 million dollars a day from mining," Wontumi said.

The Ashanti Regional chairman made this revelation on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana show yesterday, February 6, 2019.

READ ALSO: Ghana has to be careful of excessive borrowing - World Bank warns

A visibly surprised Paul Adom-Otchere asked again to confirm if what he heard was really correct.

Wontumi, however, responded in affirmation and asked the show's host to go to PMMC to check the records to confirm what he said.

He added that in 2013, he had a call that he was being called by Mahama concerning his mining business, which was believed to be illegal.

According to him, the riches he made as a young miner and how he was able to accrue all that wealth at such a young age was quite a mystery to Mahama.

"I have a legitimate license that has been signed for me to operate... as at that time, President Mahama was surprised and looked at me and said, gentleman, you are too smart," he added.

According to Chairman Wontumi, after this meeting with then-President Mahama, at the Northern regional minister's residence, Mahama asked him to come and join the NDC.

Wontumi, however, stated on live television that, he declined the offer of the president because to him, politics is a religion and has an attachment to his political party.

READ ASLO: Missing excavators: We have started retrieving them - Operation Vanguard taskforce

In other news, Country Director of World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte has expressed worry at the rate at which the government of Ghana is borrowing to stay afloat.

He said the country risks being classified as a high debt distress country if the situation of excessive borrowing is not curbed.

His genuine concern comes a day after the government successfully raised US$3 billion Eurobond which was five times oversubscribed.

Speaking to the media after a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, he said the government must be cautious of the amount of being borrowed.

READ ALSO: Pokuase interchange: Government releases GHC10m to compensate property owners

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

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In March, in Budapest, the session of the bilateral intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian commission will take place

Open source

Ukraine and Hungary will participate in the session of the bilateral intergovernmental commission in Budapest. During the meeting, the sides plan to discuss the creation of a checkpoint at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border as Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated during a briefing with Vice Premier on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba.

In March, in Budapest, we will hold a bilateral session of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation. We would like to achieve success at these talks in March and agree on the construction of at least one checkpoint at the border, Szijjarto said.

Hungarian Foreign Ministry added that soon the direct train would be launched between Budapest and Zaporizhia and it would unite five cities.

Earlier, the holding of the intergovernmental commission was announced. Szijjarto stated that Hungary wants to achieve the development in agriculture and healthcare spheres and continue the provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and improvement of the economy of Zakarpattia. Hungarian foreign minister states that the successful session of the commission will open the way for the meeting of PM of Hungary Viktor Orban and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Besides, Hungarys Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto believes that Ukraine should not increase the number of Ukrainian subjects taught in Hungarian schools. That is why Hungary asks Ukraine to amend the new law on secondary education.
Brandon Wilson, center, enters Gloucester County Superior Court before his sentencing hearing on Friday. At right is his defense attorney, David Snyder. Read more

A South Jersey man who beat a house sitter to death in his former childhood home was sentenced Friday to 54 years in prison.

Brandon Wilson, 21, had lived as a foster child in the Woodbury home he broke into in September 2017, intending to commit a burglary, prosecutors said. Once there, he encountered Shawneeq Carter, 26, and fatally bludgeoned her with a metal bar from a weight bench.

Carters body was found by her 5-year-old son and the boys 5-year-old cousin in the home on Hopkins Street, where Carter was house-sitting for a friend and where the two boys had been asleep at the time of the attack.

This was an especially cruel and heinous crime, Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson said before sentencing Wilson to 50 years on a first-degree murder conviction and four years for receiving stolen property.

Not only did Wilson beat Carter throughout her body with the gym equipment, the judge said, but he also stabbed her with a knife  inflicting injuries over and above what was needed to kill her.

Wilson, of Paulsboro, wearing an orange prison shirt and pants, with his hands cuffed in front, declined to comment. During the hearing he showed no emotion, at times yawned, and swiveled in his chair.

His attorney, David Snyder, said Wilson maintains his innocence and was advised not to comment because of a possible appeal. Snyder sought a 33-year prison sentence, three years above the mandatory minimum for the murder conviction.

Wilson was convicted of murder, weapons charges, and related offenses in December after a three-week jury trial.

Assistant Prosecutor Bryant Flowers said in court Friday that Carters injuries included a laceration to her brain. That means he [Wilson] got through her skull with this beating. I think its very clear from the evidence that she was alive and fighting him, said the prosecutor, who asked for a sentence of life in prison.

Carters relatives, including her father, Sean, were in the courtroom.

Sean Carter told the judge that his daughters son, Aidyn Heath, now 7, asks numerous questions about his mother, including whether she will recognize him in the afterlife. I explain to him that it doesnt matter if youre 7 or 70. The day your mother sees you, shell know who you are, he said.

Carter also said that although he was raised in Camdens housing projects, he took pains to make sure his daughter was not raised there. He told reporters afterward that she grew up in Pennsauken, and that although she was living in Camden at the time of her death, she had only lived there about six months.

Shawneeq Carters body was found by authorities two days after the killing.

The victims father had previously told reporters that his young grandson and the boys cousin initially didnt know what to do when they saw her body the next morning and apparently waited another day before leaving the house to seek help.

Wilson had lived at the Woodbury home in 2015 for less than a year as a foster child and had been arrested there for trespassing in August 2016, prosecutors have said.

Snyder, the defense attorney, said his client had a history of substance abuse, and although he had convictions on charges for theft, commercial burglaries, and drug cases, he had no history of violent offenses.

Wilson, who had been jailed in Bucks County for failing to appear in court on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession, was released the day before the murder. Authorities say he stole a car near the jail and used it to drive to Woodbury and commit the crime.

Wilson will be able to apply for parole eligibility after serving 85 percent of the 50 years on his murder conviction, the judge said Friday.

His parents, David Wilson, 54, and Kim Ward, 52, were sentenced Friday by Allen-Jackson to probation for hindering the police investigation into Carters killing. They pleaded guilty to the hindering charge in November.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Factories of electronic parts in the Philippines have been hit the hardest by lockdowns and shipping disruptions due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, as most of their raw materials as well as export clients are in China.

Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc. President Dan Lachica said about $40 billion worth of exports are at risk as countries  especially China  close borders in a bid to contain the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 630 people in the mainland alone. China is the fourth biggest export destination for local factories  which, coupled with Hong Kong, accounts for 30 percent of the market, he said.

READ: Ayala's electronics unit keeps 4 China factories closed amid coronavirus outbreak

Electronic products account for nearly 60 percent of the country's exports, led by semiconductors and gadget components, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

"For electronics, we're almost exlusively an export industry. Everything goes out to the global market. What we really need to do is we're looking at options as to alternatives in terms of shipping our products," told CNN Philippines' Business Roundup.

It's not just that  Lachica said semiconductor factories also source a total of 40 percent of its raw materials from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. He explained that the industry took a direct hit when cargo ships from China were initially barred from docking and unloading goods in the Philippines a few days ago.

"That systematically shut down our supply chain. For an electronics company, they're losing about $2 million a day," Lachica said. Authorities eventually allowed shipments to be unloaded here after some nudging from industry leaders, he added. Members of the ships' crew have been restricted from setting foot here.

China is the top source of imported goods in the Philippines.

READ: The coronavirus is disrupting global shipping. Now goods are getting stranded

Even Sergio Ortiz-Luis, Jr., president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation, said fruits and vegetable exports have also been soured by the lockdowns. He pointed out shipments of class C banana, something which only China buys from local planters. On the other hand, shipments of mining ores stand unaffected, he said.

"Services I think is one of the heaviest hit, especially tourism. But after the crisis is over, I think the fallback will be quite fast," Ortiz-Luis said.

Local travel agencies said they are looking at countries not affected by the coronavirus as well as local destinations as they hope to keep tourism vibrant despite the virus scare.
A festive atmosphere prevailed in Assam's Kokrajhar on Friday as people geared up to greet Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will visit here later in the day to celebrate the signing of the Bodo agreement, officials said.

A large number of people from several organisations across various ethnic groups, including non-Bodos, assembled here to welcome the prime minister, they said.

Cultural troupes from different communities will greet PM Modi with their performances before his address.

"A new dawn, fresh vigour and renewed hope in Assam! The Bodo Accord will help the youth fulfill their aspirations," Modi had tweeted on Thursday night.

The Bodo Accord was signed on January 27 by the government with four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and a civil society group, ending a three decade-long insurgency in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), now rechristened as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

PM Modi is scheduled to reach here by a helicopter from LGB Airport in Guwahati, where he will land from New Delhi around noon, officials said.

The security arrangements have been beefed up in and around Jangkhrithai field where PM Modi is scheduled to address the rally at 12.30 pm, officials said, adding that all vehicles have been stopped 1.5-km away from the venue.

Over ten lakh people are expected to participate in the rally, they said.

ABSU leaders said that more than 10,000 of their volunteers have assembled in Kokrajhar to take part in the ceremony which it is calling 'Bijoy Utsav'.

Kokrajhar wears a fresh look as the administration took initiatives to clean the town and repair roads.

The state government has declared a local public holiday on Friday for four districts of BTAD - Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Baksa and Chirang - in view of the prime minister's visit.

On Thursday evening, people had lit one lakh earthen lamps in the town and prayed for peace in the region and the ABSU and NDFB had also organised a bike rally on the occasion.

A prayer was held at Bathou Thansali temple in Bagansali of the town.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Regarding Acquitted but not vindicated (Editorial, Feb. 6): Beliefs of the president and his supporters regarding his desired exoneration are just further examples of their many delusions. Acquittal in a sham trial by sycophants who blocked the pursuit of truth isnt really quite the same as being proved truly innocent with facts.

The presidents senatorial lackeys betrayed their constitutional obligation to hold the president accountable, colluded with him to hide his crimes, and essentially gave him a free pass for additional assaults on our democracy. History will view these senators who perpetrated this mockery of justice as malevolent toadies who couldnt muster a shred of honor, integrity, conscience or courage among all of them. But they have managed to ensure that the president will be remembered forever as the greatest of all time at something. Too bad for him that his eternal legacy will be as the most dishonest, disloyal, fraudulent and corrupt president in history.

Philip Shoemaker, Pittsburg

Kirk Douglas lasting legacy

Thank you for the remembrance Actor, Hollywood patriarch Kirk Douglas dead at age 103 (datebook.sfchronicle.com, Feb. 6). Of all the movie roles that this great actor had during his 60-year screen career, the most memorable one for me was his portrayal of Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956). The intensity that Douglas brought to that role gave a verisimilitude to the creative process of painting. I also admire Douglas for having ended the 1950s blacklisting of Dalton Trumbo by giving him screen credit for having written Spartacus (1960). Douglas long life, many fine films and strong devotion to his family will be his lasting legacy.

Fiona MacPherson, San Jose

Money over principles

Regarding Transamerica tower getting a new owner (Business, Feb. 6): I wish that this news story about the sale of the iconic Transamerica Pyramid tower would also apply to 555 California St., often referred to as the Bank of America building. After all, President Trump owns a 30% limited partnership in that second property. Why would he want to continue reaping profits from a building in a city that he has repeatedly attacked for its sanctuary policy for undocumented immigrants, as well as its dirty streets and large homeless population? Apparently, our Tweeter in Chief puts making as much money in as many places as he can above any core set of principles, however warped they might be.

Richard Fairchild, Walnut Creek

Xenophobic behavior

As a Chinese American, Im disappointed to read Racial bias due to coronavirus cited (Feb. 6). The refusal of a Lyft driver to give rides to passengers with Asian-sounding names at San Francisco International Airport due to fear of contacting the coronavirus which emanated in China is blatant discrimination. Theres nothing like a health scare to fan the flames of xenophobia and racist fear-mongering. Sadly, these things have become normalized in America during the presidency of Donald Trump, who has instituted a travel ban for certain Muslim-majority nations, used a scatological term to describe African nations, and still talks about building a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico after having insultingly called its people rapists and drug lords. My hope is that people who are concerned about the coronavirus will follow alerts and advice from the Centers for Disease Control, and not engage in the kind of irrational behavior that unfairly targets a group of people based on their ethnicity.

Michelle Wang, Mountain View

Streets belong to everyone

Thank you, Carl Nolte, for your column Car-free Valencia? Slow down (Feb. 2). I couldnt agree with you more. The streets belong to all the people, including car drivers. Private cars, bikes and scooters can share the streets. We all need to get around safely. Not everyone can ride a bicycle.

Robert Kellar, San Francisco

Pelosi fell into a trap

Regarding Divided stance over Pelosis conduct (Letters, Feb. 6): If we can all remove our Bay Area Karl the Fog goggles for a moment, the important thing about House Speaker Nancy Pelosis behavior at the State of the Union address isnt whether it was respectful or disrespectful. The import thing is whether or not it helped President Trump or hurt him. Sorry to say, it helped him.

Between her petty-clap and the tearing of the speech, she fell squarely into the caricature that Trump and the Republicans want their supporters and on-the-fence voters to have of her: as a petulant, condescending, Bay Area-bubble elitist who picked the wrong fight, blew it and resorted to the hissy theatrics of third-rate dinner theater. If anyone believes that her childish behavior will get any swing voter to pull the lever for the first candidate to fall out of the Democrat clown car and get the nomination, think again. She walked squarely into a trap and delivered thousands of votes for Trump.

Joe DiPietro, Oakland

Move off Treasure Island

Regarding Battening down hatches on piers (Page 1, Feb. 6): The graphic Incoming waves is a powerful depiction of what lies ahead as a threat to the piers, but even more so to Treasure Island. The elevation above sea level there is minimal. Its best to start planning to move people off Treasure Island to the mainland and certainly not to throw more money there for utilities and development.
President Trump on Friday praised Chinese premier Xi Jinping for the countrys handling of the novel coronavirus outbreak as the death toll from the epidemic topped 600.

Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus, Trump wrote on Twitter. Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!

While Xi did not thank the president during the call, the Chinese leader aimed to reassure Trump that the outbreak was under control.

We are fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic, Xi said. As of Friday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in China had risen to 31,161, with 636 deaths.

China has adopted draconian measures to stop the spread of the illness. In some large cities citizens are allowed to leave their homes only once every two days, and public gatherings such as weddings and funerals are banned. There have been cases in which local authorities have padlocked citizens inside their homes to implement quarantine measures.

The Trump administration has banned foreign nationals who have recently visited China from entering the U.S., and has mandated 14-day quarantines for any U.S. citizen or their family returning from Hubei province, the center of the outbreak.

On Monday the Chinese foreign ministry said the U.S. had unceasingly manufactured and spread panic regarding the coronavirus.

More from National Review
The Asokwa District Court has again remanded Edwin Awuku and his wife Belinda Awuku for their alleged role in the killing of a 46-year-old woman at the Cedar Crescent Hotel in Kumasi.

Edwin Ewuku and his wife, Belinda Awuku appeared before the court today, Friday but were without with a lawyer to represent them.

As a result, the third hearing was adjourned to 21st February 2020.

The court presided over by Her Worship Rosemarie Afua Asante, in her ruling remanded Edwin Awuku into police custody due to an injury he sustained, while his wife was remanded into prison custody.

After the hearing, the police had to leave with the accused persons through the back door due to tension from the family members of the deceased who attempted to attack the suspects complaining of disrespect from the wife of the prime suspect, Belinda Awuku.

Some of the family members registered their displeasure over the absence of the Counsel adding that 22nd February which is a day after the adjourned date, 21st February 2020 is when the deceased will be buried.

Since it is in the hands of the courts, we are hoping that they would do the right thing. We are not distancing ourselves from the case. We will follow it until the case has ended. What hurts us now is the point where the suspects wife kept insulting us. As to why they did that to our sister, we dont know. All we are doing now is to wait for the verdict, one of the relatives said. Background

Edwin Awuku who is a driver at the Bank of Ghana in Kumasi, and the deceased, Comfort Owusu Afriyie went to book a room at the Cedar Crescent hotel together on Wednesday, 1st January 2020 at 9 pm.

According to the Prosecutor, Chief Supt. Rev. Dr Adane Ameyaw, their investigations showed that the accused and the deceased then left the hotel but returned around 11 pm and the accused allegedly shot Comfort Owusu Afriyie shortly after that.

The prosecution continued that Edwin Awuku after realizing that the girlfriend, Comfort, had died, took his phone, the victim's phone and the pistol home and hid them in his house and informed his wife of the act.

His wife then joined him to go back to the hotel to report that armed robbers had attacked them, leading to the death of one person and Edwin Awuku sustaining injuries in his forefinger.

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Ontarios French-language Catholic and public teachers are taking a historic step by hitting the picket lines next week, joining other teachers unions in strike action.

The union representing the provinces 12,000 French-language elementary and high school teachers will begin weekly provincewide strikes, with the first scheduled for next Thursday. The move by the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO), will impact about 460 schools and 115,000 students across Ontario.

Until now, AEFO was the only one of the provinces four teachers unions not yet to hit the picket lines. This is the first time since Ontarios 12 French-language school boards were created in 1998, that AEFO members have gone on a provincial strike.

We think that this union movement is becoming a social movement because we have to protect and defend the world-class education system that we have, AEFO president Remi Sabourin told the Star. All unions are now on the picket line and our cause is right.

On Friday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said escalation of job action by the teachers unions has gone on far too long, and called on them to work with the province in good-faith and focus on reaching a deal.

Students across the province are being hurt by the withdrawal of services and loss of classroom time, he said in a statement. Parents expect all parties to meet at the negotiating table and have meaningful, student-centric discussions.

Also on strike next week will be English-language public elementary and secondary teachers. The Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario (ETFO)  its 83,000 members include public elementary teachers and early childhood educators  will continue holding daily rotating strikes that impact select boards and has planned a provincewide walkout for Tuesday.

And the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF)  its 60,000 members include public high school teachers and support staff in public, Catholic and French-language elementary and secondary schools  has announced members in some boards will walk off the job next Thursday. School boards that will be impacted are Peel, Algoma, Niagara, Huron-Superior Catholic, Superior-Greenstone, Greater Essex County, Avon Maitland, Limestone and Renfrew County.

OSSTF president Harvey Bischof said Friday, We continue to take an approach designed to raise awareness of the issues while causing minimum disruption to learning.

Sadly, our measured approach stands in stark contrast to the almost-daily stream of inflammatory statements and disinformation from the Minister of Education, he said in a statement.

The union representing English-language teachers in Catholic elementary and secondary schools  the Ontario English Catholic Teachers Association with 45,000 members  has also held one one-day strikes in recent weeks. But it has not announced future walkouts.

Each of the four unions have been without a collective agreement since Aug. 31 and at the negotiating table trying to hammer out a deal with the province and the school board associations.

Sabourin said strike action was necessary because recent labour discussions have gone nowhere. Unlike the unions representing English-language teachers, which have been at loggerheads with the province, AEFO is waging several battles, he said.

We have two adversaries at the table, he said, noting school board associations want to curtail teachers working conditions and the province wants to cut funding for special needs students.

He said AEFO was slower to engage in strike action, when compared with the other three unions, because, It took a little bit longer to see everybodys cards.

Like the other unions, AEFO is also opposed to the provinces plan to introduce two mandatory e-courses in high schools and boost secondary class size averages to 25 students  theyre currently 22.5  which would result in fewer teachers and courses.

Because some French-language high schools have less than 100 students, losing teachers and course options could be disastrous, he said. Sabourin worries some students would opt to attend larger English-language schools that offer more staff and courses.

For us, the consequences (of larger class size averages), I would say, are even more grave, said Sabourin, adding it could impact the survival of some of our schools.

Minister Lecce has repeatedly said salary is the key issue for unions, with the province offering a 1 per cent increase in line with recent wage-cap legislation, while unions want cost of living, or about 2 per cent.

Escalating strike action may have some parents scrambling to find child care. In mid-January, the province offered to pay parents between $25 and $60 per child, depending on their age, for each day a school or school-based child-care centre is closed due to strike. Some, including ETFO, have called the payout an attempt to bribe parents for support.

As of Friday morning, the province had received applications for 470,328 children. About 1.45 million are eligible for the reimbursement and an additional 42,000 children, not yet enrolled in school, may qualify if their school-based child-care centre is closed.

The province will pay $60 per day for children in a school-based child-care centre, $40 for those in kindergarten, $25 for those in Grades 1 to 7 and $40 for those with special needs up to Grade 12.

While the strike is a major inconvenience for parents, the alternative is far worse, said mother Erin Pepler, who is organizing a protest by parents at Queens Park, scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m.

When you actually listen to families with children in the public school system, its clear that we share many of the same concerns as the teacher unions, she said in a statement. Cuts to education have a serious impact on our children.
Putin signs bill to protect minors housing rights after parents divorce into law

 flickr.com/ Brian Ambrozy

00:08 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a bill introducing new safeguards with respect to housing rights of children of divorcing couples into the Russian Family Code into law, according to the official website of legal information.

The initiative envisages that a parent residing separately from a child is to be made to take part in additional obligations relating to the provision of the minor with housing accommodation.

Previously, the Family Code determined that in the absence of an agreement and under exceptional circumstances, like serious illnesses or permanent injuries of children, or if children of majority age were incapable of work, either parent might be made by a court to take part in covering additional expenses relating to such circumstances. Due to the fact that the Code provision focused primarily on illnesses, although the list of circumstances is open, in their practice courts tend to narrowly determine expenses to be compensated as those related to the state of health of children.

The signed law includes in the list of exceptional circumstances the lack of housing accommodation suitable for permanent stay and some other additions.

The Cabinet of Ministers, the author of the document, believes the proposed changes will move courts to examine in detail each childs unique situation and make rulings on the basis of the balance between the interests of the child and the parent, who provides alimony.

The State Duma passed the initiative on January 23; the Federation Council approved it on January 30.
DUBLIN  Irelands elections are usually two-horse races. But this time theres a third contender, as a party with historic links to the Irish Republican Army soars in the polls.

As Irish voters prepare to choose a new parliament on Saturday, a restive electorate is rattling the two parties that have dominated the countrys politics since it won independence from Britain a century ago, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Polls show a surprise surge  maybe even a lead  for Sinn Fein, the party historically linked to the IRA and its violent struggle for a united Ireland.

Sinn Fein is a major force in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., but has long been a minor political player in the Republic, shunned by the bigger parties because of its ties to the IRA. But the partys left-wing proposals for tackling Irelands housing crisis and creaking healthcare system are striking a chord, especially with young voters.

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said this week that there was a thirst for change in Ireland.

The people were ahead of the curve in real terms in articulating the kind of profound change that they want. People were telling us We want change and by the way you are it, so get ready and serve us well,' she said on Friday, the final day of campaigning.

The two big parties, whose origins lie on opposing sides of Irelands 1920s civil war, are fierce rivals but share a broadly center-right outlook. For decades power has alternated between them.

Irelands next Taoiseach, or prime minister, is highly likely to be either current Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael or Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin.

But support for the two parties has fallen since the 2008 global financial crisis, which hit the debt-fueled Celtic Tiger economy particularly hard. Ireland was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and forced to seek a humiliating international bailout that was followed by years of austerity.

The last election, four years ago saw voters shift in big numbers to protest parties and independents. It produced a Fine Gael minority government propped up by Fianna Fail votes.

Varadkar took office after becoming Fine Gael leader in 2017. The son of an Indian doctor and an Irish nurse, he was Irelands youngest-ever Taoiseach and its first openly gay leader. For many, he was the face of a confident, modern Ireland that has loosened the grip of the Roman Catholic church, legalized abortion and same-sex marriage, revitalized a long-stagnant economy and built up a thriving high-tech sector.

Internationally, Varadkar was the face of Ireland during Britains lengthy divorce negotiations with the European Union. The outcome of those talks was crucial to Ireland, the only EU country to share a land border with the U.K.

Most people think Varadkar and his party handled Brexit well, securing guarantees that people and goods will continue to flow freely between Ireland and the north. But thats unlikely to bring him an electoral reward. Polls suggest Fine Gael is trailing both Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail, though the margins are narrow.

Jonathan Evershed, a postdoctoral researcher in government and politics at University College Cork, said Varadkar wasnt getting much credit for his leadership on Brexit because Britains exit from the now 27-nation bloc, which became official on Jan. 31, is widely seen as mission accomplished  there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

That has left an election dominated by domestic problems, especially a growing homelessness crisis, house prices that have risen faster than incomes and a public health system that hasnt kept up with demand.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail say they will build more houses, ease hospital overcrowding and cut waiting times for medical treatment. But their proposals look like tinkering compared to Sinn Feins more radical  and costly  plans to raise taxes on the wealthy, freeze rents, build tens of thousands of new homes and lower the state pension age.

The big parties say Sinn Feins socialist plans would hurt businesses and hit economic growth. And they have tried to remind voters of the partys ties to past violence.

Sinn Feins links with the IRA, which disarmed after Northern Irelands 1998 peace accord, became an issue late in the election, when the mother of a Northern Ireland man who was beaten to death in 2007  a killing the family blames on the IRA  accused party members of slandering her son as a criminal and failing to reveal what they knew about his death.

Fianna Fails Martin said Sinn Fein was not fit to govern because they have not cleansed themselves of their bloody past.

Sinn Fein denied Irish republicans were involved in the killing, but the party was put on the defensive. McDonald  a capable, 50-year-old Dubliner who has helped the party shed its hard-line Troubles-era image  condemned the murder as barbaric.

Sinn Feins struggle for a united Ireland has been on the back burner during the election, but it is calling for a referendum on Northern Ireland rejoining the south within five years. Thats not something an Irish government could deliver without the support of Britain and Northern Ireland  highly unlikely in the short term.

But Brexit looks likely to nudge Northern Irelands economy closer to that of its southern neighbor, and could yet increase pressure for a poll on unification.

Under Irelands proportional representation system, no party is likely to get the 80 seats they need for a majority in the 160-seat Dail, parliaments lower house, so some form of coalition government is likely.

Sinn Fein is running only 42 candidates, too few to win outright, but could hold the balance of power. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both say they wont form a coalition with Sinn Fein  but their resolve could be tested if the party does well.

Evershed said that, whatever the result, the election has demonstrated the extent to which Sinn Fein has moved into the political mainstream.

They play the long game, he said of the nationalist party. If they dont get into government this time, I think that they will view whatever happens as nonetheless a success, because it becomes a staging post for the next time.

Varadkar, battling to keep his job, made a plea for voters to think before casting their ballots.

Bear in mind that all change isnt change for the better, Varadkar said Tuesday during a televised leaders debate. We saw in Britain with Brexit, people voting for change and they got Brexit. We saw Donald Trump being elected in the U.S.  thats not the kind of change we want.

___

Jill Lawless reported from London.
They warned that any form of human rights abuse on the people of the community during the burial of their traditional leader would cause damage to the international reputation of President Buhari and the image of Nigeria before the world.
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Linkedin Citra Handayani Nasruddin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, February 8 2020

The World Health Organization recently declared the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak a global health emergency. Indonesia, along with other countries, has been scrambling to rescue citizens from Wuhan, in Chinas Hubei province, the epicenter of the deadly virus.

As the evacuees landed on Natuna Island on Sunday to be quarantined for at least the next two weeks, questions have arisen. Does Indonesia have the robust preparedness and response to combat the pandemic? Do we have disaster-management preparations in place for an epidemic? Are we ready for the coronavirus?

Unless those questions are addressed, it will be arduous for Indonesia to respond to the international challenges and achieve the goal of strengthening competitiveness this year.

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*Updated 2/10

SALEM, Ohio  4-Hers who show swine projects at some Ohio fairs will have to read the ingredient lists for their feed carefully this year.

The Ohio Pork Council announced Feb. 6 that all hogs shown at the Ohio State Fair this year are required to be free of ractopamine, a product sold under names including Paylean and Engain.

The product is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and is used in feed to increase hogs lean growth rates. The new requirement is not related to health risks, but to trade.

Ractopamine is a synthetically-created additive that encourages lean muscle gain and growth rate.

The product is fully legal and safe when fed according to label directions, said Steven Moeller, swine extension specialist with Ohio State University.

Some international markets, however, have restricted the product. In response, much of the U.S. pork packing industry has made ractopamine-free swine production another market specification.

That decision trickled down to the state and county levels when the Ohio State Fair decided to require that all pigs exhibited at the fair be ractopamine-free, and the Columbiana County Fair followed suit.

State fair officials made the decision in order to have access to packers as potential buyers at the fair.

Markets

China is the primary country that restricts ractopamine, Moeller said. It tests pork from other countries, as part of its import process.

That is a function of their internal concerns about the product, Moeller said, noting that some countries consume by-products and organs from pigs that most people in the U.S. do not consume. Ractopamine can be found at a higher level in those organs.

Moeller said that about 25% of the value in the pork industry comes from export markets. At this point, most major U.S. packers have announced either that their products are ractopamine-free, or that they are moving in that direction in order to keep access to export markets.

It is absolutely a market access decision, said Moeller. Our goal is to put the pigs into the standard market for pigs in the US, the standard commercial market, at a value that represents the same type of pork and the quality of pork and the safety of pork that we expect from every producer in the country.

Avoiding contamination

To be ractopamine-free, a pig cannot be fed or exposed to the ingredient at any point in its life  from birth, to the market.

That starts basically at the feed mill, Moeller said.

To avoid cross-contamination, some feed mills have had to thoroughly clean grinders, mixers, storage areas and delivery trucks to avoid any residue from feeds containing ractopamine.

The council said state pig exhibitors should disinfect feeders, barns and trailers that may have been contaminated by the ingredient in addition to working with feed suppliers to make sure the feed they use is ractopamine-free.

These pigs are being born now, and because theyre being born now, you can plan ahead, Moeller said.

Since ractopamine can also be used for cattle, Moeller said environments that contained cattle who may have consumed ractopamine, including show rings, barns and trailers, should be cleaned thoroughly.

Moeller noted that all feed suppliers, regardless of size, are required to label products with ractopamine, and should know how to avoid cross contamination at their mills.

Buying that feed should not be an issue, he said.

County fairs

Some county fairs have also decided to ban the ingredient. The Columbiana County Junior Fair released a letter on its Facebook page stating it planned to follow in the Ohio State Fairs footsteps.

Agriculture, being a consumer-driven industry, must recognize the wants of the customer, and deliver on what they can, the letter read.

County fairs, however, are not required to follow suit, Moeller said.

See the end of the article for a list of Ohio county fairs that have decided to ban ractopamine for hogs for 2020.

The reason that the Ohio State Fair ultimately went this route was  they need to be able to have a market for roughly 800 pigs annually, Moeller said.

Smaller county fairs, especially those who know that all of their pigs are harvested locally and not destined for international markets, may decide to continue allowing ractopamine. Any 4-Hers who plan to show at both a county fair and the state fair, however, should take care to avoid cross contamination.

Exhibitors, or their parents or guardians, at the Ohio State Fair and Columbiana County Fair will have to sign an document stating that their pigs have not been fed or exposed to ractopamine.

The county fair noted that packers who buy hogs can have the pigs tested, if they choose, and if a pig tests positive for ractopamine, the 4-Her will forfeit all awards and premiums for that project.

Moeller said he has not heard of any other state fairs going ractopamine-free specifically, but some have non-terminal hog shows and send the pigs home. Iowa has decided to send pigs to an alternative market for less monetary value for this year, he said.

For more information, visit www.ohiopork.org/ractopamine-free.

County fairs in the area that have banned ractopamine include:

Columbiana County Fair

Wayne County Fair

Summit County Fair

Ashland County Fair

Putnam County Fair
Council officials have apologised after mistakenly writing to a dead woman asking her to carry out repairs to her own headstone.

The lady, who passed away in 2011, was buried in Belfast City Cemetery next to her husband.

Belfast City Council sent the letter to the west Belfast family home asking the deceased to "contact a monumental sculptor" to "make the memorial safe".

Speaking to the Andersonstown News, a family member - who did not want to be named - said it was "a bit of a shock" when she opened the letter.

"Everyone can make mistakes but this is one that could so easily have been avoided with a bit of sensitivity and professionalism," she said.

"City Hall keeps records of deaths so obviously nobody bothered to do any cross-checking.

"It would have been a very simple matter for the workers inspecting the headstones to take a note of who's in the plot as an extra precaution.

"Many if not most of the graves in the cemetery are family plots and somebody should have taken that into consideration before this process started.

"It's just a lack of thought and care in my opinion, and it was totally avoidable.

"I would ask them now just to do what they can to make sure their process is tightened up to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen to any more families. I'm sure it's happened before and it will certainly happen again unless the system is improved."

The letter, which was from the director of city services, said that while the council does "not wish to cause any further upset" to bereaved families, it must "make sure" its cemeteries are "safe places" for workers and visitors.

Belfast City Council is carrying out a memorial inspection programme after an eight-year-old boy was killed by a falling headstone in Scotland in 2015.

A council spokesperson said it was "sincerely sorry" for the hurt caused to the family.

"Some of the information we hold may not have been updated by relatives or family members, hence this administrative error has occurred," the council continued. "We recognise this will have been very upsetting for those receiving the letter and apologise for the error."

However, the family member said loved ones should not be required to update information for the council as it is available "at their fingertips".

When asked if updating the council's records after the statutory death registration process was the responsibility of the deceased's family, the council said: "While we make every effort to ensure the information we have is accurate and up to date, which can be challenging given the passage of time, on this occasion details were missed.

"We will review the process of writing to deed holders to ensure further checks are in place to try to prevent any similar errors or upset for another family."
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 13:42:35|Editor: zyl

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HERAT, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ten armed Taliban militants have surrendered to government security forces in Afghanistan's western province of Herat, a local official said Friday.

Arbab Nimatullah, one of the militants' leaders, along with nine of his led fighters, joined Afghan security forces late on Thursday after long years of anti-government activities in Chishti Sharif district of Herat, provincial government spokesman Jailani Farhad told Xinhua.

The former militants also handed over their weapons to security forces, the official said.

The latest surrendering came amid military pressure as Afghan security forces continue to press militants in restive districts in the western region.

Fifty-nine Taliban militants have surrendered on Tuesday in western Herat, Ghor and Badghis provinces. More than 500 Taliban militants and Islamic State (IS) members have surrendered to the government since the beginning of January.

Taliban militants fighting government forces have not made comments on the report yet.
When Immaculate's husband learnt that she had been diagnosed with cancer, he abandoned her. She was five months pregnant at the time. To him, cancer was a definite death sentence and it was pointless spending on medication that would, in his view, only delay his wife's imminent death.

"When I told him that I had cancer, he told me that 'you are now dead because cancer never heals'. And that was the last thing he told me and he [said] that the money that 'I am going to waste treating and looking after you, I would rather use it to marry another wife'," Immaculate said as she recounted her ordeal when we met at the Cancer Charity Foundation (CCF) in Bukoto, Kampala.

Immaculate later gave birth to a baby boy, who now lives a private facility in Mukono District as she receives chemotherapy at the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), Mulago National Referral Hospital.

"I was forced to find a place to keep my son because there is no one to look after him since I am alone," Immaculate said.

She was forced to take her baby to a private facility because at the time, she was putting up at the veranda at the UCI.

Immaculate has now found a home at the CCF who provide accommodation, transport patients to treatment centres, especially UCI, among others.

Immaculate's story is not isolated. Many cancer patients face similar distress, most times occasioned by financial challenges.

Mr Joseph Opio, a 69-year-old father of two from Amuria District, said out of desperation, he had to sell off his land cheaply to finance the initial treatment budget for prostate cancer.

"All expenses were on me ... we had to sell [an acre] land in the village to sustain me. I had to sell it cheaply at only Shs8 million," Mr Opio said.

He also explains that with the heart-breaking news of cancer, comes the burden of accommodation, feeding and immense costs on treatment, something that forced him to put up on the verandas of UCI.

Mr Vincent Buruga, who is taking care of his elder brother at the CCF, said that at times he had to go without food and endure the cold and harsh conditions at the veranda of UCI. This was before they moved to CCF.

"It was making me sick. Going [back] to Arua was a problem and yet when my brother's condition worsened, his whole body was painful and sitting on a boda was a problem. So what kept us there mostly was difficulty in movement [since we could not afford to hire a car]."

"There are times you get to Mulago for treatment [and] you are asked to buy your own medication because it is not there and yet it is very expensive. Most of the drugs cost more than Shs100,000 single dose," he added.

Causes

Dr Sharon Nanduga, a senior pharmacist at Ecopharm, said the growing consumption of junk food, among other things, partly informs the growing cases of cancer.

"Today, the youth that comprise majority of the Uganda's population highly engage in strong alcoholic consumption and heavily smoke various kinds of items like shisha, yet these are all strong driving factors to the cause of cancers like lung cancer," Dr Nanduga said.

The executive director of UCI, Dr Jackson Orem, said more research should be carried out on cancer treatment.

"The reason is simple. Cancer is a very research-intensive disease to treat. The treatment has now gone far. We are now talking about immune therapy, targeted treatment, and precision medicine," he said.

Cancer budget

"In the current financial year, our budget of the government of Uganda and external financing amounted to about Shs90 billion and of that about Shs50 billion was directly from the government," Dr Orem said.

"The budget for cancer was small. In fact, we were getting less than Shs30 billion in a year, and even subsequent to that we were getting less than Shs20 billion. But there has been an incremental budget for UCI, some thing that is very unique in the region," he added.

Enhanced staffing

Government has since decided to train more specialists in addition to the current 50 that Uganda has.

"We are training medical oncologists, including adult specialists, pediatric oncologists and gynecological oncologists... and as a result, the number of specialists will go high," Dr Orem said.

How cancer affects patients

Immense costs on patients. A caretaker, who prefers to be identified as only RM, said it was costly for her family to finance her mother's surgery and hospital bills.

"It cost us Shs42 million for surgery and hospital bills at Nakasero Hospital at the time, she (the mother) had lymphomas and colon cancer. For continuous medication, we spend between Shs800,000 to Shs1 million every week," RM said. "This figure would [increase] at times because prices do fluctuate," she added.

Why stick to medication

Dr Sharon Nanduga said sticking to prescribed medication increases drug efficacy and minimises drug side effects. "It is important that patients get professional advice because that way, one minimises adverse side effects. In this, we look at your line of drugs so that we advise patients on feeding; give drugs that won't affect other treatment that some patients may already be on," Dr Nanduga said.

Death rate high

According to the Uganda Cancer Institute (UCI), cancer accounts for at least 5 per cent (353,000 people) of the national deaths annually. The commonest forms of cancer, according to the State Minister for Health In charge of General duties, Ms Proscovia Nabbanja, include breast cancer and prostate cancer.

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"Commonest cancers in the country are cervical and breast cancer in women, prostate cancer in men, Kaposis Sarcoma in both men and women and throat cancer. In children, the commonest cancers are lymphomas and leukaemia," Ms Nabbanja said on Tuesday.

"Prostate cancer, the commonest among men in Uganda accounts for 2,288 cases and a mortality rate of 20.5 per cent (2,275 deaths). The number of childhood cases is growing with about 450 cases thus 9 per cent of the estimated 4,800 new cases of cancer among children under 15 years of age annually," she added.

Currently, Uganda registers 185 adult cancer and 30 children diagnosed with the scourge on a daily basis.

Giant in the region

Better results. Treatment efforts have, however, positioned Uganda as a centre of excellence in the East African region. Something Dr Jackson Orem, attributes to the intensive research, rigorous training and increased number of specialists to handle cancer cases.

"We are a centre of excellence based on many factors. There is no country in East Africa or in fact in the greater part of Africa which has a very rich history of cancer activity, research, and training and also care that can compare with that of Uganda. All the others are just copying from what we have already done," Dr Orem says.
A Lithuanian tourist was killed and his partner was allegedly raped in an attack near a popular seaside town south of Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian police said Thursday. One suspect was arrested.

Police said they found the body of Adam Zindul in his rented residence, and that his partner told them that she had been raped. She was taken to a hospital.

Authorities did not comment on a possible motive for the attack, or provide other details.

According to Brazilian TV news channel Globo, Zindul and his Brazilian wife had rented a house in a remote beach called Praia do Sono, which can only be accessed by boat or trail through the jungle.

Praia do Sono is 26 kilometers (16 miles) from Paraty, a picturesque town with cobbled streets and colonial-style houses. It is popular among tourists and residents of Rio de Janeiro, a few hours drive away.

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Chinas coronavirus crisis deepened on Thursday with the death toll soaring to 563, as thousands of people trapped on quarantined cruise ships added to global panic about the epidemic.

More than 28,000 people have now been infected across China as authorities struggle to contain the outbreak despite compelling millions to stay indoors in a growing number of cities.

Two dozen countries have confirmed cases of the respiratory disease, which emerged from a market selling exotic animals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.

Thousands of people on cruise ships in Hong Kong and Japan now face an agonising wait to find out if more among them have been infected.-

At least 20 people on board the Diamond Princess have tested positive so far, while some 3,700 passengers and crew from over 50 countries have been confined to quarters aboard the cruise ship off Yokohama since Monday night.

Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said later Thursday that another huge cruise ship, the Westerdam, was heading to the country with one confirmed infected passenger aboard.

He said no foreigners from the vessel, capable of carrying nearly 3,000 passengers and crew, would be allowed to disembark.

In Hong Kong, 3,600 people were preparing to spend a second night confined aboard the World Dream as authorities conducted health checks after eight former passengers tested positive for the virus.

On Thursday, health officials in the financial hub said they were also asking some 5,000 Hong Kongers who had taken trips on the ship since mid-January to contact them.

Hong Kong has been particularly nervous as the disease has revived memories of another coronavirus, the one that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed nearly 300 people in the city and another 349 in the Chinese mainland in 2002-2003.

Panic buying in the semi-autonomous city left shelves of toilet paper empty at supermarkets following false online claims of shortages, prompting authorities to appeal for calm.

One person has died after contracting the virus in Hong Kong so far.

While the death toll continues to rise in China, health experts have stressed that at two percent, 2019-nCoV is far less deadly than the SARS pathogen, which killed around 10 percent of the people it infected 17 years ago.

But the outbreak has been declared a global health emergency, prompting several governments to warn against travel to China and ban new arrivals from the country, while airlines have halted flights.

In the latest international actions, Saudi Arabia banned its citizens and resident foreigners from travelling to China, while Air France-KLM decided to extend its flight suspension by another month until March 15.

In response Chinese President Xi Jinping told Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in a call that all countries should understand and follow World Health Organization guidelines on travel and health in a timely manner, state news agency Xinhua reported.

 Temporary hospitals 

China has enacted unprecedented measures in a desperate bid to contain the virus, which spread far and wide as millions of people criss-crossed the country during the Lunar New Year holiday in late January.

But deaths and new infections continue to rise, especially at the epicentre of the epidemic in Hubei province, where 18 cities housing 56 million people have been under virtual lockdown since late last month.

A newborn was among the new cases in Wuhan, suggesting the baby was infected by the mother during pregnancy or immediately after.

There is still a shortage of 2,250 medical personnel in Hubei, deputy provincial governor Yang Yunyan said Thursday. The inability to offer health workers adequate protective gear is hindering the numbers that can be deployed on the front lines, he added.

With medical facilities in Hubeis capital Wuhan overwhelmed with patients, authorities were due to open a second field hospital, offering 1,600 beds.

The first hospital, with 1,000 beds, opened earlier this week, and authorities said they were converting public buildings into temporary medical facilities to deal with the influx of sick people.

The city of 11 million is facing a severe lack of beds, said Hu Lishan, a senior official in Wuhan, noting that there were 8,182 patients admitted to 28 hospitals that have a total of 8,254 beds.

There is also a shortage of equipment and materials, Hu said.

The central government has announced measures intended to ensure the supply of vital medical resources, with tax breaks for manufacturers of equipment needed to fight the epidemic.

We must make all-out efforts across the country to meet the need for essential medical supplies and medical professionals in Hubei province, Premier Li Keqiang said, according to the official Xinhua news agency.

BGI Group, a genome sequencing company based in southern China, said it opened on Wednesday a lab in Wuhan able to test up to 10,000 people per day for the virus.

 Cities hunker down 

More cities are ordering people to stay indoors.

They include residents of Hangzhou, a city just 175 kilometres (110 miles) from Shanghai, where fences block streets and loudspeakers tell people: Dont go out!

In Beijing  where streets remain eerily quiet and businesses are shuttered  restaurants have been barred from accepting reservations for parties.

And in Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi province which borders Hubei, pharmacists must send reports to the authorities on anyone buying fever or cough medicine.

The city has also limited the number of outings per family.

The outbreak has also hit major businesses.

Workers making iPhones at tech giant Foxconns plant in Henan province, which borders Hubei, will be quarantined for up to two weeks, the company said.

SOURCE: AFP | PHOTO: AFP
US President Donald Trump expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting its coronavirus outbreak during a conversation with President Xi Jinping on Thursday, a White House spokesman said.

The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides, the spokesman, Judd Deere, added.

Trump and Xi also reaffirmed their commitment to implementing Phase 1 of the trade deal between the United States and China, he added.
A man has been found guilty of smuggling more than 5.3 million worth of endangered live eels out of the UK.

Seafood salesman Gilbert Khoo, 66, transported the rare elvers from London to Hong Kong between 2015 and 2017, hidden underneath chilled fish.

He was caught after Border Force officers found 200kg of the European glass eels, which are on the verge of extinction, at Heathrow Airport in the first ever seizure of its kind in the UK.

Khoo was found guilty of three counts of failure to notify movement of animals and three counts of evasion of a prohibition or restriction on the export of goods at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Boxes containing critically endangered baby eels / PA Media

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he smuggled more than five million elvers over a two-year period, with an estimated retail value of more than 5.3 million in the Far East.

A picture released by the National Crime Agency shows him holding two gold bars.

NCA senior investigating officer Ian Truby said: The entire operation run by Khoo to trade in these critically endangered animals was illegal from start to finish, and there is no doubt his sole motivation was money.

Gilbert Khoo, 67, who was found guilty at Southwark Crown Court / PA Media

The profits to be made from illegally smuggling live eels to Hong Kong and the Far East are significant.

But, the NCA are determined to protect vulnerable wildlife from criminals who wish to benefit financially.

Khoo, from Chessington, in Surrey, kept the live eels imported from countries within the EU in a barn in Gloucestershire, before repackaging them to be exported to Asia.

The boxes were smuggled from Spain to East Asia via the UK / PA Media

The NCA said eels fetch more than 10 times the price they would in the UK on the East Asian black market, where they are considered a delicacy and are in high demand.

There are strict controls on the export of European eels, known as Anguilla Anguilla, due to their status as an endangered animal.

Marion Longford, the unit head of the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, said: Khoo was trading these animals purely for a financial gain.

"He had no regard for the controls in place for trading endangered European eels which are vital to safeguard animals increasingly at risk of being wiped out completely.

Boxes containing the estimated 5.3 million critically endangered baby eels / PA Media

We would like to thank Border Force and the National Crime Agency for their investigative work.

We take crime against protected animals incredibly seriously and take every step we can to secure convictions in these cases.

The impact that these crimes have on our environment and our communities cannot be understated, why is why were committed to building cases against offenders and ensuring theyre held to account for their actions.
Moscow/Sputnik: Ankara is sending special forces troops to reinforce its observation posts in the Syrian province of Idlib, amid rising tensions in the de-escalation zone, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Friday.

According to the agency, a convoy of 150 trucks carrying special forces troops, military equipment and ammunition has reached the Turkey-Syria border in the province of Hatay. From there, the convoy will cross into Syria and travel to the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Tensions in the area rose after Syrian government forces shelled a Turkish observation point on Monday, killing seven military personnel and one contractor. In a retaliatory attack, Turkish troops struck over 50 targets and killed 76 Syrian army troops, according to Defense Minister Hulusi Akar.

Moreover, on Wednesday, a military source told Sputnik the Syrian Armed Forces had established full control over the city of Saraqib, one of the key strongholds of militants in the area. The Syrian military then also surrounded three nearby Turkish observation posts.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to pressure Syrian President Bashar Assad into withdrawing troops from the borders of the de-escalation zone and preventing attacks on Turkish forces in the region.

Idlib is one of four de-escalation zones created in Syria by Russia, Iran and Turkey during talks in May 2017. The province is one of the remaining militant strongholds in the country, as pockets of the region are controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia).
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Latest on the 2020 Democratic presidential debate and the upcoming primary in New Hampshire (all times local):

10:15 p.m.

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg didnt qualify for the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire -- but it didnt always feel that way.

The candidates on stage Friday night were asked several times about the former mayor of New York City.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren responded, I dont think anyone ought to be able to buy their way into the nomination or to be president of the United States. She also said candidates shouldnt suck up to billionaires to do it.

That was a swipe at former Vice-President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who have relied on large donors to finance their campaigns.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders singled out Buttigieg specifically, saying, I dont have 40 billionaires, Pete, contributing to my campaign.

New debate rules set by the Democratic National Committee may see Bloomberg qualify for future debates.

___

9:55 p.m.

Democrat Tom Steyer has twice openly called on former Vice-President Joe Biden to publicly disavow a top surrogates comments that Steyer characterized as openly racist.

The billionaire climate activist made the request during Friday nights debate in New Hampshire. He was referencing comments earlier in the week, when a South Carolina state senator tweeted that the chair of South Carolinas Legislative Black Caucus  who has endorsed Steyer and works for him as an adviser  had received almost $50,000 from Steyers campaign.

State Sen. Dick Harpootlian also called Steyer Mr. Money Bags, seemingly implying the lawmakers support had been bought.

Biden replied that he believed Harpootlian was sorry for the comment while noting he has more support in South Carolina in the Black Caucus than others in the field.

The competition is fierce for South Carolinas black voters, who comprise most of the Democratic primary electorate in the state.

___

9:45 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidates at Fridays debate agree that theyd appoint Supreme Court justices whod uphold the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, but there are distinctions on whether to try to expand the size of the court.

Pete Buttigieg wants to expand the court through a constitutional amendment while also changing the way justices are selected. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, disputed that his idea amounts to packing the court.

But former Vice-President Joe Biden said any plan to expand the court is a bad idea. Biden noted that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg holds the same position.

Biden and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer said the argument over the court shows how important it is for Democrats to win enough Senate seats to retake a majority. Biden argued that hes the only Democratic candidate whod have a coattail effect for Senate candidates in battleground states and GOP-leaning states like North Carolina and Georgia.

___

9:35 p.m.

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders says he has evolved on gun-related issues as he was pressed to explain a decades-old vote against background checks.

Sanders said at Friday nights Democratic presidential debate that, coming from his largely rural state of Vermont, we had virtually no gun control legislation at all, and I represented that perspective.

But following mass shootings and gun violence, Sanders said, The world has changed, and my views have changed. He also plugged his D-minus rating from the National Rifle Association.

Asked if Sanders deserved consideration of the totality of his record, former Vice-President Joe Biden noted that Sanders had also supported a loophole that does not allow them (gun manufacturers) to be sued for the crimes they have created.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, Sanders was criticized by his Democratic opponents for the 1993 background check vote, as well as early 2000s votes concerning gun manufacturers that were referenced by Biden.

___

9:20 p.m.

Bernie Sanders says he heard the same arguments from George W. Bushs administration about Iraq that Joe Biden did but concluded that they were lying through their teeth.

The Democratic presidential hopefuls are again clashing over the U.S.-led war in Iraq during a debate in New Hampshire on Friday.

Biden, a former Delaware senator and vice-president, took criticism from several rivals over his vote to authorize the invasion and said he made the mistake of believing the Bush administration that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, agreed, saying of Bush administration officials, Like Joe and others, I also heard the arguments. But he added, I concluded that they were lying through their teeth.

Sanders voted against the invasion of Iraq. Biden voted for it.

___

9:10 p.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is cautioning against pulling American troops entirely out of Afghanistan, saying such actions can lead to regional instability.

During Friday nights Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire, Biden recalled the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, saying troops were ashamed to leave while the Kurds asked Americans to stay.

Biden was responding to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warrens remark that its time to bring our troops home from Afghanistan, a position she has voiced in previous debates.

Warren reaffirmed her recent comments about what she sees as a lack of a clear plan for withdrawal, noting she would listen to generals as the nations commander in chief but would seek to work with our allies in managing terrorism.

Noting her service on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Warren said she has visited combat zones with Republicans, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham and the late Arizona Sen. John McCain.

___

9 p.m.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden encouraged the crowd at Fridays Democratic presidential debate to give a standing ovation to Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman after President Donald Trump ousted him in retribution for his testimony during House impeachment proceedings.

Biden declared Friday that Trump should be pinning a medal on Vindman, not Rush Limbaugh, the far-right radio personality with whom Trump awarded the Medal of Freedom on Tuesday.

The ovation for Vindman punctuated a discussion that started with mention of Trumps efforts to have Biden and his son Hunter investigated by Ukraine officials. That move was the crux of the impeachment case against Trump.

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg defended the Bidens. We are not going to let them change the subject, he said. This is not about Vice-President Biden or Hunter Biden. This is about abuse of power by the president.

___

8:55 p.m.

Tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang says Democrats are making a mistake when they act like President Donald Trump is the cause of all our problems.

Yang said during the Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire on Friday night that Trump is a symptom of a disease that has been building up in our communities for years and decades.

Yang says Democrats need to instead work on treating the disease by tackling issues such as automation of jobs and corporations like Amazon that have avoided paying federal income tax.

He pointed to swing states like Iowa and Ohio that Trump captured in 2016, saying, These communities are seeing their way of live get blasted into smithereens.

___

8:50 p.m.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is unloading on former Mayor Pete Buttigieg at Democrats presidential debate for saying that watching the chaos in Washington almost made him want to change the channel to cartoons.

Its easy to go after Washington, she said Friday, but its much harder to lead.

Klobuchar took Buttigieg to task especially for his mockery of the Senate impeachment proceedings. She noted the courageous votes of Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. Both men voted to convict Trump  Romney on one count  and remove him from office.

In her sharpest blow, Klobuchar implicitly compared Buttigiegs argument to the man Democrats hope to topple in November. We have a newcomer in the White House now, and look where it got us, she said. I think having some experience is a good thing.

___

8:40 p.m.

Pete Buttigieg says that the Obama administration met the moment of their day and now we have to meet this moment.

Buttigieg sought to turn his relative lack of experience in politics into an advantage at Fridays Democratic debate in New Hampshire.

He was challenged by Joe Biden, who listed off some of his accomplishments during a long tenure in politics, including the Violence Against Women Act. Biden said, I dont know what about the past of Barack Obama and Joe Biden was so bad and called for someone who knows how to get things done.

In his reply, Buttigieg noted the accomplishments of the Obama administration and said that now, we have to meet this moment.

Biden and Buttigieg have previously clashed over a contrast in their ages and elected experience.

The candidates brought a renewed intensity to Friday nights debate following the chaotic results of the Iowa caucuses.

___

8:30 p.m.

Neither Elizabeth Warren nor Pete Buttigieg is proving willing to criticize Bernie Sanders for embracing democratic socialism in the opening moments of the Democratic debate.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator, was asked about saying previously that she is a capitalist to my bones. But she refused to make a major contrast at Fridays debate in New Hampshire, saying only, Bernie and I have been friends for a long time.

Warren said the fundamental question is how we bring our party together and talked about fighting government corruption, saying it is an issue we can all agree on.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, said he wasnt interested in labels like socialism. He and Sanders, a senator from Vermont, went on to clash on policy rather than on ideological labels.

Sanders says being a democratic socialist wont make it harder to defeat President Donald Trump in November because Donald Trump lies all the time anyway.

___

8:25 p.m.

Bernie Sanders says hes confident Democrats can unify to defeat President Donald Trump, despite the presidents attempts to paint Sanders self-avowed democratic socialist label in a negative light.

Sanders opened Friday nights debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, saying that he viewed energizing turnout as vital to a Democratic victory in November.

No matter who wins this damned thing, were all going to stand together to defeat Donald Trump, he added.

Sanders was asked to respond to Trumps comments earlier this week to Fox News, when the president said, I think of communism when I think of Bernie.

Asked if they had concerns about a top-of-the-ticket candidate with a democratic socialist moniker, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and businessman Tom Steyer raised their hands.

This is the final debate before next weeks first-in-the-nation New Hampshire primary.

___

8:15 p.m.

Joe Biden is acknowledging he took a hit in Iowa and says hell probably take a hit in New Hampshire as well.

Biden was asked early in Fridays Democratic debate in New Hampshire why he thinks his party would be taking a risk by nominating either Bernie Sanders or Pete Buttigieg. Biden finished a distant fourth in Iowas caucuses on Monday, while Sanders and Buttigieg finished in a near tie for first.

The former vice-president noted that Sanders calls himself a democratic socialist. Biden said if Sanders is the nominee, President Donald Trump would put that label on every Democratic running nationwide.

Biden praised Buttigieg as a patriot but also took a dig at the 38-year-old former South Bend, Indiana, as a the mayor of a small town. Biden also suggested that Buttigieg will have trouble building a racially diverse coalition as the nominating contest moves beyond the overwhelming white states of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Biden noted that Sanders won the New Hampshire primary handily in 2016 over Hillary Clinton, so he said hell probably take a hit in the state next Tuesday.

___

8 p.m.

A debate featuring seven Democratic presidential candidates has started in New Hampshire amid a growing urgency among a shrinking field shaken and reshaped by this weeks chaotic Iowa caucuses.

Friday nights debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester comes just four days before New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primary.

Mondays chaotic Iowa caucuses raised deeper questions about several candidates political survival. Two candidates, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, enter Fridays debate as the top targets, having emerged from Iowa essentially tied for the lead.

Those trailing after the first contest  including former Vice-President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar  also have an urgent need to demonstrate strength.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer and New York entrepreneur Andrew Yang are fighting to prove they belong in the conversation. The next set of caucuses is in Nevada on Feb. 22.

___

11:35 a.m.

President Donald Trump is tweeting reassurances to Iowa and New Hampshire that the two states will be first in the presidential primary schedule as long as I am President. He called it a Great tradition!

The Iowa Democratic Party has spent the week trying to verify results from Mondays caucuses, adding fuel to complaints that the earliest voting states should be more representative of the U.S. demographically.

Trumps tweet on Friday will appeal to many voters in the two states leading up to the general election because they want to preserve their states special role in the presidential race.

I agree  thank you, Mr. President!, tweeted New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican.

The head of New Hampshires Democratic Party, Ray Buckley, wouldnt say Friday if he has confidence in Tom Perezs leadership at the Democratic National Committee.

Perez has called for a recanvass of the Iowa caucuses and sought to shift blame onto the Iowa Democratic Party.

New Hampshires primary is next Tuesday.

___

9:30 a.m.

Democratic presidential hopeful Tom Steyer is spending some time with supporters in New Hampshire before preparing for the final debate ahead of next weeks first-in-the-nation primary.

Steyer campaign spokesman Alberto Lammers says Steyer planned to have breakfast with supporters in Manchester on Friday morning before media interviews in the afternoon.

Lammers says Steyer will do some final debate prep before getting in a workout and heading to the debate venue.

Seven of the Democrats vying for their partys presidential nomination meet Friday night for the debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester. The stage features the same six candidates as the last debate  Steyer, former Vice-President Joe Biden; Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren; and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg  along with tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
The condition of four of the six people injured in a mob attack in Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, in which one person was killed, was improving and they had been shifted from the intensive care unit to a general ward, said a hospital official on Friday.

A 35-year-old man, identified as Ganesh Patel, was lynched while six of his friends were injured on Wednesday in an attack by a group of villagers armed with sticks and stones amid rumours that a child-lifter gang was on the prowl in Dhar district, police had said.

The victims, all hailing from Indore, had travelled to Baroli village, around 60 kms from Dhar, to recover money from some local labourers.

"Four of those injured in the attack have been shifted from the ICU to a ward. They are out of danger and their condition is being monitored," said Medical Services Deputy Director Amit Bhatt of Indore's Choithram Hospital.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Meghan McCain grills Pete Buttigieg on his abortion views

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Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has again garnered attention for his views on abortion, this time with an exchange between himself and The View co-host Meghan McCain.

On Thursday's episode of The View, McCain asked Buttigieg about earlier comments he made claiming that the Bible says life does not begin before the first breath, and so it can be interpreted that abortion is acceptable.

In my circles it was passed around everywhere because I think the interpretation from pro-life people like me was that you meant a baby actually being born, said McCain.

You know there's a lot of controversy with Governor Northam and what it means and what time a woman should be able to have an abortion. I just wanted you to clarify because I found that statement to be pretty radical.

Buttigieg responded by saying that he was just explaining that there are different interpretations of Scripture and morality on the abortion issue.

We live in a country where it is extremely important that no one person have to be subject to some other persons interpretation of their own religion, he said.

McCain then brought up partial birth abortion and what limits he supported on abortion, to which the Democratic candidate said that he did not believe the government should be involved in setting any limits on abortion.

My point is that it shouldnt be up to a government official to draw the line, it should be up to the woman, said Buttigieg, who received loud applause from the studio audience.

Buttigieg also defended the practice of late-term abortion, arguing that it presents a situation in which a woman was expecting to carry the pregnancy to term only to find out that she must make a terrible choice due to unexpected complications.

And I dont know what to tell them, morally, about what they should do. I just know that I trust her and her decision, he argued, getting more applause from the audience after concluding his remarks.

Lila Rose, founder and president of the pro-life group Live Action, took to social media to denounce Buttigiegs comments on The View.

He said as long as a mother wants to abort a baby, at any age, she should be able to. Even if that means partially delivering a full-grown, 7 pound infant, who can recognize her mothers voice, & then stabbing her neck & suctioning out her brain, she tweeted on Thursday, getting as of Friday morning around 1,100 retweets and 2,500 likes.

At a town hall in Iowa last month in advance of the state caucus, Buttigieg was asked by Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats For Life of America, about how his campaign would be welcoming of pro-life Democrats.

Well, I respect where you're coming from, and I hope to earn your vote. But I'm not going to try to earn your vote by tricking you. I am pro-choice. And I believe that a woman ought to be able to make that decision, responded Buttigieg in part.

The best I can offer is that if we can't agree on where to draw the line, the next best thing we can do is agree on who should draw the line. And in my view, it's the woman who's faced with that decision in her own life.

Day was critical of the response she received from the candidate, later writing in a column for USA Today that she believed he refused to properly answer her queries.

 instead [Buttigieg] focused on his unyielding support for abortion and did not really seem to want the vote from me or people who share my views," wrote Day.

Buttigieg likes to talk about future former Republicans. With his extreme stance on abortion, though, he is doing precisely the opposite: building an army of future former Democrats, disturbed by Trump but forced into a corner.
Thousands of flights were canceled, angry storms and tornadoes tore through several Southern states, and the Northeast was bracing for up to 20 inches of snow Thursday as a gnarly winter storm roared east.

The storm front caused at least two fatalities and several injuries across a dozen states, destroying mobile homes in Alabama and Mississippi and prompting flooding and mudslides in states from the South to the Appalachian region.

Tornado watches were in effect Thursday evening from northern Florida up through North Carolina, and heavy rains brought travel delays and school closures.

In Kentucky, states of emergency were declared in Bell and Harlan counties amid rock slides and water rescues. Two mobile homes floated away as dozens of families were evacuated amid rising water, authorities said.

It's a very bad situation that continues to worsen by the hour, Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley said.

At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, more than 1,200 flights in and out were delayed by midday.

In North Carolina, the FAA evacuated the control tower at Charlotte Douglas International Airport because of a tornado threat. More than 400 flights were canceled. Operations later resumed after an airfield inspection showed no damage.

Heavy rain storms, strong winds, floods and tornado watches and warnings hit the Southeast

Heavy rain, high winds and possible tornadoes slammed across parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday, flooding homes, knocking down trees and blocking roads. More than 172,000 homes and businesses were without power across the region Thursday, and the Friday forecast called for more rain.

The weather service confirmed that an 800-foot-wide tornado had torn through Yazoo County, Mississippi, toppling trees and damaging homes.

A tornado also hit the Birmingham suburb of Helena, Alabama. One death was reported in the state when high winds smashed mobile homes near Demopolis.

In northern Alabama, flooding forced rescuers to suspend their search for a vehicle that disappeared with a person inside it in north of Bucks Pocket State Park.

Story continues

As the car started shifting because of the water, we noticed what appeared to be an arm reaching out, witness Kirkland Follis, who called 911, told WHNT-TV.

Flooding also swamped streets at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and scores of school districts across the state canceled classes.

A second death because of the storms was reported in South Carolina, as a driver was killed when a tree fell on an SUV near the town of Fort Mill, authorities said. Across the state in Spartanburg, a possible tornado left behind a string of damaged buildings captured by photos on social media.

In Tennessee, a woman was killed and four people were injured when a rain-soaked tree fell on a van carrying Sevierville city employees, officials said. The accident appeared to be caused by the weather but was still under investigation.

Tornado warnings were in effect in the Atlanta suburbs and at the University of Georgia in Athens.

The storms were expected to continue into Friday, said AccuWeather senior meteorologist Isaac Longley. Some areas in the South and up into Maryland could see 3 to 5 inches of rain, he said.

"The main threat going forward in the Southeast will be the winds, really damaging wind gusts of up to 60, 80 miles per hour," he told USA TODAY. "There will also be heavy rains as we deal with a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico."

Farther north, a winter storm was rolling in after a whirlwind trip across much of the Midwest and Southwest that featured snow as far south as the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas. A mix of rain, freezing rain and sleet in parts of New York state and New England was forecast to become a howling snowstorm before concluding Friday, Longley said. Some areas could see up to 3 inches of snow an hour.

"In northern New York up to Vermont and Maine you could see locally up to 20 inches of snow depending on where the snow bands set up," Longley said.

The wintry storm system comes just days after springlike warmth across the East.

"This winter has been all over the place, it can't seem to make up its mind," Longley said. "But it looks like we are getting into more of a winter trend."

Contributing: The Associated Press

More: Scientists have discovered an unusual 'monster' galaxy from the early universe

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Severe weather, tornadoes, floods cause school delays in South, 2 dead
NEW YORK, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- EdAppA today announces thatA 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
The government on Friday assured Rajya Sabha that workers' interests will not be compromised while framing norms for ease of doing business.

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal told the house during Question Hour that the recommendations of the Baba Kalyani Committee relating to simplification and ease of doing business were being discussed.

"On most of the recommendations, I have personally had more than three meetings with the Baba Kalyani Committee. We have reviewed each of the recommendations. On all those that were administratively possible, we have made an effort to try and resolve as soon as possible, in consultation with the Committee.

"Some required legal and legislative changes which I will bring to the House very shortly...once we have made up our mind considering also that in WTO we are fighting a case in which certain countries have gone against India and our efforts to promote exports through SEZs. As far as the changes that we have already done on the Baba Kalyani Committee report, we believe that it has helped in the ease of doing business," he told the house.

"I can assure...that our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been pro-worker. We have always had extensive consultations with all unions, including CITU, BMS and all others, and the government has had several rounds of discussions and at no point of time will the workers' interests ever be compromised. I think one must have a healthy debate," he said.

The minister, however, said there are certain challenges at the international level which one has to recognise and sometimes very tight labour laws become a disincentive to manufacture in India and to create new jobs.

"So, it is something where workers, government and employees will have to work together to find solutions which are in the interest of the country first, and obviously of



the workers also. But one must also recognise that the workers are also very keen that there should be new opportunity for jobs, new opportunity for generating economic activity which will give jobs to our young boys and girls for which a little more flexible approach on all sides is required," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)


TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Japanese automaker Toyota said its auto plants in China will remain closed until February 16 due to the coronavirus outbreak, according to reports.



A Toyota spokesperson was quoted as saying that that the company is preparing for the return to normal operations from February 17.



Toyota, the world's second largest automaker, had initially planned to resume operations in early February after the Lunar New Year holidays, but decided in late January to continue the suspension of operations until at least Monday, February 10.



The closure affects 12 plants operated by Toyota in mainland China with joint venture partners GAC Motor and FAW Group These include four car manufacturing plants, and eight plants that manufacture components.



China is the world's biggest auto market. Toyota produced about 1.4 million vehicles for the Chinese market in 2019, representing an increase of more than 6 percent from the prior year.



The factories of other major automakers in China also continue to remain closed since late January as authorities in China try to halt the spread of the virus.



Automaker Honda Motor too said it plans to resume production at its plants in China from the week starting February 17. South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor intends to resume operations at its Chinese factories on February 17.



Automakers remain concerned whether they can return to full production in China after reopening due to potential supply chain disruptions following the coronavirus outbreak.



China's National Health Commission said Friday that the death toll in the country related to the coronavirus outbreak has risen to 636, while the number of people infected increased to 31,161.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During Question Hour, when Gandhi asked a question related to the establishment of medical colleges, Vardhan said before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leader's recent comment on the prime minister.

Vardhan said he "condemns in no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks of Gandhi.

Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the written statement, Congress MPs came to the Well strongly protesting against the minister's stand.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manicka Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden tried to intervene.

ALSO READ | PM Modi's address in Parliament somewhere between 'stand-up comedy' and 'rank communalism': Congress

Several MPs from both sides and union ministers, including Smriti Irani prevented them from coming to blows.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 2 pm.

On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi, during his public rally in Delhi attacked PM Modi over the issue of providing employment to the youth and said that the country cannot progress without employment.

"These speeches that Narendra Modi is giving right now, six months later, he wont be able to step out of his house. The youth of India will hit him so hard that it will make him realise that without giving the youth employment, this country cannot progress (Ye jo Narendra Modi bhashan de raha hai, 6 mahine baad ye ghar se bahar nahi nikal payega. Hindustan ke yuva isko aisa danda marenge, isko samjha denge ki Hindustan ke yuva ko rozgar diye bina ye desh aage nahi badh sakta)," Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

PM Modi, on Thursday, replied to Rahul comment and said that he has now become 'gaali proof'.

During his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Modi said that, "I have become 'gaali-proof' now."

Without mentioning Rahul, Modi said, "yesterday a leader said that in next six months, people will hit me rods. I just want to say that I'm thankful that you have given me six months. Now, I will increase the number of Surya Namaskars to make my body fit for the blows.

He also said that, the kind of abuses I face every day, I have become 'gaali-proof now.'

When Rahul Gandhi got up from his seat and questioned Modi on the issue of unemployment, Modi said he was waiting for the Congress leader's reaction but it took him 30-40 minutes.

"I have been speaking for 30-40 minutes but it took this long for the current to reach. Many tube lights are like this," Modi said prompting ruling NDA members to burst into a laugh.

ALSO READ | Arson against legislature's decisions lead to anarchy: PM Modi slams Congress, Left in Lok Sabha

Modi, who was in a witty mood, took several digs at Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for frequently rising from his seat and interrupting him, saying that he is publicising 'Fit India' campaign of his government in Parliament.

Responding to Chowdhury on the issue unemployment, Modi said he will resolve unemployment in the country but not his and of his party's.

As soon as Prime Minister Modi entered the Lok Sabha premises he was welcomed by the BJP members by raising slogans of 'Jai Shri Ram' to which Congress responded by 'Mahatama Gandhi Zindabad' and 'Mahatama Gandhi Amar Rahe'.

Responding to Congress leader Shashi Tharoor's criticism of the government, Modi suggested that Tharoor should have some soft corner for Kashmir, after all he was "son-in-law" of the region, referring to his late wife Sunanda Pushkar.

Rahul also criticised Modi on Thursday after the Prime Minister replied to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in Lok Sabha.

He said both the prime minister and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman have given long speeches in Parliament but have failed to reply on providing employment to youth.

"All youngsters of this country want that after studies -- school, college university -- they get employment. We asked the prime minister repeatedly that you have given a one and a half-hour speech and if for two minutes you can tell the youth about employment and what your government has done about it," he said.

"Youngsters saw, that the PM could not give a reply," the former Congress president said while speaking to reporters outside Parliament.

The government earlier used to talk about the economy, Make in India, USD 5 trillion, but the prime minister now does not talk about the biggest issue facing the country and is distracting the people by talking about other things, ranging from the Congress and Nehru to Pakistan and Bangladesh.

"His (Modi's) style is of distracting the country," he said.

"Talk about the main issue prime minister ji. Tell the youth what you are doing about jobs. His style is to distract the country. He had said two crore jobs will be given to youngsters, but five and a half years have passed. Last year 1 crore youth lost jobs, he is unable to say a word," Gandhi said.
For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL  February 7, 2020  Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include Exxon Mobil XOM, Chevron CVX, International Business Machines IBM, Gilead Sciences GILD and Edwards Lifesciences EW.

Here are highlights from Thursdays Analyst Blog:

Coronavirus Starting to Weigh on 2020 Q1 Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. In addition to giving you a real-time update on the ongoing 2019 Q4 earnings season and evolving impact of the virus outbreak on estimates for the current period, we present here new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Exxon Mobil, Chevron and International Business Machines. These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Q4 Earnings Season Scorecard (as of February 6th, 2020)

Including all of this morning's reports, we now have Q4 earnings reports from 305 S&P 500 members or 61% of the index's total membership. Total earnings for these 305 index members are up +0.5% from the same period last year on +4.1% higher revenues, with 71.8% beating EPS estimates and 67.5% beating revenue estimates.

This is better performance than we have seen from this same group of companies in the recent past, even though earnings growth remains anemic and a lower proportion of companies are beating EPS estimates.

Looking at Q4 as a whole, combining the actual results that have come out with estimates for the still-to-come reports, total earnings are now expected to be up +0.5% on +4.2% higher revenues.

2020 Q1 Estimates Coming Down

Estimates for the current period (2020 Q1) have started coming down in a notable way over the last few days, with the Coronavirus impact a big driver for the estimate cuts. S&P 500 earnings in 2020 Q1 are now expected to be up +1.7%, sharply down from +3.4% last week.

Story continues

Given the evolving nature of this headwind, it is reasonable to expect that 2020 Q1 estimates will come down further in the coming days.

For a complete look at the Q4 earnings season and expectations for the current and coming quarters, please check out our weekly Earnings Trends report here >>> Q4 Earnings Season Scorecard

Exxon Mobil shares have lagged the peer group lately, but the Zacks analyst likes the company for its bellwether status in the energy space and optimal integrated capital structure that has helped it come up with industry-leading returns.

The company owns some of the most prolific upstream assets globally, with a number of major projects slated to come online over the next few years. Notably, ExxonMobil has made 16 oil discoveries in offshore Guyana and estimates 750,000 barrels of oil production per day from the region by 2025.

However, the companys downstream and chemical businesses significantly underperformed in 2019, resulting in lower-than-expected earnings. The units are unlikely to recover in the coming quarters owing to scheduled maintenance activities. As such, the stock warrants a cautious stance.

(You can read the full research report on Exxon Mobil here >>> )

Like all energy stocks, Chevron shares have struggled lately, but they have nevertheless done better than the peer group as whole. Driving this outperformance is Chevron's status as one of the best-placed global integrated oil companies to achieve sustainable production ramp-up.

Americas No. 2 energy companys existing project pipeline is among the best in the industry, thanks to planned expansion in the lucrative Permian Basin. Chevrons substantial Permian holdings of 2.2 million net acres realized production growth of 154 MBOE/d in 2019 with Chevron targeting output of 900,000 barrels per day in 2023.

Chevrons well economics in the play also continues to improve as it has been able to achieve a 40% reduction in its expenses since 2015.

(You can read the full research report on Chevron here >>> )

IBMs shares have gained +13.5% over the past three months against the S&P 500's rise of +8.1%. The Zacks analyst believes that IBMs improving position in the hosted cloud, security and analytics aided revenue performance.

Moreover, RedHat acquisition has helped IBM to enhance containerized software capabilities. Robust adoption of security solutions, including Resilient and QRadar, bodes well. Growing clout of Watson Health and growth in Payer, Provider, Imaging and Life Sciences domains are noteworthy.

Further, gains from z15 and high demand for data privacy and resiliency solutions across hybrid cloud are positives. However, stiff competition in the cloud computing market and high debt level pose concerns. Also, IBMs time-consuming business model transition to cloud is a headwind.

(You can read the full research report on IBM here >>> )

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Gilead Sciences and Edwards Lifesciences.

More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!

It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.

Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.

Click here for the 6 trades >>

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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/performancefor information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.



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Real-time AI transcription with Epiphan LiveScrypt

LiveScrypt is an AI-based speech-to-text transcription solution that enables everyone to engage with live events as they happen - regardless of any hearing impediment, native language, or distraction.

Palo Alto, CA( )

Epiphan Video, a leader in professional audiovisual capture, recording, and streaming products announces LiveScrypt, an innovative live transcription solution, at this years Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) conference in Amsterdam and will be demoed at Stand 11-B110.

LiveScrypt is an AI-based speech-to-text transcription solution that enables everyone to engage with live events as they happen - regardless of any hearing impediment, native language, or distraction.

Looking at the industry, many post-production transcription services exist, but that doesnt work for live events because its after the fact, says Greg Quirk, Product Manager at Epiphan. With LiveScrypt, all attendees have access to real-time transcriptions of whats being said for greater accessibility  whether thats displayed on monitors throughout the venue or on personal smart devices.

LiveScrypt combines dedicated hardware with an AI-driven transcription service in the cloud for affordable, real-time transcription. Next generation, AI-based transcription enables LiveScrypt to transcribe with 85% to 90% accuracy  or better! LiveScrypt fluidly adds punctuation and on-the-fly corrections based on the confidence of words in context. For even greater accuracy, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for standardized industry-related terms are supported.

LiveScrypt costs a fraction of real-time human transcriptions and has the added benefit of always being accessible, continued Quirk. All you need is your LiveScrypt account plus device, power, an audio input, and a connection to the Internet. You can count on LiveScrypt for accurate transcriptions that are ready when you are.

Live transcription is ideal for legislative assemblies, conferences, church sermons, training and education, corporate communications, and any live event where visual accessibility of the spoken message is needed.

General availability of Epiphans LiveScrypt solution is planned for Q2.

About Epiphan Video

Epiphan solutions are used in a wide range of applications such as professional audiovisual events, corporate communication, collaboration, distance learning, training, simulation, medical imaging, computing, industrial control rooms, security, and transportation applications. In short, Epiphans products are trusted anywhere capturing, processing, recording, sharing, and replaying multiple high resolution audio video sources is critical to effective communication.

Epiphan Video is a trade name of Epiphan Systems Inc., a privately owned company incorporated in 2003. Epiphan is based in Palo Alto, California, USA and Ottawa, Ontario, Canada with regional offices and a network of authorized channel partners and OEMs throughout the world.

For more information, please visit www.epiphan.com

Media inquiries, please contact

Victor Doubrovine

+1-650-644-4684

pr@epiphan.com
UPDATED

Nearly 60 percent of the high school graduates of 2019 who took Advanced Placement exams scored a 3 or higher, continuing trends of score improvements among students overall, according to results released Thursday by the College Board .

But the results also show small one-year declines in level-3 scoresthe level that most often qualifies students to earn college creditamong students in three ethnic or racial groups: Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, American Indians and Alaska natives, and white students.

The College Boards annual report on its AP program included more than just data about participation and scores. In a conference call with reporters on Wednesday, its leaders discussed a number of AP-related projects, from how theyre diversifying their computer science courses to how theyre positioning themselves as a provider of alternate assessments. Lets take a look at the highlights.

1. AP scores

In the call with reporters, the College Board focused tightly on the past decades gains, comparing the class of 2019 to the class of 2009. That focus showed mostly double-digit and triple-digit gains (with a notable exception for the American Indian/Alaska Native group, a big drop fueled in large part by the College Boards 2016 move to align its racial classifications with those of the U.S. Department of Education).

Looking at just one-year changes, though, shows that in three racial or ethnic groups, the numbers of students scoring 3 or higher on an AP exam are flattening or declining. Thats a departure from last years report, which showed one-year gains across all racial and ethnic groups for scores of 3 or higher .

2. AP participation

New College Board data show that 1.25 million, or 38.9 percent, of 2019s graduates took at least one AP exam. Thats up from 793,300 students, or 26 percent, a decade earlier.

College Board CEO David Coleman opened the call by pointing out that in the past decade, test performance and participation have risen together: 57 percent more students are taking at least one AP exam, and 60 percent more students are scoring 3 or higher. Often, when a testing pool expands to include less-well-prepared students, test scores drop. But when we opened the doors to AP and far more students participated, we found far more talent than had been seen before, Coleman said.

But again, looking just at changes from 2018 to 2019 shows participation declines in several racial or ethnic groups.

3. AP as career preparation and civic engagement tool

College Board officials are trying to change the publics view of AP as exclusively a college-preparation tool. In the call with reporters, Stefanie Sanford, the companys chief of global policy, portrayed the courses as an important kind of preparation for succeeding in todays economy and being ready to help solve real-world problems.

An example she showcased: the College Boards partnership with the National Constitution Center to design classroom instructional modules about the First Amendment. More than 5,000 students have used them in their government courses, she said, participating in live, video-based discussion with students in other states.

Sanford also noted the companys work with WE Service to create service-learning projects for students. Since 2016, she said, students have done 2,000 projects this way: Students in an AP Physics class created a fuel cell to provide energy to places affected by natural disasters, while students in an AP Government and Politics course pressed their legislators for better prison conditions.

4. Diversifying AP computer science

Sanford described the College Boards computer science courses as a way to diversify the pipeline of skilled workers in that field. She shared data showing big leaps in enrollment in its two courses, Computer Science A and Computer Science Principles, among traditionally underserved students.

5. College Board as provider of alternate assessments

Coleman pointed to several areas of work that he said reflect the College Boards commitment to assess student learning in more complete, nuanced ways. We are very worried about the narrowness of traditional assessment, he said.

He pointed to AP Capstone, whose two project-based courses are graded not with tests but projects and essays; and AP Computer Science Principles, in which students design data and computer-programming projects. He also cast the civic-engagement projects developed with WE Service as an alternate form of assessment. All told, Coleman was arguing that the College Board is moving toward a broader concept of assessment.

6. Moving the policy needle

The College Board has never been shy about lobbying lawmakers for the policies it favors. In the call with reporters, their officials made clear that theyll be pushing more districts and states to adopt those policies.

Trevor Packer, who heads AP programs for the College Board, praised the 31 states that had policies in 2019 requiring their public colleges and universities to accept qualifying AP scores. (Thats up from 14 states in 2014.) This is a still-evolving landscape; many students are still disappointed to find that only some of the colleges they want to attend will accept scores of 3 for credit; others accept only 4s or higher. In some state higher-ed systems, rules for what scores can earn credit vary from campus to campus.

The College Board will also keep pressing states to adopt policies that guarantee a wide range of AP courses are available in public high schools. Packer singled out Arkansas for praise, noting that italong with New Hampshire, Masschusetts, New Jersey, and Marylandis a state where at least 70 percent of the high schools offer four or more AP courses.

7. Did requiring earlier registration change anything?

In a much-criticized move, the College Board changed the deadline for AP exams to Nov. 15, starting last fall, instead of letting students wait until spring to decide whether theyd sit for exams. Critics called it a money-maker that would force students to pay for tests before they were certain they wanted to take them.

In the call with reporters, Packer said that early data show significant increases in registrations among minority groups, such as African Americans, Latinos, and Native American students. He didnt address whether those registration increases translated to test-taking increases. But he said next years report would dive into those dynamics more deeply.

Image: Pablo by Buffer

An earlier version of this post misstated the percentage of AP test-takers who scored a 3 or higher.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration, confident that the Chinese government will follow through on its agreement to buy more American agriculture, plans to shutter its bailout program for farmers hurt by tariffs.

But allegations of unfairness and other criticisms continue to dog the $28 billion initiative, which President Trump created to ease the economic hardship on rural America, which constitutes a large portion of his political base.

What was meant to be a financial lifeline for struggling farmers has been widely derided by critics as a corporate bailout for big agriculture companies and those who live in metropolitan areas but own farms in rural America. The program has also been attacked for providing financial support to American subsidiaries of foreign agriculture companies that operate in the United States.

For months, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has been pressing the Trump administration to explain payments to a Brazilian-owned company with a troubled past.
Ten Commandments Monument Coming to Montgomery

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Foundation for Moral Law

Feb. 6, 2020



MONTGOMERY, Ala., Feb. 6, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- Judge Roy Moore, President Emeritus of the Foundation for Moral Law, and Kayla Moore, the Foundation's President, are pleased to announce that on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, the "Ten Commandments Monument" will be returned to Montgomery, Alabama, to be placed at One Dexter Avenue on the first floor of the Foundation for Moral Law.



Judge Moore stated,

"One of the most important issues affecting our Country is a lack of morality. The Ten Commandments represent the 'Laws of Nature and of Nature's God,' upon which our Nation began in 1776.



"The Ten Commandments Monument will be returned to our state's capital, only blocks from where it was removed in 2003, where it will stand as a continual memorial to the foundation of our laws. Today more than ever, we need to return to those laws and moral standards upon which our Country was founded.



"Our decline as a nation will not be at the hand of a foreign power or external enemy, but will occur only when we lose that virtue and morality, under God, upon which we began."

Judge Moore added, "The Laws of Nature and of Nature's God are not only the source of our morals but also our unalienable rights. We have the right to religious liberty because God said, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me,' and we have the right to life because God said, 'Thou shalt not kill.'"



The Ten Commandments Monument should arrive in Montgomery the afternoon of Tuesday, February 11, between 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend. A press conference will be available for credentialed media.



SOURCE Foundation for Moral Law



CONTACT: John Eidsmoe, 334-262-1245, info@morallaw.org



Related Links



http://morallaw.org/


The chaos in Iowa could happen in Pennsylvania. You heard right. The delays, the questions, the confusion and the technical mishaps could plague the April Pennsylvania presidential primary, and many Democrats are very worried about it.

Its no big deal for the Republicans like Jeffrey Lord. They have their candidate, and hes going to win big with his base. Its Democrats like Rogette Harris, chairwoman of the Dauphin County Democrats, who have to worry. They shared their thoughts on the recent Battleground PA podcast and its clear, Pennsylvania should take note of the Iowa debacle.

After months of frenetic campaigning, debating, whittling down and see-saw polling, when it came time to end the suspense and tell the world who won, Iowa s Democratic Party couldnt do it. People stayed up late into the night, but when morning came, they still had not announced a winner.

This cartoon was produced before the Iowa Caucus vote processing debacle gave it even more credence.

The result? Chaos. Pete Buttigieg declared victory based on absolutely nothing. Bernie Sanders said things looked really good for him, based on no results; and Vice President Joe Biden cast serious doubts on the entire process. Biden is likely to gain from all of the confusion, since he wasnt expected to win the Iowa caucus anyway.

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden with Jill Biden at a caucus night campaign rally on Monday, Feb. 3, 2020, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) APAP

But while Biden may benefit, the Democrats have been hurt. Iowas Democrats look incompetent, inept and not ready for prime time. Worse, theyve found new reasons to attack each other, sow discord within their party and weaken their arguments to unseat President Donald Trump.

Jeffrey Lord put it best in the Battleground PA podcast: Democrats look like theyre not ready for the White House.

Jeffrey Lord, Rogette Harris and Joyce Davis, hosts of Battleground PA. Martin Boutros | mboutros@pennvideos.com Martin BoutrosMartin Boutros

Harris rightly argues Iowas Democratic Party isnt vying to run the nation, and their small group of dedicated volunteers were overwhelmed by technical problems and a large turnout. But the real blame has to go to party officials whose responsibility is to make sure the process went smoothly.

As it turns out, Iowas Democrats decided to try something new, something untested, something tekky at exactly the wrong time  when all the world would be watching for one of the most important announcements of the year. That was a mistake.

But Harris is warning Pennsylvania may make the same mistake in rolling out new voting machines in major counties like Dauphin on April 28 in primary elections.

The rollout has been planned since April 2018, when counties were informed they must select new voting systems that provide a paper record and meet 21st-century standards of security, auditability and accessibility no later than December 31, 2019 and implement them by the 2020 primary.

Forty-five counties used the new machines in the 2019 general election. And there were problems. People didnt know how to use the darn machines, and things went so bad in York, the director of elections resigned. The Republican Party filed suit alleging massive voting malfunctions from the new machines.

It is extremely important we clean up some of the issues that we experienced in York County with the new voting machines on Election Day, said state Sen. Kristen Phillips-Hill, R-York County, during a speech on the Senate floor.

The Pennsylvania Department of State also is battling a lawsuit connected to voting machines in Northampton, where the new machines reported incorrect results in some races in the last election.

Now, the rest of the counties get their chance to try out the new system  in a hot presidential primary.

Theres no doubt a new system was needed. The Pennsylvania Department of State says the current voting systems are older than the first Iphone and many can no longer be repaired or supported. The problem is trying something new at a time when technical glitches could lead to embarrassment of epic proportion, as in Iowa.

Dauphin County commissioners were reluctant to take the plunge and did so only a day before the states deadline for counties to implement the new system. But now thats left them no time to test their system before the big vote in April.

G. Terry Madonna, Director of the Franklin & Marshall College Poll, shares Harriss concerns about the real possibility of trouble in April with so many new voting machines making their debut amid so much reluctance in some counties.

Theres a real threat technical glitches associated could create the same kind of disaster weve seen in Iowa, Madonna warned.

Theres clearly valid concern that Pennsylvania could be a repeat of Iowa, but on an even larger scale. We cant afford that kind of worldwide publicity.

But here, the burden for a smooth election process wont rest with the Democratic Party. It will be the responsibility of the Pennsylvania Secretary of State and the Governor, who has demanded all counties use the new voting machines in the pivotal 2020 primary.

State election officials need to act now to prevent problems and to reassure voters all will go well in April. Voters have a right to demand reassurances, considering our recent past and the clear warning sirens now blaring from Iowa.

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. And subscribe for free to Battleground PA!
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano and Apriza Pinandita (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, February 8 2020

A long way from home: Indonesians arrive at the Ain Issa camp, 50 kilometers north of Raqa, after fleeing the Islamic States Syrian bastion on June 13, 2017. The Indonesian government is considering preventing IS supporters from returning to the country. (AFP/Ayham al-Mohammad)

Torn between protecting citizens' rights and national security, the government is considering barring Indonesians who traveled to Syria to join terrorist group Islamic State (IS) from returning home.

According to National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) records, more than 600 Indonesian citizens, most of whom are women and children, currently reside in Syria, with government officials leaning toward not repatriating them.

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T he excellence of most London schools is confirmed again today in an analysis of the latest national league tables which shows that the 10 best-performing local authorities are all in the capital.

Ealing tops the list, with Barnet second, but whats most encouraging is that other high-achieving boroughs include Merton, Redbridge, Westminster and Brent, some of which have large areas of deprivation that might not appear at first sight to present fertile ground for educational success.

One reason that theyve managed to achieve this is that todays analysis, conducted by the Evening Standard using data from the latest government league tables, measures the value added by the schools in each area  using a calculation known as Progress 8 which assesses how pupils have advanced in eight key subjects including maths and English.

This rightly takes into account the level at which pupils began when they started secondary school, and means that their true achievements, and those of their teachers, are properly recognised.

Its a fairer way to measure success than focusing just on the performance of schools that benefit either from academic selection or from pupil intakes dominated by children whose family and social backgrounds make them odds-on to achieve from the start.

London excels here too, of course, but its wonderful to see todays analysis showing that success is being spread more widely.

Several factors lie behind this achievement. The most obvious is the hard work of pupils and teachers, whose efforts we commend wholeheartedly.

The role of immigrant families, many of whom have traditionally done well in encouraging their children to make the most of their abilities, will have contributed too.

So will Londons fortune in being an attractive city for talented young teachers to live and work in. Its a good combination and means that the days when London was a byword for low educational standards have become pleasingly far distant.

All this success must not breed complacency, however, particularly in Whitehall.

Ministerial talk of evening out school funding nationwide  which at the moment works in favour of London  must involve levelling up, not dragging the capital down by cutting the resources which todays results, and others before them, have shown are delivering fine results.

Vigilance will therefore remain necessary, but for now lets give a gold star to all the children, staff and parents whose efforts are producing such impressive achievements.

Race to find a vaccine

The race by British scientists, including some at Londons Imperial College, to find a vaccine for the coronavirus is already showing promising signs of being won.

Today it has taken on added significance in this city with the news that the third diagnosed case in the UK is a man now being treated in the capitals St Thomas Hospital.

At the same time, Briton Alan Steele, on honeymoon on the Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan, has also been confirmed as having the virus.

It has already claimed hundreds of lives in China and is now spreading worldwide to put many more peoples health in peril.

It is no surprise to see British scientists leading the way in trying to tackle this global problem, and a reminder of their brilliant abilities.

We wish them every success in their life-saving endeavours.

The cat with 250 lives

Who wants just nine lives?

One feline wonder called Blitz has outstripped his peers with a remarkable escape act on the Tube, in which he avoided being run over 250 times by cowering between the rails at Tufnell Park as trains raced by above.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:36:15|Editor: xuxin

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WELLINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The New Zealand government will contribute 100,000 NZ dollars (64,193 U.S. dollars) to the Southland regional Mayoral Relief Fund, to support communities impacted by the recent flooding in Southland.

Minister of Civil Defense Peeni Henare said on Friday that this week's flooding has caused significant disruption to communities in the lower South Island.

"This week's severe weather and subsequent flooding has impacted people's livelihoods, led to the evacuation of entire communities, and stranded travelers and tourists, and damaged property," Henare said in a statement.

"I know that this will have been a difficult time for many people but it was great that people took steps to keep themselves and their families safe and listened to official advice," he said, adding that "friends and neighbors looking out for one another."

The minister said the funding assistance will help those communities impacted by the flooding to bounce back, adding the Mayoral Relief Funds provide an additional way to help communities get back on their feet after an emergency.

Emergency Services and other government agencies have been on the ground supporting the response. The New Zealand Transport Agency is working hard to repair damage and reopen roads, he said.

Friday's announcement follows the earlier declaration of "an adverse event" for the Southland and Otago regions, which made extra funding of 100,000 NZ dollars available for Rural Support Trusts to help speed up the recovery of farming businesses.
Irans reformists will mostly stay out of the parliamentary elections on February 21, leaving little incentive for voters to go to polls, as no alternative is offered except hardliners to choose from.

Although twelve small reformist parties have decided to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections for seats in the capital, few see this as reason enough to take the elections a bit more seriously.

Prominent reformists in dozens were barred by the hardliner election watchdog controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from running in the elections.

The decision of smaller groups announced on Friday February 7 by Mohammad Reza Rahchamani, the leader of National Unity and Cooperation Party, defied a resolution by an umbrella organization that decided reformists will not field candidates in Tehran in reaction to widespread disqualification of reformists.

Several reformist figures have said during the past week that no prominent reformist candidate has been qualified by the Guardian Council to run for the parliament (Majles).

However, Rahchamani added that "around 12 reformist parties have qualified candidates and they want to take part in the elections in Tehran. They are going to form something like a coalition that would be named as 'Reformists in the Capital' after a meeting which is to be held on Saturday."

The meeting of the representatives of the 12 parties will also discuss the combination of the list. These are small low-key, low-impact parties not to be compared to major parties such as the Participation Party and National Party in the 2000s, which no longer operate as their status and structure has been badly damaged after the disputed 2009 election. Part of the government believes the former is outlawed and the latter has been weakened due to divides and separations.

Hardline newspaper Kayhan has often mockingly said about the small reformist parties that "all of their members can fit into a Volkswagen."

All this is happening while public interest in the upcoming elections has been diminishing.

A poll conducted by the state-run News Network on the Telegram app showed over 78 percent of viewers said they won't take part in the elections. The posts were deleted and the poll was repeated with similar results.

On Friday the posts were deleted again, and a News Network presenter announced that the channel was fake.

In the murky social media environment, it is difficult to ascertain who is fake and who is real, anyway.

Violent suppression of protests in November and the killing of hundreds of protesters have left many Iranians deeply disillusioned with the whole political system of the Islamic Republic. They do not see this election as an opportunity to perhaps choose politicians who can make a difference.

Many Iranians on social media and 164 foreign-based activists have called for boycotting the elections. The 164 signatories called the February 21 election a stage-managed event and called for civil disobedience asking the people to defend their citizenship rights by not taking part in the elections, in which only candidates who have been endorsed by the hardliner-dominated Guardian Council can run at the expense of thousands of others.

The hardliners led by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei know that in the absence of at least a semblance of competitive elections the turnout will be low and are trying to urge people to vote.

Khamenei himself this week addressed the people saying that even if they do not like him, they should vote if they love their country. Many mocked him for this statement on social media, after deep anger with recent events.

One his most staunch hardliner supporters, the ultraconservative cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda announced that "Those who do not take part in the elections will go to hell."
He's the upcoming Australian actor who is rumoured to be dating Zendaya.

But Jacob Elordi walked the red carpet solo at the Bvlgari Rock Party in Brooklyn on Thursday, despite Zendaya also attending the same distinguished event.

The 22-year-old cut a stylish figure in a sleek black pant suit, styling the classic ensemble with a matching black collared shirt.

Going solo? Australian actor Jacob Elordi steps out in a sleek ensemble as he attends the Bvlgari Rock Party in New York... without rumoured girlfriend Zendaya

Jacob brought a bohemian edge with a thin patterned neckerchief, accessorising with a silver bracelet and a chunky ring.

The Queenslander finished the look with black leather loafers, surprisingly pairing the formal shoes with white socks.

The Kissing Booth star appeared to be growing his hair out into a fashion-forward mullet, perhaps a nod to his Australian roots.

Fashionable: The 22-year-old cut a stylish figure in a sleek black pant suit, styling the classic ensemble with a matching black collared shirt

Is love in the air? Jacob Elordi stepped out solo at the Bvlgari Rock Party in Brooklyn on Thursday, despite Zendaya (pictured) also attending the same distinguished event

Zendaya and Jacob co-star on the HBO hit series Euphoria; Zendaya plays recovering addict Rue and Jacob plays conceited jock Nate.

On Monday, the actors confirmed their romance with a public kiss, locking lips while shopping in New York City.

Dating rumors began last summer after fans spotted them catching a train together in Sydney and then holding hands together weeks later.

Bold choice: The Kissing Booth star appeared to be growing his hair out into a fashion-forward mullet, perhaps a nod to his Australian roots

Jacob had slammed the rumors in early December during an interview with GQ Australia, describing Zendaya as 'like his sister'.

'Zendaya is an amazing creative, you know? She's super dope to work with. She's an incredible artist and a very caring person to all of us,' he told the publication.

He was previously involved with his Kissing Booth co-star Joey King.
Watertown, NY (13601)

Today

Bitterly cold. Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low -8F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%..

Tonight

Bitterly cold. Snow showers this evening. Becoming partly cloudy later. Low -8F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 30%.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2020) - Meadow Bay Gold Corporation (CSE: MAY) (OTC: MAYGF) (FSE: 20M) (WKN A1C3DN) ("Meadow Bay" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received conditional acceptance from the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE") to the listing of Mountain Valley MD Inc. ("MVMD") as a result of the amalgamation agreement entered into between the Company, MVMD and 2700915 Ontario Inc., the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, pursuant to which the Company will acquire all of the outstanding shares of MVMD in exchange for common shares of the Company (the "Common Shares"), which is a fundamental change within the meaning of the policies of the CSE (the "MVMD Transaction"). For additional details concerning the MVMD Transaction, please refer to the Company's news release dated June 28, 2019 and Information Circular dated August 29, 2019. Final CSE approval is subject to the Company meeting certain conditions required by the CSE, including the closing of the MVMD Transaction and the completion of all outstanding CSE application documents.

The closing of the MVMD Transaction (the "Closing") is subject to certain conditions precedent, including Meadow Bay completing an eight (8) for one (1) share consolidation (the "Consolidation") and a change of the name of Meadow Bay to "Mountain Valley MD Inc." The Company anticipates that the Closing will occur within the next 7 to 10 days. The Company's shares will remain halted until the final approval of the CSE is received.

In connection with the sale by the Company to Casino Gold Corp. ("Casino") of its Atlanta Gold Mine project (the "Casino Gold Transaction") and the receipt by Meadow Bay of 10,000,000 common shares of Casino (the "Casino Gold Shares") as consideration therefor (see the Company's news release issued on November 18, 2019 for more information), the Company will proceed with the alteration of its authorized share structure to create class B non-voting shares (the "Class B Shares") and issue to each holder of Common Shares as at a record date preceding the Closing, one Class B Share for every Common Share held by such shareholder, by way of share distribution or dividend. Holders of the Class B Shares will, upon redemption of all of the outstanding Class B Shares, be entitled to receive the Casino Gold Shares or any other securities or property owned by the Company in exchange for the Casino Gold Shares as a result of any merger, amalgamation, arrangement, reorganization or other restructuring involving Casino (the "Casino Gold Assets") or the proceeds arising from the sale of any of the Casino Gold Assets or if the Company completes the sale of all or any portion of the Casino Gold Assets.

Finally, the Company announces that it will, prior to the Closing, issue 7,999,987 pre-Consolidation Common Shares ("Finders' Shares") to certain arm's length parties to the Company at a deemed price of $0.035 per share as finders' fees in consideration for services provided in connection with the Casino Gold Transaction. The Finders' Shares are subject to a hold period of four months and a day in accordance with applicable securities legislation.

Trading in the Common Shares is expected to remain halted pending satisfaction of applicable requirements of the CSE.

For further information please contact:

MEADOW BAY GOLD CORPORATION

www.meadowbaygold.com

Robert Dinning

Chairman & CEO

Tel: 604-641-4450

bob@meadowbaygold.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange has in no way passed upon the merits of the sale of Desert Hawk to Casino Gold and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Forward-Looking Information

This news release may contain forward-looking information (as such term is defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) that are based on the Company's current expectations and estimates. Forward-looking information is 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, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's current plans. Such forward-looking information 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 information. Such forward-looking information are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect. The cautionary statements qualify all forward-looking information attributable to Meadow Bay and persons acting on its behalf. Any forward-looking information 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 information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

The securities referred to in this news release have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless pursuant to an exemption therefrom. This press release is for information purposes only and does constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Meadow Bay in any jurisdiction.

NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52212
Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LCS announced today the purchase of Timber Ridge at Talus, a senior living community located in Issaquah, Washington. LCS and National Health Investors formed a joint venture to acquire the property from Westminster Capital and LCS. The transaction closed on January 31, 2020. Life Care Services, An LCS Company, will remain the operator under the new ownership.

Were pleased to join NHI in purchasing this premier senior living community, says Dan Lahey, SVP and managing director of investments. This partnership with NHI demonstrates our continued focus to invest in thriving senior living communities.

Our leadership and community teams will continue to focus on the services that have resulted in Life Care Services being ranked highest in customer satisfaction in the J.D. Power 2019 U.S. Senior Living Study, says Scott Doherty, vice president and senior director of operations management. He noted the transition will be seamless to residents and the current leadership team will continue to oversee operations.

Timber Ridge at Talus was built in 2008. In 2017, an extensive expansion project, financed by NHI, was completed. The community, consisting of 401 units, is located east of Seattle and offers independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing and memory care.
President Trump has been acquitted, but now Democrats  and Republicans  are seriously considering returning to battle over Ukraine with new waves of document and witness subpoenas.

What we're hearing: Many House Democrats want to pick up where the White House stonewalled them during impeachment. That could include renewed moves to seek John Bolton's testimony if he doesn't go public soon, while several Senate Republicans are contemplating investigations of Burisma, the Bidens and more.

The bitter debate over whether Trump's actions toward Ukraine were justified isn't dying with the end of the impeachment trial, and both parties see the opportunity to use these investigations to bring new evidence to light that could motivate voters ahead of the November elections.

What they're saying: Several Democrats want to continue investigating Trump and Ukraine and are still considering subpoenaing everyone from Lev Parnas to top current and former White House aides, especially if the White House blocks publication of former national security advisor Bolton's forthcoming book.

"John Bolton has to speak; the country wants to hear him," said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). "We can't run away from our oversight duties."

House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) told CNN Wednesday that House Democrats will likely subpoena Bolton and continue investigations.

"The general public deserves to know the facts of what happened here. And if the president tries to tie up Boltons book indefinitely, what he's depriving the voting public of is the insight that I would hope my Republican colleagues would agree they deserve," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) told Axios.

Lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), speaking in the Senate trial on Jan. 31, said that the facts will come out in the end. In all of their horror, they will come out."

"There are more court documents and deadlines under the Freedom of Information Act," Schiff said. "Witnesses will tell their stories in future congressional hearings, in books and in the media. The documents the president is hiding will come out. The witnesses the president is concealing will tell their stories.

Some Republicans are just as hungry for Biden blood.

Immediately after Trump's acquittal Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) announced a review of "potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration."

On Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo that, as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he would investigate the Bidens and whether their dealings with Ukraine were corrupt: You should expect us to do this. If we dont do it, were letting you down," he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said: I think there needs to be an investigation" but that "it's important to note it's not it's not Hunter Biden, who needs to be investigated. It is rather Joe Biden." Cruz said, "I'd like to see the Judiciary Committee investigate. I'd like to see Foreign Relations investigate. I'd like to see the Department of Justice investigate."

Other Hill Republicans tell Axios there's little appetite to truly go after the Bidens now that Trump has been acquitted.

GOP aides tell Axios Trump's fiercest allies may do something to feed the narrative, but it'll be "extraordinarily half-assed and slow-walked," as one aide put it.

Some Republicans fear aggressively pursuing any investigations about Burisma will give the appearance of trying to hurt Joe Biden  a former Senate colleague politically, which isn't worth it to them, the aide said, "especially since the Biden campaign looks like its toast."

"The issue of how Ukraine is progressing on corruption is a legitimate one, especially if it's a country that we intend to continue to support with aid," Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said. While questions about Burisma are "legitimate," he said, "Im just not sure at this stage that Congress is the appropriate place."

Go deeper: The daily highlights from Trump's Senate impeachment trial
OTTAWA, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following matter was voted upon at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Calian Group Ltd. (TSX:CGY) held on February 6, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. This and other matters voted upon are described in greater detail in the Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders dated December 11, 2019 and Management Proxy Circular dated December 11, 2019.



Detailed results of the vote for the election of directors are set out below.



Name of Nominee Votes For % Votes For

Votes

Withheld

% Votes

Withheld Kenneth Loeb 4,889,775 93.4% 343,672 6.6% Jo-Anne Poirier 5,164,790 98.7% 68,637 1.3% Ray Basler 5,223,028 99.8% 10,399 0.2% Richard Vickers 5,162,839 98.7% 70,588 1.3% George Weber 5,225,969 99.9% 7,458 0.1% Kevin Ford 5,225,318 99.9% 8,109 0.1% Young Park 5,175,574 98.9% 57,880 1.1%

All other matters that came before the shareholders, including approval of security based compensation plans and the Companys shareholder rights plan, were also approved.

About Calian

Calian employs over 3,400 people in its delivery of diverse products and solutions for private sector, government and defence customers in North American and global markets. The Companys diverse capabilities are delivered through four segments: Advanced Technologies, Health, Learning and Information Technology. The Advanced Technologies segment provides innovative products, technologies and manufacturing services and solutions for the space, communications, defence, nuclear, government and agriculture sectors. The Health segment manages a network of more than 1,800 health care professionals delivering primary care and occupational health services to public and private sector clients across Canada. Learning is a trusted provider of emergency management, consulting and specialized training services and solutions for the Canadian Armed Forces and clients in the defence, health, energy and other sectors. The Information Technology segment supports public- and private-sector customer requirements for subject matter expertise in the delivery of complex IT and cyber security solutions. Headquartered in Ottawa, the Companys offices and projects span Canada and international markets.

For investor information, please visit our website at www.calian.com or contact us at ir@calian.com

Kevin Ford Patrick Houston Media inquiries: President and Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer Simon Doyle 613-599-8600 613-599-8600 613-599-8600 x 2205




The Australian government has acknowledged it might be impossible for students trapped in China to get access to crucial online learning tools, as universities fight to keep their hold on the multibillion dollar international market.

As semester one fast approaches, Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said on Friday that more than 100,000 Chinese university students, many of whom pay full fees for tuition and accommodation, will not be given exemptions to return to Australia.

The multi-billion dollar international student sector is set to be hit hard by coronavirus. Credit:Bloomberg

Currently only permanent residents and citizens are allowed to return to Australia from anywhere in mainland China. They must then "self isolate" for two weeks.

The restrictions may cost the higher-education sector billions of dollars and compromise the future of students paying tens of thousands of dollars for the opportunity to study at Australia's respected universities.
Australians being evacuated out of the coronavirus epidemic in China will be sent to the Northern Territory on the second Qantas flight out of Wuhan.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Christmas Island facility occupied by more than 270 evacuees was now full for the purposes of quarantine, so evacuees scheduled to board a flight in Wuhan on Friday night will be sent to a mining camp outside Darwin.

The first plane to Christmas Island left on Tuesday morning.

The decision was taken on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer, who said the configuration of the accommodation at Christmas Island meant it could not properly mitigate and manage the health risks of a larger population in that facility.

"So, with that advice we will be moving to the contingency plans for overflow," Mr Morrison said.
A man was seriously injured after a boat he was in caught fire on Lamu Island on Tuesday evening.

Shafi Mawiyawiya escaped with serious burns on his left leg and hand after the petrol-powered boat which was parked in one of the yards exploded in an incident believed to have been caused by a cigarette.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to the Nation said the victim might have contributed to the explosion.

It took almost an hour for residents to put out the fire using water from the Indian Ocean after helping the man move out of the burning boat.

PETROL

Mr Athman Musa, a coxswain who was present by the time the fire broke out, said there was a jerrican of petrol inside the boat which ignited immediately the cigarette was lit.

"It was around 4.30pm when we saw the huge flame coming from the boat parked at one of the Indian Ocean yards near the Lamu Old Town seafront. We moved quickly to save the man who was inside the boat before we put out the fire using water from the Indian Ocean. The man had lit a cigarette without knowing that there was petrol near him. The jerrican caught fire and exploded causing the huge flame," said Mr Musa.

The man was rushed to the King Fahad County Referral Hospital for treatment.

Following the incident, Lamu County Boat Operators Association Chairman Hassan Awadh asked coxswains and even passengers to avoid any incidents that risk their lives while travelling on boats and dhows.

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SMOKING

Mr Awadh cautioned sailors against smoking while travelling in boats and dhows, most of which use petrol-propelled engines.

"It's very improper for you to smoke while aboard boats or dhows most of which are driven by petrol engines. Let's avoid such careless behaviour so that we don't cause unnecessary accidents and deaths," said Mr Awadh.

He also advised boat operators to consider parking their vessels in places far from residential areas.

Boats are a crucial element in Lamu's water transport system as they are the main modes of movement. They are mainly used by people entering and exiting Lamu Island from the rest of the islands including Mtangawanda, Faza, Pate, Kizingitini, Kiwayu, Ndau, Mkokoni, Kiunga as well as the mainland areas of Mokowe, Hindi, Mpeketoni and Witu among others.
The Context

The Chinese government has been systematically persecuting Muslim minorities: separating families, subjecting Uighurs and Kazakhs to forced labor and operating internment camps. It is also embroiled in a political crisis over Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. At the same time, President Trump has taken a hard line on trade with China, imposing economically damaging tariffs. Last month, the United States and China signed an initial trade deal.

Should respect for Hong Kongs political independence, under the terms of the handover agreement with Britain, be a prerequisite for normal relations and trade with China?

Should normal relations and trade be contingent on Chinas closing its internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups?
Olga Voytenko, a Russian seamstress living in Cork, has teamed up with flexible workspace provider Glandore to offer its Cork members the opportunity to repair clothing during February.

The relationship comes as a part of Glandores ongoing sustainability drive which aims to achieve an eco-friendlier workspace. Using Olgas expertise, they hope to encourage their members to repair clothes instead of dumping and buying into fast fashion, subsequently reducing carbon and clothing waste.

Danielle Healy, sales manager at Glandore, said: We are fully committed to supporting female entrepreneurs and small businesses through our partner programme, so this connection with Olga is very welcome.

Not only do we think the addition of clothing repair work is a great

sustainability initiative, but it also allows us to continue to support female entrepreneurs. We are a predominantly female-led business, so it is imperative that we are able to give other women the opportunity to thrive in business.

Olga is a Russian asylum seeker and has been living in a direct provision centre in Cork for three years. Her studio is at 19 Patricks Hill, Cork, while she can also be contacted via her website, SewingStudio.ie.

In keeping with their ongoing efforts to support women in business, Glandore will welcome Olga to their Cork offices, where members can schedule an appointment. Light repair work and tacking will be carried out on-site and clothing will be then taken to Olgas studio for further repairs if needed. Garments will be returned to members of the workspace at the office four to five days later.
NEW DELHI  Sitting in his basement, below the crowded dirt roads of Wazirabad village, Mohammad Saud leaned over the body of an injured black kite.

The room was cramped, its walls chipping blue paint, the noise from the streets above drowned out by the whir of a fan. Mr. Saud stared at the bird in front of him for a couple of seconds, then gently folded its wing over with a gloved hand. At least two bones, four tendons and two muscles had been snapped. The birds head tilted back limply, eyes cloudy. Mr. Saud adjusted his glasses with the crook of his elbow, then stated the obvious: This is a gone case. Nothing can be done.

Mr. Saud placed the kite back into a thin cardboard box. As he did so, Salik Rehman, a young employee of Mr. Saud, reached into a different cardboard box and pulled out another black kite. This birds right wing was wrapped in a gauze bandage stained with dried blood and pus. Mr. Saud examined it briefly. Another gone case, he concluded; it would have to be euthanized.

Fourteen more cardboard boxes surrounded them, each filled with a black kite that Mr. Rehman, Mr. Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, Mr. Sauds brother, had collected earlier in the day from animal hospitals around New Delhi. The three men, along with a part-time veterinarian, comprise a bird rehabilitation organization called Wildlife Rescue that treats more than 2,000 birds of prey a year.
Qasim al-Raymi has been associated with a series of attacks on Western targets over the past decade. For the White House, his death "degrades" the most dangerous section of al-Qaeda in the region. Rumors of his death had already circulated in January, denied on February 2 by an audio message released by the jihadist leader himself.

Dubai (AsiaNews / Agencies) - US special forces killed Qasim al-Raymi, leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (Aqap) since 2015 in a raid in Yemen. American President Donald Trump himself made the announcement yesterday evening, in the context of an anti-terrorist operation launched in the region and successfully concluded.

The jihadist leader is associated with a series of attacks against Western targets that occurred in the 2000s. He took the lead of the terrorist group on the death of his predecessor, killed in the context of a drone strike from the United States.

" Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, Trump said in a statement. His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security, the president said.

The al-Qaeda movement in the Arabian Peninsula was born in 2009, following the union of two sections of al-Qaeda in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with the aim of overthrowing local governments supported by Washington, eliminating their influence in the area. Most of the attacks were concentrated in Yemen, where it was able to strike more easily thanks to the political instability that has characterized the country for years.

Rumors of Qasim al-Raymi's death had already circulated in the United States as early as the end of January. In response, the jihadist group released an audio message on February 2, stating that Aqap had planned and launched the deadly attack on a US naval base in Pensacola, Florida.

For the White House, it was the most dangerous and deadly section of the al-Qaeda network in the region. The note released today does not clarify when the operation that killed the jihadist leader took place. A Yemeni government source, behind anonymity, confirms that a drone raid took place recently in Marib, but it would not be the same attack in which al-Raymi died.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 05:16:49|Editor: zyl

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), on Thursday called for a recanvass of the party's Iowa caucus results delayed by a technical issue.

Perez, in a tweet, said that he's calling on the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) to "immediately begin a recanvass" in light of "the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results."

The proposed recanvass, according to the chairman, is "a review of the worksheets from each caucus site to ensure accuracy."

The IDP will continue to report results, he said.

A "coding issue" in a mobile application used to collect data for the Iowa Democratic caucuses, held on Monday night, has caused a delay in announcing the full results.

With 97 percent of Iowa's precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, is leading with 26.2 percent of state delegates, closely followed by Senator Bernie Sanders, with 26.1 percent.

Senator Elizabeth Warren and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden round out the top four with 18.2 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively, while Senator Amy Klobuchar, garnering 12.2 percent, takes the fifth place.

No other candidates received double-digit support.

Iowa also held Republican caucuses Monday night, in which sitting President Donald Trump easily won, as he was facing no significant challenge.

The Iowa caucuses were the first-in-the-nation nominating contests.

As the nation continues to await the full Iowa Democratic caucus results, the 2020 presidential race has already shifted to Northeastern state of New Hampshire, with a still crowded field of Democrats blanketing the state ahead of its Tuesday primary.

Trump will also go on the campaign trail next week. He's scheduled to attend a rally in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday.
Oakland, known as The Town in local parlance, is often defined by its differences from San Francisco across the bay. But the city  birthplace of the Black Panther movement  is a bubbling caldron of creative energy worth exploring on its own. Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, better known as Fantastic Negrito, is an Oakland-based musician who sees himself as a bridge between Oaklands past and present. From the early days of hip-hop and punk to the citys current gentrification, he is a true believer in the citys intoxicating energy.

Oakland is amazing, and its tragic. I remember the day that the crack epidemic hit. But that dark energy gave rise to a great music and art movement.
The lights dimmed, more than 40 world leaders took their seats, and the screens cut to black. The scene was set for Russia to sell its revisionist take on World War II to a global audience.



The Fifth World Holocaust Forum, held in Jerusalem on January 23, was described by its Kremlin-friendly sponsor as a "historic event" intended to remember the Holocaust and counter anti-Semitism ahead of the 75th anniversary of the Soviet liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp.



But it may be remembered for key omissions in the narrative of how the war played out and for Russian President Vladimir Putin's manipulation of historical facts during his speech.



At the end of the day, videos screened during the more than four-hour event garnered the most controversy, in particular one titled The Holocaust And Liberation.

The video prompted an apology from the director of Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, which cooperated with the World Holocaust Forum Foundation, founded by one of Russia's wealthiest men, Vyacheslav Kantor, in organizing the event.



"Unfortunately, the short films that accompanied the event...included a number of inaccuracies that resulted in a partial and unbalanced presentation of the historical facts," Professor Dan Michman, the head of Yad Vashem's International Institute for Holocaust Research, said in a February 3 apology.

The most glaring omission, critics say, was the failure to mention the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact signed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in 1939. The pact and a secret annex that was kept under wraps for decades are seen, including by Yad Vashem, as paving the way for World War II and allowing for Adolf Hitler's Germany and Josef Stalin's Soviet Union to carve up Poland and the Baltics.



Russia has in recent years claimed that Moscow had no choice but to sign the nonaggression agreement, and in some cases has called it smart diplomacy.



Germany, which received western Poland under the deal, later broke the agreement when it invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941.

The film aired at the forum instead picks up with a map depicting the "Nazi Conquest 1942," which shows Nazi Germany expanding its territory across countries that appear to be independent, even though they were occupied by Nazi Germany or, in the case of Poland, partly by the Soviet Union at the time.



The maps also "show incorrect borders between Poland and its neighbors and erroneously identify concentration camps as extermination camps," Yad Vashem's Michman noted in the apology.



He said that the films "do not reflect the complexity of the Holocaust and the war," and added that "we reiterate our ongoing commitment to historical truth, and to research that stands opposed to efforts at obfuscation and distortion by the political discourse in various countries."



The apology did not mention the speech Putin delivered before an audience that did not include Polish President Andrzej Duda -- who opted not to go because he was not given the right to speak at the event -- but did include Great Britain's Prince Charles, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, whose office helped organize the forum.



The speech echoed the narrative recently pushed by the Kremlin, which has argued that the way to war was paved by what Russian officials have termed collusion by Poland and Western powers with Nazi Germany.

Putin said that of the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust, "40 percent were citizens of the Soviet Union," a claim that historians decried as false.



Evoking the name of Soviet Red Army Marshal Ivan Konev, who liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau in January 1945 but whose legacy is also a point of contention between Moscow and countries such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, where he is widely seen as a symbol of decades of postwar Soviet dominance, Putin described the crimes committed by the Nazis as "one of the darkest and most shameful pages of modern world history."



Putin did not mention well-documented Soviet crimes that followed the occupation of Poland, such as the Katyn massacre -- the killing of 22,000 Poles including military officers, religious figures, and intelligentsia.

Poland's Institute of National Remembrance has estimated the country's dead, including Polish Jews, at the hands of German actions at between 5.4 and 5.6 million, but also estimates that at least 111,000 and up to 200,000 Poles were killed as the result of persecution by the Soviet Union.



In claiming that the largest number of Jews were killed on Nazi-occupied Soviet territory, Putin also drew attention to the Jews slain in the Baltics during the Holocaust -- "220,000 people killed in Lithuania" and "in Latvia, 77,000" -- without acknowledging that those countries were not Soviet but independent states that were first occupied and subsequently annexed by the Soviet Union.



Putin concluded by calling on all those assembled to "defend truth and justice" with Russia.



Event funder Kantor, who is widely known as Moshe, has headed the European Jewish Congress since 2007 and is listed among prominent donors to Yad Vashem. He is considered by the U.S. Treasury Department to be among the "oligarchs" with close business or political ties to the Kremlin.



Polish President Duda has said that Kantor's involvement in the January 23 forum and "friendship and acquaintance" with Putin played a part in his decision not to attend.



"As you know, there was a serious exchange of views on historical topics between the Polish authorities and representatives of Russia," he said after meeting with his Israeli counterpart Rivlin during the January 27 commemoration at Auschwitz-Birkenau.



Kantor had brushed aside criticism of his event, telling reporters just before it began that "it's not a political gathering. Our main goal is to use the platform of Holocaust commemoration to raise the issue about the crisis of anti-Semitism. And we have done that."

One observer who was vocal in his criticism of the decision to allow Putin and Macron to speak, and not Duda, told RFE/RL that the Jerusalem event had overshadowed Auschwitz commemorations in Oswiecim, Poland, the location of Auschwitz-Birkenau.



"Israeli journalists behind the scenes were calling it St. Putin Day. This was the running joke from Israel," said Jonny Daniels, who heads the From The Depths Foundation that works to improve Polish-Jewish relations. "Effectively Putin was able to push a Russian narrative, and a false narrative pertaining to the Second World War."



"I think every leader should have the opportunity to visit Jerusalem," he said. "But there's a time and a place for everything, and the primary place for this [Holocaust commemorations] was in Auschwitz, not Jerusalem."



Piotr Cywinski, the director of the Auschwitz Memorial in Oswiecim, had also questioned Kantor's role and the holding of such an event in Jerusalem, suggesting that his friends at Yad Vashem risked becoming victims of a "political dispute."



Following the apology from Yad Vashem's Michman, Cywinski told RFE/RL in e-mailed comments that "the problem that has arisen from this turmoil is that for the first time a serious leading memorial institution has openly linked its fund-raising activities with a historical narration."



"After this dispute that was unnecessary to anyone," he said, "I hope that other museums or memorials -- as well as the donors -- will not think that times have changed and money can now be taken in exchange for manipulating the narrative. This would be a real tragedy and the beginning of the end of the memory."
A human rights lawyer and award-winning investigative reporter have been severely beaten in the Chechen capital of Grozny.

Marina Dubrovina and Yelena Milashina, a correspondent for the liberal Novaya Gazeta newspaper, say they were attacked as they returned to their hotel on Thursday evening. They were left with serious bruising after an assault that lasted 15 minutes.

Their assailants, a group of 15 men and women, were reportedly waiting for them as they entered the hotel lobby. The women in the group were first to attack, Ms Milashina said, but after a while the men joined in too. At least one of the men in the group was filming the event.

They surrounded us by the lift and started to push back, the journalist wrote in a statement published on social media. They grabbed us by the neck and head and smashed our heads against the marble floor, punched me in the stomach and pulled at my hair.

The reporter linked the incident to her work, and suggested the group had been made aware of her arrival in Grozny by a social media post.

New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures Show all 15 1 /15 New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People dressed as flamingoes take part in the New York Pride March on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People on stilts march in the New York Pride Parade on June 30 Reuters New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People stand at the roadside during the New York Pride March on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A participant wears a hat depicting the Stonewall Inn during the New York Pride March on June 30 AFP/Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures Acitvists march in the New York Pride March on June 30 Reuters New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People take part in the New York Pride Parade on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty takes part in the New York Pride March on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People take part in the New York Pride Parade on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures Marchers kiss during the New York Pride March on June 30 Reuters New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A marcher wears a "Mueller report" during the New York Pride March on June 30 Reuters New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A couple kiss during the New York Pride March on June 30 AFP/Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A couple kiss during the New York Pride March on June 30 Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures An infant dressed as a unicorn takes part in the New York Pride March on June 30 AFP/Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures A person waves a rainbow flag in the New York Pride Parade on June 30 AFP/Getty New York celebrates Pride on Stonewall anniversary: In pictures People carry a rainbow flag in the New York Pride Parade on June 30 Getty

The two woman were in Chechnya to cover the upcoming trial of Islam Nukhanov, 27. Mr Nukhanov was abducted by Chechen police in November and was then allegedly tortured in detention. Many link his treatment with a video he posted showing the exuberant lifestyles of Chechnyas elite.

Both Ms Milashina and Ms Dubrovina have spent much of the past two decades documenting growing human rights abuses in the region. In 2017, Ms Milashina broke the news of a campaign of torture and worse being carried out against hundreds of gay men in the region. She has been the target of personal threats from Chechnyas leader, Ramzan Kadyrov.

The largely Muslim republic in the mountains of Russias southern border has witnessed waves of violence since the fall of the Soviet Union. Two separatist wars destroyed much of the region and left thousands dead. The unforgiving counterinsurgency response by Russia brutalised many more, eventually giving way to a grand security bargain which brought the family of one of the warring factions to power.

Ramzan Kadyrov, who took over from his father after he was assassinated in 2004, is now largely left to his own devices in exchange for complete loyalty to the Kremlin. For many living in Chechnya, the deal has meant the normalisation of terror, abductions and torture.

Yelena Milashina says she has personally been threatened by Ramzan Kadyrov (AP)

Ms Milashinas newspaper Novaya Gazeta has been at the forefront of reporting some of the worst abuses.

For a long time, the job was done by Anna Politkovskaya, who is still revered by many in the region. Since Ms Politkovskayas murder in 2006  gunned down in Moscow, likely on Mr Kadyrovs orders  Ms Milashina has carried the torch.
You might want to compare Dr. Joness video with these TikToks about vaccines or the new tobacco-buying age.

Have you seen doctors and nurses on TikTok before? How do you feel about them using the app?

Did you find the videos interesting, funny or informative? Would you share them with a friend?

Do you trust the information in the videos? Why or why not?

Questions for Writing and Discussion

Read the article, then answer the following questions:

1. How does Dr. Danielle Jones view her TikTok presence? How does that compare with your reaction to her video?

2. Why do you think so many TikTok users have viewed videos on vaping-associated lung diseases, the flu and HPV vaccines by Dr. Rose Marie Leslie, a family medicine resident physician? What might that tell you about her primary audience?

3. How has Gregory Justice, TikToks head of content programming, responded to the rise in medical professionals using TikTok?

4. Why does Dr. Jones think TikTok humanizes doctors? What do you think?

5. What was the response that Dr. Nicole Baldwin, a pediatrician, received after creating TikTok videos about vaccines? How does she think now about such posts?

6. What are some of the downsides to health-related TikToks that Sarah Mojarad, a lecturer, has noticed? Do you share any of her concerns?
It will hold the first major auction since hunting was scrapped by Khama in 2014

2014 law was introduced to help reverse the decline in wild animal population

Blanket ban on hunting animals has been overturned by Botswana's president

Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant population, on Friday was set to hold a major auction for big game hunters to kill 70 elephants, the first since scrapping a hunting ban last year.

The sale will be conducted by a local firm Auction It from the premises of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism in the capital Gaborone.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi raised the ire of conservationists in May when he revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who introduced a blanket ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

Masisi fended off criticism of his government's decision, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population.

The government is issuing seven hunting 'packages' of 10 elephants each, confined to 'controlled hunting areas', a wildlife spokeswoman Alice Mmolawa said Thursday.

The President of Botswana, Mokgweetsi Masisi, delivers his speech after being sworn in as the 5th President of the country in Gaborone on November 1, 2019. Masisi infuriated conservationists last year when he scrapped a 2014 blanket ban on the hunting of wild animals

A member of the military walks away after inspecting the carcass of an elephant, after reports that conservationists have discovered 87 of them slaughtered just in the last few months, in the Mababe area, Botswana, September 19, 2018

In a text message, she said hunting would help areas most impacted by 'human wildlife conflict,' a reference to elephants roaming off game parks into communities.

The 2020 hunting season is expected to open in April.

Bidding is open to 'companies that are either owned by Botswana citizens or are registered in Botswana,' she added.

Bidders must make a refundable deposit of 14,150 to participate.

A graphic shows the estimated population of the African elephant across the continent

In this March 3, 2013, file photo, elephants drink water in the Chobe National Park in Botswana

According to an auction advisory, bidders must have 'demonstrable appropriate elephant hunting experience' and have no previous wildlife criminal convictions.

Hunting of collared elephants will be prohibited.

All elephant hunting expeditions will be compelled to be accompanied by a guide and a professional, at all times, according to the auction notice.

Masisi's decision to lift the hunting ban last year was highly praised by local communities but derided by conservationists and ignited tension between Khama and Masisi.

He has defended his decision to end the hunting ban saying Botswana has an overpopulation of elephants, and pledged to regulate the practice.

His predecessor Khama was bitter.

Ex-President Ian Khama, pictured in Brussels in 2009, was bitter about his successor's decision to overturn his blanket ban

'I have been against hunting because it represents a mentality (of) those who support it, to exploit nature for self interest that has brought about the extinction of many species worldwide,' he said in a phone interview.

He said allowing commercial hunting could 'demotivate those who are engaged in anti poaching, who are being told to save elephants from poachers but the regime is poaching the same elephant and calling it hunting'.

Audrey Delsink, Africa's wildlife director for the global conservation lobby charity Humane Society International said 'the Botswanan elephant hunting auctions are deeply concerning and questionable'.

'Hunting is not an effective long-term human-elephant mitigation tool or population control method,' she said from neighbouring South Africa.

Neil Fitt, who heads Kalahari Conservation Society in Botswana, said hunting was a new source of revenue for the country, but cautioned it had to be practised 'ethically and properly'.

With unfenced parks and wide-open spaces, Botswana has the world's largest elephant population with more than 135,000 animals -- about a third of the African continent's total.

Most of the animals are in the Chobe National Park, an important tourist draw.

But elephants invade villages located near wildlife reserves, knocking down fences, destroying crops, and at times killing people.
Hong Kong: Multi approach to procure masks

To combat the novel coronavirus infection, the Government Logistics Department has resorted to all possible means and channels to procure masks and other protective items since January, bypassing tendering procedures on account of the urgency.

The department said the objective is to secure such supplies as quickly as possible to meet the Government's operational requirements.

The Government stressed that as long as the items meet technical specifications, the department will make an immediate purchase and there is no question of "the lowest bid wins".

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury James Lau said: "With the proactive assistance of the Economic & Trade Offices of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and referrals by individuals, the Government Logistics Department has got into contact with more than 400 suppliers from nearly 20 countries.

"To date, the department has already placed orders for over 48 million of masks, of which three million have been delivered. We hope that the remaining shipments will arrive in batches as scheduled."

Mr Lau said as supply of masks is very tight throughout the globe and some jurisdictions have imposed export controls, full and timely deliveries remains a challenge.

"Against this background, we have to go extra miles to source masks globally," he added.

The department has a limited stock of 12 million masks at the moment and priority will be accorded to the Department of Healths medical and port health staff, front-line employees providing direct services to the public as well as people and working staff in quarantine centres.

The open tender issued by the department in late January for procurement of masks is meant to supplement the above efforts.

By global open tendering, the Government seeks to expand the pool of potential suppliers for such protective gear.

Mr Lau said: "We should not give up any opportunity even though the open tender might not be very fruitful. In any case, open tender will not interfere with our efforts in direct purchases."

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
President Donald Trump meets with Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and members of his delegation, Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C.

(JNS)-The words were barely out of U.S. President Donald Trump's mouth-and the much-anticipated peace plan to resolve the century-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict for good was barely uploaded to the White House's website-when the doomsayers and naysayers launched their attacks, mocking nearly every aspect of the proposal and condemning it to failure. But the three Muslim ambassadors in the East Room-from the nations of Bahrain, Oman and the United Arab Emirates-stood quietly, their silence understood as tacit support. Indeed, the cause of Palestinian statehood is no longer the unifying rallying cry across the Arab world that it once was.

Speaking with JNS just before the plan was revealed, Joshua Krasna, an expert on strategic and political developments in the Arab world at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute, correctly predicted that Bahrain would be more supportive of the plan then, say, Saudi Arabia.

Egypt's response was surprisingly positive when some assumed that it would not say very much at all. In a statement it released shortly after the initiative was revealed, it said it "appreciates the continuous efforts exerted by the U.S. administration to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian issue, thereby contributing to the stability and security of the Middle East, ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Egypt called on Israel and the Palestinians to "undertake a careful and thorough consideration of the U.S. vision to achieve peace and open channels of dialogue, under U.S. auspices, for the resumption of negotiations..."

While some media outlets reported "muted" responses and even loud objections from Arab and Muslim countries, the reality seems to be the opposite.

Krasna also correctly predicted that the Jordanians "will react badly."

Jordan's King Abdullah II explicitly voiced his rejection of the plan two days before it was revealed. "Our position is very well known toward the so-called 'deal of the century.' The word 'no' is clear to everyone," he said.

Abdullah Swalha, founder and director of the Center for Israel Studies in Jordan, told JNS that the king's objection notwithstanding, "Jordan, as most of the moderate Arab states, is reluctant to criticize the Trump deal, but at the same time doesn't embrace it."

As such, the Jordanian ambassador in Washington reportedly declined an invitation to attend the White House ceremony.

"Jordan will react to the plan specifically after coordinating with Egypt and other Arab countries," said Swalha. "Jordan will adopt the strategy that maximizes the advantages of the plan, such as the status of the holy places, as mentioned in the plan, in addition to its position as a key actor in fighting terrorism in coordination with the U.S."

"The other aspect of Jordan's strategy," he added, "is to minimize the losses or disadvantages of the plan through not clashing with the Trump administration, by separating the peace deal profile from its normal relations with the U.S., which is based on economic and security cooperation."

'The new normal under a new U.S.-Israel understanding'

In a phone call arranged by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), David Makovsky told JNS that he is concerned about the plan and expressed reservations that it would work.

The Palestinian's signature policy was always defiance," he said. "I am not betting on the Palestinians at this time to say 'yes.' "

According to Makovsky, two elements are driving the administration.

The first is that this plan serves as "a reference point for the future."

"This is a reset," he said. "And if Trump is re-elected, [Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud] Abbas or his successor will acquiesce to this new reality."

The second element, according to Makovsky, is that the Trump administration is saying to the Palestinians, "we are giving you the chance."

"This is the new normal under a new U.S.-Israel understanding," added Makovsky. "The questions of who wins the next election in the U.S. might impact whether this [plan] really is a reference point or not. If Trump wins, that will be the new normal."

He warned, however, that if Trump doesn't get re-elected, "this might not be the reference point for the next administration."

Makovsky said that by giving the Palestinians four years to prove that they are capable of becoming a recognized state, the ball is now in their court to discuss the points of the plan and to seriously consider whether to accept it or not. "I hope they use that time to try to have these conversations," he said.

Krasna noted that past Saudi support of the Arab Peace Initiative-a 2002 Saudi-led proposal that called for Israel's full withdrawal from the disputed territories in exchange for normalization with Arab world-as a starting point,as well as previous remarks by King Salman, in which he expressed support for the Palestinians, demonstrates that it may be tougher to get the Saudis completely on board.

However, Saudi Arabia, together with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, did express support for the U.S. administration's "efforts," while addressing the plan as a "starting point" for negotiations.

"If the Palestinians strongly reject it, it is hard to believe the Saudis will support it," he said.

On the other hand, given the amount of flexibility towards Israel that Saudi Arabia has shown in recent years, especially with regard to confronting Iran, there are signals that could mean a shift in the Saudi position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

According to Kransa, it could be that Bahrain's support for the plan is a "trial balloon" for the Saudis. If the plan moves forward satisfactorily, it is possible that the Saudis may throw more of their support behind it.
A three-day festival gets underway Friday in Vallejo to celebrate the migration of millions of birds to the Bay Area, organizers said.

The festival begins at 8 a.m. and several activities during the day will be followed by an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Vallejo Veterans Memorial Building at 420 Admiral Callaghan Lane in Vallejo.

An estimated 3,000 people each year attend the celebration on Mare Island. This year is the 25th year for the event, which is held rain or shine.

The host sponsors are the Sierra Club, Solano Group and Sierra Club, Redwood Chapter.

A homicide suspect will be arraigned in Contra Costa County Superior Court Friday afternoon for a killing in December, prosecutors said Thursday.

Mark Thomas, now 35, will be arraigned for allegedly killing Rafael Lopez on December 14 in Pittsburg.

Prosecutors believe Thomas killed Lopez with a shotgun while committing a robbery.

Thomas is being held without bail, according to prosecutors.

Three people and four pets were displaced by a fire at a home in Pacifica on Wednesday afternoon, according to the North County Fire Authority.

Firefighters responded at 12:05 p.m. to a structure fire reported in the 700 block of Noriega Way and responded to find smoke coming out of the right side of a single-family home.

Crews entered the home through the front door and eventually found fire and smoke coming from the sunroom next to the kitchen. The flames were contained to the sunroom, although smoke damage was reported throughout the rest of the home, fire officials said.

No injuries were reported in the fire and its cause is under investigation, according to the fire authority.

With six cases of the novel coronavirus confirmed in California, 16 laboratories statewide, including one in the Bay Area, will begin providing tests for the virus, officials with the California Department of Public Health announced Thursday.

The state's Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory in Richmond will be among the 16 labs to start testing on Feb. 12, according to the CDPH.

The widespread testing by the health department will provide more rapid results than currently available and also provide medical care for people who may have been exposed. Currently, testing is being conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and those results take between two and seven days.

"Providing this test in California will deliver more rapid test results to improve care of persons who may be sick with this new virus," CDPH Director and State Health Officer Sonia Angell said in a statement.

Since the virus broke out in late December in Wuhan, China, six people in California have tested positive for the virus, including two people in Santa Clara County, two people in San Benito County, one person in Los Angeles County and one person in Orange County.

A federal judge in San Francisco will hear arguments on Feb. 14 on a political campaign committee's free-speech challenge to new donor disclosure rules enacted by city voters in November.

The federal lawsuit against the city was filed on Jan. 28 by the Yes on B committee and its treasurer, Todd David. The committee is supporting Proposition B, an earthquake safety bond measure on the March 3 ballot.

The lawsuit claims that rules approved by San Francisco voters as part of Proposition F in November violate the committee's First Amendment free-speech rights because the required disclosures occupy so much space in audio, video and newspaper advertisements that they "effectively drown out" the political message.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will consider the group's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the rules at the Feb. 14 hearing.

City Attorney's Office spokesman John Cote said in a statement, "We are defending this ballot measure consistent with First Amendment law."

Two people were arrested Wednesday in connection with the theft of jewelry and clothing from a San Rafael home they were house-sitting while the owners were out of the country on business, police said.

The homeowners hired a woman as a house and dog sitter between mid-October and mid-November. There was a family emergency that required the sitter to be out of the area for a few days, so she arranged for Violet Bloomfield, 38, and Casey Diehl, 46, both of San Rafael, to take her place, Lt. Dan Fink said.

When the homeowners returned on Nov. 24, they found that jewelry, clothing and other property worth more than $22,000 was missing. A detective identified Bloomfield and Diehl as the suspects, Fink said.

Police got a warrant to search the suspects' home in the 300 block of Acadia Lane in San Rafael on Wednesday. Bloomfield complied with the search warrant but Diehl apparently refused to leave the house and San Rafael and Novato police found him hiding in a bedroom, according to Fink.

Bloomfield was arrested on suspicion of identity theft and grand theft, and Diehl was arrested for allegedly delaying or resisting arrest and possession of stolen property, Fink said. Both were booked into the county jail.

UCSF Health and John Muir Health have opened a new cancer care center in Berkeley.

The cancer center, which is located in the jointly-operated Berkeley Outpatient Center at 3100 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, opened on Monday.

Appointments are available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"Adding cancer services to the wide range of specialties that we are able to offer reflects our commitment to meeting the needs of our patients in one location, close to home," Dr. Caroline Schreiber, a family medicine physician and medical director of the Berkeley Outpatient Center, said in a statement.

Schreiber said, "Having primary care and specialist physicians together in our Outpatient Center enhances collaboration, knowledge sharing and care coordination, so patients receive the best possible care and expertise from UCSF and John Muir Health."

Berkeley Outpatient Center officials said that with the addition of cancer care they now have 19 specialty care services available, as well as primary care, urgent care, lab and imaging services.

Friday will be partly cloudy in the morning before becoming sunny. There will be patchy fog in some areas. Highs will be near 60 degrees. North winds will be around 5 mph before switching to west winds of 5 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Friday night will be partly cloudy. Lows will be in the upper 40s. West winds will be 10 to 20 mph.

Saturday will be mostly cloudy in the morning before becoming sunny. Highs will be in the mid 50s. Northwest winds will be 10 to 20 mph.

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Governor's State of the State

On Monday, the House of Representatives hosted Governor Bill Lee's second State of the State address. Highlights included job creation, increasing education funding, and increasing the minimum salary for teachers from $36,000 to $40,000.

Following the speech, I joined Senate Democratic Leader Jeff Yarbro in his response to the governor's address. I agree with the Senate Democratic Leader that the governor should be more focused on the needs of Tennesseans and bringing people together rather than pushing a political ideology. Tennesseans need a bolder vision than was put forth Monday.

Bill Filing Deadline was this week

This past Wednesday was the final day to file legislation for this legislative session. I'm very proud to announce that the bills I'm sponsoring cover everything from expanding veteran's services, defining redistricting in Tennessee, and the restoration of voting rights. I firmly believe that these bills will help continue Tennessee's history as a leader in the nation. For a complete list of my legislation, please follow the link to the TN General Assembly website.



Fully Committed to our Veterans and to Affordable Housing in Chattanooga

On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of speaking to the Greater Chattanooga Realtors about the several issues like the growing lack of affordable housing in Chattanooga. That day, I also met with a number of our state's retired veterans, including Lieutenant Colonel Adkins, Army Reserve Ambassador Doug Gilbert, and Hamilton County's Veteran Services Charles Alsobrook. I was honored to receive the Army Reserve's Coin of Excellence for my ongoing commitment to our nation's servicemen and women. It was truly an honor to be able to sit down and talk with these great men. The world would not be as bright as it is without your sacrifices; thank you for your service.

Community Spotlight

This week's community spotlight goes to a very courageous woman who inspired House Bill 2093. HB 2093 will require the Department of Children Services to publish the guideline for the best practices for identifying and reporting signs of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and human trafficking on their website. Thank you for sharing your story with me.
Syrian children who lost their parents are being forced to abandon their education and take up physically demanding jobs writes Al-Monitor.

The phenomenon of children working for long hours in terrible and exploitative conditions has increased in the city of al-Shadadi, 60 kilometres south of Hassakeh province in northeastern Syria, as it has in other cities in the Syrian al-Jazira area during the war, which has entered its ninth year.

Sohaib Jaber, 13, has his spices laid out on the pavement from the early hours of the morning, which he sells for 10 hours continuously to provide for his family.

Jaber told Al-Monitor that he had become the sole provider for his mother and three siblings after his father was killed by the Islamic State (ISIS) when it occupied the town in May 2014. He is one of hundreds of Syrian children who have lost their fathers in the Syrian war. Many of them have been forced to leave their studies to search for work to provide for their families in light of the deteriorating living conditions for Syrians and the rising prices.

Two streets over from Jaber stands Mohamed Hussein, 14, in front of a grilled meat stand at a restaurant. Speaking to Al-Monitor, he said that over the last five years he had practiced a variety of professions, and that his work in the restaurant was exhausting and long and that his shift begins at 8am and then ends at 9pm. He grills meats and cleans the restaurant and cleans plates and gets a weekly wage of 5,000 Syrian poundswhich is today worth about five dollars. Husseins grandmother regrets burdening her grandson with the responsibility of providing for her and his siblings after his father disappeared at the hands of ISIS, with the whereabouts of his remain still unknown. Their mother married another man and left the children, saying: I dont know what I would do if not for the wages my grandson earns. Even if it is a little, it secures us some of our basic needs, as well as getting some meals.

Hussein expressed his desire to study, but said that it was impossible to go back and finish his schooling after leaving it. He did not finish primary school, and he added that his peers from school were now in the third grade.

An activist in the Doz organization for children in the city of Hassakeh, who asks not to be named, told Al-Monitor that there was a rise in the rate of children working in professions above their physical capacity. She said there was a lack of precise statistics of their numbers and that they were being exploited by employers in light of the lack of care for them from any official agency or charity.

Regarding the reason for this, she said: The consequences of the war the country is undergoing, especially the economic conditions, have a major role in this issue. The Islamic State took control and governed the educational process. She also pointed to the negative role played by some parents and their influence on their children going to work instead of going to school. She added that most of the work done by children was exhausting and did not accord with their weak physical capacities. Some were working as mechanics and repairing cars and transporting goods, all of which requires considerable physical strength. She said that this affected their health and the education process and caused them to lose their futures.

Despite the schools opening, the rate of children working has not diminished, while the number of them that are illiterate has grown for reasons which the Shadadi local council member Khalil Kheder told Al-Monitor are due to, the period when ISIS controlled the town and arrested and killed civilians, and closed most schools and opened others in which its curriculum was taught, serving and extremist ideology, which led to a higher rate of children working. He added: Many families lost their only breadwinner, some of whom were executed by ISIS or arrested. Some of their fates are still unknown. So children bear the responsibility for caring for the family. Some families were so afraid their children would learn ISIS extremist ideology, since the group controlled the educational process, that they prevented them from attending school. Instead, they preferred that their children work in jobs that exceed their physical abilities or kept them at home, which increased the rate of child labor in the city, so the illiteracy rate increased with it. We still have no accurate numbers in this regard.

Regarding the measures taken by the council to end this, he said: We cannot prevent children from working and force those whose families depend on them to secure a living to attend school. Many of them are also far behind in school compared with their peers who stayed in their studies.

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 YORK, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (Brookfield) announced that, at the Special Meeting of Stockholders held earlier today, stockholders of Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: INF) approved the proposed reorganization of INF into Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. (NYSE: RA) (the Reorganization). Additionally, as previously announced, stockholders of RA previously approved the proposal to issue additional shares of common stock to effect the proposed Reorganization of INF into RA.



It is currently expected that the Reorganization will be completed after the close of the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, February 21, 2020, subject to all applicable regulatory requirements and other customary closing conditions being satisfied. Detailed information on the Reorganization is contained in the Joint Proxy Statement/Prospectus previously filed with the SEC.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements made in this news release that are not historical facts are referred to as "forward-looking statements" under the U.S. federal securities laws. Actual future results or occurrences may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Generally, the words "believe," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," "project," "will" and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, which generally are not historical in nature. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ from the historical experience of Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC and the Funds managed by Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC and its present expectations or projections. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC and the Funds managed by Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC undertake no responsibility to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements.

Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC (PSG) is an SEC-registered investment adviser that represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, energy infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt. With more than $19 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2019, PSG manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and individual investors. PSG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a leading global alternative asset manager with over $500 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2019. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.

Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. and Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. are managed by Brookfield Public Securities Group LLC. The Funds use their websites as a channel of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding the Funds is routinely posted on and accessible at www.brookfield.com.

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Investing involves risk; principal loss is possible. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.

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The CPI(M) on Friday slammed the government for invoking the Public Safety Act against former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, saying the move belies the Centre's claims that "everything is normal in J-K".

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were on Thursday night booked under the stringent PSA, barely hours before their six-month-long "preventive detention" was to come to an end.

The PSA was also slapped on two political stalwarts from NC and its arch-rival PDP.

The party said the prime minister, while replying to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha, had claimed that the statements made by the former chief ministers were "not acceptable while it has been shown that these statements have been taken from a twitter handle of a satire website - Faking News".

"The baselessness of this allegation has been established. That the Modi government should take recourse to such false for slapping the notorious PSA belies the claims that everything is normal in J&K.

"Thousands continue to be detained even after six months. Lakhs of livelihoods have been disrupted and normal day to day activity simply does not exist. This is an affront to the Indian Constitution and democracy," it said.

The CPI(M) demanded the release of all those who have been detained since the night of August 4, a day before the Centre abrogated provisions of Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the invoking of the draconian Public Safety Act on former Chief Ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

"The former served under a BJP government as minister of state and the latter as chief minister of the state in coalition with the BJP, under oath of the Indian Constitution," the party said in a statement.

The party also urged that the democratic processes under the Indian Constitution be re-established.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The steady march towards Sunday's 92nd Annual Academy Awards has been ramping up with a number of Oscar week parties and events this week.

And on Thursday the star-studded Cadillac pre-Oscar party went off at the Chateau Marmont in the West Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

The exclusive event brought together some of the industry's brightest stars and celebrities that included the likes of actresses Zoe Saldana, Rachel Brosnahan, Allison Janney, and Minnie Driver.

Leading ladies: Zoe Saldana, Rachel Brosnahan, Allison Janney and Minnie Driver attended the star-studded Cadillac Oscar Party at the Chateau Marmont in the West Hollywood on Thursday

Saldana, 41, looked elegant in a black-patterned floral skirt and a matching double breasted jacket.

The Columbiana star paired the outfit perfectly with a hand purse and had her raven tresses styled long and straight, but pushed back off her face, with a center part.

Most recently she has been shooting the live-action sequences for the two much-anticipated sequels to Avatar, which are slated for release in 2021 and 2023 respectively.

Sleek: The Avatar actress had her tresses styled long and straight, but pushed back off her face, with a center part

Contemporary: Rachel Brosnahan commanded attention in a black mini-dress that was adorned with silver sparkles all around the stylish number

Shining star: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star, 29, had her blonde tresses cut to shoulder length with a part in the middle

Item: Driver snuggled up to fiance Addison O'Dea in a sheer black top and matching pants

Brosnahan, 29, commanded attention in a black mini-dress that was adorned with silver sparkles all around the stylish number.

In keeping with the theme, she also wore black heels, while carrying a gorgeous black purse.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star had her blonde tresses cut to shoulder length with a part in the middle.

Janney, 60, turned back the clock in her peachy, form-fitting sequin dress, which glistened under the bright lights of the cameras.

Glowing: Janney's form-fitting peachy sequin dress stood out alongside Mamie Gummer, who was in an equally unique white number

Lady in black: Greta Gerwig, 36, also shared her night with partner and filmmaker Noah Baumbach, 50, in a black ensemble

Casual-cool: Kyle MacLachlan, 60, wore blue jeans, black shirt and olive-green cargo jacket

Actress and filmmaker Greta Gerwig, 36, also shared her night with her partner, filmmaker Noah Baumbach, 50, in a black ensemble.

Sex And The City alum Kyle MacLachlan, 60, wore blue jeans, with a black shirt and olive-green cargo jacket, along with a smile that lit up the room.

Leftovers breakout star Margaret Qualley, 25, rocked Gothic-chic style in her sheer black dresses that showed off her petite curves.

Nia Vardalos, best known as the leading lady in My Big Fat Greek Wedding, opted for a red mini-dress with a black and white patterned jacket.

Lady in black: Margaret Qualley, 25, looked Gothic-chic in a black sheer dress

Youthful: Nia Vardalos, 57, opted for a red mini-dress with a black and white patterned jacket

Stylish: Chelsea Winstanley showed off her fit figure in her blue-patterned dress

Couples time: Actor Max Greenfield and wife Tess Greenfield out their chemistry on display

Jojo Rabbitt producer Chelsea Winstanley showed off her fit figure in her blue-patterned dress.

Some of the other high-profile people on hand included Actor Max Greenfield and wife Tess Greenfield; Australian actress and model Nicky Whelan in green off-the-shoulder dress; Abigail Spencer in a black and silver tier dress; and Gigi Gorgeous sharing the spotlight with wife Nats Getty.

The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 9, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on ABC.

Eye-catcher: Australian actress and model Nicky Whelan, 38, was all about her curves in a green off-the-shoulder dress

Fresh faced: Whelan had her blonde tresses pulled back off her face

Classy: Abigail Spencer, 38, stunned in a black and silver tier dress

Fun: YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous, 27, gave a hint of her ample assets in a sheer top
On February 7, 2020, this report was posted online as an MMWR Early Release.

During January 2020, CDC responded to clinical inquiries regarding approximately 650 persons in the United States and tested 210 for 2019-nCoV, one fifth of whom reported no recent travel-related risk but had close contact with a 2019-nCoV patient or a person under investigation for 2019-nCoV in the United States.

In December 2019, a cluster of cases of pneumonia emerged in Wuhan City in central Chinas Hubei Province. Genetic sequencing of isolates obtained from patients with pneumonia identified a novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as the etiology (1). As of February 4, 2020, approximately 20,000 confirmed cases had been identified in China and an additional 159 confirmed cases in 23 other countries, including 11 in the United States (2,3). On January 17, CDC and the U.S. Department of Homeland Securitys Customs and Border Protection began health screenings at U.S. airports to identify ill travelers returning from Wuhan City (4). CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center on January 21 and formalized a process for inquiries regarding persons suspected of having 2019-nCoV infection (2). As of January 31, 2020, CDC had responded to clinical inquiries from public health officials and health care providers to assist in evaluating approximately 650 persons thought to be at risk for 2019-nCoV infection. Guided by CDC criteria for the evaluation of persons under investigation (PUIs) (5), 210 symptomatic persons were tested for 2019-nCoV; among these persons, 148 (70%) had travel-related risk only, 42 (20%) had close contact with an ill laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV patient or PUI, and 18 (9%) had both travel- and contact-related risks. Eleven of these persons had laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. Recognizing persons at risk for 2019-nCoV is critical to identifying cases and preventing further transmission. Health care providers should remain vigilant and adhere to recommended infection prevention and control practices when evaluating patients for possible 2019-nCoV infection (6). Providers should consult with their local and state health departments when assessing not only ill travelers from 2019-nCoV-affected countries but also ill persons who have been in close contact with patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection in the United States.

As part of CDCs Emergency Operations Center activation, CDC personnel assist state and local health departments with the evaluation of 2019-nCoV PUIs. Public health laboratories were not yet conducting 2019-nCoV testing during the period covered by this report, while awaiting Food and Drug Administration emergency use authorization for the test. (The authorization occurred on February 4*). Therefore, all testing was conducted at CDC. A call center was staffed by a team of physicians and nurses 24 hours per day. During January 1731, criteria used to determine whether a person was considered to be a PUI included presence of fever and symptoms of lower respiratory tract illness (e.g., cough or difficulty breathing) in addition to epidemiologic risk. Epidemiologic risk factors included history of travel from Wuhan City, close contact with a patient with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection, or close contact with an ill PUI. Given the evolving understanding of 2019-nCoV epidemiology, testing was recommended for some persons who did not strictly meet the PUI definition, based on clinical discretion. For clinical inquiries that resulted in 2019-nCoV testing, real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction testing was conducted at CDC using methods developed specifically to detect 2019-nCoV (7).

For this report, CDC reviewed inquiries regarding potential 2019-nCoV PUIs received by CDC through January 31, 2020, from state and local health departments, health care providers, and airport health screening personnel. Information was compiled from call logs and PUI forms to assess source of inquiry, PUI demographic data (including age and sex), clinical information, epidemiologic risk factors, and 2019-nCoV test results. To allow for delays in specimen shipping and testing, data for PUIs for whom an initial inquiry was received during January 2020 were collected through February 4, 2020.

During January 2020, approximately 30 CDC physicians and nurses responded to inquiries regarding approximately 650 persons. Testing was recommended for 256 persons (Figure) across 34 jurisdictions (the jurisdictions included states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and was completed for 210 persons. Testing of PUIs was not always performed because alternative diagnoses were made, or symptoms resolved. Among inquiries resulting in testing, six (3%) persons were identified through airport screening, 178 (85%) in a health care setting, and 26 (12%) through contact tracing (Table). Among 178 persons identified in a health care setting, the type of setting was reported for 125 (70%), including 79 (63%) who were evaluated at an emergency department or hospital, 22 (18%) at a student clinic, and 24 (19%) in other outpatient care settings. A total of 115 (55%) persons tested were male, and median age was 29 years (interquartile range = 2149 years). Seventeen (8%) were health care workers, and 48 of 129 persons with available information were reported to be college students.

All 210 persons who were tested were symptomatic: 143 (68%) had subjective fever or a measured temperature 100.4F (38C), and 189 (90%) had cough or shortness of breath. Upper respiratory tract symptoms (i.e., sore throat, rhinorrhea, or congestion) were common and were present in nine persons who did not have cough or shortness of breath. Thirty persons were reported to test positive for another respiratory viral pathogen, including influenza or respiratory syncytial virus. Forty-two (20%) patients were hospitalized, and four (2%) were admitted to an intensive care unit. One patient was deceased at the time of notification; testing for this person was negative, and an alternative cause of death was established. Travel-related risk was identified for 148 (70%) persons, 42 (20%) had close contact with ill patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection or PUIs, 18 (9%) had both travel- and contact-related risks, and two (<1%) had possible contact with a laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV patient and were therefore tested.

Among the 210 persons tested, 11 (5%) were found to have 2019-nCoV infection. Nine of these persons had traveled to Wuhan City; two persons had not traveled but had been in close contact with patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV in the United States. All were symptomatic with fever (subjective or measured) or cough.
The Crime Branch of Delhi Police have arrested two people and seized 55 cartons of illegal liquor from their possession from the Najafgarh area on Friday, police said.

The illegal liquor has been seized from a truck ahead of the Delhi assembly election due tomorrow.

A case under the relevant section of IPC has been registered. Further investigation is on.

Voting for Delhi assembly elections will be held tomorrow, and 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.)
The Gujarat government on Friday said it had acquired 571 of 714 hectares of land required for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project and had paid Rs 2,100 crore as compensation to farmers.

The high-speed corridor, with a total length of 508 kilometres, will pass through 197 villages in eight districts in Gujarat, state Revenue minister Kaushik Patel said on Friday.

"The Gujarat government is working at bullet speed to implement the flagship bullet train project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This high speed corridor will have 12 stations of which four will be in Maharashtra and eight in Gujarat," Patel informed.

"Of the 714 hectares of land required, the Gujarat government has already acquired 571 hectares. Joint management survey for acquisition of land has been completed in 188 of 197 villages. Acquisition contracts have been signed with approval of farmers for 2,735 out of a total of 3213 plots," Patel added.

Patel, who was speaking after meeting collectors in Gandhinagar, said farmers had been paid Rs 2,100 crore as compensation for the land.

The Centre wants the high speed corridor, being built with Japanese loans and technology, to be commissioned by August 15, 2022, when India celebrates 75 years of Independence.

The 508.17 kilometre corridor comprises a 155.76 km stretch in Maharashtra, 348.04 km in Gujarat and 4.3 km in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Sweetwater County commissioners approved and certified changes to the countys zoning codes related to solar farms Tuesday morning.

The codes were subject to a 45-day comment period. According to Eric Bingham, director of the countys land use department, the county did not receive comments on the regulations.

The changed codes force developers to approach and seek comment from area mines if the development would be placed upon land zoned for mining. It would also force developers to seek and incorporate comments from state and federal agencies, such as the Wyoming Game and Fish De...
With close to 42 million Americans claiming some Irish ancestry  that is, more than one in five white Americans, and one of the top three ancestries, second only to German-Americans  the relationship between the worlds most powerful and richest country and our own little rain-drenched rock on the very western fringes of Europe is both special and unique, all the more so for the very obvious disparities between the two.

For a population that is infinitely more transient than its Irish equivalent, so often less embedded in specific localities, eminently capable of radical upheavals over the course of a single generation, the freedom to up sticks and start afresh somewhere else being a fundamental embodiment of the American Dream, it is hardly surprising so many of those 42 million Irish-Americans seek to rediscover their psychic roots in the Old Country.

Neither does it hurt that Ireland is country blessed with some truly world class scenery, an impossibly rich living culture, an ancient history and heritage and stocked with a populace especially gifted in extending a globally renowned welcome to any visitor.

The history of US tourism to Ireland stretches back through the decades and generations, and continues to prosper to this day, constantly breaking records with over 1.8 million visitors coming from the US in 2018, a 14% rise on 2017, generating over 1.6 billion in revenue, a 16% rise on the previous year.

And whats more, Ruth Andrews, chair of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC), believes the North American market will continue to grow even as the much closer markets of Britain and Europe challenge Irish operators.

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Phenomenal tourism growth in last five years

Obviously, North American has always been a very key market for Irish tourism, says Andrews, and continues to be and it has grown at a phenomenal rate over the last five years, bringing visitors who stay longer and travel further around the country. Europe used to be our largest market overall but now is just 39% with the US at 45%.

Key to this growth has been the massive expansion of airline capacity.

The growth that were experiencing from that market, says Andrews, is very much tied into the volume of airlift and the number of gateways. In terms of airlift, we have double the volume we would have had five years ago. Before, it would have been seasonal and we didnt have double dailies and year-round flights that we now enjoy.

As a crucial jump-off point for transatlantic flights, first Foynes, then Shannon, were at the heart of that particular slice of aviation history from the very beginning.

The Shannon connection was hugely important, says Pat Dawson, current chair of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA), and the opening of Shannon Duty Free [in 1947] played a big role in opening that route up  and, of course, all planes from the US had to land in Shannon on the way to Dublin.

Connectivity with the US was historical, the main traffic was to do with family and relatives of those who had emigrated to the US or their descendants. As the years went on, the air lines started to put on greater capacity and tour operators got involved, that was maybe four or five decades ago.

Youngsters enjoying nature as they make friends with a confiding fox cub on the outskirts of Cork city. Many American tourists enjoy elements of the still relatively untouched landscape and culture they find in visiting Ireland. Picture: Richard Mills

Genealogical links between Ireland and the US have been crucial down through the years.

The Diaspora will always be important to the North American market, observes Andrews, it now covers two, three, even four generations of heritage but it is hugely important and gives them that sense of belonging and they want to come here for the ancestral link.

This demographic, however, is evolving. Tim Magee is the owner-director of Host & Co, Irelands leading food and hospitality public relations company, operating in Ireland and abroad and whose Irish client list reads like a whos who of Irish food and hospitality, including hotels such as Adare Manor, The Shelbourne, The K Club, The Lodge at Ashford Castle, The Cliff at Lyons and restaurants including Kai, Cliff Townhouse, The Tannery and Michelin-starred Aimsir, Restaurant Chestnut, Ox Belfast and the Cliff House in Ardmore.

Younger US demographic now visiting Ireland

You can see the demographic of US tourists to Ireland is changing as well, says Magee, I grew up in Shannon  besides Durty Nellies and the Shannon Shamrock.

Back then, those tourists were older, very often it was a once in a lifetime trip which also meant they were coming for two or three weeks and they were going to all the traditional stopping-off points, Killarney, Glendalough, Bunratty and so on.

Now you very often see a younger and wealthier tourist drawn by an Ireland seen as pristine, wilder  even wilder than it actually is  and I think that you see more engagement with the cities, which wasnt the case before, he says.

We made a big leap forward with our hotel product over the last 20 years, it has improved dramatically over a very short space time. The hotels on this island, a lot of them were built in the Celtic Tiger years, there were a lot of high-end fit outs and a lot of high end operators came in and raised the standards dramatically in a very short short space of time.

You now have a younger more discerning American traveller, not all tied into [the genealogical connections of the American-Irish in] Boston or New York. They are not tied into tours and carefully managed groups, they are spending more and more time in cities and its not just Dublin but also Cork, Limerick, Galway and even the towns, places like Westport and Ennis."

There is also the question of when they are coming here  a lot of our clients in January, February, March of last year were still really busy with Americans coming off season. Americans have more money. When the global recession hit over a decade ago, it cut really deep here but America recovered quite quickly, within two years  of course there are black spots but by and large, they got back fairly quickly.

Ruth Andrews agrees that the US tourist demographic is broadening beyond the traditional American-Irish visitor: We are also getting people who look at Europe as a destination and look at Ireland in that context and they know that it is a very welcoming place.

They know about the people and the landscape and the heritage, and even when you take our culture and heritage, we have the history of Ireland going back to medieval and prehistoric times  Newgrange is older than the pyramids, it resonates with people, we have a heritage that they envy. The world has become a smaller place, we are easier to get to.

The way we are promoting ireland within that market and globally resonates in terms of the offering, we offer so much what they can do and see, they can be active in nature, Wild Atlantic Way, they can have a city experience, its easy to combine all these experiences because we are such a small island and easy to get around.

Magee also identifies another hitherto less talked-about cohort with a long-established relationship with Ireland that has little or nothing to do with genealogical links.

American companies  tech, pharmaceutical, financial  have been investing and operating in Ireland for over three decades and they now have deep roots here, says Magee. That includes four of the worlds Trillion Dollar companies  Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. There are Americans who now know Ireland well from coming here, either visiting on business or living and working here, even putting down some roots. These smart people know where to go out in Cork and Dublin, they know what a good hurling match is, where to get a good pint, where the best gigs are, where the best places are to go surfing, and so on.

The tech community itself in the US is traditionally based on the West Coast and many of them  including those big four companies  are actually very small, tight-knit communities and they all know that their next largest base outside the US is this tiny island. They are only a couple of degrees of separation from this tiny island. Its a very small world, that tech world, and Dublin and Ireland is very much part of the global tech community map, so to some extent its like America having a 51st state  but a young, liberal state very akin to California in outlook.

Management and professionals at all levels have been coming here for decades and by now have built up years of appreciating that its not all Darby OGill & the Little People, not at all. These are mobile affluent Americans with a lot of money, and a far deeper understanding of Ireland, and they are very different to the Americans of old, ticking off the traditional boxes as they tour the old country on a single trip of a life time.

Now you have direct flights from San Francisco and LA to access and link those tech communities in Ireland and the US and elsewhere that is now translating into a whole new body of leisure travellers from the US. Those working in the tech community, their families and friends and those in their network, influenced by this familiarity, all coming here for downtime, for vacations  interestingly almost none of it has anything to do with traditional ties of an Irish heritage or ancestry.

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USA is a destination of choice for the Irish

The traffic between the countries, of course, is very much two-way  and its not just all about heading for Disneyworld.

After all, the US was the third most visited country in the world in 2019 with the Grand Canyon as the worlds No 1 tourist attraction. In fact, its appeal is seemingly endless: from glitzy high rolling Las Vegas to glamorous LA to bustling New York; from the musical triad of Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans to the hipster heaven that is Portland; from San Francisco and Highway 101 along the Californian coast to the tropical temperatures and the magical nightlife of Miami to the  lets hold up, we could do this all day but you get the pictur  only Spain remains a more popular destination for Irish travellers who, according to the CSO, take about 550,000 trips to the USA and Canada each year, spending more than 1.6 billion.

USA delivers for evolving tastes of Irish tourists

For years, the big attractions were Orlando, Disneyworld and that kind of thing, says Dawson, The likes of Tour America and Atlas Travel and people like that, were the agents at the front, now every travel agent and tour agent in the country sells into the States, and the flight capacity is there to service that and, also, many people would go from Cork to London and connect that way as well to avoid having to travel to Dublin.

Another huge fillip to this two-way traffic has been the evolution of Ireland as a transatlantic hub, with Dublin at its heart, having long superseded Shannon as the pivotal Irish link for transatlantic travel.

Ireland is now seen as commercially viable, says Andrews, because of the hubbing nature of Dublin Airport  Aer Lingus made a decision several years ago to expand their network to feed into their short haul European network and its been very successful, very, and obviously there a huge demand not only from tourism but also from business perspective. One thing for sure, the greater the airlift we have, the more people will travel to North America.

And this repositioning of Dublin Airport as a European hub to the US has been crucial.

There is a greater availability of flights than ever, says Dawson, with more being launched again this year and a greater availability of high end business class flights. There are more travelling so that fills up the extra capacity  flights going out now are well into the high 80s or low 90s [in percentage terms of] capacity. And one of the big reasons for that is Aer Lingus have capacity so someone from Rome could be connecting  there could be the bones of up to a million passengers using Dublin as a hub and dont forget Shannon is a hub as well.

Tourism has long been one of the great Irish success stories, with Irish-US tourism at the very heart of it and with Tourism Ireland, the body marketing the entire island of Ireland to the world, now operating a growth strategy that runs up to 2025, that connection is only set to grow and grow into the future.
A notorious gangland murderer has claimed he kept lawyer Nicola Gobbo on a $30,000 a month retainer to keep underlings from implicating him in crimes, a public inquiry has heard.

In an Alice in Wonderland statement Ms Gobbo called unmitigated rubbish, the gangland identity who cant be named claimed he paid Ms Gobbo $10,000 to $30,000 a month and a total of up to $400,000 to look out for him.

Former lawyer and police source Nicola Gobbo in her ABC interview in December. Credit:ABC 7.30

In his statement to the royal commission into Ms Gobbos once secret supergrass role, the gangland figure claimed Ms Gobbo would tell him if other criminals gave police information about him and warned him when he was a police target. He didn't know she was an informer.

He was one of the tightest human beings, Ms Gobbo said.
T hree north London men have been convicted for raping a 16-year-old schoolgirl, after one threatened her with a machete, robbed her and held her captive.

The three defendants, in their early 20s, were all found guilty of rape at Wood Green Crown Court on Friday morning, with one further convicted of robbery and false imprisonment against the same victim.

They will be sentenced at the same court on Thursday, March 19, and have been named as Roberto French, 22; Abdisalam Mohamad, 21, and Hilal Mohamed, 22.

Jurors heard how the victim had travelled to London from Bristol on August 13, 2016, when French held a machete against her throat while he robbed her in front of the other defendants.

The 22-year-old then falsely imprisoned her in a residential block in Enfield, where she was forced by the defendants to perform oral sex on each of them.

Once the ordeal was over, French followed the victim as she attempted to make her escape.

He was arrested on 15 August 2016.

Mohamad was arrested on 26 May 2017 and Mohamed on 12 February 2018. All were subsequently charged.

Detective Sergeant Charlotte Carter, of the North Area Safeguarding Team, said: Roberto French, Abdisalam Mohamad and Hilal Mohamed put this young schoolgirl through a horrific ordeal. She was threatened with a machete, held against her will and raped multiple times.

The victim and her family have shown tremendous strength and patience in supporting a prosecution, I would like to commend their courage, particularly in facing the defendants in court. It is due to their strength that three dangerous individuals have been convicted.
Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger has apologized to a California school that was charged a $250 licensing fee after showing the company's 2019 remake of 'The Lion King' during a fundraiser.

Emerson Elementary in Berkeley, California, was asked to pay the fee on January 30, after its PTA group failed to obtain a screening license prior to screening the movie at the event, which was thrown in November 2019.

News that Disney had tried to recoup money from the PTA group - which claimed to have raised only $800 at the event - sparked outrage on social media.

Disney CEO Bob Iger tweeted an apology to the California elementary school that was given a $250 bill after it played The Lion King at a PTA fundraiser in November 2019

Iger tweeted that he would personally donate money to the school's fundraising efforts

California's Emerson Elementary was hit with a $250 bill after its PTA group showed 2019's The Lion King (pictured) during the fundraising event, which raised $800, in November 2019

Social media users applauded Iger's move and said the company did the right thing

On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger tweeted an apology to the school on behalf of the company.

'Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative,' Iger wrote.

Berkeleyside reported that on Wednesday, the day before Iger's tweet, an executive at SWANK Motion Pictures Inc., which enforces copyrights for Disney and other movie studios, emailed the school, telling them that 'Disney has instructed us to not pursue the fee for this situation.'

The executive also wrote: 'While we, and the Studios we represent, take unauthorized works seriously, we understand that this situation, done in error, was not a malicious act.'

According to copyright law, a licensing fee must be paid any time there's a public performance - meaning outside a private home - of a movie, regardless if admission was charged.

Social media denizens applauded Iger's apology, but also questioned whether this was setting a precedent for other organizations to avoid paying licensing fees when screening Disney movies at fundraising events.

Disney's decision to wave the licensing fee made some social media users question whether it would set a precedent for other organizations to avoid paying the licensing fees

The brouhaha over the PTA's screening of The Lion King started after an employee at Disney's licensing agent, Movie Licensing USA, sent an email to Emerson Elementary notifying them that they needed to pay a licensing fee for having screened the movie publicly.

Movie Licensing USA is a division of SWANK Motion Pictures Inc.

'Anytime movies are shown without the proper license, copyright law is violated and the entity showing the movie can be fined by the studios,' noted the email, a portion of which was tweeted out by irate school parent and Berkeley City Councilmember, Lori Droste on January 31.

Punishment for violating this copyright can include fines of up to $250,000 or as many as five years in jail.

The $250 bill that was sent to Emerson Elementary was meant to cover the one-time showing fee that the Emerson Dad's Group - which threw the November event - was supposed to have obtained in order to legally show the movie at the fundraiser.

The Emerson Elementary PTA group said that it did not realize it needed to purchase a license

The school said that it had planned to pay the $250 licensing fee out of the money it raised

One parent irate parent tweeted about the bill, claiming it was outrageous for Disney to go after the PTA group for what would turn out to be a third of what the group raised that night

PTA president David Rose told KPIX that one of the dads in the group had bought the movie at Walmart and 'we just basically threw it on while the kids were playing in the auditorium.'

The parents' night out fundraiser had a $15 per child admission fee - although no child would be turned away if parents couldn't pay that amount.

The money would benefit the PTA's programs. In exchange, children were looked after for two hours and given pizza and healthy snacks.

Rose said that 'The event made $800, so if we have to fork over a third of it to Disney, so be it. You know, lesson learned.'

Droste took to Twitter the day after the letter was sent to vent her anger over the situation.

'Who wants to hear an unbelievable story about how Disney is essentially fining Berkeley's Emerson Elementary School PTA $250 while reaping millions of dollars through a corporate loophole that has decimated public schools across California?' she tweeted.

'As I was dropping the kids off at the school this morning the PTA was freaking out over a letter they received from Disney's licensing demanding money. Mind you, they wanted pretty much what they had raised that evening,' she added.

Droste went on to write: 'Now I can imagine some of you may say there are legitimate concerns with copyright and PTA made a mistake. Sure, I get that but coming after an elementary school? Really?? Disney wants $250 when we are struggling to pay our teachers and spending per pupil is laughable?'

A portion of the email that the school was sent, notifying them about the $250 amount owed

Initial social media responses seemed to side with Disney, stating that the school should have known about a license fee and that it should pay up

Droste told KPIX that the the fundraiser was meant to help pay for teachers and vital services at the school.

'Here you have a company that makes so much money and we have schools that are struggling so much,' she said. 'What I thought about was just the irony of paying a multi-billion dollar company essentially ask a school to pay up.'

It's unclear how Movie Licensing USA discovered that the PTA group had shown The Lion King at the event, although the fundraiser was publicly listed on an event booking website.

The licensing group told Berkeleyside that single-use permits cost $250, while schools can pay $536 for annual licenses.

Rose told the news station that the PTA group will pay the $250 licensing fee and aim to recoup that amount through future donations.

Reaction on social media was mixed, with a number of parents and artists pointing out that the school should have known about the licensing fee and is responsible for paying for it.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Disney for comment.
As many as 150 passengers with symptoms of coronavirus have so far been referred to isolation facilities in the country as the government steps up efforts to deal with the outbreak.

Making a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said existing visas are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China.

"People travelling to China henceforth will be quarantined on return," he said.

Screening of passengers has been initiated since January 18 and this facility has now been extended to 21 airports, Vardhan said, adding that universal thermal screening has been made mandatory for all flights coming from Singapore and Hong Kong as well.

He said three people in Kerala have tested positive for coronavirus so far.

A group of ministers (GoM), headed by the Union health minister, has been constituted to monitor the situation. This group consists of ministers of External Affairs, Home, Shipping and Civil Aviation.

Vardhan said 1,275 flights have been screened for coronavirus so far, covering 1,39,539 passengers.

As many as 150 passengers with symptoms of the infection have been referred to isolation facilities, he added.

Screening has also been initiated at all integrated check posts on the Nepal border after a confirmed case was reported in Nepal.

The three people who tested positive for coronavirus had travel history to Wuhan in China but are now reported to be clinically stable, the health minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will undertake a four-day state visit to India and hold talks on a number of key areas including trade, defence and maritime security cooperation

Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa will undertake a four-day state visit to India and hold talks on a number of key areas including trade, defence and maritime security cooperation, his office announced on Thursday.

The visit, beginning 7 February, will be the Rajapaksa senior's first overseas visit since his brother Gotabaya was elected President in November.

He will have meetings with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

"The scheduled meetings will build on the strong relationship that already exists between the two countries," Mahinda's office said in a statement.

Mahinda hopes to finalise the implementation of the USD 450 million line of credit pledged by Prime Minister Modi to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa during his visit to New Delhi in November, according to the statement.

"With the aim of enhancing engagement in sub-regional maritime security cooperation, the two delegations are expected to discuss key areas under the defence and maritime security initiatives that include the Sri Lanka-India annual defence dialogue and the trilateral maritime security cooperation with India and the Maldives," it said.

Rajapaksa also intends to visit the religious sites of Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodhgaya and Tirupathi, it said.

Two Tamil ministers in the Rajapaksa government  Douglas Devananda from the north and Arumugam Thondaman from the central tea plantation districts  are expected to be in the 10-member delegation, the statement added.
Most of these families are fleeing for the second, third or fourth time. Like mine, their original homes were in places you might recognize from news headlines: Aleppo, Douma, Ghouta, Homs. Each of these places was the site of a massacre by the forces of the Assad regime and its Iranian and Russian allies. The survivors had sought refuge in Idlib. Now they are on the move again. The United Nations Childrens Fund reported that more than 6,500 children were forced to flee Idlib every day last week.

On a train from Washington to New York, I stared at pictures of mothers fleeing Idlib in cattle trucks. I read about the Turkish border being sealed shut, the Russian and regime forces attacking Idlib relentlessly.

The images of the exodus from Idlib return me to being in one of those cars over three years ago, when I was forced to flee my home in Aleppo. My body remembers the cold and pain of that journey. The feeling of holding my daughter, Sama, on my lap and trying to keep her warm. I held a tin of beans and would feed her one at a time. And I tuned the car radio, desperate for any news of the evacuations as we left my beloved Aleppo for the last time.

I scroll through endless updates from Idlib: a 15-second video clip of the Ariha hospital struck by a Russian jet; the son of a White Helmet rescue worker begging to see the body of his dead father; another sobbing White Helmet volunteer who found his own son under the rubble.
By PTI

MUMBAI: A phone discussion about the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest allegedly led a poet-activist being taken to police station by a cab driver here on Wednesday night.

Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan tweeted about the incident, allegedly involving poet Bappadittya Sarkar on Thursday. Sarkar himself could not be contacted to verify the account.

As per a purported statement by Sarkar, tweeted by Krishnan, he took an Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10:30 pm on Wednesday.

Last night, poet @Bappadittoh had a scary episode in Mumbai, at the hands of an @Uber driver and @MumbaiPolice cops (see screenshots): a glimpse of scary India under NPR NRC CAA, where every person will be incentivised to suspect & turn in others & police can harass everyone. pic.twitter.com/OOKUB58BxK  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020

During the journey he was discussing with his friend on mobile phone people's discomfort with `Laal Salaam' slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi.

The driver, who was listening, stopped the cab and told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM.

When the driver returned, he had two policemen with him, who allegedly asked Sarkar why he was carrying a `Dafli' (a percussion instrument), and also asked him his address.

Sarkar, as per the statement tweeted by Krishnan, told them that he was from Jaipur, and had visited the anti- CAA `Mumbai Bagh' protest in the city for "sloganeering" earlier in the day.

The driver allegedly asked the police to take him in custody for "he was saying he was a communist and was talking about burning the country". The driver also claimed he had recorded the phone talk.

Sarkar was then taken to the police station, the statement said, without specifying which station it was. Sarkar requested the police to listen to the conversation and verify the driver's claim.

The driver allegedly said to him, "You people will destroy the country and do you expect that we will sit looking at you."

Sarkar should be thankful that he took him to police station and not somewhere else, the driver allegedly added. The police asked him about his ideology and "the people he read", the statement further said.

The police were polite with him and asked both him and the driver to record their statements, it added.

Around 1 am, communist activist S Gohil reached the police station after which Sarkar was allowed to go, the statement added.

The police advised Sarkar not to carry the Dafli or wear a red scarf, "as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen", according to the statement tweeted by Krishnan.

Krishnan further said in a tweet that this incident was a "glimpse of scary India under NPR NRC CAA, where every person will be incentivised to suspect and turn in others and police can harass everyone". She also tagged Mumbai Police and Uber.

"We have followed you. Please share the exact details of case in DM," the police said in a reply to her tweet.

Twitter handle `Uber India Support' said the incident was "concerning".

"We'd like to address this on priority. Kindly share the registered details from which the trip was requested," it said.
By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/02/06

Ever since "Crash Landing on You" premiered on December 14th it has had the sponsorship support of the South Korean chicken franchise Genesis BBQ.

Advertisement

Recent sales figures released by Genesis BBQ indicate that the drama's success has had a powerful synergistic effect on Genesis BBQ's financial performance, with the previous weekend boasting a seventy percent improvement in sales compared to the previous weekend.

The recent spike is most likely a consequence of product placement. The lead characters of "Crash Landing on You" were recently seen consuming the franchise's specialty Gold Olive Chicken, a product which boasted a one hundred percent improvement in sales.

This is not Genesis BBQ's first foray into drama production and product placement. The chicken franchise was also a sponsor for "Guardian: The Lonely and Great God" back in 2016 and met with similar success for that drama. The investment was something of a risk for Genesis BBQ, as the drama's success was not necessarily preordained, although spokespeople for Genesis BBQ had long expressed confidence in the drama's potential popularity.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"Crash Landing on You" is directed by Lee Jeong-hyo, written by Park Ji-eun, and features Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye, Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Sun-young, Kim Jung-nan. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/12/14~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:00 on tvN.
Dog parks may seem like great additions to the community, but theyre rife with problems  for you, and for your dog. Heres what to know before you go.

Every morning, rain, shine or snow, people stand around making conversation with strangers as their dogs chase, run and mingle. Ranging from elaborate fenced playgrounds and rolling fields to small inner-city runs, dog parks are among the fastest growing park amenities nationwide. The Trust for Public Land found that there has been a 40 percent increase in the development of dog parks since 2009.

The first dog park in the United States was the Ohlone Dog Park, which was founded by Martha Scott Benedict and Doris Richards in 1979 in Berkeley, Calif. Since then, dog parks have become standard amenities in developing city and suburban neighborhoods across the country, but are they actually good for dogs? Surprisingly, canine behavior experts arent so sure.

According to a 2018 survey conducted by the National Recreation and Park Association (N.R.P.A.), 91 percent of Americans believe dog parks provide benefits to their communities. This was especially true among millennials and Gen Xers, who overwhelmingly recognized dog parks as beneficial amenities. The study found that the top two reasons responders cited for supporting dog parks were that 60 percent thought that they gave dogs a safe space to exercise and roam freely, and 48 percent felt that dog parks were important because they allowed dogs to socialize.

Especially for urban dogs that dont have backyards to exercise in, dog parks can sound like a great idea. There is nothing natural, however, about dogs that arent familiar with one another to be put in large groups and expected to play together. Many of us just accept the assumption that dog parks are good places to socialize a dog, but that may not be the case.

The socialization myth

Nick Hof, a certified professional dog trainer and chair of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers, explained that in terms of canine behavior, the term socialization isnt just dogs interacting or socializing with other dogs, but rather, the process of exposing young puppies under 20 weeks to new experiences.

This helps them have more confidence and adapt to new situations, Mr. Hof said.

Though socialization is critical for the healthy development of puppies, the dog park is not where you want to bring your puppy to learn about appropriate interactions with other dogs, Mr. Hof added.

Dog parks are not a safe place to socialize a puppy under 6-12 months old, he continued. During our puppys early months, they are more sensitive to experiences, so a rambunctious greeter at the park may be enough to cause our puppy to be uncertain of all dogs, Mr. Hof explained.

The goal for socializing young puppies is to ensure they have only positive interactions, and to avoid any overwhelming or frightening interactions. Instead of taking puppies to a dog park for socialization, Mr. Hof encourages owners to attend puppy classes with their dog to meet age-appropriate playmates.

Socialization with older dogs is a bit more challenging, because in a behavioral sense, older dogs have already had all of their formative socialization experiences. Dog guardians generally mean well when they bring a shy dog to the dog park with the intention of giving that dog positive interactions with other dogs. Unfortunately, this can backfire; a dog who is nervous or uncomfortable is more likely to be easily overwhelmed in a park setting, which can lead to dog fights or a long-term fear of encountering other dogs. A park setting also allows dogs to pick up bad habits from one another, and is definitely not a place you want to bring a dog who is under-socialized.

Playground bullies

Although dogs are social animals and regularly engage in various forms of play, the artificial setup of a dog park can be challenging. Many people bring their dogs to the park to burn off excess energy, but these dogs often display over-aroused and rude behavior that can trigger issues between dogs. Dr. Heather B. Loenser, senior veterinary officer of the American Animal Hospital Association cautioned that unfortunately, just because an owner thinks their dog plays well with others, doesnt mean they always do.

Having your dog in a dog park requires trusting that everyone in the park is monitoring their dog, and is a good judge about whether their dog should be in the park in the first place. Thats a lot of trust to put in a stranger.

Unlike doggy day cares or play groups, most dog parks are public spaces that are not screened or supervised by canine professionals.

This can be an issue with fights between dogs that can lead to dogs learning inappropriate behaviors from other dogs. Bad experiences can also ripple outward and cause our dogs to have issues or concerns outside of the dog park as well, Mr. Hof said, adding that dogs at dog parks might pick up bad habits such as being pushy when greeting or engaging in play with other dogs. On other hand, dogs that are overwhelmed by the boisterousness of others may become withdrawn, skittish and nervous when meeting other dogs in and out of the dog park.

Injuries

One of the biggest dangers of dog parks is that they often dont have separate play enclosures for large and small dogs, or when they do, owners can choose to disregard those spaces. Even without meaning to, a large dog can easily cause serious injury or even kill a smaller dog.

From minor scuffles to serious incidents, injuries are common at dog parks. Bite wounds are common, even from rough play. Even if the wound seems small, seek veterinary care immediately, Dr. Loenser advised.

Bites that occur in fights or during play often involve tearing under the skin, which can be complicated to heal, and may carry a greater risk of infection. Muscle strains and sprains from lunging and rough play are also common. Anytime dogs quickly pivot on their back legs, they are also at risk for tearing the ligaments, specifically the cranial cruciate ligament in their knees, Dr. Loenser said. These types of knee-and-ligament injuries often require expensive surgery and extensive healing and rehabilitation.

Diseases

Even clean and well maintained dog parks can pose health risks, in particular the spread of easily communicable diseases. One challenge of dog parks being unregulated public spaces is that while most post signs saying dogs should be vaccinated, no proof of vaccinations is actually required.

The American Animal Hospital Association advises owners who bring their pets to the park to have them vaccinated with the Bordetella vaccine, which prevents kennel cough, as well as distemper. Youll also want to have your dog vaccinated against leptospirosis, as communal water bowls, puddles and other water features in dog parks can carry leptospira bacteria. All dogs should be vaccinated against rabies, and dogs that visit dog parks should be on flea and tick prevention as well as year-round heartworm prevention. Dogs that visit dog parks should also be vaccinated against canine influenza (dog flu) that can be transmitted through the air.

Dr. Loenser cautioned that although currently, the influenza vaccines available cover for the strains that are most commonly seen, if new strains are introduced or mutate, these vaccines might not provide cross-protection. If that were to occur, dogs that visited dog parks and had contact with a large number of dogs that might or might not be fully vaccinated would be at risk of getting sick.

Body language

Most dog owners arent skilled at reading their dogs body language beyond a wagging tail, so warning signs that your dog is uncomfortable, unhappy or angry are often ignored. This leads to minor and major dog fights. Understanding canine body language is key to supporting your dogs comfort and safety, and assessing if a playgroup at the dog park is going to be a good match.

The dog park is not a place for you to let your dog run unsupervised while you socialize with other people, Mr. Hof said. Keep an eye on your dog and make sure that they are both being good and having a good time. This means watching the actions and behaviors of your dog and the other dogs in the park. If things are getting too intense, thats a good time to leave.

But what exactly should you be watching for? Dr. Loenser says that subtle signs of fear or aggression include lip licking, yawning or panting when not hot. Other signs of discomfort or a brewing issue include stiff bodies and erect tails. Keeping an eye out for these signs can give you the edge to intervene on your dogs behalf before an interaction with another dog escalates.

Even dogs that appear to be playing well together may be at risk. Healthy play between dogs should include small breaks or pauses, Mr. Hof said. If you are uncertain about if all dogs are happy, I recommend stopping the dog who may be too over-the-top and seeing what the other dog does. If the other dog tries to re-engage, its a good indicator that everything was okay. If the other dog runs off though, a break was a good idea.

Any kind of behavior that involve one dog pinning another dog down is also one to avoid. Barking, growling and other vocalization occasionally during play is normal, but frenzied barking is generally too much.

Dog park alternatives

On a good day, if the dog park you visit is large enough, it may physically tire out your dog. But the visit wont actually provide your dog with the kind of enriching mental and emotional stimulation that dogs need. Dog parks, unfortunately, are often more about humans than they are about dogs.

As much as humans enjoy the chance to socialize with other like-minded animal lovers while our dogs play, its far safer and more fun for your dog to skip the dog park and spend that time engaging intentionally with you and their surroundings by going on walks, taking a training or general obedience class or even trying a new sport together. Ultimately youre the only one who can determine if the risks outweigh the benefits of dog parks, but there is no shame in not surrendering your dog to what has become the quintessential urban dog experience: running with dozens of strangers in a small, smelly pen as people stand by, looking at their phones or gossiping. Make the time you have with your dog meaningful and enriching; after all, your dog wants to spend time with you, too.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Mr Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar, the Executive Director of the West Africa Centre for Counter-Extremism (WACCE) has warned that government's failure or delay to ban political vigilante groups will be a danger in the forthcoming 2020 polls.



He said vigilante violence represented the single biggest source of electoral violence in Ghana, and government, political parties and all other stakeholders must do everything to rid the country's political and social space of vigilante groups.



Mr Muqthar said this at the opening of a two-day workshop on the theme: "The Challenge of Vigilante Violence and Ensuring Peaceful Elections in Ghana' organised by the WACCE in Yendi in the Northern Region.



He said vigilantism was dangerous for country's peace and also a disruptive of the youth of Ghana.



The Executive Director said, the current processes including; the political efforts led by the National Peace Council, the Vigilante Act, and the Emile Short Committee's recommendations needed to be acted upon quickly before this year's elections.



The workshop in Yendi concluded WACCE's project on Ensuring Inclusive and Peaceful Elections in Vulnerable Areas in Ghana.



The organisation in 2019 held several workshops and advocacy activities in Saboba, Chereponi and Bole as part of efforts in contributing to peaceful elections in 2020.



Participants of the workshops were drafted into the WACCE PeaceNetwork to sustain the efforts by serving as effective Peace Ambassadors for sustainable peace.



The project was supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI).

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
All roads will lead to Gweru on the 12th of February as Zimbabwe joins the rest of the World in commemorating World Radio Day (WRD).

Running under the theme Radio and Diversity, the day is set aside by UNSECO and aimed to celebrate radio broadcasts as well as improving international cooperation amongst international broadcasters.

The international commemorations will be graced by the Minister of information, publicity and broadcasting services Hon Monica Mutsvangwa, who will deliver the keynote address at the event.

The official online trending hashtag for Zimbabwe will be #WRDZim2020. and the Zimbabwe Online Content Creators (ZOCC), a consortium of more than 100 ethical, credible and factual online players will broadcast this event live on their various social media platforms to reach out to thousands on this day.

Preparations are now at an advanced stage, for the event set for the Gweru Civic Centre as the event is set to light up the midlands town with top-level discussions around radio issues and way forward towards the growth of the broadcasting sector while making sure its plays it's pivotal role.

The event will be headlined by two panel of discussions, with the first one comprising of regulators, broadcasters, as well as other media experts with authorities from Zimbabwe Association of Community Radio Stations (ZACRAs), Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ), and Transmedia.

The second panel of discussion will comprise of listeners and others who can make analytical submissions as the panel discussions aims to discuss issues to do with media diversity as well as other issues related to the radio,such as media plurality, legal framework and other resource issues.
A man who was body-slammed against a curb by a Chicago police officer after allegedly spitting in the cop's face is suing the officer and the city, contending he was the victim of a "mixed martial arts takedown" that has left him "in danger of going blind in his left eye."
When Syrias civil war erupted, Irans powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) recruited, trained, and deployed thousands of Shiite fighters to prop up the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.



Among them was the Fatemiyoun Brigade, comprised mainly of Afghans from the country's Shi'ite Hazara minority. From 2011, the IRGC recruited thousands of Afghan migrants and refugees within its own borders and covertly drafted hundreds of Shi'a inside Afghanistan.



The majority of Muslims in Afghanistan are Sunni, but around 15 percent of its population -- mainly Hazara -- are Shia with religious links to the Shi'ite majority in Iran.



With the Syrian war ebbing, several thousand Fatemiyoun fighters have returned to their homeland, prompting fears that Iran could mobilize the proxy group to target U.S. interests in neighboring Afghanistan, where some 13,000 American troops are stationed.

Iran has always sort of dabbled a little bit in Afghanistan, but they see perhaps an opportunity to get after us and the coalition here through their proxies."



Tensions between Washington and Tehran have soared following the U.S. killing of Irans top military commander, Major General Qasem Soleimani, in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport on January 3. In retaliation, Tehran fired missiles at an Iraqi air base that houses U.S. forces.



We should certainly be concerned about the risk of Iran using this asset in Afghanistan to go after U.S. troops or other American interests in the country, said Michael Kugelman, South Asia associate at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington.



Let's be clear: At least right now, there are more than 10,000 American soldiers across Iran's eastern border. That's a tempting target, and these [Shi'ite] fighters in Afghanistan give Tehran a potentially useful proxy to go after those troops, he added.



'Immediate Threat'



Rahmatullah Nabil, the two-time head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS), the countrys main intelligence agency, estimated that between 2,500 to 3,000 Fatemiyoun fighters have returned to Afghanistan.



At this stage it seems they are not in a position to pose an immediate threat to Afghanistans national security, said Nabil, who was intelligence chief from 2010-12 and 2013-15. They are not organized but scattered in different parts of the country.

But he said the former members of the Fatemiyoun Brigade could pose a threat if they establish a central command.



Nabil said it was unclear if Afghan intelligence -- predominately focused on the war against the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) -- was monitoring the movements of the fighters.



Most of the ex-fighters have settled in their homes in central Afghanistan, which is predominately Hazara, and in Hazara settlements in the western part of the country, along the border with Iran.



Many of the former combatants have kept a low profile and have refused to talk on the record with journalists.



This is a group that has not indicated a willingness to stage attacks in Afghanistan, said Kugelman. To this point, Tehran has leveraged it to fight in Syria and help pursue Iranian goals there. But given the increasingly volatile state of play in the Middle East and Iran's certain efforts to seek reprisals against U.S. interests, the situation could well change.



'Cannon Fodder'



The total number of Fatemiyoun members who fought in Syria is unclear. Experts estimate the number was between 5,000 to 20,000.



Ali Alfoneh is an IRGC expert and a senior fellow at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. He said that according to his database, from January 2012 to September 2019 around 917 Afghan nationals were killed in Syria.



As the first line of attack, the poorly trained proxy force suffered from attrition rates as high as 20 percent, Alfoneh said, estimating that the Afghan presence in Syria was likely limited to 5,000 fighters.



Alfoneh says the IRGC considered the Afghan fighters cannon fodder, considering the seemingly minor investment made to train them and the exposure they faced on the battlefield.

Iranian authorities said the fighters traveled to Syria voluntarily to defend holy Shiite sites. Human rights groups said Afghan migrants and refugees in Iran were offered financial rewards and Iranian residency permits to join the fight in Syria.

The United Nations estimates the number of Afghan citizens in Iran at just under 1 million, but Tehran puts the figure closer to 3 million. Tehran has expelled many Afghans and periodically threatens those who remain with mass expulsions.



Readying For U.S. Withdrawal



Alefoneh said it was plausible that Iran was deploying Fatemiyoun members to Afghanistan as part of Tehran's two-prong attempt to prepare for a U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan.



On the one hand, Tehran has normalized relations with the Taliban, which in Tehran's analysis will seize power in Kabul before long, he said. On the other hand, Tehran is preparing for a scenario in which the Taliban once again turns against Iran in the future.



The Taliban controls or influences around half of Afghanistan. The militant group is locked in negotiations with the United States over the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the war-torn country. A withdrawal deal is expected to kickstart intra-Afghan talks over a political settlement that is likely to see the Taliban form part of a new government.



Iran and the Taliban were on the verge of war in 1998, when the group controlled most of Afghanistan. Eight Iranian diplomats and an employee of Iran's state-run IRNA news agency were killed at the Iranian Consulate when Taliban fighters overran the Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif. The Taliban denied any involvement in their deaths.



Outraged by the deaths, Tehran deployed tens of thousands of troops along the border with Afghanistan -- but stopped short of invading the country.



Tehran backed the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance before the U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Iran provided help to U.S. forces that toppled the Taliban regime. But, in recent years, the Islamic republic and the Taliban have forged closer ties, with militant leaders even visiting Tehran.



Long History With Afghanistan



U.S. officials have accused Tehran of providing support to the Taliban, an allegation it denies. Tehran has confirmed it has contacts with the Taliban but insists that any communications are aimed at ensuring the safety of Iranian citizens in Afghanistan and encouraging the Taliban to join peace talks.

Marine General Frank McKenzie, the top U.S. commander for the Middle East, said there has been an increase in Iranian activity in Afghanistan that poses a risk to American troops.



McKenzie, who visited Afghanistan last week, said he was seeing a worrisome trend of Iranian malign interference.

Iran has always sort of dabbled a little bit in Afghanistan, but they see perhaps an opportunity to get after us and the coalition here through their proxies, McKenzie said. So we are very concerned about that here as we go forward.



Ismail Qaani, who in January succeeded Soleimani as head of Irans elite Quds Force, the overseas operations arm of the IRGC, has a long history with Afghanistan.

The 63-year-old general made a mysterious trip to Afghanistan in 2018. Qaani also visited Kabul in the same year.



In the 1980s, Qaani led the IRGCs activities in Afghanistan.



In the 1990s, Qaani was involved in providing logistical, financial, and military support to the Northern Alliance, which was fighting the Taliban.



When the Syrian civil war erupted, Qaani is believed to have been personally involved in the organization of the Fatemiyoun Brigade. It included veterans of the Abuzar Brigade, an Afghan militia consisting of Shia who had fought on Irans side in the war against Iraq.
Pick the worst moment of the Senate impeachment hearings:

A) Susan Collins saying its OK to keep Donald Trump in office because hes learned from this case.

B) A spokeswoman for Jim Risch claiming the senator was not sleeping but just listening with his eyes closed.

C) Mitch McConnell denouncing partisanship.

Well, the McConnell speech during Wednesdays finale was pretty stunning. Our adversaries seek to divide us against each other, the majority leader told his colleagues, warning them not to become consumed with partisan rancor.

Nothing Mitch hates more than failure to be politically evenhanded. Its probably one of the things he mulled frequently while sitting like a nesting hen on piles of Barack Obamas judicial nominations.

Still, for the worst impeachment moment, Im going with Collins. The idea that Donald Trump had learned any lesson is ridiculous. Collins knows, the whole world knows, that Trump is a man with a learning curve that resembles a garter snake.

On the same day she delivered her theory as an excuse for voting for acquittal, the president discussed his Ukraine-related behavior at a lunch with television anchors. What do you think he said?

A) All of life is a learning process.

B) Maybe I might concede I could possibly have done a little better.

C) It was a perfect call.

Yeah, its C. You do know your president, dont you?

Collins made a splash by voting in favor of calling witnesses during the Senates impeachment trial. We live in times when agreeing to listen to people who know a lot about the matter youre debating is an act of extreme daring.

Of course, the witness thing failed. Some believe that Collins moment of independence came only because McConnell knew he had enough votes to kill the proposal without her. Collins is heading toward a tough re-election in Maine this fall, and she needs support. Perhaps, people of Maine, you havent noticed that your senators political independence tends to work best when the matter at hand is meaningless. Could be worse. At least she respects you enough to pander.

Many Senate Republicans settled on taking Trumps side with a teeny, tiny nod toward objectivity. (Lisa Murkowski went all the way for shameful.)

A few red state Democrats had a tough time, too. Doug Jones, who won that dramatic special election in Alabama and is generally regarded as the most endangered Democratic senator this fall, said deciding to support conviction cost him a lot of sleep.

There will be so many who will simply look at what I am doing today and say it is a profile in courage, he told the Senate. It is not. It is simply a matter of right and wrong.

Well, also an understanding that Jones surprise victory last time around was powered by a stupendous turnout by black women voters. Still, the Cook Political Report instantly downgraded his chances for re-election.

When the Senate voted to let Trump off the hook, the suspense had fizzled down to whether Democrat Joe Manchin would take a dive and whether Republican Mitt Romney would take a principled stand.

Manchin had tried desperately to find a way out by proposing the Senate merely censure the president for  trying to force an ally to find dirt on Joe Biden by withholding congressionally approved military aid. Nobody seemed to regard censure as a good plan, and Manchin voted to convict, depriving Trump of the chance to say he had bipartisan support.

Democrats of West Virginia, perhaps you find your senator a little slippery at times. But when you go to the polls, remember that one big day, he single-handedly made Donald Trump a little sad.

Romney, on the other hand, was an actual profile in courage. Mitt Romney! I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong, he said emotionally.

Hes going to get a lot of grief from his Republican supporters. Still, this is a wealthy 72-year-old with five years to go on his current Senate term.

Over his career, Romneys had a history of taking principled stands and then backing off when things get tough. The Mitt who ran for governor of Massachusetts was an entirely different entity from the one who ran for the presidency in 2012.

In 2016, he was horrified by Donald Trump  vowed never to vote for him. Then there he was dining with the president-elect, lusting after a Cabinet post Trump had no intention of giving him.

Now, hes erased a lot of bad memories. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of ones oath of office that I can imagine, Romney said, voting to convict on abuse of power.

When history looks back on Romney, this should be the moment that gets remembered. Not the uninspiring presidential race. Not even the time he drove to Canada with a dog on the roof of the car.

@gailcollins
Update: GPs across the country are being sent 3,000 protective equipment packs to prepare for a possible coronavirus outbreak here.

The HSE has said there is no confirmed case in Ireland and people are extremely unlikely to catch the virus off another person here.

It comes as a third person in the UK has been diagnosed with coronavirus.

The patient, who did not contract the illness in the UK, has been taken a special infectious diseases centre.

Earlier: Man in isolation amid coronavirus concerns at Cork University Hospital - reports

A man at Cork University Hospital has been placed in isolation due to coronavirus concerns, according to reports.

The Echo reports that an Irish man, mid-20s, presented at the CUH "with symptoms similar to those of the virus."

The paper reports that following an assessment, fears were raised "that he could have coronavirus and he was placed in isolation". They say tests are ongoing.

When contacted, the Department of Health said that to date "there are no confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Ireland."

A department spokesperson added: "The Department does not comment on individual cases, other than confirmed cases.

"Ireland is well positioned to detect and respond to a case of novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that might arise here.

"The Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) website is updated daily at 13.00 with the latest information about the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)."

The news comes as two Irish passengers

Read More:

They are among thousands of passengers who will be quarantined for two weeks on the Diamond Princess after 20 people tested positive for the infection.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says it is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.

It was announced yesterday that Ireland is to

Read More:

The money has been allocated to the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is spearheading the international response.

It will be used to support countries in preparing for and responding to the potentially deadly infection.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney said: The rapid spread of the coronavirus concerns us all. Ireland sends its deepest sympathies to those who have been affected and salutes the work of the dedicated health service professionals who are assisting those communities most impacted.

While the virus is currently concentrated in China, the WHO assesses that it may spread further and is a particular concern in regions where health systems could quickly be overwhelmed. It is vital to take early, co-ordinated action to prevent further spread of the virus.

The Government is allocating 500,000 to the World Health Organisation to assist its vital work to help control the spread of the coronavirus.

Yesterday, a person understood to be of Chinese origin, has been tested for

Read More:

It is understood he was placed in isolation as a precautionary measure.

- with reporting by Press Association
Paris  Speaking at the International Conference on Harm Reduction in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), Professor David Khayat, a French oncologist, clarified the harm-reduction approach: "As an oncologist, I encourage my patients to quit. But if they can't, I must offer them alternatives."

"We need to support patients who have failed with other methods," he said. "Even when people know that smoking is bad for their health, they continue to smoke. 64% of people with lung cancer continue to smoke."

"When you tell your patient to eat less fat, you do harm reduction," he told the seminar. "When you put your seatbelt in a car, you do harm reduction. New technologies have given us tools to do so. Why should we refuse to do it with tobacco? As oncologists, our role is not to eradicate tobacco. We want to eradicate cancer. We want our patients to live. Today's alternatives are heated tobacco and e-cigarettes. Tomorrow there will be other solutions".

"The World Health Organization (WHO) wants to know if these new products are safe," he said. "They don't want to know if they are safer. That is the huge difference."

According to the WHO, one billion global deaths are expected this century from tobacco-related causes . The main challenge in the cessation approach is relapse, experts agreed. Laura Rosen, a researcher from the University of Tel Aviv, led a study that showed only 20% of studied people remained non-smokers after a year and only 14% over a longer period. "Other solutions are critically needed " , she urged at the Harm Reduction Conference.

The WHO maintains categorical opposition to heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes and advocates their ban.

A fact sheet on Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems issued by the WHO on January 29 concludes "these products are harmful to health and are not safe." Adding "it is too early to provide a clear answer on the long-term impact of using them or being exposed to them". The WHO statement warns that usages of the products "increases the risk of heart disease and lung disorders."

Some experts took issue with that position. "WHO misrepresents the available scientific evidence" said Prof. John Britton, director of the Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies and consultant in Respiratory Medicine at the University of Nottingham. He called the WHO briefing "misleading on several counts." Whereas WHO claims "there is no strong evidence that vaping is an effective means of quitting smoking," Britton said, "there is clinical trial evidence of the highest standard demonstrating that vaping is more effective than the nicotine replacement therapies that the WHO endorses."

Despite the controversy, all experts agree on one point: quitting smoking is by far the best option for good health.

"More and more smokers are dying in Africa," according to Kenyan physician Anthony Kiamati. "The problem is how industries view Africa. It is the same for pharmaceutical companies. They assume the continent cannot afford science-based innovative solutions to reduce harm. It would be a missing opportunity not to consider innovative alternatives in Africa. The population, policymakers, governments and the medical world should give it a try," he said. "The aim is to save the lives of those already smoking and who are unwilling or unable to quit. Smoke-free alternatives should be promoted even though health regulatory policies are fragile", he added.

Participants expressed their conviction that innovation must be used to reduce the harm related to tobacco.

The missing alternative between prevention and cessation

In most countries, regulation and communication are based on both prevention and cessation. In other words, regulation and communication are designed both for those who don't smoke and for those who want to quit. For people in the middle of these two strategies, there is a crucial need of regulation according to experts speaking at a side event held on February 3 in Paris in the margins of the International Conference on Harm Reduction in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

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"France has the most restrictive tobacco regulation in Europe and yet, it is the second country in terms of prevalence" said Jeanne Polles, managing director / president of Phillip Morris France.

Governments tend to think that tobacco manufacturers should stay out of the discussion about harmless alternatives. Phillip Morris International (PMI) takes a different approach.

"There are one billion smokers today in the world," PMI researcher Gizelle Baker said. "Our objective is to move people away from combustible cigarettes. We need to develop different products using innovation and science to help them. For example, we know that there are a number of smokers that don't want to quit. The Heat-not-Burn products, while being less toxic, offer an experience that is similar to combustible cigarettes."

The newly stated ambition of PMI is to "deliver a smoke-free future" with a vision that smoke-free products will one day replace cigarette smoking.
ROME, N.Y.  Former Oneida County Legislator Ronald Townsend pleaded guilty to harassment Thursday for an incident that happened in June of 2019.

The 74-year-old was accused of spraying a bicyclist in the face with pepper spray on Westbrook Drive in Rome.

The victim said he was the father of a woman who Townsend was convicted of forcibly touching at the Rome YMCA in 2015.

Townsend was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge, 50 hours of community service and had to pay a court fee.

Before pleading guilty, Townsend was scheduled to go to trial in March.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 04:17:26|Editor: Yurou

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U.S. President Donald Trump walks on the South Lawn as he returns from North Carolina at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Feb. 7, 2020. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Mick Mulvaney will remain as his acting chief of staff amid media reports that the aide's future at the White House is in doubt. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Mick Mulvaney will remain as his acting chief of staff amid media reports that the aide's future at the White House is in doubt.

"That was a false report. I have a great relationship with Mick," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for an event in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The president also said he has "a great relationship with Mark," referring to retiring North Carolina Congressman Mark Meadows, reportedly a possible replacement of Mulvaney.

There is long-running speculation that Mulvaney, a central figure in the House impeachment inquiry into Trump, would leave his White House role after the end of the case, which fell on Wednesday when a sharply divided Senate voted to acquit the president on both impeachment charges.

While Trump claimed victory over the acquittal, Democrats have maintained their argument that the evidence of wrongdoing against him is "overwhelming."

On Friday, Trump also weighed in on a reported removal of Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council (NSC). The top Ukraine expert on the NSC, Vindman testified in the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry late last year.

"I'm not happy with him. You think I'm supposed to be happy with him?" He told reporters.

Vindman is likely to return to the U.S. Army, according to media reports.

The House impeached Trump in December last year after an inquiry triggered by a whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine.

Trump was alleged to have pressured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could politically benefit him by withholding military aid from Ukraine. Furthermore, the White House allegedly tried to cover it up.

The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or a "quid pro quo" with Ukraine.
President Trump's peace plan includes two detailed maps of what a two-state solution could look like.

(JTA)-The Trump administration put questions about the seriousness of its Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal to rest Tuesday by delivering a 181-page, detail-laden document that outlines a clear-if one-sided-vision for the future of the region.

The document includes sections on history, security and economics, among others. We've got a roundup of the most important details here.

But the quickest way to make sense of the plan might be to skip to pages 41 and 42. That's where you can find two "conceptual maps"-one of Israel under the plan and the other of "the future state of Palestine."

The maps show that Israel would include 15 "enclave territories," or settlements within the West Bank, and that an underground tunnel would stretch approximately 30 miles between the West Bank and Gaza to create a technically contiguous, but geographically disparate, Palestinian state.

"All Muslims who come in peace will be welcome to visit and pray at the al-Aqsa Mosque," the map of Palestine says. The mosque, constructed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, is currently inaccessible for Palestinians living in Gaza.

Both the annexed territories and the underground tunnel would represent major changes in the region. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who joined President Donald Trump to announce the plan on Tuesday, said Israel could begin annexation as soon as this week.
RBMG/Def JamJustin Bieber has only good intentions with his new song, Intentions, featuring Quavo.



With the release of the new single off his upcoming album, Changes, Justin has partnered with the L.A. nonprofit Alexandria House, which provides safe and supportive housing for women and children transitioning from homelessness or crisis situations.



In the song's video, Justin spotlights the stories of three women who have graduated from the Alexandria transitional housing program. Justin and Quavo surprise each of them with something they need to help achieve their dreams, including a car for one of the women so she can get to school each day.



Justin has also set up an Intentions Fund, pledging $200,000 to support Alexandria House families. Fans are encouraged to donate, too.



Changes comes out February 14.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.




Here's why the cover page of Kerala budget document had Mahatma Gandhis assassination image

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Pinarayi Vijayan-led Kerala government on Friday has come under the spotlight as they released official budget document for the year 2020-21 on Friday. The cover page had carried the painting of 'Death of Gandhi' which was done by the artist Tom Vattakuzhy.

Speaking to news agency ANI, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac justified that he wanted to make a political statement by choosing such a controversial image. "It is a painting by a Malayalam artist of Mahatma Gandhi's murder scene. We are sending out a message that we will not forget who murdered Gandhi," he added.

"This is important at the times when history is being re-written. There is an attempt to erase some popular memories and use the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the population on communal lines. Kerala will stand united," Isaac asserted.

Being strangulated without funds says Keralas FinMin

Meanwhile, Congress leader of opposition Ramesh Chennithala said,''Even though we are all fighting against the RSS and BJP, the budget cover should have been avoided. We are all fighting against the Hindu communal forces and we are all fighting against the BJP and Sangh Pariwar. But this image on the Budget cover, I don't think this is an appropriate gesture."

The BJP too slammed the Kerala government and said that it was done to divert the attention of the people from the sagging state of the economy.

NRC is an official record of those people who are legal citizens of India. The dossier includes demographic information about all those individuals who qualify as citizens of India as per the Citizenship Act, 1955.

The register was first prepared after the 1951 Census of India and since then it has not been updated until recently.

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 17:36 [IST]
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro hasnt run for president, and he hasnt received the same attention as his brother, but he is just as much of a political talent and a rising Democratic star.

Seeking his fifth term in Congress, Castro has shown impressive depth on foreign policy as a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, and hes been equally impressive serving on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where he was outspoken about Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Castro faces two Democratic challengers in the primary: Rob Hostetler, who did not respond to an interview request but discusses eliminating the Federal Reserve and U.N. 2.0 on his campaign website; and Justin Lecea, who wished malignant cancer on former President Barack Obama.

We strongly recommend Joaquin Castro in this primary for District 20. While Castro is very much an emerging national political figure, he is deeply engaged in local affairs. He played a key role in securing funding for San Antonios federal courthouse and, this summer, he and fellow San Antonio Rep. Lloyd Doggett hosted a town hall about addressing domestic violence. And hes brought much-needed attention and scrutiny to the treatment of migrant families and children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

He also founded SA READS, a literacy campaign that has distributed more than 200,000 books to schools and shelters, and he has raised money so low-income students can take college tours.

We disagreed with Castros tweet last year about local business owners who have donated to President Donald Trump, which leads us to the Republican primary in this race. There are five Republicans running in the primary, and many were at least partly inspired to run because of that tweet. But they also expressed, not surprisingly, fundamental political differences with Castro.

Our recommendation goes to Dominick Dina, who is easily the most qualified candidate in this Republican primary. Dina served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a chief master sergeant. He now is a real estate broker.

Dina has paid his dues politically, serving on a variety of boards, including as past president of the Northwest Neighborhood Alliance and as a Republican precinct chair. Hes advocated for greater tree cover in the citys urban core and worked to promote solar power.

It will be a tough climb for any Republican in this bright blue district, which covers much of San Antonios West and Northwest sides.
Hospitals, doctors and Medicare Advantage insurance plans that care for some of the most vulnerable patients are not reimbursed fairly by Medicare, according to recent findings in JAMA.

It costs more to care for patients who are frail, have dementia, are depressed or are poor. However providers that treat them and health insurance plans that provide their coverage are not paid fairly to treat these health conditions because Medicare doesn't account for them in its existing risk payment system. That system rates patients based upon how sick they are, which determines Medicare reimbursements.

"While it's an unintended consequence of the current Medicare payment policy, those who are among the most vulnerable are less likely to get the care that they need," said Kenton Johnston, Ph.D., assistant professor of health management and policy at Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice, and lead author of the paper.

"This disparity has already created an incentive for providers and plans to avoid treating Medicare beneficiaries with those conditions."

Medicare compensates health insurance plans in Medicare Advantage and medical providers under value-based payment models based on how sick their patients are, which is measured by a risk score. Because patients who have higher risk scores cost more to treat than those with lower scores, Medicare pays insurance plans and providers more to treat them.

In this paper, Johnston highlighted a problem with Medicare payments. Medicare does not include frailty, dementia, depression or poverty in its risk scores even though patients with those conditions are sicker and costlier to treat.

Johnston and his co-authors Julie P. W. Bynum, M.D., professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Karen E. Joynt Maddox, M.D., assistant professor of cardiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, recommend an easy fix to correct the disparity.

Medicare should include patient frailty, dementia, depression and poverty in its risk scores - conditions for which there are standard diagnosis codes that clinicians can enter at the time they treat patients.

Medicare has resisted the change, Johnston said, arguing clinicians and facilities might over-code those conditions to increase their reimbursement.

"That can be addressed through existing fraud procedures that Medicare already has in place. A clinician who codes a patient for those conditions when the patient does not have the conditions is committing Medicare fraud and can be penalized," Johnston said.

"It is unfair to clinicians, facilities and plans that do treat patients with those conditions to not reimburse them fairly for their services."

###

The Saint Louis University College for Public Health and Social Justice is the only academic unit of its kind, studying social, environmental and physical influences that together determine the health and well-being of people and communities. It also is the only accredited school or college of public health among nearly 250 Catholic institutions of higher education in the United States.

Guided by a mission of social justice and focus on finding innovative and collaborative solutions for complex health problems, the College offers nationally recognized programs in public health, social work, health administration, applied behavior analysis, and criminology and criminal justice.
The Justice Departments decision could boost the efforts of the auto companies and California to move ahead with tighter vehicle pollution standards than those being finalized by the federal government.

Californias governor, Gavin Newsom, welcomed the news. These trumped-up charges were always a sham  a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to prevent more automakers from joining California and agreeing to stronger emissions standards, he said in a statement. He called the decision a victory for anyone who cares about the rule of law and clean air.

In July, the four automakers announced that they had reached an agreement in principle with California on emissions standards that would be stricter than those being sought by the White House. The announcement came as an embarrassment for the Trump administration, which assailed the move as a P.R. stunt.

The Justice Department then opened an investigation into whether the four automakers violated federal antitrust laws by working together to reach their deal with California, on the grounds that the agreement could potentially limit consumer choice.

At the time Makan Delrahim, the assistant attorney general of the Justice Departments antitrust division, wrote in an opinion article in USA Today that the investigation was not politically motivated. Those who criticize even the prospect of an antitrust investigation should know that, when it comes to antitrust, politically popular ends should not justify turning a blind eye to the competition laws, Mr. Delrahim wrote.
CANASTOTA, N.Y. -- A 67-year-old Canastota man was arrested and accused of having child porn on a tablet, New York State Police said Thursday.

William D. Lewis, who was arrested on Jan. 31, was charged with two counts of possessing a sexual performance by a child, police said.

The Midstate Child Exploitation Task Force found images that showed child porn on Lewis Samsung tablet, according to police.

He was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear in Town of Lincoln court on Feb. 20, police said.

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EDWARDSVILLE  Three men and a juvenile have been charged after an estimated 200 vehicle burglaries during the past month and authorities are trying to determine if there is a connection to similar crimes in Jersey and Macoupin counties.

Timothy D. Sunderland, 21, was charged with 11 counts of burglary and one count of stolen vehicle possession. Sean A. Breeden, 18, was charged with five counts of burglary and one count of stolen vehicle possession. Shane M. Carney, 18, was charged with 12 counts of burglary and one count of stolen vehicle possession.

Sunderland and Breeden were in custody Thursday, but Carney was not.

Police turned over a fourth, unidentified person to juvenile authorities.

Madison County Sheriffs Office Capt. David Vucich said the burglaries occurred in the Prairietown, Godfrey and Granite City areas. Vucich said their review of the burglaries discovered numerous other law enforcement agencies also had begun seeing an influx of vehicle burglaries as well.

The cases all had common denominators and some evidence corroborated the crimes may be linked.

The majority of the vehicle burglary reports were similar in that the victims vehicles were reportedly unlocked and only small miscellaneous items inside the vehicles were taken, Vucich said. However, there were also larger, more egregious, items such as vehicles and firearms that were stolen believed to be linked the burglaries.

Information gathered by the Jersey County Sheriffs Department led police to the identity of one of the suspects. Other agencies involved include Alton Police, Granite City Police, Jerseyville Police and the Macoupin County Sheriffs Department.

Police recovered a stolen vehicle, a firearm, about 1.5 pounds of cannabis and about $5,600 in cash.

The joint investigation would reveal that the suspects were responsible for a conservatively estimated 200 vehicle burglaries in the tri-county region during the last week, Vucich said.

Madison County Sheriff John Lakin noted that a large majority of the incidents are believed to be either unknown or unreported by victims because no forced entry was made into the vehicles.

The public is reminded to please secure all vehicles when they are not occupied, Lakin said. Firearms nor key fobs should not be left unattended in vehicles. This simple step helps deter thefts in the area and these incidents from happening.
Ten new MLAs were inducted into the seven-month -old BS Yediyurappa-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Karnataka amid murmurs of discontent from party loyalists even as members officially played down any talk of dissent. All the ten new ministers had shifted from Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S), helping the saffron party topple the 14-month-old coalition government led by HD Kumaraswamy. The BJP had promised the defectors ministerships after they won bypolls .

The 10 who were inducted into the cabinet are ST Somashekar, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Anand Singh, Byrathi Basvraja, Shivaram Hebbar, BC Patil, K Gopaliah, Narayana Gowda, K Sudhakar and Shrimant Patil. Chief minister Yediyurappa said there were no differences in the party and the portfolios would be announced by February 8. The new ministers were inducted at a simple oath-taking ceremony held at Raj Bhavan where Governor Vajubhai Vala administered the oath of office. In what was seen as a mark of protest, several senior leaders, including Umesh Katti, CP Yogeshwar and minister of health and family welfare, BS Sriramulu, were absent from the ceremony. The party headquarter in Bengaluru was deserted. Supporters of the newly inducted ministers chose to celebrate near the Raj Bhavan.

BS Sriramulu said that his absence from the ceremony was due to personal reasons. I am busy making arrangements for a personal function at home... There are no differences among us. In an effort to mollify some of the old guard, the CM said seniors like Umesh Katti would hundred percent be made a minister (at a suitable time).

Deputy CM Ashwath Narayan also tried to reassure loyalist BJP MLAs. The focus should be on stability and development. These people have been inducted for ensuring that happens. Others [who have been left out] will also get an opportunity. he said.

Reacting to the induction of 10 new MLAs into the cabinet, Congress Legislature Party leader Siddararmiah said, Although I wish that they work for the people, I am not happy at their induction as it is rewarding defectors. I feel sorry for Yediyurappa, he did not have a free hand to select his ministers.

Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who claimed he wasnt invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony, said, Will the 105 MLAs from BJP let the recent entrants enjoy power?

The lone defector who won but was not inducted is Mahesh Kumatahalli from Athani constitutency. Political analyst Manjunath said, The challenges have begun just now. There will be discontent once portfolios are allocated. After the expansion, the cabinet strength went up to 28, including the chief minister. Karnataka can have a maximum of 34 ministers, which means there are six vacancies still.

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JACKSON, MI  If the city of Jackson gives Consumers Energy a discount on water rates for its gas-fired electric generating plant, Mayor Derek Dobies wants the City Council to consider having other businesses shoulder the burden.

Consumers sued the city last week in response to a September change by the council that eliminated discounted water rates for the largest water users. The plant at 2219 Chapin St. is the largest water user in the city, using about 6.5 million cubic feet per month, per Consumers.

The council postponed considering an agreement with Consumers at its Jan. 28 meeting, which would have saved the company $65 million over the 20-year deal.

Companies like Consumers havent been paying their share for a long time for water in the city, Dobies said.

But we work on behalf of the residents and the neighborhoods," he said.

Consumers is not trying to evade paying its fair share, said Katie Carey, Consumers director of media relations. The citys plan forces Consumers to subsidize the citys water program, Carey said in an email.

"This unfairly puts the burden on all Consumers Energy customers in Michigan, who are then subsidizing other users served by Jackson water," Carey said.

Higher-use customers seeing discounted rates isnt an abnormal practice, Consumers officials said. The average industrial rate for energy from Consumers is 51 percent, compared to what it costs for residential customers, Carey said, as set by the Michigan Public Service Commission.

Jackson County Chamber of Commerce officials approve of the proposed deal that would return the discount to Consumers, partly because its one of the largest employers in the area.

You have a great business here that is supporting their own city, said John Crist, interim CEO with the chamber. Are they getting that big of a break? I dont think so, no.

But that lost revenue would have to be offset somewhere, Dobies said. He  and most of the rest of the council  have said it shouldn't go "on the backs" of individuals.

One option is beefing up rates even higher for other businesses, Dobies said.

If the chamber of commerce supports giving a business that large of a discount, I would imagine that (theyd) support other large providers in the business community ... shouldering that cost  I dont know, Dobies said.

Council will likely discuss the lawsuit in closed session at its Tuesday, Feb. 11 meeting, Dobies said. It will also consider the Consumers proposal and potentially make a counterproposal, he said.

The city signed a development agreement in 2000 with Kinder Morgan, the company that built the plant at the old Goodyear site. The agreement included several incentives to Kinder Morgan, including special water rates. Consumers bought the plant in 2013 and the agreement transferred companies.

Consumers officials argue the agreement on water rates is still in effect. City officials argue it expired after 10 years, citing a later portion of the agreement which mandates Consumers "exclusively" buy water from the city for 10 years.

Until the September change, Consumers was paying about 46 percent of the rate paid by most water customers in the city, per Consumers officials.

Consumers proposed deal would make them pay about 52 percent of the regular rate, plus have limits on how much the rate could rise. The deal projects the company would pay $70 million over 20 years for water at the plant instead of $135 million, per numbers from the company.

The lawsuit demands the city returns to its original rate structure from the 2000 agreement  backpedaling on the September change and changes in 2010 and 2017 that increased rates for large water users.

"The absurdity of it is pretty apparent," Dobies said.

The dilemma stems from a larger issue, as the city is projecting more than $200 million in extra costs to replace all lead service lines in the city  as mandated by state law. Councilmembers want to limit increases to residents  which are already expected to double.

Other cities believe each line can be replaced for about $5,000 on average, Crist said, but the city told him it could cost as much as $38,000 in Jackson  prompting the nine-figure price tag. An official cost hasnt been determined yet, city spokesman Aaron Dimick said.

Were wondering where some of these numbers are coming from, from the city, Crist said. There seems to be something that is really not right, here.

More Jackson stories:

Consumers Energy parent company nets $680 million in 2019

City approves $3.3M for pair of kitchens, recreation center renovation

Recall election set, with 3 vying for downtown Jackson council seat
[music]

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: A secretive company promising the next generation of facial recognition software has compiled a database of images far bigger than anything ever constructed by the U.S. government. The Dailys Annie Brown speaks to reporter Kashmir Hill about whether the technology is a breakthrough for law enforcement or the end of privacy as we know it. Its Monday, February 10.

annie brown

Kashmir, how did this story come to you?

kashmir hill

So I got an email. It was a Wednesday morning. I was checking my phone. And it was from a tipster who had gotten a bunch of documents from police departments. And one of the police departments had sent along this memo about a private company that was offering a radical new tool to solve crimes using facial recognition.

annie brown

And what would make a facial recognition tool radical?

kashmir hill

So law enforcement has for years had access to facial recognition tools. But what this company was offering was unlike any other facial recognition tools that police have been using, because they had scraped the open web of public photos  from Facebook, from Venmo, from Twitter, from education sites, employment sites  and had a massive database of billions of photos. So the pitch is that you can take a picture of a criminal suspect, put their face into this app and identify them in seconds.

annie brown

And when you read this memo, what do you make of what this company is offering?

kashmir hill

So Ive been covering privacy for 10 years, and I know that a technology like this in public hands is the nightmare scenario.

[music]

This has been a tool that was too taboo for Silicon Valley giants who were capable of building it. Google in 2011 said that they could release a tool like this, but it was the one technology they were holding back because it could be used in a very bad way.

annie brown

And why exactly is this kind of technology this line in the sand that no one will cross? What makes it so dangerous?

kashmir hill

So imagine this technology in public hands. It would mean that if you were at a bar and someone saw you and was interested in you, they could take your photo, run your face through the app, and then it pulls up all these photos of you from the internet. It probably takes them back to your Facebook page. So now they know your name, they know who youre friends with, they can Google your name, they can see where you live, where you work, maybe how much money you make. Lets say youre a parent and youre walking down the street with your three-year-old. Somebody can take a photo of you and know where the two of you live. Imagine youre a protester in the U.S. or in a more authoritarian regime. All of a sudden they know everything about you, and you can face repercussions for just trying to exercise your political opinions. If this app were made publicly available, it would be the end of being anonymous in public. You would have to assume anyone can know who you are any time theyre able to take a photo of your face.

annie brown

And so that technology is what this company is pitching these police departments?

kashmir hill

Exactly.

annie brown

And what do you know about this company at this point?

kashmir hill

So at this point, all I really know is that the company is called Clearview AI. And so the first thing I do is Google it. And I find their website, which is clearview.ai. And the website is pretty bare, but theres also an office address listed there, 145 West 41st Street, which happens to be just a couple of blocks from The New York Times office.

annie brown

Right.

kashmir hill

So I decided to walk over there, and there just is no 145 West 41st Street. So that was weird. So now I have this company thats offering this radical new tool 

annie brown

Its got a fake address.

kashmir hill

Its got a fake address, which is a huge red flag.

annie brown

So what you do next?

kashmir hill

I found the company on LinkedIn. It only had one employee listed, a sales manager named John Good, which 

annie brown

John Good.

kashmir hill

John Good. It seemed like it could also be fake. And I sent that person a LinkedIn message and never heard back. So one of the things I find online is a website called PitchBook that lists investments in start-ups. And so it says that this Clearview AI has received $7 million from a venture capital firm and from Peter Thiel  you know, a big name in Silicon Valley, invested in Facebook and Palantir. So I reach out to his spokesperson, and he says Ill get back to you. I never hear from him again. And then one day, I open up Facebook, and I have a message from a friend whose name I dont recognize. And he says, hey, I hear youre looking into Clearview AI. I know them. Theyre a great company. How can I help?

annie brown

And you dont know who this guy is?

kashmir hill

I dont. I mean, its a guy I met once 10 years ago. And somehow he knows that Im looking into this company. But Ill take it. You know, finally 

annie brown

Right!

kashmir hill

 somebody wants to talk to me about Clearview AI. And so I say, hey, can I give you a call? And then he doesnt respond, which Im getting used to.

annie brown

You just cant catch a break.

kashmir hill

I know. Im like, I cannot believe this is another dead end. So phone and email are not working for me. So I just need to figure out another door to knock on to try to talk to a real human being. And one of the investors in the company is this venture capital firm that has an office in Bronxville, New York. So on a cold, rainy Tuesday, I got on the train and headed to Bronxville. I get to the companys address. Its just like in a retail space. And go inside. Theres this long, quiet hallway of office suites, and this venture capital firm is at the very end. And I knock on the door, and theres no one there. So I start trying to talk to their neighbors, and a woman who works next door says, oh yeah, theyre never here. So Im walking down the stairs to go back out of the building, and two guys walk through the door. Theyre both in dark suits with lavender and pink shirts underneath, and they just kind of look like V.C.s to me. So I say, hey, are you with this venture capital firm? And they say, we are. Who are you? And I was like, Im the New York Times reporter whos been trying to get in touch with you. And they said, the company has told us not to talk to you. And I said, well Ive come all the way out to Bronxville. Can we just chat for a little bit? And they say, O.K. If probably helps that Im very pregnant, and they offered me water. And they just start telling me everything.

[music]

annie brown

And what do they tell you?

kashmir hill

They confirm that theyve invested in Clearview AI and that Peter Thiel has also invested. They identified the genius coder behind the company, this guy named Hoan Ton-That. And they say hes Vietnamese royalty but hes from Australia. And they also tell me that Hoan is the one that was using the fake name John Good on LinkedIn.

annie brown

Hes John Good.

kashmir hill

Hes John Good. And they confirm that law enforcement is already using the app. And that law enforcement loves it and that its spreading like wildfire.

annie brown

Wow.

kashmir hill

So Ive learned some stuff from these two investors, but no one from the company is talking to me still. So in the meantime, I am also reaching out to law enforcement, because I want to know if this app really works as well as the company claims. By this point, I had learned that over 600 law enforcement agencies had tried the app, including the Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I.

annie brown

Wow. Its not just local police departments. This is being used by the federal government already.

kashmir hill

Yeah, I mean, I was just shocked to discover how easily government agencies can just try a new technology without apparently knowing much about the company that provides it. So I talked to a retired police chief from Indiana, who was actually one of the first departments to use the app. And they solved a case within 20 seconds, he said.

annie brown

A case they hadnt been able to solve?

kashmir hill

That they hadnt been able to solve. One of the officers told me that he went back through like 30 dead-end cases that hadnt had any hits on the government database, and he got a bunch of hits using the app. So they were really excited about it.

annie brown

This is way more effective than what they were using before.

kashmir hill

Exactly. With the government databases they were previously using, they had to have a photo that was just a direct full-face photo of a suspect  like mug shots and drivers license photos. But with Clearview, it could be a person wearing glasses, or a hat, or part of their face was covered, or they were in profile, and officers were still getting results on these photos.

annie brown

Wow.

kashmir hill

But the most astounding story I was told was that investigators had this child exploitation video, and there was an adult who was visible in the video just for a few seconds in the background. So they had this persons face. They had run it through their usual databases and not gotten anything back. But then they ran his face through Clearviews app, and he turned up in the background of someone elses gym selfie. You could see his face in the mirror. And so they figured out what gym this photo was taken out. They went to the gym. They asked the employees, do you know who this is? And the employee said, we cant tell you. We have to protect our members privacy. But then later, the detectives got a text from somebody who worked there identifying the person. And that  I mean, thats just something that would not have been possible without Clearviews app. So because officers were telling me the tool works so well, I wanted to see it for myself, on myself. And I asked them if they would run my photo through the app. But every time I did this, things would get weird. The officers would tell me that they ran my photo and there were no results.

annie brown

No pictures of you?

kashmir hill

There were no pictures of me, which was really weird, because I have a lot of photos of myself online. And then officers would just stop responding to me or talking to me. And I had no idea what was going on until one officer was kind enough to explain to me.

[phone ringing] officer Hello, how are you. kashmir hill Hey. Its Kashmir. officer Yes, hi. Mm-hmm.

kashmir hill

Im keeping this officer anonymous because he could get in serious trouble for talking to me so openly about Clearview.

kashmir hill If you could just describe yourself, to the extent that you can describe yourself. officer Im a police officer at a large metropolitan police department.

kashmir hill

So hes a cop who was doing a 30-day free trial of the app. And he was really impressed with it. So I asked him if he wouldnt mind running my photo.

annie brown

And what did he tell you happened when he sent your picture through?

officer Yeah, nothing. I didnt get a response at all. kashmir hill No results? officer No results. And within a couple of minutes of me putting your photo up there  maybe five, less than 10  I got a phone call from the Clearview company. They wanted to know why I was uploading a New York Times reporters photo. kashmir hill That is so wild. I dont know. [LAUGHS] It creeps me out as a reporter. I mean yeah, it just  officer It kind of creeped me out as a user.

kashmir hill

So this implied that Clearview flagged my face in their system such that they got an alert when a police officer ran my face. Which I found 

annie brown

Wow.

kashmir hill

 very alarming, because this is telling me for the first time that this company is able to monitor who law enforcement is looking for, and not just know who theyre looking for, but manipulate the results. And so then that made me go back to the earlier officers who had run my photo. And they all confirmed, yes, I got a call from the company, and they said, were not supposed to be talking to the media.

[music]

kashmir hill So were you able to keep using the app after that? officer My account was deactivated. kashmir hill Did you ever get access back? officer I never did. But I have colleagues that have access. So if I were to need a picture searched, I could just email it to them and they can email me the results. kashmir hill And you think the trade-offs are worth it, in terms of what the company has access to? officer Do I think its worth it? So from a law enforcement perspective, its worth it. We get a lot of cases, and we dont usually have a lot of leads. And so anything that can  honestly, anything that can help us solve a crime is a win for us. From a privacy perspective, its rather frightening the amount of information that they were able to get and provide. As long as theyre doing it for the right reasons, then everything will work out. Lets put it that way.

[music]

kashmir hill

But the problem is we dont know anything about the company at this point. We dont know if theres any kind of oversight. We dont know who the people are that are operating this and what their intentions are with their product. The person in charge of the company wont talk to me. But then, its the end of December when I get a call from the companys spokeswoman. And she says that the founder, Hoan Ton-That, is ready to talk.

michael barbaro

Well be right back.

kashmir hill Do you have a hard stop? hoan ton-that No I dont actually. 12:30. lisa linden 12:00 noon. hoan ton-that Oh, 12:00 noon. kashmir hill I have no hard stop. lisa linden Oh. kashmir hill And I have lots of questions, so Ill take as much time as you can give me.

annie brown

So Kashmir, you finally got an interview with the founder of Clearview, this man named Hoan Ton-That. Where do you meet him?

kashmir hill

So we met in a WeWork in Chelsea. He came down to the lobby.

kashmir hill You like New York, youre going to stay here? hoan ton-that Oh, yeah.

kashmir hill

And his appearance surprised me, because I had Googled him online and there are a lot of photos of him. And hes usually pretty eccentric  like a lot of paisley shirts, hes at Burning Man.

hoan ton-that Lets go to the back room.

kashmir hill

But in person he was very conservative. He was in this dark blue navy suit with a white button-up and leather shoes. So he looked very much like the security start-up entrepreneur.

annie brown

He was looking the part.

kashmir hill

He was looking the part.

kashmir hill When were you born? How old are you? hoan ton-that 88, so Im 31. kashmir hill O.K.

annie brown

And what do you learn about him?

kashmir hill

So he is 31. He grew up in Australia, but you cant hear that in his voice.

hoan ton-that I love computers, obviously. kashmir hill Yeah, so how did you get interested in technology? hoan ton-that We had a computer, of course, when I was four or five years old.

kashmir hill

So his family got a computer when he was three or four, and he was always tinkering with computers growing up.

hoan ton-that We got the internet when I was 10, I think. And then you could discover all these things online. But Linux, I was like I have to get this thing. Its the nerdiest thing ever. I convinced my dad. We installed it, and I would spend the whole summer reinstalling and learning Linux stuff, staying home from high school and learning programming for fun. So thats  I just really liked it.

kashmir hill

He enrolled in college, decided to drop out like many technologists do, and moved to San Francisco when he was 19.

hoan ton-that  2007, before it was a big thing, right? It was kind of getting there, but it wasnt huge.

kashmir hill

This is 2007, and this is kind of a boom time. The iPhone has just come out.

hoan ton-that Thats the Facebook app era. Remember that? kashmir hill Yeah.

kashmir hill

People are becoming millionaires by making Facebook games. And he wants to be the next big app guy.

hoan ton-that Being there is a lot different from reading about it online. You absorb a lot more of how people get things done. And you learn a lot more secrets.

annie brown

What did he built?

kashmir hill

So the Facebook apps were like would you rather apps and kind of like romantic GIFs.

hoan ton-that Did Some of the first iPhone games as well.

kashmir hill

One of his most recent apps was called Trump Hair, and it was an app for adding Trumps hair to your photos.

annie brown

Thats it?

kashmir hill

Thats it. The tagline was, Its gonna be yuge!

annie brown

O.K. [LAUGHS] So how do you move from a Donald Trump hair app to something that seems like it could revolutionize police work?

kashmir hill

Well, he moved to New York. And that seemed to be a big change for him. And he started meeting very different people. And one of the most important people he met was Richard Schwartz.

hoan ton-that I ended up meeting Richard at a party.

kashmir hill

This 61-year-old guy who worked for Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the 1990s. He was just very politically connected.

hoan ton-that I really loved that. He had a lot of stories. And then we talked for an hour about different ideas. Because I was like, this is what I do  technology. I can make anything. And it went from there.

kashmir hill

And the two of them decided, with Hoan Ton-Thats tech know-how and Richards Rolodex, that they want to try to start a facial recognition company together.

annie brown

And why facial recognition? Why did the two of them choose that?

kashmir hill

I think it was because Hoan had started reading a lot of papers about facial recognition and machine learning.

hoan ton-that I had never really studied AI stuff before, but I could pick up a lot of it.

kashmir hill

And I think they realized they could make money doing it.

kashmir hill What would you say, in terms of the range of ideas at first, what were you thinking? hoan ton-that A lot. I could go on, really crazy, but 

kashmir hill

Theres a lot of face recognition algorithms out there, and a lot that work pretty well. What was different about what Hoan Ton-That and Richard Schwartz were doing is they had been willing to scrape all of these photos from the internet. So they just had a huge database of photos.

annie brown

Right, the billions of photos.

kashmir hill

Exactly.

hoan ton-that And then we had this point where we got to 99 percent accuracy. I remember that, it was just in the office. And he was like, wow, it works. Try that one again. Try that one again. And just every time, it would pick the right person out. And thats when we knew, this is crazy. This actually works.

annie brown

Is that legal? Can you just take photographs from anywhere on the internet and use them for this kind of thing?

kashmir hill

There was a ruling in a federal court this fall that said, yeah, this kind of public scraping seems to be legal.

annie brown

And what are they hoping to do with this software at this point?

kashmir hill

I mean, theyre just trying to figure out how they can make money off of the app. And so they eventually end up settling on law enforcement.

hoan ton-that And they start solving cases from grainy A.T.M. photos, cases they wouldve never solved. So this spread to different departments, and then from one agency to other agencies.

annie brown

And do you ask him about that thing that happened with the officer who couldnt find your photos?

kashmir hill

Yeah, so that was one of my questions, and I wasnt entirely satisfied by his answer.

hoan ton-that So  kashmir hill One thing that surprised me  some of the officers I talked to tried to run my photo through it, and they got no hits. And I tons of photos online. hoan ton-that [LAUGHS] It must have been a bug. kashmir hill Did you guys block me from like getting results? hoan ton-that I dont know about that. kashmir hill Because I was like, this doesnt make any sense.

kashmir hill

He said, oh yeah, that was a software bug. But he laughed.

kashmir hill I was like, I have 1,000 photos online. This cant work as well as they say it works. hoan ton-that Yeah, well, it must have been a bug in the software or something. kashmir hill [LAUGHS] Why did you do that? It totally made me think that  hoan ton-that Hey, maybe it doesnt work. You never know, right? This could be the long con. kashmir hill Ah, O.K. hoan ton-that Im kidding, Im kidding. It works.

annie brown

What do you think that was about?

kashmir hill

[LAUGHS] I dont think it was a software bug.

hoan ton-that Its a bug. I dont know. I  kashmir hill You have no idea, huh?

annie brown

Huh.

kashmir hill

Yeah. So he said the software bug is now fixed.

hoan ton-that Oh yes, so Ill show you. This is the iPhone version.

kashmir hill

And he took a photo of me.

hoan ton-that Oh, it does work. kashmir hill Oh, thats so surprising. hoan ton-that I know.

kashmir hill

And there, the results included a bunch of photos of me online.

kashmir hill Oh my god, I totally forgot. hoan ton-that Well, we can take  kashmir hill Thats 10 years ago.

kashmir hill

Including some I had never seen before.

kashmir hill Some of these photos I didnt know were online.

annie brown

So hes just brushing off this weird thing that happened to you. But do you get the sense that hes thinking at all about privacy?

kashmir hill

So I asked him, you know, this is a very powerful app. And I asked him what restrictions is he thinking about for it. And he said, one, that they were only selling it to law enforcement right now, though it does turn out that theyre also selling it to a few private companies for security purposes. But he said they wouldnt sell it to bad actors or bad governments.

hoan ton-that  and our philosophy is basically, if its a U.S. based  or like a democracy or an ally of the U.S.  we will consider it. But like, no China, no Russia or anything that wouldnt be good. So if its a country where its just governed terribly or whatever, I dont know if wed feel comfortable selling to certain countries.

annie brown

So it doesnt sound like he has much of a rubric for deciding who to sell to. And it sounds like theres no one really overseeing how hes making these decisions.

kashmir hill

At this point, its just up to Clearview to decide who they want to sell the app to.

hoan ton-that No pressure, but when we talk to some venture capitalists, theyre like, Why dont you make this consumer? Law enforcement is such a small market. You wont make that much money. And weve considered it, and were just like, whats the use case here? And right now, we catch, help catch pedophiles. What if a pedophile got access to this, goes around the street, runs 

kashmir hill

But when I was talking to one of their investors, he says, we want to dominate the law enforcement market, and then we want to move into other markets like hospitality, like real estate. And he predicted that one day, all consumers will have access to this app.

hoan ton-that Um, and  kashmir hill I can tell you that one of your investors hopes that you guys are going to go into the consumer market. hoan ton-that Well, yeah. He talks too much. But like, were not  were not going to do that. I just dont 

annie brown

Hoan seems to be saying, yeah, theres pressure on us to sell to private consumers, but were not going to do that. And how reasonable is it to think that he has control or the company has control at this point over where this technology goes?

kashmir hill

I mean, one point that I made when I was talking to him is that oftentimes, the tools that law enforcement use end up in the hands of the public.

kashmir hill I just  I personally feel like you guys have opened the door to now this becoming more normalized, just because a lot of tools that law enforcement have eventually make their way into public hands. hoan ton-that Not always. Not everyone has a gun. [LAUGHS] Right? That would be  kashmir hill Anyone who wants one can get one in the U.S. basically, but 

kashmir hill

His response was strange. He said, well, look at guns. Law enforcement has guns, but not everybody has a gun. And I dont know if thats because hes from Australia?

annie brown

Yeah, hes proving your point, in a way.

kashmir hill

[LAUGHS] It did seem like he was proving my point, rather than rebutting it.

[music]

Weve been building the technology to make this possible for years now. Facebook building this huge database of our photos with our names attached to it, advances in image recognition and search technologies, it all led us here. But theres been no accompanying regulation or rules around how the technology should be used. Theres no real law or regulation that makes this illegal. The scraping seems to be O.K. We dont have a big ban on facial recognition. We dont need to give consent for people to process our faces. And so in terms of holding this tool back, were just relying on the moral compasses of the companies that are making this technology and on the thoughtfulness of people like Hoan Tan-That.

kashmir hill But yeah, what do you think about that? Do you think that this is too dangerous a tool for everybody to have? hoan ton-that I have to think about that and really get back to you on an answer, because its a good question. kashmir hill Yeah. hoan ton-that Ive thought about it a little bit. kashmir hill You havent thought about it? You have? hoan ton-that I have, I have. But I need to really come up with a good answer for that. Honestly like, yeah.

[music]

annie brown

Thanks, Kashmir.

kashmir hill

Thank you.

michael barbaro

Since Kashmir began reporting on Clearview AI, several major social media companies including Facebook, Twitter and Venmo have demanded that the company stop using photos scraped from their websites. But its unclear what, if any, power those social media companies have to force Clearview to comply. A few weeks ago, the state of New Jersey barred law enforcement from using Clearviews technology, but police remain free to do so in 49 other states. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. President Trump has begun a campaign of retribution against witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, firing Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union, who called the presidents actions toward Ukraine a quid pro quo. And Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman, a member of the National Security Council, who expressed alarm over the presidents phone call with the leader of Ukraine. The Times reports that several Republican senators urged Trump not to fire the witnesses, fearing it would send a dangerous message, but that the president ignored their advice. And the global death toll from the coronavirus has reached more than 800, surpassing that of the SARS epidemic, which killed 774 in 2003. The number of confirmed infections from the coronavirus now stands at more than 37,000. Finally, new polling in New Hampshire, which will hold its primary tomorrow, shows Mayor Pete Buttigieg neck-and-neck with Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden slipping into fourth place.

archived recording (george stephanopoulos) Vice President Biden, the first question is for you. In the last few days, youve been saying that Democrats will be taking too big a risk if they nominate Senator Sanders or Mayor Buttigieg, but they came out on top in Iowa. What risks did the Iowa Democrats miss?

michael barbaro

The poll, conducted by The Boston Globe, WBZ and Suffolk University suggest Buttigieg is benefiting from a strong performance in the Iowa caucuses and that Biden may perform poorly for the second time in a row, a prediction Biden confirmed during Friday nights debate on ABC.

archived recording (joe biden) Oh, they didnt miss anything. This is a long race. I took a hit in Iowa, and Ill probably take it here.

michael barbaro
Hyderabad: A retired civil servant, Mr Md. Shafiquzzaman, has filed a public interest litigation in the High Court seeking its intervention on the Hyderabad police not according permission to individuals, organisations, political parties and others to hold peaceful rallies, dharnas and meetings as a means to express their dissent against certain decisions taken by the Centre.

This PIL has been filed in the backdrop of the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act in Parliament and the proposed National Register of Citizens. This is being opposed by political parties, organizations. To protest the same, they are approaching the commissioner, Hyderabad police, seeking permission to hold protests. The police is denying permission after keeping the applicants on tenterhooks.

The petitioner submitted that upholding the right to freedom of Assembly is guaranteed in the Constitution and police cannot restrain a citizen to exercise his right. He contended that every citizen has a right to demonstrate and disseminate opinions.

The Indian Police Act, 1861 and the Hyderabad City Police, Act, 1348 F provide for regulation of public assembly or processions and Section 30 of the Indian Police Act, 1861 and Section 22 of the Hyderabad City Police Act, 1348 F clearly envisage that permissions should be accorded for peaceful assembly or procession,

In certain extreme conditions, where the police think permissions cannot be granted, then the magistrate of the district or its sub-division should certify that such an assembly will cause breach of peace. In such extreme conditions, the police should grant permission by imposing conditions. Contrary, to the above, Hyderabad police is not according permissions for peaceful assembly, dharnas and rallies.

The petitioner asked the court to issue a direction to the police commissioners of Hydera-bad and Cyberabad to produce the number of applications seeking permission in December last year and January.

He sought a direction to the police commissioners to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Indian Police Act, 1861 and the Hyderabad City Police, Act, 1348 F and to take a decision within seven days from the date of receipt of application.
Photo credit: WPA Pool - Getty Images

From ELLE

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are slowly reemerging into the public eye now that they've stepped back from their senior royal family roles. E! reports that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first joint event appearance in the United States last night in Miami.

The couple stopped by 1 Hotel in Miamis South Beach for an "exclusive J.P. Morgan event," the outlet wrote.

A source told E! that they came in through a private entrance. They did their speech and left before dessert. She introduced him and he spoke. Security was high at this event, and no photos have come out yet of Meghan and Harry there. The couple, at this point, has not posted about the engagement on their SussexRoyal Instagram account.

Meghan and Harry have spent the past couple weeks quietly in Vancouver Island. When announcing their intention to step back from their senior royal family roles, Meghan and Harry indicated they plan to split their time between the UK and North America. "We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honor our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages," they said in their statement. "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."

Reports this week hint having a residence in the U.S. is part of that plan. People and E! reported that Meghan and Harry are looking at houses in Los Angeles, Meghan's hometown, for the summer.

"They love being in Canada, but they are looking at houses in L.A. too, a person in their circle said. Theyll likely have houses in both places.

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Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday came out with data to prove his claim on employment generation in the state and said the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) should apologise for misleading the people with their brazen, baseless and unfounded lies.

Captain Amarinder said Sukhbir Badal and his bunch of ignorant party colleagues had absolutely no clue what was happening in Punjab adding that in their perpetual haste to react to every word uttered by him (chief minister), they had become habitual of putting their foot in their mouth at the drop of the hat, without checking the veracity of their comments.

"The figure for jobs generated since April 1, 2017, was even higher than the 11 lakh he had 'mouthed'" said the Chief Minister.

As per the official data available to him, the number of government jobs generated from April 1, 2017, to December 31, 2019, was 57,905, with 3,96,775 under the private placement and another 7,61,289 facilitated by his government in the self-employment category, he added.

"And for the convenience of Sukhbir and company, let me tell them that these figures total up to 12,15,969, which was considerably higher than 11 lakhs he had earlier mentioned, off the cuff, during the Delhi campaign," said the Chief Minister.

"This was in addition to the 20,21,568 households given employment under the Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme," he added.

Challenging the Akalis to release the figures for employment in the 10 years of their misrule, the Chief Minister said his government had already done more in three years than they had delivered in a decade, on every important parameter.

"Instead of showing any signs of regret for failing the citizens of Punjab on every count during their regime, and instead of leveraging their presence in the Central Government for the past nearly six years for the benefit of the state, the SAD continued to indulge in pathetic theatrics," said Captain Amarinder.

Pointing out that Sukhbir and his party colleagues had, and again, proved that they were totally ignorant of the ground realities in Punjab, and had no connection with the aspirations of the people, the Chief Minister said, "This ignorance had cost them heavy in the last Assembly polls and would continue to spell their doom in the coming years. SAD's pathetic attempts to mislead the people of Punjab with their shameless lies would not succeed; in fact, they would only plunge the Akalis further into the abyss of political oblivion."

"Neither the false claims of the Akalis nor the unsubstantiated allegations of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) can sway the people, who are intelligent enough to know where their welfare lies," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UK based The Wellcome Trust and the Gates Foundation are committing millions of dollars to help African countries battle the novel coronavirus, if and when it should come to the continent.

In a statement on Wednesday, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced that it will commit up to $100 million for the global response to the coronavirus (2019-nCoV) just a few days after the Wellcome Trust announced $13 million.

The money will be used to "strengthen detection, isolation and treatment efforts; protect at-risk populations; and develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostics."

Gates CEO Mark Suzman said that they are part of a people that want to "help countries protect their most vulnerable citizens and accelerate the development of the tools to bring this epidemic under control"

Of this amount, $20 million is specifically for Africa to help "public health authorities strengthen their emergency operations centres, implement effective disease surveillance efforts and improve their capacity to safely isolate and treat confirmed cases"

The money will be given to the African Field Epidemiology Network (AFENET), a non-profit alliance of field epidemiology and laboratory training programmes operating in more than 30 African countries.

In Kenya, AFENET partners with the Kenya Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (FELTP), a training programme for disease responders in universities that was established in 2004.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) is also earmarked for support.

Wellcome Trust's Jeremy Farrar said that there are many unknowns in the disease and therefore research is critical to "understand how the virus spreads, who is most at risk and what the most effective public health measures are, as well as developing diagnostics, treatments and vaccines. These must be available to everyone".

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Africa Health Coronavirus By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on January 30, citing the risks the virus poses globally and the need for a worldwide coordinated effort to enhance preparedness, especially in fragile settings.

By Wednesday, the virus had claimed more than 563 lives globally, and there are over 27,000 cases in more than 25 countries.

Africa has not reported any cases of Corona viruses yet but experts have expressed their fear at the virus arriving in Africa due to the fragile health systems.

Dr Isaac Ndere, a medical epidemiologist from Washington State University Global Health Programme in Kenya told Daily Nation that if the virus affected China, which he considers a steadier health system, then Africa's health systems would find it difficult to cope.

His colleague Dr Eric Osoro told The EastAfrican that the closest the region has gone to experiencing the disease is the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Karachi-based underworld don Chhota Shakeel is reportedly plotting to kill a few politicians and officials of judicial services, sources in Delhi Police informed.

An FIR in this connection has been registered with the Special Cell of Delhi Police, which keeps a close tab on underworld and terror activities in the national capital.

Sources revealed to IANS that Shakeel, a close lieutenant of India's most wanted fugitive Dawood Ibrahim, allegedly assigned the task to his hit men operating from the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi.

"Some messages on WhatsApp were traced, which revealed that in the wake of the recent developments in the country, the underworld don, linked with Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), is planning to kill a few prominent political personalities," a police officer told IANS.

Sources said that the D-Company has procured sophisticated weapons to execute the plot. The weapons have reportedly been distributed to Shakeel's hit men.

The Dawood Ibrahim gang, known as D-Company, had earlier plotted the killings of BJP and RSS leaders in Maharashtra and Gujarat. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had established the role of D-Company in the killings of two BJP leaders in Bharuch, Gujarat, in 2015.

A module operating from South Africa, sheltered by the Dawood Ibrahim group, was involved in the killings.

According to intelligence reports, several RSS and Shiv Sena leaders in Mumbai are also on the hit list of the D-Company.
Could Iraq be on the brink of civil war? Protesters in Baghdad have expressed outrage after Wednesday's storming of an anti-government rally in the holy city of Najaf by supporters of populist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. It could be a turning point in the four-month uprising against a power-sharing system demonstrators say has made politicians unaccountable, with corruption and mismanagement unchecked. To find out how it's impacted the movement, FRANCE 24 went to southern Iraq. Senior reporter Cyril Payen, who was there, joins The Debate panel to discuss the future of the movement.
A day before the voting for Delhi Assembly elections, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal offered prayers at Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place on Friday.

"I took blessings from Lord Hanuman for the prosperity of Delhi and the country," the Chief Minister told reporters.

On February 5, the Chief Minister, replying to a question on his reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, had told ANI: "It was a coincidence. There was an interview going on. He (the interviewer) said the BJP members were saying that I am anti-Hindu. I replied that I help senior citizens to seek blessings at Vaishno Devi, Mathura, Vrindavan, Shirdi, Tirupati. Then, how am I anti-Hindu? I am a staunch believer of Lord Hanuman."

The voting for Delhi Assembly elections will take place on Saturday. The counting of votes will be done on February 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The grounds on which they have been detained under the PSA are still not known.

SRINAGAR: Former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were on Thursday slapped with Jammu and Kashmir's stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), six months after they along with hundreds other political leaders and activists were taken into preventive custody ahead of the government's stripping the erstwhile state of its special status and splitting it up into two Union Territories.

The official sources here said that Srinagars district magistrate, Shahid Iqbal Chaudhary, signed the detention orders which are being served on Mr. Abdullah and Ms. Mufti who are presently detained at Hari Niwas and 5 Moulana Azad Road, two government owned properties in Srinagar, declared as subsidiary jails, respectively.

The grounds on which they have been detained under the PSA are still not known.

Both Mr Abdullah and Ms Mufti were taken into preventive custody under section 107 of CrPC, with no FIRs lodged though, on the intervening night of August 4 and 5, 2019. According to the law, their detentions were to end this week.

Earlier on Wednesday night, the authorities had detained National Conference (NC) general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar and senior People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Sartaj Madni under the PSA and subsequently sent them to a makeshift jail here. Former IAS officer-turned-politician Shah Faesal is also reported to have been detained under the same law.

The authorities have slapped the PSA on these leaders amid reports that the government may act tough against those mainstream politicians of J&K who remain unswerving in their opposition to its August 5, 2019 contentious moves- stripping the state of its special status and splitting it up into two Union Territories.

Mr Sagar is a former minister and holds number three position in the NC. Mr Madni, who has served the PDP as its senior vice-president, is also maternal uncle of party president Ms. Mufti.

The grounds on which they have been detained under the PSA include their capacity and capability of mobilising people on varied issues.

After being served detention orders under the PSA, both Mr Sagar and Mr Madni were shifted to an official guesthouse along Srinagars Gupkar Road which has been declared as a subsidiary jail by the government.
It is difficult to know what was running through Gobbos head as she said this. Having negotiated, ostensibly for reasons of personal safety, to testify to the royal commission by telephone from an undisclosed location, her only presence in the hearing room was as a disembodied voice. Yet from that moment it was as if a seal had been broken. For the rest of her testimony she kept returning to the theme, repeating words which, to borrow a line from Richard Gere in Pretty Woman, have likely cost her thousands of dollars in therapy to learn how to say. My level of emotional maturity was hopeless in retrospect," she told Winneke at another point. As pathetic as it is for me to admit  I did derive some self-importance and some feeling that I was relevant or validated by reason of being wanted by people like Tony. Loading She agreed the notion of a barrister providing information to police about a client they planned to represent in court was repugnant; that providing legal advice to an incorrigible drug cook whod been arrested on the basis of information shed provided to police had the potential to pervert the course of justice; that in becoming registered Informer 3838, she abandoned her most basic professional duties and responsibilities. As she told her police handlers at the height of her informing, the ethics were f---ed.

On this shell get no argument from Simon Overland, the former Victoria Police chief commissioner who approved her use as an informant and, in his own evidence, adopted her earthy descriptor. A question now front of mind for Commissioner Margaret McMurdo is whether the ethics were merely f---ed or laws were broken. It is expected that at the end of this month, the public hearings will give way to careful deliberation about whether Gobbo, her police handlers or their bosses engaged in a criminal conspiracy. Winneke put several questions to Gobbo which, in effect, asked her to show cause. She did not confess to committing a crime. Nor did she deny it. Gobbo has never concealed her desire to get square with Victoria Police nor her loathing of Overland, the man she holds most responsible for what she described, four years ago in a letter to Assistant Commissioner Steve Fontana, as her grossly negligent management as a human source. This is a dispute that has raged, one way or another, for 10 years. In 2010, a former client of Gobbos shared a text message she sent while she was locked in litigation with Overland and Victoria Police for failing to uphold what she considered their end of the bargain. Im looking forward to cross-examining Simon and his band of dishonest, perjuring clowns, she wrote. "Theyve picked the wrong person to f--- over, that much I promise. Former police commissioner Simon Overland arrives at the royal commission. Credit:Jason South

The cross-examination never came, after Victoria Police paid Gobbo nearly $3 million in damages to drop her lawsuit, but no amount of money has tempered Gobbos ill will towards Victorias former top cop. In March last year, in the first of three preliminary telephone conversations with McMurdo and the lawyers assisting the royal commission, Gobbo was asked to describe Overlands conduct. Evil, corrupt and dishonest, she replied. She stood by this characterisation in her testimony, despite admitting she has never met nor spoken to the former chief commissioner. Overland is not the only cop Gobbo describes in colourful terms. Wayne Strawhorn, a former drug squad detective she regularly provided information to before he was jailed for corruption, was like a boogie man as far as crooks were concerned ... if Wayne Strawhorn was after you, he was like a dog with a bone". She likened Peter De Santo, an internal affairs detective who also used her as an informant, to a fictional FBI agent, that detective who is a complete obsessive evangelist type who chases down the fugitives to the end of the earth. She described her senior police handler, a specialist Source Development Unit detective referred to in royal commission proceedings as Sandy White, as a very old school, hard detective. She told Winneke that in 2005, the year when her previously ad hoc role as an informant was formalised and taken to an industrial scale, she left her first meeting with White and another handler petrified of the man she would trust with her own life and the secrets of some of Australias most dangerous criminals. According to Gobbo, White told her in that first meeting that people like her end up in only one of two places: prison or the gutter. They were not doing what I would call a good cop-bad cop routine, it was more bad cop and worse bad cop, she said. Transcript of a recording between Nicola Gobbo and the officer known to the royal commission as Sandy White when he first met her to assess her viability as an informer in September 2005.

The pattern presented by Gobbo is a series of asymmetric relationships with hardbitten, clever police who demanded she tell them everything, told her little in return and knew how to extract from her what they needed. It is a pattern that begins in 1998, the year she joined the Bar, when she provided information to fraud detectives about one of the first solicitors who gave her a job out of law school. Its a pattern that doesnt stop until 2010, when the murder case against former drug squad detective Paul Dale collapses, bringing the remnants of her legal career down with it. Gobbo asks us to believe she was manipulated into her horribly compromised predicament and once there, could see no way out. This is an explanation, not an excuse, she told Winneke. The reality is I got myself into a very intractable position. A more accurate picture, revealed this week by Winnekes questioning, is that each time Gobbo had an opportunity to exit, she chose to stay in the thick of it. The most dramatic illustration of this came in 2004, when she was hospitalised with a stroke. Two weeks earlier she had betrayed one of her most dangerous clients, Carl Williams, by helping one of his henchmen draft a witness statement implicating him and others in a series of murders. The statement would set in chain a series of events that brought an end to Melbournes gangland war, but Gobbos role in preparing the document need never have become known - she wasnt yet registered as Informer 3838. Only a small number of Purana taskforce detectives knew of her treachery and she was seriously ill in the Epworth hospital, her left side partially paralysed and unable to speak.

That was the perfect opportunity for you to get out, Winneke said. Gobbo insisted it wasnt that simple: I was told by my neurologist that he couldnt necessarily ascertain how much damage the stroke had done unless or until I was doing the same, having the same level of intensity or conversations that I had beforehand. Understand what Gobbo is saying here: she went back to snitching on doctors orders. It is perhaps the single most ludicrous piece of testimony given in the entire royal commission. Commissioner Margaret McMurdo, who is leading the royal commission into management of police informants. Instead of quitting her gangland clients and secret life as an informant, Gobbo went back to work five days after the stroke. She later appeared for one of Williams co-accused in the murder case, unable to properly challenge the strength of the allegations against him because she had personally helped write them.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the public a live special announcement on the afternoon of Feb. 6. He built up suspense for a dramatic address but when the security situation deteriorated, he was forced him to shelve his big announcement. It is thought that what Netanyahu planned to say had something to do with the annexation of some small part of West Bank territories even before the March election, or perhaps warming relations with some Arab state or another, surely intended to seize control of the diplomatic and security agenda before the upcoming election.

Netanyahus strategy is to inundate voters daily with headlines of major diplomatic and security advances and minimize focus on his indictment for bribery. At the same time, he is plowing across his Likud base with at least two election rallies per night. On Wednesday, he was in Herzliya and Petah Tikva. On Thursday, he was in Ramle and Hadera. The gatherings were packed. Likud supporters have tied their fate with Netanyahu, giving him the tailwind and political safety net he needs.

But there are some things that even an expert campaigner like Netanyahu cant control. There was a series of terror incidents that began shortly after midnight on Feb. 6 with a vehicular attack in Jerusalem that left 12 soldiers from the Golani Brigade injured. Around noon, gunshots were fired at a border police officer at the Lions Gate in Jerusalems Old City and there was another shooting that afternoon at an IDF position in the settlement of Dolev. These incidents ruined Netanyahus plans for the day and instead, he went on a tour of the tunnel checkpoint in Etzion settlement bloc instead. From there he went to the hospital to visit the wounded soldiers.

He did not cancel his election rallies in Ramle and Hadera. Instead, he changed some of the content. He spoke about his diplomatic successes and threatened the Palestinian president, declaring from the podium in Hadera, None of this will help you, Mahmoud Abbas, not the stabbings, not the car-rammings, not the shootings and not the incitement. We will do everything necessary to maintain our safety, determine our borders and ensure our future. We will do all that with you or without you. And only the Likud can do it.

Despite his rhetoric, Netanyahu recognizes how volatile the region has become, particularly in the days following the release of US President Donald Trumps deal of the century. Abbas has been calling on his supporters to take to the streets in protest and Netanyahu is fully aware that even the most minor incident can escalate and cost him control of the agenda. He's not taking steps to annex parts of the territories as promised, waiting for a green light from the White House and avoiding setting off a spiral of violence.

Security incidents usually help Netanyahu politically. So far, he still gets high marks for suitability as prime minister, but Netanyahu has always shown prudence in being wary of the great unknown. In 2018, for instance, when observers were convinced that Israel and Hamas were on the verge of a major clash. Netanyahu followed a policy of restraint and avoided a major operation in Gaza, even though it meant not keeping his promise to bring down Hamas. Likewise, in the last two election campaigns, of April and September, Netanyahu chose not to launch a major operation in Gaza even after he was forced to leave the podium during election rallies in Ashdod and Ashkelon. The rockets fired from Gaza seemed intended to defy him.

Netanyahu knows how fickle public opinion in Israel can be. He is fully aware of how quickly rhetoric about striking back at terrorism can be replaced with public outrage as soon as soldiers are killed in Gaza. He saw what happened to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during the Second Lebanon War, how the wide consensus in favor the war collapsed when the coffins of Israeli casualties started to pile up. If Netanyahu is to be understood based on his behavior so far in the war against terrorism, he prefers not to initiate military adventurism  unless, of course, he is dragged into it. One reason is that in the event of failure, the generals who make up the Blue and White Partys leadership could well seem much more appealing to voters.

Polls from the last few days show that the race between the two blocs remains deadlocked. On one hand, Netanyahus diplomatic blitz did not grow his support significantly. It did, however, help him maintain his strength after being indicted.

The Blue and White Party has found its ability to keep the agenda focused on corruption limited, especially after Netanyahu withdrew his request for immunity. Yet even so, the party has managed to maintain its position as the largest party. Blue and White has a stable base that is as loyal to its brand as Netanyahus base of Likud supporters.

A clear example of how impossible it is to get voters to switch blocs can be found among the residents of southern Israeli towns and villages, where they live under the constant threat of rocket fire from Gaza (and in the past year, of incendiary balloons too). Netanyahu has been prime minister for over a decade now, meaning that he is ultimately responsible for the current security situation. Simple logic would have the residents of Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod abandoning him, but nothing of the sort has happened. These voters have a deep emotional connection with Netanyahu and realize that Blue and White doesnt have a magic solution to the problem of Gaza.

There is an enormous divide among the public between those who admire Netanyahu and those who hate him. No other prime minister has evoked such intense and polarizing emotion. Take the responses on social media to the live broadcast of his appearance in Hadera. There were comments praising him like, Bibi Empire and Netanyahu is a super-cannon, or What a great leader! but there were also disparaging comments like Yuck! Get out of here, or The man who did the most damage to Israel EVER or This is Netanyahus goodbye party.

What it all boils down to is this: Despite Netanyahus diplomatic blitz, his indictment for bribery, the deal of the century and the escalation of tensions with the Palestinians, this third round of elections is all about one man.
Pablo Escobar's most notorious hitman, known by the nickname Popeye, died on Thursday at age 57 after a life of crime he celebrated on YouTube, Colombia's prison authorities said. Jhon Jairo Velasquez had boasted of killing hundreds of people for his "boss" Escobar, the infamous drug lord killed by Colombian police in 1993 while on the run to avoid extradition to the United States. Velasquez died at the National Cancer Institute in Bogota, where he'd been receiving treatment for stomach cancer since December 31. He spent 23 years in prison after giving himself up to law enforcement authorities in 1992 but was arrested again in May 2018 on accusations of "conspiracy to commit crime and extortion," prison authorities said. Velasquez had been a close associate of Escobar as he ran a drug empire from Medellin that exported thousands of tons of cocaine to the US, making him one of the richest men alive during the 1980s and 90s. Escobar responded to efforts to extradite him with car bombings, kidnappings and assassinations targeting political leaders, journalists and judges. Escobar was shot dead by Colombian police on December 2, 1993 in Medellin, his home city. In an interview with AFP in 2015, Velasquez claimed to have killed "at least 250, maybe 300" people at the behest of Escobar. Velasquez made a name for himself in prison for his eloquence and the tales he told of his life of crime. Once out of prison, he launched his own YouTube channel called "Repentant," which had more than one million subscribers. He was re-arrested in 2018 on the extortion charges, taken into custody at a party hosted by Colombia's head of drug-trafficking investigations.
The grieving parents of three children killed in the Oatlands tragedy say their faith in God and the support of Australians has helped them to 'carry a very heavy cross'.

Danny and Leila Abdallah's world 'came crashing down' last Saturday when alleged drunk driver Samuel William Davidson lost control of his 4WD and ploughed into a group of seven kids, as they walked to get ice cream.

The Abdallahs' son Antony, 13, daughters Angelina, 12, and Sienna, 9, and cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, were all killed instantly, while another cousin, Charbel Kassas, 10, continues to fight for life in hospital.

Now, the couple who captured the heart of Australia by bravely pledging to forgive the man charged with killing their kids, have explained in their own words just how difficult the past week has been.

On Saturday the 1st of February 2020 at approximately 7.50pm, our entire world came crumbling down with the senseless loss of three of our six children, Antony, Angelina and Sienna.

A fourth child was also killed - our cousin Bridget Sakr's daughter, Veronique.

To begin to encapsulate or express the heart wrenching pain and sorrow we are experiencing in this time would require endless words of despair. This is an unimaginable tragedy; unfathomable beyond all description.

Danny and Leila Abdallah (back) have told how their world 'came crumbling down' when their son Antony (far left), 13, Angelina (far right), 12, and Sienna Abdallah (front left), 9, were killed in the Oatlands tragedy on Saturday night

Mr and Mrs Abdallah have visited the scene of the crash on Bettington Road, Oatlands, every day this week and say their 'faith in Jesus Christ' has been crucial to them forgiving alleged drunk driver Samuel William Davidson, 29, who is charged with manslaughter over the crash

Our children are our reason for living. Bringing them up in accordance with the ways of God, teaching them to love, affording them every opportunity and nurturing them into positive and impacting young men and women was, and is our life's purpose.

What is life without your children. How and where do we begin to pick up the pieces so that we may be effective parents to our three remaining angels?

We start with forgiveness.

We forgive the driver that killed our innocent children. His actions will be met before the earthly and heavenly judge. We have decided, in our hearts to forgive him  for our sake, for the sake of our children and more so for Christ's sake.

Our faith in Jesus Christ remains the foundation of our family and we believe it will continue to help us through this difficult time.

Each day that passes is a day closer to the day we are reunited with our angels. We will look toward this moment; not backwards at yesterday's pain.

Veronique Sakr (right, with her mother Bridget and brother Michael) an 11-year-old cousin of the Abdallah children, was also killed in the tragedy. She will be farewelled on Tuesday

Micheal Sakr, 9, holds his mother Bridget's hand for support as they visit the scene earlier this week

Police claim Davidson had been drinking with friends at home before he got behind the wheel of his ute. He drove to a Caltex service station about 1.8km away from his Oatlands home to get cash. While on his way home, he allegedly ran a red light before crashing into a group of seven children

As we've tried to make sense of the past week, the world too has been shaken by this mortifying event. It is our hope that through this, all will know that no matter the pain or despair, God will be a safeguard through this dark valley.

He is in control, and eternity sits in the palm of His divine hand. Our life here on earth is but a vapour in comparison to His eternal plans, and the purpose God holds for His children.

We would like to thank our family, our friends, our community, and so many others from across Australia and the world, for the overwhelming support we have received.

Thousands of bouquets of flowers have been left at the makeshift shrine on Bettington Road in Oatlands where the tragedy happened

'We are humbled and strengthened by the outpouring of love from each and every one of you,' Mr and Mrs Abdallah said

We are humbled and strengthened by the outpouring of love from each and every one of you.

Please continue to join us in prayer during this time, this is a very heavy cross that we've been chosen to carry, but it is through God's love that we keep going.

May the Peace of God through Jesus Christ be with us all,

Daniel and Leila Abdallah.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. at his direction has conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi, an al-Qaida leader who claimed responsibility for last years deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.

Al-Rimi is a founder of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula. The affiliate has long been considered the global networks most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the U.S. mainland. Trump said the U.S. and its allies are safer as a result of his death.

We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm, Trump said.

While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the U.S. operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out.

Al-Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the Dec. 6 shooting at the base. He called the shooter, Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, a courageous knight and a hero. The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at the base, killing three people and wounding two sheriffs deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.

The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets. In January, the U.S. sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had contact with child pornography, including in internet chat rooms.

Trumps announcement confirmed earlier indications that al-Rimi had been killed. In late January, a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaida militants in eastern Yemen. Also, on Feb. 1, Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the strike had killed al-Rimi.
He noted that the officers could not respond to this but maintained that they sent us signal to arrest all bikes, even after a good Samaritan showed them the state governments broadcast on the ban which they allegedly refused to read.
Thursday's oil-train explosion in Saskatchewan has only raised the fears of those concerned about rail safety in Manitoba.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Thursday's oil-train explosion in Saskatchewan has only raised the fears of those concerned about rail safety in Manitoba.

"Its just scary," said Bev Pike, a member of the South Osborne Residents Group.

Her grassroots organization has raised concerns about the increasing number of oil tankers passing through Winnipeg, and railways breaching safety protocols in the city. Last summer, Transport Minister Marc Garneau took the railways to task over insufficient policies regarding fatigue.

"There are far more dangerous goods passing through the city," Pike said. "Its only a matter of time."

Bruce Campbell, a York University researcher who has examined shortfalls in regulation around the 2013 Lac-Megantic, Que., railway disaster, said the two recent oil-train derailments in Saskatchewan follow another last March in Manitoba.

"A bullet has been dodged, again  twice in Saskatchewan, and once in St. Lazare. At some point, if this is a kind of Russian roulette, at one point, it will be a repeat of history," said Campbell.

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He was confused by Garneau insisting Canada has a safe railway system, but then implementing speed limits Thursday on trains carrying dangerous goods.

"Its definitely a contradiction," Campbell said. "Im cutting speeds in half  but dont worry."

Campbell argues Canadian companies have cut corners by not implementing safety protocols and risk-mitigation technology used in the United States.

Manitoba NDP MP Niki Ashton raised the same argument in Parliament on Thursday, claiming "the rail companies continue to put profits over the lives of workers and the safety of communities."

Both CN and CP Rail insist safety is their top priority.

 Dylan Robertson
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday tore into the BJP-led Central government for slapping Public Safety Act (PSA) against two former Chief Ministers -- Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah -- saying they had stood up to separatists and never accepted violence and divisiveness.

She also said the two leaders need to be "freed" and not "incarcerated" indefinitely without any basis.

"On what basis has the PSA been slapped on Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti? They upheld the Constitution of India, abided by the democratic process, stood up to separatists and never ascribed to violence and divisiveness," Priyanka Gandhi said in a series of tweets.

"They deserve to be freed, not incarcerated indefinitely without any basis," she added.

Her remarks came a day after the Jammu and Kashmir administration slapped PSA against four politicians, including Abdullah and Mufti, who completed six months of preventive detention on February 5.

Abdullah is currently detained at a Dogra-era palace Hari Niwas on Gupkar Road, while Mehbooba is detained at a government guest house at Lal Chowk.

Besides, three-time chief minister and parliamentarian from Srinagar, Farooq Abdullah, is also under detention under PSA.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 21:52:44|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson Friday slammed Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority for shirking responsibility and obstructing the return of the Taiwan compatriots stranded in the coronavirus-hit Hubei Province to the island.

The mainland has accommodated Taiwan's requests and taken rigorous health checking measures on the Taiwan compatriots, sending the first batch of 247 of them back to the island on a chartered flight, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

Noting that the mainland is very concerned about the health of the Taiwan compatriots in Hubei, the spokesperson urged the DPP authority to stop ignoring their interests, get rid of any excuses and cooperate with the mainland's arrangements to help them return home as soon as possible.

The mainland's wholehearted and dedicated services for Taiwan compatriots will not allow any slandering or groundless accusations by Taiwan politicians, Ma said.

The National Health Commission and Wuhan's Taiwan affairs office Friday also said Taiwan's coronavirus confirmed case claim is flawed.
The White House plans to transfer Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, whose testimony in the House impeachment hearings infuriated President Donald Trump and his allies, out of the National Security Council staff as early as Friday, two senior administration officials said.

It was not immediately clear where he would next be sent within the Defense Department, one administration official said, but Vindman is on active duty in the military.

The action comes just days after Trump was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial that turned in part on the testimony of Vindman and other administration officials who described a campaign to pressure Ukraine into announcing corruption investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats.

Trump made clear as recently as Thursday his personal antipathy for Vindman, who oversaw U.S. policy toward Ukraine on the NSC staff and whose twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, works as a lawyer for the NSC. Lt. Col. Vindman and his twin brother, right? the president said at one point during a rambling hourlong venting session at the White House. We had some people that  really amazing.

The decision to move Vindman out of the White House complex, reported previously by Bloomberg News and The Washington Post, comes as Trump and his allies have made clear that they will seek to exact payback against those he blames for triggering his impeachment and trial. During his White House event, Trump denounced the evil and corrupt people who investigated him, and his spokeswoman went on television to declare that anyone who hurt the president should pay for it.

Vindman has not heard from the White House but has realized that he might not be able to continue serving in his current post and has consulted with Army officials about other options, according to a person briefed on his plans. As an active duty officer, he would normally return to military service, but it was not immediately clear what his next assignment would be.

As of a few weeks ago, Vindman was still doing his day-to-day job of coordinating Ukraine policy with career officials at other agencies but had been largely cut off from political appointees and had not yet met the new national security adviser, Robert OBrien, who has been in the job since September. His associates did not take that as a good sign, according to a person familiar with his experiences.

Vindman, a Ukrainian immigrant and decorated Iraq War veteran, told the House Intelligence Committee that he was surprised when he heard Trump pressure President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine to investigate Biden and a conspiracy theory involving Democrats and the 2016 election during a July 25 telephone call. He told lawmakers that he reported his concerns to other NSC officials.

Republicans questioning his motivations during the hearing pointed to the fact that Ukrainian officials sounded him out about becoming the countrys defense minister, a suggestion he said he rejected and reported to his superiors.

Even before the hearing, Vindman was subjected to virulent attacks on his patriotism on Fox News and social media that caused concern for his personal safety. Trump called him a Never Trumper, a term the colonel rejected. Fox aired a segment in which commentators noted that Vindman was an immigrant working inside the White House, apparently against the presidents interest, suggesting that might amount to espionage.

Vindman made Trump and his allies even angrier when he wore his uniform at the televised hearing and made comments that seemed more political than the other witnesses. Donald Trump Jr., the presidents eldest son, called the colonel a low-level partisan bureaucrat and nothing more.

The attacks resumed during the Senate trial last month. Adam Schiff is hailing Alexander Vindman as an American patriot, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on Twitter during the trial, referring to the lead House manager prosecuting the case. How patriotic is it to bad-mouth and ridicule our great nation in front of Russia, Americas greatest enemy?

She posted another message a few hours later quoting a former commander about Vindman: Do not let the uniform fool you. He is a political activist in uniform. Trump retweeted the post.

Vindmans lawyer fired back at what he called the senators slander and cowardice, saying his client would continue to serve our country dutifully and with honor.

With impeachment over, Trump is debating whether to make additional changes in the White House staff. Some of his advisers are encouraging him to part ways with his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney; those advisers have pointed fingers at Mulvaney for his role in the freeze of the security aid to Ukraine that paved the way for the impeachment inquiry in the House. Mulvaney was ordered to freeze the aid by Trump, according to several administration officials.

Other advisers are telling Trump that he should wait to make major changes until after the election. Some advisers hope that Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who is retiring, will join the White House as a senior adviser, though not as chief of staff.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
African swine fever (ASF) has been detected in Greece for the first time, the country's agriculture ministry officials have announced.

The disease was detected at a breeding farm in the north of the country, close to the border with Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

The Minister of Rural Development and Food, Makis Voridis announced the news on Wednesday (5 February).

He said numerous measures have since been undertaken, including a 3 kilometre radius pig cull around the farm.

The export of all swine products from the Serres region, where the infected farm is located, is now banned.

Mr Voridis assured the public that there is no concern to people's health, as the disease is not transmitted to humans.

Unfortunately, it appeared in our country, he said. We are on alert, we are on standby, but we are also absolutely ready to act as appropriate to contain the disease from spreading and protect our livestock.

Aside from Greece, ASF has been reported in a number of European and Asia countries, including Belgium, Slovakia, China, Vietnam and South Korea.

Last June, the disease was found in meat seized by port authorities in Northern Ireland before entering the country, the first time the ASF virus has been detected in the UK.

It was announced last week that both the UK and Australia will join forces in a simulated African swine fever exercise to bolster biosecurity measures.
Around a quarter of people experience a mental-health issue every year in the UK. (Getty)

Cries for help on Twitter have been linked to a spike in mental-health crises.

Scientists from Kings College London analysed the volume of depression and schizophrenia tweets published on the social media site over five years.

On days where the output was above average, mental health related hospitalisations were found to increase by up to 15%.

READ MORE: Why talking is so important for our mental health

Around a quarter of people experience a mental health issue every year in the UK. In the US, one in five adults suffer annually.

The portrayal of suicide or self harm via TV and film has long been linked to mental health-relevant outcomes among the public, the scientists wrote.

A public figure dying by suicide has also been associated with suicidal behaviour in exposed populations, they added.

One study reportedly found a 10% increase in general population suicides following the death of Good Will Hunting actor Robin Williams.

The scientists assume some people may be sensitised to these events.

READ MORE: The pursuit of happiness may cause depression

Social media is increasingly being blamed for everything from a surge in depression to plummeting self-esteem.

With sites such as Instagram and Twitter exploding in recent years, the scientists set out to uncover whether tweets are an accurate way of analysing behaviours.

They looked at the number of crisis episodes admitted to South London and Maudsley, and Camden and Islington NHS foundation trusts.

These were compared against a random 10% sample of all tweets published between January 2010 and December 2014.

The tweets were screened according to any mention of depression or schizophrenia.

Social media use has 'exploded' in recent years. (Getty)

Higher volume days were defined as more than six in every 10 million, or 10 in every one billion, tweets referencing the mental-health conditions.

Results, published in the journal Scientific Reports, reveal hospital admissions were up to 15% higher on days with above-median schizophrenia-related Twitter posts.

Story continues

Above-median depression tweet days were linked to a 9% rise in the number of hospitalisations.

The scientists believe their results contribute some support to concerns, already widely expressed over social media.

READ MORE: Adding 35 minutes to your workout 'slashes the risk of depression'

It's important to consider this kind of research does not suggest the content of social media is the cause of the increase in crisis, said Dr Bob Patton from the University of Surrey.

The researchers had no way to determine what (if any) social media exposure those in crisis had experienced.

However, this research does provide compelling evidence the two are linked, and as such lends further support to recent suggestions that social media providers need to be sensitive to the content they host and links to sources of help and support should accompany messages with a focus upon sensitive issues.

The Kings scientists stressed: Twitter posts are likely to be only a proxy indicator of exposures potentially influencing mental health and mental healthcare crisis episodes are only a proxy indicator of population mental health.

For confidential emotional support at times of distress, contact The Samaritans at any time by calling 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.
South Africa: SAA business rescue cuts flights, limits job losses

The joint Business Rescue Practitioners (BRPs) of South African Airways (SAA) have announced further initiatives to support the airlines transformation into a sustainable and profitable business.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the BRPs, Les Matuson and Siviwe Dongwana, said they have worked with industry specialists, government, creditors and executive management to develop a comprehensive restructuring programme which will culminate in a Business Rescue Plan to be published in late February and subsequently presented to creditors for approval.

In line with SAAs commitment to take urgent action to conserve cash, and create a viable platform for a successful future, key measures need to be implemented now, they said.

These measures include targeted changes to the route network, deployment of more fuel-efficient aircraft, and optimisation of organisational structures and renegotiation of key contracts with suppliers.

The initiatives we are taking now will strengthen SAAs business. We believe that this should provide reassurance to our loyal customers that SAA is moving in the right direction. We are focused on our mandate to restore SAAs commercial health and create an airline that South Africans will be proud of, they said.

Changes to SAAs Network

Following a careful analysis of SAAs liquidity challenges and after consultations with all relevant stakeholders, the BRPs identified routes to be retained to drive the restructured national carrier towards profitability.

SAA will continue to operate all international services between Johannesburg and Frankfurt, London Heathrow, New York, Perth and Washington via Accra.

Regional services to be retained include from Johannesburg to Blantyre, Dar es Salaam, Harare, Kinshasa, Lagos, Lilongwe, Lusaka, Maputo, Mauritius, Nairobi, Victoria Falls, Livingston and Windhoek.

On 29 February 2020, SAA will close regional and international services from Johannesburg to Abidjan via Accra, Entebbe, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Luanda, Munich, Ndola, and Sao Paulo.

Domestically, SAA will continue to serve Cape Town on a reduced basis.

However, all other domestic destinations will seize to operate from next month.

All customers booked on any cancelled international and regional routes will receive a full refund. Customers booked on cancelled domestic flights will be re-accommodated on services operated by Mango, said the BRPs.

They added that SAA does not intend to make any further significant network changes and the flight schedule for February remains unchanged.

Assets

To improve the airlines liquidity, they said, rationalisation programmes are under consideration for SAAs subsidiaries, as well as the sale of selected assets.

Jobs

The joint BRPs have stated that every effort is being taken to limit the impact of job losses in SAA and its subsidiaries.

It is our intention to restructure the business in a manner that we can retain as many jobs as possible. This will help provide a platform to a viable and sustainable future. However, a reduction in the number of employees will unfortunately be necessary, Matuson and Dongwana said.

The BRPs said they will engage labour to reach a solution necessary for a sustainable airline going forward.

The BRPs wish to underline their support of the Presidents proclamation for the Special Investigating Unit to examine some of the airlines contracts. This measure will help in assessing viable agreements and in reducing SAAs cost base, they added.

The decisions and actions announced on Thursday, they said, are aimed at improving SAAs balance sheet, creating a platform for a strong and sustainable airline and ensuring that the company is more attractive for potential strategic equity partners.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
THE west and northwest are set to be battered by heavy rain and winds with gusts of up to 120 km/h tomorrow - and that's even before Storm Ciara blows in from the North Atlantic on Sunday - prompting Met Eireann to issue two Status Yellow warnings for the entire country this weekend.

The national forecaster this afternoon upgraded its wind warning to Status Orange affecting counties Donegal, Mayo and Galway.



The warning goes into effect from noon on Saturday until 4pm on Saturday for counties Donegal and Mayo which could see south to southwest winds reach mean speeds of between 65 to 80 km/h with gusts of up to 120 km/h.



The same warning will apply to Co Galway from 1pm to 6pm on Saturday.



Meanwhile, the rest of the country will be under both a Status Yellow wind and rainfall warning for the entire weekend - culminating with the arrival of Storm Ciara on Sunday.



The wind warning goes into effect from 9am Saturday until midnight on Sunday in which southerly winds will gain strength over the course of the day with mean speeds of between 50 and 65 km/h and gusts of between 90 to 110km/h.



Heavy rain will also start to move in from the west on Saturday when a Status Yellow rain warning goes into effect at noon and will remain in place until 3pm Sunday. The rain will move eastward through the course of the day with between 20mm and 40mms forecast.



There will be a brief reprieve on Saturday night before the wet and windy conditions kick in again on Sunday, according to Met Eireann's Head of Forecasting Evelyn Cusack.



"There will be a gap on Saturday evening before another storm comes in on Sunday," she told Independent.ie.



Met Eireann is warning of very strong and potentially damaging gusts as Ciara, the third named storm of the year, blows in from the North Atlantic where very strong winds have been churned up by the jet stream due to the clash of Arctic air over Canada and tropical air from the south, she said.

The storm will bring another bout of very heavy rain with possible sleet, hail and snow showers over Connacht and Ulster, Ms Cusack said.



"It's not going to be a major storm but it will be a very gusty, windy day on Sunday."



To make matters worse, the combination of spring tides coupled with high seas could lead to coastal flooding, especially along the south, west and northwestern coasts at the weekend and well into next week, Ms Cusack said.



"We're entering a very windy period for next week and there could be two more storms (then)," she said.

A garda spokesperson has advised people to be cautious during the storm.

"Gardai are advising the public to avoid coastal areas and drivers of high-sided vehicles should take extra caution as a Status Yellow wind and rainfall warning is in place from tomorrow 8th February in advance of the arrival of Storm Ciara," they said.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service has urged the public to not visit Connemara National Park or Wild Nephin Ballycroy National Park while the weather warning are in place.

"The NPWS also advises the public not to visit National Parks, National Monuments or Nature Reserves in the areas covered by the weather warnings whilst the warnings are in place and asks for their ongoing cooperation on this matter", an NPWS spokesman said.

The following locations are closed due to the wind warning:
A 29-year old woman in nothern Vinh Phuc Province has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, becoming the nations 13th confirmed 2019-nCoV infection.

The unnamed woman, hailing from the northern provinces Binh Xuyen District, was among a group of eight employees of Japan-based Nihon Plast Company Limited sent to train for two months in Chinas Wuhan City, Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic.

Five of her colleagues have tested positive since their return from Wuhan on January 17, and the woman was quarantined despite showing no symptoms of infection.

Though she has tested positive for the virus and has been quarantined at the Tam Dao District Health Center, she is in good health and has remained asymptomatic thus far, doctors said. Nine of the nations 13 confirmed infections so far have occurred in Vinh Phuc.

The Health Ministry has directed that local authorities closely monitor those who have come into contact with people infected with nCoV.

The 8 employees had returned to Vietnam on a Southern China Airlines flight (CZ8315) on January 17. They were picked up by the company car at Hanoi's Noi Bai Airport and attended a company meeting in Thien Ke Commune, Binh Son District, Vinh Phuc Province, about 18 km from the airport.

The 11th and 12th nCoV infections in the country, confirmed Thursday, are the 49-year-old mother and 16-year-old sister of one of the above-mentioned eight returning from Wuhan.

Vietnam officially declared the 2019-nCoV an epidemic last Saturday. The other 10 infected cases include a cousin of one of the workers from Wuhan, a Vietnamese-American visitor who transited in Wuhan, a Chinese man from Wuhan and his son who met him in Vietnam, and a hotel receptionist who served the father and son in Nha Trang.

Three of the ten have been discharged from the hospital: the Nha Trang hotel employee, the Chinese son, and one of the workers who returned from Wuhan.

The global death toll from the epidemic has reached 638, with 636 dying in mainland China, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.
Morocco and Spain enjoy closer security cooperation that stands as an example in the region offering prospects for a further consolidation of joint action in fields such as counterterrorism and fight against illegal migration, Spanish Interior Minister said in Rabat.

Joint action on a daily basis by Moroccan and Spanish security services is exemplary and has yielded positive and tangible results, said the Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska after talks with Moroccan peer Abdelouafi Laftit.

The Spanish official expressed satisfaction at the positive outcome of bilateral cooperation, which, he said, should continue on track of mutual trust.

Cooperation with Morocco on interior issues is a priority for Spain, he insisted, recalling that thanks to Moroccos contribution, Spain saw the number of illegal migrants arriving on its shores dropping by 53.4% in 2019 compared with a year earlier.

He said Spain will spare no effort to defend Moroccos interest within the EU as strategic partner on migration and many other issues.

On the fight against terrorism, Grande-Marlaska voiced satisfaction at a fruitful cooperation which has lasted since 2014.

In the same vein, cooperation to crackdown on trafficking networks is on track, he said.

In Madrid, King Felipe VI of Spain emphasized on Wednesday the importance of the bonds uniting Rabat and Madrid.

In an address before foreign ambassadors accredited to Madrid, King Felipe VI underlined the excellent friendship exiting between Morocco and Spain, and highlighted the enormous potential of their cooperation.

He also recalled his latest official visit to Morocco in 2019, saying that this trip was a token of the traditional friendship that connects the two countries.
A cafe who fought with a customer who complained about a lack of highchairs have printed t-shirts with a logo referring to the online blow-up.

Kylie Lindsay, the daughter of a former Liberal MP, said she left a 'polite' review on The Low Road Cafe's Facebook page to urge them to consider highchairs after visiting the restaurant one Sunday in June last year.

But the one-star review quickly sparked an online war of words when the Windsor cafe, in Brisbane's north, gave an unfiltered response about customers leaving their 'crap' on highchairs.

Ms Lindsay said the cafe then began to bully her in comments on social media and even displayed a noticeboard in front of the store which read 'now with lowchairs, love ya Kaz'.

Brisbane's The Low Road cafe are selling t-shirts which appear to refer to an online blow-up they had with a prospective customer in June last year

The cafe have now taken the furore to the next level by selling shirts with highchairs emblazoned across the front.

The $30 black tees - which have a bright yellow snake sitting on the chairs - are available for purchase in store.

The Low Road's customers appeared to be fans of the design, with some commenting their support on a picture shared to Facebook in December.

'That design is AWESOME,' one person wrote.

'I'll take mine with an extra serving of attitude thanks,' commented another.

'Fantastic!' added a third.

Kylie Lindsay, the daughter of a former Liberal MP, said she left a 'polite' review on The Low Road Cafe's Facebook page to urge them to consider highchairs after visiting the restaurant one Sunday in June last year. Pictured: Ms Lindsay's first review

The owners of the Low Road Cafe said they appreciate the difficulty of dining with a child as parents of a young family themselves

During last year's row, Ms Lindsay wrote in her first review: 'We would have loved to have tried this this morning, but were very disappointed when we arrived to find you don't have a highchair.

'Appreciate it's your business and your choice, but it means that young families like ours aren't able to enjoy your hospitality and support a local business.'

The owners of the cafe responded to the original post saying they appreciate the difficulty of dining with a child as parents of a young family themselves.

'We don't have high chairs because our space is small and we've had accidents where people trip over them. Also people leave them covered in crap and it hurts our feelings,' The Low Road Cafe said.

The owners added customers are welcome to bring their prams into the restaurant.

The matter escalated further when Ms Lindsay shared her story in a Brisbane mother's group on Facebook.

Ms Lindsay, who said her first review was deleted by the Low Road Cafe, wrote a follow up review on their Facebook page where she became victim to further online abuse

Pictured: the front of The Low Road Cafe in Brisbane's northern suburbs

'I feel I was incredibly polite and to then be attacked and stalked online for offering some feedback and sharing with a local mum's page that if they need highchairs I wouldn't go to the Low Road Cafe is appalling,' Ms Lindsay told Daily Mail Australia at the time.

Ms Lindsay, who said her first review was deleted by the Low Road Cafe, wrote a follow up review on their Facebook page where she became victim to further online abuse.

In the comment section, the Low Road Cafe wrote: 'You are an a**hole, and when questioned you deleted all of your comments.'

'Keep your one star rating, we don't need you.'

Ms Lindsay told Daily Mail Australia the verbal altercation may have started over a highchair but escalated to online bullying.

'I just want to stress this isn't about the highchair. This is about standing up to bullying and intimidation,' she said.

Ms Lindsay also said the cafe called her 'Karen' instead of Kylie which she claims was written on a noticeboard in front of the cafe. The noticeboard read: 'Now with low chairs!!! Love ya, Kaz!'

'The cafe might think they are witty and clever but they have done themselves enormous reputational damage and bullying someone is neither witty, nor clever.'

Ms Lindsay also said the cafe called her 'Karen' instead of Kylie which she claims was written on a noticeboard in front of the cafe.

The noticeboard read: 'Now with low chairs!!! Love ya, Kaz!'

Ms Lindsay also reviewed The Low Road Cafe on Google Reviews.

'Hi Karen, thanks for your 4900000th opinion on the matter.. You've been kicking off on all sorts of social media trying to discredit us because you didn't get your way, and now you're here,' the cafe responded.

'We don't have high chairs. We explained why. We are parents ourselves. Please, for the love of God have a glass of wine and pop some kind of nurturing essential oil in your diffuser and leave us alone.'

The cafe did not want to comment on the matter when contacted by Daily Mail Australia last year.

Pictured: Cafe owners Ben and Naomi. Naomi told The Courier-Mail they believe their first answer was appropriate, before Ms Lindsay shared it with parenting groups

Cafe owner Naomi told The Courier-Mail they believe their first answer was appropriate, before Ms Lindsay shared it with parenting groups.

'A regular sent us a screen shot and said she's trying to make us out to be anti-family,' she told the publication.

'She's going to get called an a**hole if she goes rabbiting on.

'We are a small mum and dad business, we are cheeky and we're not professional by any stretch.'

Naomi explained she was reduced to deleting the posts after the comments turned into strangers yelling at each other through their keyboards.

She said if Ms Lindsay accepted the cafe's choice to not have high chairs she would have continued to go about her day and not post in parenting groups.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Philippine National Police Chief PGen Archie Gamboa has ordered the verification of the alleged involvement of 357 policemen in illegal drugs.

Gamboa told CNN Philippines Friday that these policemen are in President Rodrigo Duterte's drug watchlist. The highest-ranking officer is a Brigadier General or a one-star rank official.

"I hope the public would not mind for me not to supply more details... I would like to protect their identity because as of yet, they are presumed innocent," Gamboa said.

The PNP Chief spoke to majority of these policemen who reported in Camp Crame on Friday.

He said the adjudication and validation process will begin on Monday, and that they hope to finish the entire process in a month.

"Two levels. The first level will be regional, national support unit, or directorial staff adjudication boards where they will be heard one week. Then for the next three weeks, they will be passed on to the National Adjudication Board which will be headed by the Deputy Chief PNP for Administration," the PNP Chief said.

Gamboa said those who will be proven to have no connection with illegal drugs will be removed from the drug watchlist.

Meanwhile, case build-up that may lead to administrative and criminal charges will be filed against those who will be proven to be involved in illegal drug transactions.

The National Adjudication Board will present the final list to Gamboa, which will later on be endorsed to the President for action.

Gamboa says this is part of the internal cleansing program that he promised to the President when he took the helm of the police force.
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low near 10F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers mainly during the evening. Low near 10F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%.
Heading up Market Street the other day from City Hall to the Castro, we spotted her: a woman sitting on a concrete median in the middle of Duboce Avenue, her skinny, sore-covered legs and bright orange shoes hanging dangerously into traffic.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman pulled over, and we tried to talk to her. But she just whispered incoherently. Shed strewn dirty clothes, chow mein noodles and plastic utensils around the median. The situation didnt seem worthy of calling police, and she mumbled that she didnt want an ambulance.

What to do?

Thats the question so many San Franciscans have as they pass people in obvious distress  high out of their minds or coping with mental illness  who desperately need help. But where does one get that help? Is there any real plan for them other than, possibly, a police order to move along, a quick stay in a jail cell or a brief visit to the overstuffed psychiatric emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital?

These questions prompted Mandelman and his staff in August to create an unusual list: the 17 most distressed and distressing people in his district, which includes the Castro. The iconic neighborhood  a birthplace of gay rights, the site of Harvey Milks camera shop, the place where the citys giant rainbow flag still flies  has lost some of its luster as its become dotted with vacant storefronts, tent encampments, bicycle chop shops and scary street behavior.

Part of the problem is the citys inability to deal in any meaningful way with those like the 17 people on Mandelmans list. Theyre the ones neighbors see all the time wandering into traffic, passed out on sidewalks, screaming into the air, flinging trash and harassing small business owners and their customers. One man on the list regularly digs his filthy hands into the pots of sweets at Giddy Candy and steals them. Another is often passed out drunk in front of the now-shuttered Cafe Flore.

Of the 17, three are women and 14 are men. They range in age from 28 to 73. Theyre homeless or in and out of precarious living situations. Theyre some combination of mentally ill, alcoholic or addicted to drugs.

The list is a mini-version of a longer one, totaling 237, that the city is using to bring intensive attention and services to those in the most dire need, to see whether their lives can improve along with the lives of everybody forced to deal with their behavior. Because of tight patient privacy laws, Mandelman doesnt even know whether the 17 his office has identified are on the citys longer list. So far, the effort to help the original 237 has been mixed  with 43 moving into permanent supportive housing, but scores still on the street and nine dead from overdoses and other chronic health conditions.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

Mandelman meets monthly with representatives from the police, public health, homelessness and public works departments and representatives from neighborhood groups to check in on the progress, or lack thereof, of the 17. Can targeted, repeated outreach help them and the neighborhood at large?

More Information Inside the newsroom: Like the news articles The Chronicle publishes, our columns aim to be thoroughly reported, using interviews, research and data to back up the writer's observations. But unlike regular articles, columns allow writers to offer their own perspective, and tell readers what they think about an issue. Heather Knight's On San Francisco column is produced by talking to numerous sources, attending events across the city and interviewing a spectrum of people, including politicians, bureaucrats and regular residents. She writes from the press room at City Hall and gets her ideas from sources, reader tips and observations gleaned from her own life as a San Francisco resident. See More Collapse

On paper, the answer should be yes. On a recent visit with him to the district, the answer was much more disheartening.

Were trying to coordinate a plan for each one, Mandelman said. But Im not convinced we know how to do that.

Mandelman said the reasons for the citys lackluster results are many: the privacy laws that prevent even city supervisors from knowing any details about the health of their most disturbed homeless residents, the shortage of treatment beds and people to staff them, and the weak laws that prevent counties from compelling everyone who needs help into treatment. Mandelman and Mayor London Breed have pushed for stronger conservatorship laws, but other supervisors and homeless advocates have fought them over civil rights concerns.

These issues are personal to Mandelman. He grew up with a severely mentally ill mom, whos since died, and essentially raised himself from age 11. He said he knows firsthand that inside many of these sad souls are lovely, coherent people struck down by bad brain chemistry.

Thats not her best self, Mandelman said of the woman with orange shoes. Theres another person in there who  if she was getting the right care  might be able to emerge.

The woman on the Duboce Avenue median wasnt even on the supervisors list of 17, but she might as well have been. She was missing teeth, her face was smeared with dirt, and she whispered that she sleeps outside. It seemed wrong to just leave her there to perhaps get her legs crushed by a whizzing car.

How in a civilized society do we have someone at this level of distress just being left here? Mandelman said.

He called an aide in his office for advice, and she gave him the phone number for the citys mobile crisis team, mental health experts who can respond to homeless people in crisis.

Or thats the goal anyway. A woman who answered Mandelmans call explained the team is based in the Bayview and wouldnt be able to get there anytime soon. When she took his name and realized who he was, the attitude seemed to change. The team would get there as soon as possible, she said.

Social workers who interact with the same population, but not for the city, told me the team is great, but is very understaffed and sometimes takes up to seven hours to arrive. Jenna Lane, a spokeswoman for the Department of Public Health, said the team has 14 people who also respond to other crises, including homicide and suicide scenes, traffic collisions and police negotiations with people in crisis.

Clearly, San Francisco, with its $12.3 billion annual budget, needs to majorly beef up its crisis response and station the team more centrally because a rapid response is essential. It also needs to beef up its Homeless Outreach Team, which can also respond to women like the one on Duboce, but is similarly stretched thin and often slow to respond.

Mental Health SF, a new City Hall plan to overhaul the broken mental health care system, would create a new Crisis Response Street Team to help people in crisis on our streets, but funding hasnt been secured and the changes are a long way off.

We stayed with the woman with orange shoes for a while. She eventually left the median for a safer sidewalk. She talked about being from North Korea and about being dead. Eventually she walked away, headed east down Market Street.

Mandelman kept in contact with the mobile crisis team via text, and the van finally found us about 45 minutes after he first called. He told the team where wed last seen the woman with the orange shoes, and they said theyd drive around to try to find her.

We headed to talk to Mat Schuster, owner of Canela Bistro on Market Street, whod texted Mandelmans staff that day in frustration. The night before, a panhandler outside the restaurant had gotten angry that nobody was giving him money and threw a patio chair at the restaurants front window  as diners sat in the window inside. The glass shattered, but fortunately nobody was hurt.

The customer chatter was, This is San Francisco now, Schuster said.

Which is the saddest thing Ive heard in a while.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

Across the street, Mandelman and his staff spotted Individual B on their list of 17. Hes a tall, big man whos often happy and smiling, but can turn violent and aggressive. Hes known for being a hoarder, and hed spread a cushion, clothing, a bucket and trash around Jane Warner Plaza.

Individual B told us hed been offered a bed at the Navigation Center on the Embarcadero, but it wasnt clear whether he was going to take it. He was hard to talk to because he was almost entirely focused on staring at himself preen and dance in the reflection of the window of Twin Peaks Tavern.

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Im an American, the man told me. Arent you American? Youre my cousin, arent you?

Mandelman sighed.

Its been six to eight months, and whatever were trying aint working, he said, referring to the fact Individual B has been on the list since its creation last summer. He shook his head as one neighbor after another approached him to complain about needles or trash or whatever.

Mandelman said he understood the frustration.

Im the supervisor, he said. Im the face of a city thats failing.

Mere feet away was Individual M on the list. Shes known for wandering into traffic, and thats what she was doing when we spotted her. Shed stand in the street in front of cars trying to turn right and came within inches of being whacked by a Muni bus. Shes known as Princess Leia in the neighborhood for sometimes wearing her hair in two buns on the side of her head  held in place at times with syringes.

She darted her eyes nervously and kept muttering to herself.

I dont want to talk right now, she told me. Im really scared.

People call 311 and 911 about her all the time, and yet shes always back there, darting into traffic.

Mandelman is tired of the citys approach, which focuses mostly on outreach workers trying to build a relationship with people over time in the hopes theyll eventually accept help. He wants the city to take stronger action  and he wants the state to adopt more expansive conservatorship laws to compel people into care. The states law was strengthened a little recently, but its still a very high bar to force people into treatment if they say they dont want it.

The loud whir of Castro and Market streets  the clearly deranged people and the incredibly frustrated neighbors who kept stopping to complain  became too much for Mandelman. He held a finger up, as if asking for a pause in our conversation, and his eyes filled with tears. He walked away for a while.

Its upsetting. Theres so much misery, he said when he returned, his voice rising in anger. Its insane that we cannot solve this. This is solvable. The solutions are obvious to all of us.

Obvious, maybe, but not easy. He wants stronger conservatorship laws and more of the citys money directed to treatment beds so theres somewhere to put those who are picked off the streets and mandated to accept care.

Shes terrified, he said, nodding to Individual M, still walking in traffic.

Hes off his rocker, he said, motioning to Individual B, still preening in the window.

This is just wrong, he continued. This neighborhood is so important. Its where queer politics started. Its an internationally known, iconic neighborhood, and its suffering under civic failure.

Mandelman was done. We walked back to his car. He checked with the mobile crisis team. They had not found the woman with the orange shoes.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf Instagram: @heatherknightsf
A photo of a man sitting on a TTC subway train was posted to Instagram on Jan. 16. And then it spread like wildfire.

PLEASE SHARE, the caption urged, before alleging the man groped a young woman who was sleeping while sitting next to him around 10 a.m. the same day.

The post went viral, shared and reshared across Toronto on various social media platforms. After an investigation, Toronto police arrested a man Thursday and alleged that he sexually assaulted two women in January.

When someone shares their sexual assault experience, it makes women feel safer to share their stories, said Farrah Khan, manager of Consent Comes First at Ryerson University.

Too often we brush off those stories or were told to brush off those stories, to say it wasnt so bad, you werent raped, he just groped her breast, Khan told the Star.

Sometimes you think like, did that really happen? The most common response to sexual violence is freezing. When one woman validates and verifies that not only did this happen, but its a big deal, it opens up the floodgates almost to allow women to really take seriously what happened to them.

Khan said she couldnt comment on this specific arrest but spoke broadly on how social media can influence people to come forward with their own experiences of sexual violence.

Social media has changed in some ways how we share information when things happen, she said.

Speaking out about something publicly can be empowering.

The thing that keeps sexual violence going in a lot of ways is the shame blame and fear, Khan said.

Theres this idea that were asking for it  especially with young women between the ages of 16 and 25, who face a higher rate of sexual violence than women in other age groups.

Often, people experience something Khan calls bystander apathy, meaning they are less likely to intervene when people are present due to fear of being seen as a problem.

Or people reassure themselves that the situation isnt a big deal and they dont need to intervene. It is common for witnesses to harmful situations to freeze up.

Taking action right away is great, Khan said.

We want people to intervene, we want people to support the person whos been harmed, Khan said.

An open conversation about sexual violence is empowering women to come forward with their own experiences.

Were normalizing that it does happen, that we need to take action, that we have a responsibility to take action, Khan said, urging public institutions like the TTC to say that people have the responsibility to speak up.

The social media post prompted a petition on change.org claiming the man seen in the photo was an instructor at York University and called for his removal.

The instructor taught a class on management accounting.

The part-time instructor has not attended campus since York University became aware of alleged reports regarding an incident on the TTC, university spokesperson Yanni Dagonas said in an emailed statement.

The university has made arrangements for his courses to continue as scheduled with alternate instructors. This has been communicated to registered students.

Dagonas said a bulletin had been issued to the community about the Toronto police news release and encouraged anyone in need of support to come forward. Dagonas declined to comment further.

In a news release Friday, police allege a man sexually assaulted two women while they were seated on a train, once on Jan. 3 and again on Jan. 16.

Const. Jenifferjit Sidhu told the Star the social media posts led to the investigation. As a result, police have two ongoing and active investigations related to the incident, she said.

Sidhu confirmed two separate women have come forward with allegations. The victims contacted police shortly after the post surfaced online.

There was something circulating on different social media platforms and as a result multiple women did come forward and an investigation started, she said.

Sidhu said the investigation started because the women came to police, not because police saw the post online.

Sidhu told the Star the man surrendered to police.

Nicolae Stefan Pop, 51, of Toronto, is charged with two counts of sexual assault and scheduled to appear in court on March 19.

If you have been the victim of sexual violence, Torontos Rape Crisis Centre is available 24 hours a day at 416-597-8808. More information is available here.
In a major crackdown on drug trafficking, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted an international drug syndicate which was operating from Afghanistan and Delhi-NCR.

Acting on a specific tip-off, the NCB team arrested three Afghan nationals and seized 220 capsules, containing 1.845 kilograms of high-grade heroin from them.

The NCB team had laid the trap for the Afghan nationals arriving at New Delhi from Kabul via Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The three arrested people were taken for medical examination at Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi where the test results confirmed the presence of foreign elements in their stomach.

The arrested persons said that the drugs were to be delivered to a person in the capital.

A detailed investigation has been launched to identify other persons in the syndicate.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rome's MAXXI looks forward to a successful future.

MAXXI, Italy's national museum of 21st century art, marked its 10th birthday by looking back over the last decade and announcing its future projects, during a packed press conference on 6 February.

"The national museum of arts, architecture, photography does not want to celebrate itself" - said MAXXI president Giovanna Melandri - "but expand, strengthen and develop the guidelines of an ambitious expositive, cultural and social project."

Melandri launched the 2020 programme of events - including 18 new exhibitions - alongside Italy's culture minister Dario Franceschni who praised the "extraordinary work" undertaken at MAXXI, designed by Zaha Hadid, since its inauguration on 30 May 2010.

Aldo Rossi, Modello di progetto per un nuovo stabile amministrativo per la UBS, Lugano, 1990. MAXXI. Archivio Aldo Rossi  Eredi Aldo Rossi.

Franceschini has increased state funding for MAXXI, underlining the importance of "investing in creativity", and announcing plans to acquire works for the collection by artists including Accardi, Cattelan, Fabro, Ghirri and Kounellis.

L'Aquila

Central to 2020 will be the opening of a MAXXI modern art museum in LAquila, the earthquake-hit capital of the Abruzzo region. The museum, located in the historic centre, will be inaugurated by Franceschini on 21 June.

10 years in numbers

Over the last decade MAXXI welcomed 3,328,000 visitors, with the annual number of visitors in 2019 more than double the amount in 2010. Tickets generated 12.7 million, with ticket revenue increasing steadily over the last five years.

MAXXI has presented 106 exhibitions, over 2,000 cultural events, and more than 5,000 educational and training activities, while its art collection now boasts more than 530 works, after starting with 235 pieces.

TECHNOTOPIA. ENGINEERING THE FUTURE. KnitCandela, Mexico City, 2018-2019. Block Research Group, ETH Zurich & Zaha Hadid Architects. Computation and Design Group with Architecture Extrapolated.

2020 programme

Some of the highlights announced for 2020 include an exhibition titled Landscapes in Italian art at the turn of the millennium (opening on 9 April); an exhibition dedicated to architect Aldo Rossi (from 9 April); a tribute to scholar and gallery owner Claudia Gian Ferrari (opening 9 April); and a show devoted to Sicilian architect Maria Giuseppina Grasso Cannizzo (opening on 4 December).

For details of 2020 programme see MAXXI website.

Cover photo MAXXI Museo nazionale del XXI secolo. Musacchio Ianniello.
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM) is indeed shaping up to be a gem. Anyone passing the GEM are stopped in their tracks by the grandiosity of the premises. The new museum has come a long way in a short time. While a year ago the building was surrounded by scaffolding, today it stands tall, overlooking the Giza Plateau, almost ready to receive its eager visitors later this year.

Progress has been quick and impressive. In only four years, tremendous efforts have been put into finishing off a site that the whole world is waiting for. In 2016, only 17 per cent of the museum was complete. Today, more than 94 per cent of the works are finished.

Sprawled on 500,000 square metres, and bigger than Vatican City, the museums trapezoidal architectural design and distinguished external wall offers an enormous panoramic view of the Giza Plateau. It will house 100,000 objects from ancient Egypt, beginning with prehistory and going up to the early Roman period. Among the objects on display will be the unique treasures of the boy King Tutankhamun, some of which will see the light for the first time ever.

Upon entering GEMs main external gate visitors will be greeted by the obelisk from the San Al-Hagar archaeological site in Zagazig. It will be the first obelisk in the world to be placed in a special display, offering visitors the opportunity to walk beneath it and see the cartouche of King Ramses II engraved on its bottom. Ancient Egyptian royal figures used to engrave their cartouches on the bottoms of obelisks as a mark of ownership. Within the building itself the statue of Ramses II proudly greets incomers. Moreover, the museums unparalleled grand staircase, spread out over 6,000 metres, will carry some 87 huge ancient pieces.

GEM is foreseen to be the largest and most significant cultural project in the world today and is projected to change Egypts tourism map. In fact, BBC Travel lists the opening of GEM as one of the reasons Cairo is a top place to visit in 2020.

The new museum will provide a full cultural experience. Its grounds will include a 7,000 square metre commercial area with retail shops, cafeterias, restaurants, leisure and recreational activities. These will include a 1,000-seat conference centre, a 500-seat cinema, eight restaurants, with two overlooking the Giza Pyramids, an open-air theatre, food courts, bookshops and other retail outlets, with 28 shops, a traditional arts and crafts centre, a spacious piazza for festivals of more than 15,000 participants and a multifunctional building.

The streets around the GEM have also been developed to highlight it as the centre of attention and to facilitate arrivals to the museum, untangling the heavy traffic for which the neighbourhood was infamous.

GEM is a dream come true  a fourth pyramid for Egypt. The idea of the museum dates to 2002. It was meant to solve the problems of the overstuffed Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square and to bring together materials stored at various archaeological sites across the country. The $1 billion facility was finally made possible thanks to funding by the Egyptian government along with two soft loans from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) amounting to around $750 million.

What GEM will provide to the world is much bigger than the sum going into building it; it will be Egypts gift to the world, a monument left to future generations. With so many investments and efforts going into making the dream come true, it is of utmost importance that all concerned authorities focus on how best to promote it to the world, and how to organise an unforgettable inauguration ceremony. GEM is no less important than the Suez Canal. If well managed, it could be a major source of hard currency income for the country and help boost Egypts tourism appeal as a whole.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 6 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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The schoolgirl accused of kidnapping baby twin Kwahlelwa Tiwane said she was forced to write a confession by a police officer who also told her what to write.

Karabo Tau, 18, testified during her bail hearing in the Bellville Magistrate's Court that she also gave the police the names of the only two foreign nationals she knew. She said they had a crush on her. She added that she let the police take their names and numbers from her phone after they made the claim that foreign nationals were kidnapping babies.

Her co-accused is Ely Kibunda.

"I don't know where the child is and I didn't take the child," 18-year-old Karabo Tau testified. She wore her school uniform in the dock.

She said she only "confessed" to taking the child after lengthy questioning by at least four police officers. She said they threatened her and said she would never leave jail and never realise her dream of being a lawyer or journalist. Eventually she just wrote what a detective Samsodien told her to write, she testified.

Tau was arrested after Asanda Tiwane, Kwahlelwa's mother, reported that a woman named Monica disappeared with her child in Parow.

At the time, police issued an alert for the missing two-month-old, saying Tiwane was approached with offers of help by a supposed social worker fitting Tau's description.

Police said they travelled together from Khayelitsha to Parow to take care of administrative matters related to helping the mother with money and a food voucher. In Parow, Tau allegedly disappeared with the baby.

The court earlier heard from Tiwane that she did not check the "social worker's" credentials.

Tau replied to all questions put to her in a feisty tone. She insisted she was at school in her isiXhosa class at the time Tiwane said she had visited on January 16.

Claremont High School's isiXhosa teacher Thokoza Godana said Tau had been in class sitting in the front row at the time.

The school's IT manager Johan Thompson pointed her out in footage captured by one of the school's CCTV cameras. He testified that the time stamp was 20 minutes fast, and said Tau was still at school at around 15:00. He said it was not possible to change a time stamp retroactively.

The footage showed Karabo coming through a door and after a peck on the cheek from a friend, the two looked at and swiped on a cellphone screen. Tau said she had come from the bathroom and the two were discussing a new phone.

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Her family and supporters shouted "you did nothing wrong" and "they're going to pay, my baby" at her during a short adjournment.

She smiled into the gallery as pictures were taken of her.

Prosecutor Tobinceba Matrose asked her why she had not shed a single teardrop. Tau replied that she found the whole experience overwhelming and traumatising.

Tau said: "No matter how many tantrums I throw or I cry, you still won't believe me."

Her co-accused Kibunda's bail application will be held separately. Tau said she met him on Facebook and last saw him in November when they bumped into each other in a shopping centre.

Final arguments in her bail application will be heard on February 11 and Tau will remain in custody.

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A suspected drunk driver crashed and caused serious injuries to his female passenger, including a broken pelvis and a collapsed kidney, according to Laredo police.

READ MORE: Laredo woman caught allegedly driving on wrong side of the highway was 'going to mall'

Norberto Lazaro de la Garza, 31, was arrested on Tuesday and served with an arrest warrant that charged him with intoxication assault with a vehicle.

A vehicle crash with injuries was reported at about 2:23 a.m. Oct. 24 in the 1900 block of Park Street. Responding officers encountered a gray Toyota Tacoma with heavy front-end damage.

They also found a man hugging a female on the sidewalk. The man, who was identified as de la Garza, was identified as the driver in the single-vehicle accident while the woman was identified as the passenger.

She was taken to a local hospital in serious condition and eventually airlifted to a San Antonio hospital with severe injuries, including a broken pelvis and collapsed kidney.

De la Garza appeared to be intoxicated. At the time, he was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.

READ MORE: Woman allegedly used Laredo employers credit card to pay for bills, trips

Further investigation revealed that de la Garza had a blood alcohol content of 0.093. The legal limit in Texas is 0.08. The case was then presented to an assistant district attorney, who determined there was enough evidence to secure the arrest warrant for de La Garza.
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In recent times, physician burnout has rightfully surfaced as a social concern for the medical fraternity. Physician burnout is a thing, and lately, I was thinking about it related to nephrology.

Many national physician organizations and local hospital systems are developing strategies to reduce work-life stress and improve the engagement of the workforce. In November 2018, I represented the Renal Physician Association at the interim meeting of the American Medical Association House of Delegates, where physician burnout was a topic of heavy discussion. After spending the past five years of my life immersed in nephrology, I found myself elbow-to-elbow with young physicians of every specialty as Dr. Michael Tutty started discussing the AMA initiatives on burnout.

As Dr. Tutty described that an estimated 30 to 40 percent of physicians experience burnout, I reflected on my own well-being as a physician, as a leader, and as an individual. Psychology Today states that Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When we are mindful, we carefully observe our thoughts and feelings without judging them as good or bad.

Sitting in the room, I reflected on the past months and years of my life.

As the wife of a physician, mother of toddlers, educator, clinician, and administrator, I have subconsciously developed a habit of listing my desired accomplishments for each day on my drive into work. A great deal of time, I accomplished only a percentage of what I had hoped, and my drive home was clouded with anger, resentment, and a sense of failure. Was I angry with workload or the fact I had unaccomplished goals? Did physicians in other specialties feel this too?

Ive always been an enthusiastic person. In fellowship, I aspired to publish and write as a clinical educator, which paved the way for a career in academia. I got my dream job at a major academic center  teaching during ward rotations, rounding at dialysis units, and seeing patients in the clinic. Its easy to forget how much work and frustration came along with the achievements. At every stage of education has come a new set of duties and responsibilities  this is a privilege but also a challenge.

To the public, and to the new generation of medical trainees, a nephrologist is neither physician physiologist nor adventurous inventor, but rather the steady traveler who ran and staffed the outpatient unit and cared for patients both there and in the hospital.

Since 2008, there has been declining interest in our field as the perception of underpaid and overworked emerged. Even within the medical field, our role is poorly understood, and we often have to explain and validate our profession.

As a panelist at the medical student showcase at a recent AMA meeting, I fielded questions about work-life balance, compensation, and my job profile as a nephrologist. I was reminded of Homer Smiths musing that superficially, it might be said that the function of kidneys is to make urine; but in a considered view, one can say that the kidney makes the stuff of philosophy itself.

Just as the nephron is a complex and elegant unit of discrete and interconnected elements, a career as a nephrologist is one of many facets. We are physiologists; we are internists. We manage dialysis units. We are teachers, learners, and leaders of teams. We can be entrepreneurs, writers, community organizers, and advocates.

We choose roles that interest us, suit our lifestyle, and achieve our goals, and we evolve within those paths. Professional societies, academicians and private practitioners have joined forces to reincarnate the impression. On multiple occasions, many of us have explained or somewhat clarified our job profile to other colleagues in the medical fraternity.

I hope that with good mentorship and vocal enthusiasm, nephrologists can turn the tide of decreased popularity that has plagued our field of late. For me, nephrology has been the source of great joy and scholarship, and I hope to share my passion with generations of doctors to come.

Nupur Gupta is a nephrologist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
A woman was rescued Thursday evening after she drove around a barricade.

It happened at 6:42 p.m. on Old Hixson Pike.

The driver went around a barricade into the flooded roadway where the water was several feet deep and very swift.

The woman got out of her vehicle when it stalled, thinking she could walk through the fast moving water, but she was swept into the tree line.

She managed to grab onto a tree and called 911.

Chattanooga Fire Department personnel went to the scene and launched a rescue mission.

They threw her a rope and started to pull her out.

She lost her grip on the rope so firefighters made their way to her, helped her get a life jacket on and then got her out of the water.

She was checked out by paramedics on the scene and was not injured, just cold.

Mutual aid was provided by the Dallas Bay VFD.

Removal of her car will be handled by a wrecker service. The flooded portion of Old Hixson Pike remains closed. Officials said, "Dont attempt to drive through it."

Battalion Chief Chris Warren played an integral role in the rescue and stressed to drivers the importance of paying attention when barricades are out. He said, Great work by our crews to save a life tonight. We ask the public to take the necessary precautions in these situations. Dont underestimate what could happen."

A large tree fell Thursday night on East 33rd Street. It hit several cars, a home, and a power line. Officials said it was most likely caused by the highly saturated ground.

There were no injuries, and EPB was working to restore power to the block.
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Linkedin Kusumasari Ayuningtyas (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Sat, February 8, 2020 08:14 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206334e3f 1 National Syria,repatriation,IS-returnees,IS-sympathizers,surakarta,Jokowi Free

Warjiyem, 50, believes her daughter, Dani Fajarwati, 30, is a victim, not an Islamic State (IS) fighter, despite the fact that she is now in Al Hol Camp in Syria.

She went to Syria because her husband took her there. She is now in a tent at the camp with her toddlers, Warjiyem told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

In 2014, Warjiyem said, Dani and her husband went to Syria without telling Danis parents. Warjiyem believed her son-in-law was responsible for taking her daughter to Syria and joining the IS.

Warjiyem said she heard about her daughters whereabouts from her sister who lived in Jakarta and had a close relationship with Dani. Warjiyem and her husband Paidin, 53, learned that Dani was in the late stages of pregnancy when her husband took her to Syria.

Warjiyem, 50, a resident of Surakarta, Central Java, shows a picture of her daughter, Dani Fajarwati, 30, and her grandson in Al Hol Camp in Syria. Warjiyem believes her daughter was a victim of her husband, who took her to Syria in 2014 without her parents' knowledge. (JP/Kusumasari Ayuningtyas)

After five years of silence between Dani and her parents, they finally spoke again last year.

While she was with her husband, we could not reach her. But after a big battle in March of last year, my daughter got separated from her husband, and since then, she has been able to contact me, borrowing her friends cell phones because she did not have one, Warjiyem told the Post.

Warjiyem cried the first time they spoke after five years without contact. She said her daughter was on the run and was hiding in empty houses. I could not bear the thought that she, while taking care of her two young children, had to hide from one empty house to another only sustaining herself on half a bottle of water.

Since establishing contact, the parents have received pictures of their grandchildren, two boys aged 3.5 and 1.5.

Warjiyem said she did not know where to ask for help so she could see her daughter again.

Im a good citizen, I will follow every government regulation [concerning repatriation], so please help us. We are the victims here. Please help me bring my daughter back. Warjiyem said.

She said she would support a deradicalization program for her daughter if necessary.

Warjiyem remembered Dani as a funny, smart and cheerful girl who lived in their small house in Serengen subdistrict, Surakarta, Central Java. But after she met her husband, she quickly became very private, Warjiyem said.

The couple married in secret in Lamongan, East Java, in 2013, without Warjiyem or her husbands knowledge or approval.

My daughter often contacted her aunt, my sister. She remembered her number. We got this information from my sister, she said.

Warjiyem said she hoped President Joko Jokowi Widodo, a former mayor of Surakarta, could help her family see their daughter again.

I beg you sir, Pak Jokowi, help me. Im one of your people; Im from [Surakarta] too. They took my daughter away. She was just a young girl; she did not know about anything. Please bring her back to Indonesia.

If you cannot bring my daughter home for some reason, please at least, Mr. President, have mercy and repatriate my grandchildren, she said.

Paidin, who was quiet for most of the interview, spoke up at the end to plead with the government. I hope the President can see that not all of them are guilty. Please, allow some consideration. My daughter is a victim; she was just a callow person when her husband got into her [head], he said.

Many Indonesian citizens like Dani and her children are living in limbo in camps in Syria. Some 660 Indonesian citizens have been identified as foreign terrorist fighters who have pledged allegiance to IS and joined the movement in Syria and surrounding countries.

Jokowi and Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD share similar views on the issue. They both disagree with the idea of repatriating Indonesian citizens who went abroad to join IS.
Ways to make an ever-popular New Year's resolution a reality

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A man allegedly filmed himself beating his girlfriend then ordered an Uber to take her to hospital, where she died.

According to a cell phone video obtained through police warrants, Nicholas Forman, 23, from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, could be seen beating his girlfriend Sabrina Harooni, 22, on his lawn, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

This is what cheating liars get, the man believed to be Forman says in the video. You hear me?

The Uber later called by Forman took Harooni to Pottstown Memorial Hospital on Monday, according to NBC10, where she later died from her injuries.

Charging documents obtained by NBC10 reportedly state that Haroonis injuries, which included pupils described by the emergency room doctor as blown out, indicate head trauma or lack of oxygen.

Forman was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of murder in the first degree and one count of murder in the third degree, according to court records.

According to documents obtained by NBC10, the couple had begun arguing in a different Uber on Sunday night when Harooni reportedly joked about receiving a text message from an ex-boyfriend, the Uber driver told investigators.

The driver said that during the trip to Formans home, Forman continued to get angry, eventually prompting Harooni to tell him: Youre scaring me.

After arriving at Formans residence, he reportedly threatened not to allow Harooni to enter and insisted that she give me the f***ing phone, the driver told authorities.

According to the driver, he had initially driven down the street but returned with his windows rolled down after continuing to hear the couple arguing. He said he waited until he did not hear any more yelling, around five to 10 minutes, before driving off.

On Monday, Forman ordered the second Uber for Harooni, who was reportedly unconscious at the time. According to the driver, Forman told him that Harooni had been in a fight the night earlier.

According to reports obtained by NBC10, a nurse described Harooni as ice cold, with bruising around her neck, dried blood in her nose and dried vomit on her mouth. While performing CPR on Harooni, the nurse reported feeling fluid in her lungs.

Story continues

Forman reportedly told investigators that Haroonis injuries were from being jumped by three women the night prior.

After obtaining warrants to search Formans phone, investigators found the video as well as a photo taken shortly before 2.30am of what appeared to be Harooni face-down inside Formans home.

During Formans arrest, video taken by NBC10 shows him continuing to deny involvement in Haroonis murder and cursing at reporters.

Perkiomen Township man charged w/ murder after beating death of his girlfriend. Alexander Forman on his way to MontCo prison says he didnt do it and curses at us. At 6pm: details on a jealous rage and an Uber ride with a lifeless body @NBCPhiladelphia https://t.co/qJ7cCoDxmc pic.twitter.com/EmbkYXdK6c  Drew Smith (@drewsmithtv) February 6, 2020

In response to a question about who did it, Forman can be heard saying: Three girls, not me. This is crazy.

Forman, who previously plead guilty to charges of disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and harassment in 2014, has yet to be arraigned.

For 24-hour domestic violence support, you can contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.

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Domestic abuse helpline receives 25% more calls in 2019
And so 2016 finally draws to a close.

Its been the longest election year in American history. It ran from Feb. 1, 2016, the date of the Iowa caucuses, to the Senate vote to acquit President Donald Trump in early February 2020.

Its true that Nov. 6, 2016, was a signal event in this long election year, but it didnt really conclude anything, even though the result wasnt in doubt. Usually, contested elections are ties or near-ties. This is the first time an election has gone into overtime, with repeated attempts at what were in effect recounts, despite the winner comfortably prevailing (Donald Trump won handily in electoral votes, the measure that determines the outcome, 304-227).

Immediately Democrats concluded that theyd been robbed, and Hillary Clinton did indeed get some bad breaks during the campaign, most consequently at the hands of then-FBI Director James Comey. First, he went outside of guidelines to publicly explain his decision not to recommend an indictment over Clintons emails, and then he announced a reopening of the investigation near the end of the campaign.

Such is life in the arena. But no one on the left was in a mood to move on.

Rather taking stock and recalibrating as warranted, Democrats remained fixated on 2016. Rather than simply mobilizing opposition to Trumps agenda and re-election, as any opposition always does, they mused about how to reverse the 2016 result. Rather than acknowledging the near-impossibility of removing a duly elected president, they indulged in fantasies about how to do exactly that.

Above all, they obsessed about Russia as the cause of their undoing in 2016. With enough investigation, all would be made plain, the Trump-Russia conspiracy would be unraveled, the walls would close in, and the world would be restored to its axis. The rightful winner of 2016 wouldnt take office, but the wrongful winner would be vanquished. What voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin failed to do, the grinding machinery of investigation would achieve.

When the Mueller probe didnt produce the impeachment that the Democrats had expected with such fervent certainty, it seemed briefly theyd finally have to accept the outcome of 2016, however grudgingly. Then, Ukraine emerged, and impeachment was, thankfully and gloriously, back on.

Russia was a proximate cause of the impeachment over Ukraine. The Democrats charged that Trump sought Ukrainian interference in our elections, just as he had sought Russian interference (for all their interest in the Mueller investigation, Democrats have never absorbed its conclusion that there is no evidence that Trump colluded with the Russians). They said the 2020 election result couldnt be trusted with Trump on the ballot, just as they believed he had corrupted the 2016 result. Absent their conviction that Trump is an illegitimate president, Democrats would have been, understandably, outraged by Ukraine and determined to investigate it, but they wouldnt have impeached over it.

In this sense, the Senate trial was the last act in the 2016 election. It establishes, once and for all, that he wont leave office prior to the end of his first term. It makes it clear that another election, not some other mechanism, will be necessary to remove him. It represents the final failure of the investigatory apparatus around Trumps alleged Russia collusion to deliver Democrats from the consequences of their 2016 defeat.

Trump, obviously, isnt blameless in any of this. He is incapable of grace notes toward the opposition; has been resistant to consistently and frankly acknowledging Russian interference in 2016, stoking outrage and suspicion; and he recklessly undertook his Ukraine scheme, when anyone around him not named Rudy Giuliani could have told him it was going to end in tears.

But he is not a Russian agent. He won the presidency in a free and fair election, and despite his attempted removal, will have a chance to do so again. On to 2020.

@RichLowry
P reparations for the Oscars has kicked off ahead of the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday night.

New photos show staff rolling out the red carpet outside the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

The pictures also show the construction of the intricately layered white and gold backdrop which celebrities will pose for photos against.

Gold curtains and 3D Oscar signs have also been assembled outside the theatre, which has been the permanent home of the Academy Awards since 2002.

The red carpet has been rolled out ahead of the ceremony / AFP via Getty Images

The 92nd annual ceremony will take place without a host for the second year in a row. Last years Academy Awards marked the first time the event had taken place without a lead presenter since 1989, and was largely well received by viewers.

Todd Phillips comic book movie Joker is currently leading the Oscar race with a total of 11 nominations, with star Joaquim Phoenix tipped to take home the Best Actor trophy for his performance.

The Oscars' trademark backdrop is also being put together / AFP via Getty Images

Sir Sam Mendes World War One epic 1917 and Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon A Time In Hollywood are close behind with a total of 10 nominations each. Both films have picked up nods for Best Picture and Best Director.

Streaming platform Netflix has also received a slew of nominations for critically acclaimed films including The Irishman, The Two Popes and Marriage Story.

Academy Awards 2020: Oscars Nominations - In pictures 1 /38 Academy Awards 2020: Oscars Nominations - In pictures Best Film: 1917 Best Film: Joker Best Film: Little Women Best Film: The Irishman Netflix Best Film: Parasite Best Film: Marriage Story Netflix Best Film: Ford v. Ferrari AP Best Film: Jojo Rabbit Best Film: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Best Actor: Antonio Banderas in Pain & Glory Best Actor: Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix in Joker Best Actor: Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story Best Actress: Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story SplashNews.com Best Actress: Cynthia Erivo in Harriet Best Actress: Renee Zellweger in Judy Best Actress: Charlize Theron in Bombshell Lionsgate Best Actress Saoirse Ronan in Little Women Best Supporting Actress: Scarlett Johansson in Jojo Rabbi Best Supporting Actress: Margot Robbie in Bombshell Best Supporting Actress: Florence Pugh in Little Women Best Supporting Actress: Kathy Bates in Richard Jewell Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern in Marriage Story Netflix Best Supporting Actor: Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes Netflix Best Supporting Actor: Al Pacino in The Irishman Netflix Best Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks in A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood Best Supporting Actor: Joe Pesci in The Irishman Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

Bong Joon-hos Parasite has also made history as the first ever South Korean film to be nominated for Best Picture.

Bongs film is hotly tipped to receive the Oscar for Best International Feature, and he and Mendes are seen as the two most likely contenders for Best Director.
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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the chief secretary of Haryana to take appropriate action against the state police department for constructing a training and research centre on Aravalli forest land in Bhondsi, without getting the necessary approval. The NGT has also upheld the state polices request seeking retroactive diversion of the forest land for the project, for which the police has agreed to pay a penalty of 31 crore.

The chief secretary has been asked to file an action taken report by March 13, when the tribunal will continue to hear the case.

On August 9, 2019, the NGT had ruled that a police training centre of the Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB), in Bhondsi, had been built on protected Aravalli land (notified under special sections 4 and 5 of the Punjab Land Preservation Act,1900) without obtaining required clearances under the Forest Conservation Act, 1980. According to previous Supreme Court orders, PLPA lands are allotted legal forest status.

The tribunal arrived at its ruling after considering a May 2019 report from the state forest department (a copy of which is with HT), which stated, The forest department has not granted any permission to the IRB for felling trees. Building and roads have been constructed in the centre without prior approval of the government of India under provisions of the FCA.

The IRB currently occupies close to 400 acres of PLPA-notified land in Bhondsi. Houses, offices and a research centre were constructed on 60 acres in 2004. A 480-metre-long check dam in Kadarpur has also been subsumed by the project which, according to a 2019 petition filed by Ram Avtar Yadav, resulted in the felling of over 62,000 trees.

The NGTs latest order in the matter, dated February 4, also states that a proposal has now been moved on 23.01.2020 to the Government of India for diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.

A senior forest department official, requesting anonymity, said, The state police has applied to the environment ministry, retroactively seeking diversion of forest land for the project. They have also agreed to pay 31 crore as penalty, and to fund compensatory afforestation, after the ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) gives in-principle approval for the same.

A report containing these details had been submitted to the NGT on January 23 by the chief conservator of forests, Panchkula. Responding to it, the NGT noted, While the above action may have been now taken, the fact remains that law has been blatantly violated for which accountability needs to be fixed.

Hanif Qureshi, inspector general, IRB, said on Friday, We will comply with the NGTs orders. About 60 acres was transferred to the police department in 2011, but it is still recorded as forest land. Our new request for diversion of the whole 390-odd acres is pending with the Central government. If they approve it, we will ensure that adequate compensatory afforestation is done to restore the green cover.

Qureshi added that for the 60 acres already transferred to the IRB, compensatory afforestation has been carried out in Karnal.

Ram Avtar Yadav, whose petition in the NGT resulted in these developments, said, I am happy that the NGT has upheld the law, but also disappointed that it has allowed such a large-scale violation to be regularised. The Supreme Court in 2018 ordered the demolition of Kant Enclave for the same violations.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 12:32 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206320771 1 Art & Culture DFAT,FSAI,Festival-Sinema-Australia-Indonesia Free

The annual Australia Indonesia Cinema Festival (FSAI) is set to return for its fifth edition from Feb. 14 to 29 with selected Australian and Indonesian films.

FSAI 2020 is part of the Australia Connect Program initiated by the Australian Embassy and will be held across several Indonesian cities, namely Jakarta, Surabaya in East Java, Makassar in South Sulawesi, Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara, Bandung in West Java, and, for the very first time, Yogyakarta.

The festival will be opened with the Indonesian premiere of Top End Wedding (2019), a romantic comedy that highlights the landscape of the Australian Northern Territory.

A family drama titled Emu Runner (2018), which focuses on indigenous Australians, will also be screened during the festival. The director of the film, Imogen Thomas, is said to attend its screenings in Jakarta and Mataram.

Other Australian films scheduled to be screened are psychological thriller Angel of Mine (2019), innovative feature documentary 2040 (2019), and popular horror film The Babadook (2014).

Meanwhile, Indonesian films that will be showcased at the festival include Susi Susanti - Love All (2019), Bebas (Free) (2019) and Kulari ke Pantai (I Run to the Beach) (2018).

Film is the best way to share stories and learn more about other culture, Australian Embassy's Charge d'Affaires Allaster Cox said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday. The choices of Australian and Indonesian films this year shows the diversity of our two countries, as well as the richness of our creative talent."

Tickets to the screenings are available for free at fsai2020.eventbrite.com. (gis/kes)
KUTZTOWN, PA / ACCESSWIRE / January 27, 2020 / With a strong vision to succeed and aid others in their pathway to success, Androw Narouz is a 21-year-old born in Alexandria, Egypt. Initially, He was enduring his College course in Pennsylvania whilst also amassing a large student debt. He didn't feel comfortable with the accumulated debt, knowing that as it stands, he would be paying this off for the rest of his life. This, of course, sounded bleak to Androw, who knew there was a lot more to life than switching between minimum wage work simply to survive. After having his eyes opened to the potential to earn trading on the Foreign Exchange market, He was mentally invested.

Early Experience

After learning how to trade and transforming $2,000 into $80,000 (which was enough to comfortably pay off his college tuition fees), he became infatuated with the industry and wanted to provide more for the community. Due to this, he teamed up with a partner to start a company (that won't be named) which sold forex signals for $100 a month. Androw was responsible for providing profitable signals to the community, while his partner dealt with the marketing side. This allowed him to educate on the topic and truly benefit the lives of his customers, all whilst unpaid due to payment issues on behalf of his partner. Unfortunately, this came to an end when he worked for three months with no pay and woke up to notice he had been locked out of the community and blocked from all social media, meanwhile his partner was jetting off to Costa Rica with all of his money, $30,000 to be precise. This left Androw with little but $100 to his name, however, he is not one to dig his head in the Costa Rican sand similar to his ex-partner. This only spurred his on to embark on a journey of his own- create a revolutionary interface that would allow individuals to become independent in trading the financial markets.



A New Beginning

What he realized, and what many people in the industry also realize, is that there is a severe lack of legitimacy. Varying from courses that simply regurgitate free online information, to signal providers who are professional and supportive until they have your money- at which point they feel they no longer need to provide quality educational information. There was a clear gap in the market here- which was recognized by Androw, as he established Forex Blade LLC in 2017. This company was designed from the beginning to employ credibility and trust back into the currently skeptical industry that is forex. Through fifteen-hour days, severe concentration and dedication, Forex Blade LLC has been able to offer a unique product that genuinely benefits all of its members and is now playing a completely different ball game to all competitors.



Artificial Intelligence Takes on Forex

It all began with an expert advisor (EA) that he created which customers connected to their account and simply sat back to reap the profits. The EA would trade 24/5, allowing for no stress weekends that everyone desires deep down. The safest method allowed for returns of 5-20% monthly, which is considerably more than any offer of interest attainable from a bank. This is the recommended setting however for higher gains there are two other modes. After receiving the five-star feedback from his services, He felt inspired, but he also felt like his skills and knowledge base could allow him to provide a lot more for his community. Being a firm believer in "What you give, is what you get", he began two projects which would completely transform his students from novices to elite traders. The first project was an upgraded version of the automated EA. Over a 3-year period, He created an expert advisor which runs using Artificial Intelligence. It was extremely difficult for him to acquire a programmer who had the expertise and elegance to make his vision come true, due to its complexity. As the A.I was making progress on its completion, he began the most important project in his opinion, which is Forex Blade University.



Building an Empire

ForexBlade University was released in late 2019 and boasts an extensive selection of educational videos, quizzes, and PDFs. The course begins with a short introduction before moving on to the beginner level which includes everything you need to know before taking the leap into the Forex Market, followed by a short quiz. After familiarizing yourself with the FX market, you would then be fully equipped to enter the intermediate level, which would educate you all about the most important things you should know when opening an account with a broker, ranging from important considerations which will ensure your money's safety, to exactly how to deposit your money into the account. Throughout each video, Androw portrayed an exceptional way of condensing each segment of information into an easy to understand format. Expert level, where things get really exciting, is no different in its quality and depth, yet also simplicity. This section begins with a rundown on the mentality required to function at an expert level, an exceptionally important component when attempting to achieve consistency in such a volatile market. Following this, all of the necessary and advanced methods of chart work are lectured in a unique fashion.



How To Get Started Trading Forex in 2020?

The course is rife with expert information, to seriously put you ahead of all other retail traders. Examples of this would be the best-selling Forex books and even a comprehensive selection of videos that display just how profitable the given strategy is. Not to mention the "Become a Millionaire" section which is too valuable and exclusive to speak of here. This is where it's at. You will not learn the content of this quality anywhere else, and definitely not for the price which is being asked. As well as all of the aforementioned content, after purchase, you will be added to a private Discord chat channel. This is exclusive and it cannot be glossed over how beneficial this is to growth. Being in an exclusive channel with other people of varying abilities, however all on the same journey really does promote reflection, and ultimately growth. It's going to be extremely interesting watching such a young man absolutely transform the Forex Industry and help all of his students in 2020.

Story continues

Contact Details

Name: Androw Narouz

Company Name: Forex Blade LLC

Email: Customerservice@forex-blade.com

website: https://www.forex-blade.com/

SOURCE: Forex Blade LLC





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/574166/Trading-Forex-in-2020-has-never-been-easier




'The Red Sea Diving Resort' Netflix movie tells the story of the sham Mossad resort in Sudan

A 'sham' diving resort set up in the Red Sea by Israel's secret service in the 1980s later became a temporary headquarters for Osama bin Laden, it can be revealed.

The extraordinary link between Mossad and the world's most famous terrorist emerged after a Netflix blockbuster, starring Ben Kingsley, told the first part of the story.

Mossad ran the isolated 'holiday camp' as a front to help smuggle Ethiopian Jews out of eastern Africa, with secret agents posing as receptionists and diving instructors to spirit people across the Ethiopian border to Sudan.

The daring operation, which saved at least 7,000 Jews over five years, inspired the film 'The Red Sea Resort' which was screened last year.

Now a book by the BBC's Raffi Berg reveals how Al Qaeda chief bin Laden hid out there for two weeks in 1991  after the Israelis did a midnight flit in 1985.

The terrorist spent several years living in Sudan, growing his businesses and masterminding his global terrorist network.

The fake Red Sea resort with 15 idyllic villas (pictured in 2005) - holding 60 holidaymakers - sprang up in 1981 in Arous, Sudan, on the orders of Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin

A brochure of the resort printed by Mossad shows all the activities on offer at the Red Sea holiday village as it became popular with wealthy foreign tourists in the early 1980s

Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin wanted the resort set up by a network of spies to get Jews out of Ethiopia in the grip of a civil war that had claimed the lives of 1.4 million people

By day, secret Mossad agents like the one pictured posed as diving instructors and resort staff waiting on guests, but by night they drove trucks in Sudan to rescue stricken Jews

The Nextflix blockbuster starring Ben Kingsley and Captain America star Chris Evans (above) brings to life the incredible operation over five years to repatriate 7,000 Jews to Israel

Speaking to MailOnline Berg said: 'After the Israelis had long gone, a member of a wealthy family in Khartoum, who invested in the resort confirmed that Bin Laden had stayed there.

'At the time he had been kicked out of Saudi Arabia for criticising the government over its links to the US and he needed refuge.

Bizarrely, five years after the Mossad left, Osama bin Laden made it his temporary HQ

'Sudan, being so hard up, welcomed the wealthy young Bin Laden with open arms without having any idea of his terrorist intentions.

'No one knows what he got up to in the resort, but it's an isolated site so he would have gone unnoticed.

'The fact he moved in to a secret base once used by Mossad only adds to the intrigue.'

The Netflix film tells how the mysterious holiday village sprang up in Arous in 1981.

With 15 idyllic villas offering exquisite ocean views and a team of dive instructors, it looked like any other exclusive Red Sea holiday camp.

But the staff were really Mossad agents sent in on the orders of Israel Prime Minister Menachem Begin to get Jews out of Ethiopia, which was in the grip of a civil war that had claimed the lives of 1.4million people.

Tens of thousands of refugees fled to neighbouring Sudan, where they languished in squalid camps and slums.

Guests (pictured there during the early 1980s) were completely oblivious to the fact that they were in fact being waited on by Israeli spies

Holidaymakers pose at the height of the operation in front of the red sea with their 'diving instructors (far right) who were really secret service intelligence operatives

Mossad agents enjoy breakfast at the sham village, which grew in popularity at the time and hosted a unit of Egyptian soldiers, British SAS men and a number of dignitaries and diplomats

A Mossad agent stands in front of a bedroom with the number '13' and a trident symbol on the door - which are both cryptic allusions to the Israeli naval commando unit

Among them were members of a mysterious Jewish sect called Beta Israel, which had long ago become isolated from the mainstream Jewish world.

When the Israeli prime minister, Menachem Begin, heard of their plight, he ordered his spies to evacuate as many as possible.

At the time, Sudan was an enemy of the Jewish state, meaning agents had to work undercover.

The Arous holiday village operated as a real dive resort for years to hide its secret mission

Led by an operative known as Dani, played in the Netflix film by Captain America actor Chris Evans, they employed local cleaning and restaurant staff but the secret agents ran the resort themselves, posing as diving instructors and receptionists.

By day the Mossad agents taught holidaymakers to dive. By night they drove to refugee camps in Sudan and picked up Beta Jews and transported them to the coast under cover of darkness, avoiding roadblocks.

From there they were loaded onto dinghies waiting in the Red Sea and taken to Israeli ship the INS Bat Galim which was anchored offshore - and sailed to Israel.

Never before seen photos show the agents at work at the resort, posing with guests and teaching them diving as a cover for the audacious assignment.

A Toyota pick up truck with diving gear in the back gives the impression of a real dive school

Ethiopian refugees were rescued from camps in Sudan and loaded onto dinghies (above)

A Mossad agent poses in front of a jeep full of Ethiopian refugees taken from Sudanese camps

The Israeli ship INS Bat Galim (pictured) was anchored offshore from the Arous resort was filled with refugees who were then sailed home to the Jewish state

The team was led by an operative known as Dani seen in this picture (left) with Tourism Corporation director Mohammed Mahgoub, who leased the village to them

Dani, played in the Netflix film by Captain America actor Chris Evans, larks about at the holiday resort at Christmas 1982 during their secret mission

An Israeli navy seal takes an Ethiopian Jewish boy smuggled out by Mossad agents at Arous

Over the years, the fake resort grew in popularity. Holidaymakers included a unit of Egyptian soldiers, some British SAS men and a number of dignitaries and diplomats.

None had any idea that they were being waited on by undercover Israeli operatives.

The rescue operation was a huge success as the Mossad smuggled 7,054 Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

In 1985, a coup in Sudan made the Israeli agents fear getting caught and they quickly abandoned the Arous facility.

Ethiopian Jews who had fled the country's civil war and crossed the border into Sudan were picked up by Mossad agents in trucks and put on dinghies in the Red Sea. From there they were taken to INS Bat Galim which was anchored offshore - and sailed to Israel

The spies vanished during the night, leaving bewildered holidaymakers and staff to wonder where they had gone the next morning.

Six years after the Israelis left, bin Laden moved into the resort having been expelled from Saudi Arabia for his views of the government's relationship with the US.

Back then, the 9/11 mastermind's burgeoning terror credentials were not fully known as Sudan, Africa's poorest country, welcomed the wealthy young man worth 200million to invest in its struggling economy.

The extraordinary story of how Ethiopian Jews were rescued over five years has been brought to life by the Netflix blockbuster starring Evans, Haley Bennett and Michiel Huisman (above)

Actor Ben Kingsley also appears in the gripping drama, although the new detail about bin Laden's two-week stay at the camp has only recently come to light in a new book by Raffi Berg

Bin Laden's presence in the country was of immense financial benefit to Sudan.

He founded several construction and farming businesses but at the same time he built his Al Qaeda terror network and issued fatwas against the US.

After his stay at Arous, the terrorist leader bought a house in Khartoum and a farm in Soba, on the banks of the Blue Nile, where he stayed with his four wives, horses and many children.

'Red Sea Spies' by Raffi Berg (Icon Books) is available to purchase from bookstores or online.
Kirk Douglas and his wife Anne being met by Tony Curtis, (left) on their arrival at London Airport from Paris in 1957. Photo: PA Wire

"I must hurry," Kirk Douglas wrote in the foreword to his autobiography, 'The Ragman's Son'. He was concerned about his life ebbing away before "all the pieces of the mosaic" were set down in print.

That was in 1988. Douglas's acting career was almost completely behind him, but who could have guessed how many decades of retirement he'd still live out? His longevity as a man even rivalled his iconic status as a bootstrappy tough-guy superstar who showed Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s that he could also be smart, both in his business acumen and artistic taste.

After that book came out, Douglas found the time to publish nine subsequent tomes - some of them fiction, two of them responses to very different near-death experiences. In 1991, he was in a helicopter which crashed into a small plane in Southern California, killing two of his fellow passengers.

And in 1996 he suffered a debilitating stroke, which left his ability to speak in grave doubt. He proved the doctors wrong after months of therapy, and turned his energies eventually to writing a self-help manual, 'My Stroke of Luck'.

These were the last slings and arrows in a remarkable fighter's life, like the last bouts won by his boxer hero Mitch Kelly in 1949's 'Champion', before a haemorrhage claimed him at the end. Douglas's physique was key to the success of this low-budget smash, and to many of his other roles - before acting, he was a stand-out wrestler at university, where he won the respect of peers who had shunned him because of his Jewish blood.

Anti-Semitism haunted the early part of his career, especially after he got a start at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and changed his name, from Issur Danielovitch, the son of an illiterate Russian-Jewish rag peddler, to Kirk Douglas.

Douglas's progress to the A-list was a form of revenge against this bigotry as, in its way, was his legendary profligacy with women in Hollywood - he had a colourful story about a date with Joan Crawford becoming an instant turn-off when she complimented him on clean armpits.

By the time he was playing a "genius" producer and golden boy in Vincente Minnelli's Tinseltown melodrama 'The Bad and the Beautiful' (1952), he'd risen proudly to the top and would take no more insults from anyone.

Expand Close Michael Douglas kisses his film legend father during a photo session in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello / Facebook

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Whatsapp Michael Douglas kisses his film legend father during a photo session in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

With his compact, classical body shape, Douglas was born to play his most iconic role, as the slave-gladiator-rebel 'Spartacus', but he brought more to such projects than mere brawn.

His loathing of bullies - launched, no doubt, by those racial slurs as well as the physical abuse he suffered from an uncaring, alcoholic father - translated itself into a staunch liberal mindset which came to dictate his choice of scripts.

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And screenwriters. He famously helped dissolve the blacklist against communist scribes in the late 1950s, not only by hiring the non-grata Dalton Trumbo to rewrite Howard Fast's 'Spartacus' script, but then by resolving to give him an on-screen credit, rather than the noms de plumes he'd recently become accustomed to.

Douglas's vision of his own career got ever steelier and more determined as he went along. He saw Stanley Kubrick's 'The Killing' and expressed interest in whatever he was next going to do. It was his clout as a producer and star that got Kubrick's bitter WWI lament 'Paths of Glory' (1957) into production, and then Douglas who made the tough choice to replace Anthony Mann, the Universal-designated 'Spartacus' director, with Kubrick after two weeks' shooting.

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His clashes with directors - Kubrick included, whom he described as "a talented shit" - were quite legendary, and gave him the reputation in Hollywood of being hard to handle.

But he didn't forget people: conscious that he still owed Mann a film, he was more than happy to sign on combating Nazis for him in 'The Heroes of Telemark' (1965).

Douglas never won an Oscar but had several near-misses. He was the heavy favourite to win for his fervent portrait of Vincent Van Gogh in Minnelli's 'Lust for Life' (1956) - a role into which he'd plunged so intensely that it took a significant psychological toll but probably produced his career-best performance.

On the night, with everyone telling him he was a dead cert, he had to watch Yul Brynner steal his glory for 'The King and I'. Earlier, despite a great experience with Billy Wilder on 'Ace in the Hole' (1951), he turned down the role in 'Stalag 17' (1953) for which William Holden would then win Best Actor. ("I was dumb.")

The great passion project of his later career was getting a film version of 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' off the ground, having originated the part of McMurphy on Broadway in 1963.

The play and his performance got hostile reviews, but he knew the book's film potential, and touted it around studios for a decade.

In the end, his son Michael took over the reins as producer. By the time Milos Forman's 1975 film came together, Kirk, at nearly 60, was deemed too old to reprise his dream role and Jack Nicholson took it over.

Dozens of parts still awaited him, often in macho genre fare - he directed a pirate flick (1973's 'Scalawag') and a western (1975's 'Posse'), and flaunted those action chops in pulp sci-fi such as 'The Fury' (1978) for Brian De Palma, and Stanley Donen's 'Saturn 3' (1980). It must have been a proud if bittersweet sensation to watch Michael's career as a multiple Oscar-winning actor-producer take off during that same period.

After nearly 60 years of wedlock - he married his second wife, Anne Buydens, in 1954 - he still claimed to have one of Hollywood's happiest marriages. "If cheating husbands admitted what was going on and apologised, their wives would be more willing to forgive and forget," he explained reassuringly.

And after years of ignoring his religion, he went through a traditional bar mitzvah for the second time at the age of 84.

Douglas was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honour, by President Jimmy Carter, and more recently he was appointed to the Legion d'honneur.

Kirk was the one who came from nothing and made all this possible by gritting his teeth - a pugilist star proving his mettle, for a century, against anyone who ever doubted it. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Kirk Douglas is survived by his wife Anne and three sons: Michael, the actor, and the producers Joel and Peter; another son, Eric, died in 2004 of a drugs overdose. Kirk Douglas, born December 9, 1916, died February 5, 2020

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Global Heart Rate Monitoring Devices Market is projected to garner colossal accruals by 2023, posting over 13.50% CAGR throughout the review period (2017-2023). Cases of heart diseases and cardiac disorders are increasing at an alarming rate. Despite the availability of several procedures and innovative therapies, these diseases are becoming a paramount concern, rising continuously. Such factors are increasing the size of the heart rate monitoring devices market on a global platform.

The heart rate monitoring devices market is growing pervasively over the past few years. Trends such as the increasing adoption of wearable fitness devices and trackers act as a significant driving force for the market growth. Moreover, the augmenting demand for devices that can display the real-time heartbeats accelerates the growth of the heart rate monitoring devices market, hugely. Cumulatively led by such developments, the market is growing fiercely.

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Moreover, the spreading awareness for heart health and the prevention of various cardiovascular diseases across the globe are increasing the demand in the wearable heart monitoring devices market. Additionally, the increasing awareness about obesity-related disorders and diabetes, alongside the changing lifestyle, is creating a massive demand for fitness trackers. Resultantly, the global heart rate monitoring devices market is estimated to create a larger revenue pocket over the assessment period.

Conversely, the high cost of these heart rate monitoring devices, along with the stringent regulatory formats and non-reimbursement policies, are acting as major growth impeder for the market, especially in the under-developed regions. Nevertheless, the availability of various futuristic heart rate monitors would support the expansion of the market throughout the forecast period. Besides, growing technological advances in heart care would boost market growth.

Heart rate monitoring devices market segmentation

Heart rate monitoring devices market is segmented by Type Non-Wearable Devices (Analogue, Digital, others), Wearable Devices (Wrist Strap, Chest Strap, Strapless, others), and others.

Heart rate monitoring devices market is segmented by Indication Sports, Medical, and others.

Heart rate monitoring devices market is segmented by End-users Sport Medicine Centers, Hospital & Clinics, Professionals, Individuals, and others.

Heart rate monitoring devices market is segmented by Regions Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and Rest-of-the-World.

Heart rate monitoring devices market Geographical Analysis

North America accounts for the leading region in the global heart rate monitors. The largest market share attributes to the huge technological advances and the large presence of major players and fitness enthusiasts. Besides, factors fuelling the market growth include the increasing prevalence of heart-related diseases & disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and others, rising obesity issues that lead to hampering the heart health, and the growing geriatric population.

The region witnesses a continual rise in the growing number of patients suffering from major/minor heart issues. Additionally, increasing government initiatives & funding support for R&D and the augmenting demand for advanced wearable & wireless-enabled heart monitoring devices, substantiate the market growth. Moreover, rapid developments in advanced medical treatment options and increasing emphasis on healthcare foster the growth of the North American heart rate monitoring devices market.

Europe stands second in the global heart rate monitoring devices market. Factors such as the increasing healthcare expenditure, availability of advanced treatment facilities, and government initiatives influence the regional market growth. Also, the presence of key players and well-developed technology pushes the market growth in the region.

Furthermore, increasing funding by the governments for the development and improvements of heart rate monitoring devices fuel the growth of the regional market. With the increasing number of cardiovascular issues becoming paramount concerns, the heart rate monitoring devices market in the European region is projected to register an impressive CAGR during the review period.

The Asia Pacific heart rate monitoring market is rapidly emerging as a profitable market. Factors such as the increasing number of aging populaces and the rising prevalence of cardiac disorders create enormous market demand. The market growth is majorly led by the prevailing occurrences of cardiovascular diseases that are growing at an alarming rate in the region.

Simultaneously, the faster adoption of healthcare technology, government initiatives to improve the quality of healthcare, favorable insurance, and reimbursement policies are fostering the growth of the heart rate monitoring devices market in this region. International key players are increasingly setting up their manufacturing plants in some of the APAC countries such as China, Japan, Singapore, Australia, and Korea, which, as a result, increases the worth of the APAC heart rate monitors market.

Heart rate monitoring devices market competitive analysis

Fiercely competitive, the heart rate monitoring devices market appears to be fragmented with many large and small-scale players, forming a competitive landscape. These players churn the market competition by incorporating strategic initiatives such as mergers & acquisitions, collaborations, expansion, and technology launch. Also, they make significant investments in R&D and clinical trials. The market demonstrates considerable growth potential, which further intensifies the competition by attracting several new entrants.

Heart rate monitoring devices market key players:

Players driving the global heart rate monitoring devices market include Garmin Ltd. (US), Visiomed Group (France), Apple (US), Nike (US), Fitbit Inc. (US), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (South Korea), Beurer GmbH (Germany), Omron Healthcare (Japan), Mio Global (South Korea), Nu-Beca & Maxcellent co. (Taiwan), Polar Electro (Finland), LG Electronics (South Korea), Motorola Solutions, Inc. (US), Sony (Japan), TomTom International BV (The Netherlands), Wahoo Fitness (US), Moov Inc. (US), MYZONE (US), Bragi (Germany), Jabra (Germany), Nokia (Finland), Scosche Industries. (US), SUUNTO (Finland), and Decathlon (France), among others.

Heart rate monitoring devices industry

Fitbit, Inc. (the US), a leading maker of activity trackers and wireless-enabled wearable technology devices, announced that it would be acquired by the technology giant  Google Inc. (the US), in a deal that values the smartwatch maker at roughly USD 2.1 MN. In January 2019, the Alphabets health division got the FDA clearance to test the EKG smartwatch feature, which drove quite a stride in heart rate monitor watch market.

Fitbits product rage includes activity trackers and wireless-enabled wearable technology devices that measure data such as heart rate, steps climbed, and other personal metrics involved in fitness. The acquisition positions Alphabet, Googles parent company, in a race against Apple when it comes to tracking fitness and health data. Post to the announcements, Fitbits stock had surged by 30 %. The deal is expected to close in 2020

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TUSCOLA COUNTY  Last weekend a vigilante video came to light that quickly spurred an investigation and subsequent arrest of a person believed to be a sexual predator. However, Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene said the work is just beginning.

The video, which went live on YouTube Feb. 2, showed a meet-up the day prior between Caro resident Jeffery Lloyd Bader, 47, and a person Bader believed to be a 14-year-old boy. The video showed partial chat transcripts between Bader and the vigilante, who had claimed to be a child.

After establishing interests, the individuals talking in the transcripts agreed to meet in Bay City at the YMCA, where the older man agreed to pick up the teenager. The older man included a description of his vehicle and where he would be parked.

Following the transcripts, the video continues by showing the vigilante walking to the agreed upon location outside the YMCA, where he opened the rear passenger door of the mans car and proceeded to converse with the man.

I am actually recording this right now for your safety and mine, the person recording the video said. I dont know Who were you coming here to meet today? How old was the boy?

Well people lie, so I dont always know, the older man replied.

After being prompted again by the person recording, the man states that he was meeting someone who stated they were 14-years-old.

Police officers where able to execute search warrants Feb. 2 and seize several items to be analyzed by investigators. However, Reene said coordination between the videographer and law enforcement could have helped the situation.

It presents multiple challenges, Reene said. What you are looking for is law enforcement's involvement sooner, as opposed to later. We have a case study from our county from last year that directly addresses the issue when its done that way, as opposed to this manner.

In the previous case, Reene said law enforcement was involved before the meet up between the suspect and the person the suspect believed to be a minor child.

They were able to apprehend the person, seize all evidence and prevented the person from being able to destroy evidence, Reene said. That makes a world of difference.

In the case with Bader, the situation was more complicated because the vigilante videographer didnt notify law enforcement, so there was a period of time between the meeting and the arrest that wasnt managed.

It may be very well-intended, but if the ultimate objective is to be sure we are stopping this person from engaging in the behavior they are, because of the dangers it brings to minors, then managing the case in the best manner possible leads us to that outcome, Reene said.

Reene said in this case, there was a catch-up that his office and law enforcement officials had to make, which can negatively effect the outcome of the case.

If the story is 12 chapters, we were jumping in at chapter six, he said. That is not were we want to be from a law enforcement perspective.

Reene said in addition to the effects on the case, meeting a suspect without law enforcements involvement could put people at risk.

They are posing as someone they arent and they are making contact with someone they dont know, he said. If the person has a record, or they may perceive their life is over, so who is more desperate? We are concerned about the well-being of individuals who are trying to help and trying to gather information.

Reene said there is a process and following the process not only maintains the integrity of the case, but also keeps the public safe. The preferred alternative in this situation would have been for the videographer to reach out to law enforcement to allow adequate coordination.

Because a case of this nature involves electronic evidence, Reene said evidence needs to be seized early on to prevent alteration or deletion. In this case, Bader presumably had up to 24 hours between the meet and when law enforcement caught up to him.

Fortunately, Reene said immediately after learning of the video his office and the Caro Police Department moved on the information.

There were conversations between the on-call prosecutor, myself and the police chief immediately, he said. We figured out what needs to happen and that it needed to happen now. However, we were chasing after something that we could have been in front of, and that is always the better posture.

Despite the challenges, Reene said he is thankful that the department received the information and was able to take action.

Reene said the most important thing for the public to keep in mind is the need to come forward with any concerns or information, not only about the Bader case, but other situations as well.

Our concern is that this is the tip of the iceberg, he said. If people have information, we are asking them to get ahold of the Caro PD. If they are not comfortable providing information on the record, they can report through OK2SAY, which can be done anonymously and can be utilized. We want all the information that can be obtained.

In the Bader case, Reene believes it is likely this wasnt his first transgression and because he had contact with youth for many years as a pastor, there is a possibility of more information coming to light.

There are concerns about where he has worked, who he has been associated with, the affiliations he has and he had a lot of contact with youth, he said. At this time, there is no way to know but common sense says you arent getting caught the first time you get involved with this type of behavior.

Bader's LinkedIn profile listed him as a chaplain and activities director at Lighthouse Neurological, however, Lighthouse Clinical Director Connie Hart said Bader has not been affiliated with the organization for several years.

Currently Bader is lodged in the Tuscola County Jail on one felony count of using a computer to commit a crime and one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes. However, Reene said the investigation is ongoing and there is a possibility for additional charges to be assigned.

Bader was arraigned Feb. 4 and bond was set at $20,000 cash/surety 10%. A probable cause/pre-preliminary exam has been scheduled for Feb. 12 at 9:30 a.m. and a preliminary examination Feb. 19 at 9 a.m.

The case is being worked on by the Caro Police Department and the Tuscola County Sheriffs Office, which Reene said has a detective specially trained on collecting and analyzing electronic evidence.

He has been involved since the first day, he said. That detective continues to work on things. Electronic evidence has gotten more complicated over time because of a variety of security measures, which complicate law enforcements efforts. You have to be able to analyze this in fairly short order because what you are obtaining through an electronic device takes you to something else and it will corroborate what was suspected initially.

If people have information regarding this case or about another individual, Reene asked they contact Caro PD at 989-673-2402 or OK2SAY at 8-555-OK2SAY or Michigan.gov/ok2say.
The coronavirus scare is piling on the woes for the travel industry as Koreans shun not only China but Southeast Asia as well.

Airlines are suspending or curtailing flights after visitors to Thailand and Singapore apparently became infected there. Southeast Asia accounts for more than 60 percent of winter travel demand. At one travel agency, 30 percent of bookings to the region have been canceled and worse is to come.

The situation is so bad now that fears are mounting of a domino effect of bankruptcies to come. One staffer at a tour agency said, "The situation is far worse than in January."

Travel agencies are downsizing and telling staff to take unpaid leaves. "Many travel agencies can't stay afloat with earnings already battered by last year's boycott of Japan," one industry insider said. "There are increasing fears of a raft of bankruptcies not only among small travel agencies but even big ones."


English French

New financing will enable the Company to extend its cash runway to the end of Q2 2021

Capital raised at the closing price of February 6, 2020 without discount

Capital increase subscribed by BVF Partners L.P., New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Novo Holdings A/S, and Sofinnova Partners



Daix (France), February 7, 2020  Inventiva (Euronext: IVA), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of diseases in the areas of fibrosis, lysosomal storage disorders and oncology, today announced the successful completion of a capital increase of 15 million subscribed by some of its current key shareholders, BVF Partners L.P., NEA, Novo Holdings A/S and Sofinnova Partners. The capital increase was executed at the closing price of February 6, 2020 without discount.





Frederic Cren, Chairman, CEO and cofounder of Inventiva, commented: We are very pleased with the success of this capital increase, carried out at market price, which enables us to extend our cash runway until the end of the second quarter of 2021. This transaction comes after a second half of 2019 that was very rich in clinical advances for Inventiva, with the completion of patient enrollment in our Phase IIb clinical study with lanifibranor in NASH, positive results from the Phase IIa clinical study with odiparcil in MPS VI and the earlier than expected launch of the clinical study with ABB-157 in psoriasis patients by our partner AbbVie. Thanks to the renewed confidence of our principal investors, BVF Partners L.P., NEA, Novo Holdings A/S and Sofinnova Partners, and this just a few months before the results of our clinical study in NASH, we enter the year 2020 with great confidence and with the financial means to continue the clinical development of lanifibranor and odiparcil, our two key drug candidates. 



Reasons for the issuance and use of the proceeds

Gross proceeds from the transaction amount to 15 million. They will complete the current financial ressources of the Company and will primarily contribute to finance:

the completion of the NATIVE Phase IIb clinical study evaluating lanifibranor in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and the preparatory workfor the launch of the Phase III;

the continuation of the clinical development of odiparcil in the treatment of mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI), including the launch of the SAFE-KIDDS Phase I/II clinical study in children;

the continuation of the YAP TEAD program in oncology until the selection of a drug candidate.





Inventiva considers that this capital increase will enable the Company to extend its cash runway from the middle of the first quarter of 2021 to the end of the second quarter of 2021.



Key upcoming milestones

Presentation of the results of the iMProveS Phase IIa clinical study evaluating odiparcil in the treatment of MPS VI at the 16 th Annual WORLDSymposium TM , Orlando, February 12, 2020;

Annual WORLDSymposium , Orlando, February 12, 2020; Publication of the results of the NATIVE Phase IIb clinical study evaluating lanifibranor in the treatment of NASH, first half of 2020;

Launch of the Phase I/II SAFE-KIDDS pediatric clinical study in MPS VI, planned for the end of the year.



Key characteristics of the share capital increase

Inventiva's Board of Directors, by virtue of the powers granted to it by the 5th resolution of the shareholders general meeting of January 18, 2019 (capital increase without the exercise of preemptive subscription rights in favor of categories of persons with specific characteristics) and in accordance with articles L. 225-138 of the French Commercial code (Code de commerce), has decided today to complete a capital increase of 15 million, by the issuance of 3,778,338 new shares with a nominal value of 0.01 each (the "New Shares") for a subscription price of 3.97 each (including premium) (the "Capital Increase").

BVF Partners L.P., NEA, Novo Holdings A/S and Sofinnova Partners, existing shareholders of Inventiva and specialized in the health and biotechnologies sector, renewed their trust and participated in the capital increase, further strengthening the Company's shareholding structure.

Lucy Lu, permanent representative of Sofinnova, also member of the Board of Directors, abstained from voting on today's Board decision.

The subscription price is set at 3.97 equal to the closing price of February 6, 2020, represents a premium of 0.23% to the volume weighted average price of the Companys shares on the regulated market of Euronext Paris during the trading session of February 6, 2020, pursuant to the 5th resolution of the shareholders' general meeting held on January 18, 2019.

Following the settlement and delivery expected to occur on February 11, 2020, Inventiva's share capital will amount to 306,877.50 divided into 30 687 750 shares. The New Shares will be fungible with the existing shares of the Company and will be admitted to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris under ISIN FR0013233012.

Application will be made to list the new ordinary shares to be issued pursuant to this capital increase on the regulated market of Euronext Paris pursuant to a listing prospectus subject to the approval by the Autorite des Marches Financiers ("AMF") and comprising (i) the universal registration document which will be filed with the AMF on February 7, 2020 and (ii) a Securities Note, containing (iii) a summary of the prospectus. As from the filing of the universal registration document with the AMF, copies of the universal registration document will be available for free at the Company's head office. The listing prospectus will be published on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org).



Impact of the issuance on the share capital

The issuance of the New Shares represent 12% of the share capital of the Company after the Capital Increase. On an illustrative basis, a shareholder holding 1% of the Companys share capital before the transaction will now hold 0.88% after the transaction.



Allocation of the share capital following the Capital Increase

The reader's attention is drawn to section 9.2 "Impact of the issuance on the situation of the shareholder" of the Securities note to be approved by the AMF today and in which the ownership of the main shareholders before and after the completion of the Capital Increase appears.



Information available to the public and risk factors

Detailed information on the Company, in particular relating to its business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects, as well as risk factors related thereto, are included in the 2018 registration document of the Company registered with the AMF on 12 April 2019 under number R. 19-006 and that will be updated by the universal registration document of the Company. The 2018 registration document, together with other regulated information and all of the Company's press releases, can be found on its website (www.inventivapharma.com) and/or on the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org). As from 7 February 2020, the universal registration document will also be found on the Company's website (www.inventivapharma.com) and/or the AMF's website (www.amf-france.org). The public's attention is drawn to the risk factors relating to the Company and its activity, presented in section 2 of the 2018 registration document, as updated by the universal registration document. The listing prospectus subject to the approval of the AMF will also contain the risk factors which may affect the Company's activities. If one or more of such risks were to materialize, this could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of the Company or on its ability to meet its targets.

This press release does not constitute a prospectus under the Prospectus Regulation (as defined below) or an offer of securities to the public.





About Inventiva

Inventiva is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of oral small molecule therapies for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical needs in the areas of fibrosis, lysosomal storage disorders and oncology.

Leveraging its significant expertise and experience in the domain of compounds targeting nuclear receptors, transcription factors and epigenetic modulation, Inventiva is currently advancing two clinical candidates  lanifibranor and odiparcil  in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS), respectively, as well as a deep pipeline of earlier stage programs.

Lanifibranor, its lead product candidate, is being developed for the treatment of patients with NASH, a common and progressive chronic liver disease. Inventiva is currently evaluating lanifibranor in a Phase IIb clinical trial for the treatment of this disease for which there are currently no approved therapies.

Inventiva is also developing odiparcil, a second clinical stage asset, for the treatment of patients with MPS, a group of rare genetic disorders. A Phase I/II clinical trial in children with MPS VI is currently under preparation following the positive results of the Phase IIa clinical trial in adult MPS VI patients published at the end of 2019.

In parallel, Inventiva is in the process of selecting an oncology development candidate for its Hippo signalling pathway program. Furthermore, the Company has established a strategic partnership with AbbVie in the area of autoimmune diseases. AbbVie has started the clinical development phase of ABBV157, a drug candidate for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis resulting from its collaboration with Inventiva. This collaboration entitles Inventiva to receive milestone payments upon the achievement of pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial objectives, in addition to royalties on any approved products resulting from this partnership.

The Company has a scientific team of approximately 70 people with deep expertise in the fields of biology, medicinal and computational chemistry, pharmacokinetics and pharmacology a well as in clinical development. It also owns an extensive chemical library of approximately 240,000 pharmacologically relevant molecules, around 60% of which are proprietary, as well as a whollyowned research and development facility.

Inventiva is a public company listed on compartment C of the regulated market of Euronext Paris (Euronext: IVA  ISIN: FR0013233012). www.inventivapharma.com



Contacts

Inventiva

Frederic Cren

Chairman & CEO

info@inventivapharma.com

+33 3 80 44 75 00

Brunswick Group

Yannick Tetzlaff / Tristan Roquet Montegon /

Aude Lepreux

Media relations

inventiva@brunswickgroup.com

+33 1 53 96 83 83



Disclaimer

This announcement and the information contained herein do not constitute either an offer to sell or purchase, or the solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, securities of Inventiva (the Company).

No communication or information in respect of the offering by the Company of its shares may be distributed to the public in any jurisdiction where registration or approval is required. No steps have been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction where such steps would be required. The offering or subscription of shares may be subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. The Company takes no responsibility for any violation of any such restrictions by any person.

This announcement does not, and shall not, in any circumstances, constitute a public offering, a sale offer nor an invitation to the public in connection with any offer. The distribution of this document may be restricted by law in certain jurisdictions. Persons into whose possession this document comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

This announcement is an advertisement and not a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation (as defined below), as implemented in each member State of the European Economic Area.

With respect to the Member States of the European Economic Area (including France) (the Member States), no action has been or will be undertaken to make an offer to the public of the securities referred to herein requiring a publication of a prospectus in any Member State. As a result, the securities of the Company may not and will not be offered in any Member State except in accordance with the exemptions set forth in Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, or under any other circumstances which do not require the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 1 of the Prospectus Regulation and/or to applicable regulations of that relevant Member State.

For the purposes of the provision above, the expression offer to the public in relation to any shares of the Company in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase any securities, as the same may be varied in that Member State. The expression Prospectus Regulation means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, and includes any relevant implementing measure in the Member State.

This document does not constitute an offer to the public in France and the securities referred to in this document can only be offered or sold in France pursuant to Article L. 411-2-II of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code monetaire et financier) to qualified investors (investisseurs qualifies) acting for their own account, as defined in the Prospectus Regulation. In addition, in accordance with the autorization granted by the general meeting of the Companys shareholders dated January 18, 2019, only the persons pertaining to the categories specified in the 5th resolution of such general meeting may subscribe to the offering.

This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States. This document does not constitute an offer of securities for sale nor the solicitation of an offer to purchase securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction where such offer may be restricted. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). The securities of the Company have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, and the Company does not intend to make a public offering of its securities in the United States.

The distribution of this document (which term shall include any form of communication) is restricted pursuant to Section 21 (Restrictions on "financial promotion") of Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FMSA). This document is only being distributed to and directed at persons who (i) are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and who fall within the definition of investment professionals in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended) (the Financial Promotion Order), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Financial Promotion Order or (iv) are persons to whom this communication may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons referred to in (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) above together being referred to as Relevant Persons). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to Relevant Persons, and will be engaged in only with such persons in the United Kingdom.

This document may not be distributed, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan.

Attachment
Global denim brand Lee Jeans has announced its launching a range of fully biodegradable jeans.

Items in the Back to Nature collection are made using entirely compostable linen-cotton yarns, and no rivets, so that when the garment is no longer needed, the buttons can be unscrewed for re-use and the rest is just thrown into the compost, where it will biodegrade and the complete garment will return to the Earth.

Clever.

The collection comprises four pieces, the brands classic Rider jacket and Rider jeans for men, and a belted version of the Rider jacket and wide-leg jeans for women. The fabric mix is 85 per cent cotton and 15 per cent Flax (linen), which means the fit is rigid and stretch-free, giving it a vintage feel; much like denim used to feel before companies began adding polyester (a plastic) to the weave to add comfort.

Plastic has been added to denim over the years to enhance performance, stretch and thermoregulation, in response to an increasing consumer demand for comfort and mobility.

Lee Jeans

The most critical emerging environmental problem that our industry is going to face is pollution due to the increased amount of synthetics in denim products and the creation therefore of microplastics, Roian Atwood, Director of Sustainability for Lee Jeans and Wrangler tells the Standard. This polyester sheds and comes off via pilling into very small, tiny pieces into the ambient environment, which is why we are finding microplastics all throughout the globe.

In order for the new Lee Jeans garments to be able to biodegrade, the features of a traditional 5-pocket jean were changed. All rivets, historically made of brass or metal, were removed and the leather patch on the waistband has been replaced with Jacron, a leather-look paper material made from cellulose.

Lee Jeans are not the only ones investing in biodegradable denim. Dutch jean maker Denham confirmed in November 2019 that it was launching its first range of Bio-Stretch Selvedge jeans as part of its new Life is Movement collection and, in January, Stella McCartney announced that she would be introducing biodegradable, stretch denim (made in partnership with Italian manufacturer Candiani) as part of her autumn/winter 2020 collection.

Lees will however be the first to hit UK stores on February 17.

Lee Jeans

The launch comes as part of Lee Jeans wider sustainability initiative called For a World That Works recently launched at Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF). The initiative, which the brand describes as a vision for the future of the brand and our planet, centres on three main projects. In addition to the biodegradable Back to Nature products, theres also a project focussed on sustainable production and finishing processes, like using naturally derived dyes, dyes created from agricultural waste and lasering to distress jeans (rather than environmentally damaging acid).

Perhaps most impressive though is the third project, named Indigood Denim, which is a foam dyeing process the company has worked with a Spanish Mill in Valencia called Tejidor Royo to develop. Its a technology, seven years in the making, that does not use water and features 89 per cent less chemicals and 65 per cent less energy than traditional dyeing. The only water the process needs is the water to mix the solution, and to rinse the machine every few weeks. The actual dyeing process requires no water, says Atwood.

Its dramatically different. Its an entirely different way of working with indigo.

While Lee and Wrangler are currently making less than 3 per cent of their denim this way, its something they are focussed on expanding. Its something we are committed to. Not just committed to with existing partners, but with partners of the future.

Lee Jeans

And its a technology theyre keen to share. We know we didnt just want to do this development project and keep it exclusive to our own brands, we want to capitalise on investment of course, but with a game-changing technology like this foam, its an industry solution. The more brands that embrace the better image the denim industry has in the marketplace. Gap has already placed an order with the mill they work with in Spain.

The beauty of a foam process is because its all contained in a nitrogen sealed hood, and theres a lot less process chemistry, we are exposing workers to less chemistry in general. And they dont need to touch any wet denim dye, explains Atwood. The other beauty is theres no waste water, so no blue rivers.

The denim industry is notoriously the most polluting aspect of the generally-polluting fashion industry. And while Lee and most other denim players have an incredibly long way to go, its heartening to see the development of technological innovations that could potentially have massively beneficial impacts if adopted by all the major players.
Over 52,500 farmers will receive compensation of Rs 34 crore for the loss of their crops due to unseasonal heavy rainfall, wind and hailstorm in Jammu district, an official spokesman said on Friday.

"As many as 52,691 beneficiaries will receive compensation for their crops and total amount of over Rs 34 crore will be disbursed directly to the accounts of these beneficiaries," the spokesman said.

The paddy crop spread over five lakh kanals (25,292.85 hectares) has been damaged by unseasonal heavy rainfall, wind and hailstorms last year in four tehsils of R S Pura, Suchetgarh, Bishnah and Marh.

Jammu Deputy Commissioner Sushma Chauhan visited R S Pura sub-division and inspected the progress of disbursement of compensation among farmers for crop loss.

During the tour, she visited R S Pura SDM office and was briefed about the details of the total amount disbursed among the farmers so far in his area of jurisdiction, the spokesman said.

He said the field functionaries of Revenue and Agriculture Department have collected data of crop loss and the compensation amount would be credited through Direct Beneficiary Transfer (DBT).

Chauhan directed the officers concerned to speed up the process of disbursement of compensation amount.

She also directed the J&K Bank officials to strengthen the staff and complete the process of disbursement within three days, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Couple donates $1.5 million to endow Summa Healths first chair in urology (cleveland.com)

State

Gov. Mike DeWine gets F in marijuana policy report card (cleveland.com)

Ohio House moves to undo law change that helped wealthy Stark County village try to change school districts (cleveland.com)

Ohios Jim Jordan picked to become top Republican on House Judiciary Committee (cleveland.com)
As the 2020 Democrats descend upon New Hampshire, leaving behind the smouldering ruins of an Iowa caucus meltdown sown with confusion, former vice president Joe Biden is returning to a state that has helped end a presidential run of his before  and may very well do so once again.

While the results from Iowa have resulted in protests from candidates like Bernie Sanders and even Pete Buttigieg  who remain neck and neck in the still-incoming results there, both with apparent good reason to complain that the slow release of results has blunted their momentum  the same cannot be said for Mr Biden, who finished fourth with no chance at a last minute come-back.

And so, less than a year after he entered the 2020 race with a campaign video last April casting the race as one between just him and Donald Trump, followed by a massive and picturesque rally in Philadelphia and considerable press attention surrounding his inevitability, the former right hand man to Barack Obama finds himself left in the lurch by the party he has devoted the better part of his life to.

No longer is it just Trump vs Biden. Now it is Biden vs Buttigieg, and Biden vs Sanders, too. And Mr Biden is improbably the underdog, trailing in polls and fundraising, and forced to fight for the life of what would be his final presidential campaign, which he in turn has cast as a fight for the soul of America.

I cant sugarcoat it, we took a gut punch in Iowa, Mr Biden told a New Hampshire crowd this week ahead of the state's primary on 11 February. The whole system took a gut punch.

Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Show all 18 1 /18 Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses AFP via Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas EPA Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters' minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A Trump supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February Reuters

For his part, Mr Biden has already said he doesnt need to win the first presidential primary state in the nation. And he hasnt been slyly making a big play for the state, either.

As Politico reports, Mr Bidens campaign has spent relatively little in New Hampshire on ad buys, as he has instead focused on the next three states to vote before Super Tuesday next month. He also has a smaller campaign presence, and has barely taken questions from voters during campaign stops in the state.

But his campaigns emphasis on his strength in states like South Carolina, which is one of those three following New Hampshire, has also come as Mr Biden has received a steady stream of criticism for what reporters see as him being less than available. And, hes found himself the focus of some bad headlines in which hes seemed to shout at voters who challenge him (notably, Mr Biden was caught recently getting physical with a supporter who asked him about oil pipelines).

And its on that final point that Mr Bidens first run for president was, in-part, pilloried. At that time, in 1987, Mr Biden found himself being asked where he went to law school in Claremont, New Hampshire. And then, the then-senator responded on a somewhat Trumpian manner  I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do, I suspect  before giving a misleading answer about his academic record that later added to a list of several scandals that ultimately led to his campaign, including allegations that he had plagiarised a speech by the then-British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock.

Now in his third presidential race, and a good deal older, Mr Biden finds himself behind the likes of Mr Buttigieg and Mr Sanders in polls in New Hampshire. He also fell behind senator Elizabeth Warren in Iowa, who received the third most votes.

Those two top candidates are riding into the state victorious, and with a fair amount of positive media at their backs.

New Hampshire is a state known to buck the results in Iowa, though, so perhaps Mr Bidens hopes of the presidency arent dashed just yet. But now hes punching up, not down.

If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states, in easy districts and competitive ones, every Democrat will have to carry the label senator Sanders has chosen for himself, Mr Biden said in New Hampshire this week, going on the offensive. He calls him and I dont criticise him  he calls himself a democratic socialist. Well, were already seeing what Donald Trump is gonna do with that.

As for Mr Buttigieg, Mr Biden is daring the South Bend mayor to continue to attack him, saying hell defend his record if he needs to, and hoping to align himself with Mr Obama even as the insurgent candidate has attempted to do the same: Is he really saying the Obama-Biden administration was a failure? Pete, just say it out loud.

With much less money in the bank than Mr Buttigieg or Mr Sanders, Tuesday's primary results may be the difference between Mr Biden being able to continue that offensive, and the end of his candidacy.
Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that there will be a road closure of a section of the A. Th. Illidge road  Dutch Quarter  the proximity of Nazareth road for motorized traffic on Saturday, February 8 from 7.00 am until 12.00 pm.



Motorists are advised to be vigilant and observant of the traffic diversion directional signs.



The road closure is in connection with the maintenance of the sewage pump pit in the vicinity of Nazareth road.



Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.
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Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 12:57 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206320fd5 1 Business forex-reserves,Foreign-exchange,bank-indonesia,central-bank,capital-inflows,foreign-inflows,government-bond,January,data,financial-market Free

The countrys foreign exchange (forex) reserves rose to near record-high levels in January at US$131.7 billion owing to foreign inflows from global bonds issuances and the oil and gas sector, Bank Indonesia (BI) announced Friday.

The current reserves level is close to the record-high of $131.9 billion booked in January 2018. It indicates a $2.5 billion increase from the previous month and is enough to support 7.8 months of imports and 7.5 months of imports and payments of the governments short-term debt. It was above the international adequacy standards of about three months of imports.

The central bank deemed the current reserve level strong enough to support the countrys resilience to external factors, as well as to maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability, BI spokesman Onny Widjanarko said in a press statement.

BI is of the view that foreign exchange reserves are adequate, supported by stability and a positive outlook for the economy.

The Finance Ministry issued government bonds (SUN) in January to raise $2 billion and 1 billion ($1.09 billion).

Bank Mandiri chief economist Andry Asmoro said forex reserves would reach around $130 billion to $135 billion at the end of 2020, citing external sector resilience and stability.

"This is due to flagging growth of major economies and the Federal Reserve's dovish monetary stance, attracting more capital inflows to emerging markets [Ems] including Indonesia," said Andry in a research note.

The risk, he went on to say, will come from weakening global growth due to the trade war and geopolitical uncertainty, including the fear of the coronavirus outbreak, which will burden Indonesia's exports.

The central bank has injected about Rp 25 trillion (US$1.82 billion) into the countrys financial markets as investors sell off assets over fears that the rapidly spreading coronavirus will hurt the global economy.

Read also: BI injects $1.8b to stabilize Indonesian markets as investors flee over coronavirus fears

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Wednesday that the central bank had been buying government bonds to stabilize prices and liquidity as the coronavirus scared off foreign investors.

Do you know how many bonds we have bought from the government with the heavy capital inflow this year? The figure is close to Rp 25 trillion, Perry said during his remarks at the Mandiri Investment Forum on Wednesday.

He said the disturbance the virus was causing was not only happening in the spot market but also in the domestic non-deliverable forwards market.

Foreign investors dumped Indonesian stocks on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, recording a Rp 2.07 trillion net selloff in the regular market as of Thursday afternoon.

Read also: Indonesian stocks take a hit as global markets grapple with coronavirus concerns

In addition to applying monetary policies, the central bank is cooperating with the government to maintain market stability.

We are working closely with the Finance Ministry to stabilize the market and prevent the short-term impact of the coronavirus, he said.

Factories are closing, and some workers have been told to work from home as the coronavirus outbreak impairs Chinese cities. As of Thursday morning, 563 had died from the illness with 28,256 cases having been reported. The virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan.
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Cotton Closes Black on Monday Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Cotton futures were off their high at the closing bell on Monday, but were still 10 to 40 points in the black. New crop cotton also bounced on Monday, ending the session 40 to 76 points firmer. The Seam... CTH22 : 115.48 (+0.23%) CTK22 : 113.43 (+0.32%) CTZ21 : 111.55s (+0.25%)

Wheat Markets Close Mixed Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Mondays wheat market ended with winter wheat gains to HRS weakness. Spring wheat futures ended the session a nickel to 9 cents in the red. March MPLS wheat has posted losses in 9 in the last 11 sessions... ZWH22 : 762-2 (unch) ZWPAES.CM : 7.2051 (+0.47%) KEH22 : 777-6 (unch) KEPAWS.CM : 7.5951 (+0.45%) MWH22 : 916-2 (+0.22%)

Corn Weakens out of Weekend Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:48PM CST Mondays corn trading session left prices 5 1/2 to 7 cents weaker. May futures were able to hold above the $6 mark, while Marcha and July closed less than a penny under. New crop futures were fractionally... ZCH22 : 601-6 (+0.33%) ZCPAUS.CM : 5.8670 (-1.13%) ZCK22 : 603-0 (+0.29%) ZCZ21 : 588-6s (+0.77%) ZCPZ21US.CM : 5.7930 (-0.49%)

Chart of the Day: KLA-Tencor - A Tech Stock Still Worth Looking At Barchart - Mon Jan 10, 4:37PM CST I wanted to find out if there were still any tech stocks that were worth buying so I screened the NASDAQ 100 Index stock for the highest Weighted Alpha and technical buy signals and found one. My Barchart... KLAC : 418.73 (+0.44%)
Wireless equipment maker Ericsson is pulling out of the industrys top annual trade event due to the coronavirus outbreak, while carmakers are considering whether to reopen factory lines in China.

Here is a look at the latest developments on how the virus is affecting global business.

 Tech

(PA Graphics)

Ericsson, one of the main suppliers of wireless networks and a rival to Chinas Huawei, is pulling out of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, this month. The Swedish company said that because the show draws thousands of visitors, even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors. Instead of the Barcelona event  scheduled for February 24-27  Ericsson will bring demos to customers in their home markets. The organisers said Ericssons decision will hurt the event but they do not plan to cancel it. Huawei recently said it would still attend.

 Carmakers:

People walk past the logo of Nissan in Tokyo (Koji Sasahara/AP)

Japanese carmaker Nissan said sales in China in January by the company and its local partners fell 11.8% from a year earlier to 118,143 vehicles due to the coronavirus outbreak and the extension of the Lunar New Year holiday. Nissan said earlier it was considering reopening most of its factories in China on Monday but would wait until at least February 14 for facilities in and around Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak. Toyota said it was keeping its factories in China closed for an extra week, until February 16, and will decide then whether to resume production. Toyota has 12 plants in China, including four vehicle assembly plants. Honda said its three car assembly plants in Wuhan would stay closed until February 13.

 Retailers:

Chinese women take a selfie outside the Uniqlo flagship store in Beijing (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo said it has closed 350, or about half, of its 750 stores in China, to comply with shutdowns of public transportation and closures of shopping centres. Parent company Fast Retailing said about 20% of its sales come from China. British firm Burberry, which gets about 40% of its revenue from China, said the impact has been significant. It shut 24 of 64 stores in China, and told the FT footfall had dropped as much as 80%. The impact in Hong Kong is bigger than from the protests, which had halved sales there in the last quarter.

 Cosmetics:

A tourist in Roemerberg Square in Frankfurt, Germany (Michael Probst/AP)

LOreal joined the growing list of beauty product brands expressing concern over the potential blow to sales due to travel restrictions that are vastly reducing demand from travel shopping at duty free shops. The company said it expected a temporary impact on Asias beauty market, but that past experience suggests that after a period of disturbance, consumption resumes stronger than before.
Card Sako calls for preserving the "unity" of the country in the "diversity of its components". An attack on parties and politicians that fueled "sectarianism and fragmentation". A new front of confrontation between loyal al-Sadr and demonstrators in Tahrir square. Baghdad Auxiliary: a mass for peace and a shared solution every day.

Baghdad (AsiaNews) - Iraq must preserve its "unity" in the "diversity of its components" and their "multiplicity", although in recent years "most political parties" have fueled and sharpened "sectarianism and fragmentation" writes the Chaldean primate Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako.

In a message published on the patriarchate website and sent to AsiaNews, the Cardinal states that the "solution" to the "Iraqi crisis" is a "secular state" founded on citizenship. The "goal", continues the cardinal, "is the integration" of the various components and "service to citizens" without distinction of identity.

Card Sako, who today meets Pope Francis in the Vatican at the meeting of the patriarchs of the Catholic Churches of the East, is writing in a context of profound political and social turmoil, with street protests taking place for months against corruption and economic crisis. The authorities have repeatedly tried to quell the demonstrations, triggering clashes that have resulted in over 500 deaths.

The recent appointment of a new Prime Minister has created further divisions (and violence) between al-Sadr supporters who support the new executive and the base of Tharir square in Baghdad (heart of the revolt) which intends to continue with the street demonstrations. In the clashes of the last few days between the two fronts in the holy city of Najaf and in nearby Hilla, at least eight people died, confirming a profound social divide that worries the leaders of the Iraqi Church.

Asked by AsiaNews about the new wave of violence, Msgr. Basil Yaldo, auxiliary of Baghdad and close collaborator of Card Sako, recalls the patriarch's repeated calls for dialogue between the parties. We must listen to the people in the streets, in the squares - continues the prelate - because they ask only for a country in which we can live in peace ". The new executive, he adds, "is very unlikely to meet people's favor."

However, if Prime Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi manages to satisfy some legitimate demands of the demonstrators, perhaps a solution will be possible. Much will depend - concludes the auxiliary bishop - on what will happen in the coming days. He has a week of time, so there is little leeway in this situation. We, as Chaldean patriarchate, celebrate a mass every day for peace and for a shared solution that also meets the aspirations and demands of those who protest. "

In the message published by the Chaldean patriarch, he recalls the "mosaic" of "civilizations, cultures, nationalities, languages and religions" at the basis of Iraq, which constitutes "a single national and human heritage" as emerges "from peaceful demonstrators in the squares" . The cardinal continues, "a secular state" is needed which is founded on "civil society and not on the church or the mosque" because faith "does not build a state".

Highlighting the principle of freedom of worship, Card Sako also warns that "one should not fall into the trap of western secularism" which often denies or relegates religion to the background. We need, concludes the Chaldean primate, a nation that promotes "justice, equality, respect for individual freedoms, citizenship rights" and that facilitates "integration" according to a spirit of "tolerance and acceptance" that favors "renewal and progress".
THE Philippine Military Academy Alumni Association Inc. (PMAAI) has postponed the PMA Alumni Homecoming to February 22 over concerns on the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

In a statement, the association said the annual event was scheduled for February 15 but has been moved to February 22.

This is in deference to health and public safety concerns regarding nCoV. The decision was reached with the help of Baguio City Mayor, Cavalier Benjie Magalong '82, and PMA Superintendent, VADM Allan Cusi '86, making the 2-day event into one, it said.

Alumni classes especially Jubilarians caught in this late-breaking developments are advised to exercise their best judgments on how to proceed with their individual Class events in sync with the new date, it added.

The group said Magalong will coordinate with the Hotels and Restaurants Association of Baguio on the rescheduling and rebooking of the accommodations earlier made by the PMA alumni without additional fee.

Earlier, the PMA administration ordered the temporary closure of the academy to visitors and outsiders because of the 2019-nCoV threat.

It was made in order to avoid situations where the health and safety of the cadets, PMA alumni and their families would be compromised.

On Wednesday, the Department of Health confirmed a third 2019-nCoV case in the country. One patient, a Chinese man from Wuhan, has died of pneumonia caused by the virus. (Third Anne Peralta-Malonzo/SunStar Philippines)
Perhaps the most hotly contested Democratic primary race in South Texas is Congressional District 28, which stretches from Laredo to San Antonio.

For the past 15 years, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar has served this district in a bipartisan and pragmatic way, and hes won big in past elections. But Cuellar faces a fierce challenge from immigration and human rights attorney Jessica Cisneros, who has gained national attention for her progressive credentials and her sharp critiques of Cuellar.

She is an impressive challenger who would bring a fresh voice to South Texas, but our recommendation goes to Cuellar.

In the Republican primary, Sandra Whitten is running unopposed.

To put it simply: Henry Cuellar gets the job done. As a senior appropriator in the House, Cuellar has delivered crucial federal funding for new immigration judges and construction at area military bases, as well as grant funding to various Hispanic Serving Institutions. Cuellar, along with U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, were the key players in securing funding for the federal courthouse here.

This last detail points to another of Cuellars strengths: bipartisanship. For example, he and Cornyn also partnered on the Cross-Border Trade Enhancement Act, which allows cities to invest in U.S. ports of entry.

By contrast, as a freshman lawmaker, Cisneros would likely not be in a position to deliver such funding for the border region or higher education; and what makes her so appealing to progressives  her support of the Green New Deal, for example  also suggests few prospects for bipartisanship.

Cuellar has served San Antonio and South Texas well and merits another term.
Good Morning America

The Biden administration's plan to send 500 million at-home tests to Americans for free is an historic undertaking, but one that will take weeks or months to fully execute, recently released contracts and interviews with seven test manufacturers suggest. Contracts for the first two batches of tests were announced on Friday, one for 13.3 million kits from a health technology company and another for an undisclosed amount from a distribution company in Virginia that had extras on hand -- all to be distributed in an effort to reduce the massive testing shortage in the U.S. Tests won't be available to be ordered through a government website until later this month, the official said, meaning it's unlikely the average American will get free tests delivered in time for the January peak of omicron cases predicted by most models.
Alphabet-owned Loon, the company that had been focused on delivering internet communications to remote areas via stratospheric balloons, has completed development work on a new payload for partner HAPSMobile, a subsidiary of SoftBank that's building high-altitude solar-powered uncrewed aircraft. The two companies jointly adapted the communications technology that enables Loon's balloons to beam communications networks to Earth for use on HAPSMobile's drones, effectively turning them into high-flying mobile cell towers.

This is the result of a strategic partnership that the two companies announced back in April of last year, but an important step because it means that Loon's technology will get its first functional tests on vehicles other than its balloon-based platform. The HAWK30 aircraft that HAPSMobile developed is a solar-powered electric aircraft that flies at speeds of over 100 km/h (around 60 mph) in the stratosphere (with an operating altitude of around 65,000 feet), which is much faster than Loon's balloons, which meant adapting the payload to perform at these speeds. Part of that customization included making much more responsive the antenna used to beam the LTE connectivity to devices on the ground, allowing them to rotate quickly to maintain the best possible connection.

Loon and HAPSMobile say their communications technology can provide connections between devices as far as 700 km (435 miles) apart, with data transfer speeds reaching as high as 1Gpbs. HAPSMobile's goal with the HAWK30 project is to expand the scope of coverage versus terrestrial cell towers, as their high-altitude position can cover a much larger surface area versus even the tallest cell towers. In fact, the company notes that just 40 of its aircraft could provide coverage to the entirety of Japan, versus "tens of thousands of existing terrestrial base stations." Plus, fewer areas would be considered out-of-range as a result of inhospitable terrain or difficult to reach areas in terms of infrastructure installation.

For Loon, this is a significant expansion of their current operating model, providing another path to revenue that includes adapting their communications technology for use on different types of aircraft and delivery models. It's yet another example of the type of commercial partnerships available to the company, even as it ramps up its existing balloon-based deployment plans with partners including Telefonica and others.
On Friday, Pakistan's National Assembly passed a resolution calling for the hanging of criminals who have been convicted for sexual assault and murder of children. The Pakistani Parliament passed this proposal with an overwhelming majority. The motion was tabled by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan which was passed with a majority by all MPs except the Pakistan People's Party.

Alice G. Wells revealed many secrets about misbehavior with Muslims

According to media reports, Pakistan People's Party leader and former Prime Minister Raza Pervez Ashraf have not described this exercise as appropriate. He said that just by giving a severe punishment, such crimes will not be reduced. We cannot punish public execution by violating the laws of the United Nations. Pakistan newspaper Dawn has quoted that Raza Pervez Ashraf did not raise his voice alone against giving such punishment. Science and Technology Minister Fawad Chaudhary also condemned it.

America warns Venezuela of repercussions if Guaido harmed

On this matter, Fawad Chaudhary tweeted that this step reminds him of the practices of cruel civilization. Society works in a balanced way. Vandalism is not the answer to crimes. it is another expression of extremism. Meanwhile, Human Rights Minister Shirin Mazari clarified that the proposal was not government sponsored, it was a personal act. Actually, cruelty towards children is not stopping in Pakistan.

Priyanka Gandhi's attack on Modi government, says- "why Mehbooba and Omar banned by PSA
In yet another setback to Islamabad, Saudi Arabia has once again declined Pakistan's request for an urgent meeting of the council of foreign ministers on Kashmir at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

In December, Pakistan had trumpeted that it secured a diplomatic win by prevailing on Saudi Arabia to hold a special session on Kashmir at the OIC. However, officials in New Delhi had expressed skepticism about the news, saying that the OIC did not make any official announcement or issue any confirmation of the meeting.



On Thursday, Pakistani media reported that Prime Minister Imran Khan's plea for a discussion on Kashmir has been rejected by Saudi Arabia. The OIC is holding its senior officials' meeting in Jeddah on February 9 to make arrangements for the council of foreign ministers.





Khan has been campaigning around the world against India ever since the Narendra Modi-led government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year.



Recently, Khan was forced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman to cancel his trip to Malaysia where he intended to slam India over Kashmir at the Islamic Summit hosted by the Mahathir Mohamad government in Malaysia.



Riyadh took serious offence to the summit where it was not invited and perceived it as a challenge to its leadership in the Muslim world by Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. The Saudi Kingdom threatened to withdraw its massive aid to Pakistan, already reeling under an economic crisis.



"Islamabad's feeling of unease with the OIC on its failure to get the CFM's meeting appears to be growing. Prime Minister Imran Khan voiced frustration over the OIC's silence on Kashmir while speaking at a think-tank during his visit to Malaysia," the Dawn reported.



The newspaper quoted Khan as saying: "The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We can't even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir."



Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Riyadh in October last year, the second time since 2016, and met the Crown Prince five times. The outcome of the meetings has been strategic partnership pact between the two countries, making India fourth country after France, the UK and China to earn such a significant status in Riyadh.



India is a major importer of oil from Saudi Arabia.
The officers hope the railway minister will make amends by having two merged groups instead of just one. They want the civil cadres to be merged into one, and the engineering ones into another.

Hyderabad: The Union railway ministrys plan to merge all service cadres under it has rattled its bureaucrats. In December 2019, the Cabinet had green-lit the ministry's proposal to merge its eight cadres  three civil and five technical  into the Indian Railway Management Service (IRMS). Members of civil cadres believe they will be overshadowed by those of the technical cadres.

Recruitment to the civil cadres  the Indian Railway Traffic Services (IRTS), Accounts (IRAS) and Personnel (IRPF)  is done through the annual civil services examination by UPSC. Members of technical cadres Indian Railway Service of Engineers (IRES), Signal Engineers (IRS-SE), Mechanical Engineers (IRSME) and Stores Services (IRSS)  are also recruited thro-ugh the Indian Engine-ering Services (IES) exam held by the UPSC.

Among the civil cadres, the IRTS has always held the most prestige. Their work makes them highly visible to the general public. It is the IRTS cadre that will stand to lose the most once the merger happens.

An IRTS official serving in the South Central Railways (SCR), speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the railways has a complex bureaucratic structure, with functioning checks and balances. Engineering officers are concerned with the technical side of the railways. They have very little experience of the operations management side. How can the two be combined under one group when their roles are so different, he asked.

Another IRTS officer from SCR said members of the civil cadres are already at a disadvantage due to the age-based promotion system. Civil servants in the railways usually miss out on senior positions like the zonal general managers post. They are, on average, older than engineering officials. This is because of the nature of the examinations they take for recruitment. By the time an IRTS or IRAS officer is eligible for the GMs post, he will be very close to retirement and hence, overlooked, he said. This situation, he added, would be replicated across the hierarchy after the merger.

The two officials said the merger would have ramifications on passenger safety and the railways profitability. Normally, when an engineering department proposes, say, a new track, the proposal is scrutinised by many departments. Each department is manned by officials of various services, who answer to their own bosses. This allows them the freedom to reject the proposal without worrying about subordination. If all belonged to the same service, no junior employee in any department would be able to reject a senior's proposal. This doesnt bode well for anyone, he said.

The civil cadre officers are also upset that the ministry took the decision without consulting with them. The ITRS, IRAS and IRPF Employees Association wrote to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) listing out their issues with the merger. Earlier, the ministry has made it seem to the PMO that all officers are in agreement. Now, the PMO has expressed surprise over the opposition from officers, said an IRTS officer.

Interestingly, the railway ministry, the UPSC and the department of personnel and training (DoPT) are yet to announce the modalities for recruitment to the merged cadre. Both officials and aspirants to these services are awaiting clarity. IES aspirants, who recently wrote the preliminary examination and are awaiting the results, dont know if railway posts are even up for grabs. Civil service aspirants, meanwhile, would be fighting for a couple of hundred fewer vacancies than usual if railway services were removed from the exam.

The officers hope the railway minister will make amends by having two merged groups instead of just one. They want the civil cadres to be merged into one, and the engineering ones into another.
Voting in the Delhi assembly election 2020 will be held on February 8 as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress will fight it out for the reigns of the government in the Capital.

The Election Commission of India data shows there are 1.46 crore eligible voters in Delhi. The poll panel has set up 13,750 polling stations across 2,689 locations in the city for the Delhi Vidhan Sabha elections.

The AAP had won 67 of the 70 seats in the last Delhi assembly elections held in 2015. The BJP got the other three and the Congress, despite governing Delhi for 15 years, drew a zero in the last Delhi assembly polls.

A party or alliance needs to get at least 36 seats to win a majority in Delhi assembly.

You can vote if you have a voter ID card or your name is there in the electoral list.

Heres how you can check your name in the electoral list to vote in the Delhi assembly elections 2020

 Visit the National Voters Services Portal (www.nvsp.in)

 Go to the electoralsearch.in (https://electoralsearch.in/) link

 Fill in particulars like name, age, gender, district, assembly constituency in the form-like page

 After filling in your details, you can click on the search button

 You will be directed to the list according to your specified constituency, where you will get to know if your name is on the list

 Another way of searching your name is by filling in your Electors Photo Identity Card or EPIC number.

 You will have to provide the name of your state and EPIC number, to look for your name through your EPIC number

 Another way to find your name is through the same National Voters Services Portal (www.nvsp.in) site and select the second option

 You can select the Download Electoral Roll PDF option on its homepage and follow the similar instructions
S tart your engines, Valentines Day is just around the corner.

If youre looking for something a bit different to give your crush than chocolates or a bouquet of flowers, a delicious tipple could hit the mark instead.

To mark Cupid's annual moment in the sun, drinks brands and retailers have been competing to out-shine each other with boozy gifts for your beloved.

From vegan Champagne to fresh and flavoursome distillations of gin, there's something for every type of drinker.

We've gathered some of the best below, either made for gifting or for savouring on a night in with your partner or your pals.

Enjoy!

Best Valentine's Day Spirits

CIROC Red Berry

Show your best mates the love with a special Galentine's personalised bottle of CIROC vodka. Shop from luxury drinks personalisation service INKD who can add a heartfelt message or an in-joke only your gal pals will get for the ultimate drinks accessory on your girls night in.

The luxury drinks brand also has a limited edition V-day bottle to give your S.O, which can also be personalised with a bespoke message.

35 each | INKD | Buy it now

Don Papa Rum

Want to shake up your drinks trolley with something new this February 14? If you like rum you'll know a lot of it is made in the Caribbean but there's a new entrant that hails from the other side of the world - in the sunny Philippines.

Don Papa is the first premium small batch rum to come from the tropical island nation and lends itself well to both slow sipping and for mixing cocktails.

Whether you're planning to spend the big night in or hosting friends for Friday night drinks, a warming slug of this is the perfect way to share the love this Valentine's Day.

31.69 | Amazon | Buy it now

Best Valentine's Day Gin

Silent Pool Gin Rose Expression

It's never been a better time to share a G&T with a friend, especially now gin brand Silent Pool has launched a new version for Galentine's Day. The company is offering a free bottle for your partner in crime if you purchase a bottle through Amathus in-store (there are three branches in London; in the City, Soho and Shoreditch), effectively giving you two for the price of one.

Once purchased, upload a photo of your receipt here until February 11, when the offer expires at midnight. The first 100 people to make a valid claim will be able to send another bottle for their lucky friend.

37 | Amathus | Find your nearest store here

Isle of Wight Distillery Mermaid Gin

A pretty bottle made for gin-swilling mermaids - if there's any more whimsical boozy Valentine's gift we've yet to find it.

The Isle of Wight Distillery uses sustainable, recyclable and biodegradable materials to package their small batch spirits. And boy, do they do it with style.

This beautiful rose-hued bottle, covered in scales and topped with a wooden top is truly a thing of beauty, perfect to give to someone special on the day of love.

49 | Harvey Nichols | Buy it now

Edinburgh Gin Valentines Gin Bouquet

The Scottish distiller has joined forced with a florist to offer shoppers a unique proposition this February 14: a Valentines Gin bouquet. Theres not just one, but three designs to choose from, with each bouquet made up of botanicals used in the gin and sent with a matching 70cl bottle of the spirit.

Pick from Classic Gin, Rhubarb and Ginger and the special Valentines gin (pictured), crowned with a floral arrangement made up of chamomile daisies, roses and fragrant lavender. Just gorgeous.

Order now for delivery by Friday February 14.

65 | Edinburgh Gin | Buy it now

Bathtub Gin

Come February 14, close the door on the world and sink into a bottle of Bathtub Gin, the ultimate Valentines Day tipple to share with someone special.

Wrapped in vintage brown paper, tied up with string and hand waxed in Kent, it barely needs any additional wrapping. The flavoured spirit would make a welcome addition to any collectors drinks trolley.

31 | Master of Malt | Buy it now

Jaisalmer Indian Craft Gin

Savour the taste of this Indian craft gin, expertly crafted in a distillery set on the foothills of the Himalayas. If its origins aren't enough to transport you to another world, the flavours certainly will; each sip rings with notes of citrus, liquorice, angelica and coriander. Yum.

34.95 | The Whisky Exchange | Buy it now

Warner's Raspberry Gin

Flavoured with ingredients from its farm, Warner's has two new craft gins to delight your love on Valentine's Day. The Raspberry Gin, infused with the fruit as well as blackberry juice, gives 25p from the sale of every bottle to an animal pro-biodiversity charity. There's also a pink Rhubarb gin version which contains one third pure rhubarb juice and if you decide to plump for the Pink by Nature gift pack you'll also get a delicate Strawberry & Rose gin to sip on too.

28 | Tesco | Buy it now *On sale from 36

Monkey 47 Gin

For gin connoisseurs and the some of the best bartenders in the biz, Monkey 47 has become a cult drink. The spirit label is beloved for its flavoursome combination of 47 botanicals with a truly unique flavour thanks to the inclusion of Lingonberries. The handpicked ingredients are distilled with spring water from the Black Forest to create the junipery goodness. Serve as a martini or mix it up for a lust-worthy cocktail this Valentines Day.

46 | Waitrose | Buy it now

Isle of Harris Special Edition Gin

Distilled in the Outer Hebrides and infused with sugar kelp, this craft gin has been struck by Cupid's Bow for Valentine's Day with a new label that reads 'I love Harris Gin'. The look is completed with a frame of hearts in metallic copper.

The special edition bottle from one of Scotland's wildest regions would make a welcome addition to any gin-lover's drinks collection and infuses a classic G&T as well as gin cocktails with a refreshingly coastal taste.

45 | Harris Distillery | Buy it now

Slingsby Rhubarb Gin 50cl bottle

Starting life as one of the brands development gins, this sweet flavoured gin has made it to shelves just in time for Valentines Day. Its made with the finest rhubarb from Yorkshire and would be a delicious accompaniment to a special dinner for two.

30 | Tesco | Buy it now

Best Valentine's Day Wine and Champagne

Veuve Clicquot Brut Champagne Personalised Tin

What's better than a bottle of one of the finest Champagnes in the world? Why, one with their name on the tin, of course.

Shaped like an arrow (perhaps a stray from Cupid?) the tin will make a lovely momento of Valentine's Day long after the last drops of the golden fizz has been drunk.

59 | Selfridges | Buy it now

Bottega Petalo Moscato Spumante Dolce NV

Aptly named 'The Wine of Love', this low alcohol Moscato is filled with rose-notes and gentle sweetness, making it perfect to pair with dessert. Top marks for the beautiful packaging, so pretty you won't need to add any wrapping paper. Can't argue with that price either.

15.50 | Harvey Nichols | Buy it now

Tesco Finest Premier Cru Champagne NV

Rack up those brownie points by treating your vegan crush to this fully vegan bottle of bubbles, made from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes before being aged to perfection. Prefer rose? Tesco Finest Cremant de Limoux Rose 2017, another vegan option that's also on offer until the 14th (was 12, now 10).

18 | Tesco | Buy it now *On offer from 20

Lidl Silky Smooth Reds Collection

Red: the colour of love and also the hue of some of the world's best wine. Lidl has curated a five-strong collection of five reds from some of the world's best wine-producing nations for this Valentine's Day.

Prices start from 5.49, leaving you with more to spend on other treats for your loved one this February 14.
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

BJPs Kailash Vijayvargiya detained for pro-CAA rally in Kolkata

Bharatiya Janata Partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was detained by the Kolkata Police, along with other leaders of the party, for leading a rally in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in south Kolkata.

Two patents in bag, invite from NASA, but this Bihar boy wants to do big for India

If his achievements at such a young age speak volumes of his mettle, his lifes objective amply demonstrates his vision for the future not only for himself, but for the society at large.

Dear Rahul Gandhiji: Minister sets up row in Lok Sabha during Question Hour

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan set off a political firestorm in Parliament on Friday when he stood up to reply to a question asked by Rahul Gandhi on the ministry during Question Hour.

India vs New Zealand: Shardul Thakurs numbers show change is required in Indias bowling line-up for 2nd ODI

India fast-bowler Shardul Thakur may have turned it around somewhat in T20Is but in ODIs, he hasnt been up to the mark thus far.

Birds of Prey movie review: Margot Robbie soars in vibrantly violent DCEU gem

As a standalone adventure, its a terrific showcase for Margot Robbies talents as an actor. Her performance here is better than the one shes currently nominated at the Oscars for.

Apple iPhone 9s price in India might be lower than the 2018s iPhone XR

Call it Apple iPhone 9, iPhone SE 2 or the iPhone SE 2020, the handset could be the first iPhones to launch in the H1 of this year and is said to be the companys yet another attempt at gripping a spot in the more affordable smartphone market.

Sara Ali Khan stuns in a printed lehenga and jacket for Love Aaj Kal promotions with Kartik Aaryan

From street style to traditional shararas,mini dresses to textured separates, the Simmba actors style is pure goals for her millennial fans.
A former Conservative council candidate has been jailed for sending a message claiming he would pay crackheads to harm Labour MP Yvette Cooper.

Joshua Spencer was sentenced to nine weeks imprisonment and handed a 10-year restraining order at Leeds Magistrates Court on Friday over messages he sent in April last year.

The 25-year-old, from Ms Coopers consistency in West Yorkshire, wrote that he was working to hurt the Labour MP over her efforts to block a no-deal Brexit.

Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns has defended her decision to give the Conservative activist a character reference which was read in court, describing him as a decent and honest person.

I have known Joshua for a number of years. I stand by my decision to have given him a personal reference, Ms Jenkyns said.

Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Show all 20 1 /20 Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Britain votes to leave the European Union - 23 June 2016 A referendum is held on Britain's membership of the European Union. Fifty-two per cent of the country votes in favour of leaving AFP via Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? David Cameron resigns - 24 June 2016 David Cameron resigns on the morning of the result after leading the campaign for Britain to remain in the EU Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Theresa May takes the reins - 13 July 2016 Theresa May becomes leader of the Conservative party and prime minister, winning the leadership contest unopposed after Andrea Leadsom drops out Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? High Court rules parliament must vote on Brexit - November 2016 - 3 November 2016 The High Court rules that parliament must vote on triggering Article 50, which would begin the Brexit process Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Article 50 triggered - 28 March 2017 The prime minister triggers Article 50 after parliament endorses the result of the referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May calls snap election - 18 April 2018 Seeking a mandate for her Brexit plan, May goes to the country Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May loses majority as Labour makes surprise gain - 8 June 2017 After a disastrous campaign, Theresa May loses her majority in the commons and turns to the DUP for support. Jeremy Corbyn's Labour party makes gains after being predicted to lose heavily AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Negotiations begin - 19 June 2017 David Davis and Michel Barnier, chief negotiators for the UK and EU respectively, hold a press conference on the first day of Brexit negotiations. Soon after the beginning of negotiations, it becomes clear that the issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic will prove a major sticking point AFP/Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? MPs vote that withdrawal deal must be ratified by parliament - 13 December 2017 The government suffers a defeat in parliament over the EU withdrawal agreement, guaranteeing that MPs are given a 'meaningful vote' on the deal Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary - 11 July 2018 Following a summit at Chequers where the prime minister claimed to have gained cabinet support for her deal, Boris Johnson resigns as foreign secretary along with David Davis, the Brexit secretary Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Draft withdrawal agreement - 15 November 2018 The draft withdrawal agreement settles Britain's divorce bill, secures the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and vice versa and includes a political declaration commiting both parties to frictionless trade in goods and cooperation on security matters. The deal also includes the backstop, which is anathema to many brexiteers and Dominic Raab and Esther McVey resign from the cabinet in protest Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? May resigns - 24 May 2019 After several failed attempts to pass her withdrawal agreement through the commons, Theresa May resigns Reuters Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson takes over - 24 July 2019 Boris Johnson is elected leader of the Conservative party in a landslide victory. He later heads to Buckingham Palace where the Queen invites him to form a government Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Parliament prorogued - 28 August 2019 Boris Johnson prorogues parliament for five weeks in the lead up to the UK's agreed departure date of 31 October. Stephen Morgan MP Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Prorogation ruled unlawful - 24 September 2019 The High Court rules that Johnson's prorogation of parliament is 'unlawful' after a legal challenge brought by businesswoman Gina Miller Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson agrees deal with Varadkar - October Following a summit in Merseyside, Johnson agrees a compromise to the backstop with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar - making the withdrawal agreement more palatable to Brexiteers Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Final Say march demands second referendum - 19 October 2019 As parliament passes the Letwin amendment requiring the prime minister to request a further delay to Brexit, protesters take to the streets in the final show of force for a Final Say referendum Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Johnson wins 80 seat majority - 12 December 2019 The Conservatives win the December election in a landslide, granting Boris Johnson a large majority to pass through his brexit deal and pursue his domestic agenda Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? Withdrawal deal passes parliament - 20 December 2019 The withdrawal agreement passes through the commons with a majority of 124 Getty Brexit timeline: How did we get here? EU parliament backs UK withdrawal deal - 29 January 2020 Members of the European parliament overwhelmingly back the ratification of Britain's departure, clearing the way for Brexit two days later on 31 January. Following the vote, members join hands and sing Auld Lang Syne AFP/Getty

Josh has bipolar and had mental health issues since his fathers suicide in 2015 and I was, and remain, concerned about his emotional and mental wellbeing and wanted to make absolutely sure it was taken into consideration as part of the judicial process, she added.

Spencer was a Conservative candidate for the Wakefield Council elections in May, despite being arrested in April.

He admitted to a charge of sending an offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing message by a public communication network in January.

Ms Cooper has written to the Conservative Party to ask why Spencer was allowed to attend her election count in December as a Tory representative despite being under investigation by West Yorkshire police.

As a result of his political role he will have known my movements for campaign events such as hustings as well as the count, the Labour MP said.

My office had to inform the police about any event he might be present at, including the general election count, as we had no idea whether or what kind of threat he might pose.

She added: It is only three-and-a-half years since my friend and colleague Jo Cox was killed while in her constituency. Threats of violence cannot be dismissed as banter between friends. Intimidation and violence has no place in our politics.

Recommended Man arrested over threats against Labour MP Yvette Cooper

The Tory activist sent a message to a man he met on a dating website saying Ms Cooper should pay for her opposition to a no-deal Brexit, according to The Guardian.

We should have left no deal on the 29th [of March] before the whore Yvette got her hands on to it and voted to revoke democracy. She will pay. Im already organising... to hurt her, he wrote.

Amazing what crackheads will do for 100. Im going to get her beat up.

In another message, he reportedly said: If you make peaceful revolution difficult you make a violent one inevitable.

Court staff have said Spencers restraining order demands he does not contact Ms Cooper, including on social media, or go near her constituency office for 10 years.

In April last year, Brexit supporter Jarod Kirkman was jailed for sending death threats and racist messages to seven MPs, including Ms Cooper.

Additional reporting by Press Association
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP)  David Abels 50th wedding anniversary luxury cruise began with him eating his fill and enjoying the sights of East Asia.

Its ending with him quarantined in his cabin aboard the Diamond Princess for two extra weeks, eating a lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside and watching 20 infected people escorted off the ship, heading for hospitals for treatment of a new virus.

Abel is among hundreds of passengers on two cruise ships  in Japan and Hong Kong  caught in the drama and fear about the little-understood virus that just emerged in December. Tests are still pending on some passengers and crew who have symptoms or had contact with infected people.

Its not going to be a luxury cruise; its going to be like a floating prison, Abel said on Facebook from the ship in the port of Yokohama, outside Tokyo.

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, is seen anchored at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port on February 6, 2020.

As Japanese officials loaded the ship with supplies Thursday to make the quarantine as bearable as possible, passengers took to social media to highlight small kindnesses by the crew and to complain about dwindling medicine, the quality of the food and the inability to exercise or even leave their cabins.

Their photos and videos showed the vessel that once had 3,711 passengers and crew is now a ghost ship, deserted reception areas, swimming pools and hallways. Babies on the Hong Kong ship were reportedly running out of diapers and milk.

I think for many passengers, its going to be absolute boredom, Abel said in a separate interview. He considers himself lucky that he has a cabin with a balcony. The people I feel really sorry for are those with inside cabins whove got no natural light, no fresh air. Its going to be pretty grim for them for two weeks.

YOKOHAMA, JAPAN - FEBRUARY 06: Passengers look out from a balcony of the Diamond Princess cruise ship while it is docked at Daikoku Pier.

Grim is one way to describe the virus and the fear its created. China counts more than 28,000 cases and its spread to more than 20 countries. Still, fear has spread faster than the disease. Masks and hand sanitizer are sold out in many areas of Seoul, Tokyo and Bangkok. Health workers are striking in Hong Kong and anti-Chinese discrimination has been seen across Asia. Taiwan has banned international cruise ships.

Story continues

On the Diamond Princess, there were signs people were trying to make the best of a bad situation.

Yardley Wong, a passenger from Hong Kong traveling with her husband, son and her parents, said on Twitter that the crew gave her son playing cards, coloring pens and other gifts to kill off boredom.

Australians Paul and Coralie Williamson said their cabin was smaller than a motel room and they had heard complaints from others about not having medication, or enough information.

But, after 34 years of marriage, Coralie Williamson said: If Im going be stuck in a room with anyone, I would rather it be Paul than anyone else.

So its OK. We will need to go for a long walk on the beach when we get home, she told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

More: Princess cruise to stay under quarantine after 10 more passengers test positive

People posted photos of breakfast, a bowl of fruit salad, boiled eggs, juice and a croissant. One passenger celebrating their ninth wedding anniversary got a happy anniversary card from the ship staff.

Were here for a long haul. I think it is going to get a little bit testing, obviously. But I dont know. What do we do? We couldnt jump out of the boat; thats a bit cold, Jacqui Fidrmuc from the city of Cairns told Australias Nine Network.

Japanese health officials told reporters that a medical team and supplies were being sent to the ship. At the port where the ship dropped off infected patients and loaded up food and supplies, a person in a hazmat bodysuit entered the ship carrying two boxes labeled thermometers.

In this Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020, photo taken by a passenger, medical workers in protective suits walk on the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored off Yokohama, south of Tokyo.

On the ship quarantined in Hong Kong, its more than 3,600 passengers and crew were being screened because three passengers on a previous voyage had the virus. Hong Kong officials said they would try to track down 5,000 people who took previous voyages on the World Dream.

Hong Kong lawmaker Jeremy Tan said a woman on board called him Wednesday night to say she and some other mothers were running out of milk powder and diapers for their babies. He said he believed there were five or more babies on the ship, and that he delivered the essentials to authorities.

Life on the Diamond Princess in Yokohama, Abel said, has changed beyond recognition to what you would call a luxury cruise. One meal was just a glass of orange juice, a yogurt and a bit of melon. Another was a lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside and a dessert.

When masked crew members hand over and pick up the trays of food, he said, its very brief. Theres no physical contact apart from touching the tray.

Even though the sick people have been taken off the boat, there was still unease. Weve been breathing the same air as those that have been removed, Abel said.

How do we cope with it? Abel asked on Facebook. We can either be creative and thinking positive things or we can be dragging ourselves down into the gutter. I certainly wont be doing that.

Contributing: Eileen Ng and Rod McGuirk, the Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Coronavirus: Diamond Princess guests dub quarantine a floating prison
Theres only two outcomes to substance use disorder: Either you get better or you die. So Im going to have individuals with life-threatening medical issues having to pass through that to get into treatment here," he said.
I am wondering how the spermicides on condoms affect my vagina. Is there a condom that is more vagina friendly?

 Dominique McGrady, Comox, Canada

[Have a question about womens health? Ask Dr. Gunter yourself.]

Short Take

Spermicide can have negative effects on the vagina, and  maybe surprisingly  it doesnt increase how well a condom can prevent pregnancy. A spermicide-free condom (either latex or polyurethane) with liberal use of an appropriate lubricant is the best choice for vaginal health.

Tell Me More

The spermicide typically used on external male condoms is called nonoxynol-9. This substance is meant to have a dual role as both a lubricant and a sperm-killing contraceptive.

Studies show nonoxynol-9 has the potential to damage beneficial bacteria in the vagina and increases the risk of bacterial vaginosis, a bacterial imbalance that causes vaginal discharge, irritation and odor. However, it is not clear if the relatively low amount of spermicide on condoms can have all of these negative effects.
The Cyprus travelers were blasted for their stunning lack of self awareness as the nations economy teetered toward crisis and tech companies were laying off employees. Ms. Lessin was singled out by Valleywag, the now-defunct tech site, in a post headlined, WSJ reporter parties in Cyprus with people she covers.

Oh, that never made sense to me, she said. These were not people I wrote about. These were friends. (A scan of Journal articles from the period shows she interviewed at least one Cyprus attendee in an article  Mike Hudack, the head of Blip.tv, a video start-up that has since shut down. Ms. Lessin says they were not friends when she wrote the article.) Still, her vacation drew disapproving scrutiny from higher-ups at The Journal, though not an official reprimand.

Ms. Lessin, in turn, was beginning to chafe at how newsrooms were covering tech  from a cool remove, she thought, never going deep. In contrast were the many bloggers who could delve into the industrys every incremental move, but who had become so close to subjects the stories read like ad copy. Ms. Lessin said she thought: Couldnt you do both? In-the-know reporting that still held subjects to account?

I knew if I didnt do it, someone else would, and Id be kicking myself, she said.

Starting with less than $1 million

Valley underminers like to snipe that Ms. Lessin never had to persuade investors to back her plan. She had her own money. Her father is Jerome C. Vascellaro, a partner at the private equity giant TPG, which is a significant investor in tech and media businesses like Uber, Vice and Airbnb. Her husband, a son of the late tech investor Robert H. Lessin, made a fortune from the Facebook stock he received as part of the companys acquisition of his start-up years ago.

Ms. Lessin said she tapped her own bank account, using less than $1 million, to start The Information, and continues to own and control it wholly. She pays competitive salaries (albeit without equity)  as much as $180,000 or more for some top reporters. She refuses to spend more than she grosses, she said.

So far, this strategy seems to be paying off. A 2016 article on Tony Fadell, then the head of Googles Nest division, exposed how the executives last-minute decrees and slow decision making had crippled the companys hardware efforts. The story was so in demand it converted over 600 new subscribers in the first day, recalled the reporter who wrote it, Reed Albergotti, who worked at The Information from 2015 to 2019. It blew up, he said. That was proof of the model.

But is The Information  whose title anticipates an interest in nothing short of everything  just a trade publication, like Advertising Age or Publishers Weekly? (One heavily trafficked section features richly detailed organizational charts that executive recruiters mine for leads.)
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States killed al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Qassim al-Raymi in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, Trump said in a statement.

His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security, he said. He did not say when Raymi was killed.
Union budget 2020 will release an additional Rs 3 lakh crore into the economy in sectors such as rural development, agriculture, health and education and that can directly spur consumption and growth of the economy, said Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance.

Interacting with the industry and media in Mumbai today, the FM, along with the Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar and Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey and Economic Affairs secretary Atanu Chakraborty, said about Rs 2.83 lakh crore is going to be spent alone in the rural development sector. "Credit provisions are to the tune of Rs 15 lakh crore and the capital expenditure will be higher by 21 per cent, besides a disinvestment target of Rs 2.1 lakh crore will help spur growth," said Rajiv Kumar.

The Economic Affairs secretary said the Rs 2.1 lakh crore disinvestment target is easily achievable and further funds to the tune of Rs 65,000 crore will come from telecom spectrum sales.

FM Sitharaman said additional Rs 40,000 crore will reach the people for spending through the new Income Tax reforms.

Kumar said as per an assessment done by the Income-Tax department based on the returns filed during the previous years, at least 59 per cent of the total income taxpayers will be benefited and each taxpayer will be benefited to the tune of Rs 74,000 in the new tax regime.

The budget this year has introduced a new tax regime with revised slabs and by removing at least 70 exemptions. Moving to the new regime is optional, though.

"Our government's policy is to allow each of the individual to choose where to invest beneficially, than forcing or directing them to invest in certain instruments," said FM Sitharaman.

She said the policy of the government is to ensure benefits of all schemes should reach the needy people in any district, than allocating and focussing on select aspirational districts. "There are many districts where medical infrastructure is weak to rope in the Ayushman Scheme. That is why we have decided to charge a health cess on imported medical equipment, which will be used to build this infrastructure," she said.

Replying to concerns of the industry that the government's decision to tax dividends at the hands of investors would lead to some promoter-investors paying over 50 per cent in taxes in certain cases, Sitharaman said that the government had put in a lot of thought into the matter, but decided to burden the retail investor less. "I am trying to understand from the industry as to what will be the best way to tax dividend. The idea was to benefit the small investor. Are you saying I should go back to the old system?" she asked businessmen who raised the issue with her.
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 7, 2020

In a defeat for net neutrality advocates, a federal appellate court has refused to reconsider its earlier decision upholding the Federal Communications Commission's repeal of the Obama-era open internet rules.

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals didn't give a reason for its refusal to re-hear the matter.

The move leaves in place a ruling issued in October, when a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit largely rejected challenges to the FCC's decision to revoke regulations that prohibited broadband providers from blocking or throttling traffic, and from charging higher fees for prioritized delivery.

The decision stemmed from a challenge to the FCC's December 2017 vote to repeal open internet rules that were passed just two years earlier.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, who shepherded the repeal, says the Obama-era rules were heavy handed and depressed investment.

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Net neutrality proponents say the rules are necessary to prevent broadband providers from limiting consumers' ability to access streaming video, search engines and other online services and content.

A coalition of tech companies, consumer advocacy groups, state attorneys general and city officials urged the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate the FCC's repeal and reinstate the 2015 rules.

Among other arguments, the attorneys general and city officials said the FCC didn't take into account that the repeal could harm public safety. They pointed to Verizon's decision to slow down service to firefighters battling blazes in California this summer.

Even though the October ruling largely rejected arguments made by net neutrality proponents, the appellate judges sent the matter back to the FCC with instructions to examine the implications of the repeal on public safety, the Lifeline program (which subsidizes broadband) and regulations regarding utility poles.

The October decision also vacated rules by the FCC that would have categorically blocked states from passing or enforcing their own broadband laws.

Advocacy group Free Press said it was disappointed by the court's refusal to rehear the case, and would consider its legal options.

Well keep making the case in Congress, in statehouses and in future FCC proceedings about the need to restore the vital nondiscrimination rules that Chairman Pai ripped away, Free Press Vice President of Policy and General Counsel Matt Wood stated late Thursday. We need these kinds of protections for internet users, for the FCC to promote broadband competition and adoption, and for the agency to uphold its public-safety mandates.
A week earlier, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit visited the site of the upcoming health centre in Veille Case, Dominica, whose construction is financed by the CBI Programme. Similar to other CBI-sponsored projects, the new health facilities are built with climate resilience in mind. This has been an ongoing commitment of the Skerrit administration in light of the island's adverse encounter with Hurricane Maria in 2017.

On Thursday, the Dominican government announced that it would offer new homes to another 30 families, as part of its CBI-funded Housing Revolution. The apartments are being developed in Grand Bay and will be finalised this spring. A total of at least 5,000 homes are expected to be built under the government's initiative to provide families across the island with modern, hurricane-proof public housing.

"We hope that it will be completed within the next two months and that we can, before the next hurricane season begins, have these people in brand new housing facilities that they can feel safe, secure and raise their dignity as that is very important to us," said MP Edward Registe.

Under the CBI Programme, carefully vetted applicants and their families can obtain Dominica's valuable citizenship in two ways: a minimum US$100,000 contribution to the Economic Diversification Fund (EDF) or investing at least US$200,000 in one of the hotels approved for CBI. Investors trust in Dominica's CBI and real estate is reflected in the growing number of shares sold to CBI applicants, the construction progress on schedule and the opening of the CBI hotels, which are rooted in sustainability.

"We have seen the benefits, we have seen the hotels," says Ambassador Nanthan. "By and whole, CBI is continuing to do well for us and for Dominica," he concludes. Dominica is often referred to as the 'poster child' for CBI transparency, ecotourism and climate resilience.

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Good morning,

Energy in 2040-2050: markets to be transformed, but there's no silver bullet for climate crisis

Capgemini's white paper demonstrates possibilities and limitations of tech disruption in the energy market, as global population and energy consumption continue to rise

Please find below the News Alert issued today.

Best regards,

Florence Lievre

Global PR Manager | Group Marketing & Communications

Capgemini Group | Paris

Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 71

Email : florence.lievre@capgemini.com

_____________________

Press contact:

Florence Lievre

Tel.: +33 1 47 54 50 71

Email: florence.lievre@capgemini.com

Energy in 2040-2050: markets to be transformed, but there's no silver bullet for climate crisis

Capgemini's white paper demonstrates possibilities and limitations of tech disruption in the energy market, as global population and energy consumption continue to rise

Paris, February 07, 2020- Capgemini has today published a new white paper "The Future of Energy" that looks ahead to the energy market in 2040-50,exploring notably the potential for technology to help mitigate the rising energy demand of a growing global population - an additional 1.7 billion people on the planet are expected by 20401, leading to a 25% rise in energy consumption and new climate impacts.

The white paper predicts that by 2050, the energy landscape will be entirely redesigned due to the impact of new regulations, changes to customer mindsets, as well as combination of deep / digital technologies and blurring industries.

Key conclusions include the interrelations of about 20 key factors, influencing the future, and:

Despite the commitment by 59 countries, states and provinces to rely on 100% renewable energy by 2040, the abandonment of fossil fuels by this time is very unlikely. While political support and falling costs will continue to make renewables the fastest-growing segment, a 100% renewables mix would demand a radical overhaul of infrastructure - including the installation of solar PV and wind farms at 4-5 the per capita rate of China, currently the world leader in renewable capacity. A reasonably optimistic scenario - but with issues to be tackled - is for fossil fuels to fall to 20% of market share by 2040 (from 65%), while renewables rise from 6% to 38%.

Improvement in energy intensity, the energy spent by every $1,000 of GDP, is set to hover between 1%-2.9% per year, short of the 3-4% needed to comply with global sustainability targets. Achieving the more aggressive target would require a radical shift towards a circular economy and replacement of short-life, high tech solutions with energy savvy tech alternatives.

Technology will bring about dramatic change within the market, delivering between $213-$830bn in cost savings through the use of intelligent automation. However, no major breakthrough in energy technology can be expected by 2050, although it is likely that a 'rescue by technology' narrative will remain dominant in a society that continues to live by intensive energy consumption. Energy will cease to be a discrete subject and will become defined entirely by its final use. Talk will be of mobility, lighting, heating or cooling and charging - with all these uses labeled and certified according to their environmental impact.

Philippe Vie, Global Head of the Energy and Utilities sector at Capgemini, says: "The energy landscape in 2050 will be shaped by the collective choices of providers, consumers and Governments made up of about 20 key factors. The extent of our global progress towards a carbon neutral future will depend on these key factors that are outlined in this report, from energy demand and the fossil/renewable mix to regulation, development of deep and digital technologies as well as customer changes."

He adds: "The idea that technology alone will avert the climate crisis is wishful thinking. There is no silver bullet, only decisions to build the infrastructure, develop the regulation and encourage the changes in consumer behaviour will create a sustainable future."

The Future of Energy point of view published today leverages years of expertise developed from the World Energy Markets Observatory , the annual flagship publication by Capgemini that monitors the main indicators of the electricity and gas markets in North America, Europe, Australia, South-East Asia, China and India, and reports on the developments and transformations in these sectors.

Key topics covered in the new whitepaper:

Population growth and economic development lead to growing demand for energy, transportation, construction that increases Green House Gas emissions

Multiple interrelated parameters are to be considered to draw the future energy scenarios within a region

Progress but no deep technology disruptions expected by 2040-2050 when Carbon neutrality is needed

Combination of deep and digital technologies could leverage potential important gaps

Complete renewal of players and ecosystems should dissolve energy supply in larger value propositions beyond energy to populations and residential, commercial as well as industrial energy consumers

For more information and to download a full copy of the report, click here .

About Capgemini

A global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, Capgemini is at the forefront of innovation to address the entire breadth of clients' opportunities in the evolving world of cloud, digital and platforms. Building on its strong 50-year heritage and deep industry-specific expertise, Capgemini enables organizations to realize their business ambitions through an array of services from strategy to operations. Capgemini is driven by the conviction that the business value of technology comes from and through people. It is a multicultural company of over 200,000 team members in more than 40 countries. The Group reported 2018 global revenues of EUR 13.2 billion.

Visit us at www.capgemini.com . People matter, results count.









1 Source: United Nations https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/index.asp







Attachment
The phones screen turns a serene blue, and Calm, the leading mindfulness application, opens. At the very center, without capitalization or punctuation, small and faint, are the words take a deep breath.

That gives way to a menu. What brings you to Calm?

The app offers options to reduce anxiety, develop gratitude, build self esteem, even increase happiness.

The next screen offers a seven-day free trial. Once the trial has ended, the annual rate is $69.99, a small price for happiness.

Somewhere around 2010, according to experts and Google search data, the practice of mindfulness began an upward swing. In less than a decade, it has become the fastest-growing health trend in the United States, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mindfulness rules the online app store. The San Francisco-based Calm is valued at $1 billion, and its competitor Headspace at $350 million. (The industry as a whole has been estimated to be worth as much as $4 billion.) Meditation retreats are en vogue. Corporations offer access to mindfulness in the same way they do for gyms. Even the military uses mindfulness breathing techniques to boost soldiers performance.

But as with any Next Big Thing, there are reasons to be cautious. Some say this rush into mindfulness has outpaced the science and stripped it of its cultural context. All of this threatens to turn a tool for well-being, for situating oneself in the current moment, into a tool for standard American commercialism.

Around the same time mindfulness began its upward trajectory, Ronald Purser, a management professor at San Francisco State University, started to feel the familiar weight of doubt. Hed been doing a fair amount of corporate management training and consulting  redesigning the workplace to work better, at least in theory, for everybody. I became somewhat disillusioned and disenchanted, he says. Even when we were making progress, trying to redesign work so employees would have more autonomy and decision-making, the management sort of pulled the plug on some of those experiments.

It was around this time, too, that Chade-Meng Tan, a software engineer at Google, gained notoriety for integrating mindfulness into Googles corporate culture through a series of in-house mindfulness seminars. In 2012, Tan turned those courses into a blockbuster book, Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace), and Purser found himself attending Tans very first public offering.

I became very disappointed by what I saw, just in terms of what the program was and how superficial it was, Purser says. I just saw this as part of the interest in behavioral science techniques as a way of yoking the interest or subjectivity of employees to corporate goals.

A year later, Purser published an essay with the Huffington Post. It was titled Beyond McMindfulness. Mindfulness meditation, he wrote, was making its way into schools, corporations, prisons, and government agencies including the U.S. military. Purser, a student of mindfulness for 40 years, wasnt knocking the practice but was wary of its growing reputation as a universal panacea for resolving almost every area of daily concern. Last year, Purser expanded on the essay and published a book titled McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality.

Early on in his book, he writes this: I do not question the value of adapting mindfulness for therapeutic use, nor do I deny that it can help people. What bothers me is how its promoters want things both ways: one minute, mindfulness is science, since thats what sells; the next, it stands for everything in Buddhism, since thats what makes it sound deep.

The issues Purser called out eight years ago have only grown with time. Rhetoric, he says, still outpaces results. The practice becomes increasingly decontextualized, meme-ified and gamified. Mindfulness becomes a cure for more and more  our happiness, our anxiety, our pain, even world peace.

Its worth pausing a moment to define  or at least try to define  mindfulness.

At its very core, its deepest and truest roots, mindfulness is a Buddhist meditation technique. There are hundreds, probably thousands of different meditative techniques. This is only one of them, says Mushim Ikeda, a Buddhist meditation teacher. Traditionally, in the Buddhist scriptures, it is said that what we call mindfulness meditation was one of 40 different techniques that the historical Buddha, the one we call the Buddha, talked about. So it wasnt even his one and only meditation technique according to those scriptures.

She knows those scriptures well. Ikeda, who primarily teaches at the East Bay Meditation Center, describes herself as a socially engaged teacher  a social justice activist, author, and diversity and inclusion facilitator.

She describes mindfulness meditation as a secular term in Buddhism, one thats also called insight meditation. This is a sort of awareness, she says, that is different from the awareness that we might call everyday awareness  the sort we need to drive a car, or maintain a conversation, or use an ATM. She and others describe mindful awareness as spacious and nonjudgmental. Ikeda says, Its been said mindfulness only sees. It does not judge.

The most common technique involves closing the eyes and focusing on the breath and only the breath, moving other thoughts, and the thoughts that come with those thoughts, away and out.

Mindfulness as a secular, western therapeutic intervention did not begin in Silicon Valley. Rather, youd have to go back to 1979 and a man named Jon Kabat-Zinn and the founding of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn has studied the effects of what he dubbed mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR for short), on everything from brain function to skin disease.

Still, its hard to ignore Silicon Valleys latest role in spreading and expanding mindfulness in the pursuit of a different tech culture value, peak performance. There is Search Inside Yourself, the book that coincided with the movements growth spurt. There are Twitter co-founder Jack Dorseys much-publicized meditation retreats. (Black Mirror, the dystopian science fiction show, seemed to parody both him and the now-ubiquitous apps.) Recently, there was the dopamine fast, a pseudo-scientific dopamine reset by way of doing nothing. (One originator said he drew directly from Buddhist Vipassana meditation when he crafted the fast.)

Don Asmussen / The Chronicle

The voices are soothing and smooth  soft, but not quite a whisper. The cadence and diction perfect, gently pulling you along. Birds chatter in the background. Waves move gently to meet a beach. Or maybe a brook babbles as it pushes over and under and between river rocks.

Breathing in ... I am calm.

Breathing out ... I am at peace.

A chime rings, a signal that this 90-second meditation to calm anger has ended. Calm offers its congratulations.

The danger in this rapid evolution is that it threatens to turn a very old practice into a fad that overpromises and underdelivers.

Helen Weng has practiced Buddhist meditation for more than two decades. I was reading a lot of books about psychology because I was unhappy because high school is horrible, she says. And her father, who, along with her mother, had immigrated to the United States from Taiwan, could offer her books about Buddhist philosophy. The two came together. The Dalai Lamas teachings offered her an opportunity to cultivate her own well-being. I dont like the word happiness anymore, but you can use mental exercises to become more aware of your feeling states and your thoughts.

Now Weng works as a clinical psychologist with the psychiatry department at UCSF and a neuroscientist with the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine and the Neuroscape Center, both at UCSF as well. Her scientific work uses magnetic resonance imaging to measure the amount of oxygen in the blood that flows to the brain as people meditate. Essentially, she can track whether the meditator is actually focused on their breath or if their attention has wandered. And in her clinical work, she offers meditation as one of many possible therapeutic interventions.

Still, she calls the recent spread of mindfulness very freaky.

Im very proud that practices from eastern cultures and religions generate so much interest, she says. At the same time, mindfulness and its results are super hard to study. So much so that I just thought I was a bad scientist for a long time. Whats more, she says, meditation isnt always the right sort of behavioral therapy.

Im very disturbed by these messages that meditation basically cures everything or its good for everyone or theres universally very good positive effects. The effects are really moderate and subtle. Its not any better than any other kind of psychotherapy, she says. Part of it is cultural appropriation where its this magical, mystical thing that then people can say does all these things, and I think were still in the height of that and its going to take some time for things to settle down.

Medical students, she says, inevitably ask her how much time they have to commit to mindfulness to make it work. There are studies that show clear benefits to mindfulness. Weng points to one that indicated 30 minutes a day of compassion meditation for two weeks increased altruistic giving to strangers and brain responses to pictures of people suffering.

But the key here is consistency. What happens if you work out for 30 minutes just once? she asks. It benefits you a little bit. Thats good. But if you just do it once, its not going to have a long-term effect.

After the chime and the congratulations, the waves keep moving in and out, and a quote appears onscreen. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. (A quote sometimes attributed to Albert Einstein, but probably more correctly attributed to Narcotics Anonymous.) And in that moment, Calm reminds you that you really should turn on push notifications, in order to fully experience Calm. Decline and itll ask one more time about its mindfulness reminders.

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.

Are you sure? Its hard to set aside time for yourself in our busy world without a little help.

Don Asmussen / The Chronicle

Farrah Fawcett and Lee Majors are jogging. Theyre tan, of course. Their shorts are short. Her blond hair is fanned out, so are his brown curls. She has a broad, blindingly white smile and a red handkerchief tied around her neck. His jacket is zipped down almost to his navel; his chest is hairy. And right beside them, a headline: Farrah & Lee & Everybodys Doing It: Stars Join The Jogging Craze.

This is the cover of the July 4, 1977, issue of People magazine. Alex Will, the chief strategy officer for Calm, the industry-leading mindfulness meditation app, likes to reference this cover when he talks about mindfulness. (Theres even a copy of the issue at the office.) To understand the future of mindfulness, just look to the past.

Mindfulness is becoming mainstream, Will says. People are starting to understand that taking care of the mind is just as important as taking care of the body. Meditation and mindfulness is one way to do that.

In some respects, Calm isnt doing anything that hasnt already been done. Before smartphones, one could buy a meditation CD, slip it into a home stereo and start counting breaths. The app just makes it more portable and more accessible than ever before. I think one of the reasons Ive been so successful is that it is a very low bar for someone to try and get into, Will says. There are short, two-minute long meditations, narrations to help with sleep, even a beginners guide to mindfulness. Similarly, if you want to go deeper, we have a 30-minute master class where you can learn how to break bad habits.

All of the content, Will says, is vetted by mindfulness instructors, and, now that the app is available in more than 100 countries, the programming is also run by people to make sure translations work. This is very nuanced, he says. Language really matters. The Calm app has also been part of various clinical studies in an attempt to back up the applications rhetoric.

Mindfulness, by the way, has already had its magazine-cover moment. Not quite 37 years after the jogging craze, Time magazine featured the Mindfulness Revolution on its Feb. 3, 2014, issue. A blond, fair-skinned model stands straight, hands at her sides, eyes closed, face slightly upward. And the headline: The science of finding focus in a stressed-out multitasking culture.

Mindfulness began to trend in large part because corporations embraced the practice as a way to help employees relieve stress. This is one of the cruxes of Pursers concerns  that mindfulness is just a way to wring more productivity from employees, a sleight of hand that shifts the onus from the company to the worker.

In 2012, the year Chade-Meng Tan published Search Inside Yourself, the idea of offering mindfulness courses to employees still felt novel. The New York Times featured Tan and the course hed developed for Google employees  a course that involved meditation, Tibetan brass bowls, stream-of-consciousness journaling and lots of emotional openness. Even then the course was framed as a way to help employees deal with their intense workplace  no mention of toning down the intensity.

Eight years later, mindfulness courses are the rule, not the exception. Apple, Nike, HBO and Target have all offered some form of mindfulness training to employees. Aetna, the insurance provider, decided to offer mindfulness and other stress-relief activities (including dog petting) after an internal study found that the most stressed-out employees spent $1,500 more a year on health care. And if a company cant bring a trained expert on board, well, they can always give employees memberships to Calm or Headspace.

The Buddha taught that almost everything comes and goes, says Mushim Ikeda, the East Bay Meditation Center instructor. Its called impermanence or change. And health trends famously come and go. Its a product of our capitalist system.

One year, its a certain kind of berry thats going to cure everything. Another year, its mindfulness meditation thats going to cure everything. Five years from now, heaven only knows, itll be something else. Burnt toast  who knows?

Ikeda offers a path forward, a path separate from capitalism, a path that encourages students to cultivate a practice in which they care for themselves so that they may, in turn, care for their communities. Its an approach based in social justice and altruism. And yet, she isnt dogmatic.

Mindfulness, Ikeda says, does not judge.

A person might use mindfulness to lower their blood pressure or achieve peak performance. A corporation might use mindfulness to paper over an inherently unjust and healthy system. All this, she says, is like using a Swiss Army knife for just one thing. Its not what the tool was intended to do, and its not all it can do.

Mindfulness is always mindful awareness of something, Ikeda says. Who knows what a given individual is going to do with it? Or what it will do for them?

An individual might, for instance, become mindfully aware of a broken system.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @RyanKost
The Minister for Health, Osagie Ehanire, has said about 27 states of the federation have recorded cases of Lassa fever as at the last count.

Mr Ehanire said this on Thursday during a meeting with state health commissioners across the 36 states, at a two-day event organised by the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) in Abuja.

He also disclosed that progress is being made by the federal government on developing a vaccine against the disease in partnership with a German research firm.

The 36 state governors, under the aegis of the NGF, said in January that state governments are partnering with other health agencies to tackle the epidemic.

Scourge

At least 16 people have so far died in a fresh outbreak of the disease in Ondo State, and about 84 cases have also been recorded since the beginning of the year.

In Kano State, the outbreak has killed three victims, including a pregnant woman and two medical doctors, after they were diagnosed at the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital.

The Nigeria Centre for Diseases Control, (NCDC) said at least 82 cases have been detected across Nigeria in 2020 with at least 14 deaths.

Measures

Meanwhile, Mr Ehanire called on all Nigerians to ensure that the battle to curb the outbreak is not for government alone, saying it is a collaborative effort.

I thank you all at this point for commendation the federal ministry of health has received in its efforts to contain the outbreak of Lassa fever which has moved to about 27 states as at last count. And we are also in collaboration to ensure that the Coronavirus does not enter Nigeria

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and other services are coordinating the government response to control the outbreak and also prevent importation, progress is being made on developing a vaccine against Lassa fever with the help of a German medical research firm, he said

Reinforcing PHCs

He said Nigeria had not reached the level of providing the kind of quality health required to meet its growing population.

Mr Ehanire said the Nigerian government would continue to ensure that health has priority in the development agenda of this administration.

He added that some primary healthcare centres have been standardised to provide 24 hours of medical service.

The health minister called on state health commissioners to speak with their various governors that the secondary level of the healthcare system is just as important as the primary healthcare sector.

The temptation is to go for large visible hospital complexes, which are very impressive. But forget that down below, the needs there are not met, these large hospitals can convey about six, five general hospitals.

We know that our countrys health system does not yet provide the level of quality of service required to meet the population.

There is a need to have a sound primary healthcare system with a secondary PHCs including a functional general hospital in at least one in every LGA, there can be many more though.

But I have always believed that private sectors always have a role to play here, states cannot meet this responsibility alone.

In his remarks, the Director-General of NGF, Asishana Okauru, acknowledged the ongoing efforts of the Federal Government to strengthen the primary healthcare sector in the country.

Mr Okauru, who was represented by Chijioke Chuku, the NGF head of legal affairs, said governors are committed to ensuring that PHC which is regarded as the pillar of the healthcare system remains functional in all the states.

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Senior BJP leader Pravin Darekar on Friday met Navi Mumbai police commissioner Sanjay Kumar and asked him to speed up probe into the killing of a woman in Panvel.

The woman, identified as Sharda Mali (55), was killed in Dundre village on Thursday by five people who hanged her corpse to make it look like a suicide, police had said.

While police had initially taken a case of accidental death, the Navi Mumbai police commissioner has informed that it has been converted into a murder case, Darekar, leader of opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, told reporters after the meeting.

"We have demanded that the guilty be given exemplary punishment. Crimes against women are increasing under the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government," he added.

BJP MLAs Prashant Thakur and Ramesh Patil were also present when Darekar met the police commissioner.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
VANCOUVERGrief and anger is vibrating through Chinese communities in Canada and around the world Thursday as news that the doctor who blew the whistle on the novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan apparently died of the virus. Then reports he had come back to life surfaced, further enraging the public. By the afternoon, he was declared dead again.

The ensuing backlash in China and by Chinese people around the world, against the Chinese Communist Party over the handling of the virus and the death of Dr. Li Wenliang could signal a long decline for the CCP. Its a bold statement, but one thats backed up by history, according to experts on China.

This is a very typical sign of the fall of an empire, said Victor Ho, a former Chinese-language newspaper editor in Vancouver and founder of social media outlet Media Analytica, which examines Chinese news and current events.

You are going to send astronauts to the back of the moon, Ho said, referring to Chinas space ambitions. But you cannot save people at the back of your house.

Li was an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan who is regarded as a national hero for exposing the novel coronavirus and, subsequently, the Chinese governments failures to properly deal with the outbreak.

The 34-year-old was quickly detained by police for rumour mongering when he tried to warn classmates at a medical school about the virus in late December.

On Saturday he was diagnosed with the virus and Chinese state-run media reported his death Thursday before changing their reports hours later to say Lis heart had stopped but started again, and he was in critical condition. The confirmation of his death came once again hours later.

Rumours that Lis pregnant wife had also died began circulating Thursday as well. As of Thursday evening, those rumours were still unconfirmed.

Ho said he suspects the reports of Lis death were reversed in state media as an attempt to quell an outburst of anger across China while the government tried to figure out how to handle news of his death.

They want to manipulate the way to tell the public what happened, Ho said. Especially the death news.

Ho said its likely state media will try to will try to portray Li as a hero for blowing the whistle on the discovery of the virus, while downplaying his arrest and government mishandling of his findings.

But the efforts were not working well across social media Thursday, when posts written in Chinese about Lis death and the governments handling of the situation flooded WeChat. Some began to disappear shortly after they were written. WeChat censors posts that the ruling CCP may find troublesome, even outside China.

The Coronavirus plague we saw is just one of the symptoms of another, bigger plague, said Tao Duanfang, a Vancouver resident on his WeChat channel. Thats it. That is all I can say for now. We mourn the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. Some people die; but he is living forever.

In China, where the risk of criticizing the government is heightened, WeChat users were becoming bolder.

This is the first national funeral since the birth of internet, wrote one. And the complete collapse of the credibility of authorities.

Another person added, It is different from the past, since everyone is confined to their homes and refreshing their smartphones, which is intensifying the memory.

Others called for a Li Wenliang Act to promote free speech and free media in China. One drew a cartoon of Li with a barbed-wire mask around his face. One post referencing the poet John Donne read, dont ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for all of us, while another referred to Lis story as a day of infamy for China.

Smaller acts of defiance, such as reposting official state media articles declaring that Wuhan officials had arrested eight people  doctors talking in a WeChat group about the virus  for spreading rumours were common.

So far, there are nearly 30,000 confirmed cases of the virus and more than 550 deaths. The city of Wuhan is regarded as the epicentre of the virus and its 11 million residents have been under heavy restrictions to stay inside their homes, leaving streets deserted.

Charles Burton, a former counsellor at the Canadian embassy in Beijing and China expert with the Macdonald Laurier Institute said that, historically, Chinas public has seen catastrophic events as a sign that the national authority must be replaced.

There is a cultural proclivity to identify these disasters with the failure of government, Burton said. And arguably, in this case, theres some basis for thinking that.

Unlike other disasters in China, such as the Sichuan earthquake that claimed 70,000 lives in 2008, the coronavirus outbreak is affecting the entire nation, with numerous cities on lockdown and cases popping up all over the country.

The enormous disruption to the normal cycle of life cant be ignored by Chinas population, he said.

Making the situation worse is already simmering anger about repression of information about the virus early on and the near disappearance of the countrys chairman Xi Jinping during the outbreak, Burton said.

With files from The Washington Post

Read more about:
Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Pakistan B2C E-Commerce Market 2019" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Pakistan B2C E-Commerce Market 2019 highlights the rapid growth of the Pakistani B2C E-Commerce market.



Development of the Pakistani E-Commerce market

Despite being still in the early stages of development, over 2018, the E-Commerce market in Pakistan increased two-fold. The market is propped up by increasingly better Internet penetration rates and more mobile device usage.



The prevalence of the Internet increases

Between 2010 and 2017, the Internet penetration rate has almost doubled. However, even with this high rate of growth, Pakistan's share of Internet users still falls below the average in Asia. Despite this, Pakistan's large population compensates and a quarter of these Internet users are already shopping online.



The rise of mobile

Desktop may be the most used device to access the Internet in Pakistan, but the number of mobile users is growing. Driving this potential for the rise of mobile shopping, by 2025, half of the population of Pakistan is expected to have mobile devices.

Questions Answered in the Report

How large was Pakistan's B2C E-Commerce market in 2018?

Who are the leading E-Commerce merchants in Pakistan?

What are the top drivers and barriers of online shopping in Pakistan?

Which key market trends influence the development of online retail in Pakistan?

Companies Mentioned



Alibaba Group Holding Limited

Amazon Inc.

Daraz.pk

Facebook Inc.

Homeshopping.pk

OLX Inc.

Shopdaily.pk

Shopping.com

Yayvo.com

Key Topics Covered



1. Management Summary

2. Overview & International Comparisons



B2C E-Commerce Market Overview, January 2019

Retail Sales CAGR, in %, by Selected Fast-Growing Markets Worldwide, incl. Pakistan, 2016-2021f

Internet Users, in Selected Countries in Asia, incl. Pakistan, in millions, 2017

Share of Internet Users Who Do Not Trust Online Shopping, in % of Internet Users Who Have Never Shopped Online, by Selected Markets Worldwide, incl. Pakistan, March 2018

Mobile Phone Ownership, in % of Individuals, by Selected Markets Worldwide, incl. Pakistan, December 2017

Share of Internet Users Likely to Use Mobile Payment in the Next Year, in %, by Selected Markets Worldwide, incl. Pakistan, March 2018

3. Trends



Breakdown of Internet Traffic by Device, in %, December 2018

Mobile User Penetration, in % of Individuals, 2017 & 2025f

Online Activities Performed at Least Weekly, by Smartphone and Desktop/ Laptop, in % of Internet Users, April 2017

Types of Apps Used, in % of Feature Phone or Smartphone Owners, December 2017

Top 5 Industries on Facebook, by Number of Followers, in thousands, 2018e

4. Sales & Shares



Value of B2C E-Commerce Transactions, in PKR billion, and Number of B2C E-Commerce Transactions, in millions, FY 2017-2018

B2C E-Commerce Sales, in USD million, 2015, 2016 & 2020f

B2C E-Commerce Share of Total Retail Sales, in %, March 2018

5. Internet Users & Online Shoppers



Internet Penetration, in % of Individuals, 2010 - 2017

Number of Broadband Subscribers, by Technology and Total, in thousands, FY 2013/2014 - 2017/2018

Breakdown of Frequency of Online Shopping, in % of Internet Users, March 2018

Reasons for Not Using the Internet, in % of Non-Internet Users, December 2017

Reasons to Shop Online, in % of Online Shoppers, March 2018

Barriers For Online Shopping, in % of Internet Users Who Have Never Shopped Online, March 2018

6. Products



Awareness of Platforms for Buying and Selling, in % of Internet Users and Usage of the Platforms for Buying and Selling, in % of Internet Users Aware of these Platforms, December 2017

Major Product Categories Purchased in B2C E-Commerce, December 2017

7. Payment



Number of Local E-Commerce Merchants Accepting Digital Payments, in Units, FY 2017, Q1-Q4 FY 2018

Value of E-Commerce Transactions With Domestically Issued Cards, in PKR billion, and Number of Transactions, in millions, by Credit Cards, Debit Cards and Pre-Paid Cards, FY 2017-2018

Share of Cash-on-Delivery (COD) Transactions in B2C E-Commerce, in %, March 2018

Breakdown E-Commerce Orders by Cash on Delivery and Prepayment, by Order Value, in %, 2017

8. Delivery



Breakdown of Primary Reasons for Not Shopping Online, incl. Delivery-Related, in % of Internet Users, December 2017

9. Players



Most Used E-Commerce Platforms' Location, in % of Online Shoppers, March 2018

Top 5 E-Commerce Websites, by Total Website Visits, in millions, incl. Rank Among All Websites in Pakistan, Pakistan's Share of Website Visits on Desktop, in %, November 2018

Top 10 Online Shopping Websites, 2018e

Profile of Daraz.pk, January 2019

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/n8jp0a

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) The city government of Pasay urged Philippine offshore gaming operators or POGOs to strictly implement preventive measures to combat the feared spread of the novel coronavirus or else face a bigger consequence.

Pasay City Mayor Emi Calixto-Rubiano told CNN Philippines The Source that local authorities can outright order the suspension of operations of some POGOs if their respective offices are found to be negligent of the fresh directive.

Dapat nilang sundin. At kung hindi, pwede po naming outright na ipatigil ang kanilang operations, Rubiano said in the interview on Friday.

[Translation: They should follow the order. If they dont, we can outright stop their operations.]

Or kung meron naman silang mga reasons kung bakit hindi nila nagawa ng oras na yun, pwede rin naming tingnan din, she clarified.

[Translation: Or if they have reasons why they werent able to implement, we can also look at it.]

The Pasay government earlier issued a memorandum tasking establishmentsincluding offices, commercial buildings, and events venuesto observe the proper safety protocol amid the 2019-nCoV threat around the world.

Among the measures that should be implemented include a forehead thermometer check for entrants, placement of hand sanitizer in strategic locations, as well as strict face mask, cleanliness, and garbage disposal policies.

The city hosts 40 POGO offices with around 4,000 workers, Rubiano noted.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation earlier directed gaming operators in the country to impose a 10-day quarantine on employees who will be coming from countries affected by the respiratory illness. PAGCOR said the order covers both newly-hired and returning POGO workers.

It's not clear why PAGCOR is imposing only a 10-day quarantine. Health authorities have ordered a mandatory 14-day quarantine for returning Filipinos and holders of permanent resident visa with history of travel to China.

Over 600 people were killed by the mysterious respiratory illness in China the center of the disease outbreak as of Friday morning, CNN reported. The number of confirmed cases globally also soared to over 31,000.

The Philippines has confirmed three cases of coronavirus all involving Chinese nationals. One of them, a 44-year-old man who died in Manila, was the first 2019-nCoV fatality outside mainland China.

LIST: PH events canceled due to novel coronavirus threat
The meteoric rise in Tesla TSLA shares is encouraging for a long-time fan like me. But when the rally moves beyond logic, its time for a quick fact check.



So lets start with what Elon Musk himself said about the way to win in the American auto space as it exists today:



Incumbent car companies make most of their money from selling spare parts to their existing fleet at high margins, and theyll sell the new cars at a de facto zero margin or even at a loss... If you are a new company, you do not have a fleet, so you have no fleet with which to subsidize the sale of your new cars. This is the primary reason there has not been a successful car company startup in the United States.



So he identifies the lack of a fleet as the primary challenge for Tesla and the reason a Tesla needs to be compelling enough for people to be willing to pay a premium. If this strategy allows the company to reach critical mass, its only then that the car market dynamics will start to play out in Teslas favor. So how does he propose to get this done?



In Musks words, In order for a car company to be successful, it has to succeed on two fundamental technology discontinuities: one being electrification, the other being autonomy, because electrification alone is not enough. The combination of those two is the only opening for a new car company to make it.



So what hes really saying is that while this EV craze/government support/etc is good, and a chance in a lifetime for a new car company to leverage, he wants us to take a long-term view of Teslas success. Because its only when the automation part is added will this be a viable business.



In the meantime, things like hitting quarterly targets, cash flow generation, new battery-making facilities coming online, the democrat initiative/plan to build a cross-country EV-charging network will lend some buoyancy to shares. On the other hand, unforeseen setbacks like the coronavirus, as well as the end of government subsidies in some regions, the Chinese governments decision to phase out subsidies, protests in Germany against the location of the new Gigafactory in that country will remain pressures.



Almost all sell-side analysts believe in the company now although some think theres reason for short-term concern. And irrespective of their rating on the shares, all analysts are advising caution given the strong rally (and relatively small correction) in the shares.



Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said that many investors are struggling to identify a strong fundamental underpinning for the move and folks are asking a lot of questions.



Cannacord Genuity analyst Jed Dorsheimer, who downgraded Tesla stock from Buy to Hold expressed fear about the coronavirus: "Just as we observed a clear buy signal coming into 2020, we see the risk of China's coronavirus as a clear headwind to the Shanghai facility, suggesting a more pragmatic position," he said, observing that the valuation doesnt include a production reset from the targeted 3,000 Model 3s per week as a result of the compulsory shut down of facilities until Feb 9. "Following an electrifying run in 2020, we are downgrading shares of Tesla to hold as we see a balanced risk reward for investors to lock in profits," he said.



Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives believes the Shanghai shutdown will have a limited impact on the 150,000 Telsa units likely to be sold in the region over the next year considering how aggressively the company started production at its China plant and the strong demand in the Shanghai area.



Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill called the rally irrational exuberance and said, While we acknowledge the fundamentals have improved, we remind investors the following: 1) TSLA has never posted a full annual profit since going public; 2) its growth rate decelerated in '19 and 3) GAAP gross profit increased only $27MM despite revenue increasing $3.1BN in '19. Needham has an Underperform rating on Tesla.



Gene Munster of Loup Ventures, a former Wall Street analyst turned venture capitalist points to unrealistic expectations for first-quarter profit and sales when he expects a quarter-on-quarter sales decline, negative cash flow, and margin pressure from production ramps and fewer sales. The holiday quarter was golden according to him, but some buyers were simply getting in before tax incentives in the U.S. and in the Netherlands started phasing out.

He thinks that standard language changes about quarter-to-quarter sales increases likely indicates Q1 deliveries will decline significantly from 112k vehicles in Q4. Moreover, Vehicle production will likely outpace deliveries significantly in Q1, which may lead to negative FCF for the quarter. But to a certain extent, the run-up in share prices is justified because it has rightfully reclassified Tesla as a tech company. The only concern is that the Street is overlooking short-term headwinds.



Barclays analyst Brian Johnson remains "underweight" on Tesla while raising his price target from $200 to $300. "We continue to believe TSLA is fundamentally overvalued  but nevertheless concede that the recent price action opens up the possibility of raising capital cheaply, and hence reduces that chance of a stalled business."



Cascend Securities' Chief Investment Strategist Eric Ross agrees. He says that "renewed access to equity capital could reduce their debt load significantly." Raising equity at this valuation would be a smart move according to him and it could be used to pay off debt thus improving earnings by $1 and also the balance sheet. Additionally, the debt-free balance sheet would help Tesla acquire future debt financing.



While some have compared Teslas volatility to Bitcoin, Cramer who thinks its a technology company on wheels, strongly disagreed. He thinks, which likely was the case, that some people who recently sold off the shares were letting "some air out of the balloon," although all signs say that theres "plenty of helium left," meaning that investors were merely taking some profits. As regards its trajectory back to the $968 level he said, "Maybe it will take a while, but when it gets back there, I bet it keeps climbing."



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A Louisiana woman says she is stuck in China because of the coronavirus.

Francesca D'Agostino is in China teaching English. Her school is closed because of the coronavirus so she was planning to come home, but her flight was canceled.
Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan, who claims Sinn Fein is unfit to be a coalition partner, has been providing legal services to the party's former president Gerry Adams.

This is a premium article Premium articles will soon be available only to Independent.ie subscribers.

Mr O'Callaghan yesterday led his party's attacks on Sinn Fein over its handling of the Paul Quinn murder.

But the Irish Independent has learned the TD, who also works as a barrister, was hired by former Sinn Fein president Mr Adams to act in a defamation action against a national newspaper.

According to court filings, Mr O'Callaghan helped draft a statement of claim for Mr Adams.

Aside from Micheal Martin, the double-jobbing TD has been Fianna Fail's staunchest critic of Sinn Fein during the election campaign. He is considered the frontrunner to be the next justice minister should Fianna Fail be the biggest party following the General Election.

Asked how he could square his representation of Mr Adams with his stance on Sinn Fein, Mr O'Callaghan defended his actions. He referenced the code of conduct of the Irish Bar which prohibits discriminating in favour of or against any person availing of their services.

He told the Irish Independent it would be "a sad day" for justice and democracy if lawyers refused people legal representation because of their politics.

Mr O'Callaghan was again at the forefront of attacks on Sinn Fein yesterday, calling on Conor Murphy to resign as Stormont finance minister over remarks he made about the Quinn murder.

Separately, Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald spoke with Paul's mother Breege Quinn by phone last night.

Ms Quinn appealed to Ms McDonald as a "mother" to "pick up the phone to Conor Murphy and get him to say the few important words - Paul Quinn was not a criminal".

She also said Mr Adams should apologise for remarks that suggested her son was involved in criminality.

As the controversy over Sinn Fein's response to the Quinn murder continued yesterday, Mr O'Callaghan appeared at a press conference where he attacked the party.

Speaking about Mr Murphy's apology to the family of Paul Quinn, Mr O'Callaghan said that if it was a genuine apology it would have been made 13 years ago.

He claimed the apology was designed to protect and promote the interests of Sinn Fein in the run-up to the election.

He hit out again at Sinn Fein's opposition to the non-judge Special Criminal Court and claimed a "cabal in West Belfast" would not allow party leader Mary Lou McDonald to come out in favour of it.

Mr O'Callaghan has juggled his legal and political careers since being elected to the Dail in 2016.

He initially began representing Mr Adams in 2015, when Mr O'Callaghan was a member of Dublin City Council. According to legal filings, Mr O'Callaghan helped draft a statement of claim for the then Sinn Fein president that December.

The matter, which has yet to go to trial, was also the subject of a number of motion hearings in 2016 and 2018.

Mr Adams is suing Sunday Newspapers Limited, publishers of the 'Sunday World' newspaper, over an article which appeared in September 2015 about him and former IRA member Kevin McGuigan, who was murdered the previous month. The publisher has denied defamation, and is fighting the claim.

Mr Adams is also represented in the action by prominent defamation solicitors Johnsons.

Mr O'Callaghan declined to say if he intended to continue representing Mr Adams.

"As a barrister, I am not permitted to make any public comment on any case in which I was previously briefed. Asking a barrister to comment upon a case is like asking a doctor to comment upon a patient," he said.

"However, throughout my career as a barrister I have represented a couple of thousand people including elected politicians from every party. I represented all clients fearlessly and to the best of my ability.

"In doing so I complied with the code of conduct of the Irish Bar which prohibits barristers from discriminating in favour of or against any person availing of my services on the grounds of their personal characteristics or politics.

"My political beliefs are neither affected nor influenced by the persons I represent. The justice system in this country has benefited from having an independent Bar that does not allow barristers to avoid representing certain people.

"I have always upheld the interests of people seeking my services without regard to my own interests or to any consequences for myself. It will be a sad day for Irish justice and democracy if lawyers refuse to offer people legal representation because of their politics."

Last month, Mr O'Callaghan said his party had concerns that if Sinn Fein was in government it may also align itself to "other organisations".

He referred to revelations that former Northern Ireland finance minister Mairtin O Muilleoir consulted with senior republicans about the RHI "cash for ash" scandal. Mr O Muilleoir sent documents relating to RHI to Padraic Wilson, a former IRA commander in the Maze Prison. He said there could not be a situation where people in government "go into another room and discuss affairs of State with people who haven't been elected".
By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Feb. 7, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding regions.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on the cruise ship that's been quarantined. About 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship. Read more

BEIJING  Chinas ruling Communist Party faced public anger and recrimination Friday over the death of a doctor who was threatened by the authorities after trying to sound the alarm about the new coronavirus back in December. The death toll, meanwhile, rose to nearly 640, and the number of people infected worldwide climbed past 31,400.

Cruise ship passengers faced more woe as Japan reported 41 new cases on one quarantined vessel and turned away another. President Xi Jinping spoke with President Donald Trump and urged the U.S. to respond reasonably" to the outbreak, echoing complaints that some countries are overreacting by restricting Chinese travelers.

A look at the latest developments:

Treatment of whistleblower doctor investigated

Following an online uproar over the government's treatment of Dr. Li Wenliang, the Communist Party struck a conciliatory note, saying it is sending a team to fully investigate relevant issues raised by the public.

Li, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, contracted the virus while treating patients, and his death was confirmed early Friday. Li, one of eight medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, had said that police forced him to sign a statement admitting he spread falsehoods.

Even the staunchly pro-government Global Times newspaper said the whistleblowers' treatment was "evidence of local authorities' incompetence to tackle a contagious and deadly virus."

The episode has raised longstanding complaints that party officials lie about or cover up disease outbreaks, chemical spills, dangerous consumer products or financial frauds. Chinese citizens can be jailed on charges of rumor-mongering or making trouble.

Most of the deaths from the virus have been of older people with existing health problems, but disease specialists said Li's work  eye doctors sit very close to their patients during examinations  may have subjected him to an extra large dose of the virus that made his illness more severe.

Cruise ship woes

Japan confirmed 41 new cases of the virus on the quarantined Diamond Princess, adding to 20 escorted off the ship earlier. The nearly 3,700 passengers and crew still on board remain under 14-day quarantine.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign passengers on another ship, Holland America's Westerdam, won't be allowed into Japan. He said suspected virus patients were on board. The ship, with more than 2,000 people, was near Okinawa and was seeking another port, said Overseas Travel Agency official Mie Matsubara.

"We are getting desperate," she said. We hope we can go somewhere so that passengers can land.

Xi, Trump talk virus response and trade

China's state media quoted Xi as saying China has launched a peoples war against the virus.

We hope the U.S. side can assess the epidemic in a calm manner and adopt and adjust its response measures in a reasonable way," he added.

Beijing has complained that the U.S. is flying its citizens out of Wuhan but not providing any assistance to China.

The U.S. announced later Friday that it is prepared to spend up to $100 million to help China and other countries fight the outbreak. The government also said it helped with the effort to deliver nearly 18 tons of medical supplies donated to the Chinese by the American people, including masks, gowns, gauze and respirators.

All but one the deaths in the outbreak have been in China. China's National Health Commission said about 4,800 of those being treated, or nearly 17 percent, are in serious condition. The vast majority of the infected are in China; roughly 290 others are in about two dozen other countries, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea.

The U.S. has reported 12 cases.

Hundreds more Americans evacuated from the stricken zone in China began arriving Friday in the U.S., where they will be quarantined on military bases for two weeks.

Wuhan residents say getting help not easy

Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, has added thousands of beds by building two new hospitals and converting gyms and other spaces into places where patients can be held in isolation. Thousands of military and civilian medical workers have been sent in.

Still, those inside the quarantine zone of some 50 million residents speak of a medical system completely overwhelmed.

Chen Jiaxin, 22, said by telephone from Wuhan that his father fell ill on Jan. 28 but had to return home because no hospital would accept him. When he called for an ambulance after his father's fever spiked on Thursday, Chen said, he was told 400 people were ahead of him and we were just told to wait and wait.

Mother-of-two Rong Qin, 32, said that her 67-year-old father is feeling sick and is awaiting test results, but that she was told by local officials that even those with a positive diagnosis have to wait for beds.

What I am hoping now is to put my father in a public quarantine facility so that he doesn't pass the infection on to other family members," she said.

Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writer Foster Klug in Yokohama, Japan, contributed to this report.
A third person has died in the wake of the Jan. 24 explosion at Watson Grinding and Manufacturing in west Houston, attorneys for the dead mans family say.

Gilberto Mendoza Cruz, 47, was sleeping inside his home on Sunwood Drive when the facility exploded early that morning, sending his ceiling crashing down on him and his wife, attorney Chance McMillan told the Houston Chronicle. His home is about 1,000 feet from the site.
Di Maio 'proud' of Enel hub in Madrid First Italian politician to visit innovation center

(ANSAmed) - MADRID, FEBRUARY 7 - Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio on Friday described the Innovation hub of Italian energy giant Enel in the Spanish capital Madrid as ''one of Italy's prides abroad''. The foreign minister on Friday became the first Italian politician to visit the center set up about two years ago.



''Today we find ourselves in one of the Italian prides abroad'', said Di Maio. ''Thanks to Enel and thanks to the entire Spanish ecosystem, start-ups are developed here'', a business opportunity for youths from around the world ''and also an occasion to help people'', the minister noted, after visiting 'The cube', a building close to the center of the Spanish capital which was created to become a center of innovation. ''I believe that Italy needs to be very proud of what it is'', Di Maio said, after visiting the hub and meeting with representatives of start-up businesses.



''Wherever I go in the world, Italy is a great pride for us, because Italy is recognized as great in its projects, in development, innovation, culture and many other sectors which we in Italy must also know'', explained Di Maio.



The minister noted that in Italy ''we spend time saying what doesn't work'' while instead ''we should also talk about what we are able to do in the world''. ''This hub is one of the many experiences that Italy was able to make for the entire world with its minds, its energy, with its strength''.



(ANSAmed).




A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre. Photo by Kevin Scott

A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre. Photo by Kevin Scott

A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre. Photo by Kevin Scott

A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre. Photo by Kevin Scott

A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre. Photo by Kevin Scott

A man has been found dead in a public toilet in Belfast city centre.

Police said they attended the sudden death in the Arthur Lane area on Friday afternoon.

A post-mortem will be carried out in due course however the death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.

A Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) spokesperson confirmed that they responded to the incident at 12.39pm.

An emergency crew and one rapid response paramedic were dispatched to the scene.

"Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, no one was taken to hospital," a spokesperson said.
The areas of Indonesia where Dutch colonial rulers built a huge sugar-producing industry in the 1800s remain more economically productive today than other parts of the country, according to a study co-authored by an MIT economist.

The research, focused on the Indonesian island of Java, introduces new data into the study of the economic effects of colonialism. The finding shows that around villages where the Dutch built sugar-processing factories from the 1830 through the 1870s, there is today greater economic activity, more extensive manufacturing, and even more schools, along with higher local education levels.

"The places where the Dutch established [sugar factories] persisted as manufacturing centers," says Benjamin Olken, a professor of economics at MIT and co-author of a paper detailing the results, which appears in the January issue of the Review of Economic Studies.

The historical link between this "Dutch Cultivation System" and economic activity today has likely been transmitted "through a couple of forces," Olken suggests. One of them, he says, is the building of "complementary infrastructure" such as railroads and roads, which remain in place in contemporary Indonesia.

The other mechanism, Olken says, is that "industries grew up around the sugar [industry], and those industries persisted. And once you have this manufacturing environment, that can lead to other changes: More infrastructure and more schools have persisted in these areas as well."

To be sure, Olken says, the empirical conclusions of the study do not represent validation of Dutch colonial rule, which lasted from the early 1600s until 1949 and significantly restricted the rights and self-constructed political institutions of Indonesians. Dutch rule had long-lasting effects in many areas of civic life, and the Dutch Cultivation System used forced labor, for one thing.

"This paper is not trying to argue that the [Dutch] colonial enterprise was a net good for the people of the time," Olken emphasizes. "I want to be very clear on that. That's not what we're saying."

Instead, the study was designed to evaluate the empirical effects of the Dutch Cultivation System, and the outcome of the research was not necessarily what Olken would have anticipated.

"The results are striking," Olken says. "They just jump out at you."

The paper, "The Development Effects of the Extractive Colonial Economy: The Dutch Cultivation System in Java," is co-authored by Olken and Melissa Dell PhD '12, a professor of economics at Harvard University.

On the ground

Historically in Java, the biggest of Indonesia's many islands, the main crop had been rice. Starting in the 1830s, the Dutch instituted a sugar-growing system in some areas, building 94 sugar-processing factories, as well as roads and railroads to transport materials and products.

Generally the Dutch would export high-quality sugar from Indonesia while keeping lower-quality sugar in the country. Overall, the system became massive; at one point in the mid-19th century, sugar production in Java accounted for one-third of the Dutch government's revenues and 4 percent of Dutch GDP. By one estimate, a quarter of the population was involved in the industry.

In developing their research, Olken and Dell used 19th century data from government archives in the Netherlands, as well as modern data from Indonesia. The Dutch built the processing plants next to rivers in places with enough flat land to sustain extensive sugar crops; to conduct the study, the researchers looked at economic activity near sugar-processing factories and compared it with economic activity in similar areas that lacked factories.

"In the 1850s, the Dutch spent four years on the ground collecting detailed information for the over 10,000 villages that contributed land and labor to the Cultivation System," Dell notes. The researchers digitized those records and, as she states, "painstakingly merged them" with economic and demograhic records from the same locations today

As the results show, places close to factories are 25-30 percentage points less agricultural in economic composition than those away from factories, and they have more manufacturing, by 6-7 percentage points. They also have 9 percent more employment in retail.

Areas within 1 kilometer of a sugar factory have a railroad density twice that of similar places 5 to 20 kilometers from factories; by 1980, they were also 45 percent more likely to have electricity and 4 percent more likely to have a high school. They also have local populations with a full year more of education, on average, than areas not situated near old sugar factories.

The study shows there is also about 10 to 15 percent more public-land use in villages that were part of the Dutch Cultivation System, a data point that holds steady in both 1980 and 2003.

"The key thing that underlies this paper, in multiple respects, is the linking of the historical data and the modern data," Olken says. The researchers also observed that the disparity between industrialized places and their more rural counterparts has not arisen since 1980, further suggesting how much Java's deep economic roots matter.

Net Effects?

The paper blends the expertise of Olken, who has spent years conducting antipoverty studies in Indonesia, and Dell, whose work at times examines the effects of political history on current-day economic outcomes.

"I had never really done a historical project before," Olken says. "But the opportunity to collaborate with Melissa on this was really exciting."

One of Dell's best-known papers, published in 2010 while she was still a PhD student at MIT, shows that in areas of Peru where colonial Spanish rulers instituted a system of forced mining labor from the 1500s to the 1800s, there are significant and negative economic effects that persist today.

However, somewhat to their surprise, the researchers did not observe similarly pronounced effects from the Dutch Cultivation System.

"One might have thought that could have had negative consequences on local social capital and local development in other respects," says Olken, adding that he "wasn't sure what to expect" before looking at the data.

"The differences between the long-run effects of forced labor in Peru and Java suggest that for understanding persistent impacts on economic activity, we need to know more than just whether there was forced labor in a location," Dell says. "We need to understand how the historical institutions influenced economic incentives and activities initially, and how these initial effects may or may not have persisted moving forward."

Olken adds that the study "can't measure every possible thing," and that "it's possible there are other effects we didn't see."

Moreover, Olken notes, the paper cannot determine the net effect of the Dutch Cultivation System on Indonesian economic growth. That is, in the absence of Dutch rule, Indonesia's economy would have certainly grown on it own -- but it is impossible to say whether it would have expanded at a rate faster, slower, or equivalent to the trajectory it had under the Dutch.

"We can't say what would have happened if the Dutch had never showed up in Indonesia," Olken says. "And of course the Dutch [colonizing] Indonesia had all kinds of effects well beyond the scope of this paper, many of them negative for the contemporaneous population."

###

Paper: "The Development Effects of the Extractive Colonial Economy: The Dutch Cultivation System in Java "

https://academic.oup.com/restud/article-abstract/87/1/164/5385518?redirectedFrom=fulltext
With the deployment of 5G networks throughout 2020, scientists are now focusing their research attentions on 6G communications. This research will need to be human-centric, according to KAUST postdoctoral fellow Shuping Dang.

Dang and his colleagues examined the potential applications and challenges of 6G communications in a study published in Nature Electronics. They found that 6G communications will need to be more secure, protect people's privacy, be ubiquitously accessible and affordable, and safeguard users' mental and physical well-being.

Achieving these criteria is no small feat. 5G communications have many advantages, supporting internet protocol television, high-definition video streaming, basic virtual and augmented reality services, and faster transmission; however, it does not involve the use of ground-breaking technologies. Its main focus has been about enhancing performance rather than technology.

Communications systems get updated every decade, which is also known as a generation or simply a "G."

Meanwhile, 6G is expected to revolutionize the way we communicate. Envision a day, somewhere around 2030, when recreational scuba divers, for example, use their phones to transmit holographic images of themselves in their underwater surroundings to colleagues at work.

Other applications will include more accurate indoor positioning, allowing an application to identify exactly where you are in a 10-story building; a more tactile internet that allows remote machine operation or cooperative automated driving; improved in-flight and on-the-move connectivity; and the transmission of biological information extracted from exhaled breath, allowing the detection of developing contagions and the diagnosis of disease.

"These 6G communications will need to be more secure and reliable, involving a decentralized network architecture," says KAUST research scientist, Osama Amin.

This could involve using blockchain technology, famous for its use in Bitcoin mining, to make data anonymous and untraceable. This technology would prevent private data leakages, such as those that have recently captured public attention. Currently, governments and corporations control internet connections through the use of centralized servers. A decentralized blockchain network would involve storing encoded data on thousands of nodes that cannot all be accessed by a single person or entity.

Researchers will also need to investigate the use of physical-layer security technologies, which exploit the physical characteristics of wireless communication, such as noise and fading, to improve user security and privacy.

"6G communications will also require the employment of a 3D network architecture, where terrestrial base stations, unmanned aerial vehicles and space satellites are jointly used to provide seamless, high-quality and affordable communication services to people living in remote and underdeveloped areas," adds advisor Mohamed-Slim Alouini. This could even involve the deployment of underwater communication nodes in the form of autonomous vehicles and sensors that are connected to underwater base stations.

"Artificial intelligence will play a pivotal role in the 6G communication revolution," explains Dang. Machine learning algorithms could be used, for example, to efficiently allocate base station resources and achieve close-to-optimum performance. Intelligent materials placed on surfaces in the environment, such as on buildings or on streetlights, could be used to sense the wireless environment and apply customized changes to radio waves. And deep learning techniques could be used to improve the accuracy of indoor positioning.

All of this will require systems that offer an extremely large bandwidth for signal transmission and that are robust in the face of adverse weather conditions. Also required are devices that consume less energy and that have longer battery lives. This will need further research into technologies that can harvest energy from ambient radio frequency signals, microvibrations and sunlight. Finally, researchers will need to investigate the impacts of these evolving technologies on mental and physical health.

"Our current study aims to provide a vision of 6G and to serve as a research guideline in the post-5G era," says Alouini. He and his team are investigating the integration of satellite, airborne and terrestrial networks for forming a decentralized 6G communication system.

They are also studying the use of artificial intelligence and deep learning techniques to optimize 6G communications and the use of "smart radio environments" with reconfigurable reflecting surfaces to optimize signal transmission. Finally, the team is working on expanding the wireless spectrum to the terahertz and optical bands to unlock a much larger bandwidth for 6G communication systems.

###
Is BancorpSouth Bank (NYSE:BXS) a good dividend stock? How can we tell? Dividend paying companies with growing earnings can be highly rewarding in the long term. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful.

A slim 2.5% yield is hard to get excited about, but the long payment history is respectable. At the right price, or with strong growth opportunities, BancorpSouth Bank could have potential. The company also returned around 5.0% of its market capitalisation to shareholders in the form of stock buybacks over the past year. Some simple analysis can reduce the risk of holding BancorpSouth Bank for its dividend, and we'll focus on the most important aspects below.

Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis

NYSE:BXS Historical Dividend Yield, February 7th 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, BancorpSouth Bank paid out 31% of its profit as dividends. A medium payout ratio strikes a good balance between paying dividends, and keeping enough back to invest in the business. Plus, there is room to increase the payout ratio over time.

Consider getting our latest analysis on BancorpSouth Bank's financial position here.

Dividend Volatility

Before buying a stock for its income, we want to see if the dividends have been stable in the past, and if the company has a track record of maintaining its dividend. BancorpSouth Bank 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 US$0.88 in 2010, compared to US$0.74 last year. The dividend has shrunk at around 1.7% a year during that period. BancorpSouth Bank's dividend has been cut sharply at least once, so it hasn't fallen by 1.7% every year, but this is a decent approximation of the long term change.

Story continues

A shrinking dividend over a ten-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share.

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 BancorpSouth Bank has grown its earnings per share at 14% per annum over the past five years. A company paying out less than a quarter of its earnings as dividends, and growing earnings at more than 10% per annum, looks to be right in the cusp of its growth phase. At the right price, we might be interested.

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. Firstly, we like that BancorpSouth Bank has a low and conservative payout ratio. Next, earnings growth has been good, but unfortunately the dividend has been cut at least once in the past. BancorpSouth Bank has a number of positive attributes, but falls short of our ideal dividend company. It may be worth a look at the right price, though.

Earnings growth generally bodes well for the future value of company dividend payments. See if the 9 BancorpSouth Bank analysts we track are forecasting continued growth with our free report on analyst estimates for the company.

We have also put together a list of global stocks with a market capitalisation above $1bn and yielding more 3%.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Hundreds of secondary school students have taken the afternoon off school to protest over climate change.

They gathered in Dublin city centre earlier, calling for more action on the environment.

The protest went ahead despite Gardai raising concerns over health and safety, and warning teachers of potential prosecution if it got out of hand.

Today's protest is being backed by Greta Thunberg, former president Mary Robinson and civil rights groups.

In her Twitter video, Ms Robinson said: "It's very important that children can protest in their Fridays for Future, particularly because they can't vote in elections - and they want to draw attention to the importance of the climate crisis.

Mary Robinson issues message of support for us after Gardai refuse to support our strike tomorrow.



Thank you!  @TheElders@GretaThunberg @Fridays4future pic.twitter.com/hWLkjaPThu  Fridays For Future Dublin (@SchoolStrikesIE) February 6, 2020

"And you're never too young to protest: the right of freedom of expression is a right at any stage".

The initial plan was for a demonstration starting at College Green and making its way towards Leinster House.

Gardai feared a possible crush, and warned teachers they could be prosecuted if the behaviour of their students got out of hand.

It has now been stripped back to a protest outside the Dail.

Fourteen-year-old Robyn, who is taking part, said: "We are here today because I want change and I think the Government needs to take some action."

 Secondary school students are taking part in a climate change protest close to the Dail this afternoon @SchoolStrikesIE pic.twitter.com/Ko70BR8OhJ  Stephen Murphy (@StephenMNews) February 7, 2020

Grainne, also 14 and from Coolmine, said: "I feel like the Government could be doing so much more t han they are but they haven't realised how much of a problem this can actually be.

"This is going to be a problem, it might not be a problem now but it's all going to come back in 10 or 12 years."

Jamie, aged 11 and from Cabra, said: "It's really important that the Earth stays because there is no planet B and people need to survive to live and carry on their family name."
On Jan. 5, the Journal Star editorial correctly identified climate change as an issue that needs to be addressed ("Editorial board sets 2020 agenda"). However, on Jan. 11, the Journal Star failed to include climate change in its editorial regarding legislative priorities.

Climate change is a huge issue that our legislators have failed to address, despite the knowledge and expertise that produced two recent studies by University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists, both of which are readily available to the Legislature. The bomb cyclone and flooding from 2019 caused more than $3.4 billion in damage to the state, clearly illustrating the need to address climate change now.

The Legislature has opportunities to address climate change this session. LR294, which was introduced because of the efforts of students from Prairie Hill Learning Center, declares that the state has a moral obligation to address the climate crisis. LB283 would create a state climate action plan.
The Turkish army has launched an attack against regime outpost near the town of Saraqeb, killing dozens reports Zaman Al Wasl.

Turkish artillery fire hit regime outposts near the town of Saraqeb late on Wednesday as eyewitnesses confirmed that the Russian-led forces entered the strategic town in northwestern Idleb province.

More than 100 shells pounded regime forces, leaving dozen dead and wounded, according to activists.

On Wednesday, Turkeys President Tayyip Erdogan threatened to drive back Syrian troops in Idleb unless they withdrew by the end of the month, to stem an assault which he said had displaced nearly 1 million people.

Erdogan has criticized Russia, a key backer of Bashar al-Assads regime, for failing to enforce peace agreements in the region and called for Moscow to better understand our sensitivities in Syria.

From now we will not turn a blind eye to any step that constitutes the violation of the agreements, he added.

Regime forces were combing the town after rebel fighters fled following intense aerial and ground bombardment of Saraqeb, 15 kilometres east of Idleb city, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on its website.

Eyewitnesses told Reuters that rebel fighters had left and that Assad forces were in control of the town, which lies at the junction of two main roads that Damascus seeks to fully control.

Fighters of the National Front thwarted several incursion attempts by the elite Fourth Mechanical Division, killing 35 troops and destroying four tanks on Wednesday.

Syrian state-run TV said that the roads were now within firing range of regime forces.

Assads campaign to regain Idleb province, the last rebel bastion in a nearly nine-year-long civil war, has sparked a new exodus of thousands of civilians towards the border with Turkey, which backs some insurgent groups fighting Assad.

The renewed fighting is taking place despite a Jan. 12, 2020, ceasefire deal between Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides of the conflict. Shelling by regime forces killed eight Turkish military personnel on Monday, prompting Turkish forces to strike back.

Erdogan said this weeks clashes amounted to a new era in Syria, and that any further attacks would be responded to in kind.

The air and ground elements of the Turkish armed forces will freely move in the Idleb region and if needed will launch an operation, he said.

Meanwhile, eight humanitarian aid organizations on Wednesday called for an immediate ceasefire in northwestern Syria, where hostilities have displaced half a million people in the past two months.

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.
The union government on Friday informed the Madras High Court that the Governor of Tamil Nadu has the discretion under powers conferred by the Constitution, to decide on the pending mercy petition of Perarivalan, a life convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.

The Centre stated this in their counter before the bench, comprising Justices R Subbiah and R Pongiappan when the Habeas Corpus Petition by Nalini Sriharan, contending that she was illegally detained in Vellore Prison from September 10, 2018 since the Tamil Nadu Governor has not acted on the cabinet decision of September 9, 2018 to release her under Article 161 of the Constitution, came up beore it.

The counter by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs said four of the seven life convicts, Nalini, Santhan, Murugan and Arivu, filed mercy petitions before the Governor under Article 161 (power of the Governor to grant pardons and to suspend, remit or commute sentences in certain cases).

The Governor, it said, commuted the death sentence of Nalini to life imprisonment and rejected the other three.

The counter said the Ministry received the mercy petitions of the other three on May 4,2000 and these were rejected by the President on August 3 2011. The decision was communicated to the Tamil Nadu Government on August 12 2011.

The three then moved the Madras High Court challenging the rejection order and this was subsequently transferred to the Supreme Court, it said.

The Apex Court on February 18 2014 commuted the death sentence of the three to life imprisonment.

Based on this order, the Tamil Nadu government on February 19 2014 proposed to remit the sentences of all these convicts and the union government was requested to convey their views within three days, the counter said.

The Ministry then filed a Criminal Original Petition before the Supreme Court,challenging the 'arbitrary' decision, it said, adding five member constitutional bench of the Apex Court on December 2 2015 answered the issues referred to it, saying that 'consultation' in reality means 'concurrence'.

The Tamil Nadu Government then sent another letter with a similar proposal to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The Supreme Court on January 23 2018 directed the Centre to decide on the state government's proposal for the release of the seven convicts within three months.

The counter said the Ministry examined the proposal and it was rejected on April 18 2018 and this was conveyed to the state government.

Based on this decision, the Supreme Court disposed of the CoP pending before it on September 6 2018, stating that Perarivalan had filed an application under Article 161.

The apex court also observed that the authority concerned would be at liberty to decide the application as it deemed fit, which was pending before the Governor.

The counter said the Ministry had already rejected the proposal for release of the seven convicts and that the mercy petition was pending with the Governor, a constitutional functionary, who has the discretion to decide on the petition under powers conferred on him by the Constitution.

The convicts are V Sriharan, T Suthendraraja, Jayakumar Robert Payas (all Sri Lankans), A G Perarivalan, Ravichandran and Nalini.

All the seven were convicted by a special TADA court for their role in the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21, 1991 during an election rally at nearby Sriperumbudur and sentenced to death but later it was commuted to life imprisonment.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As part of efforts to guard against the entry of Novel Coronavirus into the country, the Director General, National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, Thursday, said the federal government has introduced additional inspection measures at the point of entry at all airports in the country.

In addition, there is a coronavirus preparedness group in the country today, that meets every day, to review the situation. The group is being spearheaded by the NCDC.

Speaking on 'The Morning Show,' on Arise Television, a THISDAY sister broadcast organisation, the NCDC boss said immediately his agency heard about the infectious disease around December last year, they started thinking and working with international collaborators and partners on how to tackle its spread. "We are the third country in Africa to announce publicly that we now have the capacity to test for coronavirus. This is really an incredible effort and over the next few years we are going to expand it," he said.

He pointed out that the preparedness and response to infectious diseases' threats remains the core mandate of the NCDC.

He commended the federal government as well as Nigerians for taking the decision a few years ago, to set up a specialist agency with a clear mandate to recruit staff and develop expertise to advise governments on what to do in events like the raging coronavirus, which originated from China.

Ihekweazu, described the virus as a global health security, adding that is not something you can reduce to any geographical location anywhere in the world.

"Here, global collaboration is extremely important. So, we started working to learn as quickly as possible about this new virus. When you have a new virus, nothing is known about it. The first thing is to learn. The two new characteristics for any new virus is transferability, that is how it passes from one person to another, and how many people pass away from this virus.

"So, we keep learning new things every day to implement preparedness measures. So, today, we have a coronavirus preparedness group that meets every day at the NCDC to do a risk analysis, understand where we are and the risk for the country.

"The other step is to prevent it at the point of entry. So, together with our colleagues at the ports, we have increased screening. Anyone that passed through the airport since yesterday (Wednesday), would have noticed the introduction of new measures and more questions being asked about where their trip originated from, because there is no direct flight from China to Abuja or Lagos."

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He added: "So, we ask these questions to establish travel history. Thirdly, if you have symptoms and you have returned from China within the last 14 days, the NCDC and our partners at the state level, would send a team to your home, if you call a toll free number, we would take the sample to our lab either in Lagos or Abuja, that is ready, to make this diagnosis and make sure you are treated so as to reduce the spread."

He stressed the need to develop the expertise against such risk in the country.

"We are going ramp up a few facilities to respond better. We might not be able to build a hospital in 10 days like China did, but we are putting all the facilities ready in case there is an outbreak," he added.

"We have received assurance from the Chinese government that they are doing everything to control the outbreak," he added.

"We have a network of labs across the country and we have increased our diagnostic capacity," he said.
Board Recognizes Leadership Role as the Company is Aligned to Maximize Revenues from Its Core Assets

VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2019 / Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc. ("Weekend" or the "Company") (CSE:POT)(FSE:0OS1)(OTCQB:WKULF) is excited to announce the Company's Board of Directors has extended the contract for President and CEO, Mr. Chris Backus, for two years as the Company continues to build momentum and execute on its highly focused business plan.

"Initially, Chris was brought on board as Interim President and CEO with the task of bringing this Company into alignment, developing assets that can grow and deliver results to shareholders, and doing so in a way that is sustainable and highly achievable in a rapidly changing sector," said Mr. Brian Keane, Director. "Over the last 6 months Chris has demonstrated a clarity of purpose and ability to execute that the Board recognizes as exemplary and we felt it was essential to confirm his ongoing role as President & CEO so that the Company can build on its momentum and send the right message to our partners and our shareholders."

Weekend is poised for continued growth in a growing number of select US states, developing robust branded product lines including the flagship WKND! brand and the Orchard Heights brand - with more on the way. The Company's Northern Lights Organics certified organic hemp farm in Northern BC is poised for its first commercial growing season in 2020. All the key partnerships, including that with True North Cannabis are in place to maximize the quality, quantity and revenue from the farm's output.

"Weekend's prospects are strong and I am totally committed to the effort required to maximize shareholder value now and in the future," said Mr. Backus. "The Board has recognized the overall opportunity we have and it's a real honour to be in this position. I am excited to continue to lead the Weekend team and grow this business to the benefit of our shareholders and partners."

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Chris Backus, President & CEO, Director

Telephone: 1(236) 317-2812

E-mail: IR@weekendunlimited.com

About Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc.

Weekend Unlimited is a lifestyle-based recreational cannabis company. The Company is developing premium products designed to deliver life's highs, anytime, anywhere. With a presence in both the U.S. and Canada, Weekend Unlimited is well-positioned to launch and scale the brands that will define recreational cannabis. Learn more at www.weekendunlimited.com

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws.

SOURCE: Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575669/WKNDs-President-and-CEO-Chris-Backus-has-Contract-Extended-for-Two-Years
The new restrictions, which apply to an additional six countries, will be added to the already existing ones.

While the world has been busy absorbing the terrible news from China, with individuals, governments and airlines all weighing the risks of the coronavirus, the Trump administration has issued another set of travel curbs. The new restrictions, which apply to an additional six countries, will be added to the already existing ones. Included are Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania, Myanmar, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea.

The total number of countries facing the US travel ban (which was held up by the US supreme court) now numbers 13. In addition to these countries, the US is also blocking travel to the country by any foreign nationals who may have visited China in recent days. Chinese citizens are still permitted to travel to the US, although it is reported that several of the countrys major airports will undertake special screenings of passengers arriving on these flights. They will be looking for increased body temperature, coughing and shortness of breath.

While these health precautions may prove temporary as China tries to contain the virus, there is a general feeling, especially in light of Americas tightening of immigration, that borders and bans are gaining an increasingly prominent place in the scheme of things. As far as the latest US travel restriction is concerned, the addition of six new countries to the list underscores the premise that certain kinds of people are particularly repugnant to the white nationalists that now control US immigration policy.

African countries, which President Trump has talked about so very disparagingly, are first, followed by Muslim countries and now also some Central Asian countries. The particularities of the bans ensure visas issued prior to Feb 22, 2020, will be valid. Student visas and some other non-immigrant visas may also still be given (although one can be sure that these too will face extra scrutiny). No immigrant visas will be granted to citizens from these countries, leaving those in line to migrate to the US stuck and suspended.

While it is said that the reason for the restrictions is inadequate screening measures implemented by the countries in question, it is not a stretch to assume that the real reason is to throttle non-white immigration to the US. In addition, all of these countries, small and lacking much international clout, have virtually no means to protest against the ban. The consequence is that thousands of Nigerian Americans and Tanzanian Americans, amongst others, will suddenly face swift estrangement.

If you add these restrictions, imposed by a global superpower, to the curbs necessitated by the recent health concerns, the immediate picture is of a shrunken world wrapped in barbed wire. The toughest knots exist over regions such as Africa and South Asia, the labour exporters whose youth inevitably await visas to the western world in order to make a future and a life for themselves. With the UK out of Europe, and the US wrapped up in travel bans, the prospects for those who leave home to earn their fortunes in foreign lands is particularly bleak.

A throttled world is likely to birth even greater hatred. For instance, in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Asian people living in Europe and the US already report facing discrimination. The world where people moved freely, where fortunes could be sought far and wide, seems already to be a thing of the past. The more populous half, largely brown and black, faces the ignominy of visa queues, rejections and the humiliating beggary of western immigration procedures that impact relationships, lives and more. The other half sets up bans and borders with just as much persistence. The US is likely to continue to add to the list of travel-ban countries, since it does not see any point in permitting individuals from poor, black and/ or Muslim countries to cross its borders.

Whether it is pandemic or discrimination, it is the poor who will suffer. Countries such as Pakistan and India that have borders with China and lack the kind of sensitive screening equipment possessed by Western nations could be impacted.

The world of the last millennium was less beset with the scourges of unforgiving climate change, pandemic, racially based exclusion, in fact, the open persecution of any group unlucky to be a minority. Most of these are large structural problems whose solutions seem too forbidding to consider at the same time; the failure to take action is pushing us all towards a catastrophe.

Pakistan is not yet subject to a US travel ban. At the same time, Pakistanis must know that it is a distinct possibility, particularly if Donald Trump wins his re-election bid. As in Nigeria today, there will be an outcry. But the world of walls and barbed wire, of war and plagues, is here to stay.

By arrangement with Dawn
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Before you crucify me for not condemning the traitor, please hear me out. My position has nothing to do with whether I agree with Romneys guilty vote on the first article of impeachment. And it has nothing to do with whether I believe he is a true conservative. Or even a loyal Republican for that matter. It has to do with something far deeper. Are you willing to hear me out?

Im quite aware of the litany of charges against Mitt Romneys past political record and business dealings (see here and here and here and here). And Im quite aware that this track record would seem to clash directly with Senator Romneys deep, Mormon faith.

Im also quite aware of Romneys very public attacks on Trump since 2016.

In other words, I write what I write with my eyes wide open.

And with my eyes wide open, I take Mitt Romney at his word.

I believe him when he says that he agonized over his decision.

I believe him when he says that he took his oath before God seriously.

I believe him when he speaks of sleepless nights.

I believe him when he talks of wanting to act with integrity for the sake of his children and grandchildren.

The bottom line is that God alone knows what is in Mitt Romneys heart, and it is not up to you or me to pass judgment on why he (or anyone else) did what he did. We can categorically differ with his decisions. But we cannot judge his motivations.

On a purely practical level, what Romney did will be far more destructive to his political career. And he certainly doesnt need to write a bestselling, anti-Trump to make himself extra money.

Romney has subjected himself to isolation within his own party. He has likely doomed any future political plans. And he has guaranteed that he will be hated and vilified by millions of loyal Trump supporters in the years ahead.

Thats why Im not upset with him for voting his conscience, since I genuinely believe thats exactly what he did.

Ironically, the very people who will believe President Trump when he speaks of the motivations behind his Ukraine phone call will not believe Senator Romney when he speaks of the motivations behind his vote.

Really now, do you believe his private meetings with journalists and broadcasters and his talks with other senators were all an act and a sham? Or are you that sure that he was so consumed by bitterness towards Trump that he used this as a lasting gotcha moment?

Writing for the Atlantic, McKay Coppins states that Romney said to him, This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life.

Coppins explains, For weeks, the senator from Utah had sat silently in the impeachment trial alongside his 99 colleagues, reviewing the evidence at night and praying for guidance. The gravity of the moment weighed on him, as did the pressure from members of his own party to acquit their leader. As his conscience tugged at him, he said, the exercise took on a spiritual dimension.

He continues, According to Romneys interpretation of Alexander Hamiltons treatise on impeachment in Federalist No. 65  which he says hes read multiple, multiple times  Trumps attempts to enlist the Ukrainian president in interfering with the 2020 election clearly rose to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.

This would be in harmony with the tweet of Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett, who said, Before anyone condemns @SenatorRomney for his vote, they should listen to his 9 minute explanation of why he voted as he did. This wasnt an easy vote for him to make politically, and its possible to have a good faith disagreement about this issue  in particular, on Article 1.

Again, I disagree with Romneys conclusion. And, I believe that, from day one, the impeachment process was part of a multi-year witch hunt to take down the president. Ive made that clear before.

I simply take Romney at his word in terms of how he came to make his decision, and that is something that I must respect.

Coppins notes that when the senator invited me to his Capitol Hill office yesterday [February 4], I was unsure what he would reveal. Romney had been largely silent throughout the impeachment proceedings, giving little indication of which way he was leaning. I half-expected to find a cowed and calculating politician ready with a list of excuses for caving. (His staff granted the interview on the condition that it would be embargoed until he took to the Senate floor.)

Instead, I found Romney filled with what seemed like righteous indignation about the presidents misconduct  quoting hymns and scripture, expressing dismay at his party, and bracing for the political backlash.

Romney even claims that he wanted Bolton to testify with the hope that he would be able to say something exculpatory and create reasonable doubt, so I wouldn't have to vote to convict.

And I take the senator at his word.

Watch his 9-minute speech for yourself and come to your own conclusions, remembering that we will be judged the way we judge others.

As for you judging me for even writing this article, bear in mind that Im not a Mormon. In fact, I reject Mormonism as a non-Christian cult that distorts the Scriptures. And I view Joseph Smith as a false prophet.

But if Mitt Romney genuinely felt that, for the sake of integrity and in harmony with his faith, he had to vote guilty on the first article of impeachment, I will respect that.

In the end, thats the best any of us can do: make careful decisions in the fear of God.

History may condemn Romney (or vindicate him). He will likely pay a high price for his vote. And, overall, he will most probably be a very small footnote in a very big, messy drama.

And, to repeat, I disagree with his vote and I disagree with his religious beliefs.

But I dont despise him for what he did.
The Delhi Police has arrested a JNU student for allegedly sexually harassing a female student inside the varsity campus

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has arrested a student of the Jawaharlal Nehru University for allegedly sexually harassing a female student inside the varsity campus, officials said on Thursday.

The accused has been identified as Raghvendra Mishra. A former Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member, Mishra fought the last JNU Students' Union elections as an independent.

The ABVP said Mishra has never been a member of the outfit and accused the Left student bodies of "spreading misinformation". In fact, the RSS affiliate claimed Mishra had contested against its candidate during the last JNU Students' Union elections.

@abvpjnu condemns allegations laid upon by linking it to a JNU student on whom allegations of sexual harassment have been leveled.The said student has fought against ABVP in last JNUSU elections.We demand a thorough inquiry and if guilty the accused should be punished as per law pic.twitter.com/ACA9MBdSUF  ABVP JNU (@abvpjnu) February 6, 2020

Police said Mishra used to dress up in saffron robes.

The incident took place on Wednesday and we have initiated an investigation into the matter, they said.

According to a senior police official, Mishra allegedly misbehaved with a female student in a hostel room inside the campus.

A complaint was received on Wednesday and a case under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at Vasant Kunj (North) police station and the accused has been arrested, the official said.

The girl told the police that Mishra had called her to his hostel room and harassed her. The security guards of the hostel apprehended Mishra when she raised an alarm, the girl told the police.
China has simplified procedures for approval of nucleic acid reagent test kits for the novel coronavirus as part of efforts to expand the supply capacity of virus detection products and contain the epidemic.

(Photo via BGI's official WeChat account)

The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved seven nucleic acid reagent test kits.

The NMPA has done an outstanding job in this regard, said an executive from Shanghai ZJ Bio-Tech Co., Ltd., adding that the companys products were approved within four days by the administration.

However, the NMPA has not lowered qualification requirements. To ensure the quality of the test kits, the administration assigned professional reviewers to answer questions from companies submitting applications.

The green channel has greatly shortened the time for test kits to enter the market. As a result, more test kits have been directly supplied to hospitals across the country, contributing to the fight against the outbreak.

The NMPA also approved the DNBSEQ-T7 sequencing system of the novel coronavirus developed by MGI Tech Co., Ltd., a Shenzhen-based genomics sequencing company. The high-throughput gene sequencer can complete the entire testing process for the virus within 20 hours and test 200 samples at a time.

Thanks to the effective approval system, many companies are now aiming to increase production capacity. Chinas top gene-sequencing provider BGI can produce 80,000 test kits per day, while ZJ Bio-Tech can ensure a daily supply of 100,000 to 150,000 kits.

Currently, China can produce 700,000 test kits per day, accounting for about 60 percent of the countrys maximum production capacity.
Trump confirms killing of AQAP chief in Yemen



Washington, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that the US had killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- days after the jihadist group claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.

The US "conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)," Trump said in a White House statement.

AQAP claimed responsibility on Sunday for a December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.

The announcement came with Trump touting US resolve following the killings of Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October last year and top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani three months later.

Washington considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network's most dangerous branch.

The Sunni extremist group has thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control the capital.

"Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said.

"His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security."



- 'Eliminating terrorists' -



Trump did not give any details about the circumstances or the timing of the operation.

But it follows the killing of al-Rimi's predecessor Nasir al-Wuhayshi in June 2015, as part of the US's long-running drone campaign in Yemen.

The following year top regional AQAP emir Jalal Belaidi, alias Abu Hamza, was also killed in a drone strike in the war-torn country.

Belaidi was responsible for multiple provinces in Yemen, the US State Department said after the killing.

It had offered a $5 million reward for information on Belaidi over his alleged involvement in plotting bomb attacks on Western diplomatic officials and facilities in the capital Sanaa in 2013.

"The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death," Trump said of the operation on al-Rimi.

"We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm."

In AQAP's Pensacola attack, eight people were wounded, including two responding sheriff's deputies, before police shot dead the assailant.

The FBI formally identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was training in the US.



- Saudis expelled -



The SITE monitoring group said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: "I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil."

"I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity."

The Twitter account that posted the manifesto also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al-Qaeda's deceased leader Osama bin Laden.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman was quick to denounce the shooting as a "heinous crime."

Around 850 Saudis are among the 5,000 foreign military personnel being trained in the United States.

Last month, however, the US Justice Department said it would send home 21 Saudi military trainees after an investigation into the attack, with Attorney General Bill Barr calling it an "act of terrorism."

Barr said 21 of Alshamrani's colleagues were being expelled from the base's flight school after the probe found many of them were in possession of jihadist material and child pornography.

He added that the Saudi government had said it would review each case under its code of military justice and criminal code.
press release

Washington  Today, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Manisha Singh and Kenyan Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing, Urban Development and Public Works James Macharia signed an important Amendment to the U.S.-Kenya Air Transport Agreement at the Department of State in Washington, DC. The Amendment adds seventh-freedom traffic rights for all-cargo operations to the bilateral Air Transport Agreement and will enter into force following an exchange of diplomatic notes. It has been applied on the basis of comity and reciprocity since it was negotiated on December 4, 2019.

The rights in the Amendment facilitate the movement of goods throughout the world by providing air carriers greater flexibility to meet their cargo and express delivery customers' needs more efficiently. Specifically, the Amendment allows U.S. all-cargo airlines to fly between Kenya and a third nation without needing to stop in the United States, an important right if operating a cargo hub. Kenyan all-cargo carriers have reciprocal rights to serve the United States. This Amendment further expands our strong economic and commercial partnership, while creating new opportunities for all-cargo airlines, exporters, and consumers. It will fully open the Kenyan air cargo services market to U.S. carriers, and represents one way in which the U.S. Government is delivering for U.S. all-cargo carriers and American workers.

This Amendment between the United States and Kenya is also a step forward in liberalizing the international civil aviation sector in Africa - a region that has the potential to be one of the fastest growing in the world.

SOURCE US Department of State
Cosmetics giant Sephora has suspended all makeup services and beauty lessons around Australia due to coronavirus fears.

As the virus continues to spread, the retailer has confirmed the company will not offer its in-store services until further notice as a highly precautionary approach to keep its customers safe.

'Sephora and its parent company LVMH are aware of the current coronavirus and take their duty of care seriously,' a Sephora spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

'As a result, they have implemented several precautions to ensure the health and wellbeing of all their customers and cast of the Australian stores are paramount.'

Cult cosmetics giant Sephora has suspended all makeup services and beauty lessons around Australia due to coronavirus fears (pictured of a Sephora store on Sydney's Pitt Street)

The makeup chain has emailed a number of customers saying 'all custom makeover services and makeup lessons will be suspended until further notice'.

The cancellation comes as there are currently 15 cases of coronavirus confirmed in Australia - four in New South Wales, four in Victoria, five in Queensland, and two in South Australia.

Of the previously reported cases, five have recovered. The other patients are in a stable condition, the Australian Department of Health confirmed.

As the World Health Organisation (WHO) declares the coronavirus epidemic to be a global emergency, doctors have urged people to practice good hygiene and other measures to product against infections.

Good hygiene includes washing your hands often with soap and water, and using a tissue and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

As the virus continues to spread, Sephora has confirmed the company will not offer its in-store services until further notice as a highly precautionary approach to keep its customers safe

The coronavirus is most likely spread from person to person through direct close contact with a person while they are infectious.

Coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets released from coughing or sneezing.

But Australia's deputy chief medical officer professor Paul Kelly confirmed last month the virus is spread by close contact 'over a period of time' so it's 'virtually totally safe' to walk past an infected person on the street.

Other things you should avoid is touching objects or surfaces (like doorknobs or tables) that has droplets from a cough or sneeze by an infected person, and then touching your mouth or face.

Last month, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed tests proved humans caught it from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market in Wuhan city.
A 22-year-old man from Quebec has been charged with dangerous driving in a car crash in Scarborough that left a young girl with life-threatening injuries.

Toronto police responded to calls for a personal injury collision at Pharmacy Avenue at Donside Drive, near Victoria Park Ave., around 3:40 p.m. on Tuesday.

It is alleged that the male driver of a white Infinity Q50 was travelling at excessive speed on Pharmacy Ave.

As he approached the intersection at Donside Drive, a van going south on Pharmacy Ave. made a left turn onto Donside.

To avoid a collision, the driver of the Infinity swerved left and lost control of his car. He crossed over into the southbound lane and struck a blue Toyota Yaris travelling south in the turning lane.

As a result, the Toyota was pushed into a red Honda Fit directly behind it.

The driver and the three passengers in the Toyota were injured and had to be taken to hospital.

One of the passengers, a 15-year-old girl, sustained life-threatening injuries.

The driver and two other passengers suffered minor injuries.

The driver of the Honda Fit was not injured, police say.

The driver of the Infinity Q50 suffered from minor injuries and was taken to hospital.

He was later released and charged.

Mohamad Hansh, 22, from Quebec, has been charged with dangerous operation of a conveyance causing bodily harm.

He is scheduled to appear in court on March 27, 2020.
The Central African Republic welcomes Russia's offer to supply it with light weapons free of charge while the UN Security Council continues to ban the country from importing heavy weapons, the charge d'affaires at the country's embassy in Moscow, Jean-Jacques Mbokoto, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2020) The Central African Republic welcomes Russia's offer to supply it with light weapons free of charge while the UN Security Council continues to ban the country from importing heavy weapons, the charge d'affaires at the country's embassy in Moscow, Jean-Jacques Mbokoto, told Sputnik.

Russian Ambassador to Bangui Vladimir Titorenko told Sputnik earlier this week that the car was planning to ask Russia for a new delivery of light weapons at no cost, just as in the two previous deliveries.

"Russia is a number one partner for Central African Republic in all sectors. So if now Russia proposes to deliver arms to us free of charge, we welcome it, and we thank it for this aid. When the rebellion of 2013 happened, all the gunpowder stores were destroyed, arms circulated here and there. If today we try to replenish our gunpowder stores - it's a good thing," Mbokoto said.

Under the UN Security Council's arms embargo for the CAR, deliveries of light weapons are allowed, but those of heavy weapons are not. The embargo was extended for six more months on Friday.

"It is really deplorable for us. Our military is on the ground, and as they are being trained they are being directly deployed in different towns to fight the rebels and bring peace. And normally the United Nations have to accentuate this effort that our government is undertaking, being able to completely lift the embargo," the diplomat said.

"This news upset us very much, given the efforts made by our government and MINUSCA [United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic] to bring peace.

The Security Council sees it differently. And that makes us sad," Mbokoto continued.

While the Central African Republic respects UN rules, Mbokoto hopes the embargo will be lifted completely so that the country can have access to all types of weapons.

The CAR army is trained and "dynamic," but it needs weapons to fulfil their duties, the diplomat said.

"There are countries, which are believed to be peaceful, but they too need arms to be able to protect their territory, and why not us? It's been more than seven years since we've been running in circles because of this. Is that normal, is that how you have to manage the country? Is our country considered not to be a sovereign state? We also have the right to have relations with the countries that are ready to give us a hand. Why this marginalization?" Mbokoto said.

Despite general respect for the peace agreement signed last year by the government of armed groups, including the prominent Muslim Seleka and Christian anti-Balaka, there are still provocations by some militias that need to be dealt with by the country's defense forces, the diplomat said.

"If today he [President Faustin-Archange Touadera] demands heavy weapons, asks his Russian partners for arms, it's not to go and make war, it's to protect his territory. That's what the people of bad faith do not understand," the diplomat said.

Mbokoto added that the country was more stable now than it was when the peace deal was signed on February 6, 2019, a factor that the UNSC should take into account.
Keith Richards has revealed he has finally stopped smoking, one year after claiming giving up nicotine was 'harder than quitting heroin.'

The Rolling Stones rocker, 76, who is famed for being a hellraiser and legendary party animal, told Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr that he hasn't touched a cigarette since October.

The guitarist said: 'Done that, been there' when asked about his former nicotine habit.

End of an era: Keith Richards has revealed he has finally stopped smoking, one year after claiming giving up nicotine was 'harder than quitting heroin' (pictured 2015)

Keith has been reining in his party lifestyle and embarking on a health kick ahead of the continuation of the Stones; No Filter Tour, which will resume in San Diego, California in May.

The Gimme Shelter hitmaker said: 'I think both Mick [Jagger] and I felt that on the last tour we were just getting going,' Richards said. ' [We]'ve got to continue this.'

Back in February 2019, Keith revealed he was cutting down on hard liquor and his beloved cigarettes,in an interview with MOJO Magazine.

Keith admitted he has started 2019 on a health kick, after December turned into 'one long party' for his 75th birthday and 35th wedding anniversary with wife Patti Hansen at his lavish Turks & Caicos house on Parrot Cay.

Battle: The Rolling Stones rocker, 76, who is famed for being a hellraiser and legendary party animal, told Q104.3 New York's Jim Kerr that he hasn't touched a cigarette since October (pictured 1988)

The musician said: 'By January 1, you're knackered. And that's a good way to start a new year, right?! I'm drying out now!'

I've knocked the hard stuff on the head. I have a little wine with meals, and a Guinness or a beer or two, but otherwise no. It's like heroin  the experiment is over.'

He paused. 'Mind you, if I meet you in a bar and you say, 'Do you want a drink?'  heheheh  I wouldn't turn it down! I'm not a puritan in these matters. It's just that it's not on the daily menu anymore.'

When asked if he had ever tried to give up cigarettes, the guitarist said: 'I have tried. So far, unsuccessfully! Lou Reed claimed nicotine was harder to quit than heroin.'

The guitarist said: 'Done that, been there' when asked about his former nicotine habit (pictured 2005)

'It is. Quitting heroin is like hell, but it's a short hell. I mean, the actual process. Cigarettes are just always there, and you've always done it.

'I just pick 'em up and light 'em up without thinking about it. But lately, in fact  spread the news!  I've managed to cut it down by a substantial amount every day, and I'm still working on it.

'Because I realised I don't need it. I realised it's just a useless habit. But hey, when you're 75, habits are pretty ingrained.'

The Rolling Stones, of which Richards is a founding member, are so famed for their hedonism and debauchery that their actions in the bands heyday have set the bar for what it meant to be a decadent rock star ever since.

Kicking the habit! Keith has been reining in his party lifestyle and embarking on a health kick ahead of the continuation of the Stones; No Filter Tour, which will resume in San Diego, California in May (pictured 1999)

Keith, known as Keef by die-hard fans. instantly set himself apart from the other band members for his raucous antics.

He was arrested and charged five times for drugs offences: in 1967, twice in 1973, in 1977, and in 1978.

At his first trial he was sentenced to a year in prison for allowing cannabis to be smoked on his property, though this was later overturned.

However the band were subsequently relentlessly pursued by police throughout their 1972 North America tour - dubbed the 'Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour' - which was when they first started book up entire floors of hotels.

Pals? Johnny Depp and Keith are pictured out and about in London in 2010

On the way a show in Nebraska, the Stones were pulled over by the police, who uncovered an enormous stash of illegal drugs.

Nothing came of it - apart from a $165.50 fine for reckless driving - but Richards says of the tour in his biography: 'The State Department had noted riots (true), civil disobedience (also true), illicit sex (whatever that is), and violence across the United States.'

Facing a minimum sentence of seven years, Richards evaded jail time by striking a plea bargain that including holding a show to raise money for the blind.

He finally quit cocaine after he fell from a tree in Fiji and suffered a severe head trauma that required live-saving surgery in 2006.

Rocky road: He was arrested and charged five times for drugs offences - in 1967, twice in 1973, in 1977, and in 1978 (pictured 2007)

While he still allows himself the 'occasional' glass of wine or beer, Keith told Rolling Stone in December 2018, that curbing his drinking has been an 'adjustment'.

He said: 'You can call it that, yeah. But I don't notice any difference really  except for I don't drink. I wasn't feeling [right]. I've done it. I didn't want that anymore.'

Ronnie Wood, himself sober for eight years - told Rolling Stone that Richards has become 'a pleasure to work with,' since he cut back on the substances and alcohol.

'Much more mellow. He's open to more ideas, whereas before I'd kind of grit my teeth and go, 'He's gonna give me some shit for saying this.' Now, he'll say, 'That's cool, man',' Wood said.
China's President Xi is turning faith into 'tool for indoctrination of Communist ideology

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Representatives from five religious groups affected by severe religious persecution, including a Christian, Yazidi, and Uyghur Muslim, identified the most pressing issues facing their communities and shared how the international community can help.

During the National Prayer Breakfast sideline event on religious persecution around the globe co-hosted by the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. and 21Wilberforce, moderator Naomi Kikoler, director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, interviewed five host representatives from communities affected by religious persecution.

The panel included Yasmin Ullah, president of Rohingya Human Rights Network; Nawaf Ashur, representing the Free Yazidi Foundation; Loay Mikhael, head of foreign relations for the Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council; Omer Kanat, executive director of the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and Bob Fu, the founder and president of China Aid.

Kikoler noted that much of the persecution facing groups around the world is the result of years of ignored warning signs. The obligation of world leaders today is to recognize these warning signs and act before its too late, she said.

The panelists then identified risks facing their individual communities right now.

Fu, a Christian, applauded the panel for bringing different religions together, emphasizing that one faith community cannot fight this battle alone.

He said that over the last two years, Chinese President Xi Jinpings war on religion has reached its worst in 40 years. He accused Xi of turning faith into a tool for the indoctrination of Communist ideology.

For example, all religious leaders must pledge to obey the Communist Partys ideology in their pulpit before they can be allowed to practice their religion, Fu said. Additionally, millions of Chinese Christian children have been forced to renounce their faith by signing a Communist Party prepared document.

Clearly the aim is to exterminate any independent faiths, he said, referencing not only the Christian faith, but the faith of Muslims, Buddhists, and others.

This is a very, very serious signal, he said.

Fu also addressed the persecution experienced by members of Chinas Early Rain Covenant Church, revealing that in addition to constant surveillance, at least 80 believers experienced tremendous torture and trauma.

The camera recorded their false confession against their own pastor, Wang Yi, who was sentenced to nine years imprisonment, he said. After these false confessions, many were traumatized. They feel guilty of betraying the pastor. Some showed suicidal tendencies.

Ullah spoke on behalf of the Rohingya community, an ethnic and religious minority group that exists in Myanmar (formerly Burma) and has been the victim of state-sponsored persecution. Close to a million people have been displaced or killed as a result of systematic persecution.

We are seeing more and more of the element of re-traumatization within the community, she said. A lot of my people are living in a very restrictive condition inside one of the largest refugee camps in the world. Imagine having to eat rice once a day, every day. What do you think that would do to your body? Imagine young children fearing going to sleep because they fear that small rats would come and eat away at the tip of their fingers.

It eats away at your psyche and it eats away at your hope of being able to live a better life, she added. When we dont try to resolve it in a more urgent manner, this is what it does to human beings and were going to have to brace for generations of Rohingya to come that are going to be completely traumatized.

Ashur revealed that for the Yazidi community living in Iraq, there hasnt been much positive development when it comes to safety and security.

ISIS perpetrators who have committed genocide against Yazidis, theyre still living in much of Nineveh province, he said, adding that tens of thousands of Yazidis remain displaced.

We have a whole generation of traumatized people, he said, adding that those who have survived the Islamic State's persecution are severely traumatized by what they endured.

People have lost their entire families, he said.

Ashur said that the relief efforts carried out by both the U.S. and Iraqi governments havent translated on the ground, adding that the continued instability in Iraq prompts the Yazidi people to fear another genocide might soon happen or another iteration of IS will appear.

Mikhael added that the persecution facing Christians and other minorities in Iraq is unprecedented. He explained that because of persecution at the hands of IS, the Christian population in Iraq dwindled from 1.5 million to just 250,000. He revealed his own family was forced to relocate all over the world due to persecution.

We are all over the world, he said, not because of our choice, but because we were forced to flee. The challenge is tremendous.

After IS was driven out of Iraq, Christians hoped that life would return to normal and be prosperous once again, Mikhael said. Yet, thousands remain displaced, jobless and traumatized with life taken from them in the presence of the international community.

Mikhael criticized the Iraqi government for its inaction, explaining that no official has tried to do something tangibly on the ground to bring those communities back to their lives.

Its really unspeakable, he said. I believe, to restore the dignity, you need to create jobs, you need to improve security, you need to have a well do to that.

He urged the international community to make efforts to improve life for Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities in their home countries instead of accepting thousands of refugees every year.

People want to stay, he stressed. Nobody wants to leave.

Kanat opened up about the risks facing Uyghur Muslims in China.

The persecution of the Uyghurs by the Chinese authorities has been going on for several decades, he said. But in 2017, it turned into all war against the Uyghur religion, culture, and family life. The Chinese government is carrying out a campaign to exterminate Uyghur identity.

About three million people  most of them from the Uyghur community  are thought to have been detained in Chinas secretive re-education camps without trial. According to Kanat, its the largest incarceration of a religious group since the end of World War II.

In these prisons, people are forced to renounce their religion, culture, and identity, he said, adding that the worst is yet to come, as mass murder and genocide are impossible outcomes.

When asked how the international community can better serve those persecuted and prevent further oppression from occurring, Ullah said that the U.S. has an obligation to signal to other countries the importance of treating every human with worth and dignity.

Learn the stories of the survivors, learn to speak to them if you have access to one, she advised listeners. Make them feel that you respect them as humans. That is the fundamental right  that we owe to each other.

Fu encouraged the international community to pay attention to the truth and spread true information about faith communities and persecution on social media.

He also stressed that faith communities must unite and speak with one voice and for each other.

That is a powerful message, Fu said.
London: A key member of Australia's Parliamentary intelligence committee has strongly criticised British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in a private meeting over British intelligence claims they can safely allow Chinese telco Huawei to build the country's 5G mobile network.

Labor MP Anthony Byrne delivered the rebuke during a 25-minute meeting on Thursday in Canberra between Mr Raab and some members of the intelligence committee, underlining tensions between the UK and its allies over Huawei. Australian and US officials are frustrated Britain said in late January that it would not ban equipment made by Huawei from being used in its new high-speed 5G network.

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab with Foreign Minister Marise Payne at Parliament House on Thursday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Three sources present at the meeting - which was attended by deputy chair Mr Byrne, Intelligence Committee Chairman Andrew Hastie and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair David Fawcett - said Mr Raab was told directly the Australians were very disappointed by the decision. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because the meeting was confidential.

"How would you feel if the Russians laid down infrastructure in your own networks? That's how we feel about Huawei," Mr Byrne told Raab, according to sources in the room. Mr Byrne became frustrated when Mr Raab said the decision to approve Huawei was "difficult" but "technical" and "not political."
Cancer: "A Political Problem" in Cuba Patients complain about interruptions in the administration of medicines, and a lack of explanations.

Although he fears to speak openly about the relationship between his illness and the general care provided by Cuba's health services, Miguel Pedroso says he has no doubt that there is a gulf between what is being purported and reality. Diagnosed with lung cancer a year and a half ago, he does not remember a single time in which he has received all the medications his treatments require.

"I read what is published in the press, and I can only conclude that I live in a different country." Pedroso questions accounts in the official media, which claim medical advances made in the country against the disease. "They have not helped me, at least," he complains.

In October of last year the 4th International Biomanufacturing Challenges of Immunotheraphy Congress (BIOMIT 2019) was held on the island, where Cuban medical authorities explained their advances in the production of monoclonal glycoproteins and antibodies through the Molecular Immunology Center (CIM).

"At the CIM we have, for many years, approved a monoclonal antibody called CIMAher (nimotuzumab) for different types of cancer. It is approved for cancer of the head, neck, glioma, the esophagus and pancreas," said Belinda Sanchez, the director of the Tumor Immunology area at the CIM.

But, like Miguel Pedroso, former Math teacher Dario Suarez, also diagnosed with lung cancer, has barely any information on CIMAvax-EGF, the first therapeutic vaccine registered against cancer, and has not been included in the program to benefit from it, although the CIM states that "more than 5,000 Cubans have benefited."

"It is difficult to know whether this is because they have not produced enough vaccines for each patient, your file has been misplaced, or the vaccine is actually exported. The doctors do not give you any information about it. In any case they explain to you that the frequent changes in your medications work, even if you are in great pain," says Suarez.

A 2016 report revealed that the La Pradera International Health Center offered CIMAvax as part of its health services to foreigners. The report stated that an American patient obtained an eight-month supply of this vaccine for an approximate cost of $10,000.

Lung cancer is one of the most devastating kinds in Cuba, with a mortality rate of 50% one year after detection. The Ministry of Public Health has just reported that it is the leading cause of death on the island, in both women and men.

"The patient's quality of life depends on a set of elements, and the availability of the medication and strict compliance with the doses to be administered are, without a doubt, determining factors," said Dr. Daniel, an oncologist, when asked about the consequences of the shortage of the cancer drug on the island.

"It is not possible to confirm the effects of the decline in the production and importation of cancer drugs in the country. It is a totally taboo issue. In general, patients are not informed about alternative medications when their course of treatment is interrupted due to a lack of what they had been prescribed," said the oncologist, who did not wish to be fully identified.

Cancer is almost "a political issue" and "doctor-patient conversations about it are prohibited," agreed three other oncologists who refused to give further statements, even anonymously.

"The care the doctors provide is good, but the information given patients about interruptions in courses of treatment, and changes in medications, due to shortages spoil the most important thing: the patient's quality of life," says Migdalia Muniz, diagnosed with cervical cancer almost 10 years ago, referring to vaccines, an important part of immunotherapy, according to MINSAP authorities.

"My medication cycle is frequently interrupted by a lack of the monoclonal antibody called CIMAher, something I know thanks to years of friendship with my doctor," said Muniz.

Almost all medications for cancer treatment are administered at the hospital level. A tour of several pharmacies confirmed that only two cancer-related medications are marketed in these networks: morphine and Vidatox, the latter derived from blue scorpion toxin (rhopaluris junceus), and highly effective in treating the symptoms of many types of cancer.

Although in all the pharmacies consulted they reported that there had been no interruptions in their distribution, their managers are not sure whether this stability will continue, after recent announcements of job cuts at the state group BioCubaFarma.

Last week BioCubaFarma confirmed the "relocation" of workers from AICA Laboratories due to a lack of raw materials, which has cut drug production levels.

A source at the Provincial Directorate of Health in Havana stated that the number of drugs suffering shortages could very well exceed 150 in the next three months. Since 2016 BioCubaFarma has recognized shortages "due to financial situations" at the cytostatic production plant. As it does with regards to almost everything, the government, meanwhile, blames these problems on the US embargo.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  Chef Jonathon Sawyers culinary footprint on Cleveland will diminish this month after the surprise announcement that he will close the acclaimed Greenhouse Tavern, one of the citys most popular and sought-after dining destinations.

Sawyer, in an interview Thursday with cleveland.com in which he discussed some of his companys financial struggles, said the decision to shutter The Greenhouse Tavern was motivated by several factors, including the end of a lease and debt his companies have racked up in recent years. Records from lawsuits and Sawyer said that debt snowballed into hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The chef announced on social media Thursday that the East Fourth Street restaurant, which he opened in 2009, would close Feb. 16. The restaurant earned fans in Cleveland and around the country for its fresh, locally sourced and eclectic menu, as well as its urbane aesthetic.

The closure also comes soon after Esquire magazine designated The Greenhouse Tavern one of the most important restaurants of the past decade.

Sawyer said he doesnt have any regrets.

Im not ashamed or embarrassed by anything Ive done. Ive always operated aboveboard, and put my employees and my farmers ahead of everyone, including myself, he said. And Im thankful for everybody whos dined with us, and everyone who has worked with us.

Publicly, the chef gave no indication he would close the restaurant. In an interview with cleveland.com in November, he talked about plans to update the restaurant, saying: Greenhouse has a renovation and a couple of small changes just to bring it into the next 10 years of its life.

But the plan to close the restaurant was months in the making. The chef, who won the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Great Lakes in 2015 and whose fame in Cleveland for his culinary prowess is topped only by fellow chefs Michael Symon and Zack Bruell, said he told his managers in December of his tentative plan to shut the taverns doors.

His staff learned the news this week. Sawyer said the restaurant wasnt the most profitable unit ever.

I mean, it was successful in that it was a place that a ton of people went to eat and a ton of people learned how to cook at, Sawyer said.

Greenhouse is the latest restaurant that Sawyer has decided to shutter.

Trentina, a high-end University Circle spot that blended influences from Northern Italy, Germany and France, closed in January 2019. Sawyer also closed his Ramen shop Noodlecat, which he opened in downtown Cleveland in 2011 before moving it to Crocker Park in Westlake in 2017, last month.

That leaves Sawyers in the Van Aken District, which bears his name but is operated by Forward Hospitality Group, and spots in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and FirstEnergy Stadium.

Sawyer said he decided to end Trentina because the lease was up for the space and it didnt make sense to renew it.

Noodlecat, however, closed because of the revenue couldnt cover operating costs, let alone outstanding debt, the chef explained. Those problems were exacerbated by issues with a contractor he hired to work on the space, as the work was repeatedly delayed and subcontractors went unpaid, Sawyer said.

The restaurant sued the contractor, Atrium Group, in 2017 and later reached a settlement. However, Sawyer said the associated problems and missed payments to subcontractors drove up costs and that his company worked to pay subcontractors.

Atrium Group owner William Mangelluzzi noted that the settlement is subject to a confidentiality agreement but said he had worked for Sawyer on other projects and didnt get paid.

However, court records show that Sawyers financial issues went beyond problems with Noodlecat. Either he or his entities were named in lawsuits several times since 2014, with companies, contractors and lenders alleging his companies hadnt paid their bills, missed a loan payment or didnt pay employees a promised bonus.

Sawyer had explanations for the lawsuits he faced. He characterized a lawsuit by his brother Jesse, an early Greenhouse investor, and a business partner as a power play by them to get bought out. The lawsuit, first filed in 2014 and later amended, said that Greenhouse, Sawyer and others had misappropriated or diverted funds or assets." They demanded access to the restaurants financial records and damages.

The chef said his brother had access to the books and that the suit settled.

Another lawsuit filed by a former Greenhouse general manager in 2016 accused Sawyers company of not paying a bonus promised to him. Sawyer described him as a disgruntled former employee and said the suit was settled.

And he described a lawsuit filed in December by the owner of the Crocker Park space where he operated Noodlecat, which accused the restaurant of breaching its lease, as a dispute over the restaurants own attempt to terminate the lease for breach of contract. That lawsuit is ongoing, and an attorney representing the landlord, Promenade Delaware LLC, did not respond to a voicemail and email.

Sawyer and his company are also being sued in Cleveland Municipal Court by the owner of a building next to Greenhouse, in which the owner said people from Sawyers company had workers mount equipment to the buildings exterior without permission and damaged it by drilling holes.

What is clear, however, is that Sawyers culinary footprint on Cleveland receded while he and his companys debt grew. It got so big that he, his wife Amelia and his company Team Sawyer now have liens against them worth more than $571,000.

Records from Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court show that the company and the Sawyers in 2017 secured a $600,000 revolving credit loan from Chemical Bank. Greenhouse guaranteed payment of all money due on the loan and Team Sawyer and the Sawyers were required to pay off the loan over five years starting in November 2018.

The companies and Sawyers did not pay any money after that date, though, and defaulted what they drew from the loan. They admitted in court filings that they owed the money, and a judge in August issued a judgment ordering them to pay the owed amount, plus 7.25-percent interest. The judgment was also reduced to a lien in Geauga County, as the Sawyers live in Bainbridge Township.

Sawyer said the loan and eventual lien was a result of debts accumulated from all three of his restaurants, and that they were forced to consolidate previous loans to obtain a new loan from Chemical Bank.

Some of that came from buying out his brother and his business partners shares, he said. As for defaulting on the loan, he gave a simple answer.

We just didn't have enough money to pay it, he said.

Sawyer said he doesnt know whats next in terms of his footprint in the local restaurant business.

The future is unknown for us, he said, later adding that. My goal was to take care of whats in front of us right now.

Reporters Marc Bona and Anne Nickoloff contributed to this story.

This story was updated Friday to note a previously unreported lawsuit from Cleveland Municipal Court.

Read more:

The Greenhouse Tavern in Cleveland is closing this month

Cleveland restaurant lands on national list of decades 40 most important restaurants

Sawyers fires up in Van Aken District: Q&A with Chef Jonathon Sawyer

Noodlecat closes in Crocker Park

2 new restaurants open at the Q: Greenhouse Kitchen, Market at the Fig

Trentina will close this month, owner Jonathon Sawyer says

Cleveland chef Jonathon Sawyer wins James Beard Best Chef Great Lakes Award
If perceptions indeed win elections, then AAP has certainly made a strong case among voters with its intentions and delivery of good governance at least in part

It was a dark December night, when Balvinder Singh, a 36-year old insurance adviser, returned from work and emptied his trouser pockets as usual only to find that his wallet was missing! There was not much money lost, but a credit card and a debit card, which he blocked immediately. But what annoyed him most was that his driving licence and car registration certificate were lost. Getting duplicates was a hassle he was not looking forward to. His wife suggested he call 1076.

The couple live with Balvinders senior citizen parents in Shakkarpur in East Delhi. Medical stores, bank and financial service office branches, eateries, cycle spare parts, readymade garments, street food vendors all vie for space in this areas congested bazar, with its many narrow lanes in which small three, four of five-storeyed houses lean on each other. Balvinder lives in one such house and decided to wait for a day before he dialled 1076, hoping someone finds his purse and returns it.

That did not happen, so I first registered a police complaint, and then dialled 1076, said Balvinder. This Sarkar Aapke Dwar, helpline number for doorstep delivery of services had been activated less than three months earlier by the Arvind Kejriwal government and Balvinder was sceptical as he dialled the number. But the day after he made the call, a mobile sahayak knocked at his door, scanned his Aadhaar, PAN card, etc, got him to fill an application, and took Rs 50 by way of charges. Balvinder then received an SMS regarding details of his appointment with the Transport Authority, his registration number, and details of the Rs 330 he had to pay for the duplicate licence. On the fifth day, Balwinder said, he had a new licence.

Many residents in the National Capital Territory are now as aware of this toll-free number 1076 as of emergency numbers 100 or 101 or 131. When it was inaugurated in September 2018, Delhis residents could avail of about 40 services like birth certificate, car registration, SC/ST certificate and driving licence. The governments aim was to deliver, at their doorstep, multi-department services in a time-bound manner without people having to visit government offices.

This service is managed by VFS Global, well known for their visa facilitation services. The government hired the technology agency, which already had in place a number of phone lines and call centres, through competitive bidding. All the agency had to do was hire on contract 300 mobile sahayaks who are responsible for the collection of documents from the doorstep and delivery of replacements or original papers as the case may be. The feedback of those who avail this service is recorded. To avail the service, a resident has only to show his Aadhaar card and residence proof. By December 2019, the government had scaled up the number of services offered by the helpline to 100.

Getting it started

Implemented by the Administrative Reforms Department of the Delhi government, the AAP government had allotted Rs 18 crore for the scheme in its 2019-2020 Budget, which was later revised to Rs 10 crore. At a news conference in December, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal explained there were three ways of getting government services: a visit to the government offices, where the success rate is 57 percent and 43 percent of applications get rejected; online applications in which 45 percent of applications get cleared while the rest is rejected; and doorstep delivery, where the success rate is 91 percent.

A government official said they received 11,000 calls the day after the scheme was rolled out. The number of services covered by this helpline covered 14 departments that include revenue, transport, social welfare, food and civil supplies, Delhi Jal Board, labour, SC/ST welfare, tourism and transport, Delhi government, drugs control, women and child development, higher education and Delhi pharmacy council, that regulates and pharmacists and medical stores.

Detailed coverage of Delhi Assembly Election 2020

It covers most services for which people have to connect with the elected government, the official said, giving examples of issues covered, such as domicile, low income, caste, OBC, marriage certificates, lal dora certificates that demarcate habitable areas of villages from the agricultural land, delay in getting birth and death certificates, change of address documents, etc. The most commonly used doorstep delivery services turned out to be additions to ration cards, change of address, duplicate licence and vehicle RC.

When the service completed one year in September 2019, the Delhi government said 1,369,284 calls were received, and of these, 216,054 were requests for services offered. The system had delivered 99.5 percent of the requests made, according to the government.

At the Krishan Kunj office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate in East Delhi on a Thursday noon, there were two counters to service people who needed something from the government. One of them was long and crowded, and the other had about a dozen people. I live nearby, and am not in a hurry, so why should I pay Rs 50 for the doorstep delivery? asked Sanjiv Kumar Gupta, 58, waiting on the longer queue. Those in the shorter queue, a fast track queue of sorts, were people willing to pay Rs 50, and avail the same service that 1076 provides at this counter, for example, Neeraj, 19, who had come for his fathers death certificate.

Tussle with Centre

The doorstep delivery of rations, however, ran into trouble. The National Capital Territory has about 20 lakh ration cards that enable about 80 lakh people to avail rations at almost no cost. When the Centre linked subsidised rations through the Public Distribution System (PDS) to Aadhar, the Kejriwal government said over 2.5 lakh ration cardholders in the capital could not avail of rations because of Aadhar-related issues. The Delhi government also maintained there was a lot of leakage and corruption in the distribution of rations, and decided to deliver rations at the doorstep through other agencies.

The Delhi National Capital Territory government, though a state, does not enjoy full statehood. The police, for instance, is under the Union Home Ministry and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is under the Union Ministry for Urban Development. Kejriwal fought a relentless turf war till July 2018, when the Supreme Court affirmed the elected governments supremacy on all things other than police, land and public law and order.

The verdict notwithstanding, the Lt Governor Anil Baijal stepped in and made some changes in transfers ordered by the Kejriwal government, through the office of the chief secretary. If this were not enough, then Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Kumar alleged that he was assaulted by AAP legislators at Kejriwals residence in February 2018, when deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was also present.

While the officer said that he was summoned to discuss a delay in the release of advertisements for television, the elected government said it was to discuss food subsidy for the BPL. This led to a stand-off between the bureaucrats of the Delhi government and its elected representatives, with officers not attending meetings called by the elected government. The Delhi Police registered a case, interrogated Kejriwal, and charge-sheeted him and his deputy. That was when the government went to the apex court. But before the verdict, Anshu Kumar was transferred.

While it was a showdown in full view of the public, the public was not affected by it. Lt Governor Anil Baijal spoke favourably about rations at the doorstep in his customary speech as he inaugurated the Delhi Assemblys budget session in 2018. But he later directed the government to refer it to the Centre before implementing it.

It is the limited powers of the elected government that is now giving Union Home Minister Amit Shah the ammunition to say that Kejriwal should clear the protest at Shaheen Bagh, knowing full well that the police and law and order in the capital are not under the Chief Minister.

Effective counter to BJP

The Aam Aadmi Partys legislators, who by and large say they function like relatives of people in their constituency, mostly direct people who come to them with some grievance to 1076. Earlier when people would go to a government department, they would be told that this document is not there, that is missing, this is incorrect and so on, said Nithin Tyagi, the partys MLA who is contesting for a second time from the Lakshmi Nagar constituency.

People would be harassed. That would then be sorted out by middlemen and agents for a hefty amount. The AAP government and chief minister Arvind Kejriwal put an end to that. Now it is up to the mobile sahayak to visit the resident who has complained and scan all documents, he said.

Tyagi, 46, has a fixed working schedule that takes him to all the seven offices he has set up in his constituency at least twice a week. It is like a Janata Darbar. I come to this office in Shakkarpur between 10 am to 1 pm every Tuesday and Saturday and people know that, he said, as he rushed off to campaign.

Incidentally, a Delhi Assembly constituency is way smaller than in other states, less than 1,37,000 people cast their votes from here in 2015.

Tyagis explanation of how c has been wiped out notwithstanding, some AAP foot soldiers believe they have not been able to do as much as they wanted to on this front. When we came to power in 2013 for 49 days, we jailed 52 officers on corruption charges through the Anti-Corruption Bureau, said one party worker, not wanting to be identified.

But when we formed government in 2015 and started this work, the Centre took over the ACB, because they were afraid that all their officials will be jailed, the worker said, adding, Since then Kejriwal has not been able to fight corruption the way he would have wanted to. That led to a constant clash with the Centre.

He also recalls how the Lt Gov of Delhi would sit over files for months forcing the Kejriwal government to move the Supreme Court to get a decision. One such, according to AAP, pertains to the delivery of rations at the doorstep and another about the installation of CCTV cameras. In fact, Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia resorted to a sit-in at the Lt Governors house for nine days over this issue.

Also, a few recent incidents helped AAP expose the falsity of BJPs allegation that the promised CCTVs have not been installed. It was the footage in one that helped the Delhi Police nab within 24 hours the motor-bike borne thief who snatched the purse of the prime minister's niece. And when Shah reiterated that the AAP government had not installed the cameras that were meant to provide security to the capitals citizens, AAP released footage that showed Shah getting out of his car to enter the house of Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari in South Ganesh Nagar!

Anyone committing a crime in Delhi cannot escape our cameras, a confident AAP claims, adding that the LADS funds of all 67 MLAs has gone into improving civic services.

Sachin Thukral, who runs a small variety store in the constituency, said what he finds most refreshing about the AAP legislators is that there is no huge security carcade going with them as they are generally on their foot, in their or their friends car or even scooters and motorcycles.

The informality is not confined to MLAs who are not ministers. Sisodia, the deputy chief minister, is often seen in parks, sometimes treating his daughter to ice cream, absolutely unfettered by the security trappings that power seems to bring.

If perceptions indeed win elections, then AAP has certainly made a strong case among voters with its intentions and delivery of good governance at least in part.

This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative
This is an opinion column.

Charles Graddick is adamant about one thing: Hes really not the fry-em-til-their-eyes-pop-out guy he has been described as for 40-plus years.

Nope. That whole Charcoal Charlie nickname was undeserved, he has argued. All those names and claims were just myth that grew from attempted political smears in a 1978 campaign for Alabama attorney general.

Sure hes tough on crime, he says. But he takes no joy in such things. Id understand that, he once told me, if I really knew him.

OK. Ill take his word on that. I was 15 in 1978, so my mind was on other things. All I know is what I see now that Graddick is the director of Alabamas Bureau of Pardons and Paroles, which seems more like a Bureau of Vengeance and Vitriol under his watch. What I see now is how, in the name of being tough on crime, ol Charcoal Charlie seems perfectly willing to burn the whole system to the ground.

But then, maybe thats the point.

Since Gov. Kay Ivey appointed Graddick to lead Pardons and Paroles in September, paroles ground to a near halt. Almost nine out of every 10 inmates up for parole were denied in the months since -- the percentage of paroles granted since hearings resumed is 12.4%. The department for a while regularly sent out fiery press releases detailing the crimes of those who had been denied parole. Graddick has argued that he has nothing to do with parole decisions, that the three-member board has complete control. Whatever.

It smells a lot like smoke up there. It just smells.

Because it doesnt add up, as a matter of policy. The only way it adds up is if the whole dog and pony show is just a giant political move to pave the way for Ivey to push a massive prison-building plan similar to the one that failed under Robert Bentley. The only way it adds up is if its all just a political game, and the lives of inmates are as dispensable as pawns.

Think about it.

Alabama has for years crammed far more people into its prisons than they were meant to hold. Everybody knows that. There were 21,077 incarcerated inmates in November, in facilities designed to hold 12,412.

The overcrowding has resulted in violence and death. According to the ACLUs Campaign for Smart Justice, 28 people died in Alabama prisons last year by homicide or suicide or overdose. The federal government warned Alabama to get its cruel and unusual prisons in shape, and has threatened takeover.

But overcrowding has gotten worse instead of better since the board stopped letting people out, and the system cant handle it. The total number of inmates this year is expected to reach a five-year high.

On top of that, the Department of Corrections just announced it is closing parts of Holman Prison in Atmore, forcing hundreds of inmates to move to other locations, packing more sardines into more explosive cans.

All as Ivey makes a priority of prison reform and a massive and no doubt controversial construction plan which could involve leasing prisons from private prison companies.

Seems like Alabama is using the lives and misery of Alabama inmates to bolster political support for a project that will line a lot of pockets, but may not even address the basic reasons for the states corrections crisis.

Burn it to the ground so people will be happy to let them build it back up.

John Archibald, a Pulitzer Prize winner, is a columnist for Reckon by AL.com. His column appears in The Birmingham News, the Huntsville Times, the Mobile Register and AL.com. Write him at jarchibald@al.com.

Updated 9:21 a.m. 1/7/20202 to give the latest figures for paroles granted: 12.4 percent.
A New Jersey family, whose six-year-old daughter died of the flu, is suing the hospital that discharged her, claiming the staff's negligence led to her death.

Neveah Hernandez's parents say they took her to Hoboken University Medical Center hospital in February 2018, where doctors failed to diagnose her and sent her home with a 104F fever.

She was taken to another hospital the next day, where she slipped into a coma and died three days later.

Stephanie Conteron and Gabriel, of North Bergen, filed the lawsuit on February 1 in Essex County Superior Court, reported The Jersey Journal.

The suit alleges staff were 'negligent, careless, reckless, and unskillful in failing to properly diagnose and care for Decedent Nevaeh Hernandez's influenza causing, ultimately, her untimely death.'

Nevaeh Hernandez, six (pictured), of North Bergen, New Jersey, was taken to Hoboken University Medical Center on February 9, 2018

Flu tests came back negative and staff sent Neveah (left and right) home even though she had a 104F fever. The next day, she was rushed to Hackensack University Hospital, where staff diagnosed her with the flu and admitted her into the PICU

The Jersey Journal reports that Hoboken University Medical Center, CarePoint Health, and several medical staff are named as defendants and the parents have requested a jury trial.

According to the family's attorney, Louis Zayas, Nevaeh, was sent home from her kindergarten class at Lincoln School after she complained of a headache on February 9, 2018.

She was taken to Hoboken University Medical Center and tested for strep and the flu, but both came back negative.

Hospital staff discharged her even though she had a fever of 104F.

Attorney Francisco Rodriguez, told The Jersey Journal that doctors failed to properly check her vitals, and that her heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure weren't taken.

He also says staff didn't perform any bloodwork before Nevaeh was discharged.

'What happened is both tragic and preventable,' Rodriguez told the newspaper.

'Had they rechecked her vital signs, they probably would have found some information that would have caused them to now dig deeper as to what [was] going on with her.'

The next day, after no signs of improvement, Nevaeh's mother called 911 and she was taken to Hackensack University Hospital.

According to NBC New York, when Nevaeh arrived at the emergency room, her fever had spiked to 106F.

Neveah suffered four seizures and slipped into a coma before going into cardiac arrest on February 12. Pictured: Neveah, right, with her mother

The lawsuit was filed on February 1 against Hoboken University Medical Center, CarePoint Health, and several medical staff. Pictured: Neveah

She was given an IV and put on oxygen. This time, a flu test came back positive and she was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit,

Zayas told The Jersey Journal that it was there that the little girl suffered four seizures and fell into a coma, passing away on February 12.

Conteron said she watched doctors and nurses try to revive Nevaeh after she went into cardiac arrest.

'I wanted her to go in peace. I didn't want to see her like that,' she told NBC New York.

'For those three days in the hospital, she wasn't moving, I knew she wasn't there anymore. So I asked them to stop.'

In the suit, her parents accuse medical workers of being 'negligent, careless, reckless, and unskillful.' Pictured: Neveah

Her father, Hernandez, was stationed in Germany at the time and although he got special leave, he was too late getting to the hospital.

Neveah's parents say she was vaccinated against the flu, but they want to educate parents on other preventive measure such as washing your hands and covering your mouth if you cough or sneeze.

'Every parent knows when their child is sick, when something is wrong,' Conteron told NBC New York.

'Go to the hospital. You won't lose anything. Go get it checked out.'

The family also started The End-FLUenza Project, a non-profit that educates families about the flu. They said they miss their daughter's smile and big heart.

'I just miss being hugged by her, you know. I miss how much she loved me,' her father, Hernandez, said.

'Even if I was just going to the store, she would always want to come with me. If I had five minutes with her I would tell her how much I love her.'

No court dates have yet been set regarding the lawsuit.
Texas is not supposed to receive much snowfall at all but surprisingly, the snowfall in January 2020 was the first measurable kind since 2017. Texas has an average temperature of 65F during February. People are amazed by snow in Texas. They are all so excited about the out-of-season weather. The unexpected snowfall has taken place in Texas, US for the second time in less than four weeks. People have snapped selfies and are still celebrating the snow online. However, scientists say that this snow is due to an Arctic cold front and connected to climate change.

READ: Canadian Woman Finds Car Filled With Snow After Leaving Window Open During Blizzard

People share snaps

Enjoying this Texas snow  pic.twitter.com/k55xuEH231  Areli Anahi (@areliimelendezz) February 5, 2020

Texas and snow? An odd combo pic.twitter.com/cgktJzVCOK  ca$h honey 2.0 (@__a_e___) February 5, 2020

Everyone saying  its just snow  , we live in Texas and I havent seen it since I was 8 so let me be happy  February 23  (@breezyy_30) February 5, 2020

if climate change is getting texas snow days then how abt we just ignore it  maddie (@mld5649) February 5, 2020

Texas and snow? An odd combo pic.twitter.com/cgktJzVCOK  ca$h honey 2.0 (@__a_e___) February 5, 2020

Camels grazing in Saudi snow

Videos and pictures of camels in Saudi Arabia grazing around in the snow has concerned people from all across the globe about the rising costs of the climate crisis. Recently, in the northwestern region of the middle eastern country, a freak storm lead to a desert near Tabuk getting covered in snow. Watch it here:

It wasnt the first time that it snowed in Saudi Arabia. Last year, the country recorded snowfall in the month of April. Eric Leister, a senior meteorologist claimed that the snow was created from a storm which travelled from southern Europe and the Mediterranean. However, the rare sight has caused netizens to become very concerned.

READ: Winter Storm Brings Snow, Wind, Hail And Flooding Across US

READ: Report Says Snow Was Falling During Fatal Turnpike Bus Crash

READ: Tourists Trek In Snow-covered Mountains In Himachal Pradesh


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Traders load dragonfruit, an export affected by the nCoV epidemic, onto a truck headed for China. Photo by VnExpress/Viet Quoc.

Vietnamese banks are foregoing international transaction charges and reducing lending rates, helping businesses hurt by the novel coronavirus epidemic.

VPBank, a private mid-sized lender, announced Thursday it will reduce annual lending rates by 1.5 percentage points for around 1,000 of their clients affected by the nCoV epidemic.

These enterprises mostly belonged to the transport, warehousing, accommodation, tourism, traveling and catering sectors, especially in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh and major seaside tourist cities like Nha Trang and Da Nang, the bank said.

Earlier this week, private ABBank also said it would allocate VND4 trillion ($172.4 million) towards low-interest loans to support businesses affected by the epidemic. Interest discounts would be assessed on a case-to-case basis, and could reach up to 2 percentage points for short-term loans and 3 percentage points for loans above one year, it said.

HDBank also said it was foregoing 100 percent international transaction charges for businesses supplying pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, 50 percent of domestic bank charges and providing other unspecified discounts for those suppling materials to medical institutions of all types.

A number of other banks including state-owned giants Vietcombank and VietinBank have also announced they are reviewing policies to support businesses affected by the nCoV outbreak.

Vietnam has so far reported 12 cases of nCoV infection, three of whom have been declared healthy and discharged from hospital.

As of Friday the epidemic had killed 638 people, mostly in mainland China, and infected nearly 31,500.
Gogglebox returns for its 11th season to 10 and Foxtel later this month.

But the Jackson clan is the latest to bid the show farewell.

On social media the family told fans, We as a family would like to say a big thank you for all the years we have had on Gogglebox. The show has changed our lives in many ways. We were able to do something unique and special together as a family and have loved every minute! To all of the fans, thank you for embracing us. We will continue being a part of the Gogglebox family, only now it will be from the other side of the screen. We wish them all the best for the future and thank them for being a massive part of the #GoggleboxAU family

Symon & Adam recently announced their departure.

As previously revealed, there are also three new households in the series this year, including two boys from the Gold Coast.

The 11th series will see many of our favourite faces back on the couch ready to sink their teeth into their favourite TV snacks and the best and worst of 2020s newest television programs.

Will happily married couple Lee and Keith survive the ups and downs of Australian Survivor All Stars? What will real-estate savvy Greek best friends Anastasia and Faye make of Selling Houses Australia? Things are bound to get spicy when the Daltons and Silberys set in for Married at First Sight. And could the Delpechitra family find dance tips for Patrick watching Dancing With The Stars?

Also returning this season is the dry and delightfully honest opinions of dealers in Indigenous Art Mick and Di; new parents Matty and Sarah Marie and uncle Jad; and brother and sister foodies Tim and Leanne. Setting down their remote and bidding Gogglebox farewell is the big family with the even bigger social calendar, the Jackson Family.

And this season, Gogglebox will take us into the lounge rooms of three new households who will be announced soon!

Wednesday, February 26 at 7.30pm on LifeStyle

Thursday, 27 February at 8.30pm on 10.
Former Union Minister M J Akbar told a Delhi court Friday that scribe Priya Ramani's accusations of sexual misconduct against him in the wake of #MeToo movement in 2018 were "figment of her imagination" and caused him "great humiliation" and "irreparably damaged his reputation".

Akbar made the allegations before Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vishal Pahuja through his lawyer during the final hearing of a private criminal defamation complaint filed by him against Ramani after his name cropped up on social media as the #MeToo campaign raged on in India.

Akbar resigned as Union minister on October 17, 2018.

Ramani in 2018 accused Akbar of sexual misconduct around 20 years ago when he was a journalist. She worked at the Asian Age from January to October in 1994.

Senior advocate Geeta Luthra, appearing for Akbar, said that if there was any grievance, it had to be raised then and there before the appropriate authority.

"Allegations are a figment of her (Ramani's) imagination. Things that I (Akbar) took 49-45 years to build, without any sense of responsibility, were trashed," Luthra said.

"Can you expect a man to answer to something which you allege happened 20-25 years ago? Why now? What is the public good that you are claiming? If there is a grievance, it has to be raised then and there before the appropriate authority... I don't want to jump onto a political bandwagon," she added.

"My whole life has gone without any controversy... Can you mar anybody's life without any impunity, without any evidence? We can't be a social media country," she said.

While referring to an article written by Ramani, which was allegedly termed Akbar a "predator" and a "pervert", she said the allegations were "false narrative".

"This has caused great humiliation to Akbar and his reputation has been irreparably damaged. He developed a reputation and that's why he was a Minister (of State) of External Affairs. He wrote extensively on South Asia. In that sense, the country needs such people," she said.

She further added, "You (Ramani) are a person who is saying things without bothering. You are tarnishing someone's image without bothering."



The court will further hear the matter on February 28.

Akbar has denied all the allegations of sexual harassment against the women, who came forward during #MeToo campaign against him.

Ramani accused Akbar of sexual misconduct when he was a journalist, a charge denied by him.

Akbar had earlier told the court that the allegations made in an article in the 'Vogue' and the subsequent tweets were defamatory on the face of it as the complainant had deposed them to be false and imaginary and that an "immediate damage" was caused to him due to the "false" allegations by Ramani.

Ramani had earlier told the court that her "disclosure" of alleged sexual harassment by Akbar has come at "a great personal cost" and she had "nothing to gain" from it.

She had said her move would empower women to speak up and make them understand their rights at workplace.

Several women came up with accounts of the alleged sexual harassment by him while they were working as journalists under Akbar.

He has termed the allegations "false, fabricated and deeply distressing" and said he was taking appropriate legal action against them.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Although no date is as yet fixed, prime minister Pedro Sanchez and Quim Torra, regional president of Catalonia, agreed on Thursday to start formal roundtable meetings between the national and regional governments to discuss the political future of Catalonia.

In an eagerly awaited one-to-one meeting between the two politicians in Barcelona, the first for some time, agreement was reached to begin the series of meetings which had been a condition of ERC, the Catalan republican party, abstaining in Madrid's parliament earlier this month to allow Sanchez back into power nationally.

For the first, opening session of the meetings at least, due to be in February, both Sanchez and Torra will be in the chair.

After their one-to-one meeting in Barcelona on Thursday, Sanchez said, "We need time and effort. That is a reason to begin the dialogue between the institutions as soon as possible."

Amid a storm of criticism from opposition parties, Sanchez defended the need to sit down and break up a ten year process that had had "lamentable results". However there was surprise as the agenda items for the forthcoming meetings aren't as controversial as some feared in terms of separatist demands.

While Torra has agreed to the content of the discussions for now, he lamented that he still didn't know Madrid's real position on the Catalan independence issue. "We're only asking to get to the root, which is sovereignty," he said. " How much democracy is the Spanish state ready to take on board?"

Torra may soon be removed as president if an appeal to a case goes against him and Catalan elections are expected as his ruling coalition of JxCat and ERC has broken down.
Protesters hope for more support from Ayatollah al-Sistani after Muqtada al-Sadrs supporters turned on them.

Iraqi activists are looking for support from highly revered Shia religious leader Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani after followers of a populist Shia leader, who had once backed anti-government protests, attacked sit-ins this week.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani is the only powerful figure left who can help us, said 30-year-old demonstrator Mahdi Abdul Zahra as he watched security forces behind concrete barriers in Baghdad take pot shots with air rifles at protesters.

On Friday, he must call for a million-strong march against the government. Its a last chance.

Abdul Zahra and many others have high hopes: It was al-Sistanis final word that forced outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi to quit amid popular unrest in November.

With a single edict in 2014, the countrys top Shia leader also mobilised tens of thousands of men to fight ISIL (ISIS) as part of Shia paramilitary groups.

But as protesters watch demonstrations dwindle after followers of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr turned on them, there is a sector of young Iraqi society that is beginning to debate the importance of what al-Sistani says, and whether they gain from him weighing in.

There have been countless Friday sermons on the issue now, but unfortunately nothing has happened, its like no one is listening, said Ali Abboud, an activist in the holy city of Najaf  al-Sistani and the Shia clergys seat of power.

When there was an edict to fight extremists, it was obeyed. But theres been no clear edict here, nothing that actually binds those in power to act.

Al-Sistani rarely comments on politics. But he has addressed Iraqs popular uprising, which broke out among the countrys majority Shia masses in Baghdad and the south in October, in almost every Friday sermon since.

The 89-year-old leader steered clear of politics under former President Saddam Hussein. After Saddam was toppled in the 2003 US invasion, al-Sistani emerged as one of the most powerful figures in Iraq.

Weighty words

His words carry weight for millions of Shia, both the protesters and the Shia-dominated and Iran-aligned political establishment they oppose.

Iranian-born al-Sistani distances himself from Tehran and disagrees with the Islamic Republics model of state rule by a supreme leader.

He has urged early elections, political reform and condemned the killing of nearly 500 peaceful protesters by security forces and militias many of whom are backed by Iran.

Anti-government protesters now want him [al-Sistani] to put al-Sadr, whose religious pedigree comes from a Najaf family, in his place.

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Al-Sadr, who opposes foreign influence and rails against corruption but is a political opportunist, told his followers to abandon anti-government protests and clear sit-ins last week after reaching a deal with Iran-aligned parties to name Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi as new prime minister.

On Wednesday, his followers burned tents in Najaf and stormed a protest camp killing at least eight people. They stormed a Karbala camp on Thursday wounding at least 10.

Muqtadas followers used to protect us against militia. Now theyve stolen our revolution, Abdul Zahra said.

Dhiaa al-Asadi, a top aide to al-Sadr, said the Shia leader had not meant for followers to attack protesters. Al-Sadr on Twitter urged followers to clear disruptive sit-ins but continue to support peaceful protests.

We wont wait

Activists lament how the moves by al-Sadr  one of the last figures in the political establishment whose supporters once helped them  have weakened their numbers.

On some streets and squares in Baghdad where clashes raged in recent months between security forces and protesters, market stalls go about their business selling households, toys and shiny trainers.

In southern Najaf, tents lie burned at the main sit-in. Students chant slogans against Allawi at a square in the nearby city of Karbala, from where al-Sistanis Friday sermon is delivered, but in small numbers.

Protesters say al-Sistani should issue a harsh statement on Friday, condemning Allawi whom they reject, and al-Sadr for making a deal with Iran-aligned parties.

But they know he is often cautious and are prepared to go on without his blessing.

[Al-]Sistani is the one leader left whos both part of the system and has supported our cause  we welcome that, said Hussein Sadri, an activist in Karbala.

But we wont just wait for him to say things to take our cue. Well act. The uprising sprang from a young population who learn about the world online  not from clerics.

Iraqs older generation mostly disagree, saying Shia will follow al-Sistanis guidance to the letter.

Mohammed al-Kaabi, a 54-year-old activist sitting with Sadri in a Karbala cafe, said he would wait to see what al-Sistani said.

If Sistani this Friday says everyone should just go home, theyll do it, he said.
Diseases

Even clean and well maintained dog parks can pose health risks, in particular the spread of easily communicable diseases. One challenge of dog parks being unregulated public spaces is that while most post signs saying dogs should be vaccinated, no proof of vaccinations is actually required.

The American Animal Hospital Association advises owners who bring their pets to the park to have them vaccinated with the Bordetella vaccine, which prevents kennel cough, as well as distemper. Youll also want to have your dog vaccinated against leptospirosis, as communal water bowls, puddles and other water features in dog parks can carry leptospira bacteria. All dogs should be vaccinated against rabies, and dogs that visit dog parks should be on flea and tick prevention as well as year-round heartworm prevention. Dogs that visit dog parks should also be vaccinated against canine influenza (dog flu) that can be transmitted through the air.

Dr. Loenser cautioned that although currently, the influenza vaccines available cover for the strains that are most commonly seen, if new strains are introduced or mutate, these vaccines might not provide cross-protection. If that were to occur, dogs that visited dog parks and had contact with a large number of dogs that might or might not be fully vaccinated would be at risk of getting sick.

Body language

Most dog owners arent skilled at reading their dogs body language beyond a wagging tail, so warning signs that your dog is uncomfortable, unhappy or angry are often ignored. This leads to minor and major dog fights. Understanding canine body language is key to supporting your dogs comfort and safety, and assessing if a playgroup at the dog park is going to be a good match.

The dog park is not a place for you to let your dog run unsupervised while you socialize with other people, Mr. Hof said. Keep an eye on your dog and make sure that they are both being good and having a good time. This means watching the actions and behaviors of your dog and the other dogs in the park. If things are getting too intense, thats a good time to leave.

But what exactly should you be watching for? Dr. Loenser says that subtle signs of fear or aggression include lip licking, yawning or panting when not hot. Other signs of discomfort or a brewing issue include stiff bodies and erect tails. Keeping an eye out for these signs can give you the edge to intervene on your dogs behalf before an interaction with another dog escalates.

Even dogs that appear to be playing well together may be at risk. Healthy play between dogs should include small breaks or pauses, Mr. Hof said. If you are uncertain about if all dogs are happy, I recommend stopping the dog who may be too over-the-top and seeing what the other dog does. If the other dog tries to re-engage, its a good indicator that everything was okay. If the other dog runs off though, a break was a good idea.
Donald Trump has tweeted his approval at Chinese president Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that 'great discipline is taking place in China'.

The US President made the positive comments after having a 'long and very good' conversation with the Chinese leader.

Earlier this week, China criticized the US for 'creating and spreading fear' over the virus as the US put in place a ban on the entry into America of foreign nationals who had recently traveled to China.

In the tweet on Friday, Trump said: 'Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.

'He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.

'Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!'

Donald Trump (pictured on Thursday) has tweeted his approval at Chinese president Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that 'great discipline is taking place in China'

In a press briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the US 'hasn't provided any substantial assistance' in the virus and has only created 'panic' after Washington declared a public health emergency.

It comes as an elderly American woman sent a desperate message from a cruise ship which has remained quarantined off the coast of Japan with a coronavirus outbreak on board which has 61 people infected, including eight Americans.

The unidentified passenger on board the Diamond Princess relayed her message to a news reporter late Thursday.

Will Ripley, international correspondent with CNN, tweeted that the woman's frightening words about 10:30pm.

'We are scared... I don't want to leave this ship in a box', the woman, who is from Florida, said.

An elderly woman's chilling message from a cruise ship which has remained quarantined off the coast of Japan with a coronavirus crisis was tweeted by a news reporter

Funeral home workers remove the body of a person suspect to have died from a virus outbreak from a residential building in Wuhan on February 1

A post from a Twitter user who said they also were on board the reveals images of medical teams in protective suits treating passengers, who also were shown congregating in a dining area.

Another post shows a team sorting medical supplies at the base of a staircase on the cruise ship

A post on social media reveals passengers congregating in a dining area on the Diamond Princess

A letter from the captain of the Diamond Princess sent to passengers Thursday

The tweet also confirmed that the number of coronavirus cases on board 'TRIPLED overnight'.

Posts from a Twitter user on board who posts under the handle @daxa_tw reveals images of medical teams in protective suits walking through the halls of the cruise ship.

Another post shows the a team sorting medical supplies, while a third reveals passengers congregating in a dining area.

The same twitter user also posted a letter from the captain from Thursday, reporting updates on the numbers of people infected and the measures being taken by the crew, including delivering room service to 'over 1500 staterooms' to comfort passengers.

'I thank everyone for their patience,' the captain wrote, 'and that you understand the crew are working extremely hard for you.'

The tweets were coming as another 41 people on the cruise liner moored off Yokohama Bay tested positive for the deadly coronavirus, tripling the previous number of infected to 61 Friday.

The new cases, all passengers who are in their 20s to 80s, will be taken to medical facilities in Tokyo and nearby Saitama Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures as well as Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan.

At least one person is reported in serious condition, although the person also has a pre-existing health matter. None of the others afflicted by the virus have severe symptoms, Japan's health ministry said.

A woman holds a Japanese flag that reads 'shortage of medicine' on the cruise ship Diamond Princess as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Friday

Passengers, some wearing face masks, are seen standing outside on the cruise ship Diamond Princess

Passengers on the deck of the Diamond Princess are seen wearing masks while they stroll outside

The Diamond Princess as it appears quarantined off Yokohama Port near Tokyo on Friday

Ambulances stand by at Yokohama Port where the Diamond Princess is quarantined in Japan

Officers wearing protective suits carry plastic bags next to an ambulance, near the cruise ship Diamond Princess

Among the 41 who have tested positive for the virus originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, 21 are Japanese, eight are American, five Australian, five Canadian and one each from Argentina and Britain, reports Kyodo News.

Japan's health minister announced the findings on Friday from the remaining 171 test results taken earlier this week after a man who got off the Diamond Princess last month in Hong Kong later fell ill.

The huge leap comes amid concern among its 3,700 passengers that they are being kept in the dark about the full extent of the deepening crisis, after 10 cases were discovered on Wednesday and another 10 on Thursday.

Among the 78 Britons aboard the vessel - which has been ordered to remain at port for at least 14 days - is David Abel, who is becoming somewhat of an international celebrity through his regular Facebook videos.

This morning, Abel who is with wife Sally, said in a post, 'My major concern now is to let the captain and the crew know, that we want to be informed of what is going on. We don't want second-hand news, we don't want rumors, we want to know precisely what is going on.'

In a recent video, Abel, spoke of 22 confirmed cases, apparently unaware that the figure had risen to more than 60 overnight.

This morning, Briton David Abel who is with wife Sally, said: 'My major concern now is to let the captain and the crew know, that we want to be informed of what is going on. We don't want second hand news, we don't want rumours, we want to know precisely what is going on'

Japan Self-Defence Forces officers use canvas sheets to cover the walkway from the cruise ship Diamond Princess on Friday as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly flu-like virus after 20 were rushed off to hospitals on the mainland earlier this week

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, is seen anchored at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port

'The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive,' health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters Friday.

'Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that.'

'In total, out of 273 specimens, 61 tested positive,' he added.

The 20 people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel and taken to hospitals.

Abel said today: 'We haven't had our temperatures taken we haven't been asked any more questions ... that has not happened for days so how are the medical people able to monitor the health situation of 3,600 passengers on board.

'So this is what needs to be answered.'

He also raised concerns that, along with the 78 other Britons on board, he might be quarantined yet again when he and his wife arrive home and are taken to the Wirral, where 93 were transferred after being flown back from Wuhan by the government.

'It would really be good if the Home Office would put something on the news.' Abel added. 'It would certainly put the minds of the Brits on board at ease.'

Abel posted a follow up video minutes later, saying that the captain had announced over the tannoy that ambulances were arriving to ferry passengers off the boat. The Briton confirmed the fact after looking out of his window.

A passenger waves next to another wearing a face mask from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, as it is anchored at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan on Friday

A Japan Self-Defences Forces officer wearing a face mask is seen next to the cruise ship Diamond Princess as the ship was prepared for resupply

Passengers aboard the infected vessel look at to land today. Abel said officials had asked passengers to wear their masks when going out on their balconies and remaining at least a metre apart

A man wearing protective gear is seen at the port where cruise ship Diamond Princess as preparations were made for further supplies to be delivered this morning

Yesterday officials could be seen dressed in white hazmat suits, complete with face masks and helmets. An extendable white-tented passageway was wheeled to a door on the side of the massive cruise ship, apparently to protect the identity of people being evacuated from the boat.

As the massive cruise ship docked, passengers who have been told they will have to stay aboard days even if they test negative for the virus, came out onto balconies, some waving to assembled media or taking pictures.

People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to cabins following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

Abel said yesterday: 'One lady hadn't had an evening meal last night, by nine o'clock and she went outside to try and say, 'Where's our food' and she was shouted at and told, 'Get back in your room', so it's really being enforced.

'There are people on every floor to make sure that people do not wander outside of their cabins.'

Among those stranded on board are 233 Australians, including Olivia Capodicasa, from Melbourne, who was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down.

Olivia Capodicasa (pictured) was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 639 lives and infected almost 31,500 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China

For breakfast, quarantined cruisers yesterday were served a measly fruit salad, pastries, a Fru Fru yoghurt and a glass of apple juice

Health workers in protective suits put up hoardings on Wednesday as passengers who were diagnosed with the virus are moved

Officers in protective gear carry luggage cases after people who were transferred from cruise ship Diamond Princess on Wednesday when the first 10 people were taken off, another 10 were confirmed to have the virus on Thursday, and another 41 on Friday

She described the conditions as being like 'hell' and said she had been watching movies to pass the time.

'It has been a hell of a 24 hours stuck in here', she told Sunrise on Thursday morning. 'I think it is really starting to hit me now that this is the reality and I'm not going home anytime soon'.

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China.

The outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency, several governments to impose travel restrictions, and airlines to suspend flights to and from China.

An ambulance and Japan Coast Guard members in protective outfit prepare for the arrival of infected passengers that were onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, at Yokohama port on Wednesday when another ten were rushed off to hospitals on the Japanese mainland

Despite some of the ship's 3,700 passengers complaining of 'prison' like quarantine conditions they were seen gallivanting on the colossal ship's galleries on Thursday within arms reach of their neighbours

Japan has now confirmed 25 cases of the new coronavirus - excluding the cruise ship infections - among them citizens returning from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.

Tokyo has evacuated more than 500 Japanese citizens from Wuhan, and attracted some criticism for its relatively loose quarantine approach.

There have been several incidences of apparent person-to-person transmission in Japan, including a tour guide and bus driver who contracted the virus after coming into contact with visitors from Wuhan.

Neither had visited China in recent months.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:33:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JAKARTA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producers, on Friday accused the European Union of planning to increase the level of non-tariff barrier in palm oil trade.

After deciding that oil palm plantations caused excessive deforestation and should be excluded from raw materials used in bio fuel, the European Commission plans to impose a higher limit on level of contaminants for palm oil, which will leave the consumers to consider that the quality of the commodity is worse than the other vegetable-based oils, the Indonesian economic minister said.

Indonesian Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto told a forum of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC), a group led by Indonesia and Malaysia, that the new higher limit for palm oil was unfair and would make the product harmful to health in a long term.

The EU insists on applying new limits for food contaminants in refined oils and fats, such as palm oil. But, the level of safety of contaminant of 3-monochloropropane (3-MCPD) for palm oil will be 2.5 ppm (parts-per million), higher than 1.25 ppm for other vegetable-based oil, such as soybean oil and canola oil, according to the minister.

The group of nations plan to apply the new limits next year, he said.

"The EU is stepping up a trade barrier. We oppose the EU's plan. It is discriminative. We cannot let this happen," he said at the forum in Jakarta.

The EU has also imposed its anti-subsidy tariffs on Indonesia's palm oil-based biofuel exports. Indonesia has filed a lawsuit to the WTO against the policy, media reported.

The Southeast Asia's largest economy is the world's largest producer and exporter of crude palm oil.

Indonesia has about 12 million hectares of palm oil plantations across the vast-archipelagic country and exported the commodity with value of around 19 billion U.S. dollars last year, according to data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Grower Association.

Indonesia and Malaysia's palm oil products account for about 80 percent of the world's palm oil production.
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At least 21 journalists in Iran were summoned and questioned by the intelligence officers

Open source

Non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders stated that dozens of Iranian journalists became under pressure of authority in the form of questionings, threats, searches and coercion to close their accounts on the social networks after Ukrainian plane was downed near Teheran last month as Radio Liberty reported.

According to the organization, on February 6, at least 21 journalists in Iran were summoned and questioned by the intelligence officers who work for elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or Intelligence Ministry.

It is reported that the workers of the Iranian intelligence after the crash of PS752 searched the houses and offices of many journalists, confiscated the PCs, mobile phones, books, documents and copies.

The human right defenders stated that such attention of the law enforcers was raised by the fact that the journalists dared to express disagreement to pass state lie about tragedy off as the truth.

Reporters about borders points at the fact that any journalist was arrested but some of media workers were warned by the employers about the necessity to be careful in statements; some journalists were forced to close their accounts in Instagram, Twitter and Facebook or stop any publications on these platforms.

The organization states that the press in Iran publishes only information, which confirms the position of the authority and does not publish any interview with the relatives of the victims of the crash.

Meanwhile, 80 Iranian journalists stood with joint statement, expressing the regret that they helped to spread state lie about Ukrainian plane.

All newspapers, in consultation with state radio and TV, with absence of any independent investigation, repeated this big lie and then suffered grievance and neglect when the truth was revealed, they stated.

January 8, Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines, flight PS752 with 176 passengers aboard crashed in Tehran, not far from Imam Khomeini airport.

11 citizens of Ukraine died in the crash of Boeing 737 of Ukraine's International Airlines (PS 752 flight). President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky reported that the passenger plane crash in the Iranian capital left no survivors.

On January 19, the bodies of the Ukrainians, who died in a plane crash in Iran, were delivered to Ukraine. The farewell ceremony took place at Boryspil Airport from 13.00 to 19.00.
Samsung on Monday introduced a high-end Galaxy Chromebook at CES 2020 in Las Vegas. The new model could serve as an extension of the companys smartphone lineup and spawn a premium device demand in the category.

Samsung aims to position it as the companys flagship Chromebook to meet potential demand for a more useful and powerful multipurpose premium mobile device.

That could amount to little more than wishful thinking, suggested Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT. Demand for ultra powerful Chromebooks has yet to develop much traction.

Every couple of years, some vendor rolls the dice in hopes that the healthy business for Chromebooks in education and other markets will result in demand for premium products, he told TechNewsWorld. So far, that has not panned out. See the modest commercial success of Googles Pixelbooks for proof points.

Adding Name Recognition

Samsung has used the Galaxy brand name for a variety of top-end and discount phone and tablet offerings. Marketing a pricey new Chromebook under the Galaxy umbrella might be a winning option to separate this computer from in an already-crowded field of cheaper Chromebooks.

This is an interesting move, noted Arle Lommel, senior analyst at CSA Research. Chromebooks long have suffered from a reputation as bargain-basement machines with lackluster performance.

Google has been steadily pushing up the enterprise chain, and this seems to be an enterprise-level notebook, he told TechNewsWorld. The marketing seems to be aimed at professionals who want a single machine for both work and personal use that has enough power for more than basic office use.

Demand issues aside, Lommel said, the marketing suggests Samsung wants to create a new presence in a market segment Apple traditionally has dominated: hip urban professionals. The inclusion of a 4K screen at this price point will be attractive to those who want to work with higher-res video.

Meet the Galaxy Chromebook

The Galaxy Chromebook is an ultra premium 2-in-1 laptop running Googles Chrome OS. It ships with a durable aluminum body, the latest 10th Gen Intel Core i5 processor, and a 13.3-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) touchscreen.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook will be available in the first quarter at a starting price of US$999. Expect to pay much more if you fully upgrade its RAM and storage.

Available in two colors  a brilliant Fiesta Red or more subdued Mercury Gray  it will ship in an unspecified number of variants with up to 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB of SSD storage. Standard configuration starts with 8 GB of RAM and a 256-GB SSD.

The premium 2-in-1 Chromebook combines sleek design and next-generation productivity features with a seamless user experience. Built from durable aluminum, the Galaxy Chromebook is made to withstand the everyday wear and tear of life on the move.

Notable High-End Features

Samsungs Galaxy Chromebook has a near-infinite screen and slim 0.15-inch bezel that offers true-to-life visuals for immersive gaming as well as sharp photo viewing and editing. It soon will gain an additional high-end feature other manufacturers will find hard to beat.

HDR400 will deliver high-contrast graphics, along with Ambient EQ capabilities for a viewing experience that is vivid while easy on the eyes to reduce eye strain. Samsung will add this feature later through a software update.

The Galaxy Chromebook sets a higher standard in mobile computing, redefining what a Chromebook can be, the company maintained. The new device offers users new ways to take advantage of a Chrome OS experience that is simple, fast and seamless.

The notion that we do everything stationary at a desk is a thing of the past, and people need premium devices built for our new reality, said Alanna Cotton, general manager of Samsung Electronics America. By offering a seamless, premium user experience, Galaxy Chromebook helps you effortlessly switch between streaming, creative projects, word processing and more.

More Good Stuff

The Galaxy Chromebook comes packed with productivity tools to rival what is available on mobile devices running other operating systems. For instance, the built-in pen lets you write, draw and navigate Galaxy Chromebook quickly and efficiently, much like the user experience with the Samsung Note smartphone.

The flip screen and attached full keyboard are secured with a hinge that allows 360-degree movement. This provides multiple options: traditional clam shell laptop, tent-stand viewing platform, and tablet mode with vertical and horizontal viewing angles.

The Galaxy Chromebook is co-engineered with Intel as part of the Project Athena innovation program. The Galaxy device passed rigorous testing to achieve the programs experience targets and hardware specifications, according to Samsung. This ensures that the Galaxy Chromebook consistently delivers reliable responsiveness, instant wake and long battery life.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

For years, students have come to love Chrome OS in classrooms around the world  but today, Chromebooks are being used for so much more, by the younger generation and working-professionals alike, said Kan Liu, senior director of product management at Google. As we see the demand for premium Chromebook experiences rise, we are investing more and more with partners like Samsung to build the next generation of flagship Chromebook product innovations and offerings.

Other Notable Features

The Galaxy Chromebook comes with support for Wi-Fi 6, fingerprint security verification, and a built-in stylus pen stored in the edge of the device. It also supports Google Assistant, rather than Samsungs own Bixby virtual assistant software.

The new Chromebook is ready to work in conjunction with Samsungs own smartphones as well as phones made by other manufacturers. For example, with instant tethering support the Galaxy Chromebook can connect automatically to a users mobile device to maintain connectivity where WiFi is not available.

Another example is click-to-call support, which lets users tap a hyperlinked phone number on their Chromebook to place a call on their Android phone.

Impressive Specs

The Galaxy Chromebook measures 11.9 inches x 8 inches x 0.39 inches. It has the security fingerprint feature and keyboard backlighting.

It has an 8-megapixel webcam on the top left corner of the keyboard that functions as a rear camera when the device is held in tablet mode. A 1-megapixel camera above the screen is handy for conference calls.

Battery capacity tops off at 49.2Wh. The outer edges of the keyboard contain numerous ports for external connectivity, including two USB Type-C ports, a 3.5mm headphone/mic jack and a MicroSD/UFS combination port.

Given the Chromebook computers design around the Chrome OS operating system and its ability to run Android and Linux applications, models with this higher-level performance capability and higher price could attract more than just a niche base of users who opt for high-end performance.

However, without aggressive marketing, it is doubtful that will happen, observed Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group.

Android apps are mostly designed for smartphones, and they dont play well on larger screens. Nor are they designed for the larger form factor, he told TechNewsWorld.

This edition of Chrome is reminiscent of the old OS/2 effort with a Windows compatibility layer, Enderle said.

Such dual-mode efforts historically have not done well, he noted, adding that Steve Jobs killed Apples similar effort before it was released.

Demand Possible

Demand for personal and business Chromebooks could be growing, said Pund-ITs King.

There is a generation of people in their 20s who grew up with Chromebooks in school and could see them as good options for complementing the smartphones they tend to use, he reasoned.

Last September, Dell introduced a new Chromebook in its Latitude line that offers the kinds of services and support that businesses depend on. That could well increase demand for commercial Chromebook solutions, noted King.

Samsung is betting on a substantial number of Chromebook customers who prize premium materials and video quality, he added. The continuing growth of streaming media and the advent of services like YouTube TV might help spark demand too.

The Galaxy Chromebook is one of the better high-end offerings, but Chromebooks have had trouble breaking out of the cheap Microsoft alternative education space, according to Enderle.

More players in a segment drives an increase in interest level, he pointed out.

The combined marketing of all the firms could allow this premium effort to grow, Enderle said, but a product that is a premium cheap product  where the Chromebook image resides  is very difficult to sell.

Color Somewhat Counts

Samsung has learned that design matters. The Galaxy Chromebook is not just a boring gray box. The marketing really emphasizes it as a premium product in look and feel, noted CSA Researchs Lommel.

The other selling point is the 4K screen. At an MSRP of $999, this is at the cheap end for that resolution, he said. Most of the competition with 4K displays  none of which are Chromebooks  is 50 to 100 percent more expensive.

Samsungs marketing really wants you to see this as an ecosystem machine. As Apple has done with the iPhone, the iPad, and the Mac, Samsung is trying to build a continuity of experience, said Lommell, so that you can pick up your phone or your computer and feel equally at home.

More Than Netbook Mentality

Chromebooks have grown up in recent years. They are really a much better option than when they were essentially netbooks, Lommel noted, but they still suffer from some reputational problems.

The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook may be one of the next class of devices to change attitudes, he said. The press release is clearly chasing Apple features such as iCloud and continuity. I can see this having a lot of appeal for users of Samsung phones and the anti-Apple crowd out there who still want that sort of integration.

The Chromebooks cloud-based operating model mirrors what the vast majority of smart users are used to, agreed King. It is also capable of supporting mainstream applications and suites, such as Office 365.

While the audience for Windows PCs and notebooks is still pretty solid, most of those same Windows users also own and work with devices that leverage other operating environments. Chrome is not the barrier that some thought it once was, King said.

Drawback Factors

The Chromebooks one big drawback is the lack of support for traditional software applications, King noted. If you need them, a Chromebook can be a tough fit.

Other drawbacks are tied to the operating system and brand image of a Chromebook. Plus, an AMOLED thin design probably means questionable battery life, according to Enderle. However, the big issue is that folks dont really think of a Chromebook as a premium offering.
By Express News Service

BARIPADA: Union Minister of State for MSME Pratap Sarangi on Thursday met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and requested him to initiate steps to bring back the mortal remains of two youths from Odisha, who were killed in a mishap in a hotel in Tokyo on January 29. The youths, Sek Mantaj of Kamarda in Balasore district and Sekh Beharuddin of Badachana in Jajpur, worked as chefs at Hotel Tanshen View in Tokyo and died of asphyxiation allegedly due to leakage of carbon monoxide.

Mantajs mother Algun Bewa had requested the district administration to bring back the body of her son from Japan as she cannot afford the expenses. Sarangi assured that the mortal remains of the two youths will reach their native places soon and expressed his gratitude to the External Affairs Minister and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking steps in this regard.
By Trend

The delegation of Azerbaijans State Committee on Work with Diaspora, headed by Chairman Fuad Muradov, which is on a visit to Saudi Arabia, met with Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (known as KSrelief) Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah Feb. 6, Trend reports referring to the state committee.

Having noted that it is his first visit to Saudi Arabia, Muradov expressed satisfaction with the visit to the country and stressed that the relations founded by Azerbaijans national leader Heydar Aliyev and King of Saudi Arabia Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have successfully developed thanks to the efforts of the heads of state of the two countries, President Ilham Aliyev and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The meeting participants emphasized the high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, expressed satisfaction with the development of ties in the field of economy, trade and tourism and noted the importance of strengthening cooperation in the humanitarian sphere.

Having informed the Saudi side about the activities of the structure led by him, Muradov said that Azerbaijanis live in more than 50 countries of the world and easily integrate into local society. The committee chairman noted that various large-scale projects are being implemented for Azerbaijanis living abroad.

Muradov also informed the opposite side about the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the projects implemented by the Foundation in Azerbaijan and far beyond its borders, as well as about the international relations of the organization.

It was noted that Azerbaijanis living in Saudi Arabia mainly work in the healthcare sector and contribute to the development of the country where they live.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah informed that the supreme leadership of Saudi Arabia attaches particular importance to relations with Azerbaijan, and is ready to discuss the proposals of the Azerbaijani side in connection with the current state and development of bilateral cooperation.

Having informed the Azerbaijani delegation about the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah noted that the activities of the organization led by him cover different directions and the projects implemented by the Center serve to improve the well-being of not only Saudi Arabia, but the entire Muslim world.

During the meeting, an exchange of views on the development of cooperation between the two countries took place, and specific proposals were put forward.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Canada has invested about two million dollars in its campaign for a seat on the UN Security Council. Now, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is investing more than a week of his own time in a trip that aims to corral African votes for Canada's bid.

It's not just a week out of his schedule. He's linking himself personally to a charm campaign that may fail, said Fen Hampson, chancellor's professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

"He's obviously putting his reputation on the line by going there," Hampson said.

Trudeau is also leaving the country at a moment when the spread of the novel coronavirus in China is fuelling fears of a global pandemic.

So how likely is it that this campaign will pay off and win Canada that coveted seat? And is the goal actually worth all the effort?

The seat in question is one of two assigned to the Western Europe and Other States group, which includes Canada, Australia and New Zealand along with most of Western Europe (minus France and Britain, which are permanent members of the Security Council along with the U.S., Russia and China).

The inside track

Canada's rivals for the spot are Norway and Ireland. They have an inside track because they're European countries and a lot of other European countries are inclined to vote for them.

"We came into this really late," said Adam Chapnick, professor of Defence Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada and author of the book Canada on the United Nations Security Council: A Small Power on a Large Stage.

"Never in our history have we jumped into a campaign for two Western European and Other seats when there are two other countries already campaigning. It works against us to be in a contested campaign. It works against us even more to be the last one in. The Irish have been in for over a decade."

Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters

And both Ireland and Norway are model global citizens who outdo Canada on the world stage in the generosity of their foreign aid budgets (and in peacekeeping, in Ireland's case).

Story continues

Trudeau's trip to the African Union summit in Addis Ababa isn't even an original idea; Norway's Erne Solberg did the same thing last year. Even as Trudeau's plane was in the air, the Norwegian government announced Friday that Solberg would also attend the meetings in Addis Adaba this weekend. Norway also has spent about 50 per cent more than Canada on advancing its bid.

It all suggests an uphill battle. But there's another consideration that may favour the Europeans even more.

The Palestinian question

About 80 African and Islamic countries have tended to identify strongly with the Palestinian cause, using their UN votes to punish countries they see as taking Israel's side.

Canada has for years made a point of voting against resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  including those that accord with Canada's own positions and laws  to argue that there is an excessive and unhealthy focus on the Jewish state at the UN.

It's one of the main reasons why, under the government of Stephen Harper, Canada failed to secure a Security Council seat.

Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press

And although the Trudeau government recently modified its voting behaviour by supporting resolutions on Palestinians' right to self-determination, it's still firmly in the small pro-Israel camp at the UN.

Norway, meanwhile, is the country that famously hosted the Oslo Accords talks between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, and has a long history of peacemaking. Norway's popular UN ambassador, Mona Juul, herself played a role in bringing the two sides together for the Oslo talks 27 years ago.

Because of its own history of colonialism and rebellion, Ireland may be the Western country that most strongly supports Palestinian self-determination.

The Tunisia test

Next week, that issue will come before the Security Council as Tunisia  one of three African countries on the Security Council  brings forward a motion condemning the peace plan produced by President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The U.S. badly wants to avoid having to use its veto in the chamber and is lobbying the temporary members to help it dodge that outcome. If that vote is confined to the Security Council, Canada won't have to take a position (there are benefits to not being a member of the Security Council).

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

But the issue may come before the UN General Assembly before the Security Council election on June 17, so Canada may be forced to take sides publicly. It's unlikely that Canada would support a plan that flagrantly disregards existing Security Council resolutions, and so its choices are probably between rejecting the plan and abstaining from the vote.

Canada almost certainly would cast its abstention as something motivated by a desire to avoid a vote that would do nothing to advance peace. That might avoid raising tensions with Washington  but it also would harm its chances of winning the Security Council election.

What's it all for?

Given the steep odds, is the prize worth the investment and the political risks for the Trudeau government?

The Security Council "has become much more gridlocked, hostage to Great Power politics," said Hampson. "If we do win, we may find there is not a whole lot we can actually do in terms of promoting a Canadian agenda on the council."

There was a period following the Cold War when there was more room for middle powers with temporary seats to advance their agendas. But as the U.S., China and Russia have reverted to old rivalries, the situation has changed, said Hampson.

"The fundamental problem with the Security Council is that it's not prepared to take action because the great powers have rival interests," he said. "Nowhere is that more evident than in what has been an ongoing crisis and bloodbath in Syria."

Still, Hampson said, Canada sees a strong UN as something in its interest, and wants to defend the institution at a time when it is under attack from the Trump administration.

Chapnick said being on the council would give Canada important face time with more powerful nations and could help it resolve its own issues with permanent members like China.

Friends in Africa?

For Canada, Africa represents a rich vein of 54 unpredictable votes that could give Canada the boost it needs. Much of the continent is francophone, including Senegal, one of the stops on Trudeau's tour.

About 40 per cent of Canada's international aid budget goes to Africa. Ethiopia, the first stop on the tour, receives the most  about $200 million a year.

Ireland is more generous on a per capita basis, and has an aggressive plan to boost its aid spending even further. But it is also a much smaller country than Canada, with a total foreign aid budget about a fifth the size. (Norway's is closer.)

Canada's UN Ambassador Marc-Andre Blanchard won't say how many votes he's counting on from the continent. "That number is a secret that our competitors dream of knowing, but we're not going to say," he told CBC News.

Blanchard does say that Canada will "make no compromise on values, and especially not on human rights, in the context of our bid for a UN Security Council seat."

Youssouf Bah/The Associated Press

Canada has much to offer African countries where two-thirds of citizens are under 30 and half are unemployed or under-employed, he said. "We are a champion in infrastructure. We're a champion in innovation. We're a champion in entrepreneurship. We're known for that. Those are all things Africa needs."

Blanchard cited Sierra Leone as an African country where Canada has been a long-term partner: "We helped them to establish peace after eight years of civil war. We helped them through their Ebola outbreak. We helped when they had a major landslide. We helped them get through three presidential elections, which are always moments of fragility in a vulnerable country after a conflict."

Asked if that entitles Canada to expect Sierra Leone's vote, Blanchard just laughed.

Pressing the flesh

In the context of UN politics, Trudeau's in-person charm offensive in Africa makes sense, said Hampson.

"If you are serious about running for the council, you have to be seen, you have to be visible, you have to be visiting the different regional neighbourhoods and doing good old fashioned arm-twisting and lobbying other countries to vote for you," he said.

Chapnick said that although Canada is coming from behind, it still has a fighting chance.

"It seems to me that the government is reasonably confident that it is not out of this bid. Otherwise, you wouldn't see the prime minister himself using valuable political capital," he said.

"These things really do matter, especially with some of the small states, where a visit from a G7 prime minister, a prime minister who is still quite popular around the world, can do wonders for that government's popularity."

Chapnick said that there also will be behind-the-scenes horse-trading if Canada is serious about winning votes. And just as Canada can't count on promises of support  as it learned to its cost during its last bid in 2010  neither can the Irish or the Norwegians.

"These things are unpredictable. It's amazing what an aggressive vote swap campaign can do. And countries lie."
Advertisement

There's no shortage of swimming pool photos on Instagram.

The hashtags #poolsofinstagram, #poolsoftheworld, #poollife and #poolside have been used millions of times.

But not all pools are worth their saltwater as far as Instagramers are concerned - some appear in the feeds of the social media site countless more times than others.

And here, MailOnline Travel reveals some of these most photographed pools, from a dramatic Swiss mountain infinity pool to a three-tiered swimming space that looks out on to the lush Balinese rainforest.

Other popular swimming spots include a glass-bottomed pool in the Italian mountains, a shell-shaped pool in the Seychelles and a pool that serves up eagles nest views of the Balearic Sea off the coast of Ibiza.

Scroll down and decide which one you would like to take a dip in....

At the Kayon Jungle Resort in Bali, theres a place called the Wanna Jungle Pool & Bar where the infinity pool spills out over three tiers. Areas of decking and booth-style drinking spaces sidle up to the water and the whole spot looks out over the jungle. Instagram pictures of people posing in these pools have been viewed tens of thousands of times

The Alpin Panorama Hotel in Hubertos, Italy, has six pools. One is the Skypool, pictured, which is 25 metres long and is filled with mountain water. There's a glass window at the bottom of the end of the pool that shoots out over the ground, so people can appreciate the view below as they swim. An Instagram image of a couple posing at the edge of this pool at sunset has been liked 32,000 times

The infinity pool at Miramonti Boutique Hotel looks out over the mountains in the South Tyrol region of Italy. Some of the single images of this pool on Instagram have clocked up more than 130,000 likes

The luxury Six Senses Zil Pasyon hotel is located in the Seychelles. Its spa is home to an elevated rock top pool with a sundeck and meditation pavilion that looks out over the Indian Ocean. A photo of Instagramer missangievilla in this pool has clocked up 18,300 likes

The three-tier infinity pool at the La Posidonia Spa at Hacienda Na Xamena serves up eagle nest views of the Balearic Sea on the north coast of Ibiza. Some of the hotels 77 rooms and suites come with sea-view Jacuzzis big enough for more than two, too. Some of the Instagram images of this pool have gained more than 12,000 likes

Situated 914 metres (3,000ft) above sea level, the Hotel Villa Honegg is surrounded by Swiss mountain and lake scenery. You get some of the best views from the infinity pool, where the water is heated to 34 degrees year-round. A snap of Instagramer eri.ogawa1102 in this pool attracted 29,800 likes

Many Instagrammers, including Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson, have been snapped doing everything from headstands to just plain pouting in the pools at Mystique Hotel Santorini. The Secrecy, Mystery and Holistic villas all come with their own infinity pools

Bambuda Lodge is on Isla Solarte, one of the nine main islands of the remote Boca del Toro islands off the north coast of Panama. Its pool looks out over the Caribbean Sea. Theres a slide right next to the water that shoots visitors from the poolside into the sea itself with a splash. Despite being off the beaten track, this pool has been snapped for Instagram thousands of times

Y-40 Deep Joy is one of the deepest swimming pools in the world. It's part of the Millepini Hotel Terme complex in Montegrotto Terme, a 45-minute drive from Venice in Italy. Guests of the hotel can swim in a reserved area of the pool that's just 1.3 metres deep. Underwater photos taken in this pool have been posted on Instagram thousands of times
Supermarket assistants wear face masks at the Munsu-dong diplomatic compound amid the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. Yevgeny Agoshkov/TASS/



By Park Si-soo



A North Korean woman living in Pyongyang recently tested positive for coronavirus and those who had contact with her are being quarantined, a South Korean newspaper reported on Friday, citing a source in the reclusive state.



The woman showed symptoms of the infection after a trip to China, according to the JoongAng Ilbo . Further information  including personal details of the patient, the exact date of her infection and her condition  remains unknown.



North Korea's state broadcaster said on Feb. 2 that the country had yet to confirm any case of infection, its most recent update. If the report is true, the woman's infection would have been confirmed early this week.






MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said Mexico was in talks to buy a batch of Russian-made military helicopters.

Mexico has long-standing military ties with Russia and the Mexican armed forces use an extensive fleet of Russian-made helicopters.

Lavrov, on a visit to Mexico, said a new supply agreement with Russia's Rosoboronexport arms exporter could follow an earlier purchase of about 50 Russian helicopters.

"The Mexican side is currently considering concrete proposals from Rosoboronexport, including the supply of helicopters," Lavrov said.

In 2018, Mexico's then-incoming President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, said he would cancel the planned purchase of eight military helicopters from its main security partner, the United States, as part of cost-cutting measures.

(Reporting by Drazen Jorgic and Marianna Parraga; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Tom Hogue)
Canada Goose has slashed its 2020 financial outlook due to the coronavirus outbreak, which has brought the companys recently expanded business in China to a standstill.

The luxury parka maker said Friday that the health crisis in China has resulted in a sharp decline in sales and store traffic, and that the impact is spreading to shopping destinations in North America and Europe.

The companys stock fell as much as 8 per cent on Friday morning shortly after the third quarter earnings came out. Canada Gooses stock was trading at $31.98 on the Toronto Stock Exchange as of 11:20 a.m. ET.

BEIJING, CHINA - DECEMBER 30: People line up to enter a Canada Goose flagship store at Sanlitun on December 30, 2018 in Beijing, China. Canada Goose opened its first flagship store in Beijing on Sunday. (Photo by Visual China Group via Getty Images/Visual China Group via Getty Images)

The health and safety of our team in China is our top priority and were closely watching the situation and adjusting our operations as needed, chief executive Dani Reiss said on a conference call with analysts Friday.

This is obviously a major near term headwind. Understandably, people are staying home and avoiding shopping for their own health and safety in China and abroad.

The company now expects sales growth for the 2020 fiscal year to be between $945 and $955 million, representing growth of between 13.8 per cent and 15 per cent. Canada Goose previously anticipated growth of 20 per cent. Adjusted net income per diluted share is expected to be between a loss of 2.2 per cent and a gain of 0.7 per cent, down from a previous expectation of 25 per cent.

Chief financial officer Jonathan Sinclair said revenue is now at negligible levels across the entire store network in Greater China, including in Hong Kong, which saw sales suffer last quarter as a result of political upheaval in the region.

The impact is spreading globally to major shopping destinations in North America and Europe, Sinclair said. That is largely because of the significant impact Chinese consumers have on such luxury sales.

While local demand in North America and (Europe) continues to be strong, international traffic from Chinese consumers is essentially shut off due to travel cancellations and restrictions, Sinclair said when asked by an analyst about the magnitude of the forecast adjustments. He said that the company expects material revenue declines in both North America and Europe.

Story continues

For us, and the sector generally, they are the largest buyers of luxury goods In aggregate, (our store clientele) is a 50/50 mix between domestic demand and international demand. I think thats what youre seeing play out here.

This is the latest headwind Canada Goose has been forced to grapple with in relation to what has been an aggressive international expansion that has been focused heavily on China.

While the company does not have any store locations in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the virus outbreak, about 14 per cent of Canada Gooses sales are exposed to the Chinese market. The company has three stores in mainland China, and another two locations in Hong Kong.

In the previous quarter, investor concern over weak sales in Hong Kong, where political upheaval and protests have occurred, weighed on the companys stock despite positive financial results.

Canada Goose saw total sales increase by 13.2 per cent in the third quarter, before the coronavirus outbreak began receiving international attention, from $399.3 million last year to $452.1 million. While the company said sales in Hong Kong were severely impacted by disruptions to tourism and retail traffic, revenues in Asia doubled from $46.4 million last year to $94.7 million.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android and sign up for the Yahoo Finance Canada Weekly Brief.
People's Democratic Party (PDP) chief Mehbooba Mufti has said that booking her under the controversial Public Safety Act (PSA), was expected from an "autocratic" regime.

"Ms Mufti received a PSA order sometime back. Slapping the draconian PSA on 2 ex J&K CMs is expected from an autocratic regime that books 9 year olds for 'seditious remarks'. Question is how much longer will we act as bystanders as they desecrate what this nation stands for," says a tweet from her official account, which is currently operated by Mufti's daughter Iltija following the PDP chief's detention last year.

AFP

This came after Mufti along with another former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah were booked under the PSA. Both former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers and two regional party leaders, Ali Mohmmad Sagar and Sartaj Madni, were detained after the government abrogated Article 370 last year.



The detention under the draconian PSA allows the government to detain them without charges for up to two years. They were originally held under a law that allowed a maximum of six months, and their detention was about to expire.

AFP

Senior Congress leader and former Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday slammed the government for invoking PSA against Mufti and Abdullah and said detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others". "Detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy. When unjust laws are passed or unjust laws are invoked, what option do the people have than to protest peacefully?" the former home minister tweeted.

BCCL

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chidambaram said, "the PM says that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be obeyed. He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela". Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. That is satyagraha, he added.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra questioned the basis on which former CMs were booked. "On what basis has PSA been slapped on Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti? They upheld the Constitution of India, abided by the democratic process, stood up to separatists, and never ascribed to violence and divisiveness. "They deserve to be freed, not incarcerated indefinitely without any basis," she said on Twitter.

BCCL

Congress Leader of the House in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said that the region is physical with India but no longer with us emotionally. "Prime Minister spoke against Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in Parliament yesterday and they were charged with Public Safety Act (PSA) at night. Physically Kashmir is with us but not emotionally," he told ANI.
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The hands on the iconic Doomsday Clock moved to just 100 secondsto midnight last month. That is the closest they have come to the final hour since its creation in 1947.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Scienceand Security Board, in consultation with the Bulletins Board ofSponsors, made the unprecedented decision to express the time remaining in seconds rather than minutes when the time was adjusted from 2 minutes to 100 seconds to midnight.

The time displayed on the clock has moved closer to midnight in three of the last fouryears. The last time it moved was in 2018, with a forward jump of 30 seconds. It moved to 2 1/2 minutes to midnight in 2017 from its prior setting of 3 minutes tomidnight. There was no adjustment last year, but withthe arrival of 2020 the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists noted new threats.

In addition to the two simultaneous existential dangers ofnuclear war and climate change, the world now faces the threatmultiplier of cyber-enabled information warfare.

The decision to movethe hands forward by 20 seconds was made in part because world leadershave allowed the international political infrastructure forcontaining this potential cyberthreat to erode.

It is 100 seconds to midnight, warned Rachel Bronson, president andCEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. We are now expressing howclose the world is to catastrophe in seconds  not hours, or evenminutes. It is the closest to Doomsday we have ever been in thehistory of the Doomsday Clock. We now face a true emergency  anabsolutely unacceptable state of world affairs that has eliminated anymargin for error or further delay.

December 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of the first edition ofthe Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. It originally was a six-page,black-and-white bulletin, which evolved into a magazine. It wascreated in response to fears that the atomic bomb, which had been usedagainst Japan in August of 1945 to end the Second World War, would beonly the first of many dangerous presents from the Pandoras Box ofmodern science.

Origins of the Clock and Nuclear Armageddon

The Doomsday Clock, which has been maintained since 1947, isessentially a metaphor for threats to humanity from uncheckedscientific and technical advances. The clocks original setting in1947 was 7 minutes to midnight, and over the years it was setbackward and forward a total of 24 times.

It typically is assessed in January of each year.

The largest-ever number of minutes to midnight was 17 in 1991, when theUnited States and Soviet Union signed the first Strategic Arms ReductionTreaty (START I), followed by the Soviet Union dissolving on Dec. 26 of that year. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain,along with the reunification of Germany a year earlier, already had added 4 minutes to the clock.

In 1995, global military spending, as well as concerns aboutpost-Soviet nuclear proliferation, moved the clock 3 minutes closerto midnight  14 minutes in total. That number was reduced to 9minutes to midnight three years later, following Indias and Pakistanstesting of nuclear weapons.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Two more minutes were cut in 2002 due toconcerns over a nuclear terrorist attack and the fears that vastamounts of weapon-grade nuclear materials were largely unsecured orotherwise unaccounted for worldwide.

2010 saw the last time a minute was added. That followed a newSTART agreement, as well as the 2009 United Nations Climate ChangeConference, which called for the developing and industrialized nationsto agree to take responsibility for carbon emissions.

New Fears

Most perceptions about the Doomsday Clocks time to midnight are thatit always has been based on the threat posed by nuclear weapons andthe potential for an atomic war. However, other factors have beenconsidered by the Bulletin of the AtomicScientists, including energy, weapons, diplomacy and climatescience. In recent years they also have considered terrorist threats and climate change.

Bioterrorism and artificial intelligence also could be seenas potential sources of threats that could inch humanity closer todoomsday.

Cyberwarfare is a new factor  specifically cyber-enabledinformation warfare. It could include everything fromstate-sponsored propaganda to deepfakes to the spread ofmisinformation online. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists warnedthat cyber-based disinformation could cause corruption of theinformation ecosphere on which democracy and public decision makingdepend.

Moreover, many governments are utilizing cyber-enabled disinformationcampaigns as a way to sow distrust among rival powers. It has beencalled out as threat to the common good.

In the wrong hands, technology absolutely creates a threat tohumankind that is on the same scale as current weapons technology,warned Bill Santos, president of Scottsdale, Arizona-base Cerberus Sentinel.

Improperly used or maliciously deployed, technology can cripplecritical infrastructure, upset financial systems, and disable many ofthe systems we depend on for our survival and happiness, he told TechNewsWorld.

Reducing the Threat Vectors

New arms treaties and greater cooperation among nations have allowedthe doomsday clock to be set back  gaining precious seconds, or insome cases even minutes. However, the new threats are so great thatthere may be no easy way of addressing them and regaining timebefore the hands strike the proverbial midnight.

The risk of cyberwarfare is on par with nuclear risk and climatechange  and it may even pose a greater risk than both, explainedMarc Gaffan, CEO of Israel-based cybersecurity firm Hysolate.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A decade ago, cyberthreats had somewhat manageable impacts  datatheft that would rock the stability of the organization, or monetaryloss that would affect performance and a companys stock price for acouple years, he told TechNewsWorld.

Today cyberattacks can result in serious business disruption that isfar beyond either data theft or monetary losses. A cyberattack couldpose a threat to all aspects of infrastructure, from power grids tocommunication networks.

Nation-state attacks like this stem back to 2010 with Stuxnet, noted Gaffan.

The Stuxnet attack, which likely was conducted as a jointAmerican-Israeli effort, successfully crippled Irans nuclear program. Iranian hackers were believed to be responsible for a 2018 cyberattack against a Saudi petrochemical facility.

There was no loss of life in either attack, but each increasedregional tensions. Moreover, such attacks could result in physicalequipment failures that would lead to human casualties.

Its far too easy for malicious attackers to cause physical damage said Gaffan, and the impact is far too great for this to not be a significant factor driving us closer to midnight.

Even more worrisome is the fact that much of our modern infrastructureisnt as secure as it could be.

The unfortunate truth also is that the power grid and other nationaloperations that literally keep the lights on are not built with themost sound security in place to prevent an attack from causing acatastrophic blackout or causing fatal medical device failures, said Gaffan.

Turn Back Time

It might be difficult to put time back on the Doomsday Clock,but its not impossible. Here is where cybersecurity as a defensive toolcould be crucial. The world could be safer if more governments, companies andindividuals all paid greater attention to cybersecurity.

Education and awareness can help move the hands back, said Gaffan.

Ultimately, we as a society need to start thinking of securityfirst  and not as an afterthought  in everything we do, he urged.

To that end, security needs to be built into the core architecture ofeverything  from the software and applications that are being builttoday to the improvement of legacy systems and infrastructures thatare currently in place.

However, due to advancements in technology, the risk of cyberwarfare will always be with us, warned Gaffan.

The best we can do is mitigate the risk by staying one step ahead ofattackers in building devices and an infrastructure that aresecure-by-design, he argued.

The defense against this threat goes beyond thetechnology itself, suggested Cerberus Sentinels Santos.

We need to create a comprehensive culture of security at thegovernment, corporate and individual level that is aware of thisthreat and understands the steps each can take to address it, he said.

This could begin with education to better understand the unique set ofrisks a completely connected civilization faces.

It is followed with an understanding of what can be done, at everylevel, to address or reduce these risks, said Santos. We need tothink of security holistically, understanding that it is anexistential risk that affects aspects of our interconnected lives. Weare far too dependent on technology to address our security needs.True cybersecurity is a culture.
Taiheiyo Cement records 10.4% decline in net profit

07 February 2020

Japans Taiheiyo Cement has seen a 10.4 per cent YoY decline in net profit to JPY30.5bn (US$277.5m) for the nine-month period ending 31 December 2019.



Sales were also down 4.3 per cent YoY to JPY662.9bn in the 9MFY19-20, while its operating profit decreased 15.2 per cent to JPY42.1bn.



Demand relating to the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the reconstruction demand of the Great East Japan earthquake has peaked, therefore the companys aggregate business saw sales volume decrease in the Kanto and Tohoku regions compared to the year-ago period.

Published under
Tens of thousands of women are being harmed by 'catastrophic' shortages of HRT and contraception, campaigners warned today.

Professional bodies, doctors and MPs are demanding immediate action from the Health Secretary to alleviate the crisis, insisting 'women deserve better'.

In a joint letter to the Matt Hancock, health leaders warned that women have been left in distress for over a year due to shortages of HRT medication.

Meanwhile worsening shortages of contraceptive drugs are causing 'utter chaos', leading to unplanned pregnancies and risking a spike in abortions.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the British Menopause Society and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare urged the Government to launch a working group to investigate into the crisis.

In a letter expressing frustration at the 'lack of transparency' over the reasons for the shortages, they said it is still unclear why they 'seem to be unique to the UK'.

Tens of thousands of women are being harmed by 'catastrophic' shortages of HRT and contraception, campaigners warn today

The call for action was backed by MPs, doctors and campaigners - who described the situation as a 'national disgrace'.

The shortage of hormone replacement therapy, first exposed by the Mail, has been ongoing for more than a year with all major patches and pills affected.

It has hit 'almost all' of the one million women in the UK who take HRT, which replaces the oestrogen lost during the menopause.

Many women have been forced to switch brands or even go cold turkey, prompting the return of crippling symptoms including anxiety and hot flushes.

HOW LONG HAVE THE PROBLEMS WITH HRT SUPPLY BEEN GOING ON FOR? Last October, top GP Dr Louise Newson said it was easier for drug addicts to get heroin than it is for women to get HRT. Previous figures suggested that four in ten women have been able to access HRT medication. Whilst there has been no official explanation for the shortage, it is said to be down to a 'perfect storm' of manufacturing and supply problems. It has meant that more than half of patches and pills have been out of stock in pharmacies. The issues first started towards the end of 2018 when supply issues which began in China forced some manufacturers to stop the production of HRT patches. This drove up demand for other bands, making them scarce too. FemSeven Conti and Sequi patches are two of the brands which continue to be affected. The crisis has led to a shortage of dozens of other brands, including Evorel and Elleste, two of the most popular names. In August, it was reported that women could be forced to wait ten months for supplies to return, meaning the situation may not return to normal until this summer. Advertisement

The letter to Matt Hancock said that, in addition to women being left in 'distress' due to HRT being unavailable, they are also suffering from shortages of several forms of contraception.

Several commonly prescribed contraceptive tablets, including Cilest and Loestrin, are currently unavailable in pharmacies.

The letter said: 'We are concerned this situation may lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies and abortions, whilst inadvertently affecting the most vulnerable in our society.'

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), warned that women are struggling to get the pill, adding: 'It is not surprising that we are seeing unplanned pregnancies as a result'.

Diane Danzebrink, founder of the Menopause Support campaign, said: 'The women of this country have been let down and neglected by the Government. It is a national disgrace.

'The shortages have had a catastrophic impact and caused huge anxiety.

'There has been a complete lack of information from the Department of Health.

'Women have been left to fend for themselves.'

Conservative MP Caroline Noakes said: 'It seems incomprehensible that this has been allowed to drag on for so long, and the DHSC should be using every effort to get it sorted.

'I have met constituents who have obtained the patches they need in Spain whilst on holiday and they are understandably furious that they cannot get them here.'

Doctors complain they have been left in the dark over the causes of the shortages, but said they expect the situation to improve next month.

Dr Edward Morris, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: 'We understand the HRT supply situation should begin to improve from February 2020 as the range of products which supply 70 per cent of the HRT patch market will be re-introduced to the UK market.

'However a number of HRT medications and contraceptives remain unavailable, some until the end of this year, and some with no timeline as to when they will be back on the market.

Drug wholesalers were banned from exporting HRT abroad in an attempt to tackle worsening shortages in the UK in October 2019. The new measures apply to 19 types of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), including Tibolone (brand name Livial)

HRT CRISIS FORCING WOMEN TO SEEK TREATMENT ABROAD Women have been forced into buying HRT medication from abroad as it is now almost impossible to get in Britain. Shortages have been going on for months but reached 'crisis point' this week as most Evorel patches  the UK market leader  disappeared from the shelves. Many alternatives were already out of stock and the two main pharmaceutical wholesalers have completely run out of all commonly-prescribed HRT patches, according to an audit seen by the Daily Mail. Manufacturers are rationing what little stock they have with the support of the Department of Health, which has been slammed for its 'disastrous' handling of the crisis. Some women have been buying boxes for their friends from pharmacies while on holiday in Spain. One patient has even been air-freighting HRT from South Africa. Around two-thirds of HRT treatments have been hit by shortages. They include Evorel and Elleste, the two most popular brands, which are prescribed to upwards of 100,000 women a year  more than half of those on the treatment. More than half of women on HRT are prescribed patches, which are applied once or twice a week below the waist. Advertisement

'It remains unclear why there is a shortage in the first place or when the normal supply of the products might resume. The lack of transparency around why these shortages have occurred is extremely frustrating.

'Thousands of women and girls have been adversely affected by this ongoing situation and they deserve better.

'We are calling on the DHSC to set up a working group with industry, regulatory agencies and our organisations to get to the root of why shortages in both HRT and contraceptives have occurred.

This working group must work together to ensure that this situation is prevented from happening again.'

Dr Asha Kasliwal, President of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), said: 'We are very concerned by the continuing reported shortages of contraceptives which may inadvertently lead to a rise in unplanned pregnancies.

'We have received queries from our members who are finding it increasingly hard to prescribe contraception.

'We are aware that women are sent away with prescriptions for unavailable products and end up lost in a system that is frustrating to navigate.

'This is causing utter chaos for patients, clinicians and pharmacists.

'For some contraceptive methods, a truly equivalent alternative just does not exist.' Mr Haitham Hamoda, Chair of the British Menopause Society, said: 'It is very frustrating that we still do not know why these shortages are happening, and why they seem to be unique to the UK.'

Almost all categories of medication have been hit by shortages in the past year, which experts say are caused by a by a 'perfect storm' of manufacturing problems in the global supply chain.

However, treatment women's reproductive health have been disproportionately affected.

Of the 30 drugs currently banned from export in the UK, to preserve supplies for British treatments, more than half are either HRT or contraceptives.

Professor Martin Marshall, Chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'For some time we have been experiencing serious shortages of many formations of HRT, as well as some oral contraceptives.

'The reasons for these shortages are not clear and are likely multi-factorial but they need to be sorted out as a matter of urgency as presently they are having a significant impact on GP and pharmacist workload, and causing a great deal of uncertainty, inconvenience and distress for patients.

'We would support the formation of a working group to get to the bottom of why these shortages are happening, and how to rectify the situation.'

Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour's Shadow Public Health Minister, said: 'It is unacceptable that patients have not been able to access HRT and contraceptives for so long.

'This has had unbearable consequences on women, which must be put to an end.

'The Government must be transparent about why these shortages were allowed to happen and continue for so long, and what provisions will be put in place for patients who need access to HRT and contraceptives.'
After selling his first technology company, Gururaj Deshpande donated $20 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to create a center for technological innovation, which bears his name.

Mr. Deshpande is proud of the work the center fostered, but the effort focused on what he refers to as the two billion people in the world with disposable income. He wanted to do more to help the other five billion.

Those people are struggling to get through the day, said Mr. Deshpande, a billionaire who was born in India and has lived in suburban Boston for decades.

His idea was to encourage entrepreneurship in overlooked cities and towns by concentrating on start-ups, with no more than 10 employees, that would be part of the community but also spur the local economy with jobs and services.
Bruno Mars is coming to the big screen with a new musical-themed film that he's developing for Disney.

The 34 year old musician has signed a deal with Disney, after months of negotiations, according to Deadline.

While little is known about the plot, the project will largely be comprised of original music that Mars will create and perform for the film.

Big screen: Bruno Mars is coming to the big screen with a new musical-themed film that he's developing for Disney

Negotiations: The 34 year old musician has signed a deal with Disney, after months of negotiations, according to Deadline

Mars made his big screen debut as a precocious seven year old in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas as Young Elvis, already well known for his Elvis impersonation.

While Mars continued to pursue a career in music, he did also lend his voice to the animated sequel Rio 2.

However, this will be Mars' first big-screen role as an adult, though little is known about the role he will be playing.

Elvis: Mars made his big screen debut as a precocious seven year old in the 1992 film Honeymoon in Vegas as Young Elvis, already well known for his Elvis impersonation

The currently-untitled project was birthed through discussions between Mars and Walt Disney Studios production president Sean Bailey.

Mitchell Leib, the head of music for Walt Disney Studios, was also integral in the deal for this project.

Disney and Mars will now search for a writer-director to bring this project to life, coming just days after Disney shelled out a record sum for a Hamilton movie.

Discussions: The currently-untitled project was birthed through discussions between Mars and Walt Disney Studios production president Sean Bailey

Disney plunked down a whopping $75 million for the worldwide rights to the Hamilton movie, believed to be the biggest price paid for a completed film, according to Deadline.

The film was already shot in 2016, just two weeks before the original cast left, and it's believed to clock in at two hours and 40 minutes.

As for Mars, he has also hosted a 2012 episode of Saturday Night Live, where he also served as a musical guest to showcase his versatility as a performer.

Host: As for Mars, he has also hosted a 2012 episode of Saturday Night Live, where he also served as a musical guest to showcase his versatility as a performer

Mars has become one of the most successful recording artists of all time in a short amount of time, selling 26 million records and 200 million singles since debuting in 2010.

He has had more hits atop the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts than any male artist this decade.

He earned his first five number one hits faster than any male artist since, appropriately enough, Elvis Presley.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 15:54 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632ccac 1 World Indonesia,US,diplomat,Consulate-General,Indonesian-Embassy,Texas,traffic-accident Free

A car carrying three Indonesian diplomats crashed in San Antonio, Texas, United States, on Thursday at 3 p.m. Central Standard Time (4 a.m. on Friday in Jakarta), injuring the passengers, Indonesias mission in Washington, DC confirmed.

The United States Diplomatic Security Services (US DSS) told the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, DC that the accident involved three vehicles, one of which was an official vehicle carrying the Indonesian consul general in Houston, Nana Yuliana, consular officer Dian Hapsari and the vehicles driver, identified only as Dede.

The accident was caused by a swerving truck that hit two other cars around it.

Nana and the two other staff members were immediately taken to Broke Army Hospital in San Antonio, according to a statement from the Indonesian Embassy.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah confirmed the incident with The Jakarta Post.

"Currently, Dr. Nana Yuliana and the staff are in intensive care at the hospital. According to information from Texas DSS, their condition is not life-threatening, but they must stay in the hospitals care," the embassy said.

Officials from the Indonesian Consulate General in Houston, Texas have arrived at the San Antonio Military Medical Center to ensure the chief of missions condition was stable but that he was being examined further in the emergency room, alongside driver Dede.

Meanwhile, consular officer Dian is still in the ICU to receive treatment for fractured ribs, the embassy said.

Their families and staffers from the consulate general are making their way to the hospital, located some three hours away from Houston. (asp)
Execution is one of the methods of repression in the Vilayet-e Faqih system. Iran is second in the list of countries with the highest executions in the world after China.

Executions in 2019

According to human rights organizations, during the one-year period from January 2019 to December 2019, at least 248 citizens were executed, and 108 others were sentenced to death.

The executions also include the execution of four child offenders, as well as 13 public executions. According to the report, more than 75% of executions in Iran are not reported by the government or the judiciary of the regime.

Human Rights Watch released its annual report on the human rights situation around the world, including Iran, in the year 2019, on 14 January 2020.

The section on Iran states that According to rights groups, Iran executed at least 225 as of November 9.

The judiciary also executed at least five individuals who were sentenced to death for crimes they allegedly committed as children. Under Irans current penal code, which went into force in 2013, judges can use their discretion not to sentence individuals who committed the alleged crime as children to death. However, several individuals who were retried under the new code for crimes they allegedly committed as children have been sentenced to death again.

While scores of human rights defenders and political activists remain behind bars for their peaceful activism, Irans Ministry of Intelligence and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence Organization increased their targeting of human rights defenders and activists.

On womens rights, the report added: Iranian women face discrimination in personal status matters related to marriage, divorce, inheritance, and child custody. Iranian women cannot pass on their nationality to their foreign-born spouses or their children like men.

A married woman may not obtain a passport or travel outside the country without the written permission of her husband. Under the civil code, a husband is accorded the right to choose the place of living and can prevent his wife from having certain occupations if he deems them against family values.

The report also referred to executions, inhumane punishments, procedures, trial standards, minorities and the rights of persons with disabilities.

Iranian leaders have responded to widespread disgust over a corrupt and brutal rule with violent repression and by silencing of all domestic dissent lest it threatens their power, said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

And ridiculous is that the Mizan News Agency affiliated with the Iranian Judiciary, which is promoting institutional executions and suppression in Iran under the rule of the supreme leader, used the HRW report to denounce human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia on 15 January 2020, which included two mass arrests, and paid no attention to the report of the HRW report on the regime itself.

21 Execution since the beginning of 2020

In recent days, after the beginning of 2020, executions in Iran have continued and daily, news of executions has been heard from around the country. From 1 January to 1 February, 21 people have been executed in Irans prisons.

January 2020

On 6 January Ali Ashouri was executed at Dastgerd prison in Esfahan.

On 8 January, a prisoner named Saman and 25 years old was executed at Rajaii Shahr Prison in Karaj.

On 12 January, a prisoner named Omid-D was executed in Mashhad Central Prison.

On 12 January, a prisoner named M.P. was executed in Amol Prison.

On 14 January Dariush Darvishpour and Danesh Darvishpour were executed in Orumiyeh prison.

In the second week of January, a young woman named Sara M., 32 years old, was executed in Mashhad prison.

Three inmates were executed in Boroujerd and Shiraz Central Prisons on 16 January, including one woman, Heshmat Sheikhani, 31 years old, Malihe Haji Hassani, 29 years old, an unknown third person.

On 18 January, political prisoner Maha Al-Din Ebrahimi was sentenced to death in Urmia Prison.

On 20 January, Sar-Allah Mirshekari was executed at Adelabad Prison in Shiraz.

On 21 January Bahram Gholikhani was executed in Tabriz Prison.

On 23 January, five prisoners named Isa Zamin Gerefte, Javad Aliloo, Masih Hatami, and Raman Mohammad Amini were executed in Bandar Abbas Prison.

On 26 January, Sobhan Karimi was executed in Zanjan prison.

On 27 January, two defendants were executed in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, including an 81-year-old prisoner named Kh. GH.

On 30 January, Mohsen Khojasteh was executed in Rasht prison.

February 2020

On 2 February, Rasoul Mollahsani was executed in Boroujerd Central Prison.
Altria to Host Webcast From the Consumer Analyst Group of New York Conference

Altria Group, Inc. (Altria) (NYSE: MO) will host a webcast of its business presentation at the annual Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference in Boca Raton, Florida, on Wednesday, February 19, 2020, at approximately 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The webcast will feature a presentation by Howard Willard, Altria's Chairman and CEO, and members of Altria's senior management team.

The webcast will be in a listen-only mode. Pre-event registration is necessary; directions are posted at www.altria.com/webcasts. An archived copy of the webcast will be available on altria.com or through the Altria Investor App. The free app is available for download at www.altria.com/irapp or through the Apple (News - Alert) App Store or Google Play.







View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005361/en/
Maple Leaf Diner. | Photo: Jingwei Z./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for breakfast and brunch fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the finest destinations for breakfast and brunch around Dallas, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to satisfy your cravings for bacon, eggs and pancakes.

Winter is the top season of the year for consumer spending at restaurants across the Dallas area, according to data on local business transactions from Womply, a software provider that helps small businesses manage online reviews. The average amount spent per customer transaction at Dallas-area restaurants rose to $27 for the metro area in the winter of last year, 1% 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. White Rock Coffee

Photo: Lillian H./Yelp

First on the list is White Rock Coffee. Located at 10105 E. NW Highway in Lake Highlands, the cafe, which serves breakfast, brunch, coffee, tea, pastries and more, is the highest-rated breakfast and brunch restaurant in Dallas, boasting 4.5 stars out of 326 reviews on Yelp.

2. Maple Leaf Diner

Photo: Maple Leaf Diner/Yelp

Next up is North Dallas' Maple Leaf Diner, situated at 12817 Preston Road, Suite 129. With 4.5 stars out of 2,218 reviews on Yelp, the traditional American breakfast and brunch outlet has proved to be a local favorite.

3. Salsa Limon Flor De Mayo

Photo: Pauline P./Yelp

Downtown Dallas' City Center District's Salsa Limon Flor De Mayo, settled at 411 N. Akard St., is another supreme choice, with Yelpers giving the cocktail bar and Mexican dining establishment, which is known for its breakfast, brunch, tacos and more, 4.5 stars out of 221 reviews.

4. Sevan G & G Cafe

Photo: Michelle N./Yelp

Last but not least is Sevan G & G Cafe, a Greek breakfast and brunch eatery in Lower Greenville, with 4.5 stars out of 185 Yelp reviews. Head over to 2221 Greenville Ave. to give it a go 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.
Mexico City: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has denounced US foreign policy in Venezuela, criticising American "provocations" and attempts to create what he called a pretext for military intervention.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to the White House on Wednesday. Credit:AP

Russia and the United States have repeatedly clashed over Venezuela, where Russian oil companies and military advisers are playing a key role in support of the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The United States and dozens of other countries recognise opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been trying to oust Maduro, as Venezuela's rightful president. Washington has imposed sanctions in a bid to dislodge Maduro.

Guaido was a guest of US President Donald Trump at his State of the Union address on Wednesday. The next day he met with Trump, Pence and Republican senators from Florida and later with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Summer camp memories don't come cheap. With camp costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars a week, credit cards can seem like a good way to quickly rack up points or spread out the financial impact. But charging camp tuition can come with its own costs.

According to averages from the American Camp Association, day camp tuition in 2018, the most recent year available, ranged from $199 to $800 or more a week. Overnight camp was even pricier, from $630 to upward of $2,000 per week.

Camp is important to enough people that if they dont have the cold, hard cash, they want a way to pay for it, says Laurel Barrie, owner of The Camp Connection Inc., an advisory service that helps match families with summer programs that meet their needs.

Before putting camp on your credit card, heres what you need to consider.

CREDIT CARD SURCHARGES

In nearly all credit card transactions, the merchant that accepts your card for payment has to pay processing fees. Stores usually treat these fees as a cost of doing business, and they charge the same prices for all customers regardless of how they pay. But some camps pass the fees directly to credit card users through a surcharge.

Merchants that add a surcharge are required to disclose it, and there are limits to how much it can be. Visa and Mastercard, for example, cap the surcharge at 4%. But that percentage can still add substantially to the cost of camp. Say you use your card to send your child to a $1,000-a-week camp for seven weeks. If the camp has a 3% surcharge, that would add an extra $210 to your final bill.

Some states prohibit surcharges for credit card use, and many camps opt not to charge for card payments even when they could.

Dana Gabbay, who with her husband, Ronen, co-owns Camp Lokanda, an overnight camp in Glen Spey, New York, said they chose to keep their prices the same, regardless of payment method, when they took over from the previous owners.

When we bought the camp 13 years ago, they only took check or cash. We just felt like it was a courtesy to our families to let them pay by credit card, Gabbay said.

Story continues

THE CAMP PAYMENT SCHEDULE

If surcharges are a concern, you can avoid them altogether by writing a check for the camp bill. But some people dont have the funds on hand to afford a big lump-sum payment or a hefty deposit. If thats your situation, see if the camp allows you to pay in installments. If not, a credit card might still be the most palatable solution, despite the extra cost.

Regardless of whether you face a surcharge, putting camp on your card and paying it off over time can incur a different cost: interest charges.

One workaround is a credit card with a promotional 0% APR offer. Available mostly to people with good to excellent credit, these cards dont charge new cardholders interest on their purchases for a certain period of time after they open the account. The 0% period can last a year or more. If you can get the full balance paid off before the promotional period ends, you wont pay any interest on your camp costs at all.

THE REALITIES OF REWARDS

It can be tempting to put any big expense on a card in exchange for a pile of points or other rewards.

Sharon Ferber, a mom of four boys in Delray Beach, Florida, pays for sleepaway camp in Michigan for two of her kids with a credit card.

They dont charge a fee, and I get 2% back on my credit card, Ferber said.

A move like Ferbers makes good financial sense only if your camp doesnt add a surcharge, as that extra cost is likely to offset the value of any rewards from the purchase. Rewards cards typically give you back 1% to 2% on a purchase like camp tuition, so youd have to weigh whether youd earn more back than youd pay in surcharges.

Also take into account your ability to pay off your balance. If you cant pay it off in full at the end of the billing cycle, the interest charges can easily outweigh the value of any rewards earned on your card.

___

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Robin Saks Frankel is a writer at NerdWallet. Email: rfrankel@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @robinsaks

RELATED LINKS:

NerdWallet: How to Choose a 0% APR Credit Card

http://bit.ly/zero-apr-credit-card

American Camp Association: Camp Trends

https://www.acacamps.org/press-room/camp-trends/tuition
The little boy was scared. All of nine years old, he was told he had to be away from home for a fortnight.

In a hospital. And he did not feel sick at all.

At first, he cried. Then he got bored. And then, when he got used to it, he started noticing things and getting a bit bossy.

He would remind the staff that they had not sprayed the area with disinfectant on time.

He knew what he had to eat to get better, and would say: "Tell Dad I want chicken tonight, and a lot of vegetables."

The boy is the youngest of nine patients quarantined in Vinh Phuc Province's Binh Xuyen Medical Center.

All the inmates had come into contact with a person returning from China's Wuhan City last month.

Within the Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, around 40 km from Hanoi, large signs read "Special Quarantine Area."

The emergency ward has been divided into two sections, one for those who want to take tests for acute pneumonia, which is encircled by hundreds of meters of barbed wire.

Nguyen Thi Thanh, 42, is being treated for acute pneumonia inside the center's Department of Infectious Diseases. Her cousin, Pham Dung, 23, tested positive for acute pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus (nCoV) after she and her co-workers at the Japanese-owned Nihon Plast Company Limited returned to Vietnam after training in Wuhan last month.

Thanh and Dung are two of the 10 people in Vietnam who have tested positive for the nCoV, whose rapid spread saw it declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.

First detected in Wuhan last December, the virus has now been detected in 28 countries and territories around the world, infecting over 28,000 and killing 815.

If Wuhan is the global epicenter of the 2019-nCoV, Vinh Phuc Province has become Vietnams hub for the deadly virus, hosting seven of all confirmed infections in the country so far.

A red sign at the Binh Xuyen District Medical Center, Vinh Phuc Province, reads "Special Quarantine Area." Photo by VnExpress/Tat Dinh.

Dung first came down with a fever on January 26. Thanh remembers standing at the door of Dung's room and asking her if she was alright, and then, not thinking much of it, returning to the living room. There was no concern in anyone's mind.

Dung's fever went down two days later, and the cousins sat with the family for a karaoke party and sang, chatted and laughed.

Things changed suddenly.

On January 31, an ambulance from Hanoi's National Hospital of Tropical Diseases came to Dung's house. She was later revealed as Vietnam's fourth and Vinh Phuc's first patient with the nCoV infection.

Thanh became Vietnam's 10th case five days later.

Meanwhile, the number of cases globally had ballooned nearly 8,000 to above 20,000.

"I heard something about a disease in China," Thanh says, adding that she neither knew anything about it nor about the fact that her cousin had just returned from Wuhan, ground zero of the outbreak.

Thanh recalls having a slight fever and sore throat after her final day at work at the Binh Xuyen Industrial Complex on January 22 before the Lunar New Year festival.

She carried on as usual, cooking and buying food for the holiday, and did not bother to get medicines.

She said: "My cousin and I met for less than an hour. If my immune system had been good, maybe I might not have caught the disease."

However, she feels lucky, because her symptoms subsided after a week in quarantine and treatment.

Nguyen Minh, 25, is Dung's neighbor. On January 24, the night before Lunar New Year, he, Dung and some other friends hung out for three hours before going to see the fireworks.

Despite knowing that Dung had just returned from Wuhan, Minh let his guard down since she had no symptoms.

The day Dung was taken by ambulance, Minh told his wife to return to her mother's house while he went to the Binh Xuyen Medical Center to get his blood and throat swab samples tested and quarantine himself.

"I was worried because my wife was four months pregnant," he says. Though his tests came back negative, he decided to stay in the center for three more days. Just in case.

The ward for treating nCoV patients at the center. Photo by VnExpress/Tat Dinh.

In a room next door, four young women, all Dung's friends, are also in quarantine. They came to the center on their own on January 31 to be quarantined after discovering Dung was infected.

Tam, one of the four women, says: "On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Dung came to my house then we all went to the Ha Pagoda in Vinh Yen. It was quite crowded. Dung was a little feverish, so I told her to get it checked."

Tam, also a worker at the Binh Xuyen Industrial Complex, was allowed to take a few days off so that her health could be monitored.

Her nine-year-old nephew has also been quarantined at the center since he was at home when Dung dropped in.

At home in the center, he says: "My parents have told me to be good, and to stay here to protect aunt Tam so she gets well soon."

The staff

Sporting a blue protective suit from head to toe, nurse Nguyen Thi Huong, 36, visits the quarantine area once every two hours to check on her patients. Her ears, cheeks and nose are red from the marks of her mask. Despite being provided a mask by the hospital, she bought three more herself.

She says: "It hurts when I wash my face and when I sleep. But I got used to it in a few days; it's work."

She only visited home one time the other week: "Can't be too careful."

Nurse Nguyen Thi Huong, 36, at the center wears protective clothing. Photo by VnExpress/Tat Dinh.

Of the nine admitted to the center's quarantine area, Thanh's symptoms have subsided, while six have tested negative for the nCoV and the other two are awaiting their test results, Doan Duc Toan, the center's deputy director, says.

The center has 20 beds in the quarantine and has disinfected houses and schools in the area, he adds.

"If the epidemic spreads, we will build another quarantine area with 70 beds."

The Vinh Phuc People's Committee has said it plans to build a field hospital within the Phuc Yen General Hospital and expand it if there are more than 200 patients.

Since the Vietnamese government declared the novel coronavirus outbreak an epidemic, the country has 14 confirmed cases.

The global death toll from the epidemic has risen to 815  one each in the Philippines and Hong Kong, the rest in mainland China.

*Some names have been changed.
Workers should be given the legal right to switch off their mobile phones outside office hours, Rebecca Long-Bailey said today.

The Labour leadership hopeful said employees should be able to refuse to be contacted outside working hours.

She said it would be part of a drive to 'end the 24/7 working culture that affects our mental health'.

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Ms Long-Bailey highlighted that France had a 'right to disconnect', so companies with more than 50 workers must have systems in place so workers can be out of contact.

She said: 'France has introduced laws that allows workers to switch off so they cannot be contacted outside working hours...

'These are simple things that I think can be added to our portfolio of policies.'

Labour leadership hopeful Rebecca Long-Bailey said on BBC Breakfast today that employees should be able to refuse to be contacted outside working hours

In an interview on BBC Breakfast, Ms Long-Bailey highlighted that France had a 'right to disconnect' so workers can switch off phones

Ms Long-Bailey said: 'Aspirational socialism is about us all rising together, and that means coming together to collectively solve issues that are damaging our mental health and stopping us getting quality time with our families or in our communities.

'We can all do better with aspirational socialism, through pushing for an end to the 24/7 work culture, and with trade unions empowered to negotiate this, we can work hard, be paid for the work we do and keep that precious time with our friends and family, uninterrupted by emails or demands.'

The Salford and Eccles MP is one of the frontrunners to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after Labour's worst general election result since 1935.

Ms Long-Bailey is seen as the favoured candidate of the hard-Left in the contest, with her main rivals shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and backbencher Lisa Nandy.

All the candidates apart from Ms Thornberry have so far won sufficient support from groups affiliated to Labour to make it onto the postal ballot of members and supporters. The winner will be declared on April 4.
MANZINI  There was tension at SNAT Centre yesterday as the unions Usuthu Branch petitioned the national executive committee (NEC).



The members of the Usuthu Branch of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) arrived at SNAT Centre yesterday afternoon with the intention of delivering a petition to the NEC, where they were mainly demanding that Patrick Mamba, whom they elected as their chairman, should be recognised.

However, inside sources said some of teachers were in a questionable state of sobriety when they arrived at SNAT Centre.



In fact, the source said they were drinking what is believed to be buganu (marula brew) and they were uncontrollable.

They sang around and kicked the doors of the teachers union building, something which caused tension between the NEC and the branch members, the insiders said.



Calm



However, they said later on, the branch leaders managed to calm their unbecoming members and the petition was accepted by SNAT Secretary General Sikelela Dlamini.



In the petition, the Usuthu Branch of SNAT ordered the NEC to do the noble and honourable thing by unreservedly accepting that it erred in fact and law by instructing the branch executive committee (BEC) to nullify the election of Mamba, whom they regarded as their reigning chairperson.



unconditionally



As such, the Usuthu Branch of SNAT demanded that the NEC unconditionally withdraw its letter to the BEC dated March 27, 2019 declaring the branch bi-elections were erroneous.



Again, the branch demanded that the NEC should unconditionally withdraw the November 26, 2019 circular as they argued it was an illegitimate document that allegedly sought to unilaterally amend an adopted resolution in order to align it with the NEC interpretation of same.

Once more, they demanded that the NEC should officially introduce the Usuthu Branch Chairperson as such to the SNAT general council (GC) during the checking of credentials in their meeting.



The NEC should release with immediate effect the branchs subventions back into its bank account, reads part of the petition.

They emphasised their demand that the NEC should reconsider its position on the matter for the sake of the democratic organisation.



SNAT Secretary General Dlamini confirmed the tension and the petition delivery by the Usuthu Branch of the teachers union.

However, he said he would not go into the merits of the petition because they were still going to discuss it internally, in a bid to resolve the matter.



contested



What this publication gathered was that during the NEC elections, Mamba contested for the position of being a president, but later withdrew.

In that regard, when he was voted as the chairman of Usuthu Branch of SNAT, the NEC nullified the results based on allegations that there was a resolution that a member who would enter a race for a seat in the NEC, was not supposed to join elections at branch level.
Departmental leaders are among the most qualified public servants in the Federal Government. They are dedicated to ensuring the guidance and management necessary to support the health and well-being of the nation. Learn more about the Department's leadership:

Secretary and Deputy Secretary
By Trend

We do not distinguish between citizens of Azerbaijan and Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters commenting on yesterday's air incident in Istanbul, Trend reports.

Cavusoglu stressed that he will always defend the position of fraternal Azerbaijan, and it is an honor for him to receive an order from the head of the Azerbaijani state.

"Turkey always defends Azerbaijan's position. This is our brotherly duty. Azerbaijan defends Turkey's position where there is no [Turkish] representative, and Turkey defends the interests of Azerbaijan. We will always support each other's interests," Cavusoglu said.

A passenger plane skidded off the runway at the Sabiha Gokcen Airport in Istanbul on Feb. 5, killing three people and injuring 179 others. There was one Azerbaijani passenger among the passengers.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Naama Issachar, 26, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in a Russian prison after 9.5 grams of cannabis were found in her luggage during a stopover in Moscow, Oct. 11, 2019. Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned her on Jan. 29, 2020.

(JNS)-Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday to pardon Naama Issachar, an Israeli-American woman imprisoned in Russia for possessing and smuggling a small amount of cannabis.

"The release was a gesture by President Putin to the prime minister [Benjamin Netanyahu]," a senior Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Moscow after visiting Washington, where the new U.S. Mideast peace plan was released on Tuesday. "There was no deal with Russia."

Issachar is expected to fly with Netanyahu back to Israel.

Issachar, 27, was arrested by Russian authorities in April after a small amount of marijuana was found in her luggage during a layover in Moscow. She was sentenced in October to seven-and-a-half years in prison for drug trafficking.

"I've been waiting for this moment for almost a year," Issachar's mother, Yaffa, told The Jerusalem Post. "It's been a long journey that I wouldn't wish on anyone. At this moment, what I want to do more than anything is to hug my daughter."

"With all my heart, I want to thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his political determination and the great lengths he went to with the Russian government," she continued. "I also want to thank the Russian President Vladimir Putin for the compassion he showed my daughter and for accepting my daughter Naama's request to return home."
Founded in 1973 and following in the footsteps of Bando Hotel, the first private hotel brand in South Korea, Lotte Hotels & Resorts has gone on to acquire a brand portfolio ranging from SIGNIEL, the company's premium landmark hotel brand; L7, a lifestyle hotel; Lotte City Hotel, a hotel optimized for business travelers; and the Lotte Resort for family travelers, satisfying a wide variety of travelers' needs. Its Korean hospitality service, which puts guests first, has transformed them into South Korea's most iconic hotels.

Backed by its successful operations in the hospitality industry, Lotte Hotels & Resorts has made successful forays into overseas markets. Starting with Lotte Hotel Moscow, established in 2010, the corporation is now a global hotel brand comprising thirty hotels and resorts in major cities in seven countries, including New York in the U.S., Hanoi in Vietnam, and Yangon in Myanmar.

Lotte Hotels & Resorts' first overseas attempt, Lotte Hotel Moscow, won the Conde Nast Traveler Prize, also known as the "Nobel Prize in the travel sector" for two consecutive years in 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, the hotel was named as the Best Hotel in Europe and the Best Hotel Restaurant in Europe at the Villegiature Awards 2014, which came as a nice surprise for the hotel business.

In addition, SIGNIEL Seoul, the first six-star hotel from SIGNIEL brand, has attracted undivided acclaim and attention and is regarded as having opened a new chapter in the history of hospitality industry in South Korea. Just one year after its opening, the premium hotel won the Grand Prix for the Best Hotel in Asia at the Villegiature Awards 2018 and the Best New Luxury Hotel in Asia by Global Traveler, demonstrating excellence of Lotte Hotels and inundating the company with inquiries about future openings from all over the world.

LOTTE New York Palace, taken over by Lotte in 2015 as part of its campaign in the competition against rival global hotel chains, earned fame for its role as "Second White House" during the UN General Assembly held every September. Such an achievement in the fierce competition to attract state leaders led to the assessment that the hotel has established itself firmly in the North American market. Now, the company is expanding with the establishment of another Lotte Hotel in Seattle, the "Emerald City" of the Pacific coast, solidifying its position as a new worldwide hotel chain encompassing both the east and west of the US.

Meanwhile, Lotte Hotel is recruiting new employees ahead of the opening of the Seattle hotel scheduled for June. All of the hotel's departments related to rooms, F&B, marketing, and HR are waiting to welcome talented recruits aspiring to demonstrate their ability as hoteliers in the cluster of headquarters of global corporations.

Job Inquiries: [email protected]

SOURCE Lotte Hotel Seattle
Mark has an impressive track record in the industry, making him a valuable member of our team and a well-versed resource for the agents and brokers with whom he works. That depth of experience and understanding of the market gives Mark the ability to best assist clients and even mentor fellow colleagues, commented Distinguished Programs senior vice-president of business development Kurt Meister.

Jack Madsen (pictured immediately above) has been appointed regional sales executive for the company in the Pacific Northwest Territories, which include Nevada, Alaska, and Hawaii. He has over two decades of experience as a sales professional, with more than 10 of those years in insurance. Madsen was previously a sales executive for Fulcrum Insurance Programs, which was later acquired by Distinguished Programs in 2015.

Jacks reputation and significant background in sales make him a valuable asset to the team. He strives to provide constructive collaboration with clients to ensure they are satisfied with their products, Meister remarked.
HELENA, Montana  A state lawmaker raised eyebrows over the weekend when he said he believes the U.S. Constitution calls for socialists to be jailed or even shot.

The remarks by Republican State Rep. Rodney Garcia drew quick condemnation from the Montana Republican Party, according to USA Today. However, Garcia did not back down when asked to clarify his remarks, the Billings Gazette reports.

Theyre enemies of the free state, Garcia tells the Gazette. What do we do with our enemies in war? In Vietnam, (Afghanistan), all those. What did we do?

Garcia insisted his assertions were backed by the Constitution, although he could not identify where in the document it says that socialists should be jailed or shot. I agree with my Constitution, Garcia said. Thats what makes us free. Were not a democracy, were a Republic Constitution.

Anthony Johnstone, a law professor at the University of Montana, tells the Washington Post that Garcia is incorrect. He said the First Amendment and the state constitution both protect punishing someone because of their political beliefs. He also said that people often misunderstand the Treason Clause in Article III of the U.S. Constitution.

Spenser Merwin, the executive director of the Montana Republican Party, issued a statement censuring Garcias comments, which were made at a state party gathering Friday night in Helena, the Gazette reports.

The Montana Republican Party wholeheartedly condemns the comment that was made and under no circumstance is violence against someone with opposing political views acceptable, Merwin said in the statement. Its disappointing that this isolated incident took away from the weekends events which showcased the strength of our statewide candidates and the importance of the upcoming election.
JERUSALEM (JTA)The Trump administrations peace plan is an attempt to destroy the Palestinian cause and could lead to violence on the part of the Palestinian public, Palestinian Authority officials warned.

In addition, a senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Ynet that the decision to release the plan now is a result of internal Israeli political self-interests.

It is obvious to us that the presentation of the peace deal is meant to help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with his elections. We know when personal interests are at play, said the senior official.

Trump is scheduled to meet with Netanyahu on Monday and Tuesday, and with Blue and White head Benny Gantz on Monday. He is expected to make the peace plan public ahead of the meetings.

The Palestinian official also told Ynet that there is no doubt the plan will have an effect on the Palestinian streets. It could cause tension and lead to an escalation. There is a limit to the existing patience for one-sided moves.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a statement said the release of the plan could lead the Palestinians to a new phase in their struggle against Israel, the French news agency AFP reported.

Meanwhile, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat told AFP that the Palestinian Liberation Organization reserves the right to withdraw from the interim agreementmeaning the Oslo Accordsif Trump unveils his plan, and cancel all agreements signed with Israel. This could mean dismantling the Palestinian Authority and halting security cooperation with Israel in the West Bank.

Erekat also threatened that if Israel begins to annex West Bank territorya step the plan is thought to approvethen the Palestinians will demand full rights of Israeli citizenship, including the right to vote.

Palestinian groups on Sunday called for a Day of Rage on the day that the plan is announced, which often leads to violence against soldiers and Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

CNN reported on Sunday that the Trump administration has made a renewed attempt through an unnamed third party to speak to Abbas about the peace plan. The White House overture was rebuffed, however. There has been no contact between Abbas office and the White House for more than two years, CNN reported, citing multiple unnamed sources.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who heads a coalition of small parties to the right of Netanyahus Likud party, said in a statement on Sunday night that his bloc will not support the Trump plan unless Israel can immediately start annexing Israeli settlements in the West Bank. He also said that his bloc would not support a plan that includes the formation of a Palestinian state.

Under no circumstances will we allow the establishment or recognition of a Palestinian state, nor will we allow an inch of land to be turned over to the Arabs, Bennett said in a statement from the Israeli settlement city of Ariel.
With Delhi set to vote on Saturday, around 1.4 per cent of India's population will decide who deserves a chance (or a third chance) to rule the National Capital Territory for the next five years. While the wait will not be longer as the results will be declared on February 11, a quick health check-up of the state under the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will help you take a more informed decision.

Arvind Kejriwal was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the second time on February 14, 2015. The government recently released its manifesto for the assembly polls where it promised to continue with the subsidy on water and electricity tariffs, if voted back to power. Delhi government's expenditure on subsidising electricity tariff for domestic consumers has gone up by nearly 6 times since 2014-15.

Also read: Delhi Election 2020: Voting date, Exit poll result, election FAQs, full schedule, seats

The gross fiscal deficit as percentage of the gross domestic product of all states put together has risen from 2.6 per cent to 2.9 between FY15 and FY19. Delhi too has seen a meagre growth of 0.1 per cent during this period. The parameter was expected to slip further to 0.7 per cent in the budgeted estimates of FY20 compared to a fall in this number to 2.6 per cent for all states.

State's own tax revenue as percentage of the gross state domestic product (GSDP), which has been falling for the past five years is lowest among its neighbours. Its share has fallen from 5.4 per cent to 4.9 per cent during the same period. Delhi is the National Capital Territory and it is bordered by Haryana on three sides and by Uttar Pradesh in the east. With the growing share of taxes, Uttar Pradesh had the highest level of 9.4 per cent.

The state's economy has grown by 1.5 times in terms of per capita GSDP, over the past five years. Its GSDP (at current prices) grew from 11.5 per cent in 2014-15 to nearly 13 per cent in 2018-19. The per capita GSDP increased from Rs 2.72 lakh to Rs 4.02 lakh, during the period.

Government of Delhi allocates significant share of its budget in the education sector. Expenditure on education as percentage to aggregate expenditure has grown from 21.2 per cent in 2014-15 to 24.3 per cent in 2017-18, but declined to 22.5 per cent in 2018-19. The quantum is quite big compared to other states and union territories, which stood at 14.4 per cent for 2018-19. As per budgeted estimates, the spends would jump to 25.3 per cent in 2019-20 for Delhi and 14.8 per cent for all states and union territories.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 05:24:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian army captured five new towns in north of the city of Saraqeb in the countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Thursday, state news agency SANA reported.

With this progress, the army exposed the road connecting Saraqeb with Aleppo in northern Syria, said the report.

The progress comes as the Syrian army captured the city of Saraqeb, the second most important city that will enable the Syrian army to capture the road connecting Hama with Aleppo through Idlib.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the army stormed Saraqeb on Wednesday while the official SANA news agency broke the news on Thursday.

The progress toward Saraqeb comes days after the Syrian forces captured the city of Maarat al-Numan in the southern countryside of Idlib, which was the first big achievement toward securing the main Damascus-Aleppo highway.

The Syrian army has for weeks been fighting the rebels in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo to secure the main highway linking Hama province in central Syria with Aleppo.

This highway also connects with the Damascus-Hama highway, which will enable the army to secure the main road between Damascus and Aleppo without reroutes.
CALGARY - Alberta's environment minister says Ottawa shouldn't think it can use federal aid as a bargaining tool to determine the fate of a proposed Frontier oilsands mine.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Jason Nixon, Minister of Environment and Parks chat before the speech from the throne is delivered in Edmonton on Tuesday May 21, 2019. Nixon says the province is not interested in any charitable handout from Ottawa if it rejects the massive Teck Frontier oilsands mine later this month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

CALGARY - Alberta's environment minister says Ottawa shouldn't think it can use federal aid as a bargaining tool to determine the fate of a proposed Frontier oilsands mine.

The federal cabinet has until the end of the month to decide on the $20.6-billion megaproject proposed near Wood Buffalo National Park in northeastern Alberta.

"The Frontier mine is not a political gift," Jason Nixon told reporters Friday.

The project "deserves to be approved on its own merits" and not leveraged for tougher provincial climate action, he added.

A Reuters report, citing unidentified sources, said the Liberal government is preparing an aid package for Alberta to dampen the impact if the mine, proposed by Vancouver miner Teck Resources Ltd., is nixed.

Sources told the news agency that it could include cash to clean up inactive oil and gas wells, expanding the federal stabilization program or funding local infrastructure.

Nixon said those measures, as well as changes to the federal equalization formula that Alberta has demanded, have nothing to do with the Frontier mine, which a joint federal-provincial panel decided this summer should go ahead despite its environmental impacts.

"Albertans are not looking for a (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau handout. We're not interested in that," Nixon said.

"We want Justin Trudeau and the federal government to get out of Albertans' way, let hardworking Albertans do what they do best, which is create prosperity for this province and create prosperity for this country."

Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau called the characterization of the aid package inaccurate.

"We're working on how we can create opportunity in parts of the country that have the need for increased job opportunities," he said Friday in Ottawa.

"The issues around Teck Frontier are separate and distinct. ... It's unrelated to the work that I'm doing on thinking about how we can make sure that Alberta continues to have a robust economy."

Federal Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said last month that Alberta's efforts to combat climate change would be considered in the final decision on the mine, which would run for 40 years and emit about four million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

Nixon said Thursday that he has had positive meetings with his federal counterpart and the notion of a quid-pro-quo never came up.

"Nothing that we have seen speculated inside the media in regards to potential changes to our legislation or things that I've seen speculated as to what the federal government may or may not want has ever been raised with us in any way in any of those meetings."

Nixon declined to say how Alberta would respond should the project be rejected.

"We're not going to show all our cards in the middle of the card game."

He added that a delayed decision would be perceived just as harshly as a rejection.

When Ottawa approved the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in 2016, it made a point of highlighting the previous Alberta NDP government's oilsands emissions cap and carbon tax.

When Jason Kenney's United Conservatives won the Alberta election last spring, they kept the emissions cap but scrapped the consumer carbon tax and went to court over Ottawa's intention to impose its own version.

Alberta does, however, still have a carbon levy on large industrial emitters that has the federal government's blessing.

Conservative natural resources critic MP Shannon Stubbs said the Teck Frontier decision will be a defining moment for the Liberal government.

"If the Liberals reject the Teck Frontier mine, Albertans will perceive that as a rejection of Alberta from Canada," the Alberta MP told reporters in Ottawa. "That is where the vast majority of my constituents are at."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 7, 2020.
The chief of police in the Maldives has apologised after a bikini-clad British tourist screamed 'you're sexually assaulting me' as she was manhandled and arrested.

Footage of the arrest shows three men grappling with the woman and trying to put her in handcuffs as she attempted to fight them off yesterday evening.

Another man covered part of her body with a towel as she was led away in front of a crowd of people on the island of Maafushi, in the Kaafu atoll.

Police commissioner Mohamed Hameed said an 'incident in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be badly handled'.

A bikini-clad British woman was manhandled and arrested by police in the Maldives for 'indecent exposure' on Thursday evening

'I apologise to the tourist and the public for this. The challenge I have taken up is to professionalise the police service and we are working on that,' he said.

The woman was arrested for 'indecent exposure' but the incident is now under investigation.

Wearing bikinis is permitted in holiday resorts in the popular tourist location, although it is 'strictly prohibited' away from the resorts. It is not clear exactly where this video was filmed.

Police commissioner Mohamed Hameed (pictured) said an 'incident in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be badly handled'

The woman, who speaks with a British accent, repeatedly shouts 'you're sexually assaulting me' as she struggles to break free of the men.

According to the country's local news service, Raajje.mv, the woman was arrested shortly after 5pm local time on Thursday for 'indecent exposure'.

It reported that police suspected the woman to be 'under the influence of alcohol'.

The woman, who speaks with a British accent, repeatedly shouts 'you're sexually assaulting me' as she struggles to break free of the men

The woman was arrested for 'indecent exposure' but the Islamic country's police chief has since apologised after an outcry over the video

The UK government's travel advice for the Maldives states that visitors should be 'sensitive to local dress standards' in the country.

It states that the popular tourist destination is an Islamic country and that tourists should 'respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times'.

The country is made up of about 1,200 small islands and is located about 400 miles south-west of Sri Lanka.

The Foreign Office issued a separate warning to be 'vigilant' in the Maldives yesterday after a knife attack on foreign residents in Hulhumale.

Three suspected Islamic extremists were arrested over the stabbings.
[February 07, 2020] Indiana Digital Learning School Ready to Help Families Enroll for the 2020-2021 School Year

Indiana Digital Learning School (INDLS), an online public-school serving K-12 students throughout the state, is ready to welcome students to enroll for the 2020-2021 school year beginning February 27. INDLS gives your student a personalized learning experience designed to assist those who seek alternative pathways to education. INDLS is tuition-free to all students who reside in Indiana. Authorized by the Union School Corporation in Modoc, and delivered entirely online, INDLS combines online instruction, rigorous curriculum and the support of state-licensed teachers. In addition to working towards their high school diplomas, INDLS students can participate in the Destinations Career Program, which allows them to discover exciting options for their future in carer fields like Business, Health and Human Services, IT, and Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources.



Students can also earn college credits through partnerships with local colleges and universities and prepare to take industry-recognized certification exams upon graduation. And INDLS is the first virtual school in Indiana with an online Future Farmers of America chapter, serving all 92 Indiana counties.

"With college costs spiraling out of control nationwide, it's good to get an idea of what you want to do before you get there. Our career program lets students try new things and get a sense for the options they have, while still in high school, helping Indiana students take charge of their own future," says Head of School, Elizabeth Sliger. Overall, INDLS offers challenging academic curriculum focused on college preparation. Students take a full course load in the core subjects of math, science, English language arts, history, art and music. Electives include world languages, as well as high school honors courses. INDLS also offers student clubs, in-person field trips, and social gatherings to foster a sense of school community. Virtual classes are taught by Indiana-licensed teachers who provide instruction during live online class sessions, and are available to students via phone, email and one-to-one meetings. Students choose online school for a variety of reasons including advanced learning, a bullying-free environment, and the ability to support extracurricular pursuits or medical needs. INDLS's online platform gives students the opportunity to pursue their academic goals in a supportive environment and at an appropriate pace for their learning style. INDLS is now accepting enrollments for the 2020-2021 school year. Families are encouraged to attend an online or in-person information session hosted by the school. More information on INDLS, how to enroll, and a schedule of upcoming events can be found at www.indls.k12.com/. About Indiana Digital Learning School Indiana Digital Learning School (INDLS) is an online public-school program of the Union School Corporation, serving students across the state of Indiana. INDLS is tuition-free, giving parents and families the choice to access the engaging curriculum and tools provided by K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), the nation's leading provider of proprietary K-12 curriculum and online education programs. For more information about INDLS, visit indls.k12.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005026/en/

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The Supreme Court on Friday deferred a hearing on the appeal filed by the central and Delhi governments challenging a Delhi high court ruling that refused to tinker with the postponement of the execution of four death row convicts in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.

A bench headed by justice R Banumathi observed that the Delhi high court had given 7 days time until when to convicts exhaust their remaining remedies and it would be appropriate for the top court to wait for a few more days for the convicts to pursue them.

The bench, therefore, kept the matter for hearing on February 11 and declined to issue notice to the convicts.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the central government, told the court that one of the convicts, Pawan Gupta, was yet to file his curative or mercy petition. He submitted that it was a calculated design by the convicts to delay their hanging so that then can later seek a commutation of the death penalty on grounds of a delay in the execution.

A 2014 judgment by the Supreme Court laid down that a delay in the hanging of a death convict could be one of the grounds for commutation of the death penalty to life imprisonment.

Pawan Gupta can sit tight for 5 years without filing a mercy plea and then all four can come to court seeking commutation due to delay in hanging as laid down in the Shatrughan Chauhan judgment, Mehta told the court.

The Delhi high court had on February 5 turned down a request by the Centre to hang at least two of the four convicts who had exhausted all their legal options. The high court, in its judgmen,t had cited a Supreme Court verdict in an unfortunate case where, after one convict was executed, the co-accuseds death sentence was commuted to life.

names of the four convicts and when they were ordered to be executed

Convict Mukesh (who was the first to file a mercy petition) cannot be adversely segregated from the similarly placed convicts simply because he has been sincerely and earnestly pursuing his legal remedies, Justice Suresh Kumar Kait of the Delhi high court ruled.

Hours after the high court delivered its ruling, the central and Delhi governments approached the Supreme Court, challenging the verdict.

In their appeal filed against the February 5 judgment of the Delhi high court, the Centre and Delhi governments told the apex court that the law does not mandate that all death row convicts in a case should be executed simultaneously.

They submitted that there was no legal impediment to the execution of death row convicts who had exhausted their legal remedies though co-convicts who have been sentenced in the same case have not availed all their legal options.

The petition pointed out that a convict who has exhausted all his remedies cannot frustrate the mandate of law merely because the mercy petition of one of the co-convicts is pending before the President and another co-convict has chosen not to even file a mercy petition.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 23 times, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on Feb. 7, Trend reports.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding 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 surrounding districts.
An SNP activist claims Mr Mackay, 42, sent him dozens of unwanted messages over a period of four years.

Shaun Cameron, 25, told Scottish paper the Daily Record that the now disgraced MP contacted him on Facebook after meeting him at an SNP event when he was 21.

He added that some of the messages he received from the politician were quite suggestive.

Mr Mackay had been tipped as an eventual successor to Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (right) / POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Mr Cameron, who is straight, alleges that in January 2017 Mr Mackay asked: Are these conversations just between us? He then invited the younger man to stay over in Edinburgh.

In September that year Mr Mackay allegedly asked the SNP activist: Got any naughty pics?

The 25-year-old got married last year and said he ignored the messages, which tailed off for a period, before receiving more at the end of last year.

Mr Cameron told the Daily Record: I told my wife about it. She was angry but I kind of turned a blind eye. Im an SNP supporter so it was difficult for me to admit that this was bad.

He added: I often felt Id better say hello back. If he wasnt a senior politician I would have blocked him on Facebook.

The SNP and Scottish Government have been contacted for comment.

Mr Mackay had been considered a rising star within the party / Getty Images

Mr Mackay, a father-of-two who came out as gay in 2013, quit as finance secretary hours before he was due to deliver the Budget after the Scottish Sun reported that he sent 270 messages to a 16-year-old boy who he befriended on Facebook and Instagram.

Mr Mackay accepted that he had behaved foolishly as he apologised unreservedly to the teenager and his family.

In one message, he is alleged to have asked the boy: And our chats are between us?

When the youngster agreed, Mr Mackay told him: Cool, then to be honest I think you are really cute.

The newspaper alleges that he contacted the teenager over a six-month period and offered to take him to a rugby game and out to dinner.

The MSP has been suspended from both the SNP and the SNP parliamentary group at Holyrood pending further investigation.

Nicola Sturgeon Statement On Derek Mackay Resignation

Announcing his resignation on Thursday, Mr Mackay said: I take full responsibility for my actions. I have behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry.

I apologise unreservedly to the individual involved and his family.

I spoke last night with the First Minister and tendered my resignation with immediate effect.

The Renfrewshire North and West MSP added: Serving in Government has been a huge privilege and I am sorry to have let colleagues and supporters down.

Speaking at Holyrood on Thursday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: Members will be aware that I have accepted the resignation of Derek Mackay as finance secretary.
[February 06, 2020] Global Human Capital Management (HCM) Solutions Market 2020-2024 | Growing Demand for Automated Recruitment Processes to Boost the Market Growth | Technavio

The human capital management (HCM) solutions market is expected to grow by USD 8.97 billion during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005690/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global human capital management (HCM) solutions market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Recruitment is one of the most difficult tasks in the HCM process. Most multinational companies (MNCs) require many employees. But finding out the best candidate takes recruiters a long time. This is because the complete offline recruitment profile involves manual shortlisting of the candidates from thousands of applications. This requires large investments in terms of money, time, and effort. Advances in technology have made HCM solutions capable of automating recruitment processes. The HCM software shortlists candidates according to the profile, sends interview invitations, and confirms interview slots. This process reduces the overall time, effort, and cost of the process and increases the chances of recruiting the right candidates. Thus, the growing demand for automated recruitment processes is expected to boost the growth of the market. To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40495



As per Technavio, the emergence of cloud-computing services will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024. Human Capital Management (HCM) Solutions Market : Emergence of Cloud-Computing Services

The emergence of cloud-computing services is one of the major trends being witnessed in the market. Cloud computing is one of the emerging trends in the IT industry. Owing to the adoption of the latest technologies in HCM solutions, organizations also use cloud storage for storing critical information at remotely cheap rates. The use of cloud storage allows the central administration to have control over all the resources and HR activities. It also eradicates the need for users to update and maintain IT infrastructure. Services and maintenance activities are usually taken care of by service providers. Thus, users do not have to install additional packages as all updates, during the contract period, are also be taken care of by the service providers. "Factors such as the increased popularity of advanced workforce analytics, increasing workforce diversity, and the growing demand from SMEs will have a significant impact on the HCM solutions market growth during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Human Capital Management (HCM) Solutions Market: Segmentation Analysis This market research report segments the human capital management (HCM) solutions market by application (core HR, talent and workforce), and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America). The North American region led the human capital management (HCM) solutions market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America and MEA. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as growth in job opportunities and increase in the number of job seekers due to globalization, wider penetration of social media in recruitment processes, and increased need for cost optimization. Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report Some of the key topics covered in the report include: Application Core HR

Talent

Workforce Geographic segmentation APAC

Europe

MEA

North America

South America Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario About Technavio Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005690/en/

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Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam is stepping down in the wake of a spying scandal and will be replaced by Thomas Gottstein who currently heads the bank's Swiss unit. In a statement Friday morning, the board of directors said it had unanimously accepted Thiam's resignation, following the presentation of the Swiss lender's fourth-quarter and full-year results. Chairman Urs Rohner said Thiam has made an "enormous contribution" to the bank since he joined in 2015. He will step down on Feb. 14. "Under Tidjane's leadership, Credit Suisse simultaneously repurposed our strategy, restored our capital, reduced our costs, de-risked our business, promoted diversity and engendered an exceptional level of co-operation between various divisions," he said. "It is to his credit that Credit Suisse is standing on a very solid foundation and has returned successfully to profit." Thiam said he was proud of what his team had accomplished during his tenure, adding in a statement that they had "turned Credit Suisse around" and that he would be an "enthusiastic supporter" of his colleagues' endeavors. The French-Ivorian joined Credit Suisse from Prudential in March 2015. Credit Suisse shares fell 4.2% at the start of Friday's trading session.

Spying scandal

The news follows a drawn-out spying scandal at the bank, after former wealth management boss Iqbal Khan, who was heading to rival UBS, was followed by private contractors in a bid to establish whether he was poaching colleagues and clients. An internal investigation by law firm Homburger into the scandal which rocked the bank in 2019 was said to have found "zero evidence" that Thiam was aware of the surveillance. "I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place," Thiam reiterated on Friday morning. However, the investigation directly resulted in the exit of COO Pierre-Olivier Bouee, claiming that he acted alone in directing the spying, and raised questions over how Thiam was kept out of the loop in an espionage plot devised and executed by one of his top executives.

The scandal also resulted in the suicide of the private investigator who worked as a middleman between Switzerland's second-largest bank and the private security firm. Thiam told CNBC in October that this event was what led to the resignation of individuals. Khan filed a complaint with police in September after reportedly spotting an investigator following him and his wife in Zurich, though conflicting accounts of the incident have emerged. He left Credit Suisse in July following a deterioration of his relationship with Thiam. The saga triggered an investigation from Swiss regulator FINMA into compliance and corporate governance issues associated with the surveillance activities. A spokesperson for the regulator told CNBC on Friday that FINMA "is continuing its investigations concerning observation activities in order to clarify matters relevant to supervision (namely corporate governance issues)."

Power struggle

The board also voted unanimously to reaffirm its support for Rohner to complete his term as chairman until April 2021. The board's lead independent director, Severin Schwan, said Friday that Rohner has led the board "commendably during this turbulent time" and has its "full support." Friday's development defies the wishes of the bank's major shareholders, with Harris Associates, Silchester International and U.S. hedge fund Eminence Capital all hoping that Thiam would stay at the bank. Reuters reported, citing sources close to the bank, that the scandal has strained relations between Rohner and Thiam, with the embattled CEO struggling to win the backing of the board despite having shareholders in his corner. Speaking to CNBC Friday, Vontobel Senior Analyst Andreas Venditti said the announcement would likely help to "calm things down" but went "totally against" the "very explicit support statements" from shareholders.

In a note following the news, Citi banking analysts suggested that the risk of shareholder rotation and staff departures, including a re-shuffle of senior management, was now on the cards. James Athey, senior investment manager at Aberdeen Standard, told CNBC's "Street Signs" on Friday that the key question now is how the leadership structure will take shape. "If there has been some evidence, where we thought previously that this knowledge hadn't filtered up to that board level and maybe it has, why is the chairman still in place?" Silchester International declined to comment when approached by CNBC Friday. Harris Associates and Eminence Capital did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

New era
Matthew Modine has played an array of characters over the course of his acting career.

Each role hes taken has a purpose and intent.

The Santa Fe Film Festival is honoring Modine and his body of work by awarding him the lifetime achievement on Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe.

While I feel Im too young and still have a lot of important work to do, its quite an honor to be recognized by such a prestigious and historic film festival, Modine says in an interview.

Along with the honor, the festival is also screening Foster Boy, starring Modine.

Foster Boy tells the story of Michael Trainer, played by Modine, who is a lawyer at the center of a trial in which a for-profit foster care agency puts a known sex offender into the same foster home as his young client Jamal, with catastrophic results.

Modine says one of the many wonderful things about art is its unique ability to bring light to darkness.

The film is based on true events that the scripts author experienced as a trail lawyer.

Its a painful telling of corruption within the world of foster care. My character goes from not understanding, or misunderstanding, the young man who grew up in that system and then chooses to defend him and fight that institutionalized corruption, Modine says. I loved Paul Newman in The Verdict and, of course, Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird  two classic films that changed the way audiences view certain people and their circumstances. Their characters, and mine as Trainer, brought greater fairness and justice to our society. How wonderful if Foster Boy succeeds in doing that.

Modines interest in a project is often piqued by the script.

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It all begins with the word, he says. The script is what excites a producer to begin the arduous journey of finding the best possible team to bring those words to life. Each creative element is crucial to a films success. From director to cinematographer, production designer to costume design, each person you see named in the credits of a film makes their important contribution. The actors are creative partners to each of those creative departments and then do their part to bring the words  the script  the whole thing it all began with  to life. Modine has had a decades-long career  which isnt easy in Hollywood.

Along the way, hes found projects that not only challenge him, but keep him moving forward.

Its not been easy, he says of his career. Its kinda like being out at sea in a sailboat. Sometimes theres a gentle breeze and you get to casually enjoy the sail. Then theres a dead calm and the boat just floats and youre forced to wait for some wind to get things moving again. And sometimes theres a hellish storm that could tear your boat apart and youve got to navigate and deal with that. The lesson you learn is to be present and to always pay attention to the elements around you  at that moment. You can prepare for a storm  but you mustnt worry about it. That steals your present, your now. All those past experiences  are the past. So be grateful to them  as they have prepared you for this moment. This moment is all that ever is.

Modine is also no stranger to filming in New Mexico. He had roles in Into the West and Sicario: Day of the Soldado.

But he didnt get much to time to explore during those projects because of the intense shooting schedules.

I did spend time here when my father retired, he says. I was trying to convince him that it would be a great place to set up a small business and a new adventure. He was excited by the idea, but what he knew, and didnt share with me, was that he didnt have long to live. So some of my last experiences and time spent with him were in Santa Fe. Bless him.
GRAND HAVEN, MI  An old railroad depot in downtown Grand Haven is expected to become the new home for half the businesses displaced by mold at a city-owned shopping center.

Five businesses have been offered retail space inside the depot following the Grand Haven City Councils decision to demolish two of three buildings at the mold-plagued Chinook Pier shopping center, said Grand Haven City Manager Pat McGinnis.

The decision to demolish was made after it was determined remediating the mold would cost between $700,000 and $1.2 million, McGinnis said. A third building, the smallest, will be saved and remediated for an estimated cost of $100,000, he said.

Insurance doesnt cover damage due to mold, he said.

Twelve businesses have operated at Chinook Pier, 301 N. Harbor Dr., including two in the building that will be saved.

Five of the businesses have been offered space in the former Grand Trunk depot building, 23 N. Harbor Drive, that was vacated two years ago when the Tri-Cities Historical Museum moved to a different spot.

The city hadnt finalized plans for the old train depot, but had been leaning toward keeping it for a public use considering its proximity to the recently refurbished Lynne Sherwood Waterfront Stadium, McGinnis said earlier.

For now, its to become a mini shopping center, and the council approved spending $100,000 to get it ready for new tenants. According to McGinnis, the city has offered space in the depot to the following Chinook Pier businesses:

 Temptations, an ice cream shop that previously expressed interest in the depot space.

 Dairy Creme, an ice cream shop that currently is in the Chinook Pier building that wont be demolished. Its unclear if it will have to move into the depot, McGinnis said.

 Barefoot Daves clothing and T-shirt shop.

 Peace Frogs apparel shop.

 Grand Haven Beach Co. clothing and gift shop. It had a lease to operate at Chinook Pier but didnt have a chance to open up there, McGinnis said.

Another former Chinook Pier tenant, the Surf Shop, has found space at a store front on Washington Avenue in downtown Grand Haven, McGinnis said.

The city is attempting to help other former Chinook Pier tenants find new locations, he said. They include Nautical Knots, Wandas Slice Barn, Sun and Sport, Popcorn Paradise, Wet Mitten and Naut So Ordinary, he said.

All displaced Chinook Pier tenants were asked if they had interest in locating at the depot, and seven responded that they did, McGinnis said. Others who sought space but at this point werent offered it were Wandas and Naut so Ordinary, he said.

Businesses were selected based on how long theyd been in operation, suitability of the space and the compatibility of the product they offered, he said. There were limited spots for food service, he said.

It was the owner of Naut So Ordinary that discovered the mold as the space was being remodeled, McGinnis said. The store never was able to open, he said.

Prior to the mold discovery, the city had been trying to address standing water and other moisture problems at Chinook Pier by running sump pumps, McGinnis said earlier. He said the mold is related to high water levels.

The future of the property where Chinook Pier is located will be the topic of community discussion throughout the summer, McGinnis said. They city is planning to use polls, surveys, focus groups and social media to gather input on what will go on the property, he said.

It will be something brighter, better and more sustainable than what weve had there before, he said.

Chinook Pier opened in 1985.

Also on MLive:

Mold forces closure of 10-business retail outlet in Grand Haven

Distillery out as Grand Haven seeks tenant for vacant train depot space

New waterfront stadium in Grand Haven opens with rave reviews
President Muhammadu Buhari said on Friday that he could not interfere in the Kano emirates controversy because the state legislature had gotten involved.

Mr Buhari said this on Friday when he met with the Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and some newly elected Kano lawmakers.

Details of the meeting were sent to PREMIUM TIMES by Mr Buharis spokesperson, Garba Shehu.

By the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Kano State has his own roles, once a matter is in the hands of the House of Assembly (like in Kano), the president has no constitutional right to interfere, Mr Shehu quoted President Buhari as saying when speaking about the conflict between the Kano emir and the governor.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Kano State Government created four new first class emirates to add to the Kano emirate. Many believe the move was to whittle down the influence of the current Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi, who allegedly opposed Mr Gandujes reelection last year.

The Kano governor also threatened to dethrone Mr Sanusi for insurbordination.

He was later prevailed upon not to dethrone Mr Sanusi as Northern eleders intervened to resolve the differences between the emir and Mr Ganduje.

After his meeting with the president, Mr Ganduje told journalists that the peace moves were still ongoing.

We have five first class Emirates in Kano State and the Emir of Bichi is from one of the Emirates. I cannot come with the whole five Emirates at the same time. Yes, there is the Northern Elders Committee on the misunderstanding between the Emir of Kano and Kano State government. We met with that committee and dialoguing is still on. That is all I can say.

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It is a constitutional issue and the governor and the Emir, we are working within our own jurisdictions and the problem will be solved amicably, he said.

Earlier, while addressing his guests, Mr Buhari told them to live up to the promises they made to their constituents.

Read the full statement by Mr Shehu on what transpired between the president and his guests below.

WE WILL NOT COMPROMISE PEACE AND SECURITY OF NIGERIAN PEOPLE  PRESIDENT BUHARI

President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that the separation of powers between the Federal Government and the states notwithstanding, he has enough grounds in the constitution to ensure that the security of Nigerians is not compromised.

The president said this Friday while receiving the Governor and newly elected legislators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, from Kano State.

In his remarks on the dispute between the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II and the Governor of the state, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the President said: I know my role as the President of Nigeria. By the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Kano State has his own roles, once a matter is in the hands of the House of Assembly (like in Kano), the President has no constitutional right to interfere. I am here by the constitution, I swore by it, and I am going to stand by it. But let me tell you the bottomline of my understanding of the constitutional role is that peace and security of all Nigerians must be guaranteed, where the people are threatened, then I will use my constitutional powers.

President Buhari advised the elected officials to live up to the promises they made to their constituents to justify the confidence reposed in them.

I hope you are mindful of your promises to your constituencies. You went round and you promised your constituencies. I hope the promises you made are within the resources of your State. If you made promises outside your resources, it will be your problem because you are going to stand again in four years time. This is very important and it is important for our party.

Governor Umar Ganduje who led the delegation, thanked the President for Federal Government projects in the State including: the Kano  Abuja road reconstruction; the modern railway from Kaduna to Kano, and from Kano to Niger Republic; the gas pipeline from Ajaokuta to Kaduna and from Kaduna to Kano; dualisation of Kano  Katsina highway; as well as the construction and equipping of new terminal wing of the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport.

He also apprised the President of efforts of his government to make life better for Kano citizens especially in terms of security and education.

We have done a lot in the area of security, even installing CCTV cameras in black spots and all major routes into Kano state. We also have a multi-purpose vehicle for monitoring, which has helped in arresting kidnappers and Boko Haram terrorists. We have also established an army training area.

He said the State has also curtailed herdsmen/farmers clashes by establishing settlements.

On the disturbing phenomenon of out-of-school children, the governor said, We used to have One Million out-of-school children but now we are down to about 400,000 on account of the new education policy which now makes schooling free and compulsory from basic to secondary school, complemented with free feeding, free uniforms and free instructional materials.

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He said his administration had also recruited 600 teachers to teach mathematics and English as well as 3,000 teachers for Almajiri schools that will be incorporated into the normal school system.

The governor also requested for Federal Government intervention in the completion of the Kano River Irrigation scheme; the establishment of a Federal Medical Centre; and desilting of the 24 dams in the State.
A Guatemalan woman who was convicted of manslaughter in 2008 due to a fatal bus crash that killed four children pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the United States, Fox News reports.

Federal prosecutors said that the woman who was involved in the fatal bus crash in Minnesota that killed four children has pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the country. The woman was deported after she served eight years in prison.

It was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney's Office who stated in a news release that Olga Marina Franco del Cid, 36 years old, pleaded guilty to one count for of false representation of a Social Security Number which she used to find work in the country.

Meanwhile, according to FOX9 Minneapolis, the plea of del Cid requires her to serve 24 to 30 months in federal prison before she will be deported once again in Guatemala. However, the decision of her plea is set for June 11 this year.

Olga Marina Franco del Cid was taken into custody last November after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement found that she had returned to the United States to a home in Inver Grove Heights. However, it is still unclear for ICE of how long del Cid had been staying in the country since her previous deportation.

Franco del Cid was convicted of the crime of killing four children after the minivan she was driving ran a stop sign in February 2008 in Cottonwood Minnesota which is just about two hours west of Inver Grove Heights. del Cid first said that it was her boyfriend who was driving the minivan which was used as a school bus, it was later found that she had been staying in the country illegally.

Olga Marina Franco del Cid had already served eight of her 12 year sentence. Moreover, the sentence given to her was four counts of homicide due to vehicular accidents before she was deported back in Guatemala in 2016.

In a report from Duluth News Tribune, del Cid got married to a man from Minnesota which she has been corresponding with while in prison. According to another news outlet the couple has a 2-year child who was born in the U.S. but the couple is now going through a divorce.

Meanwhile, the number of homicide cases in the United States has increased in the past few years. In 2018, there were 15,498 reported cases of homicide and included was included in 2017 as one of the most violent crimes in the country.

Vehicular homicide is defined in the United Staes as a form of crime where it involved the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either negligence or the murderous operation of a motor vehicle. However, the penalties of vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide vary by the state except in the states of Alaska, Montana, and Arizona where they have vehicular homicide statutes. In states where there are no homicide statutes, the defendants can still be charged with murder or manslaughter in some situations.
As the UK recorded another 194,747 cases - up 6.4 per cent on a week ago - Boris Johnson told MPs that the growth is 'the fastest we have ever known' and older, more vulnerable people are now being affected. However, he said bluntly that the government 'does not believe we need to shut down our country again'. Instead Cabinet has agreed to stick to the existing 'balanced and proportionate' Plan B restrictions in England that are 'taking the edge off' the Omicron wave. The obligation to work from home where possible, as well as wear masks in many settings and use Covid passes at large events and nightclubs will be reviewed again before they expire on January 26 - but Mr Johnson hinted strongly that they will not be renewed. The premier was congratulated by senior Tories including Jeremy Hunt and Theresa May for holding his nerve despite pressure to clamp down before Christmas. In another boost, Nicola Sturgeon has U-turned by following England and cutting the self-isolation period in Scotland from 10 days to seven. Challenged by another Conservative former minister, Steve Baker, in the House, Mr Johnson said he hoped that once Omicron 'blows through' the country 'life will return to something much, much closer to normality' and the current restrictions will 'not be necessary'. But Mr Johnson has also disappointed many by batting away calls for the self-isolation period to be trimmed immediately to five days to help fill gaps in the workforce - with more than a million people currently under house arrest.
An Irishman who has no job and is desperate to leave coronavirus-hit China has appealed to the Government not to abandon him

Brian Queenan (24), from Castlebar, is stranded in Beijing unless an emergency travel permit is granted to his Chinese girlfriend to allow her to return to Ireland with him.

He is worried because his work visa expires in two weeks' time and his work as a teacher has dried up because of the shutdown caused by the virus outbreak.

"My partner Lin, who's a 21-year-old student, is Chinese," the Mayo man said. "Her family are confined to her hometown in Jiangxi in the far south of China.

"The roads into the village have been destroyed and she has no way to join them.

"Without me, she will have no home to stay in. I need to get her an emergency visa so she can come with me to Ireland until the crisis has stabilised.

Carrot

"Many Irish citizens with partners or wives and children in China face this problem.

"We hope we can get the necessary help and that the Irish Government and the Irish embassy will not abandon us."

Mr Queenan is among a number of Irish people who remained in China because they had a Chinese partner not allowed leave the country.

They now face weeks of confinement in their homes and food shortages that have led to people "fighting over a carrot".

Mr Queenan said he is dissatisfied with what he calls the inadequate response so far got from the Irish embassy.

"I called about my situation, but they seem to rarely pick up the phone," he said. "I eventually go through and they told me to write my concerns in an email.

"They replied back saying visa centres in Beijing are closed and my girlfriend could not apply for a normal visa.

"They said they would let me know when they are open again. I felt totally ignored."

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Irish embassy and consulates "are keeping our citizens in China appraised of the current situation".

It emerged yesterday that 15 people have been tested in Ireland for the coronavirus.

The patients, whose results were negative, showed symptoms of the virus which has so far infected more than 28,000 people globally and killed more than 580.

The HSE said isolation rooms that can be used for suspected patients have been identified in all hospitals.

It will distribute top-to-toe protective wear to GPs this week for their safety in dealing with a suspected case.
Today we are going to look at Nanjing Sample Technology Company Limited (HKG:1708) to see whether it might be an attractive investment prospect. Specifically, we'll consider its Return On Capital Employed (ROCE), since that will give us an insight into how efficiently the business can generate profits from the capital it requires.

First up, we'll look at what ROCE is and how we calculate it. Next, we'll compare it to others in its industry. Then we'll determine how its current liabilities are affecting its ROCE.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What is it?

ROCE measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. In general, businesses with a higher ROCE are usually better quality. Ultimately, it is a useful but imperfect metric. Renowned investment researcher Michael Mauboussin has suggested that a high ROCE can indicate that 'one dollar invested in the company generates value of more than one dollar'.

How Do You Calculate Return On Capital Employed?

Analysts use this formula to calculate return on capital employed:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

Or for Nanjing Sample Technology:

0.11 = CN286m  (CN4.8b - CN2.3b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2019.)

So, Nanjing Sample Technology has an ROCE of 11%.

View our latest analysis for Nanjing Sample Technology

Is Nanjing Sample Technology's ROCE Good?

One way to assess ROCE is to compare similar companies. It appears that Nanjing Sample Technology's ROCE is fairly close to the Electronic industry average of 9.9%. Separate from Nanjing Sample Technology's performance relative to its industry, its ROCE in absolute terms looks satisfactory, and it may be worth researching in more depth.

We can see that, Nanjing Sample Technology currently has an ROCE of 11% compared to its ROCE 3 years ago, which was 7.6%. This makes us wonder if the company is improving. You can click on the image below to see (in greater detail) how Nanjing Sample Technology's past growth compares to other companies.

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SEHK:1708 Past Revenue and Net Income, February 7th 2020

It is important to remember that ROCE shows past performance, and is not necessarily predictive. ROCE can be deceptive for cyclical businesses, as returns can look incredible in boom times, and terribly low in downturns. ROCE is, after all, simply a snap shot of a single year. How cyclical is Nanjing Sample Technology? You can see for yourself by looking at this free graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow.

What Are Current Liabilities, And How Do They Affect Nanjing Sample Technology's ROCE?

Short term (or current) liabilities, are things like supplier invoices, overdrafts, or tax bills that need to be paid within 12 months. Due to the way ROCE is calculated, a high level of current liabilities makes a company look as though it has less capital employed, and thus can (sometimes unfairly) boost the ROCE. To counteract this, we check if a company has high current liabilities, relative to its total assets.

Nanjing Sample Technology has current liabilities of CN2.3b and total assets of CN4.8b. Therefore its current liabilities are equivalent to approximately 47% of its total assets. Nanjing Sample Technology has a medium level of current liabilities, which would boost the ROCE.

What We Can Learn From Nanjing Sample Technology's ROCE

With a decent ROCE, the company could be interesting, but remember that the level of current liabilities make the ROCE look better. Nanjing Sample Technology looks strong on this analysis, but there are plenty of other companies that could be a good opportunity . Here is a free list of companies growing earnings rapidly.

If you like to buy stocks alongside management, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

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.
SALEM  A Facebook representative told Oregon elections officials and county clerks Wednesday that the social media giant will implement stricter protocols for elections ads in 2020 but doesnt intend to take down misinformation.

Eva Guidarini, Facebooks manager for politics and government outreach, outlined new protocols and security efforts at a Salem training session organized by the state elections division. State and federal officials and researchers spoke about current challenges that threaten to undermine the integrity of U.S. elections.

They laid out a somber new reality undermining election security: the vast and unwieldy realm of online misinformation. People and organizations can and do infiltrate digital media and leverage it to promote discord, they said.

Many of these efforts are the result of foreign actors deliberately working to divide the nation, and Russia, China and Iran are among the biggest threats, FBI officials warn.

They want to rip America apart at the seams, said Matt Yeager, FBI special agent at the Seattle Field Office.

Misinformation is an umbrella term, said officials, encompassing websites pretending to be news publications and propagating deliberately misleading news, doctored tweets and images, and fake social media accounts. All can spread inaccurate content or seek to polarize people.

Guidarini was on-scene to explain how misinformation can spread on her companys platform and outline new company efforts to address it.

Specific to elections, Facebook has introduced an authorization process for political and election ads, as well as ads for anything that is socially divisive or controversial, she said. To run those ads, advertisers will be required to upload their identification and receive mail at a physical U.S. address.

Election ads will also be flagged with a disclaimer noting that theyre paid for, she said.

The company has also introduced a voter suppression and intimidation policy that prohibits content with inaccurate information about voting, such as false information about locations, dates, or eligibility requirements. Content that threatens voters will be removed, she said.

Facebook is making new efforts in light of backlash following the 2016 elections. The company was criticized for not regulating content and allowing foreign interference during the election.

But the company has also said it will allow questionable and even factually inaccurate content to stay on its site. Content that fact-checkers determine is inaccurate will be flagged, but not taken down. And users will still be allowed to share it.

According to Guidarini, Facebook took down 45,000 posts providing inaccurate information about election dates, locations or requirements during the 2018 midterms. Facebook removed more than 90% of them before they were reported, she said.

Anything that violates the policy will come down from the platform, said Guidarini.

Through the end of the 2020 election cycle, she said, the company will have an incorrect voting info button available that users can click to flag content that seems inaccurate.

So, if you see content that incorrectly represents how you vote here in the state of Oregon, you can report that information directly to Facebook, Guidarini told dozens of elections officials and a few potential political candidates.

Facebook is partnering with elections officials in every state to train them and raise awareness about a 24-hour election reporting channel for state elections authorities. It has also launched enhanced security programs to help government, campaigns, agencies and advocacy groups to secure their Facebook accounts.

The company has hired third party fact checkers to search for and review flagged content in all types of posts, not just those related to politics, Guidarini said. If content is found to be false, it will be demoted lower in Facebooks news feed so its harder to find and surfaces less, and users will be notified that content has been flagged as inaccurate.

According to the sites own publicly available statistics, Facebook ran more than 6.5 million pertaining to politics, elections or socially divisive issues 2018. Advertisers paid more than $1 billion to run them.

Within Oregon, officials are stepping up engagement with county elections offices, including efforts to educate about phishing and misinformation, and federal officials will conduct individual county assessments to assess potential vulnerabilities, said Steve Trout, Secretary of State elections director.

Much of the training session emphasized the voluminous risks of misinformation, and while Facebook provided practical help, the broader problem is one officials say will take cohesive effort and an informed public to combat.

A whole of society response needed to combat this, said Yeager.

-- Piper McDaniel; amcdaniel@oregonian.com; 503-221-4307; @Piperamcdaniel

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A district court has acquitted a 31-year-old man accused of raping his 13-year-old stepdaughter in Maharashtra's Thane district.

In his order on January 31, special POCSO judge S P Gondhalekar held that the prosecution has failed to prove the charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) levelled against the accused.

The prosecutor informed the court that the accused married the victim's mother in West Bengal and the couple had moved to Reti Bunder at Mumbra town.

The accused would allegedly repeatedly rape the victim in the absence of her mother, who worked as a maid, and threatened her with dire consequences, the court was told.

In March 2016, the victim was found to be six months pregnant and was placed in the care of an acquaintance, following which a complaint was filed with the police.

In his order, the judge stated, "For want of DNA report, it cannot be said that the accused is the biological father of the child bornto the victim."



The court also observed that the victim had told the medical officer that she had been forced into prostitution by her stepfather, and hence there is a possibility that she was sexually assaulted by other men.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Over the years, Hollywood releases summer movies to entertain all those young people between semesters.

In 2020, the Democrats will release The Bern, the story of how Senator Bernie Sanders became their nominee.

Yes, it's only February, but Senator Sanders is indeed surging and collecting money. This is from CNN:

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont raised $25 million in January, his campaign said Thursday, a staggering sum that marks his highest monthly total since entering the race a year ago.

Sanders has cash and enthusiasm as well.

The article points out that "teacher" was the # 1 occupation among donors. The five most popular employers were Amazon, Starbucks, Walmart, the Post Office, and Target. They reported that the average donation was $18.72.

The Democrats are in a "no win" situation with Sanders. If they nominate him, then it will be panic between the coasts, sort of similar to McGovern 1972. If they force him out, then he will run as an independent and deliver blue states to President Trump.

In the meantime, the money is flowing to the candidate's account.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
For many teenage girls, free time means the chance to watch online make-up tutorials or chat aimlessly to friends on social media.

Amy and Ella Meek, on the other hand, are on a mission to pick up litter.

The sisters have already collected more than 69,000 pieces of single-use plastic and now aim to make that 100,000.

That is the number of sea mammals killed each year from being trapped in plastic or eating it, said Amy, 16.

Amy and Ella Meek, on the other hand, are on a mission to pick up litter. The sisters have already collected more than 69,000 pieces of single-use plastic and now aim to make that 100,000

We take our gloves and litter pickers with us wherever we go at the weekends and fill our pockets with plastic if were on a bike ride.

Once you start picking it up, you start seeing it everywhere and then you end up feeling uncomfortable about driving or walking past it without doing something.

Amy and 14-year-old Ella, from Nottingham, plan to join next months Great British School Clean. This is part of the Great British Spring Clean run by Keep Britain Tidy and backed by the Mail, which has long campaigned against plastic waste.

The Meek sisters campaigning work goes way beyond litter picking. Four years ago, they set up Kids against Plastic, a registered charity which they call a youth social action project

It can be quite scary to learn about the worlds environmental issues and the lack of action on the part of authorities but young people dont have to sit back, said Amy. If we dont do something right now, by the time we are middle-aged the plastic problem will have spiralled out of control.

The Meek sisters campaigning work goes way beyond litter picking. Four years ago, they set up Kids against Plastic, a registered charity which they call a youth social action project.

Their website is packed with free downloadable resources helping schools, cafes and councils to reduce their plastic consumption.

As junior activists they get invited to speak at international conferences and make regular appearances at schools talking about plastic pollution and the virtues of litter picking.

Their activism dates back to their parents decision, when Amy was 11 and Ella nine, to give up their jobs as teachers.

The couple sold their house and embarked on a life-changing three-year trip around Europe, home-schooling the girls as they travelled.

When we were driving through France we were horrified to see so much plastic along the roadsides, said Amy. After the trip, the Meek family returned to normal life in the UK  but the girls passion for the environment continued.

Theyve also written a book called Be Plastic Clever, due to be published by DK in May, explaining the importance of reducing single use plastic to children.

Ella said: Wherever we are, if we see litter  particularly plastic litter  we will definitely pick it up.
The local government autonomy bill on Thursday passed second reading at the House of Representatives as federal lawmakers expressed determination to give the third tier of government its much needed autonomy.

The bill, which seeks to amend the 1999 constitution, was passed through second reading by the House.
Hong Kong-listed Huishang Bank Corp. Ltd. will hold a shareholder meeting on Feb. 22 to decide whether to purchase part of the assets of Baoshang Bank Co. Ltd., which regulators took the rare step of taking over in May, according to a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday.

Huishang, a city commercial bank based in East Chinas Anhui province, had previously come to the rescue of the troubled Baoshang Bank by offering to participate in creating a new bank that will take over some of its problematic assets. Huishang could gain a foothold in other provinces as part of the deal.

The company confirmed in the filing that it plans to make a one-off capital contribution of up to 3.6 billion yuan ($515 million) to help establish a new provincial bank in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region  where Baoshang is headquartered  that operates only in that region.

Caixin can reveal the new bank will be called Meng Shang Bank Co. Ltd. () It will be established with proposed registered capital of 20 billion yuan with about 50.16% equity interest held by financial vehicles and state-owned enterprises of Inner Mongolia, 29.84% equity interest held by Deposit Insurance Fund Management Co. Ltd., a wholly-owned company of the Peoples Bank of China and a nationally designated deposit insurance management entity, according to the filing.

Caixin previously revealed how, in much the same way that regulators restructured scandal-dogged Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd., they plan to set up a new entity  in this case a new commercial bank  to take over part of Baoshang Banks problematic assets.

Huishang Bank plans to hold about 15% of the new banks equity, and CCB Financial Asset Investment Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of China Construction Bank Corp., will hold about 5%, the filing said. The shareholding structure is subject to regulatory approval.

The investment comes as China continues to feel shockwaves from the outbreak of a new coronavirus. The epidemic will not drag on the progress of the restructuring work, a source participating in the restructuring told Caixin.

The assets and liabilities that Huishang plans to acquire are those of Baoshang Banks four branches, and it will take over responsibility for their employees and offices, according to the filing.

Caixin has been told Huishang doesnt plan to conduct any layoffs in the three years after it takes over the four branches 1,500 employees.

The acquisition looks like it could provide Huishang Bank with a backdoor to expand into other provinces. It had 17 city-level branches nationwide as of the end of 2019, with only one outside of Anhui.

Huishang Bank took about 6 billion yuan of losses on the interbank investments it made with Baoshang Bank, Caixin previously reported.

Contact reporter Timmy Shen (hongmingshen@caixin.com, Twitter: @timmyhmshen) and editor Flynn Murphy (flynnmurphy@caixin.com)

Caixin Global has launched Caixin CEIC Mobile, the mobile-only version of its world-class macroeconomic data platform.

If youre using the Caixin app, please click here. If you havent downloaded the app, please click here.
Four people were killed in a commercial bank robbery in the southwestern Nigerian town of Ile Oluji, a police officer said Thursday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.

Two policemen attached to the bank were among the dead in Thursday's robbery in the town located in Ondo State, state police spokesperson Femi Joseph told Xinhua.

The identity of the other two victims remains known, said Joseph, adding that an investigation is underway.
The House should certainly continue with its efforts to secure further testimony and documentary evidence to be prepared for a Trump victory in November, an unhappy result, to be sure, but by no means inconceivable. This effort should pursue subpoenas and other measures as far as necessary in the courts to vindicate its constitutional authority and restore proper order to the political establishment. The constitutional prohibition against double jeopardy does not, by its terms, apply to the impeachment process, which results merely in removal from office rather than any risk to life or limb.
A drug testing laboratory targeted by animal activists saw its shares dive by more than a third today.

Shares in Huntingdon Life Sciences fell a penny to 1.75p - valuing the company at just 5.1 million - far below its share price of more than 110p in 1997.

The share slump has mainly been brought about by animal activists who are trying to close the group down by forcing its shareholders to sell up.

The activists have also been targeting Royal Bank of Scotland, which is expected to decide by Friday whether to extend a 22.6 million loan facility to the group.

The loan repayment has been extended on a monthly basis since August, until the most recent extension date, when it was changed to a two-week timescale, Huntingdon said.

A spokesman however said: "The rationale for two weeks is nothing more than an internal meeting at RBS. They have extended it every month for five months and we are expecting them to carry on."

Huntingdon's spokesman added: "From a business point of view we have revenues of over 60 million - the business is strong."

A spokesman for RBS said he could not comment as the bank was "bound by customer confidentiality".

Greg Avery, spokesman for Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, said: "We thought it would take three years to close them down but this is 12 months in and look where we are. Our only aim is to close them down. "

He said they were peaceful protesters, adding: "At the end of the day we are interested in the animals inside Huntingdon. We are against all violence."
A poll released on Wednesday showed that 76 percent of Canadians surveyed would support Ottawa's increased sanctions on the Islamic Republic, in the wake of last month's downing of a civilian airliner by Iran's military, which killed many Canadians.

The new Ipsos poll, exclusively conducted for the Global News, also notes that 89 percent of the participants in the survey wanted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's administration to press Iran to pay damages to the families of the victims of a passenger plane shot down on January 8, over Tehran.

The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps anti-air missiles hit Flight 752 of the UIA and killed all 176 onboard.

Meanwhile, Ottawa pressed Tehran on Wednesday to send the flight recorders from the crashed Boeing 737-800 immediately to France where the data can be analyzed, the Canadian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Tehran has adamantly refused to release the black boxes so far.

"Despite Ukraine's request, Iran will not send the black boxes abroad, and data should be deciphered inside the country," the Islamic Republic Minister of Urban Development and Roads, Mohammad Salami, announced on January 22.

Nevertheless, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on February 5, said he demanded a "thorough, credible, and transparent investigation" in a call with Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada had earlier pointed out that Iran did not have the ability to read the data, and he demanded the cockpit and flight recorders should be sent to France.

In the meantime, Kyiv also wants the shattered black boxes sent to Ukraine.

After initially denying it had anything to do with the January 8 crash of the airliner, Iran finally admitted responsibility three days later for "mistakenly shooting down" the UIA passenger plane.

Canada has said that 57 of the victims were Canadian citizens, and 29 were permanent residents returning to the country. Most of the Canadian victims of the deadly downing were of Iranian origin.

However, the Global News poll conducted by Ipsos also shows 60 percent of Canadians support restoring formal diplomatic ties with Tehran.

In 2012, Canada severed diplomatic relations with Tehran, citing Iran's material support to Bashar al-Assad's regime during the Syrian Civil War, non-compliance with United Nations resolutions regarding its nuclear program, continuing threats to Israel, and fears for the safety of Canadian diplomats following attacks on the British embassy in Iran.

Furthermore, Canada formally listed the clergy-dominated Iranian regime as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Referring to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program John Baird, Canadian Foreign Minister at the time, said Canada perceived Iran to be the world's biggest threat to peace and security.
Three Afghan nationals have been arrested by the NCB for allegedly smuggling in heroin worth Rs 1.8 crore by ingesting over 200 drug-filled capsules, a senior official said on Friday.

The men, Niamatullah Khaksar, Gul Ahmad and Sayed Mahmood Qitali, were intercepted by the sleuths of the central anti-narcotics agency after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport early this month from Kabul.

Ahmad is alleged to have ingested the maximum 100 capsules of heroin that weighed 685 grams.

"A total of 220 capsules containing over 1.8 kg of high grade heroin was recovered from the three Afghan nationals. They were kept under medical supervision after which the capsules were extracted," Narcotics Control Bureau Delhi zonal director K P S Malhotra said.

The estimated value of the drug is about Rs 1.8 crore, another official of the agency said.

"The modus operandi of concealment by ingesting drug filled capsules is a commonly used method to traffic narcotic drugs into India. These carriers are known as 'drug mules' in the narco parlance," Malhotra said.

The NCB is now working to reach the Afghanistan-based sender and Delhi-based receiver of the consignment, he said.

NCB, the second official said, is looking at the involvement of other Afghan nationals already on medical tourist visa to India as part of the investigation in the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The U.S. Air Force may only want a handful of light attack aircraft, but U.S. Special Operations Command now appears to want at least 75.

According to a new solicitation posted on the government's acquisition and awards website, beta.sam.gov, SOCOM plans to host an industry day event seeking "armed overwatch" aircraft for its units.

"Armed Overwatch will provide Special Operations Forces (SOF) deployable and sustainable manned aircraft systems fulfilling Close Air Support (CAS), Precision Strike, and SOF Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance (ISR) in austere and permissive environments," according to the request.

If awarded, the contract is expected to be an "Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) with a base 5-year ordering period and 2-year option ordering period." SOCOM is looking to procure an estimated 75 aircraft "with associated support," the request said.

Related: Air Force Makes Move to Buy Limited Number of Light Attack Aircraft

The latest measure is independent of the Air Force's ongoing work to buy a limited number of light attack aircraft.

In October, the Air Force issued an official request for proposal to acquire a small fleet of turboprop aircraft as part of its light attack effort.

The service said it wants a limited number of Textron Aviation AT-6 Wolverine and Sierra Nevada Corporation/Embraer Defense & Security A-29 Super Tucano aircraft to increase "partner capacity, capability, and interoperability via training and experimentation," according to a release at the time.

The Air Force plans to purchase two or three light attack aircraft from each company, a decision Air Force Chief of Staff Gen David Goldfein first disclosed in March 2019.

He told the Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee during a hearing at the time that the service would base some of the aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, and some with Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) at Hurlburt Field, Florida.

The AT-6 will be used by Air Combat Command at Nellis "for continued testing and development of operational tactics and standards for exportable, tactical networks that improve interoperability with international partners," Air Force officials said in October. The A-29, meanwhile, will be housed at Hurlburt "to develop an instructor pilot program for the Combat Aviation Advisory mission, to meet increased partner nation requests for light attack assistance."

But some believe the Air Force hasn't been moving fast enough on the program, one which showed early promise.

The service first held a series of light attack experimental fly-offs and maneuvers at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, in 2017 in a two-phase approach. The experiment involved four aircraft: The AirTractor and L3's AT-802L Longsword; Sierra Nevada and Embraer's A-29 Super Tucano; and Textron and AirLand LLC's Scorpion, as well as their AT-6B Wolverine. The second phase of the experiment was canceled following a fatal crash in June 2018.

A draft request for proposal was issued in August 2018. The service was then supposed to RFP in 2018 for a light attack aircraft, but it never came until the recent October 2019 solicitation.

The slowed pace angered some lawmakers.

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Florida, introduced a measure into the House's version of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act legislation that would put the propeller-driven planes under U.S. Special Operations Command's purview, taking it away from the Air Force.

"My frustration is almost palpable at why it is taking so long to get this platform out to where the warfighters need it," Waltz said during a September Mitchell Institute event, as reported by DefenseOne.

"If we can't move this program forward, then perhaps we need to explore if the Army needs that authority," he said.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @oriana0214.

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Flash forward to me commissioning a giant sculpture of Richard E. Grants face. Photo: Eamonn McCormack/Getty Images

Actor, bookworm, turtlenecked Rise of Skywalker scowler, and all-around lovable rapscallion Richard E. Grant is one of the worlds most enthusiastic and highest-profile admirers of Barbra Streisand, besides Streisand herself, of course. Who can forget the 2019 promotional cycle for Grants performance in Can You Ever Forgive Me, when he shared an impassioned fan letter he sent to Streisand at age 14? Her perfunctory tweet back sent this sweet, sweet stan to the verge of tears. Now, after his 2019 Oscar loss, Grant finally got his hands on the Hollywood hardware he deserves: a photo-accurate two-foot-tall sculpture of Barbra Streisands face. On Thursday afternoon, Grant posted a video to his Twitter, beaming with joy in front of the disarmingly large sculpture, which shows a young Babs in profile with a ponderous look.

Commisioned a sculpture of @BarbraStreisand as Ive been an avid fan for over half a century. Its 2 foot tall and finally received it today!! pic.twitter.com/lvH7bnaZlw  Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) February 6, 2020

In the video, he cant stop smiling as he recounts how he told Streisand about the sculpture last year (some artist worked a year on this) and Streisand called him insane.

Ive been a Barbra Streisand fan for over fifty years. When I saw her last summer, I told her that I was having a sculpture made of her face, and she said, youre insane. And I said, yeah, I know. And she said, no, no. You. Are. Insane. Here it is, and I couldnt be happier.

Grant also posted a picture of him honoring Barbra, who favours being filmed from her left side. A totally normal thing to know about someone whom you commissioned a sculpture-of for personal use.

Honouring @BarbraStreisand who favours being filmed from her left side. pic.twitter.com/GKnJSNW5Zm  Richard E. Grant (@RichardEGrant) February 6, 2020

Is the sculpture  getting bigger? It looks like its getting bigger. That thing is detailed. You can see the threading on the eyebrows. If anyone else did this, it would be weird. When Grant does it, though  its still weird. But in a fun eccentric way. This is also all very awkward, as we have commissioned a 4-foot-tall papier-mache bust of Richard E. Grant.
Washington: Two days after President Donald Trump's impeachment acquittal, his administration on Friday ousted two officials - Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman and US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland - who provided damaging testimony about Trump in Democratic-led congressional hearings.

National Security Council aide Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman is sworn in to testify before the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in November. Credit:AP

Sondland issued a statement saying he would be removed from his post hours after Vindman's lawyer announced that the military officer - the White House's top Ukraine expert - was being removed from his National Security Council job.

Vindman, a Ukraine-born US citizen and decorated Iraq war combat veteran, was escorted out of the White House, his lawyer David Pressman said in a statement, adding that the move was retribution for Vindman's testimony.

Michael Volkov, who represented Vindman when he testified in the impeachment inquiry, said Vindman's twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, was escorted off the White House grounds at the same time.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 06:47:57|Editor: mingmei

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CHICAGO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Students' high school grade point averages are five times stronger than their ACT scores at predicting college graduation, according to a study posted on the website of the University of Chicago (UChicago) Consortium on School Research.

The researchers examined 55,084 students who graduated from Chicago Public Schools of varying academic profiles between 2006 and 2009, and who then immediately enrolled in a four-year college. At the time of the study, all Illinois students took the ACT in the spring of 11th grade.

They found that each incremental increase in GPA is associated with an increase in the odds of graduating college. Across the high schools studied, students with high school GPAs under 1.5 had around a 20-percent chance of graduating from college. For students with GPAs of 3.75 or higher, those chances rose to around 80 percent.

High-school GPAs might be stronger indicators of college readiness because they measure a wider variety of skills, including effort over an entire semester in many different types of classes, and demonstration of academic skills through multiple formats. On the other hand, standardized tests measure a smaller set of skills, and students can prepare for these tests in narrow ways that may not translate into better preparation to succeed in college.

In addition, the researchers found that some students are more likely to graduate college if they come from certain high schools, differences that were not explained by GPAs or ACT scores. These school effects may be the result of more rigorous academic programs at some high schools than others, different non-academic supports for preparing students for college, or simply a tendency of families with more resources for college to send their students to particular high schools.

The study, the first to explicitly test whether standardized assessments are comparable across high schools as measures of college readiness, has been published in Educational Researcher.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - Hornby Bay Mineral Exploration Ltd. (TSXV: HBE) (the "Company") announces that, further to its press release of January 30, 2020, it has completed the sale of its 5% net smelter return royalty (the "Royalty") on the Copper Mountain mine located in southern British Columbia near the town of Princeton. The Company received the initial cash payment of $2,500,000 from Copper Mountain Mine (BC) Ltd. and a promissory note in the amount of $2,500,000, representing the balance of the $5,000,000 purchase price, which is due on February 1, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Arvin Ramos, Chief Financial Officer

Tel: (416) 271-3877

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain forward-looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, potential mineral recovery processes, etc. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52226
Like some other wavering Democrats, the Fairfax Democrats said they prefer lawmakers enact measures now to ensure fairly drawn districts, free of gerrymandering. But there is no reason to believe that any legislation enacted by the Democratic-controlled General Assembly would result in a redistricting regime less prone to partisan meddling than the constitutional amendment already on the table. The opposite is far more likely. And most of the flaws identified by the Fairfax panel could be fixed by enabling legislation if the constitutional amendment is approved.
If you own shares in The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) then it's worth thinking about how it contributes to the volatility of your portfolio, overall. In finance, Beta is a measure of volatility. Volatility is considered to be a measure of risk in modern finance theory. Investors may think of volatility as falling into two main categories. First, we have company specific volatility, which is the price gyrations of an individual stock. Holding at least 8 stocks can reduce this kind of risk across a portfolio. The other type, which cannot be diversified away, is the volatility of the entire market. Every stock in the market is exposed to this volatility, which is linked to the fact that stocks prices are correlated in an efficient market.

Some stocks mimic the volatility of the market quite closely, while others demonstrate muted, exagerrated or uncorrelated price movements. Beta is a widely used metric to measure a stock's exposure to market risk (volatility). Before we go on, it's worth noting that Warren Buffett pointed out in his 2014 letter to shareholders that 'volatility is far from synonymous with risk.' Having said that, beta can still be rather useful. The first thing to understand about beta is that the beta of the overall market is one. A stock with a beta greater than one is more sensitive to broader market movements than a stock with a beta of less than one.

Check out our latest analysis for Macerich

What does MAC's beta value mean to investors?

Zooming in on Macerich, we see it has a five year beta of 0.81. This is below 1, so historically its share price has been rather independent from the market. This means that -- if history is a guide -- buying the stock would reduce the impact of overall market volatility in many portfolios (depending on the beta of the portfolio, of course). Share price volatility is well worth considering, but most long term investors consider the history of revenue and earnings growth to be more important. Take a look at how Macerich fares in that regard, below.

Story continues

NYSE:MAC Income Statement, February 7th 2020

Could MAC's size cause it to be more volatile?

Macerich is a reasonably big company, with a market capitalisation of US$3.6b. Most companies this size are actively traded with decent volumes of shares changing hands each day. When large companies like this one have a low beta value, there is usually some other factor that is having an outsized impact on the share price. For example, a business with significant fixed regulated assets might earn a reasonably predictable return, regardless of broader macroeconomic factors. Alternatively, lumpy earnings might mean minimal share price correlation with the broader market.

What this means for you:

One potential advantage of owning low beta stocks like Macerich is that your overall portfolio won't be too sensitive to overall market movements. However, this can be a blessing or a curse, depending on what's happening in the broader market. This article aims to educate investors about beta values, but it's well worth looking at important company-specific fundamentals such as Macerichs financial health and performance track record. I highly recommend you dive deeper by considering the following:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for MACs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for MACs outlook. Past Track Record: Has MAC been consistently performing well irrespective of the ups and downs in the market? Go into more detail in the past performance analysis and take a look at the free visual representations of MAC's historicals for more clarity. Other Interesting Stocks: It's worth checking to see how MAC measures up against other companies on valuation. You could start with this free list of prospective options.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Smaller parties ramped up their campaign messages on the last full day of canvassing before voters go to the polls.

This followed the last TV debate involving the five small parties, where leaders clashed on climate change policies, health reform pledges and coalition options.

Many leaders and their candidates also took to social media today to spread one final message ahead of bad weather that is expected to sweep the country on voting day.

The Green Party highlighted climate change protestors, including school children and young adults, who joined together in Dublin City centre and chanted for action now.

Several hundred students joined the now weekly Friday protest.

Labour candidates and campaigners also rallied on the doorsteps after their leader, Brendan Howlin, made overtures to other smaller parties about working together  once votes are counted.

Speaking on RTE's Prime Time election debate, Mr Howlin said it is important to have a critical mass of left parties after Saturdays general election.

We will end the waste of public money and build homes and fix health.



We are not promising big tax giveaways which wont fix the biggest crises we face in Ireland. #rtept #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/zvGnhCufNJ  The Labour Party (@labour) February 6, 2020

Mr Howlin also said he wants to sit down with the Green Party and the Social Democrats next week to hammer out a progressive agenda to respond to crucial issues such as Health and Climate Change.

Labour also declared today that Health has been the "forgotten issue" of the campaign.

Health spokesman, Alan Kelly, responded to new hospital trolley figures, saying: Less than 24 hours before Ireland goes to the polls and we have 450 patients on trolleys in our hospitals, with 55 people waiting on a bed in University Hospital of Limerick, alone. These figures only serve to compound Fine Gaels failings after 9 years in government, with nothing done to tackle this persistent and unrelenting issue.

The leaders of the smaller political parties  who could be king-makers in talks to form the next government  made their final pitches for votes in the RTE debate, ahead of the broadcasting moratorium coming into place this afternoon.

Solidarity-People Before Profit TD, Ruth Coppinger, made a pledge that  if in power  her party would bring in free public transport.

Social Democrats leaders, Roisin Shortall and Catherine Murphy, also took to Bray today, to support local Wicklow candidate, Jennifer Whitmore, declaring that there is an alternative.

Our commitment to you: honest politics and accountable politics.



We will stand up for you and for your family.



Please give your No. 1 vote to your #SocDems candidate@RoisinShortall and @CathMurphyTD #VoteForBetter#GE2020 pic.twitter.com/IG9nn85dt5  Social Democrats (@SocDems) February 7, 2020

Meanwhile, with stormy weather expected to sweep over the country tomorrow, there are fears this could impact on turnout. While many hope turnout will be above 60%, as it is a Saturday vote, there are also a number of major sporting fixtures tomorrow, in rugby and GAA.

However, politicians believe that voters will get to polling stations early in the day ahead of the expected change in the weather and the late afternoon fixtures.
interview

Lagos  In this exclusive interview with Daily Trust, Owen Odia, the country manager (Nigeria) of Luno - a global cryptocurrency company - talks about how the global digital currency is reshaping financial systems around the world and what Nigeria stands to gain in the ongoing digital disruption necessitated by technological advancement. Excerpts:

Daily Trust: In layman language, what is cryptocurrency mining?

Owen: Cryptocurrency mining is a process performed by high-powered computers to solve complex computational maths problems (that is, so complex that they cannot be solved by hand, and indeed complicated enough to tax even incredibly powerful computers).

When this process is carried out on the Bitcoin network, it unearths new coins (similar to the process of extracting gold from the ground). In the process of solving these computational math problems, miners also contribute to making the network more trustworthy and secure.

Daily Trust: How would you assess the acceptability of Cryptocurrency as a transactional currency and financial payment system in Nigeria?

Owen: Like many other countries across the world, cryptocurrencies are still in the early stages of being established as a transactional currency in Nigeria. However, our research suggests that Nigerians are primed for cryptocurrencies.

According to our recent Future of Money report, which profiled attitudes towards money from 7,000 respondents in seven countries (including Nigeria), emerging markets are seeking alternatives from the current financial system.

55% of Nigerians (aged between 18-35) didnt feel secure about their financial situation. They are keen for a system which makes it easier and cheaper for them to access and transfer their own money.

In a country where money is more than just a nice to have and is vital for securing what you want from life, Nigerians spend more time understanding it, managing it, preserving it and being creative with how you maximise the use of it. For many Nigerans, if cryptocurrencies can provide a secure, legal and cheaper means of exchanging value than the existing system, it will be used or at least explored.

Daily Trust: Does cryptocurrency trading in Nigeria have the full backing and support of the Central Bank of Nigeria?

Owen: Cryptocurrency is a new and complex technology which means some stakeholders are still trying to understand how it works and how to use it.

However, the Security and Exchanges Commission (SEC) recently announced a regulatory framework for blockchain and virtual assets, including cryptocurrencies.

This will play a huge role in boosting trust within the system, which is a major barrier to mainstream adoption. There is an argument that regulation will stifle the progress of cryptocurrencies but at Luno, we believe it brings more clarity and protection.

This is why we advocate for crypto firms to take a collaborative approach with regulators, as it will lead to more transparency for them and increased protection for their consumers.

Daily Trust: What type of cryptocurrency  Bitcoin, Libra, LiteCoin, Ethereum, Zcash etc  would you advocate to be considered for full legal backing and national acceptability by relevant Nigerian regulatory agencies and why?

Owen: We believe that the future will involve multiple different currencies, with each currency serving a different purpose. Certain cryptocurrencies by their very design might cater for specific niches or needs better than others can.

For example, Ethereum might be a good way to interact with certain decentralised applications, other currencies may offer different types of speed, cost or privacy benefits, and others, like Bitcoin, might be used for large value transfers or simply remain a store of value.

Our mission is to upgrade the world to a better financial system, enabling individuals and businesses to take advantage of cryptocurrencies that enable them to achieve their goals and fulfil their dreams.

We are in a new and exciting financial era and developing economies like Nigeria are leading the large-scale adoption and application of cryptocurrencies. At Luno, we want to help individuals in these markets and put them in a position to make informed decisions about the opportunities presented by cryptocurrencies.

Daily Trust: Recalled that South Africa-based, Pan African-focused cryptocurrency payment startup, Wala, ceased operations in June 2019; its Founder, Tricia Martinez, named the continents poor infrastructure as one of the culprits to shutting down. Do you think Nigeria has the infrastructural backbone and assets that support blockchain technology in the country?

Owen: With electricity in Nigeria being inconsistent and expensive, most miners using grid power operate at a loss; this is simply because the cost of mining is often higher than the reward paid in bitcoin.

However, this could change in the future. If Nigeria can harness renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, to provide cheaper and more sustainable electricity, it can become a hub for Bitcoin mining.

Daily Trust: Following the volatility experienced in cryptocurrency trading until very recently (though the market is yet to stabilise), what likely prospects do you envisage for digital currencies this year globally and in Nigeria particularly?

Owen: There is set to be a Bitcoin halving in May 2020, which is a recurring event whereby the number of Bitcoin rewarded to miners are cut by half. These halving events are programmed to take place every four years, or once every 210,000 blocks until the year 2140 when all 21 million Bitcoin are estimated to have been mined.

With these four years now almost up, this halving will see the block rewards fall from 12.5 to 6.25 Bitcoin and could see a rise in demand for cryptocurrency by further restricting supply.

From a regulation standpoint, one major development this year is the 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). For firms buying and selling crypto-assets, 5AMLD will require them to register with national financial regulators and state minimum requirements for AML processes, similar to those we see with traditional asset classes.

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The specifics of how further regulations will affect the crypto space are hard to predict or define. While its mainly focussed on the EU, it could be replicated in other regions such as Africa, if successful.

Daily Trust: There are rumours that Twitter CEO, Jack Dorsey, has plans around Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in Africa; what do you think might be his interest? Any chance this could lead to boom and more acceptability of cryptocurrency across the continent?

Owen: The world has been demanding a better financial system for some time now and its exciting to see Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency being discussed at this level. Whilst Jacks plans on the continent remain unclear, its another endorsement from a respected figure which can only assist adoption efforts.

Cryptocurrencies offer many opportunities to create new streams of value and productivity and its important to bring awareness to this.

For example, in many countries across Africa, traditional ways of exchanging value are very expensive and can be highly inefficient. As a result, doing business can be unnecessarily difficult and out of reach for many.

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin offer a new way to trade, as well as tangible opportunities to transform economies and deliver real change.
A 63-year-old man accused of fatally shooting a man at a Saugus gas station has been found dead from an apparent suicide. The suspect was discovered inside his car, which was located at a cemetery, officials said.

The shooting at the Mobil gas station at 2 Essex St. happened just after noon Friday. The 63-year-old victim was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and pronounced dead, according to the Essex District Attorneys office.

Authorities said the suspect drove away from the gas station in a 2016 white Mini Cooper. The suspect was then found dead inside the car, which was at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett, the district attorneys office wrote in a news release.

The suspect and victim knew each other, according to the district attorneys office. Their names are being withheld pending notification of their families.

There is no risk to public safety, the district attorneys office said.

The incident remains under investigation. The district attorneys office said it does not expect to release more information Friday.
Careening down a 300 metre track of sheer ice on skates, navigating turns and jumps, is not for the faint of heart.

But for Moncton's Jason Meunier, the Xtreme Race course in Memramcook is irresistible.

"Where else are you going to try something like this? I mean it's fun. It's just an adrenaline rush." he said.

Meunier is one of 60 competitors registered for this year's event, which will be held Saturday.

Pierre Fournier/CBC News

He says a couple of thoughts run through his head as he waits at the start of the course.

"Don't fall, try not to, and try to beat people." Meunier said.

This is the third year Memramcook has hosted the race.

Maryse LeBlanc is the program director for the village of Memramcook and part of the organizing committee for the Course Xtreme Race Memramcook 2020.

"The first year was the municipality that did it but now, as of last year, the Chamber of Commerce actually is the one that took it over and we've been doing it for the last two years as volunteers." she said.

LeBlanc says the event is weather dependent.

Pierre Fournier/CBC News

The city of Bathurst was forced to cancel the Riders Cup Crashed Ice competition in 2017, when mild temperatures melted the 450-metre track.

But LeBlanc says Memramcook has been lucky.

"It's a high risk but high reward if you can pull it off. We've literally had little windows every single time we've done it and hopefully we'll have that same window this year." she said.

Remi Mantion is the president of the organizing committee, and has led the effort to build the track.

An onsite fire hydrant is used to flood it, with the help of firefighters and volunteers.

Pierre Fournier/CBC News

Mantion says they started on Feb. 1.

"Every night we are waiting for volunteers at 6 pm because at 6 there is the sunset and everything and we are usually going til midnight. That's below zero so you have to wear a specific dress code." he said.

And it's not easy work.

"Yesterday we finish at 3 am and everyone was frozen." he said.

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Mantion says the messy weather in the forecast isn't a big concern, because the temperature isn't expected to rise, and the ice is in good shape.

Facebook/Course Xtreme Race Memramcook 2020

He says it takes about 25 seconds to go down the track, but faster competitors can do it in 21 or 22 seconds.

Maryse LeBlanc says there are competitors from Quebec, Nova Scotia and across New Brunswick registered, men and women, and there is also a junior category.

She says it costs $50 to take part in the race, which is unique in Atlantic Canada.

"Every year we seem to get more people come and watch and it just kind of grows and we really enjoy putting on a show." LeBlanc said.
The best thing is to get professional advice. Sexual violence really is life-changing. You deserve a healthy sex life that makes you happy, and it can be difficult to return to that. My personal advice? Take your time. Know its okay if you dont feel safe or trust people right away. Thats natural, thats normal. Dont push yourself. Make sure you love your body first before you expect someone else to. MONEY Youve worked as a model, author, broadcaster and academic. Have I missed anything?

Public speaker. Advocate. Documentary maker. Just a few hats. But I like a good hat. Whats been the best job? I love being an author; its why I keep going back to it. Ive wanted to be an author since I was a little girl. Its my best job because its my dream job.

Whats been the worst? Some modelling situations I was put in were just outrageous. Having to get changed in a stinky little car in the Reeperbahn, Hamburgs red-light district, while people leered at me. On another shoot, the photographer brought some vodka out, even though I was too young to drink. I asked where everyone else was. He said it was just you and me. The red flashing signs started coming up, and he came over with this book and said, Oh, heres some shots I want to do with you. They were pornographic images. Oh god. I said, Nup, and got up and started to gather my things. He lunged at me. Hed been drinking; I gave him a good right hook. Amazing.

He hit the concrete floor with a slap and I ran out with all my stuff. I was kind of relieved when I heard from the modelling agency the next day that I hadnt killed him! [Laughs] But the agency blew it off. Oh, youre so pretty, I bet that happens all the time. I was like, This is not okay. The agency did look down on me for having fled that photo shoot. But I was a lucky one. Nowadays, what do you spend too much money on? Vintage [clothing], but I stand by my decision! I love it, and theyre such steals. I feel I need to adopt them. But Ive ended up with an attic full of old things. What are you a tight-arse over? I dont like paying for expensive meals; I find it a bit gross. Id rather go out to a fabulous hole in the wall, Ill have just as good a time. Another thing: hotels. I travel in a vintage caravan a lot of the time.

BODIES Has modelling changed your relationship with your body?

There was a time when my modelling career gave me an unhealthy relationship with my body. I wasnt raised feeling pressure about my weight or the way I looked, but then found myself in a world where youre being weighed and measured. When I was maybe 17, Id become Paris thin  as it was called at the time  and sent a picture back to my dad in Canada. He was really concerned. I had ribs showing. Cut cheekbones. It wasnt my natural self. So I told the modelling agency to get stuffed and left them. I couldnt have done that without having loving support from somewhere  in my case, from my dad. Loading Hows your health been lately? Not great. I had a hip injury in 2016 that left me with chronic nerve pain and mobility problems. So I now use a walking stick on and off. Its a changed body Im living with, and my physical limitations and abilities are different.
Amy Kurland, second from right, pictured with (from left) then-Mayor elect Michael Nutter and his new ethics team including Kenya Mann and Joan Markman. Kurland resigned as Philadelphia's Inspector General this week. Read more

Good government spans a broad spectrum: at one end, we have a right to expect ethical behavior from government employees and officials, and for government entities to handle taxpayer money responsibly.

At the other end, we expect government officials and employees to refrain from criminal activity, especially when it involves our money.

Philadelphia has made strides in the past decade in how it watchdogs agencies and officials to identify unethical behavior, as well as fraud, waste, and abuse. Weve certainly evolved from the days of being all ethicd out  the famous words of former City Councilmember Jannie Blackwell in response to then-Mayor Michael Nutters attempt to institute more ethics safeguards into the system.

But recent and not so recent events  two councilmembers currently under indictment, and jail sentences for a former sheriff and a district attorney  suggest that theres still plenty of work to do. With recent resignations of Inspector General Amy Kurland and the citys chief integrity officer Ellen Kaplan, there is also a moment to assess the larger landscape of the citys oversight of ethics and responsible spending.

One important change is obvious: the Inspector Generals Office  first created in 1984 under Mayor Wilson Goode and whose mission is to root out corruption, fraud, and misconduct in city government  should be made permanent and independent. It now exists under an executive order, meaning its very existence depends on the pleasure of the mayor. In four years, it could disappear. More importantly, it now only has jurisdiction over the executive branch. Now is the moment to broaden that to include all of city government. That change is up to City Council to make  a move Council has resisted in the past. Its hard to imagine a plausible excuse for Council to not take this seriously now.

The City Controllers Office has stepped in on more strongly policing fraud waste and abuse beyond the executive branch. While that allows us to sleep better at night, clarifying jurisdictions could help everyone, including city employees.

Meanwhile, thanks to a debacle at the state level, the conversation about good government should also include how investigations into fraud, waste, and abuse are conducted.

According to Spotlight PA reporting, the Office of State Inspector General purchased nearly $160,000 worth of guns, ammunition, and related equipment following a 2017 state law that expanded the offices authority to include issuing subpoenas and search warrants. But that law does not allow investigators to carry firearms. As a result, the guns have been in storage for over a year.

The debacle raises a number of questions, among them: How did the office spend $160,000 without any legal vetting that would have prevented the purchase? Why didnt the state return them, or direct them to a different law enforcement agency? And why dont the many press releases featured on the OSIG website include one informing the public about its own costly error and plans for correcting it?

If an agency whose job it is to root out fraud doesnt understand the need for transparency with the public, its time for a major rethink of its functions.
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It is not uncommon to see companies perform well in the years after insiders buy shares. The flip side of that is that there are more than a few examples of insiders dumping stock prior to a period of weak performance. So shareholders might well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling shares in Macau Legend Development Limited (HKG:1680).

What Is Insider Selling?

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.

Insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing. But it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'.

See our latest analysis for Macau Legend Development

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Macau Legend Development

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Co-Chairman & CEO Kam Chow for HK$3.3m worth of shares, at about HK$1.24 per share. That means that even when the share price was higher than HK$0.99 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. As a general rule, we feel more positive about a stock when an insider has bought shares at above current prices, because that suggests they viewed the stock as good value, even at a higher price. Kam Chow was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

Kam Chow bought 13.74m shares over the last 12 months at an average price of HK$1.25. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

Story continues

SEHK:1680 Recent Insider Trading, February 6th 2020

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. Macau Legend Development insiders own about HK$2.7b worth of shares (which is 44% of the company). I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Macau Legend Development Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Macau Legend Development insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. On a brighter note, the transactions over the last year are encouraging. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like Macau Legend Development insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. Along with insider transactions, I recommend checking if Macau Legend Development is growing revenue. This free chart of historic revenue and earnings should make that easy.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Another 41 people on a cruise ship quarantined off Japan have the new coronavirus, the countrys health minister said Friday, confirming more on board will now be tested for the illness.

The newly diagnosed infections mean at least 61 people from the ship have contracted the virus, which has killed hundreds of people, most of them in China, and infected more than 30,000 on the mainland.

Japanese authorities have so far tested 273 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong last month, was diagnosed with the virus.

The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive, Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that.

In total, out of 273 specimens, 61 tested positive, he added.

The newly diagnosed include 21 Japanese, as well as Americans, Canadians, Australians, an Argentine and a Briton.

There were more than 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship when it arrived off Japans coast on Monday evening. It docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19.

Twenty people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel, including one who is in serious condition, a health ministry official said, without providing further details.

Testing was initially carried out on those who displayed symptoms or had come into close contact with the former passenger diagnosed with the virus.

But Kato suggested testing would now be expanded.

Authorities will test those who are susceptible to illness, including elderly people and those with other ailments, as well as those who had close contact with the people newly diagnosed with the virus, he said.

There were no immediate details on how many people would meet those criteria or when the testing might take place.

I want to cry

Japan has already reported at least 25 cases of coronavirus aside from the infections on board the ship, and evacuated hundreds of citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged.

A fourth evacuation flight carrying both Japanese citizens and non-Japanese spouses and those with other ties to the country arrived on Friday morning.

Japanese authorities have said the ships quarantine may last until February 19, with passengers required to stay inside their cabins in a bid to prevent new infections.

Those on board have described their confusion and frustration as their luxury cruise descends into a nightmare.

Just woke up from (a) sleepless night, wrote Yardley Wong, a Twitter user on board the ship.

Getting so emotional... I want to cry.

David Abel, a British passenger who has been posting videos from the ship, said people were hearing information from media more quickly than authorities on board.

Its not right. Its so unfair, he said.

But he praised the efforts of crew members who are now struggling to deliver meals to thousands of passengers in their cabins.

Those with inside cabins, which have no windows, have been allowed onto decks in small groups to get fresh air, but under strict conditions, including wearing a mask at all times when out of their rooms.

The quarantine officials require that you avoid congregating in large groups and maintain a separation of at least one metre from each other when talking, the ships captain said in an announcement on Friday morning.

We require that you wear as a minimum, warm clothing, hat and a scarf if possible, he added.

A second cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with coronavirus will not be allowed to dock in southern Japan, the government said Friday.

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Qantas will more than double the number of flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island after a decision by Regional Express to withdraw from the route.

The airline will now run 12 return flights each week, an increase on the existing five.

'Now is the time to be supporting Kangaroo Island, not deserting it,' QantasLink chief executive John Gissing said on Friday.

'What Kangaroo Island needs over the months and years ahead is for tourists to come back and a reliable air service is vital for that to occur.'

Qantas will more than double the number of flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island after a decision by Regional Express to withdraw from the route

Regional Express, or Rex, blamed 'capacity dumping' by Qantas for making its Adelaide to Kangaroo Island services unviable.

The row between the two carriers came after the island was recently devastated by major bushfires which burnt through more than 210,000 hectares.

On Monday, Rex announced plans to withdraw its island services and to also quit the Sydney to Ballina route because of a downturn in demand and the poor outlook for the coming year.

It also complained to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission accusing Qantas of going beyond competing on merits.

'Rex has to face up to the reality that it is not able to match Qantas' financial firepower and unlike Qantas, Rex is not able to continue servicing a money-losing route indefinitely,' the company said in a statement.

Regional Express, or Rex, blamed 'capacity dumping' by Qantas for making its Adelaide to Kangaroo Island services unviable

But Qantas said it was simply giving regional consumers more choice.

Mr Gissing said everyone at the airline was proud to be helping Kangaroo Island get back on its feet.

'We continue to work closely with tourism agencies to get the message out to potential visitors from around Australia and the world that Kangaroo Island remains one of Australia's most idyllic destinations,' he said.

Premier Steven Marshall said the extra flights by Qantas would give island tourism a major boost while federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the announcement offered tourists and locals certainty.

'The Kangaroo Island community can now be confident that regular flights to and from the Island will continue, ensuring visitors continue to access the incredible hospitality and natural beauty that Kangaroo Island has to offer,' he said.

Qantas plans to revise current timetables to ensure its new flight schedules allow easy connections through Adelaide for both domestic and international tourists.

It also plans to continue its summer services between Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.
Britain has appointed veteran diplomat Karen Pierce as its new ambassador to the United States.

Pierce will replace Kim Darroch, who was forced to quit the post in 2019 after a damaging leak of diplomatic cables revealed his criticisms of President Donald Trump.

Pierce will arrive in Washington, D.C., with the Trump administration at loggerheads with London over the role of Chinese firm Huawei in the next-generation 5G cellular networks, as well as a planned United Kingdom digital tax. Pierce has also made a point of publicly supporting Greta Thunbergs climate activism, another potential source of tension with the Trump White House.

Conversely, the two countries are both committed to quickly negotiating a free trade deal in the wake of Britain leaving the European Union.

Formerly the U.K.'s ambassador to the United Nations and its security council representative, Pierce said she was honored to take the job.

There is a deep bond between Britain and the U.S., built on many pillars," she added.

Pierce faces a challenging long-term trend: the U.K.s declining influence in DC. While Britain remains in the top tier of American relationships, and its residence is a center-piece of the Washington diplomatic social scene, the country has battled Barack Obamas pivot to Asia, and the Trump administrations America First policy for more than a decade now.

While known publicly for her flamboyant style, Pierce is highly regarded in the British diplomatic system for her policy skills.

The Americans will be pleased, said former Conservative U.K. foreign secretary Malcolm Rifkind. She is highly respected and has been a success at the U.N., where she is seen as robust."

Former U.K. Americas Minister Alan Duncan had advice for those meeting with Pierce in the new job: Shes no pushover.

A British diplomat who worked with Pierce in her U.N. role. described her as a massive foreign policy heavyweight who is going to want to have direct relationships with every single person of importance in the administration. She wants influence via relationships, its classic diplomacy and she has a real talent for it.

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The Washington cocktail circuit is likely to warm to Pierce, who wears her heart on her sleeve, and makes a point of intentional dressing: from rainbow head-dress at World Pride, to wearing stilettos in conflict zones. The biographical website Whos Who lists collecting ceramics and fridge magnets among her hobbies.

The posting will not be Pierces first in Washington: she served as private secretary to Ambassador Robin Renwick from 1992 to 1995. In addition to two tours serving at the U.N. in New York, which included a stint as president of the U.N. Security Council, Pierce was Britains ambassador to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Charlie Cooper and Emilio Casalicchio contributed to this report.
The al-Qaeda leader who claimed responsibility for Decembers shooting at Pensacola Naval Air Station that killed four people, including Enterprise resident and U.S. Navy Ensign Joshua Kaleb Watson -- has died in a U.S. counterterrorism operation, the White House said Thursday.

Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- the terror groups Yemen branch -- was killed in the operation in Yemen.

Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, the White House said in a statement. His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.

The Yemen branch of al-Qaeda claimed responsibility Monday for the attack on the Pensacola base in a video, the Associated Press reported.

The attack was carried out by Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani, a member of Saudi Arabias air force who was at the base for training. Four people were killed in the shooting, including Alshamrani.

Watson, a 23-year-old graduate of Enterprise High School and the prestigious U.S. Naval Academy, had only been on base for two weeks before he was shot five times by the gunman. While injured, Watson was able to lead first responders to Alshamrani. First responders said Watsons actions likely saved the lives of others.
Hopkinson Elementary, on L Street in Juniata, will remain closed indefinitely while the Philadelphia School District completes environmental work, including asbestos remediation and preparation for a lead-paint stabilization project. Read more

The Philadelphia elementary school that was closed Monday after a significant asbestos problem was detected will be closed indefinitely, Philadelphia School District officials said Friday.

Hopkinson Elementary, at L and Luzerne Streets in Juniata, has had its students attending classes in various locations since Wednesday. They will continue to be taught in their temporary locations, said Monica Lewis, district spokesperson.

The closure will allow the district to remediate asbestos problems throughout the building, and also allow it to prepare for a lead-paint stabilization project, Lewis said.

Were just doing some work to make sure that the building is safe and up to par for the students and staff to return, Lewis said.

The district is also investigating whether workers spread asbestos when replacing ceiling tiles at Hopkinson last summer. A Hopkinson teacher, not the district, flagged the possible contamination recently; other schools were likely affected, too.

The decision to shut indefinitely is a shift in district position. Initially, district officials told Hopkinson families that the building would reopen once air testing showed the school was safe for re-occupancy.

 READ MORE: Read more: As reports of asbestos in Philly schools pile up, teachers union calls for rapid-response team in the district

But the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers said all along that the testing  which district officials said came back at acceptable levels for re-occupancy  was not enough to ensure students and staffs safety, and that it would not agree to a reopening until the required asbestos work was completed.

National teachers union president Randi Weingarten stood with PFT president Jerry Jordan outside Hopkinson this week, blasting the districts response and calling for federal, state, and local action to fix asbestos problems districtwide.

The teachers union also said it had worked up a plan for a rapid-response team made up of 40 to 100 experienced Laborers District Council workers to handle a backlog of hundreds of reports of damaged asbestos in schools across the city.

The union and district met Thursday to discuss the proposal, and Jordan, in a statement, signaled things went well.

The districts response to our proposed rapid response team is very encouraging, Jordan said.

In a letter sent Friday to Hopkinson parents, Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said students and staff will likely remain at their temporary relocation sites  the Hopkinson Little Schoolhouse, an annex, for kindergarten through second graders; Roberto Clemente Middle School for third through fifth graders; and Grover Washington Middle School for sixth through eighth graders  for four to six weeks.
Nirbhaya convicts left no stone unturned to escape gallows, failed to get relief

Squirmed for a bit before going still: The final moments of Nirbhayas killers

Will Nirbhayas killers be hanged separately: SC verdict on Feb 11

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Supreme Court has posted for February 11 a plea by the Centre against the verdict of the Delhi Court, which had rejected the individual hanging of the convicts.

The court had sought that the convicts be hanged separately.

Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj mentioned the appeals for an early hearing before a bench led by Justice N V Ramana on Thursday who ordered that the case be listed.

Convicts in Nirbhaya case to be hanged soon: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected the plea from the Centre to hang the four convicts separately.

The high court also faulted the authorities concerned for not taking steps for issuance of death warrant after the rejection of appeals of the accused by the Supreme Court in 2017.

The high court, however, said, "It cannot be disputed that the convicts have frustrated the process by using delaying tactics.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

"The Centre and the Delhi government had challenged the trial court's January 31 order staying "till further orders" the execution of all the four convicts in the case -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 13:11 [IST]
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7 February 2020

Hyatt Hotels Corporation (NYSE:H) announced today that Hyatt has entered into a management agreement with Pipax Investment, S.RL. for a new Hyatt Place hotel in the capital city of the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo. The 120-room Hyatt Place Santo Domingo Piantini will mark the Hyatt Place brand's debut in the Dominican Republic and will be located in the country's epicenter for commercial and financial activities. The hotel will feature the Hyatt Place brand's intuitive design, approachable atmosphere and added conveniences that help guests do more.

With construction expected to begin this year, Hyatt Place Santo Domingo Piantini is projected to open in the third quarter of 2024 and will join the recently opened all-inclusive Hyatt Ziva Cap Cana and Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. Known for its unexpectedly elevated amenities and uncomplicated experience, the Hyatt Place brand continues to increase its presence with four hotels currently operating in the Caribbean.

The capital city of Santo Domingo has experienced significant economic and industrial growth over the last decade with new commercial and residential developments opening in recent years. With a growing population of approximately one million, Santo Domingo is considered one of the main business and commerce centers in the Caribbean. Constructed by the team at Constructora Aybar & Contemega, Hyatt Place Santo Domingo Piantini will be located in the central area of Santo Domingo within the Ensanche Piantini, considered one of the destination's most sought after location in light of recent retail, commercial and hotel development.
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A combative President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal in the gruelling impeachment trial by launching a tirade against the Democrats, saying, "they want to destroy our country."



A day after he was acquitted by the ruling Republican Party-controlled Senate on the two impeachment charges abuse of power and obstruction to Congress Trump appeared confident, energetic and combative as ever against his opponents.

"It's a celebration," Trump said of the event, attended by top Republican politicians, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as well as the members of the Cabinet and the legal team that defended him in the Senate trial.

"We went through hell, unfairly, did nothing wrong, did nothing wrong. I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit," Trump said in the East Room of the White House on Thursday.

"This is really not a conference. It's not a speech. It's not anything. It's just we're sort of -- it's a celebration because we have something that just worked out. I mean it worked out," the 73-year-old president said.

In his speech that lasted for over an hour, Trump said, "Now we have that gorgeous word. I never thought it would sound so good."



"It's called 'total acquittal'.""They want to destroy our country," Trump said of the Democrats.

Trump was impeached by the Democratic Party-led House of Representatives in December for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, but was acquitted on Wednesday after a two-week trial in the Senate.

Trump also used a swear word to describe the justice department inquiry into whether his 2016 election campaign had colluded with Russia.

"This should never happen to another president ever."



"It was evil, it was corrupt," Trump said of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, which concluded that the Russians sought to actively interfere to help Trump and hurt his Democratic Party rival, Hillary Clinton.

"We caught 'em in the act ... dirty cops, bad people," Trump said.

He also criticised the impeachment foes who invoked their religious faith.

"There were some that used religion as a crutch. ... A failed presidential candidate so things can happen when you fail so badly running for president," Trump said of Senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict Trump on abuse of power.

"A guy who can't stand the fact that he ran one of the worst campaign in the history of the country," Trump added on the fellow Republican lawmaker.

Trump alleged that Democrats are lousy politicians because they have lousy policy, open borders, sanctuary cities. "They have horrible policy. Who the hell can win? Oh, their new policy is raise taxes. They want to raise taxes," he said as he slammed top Democratic leaders including the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"I've always said they're lousy politicians, but they do two things. They are vicious and mean, vicious. These people are vicious. Adam Schiff is a vicious, horrible person. Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person. And she wanted to impeach a long time ago.

"When she said, I pray for the president, I pray for the president. She doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite. But I doubt she prays at all," he added.

"This is sort of a day of celebration because we went through hell," Trump said.

In the end, Trump also offered a rare apology - to his family, for having to "go through a phony, rotten deal".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (February 6, 2020) - Twice each day, SUNY Downstate School of Public Health evolutionary epidemiologist Sergios-Orestis Kolokotronis, PhD, joins a global group of scientists in reviewing a worldwide database of the latest genomic information about the Wuhan strain of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) that so far has infected more than 28,000 people, including more than 250 outside of China, and resulted in at least 560 deaths. By comparison, 349 people died in China during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003.

Dr. Kolokotronis is one of 6 researchers at 5 different institutions that have formed an international ad-hoc collaboration initiative to uncover clues as to the evolutionary trajectory of this form of coronavirus by untangling the virus' genetic evolution over time and space.

Dr. Kolokotronis likens he and his colleagues to scientific detectives. They look at the genetic profile of the virus as it presents in each patient within the larger context of coronavirus diversity. Other variables that may be considered as the transmission continues are when certain patients began showing symptoms, where they have been, who they have been with, whether it had been transmitted to them by someone else or someone else has contracted it from them, and a host of other clues in an unending effort to uncover important insights.

"For instance, we can look at one of the confirmed cases in California and tell you for certain that the virus in that person has mutated very few times since right before it presented in the first patient," said Dr. Kolokotronis. "Additionally, we can also use this data, and genomic data from other patients and animals, to determine whether the virus jumped from animals to humans, what we call a spillover, or emerged in humans altogether sometime in November or early December, even though the first cases were not reported until later in December. Genomic surveillance, empowered with computational modeling, allows us to do a deep dive into a pathogen's history, evolutionary potential and interactions with its environment. The natural history of pathogen emergence and spread is usually a puzzle, where pieces get put together every day as more data points are generated and analyzed."

Dr. Kolokotronis emphasizes that the group is not looking to develop a treatment, a vaccine, or a cure for Wuhan coronavirus, but rather to put the pieces together for those that will.

"Our job is to examine the genotype of the virus in its various mutations and connect the dots as to how the virus is behaving genomically, the speed and manner in which it mutates and spreads, and by doing so over time, provide insights that will be foundational to any public health effort to combat and mitigate this deadly strain of coronavirus, including:

Decisions about whether it is appropriate to institute quarantines or otherwise isolating infected patients

Determining the most appropriate and effective treatment of infected patients

Implementing protocols to protect police officers, first responders, EMS, healthcare workers and others whose occupations may bring them in contact with infected patients

Developing effective antiviral therapies and vaccines to treat, slow or stop the spread of the virus

"The work of Dr. Kolokotronis and his collaborators to better understand this emerging epidemic exemplifies the importance of the work done by our researchers at the School of Public Health, and the role they play in both improving public health and addressing emerging threats," said Kitaw Demissie, M.D., MPH, Dean of the SUNY Downstate School of Public Health.

Other institutions in the collaboration include Academia Sinica in Taiwan, Technical University of Munich, Germany, The University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Dr. Kolokotronis says the group considers its work to be open research, and will use public and social media, as well as direct communication with public health officials and the media to share and report their key findings as the epidemic spreads, eventually publishing their findings in academic journals.

"We are very, very early in this outbreak, and we are fortunate that, so far, the mortality rate, of just approximately 2 % of patients is small when compared to the previous outbreaks of SARS (11% mortality) and MERS (Middle East Respiratory Virus), in which more than one-third of patients died," added Dr. Kolokotronis. "But there is nothing to say that over time this virus couldn't mutate into something even more deadly, or like SARS, simply die off. This is why our work is so important, and why we need to be vigilant to the data as it changes day by day. What we learn can inform effective public health efforts and the actions of coordinated global health networks."

###

About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University:

SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University is the borough's only academic medical center for health education, research, and patient care, and is a 342-bed facility serving the healthcare needs of New York City, and Brooklyn's 2.6 million residents. University Hospital of Brooklyn (UHB) is Downstate's teaching hospital, backed by the expertise of an outstanding medical school and the research facilities of a world-class academic center. More than 800 physicians, representing 53 specialties and subspecialties--many of them ranked as tops in their fields--comprise Downstate's staff.

A regional center for cardiac care, neonatal and high-risk infant services, pediatric dialysis, and transplantation, Downstate also houses a major learning center for children with physical ailments or neurological disorders. In addition to UHB, Downstate comprises a College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, a School of Graduate Studies, a School of Public Health, and a multifaceted biotechnology initiative, including the Downstate Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT for early-stage and more mature companies, respectively. For more information, visit http://www.downstate.edu or follow us on Twitter at @sunydownstate.
The old economic rule of thumb was simple: when the US sneezed, Australia caught a cold.

It was an explanation of Australia's dependence, along with the rest of the developed world, on the American economy and its millions of well-paid consumers. But what happens when Australia's largest trading partner, China, shuts down key parts of its economy because of an outbreak of the coronavirus?

When China was hit by SARS in 2003, Australian iron ore exports to the country were worth just $1.7 billion. By 2018, they had reached $51.4 billion

In the past 24 hours companies as different as Toyota and Nintendo have warned of an economic fallout from the virus, which is forcing firms to shutter operations on mainland China with flow-on impacts to its suppliers.

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe, in evidence to a House of Representatives committee on Friday, noted there were already signs that local businesses would be affected as they struggled to replenish their inventories from Chinese warehouses and factory floors.
When he came back, he and the victim got into an argument, police said, after viewing the gas stations surveillance tapes. Boatman came around to the drivers side, appearing to argue with her through the window, charges state.
It is impossible to deny that in this world of fastidious foodies and wine snobs, there are idiots of all types.

WINE OF THE WEEK Habitat Garnacha Syrah The Torres bodega is the oldest family winery in Spain and among Europe's oldest. To its credit it was the first to get its act together on the national distribution front and its wines are known for their reliability. This Catalan crianza is aged for 6-8 months in oak, and costs around 9.70.

Pablo Alvarez, owner of arguably Spain's most famous wine bodega, Vega Sicilia, was asked the other day in an interview what he thought was the benefit to northern wine regions, like Germany's, of climate change.

His reply was that "German wines are as bad as they have always been... Britain has taken four and a half billion years to produce 'champagne.' " Altogether a pitiful array of inaccurate and insulting assertions that one of Spain's leading businessmen should know better than to put in the public arena.

There are many wine lovers who believe his Vega Sicilia, in spite of all the myths and flimflam that surrounds it, is not worth anything like the 400 euros average price per bottle.

When Paul Bocuse, one of the world's greatest chefs, died three years ago at his restaurant in Lyon, it had held three Michelin stars for 55 years. The modesty of the man may be exemplified by the fact that he was born, and died, in the same room above the kitchen.

Now the mercurial Michelin Guide has decided that the restaurant should lose a star, and the event was considered of such importance that the boss of the Guide, Gwendal Poullenec, visited the restaurant personally to deliver the bad news.

Losing a star is one thing but losing your living is another. Claude Bosi, who trained under Bocuse in Lyon, may have to leave the UK after 23 years running his Chelsea restaurant, Bibendum.

It has two Michelin stars, and Bosi does not want to go anywhere, but when he applied for permanent residency under the new Brexit rules, he was told that unless he could prove he had lived there permanently for the last five years, he would not get permission. As good a chef as he may be, Bosi clearly has poor organisational skills.

It appears he forgot to keep the documents showing his continued residency, even though he had been there all that time. Hopefully he does not forget to put the salt in the French omelette.
Recent wildfires in California Wine Country, particularly those that devastated parts of Napa and Sonoma counties in October 2017, have focused attention on whether insurance covers smoke taint damage to grapes and wine.

Many wineries and grape growers have notified their insurers of possible smoke taint damage claims. However, smoke taint in certain cases may present itself only after some time following the smoke exposure has passed. As a result, there was uncertainty at the time some claims were made about whether there actually would be damage and, if so, whether insurers would cover it. Now that we are just over two years past the 2017 wildfires, it is a good time to review how this issue is developing.

Property insurers covering the wine industry often assert that they cover damage to harvested grapes or wine in process, but not damage to grapes while they are on the vine. Crop insurance is supposed to cover damage to the vines and grapes on them, though it often is limited in scope and amount. This distinction may seem simple enough at first glance, but reality often is not be confined so easily to cleanly drawn categories.

The October 2017 wildfires in Napa and Sonoma started and continued to burn around the time many wineries and growers had planned to harvest their grapes. Some were lucky and had completed their harvests before fires broke out.

Others not so. They were in midst of picking their grapes or had not yet started when the smoke appeared. Some rushed to complete their picking during the fires in the midst of heavy smoke.

For most of the grapes picked before the fires broke out, there should be no insurance issue. If there was no possibility that smoke touched the grapes until they were on the ground, in transit or in process, most insurance policies should cover the damage, even if the damage presents itself well after the fires were extinguished.

As to the other grapes, however, questions abound. The fires had started, but had the smoke arrived by the time they were picked? If so, how thick did the smoke become by the time they were picked, and could the smoke have caused damage to the grapes while they were on the vine?

Or did the thicker smoke arrive after they were picked? Could the smoke have damaged them both before and after they were picked?

In other words, insurers attempted clean lines of distinction can quickly become hazy when it comes to smoke taint. It can be unclear when the process of damage started. Even if the damage arguably started while the grapes were on the vine, and there are disputes over whether that is possible, it may be the case that any such damage was made worse by exposure to additional smoke after they were picked.

There is also a question of when the insured reasonably could have discovered any damage during this process. These kinds of questions have led to one lawsuit already. Kunde Enterprises, Inc. v. National Surety Corp. was filed in October 2019 and is pending in federal court in Oakland. Kunde alleges that its insurer wrongfully denied coverage for smoke taint damage arising out of the October 2017 wildfires. The insurer claims that some of the allegedly damaged grapes were exposed to smoke while they were on the vine. The parties presumably will have to dig deep into the factual issues above while litigating this case.

Wineries and grape growers that have potentially suffered smoke taint losses would be wise to painstakingly gather and analyze their insurance policies and the facts surrounding their particular situations.

Each claim will be unique. Its critical to completely answer the questions above and others before decisions are made about whether to pursue claims and how such claims should be pursued. Further, wineries and growers should be vigilant in reviewing their policies each year to ensure that they obtain the broadest coverage possible. Some insurers surely will react to the recent spate of smoke-taint claims by adding new exclusions to their policies in an attempt to eliminate all coverage for them.

Gerking is a partner in Farella Braun + Martels San Francisco office, where his law practice focus on recovering insurance policy proceeds for policyholders. The firm also has an office in St. Helena. This article originally appeared in Vine Notes (nbbj.news/vinenotes), a monthly column by the Farella Braun + Martel, Rabo AgriFinance and Heffernan Insurance Brokers.

Topics Carriers California Catastrophe Natural Disasters Claims Wildfire
BUNKER HILL  Macoupin authorities have arrested a man wanted in connection to the abduction of a 1-year-old in California.

Around 7:15 p.m. Thursday, the Macoupin County Sheriffs Office was contacted by the Kern County California District Attorneys Office in reference to a kidnapping/child abduction case involving a 1-year-old child.
Abuja  The House of Representatives has ordered investigation into the alleged use of paracetamol (pain reliever caplet) and bleach to tenderise meat and process cassava in Osun State.

The House ordered the investigation following the adoption of a motion by Hon. Dozie Nwankwo, after the revelation by Osun State Government officials that some caterers and food vendors in the state have been using paracetamol and bleach to tenderise meat and process cassava.

The House, therefore, mandated the National Food Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and other relevant government bodies to arrest and prosecute all offenders of this provision to serve as deterrent to others, while helping to curtail the continuous perpetuation of such crimes against humanity.

The lawmaker said high dosage of paracetamol comes with toxicity that may lead to kidney and renal failures while the use of bleach to process cassava for Garri is simply food poisoning.

Nwankwo expressed concern on the extent of damage this 'criminal act' has had on vital organs of the consumers which include kidneys, liver, heart and small intestines.

He expressed worry that such illicit acts in Osun and other states might have been going on for years without the relevant government agencies doing much to stem it and bring the culprits to book to serve as deterrent to others.

He noted that such food vendors and caterers were deliberately and mischievously destroying their consumers by employing such selfish unhealthy practices to prepare food.

The House, therefore, mandated NAFDAC and other relevant bodies to urgently embark on widespread sensitisation and public awareness against the consumption of food tenderised and processed with paracetamol and bleach.

It also urged "the Ministries of Health, NAFDAC and stakeholders in the industry to develop a blueprint that will ensure constant and regular monitoring and supervision of food vendors and processors to avoid re-occurrence.

"Mandate the House Committee on Healthcare Services to liaise with NAFDAC and Ministries of Health to engage all relevant government agencies charged with the supervision and monitoring of public foods and services with a view to investigating this revelation in Osun, Delta and other states of the federation and report back to the-House within eight weeks for further legislative action."
Visitors are greeted by a composition that is almost a symphony. El Nombre de los Meses (the Name of the Months, 2016) is a collation of 12 large canvases, like a calendar for the senses. We see, but also almost feel, the thick and vibrant finger-painted strokes which set this chromatic landscape on a journey from the browns and blues of the first piece (January?) to the touches of green between the second and fifth scenes (from February to May, perhaps), followed by the intense reds halfway through, then the ochres again and vermilion en route to the browns and blues at the end.

El Nombre de los Meses (2016). / M. F.

THE EXHIBITION Artist. Carlos Leon (Ceuta, 1948). Where. CAC Malaga. C/ Alemania, Malaga. When. Until 26 April.

That is the time - 50 years - that Leon has been exhibiting his work in Spain and other countries.

"My painting is political," he said at the launch of the exhibition. In fact, his discourse is as radical as it is subtle, because at the same time what he wants to do is "display a will for pleasure" in every piece.

"That is what I want to do: keep on thinking the world can be improved," he explained.

The exhibition contains more than 40 large-scale works, and can be viewed until 26 April. It shows, for the first time in public, an interesting change in Leon's work in both material and aesthetic terms, because they are interlinked.

/ M. F.

"The support determines the result," says Leon, who ranges from oil paint applied with fingers on Dibond (a type of aluminium) to the quite meaty texture of the wood selected for his most recent creations.

A force field

Moving on we come, almost like a Rothko chapel, to the group comprising Alter Ego, Ad Hoc, Nolens Volens, Mutatis Mutandis and Extra Muros, all of which he produced in 2019. They are marked by a palette between burgundies and white, brought together in a corner of the central space at the CAC Malaga in one of the most vibrant sections of the visit.

/ M. F.

As the title of the exhibition announces, this is a tour which asks the spectator to give it time and space. Distance, in fact. Because neither perception nor love exist without distance.

The curator of the exhibition, Fernando Castro Florez, referred to this in Walter Benjamin style, saying that distance is like "a force field" around the artistic object which, in the case of Leon's work, demands calm contemplation.

Serenity is required, to linger over every texture, every hue of colour and the materials used in the work of an artist who, as Castro Florez pointed out, belongs to a generation that had to take the lead, with the legacy of the Spanish informality of Tapies, Millares, Guinovart and Co on one side, and, on the other, the slipstream of pop captained by Equipo Cronica, Luis Gordillo and Eduardo Arroyo, among others.

/ M. F.

Into this apparent no man's land come the works of Carlos Leon with the vocation of "combining the abstract with a reflection on nature", in the words of Castro Florez.

Carlos Leon's career makes him "one of the most relevant Spanish painters of recent decades", said the artistic director of the CAC Malaga, Helena Juncosa, who also described how Leon's work fits in with one of the art centre's essential strategic lines: to reflect on the validity of painting in the contemporary creative scenario.

And so, with one foot in the Baroque and the other in romanticism, the work of Leon asks us to 'keep a distance', not through disaffection but quite the contrary.
Youve never had beers like these.

Ones a crisp, pale pilsner, made marginally sweeter than its German counterparts thanks to the use of bamboo leaves. Another, a witbier, is briefly tart  thats the omija berry  before it gives way to the backend heat of gochugaru chili. Last is a roasty stout, spiced with cardamon and green peppercorn.

These beers were imagined by Youngwon Lee, a Korean-American opening a new pop-up taproom and restaurant, Dokkaebier, this month on Polk Street. It's just the beginning; through April, when its run ends, the bar will serve Lee's locally contract-brewed craft beers utilizing Korean spices, fruits and plants, and serve a food menu created by world-class chef Daniel Wright, former chef de cuisine at Saison.

The menu is rounded out for now with beer from friends' local breweries  like Del Cielo in Martinez and Alameda Island  and eventually, Lee hopes to fill all of the bars 40 taplines. Next up will be a traditional West Coast-style IPA, but after that, Lees hoping he can dial in a recipe using bacteria from kimchi, and another riffing on hangover cure drinks currently popular in Korea.

There may be no one better suited for the execution of such a project than Lee.

Lee was born in Korea, and raised in Guam and New Jersey, before he briefly attended school in California. He might have stayed stateside, but his grandmother back in Korea had become ill, prompting Lee to take a leave from college to see her. While there, he found part-time work at a high-end wine and spirits import company called Indulge.

In 2014, Lee decided to set out on his own, launching his own imports business and then, a wine-tasting bar in Seoul. His turn in getting into the beer industry was a bit unexpected, and, as it turned out, the result of a misunderstanding.

Lee had customized sales software to work specifically for alcohol-related companies, which attracted the interest of a local brewery in Korea called The Booth. The brewerys CEO initially thought he was an engineer; upon learning Lee was in sales and marketing, The Booth poached him after months of negotiation. Once hired, Lee was convinced to head back to California, where the company had recently opened a Humboldt-area brewhouse.

After working to expand the The Booths brand for several years, and assist in distributing the beer around the Bay Area, Lee decided to again set out on his own for what would become Dokkaebier.

"I wanted to do something unique and different," he says. "I [felt] a lot of good energy from the beer industry; [theyre] very friendly, [they] help each other. And I wanted to bring that out in my company. Our tagline is Eat, drink, play, so I want this place to be [where you] come meet, drink and just hang out in a fun place."

The name Dokkaebier comes from the Korean dokkaebi  a sort of sprightly ghost or goblin-like spirit in Korean mythology that likes to play with humans.

"[A dokkaebi] always has a positive energy and it's fun," Lee says. "It hides in objects in the daytime; it comes out at night and it likes to drink, eat and hang out with people."

It made sense for Lee to name his new Polk Street pop-up after the mythical creature  he wants this space to be social, but unique in concept, paying tribute to his home of Korea.

A big part of that tribute will be communicated through the food. It will all be Korean-inspired, says Chef Wright, and once Dokkaebiers full menu is implemented later this month, Wright will focus on utilizing fresh and cooked seafood, including Kusshi oysters with a variety of ponzu and seaweed toppings, Korean fluke with Nori chips, spicy octopus and caviar "if people want to get fancy."

Dan Gentile / SFGate

Wright also plans on more traditional Korean comfort food, but with a seasonal spin: spicy fried chicken wings, short rib and snacks like fried rice fries and poke rice cakes with a variety of dipping sauces. For now, Wrights working with a limited menu, but everything nevertheless will be meant to complement the beer.

"What we're really trying to do here is promote the beverage," Wright says, "to promote the name, Dokkaebier, and to get the products into the customer's hands so people get to taste what we're doing."

Lee hopes the pop-up is just the beginning. He plans to make fans out of San Franciscans by way of selling cans of their beer and merchandise at the bar soon after opening, and then to put down roots. After the pop-up ends in April, Lees looking to secure more permanent taproom space in San Francisco  which would ideally include a brewhouse.

"As we get this started, I'll be out on the market and trying to find a new place to open," Lee says.

For now, hes just preparing to debut the new space.

"I don't want [this] to be a place where you just come in for dinner or come in for drinks," he adds. "I think by having a good balance of [food and drinks], you stay longer, you have more fun. You have a better experience."

Dokkaebier, located at 1735 Polk Street in San Francisco, will be in a soft opening phase with a limited menu beginning Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. A grand opening will be announced later this month.

San Francisco Beer Week begins Friday, February 7 and runs through February 16, 2020.

For more San Francisco Beer Week coverage:

The craft breweries opening in 2020 that will change the Bay Areas beer scene

How these siblings turned a tragedy into one of the East Bay's most popular craft breweries

Plinywatch 2020: Where you might find Russian River's Pliny the Younger in SF and Oakland



SF Beer Week announces its five one-time-only collaboration beers for 2020

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGate digital editor. Email: alyssa.pereira@sfgate.com | Twitter: @alyspereira


Nairobi  Detecting and removing abnormal cervical cells can prevent cervical cancer. Screening is an effective method for detecting abnormal cells in the cervix.

The results of the initial test also referred to as a pap smear test, are used to provide healthcare practitioners with an accurate measure of the health of the cervix - the entrance to the womb or uterus.

Regular check-ups are recommended for all women aged over 25. The test looks for changes in the cells of the cervix.

Dr. Paul Kamau Koigi, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynecologist at The Nairobi Hospital said that this isn't a test for cancer, but it can help to detect abnormal cells that could lead to serious problems like cervical cancer. "Symptoms may not be experienced beforehand until the condition is at an advanced stage," he explained.

Abnormal cells are not usually cancerous, especially if you have regular screenings. However, if abnormal cells are noticed at a screening they can be closely observed and/or treated to prevent cancer from developing.

"Regular screening has been proved to reduce the risk of advanced cancer by 90% on average for women aged 35-64," wrote Dr. Koigi.

During the month of January, 2020, The Nairobi Hospital has been working to create awareness for Cervical Cancer.

A report by the hospital said: "Cancer of the cervix is the most common cancer among women in Eastern and Central Africa. In Kenya, it is the most common cancer among women of reproductive age. In 2018, 569,847 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer globally, with 5,250 being in Kenya alone. In the same year, 3,286 women died from cervical cancer (9 women a day!), making it the leading local cause of cancer mortality. Despite national policies and drives to screen, diagnose and treat, the uptake of screening for cervical cancer remains dismally low (less than 20%) and the burden of disease unacceptably high."

"The most significant risk factor for cancer of the cervix is sexually-transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection. Out of the numerous types of HPV, types 16 and 18 confer the highest risk of developing cervical cancer and are responsible for 70% of this diabolical condition," wrote Dr. Koigi.

"Early sexual debut, having multiple sexual partners, having a partner with multiple sexual partners, co-infection with other sexually transmitted infections, smoking and immunodeficiency enhance the risk of persistent HPV infection. Low socioeconomic status impedes access to screening and care," expounded the doctor.

By the age of 50 years, up to 80% of women contract genital HPV infection. Over 80% of these resolve within 3 years if the immune system is competent. Among those with persistent infection, HPV causes abnormal cell division. This gradually results in distortion of the cervix.

Dr Koigi said that this triggers the common symptoms of cervical cancer, including abnormal vaginal bleeding (particularly after intercourse). vaginal discomfort, foul-smelling vaginal discharge, pelvic, back or leg pain, fatigue, anorexia, weight loss and leg swelling. More severe symptoms occur at advanced stages, such as painful urination, coughing up blood, chest and bone pain.

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Any sexually active woman is eligible for cervical cancer screening. The methods available in Kenya include HPV testing, visual inspection with acetic acid and Lugol's Iodine, a pap smear test and colposcopy - a medical diagnostic procedure to examine an illuminated, magnified view of the cervix as well as the vagina and vulva.

Following a successful pilot in Kitui County, Kenya joined 10 African and 115 global countries offering HPV vaccination.

The aim is to offer it to 800,000 10-year-old girls annually in two doses six months apart. By offering it at this age, it will confer protection before sexual debut. By placing it in the national vaccination schedule, it should reach a high number of Kenyans for free.

Within this initiative lies the potential to reduce the burden of cervical cancer by up to 80%. Given that similar declines have been observed in the burdens of other deadly diseases thanks to the widespread provision of effective vaccines for them, it would be imprudent and unethical to deny Kenyans this life-saving intervention.
MUNSTER  A 37-year-old waitress charged with stabbing a co-worker in the back with a steak knife at the local Commander Restaurant was ordered by the court Thursday to avoid the alleged victim in the case, according to court documents.

The no-contact order came on the same day that Sarah Stout, of Bradley, Illinois, posted a $2,000 cash bond and was released from the Lake County Jail, according to Pamela Jones, public information officer for the Lake County Sheriff's Department.

Stout is charged with a felony count of battery by means of a deadly weapon, according to court records.

Police, who released a mugshot of Stout late Thursday, say she stabbed a fellow waitress mid-afternoon on Jan. 24 after blaming her for a scheduling issue that was to result in them both being sent home.

The fellow waitress found a puncture wound on her back when she went to the bathroom to examine the area where she felt pain, she told police.

Surveillance footage from the restaurant showed Stout grabbing a steak knife from under a counter, turning and allegedly making a jabbing motion with the knife toward the waitress' back, court records said.
VALLETTA, Malta, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OKEx (www.okex.com), the world's largest cryptocurrency spot and derivatives exchange, announced the release of the latest monthly report of OKB, its global utility token, for Jan 2020. According to the report, OKB recorded an astonishing 24.9% increase rise from 2.61 USDT to 3.26 USDT, with 25% month-on-month increase over last month. The OKB team focused on expanding OKB storage support and have formed three new partnerships in these regards. Besides, OKB has also welcomed a new EURO depositing channel and landed on Coinbene, which further promoted the globalization of the token.

As of today, OKB has formed ecological partnerships with as many as 32 businesses globally and has established depositing channels for a number of major fiat currencies, including US dollar, euro, Korean won, Vietnamese dong, and Indonesian rupiah. What's more, OKB trading pairs have also been listed on many major C2C and spot exchanges.

New wallet partnerships

OKEx has also partnered with three businesses and to expand OKB storage support for a variety of wallet types, including Blocto, a Taiwanese contract wallet, Cool Wallet, a global hardware wallet and Hoo's wallet, a public chain asset cloud wallets. In order to raise user's awareness on asset security, a free OKB hardware wallet promotion was held with Cool Wallet, giving away portable OKB wallet cards that are accepted in different shops for purchase.

As of now, OKB is supported by nine wallets, including Ledger Vault, Bitpie, Mirthril, Kcash, Pocket, and Cobo.

New OKB trading channels

In January, OKB was listed on Bitlocus, one of the major EUR fiat-to-crypto exchanges in Europe, further enhancing its liquidity and competitiveness in the market, OKB. Thanks to the listing, OKB can now be purchased with a variety of mainstream payment gateways in Europe, such as SEPA, SWIFT, and VISA. OKB has also partnered with CoinBene to list OKB spot trading pairs.

So far, OKB is trading on dozens of mainstream exchanges, such as Bitmax, Bitfinex, and BiKi, with over 40 major crypto trading pairs available.

The above progress has contributed to the impressive performance of OKB in the secondary market, resulting in a high ROI of 386% last year according to AMBCrypto.

About OKEx

OKEx is a world-leading digital asset exchange headquartered in Malta, offering comprehensive digital asset trading services including fiat-to-token trading, spot trading, futures trading, and perpetual swap trading to traders globally with blockchain technology. Currently, the exchange offers over 400 token and futures trading pairs enabling users to optimize their strategies.





SOURCE OKEx

Related Links

www.okex.com


A baby was taken to hospital last night after the second petrol bomb attack on homes in a Cork housing estate in two nights.

Gardai are now examining possible connections between the two incidents in Mayfield, on the citys northside.

In the latest incident, the alarm was raised at around 10.20pm last night when a suspected petrol bomb device was thrown at the front of a house in Liffey Park.

There were a number of adults and children in the house at the time.

The device ignited on the path outside the property, and a small fire resulted. There was no fire damage caused to the house.

The occupants of the house grabbed a fire extinguisher and in their efforts to tackle the flames, they discharged some of the extinguisher contents inside the house.

Members of the Cork City Fire Brigade rushed to the scene and gardai were also alerted.

A baby who was in the house at the time suffered some minor breathing irritation, believed to have been caused by the fire extinguisher contents, and was taken to hospital as a precaution.

There was another petrol bomb attack on a house on the same housing estate on Wednesday night.

Again, no significant property damage was caused.

Gardai are now trying to establish if there is a connection between the two attacks.

Both scenes have been the subject of a forensic and technical examination by Garda forensic experts in an effort to gather evidence.

They are treating both incidents seriously and have appealed to anyone who saw anyone acting suspiciously in the Liffey Park area of Mayfield at any stage on Wednesday or Thursday night to contact them.
Modi Wednesday announced in the Lok Sabha the formation of a 15-member autonomous trust to construct the temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

Mumbai: A day after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the formation of a trust for the construction of the Ram Mandir, the Shiv Sena accused the BJP of using the issue for electoral gain.

The Ram Mandir issue was not expected to be politicised, but its foundation has been laid ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls and it will reach its climax in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024, said the party in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana Thursday.

Mr Modi Wednesday announced in the Lok Sabha the formation of a 15-member autonomous trust to construct the temple at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

However, the Sena said that the Supreme Court would have to be thanked first for the PMs announcement about the trust as the apex court had ordered construction of the temple in November last year.

The hearing in the Supreme Court on the Ram temple issue took place for 40 days in a row and it gave a verdict in favour of the Ram Mandir. The trust is being formed due to that court order and it is binding on any government to implement the courts order. The PM followed that order, said the editorial. It then went on to thank Mr Modi for discharging his duty as the PM in the wake of the Supreme Court order.

Mr Modi gave the slogan of Jai Shri Ram just four days ahead of polling for the Delhi Assembly. Will be happy if the number of seats goes up by two to four with the help of Shri Ram, said the party.

The Sena further said that there was criticism that the BJP had brought in Lord Ram due to the panic caused by AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.
There is a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work that goes into producing the U.S. Census. Our customer service representatives will have an opportunity to be involved in helping the public with this historic endeavor.

Pearl Interactive Network, a leading provider of government services, announced today that it will hire seasonal employees to help support the 2020 Census. In Tempe, Arizona, Pearl Interactive Network plans to hire more than 700 employees for its contact center work over the next several months.

There is a tremendous amount of dedication and hard work that goes into producing the U.S. Census. Our customer service representatives will have an opportunity to be involved in helping the public with this historic endeavor, said Merry Korn, President and CEO of Pearl. We are seeking customer service representatives who will answer phone calls from all over the country as part of the U.S. Census Bureaus work. We are proud to play an integral role in this process and our recruitment efforts in Tempe are vital to the success of this project.

In Tempe, Pearl Interactive Network is offering a competitive hourly wage of $17.10 for many of the 725 employees hired. Outstanding benefits include medical, dental and vision care. Additionally, Pearl is looking for bilingual candidates who are proficient in English and Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Tagalog, or Vietnamese.

Seasonal employees will have a variety of shifts available to meet their lifestyle and family needs. Additionally, they will have the opportunity to be trained as a world-class expert in customer service and could receive bonuses for referrals.

Those interested in applying to work for Pearl Interactive Network as part of the 2020 Census can apply here at http://bit.ly/tempecensusjob

Tweet This: Pearl Interactive Network is looking to hire 725 workers for Tempe call center. Hiring priority given to veterans, disabled, military spouses and Native Americans. Apply at http://bit.ly/tempecensusjob

About Pearl Interactive, Inc.

Founded in 2004, Pearl Interactive Network is a Woman Owned Small Business, HUBZone-Certified social enterprise that provides multichannel contact center services solutions. We specialize in consultative, compassionate and often complex interactions supporting beneficiaries, employees and citizens in healthcare and government services. For more information visit http://www.pinsourcing.com
Some political parties, on Thursday, reacted to the Independent National Electoral Commissions (INEC) decision to deregister them due to their failure to win at least one political seat in Nigerias last general elections.

Earlier on Thursday, the INEC chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, declared the ruling APC; the main opposition, PDP; Action Alliance Congress (AAC), and 15 others as duly registered and recognised by the electoral body.

He also announced Alliance For Democracy (AD), Fresh Democratic Party (ADP), All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP), All Blending Party (ABP), and 70 other parties as deregistered.

Mr Yakubu said the 74 political parties did not meet the requirements of the Fourth Alteration to the Constitutional Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).

Many Nigerians had condemned the high number of political parties in Nigeria and their inability to make significant impact in many polls. Proponents of the multiparty structure have, however, defended the high number of parties arguing that this strengthens the electoral process.

PREMIUM TIMES reached out to at least 13 of the deregistered parties to get their reactions, but only four reacted.

Some said they were not aware of the decision; others were not ready to comment on the matter.

Reactions

The national chairman of the All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP), Okey Chikwendum, described the INEC decision as unconstitutional and an evidence of misplaced priority.

This is very disheartening and it is one of the issues we have in Nigeria today. Are we looking for means to improve our democracy and nurture it properly to encourage more people to participate. Why are we reducing the space?

INEC has more bothering issues that it should be worrying about than going through a process that has not been consumated. Im really disappointed with this development, he said.

He added that AGAP and 32 others have taken the INEC to court since the rumour of such was conceived.

There have been rumours of it and we went to court since last year, and in the last two weeks the judge said the judgement will be in the next ten days which is on the 17th of February and they (INEC) were served this morning only for them to call a press conference this afternoon, he added.

PREMIUM TIMES is yet to verify his claims.

Also Chizoba Onu, the vice-chairman, South-east of Fresh Democratic Party (FDP), said she is not surprised at the electoral bodys decision as the way democracy is practised in Nigeria is not the way it is practised all over the world.

She said the court had earlier prevented INEC from deregistering political parties but the electoral still went ahead to fulfil its theoretical notion.

She insisted that FDP met all requirements except the claim of not winning any political seat in the last general elections which should (not) be an actual yardstick.

Before you deregister a political party, have you even ask yourself if we have a fair and credible election? Was it fair enough for you to deregister a party on that ground? She said.

The National Secretary of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Fasogbon Akinboye, expressed shock over the INEC decision.

He said the INEC does not have a genuine reason to arrive at such a decision.

We are not moneybags, we dont buy votes, Mr Akinboye said, vowing that the party would go to court.

Also voicing the same resolution, the All Blending Party (ABP) National Secretary, George Moses, said his party will surely fight this decision.

We are the best alternative to APC, PDP

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Meanwhile, shortly after the INEC announcement, the Action Democratic Party (ADP), one of the 18 recognised political parties by the electoral body, said it remained the only credible alternative political party to the two existing dominant parties in Nigeria.

It called on the members of the newly deregistered parties to join in its quest to oust the two dominant parties comes 2023.

The party charged all leaders and members of the need to double their efforts in attracting more members and prominent Nigerians, and ensure that the party is not just there to provide alternative but to take charge of leadership at the center come 2023, because it has what it takes to produce the next President and governors in all the States, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Adelaja Adeoye, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday.
PayPal international payment system does not operate in Ukraine yet as it sees no prospects.

"The dialogue is ongoing. The problem is not that someone forbids PayPal from working here. The problem is that they are not interested in Ukraine as a market," Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine Dmytro Dubilet said in an interview with Hromadske.

According to Dubilet, Ukrainian regulation and legislation currently pose no obstacles to PayPal.

"Apparently, they [PayPal] just do not see enough potential," Dubilet said.

The minister added that Ukraine needed to economic growth to become "attractive" to PayPal. Dubilet also believes that PayPal will eventually work in Ukraine.

PayPal Holdings Inc. is an American company operating a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like checks and money orders. The company operates as a payment processor for online vendors, auction sites, and many other commercial users, for which it charges a fee in exchange for benefits such as one-click transactions and password memory. PayPal can be used in more than 200 countries/regions.

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang speaks to medical workers in a hospital where coronavirus patients are being treated in Wuhan, China. / Reuters

BEIJING/SHANGHAI  Toyota Motor Corp's production plants in China will stay closed through Feb. 9, the Japanese automaker said on Wednesday, in response to the spread of a new coronavirus that now includes a sharp rise in fatalities.

Toyota, which runs plants in regions such as the northern city of Tianjin and the southern province of Guangdong, said the closures after the Lunar New Year holidays were in line with transport lockdowns in some places, and as it assesses its parts supply situation.

The United States and Japan evacuated their nationals from the quarantined city of Wuhan, while British Airways suspended flights to mainland China.

Deaths have leapt to 132, and a Chinese government economist predicted a huge hit to the economy.

Beijing's pledge to slay the "devil" coronavirus has won the trust of the World Health Organization (WHO) but confirmation of another 1,459 cases  taking the total to 5,974 in China  only fueled public alarm worldwide.

Geely and our global family are united in support of the fight against the new coronavirus.



We have established a 200 million RMB fund to support the prevention and control of the epidemic. @volvocars@lotuscars@LondonEVCompany@GeelyWorldwidehttps://t.co/vLAaQavGNT  Zhejiang Geely Holding Group (@GeelyHolding) January 28, 2020

Travelers with the illness were identified around the world, including in the United States, but almost all of the cases of the illness have been in the central province of Hubei, the capital of which is Wuhan, where the virus emerged last month in a live wild animal market.

Story continues

The situation remained "grim and complex," Chinese President Xi Jinping acknowledged.

In many Chinese cities, streets were largely deserted, with the few who ventured out wearing masks. Starbucks stores in Beijing required people to have temperatures taken and posted notices saying it was a state requirement to wear masks inside.

"It's my first time here in Asia, I feel very unlucky," said Brazilian tourist Amanda Lee, 23, reluctantly cutting short a trip. "I couldn't even see the places I wanted, like the Great Wall."

There was relief, however, among those evacuated from Hubei province, home to about 60 million people and under virtual lockdown. "I was extremely worried that I was stuck there," said Takeo Aoyama, who arrived in Tokyo on a chartered plane carrying 206 Japanese out of Wuhan, with more flights planned.

Two of the Japanese evacuated had symptoms of pneumonia, but coronavirus had not been confirmed, medics said.

The virus is weighing heavily on the world's second-biggest economy. Companies are curbing travel to China, and airlines are cutting flights, with British Airways one of the biggest names in aviation to do so.

But in what could be a major step towards taming the disease, scientists in Australia said they had developed a lab-grown version of the coronavirus, the first to be recreated outside China.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about 210 Americans had been flown out of Wuhan. Those on board the aircraft would be screened several times and evaluated on arrival in California, it said in a statement released via the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

A U.S. government official told Reuters 50 diplomats and contractors were among the passengers.

U.S. officials said the White House was weighing whether to suspend flights to China. It was holding daily meetings on the outbreak and monitoring China-U.S. flights as a likely source of infection, sources briefed on the matter said, though it had decided against suspending air traffic for the time being.

The number of cases in China now exceeds its tally of 5,327 infected with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) coronavirus that killed about 800 people globally in 2002 and 2003.

While some experts believe the new strain, known as "2019-nCoV", is not as deadly as SARS, alarm has grown over its rapid spread and many unknown attributes, such as how lethal it is.

Like other respiratory infections, it is spread by droplets from coughs and sneezes, with an incubation time between one and 14 days. There are signs it may spread before symptoms show.

About 60 cases, but no deaths, have been reported in 15 other countries, including the United States, France and Singapore.
After PM Modi attacked the Chief Minister of Kerala and CPI(M) during his address in Rajya Sabha, on Thursday, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan showed strong objections to his remarks. Vijayan said that the comments made by PM Modi are untrue and protest worthy. He further added that Kerala is not willing to concede ground to those who want to instigate communal polarisation in the state.

PM Modis remarks on Kerala CM and CPI(M)

PM Modi, during his address on the motion of thanks to the President in Rajya Sabha, levelled allegations on CM Pinarayi Vijayan by conceitedly saying that they were promoting extremism in the state. PM Modi said, while Vijayan was warning about extremist elements infiltrating the anti-CAA protests in Kerala, latter's party, the CPI(M) was, supporting extremists in Delhi. CM Vijayan wrote a long post on Facebook explaining his position on PM Modis comment.

Read: Pinarayi Vijayan: 'Kerala won't implement any act backed by RSS'

Pinarayi Vijayans Facebook post

On Friday, Vijayan talking about the extremists that PM Modi mentioned, said, "People were warned of such infiltrators, proper caution was also exercised. The discriminatory CAA, which is a plan forged in the kiln of RSS for achieving communal goals, must be resisted with the bulwark of secularism. In this, Kerala is a model for the whole country. Our secular State has the strength to fend off any sort of infiltrators in this movement as well".

Read: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan seeks EAM Jaishankar's help in Nepal tourists case

"The unity that we see in these struggles is a hallmark of the secularism of Kerala. This spirit has inspired the protests in Kerala against CAA, which seeks to confer citizenship on the basis of religion. This State is not an arable land for any kind of communalism," he added.

Vijayan also said that the protests against the unconstitutional and discriminatory CAA have seen the coming together of people from all walks of life. "My remarks on extremist organizations like SDPI were made in good faith. Kerala is guided by the belief that secularism is the only means for defeating the communal agenda of RSS. And we will resist anyone who attempts to pollute this struggle with the poison of communalism," Vijayan said.

Read: 'Another disaster': Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slams Budget plan to tax Non-taxpaying NRIs

"The Prime Minister must rectify his statement that maligns the protests in Kerala. It is unbefitting for a Prime Minister to be a part of those who are disappointed with the fact that Kerala is leading the struggle against the communalism of both RSS and SDPI," he added. Have a look at his full post.

Read: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan writes to CMs of 11 states urging to pass anti-CAA resolution
Srinagar, Feb 7 : The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking the release of High Court Bar Association President Mian Abdul Qayoom, saying preventive detention is not punitive but preventive.

The court diktat came a day after the government placed two former J&K Chief Ministers -- Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti -- under the Public Safety Act (PSA).

Both the senior politicians have been under preventive detention ever since the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, on August 5 last year. Under PSA, a person can be detained for up to two years without trial.

"A law of preventive detention is not invalid because it prescribes no objective standard for ordering preventive detention, and leaves the matter to subjective satisfaction of the Executive," a single bench of the high court said in its judgment.

Mian Qayoom was detained on August 5, 2019, after the revocation of Article 370. Qayoom was booked under PSA and sent to Agra jail.

A petition against his detention had said that the detainee had been earlier placed under preventive detention in 2010 and after incarceration in various sub-jails of J&K, the detention order was withdrawn.

The court said that preventive detention is not punitive but preventive and aims to prevent a person from committing activities regarded as prejudicial to certain objects that the law of preventive detention seeks to prescribe.

"Preventive detention is, thus, based on suspicion or anticipation and not on proof. The responsibility for security of state, or maintenance of public order, or essential services and supplies, rests on the Executive and it must, therefore, have necessary powers to order preventive detention. Having said that, subjective satisfaction of a detaining authority to detain a person is not open to objective assessment by a court," the high court said.

"A court is not a proper forum to scrutinise the merits of administrative decision to detain a person. The court cannot substitute its own satisfaction for that of the authority concerned and decide whether its satisfaction was reasonable or proper, or whether in the circumstances of the matter, the person concerned should have been detained or not," it added.
An Bord Pleanala has granted fast tracked planning permission for a development including 741 apartments beside Connolly Station in central Dublin.

Developer Sean Mulryans Ballymore and their Singaporean backer Oxley Holdings have received planning approval for 741 homes in their Connolly Quarter development, on land owned by CIE that is being developed in partnership with the State body.

Approval was granted under the new fast-track Strategic Housing Development scheme.

Sean Mulryan said the scheme will help meet the housing need in the area.

Dublin has a housing shortage and I am delighted that Ballymore can play its part in creating hundreds of new homes, including 75 social homes, in the heart of Dublin. At Ballymore, were committed to true integration into the communities within which we build. The Connolly Quarter will be no different and well continue to work closely with the local community as we develop the Connolly Quarter, he said.

The apartments are one element of an overall masterplan for the Connolly Quarter which will also have two office buildings, an hotel and 20 retail and amenity units.

The scheme is expected to create over 1,000 direct construction and non-construction jobs for five years, including training and apprenticeships opportunities.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Ilkin Seyfaddini  Trend:

A workshop dedicated to the launch of the Institutional Capacity Building project, which will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance of Uzbekistan and the World Bank, was held on February 4-5 in Uzbekistan, Trend reports with reference to the ministry.

The project aims to improve the system of public finance management, conditions for market operations of the corporate sector, and mechanisms to support reforms implemented from 2019 through 2024.

The project, worth $33 million, will be funded by the International Development Association, a member of the World Bank Group.

It consists of three main components, the ministry said.

The first component envisages the introduction of effective mechanisms aimed at increasing the efficiency of budget expenditures, improving the process of public investment management and modernizing the system of state internal control and internal audit.

The second component provides for effective management of state assets and reform of state enterprises. The legal and regulatory framework governing the activities of state-owned enterprises will be improved and the principles of modern market economy of control and management of state-owned enterprises will be introduced. Potential of all state institutions involved in privatization and public-private partnership development will be built up.

The third component is aimed at support of economic reforms in the country, as well as of the Economic Council created for this purpose, the ministry added.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

State-owned BHEL on Friday said it has entered into a pact with Bharat Electronics Ltd to develop and market products, systems and sensors for defence and non-defence applications.

"A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) during DEFEXPO 2020 at Lucknow," BHEL said in a filing to the BSE.

The pact aims at leveraging the complementary strengths and capabilities of BHEL and BEL to develop and market products, systems and sensors for defence and non-defence applications, the filing added.

The MoU will also enable BHEL and BEL to make joint efforts to explore markets for products individually developed or jointly developed by both companies, it added.
The 2020 Oscars ceremony is right around the corner, which means well soon be gawking at the likes of Brad Pitt (nominated for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Scarlett Johansson (nominated twice, for her lead role in Marriage Story, and supporting turn in Jojo Rabbit), Joaquin Phoenix (considered a frontrunner for Joker), Renee Zellweger (another frontrunner, for playing Judy Garland in Judy), and more.

The 92nd Annual Academy Awards are arriving with their usual controversies (the ongoing problem of a lack of diversity in nominations, no women in the best director category, Netflix snagging tons of nominations). And, just like last year, the big shebang will happen without a host.

The no-host option worked pretty well last year, and we can definitely count on some emotional speeches, snazzy outfits, eye-popping jewelry and a galaxy of stars who will be on hand to present awards.

(How to watch the 2020 Oscars: The live show begins at 5 p.m. PT Sunday, Feb. 9 on ABC. According to the network, viewers in the Portland market cant watch the live broadcast of the ceremony at abc.com or with the ABC app and a participating TV provider. However, the broadcast should be available to livestream on Hulu + Live TV; and on YouTube TV)

The 2020 presenters lineup, for example, includes Keanu Reeves, Penelope Cruz, Maya Rudolph, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Rami Malek, Regina King, Kelly Marie Tran, Gal Gadot, Mahershala Ali, Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, Shia LaBeouf, James Corden, Sigourney Weaver, Timothee Chalamet, Zazie Beetz, and more.

Related: Will Netflix invade the weirdly early 2020 Oscars?

While there are favorites to win in most categories, the Oscars have been known to pull off surprises. The best picture nominees for 2020 are Ford V Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Parasite.

Related: Oscar nominations 2020: Snubs, surprises and the usual suspects for Academy Awards

Competing in the best actress in a leading role category are Cynthia Erivo in Harriet; Johansson in Marriage Story; Saoirse Ronan in Little Women; Charlize Theron in Bombshell; and Renee Zellweger in Judy.

The lead actor category nominees are Antonio Banderas in Pain and Glory; Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood; Adam Driver in Marriage Story; Phoenix in Joker; and Jonathan Pryce in The Two Popes.

Related: How to watch Missing Link, Laikas Oscar nominee for best animated feature

And Oregon viewers have a local nominee to cheer for. Missing Link, from the Laika studio in Hillsboro, is nominated in the best animated feature category. The movie scored a surprise victory at the 2020 Golden Globe awards, so who knows what the Oscars may bring? Other nominees in the animated feature category are How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, I Lost My Body, Klaus, and Toy Story 4.

Heres what you need to know to watch everything unfold.

What: The 2020 Oscars

When: 5 p.m. PT Sunday, Feb. 9 (live)

TV channel: ABC

-- Kristi Turnquist

kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
MAHLALINI  The police are investigating the death of three people who were reported to have been murdered on Wednesday.

The murders happened in three isolated incidents.



The first incident relations to a family of Mahlalini.

We all know how the old phrase goes, lightning never strikes the same place twice.

But this saying seems to have no relevance whatsoever to the Sibandze ruling household of Mahlalini, which was sadly thrust into mourning yet again after two closely related young lads from the same extended family got into a nasty brawl that claimed the life of the other on Wednesday night.



Sanele Sibandze (30) died tragically when he was brutally stabbed by his 24-year-old cousin from the Sibandze extended family of Mahlalini late on Wednesday, leaving the whole community shattered by the sudden turn of events.



Imbibing



The two relatives were reportedly imbibing the potent and in-season marula traditional brew with a group of young men from the same family in one of the many Sibandze homesteads in the area. However, after some time, the pair of Sanele and the 24-year-old suspect got into a heated argument shortly after 10pm.



At the height of the altercation, the younger cousin is said to have quickly left the group of relatives who were imbibing in front of one of the houses in the compound, presumably to get a knife. When he returned about 10 minutes later, he is reported to have simply charged towards the 30-year-old Sanele, and without uttering a word, he simply plunged the knife into the latters chest, according to allegations by eyewitnesses, with the victim collapsing instantly.

Efforts by those who were around to resuscitate him did not succeed as his body remained unresponsive. This prompted the group to call elders in the family, who immediately went to check on them.



Saneles uncle, Milton Sibandze said: I only received a call at night to inform me that the young man was lying unconscious in the yard, and I proceeded to the place. Indeed I found him unresponsive. I tried talking to him but he would not say a word, and I knew something very bad had happened.

At the time of the interview with this publication, the grieving elderly man said the incident had left him with many unanswered questions.



No one was prepared to come forward to say what happened and sadly he couldnt talk to me as well, he was gone, lamented the elderly man.

The victim was picked up and taken to a nearby health facility, where the familys worst fears were confirmed  he was pronounced dead by medical personnel. The circumstances leading to the death of the young man were not clear, but there is speculation that it was all about settling old scores.
The so-called Citgo 6six U.S. oil executives at Citgo who were detained in Venezuela more than two years ago and released under house arrest in December 2019were rounded up by Venezuelas intelligence police just after Venezuelas opposition leader Juan Guaido met with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House, Associated Press reports, citing a family member of the oil executives.

While President Trump was hosting in the White House Juan Guaido, who is the legitimate president of Venezuela according to the U.S. and many other Western countries, the intelligence police of Nicolas Maduro, SEBIN, took the six executives from their homes on Wednesday night, the brother of two of the men told AP.

The current whereabouts of the six oil executives are unknown, Alirio Zambrano, the brother of two of them, told AP.

The six U.S. executives at Citgo, the U.S. subsidiary of Venezuelas state-held oil firm PDVSA, were detained by Nicolas Maduros regime in Venezuela in November 2017 and the Citgo 6 sat in jail two years after their detention.

Venezuela arrested the six executives as part of a corruption sweep at an event in Caracas in November 2017. Maduro said a week later that all six - five of whom are US citizens and one holding a permanent residency permit for the United States - would be tried as traitors.

Back then, U.S. authorities requested that its nationals be released, but Maduro refused, saying These are people born in Venezuela, theyre Venezuelan and theyre going to be judged for being corrupt, thieving traitors.

Last December, Venezuela released the six Citgo executives under house arrest.

The executives were only brought to court in the middle of 2019, after 18 months in prison. During that hearing, the presiding judge accepted the prosecutions request for a trial on corruption charges without setting a date.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Three of southeast New Mexicos most notorious oilfield roads are in for major rebuilds in the coming years as the New Mexico Department of Transportation aims to use surplus state funds from oil and gas revenue to ensure workers in the industry can travel safely through the region.

New Mexico Cabinet Secretary of Transportation Michael Sandoval told Carlsbad area business leaders on Monday that a $130 million project to update U.S. Highway 285 from the Texas state line 22 miles north to Loving was fully funded.

The road became increasingly dangerous as truck traffic increased as workers traveled south from Carlsbad to the oilfield and back into town at the end of their shifts.

Sandoval said NMDOT was also working to develop alternate routes to be used during the rebuild, committing to match up to $10 million in funds provided by the energy industry or local community.

We know that project will be a big inconvenience to the oil and gas industry. We want to make sure people have options, he said at the meeting in Santa Fe. We want to make sure oil and gas is still mobile in that area.

Eddy County Director of Community Services Wes Hooper said funding for the alternative route off U.S. 285 likely would come from the industry, as the routes would be primarily used by oil and gas workers.

Were going to industry to help us fund projects that will help the industry run a bit more smoothly, he said.

Another project to upgrade New Mexico State Road 31 to four lanes, between its intersections at U.S. 285 and U.S. 128 received about $110 million in funds, Sandoval said.

A project to add another four lanes to U.S. 128 from Carlsbad to Jal received about $60 million of the $200 million needed, he said.

Sandoval said that overall, about $150 million is needed to fully repair and update the three priority roads in southeast New Mexico: U.S. 285, 128 and 31.

He said the projects would be done gradually so as not to interrupt the dense oilfield traffic.

We want to be sensitive about how we release these projects, Sandoval said. We dont want there to be construction every five miles.

Southeast New Mexico, known for heavy oil and gas development generating most of the states recent budget surpluses, must be prioritized, Sandoval said, in order to maintain the states fiscal momentum.

NMDOTs budget is about $980 million, he said, with a $300 million surplus. About $250 million of that would go to the agency, with the rest dedicated to local road projects.

We want to support oil and gas, he told the Eddy County leaders. Your county is one of the main reasons we have this money. We want to try to bring in as much money as we can to go to local infrastructure. Some of that would definitely go to southeast New Mexico.

We care about the entire system. We just want all of it to just work together.

Jerry Fanning, Eddy County public and government affairs director, urged lawmakers to support policy allowing tax exemptions for companies that donate funds to local oilfield roads.

If we can keep those trucks running, we can keep getting that money to Santa Fe, Fanning said. Its also a big safety issue. Those are our goals.

Ryan Flynn, executive director of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, said the industry already invests heavily in southeast New Mexico where operations are concentrated.

He said the association supported a bill to add a tax credit for road projects.

The southeast generates the majority of the revenue, and they dont receive their fair share of the revenue, Flynn said. We agree that if the southeast is the economic engine of the state, we need to make sure were investing in the engine. Thats not a popular opinion outside of the southeast.

We take roads very seriously, he said.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
The novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV is making headlines worldwide. Since there is no specific therapy against it, the prevention of infection is of particular importance in order to stem the epidemic. Like all droplet infections, the virus can spread via hands and surfaces that are frequently touched. "In hospitals, these can be door handles, for example, but also call buttons, bedside tables, bed frames and other objects in the direct vicinity of patients, which are often made of metal or plastic," explains Professor Gunter Kampf from the Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine at the Greifswald University Hospital.

Together with Professor Eike Steinmann, head of the Department for Molecular and Medical Virology at Ruhr-Universitat Bochum (RUB), he has compiled comprehensive findings from 22 studies on coronaviruses and their inactivation for a future textbook. "Under the circumstances, the best approach was to publish these verified scientific facts in advance, in order to make all information available at a glance," says Eike Steinmann.

Infectious on surfaces for up to nine days

The evaluated studies, which focus on the pathogens Sars coronavirus and Mers coronavirus, showed, for example, that the viruses can persist on surfaces and remain infectious at room temperature for up to nine days. On average, they survive between four and five days. "Low temperature and high air humidity further increase their lifespan," points out Kampf.

Tests with various disinfection solutions showed that agents based on ethanol, hydrogen peroxide or sodium hypochlorite are effective against coronaviruses. If these agents are applied in appropriate concentrations, they reduce the number of infectious coronaviruses by four so-called log steps within one minute: this means, for example, from one million to only 100 pathogenic particles. If preparations based on other active ingredients are used, the product should be proven to be at least effective against enveloped viruses ("limited virucidal activity"). "As a rule, this is sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of infection," explains Gunter Kampf.

Findings should be transferable to 2019-CoV

The experts assume that the results from the analyses of other coronaviruses are transferable to the novel virus. "Different coronaviruses were analysed, and the results were all similar," concludes Eike Steinmann.

###

Original publication

Gunter Kampf, Daniel Todt, Stephanie Pfaender, Eike Steinmann: Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and its inactivation with biocidal agents, in: Journal of Hospital Infection, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2020.01.022

Press contact

Prof. Dr. Eike Steinmann

Department for Molecular and Medical Virology

Faculty of Medicine

Ruhr-Universitat Bochum

Germany

Phone: +49 234 32 28189

Email: eike.steinmann@rub.de

Prof. Dr. Gunter Kampf

Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine

Greifswald University Hospital

Germany

Email: guenter.kampf@uni-greifswald.de
The Trump administration is buying access to commercial databases of phone location data to carry out immigration enforcement, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

Under the Department of Homeland Security, both Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection have tracked phone signals in operations. Sources told the Journal that ICE has used the data to identify illegal immigrants for arrest and deportation, while CBP implements the information to track phone activity in remote stretches of the desert along the southern border.

The shift to commercial purchases of data allows the government to bypass a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Carpenter v. United States, which said phone location data was a protected class of information and required law enforcement to obtain a warrant before using the data in cases.

This is a classic situation where creeping commercial surveillance in the private sector is now bleeding directly over into government, Alan Butler, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, told the Journal.

Both agencies did not deny using the database, but did not detail its specific uses.

While CBP is being provided access to location information, it is important to note that such information doesnt include cellular phone tower data, is not ingested in bulk and doesnt include the individual users identity, a CBP spokesman told the Journal.

An ICE spokesman added that the agency generally did not use data for deportation operations, but said that the organization does not discuss specific law-enforcement tactics or techniques, or discuss the existence or absence of specific law-enforcement-sensitive capabilities.

Government records show that DHS, ICE and CBP have purchased licenses from Venntel Inc., a firm that buys data from private marketing companies and packages it to sell to other buyers.

We are not able to comment on behalf of our customers, and any inquiries on this contract should be directed to DHS, Venntels president, Chris Gildea, told the Journal.

Story continues

In December, The New York Times revealed how a massive data set of over 50 billion location pings linked to more than 12 million phones could be easily identified through tracking movement patterns, despite a 30-digit code thought to anonymize the user.

More from National Review
BSH Home Appliances Corporation is among an exclusive group of companies that met the Top Employers Institutes strict criteria for exceptional employee offerings

BSH has received this prestigious certification consecutively since 2016, consistently upholding an environment of growth and success for its team members nationwide

The Top Employers Institute annually grants this certification to qualifying companies after conducting extensive international research

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BSH Home Appliances Corporation has been officially recognized by the Top Employers Institute as a Top Employer 2020 in the United States of America. BSH has received this prestigious award for five consecutive years, reinforcing the companys commitment to providing excellent employee conditions, nurturing and developing talent through all levels of the organization, and continually optimizing employment practices for its team members nationwide.

The annual international research undertaken by an independent HR certification company, the Top Employers Institute, recognizes leading employers around the world who utilize progressive people-first HR practices.

BSH believes that our success as a company is based upon the commitment of our talented employees. As such, we are committed to fostering a collaborative environment that inspires and supports our valued team membersand receiving the Top Employers United States of America for the fifth year in a row is a testament to this approach, said Marlies van der Horst, Head of Human Resources, BSH Home Appliances Corporation, Region North America. We are very proud of this recognition and remain steadfast in providing growth opportunities and outstanding support for employees across every level of the organization.

The Top Employers Institute Global Certification Program has certified and recognized more than 1,500 Top Employers in 118 countries/regions across five continents. The certification is awarded based off the results of the HR Best Practice Survey, which encompasses over 100 questions covering 600 People Development practices across 10 topics: Talent Strategy, Workforce Planning, Talent Acquisition, On-boarding, Learning & Development, Performance Management, Leadership Development, Career & Succession Management, Compensation & Benefits and Culture. To further reinforce the validity of the process, all answers to the more than 100 survey questions were independently audited, meaning this research has verified that BSH offers outstanding employee conditions.

Top Employers Institute CEO David Plink says, To become recognized as a Top Employer, an organization must prove that the implementation of their people strategies enriches the world of work of their employees. The certified participants are a shining example of a dedication to people practices as they continuously commit to empowering their employees for a better world of work. Congratulations to BSH Home Appliances!

To learn more about the Top Employers Institute and the Top Employers Certification, visit: www.top-employers.com . To learn more about BSH Home Appliances, please visit: https://www.bsh-group.com/us/ .

About BSH Home Appliances Corporation

BSH Home Appliances Corporation produces and markets small and major home appliances that are known across North America for their high-quality and superior innovation. BSH sells its Gaggenau, Thermador and Bosch branded products throughout North America, through distributors, independent appliance dealers, national and regional retailers, builders and large buying groups. BSH Home Appliances Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of BSH Home Appliances Group, headquartered in Munich, Germany, the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector worldwide. Manufacturing facilities are located in New Bern, North Carolina, and LaFollette, Tennessee. BSH Technology and Development Centers are located in Oak Ridge and Caryville, Tennessee and New Bern, North Carolina. https://www.bsh-group.com/us/

About Top Employers Institute

Top Employers Institute is the global authority on recognizing excellence in people practices. We help accelerate these practices to enrich the world of work. Through the Top Employers Institute certification program, participating companies can be validated, certified and recognized as an employer of choice. Established more than 28 years ago, Top Employers Institute has certified over 1,500 organizations in 118 countries/regions. These certified Top Employers positively impact the lives of 6,000,000 employees globally.

Top Employers Institute. For a better world of work.

www.top-employers.com
If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you'd hope to be making a profit. Furthermore, you'd generally like to see the share price rise faster than the market Unfortunately for shareholders, while the Tomsk Distribution Company (MCX:TORS) share price is up 22% in the last five years, that's less than the market return. On a brighter note, more newer shareholders are probably rather content with the 21% share price gain over twelve months.

Check out our latest analysis for Tomsk Distribution

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' 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.

Tomsk Distribution's earnings per share are down 18% per year, despite strong share price performance over five years.

Since the EPS are down strongly, it seems highly unlikely market participants are looking at EPS to value the company. The falling EPS doesn't correlate with the climbing share price, so it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

It is not great to see that revenue has dropped by 0.4% per year over five years. So it seems one might have to take closer look at earnings and revenue trends to see how they might influence the share price.

The graphic below depicts how earnings and revenue have changed over time (unveil the exact values by clicking on the image).

MISX:TORS Income Statement, February 7th 2020

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR incorporates the value of any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings, along with any dividends, based on the assumption that the dividends are reinvested. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Tomsk Distribution's TSR for the last 5 years was 71%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

Story continues

A Different Perspective

Tomsk Distribution shareholders are up 25% for the year (even including dividends) . But that return falls short of the market. The silver lining is that the gain was actually better than the average annual return of 11% per year over five year. It is possible that returns will improve along with the business fundamentals. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Tomsk Distribution (including 1 which is is a bit concerning) .

But note: Tomsk Distribution may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on RU 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.
Had offered to bring back Pakistani citizens as well from Wuhan: Jaishankar tells Rajya Sabha

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 07: India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.

Making a suo motu statement in Rajya Sabha, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government has asked people not to travel to China - the epicentre of the deadly virus, and will mandatorily quarantine anyone returning from China.

Screening of passengers has been stepped up at 21 airports as well as 12 major seaports and all minor ports. Also, screening is being done at all integrated check posts on the Nepal border after the Himalayan nation reported a confirmed case.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said there are an estimated 80 Indian students remaining in Wuhan. Of them, 10 students who came to the airport were running fever and were not allowed to board the special Air India flight by the Chinese authorities. The remaining 70 had voluntarily stayed back.

When MPs asked if Pakistan had sought Indian help in evacuating its citizens from China, he said the offer was made to all neighbours and only Maldives choose to avail it.

"Regarding Pakistan, at the time when our two flights were going, we had told all the students and the larger community in Wuhan that we were prepared not only to bring back our own people but all people in our neighbourhood who would like to come back.

"This was an offer which was made to all our neighbours but of them 7 students of Maldives chose the offer. But I would like members to know that offer was made to everybody," Jaishankar said.

While the Cabinet Secretary is taking daily reviews with all related ministries, a Group of Ministers comprising the Cabinet Ministers for External Affairs and Civil Aviation and the Ministers of State for Home, Shipping and Health and Family Welfare has been constituted to monitor the situation.

"As of today, a total of 1,275 flights have been screened covering a total of 1,39,539 passengers, and 150 passengers identified with symptoms have been referred to isolation facilities," the Health Minister said.

Detailing steps taken to check the spread of coronavirus, Vardhan said the first advisory was issued on January 17 and the travel advisories are accordingly getting revised as situation evolves. "Presently, existing visas (including eVisa already issued) are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China. People have already been advised to refrain from travelling to China through an earlier advisory. People travelling to China henceforth will be quarantined on return," he said.

"People having compelling reasons to visit India are asked to contact the Indian embassy in Beijing or consulate in Shanghai or Guangzhou," the minister added. Vardhan informed that the screening of passengers has been done since January 18. "Initially airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru , Hyderabad and Kochi were covered and subsequently expanded to a total of 21 airports.

Universal thermal screening has been made mandatory for all flights from Singapore and Thailand besides Hong Kong and China and these flights will park at earmarked aero-bridges to facilitate screening," he added. Signages have been displayed at prominent places in airports and ports, in-flight announcements are being made and self-declaration forms are being filled up by all passengers.

Stating that three positive cases have been reported so far in India, all from Kerala, Vardhan said, "All these cases have a travel history from Wuhan, China. They have been isolated and are reported to be clinically stable." Besides screening incoming passengers, India has evacuated 647 Indians and 7 Maldivian nationals from China.

"After the evacuation, the people are presently undergoing quarantine at special facilities created by the Indian Army in Manesar and by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chawla Camp," he said, adding 10 of the evacuees who were symptomatic have been shifted to isolation facilities. All of them have tested negative and are stable, he added.

Vardhan asserted that the ever increasing magnitude of this outbreak calls for a concerted effort by not only health ministry but all sectors of government. He said screening of passengers has been initiated in 12 major seaports and all minor ports in the country to identify passengers & crew coming from China and to isolate them in case they are found symptomatic.

With reports of a confirmed case in Nepal, Vardhan said the Indian government has initiated screening in all integrated check posts from Nepal. "Regular surveillance has been initiated across the country for all cases having travel history from China and for people having contact with such persons and having fever, cough or breathlessness.

Through Integrated Disease Surveillance network all such persons are tracked and presently we are following 6,599 passengers across 29 States/UTs in the community," Vardhan said, adding that 305 symptomatic travellers have been referred to isolation facility and are being monitored.

Vardhan said China on December 31 reported an outbreak of coronavirus that was initially noticed in seafood market in Wuhan city in Hubei province in early December and spread to all provinces of China. As on February 6, a total of 31,161 confirmed cases and 636 deaths have been reported in China.
Ngatokoona Mareiti says she heard her friend screaming from inside a toolbox after finding her tied up with duct tape.

Iuliana Triscaru was found dead in 2016. Credit:QPS

Mareiti gave evidence on Friday at the murder trial of Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, 28, who is accused of killing the friend - Iuliana Triscaru - and Cory Breton.

The couple's decomposing bodies were found inside the toolbox at a lagoon on Scrubby Creek, south of Brisbane, in February 2016.

Mareiti said she saw Ms Triscaru and Mr Breton the previous month on the couch in a Kingston unit when she went to buy drugs.
The coverage on this live blog has ended  but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus, visit the live blog from CNBC's U.S team. All times below are in Beijing time.

9:15 pm: L'Oreal CEO says coronavirus will hamper demand over coming weeks, but e-commerce can help offset crisis

The chief executive of L'Oreal believes e-commerce sales will "really help" to offset the impact of China's coronavirus, while warning the outbreak is likely to hamper demand over the coming weeks. "We are very strong on e-commerce," Jean-Paul Agon, CEO of L'Oreal, told CNBC's Charlotte Reed on Friday. Agon said e-commerce had accounted for almost 50% of the company's sales in China last year and "we think that this will really help us in the (coronavirus) crisis." Shares of the Paris-listed stock were slightly higher during afternoon deals.  Meredith

8:20 pm: Ericsson withdraws from major Barcelona conference over coronavirus concerns

Sweden's Ericsson has announced it will not attend Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain later this month, saying it cannot ensure the safety of employees and customers amid concerns over the coronavirus. "The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly," Borje Ekholm, president and CEO of Ericsson, said in a statement on Friday. "We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year's event," he added. MWC is scheduled to run from Feb. 24 to Feb. 27. It is the world's largest telecom industry event and attracts more than 100,000 visitors each year. Separately, the U.S. Attorney General has said America should consider taking a controlling stake in European telecom equipment makers Ericsson and Nokia in order to "blunt" Chinese firm Huawei's "drive to domination." Shares of Ericsson were up almost 4% during early afternoon deals.  Meredith

7:35 pm: WHO director-general warns of a chronic shortage of personnel protective equipment

The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) has reportedly warned about the risk of a chronic shortage of protective equipment as countries work to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking at an executive board meeting at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned about a lack of masks, gloves and other protective equipment, Reuters reported. Tedros also said there had been fewer reported coronavirus infections in China over the last two days. However, "the numbers could go up again," he cautioned. China's National Health Commission on Friday confirmed 31,131 cases of the deadly pneumonia-like virus in the country, with 636 deaths. (See 8:16 am update). Late last month, health experts told CNBC that the panic buying of face masks to protect against the coronavirus was "completely understandable," but ultimately unwarranted. They also warned a shortage of masks could pose a risk to health workers.  Meredith

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference following an emergency talks over the new SARS-like virus spreading in China and other nations in Geneva on January 22, 2020. Pierre Albouy | AFP | Getty Images

6:55 pm: Trump hails 'great discipline' in China to tackle coronavirus

President Donald Trump has heaped praise on Chinese President Xi Jinping for "leading the counterattack" against the coronavirus. The U.S. president said via Twitter that he had recently had a "very good" conversation with Xi, adding that the White House was "working closely" with Beijing to help tackle the outbreak. "Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!" Trump said on Friday.  Meredith Tweet 2

6:15 pm: Singapore reports three more coronavirus cases, raises virus alert to SARS level

Singapore on Friday confirmed three more cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of people infected in the city-state to 33. The new cases are not thought to have any link to previous infections or travel to China. It has prompted Singapore's authorities to raise its virus alert level to orange, up from yellow, as new cases show the deadly pneumonia-like virus spreading. The alert level of orange was also declared during the SARS outbreak of 2003. It is one below the highest alert level of red, which would indicate the virus is spreading widely. "As there are now a few local cases without any links to previous cases or travel history to China, we have stepped up our risk assessment," Singapore's Ministry of Health said in a statement. The ministry has urged event organizers to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale events.  Meredith

5:10 pm: Chinese authorities emphasize their ability to support economic growth

The effect of the new coronavirus on China is temporary, and the economy will continue to show great resilience, Pan Gongsheng, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said Friday at a press conference in Beijing. "The Chinese government has sufficient policy space to stabilize economic growth," Pan said, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. He added that the recovery in the stock market and movement of the yuan's exchange rate in both directions, indicate that China's financial market Is becoming more resilient and more mature. Also on Friday, the Ministry of Finance announced that in an effort to alleviate the tax burden, for businesses in industries affected by the virus, the maximum period for which losses can be carried over is extended to eight years from five years .  Cheng

4:20 pm: Finland's national airline says it cannot provide a full-year revenue estimate due to coronavirus outbreak

Finland's national airline said Friday that it is unable to provide investors with a full-year revenue estimate "due to the situation with coronavirus." Finnair said the direct financial impact of the outbreak during the first three months of 2020 was expected to be "relatively limited," even if mainland China cancellations continued to the end of the first quarter. The airline reported full-year revenue for 2019 increased by more than 9% in 2019, with shares up more than 5% during early morning deals.  Meredith

4:05 pm: Over 300,000 people sign petition calling for WHO director-general's immediate resignation

An online petition calling for the immediate resignation of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), has received more than 300,000 signatures in one week. The petition, which was created on Jan. 31, argues Tedros is "not fit for his role" as director-general of the United Nations health agency. It cites frustration that the coronavirus outbreak was not declared a global health emergency on Jan. 23 and a refusal to recognize Taiwan as a WHO member. The WHO was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC. WHO recognized the deadly pneumonia-like virus as an international emergency on Jan. 30. Taiwan is not a member of the WHO due to China's objections. Beijing considers self-governing Taiwan a wayward province to be brought under its control.  Meredith

3:07 pm: Shanghai passes new law to punish those who hide their illness

The Shanghai Municipal People's Congress voted to pass a new law that stipulates that those who conceal their medical history and their visits to sick people or key infected areas, and who avoid medical isolation, can be placed on the municipal blacklist. It's not clear what these punishments are, though typically they include bans on air and high-speed rail travel, and luxury spending. This may be more an effort to emphasize the need to self-report and comply with authorities.  Cheng

2:08 pm: China to send team to Wuhan amid public outcry over whistleblower doctor's death

China will be sending a team to Wuhan city, the epicenter of the outbreak, "to comprehensively investigate the matters regarding Dr. Li Wenliang raised by the public," according to China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. Dr. Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old Chinese doctor in Wuhan, died early Friday morning after being infected by the virus, according to the Wuhan Central Hospital where he worked. The ophthalmologist was one of the first people to warn about the dangers of the virus, but was reprimanded by authorities for "spreading rumors." His death has ignited a public outpouring of grief and criticism of the government on social media. The hashtag #IWantFreedomOfSpeech has been censored on Chinese social media, Weibo.  Tan Tweet 1

1:03 pm: Uniqlo suspends operations in half its stores in China

Uniqlo has temporarily shut down nearly half its stores in China, Reuters reported, saying the Japanese clothes retailer will suspend operations of 370 of its 750 stores there. China has been a major growth market for its parent company, Fast Retailing.  Tan

12:38 pm: S&P slashes China GDP forecast for 2020

Ratings agency S&P has revised lower China's GDP forecast for this year  from 5.7% before the virus outbreak to 5%. "Most of the economic impact of coronavirus will be felt in the first quarter, and China's recovery will be firmly in place by the third quarter of this year," S&P Global Ratings APAC Chief Economist Shaun Roache said in a Friday report. Looking ahead, S&P expects an "above-trend" growth of 6.4% versus a previous forecast of 5.6% for 2021.  Roy

11:43 am: Trump says he is confident of China's 'strength and resilience'

Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on the phone Friday morning Beijing time. "President Trump expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak," said White House spokesperson Judd Deere in a tweet. Deere tweet: Today, @realDonaldTrump spoke with President Xi Jinping of China. President Trump expressed confidence in China's strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. The two leaders talked about the spread of the virus, and Xi said China is doing all it can to fight the outbreak, according to the state-owned broadcaster CCTV. "(Xi said) we have full confidence and full ability to overcome the epidemic. The long-term good prospects of China's economic development will not change," the report said, according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese text.  Cheng, Tan

Medical staff are seen at a makeshift hospital converted from an exhibition center in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province on Feb. 5, 2020. The hospital can provide about 1,600 beds to infected patients. Xiong Qi | Xinhua News Agency | Getty

10:55 am: Japan's Abe wants government to pull out all stops to limit economic impact

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reportedly called on his government to take "all necessary steps" in order to limit the economic impact of the virus outbreak. That could include dipping into budget reserves, Reuters said. "There's a risk the coronavirus outbreak could hurt consumption, so we need to watch developments carefully," Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura was quoted as saying on Friday, reported Reuters citing Jiji Press. Japan, which is preparing to host the 2020 Summer Olympics in July and August, is also concerned about the impact on inbound tourism, the report said.  Tan

9:42 am: 41 new cases from Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in Japan

An additional 41 people on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which arrived at the Japanese port of Yokohama earlier this week, have tested positive. This brings the total number of confirmed cases from the cruise ship to 61, said Japan's health ministry. About 3,700 passengers and crew were placed under mandatory quarantine for two weeks after 10 people aboard the cruise liner tested positive.  Tan

9:22 am: Newborn in China becomes youngest case

A baby in Wuhan, who was born on Saturday, tested positive for the virus 36 hours after he was delivered, the Associated Press reported. Authorities said he was the youngest person known to be infected with the new coronavirus, according to the report. "The baby was immediately separated from the mother after the birth and has been under artificial feeding. There was no close contact with the parents, yet it was diagnosed with the disease," Zeng Lingkong, director of neonatal diseases at Wuhan Children's Hospital, told Chinese TV. It was not clear how the child got infected, AP said.  Tan

9:08 am: Moody's warns that Australian universities could be hit harder than their global peers

Moody's Investors Service said Australia's universities could face more immediate credit risks compared to their global peers, as travel restrictions on Chinese citizens will impact international enrolments and exchange programs. Chinese students make up about 60% of the international students at Australia's top universities, and international students account for about 33% of the total student intake Down Under, the report said. "While the impact will remain manageable if the coronavirus is contained within the next few months, a longer outbreak has the potential to materially dent revenue and cash reserves for Australian universities," according to Moody's.  Tan

8:40 am: Chinese social media erupts with condolences and anger over whistleblower doctor's death

On Friday morning, the two most popular hashtags on Weibo, China's version of Twitter, were about the death of Dr. Li Wenliang, the doctor who was reprimanded by the government when he first sounded the alarm on the coronavirus. Users of WeChat, China's ubiquitous messaging app, also poured out condolences in their "moments" feed, which is akin to Facebook's news feed. The comments ranged from respect and sadness over the loss of a "hero," to references of "Do you hear the People Sing" from Les Miserables and a remark from Li to Caixin news that, "A healthy society should not only have one voice."  Cheng

A sign reminding people to wash their hands is pictured outside a dormitory at the Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy which has been designated as quarantine site for travelers from the Chinese province of Hubei on February 6, 2020 in North Bend, Washington. Jason Redmond | AFP | Getty Images

8:16 am: China says death toll rises to 636, as total cases cross 31,000

China says there were an additional 73 deaths and 3,143 new cases of the coronavirus in China as of the end of Feb. 6, the National Health Commission said in its daily update on Friday. This brings the total number of deaths in China to 636 and the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 31,161, the government said. Most of those who died on Thursday were from Hubei  the epicenter of the outbreak.  Tan All times below are in Eastern time.

6:15 pm: Pentagon sets up more military bases to take in quarantined Americans

The Pentagon identified 11 military installations near major airports that can support those evacuated from China, where the current outbreak originated. Department of Defense personnel won't be in direct contact with the evacuees and will minimize contact with personnel supporting the evacuees, officials said. The bases are in Hawaii, Illinois, Texas, California, Georgia, New York, Washington state, New Jersey, Michigan and the District of Columbia.  Macias

Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk though the Chinatown neighborhood of New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2020. Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images

5:25 pm: Hubei reports an additional 2,447 cases, 69 deaths

China's Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, reported an additional 69 deaths and 2,447 cases over the previous 24-hour period. The Hubei Provincial Health Committee said that this brings the total confirmed cases in the province to 22,112 and totals deaths in the province to 618.  Feuer

3:55 pm: Hit to global economy will be worse than SARS
Counselors were made available to students of Lower Dauphin High School on Friday following the death of a senior.

The district announced the students death in a news release on its website. Spokesman Jim Hazen characterized the death as a suicide.

This is a sensitive issue for adolescents and we suggest that you talk with your children about their feelings, the districts release states. On Friday, counseling will be available at school for students who wanted to talk about their feelings."

District officials also urge parents to be alert for signs that their children need special attention. Some of those signs include:

Difficulty sleeping

Changes in sleeping

Inability to concentrate

Absentmindedness

Irritability

Excessive thoughts about death or dying

Isolation

Withdrawing from normal activities/friends

Guilt

Fearfulness and worry

Use of alcohol/drugs

Risk-taking behaviors

Parents who are uncomfortable talking to their children about the issue, or who have questions or concerns, are urged to contact one of the following district offices:

Lower Dauphin High School Office  717-566-5330

Lower Dauphin Middle School Office  717-566-5310

Dauphin County Crisis Intervention  717-232-7511

CMU - Case Management Unit  717-232-8761

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The Senate on Thursday asked the federal government to investigate the outbreak of a strange epidemic that has claimed 15 lives in Oye-Obi Local Government Area of Benue State.

It has, therefore, urged the Federal Ministry of Health to immediately mobilize focal persons to the area to ascertain the nature of the disease.

The Senate also urged the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to promptly put up surveillance to contain the disease, see to the treatment of victims and protect others from contracting it.

The Senate resolutions were sequel to the consideration of a motion moved at plenary by Senator Abba Moro (Benue South).

He listed the first victims of the epidemic outbreak to include Happiness Ogbo, Onajobi Ogbedu, Wisdom Agwo and Andy Edu, all of whom died 48 hours after contracting the undiagnosed disease.

According to Moro, the disease, which is yet to be diagnosed by health authorities and medical experts in Benue State, has symptoms such as headache, internal heat, diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach ache, weakness of the body and swollen stomach.

"As at Monday, February 3, 2020, the number of persons affected with the strange epidemic has risen to one hundred and four," he further said.
Pakistan parliament on Friday passed a resolution demanding public hanging of those convicted of sexually abusing and murdering children.

The resolution, which referred to the brutal killing of an 8-year-old girl after abuse in Nowshera area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province in 2018, was passed with majority votes as it was supported by all lawmakers except those belonging to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former premier Benazir Bhutto.

Former premier and PPP leader Raja Pervez Ashraf said that pubic hanging was violation of UN rules and punishment cannot mitigate crimes. Ramping up the severity of punishments does not result in a reduction in crime."



Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan presented the resolution in the House which strongly condemned the incidents of child sexual abuse.

This house demands that to stop these shameful and brutal killings of children and give a strong deterrent effect, the killers and rapists should not only be given death penalty by hanging but they should be hanged publicly, it read.

However, the resolution was condemned by two ministers who were not present in the house at the time voting.

Strongly condemn this resolution this is just another grave act in line with brutal civilisation practices, societies act in a balanced way barberiaism is not answer to crimes...... this is another expression of extremism, Minister for Science Fawad Chaudhry tweeted in reaction.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari also expressed anger.

The resolution passed in NA (National Assembly) today on public hangings was across party lines and not a government-sponsored resolution but an individual act. Many of us oppose it - our MOHR (Ministry of Human Rights) strongly opposes this. Unfortunately I was in a meeting and wasn't able to go to NA, she tweeted.

According to a report released by child rights organisation Sahil in September last year, 1,304 cases of sexual abuse of children were reported by the media in the country from January to June. This means that at least seven children are abused every day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An IKEA store in Switzerland is being praised for defending an employee against a bigoted comment made by a customer.

According to a report by NDTV, the customer, after visiting the store and finding the cashier in a headscarf wrote a negative review. Stating that it was "too bad" to find a "cashier in headscarf", the customer wrote that he will "not step into that store again".

Responding to the review, IKEA said that the company has "clear values" which include "respect for everyone regardless of their origin, sexual orientation or religion. Before you judge a person based on their clothes, you must get to know them".

"We do not welcome your comment which is explicitly discriminatory. Of course, you have the right to have your opinions in private, but publishing them openly in this way exposes you to the eyes of the law, and we will in no way mourn the fact that you no longer 'step into' our store with such ideas," the store said.

The statement, and the stance taken by IKEA, received wide-scale praise online, with many users giving the store five star reviews. Users also commented on the store's "tolerance", "courage" and "open mind".

According to reports, the incident comes against the background of debate in the Swiss society regarding the ban on veils. In 2018, the Swiss government had said regarding that matter that cantons should decide on the issue independently. The cantons of St Gallen and Ticino have, in fact, banned facial coverings, including burqas, in public spaces.
Telkom users are reporting that they are unable to connect to the operators network or use the Internet.

The Telkom Downdetector page showed a huge increase in reports since around 11:00.

The problems appeared to be affecting mobile users in particular, with complaints from urban areas  including Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, and Cape Town  being the most prevalent.

Multiple Telkom customers vented their frustration in comments on Downdetector.

Telkom Mobile network down? Both phones have lost sim connection in Cape Town, one user said.

Called Telkom, they have no knowledge that LTE is down, apparently no complaints  USELESS. Lady says restart your router and take the sim card out. Told her already done four times and it doesnt work. Oh, she says, and then puts the phone down on me, another stated.

One user claimed that they were unable to make calls, stating that neither the TelkomSA or the TelkomSA-R networks were functional.

Telkom did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent by MyBroadband.

The images below are from Downdetector and show the rise in reports in the last 24 hours, as well as a map showing the concentration of reports.

Update  Telkom working on the problem

Telkom confirmed on its Facebook page that it was aware of an issue with its voice and data services.

Dear customers, we are currently experiencing disruptions on our mobile voice and data network which may affect your connectivity, Telkom stated.

It said that it is currently working on the issue and apologised to customers.

Our team of technicians are working on resolving this. We thank you for your patience and apologise for the inconvenience caused.
President Donald Trump greets rapper Kanye West during a meeting in the Oval office of the White House in Washington on Oct. 11, 2018. (Screenshot/AP)

Can Trump (and Kanye) Vanquish Identity Politics?

Commentary

Few conceptions are more destructive to American society and drive us further apart than identity politics, the idea that all members of a groupgays, Latinos, blacks, Asians, women, transgendered, disabled, and so onwould and should vote alike.

The Democratic Party has lived off this reactionary constructone that obviates the competition for votes, thus clearing the way for exploitation of those groupsfor decades.

Its as if the Democrats were engaged in an unspoken conspiracy against liberty, free will, and the rights of the individual. Members of identity groups who dont conform are to be ostracized and/or humiliated for their apostasy.

Does that veer to the totalitarian? Well, if it walks like a duck.  And its worth noting that in the Soviet Union, ethnic and national groups (Tatars, Jews, Kazakhs, and so forth) were required to carry internal passports, so their backgrounds could be readily identified. You can guess why.

The results of this, as I noted above, were usually to make things worse for the groups members themselves. Identity politics is a cancer on democracy and makes people vote against their own interests as often as not.

Ask yourselfwho has done more for African Americans, Donald Trump or the Rev. Al Sharpton?

Has any Democratic politician of recent vintage presided over the lowest-ever unemployment numbers for African Americans, even of the perpetually unemployed African American youth?

Can any of them say they did anything of significance to raise the wages of the lower classes, as we have seen happening now at an unprecedented rate?

Have any of them opened up Opportunity Zones to encourage entrepreneurship in disadvantaged communities, actually Jack Kemps original idea that should have been activated long ago, as Trump has done with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.)?

Of course not. Not even close.

And under whose administration was the long-promised legislation to give clemency to prisonersso often African Americanin recognition of their good time actually enacted?

Well, we know that, too.

Yet the traditional (maybe sclerotic would be a better word) black adherence to the Democratic Party continues. Only the Jews make less sense in their behavior.

Why are these groups incapable of change?

The inescapable conclusion is that the cliche about old habits dying hard is one of the all-time understatements.

And yet there are signs this logjam is about to break. Trumps numbers among African Americans are up to a degree never thought possible. Some even approach 50 percent.

At the same time, and perhaps of more, or at least equal, importance, rapper Kanye Westa man many call a geniushas been moving across America, leading his Sunday Services, preaching the Gospel with music, most recently in Miami. Although largely under the radar, like Trumps events, these services are hugely attended.

West and his wife, Kim Kardashian, are also sponsoring nationwide screenings of the film Just Mercy, about the defense of a black tree cutter who was falsely accused and sentenced to death for the murder of a young white woman in Monroeville, Alabama.

Most of the audiences at both of these know full well of the closeness of Kanye and Trump, having seen the highly publicized pictures of them together in the Oval Office.

If Kanye campaigns with the president this summer, it will be tremendously significant.

African Americans will have to chooseKanye West or Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)? Im betting on Kanye. And Im betting that would be worth more than a flesh wound to moribund identity politics, at least as far as blacks are concerned.

It might even be game over.

Roger L. Simon, Epoch Times senior political analyst, is the author of, most recently, The GOAT. Follow him on Twitter @rogerlsimon.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
By Ye Shuhong

The streets in Florence, Italy were crowded on February 2.

A Chinese young man was standing alone, black gauze over eyes and mask over mouth. The cardboard stood beside him read: I am not a virus. I am a human being. Please do not discriminate against me.

Passers-by stopped out of curiosity at first, then someone began to take photos with him, and then people started to hug him...

Although they did not know each other, the photos and hugs showed the warmth of human nature and the power of human empathy.

China is fighting the epidemic. Looking around the globe, although some individuals hit China and incited fear and discrimination, more kind people have encouraged and supported the Chinese people, passing the warmth of supporting.

"Lands apart, sky shared."This phrase was written in block letter on the box of medical supplies donated by Japan. Deep in the cultural roots is the "family" feelings of the global village.

"Why did you say that there's nothing to wear? I will take my own cloak for you to share."Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif quoted the lines from "Book of Songs" on social media, stating that "Iran stands firmly with China whenever and wherever it is" to express the sentiment of the joint fight against the epidemic.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a news conference after a meeting of the WHO's emergency committee on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland, January 30, 2020. /Reuters Photo

"Go, Wuhan! Go!" The night sky of Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital and Dubai lit up "China Red", expressing "support for Wuhan and the Chinese people around the world."

"Let me gently hold your face and wipe your tears..." The teachers and students of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia sang the Chinese song Let the World Be Full of Love, and used the voice to pray for the Chinese people who are fighting the epidemic...

Facing the epidemic, nearly one hundred dignitaries and heads of international organizations from dozens of countries have expressed sincere condolences to the Chinese people, and highly appreciated and supported China's efforts to fight the epidemic. Materials from the Republic of Korea, Japan, Pakistan and other countries have arrived in China, and more medical and epidemic prevention materials are also on the way...

It is said that people share the same mind and minds share the same idea. At difficult times, tangible epidemic prevention supplies, or intangible spiritual support of people from different countries bring together a flood of goodwill. The concrete action interprets "no one is an island", human beings are a community of shared destiny.

In the face of the epidemic, the Chinese government, in a highly responsible manner towards its own people and the entire human race, has strengthened international cooperation while strictly controlling the epidemic, making great contributions to regional and global public health security.

China has the confidence and capability to win this fight, so does the world believe in China. An article by the Spanish Politica-China website pointed out that China's institutional advantages of pooling national strength to carry out major undertakings have been fully demonstrated in the battle against the epidemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of World Health Organization (WHO), emphasized that the measures taken by China will effectively control and eventually overcome the epidemic.

Faced with a collective threat to health security, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself". The unity and cooperation among all countries is the only way to overcome the epidemic. As the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called, the international community should unite to avoid discrimination.

Share the same cloak and move forward together. With the help from the people of different countries, China, with its determination, will defeat the epidemic. China's sacrifices and contributions to global well-being, and the shared responsibilities of all countries in coping with this crisis, will certainly be remembered by history.
The goal of this article is to teach you how to use price to earnings ratios (P/E ratios). We'll show how you can use Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group Co., Ltd.'s (HKG:2163) P/E ratio to inform your assessment of the investment opportunity. Based on the last twelve months, Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group's P/E ratio is 6.30. That is equivalent to an earnings yield of about 15.9%.

View our latest analysis for Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group

How Do You Calculate A P/E Ratio?

The formula for price to earnings is:

Price to Earnings Ratio = Share Price (in reporting currency)  Earnings per Share (EPS)

Or for Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group:

P/E of 6.30 = CNY8.04 (Note: this is the share price in the reporting currency, namely, CNY )  CNY1.28 (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2018.)

Is A High Price-to-Earnings Ratio Good?

A higher P/E ratio means that buyers have to pay a higher price for each CNY1 the company has earned over the last year. All else being equal, it's better to pay a low price -- but as Warren Buffett said, 'It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price'.

Does Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

The P/E ratio indicates whether the market has higher or lower expectations of a company. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (9.4) for companies in the construction industry is higher than Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group's P/E.

SEHK:2163 Price Estimation Relative to Market, February 7th 2020

This suggests that market participants think Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group 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

Generally speaking the rate of earnings growth has a profound impact on a company's P/E multiple. That's because companies that grow earnings per share quickly will rapidly increase the 'E' in the equation. And in that case, the P/E ratio itself will drop rather quickly. And as that P/E ratio drops, the company will look cheap, unless its share price increases.

Story continues

Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group's 160% EPS improvement over the last year was like bamboo growth after rain; rapid and impressive. And earnings per share have improved by 30% annually, over the last three years. So we'd absolutely expect it to have a relatively high P/E ratio.

Don't Forget: The P/E Does Not Account For Debt or Bank Deposits

One drawback of using a P/E ratio is that it considers market capitalization, but not the balance sheet. So it won't reflect the advantage of cash, or disadvantage of debt. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Such expenditure might be good or bad, in the long term, but the point here is that the balance sheet is not reflected by this ratio.

Is Debt Impacting Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group's P/E?

Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group has net debt equal to 42% of its market cap. While that's enough to warrant consideration, it doesn't really concern us.

The Verdict On Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group's P/E Ratio

Changsha Broad Homes Industrial Group trades on a P/E ratio of 6.3, which is below the HK market average of 9.9. The EPS growth last year was strong, and debt levels are quite reasonable. The low P/E ratio suggests current market expectations are muted, implying these levels of growth will not continue.

Investors should be looking to buy stocks that the market is wrong about. If it is underestimating a company, investors can make money by buying and holding the shares until the market corrects itself. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you could get a better understanding of its growth by checking out this more detailed historical graph of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with modest (or no) debt, trading on a P/E below 20.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
In a matter of weeks, chemistry professor Xinfang Xu and his family went from sight-seeing on South Padre Island to languishing in a tourists purgatory.

Xu, his wife and their two young daughters are stranded in a downtown San Antonio hotel, with no idea when theyll be able to go home to China.

Like thousands of other Chinese travelers around the globe, theyre stuck on foreign soil because of travel complications stemming from the outbreak of the coronavirus, the deadly respiratory illness first identified in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Xu, 38, was a speaker at an international chemistry symposium this week at the Menger Hotel, hosted by the University of Texas at San Antonio. He and his family arrived early, on Jan. 14. They wanted to visit South Texas, and he planned to collaborate on a project with Michael Doyle, a UTSA chemist and one of the symposiums organizers.

They touched down in San Antonio after the virus first drew international attention, but before airlines began scuttling flights to China.

I have no idea when we will be able to return, Xu said. Hes trying to keep a positive attitude, he added, and is hopeful theyll find a way home soon.

The family had tickets for Feb. 12 to fly from San Antonio to Los Angeles. There, they were scheduled to board a direct flight to Shanghai.

But a week ago, the carrier  Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines  canceled all of its flights to China and said it wouldnt resume service till April 30. The cancellations followed a U.S. State Department travel alert, warning Americans not to travel to China because of the serious health risk.

The coronavirus has infected more than 28,000 people in China and killed 550. There have been 12 reported cases in the U.S. but no deaths.

Delta is one of many U.S. and international airlines that have curtailed service to China because of the outbreak, largely isolating the country. American and United, the largest domestic airlines, are among them.

Xu said his wife called Delta looking for information on alternative flights to China on other airlines. But she was put on hold indefinitely.

A Delta spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.

Xu teaches at Soochow University in Suzhou, China, 62 miles northwest of Shanghai. His university is closed indefinitely. At least two of its 40,000 students have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

His wife is doing graduate work at the university.

Hopefully, at some point, life will return to normal, he said.

If he and his family have to stay in San Antonio much longer, hes considering trying to enroll his daughters  ages 4 and 7  in local schools. The girls are U.S. citizens, born in this country while Xu was doing postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland.

Besides working with Doyle on research, Xu took some vacation time to explore Texas. He and his family visited friends in Victoria and toured South Padre Island.

Returning home any time soon promises to be a challenge. Airline research firm OAG said international seat capacity to China plunged by 1.6 million seats between Jan. 20 and Feb. 3. It said 24 airlines have stopped service to China entirely.

UTSAs Doyle said the travel disruptions kept about 10 scientists from attending the third International Symposium on Carbene and Nitrene Chemistry. The conference focuses on chemicals used in the manufacture of medicines.

The first two conferences were held in Hong Kong in 2016 and China in 2018.

Before the coronavirus crisis, organizers expected about 110 speakers and attendees. Among those who couldnt make it because of canceled flights: three members of the elite Chinese Academy of Sciences, who were scheduled speakers.

That meant last-minute scrambling to rework the conference program. We had to fill their slots, Doyle said.

Doyle said another speaker from Hong Kong was able to catch a flight, but decided to cancel because he had a sore throat and a cold.

You have a little fever, and youre afraid your going to be questioned, Doyle said of going through U.S. Customs a few weeks into the outbreak.

randy.diamond@express-news.net

Randy Diamond covers aviation, energy and manufacturing in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read his stories and more local coverage on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | randy.diamond@express-news.net
In its name and character both, New Delhi constituency is a representative of the city-state. Politically, it has been the constituency of the Delhi Chief Minister since 1998 (when it was part of then Gol Market constituency). Demographically, it has a cross section of Delhis population, the movers and shakers in the power corridorthe VIPs, top government officials, middle-class babus, the working class, the urban villagers and the sanitation workers.

It is also peculiar in its governance character because the area comes under one of the richest civic bodies, the New Delhi Municipal Council and, therefore, voters dependence on their legislator is limited.

Having launched his electoral career from this seat, beating then chief minister Sheila Dikshit, Arvind Kejriwal is contesting from New Delhi for the third consecutive assembly polls. His rivals are both rookies, as Kejriwal was when he had defeated the heavyweight Dikshit.

While the BJP has fielded Sunil Yadav, president of the Delhi unit of BJPs youth wing Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJVM), the Congress Romesh Sabharwal is a former president of the partys student wing, National Students Union of India (NSUI).

Kejriwal, the face of the AAP and the partys tallest leader, while filing his nomination papers had said: The Congress and the BJP want to fight Kejriwal and defeat Kejriwal, but I want to fight and defeat corruption. Both his rivals, however, are pitching it as a battle of locals versus an outsider.

Yadav, resident of BK Dutt Colony, is a graduate from Delhi Universitys Kirori Mal College, and is planning to woo voters of the reserved category voters in JJ clusters and servant quarters with his OBC background. I will remind the people of the works done by the BJP government at the Centre. People here have never seen Kejriwal visiting the constituency. Why would they re-elect him? On the other hand, I am their son, Yadav said.

Sabharwal, a resident of Connaught Place, is calling himself the son of government servants to make himself more relatable to the voters. An engineer, who also has an MBA degree, Sabharwal was a director of Central Bank of India before he decided to join politics. Why should parachute candidates represent the people of New Delhi? Do they understand our problems? Both my parents were government servants and I understand what it means to grow up here, Sabharwal said.

Before Kejriwal, who was a resident of Uttar Pradeshs Ghaziabad when he fought his first election in 2013, Dikshit was also called Congresss parachute leader because of her husbands roots in UP.

But many voters in the area said despite being the chief minister, Kejriwals office is always in touch with the resident welfare associations (RWAs) to address their problems.

History

The New Delhi constituency, formed in 2008 after delimitation, is known to have been the seat of chief ministers. In 2008, Congresss Sheila Dikshit won the first elections from the New Delhi seat with a vote share of 52.20%, defeating BJPs Vijay Jolly to become the CM for the third time. The constituency has 137,924 voters (76,065 male and 61,858 female).

From 1998 to 2008, Dikshit had fought and won from the Gol Market constituency, a major part of which now constitutes the New Delhi seat. In 2013, Kejriwal defeated Dikshit by around 20,000 votes (53.46% vote share). BJPs Vijender Gupta stood third with a vote share of 21.68%.

In 2015, pitted against Congress former minister Kiran Walia and BJPs Nupur Sharma, Kejriwal won by nearly 30,000 votes. Along with being a hub of government servants, the constituency is a mix of posh neighbourhoods in Jor Bagh and Lutyens Delhi and poor families living in areas around Mandir Marg and Kali Bari Marg.

Campaign

The AAP campaigners are talking about the development works done by the party in its five-year tenure. Among plans for the constituency, they are promising permanent appointments for contractual workers in the over 2 lakh vacant government posts.

However, along development issues, voters are also talking about BJPs pitch of nationalism and posters blaming the AAP and the Congress for using anti-national protesters at Shaheen Bagh for vote bank politics.

Besides a mixed demography, areas such as Sarojini Nagar, Kidwai Nagar, Laxmi Bai Nagar and parts of Lodhi Colony are dominated by central government employees.

What people want

The New Delhi constituency might have been the war ground for the citys greatest political contests in the past, but when it comes to its voters basic demands their dependence on the area legislator is limited. The roads, water and health care facilities in this area is primarily managed by the central government agencies, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).

However, despite this, subsidies in electricity and water are a hit among voters here, especially among residents of government colonies and the servant quarters. The voters are also talking about the installation of CCTV cameras and WiFi in many localities.

Five CCTV cameras were installed in the colony two months ago. In government neighbourhoods, we do not have security guards and theft is a major issue. It is too early to say if the number of thefts will go down, but it is definitely an assurance, said Sunil Sarathi, the president of Gol Market central government quarters RWA.

While in his meetings in the constituency over the last five years, Kejriwal has spoken extensively about his governments work in Delhi government schools and the expansion of healthcare facilities through Mohalla Clinics, this is all grass on the other side for these voters since they depend on government dispensaries or the NDMCs Charak Palika Hospital at Moti Bagh.

In Pilanji, the only village in the constituency, though voters hailed BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi for the work done there, youngsters appreciated the AAP government for installation of free WiFi services.

Our village was adopted by our MP and a lot of work is done by her. But that said, the installation of WiFi is a great help to everyone, said Hardeep Basoya, 29-year-old, a resident of a Pilanji.

The residents want that the new MLA to address the problem of parking on priority.

We have made repeated requests to both the governments to provide us with space for parking our vehicles. When the ground next to the Sanjay Lake park is occupied for weddings, we have to move our cars and many cars have been stolen, said Praveen, a resident of the village

The constituency also encompasses Balmiki Colony, a small neighbourhood of sanitation workers, which has been the go-to place for political heavyweights for their campaigns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Campaign from here and even Kejriwal took his partys election symbol, the broom, from the occupation of the residents here.

However, residents say it has not made any difference to their lives. When a soldier dies or a policeman dies in the line of duty, he is praised and his family is given crores of rupees as compensation. But when a sanitation worker dies, cleaning the sewers, the state and the central government is quick to turn a blind eye, said Cheena Maharaj, the head priest of the Balmiki temple in the complex.

Here, at least four families share one quarter with one toilet, and have divided their house with curtains. They say while everywhere else people are getting free water and electricity, they are getting hefty electricity bills of R4000-5000 every month because of multiple families occupying a one house.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States had conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

"The United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qa'ida (al-Qaeda) in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri," said Trump in a statement released by the White House.

According to the statement, al-Rimi, who joined al-Qaeda in the 1990s, was working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden, founder and the former al-Qaeda leader who was killed by the U. S. troops in 2011.

Under al-Rimi, AQAP committed violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct attacks against the United States and U.S. forces, the statement noted, adding that al-Rimi's death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement.

Citing persons familiar with the matter, The Washington Post reported that al-Rimi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in late January.

U.S. State Department had offered 10 million U.S. dollars in reward for information leading to the capture of al-Rimi, who was linked to several plots against the U.S. interests.

According to U.S. media reports earlier this month, AQAP claimed that it directed the shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida last December, which killed three U.S. sailors and severely wounded 8 other Americans.

Last month, U.S. Attorney General William Barr said the shooting, which was carried out by a member of the Saudi Air Force, was "an act of terrorism."
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 on Feb. 4, 2020. (cnsphoto via Reuters)

Chinese Netizens Question Source of the Coronavirus Outbreak

When virologists and medical experts around the globe discussed the suspicious nature of the novel coronavirus and pointed to Wuhans P4 lab as a likely source, netizens inside China were watching. A Chinese scholar recently challenged Wuhans P4 lab to explain how the proteins of the novel coronavirus seem to have been precisely engineered to enable the virus to bind onto human cells. He also disclosed unethical and unprofessional practices he previously observed in Chinas bioresearch labs.

According to Wuhan-based Yangtze Daily, Shi Zhengli, Deputy Director of Wuhans P4 Lab, publicized a statement on Feb. 2 saying: I pledge with my life that the 2019 novel coronavirus has nothing to do with our lab. This virus is a punishment imposed on mankind from nature, to condemn mankinds uncivilized way of living. Those of you who believe rumors or so-called scientific analysis by unqualified researchers, I advise you to shut your damn mouths!

Shis statement irritated many Chinese netizens. For such a huge calamity that may take countless lives, give us facts and evidence, not pretentious statements such as pledging with your life, one netizen commented.

A social media user named Wu Xiaohua, who on his WeChat profile claims to have a Ph.D. in biological related fields, challenged Shi to answer key questions about the suspicious gene mutations found in the new virus. The Epoch Times could not independently confirm Xiaohuas identity but included his comments to illustrate the online debate in China.

Wu argued there is no way that these mutations are the outcome of natural recombination.

Now, many scientists, including Shi herself, believe that this virus must have originated from bats, and would involve one or two virus hosts to explain the gene mutations. Based on current scientific publications, the virus must jump from rats to primates before it can infect humans. Then how is this stepfrom rats to primatesusually achieved? It can only be done in a research lab by scientists inserting a certain protein from primates into rats, Wu wrote.

I have personally performed the same type of genetic engineering experiments. You cannot get away by being cavalier. Do you dare to accept the challenge and give us an explanation? he asked.

Wu also claimed that some biolabs in China are very poorly regulated.

Wus WeChat post. (Screenshot)

For instance, some researchers in these labs kept the laboratory dogs as pets; some disposed of animal carcasses casually because following the biosafety rules and cremating them costs a lot of money. Some cut up the laboratory pigs and took the meat home to eat. I know this happened at Beijing 301 Hospitals spine surgery lab. Worst of all, some laboratory animals were sold to wet markets as wild-caught animals for profit, he claimed.

Xu Bo, a well-known IT magnate and billionaire in China, cited reports and articles to support Wus statements.

In his blog, Xu cited a news report about a lawsuit against biologist Li Ning.

Li is an academician of China Engineering Academy, and a former professor at China Agricultural University. His research was focused on transgenic animals in agriculture. The judgment in Lis case, which came out on Jan. 2 this year, stated that between 2008 and 2012, Lis lab sold experimental pigs, cows, and milk to local markets. These animal and animal products were bought using research funds; but Li and his fellow colleagues pocketed the money, a total of 10,179,201 yuan ($1,460,304), from the sale of these animals and animal products.

Li was sentenced to 12 years in prison for embezzlement.

According to a 2016 report from the China Experimental Animal Information Network, Chinese researchers use tens of millions of laboratory animals every year. The Experimental Animal Research Center of Hubei Province alone handles about 300,000 animals a year, either for bioresearch experiments inside the center, or to be sold and distributed to other labs in Hubei Province.

A P4 lab handles level 4 biosafety pathogens, the highest level and most dangerous, which have high fatality rates and no known treatments, such as, the ebola and SARS viruses. Such a lab must follow the highest microbiological safety standards to ensure the safety of researchers and the public.

The P4 lab in Wuhan is not only the first of its kind in China, but also the first in Asia. When it opened in 2017, U.S. scientists expressed concerns that, considering Chinas opaque administrative structure, if one of those killer viruses escaped from the lab, it could cause a doomsday disaster.

Update: This article was updated on May 19, 2020.

Editors note: This article was originally published on Feb. 6, 2020, as the discussion on the origins of the virus developed. This article does not intend to provide an answer to this question, as no one can yet prove or disprove any conclusion. Rather, this article intends to present the known information and different viewpoints on the matter.
A Chinese mother was stopped from seeing her dying son before he passed away due to the coronavirus travel ban.

Xiao Li, 22, was in Australia on a working holiday visa before his car collided with a truck in Gippsland, Victoria on January 27, leaving him in critical condition.

His mother Xing Lan Ren, who lives in China, wanted to see her only son before he passed away but her visa was not approved in time.

On Monday, Xiao Li was declared brain dead in the Intensive Care Unit of Royal Melbourne Hospital but his mother's visa was only approved on Friday.

Mother Xing Lan Ren, who lives in China, wanted to see her 22-year-old son Xiao Li in Melbourne before he passed away but her visa was not approved in time

After the crash, Ms Ren payed $1,415 to fast track her visa application, which normally takes two working days.

However, three days later Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a two-week ban on foreign arrivals from mainland China in order to stop the spread of coronavirus.

Mrs Ren was shocked by the news and told a local Chinese-language publication that she just wanted to say goodbye to her only son.

'My family is completely in the dark, and now I just want to see the [son] for the last time, but Australia has issued a travel ban,' she told Sydney Today.

'I really don't know what to do.'

Family friend Simon Lee started a Change.org petition pleading for Ms Ren and her brother Shi Luming to be allowed into the country.

The petition was directed at Federal MP Gladys Liu and garnered almost 3,000 signatures.

'We pledge that the temporary visa of Mrs Ren and Mr Shi to be granted so they can visit Mr Li (son of Mrs Ren and nephew of Mr Shi) in the Intensive Care Unit of Royal Melbourne Hospital; and Mrs Ren and Mr Shi to be allowed enter to Australia despite the travel restrictions,' it read.

On Monday, Xiao Li (pictured) was declared brain dead in the Intensive Care Unit of Royal Melbourne Hospital but his mother's visa was only approved on Friday

On Friday, acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge announced Ms Li's visa had been granted on Twitter.

'Im pleased to confirm that the mother of Xiao Li has been granted a visa to Australia,' he wrote.

'The Government will work with her during this extremely difficult time and to ensure she can see her son as quickly as possible without putting the Australian public at any risk.'

Mr Li arrived in Queensland on a working holiday visa one year ago, where he worked on a farm before moving to Victoria.

Currently, there are 15 cases of coronavirus in Australia and 636 deaths from the disease in mainland China.

On Friday, acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge announced Ms Li's visa had been granted on Twitter
New Delhi, Feb 7 : With the Indian automobile industry going through an unprecedented slowdown and carmakers set to roll out BS-VI vehicle models, Tata Motors MD and CEO Guenter Karl Butschek is of the view that the first half of the financial year 2020-21 would be more of a "transitional phase", with subdued demand and the sales would actually gather pace in the second half of the fiscal.

Speaking to IANS at the Auto Expo 2020 here, Guenter, however, held that the the worst is over for the automobile sector.

"I think the first half of the year will still fall in the category of transition, when building comfort and confidence for acceptance of new market reality is the key task which will show some increase but with the... festive season, I am very convinced... and I expect, in the second half of the coming fiscal year we are finally going to see the structural revival," he said.

He noted that as the company refills its stocks with BS-IV vehicles having been sold off to dealers, wholesale would not surge immediately, as the company would rather increase its system stock initially.

The transition period has started, as Tata Motors has completed BS-IV production and all vehicles have been delivered already to the dealers, and the company is now in "full play" as far as BS-VI is concerned.

"As we replenish the stock in the system from an all time low with BS-IV at the last months, we are not going to compromise on the new paradigm, where retail figures wholesale and wholesale figures production. So don't expect just because we are replenishing the stock, our wholesale figures will immediately skyrocket high. We will actually increase the system stock." The Tata Group company has been reeling under slow demand and offtake along with its peers largely owing to the overall economic slowdown and the liquidity crunch.

In January, overall sales of the company, including exports declined to 47,862 vehicles against 58,185 units sold in the same month of 2019. Its domestic sales fell by 18 per cent to 45,242 vehicles compared with 54,915 units in January 2019.

Commercial vehicles' sales in January fell by 16 per cent to 33,860 units from 40,175. Similarly, passenger vehicles' sales declined by 22 per cent to 13,894 units from 17,826 shipped during January 2019.

On the upcoming and concept models of the company, Guenter said that the EV version of Altros is likely to be launched in the second half of the upcoming financial year.

About the concept model of legendary Tata Sierra showcased at the 15th edition of the Auto Expo here, he said that although the company has not yet decided on the commercial rollout of the car, the positive response received at the expo has made the group CEO to rethink over it.

"(Launching) Sierra has not yet been decided yet, but honestly by the reaction of the audience, when I talked about the characteristic of what the Sierra did to the generations in the past, then I actually called out for the concept, it was very very unique response," the Tata Motors MD and CEO said.

"Because there was a wow across the audience and an immediate round of applause. I take this as a very clear confirmation that this product needs to get to India and there is a very strong demand and emotional connect to the legacy of the Sierra." (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in and Rituraj Baruah can be reached at rituraj.b@ians.in)


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Danish English

Pursuant to section 30 of the Danish capital markets act, MT Hjgaard Holding A/S hereby announces that Investeringsforeningen Nordea Invest has reported to have reduced its holding of shares in MT Hjgaard Holding A/S to 378,762 shares, corresponding to 4.86% of the share capital.

Control with the associated voting rights has been transferred by proxy to Nordea Funds Ltd., which now controls 7.41% of the total voting rights.

Contact: VP Communications and HR Ann-Louise Elkjr, +45 2033 8693, ale@mth.dk

Attachment
In a huge relief to Anheuser-Busch InBev, a New Delhi tribunal has stayed the ban imposed on sale of its products in 2019. This implies the world's largest brewer can sell its beer products in the national capital until further notice. AB InBev was banned from selling its products for three years in July 2019 over allegations of tax evasion. The company, however, denied them and challenged the decision. The Delhi HC had trashed Ab InBev's appeal against the ban, directing the brewer to approach the tribunal.

The city tribunal on February 4 issued a single page order, wherein it stayed the ban as the company's plea was being heard.

According to Reuters, a source close to the company said the world's brewing giant would continue to appeal against the ban. The argument given by the company is that they were not informed about this beforehand and did not receive adequate notice.

The next hearing in the matter would take place on February 25, said the tribunal order. A Delhi government official said the government would continue to defend the ban order.

In 2016, the Delhi Excise Department had found that SABMiller, acquired by Ab InBev in 2016, was allegedly using duplicate barcodes on beer bottles supplied to city retailers to pay lower tax. An official AbInBev India spokesman told Reuters the brewer was encouraged by the stay order. "We are committed to operating with integrity and ethics and remain excited about our business in India," he added.

AB InBev, whose beers include Budweiser and Hoegaarden, is the second biggest player in India's $7 billion market, with a 17.5 per cent share, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis estimates.

Also read: Wait for Budweiser, Hoegaarden gets longer as maker AB InBev fails to overturn Delhi ban

Also read: Oops! You may be allowed to buy just 1 duty-free alcohol bottle at airports

Also read: Buying liquor online? Be careful of such frauds, especially in Mumbai
Visiting the Vietnamese booths, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu discussed with General Secretary of the Vietnam Fruit and Vegetable Association (Vinafruit) Dang Phuc Nguyen and the attending firms measures to boost exports to Germany as well as the EU as a whole, particularly when the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement will take effect soon.

During the three-day event, the Vietnamese firms will have a chance to meet with many European customers, including German partners who have imported fresh fruits and vegetables from Vietnam.

A wide range of Vietnamese fruits have hit the shelves of large supermarket chains in Germany such as Netto, Edeka and Selgros. Other products like fresh passion fruits and dried banana and dragon fruit are said to be promising exports in the coming time.

With more than 3,300 exhibitors, the Fruit Logistica 2020 creates opportunities for participants to seek business partners and promote value chain for the fruit and vegetable sector.

Last year, the event attracted 3,239 firms and over 78,000 visitors.
Expressing concern over the gradual decline in loan disbursement by banks in Bihar under annual credit plan, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi on Friday asked banks to increase the ACP's target to 90 to 95 per cent from the existing 54.58 per cent in the current fiscal.

As per the ACP target, Rs 1.45 lakh crore loan has to be disbursed by various banks in Bihar in 2019-20.

"The gradual decline in the ACP is a cause of concern. Banks have been asked to increase up to 90 to 95 per cent of ACP's target of Rs 1.45 lakh crore by the end of the current financial year. Banks have, till December 2019, disbursed 54.58 per cent of the target fixed for 2019-20," Modi said.

Addressing the 71st quarterly State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) meeting here, the state's finance and commercial taxes minister said banks had distributed loans up to 66.56 per cent of the ACP's target till December 2017, which declined to 57.40 per cent by December 2018.

Till December 2019, a total of Rs 79,138 crore of loans was distributed and the figure is 54.58 per cent of the target, he added.

There are only 3677 bank branches in rural Bihar, Modi asked banks to appoint "Business Correspondent" in all the 8,400 odd panchayats of the state.

Banks have also been asked to come up with a 'roadmap' giving details of the total number of ATMs, number of Business Correspondents, number of brick and mortar branches in the state at next SLBC meeting which is likely to be held in April or May.

Modi said this would give a clear picture of the banking facilities in the state.

The distribution of new Kisan Credit Card (KCC) has also come down to 1.20 lakh by December 2019 from 3.93 lakh cards distributed by December 2017, Modi said.

The state government has taken a decision to hold a 15-day drive beginning February 12 to provide KCC to farmers who have already been registered under PM-KISAN scheme, the finance minister said.

Under the PM-KISAN scheme, an annual income support of Rs 6,000 is provided to all farmer families across the country in three equal instalments of Rs 2,000 each every four months.

There are around 60 lakh farmers registered under PM Kisan schene, he said adding that government will make its efforts to provide KCC to farmers as much as possible.

The deputy chief minister non-performing assets of banks in Bihar is around 11.50 per cent which close to the national average of 12 per cent.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
We elect politicians thinking they will help the community prosper. Most politicians tend to call them people's servants but the following act of a Tamil Nadu minister will want us all to think otherwise. Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul Srinivasan is facing the wrath of people after a video of him making a tribal boy remove his slippers during the inauguration of an elephant camp in Theppakkadu near Tamil Nadu went viral.

#WATCH Tamil Nadu minister Dindigul C Srinivasan makes a boy remove his sandals during the Minister's visit to Mudumalai National Park. pic.twitter.com/L4dZr8Q33y  ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2020

The incident occurred when Forest Minister Dindigul Srinivasan came to inaugurate the elephant rejuvenation camp in Theppakkadu, in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, 40 kms from the state.

When he along with the district collector and other officials were proceeding to the camp, Srinivasan called a tribal boy and asked him to remove his footwear so as to enter a temple there and perform pooja.

facebook/Dindigul Srinivasan

The boy readily obliged and removed the slippers in full public view.

It is not clear as to why Srinivasan asked the boy to remove his footwear.

Feeling shame to have him as our Minister.



Dindigul Srinivasan asking Tribal boy to remove his sleepers to enter shrine.



Most hatred & Most disgusting Man.



He should be sacked from d cabinet with an immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/x0rBww6oEl  Naveen N (@iamyournaveen) February 6, 2020

The incident has caused outrage on the social media with several condemning it and seeking action against the Minister under the SC/ST Act.



boy should slap that minister with that sandals  Soham Puranik (@sohampuranik_) February 6, 2020

This is shame.. this type of clip i seen on movies only.. shame on humanity  Ajit Samanta (@ajit_samanta) February 6, 2020

satta ka nasha  Nikhar Srivastava (@iamnikhar) February 6, 2020

This is not the first time a case of minister's high-handedness approach. Last year in March, a temple in Wayanad district's Mananthavady fired its long-serving chief priest for not keeping the sanctum sanctorum open for a minister's Darshan. According to New Indian Express, the priest was also fired for his failure to give 'prasadam' to Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran.


When the EGF and the receptor proteins interact, or bind, the result is a signaling cascade from the receptor to the cell nucleus, Robert J. Coffey, a cancer researcher and onetime colleague of Dr. Cohens at Vanderbilt, said in an interview. It was a foundational discovery. Hes left a very rich legacy in our understanding of precise signaling pathways, and we continue to learn new lessons from his work.
Human body is made up of the natural science and its indeed a wonder that cannot be replicated. Our body reproduces, ages, gets wounded and gets healed afterwards. The process of healing is supported by various factors and we have seen various methods of healing in the journey. Ayurveda is considered as the oldest natural science of healing. It is an ancient science that originated in India almost 5,000 years ago. It is hence titled as the Mother of All Healing. Based on the early Vedic culture, the science and knowledge of Ayurveda was taught and followed for thousands of years by accomplished Vedic masters who in turn taught the science to their disciples.

It is considered that the core of the body is naval and that is also considered as the magic spot and a second brain in Ayurveda. Since ancient Times people are using home-made remedies and several other natural techniques to cure several health issues. The naval is the primary source (90%) of happy hormone serotonin in our body. It is also responsible for the 50% secretion of dopamine, the joy hormone in our body. And most importantly, it is a source of 1/3rd blood circulation in our body.

Nabhi sutra, Ayurvedic Belly Button Oil is one such product which uses this technique to heal. Nabhi Sutra understands this importance of our navel. It uses only premium and nature based products that have therapeutic values, including Ayurveda siddha oil and cold pressed oil which provides an ultimate solution for all kinds of health problems related to skin care, hair care, menstrual pain, joint pain and brain development in children.

As for Nabhi Sutra, it works from the one spot of your body that connects to almost 72,000 veins in your body. The navel is the focal point of our body and is situated just above the Pechoti gland the power provider to your entire body. Nabhi Sutra follows the Pechoti Method of treatment, where herbal oils are massaged into your nabhi only to be easily spread across your entire body and help you revive your health conditions from within.

On the occasion of the launch, Swati Vakharia, the honorable founder of Nabhi Sutra stated, According to Ayurveda, our umbilicus or the naval is the core of our consciousness. The navel has the DNA to our soul, hence in order to open the channels of self-healing and transformation, it is important that we regain our consciousness, not just superficially but from the roots. With our unhealthy lifestyle and eating habits, our body releases toxins that are harmful to our own health. The pechoti or the naval, has the supreme power to strengthen and also activate our bodys inner strength to heal itself and recover from conditions that are caused due to the release of these toxins.

Mrs. Vakharia also states, I personally used these products and have experienced first-hand results which are absolutely great. All you have to do is just apply and slowly rub 2-3 drops of the essential oil into your belly button before you go to bed. Allow the oil to penetrate through your skin and enter the veins that are connected to the naval. You will experience the difference in your period in just 21 days of using the oil on a regular basis. According to Ayurveda, our belly button is the main source of our consciousness. In fact, Puranas have entitles our navel as our bodys second brain.

We could talk to some of the Nabhi Sutra users and we could get many positive reviews. My hair quality had worsened after shifting to Bhavnagar. It had become terribly rough and tangled, and used to result in massive breakage while untangling Thanks to Nabhi Sutra, I am using it since last 2 months (not regularly) yet I could observe a visible difference, since 1st week of its usage

Nabhi Sutra came with a very unique formulation for menstrual pain relief oil, which can help women to have pain free periods. When we asked girls to share the review, one of them said, I think this product is amazing. First time, I could not see much effect on my menstrual cramps but second time I could feel the magic. I hardly had cramps. The effect was so good that I am buying the product again to relieve the menstrual cramps that my cousin also suffers. It will be the best gift for her

Source: Digpu

Disclaimer: This content is distributed by Digpu News Network. No Hindustan Times journalist is involved in the creation of this content.
With all of the uncertainties that are creating slow growth in the global economy, theres plenty of pain points in the Canadian economy that can be addressed domestically that could have a positive effect here at home.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

With all of the uncertainties that are creating slow growth in the global economy, theres plenty of pain points in the Canadian economy that can be addressed domestically that could have a positive effect here at home.

In a couple of appearances in Winnipeg on Thursday, Trevin Stratton, chief economist of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, made a good case for a few of those potential attack points.

For starters, he believes with a little more will and some leadership from the federal government, eliminating interprovincial trade barriers could add as much as four per cent growth in GDP per capita.

Stratton said over time interprovincial trade barriers "that are crazy and messed up" as one Manitoba manufacturing executive put it, have amounted to a huge drag on economic growth.

"Everyone knows it is problem," Stratton said. "But we just cant seem to get our ducks in a row to solve it."

One of the sad realities of the situation is that it wouldnt necessarily cost anything to eliminate the barriers other than a will to get it done.

There has been some movement on that front. Stratton cited Jason Kenney, the premier of Alberta, as having taken steps to eliminate barriers.

Some members of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce were quick to give Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister credit for dropping some regulations and for raising the profile of the need to do more.

"What we are looking for is mutual recognition among the provinces of other provinces regulations particularly when it comes to labour... to produce the mobility of goods and people across our borders," he said.

While some believe that since the Ontario and Quebec economies are so large relative to the rest of the provinces, they would not have as much to gain by opening up their borders. Stratton believes there is a need for federal leadership on the file.

"I think a lot of the provinces are looking for the federal government to bring people together to have these conversations," he said.

Another traditionally disappointing element of the Canadian economy that has been apparent for some time, is the weak rate at which small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are engaged in export markets.

Data released by Statistics Canada on Thursday on Canadian trade with China is not specific to SMEs, but it shows that Canadian exports to China decreased by 16 per cent in 2019. While that decline was likely the result of a black swan event  the arrest in Vancouver of a high-profile Chinese business woman on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice  it is indicative of the vulnerability of the global markets whose openness had been increasing since the end of the Second World War but is now starting to decline.

In a province that does not boast a lot of large corporations, it was refreshing to hear Stratton say that SMEs need assistance to up their game in the international marketplace, an area that Canadian SMEs underperform their peers in other developed nations.

"SMEs represent upwards of 98 per cent of all businesses, depending on how you define small businesses," Stratton said. "It would be a huge untapped economic resource if we can get them exporting. Even if they were at the level of French SMEs that could be a large growth factor."

Its not like such assistance would carry the same kind of price tag as that which is required to address the infrastructure deficit in this country and it would be beneficial for the entire country as a whole. More specifically, it could provide much needed economic growth for areas of the country that do not have many large corporations.

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"The new federal minister for small business is the same as the minister of international trade," Stratton pointed out. "Im hoping that is a signal that the government will take small business exporting seriously at the federal level."

Another nagging element that is dragging down the Canadian economy is the poor productivity that has been hampering this countrys economic performance for some time. Stratton showed that over the last 10 years, productivity in the U.S. has increased by about 30 per cent while in Canada it has declined by three per cent.

More specifically, Stratton said Canadian companies are not investing enough in technology and skills development. It could be argued that international economic dynamics play a part in that, but it is certainly not the only factor and studies have shown that such investment would materially improve productivity.

"One of the issues is that the investment environment in Canada is not as promising as it is in other countries," he said.

The grim reality is that if a country such as Canada cannot become more productive over a decade of high tech and skills advancement, then something definitely needs to change.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Nirbhaya convicts left no stone unturned to escape gallows, failed to get relief

Squirmed for a bit before going still: The final moments of Nirbhayas killers

Nirbhaya: No fresh date to execute the killers granted by Delhi court

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 07: A Delhi court has rejected a plea by the government seeking issuance of a fresh date for the execution of the convicts in the Nirbhaya case.

The prosecution had filed a plea seeking a fresh date to carry out the execution. However, the plea was rejected after the court heard in detail the arguments advanced by the prosecution.

Earlier, the Supreme Court posted for Tuesday hearing on a plea filed by the Centre to execute the killers separately.

Will Nirbhayas killers be hanged separately: SC verdict on Feb 11

Additional Solicitor General K M Natraj mentioned the appeals for an early hearing before a bench led by Justice N V Ramana on Thursday who ordered that the case be listed.

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected the plea from the Centre to hang the four convicts separately.

NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 7th, 2020

The high court also faulted the authorities concerned for not taking steps for issuance of death warrant after the rejection of appeals of the accused by the Supreme Court in 2017.

The high court, however, said, "It cannot be disputed that the convicts have frustrated the process by using delaying tactics.

"The Centre and the Delhi government had challenged the trial court's January 31 order staying "till further orders" the execution of all the four convicts in the case -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.
When we pulled into the Harry F. Byrd Sr. Visitor Center and the students stood in front of the entrance, I quickly ushered them inside, because I did not want the African American children with me  or any students, actually  to notice that the center was named for Harry Flood Byrd. We had studied him as part of the fourth-grade history curriculum. The students were aware that he fought bitterly against integrating Virginias public schools and that many students of color were denied an education while he did so. I didnt want them to see that in their state the National Park Service continued to honor this man with his name on this site. That would have cast a pall on their visit.
Telkom said The Alliance, consisting of Communication Workers Union (CWU) and the South African Communication Union (SACU), is the only union it recognises.

The company said in an internal email that The Alliance is the only recognised entity for purposes of organisational and collective bargaining rights at Telkom.

This is because The Alliance is the only union which meets the 30% threshold for union recognition at Telkom.

The company said it invited all unions with claimed membership at Telkom, regardless of their level of their representation in the company, to its Section 189 consultation process.

Solidarity, ICTU and NUMSA were invited to participate in the current Telkom SOC Section 189 consultation process only, the company said.

Their participation is strictly limited to this process and should not be interpreted as meaning that Solidarity, ICTU and NUMSA have been granted any organisational or collective bargaining rights at Telkom.

It added that Solidarity, ICTU, and NUMSA have no recognition status at Telkom and, therefore, are not eligible to participate in any union and management interaction structures at the company.

Telkom retrenching employees

Telkom is currently busy with a process which will see it retrench as many as 6,000 employees this year.

Telkom recently started its consultation process with organised labour as part of the Section 189 process.

The company initially indicated that it was planning to retrench 3,000 employees as part of a process which will take place in two phases.

The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA), however, highlighted that 3,000 Telkom employees are set to be retrenched in the first phase alone.

It said another 1,000 Telkom employees face retrenchments in May 2020 while an estimated 2,000 staff members could lose their jobs at Telkom subsidiary BCX shortly after that.

Telkom has now confirmed that it plans to cut 3,000 staff as part of the first phase and that the number of staff cuts as part of the second phase has not been determined.

Telkom blaming changes in technology

Telkom said the retrenchments are partly a result of investments in new technologies and revenue streams, particularly in its mobile business.

It also blamed difficult economic conditions and having to reposition itself amid fundamental changes within the telecommunications industry.

Telkom has also seen a sharp decline in fixed-voice and interconnection revenues as customers shift towards new technologies, such as fibre to the home. This trend will continue, it said.

Telkom spokesperson Noma Faku further complained that telecoms regulation in South Africa was set up to disadvantage Telkom and advantage mobile operators.

Faku added that the planned staff cuts at Telkom are necessary to ensure the sustainability of the business going forward.

Now read: Telkom jobs bloodbath worse than expected
Manish Natverlal Shah, a general practitioner, was on Friday given three life sentences for 90 sex assaults on female patients while working in London, when he carried out invasive examinations for sexual gratification.

Shah, 50, who gained his medical qualifications from the University of London in 1993, mentioned health issues of celebrities such as Angeline Jolie and Jade Goody as examples to frighten patients between 2009 and 2013, the high court of England and Wales was told.

Judge Anne Molyneux described him as a master of deception who abused his position of power. You made up stories which got into heads and caused panic. Your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control and on occasions humiliate women.

Shah, who worked as a GP in Romford, east London, recommended that the patients have regular breast and vaginal examinations, when there was no clinical need. He highlighted the urgency of check-ups for cervical cancer, breast cancer and other illnesses.

The court was told that Shah was over familiar with some of his female patients, and made inappropriate comments as well as making physical contact and hugging and kissing them.

Paul Goddard, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: Manish Shah was a trusted family doctor, but he took advantage of that trust to abuse his female patients and then falsified their medical notes to try to justify intimate medical examinations that should not have taken place.

The Crown Prosecution Service wishes to commend those women, who by bravely giving evidence convinced the jury of Dr Shahs guilt.

Also read | Indian-origin doctor used cancer fears to sexually assault women in UK: Cops

Shah was first arrested in September 2013.

At an earlier trial in 2018, he was convicted of offences relating to 18 other people, bringing the total number of offences to 90 relating to 23 patients.

Lawyer for Shah, Zoe Johnson, said: It goes without saying that all of these women feel grossly abused, humiliated, and that the trust that they placed in Manish Shah has been so dreadfully exploited. He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.

Richard McDonagh of Scotland Yard said: Shah was a long-serving doctor who was well-known in the community, and trusted and liked by his patients, many who had him as their GP for many years.

They were unaware that Shah was carrying out unnecessary, invasive examinations on female patients for his own sexual gratification, after giving his victims misleading clinical advice. These offences are particularly grave due to Shahs abuse of his position, and of the trust placed in him as a family doctor.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Prasun Sonwalkar Prasun Sonwalkar was Editor (UK & Europe), Hindustan Times. During more than three decades, he held senior positions on the Desk, besides reporting from Indias north-east and other states, including a decade covering politics from New Delhi. He has been reporting from UK and Europe since 1999. ...view detail
Shaheen Bagh has been at the core of the political narrative for Delhi Assembly election, especially after the incidents of shooting were reported near the protest area.

The Supreme Court on Friday deferred hearing the petitions seeking directions to reopen the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch, which has been shut since 15 December, 2019, due to demonstrations against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The top court has adjourned the matter to 10 February due to elections to the 70-member Assembly on Saturday.

"We understand there is a problem. The question is how do we resolve this and issue directions," the apex court said, adding: "It is because of elections that we will hear it on Monday."

Supreme Court says, it would take up the matter on February 10 in connection with two PILs seeking a direction to Central government for laying down comprehensive guidelines relating to outright restrictions for holding protest leading to obstruction of public places.  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2020

The petitions, filed by Dr Nand Kishore Garg and Amit Sahni, also sought appropriate directions to the Centre for laying down comprehensive guidelines relating to restrictions for holding protests causing obstruction of public places.

Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, appearing on behalf of Garg had on Monday mentioned the matter before a three-judge Bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice of India Sharad Arvind Bobde, who asked him to approach the registry for urgently listing of the matter.

The petition sought appropriate direction to the respondents, including the Union of India (UOI) for laying down detailed, comprehensive and exhaustive guidelines relating to outright restrictions for holding protest/agitation leading to obstruction of the public place.

It said that people in Shaheen Bagh were illegally protesting against the CAA, by blocking the common and public road connecting Delhi and Noida.

On the other hand, Sahni's petition sought direction to authorities and Delhi Police to look into and examine on a daily basis the content of speeches of political leaders/speakers so as "to ascertain whether it is provoking the public to create law and order problem or it pertains to their demands etc, in order to circumvent all anti-national organisations to take benefit of the sensitive situation."

The application further added that the protestors, who have closed the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj road have been using innocent children for protesting against CAA/NRC at Shaheen Bagh.

Sahni added that considering the seriousness of the issue and its impact on children, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had asked Delhi authorities to identify and arrange to counsel for children seen at protests in Shaheen Bagh.

Shaheen Bagh has been at the core of the political narrative for Delhi Assembly election, especially after the incidents of shooting were reported near the protest area.

With inputs from PTI
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 00:27:08|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with Indonesian government's Coordinator for Cooperation with China Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan by phone on Friday, discussing efforts to combat and control the novel coronavirus epidemic.

On behalf of the Indonesian government and people, Luhut, also the country's Coordinating Minister for Maritime and Investment Affairs, expressed sincere sympathy to the Chinese people who are fighting the pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus.

He said Indonesia highly praises the efforts taken by China to prevent and control the epidemic, adding that if the outbreak had occurred elsewhere, it would be difficult to contain it so effectively.

At this difficult time, Indonesia feels China's pains and stands ready to do its best to provide support and help to the Chinese friends, Luhut said.

Indonesia is confident that under the strong leadership of Chinese President Xi Jinping, China will definitely defeat the epidemic, he added.

For his part, Wang thanked the Indonesian government and people for their support and assistance to China in the fight against the outbreak, adding that the Chinese people have come together, and race against the clock to win the fight against the epidemic.

China has put in place a nationwide mechanism and taken the most thorough and rigorous measures, which are gradually yielding results, he added.

With the persevering efforts of the Chinese people and the strong support of friendly countries, China is fully confident of defeating the epidemic, Wang said.

The outbreak will not change the internal driving force and the resilience of the Chinese economy, Wang said, adding that the Chinese economy will maintain its good momentum in the long run.

The Chinese side has the ability to minimize the impact of the outbreak and maintain its sustained and stable economic growth, he added.

Wang said that the Chinese government upholds the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind, and not only cares about the health of its own people, but also takes a responsible attitude towards the health of the people from the rest of world.

China will continue to adhere to the principle of openness and transparency, share information with Indonesia and other countries in a timely manner, and accommodate the legitimate concerns of all parties, Wang added.

He also said the fact that confirmed cases outside China account for less than 1 percent of all cases of infection is a testimony to China's enormous efforts.

The World Health Organization (WHO) director-general has praised China's prevention and control measures for the country's contribution to global public health. The UN health agency also made it clear that it does not recommend any travel or trade restriction. Meanwhile, the International Civil Aviation Organization has also urged countries to follow the WHO recommendations.

Wang said that the Chinese side hopes and also believes that Indonesia will respect the professional advice of the international organizations, and maintain the stable development of bilateral relations and practical cooperation with China.
The logo of Foxconn, the trading name of Hon Hai Precision Industry, is seen on top of the company's building in Taipei

TAIPEI - Apple Inc supplier Foxconn said it could continue to meet all manufacturing obligations in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak in China even as the iPhone maker flagged uncertainty created by the disease.

"We do not comment on our specific production practices, but we can confirm that we have measures in place to ensure that we can continue to meet all global manufacturing obligations," Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd, said in a statement on Tuesday.

A new coronavirus has killed 132 in China and affected nearly 6,000 people, with several other countries reporting cases as well.

China extended the Lunar New year Holiday by three days to Feb. 2 to contain spread of the virus.

Foxconn, which has a big facility in Wuhan, the epicenter of the virus outbreak, said its plants in China were following holiday schedules and would continue to do so until all businesses have resumed standard operating hours.

The outbreak has led countries including the United States to advise against all but necessary travel to China, forced food chains such as Starbucks to close stores and airlines to cancel flights.

Apple, which reported holiday quarter sales and profit above Wall Street expectations on Tuesday, offered a wider-than-normal earnings outlook for the March quarter because of the uncertainty created by the coronavirus.

"The situation is emerging, and we're still gathering lots of data points and monitoring it very closely," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told Reuters.

Apple has suppliers in the Wuhan area, but has alternatives, Cook said.

After the Lunar New Year holiday, factories outside the Wuhan area will not reopen until Feb. 10, Cook said, but Apple built the delayed restart into its wider revenue forecast.

Taiwan's TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker which has factories in China's Shanghai and Nanjing, told Reuters its operations had not been affected. The company has asked staff who had visited Hubei within the last 14 days to stay at home and monitor their health.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard in Taipei; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
A rescue dog turned K-9 officer is delighting children around the Liberty County area with a merry personality and wagging tail.

Liberty County Sheriffs Office Deputy K-9 Red recently visited San Jacinto Elementary school in Liberty ISD and 80 kindergarteners and first graders fell in love. The children, who lavished praise and adoration on the K-9, also hugged and petted the receptive Red for all of two hours.

Reds story with LCSO began last year. The beloved pet wandered up to Reserve Deputy William Halls home about a year ago. It was obvious to Hall that the dog had been abused and suffered injuries at the hands of a cruel owner who abandoned the dog.

Hall took the dog in, had it treated and has spent some $4,000 of his own money on obedience training for Red.

With permission and the blessing of LCSO Sheriff Bobby Rader, Red was sworn in by Rader as an active K-9 within his agency in early December 2019 to be used as a community service K-9 that can relate and interact with children and adults in a more officer-friendly manner. Other K-9 officers that deal exclusively in narcotic detection and tracking dont often play well with others and can have rather aggressive attitudes not good for public interaction. Newly sworn-in K-9 Red on the other hand can be petted to sleep by a child or will shake paws in return for a simple peanut butter cookie treat.

Red recently received some media attention from an ABC-13 crew and will be available to the Multi-County Crime Stoppers organization for special events as well as visits to civic groups, schools, churches or any other type of function that would be suitable for a K-9 visit.

To inquire about a visit from K-9 Red, please call the non-emergency number for the Liberty County Sheriffs Office at 936-336-4500.

dtaylor@hcnonline.com
WASHINGTON - Pete Buttigieg said Friday that he has raised $4 million since the Iowa caucuses, an impressive haul for a candidate looking to capitalize on his strong showing to continue building a national political brand.

The campaign of the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, announced that it had collected $4 million since one minute after midnight on Tuesday.

The results from Mondays caucuses are too close for The Associated Press to call. In figures released Thursday by the state party, Buttigieg leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by a margin of 0.09 percentage points. Both candidates have declared victory.

Its another sign of strength for Buttigieg, who was unknown in national politics a year ago and has risen to become a front-runner in the Democratic primary. He is offering a centrist message and promising a fresh approach to politics as a 38-year-old Washington outsider.

Buttigiegs campaign also said it was launching digital ads in Nevada and South Carolina starting on Saturday. Those states vote after New Hampshire, which holds the nations first primary on Tuesday.

Sanders has announced raising a massive $25 million in January and is planning to use his flush campaign account to add staff and increase television and online advertising in states that vote on Super Tuesday on March 3.

Their twin strong finishes in Iowa have also increased tensions between Sanders and Buttigieg.

Appearing at a Politics and Eggs breakfast at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Friday, Sanders read a series of headlines about wealthy donors backing Buttigieg.

I like Pete Buttigieg. Nice guy, Sanders said. But we are in a moment where billionaires control not only our economy but our political life.

Channeling an old folk ballad, Sanders added: This campaign is about Which Side are You On, then quipped, I will not sing for you.

Sanders questioned whether candidates taking big checks from corporate interests would be willing to stand up to them and suggested the larger issue may not come up on Friday night, when he and other Democratic presidential candidates debate in Manchester.

Tonight, Ill be in a debate. Theyll ask me 500 questions about this issue, that issue. Thats fine. We gotta hear the answers, Sanders said. But its deeper than that: Which side are you on?

Buttigiegs campaign said Friday that during the first week of February, he had raised more money online than in all but two months of last year. Sanders also relies heavily on funds raised online, mostly from small donors.

Buttigiegs campaign said that there had been 30,000 new donors since Feb. 4 and t hat more than a third of all donations came from first-time donors. It had raised $1 million in the past 24 hours, as Sanders began swiping more openly at Buttigieg.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 20:38:33|Editor: huaxia

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A press conference on China's economic policy to counter the impact of the novel coronavirus is held in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2020. The Chinese government is mobilizing billions of yuan to aid those affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak and assures that ample economic levers are at hand to handle the epidemic impact. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai)

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government is mobilizing billions of yuan to aid those affected by the novel coronavirus outbreak and assures that ample economic levers are at hand to handle the epidemic impact.

The People's Bank of China is analyzing the impact of the outbreak on the economy and will increase counter-cyclical adjustments and ensure adequate liquidity to provide a supportive financial environment, Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the central bank, told a press conference Friday.

Considering the coronavirus impact on the economy as "temporary," Pan said the economy showed strong resilience, and the country had sufficient policy space to stabilize economic growth.

The epidemic might disturb economic activities in the first quarter of this year, but the economy is likely to steady shortly after the epidemic is contained, as the unleashing of pent-up demands will make up for previous weak economic performance, Pan said.

The pneumonia-causing virus was first identified in the city of Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province in December. It has since killed more than 600 people on the Chinese mainland and spread overseas.

While racing to contain the spread of the virus, the Chinese government is stepping up support for the epidemic-affected economy, as extended Lunar New Year holidays and preventive travel restrictions in some cities took a toll on business activities.

The Ministry of Finance said Friday that as of 5 p.m. on Thursday, finance ministries at all levels of government had allocated 66.74 billion yuan (9.56 billion U.S. dollars) for the prevention and control of the epidemic.

The ministry also unveiled a policy for the government to subsidize the personal treatment costs incurred by those with confirmed cases of the virus and pay allowances to medical staff working on the frontlines of epidemic control.

The country will also cut taxes and fees, Yu Weiping, vice finance minister, said at the press conference.

Preferential loans of 300 billion yuan will be given to enterprises that produce, transport or sell medical supplies and life necessities to ensure that their loan rates are lower than 1.6 percent, compared to a market level of between 2.4 percent and 3.15 percent.

These measures will reduce production and financing costs of related firms and help them to weather this difficult period and increase medical supplies, Yu said.

To boost liquidity and stabilize financial markets, China's central bank added a total of 1.7 trillion yuan into the banking system this week via reverse repurchase agreements (repos) and lowered the repo rates by 10 basis points (bps).

"The Chinese authorities have policy space to respond and have announced a sizeable injection of liquidity, which should help mitigate the costs to economic growth," the World Bank said in a statement Monday.

Also on Monday, the International Monetary Fund expressed its support for China's efforts to tackle the outbreak and said it is confident that China's economy "remains resilient."

Pan Gongsheng said the central bank will continue to use policy tools such as targeted reduction of the reserve requirement ratios (RRR), re-lending and rediscount to provide further support for the economy.

"We see more liquidity offerings from the central bank, at least additional 100-bps RRR cuts, 15-20 bps rate cuts in medium-term lending facility and a less tight regulatory environment on shadow credit," said UBS analyst Wang Tao.

With immediate virus control as the priority, Goldman Sachs expected the country's current policies to focus on ensuring financial resources flow to the places needed for "firefighting" and keeping the broad policy environment supportive.

Once the epidemic is under control, senior policymakers will shift their focus to the economy, with fixed-asset-investment-driven stimulus and measures to support consumption likely to be unveiled, it said.
Now that the dust has settled (slightly) on the Iowa Caucus debacle, fingers are now pointed at DNC Chairman Tom Perez. Many Democrats want to send Perez packing, calling for his immediate resignation.

In particular, he stirred distaste on Thursday by tweeting out a call for an immediate recanvass in Iowa. This request came shortly after the last of Iowas counts started coming in, which, according to an Iowa Democrat who spoke with Politico, came as a shock even to Iowa Democratic chair Troy Price. An assistant to Perez allegedly gave Price a one-minute warning that the call for a recanvass would be happening.

Its not just about the caucus, either. As the New York Daily News pointed out, Perez is insufficient in several respects, failing to create compelling ratings for the televised debates and raising a mere fraction in fundraising compared to the RNC.

Hes trying to protect himself, the Democrat told Politico. He got what he wanted, which is the end of the Iowa caucuses.

Many Democrats have noted how Perez has distanced himself from the Iowa caucuses, perhaps in an attempt to scapegoat the Democratic party in Iowa.

Where is Tom? Washington Democratic chair Tina Podlodowski asked Politico during a phone interview. It was very frustrating to not hear from the DNC for 48 hours, except for them throwing Troy under the bus. Perez was noticeably silent during all the chaos, speaking out only to then, as Podlodowski sees it, cast the blame to the Iowa democrats.

Usually the call for a recanvass comes from presidential candidates. Back in 2016, Sanders campaign called for one in Kentucky. Ken Martin, the chair of the Association of State Democratic Committees, told Politico, If there needs to be a recount or recanvass, the only people who can call for one are the 2020 candidates themselves. He resolutely stood by the Iowa Democrats, expressing his gratitude for their actions during the pandemonium.

Throwing Iowa under the bus may not be Perezs only prerogative, though. Sanders recently claimed victory in Iowa due to winning the popular vote, but, as CNN reported, Perezs motivation behind the recanvass is partially due to how delegates were doled out to the satellite caucus sites (which are largely non-white and working class), the areas in which Sanders comprehensively defeated his competition.

Oh yeah, Ohio Dem Representative Marcia Fudge told Politico, Were a party in chaos. Fudge is one of several officials now calling for Perezs resignation. It seems Perez expected this, tooBuzzFeed reported on exit packages that had been prepared for Perez and two of his top deputies, which they had to abandon once the plans had been leaked.

As it stands, Perez has been backed into a corner, and it may force his resignation.
A planned tour of Britain by the American evangelist Franklin Graham, an outspoken social conservative and a vocal supporter of President Trump, will move forward despite being dropped by venues over concerns about his past statements, according to organizers.

The tour, which features a series of messages from the Bible and concerts that aim to teach biblical principles, is scheduled to begin on May 30 in Glasgow before making stops in Newcastle, Liverpool, Birmingham and elsewhere. But late last month, a convention center in Liverpool announced that it would no longer be hosting Mr. Graham after being made aware of statements it viewed as incompatible with its values.

In light of this we can no longer reconcile the balance between freedom of speech and the divisive impact this event is having in our city, the venue, ACC Liverpool, said in a statement.

Over the next days, other venues across the country made similar announcements. In Milton Keynes, for instance, the Marshall Arena said it had canceled its own Graham event over concerns that it could lead to a breach of the peace. Now, no date on the tours website has a designated venue, and all the locations are listed as TBA.
Kathua rape-murder case: SC stays JJB proceedings against 'minor'

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Supreme Court Friday stayed the proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) against a 'minor' allegedly involved in the sensational gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua.

A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Ajay Rastogi and V Ramasubramanian stayed the proceedings after Jammu and Kashmir administration claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had erroneously affirmed the order of a trial court holding him as juvenile at the time of the offence in 2018.

"Having heard senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing on behalf of the petitioners and after perusing the averments made in the application for stay, we direct that the further proceedings pending before the Juvenile Justice Board at Kathua, titled as...shall remain stayed," the bench said, listing the matter for further hearing on March 16.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing for J&K adminstration, said the high court had on October 11, 2019, wrongly affirmed the trial court order of March 27, 2018, without appreciating that the date of birth recorded in the municipal and school records are contradictory to each other.

He said that despite the notice to the 'minor' accused issued by the apex court on January 6 on the administration's appeal, the JJB has continued its proceeding against the accused, treating him as a juvenile.

Patwalia contended that the accused is one of the main conspirators of the entire incident and kidnapped, gang-raped and murdered the victim. He said it is the admitted case of the accused that there was contradiction in his date of birth recorded in the municipal and school records and therefore, the opinion given by the medical board holds paramount importance.

Patwalia said that medical board constituted by the high court by its order of February 21, 2018 had opined that the accused was aged between 19 to 23 years at the time of offence. The JJB had last year framed charges against the 'minor' and continued with the proceedings of examination of prosecution witnesses.

The top court on May 7, 2018 transferred the trial of the case from Kathua in Jammu to Pathankot in Punjab and ordered for day-to-day trial after some lawyers prevented the Crime Branch officials from filing a charge sheet in the sensational case.

The special court on June 10 last year sentenced three men to life imprisonment till last breath for the ghastly crime that shook the nation. Sanji Ram, the mastermind and caretaker of the 'devasthanam' (temple) where the crime took place in January, 2018; Deepak Khajuria, a Special Police Officer, and Parvesh Kumar, a civilian -- the three main accused --were spared death penalty, a punishment sought by the prosecution during the year-long in-camera trial in the court.

The three who were given life term were convicted under Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) sections relating to criminal conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, gang rape, destruction of evidence, drugging the victim and common intention.

The other three accused -- Sub Inspector Anand Dutta, Head Constable Tilak Raj and special police officer Surender Verma -- were convicted for destruction of evidence to cover up the crime and handed down five years in jail and Rs 50,000 fine each.

The trial court had acquitted the seventh accused Vishal Jangotra, son of Sanji Ram, giving him the 'benefit of doubt'. According to prosecution, the eight-year-old girl was kidnapped on January 10, 2018 and was raped in captivity in a small village temple, exclusively manned by Ram, after keeping her sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GivePower took home top honor on the global stage, receiving the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award for its Solar Water Farm technology. The award was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to encourage research institutions, individuals, and innovators from around the world to develop sustainable and innovative solutions to water scarcity that use solar power. The UAE Water Aid Foundation, Suqia oversees the award, which has three main categories: Innovative Projects Award, Innovative Research and Development Award, and the Innovative Individual Award. GivePower took first place for Innovative Small Projects Award.



For Founder, Chairman, and CEO Hayes Barnard, who accepted this award in Dubai on behalf of GivePower, a US-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit, this award represents a growing awareness of the water crisis on a global level, and the support needed to create innovative solutions that can save lives. With the help and support of the UAE Water Aid Foundation, GivePower will be able to continue deploying Solar Water Farms for people in critical need of access to clean drinking water.

GivePower, received the 1st place award for innovative projects for their containerized, solar-powered water desalination and purification technology that can be rapidly deployed in coastal regions around the world suffering from a shortage of clean water. These Solar Water Farms can operate 24 hours a day, utilizing battery storage technology, and are housed in 20-foot shipping containers. Capable of transforming as much as 70,000 liters of brackish or saltwater into clean, healthy drinking water every day. With this new, sustainable clean water source, coastal communities will see a dramatic drop in waterborne diseases, and are empowered with greater health and economic opportunities.

The event featured ten honorees from eight different countries, with GivePower being the sole winner from the U.S. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum attended the event and personally distributed the awards.

We are honored and deeply grateful to receive this prestigious award and would like to thank the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for the recognition, support, and their tireless dedication to helping humanity overcome water scarcity, said Hayes Barnard, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of GivePower.

Three of every ten people in the world face life-threatening water scarcity challenges as the global water crisis keeps growing at an alarming rate. The worlds innovators and leaders must unite to tackle this serious problem together. The people of the United Arab Emirates, under the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, understand this and remain determined with urgency to solve this problem.

About GivePower

GivePower is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to extending the environmental and social benefits of clean, renewable energy across the world. GivePower uses solar energy and storage technologies to deliver the most essential community services to the developing world. GivePower has helped power some of the economically poorest countries, including communities across more than a dozen countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Visit GivePower at www.givepower.org and follow the organization on Facebook , Instagram , and Twitter .
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" director Gareth Edwards has finally found his next project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 44-year-old filmmaker will direct a sci-fi movie from a script he wrote.

Though the plot details have been kept under wraps, the film's story is said to be set in the near future. It is based on an original idea by Edwards.

The project, which hails from studio New Regency, will be produced by Kiri Hart, who previously worked with Edwards on 2016's "Rogue One".

Edwards' filmmaking credits also includes movies such as "Monsters" (2010) and "Godzilla" (2014).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lok Sabha proceedings were on Friday adjourned for the day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi condemned a Congress member's attempt to attack Union Minister Harsh Vardhan.

"It is highly uncalled for. If anything is wrongly spoken then it is upto the Speaker to take a call but trying to attack the Minister is condemnable," Joshi said as the House reassembled at 2 pm.

As Congress members too were on there feet, A Raja, who was Chairing the proceedings of the House, adjourned it for the day.

Earlier during Question Hour, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu Manickam Tagore attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, as he condemned the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The House was then adjourned till 1 pm and after that till 2 pm.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, South Korean groom Lee Kwon-Seok reportedly joined thousands of other couples in the latest mass wedding performed by a Unification Church on February 7. However, the couple did not want to take any chance so he also brought surgical masks to wear, his black to match his suit and hers white to match her dress. According to international media reports, approximately 30,000 people from around the world gathered at the Cheong Shim Peace World Centre in Gapyeong, northeast of Seoul.

As the deadly virus has been spreading rapidly, the Church staff prepared hand sanitizer, handed out surgical masks and checked couples' temperatures as well. However, the media outlet reported that at the end of the ceremony only a few couples wore masks at the wedding ceremony which was also overseen by Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of the founder of the Unification Church, and known to believers as 'True Mother'. While speaking to the media outlet, a 23-year-old bride from Benin said that she did not put on a mask as she wanted to look beautiful for her husband.

READ: China Imposes New Restrictions In Wuhan Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

READ: Canada: Man Tells Chinese Woman 'you Dropped Your Coronavirus' As Racism Spikes

'Global health emergency'

The deadly virus has already claimed at least 636 lives in China and has also infected nearly 30,000 people across the country. The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'.

In order to tackle the spreading virus, WHO stated that the international community has further launched a USD 675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020. Earlier, WHO had also warned the international public health authorities that the Wuhan Virus was of a significant threat to the nations outside mainland China and the disease's pandemic nature enforced a global response to the outbreak. Authorities also banned Chinese nationals from travelling into their territory, suspending airlines and halting the visa issuance as well as immigration facility.

READ: Passengers Panic Over Coronavirus Scare Onboard Air India Flight

READ: Coronavirus: Manipur Bans Import Of Packaged Food From China, Myanmar, SE Asia
RTL experienced a look behind the scenes at the National Health Laboratory (LNS) to learn how the coronavirus test works.

As the coronavirus spreads throughout China and the number of patients and victims rises, RTL has taken a closer look at the Grand Duchy's plan, should a case arise. To date there have been 13 patients diagnosed in Germany, six in France and one in Belgium, but none in Luxembourg.

Last week, Luxembourg's health professionals experienced a scare as a suspected case arose, but by the evening of the same day, the patient had tested negative for the fast-spreading epidemic.

As for the procedure established by the LNS, a patient suspected to have the virus would be isolated in the capital's hospital centre (CHL) and subjected to tests. Samples would be sent to and processed by the National Health Laboratory in Dudelange.

The new coronavirus requires methods of analysis which have been developed in tandem with a laboratory in Rotterdam, and are now well-established in Dudelange.

Last weekend, the first case of testing took place. Dr Trun Nguyen, the LNS's department head, attended the testing personally, and explained the four stages of testing to RTL.

Samples are sent to a lab with security level three, in which staff are only allowed to enter if wearing full protective clothing. The first step involves rendering the virus inactive, while the second employs modern technology to filter out the viral genomes. Next, the sample is tested to check if it is coronavirus or not.

 RTL Tele Letzebuerg

In order to check if the test works, the lab team has developed a synthetic form of the virus and runs it through the machine. The results take around four to five hours. If the curve points upward, coronavirus is confirmed. However, one more stage of testing is required.

In the next room, lab staff work to rule out other illnesses or lung infections. Health director Jean-Claude Schmit told RTL they expected to receive more cases of testing as the virus spreads, and the National Health Laboratory was well prepared for such instances.

The LNS, Ministry of Health and health inspectors are therefore permanently exchanging secure information.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) former spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan, who took the responsibility for the attempted murder of Malala Yousfzai and for carrying several attacks in Pakistan including deadly Peshawar Army school terror attack, has escaped from an Army Jail in Pakistan.

In an audio message released on Thursday, Ehsan could be heard saying that he has succeeded in escaping from Pakistan's jail. Ehsan had escaped on January 11 but no confirmation has been made by the Pakistan Army yet.

"I am Ehsanullah Ehsan. I am the former spokesman of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Jamaatul Ahrar. I had surrendered to the Pakistani security authorities on February 5, 2017, under an agreement. I honored this agreement for three years, but the Pakistani authorities violated it and kept me in a prison along with my children," Ehsan said.

Ehsan said that he will release a detailed statement later in which he will mention the agreement he made with the Pakistani security authorities.

"I will also mention on whose approval this accord was made with me. And what were the terms and conditions of the agreement and which prominent figure had assured me that the agreement will be implemented," he said, adding that he will also explain the conditions in which he and his family were held in Pakistan.

The escape of Ehsan has created an uproar in Pakistan where the opposition is accusing the government of "sheer incompetence".

Pakistan's opposition leader and PPP member Farhatullah Babar on Friday slammed the Pakistan government and demanded an explanation over the release of 'self-confessed terrorists'.

"Reports that TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan fled from custody highly disturbing. One of the two explanations possible; Complicity or sheer incompetence. What about massacred APS children? Jailing HR defenders and freeing self-confessed terrorists. Demand explanation," Farhatullah Babar, Secretary-General PPP wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, MNA and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar criticised the government saying that no one is listening to their warnings about regrouping the Taliban.

"Worrying news coming in that TTP's Ehsan Ullah Ehsan has escaped. In no way can this be a result of incompetence. @OfficialDGISPR should confirm or deny this news. We demand a thorough investigation into this incident. No one is listening to our warnings about regrouping Taliban," wrote Member National Assembly (MNA) and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar on Twitter.

(ANI)

Also Read: Chinese doctor who broke news on 'SARS-like' disease dies of Coronavirus
Containers leaves Huu Nghi Border Gate in Lang Son Province to enter China on February 5, 2020. Photo by Lang Son Newspaper.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the resumption of cross-border trade with China to ensure economic activities are not affected by the coronavirus epidemic.

The order, issued Thursday, said cargo train and aircraft could also continue operating between the two countries as long as safety measures are conducted to prevent spread of the nCoV.

The order comes after Vietnamese authorities closed northern border gates following the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, resulting in hundreds of containers carrying dragon fruits and watermelons getting stuck, unable to enter China.

As of Thursday, 60 containers at the Tan Thanh Border Gate in Lang Son Province had been cleared to enter China. More than 200 containers are awaiting similar clearance.

China is the largest market for Vietnamese agriculture, forestry and seafood products, accounting for 27.8 percent of the sectors export value of almost $8.5 billion last year.
BAY COUNTY, MI  A jackknifed semi-truck has shut down a portion of a Bay County road.

Michigan State Police is reporting southbound Interstate 75 at M-84 is closed due to a semi-truck in the ditch.

No injuries are being reported.

Traffic is being routed off southbound I-75 at M-84.

An alternative route will take drivers onto M-84 south to Tittabawassee Road, east to I-675, I-675 south to I-75.

The removal of the semi is expected to take approximately two hours.
WASHINGTON  The United States killed the leader of Al Qaedas affiliate in Yemen, the White House confirmed on Thursday.

The confirmation came about a week after The New York Times first reported that the United States believed it had killed Qassim al-Rimi, the Qaeda leader, in January after months of tracing him.

The C.I.A. carried out the airstrike using an unmanned drone, an intelligence official said.

The White House statement had little detail about the operation, but said it was carried out at the direction of President Trump. The statement said Mr. al-Rimis death will degrade the Yemen affiliate and the global Qaeda movement and brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security.

Mr. Trump has highlighted his record of ordering the killing of terrorist leaders and other adversaries. In his State of the Union address, he highlighted the Army Delta Force raid that killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Islamic State leader, as well as the drone strike in Baghdad that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, Irans most important general.
This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield has come out as gay in a post shared on Instagram.

With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay, the 57-year-old presenter, one of the most recognisable TV personalities in the UK, wrote.

Schofield has been married to his wife, Steph, for 27 years, and they have two grown-up daughters together. The news has been met with widespread support from fans and celebrities alike.

This is something that has caused many heart-breaking conversations at home. My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion. Yet still I cant sleep and there have been some very dark moments.

Phillip Schofield pictured in 2017. The presenter is one of the most recognisable faces on British TV. (WireImage)

Schofield's statement, also shared on the official This Morning Twitter account, added: "My inner conflict contrasts with an outside world that has changed so very much for the better. Today, quite rightly, being gay is a reason to celebrate and be proud. Yes, I am feeling pain and confusion, but that comes only from the hurt that I am causing to my family.

Read more: Phillip Schofields statement in full

He thanked his This Morning co-presenter Holly Willoughby for her support saying she has been so kind and wise adding that she has hugged me as I sobbed on her shoulder.

The TV personality, who also presents Dancing On Ice, praised the guests on This Morning who have been brave and open in confronting their truth - so now its my turn to share mine.

The post shared by Phillip Schofield on his Instagram story. (Instagram/@schofe)

Read more: Holly Willoughby shares support for Phillip Schofield

Holly Willoughby wrote on Instagram that she has never been more proud of my friend than I am today.

Appearing on This Morning on Friday morning, Willoughby told Schofield: "I know that is something you have been living with, that inner conflict, for a long time."

He added: "It's funny because everyone I have spoken to, you, have all been so supportive, so loving and caring.

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"My entire family, to a person, have grabbed us and said 'It's OK, we love you, we are proud of you,' and every person I tell, it gets a little lighter and a little lighter.

"But at the same time I've made this decision, which is essential for me and for my head, which is the reason why I've done this, I'm very aware that Steph and the girls are at home watching this.

Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield have presented the show for more than 10 years. (ITV/Joel Anderson)

"They have been supporting this as, we got to this moment."

He added: "I feel a little lighter but I'm also very aware, there is no question that it causes pain and it causes upset."

He said he has "no secrets" from his wife, adding: "We have never had any secrets.

"It's tough, this is not something that has happened quickly, I've had to deal with this in my head for quite some time. We've been honest and open."

"My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion," Schofield wrote. (Photo by John Phillips/Getty Images)

Asked why he was announcing it now, he said: "It's a good question, the thing is you know this has been bothering me for a very long time, everybody does these things at their own speed, when they think the time is right.

"It has consumed my head, and has become an issue in my head."

Read more: Celebrities show support for Schofield online

Schofield added: "I got to the stage where I think we sit here every day and I'm over there and some amazingly brave, incredible person is sitting here and I'm listening to their story, thinking 'Oh my god, you're so brave' and I'm thinking 'I have to be that person'.

"All you can be in your life is honest with yourself and I was getting to the point where I wasn't being honest with myself and I didn't like myself very much because I wasn't being honest with myself."

Schofield added that it has helped to talk to someone, saying: "It's brought me back from some dark places. Talking to someone does bring you back and sometimes talking to people saves you."

Phillip Schofield pictured in 1985 as a presenter on Children's BBC. (Photo by Don Smith/Radio Times/Getty Images)

He also said that his hand had not been forced to share the news, saying: "It's my decision, this is absolutely my decision, it was something I knew I had to do."

Willoughby said she could "feel the relief" from her fellow co-presenter.

Asked if he was considering a relationship with someone else at this time, Schofield said: "I don't think so, I'm not thinking there, I'm doing each day at a time now.

Schofield in 1987, left, with fellow presenter Sarah Greene, and in the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in 1996 (right). (PA)

"And this has always been a slow process and there's no fast process after, this was the big day, and this was the day I knew that everything was pointing towards and I could not have done it if it hadn't been you, so afterwards I don't know, there's no one, I'm not rushing to anybody."

Willoughby offered words of support saying she would be by his side "for ever and ever".

The duo were then joined by fellow This Morning presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.

After a round of hugs, Holmes said: "Nobody should be embarrassed about their sexuality and it's fantastic you have spoken out and there will be so many people who have been strengthened by what you've said."

He added that he and wife Ruth would be "the first to stand by you".

Phillip Schofield and his wife, Stephanie Lowe, at the National Television Awards in January 2019. (Photo by Joe Maher/WireImage)

As well as receiving huge support from colleagues and fellow celebrities, Schofield's move was praised by LGBT charities and groups across the country.

The LGBT Foundation Tweeted: "Coming out at any time is a challenging and momentous decision and we are so proud that you have been able to share this with us @schofe. Your courage and bravery will give strength and inspiration to many others."

Equality charity Stonewall said: "Incredibly brave and moving announcement from Phillip Schofield this morning. It takes a lot of courage and is always a hugely personal decision to be open about who you are. Congrats Phillip."

Phillip Schofield began his TV career as a continuity announcer for Childrens BBC in 1985. He presented the BBCs flagship Saturday morning childrens show Going Live! from 1987-1993, and moved on to adult-oriented television in the early 1990s.

He has been a presenter on This Morning since 2002.
Story Highlights Two-thirds of Americans consider the Democrats divided rather than united

Majority of 56% consider Republican Party united

Supporters of both parties satisfied with choices for 2020 nomination

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With 11 Democrats vying for their party's 2020 presidential nomination as the primary season kicks off, 65% of Americans describe the Democratic Party as divided while 34% see it as united. By contrast, the majority of Americans (56%) say the Republican Party is united versus 43% divided.

Perceptions of Republican and Democratic Party Unity Would you describe the [Republican Party/Democratic Party] today as united or divided? United Divided % % Republican Party 56 43 Democratic Party 34 65 Based on U.S. adults Gallup, Jan. 16-29, 2020

These results are based on a Gallup poll conducted Jan. 16-29, before the near party-line vote in the U.S. Senate to acquit President Donald Trump on impeachment charges -- as well as before the Iowa caucuses, which were marred by substantial vote-counting delays.

The same question about party cohesion was asked by CBS News in 2016 when both major parties had competitive races for their party's presidential nomination. Between May and October of that year, Americans were much more likely to consider the Republican Party as divided (83%, on average) than the Democratic Party (49%), likely reflecting the GOP's large field of primary candidates and political outsider Trump eventually winning the party's nomination.

Democrats Less Confident Than Republicans in Own Party's Unity

Republicans overwhelmingly see their party as united (76%); just 24% call it divided. By contrast, Democrats are evenly split between those seeing their own party as united (51%) or divided (49%).

Democrats are also more tentative about calling the Republican Party divided (56%) than Republicans are about labeling the Democratic Party this way (78%).

The views of political independents toward each party come closer to that of the opposing party. Two-thirds of independents consider the Democrats divided, while they are evenly split in perceptions of the Republican Party, with a bare majority of 51% calling it united.

Perceptions of Republican and Democratic Party Unity, by Party ID Republicans Independents Democrats % % % Republican Party United 76 51 43 Divided 24 49 56 Democratic Party United 22 32 51 Divided 78 67 49 Based on U.S. adults Gallup, Jan. 16-29, 2020

Republicans and Democrats Express High Satisfaction With Party's Field

While having a large field of candidates vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination may create the perception of party division, the advantage is that the rank and file has plenty of choices. This is reflected in the large percentage of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (74%) who currently say they are pleased with the selection of candidates running for the party's nomination. Today's figure is nearly identical to the 75% recorded this past September when an even larger number of Democrats were in the field.

Democratic satisfaction with their party's choices this election cycle is similar to what Gallup found for the 2008 election that featured Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as the chief contestants. It far exceeds the level of Democratic contentment found in 1992, 2004 and 2016.

Democrats' Satisfaction With Selection of Candidates Running for Democratic Nomination Are you generally pleased with the selection of candidates running for the Democratic nomination, or do you wish someone else was running for president? Generally pleased with selection Wish someone else was running % % 2020 election 2020 Jan 16-29 74 25 2019 Sep 16-30 75 21 2016 election 2016 May 13-15 58 39 2016 Apr 15-17 55 42 2008 election 2007 Sep 7-8 73 23 2007 Apr 13-15 80 18 2004 election 2003 Oct 10-12 51 41 2002 Dec 16-17 48 39 1992 election 1992 Mar 11-12 42 54 1992 Feb 19-20 44 45 Based on Democrats and independents who lean Democratic Gallup

Republicans match Democrats in satisfaction with their own party's candidates.

Seventy-eight percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they are generally pleased with their selection of candidates, up slightly from 72% last fall. This high level of satisfaction probably reflects Republicans' positive feelings toward Trump -- despite his impeachment, 90% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents say they approve of the job he is doing as president. Meanwhile, for those who don't like Trump, two Republican opponents are attempting to get on state ballots as Trump alternatives -- Joe Walsh, former congressman from Illinois, and William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts.

The last time Republicans approached this level of satisfaction was in 2007 as the 2008 Republican presidential field was forming, which included eventual nominee John McCain, Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani and others. It well exceeds their satisfaction when George W. Bush was running for re-election largely unopposed; 56% in October 2003 said they were generally pleased with the selection of GOP candidates. It also surpasses their level of satisfaction in the open races in 1996, 2012 and 2016.

Republicans' Satisfaction With Selection of Candidates Running for Republican Nomination Are you generally pleased with the selection of candidates running for the Republican nomination, or do you wish someone else was running for president? Generally pleased with selection Wish someone else was running % % 2020 election 2020 Jan 16-29 78 20 2019 Sep 16-30 72 24 2016 election 2016 Apr 15-17 44 55 2012 election 2012 Feb 16-19 44 55 2008 election 2007 Sep 7-8 70 26 2007 Apr 13-15 61 33 2004 election 2003 Oct 10-12 56 35 1996 election 1996 Feb 23-25 46 49 Based on Republicans and independents who lean Republican Gallup

Bottom Line

The Democratic Party looks much more divided to Americans at this moment than does the Republican Party. That's not surprising, since Democrats are waging a contentious battle for the 2020 presidential nomination while Republicans have rallied around President Trump amid his impeachment trial.

Being perceived as the more divided party didn't prevent the Republican candidate from winning the election in 2016 (albeit with a loss in the popular vote). Hence, the current results don't represent a clear problem for Democrats, so long as the Democratic electorate coalesces behind its party's nominee by this fall. With the new Gallup poll also showing an increase in the percentage of Democrats who prioritize having a candidate who agrees with them on the issues rather than being the candidate best able to beat Trump, that unity could be harder to come by -- but the election is also nine months away, and attitudes could change before then.

View complete question responses and trends.

Learn more about public opinion metrics that matter for the 2020 presidential election at Gallup's 2020 Presidential Election Center.

Learn more about how the Gallup Poll Social Series works.
Military bases to be built in Mariupol, Severodonetsk according to NATO standards  Zahorodniuk

Two military bases will be built in Mariupol and Severodonetsk according to NATO standards, Defense Minister of Ukraine Andriy Zahorodniuk has said in an interview to KyivPost.

"Since our brigades are still in terrible conditions, we are planning to build several good infrastructure facilities, so that everyone can see that we also can have bases which meet NATO standards," he said.

The minister also said that training premises and barracks will be overhauled and modernized at the military base in Shyroky Lan, Mykolaiv region.
Overdrive

Hero Electric, not to be confused by Hero Moto Corp, unveiled their first-ever electric bike AE-47 at the 2020 Auto Expo. The company plans to launch the electric bike by 2021. Hero Electric launched the first Lithium-ion based electric scooter in India and introduced the unique concept of charging stations for anywhere and everywhere usage. Hero Electric is aiming at pricing the AE-47 electric bike at sub-Rs 2 lakh when launched in India in 2021.

The electric motorcycle AE-47 is powered by a 4000W motor that has a top speed of 85kmph. It comes with a lithium-ion 48V/3.5 kWh battery pack. With a charging time of 4 hours it produces a range of 85 Km/ch in power mode, 160 km/ch in eco mode and accelerates from 0-60 kmph in 9 seconds. The electric bike features advanced braking system with combi brakes 290 mm front and rear 215mm.

The AE-47 electric bike gets Cruise Control feature too, which should be first in class. It also features a digital instrument cluster, keyless access, mobile charger, walk assist and reverse feature. The motorcycle is supported by a mobile app featuring GPS, GPRS, Realtime tracking and Geofencing.

In its present form, the components of AE-47 electric bike such as the motor and the battery pack are from China. However, the company aims to indenise it to close to 70 percent, which will help the brand price the electric bike competitively in the Indian market.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

An emergency medical technician student and BART police helped save a man from overdosing at the Civic Center BART Station in San Francisco on Monday, police said.

Nicholas Stallcup was waiting for a friend to catch an 11:30 p.m. train from the Civic Center Station to the MacArthur Station when he descended the station stairwell to find a man on the floor, police said.

The man was unresponsive and overdosing from opioids, so Stallcup started performing CPR to restore the man's breathing.

Police said Stallcup found the man blue in the face, with his eyes rolling back, his breath almost gone and his pulse weakening.

Stallcup, who just finished his third week of training at the City College of San Francisco to become an EMT, was able to perform CPR until the man gasped for air and his pulse returned.

BART police then arrived at the scene and were able to administer two doses of the opioid antidote Narcan to the man, and he was ultimately transported to the hospital for treatment.

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.
Just three of the worlds most precious tea bowls still exist. Made from a type of pottery called Yohen Tenmoku, one of the remaining original bowls is currently in Osaka, another in Kyoto, and the third in Tokyo. Nobody knows exactly who made them or how they were made, only that it was likely in the Nan-So region of China during the Song Dynasty, between the 12th and 13th centuries CE.

Tenmoku Cups are modeled after an ancient Chinese pottery form.

Made with a base of blue-black glaze dotted with oily-looking spots, the bowls were likely unappreciated in China, where rainbows were considered unlucky. Somehow, a number of them made their way to Japan, where they were prized by collectors and valued for use in tea ceremonies. The style was eventually recreated by Japanese ceramicists, but today only a small number of artists still work with the style.

The beautiful crystalline patterns on the bowls appear spontaneously during the firing process, which are different from the oil spots found on other forms of pottery baked in the Jian kilns of China. Modern potters, for all their new techniques and technology, cant seem to replicate the workmanship of the originals.

The glaze detailing on Tom Fu's new

A new crowdfunding campaign called TENMO pays tribute to their uniqueness while enhancing the qualities that make them look like the cosmos in a cup.

The campaigns official Kickstarter page reads: Tenmoku, also known as Jian Ware, is a legendary, precious type of porcelain that produces unique designs that are both mystical and unpredictable. Its impossible to produce two identical Tenmoku porcelains. The name of Tenmoku comes from the word Tenmo(). It means the eyes of the sky in Chinese and Japanese.

Several shots showcasing Tom Fu's new cosmic

TENMO founder Tom Fu adds that other than just being a cultural symbol, many elderly people from China and Japan appreciate Tenmoku for its potential ability to soften water and enhance flavor thanks to the special clay and glaze used to produce [it]. One time when I was getting my morning cup of coffee, I serendipitously used a Tenmoku teacup for my coffee instead of my normal coffee cups. The feeling I got when drinking my coffee out of the Tenmoku was unlike anything else I had experienced with common coffee cups.

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Drinking my morning coffee out of the Tenmoku that day made me realize that there are no authentic Tenmoku coffee cups on the market currently and that the delicate and exquisite designs of Tenmoku perfectly match the elegant and fine flavors of coffee.

The result is a Kickstarter campaign aiming to revive the tradition, created by an engineer of magnetic materials in collaboration with master ceramicist Sun Whenzha. Theyre made of the very same natural iron-rich clay from Fujian, China that created the originals, and they feature a nano-porous surface thats believed to enhance the flavor of coffee and tea.

Several shots showcasing Tom Fu's new cosmic

The TENMO campaign page contains lots of fascinating details about the science behind the clay and why its iron content affects the glaze in a way that produces these gorgeous nebula-like patterns. And while the campaign itself may have already ended, you can still follow the project to be notified when the cups are made available to the public.
The Georgia Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that could lead the state to taking a hands-off approach to the regulation of electric scooters.

Senate Bill 159 would define electric scooters in state law but do nothing else, leaving regulation up to local governments. The state Senate passed the bill 47-0, sending it to the House for consideration.

State Sen. Steve Gooch, a Republican from Dahlonega sponsoring the proposal, said the legislation simply codifies what a scooter is  and it also preserves any further regulation to be left for the local governments.

The cities of Atlanta, Brookhaven and Decatur have authorized scooters, as has Georgia Southern University. But a Senate study committee report compiled last year found that 12 other cities had banned or placed temporary moratoriums on scooters, including Athens, Columbus, Macon, Savannah and eight Atlanta suburbs.

One of the things that we heard throughout the process was that one size does not fit all, Gooch said from the floor of the Senate on Tuesday.

The bill was amended just before passage by the Senate to include language that encourages local governments to consider liability insurance requirements when setting their ordinances and policies.

Last years study committee, which Gooch chaired, recommended regulating impounds and encouraging safer scooter designs and docks to help alleviate the problem of scooters blocking sidewalks. But it also said the state should be careful not to overregulate the industry.

The devices have been blamed for a rash of injuries. Grady Memorial Hospital found it treated at least 400 and probably 600 injuries from scooters in Atlanta from June 2018 to September 2019, and four fatalities were recorded in Atlanta and East Point.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Legislation Georgia Politics
On Wednesday, the United States Senate acquitted President Donald J. Trump. The outcome was never in doubt.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Wednesday, the United States Senate acquitted President Donald J. Trump. The outcome was never in doubt.

I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong," Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said on the Senate floor. (Laura Seitz / The Deseret News)

But the vote to dismiss the two articles of impeachment detailing the U.S. presidents abuses of power and subsequent obstructions of Congress was noteworthy because acquittal was not delivered unanimously by the Senates controlling caucus of Republicans.

Instead, one Republican senator, Mitt Romney of Utah, voted to convict Mr. Trump on the first of the two articles of impeachment, abuse of power. It was not, as Mr. Romney outlined in a speech on the Senate floor before casting his lone dissenting ballot against 52 Republican votes to acquit (all 47 Democrats voted to convict), an easy decision.

"As a senator-juror, I swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice," Mr. Romney told his Senate colleagues. "I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party, would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced. I was not wrong."

He said he knew his vote would not affect the outcome of the impeachment trial, and that hes aware he will face wrathful consequences for heeding his conscience and sense of obligation rather than following in lockstep support of the president because hes part of "the team."

By voting his conscience rather than huddling with the team, Mr. Romney has put his political future in doubt.

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And yet, despite the procedural futility and inevitable personal cost, Mr. Romney voted to convict Mr. Trump for abusing the power of his office.

"The president asked a foreign government to investigate his political rival," he recounted. "The president withheld vital military funds from that government to press it to do so. The president delayed funds for an American ally at war with Russian invaders. The presidents purpose was personal and political. Accordingly, the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust. ... It was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of ones oath of office that I can imagine."

Mr. Romney voted to acquit on the second article of impeachment, obstruction of Congress.

But its his vote on the first article that will make the remaining months and years of his Senate term (his next run for re-election would come in 2024) problematic. Mr. Romney represents what political insiders describe as a "deep red" state, meaning its ideological underpinnings are hard-line conservative and its political leanings are unshakeably Republican.

Mr. Romney has deep roots in the Republican party  his father, George W. Romney, was the Republican governor of Michigan in the 1960s and later held a cabinet position in the Nixon administration, and Mr. Romney himself was the Republican presidential nominee in the 2012 U.S. election. But the current iteration of the Republican Party, having unmoored from its ideological foundations in order to opportunistically follow the whims and urges of Mr. Trump, bears little resemblance to the party that embodied the faith-based conservative values of the Romney clan.

And so, by voting his conscience rather than huddling with "the team," Mr. Romney has put his political future in doubt. In an interview with The Atlantic on the eve of his purposeful vote, he said he drew strength and comfort from a line in an old Mormon hymn: "Do what is right; let the consequence follow."
LONDON  Karen Pierce, a senior career diplomat, will become Britains next ambassador to the United States, inheriting the tricky task of strengthening the countrys somewhat frayed special relationship with Washington at a time when London is at odds with Washington over several critical policies.

Ms. Pierce, the first woman to be chosen for the new role, is currently Britains permanent representative to the United Nations. She will succeed Kim Darroch, who resigned last year after the leak of diplomatic cables revealed he had characterized the Trump administration as clumsy and inept, among other things.

President Trump responded by describing Mr. Darroch as wacky, a very stupid guy and a pompous fool, while adding that Theresa May, who was prime minister at the time, was foolish for ignoring his advice on Britains exit from the European Union.

When Boris Johnson took over from Mrs. May last year, he basked in warm praise from Mr. Trump, who supports the new governments full-throated commitment to Brexit. And having left the European Union last month, Britain wants to strike a free-trade agreement with the United States as soon as possible.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko has said that he had not talked to President Volodymyr Zelensky about his possible resignation as Ukraine's foreign minister.

He said this at a joint press conference with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod in Kyiv on Thursday, February 6, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I have agreed with President Zelensky from the very beginning that we will be working for as long as I can be useful. There is no problem here. If someone dismisses anyone, then it must be President Zelensky, rather than the talk of someone wanting to replace someone. [...] At least President Zelensky did not say that," he said, commenting on reports in some media outlets about his possible resignation.

At the same time, he said that if there was indeed an idea of his dismissal, he even had a candidate for this post, joking that Kofod could be "a wonderful foreign minister of Ukraine."

op
Dirk Lindenbeck, former company president and engineer, and his wife attended Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Feb. 6, 2020. (NTD Television)

CHARLOTTE, N.C.Todays world is incredibly multi-cultural and international, but it wasnt always so. The its a small world feeling we now have begun to be pioneered decades ago by multi-hyphenates such as retired engineer and company president Dirk Lindenbeck.

Lindenbeck, who has helmed diamond tool manufacturing companies in Germany, South Africa, Brazil, and the United States, attended the world-renowned classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun Performing Arts with his wife on Feb. 6, 2020 and the Belk Theater at Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. He brought his global perspective to bear while reviewing the groups rare combination of Eastern and Western musical components and their revival of traditional Chinese culture.

[Shen Yun] was great. It was something completely different, said Lindenbeck, who most recently retired from running his own North Carolina-based manufacturing operation, Stainless Valve Company, which his son is now the president of.

This show here is a mix of Chinese and Western music, which makes it very interactive, attractive for people who dont know Chinese music but do know Western music. So it fits together and makes it easier to understand the Chinese music, he said.

New York-based Shen Yuns mission is to see Chinas ancient and deeply-spiritual culture be reborn through the arts. Each of their seven touring companies brings with it a full, live-orchestra comprised of instruments from the East and the West, such as the erhu and the pipa.

For thousands of years, according to Shen Yuns website, the pipa, or Chinese lute, has reigned as the king of Chinese folk instruments. This plucked instrument is often found in the hands of heavenly maidens depicted in traditional paintings. The pipas construction further epitomizes ancient Chinese beliefs. Its body, by traditional Chinese measurement, is three feet five inches, representing the three powersheaven, the earth, and man, and the five elementsmetal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

It isnt only the instruments that make Shen Yuns music so special. The way the instruments are integrated together is unique in the world.

First, the Western orchestra serves as a foundation, accentuating the distinct sound of Chinese instruments. Second, the bedrock of soul-stirring melodies from the ancient Middle Kingdom is fully brought to life by a Western symphony, their website continues.

Lindenbeck enjoyed the chance to learn about authentic Chinese culture.

It is interesting to learn this way, he said, how China was developing, what the historical background is. And to understand why this type of music is developed over the centuries or thousands of years.

A Shen Yun performance consists of roughly 20 short dance pieces that include stories, legends, and ethnic and folk dances. Between each piece, emcees briefly give the audience context and background information about elements that may be unfamiliar to them. This, combined with the stage production itself and the program book, is what many say they appreciate about the learning experience of Shen Yun.

A foundation of traditional Chinese culture is its spirituality. Since time immemorial, Chinese people have always believed in the divine and have passed down a legend that the Creator of the world will one day return for all mankind. Shen Yun continues this tradition by including depictions of the Creator in its stories, as well as themes of good versus evil, faith, and compassion.

Lindenbeck recognized that todays China is ruled by an atheist regime that has tried to stamp out all forms of Chinas spirituality during the decades its been in power. But Shen Yun doesnt only portray sad scenes of persecution now going on in that country, it provides hope and an alternative that everyone can draw inspiration from.

[Shen Yuns spirituality] is something which takes you and makes you enjoy what youre listening to and hearing and when you also understand then, that this performance is trying to counteract the negative actions which over the last hundred years or so, have made the country suffer, then its always better when a positive step is there, which can have the chance to do away with the negative aspects, Lindenbeck said.

Lindenbeck, who met his wife in Brazil and is originally from Germany, first heard about Shen Yun from relatives in Asia, where Shen Yun is an especially big hit.

The parents-in-law of my eldest son did invite us [to Shen Yun] and they are from Korea. So, its really international.

Audience members including government officials and well-known artists in countries such as Taiwan and South Korea report that everyone in their circles knows and loves Shen Yun. Performances there are regularly sold out weeks in advance.

The small world effect will continue on thanks to Lindenbeck, who said he and his wife will encourage his contacts to see Shen Yun wherever it performs around the globe. We will definitely tell friends and family, he said.

With reporting by NTD Television and Brett Featherstone.

The Epoch Times considers Shen Yun Performing Arts the significant cultural event of our time and has covered audience reactions since the companys inception in 2006.
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To learn Biblical answers to your financial questions, you can #AskChuck @AskCrown your questions by clicking here. Questions used may be lightly edited for length or clarity.

Dear Chuck,

I have a jaundiced eye about the World Economic Forums view of the world. What are the economic issues that concern you?

Not impressed with Davos

Dear Not Impressed,

While the World Economic Forum has its shortcomings, it may surprise you that I think there is some good that comes out of Davos each year that is helpful to Christians.

What I find helpful to learn from Davos is what the worlds elite are concerned about. While I may or may not agree with their solutions, they often surface issues that merit our attention. Here are two of the many issues they are concerned about that caught my attention. Following these, I give a list of my economic concerns.

Disruptive Technology - Heaven or Hell

History expert, Yuval Harari, issued a stern warning about three global risks ending with his perspective of the ever growing and expanding invasion of technology:

In Davos we hear so much about the enormous promises of technology  and these promises are certainly real. But technology might also disrupt human society and the very meaning of human life in numerous ways, ranging from the creation of a global useless class to the rise of data colonialism and of digital dictatorships.

The twin revolutions of infotech and biotech are now giving politicians the means to create heaven or hell, but the philosophers are having trouble conceptualizing what the new heaven and the new hell will look like. And thats a very dangerous situation.

If we fail to conceptualize the new heaven quickly enough, we might be easily misled by naive utopias. And if we fail to conceptualize the new hell quickly enough, we might find ourselves entrapped there with no way out.

There is certainly an ominous concern and interesting choice of metaphors in Dr. Hararis perspective. Fortunately, we are not looking to technology as our Savior.

Environment/Climate Change

Greta Thunberg, a high-school-age climate activist, named Time Magazines person of the Year, was a featured speaker on the issue of climate change at Davos. She took the opportunity to make specific demands to save the climate from the dangers of fossil fuels:

We demand that at this years World Economic Forum participants from all companies, banks, institutions and governments: Immediately halt all investments in fossil fuel exploration and extraction. Immediately end all fossil fuel subsidies. And immediately and completely divest from fossil fuels.

We dont want these things done by 2050, 2030 or even 2021, we want this done now.

She is not known for being subtle or carefully measuring her words. I dont think anyone expects we will stop using gasoline or jet fuel in 2020 or 2021 or in the near term until God reveals a better, more efficient, cleaner alternative.

Rejecting Prophets of Doom

US President, Donald Trump, made his second appearance at Davos in his Presidency. He strongly pushed back against those who preach doom and gloom. He emphasized optimism and freedom as key ingredients to successful economic growth:

To embrace the promise of tomorrow, we must reject the perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of apocalypse.

I give a wholehearted Amen! to that perspective. Doomsayers do not know the future and certainly Christians are not to be controlled by fear.

Economic Red Flags to Watch - My List

Failing IPOs

Portfolio manager Brad Lamensdorf says investors should be aware and concerned about the proportion of IPOs (Initial Public Offering) that are loss making. Investment bankers stuff the stock market with overpriced companies while the public is willing to take risks. We saw this happen right before the dot-com implosion in 1999.

Non-Performing Mortgages

The jumbo-mortgage market may be in trouble. Servicers do not like to foreclose on them, so many delinquent borrowers have not paid for years and many mortgages are still outstanding.

Unregulated or Shadow Banking

Global shadow banks have assets above $52 trillion but there is a growing concern for lack of data.

Global Debt

Worldwide debt broke the record of debt-to-GDP ratio in the first nine months of last year. Global debt, which comprises borrowings from households, governments and companies, grew by $9 trillion to nearly $253 trillion during that period, according to the Institute of International Finance.

Though I am no economist, I see this specific trend as a clear warning to get your personal financial house in order. Now.

Be Grateful

While we can learn what the global elite are concerned about in Davos, as Christians we can have a different response to the problems and challenges we face. My friend, Jerry Bowyer, believes that businesses suffer when a spirit of ingratitude exists among owners and chief decision makers. He says that the act of gratitude can change everything.

The foundation of asset management is gratitude. If youre grateful for something then youll appreciate it; if you appreciate something then youll care for it; if you care for something then you will (more than likely) get more of it. In other words, if you show appreciation for the assets under your care, theyll probably return the favor and show appreciation for you.

Gratitude, according to Bowyer, is a nations most necessary virtue and protects it from exchanging hard-won liberty for racial glory (the Nazis) or economic security (the Communists).

Proper Perspective

The stock market will fluctuate, technology will expand, and climate will change, but God ultimately is in control. If the government is on His shoulders (Isaiah 9:6) we can trust His good and perfect will. Called to be wise stewards in a world of constant change, we can rely on the Lord who never changes. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8 ESV) He is worthy of our trust and gratitude. We can be grateful and confidently apply Biblical financial principles and not fear the future regardless of what the future may ultimately hold.

I hope this gives you a better idea of what happens in Davos and how we can remain confident of the future because we know the One who has determined the beginning and the end.
Officials From the Cross  Border Road Transport - Regulators' Forum this week gathered in Swakopmund to evaluate the progress made by the forum since its establishment two years ago.

The forum which was officially established in March 2018 serves as a body that is geared to improve the cross-border road transport systems in the region by harmonising policies, reduce transportation costs, delays and transit times as well as eliminate regulatory fragmentation in the region.

Speaking at the opening of the two-day workshop in the Namibian coastal town, the chairperson of the forum, Lwazi Mboyi said the forum is a vital cog in creating a better environment of creating an economically vibrant Africa.

"We recognise the fact that Intra-Africa trade is still at its lowest and ours should yet be another attempt to contribute to a significant improvement on that front," Mboyi said.

The forum has established some key challenges in intr-Africa trade which include different regulatory requirements such as different documentation standards; requirements and operating procedures; different third-party insurance cover requirements; delays and congestion along corridors; and high cost of doing business.

"All these make it difficult for the cross-border road transport industry to realise its full potential and we have been bestowed the responsibility to work collectively to eliminate all of them. This juncture presents a great milestone, but we must not rest on our laurels, great work lies ahead. I am confident that this collective is capable of navigating through these challenges so that the forum can achieve the goals it has set for itself," he added.
No longer Raptor 13: Senior Constable Andrew Murphy has been booted from Strike Force Raptor

Thousands of people have signed a petition calling for the sacking of no nonsense cop Raptor 13 who has been moved to an admin role after abusing two Muslim women.

Raptor 13, real name Senior Constable Andrew Murphy, has been disciplined over a video where he threatened and abused two women last April.

NSW Police confirmed on Thursday that Murphy has been kicked out of New South Wales's bikie-busting Strike Force Raptor - losing the right to his prized codename.

It is understood he now working for a 'non-public facing unit', essentially doing administrative police work.

But thousands of people don't think this is punishment enough and have called for him to be removed from the force altogether.

A petition launched on Thursday already has 30,607 signatures calling for Murphy's complete dismissal.

Ahmad Shady, a migration agent who started the petition calling for Mr Murphy to be sacked, said Raptor 13's disciplining was not enough, given his 'colourful history'.

'He still keeps being on the police payroll, police benefits and pension,' Mr Shady said.

'That's not a sufficient deterrent to other officers on the street from doing the same actions again.'

But it was this incident with two Afghan women which drew the attention of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), finding him of 'serious misconduct'

As of Friday afternoon, more than 30,000 people have signed the petition calling on Mr Murphy's sacking

Mr Murphy's in-your-face tactics have made him the star of several viral videos, winning him praise from shock jocks but dividing the community over the past two years.

But he has been on thin ice with bosses but the final straw was a scathing report from the police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), over a 'threatening and bullying' road stop in Parramatta, in Sydney's west, last April.

In footage that sparked massive uproar, Raptor 13 and his squadmate were seen pulling over a P-plate driver, 24, and her stepmother passenger.

Mr Murphy berated the driver as 'the most stupidest person I've ever met' and threatened to send her passenger, a new migrant, 'back to jail'.

He told the driver: 'Don't argue with me love or you'll be going back in the paddy wagon as accessory to bloody murder.'

'NO NONSENSE' COP: CONTROVERSIAL RAPTOR 13 Senior Constable Andrew Murphy first caught the interest of the public about two years ago when videos of his stand-offs with members of the public began to go viral. The hard-nosed officer is part of an anti-gang police enforcement squad named Strike Force Raptor, which targets outlaw motorcycle groups and uses unconventional tactics. He sparked headlines for confronting mourners on their way to the burial of slain Comanchero boss Mick Hawi, waving a metal pole near a man's head and getting in an elderly man's face. One of Raptor 13's first viral incidents occurred when he waved a metal pole at a member of the public's head Two of the many tense standoffs involving Raptor 13 which have gone viral: Left, he inspects a motorbike. On right, he confronts a 'veteran' in an angry stoush 'Move it ... I'm not asking, I'm telling you,' he told the latter man. Mr Murphy has been praised on talkback radio for his 'no nonsense' tactics - and videos circulating through Facebook show he rarely backs down in tense stand-offs. But he has also become a hate figure and the target of vile online abuse, including rape and death threats. Advertisement

The watchdog described Raptor 13's behaviour as 'intentionally intimidating, abusing, threatening and bullying' and slammed it as 'serious misconduct'.

A NSW Police Force spokeswoman today confirmed 'management action' has been taken following an internal review.

Daily Mail Australia has confirmed he is no longer part of any of the eight specialist squads that make up State Crime Command - which includes Strike Force Raptor, the Homicide and Organised Crime Squads.

The development comes amid dissension in the ranks of the Raptor Task Force, which is feared for the unconventional tactics it uses against outlaw motorcycle groups.
Kylr Yust attorneys granted motion to retest some evidence KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Attorneys for Kylr Yust were granted a motion to retest some physical evidence ahead of his double murder trial in Cass County, set to begin in July .

New mugshot shows the Gen-Z "bad boy" covering his scary occult-looking tattoos with a neck beard. Take a look:
Daily deaths caused by the new coronavirus have reached another record level in China, with 73 fatalities confirmed in figures released by health authorities on Thursday morning, taking the countrys death toll to 563.

The number of new infections in mainland China and the total within its central province of Hubei  the outbreaks epicentre  both fell on Wednesday compared with the day before. There were 3,694 additional cases in the country and 2,987 in Hubei, national and provincial health authorities announced on Thursday morning.

The last time the rise in new infection figures slowed was January 28, after the daily increase in confirmed cases again rose on Tuesday  3,887 in China, of which 3,156 were in Hubei. There have been 565 confirmed deaths worldwide from the coronavirus since it first emerged at the end of December, and it has sickened more than 28,000.

Permits to visit Taiwan suspended for Hong Kong, Macau

Taiwan said on Thursday that it would suspend its online and landing visa services indefinitely for Hong Kong and Macau citizens, while non-citizens of Hong Kong and Macau with a history of travel to mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau are also to be barred from visiting.

Beginning [midnight Thursday], we will suspend online and landing visa application services until further notice, announced Chiu Chui-cheng, vice-chairman of Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council, which sets the islands policies towards mainland China.

Those with an urgent need to visit Taiwan need to apply to the self-governed islands representative offices in Hong Kong or Macau with proof of not having travelled to mainland China in the previous 14 days, Chiu said.

The latest restriction of entry for people from those cities since the outbreak spread was necessary to protect Taiwanese people, Chiu said. Taiwan has raised its alert level for travel to Hong Kong and Macau to Level 2, indicating a potential risk; the highest alert is Level 3, advising against visiting unless strictly necessary.

Story continues

Taiwans Centres for Disease Control (CDC) had previously said that, beginning on Friday, people arriving from Hong Kong and Macau had to conduct home or hotel quarantine for 14 days after landing. Hong Kong and Macau citizens who already had valid Taiwan entry permits issued before Friday can still enter the island but must fulfil the 14 days quarantine.

Several community-transmitted cases with unknown origin have occurred in Hong Kong, indicating the possibility of an invisible chain of infection, the Taiwan CDC said. A worker in the gambling industry in Macau has been diagnosed with coronavirus infection, indicating a second wave of infection in Macau.

Cruise ships banned in Taiwan

Taiwan has banned all cruise ships from docking at its ports, regardless of whether they have visited Hong Kong, Macau or mainland China after a Taiwanese woman was found to have been infected on a Japanese cruise ship.

The woman was among 20 people on board the ship to have tested positive for the coronavirus infection. About 1,000 tourists disembarked from the ship, for a day trip to Taipei and New Taipei City, when it anchored at the northern port of Keelung on January 31, according to Taiwanese immigration authorities.

Taiwans Tourism Bureau said tours to Hong Kong and Macau would be suspended until February 29.

Taiwan reported two more cases of confirmed coronavirus infection on Thursday, bringing the total number to 13, as its first patient was discharged from hospital after making a full recovery.

One of the new cases is a 40-year-old man who visited Wuhan on January 17 and developed symptoms a day after his return to Taiwan on February 2. The second is a 20-year-old woman who worked in Wuhan and returned to Taiwan on February 1, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said.

The woman was hospitalised on February 4 and was confirmed to have been infected on Thursday, he said.

Chen said the 55-year-old woman who had previously tested positive for the virus had been escorted home by anti-epidemic team members after she was discharged from hospital on Thursday.

Trade deal hitch

Mainland media reported on Thursday that the outbreak could prompt China to consider triggering a disaster-related clause in the trade deal it signed with the United States last month.

Global Times, a nationalist tabloid affiliated to Communist Party mouthpiece Peoples Daily, quoted an unnamed Chinese trade expert close to the government as saying a decision on launching a consultation with the US on the disaster clause was unlikely until the end of the first quarter.

In a commentary published on Wednesday, the newspaper said: The phase one agreement clearly stated that the two parties would consult with each other, in the event that a natural disaster or other unforeseeable event outside the control of the parties delays a party from timely complying with its obligations under this agreement. Without doubt the epidemic fits this scenario.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she had no information on the disaster-related clause. China announced on Thursday that it would halve some of the tariffs it imposed on American products late last year.

70 new deaths in Hubei epicentre

Health authorities in Hubei reported 70 new deaths, a daily record, and 2,987 newly confirmed cases as of Thursday. This brings the totals announced by the provinces health commission to 549 and 19,665, respectively. Officials in Hubei had reported 65 fatalities and 3,156 newly confirmed cases on Tuesday.

Some 1,766 of the new cases announced on Thursday were confirmed in Hubeis capital of Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated at a seafood and meat market.

Diagnosis methods tested

Health officials are racing to develop treatments and testing methods for the virus. Wuhan, ground zero of the outbreak, launched an emergency test laboratory on Wednesday. The Huo Yan Laboratory is designed to handle 10,000 samples each day to detect the virus.

The lab is now under trial operation. It is expected to significantly increase the speed of virus testing so that suspected infections can be quickly detected and diagnosed.

Clinical trial for remdesivir begins

Experimental drug remdesivir moved closer to being approved for treatment as a stage-three clinical trial for the antiviral medication started in Wuhan on Thursday. Led by teams from the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, the trial was set to involve 761 patients, of whom 308 had mild to average symptoms and 453 were in serious condition.

Remdesivir was developed by US-based Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola but has been repurposed to treat the new coronavirus. It has not been approved by any country.

Gilead Sciences has agreed with Chinas ministry of health to fully support clinical trials, including providing the drug for free to use in the trials, according to Beijing-based media group Caixin.

The first coronavirus patient in the US was treated with remdesivir and his condition improved, according to his doctors in a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine last week.

China has taken unprecedented measures to curb the spread of the virus, including travel restrictions for most of Hubei province, which has a population of more than 50 million.

The travel lockdown and other orders have stirred debate globally over whether such steps would be effective and worthwhile relative to the disruption they pose for local residents and the economy.

At a recent meeting of the Communist Partys inner circle, the Politburo Standing Committee, President Xi Jinping said local officials would be punished severely if they failed to heed Beijings orders to stop the virus from spreading.

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New Delhi, Feb 7 : The percentage of women contesting the Delhi Assembly polls will be the highest in the 2020 Assembly polls, at over 11 per cent. This is the first time that this percentage has reached the double digits.

Out of the total 672 candidates in the fray in these Assembly polls, 79 are women -- over 11 per cent of the total contestants.

In 2015, 66 of the 673 contestants, or over 9 per cent, were women, but only six of them were elected to the house.

In 2013, when three MLAs were women, the number of women in the fray was 71 out of the total of 810 contestants.

The number of women in the fray was highest in 2008 at 81 out of 875, a little below 10 per cent. Only three were elected.

Seven women MLAS were elected to Delhi's third Assembly in 2003. Women comprised 78 out of the total 817 candidates in the fray, or over nine per cent.

During the 1998 assembly elections, when the Congress wrested power and Sheila Dikshit became the Chief Minister for the first time, there were 57 females in the fray. This time, the highest number of women MLAs - nine - were elected to the House.

In its first Assembly election in 1993, Delhi saw 59 women in the fray out of record total of 1,316 candidates, but only three were elected.

Delhi is going for polls again on Saturday with a total of 79 women in the fray with the top political parties -- the Aam Aadmi Party, BJP and Congress -- fielding 24 female candidates.

The results on February 11 will decide how many of them make it to the Assembly.

While the Congress is aiming to come back to the helm after ruling the city for 15 years in a stretch, the AAP is aiming to retain power and is trying for a hat-trick, and the BJP, which has been out of power in Delhi for more than two decades, is also aiming to form a government.

(Nivedita Singh can be contacted at nivedita.singh@ians.in)
(Bloomberg) -- Worldline SAs 7.8 billion-euro ($8.6 billion) acquisition of rival Ingenico Group SA will create a European payments giant, but the combined French behemoth may still simply not be big enough to face off globally against its substantial and fast-moving U.S. competition.

Trillion-dollar tech firms like Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. are rapidly expanding their payment products across the globe, and Apple Pay has already eclipsed the mobile payment solution offered by Copenhagen-based Nets A/S. Paypal Inc. posted $17.8 billion last year, and Fiserv Inc., which acquired First Data Corp. in the same period, generates about $15.3 billion in revenue.

Worldline plans that its latest acquisition -- the biggest deal of the year so far in Europe -- will help it generate annual revenue of about 5.3 billion euros, however. And, with the Ingenico purchase, it also takes on a company that for years has struggled to pivot from legacy operations of capturing transactions on behalf of credit card companies in stores, toward areas like online shopping.

Worldline Chief Executive Officer Gilles Grapinet says there are more deals to consider.

While acquisitions certainly enable us to acquire new innovative solutions and talent to strengthen our ranks, they also significantly increase our strength in innovation, he told Bloomberg, adding that the company planned to remain a driving force behind industry consolidation on the continent.

The global payments industry may reach $2.7 trillion a year in revenue by 2023, according to research by McKinsey, and is spread among those who help connect consumers, merchants, and banks. Worldline is already a European leader in many of those areas. The Ingenico merger will also vault it above Germanys Wirecard AG in terms of market value, behind only Dutch-based Adyen AG.

Worldlines share price has gained about 10% for the year to date, and about 36% over the past 12 months. The presence of a sizable and growing European payments firm among U.S. giants will help speed up the ongoing consolidation on the continent, said Martina Weimert, Partner in the Financial Services Practice at Oliver Wyman.

Story continues

But Jonathan Simnett, director at the tech mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Hampleton Partners, described Worldlines Ingenico deal as defensive.

They will still be under pressure as buying habits continue to change and more transactions move online, he said. They must move very quickly to stay relevant.

A clue as to whether and how Worldline can do so may be found in observing its loyalty toward old businesses, both of its own and those of its deal targets. For instance, the strategic review for Ingenicos legacy business of terminals leaves options open for that unit, Grapinet told reporters on Monday.

Like its U.S. rivals, Worldline is also trying to find startups that can keep it nimble. Last year it helped create a fintech incubator focusing on e-payments, and partnered with Swiss crypto financial-services Bitcoin Suisse to get a footprint in the cryptocurrency payment services.

Everybody is under competitive pressure, everyone is trying to grab more of a declining market, said Simnett. Expect bigger players to form, we will see more consolidation.

(Updates with shares in 7th paragraph; earlier version corrected Worldline company name in 8th)

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, Nate Lanxon

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- The recent challenges Tullow Oil Plc is facing could lead to job cuts

- About 25% of the total workforce in Ghana could lose their jobs this year

- It is highly possible that 35% of top management staff are also expected to be affected

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Information reaching YEN.com.gh indicates that the recent challenges Tullow Oil Plc is facing could lead to job cuts.

According to a report sighted on Ghanaweb as reported by Classfmonline, about 25% of the total workforce in Ghana could lose their jobs this year.

In the same line, it is highly possible that 35% of top management staff would be affected.

Sources say the move is part of a restructuring policy, due to the challenges the company faced in 2019.

READ ALSO: Ghana has to be careful of excessive borrowing - World Bank warns

Tullows value dropped by 30% in 2019, triggering the probability of reducing its workforce in order to stay in business and remain competitive.

This follows a decline in its shares by 60% in December 2019, due to announcement by its CEO, Paul McDade and Exploration Director, Angus McCoss that they had quit the firm.

More than 1.05 billion was wiped off Tullows market value, leaving the company reeling, valued at 801.7m.

The company is yet to announce a new CEO after the resignation of Paul McDade.

In Ghana, Tullow Oil operates the countrys Jubilee and TEN fields. It is presently trading at GHS11.94 per share on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

READ ALSO: Missing excavators: We have started retrieving them - Operation Vanguard taskforce

In other news, the Government has released a whopping GHC10 million as payment of compensation to owners of critical structures along the lines where the project is taking place.

The Pokuase Interchange project which is being carried out in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region is expected to help ease traffic along that stretch with almost always is in a gridlock.

The Resident Engineer of Associated Consultants Limited, Kwabena Bempong, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said the company received the final 75 percent of the money in December 2019 after the initial release of GH2.5 million.

READ ALSO: Pokuase interchange: Government releases GHC10m to compensate property owners

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

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Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion curated for you. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times.

Coronavirus toll rises to 636, over 30,000 infected

A Chinese doctor who was detained by police for issuing the first warning about the coronavirus outbreak in late December, died of the disease early on Friday, triggering a wave of anger and grief.

Read full story here.

27 terrorists now being trained at Balakot for attack on India, says Intel

The Balakot camp of terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), targeted by India in an air strike last February, is active again and currently training 27 terrorists, with the plan being to use them to launch terror attacks in India, intelligence and counterterror operatives said.

Read full story here.

India to develop 200-km range tactical ballistic missile

India is working on a new tactical ballistic missile capable of striking targets at a range of 200km, two top government officials said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

Read full story here.

Former J-K CMs Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah booked under Public Safety Act

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) on Thursday along with two other leaders of their Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) , officials aware of the matter said.

Read full story here.

CBI arrests OSD to Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia on alleged bribery charges

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on late Thursday night arrested the officer on special duty (OSD) to deputy CM Manish Sisodia in the Delhi government secretariat in an alleged bribery case of Rs 2 lakh, an official said.

Read full story here.

Afsos review: Amazons new Indian show is a pitiful letdown, undeserving of Gulshan Devaiah

On several occasions in Amazon Prime Videos latest Indian show, Afsos, youll see the word Fargo printed on random objects. Theres a large vehicle with Fargo written on its exterior, and inside the vehicle there is a notebook with the same word printed on its cover.

Read full story here.

U 19 World Cup: Atharva Ankolekars final of reckoning after IPL miss

In December last year, Atharva Ankolekar was amongst the 971 registered players available for bidding in the IPL auction. Fresh off his left-arm-spin heroics in the junior Asia Cup final, Ankolekar could not be faulted for dreaming of a IPL ticket.

Read full story here.
After penny challenge and flashlight in eye trend, TikTok users have again come up with such a challenge which has the potential to cause serious harm  including head injuries. This time, even the name of the challenge carries a note of caution  its called Skullbreaker challenge. It goes without saying that its a challenge which you should never try.

The challenge got its name from the Spanish word Rompcraneos. When translated, it means Skullbreaker in English.

Many school students have taken this challenge and filmed themselves doing so. Some even ended up in intensive care after taking the challenge, reports Mirror.

Several videos of the Skullbreaker challenge are being shared across various social media platforms. In the video, three people perform the challenge together  with one standing in middle and other two at sides. The two students standing at sides count to three and they jump up. As they land, the third  standing in the middle  jumps. Instantly, the two standing at sides kick the feet of the third one away and that person crashes to the ground.

Heres one such video:

The challenge became such a craze among young TikTok users of Spanish city of Granada that the police issued a warning stating that the stunt is extremely dangerous, reports Mirror.

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President Donald Trump speaks from the White House in Washington, on Jan. 8, 2020. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

US Kills Top Terrorist, Leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula: Trump

President Donald Trump confirmed on Feb. 6 that U.S. forces have killed Qassim al-Rimi, leader of the extremist Islamist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Al-Rimi claimed responsibility for Decembers tragic shooting at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida that left three people dead.

Al-Rimi was killed in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen, Trump confirmed in a statement on Thursday evening, without elaborating on the date of his death.

At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, a statement from the White House read.

Al-Rimi joined al-Qaeda in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden.

Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, Trump continued.

His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security, the president said.

Three different images of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) military chief in Yemen Qassim al-Rimi, on Oct. 11, 2010. (AFP via Getty Images)

AQAP, formed in 2009, has long been considered by the United States as one of the deadliest branches of the al-Qaeda network founded by Osama bin Laden.

Trump added that the United States, its interests, and allies are safer as a result of al-Rimis death.

Al-Rimi previously released an 18-minute video claiming that his group was responsible for the Pensacola shooting on Dec. 6, in which three U.S. sailors were killed and eight other Americans were wounded.

In the video, al-Rimi called the shooterRoyal Saudi Air Force 2nd Lt. Mohammed Alshamrani, 21a courageous knight and a hero.

Attorney General William Barr and other senior law enforcement officials said last month that the attack was an act of terrorism motivated by jihadist ideology.

Federal officials said investigators found evidence that Alshamrani was motivated by jihadist ideology, including a social media message posted on Sept. 11 last year, stating, The countdown has begun, and other anti-American, anti-Israel, and jihadist messages on social media, as recent as two hours before his attack. Alshamrani also visited the 911 Memorial in New York City during the Thanksgiving weekend.

The Department of Defense (DOD) later announced that it would be putting in place more comprehensive vetting measures for international students and increasing patrols at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida.

Trumps statement confirms earlier reports that al-Rimi had been killed. In late January, a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaeda terrorists in eastern Yemen.

Read More US Conducts Strike Targeting Al-Qaeda Leader in Yemen

We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm, Trump added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Indigenous America is once again facing off with disenrollment.

History shows that the rise and fall of disenrollment correlates to the federal governments behavior toward that tribal self-terminationist practice.

The United States owes each Tribal citizen a trust responsibility of exacting care and loyalty, which includes protection against politically motivated disenrollment. Ironically, though, federal laws have been catalysts for every disenrollment.

Disenrollment stems from a confluence of historic and modern federal forces:

In each of these ways, one after the next, the federal government has decimated Indigenous kinship systems, or what Dakota anthropologist Ella Deloria described as community norms of decency and orderin essence, achieving civility, good manners, and a sense of responsibility for every individual dealt with. 

Even worse, the United States has annihilated certain Indigenous communities inherent ability to self-resolve internal crises; or, as Deloria explained, to enforce the rules imposed by kinship. Too many of those imperiled communities now risk self-annihilation without federal protection that will enable Tribal kinship revival.

The United States failed reliance upon Tribal self-determination to avoid such existential crises is a neocolonial excuse to finally kill the Indian and save the man.

All the while, disenrolling Indian politicians exploit these tensions to fulfill their own agenda: Concentrate Tribal cash and resources to favor their political base and, in turn, sustain their personal wealth and political power. As they plot their scheme, those politicians pay lawyers and lobbyists to ascertain whether the federal government is watchingand willing to do anything to stop them.

It makes you really not like your people": A tribal leader speaks out against disenrollment, a dehumanizing practice that advocates say is on the rise again in Indian Country. #StopDisenrollment https://t.co/Yl3wZ9SamM  indianz.com (@indianz) January 27, 2020

From 1908 to 2009, the federal government did stand watch over disenrollment. The Department of the Interior adjudicated or reviewed disenrollment actions in fulfillment of the United States Treaty and other promises to protect Indigenous Americans, which constitute a moral obligation of the highest responsibility and trust according to the U.S. Supreme Court. [See Seminole Nation v. U.S. (1942).]

In fact, until at least the late 1990s it was codified Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) policy to review disputed Tribal disenrollment determinations. BIA involvement continued for two decades after the Supreme Courts insidious jurisdictional decision in Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez (1978).

It was not until the spring of 2009 that the Obama Administration abruptly looked away from disenrollment affairs, citing a policy of Indian self-determination and self-government. By that time, disenrollment was largely confined to California. But that casual federal policy decision, though well intentioned, proved disastrous.

Tribal politicians seized the moment. Disenrollment exploded into twenty states. Dozens of Indigenous communities were co-opted. Tribal courts were overthrown. Police violence erupted. Thousands of Tribal citizens were exiled.

All of Indian Country suffered a black eye.

By 2016, Interior corrected course. Amidst multiple federal Indian Country justice initiativesthe Tribal Law and Order Act most notablythe Obama Administration grew concerned about perceptions of Tribal justice systems as corrupt and unjust.

Interior took action, making examples out of the most egregious disenrollment offenders. The agency suspended the Nooksack Tribes federal funding recognition amidst unfathomable disorder surrounding the disenrollment of 306 Tribal citizens ; and intervened in federal court when the entire 132-person Elem Pomo Colony population faced disenrollment and exile. The National Indian Gaming Commission shuttered lucrative gaming facilities at Nooksack and the Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians , where the rule of law had ceded to violence and anarchy.

Offering insight into the United States thinking at the time, immediate past Interior Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs, Dean Kevin Washburn , warned that Tribes engaged in unjust disenrollment could face federal diplomatic consequences, which could be fiscal in nature, equivalent to economic sanctions.

Indian Country took note, and disenrollment waned. For almost three years, there was not a new disenrollment.

As we are nearing the next & possibly final #STOPDISENROLLMENT DAY

Do we fight?

Do we hope?

Do we pray for justice or SEEK JUSTICE for our ancestors?

Do we wait and see while our elders die without justice? https://t.co/sIQCGf9XbC@emiliotongva @Indianz pic.twitter.com/dGWYJs0ZRx  Original Pechanga (@opechanga) February 7, 2020

But that changed by late 2018. With the Trump Administration too preoccupied to stop Tribal corruption or reflect upon the real-life consequences of its actions or demurrals, Interior officials sanctioned two obviously illegal elections at Nooksack and proposed to cease BIA blood quantum determinations.

Tribal despots realized the Trustees priorities had shifted, and took full advantage.

Omaha Tribe of Nebraska politicians disenrolled fifteen citizens and placed hundreds more in harms way via clandestine blood quantum adjustments. A Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma conspirator terminated a three-generation family of fifteen after an elder questioned his rent-a-tribe schemes. The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians disenrolled at least nine citizens based on a non-Indian anthropologists blood quantum audit findings and California Indian Legal Services advice. And Picayune autocrats jettisoned another sixty tribal citizens , just because they could.

Disenrollment returned and Indian Countrys black eye darkenedand it is only worsening.

(A forthcoming disenrollment documentary movie produced by California card-room owners, titled Banished, will further tarnish all Tribes reputations.)

History shows that the United States deters disenrollment through performed duty. See no evil, hear no evil is not acceptable federal policy. Nor is it lawful. The United States has a moral trust responsibility, according to the highest laws in the land, to protect against disenrollment. Americas national honor has been committed to guard Tribes and Tribal citizens alike. [See Heckman v. U.S. (1912).]

Whether through exercising federal discretion to diffuse Tribal corruption, imposing government-to-government economic sanctions, amending the Indian Civil Rights Act, or deploying other deterrent measures, our Trustee must do something.

The United States must help stop disenrollment.

Gabriel S. Galanda is the Managing Lawyer at Galanda Broadman, PLLC, an Indigenous rights law firm. Gabe belongs to the Round Valley Indian Tribes, descending from the Nomlaki and Concow Peoples. Find Galanda Broadman on Twitter @NDNlawyer and online at galandabroadman.com . The fifth annual #StopDisenrollment visual advocacy movement will happen on February 10, 2020.

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Reliance Industries and U.S.-based Chevron Corp on Thursday defended their business with Venezuela from White House criticism, noting that their marketing agreements and operations in the OPEC nation have been approved by Washington.

The White House imposed sanctions early last year on state-run oil company PDVSA as part of efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro. The socialist president remains in power despite deep unpopularity and a years-long economic crisis.

Venezuelan exports declined sharply in early 2019, but have since ticked back up to roughly 1 million bpd, as several oil companies resumed marketing or buying the country's oil.

The White House has yet to enforce secondary sanctions announced in August aimed at non-U.S. companies buying Venezuelan oil.

The White House on Wednesday warned several oil companies, including Reliance, Russia's Rosneft , Spain's Repsol and Chevron, to tread cautiously in their activities in Venezuela, in an attempt to ramp up pressure on Maduro.

The suggestion of retaliation surprised those companies, according to executives from joint ventures with state-run PDVSA.

A Reliance spokesperson told Reuters that the refining firm is "in frequent communications with U.S. government officials regarding Venezuela and continuously keep them apprised of our actions."

Maduro's re-election in 2018 was viewed as a sham by most Western Hemisphere nations. The White House on Wednesday hosted opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Maduro refers to as a puppet of the United States, even as dozens of nations recognize him as the rightful president.

MORE SANCTIONS PROMISED

On Thursday, Elliot Abrams, the top U.S. envoy for Venezuela, declined to discuss Washington's conversations with Rosneft, but promised more sanctions overall. "We see that sanctions have had and are having significant impact and sanctions will increase," he said, without elaborating.

Abrams said Moscow may soon find that its support for Maduro "will no longer be cost-free."

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday criticized U.S. sanctions policy in a press conference in Mexico City, adding that interference could make things worse in Venezuela. "The U.S. believes it is allowed to do anything and meanwhile threatens interlocutors with punishments and sanctions," Lavrov said.

Prior to sanctions, Venezuela exported roughly 1.5 million barrels of crude and processed fuels per day. The sanctions cut off Venezuela's top purchaser, the United States.

The White House announced secondary sanctions in August targeting non-U.S. companies buying Venezuelan oil, but its pressure campaign waned in the second half of 2019, and companies interpreted the announcement differently.

COMPANIES NOTE COMPLIANCE

Reliance, among PDVSA's largest customers, in October resumed direct purchases of Venezuelan crude after a four-month pause, helping the state-run company reduce mounting inventories of unsold oil. Reliance said at that time that it was supplying PDVSA with fuel permitted under sanctions in exchange for the Venezuelan oil.

Reliance's representative added that the company does not operate as an intermediary for sales of Venezuelan oil to third parties. "All Venezuelan crude sourced by Reliance is for processing in Reliance's refineries only."

Chevron resumed marketing of Venezuelan oil in October for the first time since sanctions were imposed, in tankers bound for Asian destinations, according to PDVSA records and Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data.

"We remain focused on our base business operations, in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations," said Ray Fohr, a Chevron spokesman, adding that crude marketing is permitted under a license by the U.S. Treasury to pay for expenses related to the maintenance of operations.

Chevron said that shipments of Venezuelan crude taken by the company represented about 2 percent of the country's total exports in 2019. "If Chevron is forced to leave Venezuela, non-U.S. companies will fill the void and oil production will continue," it added.

Repsol declined to comment. Rosneft and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China's state-run CNPC suspended loadings of Venezuelan crude at PDVSA's ports last year. It has not resumed them after Washington pressured Chinese energy companies to halt trade with PDVSA.

The U.S. administration has issued waivers for U.S. service firms and some of PDVSA's joint venture partners to continue operating in the South American nation. The permits are not specific about trade transactions with Venezuelan oil.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has reserved its verdict against Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed on February 6 after a six-hour-long hearing in two terror financing cases. The anti-terrorism court will pronounce its judgement on February 8 in the presence of the Mumbai terror attack mastermind amidst increasing international pressure to rein in on terror groups.

Hafiz Saeed was produced before the court amid tight security on Thursday and around 20 witnesses testified against the JuD chief and his close aides for their involvement in terror financing. "As the defence had already completed its arguments on January 30, the prosecution presented more arguments and evidence before the court on Thursday," said a court official.

Saeed was charged for terror financing and money laundering under Pakistan's Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997, after the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) registered 23 FIRs against Saeed and his accomplices. He was presented in an anti-terrorism court in Lahore on December 20 where he had pleaded not guilty. Saeed was indicted again in another case by an anti-terrorism court after a case was filed by Punjab's CTD in Gujranwala district for terror-financing.

Read: Pak Court Adjourns Hearing In Hafiz Saeed's Terror Financing Case Till January 27

Pressure from FATF

Jamat-ud-Dawa is believed to be the main organisation behind the Mumbai terror attack of 2008 which killed 166 people including six Americans. The JuD chief was moving freely in Pakistan for a long time but the sanctions by the global terror financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) forced the country to arrest him and expedite the case.

Read: Lahore Court Adjourns Hearing In Terror Financing Case Against Hafiz Saeed

Pakistan government has been desperate to expedite the case ever since FATF put the country on the grey list. The FATF has warned Pakistan of blacklisting them if the country fails to comply with the targets set by the taskforce. Pakistan has been facing difficulties in accessing financial assistance after it was placed on the Grey List by the FATF. The problem for Pakistan was compounded by the listing of Saeed as Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Department of the Treasury.

Read: Pak Anti-terrorism Court Holds Marathon Hearing On Hafiz Saeed; Adjourns Proceedings

Read: 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Saeed Pleads Not Guilty In Terror Financing Cases: Court Officials

(With PTI inputs)
Bermuda-based global specialty lines underwriter Argo Group International Holdings has agreed to sell its Trident Public Risk Solutions brand and underwriting platform to Paragon Insurance Holdings.

Trident Public Risk Solutions provides insurance and risk management services for public sector entities such as counties, municipalities, schools, special districts and governmental inter-local pools. Its product lines include general liability, automobile liability and physical damage, property, inland marine, crime, public officials liability, educators legal liability, employment practices liability, law enforcement liability and umbrella liability. It operates through a distribution network of national brokerages and local agencies. It has offices in San Antonio, Texas and Springfield, Massachusetts.

Paragon Insurance Holdings is headquartered in Avon, Connecticut, and operates as a national managing general agency. Formed in 2014, the company writes all commercial lines of insurance across more than 20 insurance programs including ones for arborists, ski facilities, pest control, timber, precision manufacturing and wineries.

Argo will retain Tridents claims operations and will provide claims services to Paragon for the public entity business.

Paragon will continue to write business on Argo paper through a managing general agency agreement.

All existing Trident policies and products will remain valid and available.

The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, and Argo expects to report a pre-tax gain of approximately $37 million related to the transaction.

This sale will build on the partnership between Argo and Paragon Insurance, providing growth opportunities to both companies through roles that play to the strengths of each, said Tim Carter, executive vice president, Argo Group U.S. Paragons distribution reach will give Trident greater access to new markets in the public entity insurance marketplace, and Argo will be a strong partner in those endeavors.

Ron Ganiats, CEO and co-founder of Paragon, called Trident an exciting addition to Paragons portfolio. He said Tridents underwriters will be invaluable as the teams work together to help the brand reach its fullest potential.

Topics Insurance Wholesale
by Vladimir Rozanskij

Russian tourists repatriated from China. Their odyssey ends in a Siberian sanatorium. The drop in oil prices. Chinese imports fall; infrastructures (gas and oil pipelines) at risk; losses on payments in yuan. Apocalyptic forecasts and conspiracy theories. Silence on the number of sick people.

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The spread of coronavirus from China risks having worrying consequences even in Russia, where Chinese immigration is substantial. The number of Russian tourists in China is also high, and their repatriation to Tyumen airport in western Siberia was organized in a hurry on military aircraft, unheated and without toilets. On the Znak.com website, some passengers recounted their humiliating adventure: transported for journeys of even 10-13 hours, seated on the floor in parallel rows, with only dry toilets under improvised tents. From the airport, passengers were transferred to a sanatorium in the area, equipped for the occasion and completely isolated from the outside world.

A greater emergency concerns the consequences of the virus on the Russian economy. As China is the world's largest buyer of energy, the collapse in the purchase of oil equates to the reduction of huge quantities of imports from the OPEC countries and from Russia itself. The value of the Brent barrel at the beginning of 2020 was around $ 70, now it is around $ 55, and every drop in oil prices means big trouble for the Russian economy, together with that of the other neighbors of the People's Republic of China, from Vietnam to Japan.

The panic sparked by the crisis does not only concern energy products, but also many other products, such as metals, coal, fuel oil, wood and other low industrial processing elements. The areas most at risk are primarily Siberia and the Far East, where trade and travel in both directions are interrupted: China traditionally exports large quantities of fruit and vegetables to these territories, which is now disappearing from markets and shops.

Since 2014, the year of the beginning of the conflict with Ukraine and of the western sanctions, Russia has tried to increasingly orient its economic exchanges towards the East. Now the Russians must thank that China has responded to this turnaround in a rather limited way; if the "eastern turn" that Putin craved had fully taken place, the country would today fall into the most complete economic disaster.

In 2019, 17% of Russian foreign trade developed in the Chinese direction, much more than in previous years, but still much less than towards the entire European Union, which engages the Russian market for over 40%. Still, huge funding has been committed in recent years to developing gas and oil pipelines, and other forms of energy transportation to China; even Russian dollar reserves have been largely converted into Chinese currency. The yuan was not previously a currency of great prospect, and today the losses are significant.

Information about the coronavirus in the Russian media is evolving into real apocalyptic scenarios. Even on state channels, conspiracy theories abound, on whether it was a random or planned leak from Chinese laboratories, or even a secret American operation against eastern enemies. Conjectures about who could benefit from the epidemic, from the pharmaceutical industries to large sectors of the economy, are widespread.

The Russian Ministry of Health is organizing itself to "to deal with a possible mass spread of the virus" in the country, pending the prognosis on suspected infections, without any published data having been provided yet. The first cases of suspected infection were reported a week ago, after which subsequent and updated lists were not released.
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Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) is all set to begin the process of initial public offering (IPO) where the government will divest a portion of its 100 percent stake.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech had said that the government will divest its stake in LIC through an IPO.

It is likely that LIC will be listed on the stock exchanges in the second half of FY21. However, LIC Chairman MR Kumar said that he was not entirely surprised by the decision since this option was under consideration for the last three to five years.

In his first media interaction after the Budget announcement, Kumar spoke about a slew of issues ranging from listing, business performance, IDBI Bank stake, among others.

Edited excerpts:

On proposed IPO

We have not done the math yet for the IPO. Unless we do our internal discussions we wouldnt be able to come out with the number. But I believe that the valuation has to be reasonable, and has to be done properly and scientifically.

We are talking to the government and will have series of discussions on this matter. The finance ministry officers have given second half of FY21 as a timeline and I think it is possible.

On employee protest against proposed IPO

The LIC IPO does not mean privatisation as some people are suggesting. The government is only divesting a part of its stake. Most of the private sector banks are listed and so are PSU general insurers. But these entities continue to be government-owned. There will no problems for LIC employees, they will continue to be staff. We will be talking to them (protesting staff) and clarify this.

On brand perception ahead of IPO

The perception is very positive for us as of now. We have 29 crore policyholders and 12 lakh agents. I cannot think of any other organisation that has gone for an IPO with such a base. If there is any negative perception among some employees and any investor we will address it. With a listing, both transparency and corporate governance will improve.

On changes to be done prior to IPO

A basic amendment will be required in the LIC Act. Legislative actions will also have to happen. The areas that will need to be looked include sovereign guarantee, classification of LIC as company or a corporation as well as matters related to payment of dividend.

On IPO timing

The second half of FY21 has been given as the official timeline by the govenrment. But we have to work it out. We dont have any chronology right now. But we will borrow lessons from the PSU non-life insurers that have been listed.

On rise in bad loans and NPAs

If you look at the stress, for banks it is much different than what it is for insurers. For us, most of our investment is comprised of government securities, equity and a small portion of corporate debt. If you look at non-performing assets (NPA) overall for us it is hardly 1 percent. We make provisions for everything and the net (NPA) is just 0.04 percent.

The bad loans could be rising but assets are much higher at over Rs 31 lakh crore.

On IDBI Bank stake and subsequent reduction in shareholding

IDBI Bank crossed Rs 500 crore of new business premium for us. The bank was originally targeting Rs 2,000 crore but at this stage they may cross Rs 1,000 crore. This will be the highest ever done by a bancassurance partner for us.

With 49 percent with government and 51 percent with us, there is hardly any float. With the government announcement to sell its stake in IDBI Bank, some private partners may come in. With this, it is likely that people will show more interest in the scrip.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given us a 12-year period to bring down the stake in IDBI Bank to 15 percent. But we may not want to wait that long especially since we will also be listed. We need to look at options to unlock value. Once they come out of the prompt corrective action framework and start lending, their profitability will go up substantially.

On offloading IDBI Bank stake currently

Since the government is going to offload, LIC will not be offloading stake. We will wait for a better price because our acquisition price is much more than what it is today. But o more capitalisation is required at the IDBI Bank. I am of the view that RBI might waive that profitability clause for IDBI Bank to come out of PCA. In the next quarter, IDBI Bank may come to the green side on their books.

On business growth

Similarly, LIC's pension and group schemes vertical created a new record by crossing Rs 1 lakh crore and touched new business premium of Rs 1,05,566 crore as of January 31, 2020.

For the first time in its history, LIC crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore in new business premium. The market share has also increased in number of policies to 77.61 percent as of January 31 compared to 73.54 percent a year ago. Further, we have invested Rs 46,850 crore in equities between April 1 and January 31. and have booked profits of Rs 23,273.85 crore in this period from equity investments.

On unit-linked insurance business

If you look at non-single premium space, there are two parts to it. As of now, we are not present in the unit-linked insurance plan (Ulip) portion. But if you look at the non-Ulip portion of the non-single premium, about 80 percent of the market share is with us. We are going to get into the Ulip segment in a very strategic and aggressive manner. We are also awaiting product approval from the regulator. I would personally like to see it launched by the end of this month.

On single premium products

We took a conscious decision to step up the sale of non-single premium policies and number of policies. We believe that the coverage will be more important than penetration or density of premium. We need to more people covered in India and we have succeeded. Earlier there was an overhang or fear of losing market share if we didn't sell single premium. Our field force has managed to balance both single and non-single premium business.

On impact of Budget 2020 new tax slab option on LIC sales

Section 80C has been there in some form of the other in India. I don't think anyone buys an LIC policy purely for tax deductions. I don't think there will be any impact of the new tax regime option proposed in Budget 2020.
A Texas man who killed his family apologized to his in-laws and thanked them for their forgiveness just before his execution on Thursday evening.

Abel Revill Ochoa, 47, shot and killed five of his family members in 2002, including his wife, two daughters aged 7 and 9 months, his father-in-law and his sisters-in-law. His sister-in-law Alma survived the attack according to The Houston Chronicle.

Mr Ochoa was sentenced to death by lethal injection and was killed Thursday night at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville in Huntsville Texas. He thanked the family and professed his Christian faith with his final words.

I would like to thank God, my dad, my Lord Jesus savior for saving me and changing my life, he said. I want to apologize to my in-laws for causing all this emotional pain. I love yall and consider yall my sister I never had. I want to thank you for forgiving me.

When Mr Ochoa was arrested, he told police he had become stressed and tired of his life and decided to kill his family as a result. He blamed the murders on a crack addiction he had at the time.

Death row in California's San Quentin prison Show all 8 1 /8 Death row in California's San Quentin prison Death row in California's San Quentin prison A condemned inmate exercises in a cage out in the yard of San Quentin prison Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison San Quentin State Prison opened in 1852 and is California's oldest penitentiary. The facility houses the state's only death row for men that currently has 700 condemned inmates Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison The lethal injection facility at San Quentin prison AP Death row in California's San Quentin prison A condemned inmate stands in a cell out in the yard of San Quentin prison Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison An armrest in the interior of the lethal injection facility at San Quentin prison AP Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cell on death row in San Quentin Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cage on death row in San Quentin Getty Death row in California's San Quentin prison A cell on death row in San Quentin Getty

My body started wanting more crack, he told police. I knew if I asked my wife for more money, she wouldnt let me have it. I knew shed argue with me about the money, just like we had in the past.

According to court records, on the day of the murders, Mr Ochoa asked his wife for $10 so he could buy crack on their way home from church. After smoking the drugs, he walked into his bedroom, grabbed a 9mm handgun and walked through his house, shooting his family as he went.

After he finished shooting, he fled the scene in his wifes vehicle. He was arrested later and gave police a detailed confession.

In the trial, Mr Ochoas lawyers tried to argue he had committed the murders in a drug-induced delirium and that he was impaired. Mr Ochoa was convicted in 10 minutes.

Mr Ochoa attempted to appeal the ruling, arguing he had been inadequately represented during his trial. His lawyers said that financial limitations deprived them of any means to effectuate his representation.

All of Mr Ochoas appeals were rejected.
As the entire cast of the hit sitcom Friends finalize their agreements for a reunion special, the six stars will reportedly earn between $2.25 million and $2.5 million for the show.

The six stars of Friends, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, 'were originally offered $1 million, which they turned down,' according to WSJ.

The special is reportedly a one-time show that will last only one hour. The outlet reported the special will be 'a retrospective and interviews with the cast' and potentially hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.

Huge payday: As the entire cast of the hit sitcom Friends finalize their agreements for a reunion special, the six stars will reportedly earn between $2.25 million and $2.5 million for the show; seen in 1998

A representative for HBO told Fox News the Deadline reports, which claim the stars will make closer to $3 million-$4 million for their appearance, are 'speculation and are not confirmed.'

Last month HBO Max's Chief Creative Officer Kevin Reilly gave an update on the reunion status at the Television Critics Association expressed some struggles making it happen.

'There is interest all around, and yet we can't get the interests all alighted to push the button on it,' Reilly told the audience.

Asking for more: The six stars of Friends, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer, 'were originally offered $1 million, which they turned down,' according to WSJ; seen in 1994

The huge payday wouldn't be surprising as the long-lasting favorite is one of the most profitable TV catalogs among streaming sites.

The actors were each making $1 million for the final two seasons of the iconic series in the early 2000s, which ran from 1994-2004.

WarnerMedia acquired the phenomenon for $425 million ($85 million a year for five years), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Icons: The actors were each making $1 million for the final two seasons of the iconic series in the early 2000s, which ran from 1994-2004

This will be the first time the cast will appear together on-screen in 16 years, but they've been steadily reconnecting and making their friendships more public.

On Thursday, Perry became the final Friends star to create an Instagram account and was welcomed by Jennifer and Lisa.

Soon after Lisa broke the news that Matthew joined the app, Jennifer jokingly commented on her post: 'Yay Matty! Could you TAKE any longer?' with a shocked emoji and a heart, while Courteney Cox simply wrote 'Yes Matty!!! and a heart.

Instagram friends: On Thursday, Perry became the final Friends star to create an Instagram account and was welcomed by Jennifer and Lisa

Ready to reunite: This will be the first time the cast will appear together on-screen in 16 years, but they've been steadily reconnecting and making their friendships more public

Since joining Instagram, Matthew has gained over a million followers and counting, including Matt, Lisa, Jennifer and Courteney; David does not follow anyone on social media.

In October, Jennifer briefly crashed the app when technical difficulties were caused by the overwhelming volume of fans attempting to follow her after she posted a fresh selfie with the entire cast.

Jennifer then gathered 1.4million followers with five hours of posting the image, which broke a Guinness World Record, while her photo has since garner 15.7 million likes.

'It's a never ending question, isn't it? What else could make a group of six actors feel more proud. It's bringing people joy on a daily basis,' Aniston told People , claiming to know nothing about a special

In December, Aniston talked about the Friends reunion special being in works at HBO Max and a recent dinner with the whole cast.

'It's a never ending question, isn't it? What else could make a group of six actors feel more proud. It's bringing people joy on a daily basis,' she told People, claiming she knew nothing about a special.

'We all miss it every day,' she told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show.

Hotter than ever: Aniston recently won a SAG award for her work in Morning Show; seen at the show on January 19

While she will always hold a special place for Friends in their hearts, Aniston won a Screen Actors Guild Award last month for her moving performance on The Morning Show, alongside Reese Witherspoon on Apple TV.

The Golden Globe winner also topped Netflix's most popular US release list of 2019 with the comedy Murder Mystery. Kudrow, who was the first cast member to win an Emmy in 1998 for her role as Phoebe has since starred in projects like Web Therapy, which became a Showtime original.

In 2017, LeBlanc said goodbye to his hit series Episodes, which allowed him play a fictionalized version of himself from 20112017.

Cox has become the queen of posting epic Friends throwback pictures on Instagram, including one of their 'last supper' the night before the final taping on January 23, 2004.

She is dating Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid and shares a 15-year old daughter with her ex-husband David Arquette.

Apart from some director jobs and and guest TV appearances, Schwimmer has largely stayed out of the limelight and even confessed fame messed with his head.

'It was pretty jarring and it messed with my relationship to other people in a way that took years, I think, for me to adjust to and become comfortable with,' he told THR in 2016. 'The effect of celebrity was the absolute opposite: It made me want to hide under a baseball cap and not be seen.'
Those following along with Canada House Wellness Group Inc. (CSE:CHV) will no doubt be intrigued by the recent purchase of shares by insider Fabian Henry, who spent a stonking CA$1.5m on stock at an average price of CA$0.05. That purchase boosted their holding by 120%, which makes us wonder if the move was inspired by quietly confident deeply-felt optimism.

Check out our latest analysis for Canada House Wellness Group

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Canada House Wellness Group

Notably, that recent purchase by Fabian Henry is the biggest insider purchase of Canada House Wellness Group shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, even at a higher price than the current share price (being CA$0.025). While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Canada House Wellness Group insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. Their average price was about CA$0.058. These transactions suggest that insiders have considered the current price attractive. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

CNSX:CHV Recent Insider Trading, February 7th 2020

Canada House Wellness Group is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership of Canada House Wellness Group

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Canada House Wellness Group insiders own about CA$2.3m worth of shares. That equates to 33% of the company. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At Canada House Wellness Group Tell Us?

The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. But on the other hand, the company made a loss last year, which makes us a little cautious. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Canada House Wellness Group insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. I like to dive deeper into how a company has performed in the past. You can access this interactive graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flow for free.

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.
China says it will cut tariffs on $75 billion of U.S. imports as part of a preliminary agreement between the economic giants to end their trade war.

The Finance Ministry released a statement Thursday saying it will cut tariffs on some goods from 10 percent to 5 percent, and others from 5 percent to 2.5 percent, effective Feb. 14.

The tariff cuts will cover a range of goods from soybeans, pork, fresh seafood, auto parts. The cuts imposed by Beijing will take effect the same day Washington is expected to cut tariffs on $120 billion worth of Chinese imports.
A Chinese mother whose only son is on life support in a Melbourne hospital says she is overjoyed to be given an emergency visa and says she "just wants to see him".

Xing Lan Ren's son, 22-year-old Xiao Li, has been in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition since his car collided with a truck on January 27 between Melbourne and his home in Sale, East Gippsland. He was declared brain dead on Monday.

Xiao Li came to Australia last May on a working-holiday visa.

On Friday afternoon, acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said the government had granted Ms Ren a visa in what was its first exemption to the blanket ban on foreign nationals coming from China due to "overwhelming compassionate and other considerations".

Mr Tudge said government officials were now liaising with Ms Ren to bring her to Australia as soon as possible, with doctors expected to keep Mr Li's life support on until she arrives. A friend of Mr Li said she is planning to arrive in Melbourne on Sunday morning.
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Linkedin Daewoung Kim and Youngseo Choi (Reuters) Gapyeong, South Korea  Fri, February 7, 2020 17:06 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206330ceb 2 Lifestyle coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,mass-wedding,South-Korea Free

South Korean groom Lee Kwon-seok was excited to join thousands of other couples in the latest mass wedding performed by South Korea's Unification Church on Friday, but he and his bride weren't taking any chances amid the coronavirus outbreak.

They brought their own surgical masks to wear - his black to match his suit, and hers white to match her dress.

"I'm very happy to attend this deeply blessed joint wedding," said Lee, 35. "Since coronavirus is going around these days, I wore a mask to be careful."

Read also: China urges no weddings, short funerals to contain virus

About 30,000 people from around the world gathered at the Cheong Shim Peace World Center in Gapyeong, northeast of Seoul, according to the church. Among them were 6,000 new couples getting married, while the others were renewing vows or watching.

The mass weddings are a well-known feature of the South Korea-based church, but the spread of the new coronavirus, first reported in China, has cast a pall over many public events.

Church staff prepared hand sanitizer, handed out surgical masks and checked couples' temperature.

In the end, only a few couples wore masks at the wedding ceremony, which was overseen by Hak Ja Han Moon, wife of the founder of the Unification Church, and known to believers as "True Mother."

"I didn't put on a mask because I want to be beautiful for my husband," said a 23-year-old bride from Benin, Nguessan Myeonguet Walehet. "I want just meet the True Mother, because it's most important for me."

The church said the wedding was successful. The event had special significance as it also marked the 100th anniversary of founder Sun Myung Moon's birth.

The Unification Church was founded in 1954 by the late Moon, who declared he and his wife were messiahs. From 1961 until his death in 2012, he oversaw mass weddings at which thousands were matched with spouses they sometimes had just met and who, in some cases, did not even speak the same language.
The Ministry of Energy and Environment Protection expects that the operator of the electricity transmission system Ukrenergo in the near future will submit an updated forecast balance of the unified energy system of Ukraine, which, among other things, will contain minimized volumes of electricity imports from the Russian Federation and Belarus, Energy Minister Oleksiy Orzhel has said.

"The ministry's position on this issue [electricity imports from Russia and Belarus] is known. There is a letter asking you to block import of electricity. There is a clear position on this issue. A new balance is being prepared. A meeting was held in late January. The system operator Ukrenergo in the near future should file a balance in which it will minimize  only in the framework of operational security  the possibility of importing electricity from Russia and Belarus. We are maximally loading our own production facilities," he said during a joint visit with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to Mezhyrichanska mine (Chervonohrad, Lviv region).

As reported, the Ministry of Energy in the forecast balance for 2020 approved at the beginning of November last year foresaw the growth of electricity imports by 2.8 times, to 4.14 billion kWh compared to the expected at that time 1.488 billion kWh of imports in 2019.

According to Ukrenergo, the actual energy imports figures for the six months, since the launch of the new energy market model in July, amounted to 2.699 billion kWh of electricity. Some 851.297 million kWh (31.5% of the total imports) were imported from Belarus, while 286.264 million kWh (10.6%) from Russia.
R ebecca Long-Bailey today said workers should have a legal right to turn off their phones and email after working hours.

Vowing to curb the 24/7 work culture the Labour leadership candidate said it would improve mental health if people could de-stress in the evenings without being called or having to check emails.

A right to disconnect has been created in France, where employers of more than 50 workers have to negotiate with unions on allowing staff to ignore their mobiles.

Ms Long-Bailey called it an example of aspirational socialism which meant coming together to collectively solve issues that are damaging our mental health and stopping us getting quality time with our families.

The Left-winger is bidding to succeed Jeremy Corbyn after Labours worst general election result since 1935.

But in an interview with BBC1 this morning, she claimed the defeat was not down to the partys policies but because they were not well presented to voters.

We had some of the most transformative policies that weve had in a generation but the problem was we didnt package them correctly, she claimed.

She admitted Labours position on Brexit was disastrous because it could not say which side the party would back in a second referendum.

The Salford and Eccles MP is seen as being closest ideologically to Mr Corbyn.
In October, the Wisconsin Elections Commission sent letters to more than 230,000 voters it had identified as having potentially changed their addresses.

In an attempt to help clean up Wisconsins voter rolls ahead of the 2020 elections, the letter asked those voters to re-register if they had moved or notify elections officials if they still reside at the same address.

Since then, some have clarified their situation, leaving about 209,000 still unknown.

Democratic members of the bipartisan commission are seeking to wait until after the November election before removing anyone from the list because it is known to contain some inaccuracies; specifically, officials suspect some voters on the list have not moved based on thousands of errors found in a similar mailing to more than 300,000 voters in 2017.

But Republicans on the commission and the conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty are seeking to have those names purged immediately, contending leaving the names on the list invites fraud. WILL is suing to have the commission act, and the case is now before a state court of appeals.
"My Fellow Canadians, I hope you will forgive John Mulaney for having to reschedule his February 28th show in Toronto so that he can host Saturday Night Live that weekend," reads the letter. "I think considering the state of affairs that this country is in, the need for John is greater in New York right now. John was fully prepared for Toronto and feels deep regret to have to postpone for a third time, but he was drafted by SNL. Yes, we still have the draft here. He is simply doing his duty, and there is nothing more Canadian than that. My apologies, Lorne Michaels."
Love Island's Paige scolded her partner Finn during their emotional reunion on Thursday's show, despite him staying loyal to her in temptation-filled Casa Amor.

The hunk returned to the main villa during the recoupling, without anyone else on his arm, proving that he was fully committed to Paige.

But despite this, the feisty Scot scolded him, saying: 'I couch-surfed for you, you f**ker!'

Back together! Love Island's Paige scolded her partner Finn during their emotional reunion on Thursday's show, despite him staying loyal to her in temptation-filled Casa Amor

Finn admitted he was 'over the moon' and had decided on the first night that he was far too invested in Paige to recouple with anyone else.

He insisted to the former Britain's Got Talent contestant that he hadn't slept in a proper bed for days either, and that he'd been bunking on the day beds at Casa Amor.

Viewers appeared to love Paige's reaction, with one taking to Twitter to gush: '"I couch surfed ya f**ker I love her!'

Another tweeted: 'Paige and Finn's reunion was the BEST thing I've ever seen... saying they both slept on the couch/daybed... the other couples just arent doing it like they are!'

Solo: The hunk returned to the main villa during the recoupling, without anyone else on his arm, proving that he was fully committed to Paige

But despite this, the feisty Scot scolded him, saying: 'I couch-surfed for you, you f**ker!'

Another posted: '"I couch-surfed, you f**ker" Awww @ Finley and Paige!'

All in all, it was a loving reunion, much like that of Luke T's and Siannise. Luke T had also opted to remain single, leaving Siannise in tears.

She joked that it had ruined her make-up as the pair were reunited.

Fans were overjoyed by the happier reunions on Thursday, which were overshadowed somewhat by the more dramatic ones which saw Callum and Nas return to the villa with new women, devestating Shaughna and Demi in the process.

However, amid all the heartache, viewers were left in tears over Luke T and Siannise.

Tears: During Thursday's Love Island recoupling there were some touching moments, namely Siannese Fudge and Luke Trotman's emotional reunion as the pair chose to stick together

Together again: Watching the heartwarming scenes unfold, viewers were left in tears, with one even admitting they 'cried like an actual baby'

Ahead of the recoupling, Bristol native Siannise joined the other girls in fretting about whether their lads would remain faithful in the Casa Amor villa.

But while the likes of Shaugna and Demi had reason to worry, Siannise needn't have as Luke T firmly had all his eggs in her basket.

Before Luke's arrival, the brunette told host Laura Whitmore that she wished to remain single and wait for Luke.

She said: 'I still feel really strong about Luke T. Nothing has changed since Casa Amor and obviously with these boys coming in. I would like to stick with Luke T.'

Siannise then had an anxious wait to see whether he would turn up alone or not.

Nerves: Ahead of the recoupling, Bristol native Siannise joined the other girls in fretting about whether their lads would remain faithful in the Casa Amor villa

Faithful: as Luke made a solo entrance into the villa with a huge smile on his face, a relieved Siannise put her hand to her mouth as the other thrilled islanders clapped

And as Luke made a solo entrance into the villa with a huge smile on his face, a relieved Siannise put her hand to her mouth as the other thrilled islanders clapped.

Overcome with emotion, the beauty consultant broke down in tears as her beau made his way down the stairs towards the fire pit.

As he joined his fellow islanders, host Laura said: 'Welcome back Luke, how you feeling?'

To which he replied: 'So nervous... I just didn't know if she'd still be single.'

Laura added: 'Well as you can see, there's no one there standing beside her.'

To which he said: 'I'm so happy. I can't even... I'm so happy!'

Touched: Overcome with emotion, the beauty consultant broke down in tears as her beau made his way down the stairs towards the fire pit

Sweet: The duo then reunited and sat together on the bench where they told each other they missed one another

The duo then reunited and sat together on the bench where they told each other they missed one another.

Taking to Twitter, several shared their feelings with one writing: 'Im sitting here, fully crying over Siannise and Luke seeing each other ,after 3 days,'

While another: 'I almost shed a tear at how cute Siannise and Luke Ts reunion was.'

'Luke Ts face when he walked in and saw Siannise stood on her own. I cried' commented a third person.

Overcome with emotion: And it wasn't just Siannise who was emotional over the recoupling as Love Island fans at home were also moved by their reunion

Happy: Siannise and Luke looked thrilled to be back together again

'Siannise and Luke T are literally perfect for one another, my whole heart' a fourth watcher remarked.

A fifth gushed: 'Crying at Luke T and Siannise and Paige and Finn.'

With another adding: 'Cried like an actual baby over siannise and luke recouping.'

Love Island continmues Friday at 9pm on ITV.
While a piece of paper is usually flat and floppy, the same piece of paper crumpled into a wad is stiff and round. This demonstrates that scrunching changes the texture and behavior of precisely the same material -- paper.

A new Tel Aviv University study shows how induced defects in metamaterials -- artificial materials the properties of which are different from those in nature -- also produce radically different consistencies and behaviors. The research has far-reaching applications: for the protection of fragile components in systems that undergo mechanical traumas, like passengers in car crashes; for the protection of delicate equipment launched to space; and even for grabbing and manipulating distant objects using a small set of localized manipulations, like minimally invasive surgery.

"We've seen non-symmetric effects of a topological imperfection before. But we've now found a way to create these imperfections in a controlled way," explains Prof. Yair Shokef of TAU's School of Mechanical Engineering, co-author of the new study. "It's a new way of looking at mechanical metamaterials, to borrow concepts from condensed-matter physics and mathematics to study the mechanics of materials."

The new research is the fruit of a collaboration between Prof. Shokef and Dr. Erdal O?uz of TAU and Prof. Martin van Hecke and Anne Meeussen of Leiden University and AMOLF in Amsterdam. The study was published in Nature Physics on January 27. "Since we've developed general design rules, anyone can use our ideas," Prof. Shokef adds.

"We were inspired by LCD-screens that produce different colors through tiny, ordered liquid crystals," Prof. Shokef says. "When you create a defect -- when, for example, you press your thumb against a screen -- you disrupt the order and get a rainbow of colors. The mechanical imperfection changes how your screen functions. That was our jumping off point."

The scientists designed a complex mechanical metamaterial using three-dimensional printing, inserted defects into its structure and showing how such localized defects influenced the mechanical response. The material invented was flat, made out of triangular puzzle pieces with sides that moved by bulging out or dimpling in. When "perfect," the material is soft when squeezed from two sides, but in an imperfect material, one side of the material is soft and the other stiff. This effect flips when the structure is expanded at one side and squeezed at the other: stiff parts become soft, and soft parts stiff.

"That's what we call a global, topological imperfection," Prof. Shokef explains. "It's an irregularity that you can't just remove by locally flipping one puzzle piece. Specifically, we demonstrated how we can use such defects to steer mechanical forces and deformations to desired regions in the system."

The new research advances the understanding of structural defects and their topological properties in condensed-matter physics systems. It also establishes a bridge between periodic, crystal-like metamaterials and disordered mechanical networks, which are often found in biomaterials.

The research team plans to continue their research into three-dimensional complex metamaterials, and to study the richer geometry of imperfections there.

###

American Friends of Tel Aviv University supports Israel's most influential, comprehensive and sought-after center of higher learning, Tel Aviv University (TAU). TAU is recognized and celebrated internationally for creating an innovative, entrepreneurial culture on campus that generates inventions, startups and economic development in Israel. TAU is ranked ninth in the world, and first in Israel, for producing start-up founders of billion-dollar companies, an achievement that surpassed several Ivy League universities. To date, 2,500 US patents have been filed by Tel Aviv University researchers -- ranking TAU #1 in Israel, #10 outside of the US and #66 in the world.
A storm system that pummeled the South Carolina Midlands and Upstate for much of Thursday afternoon advanced into the Lowcountry by nightfall, but the Charleston area appeared to have escaped the worst of its impact and conditions were forecast to clear up on Friday with cool, clear skies.

Showers and thunderstorms moved into the tri-county area about 9 p.m., but the storms' intensity had weakened, said Douglas Berry, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Charleston office.

Wind gusts of 40-50 mph were expected, accompanied by steady, moderate rain until about midnight, when the system was set to move away from the Charleston area, Berry said. A tornado watch was expected to be lifted by midnight, he said.

A tornado watch has been issued for parts of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina until 12 AM EST pic.twitter.com/jToGRAvYTq  NWS Charleston, SC (@NWSCharlestonSC) February 6, 2020

Weather in Charleston will clear up significantly after the storm passes.

Friday was expected to be mostly sunny and breezy with a high of 58, according to the weather service. Friday night is expected to be clear with a low of 38.

Saturday will be sunny with a high of 57, the weather service said, and the night sky will be partly cloudy with a low of 44. Sunday will be largely the same, with a high of 63 and a low of 51.

Elsewhere in South Carolina, the storm systems delivered multiple blows, generating tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings around the Midlands.

The weather service's Columbia office urged drivers in the Midlands to be cautious. Rain was expected to fall through the night and officials were getting reports of floodwaters closing roads.

Shortly after 6:30 p.m., Charleston County officials issued a "Condition Yellow" high wind advisory, meaning sustained winds were expected to reach 30 mph.

Under the advisory, high-profile vehicles like box trucks, tractor-trailers, motor homes and vehicles pulling travel trailers or large boats are advised not to travel over high-span bridges.

High-span bridges in Charleston County are defined as those with spans of 65 feet or higher and includes the Arthur Ravenel Jr., Ben Sawyer, James B. Edwards, James Island Connector, Isle of Palms Connector and other bridges.

The storm system toppled a tree onto an SUV near Fort Mill, killing the driver. That person's name was not released Thursday.

High winds if not a tornado blasted through Spartanburg on Thursday morning. Power was out in some areas and injuries had been reported while tornado sirens were going off. The Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina closed to clean up reported tornado damage.

Hes awesome. Just watched the whole thing! Wow tornado warning just issued here in Spartanburg! Took this from the lobby pic.twitter.com/W73En3r2Nf  Jetpilot1968 (@acecoondog) February 6, 2020

Staff for Rep. Mike Forrester confirmed his home west of downtown Spartanburg was struck by what appeared to be a tornado, but they were not sure of damage or injuries.

Weather conditions hadn't caused any flight cancellations at Charleston International Airport in North Charleston, said Paul Campbell, the airport's CEO. Flights diverted from hubs like Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville touched down in Charleston and airport staff worked to get those travelers rebooked.

Nonessential employees were allowed to leave early in anticipation of possible bridge closures Thursday night in the Charleston area, Campbell said.

Some government offices and schools across the state closed early. The city of Charleston activated its Public Safety Operations Center at 4:30 p.m. and canceled recreation activities from 5 p.m. through the night.

The storms also impacted several Southern states. Alabama, Tennessee and North Carolina each reported one fatality.

Rescue crews repeatedly pulled people from cars that got stuck in high water. Flooding forced rescuers to suspend their search for a vehicle missing with a person inside it in north Alabama's Buck's Pocket State Park.

The storm front destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi and Alabama, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region.

Tree limbs and fences were toppled when a confirmed tornado hit the Birmingham suburb of Helena, officials said, and some roads and parking lots were covered by floodwaters. A yellow taxi was abandoned in high water early Thursday on an interstate ramp in Birmingham.

Although the storm resembles a powerful spring blast, it's actually a winter storm that dropped 4 inches of snow in southern Texas. And unlike a spring storm, chances aren't good that sea breezes will knock down its strength as it nears the coast.

The Associated Press, Jenna Schiferl and Adam Benson contributed to this report.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.  If governments are going to collect data on citizens, they need to understand the responsibilities that lie therein. That was the overarching message during a data privacy discussion at the 2020 Public Sector CIO Academy Thursday in Sacramento, Calif.Panelists from a range of backgrounds shared their experiences of how and when data should be stored or shared. Michael Wilkening, special adviser on innovation and digital services to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, said that IT leaders should view the data collected from various services as their duty to protect, and in the case of sensitive data, something to be shared only when justifiable.As were starting to use that data, what are the implications there? Are you gathering information for enrollment purposes or administrative purposes? Wilkening asked the audience. Im not seeing us crossing the lines and using the data in ways that we shouldnt.Wilkening pioneered an open data portal while secretary of the Health and Human Services Agency. He did this to better understand how various programs, like CalFresh, impacted residents and whether people used more than one program or could benefit from multiple enrollments. Prior to a singular repository for querying, the data lived in disparate systems that couldnt identify these commonalities.The data is not our data. It belongs to the people, Wilkening said. Were stewards of data, but we dont actually own the data.He said CIOs must ask themselves these hard, gray-area questions when they consider using residents' information to monitor program effectiveness. As more and more information is collected, it becomes more difficult to keep certain citizens anonymous.The easiest solution, of course, is to not collect data at all, but that isnt feasible in the modern era, said Scott Christman, the former CIO and deputy director of information technology services for the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development.Theres this idea of not collecting data for the sake of collecting data, Christman said. Its similar to the blue-sky [thinking] problem of, If I just had all this data, I could do great things.  The why needs to be there represented by strong use cases and purposes.There aren't yet universal guidelines for data collection or sharing, except where it comes to health-care records are concerned. But even in cases of medical records, the willingness to transmit data from a primary care physician to a specialist varies, he said.If an IT leader is to change how their organization views data, they must relentlessly advocate for its use and provide specific cases, like within the Health and Human Services Agency, where it improved residents lives.The use of this data, in this case were talking about sensitive data, the rationale is were trying to advance the organization, he said. I think its critically important and that cant be communicated enough to teams that are working on these types of projects.While a moral high ground for data collection and sharing didnt immediately emerge, a potential path for dissipating peoples privacy concerns may have. Panelist Chris Neff, the vice president of marketing and research at NIC Inc., said governments could adopt an opt-in approach.People are already comfortable with sharing their information on social media platforms, Neff said. If they understand how their data will be used and that there will be a tangible benefit to sharing it, they may more willingly provide it, he argued.
Riviera Beach, a Palm Beach County city of 35,000, which paid 65 bitcoins  or about $600,000  in exchange for a decryption key from the attackers.

Lake City in northern Florida paid about $460,000 in bitcoin to recover data and computer operations.

Key Biscayne  a town on a barrier island near Miami  was hit and spent money trying to restore its network.

(TNS)  The cyberattack that took down public-access computers at Volusia County, Fla., libraries last month involved ransomware that has elicited millions of dollars in ransom payments from governments and large businesses.Volusia County officials say they've referred the attack to law enforcement, but would not say which agency is investigating. Emails provided in response to a public-record request indicate the library computers were infected by Ryuk ransomware. The county will not say whether it has made a ransom payment."Because it's under investigation, we have no comment at this time," said Kevin Captain, a county spokesman in an emailed response to a question about ransom.Captain confirmed the county's insurance deductible is $100,000. "The county has no confirmation of cost at this time but will at a later date," Captain said.Volusia County provided The News-Journal hundreds of pages of emails about the ransomware incident, some of it redacted because of the ongoing criminal investigation.At 8:44 a.m. Jan. 9, Brian Whiting, director of information technology at Volusia County, wrote an email to support desk staff stating: "The Volusia County Library is currently being cyber attacked by Ryuk, an attack propagated frequently via email phishing attack."Later that day, in another email, Whiting says the IT department has detected "a ten-fold increase in attempted attacks over the past month or so."Twenty servers and about 600 computers were encrypted  essentially locked up  by the ransomware. The county was able to restore about 50 computers used by library staff to conduct business, such as checking books in and out, but the public-access terminals would remain down for about two weeks.One of Volusia officials' first calls reported the incident to the Center for Internet Security's Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) in East Greenbush, New York. The Center for Internet Security is a nonprofit organization that works to safeguard private and public organizations against cyber threats.An emergency response team from MS-ISAC got involved.Volusia officials soon also contacted their London-based claims adjuster, CFC Underwriting, which became involved in approving expenditures on outside security firms to assist with bringing the system back. Solis Security in Austin, Texas, was also brought into the loop.And at some point, the county notified the Department of Homeland Security about the incident, according to an email written by Andrew Krasucki of CFC Underwriting.An email from Joshan Heer of CFC Underwriting to county officials summarized what had been found by midday Jan. 10:Encryption of the Volusia library computers began at around 1:30 a.m. on Jan. 9, and a ransomware note had been left on a desktop by 7 that morning.File extensions had been changed to .ryk, indicating the Ryuk ransomware. Volusia County IT staff shut down and disconnected all the computers from the county network."It is believed sensitive data is not at risk due to (redacted)," Heer wrote, adding that would have to be confirmed."Those who've used public-access computers on a network that's been hit by Ryuk probably don't have much to worry about," said Brett Callow, a threat analyst with Emsisoft, a New Zealand-based anti-malware company. "The Ryuk operators have not been known to steal data."Cyber defense experts say Ryuk has been used in hundreds of attacks on U.S. governments and businesses since 2018, and in some cases the criminal gang of hackers responsible for the attacks have been paid handsomely.The cost of these attacks in 2019 was estimated by Emsisoft at $7.5 billion.At least three Florida municipalities were victimized in June 2019 alone, including:While it is unclear whether Volusia paid a ransom, Krasucki's email of Jan. 13 indicated the county might have had a way to restore its data."A system state backup stored on an external drive will be utilised to rebuild the active directory structure and the domain controller servers," Krasucki wrote.Callow said Ryuk is commonly used in attacks on both the public and private sector and accounts for between 15% and 25% of all ransomware incidents.SentinelOne, another cybersecurity firm, reported Ryuk ransomware "is largely responsible for the massive increase in ransomware payments." Where many cyber criminals demand $10,000 to remove the encryption on computer systems, Ryuk operators "demand an average of $288,000 for the release of systems."Yet another cyber defense firm, CrowdStrike, identifies the perpetrator of Ryuk as "Wizard Spider," a Russia-based criminal group.Callow said exactly who's deploying Ryuk remains an open question."There's speculation that the group behind Ryuk  and it does appear to be a single group  has Russian ties, but it is just speculation. Attribution is always extremely hard," he wrote in an emailed response to questions."For example, some ransomware contains language exclusions and will not encrypt files if the operating system uses one of a number of specified languages  (post-Soviet) countries, Iran, etc.," he wrote. "That could indicate origin  groups not wanting to poop in their own backyards  or it could be a false flag designed to misdirect law enforcement."Unlike other ransomware, which contain flaws in the encryption allowing security companies to create tools to recover data without needing to pay ransom, Ryuk has no such flaws, Callow said."The encryption is perfectly implemented and, consequently, the only way to recover data is to restore it from backups (assuming they were not deleted/encrypted during the attacks) or to pay the ransom," Callow said.
Katie Price was spotted at an airport in London on Friday, just one day after she cancelled a make up masterclass she was set to host, due to a mystery illness.

The 41-year-old cut a very revealing figure in a busty black leotard paired with lime green jeans and a leather jacket.

The former glamour model was forced to deny claims she was partying in Amsterdam on Thursday night when an Instagram video surfaced of what appeared to be Katie dancing in a club.

Where is she going? Katie Price was spotted at an airport in London on Friday, just one day after she cancelled a make up masterclass she was set to host due to a mystery illness

The model appeared fresh faced in the pictures despite keeping her face hid behind a pair of huge sunglasses.

She carried her belongings in a Gucci rucksack and was focused on reading her iPhone.

She wore her long raven tresses loose and flaunted her assets in the eye popping leotard with PLAYBOY printed across her bust.

Eye popping: The 41-year-old cut a very revealing figure in a busty black leotard paired with lime green jeans and a leather jacket

The raven haired beauty carried a grey hoodie in her hand, presumably to stay warm on the flight after being bed bound ill the day before.

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Katie for further comment.

The mum-of-five was due to host the masterclass at LA Studio in Worthing with tickets costing fans 80 a pop.

However, they were left disappointed when they received a last minute email informing them the event would be rescheduled because Katie had fallen ill.

The email, obtained by MailOnline, reads: 'We are so sorry to cancel tonight's event. Zoe & Katie are both really ill. We are going to reschedule the event

Denial: The former glamour model was forced to deny claims she was partying in Amsterdam on Thursday night when an Instagram video surfaced of what appeared to be Katie dancing in a club

Bold: The model appeared fresh faced in the pictures despite keeping her face hid behind a pair of huge sunglasses

'As a sorry, we will gift extra in the goody bags in the next masterclass. We will email soon with further details. Sorry again x.'

After reports swirled that she was in fact in Amsterdam, the former model took to her Instagram Story and insisted the accusations were false as she spoke from her sick bed at home.

Filming herself in bed, Katie said: 'I haven't even been to Amsterdam. That person isn't me. I'm not even that big and my hairs a lot longer than that. What absolute b******t. I'm actually in bed, still ill.

Upset fans: The mum-of-five was due to host the masterclass at LA Studio in Worthing with tickets costing fans 80 a pop

Disappointing: However, they were left disappointed when they received a last minute email informing them the event would be rescheduled because Katie had fallen ill

Uh oh: After reports swirled that she was in fact in Amsterdam, the former model took to her Instagram Story and insisted the accusations were false as she spoke from her sick bed at home

'I was actually with my accountant and my brother yesterday so they can vouch that I'm really ill and I've been in bed all night and I'm staying in bed all day.'

LA Studio was ready for Katie's appearance before the reality star had to cancel due to sickness.

The venue had put up a a branding board in the corner of the room for Katie to have her picture taken while there were champagne flutes lined up on the counters.

Speaking out: Filming herself in bed, Katie said 'I haven't even been to Amsterdam. That person isn't me'

Some fans had travelled to the venue from as far as Slough and said they had received the email from Katie's team about the event being cancelled at 5pm with the event scheduled for a 6pm sharp start.

LA Studios also issued an apology after some fans fumed on social media about the event's last minute cancellation.

'Very sorry to hear that your so upset with regards to this event being cancelled. Unfortunately we are the venue that has been hired to use for this mastercalss and are in now way do we have any control over the event being cancelled.

Not happy: She continued 'I was actually with my accountant and my brother yesterday so they can vouch that I'm really ill and I've been in bed all night and I'm staying in bed all day'

'I would advise that you would go to the website that you have booked the tickets through and they will absolutely help you. Once again we are really sorry that you have been let down.

'I hope you can understand that this is a self employed lash techs post. This has absolutely nothing to do with the event and we have no control over it. I will absolutely pass your comments on.'

On Friday images of the star's home surfaced and showed she is living in a 'mucky mansion' with piles of rubbish stacked up outside.

Mucky mansion: On Friday images of the star's home surfaced and showed she is living in a 'mucky mansion' with piles of rubbish stacked up outside

Katie has documented the decaying state of her house on her YouTube channel, sharing clips both inside and around the exterior of her home.

The video showed that her home was full to the brim with their belongings, before being cleared out and sorted as the work begins.

Outside of the property, their swimming pool ended up looking like a swamp after slimy water had been left to build up over time.

Bankrupt Katie is currently believed to be living in the annex of the building ever since the renovations on her house began.

Rubbish: Katie has documented the decaying state of her house on her YouTube channel, sharing clips both inside and around the exterior of her home

Before Christmas it was reported that Katie is at risk of losing her mansion, as she had to sign it over to a trustee due to being declared bankrupt.

Registry documents 'confirm' the star has to hand over control of her home.

Katie bought the sprawling house in Sussex in 2014 but she is now reported to be 100,000 in arrears on mortgage repayments with debts of 800,000
The most productive car factory in the world fell quiet on Friday as South Korea's Hyundai suspended operations at its giant Ulsan complex, hamstrung by a lack of parts with the coronavirus outbreak crippling China's industrial output. The five-plant network can make 1.4 million vehicles annually, in a coastal location facilitating importing components and exporting cars globally. But supply lines are crucial in an ever more interconnected worldwide economy and the coronavirus outbreak in China has seen Beijing order factories closed in several areas as it seeks to contain the epidemic. As a result, Hyundai -- which with its affiliate Kia ranks as the world's fifth-largest auto manufacturer -- has run out of the wiring harnesses that connect vehicles' complex electronics. It is having to suspend production at its factories across South Korea, putting 25,000 workers on forced leave and partial wages, healthy victims of the disease outbreak across the Yellow Sea. "It's a shame that I can't come to work and have to accept a pay cut," said an Ulsan production line staffer surnamed Park. "It's a very uncomfortable feeling." The closures could be the first example of a phenomenon that rolls out around the world, analysts say. The impact on Hyundai will be eye-watering, with analysts estimating a five-day South Korean shutdown to cost the firm at least six hundred billion won ($500 million). Hyundai is not the only corporate casualty: Kia will suspend three plants for a day on Monday, the South Korean unit of French automaker Renault is considering stopping its factory in Busan next week, and Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley told the FT his firm could be forced to halt one of its European factories. Analysts warn of broader troubles if Beijing extends the Lunar New Year holiday further as the coronavirus -- which according to official figures has infected more than 31,000 people in China and killed 636 -- continues to spread. "The biggest problem is that we don't know how the outbreak in China will unfold," said Cheong In-kyo, an economics professor at Korea's Inha University. "South Korean companies rely heavily on China for parts and components. The problem is even if just one part is missing, you can't do anything." The disruption was only just beginning, he added, and warned it would spread beyond the auto sector. "There is not a single category that is not manufactured in China." - 'Everyone is impacted' - The People's Republic is the world's biggest exporter of goods, with the US by far its largest trading partner. Exports to the US from China and Hong Kong combined -- many goods are shipped via the financial hub -- totalled more than $450 billion last year, followed by Japan with more than $150 billion. South Korea and Vietnam also both imported goods worth more than $100 billion from the pair. "China has become an integral part of the global manufacturing supply chain, accounting for about one-fifth of global manufacturing output," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. Its neighbours will be hit by supply chain effects first, he said, naming Taiwan and Vietnam, followed by Malaysia and Korea. The effects in the US would be delayed by the length of the supply lines, said Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but there would be secondary impacts on parts from other overseas markets built with Chinese items. Automakers and suppliers were "evaluating and planning how to navigate the disruptions", she said. "But there is no capacity the size of China sitting idle waiting to fill in the gaps and it's difficult to move quickly in this environment when everyone is impacted." - 'So dependent' - The global car industry was plunged into turmoil when a single Renesas Electronics factory in Japan -- making a vital and widely-used microcontroller -- was put out of action by the 2011 Fukushima earthquake. Supply lines have since become much more diversified, analysts say. "Car manufacturers have a system of multiple sourcing because the risk would be too big to have only one supplier in one place for a particular part," said Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of Germany's Center Automotive Research. It was standard for parts to be provided by "at least two different suppliers", he said, adding that as part providers tended to be in the same region as the vehicle assembly line, "the car industry in Europe or America is much less exposed to a Chinese risk than Asian countries like Korea or India". But sourcing wiring harnesses from three different companies failed to protect Hyundai's South Korean plants. "We should have more diversified suppliers," said production worker Park. "It's a shame that there is nothing we can do at this point because we are so reliant on one country."
Its a childhood dream come full circle - mere months after completing the first-ever female spacewalk, Christina Koch has returned from a record-breaking trip to space - shes come back from a 328-day journey onboard the International Space Station (ISS), making her the most spaceborne woman in human history.



 Instagram/NASA; Koch exits the descent craft, nearly a year away from standing on Earths surface.

Kochs return was celebrated all across the world as a massive achievement in astronautics as well as gender equality. In recent years, numbers have skyrocketed as thousands of young women across the world have chosen to work in STEM fields and especially research and engineering - disciplines traditionally dominated by men.



In Kochs case, the journey began nearly twenty years ago with her double-bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Physics - a specialisation that served her well as an engineer for NASA and even a pretty badass research assignment in the mid-2000s, where she travelled through the North & South Poles with a scientific crew. [This] means going months without seeing the sun, with the same crew, and without shipments of mail or fresh food, she explained back then. The isolation, absence of family and friends, and lack of new sensory inputs are all conditions that you must find a strategy to thrive within.



All of this was practice for the greatest mission of her life (so far).



In 2015, Koch completed her training as part of NASAs Astronaut Group 21 - and made her way into space onboard the Russian MS-12 spacecraft with two other spacemen, taking her 352km off the Earth and into the docking bay of the ISS.



 Instagram/NASA; Koch shared this picture with her crew before saying goodbye.

Stationed along with Expedition 59/60/61, Kochs brightest moment was when she performed a series of aforementioned spacewalk procedures alongside co-astronaut Jessica Meir. The pair set off last year on October 18 with just a spacesuit between them and the cold vacuum of space, conducting crucial upgrades to the ISS power systems and physics observatories.



 Instagram/NASA; Koch and Meir photographed from inside the ISS by Italian astronaut, Luca Parmiano.

The return journey touched ground early in the morning at 4:12 A.M. Local Kazakhs on horseback were first among those to witness Kochs capsule landing in the snow-covered Kazakhstan steppes as support crews gathered around, NASA commentator Rob Navias said. "I've never seen this," he exclaimed, reporting that the men stopped to chat with engineering personnel.



Meanwhile, Koch took to social media to share a few words.







This journey has been everyones journey. Thank you to all involved in the success of our mission, and for giving me the opportunity to carry everyones dreams into space. Im filled with gratitude to be back on the planet!
OAKVILLE, Ontario, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ShariaPortfolio Canada, Inc. is a Portfolio Management firm, specializing in socially responsible and halal investing. They offer comprehensive Wealth Management Solutions that align with the Muslim faith, to help Clients achieve their financial goals in accordance with their personal values.



The firm recently received their registration approval in Canada with the Ontario Securities Commission and has opened offices in Vancouver and Toronto. The firm plans to expand their team, across multiples provinces in the near future. They are excited to kick off their launch with their full-service access program.

The firm also offers Institutional level services, allowing them to partner with conventional financial firms that want to add Islamic Portfolio Management to their offerings.

As the only licensed Portfolio Managers dedicated to Sharia Compliant Investing, ShariaPortfolio Canada Inc. upholds halal ethical standards in their Investment choices. With roots in value investing and fundamental analysis, they take a long-term perspective and a highly disciplined approach to Wealth Management, providing a full range of investment solutions for clients across the globe.

In business since 2003, their USA affiliate, ShariaPortfolio, has been successful in providing advice and knowledge to the Muslim, as well as non-Muslim community in the USA. With clients in 26 states, they are currently managing US$115M in assets under management.

In a recent interview, the firms CEO, Naushad Virji stated the following:

"We are beyond excited to be doing business in Canada and internationally. Islamic finance follows religious guidelines that exclude certain business sectors such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling as well as shunning excessive leverage. With more than a million Muslims in Canada, Islamic finance is a rapidly growing necessity. We are proud to be able to cater to these requirements. With our growing team of investment experts, we are confident we will grow quickly in Canada. We offer fully customizable portfolios and are able to cater to each clients individual requirements, depending on their financial goals."

Such an approach fits into the companys value-investing methodology, focusing on well-capitalized stocks rather than debt-burdened ones.

For more information:

Website: www.shariaportfolio.com

Phone: 604-260-7150
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:40:03|Editor: huaxia

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Community workers use a speaker to publicize the information about prevention and control of the novel coronavirus at a street near the Yellow Crane Pavilion in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

With red sleeves, loudspeakers and digital thermometers, the legions of community workers and volunteers are combing Wuhan's communities to ensure no confirmed or suspected patients of the novel coronavirus is left unattended.

by Xinhua writers Yao Yuan, Yue Wenwan, Wu Zhi and Wang Zuokui

WUHAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, is combing communities to ensure every confirmed or suspected patient is located and attended to as a senior official vowed to nail any official deserter "to history's pillar of shame."

A conference on epidemic control on Thursday ordered the megacity with a population of over 10 million to make all-out efforts to locate patients confirmed or suspected to be infected with the virus, close contacts of confirmed cases, as well as patients with fever.

Once identified, these people must be treated or placed in quarantine in a timely manner, the conference said, adding that "no family or individual shall be neglected."

City officials said checkpoints are being set up outside every community and apartment building to measure residents' body temperatures, while community workers and volunteers are paying house-to-house visits to conduct checks.

Fever patients found in the process will be escorted to community clinics, which will decide whether they should be quarantined at home or be sent to other isolation areas. Police will step in if a patient refuses to obey quarantine rules and all persuasion fails, officials said.

The citywide mobilization echoed the call of Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, who on Thursday stressed that the various prevention and control measures must be strictly implemented like in wartime.

A community worker checks body temperature for a resident at a street near the Yellow Crane Pavilion in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

While inspecting Jianghan District in Wuhan, Sun demanded officials at all levels prioritize the epidemic fight "as the most important and pressing task" and forego bureaucratism and practices of formalities for formalities' sake.

Any deserter in the fight will be forever nailed to history's pillar of shame, she said.

Over 20,000 residents are observing at-home quarantine in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, which has been sealed off since late January to contain the spread of the 2019-nCov, according to the city government.

The city has since grabbed the nation's headlines with the heroism of its medical workers and the great sacrifice and resignation of local residents during the unprecedented lockdown.

The latest community mobilization, joined by legions of community workers and volunteers, is expected to lighten the burden of Wuhan's hospitals, which are struggling to cope with the influx of patients and a lack of medical resources.

By Thursday, the province of Hubei had 22,112 confirmed cases of the virus, including 11,618 in Wuhan. The country has sent 10,596 medical workers into Hubei to assist the epidemic control, while local authorities said another 2,250 medical practitioners are still needed.

Community workers and volunteers prepare to paste notifications about epidemic prevention and control at a street near the Yellow Crane Pavilion in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu)

"BLANKET SEARCH"

Community workers in Wuhan told Xinhua that in response to some residents' fears of close contact during home visits, they are also using telephones and instant messaging apps like WeChat to contact local families.

"Our neighborhood committee held an emergency meeting on Thursday evening and demanded that we do a 'blanket search' to know about the condition of each and every family," said Zhu Xuan, a community worker in the Chang'er Community in Jianghan District.

Tasked with more than 100 households, Zhu posted a questionnaire in a WeChat group, and residents continue to update their daily body temperatures. Meanwhile, she has been making phone calls since Friday morning to contact elderly residents who do not use the mobile app.

"Residents have all responded to our work with great understanding and cooperation," Zhu said.

A community worker calls senior citizens about their body temperature in Jiang'an District of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Li He)

On Friday afternoon, community worker Gao Bo was seen speaking to a residential building in Caidian District through a loudspeaker, asking two families to write their conditions and contact numbers on paper and drop it out of their windows.

"Residents fear close contact, so we ask them to drop the notes and then keep in touch via phone," Gao said.

Liu Jie, who lives in Wuhan's Dongxihu District, said he initially frowned upon inspectors' visits, as each such visit will cost the six-member family six disposable masks, which have been in tight supply in many Chinese cities since the virus outbreak.

"Then they assured us that we could report via WeChat or telephone and that made us feel relieved," he said.

A community worker checks the situation of novel coronavirus within a community via apps on a mobile phone in Jiang'an District of Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 7, 2020. (Xinhua/Li He)

Liu has not left his community since Jan. 22, faithfully obeying the official instruction to stay at home to reduce infection risks. The community's property management company has offered to purchase vegetables and other daily necessities for the residents and deliver them to their doorsteps.

"The furthest place I've been in the past weeks is the dust bin at the doorstep," Liu said. "We understand that it is imperative for the city to quarantine all confirmed and suspected patients. And we know it's important to fulfill our own duties, like daily reports of fever."

(Jia Qilong contributed to the story.) 
For communities and businesses to prosper, they must be safe. From the 9-1-1 call through to the arrest, conviction and incarceration of felony offenders, Montana citizens rely on state funded public safety and justice programs to support that goal. Im dismayed to read about Greg Gianfortes proposed tax cut on Public Safety of 30%. If Montanans see such cuts in the next biennium there will be serious consequences to public safety across the state.

We cant all afford to provide our own security and safety like those with Gianfortes wealth. Taxes are the way individuals combine our resources to fund critical collective needs that we cant provide ourselves such as education, public safety and a social safety net. Since Montanas legislature must craft a balanced budget every two years, every dollar cut in taxes requires cuts in spending. State spending on public safety includes highway safety, criminal justice, the judicial system, corrections, mental health, addiction treatment and child/family services are critical to making Montana a safe place to live and raise our families.

These systems are at maximum capacity now and a 30% cut undoubtedly threatens public safety and will impact local tax coffers and local public safety services  police, fire, ambulance, jails and 9-1-1 centers. When you call 9-1-1 to report a violent crime or medical emergency and youre told all units are busy, then what? Or your stalker cant be jailed because the jail is full of state inmates awaiting prison? How about when your daughters rapist cant be convicted because of backlogs of evidence in the crime lab?

Montana voters must critically contemplate promises of tax cuts with a wary eye. A principled leader is concerned with keeping the public safe. Montana voters must elect leaders who will responsibly help this state improve public safety.

Mark Muir is an attorney and former public safety official, serving 23 years as a police officer and retired as Missoulas chief of police in 2013.

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NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who spent nearly 11 months in orbit to set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, landed safely Thursday in Kazakhstan along with two International Space Station crewmates.

The Soyuz capsule carrying Koch, station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, touched down southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 3:12 p.m.

Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission after her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. The study is important since NASA plans to return to the moon under the Artemis program and prepare for the human exploration of Mars.

Koch smiled and gave a thumbs-up as a support team helped her out of the capsule and placed her in a chair for a quick post-flight check-up alongside her crew mates. Russian space officials said they were in good shape.

 Associated Press

King angry at CBS promo of interview

In the wake of a social media backlash, CBS' Gayle King says she is embarrassed and angry with how the network promoted part of her interview with WNBA star Lisa Leslie that concerned the late Kobe Bryant.

King responded via Twitter on Thursday to address the reaction to a video clip from her "CBS This Morning" interview with Leslie that aired Tuesday. The clip, distributed online and on CBS News' social media accounts, focused on a portion of the interview where Leslie addressed a sexual assault charge that had been brought against Bryant and dismissed.

Bryant died in a helicopter crash in Southern California on Jan. 26.

"I know that if I had only seen the clip that you saw, I'd be extremely angry with me, too," King said. "I am mortified, I am embarrassed and I'm very angry."

CBS responded by agreeing that the excerpt "did not reflect the nature and tone" of the complete interview. "We are addressing the internal process that led to this and changes have already been made," CBS said.

In the interview, King asked Leslie whether Bryant's legacy had been complicated by the assault case. Leslie said it hasn't, and called on the media to be more respectful of Bryant's memory. When Leslie noted that she had never seen improper behavior from Bryant, King said that she most likely wouldn't have been in a position to see it.

After the alleged victim decided not to pursue the case, she and Bryant reached a settlement in 2005. Bryant, who was 24 at the time of the Colorado incident, said he had committed adultery, but not sexual assault.

King was taken to task on social media for bringing the topic up. "Woke up to this interview and was just really pissed off," actress Vivica A. Fox tweeted.

 Associated Press

Prosecutors rest case vs. Weinstein

Prosecutors in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial rested their case Thursday after more than two weeks of testimony punctuated by harrowing accounts from six women, including some who said he ignored pleas of "no, no, no" and justified his behavior as the cost of getting ahead in Hollywood.

Now Weinstein's lawyers will start calling witnesses of their own as the landmark celebrity trial moves one step closer to a verdict. They haven't said whether Weinstein himself will testify. Doing so could bring big risks because prosecutors would be able to grill him about each of the allegations that jurors have already heard about in vivid detail.

Weinstein attorney Donna Rotunno immediately asked the judge to dismiss the case, arguing that testimony from the woman he is charged with raping "does not in any way show a forcible act by Mr. Weinstein." The judge rejected the request.

Among the witnesses the defense is expected to call is a psychologist who specializes in human memory. The defense is looking to raise doubts about the women's recollections of encounters that in some cases are more than a decade or two old.

 Associated Press

Stones ready for North American tour

The Rolling Stones are returning to some American cities where they haven't played in years.

The band announced Thursday it will kick off a 15-city leg of its No Filter tour in San Diego on May 8. Other cities where the band will play that it hasn't performed in recently include Buffalo. The shows end July 9 in Atlanta.

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 14. Additional details have been posted at the band's website, rollingstones.com.

 Associated Press
Plugged-in animal lovers went ape this week when video was released showing two predatorsa coyote and a badgerhappily hanging out together beneath a highway overpass near Santa Cruz.

Plus, the Transamerica Pyramid just sold for a cool $711 million, El Farolito has been named the best Mexican joint in the state, and an SF tattoo artist is suing Pixar. These and more local stories to share over brunch this weekend.

Why this coyote and badger 'friendship' has excited scientists, National Geographic

A too-cute duo of stereotypically grumpy animals was spotted happily frolicking together in a drain pipe beneath a highway in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The internet goes gaga. Read more.





Tom Hanks and Too $hort: An unlikely duo join forces in a new Oakland mural, SF Gate



Featuring Skyline High School graduate Tom Hanks and Oakland Rapper Too $hort, the new mural by artists Pierre BellaFonte, Charles Meck, and Uter Charles is sparking conversation about the various representations of Oakland's unique and creative culture. Read more.









San Francisco artist sues Disney for copying her 'tremendously cool' painted van in Pixar film, The Art Newspaper



After Bay Area tattoo artist Sweet Cicily Daniher rented her 1972 Chevrolet G10 van, dubbed the "Vanicorn," to Pixar for a one-day event, she was shocked to see an almost exact copy of her design appear in Pixar's new animated film, Onward. Read more.





San Francisco Man Wants to Give a Slice of Pizza to Each of the City's 8,000 Homeless, SFist

To celebrate his birthday, Alexander Debelov set up a GoFundMe to raise money for 8,008 slices of pizza, with an additional $2,500 toward the cause. While logistics for delivery are still in the works, so far Debelov has delivered 150 pizzas to the homeless in the Tenderloin. Read more.









, ABC 7

After ranking Mexican joints across the state by Foursquare user check-ins, ratings, tips, and more, Stacker named the no-frills, cash-only taqueria as the best in the state. Go grab your super carne asada burrito before the late night line gets even longer! Read more.





Transamerica Pyramid sold for the first time ever, Curbed SF

New York developer Michael Shvo paid $700 million for the iconic high riseone of the most recognizable in the entire San Francisco's skyline. Read more.
UNMC is seeking a total of $300 million in state support over a number of years to aid in construction and in getting the project off the ground. That money would be leveraged to attract an equal amount of private donations, plus other money that includes as much as $1.5 billion in federal appropriations.

State Sen. Mark Kolterman of Seward, the sponsor of Legislative Bill 1084, said the expense is well worth it for a project that could be a game-changer for UNMC and the whole state.

I truly believe this is a once-in-a-generation project, Kolterman said.

No one expressed any opposition to the proposal during a public hearing before the Legislatures Revenue Committee. Still, such a massive expenditure is sure to raise concerns at a time when there are other major budget priorities, including finding a way to relieve local property tax burdens.

Sen. Mike Groene of North Platte, a member of the revenue panel who has been a leader in the push for lowering property taxes, asked how critical the state funding was to making the project a reality.
French airport operator Groupe ADP, manufacturer and producer Urbasolar and supplier GazelEnergie have announced the signing of a direct renewable energy supply agreement.

Under the terms of the agreement, for a period of 21 years Groupe ADP will purchase the electricity production of three new photovoltaic solar parks, to be built by Urbasolar. GazelEnergie will ensure the integration of these new renewable watt-hours into Groupe ADPs consumption for the first three years.

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These three new solar farms will be commissioned in 2021 in the Gard, Var and Charente departments of France, making Groupe ADP the first company in the country to supply its electricity from solar parks specifically built in France for its own needs. They will be developed on a 40ha (100 acre) site for a total production of 47GWh per year, the equivalent consumption of a town of 15,000 inhabitants. The solar parks will supply 10% of the electricity required to operate the three Paris airports, i.e. almost half of the lighting requirements.

This project is part of Groupe ADPs commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. The development of renewable energies is central to the companys environmental policy to reduce its CO 2 emissions. Almost two-thirds (65%) of the groups energy is now of renewable origin. This will increase to 100% in 2021, 10% of which will be from solar farms built for Groupe ADP.

In terms of environmental policy, Groupe ADP is today taking a decisive step in the supply of its electricity. Up to now we have been consuming green energy, but we will now be producing green energy in France, thanks to the long-term support of Urbasolar and GazelEnergie.

The next step will be to produce green energy ourselves as a part of our consumption, as we already do for our heating needs. We are already preparing the integration of photovoltaic solar energy into new infrastructure projects such as car parks and real estate buildings, as well as our Terminal 4 project, said Edward Arkwright, deputy CEO of Groupe ADP.
The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Bombay high court order directing sale of bankrupt Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) to ensure the repayment of dues of crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative Bank.

IMAGE: Congress workers staging a 'begging protest' over the Punjab and Maharashtra Co-operative Bank crisis. Photograph: PTI Photo.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobe and justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant took note of the appeal of the Reserve Bank of India against the Bombay high court order.

The top court also issued notice on the RBI's plea to parties, including Sarosh Damania, who had approached the Bombay high court for ensuring payment of dues to PMC Bank account-holders.

Earlier, the Bombay high court had set up a three-member committee for the valuation and sale of the encumbered assets of HDIL to expeditiously recover dues payable by the firm to PMC Bank.

The high court had passed the order while hearing a PIL seeking a direction for the expeditious disposal of HDIL assets and properties attached by the Economic Offence Wing and the Enforcement Directorate and to repay PMC Bank depositors at the earliest.

The fraud at PMC Bank came to light in September last year after the Reserve Bank of India discovered that it had allegedly created fictitious accounts to hide over Rs 4,355 crore of loans extended to HDIL.

According to RBI, the PMC Bank masked 44 problematic loan accounts, including those of HDIL, by tampering with its core banking system, and the accounts were accessible only to limited staff members.

The Mumbai police's Economic Offences Wing and the ED have registered offences against senior bank officials and HDIL promoters.
New Delhi: Due to the threat of coronavirus infection in China, India has revoked the facility of e-visa to Chinese citizens. Along with this, the existing e-visas have also been invalidated. Actually diplomatic visa is excluded from it. Ravish Kumar has praised the cooperation received by the Chinese government in expelling Indian students. And the decision of the airline companies to cancel flights from India to China has been told.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's war intensified, Posters stick on Matoshree to drive away 'intruders'

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ravish Kumar said on Thursday that - due to coronavirus, all the e-visas issued earlier to all citizens of China will also be invalid now. Normal visas that have been issued are also not valid for long. Actually, those who want to come to India for very important work, can contact our embassy or the nearest consulate for issuing visas. This will not affect diplomatic visas. Ravish Kumar has clearly stated that the new visa restrictions will only apply to China's mainland (Mainland China). In this, India's e-visa is still available for some categories. Diplomats do not fall into that category. Their visa application is sent through the embassy. The same, the latest decision will not affect the diplomatic process.

Corona Virus: 636 killed died so far worldwide

On the issue of the ban on Chinese flights with the influence of Chinese Coronavirus, Ravish Kumar said that - I am not aware of any restrictions imposed by the government on the operation of commercial flights between India and China. Airline companies are free to take a decision on this according to the circumstances. On the video of Pakistani students stranded in China seeking help from India, Ravish Kumar said that - We have not received any request from the Government of Pakistan. But, such a situation arises and we have enough resources, then we will consider it.

Corona Virus: WHO calls this work of China commendable



Foreign Ministry spokesman Ravish Kumar, while praising the cooperation of the Chinese government and the facilities provided by the authorities in bringing back Indians from Wuhan, the center of the coronavirus infection, said - India has rescued 640 Indians from China's Coronavirus affected Wuhan. At the same time, 7 Maldives citizens have also been brought back. India has made this complex operation successful by sending its aircraft twice.
Children from across the country should always be helped to improve their reading skills at an early stage, and this will be key in fostering quality education in the country.

The observation was made on Wednesday, February 5, at Ecole Primaire Sozi from Burera District by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), Samuel Mulindwa during the launch of a year-long national reading campaign.

The campaign is running under the theme 'Make Time for Reading!'

The objective of the campaign which will run through December according to officials is to prioritize reading at school, at home and in the community at large.

"The ability to read as well as enforcing reading culture is a strong foundation of quality education that we always strive to build and this can't be attained if children do not learn to read at an early stage," he noted.

Mulindwa went on to challenge parents, guardians, teachers and school administrators among other actors to find for children at least 15 minutes a day to inculcate in them a reading culture.

"Fifteen minutes are normally not enough, however, if the minutes are regularly offered to children, they will end up loving to read," he said.

He advised parents who might be illiterate to join adult literacy clubs that the government has initiated in every part of the country for them to play their part in their children's learning process, stressing that one becomes literate enough within six months.

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The USAID Mission Director in Rwanda, Leslie Marbury reiterated the importance of learning to read vis-a-vis the country's various ambitions.

"Children who read always perform well and have a better chance of getting jobs and helping Rwanda to grow. So making time to read benefit children and the country," she noted.

Marbury told journalists that USAID invested $85 million in the literacy campaign which she said will help children acquire confidence in reading.

Parents from Burera District who spoke to The New Times noted that helping their children to read while at home has started yielding positive fruits notably in children's performances in class.

"I started assisting my boy to read in the last two years when he was in Primary Two and since his performance has significantly improved; he used to obtain 60 percent in exams and he now scores more than 75 per cent, he can now also demonstrate stellar English language knowledge thanks to the habit of reading," noted Alex Kagame, the father of four from Kagogo Sector.
Shamima Begum  one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join so-called Islamic State  is set to find out whether the decision to revoke her British citizenship was lawful.

Ms Begum, now 20, left the UK in February 2015 and lived under IS rule for more than three years. She was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February last year.

Former home secretary Sajid Javid stripped her of her British citizenship later that month, a decision Ms Begums lawyers argue was unlawful as it rendered her stateless. Such a decision is lawful only if an individual is entitled to citizenship of another country.

Last year, Ms Begum took legal action against the Home Office at the High Court and the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someones British citizenship on national security grounds.

From left to right, 15-year-old Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana, 16, and Shamima Begum, 15, at Gatwick airport in February 2015 (Metropolitan Police/PA)

The tribunal, led by SIAC president Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, is due to deliver its ruling on whether the deprivation decision rendered Ms Begum stateless in London on Friday morning.

The judgment is also expected to determine whether Ms Begum is able to have a fair and effective appeal from outside the UK, and whether the decision to revoke her British citizenship exposed her to a real risk of torture or death.

At a hearing in October, Ms Begums barrister Tom Hickman QC said the situation in the al-Roj camp in which Ms Begum was then being held was incredibly fragile and dangerous, and described conditions at the camp, where Ms Begums third child died last March, as wretched and squalid.

Mr Hickman argued that Ms Begum  who is of British-Bangladeshi heritage  is not considered a national of Bangladesh and was therefore rendered stateless by the deprivation decision.

He also submitted that conditions in al-Roj  and in the al-Hawl camp from which Ms Begum was moved for her own safety in February  breached Ms Begums human rights.

Story continues

Mr Hickman added that the decision had the effect  and was designed  to prevent Ms Begum from returning to the UK, leaving her abandoned in a detention camp.

This, he added, meant Ms Begum cannot have a fair and effective appeal as she is unable to speak confidentially with her lawyers or to give evidence in support of her appeal.

Jonathan Glasson QC, for the Home Office, argued that Ms Begum was a Bangladeshi citizen by descent, in accordance with Bangladeshi law, and so was not rendered stateless by the deprivation decision.

He also submitted that Ms Begum has not been placed at risk of ill-treatment as a result of the decision to revoke her British citizenship.

Any risk that the appellant does face arose, and continues to persist, as the result of the appellant having travelled to Syria and aligned with (IS) and is wholly unrelated to the deprivation decision, he added.

Ms Begum, then aged 15, was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS, shortly after Sharmeena Begum  who is no relation  travelled to Syria in December 2014.

Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, then 16 and 15 respectively, and Ms Begum boarded a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on February 17 2015, before making their way to Raqqa in Syria.

Ms Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory, with all three of her schoolfriends also reportedly marrying foreign IS fighters.

She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had both since died.

Her third child died shortly after he was born.
Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian during clashes in the occupied West Bank on Friday, the Palestinian health ministry said, part of a spike in violence since Washington announced a controversial Middle East plan.

The fatality brings to four the number killed in clashes and violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem after US President Donald Trump angered the Palestinians with his plan released last week.

The Palestinian health ministry said Badr Nafla, 19, died after being shot by Israeli forces in the neck during clashes near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.

The Israeli army had no immediate comment.

On Thursday, two Palestinians were killed in clashes in the West Bank and an Arab Israeli was shot dead after opening fire on police near the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem's Old City.

Fourteen Israelis were injured in a car ramming targeting soldiers in Jerusalem the same day.

Israeli security had deployed additional forces Friday in the West Bank and Jerusalem, where 25,000 Palestinians gathered at Al-Aqsa for noon prayers that passed off without incident, an AFP photographer said.

The site is a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is holy to both Muslims and Jews, who refer to it as the Temple Mount.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP there was "heightened security in Jerusalem," including extra units, particularly "in and around the area of the Old City".

He said an increased police presence would remain.

Small clashes broke out in different parts of the West Bank Friday, AFP reporters said.

On Thursday, two Palestinians were killed in clashes between the Israeli army and stone-throwing demonstrators in the northern city of Jenin.

In Jerusalem a man drove his car into a group of Israeli soldiers, injuring 14 before fleeing the scene, officials said.

He was later arrested and is being questioned, Rosenfeld said, adding that there had been no new security incidents since Thursday evening.

The rise in violence comes a week after Trump's release of his vision for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It would grant Israel a number of its long-held goals, including full control of disputed Jerusalem and a green light to annex all settlements and other parts of the West Bank.

In exchange the Palestinians would be offered a state in the remaining parts of the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas immediately rejected the plan and called for street demonstrations.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and chief architect of the plan, said Thursday that Abbas "does have a responsiblity" for the uptick in violence.

"He calls for days of rage in response and he said that even before he saw the plan," Kushner told reporters after briefing UN Security Council members on the plan behind closed doors in New York.

Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Twitter Friday that Kushner's plan had "enabled Israel to move ahead with further annexation/colonisation.

"But he blames President Abbas because according to those like him, our mere existence and rights...are the problem," Erekat added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When Motorola launched the Moto G8 Plus in India last October, the company said it had no plans to launch more Moto G8 models. Since then, Moto G8 has appeared online and now Moto G8 Power has popped up too. The phone has been spotted listed on the Amazon UK website. The listing reveals the design and full specifications of the smartphone. The website listed the Moto G8 Power in Black and Blue options. However, at the time of filing this story, the listing has been pulled.

The listings were spotted by tipster Roland Quandt first. The Moto G8 Power was listed to feature a 6.4-inch full-HD+ display. It will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 chipset, paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. According to the listing, Moto G8 Power will sport a quad-camera setup at the back with a 16MP primary camera and a 2MP macro lens detailed. The resolutions of the other two sensors have not been detailed. The camera was seen to be aligned vertically and placed on the upper left corner of the phone, just like the Moto G8 Plus.

The Moto G8 Power was listed to support dual-SIM slots. It will run on Android 10 software, and pack a big 5000mAh battery, which is claimed to last for up to three days. The phone will also support dual stereo speakers. The website listed Moto G8 Power in Smoke Black and Capri Blue colour options. The smartphone has been seen sporting a punch-hole display. The power and volume buttons are placed on the right edge.

Motorola will be hosting a launch event at the MWC 2020. It is expected to launch a flagship smartphone alongside the Moto G8 and Moto G8 Power at the event.
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If you are like most of us, you can be forgiven for missing news during President Trumps impeachment trial that you might otherwise have caught. The news feeds filled with political news, making it feel as if coverage of other issues was bumped.

With the trial now over, its time to glance back at one moment in particular  the release on Jan. 30 of the latest quarterly report of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR. Thomas Gibbons-Neff, the Afghan-war infantry veteran now reporting from The New York Times bureau in Washington, summed up the reports grim survey last week. He wrote:

The Taliban and other groups carried out a record number of attacks in Afghanistan during the last several months of 2019, according to an inspector general report released Friday. The increase in violence occurred during a period in which President Trump tweeted that the United States was hitting our Enemy harder than at any time in the last ten years! The number of attacks, detailed in the quarterly report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, a government watchdog formed in 2008, highlights once more the disparity between talking points on suppressing the Taliban and the reality on the ground: Despite a concerted bombing campaign and American and Afghan offensive ground operations, Taliban fighters are still able to attack at levels similar to those a decade ago.

Honest war news is often fundamentally and necessarily dark. And the Afghan war reliably reminds those outsiders still following it of the value of skepticism when listening to a war organizers accounts of military campaigns. SIGARs 46th quarterly report  a tally that itself underlines the advanced age of the Pentagons failed Afghan efforts  sketched how the United States is propping up a corrupt and weak pauper state with military support and cash. The situation, by the numbers, remains beyond precarious.
BVOH, a leading staffing agency announced today that they have won Best of Staffing Client and Talent Awards for providing superior service to their clients and candidates. Presented in partnership with presenting sponsor, CareerBuilder, and gold sponsors Indeed and Glassdoor, ClearlyRateds Best of Staffing Award winners have proven to be industry leaders in service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and candidates. On average, clients of winning agencies are more likely to be completely satisfied and candidates who have been placed by winning agencies are more likely to be completely satisfied with the services provided compared to those working with non-winning agencies. BVOH received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 77.6% of their clients, significantly higher than the industrys average of 24%. On talent, BVOH received satisfaction scores of 9 or 10 out of 10 from 85.4% of their placed job

candidates, significantly higher than the industrys average of 45%.

Once again, were honored to be recognized by our clients and candidates as a Best of Staffing firm. Receiving such high ratings is a reminder to us that we are at our best for our clients and candidates when we lean into and live out our core values. BVOHs Managing Partner, Leslie Boudreaux said.

Now more than ever, it is important for staffing firms to deliver consistently remarkable experiences to the clients and talent they work with, said ClearlyRateds CEO Eric Gregg. This years Best of Staffing winners have shown their commitment to exceptional service, committing to not only measuring satisfaction, but taking action on the feedback. I couldn't be more proud to showcase these industry leaders alongside feedback from their actual clients and candidates on ClearlyRated.com and applaud them for their commitment to making improvements at their respective firms!

About BVOH

Were the premier, boutique recruiting firm specializing in Accounting & Finance search and consulting services for the San Francisco Bay Areas top companies.

Small but impactful, our success comes from our years of experience in finance and accounting, as well as a genuine understanding of what our clients and candidates care about. Our client and candidate relationships are long-term and ongoing based on our discretion and thoroughness in our process. We care, and it shows.

About ClearlyRated

Rooted in satisfaction research for professional service firms, ClearlyRated utilizes a Net Promoter Score survey program to help professional service firms measure their service experience, build online reputation, and differentiate on service quality. Learn more at https://www.clearlyrated.com/solutions/.

About Best of Staffing

ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Award is the only award in the U.S. and Canada that recognizes staffing agencies that have proven superior service quality based entirely on ratings provided by their clients and job candidates. Award winners are showcased by city and area of expertise on ClearlyRated.com  an online business directory that helps buyers of professional services find service leaders and vet prospective firms  based exclusively on validated client and talent ratings and testimonials.
The conservative talk show host suspends campaign, but says fight against the Cult of Trump is just getting started.

Former US Congressman Joe Walsh ended his Republican primary challenge to President Donald Trump on Friday, abandoning an effort that faced long odds and financial struggles from the start.

Im suspending my campaign, but our fight against the Cult of Trump is just getting started. Im committed to doing everything I can to defeat Trump and his enablers this November, Walsh said in a tweet.

He told CNN on Friday morning that the Republican Party is Trumps party  its not a party. Its a cult. He cant be beaten in the Republican primary, so theres no reason for me, or any candidate really, to be in there. The party has become a cult.

He added that he would support a Democrat for Novembers election.

I cant stop him [Trump] in a Republican primary, but I can sure do my level best to try to stop him  by bringing people together, Walsh told CNN in an interview on Friday.

Any Democrat would be better than Trump in the White House, he said later.

Fundraising hurdles

Walsh had cast his ballot for Trump in 2016 and declared he would be grabbing his musket if the Republican Trump lost to Democrat Hillary Clinton. But Walsh eventually soured on Trump, deriding him as nuts, cruel and incompetent. He has also acknowledged that he helped create Trump through his own brand of personal, ugly politics.

The Tea Party favourite turned radio talk show host became Trumps second 2020 primary challenger when he announced his candidacy in August, saying the incumbent was unfit for office and must be denied a second term. He presented himself as a conservative choice for people who were fed up with the chaos of the Trump era. Brimming with confidence over his campaign prospects, Walsh declared, I think this thing  will catch on like wildfire.

But Walsh faced fundraising hurdles and obstacles from the Republican Party from the start. A number of state parties cancelled their primaries and other nominating contests in an effort to protect Trump from the fate of George HW Bush, the last one-term president who faced a serious primary challenger and subsequently lost his re-election bid. Last year, the Republican National Committee issued a nonbinding resolution to declare the partys undivided support for Trump.

Walsh speaks at a debate for Republican challengers of Trump [File: Julius Constantine Motal/AP Photo]

Walsh also failed to get his name on the ballot in some states, including Vermont, Mississippi and his home state of Illinois.

At times, Walsh struggled to differentiate himself as a viable Trump alternative. He courted controversy on social media in the years before his presidential run and was frequently pressed about those comments while on the campaign trail.

There were some times when I went over the line and said things to be a little too provocative, Walsh told a crowd at a college convention in New Hampshire in January.

Walshs singular campaign focus was criticising Trump. He was often quick to ridicule former South Carolina Congressman Mark Sanford for making fiscal conservatism the crux of his 2020 Republican presidential candidacy during his brief time in the race.

This isnt about the debt and this isnt about tariffs and its not about any issue, Walsh said when Sanford ended his run in November. Trumps unfit. Its an emergency, and thats the only reason you get into a primary against a sitting president.

Former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld is now the only major Trump challenger remaining in the Republican primary.
By Barani Krishnan

Investing.com  OPEC is learning that the Russians, and not the Saudis, might be the real power at the cartel. Oil prices posted a fifth-straight weekly loss after Moscow said it needed more time to consider deeper production cuts proposed by OPEC to deal with the collapse in energy demand from the coronavirus crisis.

Brent, the London-traded benchmark for crude oil, settled down 46 cents, or 0.9%, at $54.47 per barrel on Friday after Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak stalled in giving his governments assent to suggestions from OPECs suggestion that the group and its allies, which include Moscow, cut an additional 600,000 barrels per day in supply.

New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, U.S. crude benchmark, settled down 63 cents, or 1.2%, at $50.32

For the week, Brent fell 6.3% and WTI 2.4%. Combined losses over five weeks stood at more than 22% for both benchmarks, leaving them in bear market territory.

Oil prices cant shake off the coronavirus, Phil Flynn, senior market analyst for energy at the Price Futures Group in Chicago, said.

Conflicting reports about how well the virus is being contained is raising fears about economic growth even as OPEC struggles to find a way to support the market from collapse, Flynn said.

Novak said Russia needed more time to decide whether to join any additional oil output cuts by OPEC because, in his opinion, U.S. crude production growth could slow while global demand remains solid.

OPEC has committed to cut as much as 2.1 million barrels per day, or about 2.1% of global demand, this quarter even before the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 630 people and infected another 31,000 in China while spreading to at least 25 countries.

While Saudi Arabia officially leads the 13-member OPEC, Russias clout as an ally of the group has grown immensely in recent years, given Moscows higher output of crude. While the United States is the worlds number-one producer of oil, the independent structure of U.S. drillers prevents the country from participating in any OPEC cuts, leaving the cartel at the mercy of Russian cooperation.

Story continues

Despite Novaks optimism about the current demand for oil, most analysts say refinery demand for crude and airlines consumption of jet fuel are falling by hundreds of thousands of barrels per day due to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, particularly from top energy user China.

To make matters worse for market sentiment, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette said on Friday the countrys current record production of 13 million bpd could reach as high 15-to-16 million bpd in coming years.

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Gold Firmly Atop $1,500 as Futures Post First Weekly Loss in Seven
Its a fact that in the last 60 years, immunization has saved more lives in Canada than any other medical intervention. Vaccines have cut rates of diseases like diphtheria and measles by 100 and 99 per cent respectively since they were first introduced.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Its a fact that in the last 60 years, immunization has saved more lives in Canada than any other medical intervention. Vaccines have cut rates of diseases like diphtheria and measles by 100 and 99 per cent respectively since they were first introduced.

In spite of this track record, childhood vaccination rates across Canada are not what they could be for these serious but preventable diseases. Winnipeg is no exception to that rule, with vaccination rates for children across the city ranging from 62 to 70 per cent for various vaccines. Thats well below the recommended 90 to 95 per cent required for optimum immunity in a population.

There are bright spots, however. The WRHAs 2019 Community Health Assessment (CHA) reported that rates of school-age vaccinations in my area, Point Douglas, were quite strong compared to the city-wide rate. Point Douglas even boasted the highest immunization rates in Winnipeg for school-age human papilloma virus (HPV) immunization.

Following guidelines set by Manitoba Health, school immunizations are administered across the province. These occur in Grade 6, where vaccines for meningococcal disease, hepatitis B, and HPV are offered, and in Grade 8, where vaccination is administered to protect against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough). These students still require parental (or guardian) consent in order to be vaccinated, and that is where the work of our teams public health nurses is worthy of special appreciation.

While the CHA reflects data collected from 2017, recent efforts in Point Douglas continue. In 2018/2019, for example, public health nurses in Point Douglas had a lower return rate on consent forms than they expected by the initial deadline. That prompted them to look into ways to improve uptake. They buckled down on their efforts to increase immunization uptake and doubled the number of consent forms returned by clinic day, which contributed to more immunizations.

The secret to their success? Persistence, creativity and flexibility.

Working closely with the areas 17 eligible schools, the public health nurses made concerted efforts to speak directly with parents, guardians and children to highlight the importance of immunization.

All of us working in Point Douglas are acutely aware of the barriers our clients face when accessing care. Those barriers include language and literacy, socioeconomic factors, and distrust, experienced by some, of institutionalized health services  due in part to past wrongs such as segregated Indian hospitals. This is where persistence and flexibility are important, as well as approaching all of our clients with compassion.

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In addition to acknowledging these barriers, public health nurses understand the importance of building relationships and trust with clients. This means being flexible in how they deliver care. Nurses may work flexible hours to reach families for whom there is no accurate telephone number or fixed address. Similarly, meetings may occur on the street or other non-traditional locations. No two families are alike..

Comfort is also a consideration. Comfort animals are sometimes used to calm a vaccine recipient. From cats and dogs, to snakes, to various jungle-themed stuffed animals, public health nurses have seen it all.

Thanks to vaccination rate improvements in Point Douglas, public health nurses have begun to lay the foundation for improved relationships with health providers.

The flexibility, communication and relationship-building they employ are instrumental in all community areas, not only to get the message out about vaccinations, but to start a life-long dialogue about health and wellness.

Providing one-on-one education about the value of vaccinations and how they protect you and your family has clearly paid off for families in Point Douglas. But, just as no community is the same, there is no single solution that will suit every group or every community area. What is clear is that there is always an opportunity to provide more information about the value of vaccinations, and Winnipeg public health nurses are clearly up to the task.

Craig Ross is the Winnipeg Regional Health Authoritys team manager in the Point Douglas community area.
Trump confirms killing of AQAP chief in Yemen



Washington, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday that the US had killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula -- days after the jihadist group claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.

The US "conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qassim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP)," Trump said in a White House statement.

AQAP claimed responsibility on Sunday for a December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.

Washington considers AQAP to be the worldwide jihadist network's most dangerous branch.

The Sunni extremist group has thrived in the chaos of years of civil war between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels who control the capital.

"Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said.

"His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security."

Trump did not give any details about the circumstances or the timing of the operation.

In the Pensacola attack, eight people were wounded, including two responding sheriff's deputies, before police shot dead the assailant.

The FBI formally identified the attacker as Mohammed Alshamrani, 21, a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was training in the US.

The SITE monitoring group said he had posted a short manifesto on Twitter prior to the attack that read: "I'm against evil, and America as a whole has turned into a nation of evil."

"I hate you because every day you (are) supporting, funding and committing crimes not only against Muslims but also humanity."

The Twitter account that posted the manifesto also condemned US support for Israel and included a quote from Al-Qaeda's deceased leader Osama bin Laden.

Saudi Arabia's King Salman was quick to denounce the shooting as a "heinous crime" and said the gunman "does not represent the Saudi people."

Around 850 Saudis are among the 5,000 foreign military personnel being trained in the United States.
A group of passengers at risk of falling ill to novel coronavirus landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Friday.

The charter flown by Yipsilanti., Mich.,-based Kalitta Air landed at 12:23 p.m. It was carrying evacuees from Wuhan, China, where the deadly virus first emerged in late December. The number of passengers wasnt known.

A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Amy Rowland, said Friday she did not have details about the flight or the passengers.

Passengers on the flight have been screened for any signs of illness multiple times during their journey, including when the plane refueled at Travis AFB in California.

Rowland said CDC wouldnt know whether any of the passengers had the coronavirus until tests had been done and lab samples had been returned.

That cant happen in a matter of minutes, she said.

On ExpressNews.com: Evacuees will be confined to a hotel at Lackland

The passengers are the first of up to 250 who could come to Lackland, one of four bases that will house Americans evacuated from China, where the coronavirus outbreak has struck thousands and claimed hundreds of lives.

The evacuees arriving in the Alamo City are among 1,000 leaving China. Some arrived Thursday at Travis and at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, also in California.

Once on the ground, the evacuees will be under guard by federal marshals, who will patrol a fenced perimeter around the hotel where they will be housed. Specially trained contractors will feed them and handle housekeeping chores at the Gateway Inn, a lodging facility on Lackland.

Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the division of high-consequence pathogens and pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said no one on the base would have contact with the evacuees, who will remain under a quarantine that will start from the time their plane leaves China and last for 14 days.

Thats believed to be the approximate incubation period of the virus. If more coronavirus cases are identified, the quarantine period could be extended.

As of Friday, more than 31,000 cases have been reported along with more than 600 deaths, but the numbers are growing. Transmission is thought to be person to person in China, and there are a growing number of cases among travelers.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in 28 countries. In the United States, 12 cases have been reported in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington. Earlier in the week, a case was reported in Wisconsin as well.

CDC officials have stressed that the risk of transmission of the coronavirus to the general public is low.

While conceding that not everything is known about coronavirus, with the CDCs McQuiston calling it a brand-new, emerging virus that scientists are still learning about, she stressed that the immediate risk of this new virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time. For Americans, the biggest risk continues to be travel to China, the epicenter of the outbreak, or caring for people who have been sickened by the virus.

sigc@express-news.net
WASHINGTON  Dispatching Cabinet secretaries across the country to woo Iowa voters. Using private cash to finance an official made-for-TV moment. Delivering a State of the Union address that doubled as a campaign kickoff speech. Holding an impeachment acquittal victory rally in the White House East Room.

President Donald Trump made clear this week that he has no qualms about using the powers of his office to court voters in an election year. As he emerges from the impeachment drama, claiming vindication, Trump appears all the more emboldened to blur the lines between public and private endeavors.

That mindset was on full display Thursday as he used the White House as the setting for a scorched-earth victory speech celebrating his acquittal by the Senate following his impeachment by the House. Just days earlier, Trump delivered a speech in front of a joint session of Congress that could have been mistaken for a low-key Trump rally, complete with partisan incantations from Republicans in the chamber of Four more years! Similar chants have rung out through various rooms of the White House as Trump has hosted events that took on sharply partisan tones.

Several Democratic lawmakers expressed frustration following the State of the Union that Trump went overboard on the politics in what is supposed to be a constitutionally proscribed opportunity to give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.

I get it  presidents use their last SOTU to make the case for re-election, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., wrote on Twitter. But that crossed a line.

At one point in his address, Trump announced with an Oprah Winfrey-level of drama that Philadelphia fourth grader Janiyah Davis would be getting a scholarship, allowing her to bypass her local public school.

Addressing himself directly to the little girl, seated near first lady Melania Trump in the gallery, Trump said he could proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship has become available, it is going to you and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice!

It turns out the money wasnt coming from any pot of state or federal dollars.

Instead, it came from the personal accounts of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Elizabeth Hill, a Department of Education spokeswoman, told The Associated Press that DeVos, who donates her annual salary to charity, would be directly providing the scholarship for Janiyah and that the money would go directly to the school of her familys choosing.

Hill declined to say how Davis had come to the departments attention.

Donald Sherman, deputy director of the nonprofit government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the arrangement certainly could be unethical and was at minimum unseemly.

The president made it sound like this young woman was benefiting from some government program when in fact when she was benefiting from the personal benevolence of Secretary DeVos, which has a political upside for her boss, Sherman said.

It wasnt the only time this week that Trumps Cabinet secretaries took a detour into political efforts.

In the lead-up to the kickoff Iowa presidential caucuses Feb. 3, Trumps campaign flooded the state with more than 80 surrogates, including a long list of senior administration officials. Among those participating: DeVos, as well as the secretaries of commerce, interior, and housing and urban development, and the acting White House chief of staff.

The campaign chartered a 737 to ferry the governmental pep squad to and from Washington.

Under federal law, civilian employees in the executive branch cannot use their titles when doing political work, so announcements about the events referred to Cabinet officials without their titles. They are also prohibited from taking part in any partisan activity while on the clock. The president and vice president are exempt from the rules.

Next week, the campaign will again be deploying top surrogates  this time to polling locations across New Hampshire, which votes Tuesday.

Its a familiar tactic for presidents  Republicans and Democrats alike.

President Barack Obama, for instance, allowed five members of his Cabinet to address the partys 2012 convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, as he sought reelection. But four years later, as his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, sought the White House, Obama decided to prohibit Cabinet members from taking part as he sought to separate his administration from the politics of the moment.

Obama was also accused of using other levers of the federal government to bolster his 2012 reelection chances when he took executive action to protect Dreamer immigrants who came to the country illegally as children. In 2012, Kathleen Sebelius, Obamas health and human services secretary, was also cited for violating federal law prohibiting Cabinet members from engaging in politics on the clock when she called for the presidents reelection and touted the candidacy of another Democrat at an event she was attending in her official capacity.

Trump, for his part, has repeatedly stepped over the line.

The independent government watchdog Office of Special Counsel has cited the presidents top advisers on multiple occasions for violating the Hatch Act, which bars federal employees from engaging in certain political activities, including playing any active part in a campaign.

In November 2018, the watchdog found six White House officials in violation for tweeting or retweeting the presidents 2016 campaign slogan Make America Great Again from their official Twitter accounts. Most notably, the office recommended in June 2019 that White House counselor Kellyanne Conway be fired.

Trump refused to take action against Conway, suggesting that the office was trying to take away her right to free speech.

Trumps policy actions that further his political aims also have raised eyebrows, though its a murky area, and all presidents advance causes that are in sync with their political aims.

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, as Trump was trying to energize his base voters and stanch Republican losses, the president issued dire warnings from the Oval Office about an invasion of migrants and deployed the U.S. military to the southern border in what many saw as a political stunt.

More than a year ago, his administration recognized Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido as the nations legitimate president and called on socialist leader Nicolas Maduro to resign. Trump invited Guaido to attend the State of the Union as a special guest and dedicated a moment in the address to pledging solidarity with the leader.

Susan MacManus, a political scientist at the University of South Florida, saw Trumps shout-out to Guaido as one of several carefully calibrated moments in the speech aimed at courting a specific voting bloc.

While all presidents pepper the annual address with lines that highlight groups or individuals who are important to their electoral chances, MacManus said, Trump took it to another level with a speech full of moments aimed at various blocs of voters, including African Americans, military families and conservatives.

This was a classic example of micro-targeting of people that he thinks he needs, MacManus said.

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Follow Madhani and Colvin on Twitter and https://twitter.com/AamerISmad and https://twitter.com/colvinj

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.
No two snowflakes are alike is a common phrase, especially in elementary schools. Like human fingerprints, each snowflake is considered as an individual and none looks exactly the same as the other. But is the phrase entirely true and what do scientists say about it? Well, the answer is in the details and depends on how closely one looks at the flakes. Snowflakes are tiny ice crystals of sufficient sizes that combine to form snow. Because the flakes move through differing humidity and temperature zones in the atmosphere, the individual snowflakes tend to differ in details from each other. Snowflakes can also be created in the laboratory using sophisticated laboratory equipment.

How Snowflakes Form

Snowflakes are crystals of water that nucleate around dust or organic particle in supersaturated air masses. It begins as a dust grain floating on a cloud which attracts water vapor in the air. The water vapor condenses on the grain of dust and freezes into a crystal. The small changes in the clouds microenvironment around a snowflake influence the form it eventually takes. The change in temperature, humidity, and air pressure force snowflakes to shift between two different crystallization processes; branching and faceting. The faceting process is responsible for the formation of the six-sided prism, thanks to the chemical bond in the water molecules. The branching process is responsible for the formation of features that extend away from the hexagonal prism. The extended features are formed when the corners of the prism attract crystalizing water vapor faster than the flat surface.

Empirical studies suggest that only 0.1% of the snowflakes have perfect six-sided symmetric shape. Occasionally a 12-branched snowflake can be observed. Scientists have a particular interest in how the snowflake form because of their possible influence on the global climate. They believe that ice crystals in the atmosphere which are too small to fall to the ground are responsible for the ozone layer depletion, possibly by catalyzing the breakdown of the layer.

Why Two Snowflakes May Look Alike

The exact form each snowflake takes depends on changes in humidity and temperature it encounters as it falls through the atmosphere. But because snowflakes falling at the same time through similar changes in the temperature and humidity may have formed under similar conditions, there is a probability that two or more snowflakes would look the same. A closer look at the snow crystals in their early stages of formation before branching out reveals that they actually look alike. While the phrase may hold try fo larger snowflakes, scientists believe it may be false for smaller ones. According to Jon Nelson of Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan, snowflakes kept between -130C and -110C will maintain their simple structures and fall to the earth looking exactly the same.

What Two Identical Snowflakes Means

The debate about whether two or more objects can be identical is one that will take time to resolve. Many philosophers believe that no two things can be identical, being that not even two atoms are identical. So, many hold that the question of identical snowflakes is unnecessary and pointless. For any two snowflakes to be considered as identical, they must have the same shape without any variation to the point that they are truly undistinguishable objects. Accordingly, visual similarity between snowflakes remains a debated subject that will go on as long as the phrase no two snowflakes look alike exist. Some scientist like Kenneth Libbrecht of California Institute of Technology who has created many snowflakes in his laboratory argues that it is only possible to generate identical snowflakes in a laboratory with a controlled environment. Although the flakes may be visibly similar, the same cannot be said at a molecular level.

Why No Two Snowflakes Can Be Alike

At a molecular level, it is almost impossible for two snowflakes to be the same given the several ways a snowflake forms. Although some people have looked through microspores and claim to have found identical snowflakes, there are so many things that a microscope cannot observe at the molecular level. There are many reasons why it is almost impossible to have two identical snowflakes. First, water which is an important building block that makes up the snowflakes is made up of oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. These isotopes are not identical and have different properties from each other, leading to the alteration of the structure of crystals formed using them. A snow crystal contains million billion water molecules which can arrange themselves in an infinite number of ways, making it nearly impossible for any two snowflakes to look alike.

Secondly, like identical twins with the same DNA grow and acquire new experiences, each of the snowflakes is exposed to different conditions that influence their structures. So, even if two crystals are identical at the start, they will not be the same as each other when they finally fall to the ground. In the early stages, most snow crystals are always six-sided prism and some may reach the ground in that form. However, once the branches begin to grow, each crystal picks a unique shape that distinguishes it from the other.

Finally, snowflakes form around tiny dust grains or organic particles as the starting material. These particles have different shapes and sizes, meaning that rarely will two or more snowflakes start alike. Some regular-shaped dust grains may disintegrate into irregular shapes when they come into contact with water vapor.

Classification Of Snowflakes

Snowflakes can form in different intricate shapes and sizes, leading to the phrase no two snowflakes are alike. Attempts to identify snowflakes that look alike over the years have led to the discovery of several forms of snowflakes. The shape of a snowflake is determined primarily by the humidity and temperature at which it forms. The shape also depends on whether the prevalent moisture is below or above the saturation point. Individual flakes can be classified into eight broad categories and 80 variant individuals. The eight categories are germ of snow crystal (symbolized by G), needle crystal (N), irregular snow crystal (I), columnar crystal (C), columnar crystal with extended side planes (S), rimmed crystal (R), plate crystal (P), and combination of columnar and plate crystal (CP).
SPRINGFIELD  A 61-year-old city man has been arrested and charged with arson in connection with a Wednesday night fire on Walnut Street that sent a firefighter to the hospital.

Pedro Delafuente of Belmont Ave. was arrested Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on Walnut Street, said police spokesman Ryan Walsh. He is charged with arson in connection with the fire Wednesday at 349 Walnut St.

Delafuente also had an arrest warrant out of East Longmeadow on an unrelated charge, he said.

Fire Commissioner Bernard J. Calvi announced the arrest Thursday night, but did not release the suspects name. He was charged with arson of a dwelling following a joint-investigation by the Springfield Arson & Bomb Squad, Springfield police detectives and state police troopers assigned to the state Fire Marshals office.

The Springfield Fire Department takes these matters very seriously and I commend the work of the unit for a swift arrest in this matter, Calvi said.

The blaze was reported in a vacant building at 347-349 Walnut St. at about 5:30 p.m.

The firefighters injuries were not life-threatening, officials said.
The Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) has introduced the Open Schooling Programme (OSP) to mop-up out-of-school children in Nigeria, the Executive Secretary, Dr Hamid Bobboyi, has said.

Mr Bobboyi said this in Kaduna on Thursday at the opening of a two-day meeting with stakeholders, content developers, and centre mangers on expected roles and responsibilities in the implementation of the OSP.

The secretary was represented at the meeting by the Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Tokumbo Onosode.

He described OSP as a "flexible education system that allow learners to learn where they are and when they want, away from conventional schools and teachers."

He explained that the programme had no age restriction and would adopt several teaching methods but with emphasis on Information and Communication Technology as a tool for learning.

Mr Bobboyi said the overall goal is to provide educational opportunities for children and youth whose learning needs are not being met by conventional schools.

"It will also enhance access to quality and functional education for marginalised and disadvantaged groups in the country.

"It will also assist in the attainment of 100 per cent transition rate from primary to junior secondary school.

"The programme will equally provide a second chance for drop-outs and will help in meeting the changing needs of children and youths through the provision of functional vocational education.

"This will significantly complement efforts in the reduction and eradication of the menace of out-of-school as well as gender and social inequalities in education."

He said that the programme would be implemented in six pilot states, namely, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Adamawa and Niger states.

He said that OSP was open to children and youth who have never been to school, those who have dropped out of school and those in school but were not learning.

Mr Bobboyi pointed out that the country was still grappling with the menace of out-of-school children in millions, along with numerous challenges affecting the basic education sector.

He added that the sector was also faced with poor learning environment; inadequate learning materials; and a dearth of qualified, competent and motivated teachers, while many communities did not have schools.

"These, along with the increasing number of out-of-school children roaming the streets, prompted UBEC to adopt the OSP in collaboration with Commonwealth of Learning (COL) and other stakeholders."

He said that the meeting was organised to sensitise the centre managers and content developers about the programme and their expected roles and responsibilities.

Also speaking, the Director of Social Mobilisation, Bello Kagara, said that the success of the programme would largely depend on massive mobilisation of the people to seize the opportunity to acquire basic education.

Mr Kagara said that his department would enlist the support of community and religious leaders, civil society organisations and other relevant stakeholders to create the needed awareness in communities.

While giving an overview of the programme, Deputy Director, Social Mobilisation, Ahmed Abubakar, said that the OSP would be funded by UBEC and COL, adding that a Memorandum of Understanding had been signed.

Mr Abubakar said that based on the MoU, UBEC would identify subjects, learning centres, curriculum writers, organise training, established feedback mechanism and conduct monitoring and evaluation.

He said that COL, on the other hand, would provide monitoring tools, evaluate report template and provide technical support for effective implementation of the programme.

He said that the learning centres were to be provided by host communities which could be in the community's town hall, churches, mosque and event centre or anywhere the community so decided.

He added that so far, five subjects have been selected namely mathematics, English language, basic science and technology, national values and vocational studies and one Nigerian language.

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Also, 48 learning centres have been selected in the six pilot states as well as 51 content developers and 58 centre managers.

Earlier, the Executive Chairman, Kaduna State Universal Basic Education Board, Abdullahi Sani, thanked UBEC for the laudable initiative in enhancing access to basic education in the country.

Mr Sani noted that the programme if well implemented would significantly improve access to education and provide equal opportunity to all Nigerian children.

He said that the meeting would strengthen the capacity of participants to perform their expected roles with due diligence to ensure successful implementation of the OSP.

He assured UBEC of maximum support to ensure the success of the programme in Kaduna state.

(NAN)
President Donald Trump announced the opening of US-Kenya trade talks on Thursday after meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta at the White House.

Trump hosted Kenyatta in the Oval Office, taking a short break from a day otherwise dominated by the aftermath of his acquittal in an impeachment trial.

After the meeting, the US Trade Representative's office said Trump had announced his intention to open up negotiations.

"Kenya is a recognized leader across the continent, an important strategic partner of the United States, and there is enormous potential for us to deepen our economic and commercial ties," US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.

"Under President Trump's leadership, we look forward to negotiating and concluding a comprehensive, high-standard agreement with Kenya that can serve as a model for additional agreements across Africa," he said.

According to US government figures, bilateral trade is about $1 billion annually.
- Governor Wycliffe Wangamati pledged to commit resources towards building a specialised sickle cell and Haemophilia clinic in Bungoma

- The facility will be the second one in Kenya after a similar one was recently unveiled in Taita Taveta

- According to the governor, the health facility will be named after sickle cell champion Griffins Walubokho in his honour

- Until his death, Griffins volunteered in the office of the First Lady, Bungoma county  owning and championing blood donation campaign in the county.

- The sickler died in Machakos while on his way to Voi to open a haemophilia and sickle cell clinic

- In Taita Taveta, a ward has been named after him in honour of his service to people living with the two blood conditions

There are times we mourn the dead simply because they had not fully utilised their potential but there are times we find comfort in knowing they had fulfilled their life's purpose on earth.

One such person whose life was celebrated by hundreds of mourners was sickle cell champion Griffins Walubokho who succumbed to the condition on Wednesday, January 29.

READ ALSO: Kakamega Primary School: AP officer loses daughter in stampede 4 months after burying husband

The champion died at Machakos Level Five Hospital where he was admitted after suffering severe crisis while on his way to Voi.Photo: Wycliffe Wangamati.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Desperate Limuru woman arrested for sneaking into school to visit son she last saw 10 years ago

Until his death, the bubbly 28-year-old volunteered in the office of the First Lady, Bungoma county  owning and championing blood donation campaign in the county.

Among other responsibilities, he served as the deputy chairperson of people living with sickle cell disease in Kenya.

The champion died at Machakos Level Five Hospital where he was admitted after suffering severe crisis while on his way to Voi to open a haemophilia and sickle cell clinic.

READ ALSO: Comedy queen Mercy of Luhya comic series Choffuri dies in road accident

Until his death, Griffins volunteered in the office of the First Lady, Bungoma county  owning and championing blood donation campaign in the county. Photo: Wycliffe Wangamati

Source: Facebook

In a requiem mass that turned into a seminar on the twin bleeding disorders of haemophilia and sickle cell diseases, speaker after speaker from across the county celebrated Griffins.

Being a young man with a dream and purpose in life and one who lived to alleviate the suffering in society, a specialised sickle cell and haemophilia clinic will be named in his honour.

Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati on Wednesday, February 5, pledged to commit resources towards building the facility  the second in Kenya after the one in Taita Taveta.

READ ALSO: Meet Kenyan shy philanthropist who has been feeding 40k people for the past 12 years

Bungoma governor Wycliffe Wangamati on Wednesday, February 5, pledged to commit resources towards building the specialized facility. Photo: Wycliffe Wangamati

Source: Facebook

In honour of Griffins and on behalf of the more than 5,000 people living with bleeding disorders in Bungoma, I make a commitment today," Wangamati said.

"The second clinic for haemophilia and sickle cell disease in the country after Taita Taveta will be in Bungoma, he added.

The governor was speaking at Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC) Bungoma branch where he and other county government staff joined Griffin's family and friends to pay their last respect.

READ ALSO: Meet Richard Akoto, hardworking teacher who taught Microsoft Word without computer

The Kakamega county first lady celebrated Griffins like her own son, a young man that was the face of her office. Photo: Wycliffe Wangamati.

Source: Facebook

The Bungoma county first lady celebrated Griffins like her own son, a young man that was the face of her office and the energy behind her countless programmes.

She urged youths to honour the sickle cell warrior's legacy by taking up responsibilities and challenges Griffins lent himself to.

Griffins has fallen but can we have more youths in the county enrolling for YALI (Young African Leaders Initiative) programmes in readiness for the kind of challenges Griffins gave himself to, said the first lady.

READ ALSO: Wakenya wapokea habari za likizo ya kumuomboleza rais mstaafu Moi kwa nderemo

Bungoma county is not the only one that will honour Griffin's with a specialised facility.

In Taita Taveta, a ward has been named after him in honour of his service to people living with the two blood conditions.

Paying his tribute to Griffins, the chair of the Kenya Haemophilia Association (KHA) made an offer to help set up a clinic for blood disorders in Bungoma in honour of the deceased.

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The Supreme Court has said that it would take up on Monday the two public interest litigations (PIL) seeking directions to the Central government for laying down guidelines relating to restrictions for holding protests leading to obstruction to public places.

A two-judge Bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justice KM Joseph on Friday said that they will take up the matter on February 10.

"We do understand that there is a problem," the apex court said after advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi said that this court should pass appropriate directions to the concerned authorities as far as the protestors in Shaheen Bagh is concerned.

The PIL, filed by Dr Nand Kishore Garg and Amit Sahni through their lawyer Shashank Deo Sudhi earlier this week, also sought appropriate directions to the Centre and others for removal of protesters from Shaheen Bagh near Kalindi Kunj.

Sudhi had, on Monday, mentioned the matter before a three-judge Bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sharad Arvind Bobde, who asked him to approach the registry for urgent listing of the matter.

The petition seeks appropriate direction to the respondents, including the Union of India (UOI) for laying down detailed, comprehensive and exhaustive guidelines relating to outright restrictions for holding protest/agitation leading to obstruction of the public place.

It said that people in Shaheen Bagh are illegally protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) 2019, by blocking the common and public road connecting Delhi to Noida.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

Vote

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Although Im a pessimist by nature, deep down I think I always believed that the Republic would survive Donald Trump.

The majority of Americans have never accepted him, and his ascendancy fueled a nationwide civic awakening, starting with the Womens March and proceeding through airport protests, health care town halls and finally the midterms. Its been devastating to see how quickly so many American institutions have been corrupted  the Department of Justice turned into an engine of Trumps paranoid vendettas, the State Department purged of nonpartisan professionals, evidence of Trumps Ukraine extortion scheme buried by his Senate lackeys. Its outrageous that the countrys being forced to endure four full years of lawless kakistocracy, but surely, I thought, the majority would put an end to it in the next election.

But now that election is approaching, and the debacle of the Iowa caucuses only highlights how the Democratic Party is threatening to fracture. In its aftermath, were left with a national race led by two very old and extraordinarily risky general election candidates whose weaknesses were underscored by Iowas results, muddled as they were.

Bernie Sanderss supporters have argued that he can expand the electorate to make up for the suburban moderates hes likely to lose, moderates who were, incidentally, responsible for many of the gains Democrats made in 2018. But while Sanders claimed a popular vote victory in Iowa, there was no surge in voter turnout since the last election, and an NBC News entrance poll showed that the number of first-time caucusers actually went down.
A 18-year-old youth, associated with banned Maoists, on Friday surrendered before the police here.

Podium Santhosh alias Vikram joined the outfit in 2018 as a militia member under the influence of Sodi Jogaiah- militia commander of Cherla area, a press release said.

Santosh wanted to live a peaceful life with his family, and hence gave up before surrendering, the police said.

The Bhadradri Kothagudem police, in an appeal to the underground Maoists, requested the ultras to give up their activities and approach police either directly or through their relatives or known persons.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Trains on the Cat Linh-Ha Dong urban railway (Photo: VNA)

The 250 million USD loan is due for repayment despite the fact the project has not been completed.

The outstanding repayment for this year alone is 152.7 billion VND (6.75 million USD).

Under the financial mechanism approved by the Government, the Ministry of Transport was required to allocate reciprocal capital to pay back the loan and expenses while the project was under construction.

Accordingly, the ministry had set aside 400 billion VND (17.2 million USD) from the projects total investment for the debt repayment. Vietnam has already repaid over 398 billion VND (17.1 million USD) of that figure over the last nine years, leaving only 1.95 billion VND (82,819 USD).

The 6.75 million USD is due to be paid in two instalments on January 21 and July 21.

The project's management board has proposed a payment postponement until the project is completed and handed over.

The board has also suggested the Government restructure the projects total investment to remove difficulties for borrowers under the loan agreement.

However, the Ministry of Transport said that a postponement would create procedural difficulties.

It would also badly affect the nation's credibility and have negative consequences on the economy, according to the ministry.

On January 21, the Ministry of Transport submitted a plan to use the State budget to cover this year's payment.

The plan is awaiting approval from the Ministry of Finance and the State Treasury.

The Cat Linh-Ha Dong project started in 2008 and has missed its completion deadline several times.

At present, more than 100 Chinese experts and workers of the project who returned home for the traditional Lunar New Year holiday have yet to come back to Vietnam as China had restricted citizens from going abroad due to the coronavirus epidemic.

In a meeting late last month, Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong asked relevant agencies to take measures to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, the projects contractors are suggested to resume work after February 8.
Spirit Airlines Shifts Growth Strategy From Adding New U.S. Cities

Spirit Airlines was on the move last year, adding seven new cities, including Austin, Indianapolis, Nashville, Raleigh-Durham, Charlotte, and Sacramento, part of a push to diversify where the airline flies. But adding so many new markets is rarely good for business  it takes a while to win new customers  so Spirit will pull back on new cities this year in an attempt to boost profits, executives said Thursday.

Spirit in 2020 will expand mostly through what the industry calls connecting the dots, or adding routes between existing markets. Itll also add frequencies on strongly performing city pairs, mainly to large underserved leisure markets, like Florida, CEO Ted Christie said Thursday on the airlines fourth-quarter earnings call. Both approaches generally produce higher short-term margins than entering completely new airports.

As we move through this year, were going to have less new cities, Chief Commercial Officer Matt Klein said. Were also in the midst of making sure that our growth this year is more focused on where were strong.

Its a sign, executives said, the network is moving toward maturity, with Spirits route map staying relatively steady from year to year. Thats long been the case at American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Air Lines  the major carriers dont change their domestic route maps much from year to year  but less so at Spirit, a younger and faster-growing airline.

The maturing of the network is a big deal, Klein said. Weve made a lot of changes to set ourselves up for the future last year.

All of Spirits new markets may have been a slight drag on fourth-quarter earnings, with the airline reporting net income of $81.2 million, down about $10 million, year-over-year. The companys operating margin fell from 15.8 percent to 12.9 percent.

Story continues

Abnormal Year

Spirits push into new cities last year was partly driven by opportunity, with a few airports finally finding space for the carrier. Many U.S. airports are gate-constrained, and it can be challenging for an upstart like Spirit to find room.

So when Charlotte, an American Airlines hub, opened nine new gates in 2018, Spirit decided it wanted in.

If we didnt make the move then, then we likely would have been locked out for a little while in some of those airports, Klein said. When we see opportunities to add new cities that we think are strategic to our network and will add to profitability, then we will do that.

Spirit this year will continue to grow the airline, planning a 1719 percent capacity increase for the year. But nearly two-thirds of it will come on new frequencies in existing markets, with only about 15 percent coming in completely new cities.

That means the airline will have far fewer routes this year under development. They said they consider about 5 percent of their seats for sale to be in immature markets in the first quarter, versus 8 percent a year ago. In the second quarter, the percentage will decrease from about 11 percent to 6 percent, year-over-year, they said.

Thats what gives us a lot of confidence about what were talking about from a unit revenue perspective throughout the year, Klein said.

Routes will come and go in 2020  they always do at every airline  but Klein said hes confident the airlines hit rate is in the right place. Over roughly the past year, he said, Spirit has canceled 15 routes while adding 68.

Thats a pretty good add-to-remove ratio for us, he said.

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The Context

In Israel, a two-state solution  long viewed as the only workable end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  appears more distant than ever after President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu embraced a plan that appeared to tilt the outcome in Israels favor. Mr. Trumps decision in 2018 to move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was deeply polarizing. So is the B.D.S. (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, which has grown increasingly prominent and which the House condemned in a bipartisan resolution last year.

Should the United States maintain its current level of military aid to Israel? If not, how should the level of aid change?

Do you support the B.D.S. movement? If not, should the president and/or Congress act to hinder it?

Should the United States Embassy in Israel be moved from Jerusalem back to Tel Aviv?

Should all Palestinian refugees and their descendants have the right to return to Israel?

Do you support the establishment of a Palestinian state that includes West Bank land as demarcated by pre-1967 borders, except for longtime Israeli settlements?

If you answered yes to the last question, what will you do to achieve that where past administrations have failed? If you answered no, what solution do you envision to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Gokada, a bike-hailing company with operations based in Lagos, is redirecting its focus to logistics. This is coming after the Lag...





Gokada, a bike-hailing company with operations based in Lagos, is redirecting its focus to logistics.





This is coming after the Lagos state government under the leadership of Babajide Sanwo-Olu banned the use of motorcycles and tricycles in 16 local governments and local council development areas.





Tweeting in response to a report about the company laying off most of its workforce, Fahim Saleh, Gokada CEO, said: We still have money in the bank and are pivoting towards deliveries while this transport ban gets sorted.





According to Saleh, the company was due to make a profit in January when the ban was announced.





Gbenga Omotoso, the Lagos state commissioner for information and strategy, said the ban was decided after a review of casualties.





After a robust assessment of the debate on what has been widely referred to as the motorcycle (okada) and tricycle (Keke Marwa) menace, the Lagos state government and the state security council have decided that the security and safety of lives of Lagosians are paramount, he said.





The figures are scary. From 2016 to 2019, there were over 10,000 accidents recorded at the General Hospitals alone. This number excludes unreported cases and those recorded by other hospitals. The total number of deaths from reported cases is over 600 as at date.





In May 2019, Gokada announced that it secured $5.3 million investment through a fundraising process.





At the time, it said it would deploy the investment to expanding its driver fleet, increasing daily rides by 10 fold and acquiring local talent.





Since its launch in 2018, Gokada said it has acquired approximately 1,000 motorcycles and completed one million rides.
Cody Johnson got the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo off to a rousing start on Thursday night.

The country crooner was the first of many stars who will grace the AT&T Center grounds over the next two weeks.

Johnson, known for hits like "On My Way To You" and "Me and My Kind," signed with Warner Music Nashville after becoming the only unsigned artist to ever sell out NRG Stadium at RodeoHouston.

READ MORE: More mutton busting and music: 7 new attractions at the 2020 rodeo

Before the East Texas native took the stage, San Antonio rodeo fans were treated to bull riding and cattle roping.

Johnson shared a video of young cowboy practicing his skills and dance moves on Thursday.

Sammy Hagar & The Circle will look to match Johnson's performance on Friday night, ahead of acts like Becky G and Keith Urban next week.

Single-day tickets and season passes are available.

Click through the gallery above to see the scene Thursday night at the San Antonio rodeo.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:30:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Having recognized the huge potential of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in attracting investment, the African business community is driving a trillion-dollar investment initiative, an senior African Union (AU) official said.

AU heads of state will be meeting on Sunday for their 33rd summit at the headquarters of the 55-member pan-African bloc in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, under the theme of the year, "Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development."

The private sector-driven initiative will be tabled for consideration at the summit, said AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry Muchanga Albert late Thursday.

He told a press briefing that the African private sector led by the Afro-Champions has invited the AU to launch a landmark private sector investment framework for the financing of AfCFTA.

"It is intended to create the first phase of an investment framework within which the private sector can take advantage of the AfCFTA to not only trade, but also invest in infrastructure, set up industries, add value to goods and services, increase intra-Africa trade and eventually transform the continent into space of broad-based development as well as durable peace and stability," Albert said.

The first phase of the framework, to be implemented 2020 and 2030, aims to stimulate one trillion U.S. dollars or more AfCFTA investment by the 2030, or 100 billion dollars annually, he said.

Muchanga said there are efforts to mobilize African and global financing partners who control up to 10 trillion dollars in combined assets under management.

"Once these funds are mobilized, deployed and start yielding dividends, some of these dividends will be prosperity and commitment to durable peace and stability," he said.

"The AU Commission is confident that with this initiative, the private sector will drive implementation of the AfCFTA agreement by investing in and financing mega projects that will transform, for better, the continent and lives of our citizens," Muchanga said.

Fifty-four of the 55 AU members have signed the agreement establishing the AfCFTA, and 28 countries have ratified and deposited the instruments of ratifications with the AU.

Muchanga said more members are expected to deposit instruments of ratifications during the summit.
The coronavirus epidemic in China has forced British luxury brand Burberry (BRBY.L) to shut shops in the region.

Burberry said on Friday it had closed 24 of its 64 mainland China stores in the wake of the outbreak of novel coronavirus that has claimed over 600 lives.

Burberry chief executive Marco Gobbetti warned the epidemic was having a material negative effect on luxury demand.

While we cannot currently predict how long this situation will last, we remain confident in our strategy, Gobbetti said in a statement.

In the meantime, we are taking mitigating actions and every precaution to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees.

We are extremely grateful for the incredible effort of our teams and our immediate thoughts are with the people directly impacted by this global health emergency.

British fashion brand Burberry store in Hong Kong airport. Photo: Geovien So/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Read more: Hong Kong protests hit Burberry

Burberry shares were down 0.9% in London by 9.15am UK time.

China and Hong Kong are huge markets for luxury goods and UBS estimated Burberry gets around 9% of its sales globally from Hong Kong alone. Shares in the luxury retailer have fallen over 13% since late January on fears about coronaviruss impact on sales.

Shopping has been disrupted by the outbreak of novel coronavirus, which has prompted officials to place millions of people in lockdown across mainland China and introduce travel restrictions.

Burberry joins a growing list of businesses that have seen operations disrupted by the epidemic. Apple (AAPL), Starbucks (SBUX), and McDonalds (MCD) have all been forced to close stores in China, while the likes of Airbus and Toyota have been forced to shut down factories in the region.

Authorities in China said on Friday that the death toll from coronavirus has now risen to 636 and there are 31,161 confirmed cases across mainland China.

We fully support the efforts the Chinese government is taking to contain the virus and we are working in close conjunction with local authorities and partners, Burberry said in a statement Friday.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Health Organization declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency, causing cancelled flights, rerouted cruises and additional traveler screenings worldwide. As the situation escalates, travelers may now be experiencing a widespread impact on international travel.

Travel insurance comparison site, Squaremouth, breaks down travel insurance coverage and availability for future travelers.

Coverage May Be Available for Insured Travelers Impacted By Cancelled Flights

Many airlines have suspended all flights to mainland China, with some flights cancelled through the end of April. Most travel insurance policies do not provide coverage for flights cancelled due to an outbreak, however many do provide coverage for related travel delays.

Trips Interrupted By Cruise Line Screenings May Be Covered

Some cruise lines are refusing access to travelers who appear ill, or who have recently visited China, regardless of the ship's location. An insured traveler who is denied boarding because of a symptom, such as a fever, may be covered to cancel their trip if they have documentation from a doctor.

Future Travelers May Have Options for Coverage

Travelers planning trips to China may still be able to purchase medical coverage if they are concerned about contracting the virus while traveling. The availability of medical coverage on new policies varies by provider, as some are now considering contracting the virus as an expected event, and therefore excluding it from coverage.

Future travelers looking for coverage to cancel a trip due to the virus may still have an option with the Cancel for Any Reason upgrade. This benefit must be purchased within 21 days of the first trip booking and will only reimburse up to 75% of the trip cost, however it covers travelers cancel their trips for any reason, including for any concerns about traveling due to uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus.

Squaremouth recently launched the China - Coronavirus Outbreak Travel Insurance Information Center to explain coverage for the virus outbreak. This page is updated regularly by Squaremouth's travel insurance experts, and includes answers to frequently asked questions and official statements from providers.

ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH

SQUAREMOUTH compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare travel insurance policies side-by-side . More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com .

Available Topic Expert:

Kasara Barto

[email protected]

SOURCE Squaremouth

Related Links

http://www.squaremouth.com


Telethon Kids Institute research has found almost all of the children at Banksia Hill, who come from across WA, have severe cognitive impairment. More than a third have FASD.

All the coroners foremost recommendations were about controlling the damage FASD has wreaked in vulnerable young people.

On February 7 the states Coroner Ros Fogliani released her report into the deaths by suicide of 13 Aboriginal children and young people aged 10-23 in the Kimberley from 2013-16.

Tackling Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder in children imprisoned at Banksia Hill Detention Centre demands immediate government action, Greens MP Alison Xamon has urged in parliament.

Most of these impairments had previously gone undiagnosed at every stage of the childrens journeys through the education, justice and child protection systems.

In 2017, 183 regional WA children were sent to Banksia Hill to await court appearances and were never sentenced.

The Coroner has recommended universal screening for FASD during infant health assessments and upon a child entering into the child protection system or justice system for the first time; and that all children at risk of brain damage due to pre-natal trauma or alcohol exposure be assessed for impairments at one year, and in the year before school starts.

Children identified as cognitively impaired should then receive appropriate treatment and support services.

The reccommendations also included that severe FASD be separately recognised as a disability within the National Disability Insurance Scheme, that the government consider covering FASD treatments under Medicare and that GPs in burdened areas get support to improve diagnosis and services.
By IANS

HYDERABAD: A Telangana man created flutter in Siddipet district when he opened fire on his neighbour using an automatic rifle, AK-47, over boundary dispute.

Police have launched a hunt for Sadanandam, who fled the scene late on Thursday after opening two rounds of fire on Ganga Raju around midnight.

Ganga Raju escaped unhurt in the incident, which took place in Akkannapet 'mandal' (block) headquarters.

Sadanandam from Akkannapeta of Siddipet district #Telangana opened fire on his neighbor, over a compound wall dispute. The neighbor escaped unhurt @cpsiddipet @TelanganaCOPs #Hyderabad pic.twitter.com/8uzQ4JoLXH  TNIE Telangana (@XpressHyderabad) February 7, 2020

Police recovered two bullets from the scene and launched an investigation into the incident. They were trying to find out how Sadanandam acquired the assault rifle.

Police officials conducted searches at his house and made some recoveries. They also questioned his family members.

Ganga Raju said there was a dispute between them over a boundary wall and during an altercation Sadanandam opened fire on him.
An Australian man has been caught up in a stabbing attack in the Maldives.

Three people were allegedly stabbed in whats believed to be a knife attack on the island of Hulhumale on Tuesday between 7 and 9pm (local time), Maldives Police said in a statement.

Police said those allegedly behind the attack are suspected extremists.

An Australian man and two other men, believed to be Chinese nationals, were identified as victims of the heinous attack. The Australian and one of the other men work in the city while the third is a tourist.

An Australian man has been stabbed in the Maldives. Source: Getty Images (file pic)

He and the other two victims are in a stable condition.

A Maldivian radical group affiliated with Islamic State had taken responsibility for the attack in a video posted online, local media reported on Wednesday.

Chinese and Australian embassy officials were not immediately available to comment.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said it is seeking to contact an Australian man hospitalised in the Maldives.

More attacks coming

One of the three masked men seen in the video accused the Maldivian government of being run by infidels and warned more such attacks were coming.

Police said they were working to confirm the veracity of the video.

With Reuters

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.
More than 125 people showed up Wednesday night for a feral hog educational seminar in The Woodlands where a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension expert discussed the invasive swine and explained why the hogs are so problematic in Texas.

Wednesdays session, sponsored by The Woodlands Township, was the first of two educational sessions scheduled for February for the public. The issue of feral hogs and the problems the swine create has reached new levels of concern in recent months after the death of a Chambers County woman in late 2019 was attributed to a feral hog attack and the creatures have invaded numerous parts of not only The Woodlands, but suburbs around the Greater Houston Region.

PLAGUE OF PIGS: Scared residents in Woodlands plead for help with feral hog invasion

Dr. John Tomecek, described by officials as a leading expert in feral hog biology and control, touched on dozens of issues, topics and facts about invasive swine, from how they got to Texas in the first place to why the creatures are so problematic. From destroying native habitat and spreading invasive plant seeds to eating the food of native animal species and carrying diseases, the hogs are a major problem for residents across the state, Tomecek said.

This is an issuewere having some problems here. How do you handle this, what can you do, Tomecek began, explaining how the hogs across the state are a mix of domestic breeds introduced to the region in the 1500s by Spanish explorers who loved their jamon (Spanish for ham) to wild boar species brought to Texas in the 1930s by eager hunters seeking good game animals.

HOGS ON THE MOVE: Pasadena on mission to remove feral hogs

Were dealing with an animal we brought here that has done very well, he said, explaining how one mother sow can reproduce as many as three times a year, resulting in several dozen piglets. There is no other mammal this large on the planet with this type of reproductive rate. (They) Are an opportunistic omnivore. We also have this problem with constant reproduction. These are also intelligent animals.

Feral Hog Educational Seminar On Thursday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. a second feral hog education seminar will be hosted at the offices of H.A.R.C., 8801 Gosling Road, The Woodlands. Admission is free, however seating is limited and pre-registration with H.A.R.C. is required to attend. Call 281-364-6000 for more information and to register. Chris Watts from the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension is the scheduled speaker. See More Collapse

Tomecek likened feral hogs to racoons, noting that the creatures will eat basically anything they can find from roots and tubers to small insects and food from bird feeders.

We need to get rid of cheap and easy meals, the hogs feast on, he recommended.

ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: In The Woodlands, a senior community fights back against feral hogs

Feral hogs generally fall into two categories, Tomecek explained  males, or boars, and sounders, which is a term used to described a pack of female hogs that includes mothers (sows) as well as other related hogs such as grandparents, siblings and packs of piglets. Officials in Texas are more concerned with controlling the population of female feral hogs than male boars, he added, because female reproduce and males tend to have shorter lifespans because they are engaging in battles with other males and often wander alone.

The publicized population of feral hogs in Texas is widely stated as being between three and five million, he said, but the reality is there is no way for wildlife officials or scientists to really know how many are living in the state and he believes the population is likely as many as 10 million. Feral hog populations have been recorded in every county in the state of Texas except one  El Paso County  and their spread began along the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico where conditions are better for their existence but now has blossomed all over, including to other states.

MORE HOGS: Woodlands OKs hiring feral hog consultant as problem continues

(Three to five million) That is a conservative estimate, Tomecek said. It could be as high as 10 million. There are basically no natural predators in Texas large enough to impact feral hogs.

Tomecek said feral hogs can live to be eight years old and there is a 60 percent survival rate for piglets born in South Texas while in more northern areas, the survival rate is more than 86 percent. The survival rate is highest for females, with boars and juveniles more likely to die or be killed at a younger age. Due to their ability to rapidly reproduce  a sow can begin having piglets at age of six to eight months and have three litters per year  the spread of the feral hogs has been almost impossible for state officials to control.

This is one of the more intelligent animals living in the (natural) environment. If they learn something, they can teach each other. If a sow experiences something dangerous as a piglet, shell teach others to stay away from it (when she is older), he explained. I get asked, when is this going to slow down? The scary thing is, we have not seen (feral hog population growth) slow down.

Dangers of feral hogs explained

After a lengthy discussion on the biology, mating habits and life spans of feral hogs, Tomecek turned his attention to the dangers the animals present to the environment and humans and he also discussed ways to squelch the population in the suburban environment of The Woodlands.

NEED TO KNOW: Sunday Q & A: Feral hog trapping expert Alan Biggerstaff

The feral hogs are problematic for a variety of reasons, and the control of the feral hog population is one true bi-partisan issue that elected officials of all party affiliation can get behind and support jointly, Tomecek said.

One danger of feral hogs that many do not consider, he explained, is the effect of hog waste on surface water supplies. Tomecek said the e. coli bacteria can be transmitted from feral hogs into water supplies which creates a danger for water filtration, purification and sanitation treatment plants as e. coli is especially difficult to remove from water. Feral hogs also will eat anything, including the food sources used by native animals  robbing those creatures of their natural food sources and possibly leading to population declines. Feral hogs can also eat other animals, notable ground-nesting birds and smaller rodents.

The feral hogs also spread invasive plant species, which is a growing problem in Texas. Tomecek said the hogs are reliant on water and muddy muck to maintain a lower body temperature in the Texas heat as the animals do not have a very good perspiration system. The constant wallowing in the mud and rooting of soil by feral hogs often leads to the seeds of invasive plants getting mixed with mud and then caked onto the swine. The hogs, which can travel in a 4,000 acre range, then carry that wet mud with invasive plant seeds embedded inside to other areas where it falls off and then eventually the invasive plant seed germinates and begins to grow.

As for the danger to humans, feral hogs are mainly a worry, Tomecek said, because they can spread nearly a dozen infectious, communicable diseases to humans. He said this becomes a problem because of hog poop, which can get onto shoes and be tracked inside a home or get on a person who may unknowingly roll in the hog manure in a yard. He also claimed that officials at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension had recently received reports of elementary school children in the region actually eating hog poop they had found on playgrounds or school property, but he said those claims were still being investigated.

As for combating the feral hog invasion, that is easier said than done, Tomecek explained. The main methods to control feral hogs in Texas, he said, were trapping  by far the most effective  as well as snaring, which is not recommended in suburban areas, to shooting, chasing with trained dogs and even aerial harvesting, also known as shooting hogs from a helicopter. Tomecek said shooting firearms inside an incorporated city or suburban area like The Woodlands is normally illegal, and the use of trained dogs is mainly done on large tracts of rural lands and in reality, only relocates the feral hogs to new territory.

After showing numerous slides on how to make an effective hog trap with a variety of materials ranging from $20 in supplies from a hardware store to elaborate tear-drop shaped traps that cost upwards of thousands of dollars, Tomecek took questions from the crowd.

We have an enemy, he said of the feral hogs. This is a problem for all of us. We have an intelligent enemy.

jeff.forward@chron.com
Shamima Begum has today lost the first stage in her appeal against the Government's decision to revoke her British citizenship.

Begum  one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria to join ISIS - lost her UK passport after she was found, nine months pregnant, in a Syrian refugee camp in February last year.

Now 20, the Londoner left the UK in February 2015 and lived under ISIS rule for more than three years where she married a Dutch jihadi.

Their three children all died - the final baby perished in the camp where she was found after the caliphate fell - and she claims losing her British citizenship left her at risk of torture and 'real risk of death'.

But today a tribunal, led by Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) president Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, delivered its ruling and found that the deprivation decision made by the Home Secretary Sajid Javid did not render her stateless.

The UK government successfully argued that under Bangladeshi law, Ms Begum, whose parents are from the country, is a citizen of Bangladesh by descent so cannot be made stateless by losing her British citizenship.

Ms Begum's lawyer, Daniel Furner, said his client would 'immediately initiate an appeal' against the decision 'as a matter of exceptional urgency'.

Jihadi bride Shamima Begum, 20, is desperate to return to Britain five years after she voluntarily left to join ISIS in Syria - her British citizenship was revoked when she was found in a refugee camp after the caliphate fell last year - she lost the first stage of her appeal today

Judge Doron Blum, announcing the decision of the tribunal, said that the move did not breach the Home Office's 'extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Ms Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment'.

He said: 'We have reached three conclusions on the preliminary issues.

'One - we conclude that the decision did not make her stateless.

'Two - we conclude that the decision did not breach the Secretary of State policy when he made decision one.

'The third is whether Ms Begum can have a fair and effective appeal. We accept that Ms Begum cannot have an effective appeal in her current circumstances but it does not follow that her appeal succeeds'.

Former home secretary Sajid Javid stripped her of her British citizenship later that month, a decision Ms Begum's lawyers argue was unlawful as it rendered her stateless.

Such a decision is lawful only if an individual is entitled to citizenship of another country.

Last year, Ms Begum took legal action against the Home Office at the High Court and the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC), a specialist tribunal which hears challenges to decisions to remove someone's British citizenship on national security grounds.

Appeal: Begum challenged the decision made by then Home Secretary Sajid Javid saying she now feared for her life. Her third child Jarrah, pictured in her arms, died at three weeks old

At a hearing in October, Ms Begum's barrister Tom Hickman QC said the situation in the al-Roj camp in which Ms Begum was then being held was 'incredibly fragile and dangerous', and described conditions at the camp, where Ms Begum's third child died last March, as 'wretched and squalid'.

Mr Hickman argued that Ms Begum  who is of British-Bangladeshi heritage  'is not considered a national of Bangladesh and was therefore rendered stateless by the deprivation decision'.

He also submitted that conditions in al-Roj  and in the al-Hawl camp from which Ms Begum was moved for her own safety in February  breached Ms Begum's human rights.

Mr Hickman added that the decision 'had the effect  and was designed  to prevent' Ms Begum from returning to the UK, leaving her 'abandoned' in a detention camp.

This, he added, meant Ms Begum 'cannot have a fair and effective appeal' as she is unable to speak confidentially with her lawyers or to give evidence in support of her appeal.

Jonathan Glasson QC, for the Home Office, argued that Ms Begum 'was a Bangladeshi citizen by descent, in accordance with Bangladeshi law, and so was not rendered stateless by the deprivation decision'.

He also submitted that Ms Begum 'has not been placed at risk of ill-treatment' as a result of the decision to revoke her British citizenship.

'Any risk that the appellant does face arose, and continues to persist, as the result of the appellant having travelled to Syria and aligned with (IS) and is wholly unrelated to the deprivation decision,' he added.

Ms Begum, then aged 15, was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS, shortly after Sharmeena Begum  who is no relation  travelled to Syria in December 2014.

Jihadi bride Shamima: What happens next? The Special Immigration Appeals Commission, a semi-secret court which hears national security case, has ruled that Ms Begum has not been rendered stateless by the UK because she can ask Bangladesh for citizenship. The tribunal also ruled it was fair to hear her case while she is still in Syrian camp. They will now turn to consider whether ministes had legitimate national security grounds to bar Ms Begum from coming back to the UK. Her lawyer has already said she will appeal today's ruling and her case could go to the Court of Appeal and even the Supreme Court. Advertisement

Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, then 16 and 15 respectively, and Ms Begum boarded a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, on February 17 2015, before making their way to Raqqa in Syria.

Ms Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory, with all three of her schoolfriends also reportedly marrying foreign IS fighters.

She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had both since died. Her third child died shortly after he was born.

At a three-day hearing at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) in November, Begum's lawyers argued that, as the Bangladeshi government has refused to accept her right to citizenship, she has been left stateless.

Her lawyers also relied on an earlier ruling by SIAC on two men of Bangladeshi origin, who were also stripped of their British citizenship on national security grounds.

The two men were identified in court documents only as E3 and N3. In 2017, the Home Office stripped E3, aged 38, of his citizenship on suspicion that he was an Islamic extremist who had travelled abroad for terrorist activity.

At the time his citizenship was deprived he was visiting Bangladesh, where he remains.

N3 is a 35-year-old man who was born in Bangladesh to British parents and later moved to the UK.

His British citizenship was taken away as the Home Office suspected he had gone to Syria and joined jihadi groups aligned with Al Qaeda. N3 is now in Turkey.

Both men took their cases to the SIAC in a joint hearing, and successfully defeated the Home Office.

Her lawyer Mr Furnan said: 'The stark reality of her situation was brought before the court last year as a matter of exceptional urgency - how could she in any meaningful and fair way challenge the decision to deprive her of her nationality, a young woman in grave danger who had by then lost her three children?

'As matters stand, Ms Begum's right to pursue an appeal against the Home Secretary's deprivation of her citizenship has been in effect rendered meaningless.'

A Home Office spokeswoman said: 'The Government welcomes the judgment of the Special Immigration Appeals Commission on these preliminary issues.

'It would be inappropriate to comment further whilst legal proceedings are ongoing.'

Human rights group Liberty slammed the ruling. The group's advocacy director Clare Collier said: 'Shamima Begum should not be banished - banishing people belongs in the dark ages, not 21st century Britain.

'This case is just one example of how quickly Ministers use citizenship stripping when they could use other powers.

'It's clear why they use these archaic banishments and that is to score political points and look tough on terrorism. It has nothing to do with making the public safe.

'In fact, this leaves us less safe as services are unable to conduct proper investigations that could help prevent young people, like Shamima, from entering terrorist circles in the future.'
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union address has always captured the Korean media's attention due to its usual reference to North Korea. But the North was missing Feb. 4, while President Trump mentioned other diplomatic issues such as Iran and Venezuela.



The absence has led to questions about what it could possibly mean for the Korean Peninsula.



"In front of the very Congress that has been consumed with the impeachment debate, Trump claimed U.S. economic and military strength are unmatched in the world," Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha Woman's University, said. "He said his policies have allies contributing more and have put America's enemies on the run. But Trump made no mention of North Korea. This will leave observers in Asia asking about the future of U.S. policy on denuclearization."



Absence of outomes



There is diverse speculation on why Trump left out North Korea. Some experts say it has to do with the absence of tangible outcomes on its denuclearization despite his two summits with Kim.



"There was no way that he could claim the kind of successes that he once believed he had on North Korea and is confident he's had with Iran, Iraq, ISIS, Israel and Palestine," Donald Kirk, an analyst and author on Korean Peninsula issues, said.






A few members of the BJP and the Congress almost came to blows in the Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan roundly condemned Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' remark at Prime Minister Modi and called it "outlandish", sparking demands for apology from each side to the other.

The ruckus broke out during the fag end of the Question Hour after Vardhan said he would like to make a statement on Gandhi's recent comment on the prime minister before giving an answer to a starred question by the Congress leader related to establishment of medical colleges.

During a poll campaign rally in Delhi on Wednesday, Gandhi warned Modi that in the next six months, the youth will hit him with sticks if he doesn't address the issue of unemployment in the country.

"Sir, please excuse me. Before I begin answering this question of dear Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. I want to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish language that he has used against the prime minister of the country," he said reading out from a prepared note, even as Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the statement, Congress MPs came to the Well loudly protesting against the minister's move.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manickam Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister. Singh is incidentally the President of the Wrestling Federation of India.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden also tried to intervene.

Several MPs from both sides and union ministers, including Smriti Irani, prevented them from coming to blows.

"Guys, what are you doing. What is going on," Irani was heard saying.

Unnerved by the commotion, Vardhan continued reading his statement.

"In a recent speech, he (Gandhi) used words like 6 mahina baad, iss desh ka yuva, Narendra Modi ko dande maar maar ke desh se bahar karenge. (After six months, youth of the country would beat Modi with sticks and throw him out)," Vardhan said.

The minister said Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi was a prime minister and even he was not targeted like this.

"I don't think in the worst of cases our party leaders have made such outlandish personal remarks against him threatening to beat him with dandas (sticks) and throwing him out of the country."



"The entire House present here must in unequivocal terms condemn his remarks against our prime minister. We demand...," he said.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 1 pm.

Gandhi later alleged that the ruckus in the Lok Sabha was "orchestrated" to prevent him from questioning the government.

As soon as the House reassembled at 1 pm, Kirit Solanki, who was in the Chair, adjourned proceedings till 2 pm.

When the House resumed, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi condemned Tagore's attempt to attack Vardhan.

"It is highly uncalled for. If anything is wrongly spoken then it is up to the Speaker to take a call but trying to attack the minister is condemnable," Joshi said.

As Congress members too were on there feet, A Raja, who was in the Chair, adjourned the proceedings for the day.

Vardhan later said Gandhi should apologise to the country for his "derogatory" remarks against the prime minister.

"During the Question Hour (in Parliament), before answering Rahul ji's question, it was necessary for me to urge him to apologise for his remarks against the prime minister," Vardhan said in a tweet in Hindi.

Vardhan later alleged that Congress MPs came to his seat in the Lok Sabha, tried to attack him and snatch papers.

Minister Joshi alleged that at the instance of Rahul Gandhi, Tagore attempted to manhandle Vardhan. He demanded that Tagore apologise failing which he should be suspended from the House.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, too demanded that Vardhan apologise for his "unparliamentary behaviour".

Gandhi said that "we are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament". "They have suppressed our voices."



"The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the government. The youth of India can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis," he told reporters.

"To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate," the Congress leader said on Twitter



Gandhi said he was seeking to raise an issue of the people of his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad in Kerala not getting access to medical facilities in the absence of a medical college.

"But I was prevented from doing so," he said.

"The BJP obviously does not like me to speak in the House. In a completely unparliamentary manner, the Union health minister raised something that I said outside, which he has no business of doing during the Question Hour. So, we were raising it with the Speaker," the former Congress chief said.

Gandhi denied that Tagore attacked anyone and alleged he was instead attacked.

Speaker Birla held separate meetings with Congress leaders and Union minister Pralhad Joshi.

Gandhi and Chowdhury handed over a complaint against Vardhan for action against him.

The Congress, however, said any of their MPs would be ready to express regret if found violating Parliamentary norms in the Lok Sabha during the acrimony.

"I have proposed that the concerned minister should apologise for his unparliamentary behaviour and have said that our member in the well went there due to the emotional outburst triggered after the minister's remarks. If found to be wrong, we will also express regret," Chowdhury told reporters..

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Los Angeles, Feb 7 : Hollywood star Harrison Ford, popular for featuring in the "Star Wars" and "Indiana Jones" franchises, has called out US president Donald Trump's administration for its policies.

While promoting his latest film "Call of the Wild" in Mexico City, the leading man of the "Indiana Jones" film franchise bemoaned the state of the United States leadership on issues related to immigration and climate change, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the 77-year-old said: "We're facing some real pressing issues in America and we're working hard to sort them out. We need to invite people into the country. Not keep them out. This is the history of America, it depends on immigration." He went on to stress that the US needs "a complete reform" of its immigration policies.

Taking a jab at the current government under Trump, Ford said: "Our position in the world is tenuous because of our lack of moral leadership, basically. We lost some of our credibility in the world and we are anxious to regain it." On the subject of climate change, he expressed his concern that science is "being denigrated".

He elaborated his statement saying: "Science is being ridiculed by people in ideological campgrounds. They are refusing the wisdom, the discipline of science in favour of a political point of view and that has to stop. I consider the threat of the natural world is the single biggest threat to humanity." During the chat, Ford also expressed his admiration for 17-year-old environmental activist Greta Thunberg.

"I applaud Greta's part in the leadership of young people. I admire her role representing young people, her courage. Also, I admire her capacity to express herself. Young people it seems to me throughout the world are taking up the role of leadership that they must do, it's the natural way of the world," the Academy Awards-nominated actor said.
I think thats quite offensive, given that theres so many businesses along Park Road, said Nicole Newman, who grew up blocks away and works nearby, as she left the Target store in Columbia Heights on Friday. When they developed Columbia Heights, it was with the promise that they would make investments in smaller businesses, and make investments in the Latino community here.
Once you start to lose your hearing, you can't get it back. But what if you could prevent hearing loss by blocking in advance the effects of loud noises?

That's a route a team of biologists at the University of Iowa and Washington University, St. Louis, say may be possible after the researchers identified a receptor that, when blocked, can prevent a common type of hearing loss.

Receptors are part of a suite of molecules on nerve cells in the ear that bridge the passage of sound and auditory information from inner-ear hair cells -- the sound sensors -- to the brain. The successful transmission of sound from hair cells to nerve cells, which occurs through a junction called a synapse, is integral to hearing in animals, including humans.

The researchers identified that some receptors involved in the hair-cell-to-nerve-cell transmission lack a protein called GluA2, and it is these receptors that are responsible for synaptopathy, or hearing loss caused by irreparable damage to the synapses.

The biologists employed a drug in mice that selectively blocked the GluA2-lacking receptors, and prevented the mice from experiencing synaptopathy when exposed to noise.

The approach was like outfitting the mice with chemical earmuffs that prevented them from sustaining hearing damage by blocking the breakdown that occurs in some synapses between inner ear hair cells and nerve cells when loud noises occur.

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"It wasn't just putting earmuffs on -- these earmuffs prevent the damage caused by loud sounds but don't muffle the sound," says Steven Green, professor in the Department of Biology and corresponding author on the study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The experiments in mice indicate there is the potential to inject a drug that would prevent hearing damage in people before they're exposed to damaging noise. Conceivably, soldiers who are expected to encounter loud sounds in their duties could take a hearing-protection drug before exposure to those sounds, yet still hear commands. To be fair, this is more conjecture than fact, although the U.S. Department of Defense helped fund the research.

"Permanent hearing damage can be caused by noise levels that have been considered 'safe,' and people need to be careful about noise exposure because we can't yet repair synapses or regenerate hair cells," Green says. "Our chemical earmuffs are, currently, just an indication of the direction research can go, not yet a proven, safe means of protection in humans."

In hearing, a chemical called glutamate is released from hair cells; this chemical transmits sound information at the synapse between inner-ear hair cells and nerve cells. However, loud sounds or even sustained moderate noise -- such as sound coming through earbuds -- cause the hair cells to release a glut of glutamate, effectively gumming the synaptic transmission of sound to brain neurons.

More specifically, it's the entry of calcium into the inner ear neurons through GluA2-lacking glutamate receptors that leads to synaptopathy. The researchers identified at the molecular-level receptors without GluA2, meaning those terminals that could cause hearing damage by allowing a flow of calcium. Even more, they then learned that if they blocked the receptors without GluA2, the GluA2-containing receptors picked up the slack, and hearing was maintained.

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In the mice experiments, they showed a drug called IEM-1460 could target -- and block -- the receptors without GluA2.

"What we found is if you block the GluA2-lacking receptors, a.k.a. calcium-permeable receptors, then you can prevent the damage, and the mouse can hear just fine because it still has the GluA2-containing receptors that can mediate synaptic transmission," Green says. "Now, we have a drug that doesn't prevent hearing, but does prevent hearing damage."

"For a long time, it has been assumed that cochlear synapses are not permeable to calcium, because all of the synapses have the GluA2 subunit," adds Mark Rutherford, assistant professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Washington University and a co-author on the study. "We have found that cochlear synapses have both GluA2-lacking and GluA2-containing glutamate receptors, implying that some of them are indeed highly permeable to calcium. With high-resolution microscopy of cochlear synapses we have provided a mechanistic explanation for the protection of these synapses from noise exposure by the calcium-permeable glutamate receptor blocker IEM-1460."

In this study, IEM-1460 was introduced directly into the cochlea through a surgical procedure. Green hopes to find other drugs that could prevent hearing damage and that could be administered noninvasively.

Along with the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health and the American Hearing Research Foundation funded the research.

Ning Hu, associate research scientist in the Department of Biology at Iowa, is a co-author on the paper.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - Nebu Resources Inc. (TSXV: NBU) ("Nebu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has executed a letter of intent with Phoenix Bioinvestments Corp. and its affiliated companies located in Pueblo, Colorado (collectively, "Phoenix") to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Phoenix for consideration paid by the issuance common shares ("Common Shares") of the Company, with such transaction conditional on the completion of certain financing and other matters described herein (the "Business Combination Transaction").

Details regarding the final structure of the transaction, financing conditions, concurrent financing, proposed board, management, business growth, financial conditions as well as any additional details prescribed by the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") or applicable regulatory bodies as the case may be, will be provided in a subsequent press release.

The parties intend to complete an audit review of Phoenix, finalize all definitive agreements in connection therewith and to file applicable documentation to complete the Business Combination Transaction as soon as possible.

The purpose of the Business Combination Transaction is to finance and accelerate the development and expansion of Phoenix's "advanced biosciences," business-to-business supply chain operations with state of-the -art processing, compliant life sciences product formulation, manufacturing methodologies, and the distribution of hemp-oil based products compliant with Section 7606 of the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill in the United States, Canada and select global markets.

Phoenix's core business focus is to provide hemp-extraction services at multiple licensed facilities to process hemp biomass into various grades of hemp oil, distillate and isolate for use in products by companies and end-consumers. Phoenix also has a portfolio of formulations and ingredients for use with private label customers and products that are being positioned with third-party joint venture partners.

Several leading industry research groups including BDS Analytics, Arcview Market Research and the Brightfield Group have sized the market for CBD products in the US market alone at about US$591 million in 2018, growing to the $20 billion range by 2022-204.

Nebu has previously announced a potential conditional transaction with Farris Holdings Group Inc. ("FHGI"). In connection with the opportunity with Phoenix and its exclusive focus on hemp and CBD markets, Nebu has narrowed its discussions with FHGI to provide capital and/or to arrange certain equipment financing for FHGI's processing business and to secure certain rights to develop a hemp-flower and hemp-cigarette processing and distribution services businesses and to pursue certain commercial or joint business development opportunities for Phoenix in California in the hemp business. Such arrangements are expected to be finalized in the next 30 days, or prior to the filing of applicable re-listing forms. As partial consideration for the granting of such rights is expected to be paid in the form of shares of Nebu in a number to be determined, and subject to approval by the applicable stock exchange and regulatory authorities.

Further, Nebu is also pleased to announce that it has executed a letter of intent agreement on the date hereof to sell its existing mining assets immediately to a private non-affiliated third party as directed by certain creditors in connection with the repayment of certain promissory notes and accrued interest in connection therewith and agrees to issue 1,000,000, Common Shares to be issued at the time of completion of the Business Combination Transaction, subject to entering into of approval of the applicable stock exchange or other regulatory approvals.

Nebu is currently listed on the TSXV with its shares halted for trading pending a reverse take-over transaction.

As a condition of the proposed transaction, Nebu intends to make an application for listing of the Common Shares of Nebu on the Canadian Stock Exchange. Upon receipt of such approval, Nebu will request that its common shares be voluntarily de-listed from the TSXV, subject to additional regulatory approvals as applicable.

The Common Shares of Nebu will remain halted pending the review of these matters by the TSXV.

For further information please contact:

Paul Crath

Interim Chief Executive Officer and Director

Nebu Resources Inc.

Telephone: 416-845-7289 (Canada)

347-835-9032 (USA)

Forward Looking Information

"Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all.

Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of Nebu should be considered highly speculative.

The TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this news release."

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect the current views and/or expectations of management with respect to performance, business and future events, including but not limited to express or implied statements and assumptions regarding the Company's intention to negotiate for or complete the Transaction. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the business and the industry and markets in which the Company operates. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. In particular, there is no guarantee that the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement or complete the Transaction contemplated herein, that the Company's due diligence will be satisfactory or that the Company will obtain any required shareholder or regulatory approvals, including approval of the TSX Venture Exchange . Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The Company does not undertake any obligations to release publicly any revisions for updating any voluntary forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable securities law.

All information contained in this press release with respect to Phoenix, their business and proposed corporate reorganization and financing was supplied by Phoenix for inclusion herein. The Company has not conducted due diligence on the information provided and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulations Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52231
The CM also disclosed that senior MLA, Umesh Katti, will be inducted into the Cabinet, but declined to set a date for this.

Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala, chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa and newly-inducted MLAs greet each other after a swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru on Thursday. (Photo: PTI)

Bengaluru: Ten newly-elected Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs, who were earlier in the Congress and JD(S) and were instrumental in dethroning the previous H.D. Kumaraswamy headed coalition government, were inducted into the Yediyurappa Cabinet on Thursday.

Despite much opposition from original partymen, Mr Yediyurappa was able to induct the 10 MLAs who were elected to the Assembly in the December bypolls.

The new ministers are S.T. Somashekar, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Anand Singh, Dr K.Sudhakar, B.A.Basavaraj, Shivaram Hebbar, B.C. Patil, K. Gopalaiah, Narayana Gowda and Srimant B.Patil with Governor Vajubhai Vala administering the oath of office to them at Raj Bhavan.

In fact, the BJP top brass had reportedly instructed the CM to induct only 6 to 8 MLAs, but Mr Yediyurappa was able to convince them to agree to the induction of 10 MLAs.

After the Cabinet expansion, the chief minister told reporters that portfolios will be allotted to the new ministers by Saturday.

If possible he will leave for Delhi soon to discuss the allotment of portfolios and the third round of Cabinet expansion with the party high command.

The CM also disclosed that senior MLA, Umesh Katti, will be inducted into the Cabinet but declined to set a date for this.

Reacting to the cabinet expansion, former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah said he is not happy that those who defected from Congress and the JD(S) became ministers because it was anti-democracy and they had betrayed their parties.

With the induction of ten ministers, Operation Lotus resorted to by the BJP to topple the previous coalition government has come full circle.

As many as 17 MLAs of the Congress and JD(S) had resigned from their respective parties to topple the Kumaraswamy government and help install a BJP government in the state in July last year.

Subsequently, then-Speaker of the Assembly K.R. Ramesh Kumar disqualified all 17 MLAs forcing them to seek re-election.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:43:58|Editor: huaxia

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SHANGHAI/SHENYANG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- From disinfection and street patrols to food and medicine delivery in quarantine wards, robots are being deployed at the front lines to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has claimed hundreds of lives in China.

More than 30 disinfection robots designed and produced by a Shanghai enterprise have entered major hospitals in Wuhan, center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, to combat the epidemic.

The white robot has a hydrogen peroxide sprayer on its "head" and nine ultraviolet lamps in its "belly," and can perform multiple forms of disinfection in environments where humans and machines coexist, according to Pan Jing, CEO of Shanghai TMiRob, the manufacturer of the robot.

Navigation technology enables the robot to avoid obstacles autonomously, Pan said.

At present, such disinfection robots have been used in isolation wards, ICUs, operating rooms and fever clinics of Wuhan's major coronavirus hospitals including the Central Hospital of Wuhan to provide around clock disinfection service.

Chinese health authorities Friday said they received reports of 3,143 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection on Thursday, bringing the total to 31,161 from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps. A total of 636 people had died of the disease by the end of Thursday.

China has called on the country's artificial intelligence (AI) sector to lend their technological hands to help battle the epidemic.

Research and development should be enhanced and industrial cooperation is encouraged to contribute to the discovery, awareness and control of the novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Tuesday in a proposal.

Related AI technologies could be applied to roll out smart devices to support diagnosis and treatment, and used in telecommuting, online education and intelligent production to ensure minimal disruption to people's lives.

Robots are joining China's fight against the epidemic in order to reduce cross-infection risks and improve efficiency.

Siasun, the country's major robot manufacturer, Wednesday donated 21 robots and 10 electric adjustable beds to local hospitals and other institutions on the front lines of the battle in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

With advanced technologies such as laser positioning, intelligent navigation and human-computer interaction, the medical delivery robots can help health workers spray disinfectants and hand out medicine to patients.

The electric adjustable beds allow infected patients to eat in bed and assist them to sit up and roll over, while the food delivery robots which can recognize human faces and voices are able to provide services for visitors from areas hard hit by the virus, so as to avoid close contact between people.

"Intelligent robotic products can effectively replace doctors and nurses in some work, thus reducing their chance of being infected," said Teng Weiyu, vice president of the First Hospital of China Medical University, where some of Siasun's robots were put into use.

Siasun and the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences are also developing a robot that can replace nurses in conducting throat testing for the virus.

In Shanghai, several robots patrol the parks and streets to inform the public about epidemic prevention and control.

On Monday, robot maker CloudMinds and China Mobile's Shanghai branch donated the first batch of 5G-powered robots to a Shanghai hospital. With the 5G network, the robots can help medical staff carry out tasks involving consultations, disinfection, cleaning and drug delivery.

"After seeing the front line of the fight against the virus, I understand more deeply the value of smart products. We will try our best to protect the medical staff from the virus-contaminated environment with advanced technologies," said Du Pu, a regional sales director of Shanghai TMiRob.
Jacom Stephens / Getty Image

ROTTERDAM  Rotterdam police have arrested a woman and man who they say robbed an 84-year-old female in the parking lot of a Price Chopper.

Police arrested 38-year-old Casey L. Buckley on Wednesday evening after executing a search warrant on her apartment at 505 McClellan St. While there, they say they found property belonging to the victim, who had been robbed two days earlier at the Price Chopper on Altamont Avenue.
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Although there have been some positive signs in recent years, Viet Nam sea transport buy osrs gold sector still face difficulties with many enterprises suffering heavy losses. The maritime industry is proposing support mechanisms to help the sector out of its stagnant state. In 2018, Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) recorded strong growth in sea transport volume with an increase of more than 13 per cent, reaching 24.3 million tonnes. This figure shows solid growth from when sea transport hit its floor a few years ago. However, acting general director of Vinalines Nguyen Canh Tinh said the sector still faced challenges because, due to shipping supply surpluses, freight rates were only one tenth of what they were in 2008. The Philippines and Malaysia, traditional destinations for Vietnamese shipping fleets, have low profit margins. For routes with higher margins such as the Republic of Korea, Japan and North China, many Vietnamese ships did not meet the strict requirements to enter [Read more.] about New mechanisms to keep maritime transport sector afloat.

Are stuff like the Baby Bratz dolls an unfortunate example of how greatly youth is sexualized in our culture? Absolutely. Are there creepy, creepy people perhaps interacting with these programs? It's possible. Is your daughter going to turn into a pervert playing with them? Nah, this stuff is just dress up and costumes. If you're worried about her feeling pressure to wear more revealing outfits at an age you feel is too young for them, then make sure you sit down with her and have a reasonable talk about what those clothes mean, why some people wear them, and the importance of developing one's own concept of self respect instead of giving into peer pressure or something.

The system has in built controls against both the external and internal fraud attempts. Moreover, the integrity of the system is of such high order that the agent would never be able to indulge in under reporting of revenue. There is no possibility to modify the accounting data in the terminal. Retailer accounts are reconciled game wise at the end of each day, with the sales files and transaction details stored in the System. This avoids tampering of sales transaction information.

The Makeover of words Unicorn? By Jessica ZhengDid you know that there are 2 places worldwide in addition to the LGBTQ satisfaction, as well as Jesus Christ all that have the word unicorn in common . getting a little magic in your life or if you belong to the LGBTQ area as well as seeking to enliven your closet, please do not hesitate to check us out!

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By AFP

TOKYO: At least 61 people on board a cruise ship off Japan have tested positive for the new coronavirus, the government said on Friday, as thousands of passengers and crew face a two-week quarantine.

An additional 41 passengers were found to have contracted the virus, which has killed hundreds of people, most of them in China, and infected more than 30,000 on the mainland.

Japanese authorities have so far tested 273 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong last month, was diagnosed with the virus.

"The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive," Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters.

"Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that."

The newly diagnosed include 21 Japanese, as well as Americans, Canadians, Australians, an Argentine and a Briton.

There were more than 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship when it arrived off Japan's coast on Monday evening.

It docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19.

Twenty people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel, including one in serious condition, a health ministry official said, without providing further details.

Testing was initially carried out on those who displayed symptoms or had come into close contact with the former passenger diagnosed with the virus.

But Kato suggested testing would now be expanded to those "who are susceptible to illness, including elderly people and those with other ailments, as well as those who had close contact with the people newly diagnosed with the virus."

There were no immediate details on how many people would meet those criteria or when the testing might take place.

Japan has already reported at least 25 cases of coronavirus aside from the infections on board the ship and evacuated hundreds of citizens from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the virus emerged, including on the fourth flight on Friday.

Passengers on the ship have been asked to stay inside their cabins to prevent new infections, and have expressed confusion and frustration about a quarantine expected to last until February 19.

American attorney Matt Smith, 57, and his wife Katherine are among the luckier passengers, in a suite with their own balcony.

But he told AFP that the 14-day quarantine was a "hard pill to swallow".

"My thought is, the greater number they diagnose on the ship, the greater chance they're going to find some reason to extend the quarantine," he added.

"It's a little disheartening."

Passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks briefly, under strict conditions, including wearing a mask at all times.

"The quarantine officials require that you avoid congregating in large groups and maintain a separation of at least one metre from each other when talking," the ship's captain said in an announcement on Friday morning.

"We require that you wear as a minimum, warm clothing, hat and a scarf if possible," he added.

Crew are wearing masks and gloves when they deliver meals, Smith said, and on Friday thermometers were distributed to passengers, who were asked to notify staff of temperatures over 37.5 Celsius.

While some passengers have reportedly urged their governments to intervene, Smith said he understood the measures.

"The Japanese government is going to do what it can to prevent this virus, just as the US is doing in its borders," he said.

A second cruise ship carrying a passenger suspected of infection with the new virus is headed towards Japan, and authorities said they would ask it to avoid docking.

Four other ships are scheduled to arrive in Japan this month, and would also be asked to turn back if infections are reported on board, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
This contest features a blind entry process, which means that authors names cannot appear on the stories. This rule ensures that judges are able to evaluate each story on its own merits.
A 22-year old college student who founded Ugandas Fridays For Future movement wants climate activism to move beyond the example of Greta Thunberg and embrace African voices.

As she does every Friday, Hilda Flavia Nakabuye will skip university on 7 February to demand greater action on climate change.

When she first began protesting in 2017, she knew little about global warming. Its not taught in schools, she explains. What she did know however were the high temperatures, heavy rainfall and strong winds that had destroyed what was once her familys farm.

We couldnt keep up the livestock farming and my parents had to sell most of their property, she told RFI. When the money ran out, Nakabuye was forced to miss three months of school, unable to meet the tuition fees.

Today, she misses classes to raise climate awareness. And its no easy feat.

"Its very hard to get people to know about it because most of them are hearing about climate change for the first time.

That hasn't stopped them from being hit by climate change, with Uganda facing deadly floods and worsening food and water insecurity.

Saving Lake Victoria

Yet persuading people to push for climate action is difficult.

People cannot go out freely like in Europe or in other parts of the country. It's different in Africa and particularly in Uganda. It's always the government to decide what people should or shouldn't be doing.

Instead, 22-year-old Nakabuye has gone out to villages and schools to teach communities about how to adapt to climate change. One of her environmental concerns is saving Lake Victoria, which connects Uganda to Kenya and Tanzania.

In recent years, the source of the River Nile has steadily retreated from its former shores, leaving residents high and dry.

It is undergoing so much pressure from massive dumping of plastic and biodegradable waste and there are also other practices like sand mining which are not controlled, so the waters are changing colour and theyre becoming filthy, comments Nakabuye, who every weekend takes a boat out on the lake to clean it up.

Story continues

Oil business

She is worried Ugandas new oil wells could wreak further damage.

There is massive pollution that is going on around the area already.

When the drilling project begins later this year, Nakabuye fears that hundreds of Ugandans will be forced out of their homes to make room for the 1,443 km pipeline that will pass through Kampala to Dar es Salam.

Determined to force the government to see global warming as a priority, Nakabuye founded Fridays For Future Uganda in February 2019, inspired by the youth-led movements Swedish founder Greta Thunberg.

While the world has been mesmerized by the power and charisma of the 17-year-old climate activist in spurring those in power to take drastic steps to save humanitys future, Nakabuye insists that African voices also matter.

The debate on climate change is not for whites only, she said on the sidelines of a discussion at the French foreign ministry last week to reflect on the climate crisis.

Its all our responsibility. Africans do not deserve to suffer a crisis we never created.

Lack of diversity

Nakabuye was speaking amid furor over minority representation, after another Ugandan climate activist called Vanessa Nakate was cropped out of a photo taken at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Her absence meant the image showed only white activists, including 17-year-old Thunberg.

I dont understand why the media would crop out someone from a photo if they were in the photo, Nakabuye commented, denouncing another form of environmental racism and discrimination.

Authors of the photo, the Associated Press has since apologized for a terrible mistake and the incident has sparked hopes of a watershed moment for climate activism and how its reported.

For Hilda, it will mean hearing the perspectives of the people at the forefront of the climate breakdown. That was her message in Paris at the fifth edition of the Night of Ideas (Nuit des Idees).

I left my comfort zone to come and speak here and share my ideas with people in the global north. That means that if we are to tackle climate change, we all have to leave our comfort zones and go where we are not comfortable.

Click play in the photo above to listen to the full interview
A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit against President Trump brought by Democratic lawmakers, who accused Trump of profiting from foreign government officials patronage of his businesses.

The panel of three judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the more than 200 Democratic senators and representatives did not have the standing to levy the lawsuit since they are not in the majority.

Only an institution can assert an institutional injury, the judges, two Republican appointees and one Democratic appointee, wrote.

The members do not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the presidents acceptance of foreign emoluments, the court stated.

The Democrats had accused Trump of violating the Constitutions Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prohibits government officials from accepting gifts or payment from foreign dignitaries.

Democrats have for months been probing whether the Trump administration has funneled spending by foreign governments into Trumps businesses, such as the presidents suggestion that the 2020 G-7 summit be held at Trump National Doral Miami.

Similar lawsuits against the administration over the emoluments clause have erupted in the 4th Circuit in Virginia and the 2nd Circuit in New York.

The members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the president himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit, the court wrote. But we will not  indeed we cannot  participate in this debate.

The Democratic lawmakers have not said whether they will appeal the decision, although their counsel said they are considering next steps.

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Bob Marley is known as arguably the most influential and commonly referenced figure in reggae music and while his legacy lives on through his iconic songs, not much is known about his second passion: farming.

Making the "One Love" crooner's dream a reality, his son Rohan Marley co-founded Marley Coffee, an organic coffee plantation and "sustainable" farming business, in 2009. The business' product is sourced in the Blue Mountains area of Marley's homeland of Jamaica, as well as in Ethiopia. The business has produced a full line of coffee products, including whole bean, ground, single-serve and fraction pack coffees. Two of its most popular, however, remain the Buffalo Solder Ground Coffee and Lively Up Whole Bean Coffee.

Marley Coffee Buffalo Soldier Ground Coffee

Marley Coffee Lively Up Whole Bean Coffee

On what would have marked Bob Marley's 75th birthday (Feb. 6, 2020), we highlight these two selections from the fair-trade certified brand that are both said to boast "rich-bodied" flavors that are easy to brew at home. Buffalo Soldier is made up of ground beans with hints of dark chocolate, while Lively Up consists of full beans that are roasted with hints of citrus. Each selection can currently be purchased above, with clear instructions detailing how to make the perfect cup being outlined in the description page.

Currently standing as two of shoppers' favorites from the entire six-flavored collection (including one variety pack), Buffalo Soldier and Lively Up have reviewers raving about their robust flavors.

"One of the best coffees I ever drank. Started drinking it as a resident. Will 'wire you up' for the day. Perfect if you like strong coffee," one shopper explained of Lively Up, while another added about Buffalo Soldier, "A ton of flavor as you would expect in a good Dark Roast. Surprising smooth, not bitter, but a nice lingering bold finish."

In addition to being rich in flavor, Marley Coffee is also following its sole inspiration's mission of global unity by partnering with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization, to support reforestation by planting trees all over the world.
Many greenhouses could become energy neutral by using see-through solar panels to harvest energy -- primarily from the wavelengths of light that plants don't use for photosynthesis. Those are the findings of a new modeling study conducted by engineering, plant biology and physics researchers at North Carolina State University.

"Plants only use some wavelengths of light for photosynthesis, and the idea is to create greenhouses that make energy from that unused light while allowing most of the photosynthetic band of light to pass through," says Brendan O'Connor, corresponding author of the study and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at NC State. "We're able to do this by using organic solar cells, because they allow us to tune the spectrum of light that the solar cell absorbs -- so we can focus on using mostly wavelengths of light that plants don't use. However, until now it wasn't clear how much energy a greenhouse could capture if it was using these semitransparent, wavelength selective, organic solar cells."

To address that question, researchers used a computational model to estimate how much energy a greenhouse could produce if it had semitransparent organic solar cells on its roof -- and whether that would be enough energy to offset the amount of energy the greenhouse required to operate effectively. The model was developed to estimate energy use for greenhouses growing tomatoes at locations in Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin.

"A lot of the energy use in greenhouses comes from heating and cooling, so our model focused on calculating the energy load needed to maintain the optimal temperature range for tomato growth," O'Connor says. "The model also calculated the amount of energy a greenhouse would produce at each location when solar cells were placed on its roof."

The modeling is complex because there's a complicated trade-off between the amount of power the solar cells generate and the amount of light in the photosynthetic band that they allow to pass through. Basically, if growers are willing to sacrifice larger amounts of photosynthetic growth, they can generate more power.

What's more, the solar cells used for this analysis are effective insulators, because they reflect infrared light. This helps to keep greenhouses cooler in the summer, while trapping more warmth in the winter.

The end result is that, for many greenhouse operators, the trade-off could be a small one. Particularly for greenhouses in warm or temperate climates.

For example, in Arizona, the greenhouses could become energy neutral -- requiring no outside source of power -- while blocking only 10% of the photosynthetic band of light. However, if growers are willing to block more photosynthetic light, they could generate twice as much energy as they required to operate the greenhouse. In North Carolina, a greenhouse could become energy neutral while blocking 20% of the photosynthetic light. In Wisconsin, greenhouses couldn't become energy neutral using the semitransparent solar cells -- keeping the greenhouse warm in winter requires too much energy. However, the solar cells could meet up to 46% of the greenhouse's energy demand.

"While the technology does use some of the light plants rely on, we think the impact will be negligible on plant growth -- and that the trade-off will make financial sense to growers," O'Connor says.
Central African Republic President Faustin Archange Touadera on Thursday called on international partners to take a tougher line on armed groups who were violating the terms of a peace agreement.

CAR's government signed a deal with 14 rebel militias a year ago, but more than two-thirds of the former French colony remains under the control of armed groups who often fight over territory and its rich mineral resources.

The agreement, signed in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, has eased fighting but not ended a conflict that has ravaged the nation since 2013.

"One year later, the time for observing has ended. It is time for firmness so that the agreement is respected," Touadera said.

Map of Central African Republic locating Bangui. By (AFP)

The president called on the African Union and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) economic bloc to clarify possible sanctions on rebel groups who break the accord.

Article 35 of the peace agreement allows for sanctions against those who violate the deal but details on the measures have yet to be defined.

Amnesty International on Wednesday warned various armed groups were still carrying out abuses of civilians, including killings and sexual violence, despite the peace deal.

Touadera, who is expected to run for re-election in December, told reporters the deal was still making progress despite opposition criticism, in a country emerging from three civil wars in less than two decades.

A UN mission -- known by the acronym MINUSCA -- has almost 12,000 troops and 2,080 police in CAR in order to protect civilians and foster stability.

One of the world's poorest and most unstable nations, CAR has suffered several violent crises since 2003 when former president Francois Bozize seized power in a coup.

The country spiralled into bloodshed after Bozize was overthrown in 2013, with rival militias battling for control and fighting forcing nearly a quarter of the country's 4.5 million people to flee their homes.
Viet Nam posted strong growth in rice exports in January.-VNA/VNS Photo Dinh Hue

Exports rose by 28.1 per cent in volume and 38.4 per cent in value year-on-year.

Since the start of the winter-spring rice crop, domestic prices have remained stable while export volume has surged. Before the Tet festival, local businesses contracts to ship rice to the Philippines and Malaysia due to more competitive prices than other countries.

FOB (free on board) prices stand between $340 and $350 per tonne for five-per-cent-broken rice, falling $10-$20 for 15-per-cent broken rice and 25-per-cent broken rice.

This year, the Philippines is expected to maintain its import volume, while the African market is forecast to purchase 1 million tonnes, followed by Malaysia at 500,000 tonnes.

The nation also exports from 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes to Cuba each year, while Iraq buys about 300,000 tonnes. China plans to buy 400,000 tonnes of local rice every year.

Bui Thi Thanh Tam, general director of the Northern Food Corporation, said five years ago, China was the largest market for local rice but now Viet Nam had expanded its export markets. This meant the coronavirus epidemic would not take a big hit on Viet Nam's rice exports.

Do Ha Nam, vice chairman of the Viet Nam Food Association, said China would continue to tighten rice imports this year, so the rice import quota from Viet Nam would stay the same as last year.

However, Viet Nam has a chance to boost its rice exports to Japan this year because it wants to diversify its rice import sources by seeking other suppliers from countries that have signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), including Viet Nam. At present, Japan depends on US rice supplies.

The Import-Export Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade also said, besides allocating a quota of 20,000 tonnes of rice to all members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) this year, South Korea had given a quota of 55,112 tonnes of rice for Viet Nam, according to a multilateral agreement between South Korea and five WTO partners, including Australia, the US, China and Thailand.

To take this export opportunity, local exporters were looking for more information about the Korean market and the tariff quota mechanism to develop their production and business plans.

Nam said this year, Viet Nam was forecast to export the same volume as 2019 or a slight increase.

However, drought and saline intrusion were likely to reduce rice output this year.

In addition, prices were also expected to decline due to lower demand on the world market, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Many countries have been restructuring their agriculture sectors to move towards self-sufficiency.

Meanwhile, Viet Nam now faces difficulties finding new rice markets.

Last year, Viet Nam experienced a fall in rice export value of 10 per cent to $2.76 billion but a surge of 3 per cent in export volume to nearly 6.3 million tonnes. The main reason was falling global prices.

The Philippines was the largest export market for Vietnamese rice with a value of $885 million, a year-on-year rise of 92.58 per cent, according to the General Department of Customs.

Markets with strong growth in rice export value included Senegal (98 per cent), Ivory Coast (78.6 per cent), Taiwan (31 per cent), Hong Kong (28.3 per cent) and Tanzania (26.6 per cent).

Viet Nams rice has been exported to 150 countries and territories around the world.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Andhra Pradesh will extend full support to the development of an automotive value chain ecosystem in the state, its Industry, Commerce and IT Minister Mekapati Goutham Reddy said on Friday.

Inaugurating the state's pavilion on the second day of the Auto Expo 2020 Components show, he invited component industry to put more ancillary units and become a partner in the development of the state, a statement said.

"We would extend all support to develop a vibrant automotive value chain ecosystem in the state," he added.

The show has been organised jointly by the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

It began at Pragati Maidan here on February 6 and will go on till February 9.

The show has attracted over 1,500 companies exhibiting their latest products and solutions, of which 200 are international exhibitors from over 20 countries.

"There are pavilions dedicated for countries like Japan, South Korea, UK, Germany, Turkey and Canada at the expo," the statement said.
J urors in the Manchester Arena trial were taken through the final chilling movements of suicide bomber Salman Abedi, seconds before he brought murderous carnage to the city.

CCTV stills tracking the 22-year-olds journey to the venue were played on large screens in court number two at the Old Bailey on Friday morning.

The footage showed Abedi carrying a rucksack containing the home-made bomb, leaving his home and making his way to his final destination on May 22, 2017.

He went inside a toilet cubicle nearby then waited an hour before detonating his device, packed with screws and bolts for shrapnel, as thousands of men, women and children streamed out at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at around 10.30pm.

Hashem Abedi / PA Wire/PA Images

Prosecutors say Abedis Manchester-born brother, Hashem, now also 22, was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb.

Hashem denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

Outlining the hours up to the attack, prosecutor Duncan Penny QC told the trial that Salman made final preparations for the bomb and visited the arena earlier in the evening, before returning home and waiting to strike.

Hashem Abedi in the dock at the Old Bailey / Elizabeth Cook/PA

He later went back to the venue and waited for concert-goers to leave before detonating the bomb in the foyer at 10.31pm, causing fatal and serious injuries to innocent bystanders and decapitating himself in the process.

Mr Penny said: As you know, the blast and shrapnel contained within the device killed 22 bystanders and caused the catalogue of injuries about which you have heard.

Manchester Bomber's Brother Arrives At Westminster Magistrates' Court

The prosecution say Hashem is just as guilty as his brother for assisting and encouraging the suicide bomber.

Mr Penny said Salman was carrying a paint tin filled with the home-made explosive TATP, placed inside a money tin, and surrounded by a large amount of shrapnel, comprising screws and nuts.

The device  weighing an estimated 79lb (36kg)  was then packed into a rucksack, ready for detonation, Mr Penny said.

Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police

Jurors were shown an artists interpretation of the rucksack and the bomb contained within it during the hearing on Friday.

The court previously heard that the brothers allegedly duped friends and associates into helping to buy components of TATP, while switching vehicles and phones to ensure their actions went undetected.

They used an empty house to take delivery of the chemicals ordered on Amazon using others bank details and fake emails, it was alleged.
Im a journalist, I love journalism, Boris Johnson told the Commons on Wednesday, after Jeremy Corbyn had accused him of shutting newspapers out of Number Ten.

Corbyn was referring to a cack-handed attempt on Monday by Downing Street to bar some media organisations from a Brexit briefing.

The reporters who were going to be admitted quite rightly refused to attend the briefing, and instead showed solidarity with their excluded colleagues.

This and other skirmishes indicate that some in Number Ten, far from loving journalism, hold it in contempt, and wish to see what they can get away with.

They reckon they do not need the parliamentary lobby, or the traditional broadcasters, and can communicate direct with the public via social media.

In some ways, their hostility is to be welcomed. The iconoclasts in Number Ten who take their cue from Dominic Cummings, and admire their own boldness in defying the established media, are actually expressing the traditional hostility of those in power towards those who seek to hold them to account.

It is normal for Prime Ministers and their staff to consider themselves misrepresented and persecuted by the press: a story told by Lance Price in his account of the battles between Downing Street and the media since Lloyd George came to power in 1916.

Stanley Baldwin loathed the press barons, Lords Beaverbrook and Rothermere, of whom he said in an interview in 1924, in words he did not intend to see quoted: They are both men I would not have in my house.

Baldwin gave no more interviews after that indiscretion, and refused to speak to the parliamentary lobby journalists as a group either on or off the record, though he did have certain favoured individuals through whom he got his story out.

And he became a master of a new medium, radio, by which he could talk in a reasonable and affable tone directly to millions of people.

So too Johnson, with his mastery of social media, by which he speaks directly to millions of people without the press getting in the way.

Just now, Johnson is in the ascendant. He has confounded his critics and won a solid majority. At Prime Ministers Questions, one sees him relaxing into his role and proclaiming his love of every good cause, even journalism.

This could all become too cosy. The public interest requires a press prepared to speak out in ways which infuriate those in authority.

No Prime Minister should take what the press says too much to heart, but all should treat it is a valuable early warning system, directing attention to grievances which if ignored and allowed to fester will do mortal damage.

As Churchill remarked: Criticism in the body politic is like pain in the human body. It is not pleasant, but where would the body be without it?

Parliamentary journalists are right to protest when jacks in office try to block or restrict useful channels of communication.

But some of the best journalists make scant use of those channels anyhow. One thinks of the late Tony Bevins, first political editor of The Independent, who turned his back on the lobby system.

Johnson benefited, during his rise to power, from the exaggerated criticism he received from parts of the press. This struck many voters as unfair, concealed from his opponents the threat he posed, and encouraged low expectations which he was able to exceed.

But now that he is ensconced in Number Ten, he deserves as fierce (though also, in its way, admiring) a scrutiny as he himself directed 30 years ago at Jacques Delors while working as a correspondent in Brussels.
(TNS)  Baltimore County, Md., could create a registry of private security cameras under a bipartisan proposal from five council members who want to help police more quickly track down possible video evidence of crimes.The bill would create a voluntary private security camera registry for property owners with devices pointed toward a public right-of-way, according to the proposal. The program would map where cameras are located to help detectives identify possible security footage in areas where crimes happened.Council members will discuss the proposal and conduct a public hearing on it at their Feb. 11 work session.The program is being proposed by Woodstock Democrat Julian Jones Jr. Co-sponsors include Oella Democrat Tom Quirk, Dundalk Republican Todd Crandell, Cockeysville Republican Wade Kach and Perry Hall Republican David Marks.Pikesville Democrat Izzy Patoka said hes planning to become a co-sponsor ahead of the vote. Middle River Democrat Cathy Bevins, the council chair, didnt respond to requests for comment.Im supportive of any measures Baltimore County takes that helps to improve public safety, Patoka said.Under the proposal the county would waive alarm permitting fees for new alarm system installations  which start as low as $34 for homes and $113 for commercial buildings  that include private security or surveillance cameras if the owner signs up for the registry. The county would also waive fees for any updates to current alarm systems that include those cameras.Program participants would receive two waivers for false alarm calls each year, which can cost residents $500. Registration would expire after two years, but residents would be allowed to renew their participation. Residents would only submit their contact information for program participation, Jones said.Jones said his idea for the program was based on research of existing programs in Missouri and Lansing, Mich. In 2014, Baltimore City launched a similar program for property owners to be part of the CitiWatch Community Partnership. Philadelphia, San Jose, Calif., and Chicago are among other cities with similar private security camera registries or networks. Three Rhode Island towns initiated programs last year.The American Civil Liberties Union released a report in 2014 saying the proliferation of surveillance cameras is threatening residents right to privacy. The report recommended any private cameras that become part of a larger government network need to maintain the same standards and procedures that govern the network." The group has also questioned the relationship between some camera manufacturers and police.Jones, however, said the program wouldnt have direct access to camera footage. Registration records and any obtained footage, the bill states, would be kept confidential to the extent permitted by law. The bill states the county wont solicit or use footage in such a way as to effectively violate any persons privacy.I thought about people saying, This is big brother and youre trying to take over my security footage, Jones said. But lets make it clear that this is voluntary.Participants would have to ensure the registered camera never monitors any private property other than the participants property, according to the bill. Alan Zukerberg, president of the Pikesville Communities Corporation, questioned how the county would control that to ensure police dont get access to footage of a house across the street from a registered camera?The bill says obtained footage would be treated as if its from a county-owned camera, Zukerberg said, and what would that mean?Obtained footage, according to the bill, would only be used to support a legitimate law enforcement investigation." Does that mean it will only be used in criminal cases? Zukerberg asked.I think its well-intentioned and it has a good purpose, but maybe it needs to be fine-tuned to answer a number of questions that may arise, Zukerberg said.Virginia Jones, president of the Woodlands of Deer Park Community Association, called the proposal a great idea. Her neighbors have security cameras, and she said officers used some of that footage to investigate the fatal shooting of Derrick Laurence Towe-Williams on Shenton Road in Randallstown last August.The shooting happened a couple doors from his home and it was someone he knew, so it was really hard on the family, Virginia Jones said. County police eventually arrested Cory Dwayne Fennell and Markus Haggins on first-degree murder charges.We were very happy with that," she said. If Julians bill had already been in effect, they would have been able to go right to source earlier instead of knocking on doors.John Noah, a member of the Eastfield-Stanbrook Civic Association, said the county already has a home camera network to helps the community fight crime. His Project Lantern organization connects Dundalk residents with county police whenever residential cameras capture crimes.Councils proposed registry follows 50 homicides reported in the county last year, which surpassed the previous high of 43 set in 1992, according to FBI data tracking violent crime since 1985. Eastern Baltimore Countys Dundalk and Essex precincts and the Wilkins and Woodlawn precincts on the countys west side reported the most gun violence last year.Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., a Democrat, has since worked with council to pass legislation reinforcing security at gun shops in an effort to reduce the number of stolen firearms used by criminals. Hes pushing public safety among his priorities for the Maryland General Assemblys 2020 legislative session, and he recently unveiled a new approach to reduce violent crime.
Turbotax's parent Intuit, recently rejected an attempt by Hal S. Scott to add a mandatory arbitration clause for shareholders, preventing them from suing the company. (Peter Barreras/AP Images for Turbo Tax)

In late January, Intuit shareholders rejected a curious proposal from a former Harvard law professor, who is now the director of the nonpartisan think tank Committee on Capital Market Regulation.

The proposal would have adopted a mandatory arbitration provision into the companys bylaws. Mandatory arbitration would have banned shareholders from being able to form a securities law class action against the company. In other words, it would have banned shareholders from suing if they thought the company had defrauded them.

Intuit (INTU) is a business and financial software company that owns TurboTax among other products.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, professor Hal S. Scott explained why it might be a good idea for a shareholder to give up the right to sue.

Its costing them money, he said. The major shareholders and corporations are holding their shares in index funds, and they sue themselves and the lawyers take 20%.

Scott said most retail investors dont get much money back from class action shareholder lawsuits anyway, and his research shows that people dont even bother collecting the small damages.

This is damaging the company. The only justification is really deterrence and there's plenty of deterrence, Scott said.

Scott says that the rise in shareholder suits has helped create a market in which companies dont want to go public. Scott cites a survey of executives from 2006 in which said lawsuits were a factor that made the American market less attractive.

According to Cornerstone Research, the lawsuits are getting more common. There has been a spike in federal class action securities fraud lawsuits  up 20% in 2019 since 1997.

In 2018, Scott, who is a trustee for a fund that owns shares, proposed a similar bylaw for Johnson & Johnson. However, the company asked and received permission from the SEC to leave it off a proxy vote, as it might have violated New Jersey state law. In 2012, Pfizer excluded a similar shareholder proposal in 2012.

Intuits vote

Story continues

These arguments didnt sway Intuit shareholders, who voted 213.2 million to 5.3 million to reject it.

Scott says the company didnt recommend a vote against it not because it wasnt a good idea, but because its untested. He even says he doesnt disagree with the large institutional shareholders that voted against his proposal, but wants to clarify the law now as to whether this would be permitted in a companys bylaw.

Johnson & Johnson products are displayed in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended a vote against Scotts proposal, because the rules would curtail shareholders right to select the forum of seeking redress of securities law violations and that there isnt great data showing that it would curb the companys litigation costs. Furthermore, it said that state laws in New Jersey (Johnson & Johnson) and Delaware (Intuit) make it unclear whether this is currently legal.

Intuits board said the adoption of a bylaw like Scotts has never been a significant shareholder concern, and adoption could lead to unnecessary litigation around this bylaw.

I totally understand why the shareholders voted against this, Scott said. If you look at why  legal uncertainty, the novelty.

In recent years, there has been a sharp movement from consumer advocates to reject a rise in mandatory arbitration, which is often considered to be advantageous to companies instead of consumers.

Paul Bland, executive director of Public Justice, a consumer group that often fights forced arbitration, said: Intuit shareholders rightly recognized that it is in no ones interest to immunize companies who defraud people out of their savings. Scotts proposal threatened to shake investor confidence, undermine Intuits reputation and put the savings of shareholders at greater risk.

For Scott, the mere fact that the company voted on his proposal  unlike in the case of Johnson & Johnson  isnt a win in his book. He said his next step is work to clarify the law.

The only win for me is companies doing this, he said. Thats what Im trying to accomplish.

--

Ethan Wolff-Mann is a writer at Yahoo Finance focusing on consumer issues, personal finance, retail, airlines, and more. Follow him on Twitter @ewolffmann.

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Even in ruin, its beautiful

Congratulations to John Gomez on a fine column about the Tiffany windows from the now-closed St. Johns Episcopal Church on Summit Avenue in Jersey City.

The photos of the windows, now part of an exhibit in Chicago, are very nice but they lack the spectacular effect they had when viewed in a dark room with the light behind them. It was almost unearthly when you stood in the Underhill transept.

All the windows in St. Johns were not by Tiffany Studios, but they all looked like it. Others were mostly by Lamb, who employed Tiffany craftspeople to make them. This was something noted at the time. The point is that I think this was an unmatched collection of Tiffany and Tiffany-like glass.

By the way, the front view of St. Johns is great. Even as a ruin, it is beautiful. The facade is a recreation of the side entry of Chartres Cathedral in northern France, something I guess the architect, J. Remsen Onderdonk, knew all about. He designed the original Gothic church in 1870 and drew plans for the 1894 expansion, which was completed after his death.

Dennis Doran, Jersey City

Petitioning for change at HCDO

A note of thanks to Gerald McCann, former chairman of the HCDO and former mayor of Jersey City, for his advice on how to bring about truly representative democracy in the Hudson County Democratic Organization relayed in his Letter to the Editor entitled Unhappy Dem committee people have ways around their dilemma.

Luckily, we are one step ahead of you and have prepared a petition to the Hudson County Democratic Organization to call for a vote on a bylaw amendment that would put a process in place for party endorsements.

Its not that those of us who signed onto the letter want to overturn the wishes of the other 800 committee people, as you state. On the contrary, 100 committee people and counting have expressed their agreement with this position. More are signing on as we speak. These committee people want the right to represent their constituents on party decisions as would be the case in a truly representative democracy. Instead, the Hudson County Democratic Organization has relied on backroom deals between party bosses to make these decisions for too long.

We think the Democratic Party in Hudson County can do better. If other county Democratic organizations, such as Bergen, Monmouth and Hunterdon, can put a democratic process in place, why cant Hudson?

Our hope is that Chairwoman Amy DeGise will beat us to the punch and allow her committee people the right to vote before we have to send her this petition. But in the meantime, well keep adding signatures.

Committee people, if you would like to add your name and have yet to sign on, you can reach us on Twitter @hudprogressives or by email hudprogressives@gmail.com.

Emmy Tiderington, Hudson County Democratic Committee person; Member, Hudson County Progressive Alliance

Dems, media are obsessed

It has been a three-year disease, a sickness, an obsession -- the lies from our elected Democrat officials working in concert with lies from the media.

First, it was collusion, then quid pro quo, then impeachment. The brainwashing of the masses has gone to full tilt and the corruption runs deep.

Its been an endless rinse and repeat cycle of propaganda. We have heard, Its not political, not personal, not partisan and its absolutely patriotic. The last three years of accusations and threats have only come from one party, and its not Republican. The Democrats have wasted time, money and efforts to move this country forward. Yes, there has been legislation introduced and plenty of it, but nothing that could be workable to move forward.

Until the media decides to go back to real, honest reporting on facts, anyone is in danger of being exploited and hurt by them, regardless of what is true and we have seen it happen to plenty of lawmakers and even Supreme Court nominees. However, if the person accused is a Democrat, then the sin is washed away and swept on through like a Jersey Breeze down the shore. One example is the election this past November of disbarred attorney and convicted sex offender Democrat Joe Morrissey, who was elected to Virginia Senate.

In this crazy day and age, it seems the media can now convict, deny, lie, withhold and bury any person or story until they deem necessary for ratings or even to swing an election for votes. Everyone may complain about the rich getting richer and not paying their fair share but its actually the media combined with the same life-long politicians who helped craft the laws for them to pay less taxes and create the loopholes with a round trip of thank you donations. How about the media investigate that and get back to real journalism and work for the middle class, instead of working to crush them in return for favors from politicians? Make no mistake, this is not politics as usual. It is a concerted effort by one political party and the media to overrule the American people.

John Milan Sebik, Bayonne

Submit letters to the editor and guest columns for The Jersey Journal to jjletters@jjournal.com.
Bring in the Clowns

To the editor,

Well, the Democrat Party brought in the clowns to show us just how fragile our government is. Adam Schiff, the bug-eyed carny barker, kept telling us President Trump had committed an impeachable offense. We are not that stupid. Even if President Trump had done what they couldn't prove, it was a moon shot from a high crime or misdemeanor. And everyone knows it, even the shoeshine boy. But, Shifty never missed a chance to get behind the mic, except once when Turkey Lurkey almost knocked him down running to the podium. You could read Shifty's twisted mind, "If I can bug my eyes out far enough, maybe they will believe I'm not lying."

The real mystery is how the Democrats could get the whole herd of clowns to support this idiocy. I think the pundits missed an opportunity to tell the public how this works. I will tell you. It is the job of Nancy the paper tearer and Chucky the cry baby, who almost slapped Kamala Harris for laughing. They go from one rep or senator to the other with a carrot and a stick. Their bag of carrots consists of promises of committee chairs and other prominent roles. The sticks are threats to deny money for their campaigns and threats of ostracism, or worse. These people are cutthroat dangerous. In any event, these clowns tricked our government system to impeach a president, for virtually no reason. It is that fragile.

Now, for the clowns on stage in the Democrat primaries. First up, The Bern. He will pull out his communist manifesto and slap you with it before you can say Shazam. But, he has a slight problem explaining his being a millionaire when the Democrat mantra is "Rich people are the cause of all of America's problems." Clown number two, Pete Buttigieg. No one can pronounce his name. He is the All American family man, he and his husband that is. Clown three, Uncle Joe, who is falling like a lead balloon. He is the one good thing that came out of the impeachment. Trump outed him as a worthless extortionist, using his son to rip off the Ukraine government. Uncle Joe is known for claiming to be an average guy, using the commuter train to go home from work like everyone else. He fails to mention that when he is running late, he phones the train management to hold the train for him, leaving the real people stranded until Uncle Joe arrives. What a man. Clown four is Liz the arm slinging Injun who promises free stuff for everyone. Kind of like the free stuff she got claiming to be a direct descendent of Pocahontas. Honest Injun. I could go on but am running out of space. However, one last clown must be mentioned, AOC, known by initials only. Too young to run for president, but has become the face of the Democrat party. She meets all the Democrat diversity requirements, a mix breed, ex-bartender, communist supporter of The Bern and dumb as a doorknob. She will pull a card on you faster than the blink of an eye - race card, bigot card, white supremacist card, old maid card, etc.

I am ashamed for the Democrat Party. My dad was a life-long Democrat. It used to be a well respected, honest to goodness great party. It just shows you what can happen when you bring in the clowns.

Jerry Bryan

Conroe
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.
Vistara on Friday announced that it will start a daily flight between Delhi and Dehradun from March 29.

Vinod Kannan, the chief commercial officer, Vistara said, "With its close proximity to several of India's most-visited tourist destinations, Dehradun is the gateway to the state of Uttarakhand. Over the past decade, the city has seen tremendous upswing in economic growth following the establishment of software technology parks and SEZs."



Bookings for the Delhi-Dehradun route have been opened from Friday with introductory all-inclusive one-way fares starting at Rs 2,499 in economy class, Rs 4,699 in premium economy and Rs 12,299 in business class.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A plea was moved in the Delhi High Court on Friday challenging the police's letter seeking permission from the government to turn Jangli Ram Pahalwan Stadium here into a "temporary jail" for anti-CAA protestors on the assembly election day.

The petition was mentioned before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar and it agreed to list the matter for hearing on February 10.

The plea by a social activist apprehended that his voting right as well as that of other protestors will be curbed in the wake of Delhi Police's requisition given to the Principal Secretary (Home) for setting up a temporary jail at the stadium in Kanjhawala for accommodating those who may be detained enmass without any reasonable basis.

Petitioner Jafar Ahsan Karimi sought direction to the Principal Secretary (Home) to recall the letter or the approval order, if any, for the requisition given by the police on January 29 as it is arbitrary.

The petition, filed through advocates Rahul Yadav, Rashid N Azam and Mujeeb Ur Rehman, said setting up of a mass detention centre especially during the polls and on the voting day would adversely affect the conduct of free and fair elections.

The plea claimed that the peaceful protests are being carried out for over 50 days and there has been no violence from the side of protestors except a few incidents where people have tried to attack the protestors using fire arms.

"It is alarming in a democracy that the protestors are agitating against a policy decision of framework of citizenship to be granted to foreigners under the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 which is ex facie discriminatory and designed to facilitate certain religious communities while excluding others," the petition said.

It said the "ire of protestors is mainly against the current government at the Centre which is largely a party also contesting the elections in Delhi".

It said the establishment of a temporary jail for detention of protestors is against the spirit of Constitution under Article 19 which guarantees the right to organise peaceful protest.

"The temporary jails if set up should only be sanctioned after the conduct of elections and voting," it said, adding that if it is done earlier, every detainee who has a valid vote should be allowed to cast the vote.

The plea said a letter was written by the additional commissioner of police (Rohini district) to the Principal Secretary (Home) saying that in view of passing of CAA bill, a number of protests are being held across Delhi.

It said the letter stated that the police has been informed through various agencies that some of the protestors may deliberately resort to unconstitutional/ violent means and try to disturb the law and order situation in view of the forthcoming assembly elections.

The plea said the police requested for approval for setting up of temporary jail at the stadium for detention of warrants.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Montgomery County jury this week sentenced a 50-year-old Conroe man to 60 years in prison on drug trafficking charges.

On Wednesday, Troy Wayne Harmon was found guilty of two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, a first-degree felony offense, in Judge Lisa Michalks 221st District Court.

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Authorities were looking for Harmon after being informed on July 30 he was dealing ounce-level drugs in the Magnolia area and keeping his drugs wrapped in a black tube sock. Harmon had a felony warrant for failure to appear in court on a previous possession of a controlled substance charge. A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper saw Harmon fleeing the scene, according to the Montgomery County District Attorneys Office.

Montgomery County Precinct 5 Constables officers found Harmon had left a black tube sock containing more than 25 grams of methamphetamine and more than 12 grams of heroin. In the vehicle the DPS trooper had seen Harmon in, officers found drug-trafficking paraphernalia, including multiple zip-close bags, syringes, measuring spoons, balloons and a razor blade with meth residue, according to the District Attorneys Office.

SOCIAL MEDIA MIX UP: Police warn of hoax alert on serial kidnappings at The Woodlands Mall

DPS investigators eventually located Harmon at a Harris County motel with a syringe and a large amount of cash. A DPS agent testified the amount of narcotics Harmon was found with was much greater than is usually found on a drug user, the DAs Office stated.

Officers with the Jersey Village Police Department in 2016 apprehended Harmon with 41 grams of methamphetamine and 18 grams of heroin rolled up in a black sock, an official with the agency testified. In 2017, Harmon was found with 15 grams of meth and six grams of heroin in the city of Waller. Harmon was sentenced to two years for the 2016 offense, and like during the Magnolia-area offense, he had been out bond on another felony charge at that time, according to the District Attorneys Office.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorneys Rob Freyer and Modesto Rosales prosecuted the case.

Drugs are responsible for all types of other crimes. Criminals will steal, rob, and hurt others to get their hands on these drugs, said Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon in a statement. Through the collaboration and hard work of multiple law enforcement agencies and prosecutors in this case we were able to stop this defendant from continuing to put these poisons on the street.

jose.gonzalez@chron.com

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The Chief Executive Officer, CoralPay Technology Limited, Mr. Chioma Nkechika, in this interview speaks about the benefits of the CoralPay Payment Gateway and Processing Platform, which allows customers to use the USSD short codes of their respective banks, alongside their mobile Apps to pay for goods and services directly from their bank accounts and wallets. Obinna Chima brings the excerpts:

How will you assess the level of electronic payment adoption in the country?

It has been a journey which started with the need for us to be more disciplined in our approach. Nigeria has been cash-laden and with cash pressure on the society, it brings about all the ills that come with cash transactions. It is expensive to process cash, it leads to crime, it leads to a lot of things that would not enable the government have a proper understanding of its macro and microeconomic policies. So the idea of cash-less goes beyond just taking cash off the street, there are a lot of other indices. In terms of that, I would not rate it so high but it is at least over 50 per cent. And the reasons are very simple, there has not been proper harmonisation of fiscal and monetary policies. The intent is there, the purpose is there, but the delivery is where there has been a challenge and largely because there are so many players in the sector who have not all been galvanised to have the same common purpose.

So, what is CoralPay's role in ensuring that this common purpose is achieved?

CoralPay today as a payment switch is an institution with call of necessity designed essentially to fill in the gap we have identified in the ecosystem. Typically, today the existing switches have tried to do everything, but ultimately created silos that have not allowed for full integration of partners in the ecosystem. Our objective as CoralPay is to create a gold standard for payment in Africa. And when we describe gold standard, it is not necessarily to say you are redefining standards, but you are taking the best of practices across all the players and bringing it into a common standard. So, today we have launched a platform we call CoralPay payment gateway. It is a ubiquitous platform that enables you to be able to first of all process all kinds of payment instruments that are available in the market today, into one seamless payment outlet. You have cards, telephones, accounts and you have other tools that exist but one thing that has remained a problem is that they have all operated in silos. And that is because the channel on which they can transact are limited to their design. But with the C'Gate (CoralPay Payment Gateway and Processing) platform, all of these different tools can work from one base platform.

Can you shed more light on the C' Gate platform?

The C'Gate platform is your typical payment processing engine. We call it a super engine because within the C'Gate platform, typically what you have globally is that you have a card processing platform, you have a mobile payment processing platform, you have an account processing platform and you have all the different other channels. What we have done is based on our varied experiences across the globe, brought all of those payment standards into one processing base and that is what C'Gate represents.

What is the level of adoption of this platform?

Our first launch of the C'Gate platform was the USSD processing. It's been good. Today, we have 17 banks signed on, we have insurance companies signed on and when I say 17 banks, I mean 17 commercial banks. Then, we also have the microfinance banks signed on, we have the mobile money operators signed on as well. All of these represent different aspect of the financial sector. For the insurance company, today they collect premium from people, it's been laden with a lot of challenge because you have to get a bank to pay it in. But with what we designed, you are able to remotely pay your premium into your account. We have gone into the health premium; you can also pay your health premium same way. But the one that has been most interesting and novel which is the flagship of it all is the ability to use your USSD from any bank to pay on any point of sale (PoS) terminal deployed in the market today. Prior to the advent of this, it was exclusively for cards, so you only had cards work on PoS terminals. But today, without the physical contact you can by dialing for a transaction on your phone, no matter the phone you are using, consummate a transaction and receipt is printed on the PoS terminal irrespective of the institution that has deployed that terminal. That brings in true sense, the interoperability we are talking about. That is because you are talking of telephony, the PoS hardware, and the payment infrastructure, all fused together for payment.

But why is it that we don't see this payment platform at supermarkets and retail stores?

Now it depends on the supermarket because we are growing organically. Today, within the 17 banks, effectively 14 are live in operation. They have given us a total of 120, 000 merchant locations deployed. The issue and the challenge has been awareness creation which is where we think we need to do a lot more. But in terms of the infrastructure it is there. On each PoS terminal, you will see an option that says pay with C'Gate USSD. If you select that, you can consummate your payment. And it doesn't stop at that, we have also realised that the mindset of people who have used USSD for payment have looked at it largely for airtime top up and for transfers. So it is also to create that awareness to give them the comfort. This is because the real beauty of it is that it is safer than cards because your information is secure. You only push it against the card infrastructure and that pulls data. However, your data can readily be compromised if it is put on a third party platform. But with this, it remains with you, it is just the message of authorisation that is passed through and that is how we designed it.

Beyond safety, what are the other benefits?

Convenience is key. One of the things you do today is that you are either physically present in the shop or you can do it remotely. But beyond all of that also, the timing of transaction. A typical card transaction today takes an average of 35 to 40 seconds to consummate. With this, we have been able to achieve 20 seconds. So, it is supposed to be faster. Then also in terms of the cost of processing, it is cheaper, unlike cards, and this is not de-marketing cards, but this is a different channel. On cards, you have a lot of parties that are in the interface who share out of the commission, but with this, it is simply within the institution that is the issuer of the USSD code, the acquirer and C-gate platform as a switch in between the processing. One thing that C'Gate does that the market doesn't have today is one platform that has the ability to do card processing, telephony processing and other forms of payment. Yes, other competitors in the market have varied platforms, but they are not all unified in one platform. So, it is all about value proposition. The closest we have with what we have today with regards to USSD is quite different because it doesn't enable you to print. It is like we tell people, the taste of the pudding is in the eating. So, clearly, as at today, I can confidently speak, there is no competition in terms of the value and delivery purpose for C'Gate in the market. There are variations of it, but they totally have a different space.

So, what is CoralPay's projection for the next five years?

I would have looked beyond five years, but it is good to have a 5-year plan. But let me do a two to five years' projection. In the next two years, the plan is for us to be so established where we will redefine the payment standard for Africa. So we have started today by having a footprint in Nigerian market. And interestingly based on the feedback I have been getting on linkedin, there is a clamour from the rest of Africa for our services. Nigeria is a base, it has a population, it has the might; the market, whatever we are establishing in Nigeria based on the trade route across Africa we should be able to reach out to the rest of Africa. So, in terms of our stability, our base, and reach we would have covered all of Africa in two years. But ultimately, in five years we would have redefined payment standard where clearly that our desire to be the goal standard for payment across Africa would have been a fact well established.

What plans do you have to expand?

The idea around organic growth is to establish, once you have established like I mentioned earlier, our products and services, that will take a life of its own. So if you take today, say MasterCard or Visa, these are companies from the United States of America, but it is used globally. In Africa, one thing people have missed is what is peculiar to us that have worked and worked better than the rest of the world. The rest of the world has been trying to force card payment into Africa, but the challenge has been the distribution of card. So if you take Nigeria for example, total amount of unique BVN is less than 45 million. Now, statistics shows that active card usage monthly is less than five million. It shows that there is a distortion. Let's go on the other side and look actually at telephone. Telephone numbers today go between 100 to 150 million. If we are conservative and do a 50 per cent discount of that number, we would say 70 million. Now, within that 70 million, you will see that it has almost doubled. But in terms of the transactions, if you look at it you will see that a lot more people who are not in the payment ecosystem all have phones. Which means if you are able to enable them into financial transactions, you have a huge market untapped. Now let's look at what happened in Nairobi with Mpesa, everybody refers to Mpesa but Mpesa was a fortunate incident. The result of Mpesa wasn't as intended. It was to solve a problem after the crisis to bring humanitarian funds to the people. Money had gone in, people needed to spend that money, but there was infrastructure and it caught up on the life of its own. That was the design. So, if I bring it back home to say the design for CoralPay and the C'Gate with regards to USSD, we are saying banks today have achieved success within their infrastructure on USSD for their customers, but they have been operating in silos. What we have done is to bring an avenue where they can interoperate on multiple channels, seamlessly in secured manner. The idea is that it is now the banks that would grow their business daily, to grow their customer base and give more satisfaction. We are bringing value to the table as an inter-operator and creating multiple channels. So it is not so much about the growth of CoralPay, but it is about our service to the industry. Which is why we sell ourselves as primarily a B-2-B company with a capacity to do B-2-C. So, it is only when we are not able to fulfil the B-2-B, which is business to business, we now take an extension to the B-2-C. That is why we also went and got cognate licenses from the Central Bank of Nigeria to be able to achieve this. And in doing this, we have also recognised that there are a lot of new players who are not licensed. We are taking the responsibility to also midwife them through the process, so we are open for partnership. And with our partnership, we are able to bring them on-board, allow them to offer their services and grow. That way, we will also grow. So, our organic growth is something we want to sustain. However, what might vary in terms of definition of organic growth is we are now going to do more of awareness creation. But the challenge has been you need to be careful when creating awareness not to be seen as bias towards one partner or the other. But ultimately we are going to be more visible in the years to come.

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Are there policies you want the CBN or the government to introduce to support the industry?

Frankly speaking there is a lot of opportunity and promotion from the central bank on electronic payment system. The only thing I see as a challenge is harmonisation of the fiscal and monetary policy. I will give you a very practical analogy. You will find out today that central bank has been promoting cash-less but under the federal government has brought additional punitive cost on financial transaction which may hampering the objective financial inclusion. So that is some contradiction. Whereas the objective is good because government needs to raise more revenue, but the timing and application is what is creating problem. That is where we think that there should more harmony, not necessarily that it is not good for purpose. The other part is that in promoting certain sectors you need to be very careful that you do not stifle the growth of the weaker players. This is Because as you begin to bring in policies, as you begin to bring in huddles, there is a lot of opportunity that you might lock out. We have tried within our space to do it but we need to work in line with the corporate governance standard as demanded of us as an organisation.

What message do you have for your stakeholders?

We are out to give service, we are out to support the market, we are a home-grown company. The design is not to say it's for foreign acquisition, it is something we are designing for our good as a country. What we are asking for is more partnership from everyone. It is for our service, it is for our good and it is for our economy.
Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning with co-presenters Ruth Langsford, Holly Willoughby and Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay (ITV)

Eamonn Holmes has said Phillip Schofield "appreciated a laugh to break the tension" after the Belfast man was criticised on social media for lighthearted remarks he made on This Morning after his colleague revealed he was gay.

Schofield, who has been married for nearly 27 years, announced the news on Friday morning with a statement posted on Instagram.

He then went live on air with his kind and wise on-screen partner and best friend, Holly Willoughby, for a special episode of the popular morning TV programme.

The pair struggled to fight back tears as Schofield described his "inner conflict" and spoke of the support from his "incredible" wife and daughters.

Eamonn and his wife, Ruth Langsford, who present the show on Fridays, hugged Phillip and Holly after the emotional interview, despite recent rumours of a feud between Ruth and Phillip.

Following the embrace, the Belfast-born presenter offered his support to his co-host.

"Nobody should be embarrassed about their sexuality," he said.

"It's fantastic that you have spoken out and there's so many people who will be strengthened by what you said.

"We, as Holly said, are all here by your side. We'll be the first to stand beside you. Absolutely brilliant, mate. As long as Steph's happy, the girls are happy , everybody must be happy for you."

But the 60-year-old admitted he was "disappointed" at Phillip's big announcement.

"I thought you were going to come in and announce you'd resigned and I would get your job," he joked.

"The second thing is, there's this great imponderable in life, which has always irritated me. I thought, 'How come he can sit in a hot tub with Holly 'Willoughbooby' and Steph [Phillip's wife] doesn't have a problem and Dan [Holly's husband] doesn't have a problem?"

Pointing at Ruth, he said, "She would have a problem".

While Phillip laughed off the comment and insisted that Holly is just "the sister he never had," This Morning viewers felt the comments were clumsy and insensitive.

One Twitter user branded the presenter an "absolute a******".

"That wasnt funny... get off my TV. @ITV how does he get away with this?" she tweeted.

Another said: "But honestly Eamonn, that was disgusting. Using his moment to be a creep about "sitting in a hot tub with Holly", and how now he knows why his wife was okay with it.

"You ruined this sweet moment by turning it into something sleazy. You should be ashamed."

Another viewer agreed, writing: "Eamonn Holmes, foot ankle-deep in mouth, crashing in to stomp clumsily all over the moment in true Eamonn Holmes style."

But others thought it was "hilarious" and applauded Eamonn for lightening the mood.

One viewer branded said those who were angry at the remarks were "absolute wet blankets".

"Stunning moment on @thismorning with@Schofe and @hollywills. Also, brilliant veteran presenting from @EamonnHolmes, breaking the ice and giving everyone a smile at the end," another Twitter user wrote.

Eamonn later responded to the criticism, sharing a picture on Twitter of the pair embracing.

"A picture paints a thousand words," he wrote.

Expand Close Video grab taken from ITV of TV presenter Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning being hugged by Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay. PA Photo. ITV/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Video grab taken from ITV of TV presenter Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning being hugged by Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay. PA Photo. ITV/PA Wire

"This is a man who was in pain, who today confided in Ruth and I and who knows we stand in support of him, his family and his sexuality.

"Also unlike some, he appreciated a laugh to break the tension. @Schofe hoping you find happiness."

Later responding to other users on the site he added: God, there are some dreary humourless people in the world. Hes cool and appreciated it. Think I would have said it if he didnt?
A 70-year-old man was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after a fire broke out Friday morning in the kitchen of a house on the city's northwest side, officials say.

Tucson firefighters worked quickly to put the blaze out at the house in the 1200 block of West Flores Street, near West Glenn Street North Flowing Wells Road, the Tucson Fire Department said in a news release.

The man was unconscious when he was found during a search of the house, the news release said. Crews started life-saving efforts then took the man to the hospital.

The fire was reported at 7:17 a.m. It took 28 firefighters 11 minutes to put out the blaze, the news release said.

No firefighters were injured. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Contact reporter Stephanie Casanova at scasanova@tucson.com. On Twitter: @CasanovaReports

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Tamil Nadu Forest Minister Dindigul C Srinivasan, who sparked off an outrage by asking a tribal boy to remove his chappals near Theppakkadu elephant camp here, expressed regret personally to the boy and his mother on Friday. The Minister said he had called the boy who was like his grandson to remove his footwear, and there was no other intention whatsoever. However, the boy's mother and some social organisations, sought an apology from the minister and filed a police complaint seeking action against him under the SC/ST Act. Sensing the public wrath, Srinivasan called the mother and relatives of the boy, and community members to the state guesthouse 'Tamizhakam' on Friday to convince them and sort out the issue. After nearly a one-hour meeting, Srinivasan told reporters that he has personally apologised to the boy Ketan and his mother Kaliyammal and also assured to take up developmental works in their village.

Kaliyammal told reporters that the complaint against the minister would be withdrawn following the apology from the minister.

The minister also assured to construct a community hall in the village, she said.

Meanwhile, members of some organisations, including Social Justice Party, gheraoed the minister by squatting in front of his car and condemned an NGO, who arranged the meeting in favour of the minister.

However, they dispersed after lodging their protest. On Friday, the Minister triggered the controversy when came to inaugurate the elephant rejuvenation camp in Theppakkadu, in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, 40 kms from here. When he along with the district collector and other officials were proceeding to the camp, Srinivasan called the boy and asked him to remove his footwear so as to enter a temple there and perform pooja. The boy readily obliged and removed the slippers in full public view. This led to an outrage and the clipping of the episode went viral.
Credit and debit card details of nearly half a million Indians have been put up for sale on an underground website that is a popular resource for financial fraud, according to cybersecurity researchers who say the leak is the most serious in at least the last 12 months.

The data, put up for sale on Jokers Stash, includes sensitive level of detail  expiration dates, CVV/CVC codes, cardholders names, and even email addresses in some cases  in addition to the 14-16 digit card numbers, according to Group IB, a Singapore-based cybersecurity firm.

These can together be used for carrying out financial transactions online without the need for any other method of authentication.

This is the second major leak of cards relating to Indian banks detected by Group-IB threat intelligence team in the past several months... In the current case, we are dealing with so-called fullz  they have info on card number, expiration date, CVV/CVC, cardholder name as well as some extra personal info, said Dmitry Shestakov, the head of Group-IB ybercrime research unit, in an email to HT.

Each of the 461,976 cards details was being sold for $9, bringing the total value of the data leak at $4.2 million. Such type of data is likely to have been compromised online, he added.

According to the Reserve Bank of Indias 2018-19 annual report, there were 1,866 instances of frauds through cards and internet banking. An average of 20 lakh was stolen per fraud, the RBIs data said.

Indian cybersecurity officials have alerted the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and all Indian banks that such data was being sold on the dark web, a senior official in a department handling cybersecurity said, asking not to be named. We do not know how many of these cards are active, the official said, adding that many could be old or inactive cards.

Once RBI and banks inform us of the nature of the data being sold, investigations on how the information was accessed can be more targeted and specific, a second senior official, also in a cybersecurity department, said.

Group IB found a similar card data dump in October, but, the organisations representatives added, that information was limited to data contained in a cards magnetic strip. Usually, most payment gateways across the world require additional details such as CVV and expiration dates to authenticate a transaction  information that may not have been available in the leak reported in October. The first included a much larger number of cards (1.3 million), but the listing was soon taken offline.

As of Friday evening, 407 card details had been bought by someone, Shestakov said, referring to the new data leak. The data contained in the current database enables fraudsters to make any purchases online. In a basic scenario, criminals purchase luxury goods and then resell them, he explained.

How this data was stolen or who was behind it was not immediately clear, but it appears to have been done by hackers who deployed tactics such as phishing, implanting malware or compromising e-commerce website with sniffers that can capture a customers payment details.

We have shared all the information discovered with our colleagues from CERT-In, Shestakov added, referring to Indias Computer Emergency Response Team.

Transactions that are routed through Indian payment gateways mandatorily require a second layer of authentication  usually a password set by a cardholder or through a one-time password (OTP) sent to the persons mobile phone or email address.

This layer of protection is not mandatory for payment gateways outside of the country, for which the card number, the CVV number and expiration date is often adequate for a transaction.

According to Group IBs Hi-Tech Crime Trends 2019-2020 report analysing card data leaks between October, 2018 to September-end, 2019, and October 2017-September-end 2018, the number of compromised cards uploaded to underground forums increased from 27.1 million to 43.8 million. The size of the carding market, in turn, grew by 33% and amounted to $879.7 million in total.

Compromised card data related to US banks has turned out to be most widespread and therefore the cheapest on the market, the report added.

Websites such as Jokers Stash exist in what is known as the dark web -- a part of the internet not indexed by search engines such as Google. Websites in dark web often rely on special networks such as Tor to anonymise their server addresses, making them untraceable.

(With inputs from Sudhi Ranjan Sen in New Delhi)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Binayak Dasgupta Binayak reports on information security, privacy and scientific research in health and environment with explanatory pieces. He also edits the news sections of the newspaper. ...view detail
Peter Wayne Snodgrass (pictured) admitted to more than 200 charges relating to secretly filming his female clients

A perverted chiropractor with 'an insatiable desire for breasts' has been jailed for 10 years after secretly filming hundreds of female clients for his own sexual thrill.

Peter Wayne Snodgrass claimed making the videos helped him cope with the death of his wife from cancer, and filmed girls as young as 11.

He even wrote cruel labels for the videos, writing demeaning notes such as 'hot MILF' and '14 and hot'.

Snodgrass told the court he 'just wanted to see more boobs' and watched huge amounts of pornography, but had been 'reckless' as to the age of his victims.

The father-of-three admitted to indecently filming hundreds of clients without their permission for years at his practice in Rostrevor, north-east of Adelaide.

Giving disturbing details of his crimes, the 52-year-old told Adelaide's Supreme Court he would hide a secret camera inside a clock to film his client's undressing.

He later downloaded the footage to his personal hard drive, where he would comment on their age and looks.

The sex-proclaimed sex addict even bought a special pen with a camera hidden inside, and took pictures of clients as he massaged them.

Snodgrass told the court his preference was filming women's breasts because 'breasts have always been my sexual preference'.

'I was watching a lot of porn and I guess I wanted to see more boobs,' he said.

At the same time, he was visiting prostitutes and watching a large amount of pornography following the death of his wife from cancer.

Jailing him for his 'voracious voyeurism', he was sentenced him to 10 years in prison as well as undergoing counselling, the Advertiser reported.

This woman (pictured) was one of many of his victims who chose to come to court on Friday to see him jailed

Another victim of Snodgrass (pictured) speaks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in Adelaide after he was jailed

He pleaded guilty to an astonishing 216 charges, including indecent filming and production of child exploitation material.

Outside the court, one victim said Snodgrass' sentence had given her closure.

'I think of him like a speck on the bottom of my shoe now, he's not my problem,' she told ABC.

'I get to go and have a nice lunch and a drink after this and he can go and sit in his cell.

The 52-year-old (pictured) told the court that he had a secret camera hidden inside a clock in the dressing room and filmed his clients as they undressed

'I will never forgive him for what he's done to me and my family but I don't need to live with it, it's done for me now.'

Justice Anne Bampton said: 'Your conduct was persistent and voracious voyeurism.

'Your insatiable desire for breasts (caused you to) transgress personal and professional boundaries.

'This was a gross invasion of privacy and dignity.'

Many of his victims came to the Adelaide court to see him jailed.

In a victim impact statement, one woman described his offending as 'calculated, planned and repetitive'.

'What gives you the right to prey on women for your own gratification,' she said.

At a previous hearing, Snodgrass read an apology to the court, blaming years of unresolved grief and trauma for his crimes.

'I made a terrible mistake in getting lost in the world of pornography and sexual gratification to numb out my emotional pain,' he said.

'I will never take what I've done lightly... it makes me feel sick and self-repugnant.'
Infosys co-founder and Axilor Ventures Chairman on Friday made a strong case for startups to think of Initial Public Offering (IPO) in order to tackle the fund crunch situation and provide longevity to their fledgling enterprises.

"Startups are hesitant to do IPO, which is not difficult. My biggest issue with the ecosystem today is that they are not doing an Let the Indian public own these They get the wealth being created," he said while inaugurating the 5th edition of the two-day 'Seeding Kerala' organised by Kerala Mission (KSUM) here.

"India has $2 trillion of wealth in private hands. Less than one per cent is invested in ecosystem. We need High Networth Individuals (HNIs) money going into startups," he added.

Gopalakrishnan advised startups to take minimum funds from angel, friends and families. They have to create minimum viable product, and establish unit economics and profitable model, he underlined.

"To make a successful new business is one which employs people, creates jobs and employment, and it is a sustainable and profitable business you can run it for a long time.

"Longevity is the best measure for the successful business. Society needs stable businesses that create good jobs and creates wealth for the society. Our best late stage startups are owned by non-Indian entities. More than 95 per cent of funding comes from non-Indian entities," he said.

Noting that Kerala community is innovative, entrepreneurial and action-oriented, Gopalakrishnan said the startup ecosystem in the state is getting recognition for its innovation, ideas and path-breaking initiatives.

"Studies have shown that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector is the backbone of any economy. More than 60 per cent of jobs are created through them," he said.

Interestingly, maximum number of jobs are created in the first five years of the businesses of startups and there is a need for a large number of MSMEs, he added.

"New jobs are created only if new businesses are created. We need to have best milieu for new business for maximum job creation. Among the with largest market capital in the world today, except Amazon, rest of them employ very few people. There are significant opportunities today to disrupt any business," he said.

Gopalakrishnan said India today has one of the most advanced fintech ecosystems, which even the US is also looking to implement. He also suggested creation of a database of viable businesses leveraging local strengths and ecosystem.

"We need to identify people passionate about starting a business and train them on business basics, including running business legally and ethically. They can select a business from the database and get trained on the business idea, followed by registering it," he explained.

Gopalakrishnan also interacted with 10 startup founders on the sidelines of the event.

M Sivasankar, Principal Secretary (Electronics and IT), government of Kerala, who presided over the function, said, "One of the ways to address scarcity of fund is to tap the funds from the alumni meet of engineering batches. Besides, we need to create networks of people, who believe in Kerala to invest."



In his welcome address, Saji Gopinath, CEO, KSUM, said India is the third largest ecosystem for startups.

"We have close to around 28,000 startups registered in Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and 60 per cent of them are located in three of four cities. This shows the high growth of non-Indian industries, which play a pivotal role in growing such ecosystem. But in Kerala, we have the most homogenous startups."



The investment summit brings together leading figures in the country's startup ecosystem besides senior government officials. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.
In Japan, condominium residents make regular contributions that accumulate for years to fund major renovations, adding up to around 1 million per apartment. But some businesses take advantage of resident management associations, with collusion leading to price gouging for construction work. What can residents do?

A Sham Tender

Well, this is odd, thought Shigematsu Hideshi as he stared at the one-page list of building contractors who had bid on a large-scale external and waterproofing project on his condominium building, in Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2013. An engineering firm contracted by the condominium management company had conducted the vendor selection process, which involved six building companies. Five submitted similar quotes, ranging from 227.5 million to 247.8 million. One company stood out due to its higher price of 277.7 million. The companies had submitted quotes in response to an advertisement placed in an industry newspaper by the engineering firm, with no apparent anomalies in competitive terms.

But Shigematsuwho holds a nationally recognized certification in condominium management and serves as an advisor to the management association representing residentswas better informed. Somewhat suspicious, he consulted with industry experts, discovering that the same engineering firm, and the same six contractors, often bid for the same projects. In industry terms, this hinted at collusion. He annulled the tender and sought new bids without the involvement of the engineering firm, gaining eight new quotes. The successful companys bid was 188.0 million, almost 40 million less than the lowest bid in the initial, sham tender. Even after his remuneration was deducted, it still provided a significant saving for the residents.





One question remained unanswered. For the building companies to have colluded, they would have required certain datathe budget prepared by the engineering firm. According to those familiar with the process, it indicates a maximum bid price, allowing vendors to secure contracts with a high bid without attracting suspicion. It was obvious that the budget had been leaked to the builders by the engineering outfit.

Kickbacks in a Crooked Environment

The normal role of an engineering firm is to supervise the building company on behalf of residents. What would motivate this company to betray the residents and side with the builders instead of encouraging competition among them? The answer became clearer in November 2016, when a member of the condominiums association handling the rebuilding project lodged a report that certain consultants, hailing from engineering and management companies, were receiving kickbacks from contractors.

The accusation suggested that this raised construction costs, caused financial harm to management associations, and resulted in lax supervision of building companies who fed payments back to consultants, sometimes to the detriment of work quality.



CCU chair Shibata Yukio

Shibata Yukio, chairman of the Clean Consultant Union, a group of independent engineering firms seeking to clean up the industry, explained that building companies charged higher prices for their work to secure a margin for the engineering firms that required this. By paying a margin, these companies win contracts without spending on their sales activities. The system is fixed so that the builders return excess profit to the engineering firms that assign the work.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism was shocked by the revelation, and held multiple hearings with industry representatives. On January 27, 2017, it released a statement recognizing the existence of consultancies whose interests conflicted with those of management associations. The ministry raised the alarm, citing examples of problematic conduct, including unscrupulous arrangements that enabled construction companies to secure contracts through kickbacks.

Excessive Competition

One root cause of the kickbacks is the fierce competition in the construction industry. Around the year 2000, there was a rush of high-rise condominium construction. These housing facilities are now due for their first round of large-scale renovations, which can run up to some 1 billion per building. The growth in this work has sparked fierce rivalries among engineering companies. Shibata explains that firms offer consultancy at extremely low fees, and some even resort to coercion to secure contracts. The low consultancy fees initially appeal to residents, but the engineering firms then expect building companies to reimburse them, leading to higher construction costs.

Those close to the industry suggest that kickbacks can amount to around 10% of construction costs. In the case of condominium tower contracts in the billion yen range, margins are up to 100 million, which jacks up costs.

Despite the specter of collusion between engineering and building firms in large-scale renovation contracting, the Japan Fair Trade Commission hasnot imposed sanctions or penalties upon any operators. Although collusion is considered a violation of the Antimonopoly Act (as unreasonable restraint of trade), Matsuda Hiromi, an attorney well-acquainted with issues relating to condominiums, notes that it is difficult to prove that meetings took place and who attended. Furthermore, he suggests that, with tax-funded public works, although the JFTC could exercise its investigative powers in an effort to establish collusion, investigations into the private sector are probably a low priority.

Three years have now passed since the alarm was first raised. Shibata says that the situation is actually worsening rather than improving, while the authorities stand by idly. Increasingly covert and organized means are being employed. There have been reports, for example, of firms operating dummy companies to provide an alternative route for handling money, making it harder to identify kickback payments.

Self-Protection Measures

Shugo Jutaku Center, a nonprofit organization that supports management associations, reports an increase in claims that these associations are proposing unreasonably steep, and in some cases illegal, hikes in the level of residents contributions for building repairs. Kawakami Yasuhisa, chairman of NJK, an NPO for condominium management associations, identifies the risk in associations readily entrusting large-scale renovation work to engineering and building companies simply because they have an existing relationship with them.

Although it can be beneficial to change vendors from time to time to safeguard against overpricing, it also takes a great deal of effort. Management associations, whose leaderships tend to rotate roughly every two years, tend to defer major decisions, and efforts to make fundamental changes to the way buildings are managed can attract opposition from residents. Shibata advises residents looking for change to form a group rather than attempting to act alone.

Given the complicated nature of the industry and lack of transparency, management associations, by nature composed of laypersons, face great difficulty in selecting a scrupulous engineering firm to handle periodic renovations. The attorney Matsuda suggests that selecting a firm based on low consulting fees can be a trap. Kawakami advises that residents need not waste precious time on selecting vendors, as his organization, NJK, can recommend reputable independent companies. NJK is an independent nonprofit that does not receive financial support from specific companies, and Kawakami himself was formerly a journalist at a city desk of a newspaper. He has acquaintances in many fields, providing him with abundant information sources.

In recent years, a growing number of condominium residents are aging and are living on their pensions. Expensive renovation contributions and management fees can place a heavy burden on such people just when they have repaid their mortgage and believe they have settled down for life. Elderly people who lack both money and information cannot afford to squander their money. Nor can they afford to lose their valuable savings in a scam. On this point, Kawakami is emphatic.

(Originally published in Japanese. Banner photo: Condominium towers standing in Musashi Kosugi, Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture.  Jiji.)
A political backlash is threatening to halt a Morrison government plan to outlaw cash payments over $10,000 in a fight over the cost for consumers and companies of forcing a shift to electronic transactions.

Ministers are facing a torrent of criticism from Liberal and Nationals MPs as well as party members who believe the crackdown on cash is a breach of the government's stated belief in the free market.

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar has privately criticised the plan to his Liberal colleagues out of frustration that he inherited the proposal from the last term of Parliament. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

The divisions set up a clash in the Senate that could veto the bill unless the government acts on demands from its own MPs to abandon the reform or send it back to department officials for extensive changes.

"In my view, there is a sense among party members and I think Liberal voters, that on this bill the party is not staying true to its Liberal values," Victorian Liberal member Steve Holland said. "I'd like to see the legislation withdrawn because in my view it is antithetical to our Liberal principles."
President Trump claimed Friday that it was illegal for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to tear up his State of the Union speech.

'She broke the law,' Trump told reporters gathered outside the White House as he left on a day trip to North Carolina. 'It's an official document, you're not allowed, it's illegal what she did.'

Trump was repeating claims made by political allies Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, a conservative organization for young people, and Rep. Matt Gaetz, who asked the leaders of the House Ethics Committee Wednesday night to launch an investigation in Pelosi's behavior.

President Trump told reporters gathered outside the White House Friday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi broke the law when she tore up her copy of his State of the Union speech

In the final moments that President Trump was in the House chamber Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood behind him and ripped up his State of the Union speech

After Trump concluded his State of the Union address in front of the House chamber Tuesday night, Pelosi could be seen ripping the pages to shreds behind his back.

Politifact already rated claims that what Pelosi did was illegal as 'pants on fire' wrong.

Experts told the fact-checker that Pelosi did not violate the law because her copy of the president's speech wasn't technically a government record.

'Her copy of the State of the Union address is not a government record or goverment property at all,' Douglas Cox, a professor of law at the City of New York University of Law told Politifact. 'It is personal property.'

Trump also called what Pelosi did 'terrible.'

'I thought it was very disrespectful to the chamber, to the country,' Trump went on. 'I got very high marks on the speech,' he added.

The president said he was made aware of Pelosi's stunt before he had even left the room.

'I didn't know that she did it until I was walking out and some of the congressmen and women were saying "can you believe what she did?"' the president said.

The president was also asked, post-impeachment acquittal, if he'd be able to work with Congressional Democrats to get anything done.

'Well, I think there's a lot of evil on that side,' he responded. 'They've gone crazy. They've gone totally crazy, it's too bad.'

At the same time, Trump contended that he did work with Democrats. 'I work with everybody,' he added.

'That group is - they say Trump Derangement Syndrome. They've got it,' Trump said.

He then turned his focus back to Pelosi and the torn pages of his speech.

'So disrespectful of our country and very illegal what she did,' Trump said.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, a top Trump ally, sent a letter to the leaders of the House Ethics Committee Wednesday night asking them to investigate House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for ripping up a copy of President Trump's State of the Union address

During an appearance on Fox News Channel earlier this week Gaetz, a Florida Republican, made many of the same points as he previewed the letter he planned to send to Rep. Ted Deutch, the chairman of the House Ethics Committee, and Rep. Kenny Marchant, the GOP's ranking member.

'She disgraced the House of Representatives, she embarrassed our country and she destroyed official records - the law does not allow the speaker of the House to destroy the records of the House,' Gaetz said on Laura Ingraham's Fox News Channel show. 'And the rules of the House do not permit some little temper tantrum just because you don't like what the president of the United States says.'

Late Wednesday night, Gaetz tweeted a copy of the letter he sent to where he calls Pelosi's actions 'deeply offensive' while claiming she broke a U.S. code that prohibits officials from destroying government records.

During Gaetz's appearance, Ingraham cast doubt on his argument that Pelosi was a law-breaker.

The Fox News Channel host did buy another point Gaetz made - that there was a double standard.

'And you know what, a lot of Republicans are sick of the double standard here,' Gaetz said.

The Florida Republican reminded the Fox audience of the 'excited utterance' made in September 2009 by Republican Rep. Joe Wilson when President Obama was addressing a joint session of Congress on the topic of healthcare.

Wilson shouted 'You lie!' at the Democratic president - a shocking outburst at the time.

'The Democrats really brought the heat down on him when he said Obama lied about illegals getting healthcare,' Gaetz said, adding that he agreed with Wilson's sentiment.

On Thursday, Pelosi defended ripping up the speech by pointing out what she saw as a double standard.

'It is OK to start saying "four more years!" in the House of Representatives?' she asked reporters at a press conference on Capitol Hill. 'Its just unheard of.'

Republicans had started the chant during their time in the House chamber Tuesday night.

Pelosi had been asked if her actions went against what she preached - to react to the president with respect.

She said they did not.

'I tore up a manifesto of mistruths,' she told reporters.

'Its necessary to get the attention of the American people and say: "This is not true. And this is how it affects you." And I dont need any lessons from anybody  especially the President of the United States  about dignity,' the California Democrat added.

Trump spent Thursday going after Pelosi - knocking her, without saying her name, at the National Prayer Breakfast, before calling her a 'vicious, horrible person' during an East Room speech where he celebrated his impeachment acquittal.

As for Gaetz, Trump made it clear he supported the Florida lawmaker.

'He's solid as a rock,' the president said at the White House Thursday afternoon.

Gaetz was one of the invited members of Congress, all Republican, to hear Trump's impeachment acquittal speech.

'Great job,' Trump told the congressman.
NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman, Bernard Antwi Boasiako says he will forever have a score to settle with former President John Dramani Mahama for the latter's unilateral role he played in collapsing his multi-million dollar small-scale mining company.



The outspoken NPP guru vowed not to forgive the former president for ordering the seizure and subsequent burning of his mining equipment in 2013  and insisted that no amount of apology or compensation would make him forget the pain he felt on that fateful day.



I was deeply anguished and I will never forgive Mr Mahama for his witch-hunting, he vowed.



Chairman Wontumi, who is the MD of Hansol Mining Limited, had his company raided by a security task-force team on the orders of the then government in 2013, on suspicion of aiding some Chinese nationals to engage in illegal mining activities.



Some mining equipment as well as gold and money were taken away by the task-force who later set the entire place on fire.



That experience let him very bitter, thus he proceeded to court for redress and reports say won a judgement debt in the region of US$1billion.



Speaking on Metro TVs Good Evening Ghana and monitored by Peacefmonline.com, Wontumi said he had a fat pocket before his companys collapse.



I was making one million dollars [$1M] a day by then before Mahama strikes me down, he disclosed in broken English.



Recounting how the former regime led by then National Security Coordinator, Lt. Col. Gbevlo Lartey [Rtd.] unleashed terror on him and thousands of his workers at a mining concession at Samanboi in the Western Region, he said, I was on my way to my company, Hansol Mining, one day when I received a phone call from an unknown number.



The caller told me President Mahama wanted to have a meeting with me on that same day, but I declined as I was on my way to attend to some pressing matters at the site.



But the same number called for the second time and I was told to meet the president at Tamale in the Northern Region, so I agreed to be in that meeting. I remember vividly that the meeting was held on a Sunday," he narrated.



That was the beginning of his troubles after he literally snubbed attempts to lobby him (Wontumi) to his (Mahama's) camp by then President Mahama after he produced evidence of licences and legal permits backing his operations, he claimed.





Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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A 55-year-old woman is fighting for life after a hit and run in west London.

Police were called to the collision at 8.21pm in Wayfarer Road, Northolt, on Wednesday.

She suffered multiple injuries in the collision and was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Her injuries have been described as life threatening, Scotland Yard said.

Police are appealing for information about a Black Ford Fiesta Zetec found abandoned nearby following the crash.

The car, registration LE06 OBK, has been recovered by the Met Police.

Anyone with information about the vehicle's movements or its owner is asked to contact investigators.
By Emmanuel Onwubiko

Nigeria is a hoax. NIGERIA is a paradox. NIGERIA is a wonder of the world.

These three phrases sum up the sentiments that run through the minds of most critical thinkers of Nigerian origin who are unable to decipher or offer any logical explanation for why Nigeria is rated as a resource rich nation but doubles as home to the largest population of absolutely poor and dejected members of the human community.

Broadly speaking however, it is known that the reason for the unwelcomed paradox is because of the crass ineptitude of the political class that have through extensive manipulations of the electoral system, managed to hold on to political power since the last half a century after flag independence.

Professor Chinua Achebes summed up the above scenario of incompetent leadership that Nigeria has been cursed with almost in perpetuity.

The trouble with Nigeria is simply a failure of leadershipThe Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership,  Professor Chinua Achebe.

To underscore the debilitating leadership crisis that Nigeria is faced with, all that a person needs to do is to understudy the administrative style of the current president who was once a military dictator retired Major General Muhammadu Buhari.

Since he assumed office five years back, this president has rolled back Nigeria right into the inglorious class of a member of the worlds heavily indebted nation.

Nigeria has under president Buhari made a negative detour to become a notorious borrower to an extent that there is now hue and cry from all concerned patriots who are sounding loud note of warning that the current administration will lead Nigeria into an economically enslaved nation to the lenders such as China.

This sordid tale of an inglorious reversal of the gains made by the previous president Olusegun Obasanjos administration who led Nigeria out of the debts trap, need to worry every Nigerian because of the dimension that the addiction to borrow has become with president Buharis government and his aversions to public opinion which is of against the toxic move. But why make Nigerians the unwilling slaves of China through the ireational borrowing patterns? Did the Nigerian Customs Service not told us that in 2019 alone, it raked in N341 Trillion as revenues? Did the Federal Inland Revenue Services not claiming to raking in billions from taxes? Where are these money and why does government borrow so much and claims to be building national infrastructures which still remained collapsed? These conundrums are what every reasonable Nigeria is asking because it is a notorious fact that only few years back we exited from that disgraceful class of heavily indebted nations. From www.cgdev.org we are told the story of Nigerias freedom from debts as follows: Nigeria, home to one in five Africans, has been the continents most indebted nation.

With $36 billion in external debt, 100 million people living on less than a dollar a day, and a fledgling democratic government attempting reforms, Nigeria should have been a strong candidate for debt relief. Yet, in part because of its oil revenues, Nigeria slipped through the cracks of debt relief programs. In 2004, CGD set out to provide analytical support to Nigerias efforts to persuade creditors to agree to an appropriate debt relief package.

In October 2005, Nigeria and the Paris Club announced a final agreement for debt relief worth $18 billion and an overall reduction of Nigerias debt stock by $30 billion.

According to the authors, the deal was completed on April 21, 2006, when Nigeria made its final payment and its books were cleared of any Paris Club debt. CGD Fellow Todd Moss, who led CGDs work on Nigerias debt, explains the outcome of the deal.

This watershed deal was the result of months of tireless work by both Nigerian officials and the creditors.

The research platform known as CGD stated that it is proud that its work contributed to this historic outcome.

It says: A September 2004 CGD working paper, Double-Standards, Debt Treatment, and World Bank Country Classification: The Case of Nigeria, argued for Nigerias reclassification as an IDA-only country within the Banka prerequisite for debt relief. This overdue change in status, announced in June 2005, enabled Paris Club negotiations to begin in earnest. CGDs work also influenced the structure of the final agreement, which included the first-ever discounted buyback within the Paris Club, an innovation first proposed in an April 2005 CGD note, Resolving Nigerias Debt Through a Discounted Buyback.

Also, it says that the Centers contribution to the deal has been recognized by participants in the negotiations, by others close to the process, and by major media:

Your catalytic work and analysis made a differenceespecially the work of CGD in facilitating the reclassification of Nigeria as an IDA-only country as well as putting forward an innovative solution to the debt problem. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister of Finance(as she then was).

CGD has played a critically important role I have it first hand from negotiators in the Paris Club that it was the CGD concept of a buyback that was the tipping point that led creditors to agree debt relief for NigeriaThis is a great achievement for all concerned, and is in no small part due to the work of CGD. Ann Pettifor, co-founder Jubilee 2000 and Director of Advocacy International

CGD was described by the New York Times as a nonpartisan research institution in Washington that proposed elements of the [Nigerian debt] deal (Oct 21, 2005) and by the Economist as the Washington think-tank that first proposed the buy-back (October 20, 2005).

Nigerias debt relief deal is historic. Although the short-term financial windfall will be modest, the real potential impact is for the future. The long-term challenge for Nigeria will be to consolidate the gains from the debt deal by pushing forward with economic reform and ensuring that the benefits from debt relief are shared with the population. This is by no means assured, but the debt deal is an important step in the right direction. These lofty aspirations have all evaporated due to poor economic management of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration which sleeps, dreams and wakes up thinking of the next loan to apply for. Nigeria under this government has sleep walked back into the unfortunate class of heavily indebted nations and in five years, the government has accumulated what took successive governments in the past over two decades to build up.

The below story is why every Nigerian should worry.

The media is awash with the frightening moves By the government of Muhammadu Buhari to once more borrow heavily from China.

The Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government has offered a lame and irrational explanation why it decided to approach the China-Exim Bank for a $17bn loan request.

It said other lending institutions like the World Bank and the African Development Bank were not showing much interest when Nigeria approached them during recession.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, stated this in the Senate while defending the decision of the regime of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to borrow $29.96bn loan to fund critical infrastructure across the country.

She explained that the 8th National Assembly had approved about $6bn for the Federal Government out of the $29.96bn loan, leaving a balance of $22.8bn.

The Finance minister Ms. Ahmed told the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign loans that the Federal Government and some state governments were jointly requesting the loans from various lending institutions.

She said 70 per cent of the loan, which is about $17bn, would come from the China-Exim Bank while others would be sourced from other lending institutions such as the Islamic Development Bank.

The minister maintained that the country had no issue with its current debt profile but noted that its dwindling revenue could not fund the various projects that were expected to have meaningful impact on the lives of Nigerians.

She said, The funds ($22.8bn) will be channeled to the funding of infrastructure, which will enhance the productivity of our economy.

Other projects are in healthcare and education. It also includes projects for the rehabilitation of the North- East geopolitical zone, which has been ravaged by insurgency.

Others are the Mambila Hydro Power project ($4.9bn), LagosKano modernization rail project ($4.1bn), the Development Finance project loan being provided by a consortium of World Bank and African Development Bank agencies ($1.28bn).

Above all, the loan will help us to improve our electricity supply, reduce poverty, create jobs, ensure access to finance, agricultural productivity, guarantee food security, achieves high school enrolment, provide clean potable water, rehabilitate major roads and develop the mining industry.

On why the country is seeking 70 per cent of the foreign loan from China, the minister said, it is meant to make funds available to our own development institutions so that they can give out loans because access to finance has been difficult for the SMEs.

On the debt profile of the country, the minister said, The 2016  2018 external borrowing plans are both for the Federal Government and the states. So, some states would be responsible for the payment of some of the loans.

On the sustainability of the nations debt portfolio, the minister said Nigerias current portfolio ceiling as set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act was 25 per cent of total debt to GDP. He said, The ratio for December 2018 was 19.09 per cent but it reduced to 18.9 per cent by the middle of 2019.

The debt service to revenue ratio is however high and it provides us strong justification for us to drive our revenue.

For 2017, the ratio was 57 per cent and 51 per cent in 2018.

The minister said the nations debt level was low compared to other countries like the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada. The Chief of Staff to the Kaduna State Governor, Mohammed Abdullahi, defended the states $305m loan request before the panel.

A representative of the Katsina State Government, Yakubu Danja, said the state planned to source $100m out of $110m from the Islamic Development Bank.

He said the state would enjoy between 20 to 50 per cent grants and that projects to be executed would cover the entire local government areas of the state. He also said that the loan was interest-free.

Kogi State Governments Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Mr. Ashiru Idris, said the $100m that the state was requesting would be used to develop infrastructure to encourage investors and diversify the economy. These are all propaganda that lack justification. Unfortunately, Nigeria now has a lamedock Senate and a Senate headed by a stooge of President Muhammadu Buhari so the Senators will okay the request because the Senate President Ahmed Lawan had already stayed that his Senate will pass every request from President Muhammadu Buhari because they are good. The Chairman of the committee seeking clarification on the loan package is a stooge of the Kaduna state governor whilst the Finance minister is the Sister of the Kaduna state governor. Nothing good can come from the Ahmed Lawan led Senate.

Just before we round up on the frightening development regarding the continuous pursuit for loans by president Buhari, let us read a little of what Oseloka H. Obaze, a seasoned diplomat, international civil servant, strategic policy advisor, wrote in 2016 about Buharis economic policy outlook.

Writing in his book Prime witness charge and policy challenges in Buharis Nigeria, he says: Ten months into its first year in office, the Buhari presidency remains economically challenged. Its espoused economic policies have not manifested. As the economy wobbled towards a glaring and deleterious downturn, criticisms raged, compelling variants of ad-hoc policy approaches. Because most of the policy options were disconnected, they presented as policy dissonance, if not confusion.

As Fela the legendary Musician would say, CONFUSION BREAK BONE AND WE HAVE DOUBLE WAHALA for dead body and the owner of the dead body.

Nigerians, must we allow ourselves to become slaves of China? The die is cast!

*Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria and [email protected]; www.emmanuelonwubikocom; www.thenigerianinsidernews.com; [email protected]

PV: 0
A MAN who took delivery of illicit drugs worth almost 200,000 after they were posted to him has been jailed for six years.

Alan ORegan, 41, who has an address at Kylefea, Croom, had initially denied the charge but changed his plea in April 2019 and admitted possession of quantities of cannabis and cocaine for the purpose of sale or supply.

During a sentencing hearing, Detective Garda Declan OHalloran of the divisional drugs unit told Limerick Circuit Court gardai were alerted, by customs officers, to a suspicious package after it arrived at a postal depot in Limerick from Amsterdam.

The package, he said, contained two large cushions which had vacuum-packed plastic packs containing drugs concealed inside.

A controlled delivery was arranged and carried out and on October 14, 2016 gardai called to Mr ORegans address in Croom at around 12.30pm.

He accepted and signed for the package and was arrested a short time later.

Read also: Three men involved in car crash after fleeing burglary scenes in Limerick and Kerry

More than 5kgs of cannabis, with an estimated street value of 110,000 and 1kg of cocaine, worth 70,245, were discovered when the package was examined further.

The defendant told gardai he owed a 40,000 drug debt and had been instructed by another individual to take possession of the package and to pass it on.

Mr ORegan, who is originally from elsewhere in Croom, told gardai he couldnt go to his home address as people were looking for him and that the windows had been put in.

Colman Cody SC said his client knew the package contained drugs but was surprised at the quantity involved.

He expected a small quantity of cocaine, he said noting Mr ORegan told gardai I am shocked, thats me f***** anyway when informed of the street value.

He said Mr ORegan had been contacted a number of days earlier and was told a huge chunk of his debt would be knocked off if he took delivery of the package.

He accepted the package for a third party, he has no trappings of wealth, said Mr Cody who said his client has alienated himself from his family. He added there was a sense of relief when he was caught.

Imposing sentence, Judge Tom ODonnell said the quantity and value of the drugs seized was an aggravating factor as were Mr ORegans previous convictions for drugs offences.

He accepted the defendant was living a chaotic lifestyle at the time and that he is a vulnerable individual who has a difficult family background.

He imposed a seven and-a-half year prison sentence, suspending the final 18 months.
What Role Can Tech Play?

There are about 12,000 sales taxes in the nation. And thanks to the Supreme Court decision in the 2018 case, South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., businesses that sell products outside of their home state now have a greater responsibility to keep up with all of those different taxes.Its a lot of legal burden on businesses given that there is no single oversight agency which provides clear guidelines of what to do, said Lucy Dadayan, senior research associate for the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.Before the Supreme Court ruling, businesses only had to collect sales tax for out-of-state sales if they had a physical presence in the state where the purchase was made. That changed radically when SCOTUS removed the physical-presence requirement, and states established rules around the collection of remote online sales taxes in order to capitalize on the cases implications.States have moved faster on this fiscal policy issue than almost any Ive ever seen, said John Hicks, former executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers and the current state budget director for Kentucky.Of the 45 states that collect sales tax, Florida and Missouri are the only two that have not passed legislation requiring remote sellers to collect sales tax, but both are considering bills. These laws are known as economic nexus regulations. The idea is that if a business passes a threshold of total number of sales made or of total money made from sales in a state, it must collect sales tax.These economic-presence thresholds differ by state, but they follow the spirit of the Supreme Court decision in an attempt to reduce the burden on small businesses. In the landmark case involving South Dakota, the state set its threshold at more than 200 individual shipments or more than $100,000 in total sales. Other states have followed this lead , according to an Urban Institute report.Many states also passed regulations that require marketplace vendors like Amazon to collect sales taxes on behalf of their smaller sellers. These laws really put the burden on the entities who already have the infrastructure and technology and capability to figure out the sales tax in your town versus my town and correctly calculate and in essence facilitate the payment, said Hicks.In a 2017 audit, the Government Accountability Office estimated that states and local areas could receive anywhere from $8 billion to $13 billion in additional revenue if they collected taxes from remote sellers.Hicks cited a lower national estimate of $6 billion. Weve been trying to at least track the estimates that were made, the estimates that states used in their budget process, he said. Roughly it reflected another two percent increase in their sales tax revenues. That isnt massive, but the sales tax is 30 percent of states general fund revenue, said Hicks. So, its the second largest type of tax receipt, second to personal income taxes. A two percent increase in your second highest revenue stream is a notable item.However, Dadayan claims its too early to say anything about the revenue impact. Its not really substantial, she said. We think its going to take some time for the states to figure out the final rules related to the administration and thresholds and everything, and its going to take time for businesses to figure out how do they comply. Maybe in a year or so we will start seeing more substantial growth in sales tax, all things equal of course.Before the South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc. decision, a remote seller with something as large as a warehouse or as small as a computer in a state could be expected to collect sales tax according to the laws of that state. The collection challenges included the manual process of calculating different tax rates and the potential for sudden changes to the sales tax definitions of local areas.Youve got thousands and thousands of cities with a sales tax in the United States who have the ability to change their boundaries, said Scott Peterson, the former sales tax director of the South Dakota Department of Tax Revenue. And every time they change that boundary, someones tax obligation changes. Either a retailers business gets sucked into the city and they now have to start charging the city sales tax, or a neighborhood gets sucked inside the city and every consumer inside that neighborhood is now subject to the city sales tax.The Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement (SST) was created during the 2000s to help reduce the burden of tax compliance for remote sellers. Peterson, the first executive director of the SST Governing Board, said the goal of SST was to get the cost of tax compliance to zero. As part of this effort, the board developed a public-private partnership called the Certified Service Provider (CSP).The CSP program involves a software company providing tax administration services to a seller, with SST member states covering the bill for the automated tax services.Sales tax is a very rote process, said Peterson, who now serves as director of governmental affairs for Avalara, one of five CSPs . Its extraordinarily suited for automation. So retailers were naturally moving toward automation anyway, and this [Supreme Court decision] gives them another reason to move even quicker, because now they have an obligation to collect sales tax, which is very complicated if you arent automating it, and those streamlined states will pay for it.But if a retailer sells products in the wrong state, so to speak, theyll have to foot the bill for CSP tax services. To date, 24 states are SST members. The fact that 26 states arent participating SST members presents a challenge for businesses, according to Peterson.Verenda Smith, deputy director of the Federation of Tax Administrators, said marketplace laws passed by states after the Wayfair decision took some business away from CSPs. Marketplaces that collect taxes for sellers give smaller businesses a new way to interface with the tax agency.The CSPs have responded by doubling down on their sales effort, by pushing the idea that states really do need to address the burden by using this service and by paying for it, Smith said.Although some states may not be interested in bearing the cost associated with being an SST member, there are benefits that might offset the price. Peterson said the Wayfair decision opened up the market for CSP software given the thousands of sellers today that are collecting that didnt have to collect before. Without the aid of a marketplace or automation, this new context could lead to businesses making mathematical errors, given the complexity of sales taxes across the United States.While theres a lot of things that are pretty standard, normal or almost completely normal around the country, if all you know about sales tax is the California sales tax system, you wont even recognize the New Mexico sales tax system, Peterson said. You wont even see it as the same tax, they are so different from each other. And youre going to make mistakes.According to Smith, the SST contract essentially states that if any mistakes occur while using CSP software, the business is not held liable.In any case, the potential for miscalculations carries implications. Peterson said department of revenue offices have no idea whether a given retailer is collecting the right amount of taxes without an audit. In states that administer local sales taxes, this could mean that cities may not receive the tax revenue theyre entitled to.The department of revenue has no choice but to distribute the money the way the retailer said they collected it, notwithstanding how poor a job the retailer may have done collecting it, Peterson said.The solution to the auditing challenge is using a CSP-generated transaction list to ensure that every purchase included the right amount of sales tax, according to Peterson. Regardless of whether a state decides to pay for CSP services, rely on the marketplace model or take another path, the reconfigured landscape of sales tax collection raises important questions about how states and local areas can fully benefit from the Wayfair decision.GoverningGovernment Technology's
LOL lose the battle win the war



Unless he donates $250

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lmaooooo should have just sent a warning. did you really think a giant corporation demanding money from a PTA was going to go over well?

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Evil

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How'd you find a gif of Bob Iger?

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lol that gif. literally how i feel about every corporation feel good story.

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I just saw the comments to the original post here and yikes...some people here will say eat the rich and then go to bat for a billion dollar blood sucking corporation trying to fine an elementary school trying to raise money for their kids over a showing of a movie. Yeah, licensing and permission and blah blah all that, but a billion dollar company fining a school was egregiously excessive on Disneys part.

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I was just going to mention this, posts like that are always filled with "but LEGALLY..." as if it's not at the discretion of the company. Ethically it's fucked and are we really pretending we are absolute with laws and don't pick and choose when to enforce them? The most annoying comments though are always the smug "of course people here don't understand the law" as if it's about that and not people disagreeing with it.



Edited at 2020-02-07 05:49 pm (UTC)

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Ive noticed the first few comments always set the precedence of the later comments when a common ground is initially undecided. Youll have some people start the post making the well, but... type comments and everyone follows through. When the CEO of Disney can make a more ethically appropriate statement addressing the controversy than people on a woke livejournal community thats when you know its an echochamber in here sometimes.

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It's very Twittery, honestly. That "people don't understand the law." The jobs on this site are varied enough that it's irresponsible to claim such. It was $250 and according to some comments I read, it wasn't even Disney but a watchdog they paid to keep tabs on people. So if that's true, they paid a group to bring bad PR to a company. How is this shit any different than the number of YouTubers who frequently face demonetization because of watchdog bots, etc? Ethically, these huge companies can get fucked.

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so many bootlickers in this community

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Not to mention that Disney is why we have all these fucked up copyright law issues.

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It was really weird to me too. I wonder if any of them will comment here about dangerous of a precedent this will set.

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ia, im p sure i noped out of that post quickly

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i don't think i remember this post

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A lot of people  not just here, everywhere  stop at whether something is legally right without thinking about if its morally right. Add in confusion about copyright law (you cant lose your copyright unless it expires or you sign it away; abandonment is a trademark thing, and even then you dont have to sue literally every infringer) and a company thats notoriously overzealous, and people are even more likely to throw up their hands and accept it.

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i agree in principal and fuck the law but like... don't do the crime if u can't do the time. i've also screened films illegally (some disney owned) but not ones that just left theatres and i think it's easy to get around if the film is free but u charge for refreshments. like come on, it's "wrong" sure but to tempt the biggest most evil most litigious company in the world is irresponsible and fucks up ur own charity

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this place is full of rule loving lib dweebs



*case in point^^



Edited at 2020-02-07 08:23 pm (UTC)

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yeah the tone of that post was not at all what I expected.

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The last post was a fucking trip. Some people are just pathetic lol

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They weren't fining the school, they were asking them to pay the normal licensing fee that they legally should have beforehand.

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Yep. And here are a few @ you.



I have to laugh. 

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Too late bitch.

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Fuck him lmao

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I had to take a copyright workshop eons ago, so we could learn how to legally use film clips in our classes, and I swear that the organizer told us that Disney pays a bounty to whoever turns schools and organizations in for illegally showing their stuff.

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Good God

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So how do you legally show clips in classes?

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most teachers dont even know and just show movies anyway, but a lot of districts, mine included, have paid an all inclusive licensing fee to be able to show films from the major companies. this allows us to not only show animated movies in our classrooms, but allows our PTO and other school groups to screen films during events. i dont know the logistics but we have the certificate in our staff mailroom and it has logos for all the major film studios so it covers pretty much everything mainstream.

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I'm now imagining a Mandolorian given a map to an elementary school

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snitches get ditched, but i have rent to pay

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Idk why is twitter name and handle both being "Robert Iger" sends me. Bro, you're Bob. Embrace it. Bob Iger who fines elementary schools in communities they avoids taxes in and runs the predecessor to Buy N Large from Wall-E which would never be made by modern-day Disney.

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that gif actually makes me really sad lol

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LOL That .gif!! I love Mickey's Christmas Carol.

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lmao the gif

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At what point did they think this would win them favors with public opinion? Stealing from kids is one of the lowest things one can do.

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....how were they stealing from kids? the kids don't own the lion king movie??

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Thousands of passengers and crew spent a third day trapped together on a cruise ship docked in Hong Kong on Friday, as health authorities continued to monitor them for the coronavirus.

Those on board watched films, played mahjong, took walks on the deck to kill time and mingled at the buffet, although the opera house and swimming pool had been closed.

Some relatives of passengers took boxes of essential items to the site, so the cruise line could help deliver them to the ship.

The World Dream, which arrived back in the city on Wednesday, remained docked at Kai Tak Cruise Terminal with some passengers complaining hygiene on board was getting worse, and that they had been given no indication as to when they could leave.

Dream Cruises said it had been given no guidelines on whether passengers and crew  3,600 people in total  should be stopped from gathering together, and pictures from inside the cruise ship showed groups congregating in public areas.

Passengers on board the World Dream wave to family member on shore. Photo: Dickson Lee

On Thursday night, another passenger was hospitalised with a fever, sparking fear of an outbreak among those on board, with some passengers complaining they had only found out through the media, and not from the cruise line.

Phoebe Yip Ching-man, vice-president of marketing at Dream Cruises, said health authorities had not asked the company to adjust meal arrangements, or to stop other activities on board.

We have not received special guidelines on whether the passengers should be separated for quarantine on their own. If there are appropriate and professional guidelines issued, we will definitely follow them, she said.

But playing mahjong is like having a meal. The number of people involved was not large and the contact was not close. If relevant departments want us to [stop people playing mahjong], we will immediately do so.

But legislator Helena Wong Pik-wan of the Democratic Party  which has set up a hotline to help people stranded on the ship  expressed concerns, saying the idea of hidden virus carriers being on the vessel could not be ruled out.

Story continues

From the existing confirmed cases, we know the largest chance of infection is a family living environment, under which people have close contact, she said.

If the [people] on the vessel become like a big family, and if one person got infected, we worry it could spread to others on the cruise.

She criticised health authorities, saying they still had not given passengers clear guidelines on how to guard against the virus.

Relatives have been bringing supplies to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal for passengers stuck on the World Dream cruise ship. Photo: Dickson Lee

World Dream left Hong Kong for Taiwan on Sunday, but was turned away by authorities after it was discovered to have carried passengers infected with the new virus during a January cruise between Hong Kong and Vietnam.

Department of Health officials boarded the ship on its return on Wednesday morning, and checked passengers the following day.

Tests for the coronavirus on the 34 crew members and nine passengers who had earlier claimed to have fever or symptoms for upper respiratory tract infection or mild respiratory symptoms were negative. But more testing was underway on a crew member reported to have developed respiratory symptoms on Friday.

Its a bit worrying but theres not much we can do about it, said one passenger, called Michelle.

The 27-year-old project manager said the cruise had offered to deliver meals to their rooms, but she assumed that would take the staff a lot of time.

So I guess we will just be having meals in the restaurant that doesnt do buffet, she said.

A 66-year-old clerk who identified himself as Chan, who had been on a trip with friends, said passengers killed time by walking on the deck.

Everyone is a bit lost and wonders when [they can leave the vessel], he said. Hygiene has got worse.

The cruise operator said it had two doctors on board, and housekeeping services would still be available every day.

Yip said doctors from the health department and their counterparts on the ship communicated each day, and the medical staff on the vessel could deal with regular illnesses if the need arose.

She said the firm had contacted the 206 passengers who had boarded in Hong Kong and were on the same trip as the eight infected Chinese travellers to Vietnam, and had passed their names and ID numbers to officials.

This article Coronavirus: thousands trapped on Hong Kong cruise ship killing time playing mahjong, watching films and walking on deck first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
AS city voters prepare to go to the polls this Saturday, it looks like five candidates will slug it out for the fourth and final seat.

The Limerick city constituency is shaping up to be a key battleground in the race for the 33rd Dail, and only a small number of votes may end up separating those who are elected  and those who miss out.

Bookmakers and political commentators have tipped Fianna Fail TD Willie ODea to comfortably top the poll, followed by either Fine Gael senator Kieran ODonnell, or Sinn Feins Maurice Quinlivan.

But most agree that the destination of the final seat remains far from certain just hours from election day, with Labours Jan OSullivan, Cllr James Collins, Fianna Fail, the Green Party member Brian Leddin, and FineGael Senator Maria Byrne all in with chances.

There have also been predictions in some quarters that high-profile Independent councillor Frankie Daly could spring a surprise and take a seat in Limerick City.

With Fianna Fails Mr ODea predicting the final seat to be a ding-dong battle royale, party canvassers are expected to step up their efforts to convince wavering voters to back their candidate. The big two parties brought their leaders to the city this week.

The story of the week has been the Sinn Fein surge in the opinion polls, which if reflected come Saturday, could put the Republic of Ireland on course for a government involving the party for the first time in 100 years.

The odds on a Sinn Fein/Fianna Fail coalition have been shortened to just 7/2, according to bookmakers.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader, local Sinn Fein candidate Mr Quinlivan said: The only poll Im interested in is Saturdays poll.

He said he believes Fianna Fails opposition to a Sinn Fein coalition will change.

I know an awful lot of backbench Fianna Fail TDs, Id talk to them a lot in the Dail, and theyd have no problem whatsoever being in a coalition with Sinn Fein.

But Mr Quinlivan said his own preference would be for a government not involving Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.

I think this is possible when you look at the candidates that are running, he said, Anyone who wants to talk to Sinn Fein after the election, they have Mary-Lous number. Give her a buzz, we are happy to sit down with anybody. But unlike the Labour party, we will deliver a republican manifesto.

Mr ODea said he is not seeing the Sinn Fein surge borne out on the doorsteps, however.

Strange things happen at elections, things can often change in the last few days. But the national increase for Sinn Fein, Ive not seen it on the ground in Limerick, he said.

In a separate development, Cllr Daly has received a boost after it was revealed two of Limericks All-Ireland winning hurlers are pledging their support to him.

Na Piarsaighs Shane Dowling took to the social network Instagram to share a picture of himself, his clubmate Peter Casey, and Cllr Daly.

In a separate message, Dowling urged his followers: Vote number one for Cllr Daly and get him up to that Dail.

Meanwhile, cervical check campaigner Vicky Phelan has pledged her support to Labours Jan OSullivan.

The Annacotty woman says she wants to see Labour in government due to the support the party has given her over the last 18 months, in particular Tipperary TD Alan Kelly.

Another candidate receiving high-profile backing is Senator Maria Byrne, who former Finance Minister Michael Noonan pledged his support to.

In a video posted to the social network Facebook by Ms Byrne, Mr Noonan said: If there is a vacuum left by my retirement, then it is a vacuum that Maria is ready to fill.

Elsewhere, the National Party candidate Rebecca Barrett has reported Solidarity-People Before Profits Mary Cahillane to the gardai, after she quoted a passage from a Leon Trotsky novel on social media, suggesting that an act of personal violence be committed against her.

Twelve candidates are running in the city, with counting set to begin on Sunday morning at the Limerick Racecourse.
The ministry will develop infrastructure construction.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry plans to build military bases in line with NATO standards in Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"One of the priorities of the new team at Ukraine's Defense Ministry is to develop infrastructure construction. We plan to build several high-quality infrastructure facilities so that everyone knows that we can also have military bases in line with NATO standards," Minister Andriy Zagorodnyuk told Kyiv Post in an interview, according to the ministry's press service.

Read alsoUkraine's government approves new quality Ukraine-NATO Annual National Program

"In particular, these two facilities that we are building are a greenfield project. These will be brigade-level bases: one in Mariupol, the other in Sievierodonetsk," he said.

What is more, Shyrokiy Lan, a giant boot camp in Mykolaiv region, will be completely repaired and finally equipped with decent premises for training and lodging, he said.
Russia is ready to renew energy cooperation and dialogue with the United States, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the newly appointed U.S. Ambassador to Russia, John J. Sullivan, during a meeting in Moscow on Thursday.

Novak and Ambassador Sullivan discussed the current state of the bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, Russias energy ministry said in a statement.

Russias energy ministry is ready to renew energy dialogue with the U.S., including in analyzing the oil and natural gas markets, Novak said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Ambassador Sullivan presented his credentials to Russian President Vladimir Putin and said:

As the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, I have been tasked by President Trump to improve our bilateral relationship and open channels of communication.

Novak noted today the joint work of U.S. and Russian companies in Russia, but he also highlighted the fact that the U.S. sanctions on Russias energy sector hampered the development of mutually beneficial cooperation and are an example of unfair competition.

The U.S. sanctions ban collaboration on Russian deepwater, Arctic offshore, or shale projects with Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegas, and Rosneft. These are the largest energy firms in Russia, and they dont have access to capital at western banks to develop such projects.

In the wake of the sanctions, many Western oil firms withdrew from joint ventures with Russian companies, which are now left without partnerships in technology needed to explore, drill, and potentially produce and process hard-to-extract oil and gas resources.

Although Russian firms downplay the effects of the U.S. sanctions on their development plans, and although domestic companies are focused on developing in-house technology solutions to replace foreign-sourced tech, analysts believe that 100-percent local content technology in challenging projects would likely take years to implement.

Russias own natural resources ministry admitted in 2018 that the sanctions had hampered natural gas project developments in the country.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Donald Trump riffed and mused about the economy and his political rivals during a job-creation event in Charlotte that, right on cue, became another mini-political rally complete with a shot at Democratic White House hopeful Pete Buttigieg.

"Trump is going to kill us on this," he said of watching Democrats and the media report on the latest jobs data, which showed better than forecasted growth last month. He pounded his lectern with his fist and added: "They're right."

The president was back on offence on Friday, first during his first South Lawn gaggle of the year, then on stage in Charlotte, North Carolina  a major city in a potential 2020 swing state that he must hold onto to secure a second term.

The more he went off script, the more the audience at Central Piedmont Community College cheered, at one point helping him give the event a political rally feel when they broke into a "four more years!" chant.

Here is a grab bag of his top quotes from the event, backed by analysis from The Independent's Washington Bureau.

"If you're not going to get credit, you might as well take it yourself." Perhaps the most Trump thing Mr Trump has ever said.

"Pete Buttigieg, whoever the hell that is." Mr Trump uses nicknames to try to discredit political foes. He went further here, suggesting the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor  who might have pulled an upset by winning the Iowa Caucuses, something that's up in the air due to problems counting the votes there  is a political nobody. In the past, Mr Trump has suggested "Mayor Pete" lacks the gravitas to push back on global strongmen like Russian President Vladimir Putin and others. The former Navy intelligence officer, however, says he's more qualified to do that than Mr Trump, and adds he doesn't think the current commander in chief does so very often.

"What the hell do you have to lose? ... That's why they're all looking for jobs." The former was candidate Trump's pitch to black voters in 2016. He argued Democratic politicians had done little  despite counting on their votes for decades  to improve their lives. Trump won just 8.5 percent of the black vote nationally in 2016. But his latter comment is eyebrow-raising, as it seems the president believes most blacks were unemployed or otherwise on the hunt for a job.

That was not the case. The black labour participation rate that year was on par with that of white workers, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Nearly 62 percent of blacks were working then, compared to almost 63 percent of whites.

"I pretend, one point down everywhere." Mr Trump revealed something here. That's how he thinks about every state as a campaigner. As he said on Thursday during his post-Senate acquittal East Room "celebration" statement-turned-rally, everything is a battle. He used the word "war" to describe the impeachment battle. And on Friday, he told reporters on the South Lawn en route to Charlotte that he views "everyone" as a "threat". Every state, too, it seems.

"We'll be coming here a lot. We're way up in the polls." That's because North Carolina is considered in the second tier of swing states. Most political analysts think Mr Trump will win it again, but depending on who is the Democratic nominee, it is not unthinkable that he could drop the Tar Heel State.

"Single greatest comeback. We were doing poorly." This is undermined by two things: government data shows the economy was growing under President Barack Obama, though slowly. And candidate Trump spent ample time making that very point: The growth, he said, was too slow. Economic growth in recent months under Mr Trump now resembles most of the Obama presidency.

"A child wouldn't have agreed to this stuff." A new version of his contention that every US president before him  Republicans and Democrats alike  signed "stupid" trade deals with other countries that led America to being "ripped off". He touted his trade deal with China, describing it as a more comprehensive pact that many independent analysts say it is. And he has said there must be a "phase two" to resolve longstanding differences between the two economic giants.

The benefits of the first phase of the China pact, however, will be slowed by the coronavirus, White House chief economic adviser Lawrence Kudlow said. "The export boom from that trade deal will take longer because of the Chinese virus, that is true," he said earlier this week. On Friday, Kudlow said Chinese President Xi Jinping assured Mr Trump in a Thursday evening telephone call that his country can meet all of its commitments under the trade pact while it deals with the virus.

"We want everyone to get ahead, big league." That should finally put to rest whether Mr Trump has been saying "bigly" or "big league" all these years. Maybe. But probably not.
The voting for the Delhi Assembly Election 2020 is scheduled to take place, on Saturday (February 8), and the Delhi poll body had already geared up for assembly polls. The security arrangements have been tightened and with around two and a half lakh (2,50,000) Delhi Police and Paramilitary Force personnel deployed at the voting areas. The voting for 70 assembly seats will begin at 8 am and continue till 6 pm but those in the queue at polling booths will be allowed to exercise their franchise even after the allotted time for polling.

The national capital this year is going to see a triangular contest between AAP, Congress and BJP which has campaigned very aggressively ahead of the election. A total of 668 candidates will be contesting the Delhi Assembly election 2020.

Out of its 70 candidates, the ruling Aam Adami Party has repeated 46 sitting MLAs and 15 sitting MLAs have been replaced, 9 seats that were vacant have been given to new candidates. In the 2015 assembly election, 6 women were given tickets by AAP, this time the number has increased to 8.

BJP's is contesting on 67 seats while ally Janata Dal-United JD(U) will contest on 2 seats and Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) will contest from Seema Puri constituency. Some of the key candidates of the party includes, Sunil Yadav who will be contesting against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Ravi Negi has been fielded from Patparganj and will take on Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Kapil Mishra from Model Town, Vijender Gupta from Rohini, Ajit Kharkhari from Najafgarh and Tajinder Bagga from Hari Nagar.

Congress declared the names of all 61 candidates who will be contesting in the upcoming assembly election. Congress is not contesting on nine constituencies including Burari, Kirari, Madipur, Vikaspuri, Uttam Nagar, Bijwasan, Palam, Mehrauli, Okhla.

The star campaigners of all the three parties did high-octane campaigns and tried to woo the voters of Delhi. The campaign ended at 6 pm on Thursday, just 38 hours before the voting starts in Delhi assembly election.

Prior to the election, Delhi police has recorded 402 cases under the Arms Act and 440 persons arrested in the run-up to the elections. As many as 7,397 licensed weapons were seized and a total of 1,021 cases were registered under the Excise Act and 1,029 persons arrested. Cash, jewellery, liquor valued at nearly Rs 53 crore were seized.

Over 1.47 crore voters are eligible to exercise their electoral right for Delhi assembly election, out of which 66,80,277 are female and 81,05,236 are male. The number of senior citizens in the voter list is numbered at 2,04,830.

In view of the ongoing anti-citizenship law protest in several areas of Delhi especially Shaheen Bagh, the Delhi CEO's Office has put all five polling stations in the area under the 'critical' category, which will be under tight monitoring.

The election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is in single-phase and the counting of votes will take place on February 11 and results will be declared simultaneously.
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(Natural News) Plane after plane filled with potential coronavirus carriers is landing in the United States as we speak, at the behest of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which is quietly exposing this entire nation to a disease that could end up crippling it.

After the first plane filled with evacuees recently dropped off some 200 people at the March Air Reserve Base near Corona, California, several others have since landed in other parts of California, as well as San Antonio, Texas, and Omaha, Nebraska.

Reports indicate that two separate planes landed on Wednesday, February 5, at Travis Air Force Base in Northern California, with one continuing on to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego. On Thursday, February 6, another planed landed at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, while a third touched down at Eppley Airfield in Omaha.

While the exact number of passengers on each of these planes remains unknown, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, told reporters in a telebriefing that the two planes in California, at least, had a total of 350 people onboard.

CDC personnel reportedly met each of these planes after they landed to assess the health of each passenger, putting them through temperature checks and making observations about any respiratory symptoms. All of the passengers will now be quarantined for 14 days, which is said to be the outer edge of the incubation period for novel coronavirus.

Any of these quarantined people who show signs or symptoms of coronavirus will be immediately sent to a local hospital for further tests and evaluation, according to reports.

Believe it or not, the World Health Organization (WHO) is still claiming that theres no coronavirus pandemic occurring at all. To learn more, be sure to check out the following episode of The Health Ranger Report with Mike Adams:

First U.S. quarantined case of potential coronavirus turns up in small child

At March ARB, the location of the first drop-off, the first person to show symptoms of the virus was a child who was sent to a nearby hospital with a fever.

There are many reasons why children have a fever, Dr. Messonnier tried to reassure the public in a statement, adding that authorities are still awaiting test result for confirmation.

Those currently being quarantined at March ARB will be free to leave the facility on February 11, so long as they and any family members with them who were also quarantined all check out as free and clear of the disease and in good health.

As long as they are healthy and their family is healthy, our plan is to release them and help them get to their final destination, Dr. Messonnier added. Right now, our plan is to leave them alone and let them get on with their lives.

While officials say theyre not worried about an actual pandemic here in the States, theyre still preparing as if there is one, they insist. The CDC, according to Dr. Messonnier, is busy sending out coronavirus testing kits all across the country to keep tabs on any new developments.

This is the beginning of what could be a long response, she stated, adding that if evidence emerges of the diseases spread within American communities that broader measures will have to be put in place to handle it.

Could this mean full-on martial law like whats currently happening in communist China. While we certainly hope not, time will tell as it always does.

To keep up with the latest coronavirus news, be sure to visit Pandemic.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheEpochTimes.com

NaturalNews.com
Commonwealth chief Baroness Scotland was hit by a further blow last night after it emerged that Australia may halt its funding in protest at her conduct.

Canberras threat to axe its 4million-a-year grant came as she faced a trial by diplomat at her Marlborough House headquarters near Buckingham Palace yesterday amid mounting pressure to resign.

Baroness Scotland was interrogated by 50 high commissioners at a crisis meeting of the Commonwealth Secretariat over a report which lambasted her over a 250,000 commission to a firm run by her Labour friend Lord Patel of Bradford.

Baroness Scotland (pictured) was yesterday interrogated by 50 high commissioners at a crisis meeting of the Commonwealth Secretariat

The showdown took place hours after a leaked letter by Boris Johnson confirmed a report by the Daily Mail last week that Baroness Scotland has been denied a second four-year term as the 160,000-a-year Commonwealth Secretary-General.

The Prime Ministers letter said 53 Commonwealth leaders had voted by a two-to-one majority not to leave her in charge for another four years.

Instead, she has been given a three-month stay of execution from March, when her current contract ends, until June, when the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting takes place in Rwanda. Her fate will be decided then.

As current rotating chairman of the Commonwealth, Mr Johnson has a major say over Baroness Scotlands future. This paper disclosed last week that New Zealand has already pulled the plug on its annual grant of nearly 2million to the Commonwealth Secretariat because it has no confidence in Baroness Scotland.

Canberras threat to axe its 4million-a-year grant came as she faced a trial by diplomat at her Marlborough House headquarters near Buckingham Palace yesterday amid mounting pressure to resign (Marlborough House is pictured)

Now the Mail has also been told that Australia, the Commonwealths third biggest contributor, has discussed following suit and withholding 4million a year. Canada has refused to reinstate funding withdrawn in 2013.

Yesterdays extraordinary meeting came after a report by the institutions audit committee accused her of circumventing usual rules by awarding a 250,000 commission to Lord Patel.

Since being appointed to her role she has been nicknamed Baroness Shameless and Baroness Brazen over claims of lavish spending.
The founder of fallen Queensland-based business Kleenmaid has been sentenced to nine years in prison for fraud.

Supported by a packed gallery of family and friends on Friday, Andrew Eric Young became the third former director to be imprisoned, following the company's downfall in 2009.

Former Kleenmaid director Andrew Young, pictured hear after an earlier hearing, was sentenced on Friday. Credit:Glenn Hunt

In January, the 66-year-old was convicted of 19 charges including fraud of $13 million against Westpac Bank and accumulating debts of more than $750,000 while trading while insolvent.

He was also convicted of moving $330,000 from one of Kleenmaid's bank accounts into a account he had access to after the company went into liquidation.
Tensions between New York City and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement further erupted on Thursday when an ICE agent reportedly shot 26-year-old Eric Diaz in the face as ICE was trying to arrest his mothers boyfriend, Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez.

ICE had issued a detainer request against Avendano-Hernandez, an allegedly undocumented Mexican man, after New York police arrested him on Monday for allegedly driving with a forged Connecticut license plate. As a sanctuary city, New York only requires officials to turn over individuals convicted of violent and serious offenses, so NYPD released Avendano-Hernandez. ICE agents arrived at the house in the south Brooklyn neighborhood of Gravesend just after 8 a.m. on Thursday without uniforms or a warrant. Kevin Yanez Cruz, Diazs brother, told WABC that Avendano-Hernandez resisted because the agents didnt show any badges or documentation. After the agents tasered Avendano-Hernandez, his girlfriends two sons went to see what was happening. ICE said that this is when two agents were attacked. The exact details of the altercation are somewhat unclear, but an activist with the New Sanctuary Coalition told the Washington Post that officers pepper-sprayed Diaz, who was unarmed, before shooting him.

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He pointed the gun at [Diaz] and didnt even hesitate and pulled the trigger, Yanez Cruz told WABC. He also told NBC New York that the bullet penetrated Diazs cheek and exited through the back of his neck.

Federal authorities are now investigating the incident, which left Diaz, Avendano-Hernandez, and the two ICE agents in the hospital. Diaz is in critical but stable condition, NBC New York reported. At least seven ICE cars arrived at the hospital, and Diaz and Avendano-Hernandez may be under ICE custody in the building.

According to the Consulate General of Mexico in New York, Avendano-Hernandez arrived in the U.S. legally last week with a valid tourist visa, WABC reported. ICE said that the agency had no indication of the visa and that Avendano-Hernandez had already been deported twice. Diaz also arrived in Brooklyn last week on a visitor visa.

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The shooting sparked protests in the city, which involved around 200 people throughout the day, according to the Washington Post. New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams spoke at the protests.

We're keeping watch at Maimonides Hospital with allies, organizers, and faith leaders to protect New York City's status as a Sanctuary City.



We will not stand by while @ICEgov harasses and shoots unarmed community members. #AbolishICE pic.twitter.com/qb03UlfPdK  Office of the Public Advocate (@nycpa) February 6, 2020

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Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized ICE for creating havoc, WABC reported, and said that it cant be part of their game plan to go and shoot someone who wasnt the person they were trying to pick up. House Reps. Nydia M. Velazquez and Jerry Nadler wrote a concerned letter to ICE demanding answers.

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The gulf between New York and the Trump administrations policies toward immigration continues to widen. According to the Associated Press, ICE has become increasingly frustrated over the past few weeks with New York Citys unwillingness to comply with most of its detainer requests. This week, the legal battle around the citys sanctuary policies escalated. In Tuesdays State of the Union address, Trump attacked sanctuary cities and described the tragedy of New York City in graphic terms. On Wednesday, the administration suspended the Global Entry Travel Program in New York in retaliation for New York states so-called Green Light Law, which lets undocumented residents get drivers licenses.

On Thursday, New York officials said that ICE tried to blame the police for the incident, highlighting the extent of these hostilities.
2 Illinois Coronavirus Patients Discharged From Hospital: Officials

Two coronavirus patients in Illinois have been released from the hospital and are at home after having been diagnosed last month, state health officials confirmed Friday.

The two patients, who are in their 60s, were released back to their home under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health, AMITA Health said in a statement to NBC Chicago. The two were being treated at AMITA Healths St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

The couple also released a statement about the matter. With it being an uncomfortable situation, the care and the services weve received have been great. Everyones been very kind and very respectful, the statement said, CNN reported. This has been the best healthcare experience weve ever had, but were definitely looking forward to getting home and getting life back to normal.

Health officials announced Jan. 24 that one of the patients, who had recently traveled to Chinas coronavirus epicenter, Wuhan, was diagnosed with the virus and was later hospitalized. About a week later, her husband also tested positive for the virus in the first instance of person-to-person transmission of the virus in the United States, according to Illinois health officials.

This person-to-person spread was between two very close contacts, a wife and husband, Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said in a teleconference. The virus is not spreading widely across the community.

Its important to note that this spread was among two people who were in close contact for an extended period of time, noted Nancy Messonnier, the director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, in the same call.

The Illinois Department of Public Health said it has tested a total of 49 suspected coronavirus cases, with 26 of them coming back negative and two aforementioned cases coming back positive. Twenty-one cases are awaiting results.

Workers set up beds at a Fangcang hospital in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 4, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The United States has at least 12 confirmed cases so far, while about a dozen Americans were confirmed to have contracted the virus on a cruise ship quarantined off the coast of Japan. Other than Illinois, cases have been reported in California, Washington state, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Arizona.

Another husband and wife, from Californias San Benito County, were transferred to a San Francisco hospital earlier this week after they showed worsening coronavirus symptoms, according to San Franciscos health department. The husband had recently traveled to Wuhan before coming back to the United States and transmitting the virus to his wife.

The patients represent no elevated risk to the public in the city, San Francisco authorities said in a statement. The hospital is taking all appropriate precautions for patient and staff safety, it added.

Meanwhile, hundreds of Americans citizens who were evacuated from around Wuhan are being stationed in several U.S. military bases. The CDC confirmed that about 70 Americans will be flown to Omaha, Nebraska, and quarantined at a nearby Nebraska National Guard training base, and as many as 250 people will be quarantined in Lackland Air For Base in San Antonio, Texas, reported The Associated Press. Those people may be quarantined as soon as Friday.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:05:11|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese health authorities have sent more than 11,000 medics, including the country's best ICU staff, to the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, an official said on Friday.

Among them, over 3,000 doctors and nurses are intensive care specialists, said Guo Yanhong, an official with the National Health Commission, at a press conference in Beijing.

China's top experts in intensive care also gathered in Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province, to host consultations and conduct ward rounds, said Guo.

"We are fully aware of the urgent need for ICU professionals in Wuhan. The current medics have been working for quite a long time and are exhausted both physically and mentally," Guo said.

She also noted the big gap between the supply and demand of medical resources in other cities in Hubei.

A one-on-one support system was established in 16 provinces, said Guo, adding that each of the provinces helps one city in Hubei to battle the epidemic.

"Those provinces will make all-out efforts to improve the treatment of patients in Hubei," Guo stressed.

By the end of Thursday, Hubei had 22,112 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection, with 618 deaths and 4,002 cases in severe or critical condition.
Wytaliba (Australia): Even as a fierce bushfire bore down on the rural Australian community of Wytaliba, Gary Wilson and his partner Julie Willis decided not to flee their timber home - they had a house full of orphaned baby kangaroos to protect.

More than a dozen of the marsupials snuggled into fabric pouches hung in the couple's living room, like stockings on Christmas Eve.

Full-grown kangaroos and other wildlife that had left their care long ago also came back to the house in search of refuge as the flames approached.

Orphaned kangaroo joeys that were rescued during the bushfire season, sit in cloth pouches hung in the the living room of partners Gary Wilson and Julie Willis's home, both of whom are animal carers, in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia. (Reuters)

"We had way too many animals in the house and around the house so we really couldn't go ... we decided we were going to stay and fight," Wilson told Reuters, at the couple's off-the-grid home, now surrounded by scorched earth and burnt-out vehicles.

"At three o'clock it was a beautiful summer's day, by four o'clock it was midnight," Wilson said. "You couldn't see any more than 20 yards and then the firestorm came through and pretty much burned everything."

Julie Willis, an animal carer, feeds orphaned kangaroo joeys, in an area of her home designated for the pre-release of kangaroos, in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia. (Reuters)

Wilson and Willis defended their home for at least 14 hours with fire extinguishers, water pumps and a sprinkler system on the roof that doused burning embers falling from the sky.

Good preparation and more than an ounce of luck meant the couple's cypress-pine home still stands - and the motherless joeys survived. The Nov. 8 fire that swept through the small Wytaliba community, which was originally set up as a commune in the 1970s, killed two of Wilson's neighbours.

Gary Wilson, an animal carer, carries orphaned kangaroo joeys that were rescued during the bushfire season, outside his home in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia. (Reuters)

"It was a horrible thing ... the whole bush has been burnt. It's been vaporized - it's Vietnam is what it looks like," Wilson said as infant kangaroos ate grain from a trough fashioned from a car tyre and lined up two-by-two to be bottle-fed special milk.

Willis said she had never seen fires so fierce, and that most animals, such as possums, gliders, echidnas, lizards and even many birds were not fast enough to escape the flames.

"It's not until after the fires when it really hits you how close you were to dying but at the time you are too busy trying to put the fire out," she said.

[caption id="attachment_2491019" align="alignnone" ] Julie Willis, an animal carer, feeds orphaned kangaroo joeys, in an area of her home designated for the pre-release of kangaroos, in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jorge Silva[/caption]

Julie Willis, an animal carer, feeds orphaned kangaroo joeys that were rescued during the bushfire season, in the living room of her home in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia. (Reuters)

Australia's prolonged bushfire season has killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals since September. About 2,500 homes have been destroyed and more than 11.7 million hectares (28.9 million acres) of tinder-dry bushland have been razed.

The number of boarders at the Wytaliba home, which has been a sanctuary for wildlife for 25 years, is ballooning as the fallout from the fires continues with burns, scarce food and ash-tainted water still devastating local wildlife.

Partners Gary Wilson and Julie Willis, both of whom are animal carers, have lunch at their home in the community of Wytaliba, New South Wales, Australia. (Reuters)

While Wilson and Willis usually care for joeys rescued after their mothers are struck by vehicles, they are now hosting an increasing number of fire orphans.

Willis said the joeys, which are fed a special milk formula every two to four hours just like their human counterparts, will eventually be released back into the wild.

"We didn't have children ourselves; this is what we spend our time doing,' she said, as she gently stroked a joey on her lap while another nudged her feet. "We think it's worthy - a worthy cause - looking after our babies no matter what they are, whether they are kangaroos, echidnas or wombats."
The on Friday approached the challenging the bail granted to businessman Ratul Puri, nephew of Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, in a related to bank loan fraud.

The plea is listed for hearing before Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar on February 10.

The (ED) has challenged a trial court's December 13 last year order by which Puri was enlarged on bail on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh with two sureties of like amount.

He was earlier granted bail in the AgustaWestland chopper deal case.

While granting bail in the bank fraud case, the trial court had directed him not to leave the country without its prior permission and to join the probe as and when called for.

He was also asked by the court not to influence the prosecution witnesses or tamper with the evidence in any manner.

The court had said, "Multiple raids have been conducted by different investigating agencies at the residential as well as the official premises of the investigating agency."



"In fact, the entire record of the accused company is in the custody of the official liquidator. Thus, the apprehension of the probe agency that the applicant would tamper with the evidence appears to be far-fetched," it had said.

The ED, in its plea before the high court, contended the trial court erred in holding that the agency's apprehension that Puri would tamper with the evidence appears to be far-fetched.

"The relevant records/documents are not available with the official liquidator and are in fact now accessible to the respondent (Puri) and vulnerable to tampering," it said and sought setting aside of the trial court's bail order.

The ED had in November last year filed a charge sheet against Puri and his company Moser Baer.

It had arrested Puri on August 20 last year in the case, which emerged from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR of August 17 last year.

Puri, his father Deepak Puri, mother Nita (Nath's sister) and others were booked in connection with the Rs 354 crore bank fraud case file by the Central Bank of India.

Puri was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the bank fraud case after he appeared before the central probe agency in the VVIP chopper scam.

The court had on December 2 last year granted bail to Puri in the AgustaWestland while directing him not to "tamper with evidence" or "try to contact or influence the witnesses".
Manitoba's post-secondary schools are anxiously awaiting further instruction about the future of their programs and new performance-based funding model, almost two months after the province sent out mandate letters.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba's post-secondary schools are anxiously awaiting further instruction about the future of their programs and new "performance"-based funding model, almost two months after the province sent out mandate letters.

At the end of the autumn semester, the provincial government wrote about its modern expectations of publicly-funded colleges and universities to Assiniboine Community College, Brandon University, Red River College, St. Boniface University, University College of the North, University of Manitoba, and University of Winnipeg.

Economic Development and Training Minister Ralph Eichler emphasized the importance of programs being relevant to respond to workforce need, cutting red-tape around program approvals and cancellations, and data on student outcomes.

SHANNON VANRAES / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Ralph Eichler, Manitoba's Minister of Economic Development.

"It is critical that our colleges and universities be nimble and responsive, ceasing programs that lack responsiveness and value in a modern context and building programs that deliver the skills needed for today and tomorrow," Eichler wrote in the letters dated Dec. 19, 2019, and released to the public Jan. 17.

Proposed reforms have raised concerns among faculty who question how school data will be linked to outcomes  especially in universities and in their humanities programs.

"The question really is: are they aiming to have training centres or universities?" said Tammy Ivanco, a psychology professor at the University of Manitoba.

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The University of Manitoba campus.

"The university is the place where you get a very broad type of education. It allows for thinking about things like cultural influences and history, and learning how to be a critical thinker  using information in ways that are really flexible."

Bryan Hill, president of the Brandon University Faculty Association, echoed those thoughts Thursday.

The mandate of a college might be to prepare students directly for the workforce, he said; meanwhile, BUs goals include furthering social and cultural development, serving in the betterment of society and encouraging "a continuing love of learning."

"Is learning philosophy and history no longer important to anybody? Is music no longer important, or any of the fine arts?" the Brandon-based chemistry instructor said. "Thats worrying, to say the least."

Spokespeople from U of M, U of W and Red River told the Free Press they are waiting to hear from the Tory government about next steps. While its unclear how the province will track performance, the final 2017 Manitoba College Review recommended it consider enrolment numbers, completion rates and employment rates.

The university is the place where you get a very broad type of education. It allows for thinking about things like cultural influences and history, and learning how to be a critical thinker  using information in ways that are really flexible.  Tammy Ivanco, University of Manitoba psychology professor

The report by Toronto-based Higher Education Strategy Associates states outcomes can "vary significantly" between institutions, although the firm's president said it's necessary tracking occurs at all post-secondary schools.

In light of the mandate letter, Janet Morrill of the U of M Faculty Association said she and her colleagues are "very concerned" about the institutional autonomies of universities across the province.

BUMSTEAD / BRANDON SUN FILES The original building on the campus of Brandon University.

"By putting in certain performance metrics and tying operating budgets to those metrics, the concern is that those metrics, however they end up being defined, end up putting pressure on the university to operate differently," said Morrill, who teaches accounting.

"For example: to cut the funding to one faculty to favour another faculty, its an external force that ends up interfering with the decisions that the university would otherwise be making."

Alex Usher, president of the firm who undertook the 2017 college review, countered that argument. He said theres nothing wrong with asking both schools to work with industry, and limiting bureaucracy around program approval and cancellation will benefit all.

"Its about setting goals for them, but giving them autonomy in how they get there," he said, adding Manitoba wouldn't target humanities programs since it recognizes the importance of soft skills.

Is learning philosophy and history no longer important to anybody? Is music no longer important, or any of the fine arts?  Bryan Hill, president of the Brandon University Faculty Association

No matter how its done, the U of W Faculty Association supports the move to measure outcomes, as long as it's involved in the consultation process  and the province has indicated all schools will be.

"I dont think that having data is ever a bad thing, but its understanding and interpreting what those numbers are actually telling you," said association president Jacqueline Romanow.

Romanow, chair of Indigenous studies at U of W, said she doesnt see the mandate as a threat to any university programs.

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"A college produces different kinds of labour force entrants than a university But, you could argue, What kind of degree doesnt help a student get a job?" she said.

"Whether its a classics degree or bio-sciences, if a student is really committed to learning, they develop discipline and the ability to analyze problems. All of those things are going to make a better, more productive member of the workforce."

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie
File image

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the signing of the Bodo peace accord "a historic moment" which will bring a new opportunity and a new dawn for Assam.

PM Modi was addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state on February 7.

The Bodo Accord was signed on January 27 by the government with four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) and a civil society group, ending a three-decade-long insurgency in the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), now rechristened as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).

Speaking at the event, the PM said that now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North- East.

"We will not allow violence to return," he asserted.

He said that the accord will benefit every section of society.

"This accord will not only benefit the Bodo people but other societies as well. According to the Accord, BTC's territorial range has been increased and given more power. It's a win-win situation for everyone," said the PM.

Under the Accord, Rs 1500 crore will be given as a special developmental package to help the Bodos, the prime minister said.

The prime minister also sought to assuage the concerns of people of the region over the implementation of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"Canard is being spread that lakhs of people settlers will come from outside after the enactment of CAA. Nothing of that sort will happen," he said.

"The Bodo accord is a victory for all communities and sections of society. There are no losers," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:05:54|Editor: xuxin

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Photo taken on Jan. 30, 2020 shows a double statue of a person called Ankh Pepi and his wife setting side by side, dating back to the Old Kingdom some 4,500 years ago, in Mallawi Museum, Minya province, Egypt. (Xinhua/Wu Huiwo)

by Mahmoud Fouly

MINYA, Egypt, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Mallawi Museum in Upper Egypt's province of Minya has gained more popularity every year since it was reopened in late 2016, three years after its looting during riots in the monument-rich country.

Gathering artifacts dating back to different ages of the Egyptian civilization including Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic objects, the museum was first opened in July 1963, looted in August 2013, and reopened in September 2016 with more attractive interior and exhibition halls.

"The museum has now 950 objects. It had 1,089 artifacts before looting, some of which were ruined, some lost and some restored and re-exhibited," Gehan Nassem, director of Mallawi Museum, told Xinhua.

Standing like a sandy beige fortress in the heart of Minya's city of Mallawi, the two-floor museum is built on an area of about 2,500 square meters.

The first floor has three dimly-lit stone blue exhibition halls. Touring them is like taking a U-turn starting from the gate, passing by the first hall, turning to the second and ending the tour at the third.

The first hall exhibits the daily and family life of ancient Egyptians, including some of their crafts and the tools they used for writing, lighting, hunting, baking and cooking.

Among the rare masterpieces in the first hall are a statue of King Akhenaton's daughter from the New Kingdom of ancient Egypt and a double statue of a man called Ankh Pepi and his wife sitting side by side, dating back to the Old Kingdom some 4,500 years ago, Nassem noted.

The second hall features ancient funerary objects such as colorful and plain anthropoid wooden and alabaster coffins, while the third contains Greco-Roman, Coptic and Islamic objects including mummy masks, pottery statues, paintings, icons, tombstones, coins and others.

"When the museum was reopened, it sent a message of peace to the whole world that Egypt is able to preserve its heritage," said Nassem.

The second floor of the museum, which includes a library, is dedicated to activities such as lectures, workshops and festivities on special occasions and national days.

The Egyptian minister of tourism and antiquities recently visited Mallawi Museum following his announcement of the discovery of more than a dozen tombs with sarcophagi in a nearby necropolis on the outskirts of Mallawi.

"The museum has become more popular and attractive over the past couple of years. We promote the museum and raise awareness about it on social media websites and we cooperate with schools and civil society groups to organize visits to the museum," Osama Talaat, deputy director of the museum, told Xinhua.

He explained that Mallawi Museum arranges visits for students whose history textbook involves eras or objects exhibited in the museum, explaining to them the historical facts in a simplified way such as using tales.

Hossam Fayez, a curator, said they also "focus on showing the local visitors the artifacts related to their crafts, whether they are farmers, bakers, or potters."

At least 80 percent of the artifacts stolen from the museum in 2013 were retrieved and about half of them needed restoration before their current exhibition.

Hany Faried, director of Mallawi's office of the Egyptian tourism promotion authority, said the museum now receives tourist groups of different nationalities every day.

"Mallawi Museum is the only one on the long way between the Egyptian Museum in Cairo in the north and Luxor Museum in Luxor Province in the south," Faried said.

Most foreign tourists come to the museum as part of their Nile River cruise tours back and forth between Cairo and the monument-rich southern province of Aswan, he added.

"This is my first visit to the museum and I regret I didn't do it before. It shows us beautiful things about the history of our ancestors," Mahmoud al-Shemi, a 35-year-old engineer, told Xinhua.

"I will definitely recommend Mallawi Meuseum to my relatives and friends," al-Shemi said, accompanied by his wife and three children at the museum.
Coal reserves in the warehouses of Ukrainian thermal power plants (TPP) and combined heat and power plants (CHPP) at the end of the heating season could be about 3 million tonnes, Minister of Energy and Environment Protection Oleksiy Orzhel has said.

"We are quitting the heating season with 3 million tonnes of coal in warehouses. It has not been used. Now there is a period when there is a maximum load on the energy system, but 3 million tonnes remains in our warehouses. This is fire hazard, and we actually pay in advance for coal, but we don't use it at the stations," he said during a joint visit to Mezhyrichanska mine (Chervonohrad city, Lviv region) with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to the ministry, as of February 6 coal reserves in the warehouses of TPPs and CHPPs amounted to 2.711 million tonnes.

As reported, Ukraine quitted the heating season 2018/2019 with coal reserves in the warehouses of TPPs and CHPPs in the amount of 1.714 million tonnes.
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SHOULD KNOW



FEBRUARY 7, 2020

 When Kennedi Smith, a senior medical humanities major, returned to campus for the spring semester she didnt know how her perspective on identity, culture and Black History Month would evolve.

Just before the semester started, Smith and 44 other students stepped on a bus for the ninth annual Civil Rights and Social Justice Experience, hosted by UTSAs Student Leadership Center.

In five days the students visited some of the most prominent sites of the U.S. civil rights movement as well as several museums that commemorate the era.

I decided to finally do [the trip]. We all want to leave our mark.

While Smith knew shed return to UTSA with newfound knowledge on her culture, she didnt realize the impact it would have on her.

So you recently just went on the Civil Rights and Social Justice Experience. Can you tell me about it?

For me, it was so impactful because these are my ancestors. The fact that I can go and learn all these things that I was never taught in school or during Black History Month was amazing. I was very grateful that I was given the opportunity to be able to go. Imagine how many students dont often get to go and learn these types of things.

What motivated you to be part of this opportunity?

Well, Ive always been active with the Student Leadership Center. Everything they do I usually am apart of or try to be part of. For this particular trip, I usually go home for the holiday break, but this year I was like, Its my last year. I have to go on this trip!

They had been asking me since my sophomore year, so I decided to finally do it. We all want to leave our mark. Its something a lot of students have the most wonderful experience doing.

I know you all had several days on this trip with a vast selection of museum visits and cities. Can you tell me a little bit about what you saw and what stood out the most for you?

We went to Edgar, Louisiana, to visit the Whitney Plantation. This plantation focuses more on the story of the slaves. Ive been to other plantations and usually it focuses more on the slave owners and their commercial background because it was a business.

The Whitney Plantation also focused on the children, which is very hard for me because I want to be a pediatrician, so kids are very dear to my heart. All around the plantation they had these statues of slave children, and it just kind of told their stories. It was very emotional. Ive seen things like that before, but because it was told from a different perspective it made it a lot more meaningful. It hit home a little more.

I want to be a pediatrician, so kids are very dear to my heart. All around the plantation they had these statues of slave children.... It was very emotional.

The places we visited had so much history that Id never heard before. I cant even put it into words, but its so crazy how much is left out of a textbook or how much we do not learn in the curriculum. Me even being from Tennessee, you would think I would know some of this stuff, but I didnt.

At the National Museum of Peace and Justice they have soil that they took from places where people were lynched. There are all these jars lined against the wall, and each has the persons name on it.

Even though it hit home for me because these people were my ancestors, I think it kind of hit more for everyone else as well. This is everyones history; not just mine. Its not a good story, but its very meaningful on how we can move forward. But we still have work to do.

Before going on the trip what were your overall views and thoughts on what Black History Month is?

For me, in elementary school and middle school, Black History Month was a very big thing and often we were told, OK, pick someone for Black History Month that influences you and write a report or make a poster. Theyd often give us lists of names, and these names were very common and recurring every year.

I knew Id learn about new people on this trip, but I didnt know Id learn to this extent. There are many people I learned about whose stories were silenced or underminded because their work was believed to not be important.

Do you think your views on the month have changed or been enhanced now that youve experienced this?

I just feel so empowered to do something more for Black History Month and have more ideas to get this information out.

The places we visited had so much history that Id never heard before. I cant even put it into words.

Everyone should be empowered about Black History Month, not just black people. This is our society that we live in, so I think its something we should use as unity and come together to fellowship about. Its something thats not just solely for black people, and I think thats something I didnt understand before the trip. But after, its something that sat with me a lot.

All of our history matters, not just black history. We should all embrace everyones history. We should embrace Hispanic Heritage Montheveryones culture. All our histories combined make America what it is today. We would not be where we are today if our histories didnt come into play. Its something that should be bring unity and not separation, which I think is a common idea when people think of Black History Month.

Do you have you a new insight of your identity and your culture after the trip?

Definitely. I think that me being able go on this trip helped me learn more about my own identity. Aside from all the information that I learned, it empowered me because I saw how hard they fought. Often, I think, Oh, like, were good now. Like, society is better, so it doesnt matter.

Weve become just content with how things are, and I think we still have a long way to go. I dont want to say weve lost our culture, but weve lost pride in our culture. Weve lost our resilience to things.

Im thankful I can get an education now and I thank them for that, but I want to do a lot more. Our youth in our community still need help and theyre not striving as much as they could because weve become content with how everything is. I hope to take everything that I've learned back to those youths because I want them to see that they can do anything.
A POCSO court here has convicted two brothers of kidnapping, holding captive and repeatedly raping a 16-year-old girl for 10 days and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Jitendra Kumar and his brother Dheeraj, alias Brijmohan, alias Brij, alias Saddam, both residents of Sarangpur village of Rajgarh district in Madhya Pradesh, were held guilty under sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act, and sent to jail for the remainder of their natural lives on Thursday, special public prosecutor Vijay Kachawa said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 56,000 on each of them. Their mother, Bhanwaribai, alias Muskan, who was accused of conspiring and cooperating in the crime, was, however, acquitted by the court, he added.

The minor victim was abducted on October 25, 2014, following which her father lodged a report at the Vigyan Nagar police station here, Kachawa said.

Following an investigation, police rescued the minor girl from Sarangpur in Madhya Pradesh and booked Jitendra Kumar, Dheeraj and Bhanwaribai, he said.

Jitendra and his mother were arrested after the minor was rescued but Dheeraj had fled and was arrested later, Kachawa added.

In her statements to the court, she had stated that Kumar had called her to the Aerodrome circle of Kota city where his mother Bhanwaribai was also present. They had offered her some food. On eating it, she lost consciousness and woke up to find herself at his house in Madhya Pradesh, the prosecutor said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address in the U.S. House of Representatives chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump: Congress Should Expunge Impeachment, Terrible to Rip up SOTU Speech

President Donald Trump said that Congress should expunge impeachment from his record after he was acquitted Wednesday in the Senate trial, while telling reporters that House Speaker Nancy Pelosis (D-Calif.) move to rip up his State of the Union speech on Tuesday was disrespectful to the country.

I thought it was a terrible thing, Trump told reporters on Friday. Its illegal what she did. She broke the law.

Legal experts, however, have said that ripping up the speech wasnt illegal because it was a copy and not an official record.

The president said Friday that he didnt know Pelosi ripped the copy of his speech until members of Congress spoke to him about it as he left the chamber.

I didnt know that she did it until I was walking out, he said, adding that some of the congressmen and women said, Can you believe what she just did?'

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rips up the speech of President Donald Trump after his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Pelosi said at a press conference that she ripped the speech to call awareness to what she said were falsehoods contained within.

I tore up a manifesto of mistruths, she told reporters on Thursday. It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say, This is not true. And this is how it affects you.

It was, in my view, a manifesto of mistruths, of falsehoods, blatantly, really dangerous to the well-being of the American people if they believed in what he said, she added. So again, we do not want the chamber of the House of Representatives to be used as a backdrop of his reality shows with unreality in his presentation.

Both Pelosi and Trump issued publicly televised statements on Thursday and attacked one another, suggesting thatalong with Pelosis Tuesday night move to tear up the speechtensions between the White House and congressional Democrats will not abate any time soon.

Expunge Impeachment?

Outside the White House on Friday, Trump was asked about expunging impeachment, to which he replied, They should, because it was a hoax. Thats a very good question. He added, Should they expunge the impeachment in the House? They should because it was a hoax. It was a total political hoax.

That idea was floated by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) earlier this week after the presidents acquittal, saying he would move to expunge impeachment from Trumps record if the GOP retook the majority in the House and he became speaker.

I dont think it should stay on the books, he stated.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted to acquit Trump of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Democrats have said Trump abused his power by allegedly withholding aid to Ukraine in exchange for investigations during a July 25 phone call where the president asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to look into Joe and Hunter Biden, a Ukrainian gas company previously under investigation over corruption allegations, and alleged election interference.

Amid the inquiry and trial, Trump and other White House officials have denied Democrats allegations.
A New Jersey firefighter has recently returned back to his department after serving in the United States Army in Qatarhis third tour of duty in the Middle East.

Staff Sergeant Kenny Hall returned to the Bloomfield Fire Department, where hes been a member since 2012.

The Bloomfield Fire Department consistently ranks near the top of the state in preparedness and training, and Staff Sergeant embodies those values perfectly, Mayor Michael Venezia said in a release about his return home.

We are grateful to have him protecting the residents of Bloomfield, and welcome him back.

Hall commanded 44 soldiers with Alpha Company 1-114th Infantry Regiment as part of Operation Spartan Shield in Qatar, where he conducted numerous hours of mission essential training, and served as a counselor for the men and women under his command.

He also mentored more than a dozen squad leaders, team leaders, and additional sergeants who were promoted in his platoon during deployment. Hall also conducted regular physical fitness tests for soldiers in his platoon, so they could attend Basic Leaders Course.

In a statement provided to NJ Advance Media, Hall thanked Bloomfields elected officials, the fire chief, and his fellow officers and firefighters for allowing him adequate time to train before deployments, along with giving him time to spend with his children after coming back.

Local 19 and 219 have done so much for me, he said. They helped support me and my family in 2 of my 3 deployments since being on the job. They always made sure that they were around for me before, during, and after my deployment.

I always enjoyed getting a box of T-shirts to hand out to my soldiers to wear at the army gym, being informed on current events with union emails, and getting phone calls from the guys on my group to give me a good laugh, he added. "I want to express my sincere appreciation for everything they do for me while Im away.

Hall previously served in Iraq from 2008-2009 and Bahrain from 2014-2015. He is also a senior team leader and assistant instructor for the New Jersey National Guard Honor Guard and has completed nearly 600 funeral ceremonies in the decade hes been with the program.

When our members are called up for service overseas, we do our best to accommodate them and their families, and not rush them back to work until they are ready, said Fire Chief Louis Venezia.

In (Halls) years with the Fire Department, he has led by example, and always been committed to bettering himself and serving our community. Were excited to have him back home and serving the people of Bloomfield.

Now back with Bloomfield, a paid department with a fire suppression force of 84 members, Hall plans to attend a vehicle extrication course, Rapid Intervention Crew training, and recertification for child car seat installations.

Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @briannakudisch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

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MAPUTO, Mozambique - Seven people beheaded this week. Attacks on homes, schools, health clinics. Thousands of people displaced by the violence. Insecurity that threatens multi-billion dollar investments.

This is the growing problem of Islamic extremist violence in northernmost Mozambique.

Confronted by rising violence, thousands of Mozambicans are fleeing troubled areas of northern Mozambique as the government and humanitarian agencies scramble to provide safe shelter.

Companies investing billions of dollars to pump liquified natural gas in the region are looking at increased risks and costs to protect their investments.

Some 500 people have been killed, many of them beheaded, since the extremists started their attacks in Oct. 2017. Not much is known about the rebels, but last year they became allied with the Islamic State group, which now issues claims of responsibility for attacks.

More than 100,000 have been displaced by the extremist violence, the U.N. refugee agency announced Friday.

A spike in extremist attacks in recent weeks have made it the most volatile period since the incidents began in October 2017, the refugee agencys spokesman Andrej Mahecic said at a press conference in Geneva.

Attacks are now spreading toward the southern districts of Cabo Delgado, with one of the latest incidents happening just 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Pemba, the provincial capital which has so far been untouched by the violence.

Seven people were beheaded earlier this week as the armed rebels cut a swathe through the Quissanga district, heading south then east toward the Indian Ocean coast and the islands of the Quirimbas archipelago.

A handwritten letter, purporting to be from the Armed forces of Ali Xababe (Al Shabaab) and circulated on social media Friday, said the rebels plan to continue to move south as far as the Mieze high security prison outside Pemba, where many of those arrested on suspicion of involvement in the insurgency are held.

More than 156,000 people have been affected by the insurgency, the Cabo Delgado provincial government said this week. The attackers have burned houses and have laid waste to 76 schools and at least five health centres, according to the provincial government.

An integrated humanitarian response for the province, with support from Swiss Cooperation, is being drawn up by the provincial authorities.

The U.N. refugee agencys Mahecic said on Friday that the organization would now take over co-ordinating all protection activities in partnership with the government, and would deploy additional aid and staff to meet the need, initially for 15,000 internally displaced people and host communities in the coming weeks.

The violence is also hurting progress on the multi-billion dollar liquified natural gas projects in the north of the province, which are expected to multiply the size of Mozambiques economy many times over in the coming years.

Frances Total and American ExxonMobil, who operate the two onshore gas liquefaction projects, have asked the Mozambique government to send more troops to protect their installations, according to local press reports. The head of Mozambiques National Petroleum Institute, which regulates the industry, said on Thursday that the insecurity is inevitably raising costs for the projects  which they may be able to recoup from the taxes paid on gas production when the projects come onstream in the middle of this decade.

The countrys Defence Minister today denied rumours that young men were being forced to join the army, in outlying neighbourhoods of the capital, Maputo, and neighbouring Matola, the countrys largest city.

At the moment we have no need for any compulsory recruitment, because we have sufficient forces to guarantee public order and tranquility  both in the theatre of operations in the north, and in the centre, where sporadic attacks by former Renamo fighters are causing insecurity on the countrys highways, Minister Jaime Neto told public broadcaster Radio Mocambique.
DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jacobs (NYSE:J) and Stantec, operating as the Galveston Coastal Services Joint Venture, have been selected by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, to design a 26.7-mile-long levee and floodwall system along the coastline near Galveston, Texas. The USACE has estimated this to be an eight-year, $1.9 billion construction effort, known as the Orange County Coastal Storm Risk Management project (or simply "Orange"), that will increase the area's preparedness to respond to natural disasters and disturbances. It will also increase resistance to long-term impacts due to climate change  including sea level rise, land subsidence, increased frequency of abnormally heavy rainfall events and regional drought.

Orange centers on a stretch of the upper Texas coast from Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay, and includes gulf and bay waters, barrier islands, marshes, coastal wetlands, rivers and streams and adjacent areas that make up the interrelated coastal space. This area is repeatedly at risk from substantial wind and surge damage. The resulting shoreline erosion has caused the destruction of nationally significant wetlands, land loss and damage to homes, commercial property and State Highway 87. Over the past 10 years, the area has been altered both physically and economically by extreme weather events such as Hurricane Harvey, which caused billions in damages.

"A fundamental element of Jacobs' purpose is helping clients solve some of the toughest problems, and Orange  a strategically important resiliency investment by USACE  is a prime example of such a project and an early step in a larger overall national civil works investment strategy that Jacobs will support, leveraging our specialized capabilities in sustainable and resilient infrastructure planning and design," said Jacobs Senior Vice President of Federal & Environmental Solutions Pankaj Duggal. "Essentially, we are creating a coastal spine that will help protect the Texas coast, providing a solution that not only benefits this area long-term, but the millions of people and businesses in this region that are most impacted by weather."

The project is designed to strengthen coastal facilities and infrastructure on which many energy systems, markets, consumers and residents depend. Texas, along with Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, are home to more than 80% of the nation's energy resources. Within the greater Houston Metropolitan area alone, there are nearly seven million people, three airports that serve more than 58 million passengers a year and more than 575 miles of highways.

"The economics of flood protection are changing, and proactive measures are critical to a community's social and economic resilience strategy. For each dollar spent on resilient building and construction, six dollars are saved in recovery costs," said Stantec SVP and Sector Leader for Water Resources John Montgomery. "Our JV consists of leading project management with a track record of delivering large-scale infrastructure projects that will reduce the impacts of disasters and fortify our domestic energy security."

Measurable Impact

Orange consists of seven design packages for coastal storm risk management, from the edge of the Sabine and Neches River floodplains, to the vicinity of Orangefield, Texas. The project will include:

15.6 miles of new levees

10.7 miles of new concrete floodwalls and gates

Seven new pump stations to mitigate interior flooding during surge events

453 acres of marsh restored through a mitigation plan

560 acres of forested wetlands preserved

Also encompassing navigable sector gates to reduce surge penetration, this project is one of many coastal storm risk management measures for the region designed to combat these increasingly frequent historical storm conditions. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022 and project completion is expected in 2026.

Approximately 540 JV and team members across multiple disciplines will execute and deliver the design packages in roughly 18 to 24 months. In addition to the Jacobs-Stantec team, this partnership includes 20 local, small business enterprises representing 40% of the design budget. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2022 and project completion is expected in 2026.

This project was authorized under the Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay Study. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District and the Texas General Land Office completed the Sabine Pass to Galveston By Coastal Storm Risk Management Project study in Dec. 2017, which examined coastal storm risk management approaches for the Sabine and Brazoria regions. The study recommended constructing new levees in Orange County and raising the existing levees in Port Arthur and Vicinity, and Freeport and Vicinity Hurricane Flood Protection System, to reduce the risks of tropic storm surge. The project is currently in the design phase and is subject to change.

About Jacobs:

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.

About Stantec:

Communities are fundamental. Whether around the corner or across the globe, they provide a foundation, a sense of place and of belonging. That's why at Stantec, we always design with community in mind. We care about the communities we servebecause they're our communities too. This allows us to assess what's needed and connect our expertise, to appreciate nuances and envision what's never been considered, to bring together diverse perspectives so we can collaborate toward a shared success. We're designers, engineers, scientists, and project managers, innovating together at the intersection of community, creativity, and client relationships. Balancing these priorities results in projects that advance the quality of life in communities across the globe. Stantec trades on the TSX and the NYSE under the symbol STN. Visit us at stantec.com or find us on social media.

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://www.jacobs.com


In January, I traveled to Matamoros, Mexico, the site of the largest refugee camp on the U.S.-Mexico border, to witness firsthand the impact of the Trump administrations Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) program, also called the Remain in Mexico policy. Ive visited refugee camps around the world, and the conditions that the U.S. government is forcing these asylum-seekers into are a disgrace to our nation.

The MPP, which would be more aptly named the Migrant Abuse Program, is a violation of U.S. and international law. The program allows the Department of Homeland Security to return applicants for admission to the United States to Mexico, pending their asylum application hearings. Since MPPs implementation, an estimated 60,000 asylum-seekers have been forced back into Mexico.

In Matamoros, I witnessed roughly 3,000 individuals living in squalor. Half are children. It is so dangerous, the State Department has issued a Level 4 travel advisory  the same as Iran and Syria  for the area. The Mexican cartel operates freely, and kidnapping, violence and sexual assault are rampant. I met one woman who had fled El Salvador who sleeps every single night outside her tent, on the zipper, to protect her daughters from being kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking.

Despite widespread disease, medical care is woefully inadequate. Basic infrastructure is almost nonexistent: Open latrines filled with raw sewage exist immediately next to the contaminated river where families wash their laundry.

Most petitioners are unable to see their court paperwork until the day of their hearing. Approximately 4% of asylum-seekers have a lawyer. Those lucky enough to be in that 4% usually meet their lawyer for the first time on the day of their hearing. They are given, at most, an hour to discuss their case.

Of the 60,000 asylum-seekers sent back to Mexico under the MPP, only 117 have been granted asylum or some other relief.

In short, the Trump administration has intentionally implemented a policy designed to subject asylum-seekers and refugees to such brutal conditions that they give up.

The Obama-era Family Case Management Program (FCMP) used case managers to ensure that individuals complied with their legal obligations. The FCMP was significantly less expensive than detention, costing roughly $36 per person per day. Furthermore, only 2% of individuals in the program failed to appear for their hearings. Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration terminated the FCMP in 2017.

Time and time again, President Trumps racist and cruel-hearted immigration policies  the Muslim ban, his attacks against DREAMers, family separations and now the MPP  have done nothing to address our broken immigration system. Ive fought back against this administrations failed immigration policies.

I am a cosponsor of HR 2662, the Asylum Seeker Protection Act, which would terminate the deplorable MPP program.

I have helped raise more than $36,000, including $5,000 that I matched, to support Kids in Need of Defense, representing separated and unaccompanied minors in court.

I voted for the original DREAM Act in 2010, have supported it every Congress since then, and was proud to vote for it again when Democrats took back the House in 2019.

I also voted for legislation to improve accountability and oversight of DHS and to implement policies to ensure the health and safety of migrants. This legislation passed the House, but when the Senate stripped out those provisions, I voted no.

I have also pushed congressional leadership to pass comprehensive immigration reform to finally fix our broken immigration system.

I hope more members of Congress go to Matamoros to bear witness to these conditions for themselves. Perhaps then Congress will finally have the courage to act.

Peter DeFazio represents Oregon's 4th Congressional District.

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Since Friday midnight, Russian-led forces have been observing the ceasefire.

Russia's hybrid military forces on February 6 mounted four attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as wounded in action.

"Russian occupation forces violated the ceasefire four times on February 6," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation Headquarters said on Facebook in a morning update on February 7. "One member of Joint Forces was wounded amid enemy shelling."

Read alsoExperts on children's "upbringing" in occupied Donbas: This somehow resembles "Hitler Jugend"

The enemy opened fire, employing proscribed 120mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, and small arms near the villages of Orikhove and Novoluhanske.

Since Friday midnight, Russian-led forces have been observing the ceasefire.

No casualties were reported among Ukrainian troops on Friday so far.
On Thursday, President Donald Trump hailed his acquittal in the Democrats impeachment drive with a foul-mouthed, rambling tirade in which he called his opponents evil, corrupt and scum.

In a 90-minute rant broadcast on every major US TV channel, Trump called the impeachment bullshit, forcing newscasters to apologize for violating FCC guidelines on profanity.

The former reality TV star referred to ex-FBI Director James Comey as a sleazebag and called the impeachment a battle in a war. This came just hours after White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Trumps opponents should be made to pay. Trump added that under other circumstances his adversaries would be in jail for a long time already.

President Donald Trump holds up a newspaper with a headline that reads Trump acquitted as he speaks in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, February 6, 2020, in Washington [Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci]

The media, its impeachment drive in shambles, responded to this deranged rant with mute acceptance.

By this point, no one should be under any illusion as to what Trump represents. American capitalism has vomited up a figurehead who expresses its most predatory and criminal features: its greed, violence, backwardness and ignorance.

Trump represents the intersection of two powerful impulses within American society: the parasitic growth of social inequality and US imperialisms perpetual war drive.

Less than 10 years before Trump was elected, the Obama administration carried out a bank bailout that handed trillions of dollars to the financial oligarchy, even as millions of people lost their homes and their jobs as the result of an orgy of criminal swindling unprecedented in American historyfor which no one was punished.

Since the 2008 bank bailout, the stock market has nearly quadrupled, massively enriching the wealthiest 10 percent of society, which owns 84 percent of stocks, even as working class incomes have stagnated or fallen.

In this context, Trumps off-the cuff rant, in which he rambled aimlessly from one topic to another, naturally honed in on his central appeal to the ruling class: He will make it richer. He declared:

Let me tell you, if we didnt win, the stock market would have crashed, and the market was going up a lot before the election because it was looking like we had a good chance to win. Then it went up tremendously from the time we won the election to the time we took office, which was November 8 to January 20, and thats all our credit.

At the same time, decades of continuous war have brutalized the country and eroded whatever vestiges of democratic rule remained.

After the Republicans failed impeachment drive against Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, with the blessings of the Supreme Court, stole the 2000 presidential election. He then used the September 11, 2001 terror attacks to launch a frontal assault on democratic rights under the cover of the war on terror.

The United States went on to invade Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003, led an air war to overthrow the government of Libya in 2011, and fomented a devastating civil war the same year in an attempt to bring down the government of Syria. These wars have killed millions of people and destroyed entire societies.

Within the framework of the war on terror, the United States has tortured thousands of peoplean example of which was revealed in the horrific Abu Ghraib prison photos. It has carried out mass warrantless domestic spying and committed thousands of extra-judicial assassinations, including of American citizens.

All of these wars and attacks on democratic rights have been carried out on a bipartisan basis, expressing the impulses of the financial oligarchy that dominates American society.

These tendencies are embodied in the person of Trumpthe right-wing bigot and demagogue descended from the fascistic America First strain in American politics that was aligned with Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

These reactionary impulses have been strengthened by the impeachment debacle. The Democrats demoralization in the aftermath of Trumps victory was summed up in an editorial published Thursday by the New York Times. The Times wrote that Trumps State of the Union speech showed that Mr. Trump, unlike the Democratic Party, has a simple, powerful message.

The newspaper added that it was perhaps a human reaction on the part of the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, to tear [the State of the Union address] to shreds. But, it continued, It was still disappointing to see her stoop to the kind of stunt the president himself would pull, and, as she certainly knows as well as anyone, a gesture like that wont defeat the presidents argument. So, what will?

Not the incoherent, if not to say chaotic, display the Democratic Party has mustered to date.

The editorial fails to answer the question it asks in the headline: What Will Finally Defeat Donald Trump? The newspaper of record is simply out of ideas.

The strategy of the Democrats has ended in shambles. From the beginning of Trumps presidency, the Democrats have pursued the methods of palace coup, with the primary aim of deflecting and disorienting popular opposition to the Trump administration.

Again and again, Trump has been saved by the Democrats. Their qualities of cowardice and fecklessness are determined by the interests of the privileged social layers for which they speak.

The Democrats have sought an escalation of the conflict with Russia. Beyond that, they have no fundamental differences with Trump. If they were forced to choose sides between Trump and a movement of the working class, they would unreservedly back Trump.

This may be the last word for the Times, but it will not be the last word for masses of workers and young people in America. It is easy for Trump to intimidate a feckless party of the oligarchs that has no stomach to fight him. It is a very different thing to face an insurgent popular movement.

Millions marched to oppose Trump in the wake of his inauguration. He remains hated, with an approval rating among the lowest of any post-World War II president. His crimes against immigrant children, his racist overtures to fascists, his advocacy of torture and his sadistic militarism have made his name a profanity, a synonym for vulgarity, criminality and brutality.

The processes that created Trumpabove all, the unprecedented growth of social polarization and economic inequalityhave also created the social basis for his removal. Millions of workers throughout the United States live in hardship and oppression, toiling every day for the enrichment of the oligarchy, totally excluded from political life, yet yearning for equality, peace and democracy.

This broad popular opposition to Trump must find expression and will find expression. But it will do so only to the extent that it breaks from the Democratic Party.

Trump can be removed only by mobilizing the American working class, in alliance with the working class of the whole world, and uniting all of the progressive elements within the population.

The Socialist Equality Party is running candidates in the 2020 US elections. Our candidate for president is Joseph Kishore, the national secretary of the SEP. Our candidate for vice president is Norissa Santa Cruz, a leading member of the SEP. We are advancing an internationalist and socialist program upon which the fight against Trump and the oligarchic capitalist system that he represents must be based.

For more information on the SEP election campaign and to sign up, visit socialism2020.org.
EUGENE, Ore. -- An Oregon woman is one of more than 60 coronavirus victims quarantined on a cruise ship off the Japanese coast, according to the Oregonian.

Rebecca Frasure, 35, is from Forest Grove, which is 30 minutes outside of Portland.

RELATED: UO TAKING PRECAUTIONS AGAINST CORONAVIRUS

The Oregonian said a Japanese health official told Frasure that she tested positive for coronavirus and her husband tested negative. She will stay at a hospital for at least three days. If she gets better, Frasure said she will be taken back to the cruise ship to wait out the rest of the 14-day quarantine. Otherwise, she will stay in the hospital.

According to a message from the cruise company to its passengers, a person infected with the coronavirus boarded the ship with 2,700 passengers and 1,045 crew members in Japan on Jan. 20. The ship had traveled to southern Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Okinawa.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister and AAP head Arvind Kejriwal attacked the BJP and Amit Shah on Thursday, saying the Union Home Minister is running away from debate, which is not something that Bhagwad Gita preaches.



I had invited Amit Shah for an open debate on any issue, concerning the people of Delhi. I am ready to have a debate on any issue related to the development of the nation, including Shaheen Bagh protests. But, unfortunately, Amit Shah has declined the invitation and is not ready to have a debate with me and answer the questions of the people. The Bhagwad Gita mentions, that a true Indian should never run away and be scared of facing challenges, Kejriwal said at a press conference, accusing the BJP from running away from the debate.



ALSO READ | BJP will form govt in Delhi by winning more than 45 seats: Amit Shah



In his campaign, Shah has accused Kejriwal of lying and supporting anti-nationals in the past.

On the last day of the poll campaign, the chief minister went on to ask Delhiites to vote for the work done in the past five years and not for politics of religion.

These elections will be historic for the entire nation, and the victory of AAP in these elections will establish a new form of politics in the country  the politics of work. This will make parties and people realise that they have to construct schools, hospitals, and work for the welfare of the people, Kejriwal added.

The BJP had trolled the AAP chief on social media for reciting Hanuman Chalisa and acting to be a practicing Hindu.



I request all BJP leaders to recite Hanuman Chalisa. The Hanuman Chalisa will grant a calm and peaceful mind to them, and the tone and tenor of their speech will develop discipline and restraint. BJP leaders are fake Hindus, as they only know the language of abuse, Kejriwal said, hitting back at the BJP for mocking him for reciting the Hanuman Chalisa on a show.

272 teams on patrol, says AAP



Claiming it has received inputs that money and liquor are being distributed in some areas of the national capital, the AAP on Thursday said it has formed 272 teams to keep a tab on such nefarious activities.
The Central Mississippi Correctional Facility. Photo: Rogelio V Solis/AP/Shutterstock

The Justice Department announced on Wednesday an investigation into four Mississippi prisons: the Southern Mississippi Correctional Institute, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility, Wilkinson County Correctional Facility, and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, known as Parchman Farm. All have experienced a dramatic uptick in violence since December 29, with a total of 13 inmates dead, including nine at Parchman alone. Officials have attributed the deaths  which include three suicides and several murders  to a surge in gang violence, aggravated by understaffing and inhumane conditions like scant running water, rampant vermin, and a dearth of accommodations, forcing prisoners to sleep on concrete floors with no mattresses. Advocates have called for increased funding; some have banded together and filed a lawsuit. The DOJ intends to determine whether the Mississippi Department of Corrections adequately protects prisoners from physical harm at the hands of other prisoners at the four prisons, and whether there is adequate suicide prevention, including adequate mental health care and appropriate use of isolation, at Parchman.

The answer to all the above is clearly no. Precedent for the investigation includes last years look at prison violence in Alabama, which revealed a similar degree of degradation. Photos published across news outlets showed a world of gory despair, bolstering the departments ultimate ruling: that there was reasonable cause to believe that Alabamas prisons violated the Eighth Amendment, which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Mississippis will likely prompt a similar conclusion. And its not a meaningless ruling; such a designation from the DOJ can accelerate action on the part of states to fix the problems identified. This seems less likely today than under previous administrations. In the Trump era, the Justice Department has shown a growing disinterest in entering consent decrees with bad actors in the criminal-legal system, abandoning a key mechanism for keeping such entities committed to change. But the greater barrier is one that neither a damning DOJ ruling, more funding, nor increased staffing can remedy: The animating philosophy behind Mississippi and Alabamas prison conditions is that people convicted of crimes are undeserving of basic humanity and should be condemned to suffer indefinitely.

There are few other satisfactory explanations for a system that is so universally torturous. Voters and lawmakers have collaborated in letting such environments fester from South Carolina to Wisconsin to California, transcending region and countless other differences in local economics and culture. Despite apparent upticks in sympathy toward the incarcerated of late  and openness across the political spectrum to reducing mass incarceration  there doesnt seem to be any groundswell of interest in truly upending the punitive function of prisons. Even Elizabeth Warren, arguably the second most progressive candidate running for president in 2020, recently couched her support for abolishing the death penalty in terms of how much crueler life sentences could be. I think that people who have committed truly heinous crimes should die in prison, she told the New York Times. I think that is how we give them the maximum, maximum punishment that we can: keep them in prison for all their days.

Theres a reason this logic is popular, even among politicians and pundits who might otherwise seem anti-carceral. It transmutes the active moral depravity of an execution into the more passive and less visible moral depravity of letting a human being rot in a cell. Infusing such a system with more capital  in the form of funding  is a theoretical fix to some of its decay. But in practice theres little to suggest that giving jailers more resources to hire more guards and kill more rats, and potentially imprison more people, would change whats actually wrong with prisons. Mississippi and Alabama have so lowered expectations for what to expect from these facilities that advocates nevertheless find themselves pleading to give them more money, hoping that an infusion of humanity will logically follow. There are abundant reasons to be skeptical  a major one being the consistent inhumanity of prison life even in states with substantial differences in corrections funding. So as the DOJ examines whats happening in Mississippi  a DOJ, its also worth noting, that has reversed its stances on a range of civil-rights lawsuits and recently opted to reinstate the federal death penalty  Americans would do well to consider to what end. If the primary takeaway is that Mississippi isnt spending enough money to lock people up, its a stretch to consider that progress.
Thousands of students in Iraq put education on hold to protest demanding a better future.

Striking students in Iraq are defying government orders to return to classrooms.

Many schools and universities closed when anti-government demonstrations began in October.

But students say until protesters demands are met, there is little point returning to school.

Al Jazeeras Simona Foltyn reports from Baghdad.
LONDON - A major European technology trade fair has a low-tech idea for reducing virus risks: go hands-free.

Organizers of this months Mobile World Congress show are advising attendees to adopt a no-handshake policy, threatening to dampen visiting executives ability to meet and schmooze customers. Show organizers also plan to step up cleaning and disinfecting and make sure speakers dont use the same microphone. Some companies, meanwhile, are pulling out or scaling back plans.

MWC is an important networking and lobbying opportunity for mobile industry executives and government officials from around the world. Its the worlds biggest wireless industry trade fair, held in Barcelona, Spain, on the other side of the globe from the virus outbreaks Chinese epicenter.

More than 100,000 people were expected to attend this year, with about 6% from China. The coronavirus has now infected more than 31,400 people globally and killed more than 630, most of them in China.

The latest turmoil for MWC came Friday when Swedens Ericsson, a major supplier of telecom infrastructure gear, said it was pulling out of the Feb. 24-27 event because it feared the health and safety of employees and customers cannot be ensured. While theres little sign of a mass exodus in the works, the departure of Ericsson is a blow to the show because its one of the biggest exhibitors.

South Korean tech company LG also withdrew earlier in the week.

Other companies are adjusting or scaling back their plans to adapt to travel and quarantine measures. The Chinese tech giant Huawei, a major sponsor, is assigning European staff to the show. Eric Xu, serving a six-month term as rotating chairman, is scheduled to hold a media briefing by video because hes unable to get to Spain with enough time to undergo the two-week self-quarantine period.

Jean-Baptiste Su, principal analyst at Atherton Research in San Jose, California, said hes decided not to attend because of virus worries.

I just didnt want to take a chance, he said. Its that bad.

Su said many participants were coming from China, and we dont know much about how the transmission of the virus works. He added that people he knows at big Silicon Valley companies are on the fence about attending, and their employers say its OK if they dont want to.

Ericsson said it decided to withdraw after an extensive internal risk assessment.

Ericsson has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors, the company said.

Dropping out might affect Ericssons business, though the damage would be limited, said Richard Fogg, CEO of tech-focused public relations agency CCgroup who has attended Mobile World for 17 years.

More important is the signal it sends.

Ericsson could be the start of a domino rally, Fogg said. It gives smaller vendors permission to potentially pull from attending.

However, he said there was not much discussion among his clients yet of the virus. He said cost is also a factor because exhibitors have already paid their fees.

The shows organizers, GSMA, said it regretted and respected Ericssons decision to pull out.

Ericssons cancellation will have some impact on our presence at this time and will potentially have further impact, the group said.

Organizers and local authorities have been scrambling to contain worries about the virus this week.

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau said MWC will go ahead in a completely normal way despite the virus and cancellations.

I hope there are no more announcements like those by Ericsson and LG, Colau told Catalan television channel TV3 on Friday. I am told that all necessary precautions are being taken so that the event can be held as safely as possible, she said.

Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA, told The Associated Press on Wednesday, before Ericssons announcement, that he doesnt foresee this (as) more than a sort of a blip.

Microsoft said its plans to participate remain unchanged  for now.

The safety of our employees is a top priority and we will evaluate the situation and adjust plans as necessary, the company said.

But LG said Tuesday that it was dropping out to remove the risk of exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel which has already become more restrictive as the virus continues to spread across borders. A day later, Chinese tech company ZTE said it was scrubbing the press launch for its new devices. ZTE also said it was adopting measures including disinfecting its exhibition stand daily and making sure its staffed by employees from countries outside China, mainly from Europe.

Granryd said a few small Chinese companies based in Wuhan, China, where the virus first emerged, have also pulled out.

___

Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, and Matt OBrien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report.

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For all of APs tech coverage, visit https://apnews.com/apf-technology

___

Follow Kelvin Chan at http://twitter.com/chanman
Iranian security forces have raided the homes of at least six journalists in Tehran over the past fortnight. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) agents have confiscated documents and reporting equipment, but no arrests were made. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) strongly condemned these arbitrary raids and demanded the authorities return material seized.

Amid the rise of international pressure on Iran over the downed Ukrainian passenger plane and recent protests inside Iran, the security forces raided the homes of six journalists in Tehran and confiscated their phones, laptops, and other communication equipment.

In the early morning of Sunday 26 January, security agents raided the residence of Maziar Khosravi, former editor of Shargh and now editor-in-chief of the reformist Faraz Online. His Twitter account has also been suspended.

On Wednesday 29 January, IRGCs intelligence agents raided the home of Yasaman Khaleghian, a former reporter of the Iranian Labour News Agency (ILNA). After searching the journalists house they confiscated her phone, laptop, and press card.

On Monday 3 February, the security forces raided the homes of Molud Hajizadeh and Yaghma Fashkhami. Their personal belongings were seized. Hajizadeh is a journalist at Taadol newspaper, where she covers womens issues, and Fashkhami is a former member of the political service at Rozan newspaper and a former writer for the news website Didban Iran.

The last raid occured on Wednesday 5 February, as IRGC forces entered the home of Ehsan Bodaghi and his wife, Shabnam Nezami, both journalists. Bodaghi is a former journalist of Iran newspaper.

The six journalists have been requested to prepare for upcoming interrogation at the Culture and Media Court of Tehran.

On Tuesday 4 February, former journalist-turned-activist Mahdi Mahmudian was arrested in his house. Mahmoudian played an important role in exposing the atrocities committed at Kahrizak Detention Center in 2009, where many detainees were tortured.

The intensified crackdown on journalists and media is taking place in the run-up to parliamentary elections on February 21 and in the wake of ongoing tensions and nationwide protests over a spike in fuel prices, which started in November last year. More than ten thousand citizens, including journalists, have been detained in the past two months.

The IFJ recently reported about journalist Marzieh Amiri, who was sentenced to five years in prison, and writer Nima Saffar, sentenced to eight months in prison.

IFJ General Secretary, Anthony Bellanger, said: The intimidation and harassment of journalists is a deplorable method of silencing public debate by governments. Irans citizens have the right to be informed by independent journalists, who should be allowed to work without the fear of secret agents raiding their homes and stealing the equipment they need to do their work.
MOSCOW  NASA astronaut Christina Koch, who spent nearly 11 months in orbit to set a record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, landed safely Thursday in Kazakhstan along with two International Space Station crewmates.

The Soyuz capsule carrying Koch, station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, touched down southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, at 3:12 p.m. local time.

Koch wrapped up a 328-day mission after her first flight into space, providing researchers the opportunity to observe the effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. The study is important since NASA plans to return to the moon under the Artemis program and prepare for the human exploration of Mars.

Koch smiled and gave a thumbs-up as a support team helped her out of the capsule and placed her in a chair for a quick post-flight check-up alongside her crew mates. Russian space officials said they were in good shape.

Koch, who grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and now lives near the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas, with her husband, Bob, told The Associated Press last month that taking part in the first all-female spacewalk was the highlight of her mission. Koch lived in Livingston in 2013 when she gained entrance into the astronaut program.

Koch said she and fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir appreciated that the Oct. 18 spacewalk "could serve as an inspiration for future space explorers."

Parmitano and Skvortsov spent 201 days in space.

After preliminary medical evaluations, the crew will be flown by Russian helicopters to the city of Karaganda in Kazakhstan. Koch and Parmitano will then board a NASA plane bound for Cologne, Germany, where Parmitano will be greeted by European space officials before Koch proceeds home to Houston.

Skvortsov will be flown to the Star City Cosmonaut Training Center outside Moscow.

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All 645 people evacuated from China's Wuhan city, who were lodged at the quarantine facilities set up by the Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in and around Delhi, have tested negative for coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry said on Thursday.

It said that as on February 6, 1,38,750 passengers from 1,265 flights had been screened for the nCoV illness but no new case has been detected.

India has so far reported three confirmed cases of nCoV from Kerala.

Also read: No, coronavirus doesn't spread from non-veg food! Here's a myth buster

Three medical students studying at the Wuhan University, all natives of Kerala, who returned to India on their own recently and self-reported at a hospital in the state have tested positive for the respiratory virus.

"All 645 evacuees from Wuhan, China have tested negative for novel coronavirus," the ministry said.

A total of 1,202 samples have been tested as of Thursday which includes the samples of 645 people lodged at the quarantine centres set up by the Army in Haryana's Manesar and the ITBP in Chawla camp.

"All the 645 people have tested negative. Samples of all these individuals will be re-tested on day 14 of the quarantine period," it said.

Besides, 557 samples from suspected cases throughout the country were referred to ICMR network laboratories, out of which 510 tested negative and three were confirmed laboratory positive for nCoV.

Also read: Coronavirus: Chinese doctor who gave early warning about epidemic, dies at 34

The rest of the samples are under the process.

Community surveillance and contact tracing is being carried out by IDSP for 6,558 persons across 32 states/UTs.

The Fourth Joint Monitoring Group (JMG) meeting was held on Thursday under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to discuss technical issues, including the review period of the follow up required for asymptomatic travellers from China.

The Health Ministry in coordination with central ministries and all states/UTs is taking adequate measures for management of nCoV in India, the ministry said.

On the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Group of Ministers (GoM) has been formed to review, monitor and evaluate the preparedness to contain the deadly nCoV infection in the country. The GoM held its first meeting on Monday.

As part of India's preparedness, passengers arriving from Thailand and Singapore, besides China and Hong Kong, are being screened for possible exposure to nCoV at all the 21 airports.

Screening is also being conducted at international seaports and border crossings.

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday issued an updated travel advisory saying the existing visas (including e-visa already issued) are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China.

The Health Ministry has asked people to refrain from travelling to the country in view of the coronavirus outbreak in its Hubei province and said travellers on return could be quarantined.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose to 563 in China on Tuesday while the number of those affected by the deadly disease has crossed 28,018.

One death was reported earlier this week from the Philippines.

So far, the virus has spread to Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Russia, Finland, Spain, UAE and Sweden.

Also read: Coronavirus scare in India: Huge capacity to manufacture masks, gloves, but govt yet to place orders
CARACAS, Venezuela - Russias foreign minister visited Venezuela on Friday in a show of support for President Nicolas Maduro as U.S. vows of more pressure threaten to cut off the socialist leader from a key financial ally in Moscow.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrovs stop in Caracas follows a trip by Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido to Washington, where officials in the Trump administration say theyre preparing to escalate efforts to force out Maduro.

The Russian diplomat urged the international community to back a political and diplomatic solution to Venezuelas troubles and denounced the U.S. campaign to oust Maduro with sanctions and other measures.

Sadly, Venezuelas crisis is part of a grand campaign with the end goal of overthrowing the legitimate government, Lavrov said. We consider this scenario unacceptable.

Even as Lavrov was in Caracas, the Trump administration unveiled fresh sanctions against a fleet of commercial planes belonging to the Venezuelan state-owned CONVIASA airlines.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement that the illegitimate Maduro regime relies on the airline to shuttle corrupt regime officials around the world to fuel support for its anti-democratic efforts, noting countries such as North Korea, Cuba and Iran.

U.S. o fficials said that the Trump administration will soon decide whether to impose penalties on Russias powerful state oil company Rosneft, an important financial lifeline to Maduro.

Guaido has been embraced in Washington by Republicans and Democrats. His international tour also took him to Colombia, across Europe and to Canada, where he rallied support among world leaders.

President Donald Trump reaffirmed his support for Guaido, recognizing him this week in the State of the Union address as Venezuelas true and legitimate leader and calling Maduro a tyrant. Trump next welcomed Guaido to a coveted Oval Office meeting.

The gesture bolstered Guaido as support back home fades a year after he rose to the centre of Venezuelas tumultuous political landscape, vowing to oust Maduro and end the oil-rich nations political and financial crisis.

The U.S. and nearly 60 nations back Guaido, saying Maduro claimed victory in fraudulent elections in 2018. Maduro remains in power with backing from the Venezuelan military and allies including Cuba, China and Turkey.

Russia and Venezuela have a political, military and economic alliance that was cemented years ago between President Vladimir Putin and the late-President Hugo Chavez, Maduros predecessor.

The Russians have provided the South American nation with substantial assistance, including an air defence system and help circumventing U.S. sanctions on their oil industry, but insist the extent of their support has been exaggerated by American officials.

Lavrov also met with Maduro and other Venezuelan officials to talk about co-operation in areas including energy, mining, agriculture, medicine and military-technical co-operation.

It is important to develop our military technical co-operation to increase the defence capacity of our friends against outside threats, said Lavrov, adding that Maduro will travel to Moscow in May.

Lavrov also appeared at a meeting with members of Maduros government and minority opposition parties participating in a dialogue promoted by the socialist administration. The U.S. and Guaido reject the talks that do not include major opposition leaders like Guaido.

Lavrov said he was convinced that the parliamentary elections planned for this year are the only possibility for political radicals not to lose the place in Venezuelas political future.

Moscow insists that Maduros government should not be excluded from any dialogue about a solution to Venezuelas problems.

We want everyone to comply with their international duty to resolve all disputes through peaceful means, Lavrov said. Venezuelas crisis should be solved through political and diplomatic measures.

___

Associated Press writer Fabiola Sanchez contributed to this story.

___

Follow Scott Smith on Twitter: @ScottSmithAP
However, the sector has been looking forward for rate reduction and better transmission of rates to push demand at the consumer level.

This exemption will be available for incremental credit extended up to the fortnight ending July 31, 2020. (Representational image)

Chennai: The Reserve Bank provided some relief to the realty sector by extending asset downgrade of commercial project loans by a year and allowing scheduled commercial banks to provide incremental credit to the residential sector. However, the sector finds that the decision to keep repo rates unchanged will not address its biggest issuelow consumer demand.

It has been decided to permit extension of date of commencement of commercial operations (DCCO) of project loans for commercial real estate, delayed for reasons beyond the control of promoters, by another one year without downgrading the asset classification, the RBI said. This is in line with treatment accorded to other project loans for non-infrastructure sector and would complement the initiatives taken by the government in the real estate sector, the central bank said.

The industry welcomed the move. This is a big move and will bring the much-needed relief to the cash-starved real estate sector - and to both developers and the housing finance companies from the liquidity perspective. It will help ease out the time for maintaining and managing cash flows for cash-strapped developers and help them to completing several stuck projects, said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarcok Property Consultants.

According to Jaxay Shah, chairman, Credai National, RBIs decision to permit extension of date for commercial projects stuck for reasons beyond control of the developers under institutional debt will be instrumental in bringing much-needed relief to developers.

Recognising the real estate sector as a productive sector having multiplier effects to support impulses of growth, the RBI allowed scheduled commercial banks to deduct the equivalent of incremental credit disbursed by them as retail loans for automobiles, residential housing and loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), over and above the outstanding level of credit to these segments as at the end of the fortnight ended January 31, 2020 from their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) for maintenance of cash reserve ratio (CRR). This exemption will be available for incremental credit extended up to the fortnight ending July 31, 2020.

With the lower provisioning requirement for retail loans extended to the housing segment, we hope that the new measure will translate into lower cost of loans for home buyers as well, said Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director, Knight Frank.

However, the sector has been looking forward for rate reduction and better transmission of rates to push demand at the consumer level.

After a no-show Budget, the real estate sector was keenly looking towards the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for providing some lending rate concessions to boost demand, said Rajan Bandelkar, president, Nardeco Maharashtra.


Du Fujia, sister of Du Fuguo, a decorated soldier, on duty at the fever clinic of the Meitan County People's Hospital in Guizhou province.[Photo provided to China Daily]



By Wang Qian/Li Yingqing

A courageous and decorated soldier is providing inspiration for his sister fighting on the frontline against the coronavirus outbreak.

Nurse Du Fujia volunteered to work at the fever clinic of the Meitan County People's Hospital in Guizhou province and hasn't had any time off recently.

The hospital is among the 183 facilities designated to treat pneumonia patients in Guizhou. She is among the first batch of medical staff who volunteered to combat the growing coronavirus outbreak in the hospital.

The virus, the epicenter of which is Wuhan, Hubei province, has infected more than 28,000 people and killed more than 560 across the country as of Thursday, the latest official data shows. In Guizhou, 69 cases of infection were confirmed as of Thursday with one death reported.

"Just as minefields were my brother's battlefield, amid the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, the hospital is mine. It is a doctor's and nurse's duty to cure and treat the ill, and we are ready to serve the country," Du says.

Her brother, Du Fuguo, lost his hands and eyes when a bomb exploded during a mine-clearing operation in October 2018. He was honored as an Heroic Demining Soldier by the Central Military Commission in July.

"I feel very proud of him, he has empowered me with his energy and courage," Du Fujia says.

"It is the first Spring Festival that my brother has stayed with the family at home in seven years, but I cannot be reunited with him, in case I bring the virus back," Du Fujia says.

She signed up to join the coronavirus team immediately after the hospital, on Jan 27, issued an initiative asking medical staff to work in the fever clinic, the frontline.

"Without telling the family, I signed up at once. I know they will support it," Du Fujia says.

She says that although no infected cases have been reported in Meitan, a surging number of residents have gone to the fever clinic. Besides taking temperatures, Du Fujia also shows the public how to prevent being infected and helps to deal with mental health issues.

Besides Du Fuguo and Du Fujia, there are also two brothers-Du Fuqiang, a border soldier in the Tibet autonomous region, and Du Fumin, an ICU doctor at Jiali Hospital in Meitan.

"The development of the epidemic is unexpectedly quick. Every Chinese person should stand up to combat the illness," Du Fumin says.

"I hope the war without gun smoke can be over soon," he says.

Du Fuguo solidly supports his younger sister's and brother's decision.

"It is their mission to save patients. They are true to their mission," Du Fuguo says, adding all the doctors and nurses on the frontline to contain the virus are heroes in our heart.

"Stay strong, medics! Stay strong, Wuhan! Stay strong, China!" He says.

Their story has become a hot topic online, viewed more than 130 million times on social media site Weibo by Thursday. One user comments: "Salute their mother. Her children make the country proud."

Like Du Fujia, there are hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses, who have devoted themselves to controlling the coronavirus on the frontline.

At the same time, thousands of medical staff from across China are being dispatched to help tackle the epidemic in Hubei, which has isolated itself in a bid to curb the rapid spread of the virus.

Medics, who were in close contact with infected patients, have in some cases been infected with the virus and their plight has hit the headlines. Many of them, even in isolation, still keep an eye on the outbreak and make their own contributions from their hospital beds.

Yu Changping, a respiratory specialist at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, who was infected by the virus and is still in isolation, has updated news on his treatment and recovery online.

Yu said in a video clip that his symptoms were relieved after five days of treatment and he hopes to get back to work as soon as he is cured.

"Through the clip I want to use my experience to tell the public that we can win the battle. Stay strong, Wuhan," Yu says.

On Monday, five medics in the intensive care unit of the cardiology department at Beijing Fuxing Hospital were confirmed to be infected.

"There is no angel in white, but a group of young people wearing medical uniforms following the steps of their predecessors to tackle the illness," Tang Sha, head nurse at The Central Hospital of Wuhan, posted to her WeChat circle.
Calling the ongoing DefExpo-2020 a historic success, defence minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced the signing of over 200 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) and transfer of technology agreements at the expo.

Besides the launch of 13 products, six major announcements, 18 transfer of technology agreements and 71 MoUs signed on Friday, over 100 MoUs were signed on the sidelines of the expo, taking the total number of agreements to over 200.

These agreements include 23 MoUs signed with Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) involving an investment of about Rs 50,000 crore in the defence corridor project in Uttar Pradesh.

Our government has carried out many reformsWe have eased the industry licensing process. We have also increased the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap. We have streamlined the defence offset policy and it could be streamlined further, said Rajnath while speaking at the Bandhan ceremony organized for product launch, new announcements, transfer of technology and signing of MoUs.

Rajnaths observation about further streamlining the defence offset policy assumes significance in the backdrop of demands for the same.

The minister announced that under the innovate for defence internship scheme, students of 50 engineering colleges would be sensitized about innovation in the defence sector.

Listing out the highlights of the expo, he said Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) had reached an understanding with UPEIDA to provide technology support to the companies investing in the defence corridor. The products launched at the expo, said Rajnath, included artillery guns, helicopters, anti-tank missiles and bullet proof jackets.

Rajnath said Indias defence exports were at Rs 10,745 crore in 2018-2019, which was seven times higher than the export figures for 2016-2017.

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Cabaret | New Theatre Oxford | Tuesday, February 4

WELL start at the end with as devastating a finale as I can recall in the theatre. All the noise, music, gaiety and bluster that Cabaret has come to mean is silenced in one desperate scene.

Ten naked bodies cling together as the final sound effect whispers in like thunder  the hissing of a gas chamber. It was a punch in the stomach!

Among those naked bodies is Emcee, the outrageous gay compere of the Kit Kat Klub, who not long before had been leading the jokes against the Jews.

Cabaret is not your normal musical, it keeps punching at you just when you feel safe and this production from Bill Kenwright magnifies that effect  sometimes at the expense of storytelling.

The story sees hopeful writer Cliff Bradshaw arriving in Berlin, meeting the denizens of the Kit Kat Klub and living a bohemian life against the backdrop of the development of Nazism.

Director Rufus Norris has gone big  the ensemble pieces are brash and in your face with lots of male and female flesh and splayed limbs leaving nothing to the imagination.

The choreography and movement are spectacular but when it all quietens down and we are in the intimacy of a love scene or the confines of a poky Berlin lodging house the huge set and stage dwarf the players.

They have to move further apart to fill it and raise their voices at the same time.

This production saw some fine acting and vocal performances, including John Partridge as Emcee, Kara Lily Hayworth as Sally Bowles, Anita Harris as Mrs Schneider and Charles Haggerty as Bradshaw.

Its impressive but seemed to lack fluency and subtlety with all the work being put into making a musical extravaganza and maybe not enough into revealing the story  other productions show the rise of Nazism more insidiously.

How prescient, though, that it should be at the New Theatre a week after Holocaust Memorial Day.

As long as it continues to be performed the memory and the warning that goes with it will survive.

Until Saturday.

Mike Rowbottom
The Met Office is warning of potential flooding in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland weather for the weekend and start of next week looks to a wild one with the Met Office having three warnings in place.

A wind and rain warning is in place from noon on Saturday. While the wind warning expires at midnight, the rain warning goes on until noon on Sunday.

Snow and wind warnings then come into force on Monday lasting until Tuesday lunchtime. However that only applies to northern parts of Northern Ireland.

The Met Office is also warning of potential flooding, travel disruption, power cuts and mobile phone coverage being affected.

For the beginning of the week motorists have been advised to expect delays and disruption.

"Frequent and heavy snow showers will affect the region throughout Monday and at first on Tuesday," said a spokesman.

Snow showers will mainly be over high ground, ncluding slight accumulations of 1 to 3 cm above 150 metres and 5-10 cm above 300 metres.

"Strong winds, gusting 50-60 mph, will lead to blizzard conditions at times and considerable drifting of lying snow. Frequent lightning strikes are also possible, perhaps leading to interruptions to power supplies."

"Its likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray or large waves," the statement added.

"There could also be delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges.," he said.

The snow will arrive in the wake of Storm Ciara, which is expected to bring gusts of up to 80mph from Saturday night through to Sunday, with a high tide increasing the risk of large waves.

Heavy rain is expected overnight from Saturday and during the day on Sunday, with further disruption possible from fallen trees and power cuts.

Friday will see "a slowly deteriorating picture" across Northern Ireland, with higher winds and an increased chance of rain.
BAGHDAD  Iraq's pro-government Shiite blocs are alleging an economic agreement signed between outgoing Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and China in September is linked to the mass public protests that started in October.

Iran-backed factions of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), which support Abdul Mahdi's government, are promoting a conspiracy theory that the United States engineered the mass protests in Iraq to topple the government and nullify the agreement, to stop China from investing and expanding its influence in Iraq.

Abdul Mahdi seems bent on implementing the agreement with China, though his government no longer has full legal and administrative powers. Since its resignation Nov. 29, it has been a caretaker government. On Dec. 23, Abdul Mahdi chaired a meeting on the Chinese projects, attended by the minister of planning and various deputy ministers. However, he refused to attend parliamentary sessions to discuss the agreement or send any documentation to parliamentary committees, which some legislators find suspicious.

Parliament member Mohammad Iqbal said, The governments intentional hiding of documents signed with China supports the idea that some provisions are not in Iraqs interest and goes in line with the alarming media leaks.

Abdul Mahdi had signed eight economic and trade agreements with China, including one that allocates the revenues from 100,000 barrels of oil per day to China to implement infrastructure projects in various Iraqi provinces over 20 years. Abdul Rahman Mashhadani, an economics professor at Iraqi University in Baghdad, told Al-Monitor he sees the deal as a mortgage on Iraqi oil, especially if the agreement states that Iraq must settle payments according to a pre-set oil price and doesn't allow for possible price fluctuations.

He added, The agreement's provisions haven't been officially revealed and the Iraqi parliament doesn't know what the real conditions set by China are, except from the media reports. According to the Iraqi government, the Reconstruction Council, which hasn't been formed yet, will have the power to oversee implementation of the agreement.

Abdul Mahdis financial adviser, Mudher Mohammad Saleh, said during a Dec. 23 discussion forum about the Chinese deal, Per the agreement, only 3% of the sold oil quantities will be deposited in Iraqs development fund at the federal bank, by allocating the sales revenues of 100,000 oil barrels. China will offer credit lines to Iraq worth $10 billion for the first phase, and the Chinese companies will guarantee the agreement. The quantity can be increased to 300,000 barrels if desired. The money will then be transferred to another sovereign fund called the investment fund after an agreement is reached on the projects that the Iraqi government will specify.

The most important provision in the China-Iraq agreement is to open an account for Iraq in Chinese banks to deposit oil funds. With that, Iraq can gradually do without its US accounts, according to parliamentary blocs that want to expel US forces from the country.

On Jan. 11, after US President Donald Trump threatened to close Iraqs account at the Federal Reserve in New York if Iraq ordered US troops to leave, Shiite political blocs quickly focused their efforts on implementing their governments agreement with China.

Some factions have demanded that the next prime minister selected commit to implementing the Chinese agreement. It's evidence of how important the deal is for the blocs forming the government, some of which believe that the US administration planned the Iraqi protests to topple the government because Baghdad signed the agreement with China. This theory is not credible as the protesters' demands go beyond political reform and also include improved services.

The agreement's roots date back to the government of former Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. But the deal wasn't implemented for reasons including the size of China's interests and its monopolization of Iraqi oil as well as the legal dispute over the need for parliament to ratify such agreements.

Article 61 of the Iraqi Constitution states that the parliament will be responsible for the ratification process of international treaties and agreements by a law to be enacted by a two-thirds majority." However, the government describes its agreements with China as protocols and contracts that don't require parliamentary ratification.

Parliament member Hoshiar Abdullah said that because the China agreement wasn't shown to the parliament, the pact is vulnerable to legal challenges. "Parliament has the right to approve of or reject any agreement or international treaty, including economic ones, he told Al-Monitor. Proceeding with the implementation in this way would engender a dispute for years to come and stir up problems. If the agreement is in the interest of Iraqi citizens, the parliament will not reject it.

The Shiite majority might be strong enough to push the agreement through parliament without the help of other blocs, as was the case when it ratified in December the decision to force Baghdad to end the troop arrangement with Washington. However, implementing that decision depends on the next government, which will face other tough and complicated challenges, like preparing for early elections, addressing the disputing political blocs and implementing the demands of protesters in central and southern Iraq.
LONDON, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneWeb, the global communications company with a mission to bring connectivity to everyone everywhere, today announced the successful launch of 34 satellites, aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Lift-off occurred on February 06th at 21:42 pm UTC. The OneWeb satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches over a period of several hours.

This launch is the second successful launch in one of the largest civilian satellite launch campaigns in history. It will help build OneWeb's phase one constellation of 648 satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity, while addressing the world's most pressing connectivity problems.

The communications company is on schedule to provide global coverage to customers in 2021, starting with the first commercial services in the Arctic this year. This follows OneWeb both securing global priority spectrum rights and successfully launching its first batch of satellites in 2019.

OneWeb's network will provide a unique combination of high data throughput, low latency, true global coverage and a range of user terminals for multiple markets including maritime, aviation, government and enterprise.

Adrian Steckel, CEO of OneWeb, said: "The successful manufacture, delivery and launch of this batch of 34 satellites is the latest proof point of the OneWeb plan. Importantly, today's mission also brings us closer to our next step, realizing our ultimate vision of providing access to high speed, reliable internet to everyone, everywhere."



"We are seeing considerable interest from prospective customers and partners. Later this year, we will provide service in the arctic region and 2021 will see OneWeb achieve global coverage, making the digital divide a thing of the past. I'm very proud of our team and partners who continue to collaborate to make our ambitious scale a reality, and also those in Kazakhstan for supporting our vision."

Follow #OneWebLaunch on OneWeb social media channels: YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

Webcast playback

Launch highlights available

Download or view on OneWeb YouTube

Launch Imagery

www.oneweb.world/events/launch2-mediakit

Launch Partner

Arianespace

Launch Facility

Soyuz Launch Complex, Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087486/OneWeb_Logo.jpg

SOURCE OneWeb

Related Links

https://oneweb.world


Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 17:08:03|Editor: xuxin

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VIENTIANE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lao government bodies on Wednesday reviewed the implementation of the Laos-Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project in 2019 and discussed plans for 2020, local media reported Friday.

Discussions took place during the fourth Steering Committee meeting on the project.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Finance, officials from northern Laos' Oudomxay province, the World Bank, and other entities.

"The project has achieved goals set in the plan, of which the main components are reducing the risk of flooding in the center of Xay district, Oudomxay province; increasing the capacity for disaster prevention in the provinces of Phongsaly, Oudomxay and Luang Prabang; and other work related to reducing disaster risk," local daily Vientiane Times on Friday quoted an official from the Department of Planning and Investment as saying.

The project was given permission to go ahead in August 2017 and will run for five years.

Laos has faced many natural disasters, especially widespread flooding in 2018, which caused extensive property damage and loss of life. Some 125 districts, 2,433 villages, and 133,382 families were affected.

Ninety people died and 26 people are still missing, while flood damage was estimated at 3,167 billion Lao kip (some 356 million U.S. dollars).

Lao government allocated 100 billion Lao kip (over 11 million U.S. dollars) for emergency and recovery efforts for the transport and forestry sectors, and another 500 billion Lao kip (nearly 56 million U.S. dollars) to repair infrastructure damaged by floodwaters, according to the report.
Citing a declining enrollment, New Jersey City University plans to cut up to 20 staff members at A. Harry Moore School, a decision that blindsided parents and the Jersey City Board of Education president.

In an email to the NJCU community, President Sue Henderson announced the elimination of 12 to 20 staff members at the school for multiply disabled students. The staff cuts will take effect in the 2020-2021 school year.

As you may be aware, staffing at K-12 schools is based on student enrollment. The A. Harry Moore School program operated by New Jersey City University is no different, Henderson wrote. Over the past few years, student enrollment at A. Harry Moore has been declining. As schools choose to keep their students in district, we are faced with reevaluating staffing accordingly.

Sherrie Madia, a spokeswoman for NJCU said the school currently has 76 students and 72 staff members. The program started the year with 92 students  75 of whom were Jersey City residents.

The schools building in September closed after the front entrance sustained a partial ceiling collapse. It was determined after an inspection that the 88-year-old Kennedy Boulevard school building was structurally unsafe.

The program was then moved into trailer-like facilities at the Gerard J. Dynes New Jersey Regional Day School on Johnston Avenue, where it remains.

Under a 50-year-old arrangement, NJCU provides instruction at the school, while the Jersey City BOE is responsible for the facility. Jersey City and other towns that send students to A. Harry Moore contribute to the budget.

AHM is projecting 70 to 75 students for the next school year. That said, if facility issues are not resolved, the result may be an additional decline in enrollment, NJCU spokeswoman Sherrie Madia said.

A classroom teacher at the school who did not want to be named, told The Jersey Journal she is one of 12 staff members who were notified they will not be returning after June 30. The teacher, who has worked at the school for six years, said others had been there for more than 15 years.

Because the location has got a lot smaller, we lost a lot of things  everything is cramped, she said. Its due to the location we are in. If we would have had a school, we would have not lost all these kids and we would have not had all these layoffs.

In September, the university also announced it would sever ties with the A. Harry Moore at the end of June, but walked back that controversial decision after fierce backlash from members of the public, including Mayor Steve Fulop.

Fulop said Thursday that blaming declining enrollment is a hollow excuse. The layoffs shouldnt be happening, and the Jersey City school board should find a long-term plan to help the school, he said.

Of course, there is a decline in enrollment as the BOE and NJCU arent investing in the facility or showing a plan to repair it, Fulop said. What parent would send their child to a school without any plan?

Henderson said in her email to the NJCU community that the university remains committed to working with the BOE and Fulop "to resolve the separate challenge of a permanent facilities solution.

Jersey City Board of Education President Lorenzo Richardson was surprised to learn about the staff cuts when reached by The Jersey Journal. Richardson said he wasnt made aware of the reductions by NJCU, but said the university runs the program and the board has no control over how the university handles staffing.

I think we will have to discuss as a district to see what happened, Richardson said.

The board offered NJCU a five-year contract in November that would extend the universitys relationship with the school through June 2025. The proposed agreement would allow NJCU to exit the contract after four years.

Richardson was unable to provide updates about contract negotiations, but work on a deal is ongoing, he said.

Nicole Gohde and Kaleena Berryman, two parents of A. Harry Moore students, said it feels NJCU is trying to take away everything that made the school great.

Berryman received the email about the layoffs from a NJCU staff member, which Berryman then circulated to other parents.

As a result of the failure of the state, the city and NJCU to do what they were supposed to do, we are losing students, Berryman said. All the things that made A. Harry Moore excellent, they are taking away little by little.

Berryman said most of the programs being lost in the process are activities like yoga, dance, swimming and music. A. Harry Moore is the only place their kids can get these types of services, she said.

Its just going to be kids trapped in a classroom getting regular curriculum but nothing else, Gohde said. It is not even a school anymore, its not a program, its nothing.
Tesla's surge inspires fans to buy, skeptics to dig in, drives fear of missing out Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk walks next to a screen showing an image of Tesla Model 3 car during an opening ceremony for Tesla China-made Model Y program in Shanghai, China

By April Joyner and Noel Randewich

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pretty much everyone on Wall Street has an opinion about Tesla <TSLA.O>.

The electric vehicle maker's stupendous rally in recent months has given shareholders something to cheer about, cost short sellers billions of dollars and vindicated legions of retail investors who have long adored Elon Musk's company.

Tesla shares have soared by nearly 320% since early June, helped by the company's better-than-expected financial results and ramped-up production at its new car factory in Shanghai.

After surging 36% over Monday and Tuesday, the stock by Friday had settled back to a gain of about 15% for the week. On Friday afternoon, it was down marginally at $747.11.

Another factor driving this week's surge may be fund managers hurrying to raise their allocation of the stock, analysts said.

"A lot of advisors and institutions, they jump in the bandwagon because they don't want to trail," said vocal Tesla bull Ross Gerber, president and chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki in Santa Monica, California. "If Tesla goes to $1,000 (775.4 pounds) and they don't own it, what are they going to tell their clients?"

Gerber trimmed his fund's position in the stock as the company's valuation soared. He hopes to buy more if the stock falls and said a fair valuation would be around $550.

THE BULLS

Retail investors have driven part of the surge.

Among Fidelity Investments customers, Tesla has been by far the most actively traded stock in recent sessions, with nearly 16,000 buy orders for the electric carmaker's shares. Twitter, ranked second overall in trading activity on Fidelity, had just over 2,000 buy orders.

On Monday, when Tesla shot up 20% in its biggest one day rally since 2013, clients at TD Ameritrade - millennials in particular - overwhelmingly took profits after having bought the stock for months, said JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist at the online brokerage.

Story continues

Tesla's biggest institutional shareholders are Baillie Gifford, Capital World and Vanguard, according to Refinitiv data.

It also has an international following. Retail investors in South Korea have been trading Tesla shares at a furious pace in recent weeks, buying and selling $200 million worth of stock in January, according to the Korea Securities Depository. Volume in November stood at $43 million.

Tesla options positioning is also bullish. According to data from options analytics provider Trade Alert, skew turned deeply negative this week, meaning that demand for calls, used to position for further share gains, has surpassed demand for puts, used to guard against a fall in shares.

That's a departure from the usual dynamic in most stocks, in which options used for downside protection generally command prices higher than those for upside participation.

Graphic: Investors rev up Tesla volatility bets , https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/editorcharts/TESLA-INVESTORS/0H001R89MBSR/eikon.png

Tesla's biggest winner is Musk, who stands to earn more than $1 billion thanks to Tesla's recent rally. The company's market capitalization briefly exceeded $150 billion this week, the second target in his record-breaking compensation package that opens the way to options awarded to him vesting.

Graphic: Elon's big payout, https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/13/1841/1810/Elons%20payout.jpg

THE BEARS

Many investors remain skeptical that Tesla can consistently deliver profit, cash flow and growth. More Wall Street analysts rate Tesla "sell" than "buy," and the company's stock is the most shorted on Wall Street, with nearly $18 billion sold short.

Those bearish investors plan to profit by selling borrowed shares and buying them back later at a lower price. Yet while short investors in Tesla have suffered paper losses of over $11 billion so far in 2020, they have mostly held their ground, according to S3 Partners, a financial analytics firm.

One seller in the December quarter was Saudi Arabia's public investment fund, according to a filing on Tuesday.

Some funds that reportedly hold short positions are London-based Crispin Odey, according to the Financial Times. Odey was not immediately available for comment.

The Financial Times also reported that Greenlight Capital, run by David Einhorn, had told investors last month it held a put option against Tesla, which would be a bet against the stock. A spokesman for Greenlight declined to comment.

(Additional reporting by HyunJoo Jin in Seoul and Megan Davies in New York; writing by Ira Iosebashvili; editing by Megan Davies/Gerry Doyle/Susan Fenton)
Anthony Murrell, 44, from Auchterarder, Perthshire was jailed for more than three years having stolen more than 564,000 from his employer between 2014 and 2017

An IT boss who stole more than 500,000 from his employers to fund a lavish lifestyle has been jailed for more than three years.

Anthony Murrell, 44, splashed out on jewellery, holidays, cars, and a refurbishment of his home after defrauding the London asset management firm where he worked.

Murrell, of Auchterarder, Perthshire, stole the money from Legal and General Investment Management by setting up a fake company to buy non-existent computer cables.

He processed 53 invoices to the bogus firm over a period of more than two-and-a-half years with the money ending up in his bank account.

The fraud was exposed when he was made redundant from his 80,000-a-year role as infrastructure IT manager at the firm's headquarters in the City of London.

Staff at the company identified a suspicious invoice for computer cabling worth 9,600, which had been approved by Murrell, and referred the matter to City of London Police's Fraud Squad.

Murrell was jailed for three years and four months at Inner London Crown Court after pleading guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position.

In total he gained 564,480 from his employer between October, 2014, and June, 2017.

When arrested, Murrell admitted the fraud and claimed that he needed the money to help renovate his then family home in Essex, which had deteriorated and caused his children to become ill due to damp.

However, analysis of his bank accounts showed that during his time of offending, he'd used the money to purchase a Ford car, a Land Rover, holidays, and jewellery worth more than 14,000.

Detective Constable Daniel Ward, who led the investigation for the City of London Police's Fraud Squad, said: 'Murrell betrayed the trust of his employer and exploited his position to steal more than half a million pounds.

'While he claimed he needed it for house renovations, it's clear that he also used it to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, with purchases of items such as cars and jewellery.

'Thanks to his company's vigilance, and their subsequent referral to the City of London Police, Murrell has been brought to justice for his crime.'

Murrell, a father of six, was made redundant in a company restructure in June, 2017, before the fraud was uncovered.

Roughly a month later the invoice for computer cabling was discovered. The invoice raised concerns as the cost was considerably higher than their regular market price, and the items couldn't be found anywhere in the building.

Murrell was made redundant by Legal and General Investment Management in a company restructure in June 2017 before his fraud was uncovered

It was discovered that the invoice was connected to a company called LillyPutts, which had been added to Legal and General's approved list of IT suppliers.

Analysis of Legal and General's IP address showed that some of the emails from Lillyputts had been sent from the company's building in the City of London, and not from LillyPutts' alleged business address in Brentwood, Essex.

Further financial analysis showed that the bank account into which the funds to LillyPutts were paid belonged to Murrell.

He subsequently moved the money into two other accounts he owned, one of which was a joint account in his name and an alias name.

Murrell admitted he invented the fictitious IT supply company and paid the 53 bills to himself.
Today, Virginia Democrats continue their multi-front offensive against the Second Amendment, taking up Governor Ralph Northams assault weapons ban, magazine limits, and suppressor-confiscation bills in the state houses Public Safety Committee. That makes it as good time as any to remind people again that assault weapons bans are unconstitutional. The quicker an assault weapon ban case can be put in front of the Supreme Court  which, granted, has been reluctant to take on new gun cases  the better.

District of Columbia v. Heller found that the Second Amendment protected weapons in common use by law-abiding citizens. AR-15-style weapons, the most popular rifle in America, with over a million sold every year, clearly meet this criterion. Everything about the gun, from its mechanisms to its purpose, is common. Notwithstanding the rhetoric you hear from Virginia lawmakers, some appellate-court judges, and gun-control lobby mouthpieces, the AR-15 is not, nor has it ever been, a weapon of war. To say so is historically and functionally incorrect. Eugene Stoner, chief engineer of ArmaLite and its parent company, Colt, designed and marketed the AR specifically for civilians in the early 1960s, years before any military version was adopted. The AR-15 is less a weapon of war than a 1911 handgun, which the U.S. military adopted from that year to 1986.

Not that we should have any problems with weapons of war being in civilian hands per se. Muskets and flintlock rifles, the predominant guns of the revolutionary era, were also weapons of war. The Founders wanted civilians to own lethal weapons. Sorry, John Kerry, but the Second Amendment isnt about hunting or recreation, or even predominately about personal home protection. So, yes, ARs are indeed dangerous. Thats the point. But the concerted effort to depict ARs as especially dangerous and unusual is only meant to place them outside the protections of Heller.

Indeed, there is no evidence that AR-15s pose a unique threat. Simply because a small number of psychopaths happen to like the aesthetics of a popular gun doesnt magically transform that firearm something distinctively menacing to American society. Even if one conceded for the sake of argument that the presence of criminality was a sound rationale for restricting constitutional rights  an increasingly popular argument for ignoring the First Amendment, as well  the argument to ban AR-15s would become weaker.

Story continues

Gun crimes fell precipitously, hitting historic lows, after the federal assault-weapon ban instituted in 1994 expired. In 2018, the last year of FBI data, there were 6,603 Americans murdered by handguns, 297 by rifles (most of them not AR-15s), and 236 by shotguns. (Gun types used in crimes arent reported by all police departments, but the trend is almost surely the same.) To put it in perspective, there were 1,604 knife homicides during that same span, and 656 people killed by fists and kicking. ARs are rarely used in crimes.

More important, if the state can ban one type of semi-automatic weapon simply because it looks a certain way or because one type of criminal favors it, what principle would constrain it from banning every semi-automatic weapon? The worst mass shooter in Virginia history did not use an AR but .22-caliber and 9mm handguns. If Northam can ban ARs, what stops him from banning a 9mm? Surely the cheering crowd at a CNN townhall, or the average Democratic presidential candidate, would answer, nothing.

Virginia lawmakers are also debating legislation that would make it a felony to possess a magazine that holds more than twelve rounds after January 1st, 2021, which, as Cam Edwards points out, would turn most Virginia gun owners into felons. Another bill would make it illegal to own a silencer. Right now, Americans own over a million silencers for all kinds of reasons  to avoid damaging their hearing or bothering their neighbors  but almost none of them own a silencer for criminal reasons. The ATF reports that there are around 44 silencer-related crimes per year over the past decade  or as Stephen Gutowski noted, something like .003 percent of silencers are used in crimes each year.

For now, most of the bills seem likely to fail. A more draconian state-senate bill that would have authorized the confiscation of assault-style weapons was already discarded. This is a compromise that takes into account folks concerns and is still a good bill that will help reduce mass murders in the commonwealth, Delegate Mark Levine, the Democrat sponsoring the legislation, told the Associated Press. Theres no evidence that any of these initiatives would make Virginians any safer, nor, as a matter of principle, is preemptively banning Americans from owning a firearm objectively different from confiscating the one they already own. Both are means to stop citizens from owning the gun. Both should be discarded as unconstitutional.

More from National Review
All capable of love

Re: Rights pioneer offered lesson in quiet dignity, Front Page, Jan. 30:

I cut the article out and pinned it in my office area as a reminder of how far we have come. The photo of Louis Cousins Sr. sitting in his high school auditorium alone and far away from the rest of his classmates says a lot.

This will never happen again; however, we still have a ways to go before we all realize we all are capable of love, friendship and family regardless of how we look or how we choose to live. We are the same inside, and it is so right that we look different outside with beauty having no limits. I see Cousins as an inspiration and a hero in his high school years, as a veteran and as a man for how he lived his life.

Thank you, Express-News, for putting this hero on the front page. My condolences to Cousins family for their loss and my thanks for sharing his story with us.

Gabriel Nava, Helotes

On ExpressNews.com: Virginia civil rights pioneer and Vietnam medic dies in San Antonio at 76

Vote in plain sight

Re: Senators anonymous, Your Turn, Saturday:

Letter writer Wayne Roberts seems to be suggesting that senators should have determined the impeachment vote by secret ballot. If so, he was probably inspired by apparatchiks from the old Soviet Union, who usually voted in secret while hidden within the walls of the Kremlin.

Roberts, I want my elected representatives in Washington, D.C., to be transparent. I want them to vote in plain sight where I can see where they stand on issues that are important to the American people. The only critters that shy away from sunlight are roaches, rats and crooked politicians.

Donald A. Smith

For Trump, for all

If the president can be acquitted in a trial where evidence and witnesses are not allowed by his defenders, should the same rules be allowed for us common folk?

I hope if I am ever charged with a crime, my defense team is afforded the same benefit as the president. If its good enough for him, it should be the standard for us all!

Steve Spear
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. -- Jacksonville Police are investigating a string of car break-ins. It happened across the city, and wasn't limited to a single street or in one neighborhood.

Eight cars were broken into. Six of the cars were unlocked. The other two were broken into through the window, because valuables were insight.

"We all get complacent, because we are here in sweet, safe Jacksonville and think that we don't have to lock our cars," said Pattie Bakke. She lives in Jacksonville and says she is guilty of not locking her car. "It does feel safe."

"This is one of the only places that I feel like I can keep my car unlocked, because nothing is going to happen here," said Hunter Sober. He works in Jacksonville. "Usually it's not a priority for me to lock my car. I just get out."

The police department says that locking your car should be a priority. Second  you need to remove valuables out of sight. Either bring them with you or store them somewhere like the glove department.

Bakke says one of the reasons she feels safe not doing this is because Jacksonville is such a small city.

"Exactly  you know people know your car, they are familiar with your car, so if they see anybody around it who shouldn't be around it they would let you know or say something," said Bakke.

Neither Bakke or Sober believe a local did this. "I like to think that it's someone just passing through, because it doesn't seem like that type of place," said Sober.

"It seems to be maybe people passing through Jacksonville on their way to either Medford or the Applegate," said Bakke.

NewsWatch 12 reached out to the Jacksonville Police Department for details on this investigation. We will update this article when we hear back.
Israel has conducted airstrikes against a number of sites in Syria, targeting Iran-backed fighters and killing 12 reports Asharq Al-Awsat.

Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes early on Thursday near Damascus, wounding eight soldiers, Syrian regime media said, while the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes targeted army positions as well as Iran-backed fighters, killing 12.

The Syrian defense ministry said that air defenses intercepted Israeli missiles over Damascus that were fired at military targets in southern Syria including near the capital.

The attacks by Israeli jets were launched over the Golan Heights and Lebanese airspace in two waves, one near Damascus and another near the Deraa and Quneitra provinces, said a ministry statement carried by regime media.

It said Syrian air defenses downed a large number of missiles but that the attack had caused material damage and injured eight fighters, without specifying their nationality.

Syrian regime media quoted an unnamed military official as saying that eight soldiers were wounded in the airstrikes.

According to the Observatory, the airstrikes hit Syrian army positions and those of Iranian-backed militiamen west and south of the capital, as well as the Mazzeh military air base in Damascus.

A large number of missiles hit multiple positions in these areas, triggering a fire at the Scientific Research Center in the Damascus suburb of Jamraya. The Observatory said the strikes killed 12 Syrians and non-Syrian Iran-backed fighters, adding that the deaths occurred in the southern village of Izraa and the southern Damascus suburb of Kisweh.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Israel has repeatedly bombed Iranian-backed militia targets in Syria, saying its goal was to end Tehrans military presence there.

Last month, the Syrian army said Israeli jets attacked the main T4 air base in Homs province. In December, it said the air defense system intercepted missiles fired from the direction of Israel aimed at targets on the outskirts Damascus.

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 Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming poses after presenting his diplomatic credentials to President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is in the background. /Yonhap



By Oh Young-jin





In all fairness, one may wonder why the "new" Chinese ambassador to Seoul was given a free pass on his diplomatic gaffe, while the U.S. ambassador  who was born to a Japanese mother  was pilloried over his mustache that critics compared to the facial hair of Japanese colonial-period leaders preying on Koreans.



If one were to draw comparisons of Ambassador Harry Harris to Japan's cruel governor-general during that country's 1940-1945 occupation, then it would be justified in comparing Ambassador Xing Haiming to arrogant senior messengers from Ming or Qing emperors who treated Joseon kings as their subordinates. (Disclaimer: I don't like these historic comparisons because I am no believer in the Toynbian, a perspective that sees history repeating itself. I will use this approach today for the sake of an argument with the hope of not revisiting the issue again.



Harris faced a backlash for his comments regarding Korea's need to consult the U.S. when Korea floated the idea of allowing Koreans to make individual visits to North Korea.



Large Korean group tours to Mount Geumgang have been banned as part of international sanctions to freeze Pyongyang's cash flow and force it to comply with international demands for denuclearization.



The Seoul government is keen to revive its dialogue with the North by offering cash incentives that come with such tours. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae made an unusual move of upbraiding the envoy for meddling in the nation's sovereign matters.



Ambassador Xing went even further when he said his country "didn't greatly appreciate" Korea's effort to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan in China's Hubei Province. It was an unmistakable show of dissatisfaction over Korea going too far in self-protective measures. In his Tuesday media conference, he advised Korea to follow the World Health Organization (WHO) that is roundly criticized for lacking a sense of urgency on the global epidemic.





New Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming, wearing a protective mask, speaks to reporters. Yonhap



First, it is hard to dismiss Xing's jab at Korea's containment policy as an expression of a feudalistic hint harbored by the Chinese. It harks back to Chinese President Xi Jinping's anachronistic reference to Korea as a former part of the Middle Kingdom during his meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida not too long ago.



The Korean government has gone the extra mile not to impose a total entry ban on China, opting for a limited restriction on Hubei Province, the epicenter of the epidemic. The U.S. has imposed a total ban covering all of China, as has Beijing's supposed ally Russia. North Korea, China's beneficiary, has done the same.



Considering the enormous number of visitors between China and Korea, and their geographical proximity, Seoul should have gone earlier and further than those countries in containment, according to some experts.



Third, the WHO is under heavy Chinese influence, with Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' leadership having lost a great deal of credibility when he appeared to be at Beijing's beck and call and failed to tackle rising global concerns.









Fourth, when he spoke to the media Tuesday, Xing  who worked at the Chinese Embassy in Seoul on three occasions over 10 years and comes to the new post after being ambassador to Mongolia  did not have his credentials or agreement to present to the Korean government, in a formal procedure that marks the host country's recognition of an ambassador. So he was not yet an ambassador when he indirectly reprimanded Korea. He presented his agreement to President Moon Jae-in at Cheong Wa Dae Friday.



China is doing a poor job in containment and an even poorer one on matters of transparency. It is suspected of hiding the outbreak at the initial stage, depriving the world of a precious window of opportunity to tame it promptly.





Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming /Yonhap
Los Angeles, Feb 7 : Popular American host David Letterman once got into a serious beef with Hollywood maverick Quentin Tarantino, to the point that the filmmaker threatened to kill him.

The late-night talk show great shared his "great fight" with the "Kill Bill" helmer when asked on Showtime's "Desus & Mero" if he ever had "any famous beefs", reports aceshowbiz.com.

"I got into a great fight with Quentin Tarantino. This was really good." The 72-year-old funnyman said that it all stemmed from his reaction to a guest's revelation that Tarantino was dating a famous star, whom he described as "so famous that I can't recall the name." Thinking that the "Pulp Fiction" director was not attractive or cool enough for the actress, Letterman jokingly protested the relationship.

"I'm thinking the idea is Quentin Tarantino is this movie-store nerd. Now I'm pretending that I'm stunned this glorious movie star is dating this little squirrelly guy," he said.

Two days later, he got a call from Tarantino who berated him on the phone.

"He starts screaming at me, 'I'm gonna beat you to death, I'm gonna kill you, I'm coming to New York, and I'm gonna beat the crap out of you. How can you say that about me?' And I said, 'Quentin, hang on a second.'" Letterman then asked his producer to pick up the other line, so no one could accuse him of making the story up.

He said Tarantino went "on, and on and on - like the guy is full-blown clinically goofy." Letterman said he asked the director: "Bat or fist," to which the latter responded: "Bat." The host said that they picked dates and flights, but the "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" director ghosted him on the day of the supposed duel. They, however, have made peace as the filmmaker apologised for the outburst years later, according to Letterman.
A 21-year-old woman, who was battling for life for nearly a week after being set ablaze by her in-laws in Odisha's Kendrapara district over dowry, succumbed to the burn injuries, police said on Friday.

Rashmita Sahu, who sustained more than 60 per cent burns, died on Thursday night at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, they said.

Police said they have already arrested her parents- in-law and a sister-in-law, while two other suspects are still absconding.

The five persons allegedly tied the woman to a cot and set her on fire after pouring kerosene on Saturday, police said, adding that she was rescued by her neighbours.

Police have recorded her dying declaration, based on which a case of murder has been registered.

The woman's husband is working as a plumber in Oman and was not involved in the crime, police said.

The woman was tortured for dowry by her in-laws since her marriage in June 2018, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Supreme Court on Friday ordered for the preparation of an inventory of the sacred jewellery that adorns Lord Ayyappa at the Sabarimala temple and appointed retired Kerala High Court judge CN Ramachandran Nair to supervise the work.

Justice Nair will also appoint the person to prepare the inventory, a bench headed by Justice NV Ramana said.

The court had earlier sought steps to ensure the security of the jewellery kept at erstwhile Pandalam royal family's palace.

The top court asked for the inventory on the advice of Attorney General KK Venugopal, representing the Kerala government, after he cited the example of an inventory done on Padmanabhaswamy treasure to ensure the jewellery was not replaced by fake one.

"The jewellery has to be safe even in custody," the court observed.

The Supreme Court had on Wednesday asked the Kerala government to suggest steps to protect the sacred ornaments at the Sabarimala temple.

The court had noted a dispute between two branches of the erstwhile royal family, which is the custodian of the ornaments.

Raja Raja Varma, a member of the royal family, had moved an application for impleading in the matter and sought directions to enable senior family members to access the jewellery, kept in the custody of 'Pandalam Kottara Nirvahaka Sangham' secretary. He had expressed the fear that the ornaments could be misappropriated.

Senior advocate K Radhakrishnan, representing Varma, had told the court that the sacred ornaments were in family's custody in the palace and these were brought out once a year for Lord Ayyappa.

The court then asked why should ornaments to allowed to be kept in private custody, and also who all had access to the strong room's keys.
Police officers would be granted the power to prevent women from having an abortion under a new bill proposed by a politician in Missouri.

Mike Moon, a Republican Missouri state representative who previously shared a video of himself decapitating a living chicken on Facebook to justify why abortion should be banned, introduced the controversial legislation.

The bill, which is termed the Right to Due Process Act, changes the definition of a fertilised egg to be a living person who possesses the constitutional rights of anyone else residing in the US.

Police and courts would subsequently be empowered to apply the proposed law, which would ultimately deem having an abortion to be equivalent to carrying out murder.

Mr Moon also submitted another piece of legislation to abolish abortion in Missouri that refers to murder by abortion. The stringent abortion ban would also criminalise having a pregnancy terminated in cases of rape and incest.

Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Show all 11 1 /11 Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Pro-choice campaigners stood outside the Stormont Estate on Monday 21 October with the word "decriminalised" spelt out in front of them as some of Stormonts assembly members returned to the chamber for the first time in nearly three years. A group of Northern Irish lawmakers returned to parliament in a failed last-minute protest at the decriminalisation of abortion in the region. AFP via Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Attendees at a pro-choice press conference embraced one another ahead of the meeting of the Stormont Assembly on abortion rights and same-sex marriage in Belfast. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland A member of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice smiled as she and others marched in support of abortion rights in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following a pro-choice press conference. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of pro-choice groups Alliance for Choice and Pro Life held demonstrations outside Stormont on Monday 21 October as a last-minute attempt to stop the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland was made by the Democratic Unionist party. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland A rally was held in Dublin City centre on Monday 21 October in celebration of the eminent decriminalisation of abortion and same-sex marriage. PA Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Equal marriage campaigners Martha Brown and Louise McCullough celebrated at Maverick Bar in Belfast as same-sex marriage and abortion were legalised in Northern Ireland. PA Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice made their way to Stormont carrying abortion rights signs. Getty Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Kellie Turtle and Emma Campbell embraced as members of pro-choice group Alliance for Choice held a press conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Activist Ashleigh Topley wiped away her tears during the Alliance for Choice press conference on Monday 21 October. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Members of Alliance for Group embraced one another after their pro-choice press conference. Getty Images Celebrations as abortion is decriminalised in Northern Ireland Abortion rights campaigners marched through the streets of Belfast ahead of the meeting of the Stormont Assembly on abortion rights and same-sex marriage. Getty

But the so-called Right to Due Process Act only has one co-sponsor, while the latter has none.

In the clip of Mr Moon beheading a chicken in 2017, the politician says God gave us man dominion over life just after he chops a birds head off with a knife.

He allows us to raise animals properly and care for them and then process them for food so we can sustain life. And thats what Im doing here with this chicken. So weve been called back to this special session for the primary purpose of supporting life, protecting the unborn specifically.

Prior to taking the birds heart out, he adds: I think we need to get to the heart of the matter here.

Mr Moons suggested law would not be enforceable because abortion remains legal in all 50 American states.

Missouri almost became the first state in America not to have an abortion clinic since Roe v Wade  the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalised abortion nationwide in 1973 but that is endangered by an abortion case timetabled to come before the court in March.

A judge blocked a Missouri law in August outlawing abortion at eight weeks gestation with no exemptions for cases which involve rape or incest.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-05 02:48:25|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RAMALLAH, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday met with Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Alexander Lavrentiev over the latest developments in the light of the new U.S. Middle East peace plan.

Abbas urged Lavrentiev to work toward achieving the two-state solution on the basis of the 1967 border, official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

He briefed the Russian envoy on the latest developments on the ground after the announcement of U.S. President Donald's Trump's peace plan, better known as the Deal of the Century.

Lavrentiev highlighted Russia's position against the plan which is seen by Moscow as "unviable."

Abbas' meeting with the Russian envoy comes in the context of his diplomatic campaign to rally support against the U.S. plan.

Categorically rejecting Trump's plan, the Palestinian president has said he will launch an international diplomatic campaign to topple it and threatened to cut security ties with both the United States and Israel.
Wind Creek is one step closer to upping the swank at its Bethlehem casino after a city authority qualified its new hotel project for inclusion in a lucrative special tax zone.

On Thursday afternoon, the board tasked with overseeing Bethlehems City Revitalization and Improvement Zone unanimously approved qualifying the project for CRIZ inclusion, the first step to adding the 270-room hotel tower to the citys zone. The CRIZ allows property owners to use certain future state and local taxes -- including sales and liquor -- created by CRIZ projects to pay off construction loans.

On Wednesday, Wind Creek held a joint news conference with Mayor Bob Donchez and state Sen. Lisa Boscola to announce the casino wants to reallocate some of its own CRIZ acreage to the footprint of the new hotel, a move that will allow Wind Creek to invest $10 million more into luxury upgrades on the site.

Wind Creek plans a show-stopping lobby with art features -- more akin to what youd see on the Las Vegas Strip -- that seamlessly connects to the existing hotel. There will be a high-end lobby bar, a pool and sweeping event spaces -- including a more than 20,000-square-foot ballroom -- that would allow the casino to book larger conferences and special events. Plans for the hotel go before the Bethlehem Planning Commission Thursday, Feb. 13..

Now that the property is qualified for the zone, the casino will have to return to the Bethlehem Revitalization and Improvement Authority later this spring for a public hearing on the transfer of about 2.3 acres from the ruins lot west -- a parking lot on the SteelStacks campus -- to the site of the new hotel. It will also require state approval.

Wind Creek Bethlehem's plans for a new 270-room hotel tower are getting a major boost.TVS Design

Theres also good news for Bethlehem residents in the distribution of whats known as the CRIZ increment. Thats the revenue returned to CRIZ projects by the state from the taxes forgiven under the incentive program. The hotel is expected to generate up to $1.5 million in annual CRIZ increment once it opens and 20% of that -- $300,000 -- will come back to Bethlehems CRIZ authority under a deal reached with Wind Creek. This will allow the city to start tackling important projects on its wish list, like new Christmas decorations, improvements to lighting on the Southside and buying land for South Bethlehem Greenway connections.

On behalf of Wind Creek Bethlehem, we see it as a partnership for the Southside, said Seth Tipton, the attorney representing Wind Creek.

Las Vegas Sands Corp. halted construction of the existing 282-room hotel tower in October 2008 amidst the economic recession. When it restarted, plans for a grand lobby were scrapped in favor of a more barebones hotels, Wind Creek Bethlehem Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Carr recalled. The hotels been running at about 96% occupancy for years, but an expansion plan got shelved as Sands turned its sights to its properties in Asia.

With a new owner running the show since May of 2019, things are changing at the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. plant. When Wind Creek bought the property, they asked Carr, who first worked for Sands, what he needed and he dusted off the expansion plans.

We absolutely need this thing and we needed it five years ago, Carr said of the hotel.

If the project gets CRIZ approval, Wind Creek will be able to round out the facility into a true resort destination with a proper valet parking area and a grand welcoming lobby into the hotel and events center that its clients from New York City and north Jersey expect, he said.

It is going to be a true arrival experience, Carr said.

The improvements are being made with a an eye to future development of the former Steel land, setting the resort up nicely for the development of the No. 2 Machine Shop, where there will have to be a garage in the future, he said. Wind Creek is exploring turning the No. 2 Machine Shop into an indoor water and adventure park, and another hotel. Carr declined to speak about where those plans stand.

The big thing we are trying to do as we build these parts, its so they are almost like Lego pieces, Carr said. They kind of build onto each other nicely so its not going to look like things are kind of jammed in.

The expansion includes 270 new hotel rooms on the upper floors and 35,200 square feet of new meeting space wrapped around the Wind Creek Event Center adjacent to the existing 282-room hotel. This will give the property nearly 70,000 square feet of meeting and events space, including three ballrooms, allowing it to draw bigger conferences and hire 80 more employees. Last year, Wind Creek turned down $7 million of business because it didnt have a large enough meeting space.

With about 2,500 workers, Wind Creek is already Northampton Countys top employer. Construction of the hotel is expected to generate 400 jobs.

Wind Creek -- an affiliate of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians -- bought the casino, outlet mall, events center and much of the surrounding property from Las Vegas Sands Corp. for $1.3 billion. The casinos been one of Pennsylvanias top-performing gaming halls since it opened 10 years ago, but development lagged under the Sands ownership as a promised $90 million expansion never materialized.

Before the sale, the Alabama-based American Indian tribe promised to pour $190 million into continuing the redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. plant. Wind Creek immediately spent $15 million on a rebrand that culminated in an October grand opening celebration.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Police yesterday began examining the allegations against Derek Mackay  and appealed for anyone who could help with inquiries to 'come forward'.

The force said it had not received a complaint, but officers were 'currently assessing' available information, including messages published yesterday which set out the former Finance Secretary's online interaction with a schoolboy.

Assessment of a case involves sifting through the initial detail before deciding whether to launch a full-scale investigation. This could generate a report for the Crown Office, which would decide on possible prosecution.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: 'We have not received any complaint of criminality. However, we are currently assessing available information from media reporting and would encourage anyone with information to please come forward.'

It is open to police to begin looking at claims of possible criminality without an official complaint if this is judged to be in the public interest.

Derek Mackay in Parliament on Wednesday hours before the allegations against him broke

A mock up of text messages allegedly exchanged between Derek Mackay and a 16-year-old boy, who said he was distressed by the messages

The SNP's Joanna Cherry and Scottish Tory leadership candidate Jackson Carlaw both described Mr Mackay's actions as 'grooming'.

The NSPCC children's charity defines this as 'when someone builds a relationship, trust and emotional connection with a child or young person so they can manipulate, exploit and abuse them'.

It adds: 'Children and young people who are groomed can be sexually abused, exploited or trafficked.

'Anybody can be a groomer, no matter their age, gender or race. Grooming can take place over a short or long period of time  from weeks to years.'

Anti-grooming legislation introduced 15 years ago was aimed at stopping child sex predators who target youngsters online.

Disgraced Scottish Finance Minister Derek MacKay relaxes on a remote Scottish beach in April while texting on his phone

The Protection of Children Bill made it an offence to set up meetings with under-16s via internet chatrooms, with those who break the law facing a maximum ten-year prison sentence.

On passing the legislation, the then Labour Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said: 'The sexual abuse of children is an appalling crime. The physical harm that it can do to children is horrific.

Ex-chief of police says Mackay must be investigated The ex-head of 'Scotland's FBI' has demanded a full police investigation of Derek Mackay's messages to a 16-year-old schoolboy. Graeme Pearson, the former boss of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, said the 'whole circumstances demand further investigation by police'. He said the description of Mr Mackay's behaviour as 'foolish' was an 'insult to the young man unwittingly dragged into this event and the victim of such stress'. Mr Pearson said Mr Mackay had shown 'arrogance' over a period of months, which 'reeks of an unchallenged power and influence in the wrong hands'. He said: 'Any parent reading the exchanges between Mr Mackay and the target of his attention would be rightly concerned. 'Most citizens too would also wonder about the time available to a minister to pursue such a course of action over months at a time, when Scotland's public services are under stress, and scandals around poor financial governance abound.' Mr Pearson also served as the Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police. Meanwhile Jim Gamble, former head of UK-wide police unit the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, warned that the former minister's six months of online messages to the boy may show 'patterns' of inappropriate behaviour. Mr Gamble  one of Britain's foremost independent experts on online abuse  said the chats between the ex-Finance Secretary and the boy were 'at best inappropriate and concerning' given the age and power imbalance between Mr Mackay and the teenager he contacted. And 'at worst', Mr Gamble believes it 'indicates many of the patterns of behaviour' associated with more concerning conduct. After viewing the transcript of text messages, Mr Gamble added: 'I think this information should be passed to Police Scotland for them to review as a wider context. More information would help to develop a fuller understanding of intent.' Mr Gamble was provided with a redacted version of the conversation disguising Mr Mackay's identity, and the fact that he is a politician. He voiced his concerns about the nature and persistence of the messages, and said it was significant he did not stop contact even after finding out the age of the boy. Mr Gamble was then shown the full unredacted transcript, including details of Mr Mackay, the event he tried to invite the boy to  and the leafleting work he tried to arrange. The ex-officer said: 'When I initially viewed the redacted transcript my overall impression was that at best this was an inappropriate and concerning conversation between an older individual and a teenager. 'Given the unredacted conversation highlights that the adult is a person of influence, my assessment remains unchanged. 'It is worthy of note that the adult asks whether the teenager works at an early stage, so he may claim he thought he was speaking to an adult. That said, he then finds out that the teenager is in school, and later in the engagement he establishes his exact age as 16. The conversation is on the borderline of flirtation and becomes more and more persistent. 'The offers made to the teenager  work and rugby events  increase and are clearly focused on arranging an actual meeting.' Mr Gamble stressed the age of consent for sex was 16 and there was 'no mention' of sex in the chats. The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, which launched under Mr Gamble's lead in 2006, became internationally recognised. Mr Gamble, who was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 2008, now runs Belfast-based consultancy Ineqe, advising and running training in child safeguarding. Advertisement

'But even once the physical wounds have healed, the emotional and psychological trauma can continue for years to come.'

The Crown has to prove that a reasonable person would consider the intended activity to be sexual, taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, including the nature of past commun- ications.

Detectives are able to assume the role of the child in order to continue contact with a potential offender.

The legislation relates to children under the age of 16 targeted by adult groomers.

At Holyrood yesterday, Scottish Conservative interim leader Mr Carlaw read out the definition of grooming, referring to the NSPCC's interpretation, while putting questions to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The website makes reference to an 'authority figure' using 'social media networks and text messaging', adding: 'Whether online or in person, groomers can use tactics like: pretending to be younger; giving advice or showing understanding; buying gifts; giving attention, and taking them on trips, outings or holidays.'

On Twitter, Mr Carlaw posted a screen-grab, saying: 'Derek Mackay's behaviour is completely unacceptable and I believe that he has no option other than to resign as an MSP. Nicola Sturgeon should show clear leadership and join those calling for him to go.'

Last night, NSPCC Scotland declined to comment on Mr Carlaw's intervention.

On Twitter, Miss Cherry, QC, SNP Edinburgh South West MP, said: 'Grooming behaviour is totally unacceptable and must be condemned without fear or favour.

'The First Minister was right to accept Derek Mackay's resignation and suspend him. The party's disciplinary procedures must now take their course.'

A criminal law expert, who asked not to be named, said last night: 'People who send messages to children online, picking someone at random, are likely to have selected multiple targets.

'There is then a question over whether anyone else they have contacted in the past might be under 16, although clearly there is no evidence of that in this case.

'Without formal charges being brought forward, there would be no legal obligation for someone in Mr Mackay's position to hand over devices such as their mobile phones to police, allowing for scrutiny of previous online exchanges.'

A police source told the Mail: 'On the basis of what's in the public domain, it doesn't look like a crime has been committed. Police won't 'go fishing' without a reason.'

Yesterday, Mary Glasgow, chief executive of the Scottish charity Children 1st, said: 'By resigning, Derek Mackay has acknowledged that his behaviour was inappropriate.

'Children 1st has always been clear that children and young people are vulnerable in situations where there is a significant difference in age, power and status between them and another person. Society should recognise by now that it is never acceptable to exploit that vulnerability.'

Clinical psychologist Dr Mairead Tagg said there are often two reasons why powerful figures risk their reputation by engaging in private online chats with children.

The Glasgow-based expert explained: 'The first is they think, 'It's not going to happen to me'. The second is that they think they are untouchable. There is often a sense they can talk their way out of it.

'An adult who wants to contact a child in this way should really do it via the parents.

'Even if their intentions are absolutely innocent, it's not a good idea to leave yourself wide open to allegations you have misused your position to contact a child.

'Say it's an MP or an MSP, and the child is interested in politics or wanting to talk about climate change, or is quite happy to have a conversation that's clearly on a particular topic, that's one thing.

'But if the conversation is intimate or personal, perhaps breaking a few boundaries, that's clearly not OK.'
Scripture contains more than 40 of Jesus' parables. Some are so well known, hospitals (Good Shepherd) and laws (Good Samaritan) are named after them. Others confound readers today as much as they likely did their first hearers. And one parable has been all but forgottenat least in the West. Recently I shared it with five U.S. ministry leaders. In their 130 collective years of service, not one of them had given a talk on it or heard it preached from the pulpit.

Contrast their response with that of a Nigerian friend, who told me that the parable is one of his favorite teachings of Jesus. So why would the parable resonate in Nigeria and seemingly fall flat in the United States?

The parablefound only in the Gospel of Lukewas delivered relatively late in Jesus' ministry, to his closest followers. It belonged to a set of teachings on discipleship:

Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, "Come here at once and take your place at the table"? Would you not rather say to him, "Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink"? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, "We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!" (17:710, NRSV)

The plot is simple. A small household employs a doulosGreek for "slave" given how domestic bondage worked in Greco-Roman times. A jack-of-all-trades, the slave plows a field and tends sheep during his first shift, and cooks meals and cleans up during his second.

The plot hinges on two questions: ...

1

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One of the quarantined passengers aboard a Princess Cruises ship said on Thursday that the vessel is moored, but guests are not allowed to leave.

"The cruise has ended and we are in a quarantine situation," said 74-year-old David Abel, who's being held on the Diamond Princess with his wife, Sally, in Japan as the cruise line plays a role in stopping the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

He detailed his experience in a Skype video that was obtained by CNBC and aired on the network's special "Outbreak" report.

"All of the luxury of having someone  a steward coming to the cabin, make the bed, put chocolate on the pillow, change the towels, face cloths, clean the bathroom  those days are gone," Abel said explaining the environment. "It just ain't happening."

The Carnival-owned company on Tuesday placed 3,700 passengers and crew under a two-week mandatory quarantine after 10 passengers tested positive for the fast-spreading virus. It's a move required by the Japanese Ministry of Health. Since then, 10 additional passengers have tested positive, bringing the total to 20.

Abel's been leading a private Facebook group for his fellow passengers in an effort to "let off steam" and cheer each other up. He's also been posting daily Facebook Live videos, while the ship provides guests with complimentary internet and phone service.

"Those passengers who are on the inside cabins: they've got no windows to look out of, there's no daylight, natural light and they can't take a walk down a corridor. It's strict confinement to cabins for all passengers," Abel said in describing the scene from inside. "But the captain has announced that people on the inside cabins are going to be allowed access onto the open deck for exercise and fresh air."

Before the quarantine took effect, a previous guest who did not have any symptoms while on-board had tested positive for the virus on Saturday, six days after leaving the cruise ship.

Health officials around the world are scrambling to stop the spread of the new virus, which was first discovered Dec. 31 in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province.

China said there was an additional 73 deaths and 3,143 new cases of the coronavirus in China as of the end of Feb. 6, bringing the total number of deaths in China to 636 and the cumulative number of confirmed cases to 31,161.

The World Health Organization said there's been more than 150 coronavirus cases in about two dozen countries outside of China and declared the virus a global health emergency. Eleven of those cases are in the United States.

The U.S., for its part, instituted on Sunday a mandatory 14-day quarantine of Americans who in the last two weeks have visited Hubei province. The Trump administration is also instructing Americans returning to the U.S. to undergo a two-week self quarantine if they have been in other parts of mainland China in the past two weeks.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated CNBC interviewed David Abel. CNBC received permission to use the video posted to Facebook.
The new coronavirus that has sickened tens of thousands and killed hundreds in China can survive only a few hours on surfaces.

That means Pennsylvanians need not worry about catching it from mail or packages from China, said Dr. Raghavendra Tirupathi, an infectious disease specialist and medical director for the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

He discussed the new coronavirus on Friday morning as the medical society receives questions about possible impacts in the state.

Pennsylvanians presently have little to fear, according to Tirupathi.

Flu is a much bigger threat than coronavirus, he said, noting flu has sickened about 60,000 people in Pennsylvania and killed 40 during the flu season that will last about three more months.

He also expressed optimism the steps already underway to limit the spread of the new coronavirus will spare the United States from a major outbreak.

Still, Tirupathi noted the situation is still evolving, and its impossible to predict the final result.

The new coronavirus continues to spread rapidly in China, which had 31,161 confirmed cases and 636 deaths as of Friday morning.

Someone in Pennsylvania needs to worry only if they traveled to China within the past 14 days, or have been around someone who did. If someone in that situation develops symptoms such as fever and cough, they should quickly seek medical care, Tirupathi said.

They should also call ahead to their doctors office or the ER, so health care providers can prepare to isolate them from other patients, he said.

Coronaviruses commonly spread among humans and cause the common cold. They are also carried by animals, and every so often one proves able to spread from animals to humans  as did the one that first appeared near the end of last year in China.

They generally reside in bats and then in some domesticated animals before jumping to humans. One, known as Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, is believed to have jumped from camels to humans.

Tirupathi on Friday compared the new coronavirus to several well-known illnesses. He said its killing between 1.5 and 3.5 percent of the people who get it. The death rate was ten percent Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and up to 33 percent for MERS.

So far, it looks like one person with the new coronavirus is spreading it to up to three people, he said. Each person with flu spreads it to about 1.5 others, and each person with measles spreads it to 11-18 others.

He said the quarantines and travel restrictions in China, and the screening underway at U.S. airports, may well keep the coronavirus from spreading here.

So far, about 12 cases have turned up in the United States, with all related to travel to China, including two people who got it from their spouse. There were no deaths in the United States as of Wednesday, Tirupathi said.

I think were doing much better compared to previous epidemics, he said.

If it would begin to spread in the United States, we would definitely need to rev up testing, isolation and quarantine procedures, he said.

Of the millions of people quarantined in China, he noted, Its never been done in the history of mankind, that this large of a population was quarantined.

Only one death had happened outside China as of Friday morning.

Tirupathi said the new coronavirus seems to be spreading by way of droplets from coughs and sneezes, and possibly by way of fecal matter.

He said the best way to prevent the spread is through covering the mouth and nose during coughs and sneezes, frequent hand washing and staying away from others if you are sick. He said the best protection against it is frequent hand washing and staying away from people who have it.

He said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects a vaccine against coronavirus will become available within about three months.

Tirupathi expressed disappointment over reports that some Chinese in the United States, including school children, are being looked at as threats to spread coronavirus.

He said people need to understand no one can spread it unless theyve been to China within the past 14 days.

Disease knows no race or color, he said.
Dunnes Centra in Ardee has been named the best neighbourhood store in Ireland, scooping the award for 2020. The Co Louth Centra received the much-coveted accolade at the Centra National Conference, which took place at the Great Southern Hotel, Killarney.

Store owners Gary and Pauline Dunne received the award from Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of Centra, Dan Curtin, Centra Sales Director and JF Michel, Account Director of Three Business, competition sponsors.

As part of the competitive process, retail consultant Dr Alan Collins audited Centra stores throughout Ireland, with each participating store assessed for its range, quality, customer service, hygiene, service offering and local community involvement.

Receiving the award, the Dunnes paid tribute to the team at Centra Ardee and acknowledged that their enthusiasm and dedication were determining factors in the store being selected as 2020 Neighbourhood Store of the Year.

It is a great honour to accept this award on behalf of all our hard-working and dedicated staff members at Dunnes Centra Ardee. Receiving this recognition would not have happened without our team and it is great to see their efforts rewarded. They are a super team of professionals who constantly strive for the best service, healthy convenience offering and value of money to our cherished customers and friends over the years here in Ardee. said the Dunnes.

Commenting on the award win, competition judge Dr Alan Collins said: You can sense passion as soon as you step foot in the door at Centra Ardee. Theres something about the store that makes it so special. Perhaps it is how it is always a delight to engage with owners who are passionate about their stores, colleagues, customers and communities, which is in abundance at the Ardee store. It is the type of store everybody should have and want in their communities. Congratulations to everyone at Dunnes Centra Ardee on this great achievement.

Dan Curtin, Sales Director, Centra, commended all Centra retailers for their contribution to redefining convenience shopping. Centra stores, such as Centra Ardee, are perfect examples of independent retailers working hard in their local communities to ensure their customers have the best experience in their store. They provide choice, value and excellent service within their locality on a daily basis. Congratulations to the team at Dunnes Centra, who have gone above and beyond to achieve top class standards right across the store.
Political parties are being urged to back 600,000 in funding to clear a year-plus- long therapy waiting list for children who have been sexually abused.

Voluntary support group Cari said it has 85 children on its waiting list for therapy  all of them waiting over a year.

Executive director Eve Farrelly said these children struggle to cope with day to day life and that children as young as eight are presenting with thoughts of suicide and self-harm.

We are now approaching the 33rd election of this State and Cari is entering its 31st year of support for vulnerable children, she said.

We know from our work that mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, addictions, gambling, drugs, harmful sexual behaviour in adults, alcoholism, and suicide often have their roots in childhood sexual abuse.

As a society, we are paying huge money into the impact of abuse untreated, not into the treatment that will prevent these social problems. I am urging the Government to regroup in their thinking on this.

Ms Farrelly said the battle children go through in trying to deal with abuse is very visible.

They struggle with social isolation in the classroom and playground, bed-wetting, panic attacks, fear and anxiety, nightmares, and guilt, she said. Their world has become a very unsafe place.

Children as young as eight years old present with thoughts of suicide and self-harm. It is well documented that when left untreated they can go on to develop difficulties as adults.

The delays in responding to children subject to the same crime is causing huge anguish and distress for children and their families.

Ms Farrelly said the lack of funds forced Cari to take drastic action some years ago.

Cari outreach services in Cork, Tralee, Galway all had to close due to lack of funding, she said. The closure of these vital outreach services had a profound impact on clients. The impact on individual children and families was very distressing.

She said there are specialist services in every region for adults who have experienced sexual abuse, but the services for children are completely inadequate.

Ms Farrelly said: It costs 7,000 for a child and their family to come to us for one years therapy.

With 85 children on our waiting list that is nearly 600,000. We only receive half of this.

This month, Cari is running an online information campaign #FEBaware aimed at empowering parents and children to start talking about issues such as sexually harmful behaviour, peer-to- peer abuse among teenagers, and grooming.

- Cari.ie; Cari helpline: 1890 924 567; facebook.com/cari.ie
Chandigarh, Feb 7 : Over 850 village panchayats, or 13 per cent out of the total, in Haryana have asked the state not to open a liquor shop in their area from this fiscal, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said on Friday.

"A total of 872 gram sabhas have passed resolutions against opening liquor vends in their areas and they have sent them to the government," Khattar told the media here.

A gram sabha is a group of voters in a village.

He said shunning liquor was one of 101 programmes launched by his government, which is in coalition with the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) led by Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala.

The state legislative assembly on November 27 last year passed the Haryana Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Bill, allowing one-tenth of gram sabha members to decide on closure of liquor vends in areas under their panchayat.

Official sources told IANS that authorising the gram sabhas to close liquor vends was one of the key issues raised by the Dushyant Chautala-led JJP during the poll campaign in Haryana.

To provide relief to the rural population, the government has already started the process of abolishing the practice of 'Lal Dora'.

'Lal Dora' relates to land that is used for non-agricultural purposes and comprises a part of the village habitation. Earlier, the houses or land in the 'Lal Dora' area remained unregistered.

The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by Dushyant Chautala and Jails Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala, said Sirsi village in Karnal district became the first village to be freed from 'Lal Dora'.

The BJP-JJP government, which came to the helm in a post-election alliance on October 27, 2019, completed 100 days in office two days back.

Khattar said he was busy in the Delhi assembly elections where campaigning came to an end on Thursday evening.

In a first-of-its-kind in the country, the Chief Minister said his government has launched the Parivar Pehchan Patra project, a 14-digit unique identity card, which contains personal details of each family member.

Based on the Socio-Economic and Caste Census 2011, the database of about 54 lakh families will be covered through this exercise.

The benefits of various government schemes can be easily availed by the eligible household by showing their Parivar Pehchan Patra.

It will serve to better transparency among government and residents, Khattar said.

The family ID will help in the delivery of citizen-centric schemes running in the state, he added.
On Wednesday, the administration announced that, for the time being, it would no longer allow residents of New York State to enroll (or re-enroll) in various Trusted Traveler Programs overseen by Customs and Border Protection, which allow preapproved individuals expedited passage through airport security and immigration.

In a letter to top officials at New Yorks Department of Motor Vehicles, the acting secretary of homeland security, Chad Wolf, said the move was in response to a 2019 state law enabling undocumented immigrants to obtain drivers licenses. Proponents of the so-called Green Light Law, which was hotly debated, argued for it on both humanitarian and public safety grounds, noting that similar laws adopted by other states had resulted in a reduction in hit-and-run accidents and an increase in the number of insured drivers. As a protective measure, the law also contains a provision that blocks federal immigration agents from retrieving information from the D.M.V.s databases without a court order.

It does not bar federal officials from demanding identification, photos, passport data and interviews from applicants for Global Entry and other security programs for travelers.

This impediment to Mr. Trumps deportation vision was too much for the administration to bear.

Barring access to these critical records, Mr. Wolf warned, undermines ICEs objective of protecting the people of New York from menacing threats to national security and public safety. He said that New Yorks lack of cooperation hinders federal agents ability to confirm whether an individual applying for Trusted Traveler Programs membership is eligible for its benefits. As a result, he concluded, his department had no choice but to take immediate action.

Seek immediate political retribution would have been the more honest phraseology.

Mr. Wolfs security claims were met with skepticism, and some mockery, by the presidents critics.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmers response to President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech Tuesday evening was an exercise in hypocrisy, demagogy and falsehood.

Perhaps the most memorable parts of her speech were the allusions to Monte Scott, a thirteen-year-old from Michigan who filled the pot holes in his street in Muskegon Heights on his own with a shovel and a bucket of dirt. These allusions were a self-serving reference to the recently announced plans to address her gubernatorial campaign promise to fix the damn roads with a regressive fuel tax.

Gretchen Whitmer [Credit: Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan]

To begin with, Whitmer avoided any direct attack on the ultra-right trajectory of the Trump administration, declaring she would not take up the remarks of President Trump before the joint session of Congress, nor his policies, instead focusing on what Democrats are doing.

Like the Democrats right-wing impeachment trial, Whitmers speech avoided any mention of the numerous crimes of the Trump administration against the working class: the detention of immigrants and separation of families at the Mexican border, the unconstitutional re-appropriation of funds to pay for a border wall, drastic cuts to social programs which will devastate workers, or the promotion of fascism at campaign rallies and through presidential appointments and pardons. Nor did she mention the mounting threat of imperialist war, or Trumps assassination of Iranian General Qassem Suleimani, which brought the Middle East to the brink of an explosion.

In fact, Whitmer only mentioned the impeachment trial in passing at the conclusion of her speech, instead focusing on two tasks: promoting Democratic Party initiatives as though they would help the working class and pleading with workers and young people to stay engaged with bourgeois politics.

The hypocrisy of Whitmers assertion that Democrats want everyones vote counted, the day after the Iowa caucus, was only matched by her attempt to paint the activity of the Democratic Party as progressive.

Whitmer touted the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a legislative victory that has been continued at the state level by Democrats like Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. Its pretty simple. Democrats are trying to make your health care better, Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away, she said.

The ACA has not made health care better, though. Instead, through cost cutting initiatives that have increased fatalities, Obamacare has helped ensure profits for major health insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, where Whitmers father was president and CEO.

Whitmer demagogically appealed to workers struggling to make ends meet while Wall Street rakes in record profits. In attempting to explain the vast social inequality weighing down on workers, Whitmer could only criticize the Trump tax cuts as unnecessary, not mentioning the role of the Obama administration in overseeing the largest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich in history as part of the bailout of Wall Street after the 2008 financial meltdown.

Other Democratic initiatives highlighted by Whitmer include House bills to increase the minimum wage to $15 an houra paltry sum which falls far short of a living wageand to grant drug price negotiating power to the Medicare program, bills which were passed only for show, with full knowledge that they would be blocked by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Democrats in Pennsylvania and Michigan are expanding the right to overtime pay, Whitmer claimed. As autoworkers in Michigan know full well, people work overtime because their wages are too low, and overtime pay means nothing when one is forced to work multiple part-time jobs.

It is noteworthy that three of the state-level Democratic initiatives of which Whitmer boasted were educational reforms in states where teachers either have gone out on strike or otherwise come into sharp conflict with their school districts, governments or unions. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper are working to give hardworking teachers a raise In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis has enacted free all-day kindergarten.

It is not from the beneficence of these governors or the Democratic Party that these initiatives have arisen. Rather, these half-measures are the response of the ruling class to the militant wave of teacher strikes and other labor actions.

In Nevada, where public-sector strikes are illegal, teachers of the Clark County School District, which covers Las Vegas, were outraged by the school district failing to honor a contractual agreement for raises after completion of professional development. A school district meeting was abruptly dismissed for security concerns last fall after teachers began expressing their frustration. Despite the militancy of the teachers, the Clark County Education Association stonewalled teachers and refused to even say whether or not they would pay out strike benefits in the event of a strike.

In North Carolina, twenty thousand teachers rallied in Raleigh in May 2018 to demand better pay and working conditions. The North Carolina Education Association responded by urging teachers to remember in November and vote for the Democratic Party.

In Colorado, over 3,000 Denver teachers went on strike in late 2018 and into 2019, only to be sold out by the Denver Classroom Teachers Association. The contract, which was reviewed and signed within a half hour, addressed none of the demands of the teachers for smaller class sizes, tenure rights, school funding or putting an end to the expansion of charter schools.

Many of the teachers strikes across the United States and internationally since 2018 have developed in opposition to the unions, which then act swiftly to bring the teachers back in line. This follows a pattern that extends across industries and national borders, which terrifies the capitalist class for which Whitmer speaks.

When Whitmer said, We and all Americans might be weary of todays politics, but we must stay engaged, she was giving expression to a profound fear of the capitalist class that the class struggle will break free of the confines of bourgeois politics.
Bill Cosby has thanked Snoop Dogg via Instagram and Twitter posts after the hip-hop star called for his release.

Snoop posted a video captioned PSA let the family mourn in peace, in which he criticises CBS newsreader Gayle King for mentioning the rape allegations against Kobe Bryant.

He then said Free Bill Cosby, and posted images on Instagram of King and Winfrey with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Cosby, who is currently serving a sentence in Pennsylvania Prison for sexual assault, criticised CBS newsreader Gayle King for trying to tarnish the legacy of successful black men, in an Instagram response.

Snoop  when they brought me to my gated community and placed me inside of my penthouse, they didnt win nor did they silence me, he wrote.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Another sentence reads: My heartfelt prayers are with Kobe and his family, as well as with Michael Jackson and his family.

Cosby concluded his post with a list of hashtags, including #ThankYouSnoopDogg, #StopTearingDownBlackMen, #KobeLegacyLivesOn, and #MichaelJacksonLegacyLivesOn.

In Snoop Doggs video, the artist had also criticised talk show legend Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey had publically supported the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, which focused on men who allege they were raped by Michael Jackson when they were children.

Here is Cosbys full response:

It is unclear how Cosby was able to access social media from prison; it has also not been confirmed whether the post was made by Cosby personally.
Sweden will continue providing technical assistance to Zimbabwe in line with the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Auditor-General's (AG) Office and the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO) on Wednesday.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Harare AG Mrs Mildred Chiri said the cordial relations between the two offices date back to the early 1990s.

"The cooperation project is on course and has met objectives set at its inception to a larger extent. The cooperation has enabled my office to achieve some of its goals at a rate that we could not have moved, had we done these interventions on our own, mainly due to a number of factors.

"The Swedish National Audit Office has assisted my office in the areas of management and leadership, value for money performance auditing and had started to focus on communication when the previous MOU expired.

"The area of communication will get more attention during this next phase," she said.

Swedish Auditor-General Mrs Helena Limberg said her country enjoyed cordial relations with Zimbabwe.

"We had a fruitful meeting with the Auditor-General of Zimbabwe today and the reason why we agreed to extending this MoU is because we have seen progress and commitment.

"Although there are challenges facing the office, I am confident and impressed with the commitment," she said.
The High Court has faulted President Uhuru Kenyatta for delaying to appoint 41 judges who were set for promotion.

A three-judge bench comprising Justices Lydia Achode, James Makau and Enoch Chacha Mwita has ruled that the President has no mandate to review, reconsider or decline to appoint those recommended for promotion by the Judicial Service Commission.

DELAY

And since there had been adverse reports that the delay in appointing the judges to serve in their new posts was as a result of being flagged by the National Intelligence over integrity issues, the judges faulted the NIS for failing to disclose that information.

According to the judges, information on integrity of judges cannot be considered as classified data which poses a threat to the security of the nation.

With regards to the timelines which the President is expected to appoint judges after being recommended by the JSC, the bench ruled that the appointment should be immediate. They said that 14 days would be an appropriate time.

They declared that President Kenyatta is bound by the recommendations made by JSC on persons to be appointed and the failure to make the appointments is a violation of the Constitution as well as the JSC Act.

"We find and hold that the delay is unreasonable and unconstitutional," the judges ruled.

PROMOTION

The judgment was issued in a case in which city lawyer Adrian Kamotho Njenga protested against the delay in the appointment of judges who have qualified for promotion.

Mr Njenga sued the Attorney-General while JSC and Chief Justice David Maraga were listed as interested parties.

While the case was still pending, he had requested the court to allow the relevant appointing authority to execute its duties despite challenging the delay.

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While pointing fingers at JSC and the President, he had claimed that the law stipulates that Mr Kenyatta is required to appoint 10 High Court judges and one lawyer out the 35 who were interviewed were recommended to be promoted to the Appellate Court.

Another 20, were recommended for appointment as Environment and Lands Court judges while 10 for the Employment and Labour Relations Court.

BACKGROUND CHECKS

Nine judges who were all seeking to be promoted to serve in the Appellate Court had been named in correspondences between JSC and the NIS regarding their background checks.

Also, three lawyers were marked by the NIS in the list handed over to JSC in a letter dated July 5 from Major General Philip Kameru addressed to the Judiciary's Chief Registrar Anne Amadi.

The judges named were Justices Mumbi Ngugi, Aggrey Muchelule, Maureen Onyango, Hedwig Ong'udi, Joseph Sergon, Joel Ngugi, Luka Kimaru, Francis Tuiyott and Florence Muchemi.

Mr Elijah Njagi Ireri, Mr Moses Kurgat Kipngetich and Mr Musyoki Benjamin Mwikya are the three lawyers.
"We are flat out. It's an incredibly hectic time," said Greg Howell, owner and managing director of Vintessential.

Privately owned Vintessential Laboratories at Dromana, on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula, was forced to reopen during the Christmas/New Year period due to a big rise in demand from Hunter Valley wine producers.

In some cases producers are air-freighting grapes interstate for examination, with laboratories in Victoria and South Australia likely to test thousands of samples from this season's vintage.

Wine producers are rushing to test whether their grapes have been affected by smoke from bushfires before making a potential multimillion-dollar decision on whether to harvest.

"It's incredibly important. People use these results to make a decision about whether to harvest or not. You might have a multimillion-dollar crop and you get one chance a year to pick it, and if this testing shows that the grapes are no good then you can't harvest. If they harvested and then found out they're no good, they've spent more money throwing good money after bad," he said.

Grape testing is typically done a couple of weeks before harvest. This gives winemakers enough time to conduct a "bench fermentation", and to taste the wine to check for signs of smoke.

"If the winemaker can taste smoke and then gets results from a lab like ours, they can compare those two things and it's up to them to make a decision about whether they should harvest," Mr Howell said.

One of the Hunter Valley's best-known wine producers Tyrrell's revealed last month it would not harvest most of its vineyards because of smoke taint. "We are estimating a total crop loss of 80 per cent," the company said, adding that the impact of smoke taint was not universal across the Hunter Valley.

The intensity of a fire and heat play a role in smoke taint, as does the "age of the smoke".
Paris, France (PANA) - Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita will Tuesday in the Italian capital preside over the opening ceremony of the 43rd session of the Council of Governors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to raise funds for the most marginalized populations in the world, official sources told PANA here Friday
A man allegedly filmed himself beating his girlfriend then ordered an Uber to take her to hospital, where she died.

According to a cell phone video obtained through police warrants, Nicholas Forman, 23, from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, could be seen beating his girlfriend Sabrina Harooni, 22, on his lawn, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

This is what cheating liars get, the man believed to be Forman says in the video. You hear me?

The Uber later called by Forman took Harooni to Pottstown Memorial Hospital on Monday, according to NBC10, where she later died from her injuries.

Charging documents obtained by NBC10 reportedly state that Haroonis injuries, which included pupils described by the emergency room doctor as blown out, indicate head trauma or lack of oxygen.

Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Show all 4 1 /4 Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Kate Ranta with her son, William, in hospital recovering from the shooting Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Kate Ranta shared a picture of her home after her ex-husband shot her and her father, Robert Ranta Kate Ranta Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Kate Ranta in hospital recovering from the shooting Forgotten Women: Domestic abuse and gun violence in America Gun violence and domestic abuse activist Kate Ranta

Forman was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of murder in the first degree and one count of murder in the third degree, according to court records.

Harooni later died from her injuries (Facebook)

According to documents obtained by NBC10, the couple had begun arguing in a different Uber on Sunday night when Harooni reportedly joked about receiving a text message from an ex-boyfriend, the Uber driver told investigators.

The driver said that during the trip to Formans home, Forman continued to get angry, eventually prompting Harooni to tell him: Youre scaring me.

After arriving at Formans residence, he reportedly threatened not to allow Harooni to enter and insisted that she give me the f***ing phone, the driver told authorities.

According to the driver, he had initially driven down the street but returned with his windows rolled down after continuing to hear the couple arguing. He said he waited until he did not hear any more yelling, around five to 10 minutes, before driving off.

On Monday, Forman ordered the second Uber for Harooni, who was reportedly unconscious at the time. According to the driver, Forman told him that Harooni had been in a fight the night earlier.

According to reports obtained by NBC10, a nurse described Harooni as ice cold, with bruising around her neck, dried blood in her nose and dried vomit on her mouth. While performing CPR on Harooni, the nurse reported feeling fluid in her lungs.

Forman reportedly told investigators that Haroonis injuries were from being jumped by three women the night prior.

After obtaining warrants to search Formans phone, investigators found the video as well as a photo taken shortly before 2.30am of what appeared to be Harooni face-down inside Formans home.

During Formans arrest, video taken by NBC10 shows him continuing to deny involvement in Haroonis murder and cursing at reporters.

In response to a question about who did it, Forman can be heard saying: Three girls, not me. This is crazy.

Forman, who previously plead guilty to charges of disorderly conduct, criminal trespass and harassment in 2014, has yet to be arraigned.

For 24-hour domestic violence support, you can contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
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It almost feels like a cheat, or an unfair advantage, to have such unfettered access to a documentary subject like Maria Ressa. Not to downplay the impressive craftsmanship that makes director Ramona S. Diazs pacy, engrossing, galvanizing film A Thousand Cuts feel more like a political thriller than an off-the-cuff investigation into embattled journalism in the Philippines, but Ressas seemingly boundless energy, good humor and intelligence make her basically a power plant for the manufacture of inspiration in embattled times. You may go in knowing little about her  perhaps just that she was one of the four Guardians (Jamal Khashoggi being another) to be named Times Person of the Year for 2018. But you come out more profoundly aware than ever of the gathering darkness of our current geopolitical moment, and more fervently grateful that there are torchbearers like Maria Ressa to lead us to the light.

Ressa, along with three other female journalists, runs Rappler, an online news portal she co-founded in 2012 that soon became the staunchest debunker of the misinformation and fake news that helped Filipino strongman Rodrigo Duterte gain power in 2016. In the years since, Rappler and its journalists (many of whom are women, which takes on special significance when you consider the regimes gleeful, violent misogynistic rhetoric) have become specific targets of Dutertes ire, even as . The intimidation they face is no hollow threat: as Diazs film makes clear, Dutertes officials  here exemplified by Ronald Bato dela Rosa, his bald, baby-faced Mussolini-like lieutenant, to whom Diaz also gains surprisingly frank access  have been responsible for literally thousands of extrajudicial murders under the flimsy guise of the war on drugs.

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For a category of filmmaking where the craft is often utilitarian at best, the footage is unusually well-shot by DPs Gabriel Goodenough and Jeffrey Johnson. Under Sam Lipmans lightly intriguing, noodling score, nighttime cityscapes give Manila the seedy buzz of a dystopian sci-fi, and even the talking-head interviews have a certain nervy, noirish sheen. Diaz assembles her wealth of material cleverly, skipping between Ressa and dela Rosa; between eye-opening interviews with Rappler journalists and archive footage of Duterte individually targeting rising Rappler star Pia Ranada; between a female opposition politician standing for election and Dutertes chief women lieutenants  his daughter Sara, now a mayor, and pop-star blogger Mocha Uson, who serves in his administration and has been nicknamed the Queen of Fake News.

Despite all of these supporting characters, and the spreading shadow of Duterte himself, whose oddly avuncular energy is so wildly at odds with the violence, corruption and hatefulness he preaches, it is Ressa who emerges most vividly from A Thousand Cuts. Petite, bespectacled, with close-cropped black hair and a very funny reaction when a friend tries to make her wear a slinky evening dress to a fancy event, Ressa exudes a down-to-earth best-friendliness, if your bestie had a genius IQ and was on first-name terms with Amal and George (indeed Amal Clooney is part of Ressas defense counsel). Her greatest asset may just be her approachability, her endearing habit of swatting away compliments and making faces when someone suggests shes extraordinary. She may be packing to go receive an award from some august international body, but she gets annoyed with herself when she closes up her suitcase only to find a shampoo bottle she forgot to put inside it. This modesty and relatability makes her somewhat un-hagiographable, not that Diaz would have been likely to go the fawning route: Her previous Sundance-awarded film Motherland, set in an overworked Filipino maternity ward, revealed an intelligence coupled to intense compassion that suggests she and Ressa are kindred spirits.

A Thousand Cuts is highly relevant outside the Philippines too, clearly outlining the similarities between the assault on press freedoms there and the deepening divisions between the political right wing and the Fourth Estate in the U.S. Indeed Ressa (born in the Philippines, raised in New Jersey) unsentimentally asserts that the Cambridge Analytica-led manipulation of public opinion via social media around Dutertes election, essentially used the Philippines, which has the highest per capita internet usage rates in world, as a dry run to test out its mechanisms for undue electoral influence in the States.

That cautionary parallel is a reminder that, as global community, we have already lost so much, and the film ends on a note of ostensible defeat. Despite that, after watching A Thousand Cuts, it feels almost impossible to believe that with people like Ressa on our side, the values of free speech, lawfulness and justice will not somehow triumph in the end.

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Up to now, cancer is still one of the major diseases that threaten the survival of mankind, and it is difficult to cure clinically. In addition to single or combined surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which are commonly used clinically, a number of promising therapeutic strategies have been recently put forward including immunotherapy and gene therapy, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy, and so on. However, these techniques usually rely on chemical and genetic drugs or exotic nanomaterials to actualize treatments, making them quite difficult or debatable for practical clinical applications in near future due to the uncertainties of potential biotoxicity and biohazards, and related genetic and ethical issues; and immunotherapy and gene therapy are complex and expensive. Therefore, the popularization of these techniques in clinical practice is restricted. Consequently, developing simple, green, efficient and cheap treatment method is an urgent need to combat cancer.

Hydrogen, owing to its small molecular size and physiological inertness, resistance to oxidation, and good gas diffusivity in-vivo, is considered as a kind of green and endogenous gas. It performs the eminent physiological/pathological regulation functions, which is widely used for the treatment many diseases, such as, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, diabetes and especially cancer. As early as 1975, researchers have applied the antioxidation of H2 to treat skin squamous cell carcinoma, but it requires using diving medical equipment to provide high pressure H2 which is restricted for clinic tumor therapy applications, how to produce H2 non-invasively and sufficiently without using nanomaterials and how to realize H2 releasing on demand in vivo are two huge challenges facing for the H2 therapy of cancers.

Acupuncture is a traditional and unique minimally-invasive method to treat diseases in China. It is quite effective to treat systemic diseases, especially for arthritis, cervical spondylopathy, psoatic strain and so on. But applying it to the treatment of major diseases, such as cancers is still a great challenge.

In a new research article published in the Beijing-based National Science Review, scientists at the State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China, and at School of Public Health, Jilin University, Changchun, China present the latest advances a green, efficient and precise hydrogen therapy of cancer based on in-vivo electrochemistry. Co-authors Guo-Hua Qi, Bo Wang, Xiangfu Song, Haijuan Li and Yong-dong Jin report the hydrogen cancer therapy in vivo with electrochemical. They have summarized the development of hydrogen in the treatment of cancer and the key problems limiting its development of clinical application.

These scientists have developed a simple and precise cancer therapy approach based on selective electrochemical generation of H2 in tumor region, termed in-vivo H2 generation electrochemotherapy (H2-ECT) by innovative combined use of traditional Chinese acupuncture Fe needle (electrode) and in-vivo electrochemistry. The H2-ECT method enables large-scale tumor therapy by applying gas diffusion effect, avoiding the shortcoming of limited effective area for classic electrochemical reactions. Moreover, due to the puncture positioning and acidic tumor microenvironment (compared to normal tissue), the method provides ideal selectivity and targeting to precisely kill tumors with minimal damage to normal tissue, which is very promising for potential clinic applications. The effectiveness of the method has been demonstrated by successful and fast treatment of glioma and breast cancers in mice in this study. The cost of cancer therapy is very low and less than 1 $ for each treatment.

Scientifically, a green and conceptually new in-vivo H2 generation electrochemotherapy (H2-ECT) of tumor has been developed. Prof. Yongdong Jin said that in a broader perspective, the H2-ECT provides a reliable method for the treatment of cancer and solves the heavy economic burden of cancer therapy bring to the family by high cost, so that it is easily popularized in poor country.

###

This research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Instrument Developing Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

See the article:

Guohua Qi, Bo Wang, Xiangfu Song, Haijuan Li and Yongdong Jin

A green, efficient and precise hydrogen therapy of cancer based on in-vivo electrochemistry

Natl Sci Rev, doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwz199

https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwz199

The National Science Review is the first comprehensive scholarly journal released in English in China that is aimed at linking the country's rapidly advancing community of scientists with the global frontiers of science and technology. The journal also aims to shine a worldwide spotlight on scientific research advances across China.
Fresh off caucuses that embroiled the Iowa Democratic Party in controversy and confusion and just days before voters head to polls in New Hampshire, seven contenders for the presidential nomination take the stage in Manchester on Friday night.

The debate, hosted by ABC News, Apple News and WMUR, comes as former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg holds a slim lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucuses held on Monday. Both candidates claimed victory earlier this week, and the The Iowa Democratic Party extended until Monday a deadline for candidates to request a review of the results, the Associated Press reported.

AP said it was unable to pick a winner, with Buttigieg leading by a margin of just 0.09 percentage points.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and former Vice President Joe Biden, has led in national polls for several months, are sure to try to knock the surging Buttigieg down a peg while making the pitch that they can unite the party better than Sanders, who won in New Hampshire in 2016.

Heres who is debating and how to tune in.

What time is the debate and where?

Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, at 8 p.m. EST in Saint Anselm College, Manchester, New Hampshire.

Who is debating?

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Activist and billionaire Tom Steyer

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

What channels can you tune in to watch the debate?

The debate will be broadcast by ABC and ABC News YouTube channel.

Whos moderating?

ABC news anchors George Stephanopoulos, David Muir and Linsey Davis.

Channel finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, Cox, DIRECTV, Dish

Where can you tune in to watch the debate for free online?

These streaming services will broadcast the debate:
(Newser)  President Trump said Thursday that the US, at his direction, has conducted a counter-terrorism operation in Yemen that killed Qassim al-Rimi, an al-Qaeda leader who claimed responsibility for last year's deadly shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors. Al-Rimi is a founder of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. The affiliate has long been considered the global networks most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland. Trump said the US and its allies are safer as a result of his death. "We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm," Trump said.

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While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the US operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out. Al-Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the Dec. 6 shooting at the base. He called the shooter, Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, a "courageous knight" and a "hero." Trump's announcement confirmed earlier indications that al-Rimi had been killed, the AP reports. In late January, a suspected US drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaeda militants in eastern Yemen. Also, on Feb. 1, Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the strike had killed al-Rimi. (In 2017, al-Rimi taunted Trump after escaping a raid.)
Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "tubelight" barb, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he does not behave like a prime minister.

"Normally, a prime minister has a particular status, a prime minister has a particular way of behaving, a particular stature, our prime minister doesn't have these. He does not behave in a prime ministerial way," he told reporters outside Parliament.

Gandhi said this when he was asked about Modi's "tubelight" barb at him during his reply to the motion of thanks to the president's address in Lok Sabha.

He also said that "we are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament".

"They have suppressed our voices," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, it required that state and local government programs and services, including their communications, be accessible to people with disabilities. Thirty years later, public documents are widely digitized and accessible via screens and formats that are not always legible, or usable, to everyone.As of last week, CityGrows , a digital-services startup in Pennsylvania, has partnered with ADA-accessibility consulting firm Digital Echo to help clients bring their digital documents up to code.Digital Echo founder John Mulvey, who is also a certified professional in accessibility core competency (CPACC), toldthat he founded the company in January 2019 when he saw a growing number of lawsuits around the issue of digital accessibility. He said roughly 15 percent of people identify as having a disability or impairment, or about 41 million Americans. He said 2-3 percent of people have a visual impairment, which could prevent them from reading text or navigating interfaces without special devices, called screen readers. Cognitive and motor impairments could impact a users ability to read documents or manipulate a mouse as well.But assistive devices such as screen readers might only work if a document is formatted in a specific way. So Digital Echo seeks to help governments create documents that are meant to work with assistive devices.So much business, transactions and whatnot are being conducted via digital means that a large segment of the population has been overlooked and left behind, Mulvey said. What I realized was, it really piggybacks on the whole push for diversity and inclusion, and thats where it comes in to state and local governments.According to a news release last week, the partnership between CityGrows and Digital Echo will improve each others services on this point. Through consultation with Digital Echo, CityGrows has added the ability to replace PDFs with accessible, interactive forms that have workflow tools attached. Digital Echo in turn added CityGrows to its list of vetted "solution partners," and may refer clients to CityGrows who need to fix their online forms or rebuild them from scratch to be ADA-compliant, which Mulvey said can be prohibitively expensive.CityGrows CEO Catherine Geanuracos said her company, which has mostly small to medium-sized government clients in six states, scales its prices according to population size, so any government can work with them.Were combining forces to respond to RFPs and connect with folks that are starting to pay attention to this issue, she said. There are a few companies like Siteimprove that do automated auditing of your site, and [Mulvey] works with several different technology partners, and were the first partner thats related to this forms-automation, digital-services side. Thats why its exciting for us.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

KOKRAJHAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday appealed to the youth in Red belt and Kashmir, who still believe in bombs and guns, to take a leaf out of the book of the Bodos and eschew the path of violence.



I congratulate you as you have taken the right path by shunning bombs and pistols. I will ensure that no thorn pricks you hereafter. I appeal to the youth in Naxal areas and Kashmir, who still believe in bombs and pistols, to learn a lesson from the Bodos, Modi said at a massive rally organised in Assams Kokrajhar to celebrate the recent signing of historic third Bodo peace accord.



Stating that the accords signing is a new beginning for Assam in the 21st century as it helped achieve permanent peace in Bodo areas, he said 130 crore Indians were congratulating the Bodos for their peace initiative.



Given the signing of the Bodo accord, the relevance of countrywide celebration of 150 birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi has got increased. The accord will serve as an inspiration to abjure the path of violence, Modi said.



After five decades, the Bodos have got respect. You have created a new history. The two previous accords signed in 1993 and 2003 could not restore peace completely. After the signing of the latest accord, no demands of the Bodos are left. Our first and foremost priority will now be development. Believe me friends, I am yours. I will never retreat without fulfilling your aspirations, the PM told the crowd.



He continued: Today is a day to take a resolve on development. We should work to ensure that the darkness of violence does not return to this land again. No blood should spill and no violence should recur, he said.



Bodo leaders said over five lakh people turned up at the programme and Modi said he had neither attended nor addressed such a massive rally in his life.



I have seen many rallies and addressed many others in my public life. I had never seen such a huge rally. Post-independence, this is possibly the biggest political rally in the country. I could see only a sea of people from the helicopter, Modi said.



Raking up Congress leader Rahul Gandhis danda (stick) remark, he said, Sometimes people talk about beating with sticks but it doesnt matter how many sticks I face. When such a huge number of people, including mothers and sisters, bless me, nothing is going to happen to me.
Plans to turn the Wilbur Mansion into a boutique hotel and foodie destination got the blessing of the board tasked with overseeing Bethlehems lucrative tax incentive zone.

On Thursday, developer John Noble asked the Bethlehem Revitalization and Improvement Authority to sign off on significant changes to his plans for the historic mansion at the foot of the Hill-to-Hill Bridge and grant him a time extension. The board unanimously approved the request and it next goes to the state for approval.

Noble is still being tight lipped on just who the local and nationally-recognized restaurateur is that hes partnering with to create a boutique, luxury hotel with a culinary focus.

Noble needs the board and the states approval because the project -- estimated to cost $8.5 million -- sits within Bethlehems 130-acre City Revitalization and Improvement Zone. The CRIZ allows developers to use certain local and state taxes generated by their project to pay down construction loans.

Authority member Mark Jobes asked if Noble could share the identity of his partner and noted that there are a limited number of restaurateurs with such a profile.

The Lehigh Valley is really getting to be a prominent scene nowadays, Noble said, declining to reveal who they are. Its pretty impressive.

Plans for the property have evolved several times since Noble purchased it in 2015. The last iteration sought to expand and bolster the Sayre Mansions events business, while the current plans aim to carve out a new niche in the Southside.

Now, Noble plans nine boutique hotel rooms in the restored mansion and a first-floor bar/dining room serving for up to 100 guests. He plans a one-story addition, including a modern kitchen, that could provide flexible space for intimate, private events for groups from 10 to 120.

The partners -- operating as NIP Wilbur LLC -- want to make the Lehigh Valley a destination for boutique tourism, they write.

The Wilbur Mansion is a unique and amazing property to make this happen, they say. The hospitality partners have been able to garner this kind of attention after 12 years in the Lehigh Valley and believe that this next step provides the ability to continue and build upon this legacy with an elevated venue.

The restaurant will have an agritourism focus, relying on the bounty of the Lehigh Valleys farms, and seeks to capitalize on the regions reputation to make it a destination for Philadelphia, New York and the DC-metro area, according to the partners.

After more than 20 years in the hospitality industry the restaurant partners know that it is key to plan on flexibility, innovation and a product that is not currently being offered in the market, they write.

The new project is expected to generate another $60,000 in CRIZ increment bringing the total to about $219,000 in the first year, according to a letter from Alicia Miller Karner, director of community and economic development.

Mayor Bob Donchez supports the project, which he recommended for CRIZ inclusion in 2016 after seeking proposals.

When Noble brought the property, he planned restore the mansion, convert it into high-end office space and put on a 3,781-square-foot glass enclosed addition.

Back in May 2018, the CRIZ board backed Nobles plans to partner with the owners of the neighboring Sayre Mansion to merge the properties and create a boutique hotel complex. The Wilbur was to feature an 80 seat high-end restaurant on the first-floor, eight hotel rooms above and a four-story addition with a 200-person events space and more hotel rooms.

The Masonic Temple still will be torn down. Behind the mansion, Noble has city approval to build a 64-unit high-end apartment building.

Bethlehem Lodge 283 bought the Wilbur Mansion in 1924. The masons prided themselves on preserving its woodwork and interior. Amid financial difficulties they sold the Masonic Temple and mansion to Noble in 2015.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Two days after ripping up her copy of his State of the Union speech, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tore into President Trump over his manifesto of mistruths.

As you know, this week we had the State of the Union that is required by the Constitution of the United States, Pelosi said Thursday at her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill. The president is to submit in writing or in person his statement of the state of the union. What happened instead was the president using the Congress of the United States as a backdrop of a reality show, presenting a state of mind that had no contact with reality whatsoever.

Pelosi said it was appalling to hear the president claim in his speech that he was protecting Americans with preexisting medical conditions under the Affordable Care Act when in fact he has done everything to dismantle it.

An ongoing lawsuit, brought by the Trump administration and backed by the Justice Department, would result in the overturning of the Affordable Care Act if it succeeds. In that case, many Americans with preexisting conditions could lose their coverage entirely or face significantly higher premiums, unless and until an alternative is passed.

That misrepresentation was appalling and so clearly untrue, Pelosi said.

Mounting the podium in the House chamber for his speech, Trump handed a copy of his address to Vice President Mike Pence and another to Pelosi, who extended her hand to the president. Trump turned away without shaking it.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears her copy of President Trumps State of the Union address after he delivered it to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. (Alex Brandon/AP)

The House speaker said that had nothing to do with her decision to rip up her copy of his address.

I tore up a manifesto of mistruths, Pelosi said. It was necessary to get the attention of the American people to say this is not true. And this is how it affects you.

The House speaker denied that her act was beneath the dignity of her office.

I dont need any lessons from anybody, especially from the president of the United States, about dignity, Pelosi said. I have tried to be gracious with him. I am always dignified. I thought that was a very dignified act.

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She also took issue with Trumps decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to radio host Rush Limbaugh during the State of the Union.

Do it in your own office, Pelosi said.

In a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., earlier Thursday, Trump lashed out at Pelosi and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney, who crossed party lines in voting to remove him from office.

Pelosi, who attended the breakfast and spoke before Trump, called Trumps comments so inappropriate.

Hes talking about things he knows little about, she added. Faith and prayer.

___

Read more from Yahoo News:
President Trumps victory in the Senate trial was a foregone conclusion with its Republican majority standing firm behind their leader.

President Donald Trumps triumph appears total after the collapse of his impeachment trial in the US Senate, leading to his acquittal Wednesday night. Not only that, his popularity ratings too have soared, according to the Gallup polls. The Democrats are in disarray, and as of now he looks a clear frontrunner in the run-up to the November presidential elections.

President Trumps victory in the Senate trial was a foregone conclusion with its Republican majority standing firm behind their leader. Senate rules require a two-thirds majority for a successful impeachment, and it was clear from the beginning that the Democrats and Mr Trumps rivals could never muster that figure.

Mr Trump continues to be the Republicans best and only bet now, and theres simply no credible opposition to him within the party. Senator Mitt Romney, the lone Republican to vote against the President, whom he publicly accused of committing an appalling abuse of public trust, finds himself ostracised and staring at the end of his political career.

Massachusetts governor Bill Wield, talk show host and former US representative Joe Walsh, and realtor Rocky De La Fuente have thrown their hats into the ring, but nobody considers them serious challengers to Mr Trump. The Iowa Republican caucuses that took place on February 3 gave the President 97 per cent votes, illustrating clearly which way the wind is blowing.

The Democrats, on the other hand, present a much-divided house with as many as 11 presidential hopefuls and a diminished support base. Former vice-president Joe Biden is widely considered the Democrats favourite, but some reports suggest Bernie Sanders, the Brooklyn-born senator from Vermont, has a chance of taking the lead.

If the Iowa caucuses 2020 results are anything to go by, the results are significant. While President Trump got an overwhelming majority of Republican votes, the Democrats vote was split, with Pete Buttigieg securing an unexpected 26.2 per cent share, Bernie Sanders 26.1 per cent, Elizabeth Warren 18.2 per cent and Joe Biden trailing with just 15.8 per cent. These results are not just a big upset, but also reflective of the turmoil within the Democratic Party.

President Trumps popularity, meanwhile, continues to grow despite his unpredictable behaviour, frequent gaffes and claims of past misconduct. According to the latest Gallup polls, approval for Mr Trump has shot up from 41 per cent in October last year to 48 per cent in January this year, which suggest that impeachment proceedings actually helped him!

Gallups economic confidence index shows an even sharper rise between October 2019 and January 2020, up from 21 (on a scale of 100 to 100) to 40. As much as 62 per cent of Americans said the economy is excellent or good, as against eight per cent, who described it as poor.

Clearly, the Presidents hard-nosed economic decisions, particularly the renegotiating of trade deals (with Canada, Mexico, China and India), has the approval of large numbers of Americans. Also, employment is at a 50-year high and the economy has been doing consistently well over the past few years.

Not surprisingly, in the same period, the polls saw a happy rise in US satisfaction levels, or the percentage of Americans who are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, which is up from 28 to 41 per cent. Satisfaction levels havent been this high since 2005.

In short, President Trump is doing pretty good. Yet, on the flip side, Americans have never been as divided as they are today. While President Trump might have been acquitted in the Senate impeachment trial and is pushing ahead with a popular tailwind, it does not mean that the fundamental churnings within American society and politics have ended. Far from it.

Timothy Naftali, co-author of the book Impeachment: An American History, pointed out in an interview that wrongs do not necessarily lead to impeachment. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 but like Mr Trump was later acquitted in a Senate trial.

However, a failed impeachment trial also does not suggest that the charges were wrong. In the end, as in the Clinton case, the Trump impeachment was all about politics and power. The substance of the charges was secondary and in the ultimate analysis of little consequence.

President Trump might have triumphed and is likely on the path for a second stint as US President, but he has not been able to unite the country behind him. If anything, it is more fractured today with the Gallup polls showing that 50 per cent Americans continue to disapprove of him.

Given the current political configuration in the United States, this disapproval rating will translate to little; politics, economics and the US strategic outlook can be expected to remain consistent over the medium term.

This can only be good news for India. For President Trump, despite his hard dealings in trade and business matters, does not appear to disfavour India.

Even his unwelcome offers to mediate between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue appears more a concession to the Pakistani leadership than an ill-intentioned snub to India. For Washington continues to negotiate with Islamabad over a possible deal on Afghanistan and President Trump has to keep the Pakistani leaders appeased.

Donald Trump will be visiting India later this month as a confident and relaxed President. He will be tough in negotiations and expect concessions from India, which he most likely will extract. Yet, in the overall scheme of things, the strategic engagement between the two countries can only be expected to intensify during his tenure.

India and the United States have a common opponent in the form of the great disrupter, the Peoples Republic of China. President Trump has emerged as the first US leader to stop his countrys slide into total indebtedness to China. His America First slogan, slapping of import duties on Chinese goods and decision to enhance US military presence in the Indo-Pacific region suggest a mindset determined to resist Chinas total domination of Asia and its spreading global ambitions.

An unrestrained hegemon in Asia is not in Indias interest either. Besides, India also faces an economic as well as a strategic challenge from China. New Delhis repeated requests for greater market access for Indian goods and services or a resolution of border disputes has met with prevarication or obfuscation.

New Delhi will do well to further cultivate a politically rejuvenated President Trump, fresh from his Senate triumph, and determined more than ever before to push through his overall agenda for America.
It was a pretty straight-forward plan. You and your friends would go into a store, buy a few things and then take a seat at the lunch counter. The waitresses would refuse to serve you, and you would refuse to leave.

In fact, you would stay in your seats until the store closed, and you would return day after day to do the same.

Easy enough, right?

Well, no. The young men could not have predicted that students in other cities would copy what they were doing, that a movement would be born and that eventually Woolworths would desegregate all of its lunch counters.

If what they did looks easy 60 years after the fact, then were not doing a very good job of teaching the history of the American civil rights movement. The sit-ins that were born in February 1960 in Greensboro, N.C., were based on what may sound like a simple concept: Black students would occupy seats at lunch counters, disrupting the flow of the stores customers and attracting negative news coverage, until store owners cried uncle and agreed to serve everyone, regardless of skin color.

Eventually, the students did prevail, and Woolworths did desegregate its lunch counters  but only after the students endured many weeks of insults, racist taunts and physical abuse. What those young people did was hard, scary and dangerous.

How dangerous? Consider that only five years earlier, a black teenager from Chicago had been murdered in Mississippi because he supposedly whistled at or was otherwise flirtatious with a white woman.

Emmett Till was just 14 years old when he was kidnapped, beaten and shot. His assailants used barbed wire to tie his body to a large metal fan and then threw his mutilated corpse into the Tallahatchie River.

An all-white jury acquitted two men who were accused of his murder. A year later, in a Look magazine article titled The Shocking Story of Approved Killing in Mississippi, the men described how they had killed Till. Decades later, the woman in question admitted she had lied about the incident.

Against that backdrop, and against the backdrop of many decades of violence inflicted upon black Americans, the students at North Carolina A&T University decided to take a stand, not knowing when, where or how their sit-in would end. Who was to say that they wouldnt be beaten or killed -- if not at the lunch counter, then on the way to or from it?

After all, in the coming eight years, police would blast children with fire hoses in Birmingham; state troopers would beat civil rights marchers in Selma; an NAACP field director would be gunned down in the driveway of his Jackson, Miss., home; a church bombing in Birmingham would kill four black children who were attending Sunday school; whites would riot as Ole Miss was integrated; and Martin Luther King Jr. would be assassinated on the balcony of a Memphis, Tenn., motel.

Those were extremely dangerous times for black Americans in the South.

This month, as we celebrate the anniversary of that historic sit-in, it is important to acknowledge that much has changed since the terrible days of state-sanctioned racism. And yet, we can see that much remains to be done to eradicate its vestiges.

Surely, remembering the courage those four young men exhibited in 1960 will help us apply the lessons of long ago to the challenges of today.

Frances Coleman is a freelance writer who lives in Baldwin County, Alabama. Email her at fcoleman1953@gmail.com and like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/prfrances.
A US-based Jewish advocacy group has launched a campaign to prevent Pink Floyd founder member Roger Waters from performing on tour in Mexico. Waters, 76, is due on stage in Mexico City on October 7 as part of his "This Is Not A Drill" North American tour that begins in Pittsburgh in July. But the Latin American branch of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), which supports Holocaust survivors and confronts anti-Semitism, has written to businesses sponsoring and promoting Waters's concert in Mexico, urging them to pull out. "Your company's prestige should not be stained by those that use music to camouflage discrimination and the diffusion of a violent and racist message," said the letter, signed by SWC international relations directors Shimon Samuels and Ariel Gelblung. Waters is a well-known pro-Palestinian activist who supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that promotes a boycott of Israel in various forms. He has urged fellow artists not to perform concerts in the Middle Eastern nation. Israel sees BDS as a strategic threat and accuses the movement of anti-Semitism -- a claim activists including Waters firmly deny, calling it an attempt to discredit them. The SWC however has accused Waters of anti-Semitism over his use of an inflatable pig bearing the Star of David during previous concerts. The consumption of pork is banned in Judaism while the Star of David is synonymous with the religion. "These images refer to medieval German anti-Semitic iconography," said the center, which launched a "Resist the Racist" campaign the last time Waters performed in Mexico in 2018. SWC was named after Simon Wiesenthal, an Austrian Holocaust survivor and well-known Nazi hunter. The center, founded in 1977, promotes the prosecution of Nazi war criminals, fights anti-Semitism and teaches about the Holocaust.
So, you're ready to leave your iPhone for greener pastures  specifically, the bright green hue of Google's Android ecosystem.

It's a major move, to be sure, but it doesn't have to be daunting. Beneath the surface-level differences, Android and iOS actually have a lot in common  and with the right steps, you can switch from an iPhone to an Android device without losing anything significant (including your sanity).

Make your way through this easy-to-follow guide, and you'll be happily settled in your new high-tech home in no time.

All-in-one iOS-to-Android switching tools

First things first: Some Android devices, like Samsung's Galaxy phones and Google's Pixel products, ship with their own all-in-one iPhone-to-Android switching systems. These systems may include special software and possibly even physical cables for moving a bunch of data from your iPhone to your new Android device in one fell swoop. If your Android phone offers such a service, it's a smart place to start.

Of course, these all-in-one methods aren't available for every phone, and they don't always work flawlessly or across all of the areas relevant to your needs. Next, we'll get into the step-by-step details of how you can get every important category of data moved over on your own, bit by bit, without giving yourself a migraine.

[ Further reading: 8 ways to turn Android into a productivity powerhouse ]

Calendar, contacts, and photos

We'll start with a simple three-for-one special. Believe it or not, the core categories of calendar, contacts, and photos are among the easiest things to migrate from iOS to Android.

All you've gotta do is install the Google Drive app onto your iPhone, then sign into the app using your primary Google account. (If you don't yet have a Google account, the app will give you the opportunity to create one.)

On your iPhone, open the Drive app's menu, select "Settings" and then "Backup." If you're interested in moving over some but not all of the available areas, you can tap whichever area you want to handle individually. If you want to move them all at once, just tap the blue "Start Backup" button to let the app deal with everything together.

JR Raphael/IDG Google Drive for iOS provides an easy way to move your calendar, contacts, and photos data over to Android.

This process may take a while and burn through a fair amount of data, so you'll probably want to save it for a time when your phone can be plugged in, connected to a reliable Wi-Fi network, and not immediately needed for anything else. That being said, you can always hit pause and start things up again later, so don't worry too much about the timing.

All done? Excellent: Now just sign into your new Android phone with that same Google account. You should be able to find your calendar data in the Google Calendar app, your contacts data in the Google Contacts app, and all of your photos and videos in the Google Photos app. (Depending on your device, some or all of those apps may be preinstalled by default; if any of them is not, you can simply download and install it from the Google Play Store.)

One exception to the rule: If your contacts or calendar data is connected to a Microsoft Exchange account, it won't be moved over as part of this process. In that scenario, you'll need to add your Exchange account into the Gmail app on your Android phone (see the next section for more detail), and your contacts and calendar info should then automatically show up in the appropriate apps.

[ Further reading: A hidden Android Pie security setting everyone should enable ]

Email

All right  ready to bring all of your email over to your shiny new smartphone? That migration will range from "ridiculously simple" to "relatively hassle-free," depending on the specifics of your setup.

Choose your own adventure:

If you're currently using Gmail: There's nothing to do; just make sure you sign into your Android device with the same Google account associated with your Gmail address, and all your mail will automatically appear in the Android Gmail app and be waiting for you. If you have more than one Gmail address and want to be able to access them all on the phone, open the Gmail app's settings and look for the "Add account" option, then follow the steps to add any additional Google accounts into the mix.

If you're currently using a webmail provider like Outlook.com, Hotmail, or Yahoo: Add the account into the Gmail app on your new phone, using the same steps described above but selecting the appropriate account option on the "Add account" screen.

JR Raphael/IDG The Gmail app provides options for connecting different types of email accounts to your Android device.

If you're currently using Apple Mail: Once again, just add the account into the Gmail app on your Android phone. There's a little more to it this time, though: After you select "Add account" within the app's settings, tap the line labeled "Other," type in your email address, and then select "Personal (IMAP)." When prompted, put in the various mail server settings provided on Apple's support site.

If you're currently using Exchange: Same basic deal, but select the option for "Exchange and Office 365" in the "Add account" section of the Gmail app's settings. The app will walk you through the rest of the setup procedure. Of course, you can also opt to use Microsoft's official Outlook Android app if you're accustomed to that program and want a consistent experience.

One final option to consider: If you're using any of the aforementioned non-Gmail account types and want to ditch your old address and move entirely into Gmail, you can import all of your old account's email into Gmail by following the steps on this Google support page. You may also want to instruct your old mail service to forward all new messages to your Gmail address so you don't miss any important missives from people who haven't yet learned about your move.

Messaging

Not surprisingly, Apple's iMessage system doesn't play nicely with non-Apple platforms. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to leave; you just have to take the right set of steps to avoid missing-message misery.

First, go into Settings on your iPhone, tap "Messages," and then toggle "iMessage" to off. While you're in Settings, you'll probably want to look for the "FaceTime" option and toggle it to off, too, since you presumably won't be active on that platform anymore.

Second, open Apple's "Deregister iMessage" web page and scroll down to the section labeled "No longer have your iPhone?" Put in your phone number, click the link to send a confirmation code, and then type the confirmation code you receive into the page.

Both of these steps are critical; if you don't complete them, Apple will likely intercept at least some of your incoming text messages, and you'll never even know you missed 'em.

JR Raphael/IDG Get your phone number out of the iMessage system or forever wonder if Apple is snatching your messages.

If you want to keep all of your existing text messages and bring them over to your new phone, an app called iSMS2droid can get the job done. The process is a bit gnarly and involves manually backing up your iPhone to a computer, then finding specific files and transferring them onto your Android phone  but if you really need to save all your old messages, it's about the best option you have.

The silver lining is that once you're on Android, keeping your messages synced and available on any device can be thought-free. Just be sure to pick a messaging app that automatically backs up and restores data from the get-go, and you'll be fine as wine.

Files

So long, iCloud Drive  hello, Google Drive. The most direct way to get all your data off of Apple's cloud storage service and onto Google's is to install the desktop apps for both iCloud Drive and Google Drive on your Mac or Windows PC. Then, open Finder or File Explorer windows for both locations, select everything from iCloud Drive, and drag it over to Google Drive.

Wait for the transfer to finish, and that's it: Every one of your precious files is now available via Google Drive on Android (as well as on iOS and the web).

Apps

The bad news: Any apps you've installed on your iPhone won't automatically transfer over to Android, and any apps you've paid for on iOS will likely have to be purchased again.

The good news: These days, most major productivity apps are readily available on both platforms. And once you're all set up with Android, all of your apps and app data will automatically sync with Google's servers and follow you to any future Android devices.

Take a few minutes to go through Google's Play Store  either on your Android phone or via a web browser on any computer  and search for the apps you want. If you install an app onto your phone and it asks you to sign in when you first open it, make sure to use the same username or email address you used on your iPhone so that any data tied to your account will carry over.

After you've settled in, you may want to explore a bit further beyond the apps you already know. Unlike iOS, Android allows all sorts of clever tools for customizing and controlling the core user interface, and some of them can enhance your efficiency in pretty interesting ways.

[ Related: Android apps: Best of the best ]

Music

Thank your lucky stars, because bringing music over from iOS to Android is no longer the absolute nightmare it once was.

There's nothing to it if you use a streaming service like Spotify, Pandora, Google Play Music, or even  amazingly  Apple Music; just download the equivalent app from the Google Play Store, sign in, and your entire collection will be at your fingertips in seconds.

If you have your own personal music collection, your best bet is to download the Mac- or Windows-based Music Manager app for Google Play Music. It can find and import any music stored on your computer as well as in iTunes, in formats ranging from MP3 to WMA, FLAC, and OGG  and even AAC files without digital rights management (DRM) protection. (Google has said this personal music storage feature will eventually be brought over to the newer YouTube Music service  which is expected to replace Google Play Music at some point in the foreseeable future  but we've seen no signs of that happening just yet.)

JR Raphael/IDG The Music Manager app for Google Play Music can import songs from iTunes and elsewhere on your computer.

The one lingering exception is any music purchased from iTunes prior to 2009, as such songs were encoded into a proprietary and DRM-protected version of the AAC format. Those files, by design, won't be compatible with any other music service. If you want to pay $25 for a year of Apple's iTunes Match service, you can "exchange" those files for non-DRM-protected versions that'll work anywhere.

Otherwise, your only real option is to employ the old-school workaround of burning those tracks to a CD (assuming your computer still has a CD burner, of course), then putting the CD back into the computer and ripping the songs into a standard unlocked format. That'll result in lower-quality audio than you'd get purchasing the tunes directly from almost any music service nowadays, but it is what it is.

Welcome to Android

Well, wouldya look at that? You've done it! All your important info is now off your iPhone and on your new Android device, and you're ready to start anew as a card-carrying Android phone owner.

Before we bid adieu and send you scampering off on your new adventure, let's take a moment to go over a few things of note as you learn your way around this wild new world.

First, the getting-around basics: No matter where you are in Android, you can always swipe down once from the top of the screen to see any pending notifications and swipe down a second time to see the full Quick Settings panel. And speaking of notifications, Android makes them exceptionally easy to control  so learn the ins and outs of notification management and don't let your phone's alerts control you.

JR Raphael/IDG Android's notifications panel (left) and Quick Settings panel (right) are never more than a swipe away. (Their exact appearance may vary from one phone to the next.)

If your device shipped with Android 10, you'll find what's sure to be a somewhat familiar-seeming gesture-driven system for getting around your phone: From anywhere in the operating system, you can flick your finger upward from the bottom of the screen to return to your home screen, swipe upward about an inch from the bottom of the screen and then stop to open the system Overview interface and browse through your recently used apps, and swipe toward the right on the bottom of the screen to flip back quickly through those same recently used apps.

You can also swipe up diagonally from either lower corner of the screen to summon Google Assistant, and anytime you want to move back one step in whatever you're doing, you can swipe inward from the left or right edge of your phone's display.

On phones with older Android versions  or those where gesture navigation isn't enabled  you'll find three buttons along the bottom of your screen that provide tap-friendly ways of accessing those same basic functions. In that arrangement, Assistant is typically accessible by pressing and holding the Home key.

One more thing: You've no doubt seen some scary-seeming stories about Android security. Be aware: Most of that stuff is overly sensationalized and woefully misleading. Malware really isn't a real-world issue on Android, and Google has its own multilayer security system in place to protect you from all sorts of threats  including the most realistic one of all: a lost phone.

Craving even more practical tips and foundational knowledge? My, aren't you a tenacious little monkey! Check out the following Computerworld guides to continue your Android optimization education:

This article was originally published in August 2017 and most recently updated in February 2020.
Natia Turnava attends the Investors' Council meeting

By Nika Gamtsemlidze

Natia Turnava, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, attended a meeting of the Investors Council yesterday.The Investor Council is a very important and effective platform for dialogue between government agencies, businesses, and international financial institutions. It has been in existence for two years now and has emerged as a very effective mechanism working on specific issues to make our investment environment even more attractive, said Turnava after the meeting.According to the Minister, the successes achieved in the format of the Investor Council were mentioned at the meeting. Turnava said several legislations have been developed and there has been a great deal of support from the Investors Council.This is a bill on insolvency, which is important for business development, as well as a bill on investment funds, which has been prepared in such co-operation and will be submitted to parliament soon, said the Minister.Turnava noted that the investors' council has numerous useful recommendations prepared for the Georgian tourism in 2020 and that this institution also played a huge role in getting direct foreign investments for Enterprise Georgia, where International Finance Corporation and World Bank are participating.It has been decided that in the form of similar working groups, using this platform, we will cooperate in the formulation and implementation of the energy sector reform, as the ongoing reform is of great interest to investors, said the minister.The Investor Council is one of the most representative bodies in Georgia, bringing together about ten business associations, international financial institutions and diplomats.This is a very good way for both foreign capital and business to make their voices heard and to work in a specific work regime on any reform, policy or bill. We agreed that we will continue and enhance this platform and will cover more new areas with this cooperation, stressed Turnava.Investors Council is an independent advisory body to the Prime Minister of Georgia, intending to promote dialogue between the private business community, international organizations, donors and Government of Georgia for the development of a favorable, non-discriminatory, transparent and fair business and investment climate in Georgia.The IC is responsible for facilitating constructive dialogue and exchange of views between the Prime Minister, Ministries and other executive Agencies under their subordination on the one hand, and the private sector, on the other hand, to improve and encourage a sound investment climate.
Elon Musk has improved his controversial Neuralink technology that he hopes will allow people to hook themselves up to a computer and become cyborgs.

Musk's company Neuralink is building tiny and flexible 'threads' which are ten times thinner than a human hair and can be inserted directly into the brain.

Musk, the billionaire boss of Neuralink, SpaceX and Tesla, took to his usual stomping ground of Twitter to parade his latest development.

He called the improvements to Neuralink and the scary robot that will insert the device into human brains 'truly transformational' and 'awesome' in several tweets.

The tiny brain implants, called brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), connects the human brain to external devices and enables them to control computers.

The company say these 'high bandwidth, high precision neural interfaces', dubbed N1, could be implanted in humans within the next 12 months.

Threads will be needled into people's brains using this rather scary-looking machine, some time this year, Elon Musk has said

Last year, Neuralink unveiled a version of the tiny device that could be implanted in a brain through a small incision by a robot.

This device consists of a chip that would sit on the side of a human head, connected by the tiny threads that are implanted into the brain.

But this new version, to be unveiled sometime this year, will be even more advanced, Musk said, without spilling too many details.

The tiny threads would be connected into the brain are about 10 times thinner than human hair

'Wait until you see the next version vs what was presented last year,' Musk tweeted. 'It's awesome.'

The CEO says the technology could help patients with neurological disorders restore motor functions.

'It will ultimately be used to make up for entire lost sections of the brain due to stroke/accident/congenital,' Musk said.

Elon Musk called the improvements to Neuralink 'truly transformational' and 'awesome' in several tweets

'Don't want to get too excited, but the potential is truly transformational for restoring brain & motor functions.

'There is no other way to do it in my opinion.'

Musk hopes his secretive Neuralink startup hopes to link human brains to computers some time in 2020.

Elon Musk has revealed his secretive Neuralink startup hope to being testing out an interface linking brains with computers on people next year

The optimistic timeframe does seem unlikely however, as the company will have to pass strict regulations.

And with Musk's track record of announcing ambitious timelines that never come to fruition, it remains to be seen if Neuralink will be pass stringent regulations for human tests.

'First, we need to make it super safe and easy to use, then determine greatest utility vs risk,' Musk tweeted.

The chip that amplifies signals received by the threads and then sends them off to a computer

Tiny threads thinner than a human hair will be implanted into the human skull that will link up to a chip on the side of a head

'From initially working to volume production and implantation is a long road.

'As with vehicle safety, it will be much harder to pass our internal standards than minimum regulatory standards.'

Musk said the goal is to make adding brain-enhancement implants as easy a procedure as laser eye surgery.

It is also building a surgical robot that can insert six of the BMI threads per minute into the brain.

Neuralink also showed off a concept image of a smartphone app for its brain implants last year

Before the company's first media event last summer not much was known of Neuralink, which has been carrying out research at the University of California, Davis and has published one research paper.

Musk said last year that team has had success with animal testing and that in its labs a monkey has been able to control a computer with its brain.

The Tesla founder has long contended that a neural lace meshing minds with machines is vital if people are going to avoid being so outpaced by artificial intelligence.

The ultimate aim of the company is to give humans AI-enhanced capabilities such as the ability to access the internet with a single thought.

'With a high bandwidth brain machine interface I think we can actually go along for the ride and we can effectively have the option of merging with AI,' he said last year.

'This is extremely important.'

Musk has long been a critic of artificial intelligence, warning that should it fall into the wrong hands or become too smart, it could wreak havoc on humanity.
Charter flights offered to thousands of Chinese tourists stranded in Bali after Indonesia halted flights over coronavirus fears have been delayed because travel permits have yet to be approved, Jakarta said Friday. A diplomatic notice said Beijing was arranging flights for Friday back to Wuhan -- the epicentre of the deadly outbreak which has killed over 600 people and spread around the world. Many of the marooned tourists are from the stricken city and surrounding Hubei province, the consulate had said. But Indonesia's foreign affairs ministry said Friday it had not received the necessary paperwork to greenlight charter trips after the Southeast Asian nation shut down all commercial flights to and from mainland China. "The Chinese embassy (in Jakarta) has not yet submitted technical details of the airplanes to relevant authorities which are required to apply for a permit," ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah told AFP. Chinese diplomats in Indonesia could not be immediately reached for comment. Earlier, Bali airport authorities had said at least one empty commercial plane was set to arrive from Shanghai to pick up tourists who wanted to return. It was not clear how many holidaymakers would take up the offer or who would pay for their tickets. Indonesia attracts about 2.1 million Chinese visitors annually but the number has fallen from about 6,000 arrivals per day to just 1,000 since the outbreak began in mid-December. The sprawling archipelago -- the world's fourth most populous country with over 260 million people -- has not reported a confirmed case of coronavirus. That has stirred concerns cases may be going undetected in a nation with strong tourism and business links to China. Indonesia has repatriated about 240 of its own citizens from the epicentre of the outbreak -- mostly university students studying in China. The evacuees landed Sunday and have been quarantined for two weeks at a military hangar on Natuna island, which lies between Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia. Indonesia's health ministry has released images on social media showing the evacuees doing morning exercises, playing games and singing karaoke. But the move has set off protests by locals angry that the quarantine site was near a residential neighbourhood. In response, Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said Jakarta was mulling a plan to build a quarantine site elsewhere on the 17,000 island archipelago in case it was needed in future.
Broadcaster Iain Dale dramatically stormed off a TV set this morning during a feisty debate about austerity and cuts to social care.

The LBC presenter fell out with his fellow guests on Good Morning Britain as they discussed the case of Tate pusher Jonty Bravery.

Last night, the Daily Mail revealed a shocking recording of the autistic teen vowing to 'push somebody off' a building months before he nearly killed a French boy.

Despite the conversation being recorded by a care worker, Bravery was still allowed to visit the gallery alone, hurling the youngster from a 100ft viewing balcony.

Dale's fellow guests Nihal Arthanayake and Grace Blakeley argued that the incident, which nearly killed the boy, was at least partly due to cuts to social care.

Grace Blakeley (left), Iain Dale (centre) and Nihal Arthanayake (right) had a row over cuts to social care

Minutes later, Dale tweeted that he usually enjoyed 'civilised' debates on GMB, but 'today's was not', adding that it was 'about closing me down'

The exchange garnered a mixed reaction on social media, with some taking the side of Dale and others disagreeing

But Conservative commentator Dale labelled the idea as 'utter rubbish', leading to a row during which he struggled to be heard over Arthanayake and Blakeley.

A clearly exasperated Dale then told the panel he'd had enough, removing his microphone and storming off set amid mocking cries for the other two guests.

Minutes later, Dale tweeted that he usually enjoyed 'civilised' debates on GMB, but 'today's was not', adding that it was 'about closing me down'.

He added: 'I decided it wasn't worth hanging around. Apologies to [show presenters] Kate Garraway, Ben Shephard and Charlotte Hawkins.'

The debate had begun with Labour-backing economist Blakeley arguing that the Bravery case was 'another story that you can trace back to austerity'.

However Dale fired back: 'Utter, utter rubbish if I may so. It's nothing to do with cuts this is to do with people doing the sensible thing and reporting something.

A clearly exasperated Dale then told the panel he'd had enough, removing his microphone and storming off set

As Dale walked off the set, he was met by taunts from fellow guests Blakeley and Arthanayake

'You don't have to have thousands of pounds to be sensible.'

BBC radio presenter Arthanayake responded: 'He went on his own presumably because there wasn't someone who could accompany him at all times because there wasn't the resources.

'To just sweep that away with out any facts and say 'this isn't about resources' is ridiculous. Do you want the data on the lack of resources? Ridiculous.'

After struggling to be heard, Dale then responded 'OK right, that's it' before leaving the set, as presenters Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway begged him to say.

As Dale walked off the set, Blakeley asked 'Can you no-platform yourself? while Arthanayake quipped: 'Wow, what a fit of pique!'

The debate surrounded the shocking case of Jonty Bravery, who horrified tourists on the Tate tower's viewing platform by suddenly lifting up the French boy, on summer holiday with his parents, and throwing him over a chest-high barrier.

The boy's mother gave a 'primal scream' as her son plunged 100ft on August 4 last year.

A chilling recording of the autistic teenager (Bravery is pictured) who threw a six-year-old boy from the top of the Tate Modern reveals he told carers he wanted to do it almost a year before the tragedy

The victim, visiting the London museum with his French family, plunged 100ft on to a roof five floors below (pictured, the aftermath)

The air ambulance arrives at the Tate Modern after Bravery carried out the attack he had warned his carers about - and admitted it was part of a warped plot to get back his iPad

The youngster was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition with fractures to his spine, legs and arms and a bleed on the brain. He remains in hospital, severely disabled.

In December, Bravery, 18, pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to attempted murder.

Now, ahead of his sentencing hearing, the Mail in conjunction with BBC News has obtained a spine-chilling audio recording of Bravery outlining his plan to throw someone from a tall building.

Recorded by his carers in autumn 2018, Bravery calmly explains the plot taking shape in his disturbed mind, to go on a visit to central London 'as if we're having a normal day' and 'visit some of the landmarks'.

He said: 'It could be the Shard, it could be anything... as long as it's a high thing. And we could go up and visit it, and then push one of... push somebody off it.'

He told his carers he was determined to kill someone because 'I know for a fact, I'm going to go to prison, if I do that'.

Bravery, who was 17 at the time of the attempted murder, claimed being in prison would be better than being in council care.

The teenager, who has autism, an obsessive compulsive disorder, and a personality disorder, was a challenge for his family and had been moved into council care in 2017.
The GSMA continues to monitor and assess the potential impact of the Coronavirus on MWC Barcelona 2020. The GSMA confirms that there remains minimal impact on the event thus far. MWC Barcelona 24-27 February 2020, will proceed as planned, across all venues at Fira Gran Via Fira Montjuic and La Farga LHospitalet, including YoMo and Four Years From Now (4YFN).

Spain, the City of Barcelona and the GSMA look forward to welcoming attendees to MWC Barcelona 2020. The first deputy mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, guaranteed on Wednesday 5 February, that during MWC Barcelona there would be permanent coordination with the health authorities, as a preventive measure against the outbreak of coronavirus. He stressed at a press event, the close and coordinated relationship between institutions, the GSMA and health authorities.

As previously stated, the GSMA has implemented many measures to help to mitigate the spread of the virus and is continuing to add other actions regularly. In particular, there are additional health measures that have been put in place which include:

A free 24-hour telephone Security and Medical service for all attendees, operational from 12-29 February 2020. This number appears on the back of badge holders, in the event App and on signage around the venue: +34 900 77 2020

Hygiene recommendations to Barcelona hotels, public and private transport, restaurants and catering outlets, etc.

The GSMA has reinforced the on-site first aid facilities to assist attendees

Developed plans in alignment with the Public Health Authority Services which are subject to medical and health authority approval.

The GSMA is building on its existing plans to protect the health of our attendees, clients and staff at MWC Barcelona. Colleagues around the world are taking active measures to contain and lessen any further spread of the virus. These measures include adhering to advice from the WHO and other health authorities, respecting travel restrictions where they exist, arriving early in Spain to allow time for self-quarantine and ensuring access to masks.

Up-to-date WHO advice and facts can be found here: www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance.

Further updates from the GSMA, answers to the most frequently asked questions and an outline of the measures that have been implemented, are on our website and can be found on www.mwcbarcelona.com.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Shanghai and Los Angeles, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005911/en/
Yves here. I wish Sanders would use even more pointed messaging, like socialism for the rich. But for those who complain about Sanders not going after important targets, this slap back at Dimon, who criticized Sanders and socialism at Davos, shows that the Vermont Senator is landing punches, but choosing his fights carefully.

And banks are much bigger welfare queens than the public realizes. They get all sorts of subsidies, from underpriced deposit insurance to Federal guaranteed for most home mortgages to the Fed operating and backstopping the essential Fedwire system. These subsidies are so great that banks should not be considered to be private sector entities, yet we let them privatize their profits and socialize their train wrecks. As we wrote in 2010:

More support comes from Andrew Haldane of the Bank of England, who in a March 2010 paper compared the banking industry to the auto industry, in that they both produced pollutants: for cars, exhaust fumes; for bank, systemic risk. While economists were claiming that the losses to the US government on various rescues would be $100 billion (ahem, must have left out Freddie and Fannie in that tally), it ignores the broader costs (unemployment, business failures, reduced government services, particularly at the state and municipal level). His calculation of the world wide costs: .these losses are multiples of the static costs, lying anywhere between one and five times annual GDP. Put in money terms, that is an output loss equivalent to between $60 trillion and $200 trillion for the world economy and between 1.8 trillion and 7.4 trillion for the UK. As Nobel-prize winning physicist Richard Feynman observed, to call these numbers astronomical would be to do astronomy a disservice: there are only hundreds of billions of stars in the galaxy. Economical might be a better description. It is clear that banks would not have deep enough pockets to foot this bill. Assuming that a crisis occurs every 20 years, the systemic levy needed to recoup these crisis costs would be in excess of $1.5 trillion per year. The total market capitalisation of the largest global banks is currently only around $1.2 trillion. Fully internalising the output costs of financial crises would risk putting banks on the same trajectory as the dinosaurs, with the levy playing the role of the meteorite. Yves here. So a banking industry that creates global crises is negative value added from a societal standpoint. It is purely extractive. Even though we have described its activities as looting (as in paying themselves so much that they bankrupt the business), the wider consequences are vastly worse than in textbook looting.

Back to the current post. As to JP Morgans socialism versus the old USSRs planned economy, one recent study which I cannot readily find due to the sorry state of Google offered an important correction to conventional wisdom.

Recall that Soviet Russia initially did perform extremely well, freaking out the capitalist world by industrializing in a generation. There was ample hand-wringing as to whether a less disciplined free enterprise system could compete with a command and control economy. Economists got a seat at the policy table out of the concern that capitalist economies needed expert guidance to assure that they could produce both guns and butter.

The study concluded that central planning had worked well in Soviet Russia initially, until the lower-level apparatchiks started gaming the system by feeding bad information so as to make their performance look better (for instance, setting way too forgiving production targets, or demanding more resources than they needed). The paper contended that the increasingly poor information about what was actually happening on the ground considerably undermined the central planning process. That is not to say there werent also likely problems with motivation and overly rigid bureaucracies. But the evolution of modern corporations, of devaluing and ignoring worker input and treating them like machines that are scored against narrow metrics, looks as demotivating as the stereotypical Soviet factory.

Finally, this post conflates socialism, which includes New Deal-ish European style social democracy, with capitalist systems alongside strong social safety nets, which the public ownership and provision of goods and services. It should be noted that public ownership has regularly provided services like utilities very effectively.

By Paul Adler, Professor of Management and Organization, Sociology and Environmental Studies, University of Southern California. Originally published at The Conversation

Sen. Bernie Sanders called JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon the biggest corporate socialist in America today in a recent ad.

He may have a point  beyond what he intended.

With his Dimon ad, Sanders is referring specifically to the bailouts JPMorgan and other banks took from the government during the 2008 financial crisis. But accepting government bailouts and corporate welfare is not the only way I believe American companies behave like closet socialists despite their professed love of free markets.

In reality, most big U.S. companies operate internally in ways Karl Marx would applaud as remarkably close to socialist-style central planning. Not only that, corporate America has arguably become a laboratory of innovation in socialist governance, as I show in my own research.

Closet Socialists

In public, CEOs like Dimon attack socialist planning while defending free markets.

But inside JPMorgan and most other big corporations, market competition is subordinated to planning. These big companies often contain dozens of business units and sometimes thousands. Instead of letting these units compete among themselves, CEOs typically direct a strategic planning processto ensure they cooperate to achieve the best outcomes for the corporation as a whole.

This is just how a socialist economy is intended to operate. The government would conduct economy-wide planning and set goals for each industry and enterprise, aiming to achieve the best outcome for society as a whole.

And just as companies rely internally on planned cooperation to meet goals and overcome challenges, the U.S. economy could use this harmony to overcome the existential crisis of our age  climate change. Its a challenge so massive and urgent that it will require every part of the economy to work together with government in order to address it.

Overcoming Socialisms Past Problems

But, of course, socialism doesnt have a good track record.

One of the reasons socialist planning failed in the old Soviet Union, for example, was that it was so top-down that it lacked the kind of popular legitimacy that democracy grants a government. As a result, bureaucrats overseeing the planning process could not get reliable information about the real opportunities and challenges experienced by enterprises or citizens.

Moreover, enterprises had little incentive to strive to meet their assigned objectives, especially when they had so little involvement in formulating them.

A second reason the USSR didnt survive was that its authoritarian system failed to motivate either workers or entrepreneurs. As a result, even though the government funded basic science generously, Soviet industry was a laggard in innovation.

Ironically, corporations  those singular products of capitalism  are showing how these and other problems of socialist planning can be surmounted.

Take the problem of democratic legitimacy. Some companies, such as General Electric, Kaiser Permanente and General Motors, have developed innovative ways to avoid the dysfunctions of autocratic planning by using techniques that enable lower-level personnel to participate actively in the strategy process.

Although profit pressures often force top managers to short-circuit the promised participation, when successfully integrated it not only provides top management with more reliable bottom-up input for strategic planning but also makes all employees more reliable partners in carrying it out.

So here we have centralization  not in the more familiar, autocratic model, but rather in a form I call participative centralization. In a socialist system, this approach could be adopted, adapted and scaled up to support economy-wide planning, ensuring that it was both democratic and effective.

As for motivating innovation, Americas big businesses face a challenge similar to that of socialism. They need employees to be collectivist, so they willingly comply with policies and procedures. But they need them to be simultaneously individualistic, to fuel divergent thinking and creativity.

One common solution in much of corporate America, as in the old Soviet Union, is to specialize those roles, with most people relegated to routine tasks while the privileged few work on innovation tasks. That approach, however, overlooks the creative capacities of the vast majority and leads to widespread employee disengagement and sub-par business performance.

Smarter businesses have found ways to overcome this dilemma by creating cultures and reward systems that support a synthesis of individualism and collectivism that I call interdependent individualism. In my research, I have found this kind of motivation in settings as diverse as Kaiser Permanent physicians, assembly-line workers at Toyotas NUMMI plant and software developers at Computer Sciences Corp. These companies do this, in part, by rewarding both individual contributions to the organizations goals as well as collaboration in achieving them.

While socialists have often recoiled against the idea individual performance-based rewards, these more sophisticated policies could be scaled up to the entire economy to help meet socialisms innovation and motivation challenge.

Big Problems Require Big Government

The idea of such a socialist transformation in the U.S. may seem remote today.

But this can change, particularly as more Americans, especially young ones, embrace socialism. One reason they are doing so is because the current capitalist system has so manifestly failed to deal with climate change.

Looking inside these companies suggests a better way forward  and hope for societys ability to avert catastrophe.
Police in the Maldives have apologised after a video emerged of a bikini-clad tourist being arrested.

The video shows a woman with a British accent being detained by at least three officers on the island of Maafushi in the Kaafu atoll.

In the footage she can be heard shouting: You are sexually assaulting me as police put her in handcuffs before leading her away while another man can be seen covering her with a towel.

Police in the Maldives have apologised after footage emerged of a bikini-clad woman being detained by police (Picture: PA)

Video footage showed three officers leading the woman away (Picture: PA/@MvCrisis)

The incident has prompted a public apology from the Maldives police chief.

Maldives Police Service Commissioner Mohamed Hameed said the incident appeared to have been badly handled by officers.

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He said in a Twitter post: Incident in Maafushi in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be badly handled.

I apologise to the tourist & the public for this. The challenge I have taken up is to professionalise the police service & we are working on that. This matter is being investigated.

Incident in Maafushi in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be badly handled. I apologise to the tourist & the public for this. The challenge I have taken up is to professionalise the police service & we are working on that. This matter is being investigated.  Mohamed Hameed (@M_Hameedh) February 6, 2020

According to the countrys local news service Raajje.mv the woman, who police suspected was under the influence of alcohol, was arrested just after 5pm local time on Thursday for indecent exposure.

Raajje.mv reported that, while Maafushi is a popular tourist location and bikinis are permitted in holiday resorts, they are strictly prohibited on local islands.

Bikinis are prohibited on local islands on Maafushi (Picture: Getty)

The UK Governments travel advice for the Republic of Maldives advises tourists to be sensitive to local dress standards when visiting non-resort islands.

Story continues

It says the destination is an Islamic country and tourists should respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times.

Its not the first time tourists in bikinis have found themselves in hot water - in October a female tourist was fined for wearing a tiny bikini on holiday in the Philippines.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
A local expat author has released the eagerly awaited final book in the Zambia Trilogy of her Africa series. Much More Into Africa continues the light-hearted look at the life of Ann Patras and her family after they left their fhome in Burton upon Trent and moved to Zambia during the 80s.

The onset of those years came with some surprises. Ann didn't know anything about the place they were moving to and within days of arrival in Zambia she was horrified to find "they didn't have English-type pubs, toilet rolls were an endangered species and ants were the size of small cats".

Always a keen letter writer, Ann would often entertain her friends with tales of various adventures and calamities, and it was they who persuaded Ann to write about her life in Africa.

The book completes the period Ann and her family spent in Zambia before moving to South Africa

The 69-year-old author, who has lived in Alhaurin el Grande with her husband Ziggy since 2011, has a penchant to take awkward, near disastrous or embarrassing situations and make them funny. The first two books in the trilogy have been best-sellers on Amazon and she has received five-star reviews praising the 'witty, optimistic, sardonic, informative and touching content'.

The final instalment of the trilogy guides the reader through the family's final years living in Lusaka. However, the author confesses that the book proved more difficult than the previous.

"I must admit that this final book in the Zambia trilogy was more difficult for me to write than the first two. When writing I had to rely much more on my memory. Despite my initial qualms about recollection, this book has turned out to be considerably longer than the first two," the author explains.

Her books are neither travelogues nor indepth looks at African culture: they are about a family who moved to Zambia with no idea of what was ahead.

Ann and her family, which, by then, included three children and several dogs, eventually left Zambia and moved to South Africa - where they lived for 22 years. She says there are plenty more books to come about this chapter of her life.

"Whilst Much More into Africa completed the period of time spent living in Zambia back in the eighties, we then moved down to South Africa. It was immediately obvious that our lives there would offer a completely different array of African experiences," Ann declares.

The official book launch will be held in the Boma Pub in Alhaurin el Grande today (Friday) from 4pm.
Kaia Gerber can rock everything from couture to casual.

The 18-year-old burgeoning supermodel stepped out of her Manhattan apartment to head to fittings on Friday.

Gerber was casual and covered up in a wool coat and jeans as she headed out to Brooklyn during New York Fashion Week, which kicked off this week.

Work day: Kaia Gerber stepped out of her apartment dressed down on her way to fittings in Brooklyn for New York Fashion Week, on Friday

The daughter of Cindy Crawford sported a dark pair of shades and a black knit beanie when she headed out to work.

Kaia wore a simple pair of relaxed fit jeans with a V-neck sweater under a mens long wool coat.

She made a no-so-fashionable choice for footwear, however, and opted for a pair of thick grey wool socks and sandals.

The catwalker was escorted out of her building by a helpful man holding an umbrella over her head and she slung a tote bag over one shoulder.

Casual: The daughter of Cindy Crawford sported a dark pair of shades and a black knit beanie when she headed out to work

Keeping it simple: Kaia wore a simple pair of relaxed fit jeans with a V-neck sweater under a mens long wool coat

Just a night before a much more glamorous version of the starlet stepped out to celebrate her collaboration with Jimmy Choo at an event for NYFW.

Gerber was every bit a supermodel rocking a slinky silver mesh gown with a low-cut neckline and a pair of black heels.

Choo brought in Kaia for their spring 2020 campaign and also had her work on a capsule collection called Jimmy Choo And Kaia which includes a four piece collection.

Comfort is key: She made a no-so-fashionable choice for footwear, however, and opted for a pair of thick grey wool socks and sandals

Like mother, like daughter: Kaia is busier than ever this week as a sought after catwalker during NYFW

'Kaia is a modern supermodel,' said Sandra Choi, the companys creative director, in a statement.

'She represents the archetypal Jimmy Choo muse for a new era. Off the catwalk, Kaia has a signature personal style that is the epitome of effortless cool.'

'I jumped at the chance to work with Sandra on my dream capsule of shoe and boot styles,' Gerber said. 'It was such an honor to be able to brainstorm creatively and I am so thrilled with the result.'

Impressive: Just a night before a much more glamorous version of the starlet stepped out to celebrate her collaboration with Jimmy Choo which includes a four piece capsule collection

Doing good: Kaia will be giving away 15% of the collection's proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, describing the charity as 'closely connected to my family'

Kaia will be giving away 15% of the collection's proceeds to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, describing the charity as 'closely connected to my family.'

A few years ago her mom Cindy worked with St. Jude on a Dream Home Giveaway where participants bought in for $100 for a chance to win a house.

'I know firsthand what it's like to lose a family member to this terrible disease, which is why I'm so committed to St. Jude's mission,' said Cindy, who was 10 when her younger brother died of lymphoblastic leukemia, according to PR Newswire.
WASHINGTON - The White House is throwing its support behind a plan to transfer the U.S. Secret Service back to the Treasury Department to better focus on the growing threat of online financial crimes.

Shifting the agency from within the Department of Homeland Security to the Treasury would require action from Congress, but President Donald Trump is confident enough that he plans to include the Secret Service under the Treasurys budget in his proposal expected Monday, according to five administration officials with knowledge of the move. The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing negotiations.

The Department of Homeland Securitys intense focus on immigration has only added to the growing divide between what the Secret Service sees as its dual missions  protecting the president and investigating financial crime  and the mission of its parent department.

But there are strong concerns the Secret Services departure could lead to the eventual dismantling of DHS, which was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks as a counterterrorism agency bringing together security agencies across the government.

The Secret Service is best known as the agency responsible for protecting the president, but its original purpose when it was formed in 1865 was to investigate financial crimes such as counterfeit money proliferating during the Civil War. It was housed under the Treasury until 2003, when it was transferred to the new Department of Homeland Security.

Only about half of the Secret Services budget is spent on protective services. It also has a robust cybercrime division, state-of-the-art forensic labs and a threat assessment centre that studies how to mitigate and train against threats. The agencys annual budget of about $2.3 billion would shift from one department to another under Trumps proposal.

In the Trump era, DHS has been highly focused on immigration, one of the Republican presidents top priorities, leaving other agencies unrelated to immigration out of the spotlight.

The biggest challenge has been the presidents immigration focus, Rep. Bennie Thompson, the head of the House Homeland Security Committee, told the AP. The immigration focus takes up a lot of the resources for DHS. Its been very difficult for Secret Service to be fully funded. 

Department of Homeland Security officials initially pushed back against shifting the Secret Service back to the Treasury, concerned it could spark an exodus from other agencies contained within DHS, a 240,000-person department that also includes disaster relief, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Transportation Security Administration, according to the officials. DHS referred questions to the White House.

The Secret Service is part of a unique cohort that gets lost in the massive bureaucracy, said Breanne Deppisch, who studies the topic for the Aspen Institute think-tank .

Deppisch said she feared the news could be a blow to other non-immigration agencies at Homeland Security, specifically the newly formed Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, tasked with election security. She worried it could deepen recruitment problems at other agencies and lower morale, which is already low department-wide.

Its not the first time such a move has been considered in recent years. After a high-profile prostitution scandal in 2012 and other missteps, Democrats and Republicans in Congress debated whether the agency should be relocated, broken up or shrunk.

A feasibility study was completed last year from a working group of Homeland Security, the Treasury and the White House, and the results found that moving the Secret Service would help enhance collaboration in the Treasury and would put the Secret Service back on the map as a large law enforcement agency, though it could harm morale at Homeland Security.

DHS employees, members of Congress and staff, the homeland security committee  may perceive a weakened DHS with the loss of Secret Service, the working group wrote in the report. Such a loss could open DHS up to additional reforms or reorganizations, perhaps even some involving the transfer or dismantling of other operating components, further weakening the department at a critical time in its development.

The Secret Service would be the second largest agency at the Treasury after the Internal Revenue Service, which could result in more attention and a morale boost for staff, according to the report, initially published by The New York Times and obtained by the AP. It would give the Treasury back a law enforcement and investigative capability to protect financial infrastructure and payment systems.

Secret Service leadership recommended the move, according to the report.

The Secret Service has been involved in discussions regarding the potential move and is appreciative of the active interest in advancing its integrated mission according to an agency statement.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Fox Business this week that he expected legislation to be introduced soon.

We think it will very much help us in combating money laundering and terrorist activities, he said of the move.

He approached the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee with the proposal, and they were open to it. But it may not be that simple to convince lawmakers  not all senators with a stake in the agency voiced support, and some House Democrats are strongly against it.

Rep. Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said he recognized the challenges the agency faces in the current climate, but jumping ship isnt the right answer and he opposed the move.

From the standpoint of what they do, intelligence, analysis, and threat mitigation, theyre better situated within DHS, he said.

Democratic Sen. Diane Feinsteins office said as part of the proposal she asked to include reports on the cost of presidential travel to include details of presidents families, too, to provide greater transparency, accountability and oversight.

Trump signalled a few weeks ago that he approved of the Secret Service transfer.

The President and his administration support the bipartisan efforts of Senator Lindsey Graham and Senator Dianne Feinstein to return the Secret Service to its historic home at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. This transfer will improve the Secret Services ability to carry out its integrated, dual mission of protection and investigations.

The head of a union representing Secret Service agents said he hadnt seen the proposal.

The first presidential protection job for the agency came in 1894, when it started protecting President Grover Cleveland. Agents eventually began protecting other government officials including Cabinet members and presidential candidates.
(Photo : EUTERS/Sergio Perez) Qualcomm and 5G logos are seen at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain

Organizers are determined to push through with the MWC Barcelona event this 2020, despite fears of the coronavirus infection spreading throughout the world. This year's MWC will emphasize mobile connections, which has now grown to over 9 billion and counting.

GSMA, the organization behind MWC Barcelona 2020, is known best for the annual GLOMO Awards (also better known as the Global Mobile Awards), which recognizes the achievements and efforts of players in the mobile connectivity world and related industries.

Read Also: Huawei Official Says 5G is the 'New Electricity'

Big companies determined to attend MWC Barcelona despite coronavirus fears

Though some companies have decided to sit this one out (such as LG Electronics), others have chosen to confirm their presence at this year's MWC Barcelona event. Major Chinese company ZTE will open a booth at the event but canceled its press conference there.

Some companies that will definitely be attending are Honor, Vivo, Xiaomi, Motorola, Lenovo, and Qualcomm. To calm fears about possible coronavirus spread, GSMA will be providing medical support, initiate disinfection protocols, and advise those who will attend the event to cooperate with rules meant to safeguard health, such as avoiding shaking hands of fellow participants. However, there is some uncertainty as to how organizers will successfully prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which is usually conveyed airborne through coughing or sneezing. One precaution is the distribution of masks to participants of the trade event.

5G Mobile Phones to be Introduced?

The 5G mobile phone technology may be introduced in MWC Barcelona, even though 5G mobile phones are already in use by the public to an extent. Many cellphone retailers and manufacturers have already started offering 5G-ready mobile phones to the public slowly. Nevertheless, this will be a significant introduction of the technology to a community of professionals involved in mobile connectivity somehow. One company, ZTE, will be showcasing 5G technology during the event. 5G mobile devices are reputed to be faster and offer more dependable smartphone connectivity compared to previous 4G technology. However, older smartphones might not have the hardware required to accommodate 5G technology - hence, the public is encouraged to buy 5G-ready mobile phones.

Read Also: How a Risky Court Decision Can Give China the Lead in 5G Technology

MWC Barcelona enters the 25th year of service

MWC Barcelona is the biggest gathering of companies and organizations involved in mobile communication throughout the world (and that includes those pushing for 5G mobile phone technology adoption globally.) These participants include Internet companies, equipment providers, software companies, device and handset manufacturers, and mobile operators. Companies may introduce their latest products and services (such as apps, mobile products, devices, and services) during the 2020 event. Over 100,000 people based in more than 200 countries might attend the event this year in Barcelona, Spain.

This 2020 marks the 25th anniversary of MWC Barcelona. MWC Barcelona will be officially held from Feb. 24 up to 27. The event itself is valued at 492 million euros, which shows its economic impact on the global mobile connectivity industry.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Ford Motor executive Joe Hinrichs will retire and the company is naming Jim Farley as chief operating officer, the automaker said in a surprise announcement Friday.

It said Farley, currently chief of new business and technology, will take over broader responsibilities from Hinrichs, who is president of the automotive division. Those responsibilities include all global markets and automotive, the company said. Farley will continue reporting to President and CEO Jim Hackett, who has been under fire from Wall Street regarding progress on an $11 billion global restructuring plan.

Shares of the company dropped to a new 52-week low Friday morning before recovering to $8.11 per share, down about 1.7%. Ford stock is down less than 1% in the past year but has fallen 11.3% in 2020.

Hinrich's departure is unexpected. Despite the company calling it a retirement, Hackett made it seem he didn't believe Hinrich's career was over: "Joe's going to have a wonderful career," the CEO told reporters. Hinrichs, 53, was not available for comment.

Hinrichs was at the White House on Jan. 29 representing the automaker as President Donald Trump signed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. He also was on the automaker's fourth-quarter earnings call with investors on Tuesday.
Donald Trump says the United States has killed the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

The U.S. president's statement said Qassim al-Raymi committed, quote, 'unconscionable violence' against civilians in Yemen, and sought to 'conduct and inspire' numerous attacks against the United States and its forces.

This is Raymi in a video Reuters obtained back in 2015, speaking after the death of his predecessor.

Washington sees Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula as one of the deadliest branches of the network founded by Osama bin Laden.

Reports in Yemen in recent days suggested Raymi was killed in a drone strike in Marib.

Reuters was unable to verify those reports.

Trump didn't say when Raymi was killed.

Earlier this week, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility for a fatal shooting at a U.S. naval base in Florida back in December.

But it provided no evidence.

A U.S. government source said Washington didn't believe the claim and that the Yemen branch of Al Qaeda could have circulated it to counter the reports about the killing of Raymi.
Northern Irish militants hoped a bomb they planted on a haulage lorry last week would take a ferry across the Irish Sea and explode in Britain at the time it left the European Union, police said on Thursday.

Police first received a telephoned warning via a media outlet on January 31 that there was a bomb in a lorry in Belfast docks which was due to go by ferry to Scotland from British-run Northern Ireland, but they could not find the vehicle.

The ferry sailed and arrived safely on the day Britain left the EU - an exit that proved highly divisive in Northern Ireland.

On Monday, police received a second phone call, this time providing the name of the haulage company the lorry belonged to, which led them to the vehicle which had never left Northern Ireland.

They did intend, we believe, and they said, that the device would explode at around the time the UK left the EU, Assistant chief Constable George Clarke told a news conference on Thursday.

The police said the bomb was planted by pro-Irish militants known as dissidents who oppose the 1998 Good Friday peace accord and have continued a low level campaign of violence.

The explosive device was found attached to a heavy goods vehicle in the Silverwood Industrial Estate in the town of Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The police said the device put the driver of the vehicle, road users, and the wider public at serious risk of injury and possible death.
Three men have been jailed for life today for stabbing an 18-year-old man to death in a 'brutal attack' outside a university.

Fahad Nur, 18, suffered 21 horrific knife wounds after he was chased into a lane next to Cardiff University by Abdulgalil Aldobhani, 22, his brother Mustafa, 21, and friend Shafique Shaddad, 25.

The two brothers and their friend chased Mr Nur through the streets before trapping him in a lane in a 'calculated pursuit'.

Prosecutor Michael Jones QC said: 'They chased their 18-year-old victim through the streets before trapping him in a lane and then stabbing him to death.

Fahad Nur (pictured), 18, was stabbed to death after he was chased into a lane next to Cardiff University

Brothers Abdulgalil Aldobhani (left), 22, and Mustafa Aldobhani (right), 21, killed Mr Nur in a 'brutal attack' outside the university

Shafique Shaddad (pictured), 25, was among the three men who chased and killed Mr Nur on June 2

'He had in effect been cut off and corralled into that lane.

'This was a determined and calculated pursuit and a relentless, determined and brutal attack.

'Such was the ferocity of the attack that he sustained 21 knife wounds.'

Cardiff Crown Court heard students at the university found Mr Nur bloodied in the alley and doormen from the nearby Students Union rushed to carry out CPR.

The teenager had been stabbed through the heart and could not be saved after the attack in the early hours of June 2.

The court heard Abdulgalil Aldobhani later tried to flee to Morocco after the killing - but was arrested at Heathrow Airport with his girlfriend.

Shaddad, was arrested three days later but the Aldobhanis fled first to Birmingham before travelling to Heathrow.

Abdulgalil Aldobhani was arrested at Terminal Two with his girlfriend Aseel Arar, 35, who had purchased them one-way tickets to Morocco.

The court heard wraps of drugs and 780 in cash was found on Fahad's clothes.

The brothers and their friend chased Mr Nur through the streets before trapping him in a lane. Pictured: Forensics and Police at the scene of the crime

A police officer stands at the scene of the crime after Mr Nur was left with 21 knife wounds

Pictured: CCTV footage of the killers fleeing the scene of the crime in the early hours of June 2

Mustafa Aldobhani, Abdulgalil Aldobhani, and Shaddad, all of Cardiff, were found guilty of murder after a nine week trial.

Arar, of Brimingham, was convicted of assisting an offender.

Mustafa Aldobhani was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22-and-a-half years.

Abdulgalil Aldobhani was jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years and Shaddad was jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.

Judge Mr Justice Hillard said: 'Fahad Nur was stabbed 21 times, including to his chest, back and legs.

'One wound went right through his left hand. The fatal stab wound was to his heart.

'In my judgement this was a very tight knit joint enterprise indeed. Everyone was playing an important part for the common purpose.'
At the end of January, twenty-year conscript Vahram Mkrtichevich Avakyan was killed in one of the military units deployed on the territory of the self-proclaimed Karabakh. The investigation hastened to identify the incident as a suicide, however, the relatives of the deceased did not agree with the assumptions of the investigators and refused to bury the young man until the circumstances of his death were clarified.

The incident caused widespread public outcry, as a result of which, during the second investigation, Avakyans colleagues David Movsisyan, Khachik Gasparyan, Spartak Avetisyan, who were suspected of committing suicide, were detained. The fact that the detained Movsisyan is the son of the former deputy of the Armenian parliament Arakel Movsisyan adds fuel to the fire.

In Armenia, its no secret that the offspring of the heroes of the Karabakh war or Armenian officials, if they do not study abroad but are forced to do military service at home, may require special attention. This is facilitated by the "ideals" that have become established in society - the status of a parent, his abilities and connections can greatly affect the position of a conscript in the course of his military service. This is especially noticeable in regions in which people's capabilities are largely limited.

According to the Armenian Statistical Committee, more than 20% of the population still lives in the republic below the poverty line. Financial and labor constraints or lack of prospects are the factor that makes profitable relationships of particular value. This may be reflected in the patronage of the children of high-ranking or financially successful persons by the Armenian security forces, including the military. In this case, the concealment of the "pranks of the golden youth" becomes not just a mundane affair, but rather profitable, since such patronage allows you to gain promising support.

This is especially true of the so-called heroes of the Karabakh conflict, which the current Armenian ideology has elevated to the rank of idols. Many of them improved their financial and social situation, as well as their influence in society due to dubious achievements during the period of interethnic conflict.

The increased mental stress experienced by conscripts during the course of service can contribute to the transition to interpersonal conflicts at the household level. Psychological stress in a closed male team can lead to irreversible consequences. Pressure from colleagues with the connivance of the command affects the human mind, breaking the will to live.

The Armenian army has not been reformed since the collapse of the USSR, but was replenished and updated with new and purchased types of modern weapons, which was widely circulated in the national media. It is not necessary to expect that significant structural changes have taken place in the army itself and that it has got rid of all vestiges of the past.

Hazing in the army scares Armenian society more than the likely escalation of the conflict. The tragedy of Vahram Avakyan is not the only one in the modern history of the republic. At the end of last year, Armenia was shocked by the death of conscript Arthur Adjamyan, whose relatives also doubted the version of suicide. In November 2019, conscript Eric Harutyunyan was found wounded in the chin in the armory of one of the Armenian military units, who later died.

The main resources for informal dominance among colleagues were physical strength, moral-volitional qualities and country ties. Accordingly, the parents of conscripts, already worried about the unresolved conflict, are forced to constantly be in tension from how belonging to a territorial group will affect the future of conscripts. In other words, how the "Karabakh people" will refer to the "Gyumri people" or "Yerevan residents" is not known.

The attitude towards the military in Armenia has changed significantly lately, as the army carefully conceals cases of crimes. The state strives at all costs to prevent image losses, therefore it does not allow criticism of the military and tries to negotiate with the relatives of the killed conscripts.

In the militaristic rhetoric of modern Armenian ideology, the army plays a decisive role, as it inspires the population with confidence in the inviolability of the Armenian position in the unsettled Karabakh conflict. The authorities and law enforcement bodies artificially lower the number of killings, since recognition of the fact that the Armenian army is dangerous primarily for Armenia itself, eloquently demonstrates that all the myths about the order and its fighting efficiency are in fact nothing more than a bluff.
Saudi Arabia has turned down Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans demand for an urgent, standalone meet of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Kashmir.

According to an Economic Times report, Saudi Arabia was reluctant to carry out these talks as the OIC would be busy with preparations for the Senior Officials Meeting to be held in Jeddah as part of the Council of Foreign Ministers meet on February 9.

The report noted that OIC members met after the abrogation of Article 370 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session in New York. However, there has been no independent meet to just discuss Kashmir.

The report also noted that the Imran Khan government had unsuccessfully tried to get Saudi Arabia's backing for the urgent Kashmir meet when its Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan had come to Pakistan.

The report noted that Pakistan has been making these efforts because Riyadh's approval is an accepted prerequisite for any OIC move.

The report also noted that Khan vented his frustration over the matter at a recent visit to Malaysia. We have no voice; we are divided. We cant even agree to hold an OIC meeting on Kashmir, said Khan.

While, Saudi continues to be neutral on the matter, the report also noted that the UAE's stance on abrogation of Article 370 was an internal matterof India.
The future of Palm Avenue is finally in Imperial Beachs hands.

Four years ago, the city began the process of assuming local control over Palm Avenue from Caltrans. Imperial Beach completed the process, officially known as relinquishment, in September.

That means developing property along Palm Avenue is now less complicated.

That road, one of two commercial corridors in Imperial Beach, has largely been underused in terms of development. Even though the area is zoned for mixed-use commercial development, the road is mostly filled with dated, single-story strip malls.

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Development often stalled because property owners need to get their plans approved by two regulatory agencies  Caltrans and the city of Imperial Beach.

Because Caltrans regulated where curb cuts go, and because curb cuts play a big role in the overall design of a development, Imperial Beach often asked applicants to get approval from the state agency first. Oftentimes, when developers were told to go to Caltrans, they would lose interest in the project, said Imperial Beach Assistant City Manager Steve Dush.

A lot of people really just didnt want to go through that headache because there was a lot of unknown, Dush said. Once you start dealing with multiple, layered governmental agencies, then things can get a little uncertain.

Now that the city has control, Imperial Beach is the only regulatory agency involved. The city expects this will spur economic growth by generating more development along Palm Avenue.

South County Economic Development Council officials believe this could impact the entire region.

Palm Avenue is the gateway to South County beaches, CEO Cindy Gompper-Graves recently told the City Council. We can make it what it could be, and what is should be.

Palm Avenue runs the length of Imperial Beach, from Georgia Avenue to just south of the Silver Strand. Properties on both sides of the road are zoned mixed-use commercial and have a wide range of possible uses including residential, commercial, hotels, office space, restaurant and retail.

Property owners along Palm Avenue have already reached out to the city.

A lot of developers who have been kicking the tires for a number of years are really starting to get more interested, Dush said. We anticipate a lot of formal development applications to start coming in.

One of those applications includes the old El Camino Hotel just north of Panchos Taco Shop. The hotel was featured on the 2007 HBO series, John From Cincinnati, about a dysfunctional surf family from Imperial Beach.

The owner recently submitted a formal application to develop the now-vacant lot, Dush said.

Imperial Beach started the relinquishment process more than four years ago.

We have been waiting a long time for this day, Councilman Ed Spriggs said when the city finished the process in September.

First, the city requested a report from Caltrans regarding the physical condition of the road. Based on that report, the state offered to give Imperial Beach less than a million dollars to assume local control. That money was meant to pay for necessary repairs.

The city hired an outside engineering firm to do their own assessment.

Its like buying a used car, Dush said. You want to take it to a mechanic before you buy it so you know what youre buying.

The citys assessment concluded that Palm Avenue required more than $7 million in repairs. Ultimately, the state gave Imperial Beach $5.3 million.

Those are one-time funds. Once they run out, Imperial Beach will be on the hook for maintenance and operation of Palm Avenue.

Imperial Beach plans to stretch the $5.3 million by applying for various matching grants and having developers contribute to the ongoing transformation of Palm Avenue.

An added bonus of local control is that the city can make Palm Avenue more pedestrian and bicycle friendly by adding bike lanes, landscaping and changing the length of the sidewalks.

The city is also looking into synchronizing the traffic lights to make driving through the road more efficient.

Imperial Beach wants to make the area safer for pedestrians by painting crosswalks on the Palm Avenue intersections.

Mayor Serge Dedina said he spent four years trying to get Caltrans to paint a crosswalk on 13th Street and Palm Avenue to no avail. The city was able to do it within a month of assuming local control.

Its one of those little things that was driving me crazy, Dedina said about the lack of a crosswalk.

Additionally, the city expects the added benefits, including potential property, sales and hotel tax revenues, will improve the eastern part of Imperial Beach.

If you look at the history of IB, the historical focus was on the beachfront with little success, Dedina said. The city just ignored Palm Avenue to its own detriment so thats what we really want to focus on with economic development and housing in that area.

Contact Gustavo Solis via Email or Twitter
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

A bill introduced this week at the Roundhouse would allocate funds for private water well testing in Roosevelt and Curry counties that would screen for toxic chemicals found in a firefighting foam used at the states Air Force bases.

Senate Bill 275, introduced by Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, and Sen. Pat Woods, R-Broadview, calls for $700,000 to be appropriated to the New Mexico Environment Department to test private drinking water and agricultural water sources.

Firefighting foam used for decades at Cannon Air Force Base contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. Those waterproof chemicals  employed at military sites and used in Teflon and Scotchgard  leaked into groundwater on and near Cannon, the Air Force confirmed in 2018.

At this point, we dont know how our citizens have been affected  and we need to know, Woods said in a statement.

The forever chemicals from Cannon have devastated nearby Highland Dairy. Farmer Art Schaap has been unable to sell his cows milk or meat ever since his animals tested for excessive levels of the PFAS.

Ingle said it was imperative to assess the risk of exposure to humans and livestock.

NMED has already tested public water supplies on and near Cannon and Holloman Air Force bases. Those tests did not find concerning levels of the PFAS.

The New Mexico Department of Health has worked with some private well owners for voluntary tests.

Federal studies show the chemicals can cause low birth weights, high cholesterol and certain cancers.

Theresa Davis is a Report for America corps member covering water and the environment for the Albuquerque Journal.
Dewas district collector in Madhya Pradesh has issued notices to a sand mining company asking why a fine of 300 crore should not be imposed on it for illegally transporting sand, officials said on Friday.

District collector Shrikant Pandey issues two notices to Digiana Industries Pvt Ltd, Indore, on February 3 and 6 asking why fines of 142 crore and 163 crore should not be imposed for illegal sand transportation.

The notice on February 3, 2020, issued to the company director, Tejinder Pal Singh, said that 1.02 lakh cubic metre of sand from a mine at village Dhundhyakhedi in Dewas district, was illegally extracted. This was revealed during an inquiry conducted on February 2, 2020. The notice said: Since the said amount of sand was supposed to be illegally transported why not a fine of 81.92 crore in case of compounding and 163 crore in case of non-compounding be imposed.

Pandey said the company director has been asked to reply within seven days of the receipt of the notices. Otherwise, action will be taken, he said.

In his response, Singh said, The fact is I have paid more royalty to the government on the sand stocked. There is no charge of illegal mining against me as mines were allotted to me. Surprisingly, I have been asked to pay penalty despite the fact I have abandoned the mines. He said, I will certainly reply to the notices and if the collector doesnt listen to my side I will be free to move the court.
Astronomers have identified the first reliable pattern of a fast radio burst (FRB) source in deep space, but still don't know what causes the phenomenon.

Such signals have baffled scientists since their discovery in 2014, as their origin is a complete mystery.

But scientists have now found one sporadic radio burst source 500million light years away expressing a specific pattern.

It belts out a signal for a few milliseconds once every hour, every hour for four days. It then goes silent for 12 days before resuming its 16 day cycle.

This is the first time a FRB pattern has been spotted by astronomers but the underlying reasons are unknown.

However, scientists have all but ruled out alien communication as 16 days for a message would be impractical and inefficient.

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Scientists have now found one sporadic radio burst source 500million light years away expressing a specific pattern. It belts out a signal for a few milliseconds once every hour, every hour for four days. It then goes silent for 12 days before beginning again (stock)

The pattern was discovered after 400 days of observations by researchers at CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment).

Some radio bursts detected on Earth are one-offs, coming from a random space and never seen again.

But some repeat several times, although it was previously believed this was done at random.

Now the astronomers at CHIME, who declined to comment on the finding, proved this not to be the case by studying FRB 180916.

'This is very significant,' Duncan Lorimer, an astrophysicist at West Virginia University in Morgantown, told Science news.

'It's potentially going to take us in an interesting direction to get to the bottom of these repeaters.'

No explanation has yet been found, but astronomers speculate it may be due to its source being in orbit.

'Such a periodicity, if confirmed, would be the first smoking-gun signature [of any particular property of an FRB source], which points towards very likely orbital motion,' Bing Zhang at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told New Scientist.

It would mean two objects in orbit around one another would complete their journey every 16 days, with Earth receiving signals on the four days when the world is not blocked by its neighbour.

Astronomers have identified the first reliable fast radio burst coming from deep space using CHIME(pictured), but still don't know what causes the phenomenon. This is the first time a pattern has been spotted by astronomers but the underlying reasons are unknown. However, scientists have ruled out alien communication

Scientists do not know if the repeating signal is an anomaly or the norm and have to contend with the possibility they have been looking for radio bursts in the wrong way for several years.

Since the first discovery in 2014, models have been looking for randomness specifically.

However, this revelation will allow them to narrow down the scope of their search.

Leon Oostrum at the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy told New Scientist that despite the fact they do not know what causes the signals, they think they can safely say they do know what did not cause it.

'If it were an alien beacon I would think it would emit more quickly, because a 16-day period is not efficient for communication,' Dr Oostrum says.

'Imagine getting one signal every 16 days  it would take forever to get a message.'
By PTI

LONDON: Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a "disastrous turn of events" in the telecom market in India, his lawyers told a UK court on Friday as they fought a bid by top Chinese banks to recover USD 680 million from the Indian businessman.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012.

Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK - the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At a hearing at the Commercial Division of the High Court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the "conditional order" granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account.

"The value of Mr Ambani's investments has collapsed since 2012.

The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian government's change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum," notes his defence.

"Whereas Mr Ambani's investments were worth more than USD 7 billion in 2012, they are now worth USD 89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account. Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not," said his barrister Robert Howe.

The banks' counsel called Ambani's claims into question and repeatedly referred to his "lavish lifestyle", involving access to 11 or so luxury cars, a private jet, a yacht and rent-free access to the exclusive Seawind penthouse in South Mumbai.

"So, Mr Ambani's assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India," questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing.

Ambani's legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play.

"The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of USD 700 million into court," said Howe.

At the end of the hearing on Friday, the judge indicated that he will hand down his judgement later in the day.

The Chinese banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China -- represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been "at best economical with the truth" in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means.

They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambani's defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans.

"Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons can't help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order," said Thanki, who claimed Ambani's evidence was akin to the proverbial "glossy lipstick on the collar" in terms of some "blatant" lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case.

"ADA's (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world.

He has an estimated net worth of USD 55 to 57 billion," notes the banks' defence.

"Despite all of this, ADA has failed to address in any detail the possibility of financial assistance being provided by Mukesh or any other member of his family," it notes.

At the last hearing in the case in December last year, Justice Waksman said he was "very nearly prepared" to grant judgment against Ambani because he found the RCom chief's evidence "inexplicably incomplete, implausible and highly unlikely".

"I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false. I consider that this is a plain case for the making of a conditional order," Justice Waksman said, as he granted a conditional order in principle to the Chinese banks.

The order means the High Court, after hearing arguments on Ambani's financial means this week, will set an appropriate amount as an effective court deposit pending a full trial in the case.

On December 16, when the UK High Court dismissed an application filed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited for a 'summary judgement' in its claims of USD 680 million against Ambani, a spokesperson of the RCom boss had said: "Ambani was confident that he will have an opportunity to place the necessary evidence before the UK High Court, in the course of the trial to establish that Chinese banks claim are without any merit".

The spokesperson said in a statement that Ambani was confident that his position would be fully vindicated once all the facts and the entire evidence is before the Court.
President Donald Trump fired two key impeachment witnesses Friday, dismissing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council, and US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland.

An adviser to Trump said the firings of the major impeachment witnesses was meant to send a message that siding against the President will not be tolerated.

"Flushing out the pipes," the adviser told CNN. "It was necessary."

Vindman was pushed out of his role Friday months earlier than expected, according to a statement from his attorney. Vindman was not slated to leave until July, but had been telling colleagues in recent weeks he would likely leave soon.

Sondland said in a statement Friday that he is being recalled from his post.

"I was advised today that the President intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union," Sondland said. "I am grateful to President Trump for having given me the opportunity to serve, to Secretary Pompeo for his consistent support, and to the exceptional and dedicated professionals at the U.S. Mission to the European Union. I am proud of our accomplishments. Our work here has been the highlight of my career."

The dismissals appear to be retribution for Vindman and Sondland's explosive testimonies to the House impeachment probe late last year, both of which were done under subpoena. The duo gave some of the most damning testimony to House impeachment investigators during last fall's public hearings and quickly became targets for Trump's supporters, both inside and outside of government. The firings come two days after the Senate voted to acquit Trump on two articles of impeachment in votes that were largely along party lines.

Trump had continued to fume privately about Vindman's testimony during the impeachment inquiry and foreshadowed his dismissal earlier Friday.

"Well, I'm not happy with him," Trump said. "You think I'm supposed to be happy with him? I'm not."

Sondland's ties to the White House and Trump had deteriorated since his testimony. A person familiar with the situation says Sondland's ties to the White House and Trump had frayed badly since he testified last year. He once had Trump effectively on speed-dial, or the presidential equivalent of it, but since his appearance he hasn't spoken with Trump. He was also pulled from overseeing the Ukraine portfolio, which wasn't directly related to his position as EU ambassador.

Vindman dismissed early

Vindman, a decorated veteran who was born in Ukraine, was escorted out of the White House by security and told his services were no longer needed, according to his lawyer, David Pressman.

Pressman said in a statement that it is clear he was fired for testifying in the impeachment probe.

"There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House," Pressman said. "LTC Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful."

He added, "Truth is not partisan. If we allow truthful voices to be silenced, if we ignore their warnings, eventually there will be no one left to warn us."

His twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, a National Security Council attorney, was also fired, "suddenly and with no explanation, despite over two decades of loyal service to this country," Pressman said, and walked off the White House grounds alongside Alex Vindman.

Yevgeny Vindman had never testified or spoke publicly about the Ukraine saga. "He deeply regrets that he will not be able to continue his service at the White House," Pressman said in a statement.

Before the impeachment inquiry was launched, the Vindman brothers often arrived at work together.

National Security Council spokesman John Ullyot said: "We do not comment on personnel matters."

Vindman is expected to return to the Pentagon, though it's still unclear what his assignment will be until he's expected to attend war college this summer.

"We welcome back all of our service members, wherever they serve, to any assignment they are given," Defense Secretary Mark Esper had said Friday when asked about Vindman's expected ouster.

"We can confirm that both Lt. Cols. Vindman have been reassigned to the Department of the Army, out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing any further information at this time," an Army spokesperson said.

The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Hyten, told CNN that "it will be up to the Army" to determine where Alex Vindman goes next. "But I'm sure there's still room for his talents in the United States Army, it's just not in the current job," he said.

While Vindman had only learned from news reports late Thursday night of the potential White House plan to fire him, he'd been steeling himself for this moment since he testified in Trump's impeachment hearing in November, according to a source familiar.

Of the friends and family reaching out in support of the Purple Heart recipient amid the subsequent attacks from Trump and his allies, some also warned of likely retribution.

One source who spoke with Vindman recently said the veteran originally hoped he could continue to be effective in his role at the National Security Council post-testimony, but was quickly marginalized when he returned to work.

"Alex was a bit naive about it at first -- because he believed that since he did what he thought was right, things would work out," a source close to him said. "But it eventually became clear that wasn't how things were going to go this time."

Vindman had told lawmakers during his November congressional testimony that he reported concerns about Trump's July 25 call with the leader of Ukraine to the top National Security Council lawyer within hours of the call, and that some of the changes he tried to make to the since-published transcript were left out, though he didn't say why.

Vindman also told lawmakers that later, he was told not to discuss the call with anyone else.

Vindman -- who was awarded a Purple Heart for his service in Iraq after being wounded in an IED attack and still carries shrapnel from the attack in his body, according to a source close to him -- also told lawmakers how his family had fled to the US from the Soviet Union when he was a child.

"The privilege of serving my country is not only rooted in my military service, but also in my personal history. I sit here, as a lieutenant colonel in the United States Army, an immigrant," he said. "My family fled the Soviet Union when I was three-and-a-half years old. Upon arriving in New York City in 1979, my father worked multiple jobs to support us, all the while learning English at night. He stressed to us the importance of fully integrating into our adopted country."

Vindman served multiple overseas tours, including in South Korea and Germany in addition to his deployment to Iraq, according to his prepared remarks.

But now the intense and public backlash from the President and his supporters has put Vindman's future in the military in question.

"If Alex could stay in the Army forever he would. If he could go continue his career without [the impeachment testimony] following him around for the rest of his life, he would. But it's not clear he can," said a source familiar with the situation.

Sondland connected Trump to quid pro quo

Sondland's dismissal comes nearly three months after he connected Trump directly to the "quid pro quo" trading Ukrainian investigations into Trump's political opponents for official actions, including a White House meeting, during damning testimony before House impeachment investigators.

Sondland, a political appointee and hotel magnate with no background in government before joining the Trump administration, testified in November that he was working with Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine matters at the "express direction of the President of the United States."

He also recounted several conversations between himself and Trump about Ukraine opening two investigations: one into Burisma, a company where former Vice President Joe Biden's son was on the board, and another into conspiracies about Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 US election.

"Everyone was in the loop. It was no secret. Everyone was informed via email on July 19, days before the presidential call," Sondland said.

While Sondland said Trump had never expressly told him that US military assistance was contingent on Ukraine announcing investigations into Burisma and the 2016 election, the ambassador said he was "under the impression that, absolutely, it was contingent."

Though the new comments corroborated testimony from other witnesses and contradicted Trump, who had said all along that there was no quid pro quo with Ukraine, he didn't go as far as some of the other witnesses in his statements.

Sondland said Trump withheld a White House invitation from the new Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, until Zelensky announced the investigations. Other witnesses testified that US military assistance was also part of the quid pro quo, but Sondland said Trump never mentioned the foreign aid component.

Still, the testimony ruined Sondland's standing in Trump's orbit.

"Sondland was a dead man walking," a current US official told CNN. "We all knew it was coming and it was going to happen fast, it was just a question of when Trump was going to do it."

Even other US ambassadors who were appointed by Trump and had been close to Sondland tried to maintain an arms-length distance from him, knowing that Trump had turned on him, the official said.

A source close to Sondland told CNN "there's no other job for him" in the Trump administration. He had resisted resigning, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

In Brussels, a diplomatic source told CNN that Sondland had seen his status diminished in the eyes of his diplomatic counterparts. They want to work with someone who has proximity to the President, and after Sondland testified, it was clear he didn't, the source said.

Sondland, who was confirmed to the ambassador role in June 2018, has been a player in Republican politics for a number of years but wasn't always a Trump supporter.

During the 2016 election, he donated to Jeb Bush's presidential campaign and to the former Florida governor's Super PAC, FEC filings show. After Trump locked up the nomination, Sondland, a frequent donor to the Republican National Committee, joined Trump and the RNC's joint finance operation, and eventually donated $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee through four limited liability companies, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Sondland was previously the founder and CEO of the Provenance Hotels chain, which boasts 19 hotels across the country.

This story has been updated with reaction and further details.
Mumbai: A 57-year-old man whose dead body was found stuffed inside a suitcase near the railway tracks at Dombivli was murdered by his homosexual partner, the Mumbai Police claimed on Friday. The Mumbai Police began to investigate the case after receiving calls about an unattended suitcase lying abandoned near the railway tracks in the Dombivli area.

After opening it, the body of 57-year-old was found stuffed inside it. The deceased was later identified as Umesh Patil. After just nine hours of investigation, the police claimed to have cracked the case. The police arrested 27-year-old Praful Pawar murdering the deceased, Umesh Patil, and claimed that the two were in a homosexual relationship.

Patil, who worked at a private firm in Navi Mumbai, had gone missing from his house in Kopri area two days ago.

According to police, the two had met each other on a local train six months ago and became friends. Soon Patil, who was unmarried, started visiting Pawar at latters house in Dombivali and they developed a homosexual relationship.

Things turned sour after Pawar got married and started avoiding Patil. On February 4, Patil visited Pawar when his wife was not at home, and they had a quarrel. Pawar allegedly strangulated Patil and stuffed his body in a bag and left it near the railway tracks and eloped.
There is a stalemate in Syria's Idlib governorate: President Bashar Assad's forces are approaching its capital to drive out terrorist groups and forces of the armed Syrian opposition; Damascus has already took over the strategically important cities Maaret al-Numan and Saraqib. Assads offensive does not suit Turkey, whose military, along with the Russians, monitor the situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone; recently several Turkish soldiers have been killed by Syrian army shellfire, which only complicated the situation.

Russian and Turkish experts told Vestnik Kavkaza about what to expect as tensions escalate in Idlib.

Political scientist Orhan Gafarli, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, stressed that the situation in Idlib will also depend on Russia's actions. "Ankara expects Moscow to propose a plan to reduce tensions, therefore there are unlikely to be any major clashes by the end of the week," he said.

The expert recalled that Idlib where 4 million people live has a border with Turkey, which means the threat of a new wave of mass migration of Syrians to Turkey in the case of large-scale battles. "According to various estimates, there are 20-70 thousand militants of various groups, including terrorist organizations and the armed Syrian opposition, in Idlib. Any new military conflict in Idlib will make 2-3 million local residents to migrate to Turkey. Assads seizure of Idlib will create very serious state and humanitarian problems for Turkey, therefore, Ankara cannot and will not allow such an outcome," Orhan Gafarli explained.

The political scientist recalled the currently existing scenarios for solving the Idlib problem. "Prior to the last presidential meeting between Putin and Erdogan (on January 8), it was assumed that a security zone would be created in the northern part of Idlib, where civilians could go to during clashes. However, Assad has begun military hostilities, and now it's clear that neither Sochi, nor Astana agreements are working, some new roadmap is needed. At the same time, Turkey has no motive to fight against Assad, Turkey does not want this," Orhan Gafarli concluded.

Senior Lecturer of the Department of Political Science at the Higher School of Economics of the National Research University, expert of the Russian International Affairs Council Grigory Lukyanov, agreed that there is no military solution to the Idlib conflict. "Although the Syrian army demonstrates a readiness for a military solution and a fairly high coherence, this does not solve the Idlib conflict in the long run. The fact is that Idlib is not only armed groups, but also a large number of civilians who are configured enough anti-government," he explained.

"In this regard, the Idlib conflict has no military solution, it must be solved politically. The mechanisms created by Russia and Turkey were called upon to launch this political dialogue between Damascus and the opposition in Idlib. If a military solution prevails, it will only create new risks for the process of political settlement," the senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science said.



Russia's politics in Syria will not change. "On the one hand, Russia has always proceeded from the fact that the Syrian conflict can only be solved politically. It will continue to act as a mediator between Turkey and Syria and maintain the agreements that were reached in September 2018 by the presidents of Russia and Turkey," Grigory Lukyanov said.
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




KYODO NEWS - Feb 7, 2020 - 18:34 | World, All, Coronavirus

Taiwan authorities confirmed Friday that a cruise ship currently off the coast of Naha in Okinawa Prefecture that was not allowed to dock by Japanese authorities amid the coronavirus outbreak will be allowed to return to Keelung in the north, according to local media.

The approval comes a day after a ban went into effect on all cruise ships from calling in Taiwan ports, following a mass outbreak on another cruise ship currently quarantined in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Speaking to reporters at the Central Epidemic Center Friday morning, Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung indicated that special accommodations were made for the vessel because approximately 90 percent of the guests are from Taiwan.

However, all guests and crew will be required to undergo thorough health screening upon arrival, he said.

"Even if there is only one person who tests positive for the coronavirus, the infected person will be taken off the ship for medical treatment and the rest will be quarantined on the ship for at least 14 days," Chen said.



[Photo courtesy of National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Japan]

Among the more than 1,709 passengers aboard the Super Star Aquarius, some appear to have recently traveled to China, according to reports.

Central News Agency reported that the ship left Keelung on Tuesday for a four-day round-trip cruise. It was scheduled to make a port call in Naha on Wednesday and Thursday and arrive back at Keelung Friday afternoon.

However, the ship was turned away by Japan over concerns about the illness, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan. The ship is now scheduled to arrive back in Keelung on Saturday, the report said.

The Diamond Princess cruise liner, which is now quarantined in Yokohama for at least two weeks, stopped at Keelung on Jan. 31. According to Taiwanese media, many passengers visited temples and the Palace Museum and ate at hotels, prompting disinfection measures at various places.

Japanese officials said Friday that the number of diagnosed cases of coronavirus on that cruise ship has tripled to 61.

Also Friday, the center announced that the transportation link between China's coastal province of Fujian and Taiwan's outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu will be suspended, effective Monday.

On Thursday it imposed a blanket ban on Chinese travelers entering from the mainland.

The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Taiwan remained at 16 on Friday.

The number of people infected with the virus has reached over 31,000 in mainland China, with 636 confirmed deaths, the Chinese government said Friday.

Related coverage:

Japan firms weigh production shift out of China as virus wreaks havoc

41 more on cruise ship in Yokohama test positive for coronavirus

Taiwan coronavirus cases rise to 16, self-isolation for returnees
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Feb. 7

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

The Turkmen delegation took part in the meeting of the India-Central Asia Business Council, which was held in New Delhi, Trend reports referring to the Business Turkmenistan agency.

The Turkmen side was represented by Turkmen ambassador to India Shalar Geldynazarov. The representatives from India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also attended the meeting.

The parties exchanged the views on the development of trade relations and the industrial sector.

"The annual trade turnover of India with the Central Asian countries reaches up to $2 billion," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said during the event.

The creation of air corridors between the countries will stimulate the development of trade relations, he said.

"It is necessary to develop relations in the fields of energy, pharmaceutics, automobile industry, agriculture, education, urban infrastructure, transport, civil aviation, IT and tourism," the diplomat said.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 19:25:22|Editor: zh

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CHICAGO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S.-China Forum 2020 kicked off at the University of Chicago (UChicago) here on Thursday with the theme "The Matter of Art."

"The University of Chicago has a long history of relations with China," and with the importance of China in the world today, "it's imperative to have our faculties and students engage with China," said President of UChicago Robert Zimmer at the opening of the forum.

When addressing the audience, Chinese Consul General in Chicago Zhao Jian, also a speaker at the forum, said that "cultural and artistic exchange plays an important role in the exchange of relations between China and the United States."

Wu Hung, a professor in Chinese art history at UChicago, said in his keynote speech that Chinese artists have tried a number of "unconventional" materials to create masterpieces since the 1980s.

Wu uses the term "material art" to describe artworks in which "material rather than image or style" is used as "the paramount vehicle of aesthetic, political, and emotional expression."

Material art is not unique to China, but Chinese artists have demonstrated "a very strong trend of development," Wu said, adding that their use of materials often show Chinese characteristics, such as the use of silk, which has a long history in China.

The forum sets the stage for the exhibition "The Allure of Matter: Material Art from China," a large-scale exhibition on the materiality of contemporary art from China, which opens on Friday and is co-presented by the Smart Museum of Art.

More than two dozen Chinese artists including such well-known names as Cai Guo-Qiang and Xu Bing will showcase a total of 48 artworks, some in 3D, at the exhibition.

Orianna Cacchione, co-curator of the exhibition, said that the works presented will inspire people to contemplate "our relationship to the everyday material world" and "the inter-relationship between Chinese art and broader trends in contemporary art globally."

"I learned a lot about China from Wu Hung's earlier exhibition," said 73-year-old Allon Strong from Chicago. "The new art in China since the 1980s interests me because it has a major breakthrough."

Strong said he is looking forward to the coming exhibition.

Together with the exhibition, there will be a puppet-making workshop, an educator workshop and other special programs on material art.
GENEVA - The U.N. weather agency said Friday that an Argentine research base on the northern tip of Antarctica is reporting a temperature that, if confirmed, could be a record high for the icy continent.

World Meteorological Organization spokeswoman Clare Nullis, citing figures from Argentinas national weather service, said the Esperanza base recorded 18.3 degrees C elsius ( 64.9 Fahrenheit) on Thursday  topping the former record of 17.5 degrees tallied in March 2015.

The WMOs committee that draws on the agencys weather and climate archives is now expected to verify whether the reading would amount to a new record.

Everything we have seen thus far indicates a likely legitimate record but we will of course begin a formal evaluation of the record once we have full data from SMN and on the meteorological conditions surrounding the event, said WMOs Weather and Climate Extremes rapporteur, Randal Cerveny, referring to the acronym for Argentinas weather service.

The record appears to be likely associated (in the short term) with what we call a regional foehn event over the area, Cerveny said, defining it as a rapid warming of air coming down a slope or mountain.

WMO says the Antarctic Peninsula, on the continents northwest tip near South America, is among the fastest warming regions on Earth  at almost 3 degrees Celsius over the last half-century.

Some 87 per cent of glaciers along the west coast of the peninsula have retreated over that 50-year span, with most showing an accelerated retreat over the last 12 years, WMO said.
A man once described by an FBI agent as the world's largest 'facilitator' of child pornography websites pleaded guilty Thursday to operating a web hosting service that allowed users to anonymously access hundreds of thousands of images and videos depicting the rape and torture of infants and older children.

Eric Eoin Marques, 34, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years after his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography. A plea agreement will ask US District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland to sentence Marques to 15 to 21 years in prison, but the judge is not bound by the recommendation.

Marques can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge departs from that recommended range. Chuang is scheduled to sentence Marques on May 11.

Eric Eoin Marques pictured in Dublin, Ireland, after his 2013 arrest and extradition to the US

Marques is shown being led out of court in Dublin to be extradited and face justice in the US after his 2013 arrest for creating a web hosting service on the darknet, allowing users anonymous access to child pornography

Marques faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years after pleading guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography

Marques, who spent years fighting his extradition from Ireland to the US, operated a web hosting service on the darknet that allowed thousands of users to view and share child pornography, according to a court filing Thursday.

Marques, a dual citizen of the US and Ireland, has remained in custody since his August 2013 arrest in Dublin after an extradition request from the US. He was living in Ireland at the time of the alleged offenses. The server that he allegedly used was in France.

Marques was extradited from Ireland to Maryland last year. The plea agreement doesn't give him credit for the nearly six years he spent in custody in Ireland.

The darknet is part of the internet but hosted within an encrypted network. It is accessible only through anonymity-providing tools, such as the Tor browser.

Marques created and operated a free, anonymous web hosting service, called 'Freedom Hosting,' on a network allowing users to access websites without revealing their IP addresses. In 2013, FBI agents in Maryland connected to the network and accessed a child pornography bulletin board with more than 7,700 members and more than 22,000 posts. Agents downloaded more than 1 million files from another website on the network, nearly all of which depicted sexually explicit images of children.

'Did you do the things the government said you did?' the judge asked Marques after a prosecutor read aloud a summary of the case against him.

'Yes,' Marques said.

Authorities seized nearly $155,000 in US currency from Marques, who said during an August 2013 extradition hearing that his business had been 'very successful' and profitable, according to Thursday's court filing.

In a Dec. 19 court filing, Marques defense attorneys said 'perhaps the greatest overarching question' about the case is how federal investigators were able to pierce the Tor networks 'veil of anonymity' and trace the IP address of the server to a web hosting company in Roubaix, France. 'This anonymity is notoriously difficult for government investigators to penetrate,' they wrote.

Defense attorneys said they received an initial answer to that question earlier in December, when the government revealed 'vague details' of how they discovered the IP address and location of the server.

'It appears that this disclosure was delayed, in part, because the investigative techniques employed were, until recently, classified,' defense lawyers wrote.

One of Marques' attorneys, Brendan Hurson of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, said after Thursday's hearing that he could not elaborate on the government's disclosure.

Marques was indicted in April 2019 in Greenbelt, Maryland, on four counts: conspiring to advertise child pornography, conspiring to distribute child pornography, advertising child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

FBI Special Agent Brooke Donahue has described Marques as 'the largest facilitator of child pornography websites on the planet,' according to court records. Donahue also testified that Marques had been searching online for information about obtaining a Russian visa and citizenship, the Irish broadcaster RTE reported.

FBI special agent Brooke Donahue (right) described Marques as being the 'largest facilitator of child pornography websites on the planet'

'He was trying to look for a place to reside to make it most difficult to be extradited to the United States,' the FBI agent said.

Irish authorities didn't charge him with any related crimes while he fought his extradition.

'That decision was made notwithstanding that (Marques) had offered to plead guilty to at least some of the potential charges that might have been brought against him in Ireland,' a justice on the Supreme Court of Ireland wro and hopes to leave the country as soon as he completes his sentence.
An Idaho State Police Trooper makes a stop and charges a driver with possession of marijuana after leaving Oregon. In 2019, Marijuana arrests dropped in Pennsylvania, but not as low as you'd expect. Read more

Most of Pennsylvanias largest cities have passed ordinances decriminalizing marijuana. And officially, penalties for possessing small amounts are like traffic tickets, with typical fines running from $25 to $500.

In 2019, marijuana arrests  which often result in an onerous criminal record  declined in the Keystone State. But they remain greater than they were in 2009, before any city in Pennsylvania decriminalized possession of marijuana.

About 21,789 people were arrested in 2019 and charged for possessing less than 30 grams (just over an ounce) of cannabis, according to preliminary data released by the Pennsylvania State Police. Last years total marks a nearly 11% decline from the record 24,305 set in 2018.

City councils in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Erie, Allentown, Harrisburg, York, Lancaster, and most recently Norristown have all officially decriminalized possession of a small amounts of marijuana.

But were still arresting more people than we did 10 years ago, said Lt. Gov. John Fetterman. Its lunacy.

So why are there so many arrests?

Its because police in many of those cities dont follow the decriminalization statutes, said Patrick Nightingale, a cannabis law attorney and advocate in Pittsburgh. The statutes are not binding on police or the District Attorneys Offices. Theyre voluntary. Police can still make arrests at their discretion.

City ordinances cant repeal state or federal law. So even if a municipality passes a decriminalization ordinance, state law still says possession is illegal and a person can be arrested. But the Office of Attorney General does not arrest for a small amount of marijuana, said a department spokesperson.

Marijuana remains illegal under federal law, too. But the feds rarely, if ever, prosecute for possession of small amounts.

Another reason numbers remain high: Police may be muddying the data.

As The Inquirer previously reported, suburban law enforcement agencies routinely report more arrests to the FBI than actual court cases. In participating in the FBIs Uniform Crime Reporting program, the four counties in the Philadelphia suburbs reported that they arrested 5,400 people in 2017 for having pot. Yet the court records showed only 3,200 defendants faced criminal cases.

 READ MORE: Suburban police overstate marijuana arrests to FBI

Many police departments report an arrest any time officers stop someone and seize marijuana, even if no charges are filed or the person is not taken into custody. Contacted for a comment, the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association referred the question to the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association, which did not reply to multiple requests for comment.

We did an in-depth study, said Chief Pat Malloy of the Abington Police Department, where the number of reported arrests fell in 2018. We found we were recording citations as arrests. That, for the most part, explains why our numbers looked so high.

Nevertheless, a regional organizer for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, called the decline in 2019s total arrests a profound shift.

Previously, there were steady annual increases in arrests for cannabis possession, while other drug arrests had plateaued, said Chris Goldstein of NORML. Now, for the first time in a decade, there is a clear downward trend in arresting marijuana consumers."

In Pennsylvania, more than 253,000 patients have registered for the medical marijuana program, although only 163,000 actually hold state-issued cards and are actively participating, according to the state Department of Health. There are currently 76 dispensaries  state-permitted marijuana retailers  open for business.

According to state activists, arrests are up in rural parts of the state and police are charging card-holding patients with possession.

The odor of cannabis remains a probable cause for a search, said Jeff Riedy, of the Lehigh Valley chapter of NORML. So medical marijuana is not an excuse to be let off. If police smell pot in a car, they can arrest and charge for DUI.

Pittsburgh passed its decriminalization ordinance in 2015. But the ordinance hasnt had much of an impact. Because the decision to arrest is left up to each police officer, Riedy said, arrests rebounded two years later.

Philadelphia, on the other hand, is the shining star of what passage of decriminalization should be," Riedy said. Unfortunately, most cities have not followed suit.

Philadelphia was a leader among big cities in taking a more tolerant approach to possession of small amounts of marijuana. The city passed a 2014 decriminalization ordinance championed by then-Councilman Jim Kenney. That cleared the way for police to issue noncriminal citations.

 READ MORE: Nutter, Kenney reach deal on bill to decriminalize pot

City police dramatically reduced marijuana arrests, cutting cases in which possession is the most serious offense from about 5,600 in 2010 to just 621 last year, a drop of nearly 90%. At the same time, city police have grown far more active in issuing citations for pot. Officers handed out just 184 in 2014  and about 2,850 for possession in 2018.

The Pew Research Center this month reported that in 2018, 4 in 10 drug arrests across the United States were for marijuana offenses, mostly for possession.

Andy Hoover, spokesperson for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, applauded the decline in arrests because it meant fewer cannabis consumers were tied up in the criminal system.

Thats a positive, Hoover said. The damage that is done when a person is arrested is significant, and its people of color who are disproportionately impacted, despite the fact that cannabis consumption is the same across races."

African Americans represent an estimated 40% of those arrested for marijuana in the region.

I apologize if this sounds simplistic, but one arrest is one too many for marijuana, said Lt. Gov. Fetterman. This idea that we would arrest, charge, prosecute, and create a criminal record for anyone consuming a plant that is legal in a dozen states now is a waste of resources.

Fetterman said arguments about whether police were overcounting arrests or not following city ordinances were missing the point.

All this head-scratching and contemplation goes away if you make it legal, he said.

Marijuana is legal for adult use in 11 states and the District of Columbia. On Jan. 1, Illinois began sales of recreational cannabis and the states governor issued more than 11,000 pardons to people previously convicted of low-level marijuana offenses.

Cannabis has been legalized for medical purposes in 33 states.
The summer of drought, heat and bushfires has abruptly shifted to severe downpours along most of the east coast, with Sydney suburbs in the Hawkesbury-Nepean region facing the prospect of flooding.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast the chance of heavy falls for Sydney over the weekend, including the possibility of thunderstorms. Rainfall totals are likely to be 90-150 millimetres on Saturday and 100-200 millimetres on Sunday, according to revised predictions.

The bureau warned there was the potential for "life-threatening flash-flooding" in the Central Coast, Sydney Metropolitan, Illawarra and eastern parts of the Central Tablelands, including the Blue Mountains districts, particularly overnight on Saturday.

It never rains but it pours. Sydney shifts from a long dry spell to the threat of floods. Credit:Renee Nowytarger

The bureau earlier issued a severe weather warning for dangerous winds, heavy rainfall and coastal erosion from abnormally high tides and damaging surf. On Friday afternoon, it added a flood watch for a coastal region from Brunswick to the Bega rivers, with Sydney's hinterland among those at risk.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has expressed support for the controversial ban of motorcycles and motorcycles in parts of Lagos State.

Mr Fashola, who served as governor of the state between 2007 and 2015, said the use of motorcycles and tricycle for commuter services constituted a serious threat to the state's security.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, last week, issued a directive banning commercial motorcyclists and tricyclists from plying certain roads in the metropolis.

He said this was to reduce traffic congestion in the former Nigerian capital city. Mr Sanwo-Olu said the state government would provide alternative means of transportation for Lagosian.

But the ban has been met with criticism from some Nigerians in and outside Lagos.

Mr Fashola, at a public lecture organised by the United Action for Change (UAC) in Lagos on Thursday, declared his support for the governor over the issue.

"If you care about security, you should back your governor on Okada ban. As a centre of excellence, Okada cannot be part of the plan," the Cable newspaper quoted the minister as saying.

Mr Fashola related how he was robbed at his home 21 years by criminals riding on motorcycles.

"I've always held this position. Motorcycle has always been a conduit pipe for the opioid crisis among youths. We must act to eliminate anonymity.

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"I was robbed in my home, in fact on my bed in 1999. Organised crime is dynamic, criminals are aware that people don't keep money at home again, now they diversified into kidnapping people for ransom.

"We must have data to identify people. You have SIM cards on your phone. It's called subscriber identity module which can be tracked everywhere in the world. The attorney-general of each state and legislators should act," the minister said.

The Criticism

Meanwhile, criticisms continued to trail the ban on different social platforms, despite the addition of buses and ferries to cushion the effects of the ban on Lagosians.

While many argued that the governor reneged on his campaign promise not to ban Okada in Lagos, others based their criticisms on the state's lack of preparedness for the effects of the measure.

In a video widely shared, Mr Sanwo-Olu, as a guest at The Platform in October last year, said he would "harmonise all of them and be able to come up with a regulation system where we can account for every Okada rider", instead of an outright ban.

In his defence, the governor, through his chief press secretary, Gboyega Akosile, said he never promised not to ban commercial motorcyclists in the state.

On Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported how a schoolgirl was hit by a stray bullet at Iyana Ipaja, Lagos, during a face-off between a group protesting the ban and security operatives of the Lagos State Task Force.
Chinese cities on highest virus alert

Global Times

By GT staff reporters Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/6 23:28:43

After two weeks of city lockdown in Wuhan, the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus in Central China's Hubei Province, some positive signs emerged nationwide as growth rate of confirmed cases slightly dropped and the situation outside the province has been stabilizing. However, some megacities and neighboring provinces still face a tough battle as they face a post-holiday travel rush with people returning to work.

Authorities have advised a 14-day quarantine in many places in China after the outbreaks as part of the efforts to isolate as many suspected cases of infection as possible and track down those who have contact with infected people. As the disease could be contagious with or without symptoms, which has caused so far 28,018 cases of infection and death of 563, provinces and municipalities have ramped up efforts to track down secondary and tertiary cases in the coming weeks.

North China's Tianjin Municipality announced on Thursday to adopt close-off community management citywide to further restrict people's movement.

For better understanding the importance of isolation, some media reports divided Chinese population into A, B, C and D four categories: A group has direct travel history to Wuhan, and the B group has a close contact with A in public places without knowing it, thus is the most dangerous group. C is those who have close contact with A and knowing it, and D have been staying at home. If people of the D group go out, they may encounter people from B, creating a new category 2B who also have a high probability to be infected.

After 14 days of self-imposed quarantine, suspected patients with fever and symptoms of respiratory illness would be identified, including those from the A, B and C groups. However, it takes longer time to identify people from 2B group for their indirect contact with the virus carrier.

Based on such analysis, local authorities in provinces and municipalities have come up with strict registration measures for those who have a travel history to Wuhan and Hubei, requiring those who have been to those places to remain in quarantine for 14 days.

The past two weeks of efforts to isolate infected people and suspected patients have yielded some results as the overall growth rate of confirmed cases in China has been slowing down with an improving recovery rate, reflecting progress made, except in Hubei Province.

However, people living in metropolis such as Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province and Nanjing, capital city of East China's Jiangsu Province reached by the Global Times expressed concerns of a second outbreak of the novel coronavirus as the Spring Festival draws to an end.

Growing worries

Zhang Xin, a teacher from Hubei who works in Shenzhen, called on the Shenzhen government to launch stricter and more detailed measures.

Zhang returned to her hometown in Qichun, a county in Huanggang, Hubei, for a few days and then went to Linyi, East China's Shandong Province during the Spring Festival holidays.

"When I returned to Shenzhen, I reported to the community committee that I had been to Hubei, they asked me to write down my name and phone number, but nobody came to check me since then," Zhang told the Global Times on Thursday.

Zhang arrived in Shenzhen on January 28 and was required to stay at home for 14 days by the school she works for.

She said she understood that the Shenzhen government had launched many measures to curb the coronavirus, but the large migrant population makes it difficult to implement.

There are more than 13 million people living in Shenzhen.

Spring Festival holiday will come to a close on February 9. The Shenzhen government requires local companies to file a report to the government before resuming operation and stipulated that the number of people who go to the office could not exceed half of the total headcount, according to Guo, another Hubei native working for a medical equipment company in Shenzhen.

However, Guo told the Global Times that she had started working since Monday and was not aware if the company had reported to the government.

Wuhan mayor Zhou Xianwang told a press conference on January 26 that more than 5 million people had left Wuhan amid the outbreak, raising concerns over where they went.

Big data analysis showed that from December 30 to January 22, most flights departing from Wuhan headed to cities including Beijing, Guangzhou in South China's Guangdong, and Chengdu in Southwest China's Sichuan.

Also, some domestic media outlets have investigated hundreds of examples of confirmed cases, analyzing the route of transmission. It's worth noting that people-to-people transmission occurred most frequently among family members and relatives in public transport, reunions and diner banquets, the reports said.

Zhao Jing, a woman working in Nanjing shared the same concern as the return travel peak approaches, saying she wished the holiday would be prolonged to the end of February or March.

The Nanjing government announced on Wednesday it would carry out close-off management in all communities and suspend all construction projects in the city, beefing up measures against the novel coronavirus.

While Hubei still accounts for about 70 percent of total confirmed cases of infection nationwide, Zhejiang of East China and Guangdong account for 4 percent and 3.36 percent, respectively, based on current official data. Central China's Henan and Hunan, which are also neighboring Hubei, also recorded growing cases.

More efforts

Analysts forecast that metropolis including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing where many Wuhan and other Hubei people work and live may face growing risks of the further spread of novel coronavirus.

"Thus, it's very important for these cities to consider more detailed policies on the exact time of their return to work and school, and adopt a plan for companies and organizations to resume business at different time," Wang Hongwei, a professor at Renmin University of China's School of Public Administration and Policy in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday.

It's also likely that such cities and places seriously hit by the epidemic such as Zhejiang Province may further extend holidays until the epidemic is under control and the number of new confirmed cases drop significantly, Wang added.

More cities have strengthened their information disclosure mechanism among those who have been to Wuhan and Hubei in the past few weeks. And those who intentionally hide their travel history during outbreak could lead to serious legal punishment, according to media reports.

For instance, a 64-year-old woman in Shenzhen who hid her travel from Wuhan on January 21 was diagnosed with coronavirus on January 26, but she went to some public places during this period without notifying local authorities. On Tuesday, the local police filed a criminal investigation against the woman for repeatedly concealing her travel itinerary and fever.

Faced with a possible second wave of outbreak, smaller cities and counties in China have also been mobilized to resolutely fight this battle by finding out people having contact with people coming from Wuhan and Hubei.

Poyang, the most populous county in Shangrao, East China's Jiangxi Province, only had one confirmed case by Saturday but experienced a dramatic rise during the past few days, which triggered increasing anxiety among local residents, some of them told the Global Times.

As of the end of Wednesday, Poyang reported 34 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection, around half of the cases in Shangrao, according to the data provided by a local official to the Global Times on Thursday.

Another grass-roots local official in Poyang, who requested anonymity, told the Global Times that the local government has concentrated on the fight against the disease, including sealing off the county on Monday, closely monitoring residents who returned from Hubei Province.

Beijing has also banned catering companies from hosting any dinners for up to three people, signaling tougher regulations that aim to prevent the possible spread of the coronavirus in the capital city in the coming days.

"Strengthening screening measures in and out of railway stations, subway stations, airports and residential communities is also important for these cities," Wang said.



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They talk about beating me...': PM Modi rakes up Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' remark at Assam rally

India

oi-Deepika S

Guwahati, Feb 07: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday fired a fresh salvo at former Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the latter's 'Danda' remark, in a rally at Assam's Kokrajhar, saying one with a protective shield of mothers and sisters of the country cannot be harmed.

"Some leaders talk about beating me with sticks, but I'm saved by the blessings of all mothers of India. I pay my respects and thank all of you. I am here to instil a new belief in all Assamese people," he said while addressing a public meeting in Kokrajhar.

At an election rally in Delhi on Thursday, Gandhi had criticised the government for failing to rein in unemployment, and said that in six months' time, the Prime Minister would be unable to step out of his house "as the youth would beat him with sticks".

Peace and humanity won in Bodo accord: PM Modi in Assam

NEWS AT 3 PM, FEBRUARY 7th, 2020

The Lok Sabha was also adjourned twice on Friday after Bharatiya Janata Party members vociferously protested against Gandhi's comments.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is currently withholding approval for at least six commercial orders for arms and ammunition from U.S. companies to Ukraine, BuzzFeed has reported.

"The Trump administration is currently withholding approval for at least six commercial orders for arms and ammunition from US companies to Ukraine, together worth roughly $30 million, according to three current Ukrainian officials and a former senior U.S. official who have direct knowledge of the sales, straining an already fragile relationship between the two countries," says the article posted on the BuzzFeed's website on Thursday.

All four officials said that five of the pending sales from U.S. companies have been delayed for around a year, and one of the sales has been held up for more than a year. The officials said they haven't been able to get any answers from the Trump administration about why the deals, which typically take around two months to approve and must be licensed by the State Department, haven't received approval.

"It might be wise for the Ukrainians to look for other sources" from which to buy arms and ammunition, said the U.S. official, who said he has questioned senior White House and State Department officials about the issue.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv declined to comment on the matter, and the White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comments. Ukroboronprom, the Ukrainian state-owned arms conglomerate and the official buyer of all the arms and ammunition, also didnt respond when asked for comment.

"Two Ukrainian officials who spoke to BuzzFeed News believe the delays could be related to a Chinese attempt to buy a strategic Ukrainian aerospace company that the U.S. has tried to block, raising the possibility of Kyiv getting caught up in a power play between Beijing and Washington," BuzzFeed said.
French President Emmanuel Macron warned that European nations "cannot remain spectators" in the face of a potential nuclear arms race and urged them to restore trust with Russia.



"Europeans must realise collectively that in the absence of a legal framework, they could rapidly face a new race for conventional weapons, even nuclear weapons, on their own soil," Macron told military officers in a speech laying out France's post-Brexit nuclear strategy.



"There can be no defence and security project for European citizens without a political vision that seeks to progressively restore trust with Russia," Macron said.
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The Diamond Princess cruise ship lockdown began after an 80-year-old passenger who spent five days on the ocean liner tested positive for coronavirus - sparking fears that he brought the virus on board.

The elderly Hong Kong passenger boarded the vessel in Yokohama on January 20 after flying out to Japan.

On January 22 he took part in a bus trip with other passengers in Kagoshima, Japan, before the ship sailed to Hong Kong where he left on January 25.

In his five days on the cruise liner he did not report any problems to the ship's on-board medics, but six days after leaving he went to hospital in Hong Kong.

On February 1 he tested positive for coronavirus, prompting Japanese authorities to deny entry to the ship and screen more than 3,700 people for the virus when the vessel returned to Yokohama on February 3.

Of the 3,711 people screened on the ship, 273 were selected for further tests. They had disembarked in Hong Kong or been in contact with the 80-year-old.

It is not yet known for certain whether the 80-year-old was the cruise ship's 'patient zero' who transmitted the virus to other passengers.

The deadly virus could have been brought on board by another person as American passengers Clyde and Renee Smith said they had been on a bus trip with the man in Kagoshima but both tested negative for the virus.

Guests who had been in contact with him were among the 273 selected for testing, of whom 61 since tested positive.

Japanese media said the man had been in contact with 36 passengers, including at least two of the first ten who tested positive.

A map showing the journey of the Diamond Princess since January 20. At (1) in Yokohama an 80-year-old passenger boarded the ship. Two days later at (2) in Kagoshima he joined in a bus ride excursion with fellow passengers. He left in Hong Kong (3) before the ship continued to Vietnam (4 and 5) before stopping in Taiwan (6) on January 31. It is unclear how many passengers left the ship there. The cruise liner then sailed to Okinawa (7) before returning to Yokohama (1) where it was quarantined

A team of health workers in hazmat suits on the shore in Yokohama today where Japanese authorities said the tally of coronavirus patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship had risen to 61

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, is seen anchored at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port

Medics are not yet sure how the coronavirus spreads, but similar infections are passed on through droplets when people cough or sneeze.

When the 80-year-old man tested positive, tour operator Princess Cruises said the relatives he was travelling with did not show any symptoms of the virus.

On February 3 he was said to be in a stable condition in hospital. There has been no update on his condition since then.

An American couple, Clyde and Renee Smith, said they had been on a bus trip with the man in Kagoshima but both tested negative for the virus.

'While on the ship he did not visit the ship's medical centre to report any symptoms or illness,' the cruise operator told passengers earlier this week.

After he left the ship, it sailed to Vietnam and then to Taiwan on January 31 where 16 cases of the new coronavirus have been confirmed.

Taiwanese media said it was unclear how many passengers left the ship at the port of Keelung, sparking an alternative theory that the virus could have been transmitted there.

Health workers in protective gear were still working in Yokohama Bay as darkness fell on Friday with the Diamond Princess in quarantine

Health workers wearing protective suits carry bags to an ambulance near the cruise ship Diamond Princess today, which is anchored and being held in quarantine near Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama

An official in a protective suit walks near the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at Yokohama Port today

Japan Self-Defence Forces officers use canvas sheets to cover the walkway from the cruise ship Diamond Princess on Friday as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly flu-like virus after 20 were rushed off to hospitals on the mainland earlier this week

After leaving Taiwan, the ship continued to the Japanese island of Okinawa before arriving back in Yokohama on February 3.

Japanese authorities immediately quarantined the ship while the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members were screened for the virus.

Since then, medics in hazmat suits have gone deck-to-deck to test selected passengers while other guests were ordered to remain in their cabins.

The 61 people found to have been infected with the virus have been moved to hospitals on the Japanese mainland to be kept in quarantine.

Remaining passengers face nearly two more weeks in lockdown, with the quarantine set to continue until February 19.

The ship has spent much of its time anchored in Yokohama Bay, where fork lift drivers in hazmat suits have helped to load supplies on to the vessel.

It has also returned to the open sea to collect seawater, which can be converted for use in showers and drinking water.

Experts say that cruise ships are particularly vulnerable because of the large number of passengers, many of them older people, in a confined space.

A woman holds a Japanese flag that reads 'shortage of medicine' on the cruise ship Diamond Princess as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Friday

Masked passengers are seen on the deck of the ship today, where passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks briefly under strict conditions

A worker in a hazmat suit drives a fork lift truck to load supplies on to the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama today

Outbreaks of droplet spread diseases such as influenza and norovirus are relatively common' on such ships, said Professor Paul Hunter, a medical researcher at the University of East Anglia.

'Cruise ships often have large numbers of passengers and crew, these people come from all over the world, and passengers at least are often elderly,' he said.

'Given that many passengers spend a large part of their time indoors, one would expect droplet spread diseases such as [the new virus] to spread readily on board.

'As passengers will disperse back around the world then outbreaks on board such ships will have the potential to enhance the global spread of this current epidemic.'

Professor William Keevil of the University of Southampton said some passengers may be unwilling to come forward with their symptoms to avoid putting an expensive holiday at risk.

The environmental healthcare specialist said keeping guests in their cabins was the 'best option' until the incubation period - thought to be around 14 days - has passed.

Crews are 'well aware of the spread of disease on board, considering that you can have hundreds or thousands of passengers in a relatively confined, isolated environment for days or weeks,' he said.

'They rely on the honesty of the passengers declaring if they are unwell or have had a recent illness as they board ship.

'The problem is that some potentially ill passengers, having looked forward to their holiday and spent a lot of money, do not want to miss out and board ship anyway.'
Micah Sims, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, apologized Friday for failing to comply with the state lobbying law, sparking a $19,900 fine from the state Ethics Commission. Read more

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan newsroom powered by The Philadelphia Inquirer in partnership with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and PennLive/Patriot-News. Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  The Pennsylvania chapter of a national advocacy group known for its long-running campaign to improve lobbying transparency apologized Friday after a Spotlight PA report that it had violated the states lobbying law.

Common Cause Pennsylvania was fined $19,900 in January by the state Ethics Commission for filing an expense report 112 days after the deadline last year. The group had also missed filing deadlines for four other reports since the beginning of 2018, state officials said.

In a statement, Micah Sims, the executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said he accepted full responsibility and apologized to the groups board chair, Brian Cullin, as well as the national organization as a whole. Sims promised the error would not happen again.

We have put in place a proactive process to address the filing issues and ensure that reports are always filed on time, Sims said. As a good government group advocating for increased transparency in politics and government we have a responsibility to model the benefits of transparency.

Scott Swenson, a spokesperson for Common Causes national office in Washington, said that Common Cause remained confident in Sims leadership.

Micah acknowledged his mistake and agreed with the board how to improve systems, so it doesnt happen again, Swenson said. People make mistakes. Acknowledging and correcting them is what matters.

Lobbying reports are one of the few ways the public can see how advocacy groups, special interests, and businesses are attempting to influence elected officials. In Pennsylvania, groups must report whom they hired as lobbyists, the subjects they lobbied on, and the total amount of money they spent on lobbying efforts.

When first contacted by a Spotlight PA reporter after the Ethics Commissions fine, Sims said his group was late in filing its expense report due to technical problems with the Department of States website. Sims said his group intended to challenge the penalty in court.

The Department of State disputed Sims account and said it had no record of any communications from Common Cause Pennsylvania or any indication of a technical problem. On Friday, Common Cause affirmed it would not fight the fine in court.

Common Cause will not challenge the fines in court and apologizes to the Ethics Commission for statements that suggested otherwise, the statement said. We intend to work with the commission to honor our responsibility and restore our reputation with that office.

Spotlight PA receives funding from nonprofit institutions and readers like you who are committed to investigative journalism that gets results. Become a Founding Donor today at spotlightpa.org.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 03:49:43|Editor: huaxia

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MAPUTO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Eleven illegal miners died as a result of the land subsidence in a ruby mine in the province of Cabo Delgado, northern Mozambique, authorities said Thursday.

The victims died at three different times, according to Inspector General of the Ministry of Minerals Resources and Energy (MIREM) Obete Matine who spoke on Thursday evening at a press conference in Maputo.

"The first death happened on the 4th of Feb., after a wall where the illegal miners were extracting the ores collapsed and fell on them," said Matine, adding that at dawn on the 5th, two more people died in the same area due to the similar accident.

"Last night (Wednesday) another eight people died," he said.

Most of the victims come from the province of Nampula, one of the victims is from Guinea-Bissau, the general inspector explained, adding that women and children are also involved and being used to smuggle the precious stones.

"The invasion of the mine takes place in the rainy season because the illegal miners need to sieve the minerals with rainwater," he said.

Matine said there are financiers behind the illegal mining activities who exploit the poverty of the local people and hire them to do the job.

Since January, nearly 30 deaths have been registered as a result of illegal mining in the central and northern region of the country. Enditem
A UK court on Friday directed Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani to pay USD 100 million towards a conditional order granted to three Chinese banks pursuing the recovery of over USD 680 million owed to them as part of a loan agreement.

In what is in effect a deposit to be paid into court pending a full trial in the case, Judge David Waksman has set a six-week timeline for such a payment to be made as he concluded that he did not accept Ambani's defence that his net worth was nearly zero or that his family would not step in to assist him when push came to shove.

In my overall conclusion, Mr Ambani has not satisfied me that he can't make any payment at all, said Judge Waksman, as he expressed particular criticism of a lack of candour and transparency on the part of Ambani's defence in reference to his financial means.

The Reliance Group indicated that it plans to appeal against the ruling, which will involve a process of seeking permission to appeal.

Mr Ambani is reviewing the order of the UK Court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal, a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said.

The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Capital Limited, the spokesperson said.

The banks Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China welcomed the order and said they remain confident of their claim succeeding at trial.

This is a straightforward debt claim to recover outstanding loans made to RCom (Reliance Communications) in good faith and secured by a binding personal guarantee given by Mr Ambani, which he has refused to honour, a statement on behalf of the banks said.

We remain very confident in our claim. We hope that Mr Ambani will comply with the court's order and look forward to the swift resolution of the case at trial, the statement said.

Another senior Reliance Group official added that based on the legal advice, the RCom chief intends to seek further remedies in appeal and is confident that he will have the opportunity to establish that the Chinese claim is without any merit.

Earlier, during a half-day hearing, the court was told that Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a "disastrous turn of events" in the telecom market in India.

The Chinese banks had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012.

Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At the hearing at the Commercial Division of the High Court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the "conditional order" granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account.

"The value of Mr Ambani's investments has collapsed since 2012. The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian government's change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum," notes his defence.

"Whereas Mr Ambani's investments were worth more than USD 7 billion in 2012, they are now worth USD 89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account... Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not," said his barrister Robert Howe.

The banks' counsel called Ambani's claims into question and repeatedly referred to his "lavish lifestyle".

"So, Mr Ambani's assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India," questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing.

Ambani's legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play.

"The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of USD 700 million into court," said Howe.

The banks, represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been "at best economical with the truth" in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means.

They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambani's defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans.

"Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons can't help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order," said Thanki, who claimed Ambani's evidence was akin to the proverbial "glossy lipstick on the pig" in terms of some "blatant" lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case.

"ADA's (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world. He has an estimated net worth of USD 55 to 57 billion," notes the banks in court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Details added (first version posted at 16:36 on Feb. 5).

BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 5

Trend:

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Chingiz Aidarbekov.

Minister Chingiz Aidarbekov extended greetings of President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbay Jeenbekov to the head of state.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed his gratitude for the greetings of President Sooronbay Jeenbekov and asked the minister to extend his greetings to the Kyrgyz President.

President Ilham Aliyev said:

- You are welcome, it is a pleasure to see you. You have an important event starting tomorrow. I am sure that it will be held in the spirit of all the instructions given by the heads of state during the Summit we held last year. Of course, our organization is growing stronger from year to year and is solving very important tasks to strengthen cooperation between all Turkic-speaking states. A lot of initiatives have recently been put forward in terms of political interaction, economic integration and activities in the field of culture and education. The Fund has been created, the Academy is functioning. So we are filling our work with content.

I believe that last year was successful for the development of bilateral relations between our countries. I had several contacts with the President as part of international events. This year too, there are important measures planned that will strengthen our cooperation. For us, Kyrgyzstan is a very close country, a fraternal country, and we want to increase bilateral cooperation. So I think that you and your colleague will determine the activities that should be jointly implemented this year.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Chingiz Aidarbekov said:

- Thank you very much, dear Ilham Heydarovich. First of all, I would like to thank you. Despite your busy schedule, you took the time to meet and discuss the prospects for Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani relations. As you noted, last year and the year before last, thanks to your personal attention and the desire of our President to strengthen our fraternal and friendly relations, our cooperation was very actively advanced. Last year, during the Summit of the Heads of Turkic-Speaking States, a historic event took place here  our organization expanded and an office of the Turkic Council was opened in Europe. In our opinion, your meeting with our President was very important, during which you outlined promising and relevant agreements that we, the governments of the parties, are implementing today. Among them is the agreement on the construction of a Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani school and a Kyrgyz-Azerbaijani friendship park. On 24 December last year, we lowered the capsule of the school and on 10 January, with the participation of our President  as he pays great attention to our fraternal relations  the capsule was also lowered at the park area. This is the most prestigious part of our city and our townspeople received the news with great enthusiasm. We look forward to your official visit to the Kyrgyz Republic.
The board that pushed Mr. Wilson out, which could have exiled him at any time over the years if it saw the need, was almost entirely white. After Mr. Wilsons termination, the board also lost its only African-American member at the time; Margaret Anadu, who runs the urban investment group at Goldman Sachs, resigned in protest of how Mr. Wilson had been treated.

When charter schools grow and succeed, as Ascend did, they tend to look more and more like private corporations, adopting their hierarchies and habits and acronyms and meeting-speak. Although Ascend had done a good job of maintaining a diverse staff at the student level, Mr. Wilson had done less well diversifying the ranks of his top managers.

The chief talent and financial officers who ran the network were white. The teachers and administrators in the schools, for the most part, were not. As a result, there was a cultural tension within the institution. Mr. Wilson had begun, however belatedly, to try and rectify that.

The terms of Mr. Wilsons contract prevent him from talking publicly about his departure from Ascend. When I asked a friend how Mr. Wilson had made sense of what had happened, he said that hed cycled through stages of horror, rage and grief and was now settling into a new life as a writer and fellow at a University of Washington think tank. Mr. Wilson is writing a book about the future of school reform at a moment when education is steeped in a world of radically conflicting agendas.

Even among the devoted former colleagues and board members who spoke on his behalf, there was an acknowledgment that Mr. Wilson could be imperious, demanding, difficult, and compulsively wedded to his way of doing things. How else was one to explain the results that Ascend achieved?

He himself came from a family with soaringly high standards. A graduate of Harvard, Mr. Wilson is the son of two former Harvard professors; one of them, E. Bright Wilson, was described in obituaries as one of the most distinguished physical scientists of the 20th century. Another Wilson son won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1982.

As it happened, Steven Wilson was exacting about everything. For six years, Mo Bowie was director of operations at one of Ascends lower schools in Brownsville, and for a good portion of that time he tried to convince his boss that the walls should be repainted in a gloss finish, because they would be easier to clean. Mr. Wilson thought that the children deserved the best possible aesthetic achievable within the budget, and institutional gloss did not fit his vision.
A 74-year-old man was killed in his tenth floor home on Wednesday evening by a stray bullet from an assault rifle used in a fight between two rival clans in the street outside.

A bullet hole in a neighbouring building. / S. SALAS

The incident took place in La Palmilla district of the city, where police were called following reports of shots being fired.

The victim, Mateo Vallecillos, had no connection with the fight, but approached his window when he heard shots in the street.

The bullet, fired from a Kalashnikov assault rifle, went through the aluminium window frame and hit Mateo in the chest.

Officers found 20 cartridge shells in the area. Six young men, one of them a minor, were arrested.

Mateo, who lived with his wife, had five children, one a Guardia Civil officer and another a member of the Local Police force in Alhaurin el Grande.

The gathering to condemn violence. / MIGUE FERNANDEZ

Local residents gathered on Thursday in the local Manuel Navarrete park to condemn the violence in the neighbourhood of La Palmilla.

They criticised the authorities for not doing enough to prevent this type of episode in the area where "an armed minority take advantage of a situation of impunity, causing the majority of residents to live with fear and insecurity".
SANTA FE  Los Alamos National Laboratory received an overall good evaluation from its federal managers and will receive 82% of the available annual fees it could have received based on its performance during fiscal year 2019.

Of the $43.5 million available from award and fixed fees, LANL will receive $38.8 million.

The fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2018, to Sept. 30, 2019, is the first full year the lab was under the management of Triad National Security LLC, a consortium made up of Battelle Memorial Institute, the University of California System and the Texas A&M University System.

LANL also received a good rating from the National Nuclear Security Administration last year when the lab was managed by Los Alamos National Security.

Overall, the evaluation is consistent to where we believe we are, Thomas Mason, a former executive at Battelle Memorial Institute who took over as lab director when Triad began managing the lab in June 2018, said in a phone interview Thursday. Im pleased with the fact were on the same page as NNSA in terms of where we are.

Mason added that there is still much work to be done at the lab, but it continued on a growth trajectory as it expands operations, including stepping up the production of plutonium pits, the radioactive core of a nuclear warhead.

Mason said he anticipates a 20% increase in funding for its Plutonium Facility-4 when the federal budget is released, likely next week.

LANL received a very good rating in meeting Goal 1, the management of its nuclear weapons mission, and will receive 90% of the award available to it in that area, which amounts to $7.2 million.

It also received a very good rating in leadership.

The lab received excellent ratings for strategic partnership projects mission objectives and science, technology and engineering.

But LANL received satisfactory ratings for reduction of nuclear security threats and operations and infrastructure, thus earning 25% and 50%, respectively, of available awards and fees in those areas.

Mason said a breach of a sealed source executed by a subcontractor, International Isotopes, at the University of Washington was responsible for the ratings in those two areas.

Critics of the lab were quick to jump on the labs evaluation.

Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group noted that of the six sites NNSA evaluated, LANL was the only one to get satisfactory ratings, and it got two of them.

Triad had the worst rating of any NNSA site, both in terms of the percent of possible award fees received and in the adjectivals used to described performance, he said. All the others were very good or excellent. 

Mello said the low score in operations and infrastructure showed LANL was not on top of their safety programs.

The rating for reducing nuclear security threats is also a major concern, he said.

We know the details on some of these but we dont know everything we should know in terms of accountability in this process because this is only a summary, he said.

Nuclear Watch New Mexico called LANLs evaluation alarming.

The federal evaluation points to Triads repeated breakdowns in oversight and safety issues while declaring that the contractors so-called accomplishments only slightly outweighed these chronic issues. A rating of good is simply not good enough as the Lab aggressively expands the production of radioactive plutonium pit bomb cores for the new nuclear arms race, Jay Coghlan, the groups executive director, said in a statement.

He added that Nuclear Watch New Mexico would continue to seek information through the Freedom of Information Act because the summary is legally insufficient when the public has a right to know the good and bad about how taxpayer money is spent.
Helping Your Child Succeed

Do you have children who can read, but do not enjoy reading, and almost never pick up a book or anything else to read for pleasure? Would your Read more
SMTA Certifies Process Engineers in Thailand and Malaysia Published: 07 February 2020 by Chelsey Drysdale by Chelsey Drysdale

CHONBURI, Thailand -- SMTA held certification programs for SMT Processes in Chonburi, Thailand, on January 14-16, 2020 and in Penang, Malaysia, on January 21-23, 2020. Over 75% of the engineers successfully passed the exams, establishing competitive credentials as "Certified" by the SMTA in SMT Processes.

The title earned by Certified SMT Process Engineers is CSMTPE. These initials, which can be added after the names of those who have passed the course, are well recognized within the industry as identifying a high level of process engineering knowledge and expertise.

The three-day program includes a day and a half of training with homework assignments, a closed book two-hour exam and an open book final exam lasting up to 6 hours. A score of 70% or greater over both exams is required to attain certification. The SMTA certification program is unique, as it recognizes and certifies the entire SMT assembly process at an engineering level.

Jim Hall, SMTA senior instructor said, this was a great group, they were very focused and asked some extremely good questions.

The certification is valid for five years at which point engineers have an option to be re-certified. A list of all SMTA-certified engineers is published online here:

https://www.smta.org/certification/certified_engineers.cfm

For more information, please visit https://www.smta.org/certification/ or email certification@smta.org

SMTA - A Global Association Working at a Local Level

The SMTA membership is an international network of professionals who build skills, share practical experience and develop solutions in electronic assembly technologies, including microsystems, emerging technologies, and related business operations.
There were quite a few developments in the corporate sector this week (February 3-7), following the 2020 Union Budget, wherein Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced that the government was planning to list Life Insurance Corporation of India.

In the banking sector, troubles at Yes Bank continued with former director Uttam Prakash Agarwal alleging that CEO Ravneet Gill had violated several governance norms. There were reports that Gill had reached out to his mentor Anshu Jain, former co-CEO of Deutsche Bank seeking help to raise funds for Yes Bank.

In this edition of the Corporate Buzz podcast, Moneycontrols Jerome Anthony gets in conversation with Deputy Executive Editor Ravi Krishnan to find out the top developments in the corporate sector.

Krishnan talks about LICs proposed IPO and how it could boost the economy. He then talks about Emami selling its cement unit to Nirma and what it means for the cement industry.

Lastly, he speaks about RBI's monetary policy committee and reveals when a turnaround in the economy can be witnessed.
"Oppression against the weaker sections of society has continued, only its form has changed," Abhishek Shah, director of National Award-winning film 'Hellaro' feels.

Shah was addressing the media after the inaugural function of the Aurangabad International Film Festival earlier this week.

The filmmaker's Gujarati film 'Hellaro' won the National Award in 2019.

The film, set in the desert of Gujarat's Kutch region, revolves around women's self-expression through the dance form 'garba'.

Shah considered the theme relevant as women continue to face oppression in their daily lives.

The oppression continues, but its forms have changed, he said.

"I have a friend who works in a multinational company and so does her husband. They are a modern, educated couple, who live a good life. However, the man does not allow his wife to put up her picture on social media," he said.

This only goes to show that times have changed but the situation remains the same, he added.

"This is what triggered me to work on 'Hellaro'," Shah said.

"'Hellaro' has given a momentum to Gujarati cinema. We are proud that the film also received a special jury award," he added.

The 13 female actors of the film also won the Special Jury Award for their performances and it was also the first Gujarati film to win the National Award.

Incidentally, the film also invited its share of controversies after an FIR was lodged against its makers, including Shah, for the alleged use of the word "harijan" in a dialogue to refer to a Scheduled Caste character.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it's worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But every investor is virtually certain to have both over-performing and under-performing stocks. At this point some shareholders may be questioning their investment in The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (HKG:1339), since the last five years saw the share price fall 23%. Furthermore, it's down 13% in about a quarter. That's not much fun for holders.

See our latest analysis for People's Insurance Company (Group) of China

There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.

While the share price declined over five years, People's Insurance Company (Group) of China actually managed to increase EPS by an average of 20% 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). Or possibly, the market was previously very optimistic, so the stock has disappointed, despite improving EPS.

Due to the lack of correlation between the EPS growth and the falling share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics to try to understand the share price movement.

The modest 1.8% dividend yield is unlikely to be guiding the market view of the stock. Revenue is actually up 8.0% over the time period. A more detailed examination of the revenue and earnings may or may not explain why the share price languishes; there could be an opportunity.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

SEHK:1339 Income Statement, February 6th 2020

People's Insurance Company (Group) of China is well known by investors, and plenty of clever analysts have tried to predict the future profit levels. So we recommend checking out this free report showing consensus forecasts

Story continues

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). 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. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, People's Insurance Company (Group) of China's TSR for the last 5 years was -19%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. And there's no prize for guessing that the dividend payments largely explain the divergence!

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that People's Insurance Company (Group) of China shareholders are down 9.2% for the year (even including dividends) . Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 3.6%. Having said that, it's inevitable that some stocks will be oversold in a falling market. The key is to keep your eyes on the fundamental developments. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 4.0% over the last half decade. We realise that Buffett has said investors should 'buy when there is blood on the streets', but we caution that investors should first be sure they are buying a high quality business. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand People's Insurance Company (Group) of China better, we need to consider many other factors. For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for People's Insurance Company (Group) of China (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

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.
There's been a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases on the cruise ship docked off Japan, where around 3,700 people remain confined to their cabins.

Japanese officials say that 61 people have now tested positive for the disease on the quarantined ship - a steep increase from the 20 confirmed cases on Thursday.

People were seen exercising on the balconies of their rooms, while others stood and looked outside, including one woman who put up a Japanese flag reading "shortage of medicine".

Passengers have been confined to their cabins on board the Diamond Princess ship for days as part of a two-week quarantine, after an 80-year-old man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) PASSENGERS ON BOARD QUARANTINED CRUISE LINER, DIAMOND PRINCESS, GAY COURTER SAYING:

"We got to get off the ship. I could do two weeks of this nice cabin with the balcony."

PHILIP COURTER SAYING:

"We're certainly prepared to do the 14 days if it's safe to do 14 days. But I don't think it's even safe to be here for that length of that time now, unfortunately."

Meals have been irregular and passengers have noted their concern on Twitter about crew members delivering meals from cabin to cabin.

Infected passengers are being taken to nearby hospitals in Yokohama today.

The new ship cases take the total number of coronavirus infections in Japan to more than 80.

Meanwhile, another ship operated by Dream Cruises with 3,600 people on board remains stranded in Hong Kong, after being denied entry by Taiwan - which has moved to ban all international cruise ships from docking on the island.

And the Royal Caribbean "Anthem of the Seas" cruise ship docked in New Jersey early Friday, carrying dozens of passengers who are being screened for signs of the virus.
Burma Myanmar Pastors Held Over Kachin Revolution Day Event

Supporters for the two pastors gather at Myitkyina police station. / Kachin Youth Movement / Facebook

Two Kachin pastors from northern Myanmar have been detained by police in Myitkyina for marking the 60th Kachin Revolution Day.

Dr. Maji La Wawm, a spokesman for the two pastors, told The Irrawaddy Friday that the police came to the church yesterday and detained the priests.

They detained our two pastors over claims they held a revolutionary event. We are trying to meet the authorities to negotiate their release, said Dr. Maji La Wawm.

The Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) church hosted the Kachin Revolution Day on Feb. 5. A group of Kachin residents asked the KBC for permission to mark the revolution anniversary at the church.

The two pastors agreed to host the event as the group had already gained permission from the KBC.

Those two pastors were present during the event. They were innocent as they knew nothing about it, he said.

A separate fundraising performance was held that night at the church and the two pastors were involved in the event. But they were not involved in the revolution ceremony during the daytime.

Some police attended the night time event and they thought it was for Kachin Revolution Day and arrested the two pastors, which was an error, said Dr. Maji La Wawm.

Dr. Hkalam Samson, chairman of the KBC, told The Irrawaddy that the two pastors were charged under Article 17/1 of the Unlawful Association Act, under claims they were connected with Kachin rebels.

Church representatives are due to meet the Myanmar militarys Northern Command today to discuss the detentions.

The KBC said it was holding an internal discussion before discussing the matter with the media.

KBC sources said the pastors had been taken to court, although they were only supposed to be given medical checks. The police, reportedly, kept the priests out of sight after their court appearance.

The Kachin police were unavailable to comment although an anonymous officer said he expected the pastors to be released this afternoon.

The Kachin National Consultative Assembly sent a letter to the Myanmar armys Northern Command saying that the group each year marks the decision to take up arms against the government to secure self-determination. The letter said: Different religious groups gather in church to pray for those facing problems and to consider the 60 years since the revolution. We pray for peace for Myanmars army and the government, the ethnic armed groups and our Kachin internally displaced people. We pray for them to return to their homes as soon as possible.
STAMFORD, Conn. - The ex-girlfriend of Fotis Dulos pleaded not guilty Friday to conspiring with him in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of his estranged wife in Connecticut.

Michelle Troconis, 45, appeared in state court in Stamford for the first time since Dulos died Jan. 30. He had attempted suicide and later died. She pleaded not guilty to a murder conspiracy charge and remains under house arrest.

Jennifer Dulos, 50, disappeared May 24 after dropping her and Fotis Dulos five children off at school. Authorities said there was a bloody crime scene at Jennifer Dulos home in New Canaan, and there appeared to have been efforts to clean it up, but her body has never been found. The couple were estranged and going through contentious divorce and child custody proceedings.

Fotis Dulos was charged with murder last month. Police allege he attacked her in the garage of her home and drove off with her body. Troconis and attorney Kent Mawhinney, a friend of Fotis Dulos, were both charged with murder conspiracy, accused of helping Fotis Dulos cover up the killing.

Authorities said Troconis was with Fotis Dulos as he disposed of trash bags in Hartford later in the day of Jennifer Dulos disappearance. They were recorded on surveillance cameras, and police were able to retrieve many of the bags, which officials said contained clothing, zip ties and other items that later tested positive for Jennifer Dulos DNA.

Troconis next court date is March 20.

Her new attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, denied the allegations against her. They also include evidence tampering and hindering prosecution charges filed in two previous arrests in the case.

She is innocent of the charges, and we will fight them in court, Schoenhorn said after the hearing.

State police allege Troconis gave conflicting information several times to investigators during three different interviews, including lying about seeing Fotis Dulos on the morning Jennifer Dulos disappeared.

Schoenhorn recently indicated he may challenge the admissibility of those interviews because there may have been a language barrier. Troconis first language is Spanish. For the first time in court Friday, a Spanish interpreter was provided to her.

Prosecutor Richard Colangelo Jr. said Friday that he was investigating whether Troconis had violated a court order by contacting Fotis Dulos through third parties before his death.
A woman who travelled to Syria to join Isis has lost the first stage of a legal challenge against the decision to revoke her British citizenship.

Shamima Begum was aged 15 when she, along with two other east London schoolgirls, left for Syria in February 2015.

Now 20, Begum lived under the terror groups rule for more than three years before she was found in a Syrian refugee camp in February 2019, nine months pregnant.

Shamima Begum says she regrets speaking to the media and wishes she had found a different way to contact her family.

Then-home secretary Sajid Javid removed her British citizenship later that month, which Begums lawyers said was unlawful because it made her stateless.

It is lawful to remove British citizenship if a person is entitled to citizenship of another country.

Mr Javid argued that Begum is entitled to Bangladeshi citizenship through descent.

Last year, Begum launched legal action against the Home Office at the High Court and a tribunal called the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, which hears cases about someones citizenship removal when it happens on national security grounds.

Kadiza Sultana,16, Shamima Begum,15 and 15-year-old Amira Abase pictured at Gatwick airport before they fled to Syria. (PA Images)

The tribunal, led by SIAC president Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, ruled on Friday that the decision to revoke Begums British citizenship did not render her stateless.

Judge Doron Blum, announcing the decision of the tribunal, said that the move did not breach the Home Offices extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment.

He said that while Begum cannot have an effective appeal in her current circumstances, it does not follow that her appeal succeeds on that ground.

In a statement, Begums solicitor Daniel Furner of Birnberg Peirce said his client will immediately initiate an appeal against the decision as a matter of exceptional urgency.

Shamima Begum is pictured aged 15, when she travelled to Syria via Turkey to join Isis (PA Images)

He said that the ruling will be hard to explain to her, adding: The logic of the decision will appear baffling, accepting as it does the key underlying factual assessments of extreme danger and extreme unfairness and yet declining to provide any legal remedy.

Story continues

Mr Furner said: The stark reality of her situation was brought before the court last year as a matter of exceptional urgency  how could she in any meaningful and fair way challenge the decision to deprive her of her nationality, a young woman in grave danger who had by then lost her three children?

He added that now, in February 2020, the dangers Begum faces have increased  her chance of survival (is) even more precariously balanced than before.

Begum travelled to Istanbul, Turkey via Gatwick Airport before making her way with two others - Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase - to Raqqa in Syria.

Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory.

She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband but her children, a one-year-old girl and a three-month-old boy, had both since died.

Her third child died shortly after he was born.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 07:48:01|Editor: huaxia

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese UN envoy on Thursday stressed the need to ensure the independence of the work of the Syrian Constitutional Committee, which first met in October in Geneva.

Speaking at a Security Council meeting on Syria, China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Wu Haitao said the work of the committee should not be subject to external interference, nor should there be any artificially pre-set time frame.

"They should be left for the Syrian people to find their way out," he stressed. "The constitutional committee members should show political will, and in the spirit of compromise, actively participate in dialogues and consider effort to uphold Syria's sovereignty, independence, unity, and territory integrity."

Moreover, Wu said political settlement is the only way to end the conflict in Syria, adding that the UN should continue to advance the Syrian political process in accordance with the Syrian-led Syrian-owned principle and relevant council resolution.

In October, the Syrian Constitutional Committee made up of opposition, civil society and government delegations, each with 50 members, began its work for the first time in the same room inside the UN headquarters in Geneva.

The decision to establish the Syrian Constitutional Committee was adopted in Sochi, Russia, in January 2018.
A security guard checks the temperature of a woman wearing a protective mask at the entrance of a park in Beijing, China on Jan. 31, 2020. (NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images)

Severe Disruption: Global Shortage of Anti-Virus Masks, Says WHO

Due to severe demand amid the coronavirus outbreak in China, the world is now facing a severe disruption of medical masks and other protective equipment, according to the World Health Organization.

The current supply chain of medical masks, respirators, and other related equipment is facing a four-to-six-month backlog, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Friday.

The world is facing a chronic shortage of personal protective equipment, he remarked before adding that the demand for masks is about 200 times higher, tantamount to a severe disruption of the market.

The health official added that he would be speaking to members of the supply chain network to produce more masks and deal with bottlenecks on production.

Cooperation between countries and the public and private sectors is necessary to ensure that we do not see a future in which health workers are forced to take care of patients without protective equipment. That is not something any of us wish to witness, Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of WHOs Health Emergencies Program, said at the press conference.

Its really important that we prioritize the use of these materials for the people who need them most. And these are the healthcare workers who are treating patients, these are people who are caring for their families, caring for their loved ones, and those that are sick, added Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead of WHOs emerging diseases unit.

A medical worker checks a drivers temperature at a checkpoint as the country is hit by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Anqing, Anhui province, China, on Feb. 6, 2020. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Global healthcare workers are going to require about seven to 10 percent of market capacity, Ghebreyesus told reporters, but he said that Chinese health workers will require the bulk of the supply of protective equipment. The first priority is health workers while the second priority is people who are sick or caring for someone who is sick, he said.

We are appreciative of companies that have taken the decision to only supply masks to medical professionals, Ghebreyesus said.

Medical staff members carry a patient into the Jinyintan hospital, where patients infected by a mysterious SARS-like virus are being treated, in Wuhan in Chinas central Hubei province on Jan. 18, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Medicom Group, a Montreal-based mask maker, said officials in Shanghai sent them a letter, ordering them to sell their entire output from its factory to the local government, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Theyve got to take care of their people as well, said Medicom Chief Executive Ronald Reuben. Its disruptive, but what can you do?

Dongguans local government has bought all the masks from a factory owned by Makrite Industries Inc., the firm said to the Journal. The masks are sometimes shipped to customers including Home Depot and Cardinal Health.

We need to support the government first until it gets better, Makrite CEO Bob Wen told the paper.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a news conference on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland on Feb. 6, 2020. (Denis Balibouse/Reuters)

The coronavirus is believed to have emerged late last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province before Chinese regime officials implemented lockdowns and quarantines in Wuhan and other cities.

Locals in Wuhan and Hubei have painted an especially grim picture, saying there is a dearth of hospital beds, long waits, and alleged cover-ups by Chinese regime officials.

There are no hospital beds left [in Tongji hospital]. Theres only one room left for people to be hospitalized. The other patients are all mixed together, and can easily infect others, Xu, a graduate student in Xiaogan City, Hubei Province, told The Epoch Times this week.

At the same time, Chinese officials in other cities have announced lockdowns in major cities such as Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Zhengzhou this week. In all, at least 38 cities in Guangxi, Fujian, Jiangxi, Henan, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shandong, Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Chongqing, Ningxia, and Hubei provinces have launched restrictions on travel as of Feb. 4, affecting tens of millions of people.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Before Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or YouTube made their entry in the media market, the PatnaDaily had already registered its presence in...
Two foreigners wearing red volunteer vests took part in epidemic prevention and control volunteer work at a food market in Tongxiang, southeast Chinas Zhejiang province on Feb. 5.

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

Anne Li, 64, from South Africa, has lived in Tongxiang for 10 years and is now a foreign teacher at a local middle school.

Asked why she decided to volunteer, Li said that "this is what I have to do. I have been in Tongxiang for a long time. This is my second hometown, and the people here need my help."

"I'm not afraid. I believe I can protect myself. I believe my school and the Tongxiang government can protect us," Li said, adding that she is touched that her community has often called to enquire about her health condition.

(Photo/People's Daily Online)

Another volunteer, Jade, is also a teacher from South Africa. She is currently teaching at an experimental primary school.

"It is very necessary to do volunteer work, and I hope that through our practical actions, more people will know how to do a good job of safety protection, said Jade, adding that she will take part in more volunteer activities in her school and her community.

"Are you volunteers? You are so awesome!" Wu Jianyu, a citizen who had just come to buy food, said excitedly when he saw foreign friends volunteering.

"You are so wonderful! We want to learn from you!" Wu couldn't stop giving them the thumbs up, and asked to take photos with the volunteers.

Volunteers from all walks of life, regardless of national boundaries, are coming together at this moment to take part in epidemic prevention and control work, and have become an important force supporting the local communities in China.
Israel experienced two shootings and a car-ramming incident against its security forces on the West Bank and in Jerusalem on Feb. 6. With officials viewing the attacks as spontaneous reactions by Palestinians to the unveiling of President Donald Trumps peace plan, the military began to take more seriously a recent gradual escalation on the Gaza border that had until now generated little attention in Israel.

In fact, for the past two weeks, several explosive devices attached to balloons have been launched from Gaza into Israel, as have rockets and artillery shells. Israel treated the latest escalation with a certain equanimity, regarding it as no different from the daily routine that residents of Israels southern communities and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have had to contend with for years. Accordingly, the IDFs response had been relatively minor. Air strikes on what the military described as Hamas targets were carried out with precision to avoid hitting armed militants or civilians in Gaza. The attacks were meant to avert further escalation at a time of unprecedented political chaos in Israel and the run-up to the March 2 elections.

Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, who prior to his appointment in September had been a vocal proponent of harsh measures against Gaza, had been making do with tweets advocating the annexation of the West Bank, for which the Trump plan provides, as a sop to his right-wing voters. As for the IDF, he let it continue with its ineffective and non-deterrent responses of the past years. On Feb. 6, however, Bennett suddenly equated the attacks on soldiers in the West Bank and Jerusalem with the escalation in Gaza, suggesting that both stemmed from Trump's deal of the century unveiled on Jan. 28.

According to a statement issued by Bennett's office, the IDF will step up readiness on the West Bank and respond to attacks from Gaza. Bennett ignored the fact that his own declarations championing annexation of West Bank lands are more responsible than ever for the escalation given his position as defense minister.

IDF chief of staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi, who conducted a security assessment at the Etzion divisional headquarters near Bethlehem following the uptick in violence, also linked events in the two arenas. We have no intention of allowing terror to prevail, Kochavi said. The directive is very clear to those on the ground  to thwart and prevent all [terror] activity. When I say terror, Im also referring to stones, firebombs, arson balloons  they are all terror. The IDF is focused on the Palestinian arena in recent weeks, and we will respond sharply and clearly to all these events.

Israeli media lumped the attacks together under the basic headline Security escalation since the deal of the century. The IDF is experienced in handling waves of organized or popular Palestinian terrorism in the West Bank and has also drafted detailed contingency plans to address scenarios such as a collapse of the Palestinian Authority and the subsequent eruption of terrorism.

Some official assessments compiled over the past year suggest the Palestinians are exhausted and have lost all faith in the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas and are therefore unlikely to heed calls by his Fatah movement to rebel. Israeli defense officials are nonetheless taking seriously the comments attributed to Abbas at a Jan. 27 closed-door meeting of Fatah heads: We need an escalation of popular resistance on all fronts and mobilization of all the youth. Not to leave the street. We will stand united in the coming days and we must monitor the positions of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We will be on emergency footing in the coming days and invite everyone to come to us. We need everyone.

An Israeli security source who spoke to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity believes the comments were leaked to send a message to the Palestinian public that their leader is waging war against Trumps plan of humiliation and to show Israel that it might pay a heavy price for any unilateral annexation measures.

The rockets, shells and balloons from Gaza, however, started well before Jan. 28. Indeed, Israels various defense agencies recognize that the two arenas are different. The escalation from Gaza did not arise from the Trump plan, controversial as it may be. Rather, it is the result of Hamas' weakened control over the territory. The situation in Gaza is complex and requires responses other than bombing this or that target in the enclave, which will not effectuate change and appears aimed primarily at pleasing Israeli public opinion and calming the beleaguered residents of southern communities cowering in shelters.

The election process of Hamas' Shura Council to elect a new leadership for the movement began this month. When it ends several months from now, depending on the results and developments, the movements leader will be announced. The incumbent, Ismail Haniyeh, has not returned to Gaza since leaving in December 2019, fearful that the Egyptians will not let him in to punish him for defying their orders and paying his condolences in person in Tehran following the assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.

Hamas elections always generate division and power struggles. This time, however, the process will be particularly tense and emotional given the backdrop of ongoing negotiations to reach a long-term cease-fire arrangement with Israel. The Egyptian-mediated talks are stuck, and no one knows when and if progress will be made. Another cause for tensions within Hamas involves the movements rapprochement with Iran and its distancing from Egypt.

Many believe Hamas is a well-oiled organization, marked by consensual, orderly decision-making. In fact, Hamas is like any other political movement, beset by power struggles, internal strife and the desire of various members to impress their constituencies. When tensions divide the leadership, control of the rank and file slips. That is particularly true when no Hamas political leader wants to be perceived as pragmatic or, heaven forbid, weak or surrendering.

Hamas Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar is perceived as a key proponent of a deal with Israel, but he is being forced to toe the line of the hawks calling for escalation of the popular struggle as well as armed struggle. In other words, Hamas is giving the go-ahead for renewed protests along the border fence with Israel and for more incendiary balloon launches, rocket firings and shelling of Israels border communities. It is also not ruling out the possible firing of long-range missiles at towns farther from the border, such as Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba. Things depend, of course, on the nature of Israels response.

The IDF has so far been restrained in light of Israel currently being run by an interim government that lacks a coherent policy on Gaza and cannot take responsibility for a broader offensive, should Israel get dragged into one. Should Netanyahu, Bennett or Kochavi insist on equating events in Gaza with those in the West Bank, however, Israel might be dragged deeper into the Palestinian arena and find itself engaged on two fronts at the same time, with unforeseen consequences.
BERLIN, Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- From 18 to 20 February, merchant payment professionals from Europe and beyond will be taking center stage at the MPE 2020 conferenceA and exhibition at the InterContinentalHotel in Berlin to discuss What's next in merchant payments. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8679151-mpe-2020-global-merchants-european-payments/. First held 13 years ago as "EUROPEAN CARD ACQUIRING FORUM," the event promoted the acceptance of payment cards. The event was then re-named in 2011 to MPE (Merchant Payments Ecosystem) conference a to better reflect the new ways people pay and the rise of alternative payment methods. New payment habits of customers create multiple challenges for merchants and payment providers. Outlined by the results of a recent MPE 2020 report "Perfecting the customer experience is more critical than ever - it is also more complex. It's very important for payments providers to hear the needs of merchants to deliver unified customer focused payment experience. The voice of merchants will be heard very strong loud and clear this year at MPE 2020," says Andy Ivanis, Co-CEO and Head of Sales & Customer Engagement at Empiria Group, the organizer of the MPE conferences. Thanks to its "Merchant Hosted Program" MPE 2020 welcomes over 300 merchants coming from over 150 Global brands like Booking.com, Adidas, HUGO BOSS, EasyJet, Expedia.com, BMW, Spotify, Porsche, Gett, Sweet Inn, The New York Times, Booking.com, IKEA, Omio, etc.,A and many more. At MPE 2020, the Biggest European conference on merchant payments (Berlin, Feb 18-20), over 140 inspiring speakers will provide unique insights on: what payment providers are doing to help merchants to achieve frictionless shopping experience; and

how the changing payments landscape challenges both merchants and payment providers.A A According to Rory O'Neill, Chief Product and Marketing Officer at international payments provider Planet, the MPE 2020 speaker and platinum sponsor: "International payments are going through rapid change, with digital technology driving huge innovations that help deliver greater, more immersive experiences for international shoppers.A Coupled with the high street being an ongoing challenge for retail in terms of sales, merchants are under increasing pressure to adapt and evolve to this new normal. "The largest event of its type, the Merchant Payments Ecosystem brings together some of the most influential and forward-thinking minds in the industry to help drive further innovation in the space.A With the caliber of delegates at MPE, we are looking forward to discussing how merchants can embrace international payments while also using the digital landscape to drive footfall and increase sales to get an accelerated share of international spend." Future of card acquiring, merchant payments, PSDII, Open banking payments, New business models and technologies supporting commerce and payments are among the key topics to be discussed at the MPE 2020, in Berlin, February 18-20. Request the AgendaA and register at www.merchantpaymentsecosystem.com. About the MPE: Merchant Payments Ecosystem (MPE) is the Europe's Largest Merchant Payments Conference, Exhibition and community focused on card acquiring, Alternative payments, merchant services, POS, mobile and on-line payment acceptance. MPE ecosystem connects 1250+ merchants, acquirers, PSPs, payment processors, schemes, regulators, gateways, POS HW/SW solution providers and innovative FinTechs. Follow the MPEA and MPE Awards on Twitter: @EmpiriaGroup #mpecosystem #MPEAwards About PlanetA Planet is an international payments service and technology provider that helps businesses exceed the needs of their international customers. With over 1,500 experts across 64 markets, Planet creates better international payment and service experiences for 400,000 merchants and over 100 partner banks on five continents.A Planet is also part of the Eurazeo portfolio of growth companies. Find out more here:A https://www.planetpayment.comA A A A Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078023/MPE_Photo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078022/MPE_Logo.jpg Media Contacts:

MPE organizer (Empiria Group)

Natalia Ivanis

+421-917-802-770

natalia.ivanis@empiriagroup.eu
Jude Law and his wife Phillipa Coan were seen jetting out of New York City on Thursday following his admission that he wanted to become a dad again.

The Hollywood star, 47, was dressed down in a beige shearling jacket while his spouse, 32, bundled up in a camel coat for their flight.

The father-of-five - who shares Rafferty, 23, Iris, 19, and Rudy, 17, with his first wife Sadie Frost, 10-year-old daughter Sophia with Samantha Burke, and four-year-old Ada with Catherine Harding - appeared in great spirits, flashing a beaming smile.

Heading off: Jude Law flashed a big smile as he jetted out of New York City on Thursday alongside his wife Phillipa Coan

Phillipa was wrapped up warm against the cold, pulling her coat tight to protect her from the winter chill.

She donned a black jumper, matching beanie hat and dressed the look down with a pair of trainers.

Their outing comes after Jude said it would be 'wonderful' to have another child with wife Phillipa.

Heading off: Phillipa was wrapped up warm against the cold, pulling her coat tight to protect her from the winter chill

The actor admitted to the Daily Telegraph last week that he would 'absolutely' love to have a sixth child with the psychologist, 32.

Discussing the possibility, he said: 'Of course! Absolutely. I'm fortunate to be with someone where I'm having more fun than I've ever had in my life.'

Of their relationship, and how they have a 'stable and healthy, wonderful family existence', he continued: 'And that involves my kids who are young adults... and then the younger ones are just so much joy and so much fun.

'I love it, so absolutely, why not [have another]? I'm very lucky to be involved with someone I'm madly in love with. So the idea of having more children would be just wonderful.'

Protective: The Hollywood star, 47, was dressed down in a beige shearling jacket, following close behind his wife

Jude closed out 2019 as a married man, after he tied the knot with Phillipa in an intimate at the Marylebone Registry office London ceremony in April.

The actor decided to shun a Hollywood guest list and the couple invited only their closest friends and family to their low-key nuptials.

The lovebirds first made their relationship public back in 2015, hitting the red carpet at the Hay Festival in 2015.

A source told MailOnline at the time: 'He's serious about her. He loves how intelligent Pippa is and finds it refreshing to date a girl who is not from his showbiz world.

'He's pretty smitten and doesn't want to mess it up.'

This is the second time lucky for father-of-five Jude, who was previously married to designer Sadie from 1997 until their divorce in 2003.
MADRID  After decades on the run, a notorious Spanish far-right terrorist was returned to a prison outside Madrid on Friday, following his extradition from Brazil.

Carlos Garcia Julia was an architect of one of Spains most high-profile political killings, known as the 1977 Atocha massacre. The attack, carried out on the Madrid offices of a law firm working for a labor union linked to the Communist Party, killed five people.

At the time, just over a year after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, Spain was navigating uncharted political territory as it struggled to confirm its return to democracy. The Communist Party, which had been declared illegal during the lengthy Franco dictatorship, was at the time negotiating whether to end decades of clandestine opposition and return to mainstream politics.

Mr. Garcia Julia, who was 24 at the time of the attack, was a fascist militant affiliated with a newly founded party called Fuerza Nueva, or New Force, determined to keep Spain under a totalitarian regime despite the death of the dictator.
A day before the Delhi assembly elections, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the people on Friday to have "faith in God" as "all holy powers" are with them.

In a tweet in Hindi, the chief minister claimed he was receiving several calls from people claiming that opposition parties were distributing money and hatching conspiracies.

"I am getting calls from several people saying they will distribute money, hatch conspiracies. I appeal to everyone, the truth is with you," he tweeted without naming anyone.

"For five years, you have earned blessings and good wishes. In the last few days they created so many conspiracies but failed. Have faith in God. All holy powers are with you," he said in the same tweet.

The national capital goes to polls on Saturday and the results will be declared on February 11.

Over 1.47 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise in the electoral battle for Delhi, which is largely being seen as a triangular contest among the ruling AAP, a spirited Congress and the opposition BJP which has campaigned very aggressively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The 33-year-old techie, who allegedly killed her mother and then tried to murder her younger brother on February 2 before fleeing the city, told the police that she wanted to kill herself after committing the crime.

The accused, Amrutha Chandrashekar, told the police that her inability to clear loans of nearly Rs 19 lakh had forced her to kill her family and then plan her own suicide. The police tracked Amrutha and her friend Sridhar Rao, 35, to Port Blair and arrested them on Wednesday before bringing them to Bengaluru.

Amrutha told the police that she did not tell her friend Sridhar --- who came on his two-wheeler to pick her up --- about the crime she committed.

They both left for the Kempegowda International Airport to board a flight to Port Blair. Amrutha told the police that she and Sridhar had planned to spend five days in Port Blair and then return to Bengaluru to kill herself by jumping before a moving train.

Amrutha confessed that she had taken a loan of Rs 15 lakh from several financiers, but was unable to repay them. Recently, she met with an accident, in which her car was completely damaged, and she again had to borrow Rs 4 lakh to cover the expenses, including repairing her vehicle.

Upset over the financial crisis, she had decided to kill her family members (mother Nirmala and younger brother Harish, 31) and later end her own life.

A police officer said Amurtha had decided to quit her job with a private firm and had asked Sridhar join her on the Andaman trip.

ALSO READ | Karnataka shocker: Techie held along with boyfriend after killing mother, stabbing brother

Harish told the police that Amrutha had told him that she was going to Hyderabad on a trip.

The police -- who were initially baffled by Amruthas vanishing act after committing the crime -- were able to track her and Sridhar by studying a series of CCTV footage. They traced the route taken by the two-wheeler.

The police got the registration number of the bike, which the two rode on to reach KIA, and learnt that it belonged to Sridhar Rao.

Further inquiries with KIA authorities and various airlines offices revealed that Amrutha had booked a flight to Port Blair.

When the police shared details of the accused and the case with KIA authorities, the latter helped the police track them to Port Blair.
Oleksandr Dubinsky Open source

Verkhovna Rada MP from Servant of the People faction Oleksandr Dubinsky talked about the influence groups of President Volodymyr Zelensky and the oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky on parliaments decisions on the air of the Voice of the People talk show, 112 Ukraine channel conducted the broadcast.

"I dont see a single group now more powerful than the group of President Zelensky. Everything that the president says is being implemented in the faction in one way or another. Therefore, I would say that before the re-election of the parliament in 2019, it was necessary to correlate the influence of party leaders. There are party leaders that influence the groups, there were oligarchs who influenced in exactly the same way ... I dont see the parliamentary group of Kolomoiskys influence influencing the adoption or non-adoption of a decision,  - the politician said.

As we reported before, Servant of the People MP Oleksandr Dubinsky met personal lawyer of Donald Trump Rudy Giuliani who arrived in Kyiv

According to Dubinsky, the meeting took place at the initiative of Giuliani.
Metsa Tissue Selects BHM Ingenieure as Its Technical Pre-engineering Partner for Capacity Increase Project at Mariestad Mill in Sweden Metsa Tissue in Sept. 2019 initiated an environmental permit process and a pre-feasibility study to create preconditions to double the company's tissue paper production at its Mariestad mill in Sweden. Feb. 7, 2020 (Press Release) - Metsa Tissue announced in September 2019 that it plans to invest in increasing fresh fibre-based tissue paper production at its Mariestad mill in Sweden. BHM Ingenieure (BHM Engineering) has been chosen as a partner for the project's technical pre-engineering. The technical pre-engineering is expected to be completed by the end of 2020 with aim to create the preconditions for the final investment decision that could be made during the second quarter of 2021 at the earliest. In September 2019, Metsa Tissue started an environmental permit process to study and create preconditions to double the company's tissue paper production in Mariestad. The first part of the study consists construction of new paper machine, converting lines, automated warehouse and office building at the Mariestad mill site. The value of the possible investments is approximately EUR 230 million and in the first phase, they would increase Mariestad's annual tissue paper production capacity by 50,000 tonnes fully as of 2024. About Metsa Tissue Metsa Tissue is a leading tissue paper products supplier to households and professionals in Europe and the world's leading supplier of greaseproof papers. Its main brands are Lambi, Serla, Mola, Tento, Katrin and SAGA. With production units in five countries, Metsa Tissue employs a total of about 2,800 people and had sales in 2018 of EUR 1 billion. To learn more, please visit: www.metsatissue.com . SOURCE: Metsa Tissue
The court of impeachment in the United States Senate was adjourned by Chief Justice John Roberts sine die  without any future date being designated  but the court of public opinion about whether President Donald Trump is fit to continue in office is still in session, and the verdict of the American people will be rendered in November.

Donald Trump following his acquittal in the Senate this week. Credit:AP

This impeachment of Trump by Democrats in the House of Representatives for the Ukraine affair was ultimately an imperative. After a whistleblower brought attention to a call between Trump and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which the US leader asked for Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then his chief political rival for 2020, the House of Representatives established a case that reached to the heart of the founding principles of the country, so that even Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president only eight years ago, could conclude:

What he did was not 'perfect'  no, it was a flagrant assault on our electoral rights, our national security interests, and our fundamental values. Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of ones oath of office that I can imagine.

Trump has never conceded a thing. It was always a perfect call. Yet even some Republican senators concluded that Trump committed a serious error  but that this did not rise to a high crime worthy of impeachment, and with the election coming in November, the people should be the ultimate judges.
Christine Pelosi (pictured) described her mother's shredding of President Trump's speech as an 'Italian grandma move'

The daughter of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has described her mother's shredding of President Trump's State of the Union speech as an 'Italian grandma move'.

Christine Pelosi, who works as a strategist for the Democratic Party, made the comments praising her mother in an interview on Fox News on Thursday.

Pelosi made clear what she thought of Trump's address on Tuesday when she ripped up a copy of his speech while standing behind him.

She later told reporters: 'It was a manifesto of mistruths.'

The action was hailed as a power move by Pelosi's supporters, while she received criticism from the right for being 'inappropriate' and 'disrespectful.'

Daughter Christine admitted she had 'no idea' her mother was going to do that.

'In watching that, her reaction to that speech, I thought to myself, that's an 'Italian grandma move,'' she said.

Christine Pelosi added: 'I saw my grandmother do that years ago in her kitchen when there was a guest at my grandfather's house ... who was rude.

'In watching that, her reaction to that speech, I thought to myself, that's an 'Italian grandma move,'' she said

Pelosi was also questioned about her move in ripping up the State of the Union address after Trump concluded his remarks Tuesday night. But she said it was the 'courteous' thing to do compared to a potential proportionate reaction to his divisive speech

'She picked up the person's plate without comment, we heard a crashing sound. She threw the plate away, sat down and didn't say another word.'

Pelosi also thew her support behind her mother's decision to push for the impeachment of Trump. 'It's not a mistake to stand up for America. It's not a mistake to stand up for the truth ...,' she said.

'Point is, whether it is or isn't, the most important poll will be on Election Day in November.'

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pictured holding a news conference the morning after the impeachment of President Donald Trump ended in acquittal.Christine Pelosi thew her support behind her mother's decision to push for the impeachment of Trump. 'It's not a mistake to stand up for America. It's not a mistake to stand up for the truth ...,' she said.

Two freshman House Democrats confronted Nancy Pelosi on Thursday over her ripping up the text of Trump's address,telling the speaker her actions were 'inappropriate' and 'disrespectful.'

Reps. Joe Cunningham of South Carolina and Ben McAdams of Utah confronted Pelosi on the House floor when lawmakers were voting on a Republican resolution that expressed disapproval of the speaker's tearing up the president's remarks.

Democrats easily defended the GOP effort to publicly chastise Pelosi, voting to table the resolution 224 to 193.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday slammed the government for invoking the Public Safety Act against former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah and said the detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy.

Mufti and Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from the PDP and its arch-rival National Conference, were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday, officials in the union territory said.

In a series of tweets, Chidambaram said, "Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others".

ALSO READ | Saudi reluctant to accept Pakistan's request for immediate OIC meeting on Kashmir: Report

"Detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy. When unjust laws are passed or unjust laws are invoked, what option do the people have than to protest peacefully?" the former home minister tweeted.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chidambaram said, "the PM says that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be obeyed. He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela".

Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience.

That is satyagraha, he added.

Sources said Srinagar Deputy Magistrate Shahid Iqbal Choudhary issued the orders for booking the two former CMs on Thursday evening, barely hours before their six-month-long preventive detention was to come to an end.

A magistrate accompanied by a police officer arrived at Hari Nivas where 49-year-old Omar has been detained since August 5.

ALSO READ | US diplomat holds classified briefing with lawmakers on Kashmir, Afghanistan

He was handed over a warrant issued under the PSA, a law which was enacted by his grandfather Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah in 1978 initially to check timber smuggling.

Similarly, the magistrate and a police officer visited Mehbooba at the government accommodation, which had been converted into a subsidiary jail, and was handed over the dossier.

National Conference general secretary and former minister Ali Mohammed Sagar, who wields a support base in downtown city, and senior PDP leader Sartaj Madani were also served with a PSA notice public order by the authorities.

Madani is the maternal uncle of former CM Mehbooba Mufti.

Both were booked under PSA on Wednesday evening but the order was served to them on Thursday at the MLA hostel Srinagar, where they were under detention.

Under PSA, authorities can detain a person for six months without trial. The detention can be extended to two years.

(With ENS Inputs)
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Phuket, 7 February 2020  In the month of love, couples are planning a romantic night to celebrate Valentines Day. Rim Talay Restaurant at Amari Phuket is the perfect venue for sharing a memory that lasts forever. With an unbeatable seaside location, lovers can relax with a candlelit dinner and wow their senses with spectacular panoramic views of Patong Bay, creating precious moments on the night of love.

This unique experience comes via an exquisite culinary journey through the delights of sumptuous buffet selections. The talented chefs are crafting a variety of delicious love-themed dishes to please all couples. The buffet will feature international dishes, a hearty soup and salads with fresh vegetables, a bakers corner, a sushi and sashimi stall with freshly caught salmon and tuna, maki and California rolls, a selection of international cheeses, antipasti and a variety of cured meats to choose from. Furthermore, lovers will enjoy ultimate selections from the carvery and the hot buffet station, including grilled seabass, sweet and sour pork, fried shrimp, steamed fish fillet, onion rings, potato croquettes and much more. Highlight dishes include poached seafood on ice with blue crabs, shrimps, clams, mussels and squid. A BBQ grill station, Cajun pork, Provencal herb prawns, rock lobster, sesame chicken thighs and lamb kofta also feature. All poached and grilled menus are served with a wide choice of condiments and dipping sauces. Taste buds are tempted at the dessert station where lovers can indulge in a selection of sweet treats, including cheesecakes, mousses, tarts, panna cotta, Tiramisu and ice cream with several flavours to complete a romantic night on Valentines Day.

The romantic dinner is available on 14 February 2020 from 18:00 to 22:00, priced at 1,200 THB++ per person.

Price is exclusive of beverages and subject to a 10% service charge and 7% VAT. Terms and conditions apply.

For more information and reservations, please contact +66 (0) 7634 0106, email rimtalay@amari.com,

or visit https://www.facebook.com/RimTalayPhuket.

Address: Amari Phuket, 2 Muen-ngern Road, Patong Beach, Kathu, Phuket 83150, Thailand
Low blood sugar in children is often unexplained despite intense investigation into hormone Imbalances and inborn errors of cell metabolism. Despite its frequency, very little progress has been made in understanding this disease entity since 1964, where i

Lisa is two years old. She often gets uneasy--shaking and sweating--especially in the morning. She vomits and refuses to eat. Her mother, Karoline, knows she has to act before Lisa starts to deteriorate.

To avoid convulsions and loss of consciousness, Karoline desperately tries to give Lisa sugar-rich drinks but has to proceed with energy gel applications on Lisa's chin and today, also an intramuscular glucagon injection. Lisa improves, but it takes hours before she wants to eat and drink normally again.

-It's because of the accelerated fat burn, explains Yazeid Alhaidan, PhD.

Alhaidan has spent three years trying to understand the genetic background of IKH in children like Lisa.

Looking for genetic explanations

-Lisa's sugar deposits are somehow ineffective, so a normal night's fasting after high physical activity the day before can be enough to provoke low blood glucose (sugar) and toxic substances like acetone because of accelerated fat burn, Yazeid Alhaidan explains.

-And then she gets nausea and vomits. This will not stop until she burns sugar again and her fat-burn ketones have been eliminated, and this can take several hours.

Idiopathic ketotic hypoglycemia (IKH) is often relatively mild and may remain undiagnosed. Luckily it often disappears with age. But severe variants, sometimes affecting several family members, have prompted the research team at the Complex Hypoglycemia Center, Odense University Hospital, Denmark, to dive more deeply into potential new genetic explanations for this disease.

Previously unknown causes of low blood sugar

-We have identified four novel genes that appear to explain the IKH in at least four families, Alhaidan continues.

-I searched in all 22,000 genes in the human genome and was lucky to be able to pinpoint mutations in NCOR1, IGF2BP1, SGLT2, and NEK11 in four families with IKH.

These genes are related in different ways to glucose metabolism and may well be previously unknown causes of low blood sugar. Known genetic causes were identified in four other families while no mutations were found in nine families.

First step towards new drugs

-Every gene involved in glucose metabolism and low blood sugar is of high interest for diabetes research, says Henrik Thybo Christesen, professor in pediatric endocrinology and leader of the Complex Hypoglycemia Center.

To understand the genetics in children like Lisa may be the first step in designing a novel drug against diabetes.

-In type 2 diabetes, you want to lower the blood sugar. If you can design a drug that acts like the mutation in patients like Lisa, you may have a successful treatment, provided the blood sugar doesn't get too low and the side effects are acceptable, explains Professor Christesen.

More studies needed

Molecular biologist and associate professor Klaus Brusgaard, who has led the study,calls for caution.

Although the mutations in the four novel genes seem to be severe and potentially disease-causing, more studies are needed to show their exact functional significance.

-If other researchers can find mutations in the same genes in other patients, this will also be helpful. Until then, we can only call them candidate genes. Our study may be the first of many to identify novel genetic explanations for IKH--which may also end up being split into many specific diseases. And each novel disease may have its own treatment. That's what we call precision medicine, Dr Brusgaard explains.

###

Facts:

The study was published February 7, 2020 in the journal Scientific Reports, http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58845-3.

The Complex Hypoglycemia Center at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, is a national and international center for multidisciplinary treatment and research in complex hypoglycemia, including congenital hyperinsulinism, ketotic hypoglycemia, and insulinoma. The research continues in work by postdoc Yazeid Alhaidan and two PhD students, along with international collaborations. Related family organizations include Ketotic Hypoglycemia International and Congenital Hyperinsulinism International. Note: The patient Lisa and her mother Karoline have been anonymized.
The age-old problem of too many cooks in the kitchen has been replaced by too many roaches at a North Side steakhouse.

City health inspectors spotted "an infestation of roaches" in the kitchen when they visited the restaurant this week. They also noted roach feces present on utensils and equipment, as well as expired food stored in the reach-in cooler.
Netflix hit the headlines last year when it pulled an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj that was critical of Saudi Arabia from its streaming service in the country. As it turns out, the company has only ever removed titles or episodes nine times after formal takedown requests from governments.

It has done so most often in Singapore, removing five items including The Last Temptation of Christ (which is banned in the country), Brazilian comedy The Last Hangover and a trio of weed-related shows, because cannabis is illegal there. Netflix has also pulled The Bridge in New Zealand (which deems the documentary on suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge objctionable), Full Metal Jacket in Vietnam and Night of the Living Dead in Germany. All of the requests had been made in the last five years.

Netflix removes an item if it receives a written government takedown demand and can't otherwise reach an agreement with authorities, as it wants to abide by local laws. However, it does fight those takedown requests. It took Brazil to court over one related to The First Temptation of Christ, a satire that depicts Jesus as a gay man. The nation's Supreme Court ruled in Netflix's favor last month, allowing it to keep the movie in its streaming library there.

The company laid out the requests and its compliance with them in an environmental, social and governance report, which it will publish once a year. The report also covers Netflix's environmental impact and energy use, as well as diversity in terms of its workforce and output.

Correction, 7/22/20, 3:15PM ET: This story originally said that Netflix removed the Scandinavian TV series The Bridge from its service in New Zealand; it actually removed a documentary with the same name. We apologize for the error.
Vietnam has been preparing two military camps on the outskirts of Hanoi to quarantine 950 citizens returning from China, where the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) has infected more than 31,000 people.

Of the 950 people, 150 will be isolated at the camp of the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District and the other 800 will be monitored at a military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town.

The venues, which are located some 25 kilometers and 45 kilometers, respectively, from the heart of Hanoi, include spaces for fundamental human needs such as dining halls, bunk beds, restrooms, and gyms for physical training.

National radio Voice of Vietnam (VOV) reported that the Vietnamese will arrive at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi and Van Don International Airport in the northern province of Quang Ninh, stopping short of saying the time of their arrival.

All 950 of them will be quarantined for at least 14 days after entering Vietnam.

A directory is put up at at the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Blankets are stored inside a room at the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

During the quarantine, any one of them who shows symptoms of a fever will be transferred to a hospital for treatment, VOV quoted Nguyen Viet Thang, chief medic at the High Command of Capital Hanoi, as saying.

After 14 days of isolation, those who are not infected can return home.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected over 31,400 globally as of Friday, according to the South China Morning Post.

Vietnam has confirmed 12 cases of novel coronavirus infection so far, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese have fully recovered and been discharged from hospital as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

Here is what it is like inside the two military camps:

Inside a gym for quarantined people at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Military officers carry a mobile security barrier at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Staff move cooking equipment at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A yard at the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A man disinfects a bedroom at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Inside a dining hall for quarantined people at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Inside a restroom for quarantined people at the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A 'Not Allowed Area' sign is put on a barbed wire fence at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A man disinfects the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Inside a bedroom for quarantined people at the 59th Infantry Regiment in Chuong My District, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

A man disinfects the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Military officers wear face masks wile standing guard at the military school under the High Command of Capital Hanoi in Son Tay Town, Hanoi, on February 6, 2020. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Syria: crisis in Idlib-Russian delegation in Turkey Saturday Cavusoglu, 'we want to end humanitarian tragedy'

(ANSAmed) - ISTANBUL, FEBRUARY 7 - A Russian delegation will travel Saturday to Turkey to discuss the situation in Idlib after clashes over the past few days between the Turkish army and Syrian government forces that caused more than 20 deaths on both fronts, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.



The meeting could lead to fresh direct talks between presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin, who already spoke on the phone about the crisis two days ago. ''We will do everything necessary to end the humanitarian drama in Idlib'', said Cavusoglu, referring to Damascus' intensifying offensive with Moscow's support against the rebel stronghold which, according to the UN, has displaced half a million people towards the Turkish border in the month of December alone. (ANSAmed)
North Korea Next: Afghanistan

The Context

Dismantling North Koreas nuclear program has long been an American priority, and President Trump has tried to do so through unusual means: direct diplomacy with the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un. It started in Singapore in 2018 but began to fall apart last February, when Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim emerged from a summit meeting in Vietnam empty-handed. In the interim, sanctions have remained, the Norths arsenal of weapons fuel and missiles has steadily expanded, and Mr. Kim recently threatened to resume missile tests.

Would you continue the personal diplomacy President Trump began with Kim Jong-un?

Would you tighten sanctions until North Korea has given up all of its nuclear and missile programs?

Would you gradually lift sanctions in return for a freeze on fissile material development, as President Clinton attempted?

Would you insist on substantial disarmament before relieving any sanctions?

Would you agree to begin withdrawing American troops from the Korean peninsula?

Please describe your North Korea strategy further.
Ministers have admitted a mobile phone outage at removal centres has prevented people from accessing legal services to challenge their deportation, days before a charter flight is set to leave the UK.

The Home Office has been forced to admit it has known about the issue affecting detainees mobile phone signals in detention centres near Heathrow airport since 13 January, but took 23 days to begin providing detainees with working sim cards  during which it pressed ahead with charter flights to Ghana, Nigeria and France.

Campaigners accused the government of removing people from the country without giving them their lawful right to legal advice and assistance during the crucial window leading up to the removal flights.

People who are due to be deported on a charter flight to Jamaica on Tuesday told The Independent that as a result of the outage, they had struggled to communicate with their solicitors and send them relevant documents to challenge their removals.

Mobile phones provided by the Home Office at the outset of detention are the principal means by which detainees are able to access legal assistance, contact their solicitors and stay in touch with their families.

Recommended Government told to review deportations days before charter flight

Echard Bepart-Woollett, 27, who came to Britain when he was eight and has two British children, said he had been struggling to communicate with his solicitor since the Home Office issued him with deportation orders last week.

I cant get hold of my solicitor  the only chance of getting out of here. Its getting mad. It feels like Im losing my mind. Its like all communication has been shut down. Everyone is trying to get hold of their solicitor to see whats going on, said the Jamaican national.

If they dont get the paperwork, I cant go to court, I cant fight. Its black and white. You need everything documented and proven, and if I cant get that out, then Im f***ed.

Mr Bepart-Woolletts solicitor, Marina Khan of Duncan Lewis Solicitors, said her client had a strong case to remain in Britain but that the mobile outages had meant filing submissions to challenge his deportation has taken much longer than normal.

We were trying to contact him every day since he instructed us on 31 January, and it took us until 6 February to formally take details instructions from him. Its been awful. His partner was stressing out, she said.

I needed to get his documents so that I could send his submissions to the Home Office. I couldnt send it during office hours because I didnt receive it in time. The delay was unreasonable.

Its caused a lot of undue stress and frustration for our client. Hes been totally deprived of contacting his legal representatives and unable to access legal justice and advice from us.

 MPs Nadia Whittome and Dawn Butler raise point of status of people on next weeks deportation flight to Jamaica

Another detainee, Reshawn Davis, 30, who came to the UK at the age of 11 and has a British six-month-old baby, said the signal issues were extremely frustrating.

People are telling me theyre trying to call me and I dont see the call. My phone just doesnt ring. I havent spoken to my solicitor directly at all because of the signal. Its been a huge added stress. I dont know whats going on, he said.

Its stopping me talking to my family as well. My daughter knows my voice. If I say something over the phone, shes thinking Daddys home. I say her name and she looks up for me. But this signal is preventing me from talking to her.

People facing imminent removal from the UK are entitled to notice periods ranging from three to five days during which it is, by law, vital that they are able to access legal advice and assistance, for example to assess the merits of challenging their removal.

Bella Sankey, director of Detention Action, which has launched a legal challenge against the Home Office over its alleged failure to provide effective access to legal advice to detainees, said: An eleventh-hour issuing of sim cards may not be sufficient for those seeking to challenge their removal on Tuesdays flight. Not to mention the impact on those that have been removed while the signal has been down.

This is a partial victory for access to justice but there are many unanswered questions and our legal challenge will proceed.

It comes after a leaked draft of the Windrush Lessons Learned review stated that ministers should consider ending the practice of deporting people who arrived in the UK as children, prompting calls for the Home Office to put deportation flight on hold until the review is published.

The Home Office has been approached for comment.
Combating hate?...

I read this recently in the World Jewish Congress digest and pass it along:

"WJC President Ambassador RONALD S. LAUDER delivered the keynote address at a recent event at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, an institution of the Holy Sea. "Human fraternity: a Jewish reflection for common coexistence brought together lead figures within the Catholic church, Jewish community officials, and members of the diplomatic community to encourage and foster dialogue between the Abrahamic faiths. In his remarks, Amb. Lauder emphasized the importance of mutual respect and understanding between all religions and reiterated his endorsement of the spirit and values outlined in the Abu Dhabi Declaration on Human Fraternity, heralding it as a 'defining international document' that deserves the respect of world Jewry.

Speaking to those assembled, the WJC president said, 'Human fraternity should always guide our actions. The concept of human fraternity has immediate implications for our world and our time. Firstly, we must counter hate. Racism is absolutely unacceptable. We must eradicate it. Anti-Semitism is absolutely unacceptable. We must eliminate it. Islamophobia is absolutely unacceptable. We must erase it. Attacks on Christian communities and on Christian individuals are absolutely unacceptable. We must stop them- and prevent their recurrence.

But the campaign against racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and anti-Christian attacks will be infinitely more effective if it is united. Christians should lead the defense of Jews and Muslims. Muslimns should lead the defense of Christians and Jews. Jews should lead the defense of Muslims and Christians. And we must all stand together against racism.'

The initiative for this conference was born following the co-signing of the Document of Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar last year in Abu Dhabi.

The WJC has long spearheaded dialogue between the three Abrahamic religions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam- and has established a close working relationship with the Holy Sea.

On the subject of "Hate"...

There were many, many heroes during the Holocaust that were never mentioned as frequently as those who are well known, for instance, Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg, German industrialist Oskar Schindler and Miep Gies who hid Anne Frank in Holland.

Anton Schmid is one of them. Drafted into the German army, Austrian born Anton Schmid was stationed in Lithuania in the autumn of 1941. Appalled by the dreadful conditions of the Vilna ghetto and by German massacres of Jews, he used his access to resources to provide Jews with provisions, transport to safer areas and forged papers. He also provided transportation and intelligence to Jewish resistance organizations.

Wehrmacht authorities arrested Schmid for treason in 1942. Convicted by a military court, he was executed on April 13, 1942.

He deserves to be remembered!

Getting to more pleasant things...

On Sunday, Feb. 9th from 10:30 a.m. until noon, visiting author, SUSAN TARCOV, will be at the Roth Family JCC in Maitland.

She will be discussing her book "Raisins And Almonds" a Yiddish lullaby,

"Scribble-scrabble. Scribble-scrabble. What is the noise coming from under Annie's bed? It's a little white goat, says her mother." Together mother and child create a fantastical adventure in an imaginary world. Based on the much-loved Yiddish lullaby "Rozhinkes Mit Mandlen" ("Raisins and Almonds"), this book includes a QR code link to a video recording of the song in Yiddish and English, as well as an author's note and the Yiddish and English lyrics to the song.

The event is free and sponsored by the PJ Library of Orlando as part of Tu B'Shevat themed family book day and craft workshop.

For further information and to RSVP, contact Executive Director ROBBIE ETZKIN, 407-645-5933.

JCC39s Cinema Sundays...

Beginning at 2 p.m. in the Maitland Senior Lounge on Feb. 9th, the movie "Stan & Ollie", starring John C Reilly and Steve Coogan will be shown. Refreshments will be available.

JCC39ers Meet & Mingle Mondays...

At 1 p.m. in the Maitland JCC Senior Lounge, SHELDON BROOK will present a film titled "A Jewish Legacy" Part A. It is a musical. Refreshments will be complimentary.

JCC39ers Terrific Thursdays...

On Feb. 13th beginning at 12:30 p.m., VICTOR and BATYA GRANATSTEIN will hold their Yiddish Circle.

An upcoming event...

(I will repeat this)

On Friday, Feb.14th, Scout Shabbat will be hosted by Temple Israel at 7:30 p.m.

Jewish scouts, family and friends of scouting in Central Florida are welcome to attend.

It takes place at 50 S. Moss Road, Winter Springs.

If you plan to attend, RSVP to info@cfcjewishscoutig.org.

For more information, phone 407-647-3055.

Susan Tarcov

Celebrate with troop 641 and Pack 641 on their 40th anniversary.

One for the road...

It's a lovely Sunday morning and Izzy wakes up, puts on his bathrobe and goes downstairs where his wife Rose is in the kitchen making breakfast.

"So what's for breakfast, dear?" he asks, as he enters the kitchen.

Rose walks over to him and says, "Before I answer that, you've got to make love to me right now."

Thinking it's his lucky day, Izzy does as he's told and makes love to Rose. When it's over, Izzy asks, "Darling, why did you want to make love at this very moment? You've never wanted to do that before."

"Because I'm making you eggs and the egg timer's broken," Rose replies.

(WHAT AN INSULT!)
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Linkedin Gemma Holliani Cahya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 13:58 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632481b 1 SE Asia coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,Singapore,Indonesia,Indonesian-Embassy Free

The Indonesian Embassy in Singapore said on Thursday that the 44-year-old Indonesian domestic helper in the city-state hospitalized for the novel coronavirus infection was in stable condition.

[She] is currently under isolation treatment at Singapore General Hospital. [She] is in stable condition, the Indonesian Embassy in Singapore said in a statement on Thursday.

The 44-year-old was the 21st novel coronavirus case detected in Singapore, which as of Friday has recorded 30 confirmed cases since the far-flung virus originating from the Chinese city of Wuhan spread to the city-state.

The Indonesian citizen, whose identity cannot be revealed due to the Personal Data Protection Act, had no recent travel history to mainland China prior to testing positive for the virus.

Read also: Coronavirus: Indonesia will not repatriate infected citizen from Singapore before recovery

Her Singaporean employer has also tested positive for the coronavirus.

The embassy is coordinating and maintaining communication with all relevant institutions, including the hospital and the Singaporean Health Ministry with regard to the patients condition, the statement said.

The embassy informed that up until Wednesday, 385 people had been suspected of having been infected with the coronavirus; 28 of whom tested positive. Meanwhile, 62 were awaiting tests on Wednesday.

We advised all Indonesians in Singapore to stay alert, take care of your health and hygiene, and pay attention to announcements made by the Singaporean government through the Health Ministry, the embassy said.

As of Friday, the death toll from the coronavirus hit 636, with Chinese authorities confirming that more than 30,000 people on the mainland had been infected, AFP reported. The fast-spreading virus has spread to more than 20 countries, with two deaths confirmed in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
An anti-vaxxer footy WAG has posted a picture of herself breastfeeding one of her children in support of a single mother who was shamed on social media.

Controversial blogger Taylor Winterstein has come out in support of Sarah Mills, who was ridiculed online for posting a photo of herself breastfeeding her son Morrison on the floor of a Target store.

The Tay's Way teacher posted a picture breastfeeding her son Ziggy in a public setting and claimed she 'will not cover up' to feed her children.

'Posting this again in solidarity with my sister (Ms Mills) who is being ridiculed in the media and bullied online for breastfeeding a child, over 12 months, in public... cause how dare mothers nourish babies whenever and wherever they choose,' she posted.

Taylor Winterstein has posted a public breastfeeding photo on Instagram in support of single-mother Sarah Mills, who was ridiculed online after her own public breastfeeding post

'Newsflash, no we will not 'cover up' or sit in a public toilet to feed our children just to please and soothe your ignorant, closed mind.

'Shout out to the men who actually know how to hold a safe space for us, support us and advocate for women to breastfeed children freely in public.'

Ms Winterstein is the wife of Penrith Panthers star Frank Winterstein, and is a non-qualified anti-vax campaigner who says her 'street cred' is her strongest qualification.

The mother-of-two regularly promotes her anti-vaccination campaign on her social media channels, and runs wellness workshops with her identical twin sister Stevie.

Ms Winterstein's views are not backed by science and she has been criticised by experts.

Doctors agree that there is no benefit to not vaccinating children and say the anti-vaxxer movement has led to more children falling ill.

Ms Winterstein was forced to cancel overseas anti-vaccination seminars last year amid backlash her teachings could 'wipe out the population of Samoa'.

Ms Mills uploaded her breastfeeding post last week, where she had suffered an anxiety attack in the Target store, and sat down to calm herself, before her son asked for some milk.

Ms Mills was called a 'paedophile' and 'child abuser' after posting this picture breastfeeding her son Morrison on the floor of a Target store

'I am too deep into single parenting to give a shit about what others might think and only do what's "socially acceptable",' Ms Mills posted.

'Morrison came to sit with me asking for a drink, relieved he'd be sitting still for a minute I happily obliged.

'I had a woman look at me in disgust, I don't know if it's because I was on the ground with no f***s to give, because I was breastfeeding in public, or because I was feeding a giant toddler - but in that moment nothing could bother me.'

The 33-year-old received a wealth of backlash online, with many commentators believing her three-year-old was too old to be breastfed.

The mother-of-three was called a 'paedophile' with 'special needs' and a 'filthy lazy mutt.'

Some of the horrific comments Ms Mills received after she uploaded her post last week

Ms Mills hit back at her nasty critics with another Instagram post on Friday morning.

'What should've been an uplifting post (and actually was for so many) promptly turned into a public argument on 1. Breastfeeding in public. 2. Breastfeeding toddlers,' she posted.

'I have been labelled a pedophile, whore, child abuser and the list goes on. Society telling me he's too old or I should feed in private. I had no idea public opinion on this was so nasty.'

Ms Mills has launched a call to arms for mothers to hold a mass public breast feed after Triple M radio host Lawrence Mooney claimed that a child who can ask for milk should not be breastfed.

She started a Facebook event called the Triple M nurse in, and intends to fly to Sydney to hold a public demonstration outside Triple M's office.
Mia Morrissey has announced her departure from Home and Away, just four months after making her debut on the show.

On Thursday, the actress, 25, who played Jade Lennox, shared a photo alongside her co-star Lukas Radovich to Instagram and said that starring on the show was a 'dream come true.'

'I know Summer Bay is glad to be rid of Jade. She did some SHOCKING things... And I'm not going to lie. Sometimes it was kinda hard,' she wrote.

'This was a dream come true!' Mia Morrissey (pictured) announced her departure from Home and Away on Thursday, four months after making her debut on the show

'I mean, I know it's 'make believe', but as an actor it's kinda your job to invest in your character and when your character and their actions go so against your own set of moral values it is... yeah... hard,' she continued.

Mia went on to say that playing Jade was challenging, but it was also fun and gave her the opportunity to 'invest in an opposite set of values.'

'Jade you are a total piece of work. You are a psycho and a total trouble maker... but thank you for everything you have given me,' she wrote.

Moving on: The actress (right) shared a photo alongside her co-star Lukas Radovich (left) to Instagram, and said that starring on the show was a 'dream come true'

'The experience, the friendships, the chance to say "you'll regret this" enough for it to be a drinking game, not to mention the amount of super hot kisses shared with Lukas Radovich and Kawakawa Fox-Reo.'

Her co-star Lukas, who plays Ryder Jackson on Home and Away, also shared a photo with Mia on Instagram.

'Bye Jade... we had fun... Didn't we? YES WE DID. Thanks for the memories you saucy minx. I'd do it all again if it meant I got to work with [you] again,' he wrote.

In October, Jade was introduced as Ryder's love interest before secretly recording a video of the pair having sex and accusing him after uploading it online.

Friendship: Lukas, who plays Ryder Jackson on Home and Away, also shared a photo with Mia and said: 'I'd do it all again if it meant I got to work with [you] again'

Mia was first spotted filming scenes for the Channel Seven show in June last year on Sydney's Palm Beach.

The actress, who is the daughter of celebrity agents Peter and Lizzy Morrissey, first rose to fame in 2014, when she competed on season three of The Voice.

After passing her blind audition and joining Ricky Martin's team, she was eliminated from the show in the first battle round.
Although there are certain limitations associated with wipe-based trace detection approaches, recent work conducted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Maryland looked to utilize this collection method for analysis by thermal desorption direct analysis in real-time mass spectrometry (TD-DART-MS).

Image Credit: Fuss Sergey/Shutterstock.com

Field testing of controlled substances

For several decades, law enforcement officers were allowed to perform simple presumptive field tests to confirm the presence or absence of controlled substances like cocaine, heroin and other narcotic substances.

Unfortunately, due to the extremely harmful and even lethal health effects that can occur following the handling of synthetic opioids and other novel psychoactive substances (NPSs), such as fentanyl, law enforcement agencies have abandoned this previously common practice.

Current presumptive testing methods

To eliminate the potential exposure of law enforcement officers to bulk powders, two primary types of presumptive testing can be performed.

Spectroscopy techniques, of which include Raman spectroscopy and/or Fourier transform infared (FTIR) spectroscopy, are capable of detecting chemical substances present within their packaging material.

While useful, most spectroscopy-based techniques are unable to accurately describe contents that have a mass fraction of 10% or less. Furthermore, spectroscopy-based techniques are also limited in their ability to detect substances present within packaging that is not transparent or semi-transparent.

The second type of commonly employed presumptive testing includes trace detection technologies, which can include ion mobility spectrometry (IMS), lateral flow immunoassays (LFIs) and portable mass spectrometry (MS).

Many of these trace detection methods require a wipe-based collection technique, in which only remnant particulate residue present on the exterior of the packaging material will be tested. While trace detection methods are not associated with the same packaging and sensitivity limitations of spectroscopy techniques, the collection method for trace detection methods is not very selective.

To this end, any type of dirt or plasticizer agent present on the surface of the external packaging, in addition to the drug residue, will be collected and measured.

Wipe-based collection and TD-DART-MS analysis

In a recent 2019 study, researchers utilized samples that were collected from actual evidence submissions at either the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division or the Vermont Forensic Laboratory.

Meta-aramid wipes were used to collect any available trace residue present on both outer packaging that contained the piece of evidence, as well as the exterior surface of the piece of evidence.

For the purposes of this study, a piece of evidence included a plastic bag, pill bottle or glassline envelope that has collected from the scene of the crime and contained the material to be analyzed.

Methodology

All wipes were analyzed by TD-DART-MS for the non-targeted screening of trace residues. TD-DART-MS was considered to be an ideal analytical technique for this study, as no prior sample preparation or pre-treatment of the wipes were required.

Since the researchers of this study found that the surface of the actual piece of evidence contained sufficient amount of material for TD-DART-MS analysis, this team decided to utilize liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to gain further quantitative measurements.

Results

At the end of this study, the researchers were able to confirm the absence or presence of at least one drug within the sample in 92% of tested samples. It is important to note that certain false positives arose if the residue of a pure drug and/or cutting agent, like dextromethorphan, were present and detected on other items, which likely was attributed to competitive ionization.

Additionally, compounds that were sprayed onto plant materials and/or stored in heat-sealed foil-bags also limited the ability to detect trace residues. While these limitations were found to exist, this data ensured the researchers that an accuracy rate of 100% could be achieved in the event that this technique was strictly applied for the detection of synthetic opioid residues.

The quantitative analyses performed in this study found that drug residues present on the exterior surface of packages containing pieces of evidence can exist at concentrations ranging from tens of nanograms to milligrams.

This finding was particularly promising, as it demonstrated that techniques that are less expensive and more portable than TD-DART-MS could be used for presumptive field-testing applications.

Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the analysis of trace residues present on the exterior surfaces of drug packaging could be successfully achieved at crime sites in the future.

Sources Sisco, E., Robinson, E. L., Burns, A., & Mead, R. (2019). Whats in the bag? Analysis of exterior drug packaging by TD-DART-MS to predict the contents. Forensic Science International 304. DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.109939.

Further Reading
MidMichigan Health is offering community programs that will provide information on the maturing processes of adolescent males and females. Both seminars will be held in the Towsley Auditorium, located in the lower level of Towsley Building, on the campus of MidMichigan Medical Center - Midland.

During the event, participants will learn key facts about the maturing process by MidMichigan health care providers who will discuss the physical, emotional and social maturation of the adolescent male and female. The seminars will also include medically accurate, developmentally appropriate information sharing, questions and answers.
Kirk Douglas brought a highly charged dramatic energy to starring roles in Spartacus, Lust for Life, Champion, Ace in the Hole and Paths of Glory, helping him to become one of Hollywoods foremost leading men and enduring stars.

Douglas, who amassed nearly 90 screen credits, entered Hollywood in 1946 as a product of the studio system and later made the risky transition to being an independent producer and star performer as the system crumbled.

Beyond his on-screen work, Douglas produced and directed films; helped put an end to the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s; wrote memoirs, novels and childrens books; and with his second wife, Anne Douglas, ran a project to improve school playgrounds in underprivileged neighbourhoods.

Starting in the 1960s, he travelled around the world as a US State Department goodwill ambassador, which sparked an interest in politics and brought him friendships with nearly every president since John F Kennedy. In 1981, President Jimmy Carter awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the USs highest civilian honour.

In the prime of his acting career, Douglas was a dashing figure, a golden-haired hunk with chiselled facial features, steely blue eyes, a distinctive low guttural voice and pearly white teeth that gleamed behind a disarming smile. He had a muscular build stretched over a 5ft 10in frame, trim and fit from years as an accomplished high school and collegiate wrestler.

Recommended Celebrating 100 years of Kirk Douglas

Built upon his raw physical strength were an intelligence and intensity that he infused into his movie characters. Many of them were unscrupulous, stubborn, even diabolical. For some movie critics, his acting seemed one-dimensional, easily parodied by comics.

To Douglas, the seriousness and approach to the craft of acting never wavered. Indeed, he always followed a simple formula. When you play a strong character, find his weakness, he once said. If you play a weak character, find his strength.

His work covered a range of genres, from westerns and epic dramas to romances and action adventures. In Douglass earliest movies, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) and Out of the Past (1947), he was cast in the unlikely role of smarmy weakling. His breakout role came in 1949 when he played a self-absorbed boxer in Champion, based on a Ring Lardner story of a restless young man who alienates those closest to him as he pursues a prize-fighting career.

Douglas in 1976 (Washington Post/Craig Herndon) (Washington Post)

He went on to play a troubled musician character based on the jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke in Young Man with a Horn (1950); an obsessed detective with violent tendencies in Detective Story (1951); and an unscrupulous newspaper reporter in director Billy Wilders Ace in the Hole (1951).

Douglas portrayed Vincent van Gogh in Lust for Life (1956); played the gunslinger Doc Holliday in Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957); and appeared as a First World War French colonel in Stanley Kubricks scathing anti-war movie Paths of Glory (1957).

The son of a rag collector, Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch Demsky in 1916, in Amsterdam, New York, where he was the youngest child and only son in a family of seven children. On a wrestling scholarship, he entered St Lawrence University in Canton, New York, and worked as a janitor to help with tuition. After his graduation in 1938, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and made his Broadway debut as a singing Western Union boy in Spring Again (1941).

At the start of the Second World War, he enlisted in the navy and served as a communications officer with an anti-submarine unit. Before he could be sent to combat duty, a bout with amoebic dysentery led to an honourable discharge in 1944.

After a brief return to the New York acting scene, he won the attention of Hollywood producer Hal Wallis on the recommendation of Lauren Bacall, a former classmate at the academy.

In The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Douglas played Barbara Stanwycks alcoholic and scheming husband, followed by a role as a gangster outfoxed by Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past.

His first starring role was the antihero lead in Champion, a part he described as made for me  a chance to express the turbulent feelings inside me. The small-budget independent movie emerged as a surprise hit, receiving six Academy Award nominations, including a best actor nod for Douglas. He went on to establish himself as an actor with a prowess for roles requiring great physicality and unsympathetic characters driven by self-interest.

The 1950s proved to be a banner decade for Douglas, who received two more best actor Oscar nominations while establishing a film-production company, Bryna Productions, named after his mother, Bryna Sanglel, a Russian Jewish immigrant. His nominations were for The Bad and the Beautiful and Lust for Life, the second a stark departure from the strong macho parts coveted by Hollywoods leading men in the post-war era.

Douglas with Lauren Bacall at a State Department dinner in 1994 (Washington Post/Margaret Thomas) (Washington Post)

In later interviews he said his proudest professional achievement was his contribution to ending the Hollywood blacklist. That came about when Douglas, as executive producer of the big-budget epic Spartacus (1960), publicly credited Dalton Trumbo as the author of the screenplay.

Trumbo was one of 10 prominent screenwriters and directors who had been blacklisted for refusing to cooperate with the House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Until Spartacus, Trumbo had been forced to write under pseudonyms. But this film, which starred Douglas in the title role as the leader of a Roman slave revolt and received four Oscars, led to Trumbos reinstatement as a member of the Writers Guild.

Trumbo went on to write Lonely Are the Brave (1962), in which Douglas plays a defiant, old-fashioned cowboy in modern New Mexico who becomes a fugitive from the law. Although it received excellent reviews, the film did little business. Douglas said it was his favourite movie.

Douglass lone Oscar came in 1996 when he was given a lifetime achievement award for his influence as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community. A few months before this he had suffered a stroke, and had fallen into a severe depression, a period he wrote about in his book My Stroke of Luck (2002).

He came close to ending his life, placing a loaded a gun  the same one he used in Gunfight at the OK Corral  in his mouth. But when he smacked his teeth with the pistols barrel, the pain was so excruciating, he removed the gun and began chuckling, he recalled in his book. A toothache delayed my death, he said.

Douglas became an advocate for stroke survivors, relaying his own struggles and triumphs, as a way to raise public awareness about stroke symptoms, treatment and rehabilitation.

His first marriage, to Diana Dill, ended in divorce. He is survived by his second wife Anne Buydens, whom he married in 1954, and three children, one of whom is the actor Michael Douglas. Another son predeceased him.

Kirk Douglas, actor, born 9 December 1916, died 5 February 2020

Additional reporting by Adam Bernstein and Glenn Frankel

 Washington Post
The cousin of the New Jersey married father-of-two who police believe murdered his family before taking his own life this week has spoken out about the tragedy, speculating that the 'devil' must have gotten to him, causing him to snap.

Family members have identified the victims as Ruth Reyes, 30, her five-year-old daughter, Euriany, and two-year-old son, Eury.

Reyes' husband has been identified as 54-year-old Eugenio Severino. Friends said the wife took out a restraining order against Severino last month because he had threatened to kill her.

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Police in New Jersey believe Eugenio Severino, 54 (center), killed his wife, Ruth Reyes, 30 (left), and their children, ages 5 and 2, before taking his own life

Severino was reportedly found hanging from a tree in the woods in Carneys Point, NJ

Police found Reyes and her children stabbed to death inside the family's apartment in Penns Grove, New Jersey, on Wednesday, not long after Severino was found hanging from a tree in nearby woods.

Johnny Solano, Severino's cousin, spoke to NJ.com on Thursday, describing the moment police officers at the family's apartment cordoned-off with yellow crime tape broke the grim news to him after he offered to give them Severino's license plate number so they could track him down.

'They told me, "Everybodys gone."' he recalled.

Solano, who employed Reyes at his restaurant and helped her find a second job, said he knew she and Severino were having martial problems, and that his cousin was upset after the wife forced him out of their apartment two weeks ago.

Solano said he urged Severino to take some time to cool off, but he said his cousin would not stop calling his wife.

'I thought he never would have hurt her,' Solano said. 'Because he loved this little boy and this little girl. But in the moment, I guess the devil got him.'

Police in Penns Grove performed a welfare check at Severino's apartment (pictured) and found his family stabbed in the bathroom

The tragic incident began unfolding on Wednesday morning when a passerby came across Severino's body hanging from a tree in the woods off of Sportsman Road in Carneys Point, reported CBS Philadelphia.

Local police officers looked up the man's address in nearby Penns Grove and contacted their colleagues there, requesting a welfare check at his apartment on Helms Cove Lane.

When Penns Grove cops made their way inside the unit, they found Reyes stabbed to death in the bathroom alongside her children, the Spanish-language news site Diario Libre reported.

Solano said Reyes and Severino had been married in her native Dominican Republic, before she legally emigrated to the US and settled in New Jersey two years ago.

Reyes was 24 years Severino's junior and had a son from a previous relationship, who lives in the Dominican Republic.

Reyes' employer said she and Severino had been married in their native Dominican Republic (pictured together with their children)

Reyes took out a restraining order against her husband two weeks ago after he threatened to kill her. She also kicked him out of their apartment

Those who knew Reyes described her as a great mother to her children and a kind person

Solano said he knew that Reyes and Severino's already strained relationship took a turn for the worse two weeks ago, when the husband threatened to kill the wife and she kicked him out of their apartment.

Reyes then went to court and obtained a restraining order against Severino.

Next-door neighbor Elibeth Ortiz said she, too, was aware of the couple's marital problems. She said Severino was 'too possessive' and the pair sometimes could be heard arguing.

Those who knew Reyes described her as a great mother to her children and a kind person.

'She was always there for her kids, always working,' friend Keyla Padilla told 6ABC. 'If not working, she was in her house. She was very humble and stayed to herself. Very friendly.'

Reyes' family, including her parents and surviving son, are making arrangements to have her and her children's bodies transported back to the Dominican Republic for burial.
(Newser)  All seven UK venues that were scheduled to host Franklin Graham this summer have now disinvited the evangelist, though he says the tour will go on. Birmingham, Liverpool and Sheffield are among the cities that had canceled Graham's appearances before Newcastle Upon Tyne did so Wednesday, CNN reports, after more than 5,000 people signed a petition. "Franklin Graham's views are wholly inconsistent with our city, which is preparing to welcome huge celebrations and tens of thousands of people this summer for UK Pride," the chair of a gay pride group said on the petition site, CNN reports. Graham has been critical of expanding rights for transgender people and has said Satan is to blame for the legalization of same-sex marriage. He's also described Islam as "wicked and evil." Graham has called on Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, who is gay, to repent.

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The son of the late evangelist Billy Graham, Graham acknowledged this week that while opposition to his summer tour is strong in the UK, "so is the support," a Twitter post read. "While several venues have dropped out of the tour, more than 1,800 churches are rallying together in prayer." A statement on his organization's UK website said it's trying to find places available on the same dates for which the events had been scheduled, per the Hill. (Read more Franklin Graham stories.)
The scene of a two vehicle accident on the Drones Road between Armoy and Ballymena on Thursday. Picture Steven McAuley/McAuley Multimedia

A 41-year-old man has been killed in a crash in Co Antrim.

The two-vehicle crash between a white Volkswagen Golf and a silver-coloured Kia Picanto happened on the Drones Road near Armoy at around 7pm on Thursday.

The man died at the scene and it's thought two others were injured in the crash.

Police are investigating and appealed for information.

Police appealed for anyone who witnessed the collision, or who was driving in the area and has dash-cam footage which could assist their investigation to contact the collision investigation unit on 101 quoting reference number 1645 06/02/20.

The Drones Road was reopened at around midday on Friday.
Japan announced Friday that 41 more passengers on board a quarantined cruise ship have tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus, bringing the total number of sick people to 61.

The Diamond Princess, now docked at the port of Yokohama, is carrying roughly 3,700 passengers and crew members. Officials believe an 80-year-old man who got off the ship in Hong Kong was the first person on board to contract the coronavirus. The sick passengers have all been hospitalized, while those who are in quarantine have been given thermometers and told to keep track of their temperature, notifying the crew if it goes above 99.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Earlier this week, 273 people on board the ship were tested for coronavirus after coming into contact with the sick passenger or complaining of a fever. The passengers were told on Monday that they would have to stay in their cabins under quarantine for two weeks, and those who don't have windows in their rooms are allowed to go up to the top deck for fresh air. The ship has provided passengers with gloves and face masks, and they have all been advised to stay away from each other. Despite this, "we are still in good spirits," passenger Tammy Smith of California told The Wall Street Journal.

A Holland America ship, the Westerdam, had been scheduled to make stops at multiple ports in Japan, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said non-Japanese passengers would not be allowed to disembark over fears of spreading the virus. Holland America said there are no known cases of coronavirus on board.

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FINANCE Minister Paschal Donohoe has claimed Fine Gael can still be the largest party in the Dail after Saturdays general election - despite fears his own seat could be in jeopardy.

Mr Donohoe, who has spearheaded Fine Gaels election campaign, will canvass all day tomorrow in a bid to shore up his vote in Dublin Central and said he believes there are still many undecided voters.

He said he believed FIne Gael could be the largest party despite having slipped into third place behind Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail in the two most recent polls.

Mr Donohoe was speaking alongside Cabinet colleague Richard Bruton at Fine Gaels last media event at a community centre in north inner city Dublin.

I believe further change in how people are going to vote in the last 48 hours of this election is very, very likely, and from the engagement I've had on the doorstep, and from the engagement that I'm having with candidates for Fine Gael, I think there is a real prospect that Fine Gael will be the biggest party in the next Dail, he said.

The margin for being the biggest party, of course, is very tight at the moment. We finished up this Dail with lots of change having taken place within it, but I believe there is a very good prospect that Fine Gael could be the biggest party in the next Dail.

He said he believed it was possible for Fine Gael to win more than the 50 seats it returned in 2016.

Mr Donohoe said he will canvass all-day tomorrow in a bid to secure votes in Dublin Central where he is coming under pressure from a surge in support for Sinn Fein, whose leader Mary Lou McDonald is also running in the constituency and is likely to have a substantial surplus.

In a late leaflet drop Mr Donohoe has told voters he needs their vote to stay as your TD with scant mention of his Fine Gael running mate Deirdre Duffy.

Mr Donohoe said there is a change afoot in his constituency where people are asking him a lot more penetrating questions on the doorstep than Ive experienced before.

He said he has had a number of policy discussions on the doorstep in recent weeks. Ill be at it all day tomorrow as well, he added.

By contrast Mr Bruton who has been a TD since 1982 said he is confident in my own seat in Dublin Bay North. I'm confident that well do very well in my constituency, he said.
THE Teagasc National lowland sheep conference was recently held in Killarney, where researcher and geneticist Noirin McHugh outlined how data from commercial sheep farms can help to increase the rate of genetic gain being made in Irish sheep flocks.

The introduction of national genetic indices are crucial to enable farmers to make more informed breeding and selection, decisions to ensure that they have the desirable combination of genetics for their flock.

Genetic gain has been clearly seen across the dairy and beef sectors with the EBI and Eurostar Indices.

Previously a large proportion of the data generating the sheep genetic indices was originating from pedigree flocks.

However, in recent years there has been a large emphasis placed on the collection of data from commercial flocks.

This data allows for pedigree rams to be evaluated in a real, commercial environment, thereby ensuring rams with positive attributes are identified for the commercial farmer.

The Sheep Ireland uro-star indices were introduced in 2009 with the aim of providing sheep farmers with an additional tool for the selection of breeding animals.

The genetic indices aim to identify a low-cost, easy-care sheep with good maternal characteristics, but that also produces a good-quality lamb that reaches slaughter at an early age.

This is being done using two indices, which are the Terminal and Maternal Indexes.

Again, this is similar to the beef sector, where a bull has a Terminal and Replacement Index value.

The Data Quality Index (DQI) is an index that ranks each flock based on the quality and quantity of the data recorded on the flock over the previous year.

This index can be used to help commercial farmers to identify pedigree flocks that are recording a large amount of data as accurately as possible.

Although uro-star indices are generally only available on pedigree rams, Sheep Ireland has placed increased emphasis in recent years on data generated on these pedigree rams on commercial flocks.

There are a number of national commercial recording programmes ongoing currently, but the overall aim is to increase this number to generate more accurate indexes.

In commercial flocks, rams from different breeds are mated to a central group of commercial ewes, and their progeny performance is recorded. Information on the progeny, managed in a commercial environment, feeds back into the genetic indices of the pedigree rams used and also all his relatives.

Currently, 10,000 ewe and 15,000 lamb records are produced annually, with known ancestry and detailed information such as lambing, lamb growth, health or ewe fertility performance.

This data feeds directly into the evaluations of the rams that are evaluated on these commercial flocks, but also on close relations of these rams.

Data from commercial grass-based flocks now makes up approximately 50per cent of all data entering Sheep Ireland each year.

This ensures that pedigree rams are tested in a pure commercial environment, and should ensure that the genetic indexes of any pedigree rams are more reflective of how that ram would perform in a commercial flock.

Sheep Ireland now provides a service and the tools for commercial farmers to monitor flock performance.

This information can be used by individual commercial farmers to assess the whole flock performance and doesnt necessarily need to include information on dam or sire of individual lambs.

This includes detailed management reports on pregnancy scan data, ewe and lamb weights and health data.

The uro-star indices are an important tool now available to sheep farmers to allow them to make a more informed decision prior to buying a ram for use on their flock.

The large amounts of commercial data now feeding into the uro-star indices ensure that rams are ranked on their potential performance in a commercial environment.

Teagasc and Sheep Ireland will continue to work closely with industry partners to ensure that continuous improvements are made to the uro-star indices. Support from commercial flocks in terms of recording data will be a key factor in the future if the rate of genetic gain is to be increased within the national sheep flock.

Matt O'Sullivan is a Teagasc Adviser
File image: Twitter/@SuPriyoBabul

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday chided Union minister Babul Supriyo for making certain remarks against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, saying no right has been given to the minister to scold any member in the House.

Supriyo made certain remarks, which the Speaker immediately expunged from records, against Chowdhury and there were also protests from Congress members over the minister's remarks.

Birla also told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi to make Supriyo understand Parliamentary proceedings. Supriyo -- who is the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change -- was replying to a supplementary related to air pollution during Question Hour.

"Mantri ji, aapko adhikaar nahi diya (gaya hai) daatne ka (minister, you have not been given right to scold)," Birla said. The Speaker also cut short Supriyo's reply. Amid the protests, the minister said he has known Chowdhury for a long time and was withdrawing the remarks.

Earlier, about the written reply related to national clean air programme, Chowdhury -- leader of Congress in Lok Sabha -- said it was just a statement of intention and alleged that the government has failed in addressing the issues.

In response, Supriyo remarked that since Chowdhury is following 'Fit India' regime, he might be doing more Yoga and might not have had time to read the answer. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present in the House.
Hyundai Motor vehicles are parked at its Ulsan factory's export shipment dock, Thursday. Hyundai Motor Group suspended operations of assembly lines in Korea due to shortages of China-sourced auto parts. / Yonhap



By Baek Byung-yeul



The spread of the novel coronavirus is dealing blows to Korean automakers as Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors have suspended operations of their assembly lines in Korea due to shortages of auto parts sourced from China where the outbreak originated.



In a regulatory filing to the Financial Supervisory Service, Friday, Hyundai posted it has decided to temporarily halt the operation of its Asan and Ulsan factories starting Feb. 7 and its Jeonju factory from Feb. 10. Hyundai's sister company Kia Motors will also suspend its assembly lines on Feb. 10.



The move came after China has extended its mandatory factory shutdowns to stop the spread of the deadly virus, which is disrupting the global supply chain.



Forecasting the influence of factory shutdown, Hyundai said it will suffer output losses. A Hyundai official said it has not decided as to when it will restart its assembly lines.



Hyundai has seven assembly lines in operation here  five in Ulsan, one in Asan and one in Jeonju and 10 overseas plants. Kia has eight domestic plants in Gwnagmyeong, Hwaseong and Gwangju and seven overseas factories.



Local SUV maker SsangYong Motor has also been heavily affected by the outbreak of the virus. The company has stopped operations of its factory in Pyeongtaek, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, until Feb. 12 because it has failed to procure enough auto parts.



GM Korea isn't experiencing any immediate impact on its production, but continues to monitor the on-going situation closely, while Renault Samsung is considering suspending operations at its plant in Busan for several days next week.



The government is bolstering its efforts to help local carmakers procure auto parts. It is also seeking ways to "partially" restart operations of China-based parts-making factories through a negotiation with local Chinese governments.



During a meeting seeking countermeasures against the novel coronavirus, Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said the government will actively support local carmakers to help them normalize their operations as soon as possible.



"The government will bolster its negotiation effort with the local Chinese governments to restart the auto parts factories in China," Hong said during a meeting in Seoul. He added the government will also simplify the import procedure so that automakers can quickly apply those parts imported from China to their vehicles.



The minister added it will allow local auto parts makers to extend the working hours of their employees and offer aid in human resources to increase the volume of locally-manufactured parts.


Washington, D.C., Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Blank Rome LLP is pleased to announce that Dean S. Nordlinger has joined the Firms Washington, D.C., office as a Partner in the Corporate, M&A, and Securities group, which welcomed Partner Stacy H. Louizos earlier this week in the New York office. Dean brings more than 20 years of experience representing privately held and closely held companies of all sizes, private equity firms, and entrepreneurs from a broad range of industries. Dean joins from Miles & Stockbridge, P.C., where he served as principal.

Deans commitment to providing his clients with high-quality, value-based corporate services as well as his unique professional background in evaluating critical nuances in contractual language and agreements makes him a terrific addition to our Firm, said Grant S. Palmer, Blank Romes Managing Partner and CEO. We are excited to welcome Dean to our Corporate group in Washington, D.C., and look forward to offering clients his engaging counsel throughout all phases of their business lifecycle.

Dean has extensive experience representing clients on both sides of corporate and transactional matters. Often serving as a virtual in-house counsel for his clients, Deans work includes representing businesses or individuals as buyers and sellers on mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and sales, management buyouts, spinoffs, joint ventures and other strategic transactions, and debt and equity financing transactions. Additionally, he advises clients on a variety of other business and corporate matters, including entity formation, ownership structure, operating agreements, shareholders agreements, employee incentive compensation plans, non-compete agreements, loan transactions, and succession planning.

Deans corporate experience leverages a deep understanding for matters involving government contracts, derived from his work with several private entities that also provide services to state and federal agencies. He will collaborate with the Firms Government Contracts group, one of the top government contracts practices ranked nationally in Chambers USA and notably recognized for handling sophisticated litigation, counseling, and transactional matters for government contractors, on providing more comprehensive services to clients and creating additional synergies across the Firms practices. Notably, Dean will enhance Blank Romes capabilities in its Aerospace, Defense, and Government (ADG) M&A practice, further strengthening the Firms position as one of the few firms with top-tier national corporate and government contracts practices who are skilled at counseling clients on the web of complex transactions and considerations that are unique to the ADG sector.

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Dean is a respected corporate adviser to clients of all sizes from a wide range of industries, and we are thrilled to welcome him to our Firm, said Louis M. Rappaport, Co-Chair of Blank Romes Corporate, M&A, and Securities group. He provides his clients with innovative legal solutions to their most complex transactions, and also offers comprehensive government contracts reviews, which delivers an additional level of service that will benefit our clients who provide products or services to local, state, and federal organizations.

Blank Rome is a respected firm with highly regarded and top-ranked practices across the country, and I am delighted to join as a corporate partner, said Dean. I look forward to collaborating with my new colleagues across the Firm to service our clients needs, notably with regards to government contracts, private equity, venture capital, and real estate, among others.

With his move to Blank Rome, Dean plans to continue his active role in the community and build upon past representation of pro bono clients. Dean earned his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law School, his M.B.A. from the University of San Diego, and his B.A., cum laude, from the University of Michigan.

About Blank Rome

Blank Rome is an Am Law 100 firm with 14 offices and more than 600 attorneys and principals who provide comprehensive legal and advocacy services to clients operating in the United States and around the world. Our professionals have built a reputation for their leading knowledge and experience across a spectrum of industries, and are recognized for their commitment to pro bono work in their communities. Since our inception in 1946, Blank Romes culture has been dedicated to providing top-level service to all of our clients, and has been rooted in the strength of our diversity and inclusion initiatives. For more information, please visit blankrome.com.

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Kate Tavella

Blank Rome LLP

215.988.6988

tavella@blankrome.com


Luxury fashion giant Burberry has seen its share price fall again after it announced that it has closed 24 of its stores in China as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

Shares in the 164-year-old company fell more than 1 per cent to below 2,000p this morning, meaning the stock has dropped nearly 15 per cent since mid-January.

Burberry says it has has endured a 'material negative effect' because of the coronavirus, which has also resulted in opening hours being reduced at its forty other establishments in China.

Burberry say they 'fully support' the Chinese government's efforts to deal with the coronavirus

The company also warned it is expecting revenues from Chinese tourists to worsen in the coming weeks as travel restrictions across the globe intensify.

In a statement on its website, Burberry say they 'fully support' the Chinese government's efforts to deal with the virus, which has killed over 630 people and infected over 31,500.

It also told shareholders that the effects on full-year financial results would be limited as the period is almost over.

The company recently posted a strong third quarter financial performance in the country on the back of growing sales in mainland China.

CEO Marco Gobbetti provided an optimistic tone in his statement, saying that despite the damaging financial impact caused by the epidemic, Burberry was 'confident in its strategy.'

He added: 'In the meantime, we are taking mitigating actions and every precaution to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of our employees.

Burberry's sales have already been significantly affected in the last year by the anti-government protests in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill

'We are extremely grateful for the incredible effort of our teams and our immediate thoughts are with the people directly impacted by this global health emergency.'

Burberry's sales have already been significantly affected in the last year by the anti-government protests in Hong Kong over a controversial extradition bill.

Its stores in the city state used to account for around 8 per cent of global sales. That has since halved as Chinese tourists elected not to cross to the island while protesters were on the streets.

Russ Mould, investment director at online investment platform, writes: 'Burberry has confirmed what the market has been speculating for weeks  that the coronavirus is having a negative impact on luxury goods demand in China.

Shares in Elon Musk's car firm Tesla dropped by more than 17 per cent on Wednesday after they announced that cars which were due to be delivered in early February will be delayed

'Its share price has fallen by 10 per cent this year as it seemed highly likely that the reduction in people freely moving around China, and the shift in people's focus to worrying about their health rather than thinking about shopping, would impact Burberry's earnings. Asia is very important for sales of its products.

'Just over a third of its stores in Mainland China are currently closed with the rest opening for shorter hours each day and also seeing a significant drop in visitor numbers.

'Burberry is right to have withdrawn its earnings guidance given so much uncertainty on sales. It joins a growing list of companies doing the same.'

Other major international companies to have closed their stores in China include Ikea, Starbucks and electric car giant Tesla.

Electronics giant Ericsson announnced today that it will not attend the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) show in Barcelona due to worries surrounding the coronavirus

Shares in Tesla dropped by more than 17 per cent on Wednesday after a company executive at the firm announced that cars which were due to be delivered in early February will be delayed.

It has been a rollercoaster week for Elon Musk's automotive firm, with its share price soaring by over $100 on Monday and more than 13 per cent the following day.

Electronics giant Ericsson announnced today that it will not attend the upcoming Mobile World Congress (MWC) show due to worries surrounding the coronavirus.

On Thursday a doctor who was among the first to sound the alarm on the deadly virus succumbed to the illness. Dr Li Wenliang, 34, had been in trouble with China's hard-line authorities for 'spreading rumours' about the virus in December.

Meanwhile, Japan announced it had identified a further 41 cases of the virus.

Shares in Burberry had recovered by 1:30pm to 2,003p, still 14p down though compared to the start of the day.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: As many as 18 people with suspected Coronavirus were admitted to the Fever and Gandhi hospitals in the city on Thursday. While 11 of them were admitted to the Gandhi Hospital, seven were taken in by the Fever Hospital. It is learnt that of the admitted patients, 10 are Chinese nationals.

Meanwhile, five more medical employees were brought to Gandhi Hospitals ICMR lab which has been testing the samples of patients suspected to have Coronavirus  on Thursday, to tackle the staff crunch.

Of these five medicos, four are lab assistants, and one of them is a medical officer from Osmania General Hospital. This has taken the total number of medical professionals testing the samples to 13.

Speaking to Express, Dr S Rajeshwar Rao, professor of Microbiology at Gandhi Hospital, said, We will need three more doctors on the team. One more doctor is yet to come from the Directorate of Public Health. This is because the test has four phases. A single phase can be handled by just one doctor along with four lab technicians. Currently we have five doctors. We need a total of eight doctors to be able to have two sets of medicos -- one for the morning shift and one for the night shift.

Not all China returnees to be screened

Dismissing reports claiming that over 3,000 patients need to be tested for Coronavirus here, Dr G Sriniavas Rao, Director, State Public Health, said, "Only the passengers who have returned from Wuhan, China, are supposed to be tested for Coronavirus. All the other passengers are supposed to be tested only if they have the symptoms."

Dr G Vijay Kumar, the State nodal officer for Coronavirus said, "We have a record of only three people from Wuhan who have been tested negative for nCov. A total of 37 people have been tested and all the results are negative."
Oslo, 7 February 2020  DNO ASA, the Norwegian oil and gas operator, today announced that the Extraordinary General Meeting scheduled for 28 February 2020 will be held at 10:00 am at the Company's offices located at Dokkveien 1, Oslo. The purpose of the meeting will be to seek shareholder approval to cancel all 108,381,415 own shares currently held by the Company.

The formal notice of the Extraordinary General Meeting, including the statement of the auditor concerning reduction of share capital, the attendance form, the proxy without voting instructions and the proxy with voting instructions are attached.

The electronic system for notification of attendance is available at the following link: Electronic registration

--

For further information, please contact:

Media: media@dno.no

Investors: investor.relations@dno.no

Tel: +47 23 23 84 80

--

DNO ASA is a Norwegian oil and gas operator focused on the Middle East and the North Sea. Founded in 1971 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the Company holds stakes in onshore and offshore licenses at various stages of exploration, development and production in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Norway, the United Kingdom, Netherlands, Ireland and Yemen.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.













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Stanley Cohen, a Brooklyn-born biochemist who shared the 1986 Nobel Prize in medicine for the discovery of chemicals that promote and help regulate the growth of cells  research that greatly advanced sciences understanding of cancer, dementia and other maladies  died on Wednesday in Nashville. He was 97.

Vanderbilt University announced his death, at a retirement community. Dr. Cohen was a professor emeritus of biochemistry at Vanderbilt, in Nashville.

In the 1950s, working at Washington University in St. Louis in the laboratory of Viktor Hamburger, a pioneer in the study of nerve growth, Dr. Cohen was among a small cadre of scientists who sought to unravel the basic mechanisms underlying cell growth, and to crack one of the most baffling medical puzzles of that era: How do developing cells reach out and connect to others, forming neural networks?

A close university colleague, the developmental biologist Rita Levi-Montalcini, discovered the answer: The cells form these networks through the production of a protein known as nerve growth factor, or NGF. It was the first time a biochemical agent that controlled cellular growth had been isolated.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  A series of military skirmishes broke out between Israel and the Gaza Strip this past week, the latest taking place Feb. 5 at dawn. Israeli aircraft launched raids on a Hamas position in the southern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army said three rockets were launched from the enclave toward Israel. The rockets fell on open spaces in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army launched several raids on Hamas military targets in the northern Gaza Strip Feb. 2 as a response to rockets and incendiary balloons that hit Israel from Gaza the same day.

Tensions resurged between Israel and Hamas after the latter resumed its launch of incendiary balloons Jan. 15 due to Israel failing to implement its commitments reached under an Egypt-brokered truce in March 2019.

The escalation further deepened between Israel and the Gaza Strip when President Donald Trump unveiled the provisions of the so-called deal of the century Jan. 28. Ever since, rockets and incendiary balloons have been launched almost daily from the Gaza Strip toward southern Israel, prompting Israeli military responses.

Egypt did not send a security delegation to the Gaza Strip to contain the situation and halt the military skirmishes, as it usually does.

The last visit of an Egyptian security delegation to the Gaza Strip took place Sept. 8 and aimed at cementing the truce. Another visit was scheduled Jan. 6 for the same purpose, but the delegation canceled the visit with no explanation.

An Egyptian member of parliament close to Egyptian intelligence, which is handling the mediation between Hamas and Israel, told Al-Monitor, There are currently unannounced trust issues between Egypt and Hamas because the head of Hamas political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, visited Iran Jan. 6 as part of his foreign tour. Hamas had not included Iran on the list of countries it would visit when requesting Egypts permission for Haniyeh to travel abroad.

The source asserted that this did not prompt the two sides to cut ties, and that contact is ongoing between the Hamas leadership and Egyptian intelligence to discuss the escalation and restoration of calm in the Gaza Strip.

The source added that the Egyptian security delegation has not visited Gaza for months because there was no need to, as Egypt was certain these skirmishes would not lead to a wide-scale war. Israel is not ready for such a war, with its third round of elections just around the corner in March.

Official Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al-Monitor, The current escalation is because Israel did not abide by some provisions of the truce understandings, including expanding the circle of exportation abroad, removing commodities from the list of prohibited products [allowed to enter] Gaza and establishing industrial zones on the Gaza borders.

Qassem said that Hamas leaders and Egyptian intelligence are in touch daily and that they are discussing the political situation on the Palestinian territories and the truce between Gaza and Israel.

The recent visit of the Egyptian delegation to Gaza, he said, was canceled for technical considerations having to do with the Egyptian delegation. He denied any trust issues between Hamas and Egypt.

Talal Okal, political analyst and journalist at the Palestinian al-Ayyam newspaper, told Al-Monitor, The Egyptian delegation has not visited the Gaza Strip for weeks, which indicates that Egypt is not happy with Hamas attempts to restore ties with Iran.

Okal said that the improved relations between Hamas and Iran will cause more escalation and tensions between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Palestinians see the Egyptian role to cement the truce as temporary sedation," he said. "The truce lasts for a few days, then the situation blows up again between Hamas and Israel, due to Israels evasion of its commitments.

He said that launching rockets on Israel carries a Palestinian message for Egypt to intervene more to force Israel to adhere to its commitments.

I believe the situation will remain as is if Egypt does not offer guarantees in that regard, Okal said.

Ashraf Abou al-Hol, editor of the Egyptian al-Ahram newspaper, told Al-Monitor, The Egyptian Embassy in Ramallah made several calls with Palestinian factions and Israel to prevent further chaos.

He said, Arrangements are underway to send an Egyptian security delegation to the Gaza Strip and Israel soon, at an unspecified time, to restore calm.

Hol added that Israel escalated its military response against the Gaza Strip during the past raids, which shows that Israels current minister of defense, Naftali Bennett, is flexing his muscles and seeking electoral gains in the March elections.

Israeli Channel 7 cited a member of the New Right party led by Bennett as saying Feb. 3, Bennett is preparing an important operation in the Gaza Strip to respond to the rockets and incendiary balloons that were launched."

Mustafa al-Sawaf, political analyst and journalist for Felesteen newspaper in Gaza, told Al-Monitor that it is unlikely the escalation between Gaza and Israel would result in a new war, because neither Hamas nor Israel wants to take that step.

He said, Egypt is aware that the current escalation will not lead to a battle. For that reason, its security delegation has not visited Gaza. Perhaps a phone intervention will take place to contain the situation and prevent its exacerbation.
Charlotte police have charged a second man with murder in the deaths of two people who were found dead inside a car down an embankment.

Steven Staples, 30, is charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, armed robbery, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and felony breaking and entering.

Everett Connor, 32, was arrested on the same charges in late January.

The victims were found on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 11, after Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police responded to a vehicle spotted down an embankment on Atando Avenue, east of Statesville Avenue and Interstate 77.

Car down embankment hid 2 bodies off busy Charlotte road, homicide investigators say

A man and woman - identified as 35-year-old Siojvon Joseph and Asa Shannon - were dead from gunshot wounds inside the vehicle, investigators say.

During the course of the investigation, detectives identified Connor as a suspect in the case. According to an affidavit, a home where the cellphones last pinged for Joseph and Shannon was searched after their killing. The home appeared to be ransacked and had blood in several rooms and in the hallway, the affidavit read.

Cell phones belonging to Joseph and Shannon were also found in the front yard of the home and the front door was unlocked, officials said. Police also reported finding .40 caliber discharged cartridge casings inside the vehicle, a Range Rover.

Charlotte neighborhood with 3 murders in 4 days under pressure of rapid gentrification

Investigators have not said what evidence led to Staples arrest, but on the same day CMPD announced his charges in this case, Hickory Police also said Staples was being charged with murder in the death of a man who was shot outside his Catawba County home.

Officials have not said if the two cases could be related.

Steven Staples, 30, was charged with two counts each of first-degree murder, armed robbery, first-degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and felony breaking and entering.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS and speak directly to a Homicide Unit Detective. The public can also call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600 or visit the Crime Stoppers website.
On his first visit to Assam since Parliament in December passed the amended citizenship law, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tried to assuage the concerns of people in Assam protesting against the contentious law.

Addressing a large crowd to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Accord last month, Modi accused some sections of fear-mongering. People are spreading misinformation that CAA will lead to foreigners entering India illegally. I want to assure the people of Assam that nothing like that will happen, said PM Modi.

CAA proposes to fast-track citizenship to minorities, including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis, from the Muslim-majority nations of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

The law has triggered widespread protests by opposition parties and other organisations in Assam amid concerns that it could encourage a fresh wave of infiltration by illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and threaten the livelihoods of indigenous people. Five people have been killed in police shooting during the protests, which are still underway peacefully.

In Assam and the rest of northeast, the demand is for the scraping the legislation because of a perception it will dilute the 1985 Assam Accord, under which the government agreed to identify and deport any and all refugees and migrants who entered the northeastern state after March 25 1971.The CAA extends the deadline until December 31, 2014.

Clause 6 of Assam Accord, signed after a six-year agitation against illegal immigrants, promises constitutional safeguards to Assamese people through reservations in elected seats, jobs and so on. A high-level committee on the issue will submit recommendations on implementing the clause this month to the government.

Our effort is now to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord as soon as possible. I assure the people of Assam that as soon as the high-level committees recommendations on the issue come, the Centre will implement it. We dont believe in delays and obstructions, Modi said.

Modi described the Bodo Accord as a historic pact that will usher peace and development to Assam, where the movement for a separate Bodoland for the states largest tribe started over four decades ago. The Bodo Accord was signed on January 27 by the Centre with all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) and United Bodo Peoples Organisation (UBPO).

This is a day to celebrate your efforts, which has led to permanent peace in this area. It is a day to take an oath to strengthen faith in development and discard the darkness of violence, Modi said to cheers from the crowd.

The accord is significant as it coincides with celebrations of the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. I welcome all NDFB cadres to the national mainstream. The accord has put a full stop to all Bodo demands and now development is our primary and final goal, the PM said.

Modi stressed that the accord will benefit not just the Bodos, but other communities as well. The PM listed important points of the accord including a special financial package of Rs 1,500 crore, which will benefit Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri, and the redrawing of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

All demands related to the Bodo issues have been met. Peace was not established after 1993 and 2003 agreements. The Centre, Assam and Bodo agitation groups have signed a historic accord, no demand is left. Now, development is our first and last priority, he said.

With the signing of the accord, the United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), which is seeking a sovereign Assam, remains the only major banned militant outfit in the state. Last week, 1,615 cadres of all the factions of NDFB laid down arms in front of chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at an event in Guwahati.

The PM said the Central government was providing solutions to difficult problems, which had been ignored in the past because of social and political reasons. For decades, nobody was touching issues related to the north-east. We have engaged with stakeholders and have found solution for long-lasting peace, he said.

This was a reference to the Centres decision to offer e special package to and settle Bru-Reang refugees in Tripura. The PM also mentioned that the National Liberation Front of Tripura and government had signed an agreement in August 2018 for lasting peace in the state. Now, they have shunned arms and have joined the mainstream, he said.

Assam governor Jagdish Mukhi, chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, senior minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilliary and signatories to the Bodo Accord were present at the event.

In his address, Sonowal urged all NDFB cadres to contribute towards building a developed Assam. Sarma reiterated his appeal to the ULFA-I and all other active militant outfits in the northeast to shun violence and join peace talks.

Some groups opposed the Bodo accord because they werent consulted about it and planned to sponsor a shutdown protest on Friday, but called off the move. The All Assam Students Union (AASU), which is spearheading the anti-CAA protests in the state, also decided not to oppose Modis trip.

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An official poster of the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G has surfaced ahead of the February 11 unveiling.

The poster doesn't really reveal anything new but corroborates previous design leaks.

While Samsung hasn't shared any details about the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G, from previous leaks we know it will pack a 5,000 mAh battery with 45W fast charging support.

And while it's not going to be the first Samsung smartphone to support charging at that speed it will be the first one to ship with the required charger in the box. Reliable tipster Roland Quandt says that the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G will ship with a 45W fast charger, while the vanilla S20 and S20+ (4G and 5G models) will come bundled with 25W adapters.

The S20 trio will also ship with AKG-tuned USB-C wired earphones, as Samsung will be ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack on its new Galaxy S flagships.

More detailed specs of the 5G versions of the S20 trio leaked last month, which you can check out here.

Source 1 | Source 2
OTTAWAA month after suspending its training missions in Iraq, Canadas military appears no closer to restarting that work, a casualty of a politically toxic backlash against Western forces in the country that has called into question whether operations will resume at all.

Neither Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan nor military officials on Friday could offer any timeline when the training work now in limbo might resume.

But experts caution that the political atmosphere in Iraq  the fallout from Washingtons targeted killing of high-ranking Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3  remains a barrier to Western forces resuming their training missions. That same attack also killed prominent Iraqi militant Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

The biggest challenge is that there is a lot of unease inside Iraq right now, said Bessma Momani, a professor at the University of Waterloo and senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

The political class is quite divided about the resumption of activities. They are still reeling from the assassination of Soleimani on Iraqi soil, seen as a real affront to their sovereignty, she said Friday in an interview.

The training operations were paused and some countries, like Canada, moved personnel out of Iraq to Kuwait after Iran launched a retaliatory missile strike aimed at two military bases in Iraq home to Western forces, including Canadians. No Canadians were injured in those strikes.

While the threat of further retaliation from Iran has diminished, the U.S. attack gave rise to a backlash against Western forces within Iraq. For example, Iraqi lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution seeking the exit of American and allied forces from their country.

Those sentiments have yet to settle.

Its really difficult in this political climate still. Many recognize the necessity of the mission to return but its just toxic and no politician want to touch it, Momani said.

I think everyone is just playing it by ear, just waiting for the waters to calm a little bit, she said.

NATOs mission to train local Iraqi forces is currently led by Canadian Maj.-Gen. Jennie Carnigan. Canada had 500 personnel deployed in Iraq, with some 250 dedicated to the NATO mission along with three Griffon helicopters. The rest were involved in Operation Impact, Canadas ongoing mission to train security forces in the country. Special operations forces soldiers have since resumed some of their advise-and-assist work in northern Iraq but other training activities in the country, including the NATO mission, remain on hold, a spokesperson said Friday.

Canada is paying the price for public sentiments more aimed at U.S. forces, said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawas Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

In the Iraqi political climate right now, its very hard for anyone to come in defence of the American presence because its not just a popular thing to do, Juneau said.

The debate is skewed right now because you hear the far louder voices that are asking for the U.S. to go but those voices that want the U.S. to stay are more silent, he said.

How that is going to play out, I dont know.

Juneau notes that if the U.S. is forced to leave, it would be hard for other forces to stay behind because of the support American forces provide on the ground, from medical evacuation and logistics to intelligence and force protection. If the U.S. is asked to leave, everyone else goes, he said.

In a statement to the Star, Sajjan said that Canada remains committed to its role in Iraq.

Some advise-and-assist activities have restarted in the north; however, capacity building activities with NATO and in the Baghdad area are still on temporary pause. We assess the security situation on a regular basis. We will continue these activities when the situation allows, he said

NATO also reiterated on Friday that it is ready to resume training as soon as the situation permits.

We remain in close contact with the Iraqi authorities, an official said.

The future of the NATO mission will be on the agenda when defence ministers from the alliance meet in Brussels next week.

Conservative MP James Bezan, the partys defence critic, said it was good news that the special operations troops were able to resume their work and expressed optimism the rest of the mission would be able to start again.

I would hope well see that mission get back to work, said Bezan, who joined Sajjan for a pre-Christmas visit with troops in Kuwait.

People are hoping well see this thing through to the end. I know that our troops are anxious to get back there to do their job, he said.

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One of the Denver Zoos resident Asian elephants, Billy, has no issue with volunteering for a dental exam, footage released by the zoo on February 6 shows.

The video shows Billy, whos been at the zoo since he moved from Antwerp, Belgium, in 2013, lifting his trunk while a Denver Zoo staff member inspects the inside of his mouth.

The Denver Zoo said that lifting his trunk is a regular behavior Billy shows off during the zoos daily elephant demos. Credit: Denver Zoo via Storyful
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee called on Thursday for a "recanvass" of the results of Monday's Iowa caucus, which was marred by technical problems and delays.

"Enough is enough," party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter. He said he was calling for the recanvass in order to "assure public confidence in the results."

The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner of the caucuses.

With 97% of precincts reporting from Monday's caucuses, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by three state delegate equivalents out of 2,098 counted. That is a margin of 0.14 percentage points.

The technical glitches plaguing the first contest on the 2020 nominating calendar have made an already complicated candidate selection process even more complicated, forcing state officials to apologize and raising questions about Iowa's traditional prime spot in picking nominees.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled field. Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

Iowa marked the first contest in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending at the party's national convention in July.

At issue was an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results of the contest. The app was rolled out shortly before caucusing began and did not go through rigorous testing.

A coding error yielded problematic results Monday. And backup phone lines for reporting the outcomes were jammed, with many placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes.

President Donald Trump's campaign seized on Perez's announcement and tried to inject an added dose of chaos. Trump and his allies have repeatedly insinuated, without offering proof, that the Democratic establishment wants to deny Sanders a victory at any cost.

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh tweeted that Perez's announcement "translated" to "Bernie looks like he's taking the lead and we can't have that."

Much of the political world has already shifted its attention to next-up New Hampshire, which holds the first primary election in the Democrats' 2020 nomination fight on Tuesday.

The chaos surrounding the reporting breakdown has undermined the impact of Iowa's election, which typically rewards winners with a surge of momentum heading into subsequent primary contests.

The two early leaders are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.

Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

Wednesday's updated results show Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar trailing.

___

Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, "Ground Game."

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After a glut of restaurant closures to close out 2019, the first month of the new year has brought a trickle of new openings, plus a handful of exciting announcements, including an expansion for our 2017 Restaurant of the Year, a new location for an old brunch favorite and a mountain izakaya backed by a Japanese outdoors company. Read on for all the major restaurant news you need to know this month.

Han Oak expands with new restaurant ... just over its courtyard wall

This spring, chef Peter Cho, Sun Young Park and the Han Oak team will open Pocha, a 600-square-foot restaurant found just on the other side of Han Oaks courtyard wall. Like their first restaurant, which opened in 2016 and was The Oregonians 2017 Restaurant of the Year, Cho and Park expect Pochas 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, including dumplings, noodles, Han Oaks popular fried chicken and, perhaps, a breakfast kimchi jjigae reimagined as a tofu-kimchi-pork belly shakshuka topped with a baked egg.

Look for Pocha to open this March at 2333 N.E. Glisan St.

Portlands new one-dish noodle shop moves in with Top Burmese

Last month, the owners of Top Burmese, a Northwest Portland restaurant known for its flaky samosas and fermented tea leaf salads, debuted a new 10-seat restaurant in focused on a single dish. Kyay Oh, which was based out of in Top Burmeses original, takeout-focused storefront, specialized in a healthful version of its namesake dish, a specialty of the city of Yangon. But after running into logistical challenges -- owners Poe and Kalvin Myint were unable to secure a liquor license for the space -- the small shop has closed to the public, and the noodle soup has joined the menu at Top Burmese itself, co-owner Kalvin Myint tells The Oregonian. The noodle dish itself, kyay oh, which features meatballs, quail eggs, mustard greens and rice noodles, is rarely seen in the United States, though Vietnamese food fans might recognize it as a cousin to hu tieu, the Saigon-born noodle soup found at dozens of other Portland Vietnamese restaurants.

Kyay Ohs kyay oh can now be found from 5 to 9 p.m., Thursday to Saturday on the menu at Top Burmese, 413 N.W. 21st Ave.

Beeswing's Liege-style waffle with karaage-ish fried chicken and two strips of bacon for good measure.Michael Russell | The Oregonian

Portland brunch hot spot finds new location

Beeswing, a well-loved Cully neighborhood brunch spot whose strange saga includes a landlord dispute and a successful Kickstarter (that nonetheless necessitated a move), has reopened in the Sellwood-Moreland area. The new restaurant, which takes over the former Laurelwood Brewing location, officially opened on Feb. 1. First opened by chef Ian Watson and baker Marissa Lorette in January 2017, Beeswing soon established itself as a neighborhood favorite, eventually landing a spot on The Oregonians guide to Portlands best brunch spots. But by summer of 2019, the restaurant had launched a Kickstarter hoping to stay in its space. Despite raising more than $73,000, the restaurant was forced to close and relocate, even as a new restaurant, Cafe TBD, opened and closed in a week in the old space.

Visit the new Beeswing from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily at 6716 S.E. Milwaukie Ave.

Portlands latest and greatest pizzerias

Late last year, we dropped by more than a dozen pop-ups, food carts and brick-and-mortar restaurants opened in the past year to bring you our Januarys guide to the best new pizzerias in Portland. As it turns out, it was a year for nerding out over sauces and dough and for reinventing what exactly qualifies as a pizza topping. For a closer look at each of our top five, visit our short reviews for each, including the plant-based pies with outstanding dough at Baby Blue, the destination-worthy wood-fired pizza at Gracies Apizza, the Roman pinsa -- dont call it pizza...or do -- at Montesacro, the focaccia-esque Sicilian squares at Pizza Doughnais and the pan pizzas topped with traditional Mexican dishes at Zapapizza.

Forgotten food cart favorite goes brick-and-mortar

Jessie Aron, best known as the chef behind former food cart favorite Carte Blanche, has opened limited reservations for her long-awaited brick-and-mortar Malka. As first reported by Eater PDX, Aron and business partner Colin McArthur spent the past two years converting a Southeast Division Street home into a restaurant filled with knickknacks, sculptures and mismatched water glasses, with a maximalist menu including coconut rice bowls, baby back ribs and slow-roasted pork shoulder in an apricot curry barbecue sauce.

Limited reservations are open online for Malka, a new restaurant in a converted home at 4546 S.E. Division St.

Portland is getting an Italian food hall all its own

Sarah Schafer and Anna Caporael, the powerhouse duo at Irving Street Kitchen, are working to open a 5,000-square-foot Italian food hall inspired by Florences Mercato Centrale, with a pizza and pasta stations, a butcher, a cafe, florist and an intimate bar all coming to the ground floor of a new Pearl District building. La Cooperativa, as the hall is known, will open in the eight-story Tanner Point building as soon as this June, with local coffee and pastries, a florist, a small market, a gelato bike, Roman-style pizza with 48-hour fermented dough from former Pizza Maria owner Sean Coyne and an intimate bar with banquette seats and a fireplace.

Look for La Cooperativa to debut in June at 1250 N.W. Ninth Ave.

Get ready for Portlands first Mountain Izakaya

When it opens its North American headquarters and flagship store on Northwest 23rd Avenue this spring, Japanese outdoors brand Snow Peak wont just be selling its stylish yet functional camping and backpacking gear. The new store, which will take over the longtime Kitchen Kaboodle space this spring, will make room for a new restaurant inspired by dinners eaten around the campfire. Takibi -- Japanese for bonfire -- aims to be Portlands first mountain izakaya," with a seasonal menu cooked over binchotan coals from restaurant partner Submarine Hospitality (Ava Genes, Tusk) and chef Alex Kim (Rintaro, San Francisco), plus a cocktail menu from notable Portland-based bartender Jim Meehan (Please Dont Tell, New York).

Look for Snow Peak and Takibi to open in late spring at 404 N.W. 23rd Ave.

Fried Egg Im In Love joins Portlands best food cart pod

Fried Egg Im In Love, Southeast Hawthorne Boulevards pun-loving egg sandwich shop, will revisit its food cart roots next month with a new location at Prost Marketplace in North Portland. Jace Krause, Fried Egg Im In Loves owner who also runs a cart at Pioneer Courthouse Square, says he was looking to expand to North or Northeast Portland, though he figured that it would be another brick-and-mortar cafe. I told myself I wasnt going to do any more food carts, Krause said. But when Dan (Hart) from Prost approached me about taking over a cart at the Marketplace, it was a no-brainer. Its the best pod in the city. Fried Egg Im In Love will take over the sandwich cart next to Bloodbuzz, Harts all-day beer and cocktail cart, on Feb. 1, with plans to open in the following week.

Look for Fried Egg Im in Loves new cart to open any day now at 4233 N. Mississippi Ave., between Matts BBQ and the drinks cart Bloodbuzz

The eponymous xiao long bao from XLB in North Portland.Stephanie Yao Long/Staff

More sandwiches, dumplings, fried chicken

January brought the openings of a handful of new restaurants, including soup dumpling specialists XLBs new Slabtown location, a Pearl District sequel for the fresh-baked roll makers at The Bakers Mark, a surprise early opening from Ezells Famous Chicken as well as Snappys, a new Southeast Portland sandwich shop with retro vibes from Matt Lynch and Chris Thornton of Boxer Ramen fame found between Marukin and Nongs Khao Man Gai.

-- Michael Russell, mrussell@oregonian.com, @tdmrussell

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
An American operation killed al-Qaedas top leader in Yemen last week, President Donald Trump confirmed Thursday night.

Qasim al-Raymi had been targeted in a botched US Navy SEAL raid in 2017, just days after Trump took office, that led to the death of the first American service member in combat under the new administration. Recently, the top lieutenant to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri had taken credit for the shooting at a US naval air base in Florida that killed two American service members.

The Pentagon has long watched al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, known by the acronym AQAP, that famously hatched a failed plot to blow up an American jetliner with an underwear bomb. A White House statement did not clarify the nature of the operation that killed Raymi, though The New York Times reported last week that the terror leader died in an airstrike.

Current and former US officials said Raymi, who became AQAPs chief in 2015 and whose activities date back to al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan in the 1990s, is a very significant development. Trump said in a statement Thursday that the death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaeda movement, bringing the United States closer to eliminating the group.

Raymis actions have killed countless innocent people including an attack on a hospital, said Mick Mulroy, the Pentagons former top Middle East policy official during the Trump administration and now an ABC analyst. The United States never forgets and their tenacity in pursuit removed this very dangerous person from the battlefield.

Trump had previously appeared to confirm Raymis death by retweeting reports of the strike over the weekend. The Barack Obama administration also made the controversial decision to take out another leader of the group, Anwar al-Awlaki, in 2011. Awlaki, a popular radical ideologue who attracted followers to the group via the internet, was an American citizen and a former imam at a Virginia mosque.

But according to the United Nations panel of experts, the group has continued to have an impact by inspiring the jihadist movement through online platforms, with publications relating to the conflict in Yemen and global jihad. US and other counterterror efforts have mostly focused on Bayda and Shabwah, in the nations southern reaches.

Even as the pace of American airstrikes against AQAP has decreased, the UN assessed last year that its capacity had begun to diminish. The group has clashed with nascent Islamic State cells and has struggled to maintain control of Ansar al Sharia, formed as an al-Qaeda offshoot to capture the growing Yemeni youth movement after pro-democracy protests forced Ali Abdallah Saleh from power.

Experts said the group is likely to keep quiet about Raymis death until they find a suitable successor.

I think [al-Qaeda] wants to avoid infighting so theyll delay any announcements until they settle the succession process, said Fernando Carvajal, a former member of the UN panel of experts for Yemen. "[Al-Qaeda] has always been utilized by the Yemeni regime as a force multiplier, not just to extract financial aid from the US and EU."
People exit the port after being aboard of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Anthem of the Seas in Bayonne, New Jersey on Feb. 7, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

4 Cruise Ship Passengers Taken to New Jersey Hospital After Coronavirus Screening

Four people screened for the new coronavirus on a cruise ship arriving in New Jersey were rushed to a nearby hospital early on Feb. 7.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas docked in Bayonne. Twenty-seven passengers were screened, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement. Twenty-three were cleared and four were taken to a hospital for evaluation.

All other passengers were allowed off the ship, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the incident Below Low Risk, Davis said. He thanked the agency, Customs and Border Protection, and local responders for their excellent work that was done with an abundance of caution.

At least one of the people transported from the ship was wheeled off on a stretcher, according to video footage.

Royal Caribbean said that the CDC was going to test samples from the four guests. None of the four showed any symptoms of the virus aboard the ship and none had been in China since Jan. 26.

In an earlier statement, the company said: Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus.

The cruise ship company said it was monitoring developments regarding the new coronavirus and have implemented rigorous medical protocols on its ships.

Crew members take are seen aboard of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Anthem of the Seas in Bayonne, New Jersey on Feb. 7, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

People exit the port after being aboard of Royal Caribbean Cruise Ship Anthem of the Seas in Bayonne, New Jersey on Feb. 7, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

The company was working with the CDC, the World Health Organization, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.

Anthem of the Seas was scheduled to leave Friday on a new voyage spanning over eight nights but the departure was delayed until Saturday afternoon to give the CDC enough time to test the four people taken to the hospital, Royal Caribbean said. People would receive a prorated refund for the missed day but passengers looking for a removal of standard cancellation penalties were out of luck, the company said on its Twitter account.

Royal Caribbean also announced on Friday that any travelers holding passports from China, Hong Kong, or Macau wouldnt be allowed to board its ships.

The decision came as Japanese officials said that there are now 61 passengers on a cruise ship near Yokohama with the virus, including some Americans.

No confirmed cases exist in New Jersey but there are 12 patients who have tested positive in the United States, including two in Illinois, one in Wisconsin, and one in Massachusetts.

The New Jersey Department of Health said it was preparing for potential coronavirus cases a few weeks ago.

Although this novel virus is understandably a cause for concern, it is important for New Jersey residents to know that the risk to the public remains low, Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said in a statement at the time. The New Jersey Department of Health works with hospitals and local health departments throughout respiratory virus and flu season on hundreds of disease outbreaks each year and we are preparedalong with our partnersto respond to potential novel coronavirus cases.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was one of the military installations selected this week for housing suspected coronavirus cases. The base is one of 11 additional bases chosen by the Department of Defense to house up to 20 people as they undergo a period of quarantined observation, the Pentagon said in a statement on Thursday.

The selections were made in response to a request from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which asked the Pentagon for installations near 11 major airports that could house passengers suspected of having the virus should HHS facilities become filled.

HHS is in charge of all care, transportation, and security at the installations, as with previous coronavirus quarantines on military bases. If an individual is identified with symptoms, they will be taken to a hospital.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is about 62 miles from Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the New York City area airports.
Saigonese keep their shirts on regardless of coronavirus

Saigon's residents have tried to stay away from fear and panic caused by the nCoV outbreak across the country.

On Thursday evening, as Vietnam reported its 12th confirmed case of 2019-nCoV infection, university student Nguyen Thanh Tam and his friends enjoyed dinner in downtown Saigon.

Returning to the metropolis from his hometown in Mekong Delta last weekend, Tam decided to stay in town after learning his university granted students two weeks off amid the spreading of coronavirus.

"The epidemic is not scary if we protect ourselves sufficiently."

Gold fever trumps coronavirus fears in HCMC on February 3. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran.

Tam, making sure to wear a mask when driving and wash his hands regularly, does not avoid crowds or eating out.

He is not the only one to remain calm as the number of new pneumonia infections increase by the day.

Vietnam's government declared the novel coronavirus an epidemic last Saturday, the country reporting 12 cases of infection as of Friday.

With many fearful Vietnamese stocking up on food and face masks, a number of Saigonese have kept their shirts on during the 2019-nCoV outbreak, preventing the virus from hijacking their lives.

For some local millennials, the period following Tet (Lunar New Year) remains incomplete without parties and reunions at numerous restaurants and coffee shops across town.

"I wear a mask at work all day due to company requirements, but now I take it off. Its only flu, plus the number of people discharged is increasing," said white-collar employee Luong Thuy An while hanging out with her mask-less colleagues at a District 3 cafe.

The number of clients has not lessened since people returned to work after the holiday, the only difference being more people wearing masks, said Tra My, a Starbucks employee in the same Saigon district.

For many local urbanites, shopping at local markets remains a mainstay despite the health threat, though many prefer to avoid crowds.

At Nguyen Thai Binh Market in District 1, hundreds of local housewives and sellers start their days early in the morning, seemingly oblivious to the 2019-nCoV outbreak.

"Wearing a mask will keep me safe in the market, so theres no need to stay away or quit shopping," said 46-year-old Le Thi Trang while buying meat at the market Friday morning.

While a number of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh residents stockpile food, others maintain its an overreaction.

"Stocking up on food only makes increases prices," said Nguyen Thu Hoai, 34, while shopping at Lotte Mart in District 11.

Demand for meat and vegetables has increased, in part due to slack distribution following the Tet break, said a VinMart employee in Saigon's Binh Thanh District, adding increased demand for vegetables and fruits after the holiday is an annual trend.

Flu season

With flu a constant threat, especially during dry and cold weather spells, residents in the southern metropolis have reason to stay calm amid the spreading 2019-nCoV.

"Saigon's temperature normally remains over 30 degree Celsius. Staying outside is not that scary when it comes to getting infected," said 22-year-old Bui Thanh Luan, a student enjoying one week off due to the virus.

According to scientists, the virus weakens at temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, especially when it gets above 25 degrees Celsius, amid high humidity.

Other urbanites are more positive, maintaining flu is common during winter and spring, and that the 2019-nCoV epidemic could be a warning for people to ensure proper hygiene.

People should be aware of wearing masks when sick and cleaning their hands already, and not only because of the current epidemic, according to John Steward, an American expat in HCMC.

"I panicked when reading the news during Tet, but learned to stop living in fear and follow the guidelines on healthcare and hygiene," said Huong, John's wife. She now opens the windows in their apartment each day after discovering the coronavirus fears sunlight, wind and airy spaces.

The fight is nationwide, as the global death toll from the epidemic reached 638, with 636 dying in China, one in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong.

National battle

Vietnam declared 2019-nCoV an epidemic on Saturday last week, classifying it a "class A infectious disease of global emergency" transmitted via the respiratory system.

A teacher sanitizes her empty classroom in HCMC on February 2. Photo by VnExpress/Manh Tung.

Besides a number of national quarantine zones, authorities have begun work on two field hospitals in HCMC, and two in Hanoi, the latter capable of treating up to 1,000 patients suspected of infection.

Any Vietnamese or foreigners entering Vietnam from China or reporting symptoms of infection will be quarantined for 14 days.

Millions of school and university students across Hanoi and HCMC are enjoying an extended Lunar New Year break following a 16-day holiday supposed to end on February 2, with some local education authorities even granting a second week off.

The unexpected break put several parents in a difficult position organizing daycare for their children while at work.

Luong Thanh An, mother of two secondary students, hopes "schools will be sanitized soon so kids could return to their lessons."

"Though 2019-nCoV can kill, panic is even more dangerous. Life must go on," she said.
There were unruly scenes in the Lok Sabha on Friday as members of the treasury and Opposition benches nearly came to blows after Union health minister Harsh Vardhan condemned outlandish remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi about Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a public rally earlier this week.

The incident took place during Question Hour, when the minister got up to reply to a question by Gandhi on the establishment of medical colleges in his constituency, Wayanad.

After Gandhi mentioned his question number, Vardhan said that before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leaders recent comment against the Prime Minister.

Sir, please excuse me. Before I begin answering this question of dear Shri Rahul Gandhi ji, I want to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish language that he has used against the Prime Minister of the country, he said.

The statement -- he read out of a piece of paper, repeating Gandhis remark about how the youth of the country would beat the PM with sticks if they did not get jobs -- was unusual because parliamentary custom demands that ministers should stick to responding to a question asked by a Member of Parliament (MP) without comment or deviation.

As Vardhan continued to read out his statement, Speaker Om Birla asked him to reply to Gandhis question, and some Congress members rushed to the Well of the House. The Congress MP from Virudhunagar in Tamil Nadu, B Manickam Tagore, headed to the treasury benches towards Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

At this point, a BJP member from Kaiserganj in Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, held Tagore by his arm to stop him. Another Congress member, Hibi Eden from Ernakulam in Kerala, appeared to intervene.

Several senior members from both sides, including Union minister Smriti Irani, appeared to prevent the members from clashing.

As this fracas broke out, Vardhan said: I dont think in the worst of cases our party leaders have made such outlandish personal remarks against him threatening to beat him with dandas (sticks) and throwing him out of the country, Vardhan said. The entire House present here must in unequivocal terms condemn his remarks against our Prime Minister.

The speaker controlled the situation and adjourned the House till 1pm.

At an election rally in Delhi on Wednesday, Gandhi had said: Narendra Modi is giving speeches, he will not be able to move out of his house in the next six months. The youth of India will beat him with sticks to make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister, while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the Presidents speech in the Lok Sabha, took a dig at Gandhi for his remark, saying he would increase the number of Surya Namaskars (a yoga exercise) so that his back can bear the attack.

When Gandhi got up to object, the Prime Minister added, without mentioning the Congress leaders name: I have been speaking for 30-40 minutes, but only now the current has reached there. Some tube lights work like that.

While several BJP MPs demanded Tagores expulsion from the House over Fridays incident, Gandhi, along with his party colleagues Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Suresh Kodikunnil, met Birla in his office to demand an apology from Vardhan, and to offer an assurance that Tagore will also express regret.

Later, when the House met at 2pm after another adjournment at 1pm, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi condemned Tagores attempt to attack Vardhan.

It is highly uncalled for. If anything is wrongly spoken then it is up to the Speaker to take a call but trying to attack the minister is condemnable, Joshi said.

Tagore denied manhandling the minister. When the minister started speaking in a derogatory manner, we were agitated and rushed to the well. We told the Speaker it should be stopped and that the minister must answer the question. That did not happen and, therefore, I rushed to the minister and told him sir, please stop it, he told reporters outside Parliament.

Speaking to HT, Vardhan defended his action, and said that his reply happened by chance.

I was outraged when I had heard Rahul Gandhis comment about PM Modi and I immediately tweeted, asking him to retract his statement and apologise. Today when I saw a question from Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha, I immediately seized it as a chance to express my strong condemnation. I quickly scribbled some lines in between questions and read it out. It happened by chance, it was an unplanned, spontaneous response, I did it because I was livid about his behaviour, Vardhan said.

Gandhi later contended that his party was being stifled and not allowed to speak in Parliament. They have suppressed our voices... The BJP obviously does not like me to speak in the House. In a completely unparliamentary manner, the health minister raised something that I said outside, which he has no business of doing during the Question Hour, he said.

Gandhi later tweeted that the ruckus in the Lok Sabha was orchestrated to prevent him from questioning the government. The youth of India can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis. To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate, he added.

Constitutional expert PDT Achary said the procedure is that a minister should answer the question asked by a member. If the Speaker thinks that the minister is not answering the question, he can ask the minister to reply to the question. That is the rule. If the minister does not listen or obey the Speaker, then whatever the minister has said should go out of the records because that is not the answer to the question, he said.
Chelsie opted to have 15 bridesmaid for her wedding to Sonny (Caters)

Choosing your bridesmaids can be a tricky decision for any bride. Do you opt for your sister, childhood friend, work wife or your BFF?

Or do you make like one bride who found it so tricky to narrow down the bridal party she decided to invite every one of her close friends to be a bridesmaid, all 15 of them.

Chelsie Lindsay, 28, just couldn't decide which friends should accompany her down the aisle on her big day  so she opted not to narrow it down at all and had all of them instead.

Even her husband Sonny, 29, from Loughton, Essex, was shocked by the number of bridesmaids but Chelsie says each of them brought something different to the table.

I loved having my best friends and sister Amber Kemp, 24, who was my maid of honour, with me for every step of the way, she explains.

I briefly thought about narrowing them down, but it was impossible.

"There aren't any rules about how many bridesmaids you can have, so I made my own and I couldn't have done it without them.

Read more: Princess Beatrice wedding date has been revealed

The bride couldn't narrow down her closest friends, so had them all (Caters)

Read more: Bride threatens to call off wedding because groom's best man has a unibrow

The personal assistant says she doesnt regret having so many bridesmaids as each of them helped in different ways.

One was my hairdresser, another is super creative and helped make my decorations and another helped with the drone and editing our wedding video.

They all organised two hen parties for me, one in London for family to attend and a girl's trip to Malta where we had such a laugh playing games they had made.

There was never a dull moment or empty dance floor as it was filled by my bridesmaids alone!

I was super relaxed on the day because I had so much support from the girls.

But having so many bridesmaids did add an extra complication in terms of settling on just one colour for their dresses.

Once again, however, the bride opted to do things her own way and picked three different colours - pastel orange, yellow and pink - for her bridal party, setting her back 600.

Story continues

The bridesmaids helped organise the hen dos (Caters)

Read more: Bride criticised for asking her bridesmaid to dye natural hair for wedding

The groom, who is an HGV driver, proposed at Disney Land Florida in 2018.

While there, the bride-to-be ordered 15 trinket boxes and engraved lockets to give her besties on her return.

The girls were shocked and crying when I asked them all to be my bridesmaid, some said they knew it would be hard but never expected everyone to make the cut.

I have been friends with some of the girls since primary school and the rest secondary school  we do everything together.

I think most people were shocked when I told them how many bridesmaids [I had] but I think it was great.

Though his bride opted to supersize her bridal party, Sonny opted for an altogether more conventional size for his groomsmen, choosing two best men and two ushers.

He said: I was shocked by the number of bridesmaids, but I thought Chelsie might have had more as she has a lot of friends

It was the greatest day of my life and I wish we could do it all again.
Srinagar, Feb 7 : The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to withhold the release of "Shikara" -- a film on migration of Kashmiri Pandits directed by filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra.

A division bench of the High Court dismissed the PIL after the state government assured that the release of "Shikara" would not disturb public order.

"The petition was dismissed after assurances that there will be no law and order problems," a litigant said.

The petitioners had submitted that "Shikara" has wrongly depicted the facts related to migration of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley in the early 1990s.

They alleged that Chopra has blamed the majority population of the erstwhile state for the migration of Pandits without making any distinction between civilians and the militants, and sought to withhold the release of the movie till it was scrutinised and the objectionable scenes and dialogues removed.
Students wave flags as Vice President Mike Pence speaks at St. Francis de Sales School in West Philadelphia on Wednesday. Pence and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos were at the school for an event about school choice. Read more

During my recent visit to St. Francis de Sales Catholic School in Philadelphia, I saw firsthand just how important the issue of school choice is to working families in Pennsylvania. While schools around the state grapple with health hazards and overcrowded classrooms, school choice gives families immediate options to ensure their child is able to succeed.

Right now, there are 50,000 Pennsylvania students waiting for the opportunity to change schools. But when state legislators passed a school-choice bill to expand Pennsylvanias school-choice scholarship program last year, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed it.

This is particularly frustrating given what we know about the impact of school choice on educational outcomes. Where parents get a choice, kids get better grades. According to a review of 33 studies on school-choice programs, nearly all of them found that choice improved academic outcomes, even at public schools.

Studies have also shown that educational choice boosts test scores, high school graduation rates, and college enrollment.

These results are not a surprise. Parents know better than bureaucrats where their child can be best educated, and competition leads to better outcomes for everyone.

Ive witnessed it firsthand in my home state of Indiana. As governor of the Hoosier State, we expanded Indianas school-choice program and made it one of the largest in America, transforming thousands of lives across our state.

And Ive witnessed it firsthand in the nations capital. In just his first few months in office, President Donald Trump reauthorized the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program, which is the only federally funded voucher program in America. Under his leadership, enrollment in the program is already up by nearly 50%.

As part of his historic tax cuts, President Trump reformed our tax laws to let parents use 529 college savings accounts to send their kids to a quality school at every level of education.

This year, we are continuing to fight to expand educational freedom in this country. The president has proposed a program called Education Freedom Scholarships, which would provide $5 billion for state-based school-choice programs all across America.

Under the presidents plan, private donors would receive a tax credit for contributions to this scholarship fund, adding billions of dollars to educational advancement without using taxpayer dollars.

We estimate that the presidents plan would give educational freedom to one million American children.

This program holds out hope for those 50,000 Pennsylvania families who have been forced to wait for scholarships, and for children from underserved communities who are trapped in failing schools.

The presidents plan has more than 120 supporters in Congress, including U.S. Reps. Scott Perry (R., Pa.), Daniel Meuser (R., Pa.), John Joyce (R., Pa.), and Fred Keller (R., Pa.), and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.).

The presidents plan also has the strong support of the American people. Polling commissioned by the school-choice advocacy group American Federation for Children showed that 78% of Americans support the legislation.

As a father and the proud husband of a schoolteacher, I know that education can have a transformational impact on a childs life.

And as the president said this week, we must make sure that every young American gets a great education and the opportunity to achieve the American dream.

School choice is an idea whose time has come. Its time for Pennsylvanias leaders, including Gov. Wolf and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.), to give Pennsylvania families the freedom to decide where their kids go to school.

Mike Pence is the vice president of the United States.
A truck driver who police say struck a teenage schoolgirl, leaving her with life-threatening injuries, was allegedly driving with a suspended licence.

The 18-year-old girl was hit in Mulgrave, in Melbourne's south-east, about 3.15pm on Thursday. The incident occurred near Nazareth Catholic College, where the girl attends school.

The site of the incident at Police Road, Mulgrave. Credit:Nine News

She was rushed to The Alfred hospital with head and chest injuries, where she remained in a critical condition on Friday afternoon.

The driver of the truck, a 50-year-old Bunyip man, stopped after the collision and helped police with their inquiries.
Shall I apologize? I'm feeling it would be rude to make it her fault by asking why she didn't correct me. I've had transitioning, gay and transgender students, and I respect each person. It's none of my business where she is on any "label." I'm just wondering how to respond to my public blunder. I have allowed the entire class to believe this, as well.
Singapore raises coronavirus alert to DORSCON Orange

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has raised the risk assessment for the 2019-nCoV coronavirus to DORSCON Orange, which signifies widespread transmission from unknown sources. This is just one level below Red, which signifies an out-of-control pandemic.

It would be good to recall at this juncture that during the SARS pandemic as well, Singapore had moved the risk assessment status to Orange, meaning the disease was severe and spread easily, but still contained.

The reason for the step up to DORSCON Orange is that there are now a few local cases without any links to previous cases or travel history to China.

The DORSCON, or Disease Outbreak Response System Condition, is part of Singapore's pandemic preparedness plan that describes the current situation and what has to be done. Table Courtesy: MOH

With the heightened risk, the Singapore government will be introducing additional measures to minimise the risk of further transmission of the virus and precautions in the community as below:

Large-scale events

May continue as planned, but with additional precautions and thorough medical screening.

Those who are unwell, are on LOA or have recent travel history to mainland China should not be allowed to large scale events.

The event venues should be well ventilated and adequately equipped with facilities for handwashing.

Event organisers should maintain a registration list of participants if possible.

General daily practices to be stepped up at workplaces

Daily health checks at the workplace, with twice-daily temperature checks.

Those with fever or unwell should leave the office immediately to see a doctor.

Enhanced business continuity capability at workplaces

All workplaces should step up and get ready their business continuity plans, in case there is widespread community transmission.

Healthcare workers and vulnerable groups

Protection of vulnerable groups and at Healthcare institutions raised through temperature screening and closer controls of entry points into the hospitals.

Social/ elder care services will impose restrictions on visitors to their premises.

Schools

With immediate effect, schools will suspend inter-school and external activities until further notice. These include the national school games, learning journeys and camps.

All schools and teachers will also continue to implement the enhanced measures announced on 4 February, such as classroom-based assemblies, school-based co-curricular activities in smaller groups and staggered recesses.

Preschools will impose restrictions on visitors to their premises.

Role of individuals

Prevent transmission remains through good personal hygiene of regular handwashing with normal soap and water, and the use of hand sanitisers when soap and water are unavailable.

Avoid touching our face with our hands unnecessarily, and especially if our hands are not clean.

As a general good practice, it is advised not to shake hands during this period, as was adopted during the SARS crisis, but adopt alternative greetings such as clasping your hands in a 'namaste' gesture.

People who are unwell should stay at home, and wear a mask if they must go out, such as on their way to the doctors.

The Singapore government advices residents to keep updated on the DORSCON status for nCoV on the MOH website.
America's greatest domestic terror threat stems from racially and ethnically motivated extremists, following a record high in hate-motivated attacks and the rise of neo-Nazi and white supremacist violence now formally recognised by the FBI as significant a threat to the US as terror groups abroad.

FBI Director Christopher Wray told the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that the threat of far-right domestic violent extremism has risen to a "national threat priority" for 2020, posing a "steady threat of violence and economic harm" to the US while its underlying drivers  including "perceptions of government or law enforcement overreach, socio-political conditions, racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and reactions to legislative actions"  persist.

Mr Wray said the FBI is "most concerned about lone offender attacks", which have "served as the dominant lethal mode" for domestic terror incidents.

In 2019, the FBI made 107 domestic terrorism arrests, on pace with the number of arrests it made for international terrorism. Racism and hate-driven ideologies were the driving forces behind most of the ideologically motivated killings and violence in the US in 2018 and 2019, and were the most lethal of all domestic extremism movements over the last 20 years.

He said: "The spate of attacks we saw in 2019 underscore the continued threat posed by domestic violent extremists and perpetrators of hate crimes. Such crimes are not limited to the United States and, with the aid of Internet like-minded hate groups, can reach across borders."

The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Show all 23 1 /23 The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network, a white nationalist group, burn a swastika and cross during a party outside Atkins, Arkansas, U.S on March 9, 2019 Reuters The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network hold up balloons decorated as the face of Adolf Hitler and give a white-power hand signal as they celebrate the German fascist's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Billy Roper of the ShieldWall Network attends a party at a home outside Atkins. The group primarily operates in Arkansas and includes three other members who were recently charged with assault in connection with the beating of a gay man, according to police reports REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network march to a rally opposing legal abortion and supporting gun rights at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Jeff Schoep, former chairman of the National Socialist Movement, speaks during a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 10, 2018 Reuters The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Crosses lit by members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan burn outside Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S., November 4, 2017. The Loyal White Knights is one of the largest Klan groups in the United States, according to the Anti-Defamation League, which tracks extremist groups REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan prepare for a cross-burning outside Yanceyville, North Carolina, U.S., November 4, 2017 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network perform a Nazi salute as a swastika and cross burn during a party outside Atkins, Arkansas, March 9, 2019 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US High chairs are seen in a building owned by The Knights Party, a white nationalist group formerly named the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, outside Harrison, Arkansas, March 10, 2019. The organisation is opening an education center for the children of white nationalists REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan addresses an audience before a cross-burning outside Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A figurine of a black man being lynched inside the home of Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US John Carollo, a member of the ShieldWall Network, holds up a photo montage of (clockwise from top left) Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh, Adolf Hitler, founder of the American Nazi Party George Lincoln Rockwell, Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof and Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, while attending a party at a home outside Atkins REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Symbols of white nationalism are displayed on the jacket of a member of the National Socialist Movement as they gather in a parking lot before attending a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network prepare a swastika for burning to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A new member of the ShieldWall Network, Nicholas Holloway, and other members of the white nationalist group go boating to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Courtney Calfy, wife of Julian Calfy, helps to prepare a meal as members of the ShieldWall Network gather to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US John Carollo, a member of the ShieldWall Network, on the phone during a celebration of Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US A plaque on top of a flagpole with the number 1488 is carried by members of the National Socialist Movement as they attend a rally at the state capitol in Little Rock, Arkansas, November 10, 2018 REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network John Carollo, Julian Calfy and Nicholas Holloway gather at a member's home before departing to disrupt a Jewish Holocaust memorial event in Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network burn a swastika to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Chris Barker of the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is seen inside what the group calls its church, next to his home in Yanceyville REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network go boating to celebrate Adolf Hitler's birthday outside Russellville, Arkansas REUTERS The far-right plot to normalise white supremacy in the US Members of the ShieldWall Network, a white nationalist group, prepare to burn a swastika and cross during a party at a home outside Atkins, Arkansas REUTERS

In response, the FBI announced the launch of a Domestic Terrorism-Hate Crimes Fusion Cell in 2019, which allows the organisation to allocate as much resources to combat domestic terrorism as it does to combat other terror-linked groups.

The FBI now appears to treat white supremacist violence and domestic extremists motivated by foreign terror groups like Isis and al-Qaeda as similarly organised threats  both use the Internet to radicalise and turn to "soft targets" in public areas, from stores to places of worship, to commit violence.

He said: "Regardless of the specific ideology involved, the FBI requires that all domestic terrorism investigations be predicated based on activity intended to further a political or social goal, wholly or in part involving force, coercion, or violence, in violation of federal law."

The FBI's latest directive follows the Department of Homeland Security's recent counterterrorism efforts that recognised white nationalism as a significant domestic threat.

In early 2019, then-DHS chief Kirstjen Nielsen insisted that Islamist militants such as al-Qaeda and Isis remained the country's "primary terrorist threat".

 Donald Trump denies white nationalism is a 'rising threat' after Christchurch mosque attack

Following waves of mass shootings and other hate-motivated attacks, Americans have pressured the government to combat white supremacism and far-right violence, accusing Donald Trump's administration of abetting white nationalism and turning a blind eye to ideologically driven violence in the US while combatting terror groups abroad.
Executives at Netflix must be regarding it as a small miracle. Their big-budget, exquisitely acted drama The Two Popes is up for two Oscars  one for each pontiff  at this weekend's Academy Awards ceremony.

This means that on Sunday night we could see two venerable Welsh actors clutching a statuette for playing a pope in the same movie. Sir Anthony Hopkins, 82, could pick up his second Oscar after being nominated for best supporting actor for playing Benedict.

And Jonathan Pryce, 72, could emerge as best actor for his portrayal of Pope Francis  or, rather, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, as the film is based on the fiction that the two men meet secretly in the Vatican months before Benedict's shocking resignation in 2013.

The two actors' cause has not been hurt by a high-profile row between supporters of their real-life counterparts in Rome. In the same week Pryce and Hopkins' nominations were announced, the retired Benedict XVI challenged his successor over the hot-button subject of clerical celibacy.

Jonathan Pryce, 72, could emerge as best actor for his portrayal of Pope Francis  or, rather, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, as the film is based on the fiction that the two men meet secretly in the Vatican months before Benedict's shocking resignation in 2013 (he is pictured alongside Sir Anthony Hopkins as Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict)

Francis is thinking of ordaining married priests. Benedict is horrified by the idea.

And when Benedict's name appeared as the co-author of a book that passionately defends the celibate priesthood, Francis forced the frail older man to withdraw his endorsement.

The resulting row between allies of the liberal Argentine pope and his conservative Bavarian predecessor kept The Two Popes in the headlines just as members of the Academy were filling out their ballot papers.

And the scandal was given fresh impetus this week when it emerged that Francis had stripped the head of his household of key duties. The Archbishop of Urbs Salvia, the Most Rev Georg Ganswein, doubles as Benedict's secretary, and Francis is said to believe he had been involved in the production of the offending book on clerical celibacy.

I suspect Netflix won't have been displeased by the real-life drama  far nastier than anything that happens in the film  that is playing out in Rome.

And it will be hoping that  to use a Vatican analogy  white smoke will come billowing out of the Hollywood chimney for both their popes.

The film's producers are unlikely to care that events in Rome demonstrate that the plot of The Two Popes  which suggests Benedict secretly wanted Francis to succeed him  is not just utterly fanciful but pretty close to the opposite of the truth.

But a growing number of Catholics, including me, are seriously disturbed by the film's popularity.

Our objection isn't that The Two Popes depicts a purely fictional encounter between two living people. That's a familiar plot device, and if it bends reality in a plausible direction then we should allow Netflix its artistic licence.

The problem is that the filmmakers are, no doubt unintentionally, helping one of the most powerful men in the world to cover up a series of scandals in which he is personally implicated.

I'm talking about Pope Francis, who is nothing like the quietly self-deprecating moral crusader depicted by Jonathan Pryce. Indeed, there's a worrying gulf between his public and private images.

Anthony Hopkins and Jonathan Pryce shine in The Two Popes, which is a surprise hit of the awards season

In the same week the Oscar nominations were announced, the retired Benedict XVI (right) challenged his successor Pope Francis (left) over clerical celibacy

Pope Francis presents himself to us as an avuncular 'Great Reformer' who's tough on abusers but a big pussycat with everyone else.

But we caught a glimpse of a rather different character on New Year's Eve, when the Pope was filmed slapping down a Chinese woman who had grabbed his arm in St Peter's Square. She wouldn't let go, and you can't blame Francis for being annoyed. He later apologised for losing his cool.

Even so, the damage was done. That little glimpse of thunderous anger astonished millions of people who had never questioned the pontiff's carefully cultivated cuddly image.

But it won't have astonished anyone who works in the Vatican.

'You don't want to be there when he flies off the handle,' says one official. 'And the language!'

Until last year, I was editor-in-chief of the 130-year-old Catholic Herald, one of the world's leading Catholic magazines. This gave me privileged access to leading cardinals, three of whom met me privately on separate occasions to discuss their grave reservations about the direction in which Pope Francis is leading the Catholic Church.

That was unusual enough. All popes have cardinals who disagree with them  but those cardinals would normally think twice before voicing their doubts to a journalist who'd cross the road to start a fight. (The Church Times once described me as 'a blood-crazed ferret'.)

But what really shook me was their personal dislike of Francis. One cardinal, who had worked closely with the Pope, had a look in his eyes that  if he were not a Christian devoted to spreading the gospel of love  I might have mistaken for cold hatred.

The truth is that Francis is the most divisive pope we've had for centuries. He seems to hold liberal views on married priests, homosexuality and allowing divorced-and-remarried people to receive communion.

I say 'seems' because he prefers to hint at his sympathies rather than make actual policy changes. In the case of married priests, however, it look as if he is going to dip his toe in the water, preparing the Church for the plunge to follow.

He is considering a plan to ordain married men on an experimental basis in the Amazon region of South America, where there is a serious shortage of clergy.

The row between allies of the liberal pope and his conservative predecessor kept The Two Popes in the headlines just as members of the Academy were filling out their ballot papers

This is what provoked the African-born Cardinal Robert Sarah, who is in charge of Catholic worship, to write a book last year championing clerical celibacy. He's the only true conservative to hold high office in the Vatican, though the Pope pays no attention to his views.

Many traditionalists had been hoping he'd succeed Francis to become the first black pope. That's now looking unlikely after last month's extraordinary fiasco involving Benedict XVI.

Somehow, and the details are still murky, Cardinal Sarah persuaded the 'pope emeritus' to send him his own lengthy defence of celibacy.

Benedict agreed  perhaps an unwise decision, given his promise to live in silence in his little monastery in the grounds of the Vatican.

Now he's agreed to take his name off the book, after Francis reportedly flew into a rage on learning of its publication. Sarah, meanwhile, has also spectacularly lost his temper. The Vatican's notoriously spiteful spin machine tried to throw him under the bus by putting it about that he deceived Benedict into contributing to the book.

A furious Sarah tweeted that this 'seems to imply a lie on my part' and that 'these defamations are of extraordinary gravity'. He proved his point by publishing letters in which Benedict approved the book project. And, just last month, he held a cordial meeting with the old ex-pope.

One curious feature of the row is the relish with which Francis's supporters have escalated it. They kept tweeting hysterically that: 'You can't have two popes!' Oddly enough, though, they had welcomed the movie of that name  because it's based on the convenient fantasy that Benedict wanted Francis to succeed him.

These events make it plain that Bergoglio was the last man he wanted to sit in the Chair of Peter. He's horrified by Francis's casual floating of major changes to Church teaching  and offended by his brutal sacking of two of his favourite cardinals, Gerhard Muller and Raymond Burke, from their Vatican posts.

No hint of scandal was attached to either man; their offence was to be doctrinally conservative.

Why are the Pope's allies so ready to draw attention to the real-life 'two popes' furore? One good reason is that it takes Cardinal Sarah out of the running to be the next pope. He has clearly messed up.

But Francis loyalists may also be making another calculation. The row over the ancient pope emeritus is infinitely less damaging than the stories that the media could  and should  be writing about his successor.

Let's start with the sex scandals. There's a moment in The Two Popes when Pryce's Cardinal Bergoglio tears into Hopkins's Benedict for turning a blind eye to clerical abusers.

The film is able to capture some touching moments between the two in their private quarters

I felt like throwing something at the screen. Benedict may have been slow to act against predators, but it's Francis who has turned a blind eye to compromised bishops, even rehabilitating and protecting them.

In 2010, the Belgian cardinal Godfried Danneels told a young man who had been abused by his uncle to keep quiet. Why? Because that uncle, Roger Vangheluwe, was one of Danneels's bishops. When the facts came out, the cardinal retired in disgrace.

Then Pope Francis was elected and invited Danneels to a synod on the family. One cardinal told me that the Pope 'was thanking Danneels for votes'  the Belgian had been a key Bergoglio supporter at the 2013 conclave.

Soon after his election, Francis was told that there was a huge dossier on Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, a serial molester of seminarians.

McCarrick had been ordered to live in seclusion by Benedict. Francis brought him in from the cold and sent him on key papal missions. He only stripped McCarrick of his cardinal's title after he was exposed by the media.

One of Francis's first actions as Pope was to make his friend Gustavo Zanchetta a bishop in Argentina. The appointment was a disaster. Zanchetta was found with pornography on his phone and left his diocese's finances in ruins.

The Pope accepted his resignation and then created a Vatican job for him  incredibly, managing the Church's money. An Argentine court has now charged Zanchetta with abusing seminarians and misusing funds.

Yet he remains in the Vatican, protected by his mentor Francis.

Perhaps most disturbingly, back in 2009, Julio Grassi, an Argentine celebrity priest who worked with street children, was convicted of performing a sex act on a boy, one of several alleged victims.

The Argentine bishops commissioned a report attempting to smear Grassi's accusers  on the instructions of the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires. Ambushed by reporters in St Peter's Square, Francis denied that he had commissioned the report. This is simply not true. He was Grassi's biggest supporter.

A walk through the forest, the film also helps identify the struggles the two men faced

There are other cases in which the Pope has ignored or even criticised victims of clerical abuse. Clearly he is no 'reformer' in this area. Meanwhile, the financial scandals are piling up. They involve the Vatican's investment in a luxury development in Chelsea, a bankrupt Italian hospital and an Angolan oil company. The suspicion is of money-laundering on a vast scale.

Archbishop Angelo Becciu, formerly one of Pope Francis's most senior financial executives, has been named by the Financial Times as a key player in mysterious investments. In 2018 the Pope made Becciu, who has denied any wrongdoing, a cardinal.

And then there is China. The Vatican has signed a deal with Beijing whereby Pope Francis has agreed to recognise bishops from the state-controlled Catholic Church in return for greater freedom of worship.

China immediately reneged on the deal, the details of which have never been made public.

There were reports last month that one bishop faithful to Rome is sleeping on the streets after escaping his state minders. Francis has said nothing about this or any other abuses of human rights. His silence is shameful and shocking.

None of this is easy to interpret. Jorge Bergoglio has always been a loner, leaving questions about his motivation wherever he has been. But when he was head of the Jesuits in Argentina, he was hated by many priests for his bullying manner.

In The Two Popes, Benedict asks Cardinal Bergoglio about 'this popularity of yours' back home. What popularity, ask many Argentinians? Throughout the film, a childlike smile keeps flitting across Pryce's face. It was a smile rarely seen in Buenos Aires.

Just before the final credits, news photographs take us on a lightning tour of the places Francis has visited: they include Manila, Mexico, Lima, Rio, New York, Seoul, Colombo and Tirana.

Did the filmmakers not notice a startling omission from that list? When he addressed the crowds in St Peter's for the first time, the new Pope Francis said that the cardinals had chosen a pope 'from the ends of the Earth'. But not once has he gone back to his homeland, and he won't say why.

Argentinians are offended but not surprised. They remember the grim-faced Archbishop of Buenos Aires and his propensity for making enemies. When they look at their television screens and see the lovable Pope Francis, they could be forgiven for thinking that it is Jorge Bergoglio, not Jonathan Pryce, who deserves an Oscar.
DNY59/iStock(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) -- Fotis Dulos' girlfriend, Michelle Troconis, charged in connection with Dulos' wife's disappearance and alleged murder, made her first court appearance Friday since his suicide.



Troconis, appearing with her new attorney, Jon Schoenhorn, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, according to ABC New Haven affiliate WTNH.



Troconis was arrested after Fotis Dulos' estranged wife and the mother of his five children, Jennifer Dulos, went missing in May 2019.



Her body was never found.



Fotis Dulos was charged in January with capital murder, murder and kidnapping, while his girlfriend, Troconis, was charged with conspiracy to commit murder.



For the first time, Troconis used Spanish translator headphones when she appeared in court Friday, after her attorney argued that English isn't her first language, reported WTNH.



Schoenhorn also asked that Troconis be able to remove her ankle GPS monitor because its causing chafing and bruising, WTNH reported.



Schoenhorn told WTNH Thursday that it's "unfair" that Troconis, after "posting a large bond," is on house arrest and not allowed to visit her 13-year-old daughter.



On Friday "the judge agreed to add a work condition to her house arrest" with a requirement of "no side trips," reported WTNH.



Police allege Troconis lied about when she saw her boyfriend on the morning his wife disappeared, according to an arrest warrant.



In one of Troconis' police interviews, according to court documents, "When Troconis was told that Dulos had killed his wife and involved her [Troconis] in the clean-up, she responded by saying, 'That's, like, even worse. I hate him because of that. ... I was cleaning the house. I wasn't cleaning Jennifer.'"



On Jan. 28, Fotis Dulos was hospitalized in critical condition after his attorney said he attempted suicide. Fotis Dulos died on Jan. 30.



Schoenhorn said he's concerned Fotis Dulos' death will make prosecutors look at his client as the "target."



"When the primary target of the prosecution is no longer in the picture, they [prosecutors] want to justify all the expense and time," he told WTNH Thursday. "They got to go after someone else and that leaves, unfortunately, my client and Mr. Dulos' former attorney."



Kent Mahwinney, an attorney and a friend of Fotis Dulos, was also charged with conspiracy to commit murder.



Fotis Dulos and Troconis had been charged earlier with tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and hindering prosecution.



Troconis returns to court March 3, WTNH reported.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
You can't always get what you want.

On Thursday, the Rolling Stones announced 15 summer concert dates for their "No Filter Tour."

The legendary rock 'n' roll band will make two stops in Texas in May, but Mick Jagger and Co. are not coming to San Antonio.

To see the Stones, fans will have to take the short drive up Interstate 35 to the Circuit of The Americas in Austin on May 24. Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas will host the band five days later on May 29.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Feb. 14.

READ MORE: 55 years ago, the Rolling Stones performed a disastrous show in San Antonio

The aging group  72-year-old guitarist Ronnie Wood is the youngest member  remains a massive draw. Last summer, the band topped the North American box-office chart by pulling in more than $178 million over a 17-show tour.

There was a time the Stones couldn't even get top billing on a card with performing monkeys. When they came to San Antonio's Freeman Coliseum in 1964, the crowd cheered the local acts and roundly booed the British unknowns.

"The concert was in the open air and everyone got a poor reception from a mixed crowd of cowboys and kids," bassist Bill Wyman wrote in his memoir. "We had to go on after some performing monkeys. What the hell were we doing here?"

The Rolling Stones did return to the Alamo City in 1975, but won't be back for an encore this summer.

Click through the gallery above for archive photos of the Rolling Stones in San Antonio.
Mahenge  Mining is sometimes prone to cause conflicts with residents near mining sites. But, for Mahenge dwellers, quite a different story is unfolding.

Both the government and the residents here see a bright future in terms of improved revenue share and better housing facilities.

Mahenge in Ulanga District - in Morogoro Region - is home to several minerals, including gold and graphite, which is believed to be one of the best quality in the world.

Mahenge Resources Ltd - a subsidiary of Australian-based Black Rock Mining - has completed exploration and is now conducting land and housing evaluation for compensating people who would be affected by the firm's investment.

"I totally accept this new project and already we see the benefits of their presence. I hope our homes will also improve once some of us are compensated to pave the way for the project," said Mr Leonis Sinyambala at Nawenge Village after the firm handed three village offices worth Sh51 million. "This is just the beginning and we have at least gained something. I think a lot more are coming to improve our schools, roads and homes," said Ms Janeth Slivery.

The event gathered people from three villages which received the support and was also attended by local leaders, government mining experts, district officials as well as Minerals Minister Dotto Biteko.

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He challenged mining companies to make sure they link their activities with the livelihood improvement of surrounding communities and the government was keen to see the sector benefiting people.

"We welcome more investors to Tanzania and the government is committed to removing any possible obstacles that challenge the investors. However, companies must make sure that Tanzanians are part and parcel of the projects," urged he.

He said the government was regulating the sector properly and now it has started bringing direct benefits.

"For example, in the previous five years, there were mining activities here but the district council had received only Sh4 million in that span of period," he said.

"We noticed that challenge and intervened. As we speak, in just five months to end of January, the district had received Sh396 million after establishing mineral centres and regulate trading properly," added Mr Biteko at a gathering greeted by rains.

He was also touched by the support of the company to villages saying it's the way to go.

Black Rock Mining chief executive officer John De Vries, who was at the event, said the company was solving resettlement and giving Tanzania government its 16 percent free-carried interest before moving to building the graphite mine.

"As I speak today, we are proceeding with the resettlement action plan process. We recognise that in developing a mine we will disrupt people's lives. For success, we need to be able to offer a better alternative to potentially affected people. This is more than a cash settlement," he said.

"We will not promise things we cannot offer," he added.

Ulanga District officials said they hoped that the investors would help in improving the lives and revenue to the district.

"So far, we have been collaborating with investors and all legal and regulatory requirements will be observed," said Ulanga DC Ngollo Malenya.

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"Residents also want to enter into contract with the investors and we are in the process for doing that," she added. Ulanga MP Goodluck Mlinga is also hopeful for the project saying those who want to block it are delaying development to his constituency.

"I know some government officials want to delay the project. I know each one of them. I will list them and hand the names to the minister if they continue behaving that way," he said in the gathering. "Don't play with the interests of my people. The consequences are more dangerous than embracing a live electric transformer," he added to warn the people he accused of sabotaging mining projects.

The government targets to increase the contribution of the mining sector to the economy from about four percent currently to at least ten percent come 2025.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday said, despite the rising insecurity and attacks by Boko Haram, the successes achieved by his government against the group has restored the pride of Nigeria.

"You will agree with me that the successes we have achieved so far have restored our pride and honor in the world over," he said Thursday.

The president said this during his induction speech on Thursday at Eagle Square, Abuja, where he commissioned three attack helicopters.

Insecurity in Nigeria

In January alone, PREMIUM TIMES reported that data from newspaper reports and available records have shown that at least 245 people were killed across Nigeria.

Expat Insider Survey of 2019 by Internations lists Nigeria as the third most dangerous country in the world as a result of both corruption and insecurity.

The House of Representatives last week lamented on the scale of insecurity in the country.

They, alongside Nigerian senators, urged Mr Buhari to change his service chiefs in order to address the spate of killings across Nigeria. Mr Buhari has ignored the call.

The South-west governors, in concern, recently set up a regional security outfit, Amotekun, to address rising criminality and killings in the region.

A United Nations rapporteur, Agnes Callamard, in September 2019 said that Nigeria "is a pressure cooker of internal conflict" and pretending that there is no crises will be a "major crises."

Unperturbed

The presidency, in response to the outcry of Nigerians concerning the insecurity in the nation said the security situation now "is better than it was before Mr Buhari assumed office, hence, Nigerians have reasons to be grateful."

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"We know what the situation was as at 2015 and we know what it is today, despite the reversals in security, it is still not as bad as it used to be in this country," the president's spokesperson, Femi Adesina, said.

Meanwhile, an elated Mr Buhari, while commissioning the new helicopters commended the Air Force's efforts towards "internal security, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations in places like The Gambia, Guinea Conakry, Mozambique, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Guinea Bissau, and Cameroun."

He added that their service is a source of pride to Nigeria and has also "projected us as a reliable regional power."

He said that he "promised to put an end to Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping and other forms of criminalities that have bedeviled our country" during his inaugural speech as president.

"You will agree with me that the successes we have achieved so far have restored our pride and honor in the world over," he said.

The president also appreciated Nigerians "for their belief in his administration in spite of occasional outrages, coming together as a nation, irrespective of political, religious and ethnic affiliations, in our strive to bring this menace to an end."

He finally said the "purchase of the helicopters further demonstrates the administration's commitment to bringing the security challenges in the country under control."
Natrona County consists of nearly 3.5 million acres of life-giving land. Twenty-eight watersheds feed hundreds of miles of rivers and streams. There are almost 2 million acres of identified core sage grouse habitat and an overall annual population increase of 0.5 percent.

And about 53 percent of land in Natrona County is owned by either the state or federal government.

What is done with that land affects that growing number of people living in the county. It affects tourism dollars and hospitality jobs, it affects wildlife and recreation, and it affects how the county plans for growth and development in the future.

Wouldnt you like to have a say over how those things are impacted by the powers that be? Well, for the next few months, you can.

Natrona County is in the process of rewriting a component of its natural resource management plan so that state and federal government agencies know what the countys expectations and priorities are for land and resource management.

Say, for example, the Bureau of Land Management comes out with a new plan that directly conflicts with Natrona Countys plan. The bureau is legally required to consider the countys plan and take it into account in its decision-making.

Without a clear county plan, the bureau wouldnt necessarily need to consider the countys concerns.

The county already has a natural resources management plan, and the plan as a whole will remain as is. What this process does is update Chapter Seven of the countys existing plan, which deals with state and federal land use.

The Natrona County Commissioners have hired consultants, using money provided by the state, to reexamine this section of the plan. The consultants come through Montana-based DJ&A, an engineering and planning company with experience in natural resource management in Wyoming.

In total the company is working with four Wyoming counties to develop these plans.

What the consultants and the commissioners hope to elevate is the So what? Why is this important?

In the simplest terms, the plan gives the county a seat at the table when agencies of the state or federal government have plans for public land in the state.

The plan provides a pathway for those agencies to communicate and coordinate with the county while providing them with detailed and crucial information necessary to make the most informed land management decisions.

Thats where Dessa Dale, DJ&As project leader, comes in. The public input she receives will help inform how the plan is shaped and what information gets focused on.

Neither state or federal law requires counties to have these plans, but in order for the county to have the greatest influence over how land is handled, the plan is vital.

But counties dont have to update their plans annually. The push to do this now comes down to a piece of legislation passed by the state Legislature last year (House Bill 54, now House Enrolled Act 22). That bill provided counties with up to $50,000 to either initiate or rework their federal and state public land management plans.

The plan is comprehensive in its scope of natural resources and county demographic information, but its also limited to what they know about the county today, County Commissioner Forrest Chadwick said.

This is what we have here today; its gonna change, he said, explaining that what goes into the plan now isnt the be-all and end-all of natural resource planning for the county. The plan can be updated.

If members of the public would like their input considered in the formation of the plan, theyre being encouraged to fill out a survey available on the Natrona County website or at s.surveyplanet.com/T-qNR8IB.

Getting these surveys turned in isnt only important for public participation. Dale said its invaluable to have a written record of public priorities when forming the plan. Survey responses will be accepted through April, but for the input to be used in the report they must be finished by April 1.

A draft of the plan, with tentative recommendations for DJ&A, is also available on the countys website. The county will continually update the webpage with documents and updates on the planning process.

Follow local government reporter Morgan Hughes on Twitter @morganhwrites

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Pitching for peace from the once hotbed of an armed movement for Bodoland, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Kashmiri militants, banned outfits in the North-East and Naxalites to lay down their arms, join the national maintstream and "celebrate life".

Addressing a massive public rally here to celebrate the January 27 tripartite accord amid a spectacle resplendent with Assam's cultural opulence, he also attacked the previous non-BJP governments for "procrastinating" resolution of vexed issues that alienated people and made them lose faith in democracy and the Constitution.

"The Bodo accord has heralded a new dawn of peace and development in Assam. With people's support, it has paved the way for permanent peace.

"Those still with bombs, guns and bullets in Kashmir, other parts of North-East, and Naxalites...come back...join the maintream. Wapas laut aiye aur jeevan ka jashn manaiye (come back and celebrate life," he said.

Modi said he was confident that the accord signed by the Centre, Assam government and Bodo groups, will bring permanent peace, unlike the previous accords inked with insurgents in 1993 and 2003.

"With the signing of the historic agreement, no demand has been left unfulfilled," he said.

Modi, who was on a visit to Assam for the first time after enactment of the new citizenship law, which plunged large parts of the state into a welter of violence, also sought to assuage the concerns of people of the region on the issue.

"Canard is being spread that lakhs of settlers will come from other countries after the enactment of CAA. Nothing of that sort will happen," he said.

The prime minister had cancelled his visits to Guwahati twice in December last year and this January--first for a summit meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe and second to inaugurate the 'Khelo India' youth games at the height of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests.

Several districts of Lower Assam witnessed bloodshed and violence over many decades as Bodo militants of different groups launched an armed struggle for a separate state, locking horns with the state government, central security agencies, and other minorities inhabiting the area.

Bodos predominantly inhabit the northwestern part of Assam in districts like Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Chirang, Baksa, Darrang, Sonitpur, Kamrup, Nalbari, Barpeta, and Dhubri.

The proponents of the Bodo movement had for declades claimed the Bodos, one of the Indo-Mongoloid tribal communities, are ethnically different from the rest of the people of Assam and were entitled to a separate state.

Primarily Bengali Muslims, whose roots can be traced to East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and tribal communities like Santhals and Koch-Rajbongshis bore the brunt of ethnic violence unleashed by Bodoland proponents. Hundreds of them were killed and several lakh forced to live in relief camps in the 1990s.

"Now development is our first and last priority. Trust me, I am yours. When you have decided to shun the path of bombs and guns, I will do everything to ensure that not even a thorn pricks you," he said.

"There are no losers, everybody has won. But first, this is the victory of peace, of humanism," he said of the accord and noted it will benefit both the Bodos and non-Bodos, who have often been in conflict.

The area under the Bodo Territorial Region governed by a council will be expanded, he said.

In an apparent effort to allay fears of non-Bodos, the prime minister said the Centre will work expeditiously to implement Clause 6 of the Assam Accord once the high-powered committee submits its report.

The clause envisaged that constitutional, legislative and administrative safeguards shall be provided to protect, preserve and promote cultural, social, linguistic identity and heritage of the Assamese people.

"I have complete faith that the Bodoland Territorial Council will create a development model based on inclusivity that will give economic progress a new dimension in consonance with 'sabka saath, sabka vikas and sabka vishwas'," he said.

Targeting the previous non-BJP governments, Modi said they avoided trying to find solutions to intractable issues and let them fester.

"Nobody wanted to touch North-East with a bargepole. They thought there's trouble, there's violence. Quell it with force. This alienated people who lost their faith in democracy and the Constitution," he said, adding for his government North-East was a priority area.

Modi said he created a roster of his ministers who would visit the region every 10-15 days, listen to the problems of people and resolve them.

Speaking about his government's attempts to tackle insurgency in the North-East, Modi said the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) was banned since 1997 and was using violent tactics for years. The government got it touch with the organisation through interlocutors and began talks with them in 2015.

"Last year, the government signed a pact with them. They agreed to accept the Indian Constitution and returned to mainstream," he said.

The Bru-Reang crisis was also resolved a few days ago after another historic agreement. Thousands of families will now have homes and will live in peace after a conflict that festered for about two-and-a-half decades, he said.

The prime minister said that the combined central allocation to the eight states of the region went up to a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission, after his government was formed, from Rs 90,000 crore under the 13th Finance Commission.

He said that the North-East was under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, for a long time but now Tripura and many parts of other states are free from it.

In three years, 3,000 km of roads and national highways have been laid, new airports are being built and the old modernised, while work is on for a dozen waterways.

Joyous celebration pervaded Jangkhrithai Field, the venue of the rally, as women attired in traditional dress, some wearing flower tiaras, danced to drum beats.

Modi walked up to them and waved to a cheering crowd, as national tricolour and the yellow flags with two black crossed swords and a shield of the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU) fluttered across the landscape.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
But these laws, which have significant limitations, were never designed to withstand focused congressional retaliation. During the impeachment trial, Chief Justice John Roberts refused to read a question from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) containing the name of an individual rumored by agents of retaliation to be the whistleblower. Undeterred, Paul spoke the individuals name on the Senate floor Tuesday, committing it into the record while standing next to a poster bearing the name. He boasted that the Constitution, which affords special privileges to members on the Senate floor, guarantees his right to engage in such conduct. But nothing guarantees the safety of the individual he named, whom Paul acknowledged may not even be the whistleblower.
Have you seen Transformers War For Cybertron Deluxe Earthrise figures at retail? Share you sightings for others too see in the comment.

Many thanks to group member, Brian Wagner, who let is know that he found the Transformers War For Cybertron Deluxe Earthrise figures at two different St Louis, Missouri Targets recently.

2 Image(s) - Click to Enlarge

STngAR 2020-02-18 @ 9:53 pm

I've been checking the Target by my work here in PA for about a week now and they been slowly putting Earthrise out. I believe the beginning of the week I found Cliffjumper and 2 Ironworks, and they had the Micromasters out. Yesterday I found Leader Astrotrain and Optimus. It will be out everywhere soon and we will be complaining the same old Earthrise is on the pegs when wave 2 is supposed to be out. ?

BaCon 2020-02-18 @ 7:08 pm

Following the initial surge of Transformers War For Cybertron Earthrise Deluxe figures, I spotted the Wave 1 Leader, Voyger and Master classes on the shelves at the Daly City Target in Northern California.

BaCon 2020-02-07 @ 2:57 pm

Many thanks to group member, Brian Wagner, who let is know that he found the Transformers War For Cybertron Deluxe Earthrise figures at two different St Louis, Missouri Targets recently. Click Image to Read the Full News Story Now

BaCon 2020-02-06 @ 2:35 pm

Amazon is currently shipping both the Earthrise Wave 1 Micromasters Hot Rod and Military Patrols. You can find both of them at the following links selling for $9.99 USD with FREE shipping! Get both of these sets well ahead of the March 31 retail date at the links below. Click Image to Read the Full News Story Now

BaCon 2020-02-05 @ 5:19 pm

Scalping has become a kind of sport to get things first for the money and prestige. These guys RUN to the toy section when doors open. They scour everything they can re-sell: Hotwheels, Marvel, Star Wars, Transformers and anything hot like the Fortnight and LOL! stuff. They've even managed to get the stock clerks cell phone to find what's come in. I didn't see a SIEGE Wave 1 Optimus Prime on the shelf for 2 months after the street date, if that tells what we're up against around here. ?

ExVee 2020-02-05 @ 4:18 pm

I suppose I also want to believe that this instance represents direct distribution just because that means they aren't taking large quantities of new product away from local shoppers and collectors before they ever have a reasonable chance at it. Sorry you've got a known scalper population to contend with; distribution in my region isn't generally the greatest, but I've rarely had the impression that places were being cleaned out in that way.

BaCon 2020-02-05 @ 2:48 pm

I think you are right about the pricing, but I believe it is possible someone can get that much. IF distribution is regional, that many stores so close together should get their stock all at the same time. In my area, there are a half-dozen scalpers who are waiting outside stores to open EVERY DAY so they can grab all the new stuff. If anyone is doing that in Mesa, they've got an easy ride to clean out 3 Target stores. So the scalpers can cause a lot of pain in this regard. Its also not a given that everyone finding new stuff is posting it on Ebay for sale. ?

ExVee 2020-02-05 @ 2:50 am

It might be possible, but it's certainly improbable. To have 20 of each Deluxe would mean finding 10 cases all in one sweep. In my experience it would be a shock to find a given Target to have more than two cases on hand. The other thing, this seller is offering free shipping, and the markup is relatively low. After postage, which could get kinda high on single item purchases to far away parts of the country, they've got virtually no profit left. But if they're getting wholesale(ish) pricing, that gives them more wiggle room to sell they way they are. The wackjobs pricing Cliffjumpers at $50, etc, those are the ones probably grabbing off store shelves, cause they need the extra room to be able to operate. In any case, I just want the damn things to appear either in my backyard, or near someone who's willing to mule me a set for cost. It's frustrating being not just so far away from where most of the sightings are, but also [retty far away from the nearest location of the retail chain that's getting stock at the moment. Damn country living.

BaCon 2020-02-05 @ 1:39 am

2 hours ago, ExVee said: If they're getting it through Diamond, that would not be inconsistent with how Siege went right at the beginning. Either way, that Arizona seller had something like 20 of each Deluxe when the listings you shared first went live, so that can't be anything other than direct distribution of some color. Agreed. If it was Diamond there could be dozens of others. It could be they are a retail employee, or scalper who is getting it all first. Just a hunch based on the listings for other retail items as well and considering three Targets are so close together in Mesa, it is possible.

ExVee 2020-02-05 @ 12:27 am
Young Offenders star Alex Murphy says he is now recognized in the streets of New York thanks to the Netflix success of the coming-of-age series.

The 22-year-old actor has just graduated from college and is already a triple threat - with a hit TV series, movie and now a critically acclaimed play on his CV with a new starring role in Martin McDonaghs The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

Alex, who plays Conor in the Young Offenders, has a very particular take on why he believes the show has travelled so well around the world.

You might think its something that only Corkonians like, but I suppose every country has stupid young lads," he said.

"Its a very local show, I think no matter where you are you like seeing something particularly local and very specific. Its a very specific type of Ireland, part of Cork.

Since the series has been aired on Netflix, there has been a whole army of new fans.

He said: I was in New York a few months ago and a number of people stopped me. Since the film has gone on Netflix it has been a great help to get it out there, it is amazing. When Im over in London it still surprises me when people stop me."

He said there is a huge fondness for the characters despite their exploits:

Even though they do bad things sometimes I think its hard to hate them."

The rising star plays one of the pivotal roles in The Lieutenant of Inishmore, which has just opened a run in the Gaiety.

The young actor said he was chuffed when playwright Martin Mc Donagh  who is behind iconic films such as in Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri  arrived into rehearsal.

It is amazing, Martin came into the rehearsals just to watch and give a few tips and he was a great help. It was great to have him in, someone who has made such great films and written such great plays. It was an interesting dynamic, him being in the room.

I just graduated college last year and we did a number of plays but nothing to this size - 1,300 people I think the Gaiety holds.

Alex Murphy plans on taking a small break from acting in June to scale Mount Toubkal, the tallest mountain in North Africa with other Corkonians.

There is a group of about 20 of us from Cork doing it to raise a bit of money for LauraLynn. Its 4,400 metres, it will take five day to do -three days to get up the mountain and two days to get down. Theres not much prep you can do height-wise. You can barely get above 1000 metres in Ireland. Youd have to do Carrauntoohil every day for a few days.
Fairfield, MT (59436)

Today

Windy with increasing clouds. Low 31F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph..

Tonight

Windy with increasing clouds. Low 31F. Winds SW at 20 to 30 mph. Winds could occasionally gust over 40 mph.
My girlfriend, who saved my life when I had the heart attack. The night before, she had a headache and we didn't have anything in the house. She went to the supermarket and got some aspirin. As she was leaving, the girl told her she had dropped something; it was the aspirin. The next morning, when I came out of my gym in the house, I said to her, 'I think I'm having a heart attack.' She took an aspirin and put it under my tongue. That thing saved my life. So if the girl, the cashier, hadn't said anything; if she hadn't had a headache that night  sometimes the packages in which life serves you happiness are very small, and they come to you in an unexpected way.
US President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges in a free-wheeling, caustic speech on Thursday that drew on White House pomp to underscore the fact that he remained in office.

After walking down a red carpet to a standing ovation from scores of Republican lawmakers, administration officials and conservative media figures in the East Room of the White House, Trump re-aired old grievances and accused Democrats of staging a "corrupt" effort to undermine his presidency in a speech that lasted more than an hour.

"I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit ... but this is what the end result is," Trump said, holding up a copy of the Washington Post with the headline "Trump acquitted."

The Republican president then handed the newspaper to his wife, Melania, and said maybe they would frame it.

Speaking without a teleprompter, he referred to the 22-month investigation by former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his election campaign's possible contacts with Russia during the 2016 election campaign, using a profanity.

"It was all bullshit," he said.

The Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit Trump on charges brought by the Democratic-led House of Representatives, only the third time in U.S. history that a president has been impeached.

The acquittal was Trump's biggest victory yet over his Democratic foes in Congress, who had attacked Senate Republicans for refusing to call witnesses or seek new evidence at the trial.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump, who has strong support from evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics, faulted some of his opponents for invoking their religious faith during the impeachment battle.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic who launched the impeachment inquiry in September, said in December that she does not hate Trump and that she prays for him. Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, cited his religious faith when he voted to convict Trump on a charge of abuse of power on Wednesday. Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction. No Democrat voted to acquit.

"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you,' when they know that that's not so," Trump said at the annual National Prayer Breakfast.

He referred to the issue again in his remarks in the East Room: "I doubt she (Pelosi) prays at all."

Pelosi had said that Trump's comments at the prayer breakfast were inappropriate.

"He's talking about things he knows little about - faith and prayer," she told a news conference.

NEXT STEPS?

Senate Republicans voted to acquit Trump of abuse of power for pressing Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a contender to be the Democratic nominee in the Nov. 3 presidential election, and of obstructing a congressional investigation of the matter.

Democrats were unclear about their next steps in investigating Trump. There are several pending court cases related to Democratic efforts to get more information from Trump, and Pelosi issued a statement saying the House would protect the Constitution "both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion."

Democrats have suggested they might subpoena John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, to testify to House committees. Senate Republicans rejected Democratic efforts to subpoena Bolton to testify during the trial.

Democrats have expressed concern an acquittal would encourage a president who already challenges political norms, painting him as a threat to U.S. democracy and a demagogue who has acted lawlessly.

Eleven Democrats are vying for the right to challenge Trump in November, but Trump heads into the campaign with the advantages of a powerful fundraising machine and near universal support from Republicans.

Trump's job approval ratings have remained fairly consistent throughout his presidency and the impeachment process, as his core conservative supporters - especially white men, rural Americans, evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics - stuck with him.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, showed 42% of American adults approved of his performance, while 54%A disapproved. That was nearly the same as when the House launched its impeachment inquiry in September, when his approval stood at 43% and disapproval at 53%.
Yesterday, the President signed into law the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act. This law is critical to ensuring that law enforcement around the country have the tools they need to fight the deadly opioid epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control, over 70,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2017. Opioids, including the dangerous illicitly-made drug fentanyl, accounted for over 47,600 of those deaths. Preliminary numbers suggest similar results for 2018. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 50 times more potent than heroin and up to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Several years ago, drug dealers began mixing fentanyl with heroin to increase the appeal of heroin for users. As the potency increased, so did the number of overdose deaths. Because fentanyl is made in labs using chemicals, its structure is easily manipulated. Drug cartels that manufacture and traffic this poison understand American laws and know how to exploit them. They know that by changing a single molecule in the chemical structure of fentanyl, they have essentially created a new drug that, unlike fentanyl, is not permanently illegal in the United States.

These drugs known as fentanyl analogues, do the same thing fentanyl does: creating more addicts and killing more Americans. These analogues can be up to 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more potent than morphine. Fentanyl and its analogues are increasingly being pressed into pill form, causing extreme danger to users who might not know the true nature of the substance.

The Department of Justice noted these trends and, on Feb. 6, 2018, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued an emergency temporary two-year order that made all fentanyl analogues illegal. This greatly assisted American law enforcement, including my office, in its fight against the drug cartels and subsequently against the opioids crisis, which is no stranger to Tennesseans.

In 2018, the Eastern District of Tennessee, which covers 41 of 95 counties in the state of Tennessee and approximately 2.5 million people, was one of the 10 hardest hit areas in the United States for drug overdoses and drug overdose deaths. The proximity of Knoxville to the interstates, coming up from Atlanta and down from Detroit, make our district a hotbed for drug activity and trafficking.

According to the Tennessee Department of Health, like much of the nation, over the past five years drug overdose deaths in Tennessee have consistently increased. In 2018 alone, 1,818 Tennesseans died of a drug overdose, and 742 of those deaths involved fentanyl or its analogues. Since DEAs two-year order was signed, in East Tennessee alone, our assistant U.S. attorneys have indicted 25 cases and 110 defendants involving fentanyl. Five of those 25 cases involved fentanyl analogues (20 percent). We have alleged in these indictments that nine people have died as a result of ingesting these dangerous substances.

Because of the impact that the emergency order has had on preventing analogues in our communities, Congress recently enacted the Temporary Reauthorization and Study of the Emergency Scheduling of Fentanyl Analogues Act, providing a 15-month extension of DEAs original order, which President Trump signed into law yesterday. The temporary extension, which expires on May 6, 2021, will continue to help us in our efforts to combat this epidemic; but to ensure fentanyl analogues are never able to devastate communities like fentanyl has, we hope Congress will eventually pass permanent legislation to make these substances illegal to help the people of Tennessee and this nation.

United States Attorney J. Douglas Overbey


Here is a selection of people who have just begun interesting new roles in Ireland, with companies and organisations including Agri Aware, OpenSky, UM Ireland, DublinTown, Wexford Chamber of Commerce and law firm Eugene F Collins.

Marcus OHalloran has been appointed executive director of the Irish agri educational body, Agri Aware. He will take over the role from current executive director Deirdre OShea at the end of February. Marcus is currently the Irish Farmers Associations regional executive for Tipperary and Clare; his prior IFA roles have included countryside development executive. Marcus as also the first Agricultural Science student elected as president of the students union in UCD, where he led successful events, raised substantial funds from external partners, and increased participation rates in events.

Darren Clarke has been appointed as head of customer success with OpenSky, the Irish GovTech transformation specialist which provides automated solutions to public sector bodies. He brings over 20 years of experience in business development and stakeholder management within financial services, notably as head of client relations for DST Systems. He has also held senior roles with the Pension Protection Fund, UK, and Irish Life. He holds a degree in business studies and economics from the Open University Business School, and a postgraduate certificate in management from Henley Business School.

Alan Daly has been appointed as MD of creative media firm UM Ireland, part of IPG Mediabrands Ireland, whose clients include Fitbit EMEA, Johnson & Johnson, Just Eat, Mater Private, Zurich and Mattel. He joined the agency in March 2019 as international business director and, most notably during this time, led the team that won the Fitbit EMEA business, co-ordinating all its media requirements, both offline and digital, across Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Alan will work closely with an IPG Mediabrands executive team that also includes Initiative managing director Sylvia Cawley and Reprise Digital managing director Viv Maher.

Col Campbell, MD of Bewleys Grafton Street, has been named as the fifth chairperson of DublinTown, the collective voice of businesses in Dublin city centre. He will represent the groups 2,500 members to promote the city centre as the ultimate destination of choice for shopping and socialising, while also improving the district through additional cleaning, graffiti removal, floral planting, and other initiatives. Having grown up in Dublin and been with Bewleys Grafton Street since 1998, he brings a wealth of experience in representing Dublin. He holds an MBA from UCDs Michael Smurfit Business School. He replaces outgoing chair, Lorcan OConnor.

Fiona Lewis has been named CEO of County Wexford Chamber of Commerce. A corporate finance expert, she joins the newly-amalgamated chamber after holding the position of CEO at the Southeast Simon Community for five years. She previously spent 15 years with Ulster Bank before starting her own company, Business Lending Solutions, in 2007. The County Wexford Chamber was formed in October 2018, following the amalgamation of the chambers in Wexford, New Ross, and Gorey. She recently graduated in economics and finance from WIT, and has been on the EUs Going for Growth programme for women entrepreneurs.

Paul Dempsey has been appointed as partner in the dispute resolution department of law firm Eugene F Collins. He was previously an associate with the firm, and has a particular focus on contractual disputes, shareholder disputes, insurance claims, product liability claims, professional negligence, and personal injury claims. Paul also has considerable experience advising clients on aspects of alternative dispute resolution to include arbitration and mediation. The law firm has also recently appointed three associates and three newly-qualified solicitors to its various teams.
IRVING, Texas, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

OAKLAND DIVISION



IN RE MCKESSON CORPORATION DERIVATIVE LITIGATION Case No. 4:17-cv-1850-CW The Honorable Claudia Wilken

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT

OF STOCKHOLDER DERIVATIVE ACTIONS

TO: ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO OR WHICH HELD SHARES OF MCKESSON CORPORATION ("MCKESSON" OR THE "COMPANY") COMMON STOCK AS OF THE CLOSE OF TRADING ON FEBRUARY 10, 2020.

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY.

YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE ACTION.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23.1 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Division (the "California Court"), of the pendency of the stockholder derivative action styled as In re McKesson Corp. Derivative Litigation, Case No. 4:17-cv-01850-CW, pending in the California Court, and the stockholder derivative action styled as In re McKesson Corp. Stockholder Derivative Litigation, Consol. C.A. No. 2017-0736-SG (the "Delaware Action" and, together with the California Action, the "Actions"), pending in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware.

YOU ARE ALSO NOTIFIED that the Parties have reached a proposed settlement of the Actions (the "Settlement"), subject to the approval of the California Court, as provided in the Stipulation and Agreement of Compromise, Settlement, and Release, dated as of December 11, 2019 (the "Stipulation"). Under the terms of the proposed Settlement, (i) Defendants will cause their insurers to pay $175,000,000 in cash into an escrow account, which together with any interest earned on the cash payment and less any deductions for attorneys' fees and expenses for Plaintiffs' Counsel and any applicable taxes and tax expenses, will be paid to the Company; and (ii) McKesson and its Board of Directors will adopt and implement certain corporate governance changes.

A more detailed description of the Settlement terms, as well as a description of the history of the Actions and an explanation of stockholders' legal rights with respect to the Settlement, is provided in the full printed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement of Stockholder Derivative Actions (the "Notice"). The Company has caused the Notice to be distributed to all then-current McKesson stockholders as of the close of trading on February 10, 2020. The Notice and the Stipulation are also publicly available on the "Investor Relations" section of McKesson's website, investor.mckesson.com , and on Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel's websites: www.hbsslaw.com and www.gardylaw.com .

The California Court will consider the Settlement and all matters related to the Settlement at the Settlement Fairness Hearing. The Settlement Fairness Hearing will be held on April 21, 2020, at 2:30 p.m., before the Honorable Claudia Wilken at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, Oakland Courthouse, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, CA 94612. The date and time of the Settlement Hearing may change without further written notice to McKesson stockholders. You should monitor the Court's docket and Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel's websites, www.hbsslaw.com and www.gardylaw.com, before making plans to attend the Settlement Fairness Hearing. You may also confirm the date and time of the Settlement Fairness Hearing by contacting Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel as indicated below.

At the Settlement Fairness Hearing, the California Court will, among other things: (i) determine whether the California Plaintiffs and Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel have adequately represented the interests of McKesson and its stockholders; (ii) determine whether the proposed Settlement on the terms and conditions provided for in the Stipulation is fair, reasonable, and adequate to McKesson and its stockholders, and should be approved by the California Court; (iii) determine whether the Judgment, substantially in the form attached as Exhibit C to the Stipulation, should be entered dismissing the California Action with prejudice; (iv) determine whether the application by Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and litigation expenses should be approved; and (v) consider any other matters that may properly be brought before the California Court in connection with the Settlement. Stockholders do not need to attend the Settlement Fairness Hearing.

If you owned McKesson stock as of the close of trading on February 10, 2020, you may object to the proposed Settlement and/or Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and expenses in writing, and you also have the right to appear at the Settlement Fairness Hearing. A more detailed description of how to object is set forth in the Notice. Any objections to the proposed Settlement or Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel's fee and expense application must be mailed to or filed with the Court such that they are filed or postmarked no later than March 31, 2020, in accordance with the instructions in the Notice.

Please Note : Because the Actions were brought as derivative actions, which means that the Actions were brought by Plaintiffs on behalf of, and for the benefit of, McKesson, the cash recovery from the Settlement will go to the Company. Individual McKesson stockholders will not receive any direct payment from the Settlement. Also, please note that there is no proof of claim form for stockholders to submit in connection with this Settlement, and stockholders are not required to take any action in response to this notice.

PLEASE DO NOT TELEPHONE THE COURT OR THE OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF THE COURT TO INQUIRE ABOUT THIS SETTLEMENT.

All questions regarding this notice and the Settlement should be made to Plaintiffs' Lead Counsel:

Reed R. Kathrein

Hagens Berman Sobol, Shapiro LLP

715 Hearst Avenue, Suite 202

Berkeley, CA 94710

510-725-3040

[email protected] Meagan Farmer

Gardy & Notis, LLP

Tower 56

126 East 56th Street, 8th Floor

New York, NY 10022

212-905-0509

[email protected]

Dated: February 7, 2020





By Order of the Court

United States District Court

Northern District of California,

Oakland Division

SOURCE McKesson Corporation
Pete Buttigieg, Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana mayor attends a campaign event in Merrimack, New Hampshire on Feb. 6, 2020. (Reuters/Eric Thayer)

Pete Buttigieg Keeps Lead With 100 Percent of Iowa Caucus Results Reported

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, remained in the lead with all of the Iowa caucus results reported late Thursday.

But Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78, was close behind, and the race had not been officially called as of Friday morning.

According to results posted by the Iowa Democratic Party, Buttigieg had 564 state delegate equivalents and Sanders had 562.4 with all precincts reporting. That was 26.2 percent and 26.1 percent, respectively.

Because of the narrow lead, groups and news organizations that call races said they wouldnt call the race at this time. There are reports of irregularities in the reporting, with a slew of precinct chairs alleging the official numbers are different from the ones they reported, and the Democratic National Committee has called for a re-canvass of votes. The state party said it would conduct a re-canvass if requested by one or more candidates.

The Associated Press calls a race when there is a clear indication of a winner. Because of a tight margin between former Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders and the irregularities in this years caucus process, it is not possible to determine a winner at this point, Sally Buzbee, senior vice president and executive editor at The Associated Press, said in a statement.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) holds a campaign event at La Poste in Perry, Iowa, on Jan. 26, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), 70, was in third with 387 equivalents and former Vice President Joe Biden, 77, was in fourth with 341.1. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59, was the only other contender with more than 23, ending with 264.2.

The three-tiered caucus system had voters initially gather in groups showing their support for chosen candidates. Any groups that didnt represent 15 percent of the total people in the room were considered non-viable, and people were able to switch to supporting another candidate if they chose. People in groups that were considered viable werent allowed to change.

After realignment, a new number was tallied known as final alignment.

Sanders led in both the first alignment and final alignment but was behind Buttigieg in state delegate equivalents, a number reached using the final alignment. Sanders had over 6,000 more votes in the first alignment, according to The New York Times, and over 2,500 more votes in the final alignment.

Both Sanders and Buttigieg have declared victory.

Correction: A previous version of this article erroneously stated that the Iowa Democratic Party had called the results on Thursday night. The Epoch Times regrets the error.
OTTAWA  The federal Liberals are looking into whether the Manitoba 150 host committee has left out the Metis from official commemorations marking the province's entry into Confederation.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The federal Liberals are looking into whether the Manitoba 150 host committee has left out the Metis from official commemorations marking the province's entry into Confederation.

"We are working very hard to ensure that we can help them celebrate, as it should be, their 150th anniversary," Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault told the Free Press on Friday morning.

The host committee has integrated historical Metis leader Louis Riel into some of its programming, but not in any prominent role. (Free Press files)

The Manitoba Metis Federation are not part of the official celebrations, and claim they were only asked to help craft festivities at a later date.

In an interview with CBC News, MMF President David Chartrand blamed his frosty relations with Premier Brian Pallister. The host committee told the broadcaster that they are independent from the government, despite receiving most of their budget from the province.

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The host committee has integrated historical Metis leader Louis Riel into some of its programming, but not in any prominent role. Riel is the founder of Manitoba, but was hanged on orders of the federal government in 1885.

On a Jan. 21 visit to Winnipeg, Guilbeault announced $700,000 to support the official Manitoba 150 host committee; the MMF was not part of the announcement.

The heritage minister noted Friday that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had specifically instructed him in his December mandate letter to "provide funding and support for the Metis Nation entering Confederation."

Guilbeault did not rule out the idea of expending more money on commemorations to include the Metis.

"It is a specific element that the prime minister has asked me to do, so Im working on it," he said. "We have a very good working relationship with the Metis and with Mr. Chartrand."

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A lawsuit against 'Steele dossier' author Christopher Steele has been thrown out by a US judge: CBSN

Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer, who produced the report into Donald Trumps Kremlin connections, has accused the US president of making false claims about the veracity of the document and exaggerating how much his company was paid for it.

Mr Trump renewed his attack on the fake dossier during a rambling, angry and vulgar speech following his expected acquittal on impeachment charges by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Throwing insults at his political enemies such as Democrats Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi, as well as the head of FBI James Comey who he had fired, and Special Counsel Robert Mueller who investigated him, the president complained of being persecuted by evil people.

Mr Trump followed up by claiming that the Democrats had paid millions for the Steele report. He had previously said the fee had been as much as $12 million.

The Washington-based firm, Fusion GPS, told Congress that they had paid a total of $168,000 more than two years ago.

Mr Steeles company, Orbis Business Intelligence, tweeted on Friday, Yesterday @realDonaldTrump made false claims about us. He wildly exaggerated our fees and, contrary to his claims, we have never stated any of our reporting is fake. We stand by the integrity of our research on Kremlin interference in the 2016 election and support for Trump.

After a prolonged period of silence on the matter, Mr Steele and his company have been publicly defending their work. The former MI6 officer recently presented a six-point rebuttal of criticism made of the methodology of the Trump report by a US Department of Justice inspector general.
What effect will the Iowa caucus disaster have on Tuesdays New Hampshire primary?

Ames, Iowa  Seventy-two hours have passed since the Iowa caucuses, and the states Democrats still have not released the final results.

With 97 percent of precincts counted, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Bernie Sanders were virtually tied in the delegate count race. Senator Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Amy Klobuchar trailed behind.

But on Thursday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) called for a recanvass of the caucuses amid the troubled process of releasing the results.

Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass, Perez tweeted.

Regardless of how the rankings play out, Dennis Goldford, professor of political science at Drake University, said the effects will linger.

The impact will be forever clouded by the reporting problems, Goldford said.

With the DNCs demand, it is now unclear whether final and official results will come out before Tuesday, when the country witnesses its first primary of the 2020 nominating contest season.

Regardless, the candidates have charged ahead. Less than 24 hours after the caucuses, most were already in New Hampshire for the last stretch of campaigning before Tuesdays primary.

Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign stop at Community Oven in Hampton, New Hampshire [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

Traditionally, the first caucus has slimmed down the field, with announcements from less successful candidates that they are dropping out of the race. But so far, no one has ended his or her bid, and while those who did perform well acknowledge their defeat  Biden called the partial results a gut punch and entrepreneur Andrew Yang laid off dozens of staffers as part of a restructuring to compete as the New Hampshire primary approaches  many appear to be capitalising on even the partial results or just trying to move on.

Im confident that were going to do really well here in New Hampshire, having won Iowa. Were going to do very well in Nevada, Sanders was quoted by The The Associated Press news agency as saying after declaring victory in Iowa even with only partial results.

I think well do a lot better than people think in South Carolina. I think weve got a good shot to win California. And bottom line, I believe that we are well-positioned to win the Democratic nomination and to defeat the most dangerous president in the modern history of this country process, Sanders said.

Buttigeig, who has also declared victory in Iowa, said his positive showing in Iowa brings us into the next contest in New Hampshire with just a tremendous amount of momentum.

Speaking to ABCs The View programme, the former mayor said that is because his campaign was able to show, not just in the fact that we reached this positive, but how we did it, that were together a kind of politics.

He added: Its about addition, its about welcoming people in.

Democratic 2020 US presidential candidate and US Senator Elizabeth Warren takes the stage at a GOTV campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire [Brian Snyder/Reuters]

Warren, speaking to a CNN Town Hall, said she was delighted to be in New Hampshire now, but also building out all across the country.

Weve got 55 more states and territories (in the primary). Im in 31 states now with a 1,000 (paid organisers) on the ground, she added.

A little more complicated

Going into the Iowa caucuses, a RealClearPolitics average of polls, showed New Hampshire voters favouring Sanders, who won its primary in 2016 against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who went on to win the nomination. Biden was polling second, ahead of Buttigieg and Warren.

Dante Scala, a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire, said that New Hampshire voters  who often go in a different direction  still take the results of Iowa into consideration when forming their own decisions.

Its a little more complicated this time around. Were getting Iowa results, but were getting them in this fragmentary way thats being drawn out over several days, rather than getting them all at once, Scala said. It will weigh into peoples decisions, but it wont dictate it.

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to the media asking for his reaction to the Iowa caucuses after a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire [Rick Wilking/Reuters]

Scala said he sees supporters of Sanders being less swayed by Iowas final results, regardless of whether he places first or second. Biden, however, has already failed to demonstrate clear electability and clear a lane for himself among the moderate choices.

Scalas colleague, Andrew Smith, also a professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire and the director of the UNH Survey Center, agreed that Biden faces stiffer competition going forward, noting that Biden has invested fewer resources into New Hampshire than he did in Iowa.

At the same time, other distractions this week like President Donald Trumps State of the Union speech and the president acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial will hide some of Bidens weak performance.
(Reuters) - The death toll from a new coronavirus in mainland China crossed 600 on Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping assuring U.S. President Donald Trump that China is doing all it can to contain the virus.

Here are the latest developments:

* The death toll in mainland China rose to 636 on Friday, upby 73 from the previous day, the National Health Commissionsaid. * The total number of infections in China rose by 3,143 to31,161. * A Chinese doctor who issued an early warning about thevirus outbreak before it was officially recognised died of thevirus on Friday. * Nearly 320 cases have been reported in 27 other countriesand regions outside mainland China, according to a Reuters tallybased on official statements from the authorities involved. * There have been two deaths outside mainland China, in HongKong and the Philippines. * There were 41 new cases on the quarantined cruise liner inthe port of Yokohama south of Tokyo. * In Hong Kong, 3,600 passengers and crew were confined totheir ship for a third day after three people on board werefound to be infected. * A British national was confirmed to have contracted thevirus after travelling to an Asian country other than China. Thegovernment did not identify the country, but gave a list ofcountries from which returning travellers who developed symptomsshould isolate themselves. * Taiwan, which has 16 cases, banned international cruiseships from docking. * Asian share markets slipped on Friday and oil price gainsstalled, as the growing death toll and economic damage from thecoronavirus outbreak put a lid on the week's sharp rally. * China's central bank said its economy could be disruptedin the first quarter due to the virus outbreak, adding that itwould step up policy support. * Chinese President Xi Jinping assured U.S. President DonaldTrump on Friday that China is doing all it can to contain thevirus and was confident it could defeat the epidemic with nolong-term consequences for economic development. * Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered "all necessarysteps" be taken to mitigate the impact of the virus includingtapping budget reserves. * Taiwan and China are embroiled in a new spat over the fateof Taiwanese stranded in the Chinese city of Wuhan, thecoronavirus epicentre, after Taiwan said one of its citizenssent back on the first flight was infected with the disease. * Taiwan said it would suspend entry for all Chinesecitizens who live in mainland China from Thursday. * The World Health Organization said on Thursday it was tooearly to say that China's coronavirus outbreak was peaking. * Hubei, the epicentre of an outbreak, still has a largeshortage of medical resources and medical staff, its vicegovernor said on Thursday. * China will halve tariffs on some U.S. imports amid growingrisks from coronavirus. * A Chinese city with only eight confirmed cases of a newcoronavirus has been accused of intercepting a shipment ofsurgical masks bound for a municipality with 400 cases. * Schools in China's financial hub of Shanghai will remainshut until at least the end of February, authorities said.

(Compiled by Uttaresh.V)
(Photo : https://unsplash.com) Photo of folding phone

Samsung, the company behind the yet-to-be-launched Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphone, may have inadvertently prematurely released details about the device on its online store within an undisclosed European country. Images of the new smartphone were posted on the site, revealing the brand name of this new device to be the Galaxy S20. The Samsung Galaxy S20 leaks were later removed from the website. The Galaxy S20 is scheduled to be officially launched on Feb. 11, at an Unpacked event.

Read Also: Affordable Samsung Smartphones With Fingerprint Sensors On The Drawing Board: Report

Important Features of the Galaxy S20

According to the Samsung website, the Samsung Galaxy S20 has a hole-punch camera, is fitted with a gray LED case, and includes a big camera bump. There is also a centralized front camera plus three other cameras with 108MP capability.

The Galaxy range was initially dubbed "Picasso" because of highlights such as the new camera capability. The brand names of three smartphones under this series are Galaxy S20 (formerly Galaxy S11e), Galaxy S20+ (formerly Galaxy S11), and possibly the Galaxy S20 Ultra (formerly Galaxy S11+).

One of the notable features of this new series is the larger screen sizes. The new Galaxy series has a 6.2-inch screen size (for the Galaxy S20), the 6.7-inch screen size (for the Galaxy S20+), and a 6.9-inch screen size (for the Galaxy S20 Ultra). Samsung is also ready to remove the Edge display for this Galaxy series permanently.

There is also improved battery power and improved camera capabilities, which are remarkable. For the Galaxy S20 camera, Samsung added a 48MP telephoto lens, which can handle a 5x optical zoom. There is also the "Quick Take" feature that will allow one shot to be taken simultaneously from different cameras on the same phone.

However, Samsung removed the dual aperture technology (which was initially integrated into the Galaxy S9 unit) in the Galaxy S20. This is a significant change because the dual aperture technology helped the Galaxy S9 to compete with other well-received smartphones robustly. It remains to be seen whether this decision will help Samsung continue to be competitive.

Also, at least 12 GB of RAM will be integrated into this Galaxy S20 series except for the Galaxy S20 Ultra, which will come with a maximum of 16 GB. This may allow Samsung smartphones to be more pleasing to the buyers. Each phone will be given 5G capability within the Snapdragon 865 feature.

Read Also: Future Samsung Smartphones Might Feature Holographic Icons

Significant Downsides Revealed Through Samsung Galaxy S20 Leaks

The Samsung Galaxy S20 leaks may have some downers for fans of Samsung smartphones. For one, the microSD and headphone jacks are excluded from this Galaxy S20 series. But pricing is expected to be lower than the $1300 price range of the Galaxy S10+ released earlier in 2019 by Samsung.

It remains to be seen if the Samsung Galaxy S20 smartphones will be able to powerfully compete against strong competitors such as Apple (with its planned six new iPhone iterations to be launched this year). Apple is primarily focused on its iPhone 12 smartphone, which will feature Touch ID capability, new 3D camera functions, 120 Hz ProMotion displays, and an improved design.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Irish Distillers have been named Cork Company of the Year for driving the global renaissance of Irish whiskey.

The Midleton based distillery picked up the award at the Cork Chambers Annual Dinner held in Cork City Hall attended by more than 1,000 leading industry and political figures.

Its leading brand Jameson is the worlds fastest-growing Irish whiskey, achieving 30 years of consecutive growth and hitting sales of 7.7m cases last year.

Since 2012, it has embarked on a 330m investment project and has seen a 79% increase in sales and employee numbers have jumped from 118 to 240 over the past decade.

Paul Wickham, general manager of Midleton Distilleries said they are truly honoured and humbled to receive the prestigious award.

There has never been a more exciting time for Irish whiskey and today Jameson is one of Irelands most recognised brands worldwide, he said.

This award is a tribute to the tireless dedication and excellence of all the craftsmen and women at Midleton and Dungourney, along with all the people who have worked with us through the centuries, whose hard work and passion has put us on the world stage.

"Led by Cork Chamber, our home county, where we have operated since 1825, is a vibrant, supportive, and inspiring environment and is one of the best places in the world to do business, Mr Wickham said.

Run in association with Vodafone Ireland and media partner the Irish Examiner, the Company of the Year awards involve a thorough four-month judging process with an experienced mix of professionals from across the business community.

Irish Distillers was also the winner of the Corporate category.

.@IrishDistillers Corporate Finalist:Cork Company of Year Awards 2020.

Paul Wickham on how the economic, industrial, research, business development infrastructure in Cork supported its portfolio growth. @corkchamber #RecognisingYourSuccess w/ @VodafoneIEbiz

Media @irishexaminer pic.twitter.com/IOM55Q3sun  Cork Chamber (@CorkChamber) February 5, 2020

Other winners announced last night were; Workvivo who won the Emerging Company category; AnaBio who won the SME category; and Crest Solutions who won the Large Company category.

Paula Cogan, president of Cork Chamber, said there are so many companies in Cork always moving forward, driving innovation, and growing their teams.

Throughout this years judging process, it has been particularly exciting to meet companies that excel in sustainability, diversity, and inclusion thus leading on delivery of the UN Sustainable Development Goals while also leaving a lasting mark on both Cork and the world.

Ms Cogan thanked their long-standing award partners Vodafone and the Irish Examiner for amplifying the awards.
LONDON - A U.K. woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group lost a legal challenge Friday aimed at restoring her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds.

Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria last year and told reporters she wanted to come home. But her apparent lack of remorse has triggered criticism in Britain and the family has expressed its own shock at her lack of repentance.

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship, but she challenged the decision before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. She argued she is not the citizen of another country and that Javids decision left her stateless.

But the tribunal ruled in Javids favour on Friday. Judge Doron Blum said the decision did not breach the Home Offices extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Ms Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment.

The tribunal ruled that she was a citizen of Bangladesh by descent, and therefore not rendered stateless.

Her attorney, Daniel Furner, said the decision was baffling and would be appealed.

Begums family has long argued that she has never had a Bangladeshi passport and that she was from the U.K.

Begum, now 20, was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS after boarding a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul. Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory, with all three of her school friends also reportedly marrying foreign IS fighters.

She gave birth to three children while in Syria, all of whom died.

Although its unclear whether Begum has committed a crime, her case has thrown into sharp relief larger questions about how Western societies will deal with others who joined IS, but want to return to their home countries now that the extremist group has collapsed.
Budapest has made two proposals to Kyiv on resolving the problem of members of the Hungarian ethnic minority living in Ukraine's Zakarpattia (Trans-Carpathian) region having to study the Ukrainian language in school.

"We have made two proposals, and I've asked Ms. Education Minister to ensure that Ukraine mulls these proposals. We agreed that Ms. Education Minister would urgently meet with representatives of the Union of Teachers of Zakarpattia and find a solution based on these negotiations," Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said at a news briefing with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Friday.

Asked to assess the steps Ukraine has made to implement a Venice Commission decision concerning its language policy, Szijjarto replied that, if Budapest was contented with it, it would not have made new proposals.

"I do hope that the [Ukrainian] Education Ministry will mull these two proposals we made today. If we were contented with the current situation, we would not have made proposals to improve the situation," he said.

Hungary understands that Ukraine wants all of its citizens to be able to speak Ukrainian, while Budapest wants the ethnic Hungarians living in Zakarpattia also to have the chance to retain their native language, Szijjarto said. "We believe these two goals can be attained simultaneously. We believe this is a matter of methodology," he said.

Both Ukraine's and Hungary's objectives can well be attained, Szijjarto said. There are ways to make sure that ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine learn the Ukrainian language "even without gradually increasing the number of Ukrainian-language subjects they have to study," he said.

Hungary would be happy to provide financial and methodological support to make Ukrainian-language lessons in Zakarpattia much more efficient, Szijjarto said.
By Express News Service

KOCHI: A wide range of seafood products based on automated and IT-aided pre-processing, processing and storage technology for value addition will be on display for delegates and visitors during the India International Seafood Show (IISS) which gets under way at Hotel Grand Hyatt from Friday.

Close to 350 stalls spread over 7,000 sq m will be set up during the three-day event, being organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA). One of Asias largest seafood fairs, IISS will help people know more about the marine wealth of the country, including black tiger shrimp, vannamei shrimp, cuttlefish, pomfret, mud crab, tuna, mackerel, ribbon fish, squid and octopus.

Blue Revolution: Beyond production to value addition is the focal theme of the IISS, which will also showcase latest technological interventions in aquaculture.

Experts will deliberate on policies and actionable roadmaps to achieve Indias marine products export target of $10 billion by 2022, said MPEDA chairman K S Srinivas.

He said the event will allow all stakeholders to deliberate on various aspects of the seafood industry for striking business deals.

It will also provide a scope to tap new avenues and introduce various technology and products to the global market.

Experts from France, Singapore, the UK, the US, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Fiji and India will address technical sessions on topics such as Prospective markets & regulatory environment, Certification, traceability and value-addition, and Tuna export value chain - Better harvest practices.

Entry for public on Sunday

Kochi: The three-day India International Seafood Show (IISS) will be open to public on Sunday. The entry ticket, priced at D100 per person, will be available at the venue. In all, the event will host 1,500 delegates, including 57 from 12 foreign countries

No Chinese delegates

Considering the novel coronavirus (nCoV) outbreak, the event will not see participation of delegates directly from China. However, representatives of Chinese seafood firms already operating in India will attend the event, thereby ensure the participation of China, one of the major countries to which seafood is exported from India. MPEDA chairman K S Srinivas said of the total seafood exports from India annually, 16 per cent is to China. So far, exports to China have not been affected due to the nCoV outbreak. Other than Wuhan, where the virus breakout was reported, there are several provinces in China where there is a good demand for our seafood, he said.

Thoppumpady harbour to get a facelift soon

The prospects of Thoppumpady Harbour getting a much-necessary upgrade look bright. The plan is to float n special purpose vehicle for revamping the fishing harbour, one of the biggest in India. MPEDA authorities said a project report will be prepared for the purpose.
[music]

michael barbaro

From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: President Trump has undertaken a campaign of retribution against those who crossed him during the impeachment inquiry and favors for those who have tried to protect him. Peter Baker on the post-acquittal presidency. Its Friday, February 14.

archived recording [HORNS] Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.

michael barbaro

Peter, I want to begin with retribution. How does that start?

archived recording (donald trump) Well, thank you very much, everybody. Wow.

peter baker

The day after his acquittal in the Senate, the president gathers people in the East Room of the White House for an event. Its not quite a press conference. Its not quite a speech. Its really kind of a mix, a mix of a celebration of his acquittal but a venting session of his grievances.

archived recording (donald trump) I want to start by thanking some of  and I call them friends, because you develop friendships and relationships when youre in battle and war.

peter baker

And he wants to thank the people who stood behind him, names them in the audience.

archived recording (donald trump) Mitch McConnell, I want to tell you, you did a fantastic job. [APPLAUSE]

peter baker

Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader who did more than anybody to secure his acquittal in the trial. And he mentions Jim Jordan 

archived recording (donald trump) When I first got to know Jim, I said, huh, he never wears a jacket. What the hells going on? Hes obviously very proud of his body. [LAUGHTER]

peter baker

 and other members of the House, the Freedom Caucus, the conservative Republicans who always stood by him in the most aggressive and assertive and staunch way. And then, of course, he turns to his enemies. The people he blames for his ordeal, the people he thinks have treated him so unfairly, have plotted against him, been disloyal or what have you. And he names ones that you would expect, of course.

archived recording (donald trump) Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person.

peter baker

Nancy Pelosi, he says shes a horrible person.

archived recording (donald trump) A corrupt politician named Adam Schiff made up my statement to the Ukrainian president. He brought it out of thin air  just made it up. They say hes a screenwriter, a failed screenwriter.

peter baker

He names, of course, Adam Schiff, the lead House prosecutor.

archived recording (donald trump) And then you have some that used religion as a crutch. They never used it before.

peter baker

He names Mitt Romney, the Republican, the only Republican senator to vote for conviction.

archived recording (donald trump) But, you know, its a failed presidential candidate, so things can happen when you fail so badly running for president.

peter baker

These two now, of course, are really at odds. And you see the visceral anger in the president in this moment. And he mentions Colonel Alexander Vindman, a member of his own staff, a detailee from the Pentagon working on Ukraine issues, and his twin brother Yevgeny Vindman, who also works at the N.S.C. staff. He says it almost in passing.

archived recording (donald trump) Lieutenant Colonel Vindman and his twin brother, right?

peter baker

And he says it with such dripping disdain in his voice. Youd get the sense immediately, of course, that this is somebody whos really angry at the president, and hes got his attention.

michael barbaro

And remind us what puts Vindman in this list of enemies.

peter baker

Colonel Vindman was one of the members of the White House staff, the National Security Council staff who were subpoenaed by the House to testify in the impeachment inquiry. He didnt come forward voluntarily. He was required to by law to give his testimony to the committee. And during his testimony, he told about being on the famous July 25 call between the president and President Zelensky of Ukraine when the president asked him to investigate Joe Biden and the Democrats. And Colonel Vindman told the committee that he thought that was inappropriate, and he reported it to his superiors at the N.S.C. And for that, he has been on the target list of President Trump and his allies ever since. Painted as disloyal, painted as even treasonous to the country. His patriotism questioned even though hes a decorated veteran of the Iraq War, injured in battle, and really, a kind of a symbol to both sides of sort of where this fight has evolved.

archived recording (donald trump) Our country is just respected again, and its an honor to be with the people in this room. Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you.

peter baker

And so he comes to the end of this sort of rambling, meandering talk that goes on for an hour and two minutes. And you get the sense that this is not the end and that theres more to come.

archived recording Well, President Trump has begun his revenge in the wake of his impeachment trial.

peter baker

Colonel Vindman, the same witness he had just talked about so dismissively at the East Room event finds himself escorted out of the White House by security guards and told his services are no longer needed 

michael barbaro

Wow.

peter baker

 exiled back to the Pentagon from which he came. Not just him 

archived recording Escorted out of his job and off the White House grounds, as was his twin brother, who was also assigned to the N.S.C.

peter baker

His brother Yevgeny Vindman  who didnt do anything, had nothing to do with the impeachment hearings at all, except to show up and sit behind his brother just as a matter of family support  also dismissed from his post at the National Security Council, marched out at the same time by security and sent back to the Pentagon.

archived recording Today, Vindmans lawyer issued a statement saying, quote, The truth has cost him his job, his career and his privacy.

peter baker

You can understand why a president might not want somebody on his staff who had testified an impeachment hearing against him. But it was handled in a way that was meant to maximize the public message, right? Ill tell you what I mean by that. The N.S.C. is currently undergoing a downsizing. And in fact, the plan was to move Colonel Vindman out as part of that, or at least to use that as the cover to to say, its not about reprisal. Its not about his role in impeachment. Its just part of this overall restructuring. And thats frankly how other presidents might have handled a situation like that.

michael barbaro

Come up with a rationale.

peter baker

Come up with a rationale, come up with a public face-saving kind of storyline, a narrative, at least, that even though people would see through it, would at least have the veneer of looking professional rather than vindictive. That was not what the president wanted. He made sure they did this separate from that reorganization. They did not explain it as part of that reorganization. And they did not deny when we called them that day that this was what it looked like, which was, of course, an act of retribution.

michael barbaro

OK, so what happens next?

peter baker

Well, we thought that was the story for the day, these two brothers being marched out of there.

michael barbaro

Right.

peter baker

And then we discover as the evening arrives that its not over.

archived recording Now were getting word that the U.S. ambassador to the European Union, Gordon Sondland, he is out as well.

peter baker

Gordon Sondland, you may remember him. He was the ambassador to the European Union, who had been deeply involved in the Ukraine pressure campaign, on the phone with the president and required to testify, became a key witness in the House hearings. He said that they were operating on the order of the president himself. He said that it was clearly a quid pro quo, and he said that everyone was in the loop. Suddenly, it turns out hes out as well. Now, as with Vindman, there was a way to do this that would have minimized the public kerfuffle. Gordon Sondland actually was ready to leave. He had told his superiors at the State Department that he was ready to step down on his own. And he got word that Friday you have to resign today, they told him. But he says, no. I dont want to resign on the same day that youre pushing out these Vindmans as if Im part of some sort of purge.

michael barbaro

Wow.

peter baker

If you want me today, youre going to have to fire me. And they called back and said, OK, youre fired.

michael barbaro

So at this point, its clear that this is a vindictive purge of anyone who did anything that put the president in a negative light during the impeachment process. And what is the reaction to that, that very clear and deliberate message from the president inside Washington?

peter baker

Certainly among Democrats, even among a few Republicans who say whats the message youre sending? If you respond to a subpoena, as ordered by the law, and you give your testimony, you shouldnt be punished for doing that. The presidents view is, why should I have people I cant trust working for me? Its my right as the president to have a staff that serves my interests that I believe is loyal. And hes made clear that loyalty is a number one when it comes to this president. Theres no other quality that matters more to him.

michael barbaro

And, Peter, as somebody whos covered many White Houses, is he right about that? Is it ultimately a presidential prerogative to decide if someone testified against you, that, you know, you no longer want them around, you dont want them in those jobs anymore, especially presidential appointments?

peter baker

Its a good question, right? Because it does feel like it would be untenable to have testified and provided damaging testimony against the president, and then come to work every day afterwards. You would think, in fact, you might not want to necessarily do that. But the question isnt whats the right place then for that person to work. The question is what the message the president is trying to send by what hes doing, right?

michael barbaro

Right.

peter baker

This president has made a point of making sure everybody knows these people are out, and theyre out because of him and because he will not tolerate disloyalty.

michael barbaro

OK, so that is the campaign of retribution so far, post acquittal, which brings us to the campaign of protection for the presidents allies.

peter baker

Right. Its not enough just to go after his perceived enemies. Now its time to do something to protect his friends. And for him, this is going to start with a colorful character and longtime friend and adviser named Roger Stone, whos about to go to prison.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. So, Peter, before we get to how the president is trying to protect Roger Stone, remind us who Roger Stone is.

peter baker

Roger Stone has been in American politics going back decades. He is somebody who calls himself a dirty trickster.

archived recording (roger stone) Im certainly guilty of bluffing and posturing and punking the Democrats. Unless they pass some law against [BLEEP] and I missed it, Im engaging in tradecraft. Its politics.

peter baker

Hes a self-proclaimed fan of Richard Nixon. Even to this day, he has a Richard Nixon tattoo.

michael barbaro

Right.

peter baker

Hes somebody whos involved early on in some of the Reagan and Dole campaigns, but over the years kind of drifted off into the side, really kind of more of a fringe character, a conspiracy theorist, a provocateur.

archived recording 1 In 1980, Stone began a lobbying firm with Paul Manafort that unapologetically catered to human rights abusers. archived recording 2 He has these maxims on how he conducts his political strategy. One of his rules is never turn down an opportunity to have sex or be on television. archived recording 3 Weve seen a lot of colorful characters in the world of political consulting, none more colorful than Roger Stone. And that is the most charitable adjective you can apply to the single weirdest man possibly in the history of political consulting.

peter baker

Hed been friends for years with Donald Trump. And like Roger Stone, Trump comes from the outside, right? He was not part of the Republican establishment. But suddenly, hes powering forward toward a presidential bid. And he brings with him people like Roger Stone, who had not been in the center of American politics now for years.

michael barbaro

Right. And my recollection is that its during that campaign that Roger Stone gets into very significant trouble.

peter baker

Right. He becomes wrapped up in the whole story about the Russian hacking of the Democratic emails.

archived recording Hillary Clintons campaign dealing with more email problems. The email account of campaign chairman John Podesta was hacked and many of the emails released.

peter baker

Things he said gave the impression that he might have known about it in advance.

michael barbaro

Right.

archived recording So were you surprised when John Podestas emails came out, as you seemed to predict ahead of time? archived recording (roger stone) I was interested, like the rest of the country. archived recording Were you surprised? archived recording (roger stone) No, I wouldnt say that I was surprised.

peter baker

And that puts him right in the heart of this. Is he a link between the Trump campaign and Russia through perhaps WikiLeaks, which is the cutout that the Russians used to get these emails out. And so, once the president wins and comes into office, his friend Roger Stone finds himself under investigation for what he knew and when he knew it. And then Congress jumps in. They call Stone to testify at the House Intelligence Committee. And this is where he really gets into trouble.

archived recording (roger stone) We had a very frank exchange. I answered all of the questions. I made the case that the accusation that I knew about John Podestas email hack in advance was false, that I knew about the content and source of the WikiLeaks disclosures regarding Hillary Clinton was false.

peter baker

He starts telling things that are demonstrably not true. And he ultimately ends up getting charged with lying to Congress. He also tries to get an associate of his to not tell the truth, threatens him even, threatens to kill his dog.

michael barbaro

Whoa.

peter baker

And he was put on trial. And last fall Roger Stone was convicted of seven crimes, seven felonies, including lying to Congress and witness intimidation.

michael barbaro

And these are conditions on very serious charges of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Thats right. I remember thinking when that happened, like, whoa. This is the big leagues for Roger Stone.

peter baker

Exactly. And the question is, why is he lying? Why is he obstructing? Is he trying to protect the president? This is how this all fits together, right? This goes back to the whole Russian interference. This goes back to the Mueller probe. This goes back to the things that have dominated this presidency for three years and frustrated this president for three years. So he sees Roger Stones conviction as an illegitimate shot at him, at himself, the president. A way of trying to take him down because they couldnt take him down any other way.

michael barbaro

OK. So Peter, how does the president try to protect Stone after this conviction?

peter baker

So even as hes in the middle of this campaign of retribution against the Vindman brothers and Gordon Sondland, he is increasingly aware that the sentencing for Roger Stone is coming up. And then, when Monday comes around and the prosecutors present their recommendation for a sentence to the court, the prosecutors ask for seven to nine years behind bars. Thats the normal sentence that would be required under the sentencing guidelines passed by Congress for crimes of the type that Roger Stone was convicted of. So they didnt go outside of those guidelines. They simply said we want to sentence him to what the guidelines say. That doesnt mean the judge would go along with it, but that was their recommendation. Well, that set the president off.

archived recording The president expressed his outrage on Twitter, calling it a very unfair situation, adding, Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!

peter baker

In the middle of the night, he starts sending out tweets, angry tweets. How can this happen? Nine years, this is outrageous. And theyre going after him. How come they dont go after my enemies but they go after him? And that just sort of sets the town ablaze.

archived recording Controversy in the nations capital now over a sentencing recommendation for President Trumps longtime friend Roger Stone.

peter baker

Heres a president weighing in directly on a court case involving a friend of his. This is something that we have not seen really since Watergate. Presidents dont, especially publicly, weigh in on prosecutions of people that they are personally connected to, at least except in the venue of issuing pardons at some point, which they sometimes do. So this has shocked a lot of people. But what really shocked a lot of people in Washington was when they woke up a few hours later on Tuesday and they saw not only these tweets, but they saw that the attorney general of the United States, Bill Barr, had essentially overruled the career prosecutors.

archived recording Breaking news involving President Trump. A stunning reversal in the sentencing recommendation for Trump confidant Roger Stone.

peter baker

And said, no, were not going to ask for a sentence this heavy. Were going to ask for something lighter.

michael barbaro

So not seven to nine years, something less.

peter baker

Not seven to nine years, something less. It doesnt specify what, but something below what the guidelines would normally call for. And so this is causing a huge furor in the U.S. attorneys office in Washington.

archived recording What is going on? President Trump knows how to get away with stuff when were not watching.

peter baker

The four career prosecutors who worked on the Stone case, all four of them, quit.

archived recording Were following some truly stunning, breaking news, still developing by the minute this hour. Federal prosecutors in the Roger Stone criminal case have resigned this afternoon.

peter baker

One after the other. One, two, three, four, just like that.

archived recording This does not happen. Prosecutors dont resign just days before they go to sentencing after a case that theyve worked so hard on.

peter baker

One of them actually quits his job altogether, leaves the Justice Department as a whole.

archived recording In protest.

peter baker

Well, they dont say it, but thats the obvious conclusion. Yes, theyre protesting the overruling of their recommendation. And I think that they felt like they had an ethical obligation. If they had told the court this is the sentence we think is appropriate, and then suddenly a day later the same department is coming and saying, no, we dont  how is that tenable for them to continue on that case?

michael barbaro

And, Peter, given what has just happened  the firing of Vindman, Sondland, Vindmans brother  what is the reaction to this intervention? Not just the retribution, but this protection?

peter baker

Well, in effect, the Democrats are saying we told you so, right?

archived recording (chuck schumer) No serious person believes President Trump has learned any lesson. He doesnt learn any lessons. He does just what he wants, what suits his ego at the moment.

peter baker

Senator Schumer, the Democratic leader in the upper chamber goes to the floor and gives a pretty passionate speech in which he says that the natural consequence of acquitting the president on the Ukraine matter means that he feels completely unleashed and empowered to do whatever he thinks is right for his own political interests.

archived recording (chuck schumer) We are witnessing a crisis in the rule of law in America, unlike one we have ever seen before. Its a crisis of President Trumps making, but it was enabled and emboldened by every Senate Republican.

peter baker

Even amongst some Republicans, youre seeing you know some discomfort, particularly among moderate Republicans who tried to give the president the benefit of the doubt by standing with him in the impeachment trial. A couple of them had said even, well, maybe hell have learned a lesson from all of this and hell be more measured, hell be more restrained in the future and that that would be a good thing. Well, what youre hearing a lot of people saying is that doesnt seem to be the case. And I think that the question going forward is going to be, is it just a burst of energy and lashing out in the days after the acquittal, or is this the beginning of a months long recalibration of his administration? What is he going to do going forward?

michael barbaro

Right. Is this the post-aquittal presidency, one in which enemies are punished and allies are at all costs protected?

peter baker

Right, exactly. And that the instruments of government are to serve the presidents interests, not just the publics interests.

michael barbaro

Peter, what you have described here is what an old school political terms might be called a strategy of carrots and sticks, but on steroids, right? You protect those who have done right by you, and you punish those who have somehow wronged you. And in the case of the president, that steroided up strategy clearly worked when it came to impeachment. And we talked to you. We talked to many of our colleagues about the fact that there was genuine fear of crossing this president, and that that influenced how the Senate voted in the impeachment trial. So if this strategy is working  and by all accounts, it is working  why shouldnt the president keep it up?

peter baker

Well, its a great question. I think one of the things weve learned about the last three years is that the norms, the standards, the lines that we used to think of that constrained a president were more aspirational and conceptual than they were legal. You go look. You go back far enough, youre going to find plenty of presidents who punished their enemies and protected their friends. But in the post-Watergate period in particular, when we put in new guardrails, we put a new laws, we put in new systems, we thought that that had been minimized at the very least, right? That, yeah, youre going to probably give an appointment to somebody whos been good to you. And youre going to maybe take away a grant from the state of somebody who crossed you on a vote. These things happen. They happen under any presidency. This is that, as you put it, on steroids. And its overt. Its right out there in the open. He wants everybody to know what hes doing. He wants everybody to understand. You are loyal to this president or you should get out. And thats true of people in government. Thats true of people even in Congress. Hes made very clear that the Republican Party has no room for anybody who is not on his side. Youre either in his camp or youre not.

michael barbaro

And, of course, theres a larger context here, which is were in the middle of a presidential election. And I wonder how this behavior by the president fits into his re-election strategy.

peter baker

You say that all this fits into a broader approach by this presidential politics. Its not about unifying. Its about dividing. Its about us versus them. And this is what the appeal is to his constituents. It is: I am fighting for you. And they are trying to stop me. Its the deep state, its the Democrats, its the fake news media. Theyre all trying to stop me, and by extension, you. And thats why you should stick with me in this election this fall. So this idea that Washington is all alarmed by retributions and protections of friends because it violates norms doesnt hurt his appeal to many of his voters out there, because its part of this larger argument that hes making. And the larger argument is I am a force of disruption. I am a force that is shaking things up. And the reason why youre seeing things in the news that are bad about me is because theyre fighting back. And you should stay with me because its not just me. Its about you too.

michael barbaro

Peter, thank you.

peter baker

OK, thank you.

michael barbaro

On Thursday, in an interview with ABC News, Attorney General Bill Barr said that the presidents interference in cases like Roger Stones was making it all but impossible for him to run the Department of Justice.

archived recording (william barr) To have public statements and tweets made about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending in the department and about judges before whom we have cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors and the department that were doing our work with integrity.

michael barbaro

But Barr did not directly criticize the president, and confirmed in the interview that he had overruled prosecutors to recommend a more lenient sentence for Stone. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today.

archived recording Are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change their vote? If not, the yeas are 55, the nays are 45. The joint resolution as amended is passed.

michael barbaro
The Ombudsperson (AP) took notice ex officio and conducted an inquiry in the case of the two bakers from Sri Lanka, legally employed in Ditrau, Harghita County, mentioning that the two Sri Lankan citizens' presence exacerbated the conflict between the bakery management and former employees.

On 29 January, approximately 200 inhabitants of Ditrau commune gathered before the mayor's office building, unhappy that a local bread bakery hired two Sri Lankan workers. The locals claim they fear this is the starting signal for "migrants to come to the community," impose their culture on them and put their safety in jeopardy."In Ditrau locality there is an older local conflict of economic nature between AGM Eco Corporate SRL company, on the one hand, and several former employees, on the other hand. The presence of the two Sri Lankan citizens exacerbated this conflict and led to excessive and intolerant demonstrations on behalf of several citizens. The lack of information played a significant part, but also the ungrounded fears of the locals regarding the status of foreign citizens employed within the economic agent. Last, but not least, we note the inappropriate conduct of the chaplain priest in the community, who also contributed to the deepening of the conflict," according to an AP release.The AP said that this situation was also possible in the context of "some erroneous and unfounded pieces of information," which came from mass media sources."The Ombudsperson mentions that most of the conflict unfolded through a known social network, which led to its propagation in the online environment. Thus, it has been noted that the vehemence of the inappropriate demonstrations gained amplitude in the virtual space. During the inquiry conducted by representatives of the Ombudsperson, within the talks carried out with persons of the local community, with the bakery's owners, with the two Sri Lankan workers, it was established that the situation had calmed down, the community regretted that it had gotten into an unwanted situation, the two workers felt safe and kept coming to work," the AP informs.Representatives of the AP institution established that the mayor of the locality "managed the situation properly" and did all the diligence to avoid the escalation of the conflict. Moreover, in view of preventing such situations in the future, the mayor in the locality initiated a dialogue with university teaching staff of the Babes-Bolyai University, in view of drafting some information campaigns regarding the prevention and combating of the detected phenomena. The case continues to remain in the AP's focus, together with the subject of the foreigners' rights living on Romania's territory, the AP mentions.On this occasion, the Ombudsperson institution brings to mind that it is currently in progress of drafting a Special Report regarding the hatred instigation speech, which will tackle the matter of the lack of regulation in the online environment regarding manifestations instigating hate.
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(Newser)  The endangered female gray wolf known as OR-54 is dead, and with it her 8,700-mile fruitless journey for a mate. The Sacramento Bee reports Oregon wildlife biologists got a GPS-tracking collar on her in October 2017, and her "incredible journey" has been closely watched since. She entered California in late January 2018 and subsequently traveled around the state, touched part of Nevada, and twice returned to Oregon. Per December data, she had traveled at least 8,712 miles since she first left Oregon; that's an average of 13 per day. OR-54's other claim to fame: She was sired by OR-7, famous for becoming the first wild wolf in California in 88 years.

story continues below

Her remains were found Wednesday in Shasta County, California; a death investigation will be conducted. The Bee notes that GPS data indicated she came in close contact with another worn by a member of the California Lassen Pack, but she resumed her solo journey just a few hours later. In a news release, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife offered a reminder to the public "that killing a wolf is a potential crime and subject to serious penalties including imprisonment." The AP notes the potential penalties also include a fine of up to $100,000. While it's unclear whether OR-54 died from natural or accidental causes or at the hands of a human, the wolf did raise the ire of some: She's believed to have killed a handful of livestock in Plumas County. (Read more gray wolf stories.)
UUP MLA Doug Beattie has said that an appeal by the Ministry of Defence against money awarded to the family of a man killed on Bloody Sunday was the "wrong decision".

The MoD had appealed against the decision to award an extra 15,000 to the family of Bernard 'Barney' McGuigan, who died along with 12 others in Londonderry on January 30, 1972.

In Belfast on Thursday senior judges rejected the MoD's argument that the family should not be awarded extra compensation for injuries to Mr McGuigan's feelings as he was killed instantly.

Mr Beattie, a former British Army captain, said there were much more important decisions going unchallenged by the MoD.

"Why challenge this for 15,000, it doesn't make sense," he said.

He believed the decision to challenge may have been made because the MoD need to appear to be "fiscally responsible".

"It's 15,000 of public money and the MoD have to be fiscally responsible with it," he said.

"They may have decided to take this case because it could have a knock-on effect for 20, 30, 40 cases of a similar nature down the line.

"I don't know if that's the reason but in any case I believe they shouldn't have done it."

The Military Cross-recipient said that politics would have played no part in the decision to challenge the awarding of the money.

"There would be no political motivation in this decision, nobody within the Army would have been involved directly, it would have been made by civil servants in the MoD."

Mr McGuigan (41) was killed when he went to the aid of Patrick Doherty, who lay dying. Mr McGuigan was shot in the head while waving a handkerchief or towel.

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Mr Doherty's son, Tony, is the current chair of the Bloody Sunday Trust.

He said that the McGuigan family had been forced to listen to the MoD's legal team "argue the toss" over the manner of their loved one's death in court.

Mr Doherty called the decision to appeal "reprehensible" and urged the MoD to apologise to the McGuigan family. He said the trust would be raising the issue with local politicians and the Irish government to ensure it never happens again.

The trust chair said that the appeal proceedings would have cost far more than the 15,000 at the centre of the case and that the decision to appeal either came directly from the MoD or their barrister.

"It's reprehensible that the feelings of the family would be exposed to such a heartless probe by the MoD," he said.

"These last few days issues around victims and the feelings and sensitives of families have been widely discussed and here we have a family subjected to a debate on whether Mr McGuigan suffered in the minutes before he was killed. It's absolutely scandalous.

"In all the things we have been through over the years I have never heard anything like it."

Mr Doherty said the date for a hearing surrounding his own father's death had yet to be set and he did not want any other families to suffer a similar experience.

"We want an apology from the MoD for the McGuigan family," he said.

"Can you imagine if any other group involved in the conflict attempted to raise the manner of somebody's death when discussing their murder?

"It was a paltry award in the first place given what people went through on that day and what their families dealt with in the aftermath."

Judges backed a finding that father-of-six Mr McGuigan would have experienced fear when members of the Parachute Regiment opened fire on civilians.

It is one of a number of cases taken against the MoD by victims of Bloody Sunday and their families.

Mr McGuigan's family were originally awarded 258,000, with the High Court adding the extra 15,000 for aggravated damages.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said: We are considering the judgment and it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage."
It is like a virtual solitary confinement for 22-year old Telugu techie Annem Naga Jyothy at her dormitory room in Wuhan town in China.

For the last one week, Jyothy has been staying alone in the room on the sixth floor of the womens hostel where she was put up by her company  TCL Corporation. All her colleagues from India, who had come to Wuhan for training in November last, were evacuated and sent back to India on February 1, after the outbreak of dreaded Novel Coronavirus (nCoV) in the town last month.

There are in all 10 rooms on the floor and all of them are now locked up, except my room. I am the only Indian girl in the entire hostel. There is none to talk to me and I feel scary (sic). Occasionally, one or two Chinese people are seen here and there but I cannot communicate with them, Jyothy told Hindustan Times over phone from Wuhan.

Jyothy, who hails from Bheemunipadu village in Koilakuntla Mandal of Kurnool district, and another colleague Satya Sai Krishna from Visakhapatnam, were the only ones among the 58-member team from TCL Corporation who were stopped from boarding Air India flight that brought 324 Indians back on February 1. A day later, another batch of 323 Indians were also evacuated by the second Air India flight.

Krishna and I were stopped at the immigration counter in the airport after medical check-up. I was told I had a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius, as against the normal temperature of 37 degrees. They took my saliva sample and asked me to go back to the hostel room, she said.

Jyothy wondered why she was forced to stay back in Wuhan when she had no symptoms of Coronavirus.

They didnt conduct any other tests. I am absolutely fine and healthy. I contacted the Indian embassy people several times and told them about my position, but they are also helpless as the Chinese government authorities are not allowing anybody to leave the town, she said.

There is nothing for Jyothy to do now. There is no work, as the company has been closed. In fact, the vacations for spring festivities started on January 22 and I was planning to return to India, when this unfortunate development took place. I am sitting idle all through the day alone. I cannot go out of the hostel, as the town has been under lockout. Luckily, there is WiFi facility in the hostel and I am able to pass time with my laptop, she said.

The company has arranged for her food and other facilities.Everyday, they drop food packets at the doorstep of the hostel room and go back. I feel like I am in a jail, but I cannot help, Jyothy said.

Jyothys father Annem Maheshwar Reddy, who served in the military, died a few years ago and her mother Prameela is a housewife. In fact, Jyothy got engaged to her close relative Amarnath Reddy, a chartered accountant working in Bengaluru and their marriage has been fixed for March 15.

Prameela, who has been in touch with her daughter every day, is anxiously waiting for her return at the earliest. She has been worshipping Lord Shiva at Maha Nandi temple near Nandyal every day, praying for the safe returning of Jyothy.

Following Prameelas repeated representations, Nandyal MP Pocha Brahmananda Reddy took up the matter with the minister for external affairs S Jayashankar to see that Jyothy is sent back to India at the earliest.

Yeah, Jayashankar sir spoke to me this morning and assured to take up the issue with the Chinese authorities for my early return to India. I have also requested the Indian embassy to see that I get out of this town and move to a safer province from where I can get the flight back to India, Jyothy said.

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A Florida business owner is accused of evading paying nearly $200,000 in workers compensation insurance premiums over the course of a year, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis announced the arrest Feb. 6 of Santos Y. Cardona, owner of YYCS Enterprises, Inc., for workers compensation fraud after his company allegedly conducted more than $1 million in payroll but reported $59,000 on their workers compensation insurance policy.

An investigation by the DFS Bureau of Insurance Fraud discovered Cardona allegedly concealed payroll information to avoid paying higher workers compensation premiums. Based on financial records from a check cashing store in Fort Myers, Fla., it was revealed that Cardona cashed over $1 million in payroll checks.

Cardona later reported payroll of only $59,000 which is less than what he original estimated to avoid paying $199,515 in workers compensation insurance premiums.

Cardona was booked into Lee County Jail on February 5 on charges of workers compensation fraud and scheme to defraud. If convicted, Cardona faces up to 25 years in prison. Individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Workers compensation fraud is a serious crime that puts injured workers at risk and drives up insurance rates statewide for honest, hard-working businesses, Patronis said. My office is committed to cracking down on fraud. I applaud the great work of our dedicated insurance fraud detectives.

Topics Florida Workers' Compensation Fraud
Pennsylvanians returning from a recent trip to China are urged to follow new state health guidelines that were issued Friday by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

If you arrived in Pennsylvania from mainland China anytime during this outbreak, you are advised to (at minimum) self-monitor for fever, cough, and shortness of breath and stay home, avoiding group settings like work and school for 14 days from the time you left China, Pa. Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said.

The Centers for Disease Control has confirmed 12 cases of coronavirus in the United States. No cases have been reported in Pennsylvania to date.

Upon arrival in Pennsylvania, travelers are asked to call 1-877-PA-HEALTH, Levine said. Anyone who develops symptoms is also asked to call the same number to discuss what illness they are experiencing, as well as their travel history, according to the state department of health.

Symptoms have been known to appear two-to-14 days after exposure, the CDC has been reporting. Illnesses have ranged from people with "little to no symptoms to people being severely ill and dying, the state department of health reported Friday.

The best precaution to spreading coronavirus is to avoid travel to and from China, Levine said. But, if it is unavoidable, she said recommends getting the flu vaccine.

Other ways to avoid spreading coronavirus: frequently wash hands, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, covering coughs and sneezes, cleaning commonly touched surfaces, and staying home if sick.

Pennsylvania health officials are in "constant communication with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials are prepared to respond in the event that someone in Pennsylvania tests positive, Levine said.

"It is important to remember that the most accurate information regarding this outbreak is available through our website, health.pa.gov, and our Facebook and Twitter, as well as the CDCs website and social media channels, Levine said.

Thanks for visiting PennLive. Quality local journalism has never been more important. We need your support. Not a subscriber yet? Please consider supporting our work.
In a video posted on Instagram on Thursday, Britain's ambassador to Iran who left the country following his brief arrest by Iranian security forces three weeks ago said he is back in Tehran after planned meetings with the foreign minister and other high-ranking officials of his country.

The British envoy, Robert Macaire, was arrested for "instigating and organizing suspicious activities" in a protest rally in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University on January 12. Macaire and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) maintained that his return to Britain after the arrest had been pre-planned and had nothing to do with the incident.

In his Instagram post Rob Macaire who spoke in fluent Persian said he had held meetings with his superiors to discuss Iran-related topics including the nuclear agreement with Iran and INSTEX after leaving the European Union. The British envoy said Britain was still committed to both.

Macaire said Britain wants to employ the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA) dispute resolution mechanism with Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China to find a way forward in the current deadlock and "to address the concerns of the International community about Iran's nuclear program" as well as "Iran's concerns about economic rewards" it expects to benefit from by staying in the agreement.

In protest to U.S. sanctions that have crippled the Iranian economy Iran in January announced that it would abandon all restrictions imposed by the agreement on uranium enrichment but would continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency which regularly monitors its nuclear activities.

Europeans threatened in January to trigger international sanctions against Iran but have since announced they will wait to see if a solution can be found.

Several high-ranking officials including Iran's Prosecutor-General urged the government to expel the British envoy as persona non grata following his arrest. .
Kerry Washington led the stars at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood lunch at the Beverly Wilshire hotel on Sunday.

The 43-year-old slid into a sleeveless peekaboo dress, which had a eye-catching mirror work over the tan leather straps dangling over her turquoise skirt.

Accentuating her screen siren features with makeup, she added a touch of dazzle with earrings and wore her hair in a single braid.

Radiant: Kerry Washington led the stars at the Essence Black Women In Hollywood lunch at the Beverly Wilshire hotel on Sunday

Gabrielle Union modeled an ankle-length pink and white dress, complementing her dark pink lipstick and white shoes.

Janelle Monae lived up to her reputation as a fashion icon in a throwback chic black and white polka-dot dress with raised shoulders.

The ensemble featured a black bowler hat with a white flower, as well as a black tie and a matching pair of fishnet stockings.

Star status: The 43-year-old slid into a sleeveless peekaboo dress, which had a eye-catching mirror work over the tan leather straps dangling over her turquoise skirt

Glowing: Gabrielle Union modeled an ankle-length pink and white dress, complementing her dark pink lipstick and white shoes

Fashionista: Janelle Monae lived up to her reputation as a style icon in a throwback chic black and white polka-dot dress with raised shoulders

Hello, gorgeous: The ensemble featured a black bowler hat with a white flower, as well as a black tie and a matching pair of fishnet stockings

Billy Porter wound a knee-length Rebrand wrap skirt around his trousers, which he wore with a matching blazer and pristine white turtleneck.

Aisha Hinds dazzled in a Gucci necklace and black bodysuit, slipping a sheer mesh skirt over her fishnet stockings for the Beverly Hills bash.

Danielle Brooks arrived at the star-studded event in a figure-hugging suit with an intricate black, white and yellow print along with white Kurt Geiger heels.

Lashana Lynch, who Billy's show Pose is being honored that evening, modeled a finely pleated pale pink gown to the fete.

Layering up: Billy Porter wound a knee-length Rebrand wrap skirt around his trousers, which he wore with a matching blazer and pristine white turtleneck

When you got it: Aisha Hinds dazzled in a Gucci necklace and black bodysuit, slipping a sheer mesh skirt over her fishnet stockings for the Beverly Hills bash

Terrific: Danielle Brooks arrived at the star-studded event in a figure-hugging suit with an intricate black, white and yellow print outfit and Kurt Geiger heels

Guest of honor: Lashana Lynch, who Billy's show Pose is being honored that evening, modeled a finely pleated pale pink gown to the fete

Insecure creator Issa Rae was the picture of elegance in a plunging orange gown that featured a cutaway frill hemline.

Laura Harrier teamed a pair of sky-high white stilettos with a pink and white houndstooth check cocktail dress.

Tia Mowry of Sister Sister fame posed up a storm on the arm of her husband Cory Hardrict, whom she has been married to since 2008.

Real Housewife Of Atlanta Kandi Burruss showed off her knockout legs in a sparkling yellow wrap dress cut off above the knee.

Insecure creator: Issa Rae was the picture of elegance in a plunging orange gown that featured a cutaway frill hemline

Sleek and chic: Laura Harrier teamed a pair of sky-high white stilettos with a pink and white houndstooth check cocktail dress

So in love: Tia Mowry of Sister Sister fame posed up a storm on the arm of her husband Cory Hardrict, whom she has been married to since 2008

All that glitters: Real Housewife Of Atlanta Kandi Burruss showed off her knockout legs in a sparkling yellow wrap dress cut off above the knee

Issa got a bit of mingling done inside the event, posing up for a photograph with Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas, an honoree at the lunch.

While making her way around the party Issa also met up with Jenifer Lewis, a Broadway veteran who can now be seen as a main cast member on Black-ish.

Issa could also be glimpsed with honoree Niecy Nash, who cut a regal figure in a Grecian-inspired pink gown with a train.

Side by side: Issa got a bit of mingling done inside the event, posing up for a photograph with Queen & Slim director Melina Matsoukas, an honoree at the lunch

Talent: While making her way around the party Issa also met up with Jenifer Lewis, a Broadway veteran who can now be seen as a main cast member on Black-ish

Honoree: Issa could also be glimpsed with Niecy Nash, who cut a regal figure in a Grecian-inspired pink gown with a train

Issa made her way near the stage to mingle with Janelle, who pulled a pout for the shutterbugs, and 15-year-old Little actress Marsai Martin.

Janelle kept a smoldering supermodel stare on her face while striking a pose for a picture with Niecy, who smiled cheerfully.

She and Aja Naomi King got together for a picture in the ballroom with the legendary actress Alfre Woodard, who was lately in Disney's new Lion King remake.

Child star: Issa made her way near the stage to mingle with Janelle, who pulled a pout for the shutterbugs, and 15-year-old Little actress Marsai Martin

Tip of the hat: Janelle kept a smoldering supermodel stare on her face while striking a pose for a picture with Niecy, who smiled cheerfully

Icon: She and Aja Naomi King got together for a picture in the ballroom with the legendary actress Alfre Woodard, who was lately in Disney's new Lion King remake

Acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay cut a festive figure in a cherry red knee-length dress that popped against her pale pink belt.

She got to have a reunion with 16-year-old actress Storm Reid, whom she directed in the 2018 adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle In Time.

Ava linked arms with writer and actress Lena Waithe, who recently separated from her wife Alana Mayo two months after going public with their marriage.

Famous figures abounded at the luncheon, where Niecy, one of the honorees, put a friendly arm around Harriet star Cynthia Erivo.

Acclaimed filmmaker: Ava DuVernay cut a festive figure in a cherry red knee-length dress that popped against her pale pink belt

Together again: She got to have a reunion with 16-year-old actress Storm Reid, whom she directed in the 2018 adaptation of Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle In Time

Palling around: Ava linked arms with writer and actress Lena Waithe, who recently separated from her wife Alana Mayo two months after going public with their marriage

Glowing: Famous figures abounded at the luncheon, where Niecy, one of the honorees, put a friendly arm around Harriet star Cynthia Erivo

Terrence J was hunky as ever in a perfectly tailored salmon suit worn over a black turtleneck sweater, accessorizing with a gleaming watch.

Billy got together with Angelica Ross and Hailie Sahar, his co-stars on the Netflix series Pose, which is being honored at the luncheon.

Garcelle Beauvais slipped into an off-the-shoulder polka-dot mini-dress for the big event, where she hobnobbed with The Real co-hostess Loni Love.

Dashing: Terrence J was hunky as ever in a perfectly tailored salmon suit worn over a black turtleneck sweater, accessorizing with a gleaming watch

Collaborators: Billy got together with Angelica Ross and Hailie Sahar, his co-stars on the Netflix series Pose, which is being honored at the luncheon

Glittering event: Garcelle Beauvais slipped into an off-the-shoulder polka-dot mini-dress for the big event, where she hobnobbed with The Real co-hostess Loni Love

Pose cast members Angelica, Hailie and Mj Rodriguez took the stage alongside Janet Mock, a writer and director who works on the series.

Billy also made his way onstage to deliver a speech for the attendees, as did Issa.

Brittany Howard, who was wearing a gleaming red shawl over a black top, delighted the audience with a musical performance and accompanied herself on guitar.

Whilst offstage Brittany was pictured posing for a dazzling group shot alongside Melina, Issa, Robin Thede and Yvonne Orji.

Crooning: Brittany Howard, who was wearing a gleaming red shawl over a black top, delighted the audience with a musical performance and accompanied herself on guitar

Party of five: Pose cast members Angelica, Hailie and Mj Rodriguez took the stage alongside Janet Mock, a writer and director who works on the series

Limelight: Billy also made his way onstage to deliver a speech, as did Issa
James Durbin

Oil headed for a fifth weekly loss as demand concerns grow in Asia and Europe, while OPEC+ awaited Russias response to its proposal to cut output further.

Chinese refiners are processing 15% less crude than before the coronavirus outbreak, said people with knowledge of operations at the nations largest complexes. In Europe, French industrial production missed estimates, compounding a reduced demand outlook. Traders were also watching a meeting in Cairo over the weekend for signs of progress between warring factions in Libya, where oil exports are currently blockaded.
Last week Hoboken police issued an alert to drivers, warning them not leaving their vehicles running unattended.

An Uber Eats driver apparently did not get the message.

The driver called police at 3:50 a.m. on Feb. 2 after his vehicle was stolen in front of the McDonalds at Washington and Third streets, Hoboken Detective Lt. Danilo Cabrera said.

The driver said he was picking up an order when he saw a woman with blond hair get in his vehicle and drive south on Washington, Cabrera said.

Hoboken police notified nearby police departments and the vehicle was located by Hudson County sheriffs officers at 4:11 a.m. in the area of 15th Street and Kennedy Boulevard. The keys were still in the ignition.

Detective Adam Colon of the Hoboken Police Investigations Bureau was assigned to the case and on Feb. 5 Diana Penaherrera, 31, of Union City was arrested and charged with burglary and theft of movable property, Cabrera said.

Penaherrera was issued a summons to appear in court and she was issued a summons for driving with a suspended license. The victim of the motor vehicle theft was issued a summons for leaving his vehicle running and unoccupied.
Boeing's passenger spacecraft -- Starliner -- reportedly faced a second potentially disastrous software glitch during its debut test flight in December last year.

According to The Verge, had it not been corrected, the bug would have led to "catastrophic spacecraft failure."

Although the issue was fixed before any mishap could occur, this revelation has led the experts to express concern over Boeing's lackluster safety record.

The Starliner crew capsule was put to test on December 20 when it was launched on an unmanned mission to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) after which it was supposed to touch down back on Earth.

The mission didn't go as planned and the capsule ended up stranded in the wrong orbit after its main engine failed to fire at the right moment.

The Starliner was unable to reach the ISS and had to make its way back to earth without completing its primary objective.

However, NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) stated in a public meeting that the spacecraft suffered another software snag while in the orbit, that was spotted just in time by Boeing, reported The Verge.

The issue could have made the Starliner fire up its engines unnecessarily during its descent phase, potentially leading to uncontrolled and dangerous movements.

Both NASA and Boeing had kept mum on the second glitch that was brought out in pubic during the press event.

The Verge was told by Boeing in a statement that it "investigated a valve mapping software issue, which was diagnosed and fixed in flight."

The"error in the software would have resulted in an incorrect thruster separation and disposal burn."

Boeing further added that "what would have resulted from that is unclear." NASA till now hasn't answered any of the queries made by the media outlet.

According to the panel, NASA and Boeing are currently at work to figure out the reason behind the software glitches. However, NASA is concerned over "the rigor of Boeing's verification processes.," said Paul Hill, an ASAP member.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Australian government has given hope to a Chinese single mother, saying it is considering granting an exemption on the coronavirus travel ban to allow her to see her only son before his life support is turned off.

Xiao Li, 22, who has been in the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition since his car collided with a truck on January 27, was declared brain dead on Monday.

Xiao Li came to Australia last May on a working-holiday visa. He was declared brain dead on Monday.

His mother, Xing Lan Ren, applied for an Australian visa on January 29, paying a total of $1145 to fast-track her application with a normal response time of two business days.

Less than 72 hours later, on February 1, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the minimum 14-day ban on foreign nationals travelling from mainland China.
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China is again making a major effort to sell its J-10 jet fighter to export customers. The J-10CE, the export version of the Chinese Air Force J-10C was on display at a November 2019 air show, along with eager sales reps looking for customers. There were some nibbles but nothing serious. The E designates an export model, with some advanced or highly-classified, items left out. The J-10CE appeared to have all its major new features and apparently the only items left out were Chines IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) transponders and similar China-specific features of the communications or defensive systems. Sales reps touted the J-10CE as having the same capabilities as the latest version of the F-16; the F-16V or (as offered to India the F-21). The sales force men pointed out that the J-10CE had all the advanced electronics in the F-16V as well as some stealth features like radar absorbing surfaces and stealthy air intakes. Every sales pitch ended with an emphasis on the fact the J-10CE cost only $40 million, half of what the F-16V was selling for. That was also a lot less than modern European jets like Eurofighter or Rafale as well as the latest Russian offerings like the MiG-35 or the latest Sukhoi models.

What the J-10 sales reps did not want to discuss was what most potential customers already knew; the F-16 had an exceptional service and combat record and was the most widely exported post-Cold War fighter. In contrast, the J-10 first flew in 1998 and entered service six years later. Less than 500 J-10s have been produced so far and none have been bought by export customers. The F-16 entered service in 1978, four years after the first flight and nearly 5,000 have been produced so far. Over a third of F-16s were purchased by export customers and sales are still brisk.

The reputation of the J-10 is less attractive. The J-10 is considered less safe to operate with at least eight of them crashing since 2014. The F-16 has a much better safety record. The Chinese J-10 sales force was also had to deal with the fact that the Middle East is full of satisfied F-16 customers, including Turkey, Israel, Egypt, Iraq and several Persian Gulf states. This satisfaction was expressed by repeat orders for F-16s.

In 2017 Bahrain ordered another 22 F-16V jet fighters along with upgrades of their existing F-16s to the F-16V standard. This deal involved a lot of additional equipment, training and tech support for all the Bahrani F-16s and cost a total of $3.86 billion. The F-16V Block 70 is similar to the F-16E Block 60 Desert Eagle the UAE (United Arab Emirates) next door has been using since 2005. Bahrain has been using F-16s since 1990 and has already upgraded them with items like targeting pods and the ability to deliver smart bombs like JDAM (GPS). Originally their F-16s were mainly used for air defense but ones like the F-16E and the Israeli F-16I were obviously more effective and the way to go.

The Chinese are undeterred and keep seeking export customers for the J-10 while also improving it. China finally got the latest version of the J10 fighter, the J10C, into service in mid-2017, 13 years after the first J10s entered service in 2004. This in itself was after a long (since 1988) effort to get an original modern Chinese fighter design operational. This latest J-10 version uses more composites in the airframe and has improved electronics. This includes a new AESA radar. The J10 is the most widely used modern Chinese jet fighter, with over 400 in service. More numerous are several different models of modern Russian jets. Legal and illegal copies of the Russian Su-27/30 were obtained by the end of the 1990s.

In mid-2019 China finally formed its first fighter squadron equipped with J-10C. There were about 40 J-10Cs in service then and a full-strength fighter squadron has 24 aircraft. It is unclear if the first J-10C squadron was at full strength, many squadrons are not. The J-10C began arriving at the new squadron in May 2019 and many were still being used for training and testing.

China produced a lot of J10s because, well, they were a Chinese, not Russian, design. That meant it took longer to get the J10 into service and China used the J10 to advertise its new aircraft development capabilities. This includes Chinese developed electronics. This includes a glass cockpit, helmets with built-in HUD (head-up display), look and shoot capabilities and AESA radar. J10s got the first Chinese fire control systems that handled smart bombs (satellite or laser-guided). The J10 was the first to receive targeting pods, ECM (electronic countermeasures) pods and improved fly-by-wire systems. The J10 was also the first Chinese jet fighter to switch to Chinese made engines rather than ones bought from Russia. Until 2019 the J10 still depended on the more reliable Russian made AL-31 engines. That has now changed with the WS10 standard on all newly built J-10s and for those in need of an engine replacement

Partly because of the Russian engine, China has not been able to get any export orders for the J-10. China has to get Russian permission for the AL-31 engines used in exported J-10s and the Russians would not automatically cooperate. Before the J10 entered service China began buying the most modern Russian fighters (Su-27/30) in the 1990s and were able to buy and steal a lot of Russian aircraft tech during the 1990s because Russia was broke and the only thing keeping the Russian military aviation producers in business was export sales. China and India were the biggest customers and China, unlike India, had more advanced aircraft production capabilities and fewer scruples when it came to stealing foreign technology. Before the 1990s ended China had created an illegal copy of the Su-27, calling it the Chinese developed J11. Russia knew better and despite China continuing to claim the J11 design is Chinese, and that it just happens to resemble the Su-27, China has not tried to sell the J11 to export customers.

Only two jet fighters designed in China were offered for export; the J10 and the JF17. Only the JF17, designed as a joint effort with Pakistan. Until 1989, when the U.S. imposed sanctions,American aircraft firm Grumman was also involved. China and Pakistan continued alone. While prototypes and most of the components for the JF17 were Chinese built, the main export customer was Pakistan and China never bought any, mainly because by the time the JF17 was in service (2007) the J10 was already in production and was considered a superior aircraft.

Technically the JF-17 is a Pakistani aircraft because most are assembled there. Pakistan has exported some to Burma and Nigeria because Russia agreed to supply and support the RD-93 engines required. In return, Pakistan has been buying more Russian weapons. Pakistan was not interested in the J10 because it also had F-16s, which is was very satisfied with and the locally assembled JF-17.

The J10 looks something like the American F-16 and weighs about the same (19 tons). Like the F-16 the J10 has only one engine and the aircraft is longer than the F-16 to accommodate the larger Russian/Chinese engines. It's no accident that the J10 resembles the F-16 because Israel sold China the technology for their Lavi jet fighter, a "super-F-16" design that Israel abandoned in 1987 because it was too expensive. China always insisted the J10 was an original Chinese design but after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 a lot of Russian engineers and scientists who assisted China in developing the J10 revealed details about how the Chinese had access to the Lavi design data and used it extensively. Israel wont comment because the U.S. cracked down on Israeli sales of military technology to China during the 1990s.

Despite the J10 being the first Chinese designed modern fighter and the most produced model, China has purchased more legal and illegal versions of the Su-27/30. Russia is still selling China improved versions of the Su-30 design with an understanding, part of it in writing, that any tech stolen from these aircraft will not be offered for export. The understanding is that if China tried the export the stolen tech Russia would make a fuss, sue and make China look bad

China has gone on to develop several stealth fighter designs that are sufficiently Chinese (and not stolen foreign tech) to be offered for export. Not many takers, not yet anyway. China appears to feel their new stealth designs are not ready for active service or export customers. Getting all the new tech working together, as well as developing a powerful enough engine, are major obstacles. A less powerful Chinese engine is being used temporarily. While China declared its J-20 stealth fighter ready for service in 2019, the reality was it was still in development. China fears the J-20 will have some of the same problems that still plague the J-10

Despite the help from Israel and Russia, the J10 turned out to perform poorly in air-to-air combat. In response, the Chinese concentrated on reconfiguring the design to operate as fighter-bombers (the J-10B). This version carries over five tons of bombs and missiles and has been equipped with a fire control system for delivering missiles and smart bombs. The J10B didnt enter service until 2014 and did not get its solid-state AESA radar until the J10C, basically, an upgraded J10B, appeared and was declared as capable as late-model F-16s. That was not true and potential export customers told the Chinese. China will eventually find export customers for its jet fighters. But not the flawed J-10. China already has many satisfied export customers for its large armed UAVs. These are similar in performance to the American Predator and Reaper but a lot cheaper.
RTHK: 41 more have virus on quarantined ship in Japan

Another 41 people on board a cruise ship off Japan's coast have tested positive for the new strain of coronavirus, Japan's health minister said on Friday.

The new cases raise the number of confirmed infections on board the ship to at least 61, said Katsunobu Kato.

Japanese authorities have so far tested 273 people on board the Diamond Princess, which was quarantined after a former passenger, who disembarked in Hong Kong last month, was diagnosed with the virus.

"The results of the remaining 171 tests came out and 41 tested positive," Kato told reporters. "Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that."

"In total, out of 273 specimens, 61 tested positive," he added.

There were more than 3,700 passengers and crew on the ship when it arrived off Japan's coast on Monday evening. It docked in Yokohama on Thursday to resupply for a quarantine that could last until February 19.

Twenty people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel and taken to hospitals.

Testing was initially carried out on those who displayed symptoms or had come into contact with the former passenger diagnosed with the virus.

But Kato suggested additional testing would now take place.

Authorities will "test those who are susceptible to illness, including elderly people and those with other ailments, as well as those who had close contact with the people newly diagnosed with the virus," he said.

In Hong Kong, around 3,600 people are stuck on a quarantined cruise ship, the World Dream, on which eight passengers from the mainland previously had the coronavirus. (AFP)

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
U.S. officials say an American appears to have been kidnapped in Afghanistan by a group linked to Taliban militants.

The officials on February 6 said they believe that 57-year-old Mark Frerichs of Illinois was kidnapped by the Haqqani network, which is based in Khost.

It was not immediately clear why Frerichs was in Afghanistan or where exactly he might have been kidnapped.

Newsweek, which first reported the kidnapping, said he was seized a week ago in the eastern province of Khost while working as a contractor in conflict zones.

The FBI-led Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, a multiagency operation, is handling the investigation into the matter, officials said.

Art Frerichs, who identified himself as Frerichs' father, told AP that he believed the Newsweek report was true.

"I don't want to say any more now for security reasons," he said. "I have the utmost faith in President [Donald] Trump and the FBI."

The Taliban said it had no information on Frerichs or his possible kidnapping.

In November, Anas Haqqani, the younger brother of Sirajuddin Haqqani, the leader of the Haqqani network, was freed in exchange for the release of an American and an Australian, both professors at the American University in Afghanistan who were kidnapped in 2016 in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Based on reporting by AP, Newsweek, and Reuters
ANNE DRAGO, Stonington, Girls Basketball, Senior; Drago was named to the all-tournament team at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. In two games, she scored 38 points and had eight rebounds.

DANTE WILK, Westerly, Boys Basketball, Senior; Wilk was named MVP of the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament after the Bulldogs beat Chariho in the title game. Wilk had a combined 35 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals in two tournament victories.

TYLER LABELLE, Chariho, Boys Basketball, Junior; LaBelle scored 41 points in two games to earn all-tournament honors at the WCCU Holiday Basketball Tournament. LaBelle had 22 in a win against South Kingstown and 19 in a loss to Westerly.

ADDIE HAUPTMANN, Wheeler, Girls Basketball, Senior; Hauptmann scored 32 points in two games in the Montville Christmas Tournament. She also had 20 rebounds, seven assists and eight steals.

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SOUTH HADLEY  Two female students were approached or followed by men while on their way to bus stops this week and police are warning parents to talk to their children as a precaution.

A female student reported to the School Resource Officer that a man approached her on Tuesday and asked her if she wanted a ride while she was heading to a bus stop on Granby Road. The man was white and driving a dark-colored SUV, police said.

On Thursday a female student walking to her bus stop near Hartford and Spring Streets said she believes she was followed by a man in a low-profile red pickup truck. The man, described as white, in his 50s or 60s with a scraggly beard, stopped near her location but did not make any direct contact with the girl, police said.

Neither student was injured, police said.

Police are investigating and do not know if the incidents are related. Anyone who has information about either or can provide a better description of the men is asked to contact police at 413-538-8231.
East African fish in need of recovery as coastal fish stocks decline in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique

February 07,2020 | Source: Science Daily

A study of East African coral reefs has uncovered an unfolding calamity for the region: plummeting fish populations due to overfishing, which in turn could produce widespread food insecurity.



In a newly published paper in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series titled "Coral reef fish communities, diversity, and their fisheries and biodiversity status in East Africa," WCS Senior Conservation Zoologist Dr. Tim McClanahan reports that overfishing is widespread across the region.



The remedy, says the sole author of the study, is to recognize the need to rebuild fish stocks to ensure they are providing the maximum possible catch for the developing countries of Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique. The African continent has among the highest human population growth rates and associated food security issues.



"Whereas fish stocks within marine parks and areas in distant or turbulent locations were found to be at healthy levels, coastal areas open to fishing were another story," said McClanahan. "We have found that fish catches have been declining in Africa in recent years by a million tons a year, and this study shows that much of this decline in East Africa is due to declining fish stocks."



Based on a sample of 239 sites -- data gathered over several years -- the study and previous estimates show that 70 percent of the reefs have fish stocks below the levels that will produce the maximum fisheries yields. The few areas above this level were in marine parks, rural areas, and remote or dangerous seas.



The study further shows that low stocks not only affects food production but also the diversity of fish and reef ecology. Numbers of fish species decline rapidly when stocks decline below sustainable levels. This loss of species will have consequences for the long-term recovery and the potential to produce food.



In light of the central finding that fish stocks in East Africa are severely depleted to unsustainable levels, the study suggests that rebuilding fish biomass is the key management action needed for long-term sustainability of the fisheries. Stricter fisheries management and enforcement alongside expanding spatially diverse fishing restrictions are essential to rebuilding stocks, maintaining species diversity, recovering fisheries and ensuring longterm ecosystem services for the East African coast.



The study follows on recent fisheries research that reveals that, where fisheries science is active and evaluating reefs, stocks are rebuilding. The fisheries division of the FAO in Rome recently evaluated their needs in the coming decades and concluded that knowing the stock levels of countries without good fisheries science is undermining efforts to achieve global fisheries sustainability.

 2020 ScienceDaily

Theme(s): Fisheries Resources.
SHANGHAI, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Fudan MBA Program continues to climb in the rankings for the 7th consecutive year.

On January 27, 2020, the Financial Times (FT) released the Global MBA Ranking 2020, in which, the Fudan MBA Program came in 33rd among the global programs, sixth in the Asia Pacific Region and first among the Business Schools in Chinese Mainland Universities.

The Fudan MBA Program was awarded the top rankings for several key criteria; taking the second place in terms of Salary Percentage Increase, while ranking sixth for Career Progress. For four criteria - Salary Today, International Course Experience, Alumni Recommend and FT Research - the program was considered the best among business schools in mainland China.

The program's position among FT's top 100 MBA programs has consistently improved, after being placed in the top global rankings for several consecutive years. This achievement is due to the steadfast, ongoing improvements of the Fudan MBA Program, the focus on practical learning and the program's overall globalization.

Notably, in the Executive MBA Ranking 2019 released by the FT on November 18, 2019, the School of Management at Fudan University saw three of its EMBA programs - the Washington University-Fudan University EMBA Program, the BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Program and the University of Hong Kong-Fudan University IMBA Programme - among the Top 50 EMBA Programs. Among the three ranked programs, the one that came in highest claimed the number 7th place.

Continuous innovation and upgrading the curriculum to enhance the learning experience

Curriculum reform and innovation is a permanent topic of the Fudan MBA Program. The forward-looking stance adopted by the program's managers has led to the creation and maintenance of a curriculum that stands out due to its innovation, its ability to adjust and adapt to the changing higher education landscape and the evolving needs of the employers that look to the program as a source for new talent. Students involved in the programs are able to acquire a holistic trove of knowledge and management skill sets.

The program's curriculum widens the number of compulsory courses while deepening the content of the elective courses, assuring that students acquire the knowledge needed to fulfill the kind of high-level management roles that will be on offer upon graduation. In 2015, the program introduced six established majors: finance, marketing, innovative transformation, e-commerce and big data, industrial analysis and investment management, business decision-making and leadership. Each include a series of elective courses categorized according to level of difficulty: entry level, advanced and comprehensive practice.

In addition to the continuous upgrading of the content of the six elective courses, the program now includes a series of unique courses on "humanities classics" to round out the skill sets of the MBA students and satisfy their growing demand for careers that are intellectually and emotionally stimulating and satisfying.The program again revised and upgraded its online capabilities, further optimizing the design of the curriculum, as well as the presentation, platforms and systems, in a move that further enhance the student experience.

Broaden the international outlook and inspire a multi-dimensional approach

The Fudan MBA Program has always stressed its development as an international offering, and pioneered a model focused on diversified and multi-channel international communications, providing the students with rich international learning and communication opportunities through a combination long-term, mid-term and short-term international communication curriculums.

During the process of worldwide economic integration, the program has always deepened communication and cooperation with the world's top business schools, further stimulating its vitality and arming the students with the tools that will allow them to stand out in a fiercely competitive market.

As one of China's first international MBA program, the program has, from the beginning, teamed up with the MIT Sloan School of Management, and has deepened the cooperation over the years. Besides MIT, the program offers a series of short-term overseas courses from the world's top business schools, including Yale University, London Business School and Tel Aviv University.

Meanwhile, the program has participated in the implementation of the Chinese government's Belt and Road initiative, giving students an opportunity to learn from and contribute ideas to companies in the countries targeted by the initiative.

The importance of practical education and 'learning by doing'

The Fudan MBA Program adheres to the philosophy of applying the acquired knowledge to practical use with the aim of improving students' all round literacy. The program has established the iLab - Fudan MBA Business Consultation Lab, allowing students to combine management theory with business practice, improving their ability to analyze complex business issues in an international environment and to make effective decisions. MBA students, serve as the companies' independent consultants, help them to analyze practical issues and provide solutions and ideas, with the goal of driving their development and growth.

In January 2019, the Fudan MBA Program kicked off its start-up competition, with a focus on gathering together the best resources and offering an educational series on innovation and entrepreneurship. Seventy-four start-up teams, attended by over 280 participants, took part in 2019 "JOIN" Start-up Competition. After a period of competition that spanned six months, nine start-up teams successfully passed entered the final competition. The teams entering the final competition covered a variety of sectors, including new technologies, new materials, AI, e-commerce, biopharmaceuticals, consultation, creative/cultural as well as public welfare, reflecting the ongoing trend towards industry integration, while showcasing the innovative vitality of the students.

About The Fudan-MIT International MBA Program

The Fudan-MIT International MBA (IMBA) Program was launched in 1996 through collaboration between the Fudan University School of Management (FDSM) and the MIT Sloan School of Management. This program, taught entirely in English, aims to cultivate professionals with an international perspective and entrepreneurial spirit, well-adjusted to the demands of economic globalization in China and the rest of the world. Fudan IMBA Program ranked 1st among the Business Schools in Chinese Mainland Universities, 6th in Asia Pacific and 33rd in Global MBA Programs by Financial Times in 2020.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087532/Fudan_Global_MBA.jpg
A prison officer who has a relationship with a gangster inmate and got his name tattooed on her body has been jailed.

Stephanie Smithwhite, 40, performed sexual acts with Curtis Cocky Warren while he was behind bars at the maximum-security HMP Frankland near Durham.

The pair had oral sex and kissed in secret liaisons in his cell, in the kitchen and a laundry room at the jail which houses some of the countrys most dangerous criminals.

She also sent him a photo of herself wearing a catsuit, Durham Crown Court heard.

Prison officer Stephanie Smithwhite arriving at Durham Crown Court / PA

The disgraced officer eventually told investigators how Warren  who was once named in the Sunday Times Rich List - became obsessed with her, and would buzz from his cell to call for her attention.

She denied cutting a hole in the trousers of her prison uniform was for a sexual purpose, but the sentencing judge said it was hard to imagine why else it was there.

Last month she admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office, with one charge relating to their sexual relationship, said to have lasted between June and December 2018, and the second count regarding her failure to report that she knew he had access to a phone.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said 56-year-old Warren was a major league offender who tried to manipulate her into bringing contraband into the prison after starting their affair, and asked her about prison intelligence and security cameras.

The judge said she was infatuated with him, as demonstrated by her tattoo of the name Curtis next to a rose.

Curtis Warren had an affair with a prison officer / PA Media

The judge said: Your conduct represents the very most grave breach of trust placed in you.

Warren was known to have previously continued to run his criminal enterprises from behind bars using mobile phones, but Smithwhite did not report him using a phone to contact her.

He was also known to have started relationships with other prison staff previously, but Smithwhite failed to resist him, despite undergoing training about manipulative and corrupting inmates.

Investigators found they had called each other 213 times in just three months.

Rupert Doswell, prosecuting, said Warren was serving 13 years for conspiracy to import drugs and a further 10-year sentence for failing to pay back 198 million in proceeds of crime.

Prison officer Stephanie Smithwhite admitted two counts of misconduct in a public office / PA

He had previously committed manslaughter in a jail fight with an inmate in Holland.

Mr Doswell said Warren was highly dangerous to the public.

Staff became suspicious of Smithwhites relationship with him and a surveillance operation was mounted.

She was seen passing a note to him and receiving one back.

Warren tried to eat her note when officers went to retrieve it from him, the court heard.

Inquiries found the notes were highly sexualised.

At first she denied having a physical relationship with the Liverpudlian.

Police searched her home and found more notes, a copy of his autobiography called Cocky, The Rise And Fall Of Curtis Warren, Mr Doswell said.

They searched the business of one of her relatives and discovered 450 letters, many of which contained sexual fantasies.

They found a white Samsung phone in her car which was only used to ring one number  traced to Frankland Prison, and used by Warren.

In interviews with detectives, she was said to be devastated but hoped there was an outside chance their relationship could continue.

The judge sentenced Smithwhite to two years in jail.

Andrew Nixon, for Smithwhite, who is from Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside, said she made a catastrophic error of judgment.

He said: This is a woman who has fallen in love with the wrong person.

Detective Inspector Lindsay Banks-Brown, from Durham CID, said: Those who choose to act dishonestly in a position of trust should not be allowed to tarnish the reputation of honest, hardworking staff who carry out their duties within the law.

We hope this result shows we will take action against those people who believe they are above the law and engage in corrupt activity, and we will bring them to justice.
To understand what a culture most fears, it is sometimes useful to look at its visions of horror. The scary tales told at night around fires, or in dog-eared paperbacks, or even on movie screens populated by D-list actors: all of these can give a hint to the anxieties that hiss the loudest in the mass public psyche.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To understand what a culture most fears, it is sometimes useful to look at its visions of horror. The scary tales told at night around fires, or in dog-eared paperbacks, or even on movie screens populated by D-list actors: all of these can give a hint to the anxieties that hiss the loudest in the mass public psyche.

Among the best examples of this is the ongoing evolution, and unending popularity, of zombies.

In the early days of zombie pop culture, the archetypical living dead was most often moved by supernatural forces. The word "zombie" itself entered the English lexicon from the Haitian vodou tradition, where the myth arose during centuries of suffering under French enslavement; Haitians knew far too well the restlessness of cruel deaths.

Through the 20th century, as zombies gained a firm foothold in North American culture, different origin stories arose. For awhile, it was in vogue that they were scientific experiments gone wrong, their reanimation brokered by a mixture of machines and madness, as an anxious public wrestled with the rise of technology it did not understand.

Today, the cause of a zombie infestation is almost invariably biological. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press files)

But years and history turned, and even as modern technology grew more powerful, it also became more accessible, less mysterious; the public no longer feared what scientists could do. It was then that the zombie archetype settled into its current form: today, the cause of a zombie infestation is almost invariably biological.

A virus. A bacteria. A fungus. Something that infects the bodies of their victims, and leaves them to hunt others. In these stories, the zombie isn't only a horror: it's the last retort of a natural world that this society has long sought to bring under control. The nature that birthed us, now twisting us into something less-than-human.

This is the threat that feels the most vivid now, the last unconquerable weapon of the living world. We brought most species on the planet to heel. We chased many of our animal competitors and great predators into near-extinction. We display the survivors in zoos in tacit testament to our control over them, or just a delight for children.

We have made great strides in medicine, but have not won the war against microbial life. (NIAID / Associated Press files)

But the smallest lifeforms on our planet, the ones we cannot see, this is the fear we cannot shake. We have made great strides in medicine, but never won the war we daily fight against microbial life. We live in a time of increasing antibiotic resistance, dense urban environments and vast animal agriculture acting as hotspots for infection.

And above all, we live in a time of travel that can move people and pathogens to the other side of the world within hours, faster than any public health response we devise could catch up to. So it was in these last two months, as headlines breathlessly tried to keep up with the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus.

They beat out everyday, like a parade: the first case reported in Dubai, in the United Kingdom, in Wisconsin. A headline some weeks back asked if coronavirus would come to Canada; by late January, it had, with just a few confirmed cases, none of them critically ill and all of them recovering well.

There is fear in these stories, and in much of the discussion that surrounds them: on social media, misinformation and fearmongering has spread like wildfire. But fear does not lead to good policy or good reporting  and as news now all too painfully shows, panic does not lead to being good neighbours.

One of the least surprising but most heartbreaking effects of the coronavirus outbreak, is how it has inflamed bigotry. Across the country, Chinese-Canadians have reported being targets of xenophobia, similar to what the community in Toronto endured during the 2003 outbreak of the SARS virus.

At a dentist office in Toronto, a sign told patients who had been to China, or knew anyone who had been to China, and showed symptoms of illness to cancel their visit. Parents in one Toronto school district started a petition calling for students who had been to China to be "tracked" and told to stay home from school in isolation.

In Ontario, one news story described how two ethnically Chinese boys were taunted by peers through a playground game to "test them for coronavirus." In a now-deleted tweet, the University of Berkeley, California listed xenophobia alongside anxiety or depression as a list of "common reactions" to coronavirus concerns.

A CTV journalist was fired after he tweeted a photo of his barber, an Asian man, wearing a mask. "Hopefully ALL I got today was a haircut," he wrote, along with the hashtag #coronavirus. He later apologized, saying the tweet was "insensitive," but it was impossible to detach from the spread of xenophobic suspicions.

A Postmedia survey last week found the majority of Canadians were carrying on as normal, but that nearly a fifth of us would move if a person who appeared Chinese sat next to them on the bus due to coronavirus concerns, even if that person showed no signs of illness. Manitobans were among the most likely in Canada to agree.

And in Alberta, Premier Jason Kenney was moved to speak out against the threat of xenophobia with a publicized visit to a Chinese restaurant in Calgary, where he told media "the notion that Canadians of one ethnic background would be more likely to carry a virus that doesnt exist in Alberta is just misinformation."

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It is misinformation and it is bigotry, naked and simple. It has nothing to do with public health, but if it persists it will do real social damage. To believe that anyone with connections to China should be isolated from public participation is a toxic idea; it certainly won't help the public better understand how to navigate an epidemic.

To believe that anyone with connections to China should be isolated from public participation is a toxic idea.

If we want to tackle the fear of coronavirus  or whatever pathogen will come next  the answers are already in front of us. We need more investment in health care: a system already groaning to supply beds is not sufficiently equipped for a sudden spike in illness requiring hospitalization, regardless of the reason.

We need more investment in public health education. We need more resources to facilitate access to care and quick diagnosis. And we need to highlight and promote responsible medical journalism  and there is much of it out there  which can deliver information to the public with proper perspective and context.

Right now, we do not need panic. Because the thing is, zombies aren't real. Despite the horror stories we tell, it has never been nature that can render us inhuman; it has only ever been our own fears. If those now let loose bigotry, if they make us cruel to each other, then all we'll have done is chosen to make our own nightmares real.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca
An Australian couple are stranded at sea on a cruise ship that is unable to dock because one passenger could be infected with coronavirus.

David and Judy Holst, from South Australia, are aboard a Holland America vessel currently circling around in the ocean east of Taiwan.

Since Sunday, the cruise ship has been denied entry into the Phillipines, Taiwan and most recently, Japan.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe said no foreigners on board the MS Westerdam would be allowed to disembark in the country on Friday.

Tokyo said one passenger aboard the ship, which stopped in Hong Kong and is carrying 2,257 people, was believed to have the deadly virus.

Mr Holst posted a Facebook update on Friday: 'We are now officially abandoned at sea. We are the white circle with blue arrow on the map.

'Our cruise is over, sort of. No country will take us. But we are still at sea.'

David and Judy Holst, from South Australia, are aboard a Holland America vessel currently circling around in the ocean east of Taiwan

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe said no foreigners on board the Holland America cruise liner MS Westerdam (pictured) would be allowed to disembark in the country

The cruise began in Singapore and passed through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia before stopping for six hours in Hong Kong on February 1. Around 1,100 passengers were picked up in Hong Kong despite the city having a red alert for coronavirus

Mr and Mrs began their cruise on January 16 when it departed from Singapore before stopping in Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Their cruise stopped in Hong Kong for six hours on February 1, where it picked up 1,100 passengers despite the city having a red alert for coronavirus.

The next day, the boat was denied entry into Manila in the Philippines and forced to circle around at sea.

'It was greed and stupidity when Holland America sent our ship into Hong Kong yesterday given HK is on red alert,' Mr Holst wrote on Facebook at the time.

'They did not even bother to offer face masks to passengers going ashore and we did not see any temperature screening for those joining the cruise.

'Totally avoidable situation if HA had acted more responsibly.'

After three days at sea, passengers were allowed to disembark for the day in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on Tuesday, which Mr Holst described as 'a nice day at last'.

However, his happiness was short lived as the boat was denied entry into the Taiwanese capital of Taipei on Wednesday.

Mr Holst posted a Facebook update on Friday: 'We are now officially abandoned at sea. We are the white circle with blue arrow on the map. Our cruise is over, sort of. No country will take us. But we are still at sea.'

David Holst with his favourite waiter Peary aboard the stranded vessel. So far, the cruise vessel has been denied entry in the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan

Mrs Holst poses with Peary. The Holsts were expecting the trip of a lifetime but since the ship stopped in Hong Kong it has turned into the holiday from hell

The vessel then headed for Ishigaki Island in Japan but on Thursday, they were denied entry into the country.

The Adelaide man added that staying in quarantine on Christmas Island 'seems a great option at this point in time' since 'they have land there'.

Come Saturday, the Holsts will have been trapped at sea for a total of seven days, in which time they would have only spent six hours on land.

The next scheduled stop after Japan was South Korea but it has now been wiped from their itinerary.

Mr Holst said passengers are now very frustrated and guards have begun patrolling the cruise ship.

In his latest update on Friday night, Mr Holst wrote: 'Yes it has been stressful and distressing and my bad humour is a cover for the deep angst we feel.

'Having the virus hanging over your head while squashed in a boat is scary.'

The boat is now heading south west from Taiwan and the captain advised they were moving to 'better position us for all options' but did not mention an exact location.

Passengers on the Diamond Princess look out from their balconies in Yokohama today with the cruise ship being held in quarantine

More than 2,600 passengers on board the Diamond Princess (pictured in Yokohama today) are facing a two-week lockdown over coronavirus fears

The ship was left with nowhere to go after Japan closed its borders to foreign passengers aboard the vessel on Friday.

The ship turned back to Taiwan, but it has also rejected the ship's request to dock.

However, the Holland America cruise line denied that there were any known cases of coronavirus on board the vessel.

Japan is already holding one ship - the Diamond Princess - in quarantine in Yokohama after 61 passengers became infected with coronavirus.

Passengers on the Westerdam say the ship has already been refused entry to the Philippines and Taiwan over the virus fears.

One tourist, Stephen Hansen, voiced fears that the ship will endure the same two-week quarantine which Diamond Princess passengers are facing.

In its most recent update, the cruise operator said passengers would now be disembarking in Yokohama rather than in Shanghai as originally planned.

But Japan appears to have wrecked those plans today by announcing that it would use immigration laws to block entry to foreign passengers.

Holland America insisted on Thursday that 'the ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board'.

'We are quickly working to develop alternate plans and are keeping guests updated on board as information becomes available,' a statement said.

'We are closely monitoring the evolving situation with respect to coronavirus that originated in mainland China.'

Guests who have recently travelled from mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau or had contact with a suspected coronavirus patient will not be allowed to board, the company said.

Passengers will also be subject to medical checks before they board, with any suspected cases reported to nearby health authorities.

The ship's 14-day cruise began in Hong Kong on February 1, although nearly 700 guests were already on the ship and stayed on from a previous voyage.

For breakfast yesterday, the coronavirus-stricken cruise ship served eggs, coffee, fruit muesli, a muffin and a croissant

Pictured: Lunch for the quarantined cruisers yesterday at the port of Yokohama included stir-fried tofu and vegetables

Another dinner option aboard the quarantined cruise ship yesterday was chicken and rice with a selection of meat and cheese

Ambulances wait to transfer patients who tested positive for the new coronavirus from the Diamond Princess cruise ship at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama today

Passengers aboard the Diamond Princess wave to those on the shore as the media assembled to take photographs at Yokohama port

More than 2,600 passengers are confined in their cabins on board the Diamond Princess, which has been held off the coast of Yokohama since Monday night.

Japan quarantined the ship after an 80-year-old former passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong last month tested positive for the virus.

All the passengers and crew were screened for the virus and hundreds selected for further tests, some of them after showing possible symptoms.

The quarantined ship has been shuttling between Yokohama Bay and the open sea, where it is collecting seawater to be converted for use in showers and drinking water.

One of the cabins on board the Diamond Princess, where passengers have been told to stay in their rooms and are banned from even going into the corridor

The Diamond Princess cruise ship with some 3,700 people on board arrives at Yokohama port on Thursday to resupply. People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to cabins following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

British passenger David Abel has provided regular updates from his ninth-deck cabin with tourists facing another 12 days of quarantine.

Mr Abel yesterday described how luxury dinners had been replaced with rationed food delivered by staff in face masks.

Some passengers have shared pictures of their food including bread rolls with cheese and meat, plates of chicken with rice, and a chocolate dessert.

One cabin had a sign on its door with a request for English Breakfast teabags.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, 3,600 people were preparing to spend a second night confined aboard the World Dream after eight former passengers tested positive.

Port health official Leung Yiu Hong said yesterday that more than 30 crew members had symptoms such as fever, coughing or a sore throat.

City health officials in Hong Kong said passengers would only be allowed off the World Dream after tests were completed.

An ambulance and Japan Coast Guard members in protective outfit prepare for the arrival of infected passengers who were on board the Diamond Princess

Despite some of the ship's 3,700 passengers complaining of 'prison' like quarantine conditions they were seen on the colossal ship's balconies on Thursday

A woman waves Australian flags as she stands on her cabin's balcony on the colossal vessel. Despite passengers complaining about the draconian quarantine conditions it appears they can chat to each other on the gallery

Cruise ship Diamond Princess is off the shore of Yokohama today where passengers are facing a two-week virus lockdown

On Wednesday, Hong Kong authorities announced that anyone arriving from the Chinese mainland from Saturday would face a mandatory two-week quarantine.

The move is the city's strictest measure yet amid ongoing strikes calling for the border with mainland China to be completely sealed.

The city's chief executive, Carrie Lam, has suspended some links with the mainland and closed some border crossings but she has left three open.

The health scare comes after months of violent anti-government protests in Hong Kong sparked by fears that its autonomy was being eroded by Beijing.

Some pro-democracy protesters have come out in support of the strike, with some demonstrations beginning to resemble the wider protests.

The outbreak has rekindled memories in Hong Kong of a 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), another coronavirus that began in China and killed nearly 300 people in the city.

Hong Kong health workers and members of other trade unions have demanded the border with the mainland be completely sealed.

Two dozen countries now have confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus that emerged from a Wuhan market selling exotic animals at the end of last year.

As of Thursday, China had 563 virus deaths and 28,018 confirmed cases on the mainland. Two other virus deaths occurred in Hong Kong and the Philippines.
MANZINI  Pageants Eswatini revealed a new organising committee for the Miss Eswatini and Miss Teen Eswatini 2020 pageants.



These new developments were revealed in a press conference that was held at the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture offices in Manzini yesterday.

The committee that was revealed consists of Catrien Potgieter, who is the President of the Pageants Eswatini organisation; Doreen Mapasure, who has been with the organisation for a while now; model and TV actor Thando Starring Mzamo, Rodney Lansberg, who is the reigning Mr Eswatini and Snowee, who has represented Eswatini on international runways as well as Palesa Dlamini.



Assignments



At the briefing, Snowee and Palesa were not present as they both had other assignments outside of the organisation to carry out.

Potgieter said they changed the committee so as to reach new and undiscovered faces for the pageant from across the country as this was in line with their mandate to grow the pageant, taking it to the four regions of the country.



She also guaranteed that the Miss Eswatini and Miss Teen Eswatini pageants would take place this year after a two-year hiatus.

With this, she said the pageants would take place in April and May respectively.



It is worth mentioning that the Miss Teen pageant was last held on September 9, 2017, where Tyra Johnson scooped the crown, while the Miss Eswatini pageant was held on September 15, 2018 where the crown was scooped by Nosipho Dlamini. Potgieter revealed that there had been challenges with aligning both pageants with the rest of the SADC regions.



She added that they saw the opportunity to align by shifting the pageants to earlier in the year, allowing the winners to participate and represent the country on an international scale that takes place from June till the end of the year.



In addition to that, Mr Eswatini Lansberg said the pageant would carry through with their theme from the previous pageant about going green, which was a signature in line with every other pageant across the world about saving the planet.



Meanwhile, Sigeja Curios was revealed as one of the main sponsors for the Miss Eswatini Pageant. They will be sponsoring the pageant with cultural outfits which the contestants will be wearing during the culture/tradition segment of the competition.



Support



It was revealed by Potgieter that Sigeja Curios said they were pleased to support such a cause such that the contestants would get to keep their cultural outfits after the pageant.

Other prizes mentioned included gadgets for the top three winners, which were subsequently followed by a mention of the international scholarship prize.

Potgieter also called for the business community to support the pageant.



The CEO of the Eswatini National Council of Arts and Culture said he was excited about the new developments at Pageants Eswatini.

He also said they had been engaging with other prospective sponsors and would be holding another press conference to reveal other lucrative prizes.
A poet-activist, who was taken to a Mumbai police station by his cab driver after the latter overheard his phone conservation about anti-CAA protest, on Friday said that the driver's aggressive behaviour and violent language reflected the atmosphere prevailing in the country.

The 23-year-old poet, Bappadittya Sarkar, also said that despite the ordeal he faced due to the Uber driver's act, he will not lodge a complaint against him as it may ruin his career and life.

Sarkar, a resident of Jaipur, who had arrived in Mumbai on February 3 for a poetry reading session at the Kala Ghoda Festival, had taken part in the ongoing anti-CAA-NRC protest at Nagpada in Mumbai. He took the Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.

During the journey, Sarkar was discussing with his friend on mobile phone people's discomfort with 'Laal Salaam' slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi. The driver, who was listening, stopped the cab and told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM. But her returned with two policemen, who allegedly asked Sarkar why he was carrying a 'dafli' (a percussion instrument), and also asked him his address.

The driver allegedly asked the police to take Sarkar in custody for he was saying he was a Communist and was talking about burning the country.

Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan had tweeted about the incident.

According to the statement tweeted by her, the police advised Sarkar not to carry the dafli or wear a red scarf, as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen.

Talking to PTI on Friday, Sarkar said, The behaviour of the driver was aggressive and his language was violent. This type of violent language symbolises whatever is going on in the country.

The driver threatened me that he could have taken me somewhere else, but took me to a police station. I was scared due to his threat. But the driver must have some foundation for giving threat, he said.

Sarkar said he was living at a friend's place in Kurla, but shifted to Andheri after the incident.

When our fight is only of thoughts, then we have to understand from where violence stems and how, he said.

I am a student and love to write poems and create slogans and saying them. I could have stayed at my home when protests are going on across the country. But I have a responsibility to come out of the home for our people and our country, he added.

Before coming to Mumbai, Sarkar had also participated in the protests in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi and Jaipur.

When asked whether he plans to take any action against the driver, Sarkar said that he does not want to ruin anybody's life.

Uber should help the driver and give him counselling and therapy and send him for rehabilitation. His career should not be spoilt, he said.

There can be differences of opinion and people like me work for the whole society, he said.

Sarkar, who was at the 'Mumbai Bagh' protest in Nagpada on Friday morning, said he will return to his hometown, Jaipur, in the afternoon, where he will take part in similar protests.

I will go to Jaipur first and meet my family members as they may also be worried (after the incident). After that I will participate in the protests, he said.

He also said he had got a call from Uber and the company condemned the incident saying whatever their driver did was not right and they are taking action.
Quarantined couple prevented from leaving country

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 10:27 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) A couple residing in New Taipei who had been subject to home quarantine on fears of novel coronavirus infection were caught trying to travel to China from offshore Kinmen County Thursday, according to an immigration officer.

A man identified by his surname Chiang () and his wife were intercepted at Shuitou Port around 1 p.m. by customs officers when attempting to board a ferry to China after flying from Taipei to the offshore island earlier the same day.

The couple were discovered to have breached Taiwan's home quarantine regulations because a home quarantine notice was attached to their passports, said Huang Chin-shui (), captain of the Border Affairs Corps under the National Immigration Agency.

After learning that the couple had returned to Taiwan from Xiamen in China's Fujian Province on Sunday and were planning to fly back to China, immigration agents immediately notified the Kinmen office of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) while instructing the couple to return to their home in New Taipei and remain under home quarantine, Huang said.

Despite the pair's complaints that they are not sick, immigration officers finally persuaded them, accompanied by local CDC officials, to take a bus to Kinmen airport where they took a flight back to Taiwan.

Wu Chun-hui (), head of the CDC's Kinmen office, said an investigation has been launch to check why the couple were not stopped at the airport in Taiwan before flying to Kinmen.

Wu warned that anyone who contravenes home quarantine regulations risks a maximum fine of NT$150,000 (US$5,000) as in this case.

The Central Epidemic Command Center announced on Wednesday that starting Thursday, Taiwan nationals who have recently visited China, Hong Kong and Macau are required by the government to remain quarantined at their homes for 14 days upon returning to Taiwan.

From Friday, residents of Macau and Hong Kong who travel to Taiwan will also be required to remain quarantined at their residence in Taiwan for 14 days.

(By Flor Wang and Yang Si-jui)

Enditem/AW

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BEIJING - The death of a young doctor who was reprimanded for warning about Chinas new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

People pay condolence in front of flowers lying near a photo of the late Dr. Li Wenliang at a hospital in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. The death of the doctor who was reprimanded for warning about China's new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety. In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party's controls over information and complaints that officials lie about or hide disease outbreaks, chemical spills, dangerous consumer products or financial frauds. (Chinatopix via AP)

BEIJING - The death of a young doctor who was reprimanded for warning about Chinas new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety.

In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Party's controls over information and complaints that officials lie about or hide disease outbreaks, chemical spills, dangerous consumer products or financial frauds.

The 34-year-old ophthalmologist died overnight at Wuhan Central Hospital, where he worked and likely contracted the virus while treating patients in the early days of the outbreak.

A hero who released information about Wuhans epidemic in the early stage, Dr. Li Wenliang is immortal, the China Center for Disease Controls chief scientist, Zeng Guang, wrote on the Sina Weibo microblog service.

Police in December had reprimanded eight doctors including Li for warning friends on social media about the emerging threat. China's supreme court later criticized the police, but the ruling party also has tightened its grip on information about the outbreak.

Weibo users have left hundreds of thousands of messages below Lis last post.

A post by one of Li's coworkers, an emergency room nurse, said the freezing Wuhan weather was as gloomy as my mood.

To you, we are angels and so strong. But how strong a heart can watch the people around me fall one by one without being shocked? wrote Li Mengping on her verified account.

Others placed blame for the deaths on Chinese officials, not an animal species from where the virus might have spread, and said those who made trouble for the doctor should face consequences. The most pointed online comments were quickly deleted by censors.

The ruling party has faced similar accusations of bungling or thuggish behaviour following previous disasters. They include the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, a 2005 chemical spill that disrupted water supplies to millions of people in Chinas northeast, sales of tainted milk that sickened thousands of children and the failure of private finance companies after the global economic crisis.

In each case, officials were accused of trying to conceal or delay release of information members of the public said they needed to protect themselves.

The party often responds by allowing the public to vent temporarily, then uses its control of media and the internet to stifle criticism. Critics who persist can be jailed on vague charges of spreading rumours or making trouble.

On the streets of Beijing, the capital, residents expressed sadness and said that China should learn from Li.

He is such a nice person, but still didnt pull through," said Ning Yanqing. "Those left do not dare to speak out. Alas, I dont know what to say.

Some online comments Friday hinted at broader dissatisfaction with the party and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has tightened controls on society since taking power in 2012.

The most powerful Chinese leader since at least the 1980s, Xi gave himself the option of remaining president for life by changing the Chinese constitution in 2018 to remove a two-term limit.

Referring to one of Xis propaganda initiatives, a message that circulated on social media said, My Chinese Dream is broken.

In Wuhan, local leaders were accused of telling doctors in December not to publicize the spreading virus in order to avoid casting a shadow over the annual meeting of a local legislative body.

As the virus spread, doctors were ordered to delete posts on social media that appealed for donations of medical supplies. That prompted complaints authorities were more worried about image than public safety.

Li was detained by police after warning about the virus on a social media group for his former classmates.

The latest episode is unusually awkward for the ruling party because Li was a physician, part of a group who are regarded as overworked, underpaid heroes who are Chinas line of defence against a frightening new disease.

He showed a responsible attitude toward the society," said Cai Lin, a Beijing resident. "He is honest and faithful. So I think the whole society should reflect on this.

The World Health Organization, which has complimented China's response to the outbreak, said in a tweet that We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on the virus.

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The official propaganda apparatus tried Friday to mollify the public.

Some of Li Wenliangs experiences during his life reflect shortcomings and deficiencies in epidemic prevention and control, said state television on its website.

The Chinese ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai, said in Twitter, a service the ruling party's internet censorship blocks the public from seeing, Really saddened by the death of Dr. Li Wenliang. He was a very devoted doctor. We are so grateful to him for what he has done in our joint efforts fighting against #2019nCoV.

The government announced a team from Beijing would be sent to Wuhan to investigate issues reported by the masses involving Dr. Li Wenliang.

___

AP researcher Chen Si in Zhengzhou, China, and video journalist Olivia Zhang and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
The High Court of England and Wales here on Friday will set the terms for the "conditional order" of a payment into court it had granted to three Chinese banks last year against Reliance Communications boss Anil Ambani.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012.

Ambani denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At the last hearing in the case in December last year, Justice David Waksman said he was "very nearly prepared" to grant judgment against Ambani because he found the Reliance Communications (RCom) chief's evidence "inexplicably incomplete, implausible and highly unlikely".

"I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false I consider that this is a plain case for the making of a conditional order," Justice Waksman said, as he granted a conditional order in principle to the Chinese banks.

The order means the Commercial Division of the High Court will hear arguments this week on Ambani's financial means and set an appropriate amount as an effective court deposit, pending a full trial in the case.

The focus of Ambani's evidence at the hearing last year revolved around a Power of Attorney (POA), which he claims he was unaware was being required as security by the banks.

There are references to a non-binding "comfort letter" and RCom executives, including Hasit Shukla, who allegedly kept him in the dark over the true nature of any personal guarantee.

"The essential thrust of Ambani's evidence is not merely that he was unaware that the POA was in respect of a guarantee, he was never aware at any stage that this was being required as security by the bank. He had no inkling of it at all," notes the judgment dated December 16, 2019.

"A truly remarkable feature of Ambani's case is that he has himself proffered no explanation as to why he should have been deceived in this way, nor has he provided any evidence as to what he did when he discovered, in early 2017, the existence of the guarantee signed by Shukla," the judge noted.

According to court documents, RCom had sought the loan from the Chinese banks in order to meet its obligations under certain foreign currency convertible bonds due to mature on March 1, 2012. It went on to default on the payments agreed under the loan arrangement and between February and November 2017, the banks made various demands for payment.

On May 24, 2019, the banks eventually issued an application for summary judgment, alternatively for a conditional order requiring Ambani to pay into court all or some of the sum claimed "on the basis that on any view his defence is improbable".

Following the hearing on Friday, the judge may give his verdict on the amount to be paid into the court or reserve judgment to be handed down at a later date.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Democratic party bosses call for a reexamination of the glitch-ridden vote

Washington: U.S. Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg were in a virtual tie as results from 100 percent of the Iowa precincts were called late Thursday, but no winner declared in the state's caucuses after technical problems snarled the process.

Earlier in the day Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez demanded a review of the results from the state, which has the time-honoured role of being the first in the nation to pick presidential candidates.

According to final results from the Monday caucuses, Buttigieg, the 38-year-old former mayor of a small town in Indiana, leads with 26.2 percent followed by Sanders, the 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, with 26.1 percent.

However, neither the party nor major US media outlets declared a winner.

"Enough is enough," Perez said on Twitter earlier in the day. "In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

Perez said it would involve an examination of the results from each caucus site rather than a full recount.

According to final results, Massachusetts progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren was in third with 18 percent, followed by former vice president Joe Biden with 15.8 percent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.3 percent.

The technology problems which prevented a complete vote count were founded on what experts described as a poorly-tested, poorly performing vote reporting smartphone app.


Defence Minister Rajnath Singh speaks while chairing the first India-Africa Defence Ministers Conclave 2020 on the sidelines of DefExpo 2020 in Lucknow, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Also seen are Minister of State for Defence Shripad Naik and Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar (L). A PTI Photo

LUCKNOW (PTI): India on Thursday signalled its readiness to significantly ramp up supply of weapons and defence platforms to African countries, a move aimed at enhancing its strategic heft in a region where China has been aggressively expanding its military and economic clout.



In an address at a conclave to deepen Indo-Africa defence cooperation at the DefExpo here, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said India is ready to scale up military supplies to African nations including offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), fast interceptor boats, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), military aircraft, and arms and ammunition.



A declaration was adopted at the end of the India-Africa Defence Ministers' Conclave, touching on key issues such as effectively dealing with threat of terrorism and extremism. It also resolved to boost cooperation on the evolving concept of Indo-Pacific for regional peace and stability.



In the declaration, India and African nations called for decisive action to root out cross-border terrorism, dismantle terrorist safe havens and eliminate financing channels of terror groups.



It also emphasised the need for all countries to ensure that territory under their control is not used to launch terrorist attacks on other countries in any manner.



In his address, Singh asserted that India's development partnership with African nations will be guided by their priorities and capabilities, and it will also focus on combating terrorism, extremism and keeping the cyberspace safe and secure.



The India-Africa Defence Ministers' Conclave was attended by delegates from 38 countries, including 12 defence ministers from the African continent.



"India will continue to intensify and deepen engagement. It will be a partnership guided by your priorities.



"More specifically on the defence cooperation, these include strengthening cooperation and mutual capabilities in combating terrorism and extremism, keeping our cyberspace safe and secure and supporting the UN in advancing and keeping peace," Singh said.



It is for the first time that a conclave to explore defence cooperation with African countries has been organised as part of the DefExpo, India's biennial military exhibition.



Singh said India looked forward to deeper cooperation in a range of areas including through investment, joint ventures in defence production, defence research and development.



"Rapid strides made by the Indian defence industry, both public and private, and defence research and development has opened up new vistas for cooperation to take our engagement to the next level, he said.



India's partnership with Africa has been an open partnership with all the possibilities and avenues for collaboration being offered to the continent, Singh said.



The defence minister also stressed on the importance of safe secure seas which he said was a pre-requisite for development of blue economy in the region.



In the declaration, the countries emphasised the need for stronger international partnership in countering terrorism and violent extremism, including through increased sharing of information and intelligence.



"We call for strengthening the UN counter-terrorism mechanisms and to ensure strict compliance with the UN Security Council sanctions regime on terrorism.



"We urge the international community to envisage the adoption of Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UNGA. We agree to further enhance cooperation and coordination between Africa and India to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," the declaration said.



The two sides also stressed that maritime security is a pre-requisite for the development of blue economy.



"We seek to increase our cooperation in securing sea lines of communication, preventing maritime crimes, disaster, piracy, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance, it said.



We encourage enhanced cooperation between India and Africa on the evolving concept of Indo-Pacific and welcome the AU's (African Union) vision for peace and security in Africa that coincides with India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for all in the Region, the declaration said.


By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court said it will hear the pleas against the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh next week as it did not want to "influence" the February 8 Delhi assembly elections by hearing the matter on Friday.

"We understand there is a problem and we have to see how to resolve it. We will take it up on Monday. We will be in a better position by then," a bench comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said.

When an advocate appearing for one of the petitioners said that voting for Delhi election is scheduled on February 8, the bench noted, "That is exactly why we are saying come on Monday. Why should we influence it?" The bench also asked the petitioners to come prepared on Monday to argue on why the matter should not be remitted back to the Delhi High Court.

"We think it would be appropriate if the high court deals with the matter. The high court is the appropriate forum and we can issue directions to this effect," the bench said.

The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by advocate Amit Sahni, who had approached the high court seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15.

The high court had urged local authorities to deal with the situation keeping in mind law and order.

Separately, former Delhi MLA Nand Kishore Garg, through his counsel Shashank Deo Sudhi, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions to authorities to remove the protestors from Shaheen Bagh.

Restrictions have been imposed on the Kaindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year due to the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The plea has said that various other arterial roads of Delhi have been facing traffic congestion due the protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Saying that the law enforcement machinery has been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters," the plea has sought to lay down of guidelines for protests leading to obstruction of a public place.

ALSO READ | Delhi polls: Ready for debate even on Shaheen Bagh, Kejriwal tells Shah

"It is disappointing that the state machinery is muted and a silent spectator to hooliganism and vandalism of the protesters who are threatening the existential efficacy of the democracy and the rule of law and had already taken the law and order situation in their own hand," the plea said.

It said the Shaheen Bagh protest is "undoubtedly within the constitutional parameter" but it has lost its legality as constitutional protection were being "blatantly and brazenly flouted and violated".

The state has a duty to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, who have been facing trouble due to the road blockade, it said.

"Hence, it is urgently required that the public places must not be allowed to be abused and misused for ulterior and mala fide purposes such as staging a protest against the constitutional amendment in the heart of the capital city and thereby causing incalculable hardships and difficulties to the common people," it said.

It said a similar plea was filed by another litigant in the Delhi High Court, which on January 14 directed the local authority to deal with the situation.

The litigant has filed an appeal in the apex court against the high court order and sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court.

Sahni has filed a special leave petition in the apex court against the high court's order directing the local authority to deal with the situation keeping in mind the law and order.

The plea has sought directions to the police to ensure smooth traffic flow on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch.

It has sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh, where several women are sitting on protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court in order to circumvent any violence.
New York, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Frost Radar in the Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service Industry - Global" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828894/?utm_source=GNW





Businesses are also storing more data than ever before, whether for revenue-generating activities, or as a result of activities like backup.At the same time, regulations surrounding data, from the European GDPR to US-based HIPAA regulation and HITRUST certification, require data to be handled with extreme care.



When companies lose data, it costs approximately $150 per record lost, with the average data breach costing businesses $3.9 million.As a result, businesses are placing greater importance on data backup and recovery. Of businesses surveyed in 2019:-Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) is currently used by 45% of businesses globally to protect critical data-An additional 34% anticipate adopting it by 2021 -81% of companies cite their move to cloud as helping them to better manage their data-79% expect to improve their disaster recovery capabilitiesThese statistics highlight a key shift that is currently taking place in the market. Some forward-thinking companies are taking a new approach to overall data management, bringing to market services that integrate numerous servicesfrom backup to disaster recovery, to general storage and analyticsunder a single, management platform. This enables their customers to focus on a core assettheir datarather than on individual tasks like storage, or backup, or disaster recovery.This shift has implications for the DRaaS market. As more customers seek greater assistance with data management, they seek providers that can offer a comprehensive solution. Thus, DRaaS may become one component of a larger, converged solution that includes storage and storage managementincluding backup scheduling, replication management, file restoration orchestration, should it become necessary, as well as the security and compliance of data. The Global DRaaS competitive landscape is highly fragmented with more than 100 providers offering either self-service or assisted products that vie for customer attention and investment.

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05828894/?utm_source=GNW



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__________________________
A 20-something woman who was among Jeffrey Epstein's coterie of young females worked for Hollywood's queen of publicity with links to the multimillionaire pervert, DailyMail.com has learned.

Peggy Siegal, 72, once commanded the attention of studio heads, New York glitterati and A-list stars like Robert De Niro, Leonardo Di Caprio and George Clooney at her lavish events.

And Epstein's 20-something companion, Julia Stepanova, spent months working for the public relations powerhouse as an intern, sources tell DailyMail.com.

Now Siegal has become a professional pariah because of her association with the deceased pedophile. She denies that they had a close friendship.

And Stepanova has all but disappeared from public view.

Jeffrey Epstein's 20-something companion, Julia Stepanova (right), spent months working for public relations powerhouse Peggy Siegal, 72, (left) as an intern

In December 2015, Stepanova was pictured with Epstein at his Upper East Side townhouse, where he is seen embracing her with his hands on her butt

A source told DailyMail.com that Stepanova was an intern and that she had come to work at the Peggy Siegal Company because of Epstein. 'There were employees that were suggested by Jeffrey. It was frustrating,' the source added

A Siegal insider confirmed that Stepanova worked in the New York office, saying that her accent was Eastern European and believed to be from Ukraine

Stepanova worked in the Manhattan office of Siegal's boutique firm where the PR veteran routinely employed young women to send invites to Hollywood stars from her infamous list of 30,000 contacts and organize her meticulously-choreographed, plush events.

It is unclear how Stepanova, who was photographed at occasional society events, actually landed a job with Siegal, a position coveted by ambitious college graduates trying to break into the Hollywood machine and who have subsequently gone on to run their own agencies or take high-powered positions elsewhere in the industry.

But it is coincidental that a friend of Epstein worked for Siegal. who has herself admitted that she 'exchanged favors' with the financier. She arranged the 2010 dinner honoring Prince Andrew at Epstein's home and added him to the guest list for a few of her movie screening parties from 2010 until 2016.

In the interview with Vanity Fair, published last month, Siegal, 72, tried to distance herself from Epstein, 66, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August while facing federal child sex trafficking charges.

One source told DailyMail.com: 'I believe that Karma is the driving force behind Peggy's downfall after grossly mistreating so many people for so many years, especially the impressionable young women and men who worked for her.'

Siegal told Vanity Fair that she was aware that Epstein had spent time in jail but could not recall if she knew he pleaded guilty to soliciting sex with a minor in 2008 in Florida.

'I had no idea about the underage girls,' she told Vanity Fair.

'I mean, I knew him, but I didn't know much about him. Yeah, I spoke to him on the phone. He came to some screenings. I was never privy to his private life. I knew nothing about the girls. Nothing at all.'

Siegal once commanded the attention of studio heads and A-list stars like Steve Kroft, George Clooney, and disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Now Siegal has become a professional pariah because of her association with the deceased pedophile

The PR maven (pictured with Tom Cruise) said that she was not paid by Epstein, nor had a contract with him and backtracked on an earlier statement that she made where she said that the financier would fund her travel expenses

An attorney for Siegal (pictured with Ryan Gosling) told DailyMail.com: 'My information is that Ms. Stepanova was an intern who was briefly with the company. Peggy does not hire the interns, and does not recall who recommended Ms. Stepanova'

The PR maven said that she was not paid by Epstein, nor had a contract with him and backtracked on an earlier statement that she made to the Hollywood Reporter which said that the financier would fund her travel expenses.

Siegal has not been accused of any connection to Epstein's criminal acts.

She had previously suffered a blow to her business after losing a lucrative job with The Weinstein Company when it was shuttered after allegations of rape and sexual assault were made against its founder, Harvey Weinstein, who is currently on trial in New York.

A Siegal insider confirmed that Stepanova worked in the publicist's New York office, saying that her accent was Eastern European and that she was believed to be from Ukraine.

Stepanova was seen emerging from Epstein's residence in February 2016

Another source told DailyMail.com that Stepanova was an intern and that she had come to work at the Peggy Siegal Company because of Epstein. 'There were employees that were suggested by Jeffrey. It was frustrating,' the source added.

Siegal told Vanity Fair that she didn't always know the names of employees but sources said that no one would have been hired without her knowledge.

Aside from Stepanova, Vanity Fair asked Siegal about hiring another intern in 2018 on Epstein's recommendation, to which she replied: 'Everybody's friend has a daughter who wants to be an intern. I don't even know their names.'

In an email, Siegal's attorney, Bert Fields, told DailyMail.com: 'My information is that Ms. Stepanova was an intern who was briefly with the company. Peggy does not hire the interns, and does not recall who recommended Ms. Stepanova.'

Stepanova was known to be among a tight-knit group of women who socialized and travelled with Epstein following his release from Florida prison in 2010 after he was convicted for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

In December 2015, Stepanova was pictured with Epstein at his Upper East Side townhouse, where he is seen embracing her with his hands on her bottom.

Casually dressed and holding a glass of water, she then re-entered Epstein's home.

She was also seen emerging from Epstein's residence several months later in February 2016.

The previous year, in May 2015, Stepanova was pictured deep in conversation with Epstein while walking on Madison Avenue, close to his E71st Street townhouse.

In a social media photo, Stepanova pouts alongside Russian model Svetlana Pozhidaeva in the back of an SUV. Pozhidaeva, who goes by Lana, was at one time represented by MC2 Model Management, an agency founded by Epstein's friend Jean-Luc Brunel with a reported $1million investment from the financier

Siegal has tried to distance herself from Epstein, 66, who killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August while facing federal child sex trafficking charges

Stepanova went by the name Julia S Cuomo on her Facebook page, where her profile picture showed her in a glamorous blue dress at a society event.

Her picture was also taken by veteran society photographer Patrick McMullan on the New York 'It girl' circuit. In the shots, she poses alongside others in Epstein's inner circle, Russian model Svetlana Pozhidaeva and chef Jennifer Kalin, at the New York Academy of Art's TriBeCa Ball in April 2014.

Siegal was photographed at the same event.

In another social media photo, Stepanova pouts alongside Pozhidaeva in the back of an SUV.

Pozhidaeva, who goes by Lana, was at one time represented by MC2 Model Management, an agency founded by Epstein's friend Jean-Luc Brunel with a reported $1million investment from the financier.

Brunel, who was last located in South America, according to Le Parisien, has been accused of supplying underage girls to Epstein and assaulting models. He has denied the charges.

It is unclear where Stepanova's career progressed following her stint at the Peggy Siegal Company.

Her Facebook page has been made private, with the name changed to 'Julia Como' and the picture removed but her location is still listed as New York. She has no LinkedIn profile or other evident social media.

Attempts to reach Stepanova by DailyMail.com were unsuccessful.

Siegal has been at the pinnacle of New York society since the Eighties, organizing intimate, exclusive movie screenings and events on the competitive Oscar campaign circuit, where she intermingled powerful figures from the showbiz, business, political and media worlds.

There is barely an A-lister she has not been pictured schmoozing with: De Niro and director David O. Russell at a lunch for the movie Joy at La Grenouille; front row at New York fashion week with Hillary Swank; on the red carpet with Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Colin Firth, Anna Wintour and Woody Allen at her company's premiere for the director's movie, Magic in the Moonlight.

Siegal's business suffered a blow after her pal Harvey Weinstein's company shuttered after rape and sexual assault allegations

She boasted a direct line to studio bosses, hitched rides on private jets and vacationed on the superyachts of wealthy friends in the South of France and the Caribbean.

Epstein, 66, hanged himself in his New York jail cell on August 10 while facing federal child sex trafficking charges.

The financier was arrested at Teterboro airport in New Jersey on July 6 when his private jet touched down from Paris. On the same day, investigators found hundreds of 'sexually suggestive' photos locked in a safe at his Upper East Side home of nude or partially nude young women and girls.

Days after Epstein's arrest, the New York Times ran an article titled: 'Jeffrey Epstein Was a Sex Offender. The Powerful Welcomed Him Anyway.'

Siegal arranged the 2010 dinner honoring Prince Andrew at Epstein's home and added him to the guest list for a few of her movie screening parties from 2010 until 2016

In the article, Siegal, along with Dr Eva Andersson-Dubin, founder of a breast cancer center at Mount Sinai hospital and wife of billionaire hedge-funder, Glenn Dubin, were described as Epstein's 'powerful female friends' and 'social guarantors'.

Siegal told the Times in July: 'He said he'd served his time and assured me that he changed his ways.'

Epstein also socialized with Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sergey Brin and Prince Andrew following his 2008 conviction, according to The Edge.

Following his release from jail and return to New York in 2010, Epstein attended Siegal's screening of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps where he mingled with guests including Trump's now treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin, Trump's now commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani.

Siegal organized the December 2010 dinner at Epstein's home in honor of Prince Andrew who was staying at the financier's townhouse. The Duke of York's stay at Epstein's home  after the financier was released from jail as a registered sex offender- has been widely criticized and led to his step-down from public duties for the Royal Family.

Siegal arranged for dinner guests to include journalists Katie Couric, Charlie Rose, George Stephanopoulos, comedian Chelsea Handler, director Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi Previn.

Epstein was still being invited to Siegal's events in March 2016, when he was a guest at the premiere of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in New York.

The publicist also lamented the demise of her career due to her Epstein connection  she told Vanity Fair that she only had one paid job in the last year. FX, Annapurna and Netflix have all declined to work with her.

At one point, Siegal compared her problems to the Holocaust. 'I mean, if I had been in Nazi Germany, it could not have been worse I thought, Oh, my God, I'm on the train station. I'm getting on that train and I'm going to the camps,' she said.

She later apologized on Page Six for making those remarks.

An ex-employee characterized the Vanity Fair article as entirely accurate, saying that 'her character is in that piece'.
The new coronavirus is estimated to shave 0.81 percentage points off Vietnam's annual GDP growth.

Vietnam will be among economies in Asia where the economic contagion of the China coronavirus will be deeply felt, economists at ANZ have said in a note.

Region takes a hit from nCoV

The spread of coronavirus will have a significantly disruptive effect on economic activity in the Asian region, particularly in China.



"The region's growth could be down by as much as 0.5 percentage points in the first quarter in terms of the direct tourism and trade impact.



ANZ Research estimates Chinese economic growth may take a hit of around 0.9 percentage points in the first quarter of calendar 2020 due to the impact of the virus, dragging headline gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 5% year on year.



This will have repercussions for economic activity across the region, mainly to tourism and trade channels, ANZ Research predicts. The region's growth could be down by as much as 0.5 percentage points in the first quarter in terms of the direct tourism and trade impact.





Tourism

Travel restrictions mean the economic impact from the novel coronavirus on the regions tourism will be larger than in previous episodes.



In 2003 when SARS hit, total Chinese outbound visitors were only 20 million in the year, spending a total of US$15.2 billion on travel services overseas. At the present time, total annual outbound visitors from China number over 170 million, spending almost US$260 billion.



This impact is likely to be felt most in economies which have a larger exposure to tourism and a high percentage of visitors who come from mainland China.



Hong Kong and Thailand will be the most negatively impacted by a drop-off in Chinese visitors due to the virus outbreak.

In an extreme scenario, assuming there is a 75% drop in Chinese visitors for three months, it will shave 1.39 percentage points off annual GDP growth for Hong Kong, while Thailands will retreat by 0.58 percentage points.



The third most hurt economy will be Vietnam where Chinese tourists account for one third of inbound foreign arrivals. In that scenario, Vietnams GDP growth will be cut off by 0.37 percentage points.



According to Troy Griffiths, deputy managing director at Savills Vietnam: As Chinese tourism arrivals accounted for one-third of international visits to Vietnam, it is already apparent that the coronavirus will hit tourism and hospitality the hardest, by the new Chinese travel restrictions and sharp near-term slowdown in Chinese tourist visits, at least over the next three months. The retail sector might also face the harsh condition as nobody would like to leave their house to go to the shopping mall or restaurants.

Trade channel

China extended its Lunar New Year holidays to February 2 in an attempt to contain the outbreak. However, given internal travel restrictions, many will not be able to return to work for some time.



This will dent industrial production and associated activity due to the prolonged closure of businesses - and in turn result in reduced demand for imports, particularly intermediate inputs.

The drop in economic activity in mainland China will lead to lower import demand across Asia. Taiwan and Vietnam are the two economies most exposed in terms of the potential impact on growth via the trade channel.

Assuming there is a 20% decline in imports from mainland China for three months, Taiwan will be hit the hardest, with a 0.47 percentage points drop in growth. This is followed by Vietnam at 0.44 percentage points. ANZ/Hanoitimes

Minh Anh

PM orders measures to minimise nCoVs impact on economy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has urged ministries and localities to promptly implement measures to minimise the impact of the novel coronaviru (nCoV) on the economy.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Roberto Destro has blasted Islamic Republic officials for threatening and persecuting Iranian journalists living abroad.

"The U.S. condemns the harassment and threats that Persian-language reporters are receiving from Iranian regime officials while working abroad," Destro tweeted on Thursday, February 6.

Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State also asserted in his tweet, "We stand with the Iranian people in their right to freedom of information and with independent journalists fighting to inform the public."

Reports on threats and harassment of Iranian journalists living and working outside the country have been rife in the past few months, leading to widespread international condemnation. The same kind of pressures were also intense prior to the start of nuclear negotiations in 2013.

Iran-linked hackers pose as journalists in email scams to obtain passwords and break into the email accounts of journalists, Reuters said in an exclusive report on Wednesday, February 5.

In a report published Wednesday, London-based cybersecurity company, Certfa, has named a hacking group nicknamed Charming Kitten, which has long been associated with Iran.

Israeli firm ClearSky Cyber Security provided Reuters with documentation of impersonations of two media figures at CNN and Deutsche Welle, a German public broadcaster. ClearSky also linked the hacking attempts to Charming Kitten, describing the individuals targeted as Israeli academics or researchers who study Iran. ClearSky declined to give the specific number of people targeted or to name them, citing client confidentiality, Reuters reported.
JACKSON, Mich., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of Consumers Energy, the principal subsidiary of CMS Energy, has declared a quarterly dividend on the utility's preferred stock.

The following dividend is payable April 1, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 2, 2020: $1.125 per share on the $4.50 preferred stock (NYSE: CMS_pb).

CMS Energy (NYSE: CMS) is a Michigan-based company that has an electric and natural gas utility, Consumers Energy, as its primary business. It also owns and operates independent power generation businesses.

For more information on CMS Energy, please visit our website at cmsenergy.com.

To sign up for email alert notifications, please visit the Investor Relations section of our website.

SOURCE CMS Energy

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This year's Oscar hopefuls mingled with the top film and television stars of today and tomorrow at the Vanity Fair and Lancome Women in Hollywood party in Los Angeles.

Laura Dern, 52, looked fierce in a leopard print Antonio Berardi silk gown as she geared up for her third chance to win an Academy Award.

The Thursday night celebration was also lit up by stars including Olivia Munn, 39, January Jones, 42 and Eiza Gonzalez, 30, all of whom showed off the eye-catching colourful looks.

Oscars approach: This year's Oscar hopefuls mingled with the top film and television stars of today and tomorrow at the Vanity Fair and Lancome Women in Hollywood Party. Laura Dern, 52, looked fierce in a leopard print dress as she geared up for her third chance to win an Academy Award

Packed crowd: The Thursday night celebration was also lit up by stars including Olivia Munn, 39, January Jones, 42 and Eiza Gonzalez, 30, all of whom showed off the eye-catching colorful looks

Laura looked elegant yet playful in a flowing leopard print, which had a long scarf tied around her throat that reached down to her knees.

The floor-length outfit covered up her footwear, and she added a thick black belt to highlight her trim figure.

Laura will be competing Sunday at the 92nd Academy Awards in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story.

She plays a zealous divorce attorney as a New York theater director (Adam Driver) and and his actress wife (Scarlett Johansson) engage in a bitter custody fight over their son.

The Jurassic Park star is also featured as the March sisters' mother in Greta Gerwig's acclaimed Little Women adaptation, which is also up for multiple awards.

Fierce: Laura looked elegant yet playful in a flowing leopard print Antonio Berardi gown, which had a long scarf tied around her throat that reached down to her knees

Big night: Laura will be competing Sunday at the 92nd Academy Awards in the Best Supporting Actress category for her role in Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story

Olivia Munn looked chic in a sheer midnight blue blouse with frilly sleeves.

The Newsroom actress showed off her legs in a matching blue shorts covered in reflective square sequins.

She elevated her 5ft4in stature with a pair of metallic heels, and she wore her wavy raven tresses swept over one shoulder.

Blue mood: Olivia Munn looked chic in a sheer midnight blue blouse with frilly sleeves

Fit figure: The Newsroom actress showed off her legs in a matching blue shorts covered in reflective square sequins

January Jones looked timeless in her lime green polka dot dress.

The Mad Men star's top was tightly ruched over her chest and featured puffy short sleeves.

The blouse had prominent jeweled buttons, and she wrapped a thick black alligator print belt with a jeweled belt around her waist.

She wore her blonde locks in a stylish wavy bob and accessorized with a black clutch.

Seeing green: January Jones looked timeless in her lime green polka dot dress. The Mad Men star's top was tightly ruched over her chest and featured puffy short sleeves

Blonde beauty: The blouse had prominent jeweled buttons, and she wrapped a thick black alligator print belt with a jeweled belt around her waist. She wore her blonde locks in a stylish wavy bob and accessorized with a black clutch

Eiza Gonzalez brightened up the party in her cream-colored dress, which was covered in tiny black dots.

She look showed off her shoulders thanks to its detached sleeves, and its plunging neckline was tied up with a sheer ribbon.

She added a pair of silver open-toe heels to the look and wore her lustrous dark hair in thick strands cascading over her shoulders.

Classic: Eiza Gonzalez brightened up the party in her cream-colored dress, which was covered in tiny black dots

Delicate: She look showed off her shoulders thanks to its detached sleeves, and its plunging neckline was tied up with a sheer ribbon

Kate Beckinsale was as elegant as ever in her white satin off-the-shoulder dress, which featured a decorated swath of fabric over her chest and hugged her hourglass figure.

Outlander's Caitriona Balfe looked lovely in a burgundy dress decorated with cartoonish coral flowers and a pair of Malone Souliers heels.

Minnie Driver showed off a hint of her taut tummy beneath her sheer black cropped tank top, which she paired with relaxed black slacks.

Ageless: Kate Beckinsale was as elegant as ever in her white satin off-the-shoulder dress, which featured a decorated swath of fabric over her chest and hugged her hourglass figure

Flower power: Outlander's Caitriona Balfe looked lovely in a burgundy dress decorated with cartoonish coral flowers and a pair of Malone Souliers heels

Fit figure: Minnie Driver showed off a hint of her taut tummy beneath her sheer black cropped tank top, which she paired with relaxed black slacks

BlacKkKlansman's Laura Harrier put on a stunning dispay in a dark green sequined gown with a ruched midriff and a plunging neckline that highlighted her cleavage.

Cara Santana, who recently split from her philandering ex-fiance Jesse Metcalfe, rocked a loosely draped cropped blouse with wide-legged blue slacks.

The Handmaid's Tale star Samira Wiley sizzled in a black Zuhair Murad suit that showed off her chest and featured sheer panels covered in sequins over her midriff.

Katheryn Winnick also stood out in an all-black ensemble, though she wore a sleeveless sequin-covered blouse.

Colorful outfits: BlacKkKlansman's Laura Harrier put on a stunning dispay in a dark green sequined gown with a ruched midriff and a plunging neckline that highlighted her cleavage. Cara Santana, who recently split from her philandering ex-fiance Jesse Metcalfe, rocked a loosely draped cropped blouse with wide-legged blue slacks

Back in black: The Handmaid's Tale star Samira Wiley sizzled in a black Zuhair Murad suit that showed off her chest and featured sheer panels covered in sequins over her midriff. Katheryn Winnick also stood out in an all-black ensemble, though she wore a sleeveless sequin-covered blouse

Alexandra Daddario hit the red carpet in a pale yellow dress along with a cream-colored blazer with slit-open sleeves.

Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever looked lovely in a delicate off-white dress with rhinestones and pink stitching over her chest and a ring of pale pink feathers around her hem.

Catt Sadler revealed some of her trim tummy in a blue velvet dress with a single sleeve, which she paired with silver platform heels.

Hypnotizing eyes: Alexandra Daddario hit the red carpet in a pale yellow dress along with a cream-colored blazer with slit-open sleeves

Rising star: Booksmart's Kaitlyn Dever looked lovely in a delicate off-white dress with rhinestones and pink stitching over her chest and a ring of pale pink feathers around her hem

She wore blue velvet: Catt Sadler revealed some of her trim tummy in a blue velvet dress with a single sleeve, which she paired with silver platform heels

Juliette Lewis added a splash of color with her pale pink satin dress, which featured a high slit to showcase her legs and strands of intriguing decorative buttons, and pair it with Malone Souliers pumps.

Alison Pill and Madeline Brewer both looked chic in black and white outfits.

Alison wore a long-sleeve black dress with dotted white lines running down it.

Brewer, who was in Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez. wore a black snake print dress with abstract white designs running up her front and a black leather trench coat that was created by Tod's for the Tods Spring/Summer 2020 collection.

Cheery: Juliette Lewis added a splash of color with her pale pink satin dress, which featured a high slit to showcase her legs and strands of intriguing decorative buttons, and paired it with crystal-encrusted Malone Souliers pumps

Contrasts: Alison Pill and Madeline Brewer both looked chic in black and white outfits. Alison wore a long-sleeve black dress with dotted white lines running down it, while the Hustlers scene-stealer wore a black snake print dress with abstract white designs running up her front and a black leather trench coat by Tod's

Actress Abigail Spencer looked glamorous in a silky dress with swaths of black and bluegray fabric.

Mr. Robot's Carly Chaikin wore a long white dress covered in abstract illustrations.

YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous wore a midnight blue jumpsuit with a sheer panel over one shoulder.

Her wife Nats Getty kept her look low key with a dark blue shirt with abstract white marks and matching pants.

Ice cold: Actress Abigail Spencer looked glamorous in a silky dress with swaths of black and bluegray fabric

Detailed: Mr. Robot's Carly Chaikin wore a long white dress covered in abstract illustrations

Cute couple: YouTuber Gigi Gorgeous wore a midnight blue jumpsuit with a sheer panel over one shoulder. Her wife Nats Getty kept her look low key with a dark blue shirt with abstract white marks and matching pants

Actress and writer Chelsea Frei wore a figure-hugging black dress with sheer sleeves.

Patricia Clarkson looked youthful in a button-up black Paule Ka dress with a turned-down collar and fishnet stockings.

Parks And Recreation star Retta was unmissable in her sheer neon pink covering, which was adorned with feathers. She wore it over a white top and tightly pleated white pants.

Sleek: Actress and writer Chelsea Frei wore a figure-hugging black dress with sheer sleeves. Patricia Clarkson looked youthful in a button-up black Paule Ka dress with a turned-down collar and fishnet stockings

Funny lady: Parks And Recreation star Retta was unmissable in her sheer neon pink covering, which was adorned with feathers. She wore it over a white top and tightly pleated white pants

Tall Girl's Ava Michelle stood out with her multicolored illustrated dress and canary yellow heels.

Italian fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni sparkled in a short off-the-shoulder baby blue dress.

Ophelia Lovibond beamed as she arrived in her black off-the-shoulder dress.

Once Upon A Time's Jennifer Morrison also rocked a black off-the-shoulder outfit, though she paired hers with pants.

Towering: Tall Girl's Ava Michelle stood out with her multicolored illustrated dress and canary yellow heels

Baby blues: Italian fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni sparkled in a short off-the-shoulder baby blue dress

Matching: Ophelia Lovibond beamed as she arrived in her black off-the-shoulder dress. Once Upon A Time's Jennifer Morrison also rocked a black off-the-shoulder outfit, though she paired hers with pants

Aja Naomi King and Dove Cameron both sizzled in scarlet suits.

Aja's looked was tied together with a bow around her midriff, and she accessorized with a red leather handbag.

Dove's jacket was cut extra low to highlight her cleavage, and featured cut-out panels over her waist.

She wore her platinum blonde tresses parted down the middle and arranged in messy strands over her shoulders.

Sizzlers: Aja Naomi King and Dove Cameron both sizzled in scarlet suits. Aja's looked was tied together with a bow around her midriff, and she accessorized with a red leather handbag. Dove's jacket was cut extra low to highlight her cleavage, and featured cut-out panels over her waist

Blonde beauty: She wore her platinum blonde tresses parted down the middle and arranged in messy strands over her shoulders

High Life's Mia Goth was ravishing in a sheer black blouse, which revealed her black bra underneath.

She paired it with a black skirt and wore her dyed-blonde hair parted down the middle with isolated strands framing her impeccably made-up face.

Katherine McNamara also wore black with a tightly ruched spaghetti strap dress, and she added a bit of color with her pink-dyed hair.

Angelica Ross looked playful in a hot pink dress with a large frill of satin fabric wrapped around her shoulders.

Harley Quinn Smith, actress and daughter of Kevin Smith, also wore a pink off-the-shoulder dress covered in hypnotizing designs.

Chic: High Life's Mia Goth was ravishing in a sheer black blouse, which revealed her black bra underneath. She paired it with a black skirt and wore her dyed-blonde hair parted down the middle with isolated strands framing her impeccably made-up face. Katherine McNamara also wore black with a tightly ruched spaghetti strap dress, and she added a bit of color with her pink-dyed hair

Pink fans: Angelica Ross looked playful in a hot pink dress with a large frill of satin fabric wrapped around her shoulders. Harley Quinn Smith, actress and daughter of Kevin Smith, also wore a pink off-the-shoulder dress covered in hypnotizing designs

Taylor Hill looked sultry in her burgundy off-the-shoulder dress and matching lipstick.

Tia Carrere was ready for business in her leopard print suit and her large Gucci bag.

Songwriter Diane Warren, who is nominated in the Original Song category at the Oscars, wore a plaid blazer with leopard print lapels and a cute bedazzled cat shirt.

Sultry: Taylor Hill stunned in her burgundy off-the-shoulder dress and matching lipstick

Suited up: Tia Carrere was ready for business in her leopard print suit and her large Gucci bag. Songwriter Diane Warren, who is nominated in the Original Song category at the Oscars, wore a plaid blazer with leopard print lapels and a cute bedazzled cat shirt

Australian actor and playwright Liv Hewson was unmissable in a blue and white striped suit. They play a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Bombshell.

Nerdist Industries founder Chris Hardwick arrived on the red carpet with his wife Lydia Hearst.

The comedian, who was accused of emotional and sexual abuse by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra, wore a checker print black suit and charcoal shirt, while Lydia wore a black sleeveless outfit decorated in colorful beads.

Stand out: Australian actor and playwright Liv Hewson was unmissable in a blue and white striped suit. They play a supporting role in the Oscar-nominated Bombshell

Coupled: Nerdist Industries found Chris Hardwick arrived on the red carpet with his wife Lydia Hearst. The comedian, who was accused of emotional and sexual abuse by his ex-girlfriend Chloe Dykstra, wore a checker print black suit and charcoal shirt, while Lydia wore a black sleeveless outfit decorated in colorful beads

The Women in Hollywood event was also attended by the makers and subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave.

Producer Sigrid Dyekjaer wore a red dress with a lacy black panel over her cleavage.

Dr. Amani Ballour, the film's subject, worked tirelessly to save children sickened by poison gas attacks launched by forces loyal to Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. She wore a textured black coat and a zebra stripe hijab.

Producer Kristine Barfod stuck to the animal print theme with her cheetah print dress, while director Feras Fayyad wore a classic black tuxedo sans tie.

Righteous: The Women in Hollywood event was also attended by the makers and subject of the Oscar-nominated documentary The Cave, about Dr. Amani Ballour (2nd L), who treated children sickened by chemical weapon attacks in Syria

Caitriona: Outlander star Caitriona Balfe rocks a full-length floral print dress

Austin and Harley: Austin Zajur and Harley Quinn Smith attend Vanity Fair Toast Women in Hollywood

Red carpet ready: Harley Quinn Smith rocks a pink dress while Austin Zajur rocks a classic black suit

Minnie's look: Minnie Driver steps out with a black dress and gold necklaces

Kate steps out: Kate Beckinsale rocks an off-shoulder form-fitting pristine white dress

Eiza's ready: Eiza Gonzalez rocks a breezy white polka dot dress

January and Minnie: January Jones rocks a green polka dot dress while posing with Minnie Driver in a black dress
Now, the county is reversing course, more than 20 years after earlier attempts at restoration sparked controversy. One of the larger projects underway is in Northbrook, where crews are working on land that surrounds 12 acres of pristine prairie, untouched in the centuries since settlers arrived in Illinois.
Bhutan's Prime Minister Lotay Tshering with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File Photo)

Bhutan is a green and clean nation, which, for long, has been an ideal destination for Indian travellers. With its mesmerising beauty, stunning landscapes and proximity to India, Bhutan has been a favourite among Indian tourists  more so, because they did not have to pay any fee to enter the neighbouring nation.

However, soon a visit to Bhutan will get dearer for Indian tourists, as the Bhutanese government is ending the provision of free entry for them into the country. It is reportedly set to levy a daily fee of Rs 1,200 per person from July 2020.

On February 5, Bhutans lower house of Parliament passed a legislation that requires visitors from India, Bangladesh, and the Maldives to pay a fee of 1,200 ngultrums (Rs 1200.57 or $16.85) per day from July onwards.

The decision comes in light of the increasing number of regional tourists to Bhutan and its effect on the country's ecology.

Existing policy

Bhutan follows a high value, low volume tourism policy. In other words, the Himalayan nation aims to attract only a few tourists each year while ensuring that they are high spending, Gautam Bambawale, a former Indian Ambassador to Bhutan, Pakistan and China, wrote in an op-ed.

The aim behind the policy is to ensure that the local people involved in the tourism industry make a decent living while abiding by its own very high environmental standards.

Under the policy, Bhutan has fixed that any foreign tourist has to shell out $250 per day which includes hotel, food, transportation as well as a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) of $65 per day. The fee helps the Royal Government of Bhutan in its pollution-control efforts.

However, looking at the special and unique relationship between India and Bhutan, the latter did not levy this fee on tourists from India.

Why now?

As Bhutan's existing policy allowed visa-free for Indians, who were also not subject to the minimum expenditure floor of $250, the number of Indian tourists skyrocketed.

According to the annual report of Tourism Council of Bhutan (TCB), India is the main source of visitors to the country. In 2018, the regional arrival figure from India was 1,91,836, revealed data of the TCB.

Moreover, incidents of insensitive behavior of Indian tourists towards local customs and values have also been reported. In one such incident that happened in 2019, an Indian tourist climbed a 'chorten' to click a selfie which is anathema to the locals, who view these constructions as having religious significance.

Besides, as Indian vehicles are permitted to enter Bhutan without any hindrance, there have been instances of Indian drivers, who were not used to mountain roads, meeting with serious accidents.

The said incidents could also be a reason for the Bhutanese government to end the provision of free entry for Indian tourists into the country.

Although the government has levied an SDF on Indian tourists, it is still quite less compared to that for citizens of other countries, who have to pay $65 (Rs 4,629 approximately) along with a compulsory flat cover charge of $250 (Rs 17,803 approx) per day.

Does the new policy create any inconvenience to Indian tourists?

No, the Himalayan nation has assured that it will ensure Indians are not inconvenienced, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told media persons on February 6.

There is a discussion in the Bhutanese Parliament on the Tourism Levy and Exemption Bill of Bhutan 2020, Kumar added.

"There are some additional provisions for the tourists of this region. The fee that is being charged is for the upgradation of the tourism places. We have been assured by the Bhutanese government that during the implementation of the bill passed, no Indian will be inconvenienced," he said.

Will it lead to reciprocity?

Bhutan is a small nation with a total population of around eight lakh. It is a landlocked country whose main route to the outside world passed through India.

Now, if Bhutan levies charges on Indian tourists, will India also charge a similar fee from Bhutanese tourists travelling to India?

No, it will not, given the bilateral relationships between the two countries, Ravish Kumar said.

As far as bilateral relationships are concerned, some are beyond reciprocity, and India-Bhutan ties are in that bracket, Kumar asserted.

How are the bilateral relationships between India and Bhutan?

The relations between India and Bhutan have always been peaceful and prosperous. The two countries have a strong historical, cultural, and economic relationship.

In 2007, India, under the UPA government, decided to amend the 1949 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, paving the way for Bhutan to act independently in foreign and defence affairs.

In 2014, when the BJP-led coalition under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power, it considered strengthening ties with neighbouring countries as a major foreign policy priority.

It was apparent from the fact that the PM of Bhutan, along with other heads of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations, was invited for the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi government.

Subsequently, Modi had made his first foreign trip as a PM to Bhutan.

When the BJP was voted back to power in 2019, the heads of the BIMSTEC countries, including Bhutan, had attended PM Modis oath-taking ceremony.

Later that year, PM visited Bhutan for the second time as a PM on August 17-18, continuing Indias attempt to foster a strong relationship with its neighbours under the Neighbourhood-First Policy.

The two nations had also signed 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to infuse new energy into their years-old ties.

During the visit, PM Modi had called Bhutan as a special friend of India.

He had also launched the RuPay Card, to facilitate Indian travellers to Bhutan by reducing the need to carry cash; at the same time boosting the Bhutanese economy, and further integrating the economies of both the countries.

PM Modi had announced that an additional $100 million would be available to Bhutan under a stand-by swap arrangement to meet the foreign exchange requirement.

Recently, PM Modi said that India cherishes its "very special friendship" with Bhutan while responding to Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering's Republic Day wishes to India.

He further expressed confidence that ties between the two countries will continue to deepen in the future.

You have wonderfully highlighted the unbreakable bond between our nations. India cherishes the very special friendship with Bhutan and I am sure our ties will continue to deepen in the times to come," PM Modi tweeted.

In his message, Tshering had said that Bhutan has drawn "immense inspiration" from India's journey over the decades.

"Dear friends in India and beyond, in your journey over the decades, we have drawn immense inspirations. In your friendships, we sought courage. In your magnanimity, we have solicited confidence," he had said.

The high-level political visits and exchanges between the two countries have since become a strong pillar of India-Bhutan ties.

Effects of levying a Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) on Indian tourists

The reported levying of SDF has its own benefits and losses. SDF goes directly to the Bhutan government coffers as direct revenue.

The gross earnings from tourist arrivals in 2018 were reportedly estimated to be $85.41 million, an increase of around 7 percent compared to 2017. Of which, $26.29 million was direct revenue for the government through SDF, visa fees and 2 percent TDS.

The levying of the fee will surely reduce the number of tourists, but it will help increase revenue from SDF for the Bhutanese government.

On the other hand, the move, which is also being seen as a measure to reduce the footfall of Indian tourists, will reduce the business of budget hotels, which have sprung up recently to accommodate an increasing number visitors from India.

The chairman of Bhutan's hotel and restaurants association, Sonam Wangchuk, voiced fears that the newly-built budget hotels accommodating the surge in Indian visitors would now go into losses.

"We have shared our concerns and sentiments with the government. Despite that, they still went ahead with the decision," Wangchuk told news agency AFP.

However, Tandi Dorji, Bhutans foreign minister and Tourism Council head, was quoted as saying that the government would consider fiscal incentives if the new fee affected the hotel sector.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Lok Sabha on Friday witnessed high drama as BJP and Congress MPs engaged in a scuffle with Manickam Tagore trying to snatch a paper from Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan as the Minister was reading a note condemning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress leader's snatching attempt was followed by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's rushing towards Tagore to stop him, and then MPs from both treasury and opposition benches trooped near Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's podium.

Following the ruckus, Om Birla adjourned the House till 1 p.m.

The pandemonium occurred during the Question Hour. Later the House again met and was quickly adjourned till 2 p.m. as uproarious scenes continued.

Speaking to the media outside the House, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi dubbed Tagore's attempt height of "gundaism".

"After Rahul Gandhi's instigation, they (Congress MPs) thought of taking the 'danda' way. This was an attempt to manhandle Dr Harsh Vardhan. This shows the frustration level of the Congress and is height of gundaism." BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said that Union Minister Harsh Vardhan was speaking in Lok Sabha on Rahul Gandhi's statement when Congress MP Manickam Tagore charged towards him. "It is an unfortunate moment for Indian democracy." The uproar started soon after Rahul Gandhi asked a question during the Question Hour.

Harsh Vardhan said before he answers the question put up by Gandhi he wanted to condemn in no uncertain words "the outlandish language Gandhi has used against the Prime Minister of the country".

Harsh Vardhan, who made the remarks amid uproar, said he was surprised at Gandhi's remarks as his father was a Prime Minister of the country.

"In the worst of cases, BJP leaders have not made such outlandish personal remarks against Gandhi. The entire House must in unequivocal terms condemn his language against the Prime Minister," Harsh Vardhan said.

Gandhi on Wednesday had said that the youth of India will "beat him (Modi) up with a stick" given the rising unemployment in the country.

The former Congress President was addressing a rally in poll-bound Delhi when said that Modi will "not be able to step out of his house in six months from now. The youth of India will beat him with sticks to make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress." The Congress rally was in Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi area.

The Prime Minister on Thursday gave a befitting reply to Gandhi over his 'danda' jibe, saying he would be sufficiently prepared given his pursuance of yoga in the last 20 years. He said his back has become 'danda-proof', and he will further strengthen it with more surya namaskars.

Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Modi on Thursday said: "I heard a Congress leader say that youth will hit Modi with sticks in six months. I have decided that I will increase my frequency of 'surya namaskar' so that my back becomes so strong that it can bear the hits."
New Delhi: A big news has come to light about the Delhi Assembly elections. According to the information received, the Delhi Assembly election is on the target of D Gang. There may be attacks to kill people related to the political and judicial system. That is, the leader and Justice D are on the target of the gang. The attackers have sophisticated weapons.

America warns Venezuela of repercussions if Guaido harmed

Delhi Police cell got WhatsApp chat related to D Gang. CP Amulya Patnaik of Delhi is investigating this case in depth. Delhi Police has warned political parties not to go to Shaheen Bagh. There could have been an attack on Baba Ramdev too. According to the information given by the police, underworld don Dawood Ibrahim wants to kill people related to the political and judicial system in Delhi.

Priyanka Gandhi's attack on Modi government, says- "why Mehbooba and Omar banned by PSA"

The Delhi Police has received inputs in this regard. Chhota Shakeel has been given the responsibility to do this work. Chhota Shakeel has arranged modern weapons and distributed them among his colleagues. Information in this regard has been received from D Gang's WhatsApp chat. These people have been fully prepared to carry out the murder incident.

Pakistan: Hindu girl says in court, 'Islam not accepted, forced me to marry'
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Federal Republic of Germany meet before official talks at the Union Buildings in Tshwane on February 6, 2020.

Chancellor Merkel met with South Africa's president to discuss how his country can move towards renewable energy to fight climate change. The pair also discusses the war in Libya and business investments in South Africa.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday to discuss trade, climate change and the war in Libya.

Thursday's talks focused on how South Africa, a country largely dependent on coal, can transition to renewable energy. Ramaphosa said South Africa hopes to learn from Germany's experience in dealing with climate change.

"We had really extensive and very informative discussions on energy, and the chancellor was able to share the German experience of how they have been able to move away from coal power stations and getting to renewables," Ramaphosa said.

Coal-fired power plants are responsible for generating 89% of South Africa's electricity. Germany, on the other hand, plans to scrap coal-fired stations by 2038.

"We have also touched on barriers related to how one can combine the traditional generation of energy with renewables, and I think we are very much in agreement," Merkel said.

South Africa calls for more German business investment

The two-day visit began with a focus on improving business relations between the two countries as well as cooperation at the United Nations Security Council, where both Germany and South Africa are serving two-year terms as non-permanent members.

South Africa is Germany's biggest trading partner in Africa, while Germany is South Africa's second-largest trading partner after China.

With nearly 30% of people currently facing unemployment nationwide, the South African leader encouraged German businesses to expand in South Africa.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines South Africa Europe and Africa Energy By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

South Africa is a lucrative market for the German economy. But "the general conditions for the commitment of German companies are not optimal," Matthias Boddenberg from the Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry told DW ahead of Merkel's trip.

Some 600 German businesses already have operations in South Africa. However, recurring power outages across the country have put off a number of foreign investors.

Talks on Libya

Ramaphosa and Merkel also discussed the ongoing conflict in oil-rich Libya, with Merkel calling for collaboration in handling the crisis without "imposing a solution on them."

"It is unfortunately not only an African problem but all the way from Russia to Arab states, Turkey and also from European states. We have seen many who apparently have a vested interest in Libya," Merkel said. "The Libyans themselves have to find a solution for their country."

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said he "would like to see Africa taking the lead in all this," but he acknowledged that "the Libyan problem is a unique one because we have a number of other countries outside of Africa involved in that conflict."

Ramaphosa said nevertheless he expects a "much clearer African position" on Libya to follow the African Union summit that is scheduled to take place in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Sunday.

(AP, dpa)
Another man arrested during Project Beckon  a joint operation between Brandon Police Service and the Winnipeg Police Service that focused on sexual exploitation  was handed a fine and probation after pleading guilty on Thursday.

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This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Another man arrested during Project Beckon  a joint operation between Brandon Police Service and the Winnipeg Police Service that focused on sexual exploitation  was handed a fine and probation after pleading guilty on Thursday.

"The Supreme Court of Canada has called entry into the sex trade a constrained choice," Crown attorney Rich Lonstrup told the court. "Many of the workers have been seen  not as being in that line of work by real choice but really rather circumstances such as socioeconomic conditions, marginalization, childhood abuse and addictions to alcohol and drugs."

Scott Draper, 30, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court to obtaining sexual services for consideration on July 27.

Members of the Brandon Police Organized Crime Unit were taking part in a prostitution-related investigation targeting a specific area around the Comfort Inn on Middleton Avenue known to be frequented by sex-trade workers and their customers, Lonstrup said.

Draper approached a hotel room and engaged in conversation with an undercover officer, Lonstrup said, offering to pay her $100 for sexual intercourse.

He was arrested shortly after.

Draper was given the opportunity to go through a diversion program, Lonstrup said, meaning his charges could have been withdrawn or stayed upon completion of the required rehabilitation programming.

He was brought back before the court after failing to attend and complete the recommended programming.

Other offenders caught through Project Beckon have received fines in the range of $500 to $1,000, Lonstrup noted, recommending Draper receive a fine in that range as well as supervised probation.

"The Crown, as well as the police through this undercover effort, are taking this matter very seriously," Lonstrup said. "There has to be a societal realization of the potential violence suffered by women and children selling their bodies for consideration at the hands of purchasers of sex."

Defence lawyer Ryan Fawcett said that while the undercover officer was a complete stranger to Draper, he didnt just approach a random woman on the street, but rather was responding to an advertisement for services on the internet.

A series of unfortunate events in Drapers life had sent him on a bit of a downward spiral, Fawcett said, causing him to become involved in substances.

"This was part of this spiral, his involvement in this incident," Fawcett said. "This incident has, in part, been a wake-up call for Mr. Draper and hes taken steps to better himself."

Judge Shauna Hewitt-Michta handed Draper a $1,000 fine as well as one year of supervised probation.

"Im concerned about the general vulnerability of the people who are typically exploited in these types of scenarios, and obviously its a real concern that this type of thing is going on in the city of Brandon," Hewitt-Michta said. "While I am taking your personal circumstances into account, the most important job I have today is imposing a sentence that sends a message to you and everyone else that there are significant consequences ... that its not worth the risk of getting caught."

Police arrested 20 men between the ages of 22 and 82 years old during Project Beckon.

The men charged were from across Manitoba, including 14 living in Brandon. Others are from Virden, Shoal Lake, Winnipeg, Souris and Erickson.

A number of the men have been given the opportunity to take part in diversion programming.

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
President Donald Trump has a crush on a New York Republican  and its not the first time.

Judging by the shoutout Trump gave Rep. Elise Stefanik during his acquittal speech on Thursday, hes fairly infatuated with the rock-ribbed North Country lawmaker. Its most incredible whats going on with you, Elise, Trump said in the White House East Room. I was up campaigning for helping her and I thought, She looks good, she looks like good talent.

But I did not realize when she opens that mouth, you were killing them, Elise, you were killing them, he continued. Trump may have misremembered, however: He did not campaign for Stefanik, but he did campaign for former Rep. Claudia Tenney, whom it appears he may have confused with Stefanik. Or Trump could have been referring to a visit to Stefaniks district, where he signed a $717 billion defense policy bill at Fort Drum, which would attach a political purpose to an official presidential visit.

Trump asked Stefanik to be one of his advocates during the U.S. Senate impeachment trial, following her aggressive performance during the House impeachment hearing, which made her one of the GOPs most popular political figures.

But before there was Stefanik, there was Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis.

During a meeting at Trump Tower on Dec. 4, 2013, several conservative Republicans attempted to convince Trump to run for president, insisting that the state GOP needed him, according to Allen Salkin and Aaron Shorts book The Method to the Madness. Among those present at the gathering was Malliotakis.

He was sitting to my left. Nicole Malliotakis was sitting to my right, and Trump fell, not sexually or anything, but intellectually and personality-wise in love with Nicole, Staten Island radio host Frank Morano said in the book. It got to the point where even though I was sitting next to Trump, he didnt even see me. He only saw me as a barrier to what Nicole was saying.

Morano also mentioned in the book that Malliotakis expressed romantic interest in Trumps son Eric, which made Trump fall even harder for her. If you thought he loved Nicole before, hes ready to put her on Mount Olympus after she flirts through him with Eric Trump, Morano said.

Sadly for Trump, Malliotakis remarked in 2017, when she was running for mayor of New York City, that she regretted voting for the president, and that she wished U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio had been the 2016 Republican presidential nominee instead.

It appears she and Trump have rekindled their relationship. Malliotakis told the Staten Island Advance on Jan. 29 that Trump told me I have his full support for her congressional campaign against Democratic Rep. Max Rose.

And then theres the presidents notorious fondness of another woman from New York: Ivanka Trump, better known as his daughter.

In 2006, Trump famously said during an appearance on "The View" that if Ivanka weren't my daughter, perhaps I'd be dating her. In 2004, he told shock jock Howard Stern during an appearance on his radio show that Stern could call his daughter "a piece of ass. And while she was hosting the 1997 Miss Teen USA contest  at 16 years old  the elder Trump asked the reigning Miss Universe, Dont you think my daughters hot? Shes hot, right? Typical father-daughter stuff.

While Stefanik is currently the presidents number one Republican in the state, it may be only a matter of time before another captivating female member of the states GOP grabs his attention.

Correction: An earlier version of this post had the incorrect party affiliation for radio host Frank Morano.
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Years of research, the rules of physics and common sense all point to an established fact about street safety: the faster people drive, the more dangerous and deadly our roads become.

Despite that fact, Los Angeles and other cities across California are regularly raising speed limits on their streets. They're doing that in order to enforce speeding laws in accordance with something called the 85th percentile rule, which roughly says if enough people are driving a certain speed, that should be the speed limit.

If that seems like a counterintuitive and incredibly flawed process to make streets safer, a broad coalition of public safety agencies, advocates and lawmakers across the state agrees. And now a new bill introduced in Sacramento aims to give cities more control over how they set and manage speed limits.

SPEED CREEP

Here's a more detailed hypothetical of how the 85th percentile rule works on public roadways: say the posted speed limit on a city street is 35 mph. In order for police to enforce that speed limit using radar or laser, the city has to conduct surveys every seven to 10 years to determine how fast people are driving on that street. If the results show that at least 85% of drivers are going at or below 38 mph in that 35 mph zone, the 85th percentile rule requires the city to round the speed limit to the nearest interval of five, meaning the new posted speed limit will be 40 mph.

Fast-forward to the next survey of that street seven to 10 years later (if the city has the money to conduct it); if at least 85% of drivers are clocked at or below 43 mph, the speed limit would go up again, to 45 mph.

That "speed creep," as the task force report calls it, has been happening on hundreds of miles of streets in L.A. and across California.

And decades of research shows that even a 5-mph difference in speed can make all the difference in driver's ability to hit the brakes and avoid hitting a person, cyclist or other motorist.

A human body struck by a vehicle going 35 mph had a 68% chance of survival, according to researchers. That survival rate plummets to 35% if the vehicle is going 40 mph.

PUSHBACK ON THE RULE

Just last month, the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force released a report examining the 85th percentile rule's methodology.

The 60-plus-page report outlines major limitations to that method, including that:

It is "not supported by scientific research," instead relying on a set of historical assumptions

It "privileges driver behavior" and assumes those drivers will act safely and responsibly

It does not consider different road types and road users like pedestrians and bicyclists

Those findings aren't new, though. A 2017 report from the National Transportation Safety Board found that "there is not strong evidence that the 85th percentile speed within a given traffic flow equates to the speed with the lowest crash involvement rate for all road types."

In other words, the rule hasn't been proven to reduce crash rates and make streets safer. That federal report also recommended that the Federal Highway Administration stop using the method to set speed limits.

The rule was originally intended to protect drivers from arbitrary speed traps, usually in rural areas where jurisdictions sometimes set dramatically low speed limits to ticket drivers and raise revenue. But, according to the task force's findings, the state's policy for calculating speed limits has remained "essentially static" even as the population, vehicle technology and road usage has evolved over the past several decades.

HOW'D WE GET HERE ?

According to researchers: decades of misassumptions about a rule-of-thumb method that doesn't require city engineers to account for the complexities of different types of streets.

"It really is drivers voting with their feet," said Yu Hong Hwang, a graduate student researcher from UCLA's Institute of Transportation Studies, whose research into the history of the 85th percentile rule was cited in the state task force's report.

Hwang found evidence of the rule first being floated as far back as the 1930s, when the National Safety Council recommended it be applied to open highways in rural places where fewer car crashes were happening.

But then "like a game of telephone," Hwang said those particulars about what kind of roads and crash incidence rates were lost in the conversations.

"We sort of evolved to where we are today, which is that the 85th percentile is used for a wide variety of roads, even when there are sometimes plenty of other road users," he said. "I thought that there would be a little more scientific backing to it... but, as one of the people I talked to told me, 'it's very scientific, but it's not got a whole lot of science behind it.'"

(Courtesy Chad Elliott via Flickr)

WHAT'S THE SOLUTION?

New policy, according to the task force, which is comprised of dozens of state and municipal transportation, health and safety officials, pedestrian and cyclist advocates, auto industry representatives, engineers and consultants.

The group was created through Assembly Bill 2363, authored by state Assemblywoman Laura Friedman.

"This was the first time that we were able to bring all of the different stakeholders together from across the state," Friedman told LAist on Thursday. "I'm hoping that with that consensus, we will be able to go and change some of these laws that have handicapped cities [ability] to implement changes to make streets safer -- primarily for pedestrians and cyclists, [and] everybody who uses the road."

The task force's report calls for the state to adopt a policy that would revise the way traffic surveys are conducted "to specifically require consideration be given to bicyclist and pedestrian safety."

The task force also recommends changing state law to allow cities to reduce speeds below the 85th percentile allowance along High-Injury Networks, and post speed limits below 25 mph when supported by a traffic survey.

THE NEXT STEP

The next step just happened on Thursday, as Friedman introduced a new bill in the state Assembly.

AB 2121 calls for a committee of outside street design experts to work on revisions to the state's Highway Design Manual, which mandates the 85th percentile method.

The bill would essentially pause the 85th percentile rule and allow local governments to keep speed limits at the "prima facie" speed -- default speed limits set by the city for specific zones, like school zones, business districts and residential areas -- if road surveys show more traffic crashes are happening on those roads.

Friedman said the bill and future legislation will be amended over time to include more of the recommendations laid out in the task force report.

WHERE L.A. LEADERS STAND

(Courtesy LADOT)

L.A. representation on the task force includes the city's Department of Transportation Director Seleta Reynolds, who has long maintained that speeding is the single biggest factor in deadly crashes. Reynolds told us the current method for setting speeds creates "a vicious cycle where speed limits increase because drivers are speeding."

"It would be like increasing a person's daily recommended calories because their neighbors overeat," Reynolds said in a statement to LAist. "Cities like Los Angeles need the flexibility to set speed limits that fit. We were grateful for the opportunity to participate in this groundbreaking work and look forward to championing these recommendations that, if implemented, will save lives."

L.A. City Councilman Mike Bonin said he was grateful for the report, which "properly diagnosed the problem," but hoped it had included stronger recommendations moving forward. Bonin has long been critical of the 85th percentile rule, calling it "absurd" and "one of the stupidest pieces of legislation" he's dealt with.

"Not only is it a stupid law, it's also a dangerous law because we know that the faster people are going, the more likely someone who gets hit by a car is going to die," he said. "It actually has deadly consequences."

Bonin, who chairs the council's transportation committee, said he'd like to see a speed limit system based on street type that also accounts for vulnerability and risk to all road users, rather than the current method that relies solely on how drivers behave.

Asked for comment about the possible changes to the 85th percentile rule, Mayor Eric Garcetti's spokesman Harrison Wollman told LAist the mayor "supports state reforms that will grant us more autonomy to set speed limits at the local level."

"Doing that will give us critical tools to keep Los Angeles safe for everyone who walks or bikes in our neighborhoods and drives on our roads," Wollman said.

WHAT ARE OTHER CITIES DOING ABOUT SPEEDING?

A growing number of U.S. cities with Vision Zero programs -- an international initiative to eliminate all traffic deaths and serious injuries -- have made reducing speed limits an integral part of their work to reduce traffic deaths.

Seattle is lowering speeds on the vast majority of its streets to 25 mph. In 2017, Portland reduced the speed limit of its residential streets to 20 mph and lowered the limits on dozens of other roadways in the past few years.

New York City launched its Vision Zero program in 2014. That same year, city officials received authorization from the state to lower the speed limit from 30 mph to 25 mph on the majority of its streets. From 2014 through 2018, overall traffic deaths declined about 22% in NYC, and pedestrian deaths dropped nearly 18%. Traffic deaths were up in NYC last year, due in large part to a dramatic increase in cyclist deaths (from 10 in 2018 to 28 in 2019).

Looking at L.A. from 2015 (the year Mayor Garcetti launched Vision Zero) through 2019, overall traffic deaths jumped more than 30%, and pedestrian deaths have soared. An estimated 134 people walking L.A.'s streets were killed by drivers last year, an increase of about 52% from 2015.

HOW ENFORCEMENT COULD CHANGE

The task force's report made several recommendations focused on improving enforcement of speeding laws, including automated speed enforcement (ASE), as in cameras that are triggered when a vehicle is measured going a set speed over the legal limit. California is not currently authorized to use them, but the task force suggested ways to consider them.

The report cites studies that found speed cameras to be an effective tactic to reduce speeding and increase safety. In New York City, which added speed cameras to about 140 school zones in recent years, speeding dropped 60% in those zones, according to city data.

New York City installed automated speed cameras in about 140 school zones and saw speeding drop by 60%, while injuries dropped by 17%, according to city data. (Courtesy New York City Department of Transportation via Twitter)

The task force acknowledges some limitations of speed cameras, including that drivers may continue to speed after encountering a camera and the fact that speed cameras have been challenged in court on constitutional grounds. The report also notes a negative public perception of the cameras as a means to make more money for an agency or city as opposed to a tool to make streets safer.

The report suggests several strategies to make speed cameras successful policy, like ensuring that ASE "supplement, not supplant, existing law enforcement personnel," and mandating that money generated an ASE program only be used to fund that program and other road safety initiatives so it doesn't become a money-making scheme for cities or law enforcement.

Assemblywoman Friedman said she isn't putting forward any legislation involving speed cameras right now, calling them "very controversial" and something that might warrant a larger conversation.

SPEED IS ONE PIECE OF THE PROBLEM

Just reducing speed limits won't fix the epidemic of traffic deaths L.A. and other cities are experiencing. Experts, advocates and some city officials agree that significantly reducing traffic deaths depends on a comprehensive shift on whose travel is prioritized. That means a concerted citywide effort to invest in education, enforcement and street improvements to reduce vehicle speeds.

But, as Los Angeles enters the midpoint year in its 2015-2025 Vision Zero initiative, that's simply not happening, Councilman Bonin told LAist this week.

"We approved the plan, and we talked about the plan, but we have not moved forward with it particularly aggressively," he said, adding that the city is "funding Vision Zero, almost as if it were a pilot [program] as opposed to a real thing."

You can read the full report from the Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force below:

MORE ON STREET SAFETY IN LA
An influencer has shared the secrets of how to get the perfect angle for an Instagram 'booty' shot.

Danae Mercer, who lives in Dubai, posted the clip on Instagram showing the six-steps to getting the perfect photograph to show off a perky posterior.

Alongside the clip, she said the key parts to the shot were 'angles, positioning, flexing and camera movement.'

She explained: 'Mix it all together and you've got one super defined derrier.'

Danae Mercer, who lives in Dubai, has revealed how six step guide to taking the perfect shot to show off a perky posterior in a helpful Instagram video

STEP ONE: Spin around so that your back is facing towards the camera. STEP TWO: Twist one side back and place your hand on your hip so that you are looking over your shoulder

In the clip, Danae started by turning around so her back was to the camera.

Secondly she twisted her back so that she could smile at the camera, but keeping her derriere at the front and centre of the shot.

Next, she advised flexing her muscles in her derriere, before testing different angles to get the perfect shot.

For the fifth step, Danae pulled her stomach in and engaged her core, before finally lowering her camera so her perky posterior is centre of the shot.

STEP THREE: Flex the 'back cheek' - the one furthest from the camera - to make it look lifted

STEP FOUR: Test your angles by shifting your body backwards and forwards slightly

STEP FIVE: Squeeze in your core to create a fitter looking silhouette from this angle. STEP SIX: Lower the camera so that it is closer to your derriere, making it look bigger and peachier

She then added captions to the video, saying: 'Just a little reminder today, social media is not real'.

Six steps to a perfect booty shot 1. Start with your back to the camera 2. Twist back so you can see the camera, but keep your derriere at the front of the shot 3. Flex your back and cheeks 4. Test a variety of different angles 5. Pull your stomach in and engage core 6. Lower the camera so that her posterior is in forefront of the shot Advertisement

In the caption of the post, Danae wrote: 'Want a social media bootie? Or, hey, ever wonder how all that fitspo always have perky patooties?

She went on to explain that there were four key parts to taking the photograph; 'angles, positioning, flexing and camera movement'.

She added: 'It's also important to remember that very few folks really walk around with badonkadonks like we see online.

'Some peachy people train crazy hard and some have epic genetics. Some just know how to work the camera.

'So just a small note to say that Instagram, social media, it's not real - even if it's great for photography tips.'

The video quickly racked up thousands of views, with followers praising Danae for her transparency.

Despite posting glamourous shots from around the world, Danae often insists that social media isn't real life. She is pictured here in Sri Lanka

One person commented: 'Discovered you through another influencer and I have to say, scrolling through your page almost made me cry because I need these types of reminders.'

'Your transparency is awesome!' said another.

A third added: 'Girl, I am the queen of booty selfies. Ain't no shame in my game or photoshop necessary! Knowing your body is so important for more reasons than one.'

One commented: 'This is embarrassing to admit, but I was wondering about this just this week!

The video quickly racked up thousands of views on social media, with followers praising Danae for her transparency

'Ive been logging the gym time lifting and seeing results in many ways, but Im still more pancake than peach (maybe peachcake?)'

Another commented: 'BEST AUTHENTIC POST!'

Danae, who also works as a journalist, said often shares side-by-side shots showing off her body with classic Instagram angles next to 'real life' ones.
(Bloomberg) -- Governments across Asia are stepping up arrests over a growing scourge of misinformation related to the coronavirus outbreak, even as outrage grows in China over how early virus whistleblowers were punished for spreading falsehoods after one of the doctors passed away.

Hong Kong police this week nabbed a part-time security guard at a shopping mall for allegedly writing on social media that multiple staff members had caught a fever and gone on sick leave. The messages caused panic and helped breed paranoia, police said in a statement on Facebook. The government separately blamed evil rumor mongers for fueling a run on goods at supermarkets such as toilet paper and rice.

Arrests of more than 20 people across six countries show the extent to which governments are policing social media as they seek to prevent panic and further economic damage. Authorities in Malaysia, India, Indonesia and Thailand have all joined China in cracking down on misinformation or fake news with arrests and the threat of jail time.

Its all part of what the World Health Organization calls a massive infodemic of informational abundance, some of it inaccurate, which makes it hard for people to find credible sources and reliable guidance when they need it. Governments also risk censoring legitimate information in their efforts to stop rumors, which could further hurt efforts to contain the virus, as was the case when doctors in the epicenter of the virus were punished for spreading rumors about a viral outbreak more than a month ago.

Chinese Doctor Who Warned of Virus Dies, Stoking Outrage Online

Chinas early efforts to control the narrative around the outbreak severely stunted its initial response to the spread of the coronavirus, said Matthew Bugher, the Asia Programme head for Article 19, a British rights group supporting free expression. Its extremely worrying that governments in Southeast Asia appear to be following Chinas example.

Story continues

21st Century Challenge

Sylvie Briand, the WHOs director for global infectious hazard preparedness, told reporters in Geneva this week that handling misinformation is a challenge of the 21st century. The organizations technical risk communication and social media teams have been tracking and responding to myths and rumors on the virus across Weibo, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Were all beneficiaries of those extremely intense and fast communications, and we can also be victims of it, Briand said. The thing is not censorship, its trying to understand what are people concerned about and how to respond.

The regions authorities have taken a different approach. Malaysias attorney general promised charges after authorities detained six for posts with false information on the virus. Police earlier said they were investigating social media posts with misleading messages, including claims of an influx of Chinese tourists, new infections and virus-related deaths in the country.

Lies about the origins, scale and magnitude of the disease must not be permitted because they endanger public safety, said Attorney General Tommy Thomas in a Wednesday statement.

In Thailand, authorities said on Thursday they have arrested four people for posts that allegedly violate the countrys 2017 Computer Crimes Act, which carries sentences of as many as five years in prison. India has arrested five people on suspicion of spreading rumors on the whereabouts of patients, while Indonesia arrested two people on charges of spreading fake news related to coronavirus. They face as much as 10 years in jail, according to Indonesian police spokesman Argo Yuwono.

Correction Notices

Police in Vietnam fined a man for posting unverified information on Facebook about two Chinese visitors who had been hospitalized. Singapore, meanwhile, invoked its fake news law instructing Facebook, users of the platform and publications to carry correction notices about posts and articles allegedly containing false information about the virus.

During SARS, we did not have social media, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told reporters in Jan. 31 comments posted on his website. We are very diligent in putting out information as quickly as we get it, and as quickly as we can verify it, in order to make sure that people know what it is, what is the truth, what you need to worry about and what you should ignore.

One risk with all these arrests is that authorities censor useful information. Chinese officials punished a doctor in Wuhan for blowing the whistle on the spread of a virus in the early days of the outbreak, in a cover-up that was a failed opportunity to stem the outbreak.

The Wuhan doctor, Li Wenliang, was one of eight whistle blowers punished by police in January for spreading rumors. In a Weibo post, he said he examined a medical report of a patient on Dec. 30 that looked like SARS, also caused by a coronavirus. He shared the finding with some former medical school classmates so they could take precautions, in a WeChat group message that said Seven cases of SARS confirmed.

Extremely Worrying

The police found me and made me sign an official letter of criticism after I sent the message, said Li, who died Friday after he was infected with the virus as he worked to fight against the outbreak. He posted a photo of the letter, in which Wuhan police castigated him for false statements that disturbed the social order.

The Wuhan police said on Jan. 1 that eight people were summoned and punished for spreading rumors about pneumonia patients, though the bureau later restricted viewing access to the Weibo post.

The Supreme Peoples Court later criticized the police department for punishing a whistleblower in a post on the courts WeChat account, noting that the information shared wasnt entirely false, and that the public may have been able to curtail the spread of the disease had it responded by tightening health measures in Wuhan.

The police responded that the whistleblowers faced mild punishment of education and criticism, and werent taken into custody or fined.

Government efforts to control the flow of information are dangerous and often counter-productive, said Article 19s Bugher. Truth and transparency are the best tonic for misinformation. Asian governments would be wise to prioritize their own public awareness efforts over attempt to police public discourse on the crisis.

(Updates with Wuhan doctors death in 19th paragraph.)

--With assistance from Philip J. Heijmans, Unni Krishnan, Thomas Kutty Abraham and Siraphob Thanthong-Knight.

To contact the reporter on this story: Blake Schmidt in Hong Kong at bschmidt16@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Daniel Ten Kate at dtenkate@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moldovan authorities have asked the Ukrainian consul not to leave the country for the duration of the investigative actions

Moldovan authorities have asked the Ukrainian consul not to leave the country, as the report on rape of a 17-year-old girl had been filed with the law enforcement bodies. This was reported by Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the request of SP outlet.

According to the Ukrainian Ministry, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova has informed the Embassy of Ukraine that law enforcement authorities are investigating into diplomat suspected of committing a crime in the city of Beltsy (Moldova).

"The Moldovan side has requested that the said person does not leave the territory of Moldova for the duration of the investigative actions. The State Secretary of Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened disciplinary proceedings, during which the said diplomat will be suspended from performing official duties," Ukraines MFA informed.

As was reported earlier, on February 4, a 17-year-old girl was raped in the city of Beltsy. This fact was confirmed by the press secretary of the Beltsy Inspectorate Zhanna Molchanova, Deschide.md informed.

Journalists of this outlet, citing sources in law enforcement bodies, reported that one of the suspects was an employee of Ukraines Consulate.
National Rehabilitation Service (NRS) has announced that soon, financially capable families for patients at national rehabilitation facilities managed by the service will be required to pay.

Currently, all services at the facilities run by NRC including accommodation, and meals, among others, are accessed free of charge and most of the patients are delinquents and drug addicts.

The development was announced by Aime Bosenibamwe, the Director-General of NRS, during an interview with The New Times, saying that the money will supplement the funds government pumps into running the centres.

According to Bosenibamwe, it was influenced by the persistent requests by parents who felt their children were getting out of hand and needed them rehabilitated.

Ideally, rehabilitation services were for delinquents who need serious recreation. But we recently started to receive requests from parents to take in children who misbehave within families. We are planning on how patients can pay for the services, he explained.

According to Bosenibamwe, the government spends Rwf70 million per month on only the Iwawa Centre, which is the largest of the three rehabilitation centres run by NRS.

On top of these, the service also manages transit centres located in different parts of the country.

Bosenibamwe says one of the goals is to get financially capable parents to pay for their children's rehabilitation.

State Minister in the Ministry of Local Government, Ignatienne Nyirarukundo, had also emphasized the need to have parents play their role in keeping in check "increasing misbehaviours among the youth".

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Rwanda By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

The plan is still being internally processed, according to officials.

Charging procedure

Majority of the youth who end up in the rehabilitation centres are picked from streets as delinquents and drug addicts and according to Bosenibamwe, these will continue getting the services for free, as long as their families are found to be incapable of paying.

He explained that once checked into the beneficiaries will be screened to determine the financial capabilities of their families.

"Just like Ubudehe categories."

On top of these, they will charge parents who willingly take their children to the rehabilitation centres.

"Just like how parents pay school fees, rehabilitation services will also become an additional expense for parents who want their children to be rehabilitated," Bosenibamwe said.

He, however, did not reveal the amount of money that will be charged, saying that all these modalities were still being discussed.

Rwanda currently has three rehabilitation services: Iwawa that hosts the biggest number of beneficiaries, Gitagata in Bugesera district for juveniles and women and another one in Nyamagabe district.

The centres also have different categories of delinquencies such as sex workers, beggars and drugs and alcohol addicts.

Since 2011, Iwawa Rehabilitation and Vocational Skills Development Centre located on Iwawa Island has rehabilitated 18,564 delinquents including drug addicts while Gitagata Rehabilitation Centre, has received 1,204 children, according to NSR.
- OneWeb declares the launch of its satellites successful today

- This launch continues path towards internet everywhere for everyone

- OneWeb is proud to launch from Kazakhstan, extending Baikonur Cosmodrome's world-class legacy to the space industry

LONDON, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OneWeb, the global communications company with a mission to bring connectivity to everyone everywhere, today announced the successful launch of 34 satellites, aboard a Soyuz launch vehicle from the historic Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan.

Lift-off occurred on February 06th at 21:42 pm UTC. The OneWeb satellites separated from the rocket and were dispensed in nine batches over a period of several hours.

This launch is the second successful launch in one of the largest civilian satellite launch campaigns in history. It will help build OneWeb's phase one constellation of 648 satellites that will deliver high-speed, low-latency global connectivity, while addressing the world's most pressing connectivity problems.

The communications company is on schedule to provide global coverage to customers in 2021, starting with the first commercial services in the Arctic this year. This follows OneWeb both securing global priority spectrum rights and successfully launching its first batch of satellites in 2019.

OneWeb's network will provide a unique combination of high data throughput, low latency, true global coverage and a range of user terminals for multiple markets including maritime, aviation, government and enterprise.

Adrian Steckel, CEO of OneWeb, said: "The successful manufacture, delivery and launch of this batch of 34 satellites is the latest proof point of the OneWeb plan. Importantly, today's mission also brings us closer to our next step, realizing our ultimate vision of providing access to high speed, reliable internet to everyone, everywhere."



"We are seeing considerable interest from prospective customers and partners. Later this year, we will provide service in the arctic region and 2021 will see OneWeb achieve global coverage, making the digital divide a thing of the past. I'm very proud of our team and partners who continue to collaborate to make our ambitious scale a reality, and also those in Kazakhstan for supporting our vision."

Follow OneWebLaunch on OneWeb social media channels: YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

Webcast playback

Launch highlights available

Download or view on OneWeb YouTube

Launch Imagery

www.oneweb.world/events/launch2-mediakit

Launch Partner

Arianespace

Launch Facility

Soyuz Launch Complex, Baikonur, Kazakhstan

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087486/OneWeb_Logo.jpg
The end of the road, the close of the campaign, the final speech. What goes through a Taoiseach's mind on such climactic occasions? Reflections on all that has passed, regrets for opportunities missed, anxieties about what lies ahead?

As Leo Varadkar pottered into Stanley's Hardware shop, the possibility for a moment of profundity hung in the air.

"Can I ask a question?" he inquired solemnly of Violet Stanley, who presides over a treasure trove of nails, bolts and adhesives vast enough to piece back together even an election campaign bulldozed to smithereens by a surge of electoral antipathy.

Violet smiled invitingly.

"You know when you walk into a hardware shop and it has this distinctive smell?" the Taoiseach began. "What is that smell?"

"Paint," said Violet kindly. "Probably the paint."

Ah, Leo, nodded. It was the same with pharmacies, he said. They have their own smell too.

He had a dreamy look about him, like a man remembering fondly his time in medicine when he merely had to deal with life and death. Not like now when he had to cope with Mary Lou McDonald.

And then, as if lured by the scent of memory or the memory of scent, he almost wafted into Morgan's Medical Hall next door to wallow a while in that soothing pharmacy aroma.

Here, he was quizzed on cuts to medical schemes, ever-growing demands on the pharmacy sector and fears for the future of community pharmacists in the era of large chain takeovers.

None of the questions were easy but Leo's expression said, keep them coming, it's nice in here.

It hadn't been the most auspicious start to the Taoiseach's tour of Tullow in Carlow's deep south.

He alighted from his car beneath a statue of Fr Murphy, the 1798 rebel priest executed on that very spot.

There was the usual meet and greet with constituency volunteers. An enthusiastic supporter presented him with an apple because "an apple a day keeps Sinn Fein away".

A man joined in the feeding frenzy and produced a Mars bar. Leo accepted it graciously while silently begging someone to remove it before he had to double his evening gym session.

But other locals smelled blood and circled.

Three years waiting for a knee operation, said one woman.

Six years for an MRI, said a man who fell off a ladder in 2013 and off every waiting list since.

Too many years to remember for a disability shower, added the relative of an elderly woman who simply wanted a little dignity and comfort in her twilight years.

One man tackled the Taoiseach over the CervicalCheck controversy and likened it to the blood products scandal of 1987.

"Ah now, I was eight at the time," said Leo, moving swiftly on.

It wasn't the first time Little Leo was evoked. At Carlow Institute of Technology earlier, the Taoiseach spoke of the great opportunities for young graduates now, unlike 10 years ago or in the 1980s.

He still remembered the kids in his communion class who emigrated, he said. That 50 quid in fivers from the aunties could get you all the way to London at that time (he didn't say).

The tone was a little forlorn for a man simultaneously declaring he would be canvassing and coaxing voters right up to 10pm on Saturday to ensure they did the right thing.

It took wing-man (or waiting-in-the-wings man) Paschal Donohoe to rescue the situation.

He launched into a cheerleading of the Taoiseach, proclaiming him the only man to lead the country into our great future.

And he should know. "I've seen this man over the last number of years more often than I've seen my wife," he said to predictable laughter.

Back in Tullow, Leo was steered into a florists with a window full of Valentine's bouquets, possibly with a shopping list from Paschal.

The election campaign may not have gone to plan but at least there, everything was smelling of roses.
The Crime Branch of Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday arrested a man here for allegedly duping a youth on the pretext of providing him a job in the Military Engineering Service (MES) in Srinagar.

Pawan Kumar, a resident of Bhagwati Nagar area of Jammu, was evading arrest since long by frequently changing his locations in West Bengal and Punjab but was finally held by the sleuths, a Crime Branch spokesperson said.

He said a case under various sections of the Ranbir Penal Code was registered against Kumar and his co-accused Saroop Lal last year after four youths, hailing from different parts of Jammu region, lodged a complaint with the Senior Superintendent of Police Jammu alleging that the duo had duped them on the pretext of providing jobs in MES headquarters in Srinagar.

"A preliminary verification prima facie substantiated the allegations, leading to registration of criminal case in Crime Branch, Jammu," the spokesman said.

He said one of the complainants was given a fake job letter and duped of Rs 12 lakh.

The spokesman said the appointment and joining letters were found to be forged after verification by the concerned MES department.

After his arrest, Kumar is on police remand for further investigation, while search is on for his co-accused who is a habitual offender and is booked in six other cases of similar nature in Crime Branch police station, the spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Allahabad High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a direction from it to Firozabad district authorities to allow a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

The petitioner, Firozabad-resident Mohammad Furqan, had approached the court saying some students want to protest against the CAA but the district authorities are not giving them permission.

Dismissing the petition, a two-judge bench comprising Justice Bharti Sapru and Justice Piyush Agrawal said, "It is not in the national interest to give any relief to the petitioner at all. If the petitioner is a citizen of India, he must maintain peace at any cost. We are not inclined to interfere in the matter".

The state counsel had earlier submitted that public properties were damaged in the December 20 violence at many places in the district so permission cannot be granted for such protests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Friday slammed Manish Sisodia following the arrest of an official who worked as an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi's office for allegedly taking bribe.

Speaking to ANI, Verma said, "OSD toh naam hota hai, jo uske malik hain, jo humare deputy CM Manish Sisodia ji hain, yeh sare paise unhi ke jeb mein jata hai aur woh unhi paise se Shaheen Bagh mein briyani pohuchate hain. (OSD is just for name... This money goes into Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's pocket, who spends it to send biryani in Shaheen Bagh.

Following the official's arrest, Sisodia on Friday said that he had no issue with the timing of the action against the alleged corrupt official and added that strict action must be taken against him to set an example.

A day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Delhi, Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer, Gopal Krishna Madhav, Sisodia told ANI, "I got to know that an officer who is posted at GST and has been an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) with me for 5 years has been arrested for taking a bribe of Rs 2 lakhs. What CBI did is right, strictest action should be taken to set an example."

Over the question of the timing of the arrest, which comes ahead of polling for assembly elections in Delhi, Sisodia said, "I have no issues with the timing of the arrest, whoever takes bribe should be caught immediately. We have zero-tolerance for corruption."

Earlier in the day, Sisodia also took to twitter to demand strict punishment for the alleged corrupt official.

"I have come to know that the CBI has arrested a GST inspector while he was taking bribe. This officer was also posted in my office as OSD. The CBI should immediately get him punished severely. I myself have got many such corrupt officials arrested in the last five years," Sisodia wrote on Twitter.

The CBI on Thursday arrested Madhav after he was allegedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 2 Lakh.

According to sources, CBI laid a trap and caught him red-handed while taking a bribe to settle a tax evasion matter. Subsequently, he was taken to CBI headquarters for questioning and formally placed under arrest, told sources.

As per the Delhi government website, Madhav was appointed as an OSD to the Deputy Chief Minister in 2015. Delhi is going to polls on February 8, while the 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.)
Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming visits Cheong Wa Dae, Feb. 7 Yonhap



By Do Je-hae



President Moon Jae-in said Friday that his government will exert every effort to help Beijing resolve the coronavirus issue as swiftly as possible, according to Cheong Wa Dae.



"The President expressed his deep sympathy to the Chinese government and its people for the difficulties they are going through due to the coronavirus epidemic and wished for a fast recovery," Han Jung-woo, director of the presidential press center, said in a statement. "He also thanked Beijing for supporting the repatriation of Korean nationals from Wuhan on chartered flights."



The remarks came during an official ceremony at the presidential office where new Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming presented his credentials to the President.





China virus death toll hits 636, more than 30,000 infections Chinese doctor who sounded the alarm on coronavirus dies of the illness Fears of coronavirus trigger anti-China sentiment worldwide Moon said there are high expectations for Xing to improve ties between the two countries, given his expertise on the Korean Peninsula. He has served in South Korea three times and was closely involved in the establishment of bilateral relations in 1992 when he was a junior diplomat at China's foreign ministry. He has also served at the Chinese Embassy in North Korea twice, and is fluent in Korean.



"The President expressed his hope that the new ambassador will contribute not just to improve bilateral relations but also to bring the two Koreas closer together," the presidential office said.



Ceremony at Cheong Wa Dae for new envoys, Feb. 8 Yonhap

One of the biggest priorities for Xing will be to arrange the summit between President Xi Jinping and Moon in Seoul in the first half of this year. There have been concerns, however, that the coronavirus and Korea's entry ban on foreigners from Wuhan could hinder the planned visit. Realizing Xi's visit is important for Moon, who is relying on China's support to revive momentum for diplomacy with North Korea. Beijing's cooperation in advancing the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was one of the key topics of his summit with Xi in Beijing last year.



Moon also mentioned his meeting with Xi and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in December 2019 and expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome he received during his visit to China.



Xing conveyed greetings from Xi and Li to Moon and thanked him for the warm remarks toward the Chinese people during a public health crisis. "Xing was deeply moved when Moon recently said 'China's difficulties are our difficulties,'" Han said. Moon made the remarks Monday during a weekly meeting at Cheong Wa Dae with his aides as he stressed the need for close for bilateral cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus.



Chinese Ambassador Xing Haiming during a press conference at the Chinese Embassy, Feb. 4. Yonhap


Rekha Gupta election result 2020 live news and latest updates online - Read about Rekha Gupta BJP candidate who is fighting Delhi assembly (Vidhan Sabha) election from Shalimar Bagh seat and many more at Firstpost.com.

Delhi Assembly Election 2020, Rekha Gupta Profile: Former general secretary of the BJP's Delhi unit, Rekha Gupta has been fielded on the party's ticket in the Shalimar Bagh constituency, against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s sitting MLA Bandana Kumari, and JS Nayol of the Congress. The constituency will vote with the rest of Delhi on Saturday, 8 February.

Gupta has also served as the president of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) during her time as a student in 1996. She is also the founder of the Aas Foundation NGO, according to her Twitter bio.

Along with having been the general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Rekha is currently a member of the national executive of the party, her official website says. She also served as part of the Delhi Councillor from the Uttari Pitampura area in the National Capital in 2007.

Her personal website describes her as an "active" member of the Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) from childhood. "Her political pathway began in the year 1992, when she entered Daulat Ram College, Delhi University and joined Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a students organisation. She took active interest in solving the problems faced by her fellow students and emerged as a powerful voice of her college students," the website adds.

The website also says that her family is "dedicated" to the RSS and the BJP. Gupta pursued the BCom degree from the Daulat Ram College and went on to study for an MBA degree.

Gupta has been contested from Shalimar Bagh, a traditional BJP bastion. The counting of votes will take place on 11 February. The current term of the Assembly will expire on 22 February.

The fight in Shalimar Bagh, like the rest of the Union Territory, is mainly between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The AAP, which was re-nominated former deputy speaker Kumari as its candidate, would seek to retain power on the back of the development agenda it pursued in the last five years. On the other hand, Gupta will try to regain the seat it the party to lost out to AAP in 2015.

Meanwhile, the Congress's candidate Nayol, is a prominent local businessman.

Earlier, Shalimar Bagh was part of Outer Delhi, but after delimitation in 2008 by Delimitation Commission of India, it became part of Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency.

With inputs from agencies
A day after US President Donald Trump was acquitted by the US Senate in the impeachment trial, the US security forces scored a major victory under his leadership by eliminating Qasim al-Rimi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). This development comes just a month after US security forces killed Iranian Quds Force chief General Qassem Soleimani, considered as the second-most powerful figure in Iran. As per the official statement from the White House, al-Rimi worked for Al-Qaeda supremo Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama Bin Laden since the 1990s.

Read: Nancy Pelosi Defends Tearing Up Trump's Speech, Says 'I Don't Need A Lesson On Dignity'

Furthermore, the statement noted that al-Rimi had indulged in violence not just against US security forces but also against civilians in Yemen. It highlighted the fact that his death was a big blow to the global Al-Qaeda movement. According to the White House, the allies of the US were much safer now.

Read: Ranveer Singh's Body-Donald Trump's Head! Trump Jr's Parody Celebration Is Mindblowing

Here is the official statement of the White House:

At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. Rimi joined Al-Qaeda in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces. His death further degrades AQAP and the global Al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.

Read: White House Claims 'full Vindication' After Senate Acquits Trump In Impeachment Trial

Involvement in numerous attacks

AQAP was formed in 2009 aiming to topple US-backed governments and Western influence in the Arabian Peninsula. Rimi became the leader of AQAP in 2015. This terrorist outfit claimed responsibility for the deadly shooting by a Saudi Arabian national at the Naval Air Station Pensacola in 2019.

The AQAP chief is also suspected to be involved in the 2008 attack on the US Embassy in Sanaa. Additionally, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2005 for plotting to assassinate the US Ambassador to Yemen. The US State Department had announced a reward of 10 million US dollars for information on his whereabouts.

Read: '52 GOPs Betrayed Oath To Defend Constitution: Hillary Clinton After Trump's Acquittal
New Delhi: Opposition parties on Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi quoted a fake news report to target National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah in Parliament, and Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said references to him in the PMs speech were factually incorrect.

Replying to the Motion of Thanks on the Presidents speech in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Modi quoted the former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister as having said: The abrogation of Article 370 will bring a massive earthquake; that it will divide Kashmir from India.

On Friday, the Congress said on its official Twitter handle that the quote was not from a genuine news item. Modi quotes a satirical website, literally called Faking News, to justify his draconian actions against former J&K CM Omar Abdullah. This is what happens when the only degree you have is from WhatsApp University, the party posted.

The website published the exact quote on May 28, 2014. Within hours of Modis address, Abdullah and fellow former CM Mehbooba Mufti were charged under the stringent Public Safety Act, having been in preventive custody since August 5, when the Centre nullified Article 370 that granted Jammu and Kashmir special status under the constitution and decided to bifurcate the state into two Union territories.

Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien said, With every passing day, one blow at a time, the Mo-Sh BJP government make a mockery of Parliament. The reference was to Modi and home minister Shah.

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) also criticised Modi for saying that the statements purportedly made by former J&K chief ministers were not acceptable.

Vijayan, meanwhile, took to Facebook to demand that Modi rectify his statement, in which the PM made references to the Kerala CM.

The statement of the PM in Rajya Sabha with regard to Kerala was factually incorrect and condemnable, he said.

Attacking the opposition parties for their alleged attempts to misguide and misinform the nation on the new citizenship law, the Prime Minister said in the Rajya Sabha that Vijayan was on the one hand warning about extremist elements infiltrating anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests and on the other hand his party (CPI-M) supporting them in Delhi.

We have warned and taken guard against those who try to infiltrate the peoples movement... My mentioning of the involvement of extremist organisations like SDPI (Socialist Democratic Party of India) during anti-CAA protests was with full conviction. The state has faith in its secular fabric to deal with the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar. We will fight those who attempt to communalise our protests. The Prime Minister must rectify his statement defaming the protest movement of Kerala, he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked Vijayan if he disowned his own revelations in the state assembly. Or, is he finding it inconvenient that the PM has exposed the hypocrisy of the Left in selectively condemning perpetrators of violence in Kerala but supporting them outside Kerala? asked BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday took a jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's "danda" remark and said that some leaders talk about beating him with sticks but he is protected by the blessings of "all mothers of India".

"At times some leaders talk about beating me with sticks, but I'm saved by the blessings of all mothers of India. I pay my respects and thank all of you. I am here to instill a new belief in all Assamese people," he said while addressing a public meeting in Kokrajhar.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had said that youth will hit Prime Minister Narendra Modi with sticks if he is unable to address the issue of unemployment in the country.

"The Prime Minister is delivering speeches now, but six months later, he will not be able to even leave his home. The youth of India will beat him up with sticks and make him understand that this country will not be able to make progress until jobs are provided to them," the Congress leader had said while addressing a rally for the party candidate in Delhi polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday (February 7) deferred hearing till Monday on pleas seeking directions to the Delhi Police to take action to ensure smooth traffic movement on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which remains blocked due to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests for over 50 days now.

"We do understand that there is a problem and we will hear the same on February 10," the Supreme Court bench said after Advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi started arguing and said that the top court should pass appropriate directions to the concerned authorities as far as the protestors in Shaheen Bagh is concerned.

The plea moved by lawyer-activist Amit Sahni on January 20 had 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," the plea stated.

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.

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"No one can be permitted to occupy a public road for any reason whatsoever under the pretext of peaceful protest and that too for an indefinite period to make others suffer for the same", the petitioner said in his 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 second petition has been filed by BJP leader Nand Kishor Garg seeking top court's directions for removing anti-CAA protesters from Shaheen Bagh.

A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde had on Tuesday asked Garg, the petitioner seeking court direction to remove road blockade at Shaheen Bagh, to approach the mentioning officer.

Shashank Deo Sudhi, the lawyer for Garg, sought a direction from the court to the Centre, police and state government to take immediate steps to remove protesters from Shaheen Bagh.

The petition urged the apex court to pass appropriate directions, as the protests were causing severe inconvenience to the common people as an arterial road connecting Delhi and Noida had been blocked.

The protests have also caused obstruction to entire vehicular and pedestrian movement from the road connecting two important cities i.e. Delhi and Noida.
In 1856, a woman named Eunice Newton Foote from Seneca Falls, N.Y., made an amazing discovery. Through painstaking experimentation, Foote had isolated a small quantity of carbon dioxide gas in a glass jar, and she noticed that when the jar was left in the sunlight it got extremely hot compared to jars filled with normal air. She theorized  for the first time in recorded history  that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere might affect global temperatures. Foote presented her findings to the American Association for the Advancement of Science, but the international scientific community did not take note of her results: perhaps we can blame the gender bias which suffused the world of science at that time.

Three years later, the Irish-born scientist John Tyndall, working as a Fellow for the Royal Society in London, reached the same experimental result using much more sophisticated equipment. At this point, the scientific world began to accept that higher levels of carbon dioxide would lead to a warming planet. This key insight is the fulcrum of modern climate science.

This was not the first or final time that the combined efforts of American and British scientists have changed the world. It should come as little surprise: between our two countries, we have earned over 500 Nobel Prizes. Scientific cooperation across the Atlantic is one of the cornerstones of the U.S.-UK trading relationship that I hope to promote on my first official visit to Texas as Minister of State for the UKs Department for International Trade. But our cross-Atlantic collaboration can yield even greater dividends in the coming years.

When Winston Churchill spoke of the relationship between the U.S. and the United Kingdom, he said, As long as our people are in absolute faith to each other, we need fear none and we need fear nothing. What he meant was that no two countries on Earth have enjoyed a better working relationship than the U.S. and the UK, and our combined influence on the world stage is without parallel. Now that Britain is exercising full sovereign control over its economic future outside the European Union, our Prime Minister has pledged that the UK will be an independent voice for lower tariffs, reduced regulatory barriers and the sort of free and fair trade that spreads prosperity across the globe. Reducing trade barriers is important particularly for small- and medium-sized businesses who cannot afford the expensive lawyers and consultants often necessary to navigate the red tape.

Negotiating a free trade agreement with the United States is one of the UK governments top priorities. Now that the UK has left the European Union, countless new prospects for American and British businesses  including small businesses  are coming into view. At the Texas Medical Center, medical device company Testcard is one of many British companies bringing technological innovation and jobs to the Houston area. They are a product of the UK-TMC BioBridge, a UK-U.S. partnership developing commercial and research initiatives in medicine.

Beyond the great economic opportunities that come from working hand-in-hand with the UK, I am certain that our two countries can lead the world in confronting the challenges of climate change.

On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called for a global year of action on climate change, culminating in the Glasgow Climate Conference this November. This conference  part of the UN Framework on Climate Change  is a successor to those held in Kyoto in 1992 and Paris in 2016. For the first time in history, this conference will take a whole of society approach to reducing carbon emissions. Not just national governments but states, municipalities, private companies, non-profits, and community leaders will be welcomed to the table to discuss comprehensive solutions. But this unprecedented gathering will only meet its goals if everyone arrives with a determination to consider and implement bold action where necessary.

Fortunately, there is no need to present this issue as a choice between conservation and economic growth. Through our national Industrial Strategy and green growth initiatives, the UK government is simultaneously striving to increase wealth creation across the social spectrum while keeping ecological concerns front-and-center. British companies are already deploying green tech at scale in Texas, like infrastructure firm Mott MacDonald restoring wetlands in Aransas County, or British Petroleums ambitious wind power division, whose renewable energy portfolio is replacing over 2 billion pounds of coal per year.

I am hoping for a particular ending to the story of Eunice Foote and Sir John Tyndall: that U.S.-UK cooperation in science, diplomacy and policy innovation will continue to grow, and perhaps in time can help to save the world from the worst effects of climate change. Our future mutual prosperity  and safety  may depend upon how well Brits and Texans can work together. I am honored to be your guest in Texas this week, and I look forward to welcoming you to the Glasgow Climate Conference, 2020.

Burns is minister of state for the United Kingdoms Department of International Trade and a member of the British Parliament. His first official overseas visit following the UKs exit from the EU is to Texas, promoting the U.S.-UK trading relationship with visits to Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and College Station.
Death In Paradise

Rating:

Secrets Of The Museum

Rating:

Hollywood calls it a 'reboot'. Psychologists refer to it as 'reverting to type'. For telly detectives, it's 'going back to square one'.

Ralf Little stepped off the plane on Death In Paradise (BBC1) and the show returned to its beginning. In 2011, Ben Miller arrived as DI Poole on the fictional Caribbean isle of Saint Marie, perspiring in a jacket and tie, detesting the heat and flies, as he set about tackling the sky-rocketing murder rate.

Poole was irritable, sarcastic, impatient and cantankerous  and that was before the morning heat began to wear at his temper. The more he grumbled, the better we liked him  proof that the public has always expected grumpiness in its great sleuths, from Poirot to Morse.

When Ralf Little (right) stepped off the plane on Death In Paradise, the show returned to its beginning

The writers were so dismayed when Miller announced he would be quitting after just two seasons that they took their revenge on Poole  and killed him off with an ice pick in the back of the head at a university reunion.

But that left them with a problem. They had the perfect formula for a light-hearted crime series in the sun, but they couldn't reuse it without appearing, well, formulaic.

Kris Marshall took over from Miller, adding a slapstick element as the clumsy DI Goodman. Ardal O'Hanlon followed him, playing the broken-hearted widower DI Mooney  grumpiness replaced by grief.

None of them lasted long. Filming conditions on location in the tropical island of Guadeloupe are said to be difficult: Ardal claimed the racket of the frogs and insects at night was worse than the scalding humidity during the day.

Seven years after Poole's departure, Ralf Little can be the detective that Death In Paradise was always meant to have. His anxious, asthmatic DI Neville Parker is allergic to sun, sand, heat, seawater, pollen and dust. When he met Harry, the little green lizard who shares his bungalow on the beach, his shrieks could be heard in Jamaica.

Most of all, he can't stand sunshine. As he walked out of the aerodrome, the glare made him flinch and cower.

Investigation of the week: The drink-sodden life of entertainer Michael Barrymore, uncovered in the true crime account The Body In The Pool (C4), made a tawdry spectacle. Victim Stuart Lubbock emerged with more credit. But how sordid it all was. Advertisement

The last character we met who reacted so badly to a blast of vitamin D was Dracula. Maybe DI Parker is a vampire. He was brandishing his suntan lotion like garlic. Naturally, he has a supernatural ability to spot clues. His first case involved a woman who had taken a bath with her hairdryer in a locked hotel bathroom: DI Parker ruled out suicide when he spotted that she was wearing a mouthguard. Who worries about grinding their teeth in a coffin, he wondered?

It's delightful to see such a popular show return to its original format. No doubt DI Parker will learn to tolerate the heat, and even love the lizard. But how long will Ralf Little be able to stand the noisy nights?

In the more civilised surroundings of the Victoria & Albert Museum's archives, conservators on Secrets Of The Museum (BBC2) were searching for clues to reveal the history of unseen exhibits, such as a pink Dior cocktail dress, once worn by the glamorous wife of the Queen's private physician. Pin-prick holes in the fabric suggested the dress had once been worn with a brooch.

Its former owner, Pamela Mann, confirmed this was true: her husband William had loved to surprise her with jewellery. How romantic.

The most ingenious sleuthing was done on a 120-year-old stuffed elephant called Pumpey who needed reupholstering.

An Edwardian photo album of the toy on family holidays revealed how he had once looked, on the beach in his sailor costume. Pumpey didn't mind a bit of sunshine.
SAN DIEGO - Hundreds more people evacuated from the virus zone in China began arriving Friday at military bases across the U.S. to begin a two-week quarantine.

There were no signs of illness among those who flew into Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, said Dr. Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the Centers for Disease Controls division of high consequence pathogens and pathology. She said fewer than 100 people, including babies, will stay at Lackland, she but did not have an exact number.

The plane arrived from the Wuhan region of China, the centre of the outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The plane then left Texas and transported people to Omaha, Nebraska, where it landed Friday night. The passengers will be quarantined at a nearby Nebraska National Guard training base.

A military base in San Diego earlier Friday received 65 people who will be quarantined.

CDC officials said another flight carrying more than 160 people arrived Wednesday at the San Diego base. Since then, seven passengers from that flight were hospitalized after showing symptoms of illness. Two of the seven people were later sent back to the base after testing negative for the virus. Test results on the five others are pending.

Earlier evacuation flights to California have brought people to March Air Reserve Base in Southern California and Travis Air Force Base between San Francisco and Sacramento.

U.S. officials said at a news conference in Washington on Friday that more than 800 people have been brought to the United States from Wuhan on recent flights. All evacuees are being quarantined for 14 days and monitored for any signs of illness.

The new virus is in the coronavirus family that includes Middle East respiratory syndrome, or MERS, and severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS. It causes fever, cough, shortness of breath and, in severe cases, pneumonia. It has sickened more than 31,000 people and killed more than 600, virtually all in China.
We fiery young feminists said, Were going to create our own kind of culture.

 Julia Reichert, director of the documentary American Factory

What would the Oscars look like if they werent #sowhite and #somale?

Perhaps a little like the documentary category.

Four of the five feature documentaries nominated for an award on Sunday are directed or co-directed by women. Three of those stories revolve around women, focused on their daily struggles and lived experiences. And all of them feature a diversity of languages.

When I first became a board member, I, along with a number of other people, had concerns that we werent really representing the world, said Rory Kennedy, a documentary filmmaker who in 2015 became the board governor of the Academys documentary branch. Among other things, the branch is responsible for drawing up a preliminary list and whittling it down to the final five documentaries for the rest of the Academy to vote on.
New York lawmakers say they plan to sue after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) barred state residents from enrolling in or renewing their membership to Global Entry and many other Trusted Traveler Programs.

The Trump administration enforced the rule after a new law went into effect in 2019 allowing New York residents to apply for driver's licenses without having to prove they are in the US legally.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in an escalating fight over immigration policy between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in his home state.

'It's an abuse of power. It's extortion,' New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said at a news conference on Friday.

'It is hurting New Yorkers to advance their political agenda. And we're going to fight back.'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) announced his state will file a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's plan to block New Yorkers from enrolling in 'trusted traveler' programs. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf (right) said it is in response to a new New York law that gives illegal immigrants driving licenses

The Trusted Traveler Programs - or TTPs - include Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST and they make it easier for people traveling internationally to get through border security. Pictured: People use Global Entry machines at Dulles International in DC, November 2009

The Green Light Law is a sanctuary policy that allows undocumented migrants to apply for a license using a passport from their home country rather than a US document.

Part of that law also sought to protect immigrants in the country illegally by prohibiting the state's Department of Motor Vehicles from giving records to federal immigration agents.

On Thursday, the DHS retaliated, saying it would no longer allow New Yorkers to enroll, or renew their membership in 'trusted traveler programs'

These include Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, and FAST and they make it easier for people traveling internationally to get through border security.

On Thursday, in a call to reporters, Ken Cuccinelli, the DHS deputy secretary, said New York was inviting trouble with the bill.

'It was embarrassing to us in Virginia, that the majority of 9/11 terrorists used Virginia driver's licenses to help accomplish their evil mission, and we set about to fix that. And we did fix that,' he said.

Cuccinelli called it the 'the main problem...that allowed 9/11 to happen'.

Seven of the 19 terrorists of 9/11 had Virginia identification cards, which they obtained to make checking in for the flights they hijacked easier.

Cuccinelli added that not allowing federal agents to quickly access vehicle and criminal records to check for fugitive warrants or confirm someone's identification is endangering public safety.

At least 175,000 New Yorkers now will be kicked out as their permits expire, in addition to around 30,000 commercial truck drivers enrolled in a program that eases their crossings into the US from Canada.

Wolf argued that, since ICE and CBP cannot properly vet New Yorkers for Trusted Traveler programs, nobody will be allowed to access them. Pictured: Immigrants seen lining up at DMVs around New York to get their hands on licenses (above)

9/11 hackers Mohammed Atta (right) And Abdulaziz Alomari (center) had Virginian driver's licensees, which they use to pass through security at Portland International Airport in Maine

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will oversee the lawsuit, called their removal from the program 'political retribution, plain and simple.'

'Time and time again, President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda,' James said in a statement.

Several other states have similar policies of allowing immigrants in the country illegally to get driver's licenses.

However, New York is the only state that bans the sharing of motor vehicle records with immigration agents, DHS officials said.

Trump has been singling out New York in recent months for especially harsh criticism over so-called sanctuary policies for immigrants.

On Tuesday, in his State of the Union address, he highlighted the case of Reeaz Khan, 21, an illegal migrant from Guyana accused of raping and murdering 92-year-old Maria Fuertes in Queens.

ICE has accused New York authorities of denying a detainment request they placed on Khan because of his immigration status after he was arrested six weeks earlier for assaulting his father with a broken coffee mug.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan voiced frustration over the OIC's silence on Kashmir during his visit to Malaysia

Pakistan's bid to call an immediate meeting on Kashmir by Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation seems to have failed after Riyadh showing reluctance to the move, according to a Pakistani media report on Thursday.

In December, there were plans to convene a meeting of the foreign ministers of the OIC on Kashmir by Saudi Arabia, in an apparent move by the kingdom to please Pakistan which skipped a recent summit of Muslim nations in Malaysia seen by Riyadh as an attempt to create a new bloc to replace the 57-member grouping led by it.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had confirmed Pakistan's participation in the summit hosted by Malaysia, but skipped the event at the eleventh hour due to pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - key financial backers of the cash-strapped country.

The report by Dawn News came ahead of the bloc's senior officials' meeting in Jeddah on February 9 to make preparations for the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM).

Islamabad's feeling of unease with the OIC over its failure to get the CFM's meeting appears to be growing, as Riyadh was showing reluctance to convene the meeting on Kashmir on Pakistan's request, the report quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

The Jeddah-headquartered bloc, which is the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue.

Prime Minister Khan voiced frustration over the OIC's silence on Kashmir during his visit to Malaysia.

The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We can't even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir, he said this week.

Pakistan has been pushing for the foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir since India abrogated the special provisions of Kashmir in August last year.

Although there has been a meeting of the contact group on Kashmir on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York and a report by the OIC's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission on the alleged rights abuses in Kashmir, no progress could be made towards the CFM's meeting.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while underscoring the importance of CFM for Pakistan, said it was needed to send a clear message from Ummah (community) on the Kashmir issue.

Support from Riyadh is considered a must for any move at the OIC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries from the Gulf.

The kingdom has made several proposals to Pakistan to avoid the CFM including holding of a parliamentary forum or speakers' conference from Muslim countries and, according to a source, a joint meeting on Palestine and Kashmir issues. Pakistan has persisted with its proposal so far.

Saudi Arabia, soon after Pakistan's absence at the Malaysia summit, showed flexibility in December on the proposal for the CFM on Kashmir. The Saudi flexibility, however, was short-lived as Riyadh reverted to its position.

India, in a major diplomatic achievement in March last year, addressed the OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first time.

India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the grouping of the OIC which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Qureshi boycotting the plenary.
Dali apologizes for requisition of Chongqing masks - Chinadaily.com.cn

The government of Dali, Yunnan province, apologized on Thursday for the wrongful requisition of face masks that were meant for the city of Chongqing to fight the coronavirus outbreak, saying it will return the remaining masks to Chongqing and make up for those that have been distributed and used.

It said the city was in dire need of medical materials to fight the outbreak as the amount of such materials was not enough to meet even the basic needs for workers in Dali. As the city's own purchase was not in place, it commandeered the maskswhich had incomplete paperworkfor a price and distributed them to local medical facilities, community workers, police and so on.

Dali will return the rest of the masks331 of 598 boxesto Chongqing and has paid a compensation of 990,300 yuan ($141,000) for the ones that have been allocated and used.

Yang Yanchi, director of the Dali Health Bureau, has been stripped of his position.

On Thursday afternoon, Yunnan circulated a notice of criticism to the Dali government and its health bureau for its wrongdoings and asked them to return the goods to Chongqing immediately.

Dealing with the novel coronavirus epidemic since January, almost all cities across the country are facing a shortage of prevention and control materials, such as masks, preventive suits and goggles.

On Sunday, the Dali Health Bureau issued a notice of emergency requisition to a logistics company that was sending 598 boxes of masks from Ruili, Yunnan, to neighboring Chongqing as the goods were crossing the area of Dali.

Those masks were purchased by Chongqing companies from an overseas market to help the Chongqing government fight the epidemic.

The notice said that due to the outbreak, Dali has activated its first-level public health emergency response, and the city is short of epidemic prevention and control materials. According to related laws, the Dali government decided to requisition the masks sent to Chongqing.

On Monday, the Chongqing Leading Group for Novel Coronavirus Prevention and Control, the government agency responsible for virus control, sent an official letter to the Dali health bureau asking them to return the masks, but their request was denied, according to Beijing News.

"Dali's misconduct seriously affected the epidemic control work of Chongqing and hurt the feelings of its people," according to the circular issued by the Yunnan Leading Group for Novel Coronavirus Prevention and Control. "Other cities and departments in the province should learn from this lesson and bear the overall situation in mind."

Chongqing, a city of 30 million people, is facing an uphill battle to control the epidemic as it has close transport ties to Wuhan, Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak.

As of midnight Wednesday, Chongqing had 389 confirmed novel coronavirus cases and Dali had eight.

The expropriation of Chongqing medical supplies in Dali has raised heated public discussion and criticism, with experts saying it is unlawful.

Zhao Peng, deputy director of the Research Center for Government by Law at China University of Political Science and Law, said that governments do have the right to requisition goods in order to control the epidemic, according to relevant laws.

"But the county-level governments can only requisition the goods within their own administrative region. The expropriation of the goods from other parts of the country need to be operated by the State Council," he was quoted as saying by Beijing News.

The goods in transportation belong to cross-regional goods, so only the State Council has the right to requisition them, he added.
Hungarian police have reopened a border crossing with Serbia, after hundreds of migrants ended a protest demanding entry into Hungary.

"The Tompa road border-crossing has been reopened," a statement on the police website said on February 7.

The crossing had been temporarily closed after some 200 migrants, including children, gathered at the site and demanded to be let into the country.

Wrapped in blankets, the migrants stood in freezing weather and whipping winds late on February 6 at the Kelebija border crossing, holding their possessions as they blocked traffic.

Children shouted "Open borders!" while some migrants held signs reading, "We are refugees, not criminals," "We are running from war, not hunger," and, simply, "Let us cross."

One man told the HVG.hu news site: "We are peacefully protesting. We want to be allowed to continue our journey toward Western Europe."

They were later taken by bus to reception centers in Serbia, said Svetlana Palic, spokeswoman for the Serbian commissariat for refugees.

Their claims will be processed in the same way as those of other asylum seekers, Palic said.

Several thousand migrants fleeing war and poverty in their home countries are stranded in the Balkans as they seek entry into the more prosperous countries of Western Europe.

During the 2015 migrant crisis, far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government erected a razor-wire-topped fence on the 175-kilometer-long frontier -- one of the EU's external borders.

Hungary said more than 3,400 attempts to cross the border were made last month alone, compared with several hundred a month in 2019.

Officials say most of the migrants come from the war-torn countries of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen.

Hundreds of thousands were able to pass through the Balkans in 2015-16, when about 1 million people entered Europe.

A week ago, about 70 people attempted to get into Hungary at another Serbian border crossing in the night darkness but were driven back after security personnel fired warning shots in the air.

Serbia's RTS reported that Serbian Defense Minister Aleksandar Vulin was traveling to the border to assess the situation

With reporting by AFP and AP
A New Jersey mayor has apologized for taking off his pants and passing out on a bed belonging to one of his employees at a party held in January.

Mahwah mayor John Roth apologized during a Wednesday night Township Council meeting for his actions that evening.

'There are no words that are adequate to express an appropriate apology. I feel nothing but regret, remorse and sincere sorrow,' he said, according to NorthJersey.com.

Mahwah mayor John Roth apologized during a Wednesday night Township Council meeting for his actions that evening

A resolution was passed later in the evening, reprimanding the mayor for 'inappropriate and unbecoming conduct.' Many at the meeting demanded that Roth resign.

The 71-year-old confirmed that he had been drunk during the January 10 party at the employee's home. Roth passed out on the employee's bed with his pants off and was so inebriated that his wife was called so that she could take him home.

The incident was reported to the human resource team, confirmed Township Attorney Brian Campion.

Roughly 20 to 25 employees who had been present at the party were interviewed by labor attorney Raymond Wiss.

The 71-year-old confirmed that he had been drunk during the January 10 party at the employee's home. Roth passed out on the employee's bed with his pants off and was so inebriated that his wife was called so that she could take him home

Roth also acknowledged that he had rear-ended another car while exiting the Mahwah Bar & Grill parking lot, failing to report the incident when it took place on November 6, 2018.

Police only learned of his identity after reviewing security videos from the restaurant.

Roth shared that he had not realized that he hit the car until police informed him. He said he settled with the owner to repair 'minor damages.' The mayor would not reveal whether he had been drinking on the day.

Roth also acknowledged that he had rear-ended another car while exiting the Mahwah Bar & Grill parking lot, failing to report the incident when it took place on November 6, 2018

A career politician, Roth has held several elected offices. He was on the city's board of education from 1999 to 2002. Roth also served on the council for 12 years, serving four terms as council president and two as vice president.

If Roth resigns, the council will be able to appoint any resident as mayor as Mahwah is nonpartisan.

It does not have to be a council person, Campion explained to NJ.com.
Dressed in a pair of denim overalls and an oversized shirt, a five-year-old Isabelle Morzone can be seen beaming up at a film camera surrounded by her fellow Kindergarten friends.

The boy sitting next to her, who is sporting a signature 90s bowl cut hairdo and a bright red jumper, is Brisbane-born Kye Dinte.

The youngsters couldn't have known it then, but the pair never left each other's sides since and are now happily engaged.

'We have been together for nearly 10 years. We met in Kindergarten and were good friends throughout primary school, until we started dating at 15,' Kye, now 25, told FEMAIL.

The youngsters couldn't have known it then (Isabelle pictured middle left and Kye middle right) but the pair haven't left each other's sides since

The couple, who are keen outdoor adventurers, have toured many of Queensland's most famous watering holes together and enjoy a weekend camping trip.

In 2016 Isabelle, who is also 25, graduated university and became a registered midwife and nurse, with Kye having already chosen his path as an electrician.

Two years later they saved up their pennies to buy a plot of land and build their forever home on it, complete with a vegetable patch that Isabelle takes regular care of.

In November 2019 the well-travelled lovebirds bought a Spoodle dog named Agnes, who has its own Instagram page, completing their family unit.

But something was missing.

The couple, who are keen outdoor adventurers, have toured many of Queensland's most famous watering holes together and enjoy a weekend camping trip

In November 2019 the well-travelled lovebirds bought a Spoodle dog named Agnes (pictured), who has its own Instagram page, completing their family unit

A few days later on November 16, with Isabelle still besotted by their pup, Kye added another element to their Hollywood movie-type romance with a surprise engagement.

'I've wanted to marry Isabelle for as long as I can remember. We were busy building our house and our lives together before I started organising the ring,' he said.

Under the guise of helping their friends at YouFoodz with a promotional photoshoot, Isabelle and Kye were invited to sit down on a ready-made picnic and take photos for the meal delivery company.

'I chose this moment because I wanted it to be a surprise and I can't get much past Isabelle,' Kye said.

Under the guise of helping their friends at YouFoodz with a promotional photoshoot, Isabelle and Kye were invited to sit down on a ready-made picnic and take photos for the meal delivery company

'I can honestly say I had no idea,' Isabelle said. 'I have done a similar thing in the past for our friend so did not think anything of it when he asked us to do a "photoshoot,"' Isabelle said

'I had to plan the finest details so she wouldn't suspect anything. I chose this location as Isabelle is obsessed with the outdoors and picnics.'

Saying he was 'absolutely s***ting himself' before popping the question, Kye managed to utter the 'most beautiful things' to Isabelle, things they want to keep between the two of them forever.

'I can honestly say I had no idea,' Isabelle said. 'I have done a similar thing in the past for our friend so did not think anything of it when he asked us to do a "photoshoot". It was such a normal day, until it wasn't.'

Isabelle's pure shock registers on her face in real time as the frames capture the moment 20 years in the making

Photos of the moment Kye reveals the ring box have been caught on camera, just like their meeting as five-year-old's.

Isabelle's pure shock registers on her face in real time as the frames capture the moment 20 years in the making.

They hope to tie the knot by 2021 and continue their love story for decades to come.
Kisumu National Polytechnic which was closed over student riots on Tuesday will reopen on February 17. and 19.

The institution's Principal Chanzu Lomolo said during a council meeting on Wednesday, it was decided that the 6,842 students return to school between February 17 and 19. The institution has more than 13,000 students.

Kisumu National Polytechnic was closed indefinitely on Tuesday following student unrest.

According to a signed notice from Kisumu National Polytechnic Student Association chairperson, the students rioted over an alleged arbitrary increase of fees and insecurity. The allegations were denied by Mr Lomolo.

On Monday, the students engaged police in running battles during their protest against insecurity and

At least five students were arrested during the incident. Mr Lomolo said the fees remains Sh56,420 per year as per the government guidelines.

"Of the Sh56,420 the government has put in place a capitation of Sh30,000 and students only pay Sh26,420. Needy students can apply for loans from the Higher Education Loans Board," added the principal.
Opinion Article

7 February 2020

The hospitality industry, much like other affiliated businesses (airline and cruises), is generally the first to get impacted by any global catastrophe and the last to recover. We have seen this time and again - be it natural or man-made disasters, trade wars, economic recessions, health emergencies, or travel advisories by the political class across the globe who use them as an effective tool in convincing their own public that they have acted responsibly and done their job.

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The coronavirus outbreak that showed its first signs in December last year was declared an international health emergency by the World Health Organization on January 30. Initial indications are that tourist destinations that are traditionally visited by the Chinese travelers are the worst affected, especially as the Chinese New Year holiday traffic cancelled in large numbers. In 2019, China predicted around 166 million outbound travelers, many of whom travelled during the Chinese New Year. This, in 2020 will not be the case, other than a few travelers who already had started their journeys.

Top 10 Outbound Tourism Destinations for Chinese Travelers in 2019:

Vietnam Thailand Japan Indonesia Singapore Malaysia Hong Kong Philippines Cambodia Macau

While not making it to this list, smaller countries like The Maldives, Sri Lanka, Fiji, etc. also get a significant percentage contribution of tourist arrivals from China, albeit the actual number is much smaller. Take for example The Maldives, where the Chinese accounted for 16.7% of the tourism market share, making it the top contributor in 2019. Per the Tourism Ministry, total tourist arrivals for the period Feb-Apr 2019 was 494,540 that translated to 3,008,176 bed nights. This is expected to go down by at least 30% in 2020 due to the coronavirus, which in turn will reduce the total bed nights by over 900,000. Assuming an average daily rate of US$600 means that collectively, the loss of revenue for hotels in The Maldives will be in excess of US$540 million for this period alone, and this is then just one country. The figure below indicates how coronavirus is impacting travel across the globe.

Figure 1: Impact of Coronavirus

Source: ForwardKeys  Photo: Hotelivate Private Limited

However, it's not just the Chinese outbound traveler we need to be concerned about. Global business travelers are holding off travel to Asia unless absolutely necessary, especially to destinations traditionally visited by the Chinese. Singapore, Mumbai, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur are all impacted, and we hear from hotels that bookings are being deferred or postponed for at least the next couple of weeks. So, what is the solution, and is there something we can do to mitigate our losses? For now, we have three simple suggestions:

My advice to hoteliers, and in particular, to the sales teams out there is that they need to think and act rationally. First, let's get some basic understanding of the situation. The coronavirus outbreak is a unique one-off incident and as such needs to be treated in context. Dropping room rates drastically as a knee jerk reaction is not going to improve the situation, particularly if you are in a business location. If you need proof of this theory, note what hotels in Hong Kong have done over the past six months in the face of protests. Most hotels had their occupancies go off the cliff but still decided to hold on to their rates. The idea being that people who were coming to Hong Kong needed to be there anyway and it was not because they got a hotel discount.

The second recommendation I would like to make is both to the industry at large as well as to the respective governments. Nations like India, Indonesia, and Thailand should be looking sharply at domestic tourism that has time and again increased the resilience of the industry in the wake of global adversities. A case in point, back in 2003, when SARS hit the region, unfortunately coinciding with the Iraq war, most Indians chose to travel domestically rather than overseas. This was a turnaround year for Goa which until then had been a seasonal tourist market. It also fueled domestic tourism in a very big way in the country. Hence, governments can perhaps give tax concessions to encourage local travel and stay. After all, the Travel & Tourism sector employs one in every ten people, and governments can ill afford to let them be bystanders.

Finally, let's stop all the insensitivity towards Chinese tourists. Till recently, most tourism and hotel professionals were dying to get a piece of the Chinese pie; however, in the past week, in countries like South Korea, signs have begun popping up on restaurant and hotel windows saying, 'No Chinese Allowed' and a casino in the country has stopped accepting Chinese visitors. Similar cases are being seen in Japan too. This is not limited to Asia alone; a French regional newspaper called it the 'yellow alert', which is outright racist, considering the xenophobic term 'yellow peril' was used for the people of East Asia dating back to the 19th century. In Denmark, the country's Jyllands-Posten newspaper published an editorial cartoon depicting China's flag with virus symbols in place of stars on the red background. God only knows what Donald Trump's thoughts are on the Chinese and the virus.

We believe that as reputable and respectable hotel brands, turning business away or any phobia against Chinese tourists will tarnish the goodwill in the long run. One must not forget that business is a numbers game and with Chinese travel, the numbers do make a huge impact. They will be back sooner than you think. Hotel brands should instead have set policies and corporate directives to tackle such sensitive situations to ensure that Chinese tourists do not feel harassed. Operationally, the resort/hotel doctor needs to be equipped with the necessary means to deal with such situations and the management must make it mandatory for the tourists to report to the nearest hospital instead of causing mass hysteria.

Finally, one hopes that this challenge too will be overcome sooner than later. We all live in a fragile world and we should not be throwing stones from a glass house.
Japan Turns Away Carnival-Owned Cruise Ship Over Fear of Coronavirus

Japanese authorities have refused to allow a Holland America-operated cruise ship to call at its ports, according to the company, but it stressed there are no known cases of coronavirus on board.

The Westerdam cruise ship is currently in a holding pattern off the coast of Japan, southeast of Okinawa, while we are working to finalize a new port of disembarkation, said Holland America, a subsidiary of Carnival Corp., in a statement on Thursday.

The ship has not been placed under quarantine, and there are no confirmed cases of the mysterious new virus on board, the company stressed. It noted there were media reports that have said otherwise.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that at least one person on the Westerdam is suspected of being infected with coronavirus.

Based on the immigration control law, we will refuse non-Japanese on the ship entry, unless there are exceptional reasons, he said, according to public broadcaster NHK. Similar measures will be implemented in the future, Abe said.

The Feb. 15 cruise slated to embark in Yokohama has been canceled, the firm said. The Westerdam was also denied a port of call in the Philippines due to health concerns from authorities.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo, on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP)

The ship has sufficient fuel and food provisions to last until the end of the voyage. We are providing free Internet and phone access for our guests and crew so they can contact loved ones at home, though Internet access in general has been challenging in the area. We are making regular announcements on board, the Seattle-based company said in a statement.

It comes as Japan has held the Diamond Princess cruise ship, which has about 3,700 people on board, in quarantine for two weeks. The cruise company said Friday that 61 people have been confirmed to have coronavirus.

On top of that, four passengers on Royal Caribbean ship Anthem of the Seas were rushed to hospitals in New Jersey for further screening, according to local officials. Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis confirmed the ship docked in Bayonne on Friday, saying that about two-dozen passengers have been screened for the virus.

A cruise ship is a very particular environment in which you can have higher levels of transmission even with a virus that isnt very efficient with transmission, Dr. Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organizations Health Emergencies Program, said during a Friday morning press conference.

So far, federal health officials have confirmed 12 cases of coronavirus in the United States, including in California, Massachusetts, Illinois, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Washington state.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Reporter

Ben Zigterman is a reporter covering business at The News-Gazette. His email is bzigterman@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@bzigterman).
BOISE  Lawmakers moved forward with a proposal to ban public institutions from using preferential treatment based on race, color, sex, ethnicity or nationality when selecting job candidates.

The bill that would effectively ban affirmative action policies in Idaho was introduced Thursday by the House State Affairs Committee, clearing the way for a hearing.

Rep. Heather Scott, R-Blanchard, said such policies are deeply offensive.

We can promote diversity but we should refuse to reduce people down to their skin color or some other trait, Scott said. Hiring decisions should be made about merit and competence and the best person should win the job regardless of their traits.

The bill would amend the Idaho Human Rights Act to ban preferential selection in all government, including public schools and universities.

Scott said some exclusions would be needed for some gender-specific jobs.

Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, said she was hesitant to support the bill.

While I agree with the principle of this, this is a complicated issue that is addressed in other statutes, Young said. Im less comfortable with this without more opportunity to look at how this will impact the other statutes.

Nine states currently ban affirmative action policies, including Washington.

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* Arabian Centres slides on poor Q3 profit * TAQA extends gains on ADPower proposal * Telecom Egypt leaps after update on Vodafone Egypt By Ateeq Shariff Feb 5 (Reuters) - Major Gulf stock markets were steady in quiet trade on Wednesday, while oil giant Saudi Aramco extended losses and hit its lowest mark since it began trading. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index declined 0.5% with Samba Financial Group shedding 2.3%, and shopping mall operator Arabian Centres dropping 1.8% after posting a steep fall in third-quarter profit. Rating agency Fitch said on Wednesday that growth had returned to Saudi banks but remained fragile. Oil giant Saudi Aramco dipped 0.6% to 33.65 riyals ($8.97), hitting its lowest point since it began trading on Dec. 11. Egypt's blue-chip index gained 0.5%; Eastern Company gained 3.7%, while Telecom Egypt jumped 5.4% following its update on Vodafone Egypt. Telecom Egypt said it was closely following Vodafone Group's potential deal to sell its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt , which has boosted that stock. Telecom Egypt holds the remaining 45%. The Abu Dhabi index eased 0.3%, hit by a 1.1% fall in the country's largest lender First Abu Dhabi Bank and a 0.3% fall in Etisalat. Maroc Telecom was fined 3.3 billion Moroccan dirhams ($342.8 million) for anti-competitive practices, the operator said on Monday. The company is 53% controlled by the UAE's Etisalat, with the Moroccan state owning 22%. But Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) surged 14.9%, rising for a third day in a row. Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) is planning to take control of the energy firm in an asset swap deal that would create a combined utility with assets worth about 200 billion dirhams ($54.5 billion). In Dubai, the index edged up 0.2% with Dubai Islamic Bank adding 0.5% and Emirates NBD Bank was up 0.4%. The Qatari index added 0.3%. Commercial Bank advanced 2.7% and Qatar Fuel gained 1.9%. SAUDI ARABIA fell 0.5% to 8,094 points ABU DHABI lost 0.3% to 5,081 points DUBAI added 0.2% to 2,772 points QATAR rose 0.3% to 10,298 points EGYPT up 0.5% to 13,987 points BAHRAIN eased 0.5% to 1,655 points OMAN fell 0.5% to 4,125 points KUWAIT down 0.2% at 6,963 points ($1 = 9.6272 Moroccan dirham; $1 = 3.6728 UAE dirham; $1 = 3.7514 riyals) (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin Char)
(Newser)  "He's a little intoxicated," said a lieutenant of a Colorado man found passed out behind the wheel. Except that man was a police officerand Colorado District Attorney George Brauchler is pretty peeved that he can't prosecute him. That's because an investigation was never opened by the Aurora PD, and the evidence that is on hand can't be used due to a couple of laws, the Denver Post reports. "If one of us had been in that car, and not officer Nathan Meier, do I think it would it have been treated differently? I do." As for the treatment Meier received when he was found March 26 in an Aurora police car, armed, in uniform, and smelling a bit like alcohol, responding Deputy Chief Paul O'Keefe told internal affairs that he "erred on the side of protecting" Meier.

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O'Keefe said he felt there wasn't enough evidence to pursue a DUI investigation and instead treated it as a medical situation, reports CBS Denver. Brauchler noted a water bottle containing a colorless liquid was in Meier's car but wasn't tested. Further, no one attempted to get Meier's blood, per ABC News, though hospital staff did draw it and found his BAC was 0.43, five times over the legal limitagain, evidence that isn't admissible. Ditto Meier's own admission to internal affairs investigators that he was driving drunk. "I dont think it's a cover-up," says Brauchler, "but it's a couple blocks from it." Meier is still with the department, but in a "non-enforcement capacity." O'Keefe resigned on Thursday. (Read more DUI stories.)
The White House said Thursday that the U.S. has killed Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

A White House statement said al-Rimi was killed in Yemen but it did not say when. The counter-terrorism operation was conducted at the direction of President Donald Trump, it said.

Tribal leaders in Yemen said on Feb. 1 that a suspected U.S. drone strike destroyed a building housing al Qaeda militants the previous week, and Trump re-tweeted several tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the Jan. 25 strike killed al-Rimi, the Associated Press reported at the time. The Arabian Peninsula branch is often referred to as AQAP.

"Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," the White House said in a statement.

More from NBC News:

American man kidnapped in Afghanistan, U.S. officials say

12 Israeli soldiers injured in car-ramming attack in Jerusalem

After Soleimani killing, U.S. braced for Iranian drone and missile strikes

Al-Rimi was placed on the United States' most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al Qaeda's Yemen affiliate in 2015.

A 2017 Navy SEAL raid in Yemen also had a secret objective to capture or kill al-Rimi, but he survived, military and intelligence officials told NBC News at the time. Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens of SEAL Team 6, 14 al Qeda fighters and some civilians were killed in a firefight during that raid, officials have said.

A Pentagon spokesman at the time denied that al-Rimi was a target and said the military "never had any hope, intention or plan" of killing or capturing the AQAP leader in the operation.

Al-Rimi was also the deputy of Ayman al-Zawahiri, who is said to be the leader of al Qaeda who succeeded Osama bin Laden, the White House statement said.

Al-Zawahiri is on the U.S. most wanted terrorists list and a reward of up to $25 million has been offered for information leading to his apprehension or conviction.

He has been indicted in the U.S. for his alleged role in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. Those bombings killed 224 people, including 12 Americans, according to the FBI. Suicide bombers drove pickup trucks to the gates of the two embassies and detonated thousands of pounds of TNT in the attacks.
Delhi goes to the polls on Saturday in the first electoral test for Narendra Modis ruling party since the start of mass protests across the country against its new citizenship laws.

Star campaigners from Mr Modis BJP have focussed heavily on the sit-in protest led by hundreds of Muslim women in south Delhis Shaheen Bagh neighbourhood, which has become a focal point for protests nationwide.

Mr Modis Hindu nationalist agenda won him a landslide second general election victory only last May, but his party has since lost a string of important state polls, denting his partys reputation as an unstoppable political force.

And in Delhi they come up against an incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), or "common man" party, led by the charismatic chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Analysts say recent polls have the AAP as favourites, with voters appreciative of party initiatives that have included improvements to state schools, large infrastructure projects and free bus travel for women.

Fearing yet another local election defeat, the BJP have gone all-in on the tactic that appears to have brought them such success last May - divisive, anti-Muslim rhetoric appealing to a base of Hindu voters.

Before campaigning ended this week, the party called in the militant Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath - chief minister of neighbouring Uttar Pradesh - to paint the BJPs opponents and critics as inherently opposed to the national interest (or anti-nationals).

In a speech in Delhi, Yogi lumped the protesters at Shaheen Bagh, as well as the AAP and trailing opposition party Congress, in with Indias arch-rival Pakistan. Whenever Kejriwal is happy, Pakistan is happy too, he said. Indeed, according to a Reuters analysis, at one point he mentioned Pakistan eight times in less than a minute.

Mr Modi has himself engaged in thinly-veiled divisive rhetoric, calling the Shaheen Bagh protest - sparked by a new law that gives a path to citizenship for refugees of every major religion except Islam - a conspiracy, part of a political design.

Shuddhabrata Sengupta, an artist and curator and longtime Modi critic, called the comment a dog-whistle basically a signal to his faithful to view the ongoing protests in Delhi through the lens of a well-cultivated prejudice against Muslims.

Last month Parvesh Verma, the BJP member of parliament for West Delhi, said the demonstrators would "enter people's homes, rape women and then kill them off. A minister characterised the protesters as "traitors" and led a crowd in chanting the slogan "shoot them.

Some people seem to have taken the command literally. There are heightened security concerns for Saturdays vote after three incidents of gunfire at or near protest sites in four days. One of the shooters, as he was being taken away by police, could be heard saying: In our country, only Hindus will prevail.

For Jai Mrug, a senior analyst with the independent polling agency VMR, there is a sense in Delhi that the AAP are still leading in opinion polls because the BJP is beating the wrong drum.

He told The Independent that, since the nineties, the capital and its uniquely wealthy population of more than 16 million people have made strong urban governance a priority above all else - a narrative that Kejriwal has been able to offer in a way the BJP simply hasnt.

There has been a lot of talk around Shaheen Bagh, but I would go back in history to the 2008 elections in Delhi, held just after a very big terrorist attack in India, the 26/11 attacks (in which 164 people were killed in Mumbai).

That was also expected to trigger a big wave of support for the BJP, and that did not happen. Delhi voters dont appear to make knee-jerk reactions along communal lines - and we have a historical data point for this.

If the BJP can pull off an upset tomorrow, it will be seen as vindication for the partys preferred tactic of trying to win state elections by using national arguments, said Harsh Pant, a fellow at New Delhi-based think-tank the Observer Research Foundation.

"Rightly or wrongly, they [the Shaheen Bagh protesters] are largely seen as Muslim protesters. There is a polarisation between Hindus and Muslims that suits the BJP," he said.

On the other hand, a victory for the AAP will raise big questions for whether Mr Modi and the BJP can still appeal to urban voters. Exit polls should give a good indication of which way it has gone when polling closes on Saturday evening. The official count does not take place until Tuesday.
The majority of representatives of companies that are members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine present at the annual meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce have said they count on growth of business in 2020, although the half of respondents doubts the correctness of the reform policy, according to a poll of the meeting participants.

According to the poll results, 85%, or 163 respondents, expect growth this year, while 14% (26 respondents) predict that the situation will not change. Three participants, or 2%, expect a decline.

At the same time, the opinions of the audience regarding the correctness of the reform policy were divided: 53% (80 participants) consider the chosen path to be right, 57% (71 representatives of member companies) do not agree with it.

At the same time, 78% of respondents (92 people) announced plans to increase employee salaries in 2020.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Opposition on Thursday staged a walkout from the assembly protesting the lack of clarity on whether Census data will be used for National Population Register (NPR) related work. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala urged the government to stop all work related to Census till there is clarity on the process. Chennithala said the UDF views the concerns relating to Census enumeration not as an issue concerning Muslims alone but as an issue that should be taken up by all secular people in the state.

There is no clarity yet on NPR or the NRC (National Register of Citizens). While the Prime Minister says NRC will not be implemented, Home Minister Amit Shah says the opposite. Till the confusion persists, the state government should not go ahead with Census work, he said.

Christian Cemeteries Bill referred to subject committee

The assembly witnessed a heated debate on the Kerala Christian Cemeteries Bill, 2020. The Bill was mooted in the backdrop of the tiff between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the Malankara Syrian Church. While the Opposition raised stiff protest saying the Bill was poorly drafted, Law Minister A K Balan said the subject committee would rectify the faults.

Govt claims to have provided free med care for endosulfan victims

TPuram: A week after victims of endosulfan poisoning under the banner of Endosulfan Peeditha Janakeeya Munnani (EPJM) held a protest meet, the government claimed to have provided free treatment and ration to endosulfan victims in Kasaragod. Health Minister KK Shailaja said all those included in the list of beneficiaries were given the facilities.
He was seen off at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, Minister of Home Affairs Kazembe Kazembe, Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs Oliver Chidawu, Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, Service chiefs and other senior Government officials.
Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac on Friday began presenting the fifth budget of the CPI(M)-led LDF government for the 2020-21 fiscal by making remarks against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the unanimous resolution passed by the state assembly against it.

Stating the amended act was posing a threat to the basic credentials of the Constitution, he said the country was witnessing the biggest protests ever in the post-Independence era.

Students and women are at the forefront of the anti- CAA agitations and the hope of the country lies in the youth who hit the streets vowing they would not let the country down, he said.

Coming down heavily on the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre, Isaac said a communalised government machinery, leaders who talk only about "disgust and hatred" and their party workers who consider violence as their duty was the current reality in the country.

"Generally speaking, it is the present India...The concerns triggered by Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) are beyond words. The fear of detention centres are hanging above the head of over 19 lakh people of Assam who have lived as Indians till yesterday," he said.

Quoting from a poem 'Fear' by a 15-year old boy from Wayanad Dhruvath Gautham who wrote 'fear is country and silence is an ornament!,' Isaac said "even the imagination of our children is now filled with fear".

Referring to the stringent opposition raised by the Left government in the state against the CAA and NRC, the finance minister lavished praise on the joint protests led by the ruling LDF and opposition UDF against the central act.

Setting aside political differences, the rival fronts in the state had joined hands to protest when the country had faced existential threat which had become a model for other states, he said.

When Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala jointly protested at the same venue against CAA, became a model to other states, the senior leader added.

The state showcased the same unity while passing a resolution requesting the centre to repeal the CAA and filing a suit in the apex court against this under the Article 130, he said.

"The country's economy is heading towards a severe economic crisis like that witnessed in 2009," he said.

Earlier, the references to anti-CAA protests had found a place in the government's policy address also.

While presenting the policy address in the House, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan had read out references to anti- CAA resolution passed by the house, despite disagreeing with it.

Reading out the the anti-CAA stand of the state government, the Governor said "our citizenship can never be on the basis of religion as this goes against the grain of secularism which is part of the basic structure of our constitution.
She was at the centre of headlines late last year as she was embroiled in resurfaced claims she had an affair with Jacqueline Jossa's husband Dan Osborne back in 2018.

And Gabby Allen put the drama firmly behind her as she celebrated her 28th birthday with her pals at e&o restaurant in Chelsea, before moving onto private members club Raffles in central London on Thursday evening.

The Love Island star ensured she stood out on her special day as she flashed her lean legs in a cream mini-dress, complete with a ruffled neckline.

Cheers to a new year! Gabby Allen celebrated her 28th birthday at e&o restaurant in Chelsea, before moving onto private members club Raffles in central London on Thursday evening

Putting her tanned physique on full display, the media personality showcased her dark pedicure in a pair of chic slip-on heels.

The reality star added a pop of colour to her appearance as she toted her essentials in a vibrant beaded clutch.

Her radiant complexion was enhanced with a full face of make-up while her blonde tresses were dressed into a ponytail, with curly strands of hair framing her pretty features.

Accessorising her look with a selection of statement gold jewellery, Gabby appeared on cloud nine as she let loose with her close friends.

In good company: The Love Island star was joined her (L-R) Harley Brash, Elma Pazar and Chloe Ross at the lively bash

Wow-factor! The reality star ensured she stood out on her special day as she flashed her lean legs in a cream mini-dress, complete with a ruffled neckline

Giddy: The blonde couldn't contain her delight as she was treated to a personalised clear balloon, with a series of purple balloons inside

Standing tall: Putting her tanned physique on full display, the media personality showcased her dark pedicure in a pair of chic slip-on heels

All in the details: The reality star added a pop of colour to her appearance as she toted her essentials in a vibrant beaded clutch

Glowing: Her radiant complexion was enhanced with a full face of make-up while her blonde tresses were dressed into a ponytail, with curly strands of hair framing her pretty features

Three's company: She linked arms with her male pals as she made her way to the nightclub

Doting sibling: She was joined by her brother Ethan, who sent Love Island fans into a meltdown when he was first revealed as her sibling back in 2017

The professional dancer was joined by the likes of TOWIE's Chloe Ross and Love Islanders Kady McDermott, Harley Brash, Elma Pazar and Montana Brown.

Shortly before the new year, the blonde was forced to deny claims she had an affair with TOWIE star Dan, 28.

It was reported that Gabby's ex, Myles Stephenson, 28, was quizzed about what he knew regarding the claims whilst appearing on I'm A Celebrity alongside actress Jacqueline.

Having fun: Accessorising her look with a selection of statement gold jewellery, Gabby appeared on cloud nine as she let loose with her close friends

Gals night out: The Liverpool native let her hair down with her close pal Harley, 21

Wooo! An animated Harley flashed a peace sign and stuck her tongue out as she partied with her pals

Letting loose: The group were treated to a selection of shots and champagne as they boogied till the early hours

Myles is said to have told Jacqueline that he believed the pair DID have a fling, although Gabby has always maintained her innocence.

Proving to move on from the past, Gabby shared a New Year's post where she reflected on 2019 and said she wants to fulfill her 'dreams' in the coming months.

She shared: 'I have set myself goals and ambitions that I am adamant to achieve this year. I have dreams to fulfill and I have [been] dilly dallying around them, waiting for the right time. The time is now.

'I feel a change in my mindset and I going to climb this challenging, beautiful mountain we call life until I can shout from its peak that I have made myself proud.'

Looking good: Love Island 2019 contestant Harley highlighted her slender frame in a sleeveless white dress

Vampy: Kady McDermott nailed edgy chic in a leather ensemble as she was also in attendance

Leggy display: Instagram star Chloe, 26, stunned in a leather blazer dress with black and perspex heels

Keeping warm: Geordie beauty Harley wrapped up against the chilly climes in a longline jacket

Pins on display: Newly-single Montana Brown went braless underneath a baggy stone-coloured blazer, tied in with an chunky yellow belt by Off White

Bold: Eyelash technician Elma, 27, flashed her black lingerie underneath a sheer, polka dot print dress, while Ibiza Weekender Chyna Ellis (R) wowed in a dark pink wrap dress
Skoda Rapid BS6 will launch in the coming weeks, ahead of the BS6 deadline of 31st March 2020.

Though Skodas primary focus in the medium term is to enter the lucrative premium crossover segment with the production version of its Vision IN Concept, the long-running Rapid sedan will continue to be an important product, at least till the SUV is ready.

The Skoda Rapid Matte concept, a visually enhanced variant, is on display at the Auto Expo 2020. In addition to reminding people of its existence, the Rapid exhibit also previews the soon-to-be-launched BS6 model.

Visually, the Rapid Matte concept, as the name suggests, features a matte grey paint job which is contrasted by red rub-strips, ORVM covers and boot lid accents. The black multi-spoke alloy wheels with white rim adds to the Rapid Matte concepts sporty appeal. Skoda could introduce the Matte concept as a special edition variant just like the Rapid Monte Carlo for a premium.+

The Skoda Rapid BS6 receives a new 1.0-liter TSI turbocharged petrol engine which is tuned to develop 115 hp and 200 Nm of torque. The new motor comes mated either to a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed DSG. The existing 1.5-liter TDI diesel engine and the naturally aspirated 1.6-liter MPI petrol engine will not be receiving the BS6 upgrade.

The updated Rapid sedan has no noticeable visual changes on the outside or inside. The Rapid is one of the oldest products in an ever-shrinking mid-size sedan segment but its understated design and good driving dynamics have earned it a sizable audience base.

Internationally, the Skoda Rapid has been replaced by Scala premium hatchback which is based on the VW MQB platform. If Skoda India were to come up with a successor to the existing India-spec Rapid, the logical thing to do would be to wait till the MQB A0 IN platform is fully localized and then develop a new sedan based on it. However, with limited volume projections, we dont see a business case for such a product.

Coming back to the Skoda Rapid BS6, launch is expected in early April. The prices are expected to comparable to the current diesel variants. The sedan will continue to fight it out with the likes of VW Vento, Honda City, Hyundai Verna and Maruti Ciaz.
Trump Confirms Death of Al-Qaida Affiliate Leader in Yemen

By VOA News February 06, 2020

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday confirmed the death of an al-Qaida leader in a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

Trump said the U.S. carried out a successful counterterrorism operation that killed Qasim al-Rimi, the founder and leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), an affiliate of the terrorist group. He was a deputy to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

"Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said. "His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security."

Rimi joined al-Qaida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden, and has been linked to several plots targeting Americans.

Rimi's death is the third significant terrorist killed in a U.S. operation in recent months. In October, the U.S. killed Islamic State founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; in January, the U.S. carried out a strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani.

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A seafood salesman smuggled more than 53million worth of endangered baby eels out of the UK.

Gilbert Khoo, 66, transported more than five million critically-endangered elvers from London to Hong Kong hidden underneath chilled fish between 2015 and 2017.

Khoo - from Chessington, Surrey - was caught after Border Force officers found 200kg of the European 'glass eels' at Heathrow Airport.

Gilbert Khoo, 66, smuggled more than 53million worth of endangered live eels (right) out of the UK. Left: Khoo holding two gold bars

It was the first ever seizure of its kind in the UK.

He kept the live eels, imported from countries within the European Union, in a barn in Gloucestershire before repackaging them to be exported to Asia.

National Crime Agency senior investigating officer Ian Truby said: 'The entire operation run by Khoo to trade in these critically endangered animals was illegal from start to finish, and there is no doubt his sole motivation was money.

Khoo transported the eels from London to Hong Kong hidden underneath chilled fish (bottom left) between 2015 and 2017

Khoo - from Chessington, Surrey - was caught after Border Force officers found 200kg of the European 'glass eels' at Heathrow Airport. Pictured: Some of the boxes containing the eels

'The profits to be made from illegally smuggling live eels to Hong Kong and the Far East are significant.

Khoo kept the live eels, imported from countries within the European Union, in a barn in Gloucestershire before repackaging them to be exported to Asia

'But, the NCA are determined to protect vulnerable wildlife from criminals who wish to benefit financially.

Khoo was found guilty of three counts of failure to notify movement of animals and three counts of evasion of a prohibition or restriction on the export of goods at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Eels fetch more than 10 times the price they would in the UK on the East Asian black market, where they are considered a delicacy and are in high demand, the NCA said.

There are strict controls on the export of European eels, known as Anguilla Anguilla, due to their status as an endangered animal.

Marion Longford, the unit head of the CPS Specialist Fraud Division, said: 'Khoo was trading these animals purely for a financial gain. He had no regard for the controls in place for trading endangered European eels which are vital to safeguard animals increasingly at risk of being wiped out completely.

Eels fetch more than 10 times the price they would in the UK on the East Asian black market, where they are considered a delicacy and are in high demand, the NCA said. Pictured: A box containing the eels

'We would like to thank Border Force and the National Crime Agency for their investigative work.

'We take crime against protected animals incredibly seriously and take every step we can to secure convictions in these cases.

'The impact that these crimes have on our environment and our communities cannot be understated, why is why we're committed to building cases against offenders and ensuring they're held to account for their actions.'

Khoo will be sentenced on March 6.
Washington

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday called for a "recanvass" of the results of the Iowa caucuses, saying it was needed to "assure public confidence" after three days of technical issues and delays.

"Enough is enough," party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead, and both candidates have declared themselves victorious.

The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner in the contest. Beyond technical issues and Perez's concerns, the Iowa Democratic Party has yet to report results from some satellite caucus sites, from which there are still an unknown number of state delegate equivalents to be won.

The state party apologized for technical glitches with an app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. However, it was unclear if the party planned to follow the directive of the national leader to recanvass those results, a process that would likely require state officials to review caucus math worksheets completed at more than 1,600 caucus sites to ensure the calculations were done correctly and matched the reported results.

Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested in a statement Thursday that he would only pursue a recanvass if one was requested by a campaign.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled 2020 field. Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Sanders called the Iowa Democratic Party's management of the caucuses a "screw-up" that has been "extremely unfair" to the candidates and their supporters.

"I really do feel bad for the people of Iowa," said Sanders, who added that it was "an outrage that they were that unprepared."

Iowa marked the first contest in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending at the party's national convention in July.

As first reported by The New York Times, numerous precincts reported results that contained errors or were inconsistent with party rules. For example, the AP confirmed that dozens of precincts reported more final alignment votes than first alignment votes, which is not possible under party rules. In other precincts, viable candidates lost votes from the first alignment tally to the final, which is also inconsistent with party rules.

Some precincts made apparent errors in awarding state delegate equivalents to candidates. A handful of precincts awarded more state delegate equivalents than they had available. A few others didn't award all of theirs.

The trouble began with an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results of the contest. The app was rolled out shortly before caucusing began and did not go through rigorous testing.

The problems were compounded when phone lines for reporting the outcomes became jammed, with many callers placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes. Party officials said the backlog was exacerbated by calls from people around the country who accessed the number and appeared intent on disrupting the process.

"There was a moment in the night where, it became clear, 'Oh, the phone number just became available to the entire country,'" said Iowa state Auditor Rob Sands, who was answering calls for the party. "It was a pretty big problem."

President Donald Trump relished in the Democratic turmoil.

"The Democrats, they can't count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your health care system," Trump said at a White House event Thursday celebrating his impeachment trial acquittal. "Think of that  no, think of that."

The chaos surrounding the reporting breakdown seems sure to blunt the impact of Iowa's election, which typically rewards winners with a surge of momentum heading into subsequent primary contests. But without a winner called, Democrats have quickly turned their focus to New Hampshire, which holds the next voting contest on Tuesday.

The results released so far show Buttigieg and Sanders locked in an exceedingly close contest. They lead Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.

The two early leaders, Buttigieg and Sanders, are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.

Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades. Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

Sanders narrowly lost the Iowa caucuses in 2016 to Hillary Clinton and pushed the party to make changes to the process this year, including releasing three different sets of results: a tally of candidate support at the start of the caucuses, their levels of support after those backing candidates with less than 15% got to make a second choice and the number of state delegate equivalents each candidate receives. The AP will determine a winner based on state delegates.

Given the tight race, former DNC Chairwoman Donna Brazile said the party needs to "get this right" so the eventual nominee isn't saddled with questions of legitimacy.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

"It's a combination of embarrassment and not being prepared for the various mishaps that can take place when you try to do something new and different," she said.

Party activist John Deeth, who organized the caucuses in Iowa's most Democratic county, Johnson, said he welcomed a recanvass and would help as needed.

"It makes sense to look everything over again and get it right," he said.

Deeth said that he believed the review would uncover some data entry errors as well as some math and rounding errors in how delegates at each precinct were awarded. Volunteers running the precincts did their best, he said, but likely made some minor mistakes.

Washington

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Thursday called for a "recanvass" of the results of the Iowa caucuses, saying it was needed to "assure public confidence" after three days of technical issues and delays.

"Enough is enough," party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders are nearly tied for the lead, and both candidates have declared themselves victorious.

The Associated Press said Thursday that it is unable to declare a winner. Beyond technical issues and Perez's concerns, the Iowa Democratic Party has yet to report results from some satellite caucus sites, from which there are still an unknown number of state delegate equivalents to be won.

The state party apologized for technical glitches with an app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. It was unclear if the party planned to follow the directive of the national leader to recanvass those results.

Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested Thursday that he would only pursue a recanvass if one was requested by a campaign.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled 2020 field. Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

As first reported by The New York Times, numerous precincts reported results that contained errors or were inconsistent with party rules.

The trouble began with an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results. The problems were compounded when phone lines for reporting the outcomes became jammed, with many callers placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes. Party officials said the backlog was exacerbated by calls from people around the country who accessed the number and appeared intent on disrupting the process.

The results released so far show Buttigieg and Sanders locked in an exceedingly close contest. They lead Sen. Elizabeth Warren, as well as former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar.
Heavy rain across much of NSW is breaking the back of the states horror bushfire season but also keeping emergency services busy with flooding along the coast.

Up to 300 millimetres has been recorded in some parts of the north coast with similar totals expected in the Sydney basin by the end of the weekend.

Bureau of Meteorology acting NSW manager Jane Golding says rain could cause roads to be flooded in the city, but much less will fall in the states drought-ravaged west.

The bulk of the rain does look like it will affect the coastal ranges and the eastern side of the divide, some showers will make it across but were not expecting the same flood-producing rain, Golding told reporters on Friday.

The NSW State Emergency Service has responded to 683 jobs across the state since the wet weather arrived on Wednesday.

In the northern rivers region, a car was washed off a road in Glenreagh, and in Tyagarah two people had to be rescued from a caravan due to rising floodwaters.

Most of the damage so far is the leaking roofs, damaged properties, fallen trees and stranded motorists, some of whom have attempted to drive through flooded areas, SES commissioner Carlene York said on Friday.

The SES will be moving resources down into the Illawarra and the South Coast over the weekend as the weather system moves south.

The fire damaged areas will bring extra risks as the heavy water and floods move through (with) more likelihood of fallen trees and more run-off, York said.

NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says the rain is breaking the back of the horror bushfire season.

The rain is good for business and farms as well as being really good for quenching some of these fires weve been dealing with for many, many months, the commissioner told ABC TV on Friday.

We dont want to see lots of widespread damage and disruption from flooding, but it is certainly a welcome change to the relentless campaign of hot, dry weather.

There are currently 40 fires burning across NSW.

The Bureau of Meteorology on Friday morning issued a severe weather warning stretching from Lismore to Wollongong.

Marine wind and surf warnings are also in place for the Macquarie coast, Coffs coast, Hunter coast, Sydney coast and Illawarra coast for Friday and Saturday.

Flood warnings are currently in place for the Bellinger, Kalang, Orara and Paroo rivers.
Americas largest bookseller has cancelled its planned series of diverse classic book covers after a backlash from writers and critics.

Barnes & Nobles Diverse Editions series was announced this week to observe Black History Month, with the books scheduled to arrive on shelves on 6 February.

The project saw the protagonists of 12 classic novels, including Frankenstein and Romeo & Juliet, with culturally diverse skin tones.

However, a number of black authors took issue with the project, pointing out that it did nothing to address the lack of diversity in the publishing industry. Many questioned why the bookseller had not chosen to promote black authors, instead.

Books of the decade Show all 40 1 /40 Books of the decade Books of the decade Toni Morrison  God Help the Child (2015) Toni Morrison died in August; her final novel, 2015s God Help the Child, displays her award-winning powers of elegant prose and imagination. Children are mistreated and prejudice abounds in this disturbing modern fairy tale set around the enigmatic character of Bride, who makes a mistake that has devastating consequences. (MC) Books of the decade Ian McEwan  Solar (2010) Solar, which was partly based on Ian McEwans own experiences during a trip to the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, is a darkly comic novel. Against the backdrop of the battle against climate change, McEwan tells the story of middle-aged Nobel laureate Michael Beard, a self-serving physicist whose own world is in danger of meltdown. (MC) Books of the decade Manning Marable  Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention (2011) Columbia University professor Manning Marable died on 1 April 2011, just days before the publication of his Pulitzer Prize-winning biography Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention. Marable drew from letters, diaries and FBI files for a meticulous, incisive and balanced account of the life of the civil rights leader. The book cuts through the myths to reveal Malcolm X in all his conflicted complexity. (MC) Books of the decade . Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey  She Said (2019) They wrote the story that changed the world and now theyve explained how they did it. In She Said, the Pulitzer Prize-winning duo explain how they managed to barge through Hollywoods ironclad gates and break the Weinstein story, publishing allegations from several women accusing the disgraced producer of sexual assault in The New York Times. While the details are sparse in terms of sources and specific tactics, there are some startling revelations, including how Gwyneth Paltrow became a helping hand and the extreme lengths Weinsteins team went to in order to thwart both reporters and silence the alleged victims. (OP) Books of the decade Emily Witt  Future Sex (2016) Future Sex is perhaps one of the few nonfiction books about sex and relationships that came before #MeToo and somehow remains relevant today. Finding herself suddenly single at the age of 30, Witt immerses herself in the sexual subcultures of San Francisco, trying her hand at everything from polyamory to orgasmic meditation. Its a fascinating piece of work, one that illustrates Witts talents as an essayist and gives plenty of room to many astute observations on sexual liberation. (OP) Books of the decade Yuval Harari  Sapiens (2011) Every now and then a book comes along that tilts your perspective on the world. This internationally best-selling phenomenon is one of them. Covering just about the entire sweep of human history, it makes you understand the fits, starts and savagery of progress. (CR) 36. Emily Witt  Future Sex (2016) Books of the decade Emma Cline  The Girls (2016) The Girls is about exploring the appeal of being in a cult. Inspired by Charles Mansons murderous family, the book serves up a more tense, richer depiction than Quentin Tarantinos Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, one that puts women at the centre, examining what motivates and captivates them. (OP) Books of the decade Marlon James: A Brief History of Seven Killings (2014) The Booker-winning A Brief History of Seven Killings, by Jamaican-born Marlon James, follows the lives and deaths of seven of the would-be killers in the failed 1976 assassination attempt on Bob Marley. The novel cleverly weaves fiction and fact  and the language has a musical rhythm. Some of the epiphanies in the book are linked to songs. (MC) Books of the decade Raynor Winn  The Salt Path: A Memoir (2018) Terminal illness and bankruptcy shouldnt make for an inspiring read but they somehow do in Raynor Winns poetic, provocative memoir. After losing the family home, Win and her husband set out to walk the South West Coast path, shaking a fist at his grim diagnosis. Its as much a meditation on the power of nature as Books of the decade Nina Stibbe  Love, Nina: Despatches from Family Life (2013) Theres deadpan and then theres Nina Stibbe, who proves herself the heir to Adrian Mole in this novel written in the form of letters to her sister from a child-minding job in London. A provincial girl grappling with the strange salads of the metropolitan literary elite, Stibbe is comic gold. (CR) Books of the decade Patrick deWitt  The Sisters Brothers (2011) The assassins Eli and Charlie Sisters were played by John C Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix in the film version of Canadian-born writer Patrick deWitts second novel. The narrator Eli captures the lawless, unpredictable nature of frontier life in the mid-19th century. The Sisters Brothers is a compelling, unsettling tale of the Gold Rush era. (MC) Books of the decade Gail Honeyman  Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine (2017) Every office has its misfit, and this is the funny, deeply touching story of a woman whose aversion to social niceties and the work Christmas lunch hides a traumatic past. Common acts of kindness rekindle the protagonist in this beautifully told debut. (CR) Books of the decade Anna Burns  The Milkman (2018) Anna Burns became the first writer from Northern Ireland to win the Man Booker Prize, when she triumphed with The Milkman in 2018. Burnss challenging, intriguing novel presents an unnamed 18-year-old girls perspective of her life during the Troubles in the Seventies. The 41-year-old paramilitary leader known as the Books of the decade Sophie Mackintosh  The Water Cure (2018) Thanks to Margaret Atwood and the state of the world, feminist dystopian fiction is having a moment and Sophie Mackintoshs The Water Cure is a notable contribution to the genre. It is perhaps one of the most creative of additions, cleverly weaving mystery and murder with sex and sisterhood, all while Mackintosh seduces the reader into her Shakespearean realm. (OP) Books of the decade Anne Tyler  A Spool of Blue Thread (2015) Anne Tyler is a master of stories about family life in middle-class America. A Spool of Blue Thread, the 20th novel from the author of The Accidental Tourist, adroitly shines a light on sibling rivalry, family secrets and the wounding power of grief. Her tale of four generations of the Whitshanks demonstrates again her gift for comic detail. (MC) Books of the decade Anne Enright  The Green Road (2015) The Green Road, by Dublin-born Anne Enright, is set in County Clare, a wild place geographically and emotionally. Enrights keen gift for observation is at play in this family saga based around Hanna, Dan, Constance and Emmets Christmas return to the home that their scary matriarch, Rosaleen, is selling. A funny, painful tale of selfishness and compassion. (MC) Books of the decade Amor Towles  A Gentleman in Moscow (2016) The gentleman in question is Count Rostov, a bon vivant and aristocrat placed under house arrest in a fancy Moscow hotel after the communists seize control. His wit and enduring humanity make this charming, quirky novel sing. (CR) Books of the decade Elif Batuman  The Idiot (2017) When fact meets fiction, the result is almost always fascinating as the reader spends hours trying to discern which is which. Such is the appeal of The Idiot, Elif Batumans debut novel, which tells the semi-autobiographical tale of a young woman studying at Harvard in the mid-Nineties. After pontificating on the purpose of email, she soon becomes obsessed with an enigmatic Hungarian student whose insouciance will leave you spinning in a state of total frustration. (OP) Books of the decade Orhan Pamuk  The Red-Haired Woman (2016) Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuks 10th novel was the short, stunning The Red-Haired Woman, which is at once a fable and a gripping tale of youthful obsession, exploring protagonist Cem Celiks desire for the red-haired, enigmatic member of a theatre troupe. The father-son relationship in the novel also allows Pamuk to deftly explore the changing nature of Turkey. (MC) Books of the decade Ariel Levy  The Rules Do Not Apply (2017) A dazzling insight into the mind of one of The New Yorkers most prolific writers, Ariel Levys memoir will seem relatable to all those who have at one time or another felt a startling sense of dissociation from their life, which is probably most of us. Levys personal tragedies will leave readers reeling. There is one passage in particular that will stay with you for months in which Levy describes how she suffered a miscarriage on a hotel room floor while on an assignment in Mongolia. She was 19 weeks pregnant at the time and her son, born alive, died in her arms. It is a story of resilience to the highest degree. (OP) Books of the decade Marilynne Robinson  Lila (2014) Lila was the third novel in Marilynne Robinsons Gilead Chronicles  following Gilead (2004) and Home (2008)  and tells, in unflinching terms, the story of Lila, the young woman who married the elderly Reverend Ames in a dusty Iowa town. Robinson writes beautifully and, as a sophisticated religious thinker, asks searching questions about faith and doubt. (MC) Books of the decade David Sedaris  Calypso (2018) There are few writers as gloriously strange, acerbic, funny and faintly ruthless as Sedaris, who once again mines his family history in this collection of autobiographical short stories. It includes a tale in which he feeds his Books of the decade Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  Americanah (2013) Both a love story and a look at how racial divides play out in the UK and the USA, Americanah is as enchanting as it is thought-provoking. Its impossible not to root for Ifemelu, the clever Nigerian ingenue who ends up struggling to find a minimum wage job as she studies in America. (CR) Books of the decade Julian Barnes  The Sense of an Ending (2011) Julian Barness novella The Sense of an Ending is a subtle examination of the search for answers to lifes unresolved relationships. The divorced sexagenarian protagonist Tony Webster, is thrown into emotional turmoil when he receives an unexpected bequest that prompts him to reconnect with a college girlfriend. He is forced to face up to the accumulation, the multiplication, of loss. (MC) Books of the decade Tara Westover  Educated (2018) No matter how many documentaries you watch or books you read on Mormonism, its almost impossible to understand such a community from the outside. Tara Westover opened peoples eyes with Educated, explaining how she went from growing up in a Mormon fundamentalist family in Idaho to studying for a PhD at the University of Cambridge. Its an inspiring story of grit and determination that doubles up as an homage to the power of self-education and, well, reading. (OP) Books of the decade Maggie Nelson  The Argonauts (2015) Few things reinforce tired gender cliches like marriage and parenthood, so huzzah for Maggie Nelson with this subversive memoir. It subjects romantic love, pregnancy, motherhood and all the attendant tedious cultural baggage to an intensely intelligent, glittering critique. (CR) Books of the decade Richard Ford  Canada (2012) In Canada, retired English teacher Dell Parsons, the son of hapless bank robbers, looks back on the heart-breaking events of his teenage years and tries to take account of how his life was shaped. The settings include Great Falls, Montana, and Saskatchewan in Canada, but its Richard Ford sure-footed journey over emotional terrain that is so utterly majestic. (MC) Books of the decade Donna Tartt  The Goldfinch (2013) A 13-year-boy survives a terrorist bomb that kills his mother at an art museum, and as he stumbles through the wreckage, he takes a small painting called The Goldfinch. The tiny relic of the Dutch Golden Age becomes a source of both solace and enigma in Tartts superb, Pulitzer-winning third novel. (CR) Books of the decade Jonathan Franzen  Freedom (2010) Walter and Patty Berglund, the seemingly perfect couple who meet at college in the 1970s, are at the heart of Jonathan Franzens fourth novel. The story of their unravelling marriage is explored in a rich, nuanced novel. Freedom is more than just a tale of wedded unbliss: it is about the messiness of love and longing in the modern world. (MC) Books of the decade Elif Shafak  Honour (2011) A sprawling, multi-generational tale of a Turkish family who make a new life in London, this novel has a so-called honour killing as its centre of gravity. Shafak, a best-selling author in Turkey and many other countries, conjures up the hypocrisy that holds women to different standards, with devastating results. (CR) Books of the decade Helen Macdonald  H Is for Hawk (2016) When Helen Macdonald lost her father, she acquired a hawk. This idiosyncratic approach to grief makes for a lyrical, moving probe into both the process of mourning and our relationship with the natural world. (CR) Books of the decade Margaret Atwood  The Testaments (2019) Not just a novel but a fully fledged cultural phenomenon, the sequel to the Handmaids Tale was met with midnight readings and fans decked out in the creepy red and white gowns from the TV adaptation of the original. A superb and suspenseful expose of misogyny and the moral ambiguity at the heart of a fanatical regime. (CR) Books of the decade Jennifer Egan  A Visit from the Goon Squad (2010) Time is a central theme of Jennifer Egans vibrant A Visit from the Goon Squad, which interconnects stories involving Sasha, a kleptomaniac New Yorker in her mid-thirties, and her music business boss Bennie Salazar. The problems of relationships are explored in a witty novel that has interesting things to say about the loss of vitality in the digital world. (MC) Books of the decade Matt Haig  Reasons to Stay Alive (2015) Theres a reason why Matt Haigs writing on mental health has earned him such high praise, with the Duchess of Sussex among his fans. And it all started with this bestselling memoir in which the childrens fiction author describes falling into a deep depression in his early twenties that left him contemplating taking his own life. Its not an easy read, but in a society where suicide remains grossly misunderstood and gender stereotypes hinder men from speaking openly about their mental wellbeing, its a crucial one. (OP) Books of the decade Arundhati Roy  The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017) Twenty years after her stunning debut The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy followed up with the mesmerising The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. With biting ironic wit, Roys epic dissects life in India in the wake of the partition conflict. The characters, including the transgender woman Anjum, are intimately drawn. Roys novel challenges you to care about life. (MC) Books of the decade Sally Rooney  Conversations with Friends (2017) The feted 27-year-old author has acquired a reputation as a millennial literary powerhouse since her debut in 2017. While Rooney has gone on to publish a second novel, Normal People, which was shortlisted for this years Man Booker Prize, Conversations with Friends remains her best work. With its snappy short sentences, sophisticated plot and characters so complex that its hard to like any of them, the novel established Rooney as one of the most exciting new writers around. (OP) Books of the decade George Saunders  Lincoln in the Bardo (2017) Lincoln in the Bardo tells the story of a single night in the life of Abraham Lincoln  when his 11-year-old son was buried  through an experimental tale involving 166 narrators in the bardo, the transitional state between ones death and rebirth, according to Tibetan Buddhism. George Saunders enchanting tour-de-force won the 2017 Man Booker Prize. (MC) Books of the decade Lisa Taddeo  Three Women (2019) In 2019, female desire warrants shrewd examination more than ever. Thank goodness, then, for Lisa Taddeo, who spent eight years documenting the sexual experiences of three very relatable but very different women. The result is a powerful collection of interspersed narratives that probe the most intimate corners of the female psyche. I can think of nothing like it. (OP) Books of the decade Paul Beatty  The Sellout (2015) An outrageous satire of contemporary race relations, Beattys The Sellout tells the story of a black man called Bonbon who is seeking to reinstitute slavery and segregation. When it won the Booker, the chair of the judges compared Beatty to Swift and Twain. (CR) Books of the decade . Hilary Mantel  Bring Up the Bodies (2012) The sequel to Mantels Booker-winning Tudor tour de force, Wolf Hall, Bring up the Bodies did not Let Down the Readers. Her immersive prose takes us back into the poetic, rigorous mind of the archetypal career politician, Thomas Cromwell. The subject is the stuff of school days  Henry Tudors marriage to Anne Boleyn, and her fatal failure to produce a male heir. To allow another marriage and safeguard the stability of the country, Cromwell engineers Boleyns downfall, constructing capital charges against the queen along with a few of his old enemies to boot. Despite the biggest spoiler in history, Mantels novel is so finely pitched that we feel all the tension of the luxurious, blood-tinged Tudor court. (CR)

There are so many ways to get this right, they had to look for a way to get it wrong, tweeted LL McKinney. The author of A Dream So Dark, the sequel to A Blade So Black  his contemporary retelling of Alice in Wonderland with a black female lead  called the covers contemporary blackface.

Hugo-winning fantasy writer Nnedi Okorafor wrote: This fake diversity nonsense (where they replace white characters with people of colour) is disgusting.

It is not sincere or a solution. New stories by people of colour about people of colour is the solution... Stop using us and get out of the way!

In a statement, Barnes & Noble said: We acknowledge the voices who have expressed concerns about the Diverse Editions project at our Barnes & Noble Fifth Avenue store and have decided to suspend the initiative.

The covers are not a substitute for black voices or writers of colour, whose work and voices deserve to be heard. The booksellers who championed this initiative did so convinced it would help drive engagement with these classic titles.
Romanian interim Prime Minister Ludovic Orban delivers a speech before a no-confidence vote session in the Romanian Parliament in Bucharest on Feb. 5, 2020. (George Calin/Inquam Photos via Reuters)

Romanias President Asks Outgoing Prime Minister to Form New Government

Romanias President Klaus Iohannis appointed outgoing Prime Minister Ludovic Orban on Thursday to form a new government for the second time after his center-right minority government lost a no-confidence vote in Parliament the day before.

Orban, leader of the National Liberal Party (PNL), was first asked by Iohannis to form a government three months ago after the Social Democratic (PSD) government led by Prime Minister Viorica Dancila lost a no-confidence vote amidst corruption scandals.

The no-confidence motion was initiated by the center-left PSD and official data showed that 261 lawmakers voted to oust Orban. In contrast, 233 votes were needed to pass the motion.

PSD requested the no-confidence motion after the government took responsibility in Parliament for a bill that changes the electoral law so that mayors get elected after two rounds of voting instead of one, according to Romania Insider. The PSD and Hungarian minority party UDMR claimed that it would reduce the number of mayoral candidates in the elections to be held in June 2020.

Liberal Party President Ludovic Orban (L) and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis wave on stage during a European Parliament electoral rally in Bucharest, Romania, on May 18, 2019. (Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo, File photo)

Ousting the government can, however, bring an early parliamentary election a step closer. If lawmakers reject two successive prime minister proposals within 60 days, Parliament is considered dissolved, and a snap election should be held.

Romania, a European Union member, is due to hold local elections in June and general elections in December. If the early election is forced, it will be held six months earlier.

A confidence vote on the interim government formed by Orban could take place as early as next week.

An early election could be beneficial for Orbans party PNL because it has doubled its popularity ratings to about 47 percent since a 2016 parliamentary election, while the opposition PSD lost half of its popularity to about 20 percent over the same period.

Since the 2016 elections, the PNL party has held 78 seats while the PSD party has held 133 seats in the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber of the Romanian Parliament. In the Romanian Senate, the PNL holds 28 seats while the PSD holds 69 seats.

A first step toward a snap election has already been made today, Iohannis said.

I see an enthusiastic, pro-reform cabinet that wanted to repair what the PSD has damaged over the past years, he added. On the other hand, I see a PSD that is anti-reforms  so I wish myself to adopt a stance that leads to early elections.

Iohannis used to be a PNL member but suspended his party membership in 2014 when he took the office of the president. The Romanian president cannot be a member of any political party.

Some 47.4 percent of Romanians would vote for PNL if parliamentary elections were held now, according to the results of a poll conducted by the Romanian Institute of Marketing, Analysis, and Polling, and released on Monday, reported See News.

Gina Sturdza and Reuters contributed to this report.
DETROIT (Reuters) - A leading electric vehicle charging network and a trade group that represents America's travel plazas and truck stops said on Thursday they plan to leverage $1 billion through public and private funding sources over the next decade to encourage the broader adoption of EVs.

Automakers Volkswagen AG<VOWG_p.DE>, General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co have announced plans to spend billions of dollars over the next several years launching EVs in a bid to directly challenge electric carmaker Tesla Inc, which has its own network of charging stations. Investor enthusiasm for electric vehicles has sent shares in Tesla and big battery makers soaring in recent days.

ChargePoint, which operates but does not own its charging network, and the National Association of Truck Stop Operators (NATSO) told Reuters they formed the National Highway Charging Collaborative, with plans to install Level 2 and DC fast chargers at more than 4,000 U.S. locations by 2030 to expand EV charging along highways and in rural communities.

The money will be raised through private operators, state and local governments, private infrastructure funds and others, ChargePoint Chief Executive Pasquale Romano said.

"Enabling long distance electric travel and equipping rural areas with vital universal charging is key and must begin scaling aggressively today," he said in an interview. "This collaboration will play an important role in paving the way to the mass adoption of EVs."

There are only a few million EVs on U.S. roads today, but in May 2019 the International Energy Agency forecast that figure could reach over 130 million by 2030.

"It appears clear that the next generation of fuel is going to be electricity, so we want to make sure that our members are prepared to meet the needs of their customers," NATSO CEO Lisa Mullings said in a separate interview.

ChargePoint operates more than 108,000 charging points globally, mostly in North America, and aims to increase that to 2.5 million by 2025. ChargePoint estimates it has a 70% share of the market for commercial charging in the United States.

Story continues

In June 2019, ChargePoint signed a deal with VW subsidiary Electrify America to make the United States' two largest EV charging networks accessible to customers of both companies.

ChargePoint, founded in 2007, has raised $538 million from investors including Daimler, BMW and Siemens in Germany, as well as U.S. energy firms Chevron and America Electric Power.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit; Editing by Dan Grebler)
External Article

7 February 2020

In an effort to prevent the infectious disease from spreading further at home and abroad, medical teams from cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing have gathered in Wuhan to help.

Local hotels have voluntarily been offering free accommodation to the thousands of doctors and nurses working at Wuhan hospitals since the Chinese New Year's eve on January 24. The hoteliers have set up a volunteer assistance Wechat group to arrange free guest rooms for the medical professionals, initially asking just properties with no central air conditioning to join the initiative.
Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant population, on Friday held its first major auction for trophy elephant hunting quotas since scrapping a hunting ban last year.

The one-hour sale was conducted by a local firm Auction It from the premises of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism in the capital Gaborone.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi raised the ire of conservationists in May when he revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who introduced a blanket ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

Masisi fended off criticism of his government's decision, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population.

The government was issuing seven hunting "packages" of 10 elephants each, confined to "controlled hunting areas", a wildlife spokeswoman Alice Mmolawa told AFP on Thursday.

In a text message, she said hunting would help areas most impacted by "human wildlife conflict," a reference to elephants roaming off game parks into communities.

Bidding was open to "companies that are either owned by Botswana citizens or are registered in Botswana," she added.

Mmolawa on Friday declined to comment on the number and price of licences sold, as well as on the purchasers.

The 2020 hunting season is expected to start in April. Most of the activities will take place in Botswana's Central District.

According to an auction advisory, bidders must have "demonstrable appropriate elephant hunting experience" and have no previous wildlife criminal convictions.

Hunting of collared elephants will be prohibited.

All elephant hunting expeditions will be compelled to be accompanied by a guide and a professional, at all times, according to the auction notice.

Masisi's decision to lift the hunting ban last year was highly praised by local communities but derided by conservationists and ignited tension between Khama and Masisi.

The auction was barely mentioned in local papers, despite high interest among international news outlets.

Overpopulation

Masisi has defended his decision to end the hunting ban saying Botswana has an overpopulation of elephants, and pledged to regulate the practice.

His predecessor Khama was bitter.

"I have been against hunting because it represents a mentality (of) those who support it, to exploit nature for self interest that has brought about the extinction of many species worldwide," he told AFP in a phone interview.

Map of Africa's elephant populations, with chronology of species protection measures, the ivory trade ban and poaching. By Kun TIAN (AFP)

He said allowing commercial hunting could "demotivate those who are engaged in anti poaching, who are being told to save elephants from poachers but the regime is poaching the same elephant and calling it hunting".

Audrey Delsink, Africa's wildlife director for the global conservation lobby charity Humane Society International said "the Botswanan elephant hunting auctions are deeply concerning and questionable".

"Hunting is not an effective long-term human-elephant mitigation tool or population control method," she said from neighbouring South Africa.

Neil Fitt, who heads Kalahari Conservation Society in Botswana, said hunting was a new source of revenue for the country, but cautioned it had to be practised "ethically and properly".

With unfenced parks and wide-open spaces, Botswana has the world's largest elephant population with more than 135,000 animals -- about a third of the African continent's total.

Most of the animals are in the Chobe National Park, an important tourist draw.

But elephants invade villages located near wildlife reserves, knocking down fences, destroying crops, and at times killing people.

"Elephants are a menace in our area," said Tshepang Mogogoma, who lives in the central village of Nata.

"I don't know about the elephants auction taking place in Gaborone but I think they must sell as many elephants for hunting as possible."
February 07 : Shikara is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir in 1990. The story looks at the theme of love and how it remains unextinguished even after 30 years of exile. The movie bear out to be more reality than a film. A wonderful film with good star casts and outstanding direction. No religion supremacy has been flaunted. Extremely heart touching, sensible and sensitive movie.

Rarely do films in Bollywood happen which hit you hard and shake the soul inside your body as well. While Shikara tells the hard-hitting and heart-breaking story of Kashmiri Pandits exodus, it beautifully gives the universal message of love. Without getting preachy it comes out and gives a shining example of how to spread love even in the darkest time. The way the message has been delivered will touch each and everyones heart.

Watch Shikara Public Review

Lead actors Aadil Khan & Sadia give sincere performances and make the characters believable. They have the talent to watch out. Vidhu Vinod Chopra gives excellent direction to the film. Music maestro A.R. Rehmans music have hooked up very precisely with the film.

The love story of lead characters covers most of the part of the storyline and its very beautiful. The old school romance, the mesmerizing chemistry topped with rich poetic dialogues will keep your heart warm.

The narrative is a little bit more visually exciting and cinematically engaging in the first half, while the second half is more invested in the love story, which does feel far-fetched, predictable and dated at times. Shikara is a story of love and courage. The film also stars actual Kashmiri Pandits and is shot with the inhabitants of the Jagti refugee camp and other such camps.With Shikara, which is Vidhu Vinod Chopras parents story in the backdrop of Kashmiri Pandits exodus, is surely a public acceptance story.

Also Watch: Vidhu Vinod Chopras Shikara A Message for 30 years back, came true today
WASHINGTON  Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, a defiant President Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office and pointing ahead to his reelection campaign.

Trump, triumphantly waving a newspaper front page declaring himself acquitted, declared the impeachment proceedings a disgrace and portrayed himself as a victim of political foes he labeled scum, sleaze bags and horrible people. Hours earlier, he unleashed broadsides that stunned the crowd at an annual prayer breakfast.

It was evil, it was corrupt, Trump declared at the White House. This should never ever happen to another president, ever.

He conceded nothing in regard to charges that he improperly withheld U.S. military aid in an effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic foe Joe Biden and other political matters.

We went through hell, unfairly, he insisted. We did nothing wrong.

Venting for more than an hour, Trump railed against against the impeachment process and ticked off names of the vicious and mean people he felt had wronged him: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and former FBI Director James Comey. But then he reveled in the 52-48 verdict on the abuse of power article of impeachment delivered by the GOP-controlled Senate the day before.

As Trump spoke, the White House East Room was packed with hundreds of supporters. Among them: Republican senators who voted to acquit him, Cabinet members and staunch House allies.

Trumps at-times angry speech pushed beyond his State of the Union address two nights earlier, during which he stuck to the script and made no mention of impeachment. Not using a teleprompter this time, Trump delivered rambling remarks saluting a great group of warriors, name-checking GOP lawmakers who had backed him both in the Capitol and on television.

Earlier, Trump shattered the usual veneer of bipartisanship at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington.

I dont like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, he said in an apparent reference to Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a longtime Trump critic who cited his faith in becoming the only Republican to vote for Trumps removal.

Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire and Zeke Miller are Associated Press writers.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Cuba) couldnt be bothered to attend the 2020 State of the Union address, but she somehow managed to find the time to record a short message harshly criticizing President Trumps decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Rush Limbaugh in the wake of Limbaughs recent announcement of having advanced lung cancer.

On Instagram live, @AOC hits Trump for awarding "virulent racist" Rush Limbaugh a medal of freedom #SOTU2020 pic.twitter.com/p8ZBGq02HC  Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) February 5, 2020

Instagram video screen grab via Twitter

She begins her video reaction to Rush Limbaugh receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom by saying, First of all, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is an extraordinarily sacred award. Were talking about putting someone on the same level as Rosa Parks.

FACT-CHECKER RATING: Mixture, mostly false. It is true that Rosa Parks was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (PMOF) by Bill Clinton in 1996. However, Lorne Michaels (creator of Saturday Night Live) was given his PMOF by Barack Obama in 2016. Does AOC not realize there are several categories for PMOF recipients? The PMOF to Rosa Parks was in the category of Politics and Government (activism); Michaels award falls in the Media category under television, and Limbaugh is only the third recipient of the award for radio, after Lowell Thomas and Paul Harvey.

I guess this all depends on how one defines the meaning of the word sacred.

Claim: Rush Limbaugh is a virulent racist

FACT-CHECKER RATING: Pants-on-fire. One has to look no farther than the control booth of the extraordinarily successful Rush Limbaugh radio show to learn that the infamous producer and call screener Bo Snerdley is in reality a black man named James Golden. In fact, one of the reasons Limbaugh has been labeled as racist was because Golden introduced himself to the audience during a show segment as an African-American in good standing and certified black enough to criticize Obama guy.

Rush Limbaugh is neither a racist nor misogynist. He is hated and reviled by liberals such as Ocasio-Cortez because he is an unapologetic conservative voice so desperately needed at this moment in American history. Any listener of his show can attest to the fact that Rush has frequently praised Justice Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, and if memory serves correctly, Justice Thomas is black. While Limbaugh is unafraid to criticize, mock, and parody race-baiting hustlers like Jesse Jackson, Maxine Waters, Louis Farrakhan, or Al Sharpton, he often speaks of economist Thomas Sowell in almost reverential tones, and professor Walter Williams has also served on multiple occasions as a guest host on Limbaughs radio show.

I wouldnt even know the name of Dr. Williams if it hadnt been for Rush Limbaugh. Nor would I own a copy of Dr. Sowells great book Basic Economics if Limbaugh hadnt interviewed him for his monthly publication, The Limbaugh Letter.

Rush Limbaugh is a great American patriot. His Rush Revere series of childrens books teach authentic U.S. history and civics no longer included in politically correct curricula found in public education.

Claim: to give it (PMOF) to Rush Limbaugh when there were plenty of people in that audience that have contributed positively to the fabric of American society much more, frankly, than he has.

FACT-CHECKER RATING: Mostly false. General Charles McGee was in the audience, but it is highly doubtful that Ocasio-Cortez was thinking of him, if indeed she was thinking at all.

Name one member of Congress who has done more for America than Rush Limbaugh. I sure cant think of anyone currently serving worthy of comparison. The only person in the room who comes close is the guy making the speech, and Limbaughs been an outspoken advocate for conservatism for more than thirty years.

Claim: Trump wants to assert that somehow Rush Limbaugh is on the same level as Rosa Parks, and its truly nauseating. This is one of the many reasons I did not go

FACT-CHECKER RATING: Pants-on-fire. The only person who has mentioned Rosa Parks and Rush Limbaugh in the same sentence has been Ocasio-Cortez. Once the idea that the PMOF was some sort of a sacred honor reserved only recipients worthy of comparison to Rosa Parks started rattling around in that pea-sized brain of hers, she couldnt let it go.

You know whats truly nauseating? Radiation and chemotherapy.

Donald Trump never once mentioned Rosa Parks during his State of the Union address. Its probably safe to say he wasnt even thinking about her while in the process of honoring Rush Limbaugh. For the record, he probably didnt think about Lorne Michaels, Bob Dylan, Oprah, or any of hundreds of other recipients of the PMOF who surely arent worthy of comparison to Rosa Parks by Ocasio-Cortezs standards, either. He was probably only thinking about Rush Limbaugh, like most other normal people would be doing in the same situation.

On Twitter, Ocasio-Cortez promised that she would stay away from the State of the Union address because she didnt want to legitimize Trumps presidency. Later, on Instagram, she claimed that part of her reason was to avoid the ceremony for Limbaughwhich she said was public knowledge well before Trumps speech. So, why didnt she mention it on Twitter before the address, if she really knew it was coming and wasnt just using it as an excuse?

Now, we can only hope the voters of New York will give her a reason to miss Trumps State of the Union address next year by electing someone else in November to replace her.

John Leonard writes novels, books, and occasional articles or blogs for American Thinker. You may follow him on Facebook or his website (and blog, which includes the AT rejected pieces) at southernprose.com.
US Withholding $30Mln Worth of US Arms, Ammo Sales to Ukraine - Report

Sputnik News

02:01 GMT 07.02.2020

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is withholding $30 million in arms and ammunition sales to Ukraine, media reported on Thursday citing four officials from both countries familiar with the matter.

The Buzzfeed News report said a former senior US official questioned senior Trump administration personnel about the withholding of the arms and ammunition sales. The Trump administration explained that potential sales are still being evaluated.

"It might be wise for the Ukrainians to look for other sources from which to buy arms and ammunition", the official added.

Two Ukrainian officials have suggested the delay may be because of Chinese efforts to purchase the Ukrainian aerospace company Motor Sich, the report said. The United States is trying to block the sale due to national security concerns.

Five of the pending sales have been delayed for about a year and one of the sales has been held up for more than a year, the report said, noting that obtaining approval from the US government to conduct such sales takes at least two months.

The US Embassy in Kiev declined to comment on the issue and the White House and State Department did not respond to requests for comments, the report said.

A Sputnik

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Every mother goes through this, I suppose. My boy is a strapping teenager who can be sweetly affectionate one moment and doesnt want to know me the next  I think I ruin his street cred.

Now hes leaving home, and hes desperate to be gone. Im excited but also worried, because I am a unique mother.

My darling Saba is a cheetah. He was born in captivity and raised by hand. And no cheetah cub from a zoo outside Africa has been released into the wild. This is a first. Today, after a tense 13-hour flight from London to South Africa, I watched him take his first tentative steps to freedom, in a wildlife reserve. It was a moment of indescribable excitement and relief.

Victoria with Saba. Victoria and husband Damian Aspinall have devoted their lives to preparing captive-born animals for life in the wild

My husband, Damian Aspinall, and I have devoted our lives to preparing captive-born animals for life in the wild. Weve succeeded with gorillas, rhinos and gibbons. But no one has managed to do it with cheetahs: we are blazing a trail for others to follow.

Saba was born at our Port Lympne reserve in Kent two-and-a-half years ago. Half of the cubs from his mothers previous litter had died.

The second litter comprised three cubs: two males and a female. One of the boy cubs gave us cause for alarm, as he became very sick early on. Our ethos is to be as hands-off as possible, but in this case we had no choice  if we did not act, Saba would die.

Saba appears on Victoria's Instagram account and is pictured posing with her. Saba was born at our Port Lympne reserve in Kent two-and-a-half years ago

Saba (left and right) gave cause for alarm as he became very sick early on. Victoria feeding baby cheetah Saba. Baby cheetahs need to feed every two hours around the clock meaning they were sleeping in shifts

His brother and sister did not appear to be affected, so we isolated him and began the arduous process of hand-rearing. Baby cheetahs need to feed every two hours around the clock, and that meant Damian and I were sleeping in shifts, spending almost every waking minute either heating milk or bottle-feeding. Plus, we had to get him to take medicines to save his life.

Despite all our attention, his illness got worse. The vets diagnosed that his liver was not functioning properly. To see him in pain was horrible, and to be unable to help was worse. Sometimes he would just lie and shiver, with blood pouring from his nose. He had seizures. At one point he went temporarily blind.

Slowly, we were able to nurse him to health. I was scared a lot of the time, conscious I didnt really know what I was doing  but there was help from our parks staff

Saba was not housetrained and used the house as a litter tray. A tiny Saba attempting to squeeze through a hoop (right)

All I knew for certain was that Saba would try to let me know what he needed.

He wanted lots of affection so I cuddled him and talked to him. When he slept, he curled up on top of me, both in bed and on the sofa. Cheetahs have a unique purr: housecats usually purr only on the out-breath but cheetahs do it both ways, purring in and out. Its an extraordinary noise, quite hypnotic and therapeutic. I found it remarkably easy to sleep with a cheetah slumped over me.

Although he needed love, it was important that Saba did not become domesticated, if he was ever to stand a chance in the wild. That meant he couldnt be housetrained. It didnt bother him  he was quite happy to treat our entire house as a litter tray. After he moved out, we had to buy new carpets in every room.

Victoria said it was important that Saba did not become domesticated, if he was ever to stand a chance in the wild. Saba is pictured with Victoria and Damian

We knew he was on the mend when he started eating white meat. Soon he graduated from chicken to red meat, and it was time for him to start living outdoors. Our cautious hopes for his future began to take shape  we dreamed of releasing him into the wild with his brother, Nairo.

Thats the purpose of Howletts wild animal park, near Canterbury, where Saba and Nairo have grown up. It is primarily a refuge for endangered species. We currently have 45 different types of animal. Our goal is to prepare them for life in the wild, and  when they are ready  to release them.

For the first few nights outside the house, Saba lived in a wooden shed. I moved in with him for a couple of days, and it was so comfortable with its heat-lamps and straw bedding that I could have stayed permanently.

But now Saba faced his biggest challenge  learning to hunt. We joined forces with the Ashia cheetah sanctuary near Cape Town, South Africa, and their experts advised us to install a mechanised lure on a circuit, the kind used at dog-racing tracks. We attached cuddly toys or scraps of cloth as prey and set it motoring. Saba and Nairo understood what to do, instinctively.

We were worried illness could have damaged Sabas hunting reflexes but, as plenty of pigeons and squirrels have discovered when they strayed into his enclosure, theres nothing wrong with his instincts. Nairo is stronger and faster, but the boys work as a hunting tag team.

Thats normal in the wild. Female cheetahs are usually lone hunters, while brothers often team up.

By the time they were about 14 months old, Saba and Nairo were eager for the chance to live wild. Yet Saba was also still affectionate to me and Damian, approaching us for headrubs and purring loudly. He still regarded us as mum and dad.

It was encouraging to see that he didnt regard everyone with the same friendliness. He knew he was a cheetah, not a human.

'Cheetahs have a unique purr: housecats usually purr only on the out-breath but cheetahs do it both ways, purring in and out'

Perhaps he understood what a special and unique animal he really was. Last year, he met Boris Johnson, who was not yet Prime Minister. Saba made quite an impression. Damian and I invited Boris to sit in Sabas indoor quarters with us and introduce himself. Its like meeting someone with strong but undeclared views on Brexit, joked Boris nervously. Im not sure whether hes going to give me a slobbery kiss or take my head off! In the end, Saba just nibbled Boriss woolly hat.

He is also an Instagram star. All big cats are charismatic, and Saba is particularly handsome. His photographs get thousands of likes. Scrolling through pictures and videos of him on my phone brings a lump to my throat. Im going to miss him so much.

But its crucial to let him go, not just for his own sake but for the survival of the species. Latest figures suggest there are fewer than 7,000 cheetahs left in the wild. They are fragile creatures, often killed by lions and leopards as well as poachers, who murder them for their coats and even their meat.

They are also under threat from the illegal pet trade. Cheetah cubs are highly sought after in the Middle East, as trophy pets for oil millionaires, though most go on to live out their lives in tiny cages at private zoos. Thats a horrific existence.

Gloomier estimates suggest numbers will continue to dwindle, and there might be just 3,500 wild cheetahs within 15 years. With such a small population, there is a real danger of inbreeding. Saba and Nairo will, we hope, be able to make the gene pool broader by fathering cubs, and so strengthen the species.

Adult cheetahs need to hunt and kill every two days to survive, and that applies even to females that have just had litters. Mothers have no choice but to abandon their cubs, sometimes for hours at a time. It isnt surprising that two out of three cheetah babies die in their first four weeks.

Zoos around the world have set up breeding programmes, though its notoriously difficult with these cats. We want to prove with Saba and Nairo that cheetahs born in captivity can, with the right preparation, thrive in the wild.

That will inspire conservationists everywhere to follow our example. Im thrilled, but I cant help worrying too. What mother wouldnt?
A Chinese visitor who was the first confirmed case of coronavirus in Korea left a letter of gratitude before being released from an 18-day quarantine on Thursday.

The 36-year-old woman was diagnosed with the virus after arriving in Seoul from Wuhan, China on Jan. 19 to spend the Lunar New Year holiday here.

In the letter, addressed to the medical staff at Incheon Medical Center and written in English, she thanked the doctors and other members of the medical team for their "meticulous care."

She said she could not imagine what would have happened to her and her family if it weren't for the "advanced medical technology and professional attitude" of the staff members.

Quoting a famous Chinese saying, she wrote, "The healer has benevolence." She called the medical team her "heroes" and promised to live the rest of her life helping others.

She added that she hoped to invite the staff to her hometown after the coronavirus outbreak is contained.
B ritain will be "energetic champions of free and open trade" post-Brexit, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has said.

Mr Raab, who is in Australia as part of a tour of the region to secure trade deals, said the UK was forging ahead and is ready to reinvigorate ties with old friends.

The cabinet minister said a close relationship with Canberra was a "key part of the vision" for a "Global Britain" after its departure from the European Union on January 31.

In a column for the Australian Financial Review, he wrote: "On my first trip following our departure from the EU, I'm proud to be in Australia, one of the UK's greatest partners and closest allies.

"You can see our deep relationship in the real rapport between our people, our vibrant cultural links, our world-leading educational exchanges, and our (mostly!) friendly sporting rivalry.

Dominic Raab, left, and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne shake hands / AP

"We want to be energetic champions of free and open trade, so we can boost small businesses, cut the cost of living, reduce barriers and create the well-paid jobs of the future for the next generation of Australians and Britons."

Mr Raab got his hands dirty during his visit to Sydney, picking up a spade and planting one of the first trees as part of an AstraZeneca project to plant 25 million in the country by 2025.

Pascal Soriot, chief executive officer of the Anglo-Swedish company, joked that Mr Raab brought some "fine British rain" to a country which has been blighted by drought and wildfires in recent months.

Mr Raab said: "We maybe have brought the rain, I can't guarantee it will stop in order for us to plant the trees."

Brexit Day at Parliament Square - In pictures 1 /22 Brexit Day at Parliament Square - In pictures Anti-Brexit protesters in Parliament Square, London PA Police presence at anti-Brexit protests in Parliament Square, London PA The Winston Churchill statue and Union flags in Parliament Square, London PA Pro Brexit supporters hold placards at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit Getty Images A man carries an EU themed wreath at Parliament Square Reuters Anti-Brexit demonstrators in Parliament Square, London, ahead of the UK leaving the European Union PA Pro Brexit supporters hold placards at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit Getty Images A man wears a President, Donald Trump mask and holds an American flag at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit Getty Images People hold placards in Parliament Square opposite the Houses of Parliament in London AFP via Getty Images A man holds up a President, Donald Trump, American flag at Parliament Square as people prepare for Brexit Getty Images A Red Viking apple with the Union Jack is displayed and given out for free to promote British produce as an Anti-Brexit demonstrator waves the European Union flag in Parliament Square AP Joseph Afrane in Westminster Jeremy Selwyn Pro-EU anti-Brexit protesters hold placards in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Images A man takes a photo of political artist Kaya Mar's paintings in Parliament Square Getty Images A man in an oversized 'Keep America Great' hat and draped with a US flag holds a Union Flag in Parliament Square opposite the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images A woman holds a newspaper at Parliament Square Reuters A woman wears a face mask in Parliament Square PA

The Foreign Secretary's first stop of the tour was Austalias capital, Canberra, where he and his Australian counterpart reaffirmed their commitments to start negotiations on a bilateral agreement "as soon as possible".

Mr Raab said he hoped the country would be part of Britain's "first wave" of "high priority" deals being chased after its official divorce from the bloc.

He also discussed with Foreign Minister Marise Payne the UKs decision last week to let Huawei have a limited role supplying new high-speed network equipment to wireless carriers.

Britain's decision on Huawei is the first by a major US ally in Europe, and follows intense lobbying from the Mr Trump administration as the US vies with China for technological dominance.

Boris Johnson: Brexit is over

Australia angered China, it biggest trading partner, by banning the tech firm on security grounds from involvement in its national broadband network and the rollout of new 5G networks.

Mr Raab assured Ms Payne that Britain's decision would not affect its intelligence-sharing relationship with Australia, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, which form the Five Eyes partnership.

"We were absolutely clear and looked at it very clearly and there is nothing in the decision that we took that would inhibit or disrupt in any way whatsoever the Five Eyes intelligence sharing and theres nothing in the approach that we are taking that would have an impact on, for example, the sharing of sensitive data," Mr Raab said.

Ms Payne said she was confident Australia could strike a free trade deal with Britain.

"We are ... at opposite ends of the world, yet we are very ready and able to grab a new era of opportunity for enhanced strategic and economic cooperation," Ms Payne said.
Im kidding, theres no great news, its all dreadful. Democrats dunked the Iowa caucuses into the deep fryer of incompetence, President Donald Trump was acquitted in the Senate by a bunch of Republicans terrified of mean tweets and Lake Michigan is rising so fast Naperville will soon be known for its lovely beaches. As I look back on the week, I can only whimper: What the (BLEEP) just happened?
A city court on Friday awarded capital punishment to a man and life sentence to his wife for murdering a toddler who was his nephew and the child's mother over a property dispute in 2008.

Holding that the murder of a one-year-old child falls under the category of the rarest of rare crime, additional district and sessions judge Chinmoy Chatterjee sentenced Satya Saha to death.

Saha's wife Nandita was awarded life sentence for the crime committed on December 14, 2008.

The judge had convicted the man and his wife on Thursday.

Satya and his brother Bidyut lived in the same premises at Suren Sarkar Road in Beliaghata in the eastern part of the city with their families.

The brothers were in dispute over the property in which they lived, prosecution lawyer Md Abu Bakar Dhali said.

Satya, aided by his wife Nandita, strangulated the mother and the child to death.

The body of the boy was found from a ditch near R G Kar Hospital in north Kolkata a day after the murder, while that of his mother was discovered in a bush beside Durgapur Expressway in Dankuni the next day, Dhali said.

Nandita was arrested on December 16, 2008, four days after the crime, while her husband Satya was apprehended on February 10, 2009.

Charged with murder and conspiracy, they were tried before the Sealdah District and Sessions Court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[February 07, 2020] Lockheed Martin and BEL to explore opportunities in F-21 fighter programme

LUCKNOW, India, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to explore industrial opportunities in the F-21 programme today at DefExpo 2020. Lockheed Martin is strengthening and growing its partnerships with the Indian industry to support the company's F-21 proposal for the Indian Air Force. "We are excited to begin exploring F-21 opportunities with BEL, one of India's leading aerospace and defence companies," said Dr Vivek Lall, Vice President of Stragety and Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. "An F-21 partnership with India integrates Indian industry, including BEL, into the world's largest and most successful fighter aircraft ecosystem and demonstrates Lockheed Martin's commitment to India." Mrs Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL, said: "We are happy to collaborate with Lockheed Martin which is a global major in the aeospace sector. We are eagerly looking forward to cash in on this co-operation to address domestic and international market needs in this sector."



About the F-21 The advanced, single-engine F-21 is the ideal solution to meet the Indian Air Force's capability needs and deliver unparalleled industrial opportunities. The F-21 delivers an advanced, single-engine multi-role fighter at the most optimal Life Cycle Cost for the Indian Air Force, with the longest service life of any competitor  12,000 flight hours. In concert with India's Rafale and Tejas, the F-21 will fill a critical operational role for the Indian Air Force.

The F-21 also provides unmatched opportunities for Indian companies of all sizes, including Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and suppliers throughout India, to establish new business relationships with Lockheed Martin and other industry leaders in the US and around the globe. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 110,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. About BEL A Navratna PSU and India's foremost Defence electronics company, BEL is a multi-product, multi-technology, multi-Unit conglomerate having products in the areas of Radars, Missile Systems, Military Communications, Naval Systems, Electronic Warfare & Avionics, C4I Systems, Electro Optics, Tank Electronics & Gun/Weapon System Upgrade in the Defence segment. BEL is also diversifying into areas such as Homeland Security & Smart Cities, Satellite Integration & Space Electronics, Railways, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Software as a Service, Energy Storage Products and Composite Shelters & Masts. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087512/Lockheed_Martin_F_21_Fighter_Programme.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/331919/Lockheed_Martin_Logo.jpg

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There have been 15 suspected cases of coronavirus tested in Ireland in recent days, but there have been no confirmed cases, it emerged last night.

However, the Department of Healths chief medical officer, Dr Tony Holohan, has warned that a confirmed case here is possible, given the increase in cases being seen internationally.

He said Ireland has comprehensive public health and emergency plans in place, and is prepared if a case is confirmed.

Dr Cillian De Gascun, who chairs the coronavirus expert advisory group, said the fact that we have not seen sustained human-to-human transmission in any other country outside China is a positive indicator for our containment measures here.

The HSE also confirmed that it has begun distributing some 3,000 personal protection packs to GPs and clinics around the country  an exercise that will take between a week to 10 days.

HSE assistant national director of public health and child health, Kevin Kelleher, said: It is basically a gown, gloves, mask, and goggles. It is for the GP or relevant person to use if they get contacted by somebody who comes in to see them.

Dr De Gascun, of the National Virus Reference Laboratory who tested the 15 suspect cases as of Monday, said test results are available about eight hours after a sample arrives in the lab.

Dr Kelleher said they are able to confirm within 24 to 36 hours whether or not someone has the disease.

He also said the HSE had been very careful in how they described the disease.

He said it is not a Chinese disease and it was very inappropriate for some people to describe it in a way to discriminate against people. He warned that it could cause people who have caught the virus not to come forward.

Asked was it inevitable that there would be cases in Ireland, Dr Kelleher said the World Health Organisation was hoping to contain the virus within China.

Countries outside of China were making sure there was no sustained transmission of the virus.

All the evidence is that outside of China, particularly at the moment, there is no such sustained transmission, said Dr Kelleher.

He said people who have returned from China and who have symptoms should get in touch with their doctor by phone as a first step.

He said clinicians would get in touch with staff in public health and they would decide what happens next.

We are able to say that, as of lunchtime today (Thursday), there are no confirmed cases of coronavirus in Ireland.

Asked about the two suspected cases in Cork and Kerry, Dr Kelleher, said they diddo not discuss individuals.

When asked if there were adequate isolation facilities in the countrys acute hospitals, Dr Kelleher said they had been working very hard to ensure that they were prepared to isolate patients with the disease.

Meanwhile, there have been 75 deaths from flu and 3,242 people hospitalised with the virus.
National Security Strategy Next: Top Diplomatic Priority

The Context

In the post-Cold War era  and especially after the Sept. 11 attacks  the focal point of American foreign policy moved to counterterrorism, the Middle East and Afghanistan. President Trump has, at least on paper, argued for shifting American foreign policy back to confront the revisionist powers of Russia and China.

President Trumps national security strategy calls for shifting the focus of American foreign policy away from the Middle East and Afghanistan, and back to what it refers to as the revisionist superpowers, Russia and China. Do you agree? Why or why not?
President Donald Trump arrives for a signing ceremony for the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, on Jan. 29, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

US Kills AQAP Leader in Yemen: Trump

WASHINGTONPresident Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States killed al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) leader Qassim al-Raymi in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces, Trump said in a statement.

His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qaida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security, he said. He did not say when Raymi was killed.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

President of the Concerned Small Scale Miners, Michael Kwadwo Peprah has alleged that several ounces of gold seized from illegal miners by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining between 2018 and 2019 have gone missing.

This comes on the back of the arrest of Horace Ekow Ewusi and five others for their alleged involvement in the disappearance of some confiscated excavators.

Mr. Preprah said the situation warrants further investigations.

You have seized peoples excavators and those excavators cannot be found. They have seized peoples gold because they thought they were engaging in Galamsey and those gold cannot be found and at the end of the day, we are back to the same problem.

If we are able to seize over 500 excavators, then imagine the number of gold that will be seized alongside the excavators because all those excavators were used in mining and at the end of the day when you go and catch the person in the act, they were not catching stones, they were mining so if you should take the gold with the excavator you should know the amount of gold we are talking about. It means this fight against Galamsey, people were using it to enrich themselves. Now that we have brought the military and they have failed, what is next? That is one thing we fear.

Michael Kwadwo Peprah also said the suggested dissolution of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining as hinted by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) General Secretary, John Boadu is long overdue.

We said it over again that using the military to fight the problem is not the solution and government did not adhere to what we were trying to say and now that at least we have had evidence from whatever we are saying is a lesson to them and it is a lesson to the subsequent government. The problem is a very complex one and if you do not understand the problem, that is when you make mistakes like what we have done.

This revelation follows Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boatengs recent disclosure that most of the excavators that were seized from illegal miners had vanished.

He subsequently petitioned the Criminal Investigations Department of the Ghana Police Service to investigate the suspended First Vice Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party, Horace Ekow Ewusi over his alleged involvement in the missing earth-moving equipment.

Ekow Ewusi was contracted by the government to cart excavators and other vehicles and pieces of equipment seized by Operation Vanguard to designated areas for safekeeping.

So far, six persons arrested over the disappearance of the missing equipmen to have been granted bail .

The six, including Ekow Ewusi, have been cautioned with the offence of stealing and abetment to stealing.

---citinewsroom
Yokohama: Five Australians are among a further 41 passengers to test positive to coronavirus aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, quarantined in Japan.

There is now a total of 61 confirmed cases on the ship, including seven Australians.

Japanese health officials are bringing infected passengers and crew off the cruise liner one by one, before placing them into ambulances and transferring them to isolation units at medical facilities in several prefectures around the country.

Japan's Health Minister, Katsunobu Kato, confirmed the latest cases of the virus after the results of the remaining 171 tests came through.
Asserting that the language used by Rahul against Modi is condemnable, the BJP minister said such language is not expected from the son of a former prime minister and demanded that Gandhi should apologise.

New Delhi: Union Minister Harsh Vardhan on Friday said Congress MPs came to his seat in the Lok Sabha, tried to attack him and snatched papers when he condemned Rahul Gandhi for his indecent language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Treasury and Opposition members nearly came to blows in the Lok Sabha on Friday when the Union health minister condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by the former Congress chief against the prime minister.

"When I condemned Rahul Gandhi for his remarks against the prime minister, the Congress MPs came to my seat, tried to attack me and snatched papers from me," Vardhan told reporters outside Parliament.

Asserting that the language used by Rahul against Modi is condemnable, he said such language is not expected from the son of a former prime minister and demanded that Gandhi should apologise.

During a rally for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Congress leader had reportedly said that "youth would beat Modi with sticks over the lack of jobs".

On Thursday, the prime minister took a dig at Rahul for his remarks, saying he would increase the number of Surya Namaskars (a yoga exercise) so that his back can bear the attack.
US scientists have succeeded in genetically editing the immune systems of three cancer patients using Crispr, without creating any side effects, a first for the tool which is revolutionizing biomedical research. The highly anticipated results from the first phase of a clinical trial were published in the journal Science on Thursday. They represent a stepping stone that doesn't yet prove Crispr can be used to fight cancer. Indeed, one of the patients has since died and the disease has worsened in the other two -- but the trial does show that the technique is non-toxic. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) removed T-cells from the patients' blood and used CRISPR to delete genes from the cells that might interfere with the immune system's ability to fight cancer. They then used a virus to arm the T-cells to attack a protein typically found on cancer cells called NY-ESO-1, and infused the cells back into the patients. Edward Stadtmauer, the study's principal investigator, told AFP that T-cell therapy, in which a person's own immune system is exploited to destroy tumors, had been a major breakthrough of the past decade, but "unfortunately, even with that technology there are so many patients who don't respond." The idea of this work therefore is to combine the two cutting-edge approaches to make T- cells even more powerful. There may not have been major clinical results this time around, but "to me the import of this study is not the clinical results but the fact that we were able to feasibly do this very complex procedure," added Stadtmauer. A lab technician prepares to thaw a blood bag before genetically modifying a patient's immune cells on March 8, 2019 at the Paoli-Calmettes Institute (IPC) overall cancer care center in Marseille, southeastern France
The Enforcement Directorate has identified properties worth Rs 3,000 crore allegedly belonging to DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan in India and abroad. The central agency suspects these assets were bought with funds siphoned off from DHFL and laundered through hawala channels. Wadhawan is presently under ED's custody in relation to a money laundering case involving gangster Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Iqbal Mirchi.

The list of properties identified by the ED includes a 12,000 square feet parcel of land worth Rs 1,000 crore in Melboune, two flats in New York, a flat and an office space in London, one villa worth Rs 50 crore in Thailand's Koh Samui, Hotel Radisson Blu in Pune, Hotel Country Inn in Mysore, four flats in Khar's DB Breeze, one flat in Mumbai's Sea View Palace, one flat in Juhu, a bungalow in Mahabaleshwar, and a housing society with more than 500 flats in Kurla.

The value of these properties is pegged at Rs 3,000 crore, India Today reported. The ED suspects that Wadhawans had allegedly brought several other properties in the name of shell companies created by them or their associates.

Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman and Managing Director of Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL), was sent to ED custody by a special PMLA court till February 7. The company came under ED's scanner for alleged link with global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim's aide Iqbal Mirchi, and is now suspected of fund diversion. Investigations revealed that a loan of Rs 2,186 crore extended by DHFL to Sunblink Real Estate Private Limited had reached D-company in Dubai. Sunblink had facilitated routing of the amount to Mirchi.

The ED alleged that Kapil Wadhawan "diverted" funds from DHFL to shell companies and later these dubious companies got amalgamated with Sunblink Real Estate Pvt Ltd to "cover" alleged diversion of loans acquired from DHFL.

DHFL belongs to the Wadhawan family, which also owns RKW Developers located at the HDIL building. RKW Developers Director Ranjit Bindra acted as a broker to negotiate the deal with Iqbal Mirchi in London. The route of Sunblink was "purposefully created by Kapil Wadhawan as CMD of DHFL and others just to obfuscate the trail of money for the purchase of properties" from the Mirchi family, the agency alleged.

The ED has filed a criminal case against Iqbal Memon alias Iqbal Mirchi, his family and others to probe money laundering charges for alleged illegal dealings in purchase and sale of costly real estate assets in Mumbai. Mirchi, who died in 2013 in London, was alleged to be the right-hand man of global terrorist Dawood Ibrahim in drug trafficking and extortion crimes.

ALSO READ:DHFL CMD Kapil Wadhawan sent to five-day ED custody in money laundering case

ALSO READ:ED arrests DHFL boss Kapil Wadhawan in Iqbal Mirchi money laundering case

ALSO READ:NRI businessman CC Thampi gets bail in money laundering case related to Robert Vadra
Senators are reluctant to stand as surety to a former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina, his lawyer, Afam Osigwe, said.

Mr Osigwe made this known on Thursday, during the ongoing criminal trial of Mr Maina, at the federal high court in Abuja.

The judge, Okon Abang, who is presiding over the matter, had asked the defendants lawyer, whether Mr Maina has been able to perfect his bail conditions.

Responding, Mr Osigwe said: Unfortunately, senators are reluctant to stand in for Maina.

Mr Mainas lawyer further said he is trying to explore other strategies to ensure that the bail conditions are fully complied with.

Trial

Mr Maina is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering, operating fictitious accounts and other fraudulent activities.

The former PRTT chairman, who was in hiding for almost two years, was arrested by the State Security Service (SSS).

The SSS then handed over Mr Maina to the EFCC, which had declared him wanted for over a year.

EFCC Officials

He was arraigned on October 25.

He pleaded not guilty to the 12-count charge of N100 billion pension fraud brought against him.

Bail conditions

The court had granted Mr Maina bail of N1 billion with two sureties in like sum.

Justice Abang had held that the sureties must be serving senators with no criminal case pending in court and must own landed properties in Maitama or Asokoro, Abuja.

The judge added that the senators must attend proceeding at every adjourned date for the trial.

Nigeria Senate plenary

Unable to meet those bail conditions, the former PRTT chairman through his lawyer appealed to the court to vary the bail conditions.

Following Mr Mainas plea, the court adjusted the bail sum to N500 million and ordered him to produce one surety with a landed property fully developed in Maitama, Asokoro, Central Business District, Wuse 2 and Katampe, all in Abuja.

The judge said, the defendant must, produce one surety who must be a Nigerian and a serving senator, who must not be standing any criminal trial in court.

Mr Abang added that the surety shall come to court with the defendant at all adjourned dates and sign the register opened for him before going back to his business.
Allen Fletcher held back tears as he stood in the middle of his dream, which became a reality on Thursday night.

Emotions overtook the developer of the Worcester Public Market on the night the 20,000 square foot space officially opened. A line formed out the door prior to the 5 p.m. kickoff. Work continued throughout the day to finalize as many projects as possible prior to the grand opening.

Throughout the construction of the Worcester Public Market, tours have been offered, stories written, but heres what we learned during the official opening and here are the stores inside:

Creative Cakes

After years of anticipation, the Worcester Public Market opened in the Canal District on Thursday.

Creative Cakes is the latest vendor to offer baked sweets at the market. While still a few weeks away from completion, Creative Cakes offered goods and samples at the grand opening.

The husband-and-wife owned company specialize in cake pops, cupcakes and other hand-held treats.

Subzero Ice Cream

A line formed by Subzero Ice Creams booth as liquid nitrogen instantly froze the cream sitting in the stainless steel pans. The ice cream shop based in Nashua, New Hampshire began five years ago. Wanting to expand to Worcester, Subzero Ice Cream moved into the public market.

After years of anticipation, the Worcester Public Market opened in the Canal District on Thursday.

They feature nine types of ice cream, various flavors and add-ins. Vegan options are available too.

Its only one of two locations in the city though. Co-owner Mark McCabe said he and his wife will also be opening a location at 44 Front St.

Whats not open yet

While Thursday marked the grand opening, a few shops are still under construction. They include: Salt and Brine Oyster Bar, Akra African Fusion and Cambio CBD products and Secret Society, specializing in CBD skin cream.

Honoring Worcesters history

Two vendors used their space to pay homage to Worcester. Thursday they were finally able to reveal their tributes.

The Worcester Public Market opened its doors after years of anticipation on Thursday within the Canal District.

The Worcester Public Market opened its doors after years of anticipation on Thursday within the Canal District.

The New England Burger Bah used its counter to depict neighborhoods in Worcester, which included the Bancroft Tower, the Worcester Red Sox, and the airport.

The Worcester Public Market opened its doors after years of anticipation on Thursday within the Canal District.

Legacy Delis photo collage honored the past delis and markets within the city.

Back to the future

One of the eye-popping attractions tucked inside the Worcester Public Market is the miniature model of Worcester depicting the city from the days of 1834.

The Worcester Public Market opened its doors after years of anticipation on Thursday within the Canal District.

It depicted the city as it was during the mid-19th century with tiny structures, bridges and trees. To add perspective, stickers on the glass revealed the locations of current landmarks like Union Station, the public library and the Worcester Public Market.

Kegs and license plates

For months, pedestrians walking by the Wachusett Brewing Co. taproom could see the airstream trailer inside the space. The trailer acted as the bar Thursday night, which wasnt a secret. However, Wachusett still managed to unveil a few surprises during the grand opening.

The Worcester Public Market opened its doors after years of anticipation on Thursday within the Canal District.

The seats surrounding the bar were atop kegs. The beers on tap appeared as though they were Massachusetts license plates.

Fast internet

During the construction of the Worcester Public Market, infrastructure from GigXero was included to provide internet speeds of 1,000 mbps for uploads and downloads. Every vendor within the market has access to Unlimited Gigabit Internet by GigXero as well as every resident within the Kelley Square Lofts.

Wifi at those speeds will also be available within the food court.

More than flowers

The Wildflower Truck has a spot with succulents and flowers, but a neighboring booth also offers handmade bags and other gifts. The bags pay tribute to owner Devin Disalvos time in the military.

After years of anticipation, the Worcester Public Market opened in the Canal District on Thursday.

Related Content
Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) walks through Statuary Hall to the House Chamber for President Donald Trumps State of the Union address in the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 4, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Rick Scott Calls for Constitutional Amendment to Raise Threshold for Impeachment

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) called for an amendment to the Constitution to raise the House voting threshold to approve articles of impeachment, a day after President Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

Scott made the announcement on Feb. 6 with the aim of making it more difficult for presidents to be impeached, saying that the United States should never again have to suffer from this partisan hackery.

His Constitutional amendment would require a super-majority vote of three-fifths in the House of Representatives in order to approve articles of impeachment, instead of the current threshold of a simple majority.

After the partisan charade by @SpeakerPelosi & House Dems, Im introducing a constitutional amendment that raises the threshold to approve articles of impeachment in the House to 3/5 Super Majority vote. Our country should never again suffer from a partisan impeachment process. pic.twitter.com/B44WZcB8Pl  Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) February 6, 2020

An act as divisive as impeachment must have bipartisan backing and overwhelming support. It should be hardermuch harderfor either political party to take the process our Founders created as a last resort against a tyrannical leader and use it instead as a tool for the tyranny of a political majority, Scott said in a statement.

I look forward to all of my colleagues, on both sides of the aisle, joining me in this effort to protect the integrity of our nation and our constitution.

Trump was acquitted by the Senate on both articles of impeachment on Wednesday, ending the third impeachment trial in U.S. history.

The senators voted nearly along party lines to acquit the president of the two charges against him: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The senators voted 52-48 on the first article of impeachment and 53-47 on the second article.

None of the Democrats voted to acquit the president on either article. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) broke with his party to vote to convict Trump of abuse of power.

Trumps campaign on Wednesday issued the presidents first official response after he was acquitted, arguing that Trump had been vindicated after months of impeachment fervor.

Trump has been totally vindicated and its now time to get back to the business of the American people, said Trump campaign spokesperson Brad Parscale in a statement.

Scott described the impeachment process a partisan charade carried out by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats, which realized the fears of our Founding Fathers.

They warned that impeachment could be used as a partisan tool by partisan actors, he said.

The Democrats used the impeachment process as a tool to hurt President Trump, regardless of the outcome of the Senate trial. Its a dangerous precedent and the process has to change.

Scotts amendment must receive approval from two-thirds of the House and Senate, and ratification from three-fourths of all states, or 38 out of 50.

Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
WATERTOWN, Conn., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemon, a leading global network infrastructure specialist, today announced an upcoming informative panel at the 2020 BICSI Winter Conference & Exhibition that will highlight best practices in designing and deploying a fully integrated intelligent building that lowers both construction and operation costs.

The panel entitled, "PoE Lighting and IoT: A Winning Problem-Solving Combination" will take place on Wednesday, February 12 from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Convention Center. It will feature expert consultants, engineers and solution providers who came together to design and deploy fully integrated IP-based building systems for a new five-story, 87,000-square-foot facility, including power over Ethernet (PoE) digital lighting, audio-visual, security, Wi-Fi and building automation systems.

"We are excited to bring together key partners that were involved in a two-year intelligent building project and share our consultative design approach that ultimately lowered capital and operational expense and resulted in a smart, dynamic and sustainable space that enhanced occupant experience," says the moderator of the panel, Bob Allan, Global Business Development Manager - Intelligent Buildings and Strategic Alliances for Siemon. "Attendees will have a chance to interface with key project stakeholders and learn about the decision processes, best practices and lessons learned in deploying a converged infrastructure that supports fully integrated IP-based and PoE-based systems."

Siemon's intelligent building and data center experts will also be on hand at the Siemon Booth #313 during exhibit hours to discuss effective strategies and solutions for planning, design and deployment of infrastructure to support today's emerging technologies. The booth will showcase Siemon's ConvergeIT Intelligent Building Solutions that provide superior support for IP-based and PoE-enabled building systems, as well as Siemon's WheelHouse Advanced Data Center Solutions designed to optimize any size and type of data center.

The 2020 BICSI Winter Conference takes place at the Tampa Bay Convention Center on February 9  13 in Tampa, Fla. Siemon will be exhibiting at Booth #313 on Monday, February 10 from 4:30-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 11 from 2-7:30 p.m. and on Wednesday, February 12 from 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the design and manufacture of high quality, high performance IT infrastructure solutions and services for Data Centers, LANs and Intelligent Buildings. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global sales, technical and logistics expertise spanning 100 countries, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suites of copper and optical fiber cabling systems, cabinets, racks, cable management, data center power and cooling systems and Intelligent Infrastructure Management solutions. With more than 400 patents specific to structured cabling, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and the development of Industry Standards, underlining the company's long-standing commitment to its customers and the industry. Through an ongoing commitment to waste and energy reduction, Siemon's environmental sustainability benchmarks are unparalleled in the industry, including 179% global carbon negativity and zero-landfill status.

SOURCE Siemon
EUGENE, Ore. -- Did you know there are more than 21,000 Lane County residents, 25 years old or older, who don't have a high school diploma or equivalent? It's nearly 9% of the county's population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The most recent data shows more than 5,800 students dropped out of Oregon high schools in the 2018-2019 school year.

"I was tired of school. I was frustrated. I was just not interested," said 20-year-old Luca Kline.

He dropped out of high school his junior year. That was in 2017.

"The easier choice for me was to just escape, go home, play video games," he said.

But looking back, he criticizes his decision to drop out.

"It's the stupidest decision of my life," Kline said. "You lose your sense of self. Essentially, you lose your sense of self."

Kline is now close to earning his GED at Lane Community College.

KEZI 9 News also spoke to LCC Instructor Aliscia Niles about the costs of quitting high school.

"Potential, your life's potential, which is what you really have. That's the one thing you have," said Niles. "Our students come to us with complex lives. There was something or many things that happened that interfered with their education."

Niles said in the past, dropouts could potentially earn a livable wage. She said that's not so easy nowadays.

"So the reality hits very quickly: 'Maybe I need to complete my education,'" said Niles.

In fact, working age dropouts in Oregon make about $10,000 less per year compared to high school graduates. That's according to an organization called The Foundation for Educational Choice. In 2010, they released a study examining the economic and social costs of oregon's high school dropouts.

That 2010 study found approximately $173 million in tax revenue is lost each year in Oregon because of the lower earnings of dropouts. It's a trend that Niles said spans generations.

"We see this when we meet with our students and get to know them. There tends to be a generational component to why a student may have dropped out of school," Niles said.

No matter the reason, Niles said dropping out of high school is not your only option.

"I get it. It can be a real struggle for students. And I get why students decide to drop out. I just want them to know that they have opportunities," Niles said.

As Luca Kline gets closer to earning his GED, he's catching up on his "cost of quitting," which, for him, has been time.

"High school is four years. If you commit to those four years, you are done. You drop out, and it might be five or six more."

A lot of educators in Oregon said a lack of money is the reason the state has struggled for years with its graduation rate. But in 2019 state legislators passed the Student Success Act, investing $2 billion into Oregon education every two years.
When it comes to fashion, Tan France knows his stuff! He is the resident fashion expert on the Netflix series Queer Eye, where he teams up with Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, Karamo Brown and Bobby Berk to transform the lives of people around the world. The Fab 5, as fans lovingly call them, have set off a chain reaction of kindness, fun and overall fabulousness that has inspired millions.

We got a chance to talk to Mr. France about his new affordable eyewear line with EyeBuyDirect, which he revealed (to no surprise) combines fashion and function.

The importance of good eyewear is often taken for granted, France tells Parenting. I see every opportunity when it comes to accessorizing or dressing. I see everything I put on as an opportunity to enhance my appearance to make myself feel better.

Making people feel better definitely seems to be his whole mission, and a big part of that is helping people look their best. When it came time to design the line, which includes both eyeglasses and sunglasses, France revealed that he didnt necessarily go for one aesthetic.

He explains, I worked with EyeBuyDirect to create a collection that honestly, I would wear.

The eyewear line includes 20 different styles, with prices starting at just $19. If youre a bit lost when it comes to choosing the right eyewear for your face, France has you covered on that, too. Ive got an oval-shaped face, he says. So I want to balance it out with something softer. For example, I wont go with an aviator because thats got more of a shape that replicates my face shape and, therefore, makes my face look even longer.

If you dont have an oval face like France, he has some super simple advice. He recommends choosing a glasses shape that is not the same as your actual face.

Once youve identified the complementary frames based on your face shape, France has a few favorites from his EyeBuyDirect you should check out. While he admitted he had a hard time picking just one pair from his collection because he lives in shades, he divulged he prefers the Morla Round Tortoise Eyeglasses and, as far as shades: This week Im on Village.

Story continues

And obviously, we couldnt let France go without asking what glasses hed pick for his Queer Eye cast mates. Read on to find out, then shop the entire collection here.

1For Karamo Brown

Tower Eyeglasses

EyeBuyDirect

2For Bobby Berk

Daydream Eyeglasses

EyeBuyDirect

3For Antoni Porowski

Groove Eyeglasses

EyeBuyDirect

4For Jonathan Van Ness

Morla Eyeglasses

EyeBuyDirect

This story originally appeared on Parenting.com by Bethany Braun-Silva.
Renovation

7 February 2020

Nautilus by Arlo, located in the heart of Miami Beach's art deco district, has unveiled a redesigned lobby and public spaces, new amenities, locally-inspired programming and a selection of the brand's New York City-based collaborators, all coming together to reimagine the Arlo Hotels experience for South Beach.

Arlo added the iconic property to its brand portfolio in April 2019, and has since been transforming the hotel experience to inspire a sense of adventure and imagination. This has been led in part by a collaboration with beloved neighborhood barbershop and cocktail lounge, Blind Barber, to open their first Miami location in the Nautilus lobby.

Nautilus also redesigned its spacious lobby to accommodate jet-setting guests searching for a relaxed retreat, South Beach's digital nomads, and on-the-go business travelers. The signature Arlo lobby now offers welcoming spaces mixing modern conveniences with high-design details, giving locals and guests an effective yet beautiful home base for work, hotel-planned programming, or any purpose. A large communal table provides the ideal environment for co-working, while cozy nooks offer a place to rest and recharge between adventures. The lobby also now houses one of Arlo's trademark Bodegas, a 24- hour pantry selling coffee and artisanal food from Farm to People, as well as Arlo's custom "Deep Woods" scent and global gifts from Fancy. The lobby and Bodega join Nautilus' existing roster of venues and amenities, including the 1,890-square-foot heated saltwater pool and underwater sound system, Mediterranean restaurant Nautilus Cabana Club, a 24-hour fitness center, 12,000 square feet of outdoor event space and more.

"Our new look marks an inflection point for Nautilus," said Javier Egipciaco, senior vice president and managing director of Arlo Hotels. "We've created amenities and spaces that we hope inspire a sense of adventure and imagination for our guests, but also a spot where our locals can find the same sense of community and discovery."

Apart from physical adjustments, the property is also adopting Arlo's industry-leading practice of providing engaging programming for guests and locals that bring local culture and community inside the hotel. Monthly pARLOur talks are currently underway, bringing in experts in green living across various fields to help guests live a more sustainable lifestyle. These align with the brand-wide Arlo Cares platform, which aims to serve as a home base for eco-conscious travelers. The property has also embraced hyper-local programming and events ranging from Dive-In Movies at the pool to cooking classes with Nautilus Cabana Club Chef Richard Fuentes.

"Our goal is to make the hotel a gathering place for guests and locals alike, both through events and programming, as well as our like-minded partners bringing a new perspective to South Beach," said Karan Kakar, general manager at Nautilus. "We're thrilled to be bringing the Arlo experience to Miami, allowing travelers to immerse themselves in the art, relaxation and culture that makes this city unique."

BLIND BARBER

A hybrid barber shop by day and hidden cocktail lounge by night, Blind Barber's classic old-school barbershop is now open inside Nautilus' lobby. The concept that goes well beyond cuts, shaves and cocktails, with the goal of bringing barbershop camaraderie back in style. Since opening their first location in 2010 in New York's East Village, they have quickly solidified their position among the top brands in the grooming industry.

The barbershop offers its signature services: haircuts, shaves and beard trims, with a complimentary beer or cocktail with every service. Located at the back of the shop behind a discreet rear door is Blind Barber's backroom cocktail lounge, a hidden spot for guests and locals to enjoy hand-crafted cocktails, listen to live music, and order some of Blind Barber's greatest hits, including its specialty grilled cheese sandwich menu. The cocktail lounge has been reimagined with a nod to old Miami glamour, with lush green and pink velvet seating, terrazzo tables, copper walls and a large projection wall for movies or sports-watching. Blind Barber is Arlo's exclusive amenities provider across all properties, and large-format amenity bottles can now be found in each of Nautilus's 250-guest rooms. Blind Barber shampoo, conditioner and body wash is also available for purchase at Bodega.

NAUTI BODEGA

Arlo's signature Bodega, a 24-hour, well-stocked pantry with coffee, local snacks, and a daily selection of sandwiches, can be found inside the hotel's lobby. Farm to People will stock Nauti Bodega full of snackable goodies all made by indie food producers. Nauti Bodega provides an efficient and fresh alternative to room service for on-the-go travelers. The outlet will also sell a curated selection of products from Fancy's network of small businesses around the world. Guests and locals can shop the Arlo x Fancy store online, or view products in person at Nautilus. Both Farm to People and Fancy are long-standing brand partners.
Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, says the current level of insecurity is unparalleled in Nigerias histo...





Yakubu Dogara, former speaker of the house of representatives, says the current level of insecurity is unparalleled in Nigerias history.





chairing a northern security meeting convened by the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP). Dogara spoke in Kaduna on Thursday whilechairinga northern security meeting convened by the Arewa Research and Development Project (ARDP).





He said the situation in the north is even worse, adding that of the 19 states in the region, only the federal capital territory (FCT) and Kwara state are relatively peaceful.





He blamed the situation on poor leadership and failure of leaders to organise a society that works for all.





According to him, the red flags were there but the leaders failed to take caution, a mistake he says everyone is now paying for.





We are confronted with a crisis that is unparalleled in our history. The death spiral appears unstoppable. Increasingly, it is becoming harder and harder to distinguish us from our enemies, Dogara said.





There was no shortage of early warning signs and as a matter of fact, our philosophers such as the late Saadu Zungur of blessed memory had warned that this dystopian era was fast approaching but we ignored all.





lies are answered with new lies. We are now paying for our collective negligence. Our economic debris have become too conspicuous to be ignored. As it is, we are now trapped in a prison of mirrors, wherelies are answered with new lies.





He said with the situation of things, its like our slow motion walk to self apocalypse is assured





He added that the north was running out of time and decisive actions needed to be taken so that future generations would inherit the region in one piece and not in pieces.





does not necessarily bring peace except peace of the grave, he said. In tackling these problems, we must realise that guns do not kill and killingdoes not necessarily bring peace except peace of the grave, he said.





Violence is taking roots because poor leadership model has been exposed as a lie, an empty ideology used to satiate greed instead of addressing social inequality and injustice.





We are running out of time, it is crystal clear that the North cannot withstand the kind of contradictions that exist now.





The north is on fire ignited by us either by our actions or by what we permit or allow.





Those who truly love the North must now come out and accept responsibility and begin the salvage mission, bearing in mind Prof. Andrew Harunas warning that the North was handed over to us in one peace, we must therefore not pass it to our children in pieces.




When the man from Hangzhou returned home from a business trip, the local police got in touch. They had tracked his car by his license plate in nearby Wenzhou, which has had a spate of coronavirus cases despite being far from the epicentre of the outbreak. Stay indoors for two weeks, they requested. After around 12 days, he was bored and went out early. This time, not only did the police contact him, so did his boss. He had been spotted near Hangzhou's West Lake by a camera with facial recognition technology, and the authorities had alerted his company as a warning. He was a bit ...
South Korea is pushing to send its third chartered flight to the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan to bring home its citizens from the locked-down city, government sources said Friday.



The government is fine-tuning details to evacuate around 200 South Koreans, including children and pregnant women, from the epicenter of the deadly contagious virus, they said.



"A considerable amount of preparation has been made to bring back our people living in Wuhan through the third chartered flight," said a government official who asked not to be named. "We do not have details on the date yet, but discussions are under way with an airline."



The South Korean consulate general in Wuhan will conduct a preliminary survey of its nationals in the region to determine the demand for an aerial evacuation.













South Korea's first and second evacuation planes chartered from the country's biggest airline Korean Air Lines Co. flew out a combined 701 South Koreans from Wuhan last month.



South Korea confirmed another case of novel coronavirus infection as of late Friday, bringing the total here to 24, and the patient in the latest one is a South Korean airlifted from Wuhan last week. (Yonhap)
A Nigerian senator, Bulus Amos, representing Gombe South Senatorial District, on Thursday said he has approved the appointment of 118 constituency aides.

These aides were picked across the forty wards in Balanga, Billiri, Kaltungo and Shongom LGAs of the senatorial district, Mr Amos said through his spokesperson, Abdul Lauya, on Thursday.

The 118 appointees comprised two personal assistants drawn from each ward and another 38 special assistants.

While the personal assistants are to serve as links between the lawmaker and the grassroots, the special assistants would represent various special interests including women, youth, students, physically challenged and the aged through the constituency office in Bambam, the lawmaker said.

Mr Amos also said the massive appointments is part of his empowerment drive aimed at reducing joblessness, youth restiveness, thuggery and other social vices.

Letters of appointment are due for presentation to the appointees at a later date at the constituency office, the release read.

Provision of the law

As provided in the National Assembly Act, each lawmaker, excluding principal officers, is entitled to five aides, including one senior legislative aide, two legislative aides, a personal assistant and a secretary.

These aides are apart from those who work in the constituency offices of the legislators.

The President of the Senate is entitled to 45 aides; his deputy, 30, and 20 each for all principal officers.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives is entitlted to 35 assistants; Deputy Speaker, 15 and 10 each for the six principal officers of the Green Chamber.

Sources at the National Assembly said aides get monthly emoluments ranging between N75,000 to N180,000  a downward review from N150,000 to N250,000.

All of these aides are paid from the coffers of the National Assembly.

Controversies

The role of legislative aides has been a subject of controversies, partly due to allegations that they are being shortchanged by federal lawmakers.

In 2016, an investigation revealed that, in violation of constitutional stipulation, no fewer than 2,570 aides were engaged by the 469 members of the 8th National Assembly.

Of this, 700 aides work for lawmakers in the Senate, while the remaining 1,870 were engaged by House of Representatives members.

There have also been series of protests by these aides due to nonpayment of their entitlements.

At other times, citing the same allegation, the aides have petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari as well as the EFCC, the nations anti-graft agency.

It is unclear how Mr Amos intends to finance payment of his 118 appointees and what he would do differently to avoid disquiet among his appointed aides.

Calls to his spokesperson, Abdul Lauya, were unavailable Thursday evening. WhatsApp calls were not answered.
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rigrodsky & Long, P.A. announces that it has filed a class action complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware on behalf of holders of AK Steel Holding Corporation (AK Steel or the Company) (NYSE: AKS) common stock in connection with the proposed acquisition of AK Steel by Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. (Cleveland-Cliffs) and Pepper Merger Sub Inc. (Merger Sub) announced on December 3, 2019 (the Complaint). The Complaint, which alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 against AK Steel, its Board of Directors (the Board), Cleveland-Cliffs, and Merger Sub, is captioned Franchi v. AK Steel Holding Corporation, Case No. 1:20-cv-00078 (D. Del.).

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiffs counsel, Seth D. Rigrodsky or Gina M. Serra at Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., 300 Delaware Avenue, Suite 1220, Wilmington, DE 19801, by telephone at (888) 969-4242, by e-mail at info@rl-legal.com, or at http://rigrodskylong.com/contact-us/.

On December 2, 2019, AK Steel entered into an agreement and plan of merger (the Merger Agreement) with Cleveland-Cliffs and Merger Sub. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, shareholders of AK Steel will receive 0.40 shares of Cleveland-Cliffs common stock for each share of AK Steel common stock they own (the Proposed Transaction).

Among other things, the Complaint alleges that, in an attempt to secure shareholder support for the Proposed Transaction, defendants issued materially incomplete disclosures in a Form S-4 Registration Statement (the Registration Statement) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The Complaint alleges that the Registration Statement omits material information with respect to, among other things, the Companys and Cleveland-Cliffs financial projections and the analyses performed by AK Steels financial advisor. The Complaint seeks injunctive and equitable relief and damages on behalf of holders of AK Steel common stock.

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 6, 2020. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

Rigrodsky & Long, P.A., with offices in Delaware and New York, has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of investors and achieved substantial corporate governance reforms in securities fraud and corporate class actions nationwide.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

CONTACT:
A Pennsylvania judge accused of making racist comments about a juror was barred from hearing any cases, according to a court order issued Thursday.

Judge Mark Tranquilli was suspended after being accused of referring to a black female juror as 'Aunt Jemima' repeatedly in comments he made in his chambers following the acquittal of a drug suspect on January 24.

Tranquilli was temporarily reassigned to summary appeals on Tuesday following an interview of the judge by court administration staff. He will be forbidden from hearing any case and will be restricted to 'administrative duties only, effective immediately.'

Judge Mark Tranquilli was suspended after being accused of referring to a black female juror as 'Aunt Jemima' repeatedly in comments he made in his chambers following the acquittal of a drug suspect on January 24

'Judge Tranquilli shall not preside over any cases during this assigment,' a court order states.

The judge allegedly made the comments in his chambers in the presence of the prosecutor, Ted Dutkowski, and the defense attorney, Joe Otte.

He is said to have been upset that a suspect was found not guilty, adding that Dutkowski should have done a better job at vetting jurors.

Tranquilli did not responded to requests for comment this week.

Defense attorney Joe Otte complained about the judge's remarks

Aunt Jemima has racist origins as it comes from a vaudeville era song 'Old Aunt Jemima.' The character was based off the mammie - a black woman who worked for white families, nursing their children. It is now commonly associated with syrup and pancake mix.

Defense attorney Otte filed a complaint on January 25, following the chambers meeting where the judge expressed 'dissatisfaction with the jury'.

The complaint alleged that Tranquilli berated Dutkowski for making a 'terrible decision by allowing "Aunt Jemima" on the jury'.

He allegedly went on to say that 'her baby daddy probably sells heroin and that her presumed bias in favor of heroin dealers had caused or contributed to the not guilty verdict', ABC News reported.

Lori McMaster, president of the Allegheny County Bar Association, released a statement saying that an investigation would be launched into Tranquilli's comments.

'In remaining steadfast to the Allegheny County Bar Association's mission and values, we have a duty to our members, our clients, and the African - American and broader communities at large, to continue to take action to eliminate implicit and explicit racial bias in our legal system,' she said.

A woman playing Aunt Jemima in 1951. Multiple women have been tapped to play the iconic role

'As such, the ACBA is demanding a complete investigation by the Judicial Conduct Board of Pennsylvania of Judge Tranquilli's alleged communications to ensure that this matter receives prompt attention and a just resolution.'

On Wednesday, the Black Political Empowerment Project released a statement calling Dutkowski 'courageous' for coming forward and writing a complaint about Judge Tranquilli.

'With his racist views on record he need not be in position to judge anyone or anything,' the group added. 'We strongly oppose Judge Tranquilli to be able to review or rule on magistrate cases which we understand would range from traffic fines to truancy, for which he has recently been re-assigned to do.'

'We already have too many African Americans and Black youths being negatively affected by bad decisions of the "justice" system.

They also questioned in Tranquilli had a longer history with racist tendencies.

'We understand too that Judge Tranquilli had earned a reputation for being "tough on crime and defendants",' they said.

'We can't help but wonder if his "toughness" was in actuality a series of racially-based rulings, which may have led to some African Americans being sentenced inappropriately and unfairly, and possibly negatively affecting their lives, maybe in some cases for a number of years!'

On Wednesday, the Black Political Empowerment Project released a statement calling Dutkowski 'courageous' for coming forward and writing a complaint about Judge Tranquilli
Novelist Goh Gwang-ryul satirizes the dysfunctional side of Korean universities in his recently released fiction novel "Si-il-ya-bang-sung-dae-hak" (Deploring the Grim Reality of University). / Courtesy of Goh Gwang-ryul



By Kang Hyun-kyung



An Ivory Tower locked in deadly infighting with loss of academic curiosity.



Novelist Goh Gwang-ryul satirizes the dysfunctional side of Korean universities in his recently released fiction novel "Si-il-ya-bang-sung-dae-hak" (Deploring the Grim Reality of University).



His book appears to be a manifesto in the guise of a fiction novel. It demands university authorities, professors and other members go back to the basics and do what they are supposed to do  provide education.



"I felt uncomfortable after the book was released," the author said in a phone interview with The Korea Times on Tuesday.



"I thought that someone should address the dark reality Korean universities face. I happened to be the one because there were no others who were willing to speak out about it. So I have no regrets. But it's true that I don't feel comfortable."



"Si-il-ya-bang-sung-dae-hak" tells the raw, behind-the-scenes story of universities. It revolves around Mo, president of a provincial university, whose leadership is in peril. The university is in crisis as it has been ordered again by the Ministry of Education to take a set of compulsory reformative measures. If not properly implemented, the university may be ordered to close. Time is not on Mo's side, either. Students are set to hold rallies against him in protest against a measure he pushed for to ease rules on transfers to medical school.



Goh, 59, said the fictional university and its maneuvers to survive are a simplified version of the tougher reality most Korean universities are faced with. "I talked about a small private university grappling with various challenges. I think the challenges will be much more complicated and troubling for public or national universities," he said.



The author noted the crisis was inevitable right from the start, blaming deregulation that stemmed from the 1990s, which have since created a slew of problems. At that time, he said then the Kim Young-sam government introduced liberalization measures to ease accreditation on colleges and universities to encourage people to establish more universities. "The rationale behind deregulation was competition. If several colleges and universities compete, they would become more competitive. Unfortunately, what we are now seeing is that the policy is backfiring in an era of ageing population."



Goh said his friends are worried about the satirical book as it could pit him against universities.



"The other day, I got a phone call from a friend of mine. He called me after reading a review of my book in a newspaper. He jokingly asked if my new book won't cut my career short," said the author.



"I am a novelist and I created a story based on fictional figures at a fictional university. I have no intention to hurt anyone and I didn't try to accuse a certain university or its professors."





"Si-il-ya-bang-sung-dae-hak" (Deploring the Grim Reality of University) by Goh Gwang-ryul
PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Registration is open for the Global Cannabis Research Summit on April 22, 2020 at the New Jersey Hospital Association Conference Center in Princeton, NJ. This one-day event invites research and industry professionals interested in advancing endocannabinoid discovery and hearing leading experts present on the expanding cannabis research landscape.

"The Global Cannabis Research Summit is a one-day boot camp to gain a baseline technical introduction to the endocannabinoid system, cannabinoids, and expanding areas of investigation," said Event Chair Keith Bisogno. "With cannabis-related research and trials expected to soar globally in the coming years, the science community is looking to learn, network, explore new career paths and find research funding sources," he said.

The Global Cannabis Research Summit will feature presenters from Europe, Canada, South America and the US, including Keynote presenter Emmanuel Onaivi, Professor of Biology at William Paterson University. Dr. Onaivi will present his pioneering research on cannabis, its constituent cannabinoids, and the natural cannabis-like compounds produced by the human body known as endocannabinoids. A Fulbright scholar and Guest Scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Onaivi has authored and co-authored books and papers involving cannabis science and the molecular biology of drug abuse.

A complete speaker line up can be accessed at http://cannabisresearchsummit.com/#/speakers

Bisogno added, "To date much of the recent scientific progress involving endocannabinoid discovery and cannabinoid insight has been accomplished outside the US and in countries like Canada, Israel, Spain, Germany and Denmark. However, as cannabis legalization accelerates across the United States, cannabis research registrations are increasing - up 40 percent since 2017 in the US."

Ronnye Schreiber, CEO of PlanetConnect, said, "With more companies and universities exploring cannabis for therapeutic applications and wellness products, we expect to attract a diverse and technically-oriented audience, including scientists, clinicians and professionals from across a range of industries"

Visit http://cannabisresearchsummit.com/ and Register before March 1, 2020 to receive a 25% discount on admission.

About PlanetConnect

PlanetConnect is a certified woman-owned conference producer and event production company with more than 25 Years experience running scientific symposia for pharmaceutical, research, IT and manufacturing organizations.

Contacts:

Event Chair: Keith Bisogno, [email protected]

Event Manager: Ronnye Schreiber, [email protected]

SOURCE PlanetConnect

Related Links

www.planetconnect.com


WASHINGTON  Louisiana Republicans have spent the past two days decrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's ripping of a copy of President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech at its conclusion Tuesday evening.

U.S. House Minority Whip Steve Scalise called it "disgraceful," while U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson called it a "sad moment for the country."

On Thursday, Scalise and Johnson, along with all other Republicans from Louisiana in the U.S. House, voted in favor of a resolution to formally condemn Pelosi. The measure was defeated in a party-line 224-193 vote.

"What happened at the end, I thought that was disgraceful," Scalise said Thursday after the vote. "Who knows what (the House Democrats) are going to do next, but that's ok. In the meantime, the president is still working. He's not going to lose his focus."

U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, the lone Democrat in the delegation who hails from New Orleans, was the only vote from Louisiana against the proposed censure.

U.S. Rep. Kay Granger, a Texas Republican who sponsored the resolution, called Pelosi's actions during the president's address "appalling and shameful."

"Regardless of her personal feelings, she had a responsibility to conduct herself with civility as the presiding officer representing the House of Representatives. She is not the Speaker of the Democrats, but of the Peoples House," Granger said in a statement.

The scoop on state politics in your inbox Get the Louisiana politics insider details once a week from us. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

The resolution, which Democrats sidelined through a procedural move, accused Pelosi of "a breach of decorum" that "degraded the proceedings of the joint session."

A spokesman for Pelosi responded in a statement to CNN that it was "sad to see" Granger, who is the top REpublican on the House Appropriations Committee, "have to kneel at the altar of Trump in order to win her primary."

"Thats all this is about," said Drew Hammill, Pelosi's deputy chief of staff.

Trump praises Louisiana Republicans Scalise, Johnson, Cassidy during celebratory address after acquittal WASHINGTON  During a celebratory address marking his impeachment acquittal, President Donald Trump heaped praise upon Louisiana Republicans 

How the Louisiana delegation voted on resolution condemning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

In favor of advancing resolution: U.S. Reps. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto; Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge; Clay Higgins, R-Port Barre; Mike Johnson, R-Bossier City; and Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson.

Against: U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans.
A female middle school teacher allegedly had sex eight or nine times with a 15-year-old student at her home, while her own child was also present in the house.

Ellarea Silva, a 34-year-old science teacher at Northwestern Middle School in Zachary, Louisiana, turned herself in to police on Thursday following allegations she had sex with the boy on multiple occasions last summer, authorities said.

The illegal fling began when Silva emailed the teen using both their school email addresses, an arrest report stated.

The communication quickly switched to their personal emails 'so the school could not track' it, the report said.

Ellarea Silva, a 34-year-old science teacher at Northwestern Middle School in Zachary, Louisiana, (pictured) turned herself in to police on Thursday following allegations she had sex with the boy on multiple occasions last summer, authorities said

Northwestern Middle School in Zachary: Silva first contacted the boys using their school emails before switching to personal emails to avoid detection, police said

Silva then allegedly sent the boy nude photos and videos of herself, intentionally keeping her face hidden so she couldn't be identified.

The relationship turned physical when the teacher then told the teen she wanted to have sex with him, authorities said.

The boy alleges Silva would pick him up from his home and drive him to her house where they would have sex.

He said they had sex eight or nine times in her home, while Silva's child was also present in the house.

Silva is also accused of giving the boy a vape that may have contained THC, the chemical compound in marijuana, police said.

As the fling continued, the teen told Silva he wanted to make their relationship public and the teacher pleaded with him to stay quiet 'due to how his disclosure would affect her career and her family,' the arrest report said.

Zachary Councilman for District 5 Lael Montgomery slammed police for keeping quiet about the case in a Facebook post Wednesday (above) , after the school principal reportedly sent him an email saying a student had 'lost their innocence'

Zachary Schools Superintendent Scott Devillier (above) released a statement defending the school's actions and insisting 'no one is covering anything up'

Silva was placed on leave from the school on January 24, the day authorities allegedly learned of the allegations.

The Zachary Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office launched a joint investigation.

However school officials and police did not disclose the nature of the investigation to the public.

On Wednesday, Zachary Councilman for District 5 Lael Montgomery slammed police for keeping quiet about the case, after the school principal reportedly sent him an email saying a student had 'lost their innocence'.

'If you're [Zachary PD] not going to put the hashtag on the teacher that is accused of sexually abusing the child, then don't use the hashtag no more,' Montgomery posted on Facebook.

Silva turned herself in to cops on Thursday, the day after the allegations were made public online.

Zachary Schools Superintendent Scott Devillier released a statement defending the school's actions and insisting 'no one is covering anything up'.

'The Zachary Police Department and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office have been handling this investigation. Immediately, when it was brought to our attention, we reported it to law enforcement and placed the employee on administrative leave,' he said.

'No one is covering up anything, nor sweeping anything under the rug. We are following the law; and I am unable to comment beyond this information.'

The Zachary Police Department confirmed that they became aware of the allegation 'regarding the sexual abuse of a minor' on January 24 and launched a joint investigation with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office.

'At the conclusion of this investigation, a warrant was drafted for the arrest of Northwestern Middle School teacher, Ella Silva,' police said in a statement.

The Zachary Police Department (above) confirmed that they became aware of the allegation 'regarding the sexual abuse of a minor' on January 24 and launched a joint investigation with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office

Police are now asking parents of other students who may have had contact with Silva to report any concerns to authorities.

'Detectives are requesting that parents of students who may have had contact with Silva talk to their children about their interactions with her and contact ZPD detectives at 225-654-9393 if they believe their child was victimized,' the Zachary Police Chief said.

Silva is currently being held in East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on a bond of $225,000.

She is facing several charges including indecent behavior with a juvenile, felony carnal knowledge of a juvenile and oral sexual battery.
FILE PHOTO: Mark Bristow, chief executive officer of Barrick Gold, speaks during an interview at the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town

By Helen Reid and Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) - Barrick Gold Corp <ABX.TO> does not want to buy copper mining giant Freeport McMoRan Inc <FCX.N>, although it is interested in its rival's flagship Grasberg mine in Indonesia, Chief Executive Mark Bristow said on Thursday.

The strategy replicates one that Bristow successfully deployed in 2019: aggressively float interest in an entire company even though the ultimate goal is just one asset.

Rumors that Barrick, the world's second-largest gold miner, planned to bid for Freeport are "completely wrong", Bristow told Reuters on the sidelines of the Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town. "People jump to conclusions," he said.

The rumors, though, were flamed in recent weeks by Bristow himself in meetings with analysts and investors that leaked out to various media.

"People say, 'Are you interested in Grasberg?' I say, 'I have to be; it's a tier one asset,'" Bristow said. Tier one assets refer to high-grade, long-life mines.

Buying Grasberg - the world's largest gold mine and second-largest copper mine - would fit nicely into Barrick's strategy of expanding in the Pacific Rim and capitalizing on rising copper demand from the electric vehicle industry.

Bristow said he believes copper will be "the most-strategic metal on this planet" in a decade.

A Freeport spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an interview with Reuters last week, Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson declined to discuss Barrick.

Bristow last February launched a hostile takeover bid for rival gold miner Newmont Corporation <NEM.N>. The fight turned nasty - Bristow at one point called Newmont's then-CEO a "loser" - but ultimately Bristow got what he wanted: a cost-saving joint venture between the two companies in Nevada.

Buying all of Freeport, which traces its roots back to 1834, could bring legacy risk associated with old mines, Bristow said.

Story continues

Freeport in late 2018 relinquished majority control of Grasberg under pressure from the Indonesian government. The deal smoothed relations with Jakarta and keeps Freeport the mine's operator until 2041.

Freeport is now spending more than $15 billion to expand Grasberg in what will be the largest underground mine ever developed.

Struggling with unrest at the Porgera mine in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Bristow said Barrick offered the government a 52% share of the economic benefits of the mine in response to government demands for a larger stake.

If Barrick succeeds in resolving the dispute in PNG, the market will be more comfortable with the company taking on more risk the Pacific Rim, Bristow said.

(Reporting by Helen Reid in Cape Town and Ernest Scheyder in Houston; editing by Barbara Lewis and Lisa Shumaker)
The Illinois School for the Visually Impaired hosted its eight Regional Braille Challenge on Thursday.

Blind and visually impaired students between the ages of 6 and 19 competed in a test of their braille skills in five categories: reading comprehension, braille spelling, chart and graph reading, proofreading and braille speed and accuracy.

The Braille Challenge is in its 20th year nationwide. It is the only national reading and writing contest in braille for students who are blind or visually impaired. The challenge is open to students of all abilities, giving students with limited experience with braille an opportunity to score a personal best.

The regional challenges are the first step to competing in the national challenge at the Braille Institute  the challenges sponsor  in Los Angeles. At nationals, 50 students who scored the highest in the regional competitions throughout North America will advance to spend a day competing at nationals. Of the 50, 10 come from each age group.

One ISVI student has made it to nationals three times. ISVI fifth-year student Kaity Hall, 19, of Collinsville went to nationals last year as well as when she was 10 and 13. Hill competed in the varsity level this year  for students who are in school grades 10 and up.

Hill said she learned braille when she was 5, at the same time her non-blind classmates learned to read and write, and she has relied on braille ever since.

Last years trip to nationals was especially important for Hill because she got to make friends with other blind and visually impaired people throughout the country who share her interests. Hill met a girl in her age category who let Hill join an international online choir that she organizes; members are sent parts to sing and a video featuring every part is edited together and put on YouTube.

Hill encouraged other blind and visually impaired students to take part in the competition because it promotes using braille and could help them improve their braille skills.

You cant just rely on audio books, Hill said.

Competing in the Braille Challenge also has empowered her, Hill said.

A lot of my friends will tell you Im not the most confident person in the world, Hill said. But when it comes to braille I really know it.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked the Uganda government to ensure it makes a realistic budget to avoid contracting more debt during a particular fiscal year.

In another technical policy support, the IMF has also advised government to prioritise the implementation of the new Domestic Revenue Mobilisation strategy, targeting an increase in the tax-to-GDP ratio by 0.5 per cent per year.

The IMF advice comes at a time when government is struggling to raise the domestic revenue to finance the 2019/20 budget, which has already seen government suffering a shortfall in revenue collection of more than Shs600 billion because of delays in the implementation of domestic tax measures.

An IMF team led by Ms Clara Mira, the institution's resident representative in Uganda, visited Kampala from January 20 to 24 to discuss Uganda's economic outlook, the budget for FY2020/21, and the direction of monetary policy.

In the statement issued yesterday morning, Ms Clara said the execution of the current budget continues to be challenging among revenue and financing shortfalls and large expenditure pressures, which have resulted in a supplementary budget and increased borrowing needs.

Ms Clara said: "Overall, the team encouraged the authorities to ensure that the budget is realistic, remains consistent with debt sustainability while avoiding exacerbating debt vulnerabilities, and is consistent with available domestic financing. It is also essential that the capital position of the central bank is strengthened to ensure that the Bank of Uganda can continue pursuing its operations efficiently."

Background

Fiscal policy. Uganda's fiscal policy has remained mainly expenditure-driven, with domestic revenue continuing to lag. This has resulted in a widening financing gap.

In the 10-year period to 2017, the total value of public expenditure increased from 15 per cent of GDP to more than 20 per cent.

During this time, the tax-to-GDP ratio grew by an average annual rate of 0.2 percentage points, with the value of collected revenues increasing from 10 to 13.8 per cent of GDP over the same period.
Friday, February 7, 2020 at 4:44PM

Perhaps you're part of the subset of users who don't like it when Netflix autoplays previews for you. Thankfully, the streaming service is finally leaving the decision in your hands. The company shared on Twitter how you can turn autoplay on or off. The setting is accessible from your browser.

You need to sign into Netflix there and go to Manage Profiles. If you come from a household with multiple accounts, you'll have to then head to yours or to whichever account you want to update. From there, you will see the option "Autoplay previews while browsing on all devices." You just need to uncheck it; then you're done. Netflix warns that it might take some time for the update to take effect. "You can force an update by switching to another profile, then switching back in order to reload your profile with the updated setting," the company says.
India is working on a new tactical ballistic missile capable of striking targets at a range of 200km, two top government officials said on Thursday on condition of anonymity.

The surface-to-surface missile, being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), has been named Pranash, the first official cited above told Hindustan Times at DefExpo 2020, a military systems exhibition organised by the Department of Defence Production that seeks to project India as hub for global defence manufacturing.

The new weapon traces its origin to the Prahaar missile developed by the DRDO, the official said. The Prahaar has a range of 150km but the army wanted a weapon with a better range, which is why Pranash is being developed, he added.

The configuration of Pranash has been frozen and development trials will begin by 2021-end. We will be in a position to offer it for user trials in two years. The army wants a missile with a range in the region of 200km, said a second official aware of the matter.

The non-nuclear Pranash missile will be propelled by a single-stage solid propellant engine, he added.

DRDOs short-range Prithvi series of missiles with ranges of 150 to 350 km are nuclear-capable and powered by a liquid propellant engine that has its limitations. Missiles with solid propellant engine are ready-to-use. However, liquid propellant engines can be complicated as the liquid propellant mixture has to be added before the launch, the second official said.

Indias Agni series of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles can hit targets at different ranges between 700km and 5,500km.

Once developed, the Pranash missile could also be exported to friendly foreign countries, said the first official cited above.It will be one of the cheapest missiles in the world in its range category. Also, the missile is outside the purview of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which places export restrictions on missiles with ranges of more than 300km, he said.

Increasing weapons exports is a top priority for the government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the countrys target was to clocks exports worth 35,000 crore in the next five years.

This is in line with a draft Defence Production Policy, released in March 2018, that visualises India as one of the top five countries in the aerospace and defence sectors in the coming years. The PM said India had exported military hardware worth 17,000 crore during the last two years, compared to 2,000 crore in 2014.

This years DefExpo is being attended by ministers from almost 40 foreign countries.

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The man found dead at the bottom of a steep drop in the Slieve Bloom mountains on Tuesday has been named as Tullamore resident Gintas Nedaivodinas.

Gardai have issued an appeal for assistance following the completion of a post mortem on the remains this week. Full results are not being released for operational reasons but it is understood that it did not reveal sufficient evidence to confirm that the man did not die in suspicious circumstances.

However, the post mortem is understood to have revealed that exposure to the elements may have contributed to the death leading Gardai to believe at this stage that there may have been an accidental cause.

Friends of the Lithuanian national have carried out a fundraiser to give financial assistance to the family.

"Gintas was a wonderful brother and friend who touched the lives of those around him. He leaves behind a sister and two brothers who live in Lithuania. The family is shocked by the loss," a close friend said.

"We are all devastated by Gintass loss and were not prepared for the high cost of a funeral service. We want to give Gintas the memorial he deserves, to honour his memory and say our last goodbyes."

The group aimed to raise 2,000 by February 20 but had reached that total in a matter of hours. Their efforts raised 2,700 for the family.

Gardai would like to hear from anybody who might have been in the area around The Cut in the Slieve Blooms last weekend and who may have seen anything that could help with the investigation.

People can contact Gardai in Portlaoise (057) 8674122 or Tullamore Gardai (057) 932 7600 or at any Garda Station.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police told a court here on Thursday that Kapil Gujjar, arrested for firing in the air in Shaheen Bagh during an anti-CAA protest, was associated with a political party and the agency needed to interrogate him to ascertain if the alleged incident was part of any "political conspiracy".

The probe agency further told the court Gujjar did not do it in a rush of blood and it was a "well-thought-out" incident.

The submissions were made before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Gurmohina Kaur who extended by two days the police custody of Gujjar.

ALSO READ: Delhi court extends Shaheen Bagh shooter's custody by two days

"I am of the opinion, two days further remand of accused Kapil Gujjar, is necessary at this stage for proper investigation of present case in order to identify supplier of alleged pistol and for purpose of further investigation of the case," the judge said.

Police had said on February 4 that Gujjar was a member of the Aam Aadmi Party and he and his father had joined the AAP in early 2019.

Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Pant sought three days remand for custodial interrogation of Gujjar on the ground that the accused was misleading the probe agency in locating the arms dealer and his laptop which has crucial evidence.

"He did not do it in a rush of blood. It was a well-thought-out incident. He raised slogans of "Jai Shri Ram" and "hamare desh me aur kisi ki nahi chalegi, sirf Hinduon ki chalegi (only Hindus shall have a say in our country, no one else) to mislead everyone.

He fired two rounds in the air. He had purchased 13 cartridges in total. He is also not giving us the location of the other cartridges," the police said.

The police said Gujjar belonged to a family which has a political history.

"Accused has revealed his association with a political party and investigation of any possible conspiracy in alleged incident required to be probed.

Time and place of the incident clearly indicate use of firearms at that particular place (Shaheen Bagh) seems to be a part of a larger conspiracy.

"During the investigation, it has emerged that the accused has political ambitions and active in politics. He belongs to a family which has a political history.

Accused is to be further interrogated as to whether incident is part of any political conspiracy. Whole conspiracy behind this is to be unearthed," the agency said in its reply submitted before the court.

ALSO READ | Kapil Gujjar is not a member of the AAP: Shaheen Bagh shooter's father

It further said Gujjar's father and brother have also been issued notices twice by the police for interrogation but they failed to come.

"He is not giving the complete address of one Sachin Tiwari, who allegedly supplied arms to him. Tiwari is a resident of Bihar and he needs to be taken to Patna to locate and identify the arms dealer.

He is misleading the probe agency.

"His father and brother have not joined the investigation and deliberately avoiding it. Their phones are switched off too. We need to interrogate his friends too...Accused has to be taken to his relatives residing in Greater Noida, Meerut in search of them and thereafter they will be subjected to joint interrogation with the accused," the police said.

It said further custody was required to confront Gujjar with several chats, conversations, call records found in his phone.

ALSO READ | All five polling stations in Shaheen Bagh put under 'critical category': Delhi CEO

"Data stored in the phone is voluminous and complete scrutiny will take more time," it said.

Pant added that the accused was not giving the agency the passwords of his phone, his Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok accounts.

When the judge asked Gujjar where the rest of the cartridges were, he claimed he used them in marriages before.

"I have given them the password. My phone was open. The police locked the Facebook account," he said.

The police said the accused was associated with different groups on WhatsApp whose members were being identified at his instance.

"Some have been interrogated. Others need to join the investigation. They need to be interrogated at his presence...Call data records of Gujjar's mobile phone is being scrutinised and he need to be confronted with it.

He also need to be confronted with frequent callers and other suspects being identified and examined. Some mobile numbers are switched off and some are also not available at their residence," it said.

Advocate Akhil Rexwal, appearing for Gujjar, vehemently opposed the police remand and said the accused has given all information to the police, including the mobile numbers of his father and brother.

"If they can't locate him. It is not his fault. He is ready to cooperate with the police and join the investigation as and when called.

He will give his laptop and all other materials required.

"This is a not a political issue. He himself had given to the police the form he filled when he joined AAP. He had joined AAP long back. The police is harassing him," the lawyer said.

The police had earlier told the court that investigation has revealed that his WhatsApp account was purposely deleted.

On February 1, Gujjar had fired two rounds in the air in Shaheen Bagh, where a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is being held for over a month now.
Andre Bear remembers pain building deep inside him as he digested news of a controversial acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer who shot and killed a young Indigenous man.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Current law student Andre Bear, who decided to become a lawyer following farmer Gerald Stanley being acquitted in 22-year-old Colten Boushies death on February 9, 2018, stands for a photography in the College of Law on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Thursday, February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Andre Bear remembers pain building deep inside him as he digested news of a controversial acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer who shot and killed a young Indigenous man.

"It really tore my world apart," Bear says from his home in Saskatoon.

"It made me feel hopeless that I would never see justice in my lifetime as a young Indigenous man in this country."

It sparked a change inside him, he says, and he decided to become a lawyer.

Gerald Stanley's acquittal on Feb. 9, 2018, in the death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie prompted rallies and outrage across the country.

Bear, 25, is Cree and a member of the Canoe Lake First Nation. He was working toward an education degree at the University of Saskatchewan as the trial was going on.

He's now a law student at the university and the student representative on the Indigenous Bar Association in Canada's board of directors.

He wants to spend his life challenging a system that he says needs to change if there is to be equal justice for everyone.

Current law student Andre Bear, who decided to become a lawyer following farmer Gerald Stanley being acquitted in 22-year-old Colten Boushies death on February 9, 2018, stands for a photography in the College of Law on the University of Saskatchewan campus in Saskatoon, Thursday, February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards

Jade Tootoosis, Boushie's cousin, attended a conference hosted by the association last year. She urged the Indigenous legal community to make the second anniversary of Stanley's acquittal a day of action to highlight the treatment of Aboriginal people in the courts.

The association is calling on students, faculty and allies to dedicate this Sunday to Boushie.

The University of Ottawa Indigenous Law Students Association has organized a demonstration beginning with a vigil at the university. Participants will then walk to Parliament Hill and eventually to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Bear never met Boushie, but he grew up with the young man's family members in North Battleford, Sask.

Court heard how Boushie, who was a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, and four other young people drove onto Stanley's farm near Biggar, Sask., in August 2016. Boushie's friends testified they were looking for help with a flat tire.

Stanley told court he thought they were trying to steal an all-terrain vehicle and he accidentally shot Boushie in the back of the head.

Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder. He later pleaded guilty to unsafe storage of an unrestricted firearm and was fined $3,000.

He has not talked publicly since the court case.

Boushie's family called for changes following the verdict, including the end of peremptory challenges, which allow lawyers to reject potential jurors without having to provide a reason. The challenges were criticized during the trial with suggestions that they excluded Indigenous people from the jury.

The federal government brought in legislation that bans the challenges, but an Ontario judge struck it down last November. The bans were later upheld through an Ontario Court of Appeal decision on a different case in January. However, uncertainty remains about the ban's longevity if it is brought in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Boushie's family wanted a public inquiry, but Saskatchewan's justice minister rejected that. He said the trial showed what happened and an inquiry wouldn't make a difference.

Boushie's death and the trial inflamed racial tensions in Saskatchewan. At one point, then-premier Brad Wall asked people to stop posting racist and hate-filled comments online.

Ministry of Justice spokesman Noel Busse says racism and intolerance have no place in Saskatchewan.

"We need collaborative, respectful dialogues about the issues facing our communities. We also need to continue working together to ensure that all of our families are safe," he says in an emailed statement.

Busse pointed to the province's work on the calls to action from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and meetings with the Elder's Advisor Committee. He says the government is committed to maintaining confidence in the justice system.

Bear says he believes the province's response to the verdict, such as strengthening trespassing laws, did not do anything to repair the fractured relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

He has spoken with friends, students and colleagues and sat in on town-hall meetings in rural communities. He says Indigenous people still feel that there hasn't been justice and many farmers do not understand the laws on defending property.

Boushie's family also has said they would like to see more Aboriginal judges and Crown prosecutors. Since 2018 five self-declared Indigenous judges have been appointed to provincial court.

Bear suggests all lawyers should be educated on anti-racism and Canada's colonial history.

"Lawyers and law students hold a responsibility in decolonizing the legal system and understanding how Indigenous legal principles may guide Canadian law."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020
The Kremlin's denizens could be forgiven for thinking they're hearing some muffled chuckling coming from the direction of Washington. Because Trump administration officials must be feeling some schadenfreude as they watch their counterparts in Moscow wrestle with a quandary all too familiar at the Pentagon and Foggy Bottom: How do you solve a problem like Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

The more philosophically-minded Russian officials may concede that turnabout is fair play: For several years now, they were the ones pointing and giggling as Turkey's president strained his country's ties with the U.S., deploying bellicose rhetoric against - and provocative behavior toward - American allies, from the Kurds in Syria, Israel and Greece to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

The Russians got more than just satisfaction from Erdogan's truculence toward the U.S. President Vladimir Putin exploited the situation to weaken the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to secure lucrative business deals with Turkey, from the sale of military hardware to gas pipelines.

To preserve his status as Erdogan's new best friend, Putin indulged the Turkish leader's regional and international ambitions. Following the example of two American presidents, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, Putin feigned deafness at Erdogan's belligerent rhetoric against Russian allies, like the Syrian dictator Bashar Assad and the Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar.

The Russian leader has even grinned and borne it when Erdogan's actions foiled, or at least greatly complicated, his own ambitions. A Turkish military invasion of northwestern Syria has nixed any hope in Moscow that Assad would be able to reassert control over the country. Turkish troops and mercenaries now stand in the way of Khalifa's seizure of Tripoli.

And, just as Erdogan has thumbed his nose at Washington by embracing those who chant "Death to America" - whether the regime in Tehran or the leadership of Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood - Erdogan has now cocked a snook at Moscow with the incantation, "Slava, Ukraine!" at his recent visit to Kyiv. "Glory to Ukraine" has become a slogan of resistance to Russian hegemony since Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea. Moscow and its mouthpieces claim it is a Nazi chant.

The Russians are discovering, as Americans and Europeans have before, that with Erdogan, matters are always coming to a head, accompanied with threats to end alliances.

Putin now finds himself at the receiving end. In a recent phone call, Erdogan warned that Turkey would react "in the harshest way" if Turkish troops in Syria came under more attacks from Assad's forces. And of course, he has warned that the Russo-Turkish relationship could split over Syria.

Blood has now been shed on both sides. Assad's forces have stepped up attacks on Turkish positions in Idlib, killing several Turkish troops. Russia says some of its soldiers have been killed in attacks from Turkish positions. Hundreds of Syrians, soldiers and civilians alike, have been killed in the escalated fighting, and tens of thousands have been forced to flee the area, creating a new refugee crisis.

Putin's options with Erdogan are limited. Turkey is potentially a major economic partner for Russia - the two leaders want trade between the two countries, currently at around $30 billion, to rise to $100 billion. Turkey's membership is crucial to Russia's hopes of sustaining multilateral organizations in the Caucasus and Central Asia. And of course, Putin wants to stoke NATO's uncertainty over Turkey's commitment to the alliance.

Erdogan knows all of this. If his dealings with the U.S. and Europe are any guide, he will keep pushing Russia for concessions, in Syria and Libya - and who knows where else.

Can Washington take advantage of the situation, as Russia did when Turkey's ties to the U.S. frayed? Perhaps, but that would require Putin to push back against Erdogan, and the Turkish leader to show some interest in returning to the Western fold. We're not there yet. If we do get to that point, the U.S. would have to display diplomatic craft of a high order - higher than it has demonstrated in recent years - to bring Erdogan in from the cold.

For now, though, American officials can quietly revel in Putin's discovery of what it means to be Erdogan's friend.

- - -

Bobby Ghosh is a columnist and member of the Bloomberg Opinion editorial board. He writes on foreign affairs, with a special focus on the Middle East and the wider Islamic world.
WASHINGTON  Long before Donald Trumps impeachment landed in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had one piece of advice for the president: Focus on the House.

Gin it up. Use maximum effort. Make sure Republicans are united. And leave the Senate to him.

The Republican leader encouraged the president not to turn attention on wayward GOP senators, like Mitt Romney, who were troubled by Trumps actions toward Ukraine, but to stir the partisan passions of the House.

It was the GOP leaders central strategy to produce as partisan an impeachment as possible  too polarizing for any centrists to touch  to secure Republican acquittal in the Senate.

He understood right from the start, this was crooked politics, said Trump, singling McConnell out for praise Thursday at the White House. You did a fantastic job.

In the aftermath of only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, McConnells power over the Senate is now without doubt. His approach reflects the times of the Trump era, but also is shaping them.

Even before the senators even took the oath to uphold impartial justice, it was all but over. The Senate would have nowhere near the two-thirds majority needed to convict the president. McConnell announced he was not an impartial juror, but one working closely with the White House, and few strayed from his plan for speedy acquittal.

The Kentucky Republican may be less Master of the Senate, as historian Robert Caro indelibly labeled Lyndon B. Johnson, than master of a Senate that is being transformed in the age of Trump.

McConnells political brand centers on being an institutionalist, a keeper of traditions of the Senate he yearned to join since young adulthood. Yet in leading the majority, he is breaking old norms, introducing new ones and capitalizing on Trumps hold over the party.

Much like the way he rewrote the Senate rules to ensure confirmation of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on largely party-line votes, McConnell became the architect of a presidential impeachment trial that drifted from precedent. It was first without new witnesses or Senate deliberations, a shift for the chamber long heralded as the worlds greatest deliberative body.

Far from preserving the Senates historic role, McConnell is demonstrably changing it.

Mitch McConnell, from the beginning, sided with the president in conceiving the entire impeachment process as illegitimate, said Timothy Naftali, a clinical professor of history at New York University, and co-author of a book on impeachment.

The Senate is often referred to as a cooling saucer, tempering the House heat. McConnell drew on that tradition to impress on senators their historic role in cooling the Houses partisan passions.

House Democrats may have descended into pure factionalism, but the United States Senate must not, he said on the eve of the trial.

The Senate was designed to stabilize our institutions. To break partisan fevers. To stop short-term passions from destroying our long-term future, McConnell told them.

After McConnell encouraged the president to fire-up partisan fervor in the House to ensure a party-line impeachment vote in December, the Senate followed suit, delivering the first party-line presidential acquittal in the nations history.

The passions that he should have been cooling in the Senate were the Republican partisan passions of the House, Naftali said.

Romney was the only Republican to cross party lines to convict.

Ahead of the trial, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he tried three times to engage McConnell on terms before the Houses articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate. But he says he was rebuffed.

I said, Mitch, whenever yourre ready, I want to sit down and talk, Schumer told The Associated Press. I got no bites.

When McConnell presented GOP senators with his own plan for organizing the trial, he found little dissent. He had been discussing it privately with them for months. The main objection was his proposed 12-hour sessions, so a hand-scribbled change allowed for shorter days. It was an easy fix.

By the time the trial was ready to begin, Hes already finished, said Josh Holmes, a former McConnell aide. Its the hallmark of his career.

It wasnt all McConnells doing that brought Republicans in line. Trump maintains an extraordinary hold on his party. And Democrats own partisan passions against the president made it easier for Republicans to defend him.

The House approved the articles of impeachment in December on Speaker Nancy Pelosis disciplined timeline, resulting in in the quickest, most partisan impeachment vote in history.

Once the trial began, GOP senators soured on the first day when Schumer protested McConnells refusal to allow more witnesses, forcing a series of midnight votes that some Republicans saw as overtly partisan.

When Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Chief Justice John Roberts during the trial if he would cast a tie-breaking vote, one key centrist, GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was done.

Enough, she said later, announcing she would not vote to convict, blaming all sides for what she viewed as a new partisan low.

Trent Lott, the Republican Senate leader during then-President Bill Clintons impeachment two decades ago, acknowledges times are different than when his party joined with Democrats to acquit the president of charges stemming from a sex scandal at the White House.

One thing thats different we had a center, Lott said in an interview. The center has just disappeared.

What McConnell rarely did, though, throughout the months long impeachment inquiry, was publicly dispute the facts of the case against Trump.

Democrats say Trump pressured a fragile ally, Ukraine, to conduct political investigations of Democratic rival Joe Biden, or risk losing its U.S. military aid. He then obstructed Congress as it probed a whistleblowers complaint about it.

A half-dozen Republican senators spoke of their unease with the presidents actions. Wrong, said Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. Shameful, said Murkowski. Susan Collins, Marco Rubio, Rob Portman and others called his behavior inappropriate.

But they also said the charges didnt rise to impeachable offenses and it would be better to let the voters in the 2020 election decide. McConnell and Trump both face re-election in fall.

Ahead of Wednesdays vote, McConnell told his colleagues, The United States Senate was made for moments like this.

Then, without further debate, the Senate voted to acquit.
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Canadian miner Banro is looking to sell its Namoya gold mine in eastern Congo at a significant discount, its chairman told Reuters on Friday, blaming the governments failure to improve security in the area.

Four Banro employees were kidnapped in July in Democratic Republic of Congo and held for several weeks before being released.

The repeated attacks by local militias forced Banro Corporation to suspend operations at several of its sites in September.

The company sold its Twangiza mine to minority shareholder Baiyin International Investments of China for $1 on Jan 17 because the mines liabilities exceeded projected revenue, Chairman Brett Richards said.

I am now at the point of looking for an alternative, a strategic exit, Richards told Reuters by telephone.

Im actively trying to sell the business for very, very low value to see if somebody else can come in and accept the unstable environment that has been created by the government.

The government rejected Banros November declaration of force majeure. Namoya and Banros two advanced exploration projects, Lugushwa and Kamituga, remain closed.

In September Richards said he asked President Felix Tshisekedi to improve security around the sites.

The president was empathetic but also blamed Banro for failing to live up to its social obligations, Richards said.

Weve had no cash to put into the communities as a result of these terror attacks, so theyre putting the cart before the horse and after the fruit stand.

The mining minister did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
John Wilbur has seen the industrial slowdown up close. At Roadmaster Group, a trucking company based in Arizona that he runs, business cooled last year as a drop in trade volumes and a slump in the manufacturing sector reduced demand for its big rigs.

Mr. Wilbur had hoped that newly completed trade deals with China, Mexico and Canada would lead to a rebound this year. Then Boeing announced in December that it was shutting down production of its troubled 737 Max aircraft.

That supply chain is broad and deep, and I think a lot of people dont even know when theyre being hit by that shutdown, Mr. Wilbur said.

Now the coronavirus outbreak in China is threatening to further disrupt global trade, with unpredictable effects on the American economy.

Right when that trade deal gets done, then you throw coronavirus on it, so its a little tough to gauge where we are, Mr. Wilbur said. Certainly the coronavirus is nothing that anyone budgeted or forecast.

The data in the jobs report was collected before the coronavirus began to spread, and there have been few signs so far that the outbreak has affected the American economy. Data for the February jobs report will be collected next week, and investors and policymakers will be watching closely for any signs that companies or consumers have become more cautious as a result of the virus.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko will visit New York and Washington in the United States in late February.

He said this at a joint briefing with Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod in Kyiv on Thursday, February 6, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"I can confirm that I plan to visit Washington and New York in late February," Prystaiko said.

He added that in New York, the UN General Assembly will host a high-level event requiring the participation of the minister where Prystaiko will talk about what had happened in temporarily occupied territories in Donbas and Crimea last year, and how Ukraine is trying to solve these problems.

"After that, I plan to come to Washington where I will have meetings in the State Department, Congress. There will also be a meeting of Ukrainian ambassadors who stay on American continents to coordinate our foreign missions. We are doing this on a permanent basis," the minister said.

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07.02.2020 LISTEN

The Ministry of Education has rubbished former President John Dramani Mahama's claims that the government is unnecessarily gagging teachers in the educational sector.

The former President at a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) on Wednesday said the current challenges of the free SHS are as a result of the government's refusal to consult stakeholders.

We need to reform [the educational sector] in order to improve the outcomes that we get from the educations service, but in doing those reforms, you must carry everyone with you. Right now, there's a certain tyranny in the system. If as a headteacher you open your mouth and talk, you'll be dismissed without going through due process.

Everybody is quiet because everyone is afraid to talk. And so the government is just going ahead implementing and bulldozing its way through. One question you ask yourself is what is the quality of those children that are going to come out? he questioned.

The Ministry in a statement, however, dismissed these claims, saying the government has been keen on engaging stakeholders, including various teacher unions.

The attention of the Ministry of Education has been drawn to a news item carried by www.citinewsroom.com, in which former President John Mahama is said to have criticized government for allegedly gagging teachers. This is said to be at a meeting yesterday with the leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT). Unfortunately, as is usually the case with educational matters, the former president's allegations are devoid of facts.

In all its reforms since taking office, this government has been particular about engaging all its stakeholders, including the various teacher unions. Indeed, teacher unions will testify that, the sector Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh operates an open door policy and that they need no appointment to visit and engage him on any issue relating to education.

The Ministry said the former President's record in office in the education sector is the worst since independence, to put it mildly.

His government has been the most teacher-unfriendly, the Ministry added in the statement.

Read the full statement below

JDM- THE MOST TEACHER-UNFRIENDLY PRESIDENT

The attention of the Ministry of Education has been drawn to a news item carried by www.citinewsroom, in which former President John Mahama is said to have criticized government for allegedly gagging teachers. This is said to be at a meeting yesterday with the leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT).

Unfortunately, as it usually the case with educational matters, the former president's allegations are devoid of facts.

In all its reforms since taking office, this government has been particular about engaging all its stakeholders, including the various teacher unions. Indeed, teacher unions will testify that, the sector Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh operates an open door policy and that they need no appointment to visit and engage him on any issue relating to education.

It is worthy to note that the former President's record in office in the education sector is the worst since independence, to put it mildly. His government has been the most teacher-unfriendly. Issues detrimental to the teacher perpetrated by his government include;

1. Cancellation of teacher trainee allowances

2. Failure to employ a single graduate teacher throughout his tenure

3. Salary legacy arrears in respect of payments to teachers, in pursuing their three-month pay policy.

4. Non-payment of tier 2 pension funds for teachers

5. A three-year backlog of non-promotion of teachers

6. Non-negotiation for four years for enhanced conditions of service for teachers.

7. No policy targeted at teachers

This government, on the other hand, has a record it can be proud of with respect to our hardworking teachers.

These include;

1. Restoration of teacher trainee allowances

2. Upgrading of Diploma awards by Colleges of Education to Degree awarding institutions.

3. Payment of GHC 70 to each teacher as motivation under the Free SHS policy

4. Clearing of legacy debts accrued by Mr. Mahama's government

5. Abolition of three-month pay policy and prompt payment of teachers after recruitment

6. Out of turn promotion for teachers who upgrade to Masters level.

7. Development with partners (UNESCO, Norway) and unions a comprehensive teacher policy

8. Engaging unions on conditions of service, which the previous government never did.

It is worthy of note that in the pursuit of their teacher-unfriendly policies, unions did not indulge in strike actions against the Mahama government. Why, was this because he was gagging teachers and teacher unions?

The government that is paying his legacy arrears, of which over 97% has been paid, is rather on the receiving end of strike actions. Certainly, this is not a sign of gagging.

It beggars belief that Mr. Mahama would proffer views and launch unfounded criticisms on this government, which is doing its best for the teaching profession. He has absolutely no moral right to do so.

The former President is advised to desist from seeking to poison the relationship between the Ministry and the teaching profession for purposes of cheap political expediency.

Director of Communications

Ekow Vincent Assafuah

citinewsroom
The Speaker of Parliament, Ms Rebecca Kadaga, yesterday threw out a statement by Aruu County MP Samuel Odonga Otto on grounds that it lacked merit.

Mr Otto had secured permission of the Speaker to present a personal statement on the Thursday incident in which he was reportedly beaten by Kilak North MP Anthony Akol.

In the statement, Mr Otto said he was beaten for attempting to protect the land of the people in the north, part of which was allegedly sold by his tormentor.

But the Speaker said Mr Otto had smuggled in ingredients on land because the permission had been granted on the basis that the MP had been assaulted by his colleague with malice.

"Mr Otto came to me and said he wanted to present a personal statement on what happened in the lobby, on the basis of that I allowed him to proceed; but what he has brought here is about Madhvani, Amuru Sugar, land distressed people, bridges and displaced people," Ms Kadaga said.

"This does not pass for a personal explanation, I am sorry, this does not qualify, please have it expunged from the record," she added.

Mr Otto was on Thursday admitted to Nakasero Hospital following a fist-fight with Mr Akol.
FBI Says China 'Biggest Threat' to US Law Enforcement as Arrests Skyrocket in 2020

By Joshua Lipes 2020-02-06 -- The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has already arrested nearly 80 percent of the total number of arrests it made in China-related cases this year as it did in all of 2019, officials said Thursday, identifying the Asian superpower as the biggest law enforcement threat to the U.S.

FBI counterintelligence chief John Brown told a conference at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington that the bureau had already arrested 19 people in cases in which the Chinese government was involved in the first 37 days of 2020, compared to 24 in all of last year and 15 five years earlier.

"We believe that no country poses a greater threat than Communist China," Brown said.

"Today investigations related to China make up a greater percentage of our counterintelligence workload than at any other time in the FBI's history."

The FBI's director, Christopher Wray, said the bureau currently has around 1,000 open investigations of Chinese technology theft pending in its 56 regional offices, which he said span "just about every industry sector."

China takes advantage of academic openness in the U.S. to steal technology using "campus proxies" and through the establishment of "institutes on our campuses," he said, referring to the Confucius Institutes that the U.S. Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations said last year should be shut down if there is no improvement in transparency around their dealings with U.S. universities.

Wray called for a coordinated effort by the U.S. government to battle the growing threat of China to U.S. law enforcement.

China is targeting defense information, technology used in renewable energy and electric vehicles, and high-end medical technology through hacking and the recruitment of people with access to such research and trade secrets, the officials said.

Director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center William Evanina, who has estimated that Chinese theft of trade secrets costs the U.S. hundreds of billions of dollars annually, warned at Thursday's event that "the long-term existential threat to the security of our nation is real."

China Initiative

In 2018, the U.S. Justice Department created an effort known as the China Initiative to battle the threat of Beijing-backed espionage.

Last year, authorities expelled two Chinese diplomats who have been accused of accessing a military base in Virginia, and also jailed former U.S. intelligence officials on China-related espionage charges.

In January, authorities arrested head of Harvard University's chemistry and chemical biology department, Charles Lieber, and charged him with making false statements about his involvement in the Chinese government-backed Thousand Talents Program that offers incentives to mainly Chinese scientists abroad to bring their research back to China.

In an emailed statement to Reuters news agency, the Chinese embassy in Washington called the allegations made at Thursday's conference "entirely baseless," and countered that "the people-to-people exchange between China and the U.S. is conducive to stronger understanding between the two peoples and serves the fundamental interests of our two countries."

According to a report by the Associated Press last year, the FBI had been reaching out to colleges and universities across the country to warn them of the threat of economic espionage on their campuses.

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Eleven houses were burned down and 23 houses were partially burned, causing a loss of Rs 1.46 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively, the report said.

Hyderabad: Last months violent clashes in the communally sensitive Bhainsa town in Nirmal district caused a loss of approximately Rs 3.09 crore, according to a revenue department report.

Stones were pelted during the clashes which began as a petty quarrel between groups of people from two communities on the night of January 12. Police and security forces were later deployed in large numbers to bring the situation under control.

Eleven houses were burned down and 23 houses were partially burned, causing a loss of Rs 1.46 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively, the report said.

A loss of Rs 4.17 lakh was incurred due to damages to seven houses while a staggering Rs 43.37 lakh was looted, which includes 35.5 tolas of gold.

According to the report 40 vehicles were torched, 29 two-wheelers totally (Rs 10 lakh) and six two-wheelers partially (Rs 88,000).

Youngsters riding motorcycles without silencers clashed with local residents in the Korva Galli locality at about 10 pm and the unrest continued until late into the night. The clashes spread to other localities even as police tried to control the violence by firing tear gas shells.

While media reports said 11 persons including three police officers were injured, the revenue report stated that three persons were injured.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Central government on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and effective implementation of the Assam Accord.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde also sought Centre's response on the plea filed by Assam Social Justice Forum.

The petition sought appropriate directions for taking effective steps for the implementation of Assam Accord, 1985 in letter and spirit and for conservation and preservation of the of a distinct culture, heritage and traditions of the indigenous people of Assam.

The Assam Accord, 1985, had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of their religion.

The Bench also sought Centre's response on another fresh batch of pleas challenging CAA and tagged them along with other petitions pending in the matter.

One of the petitions, filed by the Association of Advocates from Maharashtra among others, sought to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as discriminatory, arbitrary, and illegal and consequently set aside the impugned act as ultra-vires the Constitution of India.

On the other hand, over a hundred petitions have been filed in the apex court, for and against the amended citizenship law, which is facing opposition and protests across the country.

CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and took refuge in India on or before December 31, 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:52:18|Editor: huaxia

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Maldivian divers send their best wishes for China amid the #coronavirus battle, from underwater. #StayStrongChina
MIAMI, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Azamara  the no cruise, boutique cruise line  is thrilled to announce its ten-year anniversary of its award-wining Destination Immersion programming. Set to take place on October 8, 2020, for one night only, Azamara will enhance its unmatched AzAmazing Evenings  the brand's signature nighttime events designed to connect guests to the local culture of a destination  and create an incomparable experience, the "Ten-Years Further Event." Guest and crew on separate voyages aboard Azamara's three sister ships  Azamara Quest, Azamara Journey, and Azamara Pursuit  will all meet in Koper, Slovenia to enjoy the celebratory event. Separately, Azamara is offering an exclusive post-voyage AzAmazing Journey for Le Club Voyage (LCV) members  their exclusive membership club celebrating the loyalty of Azamara's guests.

"The Three Sisters will come together for the first time in Azamara history to celebrate our brand's special milestone, ten-years of Destination Immersion experiences," said Larry Pimentel, President & CEO of Azamara. "We couldn't think of a better way to show Azamara's commitment to having guests fully explore different locales through immersive land experiences than with a Grand AzAmazing Evening in one of Europe's most charming cities."

Azamara will organize an unprecedented Grand AzAmazing Evening at Ukmar Square in Koper, Slovenia, which will be transformed into an enchanting private venue. Here, guests from all three ships can indulge in regional cuisine, a special wine formally blended for this event by Azamara President & CEO, Larry Pimentel, and revel in live music starring Perpetuum Jazzile, an a cappella ensemble dedicated to preserving Slovenian vocal traditions.

To celebrate the brand's promise to further immerse travelers into the heart of a destination as well as its loyalty to past guests, Azamara's Le Club Voyage (LCV) members have the exclusive opportunity to purchase an AzAmazing Journey only available for these specific ten-year anniversary sailings. This three-night Milan and Lake Como post-voyage journey will take guests beyond Venice and provide an Italian-immersive tour of Milan and Lake Como, which includes three nights in Bellagio at Hotel Villa Sebelloni. This AzAmazing Journey includes exclusive activities that are only offered on these ten-year anniversary sailings, including a cooking class at the Bellagio and a four-course dinner at the hotel, among other activities such as a food-focused walking tour in Varenna led by local connoisseurs and a boat cruise on Lake Como.

For more information on Azamara's Ten-Year Anniversary of Destination Immersion, please click here. To book one of the three voyages, please see the below:

About Azamara

Azamara is an upmarket cruise line and the leader in Destination Immersion, with three mid-sized ships sailing to all seven continents of the world. The boutique-style ships allow them to reach marquee ports around the world and dock in smaller less-visited hidden gems. Azamara's commitment to creating immersive experiences for travelers to connect with local cultures, allows guests to travel deeper with longer stays, more overnights, and night touring. Most recently, Azamara debuted the largest selection of pre-and-post-voyage land programs in the cruising industry, reinforcing its commitment to Destination Immersion beyond cruising. Guests can experience a boutique hotel at sea with inclusive amenities such as gratuities, beverages, AzAmazing Evenings  an exclusive, bespoke event designed specifically for Azamara guests to immerse themselves in their destination and more. Azamara holds prestigious awards, further exemplifying the line's commitment to Destination Immersion, including 2019 USA Today Readers' Choice for "Best Boutique Cruise Line" and 2018 Cruise Critic Editor's Picks Awards for "Best Shore Excursions." In 2020, Azamara will take guests to 294 ports in 76 countries, including 279 late nights and 162 overnights. Additional information can be found on www.azamara.com.

SOURCE Azamara

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Only in the past few years has Brad Pitt existed as a star without an equally famous woman by his side. And instead of rejecting the solo spotlight, of late hes seemed to be playfully courting it. In recent weeks, he has joked about his disaster of a love life on Maron, quipped that Britain is newly single like him, and shown up at the Oscar nominees luncheon wearing a nametag. At the apex of a varied and scrutinized career, Pitt is grabbing headlines by taking his own public image for a joyride. You dont say any woman I stand next to, they say Im dating in your acceptance speech (ghostwritten or not) at the Golden Globes and then grasp the arm of the ex-wife you still share tabloid covers with unless youre either a) up to something, perhaps squelching rumors or happy to ignite new ones of your own; or b) adjusting the minute calibrations that have largely governed your approach to playing the role of yourself. Or both. For a quarter century, Brad Pitt has been chafing at the constraints of Brad Pitt; if at the age of 56 hes learning to collapse that distinction, the public seems ready to embrace the new Bradas long as it buys the story.

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One hesitates to say Brad Pitt is back because his fame has never ebbed, though his reputationso warily managed for yearstook a hit in his 2016 separation from Angelina Jolie. Instead of the family-minded humanitarian hed been with her, he suddenly became legible as someone with addiction problems who might have raised a hand to his teen son Maddox. Angelina Jolie unquestionably won the divorce; her focus on the family won her the publics sympathy. But America loves a (male) sinner who hits bottom and bounces back more than it loves a (female) saint. And Pitts 2017 repentance tourwhich included a GQ profile that addressed his addiction issues and, obliquely, the incident that allegedly led Angelina Jolie to file for divorcewas vague enough to sustain that narrative. (The GQ spread included multiple shots of Pitt literally falling headfirst onto pristine sand dunes; the Icarus imagery couldnt be clearer.) But something is shifting as the star moves into his haggardly handsome phasea twinkly, knowing descent of sorts from his old Olympian heights. Two years later, Pitt has two new movies to promote, and hes reportedly sober, looser, seemingly more playful about his own celebrity, andthis is keysingle.

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That matters because male public images are much, much simpler to wrangle; Pitt has a lot more room to maneuver in than he would if he were presently linked to a female star who has a more challenging lane to walk. As Taylor Swift put it in the recent documentary Miss Americana, The female artists that I know of have reinvented themselves 20 times more than the male artists. She describes how hard it is for a woman to keep the public from getting bored of her: Be new to us, be young to us, but only in a new way and only the way we want. The conventional wisdom about Pitt has been that he defers to his female partners image. Maybe he did in recognition of this unfair dynamic; maybe he just found it easier to be in the passenger seat. Either way, its certainly the case that he adjusts his style and interests and blends chameleonlike into the women he attaches himself to. When he was with Gwyneth Paltrow, he had straight blond hair like hers. When he was with Jennifer Aniston, he grew honey-colored highlights. When Jolie wore her hair long and flowing, so did he, and when she slicked it back, he did too. Left to his own devices, Pitt seems to be experimenting with rueful self-disclosure in public while performing an extended cleanup tour. Hes on good terms with Aniston, the woman he wronged! He even pulled out of appearing at the BAFTAs at the last minute for family obligations (which the tabloid Sun reported involved a possible reconciliation with his estranged son Maddox). Brad didnt even have to turn up at the BAFTAs; his acceptance speech (read by Margot Robbie) made headlines. It included the Brexit joke, a divorce settlement reference, a line on Prince Harrys departure, even an amusingly informal blah blah blah.

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Stars dream of the kind of positive press and public response Pitt has been getting. Part of whats crowd-pleasing about his recent turn is that, despite some tells suggesting that Pitt is doing some Olympic-level Oscar campaigning, it feels refreshingly unfiltered. Pitts old celebrity playbook wouldve had him carefully controlling his face while watching Aniston onstage. The eruption of delight on both sides (and longing, some wondered hopefully) feels not just new but transgressive. Its breaking the rules for how both have played this particular scandal-of-the-century game. Some things have always felt more authentically Brad, of coursehis interest in architecture, the slight depressive edge (that appealingly hapless droop of his lower lip) that makes him seem like a secret sad boy putting on his sunny game facebut whatever this is, its new, and its more.

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Pitt feels freshly accessible because of what we were used to getting, for so longa clear caginess about the line between Brad Pitt the man and the characters he made famous. Indeed, the temptation to read Pitts films autobiographically is so overwhelming that his resistance to being so read is more than understandable. Early in his stardom, Pitt said that the character he most directly resembled was his breakout turn in Thelma & Louise, but many of his subsequent roles have made direct comparisons to his life almost too obvious to bother with. The Jolie-Pitts actual partnership was bracketed by Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which captured two people trapped in their roles finally getting to know each other and falling in love, and By the Sea, which featured a married couple in turmoil. In Snatch, he plays a goofball whose charm makes him easy to underestimatehes savvier than he looks, has a formidable power and also a drinking problem. In The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Pitt plays a man who knows he cant possibly live up to his own legend.

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Pitt used to be more coy about echoes of this kind; hed invite those comparisons in order to deny them. He collaborated with photographer Steven Klein on a photo shoot of him and Jolie as miserable 1960s suburbanites with five small children, but at the time was still denying they were in a relationship. The bizarre and striking set of photographswhich only exacerbated rumors that Pitts marriage to Aniston ended because he wanted a family and she didntfamously led Jennifer Aniston to observe theres a sensitivity chip thats missing.

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This is all to say that Pitt has been playing with his persona for a long time, but not always nicely, or kindly, or easily. Certainly not with this self-deprecating twinkle. The stars attitude toward his own fame has been souring since his still-early Interview With the Vampire days, when he flirted with waitresses in front of reporters and threw a little shade at how Tom Cruisea notoriously controlling presence on the set of that filmwas handling his fame and his career. (I tell you, the machine Tom runs is quite impressive, he told Rolling Stones Chris Mundy for a 1994 profile that features him shirtless with long blond hair. I wouldnt want to live like that but still.  Listen, if you want to stay on top, youve gotta stay on top.) In later years, as Pitt joined Cruise in the echelons of the obscenely famous, his affect bounced from denial to anguished gratitude to resigned acquiescence to depressive self-awareness. Whats your angle? he wearily asked Rolling Stones Chris Heath in 1999, when he was dating Jennifer Aniston. Im the guy whos got everything, he told him later. I know. But Im telling you, once you get everything, then youre just left with yourself. Ive said it before and Ill say it again: It doesnt help you sleep any better, and you dont wake up any better because of it.

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Back then, Pitt took unflattering descriptions of his public image poorly. He got pretty angry with Heath when asked to respond to the widespread perception that the actor was dumb. Heath meant it as an image problem, but Pitt suspected there was someone with a grudge circulating the claim, and he couldnt be talked out of it. He got angrier still when Heath suggested he hadnt heard this rumor about himself because the people around him might just not tell him.

I dont want to be put in the position where I have to defend my intelligence, because Im not going to do it.  Why do you want to put that out there? We live in a fucking vacuum, man. What constitutes food for us has no place in the outside world, and thats the bottom line.

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This strange, unpolished moment in the Pitt annals is tantalizing because it betrays, among other things, the stars frustration withand confusion aboutthe insides and outsides that constitute his circles and his world since becoming famous. I dont know what this means: What constitutes food for us has no place in the outside world. That its unedited and inaccessible makes it seem true.

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Since his relationship with Jolie ended, Pitt has occasionally been more forthcoming about how he links his persona to his work. I have so much attached to this facade, he told GQ in 2017, gesturing at himself. He uses the same wordfacadealmost immediately to refer to Glen McMahon, the character with a funny run who he plays in War Machine. The run to me was important because it was about the delusion of your own grandeur, not knowing what you really look like. All pencil legs, you know. Not being able to connect reality to this facade of grandeur. The implication is obvious: Pitt is having a hard time connecting the indignities of being a real person to the grandiose image of himself. The ease of movement on-screen with which hes rightly credited is real, but so is the difficulty hes had inhabiting it offstage. Recent interviews are particularly clear about Pitts distaste for the story conventions that tend to plague leading men. I could not get out of the middle of the frame, he recently told the New York Times of playing Achilles in Troy. It was driving me crazy.

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But when the Times asked him in that same interview whether hes aware of how audiences might see his star identity resonating with a particular role, he repliedstill! Improbably!The answer is no. I mean, Im aware of when a director is using my persona really well. Fincher in Fight Club was twisting it. In Jesse James, it was pretty blatant. But no, Im not really aware, and Im not sure I should be.

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Pitt has been playing the role of himself for decades; whether he should be aware of how his persona is used and deployed is irrelevant. He simply is aware, and we know that because hes frequently deployed it himself: He uses the story of and about his life to get public buy-in for things that matter to him. He and Jolie used their celebrity strategically, dragging paparazzi cameras with them to countries in crisis. (Jolie famously gave birth in Namibia with this aim in mind.) Pitt has used his star power to help smaller movies get made and marketed; by taking a smaller role or producing, he manages to get them exposure they might not otherwise have. He also used his celebrity to build houses after Hurricane Katrina. This effort was less successful: The sustainable homes Pitts Make It Right organization built for Katrina survivors were beautifully designed, but theyre allegedly falling apart now and plagued with mold, and the company, which allegedly made people sign nondisclosure agreements in exchange for getting settlements or repairs, faces a class-action suit. Persona-dependent do-gooding has its limits.

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These days, he narrates himself less as a crusader and more as a solitary introspective sort who thinks a lot about fatherhoodall while, from the looks of it, campaigning as hard as he can for an Oscar and flaunting an experimental reconciliation of his private and public selves. Hes splashing around in the puddles of his own legend. This intense, varied, funny, full-on Brad-ness, in some ways, is a more natural fit for a guy whose laissez-faire Midwestern demeanor didnt always comport with his past caginess, or with the defiant ambition of his younger and angrier career choices.

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You get older and you just get tired of protecting yourself or having any secrets. You know? Pitt told Christiane Amanpour when she invited him to compare his mournful, trying-to-move-on character in Ad Astra to himself. I mean we all carry, I think, great pains, great regrets. Weve all experienced loss, weve all experienced great loneliness at times. And were good at packing that away, not dealing with it. Some are really good at getting through it and coming out the other side a more well-rounded, more confident and loving human being.

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Its a series of sentences that could apply equally to the fictional role and the man behind it. The lachrymose tone of his 2017 headlines has given way to a comedic disregard for the guarded celebrity he used to pursue. And, if public acclaim is a measuring stick, its working for him. Brad Pitt is joking with the lads, hanging out with Leonardo DiCaprio, and making fun of everything and himself. A star, finally come down to earth, a bit looser, a bit more at home in himself, zipping up the gaps in his past with a combination of silliness and contrition. Its a great solo act, one that very well might be strategic and cannily carried out. It also might be true.
The U.S. Air Force has special prefixes for all its weapons. For example, GAU stands for Gun Automatic Unit and are basically machine-guns used by aircraft. Most fire 20mm-30mm shells from multiple rotating barrels to achieve very high (50 a second or more) rates of fire. The smallest caliber GAU weapons are 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine-guns. But now there is a new GAU weapon, the GAU-5A, which will be installed in over 2,000 combat aircraft. It sounds normal enough, but it isnt. GAU-5A is a single-barrel 5.56mm semi-automatic weapon. Actually GAI-5A is a lightweight version of the M-4 assault rifle that is standard with most American troops. One big difference from the M-4 is that GAU-5A does not have full-automatic fire capability. It is meant for single shots or, at best, automatic three-round bursts.

The GAU-5A is a lightweight rifle that, when disassembled, fits into the Aces II ejection seat survival kit. The GAU-5A is basically a smaller version of the M-4 assault rifle using commercially available components to create a rifle with the M-4 receiver but shorter adjustable stock and barrel. All these components, when broken down, fit into the standard 406x356x89mm (16x14x3.5 inch) 18.2 kg (40 pound) survival kit that comes with each Aces II ejection seat found in A-10, F-15, F-16 and F-22 fighters as well as B-1 and B-2 bombers. The survival kit normally contains no weapons, except for perhaps a knife. The only weapon the pilot usually (and still) has is a 9mm pistol carried in a holster.

The GAU-5A weighs less than 3.2 kg (seven pounds) and assembles in less than a minute or 30 seconds with some practice. The air force is buying 2,136 GAU-5As for survival kits of pilots operating over territory containing Islamic terrorists. This is welcome news to the pilots because the few downed pilots who have been captured by Islamic terrorists have usually been executed in grisly fashion like beheading or burned alive.

Downed pilots already have pilot recovery teams standing by that can reach the downed pilot quickly but often not quickly enough. The GAU-5A, which comes with four standard 30 round M-16/4 magazines, can fire single shots or three round bursts. It has basic iron sights so, even with practice, it is only accurate out to 200-300 meters. Some air forces have equipped their pilots with similar, but bulkier weapons. Russia provides an AK-74 carbine (the smallest version of this standard AK type assault rifle) while others have included 9mm machineguns.

The GAU-5A does not require modification of the ejection seat to accommodate a larger and bulkier weapon and is similar enough to the standard M-16/4, which all pilots learn to use in basic training, to be used effectively without much additional training. Many of the first pilots to receive the GAU-5As in their survival kits took them to the rifle range to practice assembling and firing them. The weapon was found to perform as advertised and proved to be a morale boost for pilots operating over particularly dangerous territory. A pilot with a GAU-5A can hold off, or perhaps even drive off, armed attackers and provide time for another fighter to use its targeting pod and laser-guided missiles to find any other attackers and kill or discourage them with missiles or cannon fire. Many fighter-bombers operating over Islamic terrorist territory now carry the smaller APKWS 70mm guided missiles. These weigh 13.6 kg (30 pounds) with a 2.7 kg (six pound) warhead and a range of about six kilometers. Four or more can be carried in place of one larger smart bomb. APKWS is also carried on helicopters. These missiles are preferable to the larger (45 kg) Hellfire because the smaller warhead allows the APKWS to be fired on armed enemies who have gotten very close to the downed pilot. The survival kit includes a small radio that enables communications with nearby aircraft.

The survival kits also contain long-range satellite location transponders, flares, flotation devices, emergency food items, some water and so on. Staying within the standard weight of the survival kit is important because the effectiveness of the ejection seat depends on the seat, with all its contents (like the pilot) being within certain weight limits.
Earlier this week, Tanzanian actress Wema Sepetu went public, confessing that she terminated two of her late ex-lover Steve Kanumbas pregnancies when they were still together.

Speaking in an interview uploaded on her mobile application (Wema APP), the former beauty queen fought back tears as she reckoned that Kanumba cursed her for procuring the abortions, hence her long struggle with conceiving.

I feel like Kanumba cursed me. This is because he really wanted to see me, he would call every day two weeks before his death. We were to meet but we were super busy and could not. He called for like four times but we could not meet. We finally met at Bilcanas.

He told me I owe him, he told me I will not get babies with anyone else because he was the father of my babies. He told me I owe him two babies. This is because I had terminated two of his pregnancies. Every time we used to meet he would remind me that I owe him. I saw him on Wednesday and I heard he was dead on Thursday, recounted Wema.

Days after her confession, Kanumbas mother, Flora Mtegoa, spoke to Global Publishers saying she was heartbroken by the revelation.

Jamani mpaka nywele zilinisisimka kabisa, natamani sana kuongea na Wema nikae naye maana uzuri ni kwamba amekiri mwenyewe kuwa alitoa mimba za mwanangu, yaani imeniumiza sana jamani, she said.

Ms Mtegoa also noted that she preferred Sepetu over Elizabeth Michael Lulu, who was found guilty of manslaughter in November 2017 for killing Steve without intention.

Natamani sana Wema aje nimuone, nina kitu nataka kumwambia na ninampenda kwa sababu ni binti wa tofauti sana kuliko alivyo Lulu, kwani kila anionapo popote anakuwa na furaha sana na mimi. Natamani Kanumba angekuwepo jamani, said Kanumbas mother.
Bernie Sanders claimed a belated victory for Monday's state caucus in Iowa amid calls for a recount as the row over the vote continued to divide the Democrats.

Mr Sanders, the progressive front-runner, called the delay of results a "screw-up" by his own party as he addressed supporters in New Hampshire, ahead of the next primary.

Monday's Iowa caucuses, the first votes cast in the race to find the Democratic presidential nominee, were marred by technical problems and inconsistencies which saw the official result delayed by more than two days.

By yesterday afternoon, 97pc of the results had been released, showing Mr Sanders and moderate candidate Pete Buttigieg virtually neck and neck.

However, Mr Sanders insisted he had the clearest margin of victory in the popular vote, which he said put him 6,000 votes ahead of his rivals.

Campaigning in Manchester, New Hampshire, the 78-year-old Vermont senator criticised the Iowa Democratic Party for its delay in counting votes.

"That screw-up has been extremely unfair to the people of Iowa, to all the candidates and all of their supporters," he said.

"What I want to do, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses."

Mr Sanders also took a swipe at Mr Buttigieg, a former mayor of South Bend Indiana, who similarly claimed victory earlier in the week.

Mr Sanders argued: "From where I come, when you get 6,000 more votes you're strongly regarded to be the winner."

Focus has now shifted to New Hampshire, which holds its Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee yesterday called for a "recanvass" of the results of the Iowa caucuses, saying it was needed to "assure public confidence" after three days of technical issues and delays.

"Enough is enough," party leader Tom Perez said.

( Daily Telegraph, London)
SPRINGFIELD  Gov. Tom Wolf came to Springfield School District Thursday as part of listening tour around the commonwealth to talk about the skyrocketing cost of college education. The Democrat met with students, parents and district personnel for input about college costs and a newly developed scholarship program that could be a game-changer for college-bound youngsters.

The governor outlined the $204 million Nellie Bly Scholarship Program proposal unveiled this week as part of his 2020-21 budget address. If fleshed out as envisioned, the scholarships would be available to thousands of college students attending the 14 state-owned universities. This program would close the gap after a students Pell Grant and other state grants to enroll in a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) university, allowing more students to graduate on time with less student loan debt, according to the governor.

Although details are yet to follow, Wolf seems certain of the necessity to address costs.

We want to make post-secondary education affordable. Im not sure there is anything more important, he told the group of four high school seniors and three parents (not of the students), as well as Springfield High School Principal Joseph Hepp, Director of Secondary Teaching and Learning Jeffrey Zweiback and Guidance Counselor Kendra Campbell.

Each guest at the table in the school board room briefly framed positions on the issue. Students were able to share their plans, which are being put into place after graduation: Ryan Henry is pursuing an appointment to the Air Force Academy, sharing the experience of an uncle; Oscar Lin, noting he will be his familys first generation college student, said he has several applications and feels Ivy League schools may offer the highest financial aid; Deja Bostons specific plans are undecided, although she wants to combine business with the arts; Emma Brune is eyeing the University of Alabama, coincidentally the school chosen by the daughter of Kim Peichel, a parent on the panel.

Parent Christine Sulpizio was well into discussion about her daughters future plans, but Kyle Hammond, the third parent, has a son at Delaware County Community College and was working on options.

I started saving for my sons education when he was an infant. Tuition keeps increasing, but it is an investment, said Hammond, a school principal in the Great Valley District. He has years to think about the next child potentially college bound  his daughter is in kindergarten at the Literacy Center.

What interested Wolf, as much as specific choices, was the point at which students said they started thinking about college and cost.

Brune said college was on her mind as early as third grade, and the cost factor kicked in about 10th grade, especially when she realized how much more there was than tuition.

I learned from watching my mother, who got an associate degree and then had to stop because there was no more money for education, said Henry. I started looking at costs and thought, wow, those are a lot of zeros.

The Nellie Bly Scholarships would have something in common with Henrys college/university choice. Both have a payback requirement. The service academies require service equivalent to years of education. The Nellie Bly funding, with qualifications and dollars yet to be worked out, requires one year of residency in the commonwealth to forgive each year of scholarships. As Wolf and others indicated, this is designed to retain skills, education and talents learned in Pennsylvania.

In working with students, both Zweiback and Campbell had important insights. Zweiback said students know they have to look beyond the institutions themselves for financial aid, and often will investigate schools that are affordable.

In the last three years Ive seen some shifts. Students themselves are getting more involved in the process and questioning costs, Campbell said, indicating often that was the domain of parents. They are also looking at education in terms of the skill component and jobs.

Among local elected officials attending, Sen. Tim Kearney, D-26 of Swarthmore, Rep. Jennifer OMara, D-165 of Springfield, both serve on education committees. Kearney said there is a greater interest in getting businesses involved in providing opportunities to college graduates. Rep. Dave Delloso, D-162 of Ridley Park, raised the important issue of career paths requiring skilled education, but not a four-year degree.

The scholarship program is part of an overall budget redesign with more funding for education overall. The Bly scholarships will be funded by repurposing revenues from the Horse Racing Development Fund annually, which is not without a significant amount of objection.

If approved by the legislature, this raid would result in the end of horse racing in Pennsylvania by eviscerating the primary funding source for the purses and breeder incentives that serve as the lifeblood of the industry, said Pete Peterson, executive director of the Pennsylvania Equine Coalition, an organization representing the six thoroughbred and standardbred horsemen and breeder associations in the state.

This scheme would destroy an industry that provides a $1.6 billion economic impact and supports an estimated 16,000 to 23,000 jobs in the agriculture, jobs in the agriculture, manufacturing, construction, retail and hospitality industries here in Pennsylvania, Peterson said, and emphasized a wide variety of allied jobs and small businesses would be seriously impacted, almost to the point of elimination.

Wolf noted during his Springfield presentation, $50 million would remain in the Horse Racing Development Fund.

This is the right time to do this, Wolf said of the scholarship plan, addressing the rising cost of post-secondary education, and graduates facing their own student loan debt, estimated at $68 million for Pennsylvania residents.
Parents are concerned hundreds of children might have been exposed to coronavirus after a year one student returned from a trip to China and attended school.

The New South Wales state government issued a warning that any students who had traveled to mainland China recently should not attend classes for two weeks.

Despite the advice, the student reportedly returned to Oran Park Public School in south-west Sydney - prompting teachers to send him home after the became aware of his trip to Asia,

The student reportedly returned to Oran Park Public School (pictured) in south-west Sydney after going on a trip to China

Airports around the globe are screening passengers amid an outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus that began in China (pictured Changi International airport in Singapore on January 22, 2020)

The school's principal, Donna Shevlin, sent a letter to parents this week assuring them that the safety of students was top priority, reports 7 News.

'A student who recently returned from China has attended school within the medical advice provided by the NSW Health of 14 days self-isolation for people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus,' the letter read.

'Once aware of this situation, the school immediately excluded the student from school for 14 days, with a return date of 10th February.'

There is no indication the student in question has shown any symptoms of coronavirus.

There are more than 1150 students attending the school.

Meanwhile, a fifth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Queensland.

A 37-year-old Chinese woman travelling in Queensland has been confirmed as infected with the deadly virus.

The woman was travelling with the same tour group as the previously confirmed cases and is currently isolated in a stable condition at Gold Coast Hospital.

All nine members of the tour group are in isolation at Gold Coast University Hospital after they arrived to the city on Tigerair flight TT566 from Melbourne on January 27.

A fifth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Queensland. A computer artwork of the virus is pictured

A 44-year-old man, a 42-year-old woman, a 37-year-old man and an eight-year-old boy from the group have also contracted the illness.

It's the state's fifth confirmed case of the virus, while there are four each in NSW and Victoria, and two cases in South Australia

Of those, three people have recovered and been released.

More than 20 countries have confirmed cases of the virus, which has killed nearly 500 people and infected more than 24,000 in mainland China.

Two Australians on a cruise ship off Japan also contracted coronavirus after being exposed by a previous passenger.

The pair were among 10 people including three each from Japan and Hong Kong, one from the US and one Filipino crew member who tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess.

Two Australians on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off Japan also contracted coronavirus after being exposed by a previous passenger

More than 100 Australians have been evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

Seventy-two people, including infants, were flown on a Qantas flight to Western Australia on Monday before they were taken to Christmas Island.

Another 35 Australians joined an Air New Zealand flight to Auckland before they were transferred to another flight to join the others.

The group will be held on Christmas Island for 14 days, provided they aren't diagnosed with the illness.

Dr Jeanette Young, the state's Chief Health Officer, on Tuesday urged anyone who has returned from mainland China in the past 14 weeks and who feels unwell to seek medical help immediately.

'This is for the safety of those individuals,' she said.

'It's a very early stage of the development of this outbreak, so we don't fully understand what it means to people, so we really want to test people very early.'

She said she was concerned federal government officials hadn't handed over all of its data relating to passengers who had flown from mainland China.

More than 400 people have been assessed for coronavirus since screening started at Brisbane International Airport on Sunday.

Meanwhile, a Sunshine Coast doctor is leading a team of medical experts treating hundreds of Australians evacuated from the Chinese city of Wuhan to Christmas Island on Monday.

Doctor Daniel Holmes is steering the team providing treatment while the group sits out 14 days of quarantine.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has begged the federal government to activate natural disaster relief funding in response to the outbreak.

She says the tourism industry is being bled dry by travel bans with the Cairns region alone losing $200million in forward bookings, and exporters including seafood producers who service China losing their entire markets.

Meanwhile, businesses in suburbs such as Eastwood and Chatswood in Sydney fear they will go under due to lack of sales.
On this weeks Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discussed the disastrous Feb. 3 Iowa caucuses, Mitt Romneys impeachment vote, and the Trump administrations expanded immigration ban. This transcript of one exchange from their Iowa conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

David Plotz: Perhaps the more alarming fact for Democrats, besides the total incompetence of the conduct of the actual caucuses, was the rather low turnout. The data thats been release so far suggests that around 170,000 Iowans caucusedabout the same levels as in 2016, but far below the 240,000 who participated in the caucuses in 2008. It seems Iowa Democratic voters did not get too enthused, were not there in huge numbers. Emily, is that something the Democrats should worry about as much as theyre worrying about the fact that they botched their opening act?

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Emily Bazelon: Oh, more, I think. Right now it feels like this Democratic field is weak. People are worried not about the policy proposals coming out of itthat part of the discussion has been really interesting and varied and robustbut this question of which of these candidates is going to get momentum behind them, can unify the party, can bring in independents and defeat Donald Trump. I think that feels really unclear to a lot of voters. Youre seeing a lot of division and factions and fracturing. If that continues for a long time, that is going to be dangerous for the Democrats and their chances of winning in November.

John Dickerson: I think whenever youre having to make excuses for low turnout, youre in bad shape. If you have low turnout across several different contests in several different states, then thats a clear signal about the worry Democrats have to have about the enthusiasm in their party.

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Plotz: There was that theory about the Republicans in 2016, John, that Trump had come in and represented this strange, out-there group of people who other candidates in the field didnt want to be associated with. Yet when push came to shove, party loyalty plus the new group of voters Trump brought in swamped the Never Trump folks who were disgusted by what he didat least for Electoral College purposes. Can Democrats hope for something similar? When push comes to shove, they will unify around the party and will the marginal new voters be valuable enough to get them a win?

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Dickerson: That question feeds into the larger one in the Democratic Party right now, which is what kind of candidate do you want, and is there a sort of blunt-force power to a Bernie Sanders candidacy that creates the kind of dynamic youre talking about?

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But there are other things the Democrats can count on, at least at some level, which is that their best turnout mechanismor one of their best turnout mechanismsis the president who on Thursday morning was attacking Democrats at the National Prayer Breakfast, a venue where presidents traditionally dont do that kind of thing. And also in the way the president is responding to Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union and so forth. That is a base motivating mechanism for Democrats. Will that be enough? Will that be enough in the right states? I dont know, but Democrats still have that going for them as they go through what will be several months of really tough tearing each other apart. Then the question will be, does the base of the Democratic Party behave like the base in the Republican Party?

To listen to the full episode, click the player below or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
In the late 1970s, Daniel Ortega led a ragtag group of leftist Sandinista guerrillas in an overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza. Today, President Ortegas crackdown on protesters in Nicaragua shows he has become a dictator himself. Along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, who is vice president, the couple seeks to install dynastic family rule much like the regime they overthrew, using violent means to repress dissent. In the absence of meaningful political opposition, the Catholic Church is at the forefront of these protests  not as an ally of old-fashioned Latin American authoritarianism but as a voice for oppressed Nicaraguans and as a sanctuary for the persecuted.

The duos response to any who dare challenge their rule has been ruthless and unrelenting. The couple count at their disposal the national police force and directly arm thousands of roving paramilitary groups. Their war against civil society shuttered famed news outlets and severely curtailed reporting on human-rights violations. Prosecutors fabricate evidence against protesters, police arrest citizens arbitrarily, and Human Rights Watch reports the existence of grisly torture centers. This is not the Nicaragua of the 1980s, an era of battles between leftist nationalists and right-wing counterrevolutionaries, with U.S. and Soviet fingers stuck in the pie. Todays conflict is a bitter struggle between an erstwhile man of the people turned oppressive dictator and the citizens he had pledged to lead  who now engage in nonviolent resistance for democracy and freedom.

The Church is at the tip of the spear in the fight for the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua. Nicaraguas bishops, working tirelessly to find a solution to the crisis, have brokered dialogue between the opposition and the regime on multiple occasions. Rectories have morphed into informal clinics for the thousands wounded in the protests, many of whom are denied access to state-run medical care due to their participation. The Ortega-Murillo regime responded to the Churchs activism by surgically targeting members of the clergy, slandering them as coup-plotters.

Story continues

Yet, with the Church under siege in Nicaragua, the silence from Rome is deafening.

The Catholic Churchs support for the countrys democratic movement has been met with regime attempts to infiltrate and entrap priests under an enlarged definition of terrorism. When these tactics fail, the Ortega-Murillo regime resorts to strong-arming and intimidating members of the clergy. Security forces manhandle priests at the cathedral in Managua and surround churches during Mass. Recently, mothers and wives of political prisoners went on a hunger strike in a church in Masaya to protest the illegal detention of their loved ones. The government responded by cutting water and electricity and surrounding the church with police and paramilitaries. The Reverend Edwin Roman, who permitted the hunger strike and subsequently became imprisoned inside without food for over a week, said of the Ortega strongmen, They left us like rats in a hole.

In a particularly egregious example, Bishop Silvio Jose Baez, a beloved Catholic leader and one of the most outspoken critics of the regime, was the target of a regime-planned assassination attempt. For several months, plainclothes police officers tailed him, drones constantly hovered over his home, and ominous motorcycle gangs waited on his doorstep. He survived a knife attack by regime supporters in the city of Diriamba. After the U.S. embassy in Managua tipped Baez off, Pope Francis transferred him to Rome, where he remains insulated from the brutalities of the Ortega regime. While his move may have been for his own safety, the timing fueled theories that the Vatican made the decision based on reports of friction between Baez and the Nicaraguan government.

Pope Francis has spoken only sparingly on the protests in Nicaragua, quiescent in the face of persistent reports of violence by the regime. Indeed, when the pope issued his most direct public statement on the matter  vague calls for a peaceful resolution to the crisis  20 former Latin American presidents issued a statement criticizing him for minimizing the oppression of Nicaraguans at the hands of their government. Vatican representatives have issued lukewarm endorsement of the protesters, recommending a renewed commitment to reconciliation and electoral reform. Absent from these statements were any mention of the defense of protesters by representatives of the Catholic Church  much less any demand that government officials ensure the security of the clergy in the country.

Last year, Vice President Mike Pence condemned the Ortega governments crackdown on religious freedom, declaring it was waging war on the Catholic Church and those calling for democracy and national dialogue. And Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met recently with Nicaraguan refugees forced into exile in Costa Rica, bearing witness to the regimes systematic human-rights violations. But still nothing from the pope.

Ortega managed to hoodwink the Catholic Church before  professing a love of Jesus, supporting some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the world, and even creating a kind of parallel (pro-government) church by co-opting members of the clergy into his Sandinista political movement. Now, the Church is on the front lines in Nicaraguas battle for democracy, with clergy and parishioners almost uniformly rejecting Ortegas cruel policies. Yet the Churchs leader remains largely on the sidelines, silent in the face of attacks on members of his clergy and Catholic protesters, who deserve support from their leader in Rome.

Ryan C. Berg is a research fellow for Latin America at the American Enterprise Institute. Frances Tilney Burke is a visiting research fellow in foreign and defense policy at AEI.

More from National Review
There are concerns that hundreds of school children in NSW could have been exposed to coronavirus after a year one student attended class after returning from mainland China.

Despite advice from the NSW state government that students who had recently travelled to mainland China should voluntarily stay home for two weeks, the student attended class at Oran Park Public School within the advised 14-day quarantine period in Sydneys southwest.

The student was sent home after teachers became aware of the trip.

In a letter to parents, the schools principal, Donna Shevlin, assured them that the safety of the students was a top priority for the school.

A student who recently returned from China has attended school within the medical advice provided by the NSW Health of 14 days self-isolation for people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus, the letter read.

The student attended class at Oran Park Public School in Sydneys south-west. Source: Google

Once aware of this situation, the school immediately excluded the student from school for 14 days, with a return date of 10th February.

The NSW Department of Education confirmed in a statement the student has not shown symptoms of the coronavirus, and the school is following the precautionary measures advised by NSW Health. The department advised the student was at school for four days before being sent home.

Once aware of this situation, the school immediately excluded this student from school for the 14 days, with a return date of 10 February.

Parents were informed within 24 hours. The teacher of the class in which the student is normally part of is following recommended hygiene practices, including students regularly washing their hands and covering their mouths if sneezing or coughing.

According to the schools latest annual report, there were 1150 students enrolled in the 2018 school year.

Fifth case confirmed in Queensland

A fifth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Queensland, taking the total number of confirmed cases in Australia to 15.

A 37-year-old Chinese woman travelling in Queensland was confirmed to have the virus on Thursday evening.

Story continues

The woman was travelling with the same tour group as the previously confirmed cases and is currently isolated in a stable condition at Gold Coast Hospital.

All of the infected people are from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.

Earlier on Thursday, a North Queensland primary school student who recently returned from China with flu-like symptoms was cleared of coronavirus.

Paramedics were called to Berserker Street State School in North Rockhampton about 12.30pm.

Australian evacuees board a bus after arriving at the airport on Christmas Island on Thursday. Source: AAP

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles on Thursday rushed a law through state parliament granting health officers three months to force suspected patients into quarantine or isolation, and undergoing medical checks and tests.

This fifth case in the state brings the number of confirmed cases in Australia to 15: five in Queensland, four each in NSW and Victoria and two in South Australia.

with AAP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
While sitting in the dentist's office, Hollings Cancer Center researcher Matthew Carpenter, Ph.D., of the Medical University of South Carolina, had a bright idea.

As he received his goody bag with dental hygiene products, he wondered why not conduct a study and have primary care providers do the same thing for their patients who use tobacco. The bags would contain educational material, free lozenges and tobacco cessation medications to encourage people to stop smoking.

Results from the study, recently published online in Addiction, weren't surprising to Carpenter. He and colleagues found providing smokers with a free, two?week starter kit of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) increased quit attempts, use of stop smoking medications, and smoking abstinence as compared with standard care in a primary care setting.

"Not a day went by in this study when I was not excited by it because I knew that we were having an impact on real patients in the real world with their doctors," Carpenter said. "This gets the patients to know that their doctor cares, and they have something they can use right now."

Carpenter believes a smoker's annual visit to the doctor creates the perfect window of opportunity for a physician to provide a quick intervention, while providing tools to help smokers begin the process of quitting. Along with advice on why and how a patient should stop smoking, a person should be able to walk away with a product they can use immediately to try and stop their dependence on nicotine.

"About 70 percent of smokers will see their primary care providers on a yearly basis," Carpenter said. "It's a clinical encounter to do something, but I think we can offer them tools other than words."

In the U.S., 34 million adults currently smoke cigarettes and nearly 70 percent of U.S. adults who smoke say they want to quit, according to the 2020 Surgeon General's Report.

The $2 million study, Tobacco Intervention in Primary Care: Treatment Opportunities for Providers, also known as Tip Top, included 22 clinics throughout South Carolina and was conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA). A total of 1,245 patients participated in the study.

The study included 652 patients from 12 of the clinics who only received advice on the importance of quitting smoking. The remaining 593 patients at 10 clinics were provided with samples of medication to use including nicotine patches and lozenges. During the study, all smokers were advised to quit through a regular conversation with their physician.

They also received information and resources to help them quit smoking and information about Quitline, a tobacco cessation service available through a toll-free telephone number.

Carpenter said that the study was well-received by primary care providers, who welcomed the goody bag as a conversation starter. "The doctors are giving something that is concrete and immediately actionable," Carpenter said. "The patient can go home and use the products that day."

During this study, 26 percent of patients who received the NRT samples achieved at least one week without smoking. "If you can achieve seven days in a row of not smoking, I'm going to call that success," Carpenter said.

The study also found that 12 percent of patients were quit at final follow-up (six months). While this may seem a modest amount, it's more than 150 patients who potentially will save thousands in medical costs if they are able to quit smoking, all for just the cost of a $70 intervention. "That has to be cost-effective no matter you slice it," says Carpenter.

On average, it takes a patient seven to 10 attempts of trying to quit smoking before becoming successful, so interventions such as this can be helpful in the process. Even for the smokers who didn't use the products, it planted a seed, he said.

An interesting finding during this study showed that the smoking cessation bags with information and medication were more beneficial to patients who had a lower income, lower education or if they were in the more rural areas of the state. The finding on income, education, and rurality is an area Carpenter would like to study more in the future.

"It's about access," Carpenter said. "We're helping people who are struggling out there to find and succeed in treatment."

Given the toll of smoking-related health conditions, Carpenter said he hopes insurance companies will see the value and provide funding in the future so that primary care physicians could offer this to their patients. The concept also could be used for smokers who are leaving the hospital, or even those who have been incarcerated.

"These samples can be given out almost universally - even to smokers who may not want to quit and who may not yet be ready to try medications," Carpenter said. "It's a pragmatic and brief intervention that takes minutes to deliver and is scalable as an intervention to be used a variety of settings."

Smoking cessation reduces the risk of twelve cancers, including cancers of the lung; larynx; oral cavity and pharynx; esophagus; pancreas; bladder; stomach; colon and rectum; liver; cervix; kidney; and acute myeloid leukemia.

Carpenter said the intervention provides patients a starting point to their journey of becoming smoke-free and it's simple to use for primary care providers, who don't feel pressured to have a long lecture. They can just offer their patients support.

"This is about cancer prevention. Smoking cessation is cancer prevention," Carpenter said.

###
analysis

In a watershed moment for international justice, on 23 January the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered the government of Myanmar to, among others, immediately protect the Rohingya from further persecution.

The ICJ - not to be confused with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and criminal courts in general - deals with legal disputes between states. As politicians argue about whether or not genocide is happening in Myanmar, The Gambia left it to independent judges to decide. So, in this case, the ICJ became the first step towards state accountability that could result in individual prosecutions on charges linked to genocide at courts like the ICC.

The two states in this case are, in many ways, worlds apart. The Gambia seemingly has little connection to Myanmar with 11 500 km between them. In bringing the matter, the West African country asked the ICJ for an urgent ruling and provisional order to prevent any further acts of violence or destruction, and to preserve any evidence of genocide against the Rohingya.

The order is provisional until the ICJ deals with whether Myanmar is in fact carrying out genocide against the Rohingya people. Already, the court's decision said that some of the actions outlined by The Gambia could amount to genocide.

As politicians argue about genocide in Myanmar, The Gambia left it to independent judges to decide

How could the smallest country in continental Africa (only five island nations are smaller) bring such a mammoth case to the ICJ? In international law, the size of a country doesn't matter - all have an equal footing. To strengthen its case, The Gambia's application was backed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, a group of 57 mainly Muslim countries of which it is part.

The case, which tackles whether the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar are being specifically targeted based on their religion, is significant in three other ways. First, it is instrumental in (re)shaping how the world views the global nature of international crimes such as genocide.

Second, it shows the role the ICJ plays in interpreting international conventions such as the 1948 Genocide Convention. Third, once the ICJ deals with the substantive arguments, it will clarify whether or not genocide is occurring in Myanmar, which in turn will enable decisions to be taken on situations in other countries. The ICJ decision will also outline the responsibilities of states to prevent or stop genocide.

The Gambia relied on witness testimonies and reporting from numerous official sources including a United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission in Myanmar to allege that Myanmar had committed atrocities against its people. Myanmar's government disputes the claims and argues that it is responding to a terrorist threat. It says its actions are aimed at ending an 'internal armed conflict' with the Arakan Army in Rakhine State (where many Rohingya come from).

The ICJ's provisional order on Myanmar could serve as a political catalyst for action

It's worth emphasising that just days before the ICJ's interim order, Myanmar's own independent commission of inquiry found that crimes against humanity, including sexual violence, were committed in Rakhine.

However the commission didn't find evidence of genocidal intent by the state. It also recommended domestic prosecutions - something Myanmar's government says it is committed to. Since the crisis started, Myanmar has refused entry to UN investigators, meaning evidence is being collected from outside the country - mostly in neighbouring Bangladesh.

In the provisional order, the ICJ couldn't - yet - rule on whether the Rohingya were potential victims of ongoing criminal acts directly targeting them based on their ethnicity and religion with the intention to exterminate them in whole or in part. This will come later when the ICJ rules on whether the Genocide Convention applies in this case and, if so, whether genocide can be said to be happening in Myanmar.

Regardless, already the ICJ's provisional order could serve as a (political) catalyst for action. Indeed, by ordering Myanmar not only to protect the Rohingya against persecution but also preserve any evidence, the ball is already in the country's court. But with Myanmar pushing for the problems to be dealt with internally, international prosecutions would only occur if the state itself was found to be instrumental in a genocide.

Whatever its motives, The Gambia's ICJ actions offer important lessons on pushing for accountability

It's fairly new territory for international justice, but should the ICJ find in favour of The Gambia's arguments, this could put pressure on the UN Security Council to refer the whole situation to the ICC. This won't happen just yet.

Close Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox Top Headlines Gambia Legal Affairs International Organisations By submitting above, you agree to our privacy policy. Success! Almost finished... We need to confirm your email address. To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you. Error! Error! There was a problem processing your submission. Please try again later.

Exercising caution, UN Security Council members will probably use more than the final ICJ decision to determine their next steps. The ICC is already investigating the matter from across the border in Bangladesh. The Gambia's role is significant because in seeking to hold leaders accountable, it would broaden the scope of the investigations.

In bringing the case against Myanmar, The Gambia is seeking to position itself as an active participant in the international legal system. The Gambia has its own much-contested human rights record and was recently in the spotlight for crackdowns on protests. This makes it an unlikely champion for international justice and some have questioned whether its move in the Myanmar case was altruistic or an effort to whitewash its own chequered past (and present).

Whatever the motives, The Gambia's actions at the ICJ offer important lessons for other countries on pushing for accountability - whether at home or further afield.

Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, Head of Special Projects, ISS Pretoria and Karen Allen, Senior Research Advisor, Emerging Threats, ISS Pretoria
By Tali Tesar

tesartal@grinnell.edu

Ivy Schuster, a new Democratic candidate for the Iowa senate, hopes to use her position to advance issues, such as those facing women, in the state of Iowa.

Women being the minority in the legislature, theres a lot of womens issues that dont get talked about or thought about, Schuster said. She referred to the Colleges Period Day Rally in October of 2019 as drawing her attention to the issue surrounding access to feminine hygiene products.

Iowa is one of the states that still has taxation on feminine hygiene products, and its a luxury tax, Schuster said. Theyre also not covered by any of the welfare programs.  How is that not a necessity?

In addition to this specific goal, Schuster hopes to work on making sure we have quality, affordable childcare, and to make sure those childcare providers and teachers are paid a competitive and fair wage because theyre doing a really important job. She said this issue is especially salient to her as a mother of two, including two-year old Artie, who accompanies her to many of her campaign events, and to her interview with The S&B.

Schuster said her involvement with organizations like the League of Women Voters and She Counts inspired her focus on womens issues, as well as inspiring her to run in the first place. With those experiences, I had gotten to see, kind of, behind the veil at the Capitol and gotten to know our current legislators, she said. Im just like, I could totally see myself doing this and really making a difference for my community.

Schuster also works for the College at Information Technology Services. Im the training specialist. I work mostly with staff and faculty for training them on the new systems that we have on campus.  Id like to see that expanded to include working with students more because thats definitely the component Im missing most, she said.

Prior to this position, Schuster worked in the Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, supporting the music department, working with the faculty to get eReserves up, and different things to support the classes theyre doing. However, she said her favorite part of this role was working with students, helping them navigate different systems through the music department, whether its like helping them apply for scholarships or setting up their senior recital program.

Working and being a mother keeps her busy, so Schuster said she is grateful for her campaign staff. I have a team of local folks, she said. I dont have any professional coming in to help out. I have a friend doing my Facebook and website stuff.  I have a fellow thats helping me write speeches.  I have someone helping with fundraising  and then just a team of volunteers who are filling in the blanks.

Given that the current State Senator, Tim Kapuchin (R), will not seek reelection, Schuster will be up against a brand-new Republican challenger this year. Shell still need to work hard to take on the Republicans, given that Kapucian won the district by 26 percentage points in 2016. Schuster said her strategy for overcoming this gap is talking to people and making that one-on-one connection.

Having [a] base of friendly support, I think, is going to make me braver and stronger to go out and talk to people that on big ideology we might be different, Schuster said, adding, Im ready to make those connections.

Schuster encourages students hoping to get involved with her campaign to go to her website at ivyforiowa.com and sign up to volunteer.
Pakistan on Friday rejected the Indian leadership's recent statements critical of the Imran Khan government, saying the remarks were an attempt to divert attention from the growing anti-government protests.

Pakistan's Foreign Office said that the recent remarks by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were reflection of India's desperate attempts to divert attention from Jammu and Kashmir and the growing protests against the government.

"They also manifest the BJP's familiar ploy of Pakistan-bashing as part of its electoral calculations," it said.

It said that the allegations of mistreatment of minorities in Pakistan were used by the Indian leadership as a propaganda tool.

"We hope steps would be taken to hold India accountable for its illegal action and make it respect its international obligations," the FO added.

Prime Minister Modi on Thursday accused the Congress and other opposition parties of inciting protests against the CAA and the NPR and likened the Opposition's stand on the CAA to that of Pakistan, saying Islamabad spoke the same language for decades to mislead and incite Indian Muslims.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has condemned terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities, including Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in Myanmar.

Pompeo made the comments on Wednesday while launching a 27-nation International Religious Freedom Alliance, which will try to adopt a collective approach in protecting and preserving religious freedom across the world.

"We condemn terrorists and violent extremists who target religious minorities, whether they are Yezidis in Iraq, Hindus in Pakistan, Christians in northeast Nigeria, or Muslims in Burma," Pompeo said.

"We condemn blasphemy and apostasy laws that criminalize matters of the soul. We condemn the Chinese Communist Party's hostility to all faiths. We know several of you courageously pushed back against Chinese pressure by agreeing to be part of this Alliance, and we thank you for that," he said.

"Finally, our Alliance is off on the right foot as countries do their parts to advance this mission," the top American diplomat said.

Among the prominent countries to join the alliance are Australia, Brazil, the UK, Israel, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Greece. Hindus form the biggest minority community in Pakistan.

According to official estimates, 75 lakh Hindus live in Pakistan. However, according to the community, over 90 lakh Hindus are living in the country.

Majority of Pakistan's Hindu population is settled in Sindh province where they share culture, traditions and language with their Muslim fellows.

There have been several reports of forced conversion of Hindu and Sikh girls who are then married off to Muslims in Pakistan.

The All Pakistan Hindu Council on January 26 said a Hindu girl was abducted from her wedding ceremony, forced to convert to Islam and married off to a Muslim man in Sindh province.

India on January 28 summoned a senior official of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi and issued a strong demarche over the abduction of the Hindu girl.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks at a media conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Jan. 15, 2020. (Rohan Thomson/Getty Images)

Australians Set to Leave on Second Flight From Wuhan to Be Quarantined in Northern Territory

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced Friday that its evacuees on a second Qantas-assisted evacuation flight out of the coronavirus-hit Wuhan will be quarantined at a disused construction workers village in the Northern Territory.

Morrison told reporters in Townsville that the government is in consultation with the local community to finalize arrangements.

The quarantine location, the Manigurr-ma worker accommodation village at Howard Springs, was built in 2012 by Japanese energy firm Inpex to house some 3,500 of its workers. They were employed to construct Inpexs A$55 billion ($40 billion) Ichthys gas plant on Darwin Harbour, AAP reported. The location was handed to the Northern Territory government on low rent in May 2019.

Morrison explained that the Christmas Island location currently used to accommodate Wuhan evacuees is no longer able to take more people for quarantine.

The configuration and the composition of the accommodation at the Phosphate Hill and construction camp sites does not suit the purposes of quarantine because of the inability to properly segregate and manage the population in that facility, he said.

It is simply a configuration issue.

Morrison also urged Australian citizens, residents, and their immediate family who are in Chinaincluding those located outside of Hubei provinceto seize the opportunity to evacuate via the commercial flights still available coming out of mainland China, adding that the Australian government cant guarantee further assisted departure arrangements.

The flight is scheduled to leave Wuhan overnight, according to The Guardian.

About 280 Australians are currently quarantined on Christmas Island after being evacuated from Wuhan.

As of Friday, 15 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Australia: 5 in Queensland, 4 in New South Wales, 4 in Victoria, and 2 in South Australia, according to the Australian Department of Health.

Two deaths from coronavirus have been reported outside mainland Chinaone in the Philippines and another in Hong Kong.

Australian health authorities are testing another 165 people who have shown symptoms of the virus.

Reuters contributed to this report.
William and Kimberley Rikard-Bell, 39, met at university before romance eventually blossomed. A near-death experience for William weeks after their engagement proved a turning point in their lives  in more ways than one.

William and Kimberley Rikard-Bell. After William's accident, Kimberley helped with his care including his emotional recovery. Credit:Pip Farquharson

WILLIAM: I met Kimberley at Sydney Uni in 1999, through mutual friends. I was doing Liberal Studies, she was studying to be a vet. Kimberley was good-looking, self-assured, measured. Shed grown up in Temora, in south-west NSW, and had a strong family ethos, as do I, coming from a close family.

While at uni, I worked in a bottle shop. Id been exposed to great wine but never thought of it as a career. At the end of 2000, I took a break from uni and travelled around Australia. I met some wonderful people at wine tastings. By 2001, I was studying winemaking at Wagga Waggas Charles Sturt University. I loved how it combined the academic, the physical and the creative.

In May 2002, there was a joint friends 21st birthday in Bathurst, and a group of us stayed at my parents house. The next morning, we were hungover and Kimberley jumped into bed with me. We were chatting and Mum walked in. It looked suss, though nothing had happened, but I thought at the time there was more to it.


Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa with PM Narendra Modi Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday embarked on a two-day state-visit to India, during which the two neighbours were expected to finalise an implementation agenda for a $450 million line of credit offered by New Delhi. Mahinda Rajapaksa was accompanied by a 10-member delegation, reports Xinhua news agency. In a statement on Monday, Rajapaksa's office said that the line of credit was announced by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa state-visit to New Delhi last November shortly after being elected, the Daily Financial Times reported. While $400 million will be for infrastructure projects, $50 million will be given as a grant for Sri Lanka to fund security needs including resources needed to fight terrorism, the office added. The Prime Minister will hold high-level bilateral meetings with Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other senior government officials. Following his high-level engagements, Prime Minister Rajapaksa is scheduled to visit several historic religious sites including, Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodhgaya and Tirupati. This is Mahinda Rajapaksa's first visit to India since assuming office on November 18, 2019, and he is the third Sri Lankan government leader to visit New Delhi following the presidential election last year. Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had also visited New Delhi earlier this year.




Bidar on Friday was put on the aviation map of India after the first direct flight from the city to Bengaluru under the was launched by Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola.

TruJet will operate the daily flight to and from Bidar and Bengaluru.

It will leave Bengaluru at 11.40 AM and reach Bidar at 1.05 PM.

The return flight will leave Bidar at 1.25 PM and reach Bengaluru at 3.15 PM, an official release said.

It said the airport has been remodeled at a cost of Rs 11 crore under the union government's Regional Connectivity Scheme-Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (RCS-UDAN)



The cost was shared jointly by the state and central government, it said.

Kharola said the newly built airport inks the "commitment and perseverance" of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to establish substantial air connectivity in India.

The inauguration of Bidar airport marks the operationalisation of the eighth airport in the Karnataka region, said the press release.

Prior to Bidar, flight services from Kalaburagi to Bengaluru had been started last year.

The release said MoCA undertook the task of remodeling Bidar Air Force Station for commercial aviation purposes as people frequently had to undertake a 11 hour journey by either train or bus to Bengaluru for all administrative work.
Sterilization in a school (Photo: vtv.vn)

According to Vietnam News Agency, 55 cities and provinces decided to extend Lunar New Year holiday for students for another week, four provinces of Khanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Dien Bien and Nghe An extend school closure until further notice, and schools in Ben Tre province were closed for one day for sterilization.



Sterilization has been conducted at schools of all the provinces. So far, 23 cities and provinces have completed the work while the remaining localities will have fulfilled it before February 9th.

Communication work has been enhanced to raise awareness among teachers, managers, staff and students of the virus and prevention measures.

Sixteen universities have asked their students to resume their study on February 16th to protect themselves from the novel virus.

In case of prolonged school closure, the school year will be rescheduled to end later than May 31st, and high school students will take their graduation exam later than in previous years.

Teachers at schools, colleges and universities nationwide are applying a wide range of teaching methods to help their students learn online during the school closure.

Schools that resumed study on February 3rd are continuing sterilization, providing masks for students and staff as well as using thermometers and anti-bacterial gels or liquids.

They also requested students to report their travel schedules while keeping a close watch on their health and joining hands with local medical stations so as to arrange isolation rooms if necessary.

Hanoi-Prague air route to be launched in March

The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam has licensed Bamboo Airways to operate a direct route between Hanoi and Prague.

The airline will operate two flights per week, which will be increased depending on the market demand.

Photo for illustration (Photo: brandsvietnam.com)

The estimated flight time is 11 hours and 20 minutes from Hanoi to Prague, and 10 hours 20 minutes from Prague to Hanoi, significantly shorter than the 14-19 hours at present due to transit in a European or Middle East city.



According to a representative of Bamboo Airways, the first flight will be launched on March 29th.

In early January, Bamboo Airways announced cooperation with AIAREPS Group - a leading aviation service solution provider in Europe which has over 25 years of experience and 67 representative offices in over 48 countries, to prepare for the operation of the route.

In addition, the airline also opened its international agent in the Czech Republic, aiming to cover all of Europes famous political and tourism centres in 2021-2025.

Viettel soars in global valuable brand ranking

Vietnams largest telecommunication service provider Viettel has climbed 126 positions to the 355th position in the Brand Finance Global 500 Ranking in 2020.

Logo of Viettel

According to Brand Finance, a London-based branded business valuation consultancy, Viettel is placed 102nd in Asia and 7th in Southeast Asia with its current value at USD5.8 billion, up 34 percent compared to 2019,



The telecommunication service provider currently occupies 53 percent of Vietnams mobile network market.

The Brand Finance Global 500 list covers 10 sectors in 29 markets, using a sample size of 50,000 adults over 18 years old. For the latest ranking, surveys were conducted online from September to December 2019./.
PLA transportation support team helps build makeshift hospitals in Wuhan

PLA Daily

Source: China Military Online

Editor: Chen Lufan



2020-02-06 21:34:21

WUHAN, Feb. 6 -- On Monday evening a transport support team of the People's Liberation Army assumed a new mission of transporting supplies for the building of three makeshift hospitals in Wuhan, the epicenter of coronavirus outbreak.

On February 3, local authority decided to build three makeshift hospitals in Hongshan Gymnasium, Wuhan Parlor convention center, and Wuhan International Conference& Exhibition Center to admit patients with mild symptoms, in a bid to accelerate the ward turnover rate and facilitate the triage of the infected. Thousands of new beds will be added to the three new makeshift hospitals. But for a city faced within adequate transportation, it is quite a test to have all the beds and other supplies ready within short time.

At the request of the Wuhan Epidemic Prevention and Control Headquarters, the PLA's transportation support team undertook the transport mission and mobilized 50 vehicles to load materials on Monday evening. Officers and soldiers of the team, having just finished transporting living supplies to outlets in Wuhan during the daytime on Monday, engaged in the new mission with little rest.

Senior Colonel Jiang Zuquan, chief of the PLA transportation support team, said that upon receiving the order, officers and soldiers have been racing against time with tenacity, determining to help curb the spread of the epidemic in Wuhan.

It is known that the three makeshift hospitals can accommodate 800, 2,000 and 1,000 beds respectively and the patients admitted will be treated with light weight instrument and medication.

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GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FGL Holdings (NYSE: FG) ("F&G" or the "Company"), a leading provider of fixed indexed annuities and life insurance, today announced that the Company has entered into a merger agreement pursuant to which Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE: FNF) ("FNF"), the leading provider of title insurance and closing and settlement services to the real estate and mortgage industries, will acquire F&G for $12.50 per share, representing an equity value of approximately $2.7 billion.

The transaction was approved by a Special Committee of F&G Directors, a Special Committee of FNF Directors and the FNF Board of Directors. Under the terms of the merger agreement, holders of F&G's ordinary shares (other than FNF and its subsidiaries) may elect to receive either (i) $12.50 per share in cash or (ii) 0.2558 of a share of FNF common stock for each ordinary share of F&G they own. This is subject to an election and proration mechanism such that the aggregate consideration paid to such holders of F&G's ordinary shares will consist of approximately 60% cash and 40% FNF common stock. Upon closing of the transaction, F&G shareholders will own approximately 7% of the outstanding shares of FNF common stock. This represents a premium of 28% to F&G's 60-day volume-weighted average price and a premium of 17% to F&G's all-time high closing stock price following its combination with CF Corp. of $10.70 prior to February 6, 2020, when the media reported a potential transaction.

FNF currently owns 7.9% of F&G's outstanding ordinary shares and all of F&G's Series B Preferred shares, and, in connection with and immediately prior to the closing of the proposed acquisition, will acquire all outstanding F&G Series A preferred shares, with a face value of approximately $321 million as of December 31, 2019. Including the assumption of F&G's $550 million of senior notes due 2025, FNF's pro forma debt to total capital is expected to be approximately 26% at the close of the transaction.

F&G is enhancing and extending its long-term investment management partnership with Blackstone, which, following the close of the transaction, will continue under FNF and includes Blackstone's world-class, embedded investment support functions. This agreement will continue to provide the Company with access to Blackstone's superior investment management and strategic oversight capabilities to drive additional value creation for F&G and policyholders, while continuing F&G's current focus on high-quality investment grade assets under the current F&G investment team.

"We are pleased to join forces with FNF, a world-class company we know well and respect," said Chris Blunt, President and CEO of FGL Holdings. "This agreement, which offers immediate value to F&G shareholders and compelling benefits to our stakeholders, will provide a meaningful platform for our business as we continue to build the F&G of the future. We are excited to enter into the next phase of growth with FNF and are confident that by combining our complementary businesses, we will be better positioned to carry out our mission of helping customers turn their aspirations into reality."

"We are incredibly proud of the significant transformation we have achieved since the 2017 CF Corp. transaction: a new world-class management team, accelerated sales growth, enhanced ROE, and doubling of AOI," said Chinh E. Chu, Co-Chairman of F&G. "We have tremendous respect for Bill Foley and FNF and are excited about this next chapter for F&G as the Company will have substantial opportunities to leverage FNF's scale and platform to accelerate value creation for shareholders."

Strategic and Financial Benefits of the Transaction

Enhances financial strength and access to deployable capital to support growth.

Improves ability to leverage FNF's institutional relationships with banks, providing an opportunity to accelerate F&G's entry into this channel.

Maintains F&G's management team and unique, deep relationship with Blackstone. Blackstone has helped F&G successfully reposition its portfolio to achieve higher investment performance while minimizing risk and upgrading its financial strength rating.

Leverages FNF's core expertise in capital allocation and operational excellence to augment infrastructure investments.

Supports F&G's next phase of growth by benefitting from FNF's long-term strategic oversight and ownership track record of sector consolidation, capital allocation and value creation.

Timing and Approvals

The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory clearances and approval by F&G shareholders.

Following the close of the transaction, F&G will operate as a subsidiary of FNF. F&G is expected to remain headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, and will continue to be led by Chris Blunt and F&G's current management team.

The terms of the merger agreement provide that F&G will be permitted, with the assistance of its legal and financial advisors, to actively solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties during a 40-day "go-shop" period from the date of the merger agreement until Wednesday, March 18, 2020. F&G may terminate the merger agreement to enter into a superior proposal with specified bidders identified in this period for a termination fee of $39,966,000, subject to the terms and conditions of the merger agreement. There is no guarantee that the "go-shop" process will result in any alternative acquisition proposal or that any alternative acquisition proposal will be identified at any time, or approved or completed. F&G does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the "go-shop" process unless and until F&G's Special Committee and/or F&G's Board of Directors makes a determination requiring further disclosure.

Advisors

Credit Suisse is serving as financial advisor to F&G, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is serving as legal counsel. Houlihan Lokey is serving as financial advisor to the Special Committee of F&G Directors, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as legal counsel.

Conference Call

FNF will host a call with investors and analysts to discuss the transaction on Friday, February 7, 2020, beginning at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The event can be accessed the following ways:

For conference call, dial 877.451.6152 (U.S. callers) or 201.389.0879 (International callers). The access code is 13698990.

A replay of the event will be available on the Events and Multimedia page of the FNF Investor Relations website at fnf.com through February 21, 2020 by dialing 844.512.2921 (U.S. callers) or 412.317.6671 (International callers).The access code is 13698990.

Forward-Looking Statements

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This press release contains, and certain oral statements made by our representatives from time to time may contain, forward-looking statements relating to the Company, including statements relating to the Mergers and related matters. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the F&G's and FNF's control, that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ materially from those set forth in, or implied by, such statements. These statements are based on the beliefs and assumptions of the management of F&G and FNF, respectively. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "believes," "expects," "intends," "anticipates," "plans," "seeks," "estimates," "projects," "may," "will," "could," "might," or "continues" or similar expressions. Factors that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ include, without limitation: (1) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement with FNF; (2) the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against F&G or FNF following the announcement of the merger agreement and the transactions contemplated therein; (3) the inability to complete the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, including due to failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of FNF or other conditions to closing in the merger agreement; (4) delays in obtaining or the inability to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (including approval from insurance regulators) required to complete the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement; (5) the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could give rise to the termination of the merger agreement or could otherwise cause the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement to fail to close; (6) the risk that the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement disrupt current plans and operations of F&G or FNF as a result of the announcement thereof; (7) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the management of F&G and FNF to grow and manage growth their respective businesses profitably and to retain their key employees; (8) costs related to the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement; (9) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (10) the risk that the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement will not qualify for their intended tax treatment; (11) adverse legal and regulatory developments or determinations or adverse changes in, or interpretations of, U.S. or other foreign laws, rules or regulations, including tax laws, rules and regulations, that could delay or prevent completion of the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement, cause the terms of such transactions to be modified or change the anticipated tax consequences of such transactions; (12) the possibility that F&G or FNF may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and (13) other risks and uncertainties identified in F&G's and FNF's filings with the SEC. F&G cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Neither F&G nor FNF undertakes or accepts any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, subject to applicable law.

Additional Information about the Proposed Transaction and Where to Find It:

This press release relates to a proposed transaction between the FNF and F&G which may become the subject of a registration statement and relevant solicitation materials filed by FNF with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). This press release is not a substitute for the registration statement and relevant solicitation materials that FNF may file with the SEC or any other documents which FNF may send to its or the Company's shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. Investors and security holders are urged to carefully and entirely read the registration statement and relevant solicitation materials and all other relevant documents, as well as any amendments or supplements to these documents, if and when they become available because they will contain important information about the proposed transaction and related matters. All such documents, if filed, would be available free of charge at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). In addition, documents would be available for free from the Company by contacting Jamie Lillis, Managing Director, Solebury Trout, 203-428-3223, [email protected].

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release is not intended to and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote of approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offer of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

About FGL Holdings

FGL Holdings-the F&G family of insurance companies-is committed to helping Americans prepare for and live comfortably in their retirement. Through its subsidiaries, F&G is a leading provider of annuity and life insurance products. FGL Holdings, domiciled in the Cayman Islands, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FG. For more information, please visit www.fglife.bm.

Contacts:

Investors:

Jon Bayer

[email protected]

410.487.8898

Media:

Renee Hamlen

[email protected]

515.850.5704

Jonathan Keehner / Tim Ragones / Kate Clark

Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher

212-355-4449

SOURCE FGL Holdings

Related Links

http://www.fglife.bm


This is it. After months of build-up, buzz and baffling snubs, the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony is almost upon us, finally drawing a line under another noisy and eventful awards season. Weeks from now, we'll have already forgotten who won Best Supporting Actor, but hey, it sure is fun to get caught up in cinema's most glamorous circus.

On Sunday evening, more than 500 feet of red carpet will be rolled out at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, California, welcoming the world's most beautiful people to the awards ceremony to end all awards ceremonies. Surprises should be few and far between, but anything can happen on the night. This is, after all, an awards show that has a long tradition of breaking hearts and, indeed, records. Yep, some very strange things have happened at the Oscars over the years. And here's just a few...

The worst Best Pictures

Sometimes, the wrong film takes the gold. We saw it happen last year when Peter Farrelly's overly sentimental, racism-on-the-road drama, Green Book, somehow managed to topple Roma and BlackKklansman for the top prize. Paul Haggis's Crash, Rob Marshall's Chicago and Bruce Beresford's Driving Miss Daisy are just some of the dodgy flicks that have conquered in the Best Picture category.

But the most bonkers win of all is the Robert Zemeckis film Forrest Gump. Do you know which other films were nominated the year Forrest took home the top prize? The Shawshank Redemption and - wait for it - Pulp Fiction. That's one hell of a howler.

What, they've never won an Oscar?

Some of the greatest living actors of all time - think Jake Gyllenhaal, Woody Harrelson, Annette Bening - have yet to win an Oscar. Legends have come and gone without ever getting their hands on cinema's most prestigious prize (Marilyn Monroe was never nominated; Richard Burton acquired zero wins from seven nominations; Alfred Hitchcock was constantly deprived of a Best Director trophy - the list goes on).

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The inimitable Amy Adams has been nominated so many times (six) without a win, that there are entire sections of Twitter devoted to Adams' perennial misfortune at awards ceremonies. Perhaps one day, justice will be served.

The king and queen of Oscar bad luck

Sticking with unlucky performers, the record for most nominations without a win in the acting categories belongs to Glenn Close (seven nominations) and the late, great Peter O'Toole (eight nominations).

In 2002, O'Toole received an Honorary Oscar for his achievement in filmmaking - a lifetime award of sorts - to make up for half a century's worth of bad decision-making on the Academy's part. No such luck, as yet, for Ms Close.

The Marisa Tomei Oscar win was real

We might, one day, forget all about the bloke who started the rumour that Jack Palance had read out the wrong name when awarding Marisa Tomei with the 1993 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for her breakout role in My Cousin Vinny.

The foolish man we refer to is US film critic Rex Reed, who kick-started the Oscars' most upsetting myth after Tomei seemingly came out of nowhere - with minimum success in other awards ceremonies - to claim her Oscar.

Plus, Palance's presenting behaviour that night was, erm, a tad odd. Still, the Academy was forced to issue a statement (if Palance had read the wrong name, they'd have swooped in and saved the day) and Tomei later admitted that the entire controversy was rather hurtful.

As for the La La Land / Moonlight fiasco of 2017, well, that's exactly what happens when presenters are, in fact, handed the wrong card. You already know how that one played out.

Marlon Brando declined his Oscar

In 1973, Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his startling, career-defining role as Vito Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather. The thing is, Brando decided not to show up on the night and, instead, asked Sacheen Littlefeather, an apache actress and activist for Native American rights, to represent him and to read a statement, live on stage, explaining his absence.

It was in protest of Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans and though Brando's move didn't go down well with everyone, it did make world headlines and was considered a huge step forward for the American Indian Movement. Can you imagine anyone declining an Oscar in 2020? Of course not.

The worst Original Songs

The Best Original Song category is littered with criminal clangers, from Joe Brooks' You Light Up My Life (as featured in the romantic drama of the same name) to Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were (likewise).

But our, erm, personal favourite has to be Stevie Wonder's I Just Called to Say I Love You. Wonder's bestselling single is, arguably, his worst (it was written for the 1984 romantic comedy, The Woman In Red, with Kelly LeBrock), and yet it still managed to beat Kenny Loggins' Footloose and Ray Parker Jr's Ghostbusters theme to win Best Original Song. What a world.

Saoirse Ronan holds a record of her own

One of Ireland's greatest actresses, Saoirse Ronan, has, thus far, picked up four Oscar nominations, receiving her first at the tender age of 13 for her sensational breakthrough in Joe Wright's Atonement. That makes her the seventh youngest Best Supporting Actress nominee in history.

Who is the youngest ever recipient of an Academy Award? That would be Tatum O'Neal, who was just 10 years old when she won Best Supporting Actress in 1974 for her debut turn in Paper Moon. The oldest Oscar winner in history is James Ivory, the acclaimed screenwriter, whose marvellous work on 2017's Call Me By Your Name won him an Oscar at the ripe old age of 89.

Titanic and La La Land are the Academy's favourite films Well, sort of. Alongside All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land share the record for most nominations received by a single film (14). Meanwhile, just three films have won 11 Oscars (still the record number to beat): Ben-Hur, Titanic and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (the latter won every Oscar it was nominated for).

The Oscars can last forever

Well, again, sort of. But the longest Oscars ceremony in history did, at one point, threaten to stretch over two days, with the 74th ceremony in 2002, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg, clocking in at an arse-numbing four hours and 23 minutes. The shortest ceremony in Oscars history (though it wasn't televised) was the very first bash, at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, on May 16, 1929. All 15 Oscars on the night were handed out in just 15 minutes. Now that's how you do it.

Just one woman has won Best Director

Five female directors have been nominated over the years: Lina Wertmuller (1977) for Seven Beauties; Jane Campion (1994) for The Piano; Sofia Coppola (2004) for Lost In Translation; Kathryn Bigelow (2010) for The Hurt Locker and Greta Gerwig (2018) for Lady Bird. But yes, Bigelow remains the only female director to win an Oscar. Madness.
EVENTS

Comfort Food Challenge supports Family Promise

Family Promise of Greater Helena is gearing up for the Comfort Food Challenge on Sunday, Feb. 9, at the Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds. The event will be held from 4-6:30 p.m. Tickets are available now.

The Comfort Food Challenge is an annual event allowing attendees a chance to sample a variety of yummy bites from the best cooks in town. The professionals preparing special treats include Mackenzie River Pizza, Bert and Ernies, The Hub, Legal Tender, Bennys Mediterranean Grill, Chili OBrians, Wheat Montana and Silver Star Steakhouse. Alongside these professionals are the private master chefs from Our Lady of the Valley, South Hills Christian Church, First Christian Church, Alliance Church, St. Johns, St. Peters Cathedral, Covenant Methodist, St. Marys, First Presbyterian, Our Redeemers and others. You can sample delights ranging from tiny tacos to cowboy stew, quiche to grilled cheese bites, then you can top it off with a piece of homemade pie from the Helena Womens Club.

There will be live and silent auction items as well as raffle prizes. Tickets will also be sold for a chance to win a diamond journey pendant from Diamond Dreams.

Cranium Cafe program series continues

Cranium Cafe, a program of Helena Community Connections, is a brain health workshop featuring brain health exercises and education in a relaxed, fun environment.

Participants learn and practice activities to keep the brain healthy as it ages. Nanette Whitman-Holmes, life enrichment director at Touchmark, facilitates. The series continues on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Building Your Resilience: Finding Meaning in Adversity is the series title. Psychologist, Molly Birkholm, presents.

Bring a brown bag lunch. Other refreshments are provided. Cranium Cafe is free, however non-perishables for Helena Food Share are suggested as a donation. Cranium Cafe begins at noon at 2330 E. Broadway. All programs occur in handicapped accessible facilities and all HCC programs are life enrichment for those over 50. Contact Nanette at 449-4900 for more information. Visit www.bridgeshcc.org.

Trap-release workshop upcoming

Footloose Montana will present a trap-release workshop from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 16, at Montana Wild Outdoor Education Center, 2668 Broadwater Ave.

Trapping season is at its peak. What will you do if your best friend steps in a trap? Traps are hidden and baited. Traps are indiscriminate. Traps can be almost anywhere.

Topics at the presentation include:

What to look for to avoid traps

First aid

Hands-on practice releasing traps

What to carry with you to save your pet

This event is free and open to the public.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Gianforte honors three Helena-area Veterans

Congressman Greg Gianforte recently honored three Montana veterans for their service to country and their communities.

At the American Legion Post #2 in Helena, Gianforte presented the 2019 Montana Congressional Veteran Commendation to U.S. Army veteran Dave Cogley of Clancy, U.S. Air Force veteran Karen Semple of Montana City, and U.S. Army veteran Bill White of Helena.

Gianforte presented each veteran with an American flag that was flown over the U.S. Capitol on Veterans Day. He also gave the recipients a copy of the remarks he made about them in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Rotary Club meeting at new location

The Rotary Club of Helena invites new and existing members to join us for lunch every Wednesday at noon in our new meeting location at Downstairs at the Brewhouse, 939 Getchell St.

Rotary is a global network of 1.2 million neighbors, friends, leaders, and problem-solvers who come together to make positive, lasting change in communities at home and abroad. Our motto is Service Above Self.

For over 100 years, the Rotary Club of Helena has led service projects for our community. Some of their current projects include maintaining a cabin at the YMCA Camp Child, supporting the robotics and after-school programs at Exploration Works, providing resources to children and classrooms in Helena area public schools, and (new this spring) has proposed and working to build an ADA compliant trail on Mount Helena. We also offer an annual scholarship to college-bound high students from our community. At meetings, members share news about completed and upcoming service opportunities and each week features a new and interesting speaker.

For more information, join us for lunch any Wednesday at noon at Downstairs at the Brew House or contact Brett Clark, club president at 406-457-2044 or Rex Walsh, membership chair at 406-431-6484 or at rexwalsh2018@gmail.com.

Applications being accepted for Miss Montana, Miss Outstanding Teen

Montana young women 17-25 and teens have the opportunity to earn college scholarships and learn leadership skills by entering the Miss Montana Competition or Miss Montanas Outstanding Teen competition for teens age 13-17 June 18-20 in Glendive.

Contestants are judged on interview, talent, social impact statement and on stage question. Teens are also judged on fitness.

Miss Montana contestants, age 17-25 receive a $950 scholarship for competing but have the opportunity to win additional scholarship money for community service, academics, being in the top five, best interview, photogenic and other areas. More than $300,000 in cash and applied scholarships are available. Teens 13-17 earn at least $150 for competing. A contestant must be a resident of Montana or, if from another state, must be enrolled full time at a Montana college. Applications are available to download at www.missmontana.com and are due by March 15 along with the $200 sponsor fee.

Miss Montana will advance to compete in the 100th year anniversary off Miss America. During her year as Montanas ambassador, Miss Montana shares her social impact mission with students on her Crown to Classroom Tour. Miss Montanas Outstanding Teen goes on to compete as Miss Americas Outstanding Teen in Orlando in early August.

The Miss America organization is one of the largest suppliers of scholarships for young women. It has a grand history of empowering women and helping them make a diference in their communities or state. For more information on the Miss America program, check out www.missamerica.org, www.maoteen.org, www.missmontana.com and on Instagram and Facebook.

Nominees sought for Montana Heritage Keeper awards

The Montana Historical Society is seeking nominations for people and organizations whose exemplary commitment to identifying and preserving our historical and cultural heritage makes them eligible for the Heritage Keeper Awards.

Up to three people or organizations will be honored by the MHS Board of Trustees for the Heritage Keeper Awards. An additional award, The Montana Heritage Guardian Award, given out only on special merit, recognizes the accomplishments of one of the Heritage Keeper Award nominees with a record of outstanding accomplishments.

To qualify, the individual must be alive, and organizations must be currently active. The nominee must have demonstrated a commitment to a significant Montana history project or have identified and preserved objects or property of significance to Montanas history and culture.

Organizations also must have a record of preserving and celebrating Montanas historical and cultural heritage.

Areas of interest can include historic building and landscape preservation; sustained historical and cultural research and publication; fine art history and preservation; and efforts to promote and educate future generations on the historical and cultural legacy of all Montanans.

The nomination deadline is March 18, 2020. The nomination form and additional information can be found online at mhs.mt.gov under the Historic Preservation tab. Nominations may be resubmitted on an annual basis if the person or organization didnt previously receive a Heritage Keeper award.

Nominations or questions can be emailed to Jodel Fohn at jfohn@mt.gov, or mailed to Heritage Keeper Awards Chair, Montana Historical Society, P.O. Box 201201, Helena, MT 59620-1201. The forms also can be dropped off at the MHS office at 225 N. Roberts.

The awards will be presented by the MHS Board of Trustees at its annual Montana History Conference in Butte in September.

Seasonal weight limit restrictions go into effect

The Lewis and Clark County Board of County Commissioners approved seasonal and permanent weight limits on specific roads in the county. The temporary restrictions will be in place from Feb. 10 to March 31.

As frozen ground thaws, base gravel in the roadbed becomes saturated, causing surface break up and premature failure. In these conditions, fully loaded vehicles can cause severe road damage. Therefore, temporary restrictions are in place for certain roads.

Jim Town Road Asphalt Highway: 284 to end of asphalt.

Birdseye Road: Williams St to Highway 279.

Causeway Way (Lake Helena Drive.): Lincoln Road east to end of asphalt.

Collins Drive South: Lincoln Road East to Masonic Home Road

Country Club Ave.: Joslyn St. to Williams St.

Forestvale Road: Green Meadow Drive to North Montana Ave.

Highway 284: Jimtown Road to Broadwater County line.

Hauser Dam Road: Lincoln Road East to end of asphalt.

Keir Drive: Canyon Ferry Road to Saffron Ln.

Masonic Home Road: Collins Drive South to Frontage Road

McHugh Lane: Yuhas Ave. to Sierra Road West

Mill Road: Green Meadow Drive to North Montana Ave.

North Montana Ave.: North of Lincoln Road

Sierra Road East: Frontage Road to Floweree Drive

Sierra Road West: Frontage Road to Green Meadow Drive

Williams St.: Highway 12 to Birdseye Road

Wylie Drive: Canyon Ferry Road to York Road

B Street: At Stemple Pass Road

C Street: At Stemple Pass Road

D Street: At Stemple Pass Road

1 Ave. South: South of Highway 200

6th Ave.: North and South of Highway 200

7th Ave.: South of Highway 200

8th Ave. North and South of Highway 200

9th Ave.: At Highway 200

Spring Creek Lane: Highway 200 to end of asphalt

Sleepy Hollow Lane: North of Highway 200

Sucker Creek Road: Highway 200 to end of asphalt

Permanent restrictions are needed on roads with sub-standard base material and double chip seal. Normal highway loading can cause severe damage to roads and lead to costly repairs. Permanent restrictions are in place for those roads.

Applegate Drive South: Lincoln Road to Norris Road

Beartooth Road: Frontage Road to end of asphalt.

Bel Air Subdivision: Entire Subdivision

Colorado Gulch Drive: Highway 12 to end of asphalt.

Crestwood Estates: Entire Subdivision

Floweree Drive: Sierra Road East to York Road

Franklin Mine Road: Green Meadow Drive to end of asphalt.

John G. Mine Road: East Green Meadow Drive to North Montana Ave.

Lake Helena Drive: South York Road to Canyon Ferry Road

Middlemas Road: Montana Ave. to end of road.

Motsiff Road: McHugh Lane to North Montana Ave.

Norris Road: Green Meadow Drive to end of road.

Valley Drive: Lewis St. to Canyon Ferry Road

The load limits for all restrictions are 7 tons for single axles, 14 tons for tandem axles, and 350 pounds per inch width of tire.

All roads listed are under the jurisdiction of Lewis and Clark County and the County is responsible for maintenance.

Restriction information is online at https://www.lccountymt.gov/public-works/roads-and-bridges.html

STUDENT NEWS

Ethan Keintz, a student at Capital High School, has been named a Pacific Lutheran University Presidents Scholar and awarded the prestigious $33,000 per year Presidents Scholarship  with the opportunity to compete for more.

Ethan was one of 103 students selected for this top academic and leadership scholarship offered by PLU.

Over 500 incoming first-year students who met the high eligibility standards applied. Presidents Scholars are selected based on academic achievement, service and leadership, as well as the potential to effect positive change and leadership in both the academic and co-curricular life of PLU. This years Presidents Scholarship recipients scored on average a 1306 SAT test score, 30 ACT test score, and have a 3.98 GPA.

Two students honored with Prudential Spirit of Community awards

Jadyn Bellander, 18, of Jefferson City and Kael Hesford, 13, of Boulder were named Montana's top two youth volunteers of 2020 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism.

Bellander, a senior at Jefferson High School, established a food pantry at her high school that provides weekend food to the families of 28 students who rely on free or discounted hot lunches on school days for a substantial part of their weekly nutritional needs.

Hesford, an eighth-grader at Boulder Elementary School, led a service learning club that conducted several community service projects over the past three years, including winter clothing drives, a student weekend food program and fundraising for playground equipment at his school.

As state honorees, Bellander and Hesford each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named Americas top youth volunteers of 2020.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 25th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

Local residents earn degree from WGU

The following local residents have earned their degree from Western Governors University an online, nonprofit university.

Colin Blaskovich of Clancy, has earned a Master of Arts Science Education (secondary biological science) degree.

of Clancy, has earned a Master of Arts Science Education (secondary biological science) degree. Nathan Heinitz of Clancy, has earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

of Clancy, has earned a Master of Business Administration degree. Andrew Nickol of Helena, has earned a Master of Business Administration degree.

of Helena, has earned a Master of Business Administration degree. Larry Wildes of Helena, has earned a Bachelor of Science, information technology degree.

of Helena, has earned a Bachelor of Science, information technology degree. Bridgett Waples of Helena, has earned an MBA, IT Management degree.

of Helena, has earned an MBA, IT Management degree. Jasyn Mulcahy of Helena, has earned a Master of Science, management and leadership degree.

of Helena, has earned a Master of Science, management and leadership degree. Kaitlin Hanson of Helena, has earned a Master of Science, Nursing -- leadership and management (BSN to MSN) degree.

of Helena, has earned a Master of Science, Nursing -- leadership and management (BSN to MSN) degree. Lisa Ross of Helena, has earned a Bachelor of Science, nursing degree.

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by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, February 7, 2020

Quantcast has added compliance for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) across web and mobile apps. The move is made possible through a partnership with Kochava, which provides real-time data for mobile apps.

The partnership, announced Friday, also makes the companies more flexible to support other privacy measures as states move to secure and protect consumer data.

The announcement of the addition to the cloud-based software Quantcast Choice builds on the 2018 launch of the platform. Its essentially a tag that companies can add to their website.

Peter Day, Quantcast CTO, says the company began this journey with the introduction of GDPR in Europe, when European clients  publishers and advertisers  struggled for compliance. It was designed from the ground up to be easy and simple to implement, he says.

When asked whether keeping up with the regulations has been difficult, Day said Its been very difficult, partly because in the beginning many of the regulations rely on interpretation. Engineers need to sift through a lot of ambiguity.

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Day said there are 60,000 companies using the platform to comply with GDPR, from very small blogs to publishers like BuzzFeed. When CCPA regulations emerged, although it had unique laws, publishers asked for one platform they could rely on to comply with laws in all countries and states  not only regulations today, but any in the future. The key is allowing consumers to opt-in or opt-out, he says, and there is a mechanism for transmitting consent signals.

We partnered with the IAB, so everyone would distribute consent in the same way, Day says. Education is difficult at scale, so it will take time."

Quantcast and Kochava have been working with the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) in the U.S. and the IAB Europe to ensure that all involved understand compliance. Choice complies with the IAB standards.

We plan to make the platform comply with new regulations despite the changes that may occur, Day says. State regulations can add a lot of complexity to the technology.
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / As a long-time educator, whether Dr. Freda Deskin was teaching in common education or higher education or as a school leader, she has tried to live by example and insist that others make excellence a habit in all they do. It is easier to take the time to do a task right the first time than to pay the consequences of more time and effort later.

As a teacher, Freda Deskin stresses to students that she would only accept their best work. If there was not a heading, the work was sloppy or incomplete, she would quietly ask them if the work was their best. Dr. Freda Deskin would ask them to look closely at the paper in her hand. She would ask if they saw anything that was not excellent. If the heading or their name was missing or if there were stains on the paper, they would immediately take the paper back, exclaiming they would redo the paper.

Making excellence a habit takes time. This includes excellence in everything, including behavior. Reminding students regularly from the first day of the year and continuing throughout the year is a must. Before long, the papers get amazingly better once the idea of excellence is brought to a conscious level and reinforced.

"Giving positive reinforcement each time a paper of excellence was turned in motivated students to focus on excellence and to check and recheck their work since reviewing a task multiple times is important in achieving excellence as a habit," said Freda Deskin.

There are many tasks and projects daily in a school classroom. Students prepare posters for presentations. Dr. Freda Deskin went over with her students how an excellent poster should look. Once they agreed, she created a rubric for them to refer to. Was there a title, was it centered and was there an equal border all around the text and graphics? Freda Deskin taught them how to perfectly center a title done by hand by counting all the letters for each title row and then determining the middle letter or space and then adding letters to the right and then going back and filling in the right side of the lettering.

Whether students were putting their name on a paper, presenting their best work or double-checking completed work, when it is frequently brought to a conscious level, what they turn in improves and carries over to other classes and other parts of their lives. Dr. Freda Deskin has had many former students thank her for teaching them this habit.

"The same is true in business and at home. When we are aware of what we are presenting, either internally or externally, checking our work for excellence and for accuracy is the same. supervisors and administrators who insist on excellence throughout their business or school will see a marked difference in everything, including the building and offices," explained Dr. Deskin.

Teaching everyone from the maintenance staff, to the secretaries, to the professional staff that excellence is expected and that anything less changes outcomes. Buildings become better kept and tidier. Old signs are removed along with the remains of tape and hand-written signs. Lobbies become free of clutter and offices are clean and attractive. Customer service becomes better, but it does take frequent reminders and follow through until excellence becomes the norm in the organization.

"When excellence becomes a habit, people think about the content and structure of their emails and other communications before they send them out. Spreadsheets and documents have proper headings, subheadings and cell headings. All communication becomes more thoughtful, intentional and user-friendly," added Dr. Freda Deskin.

Fewer mistakes are made on final products. Everyone learns that for excellence to become a habit, you must measure twice and cut once. With fewer mistakes, less time is taken to redo the work and less likely to require follow-up communication or meetings. When excellence becomes a habit, there is far greater efficiency.

Making excellence a habit is a shift in mindset and awareness. Once it is a habit, it doesn't even take conscious thought to check and prepare or do a task correctly the first time. It becomes second nature. Dr. Freda Deskin often thinks of how the world would be so much different if we taught and learned the valuable lesson making excellence a habit from an early age.

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575731/Freda-Deskin-PhD-Discusses-Why-Excellence-is-a-Habit
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 7, 2020

Google has been hit with a new lawsuit accusing the company of violating an Illinois biometric privacy law by compiling faceprints.

Unbeknownst to the average consumer ... Googles proprietary facial recognition technology scans each and every photo uploaded to the cloud-based Google Photos for faces, extracts geometric data relating to the unique points and contours (i.e., biometric identifiers) of each face, and then uses that data to create and store a template of each face -- all without ever informing anyone of this practice, Illinois resident Brandon Molander alleges in a class-action complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

This new complaint comes one week after Facebook said it had agreed to pay $550 million to settle a similar lawsuit.

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Molander, who says he has had a Google Photos account for five years, claims the company is violating the Illinois Biometric Privacy Act. That law requires companies to obtain consumers' written consent before collecting or storing scans of their facial geometry.

Molanders Google Photos account contains dozens of photos depicting Plaintiff Molander that were taken with his smart phone and automatically uploaded in Illinois to Google Photos, his complaint alleges. Google analyzed these photos by automatically locating and scanning Plaintiff Molanders face, and by extracting geometric data relating to the contours of his face and the distances between his eyes, nose, and ears -- data which Google then used to create a unique template of Plaintiff Molanders face.

The complaint appears similar to one filed against Google in 2016, in federal district court in Illinois. That case, brought by Illinois residents Lindabeth Rivera and Joseph Weiss, was decided in Google's favor last year by U.S. District Court Judge Edmond Chang, who ruled that the company's alleged practices didn't cause the kind of concrete injury that warrants a lawsuit.

Chang said in his ruling that faces are public information, and that Google didn't violate people's privacy by using facial recognition technology on photos of faces.

All that Google did was to create a face template based on otherwise public information -- plaintiffs faces, he wrote.

But federal judges in California came to the opposite conclusion in a lawsuit accusing Facebook of violating the Illinois privacy law. In that matter, a trial judge and a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Facebook's argument that its alleged faceprint collection didn't cause the kind of concrete injury that would support a lawsuit.
NEW YORK, Feb. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New York based fashion brand, HIROMI ASAI, (www.hiromiasainy.com) has always been trying to revive the essence of Japanese Kimono for modern luxury fashion. The designer, Hiromi Asai, first presented Kimonos on runway at the New York Fashion Week in 2016. Then, HIROMI ASAI develops men's wears all made of Japanese Kimono textiles, which were presented at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy and other major trade shows in USA every season since 2017. HIROMI ASAI men's wear collection won accolades and got many international media coverages.

HIROMI ASAI NEW YORK FASHION WEEK - SS20 HIROMI ASAI at FLYING SOLO COUTURE SHOW - NEW YORK FASHION WEEK AW20

The sales of HIROMI ASAI men's wear collection started in April, 2019 at Flying Solo (flyingsolo.nyc), located on the prime street in SoHo, New York, which introduces and sells independent and emerging fashion brands, and produces fashion shows to demonstrate the latest collection of the independent designers during the New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.

HIROMI ASAI presents Autumn-Winter 2020-2021 men's wear collection on runway at Flying Solo Couture Show, cooperatively with the Flying Solo designers, held at Pier 59 Studios, starting at 9:15pm on Saturday, February 8, 2020. The theme of the collection is "The Whole Creation", represented by unique natural motifs. HIROMI ASAI develops new textiles suitable for men's wear collection with craftsmen in Japan, who usually manufacture textiles for Kimono by traditional techniques. HIROMI ASAI would like to demonstrate luxury fashion with unique prominent textiles and sophisticated design, made by outstanding tailoring techniques in Japan. This fashion show will be also distributed by live stream video in Instagram at 9:15pm EDT on Saturday, February 8, 2020.

"This is second time to present HIROMI ASAI menswear collection at New York Fashion Week. I am extremely excited to demonstrate our AW20 collection soon." Ms. Asai, a designer of HIROMI ASAI said. "As I always said, I believe that the essence of Kimono is `textile` not `form`. It is our responsibility to hand over craftsmanship for production of traditional textiles all over the world, including kimono textiles, to the next generation. For this commitment, I continue transforming Japanese traditional textiles to modern high fashion to attract many people in the world."

Next to the fashion show in New York, HIROMI ASAI participates at Flying Solo Paris fashion show held during the Paris Fashion Week on Monday, February 24, 2020. After all these presentation, HIROMI ASAI AW20 men's wear collection is available on sale both at Flying Solo Store in SoHo, New York and Flying Solo online store.

DETAILED INFORMATION

HIROMI ASAI@ Flying Solo

Autumn/Winter 2020 Flying Solo Couture Show

Date and Time: Saturday, February 8, 2020; 9:15pm EDT

Location: Pier 59 Studios, New York (only by invitation)

Livestream broadcasting: https://www.instagram.com/flyingsolonyc/

HIROMI ASAI WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA

HP: http://www.hiromiasainy.com

Flying Solo HIROMI ASAI online store: https://flyingsolo.nyc/collections/hiromi-asai

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiromi.asai

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/modeandclassic

Media Contact:

Hironi Asai

646-242-4156

[email protected]

SOURCE HIROMI ASAI (Mode & Classic LLC)

Related Links

http://www.hiromiasainy.com


Technavio has been monitoring the heads-up display HUD market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.18 bn during 2020-2024, progressing at a CAGR of 11% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005264/en/

Technavio announced its latest market research report titled global heads-up display HUD market 2020-2024. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Increasing demand from commercial aircraft has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. However, High cost of HUDs might hamper market growth. Request a free sample report

Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Segmentation

Heads-Up Display HUD Market is segmented as below:

End-User

Aviation

Automotive

Others

Geographic segmentation

APAC

Europe

MEA

North America

South America

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR41189

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Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our heads-up display HUD market report covers the following areas:

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This study identifies advances in AR HUD as one of the prime reasons driving the heads-up display HUD market growth during the next few years.

Heads-Up Display HUD Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis

We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the heads-up display HUD market, including some of the vendors such as BAE Systems Plc, Continental AG, Delphi Technologies Plc, DENSO Corp., Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd., Panasonic Corp., Pioneer Corp., Robert Bosch GmbH, Visteon Corp. and WayRay AG. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the heads-up display HUD market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support.

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About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005264/en/

Contacts:

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/
A judge said a woman with ovarian cancer who he sentenced to at least 10 months in prison hasnt presented any new information that would affect his decision.

The Lebanon Daily News reported that Judge Samuel Kline rejected a motion by Ashley Mensers attorney to modify or reconsider the sentence he imposed of 10 months to seven years in prison for shoplifting $109.63 from a Weis store in September 2018.

Mensers attorney had asked for a sentence of house arrest, so she could continue receiving treatment for ovarian cancer. A review of medical documents provided to PA Post shows that Menser was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 and was being actively treated

However, Lebanon County District Attorney Pier Hess Graf said the sentence reflect Mensers extensive criminal record, including 13 prior theft convictions, welfare fraud, and endangering the welfare of children.

The case captured the attention of Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, who tweeted about it, urging that Menser be freed to seek medical treatment.

At sentencing, Kline had urged she be moved to a state prison as quickly as possible so she could receive the proper medical care. She has been moved to the State Correctional Institution at Muncy, according to the Department of Corrections inmate database.
If Maleah Davis were still alive, she would have been 5 years old this week.

An Instagram post on Thursday by her father Craig Davis highlights the girl's birthday and invites the public to celebrate with him on Saturday, Feb. 8 at Sunnyside Park. The event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at 3502 Bellfort Street.
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland began receiving American evacuees from China this week amid the coronavirus outbreak, but it doesnt look like the San Antonio economy will be affected  though the rest of Texas may not be as fortunate.

So far, the coronavirus has infected 30,000 people and killed close to 600, nearly all in China. The virus originated in Wuhan, a Chinese city with 11 million people, and travel throughout much of the country has been shut down since the outbreak began late last year.

That has slowed the economy in China as workers have been directed to stay home and shopping centers typically packed with people during the Lunar New Year celebration have largely been empty.

With the slowdown in China, whats happening is a lot of manufacturing companies, theyre not starting operations yet following the New Year holiday, said Jeffrey Johnson, a professor of international business at St. Marys University. We dont have those workers building components, which is going to be a problem for the supply chain later on.

The outbreak is expected to hit Texas oil and gas producers. Reduced travel in China is driving down global demand for oil as falling prices cut into producers profit margins.

And if the outbreak isnt reined in over the next few weeks, U.S. firms could see further supply-chain disruptions and generally heightened uncertainty.

Texas businesses had been anticipating an improvement in the economic relationship between the U.S. and China after the nations signed a preliminary trade deal in January. For nearly two years, the countries have been embroiled in a trade war, fraying established supply chains and business relationships between the two nations in the process.

San Antonio firms said the local impact from the virus has been minimal so far, unlike some U.S. cities that rely more heavily on Chinese business and tourism.

Theres been no impact whatsoever on supply chains and pricing and disruption, Duffy Shea, president of Alamo Iron Works, said. But well see how long it lasts.

The largest effect could be in normal business activity. Breakdowns in regular business communication and contract negotiations have been the biggest issues so far for companies that do business in China, according to Jonathan Fink, managing director of TSI Global Consulting.

But firms also often buy or sell manufacturing parts from around world. If a company manufactures something using components made in China, halted production there could mean the U.S. company has to hold off production as well  though thats not currently happening on a large scale, business owners said.

The manufacturing industry in the U.S. has started expanding again, and thats very true in our San Antonio region, said Rey Chavez, president and CEO of the San Antonio Manufacturers Association. The interruption of the supply chains could have a snowball effect if stocks of components are depleted.

For our area, we think the impact will be limited, he said.

Aside from shuttered factories, fewer consumers in China are purchasing goods during the retail-friendly holiday season, meaning U.S. business profit is taking a hit, according to Tomas Alvarado, a research analyst at the International Trade Center at UTSA.

The Lunar New Year is usually a period where Asian countries increase their demand for products, like jet fuel, Alvarado said. Instead, we are now witnessing this black swan event in which cities are being shut down and quarantined, airlines have shut down operations in China, and even factories are starting to shut down.

But in Texas, manufacturing activity picked up in January after the industry saw a sluggish 2019, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

Chavez said he expects the local expansion to continue in spite of economic headwinds fanned by the coronavirus.

The volatile stew of Hong Kong unrest, international economic disputes and the coronavirus outbreak likely will lead to more companies moving back to the United States, Chavez said.

Economists say San Antonios economic makeup protects the city from many outside shocks.

And even if supply chains are thrown off by the outbreak, other import markets arent far away, Johnson said.

Clearly, theres going to be issues sourcing with China, and there are going to be companies throughout Texas that do depend on imports from China. But one of the things that saves us would be the proximity to Mexico, Johnson said. Were not going to see the same shocks that some other parts of the U.S. will feel.

diego.mendoza-moyers@ express-news.net
The children of Philip Ataga, a Kaduna-based medical doctor, who were kidnapped in January, have regained freedom. Sunday Ogwu...





The children of Philip Ataga, a Kaduna-based medical doctor, who were kidnapped in January, have regained freedom.





Sunday Ogwu, a Facebook user who said he has been in touch with the family, announced the development on Thursday.





their mother, from their residence at Juji near Sabon Tasha, Chikun local government area of Kaduna. The children, identified as Christabel and Jasmine, were abducted alongside Bola,their mother, from their residence at Juji near Sabon Tasha, Chikun local government area of Kaduna.





The kidnappers had demanded N150 million ransom for their release but killed Bola after the family failed to pay the money.





They subsequently demanded N20 million for the release of the children.





Ogwu said the children were released after their father paid an unspecified amount in ransom to the kidnappers.





To the glory of God, I have the honour and privilege to announce the release of Christerbel and Jasmine Ataga from captivity. Their release was secured after the payment of ransom to the bandit by Dr Philip Ataga, Ogwu wrote on his Facebook page.





I wish to un- behalf [on behalf] of the family thank everyone: the churches, prayer houses, family members, friends and well wishers, whose physical, emotional and psychological support were put at the disposition of the family in what has been two weeks of a very traumatic experience.









Kaduna is one of the states with a high level of insecurity. Ataga had donated a police station to his community to curb kidnappings.




Uncertainty over Brexit was a factor in the number of new homes registered to be built in Northern Ireland dropping by 7% last year, it has been claimed.

NHBC's annual new homes statistics showed that 4,743 new homes were registered to be built in 2018 but this fell to 4,397 in 2019.

NHBC is a warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK.

Conor Mulligan, director of Lagan Homes, said in the second half of last year there was "considerable uncertainty in the market over the possible outcome of Brexit and the turmoil that a possible 'no-deal' could have on the Northern Ireland economy".

"Thankfully the deal finally agreed upon, whilst imperfect, has eased a lot of those concerns and most developers are now seeing a significant jump in demand," he added.

"We are also facing a continual lack of zoned land with councils seemingly very reluctant to zone adequate new land in the forthcoming local area plans. Northern Ireland has less than 400 occupied houses for every 1,000 people.

"This compares very poorly with Scotland which has over 450 occupied houses for every 1,000 of its residents. Northern Ireland has a very similar demographic spread to Scotland, but our population is actually forecast to grow much faster than Scotland.

"However, it is Scotland who is planning to build more houses pro-rata than Northern Ireland and we are set to fall further behind. This will have a significant impact on both rents and house prices. We are really failing the next generation.

"A number of current developments, whilst obtaining planning approval, were unable to gain connection to the sewerage infrastructure due to long term under investment.

"This has and will continue to curtail the supply of new housing in certain areas until steps are taking to allow NI Water to borrow and properly invest in upgrading their infrastructure."

Padraig Venney, NHBC regional director for Northern Ireland and Isle of Man, said that despite the drop the housing sector had "proved to be resilient during 2019, despite the political uncertainties caused by Brexit".

"After three years without a local assembly we now have a local government sitting in Stormont, which is welcome news for all the people of Northern Ireland," he added.

"Housing has already been mentioned as a key issue for all local parties, with a renewed focus on delivering more genuinely affordable homes."
"There is nothing wrong if knowledge of a professional is tested", the Supreme Court observed on Friday when three Chattisgarh-based doctors came to it saying they are being forced to undertake the test to continue practising as ultrasonologists.

Observing that the test of professional skill was not wrong and would ultimately benefit patients, the top court said however that the senior MBBS doctors, who have been performing ultrasonography for 15 years or more, can be allowed to practice if they do not wish to take up the test now prescribed by the authorities.

"Even lawyers are asked to take examination to practice law. We see no wrong if the knowledge of professional is tested," said the bench headed by Chief Justice S A Bobde.

"But, we can protect those who have been practising as ultrasonologist for a period of 15 years or more," said the bench, which also comprised Justices B R Gavai and Sury Kant.

The bench asked as to what was wrong if the patients are treated by qualified professionals and gave the example of robotic surgery and said that many old physicians were not equipped to deal with the aspect of medical science.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the doctors Anil Wasti, Manjeet Singh Chandrasen and Bhaskar Prasad, said that 2014 Rules have been made effective with retrospective effect and mandated that the practising doctors will also have to take the exam.

"Any rule cannot be made effective with retrospective effect," he said, asked as to how doctors of 20 years of experience be asked to take up the test.

Moreover, the apex court is already examining the validity of certain provisions of the the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 and rules made under it, he said.

Rohatgi said even lawyers are supposed to take up the All India Bar Examination to practice law, but it cannot be made effective with retrospective effect and senior lawyers like him cannot be made to take up the test.

The court agreed with the submission and said that his clients can keep practising as ultrasonologists even if they do not take up tests.

Earlier, the top court had issued notice on various pleas including the one flied by the Centre challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court removing the mandatory six-month training earlier required to perform ultrasonography.

The Centre had said that there was a need to revisit the issue in the wake of the Delhi High Court verdict.

Besides the Centre, Indian Radiological and Imaging Association, the association of radiologists in the country, had moved the apex court challenging the High Courts decision on the issue.

The high court had declared the Rule 3(3)(1)(b) framed under the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994 as ultra vires.

It had done away with the mandatory six months training which was earlier required to be able to perform an ultrasound under the ambit of the law.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indo-Bangladesh joint Exercise Sampriti IX commenced at Umroi, Meghalaya with both countries training together to face challenges in Counter-Terrorism environment. Apart from training together at the tactical level, greater cultural understanding is also said to be emphasized during the Sampriti IX to strengthen military trust and cooperation between the two nation.

READ | 14 Pacts Signed Between Russian Defence Majors, Indian Military Firm

Earlier in February, a statement from the Defence Ministry read, "The joint military exercise aims to strengthen military cooperation in counter-terrorism environment simulated under the UN Charter. During the joint military exercise, a Command Post Exercise (CPX) and a Field Training Exercise (FTX) will be conducted. For both the CPX and FTX, a scenario where both nations are working together in a Counter-Terrorism environment will be simulated under the UN Charter. The FTX curriculum is progressively planned where the participants will initially get familiar with each others organizational structure and tactical drills. Subsequently, joint tactical exercise will be conducted wherein the battle drills of both the armies will be practised. The training will culminate with a final validation exercise in which troops of both armies will jointly practice a Counter-Terrorist Operation in a controlled and simulated environment".

READ | In Absence Of Chronicled History, Education Of Military Leaders Suffered: COAS Naravane

Umroi, the venue of several bilateral exercises

Umroi in Meghalaya is known to have been the venue for several such joint military exercises. Earlier in December 2019, India and China had an eight-day bilateral exercise - 'Hand-in-Hand 2019' which was conducted on the same location Umroi in Meghalaya. The two-week-long exercise was held in the pursuit of focussing on joint planning and counter-terrorist operations on semi-urban terrain.

READ | CPWD Asks Officials To Review Construction Projects Of Paramilitary Forces

In September 2019, India had conducted a joint military exercise with Thailand as well. The Indian Army and Royal Thailand Army had conducted a 14-day Joint Military Exercise Maitree-2019. During the exercise, the contingents of both armies shared their valuable experiences in the conduct of Counter-Terrorism Operations in the form of lectures, drills, demonstrations and skill-at-arm with an aim to refine tactics, techniques and procedures. Exercise Maitree-2019 has been the face of long-standing bilateral ties between India and Thailand since 2006.

READ | Army Porter Accidentally Steps On Landmine Near LoC, Injured
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dante Labs announced today the RareFebruary Initiative with a special offering of whole genome sequencing, data interpretation and personalized reports for all Rare Disease Patients worldwide.

The offering includes Whole Genome Sequencing 30X on Illumina Novaseq6000 technology, data interpretation and personalized reports covering Rare Diseases.

"Helping rare disease patients is what we are most proud of," says Dante Labs CEO Andrea Riposati. "Whole genome sequencing has the power to end diagnostic odyssey cases. The rare disease community is an inspiring force for everyone at Dante Labs and motivates us to provide more and more insights in a shorter time."

Patient Advocacy Groups are encouraged to contact Dante Labs to partner directly and develop customized reports that will maximize the benefits for the patients in their group. Dante Labs has sequenced thousands of genomes of rare disease patients, providing an invaluable tool to individuals and their doctors.

Testing will be performed in Dante Labs' new state-of-the-art sequencing center in Italy, offering GDPR privacy protection to individuals also outside of Europe.

Genetic counseling will be available for an additional fee ($149) for people who wish to speak with a genetic counselor after the test.

To qualify, patients simply need to upload their diagnosis after their order is placed. The offering is reserved to rare disease patients. Standard users will still benefit from a special discounted price ($499/499).

Contacts

Francesca Tarquinio

[email protected]

+39-389-596-1301

Related Images

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SOURCE Dante Labs
Anti-dumping duty has been imposed on as many as 90 items imported from China that include two pharmaceutical products, Parliament was informed on Friday.

"Further, 24 anti-dumping investigations are presently in progress against the alleged dumping of imports from China," Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), under the commerce ministry, conducts anti-dumping investigations on the basis of a duly substantiated application filed by domestic industry alleging dumping of goods into the country causing injury to the domestic industry.

The minister said that the basic intent of anti-dumping measures is to eliminate injury caused to the domestic industry by the unfair trade practice of dumping and to create a level-playing field for the domestic industry.

In a separate reply, he said the government has been consistently making efforts for achieving a more balanced trade with China.

India's trade with China decreased from USD 89.71 billion in 2017-18 to USD 87.07 billion in 2018-19.

During this period, India's imports from China declined from USD 76.38 billion in 2017-18 to USD 70.32 billion in 2018-19, and "our exports grew from USD 13.33 billion in 2017-18 to USD 16.75 billion in 2018-19," he said.

"As a result, India's trade deficit with China reduced from USD 63.05 billion to USD 53.57 billion in the said period," he added.

He , however, said that there are reports of some goods of Chinese origin coming into India from other countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, on which field formations have been appropriately sensitized.
A Tehran Police official on Friday said indecently dressed mannequins that weaken "the culture of modesty and hijab" and "promote immorality" will be removed by the police from shop windows.

Colonel Nader Moradi, Deputy Commander of the Greater Tehran Police for Supervision of Commercial Venues, said the Police will implement its program to "regulate clothing retailers" in Tehran from Saturday. Implementation of the program will continue until the Iranian New Year holidays which start on March 21, the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted him as saying.

Women's clothing in Tehran's many shops and shopping centers is often displayed on headless dummies with bare legs, arms and even shoulders. Women cannot appear in public wearing the same attire.

The Police Colonel said the rules and regulations have already been explained to clothing retailers and to implement the program officers in charge of supervision of public venues will continuously visit retail shops, remove the mannequins and shut down the shops that have infringed.

The police official also warned online clothing retailers that display their products in an un-Islamic fashion.

Along with stopping "improperly dressed" women, and sometimes men, on the streets, warning them or even detaining them, Iran's morality police often crackdown on shops selling western outfits deemed "un-Islamic".

Raids and crackdowns have been relatively rare since the summer of 2016 when Morality Police launched an extensive crackdown on clothing and hairdos.
The PSNI has released images of the bomb that was attached to a truck which was scheduled to travel across the Irish Sea on Brexit night.

Dissident republicans believed to be members of the Continuity IRA attached the crude device to the chassis of the truck's trailer using gaffer tape.

The device was spotted while the truck was parked at the Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan, Co Armagh.

Dissident Republicans issued a bomb warning and a full search was made of a ferry.

The PSNI has today released photographs of a bomb which was attached to the chassis of a truck that was due to sale across the Irish Sea. The PSNI said the bomb was a viable device

The device was stuck to the chassis rail of the truck just above its fuel tank as seen above

Later the terror group admitted the device, which has been described as viable by the PSNI, was attached to a truck belonging to a named company.

This enabled officers to find the device and make it safe.

Detective Superintendent Sean Wright said: 'Today I am releasing two photographs of the device found attached to a heavy goods vehicle in the Silverwood Industrial Estate.

'These images clearly show the explosive device attached to the lorry. They also demonstrate the sheer recklessness of those who knowingly put the driver, road users and the wider public at risk of death or serious injury.

'I continue to appeal to anyone who was in the area of Silverwood Industrial Estate between 4.00pm and 10.00pm on Friday, 31 January and who may have noticed any unusual activity in the area to contact police. In addition I ask that anyone who was driving in the area and who would have dash-cam footage around these same times that they contact police, as a matter of urgency.'

Detectives received a report, first made to a media outlet, that an explosive device was on a lorry in Belfast docks last Friday, the day the UK left the EU.

PSNI officers pictured yesterday at Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan today, where bomb was found

The report received by police claimed the ferry was due to travel to Scotland. An intensive search was carried out but nothing was found, and the ferry sailed as planned.

But three days later, on Monday, officers received a further report that a device was attached to a lorry belonging to a 'named haulage company'.

After a two-day operation, which involved the search of 400 vehicles, an explosive device was found attached to a heavy goods vehicle in the industrial estate. It was made safe by Army bomb disposal officers.

PSNI temporary assistant chief constable George Clarke has said a bomb left on a lorry in Belfast on the night of Brexit was a 'viable device'.

'It could have caused death and very serious injury and harm to members of the public.

A two-day operation, which involved the search of 400 vehicles, an explosive device was found attached to a heavy goods vehicle in the industrial estate. It was made safe by Army bomb disposal officers

'Those who planted this device were reckless or indeed to cause that level of harm.'

Mr Clarke said those who created the device 'did intend that the device would explode at around the time the UK left the EU'.

Mr Clarke said warning calls were made to media outlets indicating a device had been left in a trailer.

He said: 'On Friday evening a warning or a call was made to a media outlet indicating a device had been left in a trailer on Belfast docks. It is very important to note that information was exceptionally sparse and limited.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable George Clarke speaking at Police Headquarters yesterday

'Subsequently to that call, a further call was received by a media outlet. That call contained substantially more detail. It gave us more detail of a commercial haulage company.'

'The calls were made to the same media outlet.'

He added: 'These bombs are made by terrorists. They are made to a standard that cannot guarantee any form of safety.'

Mr Clarke added: 'If the device was planted on a Friday, it was between Friday and Monday before they gave us the information that enables us to locate this (device).

'During that period of time, a viable bomb is in a commercial yard posing a significant risk to anyone who comes within range of it.'

He described the planting of the device in a public place as 'an incredibly reckless activity'.

Mr Clarke said the device was believed to have been planted by the Continuity IRA.

He said the lorry had not left the commercial yard where it had been parked at the time the bomb was planted.

A map showing the location of the Silverwood Industrial estate and the M1 motorway to Belfast

Police have appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious on the estate between 4pm and 10pm on Brexit Day to come forward.

Detective Superintendent Sean Wright, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Terrorism Investigation Unit, said: 'Had this vehicle travelled and the device had exploded at any point along the M1, across the Westlink (link road through Belfast) or into the Harbour estate, the risks posed do not bear thinking about.

'The only conclusion that we can draw is that, once again, dissident republicans have shown a total disregard for the community, for businesses and for wider society.'

PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne gave members of his oversight body - the NI Policing Board - an outline brief on the incident at their monthly meeting in Belfast on Thursday afternoon.

Afterwards, Sinn Fein's policing spokesman, Gerry Kelly, said there could have been 'catastrophic loss of life' if the device had detonated on board a ferry.

'The fact is this could have ended up on a ferry,' he said.

'If it had exploded, you are talking about catastrophic loss of life, and whoever planted this bomb needs to know that.'

Asked if he believed the attack was timed to coincide with Brexit, Mr Kelly said: 'From the detail we have here that's a possibility, but, whatever the reason, there is no logic around it except to cause death and destruction.

'And to what purpose? There is no purpose and they need to desist and go off the stage and move away from any such actions.'

Ulster Unionist policing spokesman Doug Beattie called on the UK Government to take robust action against the dissidents.

'This was no minor device, this was a very deliberate attempt to cause an explosion on a ferry, and, given the inherent instability of these devices, it could easily have detonated in the lorry's yard, on the M1, in the middle of Belfast or on a ferry itself in the middle of the Irish Sea,' he said.

'Without a doubt it was an attempt to isolate Northern Ireland from the rest of Great Britain by creating a threat to on-board ferry traffic.

'Had it exploded on the ferry, it could have created a fireball that would have taken the route of least resistance and spread through open spaces, walkways and corridors to engulf anyone in its path, be they men, women or children.

'Had this been on a ferry from Dover to Calais, the UK Government would be mobilising every asset possible to track down the perpetrators - I call on them to do so with this, and treat it as the national security threat which it is.

'We are dealing with people here who do not give a damn about the safety of anyone else. These are the type of fascists who bombed Omagh and who have taken their cue from those (the IRA) who organised the Bloody Friday, La Mon and Enniskillen bombings.

'It is clear that violent republicans do not care for the people of Northern Ireland, regardless of what community they come from. They are sadistic, career terrorists who need to be locked up for a very long time.'

The explosive device was discovered attached to an HGV inside the Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan, Co Armagh (pictured)

Mr Wright said he wanted to hear from anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the industrial estate between 4pm and 10pm on January 31.

'In addition, I ask that anyone who was driving in the area and who would have dash-cam footage around these same times that they contact police, as a matter of urgency,' he added.
More than half are children, most of the rest are women, and they are sleeping on roadsides or camping under trees in muddy fields because there is no accommodation to be had, the United Nations says. The existing camps are full, local homes have taken in all the people they can hold, and there is an acute shortage of tents to provide shelter from harsh winter temperatures, which are projected to drop to 19 degrees Fahrenheit over the weekend.
On Friday, the White House announced that it was transferring Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified during the House impeachment hearings, out of the National Security Council. The move is unsettling, petty and vindictive. But its not a surprise: The dismissal is just one part of a campaign by the national security adviser, Robert OBrien, to trumpify one of the most powerful and important institutions in government.

Over the last six months, while impeachment dominated the news, Mr. OBrien undertook the first restructuring of the council in a generation. He cut 60 to 70 positions, about a third of the staff, many of them career professionals. He also directed that the National Security Council focus less on transnational issues like global economics and nonproliferation, and more on bilateral and geographic priorities. In all, Mr. OBriens trumpification of the staff will hamper the United States ability to meet the worlds challenges, and hamstring the next president.

The staff of the National Security Council has evolved since its creation in the National Security Act of 1947, which sought to connect the various departments and agencies that together drive the nations foreign policy. At first, the staff served merely as administrative clerks to the principals on the National Security Council  the president, secretaries of state and defense and other leaders. According to its first director, the staff coordinated and integrated the ideas in crisscrossing proposals from around government.

But over the years, various presidents have coopted the councils staff, which grew both bigger and more influential, especially after 9/11  to the point where it not only distributes a meetings agenda, but sets the governments.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, in his speech at the beginning of the budget session in the Assembly, on Friday expressed condolence over deaths of people in the state due to panic caused by the proposed nationwide NRC.

The TMC legislators were seen donned in anti-CAA, NRC T-shirts, badges and aprons during his address.

Dhankhar was seen greeting legislators of the ruling TMC, with which he has had several run-ins in the recent past, as he entered the Assembly House to deliver his address.

The governor expressed condolence over the deaths of "innocent people due to panic over proposed NRC".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On This Day Japans Propaganda Press in Occupied Myanmar

The March 20,1945 issue of Greater Asia.

YANGONOn this day 77 years ago, the occupying Japanese government in Myanmar began publication of its propagandist newspaper and the only English-language newspaper in Myanmar at the time, Greater Asia. Japanese editor Hori led an editorial team of three Myanmar editors.

The newspaper, run by the Japan propaganda department, was published three days a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The price was 20 cents per copy. It had a circulation of 7,000 copies per day and most of its readers were Burmese and Indian.

After 1944, the newspaper reduced its page count and publication rate due to increasingly intense bombings by the Allies and a shortage of paper. The publication ran for two years and two months and ceased distribution in April 1945 after Japanese forces withdrew from Myanmar.

Myanmar published over 30 newspapers before World War II, but under Japanese rule, the country could only publish 10 newspapers, including seven Burmese-language newspapers, one Japanese newspaper, one Chinese newspaper and one English newspaper, Greater Asia.

Japanese rulers engaged in pre-publication censorship of newspapers, but also granted some freedoms and arranged licenses and paperwork for newspapers that voiced favorable views about Japanese rule. The censor board did not hesitate to rebuke newspapers for reports deemed to be against Japanese interests. Newspapers were forced to publish military reports sent via telegraph by Domei News Agency on their front pages.

You may also like these stories:

The Day Dag Hammarskjold Visited Myanmar

The Day Author and Traveler Somerset Maugham Revisited Myanmar

After Four Years in a British Prison in Uganda, Myanmars ex-Premier Came Home
Barclays Bank Ghana, has unveiled the internationally acclaimed and award-winning Hip-Hop artiste, M.anifest as their brand ambassador. This comes ahead of its rebranding to Absa Bank Ghana Limited on Monday 10 February 2020.



M.anifest is known for his musical boundary crossing, multilingual wordplay, and a refreshing hybrid song writing approach that acknowledges both his Ghanaian upbringing and his sojourns in the West. Described in 2015 by the Guardian (UK) as the foremost rapper on the continent M.anifests originality and impressive lyricism has earned him collaborations with musical giants such as Tony Allen, Burna Boy, Damon Albarn, Flea (Red hot Chili Peppers), Erykah Badu, Femi Kuti, A.B Crentsil and more.



Ms Nana Essilfuah Boison, Marketing and Corporate Relations Director at Barclays Bank Ghana noted, as a forward-looking bank deeply rooted in Africa with global connectivity and a passion for excellence, we are excited to be associated with M.anifest, who exhibits and exudes similar characteristics and passion.



As we become Absa, we are not only building on our 100-year heritage in Ghana, we are also one of Africas top three largest banks, backed by a large capital base and strong balance sheet with a commitment to connect peoples dreams with financial opportunities, she added.



On his part, M.anifest noted that It's an absolute thrill to be brand ambassador for Absa, a forward-looking bank with a global scale. My career has led me on a path of upholding global standards of excellence whiles maintaining local relevance. I believe Absa represents this on a higher scale in banking, thus the synergy is seamless. I'm looking forward to this new chapter in which together we bring more value and unique solutions to individual Ghanaians and Ghanaian businesses.



Many people are already warming up to their vibrant new brand with its exciting and refreshing shades of red. Since the announcement by its parent company, Absa Group, the bank has been working in a systematic approach to embed the new warm, bold and passionate Absa brand in the hearts of Ghanaians, as the brand that helps people find a way to get things done and bring their possibilities to life.





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Peace and humanity won in Bodo accord: PM Modi in Assam

India

oi-Mousumi Dash

Guwahati, Feb 07: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday addressing a huge mass in Kokrajhar area, Assam, where he participated in the celebrations of the signing of Bodo Peace agreement, said that it was because of people's support that the Bodo peace accord was signed, heralding a new dawn of peace in Assam.

The PM was welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati.

Addressing a massive public rally to celebrate the signing of the accord on January 27 that is expected to bring lasting peace to the troubled state, PM said now the time was to work together for peace and development of the North- East. "We will not allow violence to return," he asserted.

The prime minister also appealed to extremists in the Northeast, militants in Jammu and Kashmir and the Maoists to "take inspiration from Bodo insurgents and return to the mainstream".

He also sought to assuage the concerns of people of the region over the implementation of the new citizenship law.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

"Canard is being spread that lakhs of settlers will come from other countries after the enactment of CAA. Nothing of that sort will happen," he said.

He said that the Bodo accords signed in 1993 and 2003 could not bring permanent peace in the Bodo-dominated areas of Assam.

On Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal reviewed preparations in Kokrajhar ahead of PM's visit to participate in the celebrations of the signing of the Bodo agreement.

The Assam DGP Bhaskar Jyoti said that the state police is completely prepared ahead of the PM's visit.

PM Modi defends NPR, CAA in Rajya Sabha, slams Opposition for spreading 'misinformation

PM Modi's visit comes days after the Assam government signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the national capital on January 27.

According to a government agreement, as the even is celebrations of the signing of Bodo agreement, therefore, nearly four lakh people are expected to attend the event from the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) districts and all over Assam.

PM also added that earlier nobody addressed the issues faced by the people of the North-East and allowed disturbances to continue.

"This approach alienated people of the region from the Centre and they lost faith in Indian democracy and Constitution. The North-East was once considered a recipient state but now it is a growth engine," he said.

The prime minister said that the combined central allocation to the eight states of the region went up to a staggering Rs 3 lakh crore under the 14th Finance Commission after his government was formed, from Rs 90,000 crore under the 13th Finance Commission.

He said that the North-East was under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958, for a long time but now Tripura and many parts of other states are free from it.
She posted a photo of part of a list offering white wines from Frances Loire Valley, Burgundy and Alsace. The first two listed were Didier Chaffardon Chnaploid  and Le Haut Planty Gwin Evan   not very helpful if you arent familiar with those producers and their wines. Most of the others were similarly opaque. I did not recognize any of the wines. A few Google searches confirmed that the list featured small-production natural wines. So even knowing that the burgundies would be chardonnay may not tell me much of what the wines would be like.
The US-China trade war has thrown up many unexpected surprises for the global economy. One of

the more concerning is that critical minerals might become a new front in the contest between the

economic superpowers.

Lynas' Mt Weld mine will feed the new cracking and leaching plant. Credit:Bloomberg

Critical minerals  such as lithium, cobalt and rare earths  are the lifeblood of modern,

technological societies. Sometimes called the vitamins of industry, they are used in electronics,

telecommunications medical, renewable energy and military applications.

But current supply chains are not fit-for-purpose. Critical minerals are often monopolised and

insecure, such as Chinas control of around 85 per cent of rare earth supplies.

In other countries, like the Democratic Republic of Congo child labour in cobalt mining is unfortunately common.
Hyderabad: Dynastic and family politics have become commonplace. It can be found in almost all major political parties, especially so in regional parties, including in the two Telugu states. The TRS is no exception to the rule.

In a way, the fallout has been ominous. The die-hard party workers are left in the lurch. Despite having dedicated their life for the party, they are upstaged by members of one political party or other, who call the shots. The dominance is such that when it comes to nominating candidates for any election from the Parliament to panchayat ward member, it is the family member who gets the preference while workers and cadre are rarely considered.

The real workers are confined to carrying the party flag on their shoulders. The TRS workers, who have been active since the separate Telangana movement, are still to be recognised or rewarded by the leadership.

In the recent Municipal and ZP elections, several family members of TRS leaders enjoyed the privilege and now some of the party leaders have set eyes on Cooperative elections and the Chairman posts for any family member. Unfortunately, TRS workers are not being considered for nominated posts. One fails to understand the yardstick. For instance, some families have three important posts in their kitty.

Prominent in this, post-municipal elections are Jogu Premachandar is the new Adilabad municipal chairman; his father Jogu Ramanna is a minister in the state Cabinet.

Putta Shailaja has become chairperson of Manthani municipality while her husband and former MLA Putta Madhu is Peddapalli zilla parishad chairman.

Government Whip Balka Sumans mother was elected as municipal ward member.

This trend was noticed even during the Lok Sabha elections, where family members were preferred over party leaders. For example labour minister Ch. Malla Reddys son-in-law and animal husbandry minister Talasani Srinivasa Yadavs son were given tickets.

Former Minister Patnam Mahendar Reddy family boasts of three important positions. He is an MLC, his wife Sunitha Mahendar Reddy is Vikarabad zilla parishad chairperson and brother Patnam Narendar Reddy is MLA from Kodangal.

Former MLA Teegala Krishna Reddys daughter-in-law Anitha Reddy is Vikarabad zilla parishad chairperson. Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Venkata Ramana Reddys wife Gandra Jyothi is chairperson of the Warangal rural ZP.

In the municipal elections, kin of several TRS leaders were elected as ward members.

A senior TRS leader explained that in the local body elections, the party leadership gave a free hand and powers to MLAs to select candidates. Some MLAs have given importance to their family members instead of loyal party workers.

Meanwhile, in some constituencies where MLAs who had defected and joined TRS were considered at the cost of dedicated party workers. This line was also used in nominated posts for MLA and MLC categories.

Ironically, while senior leaders are changing parties if they are not given tickets for assembly or Lok Sabha elections, the genuine long-standing workers, who strive for the nominees win, are always ignored.
WITH due pomp and ceremony, Parliament last Friday returned to its official location at the newly refurbished Red House.

The return has been welcomed by a public whose access to Parliament was constrained for nine years by the cramped conditions at its temporary accommodation at the Waterfront.
Alaska's Tongass and Chugach National Forests, which contain some of the world's largest remaining tracts of intact temperate rainforest, contribute an average of 48 million salmon a year to the state's commercial fishing industry, a new USDA Forest Service-led study has found. The average value of these "forest fish" when they are brought back to the dock is estimated at $88 million per year.

Led by the Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station, the study used Alaska Department of Fish and Game data and fish estimates from 2007 to 2016 to quantify the number and value of Pacific salmon originating from streams, rivers, and lakes on the Tongass and Chugach, which are, respectively, the largest and second-largest national forests in the country. The study focused on five commercially important salmon species--Chinook, coho, sockeye, pink, and chum--caught primarily in four commercial salmon management areas adjacent to these two forests.

"Pacific salmon fisheries are absolutely central to Alaska's economy and culture," said Adelaide Johnson, a Juneau-based hydrologist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station and the study lead. "We suspected that many of the ocean-caught Pacific salmon that support the fishing industry likely began their lives in forest streams that drain the Tongass and Chugach National Forests."

Johnson and Forest Service colleagues Ryan Bellmore and Ronald Mendel, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game's Stormy Haught, used a three-step process to determine the number of fish originating from the Tongass and Chugach. First, they calculated the total number of salmon caught in regional commercial harvest areas. They then subtracted the number of salmon originating from hatcheries--a process facilitated by the hatchery practice of marking juvenile fish--and the number of salmon that originated outside national forest boundaries, such as commercially caught fish that were born in Canadian rivers and rivers farther south in the contiguous United States.

"Our findings underscore just how important Alaska's forest rivers and lakes are for sustaining salmon," said Bellmore, who also is based in Juneau. "At the same time, this study vastly underestimates the value of salmon because it does not include subsistence and recreational salmon fisheries, which are critically important to local communities and the regional economy."

The authors note that even salmon that do not originate from the Chugach and Tongass may still be supported by these forests for a portion of their lives. Pacific salmon fry, for example, that emerge upstream of national forest lands will migrate downstream and may use rivers, lakes, and estuaries within national forest boundaries for rearing.

Additional research is needed to clarify all of the pathways by which these national forests support productive fisheries. Nevertheless, this study can contribute to discussions about alternative land management strategies that might affect salmon populations and associated commercial salmon fisheries, Johnson said.

The USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station--headquartered in Portland, Ore.--generates and communicates scientific knowledge that helps people make informed choices about natural resources and the environment. The station has 11 laboratories and centers located in Alaska, Washington, and Oregon and about 300 employees. Learn more online at https://www.fs.usda.gov/pnw/.

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Once the permits are issued and the fees are paid, builders in Winnipeg routinely face a small question that leads to sizable hassle: who was my contact at the City of Winnipeg?

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Once the permits are issued and the fees are paid, builders in Winnipeg routinely face a small question that leads to sizable hassle: who was my contact at the City of Winnipeg?

Its a snag members of the Winnipeg Construction Association hit all too often, WCA manager of policy and research Darryl Harrison said, and one the city is trying to eliminate as part of its red-tape reduction efforts.

"You might have a question about how to do something or a certain aspect of your permit, whatever it might be," Harrison said Thursday. "In the past, we had a lot of frustration from people corresponding with somebody from the city, but never being able to talk to them again because they didnt have their contact details."

A red-tape reduction report headed to the executive policy committee meeting Tuesday includes a list of improvements the public works and customer service departments are making after industry stakeholders flagged more than a dozen hurdles to doing business with the City of Winnipeg.

One simple change industry identified would be standardized email signatures. In response, the city has already implemented new brand standards, and will remind city staff to include basic contact information  including a phone number and email address  in all correspondence this year.

"Its surprising that industry has to raise it as a problem before its dealt with," Harrison said. "That sounds minor, but its definitely a good step."

Harrison said the report shows the city taking steps in the right direction to reduce red tape, and hes pleased to see realistic timelines to hold the city accountable, however, it doesnt delve into bigger issues of permitting and inspections.

"The process of permit approvals and inspections in Winnipeg and the time associated with it has a serious impact on how smoothly construction happens in Winnipeg and how quickly it can happen in Winnipeg," he said.

Recommended improvements to the planning, property and development department are expected in March, along with a report into the city's investigation into misconduct within the department.

The investigation stems from the findings of a private investigator  hired by a group of private citizens  that documented city employees allegedly skipping out on work to run personal errands. Eight city employees were fired and seven were suspended in September, following an internal probe into building inspectors' conduct.

Harrison said industry is looking forward to seeing what recommendations are put forward, and hopes to see enhanced dispute resolution protocols and consistent standards for inspections. He also said the department is consulting with stakeholders to implement significant changes.

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"I know the efforts are there," Harrison said. "In this case, its not reflected in the report."

Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce director of policy Colin Fast also applauded the city's efforts, but said it could move at faster pace.

"This has been a year-long process to get to a top 10 list, and I think the list is a good start," Fast said. "But it would be better if we were talking about, 'These are the 10 things we did,' opposed to, 'These are the 10 things we're going to do.'"

An ongoing red-tape review with industry ought to be part of the city's process going forward, Fast said. He's also encouraged by the work of the permits and inspections staff to make improvements, and hopes the momentum is carried forward to other areas.

"What we'd like to see is the city moving a lot more quickly as far as putting even more services online," he said.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca
[February 06, 2020] Schulte Roth & Zabel and Activist Insight Release 2020 Shareholder Activism Insight

Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) today announced key findings from its 2020 Shareholder Activism Insight report, produced by Activist Insight in association with SRZ. The report analyzes trends in shareholder activism and ranks the top 10 activist investors as compiled and determined by Activist Insight based on the number of companies publicly subjected to activist demands, average size of targets, news stories generated and annualized total returns. Elliott Management topped "The Activist Top 10" for the fifth year in a row. To view the Top 10 and the complete 2020 Shareholder Activism Insight report, click here. Marc Weingarten and Ele Klein, SRZ partners and co-chairs of the firm's global Shareholder Activism Group, contributed expert commentary to the report. The publication also features interviews with Aneliya Crawford, shareholder activism and M&A and securities partner, Jim McNally, London-based shareholder activism, corporate and funds partner and Michael Swartz, SRZ partner who co-chairs the Litigation Group and heads the shareholder activism litigation practice. "Shareholders are responding to company actions with greater and greater speed and creativity each year, making for what we believe will be an ever-accelerating playing field into 2020 and beyond," commented Mr. Weingarten. "This was a banner year for a number of major, hard-hitting campaigns and shifting tactics that saw activists seeking more than just board representation. Activists have displayed ingenuity in campaigns that have led to creative and informal settlements, showcasing the promise that comes with collaboration between management and shareholders," said Mr. Klein. "2019 saw a slowdown of activist campaign activity but not a reversal of recent trends. Dedicated activists continued to broaden heir approach with much more detailed operational plans and board seat campaigns in new locations, while the growth in occasional activists continued. While the upcoming proxy season may be quieter, the future of activism looks healthy," said Josh Black of Activist Insight, who serves as editor-in-chief of the report.



"We are pleased to present the 2020 Shareholder Activism Insight report. The publication is a go-to resource for revealing industry trends and the drivers behind them," said Alan Waldenberg, chair of SRZ's Executive Committee. About SRZ's Global Shareholder Activism Group

Widely regarded as the dominant global law firm for activist investing, SRZ brings a sophisticated knowledge of market practices and unparalleled expertise in all areas related to activist investing. The firm has more than 30 years of experience advising clients on more than 1,000 shareholder activism matters, making SRZ one of the most experienced advisers to activists in the world. To visit SRZ's Shareholder Activism Resource Center, click here. About Activist Insight Since 2012, Activist Insight (www.activistinsight.com) has provided its diverse range of clients with the most comprehensive information on activist investing worldwide. Regularly quoted in the financial press, Activist Insight is the trusted source for data in this evolving space. Activist Insight offers five industry-leading products: Activist Insight Online, Activist Insight Shorts, Activist Insight Governance, Activist Insight Vulnerability - a tool for identifying potential activist targets - and Activist Insight Monthly, the world's only magazine dedicated to activist investing. About Schulte Roth & Zabel Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (www.srz.com) is a full-service law firm with offices in New York, Washington, DC and London. As one of the leading law firms serving the financial services industry, the firm regularly advises clients on corporate and transactional matters and provides counsel on regulatory, compliance, enforcement and investigative issues. The firm's practices include: antitrust; bank regulatory; bankruptcy & creditors' rights litigation; blockchain technology & digital assets; broker-dealer regulatory & enforcement; business reorganization; complex commercial litigation; cybersecurity & data privacy; distressed debt & claims trading; distressed investing; education law; employment & employee benefits; energy; environmental; finance; financial institutions; hedge funds; individual client services; insurance; intellectual property, sourcing & technology; investment management; litigation; litigation finance; mergers & acquisitions; PIPEs; private equity; real estate; real estate capital markets & REITs; real estate litigation; regulated funds; regulatory & compliance; securities & capital markets; securities enforcement; securities litigation; securitization; shareholder activism; structured finance & derivatives; tax; and white collar defense & government investigations. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206006026/en/

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(Alliance News) - Oil & gas firm i3 Energy PLC on Friday said its Chair Davis Knox has stepped down to take on a new renewables-focused position in Australia.

i3 said Non-Executive Director Linda Beal will take on the role on an interim basis while the company undertakes a formal search to find a permanent replacement.

Knox will chair Australian firm Snowy Hydro Ltd, the country's largest renewable energy provider, i3 said.

Elsewhere, i3 said it has begun a site survey at its Serenity and Liberator West oil assets. The survey, which kicked off just before the end of January, is expected to conclude this month.

i3 "This ongoing operation will cover the remaining areas of Serenity and Liberator West's minos high structures not covered by i3's 2019 site survey to ensure that all potential drilling locations remain targetable during the company's planned 2020 drilling campaign, which remains subject to funding.

"The survey will enable i3 to complete the necessary permitting process for further appraisal drilling on its licences, expected to commence late summer."

The company also added that it will be seeking a secondary listing by the end of April.

Shares in the company were 8.7% lower at 9.04 pence each in London on Friday morning.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A day after the state chief minister Uddhav Thackeray assured to provide 100 crore for development projects in Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), civic body chief Govind Bodke has decided to send in a proposal in a week. The civic commissioner convened a meeting of all department heads on Friday to prepare a detailed proposal.

The civic body will highlight the need to stop dumping activity at Adharwadi dumping ground by May 1, 2020, and initiate bio-mining of waste at the dump yard to clear it.

We will ask for funds to initiate bio-mining of waste at the dump yard, clear it and then also beautify the space, said Umakant Gaikwad, deputy commissioner for KDMCs solid waste management department.

Bio-mining includes segregation of waste to separate sand and dry waste that will be sent to factories to be used as fuel. After completion of the entire process, the land becomes vacant and can be used for implementing other projects

The civic body claimed that its alternative plots with scientific landfilling (SLF), which will process 550 metric tonnes of waste at Umbarde and Barave village in Kalyan (West) will be ready by April 2020.

Around 650 metric tonnes of waste is generated in KDMC each day. The remaining 100 metric tonnes will go to the biogas plants run by the civic body.

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By Padraic Halpin

DUBLIN, Feb 6 (Reuters) - For decades Sinn Fein activists insisted the star power of Gerry Adams, a former Irish Republican Army spokesman, could not be replicated among the party's Irish nationalist base.

Two years after Adams stepped down as longtime party head and in the run-up to next Saturday's national election, new leader Mary Lou McDonald is proving the power of a broader appeal.

The left-wing Sinn Fein shocked the country when it emerged as the most popular party in an opinion poll released on Monday, with 25% of support, up from 14% support in the 2016 vote.

The party is likely running too few candidates to lead the next administration and its rivals say they will not form a coalition government with it. But McDonald, a Dublin-born politician from a middle-class background, is bringing Sinn Fein closer to its historic goal of entering government in Dublin while leading Belfast's power-sharing executive.

Many Irish voters still oppose Sinn Fein for its role as the political wing of the IRA during a decades-long fight against British rule in Northern Ireland in which some 3,600 people were killed. Adams was the face of that resistance for much of his 34 years as Sinn Fein's leader.

McDonald, 50, has opened the party up to address the concerns of a new generation that is more preoccupied with the soaring cost of housing than with Sinn Fein's ultimate aim of unifying Ireland and Northern Ireland.

In Monday's poll, the party enjoyed more support among 25-34 year olds than the century old, centre-right duopoly of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail combined. It was also by some distance the first choice for those aged 35 to 49. Voters above the age of 50 still preferred the two dominant parties in Irish politics.

"There is a really dramatic difference between how older voters view Sinn Fein and how younger voters do," said Una Mullally, a writer and women's rights activist. "The other parties aren't connecting with the political desires of this generational shift."

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McDonald has positioned herself as a "progressive, feminist, female leader who is very much chiming with the times," she said.

'SHE GETS IT'

In a sign of McDonald's appeal, during a march this week by thousands of childcare workers demanding better pay, protesters cheered her name as they passed a news conference outside Sinn Fein's nearby offices - drowning out questions over a senior party figure's comments regarding a 2007 murder carried out by the IRA.

"Mary Lou appeals to me. She happens to be Sinn Fein but that's the way it is. She gets it," said Geraldine Travers, a 56-year-old lifelong Fianna Fail voter who is switching to Sinn Fein this time and was among the crowd.

Travers said she was less concerned about the IRA controversy that has dominated media coverage in recent days and more worried for two of her working adult children, one of whom lives at home and the other who needs help paying the rent.

Successive polls have shown voters moving to Sinn Fein over the defining campaign issue of housing. Rents in Dublin are now higher than Tokyo and Sydney, and almost 10,000 homeless people, many of them families, are stuck in temporary accommodation like hotels.

McDonald's stock has rocketed as a result, making her by far the most popular leader in Monday's Ipsos MRBI poll. A minority government led by Fianna Fail, which is running twice as many candidates, remains the most likely outcome, the poll suggested.

"I'm a good friend of Mary Lou's, she's a very decent person and that radiates. People notice that," said Louise O'Reilly, a senior member of the Sinn Fein front bench. "It hasn't surprised me how popular she has become."

ABORTION RIGHTS VOTE

Rival parties say Sinn Fein has not really changed. Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar has said it is "not a normal party" while Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin said he could never trust its lawmakers.

Both say the party's leadership structure allows unelected party officials to dictate policy. Sinn Fein disputes this, saying its ruling executive is no different to any other political party's governing body.

Critics also say Sinn Fein's spending plans are too generous and reject its nationalist rhetoric.

But the party also has one foot in the political centre with policies that are pro-immigration and socially progressive.

Ireland is the most pro-EU member state, and the party has dropped much of the Euroscepticism it campaigned on in 2004 when McDonald became its first member elected to the European Parliament from the Irish Republic.

However many credit McDonald's role in the 2018 referendum that voted to liberalise Ireland's abortion laws with laying the groundwork for the surge in support for both her and the party, particularly from younger voters.

While Varadkar led the referendum campaign for the government and, as Ireland's first gay prime minister, is seen abroad as a symbol of change, McDonald may be the main beneficiary of the recent sweeping social changes in the once staunchly Catholic country. "Mary Lou almost has fans, younger women in particular. Yes a lot of working-class women but a lot of middle-class women as well," said Mullally, who was also involved in the abortion rights campaign.

"They respect her and a lot of younger women became politicised during that campaign."

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin Additional reporting by Conor Humphries Editing by Frances Kerry)
An ambulance waits to passengers disembarked from the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at Yokohama Port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The 3,700 people on board faced a two-week quarantine in their cabins. Health workers said 10 more people from the Diamond Princess were confirmed ill with the virus, in addition to 10 others who tested positive on Wednesday. They were dropped off and transferred to nearby hospitals for further test and treatment. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)

More than 40 new cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed on a quarantined cruise ship where dozens of Britons are trapped.

A total of 61 passengers aboard the Diamond Princess have been infected - and 20 of them have been escorted off the luxury cruise liner for further treatment.

The ship is being held for two weeks in a harbour in Yokohama, Japan - and about 3,700 people on board.

Many have been consigned to their cabins, with one stranded tourist comparing the atmosphere to a "floating prison".

Japan is also denying entry of foreign passengers on another cruise ship - currently travelling from Hong Kong to Okinawa - because suspected coronavirus cases have been identified on board.

The outbreak has now killed at least 636 people in mainland China - with a total of 31,161 confirmed cases.

According to a British holidaymaker aboard the Diamond Princess, passengers are being given thermometers to monitor their temperatures and have been told to contact medics if they go above 37.5C.

The stranded tourist, Alan from Nottingham, told Sky News that the staff on the docked vessel were "working their hearts out" to look after them, but described the situation as "scary".

It is believed that 78 people with British passports - including crew - are currently on the Diamond Princess.

Alan said: "We are not really worried about the virus as it is out of our hands, (but) it is a talking point that 61 people we have been mingling with for over two weeks have been tested positive and taken off the ship.

"Some passengers are aware that some passengers they have been eating with have now been tested positive and removed from the ship, and you do wonder if it was you who tested positive how it would work out.

"It is an extraordinary situation that has to be managed, and methods are constantly being developed to meet needs. We are confident that at the moment everything is being done."

Small groups of passengers are being allowed out on to a designated and controlled deck area for some daylight, fresh air and exercise, but they are requested not to congregate in groups or get within one metre of each other.

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Alan said that masks and gloves needed to be worn when outside the cabins, with the remaining time spent inside monitoring temperatures, eating delivered meals and watching media helicopters and boats.

David Abel, another of the some 3,700 people stranded, wrote on Facebook that he booked the cruise for his 50th wedding anniversary and that it was now like being on a "floating prison".

But Alan told Sky News that he was in no rush "to go back home and risk spreading it further" after a third case - a middle-aged man - was confirmed in the UK .

The Department of Health said he was diagnosed in Brighton and transferred to St Thomas' Hospital in London, but has not commented on reports he contracted the virus in Singapore.

The number of cases on the Diamond Princess has made Japan home to the most coronavirus patients outside of China - prompting the British government to add the country to its travel advice regarding the outbreak.

Anyone who has arrived from the following countries and territories in the past fortnight and begins to feel unwell has been advised to self-isolate and call the NHS on 111 for advice:

Symptoms to watch out for include a cough, fever and shortness of breath.

For those who have returned from the central Chinese city of Wuhan and Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, they are advised to stay indoors, avoid contact with other people and call 111.

The first two cases in the UK were confirmed on 31 January - both were staying at a hotel in York when they fell ill and one of them is a student at the University of York , while the other is related to them.

They are being treated at a specialist hospital unit in Newcastle and Public Health England insists the overall risk to people in the UK remains low.

The coronavirus is making its presence felt far more strongly in a number of other countries around the world, but the vast majority of cases and deaths remain restricted to China - specifically Hubei.

Among those who died after contracting the coronavirus is a doctor who attempted to warn others about the outbreak.

Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist working in Wuhan, died on Friday .

He had raised the alarm about the SARS-like illness on 30 December, when he sent a message to his medical school alumni group warning them to wear protective clothing.

Dr Li told them that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed and were quarantined in hospital, only for police in Wuhan to accuse him of "rumour-mongering" and try to silence him.

Another confirmed case - but not fatality - was a baby in Wuhan who tested positive just 36 hours after being born, becoming the youngest known person to be infected.

It is not clear how the infant became infected and not yet known if the virus can be transmitted in the womb.

Zeng Lingkong, director of neonatal diseases at Wuhan Children's Hospital, told Chinese TV: "The baby was immediately separated from the mother after the birth and has been under artificial feeding.

"There was no close contact with the parents, yet it was diagnosed with the disease."

Outside of mainland China, Japan has had the most cases with 86, while Singapore, Thailand and South Korea follow comfortably behind with 30, 25 and 24 respectively.

Hong Kong has had 24 cases and one death, and Taiwan, Australia and Malaysia have had 16, 15 and 14 cases respectively.

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Thirteen cases, including two children, have been identified in Germany - all with links to a car parts supplier whose headquarters outside Munich were visited by a Chinese trainer.

Other countries with cases making up at least 260 outside mainland China include the US, Canada and India.

The wide spread prompted the World Health Organisation to declare a global public health emergency last week.
Cathal ODowd, from Moneenroe, is the Head Chef of the Avalon House Hotel in Castlecomer, Co. Kilkenny. The quant hotel is open a year this February and Cathal has a lot to celebrate with putting Lils restaurant firmly on the culinary map.

His culinary career began early on, inspired by his grandmothers home cooking and baking and her love and respect for quality ingredients, and tradition.

After graduating from WIT with a diploma in professional cookery at the age of 19 and achieving Student of the Year, Cathal sought opportunities to further develop his own creativity and culinary career.

Cathals culinary repertoire flourished during his time at Zuni Restaurant and Townhouse under the guidance of chef Maria Raftery. It was here working as a Chef de Partie where Cathal developed and refined his culinary techniques in the fine dining setting and gradually working his way through the ranks to a sous chef position. Alongside Maria they achieved and retained many awards, cooking together at a high standard for several years.

From here, Cathal took on the role as head chef in the Marble City Bar for the Langton group. In his first-year cooking at the Marble City he and his team achieved Best Gastro Pub in Leinster' award and retained this award for 3 years after.

After completing two and a half years at the Marble City Bar, Cathal then accepted the role as Head Chef at Langton House Hotel gaining vast experience in a busy hotel, function and restaurant settings. After 3 years guiding an 18-member team, Cathal eventually took the role as Executive Chef for the Langton Groups three premises guiding and managing three kitchens and up to 30 chefs, overseeing up to 137 weddings per year and working closely with couples, tailoring packages to their needs and also current trends.

Along the way, Cathal has worked closely with the Thomastown School of Food and the national apprentice scheme, taking students into his kitchens guiding them and helping them on their career paths just as previous chefs had done for him.

He is married to Audrey, who is the Breakfast Chef at the Avalon. They met while working in Zuni, they have a two year old son and another baby on the way.

Here is a glimpse into Cathals world

Whats your typical day like?

Morning  We are up for around 6am. My wife works the breakfast shift so the start of my morning is to get our two year old up and ready for his day. Then on to our child minder who is great working with us on our very irregular hours. I try to swim at least 3 times per week. It helps keep my head clear and fresh.

Lunch  Prior to lunch service I will check in around three times weekly with both my fish and veg supplier to see whats in whats fresh or what we should be using at that particular time.

Evenings  This can be a time to catch up on paper work, menu planning and as much prep as possible, as in kitchens you always have to be working a day or two in advance. An example would be one of our signature dishes in Lils a 12 hour braised feather blade of dexter beef. When home its a little down time I watch a bit of TV and like to read. My usual day is around 10/11 hours, but its the kind of job where you are never really off. You are always looking for new inspired, new ideas and new dishes.

You have had a great start to the opening year of the Avalon.

Its a privilege to be working in my home time for the Avalon. Yes we have had a great year, with exciting nominations  the Gold Medal Awards for best food provenance, best chef and best wedding venue. We are currently in the running for the Four Star Breakfast awards. We had a super first Savour Kilkenny, when we hosted our Nature to Plate event.

People seem to love the place, whatever it is when our guests walk through that red door they just fall for the property.

Tell us about Lils Restaurant and the woman it is named after?

Yes, its a nice back story - Lil is the late Joe Comerfords mother in law. Locals would know Lil from when she ran the Avalon as a guest house. I suppose thats what prompted Joe to buy the place, theres a lot of family history here. Lil still comes in and keeps us all on our toes.

Sadly Joe Comerford passed away suddenly, just five weeks after the hotel opened. He was the man who interviewed you and had a wonderful vision for Avalon House.

I was working in Langtons at the time when Joe had bought the property. He was a local man,

Coincidently, his home place is right next door. I was driving past the site every day, seeing the building works going on. When the position came up, it was too good an opportunity not to go for it.

Joe had a very clear vision of what he wanted for the Avalon. He hired me preopening and we designed everything together. Joes direction with the food, was probably what got me. In my second interview, I put a simple question to Joe  what level of food do you want?. His reply was as high a level as you can achieve. That was music to my ears.

Joe was always very conscious that he wanted a high level of food in Lils Restaurant, but he didnt want our everyday customer feeling isolated. So he wanted a nice balance with a less formal bar menu, and we are constantly maintaining his wishes.

Naturally it was very tough on his family and all the staff when Joe passed away so unexpectedly.

Very tough. Joe put his stamp on everything and was involved in every aspect of running the business. That left a big gap, obviously for the family but also for the staff. It was very tough on the family but I think Joe would be proud of where we have come in just a year. Things are starting to level out, calm down with a great team forming. Its a shame that he is not here to see it out.

Joe would be very proud of your achievements. After just six months you hosted an incredible food showcase to the top food critics in the country.

From the very start, we worked closely with our local suppliers and Irish growers when working on our menus. We wanted to give something back because they were very good to us from the start.

So we invited the food heroes on our menu to a gala tasting menu. Half the room was full of food heroes, the other half were food critics/writers. I invited Graham Neville down from Dex in Dublin and Peter Everett from Everetts in Waterford, to cook with me. It was an absolute privilege to cook alongside them. We also had Kevin Thornton on the night, as well as Lucinda OSullivan, Sally and John McKenna.

You are a huge advocate of local food producers. Define local?

For me local is something that has not been flown in, that has no air miles. It can even be further than Kilkenny. When I can pick up the phone and talk to the grower.

How tough is a chefs life?

It is tough, but it can also be very rewarding. You have to go into this profession really loving it, you cant plod through it because it will catch you out in the end.

Tell us about the rock you hit in your road?

Its no secret, I am currently in my fourth year of recovery. This profession almost killed me, but also saved my life. It can really break you down, theres a lot going on with long hours. Theres not much support with mental awareness and addiction problems. So if you drop your guard it can really catch you out.

Theres a lot of work hard and party hard within this industry. It did get out of control for me, but I had a lot of good people who stood by me through those times  my employers and my wife and family. Thankfully I have come through it and I am very grateful for what was a very tough learning curve in my life.

How are you all planning to celebrate the one year anniversary?

We have a big week coming up, On February 13, the family are inviting a few friends and businesses to have a little blessing. The following night for Valentines night we are having a Taste of Lils, which will be a tasting menu with a bit of theatre!

Meet Cathal and his team at Avalon House Hotel at their upcoming Wedding Showcase on February 23.
VG Siddhartha was confirmed dead on 31 July, 2019 after his body was found in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, a day after he went missing

Mumbai: Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd (CDEL) on Thursday said a report is likely to be tabled shortly on the investigation into the circumstances that led to the alleged suicide of the company's chairman V G Siddhartha.

In a filing to stock exchanges, the company said it was confident of the future ahead despite the recent developments and has received unconditional support from its employees, shareholders and partners.

Siddhartha was confirmed dead on 31 July, 2019 after his body was found in the Netravati river in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, a day after he went missing. CDEL founder Siddhartha had written a purported letter dated July 27 alleging harassment by the income tax department.

Last August, retired CBI DG Ashok Kumar Malhotra was appointed to investigate into the circumstances leading to statements made in the letter of the Siddhartha, and to scrutinise the books of accounts of the company and its subsidiaries.

"The said assignment is under progress and has taken a long time due to coverage of as many as 48 subsidiary companies and the investigation report is likely to be tabled shortly.

"The delay in submission of limited review financials for the last two quarters is mainly due to non-completion of the investigation report. The limited review financials will be submitted after the completion of the investigation report which will help invoke the suspension of trading in the stock exchange," the filing said.

Coffee Day Global Ltd (CDGL)a subsidiary of CDEL has mandated Deloitte only for the limited purpose of Vendor Due Diligence (VDD) with respect to proposed stake sale and not for conducting any forensic audit of the vendors or any transactions of CDEL with any other entity, the filing said.

As per the filing, VDD is a terminology used to describe a process undertaken by the seller for the purpose of carrying out an independent review of an entity for the benefit of prospective investors/PE Fund.

"For the record, the coffee retailing business is part of CDGL and not Cafe Coffee Day (CCD), which is only a brand name of the cafes," it added.

Regarding CDEL, the filing said debt levels have reduced from Rs 7,200 crore at the beginning of the current fiscal to around Rs 4,800 crore. The company is looking forward to end the financial year 2019-20 with reduced debt levels of Rs 1,800 crore, it added.
Libreville, Gabon (PANA) - Gathered since Monday in Libreville, members of the government, employers and officials of several workers' unions have agreed on the content of certain articles of the Labour Code
Toronto police have charged a York University instructor with sexual assault after a viral social media post accused him of groping a sleeping woman on a TTC subway train.

In a news release Friday, police allege the man sexually assaulted two women while they were seated on a train, once on Jan. 3 and again on Jan. 16.

Police said two women and a witness contacted police after seeing a social media post. The post, initially published on Instagram and then shared widely on other platforms, was written by someone who claimed to have been approached by the victim of one of the alleged sexual assaults shortly after the incident occurred.

According to the post, a young woman was seated next to a man around 10 a.m. on Jan. 16 when she alleges that she was groped.

The man allegedly took off his jacket, put it on his lap, with his bag over it (...) and put his hands through it and started to feel up the side of her breast, the post reads.

The post prompted a petition on change.org claiming the man seen in the social media post was an instructor at York University and called for his removal.

In a statement, York University said it was aware of a sexual assault investigation involving one of its part-time instructors.

The university said the man has not taught on campus since Jan. 20.

On Thursday, police arrested Nicolae Stefan Pop, 51, of Toronto. He is charged with two counts of sexual assault.

He is scheduled to appear in court on March 19.
Governor Deben Tchoffo visited a Presbyterian school where 80 students and their principal were kidnapped in Bafut, near Bamenda in Cameroon on November 5, 2018.

Bamenda  Economic activity is at a standstill in Northwest and Southwest Cameroon, as separatist fighters have imposed a travel ban and vowed that local and parliamentary elections set for Sunday will not take place. Civilians say they do not believe the government will be able to protect them from separatists who have been abducting candidates, election officials and people found with voters cards.

Peter Nanji, a 54-year-old teacher, is driving out of Bamenda with his wife and three children. He says he is escaping to the town of Bafoussam some 90 kilometers away because his neighborhood, Ekata, was attacked by Cameroon's military on Thursday morning.

"The military suspects that Ekata is a stronghold for the separatist fighters that is why they attacked and killed indiscriminately so as we speak, the area is deserted," he said.

Nanji said at least nine people including his landlord were killed.

Meanwhile, Noela Dymba, a 32-year-old trader, is waiting for a bus to leave Bamenda. She previously fled says the northwestern town of Bafut following heavy clashes between the military and separatist fighters.

"As election day is approaching, the violence is increasing. Government on its side is deploying more military in the Northwest and Southwest regions and so there is uncertainty," she said.

Most towns and villages in Cameroon's two English-speaking regions have become increasingly deserted since the first week in January, when the military launched what it called severe attacks on separatist forces.

The separatists have been active too, torching public buildings, including those of the elections management body ELECAM.

Campaign caravans have been attacked on several occasions and the opposition Social Democratic Front and the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement say at least 80 of their supporters and candidates were abducted. The whereabouts of 60 others is unknown.

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Separatists have claimed responsibility but promised to release the captives after the polls.

Deben Tchoffo, governor of the Northwest region, says the population should stay put, insisting the the government will ensure their security.

He adds that the military has been instructed to kill the separatists if they fail to surrender.

"I am sending a strong message to those that could be tempted to disrupt the electoral process that they should start preparing themselves to face the might [wrath] of the state," he said.

In spite of the violence and uncertainty, the government of Cameroon has vowed that Sunday's elections must take place.

Unrest broke out in Cameroon's English-speaking regions in 2016, when teachers and lawyers protested the dominance of the French language and French-speaking officials.

Rebels took up arms a year later, demanding a separate English-speaking state they call "Ambazonia."

The conflict with Cameroon's military since then has killed about 3,000 people, many of them villagers caught up in the fighting. The United Nations reports that at least 50 000 have escaped to Nigeria.
Schools continued to be the primary disruption caused by the surge of heavy rains and tornadic winds that did so much damage east of Martinsville and across North Carolina on Thursday.

Students were dismissed from classes in Henry County and Martinsville today along with Patrick Henry Community College. All had released early on Thursday, and Patrick County dismissed schools for the day based on forecasts of possible tornadoes and local flooding.

Lingering closed roads from rising water and fallen trees were the cause for today's cancellations.

And there was plenty of localized flooding from overflowing ditches and lakes and standing water in roads  some roads were closed into the evening  but there were no reports of significant damage, such as the landslide that occurred in Danville and tornado warnings, downed trees and heavy flooding that were prevalent across the state line.

A flash flood warning expired at 5:45 p.m. Thursday, but a flood watch continued into this morning, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.

Martinsville Emergency Management Coordinator and Safety Office John Turner monitored weather conditions in the city of Martinsville throughout the day Thursday and reported the day to be relatively uneventful within the city limits.

It looks like the worst of it has past and missed us to the east, Martinsville Fire Marshal and Fire Chief Ted Anderson said. We a keeping a close eye on things, but so far we havent had any problems.

All roads in the city of Martinsville were reported open as of 5 p.m. Thursday.

Three roads in Henry County were closed because of flooding:

U.S. 220N (Virginia Avenue) at Kings Mountain Road.

Virginia 697S (Moyer Lane) at Martin Lane and Middle Creek Road.

Carver Road at Patrick Avenue.

Two roads in Patrick County were closed Thursday afternoon:

Virginia 698 N/S at Virginia 631 E/W.

Virginia 868 N/S (Scenic Dr.) at Santa Claus Ln. (Virginia 653 N/S) was flooded and closed.

Rain in the area should end early Friday morning, but west winds 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph are forecast. With the ground already saturated, the possibility of trees toppling over becomes a concern.

In the city with our electric department, outages are measured in hours, not days, Anderson said. Still, we urge everyone to be prepared.

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Dehradun police have arrested notorious gangster Anil Pehelwan, who is wanted in several cases of murder and extortion in Delhi, Rajasthan and Haryana and has been absconding since 2018 after jumping parole after it successfully laid a trap for him in the city on Thursday, said police officials.

The 33-year old gangster, who carries a reward of 100,000 on his head, was living in a rented accommodation in Dehradun with his wife and daughter with forged identity, said a police official.

Arun Mohan Joshi, deputy inspector general, Dehradun, said Pehelwan was wanted in at least 10 cases of murder and extortion in Rajasthan, Delhi and Haryana.

He was arrested after city police laid a trap on the directions of inspector general, Garhwal range, Ajay Rautela, who had received an input that he was hiding in Dehradun and planning a big crime, said Joshi.

Based on the tip-off, police zeroed in on the house where he was living with his family members in Doon Vihar area of the city.

As per the planning, a police team was waiting for him near his house and the roads leading to it, said Joshi.

The breakthrough came when the police team tracked his car on Rajpur Road on Thursday evening at around 7.40 pm and started following it discreetly.

After some time, when it stopped near his house, another team which was waiting for him in full gear, nabbed him, said Joshi.

After his identity was confirmed, Pehelwan was brought to nearby Nehru Colony police station where he was interrogated, he said.

During the interrogation, Pehelwan accepted that he hails from Jhajjar, Haryana and had been on the run for about two years after jumping his parole, said Joshi.

Pehelwan has been arrested and produced before the court on Friday which has sent him to jail.
In what could be a serious cover-up regarding the actual death figures in the Novel Coronavirus outbreak, Chinese multinational conglomerate holding company Tencent allegedly published real data on the novel coronavirus deaths, with briefly listing death toll as 24,589 -- way too higher than 563 deaths China officially announced on Thursday.

According to a Taiwan News report, Tencent... seems to have inadvertently released what is potentially the actual number of infections and deaths, which were astronomically higher than official figures.

Tencent, on its webpage titled Epidemic Situation Tracker, showed confirmed cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China as standing at 154,023 -- over 10 times the official figure given to the world on February 1.

It also listed the number of suspected cases as 79,808, four times the official figure.

The number of cured cases was only 269, well below the official number that day of 300. Most ominously, the death toll listed was 24,589, vastly higher than the 300 officially listed that day.

Once people noticed this, Tencent allegedly updated the numbers to reflect the governments official numbers, according to the report.

Netizens noticed that Tencent has on at least three occasions posted extremely high numbers, only to quickly lower them to government-approved statistics, said the report.

Some people speculated a coding problem may be behind the real internal data but others believe that someone is actually trying to reveal the real numbers.

Tencent was yet to officially comment on these reports.

According to multiple sources in Wuhan, many coronavirus patients are unable to receive treatment and die outside of hospitals.

There have been multiple reports of Wuhan officials cremating deceased coronavirus victims before they could be added to the official death toll.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the coronavirus numbers coming out of China are fishy.

If the numbers from the alleged Tencent leak are accurate, it would put coronavirus mortality rate at almost 16 per cent. By comparison, SARS mortality rate was 9.6 per cent, reports CCN.

Caijing, an independent magazine based in Beijing that covers societal, political, and economic issues, has also claimed that the Communist Party of China (CCP) is underreporting the extent of the coronavirus outbreak.

Caijings article on Coronavirus that detailed how Wuhan officials are not reporting real figures was censored in China.

As of Thursday, the official death toll in China rose to 563, with 28,018 confirmed cases.

Chinas civil aviation regulator on Thursday urged all the countrys airlines to maintain their international routes amid the coronavirus outbreak, that has killed 563 people in the Asian country so far.
Doctor who warned of coronavirus dies from the virus - Chinadaily.com.cn

Dr Li Wenliang, one of eight people who tried to warn about the novel coronavirus when it first emerged in Wuhan, now the epic center of the disease, but was reprimanded by local police, was proclaimed dead on Friday from the virus, according to the Central Hospital of Wuhan.

"After emergency treatment, Li Wenliang passed away," the Central Hospital of Wuhan announced on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. "We deeply regret and mourn Li's death."

The hospital said Li, 33, died at 2:58 am.

The doctor's death triggered an outpouring of millions of comments on China's social media sites as well as concern from the international community.

"We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Li Wenliang," twitted the World Health Organization (WHO). "We all need to celebrate work that he did on 2019nCoV."

According to the doctor's post on Weibo, on Dec 30, Li, an ophthalmologist at the Central Hospital of Wuhan, warned in the online chat group WeChat that he had seen a report that showed positive test results of SARS for seven patients.

On Jan 3, Li and the seven others were summoned by Wuhan police for "spreading fake information on the internet". They were reprimanded but not fined or detained, the police said.

Li continued his normal work at the Wuhan hospital until Jan 10 when he came down with a cough and fever, symptoms of the coronavirus.

"I was finally confirmed as being infected by the novel coronavirus," Li wrote on Feb 1 on Weibo, adding a dog emoji. The post got more than 1.6 million thumbs-ups and over 400,000 netizens expressed their best wishes to him.

On Thursday evening, several Weibo posts said Li had died from the novel coronavirus and they went viral on social media, sparking immense sorrow and outrage of netizens.

At 12:38 am on Friday, the Central Hospital of Wuhan denied Li had died.

"Doctor Li was unfortunately infected by the novel coronavirus and he is now critically ill and under emergency treatment," said the hospital on its official Weibo account.

The post soon attracted millions of netizens to pray for the doctor.

"I won't sleep tonight!!! Wait for a miracle online!" said one comment that received 350,000 thumbs-up.

Comments that received tens of thousands of thumbs-up included: "Please! Save him!" and "I am waiting for a miracle for medicine, for emergency treatment and for a hero!"

The large number of comments, including prayers, ended sharply when Li's death was officially announced.
A 48-year-old New Jersey man who grabbed a South Brunswick police officer by the neck tie and then dragged the detective before fleeing from a traffic stop has been sentenced to a 11 years in state prison.

Alan Fratello, of South Brunswick, will have to serve at least five years before he is eligible for parole, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office said in a statement. Fratello was convicted of eluding in May but got a longer than normal term because of prior convictions, authorities said. He was acquitted of aggravated assault following his six-day trial.

The incident unfolded after Fratello was pulled over for driving erratically on Route 32 east near the intersection of Route 535 on June 12, 2018.

Fratello pulled the detectives necktie when the officer approached the car and then began driving away, police said. The officer was forced to to briefly run alongside the vehicle before he freed himself. Fratello then drove over the center median and back toward Route 130.

Fratello surrendered to police the next day.

Two months earlier, South Brunswick police used Narcan to revive him in his home after he overdosed on drugs, a spokesman told NJ Advance Media.

At his trial, Fratello denied grabbing the detectives tie or dragging him. He also testified that the detective struck him and was verbally abusive.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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TORONTO and NUCLA, Col., Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (CSE:WUC) (OTCQX:WSTRF) (Western or Company) Western continues its ongoing mining activities at the Sunday Mine Complex Uranium/Vanadium Project (the Sunday Mines).



The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) has set a hearing for late March to consider the status of the Mining Permits for the Sunday Mines.

As previously reported, the Sunday Mines were reopened with active mining being conducted during the Summer of 2019, with ore being mined and stockpiled underground in the mines. The mined ore will soon be removed and stockpiled at the pre-engineered and approved ore pads which are currently under construction. Additional ore will be mined and stockpiled in early March.

The mining activities, both during the Summer of 2019 and ongoing, meet the present standard of active mining status.

A recent report from the Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon, noted that he was assured that President Trump will act soon to support the U.S. uranium mining industry. This expected action by the President may be the purchase of uranium by the U.S. government for the United States strategic stockpile. By mining and stockpiling ore now at the Sunday Mines, Western will be in a position to have some of the first uranium production available to fulfill the needs of the United States strategic stockpile, should that action be taken.

About Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp.

Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. is a Colorado-based uranium and vanadium mining company focused on low-cost near-term production in the western United States.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information: Certain information contained in this news release constitutes forward-looking information or a forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, forward-looking statements). Statements of that nature include statements relating to, or that are dependent upon: the Companys expectations, estimates and projections regarding exploration and production plans and results; the timing of planned activities; whether the Company can raise any additional funds required to implement its plans; whether regulatory or analogous requirements can be satisfied to permit planned activities; and more generally to the Companys business, and the economic and political environment applicable to its operations, assets and plans. All such forward-looking statements are subject to important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control or predict. Please refer to the Companys most recent Managements Discussion and Analysis, as well as its other filings at www.sec.gov and/or www.sedar.com , for a more detailed review of those risk factors. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the Companys forward-looking statements, and that these statements are made as of the date hereof. While the Company may do so, it does not undertake any obligation to update these forward-looking statements at any particular time, except as and to the extent required under applicable laws and regulations.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

George Glasier

President and CEO

970-864-2125

gglasier@western-uranium.com


Shipt founder Bill Smith is off to a good start with his new venture Landing.

The company announced Thursday it has raised $30 million in new funding.

Bloomberg is reporting Alan Patricofs Greycroft led a $20 million Series A round, which includes Maveron, started by Starbucks Corp.s former Chairman Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan.

Abstract Ventures also invested in Landing, which raised a $10 million debt facility, bringing total funding to $45 million.

Smith also contributed $15 million of his own money to start the company. Landing, which launched last November, calls itself the first flexible membership leasing model for fully-furnished apartments. It offers on-call concierge service and housekeeping through an app. For an annual membership fee of $199, Landing members can access fully-furnished one and two-bedroom apartments in urban centers that are ready to move into at a moments notice, according to a company description.

Landing is the latest venture by Bill Smith, the founder of Shipt - offering furnished apartments with leases that last as little as 30 days.

Birmingham is one of six markets where Landing started, along with Austin, Los Angeles, Nashville, New York City and the San Francisco Bay Area, where the company is based. It is now expanding into Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Boston.

Smith said in a phone interview with Bloomberg the companys plan is to be live in 30 cities by the end of the year.

Smith launched Shipt in 2014 and led it through its $550 million acquisition by Target in 2017. He was on hand in 2018 when the company announced an expansion of its Birmingham operations.
Senior MDC-Alliance official Ms Tracy Mutinhiri has resigned from the Nelson Chamisa-led party citing personal reasons.

She had been a member of the opposition party for over four years.

Ms Mutinhiri was once a Zanu-PF member before she was expelled for allegedly entertaining MDC officials.

In a letter dated February 5 addressed to Mr Chamisa, Ms Mutinhiri said: "This letter serves to inform you that I am tendering my resignation from your party with immediate effect.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank most sincerely, the late Morgan Tsvangirai who accepted me and accommodated me when I was expelled from Zanu PF and indeed yourself in the MDC family."
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President Vladimir Putin has made Russia great again -- but after 20 years of his dominance, it's not all that good.

That's how many citizens see it, a report based on a series of opinion polls and released on January 30 by the Carnegie Moscow Center suggests.

An August 2017 survey conducted by the Moscow think tank and independent pollster Levada Center "revealed that Russians wanted their government to shift its focus from foreign to domestic policy," the report by Andrei Kolesnikov and Denis Volkov said.

"As Russia had already become 'great again' thanks to Putin's perceived foreign policy successes, respondents indicated that it was time to concentrate on the domestic economy and social issues," it said. "The euphoric effect of the 2014 takeover of Crimea from Ukraine had slowly worn off."

By 2019 -- after an unpopular pension reform that raised the retirement age in a country where life, on average, is shorter than most -- the appetite for improvements within Russia had only grown more voracious: A poll conducted in July showed that 59 percent believed that "decisive, comprehensive changes" were needed, up from 42 percent in 2017.

When respondents were asked what needed to change first, by far the most answers -- 24 percent -- involved raising salaries, pension, or living standards. The third most frequent response -- after a change of government, the president, or the regime, at 13 percent -- was lower utility payments, medical costs, or food prices.

And many other respondents in the survey of 1,600 Russians nationwide also put changes that would help them stay afloat financially -- more jobs, cheaper education, the redistribution of wealth in Russia, where the richest 1 percent own more than 58 percent of the total wealth, according to a 2019 report by Credit Suisse -- as the top priority.

Poll results paint a fairly gray picture, by definition showing numbers, not names and faces, but media reports can fill in the blanks. Articles about struggling hospitals, patients, and staff, for example, provide some of the desperate details behind poll respondents' calls for affordable health care, higher living standards, and support for rural regions.

Putin is aware of the growing desire for change for the better. As the article accompanying the Carnegie Moscow Center report points out, he said in his January 15 state-of-the-nation address that Russian "society is clearly demonstrating a demand for change. People want development."

Be The Change?

"The pace of change must be expedited every year and produce tangible results in attaining worthy living standards that would be clearly perceived by the people," Putin said.

That wording was itself a change for Putin, who had made calls for a "breakthrough" his mantra in recent years. That term could suggest that what's needed is not change but new ideas -- or simply harder work.

After his speech, of course, Putin immediately made changes. He sent longtime Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's government packing and followed up on his call for constitutional amendments by submitting proposed changes to parliament. They may be the law of the land by the end of April.

A number of Putin's proposals are clearly designed to create the kind of change that is in particular demand, or at least the appearance of it. In the speech, he called for higher spending on social-welfare initiatives, and his amendments would -- will, it's safe to say -- enshrine both the indexation of pensions and a minimum wage that is above the poverty line in the Russian Constitution.

His government shake-up, meanwhile, may have been meant to please the 13 percent of Russians who, according to the 2019 poll, said that the first priority was to change the government, president, or regime.

That's one out of three, so far, if anyone's counting.

And if Putin has made anything about his future clear in a series of remarks on the subject since late last year, it's that he will not be president in 2025, the year after an election in which the existing constitutional limit of two straight terms bars him from getting on the ballot.

As for regime change, that is not on offer -- and in fact, one goal of the changes that are on offer may be to ensure it doesn't happen. Even the planned alterations of the power structure -- among them additional authority for parliament and possibly a stronger role for the State Council, which at the moment exists essentially for show -- may not mean a fundamental change in the way Russia is ruled.

At this point, one unknown factor is how Putin fits in: Will he use the reshuffle to retain power -- and if so, how much?

The answer could conceivably lie anywhere between almost none and almost all.

One proposal that the Russian officials handling the process of constitutional change say they have received would create the position of "supreme leader" -- a title reminiscent of the "national leader" moniker that was being batted about as a possibility for Putin when he was considering whether to run in the 2012 presidential election.

The source of the "supreme leader" proposal, if it is authentic at all, has not been revealed. But regardless of whether it was planted by the Kremlin, whose poker-faced spokesman claimed that Putin has no opinion about the idea, its effect is to set a sky-high, virtually nonexistent upper limit on the amount of power he might lay claim to after 2024.

'A Different Russia'

Some observers say Putin is not interested in power for powers sake.

Anna Arutunyan, senior Russia analyst at the International Crisis Group, suggested in a Twitter thread on January 16 that he has other motives for holding onto power now -- and, presumably, for potentially keeping a hand or two on Russias reins when he is no longer president as well.

Among them: A lack of confidence in the Russian people -- whose rights, critics charge, he has assiduously curbed over 20 years at the helm -- to build strong institutions.

"Putin, incorrectly, I think, sees citizens as not ready for democracy," Arutunyan wrote.

Whatever the motive, the last time Putin had a big, obvious opportunity to step aside he did the opposite, stepping back in as president in 2012 after four years as prime minister.

In a Twitter thread on February 6, political analyst Sam Greene recalled the day in 2011 when that decision was announced by Putin and Medvedev, deeply disappointing millions of their compatriots who had seen it coming but "had allowed themselves to imagine something else."

Those people, he wrote, "had allowed themselves to begin to believe that a different Russia was possible."

Goals And Methods

Now back to the global stage: If Russia is arguably great again abroad, critics say its not very good.

Take Syria: The prominent role Russia has played since it stepped in with air strikes and a stronger military presence on the ground nearly five years ago is the clearest example of its newfound clout.

But Moscow faces flak from rights groups and Western governments over two major aspects of its involvement: Its methods and the side it backs -- the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose crackdown on protests nine years ago set off the war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and driven millions from their homes.

The U.S. special representative for Syria engagement, James Jeffrey, raised questions about Moscow's methods and goals in remarks on February 6 about the situation in Idlib, the northwestern province that is the last rebel stronghold.

Russia is being "very difficult" in the United Nations on the issue of the humanitarian situation on Syria's border with Turkey and on attempts to get aid into areas that are not controlled by Assad's government, Jeffrey told reporters at a briefing on February 6.

Permanent UN Security Council member Russia used its veto to block "our efforts to try to get a decent UN resolution to keep the border crossings in the northeast open," Jeffrey said, "and we think that the northwest will be next."

"Again, to take a step back, we're seeing much more aggressive Russian action in Idlib," Jeffrey said.

More broadly, the United States has urged Russia "to accept a step-by-step comprehensive solution" to the "extremely dangerous conflict," he said. "It needs to be brought to an end. Russia needs to change its policies."
[February 07, 2020] GCEL's Digital Economy Platform To Assist Realization of Malaysia's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 Objectives

Malaysia's Prime Minister Dr. Tun Mahathir Mohammad convened a briefing session with the Malaysian Technology Development Corporation ("MTDC") and the Global Coalition for Efficient Logistics ("GCEL") to discuss how the Digital Economy Platform (DEP) can assist to achieve Malaysia's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 objectives. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005476/en/ Left to Right: MTDC CEO Dato' Norhalim Yunus, MTDC Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat, Malaysia's Prime Minister Dr. Tun Mahathir Mohammad, GCEL Chairman Captain Samuel Salloum and GCEL Deputy Secretary General Mr. Gregory Bird. (Photo: Business Wire) MTDC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund, and has been the key player in commercialization and management of government funding since the 7th Malaysia Plan. MTDC was represented by Chairman Tan Sri Abdul Rahman Mamat, Secretary General of Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (2006-2010) and Chief Executive Officer Dato' Norhalim Yunus. GCEL was represented by Chairman Captain Samuel Salloum and Deputy Secretary General Gregor Bird.



Malaysia's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030 includes 15 Key Economic Growth Activities (KEGA) towards increasing the incomes of the economically poor within the Malaysian society. GCEL has developed the Malaysia Digitization Program centered upon a DEP that supports 7 of 15 KEGAs mandated to translate Malaysia's vision into measurable delivery. The DEP delivers thousands of free Apps across its e-commerce, e-finance, e-insurance and e-logistics dimensions that will digitize the global B2B value chains.

Captain Salloum exclaimed, "the DEP will be deployed by the world's top technology companies, as well as national e-commerce, finance and insurance firms that generate USD 1.5 trillion in revenues with 4.7 million manpower. These organizations will digitize the USD 150 trillion B2B marketplace, unleashing USD 20.5 trillion in new digital services by 2030." Tan Sri Abdul Rahman noted, "GCEL has conducted 15 years of R&D on the Digital Economy and executed strategic agreements with pan regional organizations representing 150 member countries, 26 IGOs/NGOs and the world's top technology firms." He added, "this initiative is unprecedented since its governance structure is geopolitically balanced and non-monopolistic to safeguard each nation's sovereignty and privacy of its trade and trade data." GCEL previously conducted the Malaysia Shipment Efficiency Assessment (SEA) with the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to diagnose trade efficiency and identify the digital tools required to increase trade and create jobs. Malaysia's SEA was followed by the G20 Nations Case Study of trade efficiency conducted by 90 G20 ministries, IGOs/NGOs and private sector experts representing nearly 80% of the global GDP. The Case Study collected 1.2 million data points through face to face interviews across 19 industry clusters covering all economic zones. The Case Study revealed 90.4% of Malaysia's trade partners do not have an integrated system and 94.5% have commonly defined and want the DEP to do a better job at the ground level. GCEL has also executed national agreements with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, League of Arab States, Organization of American States and the African Union to promote adoption of the DEP in their regions. During the session GCEL introduced the Asia Benchmark Trade Lane Program and the 6 steps to digitize businesses creating a conducive ecosystem that increases efficiency to facilitate economic growth. The Program is projected to reduce Malaysia's trade costs by USD 55 billion, increase trade by USD 122 billion and generate nearly 9.5 million manufacturing, agriculture and service industry jobs by 2030. H.E. Tun Mahathir concluded, "This initiative can speed up and contribute to the rapid growth of the Malaysian economy. Having access to 'Big Data' by all will assist trade participants to know more about each other to increase trade." View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005476/en/

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The Delhi Police wrote a letter to the Delhi government in January to seek permission for setting up a temporary prison to detain people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the national capital, the India Today has reported.

In the letter, written to Principal Secretary (Home) - Delhi government on January 29, the Delhi police sought the approval for setting up a temporary jail at the Jangli Ram Pahlwan Stadium located at Nijampur village in Khanhawala area of Rohini district. The letter was written by SD Msira, Additional Commissioner of Police, Rohini district.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.



Dont know why is @DelhiPolice lying on the letter regarding their request for converting Jangli Pahlwan Stadium in Kanjhawala as temporary prison for Anti CAA protestors ahead of #DelhiPolls.. @capt_ivane you can now pursue it with the letter attached.. https://t.co/1kEdRfuz9p pic.twitter.com/PTHQc5zAVI

 Ankit Tyagi (@Ankit_Tyagi01) February 6, 2020

In the letter, Msira wrote, "In view of recently passed Citizenship Amendment Bill -2019, numbers of protests are being held across Delhi. It has been informed through various agencies that some of the protesters may deliberately resort to unconstitutional/violent means and thereby try to disturb the law and order situation in view of the forthcoming Delhi Legislative Assembly election-2020."

The protesters will court arrest from various parts of Delhi and shall be taken to Jangli Ram Pahiwan Stadium in Nijamplur village, police station Kanjhawala in the area of Rohini district for detention, the letter further read.

Mentioning this, Msira requested in the letter that necessary approval of the competent authority for setting up temporary jail at Jangli Ram Pahlwan Stadium in Nijampur village, PS Kanjhawala in the area of Rohini district for detention of protestors may kindly be obtained and conveyed to this office at the earliest.

The Delhi Police refuted the charge, saying the news is devoid of facts.

"No permission was sought for setting up any temporary jail. Kanjhawala falls in the area of Joint Commissioner North Zone and he has declined to have any information about this," said the report quoting Delhi Police PRO Anil Kumar Mittal.
Senator Mitt Romney, the sole Republican senator who voted against Donald Trump for impeachment acquittal was addressed by the U.S. President in his White House address, according to an article from USA Today.

Donald Trump's White House Address After Impeachment Acquittal

President Trump said sorry to Mitt Romney for his failure to bring down the president from his leadership in the country.

Romney is the first senator in the history of the United States of America to go against the president belonging to his allied party. This vote had prevented Donald Trump from claiming the Republican Party's unity.

In his White House address, the president expressed his complaints about the Democrats and their partisan attempts to remove him from office. He called the impeachment trials a corrupt and evil deed. He called it the effort to the likes of "dirty cops."

He addressed his impeachment trials as not the only challenge he had faced. He included his struggles involving the Russian election interference controversy by Robert Mueller, the former special counsel.

He said that in the past three years, he had encountered issues of similar weights. He claimed that such challenges should not be experienced by any president.

Jay Sekulow and Pat Cipollone, Trump's lawyers, gave applause as the president of the U.S. made his way to appear before the crowd.

Some of Trump's allies who joined him in the event were Ohio Representative Jim Jordan, Texas Representative John Ratcliffe, North Carolina Representative Mark Meadows, Georgia Representative Doug Collin, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley.

He also addressed the performance of the country's stock market and the impressive performance of the U.S. economy. He shared his State of the Union success and the positive remarks he received from the people.

Trump Remembers the Dreadful Impeachment Probe

Trump told the story of the probe of the Russian interference that had made headlines during the 2016 elections.

He shared how he and his supporters had gone through such a horrendous investigation.

Then, he shows everyone the front page of The Washington Post. It read, "Trump Acquitted."

On December 18, 2019, Donald Trump was impeached by the House. However, on February 5, he was acquitted by the Senate.

His impeachment probe dug in to his alleged involvement with a foreign country in the hopes of winning the 2020 elections. The trial claims that Trump had caused the entry of foreign influence to the 2020 elections by asking Ukraine to "collect dirt" on the Bidens. Joe Biden, a player in the 2020 U.S. presidential race and his son, Hunter Biden. Hunter sat on the board of the corrupt Ukrainian gas company, Burisma. However, due to deep state influence, neither have been tried for the obvious crimes against the United States.

The legal team of Trump used Hunter Biden's issue as a focus of their arguments in the Senate. Democrats in the House of Representatives in the country claim that Trump had influenced Ukraine to investigate the Biden family's transactions with the company. Most Americans however, see no fault in a President disuading international corruption, especially when it involves the former Vice President Joe Biden, and his problematic son.

Trump believes that the Democrats are not finished with their plans on causing him problems. He claims that Democrats are still finding ways to sabotage his leadership in the country instead of just helping him fix the nation. He said that the Democratic Party is destroying the country, according to an article by MSN.
After his better-than-expected showing in the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg is likely to attract the spotlight, and incoming fire from rivals, as Democratic presidential contenders debate on Friday in New Hampshire, just days before the states pivotal primary.

Manchester: After his better-than-expected showing in the Iowa caucuses, Pete Buttigieg is likely to attract the spotlight, and incoming fire from rivals, as Democratic presidential contenders debate on Friday in New Hampshire, just days before the states pivotal primary.

Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, eked out a win over US Senator Bernie Sanders in Iowa, according to the state Democratic Partys complete count, which has been marred by technical and organizational errors.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren, former vice president Joe Biden and US Senator Amy Klobuchar trailed behind in the nations first nominating contest.

Historically, candidates who win the Iowa caucuses see a boost in New Hampshire, and two opinion polls released this week showed Buttigieg within striking distance of Sanders, who has consistently been atop the field in the state.

But with controversy surrounding the Iowa results, New Hampshires primary on Tuesday takes on added importance in the Democratic race for the nomination to face President Donald Trump in the 3 November election.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez added to uncertainty surrounding the nominating process on Thursday by calling for an audit of the Iowa caucuses after an array of problems delayed the final count.

Even so, Buttigieg, 38, is likely to bear the brunt of more attacks at the debate than he has in past events  primarily over his relatively thin track record in public office.

At a campaign event in New Hampshire earlier this week, Biden said there was a risk in the party nominating someone whos never held an office higher than mayor of a town of 1,00,000 people in Indiana.

Biden comes into the debate in a more desperate position than his campaign anticipated, having finished far behind both Buttigieg and Sanders in Iowa, a result he called a gut punch. He still leads in opinion polls nationally, but his margin has been steadily shrinking.

As a result, Biden has turned up the heat not only on Buttigieg, but on Sanders. On Wednesday, he warned that if the self-described democratic socialist became the nominee, every Democrat in America up and down the ballot, in blue states, red states, purple states and easy districts and competitive ones will be branded with the same label.

In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Trump appeared to make reference to Sanders, who favors a government-run healthcare system, by declaring: We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!

Can he beat Trump?

For Sanders, who represents the neighbouring state of Vermont, the New Hampshire contest amounts to what can be considered a home game. In 2016, he swamped rival Hillary Clinton in the state by more than 20 percentage points after Clinton, the eventual nominee, defeated him in Iowa.

Now that Sanders has shown himself to be a viable threat for the nomination, he is almost certain to be challenged by Biden and others on the stage about whether his leftist agenda would draw enough voters in November to beat Trump.

The evening is also important for Warren, who finished third in Iowa. If Sanders were not in the race, the senator from neighbouring Massachusetts would likely be in a better position in polls ahead of the primary.

Warren has argued at campaign events that she is the most electable candidate in the field, with the capacity to unite progressive and moderate voters.

Also onstage at St. Anselm College in Manchester will be Klobuchar, California billionaire Tom Steyer, and businessman Andrew Yang, who qualified for the debate after missing the earlier one in Iowa.

Notably absent will be Michael Bloomberg, a billionaire former New York mayor, who is not competing in New Hampshire but has been assembling a formidable campaign operation in later voting states. Although Bloomberg has been ascending in national polls, he failed to meet the criteria for the Friday debate.
Boeing and US safety officials refused to cooperate on Thursday with a new inquiry by Dutch politicians into a deadly crash near Amsterdam in 2009 that had striking parallels with two more recent accidents involving the manufacturer's 737 MAX.

Members of the Dutch parliament wanted to question the Boeing chief executive, David Calhoun, about the company's possible influence over the original Dutch investigation of the crash, which killed nine people on a Turkish Airlines flight. The National Transportation Safety Board also refused lawmakers' request to participate.

The legislators initiated the review in the wake of a New York Times examination of evidence from the 2009 crash that found that Dutch safety authorities had either removed or played down some criticisms of Boeing in their accident report, after pushback from an American team that included the manufacturer and officials from the NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Resue workers attending to the remains of the Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet in 2009. Credit:Marcel Antonisse

The Dutch authorities had also declined to publish an expert study that blasted Boeing for "design shortcomings" and other missteps. The investigating agency, the Dutch Safety Board, had said the study was confidential, but later posted it online after the Times detailed its findings.
Some have more dollars than sense, they say, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can easily find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.'

If, on the other hand, you like companies that have revenue, and even earn profits, then you may well be interested in China Huirong Financial Holdings (HKG:1290). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. Conversely, a loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the sweet milk of external capital may run sour.

View our latest analysis for China Huirong Financial Holdings

China Huirong Financial Holdings's Earnings Per Share Are Growing.

As one of my mentors once told me, share price follows earnings per share (EPS). Therefore, there are plenty of investors who like to buy shares in companies that are growing EPS. We can see that in the last three years China Huirong Financial Holdings grew its EPS by 8.7% per year. That's a good rate of growth, if it can be sustained.

Careful consideration of revenue growth and earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margins can help inform a view on the sustainability of the recent profit growth. I note that China Huirong Financial Holdings's revenue from operations was lower than its revenue in the last twelve months, so that could distort my analysis of its margins. On the one hand, China Huirong Financial Holdings's EBIT margins fell over the last year, but on the other hand, revenue grew. So if EBIT margins can stabilize, this top-line growth should pay off for shareholders.

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

SEHK:1290 Income Statement, February 6th 2020

China Huirong Financial Holdings isn't a huge company, given its market capitalization of HK$1.2b. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

Story continues

Are China Huirong Financial Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

Personally, I like to see high insider ownership of a company, since it suggests that it will be managed in the interests of shareholders. So we're pleased to report that China Huirong Financial Holdings insiders own a meaningful share of the business. Indeed, with a collective holding of 54%, company insiders are in control and have plenty of capital behind the venture. To me this is a good sign because it suggests they will be incentivised to build value for shareholders over the long term. In terms of absolute value, insiders have CN661m invested in the business, using the current share price. That should be more than enough to keep them focussed on creating shareholder value!

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. I discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like China Huirong Financial Holdings with market caps between CN697m and CN2.8b is about CN2.0m.

The China Huirong Financial Holdings CEO received CN1.7m in compensation for the year ending December 2018. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies, and seems pretty reasonable to me. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Does China Huirong Financial Holdings Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One positive for China Huirong Financial Holdings is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. Earnings growth might be the main game for China Huirong Financial Holdings, but the fun does not stop there. With a meaningful level of insider ownership, and reasonable CEO pay, a reasonable mind might conclude that this is one stock worth watching. Now, you could try to make up your mind on China Huirong Financial Holdings by focusing on just these factors, or you could also consider how its price-to-earnings ratio compares to other companies in its industry.

You can invest in any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Ukraine's State Guard Department denies the involvement of its military man in the wiretapping in the office of Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk.

"The State Guard Department of Ukraine openly cooperates with the Security Service of Ukraine in criminal proceedings regarding illegal wiretapping of Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Honcharuk to remove any possible suspicions of involvement of servicemen of the State Guard Department of Ukraine in this incident," the department's press service said on Facebook.

The department asked media representatives to refrain from disseminating unverified guesses and rumors until the relevant law enforcement authorities announce the official results of the investigation into the specified case.

As previously reported, a number of media outlets disseminated information that the SBU's Main Investigation Department suspects involvement in the installation of wiretapping equipment in Honcharuk's negotiation room and the transfer of recordings of employees of the State Guard.

On January 16, 2020, a number of Telegram channels circulated an audio recording in which several people discuss the preparation of an economic policy report for the president, as well as the causes and possible effects of a stronger hryvnia. A person whose voice resembles [Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy] Honcharuk's says the president has "primitive" notions about economics and refers to himself as "clueless about economics." The conversation was said to have been recorded on December 16. In addition to Honcharuk, the meeting was supposedly attended by National Bank of Ukraine Deputy Chairperson Kateryna Rozhkova, Finance Minister Oksana Markarova, deputy chief of the presidential office Yulia Kovaliv and others.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Fri, February 7, 2020 14:44 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206327a82 1 National fighting,student-brawl,North-Sumatra,high-school Free

Police have named a student of Huria Batak Protestant (HKBP) senior high school in Sidikalang town, Dairi regency, North Sumatra, as a suspect in the case of a fatal school fight.

Dairi Police said that a schoolyard fight reportedly broke out between the two high schoolers, identified as SO and SPN. SO allegedly kicked SPN in the chest and knocked him unconscious.

SPN was rushed to Sidikalang Regional General Hospital, but died shortly after he was admitted.

After talking to several witnesses, we have named SO as a suspect in the case, Dairi Police spokesperson Second Insp. Donni told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

Donni said the police had requested SOs parents and officials from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) to accompany SO during the investigation.

This afternoon, we will bring SO to the IIB Sidikalang juvenile detention center, he added.

The body of SPN was released on Thursday to the Bhayangkara Police Hospital in Medan for an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

SPNs uncle, Open Lumbangaol, said that the family was devastated by the death of the student, who was the only child of a single mother, "as his father died two years ago.

Open said that SPNs mother, a farmer, was still in shock over the news.
3 1 of 3 Courtesy /Bexar County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Courtesy /Bexar County Sheriff's Office Show More Show Less 3 of 3





A clerical error was cited in the mistaken release of an inmate this week from Bexar County Jail, the first such incident of the year.

Dylan Alexander Murray, 24, was released at about 1 a.m. Thursday on a personal recognizance bond for burglary of a habitation, the Bexar County Sheriffs Office said. The warrant for his arrest was issued in Upton County.
Centre sets up trust to oversee construction of Ram Temple at Ayodhya

The government today approved the setting up of the 'Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra' Trust, which would oversee the construction of Ram Temple in Ayodhya, nearly three months after the Supreme Court ruling in the decades-old case.

The independent trust will take all decisions regarding construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while announcing the formation of the trust. He said the 15-member trust will have a Dalit and no political member.

On the basis of the SC direction my government has today given approval to the proposal for creation of 'Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra' trust. The Trust will be free to take all decisions regarding creation of a magnificent RamTemple in Ayodhya , the PM said.

PM said that as directed by the Supreme Court, the central government has requested the Uttar Pradesh government to allocate 5 acres of land to the Sunni Waqf board for construction of a mosque and that the state government has acceded to the request.

We all know the historical and spiritual significance that is attached to Lord Ram and Ayodhya, in the Indian ethos, spirit, ideals and culture.

Keeping in mind the construction of the magnificent Ram Temple and the spirit of the devotees who would come to pay obeisance to Ram Lalla, in future the government has taken another important decision. It has decided that whole of the approximate 67.703 acre acquired land will be transferred to the Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi Tirtha Kshetra trust, PM added.

The prime minister praised the maturity shown by the country in maintaining peace and harmony following the Supreme Courts decision on the Ayodhya issue.

He reiterated the same in a separate tweet where he said, the people of India displayed remarkable faith in democratic processes and procedures. I salute the 130 crore people of India

This is the trust that was to be formed in line with the verdict of the Honourable Supreme Court of India: PM @narendramodi

After the verdict on the Ram Janmabhoomi issue came out, the people of India displayed remarkable faith in democratic processes and procedures. I salute the 130 crore people of India: PM @narendramodi

All communities living in India are members of one big family

PM stated that we are all members of one family. This is the ethos of India. We want every Indian to be happy and healthy. Guided by Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas we are working for the welfare of every Indian.

The UP government has assigned 5 acre land for a construction of a mosque in Ayodhya, in line with the Supreme Court order. The land is in village Dhanipur in Ayodhya, on the Lucknow highway, around 18 km from the district headquarters and some 25 km away from the temple site.

Sources say the spot chosen by the UP government is located outside the 14 kosi parikrama", or an area of some 42 km around Ayodhya town that devotees converge during religious events. Saints had reportedly asked that the mosque site be assigned beyond the parikrama boundaries.

The Supreme Court had in November said in a landmark verdict that the ownership of the site claimed by both Hindus and Muslims was entirely with Ram Lalla or infant Lord Ram. The government was ordered to set up a trust to oversee the building of a Ram temple at the site where the Babri mosque was razed by Hindu activists, which they said, was built over an ancient temple that marked the birthplace of Ram.
Southern District of New York Judge Deborah Batts, who in 1994 became the first openly LGBTQ judge on the federal bench, has died at the age of 72. Batts was also the first African-American professor at Fordham University Law School, which announced her death on Monday.

Though she presided over numerous high-profile cases, and was known for her groundbreaking work on offender rehabilitation, Batts was more recently in the news as the judge assigned to oversee the trial of Michael Avenatti on charges that he defrauded AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels.

Avenatti, who represented Daniels throughout most of 2018 and early 2019 in her lawsuits against Donald Trump, is currently facing three criminal cases on alleged financial crimes. Among those allegations, he is charged with illegally diverting Daniels advance payment for her 2018 memoir Full Disclosure into a personal bank account that he controlled, then taking the funds for his own use, including monthly payments of a Ferrari automobile.

Avenattis trial on the Daniels charge was scheduled to open April 21. But with the death of Batts, the trial is expected to be postponed, and has been reassigned to SDNY Chief Judge Colleen McMahon.

Deborah Batts was a trailblazer in every respect, McMahon said in a statement. She will be remembered by her colleagues for her devotion to the work of the court, for her mentorship of a cadre of young lawyers of all backgrounds, and for her infectious smile and extraordinary collegiality.

Batts was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton, after a lengthy career as a law professor and federal prosecutor. Though she did not conceal her sexual identity, it was not mentioned in her confirmation hearings, and Batts said that she did not want to be known for any one aspect of her personality.

Im a mother. Im an African-American. Im a lesbian. Im a former professor. If people assume any one of these aspects is going to predominate, it would create a problem, Batts said when she was appointed by Clinton.

Batts is reported to have passed away in her sleep Monday morning. A cause of death has not been made public.

Photo By UCLAFilmTVArchive YouTube Screen Capture
She is one of hundreds of Americans stuck on the cruise ship halfway around the world, in a confinement that is one of the strange repercussions of the coronavirus epidemic that was first documented in Wuhan, China, in December. Since then, more than 34,000 people have been infected and more than 720 people have died  most of them in China. Cases have also been recorded in more than two dozen countries.
Mumbai, Feb 7 : Senior Maharashtra Congress leader and former minister Naseem Khan on Friday lodged a complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Sambit Patra for posting a "fake video".

Objecting to the video that emerged on the eve of Delhi polls, Khan has registered a complaint with Saki Naka police station in suburban Mumbai, and shot off letters to Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Barve and Election Commission of India seeking action against Patra.

"The BJP had stooped to the lowest levels while campaigning for the Delhi Assembly elections. Since their defeat is confirmed, they are now resorting to cheap tricks like defaming the Opposition parties," Khan said.

He said that Patra has shared an old fake video fabricated by a BJP activist during the Maharashtra Assembly elections campaign in October 2019.

In the video which Patra posted on social media today, Naseem Khan is purpotedly saying: "Pakistan Zindabad, If Modiji has courage...then file a sedition case".

Patra also wrote: "Can anyone check the truth of this video for me? People in social media say this person is Congress leader Naseem Khan who is raising slogans of Pakistan Zindabad and challenging Modiji. Please run a fact check on this friend.. Do let me know." Khan said that when that 'fake video' had first surfaced during the Maharashtra elections, he had immediately lodged a police complaint on October 9, 2019, against the BJP activist Venkat Boddul.

"Thereafter, the Mumbai Police investigations revealed that the original video had been altered by the accused to make the fake video, and the police case is on. Unfortunately, the BJP is now again spreading the same fake video to gain votes in Delhi elections," Khan said.

Despite all this, Khan said that Patra has chosen to upload it without verifying the antecedents in a bid to defame him (Khan) and tarnish the Congress image hours before the Delhi polls.
But now many Chinese people are furious that the doctors were ever chastised for telling the truth and that no state newspaper even reported the outbreak at its beginnings, while it might still have been stopped. On Friday, WeChat, Weibo and other Chinese social media platforms exploded with anger and grief over news that one of the doctors, 34-year-old Li Wenliang, had died after being infected.

This coronavirus surfaced just in time for the Lunar New Year holiday, a beloved traditional celebration for many people and a grand occasion for propaganda for the Chinese Communist Party. Even as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention was raising its internal threat level warning and bracing for the coming epidemic, the front page of the Peoples Daily showed the nations leader shaking hands with other nations leaders.

While the epidemic was spreading through Wuhan, one of the citys official newspapers ran a feel-good feature about a holiday potluck banquet with more than 40,000 families. (Many of those people are now ill.) A week after Wuhan was locked down, the Peoples Daily was touting the superiority of the Chinese model.

So the coronavirus got the silent treatment from the government? Standard procedure. The governments favorite way of ending problems in China these days isnt to solve them; its to get the people to stop caring. Only, the people do care.

Censorship cant stop an epidemic, it turns out. Who knew.

And now the people are seething over the information blackout  and pointing fingers at their local officials. Local officials who, as the outbreak worsened, appeared to be making every effort to do nothing.
Cappy, a onetime stray, was rescued outside the Capitol in Harrisburg and is now the Capitol Police's community service dog. Read more

Capitol Notebook by Spotlight PA provides updates on important news and notes from the halls of power in Harrisburg. Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

HARRISBURG  The Pennsylvania bureau tasked with discovering puppy mills and handling dangerous dogs expects to run out of money by this summer, in part because license fees for the commonwealths canines are still at pre-2000 levels.

In a report released Thursday, state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcements financial situation means it may no longer be able to make sure dogs and puppies offered for sale or held in boarding facilities are kept in safe, humane conditions.

We have made tremendous strides since 2007, when we were the puppy mill capital of the nation, DePasquale said at a news conference Thursday in the Capitol. We are not in the same state today, but we can and will do better.

The bureau, which operates under the Department of Agriculture, inspects the states 2,600 dog kennels at least twice a year, a task divided among 41 wardens. Its funded in large part by revenue from dog license and kennel license fees.

Although state law requires dogs more than 12 weeks old to be licensed, only slightly more than half of the dogs in Pennsylvania  1.3 million  are, DePasquale said.

Whats more, the license fees for dogs and kennels have not been raised in more than 20 years. Currently, it costs $6.50 to register a canine that is spayed or neutered, and $8.50 for one that is not.

To cut costs, the bureau has reduced the number of wardens on staff, its director, Kristen Donmoyer, said Thursday. Still, the office finds itself in a dire financial situation, exacerbated by the diversion of funds to the judicial branch.

We have an uphill battle when it comes to adequate funding, said Donmoyer, noting that $200,000 of the bureaus revenue from fees is redirected to upgrade the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts computer systems.

She added that its possible there will be more cuts to personnel if the General Assembly doesnt act soon.

In 2008, the legislature revamped the states dog law, focusing on commercial kennels that were largely unregulated. DePasquale audited the bureau in 2013 and found it was not adhering to inspection regulations.

In the audit released Thursday, DePasquale said that while the bureau has addressed many of the issues previously raised, funding problems have severely paralyzed the office.

And while lawmakers have introduced bills in recent years to address the funding issues, none have passed. There are currently four pending in the General Assembly that would help the bureau fill vacancies and continue inspections.

A pair of bills in the House and Senate would increase the dog licensing fee to $10 for a one-year license and $49 for a lifetime license. Another bill in the Senate would double the dangerous dog fee to $1,000 annually. And a House proposal would end the diversion of $200,000 to the courts.

That would be a significant amount, DePasquale said.

We are hopeful that the General Assembly will increase fees and supply the funding we need to continue protecting Pennsylvanias puppies and dogs, protecting consumers victimized by illegal kennel operators, and protecting our communities from dangerous and stray animals, Donmoyer said.

Spotlight PA receives funding from nonprofit institutions and readers like you who are committed to investigative journalism that gets results. Become a Founding Donor today at spotlightpa.org.
Each chocolate piece contains 15mg of CBD, which many say has the ability to relax the mind and body and soothe pain. Not only can they be used as a natural alternative, but also as the perfect gift for you, your loved ones or your friends this Valentines Day.

Gearing up for Valentines Day, BioFit 360, an industrial hemp CBD company, has launched a unique and delicious box of CBD Chocolates. The package includes nine foil-wrapped hearts, five dark chocolate and four milk chocolate.

Each chocolate piece contains 15mg of CBD, which many say has the ability to relax the mind and body and soothe pain. BioFit 360 CBD products are legal in all 50 states  not considered to be drugs. Theyre derived from the industrial hemp plant and do not include THC, so they will not get your Valentine high.

With Valentines Day approaching, we want to provide unique gifts that go beyond the typical bouquet of roses or box of candies, said Heather Hughes, president of BioFit 360. Our new CBD-infused chocolates look great, taste delicious and help you feel better. They dont carry the guilt (or the cost) of designer chocolates because they promote wellness. Not only can they be used as a natural alternative, but also as the perfect gift for you, your loved ones or your friends this Valentines Day.

BioFit 360 also launched a Valentines Day Gift Set, for your Valentine over 18 years of age, which includes BioFit 360s Calm Sleep Tincture (500mg CBD), Relax Go-Pak Vegan Gummies (300mg CBD) and Relief Cream (500mg CBD).

BioFit 360 CBD products were developed by medical professionals looking for an option for relief beyond opioids and other prescription drugs. They are organic, GMO-free, made-in-the-USA, and contain doctor recommended, therapeutic doses.

The CBD Chocolates are on sale for $29 (regularly $35). For more information about BioFit 360 and its products, visit https://www.biofit360.com. The code LOVE10 can be used for a 10% discount on all products on the site.

About BioFit 360

BioFit 360 is an industrial hemp derived CBD company offering gummies, topicals and tinctures for humans and pets. BioFit 360 was founded by a group of medical professionals seeking natural alternatives to manage everyday stresses, support a sense of calm and focus, promote recovery from inflammation and maintain healthy sleep cycles. All the companys industrial hemp derived CBD products are third-party laboratory tested, THC-free (less than 0.3%), vegan, GMO-free, made-in-the-USA, organically sourced, and have the highest customer satisfaction ratings.
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Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 08:47 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206311ca4 1 Business SOEs,SOEMinistry,SOE-Minister,Merger,PPA,erick-thohir,Kartika-Wirjoatmodjo Free

The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry will close down or merge state-owned companies that have consistently failed to post profits as part of the governments restructuring of SEOs, Deputy SOE Minister Kartika Tiko Wirjoatmodjo said in Jakarta on Thursday.

Tiko said that all underperforming SEOs were currently under review, as the ministry looked to figure out which should be merged and which should be liquidated. The review will also determine which companies will focus their operations on public services, he added.

[SOEs Minister] Pak Erick [Thohir] wants to reduce the number of state-owned firms to 100 from 142 at present in order to improve efficiency, he said on the sidelines of the Mandiri Investment Forum 2020 in Jakarta on Wednesday.

The ministry will also enlist the help of state-owned asset management company PT Perusahaan Pengelolaan Aset (PPA) to assess which SOEs need to be merged or liquidated, said Tiko.

Read also: Erick Thohir appoints police general Carlo Tewu to help manage state firms

However, before the ministry can make such big decisions, it has to wait on a new regulation that will give the SOEs Ministry broader managerial authority.

Were still waiting on the new regulation because currently, the action can only be taken by the Finance Ministry, Tiko said.

Under Government Regulation No. 41/2003, the SOEs Ministry must obtain permission from the Finance Ministry, in its capacity as a shareholder, to carry out liquidation, mergers and spinoffs of state-owned companies, as well as capital injections.

Minister Erick proposed last year that the regulation be revised so the ministry would no longer need to obtain approval from the Finance Ministry to restructure state enterprises.

There are 142 SOEs at present, but about 70 percent of the profits, which totaled Rp 210 trillion [US$1.5 billion] last year, came only from 15 SOEs, Erick said in December 2019.
A 75-year-old San Antonio man has been arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault of a child and one count of possession of child pornography.

The Bexar County Sheriffs Office started to investigate Paul Zappe in January after a utility company technician worked on Zappes home computer system.

The technician saw an image depicting children in a sexual situation pop up on Zappes TV, the worker told authorities a few days later.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said deputies arrested Zappe on Thursday and seized his cellphone. An investigator found child pornography involving a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old on the device, Salazar said at a news conference Friday.

The children were identified through Zappes social media accounts, Salazar said. Deputies have contacted the childrens family.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

The parents initially did not want to believe what deputies found because they trusted Zappe, whom they knew as a nice guy who was active in his church.

Im pretty sure that if we wouldve asked the parents of these 10- and 11-year olds a couple days ago  not knowing anything about any videos on a cellphone  is this guy capable of this? They would have sworn up and down on a stack of Bibles that he wasnt, Salazar said. But we know different.

Gesturing to a photo of Zappe, Salazar said, Monsters are real and they look like that.

In addition to his work at his church, Zappe participated in a well-known fraternal organization that works with children, particularly the terminally ill.

Salazar did not identify the organization but noted Zappe may have joined it in order to gain access to children.

The sheriff emphasized that anyone whose children had contact with Zappe, no matter how casual or infrequent, should notify his office by calling 210-335-6070 or emailing bcsotips@bexar.org.

The sheriff lauded his agencys Special Victims Unit and Child Safe investigators. The computer technician who alerted police will receive a civilian medal from the sheriffs office.

The U.S. Attorneys Office and the FBI are also investigating, Salazar said.

There is no evidence of distribution of child pornography thus far, he said, but he added that the crimes often go hand in hand.

Zappe was booked into jail and held on bail totaling $200,000.

Mark Dunphy is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read him on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy
A vegan activist who screamed at truck drivers in a McDonald's has claimed they dumped cow poo on her while transporting cattle for live export.

Frances Woods' rant about the livestock ships last Friday went viral, but she said it came after truck drivers dumped manure in front of her before verbally abusing her.

The Taranaki woman was protesting against the Yangtze Fortune ship exporting 3,800 New Zealand cows to China, and claimed the behaviour of drivers transporting the cows was disgusting.

'There were truck drivers who were pulling the fingers at us,' Ms Woods told the NZ Herald.

'One of the truck drivers had the nerve to dump the effluent right where we were protesting. It was feral. Some of us got splashed.'

After leaving the scene, Ms Woods was driving behind one of the cow transporting trucks, and captured footage of waste leaking from the rear of the truck onto the road.

Frances Woods has claimed that a truck driver dumped cow poo on her and her car from the rear of the truck (pictured) and abused her friends after a protest in New Zealand

Ms Woods (pictured centre) had been attending a protest against the Yangtze Fortune ship exporting 3,800 New Zealand cows to China

She claimed her car was covered in cow poo, with one of her friends being splashed in the face, before a truck attempted to run them off the road, prompting the group to stop at the nearby McDonald's.

Ms Woods claimed one of the drivers there insulted her and her friends with homophobic slurs and verbally attacked them for their vegan beliefs.

'The truck driver got out of his truck and came over to us and started yelling "do you want a burger?" trying to antagonise us,' she said.

'They started abusing us saying we're a car-full of lesbians and the cows are off to the slaughterhouse.'

Ms Woods rant to the drivers in the restaurant was shared widely on social media.

'There are cows on that f***ing ship and they are alive and they have souls. And you don't give a f***k, all of you in this room,' Ms Woods screamed.

'But I hope when you die, you get to meet those souls.'

Staff quickly intervened as tensions rose, and told her she would have to leave or they would call the police.

A McDonald's spokesman told Daily Mail Australia a person entered McDonald's Hawera on Friday evening, acting in an aggressive manner and directing abuse at customers.

Restaurant staff followed protocol and did a good job to diffuse the situation, he said.

Ms Woods claimed she was was bombarded with abuse online after the video was posted, and even received death threats.

She said she regretted the way she reacted to the drivers, but backed her stance in supporting the animals.

'I know I shouldn't have yelled in McDonald's but I was yelling for the cows. I don't want to attack dairy farmers, I'm coming at it from an animal welfare angle,' Ms Woods said.

'The places we export animals to do not have animal standards. It's not natural to put animals on a ship.'

More than 40,000 cows were exported overseas from New Zealand last year.
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Starting January 1, 2020, foreign digital service providers must pay digital service tax (DST) of six percent in Malaysia.

Businesses showing a yearly turnover of more than 500,000 ringgit (US$120,000) are obligated to pay the DST.

Investors should track Malaysias regulatory policies on digital services to stay compliant.

Starting January 1, 2020, the government will impose a digital services tax (DST) of six percent on foreign digital service providers (FSPs) in Malaysia. Other than Malaysia, Singapore also recently imposed a DST in January of this year.

Investors should study the guide on digital services published by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD). The guide defines the various criteria for digital services to be subject to DST as well as the procedure for the submission of DST tax returns.

The government hopes the introduction of the DST will level the playing field for local companies  in addition to gaining more tax revenue from its US$36 billion digital economy.

Defining digital services

The RMCD guide defines digital services as any service that is subscribed or delivered over the internet or other electronic networks with minimal human intervention from the service provider.

The guide provides a few examples of digital services which include:

Online licensing of software;

Firewalls;

Mobile applications and video games;

Provision of e-books, films, music, streaming services, subscription-based media;

Search engines and social networks;

Website hosting services, cloud storage services;

Online advertising platforms;

Internet-based communications; and

Online learning services.

The guide also defines FSPs as:

A person who sells digital products to consumers in Malaysia;

A person who sells digital products through intermediaries; or

An online platform that sells digital products on behalf of an overseas provider.

Revenue threshold

Foreign digital service providers who have reached 500,000 ringgit (US$120,000) in annual turnover must register to collect and remit the six percent service tax.

Applications for submission began October 1, 2019.

Registered FSPs must issue invoices and file tax returns on a quarterly basis, ending on the last day of any month of any calendar year.

Defining consumers

The RMCD guide defines a consumer as any business or individual that fulfils any two of the following criteria:

Makes payment an FSP through a credit card or debit facility provided by a financial institution under the countrys Ministry of Finance;

Resides in Malaysia; or

Acquires the digital service through an internet protocol (IP) address registered in Malaysia.

To determine whether the consumer resides in Malaysia, the guide advises FRPs to consider:

The consumers billing address in Malaysia; and

The consumers home address in Malaysia.

Investors should seek the help of registered local advisors to ensure they stay compliant with this latest tax regime.
As live harness racing returns to the nation's capital this weekend, officials with Rideau Carleton Raceway have announced the return of a major event to the 2020 schedule.

A premier event for aged pacers, the Des Smith Classic was contested at Rideau Carleton from 1982-2012 producing classic champions such as Coal Harbor, Apaches Fame, Artsplace, Staying Together, Riyadh, Lis Mara and most recently Betterthancheddar. This year, the event will be resurrected and contested on Sunday, August 16 for an estimated purse of $75,000.

To have our signature event return is very exciting, remarked racing manager Peter Andrusek. An event of this magnitude drawing some of the best aged pacing talent in North America and some of racings best trainers and drivers will certainly bolster the notoriety and credibility of our racing program. We are very proud of our 58-year history as a cornerstone track in Ontario and we will continue to enhance the on and off track experience for our valued racing fans.

The 59th season kicks off Sunday, February 9 with a 6:30 post time. When Thursday programs are added in June, post time for that day will be 4:00 p.m. for the first time. This is an attempt to find the sweet spot where maximum pari-mutuel wager can be attained.

"It's a different start time than we've seen," said John MacMillan of the National Capital Region Harness Horse Association. "Fans are maybe going to get a chance to stop in on their way home from work...a lot of people get off work a little bit earlier in the summertime, so you're going to start earlier and you're going to get home earlier."

Rideau will also pilot a hitching fee experiment where owners of horses not finishing in the top five will be sent home with $150.

Fans may also notice a new state-of-the-art toteboard in the infield and horses and drivers will assemble behind a brand new starting car capable of accommodating multiple guests.

The NCRHHA and Rideau Carleton couldnt be more pleased and proud to welcome a very special guest driver on Sunday, May 17 to assist in their annual fundraiser for The Shepherds of Good Hope. The worlds all-time leading dash winning driver, Dave Palone will be honoured for his illustrious career by the Rideau Carleton faithful. Boasting more than 19,000 wins and $145 million in career earnings, Palone will have a meet and greet with fans and his superior driving skills will also be on display as he competes in eight races on the card.

One driver that will not be on-hand for the 2020 season opener at Rideau Carleton is perennial kingpin Guy Gagnon. The 2019 training and driving champion is presently managing a stable in southwestern Ontario and thus not in the Ottawa area.

"I've never seen dominance from start to finish like we saw from the Guy Gagnon barn," said MacMillan of Gagnon's 2019 campaign. "His own barn had a 0.424 average, he was great with his new acquisitions, he campaigned horses all season long in every class, and his success was essentially unmatched in the 32 years that I've been following Rideau Carleton racing."

Who do MacMillan and racing analyst Graeme Mitchell feel could best take advantage of Gagnon's absence? Check out the video below.

To view the entries for Sunday's card of harness racing at Rideau Carleton Raceway, click the following link: Sunday Entries - Rideau Carleton.

(with files from NCRHHA)
The Texas Department of Public Safety captured 27 fugitives from the Texas 10 Most Wanted list in 2019.

Most of the fugitives were caught in Texas, with 10 extradited in from other U.S. States, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Their charges ranged from convicted sex offenders to convicted murderers.

Programs like the Top 10 Most Wanted and Crime Stoppers allow Texans to readily view information about individuals who are wanted by law enforcement, making the public more equipped to help us identify these heinous criminals, Governor Greg Abbott said in a news release. Each year, the tips sent into Crime Stoppers from the public help law enforcement take the most dangerous fugitives off our streets. These programs play an integral role in our work to ensure justice is served and that the state of Texas is safe and secure.

Some of those captured were also a part of notorious gangs, including the Texas Mexican Mafia, MS-13, Aryan Brotherhood of Texas and more.

DPS credited the community with playing a key role by submitting tips through the Texas Crime Stoppers program. This program, funded by the governor's Criminal Justice Division, gave out more than $40,000 in reward money to anonymous tips in 2019.

The public plays a key role in making the Texas 10 Most Wanted program successful because their tips are often critical to locating these criminals and removing them from our streets, said DPS Director Steven McCraw. The department is also thankful to our law enforcement partners at the local, state and federal level who provide essential support in our efforts to capture these ruthless fugitives and sexual predators, which bolsters the safety of communities across Texas.

Click on the gallery above to see the Texas 10 Most Wanted fugitives captured in 2019.

Taylor Pettaway is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | taylor.pettaway@express-news.net | @TaylorPettaway
Some couples on Lifetimes Married at First Sight seem to hit it out of the park right away in terms of chemistry and physical attraction. For others, its more of a slow burn, as the attraction and passion build gradually over time.

And sometimes, the spark just never comes at all.

Many fans think that might be the case for Married at First Sight Season 10 couple Meka Jones and Michael Watson. Michael and Meka spent most of their Panama honeymoon in separate rooms after a big fight. On the Feb. 5 episode, they finally spent time together and tried to make a connection, but most viewers didnt think theyd ever be more than casual friends.

A mock wedding cake with the initials HM for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a reception to celebrate the royal wedding at the British Ambassadors residence | Erin Schaff for The Washington Post via Getty Images

Meka and Michael spent most of their Panama honeymoon apart

Michael and Meka both wanted to be matched by experts in part due to their family histories. Neither MAFS cast member had solid role models growing up in terms of a healthy marriage. Both said they wanted to be the first in their families to make that commitment.

But their marriage seemed ill-fated in some ways from the start. Meka was offended by Michaels ultimatum for honeymoon sex, while Michael closed himself off after he and Meka argued on the plane to Panama.

After spending several days apart, Meka admitted she was deeply disappointed by the honeymoon so far. She told Lifetime producers she wished she and Michael had used the time to build a bond and wondered, Should I try harder to be friends?



This could be how my honeymoon ends, the Married at First Sight star lamented. I dont want that.

Michael and Meka finally agreed to spend some quality time together. While the other MAFS couples headed out on a joint catamaran excursion, they explored the city together as a couple.

The MAFS couple finally spent time together away from the other couples

I dont want to spend another night by myself, Michael said. Thats not why Im on my honeymoon. He added, We have to do a better job of finding common ground.



The education specialist, who recently landed a job as a principal, explained that he wanted to be vulnerable and show her who I really am.



The Married at First Sight couple spent the day wandering around the city, sightseeing, shopping, and discussing their values and careers. By the end of the day, they finally spent the night together (sleeping in robes and with a pillow fort between them, but still).

Michael and Meka both seemed more hopeful than ever about the outcome of their marriage. I feel hopeful. I feel optimistic, Michael told producers.



Meanwhile, Meka said she felt that she had been sabotaging her marriage somewhat. I think part of it was Michael, but part of it was me just getting over my own BS and deciding to put my best foot forward, she confessed.

Fans wondered if Michael and Meka were a good match

Most Married at First Sight fans didnt seem as hopeful as Michael and Meka, despite their day out together. Many viewers took to Twitter to suggest that the couples chemistry seemed off and that they didnt seem into each other at all.

Michael and Mekas conversations sound like small talk in an elevator, one Twitter user wrote, suggesting the MAFS couple was cold.

Another fan wondered why they were participating at all anymore, given that they didnt even spend most of their honeymoon together. Meka and Michael are pretty much irrelevant at this point, the fan wrote on Twitter. They shouldnt even be on the show. Focus on the couples who are actually going through this process together.

Others thought they both knew it wouldnt work out and were just avoiding the inevitable by staying apart. I really think Meka and Michael are not attracted to each other and really dont want to move forward, a viewer argued. If that wasnt the case , they wouldve been reconciled already, at this point theyre dragging it.
Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has been appointed chief of the Party Committee of Hanoi, replacing Hoang Trung Hai who was recently disciplined for violations at a steel project in his past role as a deputy prime minister.

The appointment was made during a meeting of the Communist Party of Vietnams all-powerful Politburo in the capital on Friday morning,

Hue, 63, holds a doctoral degree in economics and was a professor at the Hanoi-based Academy of Finance in the 1990s.

He was state auditor-general between 2006 and 2011, minister of finance from 2011 until 2013, and head of the Partys Central Economic Committee between 2012 and 2016.

The Nghe An-born politician has been deputy prime minister and a Politburo member since 2016.

He replaced Hoang Trung Hai, who had been the Party chief of Hanoi from 2016.

Hue is still holding the deputy prime minister post.

Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue (C) shakes hands with Tran Quoc Vuong, Executive Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, at the appointment ceremony in Hanoi on February 7, 2020. Photo: Nam Tran

Hai has been made deputy head of a Party subcommittee in charge of preparing documents for the 13th National Party Congress, slated to take place next year.

The subcommittee is headed by Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong.

Hai, 61, is a Politburo member who served as deputy prime minister between 2007 and 2016.

Last month, Hai received a disciplinary warning from the Politburo for serious violations and shortcomings related to a project to expand production at state-run Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Joint Stock Corporation, which specializes in making cast iron and steel, known as the TISCO II project.

As the deputy prime minister, Hai displayed a lack of responsibility and failed to thoroughly consider opinions of ministries and agencies on a contract during the projects second phase, according to the Politburos conclusion.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The person you call back will keep you on the line as long as possible. Scammers will often call back several times in an attempt to have you call them back. They might say that youve won a prize or that a family member has a message to relay. Its all a lie. Those calls are costing you between $3-$7 per minute. So how do you protect yourself?
A Montgomery man suspected of fatally shooting another man last month has been captured by U.S. Marshals and charged with murder, Central Alabama Crime Stopper said Thursday.

Anthony Stoddard, 26, is accused of shooting Tametrius Richards in the 4200 block of Mobile Highway on Jan. 17, the organization said. Richards sustained a life-threatening gunshot wound and later died at a local hospital.

Montgomery police determined the shooting stemmed from a verbal altercation that escalated, according to Crime Stoppers.

It was unclear exactly when Stoddard was captured, but Crime Stoppers said he was apprehended by U.S. Marshals. He is currently being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility.
A lengthy Fox News research document warns its employees to be wary of disinformation spread by several Pro-Trump guests, including the presidents attorney, Rudy Giuliani and network contributor John Solomon, according to a Thursday report from The Daily Beast.

The document, dubbed Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration, is 162 pages long. Its especially critical of Solomon, The Daily Beast reports, after he made several unsubstantiated claims the Ukrainian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Solomon is a former opinion columnist at The Hill, where his work fueled Giuliani to dig up dirt in Ukraine, according to the report.

John Solomon played an indispensable role in the collection and domestic publication of elements of this disinformation campaign, the briefing notes.

Also Read: Fox News Stars Rail Against Romney for Trump Impeachment Vote: 'Going to Be Associated With Judas'

Solomons questionable reporting, as the report put it, has also been referenced multiple times by President Trump on Twitter. He and Giuliani did not respond to TDBs request for comment.

A rep for Fox News did not immediately respond to TheWraps request for comment.

The research document, put together by Fox News senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy, also claims Giuliani is especially gullible when it comes to Ukrainian fake news; this stems from his desire to find out more about Hunter Bidens ties to Ukraine, according to the report.

Internal Fox News Document Warns That Pro-Trump Guests Are Amplifying Disinformation'(Report)

Giuliani shows a high susceptibility to disinformation shared by Ukrainians Ukrainian prosecutor Yuriy Lutsenko and his associates, according to Murphys writing.

Also Read: Fox News' State of the Union Coverage Got Twice as Many Viewers as CNN, MSNBC Combined

Murphys report also calls out Fox News guests Victoria Toensing and Joe DiGenova for spreading disinformation. The married couple worked alongside Giuliani to find out more about Hunter and Joe Biden, according to The Daily Beast, and were employed by indicted Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash. Both Toensing and DiGenova did not respond to TDBs request for comment.

You can read the full report here.

Read original story Internal Fox News Document Warns That Pro-Trump Guests Are Amplifying Disinformation (Report) At TheWrap
JACKSON, MI -- In 2016, Steven Sharpe of Jackson loaded up his white cargo van with marijuana legalization petitions.

Years and months of hard work mobilizing and collecting signatures had come to fruition. It was time to deliver them to Lansing.

But something seemed a little out of place, friend and marijuana proponent Debra Young of Ferndale remembers.

We cant drive around like that, she said.

It was election season. Sharpe had a big Trump sticker" on the van and the advocates who formed MI Legalize to launch the voter referendum that eventually led to marijuana legalization in 2018 were hardly Donald Trump supporters, Young said.

We put up a piece white paper and taped it over the thing, she said. It was all done in good fun and we were laughing.

Sharpe, a 60-year-old glass-blowing, sandal-wearing, Reggae-loving, sun-soaking, Republican marijuana and hemp advocate, died unexpectedly on Jan. 22 while on vacation at one of his favorite places, Big Pine Key about 30 miles from Key West, Florida.

Its believed Sharpe died of natural, health-related causes, according to the Monroe County Medical Examiners Office in Florida,

Sharpes death prompted many in Michigans now-flourishing marijuana community to reflect on his contribution to the movement, and their appreciation for him as a human.

Steven Sharpe and Ryan Basore. Photo courtesy of Ryan Basore.

He helped to get us to where we were right before we passed legalization, said Ryan Basore, who started Capital City Caregivers, a now-shuttered marijuana dispensary based in Lansing in 2010. "And it was time for him to enjoy retirement with his wife, whom he loved.

He had a great life and its sad because he had a good 20 years, at least, to watch what he had accomplished and just enjoy it all.

Sharpe had three stepsons and four step-grandchildren with Linda Rice, his wife of 15 years, whom he wed in Negril, Jamaica, according to his obituary.

He was a happy, passionate and great guy, Basore said.

Basore, whos now prepping to launch his own legal brand of marijuana products, met Sharpe nearly a decade ago. Sharpe was pushing a 2013 ballot initiative to decriminalize marijuana possession in Jackson, one of the first such efforts to pass in Michigan prior to statewide legalization.

Basore was headed to prison. The federal government in 2010 raided his business and arrested him.

Basore pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as part of deal that called for him to spend four years in prison.

I had about six, eight weeks before I was made to report, Basore said.

Once a week, Sharpe drove to Lansing from Jackson to take Basore out to eat and talk at Meat Barbecue, a restaurant in Lansings Old Town.

He was heartbroken and was really a great friend, Basore said. At the time, we didnt really know each other that well. He didnt have to do that stuff. He took it upon himself.

What started as a kinship over marijuana blossomed into a strong bond. Sharpe later visited Basore behind bars during his imprisonment from 2013 to 2016.

As an identifying Republican -- he appreciated the partys limited-government stance, according to Young -- Sharpe had more access to conservative leaders than others in the marijuana movement.

He would go to a lot of GOP events ... always wearing his marijuana pin and always talking about marijuana and hemp in really uncomfortable situations, Basore said. And he never backed down.

When he wasnt doling out his potent, homemade Rick Simpson Oil-infused chocolate bears, a type of marijuana edible, Sharpe sometimes carried a briefcase filled with hemp products -- a shoe, brick, soap and bottle of hemp-brewed beer -- as he espoused benefits of hemp and cannabis as plant, beyond just getting high, at Republican political events.

While he was a Republican, Sharpe wasnt in your face about it, Young said. He used to corner Republican politicians and talk to them about legalization" and at the time that was really outside the lines.

" ... Steve was instrumental in convincing the powers that be in Lansing to remove hemp from the controlled substances list. He was very proud of that."

That June 2016 trip Young and Sharpe took to Lansing didnt turn out the way theyd hoped.

Of the nearly 354,000 legalization signatures they submitted, only about 207,000 of the necessary 252,523 needed to get the proposal on the ballot were verified. The rest were collected outside the 180-day petition collection window, the state said. It never made the ballot.

But the efforts of Sharpe and others didnt cease.

Everyone thats been around knows what Steve did, Basore said. It was his lifes goal, in Michigan, to see marijuana and hemp legalized.

Its wonderful that he got to see it.

Michigan, with 56% of the vote, legalized recreational marijuana in November 2018. The first recreational marijuana stores opened Dec. 1. Michigan launched its first industrial hemp farming and production pilot program in 2019.

Sharpes body was cremated and a memorial celebration is planned from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the Fraternal Order of Eagles #3634, 302 5th St. in Michigan Center.

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

More on MLive:

Decriminalization law on books in Jackson

Sharpe to present pro-hemp documentary

Confusion over marijuana business in Detroit leads to lawsuits

Michigan recreational marijuana sales near $6.5 million

Recreational market poised to boom in 2020
Pros Holdings (PRO) came out with a quarterly loss of $0.11 per share versus the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $0.08. This compares to loss of $0.06 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -37.50%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this pricing and revenue-management software maker would post a loss of $0.09 per share when it actually produced a loss of $0.06, delivering a surprise of 33.33%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

Pros Holdings, which belongs to the Zacks Computer - Software industry, posted revenues of $66.18 million for the quarter ended December 2019, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.13%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $52.61 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates four times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Pros Holdings shares have added about 1.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 3.2%.

What's Next for Pros Holdings?

While Pros Holdings has underperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Story continues

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Pros Holdings was mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is -$0.09 on $66.86 million in revenues for the coming quarter and -$0.18 on $292.04 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Computer - Software is currently in the top 26% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.



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



PROS Holdings, Inc. (PRO) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Its a relevant observation and Shia dynamics in India would need to be analysed for correct deductions.

A top international online newsmagazine recently focused on an issue rarely addressed earlier by any analyst in India or abroad. It noted that the assassination of Irans Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani led to a protest against his killing by the United States in a remote corner of India: Kargil. The local Shia Muslim population unsurprisingly took Irans side, taking to the streets on hearing of Soleimanis death. Later, anti-US demonstrations by Shias erupted in parts of Kashmir, and a few days later even in New Delhi. Interestingly, it surmised that if the US-Iran conflict keeps growing, the presence of pro-Tehran entities in a part of Ladakh could hypothetically emerge as an irritant one day.

Its a relevant observation and Shia dynamics in India would need to be analysed for correct deductions. Brief geostrategic and geopolitical observations would also be pertinent. Kargil district is a part of the new Union territory of Ladakh, famously known for the high-altitude infantry and artillery battles between India and Pakistan in May-July 1999 that led to Pakistans abject defeat. Passing through Kargil is the strategic highway linking Kashmir to Leh, Ladakhs capital, through Zojila Pass. The highway was the objective of Pakistans 1999 misadventure. Its permanent domination by Pakistani observation and fire would have threatened Ladakhs connectivity with the rest of India and indirectly of the Siachen Glacier, the other high-altitude, glaciated battlefield between India and Pakistan. Adjoining it in the north is the Gilgit-Baltistan sub-region of Pakistan-occupied Ladakh, and further east from Leh is Aksai Chin, part of which is illegally occupied by China. A restive Kargil district will always be a concern for India due to these factors.

Kargil has a population of 140,000 of which 100,000 are Muslim (77 per cent). Of these, 65 per cent are Shias. In the rest of India, it is estimated 15-20 per cent of the Muslim population is Shia, around 30-40 million, the second largest figure in the Islamic world after Iran, which has 66 million. Most Shias have deep ideological links with the Shia Islamic learning centres in Iran. Large numbers of Indian Shias flock to Mashad and Qom with a degree of trust that they are involved only in the pursuit of learning. A high degree of Islamophobia exists worldwide due to the numerous acts of terror involving radical Islamic extremists. Except in the case of the Shia Hezbollah, and that too limited to the Israel-Syria-Lebanon region, and some violent activity in Iraq by a few Shia non-state militias, there have been no transnational acts of terror involving Shias. It is well known that Iran remains focused in pursuit of its interests related to West Asia and is in confrontation with the US-Saudi-Israel trilateral through proxies. In no other part of the world do non-state actors operate with any linkage to Iran. Irans ambitions about the spread of Shia ideology have also been limited. However, deep ideological links exist with Shia populations. At one stage, think tanks in Israel were deeply studying how Indias Shia community had kept its Iran linkage without any effect on its patriotic orientation towards India. A classic example is the way Lucknows well-known Shia culture has kept its deeply Indian orientation along with its links with Irans centres of learning without a concern being raised; it is testimony to both Indias pluralism and Shias ability to manage the right perception about their sect.

It is with this understanding that one should approach the demonstrations of support for Iran in Kargil and elsewhere in India. It would be interesting to know that during the height of the early manifestation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its threats towards Shia shrines at Najaf and Karbala, a very large number of passionate Indian Shias volunteered to proceed to Iraq to act as foot soldiers against ISIS which had declared Shias as its enemy.

Shias involvement with politics in India is minimal, which makes them a poor vote bank. In many ways, however, this is their strength. The proxy war in J&K has seen negligible involvement of the community, which forms almost 12-15 per cent of the Valleys population distributed in few pockets. Discrimination against them in Kashmir is one of the reasons why Kargil, an adjoining district to Kashmirs Ganderbal, did not witness any support for Pakistans sponsored proxy war in J&K. Of concern, however, should be the fact that it was Pakistans mainly Shia Northern Light Infantry from the illegally-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan area that was involved in the occupation of the Kargil heights in 1999. Despite this, it got no support whatever from Kargils population and proxy war remains incubated in the Valley. There is so far no evidence that the Iran-influenced organisations in Kargil have any traits of being paramilitary proxies that can be used in a hostile way.

This could lead to the conclusion that demonstrations in support of Iran and the assassinated Qasem Soleimani, seen in Kargil and elsewhere in India, are only transactional in nature for the expression of solidarity. Yet Iran has admittedly demonstrated no solidarity with India over the recent developments in Kashmir. The nature of India-Iran relations has mostly been transactional, unlike the emerging relationship between India and the Gulf states, where a huge Indian diaspora resides with a major contribution to the Indian economy through remittances. Can the Iranian linkage with Indian Shias therefore turn against Indias interests? This seems unlikely as the history of the relationship proves that Iran has often taken such a stance without hurting the relationship. Its relationship with Pakistan too has never been too warm. India too, realising the strategic importance of Iran, maintains a neutral stance on the US-Iran standoff and continues to follow an interest-based relationship. Its in the contingency that India is called upon by the United States to demonstrate the depth of the mutual emerging strategic relationship that it will be under pressure. It would be a difficult call, but India has so far weathered such choices well through its multilateral approach. The sentiments of Kargil and other Indian Shias appear to be yet benign. The Kargil Shias remain an important entity for Indias security of Ladakh and its approach towards Gilgit-Baltistan. The demonstrated Shia patriotism must be nurtured for our strategic interests even as a careful watch is maintained on Shia foreign linkages, an action which is always an ongoing exercise for the intelligence domain.




Police seized the mans powerbike in Lagos

A man by name, Nmutaka Chinwendu has narrated how some overzealous policemen on Thursday seized his power bike, but it ended almost in tears for them.

Chinwendu said the police officers in the process were disgraced by angry Lagosians.

Nmutaka Chikwendu while writing on Facebook, stated that he was accosted by the officers of the Nigerian Police after they sighted him on his power bike while on motion, and before they could make away with his power bike, passers-by had already surrounded the officers, asking if the bike was a commercial motorcycle popularly referred to as Okada.

The Policemen however, turned a deaf ear to the lamentations of the passersby and blatantly refused to release the power bike to the owner but things turned around when one of the passersby put a call through to the Police Command and it was finally released.

The Facebook user Nmutaka Chikwendu shared his story below:

So..I was heading to work this morning dodging massive potholes and meandering through heavy traffic. The Nigerian Police decided to arrest me because bikes are banned. The 2 things that stood out for me the most were:

1. The speed with which a huge crowd built up. Within a short while people were yelling at the cops. Is this one okada?

2. How unintelligent our cops are. A team of 4 senior officers with guns could not say anything meaningful beyond they sent us signal to arrest all bikes

A good Samaritan parked his carshowed them the broadcast sent by Lagos state police command. They refused to read it. He then called the numbers in the broadcast and the policemen refused to speak with their superiors. The man put his phone on speaker and we could all hear the police command asking if it was okada and the whole crowed roared No! Our street crew cops refused to budge. The Samaritan eventually called their DPO who asked them to release me.then they started looking for one Officer Ojo of Ifako police station who took my bike key and went away.

Crowd kept building..policemen became scared. Tried to disperse crowd. People refused to budge. I actually started getting worried and started asking people to leave. They said they wouldnt move until I was released. Eventually the Ojo fellow sauntered out with my key and I started my bike.revved it a few times which drew cheers from the crowd..and continued heading to work.

#insidelife
Photo for illustration (Source: thanhnien.vn)

Minister Mai Tien Dung said at the regular press conference of the Government held on February 5th, when answering questions about Vietnamese citizen protection from corona virus-hit area.



In this regard, the Prime Minister has closely instructed and assigned related agencies to organize the reception of Vietnamese citizens from the nCoV - hit area and ensure their concentrated isolation for 14 days as prescribed.



The quarantine has been assigned to the Ministry of National Defense by the Government to ensure accommodation and even equipment for television for the quarantined people to follow news, he said.

He added that in the North, Van Don airport will be chosen to receive the citizens from the nCoV - hit areas. In the Southern and the Central regions, each will choose an airport to receive citizens back to ensure effective quarantine.

According to the Government spokesman, centralized isolation is the best and most positive solution to avoid the spread of corona virus and the Ministry of National Defense has prepared ready plans. For Vietnamese citizens who go to China to work, if they wish to return home, 7 border provinces in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the police are assigned to prepare plans to receive them.

Mr. Dung emphasized that in the concentrated isolation, the Ministry of National Defense prepares the quarantine area and material facilities, medical work supported by the Ministry of Health to prevent citizens from leaving the quarantine area./.
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday congratulated the Air India team that evacuated around 600 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

"Many compliments to the 34-member Team Air INDIA for flying into #coronavirus-hit Wuhan city & evacuating more than 600 Indians onboard two special flights," he tweeted.

The two special flights carrying as many as 647 Indians and 7 Maldivians had reached New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday.

The team led by Air India's Director of Operations Captain Amitabh Singh included 30 cabin crew, eight pilots, 10 commercial staff of Air India and one senior officer from AI CMD Secretariat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seven Democratic presidential candidates will gather on a debate stage in New Hampshire on Feb. 7, four days before voters head to the polls to cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary.

Candidates will try to sway voters with final arguments in an event that will likely include direct attacks among the contenders. Tensions are especially high because of the bungled Iowa Democratic caucuses, which still have no officially declared winner.

Ex-South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, maintained a narrow lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78, with 100 percent of all precincts reported on Thursday night, but irregularities in the reporting process and talk of a recanvass stopped groups and news outlets from definitively declaring Buttigieg on top.

Like most candidates, the men traveled to New Hampshire after the Feb. 3 caucuses to meet with voters. The candidates who qualified for the debate were joined in the state by other contenders still in the race, two of whom have focused primarily on winning the first primary in the nation in the hope it would vault them into the spotlight.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), 38, and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), 55, have struggled to gain traction in the polls, finishing with virtually no votes in Iowa. But they both have high hopes for New Hampshire, and could pose an additional challenge for more established candidates.

Bennet made plans late last year to hold 50 town halls in New Hampshire in the months leading up to the primary, making the case to voters for why hes the best candidate to beat President Donald Trump. He has a town hall on Friday shortly before the debate starts, and five more before the Tuesday primary.

Gabbard has been surfing and snowboarding in New Hampshire since the New Year in addition to appearances at a number of more traditional events. As Ive traveled across the state, preparing for the first-in-the-nation primary next week, I am heartened by how Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians are coming together at our town halls every day, working side by side to ensure our government is of the people, by the people, and for the peoplenot the powerful elite, she said in a statement last week.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 63, has also been trying to drum up votes in New Hampshire.

Poor showings in the state could torpedo any of the campaigns.

Buttigieg and Sanders will be joined on the stage at 8 p.m. by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 70, former Vice President Joe Biden, 78, former tech executive Andrew Yang, 45, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, 62, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59.

The debate, held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, will last for around three hours.

ABC Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, a former Bill Clinton aide, will moderate, along with David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC and WMUR-TV political director Adam Sexton. ABC will air the debate on television and an online livestream.

The next debates are slated for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Feb. 25 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 77, who announced his bid for the presidency late last year around the time Patrick did, may qualify for the Vegas debate after the Democratic National Committee eliminated one of two thresholds candidates needed to meet.

Bloomberg, a billionaire who has already spent hundreds of millions of his fortune on the race, has not made a debate stage yet.

From The Epoch Times
MERRIMACK N.H.  In the back row of an event geared toward veterans for Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., on Thursday, a discussion broke about one of his Democratic rivals  Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

Christine Bagley, 65, said Ms. Warren had been her top choice but described her as a bit of a bulldog, saying Mr. Buttigieg made her feel more hopeful and inspired. Lois Luddy, 66, had also considered Ms. Warren, but said she was too bellicose.

It's always fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, Ms. Luddy said of Ms. Warren, repeating the word for emphasis. Someone needs to tell her to calm down.

Ms. Bagley shot back: Would you say that if she wasn't a woman?

Ms. Warren has an electoral problem in Mr. Buttigieg. Her campaign had planned to face off against Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, her top progressive rival, and known quantities like former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. But its the 38-year-old former mayor who is playing the role of spoiler, most immediately complicating Ms. Warrens path in early-nominating states like Iowa and New Hampshire.
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Scientists at Vietnams National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE) have successfully isolated and grown the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the laboratory from a patients sample, which could significantly speed up the testing of new cases.

NIHE announced the information on Friday morning.

The isolated virus, which was grown in a cell culture, is helpful for developing quick tests capable of processing up to thousands of samples each day, as well as for producing trial vaccines, according to the Ministry of Health.

On the same day, the health ministry also revealed that a group of Vietnamese scientists are working on a diagnostic kit that will reduce 2019-nCov testing time to two hours.

It currently takes laboratories in Vietnam about 4- 9.5 hours to test for the virus from patients samples, according to the Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long.

China currently reports the worlds fastest 2019-nCoV testing time at about two hours.

The new diagnostic kit will also allow more medical facilities to perform diagnosis, as it will not require much researching background, experience or equipment to be carried out.

Currently, samples of suspected 2019-nCoV patients in Vietnam must be sent to only a handful of selected medical institutions for testing, which slows diagnoses.

Around 1,500 cases in Vietnam are still waiting for test results, including 1,000 people returning from China and another 500 quarantined for having close contact with infected patients and high-risk individuals, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected more than 31,400 globally as of Friday morning, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has since spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters tally based on official statements from the various health ministries around the globe.

Vietnam has so far confirmed twelve cases of the virus, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

The World Health Organization has declared the new coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO said on Thursday it was too early to say that China's coronavirus outbreak was peaking, but noted that Wednesday was the first day that the overall number of new cases in China had dropped.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Photo: Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar/Yelp

Curious where Sacramento's in-the-know crowd is eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to uncover which eateries have been getting a notable uptick in attention this month.

To find out who made the list, we first looked at Sacramento businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.

Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into springtime.

Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar

photo: orchid thai restaurant & bar/yelp

Open since 2015, this popular bar and Thai and vegetarian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.

Citywide, bars saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar saw a 1.5% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. As for foot traffic, the number of visitors to Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar more than tripled over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Kodaiko Ramen & Bar has seen a 14.7% increase in reviews, and Zocalo - University Village has seen a 4.1% bump.

Located at 1609 16th St. in Midtown, Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar offers a variety of noodle and stir fry dishes, as well as curries with chicken, pork, beef, tofu or mixed vegetables. There's also a featured vegetarian menu.

Orchid Thai Restaurant & Bar is open from 11 a.m.10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, 11 a.m.11 p.m. on Thursday and 11 a.m.1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Tuesdays, with a slowdown on Wednesdays.

Story continues

The Morning Fork

Photo: mina e./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Midtown's The Morning Fork, the popular diner and breakfast and brunch and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, The Morning Fork bagged a 12.1% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating.

There's more that's trending on Sacramento's New American scene: Camden Spit & Larder has seen a 6.7% increase in reviews.

Open at 1111 21st St. since June 2019, The Morning Fork offers a slew of breakfast eats, from corned beef hash to orange cranberry pancakes. A variety of sandwiches are also on offer, including the pulled pork banh mi with pickled vegetables, fresh herbs and jalapeno on a toasted baguette.

The Morning Fork is open from 7:30 a.m.2 p.m. daily.

Fixins Soul Kitchen

photo: demesha j./yelp

North Oak Park's Fixins Soul Kitchen is also making waves. Open since August 2019 at 3428 Third Ave., the popular bar and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers soul food and more, has seen a 13.2% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.

There's more than one hot spot trending in Sacramento's breakfast and brunch category: Woodlake Tavern has seen a 2.3% increase in reviews, and Huckleberry's has seen a 6.2% bump.

Fixins Soul Kitchen offers small bites like fried green tomatoes, pimento cheese dip and catfish nuggets, alongside smothered pork chop, fried chicken and shrimp and grits. There's also an all-day breakfast menu that features a pancake sandwich with two eggs and a choice of meat. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.

Fixins Soul Kitchen is open from 8 a.m.9 p.m. daily.

Rockin Crawfish

photo: rockin crawfish/yelp

Rockin Crawfish is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.

The well-established Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more and opened at 6666 Stockton Blvd. in 2018, increased its new review count by 12.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.3% for the Yelp category "Seafood." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.1 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

Rockin Crawfish offers a lineup of seafood, including shrimp, crawfish, crab, clams, oysters and more. For dessert, dig into deep-fried Oreos paired with ice cream.

Rockin Crawfish is open from noon10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and noon10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

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.
Ukraine was at the centre of the bid to impeach US President Donald Trump and ties are now expected to be reset.

Kyiv, Ukraine  Oleksandra Hromyko lives next to the epicentre of a political maelstrom that nearly cost US President Donald Trump his presidency and pushed Ukraine into the limelight of global politics.

The 63-year old retiree resides in a shabby, Soviet-era nine-storey building in northern Kyiv adjacent to the business centre that hosts the offices of Burisma, a natural gas company that employed former US Vice President Joe Bidens son, Hunter, as a board member between 2014 and 2019.

Bidens job was an apparent sinecure designed to protect Burisma and its owner, former politician and oligarch Mykola Zlochevsky, from money laundering charges.

In 2016, Ukraines parliament sacked Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin after Biden accused him of corruption and threatened to withhold $1bn in aid. A year later, charges against Zlochevsky were dropped.

But Hromyko is indifferent to the Burisma affair that triggered an impeachment inquiry into whether Trump coerced his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy into investigating Biden, one of Trumps top political rivals in the 2020 presidential race.

Trump has already proven himself as a politician who doesn't just forget personal offences, but remembers the favours he has not received. Alexey Kushch, Analyst

Honestly, I dont care, got enough problems of my own, the bespectacled woman in a grey knitted hat and a long coat told Al Jazeera, citing her challenges  high heating bills, soaring prices and deteriorating healthcare.

The politicians will sort it all out, it does not affect my life.

But according to some Ukrainian analysts, it might.

Trump has already proven himself as a politician who doesnt just forget personal offences, but remembers the favours he has not received, Kyiv-based analyst Alexey Kushch told Al Jazeera, referring to Trumps July 25 phone call, in which he asked Zelenskyy for a favour, the investigation into the Bidens.

However, Ukrainian political consultant with close ties to Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal lawyer, thinks that the president, who was acquitted on Wednesday, holds no grudges.

There will be no vengeance, just a reset of our relations with the United States, with the Trump administration, Andriy Telizhenko, a former diplomat who helped Giuliani during his trip to Kyiv in December, told Al Jazeera.





Do you think America cares about Ukraine?

The top diplomat of the US seems to have shown an example of Trumps forced support to Kyiv.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met Zelenskyy on January 31, just a week after rhetorically asking an NRP reporter: Do you think America cares about Ukraine?

Ukraine is not just the geographical heart of Europe, it is actually a bulwark between freedom and authoritarianism in Eastern Europe, Pompeo told a news conference, standing next to Zelenskyy.

Despite offering a $700m aid package and assurances that Washington stands by the ex-Soviet nation of 43 million, Pompeo fell short of inviting Zelenskyy to Washington, DC.

When the time is right  theyre both busy people  well find a right opportunity for [Zelenskyy] and the president to meet, Pompeo toldABC News shortly after meeting Zelenskyy.

He Mykola

could have asked Americans for anything, but he just blew it, because Trump is invincible now.]

Pompeos meeting with Zelenskyy irked Moscow; Russia still calls the 2014 Euromaidan revolution, the massive pro-Western protests that deposed pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, a coup.

A Russian analyst compared Washingtons ties to Kyiv to a suitcase without a handle  something too uncomfortable to carry, but too valuable to leave behind.

Euromaidan and the coup detat in Kyiv in 2014 became a geopolitical triumph of the US in its task of taking former Soviet republics away from Russia, wrote Irina Alksnis, an analyst with RIA Novosti. But five years later, the victory seems increasingly Pyrrhic.

The talks with Pompeo, and Trumps acquittal, have not appeared to help Zelenskyy.

In February, his approval ratings have for the first time fallen below 50 percent, according to two independent polls.

Some believe his campaign promises were too populist and vague and say he has made little progress after eight months in power.

He has done nothing, Mykola Zarubinets, whose five-storey apartment building surrounded by potholed sidewalks stands a stones throw away from the Burisma office, told Al Jazeera.

He thinks Zelenskyy missed an opportunity to milk the White House.

He could have asked Americans for anything, but he just blew it, because Trump is invincible now, the 49-year-old construction worker said angrily.

Zelenskyys government and ruling Servant of the People party that largely consist of political first-timers, staunch opponents of previous administrations and his former colleagues from the District 95 comic troupe, has been criticised for the handling of peace talks with Moscow and the separatists, a failure to investigate and convict corrupt officials and to reform an economy crippled by Russian sanctions.

In mid-January, Zelenskyy refused to accept the resignation of his Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk, a 35-year-old lawyer who said in a leaked conversation that the president had a primitive understanding of economic matters.

But Zelenskyys falling ratings do not affect Ukraine-US cooperation.

Ukraine is toxic, really toxic, Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevich told Al Jazeera. I very much doubt that both political camps in America will somehow initiate a change of the cooperation  at least until the election day.
MONTREAL, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- X2O Media, part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, announced today that they will unveil a robust meeting room solution, X2O Room Scheduling, at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2020. The solution is designed to streamline the room booking process and improve space utilization across the enterprise. X2O Media's full solution offering integrates data visualization dashboards, team collaboration tools, enterprise visual communication software and hardware so employees can collaborate easily across the enterprise. X2O Media will demonstrate enterprise communications solutions in booth G120 located in Hall 11 during ISE 2020, being held February 11-14 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

A complete solution covering hardware and software, X2O Room Scheduling is ideal for enterprise deployments.

The X2O Platform incorporates X2O Media's content management system, remote device control and integration with market-leading calendar management systems, including Microsoft Office Exchange and Office 365.

When integrated with the X2O Meeting Room Sign-10.1 all-in-one tablet, the solution includes full touch capabilities, Power-over-Ethernet and 1280x800 resolution for optimal clarity of on-screen graphics. Integrated LED side lights show the status of the room at a glance.

An intuitive interface displays room status, schedule and meeting information in real time. The color palette, logo, background and fonts are fully customizable.

Equipped with on-the-spot booking capabilities, employees can view the occupied/not occupied status of the room and book a meeting room directly on the touch screen.

"X2O Media's focus is to help corporate digital workplaces manage pain points with proven solutions within the connected enterprise," said Mansour Brek, President of X2O Media."The expansion of the X2O Media product line, now with the latest addition of our meeting room sign software and hardware, allows us to offer a complete solution to our enterprise customers right out of the box."

For more information on how to streamline the room booking process visit X2O Room Scheduling or visit X2O Media at ISE 2020 .

Scala Inc. , also part of the STRATACACHE family of marketing technology companies, will be at ISE 2020 in booth E160 located in Hall 8. View their marketing technology solutions here .

About X2O Media

X2O Media provides technology and services for the emerging visual communications and real-time data visualization market. The award-winning X2O Platform represents a new category of communication tools that improve the way enterprises engage with their employees and build brand awareness. By extending standard digital signage, X2O Media's next generation corporate communications solutions reduce costs, drive safety and deliver corporate information and performance dashboards for intelligent targeting to audiences on the screens they use most - their desktop and mobile devices. X2O Media is part of the STRATACACHE family of digital media/marketing technology companies and is headquartered in Montreal. For more information, follow X2O updates on LinkedIn and Twitter .

About STRATACACHE

STRATACACHE provides scalable customer experiences, empowering retailers to learn deeply about their customers' shopping preferences and behaviors, allowing for personalized shopper interaction. Our solutions deliver consumer activation at the point-of-decision, generating new sales opportunities and enhanced retail profitability. With 3.3 million+ software activations globally, we power the biggest digital networks for the world's largest brands. Across the STRATACACHE family of complementary digital media/ad tech solution companies, we have the technology, expertise and track record to bring retail innovation that delivers results. Learn more about the STRATACACHE family at www.stratacache.com , on Linkedin and Twitter .

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Xi renews call for all-out steps to curb virus

PLA Daily

Source: China Daily

Editor: Dong Zhaohui

2020-02-06 09:47:39



By CAO DESHENG

Prompt efforts urged as top leadership meets; officials warned not to shirk responsibilities

China has stepped up the fight against the novel coronavirus, as the country's top leadership has demanded all-around support to curb the spread of the contagious pneumonia that has claimed 490 lives on the Chinese mainland as of Tuesday.

As President Xi Jinping has involved himself in the leadership of the "people's war" against the epidemic, observers said the advantage of the country's system that enables it to gather all necessary resources to address major problems will ensure the nation can win the battle against the outbreak.

In a meeting with visiting Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen on Wednesday, Xi said the Chinese government has taken the most comprehensive and rigorous measures to prevent and control the outbreak.

Noting that China has undergone a lot of hardships, Xi said the Chinese people have the confidence and capability to win the battle against the epidemic.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged prompt and resolute efforts to combat the disease while presiding over a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in Beijing on Monday.

It was the second such meeting in 10 days on the battle against the outbreak, with the number of cumulative confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland reaching 24,324 as of Tuesday. The Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions as well as Taiwan reported a total of 39 confirmed cases of the disease as of Tuesday. The virus has also spread to several other Asian nations and has reached Australia, the United States and Europe as well.

Xi stressed at the Monday meeting that epidemic prevention and control efforts directly matter to people's lives and health, overall socioeconomic stability and the country's opening-up drive, and he urged officials to earnestly implement relevant measures and policies targeted at epidemic control.

He warned that officials who fail to honestly implement the decisions and policies made by the CPC Central Committee and shirk their responsibilities will be held accountable, and those who neglect their duty will be punished in accordance with Party discipline and the law.

Among dozens of officials who have been held accountable across the country due to dereliction of duty in the epidemic control work was Tang Zhihong, director of the Health Committee of Huanggang in Hubei province, who was removed from office on Jan 30 for being asleep at the switch.

Three officials from the Hubei branch of the Red Cross Society of China were also punished for improperly dealing with donations for the prevention and control of the outbreak.

The key Party meeting came after the World Health Organization declared on Jan 30 that the novel coronavirus outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the declaration aims to enhance international response to the infections instead of being a vote of no confidence in China.

Tedros praised the nation's efforts in the prevention and control of the contagion after visiting China last week. While meeting with Xi in Beijing during the visit, he said the high speed and massive scale of China's moves are rarely seen in the world, and it showed China's efficiency and the advantage of its system.

Xi's personal guidance and deployment in the fight against the virus show his great leadership capability, Tedros said, adding it is admirable that the Chinese government has shown its solid political resolve and taken timely and effective measures in dealing with the epidemic.

Under Xi's leadership, China has taken unprecedented rigorous measures to contain the outbreak, pooling national medical personnel and supplies to the hardest-hit regions.

A total of 1,400 medical personnel from the armed forces were tasked with treating patients beginning on Monday in the 1,000-bed Huoshenshan Hospital, which was newly built in just 10 days in Wuhan, the city in Hubei province that is the epicenter of the outbreak. An additional 2,000 medics from around the country will also pitch in.

Bernhard Bartsch, a China expert from the Bertelsmann Foundation in Germany, said China's system demonstrates high efficiency in a crisis, as it allows the country to take appropriate steps by pooling all necessary personnel and material resources and employing its well-functioning hierarchical system, according to the website of German newspaper Die Welt.

Addressing the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Jan 25, which was the Chinese Lunar New Year and second day of the weeklong Spring Festival holiday, Xi asked the Party and government officials to put priority on people's safety and health and take the prevention and control of the contagious disease as the most urgent task.

The meeting decided to establish a central leading group, which is composed of key government departments officials and headed by Premier Li Keqiang, to guide the fight against the outbreak.

Two days after the meeting, Xi issued an instruction on the prevention and control of the novel coronavirus, and called on Party organizations and members to play a model role in the fight and to unite the people to win the battle against the virus.

Zhang Ying'ai, a community-level Party official from Beijing's Chaoyang district, said she was confident the nation, particularly people from Wuhan and Hubei province, will emerge from the crisis soon as measures adopted by the government to combat the virus take effect.

Zhong Nanshan, a leading expert tackling the virus, said on Sunday that the epidemic is still at its growing phase, but he added that "it won't lead to a massive nationwide pandemic, only regional ones if they occur".

Leaders and senior officials from various countries also praised the country's timely response to contain the contagion and the transparent manner it has shown in the process. In a recent message delivered to Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that under Xi's leadership, China will curb the spread of the virus with rigorous measures and keep the losses at a minimal level.

During a telephone conversation with State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the open, transparent and cooperative attitude and strong and effective measures of the Chinese government are admirable.

Analysts said the Monday meeting was crucial, as it laid out an overall plan for the country's epidemic control efforts at the next stage, and also underscored the need to improve the country's emergency management system and capacity for handling urgent, difficult, dangerous and important tasks.

"The outbreak is a major test of China's system and capacity for governance, and we must sum up the experience and draw a lesson from it," a statement released after the Monday meeting said, calling for efforts to strengthen the areas of weakness in public health and to crack down on illegal wildlife trade to address major public health risks at the root.

Yang Yu, a researcher at the China Center for Urban Development, said the epidemic is like a mirror reflecting weakness in the country's emergency management system. It once again calls for the need to further improve China's governance system and capacity, Yang said.

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An Irishman accused of being the world's biggest facilitator of child porn is facing a minimum of 15 years in a US prison.

Eric Eoin Marques (34), who spent years fighting his extradition from Dublin to the US, pleaded guilty yesterday in a Maryland courtroom to operating a web hosting service that allowed users to anonymously access more than one million files of child pornography.

He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years after his guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to advertise child pornography.

Marques has a Brazilian father and an Irish mother. He was born in New York but was brought up in Dublin.

Torture

A plea agreement will ask US District Judge Theodore Chuang to sentence Marques to between 15 and 21 years in prison, but the judge is not bound by the recommendation.

Marques, who previously had an address at Mountjoy Square, can withdraw his guilty plea if the judge departs from that recommended range.

US District Judge Theodore Chuang is scheduled to sentence Marques on May 11.

A criminal complaint accused Marques of operating a web hosting service on the darknet that allowed thousands of users to view and share images of child pornography, including many depicting the rape and torture of infants.

Marques, a dual citizen of the US and Ireland, has remained in custody since his August 2013 arrest in Dublin after an extradition request from the US.

He was living in Ireland at the time of the alleged offences.

The server that he allegedly used was in France.

Marques was extradited to Maryland last year. The plea agreement does not give him credit for the nearly six years he spent in custody here.

The darknet is accessible only through anonymity-providing tools, such as the Tor browser.

Marques was, the complaint said, suspected of operating a free, anonymous web hosting service on a network allowing users to access websites without revealing their IP addresses.

In July 2013, according to the complaint, FBI agents in Maryland connected to the network and accessed a child pornography bulletin board with more than 7,700 members and more than 22,000 posts.

Agents downloaded more than a million files from another website on the network.

"Did you do the things the government said you did?" the judge asked Marques after a prosecutor read aloud a summary of the case against him.

"Yes," Marques said.

In a December 19 court filing, Marques' defence lawyers said "perhaps the greatest overarching question" about the case is how federal investigators were able to pierce the Tor network's "veil of anonymity" and trace the IP address of the server to a web hosting company in Roubaix, France.

"This anonymity is notoriously difficult for government investigators to penetrate," they wrote.

Defence lawyers said they received an initial answer to that question earlier in December, when the US government revealed "vague details" of how they discovered the IP address and location of the server.

"It appears that this disclosure was delayed, in part, because the investigative techniques employed were, until recently, classified," they wrote.

One of Marques' lawyers, Brendan Hurson of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, said after yesterday's hearing that he could not elaborate on the government's disclosure.

Citizenship

Marques was charged in April last year in Greenbelt, Maryland, on four counts: conspiring to advertise child pornography, conspiring to distribute child pornography, advertising child pornography and distribution of child pornography.

At a 2013 bail hearing in Dublin, FBI agent Brooke Donahue called him "the largest facilitator of child porn on the planet."

Mr Donahue also testified that Marques had been searching online for information about obtaining a Russian visa and citizenship, RTE reported.

"He was trying to look for a place to reside to make it most difficult to be extradited to the US," the FBI agent said.
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Friday that New York would sue to reverse a federal decision to bar New Yorkers from taking part in a popular "trusted traveler" program that eases passage across international borders.

The federal Department of Homeland Security announced the change to the Global Entry program on Wednesday, saying it had been made in response to a provision of the state's "Green Light" law that makes drivers licenses available to undocumented immigrants. Unlike similar laws in a dozen other states, New York's measure strictly bars federal immigration officials from accessing state Department of Motor Vehicles databases without a court order.

DHS said New Yorkers in the Global Entry program would not be able to renew their status, and that new applicants would be turned away. Critics have charged that the policy could snarl commerce across the U.S.-Canadian border.

In a news conference in Manhattan, Cuomo called the change "a political intrusion into government," and called out Republican congressmen Lee Zeldin and Tom Reed for recommending the federal government's suspension of the program for New Yorkers.

The governor called the federal action "extortion," and compared it to President Donald J. Trump's request that Ukraine investigate former President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, in exchange for almost $400 million in military aid. DHS made the change the day after Trump was acquitted by the U.S. Senate on the two impeachment articles approved by the House. Zeldin, a Long Island Republican, was among the president's most vocal defenders throughout the impeachment.

"You didn't learn the lesson," Cuomo said of Trump. " ... You were acquitted, not exonerated."

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Cuomo said the change could actually reduce national security by forcing border guards to spend extra time assessing travelers who had previously been cleared for passage. He also noted that the FBI had easy access to the state's DMV database.

"This is political retribution, plain and simple, and while the president may want to punish New York for standing up to his xenophobic policies, we will not back down," state Attorney General Letitia James in a statement. "We plan to take legal action and sue the Trump administration for its unfair targeting of New York State residents. This new policy will negatively impact travelers, workers, commerce, and our economy, so we will fight the president's shortsighted crusade against his former home. We will not allow New Yorkers to be targeted or bullied by an authoritarian thug."

Trump, a Queens native, changed his state of residence to Florida last year.
The deportations of foreign-born offenders should be reconsidered unless they have carried out the most serious crimes, a leaked report drawn up for ministers after the Windrush scandal has said.

The draft document from June 2019 emerged for the first time today and said convicts should only be thrown out of Britain in the 'most severe cases'.

And anyone who arrived in the UK before the age of 13 should not be considered for deportation at all, the bombshell report says.

The deportations of foreign-born offenders should be reconsidered unless they have carried out the most serious crimes, a leaked report by ministers has said. Pictured: Last flight deporting people to Jamaica in February 2019

It came as a flight carrying people convicted of manslaughter, rape, violent crime and dealing Class-A drugs is due to take off for Jamaica next week.

Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy says that vulnerable people on board are also being deported for relatively minor crimes.

He told Newsnight last night: 'It is a travesty to deport people in this way they are spitting in the face of West Indian and Caribbean people in this country and you've got to call it what it is. It's shameful'.

Making a series of recommendations, the leaked report said: 'Government should review its policy and approach to FNOs, if necessary through primary legislation.

'It should consider ending all deportations of FNOs where they arrived in the UK as children (say before age of 13). Alternatively - deportation should only be considered in the most severe cases.'

Speaking on Newsnight last night, Labour MP for Tottenham David Lammy said that vulnerable people are being deported for relatively minor crimes

It comes as a flight carrying people convicted of manslaughter, rape, violent crime and dealing Class-A drugs is due to take off for Jamaica next week

Last year 5,322 foreign born offenders were deported from the UK and returned to the country of their birth after committing crimes in Britain. 3,633 were from the EU and 1,689 were from the rest of the world.

The number of deportations has dropped over the past two years - and was at around 6,300 in 2016.

The Home Office would not comment on the leaked report, but defended the pending flight.

'The planned charter flight to Jamaica is specifically for removing foreign criminals,' a spokeswoman said.

'Those detained for removal include people convicted of manslaughter, rape, violent crime and dealing Class-A drugs.'

Statistics documenting the returns of foreign national offenders

Mr Lammy told BBC current affairs programme Newsnight, which first reported the leak, that he had heard of worrying cases of pending deportations and warned of 'institutional racism'.

'There's a guy who's about to be deported who got two months for GBH,' he told the BBC.

'A young man I spoke to was groomed... into selling drugs, he got 15 months for selling those drugs. He was let out in 2015 and is about to be deported in 2020. If that's not cruel and unusual punishment I don't know what is.

'I can't think of another group of British nationals that would be treated with this degree of disdain and disrespect and it smacks frankly of institutional racism.'

Bella Sankey, the director of human rights charity Detention Action, said: 'It's shameful that the Government has suppressed the Windrush report while scheduling next week's mass deportation flight to Jamaica.

'We now know that one of the key recommendations of the review is that the automatic deportation of those that come to the UK as children should end. Yet Tuesday's flight is full of such people, who, like so many of our clients, have deep roots and families in the UK.

'This cruel policy is double and discriminatory punishment, it rips children from their parents and causes deep and lifelong trauma. After the scandal of Windrush, the Government must now make amends to the communities it has shamefully scapegoated.'
Earlier this week I met two girlfriends for supper in central London. As I approached our table I could hear the topic of conversation was the ongoing HRT crisis.

One of them had just been in a pharmacy. The woman in front of her was shuddering, shaking and crying, with great dark circles under her eyes.

I havent slept for a week, she wept to the pharmacist. You have to help me. How can you not fulfil a medical prescription? I need my HRT.

Mariella Frostrup started to experience the insomnia, forgetfulness and anxiety caused by my fluctuating hormones, back in 2011. She suffered for two years before seeking expert medical help and has revealed how she stockpiled oestrogen gel in the wake of the HRT crisis

The pharmacist said, helplessly and apologetically, that they were trying to sort out the problem.

This is a scenario which I imagine is being played out in pharmacies and GP surgeries up and down the country. In my opinion, not only is the shortage of HRT a national disaster, but also a national disgrace.

We have a new Government which has managed to push through Brexit. I suggest that the political and divisive struggle of our conscious uncoupling from the EU pales in comparison to the fallout that can be expected from the lack of available oestrogen patches.

The journalist has divulged how women are going to extreme lengths to get their hands on medication (pictured, stock image of HRT). She has a friend who confessed to having spent hours trawling the internet, trying to purchase the elusive oestrogen patches via any website possible. Other women have travelled abroad to get products over the counter

For Boris Johnson, the combined force of Brussels opposition and Remainers will be as nothing in the face of a nation of frustrated, furious femmes.

He has a massive hurdle facing him in the form of hundreds of thousands of women, many of whom are quite literally on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Even more outrageously, weve known about the shortages for months; they probably started as far back as 2018, and were certainly well documented by last summer.

The lack of clarity around the reasons for the supply issues suggests that perhaps they werent prioritised as much as you might hope.

I have a very personal sympathy, both for the symptoms of the menopause and the struggle to find the right balance of medication. When I started to experience the insomnia, forgetfulness and anxiety caused by my fluctuating hormones, back in 2011, I suffered for two years before seeking expert medical help.

I know that I was fortunate; I didnt have the hot flushes which can genuinely ruin womens lives, or spiral into the depression which can lead to suicidal thoughts in the most extreme cases. Even so, it took some months of trial and error before we found the right balance and method of delivery for me, and thats when everything was freely available.

The shortage of HRT is a 'national disaster and disgrace', according to Ms Frostrup. The lack of clarity around the reasons for the supply issues suggests that perhaps they werent prioritised as much as you might hope. Some women are signing disclaimers saying that theyd die without HRT

Fast forward to 2020, and I have a covert stash of the precious oestrogen gel which prevents those symptoms from flooding back. Six months ago I started to notice the news stories and rumours of shortages, and Im afraid that I stockpiled, just in case it became hard to obtain.

Im genuinely loath to admit this, as its probably quite easy to find out my location, and for stealthy women-only gangs (black is so flattering!) to break into my home and steal what is probably my most valuable possession!

As one girlfriend pointed out over the edamame beans and salmon, that six-month supply might well have a street value higher than any designer drug.

If it sounds as though Im joking, bear in mind that women are going to quite extraordinary extremes to obtain their medication. I have a friend who confesses to having spent hours trawling the internet, trying to purchase the elusive oestrogen patches via any website possible, however dodgy-looking they are.

Ironic: As the topic of menopause has become an acceptable topic of conversation, the solution to its symptoms (file image) has grown increasingly unavailable, argues Frostrup. She says women have been ignored and overlooked for too long

Others are signing disclaimers saying that theyd die without HRT. Its also common to hear of women spending thousands travelling to other countries where its possible to buy the products over the counter.

A story in this paper last month explored this new phenomenon of HRT tourism, which I find quite frightening, not least because HRT needs prescribing and monitoring by someone with a knowledge of your medical background. As with any medication, there are potential side-effects and risks.

Isnt it hugely ironic that just as the menopause became an acceptable topic of conversation, the solution to its symptoms became unavailable? Its not a hysteria or an imagined condition, or even something to joke about. For centuries, the menopause has been represented by world-weary men nudging each other over a pint and a bit of sniggering about the ill temper of her indoors. But thousands of women in their forties and fifties rely on HRT. Its not a placebo, its a necessity.

Now that its become a topic for dinner parties, how on earth has the one proven solution been removed from our grasp?

Would this happen if men went through the menopause and needed to take HRT? Absolutely not. As ever, the health of women has been sidelined, and I believe we quite seriously need a womens health committee. I welcome the call for a working group to address the current supply problems; a permanent and dedicated task force is long overdue.

Weve been ignored and overlooked for too long.
NEW YORK, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Weyland Tech, Inc. (WEYL) plans to launch its CreateApp mCommerce platform-as-a-service in Taiwan within the next few weeks, allowing the more than 1.3 million small-and-medium sized businesses (SMBs) across the country to easily establish and manage a mobile presence.



CreateApp enables businesses to create and deploy native mobile applications for Apple iOS and Google Android without technical knowledge or background. CreateApp empowers SMBs to increase sales, reach more customers, manage logistics, conduct financial transactions, and promote their products and services in an easy, affordable and highly efficient way. The CreateApp user base, comprised of businesses across Southeast Asia, grew 47 percent last year to more than 360,000.

To support the launch in Taiwan, Weyland has partnered with Now Mastery, LLP, an affiliate of NYSE-listed Line Corporation. Line provides a platform for mobile messaging and communication services, content distribution and financial services primarily in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia.

Now Mastery is led by Joseph Kay, a best-selling author in Taiwan who is widely considered the preeminent authority on Internet marketing for small business owners. Kay has attracted more than 400,000 followers on Lines small-business marketplace and 67,000 on Facebook.

Now Mastery will offer its followers special subscription pricing for CreateApp of US$25 - $110 per month, depending on the features and modules they use. Now Mastery will also provide ongoing advice and support for users on the platform.

The citizens of Taiwan are well-known for being first adopters of the latest technologies and solutions, noted CreateApps chief product officer and founder, Eddie Foong. In fact, technology has been the key driver of Taiwans economy for decades, and it has transformed the island into one of the worlds leading manufacturing hubs, home to some of the worlds largest semiconductor companies.

Story continues

The country has recently been making great strides in strengthening its startup ecosystem, with a surge in venture capital, government support, and reforms helping to revitalize the economy and increase the visibility of the next generation of entrepreneurs. Altogether, this makes Taiwan an ideal marketplace for CreateApp market expansion after Indonesia and more recently North America.

While Taiwans population of 28 million is small compared to other markets in the region, its consumer habits and openness make it an easy market to navigate, as well as introduce and test consumer acceptance of new online services. Internet speeds in Taiwan rank among the top in the world; IP protection is well-established, and the cultural similarities to China make for good testing grounds to launch and experiment with new ideas before moving into larger regional markets.

According to Export.gov, more than 85 percent of Taiwanese citizens are connected to the Internet and more than 70 percent access the Internet using a smartphone device, making it one of the most connected consumer bases in the world. Further, a significant portion of the population is now shopping on mobile devices. In Taiwan, 48 percent of all online transactions are mobile-based, and this number is expected to reach 61 percent by 2022.



Given these favorable market dynamics, we are excited to partner with the esteemed Joseph Kay and his Now Mastery organization to launch CreateApp in Taiwan, commented Weyland CEO, Brent Suen. We expect even a small penetration of their large following to result in a significant contribution to our recurring revenue stream by the end of the first quarter.

Weylands recent acquisition of Minneapolis-based Push Interactive is also expected to provide lead-generation tools for Taiwanese SMBs to increase their online sales.

About LINE Corporation

Based in Japan, LINE Corporation (NYSE:LN/TSE:3938) is dedicated to the mission of Closing the Distance, bringing together information, services and people. The LINE messaging app launched in June 2011 and since then has grown into a diverse, global ecosystem that includes AI technology, Fintech and more. For more information, visit www.linecorp.com.

About Weyland Tech

Weyland Tech is a developer and global provider of mobile business software applications. The company operates its CreateApp platform-as-a-service (PaaS) across three continents and 10 countries, including some of the fastest-growing emerging markets in Southeast Asia. The platform provides a mobile presence for small-and-medium sized businesses (SMBs) that is supported locally by distributor partnerships.

Offered in 14 languages with more than 70 integrated modules, CreateApp enables SMBs to create and deploy native mobile applications for Apple iOS and Google Android without technical knowledge or background. The technology empowers SMBs to increase sales, reach more customers, manage logistics, and promote their products and services in an easy, affordable and highly efficient way. For more information, visit weyland-tech.com.

About Push Interactive

The e-Commerce platform of Weylands Push Interactive subsidiary features comprehensive customer acquisition capabilities, highly productive media and channel strategies, well-tuned product promotion and messaging, and sales funnel development and optimization. The direct-to-consumer platform provides an end-to-end solution for SMBs and major brands, allowing these organizations to dramatically increase online revenue while lowering the cost of customer acquisition and order fulfillment. Post-sale, Push supports fulfillment, customer relationship management, and further monetization through re-engagement and remarketing toolsets that enhance customer lifetime value (LTV). For more information about Push Interactive, visit www.pushint.com.

About AtozPay and AtozGo

Through Weyland Techs minority-owned subsidiary, Weyland Indonesia Perkasa (WIP), the company operates AtozPay and AtozGo. The AtozPay mobile payments platform serves the burgeoning mCommerce and e-Payment markets in Indonesia, the worlds fourth most populous country. AtozGo is a fast-growing short-distance food delivery service operated in Jakarta, Indonesia. For more information, visit atozpayindonesia.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business of the Company. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein are forward-looking statements including statements regarding: the ability of the Company to successfully launch CreateApp in Taiwan, the continued growth of the eCommerce segment in Taiwan and the ability of the Company to continue its expansion into that segment and that geographic market; the ability of the Company to attract customers and partners and generate revenues through its partnership with Now Mastery; the ability of the Company to successfully execute its business plan; the business strategy, plans, and objectives of the Company; and any other statements of non-historical information. These forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as believes, expects or similar expressions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks, and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. Investors should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Companys actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Companys periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website (www.sec.gov). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume any duty to update these forward-looking statements.



Company Contact

Brent Suen, CEO

Weyland Tech Inc.

Email contact

Media & Investor Contact

Ronald Both or Grant Stude

CMA

Tel (949) 432-7566

Email Contact
Anita L.A. Jenkins  the former president of Sycamore Medical Center, which is part of the Kettering Health Network and located near Dayton, Ohio  will take over as Howard University Hospitals chief executive. Neither Frederick nor Forde would discuss the cost of the management services agreement, which takes effect Feb. 17, or a possible timeline for an acquisition and replacement of the hospital. Officials said a letter of intent on the agreement was signed in July.
The federal Canadian government is preparing a financial aid package for Alberta in case it decides against a controversial large-scale oil sands project, Reuters reports, citing sources close to the cabinet.

Rejecting Teck without providing Alberta something in return would be political suicide, one of the sources said. This means the government must be prepared to compensate the oil province to dull the pain.

Teck Resources Frontier oil sands project, valued at some $15.7 billion (C$20.6 billion) will produce some 260,000 bpd of crude oil at peak production and will have a productive life of 40 years.

It is as controversial as any new oil sands project would be under a Liberal government that has pledged to do more about climate change, but for Alberta it is essential not just as a job creator but as an indicator of this governments readiness to supportor defeatAlbertas oil industry as a whole.

The Liberals would be careful to do the latter, the Reuters sources said, after they lost all seats in Alberta at last years election precisely because of their negative attitude to new energy projects that have depressed the oil industry in the province.

Yet there is little wiggle room. As one analyst put it right after the elections, We have got a Liberal minority and the balance of power shifts to the NDP and the Greens, who are completely opposed to any progressive energy policies.

This means it is quite likely that Ottawa would reject the Frontier project, angering Alberta. The implications of such a development are grim for the oil province but none too rosy for the Liberals either; they would have to find a way to make up for their decision on Frontier in a way that would satisfy Alberta.

Its worth noting, however, that even if the federal government approves the Frontier project, Teck might decide to shelve it: when it proposed the development, oil was trading much higher than it is trading now, casting a shadow over the economic viability of the project.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States stands ready to spend up to $100 million to assist China and other countries impacted by coronavirus, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Friday.

"This commitment  along with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sector  demonstrates strong U.S. leadership in response to the outbreak," Pompeo said in a statement.

He said the U.S. government's commitment would be met through existing funds "both directly and through multilateral organizations."

Stephen Biegun, deputy secretary of state, told a media briefing that the funding would help support response efforts by the World Health Organization.

Biegun said the United States has also sent nearly 17.8 tons of medical supplies to China, including masks, gowns and other protective gear.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar said the United States has submitted names of U.S. experts to the WHO for inclusion in a WHO delegation of experts to assist China with the outbreak response.

"This is a matter for Chinese leadership to make the final decision. We feel very optimistic that will happen," he said.

Azar said so far the response in the United States is being covered through $105 million in funding through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

HHS last week sent Congress notice that it might transfer an additional $136 million from other HHS programs. In the briefing, Azar said no decision had yet been made to authorize any additional funds and said it was "premature" to ask Congress for additional funds to support the outbreak response.

Earlier on Friday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence told Fox Business Network that the threat to the United States from the virus remained low and praised China for demonstrating an unprecedented level of transparency over the outbreak.

"President Trump took decisive and unprecedented action cancelling air flights, limiting access to this country from people coming from China now a week ago, and we continue to believe that the threat to the American public is low," he said.

Story continues

Pence said Trump had told Chinese President Xi Jinping in a telephone call on Thursday evening that the United States was ready to help via the WHO.

"The loss of life, the coronavirus that is impacting people of China, and fortunately, a small number of people in the United States to date is heartbreaking. But we stand ready to work with China to provide them any and all support," Pence said.

(Reporting by Tim Ahmann and David Brunnstrom in Washington; Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Cynthia Osterman)
A ntarctica has experienced its hottest temperature on record, with the mercury hitting a staggering 18.3C.

The reading beats the continent's previous record of 17.5C seen in March 2015, according to the Argentinian research station Esperanza, which collected the data.

The United Nationss World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) shared the finding from Argentinas meteorological association on Twitter.

The Antarctic Peninsula, the northwest tip near South America, is one of the worlds fastest warming regions, with temperatures rising almost 3C over the past 50 years, the WMO reported.

Around 87 per cent of the glaciers along its west coast have retreated over those five decades and have shown an accelerated retreat in the past 12 years, it added.

Professor James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington, told the Guardian Australia the WMO committee would likely reconvene to officially confirm the new temperature record.

He told the paper: The reading is impressive as its only five years since the previous record was set and this is almost one degree centigrade higher. Its a sign of the warming that has been happening there thats much faster than the global average.

To have a new record set that quickly is surprising but who knows how long that will last? Possibly not that long at all.

Esperanza, located near the northern tip of the Peninsula, has been collecting data since 1961.

The reading breaks the 2015 record for the Antarctic continent, defined as the main continental landmass and adjoining islands by the WMO.
LOI TAI LENG, Shan StateTo some its just a festive occasion, to others its a precious opportunity for a family reunion, but the Shan State National Daywhich was celebrated for the 73rd year on Friday in Loi Tai Leng, in the hilly territory controlled by the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) near the Thai borderis meaningful in some way for all who attend.

The first Shan State National Day was held in February 1947, when Shan leaders, as well as the Shan saophas (the former ruling hereditary princes) and public formed a united Shan State and agreed on a Shan national flag and anthem during the Panglong Conference from Feb. 3-12 that year.

The RCSS was founded in 1996 after the Mong Tai Army, a Shan insurgent group, surrendered to the Myanmar military government. It is now a signatory to the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) and a leading organization in peace building and political negotiations.

It celebrates Shan State National Day every Feb. 7 to commemorate the formation of Shan State, but also as an occasion on which Shan refugees-turned-migrants living in Thailand can reunite with loved ones from various parts of the state, who travel from Lashio, Muse, Mong Pang, Hsi Hseng, Tachilek and elsewhere.

Some arrive hoping to find relatives from whom they have been separated by war or economic hardship. Others are first-time attendees who just want to experience the festivities.

Sai Aik Pi from Muse, in northern Shan State on the border with China, was making his first trip to Loi Tai Leng. I am so happy to be at the celebrationI cant even express my joy, he said.

Many parts of northern Shan State have not been able to hold large-scale celebrations like the one in Loi Tai Leng due to the ongoing fighting in the region between armed groups and the Myanmar military. An additional factor deterring events this year is the Wuhan coronavirus, which has made people reluctant to gather in large crowds, according to other participants spoken to by The Irrawaddy.

Ko Pho Sein from Lashio led a group of his friends to visit Loi Tai Leng, as he has been to Shan State National Day celebrations in previous years.

We could not come to places like this before the NCA; we want to have peace like this all the time, he told The Irrawaddy.

This years event is also special as high-ranking Myanmar military generals led by Defense Service Inspector Lieutenant General Aye Win and government representatives led by Union Attorney-General U Tun Tun Oo visited RCSS headquarters. On Friday, they read messages from the army chief and the President, respectively.

The event was also joined by members of the countrys ethnic armed organizationsboth signatories and non-signatories of the NCAdiplomats, representatives of international organizations and members of the various ethnic nationalities including the Shan, Pa-O, Lahu and others who reside in Shan State.

The incumbent Shan leaders, including the RCSS chairman, stressed that Shan State National Day on Feb. 7 is significant in the history not only of Shan State, but also of the whole country, because without the Feb. 7 agreement, Myanmar would not have its Union Day, which falls on Feb. 12, when the Panglong agreement was signed in 1947.

Whatever the residents of Shan State call the daywhether its Shan State National Day or Shan National Day or Shan State People National Daythe day is commemorated for its essence, said Sai Poe Aung of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, who was attending his second RCSSs commemoration of the Feb. 7 event.
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has dialled back his criticism of India after it sparked a boycott of Malaysian palm oil, his chosen successor Anwar Ibrahim told Reuters on Thursday, urging New Delhi to note the change in tone.

India, the worlds biggest buyer of edible oils, last month imposed curbs on refined palm oil imports and informally asked traders to stop buying from Malaysia, the worlds biggest producer and exporter of the commodity after Indonesia.

Sources said the move was in retaliation for Mahathir speaking out against a new citizenship law which critics say discriminates against Muslims. Mahathir has also angered India by accusing it of invading and occupying Kashmir.

Anwar, who expects to succeed the 94-year-old Mahathir later this year under a deal worked out with his former foe, said the Malaysian leader may have gone beyond diplomatic expressions of concerns in his condemnation of the Indian government.

Countries will not take strong objections when you express concern, but of course in this regard Tun Mahathir has been quite tough and strong, Anwar said in an interview, using an honorific for the premier.
The "People Monitoring and Safety Solutions 7th Edition" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This is the seventh consecutive report analysing the latest developments on the people and pet tracking markets in Europe and North America.

This report provides you with 230 pages of unique business intelligence including 5-year industry forecasts and expert commentary on which to base your business decisions.

This report will allow you to:

Benefit from 30 new executive interviews with market-leading companies.

Identify key players on the European and North American people tracking solution market.

Learn about the latest propositions from family locator service providers.

Understand the opportunities and challenges on the mobile telecare alarm device market.

Anticipate future drivers for uptake of mobile workforce management services.

Predict future trends in lone worker protection services.

Profit from updated regional market forecasts lasting until 2023.

This report answers the following questions:

What is the potential for LPWA connectivity in the consumer tracking segment?

What is the potential market size for offender monitoring products and services?

How has free apps affected the family locator market?

What is the current status on the pet locator market in Europe and North America?

Who are the leading providers of mobile workforce management services?

Which countries are adopting regulations for lone worker safety?

What is the potential market size for mobile telecare alarms?

How will various people monitoring market segments evolve in the next five years?

Research estimates that the market for mobile workforce management software in Europe and North America amounted to 1.1 billion (US$ 1.2 billion) in 2018. The market for lone worker devices and services is growing as more employers become aware of the solutions available to protect their workforce.

New and stricter regulations that specifically address the safety of lone workers also foster market growth. There were an estimated 725,000 and 300,000 monitored lone workers in Europe and North America respectively at the end of 2018.

Key Topics Covered:

1 Overview of people location solutions

1.1 Device segment

1.2 Positioning segment

1.3 Network segment

1.4 Platform segment

1.5 Market segmentation

2 Family locator and consumer-oriented locator solutions

2.1 Handset based family locator services

2.2 Consumer oriented locator devices

2.3 Company profiles and strategies

2.3.1 BrickHouse Security

2.3.2 CareWhere

2.3.3 Comtech Telecommunications

2.3.4 Garmin

2.3.5 Globalstar

2.3.6 hereO

2.3.7 Jiobit

2.3.8 Kippy

2.3.9 Life360

2.3.10 Location Labs (Avast Software)

2.3.11 Pawtrack

2.3.12 Republic Wireless

2.3.14 Smith Micro Software

2.3.15 Suchmich

2.3.16 Sygic

2.3.17 Tractive

2.3.18 Vodafone

2.3.19 Weenect

2.3.20 Whistle Labs (Mars)

2.3.21 WTS Positioning Solutions

2.3.22 Yepzon

2.3.23 Xplora Technologies

3 Medical alarm, mobile telecare and mPERS devices

3.1 Overview of demographics and common medical conditions

3.2 Telecare and PERS solutions

3.3 Company profiles and strategies

3.3.1 Anelto

3.3.2 Climax Technology

3.3.3 Doro

3.3.4 Emporia Telecom

3.3.5 Everon

3.3.6 GreatCall

3.3.7 GTX Corp

3.3.8 Laipac Technology

3.3.9 Libify

3.3.10 LOSTnFOUND

3.3.11 MobileHelp

3.3.12 Navigil

3.3.13 Nortek

3.3.14 Philips Lifeline

3.3.15 SecuraTrac

3.3.16 Tunstall Healthcare Group

4 Mobile workforce management and lone worker safety services

4.1 Employment statistics

4.2 Mobile workforce management

4.3 Lone worker safety

4.4 Company profiles and strategies

4.4.1 Actsoft

4.4.2 Alertcom (AVR Group)

4.4.3 AlertGPS

4.4.4 Aware360

4.4.5 Blackline Safety

4.4.6 ClickSoftware (Salesforce)

4.4.7 Fleet Complete

4.4.8 Honeywell

4.4.9 Lone Worker Solutions

4.4.10 Orbis Protect

4.4.11 Oysta Technology

4.4.12 ProntoForms

4.4.13 Reliance High-Tech

4.4.14 Roadpost

4.4.15 Safe Apps

4.4.16 Scandinavian Radio Technology

4.4.17 Send For Help

4.4.18 ServiceMax

4.4.19 SoloProtect

4.4.20 Track24

4.4.21 Trimble

4.4.22 Tsunami Solutions

4.4.23 Twig Com

4.4.24 Vecima Networks

4.4.25 Verisae (Accruent)

4.4.26 Verizon Connect

4.4.27 Vismo (Cellhire)

5 Electronic offender monitoring

5.1 Prison population

5.2 Offender monitoring programmes

5.3 Offender monitoring service providers and devices

5.4 Company profiles and strategies

5.4.1 Alcohol Monitoring Systems

5.4.2 Attenti

5.4.3 BI Incorporated (GEO Group)

5.4.4 Buddi

5.4.5 Comp Electronic Monitoring

5.4.6 Corrisoft

5.4.7 G4S

5.4.8 Geosatis

5.4.9 Securus Monitoring Solutions (Securus Technologies)

5.4.10 Sentinel Offender Services

5.4.11 Sierra Wireless

5.4.12 SuperCom

5.4.13 Track Group

6 Market forecasts and trends

6.1 Market forecasts

6.2 Market trends

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rt2dlh

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005237/en/

Contacts:

ResearchAndMarkets.com

Laura Wood, Senior Press Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com

For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470

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Premier Doug Fords Progressive Conservative government is standing by its man.

In the wake of revelations in the Star that mysterious newspaper ads attacking teachers unions are linked to Tory patronage appointee Quinto Annibale, Fords office rallied to his defence.

Annibale will continue to serve in his current role as vice-chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, the premiers office said Friday.

The Woodbridge lawyer was appointed last April to the part-time posting, which pays $250 a day. The board meets seven times a year, suggesting he would earn $1,750 annually from the Crown liquor monopoly.

Our government has not spoken to Mr. Annibale in regards to these advertisements, said Kayla Iafelice, the premiers director of media relations.

As we have already said, no one from the government was involved or aware of the creation of these advertisements, added Iafelice. All individuals appointed to any agency, board or commission are expected to adhere to the regulations laid out in the public service act regarding political activities.

Invoices were sent to Loopstra Nixon LLP, the law firm where Annibale is a partner, for the colour advertisements from a group calling itself Vaughan Working Families that appeared in the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Sun last weekend.

According to corporate records, Annibale is a director of Vaughan Working Families, which was registered in 2018 by an advocacy group called Vaughan Health Campus of Care that lobbies for hospital improvements in Vaughan.

On Friday, Loopstra Nixon senior managing partner Allan Ritchie distanced the law firm from the ads.

The views expressed by Vaughan Working Families and Vaughan Health Campus of Care are not the views of Loopstra Nixon LLP, its lawyers or its staff. Our firm is comprised of people who hold a wide variety of political opinions, all of which are welcome, Ritchie wrote in a statement, adding that Annibale is on the board of Vaughan Working Families in his personal capacity.

No other partner, lawyer or employee of Loopstra Nixon LLP had any knowledge of these advertisements prior to their publication, or made any contribution to the cost of these publications. We regularly act as the legal registered office for organizations who do not have a physical place of business and it is not uncommon for our firm to receive correspondence on behalf these groups. This is a standard practice in the legal industry.

New Democrat MPP Peter Tabuns is now calling on Elections Ontario to investigate what he says are the disturbingly close ties between the Ford government and the Vaughan-area Conservatives who financed the ads, estimated to have cost more than $200,000.

It is unclear if it was a client of the law firm who actually paid for the ads, which contained phrases like teachers unions are risking student success, and children are not pawns.

They were placed on the eve of widespread teacher strikes this week by three of the four Ontario teacher unions, and as more job action is on the horizon.

Fords office has strongly denied any connection to the ads. A senior Conservative official told the Star the ads could have been placed by an overzealous supporter, adding we do not think this is helpful in any way.

New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak (Essex) was already calling on Elections Ontario to investigate if the advertisements violate provincial campaign finance laws, given they appeared during the byelection period in Ottawa-Vanier and Orleans.

Tabuns said any coordination between the government and a third-party on such ads is prohibited.

The story that they knew absolutely nothing about a six-figure campaign run by a party insider is simply not believable, Tabuns told reporters at Queens Park on Friday.

The stories weve heard dont pass the smell test.

Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said the links that have been uncovered to the PC party add more fuel to the fire.

Now that we know the director of Vaughan Working Families is a PC appointee who was photographed with the education minister three months ago, it raises more alarms, Schreiner said, referring to a number of photos that have surfaced on social media.

A spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said as we've stated previously the minister had no prior knowledge of this ad, and has not spoken to any individual involved in the ad about it before or after it was published.

Neil Oliver, president of Torstar Daily News Brands, said the advertisement should not have been published in the Star, and the ad slipped through our (vetting) processes inadvertently.

I apologize to our readers for the error as we hold ourselves to a standard that, on this occasion, we did not reach, he said.

At most newspapers, including the Star, the advertising and editorial departments are separate entities.

The group Vaughan Working Families has no online presence and there was no contact information for it in the print ads. Its name is similar to Working Families, a coalition of unions that has been doing political advertising in Ontario since 2003.

Tabuns said that attacking educators using dark money ads running anonymously is wrong, and it shouldnt happen in this province, period. People deserve better.

His letter to Elections Ontario notes that Annibale is also a significant PC Party supporter. He and Quinto Annibale Professional Corporation have donated over $31,000 to the Progressive Conservative Party over the last six years.

It remains unclear how the controversy will impact already tense relations with the provinces teachers.

Harvey Bischof, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, said the ads dont help the current standoff between educators and the province, which has led to one-day strikes as well as ongoing job action.

It was already troubling to have an anonymous group pay for attack ads exactly mirroring Minister Lecce's talking points, further exacerbating a difficult climate, Bischof said. The indications of close connections between the Ford government and the ad's source demand that complete transparency be brought to this situation.

Correction - Feb. 10, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version misstated the daily rate that Quinto Annibale would make in the part-time posting of vice-chair of the LCBO as $583 per day and incorrectly suggested he would earn $4,081 annually if the board met seven times a year.

Robert Benzie is the Star's Queen's Park bureau chief and a reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow him on Twitter: @robertbenzie

Read more about:
An Irish woman who was raped by her boyfriend while she slept has won 1million in damages because the sex attack left lasting psychological scars.

Niamh Ni Dhomhnaill, from Dublin, was sexually assaulted by her then Norwegian partner, Magnus Meyer Hustveit, during their relationship almost a decade ago.

The victim claimed her previous dream life as a teacher was left in tatters and that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused her to 'feel unsafe everywhere' and she struggled to trust even her own parents.

This downward spiral culminated in an attempt to take her own life by taking an overdose of pills.

In an emotionally-charged High Court case, a psychiatrist told the jury the extent of the psychological bruising was 'nine to nine-and-a-half' severity out of 10.

Niamh Ni Dhomhnaill, from Dublin, was raped by her boyfriend while she slept and has won 1million in damages

Magnus Meyer Hustveit was jailed for 15 months after he pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault against Ms Dhomhnaill between 2011 and 2012 when the couple were in their twenties

And Ms Dhomhnaill welled up as she told the court: 'There has never been a part of me that has not been profoundly impacted,' according to the Irish Independent.

Hustveit, from Oslo, was jailed for 15 months in 2016 after the Court of Appeal overturned his previous seven-year suspended sentence because of its 'undue lenience'.

The attacker had pleaded guilty to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault against Ms Dhomhnaill between 2011 and 2012 when the couple were in their twenties.

The relatively short sentence - the average rape jail-time is five to seven years - was credited to Hustveit's voluntary return to Ireland to face charges as well as his lack of criminal record and life as a good citizen in Norway.

The victim claimed her previous dream life as a teacher has been left in tatters and that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused her to 'feel unsafe everywhere' and struggled to trust even her own parents

Trying to move on from the rape which has dogged her for years, Ms Dhomhnaill has since moved to London to study psychology

But the case entered the civil courts when Ms Dhomhnaill sought compensation, claiming Hustveit's actions had flipped her life upside-down.

Yesterday, the jury found in her favour and she was awarded 350,000 general damages, 400,000 aggravated damages and 250,000 punitive damages, according the newspaper.

Ms Dhomhnaill and Hustveit began their sexual relationship in May 2011, with the couple moving in to an apartment in Belvedere Place by the September.

She severed ties in April 2012, after claiming Hustveit admitted raping her while she was asleep, and confessing he had done this several times.

She also told how she received a 'quite chilling' email from him explaining how he would touch her.

Trying to move on from the rape which has dogged her for years, Ms Dhomhnaill has since moved to London to study psychology.
ATLANTA, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curious about the many of the worlds biggest and most powerful franchises? Each year, since 2009, Franchise Direct has published its Top 100 Global Franchises Ranking , a snapshot of how a number of the most successful franchises in the world fared in the past year compared to the year before. Its one of the most well-known franchise rankings, having frequently been cited by industry professionals.



While the 2020 edition of the ranking sees McDonalds stay at the top, the fast food franchises place wasnt as assured as it was in years past. However, it was able to fend off a KFC that is gaining ground by way of overseas openings and efforts to court vegetarian customers via plant-based chicken trials domestically. The top three is rounded out by hotel conglomerate Marriott, which experienced its seventh consecutive year of record growth in 2019.

A diverse set of franchises is represented. For instance, multi-year Top 100 franchise Husse (#43), a Sweden-based company that specializes in mobile pet food delivery, was honored as a 2019-20 regional winner of a World Branding Award. Elsewhere in the ranking, fitness franchise Anytime Fitness moved up a few places from last year to #53, and is literally going to places no other franchise has gone before. And those are only a couple examples of the franchises youll find.

In addition, the Top 100 Ranking is accompanied the Top 100 Franchises Report , which is full of tidbits on selected franchises to catch readers up on things they might have missed throughout the previous year in franchising.

For 2020, the report highlights stories for many of the hundred franchises of the ranking, like the ones referenced above. It also lists a batch of the executive changes at corporate franchise offices in the past year, and summarizes the new joint employer rulea piece of legislation franchise industry officials have been waiting on for years. The legal ledger also highlights other current and potential legislation franchise industry leaders have been monitoring.

This years international franchising spotlight dovetails with our latest franchise portal offering: Franchise Direct Australia . We provide an overview of the Australian franchise market and give tidbits on what franchisors need to keep in mind if considering expansion to the Land Down Under. Theres also information on the Saudi Arabian franchise law scheduled to go into effect in April, as well as another countrys franchise law that recently went into effect.

For reference, you can visit the Top 100 Global Franchises page for links to the rankings and reports for all years.
The unexplained breakdown of the Democratic presidential primary contest in Iowa this week has led millions of workers and young people to wonder whether the Democratic political establishment is rigging the Iowa caucuses against Bernie Sanders.

Three days after the vote, full results have still not been released. The chaos caused by the supposed glitch in an app used to report the vote has had the effect of allowing Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg to proclaim victory, though indications are that Sanders will come out on top. Partial results have Buttigieg ahead in the delegate count and Sanders ahead in the popular vote.

The partial release of figures has only compounded the debacle and the suspicions. The New York Times wrote on Thursday, The results released by the Iowa Democratic Party on Wednesday were riddled with inconsistencies and other flaws. It added that more than 100 precincts reported results that were internally inconsistent, that were missing data or that were not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses.

Bhaskar Sunkara [Source: Wikipedia Commons]

Local precinct officials and others have reported discrepancies, mainly to the detriment of Sanders. Numerous commentators have pointed to the fact that Tara McGowan, the owner of the app used to report caucus results, is married to Michael Halle, a senior strategist with the Buttigieg campaign.

Buttigieg quickly used the chaos in Iowa to proclaim victory, in a manner reminiscent of George W. Bushs victory proclamation in the 2000 election while votes were still being counted in Florida. Buttigieg declared Monday evening, We are going on to New Hampshire victorious.

Many are justly concerned about the political operations behind the scenes and what they say about the Democratic Partys vote-rigging efforts in the 2020 elections.

One person who is not worried, however, is Bhaskar Sunkara, the publisher of Jacobin magazine and prominent member of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Writing in the Guardian, Sunkara claims that we should have confidence in the integrity of the vote in Iowa, arguing that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) will not steal the election from Bernie Sanders.

As reports of irregularities in the vote counts from local precincts continued to mount on social media Wednesday, Sunkara wrote on Twitter: Lets agree on a split decision, move on, and just secure a massive victory [for Sanders] in New Hampshire. Things are looking too good to get bogged down in Iowa bullshit.

Predictably, this flippant and irresponsible statement met with an overwhelmingly negative response from commenters.

The widespread speculation of a deliberate plot against Sanders by the Democratic Party establishment is based on the keen memory of the 2016 primaries, in which exposures of deliberate efforts by the party leadership to benefit Clinton at the expense of Sanders led to the resignation of two successive heads of the Democratic National Committee.

But Sunkara denies that the primaries were rigged. He writes: The Democratic National Committee pushed its preferred candidate in 2016, helping the Hillary Clinton team beat Bernie Sanders through measures such as limiting the number of debates (25 in 2008, but down to six in 2016). But these actions have been inflated into a narrative that the DNC rigged an election that Sanders would have otherwise won.

The message that Sunkara is conveying is clear. Dont worry about the manipulation of the election. Everything is fine. Above all, keep faith in the systemthat is, in the Democratic Party.

Let us review what in fact happened in 2016. In July of that year, Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was forced to resign after the release of emails by WikiLeaks showing what the Washington Post called coordinated efforts to help Clinton at the expense of her rivals in the Democratic primaries.

In a May 5 internal email, Wasserman Schultz wrote of Sanders, He isnt going to be president.

In another email, DNC chief financial officer Bradley Marshall sought to use Sanders religious beliefs against him, in an exchange whose subtext borders on anti-Semitism:

It might may [sic] no difference, but for KY [Kentucky] and WVA [West Virginia] can we get someone to ask his belief. Does he believe in a God. He had skated on saying he has a Jewish heritage. I think I read he is an atheist. This could make several points difference with my peeps. My Southern Baptist peeps would draw a big difference between a Jew and an atheist.

Former DNC chairman Ed Rendell called the actions of the DNC leadership incredibly inappropriate, adding, It truly violates what the DNCs proper role should be.

On March 12, 2016, CNN contributor Donna Brazile, who would later serve as DNC interim chair, sent a debate question to the Clinton campaign, but not to Sanders. She later resigned in disgrace from CNN and the DNC once her actions were revealed by WikiLeaks. CNN commentator Jake Tapper called her action horrifying, while CNN President Jeff Zucker called her behavior unethical and disgusting.

In 2017, Brazile revealed the existence of a secret agreement between the DNC and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign that involved Clinton paying off the DNCs debts and providing it a monthly subsidy in return for gaining control over the appointment of DNC officials and the right of approval over key operational decisions.

But for Sunkara, none of this constitutes a rigged election. Since it cant be proven that the misconduct of DNC officials caused Sanders to lose, no one should have any doubts in the fundamental integrity of the Democratic nomination process.

Definite political conclusions follow from this interpretation. Sunkara writes: Fellow Bernie Sanders supporters hear my pleawe gain nothing by playing into the idea that the process is so stacked against us that we cant win.

He adds, Why bother supporting an insurgent candidate, if the outcome is already assured? He concludes that we should feel confident that victory is possible. And that means letting people know that their vote will be counted, and that even the flawed institutions of American democracy can sometimes deliver progress.

Even as the Democratic Socialists of America fully subordinates itself to the Sanders campaign, it is profoundly hostile to and fearful of the sentiments driving millions of workers and young people to support him. By and large, Sanders supporters among workers and youth see him as a vehicle to oppose the institutions of American society and are not inclined to blindly trust these institutions.

But the job of Sunkara and his co-thinkers is to tamp down these sentiments by keeping workers and young people confined within the Democratic Party and promoting the illusion that this bankrupt, pro-corporate, pro-war party can somehow be reformed.

The fact is that it cannot. Sanders strategy of leading a political revolution without ending the capitalist system or breaking with the Democratic Party is a pipe dream. This was made clear with Sanders concession to Clinton at the 2016 convention.

Sunkara supports Sanders not despite the fruitlessness of his efforts to reform the Democratic Party, but because of them. His primary goal is to keep workers and young people shackled to this party, which has been the graveyard of every egalitarian social movement in the United States over the past century.

But unlike Sunkara, millions of workers and young people support Sanders not because he is a Democrat, but in spite of it.

Disabusing the masses of workers and young people of any illusion that the Democratic Party can be reformed will take hard and bitter lessons, of which the rigging of the 2016 primaries is one and the unexplained events in Iowa are another.

Ultimately, millions of workers and young people are striving for a world free of inequality, war and attacks on democratic rights. They will find these goals neither in Sanders nor the Democratic Party, but that only means they will continue to search.

We are confident that workers and young people will increasingly come to the conclusion that the reform of capitalism and the Democratic Party is impossible, and will support the campaign of the Socialist Equality Party in the 2020 presidential elections.
All Ontario elementary teachers to strike, Feb. 6

As a retired special education teacher, I worry about the future of education in this province. Personally, Im not aware of any studies that suggest larger class sizes lead to better results in student learning.

Combine this with change in the school population in the last 20 years. Inclusion is a wonderful thing for all students, except when we realize that support (psychologists, speech and language teachers, behaviour specialists, ESL teachers and, above all, the incredible front line of teacher aides) has been dwindling at an accelerated rate. All students in all classrooms have been compromised by decreasing support.

Ive yet to understand why parents dont rebel against a system ready to implode. Maximum support is needed for us to steer through this quagmire.

We all know these things take money, so perhaps negotiations would move forward if the teachers took wage increases off the table. Strike days are already eating up whatever gains are to be made. The teachers can take no pay raise and then these funds could then be channelled into the underpaid teachers aides and even add more support staff. A teacher cannot teach (some of my teacher friends now call it babysitting) with meltdowns, oppositional behaviour and stunted communication occurring on a regular basis in these busy and sometimes unruly classrooms.

We need to show the government that teachers really care about the students needs more than the government officials do.
Representative Matt Gaetz (R., Fla.) on Thursday called for Senator Mitt Romney (R., Utah) to be expelled from Republican ranks in the Senate.

If I were [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell I would expel Mitt Romney from the Republican caucus, Gaetz said in an interview on Fox News Lou Dobbs Tonight. He is not acting like a Republican. He has shown no interest in working with this administration, or with Republicans who are eager to seize the opportunity of the Trump presidency.

Frankly, I dont know what the difference is between Mitt Romney and a Democrat at this point, Gaetz continued.

Romney was the only Republican senator to vote to convict President Trump on one article of impeachment. The Utah congressman is the first senator in American history to vote to impeach a president in his own party.

The president did in fact pressure a foreign government to corrupt our election process, Romney told the Atlantic in an interview released Wednesday. And really, corrupting an election process in a democratic republic is about as abusive and egregious an act against the Constitutionand ones oaththat I can imagine. Its what autocrats do.

While Trump allies including Gaetz have vilified Romney for his decision, other Republicans were less certain Romney would be formally punished for his vote.

There is always another day and another vote and you may not have everybody on every vote, sometimes you just have to play the next game when it comes along, said Senator John Thune (R., S.D.). Im sure that members of our conference will continue to work with him and accept his point of view.

More from National Review
FLINT, MI -- A Flint mobile home park thats facing tax foreclosure is still renting lots and homes even though it doesnt have a required license and is no longer being inspected for safety by the state.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs closed its file on Elms Mobile Home Park on June 4, 2019, notifying the owner, the Genesee County Prosecutors Office and city of Flint that the park had not renewed its license as required by state law.

A letter from LARAs Licensing and Compliance Division to Mark Krueger, manager of Elms Investors LLC -- the company that owns the park -- says you are now operating a park without a valid license, in criminal defiance of the (law).

Despite the warning, a few dozen homes in Elms, located on Dort Highway, still appear to be occupied. Shamia Crago, who has lived there for several years, said her few remaining neighbors are increasingly worried about the future of the park, which opened in 1980. Genesee County officials say Elms Investors owe $181,000 in delinquent taxes.

Without paying that bill or making an arrangement to pay by April 1, the county could foreclose on the 300-acre-plus park after having previously granted an extension. The city says Elms Investors also owe $160,00 in past-due water bills.

Many of the trailers in Elms are damaged and vacant with broken or missing windows and exposed insulation. Trash is strewn throughout the grounds and there are massive potholes with standing water in the streets

I own my trailer (but) its too old to move, said Crago, 39, who lives here with her husband, Charles Crago, 33. Most of the trailers are run-down, floors are falling in (and) roofs are leaking. Im speaking up because I own my home.

People are still paying their (rent) because they have no where else to go.

Edmund Palmeri, an attorney representing Elms, said park owners havent been able to renew their state license because of the citys water lien and said there are potential buyers who could pay off debts facing the owner.

We see this property as something thats viable. It just needs investment, said Palmeri, who has already sued five tenants in Genesee District Court this year for failing to pay rent. Theres definitely some spots that need some work, but these parks are valuable (to) ... the proper investor. It may not be salvageable, but weve had a lot of interest.

Palmeri called the park a clean place to live and said if residents are not satisfied with conditions they can move.

Residents were nearly forced to do just that in 2017 after the city threatened to shut off water, but the parks property manager paid enough to keep the service.

On Wednesday, Feb. 5, Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley said hes concerned about living conditions for residents and that officials are looking at possible intervention.

This mobile home parks license was revoked in June 2019. We are disappointed nothing was done on behalf of these residents of Flint for so long," Neeley said in a statement to MLive-The Flint Journal. "We are continuing to pursue any and all options, legally and otherwise, to make sure our residents are being helped and served. No longer will we have bad actors victimizing residents of Flint.

The statement says the city is working with the Flint Housing Commission to offer alternate housing to residents at Elms and credited The Journal for discovering this licensing issue and bringing it to the attention of this new administration.

Neeley was elected mayor several months after the state warned the city of the unlicensed park.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said Wednesday that he cant consider pursuing a criminal case unless police carry out an investigation and bring it to him.

By operating without a license, Elms wont be subjected to inspections and referrals to other agencies about issues like abandoned or unsecured homes or cars, unsecured electrical panels, trash and debris, uncapped sewer pipes or water crocks and exposed electrical wires or conduits.

Kevin Ray, a spokesman for LARA, said the agencys Bureau of Construction Codes was notified in July 2019 of a potential new owner of the park and an incomplete application was received from the potential new owner ..."

Ray said the agency was later notified that the potential deal fell through.

County Treasurer Deb Cherry said Thursday, Feb. 6, that she doesnt expect to give Elms Investors an additional extension to pay taxes that date back to 2014.

They havent shown any effort so were not going to continue to extend it, Cherry said.
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 The Gym Group plc (LON:GYM).

Gym Group has a ROE of 6.3%, based on the last twelve months. One way to conceptualize this, is that for each 1 of shareholders' equity it has, the company made 0.06 in profit.

View our latest analysis for Gym Group

How Do I Calculate ROE?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations)  Shareholders' Equity

Or for Gym Group:

6.3% = UK9.1m  UK145m (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. The easiest way to calculate shareholders' equity is to subtract the company's total liabilities from the total assets.

What Does Return On Equity Signify?

ROE looks at the amount a company earns relative to the money it has kept within the business. The 'return' is the yearly profit. The higher the ROE, the more profit the company is making. So, all else being equal, a high ROE is better than a low one. That means ROE can be used to compare two businesses.

Does Gym Group 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. Importantly, this is far from a perfect measure, because companies differ significantly within the same industry classification. You can see in the graphic below that Gym Group has an ROE that is fairly close to the average for the Hospitality industry (7.7%).

LSE:GYM Past Revenue and Net Income, February 7th 2020

That's not overly surprising. ROE doesn't tell us if the share price is low, but it can inform us to the nature of the business. For those looking for a bargain, other factors may be more important. I will like Gym Group better if I see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.

Story continues

How Does Debt Impact Return On Equity?

Most companies need money -- from somewhere -- to grow their profits. That cash can come from issuing shares, retained earnings, or debt. In the first two cases, the ROE will capture this use of capital to grow. In the latter case, the 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.

Gym Group's Debt And Its 6.3% ROE

Gym Group has a debt to equity ratio of 0.35, which is far from excessive. Its ROE isn't particularly impressive, but the debt levels are quite modest, so the business probably has some real potential. Judicious use of debt to improve returns can certainly be a good thing, although it does elevate risk slightly and reduce future optionality.

But It's Just One Metric

Return on equity is 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. All else being equal, a higher ROE is better.

But ROE is just one piece of a bigger puzzle, since high quality businesses often trade on high multiples of earnings. 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 you might want to take a peek at this data-rich interactive graph of forecasts for the company.

Of course Gym Group may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of other companies that have high ROE and low debt.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
The average cost of a bottle of wine is set to top 6  prompting calls for the Chancellor to protect the price of plonk.

Industry experts estimate that 54 per cent of wine drinkers refuse to buy bottles above 6. This works out at 9.7million customers overall, the Wine and Spirit Trade Association said.

The group has joined forces with Wine Drinkers UK to call on Sajid Javid to cut wine duty and VAT in the Budget next month.

At present, the average bottle of wine costs 5.93. Of this, HMRC takes 3.22 in wine duty and VAT  more than half the total price (file image)

At present, the average bottle costs 5.93. Of this, HMRC takes 3.22 in wine duty and VAT  more than half the total price.

The WSTA said: New supermarket shopping data from Kantar shows that the latest price hike risks alienating 9.7m shoppers who dont buy wine over the 6 barrier. This is equivalent to more than half (54 per cent) of shoppers of who buy 75cl bottles of still wine.

Wine and Spirit Trade Associationhas joined forces with Wine Drinkers UK to call on Sajid Javid (pictured) to cut wine duty and VAT in the Budget next month

There are two distinct groups who are particularly feeling the price rise; those with a household income less than 30,000 and families with children and therefore little disposable income.

Taxes on wine have increased nearly 40 per cent in the last decade, compared with just 16 per cent for beer.

Laura Christen of retail analysts Kantar said: Rising duty has contributed to the increasing price of entry into wine. This... risks alienating value-conscious shoppers as it has hit those who spend on lower-priced wine the hardest.
WASHINGTON  A federal appeals court panel threw out on Friday a lawsuit by 215 Democratic members of Congress accusing President Trump of illegally accepting benefits from foreign governments, saying that individual lawmakers cannot sue the president on behalf of the entire Congress.

Even assuming that the allegations against Mr. Trump were true, the Supreme Court ruled out lawsuits of this type nearly a quarter-century ago, a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said.

The lawmakers claimed in their complaint that Mr. Trump had violated the Constitution by financially profiting from foreign officials who patronized his hotels and other properties. The emoluments clauses of the Constitution prohibit federal officials from accepting financial benefits from foreign governments without congressional approval.

Our conclusion is straightforward because the members  29 senators and 186 members of the House of Representatives  do not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the presidents acceptance of foreign emoluments, the judges wrote.
Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on a quarantined cruise ship and turned away another luxury liner while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Beijing: Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on a quarantined cruise ship and turned away another luxury liner while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Following an online uproar over the governments treatment of Dr Li Wenliang, 34, the ruling Communist Party said it was sending an investigation team to fully investigate relevant issues raised by the public regarding the case.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

Before Fridays 41 confirmed cases, 20 infected passengers were escorted off the Diamond Princess at Yokohama near Tokyo. About 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Thursday that Japan will deny entry of foreign passengers on another cruise ship  Holland Americas cruise ship Westerdam, on its way to Okinawa from Hong Kong  because of suspected virus patients found on board. The Seattle-based operator denied anyone had virus.

Abe said the new immigration policy takes effect Friday to ensure border control to prevent the disease from entering and spreading further into Japan.

The ship with more than 2,000 people was currently near Ishigaki, one of Okinawas outer islands, and was seeking another port, said Overseas Travel Agency official Mie Matsubara.

Everyone is starting to reject the ship and we are getting desperate, she said. We hope we can go somewhere so that passengers can land.

At least four other cruise ships, two foreign and two Japanese-operated, are headed to Japan by the end of the month, Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said, urging port authorities around the country to turn them away.

Dr Li had worked at a hospital in the epicenter of the outbreak in the central city of Wuhan. He was one of eight medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, writing on his Twitter-like Weibo account that on 3 December he saw a test sample that indicated the presence of a coronavirus similar to SARS, which killed nearly 800 people in a 2002-2003 outbreak that the government initially tried to cover-up.

Li wrote that after he reported seven patients had contracted the virus, he was visited on 3 January by police, who forced him to sign a statement admitting to having spread falsehoods and warning him of punishment if he continued.

A copy of the statement signed by Li and posted online accused him of making false statements and seriously disturbing social order.

This is a type of illegal behavior! the statement said.

Li wrote that he developed a cough on 10 January, fever on 11 January and was hospitalised on 12 January, after which he began having trouble breathing.

He also wrote that he had not in fact had his medical license revoked, a reference to the sort of extrajudicial retaliation the communist authorities meet out to rights lawyers and others seen as troublemakers.

Please rest easy, I will most certainly actively cooperate with the treatment and seek to obtain an early discharge! Li wrote on 31 January. He posted again on 1 February, saying he had been confirmed as having the virus.

On Friday, the Global Times, a Communist Party newspaper and usual staunch defender of the authorities, reported that many said the experience of the eight whistleblowers was evidence of local authorities incompetence to tackle a contagious and deadly virus.

It quoted Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, as telling the papers editor that we should highly praise the eight Wuhan residents.

They were wise before the outbreak, Zeng was quoted as saying. The paper also cited online voices saying local authorities owe Li an apology. It quoted one posting as saying, We lost a hero. If his warning could send an alarm, the outbreak might not have continued to worsen, the posting said.

Looking back, his professional sense of vigilance in particular is worthy of our respect, the paper said in an editorial.

The police action against the eight whistleblowers also garnered a rare and extremely subtle rebuke from the nations highest court. We have the responsibility to express to society our legal thoughts about solving the problem of rumours, a posting on the courts Weibo account said.

Meanwhile, a newborn discovered infected 36 hours after birth has become the youngest known patient. Doctors said other infected mothers have given birth to babies who tested negative, so it is not yet known if the virus can be transmitted in the womb.

Chinas state media said Friday that President Xi Jinping urged the US to respond reasonably to the virus outbreak in a phone call with President Donald Trump.

A peoples war against the virus has been launched, Xi was quoted as saying by broadcaster CCTV, using timeworn communist terminology. We hope the US side can assess the epidemic in a calm manner and adopt and adjust its response measures in a reasonable way.

Beijing has complained that the US was flying its citizens out of Wuhan but not providing any assistance to China.

The White House said Trump expressed confidence in Chinas strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the outbreak.

Wuhan has built two new prefabricated hospitals in recent weeks and is adapting gymnasiums, exhibition centres and other spaces for patients with milder symptoms. Thousands of additional military and civilian medical workers have been sent to the city.

Still, those inside that quarantine area encompassing a population of around 50 million speak of a medical system completely overwhelmed.

Chen Jiaxin, 22, told The Associated Press by phone from Wuhan that his father fell ill on 28 January but had to return home because no hospital would accept him. When he called for an ambulance after his fathers fever spiked on Thursday morning, Chen said he was told 400 people were waiting ahead of him. We were just told to wait and wait, Chen said.

Testing of a new antiviral drug was set to begin on a group of patients Thursday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The drug, Remdesivir, is made by US biotech company Gilead Sciences.

With the development of a vaccine months, or years, away, researchers are experimenting with the re-purposing of existing drugs used to treat viruses such as HIV.
At the invitation of the Commissioner General of the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Dr. Edwin Mhede, WCO Secretary General Dr. Kunio Mikuriya visited Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, Tanzania on 5 and 6 February 2020 to discuss Customs modernization with the TRA and political leaders.

In Dar es Salaam, a major entry point for Africa on Tanzanias Indian Ocean coast, Dr. Mikuriya met the TRAs management team to discuss progress with the implementation of Customs reform, including the setting up of a Customs Laboratory for which the WCO has recently conducted a feasibility study. He also visited the port of Dar es Salaam to observe the use of various technologies, including the scanner control system, and discussed measures to improve trade facilitation.

In Dodoma, capital of Tanzania, Secretary General Mikuriya met with the Minister of Industry and Trade (MIT), Hon. Innocent L. Bashungwa, and discussed the way forward for establishing a coordination mechanism between the MIT, the TRA and other stakeholders to facilitate two-way trade, with due consideration for small and medium-sized enterprises. He also met with the Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon. Philip Mpango, to review a wide range of issues related to Customs reform. Minister Mpango assured Dr. Mikuriya of the prompt accession of Tanzania to the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention, with a view to ratifying and implementing the WTO TFA. Both Ministers agreed to focus on human resource development and capacity building for Customs, and especially for young Customs officers, in order to achieve a sustainable reform process with the support of the ongoing Master Trainer Program.

Dr. Mikuriya expressed his appreciation of Tanzanias strong political support for Customs modernization, and conveyed the WCOs commitment to enhanced cooperation.
A record 102 migrants have attempted to cross the English Channel today, just one day after 90 asylum seekers including 15 children reached British shores.

Five inflatable boats carrying individuals claiming to be from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria were picked up by Border Force, the Home Office said.

Nine migrants managed to get to a beach in Kent where they were detained by police before being transferred to Home Office officials.

The 102 migrants - who included seven children - are believed to be a new record for a single day. The crossings come after 90 people were picked up on Thursday and as Britain braces for winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain when Storm Ciara hits.

Across the Channel, French authorities have also detained 'around 30 people'.

A Border Force boat returns to Dover, Kent, carrying people thought to be migrants after the Coastguard responded to a boat carrying migrants crossing the Channel

Pictured is the dinghy which contained the suspected illegal migrants in Kent today

A 'boatload' of suspected migrants were arrested by police after landing on Mermaid Beach in Folkestone, Kent at around 8.45am today. A spokesperson for Kent Police told MailOnline the group had been handed over to the Home Office

The English Channel is the world's busiest shipping lane, with 500 to 600 ships passing through the narrow strait every day.

On Friday, Border Force dealt with six incidents after being alerted to small boats that were headed towards the UK.

In the first incident, at around 1am, a Border Force vessel intercepted an inflatable boat which was carrying a group of 32 people - 26 men and six women - who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

At around 2.45am, a small boat was intercepted which was carrying a group of 13 people who presented themselves as Iranian and Afghan nationals.

In the third incident, at around 3.55am, a Border Force vessel picked up a boat carrying a group of 15 people who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

A huge search and rescue operation involving two Border Force vessels, RNLI lifeboats, and a Coastguard helicopter is underway following a mayday alert

Migrants are pictured being led to an ambulance as they are brought ashore in Dover, Kent, where the Coastguard are responding to a boat crossing the Channel

A Border Force boat tows a dingy into Dover harbour, a day after 90 asylum seekers crossed the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, in small eight boats

At around 8am, Kent Police detained a group of nine people - eight men and one woman- at Sandgate Beach who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

In the fifth incident, at 10am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a boat with 10 men aboard who presented themselves as Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan and Iraqi nationals.

In the sixth incident, at around 10.45am, a group of 23 people were found on a boat who presented themselves as Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian nationals.

Hundreds have already crossed this year, despite Home Secretary Priti Patel promising a clampdown on crossings just months ago.

Millions of pounds have been pumped into security measures to stop migrants getting into Britain, including drones and coastline patrols.

It comes after 90 asylum seekers yesterday crossed the Dover Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, in small eight boats.

That figure, which includes 15 children, is the most for a single day, eclipsing even the 86 who made the perilous journey from France last August.

NH90 Caiman Helicopter (pictured) takes off from FREMM Frigate Normandie to help with the rescue of migrants from the Channel after French authorities were contacted by migrants

Migrants are pictured here rescued by French Authorities from the Channel after they were contacted by migrants aboard the boat that was taking on water today

A Coastguard spokesman told MailOnline earlier today: 'HM Coastguard is coordinating a search and rescue response to a number of incidents off Kent this morning, working with Border Force, Kent Police and other partners.

'Border Force vessels Searcher, Speedwell have been sent, along with RNLI lifeboats and an HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter from Lydd.

'HM Coastguard is only concerned with preservation of life, rescuing those in trouble and bringing them safely back to shore, where they will be handed over to the relevant partner emergency services or authorities.'

Yesterday, a record number of migrants were intercepted by border authorities, including an RHIB carrying five West African men from Senegal, Mali and Guinea.

In another incident off the coast of Kent at 2.15am, 21 men who said they were Syrian, Yemeni, and Egyptian were also picked up on a RHIB.

All 26 migrants were taken to Dover, where they were medically assessed before being taken for questioning by immigration officials.

Later, at around 7.40am, a group of 12 men and women were intercepted by a cutter and said they were of Iranian and Iraqi origin.

More than 70 migrants are thought to have been intercepted off the coast of Kent on Thursday morning (pictured arriving in Dover)

In the fourth incident around the same time, 16 Iraqi and Iranian men were picked up on a boat. An hour later, Border Force officers caught a group of 12 people whose nationalities have not yet been established.

Five more were detained at Shakespeare Beach and Samphire Hoe Beach, Dover, around 9.20am. They said they were Yemeni and Iraqi.

An hour after that, an RNLI lifeboat picked up an inflatable boat carrying 12 men and two women who said they were Iranian and Iraqi.

Finally, five suspected illegal immigrants were detained by police in Dover town centre at around 11.20am.

Almost 1,900 migrants - a record number - arrived in Britain on small boats last year.

The Home Office said: 'All those found, apart from the group detained by Kent Police, were taken to Dover where they were medically assessed before being transferred to immigration officials to be interviewed.

'A total of 15 people from today's eight incidents claimed to be minors and, subject to age assessment, will be transferred into the care of social services. The cases of all 90 people found today will be dealt with according to the immigration rules.'

HM Coastguard responded to 'a number of incidents' in the English Channel, along with Border Force, Kent Police and other agencies (pictured men with blankets at Dover on Thursday)

Border Force officers are said to be dealing with around eight inflatable boats, with the first one detected around 5.30am (pictured is the port of Dover on Thursday morning)

Seen among the arrivals in Dover were several children, with some wearing orange life jackets as they were walked towards an ambulance

Several men were grouped together with grey blankets over them as Border Force officials kept watch on Thursday morning

The migrants (left and right) were wrapped in a blankets after being brought ashore in Dover

It is thought that 90 migrants arrived in Kent yesterday, with one cutter believed to have carried around 28 people (pictured is one man wrapped in a blanket in Dover)

Four young children were seen being escorted by immigration officials at the port, including one aged around four or five who was holding hands with an adult.

Another child was seen carrying a doll after making it ashore.

A bearded migrant using a crutch and wearing a hoodie, jeans and waterproof jacket was pictured with a Coastguard worker.

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal, insists more must be done after the latest crossings - which happened less than a week after Brexit Day.

She said: 'It is essential that we put a stop to this appalling trafficking trade and protect vulnerable people from making these dangerous crossings.

'A fresh approach is needed, so wherever boats are picked up in the English Channel they are returned safely and securely to France. We already have territorial agreements for border controls and these should be extended. It's in France's interest too - because they don't want Calais to become a migrant magnet again.'

Another man, thought to be a migrant, was seen using a walking stick (pictured) as he was escorted by an official in high-vis yesterday

Inflatable boats were seen stacked on top of each other inside the Kent port yesterday

Tony Eastaugh, the Home Office's director for crime and enforcement, said: 'We are tackling illegal migrant crossings on all fronts with every agency including Border Force, Immigration Enforcement, NCA (National Crime Agency) and policing teams working in tandem with the French and Belgian authorities.

'We have extra patrols on French beaches, drones, specialist vehicles and detection equipment which have been deployed to stop small boats leaving European shores.'

Since January 2019, more than 135 migrants who entered the UK illegally via small boats have been returned to mainland Europe.

Thursday's rescue comes after almost 200 migrants tried to cross from the continent to Britain between January 20 and January 26 (pictured Border Force in Kent yesterday)

The boat was left on the shore after the migrants were intercepted trying to get to Britain

Clothes and shoes were also seen littered around the beach during the incident yesterday

It comes after nearly 200 migrants risked their lives to try and cross the English Channel in just one week last January.

At least 180 migrants tried to cross from the continent to Britain between January 20 and January 26, according to figures from UK and French authorities, despite repeated official warnings about the dangers of making the trip in small boats.

More crossings over January 25 and 26 brought the total number of migrants picked up by Border Force and brought to the UK in seven days to at least 94.

On Saturday January 25, a Border Force vessel was alerted about 5.30am to a boat entering UK waters which was carrying a group of 26 males and two females who have presented themselves as Pakistani, Afghan, Iraqi, Iranian, and Syrian nationals.

Officers helped some of the migrants get medical care after they arrived in Dover, Kent

A lifeboat is seen approaching a small craft thought to be carrying migrantsyesterday

Around a dozen people were seen wearing life jackets as they were brought ashore on the upper deck of the Border Force vessel Searcher

A red dinghy was seen on a Kent beach with items still inside during the operation

The group was taken to Dover in Kent, where they were to be medically assessed, before being interviewed by immigration officials.

The English Channel is the world's busiest shipping lane, with 500-600 ships passing through the narrow strait every day.

Last August saw a record 86 migrants arrive in one day - during a year in which around 1,900 asylum seekers reach Britain.

On New Year's Day, it was revealed that 1,900 migrants reached UK soil after crossing the Channel during the year.

However, more than 2,300 were blocked in the Channel as they tried to get to Britain illegally in 231 small boats laid on by people smugglers.

A striped brown scarf and blue jumper were among the items of clothing seen in Dover

A man in a high-vis jacket was seen helping another man with a blanket over his shoulders in Dover yesterday after the inflatable boats were intercepted

Assisting Border Force with the rescue on Thursday morning (pictured) were RNLI lifeboats from Dover and Littlestone and an HM Coastguard Search and Rescue Helicopter from Lydd

The English Channel is the world's busiest shipping lane, with 500 to 600 ships passing through every day (pictured is a lifeboat approaching a small craft)
ST-HENRI-DE-TAILLON, Que.Quebec provincial police have suspended search operations for the two remaining French snowmobilers who disappeared along with four other members of their tour group last month around Lac Saint-Jean, in the provinces Saguenay region.

The operation has been suspended until further notice, provincial police said Thursday night. But they added that officers werent ruling out resuming searches at a later date.

Police searched for 16 consecutive days following the Jan. 21 incident involving a group of eight French tourists and their Montreal-based guide.

For reasons that still remain unclear, the group of nine snowmobilers left the safety of the marked trail through the woods and ventured towards the icy expanse of Lac-Saint-Jean, where the ice gave way somewhere between St-Henri-de-Taillon and Alma.

Police have tracked down the seven missing snowmobiles and four of the six men. Three French nationals survived and have since returned home.

Police spokesman Hugues Beaulieu said Thursday that while active searches are suspended, police havent abandoned hope of finding the last two missing French nationals.

Unstable weather conditions in the region north of Quebec City over the past two weeks have made search operations difficult.

The Quebec coroners office has identified the victims as Julien Benoit, 34, Yan Thierry, 24, Gilles Claude, 58  all of France  and their Montreal guide, 42-year-old Benoit LEsperance of Montreal.

Two other men who remain unaccounted for are Jean-Rene Dumoulin, 24, and Arnaud Antoine, 25.

Read more about:
Actor Kangana Ranaut had a bike accident and had to get 52 stitches for her injuries during the shooting of Tanu Weds Manu, sister Rangoli Chandel has revealed. Adding that the Panga star also got 15 stitches on her forehead during the shooting of Manikarnika, Rangoli said she has put her health at stake once again by gaining weight for Thalaivi.

In TWM Kangana had a bike accident and got 52 stitches in her foot, in Manikarnika her actor accidentally hit her head with a heavy metal sword she got 15 stitches on her forehead, now she has gained lot of weight put her health at stake. We salute all the artists who transcend their human limitations only to reach out to us, Rangoli tweeted Friday afternoon.

Also read: Bigg Boss 13: Sidharth Shuklas decision makes Paras and Arti cry, he gets into a fight with Asim

In TWM Kangana had a bike accident and got 52 stitches in her foot, in Manikarnika her actor accidentally hit her head with a heavy metal sword she got 15 stitches on her forehead, now she has gained lot of weight put her health at stake...(contd)  Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) February 7, 2020

(Contd).... we salute all the artists who transcend their human limitations only to reach out to us  Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) February 7, 2020

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu reporter Sreedevi Sreedhar shared a picture of Kangana from Thalaivi sets and wrote, No, this is no prosthetic or CG work... unbelievable that #kanganaranaut has put on 8 to10 kg for her role as Jayalalithaa in #thalaivi This is what u call dedication and passion to work! I am so impressed @brindaprasad @vishnuinduri @gvprakash #vijay @neeta_lulla #tamilcinema #kollywood. Retweeting her post, Rangoli validated that Kangana may have put on 8-10kg for her role as Jayalalithaa in AL Vijays Thalaivi

.

Kangana had enrolled herself in Bharatnatyam classes as part of her prep for her role. She was also reported to have spent hours on prosthetic make-up sessions and also learnt some Tamil. Talking to IANS, she had said in an interview, I am finding it difficult to learn Tamil. This film will be released in Hindi and Tamil, so we will do something about it. Obviously, I have to mug up those dialogues because Tamil is not an easy language. Earlier, I was trying to learn the complete Tamil language because I have learned English as well, but now I am learning Tamil as per the demand of films script. Apart from Kangana, the film also stars Arvind Swami as MGR. It is scheduled to release in 2020.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
analysis

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy has implemented important reforms but the changes have uncorked social tensions long bottled up by an authoritarian state. In this excerpt from our Watch List 2020 for European policymakers, Crisis Group urges the EU and its member states to bolster efforts to prevent violence around the elections and support the government's reforms.

Ethiopia's federal and regional elections, now scheduled for August, will be a critical test for one of Africa's most closely watched political transitions. Since taking office in April 2018, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has brought rapid change: he has extended his predecessor Hailemariam Desalegn's policy of releasing political prisoners and welcoming back regime opponents from long exile, restored relations with Eritrea, boosted the number of women in the cabinet, accelerated modernisation of an indebted state-led economy, refreshed institutions like the electoral board and set the country on a path toward multi-party politics. Many at home and abroad have welcomed these reforms. On 10 December, Abiy collected the Nobel Peace Prize.

Yet the changes have uncorked social tensions long bottled up by an authoritarian state. Intercommunal violence has proliferated, spurring the most conflict-related internal displacement in the world in 2018. Ascendant ethno-nationalist parties are jockeying for power in urban areas, including the federal capital Addis Ababa, and the countryside. Boundary disputes between ethnically defined regions that control autonomous security forces could tip into open inter-regional conflict. Moreover, Abiy's transformation of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has aroused opponents' suspicions that he intends to do away with the hard-won "ethnic federalist" system that guarantees those regions self-rule. The EPRDF, whose four core parties have controlled the central state, as well as the most politically powerful regions, for three decades, is being replaced by a single national party that also absorbs ruling parties from the five regions not governed by EPRDF parties. Ethnic federalism's future could be a divisive issue in the forthcoming vote.

The challenges of managing a competitive election - chiefly, overcoming mistrust among rival elites and strengthening electoral institutions - are formidable in themselves. In parallel, however, authorities will also need to boost an economy that has struggled to generate sufficient jobs for the country's ranks of unemployed and underemployed youth. Satisfying this constituency, whose protests between 2015 and 2018 set the stage for Abiy's ascent to power, and which now demands a better future, will be essential to keeping the transition on the rails.

The EU and its member states can help by:

Urging authorities in Addis Ababa to convene a national conversation about how to manage the election schedule, pre-election tensions and security issues. This conversation should include politicians, activists, religious leaders and elders. All these actors should aim to set ground rules ahead of the vote and discuss ways to prevent violence, such as pledges by candidates and party leaders to avoid incendiary campaign rhetoric.

Encouraging Abiy to reach out to rivals who fear an end to ethnic federalism, making clear to them that review of Ethiopia's constitution, if it occurs, will take place down the road and will include the opposition and civil society.

Intensifying financial and technical support for Ethiopia's electoral board, which needs significant support to deliver a credible vote crucial to averting violence. The EU and member states should keep working with other partners to build up the board's capacity while simultaneously supporting efforts to boost voter education and preparing to deploy an election observation mission.

Pressing Abiy to promote dialogue among political elites embroiled in territorial and power-sharing disputes.

Working with authorities to carry out macro-economic reforms, by way of increased supplemental funding for job creation programs, welfare schemes and other safety nets.

Fault Lines

Four flashpoints pose immediate threats to Ethiopia's transition. First, in Abiy's home state of Oromia, the prime minister's rivals (and some of his erstwhile allies) accuse him of doing too little for the Oromo people and being too close to pan-Ethiopian nationalists whom they see as adversaries. Secondly, elites from the powerful northern highland regions of Amhara and Tigray are locked in a bitter dispute focused primarily on boundaries. That standoff has inflamed ethno-nationalist sentiment and could lead to widespread violence. Thirdly, Oromo nationalists are bidding for greater sway over Addis Ababa, which is both the federal and Oromia capital. Amhara factions and activists in Addis Ababa oppose this drive for more benefits for Oromos - greater political representation, more revenue shared with Oromia, enhanced Oromo rights in education, for example - from the city. The vote for the Addis Ababa council leadership will therefore be keenly contested, and disputed results could lead to intercommunal violence in the multi-ethnic city that is Ethiopia's main commercial as well as political hub. Fourthly, the formerly dominant elites from Tigray resent their loss of power under Abiy and protest his prosecutions of Tigrayan officials for past abuses, which they see as politically driven.

Another important fault line, which Abiy's ruling party reform plays into, pits supporters of Ethiopia's ethnic federalist system against its opponents. The former camp includes Tigrayan leaders, Oromo opposition politicians and others, who view the reform as a first step toward dismantling that system, because it centralises power in Addis Ababa, so reducing the autonomy of regional party structures. They are committed to ethnic federalism because they view its provisions for self-rule as reversing decades of domination by an unaccountable centre. Proponents of the merger tend to dislike the existing federalist system, arguing that it weakens the nation by accentuating ethnic differences. Stakes in the debate are high. On 23 October, an ardent defender of ethnic federalism, the influential Oromo politician Jawar Mohammed, posted on Facebook accusing the government of endangering his personal safety. His post brought thousands of his supporters into the streets of Addis Ababa and Oromia's multi-ethnic towns. At least 86 were killed in confrontations triggered by the protests.

Dialling Down the Tensions

Ethiopian authorities will need to take the lead in tamping down tensions, but the EU, member states and other external partners can also play a constructive role. Prime Minister Abiy has urged the country's international partners to support his government's efforts at far-reaching reforms. The EU and member state leaders who are in contact with Abiy and other key Ethiopian actors should remain engaged and urge them to prevent violence before, during and after the election, including by taking some of the steps below:

An urgent priority is fashioning a consensus on ground rules ahead of the vote including on the election date. Ethiopia's electoral board announced on 15 January that the election would tentatively be held on 16 August, saying that neither the authorities nor the electoral board would have been ready for the earlier planned date of May. That new schedule is contentious, however. Opposition leaders have complained that the new date falls in the middle of the rainy season and so campaigning may be difficult in rural areas. These concerns are reasonable, and authorities and the electoral board should reach out to the various parties to craft agreement on the issue. Although the August date affords a bit more time to prepare, the schedule is still constrained given the challenges. The EU and its member states should urge the premier to immediately invite the main ruling party and opposition leaders from across the federation to talks aimed at ensuring that electoral campaigning does not spark conflict. This select group could discuss campaign rules and electoral procedures, including security provisions in contested districts and how complaints should be made and handled. Aggrieved parties should be told to direct their complaints through official channels before airing them in public. Abiy could also use this forum to assure rivals that, if he plans to propose any constitutional changes, he will do that down the line and in a consultative manner.

Separately, the EU and its member states should encourage Ethiopia's electoral board to convene as soon as possible a national conversation with opposition parties and civil society, including activists, religious leaders and elders. That would be a venue for all players to express their views on issues related to election management, building on a code of conduct signed by over 100 parties in March 2019 in which all committed to peaceful campaigning. In particular, it could tackle questions such as how to ensure that state institutions and public officials do not tilt the scales in favour of the ruling party, as has occurred extensively in past elections. At this conclave, all political actors should promise to eschew inflammatory rhetoric.

A third strand of EU support should involve technical and financial backing for the electoral board. This institution won some praise for its management of a November 2019 referendum on whether to create a new Sidama federal state out of the Southern Nations region. The national vote will pose much greater difficulties, however. Initial signs of EU involvement are positive: the new European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, picked Addis Ababa as the site of her first official visit abroad, showing that she intends to make Ethiopia a top priority. She announced that the Commission would channel 10 million to Addis Ababa to support the election and noted that Germany would add another 10 million to the same basket of funds. The EU and member states should complement these initiatives with substantial support for voter education efforts. The EU, which has already deployed an exploratory team, should accept the government's invitation to deploy a strong observation mission as early as feasible to monitor the process from campaigning to the certification of results. The EU should coordinate closely with the African Union if that body also observes the polls.

Meanwhile, the EU and its member states should also support Abiy's continued encouragement of talks between leaders in the main hotspots of potential communal conflict: within Oromia; between Oromia and Amhara factions; and between Tigray and Amhara. The premier should urge the various leaders to signal to their constituents that negotiated settlements to disputes are the only acceptable way forward. Political actors should publicise the outcomes of their meetings and consider joint appeals for calm. All these measures are critical in light of chauvinistic appeals to ethnic sentiment, which contributed to the October unrest in Oromia and has led security forces to deploy to turbulent university campuses. The EU, through the Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace, and European states are already supporting dialogue initiatives among political parties and other stakeholders. Some member states also back a separate civil society-led process to forge channels of communication across fault lines between and within ethnic groups and should encourage these non-governmental actors to step up these efforts in the run-up to the election.

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In the long run, the economic front poses as great a danger to Ethiopia's transition as do political tensions. After political grievances, concerns about the lack of economic opportunity were the second driver of the youth protests that rocked much of Oromia and, later, Amhara, between 2015 and 2018. The previous administration's state-led economic model brought advances in infrastructure, primary health care and education, but could not deliver enough jobs to meet the aspirations of the large number of youth graduating from the expanded school system. Much of the country's stability in the next few years will hinge on how many opportunities the government can foster to keep this segment of the population happy.

Abiy's administration says it needs at least $9 billion to set the economy on a path to sustainable growth. On 11 December, the International Monetary Fund announced the outlines of an agreement to loan Ethiopia $2.9 billion over three years, primarily to support the central bank as the government moves toward a free-floating currency, which comes on the back of a $1.2 billion World Bank program primarily supporting economic reform that began in 2018. The administration also aims to ease businesses' regulatory burden and increase private-sector participation as it pivots away from a public investment growth model. It plans to introduce a spate of privatisations and liberalisations in state-run sectors such as energy and telecommunications and to gradually open up the financial sector. The EU and member states could backstop these efforts by ensuring that adequate support for the poor and most vulnerable is in place, including drought victims, internally displaced people and those who have recently returned home. It could also look for ways to bolster rural and urban safety nets in case the cost of living rises further as state subsidies taper off and prices rise, while encouraging member states to continue supporting government spending on basic services such as health, education, water, agriculture and roads.
It's been a good week for Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:PDM) shareholders, because the company has just released its latest yearly results, and the shares gained 3.9% to US$24.10. It looks like a credible result overall - although revenues of US$533m were what analysts expected, Piedmont Office Realty Trust surprised by delivering a (statutory) profit of US$1.82 per share, an impressive 186% above what analysts had forecast. Following the result, analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. So we collected the latest post-earnings statutory consensus estimates to see what could be in store for next year.

See our latest analysis for Piedmont Office Realty Trust

NYSE:PDM Past and Future Earnings, February 7th 2020

Following last week's earnings report, Piedmont Office Realty Trust's dual analysts are forecasting 2020 revenues to be US$542.3m, approximately in line with the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to dive 69% to US$0.56 in the same period. Yet prior to the latest earnings, analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$548.0m and earnings per share (EPS) of US$0.41 in 2020. Although the revenue estimates have not really changed, we can see there's been a great increase in earnings per share expectations, suggesting that analysts have become more bullish after the latest result.

The consensus price target was unchanged at US$24.25, implying that the improved earnings outlook is not expected to have a long term impact on value creation for shareholders.

In addition, we can look to Piedmont Office Realty Trust's past performance and see whether business is expected to improve, and if the company is expected to perform better than wider market. From these estimates it looks as though analysts expect the years of declining sales to come to an end, given the flat revenue forecast for next year. That would be a definite improvement, given that the past five years have seen sales shrink five years annually. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in a similar industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 5.1% per year. So it's pretty clear that, although revenues are improving, Piedmont Office Realty Trust is still expected to grow slower than the market.

Story continues

The Bottom Line

The most important thing to take away from this is that analysts upgraded their earnings per share estimates, suggesting that there has been a clear increase in optimism towards Piedmont Office Realty Trust following these results. On the plus side, there were no major changes to revenue estimates; although analyst forecasts imply revenues will perform worse than the wider market. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Piedmont Office Realty Trust. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. At least one analyst has provided forecasts out to 2024, which can be seen for free on our platform here.

You can also view our analysis of Piedmont Office Realty Trust's balance sheet, and whether we think Piedmont Office Realty Trust is carrying too much debt, for free on our platform here.

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.
As fear grips the world, demand for protective gear used by health care professionals and citizens is on a rise. And, supply disruption from China has opened a window of opportunities for Indian medical device makers.

Sumit Marwa, owner of Bengaluru-based Dispoline India, makers of single-use items used in the health care sector (especially hospitals), has seen a 15-fold surge in enquiries for masks.

His sales have soared by four to five times.

As fear grips the world, demand for protective gear used by health care professionals and citizens is on a rise.

And, supply disruption from China has opened a window of opportunities for Indian medical device makers.

Marwa gets masks made on contract and he think the total market for masks in this country runs into billions of units.

At present, there is specific demand for what he called anti-viral or N-95 masks.

The common surgical or pollution masks only offer protection from certain bacteria.

The ex-factory price of the routine masks are often as low as a rupee, Marwa said.

As for the N-95 ones, even Chinese provinces are enquiring for sourcing from India.

So, their prices have soared from Rs 20-25 apiece earlier to around Rs 40.

Traders are procuring the masks from manufacturers and are mostly shipping out of the country - there is demand from entire Southeast Asia.

"Prices in the domestic market have spiked as a result.

"The government, too, is procuring in large quantities for health care professionals as they create isolation centers in government hospitals, said one Mumbai-based surgical devices maker.

He said that this is a short-term opportunity.

Once supplies stabilise from China, these export orders are likely to end.

Rajiv Nath, forum coordinator of the Association of Indian Manufacturers of Medical Devices, an umbrella body for this industry, said demand from China for such protective medical gear and consumables comes in the wake of a shutdown in several of their provinces as the virus spreads.

India imports around 80 per cent of its medical devices from America, parts of Europe and China.

China's share is about a tenth, mostly of low-end ones like surgical consumables, instruments, some electronic devices like ECG machines.

Nath said these have some market share in India, being 15-30 per cent cheaper than the local produce.

His own company, Hindustan Syringes and Medical Devices, of Dispovan fame, has lost market share in the India market from an earlier 80 per cent to a current 50 per cent, for cheaper import.

The China lockdown could, however, impact medicine supplies but after a lag.

India is dependent on China for import of the raw material for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates to make drugs.

About two-third of the countrys API requirement is from China, around $2.4 billion worth of import in 2018-19.

The dependence is as high as 90 per cent for some fermentation-based APIs.

These are used to make common antibiotics like penicillin.

Daara Patel, secretary-general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers Association (IDMA), says companies mostly maintain a two-month buffer stock of APIs.

And, there would be at least 30 days inventory in circulation.

So, for the next 90 days, we do not see any emergency situation of drug shortage.

"However, if the lockdown continues in China, there could be some impact on supplies in the domestic market, he said.

IDMA is already talking to bulk drug makers in the country and many of the units not at full capacity could now step up production.

However, units which do not make specific antibiotic APIs might find it difficult to suddenly switch production.

Also, stringent pollution norms regulate the bulk drug industry here.

It is learnt the central government has called a meeting of industry stakeholders on Friday.

IDMA plans to meet officials next week with a proposal from the industry on how to manage.

Indian players can make the APIs we now import from China.

"They do not do so now as Chinese import is cheaper.

"Once there is a market for these APIs, there is no issue in stepping up production.

"The government should support us during this time by relaxing the environment norms (like seeking a separate no-objection certificate from the state pollution authority), as long as the effluent load remains unaltered, said a Hyderabad-based API player.

APIs for common antibiotics, vitamins, fever drugs (paracetamol) and diabetes (metformin) are among those procured from China.

Photograph: Robert Pratta/Reuters
 Online tributes and expressions of grief for doctor who tried to sound alarm on NCoV

Online in China, where Novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV has now killed at least 630 as of today, one death seems to have affected the entire country profoundly.

Li Wenliang was a medical doctor and a whistleblower who was reprimanded by authorities for warning of a fast-escalating and deadly outbreak of a strange new virus.

He died yesterday, of the virus he warned others about.

Hundreds have died, and yet this is the fatality that is shaking China. https://t.co/5gMrjoTCTg  Carlos Tejada (@CRTejada) February 7, 2020

The tributes and memorials are  wow. Wow. Wow.

This one, below? the person in the snow?

It says "Farewell Li Wenliang."

Their body forms an exclamation point.

Here are a few more, from China-based photojournalists, reporters, and others.

Can't confirm, but this is supposed to be the salute given to Li Wenliang tonight in Wuhan. If it's real, it's incredible. The physical version of what's been happening on the Chinese Internet for the past 24 hours. https://t.co/I68qdqUtgs  Paul Mozur  (@paulmozur) February 7, 2020

Latest censored on Weibo:"Tonight, let me blow the whistle for Wuhan." This is an online call for people in Wuhan, Hubei and the rest of the world to mourn Li Wenliang's death & pay tribute 8:55-9:00 Light off

9:00-9:05 Shine flashlight out the window & blow the whistle pic.twitter.com/gJHI8vSAHM  Nectar Gan (@Nectar_Gan) February 7, 2020

In Hong Kong too, people are paying their respects and mourning the death of Dr Li Wenliang, who tried to alert China to the coronavirus but was reprimanded for it. He died yesterday of this new type of pneumonia https://t.co/ciFW2ABMk4  Ilaria Maria Sala (@IlariaMariaSala) February 7, 2020

I was full of hope. I thought we didn't let this man freeze in the snowstorm, I found him and helped introduced him to the world. I told Dr. Li good men will be rewarded . He was shy when I asked him to send me a selfie. He said he hadn't washed his hair for a while. https://t.co/Es5OargqjA  Elsie Chen (@elsiechenyi) February 7, 2020

"The hashtag #wewantfreedomofspeech# was created on Weibo at 2 a.m. on Fridayand had over two million views and over 5,500 posts by 7 a.m. It was deleted by censors, along with related topics, such as ones saying the Wuhan govt owed Dr. Li an apology." https://t.co/sDaVBqMr46  Julian Ku  (@julianku) February 7, 2020

The sounds of an entire city reacting to the death of #LiWenliang, the coronavirus whistleblower. https://t.co/LbGin7hFct  Siqi Chen  (@blader) February 7, 2020

Citizens in Wuhan sent flowers to the hospital where whistleblower doctor #LiWenliang passed away to express condolences. #CoronavirusOutbreak pic.twitter.com/Kkj0XxXJA7  Keith Zhai (@QiZHAI) February 7, 2020

People in Wuhan blow whistle to mourn #LiWenliang 's death and pay tribute pic.twitter.com/VIl5umdNs4  Keith Zhai (@QiZHAI) February 7, 2020

China whistleblower doc #LiWenliang 's favorite food vlogger did a special show for Mr. Li, and netizens photoshopped Li's photo on it. pic.twitter.com/QtT5VLWszq  Keith Zhai (@QiZHAI) February 7, 2020

#LiWenliang gets the top obituary for the Times tonight, and rightly so pic.twitter.com/v4lHp30hqP  Jane Merrick (@janemerrick23) February 7, 2020

#

Today's front page of a well-known newspaper in #Shanghai: "Let transparency pierce through the fog around the virus" pic.twitter.com/BLyR3Kze09  Ting Microway (@tingguowrites) February 7, 2020

A small memorial for Dr. Li Wenliang at the branch of Wuhan Central Hospital in Houhu where he died. pic.twitter.com/DBUUEbIfIX  Chris Buckley  (@ChuBailiang) February 7, 2020

A photo from Caixin reporter Ding Gang of Wuhan doctors paying respects to Li Wenliang. 100% of my WeChat feed, from dissident lawyers to Huawei employees, is raging over Li's death. Haven't seen China unified like this since the Wenzhou train crash. pic.twitter.com/lJQE1XMJBQ  Josh Chin (@joshchin) February 7, 2020

Can't be emphasized enough how unusual this is. 12 hours on, WeChat still seething. Quoting "we know they're lying, they know they're lying". Sharing "Do you hear the people sing?" (HK protest anthem). Realists say nothing will change. Probably not. But a crack has opened. pic.twitter.com/OJRQOw95qu  Simon Rabinovitch (@S_Rabinovitch) February 7, 2020

Looking at this and thinking of @EmilyZFeng's interviewer saying the new hospitals are places where they send you to die. No facilities visible, no drips visible, no medical workers visible. https://t.co/t7BgSDV5P2  Louisa Lim (@limlouisa) February 7, 2020

Let's not forget this tweet as we mourn the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang https://t.co/ncJP9bzg0v  Ilaria Maria Sala (@IlariaMariaSala) February 6, 2020

As everyday Chinese in mainland China remember #ChinaVirus #Whistleblower Dr. #LiWenliang #, remember also another who dared #speaktruthtopower & a poem, from after the death of Liu Xiaobo "You want to bury him / bury into the dirt / but you forget / he is a seed" pic.twitter.com/pnGkHxgndI  Curtis S. Chin (@CurtisSChin) February 7, 2020

The Chinese public have staged what amounts to an online revolt last night after the death of Dr. Li Wenliang.Government officials,biz figures & ordinary folks,have posted numerous messages expressing their grief and anger. It's sth I haven't seen in years https://t.co/zge4rVysB2 pic.twitter.com/uL4JVd89u1  Li Yuan (@LiYuan6) February 7, 2020

#HongKong in a time of coronavirus. Pix from the interwebs. pic.twitter.com/GKv38QPsyx  Tom Grundy (@tomgrundy) February 7, 2020

PREVIOUSLY ON BOING BOING

 China: Doctor who sounded alarm on Wuhan virus dies of it

 Chinese doctor who tried to warn about coronavirus early on but was censored has died from the disease [Updated]
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 Feb. 7 ...

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Canadian Red Cross truck sits outside the Yukon Lodge at CFB Trenton, where Canadians returning on a charter flight from Wuhan, China, will be temporarily housed for a quarantine period to be monitored for signs of the novel coronavirus, in Trenton, Ont., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

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 Feb. 7 ...

What we are watching in Canada ...

A plane carrying 176 Canadian citizens from the centre of the global novel coronavirus outbreak has landed in Trenton, Ont.

Flight HFM322 departed from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the outbreak originated, and landed at Vancouver International Airport after 9 p.m. local time Thursday evening. It stopped for refuelling for about two hours before heading to the Canadian Forces Base Trenton.

Myriam Larouche, a 25-year-old from L'Ascension, Que., who is studying tourism management at the Central China Normal University in Wuhan, described the flight as "pretty long," but noted everyone slept for most of it.

All evacuees will spend 14 days under quarantine on the military base in southern Ontario being monitored to see if they have contracted the virus.

"I think I'm going to sleep for 20 hours straight," Larouche said, adding that the last few days have been stressful.

She said she is relieved to be back home because it's been a long process that felt longer being in a different country.

A United States government flight from Wuhan with about 50 Canadians on board departed a short time after the Canadian evacuation flight.

The American plane will take Canada-bound passengers as far as Vancouver, where they will transfer to a second flight chartered by the Canadian government to CFB Trenton to join the rest of the evacuees.

---

Also this ...

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is heading to Africa, where he will be the first Canadian prime minister to participate in a session of the African Union.

With just five months left before the United Nations Security Council vote, Trudeau's trip is widely expected to be focused on wooing African support for Canada's bid for one of the two available temporary seats.

At a briefing for media prior to the trip on Thursday, officials from the Prime Minister's Office acknowledged the security council vote is one reason for the journey. But they also said building stronger relationships overall, finding opportunities for Canadian business, and engaging on issues like climate change and the empowerment of women and girls are all part of the agenda.

The officials at the briefing spoke only on the condition they not be identified.

Trudeau will start in Ethiopia, the continent's fastest-growing economy, which is the headquarters of the African Union.

He intends to meet individually with a number of African leaders on the margins of the gathering, including Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and attend discussions on gender equality and the environment.

He later goes to Senegal for an official visit, where he will meet with President Macky Sall. Senegal is one of the most influential African nations in the Francophonie group of countries.

Trudeau is also stopping in Munich, Germany to attend part of an international security conference before he returns to Canada.

---

What we are watching in the U.S. ...

The chairman of the Democratic National Committee called for a "recanvass" of the results of the Iowa caucuses, saying it was needed to "assure public confidence" after three days of technical issues and delays.

"Enough is enough," party leader Tom Perez wrote on Twitter.

Following the Iowa Democratic Party's release of new results late Thursday night, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by two state delegate equivalents out of 2,152 counted. That is a margin of 0.09 percentage points. Both candidates have declared themselves victorious.

However, there is evidence the party has not accurately tabulated some of its results, including those released late Thursday that the party reported as complete.

The Associated Press is unable to declare a winner.

The state party apologized for technical glitches with an app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. However, it was unclear if the party planned to follow the directive of the national leader to recanvass those results, a process that would likely require state officials to review caucus math worksheets completed at more than 1,600 caucus sites to ensure the calculations were done correctly and matched the reported results.

Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested in a statement Thursday that he would only pursue a recanvass if one was requested by a campaign.

---

What we are watching in the rest of the world ...

The chief architect of the U.S. blueprint to resolve the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians blamed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for soaring tensions and violence in the occupied West Bank since the plan's release last week.

Jared Kushner, the son-in-law and adviser to President Donald Trump who spent nearly three years working on the plan, said leaders who are ready for a state "don't call for days of rage and encourage their people to pursue violence if they're not getting what they want."

He said he thinks Abbas "was surprised with how good the plan was for the Palestinian people, but he locked himself into a position" by rejecting it before it came out.

The Palestinian president is going to different forums and putting forward old talking points when the situation on the ground has changed and "this might be the last chance that they have to actually resolve it in a good way," Kushner said.

Abbas is scheduled to address the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday and then appear at a news conference with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, an opponent of the U.S. plan who was forced to resign a decade ago ahead of a corruption indictment that later sent him to prison for 16 months.

Kushner called Olmert's appearance "almost pathetic."

Leaders who had their chances and failed should be encouraging other people's efforts in trying to make peace, "as opposed to trying to grab a headline when you're irrelevant and try ... to get involved in a situation to get some attention," Kushner said.

---

ICYMI (In case you missed it) ...

GUERNSEY, Sask.  The federal government on Thursday ordered lower speed limits for all trains carrying large amounts of dangerous goods, hours after a fiery derailment in rural Saskatchewan sent thick black smoke into the air.

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying crude oil jumped the tracks about 6:15 a.m. near Guernsey, 115 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon. Thirty-one of 104 cars derailed and a dozen caught fire, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said.

It also said there were no injuries.

Jack Gibney, reeve of the Rural Municipality of Usborne, which includes Guernsey, said about 85 residents were evacuated from homes in the agricultural community. The hamlet is surrounded by farmland and is near a potash mine operated by Nutrien.

Tom Lukiwski, the member of Parliament for the area, said he was shocked to learn the derailment was the second to happen on the same stretch of rail within two months.

About 19 cars on another CP train ran off the tracks Dec. 9 about 10 kilometres to the west, causing a major blaze and leaking 1.5 million litres of oil.

"To have two major derailments that are incredibly serious  is something that is almost incomprehensible," Lukiwski said. "I am not a big believer in coincidence, and this seems to be that it's more than just coincidence."

Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the ministerial order requires trains carrying 20 or more cars of dangerous goods to travel at lower speeds while the crash is investigated.

"That speed reduction will require them to go at no more than 25 miles (40 kilometres) per hour across the country except ... 20 miles (32 kilometres) per hour in built-up metropolitan areas," Garneau said in Ottawa. Those speed limits are half as fast as limits currently listed on Transport Canada's website.

"This will be put into effect for the next 30 days. We could shorten that  we're looking for the causes to see if there is a common pattern  or we could lengthen it depending on how things are progressing," he said.

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Weird and wild ...

CALGARY  Police in Calgary are encouraging babysitters to screen phone calls following reports of a man making lewd calls.

Police say there have been multiple complaints since the start of last year about a man phoning girls who advertise babysitting services online.

The man calls from a blocked number and engages the girls in conversation, but as the chat progresses, he becomes more inappropriate and graphic.

The recipients of the calls have all been between 11 and 16 years old.

The police service is urging babysitters to avoid posting photographs with their listings, not to answer calls from blocked or private numbers, and never to meet a potential employer alone.

It's also suggesting a parent or guardian be around before girls answer a call from someone looking to hire a babysitter.

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Know your news ...

The nominations for the East Coast Music Awards were announced Thursday. Name the actor and comedian who will be hosting the awards show. She is best known for her Marg Delahunty character on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes."

(Keep scrolling for the answer)

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On this day in 1867 ...

The British North America Act, creating the Dominion of Canada, was introduced in the House of Lords.

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Entertainment news ...

TORONTO  Netflix is finally letting viewers turn off the auto-play preview function.

The much-maligned feature, which forced viewers to watch clips and trailers of movies as they browsed the platform's titles, can now be disabled under account settings.

It's a feature that subscribers have begged the company for in order to give them control.

The backlash over auto-play intensified a number of weeks ago after Netflix released the documentary "Don't F**k With Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer."

Auto-play of a trailer for the docuseries, about the international hunt for Canadian killer Luka Magnotta, included brief clips of his cat torture videos. Some viewers expressed their anger on social media over unexpectedly encountering flashes of animal cruelty footage with a feature they couldn't disable.

Other Netflix users have complained that auto-play is especially startling when it's triggered as they hover over a particular title.

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Know your news answer ...

Mary Walsh will host the April 30 awards show at Mile One Centre in downtown St. John's, N.L.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
Abu Dhabi Ports has planned a series of interactive activities to mark the start of UAE Innovation Month 2020, a government-led initiative that seeks to inspire and motivate residents of the Emirates to embrace innovative thinking in tackling current and future challenges.



The month-long programme is held this year under the theme The UAE Innovates in Preparation for the Next 50 Years", said a statement.



Abu Dhabi Ports is well-positioned to share its insights on innovation following a year of innovation-related successes.



The company reported savings and revenues of more than Dh170 million ($46.28 million) following the implementation of numerous employee suggestions received via its internal IBTIKAR suggestions platform as of the end of 2019.



The innovative suggestions implemented within Abu Dhabi ports, include several ideas, including but not limited to, the towing operations at Mussaffah Port, the enhancement of handling services on all ships, and the implantation of a new waste disposal mechanism.



In November 2019, Abu Dhabi Ports became the first port and maritime organisation in the world to be awarded with a prestigious Level 3 Certification by the international innovation Institute - Global Innovation Management Institute (GIMI).



Eiman Al Khalaqi, vice president of innovation, Abu Dhabi Ports, said: Our commitment in contributing to the governments innovation strategy is paramount. Dedicating our resources towards innovation, research, science and technology to improve business operations is the proven link to nurturing a knowledge-based, highly productive, and competitive economy, ready for the next 50 years.



In line with the governmental directions, Abu Dhabi Ports has started participating in 2020 innovation month activities, by displaying its innovative solutions to the public on the capitals Corniche from January 30 to February 8.



Abu Dhabi Ports is also hosting a wide range of daily events over the month at its Mina Zayed headquarters and Kizad, including in-house innovation awards ceremony, guest lectures on AI, facial recognition, blockchain, mind control demos, and design thinking.



Al Khalaqi added: Innovation is a fundamental element of Abu Dhabi Ports ethos, and our planned activities illustrate our determination to develop a culture of innovation that can significantly refine the way we work.



Implementing creative techniques and employing smart sustainable technologies across our assets will empower us to transform our approach to challenges and opportunities, she added.  TradeArabia News Service
President Muhammadu Buhari says he is unable to interfere in the dispute between Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje and the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II because the constitution hasnt given such power.

This was as the Emir of Ningi, Alhaji Yunusa Danyaya, on Thursday pleaded with Buhari to save the traditional institution in the North from being destroyed by urgently intervening in the conflict between Sanusi and Ganduje.

While speaking in a chat with newsmen at his palace in Ningi, he said: I am begging the President as a father to all to please in the name of Allah to intervene in the problem happening in Kano and settle this dispute between the Emir and the Governor.

I have high hopes that Buhari will not allow the traditional institution to be humiliated and bastardised,  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted him as saying.

However, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, Buhari said: I know my role as the President of Nigeria.

Read Also: I Have Kept My Promise To End Boko Haram: President Buhari

By the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Kano State has his own roles, once a matter is in the hands of the House of Assembly (like in Kano), the President has no Constitutional right to interfere.

I am here by the Constitution, I swore by it, and I am going to stand by it. But let me tell you the bottom line of my understanding of the Constitutional role is that peace and security of all Nigerians must be guaranteed, where the people are threatened, then I will use my constitutional powers, he said.

I hope you are mindful of your promises to your constituencies. You went round and you promised your constituencies. I hope the promises you made are within the resources of your state.

If you made promises outside your resources, it will be your problem because you are going to stand again in four years time. This is very important and it is important for our party, he said.
The session will take place during a month

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and Vice Premier on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba 112 Agency

Hungary and Ukraine did not hold the session of the bilateral intergovernmental commission for seven years. After such a long break, the sides agreed to hold the session in Budapest during a month as Vice Premier on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba stated during a briefing with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

The sides believe that such long break is unacceptable.

We will talk about very particular projects, which can be jointly implemented by Ukraine and Hungary, Kuleba said.

In his turn, Szijjarto noted that Hungary would like to establish relations with Ukraine.

The government of Hungary is interested to restore good neighborly relations with Ukraine. There is any normal person who would not like to have good relations with his\her neighbor, he noted.

It is known that the sides will discuss Ukrainian education law, the creation of a checkpoint at the Ukrainian-Hungarian border and infrastructure projects.

Szijjarto added that Hungary wants to achieve the development in agriculture and healthcare spheres and continue the provision of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and improvement of the economy of Zakarpattia. Hungarian foreign minister states that the successful session of the commission will open the way for the meeting of PM of Hungary Viktor Orban and Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Earlier, Ukraine and Hungary agreed to join their forces and expand cooperation to strengthen regional collective security. Corresponding agreements were reached during negotiations between the head of the Defense Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vasyl Burba and the head of the Main Directorate of Military Information of Hungary, Janos Beres.
Spain views its bilateral relations with the United States as a whole, not as a set of separate areas where it is possible to have a good relationship in one (defense, for instance) and an openly hostile attitude in another (trade).

This was the message conveyed on Thursday by Spains foreign and defense ministers, Arancha Gonzalez Laya and Margarita Robles, respectively, to US ambassador Duke Buchan. Washington should not expect military cooperation to increase while simultaneously imposing new tariffs and issuing threats to Spanish businesses, said Spanish government sources.

The Foreign Ministry portrayed the meeting as an initial contact between the new head of Spanish diplomacy and the Trump administrations representative in Madrid. The encounter took place 48 hours before Gonzalez Laya was scheduled to have a telephone conversation with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo.

For the first time, military cooperation was framed as one more element of US-Spanish relations, together with political, economic and cultural collaboration

But the unusual format of the meeting  two ministers going to see an ambassador  reveals a goal that goes beyond diplomatic formalities. For the first time, military cooperation was framed as one more element of US-Spanish relations, together with political, economic and cultural collaboration.

This attitude signals a change in Spains position: until now, the US military presence in the country had been encapsulated and treated as a separate issue, even at times when relations were cooler, such as the period when former US president George W. Bush and former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero were in power.

In recent months, the Spanish government has authorized the US to replace four missile destroyers at its Navy base in Rota (Cadiz) with more modern vessels. The move also involves increasing the US presence at the base with a new helicopter maritime strike squadron. And the Spanish government has been sounded out about the possibility of deploying six destroyers in Rota instead of four, which means increasing its naval force by 50% and adding 600 sailors.

Spain views the agricultural tariffs, imposed in retaliation over European subsidies to the aviation giant Airbus, as unfair

While these requests are being made, the Trump administration is also making decisions that the Spanish government views as unfriendly. The most serious one of all was the recent introduction of 25% tariffs on several agricultural products, including olive oil, wine and cheese. Spanish exports of these products represented over 800 million a year.

Spain views these sanctions, imposed in retaliation over European subsidies to the aviation giant Airbus, as unfair. The tariffs have added to the financial troubles of Spains agricultural sector, which has been staging protests for weeks. But it wasnt the first time: under pressure from California growers, in 2018 the US government slapped a tariff of nearly 35% on Spanish black olives, forcing Spanish exporters to take their battle to the US courts.

Another recent decision by the US State Department is viewed as even more hostile: the vice-chairman and CEO of the Melia hotel chain, Gabriel Escarrer, has been barred from entering US territory. The move also affects his children and close relatives, and it is derived from Title IV of the Helms-Burton Act, which allows the secretary of state to deny entry to individuals who traffic in property that was confiscated from US nationals by the Cuban government from 1959 onwards.

The vice-chairman and CEO of the Melia hotel chain, Gabriel Escarrer. has been barred from entering US territory

Several Spanish companies with a presence in Cuba have already been threatened or faced with legal problems under Title III, which allows US nationals to bring suits against anyone deemed to be trafficking with expropriated assets. But while these cases can be appealed in court, the decision to bar an individual from entering the country is discretionary and cannot be contested. Not even North Korea does this sort of thing, said one Spanish diplomat.

On Wednesday, the Trump administration further warned that it is considering sanctions against foreign companies operating in Venezuela as a way to put pressure on President Nicolas Maduro. The Spanish oil company Repsol was specifically named along with Russias Rosneft.

The decision to put military and trade relations on the same level follows Trumps own logic: the US president has warned that NATO allies that fail to contribute 2% of their gross domestic product to defense could ultimately pay in the form of tariffs.

On Wednesday, the Spanish foreign minister told NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels that Spain is a solid and reliable ally. Gonzalez Laya is planning to travel to Washington DC shortly, although Madrid is aware that the Trump administration is currently focusing on the re-election effort.

Despite the differences, the US-Spain relation is considered strategic. For multiple reasons, political, economic and security-related, we consider it a priority to maintain and expand our relations with the United States of America, said King Felipe VI in a speech to the diplomatic corps at the Royal Palace, just hours after the ministers had met with the US ambassador.

English version by Susana Urra.
ANN ARBOR, MI  Richard Derick was with his dog Sammy, returning from their daily walk to Sweetwaters coffee shop in Kerrytown, when he slipped on ice and fell, his friends said.

The 88-year-old Ann Arbor mans face-first tumble  after stepping over a snow ridge left by a plow truck  broke his glasses and left blood on the concrete, and hours later he died from a brain bleed, his friends said.

The incident, which has generated discussion among city officials, happened Jan. 22 along Division Street near Detroit Street, as Derick had just crossed the street and was stepping up onto a crosswalk ramp to the sidewalk, his friends said.

He died by the next morning, his friends said.

Jeff Crockett relayed the sad news to fellow Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association members this week.

This tragedy underscores the importance of keeping our sidewalks salted during icy weather and why we should be reporting violations, he wrote in an email.

The fatal incident also was discussed at this weeks City Council meeting.

Its critical residents use the citys A2 Fix It mobile app to report sidewalks that have not been adequately shoveled or cleared of ice, as well as streetlight outages, said Council Member Kathy Griswold, D-2nd Ward.

We had a senior in our community slip on an icy sidewalk and die, she said. So, for anyone listening, theres a reason why we need to keep our sidewalks free of ice and snow.

Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, also spoke out about it.

I want to send out my condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Derick, he said, noting Derick was his constituent in a neighborhood just north of downtown.

He was just a super nice, friendly guy and really a great guy, Hayner said.

Born in Toledo, Derick, known to friends as Dick, was highly educated, with four masters degrees, according to his obituary.

He taught all over the world: England, Italy, Germany, Greenland, Philippines, and Detroit, among others, it states. His last career was as a clinical social worker who specialized in PTSD with Vietnam vets.

He read extensively, followed politics and enjoyed liberal commentator Rachel Maddow, but his main loves were his dogs, including several Airedale terriers he rescued over the years, his friends said. He never married, but his close friends were like family.

Huron Valley Ambulance said it cant confirm details of the slip-and-fall incident for medical privacy reasons.

The Ann Arbor Police Department said theres no police report on it.

Ann Arbor attorney Mike Shelton said he was leaving work on the afternoon of Jan. 22 when he saw people gathered by the crosswalk outside his Division Street law office.

Because Derick was a client of his, he said, he recognized Dericks dog and his signature beret and ran to help, bringing a towel for a cut over his eye.

He was bleeding, but he knew who I was, Shelton said. He recognized me when I went up and talked to him. He just wanted to go back home.

There was a buildup of snow from where the plows throw it all, Shelton said, adding thats where Derick fell.

He was shocked to later hear Derick died.

He was a good guy, Shelton said.

Derick was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital, had the cut over his eye stitched up and was in good spirits when he was discharged later that night, said longtime friend Vicky Henry, who took him home from the hospital.

He was jolly, she said.

The doctors did a scan of his brain and spine and didnt see anything wrong, though they advised caution, Henry said.

The next morning, he was unresponsive, Henry said.

I guess the blessing of all this is he went to sleep and slid into unconsciousness and he didnt die a painful death, she said.

Henry said Derick explained to her how he fell. It was around 4:30 p.m. and he had just crossed Division Street in the crosswalk, walking faster than usual because another pedestrian started to cross and cars were stopped for them.

From the city having plowed, there was a high ridge that went up to a point of snow that one would have to step over to get onto the rest of the curb cut to go up to the sidewalk, she said, adding Derrick said he stepped over that and hit ice.

The crosswalk ramp was clear of snow, Henry said, but she suspects because it was a sunny day some snow may have melted and formed ice by the ridge.

If theres a lesson to be learned, its that there should be better protocols for ensuring sidewalks and crosswalks are safe in the winter, Henry said.

She thinks the city should implement a citywide service similar to SnowBuddy in the Water Hill neighborhood, where residents have pooled their money to fund a sidewalk/crosswalk snow plow service.

We live in Upper Water Hill, a block or two away from that program, but I have friends who pay for it and feel like its very worth it, Henry said. I have one neighbor who never clears (their sidewalk) and Id like to have that service.

City ordinance requires individual property owners and residents to clear sidewalks of ice and snow.

For residential properties, snow accumulations of more than one inch must be cleared from adjacent sidewalks, bus stop walks and crosswalk ramps within 24 hours, and ice must be treated with sand, salt or another substance within 18 hours.

For non-residential properties, snow and ice that accumulates by 6 a.m. must be removed from adjacent sidewalks, bus stop walks and crosswalk ramps before noon the same day.

Residents and property owners who dont follow the rules get one warning per season before incurring penalty fines.

I dont feel like it was negligent what was going on with the sidewalks. Thats my take, said Joel Henry-Fisher, Vicky Henrys son and another longtime friend of Derick.

Henry-Fisher said his parents were close friends with Derick for decades and he was a unique, memorable character.

For me, he was a lifelong friend and ally, and he was brilliant and hilarious, he said. He swore loudly and colorfully, so he was memorable for that, and he was also very gracious.

Derick went through Army officer training to serve in the Korean War, but the war ended in 1953 before they needed him, Henry-Fisher said.

He later taught military officers and other enlisted men at various places, including the University of Maryland.

Derick had never thought about segregation or racism much until he was in the Army in Georgia and he drove back to Ohio with an officer who was black, Henry-Fisher said.

As Derick once told the story, the black officer didnt want to stop for food because they couldnt go anywhere in the south, so they kept driving to Ohio, he said.

That left an impression on Derick.

He was a very moral person, Henry-Fisher said. He thought everyone was equal and should be treated well.

Derick volunteered as a social worker at a prison for years and really cared about people who needed help, Henry-Fisher said.

A memorial to celebrate Dericks life is planned for 7 p.m. March 21 at Casa Dominick's, 812 Monroe St.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

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Conversational AI firm to move into former Kiwanis Club thrift store in Ann Arbor

Rally in Saline calls for courage, diversity after racist, bigoted words

Ann Arbor drops $7M plan for train horn quiet zone

Were pimping our parks out. Ann Arbor debates UM parking lease
Kashmir's long and tragic history as a site for experiments in utopianism ought to inform our understanding of the bizarre spectacle of two former chief ministers being arrested under the Public Safety Act

In 1951, as summer rose over Kashmir, a great hammering and sawing began across the Valley: A socialist utopia was being constructed. Perhaps some thought it odd the National Conference ended up winning all 75 seats, 73 of them uncontested  45 out of 49 candidates of the Hindu-nationalist Praja Parishad were barred from standing, on dubious grounds  but they chose to be silent. Land reform and mass education were introduced; for these, newspaper censorship was a small price.

Each cluster of villages got a radio set, opening the Valley to the world but, the scholar Navnita Chadha Behera has recorded, each set was "tuned to Radio Kashmir, fixed and sealed" with wire.

Then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah had set out to build paradise  but this paradise looked strangely like a prison.

***

Kashmir's long and tragic history as a site for experiments in utopianism ought to inform our understanding of the bizarre spectacle of two former chief ministers being arrested under the Public Safety Act  one, India's former Minister of State for External Affairs, under Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To an entire generation of young people in Kashmir, their incarceration sends a simple message: Those who turn with India at the crossroads of politics will meet the fate of Faust.

For months now, New Delhi's interlocutors have sought to persuade former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti to participate in political life on new, post-Article 370 terms. But the leaders haven't caved in, and the government's stepping up the pressure.

Last year, after Article 370 was de-operationalised, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised a Naya Kashmir  the very words used by former chief minister Sheikh Abdullah to describe the dystopia he built.

Thus far, the results aren't that different from the first time around: During recent visits, ministers have spent time inaugurating half-built projects that were already inaugurated; routinised bureaucratic corruption remains a grim fact of life; Kashmir's administrators couldn't even clear snow off streets or fix power-lines in anything resembling efficient time-frames.

From students to businesses, everyday life is choked by continuing restrictions on the internet  even in regions like Jammu, where there is no conceivable threat from violent Islamist mobs. Larger issues, like domicile laws local Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been promising to protect jobs from all India competitors, remain in limbo.

The new leadership New Delhi has dredged out to build foundations for a new National Conference-free Kashmir isn't inspiring: Among them, former People's Democratic Party minister and businessman Altaf Bukhari, whose brother Tariq Bukhari is credibly alleged to have been engaged in financing terrorism, and whose father was accused of laundering cash for jihadists.

In essence, this new Naya Kashmir looks a lot like the old Naya Kashmir: A playground for the political racketeer, the corrupt bureaucrat, for bribery and blackmail.

***

There have always been excellent reasons to do the wrong thing in Kashmir.

In 1977, Sheikh Abdullah produced a laboured defence of the Public Safety Ordinance  the legislation under which his grandson, Omar is now held. Kashmir, he claimed, faced a "peculiar situation", which necessitated the state having the power to incarcerate individuals for up to two years, without trial or even charge. That "peculiar situation" was, of course, the rise of a credible political Opposition.

Excellent reasons exist, of course, to continue using these laws  even when politicians who suffered incarceration under the Emergency are in power. The pro-independence activist Pervez Khurram, for example, was charged in 2016 with inciting people to violence in four separate incidents. First Information Reports filed in those four incidents, however, did not mention his name; no criminal prosecution has still been brought.

Indeed, Nehru conceded Kashmir a special status for excellent reasons. In his memoirs, spymaster BN Mullik stated the issue thus: "If India could claim Kashmir purely by virtue of the Maharaja signing the instrument of accession then she would have to concede Pakistan's claim over Junagadh for the same reason and also tolerate Hyderabad as an independent State in its very heartland".

Hyderabad and Junagadh, ruled by a Muslim monarch but home to a Hindu-majority population, were mirror images of Kashmir. If India accepted the right of Kashmir's monarch to accede to India, it would have to concede these two states to Pakistan.

For obvious reasons, Junagadh and Hyderabad were of considerably more strategic significance to India than Kashmir: Handing either to Pakistan would have involved creating dangerous enclaves inside the country. To avoid this trap, though, Nehru needed Abdullah's help  and tolerating the rise of National Conference despotism was a small price.

In 1952, for Sheikh Abdullah, there were excellent reasons to turn against accession to India. Elites and revenue officials were able to subvert the new land laws, enabling the relatively rich to take control of a large share of the fields which ought to have become available. Then, two successive crop failures in 1949-1950 and 1950-1951 caused enormous hardship. He needed, desperately, to rebuild his legitimacy  and the Praja Parishad provided the platform.

"No-one can deny that the communal spirit still exists in India," he argued. Therefore, "if there is a resurgence of communalism in India, how are we to convince the Muslims of Kashmir that India does not intend to swallow them up?" In another speech, he asserted, "It is the Muslims who have to decide accession with India and not the non-Muslims."

And, in 1953, there were excellent reasons for Nehru to send Abdullah to jail. From 1951, Pakistans intelligence services had begun a campaign of sabotage and terrorism inside Kashmir. Nehru was forced to order troops to prepare for offensive strikes in response to Pakistan's build-up of troops in 1951-52.

"I am afraid Kashmir is heading in an adverse direction," Nehru warned in a 28 June, 1953, letter. "Unfortunately, it is going to effect the Indian situation in the same manner as the Indian situation effects Kashmir."

There were excellent reasons to release Sheikh Abdullah from prison in 1964, and excellent reasons to send him back to jail in 1968. There were excellent reasons for former prime minister Indira Gandhi to ally with him in 1974, and to let his son, Farooq Abdullah, rig the elections in 1987. There were excellent reasons for intelligence services to bribe politicians; to tolerate elite corruption; to incarcerate opponents without trial.

Put together, these excellent reasons laid the foundations for the long jihad which erupted in 1988  on the back of the Indian State's dismantling of its own promise as an instrument of democratic politics and the rule of law.

Last year, the ending of Kashmir's special status held out at least the prospect that the age of excellent reasons might be ending. Kashmir, some believed, would at long last be allowed to evolve into just another state of the Indian union: A state with politicians of varying degrees of competence and corruption who are punished or rewarded by electorates, not the Intelligence Bureau; with the laws, and courts and institutions that, for better or worse, govern the lives of other Indians.

The images of two chief ministers incarcerated for no crime at all; of information censorship on a scale not seen since the Emergency; of peoples governed by bureaucrats with no roadmap to democracy: these leave little doubt it isn't. Kashmir remains a stage for the pursuit of "national interests"  "national interests" that always, mysteriously, converge with the political interests of whomsoever is in power.

"He who imitates what is evil always goes beyond the example that is set," observed the great Enlightenment-era historian and statesman Francesco Guicciardini, "On the contrary, he who imitates what is good always falls short."

Home Minister Amit Shah might do well to consider the aphorism.
The call demanding Mike Stokers resignation came as a complete shock to the Environmental Protection Agencys top official in California. When he refused, he was fired and, he says, nobody will tell him why.

The reason for the sudden dismissal Wednesday of the EPAs Pacific Southwest region administrator is unknown, but Stoker speculated that his friendly relationships with some Democrats and a personality clash with a top Washington administrator may have been reasons. Politics within the Trump administration also may have played a role.

I have no clue. It doesnt make sense, Stoker said Thursday in a telephone interview with The Chronicle. I asked for the reason why, and they said, Were not going to give any reasons. I assure you its nothing personal.

Frankly, I have a gut feeling it is and was 100% personal, he said.

Inside the newsroom Anonymous sources: The Chronicle strives to attribute all information we report to credible, reliable, identifiable sources. Presenting information from an anonymous source occurs extremely rarely, and only when that information is considered crucially important and all other on-the-record options have been exhausted. In such cases, The Chronicle has complete knowledge of the unnamed person's identity and of how that person is in position to know the information. The Chronicle's detailed policy governing the use of such sources, including the use of pseudonyms, is available on sfchronicle.com. See More Collapse

EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced the dismissal in a memo to Stokers colleagues in Region 9, which covers California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii, the Pacific islands and land owned by 148 Native American tribes. Its headquarters is in San Francisco.

It did not include an explanation for the dismissal. A spokesman at EPA headquarters in Washington, D.C., said only that Mike Stoker is no longer with the agency.

In less than two years as Region 9 administrator, Stoker had been widely criticized for trying to manage the San Francisco office from Los Angeles. He had been investigated by the EPAs inspector general for allegedly taking an excessive number of trips.

He was also no favorite of environmentalists, who expressed optimism Thursday after Deborah Jordan, a 30-year EPA employee and expert on pollution and toxic cleanup, was named acting regional administrator.

But his conservative credentials, including his questioning of climate change and work on behalf of the oil industry, appeared to mesh well with the Trump administration. At the same time, he was friendly with some California Democratic politicians and said Speaker Nancy Pelosi had commended him in a letter for restoring confidence in the agency.

Those relationships, Stoker said, may have been what did him in.

Just three weeks ago I was told by someone in HQ, whose identity will remain anonymous, that it wasnt going unnoticed how many Democrat members in Congress were commending me for the job I was doing, Stoker wrote in a note addressed to career staff after his termination that he shared with The Chronicle.

The news was delivered by Douglas Benevento, the EPAs associate deputy administrator, and Ryan Jackson, Wheelers chief of staff. Stoker said he and Benevento didnt always get along.

Generally speaking, I will say I believe too many clashes between myself and leadership in HQ over policy and non-policy items ... ultimately played a significant role in the call, he wrote to his staff. There are a lot of specific situations that someday I will reveal but that day will not occur while the president is still in office.

Stokers tenure was far from smooth. He petitioned to have his duty station changed to Los Angeles after his appointment in 2018 so he could work closer to his home in Carpinteria (Santa Barbara County). The request was granted despite criticism from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and employees in the San Francisco office, where 93% of the regions 663 employees work.

In March 2019, the EPAs Office of the Inspector General investigated a hotline complaint about how much time Stoker was spending away from San Francisco and his excessive number of trips, according to the offices report.

The inspector general documented that he had spent $43,875 in taxpayer funds on 35 separate trips between May 2018 and February 2019, including two trips to Hawaii, one to Japan and another to Saipan. The report, which did not reach any conclusions about the propriety of his travel, said he spent only 30 out of 145 workdays in San Francisco.

But Stoker said the administration told him when he was hired that he was expected to travel a lot and knew about every trip.

At the end of the day, a good regional administrator is not an office person, he said. Travel definitely was not the situation.

One senior former EPA official said his problems may have begun when Stoker didnt immediately take action after President Trump declared on Sept. 18 that his administration would issue a notice of violation to San Francisco for allegedly dumping needles and human waste into the ocean through its sewer system.

The former official, citing several San Francisco EPA employees, said Stoker tried to back out of issuing the notice after members of his staff informed him it would be highly irregular. He eventually issued the notice, but left out Trumps debunked September claim that the pollution was tied to the citys homeless population and that street detritus was washing out to sea.

The former official spoke on the condition of anonymity, which The Chronicle granted in accordance with its anonymous sources policy.

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.

Stoker denied that any problems arose as a result of that incident, saying he signed the notice and agreed from the beginning that San Francisco had a problem it needed to address. He told staff, though, that his most frustrating times on the job always had something to do with HQ over matters I had no control or input over.

Before coming to the EPA, Stoker was an attorney and Santa Barbara County supervisor who worked for farmers and the fossil fuel industry and led lock her up chants in opposition to Hillary Clinton. He once worked at a fuel company that was prosecuted by the EPA for a series of oil spills.

Local conservationists and environmental regulators were far from upset that Stoker was removed. Thats largely because of Jordan, who is said to be highly regarded in the regional office.

Shes really, really smart and really conscientious and people trust her, said Jared Blumenfeld, the former regional administrator who stepped down in May 2016. Shes a calming influence and will be giving good direction to the staff.

My feeling is she wont be there very long, he continued. Unfortunately, this administration still has its anti-environmental agenda, so I dont think you are going to see major policy shifts just because Mike Stoker is gone.

California and the Trump administration have long been at odds.

State Attorney General Xavier Becerra has sued the federal government more than 60 times since Trump took office, including a suit accusing Trump of eliminating Obama-era protections for wetlands and streams across the country. The EPA has, in turn, charged California with violating federal water and air quality regulations and rescinded rules meant to protect citizens.

Meanwhile, budget cuts, reductions in personnel and the steady easing of regulations by the Trump presidency have caused many EPA employees to retire or resign.

Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: pfimrite@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @pfimrite
I have silently watched the Opposition and now Jack Warner use my child as a political pawn because they have nothing else, it seems, to throw at Stuart Young. That says something.
The Navy admiral who has led the service's most elite special operators during a string of high-profile scandals will leave his post in September, Military.com has confirmed.

Rear Adm. Collin Green will wrap up his term as head of Naval Special Warfare Command after two years in the position. The move, first reported by The Intercept last weekend, follows several high-profile controversies involving the command that, in part, prompted a full review of U.S. Special Operations Command's ethics and culture.

A Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the flag officer's move, said "there is no indication he has been asked to leave early."

"He's leaving at the two-year point, which is a normal command tour," the official said. "It's premature to say he's retiring."

Related: Spec Ops Culture Sets Conditions 'Favorable for Inappropriate Behavior,' 4-Star Says

It's not immediately clear in what position Green would serve next or who would replace him. The Intercept reported that Rear Adm. H. Wyman Howard III, a Naval Academy grad serving as head of Special Operations Command Central, will be nominated to replace Green.

Howard previously served as a commander with SEAL Team 6, which carries out some of the military's most covert missions. The Intercept reported in 2017 that Howard gave his operators hand-made hatchets and told them ahead of missions and deployments to "bloody the hatchet."

Green has led the Navy SEALs since September 2017 after assuming command from Rear Adm. Tim Szymanski, who spent two years in the position. Of the last four flag officers who led the command, three left after two years.

Szymanski's predecessor, Rear Adm. Brian Losey, led the command for more than three years.

The Intercept reported that Green's tour had been set to last three years, but "the stress from his reform efforts, as well as personal issues, have taken a toll."

Green sent a letter to his commanders in July telling them "we have a problem," and ordering leaders to help restore discipline in the ranks. The two-star followed it up the next month with a memo to the force announcing a return to routine inspections, discipline trackers, and strict enforcement of all Navy grooming and uniform standards.

Related: Navy SEAL Boss Orders Discipline Crackdown After Embarrassing Scandals

The four-page memo said the problems in the command would be met with "urgent, effective and active leadership."

"This drift ends now," Green wrote.

The Navy SEALs have made headlines over murder charges, allegations of rape and drinking in the war zone, and lengthy legal battles.

Some of those incidents caught the attention of President Donald Trump, who at one point ordered Green's command to "Get back to business!" after the admiral considered stripping a former SEAL of his coveted trident pin.

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins.

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Read more: Ousted SEAL's Wife Says Navy Put Her Family at Risk with Public Firing
Chiefs in the Wa municipality of the Upper West Region have expressed concerns over the deplorable state of health care delivery in the area.

The paramount chief of the Waala traditional area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV who raised the concern at a durbar of chiefs to welcome President Akufo Addo to his palace.

He said most patients in the area are compelled to seek medical care outside the municipality due to the lack of doctors and other critical staff to man the municipal and regional hospitals located in the area.

The Wa Municipality is the host of the Upper West Regional Hospital which is the major referral health facility in the region.

The area can also boast of over 20 CHPS compounds and other health facilities.

But it appears residents are not getting the best of healthcare from these facilities as there are growing concerns over the number of referrals outside the former Upper West Regional hospital which has been downgraded to municipal status.

Available records from the facility indicate that more than 30 patients have been referred since January 2020 due to the lack of doctors and other critical staff. Residents complain

52-year-old Sulemana Salifu told Citi News that he is looking for an amount of GHS1,200 to settle the bill of his wife who was in labour at the hospital but was referred to a private clinic.

My wife got to the regional hospital on Saturday for delivery. She was there till Tuesday and we were told that they were to carry out a Caesarean section on her. We were there and the nurse came and said she was referred to a private clinic. So we went there. The doctor there told me it will cost GHS1,200 which is far above my pocket. It is actually a problem for me. But once it is about life so I have to look elsewhere to cough out the money. Paramount chief raises concern

This situation has attracted the attention of chiefs in the municipality.

The paramount chief of the Waala traditional area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV addressing a durbar of chiefs and people to welcome the president to his palace on Thursday decried the doctor-patient ratio in the region and urged the government to address it.

Things are not well here in the municipality. We all know that referrals are from the private facilities to the regional hospital but here we are rather being transferred from the regional facility to a private clinic.

The government must do something. We are suffering. There are no doctors.

Nana Addo gives assurances

Meanwhile, President Nana Addo said the government is working to addressing the situation.

Health situation in Upper West

The newly commissioned Upper West Regional Hospital was opened to the public last month.

Regrettably, the facility is not fully functional because there are no doctors. Per the Ghana Health Service standards, the regional hospital needs at least 30 doctors to be fully operational.

However, there are only 4 doctors, with some on-call to other districts.

This has compelled managers of the facility who remain tight-lipped to close down five units including the paediatrics unit, urology unit, cardiology unit, neurology unit, and the ophthalmology unit.

The 160-bed capacity ultra-modern hospital also has no general surgeon.

The Wa municipality has less than 3 doctors serving over 100,000 residents.

citinewsroom
C ivil rights campaigner Malcolm X died 55 years ago after he was gunned down on a stage at the Audubon Ballroom.

Three men were convicted of activist's murder but two of them maintained their innocence.

The assassination has long been subject to conspiracy theories with some thinking people who were involved got away.

A six-part documentary called Who Killed Malcolm X? landed on Netflix on Friday February 7.

It takes a deep dive into the killing and what has happened since.

Talmadge Hayer, Norman 3X Butler and Thomas 15X Johnson were all jailed for Malcolm Xs death.

Hayer, who changed his name to Mujahid Abdul Hailm, admitted that he had been involved in the assassination but said the other two defendants were innocent.

All three were jailed for life.

Halim later provided written statements reaffirming his view that the co-convicted were innocent.

But the case was not re-opened so Johnson - later known as Khalil Islam - and Butler - who took the name Muhammad Abdul Aziz - both spent around twenty years in prison.

Islam died in 2009 still maintaining he had not even been in the Audubon on the infamous February 21.

Aziz was paroled in 1985 and also denies being one of the killers.

Halims signed statements in the late 1970s named four members of a Newark Nation of Islam mosque as his co-conspirators.

The names have never been revealed and the case remains closed.

Many part-time detectives have looked into the murder and there may be some good news on the horizon for them.

The Manhattan District Attorney is reviewing whether to re-open the investigation, which could reveal a whole trove of new evidence.
The Independent Investor: The Great Tax Migration

Americans have been moving from high tax states to lower tax states for decades.

Climate, cheaper housing prices, less congestion, and jobs are some of the reasons behind such moves. That trend, however, has added taxes to that list, thanks to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Many of those reasons for moving have been with us ever since Horace Greeley, the American author and newspaper man, reportedly first advised America's youth to "Go west." Back in 19th-century America, the country had embraced the concept of "Manifest Destiny." The Horace Greeleys of the world had argued that it was inevitable, justified, and our God-given right to expand throughout the continent. That turned out to be good for the white guys but bad for the Indians, but that's a different story.

Today, I would amend that saying to include the South and any other state where there are lower, or no state income taxes. In truth, most state residents are concerned about their total tax burden  property taxes, incomes taxes, and sales and excise taxes. But over the last two years, many of those who have moved have done so based on the changes in the federal tax code.

The 2017 federal tax law, which President Trump signed after a party-line vote in Congress, limited to $10,000 the state and local tax payments that families can write off on their federal income taxes if they itemize deductions.

The impact was devastating to those taxpayers in income tax states that were singled out by the Republican-controlled Congress. For many lower-income or retired families, it was the straw that broke the camel's bank. Those who live in New York state, for example, found that they were now paying 2 1/2 times the tax burden of their counterparts in Alaska. As a result, a great migration appears to be gathering steam. The top states Americans are fleeing from include New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Connecticut, California and others.

Those states which are "benefiting" from this trend include Florida, Texas, New Mexico, North and South Carolina, Washington, and Arizona, among others. If you look at the total tax burden (as opposed to just the state income tax), Americans are still clearly being driven by the overall tax burdens. The average state tax burden of the inbound migration states totals 7.88 percent compared to 9.55 percent for the top 10 outbound states.

As we enter 2020, the migration continues unabated. Conservatives are crowing over the trend, while liberals believe they have been singled out for retribution by the GOP and the president. They complain that it is no longer a country of the people, by the people, and for the people unless you are a Trump supporter. As blue states struggle with maintaining services for their enormous population centers, more and more middle and lower-income families have had enough. And that's the rub.

Take me, solidly middle-class. I moved from a higher tax state (New York) to a lower tax state (Massachusetts). Granted, Massachusetts taxes are not much lower, but it did make a difference, especially when it came to state and local property taxes. And given that mortgage tax deductions are now capped, I decided not to take out a mortgage on my new condo. Bottom line: I reduced my overall tax burden considerably. It was a win-win for me, but not so much for Massachusetts.

I am in my 70s, and since moving, my health has deteriorated. Over the last five years, my hospital visits have been numerous. As you might imagine, my overall medical expenses have gone up, but the costs to my new state Medicare department have skyrocketed because of me. In addition, I am enjoying all the benefits the state offers in infrastructure, elder-care centers, discounts, etc. and pay relatively little back in taxes. And because I downsized when I moved, I no longer pay much in property taxes because my condo is much smaller than the house I sold in New York.

Good for me, but not so good for Massachusetts.

How many other migrants are like me? We already know that many who are moving are retirees or the elderly (think Florida and the Carolinas), who no longer pay much in income taxes anyway. Like me, they are also more likely to buy something much smaller, or may even decide to rent. You can bet, as they get older, they too will be consuming a larger and larger share of these low-tax states' goods and services. And since most of them are coming from blue states, they will be bringing their high-brow, liberal political thinking with them.

There might come a time in the not-too-distant future where some of these inbound states will not only be forced to raise taxes just to keep up with all this new demand for governmental services, but may even need to legislate their own state income tax.

Texas, a traditionally conservative "red" state, with no income tax, is a good example of what might be in store for other historically political and fiscally conservative states. Californians have flocked to this great state over the years. However, that is not the entire picture. Property taxes have been the answer for local politicians in their battle to juggle services, an expanding population, and growth.

Today, Texas ranks among the states with the highest share of taxpayers who pay more than $10,000 in property taxes, according to the National Association of Home Builders. At the same time, thanks to all those old hippies from California, Dallas is now a "blue" city. Texas old-timers are complaining that liberals are now making inroads and gaining more political influence in other metropolitan areas. The moral of this tale is to be careful what you legislate. It could turn out that when all is said and done the politicians may have shot themselves in the foot once again.
Diana Soriano-Escobar and her husband tried for a decade to have a baby.

Last October, little Ricardo  named for his father  was finally born. Loved ones marveled at his chubby cheeks.

It was what she most wanted, Soriano-Escobars friend, Yesenia Aguilar, said. She gave birth and she told me it changed her whole life.

The three-month-old infant died Wednesday in a fiery crash in northeast Harris County that also took the life of his mother and grandmother, Piedad Romero. Three generations of those killed  as a 30-year-old man was charged in connection to their deaths  were identified Thursday by friends and family who gathered at her southwest Houston home to pay tribute with a traditional altar of photographs, incense and burning candles.

To light their way to heaven, Aguilar continued.

Soriano-Escobar, 30 hailed from Colima, Mexico, and came to the U.S. as a child with her parents. Relatives from San Luis Potosi and Monterrey in Mexico were slated to arrive ahead of the funerals.

Soriano-Escobars husband, Ricardo Escobar Sr., was not home amid the afternoon gathering of friends and family. Aguilar said he was at the Mexican consulate seeking funding for his familys funeral.

Hes in a state of shock, she said. I think he still expects his wife and kid to come home.

In the evening, more than 50 friends and relatives huddled together inside the living room where all three victims lived. Some prayed from outside the front door because the room quickly filled with loved ones.

They prayed the rosary in front of a decorated makeshift alter with photos of Romero, Soriano-Escobar and her infant son. Many wiped tears out of their eyes.

Ricardo Escobar said he was thankful for the show of support but didnt want to say anything further.

Escobars nephew, Freddy Ruiz, said the entire family was stunned when they heard the news.

Ruiz asked himself, How could this be possible?

God was looking out for her

Gregory Allen Smith, already with a lengthy criminal record in Harris County and Mississippi, faces three counts of intoxicated manslaughter in connection to the three deaths. Smith ran multiple red lights before the three-car crash around 4 p.m. at Antoine Drive and North Sam Houston Parkway, according to police.

A woman in the third vehicle was released Wednesday night from the hospital, authorities said.

Smith was also injured in the crash and taken to Ben Taub Hospital, where he remained through Thursday afternoon under the guard of Harris County Precinct 4 Constables Office deputies. He was then booked into the Harris County Jail.

He is responsible for snuffing out the lives of three people, Constable Mark Herman said, calling him a career criminal.

The family was heading to pick up Romeros teen daughter from school, Aguilar said.

A fourth passenger in the family van, Romeros other daughter, Valeria, 11, survived the crash. She was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown about 30 feet from the vehicle as it caught fire with her family inside, Herman said. She landed on a soft patch of grass.

The girl remains hospitalized with a concussion, Aguilar said.

I told her she has to stay strong, Aguilar continued. Shes the oldest female in the family since her mom and sister will not be around anymore.

Adding to the tragedy was that bystanders were unable to help the girls family amid the flames, Herman said.

"I think God was looking out for her, Herman continued. For her to be thrown clear of that vehicle, because everyone in that vehicle burned up  is miraculous. It was meant to be."

Possibly linked to PCP

Recreational drugs were a common thread in Smiths court records, the brunt of which happened in 2019.

After the crash, and just in ear shot of deputies, Smith revealed to Ben Taub staffers that he had been smoking PCP prior to the crash, said Sean Teare, head of the Harris County District Attorneys Office Vehicular Crimes Division.

At one point Smith had to be sedated because he was being combative at the hospital, Teare said.

The drug  associated with hallucinations and violent behavior  was what Smith was accused of using last July when he was arrested in connection to an April 25 four-car wreck. Court records show Smith had PCP, amphetamines and marijuana in his system at the time of the crash.

He was released on personal bond. Over the course of that case, Smith was determined to have a mental illness or intellectual disability, court documents show. Specifics on the illness or disability are unknown.

The day before the April crash, Smiths ex-girlfriend reported him for threatening to kill her. She told authorities she believed he had been on a weeklong PCP binge, according to a criminal complaint for harassment. He was found guilty of the misdemeanor offense.

And last May, while detained at the Harris County Jail, Smith was accused of punching a detention officer.

In 2014, Smith was charged with capital murder in Hinds County, Mississippi, but the state Attorney Generals Office had the charges dropped the following year, county officials said. No further information about the charge was immediately available.

At the time of Wednesdays crash, Smith had a passenger who was also hospitalized. He has not been charged with a crime but he is part of the criminal investigation, according to Herman.

Staff writers Samantha Ketterer and Julian Gill contributed to this report.
ALBANY  A virtual emergency room service will soon become available to tens of thousands of Medicaid members across the Capital Region, following a successful test of the service in Rensselaer County.

United Concierge Medicine, the telemedicine firm behind the technology, and CDPHP, the Albany-area health plan that tested it, say they plan to expand the service to the insurers 85,000 Medicaid enrollees in hopes of reducing unnecessary and costly emergency room visits that occur when people dont know where else to turn for help.

The expansion comes roughly three months after a pilot project in Rensselaer County yielded 99 percent patient satisfaction and 97 percent ER avoidance, they said. Dubbed ER Anywhere, the program involved contracting with county EMS and 911 dispatch to help triage patients to the appropriate setting for care.

We had two primary goals with this  to avoid unnecessary emergency room visits and to do so in a way that still delivers quality health care, said Keith Algozzine, founder and CEO of UCM, a virtual ER company headquartered in Troy.

People end up at the ER who dont belong there for all sorts of reasons, he said. Some are experiencing an acute medical issue that their primary care doctor could handle, but the office is already closed for the day. Some dont have doctors at all. Some arent sure whether what theyre experiencing is a major medical problem, or a little heartburn that an antacid might cure.

The result is overcrowding and long wait times for people who truly need emergency care, Algozzine said. It also drives health costs up in a country struggling to bring them down.

UCM launched a virtual emergency medicine service in 2014 as an alternative to these scenarios.

When faced with an injury or illness that appears urgent, users can open an app on their phone (or dial 1-866-ER Anywhere) and connect within minutes to an emergency medicine-trained physician who will either diagnose and treat them right over the phone, or direct them to the appropriate setting to receive care.

That may very well be the emergency room, Algozzine notes, but often its not.

A small percentage are usually true ER cases, he said. Usually what we get are people we can either treat in place, who need nothing more than reassurance, a prescription, a lab, an X-ray, which we can order right over the phone.

UCM fielded over 80 consults throughout the 90-day pilot with Rensselaer County. Only 3 percent of them required ER attention.

While UCM has contracted with a number of employers and health insurers over the years, its pilot with Rensselaer County was unique in that it involved contracting with county departments such as 911 and EMS, which could recommend patients to the service should they deem their cases low-acuity, or not in need of emergency care.

The expansion to CDPHPs entire Medicaid pool now brings the service to 16 counties in eastern New York, including all of the Capital Region and parts of the North Country and Southern Tier.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Algozzine said his company plans to connect with 911, EMS, Department of Social Services, Department of Aging, county mental health, and other agencies in those counties to make sure they know about the service and can recommend it to their CDPHP Medicaid population.

The Medicaid population has historically been a hard-to-reach group, he said. But our data shows when they hear about our service from a trusted source, theyre more likely to use it.

More for you Rensselaer County bringing virtual ER service to Medicaid population

CDPHP spokeswoman Ali Skinner said counties across the state have expressed interested in the service, especially in light of Gov. Andrew Cuomos recently announced proposal to shift the states rising Medicaid costs back onto localities.

Faced with a $6.1 billion budget deficit, Cuomo said he plans to hold counties responsible for annual Medicaid growth over 3 percent  arguing they lost incentive to control costs when the state agreed to freeze their contribution to the program in 2013. Counties have fired back, saying state and federal policies caused the program to balloon, not them.

Its getting pushed back onto counties that they need to find savings, Skinner said. So people are trying to get creative and think of good, innovative solutions.

She said CDPHP may consider extending the service to populations other than its Medicaid members in the future.

The ultimate goal is member health, she said. If we can get members the care they need in the appropriate setting, costs will decrease but quality of care also increases.
In 2014, Russia occupied Ukraine's Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the pretext of "protecting" the Russian-speaking population.

Russian Foreign Ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights and Democracy, Grigory Lukyantsev, says the protection of Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine and the Baltic States remains Russia's foreign policy priority.

"The protection of rights of the Russian and Russian-speaking population, the protection of our compatriots abroad is one of priority tasks of our foreign policy," he told a briefing in Moscow, as reported by an UNIAN correspondent in Russia on February 7.

"This is not only the situation with regard to the protection of the Russian-speaking population in the Baltic States, this is also the situation of the rights of the Russian-speaking population in Ukraine, which is being brought to the attention [of related persons] in diplomatic correspondence, in letters from our permanent missions," Lukyantsev said.

Read alsoInternational law may yet contain Putin in Ukraine  Atlantic Council

In particular, he mentioned OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Lamberto Zannier, the commissioner for human rights of the Council of Europe, and the CoE secretary general.

"We will continue to point out that the relevant actions in the educational field  as for Russian-language schools and access to learning Russian  will be of our concern as well," he added.

Lukyantsev says the Russian Foreign Ministry is striving to go beyond raising awareness of the issue, that the rights of compatriots, and "sometimes citizens," are being infringed.

"We strive to point out that certain actions may be qualified as violations of the respective obligations these states undertook by signing certain international agreements. This applies to international human rights treaties," he summed up.

As UNIAN reported earlier, in 2014, Russia occupied Ukraine's Crimea and part of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east of Ukraine under the pretext of protecting the Russian-speaking population.
A group of islands off the Queensland coast or about 20 Brisbane Metro vehicles  one Sunshine Coast woman will be racking her brain this morning to figure out how to spend the $60 million she took home in Thursday night's Powerball draw.

The regular player, who wished to remain anonymous, picked up her entry at Caloundra Newsagency and did not immediately believe the news when called after the draw.

Brisbane Metro vehicles are expected to come in at a cost of about $3.16 million each, according to the latest council figures.

Lott spokesperson Bronwyn Spencer said it "took her a few moments" before she could even respond.

"This is crazy," the Caloundra woman eventually said. "I just don't know what to say.
Why it matters: Genealogy specialist Ancestry this week announced it would be laying off six percent of its workforce in order to better position itself to cope with marketplace realities. It's yet another sign that the industry has indeed hit a rough patch and that consumer trust isn't rock solid.

The cut will affect roughly 100 people according to CNBC.

Ancestry president and CEO Margo Georgiadis said in announcing the layoffs that over the last 18 months, they have seen a slowdown in consumer demand across the entire DNA space. The DNA market is at an inflection point now that most early adopters have entered the category, she said.

Georgiadis added that further growth will require a continued focus on building consumer trust and turning out new, innovative offerings that deliver even greater value to users.

Georgiadis analysis of the market is dead on. Just two weeks ago, rival DNA testing firm 23andMe also let go around 100 employees, or roughly 14 percent of its workforce. Co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki said the move was spurred by declining sales. And last summer, DNA sequencing machine maker Illumina said the industry as a whole was experiencing a downturn.

Much of the slowdown is related to consumer concern over privacy. Law enforcement has increasingly been turning to genomics sites to help catch criminals that have slipped through the cracks. Even the US government is reportedly suggesting that military members not use such services due to privacy concerns.

Looking ahead, Ancestry said it will sharpen its focus and investment in its core family history business and has committed long-term to its health arm. The company also touched on privacy, pledging to continue to build a brand that consumers can trust through transparency.

Masthead credit: Ancestry sign by Sundry Photography. Old photos by Megan Brady.
A Mirage aircraft of Pakistan Air Force crashed on Friday in Punjab province during a routine operational training mission.

The PAF said in a statement that the Mirage jet crashed near Shorkot area in Punjab province.

"The pilot ejected safely and no loss of life or property has been reported on ground," according to the statement.

The cause of the accident was not known. A board of inquiry was ordered by Air Headquarters to determine the cause of the accident.

On January 7, two Pakistan Air Force pilots were killed when their China-made trainer aircraft crashed in Punjab province.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A robot whose creators claim it can detect the coronavirus has been banned from a New York park after disturbing locals.

The bot was designed to ask people questions including 'Have you had a fever in the last three days?'

The creation was let lose in Bryant Park, Manhattan where it was able to test out three passersby before being stopped by park security.

A robot whose creators claim it can detect the coronavirus has been banned from a New York park after disturbing locals

The bot was designed to ask people questions including 'Have you had a fever in the last three days?'

The 5-foot robot was created by Pennsylvania-based company Promobot and was banned from the park after officers determined it lacked a permit.

The machine had been handing out protective masks at the city's bustling Times Square a few days before.

Founder of the company Oleg Kivorkutsev told the New York Post: 'We were trying to tell people about the virus.

'We're bringing attention to the problem.'

While some have described the bot as 'cute', others see it as unnecessary 'overkill' as concerns over the spread of the coronavirus continue.

Queens health specialist Igor A. told the publication: 'It's weird and it's a little overkill.'

Queens health specialist Igor A. said: 'It's weird and it's a little overkill'

'A stand with an iPad would have been enough. They do not need a whole robot.'

The number of confirmed cases of the virus in the United States stands at 12, with cases in Wisconsin, California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Washington and Illinois.

So far there have been no confirmed cases in the state of New York, although a handful of people are being tested at New York City hospitals.

The viral outbreak, which is believed to have originated in central China late last year, has now infected at least 31,000 people and caused 636 deaths, mostly within China.

Local governments across China have locked down cities of tens of millions of people in response to the crisis, while global panic has risen over the more than 240 cases that have emerged in two dozen countries.
Democrats running for president will debate in New Hampshire after the first nominating contest of the 2020 primary caused some confusion about which candidates came out on top.

The second Democratic debate of the year will be held in New Hampshire on Feb. 7, just a few days after the chaotic Iowa caucuses and before the Feb. 11 New Hampshire primary. Seven candidates qualified to participate, including:

Former Vice President Joe Biden

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer

Businessman Andrew Yang

The debate is scheduled to take place at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. It will be co-hosted by ABC, WMUR and Apple News and airs live from 8 to 11 p.m. on ABC. It will also stream live on the ABC app, ABC.com and connected devices such as Roku, AppleTV and Amazon Fire TV.

To qualify for the New Hampshire debate stage, candidates had to either meet a delegate threshold based on the results of the Iowa caucuses, or hit both a polling requirement and a grassroots fundraising requirement.

Candidates waited much of the week for results from the Iowa caucus, but The Associated Press announced Thursday it was unable to officially declare a winner. Sanders and Buttigieg both claimed victory in the contest, appearing to be separated by a 0.1% margin, followed by Warren, Biden, Klobuchar and Yang.

DNC Chair Tom Perez acknowledged the reporting process in Iowas was flawed, citing technical glitches, data inconsistencies and other organizational failures. Perez called for a revancass and will conduct an audit if any of the campaigns request it.

As frustrating as the last 24 hours have been, let us not lose sight of our ultimate goal: To defeat Donald Trump, to take back our democracy, and to improve the lives of millions by electing Democrats up and down the ballot," Perez said in a statement Thursday.

Yang fell short of the DNCs polling threshold for the January democratic debate and did not participate. He is the only candidate of color on the New Hampshire debate stage.

There will be three more debates in February. Additional debates will take place on Feb. 19 in Las Vegas and Feb. 25 in Charleston, scheduled before the Nevada caucus and South Carolina primary.

Candidates will no longer have to meet a donor requirement for those debates, which allows former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg to join the events. Bloomberg hasnt participated in any debates because he is self-funding his campaign.

U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick are still campaigning but did not qualify for Fridays debate.
BENZIE COUNTY, MI  A Michigan man has been charged with felonious assault after he allegedly threatened his girlfriend with a machete.

Troopers from the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post were dispatched to a residence on Ash Street in Benzonia at 3 p.m. on Feb. 2 after the victim had sent texts to a friend saying she was being threatened.

The victim alleged the suspect, 40-year-old Cole Dale Porter of Benzonia, threatened to kill her with the machete after they had been arguing, however, she was not injured.

Porter left the scene before troopers arrived but returned and was taken into custody. The machete was seized as evidence and Porter was lodged in the Benzie County Jail.

He was arraigned in the 85th District Court in Benzie County on one count Felonious Assault with a dangerous weapon, a felony punishable by up to 4 years and $2,000 fine, and one count domestic violence, a misdemeanor punishable by 93 days and/or $500 fine.

Porter remains lodged on a $10,000 cash bond. His next scheduled court appearance in on Feb. 20.
Public health experts gathered in New Orleans on Friday to discuss how to respond to coronavirus if it comes to Louisiana.

While coronavirus has not been detected in the state, it has quickly spread internationally, alerting people who have studied similar outbreaks in the past.

As you all know, it took off like wildfire, Dr. Joanne Maffei, an infectious disease specialist, told a room of medical professionals at the Louisiana State University School of Medicine.

The first documented coronavirus patient came into a hospital in China with symptoms on Dec. 21. From Monday to Friday of this week, the number of infected people jumped from around 20,000 to over 31,500. In total, 638 people, mostly in China, have died from the illness, which causes symptoms such as fever, cough and fatigue.

There are currently 12 confirmed cases in the U.S. Ten of those people had traveled from China; the other two were spouses of those travelers.

All 12 of those individuals, clinically, are doing quite well, said Dr. Joe Kanter, the assistant state health officer of Louisiana.

Louisiana officials take precautions around coronavirus; risk in state is 'negligible' Officials from the World Health Organization on Thursday declared the coronavirus a global health emergency as governments in the U.S. and ove

The first U.S. patient was given a respiratory virus drug called remdisivir, manufactured by American drug giant Gilead. It is currently being tested in a new clinical trial in China. The drug is not specifically aimed at treating coronavirus, but it was approved for compassionate use in the U.S. patients case. The patient improved after being given the drug and had no negative reactions.

University Medical Center in New Orleans had a false alarm of one patient with suspected coronavirus. But the patient did not fit the criteria for testing.

We had a plan in place, said Maffei. It was a great drill for us and told us that the plan works.

Currently, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents and their relatives can enter the U.S. if theyve visited China in the last 14 days. This week, two flights left Wuhan for the U.S. with around 550 American citizens. Those people will be quarantined for 14 days in California.

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A professor at the Loyola University School of Law was one of those evacuees, according to reports. Chunlin Leonhard, 55, was spending a year in China on a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to a city in Hubei province, about 250 miles from Wuhan, on Jan. 20.

Leonhard has not shown symptoms but is under the 14-day quarantine.

In an email sent to faculty and students on Friday, Loyola President Tania Tetlow said Leonhard "remains cheerful and continues her scholarship and research of ancient Chinese law, even while in quarantine."

The email said the law school faculty and staff have been in "constant contact" with Leonhard as she waits to be cleared for travel.

There are some people in Louisiana who traveled from China during the course of this outbreak, said Kanter. They are being monitored and are in contact with the Department of Health.

We have zero patients under investigation in Louisiana. Weve had a lot of clinicians reach out with suspected cases, but none of them met the bar, said Kanter.

With so few people coming in from the outbreaks epicenter, increased travel to and from New Orleans during Carnival is not currently a concern for officials.

Speakers emphasized that the flu is still a bigger concern and said people should practice good hand hygiene and cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

Just to put this outbreak in context, were still in the middle of flu season, said Kanter. Last year  there were 1,500 deaths in Louisiana and 15,000 hospitalizations (from the flu). Thats really where peoples focus should be, even though this is frightening.
The Samsung Galaxy Fold announced last February is still running Android Pie and the stable build of Android 10 is slated to begin rolling in April. But the smartphone has appeared on Geekbench with Android 10, indicating Samsung may release the latest version of Android early.

While Samsung hasn't shared any official updates on the rollout of Android 10 for the Galaxy Fold, it has released a new software update for the LTE variant bearing version number F900FXXS3ATA3.

The new firmware is seeding in France and comes with the February 2020 Android security patch, but it doesn't include any new features.

The update should reach all the units in a few weeks, but if you don't want to wait for the update prompt to pop up on your device, you can head over to the Settings > Software update menu to check it manually.

Via 1 | Via 2
Selected eighth-graders from Avon Middle School recently received awards from the VFW Patriot Pen Contest. The topic was, What Makes America Great.

A special dinner was recently held for the winners and their families at the Avon/Avon Lake VFW Post 7035, where students received recognition with certificates and cash prizes.

Advanced to District Winners include: Eleana Darrock, Cameron Lam, Eli Leder and Justin Schwab. Other awards include: Honorable Mention to Sarah Pomfrey, third place to Ethen Eibel, second place to Allison Day, and first place to Jackson Holbrook.

The Winners at the District Level (out of 29 districts in Ohio) include: second place to Eli Leder and first place to Allison Day.

Allison moves on the state competition.
New Delhi: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to begin his four-day visit to India today (February 7). He is scheduled to hold high-level meetings on trade, defence, and maritime security cooperation.

Rajapaksa is set to meet with President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S S Jaishankar. This is the first overseas visit undertaken by Rajapaksa since his brother Gotabaya was elected President in November 2019.

The Lankan PM will arrive in New Delhi on February 7 at 5.35 pm in the evening, his meeting with Jaishankar is set for February 8 after which he will be accorded a ceremonial reception by the Indian president at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Live TV

Rajapaksa will then proceed to Raj Ghat for the wreath-laying ceremony, following which he will keep his meeting with the PM Modi at Hyderabad House. In the evening on Saturday, he will call on the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On Sunday (February 9) morning, the Lankan PM will travel to Varanasi and visit Kashi Vishwanath temple and the Sarnath Buddhist temple.

Rajapaksa will be travelling to Bodh Gaya on Monday to visit the Mahabodhi Temple and later that day reach Tirupati for his darshan set for Tuesday early morning. At 11.30 am he will emplane for his trip back to Sri Lanka.
Also on Feb. 9, Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church at 210 South Ave. in Waukegan will hold an exciting discussion of The 1619 Project, a New York Times Magazine study that marked the 400th anniversary of slavery. The goal of the project is to reframe the countrys history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative, according to the invitation.
As Housing Secretary, its my mission to get more homes built right across the country and make home ownership an achievable aspiration for young people.

Under this Conservative government, we are already building more houses than in any year bar one in the last 30 years  we delivered almost a quarter of a million new homes in 2019.

But we need to do more to level up and provide people with attractive, environmentally friendly and affordable homes that they feel proud to live in.

Thats why I am focusing on helping young people as well as key local workers such as police officers, nurses and teachers, get a foot on the housing ladder.

Today I am launching First Homes, which we promised to do in our manifesto, which will help turn peoples dream of owning a home into a reality by providing discounted homes.

These new, high quality, affordable homes will be built across the country, so that there is a wide choice in every area. In fact every major development will include some of them.

We all know that owning a home provides people with a unique sense of pride and achievement  it means that you have a place that is truly yours.

I remember my grandfather telling the story of how he became the first person on his street in Manchester to buy his own house and probably the first in his family as well.

To him and generations since, owning a home was about more than four walls and a roof.

It was about investing in your future, having something you own that can be borrowed against to set up a business or handed to the next generation, creating a place for your family to grow and putting down roots in your local community.

It was and is about a sense of place  something that is the heart of this One Nation Conservative Government.

Extending the dream of home ownership has been central to the moral mission of the Conservative Party for over a century.

From the 1920s, when Conservative MP Noel Skeleton coined the phrase of a property ownership democracy, to the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher helped thousands of council house tenants to own their own home. We believe in a society where as many people as people can open their front door and say, welcome to my home.

But today, while the vast majority of young people share the dream of becoming a homeowner, only 27 per cent of under-35s are property owners.

Im impatient for change.

We know that affordability is the biggest barrier to entry. Over the last 23 years, the average national house price has increased from just under 59,000 over 235,000, quadrupling the deposit needed to buy.

As a result, many young people are forced to move out of the communities where they grew up in order to buy a home.

First Homes will address these issues and create a new generation of homeowners by cutting the cost of new homes by a minimum of 30 per cent for first time buyers.

This will lower deposit and mortgage requirements, widening the range of affordable options for those people who find themselves locked out of purchasing homes at the market price.

And the discount would be locked the property in perpetuity  meaning that future generations will continue to benefit from this revolutionary scheme.

Regardless of whether you want to live in Cornwall or Cumbria, I want to help local people to be able to build a life and raise a family wherever they feel most at home.

First Homes is central to that vision and todays announcement sets out this Governments plans to accelerate home ownership and give local people a fair advantage when it comes to buying a home.

Progress has already been made, and First Homes is just one of the steps that this Government is taking to make home ownership a reality for this and future generations.

We have already reformed Stamp Duty for first-time buyers of properties under 500,000, which has already brought tax savings to 400,000 households, and we are starting to see the results.

The latest figures show the number of first-time buyers reaching nearly 360,000, an eleven-year annual high and an increase of 84% since 2010.

And one of the first things I did as Housing Secretary was to take steps to overhaul shared ownership with a new, better national model that will unlock the dream of homeownership for those who cant currently afford it.

Im sure that Mail readers remember the moment they got the keys to their first home  its a moment we all remember.

Now its our duty to extend that sense of empowerment to the next generation and get them on the property ladder.

First Homes will do just that and has the potential to transform the property market for local first-time buyers.

My message to first time buyers is simple: this Government is on your side.
GUERNSEY, Sask. - The reeve of a Saskatchewan municipality where a second fiery train derailment has occurred in less than two months says it's time for the federal government to look more seriously at pipelines to move oil.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Smoke billows up from a derailed Canadian Pacific Railway train near Guernsey, Sask., on Thursday, February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Matt Smith

GUERNSEY, Sask. - The reeve of a Saskatchewan municipality where a second fiery train derailment has occurred in less than two months says it's time for the federal government to look more seriously at pipelines to move oil.

Jack Gibney of the Rural Municipality of Usborne says "oil is going to move one way or another."

"We have no choice."

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train carrying crude oil jumped the tracks near Guernsey, about 115 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, early Thursday.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said 32 of the train's 104 cars derailed and a dozen caught fire, sending flames and thick, black smoke into the air.

The fire was burning Friday morning and the Transportation Safety Board said its investigators could not get to the wreckage as a result.

But the fire was out by late Friday afternoon and about 85 residents who were ordered to leave the agricultural community the day before were allowed back home by 4 p.m. local time, Gibney said.

"They had good response here as far as getting the fires out," he said. "And the first train is going over the track already."

Residents also gathered Friday in a town hall in nearby Lanigan, where they met with CP officials. Gibney said people appreciated the rail company's efforts, but are still concerned about rail safety and the transportation of oil.

Another derailment about 10 kilometres away on the same set of tracks in December also caused a fire when 1.5 million litres of oil spilled.

After the second derailment Thursday, the federal government ordered lower speed limits for all trains carrying large amounts of dangerous goods.

Trains carrying oil move through Guernsey every hour, said Gibney, who added the track is busier than it's ever been.

"We call it our Canadian pipeline here going by."

Tom Lukiwski, Conservative member of Parliament for the area, said he believes pipelines are the safest way to transport crude oil and bitumen.

"This, I hope, will be a reminder to the government that they have to take a very hard and long look at increasing our pipeline capacity in this country."

Ian Cameron, press secretary for Natural Resources Minister Seamus O'Regan, said in an email that Ottawa is focused on getting good projects built that are good for the economy while protecting the environment.

Alberta and Saskatchewan have been pushing for pipelines as a better option than rail to move landlocked oil to market.

The Alberta government decided last fall to allow oil producers to exceed provincial quotas if they moved additional barrels by rail.

Earlier this week, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said the idea of a pipeline to Churchill, Man., was worth exploring. The province has formed a committee to examine ways to get more pipelines built.

The federal transport minister's office said in a statement that Marc Garneau is concerned about the safety of railway operations and has instructed the department to review all issues around the latest derailment and past accidents to see if more safety measures are required.

Bruce Campbell is an adjunct professor at York University in Toronto and author of a book about the deadly Quebec Lac-Megantic rail disaster in 2013. An explosion caused when tanker cars loaded with crude oil derailed killed 47 people.

Campbell said multiple factors contribute to derailments, including track deterioration and not adhering to speed limitations.

Risk factors are increasing as trains move faster and carry more cars, he said.

"There needs to be a safety evaluation of the weight and length. They are getting longer and heavier, putting more pressure on the tracks."

The type of train car used to transport oil is also of concern, Campbell said.

A retrofitted version of the TC-117 tank type was involved in crashes and subsequent oil leaks in the December derailment, as well as other recent accidents in St. Lazare, Man., Iowa and Texas, Campbell said. It has a thinner shell than newer models.

CP has not responded to questions about what type of rail car was involved in Thursday's derailment.

The company did say in an emailed statement that an emergency response team and contractors were working with fire officials to extinguish the blaze. It said CP would also work closely with nearby landowners to ensure the area is cleaned up and restored.

Campbell said the recent derailments didn't happen right in a community, but that may not always be the case.

"So far we've dodged a bullet," Campbell said.

"But my question is: how much longer can we dodge a bullet?"

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020

 By Kelly Geraldine Malone in Winnipeg
gabriel dance

Its not altogether uncommon in investigations for us to turn up information that is shocking and disturbing. The challenge is when, in the course of your reporting, you come across something so depraved and so shocking that it demands attention. People have to know about this, but nobody wants to hear about it. How do you tell that story?

michael barbaro

From the New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: A monthslong Times investigation uncovers a digital underworld of child sexual abuse imagery that is hiding in plain sight. In part one, my colleagues Michael Keller and Gabriel Dance on the almost unfathomable scale of the problem  and just how little is being done to stop it. Its Wednesday, February 19. Gabriel, tell me how this investigation first got started.

gabriel dance

So it all began with a tip. Early last year, we got a tip from a guy, and this guy was looking up bullets.

michael barbaro

Bullets for guns.

gabriel dance

Bullets for guns. And he was actually looking for a very specific weight of bullet on Microsofts Bing search engine. And while he was looking up these bullets, he started getting results of children being sexually abused. And the guy was horrified. He didnt understand why he was seeing these images, couldnt stand to look at them. And so he reported it to Bing  and heard nothing. And full of outrage, he writes us a letter to our tip line and described what he was looking for, described the kind of images he was getting back. He says, New York Times, can you please look into this for me? So I actually emailed my colleague Michael Keller and asked him to look into it.

michael keller

So in the tip, they had listed the search terms theyd used. So we tried to replicate it. We put it into Bing. And we saw a flash on the screen of images of children. And so I wrote back to Gabe and said, yeah, this checks out. You could type words into Bing and get back explicit images of children.

michael barbaro

So this is not the dark web. This is just a regular, commonplace search engine.

gabriel dance

Thats right. So a few things went through my head. First of all is, what we need to document this. Because, as most of us know, things on the internet change all the time. Its possible they came down soon after, etc. But we were very unsure what kind of legal liabilities we had when it came to documenting anything regarding this imagery. So we emailed Dave McCraw, whos the head counsel at The New York Times, to ask him, you know, what can we do? What cant we do? How do we go about investigating where this imagery is online?

michael barbaro

And doing it without somehow violating the law.

gabriel dance

Thats right. And David wrote back immediately and said, there is no journalistic privilege when investigating this. You have no protections. And you have to report it immediately to the F.B.I.

michael keller

And so thats what we did. We submitted a report both to the F.B.I. and also to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is the kind of government-designated clearinghouse for a lot of these reports.

michael barbaro

And what did they tell you?

michael keller

They werent able to tell us anything about the report we submitted. But it made us wonder, how common is it that they get these kinds of reports? How many images are out there? How many images are flagged to them each year? And they were able to tell us that. And that number was frankly shocking to us. The handful of images that the tipster stumbled across was just a tiny portion of what the National Center sees every single day. They told us that in 2018 alone, they received over 45 million images and videos.

michael barbaro

Wow.

gabriel dance

45 million images a year. Thats more than 120,000 images and videos of children being sexually abused every day. Every single day. But to put it in perspective, 10 years ago, there were only 600,000 images and videos reported to the National Center. And at that time, they were calling it an epidemic.

michael barbaro

So in just a decade, it went from 600,000 reports to 45 million?

gabriel dance

Yeah. So we were really curious  how does a problem called an epidemic 10 years ago become such a massive issue now?

michael keller

And one of the first things we learned was that we did try and tackle it back then.

^archived recording^ (stone phillips)

The national epidemic of grown men using the internet to solicit underage teens for sex. As more and more parents become aware of the dangers, so have lawmakers in Washington.

michael keller

In the mid to late 2000s, as the internet was being more widely adopted, this issue of online child sexual abuse really got on the radar of Congress. There was even a bill being introduced by Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

archived recording (debbie wasserman schultz) The internet has facilitated an exploding multibillion-dollar market for child pornography.

michael keller

There were multiple hearings.

archived recording (flint waters) Im here today to testify about what many of my law enforcement colleagues are not free to come here and tell you.

michael keller

They heard from law enforcement.

archived recording (flint waters) We are overwhelmed. We are underfunded. And we are drowning in a tidal wave of tragedy.

michael keller

They were overwhelmed with the number of reports that were coming in.

archived recording Unless and until the funding is made available to aggressively investigate and prosecute possession of child pornography, federal efforts will be hopelessly diluted.

michael keller

They in many cases had the tools to see where offenders were, but not enough staff to actually go out and arrest the perpetrators.

archived recording (flint waters) We dont have the resources we need to save these children. archived recording (alicia kozakiewicz) Hello. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. My name is Alicia Kozakiewicz. A Pittsburgh resident, I am 19 years old and a sophomore in college.

michael keller

There was also a very chilling testimony from a victim of child sexual abuse.

archived recording (alicia kozakiewicz) For the benefit of those of you who dont know, dont remember those headlines, I am that 13-year-old girl who was lured by an internet predator and enslaved by a sadistic pedophile monster. In the beginning, I chatted for months with Christine, a beautiful, red-haired 14-year-old girl, and we traded our school pictures. Too bad that hers were fake. Yeah, Christine was really a middle-aged pervert named John. And he had lots of practice at his little masquerade because he had it all down. The abbreviations, the music, the slang, the clothes  he knew it all. John slash Christine was to introduce me to a great friend of hers. This man was to be my abductor, my torturer. I met him on the evening of January 1, 2002. Imagine, suddenly youre in the car, terrified, and hes grabbing onto your hand and crushing it. And you cry out, but theres no one to hear. In between the beatings and the raping, he will hang you by your arms while beating you, and he will share his prized pictures with his friends over the internet. The boogeyman is real, and he lives on the net. He lived in my computer, and he lives in yours. While you are sitting here, hes at home with your children. Task forces all over this country are poised to capture him, to put him in that prison cell with the man who hurt me. They can do it. They want to do it. Dont you?

[music]

michael keller

Alicias testimony really moved people. People responded. And eventually, about a year later, the bill passes unanimously.

michael barbaro

And what is this new law supposed to do?

gabriel dance

So this law, the 2008 Protect Our Children Act, is actually a pretty formidable law with some pretty ambitious goals.

michael keller

It was supposed to, for the first time ever, secure tens of millions of dollars in annual funding for investigators working on this issue. And it required the Department of Justice to really study the problem and put out reports to outline a strategy to tackle it.

michael barbaro

And what has happened since this ambitious law was put into place?

michael keller

In many ways, the problem has only gotten worse. Even though the number of reports has grown into the millions, funding is still pretty much what it was 10 years ago. And even though the government was supposed to do these regular reports, theyve only done two in 10 years. And thats an issue, because if you dont have anyone studying the size of the problem, you dont have anyone one raising alarm bells and saying, hey, we need more resources for this.

michael barbaro

So they didnt study it. And they didnt increase the funding in a way that would match the scale at which the problem is growing.

michael keller

Yeah. It really looked like they had this law in 2008, and then everyone really took their eye off the ball. So we called Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was one of the leading proponents of this bill, to figure out what happened.

gabriel dance

And we are really gobsmacked to hear that shes unaware of the extent of the failings. She sends a letter to Attorney General William Barr laying out a lot of our findings, requesting an accounting. As far as we know, she hasnt heard anything.

michael barbaro

So even the person who co-wrote the law was unaware that it was pretty much failing.

michael keller

She knew about the funding, but even she didnt know that things had gotten this bad. And we wanted to figure out now, 10 years later, what kind of effect is this having to law enforcement, to the people on the ground working these cases? And what we heard from them really shows what happens when everyone looks away.

michael barbaro

Well be right back. Gabriel, Michael  what happens when you start reaching out to law enforcement?

gabriel dance

So Mike and I probably spoke with about 20 different Internet Crimes Against Children task forces. And these are the law enforcement agencies responsible with investigating child sexual abuse. To be honest, most of the time, as an investigative reporter, generally law enforcement  I mean, generally anybody, but especially law enforcement  is not particularly interested in speaking with us. Usually, they dont see much to gain. But surprisingly, when it came to this issue, they were not only willing to speak with us, but they were interested in speaking with us.

michael barbaro

Why do you think that was?

gabriel dance

Its partly because we were using the right terminology. And by that I mean, we were asking them about child sexual abuse imagery, not child pornography.

michael barbaro

And what exactly is the distinction?

gabriel dance

Well, legally, theyre basically the same. But for the people who deal with this type of crime day in, day out, who see these images and who speak with survivors, they know that calling it child pornography implies a bunch of things that are generally incorrect.

michael keller

One is that it equates it with the adult pornography industry, which is legal and made up of consenting adults, whereas children cannot consent to the sexual behavior. The other thing is that the crimes depicted are heinous, and that each one of them is essentially looking at a crime scene.

gabriel dance

And for that reason, they prefer to call it child sexual abuse imagery. But I think they also talked to us, because for the law enforcement who deal with this, they very much feel that the issue is under-covered and under-discussed, especially considering the seriousness of the crime. I mean, we had the kind of coordination and cooperation from these law enforcement officers that we rarely see from anybody whatsoever. They let us go out on raids with them. They provided us with detailed reports. They talked to us about specific cases. They were really, really open, because they felt that as a nation, we were turning our backs on children, essentially.

michael barbaro

And once you have that access, what do you find?

michael keller

What we learned talking with all these law enforcement officers was just how this world operates. A lot of the departments told us about the high levels of turnover they have. We had one commander who said, back when he was an investigator, he saw one image that was so shocking to him, he quit and served a tour in Iraq. That was his escape.

gabriel dance

To even see this imagery once changes your life. And these people look at it all day long. And then on top of that, they have to deal with the fact that their funding has not gone up whatsoever. Theyre being funded at a level that means they cant do proactive investigations anymore. So theyre not sitting in chat rooms trying to catch what many of them think are the worst criminals. Theyre unable to do anything, really, then respond to the utter flood of reports coming in from the National Center. And because of the sheer number of reports coming in, theyre forced to make some truly terrible decisions on how to prioritize who theyre investigating.

michael barbaro

Like what?

gabriel dance

The F.B.I. told us that in addition to, of course, looking for anybody whos in immediate danger, they have to prioritize infants and toddlers. When we first got into this, we didnt even consider the idea of infants. And to hear that the F.B.I.  and later L.A.P.D. would say the same thing  were prioritizing infants and toddlers, and essentially not able to respond to reports of anybody older than that. I mean, it really left us pretty speechless.

michael keller

So were learning a lot from speaking with law enforcement. But they also only have a small part of the picture. We also are thinking about this tip that we got, where the tipster was able just to find these images on search engines very easily. And so we still have this big question of how easy is it to come across this material.

michael barbaro

And how do you go about answering that question?

michael keller

When we initially started trying to replicate the tipsters search, we had to stop because we didnt want to be searching for these illegal images. But then we discovered a technology that would allow us to keep investigating without having to look at the images. Its called PhotoDNA. And it essentially creates a unique digital fingerprint for each image. And as the National Center is receiving these reports and identifying these illegal images of child sexual abuse, they keep track of these digital fingerprints. And other companies can tap into that database to see, is this image that I have, is it in that database of known images? And we stumbled upon a service from Microsoft that actually allows you to do just that. Itll take a URL of an image and tell you if it matches an image already in that database. So we wrote a computer program that would replicate that initial search from the tipster, record all of the URLs. The key part of it, though, was that it blocked all images.

michael barbaro

So suddenly you can now search for these images, and find where they live on the internet, without illegally looking at them.

michael keller

Right. So we started doing this test across a number of different search engines.

gabriel dance

And to sit there and watch as the program starts ticking away, and see the first time it flashes that it got a match, and then to see a match again 

michael keller

Bing, from Microsoft.

gabriel dance

 and match again 

michael keller

Yahoo.

gabriel dance

 and match again 

michael keller

Another one called DuckDuckGo.

gabriel dance

 I mean, I think both our jaws dropped.

michael keller

We didnt find any on Google. But on other search engines powered by Microsoft data, we found a number of matches.

gabriel dance

Dozens, dozens of images.

michael barbaro

Youre saying the company that came up with this technology to help track these images is the very same company whose search engine allows people to find them, view them, keep viewing them.

gabriel dance

Right. As soon as we started running this computer program using Microsoft to detect illegal imagery, we were finding illegal imagery on Microsoft. So it was very clear that they were not using their own services to protect users from this type of image.

michael keller

And Microsoft told us that this was the result of a bug that they fixed. But about a week later, we reran the test and found even more images.

michael barbaro

Wow. So it sounds like youre finding all these images on Microsoft-powered search engines. So how much of this, in the end, is just a Microsoft problem?

michael keller

Its more complicated than that. We were performing this limited search just to test search engines on images. But were also, at the same time, reading over 10,000 pages of court documents. These are search warrants and subpoenas from cases where people were caught trading this material.

gabriel dance

And what becomes clear pretty quickly is that every major tech company is implicated. In page after page after page, we see social media platforms 

michael keller

Facebook, Kik, Tumblr.

gabriel dance

We see cloud storage companies 

michael keller

Google Drive, Dropbox. We read one case where an offender went on a Facebook group to ask for advice from other people  say, hey, how do I share this? How do I get access to it? How do I get access to children? And they say, download Kik to talk to the kids and download Dropbox. And we can share links with you.

michael barbaro

Wow.

gabriel dance

And from these documents, it becomes clear that the companies know. I mean, theres so many cases for each company that they all know. And so the question becomes, what are they doing about it?

[music]

michael barbaro

Tomorrow on The Daily, a victims family asks that same question. Well be right back. Heres what else you need to know today. President Trump has granted clemency to a new round of high profile individuals, including Bernie Kerik, the former New York City police commissioner who was convicted on eight felony charges, including tax fraud. Michael Milken, the financier convicted of insider trading, and Rod Blagojevich, the former governor of Illinois, who was convicted of trying to sell Barack Obamas Senate seat after he became president.

archived recording (donald trump) Yes, we have commuted the sentence of Rod Blagojevich. He served eight years in jail, a long time.

michael barbaro

Asked about Blagojevich, who Trump ordered released from prison four years early, the president mentioned his wifes public pleas on Fox News and Blagojevichs appearance on Trumps NBC TV show Celebrity Apprentice.

archived recording (donald trump) I watched his wife on television. I dont know him very well, I met him a couple of times. He was on, for a short while, The Apprentice, years ago. Seemed like a very nice person.

michael barbaro

And on Tuesday, after a new poll showed him surging in the Democratic primary race, Michael Bloomberg qualified for the next presidential debate, scheduled for tonight in Las Vegas. The poll, conducted by NPR, PBS and Marist College, showed Bloomberg with 19 percent support, putting him in second place behind Bernie Sanders.

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By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: On Thursday, leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party reached out to their electorate through roadshows, padayatra and public meetings for the one last time before the curtain fell on the poll campaigning.



While Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia held a roadshow in his constituency Patparganj, Atishi held a 10-hour padayatra meeting the people at Kalkaji.

Delhi has seen its schools, hospitals, electricity water bills change in the last five years. Delhi knows that if the intentions are honest, the picture can be changed. We will fulfil this trust of Delhi with a guarantee. You will just vote on our work, Sisodia told the people in his segment.



Atishi expressed confidence that the people will vote the AAP to power again given the work done in the last five years.

Similarly, senior leader and Cabinet minister Gopal Rai held a Jhadu Chalao Yatra along with a large number of supporters in his constituency Babarpur.



The people of Delhi know the difference between right and wrong, they recognize the politicians who spread poison. Vote on work. For the last five years, the public has given love and respect to us and it will continue the same, I request all to vote for broom on February 8, said Rai.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 05:42:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is concerned about the impact on civilians in Libya following recent bombardments that have killed at least one civilian and injured five others in Tripoli, a UN spokesman said on Thursday.

"The United Nations remains concerned about the continued impact of fighting in Libya on civilians," said Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The rocket attacks and heavy artillery shelling in the Abusliem and Salaheddine districts of the Libyan capital continued on Wednesday, Haq said. Local schools in Abusliem are due to reopen next week.

"The United Nations reminds all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian law to take constant care to spare civilians and civilian infrastructure, including schools," he told reporters at a regular briefing.

Ongoing fighting in and around Sirte, following shifts in territorial control in the Sirte region in early January, is driving more people from their homes, especially in the frontline area of Abu Qurain, he said. Over 2,000 people have fled the area, according to the Libyan local crisis committees.

Humanitarian partners are supporting the national response by providing assistance, including food baskets, hygiene kits, blankets, mattresses and other non-food items to the displaced, including in Misrata, Houn and Al Jufra, the spokesman said.

On Monday, senior officers from the Government of National Accord, the UN-recognized Libyan government, and their counterparts from the Libyan National Army started talks in Geneva. On Tuesday, Guterres' envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame said they were willing to turn a recent truce into a permanent ceasefire.
On February 8, 1799 a large celebration took place in Charleston upon the return of Charles Cotesworth Pinckney from France. Pinckney was the son of Charles and Eliza Lucas Pinckney, held several governmental offices in South Carolina, and was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He then served as a major general in the U.S. Army and was appointed Minister to France in 1796. Once in Paris, he faced growing hostility. Disturbed by the Jay Treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain, France began to attack American merchant ships and demanded that Pinckney leave the country. President John Adams responded by sending two other diplomats, John Marshall and Elbridge Gerry, to assist Pinckney.

The three men met with the French Minister of foreign relations, Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord. At first, Talleyrand was polite, but he refused to negotiate in any official capacity. As the American diplomats were shuttled from one envoy to another, they were told that the French expected a payment, or bribe, if the United States wanted to improve relations. The story goes that, as the demand for payment intensified, Pinckney eventually shouted: No! No! Not a sixpence!

When American reporters described the negotiations, the names of the French envoys were replaced with the letters X,Y, and Z, and the incident became known as the X,Y, and Z Affair. The diplomats sailed home, where they were greeted by widespread applause and intense anti-French sentiment. Pinckney was concerned about returning to Charleston, because the city was heavily pro-French before he left. He must have been relieved when, on February 8th, 1799, city leaders met him three miles outside of the city and escorted him to town. As they rode, trumpets, horns, and cannon fire sounded a heros welcome. He was then taken to a special theatrical performance with a new musical composition titled General Pinckneys March. The evening culminated with a banquet given at City Hall. At the end of the dining hall a portrait of Pinckney hung over the words il faut de largent; il faut beaucoup dargent?  No, No! Not a sixpence. In front of City Hall, another painting featured a woman with an American eagle. Over her head were the words Millions for defense, not a cent for tribute.

The next year, Pinckney was the vice-presidential candidate for the Federalist Party, in hopes that he would draw southern votes. However, both Pinckney and John Adams, the incumbent President, lost to the Democratic-Republicans and Thomas Jefferson became President. Pinckney was chosen by the Federalists as their presidential nominee in 1804 and again in 1808, but the Democratic-Republicans carried both elections.

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A husband and wife were discharged from a Chicago, Illinois hospital on Thursday night after being treated for coronavirus.

The pair were the first case of human-to-human transmission in the US. The husband contracted the virus from his wife, 61, after she traveled to Wuhan, China.

Although they described it as 'an uncomfortable situation,' the pair also said they were treated kindly and respectfully and were just looking forward to 'getting home and getting life back to normal.'

Now that their symptoms are under control, the pair have been discharged from St Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates and will be allowed to return home for self-isolation until they clear the virus that's sickened at least 12 Americans.

After treatment at St Alexius Medical Center Amita in Chicago, a couple infected with coronavirus is being discharged to self-isolation in their home

The couple are two out of the 12 cases of coronavirus confirmed so far in the US, and were the first case of person-to-person transmission

After traveling to Wuhan, China in December, the unidentified wife returned back to Chicago on January 13.

Once back at home, her symptoms started to emerge: a fever, shortness of breath.

She was diagnosed with coronavirus on Friday, January 24, and officials reassured the public that, since developing symptoms, she had hardly left her home.

The woman was in good condition when she was diagnosed, but was taken to the hospital for isolation in the hopes that the virus wouldn't spread.

Days later, however, her husband's coronavirus was confirmed too, marking the first time the virus had leaped from one human to another in the US.

He, too, was placed in isolation at the hospital and both patients remained stable during treatment.

It's not clear yet how the couple was treated.

There are no approved therapies for coronavirus.

However, at least one American - patient zero in the US - was treated using an experimental drug developed to treat Ebola and, according to a case report, showed significant improvement after he was given just one dose.

Other treatments have been primarily supportive, including IV fluids and respiratory support, if necessary.

Some of the confirmed US coronavirus patients have not needed to be hospitalized at all, and been instructed to only self-isolate at home to contain the disease, the risk of which remains low in the US, despite its spread to more than 31,000.

The couple is simply happy to be heading home.

They said in a statement: 'With it being an uncomfortable situation, the care and the services weve received have been great.

'Everyones been very kind and very respectful. This has been the best healthcare experience weve ever had, but were definitely looking forward to getting home and getting life back to normal.'

Meanwhile, two planes carrying American evacuees from Wuhan are currently being held in Canada and California, because two passengers on each have developed coronavirus symptoms.

And one student at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania is now being tested for the deadly virus, after developing symptoms after returning from China.

According to an email from the collage sent out to student and staff members, the students had been screened for the virus upon return to the US.

The Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy (pictured) near North Bend has been chosen as a new quarantine site for people returning to the United States from the Chinese province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak

Fever, cough and shortness of breath are the main symptoms are the main symptoms of the coronavirus, which appear within two to 14 days of exposure.

President Trump on Friday tweeted his approval of Chinese president Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying: 'Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.

'He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.

'Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!'

The Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy pictured from the exterior

The US has 12 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with cases in Wisconsin, California, Arizona, Massachusetts, Washington and Illinois.

Meanwhile a cruise ship which has remained quarantined off the coast of Japan with a coronavirus outbreak has 61 people on board infected, including eight Americans.

The Washington State Patrol Fire Training Academy near North Bend has been chosen as a new quarantine site for people returning to the United States from the Chinese province at the center of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Travelers without symptoms of coronavirus who have been in Hubei Province in the past two weeks will be placed under quarantine in the facilities.
by Purushottam Nayak

The village where Uglu Sandi Majhi lived was sacked and burnt by Hindu radicals. His two-year-old son died of hunger, thirst and cold in the jungle. For Kotagarghs parish priest, No sword or physical threat can stop them from believing in Christ, our Redeemer.

Cuttack-Bhubaneswar (AsiaNews) - "My son is dead, my house no longer exists because my village has been destroyed, but I cannot deny my faith in Jesus Christ, said Uglu Sandi Majhi speaking to AsiaNews.

In August 2008, Uglu survived anti-Christian violence in Odisha (Orissa) after Hindu radicals attacked his village. I hid with my family in the forest. My son Lombusandi Majhi was two years old. We were without food or shelter for three days.

Rain started, heavy, but we had no other place to go. Eventually my son died of cold, hunger and thirst in the jungle.

Uglu is originally from Geret, near Kotagargh, Kandhamal District. Twelve Christian families lived in the village, all of whom fled during the worst pogrom in Indias history.

The criminals brought lorries to loot everything we had in the house, including the harvest, the kitchen utensils and the chairs. Then they set the village on fire.

Kandhamal was the most affected by the rage of the Hindu radicals. The violence broke out after swami Laxamananda Saraswati was killed, a crime claimed by the Maoist insurgents but blamed on Christians.

After an orgy of violence that lasted a month, 120 people were dead, almost 56,000 Christians displaced, 8,000 homes burnt or looted in 415 villages, 300 churches torn down, 40 women raped, 12,000 children unable to go to school.

For Uglu, flight was followed by peregrination to find a new place to live. He first settled in the village of Konoguda, then Gosipakal. Here he gradually moved away from the Pentecostal community, to which he belonged, to join the Brothers of Christ Church.

Eventually he met Tileswar Baliarsingh, a Catholic catechist who accompanied him on this journey of faith.

I was visiting families and trying to pass on the Catholic faith, Tileswar said. The journey lasted five years.

"The faith of the people of Geret, forced to flee into the forest, is very strong, said Fr Pradosh Chandra Nayak, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar.

Uglu in particular is a true believer in Jesus Christ, despite losing his son and property during the anti-Christian violence.

Fighting for their rights is a great challenge for them. They have come to accept the violence, the injustice towards them as bad luck and unfortunate fate.

Fr Stephen Pangola, parish priest in Kotagargh admires the faith of these simple people. No sword or physical threat can stop them from believing in Christ, our Redeemer.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of India in late January 2020 acquitted over 3,700 people accused of "sectarian violence" in connection with the Kandhamal massacres.

For Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, no justice was done. We always hoped and prayed for justice, so that the criminals could be punished and those who suffered receive compensation.
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan led-LDF government's Budget 2020-21, which was tabled in the state assembly on Friday, depicted the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi on its cover page as a mark of protest against the Centre over the National Register of Citizens (NRC). According to reports, the cover page of the Kerala Budget document carried a painting by a Malayalam artist about Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

Commenting on the issue, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said, ''Definitely, it is a political statement, the cover of my budget speech. It is a painting by a Malayalam artist of Mahatma Gandhi's murder scene.''

''We are sending out a message that we will not forget who murdered Gandhi,'' the Minister added.

Explaining the reason for depicting the Mahatma Gandhi's murder on the cover page of Budget document, Thomas Isaac said, ''This is important at the times when history is being re-written. There is an attempt to erase some popular memories and use the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the population on communal lines. Kerala will stand united.''

Thomas Isaac also made a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi regime at the Centre, saying that the BJP-led NDA government was "strangulating" the southern state by denying funds.

Presenting the 2020-21 budget in the assembly, the state Finance Minister alleged that the Centre has been "helping" corporates rather than the common man.

"The Centre has been strangulating Kerala by denying funds for the state and has been moving on a self-destructive path by corporate-friendly policies and privatisation. The GST implementation has not been beneficial for the state," he said.

In the budget, Issac set aside Rs 1,000 crore for coastal area development, Rs 1,500 crore for the public works department, Rs 1,000 crore has been allotted for village road projects and Rs 4,383 crore for drinking water projects in the state.

"The government proposes 2.5 lakh water connections in the upcoming financial year. We will also construct one lakh houses under Life Mission," the finance minister said.

The budget has allocated Rs 90 crore for Pravasi Welfare Fund and the government proposes power projects with a capacity of 500 MW.

"The government proposes Kochi development plan with a fund of Rs 6,000 crore. The city will get a unified travel card and the Metro project will be extended," Issac said.

The state government has increased all welfare pension funds by Rs 100, allotted Rs 40 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 10 crore for startups in the state.

The local self-governments have been allotted Rs five crore for waste management, Rs 20 crore has been set apart for 1,000 food stalls under hunger-free Kerala, where meals will be made available at Rs 25.

(With Agency Inputs)
Thousands of Chinese tourists stranded in Bali after Indonesia suspended flights over coronavirus fears will be offered charter flights home, China's consulate on the holiday island said Thursday. A diplomatic notice said Beijing was arranging flights for Friday back to Wuhan -- the epicentre of the deadly outbreak which has killed over 500 people and spread around the world. Many of the marooned tourists are from the stricken city and surrounding Hubei province, the consulate said, but it added their return would be voluntary. "Passengers' temperatures will be measured before boarding," the notice said. "Those with novel coronavirus symptoms will not be allowed to board the plane." It was not immediately clear how many holidaymakers would take up the offer or who would pay for their tickets. "The Chinese consulate general has offered repatriation to the mainland, but no one has agreed to fly back home," Bali's vice-governor, Tjokorda Oka Artha Ardana Sukawati, told Indonesia's MetroTV. The consulate did not respond to requests for further comment on Thursday. A day earlier it said at least 5,000 Chinese tourists were in Bali, the centrepiece of Indonesia's tourism industry. - Refused entry - The Southeast Asian archipelago country attracts about 2.1 million Chinese visitors annually but the number has fallen from about 6,000 arrivals per day to just 1,000 since the outbreak began in mid-December. Also Thursday, Bali officials said they had refused entry to 17 foreign tourists who had recently been in China, including visitors from Russia, Brazil, New Zealand, Morocco and Britain. Indonesia has yet to report a confirmed case of the virus, which emerged in a Chinese market at the end of last year. Tourism minister Wishnutama Kusubandio warned his country stood to lose up to $4 billion this year if travel from China and elsewhere is disrupted. Jakarta is also expected to unveil details on Thursday of a plan to temporarily ban some livestock imports from China due to the coronavirus.
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By LIZ WESTON

NerdWallet

Amtrak's buy one, get one spring sale got me started.

My teenage daughter and I had used a similar two-for-one deal last year to take an overnight train trip from Los Angeles to Portland. This year, she wanted to use her spring break to check out colleges in Chicago as well as the Pacific Northwest. When Amtrak announced the return of its companion fare sale, I thought a couple of nights on a sleeper train might be a good way to start our college tour. She agreed.





. . .
"Prewar apartment" is a term you're likely to see if you're apartment hunting in New York City. It's one of those little details that can be buried among other property features, like hardwood floors or high ceilings. For some, prewar apartments are highly desirable, and landing oneespecially in a competitive rental market like NYCcan feel like winning the lottery. But the term "prewar" is a bit ambiguous, and its meaning isn't exactly common knowledge.

So, does prewar refer to a real war, and if so, which one? Also, is this an only-in-New York kind of thing? And, perhaps most important, what makes a prewar apartment so special in the minds of buyers and renters? We went to the movers and shakers in the New York real estate market to find out.

What is a prewar apartment?

Photo by Richard Silver Photo

According to Jamie Safier, a luxury real estate agent at Douglas Elliman in New York City, "prewar" generally refers to buildings that were constructed between 1900 and 1939, before World War II.

Some folks include buildings before 1900, but typically, this is the usual range, with the exception of Victorian and Colonial buildings, which mostly describe brownstone-type structures, he says.

The term refers to the architectural style of the building, and Safier says prewar apartments have special details that you wont find in newer construction.

There are generous layouts, grand proportions, high ceilings, thick walls, beautiful old herringbone wood floors, wood-burning fireplaces, and decorative plaster moldings and ornamentation, says Tania Isacoff Friedland, a broker at Warburg Realty in New York City.

Carole Cusani, a real estate agent at BOND New York Properties, also says theyre solidly built, making the noise factor between apartments almost nonexistent.

They do not make buildings like these anymore, says Cusani, who lives in a prewar apartment.

A prewar apartment in Manhattan Jamie Safier

The appeal of prewar apartments

Photo by Ethelind Coblin Architect P.C

Prewar apartments are frequently considered luxurious pieces of real estate.

The buildings that were designed by the masters of the era, like architects Rosario Candela and Emory Roth, boast these names for both status and the higher price tags that they fetch, says Seth Levin, real estate broker at Keller Williams Tribeca in New York City. I have been selling real estate in NYC for two decades, and there is definitely a loyal tribe that will only live in prewar buildings.

Buyers also like the stylistic elements of prewar bathrooms and kitchens, which, Friedland says, have come very much in vogue.

Oftentimes, when buyers renovate, they will maintain the integrity of the time period in which the building was built when selecting their interior decor, she says.

For example, theyll use white ceramic subway tiles in kitchens and bathrooms, and marble basket-weave floors in bathrooms.

This gives a space a fresh feel while keeping with the original style from nearly 100 years ago, she explains

And its about more than just the apartments themselves.

The buildings often feature grand, ornate lobbies with a full staff, says Levin. The ornate details also continue into the elevators and hallways."

Do prewar apartments exist in other parts of the country?

Photo by Aurora Farewell Architects

Of course, there are plenty of apartments across the country that were built during this period, but theres a reason why this term is associated with New York City real estate.

Prewar apartments have certainly been made famous by Manhattan architects and their timeless impact on the citys skyline, Levin explains. Prewar buildings have also benefited from being synonymous with NYC nostalgia and the golden age of the 1920s."

The existence of prewar apartments in other cities may depend on when the city was developed, says Friedland. Its extremely relevant in New York City, because there was so much construction and change in [the city] during this time period.

However, according to Cusani, several cities, including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, are lucky enough to have prewar properties nestled in their city limits.

The post What Is a Prewar Apartment? Why New Yorkers Covet This Architectural Style appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com.
A 55-year-old woman was killed by five persons, who hanged her body to show it as a case of suicide in Maharashtras Raigad district, police said on Thursday.

The incident came to light when police in Panvel taluka got an information about hanging of the victim, Sharda Mali, at herresidence in Dundre village, an official said.

During investigation, it was revealed Mali was assaulted by members of a neighbouring family over allegation of theft of an ornament, he said.

The accused persons killed the woman and initially tried to burn the body. They later hanged her body to pass it off as a case of suicide, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Human rights groups have strongly criticized Italy for extending a deal with Libya that facilitates the return of migrants to detention centers, where these migrants say torture and rape are commonplace. The EU has sent hundreds of millions of dollars to Libya to boost its coastguard capabilities a
Kolkata, Feb 7 : A host of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including its national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and national executive member Mukul Roy, were detained on Friday while trying to take out a pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act rally in south Kolkata.

Earlier, there was turmoil at Tollygunge Phari, the starting point of the rally, as BJP workers scuffled with the police who prevented them from taking out the 'abhinandan yatra', which was slated to end at Hazra Crossing.

As a large number of police personnel, who had put up several barricades, stopped the rallyists, Vijayvargiya and Roy were seen arguing with the lawkeepers.

"We were taking out a peaceful rally. In Bengal, you can take out a rally against the CAA, but not in support of it. This is the state of democracy in this state which has Mamata Banerjee as Chief Minister," Vijayvargiya told mediapersons.

Amid shouts of 'Bharat Mata ki jai', Vijayvargiya, Roy, state BJP general secretary Sayantan Basu, vice president Jai Prakash Majumdar and party leader Agnimitra Pal were put in a prison van and taken to the city police headquarters at Lalbazar in central Kolkata.

City police Deputy Commissioner (south division) Meeraj Khalid said the BJP leaders have been detained as they tried to take out a rally without police permission.

The BJP claimed 450 of its supporters were detained.
She's known for sharing flesh-baring snaps all over social media.

But Tammy Hembrow, 25, took her saucy antics to the bathroom on Thursday, showing off her incredibly toned physique in racy red lingerie while posing in front of a toilet.

'Chica cherry cola', she captioned the sultry snap, alongside a cherry emoji.

Don't forget to flush! Tammy Hembrow flaunted her curves in racy red lingerie on Wednesday as she posed in front of a toilet

Tammy completed her look with a pair of grey sweatpants that highlighted the suggestive cut of her risque bikini bottoms.

The fitness mogul sported a deep tan and wore a full face of makeup, including lash extensions, mascara, matte foundation and a nude matte lip.

Saucy! Tammy Hembrow (pictured) was filmed giving a lap dance to a male friend on Monday night in NYC. Tammy continues to spend more time in America to developing her 'brand'

Tammy's peroxide blonde hair appeared to be wet, as she wore it flicked to the side.

Her raunchy display comes just days after she was spotted giving a male friend a raunchy lap dance in New York City.

In a clip shared on Instagram, Tammy was seen gyrating her body against her friend Sam Mangan to Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, during a wild night out in the Big Apple.

Just friends! Her raunchy display comes just days after she was spotted giving a male friend a raunchy lap dance in New York City. Sam, who is a celebrity publicist and podcast owner, is believed to be close pals with the Instagram influencer

Tammy was seen mouthing the lyrics to Sam before shaking her pert derriere in front of the celebrity publicist, before breaking out into laughter, as her female pals screeched around her.

Tammy, who lives in Australia's Gold Coast, has been dating on-off boyfriend Jahkoy since June last year.

Despite being linked to the Canadian rapper for over six months, the fitness influencer recently defended her decision to not flaunt their romance publicly.

Is it love? Tammy, who lives in Australia's Gold Coast, has been dating on-off boyfriend Jahkoy since June last year

Speaking on her podcast, Hanging with the Hembrows last month, Tammy responded to a listener's question about why she was 'hiding' her relationship.

Tammy said: 'I don't hide him. It was more of... I had a very public relationship before [with ex-fiance Reece Hawkins], so until I know something is going to be forever, I don't want to put it in the public eye.

'I feel like I just want to keep things private at the beginning of a relationship.

While Tammy remains coy, Jahkoy said he considers Tammy his muse, referring to her as his 'obsession', 'soulmate' and 'perfect girl' in endless Instagram posts.
Mumbai, Feb 7 : "Bigg Boss 13" contestant Rashami Desai's mother feels housemate and friend Asim Riaz should have stood by her side when evicted contestant Himanshi Khurana revealed things about her relationship with Arhaan Khan.

Recently, Rashami, irked by Arhaan's actions after the show, decided to call off her relationship with Arhaan.

"Whatever Himanshi said and the way she said, I didn't like it. I am hurt. Asim had to support his girlfriend as well. He didn't have any option. But I still feel he should have supported Rashami. But anyways I am glad they are friends," Rasila Desai told timesofIndia.com.

During a "Weekend Ka Vaar" episode, superstar host Salman Khan reprimanded Himanshi, who was inside the house in the connection week, for talking about the outside world in the house even after repeated reminders by Bigg Boss.

The housemates were then shown a video where Himanshi spoke to Asim and Vishal Aditya Singh about Arhaan crying in front of her and how Rashami befriending Sidharth Shukla has upset him. She was upset about Arhaan talking to Himanshi about it.

Rashami's mother has thanked Salman for supporting her daughter throughout the show. She said: "There were times when I wanted to be in the house to support my daughter. But I am happy that Salman sir stood by her side and guided her throughout. He guided her properly and I thank him with all my heart." Rashami's mother feels she handled things about her personal life well, saying "that's the format of the show and you can't help it. But Rashami has handled it with dignity and I am proud of her".

Latest updates on Bigg Boss Season 13

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
A bank security guard was killed after his colleague accidently shot at him in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district on Friday, police said.

Majid Manzoor, a security guard at a bank in Kapran, sustained severe injuries after his colleague's rifle accidently went off, a police official said.

The security guard was rushed to SKIMS hospital where he succumbed to injuries, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TurningPoint Donating to DC Central Kitchen is a worthy endeavor as they not only feed the hungry, they also provide jobs training through their Culinary Job Training Program, he said. Their approach to ensuring access to healthy food and economic opportunities is a model we are pleased to support.

This holiday season TurningPoint Global Solutions continued its ongoing financial support for the https://dccentralkitchen.org DC Central Kitchen, a not-for-profit organization that provides food, training, and other assistance to help break the cycle of hunger and poverty. During a corporate-sponsored holiday fund drive, TurningPoint partners matched employee contributions to raise more than $5,300 in support of DC Central Kitchens mission.

TurningPoint CEO Mr. Bangalore Shivacharan, who has volunteered his time at DC Central Kitchen for more than a decade, notes the importance of the work the organization does.

Donating to DC Central Kitchen is a worthy endeavor as they not only feed the hungry, they also provide jobs training through their Culinary Job Training Program, he said. Their approach to ensuring access to healthy food and economic opportunities is a model; we are pleased to support.

This marks the fifth year TurningPoint and its employees have donated to DC Central Kitchen.

ABOUT DC CENTRAL KITCHEN

As the nations first and leading community kitchen, DC Central Kitchen develops and operates social ventures targeting the cycle of hunger and poverty. The organizations life-changing ventures provide culinary training to jobless adults, turn wasted food into balanced meals for shelters and nonprofits, expand access to healthy food, and provide healthy, scratch-cooked meals in low-income schools. These efforts have been recognized with the leading national award for healthy school food innovation, The Golden Carrot, the Washington Business Journals Green Business Award for Innovation, and the DC Chamber of Commerces Community Impact Award. To learn more, visit http://www.dccentralkitchen.org or follow @dcck on Twitter.

ABOUT TURNING POINT GLOBAL SOLUTIONS

Headquartered in Rockville, MD, TurningPoint provides software engineering and professional IT services for a diversified group of commercial and government customers. TurningPoint also provides telecom lifecycle and expense management software and services for wireless and wireline services, with a focus on federal and other public sector organizations. TurningPoint is appraised at CMMI Maturity Level 4 for Development and CMMI Maturity Level 3 for Services. For more information, visit http://www.tpgsi.com.
An out-of-control Boeing 737 crushed an airport engineer to death this morning as it was being towed to collect passengers in Bangkok.

The Nok Air plane was being pulled to one of the gates at Don Mueang International in the Thai capital at 8am when the bar bridging it to the tow truck suddenly snapped.

The truck screeched to a halt but momentum carried the jet forward, before it violently lurched to the left and crunched into the far smaller vehicle.

Thanisorn Oncha-am was rushed to hospital but later died from 'severe injuries sustained in the crash'.

A second mechanic who was also aboard the tow tractor was injured in the collision.

The plane is being towed safely towards the gate before the tow bar snaps

The jet rolls forwards, crushing the tractor underneath

The tow truck was crushed by the Boeing 737 after the bridging bar snapped and the jet lurched forward in Bangkok

Thanisorn Oncha-am was rushed to hospital but later died from 'severe injuries sustained in the crash'

Airport director Samphan Khutharanon said: 'The Nok Air flight DD6458 from Don Mueang to Nakhon Si Thammarat collided with a Nok Air tow truck.

'The accident happened while the truck was dragging the plane to the gate to wait for passengers to travel.

'The towing device that connects the vehicle to the plane broke, causing it to stop while the plane continued moving forwards.'

Nok Air Scheduled flight DD6458 from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of the country was delayed while authorities began investigating.

Horrifying CCTV footage of the smash shows the truck pulling the imposing 189-seat jet across the tarmac.

Suddenly, the truck grinds to a halt, but the yellow and orange-painted plane continues to roll forward with momentum and swoops to the left,

The body section of the craft next to the wing scraped the top of the vehicle, which seemed to partially collapse under the mammoth weight

Emergency crews race over to the scene where the Nok Air plane swung round and smashed a tow truck

Thanisorn Oncha-am, an enegineer and airport worker, was aboard the truck and was killed. His family will receive emotional and financial support, Nok Air said

The body section of the craft next to the wing scrapes the top of the vehicle, which seems to collapse under the mammoth weight as the plane then appears to sink down.

The jet then comes to a stop, and emergency airport crews race over to the plane.

Aftermath photos show the truck trapped under the colossal weight of the liner, but it does not appear to be completely written off.

The plane has been taken out of action to assess the damage and investigate what caused the crash.

A new plane was used for the 8.40am flight and it departed at 9:50am.

Nok Air said in a statement that they were now waiting for a post-mortem examination to confirm exactly how their employee died.

The 189-seat plane has been taken out of action to assess the damage and investigate what caused the crash

It said: 'One member of ground staff in the tow truck was seriously injured and died at the hospital and another injured officer has been taken to the hospital.

'The airline will provide assistance in terms of financial remedies for the family of the victim and continue to take good care of the family's mental state.'

Thailand has two airports serving the capital Bangkok. The country's flagship Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan province handles international flights while the smaller, older airport Don Mueang that it replaced in 2006 and which now handles domestic flights and regional flights in Asia.
Costly Justice

"I think the public would be offended by the way poor people are treated."

by James Leonard

From the February, 2020 issue

When it comes to paying for Michigan's courts, says the attorney with the State Appellate Defender Office, "the most vulnerable people are essentially in charge ... The public would be shocked at the amount people are fined. Those fees can be very high, and they are determined judge by judge."



In September, the Michigan Trial Court Funding Commission wrote that the state's courts have become "dependent upon court assessments" to fund their operations. The commission reported that in 2017, Michigan courts collected $418 million from criminal defendants--29 percent of their budgets.



To state senator Jeff Irwin it's part of "a very troubling trend over the last several decades" for courts to impose heavy fees on defendants. The state, he says, is "running the courts on the backs of the poor and really maximizing the revenue from fees."



The funding commission also deplored the trend. "Michigan residents going to court should not face a judge who needs money from a defendant to satisfy demands for court operating expenses," it wrote. And it warned that the practice itself may not be legally defensible: "Michigan's trial courts are facing the possibility of a financial emergency due to changes in financing methods brought on by People v. Cameron."



David-Martin brought that case on behalf of Shawn Cameron, who in 2013 was convicted of domestic assault in Washtenaw County Trial Court and assessed $1,611 in court costs. She argued that the fee was unconstitutional because it allowed a court to "raise its entire budget, if it wants, off the backs of criminally convicted individuals."



Last July, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear Cameron's appeal on technical grounds. In her concurring opinion, chief justice Bridget McCormack wrote that "denying leave to appeal in this case will allow our current system of trial court funding in Michigan to limp forward--at least until [the governing state law] sunsets" in October.



Irwin says the legislature created the commission to study the issue the last time it

...continued below...

extended the law, in 2017. However, he suspects that his colleagues will just extend it again this year."I would be surprised if we came together on a real great statewide funding system," he says. "But I do think that's where we need to go. "The burden on defendants varies from court to court. Ann Arbor's Fifteenth District Court gets 36 percent of its funding from fines and fees, while the county's 14A District Court gets 39 percent. But 14B District Court in Ypsilanti Township gets a whopping 86 percent of its budget from people who appear before it.That money comes from "court costs, probation fees, ordinance fines and costs, and forfeited bonds," says 14B court administrator and magistrate Mark Nelson. Most of the rest of its $1.8 million budget comes from state support for its drug court. The township contributes nothing to the operation of the court.In contrast, Ann Arbor's 15th District got 57 percent of its $4.9 million 2019 budget from the city. Parking tickets accounted for more than half of its fines and fees, with the rest coming from traffic tickets and other ordinance violations.Of the county's three district courts, 14A has the biggest budget, $6.7 million--not surprising, since it operates courts in Ypsilanti, Pittsfield, Saline, and Chelsea. But the county government covers 59 percent of that total.The county pays an even larger share--67 percent--of the $21 million budget for the Washtenaw County Trial Court (aka the 22nd Circuit Court). Most of the rest comes from the state, with fines and fees providing less than 4 percent."Trial court deals with felonies," 14A court administrator Lisa Fusik explains in an email. "They also deal with child custody, divorce, [and] a lot of probate issues so they do not get a lot of court fines and fees ... more people have contact with district than with trial court so we do have more revenue from defendants' fines and costs."Besides parking and traffic tickets, the district courts handle landlord-tenant suits, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases with claims up to $25,000. The trial court deals with felonies and higher-value civil litigation, as well as juvenile and family cases."We're very well-funded," says Trial Court administrator Dan Dwyer. "We have a very positive relationship with our funding unit [and] in my twenty years we've never brought an expenditure budget in the red."The study commission report describes local governments pressing their courts to raise money from defendants through fines and fees. Dwyer says he saw that when he was mayor of Plymouth: "I sat on the court funding board for the district court of Plymouth, and some of the other members of that board would really get after the court for revenues going down ... The court got put under a lot of scrutiny for collecting of revenues."Trial court chief judge Carol Kuhnke agrees that many courts feel pressed to raise money. But her courts, she says, "don't have that tension." She says that's largely because, unlike most counties, Washtenaw "lets us manage our own staff [even though] by law they're employees of the county."Kuhnke explains that the state requires courts to impose costs on all convicted felons--currently $1,611 in the local trial court, though judges have the power to waive or reduce that. "We also assess if someone has had an attorney appointed to represent them. That charge is $650, which again I can reduce or eliminate."Ironically, the fact that most local courts are well-funded could hurt them if the state moves to reduce reliance on fines and fees. That's because the funding commission recommended making court staffs state employees--paying them out of revenue that currently stays with local courts.There's pressure to do something. In her opinion in the Cameron case, Chief Judge McCormack wrote: "I urge the Legislature to take seriously the recommendations of the Commission before the pressure placed on local courts causes the system to boil over."Dwyer says he "absolutely agrees" that court costs if they're assessed should be the same across the state of Michigan. "That's easy to implement: just pass a statute."But "when they talk about equal funding, we're one of the courts that's up here"--Dwyer raises one hand above his head--"and there's a lot of courts down here"--he lowers his other hand to his waist. "If everybody comes to the middle then we've lost," he says, holding his hands up to show the gap.Irwin agrees that redistributing existing court revenue would hurt well-funded courts like ours. He says the state would have to come up with an additional $400 million to fund them all well.In the worst case, centralizing funding in Lansing could put the courts on the downhill trajectory followed by school funding since voters passed Proposal A in 1994. From 1995 through 2015, an MSU study released last year found, Michigan ranked dead last in the country for school funding growth.Like Irwin, Kuhnke suspects the legislature will extend the current authorization when it expires this fall. But she and nearly everyone else interviewed figures the state will sooner or later take over court funding.[Originally published in February, 2020.]
A photojournalist with a Mumbai tabloid was allegedly beaten up by the police at an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest on Thursday.

An inquiry had been ordered, a senior official said, while Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh promised strict action against those involved.

Ashish Raje, who is also a joint secretary of the Mumbai Press Club, was covering 'Mumbai Bagh', a sit-in protest on the lines of Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, by women in Nagpada area.

The protest is going on for the last 12 days.

Raje was allegedly pushed and assaulted by two police officials when he was walking to the protest venue.

SEE: Cops rough up journalist at Mumbai Bagh

Video: @mumbaipressclub/Twitter

A video of the incident also went viral on social media.

Another photojournalist who was present during the incident said that Raje was taken to a hospital and was found to have suffered an injury to his thigh.

"We clicked pictures where the policemen are seen thrashing him. We had left the protest venue to have tea and when we tried to return, the policemen asked us for ID-cards. We were ready to show our cards but for no reason one of the officers lost temper and attacked Raje," he said.

"We are looking into the issue," said Additional Commissioner of Police Viresh Prabhu when reached for comment.

Mumbai Press Club chairman Dharmendra Jore said in a statement that the police authorities should sensitise the officials.

"We are not your enemies. We are messengers. Fights with media don't yield anything. Merely looking into the matter won't suffice. Take those two unruly officers to the task," Jore demanded.

The TV Journalists Association also condemned the incident.

SEE: Photojournalist explains cops' brutality at Mumbai Bagh

Video: @mumbaipressclub/Twitter

"Additional Commissioner of Police (Central region) is conducting an enquiry into the matter," said the Mumbai Police spokesperson.

Maharashtras Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted about the incident, calling it "appalling".

"This is an appalling act and I will personally look into the inquiry of this matter. Strict disciplinary action will be taken against those involved," he said.

Photographs: @mumbaipressclub/Twitter
A very small number of Franklin and Marshall students are under quarantine as a precautionary measure to monitor any possibility of the coronavirus, the college said Friday.

The notice came in a letter, from Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Margaret Hazlett and Managing Physician of the student wellness center Amy Myers. The letter reassures the community that they have not identified any cases of the coronavirus at the school.

The group of students that have been quarantined fall into the category of having traveled from China within the last two weeks. The Pennsylvania Department of Health directed people in this situation to self-isolate until 14 days after the date of their departure from China.

The Wellness Center has been in contact with them, and while we do not suspect that any have been exposed to the virus, we are complying with the advisory and assisting those students with temporary isolation, the letter states.

WGAL reported that the quarantined students spent winter break in China, and the health department was on campus Thursday to inform the students of the quarantine.

The letter from the school says F&M continues to see cases of influenza on campus, and people with flu-like symptoms including fever, cough and muscle aches should seek medical attention.

Anyone experiencing stress or anxiety due to the media coverage or public speculation is encouraged to reach out to the Wellness Center, College Houses or Office of International Programs.

The school reminds its community of these simple wellness practices that are highly recommended to help the spread of respiratory illnesses, including the flu:

Cover your mouth and nose with tissue or sleeve when coughing and sneezing.

Wash your hands frequently, and keep washing them for 20 seconds.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.

Do not share eating and drinking utensils.

Do not share saliva.

Be sure to get adequate sleep, good nutrition, and regular exercise

Read more on PennLive:
A poster put up by a leader of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khans party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, gives a clear insight into the cruelty minority Hindus in Pakistan face.

It would have gone largely unnoticed, but for a tweet by a Pakistani columnist, Naila Inayat, which has gone viral on social media.

Poster in Pakistan

She tweeted the poster that has an inflammatory and hateful slogan against Hindus in Pakistan. Hindu baat se nahin, laat se manta hai, reads the poster. It translates to Hindus understand the language of violence, not dialogue.

A poster from PTI General Secretary Lahore on Kashmir Day reads: Hindu baat se nahin laat se manta hai. This is the bigoted Naya Pakistan for you. pic.twitter.com/KwQoN1eZ7U  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) February 5, 2020

The poster also bears the pictures of Imran Khan and founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

In yet another video, Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Mahmood Khan, who is also from Imrans party, can be seen calling Hindus and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi darinde (brutal beasts or predators).

Amazing bigotry on display from PTI. Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan: Narendra Modi aur Hindus mein ehsaas nahin hai, insaniyat nahin hai, yeh darinday hain. pic.twitter.com/mLVMdSykiN  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) February 5, 2020

Hindus in Pakistan are under severe attacks from Islamists and are facing savage persecution. Recently, two underage Hindu girls were abducted in the Sindh province and were forcibly converted and married off to older Muslim men.
Terming the Citizenship (Amendment) Act a "malicious and mischievous" law, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said on Friday that people across the world are questioning India's commitment towards being a democratic nation.

He also described the National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) as "mischievous and dangerous".

"We are opposing the Act on the basis of constitutional morality and constitutional legality. Right now, the ball is in the Supreme Court and we are confident that it will strike down (the law) and redeem the honour of the people of India," the former Union finance minister said while delivering a lecture on CAA-NPR-NRC and the Union Budget here.

"Worldwide, India's stock has plummeted... All over the world people are questioning India's commitment to be a democratic country. All the goodwill that was built over the last 40 years has been destroyed by this one mischievous and malicious Act and this must go," Chidambaram said.

He also asserted that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) was a "reaction to the fiasco that happened in Assam with regards to the NRC".

"After spending Rs 1,400 crore for the NRC exercise, 40 lakh people were labelled stateless -- not once but twice. Revised exercise rendered 19 lakh people stateless.

"When the people of Assam rejected it, the (Narendra) Modi government suddenly thought that something should be done and they brought this CAA," Chidambaram said.

The former Union minister said a "propaganda is being spread" that the Congress is opposing citizenship given to the persecuted Hindus from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

"We are just asking if persecuted Hindu minorities from these three countries are allowed, why not Tamils and Hindus from Sri Lanka and Burma and Buddhist from Nepal and Bhutan are allowed," he said and also sought to know why Muslims were excluded from the ambit of the law.

"According to the United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, the most persecuted community in the world is Rohingya in Myanmar," Chidambaram said.

He said the Congress is not against giving citizenship to persecuted refugees.

"We are not against those who are included in the Act. We have a problem with who has been excluded... Include the muslims also, include all the persecuted communities. But it clearly shows the bias that the Modi government has against the Muslims... They have framed this Act to keep the Muslims out," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Ondo State Police Command has given details of the bank robbery which took place on Thursday at Ile-Oluji, in Ile-Oluji/Okeigbo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The police spokesman, Femi Joseph, confirmed that two banks were attacked by the robbers who used dynamites to destroy their entrances before gaining access.

He said although the robbers succeeded in robbing one of the banks, they failed in their attempt to rob the other, which he identified as Polaris Bank.

According to Mr Joseph, four policemen died in the process but no civilians deaths were recorded.

When they attacked one of the banks, they shot dead one of the policemen on duty, he said. But while they were trying to escape, they ran into four policemen who were on their own, guarding a VIP, and they killed three of them, making it four policemen who lost their lives in that incident.

Mr Joseph said while the robbers were being chased, they abandoned their getaway vehicle and escaped.

He said the police would fish them out eventually and bring them to justice.

Bank Loss

Mr Joseph said the bank officials were yet to ascertain the amount of money stolen.

We have commenced investigations into the matter, with the involvement of some of the special units of the police, such as the Explosives Ordinance Department and we will surely apprehend the suspects and bring them to justice, added Mr Joseph.

Armed bandits are usually attracted to banks located in towns far removed from the state capital, Akure, which makes them (banks) easy targets for repeated attacks.

In August last year, armed bandits raided a bank in Iju-Ita Ogbolu, in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State, killing a female security guard and carting away large sums of money.

Also in September last year, a bank in Ido-Ani, in Ose local government area was attacked, with seven persons killed by the bandits.
A British passenger on board a quarantined cruise ship has been confirmed as having coronavirus.

The Briton, who is believed to be on his honeymoon, is among 41 people who Princess Cruises confirmed had tested positive for the virus on the Diamond Princess, which is quarantined off Yokohama Bay in Japan.

A British passenger on board a cruise ship has tested positive for coronavirus (Picture: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

The announcement comes after a third person in the UK was diagnosed with coronavirus. That patient, reported to be a middle-aged British man, is understood to be the first UK national to contract the disease after apparently catching the illness in Singapore.

The Briton is among 41 people who have tested positive for coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess (Picture: KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images)

A fellow passenger on the Diamond Princess said the Briton who tested positive for the virus was on his honeymoon and will be separated from his new wife as he is taken off the ship for treatment.

In a video posted on Facebook, David Abel said that he had been dining with the man, who was not named.

READ MORE

Chinese Ambassador: UK press must report 'objectively'

Coronavirus: What you need to know

He added: He will almost certainly be leaving the ship today  real, real shame. I have no idea how he must be feeling... theyre on their honeymoon.

He will be going off in to quarantine in a medical facility and she has to stay on board the ship because shes not displaying symptoms.

Thats going to be really, really tough for him so just bear a thought for these passengers who just dont know what is going to be lying ahead of them.

In a statement, Princess Cruises said: Princess Cruises can confirm the nationalities of the 41 people who were tested positive for coronavirus are from Argentina (one); Australia (five); Canada (five), Japan (21); United Kingdom (one) and United States (eight).

The company said the quarantine on the ship was due to end on February 19, barring any unforeseen developments.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
Albuquerque, New Mexico, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rhodes Group (Rhodes), a healthcare information technology and services company based in Albuquerque, NM, quadrupled its workforce at the beginning of 2020, bringing the team to a total of 84 IT and healthcare professionals.

Rhodes Group offers software and services that enable health systems to realize the full value of their clinical laboratory and the insight behind the clinical data it produces. Founded in 2000, Rhodes was acquired by TriCore Reference Laboratories in 2015 as the organization sought to harness the convergence of IT and healthcare to ready itself for the future. On January 1, 2020, the organization integrated TriCores legacy IT team into the Rhodes Group team, creating a single streamlined organization, poised to deliver premium service and innovative products to Rhodes customers in healthcare systems across the country.

Says James Brown, CEO of Rhodes Group, This integration and growth provides a significant benefit for Rhodes clients, giving us the depth of force to provide outstanding service and support. Furthermore, our combination of clinical and IT expertise establishes Rhodes as a needed partner for healthcare entities facing reduced revenue opportunities and increasing IT complexity. Our nation-wide presence will continue to increase as we further our efforts to improve healthcare outcomes and reduce cost.

About Rhodes Group

Rhodes Group was founded in 2000 and acquired by TriCore Reference Laboratories in 2015, at which time the organization moved its headquarters to Albuquerque, NM. Rhodes provides laboratory software solutions, consulting and professional services to improve the effectiveness of pre-analytical, post-analytical and revenue cycle management processes. Rhodes C21 is a LIS-neutral 21st Century Lab IT infrastructure that optimizes laboratory operations and clinical diagnostics to help labs address the challenges of today and prepare for the future. The Rhodes Group team brings more than 100 years of laboratory and technology experience to help labs significantly reduce costs, improve patient outcomes, and navigate the new healthcare marketplace.

For more information, visit www.rhodesgroup.com

Attachments
A 33-year-old Palmer Township man faces several drug charges after police served a search warrant at his home and recovered packaged methamphetamine, marijuana and Ecstasy, court papers say.

Shelton Middleton, whose probation ended just days before in a simple assault case, was taken into custody at 8:39 a.m. Thursday in a white Volvo SUV after leaving his home at 3420 Nazareth Road in the township, police said. A search warrant, which was granted the night before by District Judge Douglas Schlegel, was then executed by township police and the Northampton County Drug Task Force in the home, court papers say.

A clear mason jar containing 40 MDMA/Ecstasy pills in a plastic bag, 10.8 grams of marijuana in two plastic bags and 5.5 grams of meth in two plastic bags was recovered from a black book bag in Middletons bedroom, police said. A digital scale and mail with Middletons name on it was also found in the bag, police said.

Prerecorded buy money was located in Middletons wallet, which he was carrying, police said.

Middleton was arraigned at 11:35 a.m. before District Judge Jacqueline Taschner on three counts of possession with intent to deliver drugs, three counts of possession of a controlled substance and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show. He was housed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of 10 percent of $20,000 bail and remained behind bars on Friday morning, records show. The bail on Friday was changed by PreTrial Services to unsecured, apparently clearing his way for release.

Court records did not list an attorney for Middleton. His preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. Feb. 20 in Taschners court in Palmer.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Oregon Guard members learn the basics of hazardous operations

By Staff Sgt. Edward Omelina February 6, 2020

WARRENTON, Oregon -- The biting cold onshore breeze stabs through the buildings at Camp Rilea on the Oregon coast, just south of Astoria. The salt-stained air is brightly lit by the steel grey sky. It is definitely woobie weather.

The cold weather helps keep service members cool inside the level B hazmat suits they have to wear to practice operations in a hazardous environment, according to Sgt. Aaron J. Stiner, with the 102nd Oregon CERFP. "A Soldier can lose 5 to 15 pounds of body weight while working in a level B hazard suit."

The 102nd Oregon Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP) is a part of the Homeland Response Force, established by the Department of Defense. According to the National Guard Bureau, the 102nd CERFP provides incident response at the direction of the Oregon State Governor. The mission of the CERFP is to save lives and mitigate human suffering during an emergency.

"This is an introductory course for CBRN response elements. This is where they learn the basics of disaster response," said Capt. Brian W. Bodie, the operations and training officer for the 102nd Oregon CERFP. There is an academic portion where they learn about things like spill response, and there is a hands-on part where they learn to put on and move around in the suits that protect them.

The level B suits are bulky and consist of thick rubber boots, non-permeable waterproof overall with a hood, rubber gloves, and a mask that connects to a self-contained breathing apparatus comprising of an air tank and hose, or a powered air-purifying respirator. The suits, mask, boots, and gloves are secured to the Soldier or Airman using a special chemical resistant tape. They also learn to put the suits on and off and how to help their buddies out.

The Soldiers and Airmen completed training that would certify them to assist during an emergency involving chemical, biological, or radiological hazards. This training is required to be a member of the 102nd Oregon CERFP.

"The class was tough, and you have to study. It was pretty exciting," said Spc. Benitez.

The Hazardous Operations training course consists of classroom instruction and the use of specialized equipment. It also includes a comprehensive, written test. And a hands-on evaluation where students suit up. Nationally accredited emergency management organizations certify students. This training is a foundation for careers in the civilian world of emergency management.

If a service member is interested in a career in emergency management, these are foundational skills that are going to look great on their resumes. "We bring the instructors from Portland Community College and offer it to our service members at no cost said Capt. Bodie." It's a great benefit, and it's excellent training."

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Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Friday said the government will first use persuasion to implement a proposal on job quota for Haryanvis in the private sector, instead of making it mandatory.

Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala had said in the state assembly in November that the government will bring a Bill on reserving 75 per cent of unskilled jobs in Haryana's private sector for youth from the state.

But addressing a press conference here to mark 100 days of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Jannayak Janta Party government in the state, the CM indicated that there is no immediate plan enact a quota law.

Khattar launched the 'Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna', under which families with an annual income of less than Rs 1.8 lakh and land holdings of up to five acres will get an annual grant of Rs 6,000.

The job quota proposal, a poll promise by Chautala's JJP, was discussed a recent Cabinet meeting as well.

Replying to questions, Khattar said, We have decided to give 75 per cent reservation to unskilled workers in private jobs, we have decided to implement it.

Khattar said the government will first seek information from private sector companies and indicated that there will be no mandatory quota, at least to begin with.

When we have to make it mandatory, we will make it so. But as of now it is persuasion. And under this, we will seek data from the industry and see what the situation is, he said.

He made it clear that the proposed scheme will not apply to skilled workers.

Asked if the government will bring a Bill to the assembly, he replied, I have said it is under consideration We have to give employment to 75 per cent, whether it is with legislation or without it, he said.

Khattar said if private firms are unable to get 75 per cent of their unskilled workers from within state, then will be free to hire from outside.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aye vaadi shehzaadi, bolo kaisi ho? Ik din tumse milne vapis aunga... kuch barson se toot gaya hun, khandit hun vaadi tera beta hun main... Pandit hun...



The idea of Shikara came to Vidhu Vinod Chopra several years ago but he took his own time to shape it into a story fitting enough for the big screen.

Ever since the trailer was released, there was this anticipation about how the director has shown the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits, who had to flee leaving their homes in The Valley and were forced to stay as refugees in their own country.

Every filmmaker has his or her own way of telling a story to the audience and Vidhu uses a very tender style of using romance in telling the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandits.

The movie opens with a conventional love story between Kashmiri locals Shiv Kumar Dhar (Aadil Khan) and Shanti (Sadia). Chopra shows their wedding in a very local, traditional Kashmiri style, which is commendable.

 Fox Star Hindi

As the story is set in the late 80s, things in the Kashmir Valley take a dark turn and the tranquillity is destroyed as violence breaks out. As the Kashmiri Pandits become the targets of Islamist militants, Shiv and Shanti let go of the house they had built with love and hard work and are forced to become refugees.



There are scenes where you see how the Kashmiri Pandits were reduced to being outsiders in their own homeland, how they are actually trying hard to keep up with the daily chores and try to have a normal life. Slowly and steadily, they try to find their own space in refugee camps.

 Fox Star Hindi

Through Shiv, Chopra has somehow tried to show the misery of the Pandits as he keeps writing letters to the President of the United States for aid, sharing his plight and that of his people. However, I feel the film doesnt delve deeper into the detailing of the circumstances that led to the issues between the Pandits and the Islamic militants.



Despite being personally connected to the exodus, as his family was one amongst the thousands who fled the Kashmir Valley, Chopra gives only a singular narrative and I believe the treatment of one of the most painful strains of Indian history, could have been better.

 Fox Star Hindi

But, I wont take away from the credibility of the director as he chooses not to sensationalize the narrative and keeps it very simple, which only adds more to its impact.



Coming to the actors, Sadia and Aadil Khan have conveyed the turbulent and painful emotions of the exiled Pandits in the best way possible in their debut movie. Aadils letters give the audience an idea about the pain of the refugees, but I feel Chopra didnt give much justice to the characters, per se.

If you are a literature student just like me, you would agree with me that they were rather flat characters. Basically, flat characters have a linear passage and they dont grow over a course of time.

Aadil and Sadia, despite a lack of depth in their characters, have done a brilliant job in portraying them nevertheless.

 Fox Star Hindi

The character of Lateef, who is Shivs Muslim friend (Faisal Simon), is among the important elements in the movie as he is shown as one of the Islamic militants who are behind terrorizing Pandits in The Valley. Also, Simon stands out in this role.



According to me, the best part about the movie is how the actors are not over-the-top, melodramatic and actually look their part. And I really loved how Chopra has weaved a romantic story in Shikara and the climax justifies that (I wont give any spoilers here).

My only qualm here is that, had the director focused a little more on the nuances of history, it would have been a perfect tale.

In a nutshell, its the romance thats overshadowing the history. But, the movie is worth the watch and kudos to the lead pair.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 14:27:40|Editor: huaxia

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BRUSSELS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The measures taken by the Chinese government against the novel coronavirus should be commended, and the world's scientists need to jointly defeat new viruses, said a Belgian virologist in an interview with Xinhua recently.

Johan Neyts, a professor at the Rega Institute for Medical Research at the University of Leuven, praised the efforts of Chinese doctors and scientists, who rapidly identified the new pathogen and shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus as early as Jan. 12.

By knowing the genome of the virus, he said, methods could be developed and used all over the world for testing suspected patients, a significant step to fight the epidemic, which was impossible before the genetic code was known in the first few weeks after the outbreak.

Measures taken by the Chinese government, such as building two hospitals in the central Chinese city of Wuhan within 10 days to treat patients, the quarantine of mega cities and restricting travel, are commendable. "These measures are also helpful to the rest of the world," he said.

"Academic teams like ours, vaccine technology companies in China and around the world, must work hand in hand to fight the enemy of mankind," said Neyts, who specializes in the development of vaccines and drugs against viruses.

Noting that one vaccine technology alone is not enough to produce a billion vaccines for a single country like China, Neyts called for using various vaccine technology platforms.

"If you have different technologies, that can help produce different types of vaccines, so that there is sufficient production capacity for vaccines," added Neyts.

In the longer run, Neyts foresees the need to establish a worldwide union to develop preemptive medical measures for potential outbreaks of new viruses.

"We should, as inhabitants of this planet, protect ourselves against new pathogens," said Neyts, who is also president of the International Society for Antiviral Research.

Since all viruses known today belong to a limited number of families, Neyts said that researchers from different countries should join forces to develop effective antiviral drugs against them, as such antiviral drugs can help contain an epidemic since its outbreak.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 19:36:24|Editor: yhy

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MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A civil plane with 172 passengers on board made an emergency landing at the Russian-run Khmeimim airbase in Syria, barely avoiding an Israeli missile attack, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.

The Airbus 320 airliner, which took off from Tehran, had to change its route while approaching the Damascus International Airport in the early hours on Thursday, the ministry's spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Four Israeli F-16 fighters launched air-to-ground missiles against eight suburbs of Damascus at the time, without entering Syrian airspace, the spokesman said.

Israeli radar systems could clearly see regular passenger flights in the area of the Damascus International Airport, Konashenkov said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Thursday that up to 12 pro-Iran fighters were killed in the Israeli attack.

The shelling also targeted air defense batteries and weapon depots, destroying many of them, according to the observatory.

The strike highlighted the sprawling tensions between Israel and Iran in Syria, which have escalated over the past months.
A determined dog takes the bus alone to her favorite dog park every day  and her solo antics have won her a legion of fans across the city.

Eclipse, a Mastador from Seattle, Washington, began to jump aboard to the D Line bus to the Belltown Dog Park after she moved from a farm in Hoodsport, Washington to her new home with owner Jeff Young at just six months old.

The eight-year-old pup is now well known across the city, with those in Seattle gushing she 'makes everybody happy' when she jumps on the bus with a travel ticket attached to her collar.

Miss independent! Eclipse began to jump aboard to the D Line bus to the Belltown Dog Park in Seattle after she moved to the city with her owner Jeff Young

The eight-year-old pup is now well known across the city, with those in Seattle gushing she 'makes everybody happy' when she jumps on the bus with a travel card attached to her collar

In a Facebook post, onlooker and Seattle native Robbie Lauren explained how Eclipse first started taking the bus by herself when Young was taking too long to jump aboard.

But she said the pup  who is a mix of Labrador Retriever and Mastiff  now leaves the house alone, and takes the bus downtown where she spends 'a couple of hours getting exercise' before heading back by herself.

'This is Eclipse. Every day she leaves her house, by herself, and takes the bus downtown to the dog park where she spends a couple of hours getting exercise and making friends, and then she takes the bus back home again', she said.

'She even has her own bus pass attached to the collar.'

Lauren added: 'It started when her owner, Jeff Young, was taking too long when the bus arrived, so she impatiently ran ahead and got on the bus by herself.

'The bus driver recognized her and dropped her off at the dog park, and later Jeff caught up with her. After several more trips by herself, Jeff started letting her go on her own, and she always comes back home a couple of hours later.'

Pictured: Eclipse, who is half Labrador and half Mastiff, sits on the bus alone as she heads to the dog park

The independent pup will spend 'a couple of hours getting exercise' at the dog park before heading home alone (Pictured: Eclipse on the bus)

Lauren added that 'all the bus drivers' who drive the D Line now know Eclipse well, and many regular passengers will sit down next to her when they spot her on their commute.

'All of the bus drivers know her and she makes them smile, and many of the regular passengers enjoy seeing her every day and will often sit down next to her,' she said.

'Even the police have given their approval as long as the bus drivers are okay with the arrangement,' she said, because 'she makes everybody happy.'

The determined dog even has her own fan club, named Ecliptomaniacs, with more than 50,000 people following her Facebook page.

Previously, Eclipse's owner explained how he is able to catch up to his pet if she gets on the bus without him, noting that the dog park is only a few stops away.

In a Facebook post, onlooker and Seattle native Robbie Lauren explained how Eclipse first started taking the bus by herself when her owner was taking too long to jump aboard

The determined Labrador even has her own fan club, named Ecliptomaniacs, with more than 50,000 people following her Facebook page

Pictured: Eclipse with bus passengers as she makes her way to the Belltown Dog Park alone

Her owner Jeff Young previously explained how he is able to catch up to Eclipse if she gets on the bus without him as the dog park is only a few stops away

He said: 'It's not hard to get on. She gets on in front of her house and she gets off at the dog park, three or four stops later.'

The dog owner added that their tradition has left the pup 'totally urbanized' and has turned her into a 'bus-riding, sidewalk-walking dog.'

'Probably once a week I get a phone call. "Hi. I have your dog Eclipse here on 3rd and Bell." I have to tell them, "no. She's fine." She knows what she's doing.'

Those who travel on the D Line bus past the Belltown dog park are now used to spotting Eclipse on their commute.

Commuter Tiona Rainwater said: 'All the bus drivers know her. She sits here just like a person does. She makes everybody happy.'

Young added: 'It makes their day. It's a good part of their day and it works out for her so I just let it go.'
Ukraine's infrastructure ministry invites U.S. companies to take part in concession projects

12:00, 07.02.20 190

The concession mechanism will allow the government attracting major private investment to modernize and improve the efficiency of infrastructure facilities.
The most senior civil servant in the Department of Health has said he doesn't "necessarily accept" the findings of an independent review of community pharmacy funding.

A PwC report, commissioned by the department, found that community pharmacies in Northern Ireland are underfunded each year to the tune of 20m.

High street chemists have been campaigning for increased funding and have warned that patients will come to harm if health officials fail to act.

However, in a devastating blow, Richard Pengelly was non-commital about the report's recommendation when he appeared before Stormont's health committee.

"I don't want to sit here saying we are looking to find 20m in the sense we don't necessarily accept the findings," he said.

"There are financial pressures and there is ongoing work. There are two sides to every story and we're working to find a point in the middle."

High street pharmacists have claimed they are on the point of collapse - and even losing money when they dispense medication.

Some pharmacists are missing medical appointments or discharging themselves from hospital against their doctors' advice because they cannot afford to pay for cover while they are ill.

Gerard Greene, chief executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland (CPNI), said: "Of course we're disappointed at Mr Pengelly's comments.

"We're aware that funding of community pharmacy has been the subject of much debate over the last 10 years, which is why the Department of Health was asked by the courts to carry out an analysis of what it costs to run the service.

"The subsequent PwC report identified the cost of the service and the shortfall.

"This was further backed up by the recent Northern Ireland Affairs Committee review, which also stated that community pharmacy here is underfunded.

"We understand that there are a lot of competing pressures in the health service, but Mr Pengelly has described it as a fantastic resource," he said.

"Under the transformation agenda, more work is being shifted left into the community, but the funding has to follow and that isn't happening at the moment. As it stands, community pharmacists are dispensing medication at a loss, pharmaceutical wholesalers have even warned the Department of Health that community pharmacists are finding it increasingly difficult to pay for medication.

"Obviously, if the supply of medication is impacted, this will impact on the supply to patients and there is the risk that patients will go without their medication.

"This then results in unplanned attendances at emergency departments and people needing to see their GP and we know GP and emergency services are already under massive pressure."

Mr Greene said CPNI is seeking a meeting with Health Minister Robin Swann to impress on him the importance of adequate funding for the service.

"The situation we are in is serious, we have an increasing workload, funding isn't sufficient and we have a workforce crisis as well," he said.

"There are already concerns about the supply of medicines with Brexit, so we need to ensure the stability of the service in the coming months."
By PTI

PATNA: The BJP on Thursday accused RJD leader Tej Pratap Yadav of misogyny for his remarks berating Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and asking them to replace Kumar in their names with 'Kumari', often used with the names of girls.

Yadav, the elder son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad, put his foot in the mouth at an anti-CAA, NRC, NRP rally where he flayed the JD(U), which is headed by Kumar and BJP, to which Sushil Kumar Modi belongs, for the dramatic realignment of the two parties in July, 2017.

"I therefore say Nitish Kumar, whom my father had aptly named palturam (turncoat), can also be called Nitish Kumari. And his companion Sushil Kumar Modi, the bearer of the saffron flag, called Sushil Kumari Modi. They cannot take us head-on. They sit in their homes wearing bangles," Yadav jeered before the crowds.

The RJD rally was held at Masaurhi in rural Patna late on Wednesday night and video clips of it were beamed by local TV news channels.

BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand reacted angrily, demanding an apology from the RJD leader.

He reminded Yadav of the allegations of domestic violence that his estranged wife has levelled against him.

"Was Tej Pratap trying to say that those whose names are suffixed with Kumari and who wear bangles deserve no respect? His tasteless remarks and the applause they received from his supporters are proof that misogyny runs deep in the RJD," Anand said.

He said Yadav's "misogynistic" remarks lend credence to the charges his wife has levelled against him.

He demanded that the RJD leader apologize to the chief minister and his deputy.

"If he is trying to emulate his uncouth father, he must beware he may similarly land in jail one day," the BJP spokesman said.

Yadav had tied the knot with Aishwarya Roy, daughter of RJD MLA Chandrika Roy, in May 2018 but filed a divorce petition six months later.

Two months ago, his wife, who had chosen to stay back at the residence of her mother-in-law Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, in a bid to salvage her marriage, filed a police complaint accusing the mother and the son besides eldest sister-in-law Misa Bharti of domestic violence.

RJD national vice-president Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, a founding member of the party and an old associate of Prasad, also expressed his disapproval when asked about the young leaders remark.

"This is not right. In politics, there must not be any place for derogatory remarks. People get carried away and end up with egg on their face, only to repent later," the former union minister said.

JD(U) spokesman Rajiv Ranjan Prasad said the remarks were in "poor taste" and many senior RJD leaders felt embarrassed.

Kumar's JD(U) had contested the last assembly elections in 2015 as part of the 'grand alliance' which also included the RJD.

The alliance drubbed the BJP-led NDA and Kumar became the chief minister.

He, however, broke ranks with RJD and formed a coalition government with the BJP in 2017, leaving Lalu's party crying betrayal and feeling bitter.
Sebastian Astbury (pictured in a custody image from 2019) began scamming victims just two days after being released from jail

A fantasist conman who has spent two decades adopting 20 different aliases scamming victims out of hundreds of thousands of pounds is back in prison.

Sebastian Astbury, 42, of Poole, Dorset, also known as Zac Langley and Andrew Penfold, began scamming his latest victims just two days after being released from jail for a previous con.

He has previously posed as a banker, an MI5 agent, a lord, a Royal Navy officer, a Royal Marine, a property developer, a shipping magnate and a wine maker to hoodwink his victims, mainly women.

This time he started a bogus car leasing firm to swindle thousands of pounds in deposits from unsuspecting customers.

Astbury was released from prison on June 18 last year after serving half of a five-and-a-half year sentence for conning three women he met through dating site Plenty of Fish out of 105,000.

Impersonating an Ministry of Defence intelligence officer, he had persuaded them to buy him two luxury Range Rovers and fork out 20,000 on bogus medical fees.

Sebastian Astbury is pictured when he went by the name of Andrew Penfold on a luxury yacht

Free again, he applied to a judge to have his name changed from Zac Langley to Sebastian Andrew Zachary Mathew Astbury.

Remarkably, permission was granted on July 4 after Astbury swore he was 'going straight'. However, by then he was already conning new victims.

On June 20 he had established a company called Bramshaw's Leasing Ltd in Bournemouth, Dorset, under which he offered new cars.

The victims believed they were about to get new Mercedes, Volvo or Volkswagen cars under a lease agreement.

But no cars were ever ordered, and Astbury eventually stopped communicating with all of those affected as they desperately tried to call him for information.

In total, he conned four men out of 12,500.

Astbury (pictured when he went by the name of Andrew Penfold) started a bogus car leasing firm to swindle thousands of pounds in deposits from unsuspecting customers

One of the victims, Iraq War veteran Kevin Burgess, who invested money in the 'business', was left 'suicidal' by Astbury's deceit which had triggered his PTSD.

Astbury is pictured in a police mugshot from 2016 when he was known as Zac Langley

In a victim impact statement read by prosecutor Stuart Ellacott, Mr Burgess said: 'I felt I had failed in business and failed my girlfriend. I spiralled out of control. I was suicidal.'

Another victim, Daniel De Vere, had met Astbury at Ford Open Prison in West Sussex.

He said he was 'absolutely gutted' after parting with 800 loaned to him by relatives for a new van in the hope of continuing his previous career as an electrician.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard Astbury has 13 previous convictions for a total of 89 offences - all of which are for dishonesty - dating back to 2000.

In 2001 he ran up bills of 20,000 living a life of luxury by booking into hotels under a false name and tricking friends into giving him money.

Then aged 23, he even entertained the entire cast of a pantomime in a hotel without paying a penny.

Sebastian Astbury's previous convictions for conning his victims Sebastian Astbury has 13 previous convictions for 89 offences - all of which are for dishonesty - dating back to 2000 - including the following: 2001: Ran up bills of 20,000 living a life of luxury by booking into hotels under a false name and tricking friends into giving him money 2008: Swindled more than 60,000 out of besotted women including a prison officer he had met in jail. He proposed to three different women 2016: Conned three women he met through dating site Plenty of Fish out of 105,000, impersonating a Ministry of Defence intelligence officer Advertisement

In 2008 he was jailed for four years for swindling more than 60,000 out of besotted women including a woman prison officer he had met in jail.

During that scam, he proposed to three different women, telling them he was an MI5 officer, a radar maker and from the famous Penfold wine family.

He was returned to jail in 2016 for the Plenty of Fish scam. Nick Tucker, defending, said prison does not work for the defendant.

He asked for him to be released from custody to be with his new partner, a primary school teacher who describes him as 'incredibly caring, nurturing and supportive'.

The woman's father even spoke for Astbury in court, offering him a minimum wage job with classic cars.

But the judge saw differently, jailing Astbury for three years and issuing a five year serious crime prevention order.

He was also banned from acting as the director of a company for a decade.

Judge Jonathan Fuller QC, at Bournemouth Crown Court, said that Astbury was a 'heavily convicted and persistent fraudster and a devious and selfish individual who has only money at the forefront of his mind.'

The fellow former inmate Astbury conned also wrote the court to call the defendant a 'career fraudster' and a 'menace to society'.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 03:52:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A UN spokesman said Friday that the UN Human Rights Office is very concerned about repeated attacks against indigenous peoples in Nicaragua, the lack of protection of their rights and the impunity for crimes committed against them.

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said that most of the violence has been carried out by settlers as they seek to force indigenous people from their ancestral homes and use their lands for illegal logging and cattle farming.

He added since 2015, some 40 indigenous people have been killed, 47 injured, 44 kidnapped and four disappeared, in cases related to land invasions.

The UN Human Rights Office urged the Nicaraguan authorities to conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into these incidents, and to hold those responsible accountable, said Haq.
Vietjet has opened three new direct routes connecting Vietnams Da Nang, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City with Indias New Delhi and Mumbai to meet rising demand for travel between the two countries as well as across the region.

The Da Nang  New Delhi and Hanoi  Mumbai routes will commence operations on May 14, with five and three flights per week, respectively.

The Ho Chi Minh City  Mumbai routes will operate four weekly flights from May 15.

We are excited to continue connecting Vietnam destinations to the market of over 1.2 billion population in India after receiving positive feedback regarding our previous two direct flights that linked both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi with New Delhi, said Vietjet vice-president Nguyen Thanh Son.

With just over five hours of flight time per leg, and a convenient flight schedule throughout the week, Vietjet's newest routes between Vietnam and India will create many more trade and tourism opportunities between the two countries, helping to boost the economies of both.

The expansion of Vietjet's flight network into India also reaffirms the airline's ongoing commitment to continuously help flyers save on cost and time.

Passengers can enjoy flying on our new and modern aircraft and taking transit flights to famous destinations across Southeast Asia, including Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and many other countries, thanks to Vietjets extensive flight network in the Asia-Pacific region.

The no-frills carrier launched direct flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to New Delhi in December.

The Ho Chi Minh City  New Delhi route operates four return flights per week every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, starting from December 6.

Vietjet operates three return flights per week on the Hanoi  New Delhi route every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, starting from December 7.

In recent years, India has emerged as one of Asias most exciting and attractive destinations thanks to numerous and diverse cultural, religious, culinary and tourism attractions.

Besides the incredible capital of New Delhi, Mumbai, once known as Bombay, serves as one of India's most important financial and economic centers and is an extremely enchanting destination in its own right.

India is also well known as an ancient and captivating land with many treasures of cultural heritage, colorful festivals, and historic religious sites.

Located in central Vietnam, Da Nang not only possesses beautiful beaches but also world famous tourism attractions, such as the Golden Bridge, Ba Na Hills, Dragon Bridge, and more.

The city also serves as a gateway to many of the countrys most famous heritage sites, including the ancient town of Hoi An, the former imperial citadel in Hue City, the worlds biggest cave Son Doong, and many other fascinating destinations.

Meanwhile, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are Vietnams two largest political, financial, economic, and cultural hubs, offering tourists a heady mix of historical sites, cultural activities, incredible shopping options, cosmopolitan dining, as well as amazing street food.

With all three of the new routes launching operations in May, Vietjet will become the operator with the most direct routes between the two countries, offering five direct routes from and to India.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed the petition of jailed bar associations ailing president Mian Qayoom challenging his detention under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

Qayooms detention under PSA, which would have ended on Friday, has already been extended by another three months eliciting strong condemnation from the bar association.

Justice Tashi Rabastan has dismissed the petition which had challenged the detention of Qayoom in August. There has been no relief, said his counsel Zafar Shah.

Before the dismissal, the government had already extended his detention by another three months. So, it will be Mian Qayooms third spell of incarceration, he said.

Qayoom is a well-known lawyer in Kashmir and has headed the bar association multiple times, latest since 2018. He is lodged in Delhi Tihar Jail.

He senior lawyer had complained of chest pain last week and had to be taken to a hospital.

His nephew, Mian Muzaffar, said he was handed over another PSA order on Wednesday, which was dated February 3.

It is unfortunate that the petition was dismissed. His health condition is very grave. We dont think he will survive another three months in jail, Muzaffar said.

The high court had on Monday reserved its judgment on the petition against the detention of Qayoom after hearing arguments from both the sides.

A person can be put in jail without trial from three months to two years under PSA.

Qayoom was detained from his house in Srinagar late on August 4, ahead of the abrogation of Article 370. He was later booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA) on August 8 for three months and shifted to a jail in Uttar Pradeshs Agra.

His detention was then extended by another three months in November.

The bar association, in a meeting on Thursday, had strongly condemned the government action. It also decried Qayooms failing health and sought his immediate release.

The bar association reiterates and strongly expresses its serious concern about the deteriorating health of its president Mian Abdul Qayoom and again impressed upon the concerned authorities to revoke the illegal and unconstitutional detention order and its extension unconditionally, forthwith, the associations joint secretary, Adil Asimi, said.

The bar association also impresses upon the authorities to revoke the illegal and unwarranted detention order of its general secretary Mr Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, who has been under detention along with others since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the state into two UTs, he said.

Qayooms family says he has been suffering from multiple ailments, including diabetes and heart problems.

He has only one kidney. He is hypertensive and needs regular checkup and medicines. Before his arrest, doctors had advised an open heart surgery which we have not been able to plan due to his incarceration, Mian Muzaffar had said last week.

Four mainstream politicians, including former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, were booked under PSA after their six months of preventive detention ended.

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Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Prefabricated Buildings - Market Analysis, Trends, and Forecasts" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The Prefabricated Buildings market worldwide is projected to grow by US$39.6 Billion, driven by a compounded growth of 4.7%.



Skeleton System, one of the segments analyzed and sized in this study, displays the potential to grow at over 4.5%. 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$36.1 Billion by the year 2025, Skeleton System will bring in healthy gains adding significant momentum to global growth.



Representing the developed world, the United States will maintain a 3.7% growth momentum. Within Europe, which continues to remain an important element in the world economy, Germany will add over US$1.4 Billion to the region's size and clout in the next 5 to 6 years. Over US$1.2 Billion worth of projected demand in the region will come from the rest of the European markets.



In Japan, Skeleton System will reach a market size of US$1.7 Billion 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 7.5% over the next couple of years and add approximately US$11.4 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:

Algeco Group

Astron Buildings S.A.

Butler Manufacturing Company

Champion Home Builders Inc.

Kirby Building Systems India Ltd.

Lindal Cedar Homes Inc.

Modern Prefab Systems Pvt. Ltd.

Par-Kut International Inc.

Red Sea Housing Services

Ritz-Craft Corporation

United Partition Systems Inc.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qf8gso

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
The operator of an acid factory and an employee have been detained by the Uttar Pradesh police in connection with the deaths of seven people, including three children, after inhaling poisonous gas in an adjoining carpet factory here, police said on Friday.

The acid factory and carpet factory are adjoining each other in Jalalpur village of Biswan area in the district.

"Acid factory operator Sukesh Gupta and employee Sirajuddin have been detained in connection with the death of seven persons in Biswan on Thursday," Sitapur Superintendent of Police L R Kumar told PTI.

The SP said police teams are conducting raids in Hardoi and Kanpur while a probe is on in the matter.

The FIR has been lodged under IPC 302/120B (murder/criminal conspiracy) and IPC 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) against Sukesh, Sirajuddin and an unidentified person.

Officials said a tanker of the acid factory was washed near the carpet factory adjoining it. A gas leak from there possibly led to the deaths of the seven people, police said.

However, the exact cause of the incident is yet to be ascertained, they added.

Those who died in the incident included five of a family, comprising three children.

They were identified as Atiq (45), his wife Saira (42) and children Ayesha (12), Afroz (8) and Faisal (2). Besides them two others, Motu (75) and Pahalwan (70), also died, he said, adding that all of them were residents of Kanpur.

Biswan Sub Divisional Magistrate Suresh Kumar said a team of experts has arrived for investigation from Lucknow and a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team is also present at the spot.

Some dogs were also found dead around the factory area, the SDM pointed out.

Taking note of the incident, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the victims' families.

Expressing his condolences, the chief minister directed officials to provide all possible help to the affected people and initiate strict action against the guilty.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
London: As the deadly coronavirus has spread worldwide, it has carried with it xenophobia and Asian communities around the world are finding themselves subject to suspicion and fear.

When a patient on Australia's Gold Coast refused to shake the hand of her surgeon Rhea Liang, citing the virus that has killed hundreds, the medic's first response was shock. But after tweeting about the incident and receiving a flood of responses, the respected doctor learned her experience was all too common.

There has been a spike in reports of anti-Chinese rhetoric directed at people of Asian origin, regardless of whether they have ever visited the centre of the epidemic or been in contact with the virus.

Chinese tourists have reportedly been spat at in the Italian city of Venice, a family in Turin was accused of carrying the disease and mothers in Milan have used social media to call for children to be kept away from Chinese classmates.

In Canada, a white man was filmed telling a Chinese-Canadian woman "you dropped your coronavirus" in the parking lot of a local mall. In Malaysia, a petition to "bar Chinese people from entering our beloved country" received almost 500,000 signatures in one week.

The incidents are part of what the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine has described as "misinformation" which it says is fuelling "racial profiling" where "deeply distressing assumptions are being made about 'Chinese' or 'Asian-looking' people."

'TYPHOID MARYS'

Disease has long been accompanied by suspicions of foreigners -- from Irish immigrants being targeted in the Typhoid Mary panic of 1900s America to Nepali peacekeepers being accused of bringing cholera to earthquake-struck Haiti in the last decade.

"It's a common phenomenon," said Rob Grenfell, director of health and bio-security for Australia's science and research agency CSIRO. "With outbreaks and epidemics along human history, we've always tried to vilify certain subsets of the population," he said, as he compared the behaviour to 1300s plague-ridden medieval Europe, where foreigners and religious groups were often blamed.

In a commentary for the British Medical Journal, doctor Abraar Karan warned this behaviour could discourage people with symptoms from coming forward. Claire Hooker, a health lecturer at the University of Sydney, said the responses from governments may have compounded prejudice.

The World Health Organization has warned against "measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade", but this has not stopped scores of countries from introducing travel bans. The tiny Pacific nation of Micronesia has banned its citizens from visiting mainland China altogether.

"Travel bans respond largely to people's fears," said Hooker, and while sometimes warranted, they often "have the effect of cementing an association between Chinese people and scary viruses".

While Australia's conservative government has banished its citizens returning from Wuhan, to a remote island for quarantine.

According to Hooker, studies in Toronto on the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS -- another global coronavirus outbreak in 2002 -- showed the impact of xenophobic sentiment often lasted much longer than the public health scare.

"While there may be a cessation of direct forms of racism as news about the disease dies down, it takes quite a bit of time for economic recovery and people continue to feel unsafe," she said.
Anthony Sampieri, 55, punched and raped a seven-year-old girl for 40 minutes

A notorious child rapist who punched and bound his young victim in a Sydney dance studio bathroom has blamed his drug addiction for his brutal crimes.

Anthony Sampieri, 55, appeared in Sydney's Downing Centre District Court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to the brutal rape of a seven-year-old girl in a dance studio public toilet in November 2018.

Sampieri - dubbed the 'monster of Kogarah' - was heckled by members of the public as he entered the packed court room.

'There he is, the little piece of s**t,' one person said.

Sampieri then took the stand, where told the court he was 'so sorry' for what he did.

The notorious child rapist tormented her for 40 minutes in a Sydney dance studio bathroom

'I've had a while to think about this...I feel really, really bad for what I've done,' he said.

'Using crystal meth, I believe that led me to what I did. I'm sorry I let you down by using crystal meth.'

The court was told Sampieri would use ice in public toilets and masturbate as he did not want to do it at his mother's home, news.com.au reported.

He had notes around his house saying 'don't watch hardcore pornography' and 'don't do drugs', the court was told.

He said ice use and deviant behaviour went 'hand-in-hand'.

Court documents state the girl had just finished her jazz ballet class when she was attacked by Sampieri.

The girl had been waiting with her mother in the carpark for her sister's class to finish when she returned to the hall to use the bathroom.

As she entered the female bathroom she was confronted by Sampieri, who had been in the bathroom watching porn for the past hour.

He grabbed her and pushed her into a cubicle but she resisted.

He then punched the seven-year-old in the face before locking the door.

Sampieri threatened her with a knife, tied a cord around her neck and dragged her to the male toilets.

'She felt like she could not breathe,' agreed facts state.

Maintaining a grip of the cord, he then subjected her to sexual acts before stuffing toilet paper into her mouth, binding her hands and leaving the bathroom.

Sampieri admitted the rape and seven other offences during the attack

Diesel mechanic Nick Gilio was with the girl's mother when they noticed someone standing in a cubicle in men's toilet during their frantic search.

Sampieri walked out of the bathroom and was asked if he'd seen the girl.

After telling them he hadn't, the girl's mother went into the bathroom to investigate. She was then followed by both men.

Her horrified screams echoed through the building as she was reunited with her daughter.

Mr Gilio grabbed Sampieri, slamming his head into the wall.

After grappling with Sampieri, Mr Gilio suffered large cuts but put the rapist in a headlock before dentist Jeffrey Stack ran in and knocked out Sampieri.

Dance teacher and local dentist, Jeffrey Stack rushed to the bathroom after hearing the screams.

He found Sampieri attempting to free himself from the headlock by biting Mr Gilio.

Mr Stack then punched Sampieri hard in the face, knocking him out.

Hero diesel mechanic Nicola Gilio found the girl and fought Sampieri in the bathroom, suffering several cuts in the melee

Mr Gilio told the District Court in November he still had flashbacks of the attack and had become pessimistic about the world due to Sampieri's actions.

The rapist later told police he'd been 'so high' before the attack as a result of using methamphetamine earlier that day.

Police later uncovered the calls he'd been making to women from August 2018.

A chaplain, a 71-year-old community choir treasurer, an 18-year-old ice creamery worker and 20 real estate agents were among the 91 victims of Sampieri's sexually explicit cold-calls.

Sampieri pleaded guilty to 10 charges related to the attack including three charges of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, which each carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

He also pleaded guilty to seven charges related to sexually explicit and harassing phone calls he made to women in the months before the dance studio attack.

Sampieri was due to be sentenced in December last year, but it was pushed back after he was diagnosed with cancer.

He told the court on Friday he does not believe his advanced liver cancer can be cured.
Michele Krzewinski (pictured) allegedly stole more than $50,000 from Long John Silver's

A Pennsylvania woman is accused of stealing more than $50,000 from Long John Silver's by using her managerial position to put her prison boyfriend on payroll.

Michele Krzewinski, of Siglo, was arrested by the Butler Township Police after they conducted an investigation into the 48-year-old.

Long John Silver's tipped off authorities after discovering an unidentified man had been added to the payroll despite never working at a chain restaurant.

Detective Max Wittlinger said Krzewinski used her position to secretly collect money and send it to different locations for her lover.

'She was in a position where she could hire and fire employees for Long John Silver's,' Whittlinger said.

'She was in charge of about 10 stores. She met this guy in state prison and decided she was going to put him on as an employee.'

It's unclear how long Krzewinski was collecting the fraudulent paychecks, how long the couple has been dating or why the scheme was created in the first place.

Detective Max Wittlinger: '[Krzewinski] was in charge of about 10 stores. She met this guy in state prison and decided she was going to put him on as an employee

Krzewinski was arrested after employees at Long John Silver's noticed an unknown man listed in the payroll list

'Love makes you do some crazy things, I guess,' Whittlinger said.

Authorities tracked down Krzewinski's boyfriend to the Philadelphia area and will bring him back to Butler County to face charges.

It was revealed that Krzewinski is being investigated for similar crimes in a nearby county.
The United States will offer up to USD 100 million to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday.

"This commitment -- along with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sector -- demonstrates strong US leadership in response to the outbreak," Pompeo said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Commuters are braving wet and windy weather as Australia's east coast is battered by storms which will bring a weekend of downpours, massive swells and severe flooding.

Sydney has been lashed with more than 100mm of heavy rain since Thursday evening and residents are bracing for another severe thunderstorm on Friday night.

At the Village Central Wyong shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast, over 100mm of severe rain caused the roof to collapse and fall onto the mall floor as shoppers walked by.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, centre manager Richard Jack said: 'It's been raining outside. Nobody was hurt but the area has been cordoned off and we're trading as usual.'

Train commuters in Sydney have been delayed by up to two hours due to the rain on services that pass through Lidcombe in the city's west.

The T1 Western, T2 Inner West & Leppington, T3 Bankstown and T7 Olympic all pass through the station and Sydney trains has now advised commuters to make 'alternative travel arrangements'.

Meanwhile, there was more commuter chaos on Boundary Street in Roseville on Sydney's Upper North Shore as flooding brought peak-hour traffic to a standstill on Friday afternoon.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews were brought in to alleviate 150,000 litres of storm water that had flooded the street.

'If you see flooding, please do not attempt to drive, ride or walk through it,' Fire and Rescue NSW advised.

Five people have been rescued from floods across the state and 683 calls have been received by the NSW State Emergency Service, prompting them to issue a flood warning.

The wet weather will continue over the weekend as the NSW capital is expected to be hit with up to 400mm by Sunday evening, making it one of the wettest weekends in years.

At the Village Central Wyong shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast, over 100mm of severe rain caused the roof to collapse and fall onto the mall floor as shoppers walked by. Australia's east coast is being battered by a dangerous storm, which will bring a weekend of heavy rain, massive swells and severe flooding

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, centre manager Richard Jack said: 'It's been raining outside. Nobody was hurt but the area has been cordoned off and we're trading as usual.'

Umbrellas were a common sight in the Sydney CBD on Friday as workers braved heavy rain. Sydney has been lashed with more than 100mm of heavy rain since Thursday night as residents prepare for another severe thunderstorm on Friday night

City workers briskly walked through the rain on their way home. The wet weather will continue over the weekend as the NSW capital is expected to be hit with up to 400mm of rain by Sunday, making it one of the wettest weekends in years

There is commuter chaos on Boundary Street (pictured) in Roseville on Sydney's Upper North Shore as flooding brought peak-hour traffic to a standstill on Friday afternoon

Fire and Rescue NSW crews were brought in to alleviate 150,000 litres of storm water that had flooded the street in Roseberry. 'If you see flooding, please do not attempt to drive, ride or walk through it,' the service advised

Although the rain created some dangerous conditions, farmer in NSW's parched Liverpool Plains region rejoiced by splashing each other in the muddy water.

James Pursehouse, whose family has a farm south of Breeza, welcomed about 20 millimetres on Thursday and had their fingers crossed for more over the weekend.

He said there was 'definitely a bit of optimism in the community' and the rain had 'sparked everyone up' but it wasn't enough to make a significant difference.

'It's relief, and it looks green from the side of the road, but we are a long, long way from the drought breaking that's for sure,' he said on Friday.

'If we can get 100mm that's great, but we need hundreds and hundreds more after that.'

Mr Pursehouse, who has cattle and grows a variety of grains and cotton, said the rain they had received would nonetheless 'freshen up' their cotton and sorghum crops and help carry them through to harvest.

Jock Tudgey, who farms nearby, said the rain had been 'relieving' and gave hope but more was needed.

'It's greened everything up, but yeah, obviously more's gonna get us out of trouble, probably get a crop in, hopefully,' he told AAP.

Farmers James Pursehouse and Jock Tudgey rejoiced at the rain by splashing each other in the muddy water on Jock's property in Newhaven, in the Liverpool Plains region of New South Wales

James (right), whose family has a farm south of Breeza, welcomed about 20 millimetres on Thursday and had their fingers crossed for more over the weekend. 'It's relief, and it looks green from the side of the road, but we are a long, long way from the drought breaking that's for sure,' he said on Friday

Jock splashed through a puddle on his dirt bike while riding through his property. He said the rain had been 'relieving' and gave hope but more was needed

One woman didn't let the wild weather stop her from getting her daily run in. Forecasters warned that the storm was set to linger until at least Monday and there will be 'intense rain bursts' expected throughout the weekend

Forecasters warned that the storm was set to linger until at least Monday and there will be 'intense rain bursts' expected throughout the weekend.

Torrential downpours wreaked havoc in Byron Bay on Thursday night - flooding streets and submerging cars.

Flood warnings have already been issued for Sydney, Wollongong, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Newcastle, Gosford and Nowra.

Motorists have been told to avoid risking their lives by driving through flood waters as they could be deadly.

Police warned drivers they could 'die within minutes' if they are not prepared.

'Serious flash flooding under extreme rainfall areas could cut main roads and flood some yards, streets, businesses and houses etc. We will issue and post stern warnings very quickly if we identify live risks,' the warning read.

The wild weather has been building in intensity as it made its way down the New South Wales coast this week, with parts of the state seeing their heaviest downpour on Friday in over a year.

Sydney was drenched by 79mm of rain on Thursday night, while Byron Bay was hammered with 281mm and forecasters have warned that heavy rain is on the way.

One Sydney woman had an umbrella to protect her from the rain and a facemask to protect her from coronavirus

European tourists were expecting sunshine from Sydney but were disappointed to find that it was just as wet as back home

A backpacker is seen wading through the deluge after a record breaking 281mm of rain fell in Byron Bay on Thursday night

Keen surfers headed out to make the most of the large swells at Bryon Bay on Friday after heavy rain lashed the coast town

Shopkeepers began the clean up on Friday afternoon after a severe storm wreaked havoc in Bryon Bay

'Drive slower in rain and don't drive into flood waters - or you could die within minutes.'

Bureau of Meteorology NSW manager Jane Golding said the coastal trough near the northern and central New South Wales coast was expected to deepen and gradually shift southwards over the next few days.

As the system moves, it will likely bring increased rainfall, dangerous wind and wild surf conditions along the central and southern parts of the coast and adjacent ranges.

She said there was a chance of an East Coast Low developing, which are a dangerous weather system that develops rapidly.

Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged after 107mm of rain fell in the area in the past 24 hours

A severe weather warning is in place across New South Wales. Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged

Byron Bay residents were hammered overnight with a powerful downpour (Pictured: A submerged in Byron Bay)

'Awful events happened from East Coast Lows,' Ms Golding said. The pressure system has washed away bridges and swept away cars in previous years.

Police and SES have also urged residents to avoid beaches as king tides are also expected.

Rock fishers have been told to avoid coastal rock platforms exposed to the ocean and seek a safe location that is sheltered from the surf.

Boaters planning to cross shallow water and ocean bars should consider changing or delaying their voyage, BOM said.

Friday morning was grim in Sydney, commuters were seen hiding under their umbrellas as they made their way into their offices

A keen swimmer walks back from the beach holding an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney, on Friday morning

While the deluge of wet weather has helped fire-ravaged communities, with one third of blazes in NSW and the ACT being put out by the rain, concern has been raised about slips happening due to the decrease in vegetation, which typically stabilises the slopes.

A severe weather warning has also been issued for much of the NSW coast, stretching 1000km from Brisbane down to Sydney.

In Brisbane, the torrential rain has been wreaking havoc with more than 50mm of rain hitting the city in 24 hours.

Sydneysiders woke to heavy rain on Friday morning, many were forced to make their morning commute with umbrellas in tow

Saturday will see the worst of the rain dumped on Australia's east coast (pictured) with downpours from Rockhampton all the way to Victoria's East Gippsland

Pedestrians hold umbrellas during wet weather in Sydney, Friday, February 7

Communities near Tin Can Bay, in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, recorded falls of more than 200mm - eight inches in the old measure - in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.

Farmers in drought-stricken areas in the north of NSW and the south of Queensland were celebrating the recent downpour.

National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson told The Australian the rain came 'at almost the exact right time of year'.

Commuters were also hit with delays as they made their way to work on Friday morning. Trains on the inner-west line were experiencing delays due to the wet weather. A fallen branch also caused delays on the Northshore line, near Artarmon

A pedestrian holds an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney on Friday morning

 HEAVY BURSTS OF RAINFALL WITH STORMS IN NORTHWEST #NSW. Severe #Thunderstorm Warning for Heavy Rainfall for parts of the Upper Western, Lower Western and Central West Slopes and Plains. Latest warnings at https://t.co/vrZOdcTJ9k. pic.twitter.com/PzDN8Mwg3V  Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) February 5, 2020

Forecasters predicted 200mm of rain would batter south Queensland and the NSW coast (pictured) on Saturday

'Farmers will be hoping that many millimetres of rain fall to replenish depleted soil moisture profiles and set up for the winter cropping season,' she said.

Grain Growers Ltd chief executive David McKeon said some farmers on properties in the Liverpool Plains in northern NSW and central Queensland and the Darling Downs planted sorghum thanks to the rain.

Panic has set in as residents in Western Australia as they prepare for the onslaught of Cyclone Damien.

Supermarket shelves were stripped bare of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and suppliers were racing to re-stock as the countdown begins for heavy rainfall and damaging winds on Saturday.

Weather forecasters believe it will be the most severe weather event on the Pilbara coast in six years, leading to widespread destruction for communities around Karratha, Port Hedland and Dampier.

The cyclone started forming off the coast of Western Australia on Wednesday afternoon, and was named by the Bureau of Meteorology after developing into a category one cyclone.

The cyclone was upgraded to a category four on Thursday night, the second-highest intensity, with wind gusts of up to 279kph expected.

Large puddles had filled the streets in central Sydney on Friday morning after heavy rain pummeled the city overnight

Where did Summer go? Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House were difficult to see through the stormy conditions on Friday morning

Western Australian residents are also bracing wild weather as a cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday

Supermarket shelves have been stripped as residents prepare to bunker down for the weekend

The rainfall was caused by a coastal trough near the northern New South Wales coast

All outdoor activities may have to be put on hold this weekend for as much of the country looks set to be drenched.

There is a high chance of showers on both Saturday and Sunday for Sydneysiders - with the storms lingering long into next week.

Melbourians have a few nice days of sunshine before the storms hit on Monday.

Brisbane has little chance of reprieve as the wet weather looks set to stay too. The chance of showers begins to dwindle later into the week, however, residents shouldn't pack away their wet weather gear just yet.

The south-east of Queensland (pictured) will also be hit by torrential downpours, particularly around the Gold Coast - with flood warnings now in place

Brisbane and the Gold Coast (pictured) will be drenched with rainfall for at least seven days

There's a 70 per cent chance of rain in Canberra over the weekend, with temperatures dropping to a cool 20C most days.

Thunderstorms are expected to smash Darwin over the weekend, however, heavy winds should begin to ease on Saturday afternoon.

Hobart seems to be missing the severe weather but it will miss out on sunshine too as low clouds linger over the city for most of the week.

Whereas Adelaide and Perth have a high chance of sunshine.
Some of the tents erected at Moi University as the college grapples with lecture halls shortage (file photo).

A special committee at Moi University has recommended the closure of two satellite campuses due to lack of students.

The 12-member committee, which was chaired by Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Finance) Prof Daniel Tarus, proposed that after closure of Kitale and Odera Akang'o in Siaya County.

The committee also recommended redeployment of permanent staff and the sacking of casual workers.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

Also to be closed are Kiptagich and Hospice teaching centres. The committee said that courses being offered at the centres be moved to either Annex, West Campus or College of Health Sciences. Coast Campus should offer three popular academic programmes.

According to the report, Odera Akang'o campus has no students and the director in charge of academic programmes has no role, same as Kitale Campus which has no students despite having good facilities including classrooms, laboratories, offices and hostels.

The Kitale campus has approximately 43 acres of land.

CHANGES

"The university should seek alternative uses of the facility or else dispose it to avoid deterioration and resultant reduction in value," reads the report.

Vice-Chancellor Isaac Kosgei said a meeting will be convened to make a decision on the fate of the two campuses as advised by the committee.

"We will meet to determine what will happen to the two campuses in line with the recommendations of the committee," said Prof Kosgei.

He urged the university community to support the changes. The report also raised concerns over poor enrolment at the school of law despite the institution having adequate facilities and teaching staff.

The law school is still undergoing accreditation by Council of Legal Education.

UNDERGO TRAINING

The report said student ratio in the school of law is 1:12 as opposed to the recommended of 1:18 as per Commission for University Education standards and guidelines 2014, 1:15 as per Legal Education Act.

"The academic staff in the school be advised to undergo training/further their studies as awaiting build-up of the student numbers due to current low work allocation. The school will be allowed to increase the number of departments as student enrolment increases," added the report.

Since the start on reforms in the university sector in 2016, a total of 24 satellite campuses have been closed across the country.
Love Island fans went wild on Twitter after hearing Callum Jones brand Shaughna Phillips 'childish' during Friday night's episode.

Many couldn't resist likening the moment to last year's series where firefighter Michael Griffiths slammed Amber Gill for being 'chaldish' (and multiple times) in meme-worthy scenes.

Fans flooded Twitter with funny jibes referencing Michael, moments after Callum said Shaughna was 'childish' for laughing at him after he tripped over.

'The spirit of Michael lives on': Love Island fans went wild on Twitter after hearing Callum Jones brand Shaughna Phillips 'childish' during Friday night's episode

Viewers watched on as Callum was encouraged by Molly to speak to ShaugHna after the dramatic re-coupling which saw him dump his ex for the blonde model.

As he made his way up the stairs in the villa, he stumbled over his footing and tripped, with Shaughna noticing and letting out a loud laugh to embarrass her ex.

Callum wasn't impressed and muttered that Shaughna was 'childish' under his breath, with fans honing in on the moment and liking it to the time it became Michael's catchphrase last year.

A slew of memes popped up on Twitter within minutes, with fans comparing the two Love Island stars.

They wrote: 'ANDDDDD just like that Callum is in the CHALDISH crew .. Michael is waiting on the outside for you.

Deja vu: Many couldn't resist likening the moment to last year's series where Michael Griffiths slammed Amber Gill for being 'chaldish' (and multiple times) in meme-worthy scenes

Laugh out loud: Fans flooded Twitter with funny jibes referencing Michael, moments after Callum said Shaughna was 'childish' for laughing at him after he tripped over

Oh dear: Callum tripped as he headed to an awkward chat with his ex Shaughna

'Callum is the new Michael': Fans flooded Twitter with funny jibes referencing Michael, moments after Callum said Shaughna was 'childish' for laughing at him after he tripped over

'Spirit of Michael is smiling down on Callum as we speak.

'Callum saying chaldish to shaughna he has that Michael, Danny, Wes, josh, and Jordan energy... SEND HIS ASS HOME.

'Watching tonights #LoveIsland and omg Callum actually called Shaughna childish!!!! Literally Michael 2.0.

'Callum is the new Michael #loveisland.'

Callum has found himself being compared to Michael after ditching Shaugnha for Molly following Casa Amor, just like Michael brutally dumped Amber by choosing to couple up with Joanna Chimonides instead.

He and Amber were known for their explosive showdowns and when Joanna was eventually voted out of the Love Island villa by her fellow islanders, Michael stayed, only to then decide he still had feelings for Amber and try and win her back.

'The spirit of Michael lives on': A slew of memes popped up on Twitter within minutes, with fans comparing the two Love Island stars

Flashback: Michael brutally dumped Amber by choosing to couple up with Joanna Chimonides instead. - he and Amber were known for their explosive showdowns

She, however, chose to couple up with Greg O'Shea, who she went on to win the 2019 series with.

Over in South Africa, Callum had tried to clear the air with Shaughna after bringing back Molly, but she accused him of faking his relationship with her before Casa Amor and threatened to leave the series.

Trying to explain himself, Callum said: 'I'm not saying nothing with me and you weren't good, it was just certain things, like the way I felt about her in two or three days was telling me there's definitely something missing with you.'

'I wasn't in touch with my emotional side, I wasn't really affectionate with you... she does make me happy. I've got nothing against you.'

Shaughna then accused Callum of 'forcing' their relationship.

'I felt like you were forcing it because you thought I was safety, I think you would have known something was missing before you went in [Casa Amor],' she said.

Showdown: Callum told Shaugna he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable, while she accused him of 'forcing' their relationship

Heartbroken: Shaughna admitted to Paige that she doesn't think she be around Callum and Molly and is tempted to go home

'Don't insult me by trying to say you've done me a favour. How am I not going to feel uncomfortable? This wasn't just coupling up for me I genuinely did have feelings for you. It's just a bit s**t for me.'

Callum told her: 'I just want you to be happy,' which Shaughna quickly hit back with: 'I thought I was.'

Gutted that things hadn't worked out for her and Callum, Shaughna broke down in tears to the girls from the main villa and threatened to leave the show, as she doesn't want to stay and feel uncomfortable around her ex and Molly.

'I feel sick,' she said. 'I can't even explain it, all I keep thinking about is what the f*** am I going to do seeing them in bed together? I don't know how I'm going to be in the villa with them two.'

'I could leave now,' Shaughna said. 'I'm going to be in here and be uncomfortable when I could be at home.'

She then received a text sending her and Molly out of the villa to 'compare notes' about Callum, with both girls dreading the outing.

Shaughan said she thinks the conversation with Molly is going to be a 'f**king disaster', while Molly said: 'Sh*t the bed, I feel really nervous. I just don't want to see her upset. I've done enough hurting... I think I might need a nervous poo now.'

Fans will see how the girls' chat went down on Sunday night's episode of the show.

Love Island continues Sunday night at 9pm on ITV2.
Digital media have fundamentally changed the way we consume news. It is often assumed that the use of social networks and search engines has had a negative impact on the diversity of news that people access. This is often attributed to the algorithmic filtering used by these intermediaries, which only displays information that corresponds to the individual users' interests and preferences. However, a recent study undertaken by researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the University of Hohenheim, and GESIS - the Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences in Cologne contradicts this widespread conjecture. Based on an innovative analysis of the web browsing behavior of more than 5,000 German Internet users, the results show that the use of intermediaries such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, or portals like GMX actually results in more visits to news sites and a greater variety of news sites visited. This runs counter to what has been postulated to date.

"Anyone visiting Facebook or Google is much more likely to come into contact with news items. Therefore the use of these intermediaries is an important mechanism in the consumption of news on the Internet," said Dr. Frank Mangold of the University of Hohenheim. The research team attributes this to the concept of incidental exposure to news. In the case of traditional media such as television and newspapers, people often only see the news if they deliberately choose to do so. On intermediary platforms they can also come into contact with news by chance, if, for example, their contacts share news content with them or they happen upon interesting articles when checking their emails. According to the researchers, the study's findings could have significant political and social implications, as they disprove the notion of the formation of filter bubbles and echo chambers. "Previous debates have, in many respects, revolved around the fear that online media would lead to new social barriers," said Professor Michael Scharkow of Mainz University. "However, our findings show that social media and search engines in fact have great potential to break down existing barriers."

"From previous studies undertaken by the University of Oxford in particular, we know that although access to news often happens partly by chance, it is also partly down to conscious choice. Some users even visit sites like Facebook and Twitter in order to consume news content," added Dr. Johannes Breuer of GESIS. For their study, the researchers used a statistical model to calculate the estimated daily usage of news content in order to isolate the extent of incidental or unplanned contact with news items. "Regardless of whether a user usually consumed a little or a lot of online news, on days on which someone spent more time on Facebook, Twitter, or Google than usual, they also came into contact with more news as well as more news from different sources than usual," stated Dr. Sebastian Stier from GESIS in the light of the findings.

Last but not least, the researchers also point out that further studies and more detailed insights into the algorithms of intermediaries are necessary in order to understand more precisely how these intermediaries promote unintended, incidental news consumption.

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A plane is due to evacuate 24 critically ill Yemenis from the rebel-held capital on Friday, a World Heath Organization source said, as the UN seeks to consolidate a medical air bridge. A first "mercy flight" evacuated seven children from Sanaa on Monday for medical treatment in the Jordanian capital Amman and the United Nations is eager to build the necessary confidence between the warring parties to enable more. "A plane carrying 24 patients and their companions is scheduled to leave today from Sanaa to Amman," a World Health Organization source told AFP. A Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting in support of the beleaguered Yemeni government since 2015, has kept Sanaa airport closed to commercial flights since 2016. But in November, the coalition announced that it was prepared to allow medical evacuations from the airport as a confidence-building measure to support UN peace efforts. "This is the first of what we hope will be a number of flights in the medical air bridge," UN Resident Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande told AFP after Monday's flight. She said she hoped their would be more evacuations in the coming days, to Egypt as well as Jordan. The reopening of Sanaa airport is a key demand of the Huthi rebels and one of the issues being pursued by UN mediators as they seek to relaunch peace talks. The United Nations hopes to establish a medical air bridge between the rebel-held Yemeni capital and the outside world after the success of a first mercy flight on Monday Seven sick Yemeni children were flown to Jordan for treatment in Monday's first evacuation flight
A campaign to remove the secretary-general of the Commonwealth has descended into a race row.

The organisations bosses met on Thursday to discuss a report criticising Baroness Scotland over a 250,000 commission to a firm run by fellow Labour peer Lord Patel.

She was supported by envoys from Nigeria and Namibia, who reportedly said that predominantly white member countries did not want a black female leader.

A spokesman for Lord Patel, who served alongside Baroness Scotland in Gordon Browns government, claimed that the report was being used to stop the Commonwealths first black leader being re-elected.

A campaign to remove the secretary-general of the Commonwealth Baroness Scotland has descended into a race row

One diplomat said the allies of Baroness Scotland, who was born in Dominica, were playing the Meghan card  a reference to claims that criticism of the Duchess of Sussex is partly related to her colour.

Opponents of the secretary-general pointed out that previous Commonwealth chiefs have come from Guyana, Nigeria and India. And they said diplomats from South Africa and Ghana have questioned Lady Scotlands record. The 64-year-old peer, who has been dubbed Baroness Brazen and Baroness Shameless over her lavish spending, is fighting to be reappointed when her four-year term expires in April.

A majority of Commonwealth leaders have said they do not want to confirm a second term and instead she has been given a three-month extension until a summit in Rwanda in June.

Baroness Scotland has always denied any wrongdoing. In 2017 she said: Its unfair to refer to me as Baroness Brazen. Asked in the same interview whether she believed she was criticised because she was a successful black woman, she replied: That is for others to say. Ive always been really focused on my career, doing what I can and allowing other peoples sexism, racism and prejudice to be their problem and not mine.

Boris Johnson is said to be backing moves to persuade Amina Mohamed, a 58-year-old Kenyan politician, to challenge Baroness Scotland if she refuses to stand down. Miss Mohamed was born in Somalia and learned English by reading Sherlock Holmes novels as a child. She studied at Oxford, is a qualified lawyer and has worked for the World Trade Organisation and the UN environment programme.

Boris Johnson is said to be backing moves to persuade Amina Mohamed, a 58-year-old Kenyan politician, to challenge Baroness Scotland if she refuses to stand down

A diplomatic source said the UK, Australia and Canada led the criticism of Baroness Scotland at Thursdays crisis meeting of the Commonwealths governing body.

They pushed hard but there was resistance from Lady Scotlands allies in the Caribbean, the source said.

The meeting was going against her until the end, when Nigeria and Namibia rallied behind her after the race card was played. Another insider said: There is a clear wish for her to move on. It is hard for diplomats who work with her in London to criticise her to her face; what they say privately may be different.

And the leaders of those countries back home take a more hard-headed view. They know the big three (Britain, Australia and Canada) provide the funding for the projects they want.

New Zealand has already pulled the plug on its annual grant of nearly 2million to the secretariat because it has no confidence in Baroness Scotland. Australia is believed to be considering withholding 4million a year. Canada has refused to reinstate funds withdrawn in 2013.
Justice Sambre noted the CBI had hinted at the direct involvement of Indrani Mukerjea and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna in the murder.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Thursday granted bail to former media baron Peter Mukerjea in the 2012 Sheena Bora murder case, in which his former wife Indrani Mukerjea is the prime accused. Peter will have to pay Rs 2 lakhs as surety to the court, surrender his passport and also stay away from his son Rahul, daughter Vidhi and other witnesses in the case.

The high court, however, has stayed its order for six weeks as the CBI wants to file an appeal before the Supreme Court challenging grant of bail to Peter.

Justice Nitin Sambre, hearing the bail application by Peter, noted: Prima facie there was no evidence of his involvement in the crime. When the murder took place, at that time Peter was in London.

The court also took note of his jail term and his health condition while granting bail. The court said: He has undergone a bypass surgery recently and has already spent four years in jail. Except for the statement of the approver  Indranis former driver Shyamwar Rai  in the case, there is no reference to Peter Mukerjea in any evidence. There is no other evidence to show his involvement in the conspiracy, the court said.

Justice Sambre noted the CBI had hinted at the direct involvement of Indrani Mukerjea and her former husband Sanjeev Khanna in the murder. There is also no explanation given by the CBI on why Peter Mukerjea was implicated as an accused in the case six months after the arrest of Indrani and Khanna, the court said.

The court also refused to accept the prosecutions argument that Peter conspired to kill Sheena Bora as he was unhappy with the relationship between her and his son Rahul. This court has perused various emails exchanged between the applicant and Rahul Mukerjea. It is difficult to infer that there was any criminal intent on the part of Peter Mukerjea to indulge in the crime in question, Justice Sambre said.

The applicant was only trying to counsel his son, being a responsible father, the judge added.

According to the CBI, Peter, along with Indrani and Khanna, entered into a criminal conspiracy to kill Bora, her daughter from an earlier relationship. The killing came to light in 2015 when Rai, who helped them dispose of the body, was arrested in another case. Rai later turned approver in the murder case. Indrani and Khanna have been lodged in prison since their arrest in the case in April 2015.
Thieves snatch pair of $2,000 exotic birds from pet store originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Detectives are seeking the public's help in locating two exotic birds that were snatched from a pet store in Southern California last month.

Cleo, a citron-crested cockatoo, and Yoda, a Goffin's cockatoo, were stolen on the night of Jan. 25 from High Country Feed & Pets in Palmdale, about 65 miles north of Los Angeles, according to a bulletin from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Palmdale Station.

PHOTO: Cleo the cockatoo is seen in this undated handout photo. This image released by the Palmdale Sheriff's Station shows two exotic cockatoos, named Cleo and Yoda, that were stolen from High Country Feed & Pets in Palmdale, Calif., Jan. 25, 2020. (Palmdale Sheriff's Station)

Surveillance cameras captured the moment the thieves broke into the store hours after it had closed and took the feathered pair from their cages.

MORE: New gas station employee allegedly steals $17,000 on very first day of work

The parrots retail for about $2,000 each, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC.

PHOTO: This image released by the Palmdale Sheriff's Station shows two exotic cockatoos, named Cleo and Yoda, that were stolen from High Country Feed & Pets in Palmdale, Calif., after the store closed on Jan. 25, 2020. (Palmdale Sheriff's Station )

In a recent post on its Facebook page, the pet store announced that it's offering a cash reward to anyone who helps bring Cleo and Yoda back safely. There are concerns the birds may be injured.

MORE: 'World's most dangerous bird' kills 75-year-old man in Florida, officials say

ABC News has reached out to the store owner for comment.

PHOTO: Yoda the cockatoo is seen in this undated handout photo. This image released by the Palmdale Sheriff's Station shows two exotic cockatoos, named Cleo and Yoda, that were stolen from High Country Feed & Pets in Palmdale, Calif., Jan. 25, 2020. (Palmdale Sheriff's Station)

Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to contact Palmdale Sheriff's Station detectives at 661-272-2456.

People can also submit anonymous tips to crimestoppers.com or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS.
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Bill Barrs striking plan to counter Huawei

President Trump has made it very clear that he is worried about Huaweis leading role in 5G wireless technology. Now his attorney general, Bill Barr, has offered a radical solution: having the U.S. invest in the Chinese companys European counterparts.

The U.S. doesnt have a homegrown competitor to Huawei, Mr. Barr noted in a speech yesterday. The only viable rivals are Ericsson of Sweden and Nokia of Finland.

Our economic future is at stake, Mr. Barr said. The risk of losing the 5G struggle with China should vastly outweigh other considerations.

So he has an idea:

 Some propose that these concerns could be met by the United States aligning itself with Nokia and/or Ericsson through American ownership of a controlling stake, either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies.
The University of Ibadan has said it could not submit its audit report to the Auditor-General of the Federation since 2014 because the external auditor engaged to prepare the report became blind while on the job.

The bursar of the university, Michael Alatise, said this on Thursday in Abuja when he appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts.

But after the committee also found that the university paid theblind external auditor full retainership last year, it ordered a full investigation into the finances of the university.

Speaking on the discovery, Oluwole Oke, chairman of the committee, chided the universitys representative. That somebody went blind does not mean that the firm will go into extinction. It cant, Mr Oke said.

And, sincerely speaking, it is not palatable that from 2014 to date, the University of Ibadan does not have an account with the Auditor-General. No, you wont get money in the next budgetary allocation.

READ ALSO:

In defence, Mr Alatise said the tenure of the auditor in question expired in 2010. He said a new external auditor who the school employed had it rough because there were some static figures that needed to be cleared by the former auditor.

Actually, they (UI) are on their last account, which is 2015. We are about to engage another audit firm next week, the 13th of this month.

While ordering an investigation into the universitys finances, Mr Oke said in matters of auditing, the University of Ibadan ought to be dealing with an auditing firm and not an individual.

If you have an audited account signed and ratified in place, why did you need a blind man to take over from there? Besides, you are not dealing with him as a person, you are dealing with a firm. So, he has a partner, he has workers, Mr Oke said.

And for UI to engage such a firm. Let us conduct a KYC (know your customer). Let us know who the firm is. Let us investigate the firm. Let us know the partners and workers in that firm.
A record 102 migrants have tried to cross the dangerous English Channel while the UK braces itself for Storm Ciara.

Five inflatable boats carrying people claiming to be from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria were picked up by Border Force on Friday, the Home Office said.

The group - which included seven children - is believed to be the largest number of migrants ever to have attempted the illegal crossing.

Nine of the migrants managed to get to a beach in Kent where they were detained by police.

In the space of a few hours over a hundred people had been detained for crossing the expanse of water illegally / PA

Across the Channel, French authorities have also detained around 30 people.

It follows Thursday when 90 people were picked in the waters off of southern England.

Border Force has been working around the clock to intercept boats of migrants / PA

Britain is also bracing itself for winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain when Storm Ciara hits this weekend.

The English Channel is the worlds busiest shipping lane, with 500 to 600 ships passing through the narrow strait every day.

An ambulance greets people pulled off small boats in the English Channel / PA

On Friday, Border Force dealt with six incidents after being alerted to small boats that were headed towards the UK.

In the first incident, at around 1am, a Border Force vessel intercepted an inflatable boat which was carrying a group of 32 people  26 men and six women  who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

The 102 people braved the waters despite a storm being imminent / PA

At around 2.45am, a small boat was intercepted which was carrying a group of 13 people  12 men and one woman  who presented themselves as Iranian and Afghan nationals.

In the third incident, at around 3.55am, a Border Force vessel picked up a boat carrying a group of 15 people  14 men and one woman  who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

People thought to be migrants arrive in Dover / PA

At around 8am, Kent Police detained a group of nine people  eight men and one woman- at Sandgate Beach who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

In the fifth incident, at 10am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a boat with 10 men aboard who presented themselves as Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan and Iraqi nationals

Small boats used to carry migrants across the Channel are tied up at the Port of Dover in Kent / PA

In the sixth incident, at around 10.45am, a group of 23 people  16 men and seven women  were found on a boat who presented themselves as Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian nationals

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover & Deal said: It beggars belief that another flotilla of small boats got past the French again today.

These are serious security lapses and we need an urgent explanation from the French as to what they are doing to get a grip on this situation.
MORE than two months after a deadline elapsed, tens of thousands of companies and provident societies have still failed to comply with a legal requirement to ensure their details are on the new Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO).

The Companies Registration Office (CRO) said that as of the end of January, 21pc of companies here had still not registered, while 43pc of industrial and provident societies were also deficient in filing details. Failure to register can attract fines of up to 500,000.

The mandatory RBO was established under the EU's fourth money laundering directive, commonly known as MLD4.

The registers are being established across the trading bloc and contain beneficial ownership details of all companies and societies established in each state.

The deadline for filing details was November 22.

A failure to have beneficial ownership details filed with the RBO can see companies and societies hit with fines of 5,000 on summary conviction, and up to 500,000 on indictment.

Despite the threat of those penalties - which could hit small firms particularly hard - thousands of entities have still failed to register.

The CRO said that as of the end of January, 175,000 or 79pc of companies had registered details with the RBO, while 57pc (549) of industrial and provident societies had also registered.

That compares with 74pc of companies that had filed details by mid-December and 55pc of societies.

The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation said in December that each delinquent company would be examined on a case-by-case basis, with a "practical and proportionate approach".

It said in the first instance, the registrar would issue a letter reminding a company of its obligation to file.

But the Companies Registration Office has warned that delinquent companies face the risk of enforcement proceedings being taken against them.

"We will initially send a reminder letter, but this will be likely to extend to prosecution at some point in the future as we are legally required to ensure that the RBO is adequate, accurate and current," it has told stakeholders.
February 6, 2020 s

Release

DOD Statement - Flight Evacuations

In support of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense is prepared to receive two Department of State chartered evacuation flights from Wuhan, China currently scheduled to arrive on February 7th.

The initial flights have departed China for the United States with approximately 300 passengers on board. One of the aircraft will refuel at Travis Air Force Base and continue on to Omaha, Nebraska via Lackland Air Force Base. The other aircraft is en route to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar via Vancouver, Canada.

As previously announced, these individuals will be subject to a CDC managed 14-day quarantine.

DOD will work closely with our interagency partners and continue to provide support to the situation as requested.

https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Releases/Release/Article/2077192/

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The Jharkhand Minister for School Education and Literacy, Jagarnath Mahto was in for a shock when he was told by school children that Hemant Soren is the education minister of the state.

The students of class seven of the government school at Ramgarh, to whom he was speaking, had more for him in store.

When Mahto asked them who is the chief minister, they shot back: Amit Shah.

Soren is the chief minister of the tribal state, while Shah is the union home minister.

Mahto had visited the school at Koiya village in Gola block of Ramgarh district on Wednesday and the incident went viral on social media and was reported in online portals.

The head mistress of the school Kalawati Soni said on Thursday that the students were apparently unaware of Mahto as he had taken charge just about 10 days ago.

Soni said she was on leave when the minister visited the school and the students failed to give the correct answers.

The school has 90 students and four teachers, she added.

Ramgarh Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Singh told PTI that a probe has been ordered into the poor education skills of the government school.

He said that the district superintendent of education, Sushil Kumar would enquire into the incident and submit a report to the administration.

Mahato, who took oath as a minister on January 28 and got the portfolio the next day, has said that he will continue to make surprise visits to schools.
A new four-story hotel and two new restaurants are planned for a busy West Shore area right off of Interstate 81.

Florida-based developer Elysian Partners plans to resubmit plans to Hampden Township for the hotel and two restaurants on Mount Zion Road in Cumberland Technology Park near Technology Parkway and Wertzville Road. Kevin Brown, a partner with Elysian Partners said that the project previously received preliminary approval but due to a change in plans, the company is resubmitting plans for the project.

Plans for the project call for more than 100,000 square feet of space and more than 160 parking spaces.

There are no tenants yet for any of the three separate free-standing projects and because of that at this point there is not timeframe at the moment either, Brown said.

The planned hotel would be near a Holiday Inn Express & Suites that also sits at the front of Cumberland Technology Park.

Brown says that the area is the perfect place for a hotel not only because of regional tourism but because with UPMC Pinnacles West Shore Hospital there is now a lot of people coming to the area to provide services to the hospital as well as other area businesses and organizations, and that will only increase when Penn State Hershey opens its new hospital off of Wertzville Road as well. And of course Brown also points to the locations short distance to Interstate 81 as another good reason for a hotel in the area.

Interstate 81 carries a tremendous amount of travelers, he said.

Mount Zion Road in Hampden Township. (Daniel Urie, PennLive)

A Belco Community Credit Union branch is also planned for Mount Zion Road. Belco Community Credit Union will build a branch on a vacant lot at 4600 Mt. Zion Drive. Belco hopes to start building the 2,292-square-foot facility this spring and the opening is planned for the fall.

The area near Wertzville Road and Technology Parkway has expanded greatly over the last several years. Large facilities like UPMC Pinnacle West Shore, the Ortenzio Cancer Center, and the Giant and Weis grocery stores have been built over the last several years and Penn State Hershey is also planning a new hospital in the same area. And with the larger facilities have come a lot of smaller businesses to complement the larger facilities like Burger King, BB&T, Supercuts and Taco Bell.

Members 1st Federal Credit Union is also building a new 172,000-square-foot headquarters in the same shopping complex as Giant Food, which is expected to be built in 2021.

Cumberland Technology Park where the hotel is planned includes UPMC Pinnacles outpatient center, cancer center and its hospital as well as Holiday Inn Express & Suites, PennLive/The Patriot-News, Delta Development Group, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Hampden Township Public Works, Harmony at West Shore, Novitas and Hoover Rehabilitation Services. With the addition of the West Shore Hospital and Penn State Healths future hospital, Brown says he definitely could see more medical related office space in the future. And thats why his company is also planning to eventually submit plans for a 40,000-square-foot medical-related office building between Hoover Rehabilitation Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

In addition to the hotel and restaurant project and the office building project, Brown says that there is still about 60 acres of land that could still be developed in the Mechanicsburg-area office park.

--Business Buzz

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A mother who staged the kidnap of her own daughter has been spotted walking out on the street along with her paedophile fiance Paul Sanders.

Karen Matthews, 44, initially broke off her engagement to Paul Sanders after she discovered he had been jailed for abusing a vulnerable girl.

Matthews was jailed in January 2009 for eight years for the kidnap of her daughter Shannon Matthews. She was released from jail in April 2012.

Karen Matthews, pictured left, along with her paedophile boyfriend Paul Sanders, covered her face with a mask and pulled her hood tightly over heard to prevent people from recognising her. She was jailed in January 2009 for eight years for the kidnap of her daughter Shannon

Matthews, pictured in a town in the south of England, was wearing her engagement ring, that she had taken off last month following a furious row with her registered sex offender boyfriend

Matthews was planning to try and sell the photographs of her wedding to a glossy magazine

Karen Matthews, left, is planning to marry paedophile handyman Paul Sanders, right, who was jailed for abusing a vulnerable girl. The pair got engaged over Christmas although they split up briefly in January

Last month it emerged that Matthews was hoping to raise tens of thousands of pounds in cash by selling the rights to her wedding to Sanders.

However, her plan is unlikely to succeed as there are strict laws preventing convicted criminals from receiving cash from the media in order to benefit from their notoriety.

Matthews, who faked the kidnapping of her daughter Shannon, has shared details of her plan with friends.

Last month, the pair were spotted shopping and going to a fish and chip shop.

The pair have had a number of furious rows since their engagement was announced.

On one trip to the shops, Matthews was spotted without her 39.99 Princess Diana engagement ring.

Friends claimed Matthews bought the ring herself but was later reimbursed by Sanders.

Although, during the time they had split last month, Matthews had considered trying to sell her Cubic Zirconia cluster ring.

Saunders was jailed for five years in January 2010 for his abuse of a vulnerable young girl aged between 15 and 17 who said after his conviction at Oxford Crown Court: 'He makes me sick. He should die. I hate him'.

Saunders, targeted the 'vulnerable' girl and made indecent images of her, the court heard as he was jailed for five years placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

Matthews was branded the 'Britain's vilest mother' after she staged the kidnap of her daughter Shannon in 2008 in bid to cash in on the 50,000 reward.

The youngster was being held in a flat belonging to her then lover.

Matthews was jailed for eight years but was released after just four in 2012 - but was ordered to stay clear of her native Dewsbury.

Matthews, right, staged the kidnap of her daughter, Shannon, left, in order to cash in on a 50,000 reward for her safe return

Matthews and her ex-boyfriend's uncle Michael Donovan were jailed in 2008 for the plot to stage Shannon's kidnapping and claim the 50,000 reward for 'finding' her.

She made a series of tearful TV appeals for help in finding her daughter as West Yorkshire Police launched one of the force's largest ever searches.

Shannon was eventually found by detectives in Donovan's flat, around a mile from her home in Dewsbury, 24 days after she disappeared.

Prosecutors said the schoolgirl was drugged and probably kept captive on a leash during her incarceration.

Police described Matthews as 'pure evil' after she was found guilty of kidnap, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice.

Her then-boyfriend, Craig Meehan, was not involved in the kidnapping plot.

However, he was separately convicted of possessing 49 indecent images of children on a home computer.

She and Donovan were both sentenced to eight years in prison in January 2009 and released in 2012 after serving half their sentences.

Shannon was raised by a new family under a new identity and is now an adult.
Playground 2.0 | Photo: Sophia C./Yelp

Looking to satisfy your appetite for New American fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top spots serving that cuisine around Santa Ana, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

Winter is the top season of the year for consumer spending at restaurants across the Santa Ana area, according to data on local business transactions from Womply, a software provider that helps small businesses manage customers. The average amount spent per customer transaction at Santa Ana-area restaurants grew to $31 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. Playground 2.0

photo: celine l./yelp

First on the list is Playground 2.0, an eatery that describes itself as "a culinary theater" and hosts a series of pop-up concepts. Located at 220 E. Fourth St., Suite 104 in Lacy, it's the highest-rated New American restaurant in Santa Ana, boasting five stars out of 508 reviews on Yelp.

2. Crave Restaurant

Photo: tara m./Yelp

Downtown's Crave Restaurant, at 410 W. Fourth St., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the New American and breakfast/brunch spot four stars out of 1,327 reviews.

3. Congregation Ale House Chapters

photo: linda a./yelp

Last but not least is Congregation Ale House Chapters, a gastropub, brewery and New American spot that's also downtown. It's another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 108 Yelp reviews. Head over to 201 N. Broadway 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 seven young men were in possession of makeshift clubs, said police.

Police on the Greek island of Lesbos on Friday said they had arrested seven people on suspicion of planning attacks on migrants in the wake of anti-camp demonstrations this week.

The seven men, aged 17 to 24, were arrested on Thursday in possession of makeshift clubs and a metal rod, police said.

An investigation showed that the suspects had banded together to carry out illegal acts mainly against foreign migrants, the police said in a statement.

Two more minors are sought in connection with the case.

Overpopulation in migrant camps on Lesbos and other islands near Turkey has led to an outpouring of anger in recent days, with locals accusing asylum-seekers of stealing livestock and damaging agricultural property.





On Monday, hundreds of migrants on Lesbos staged a protest against tougher new asylum rules and camp conditions, demanding to be allowed to leave.

When some of the protesters neared the village of Moria  which is close to Greeces largest migrant camp  residents called on the police to deny them entry.

Tear gas was fired to keep the migrants from entering the island capital of Mytilene.

In the following days, according to news reports and social media accounts, local residents had formed vigilante patrols to intimidate migrants and NGO groups supporting them.

In 2019, Greece became the first port of entry for migrants and refugees entering Europe.

The government has struggled to manage the influx, keeping many in overcrowded camps on the Aegean Greek islands near the Turkish coast.

At Moria, where more than 19,000 people live in and outside a camp built for fewer than 3,000, many are housed in tents and makeshift shelters without access to power, heating, or hot water.

More than 36,000 asylum-seekers are currently crammed into camps on five islands, where the official capacity is for 6,200 people and in conditions repeatedly condemned by aid agencies.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, left, and Polish President Andrzej Duda speak at a meeting during the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the former Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oswiecim, Poland, Jan. 27, 2020.

JERUSALEM (JTA)-Israeli President Reuven Rivlin assailed Polish complicity in the murder of European Jews during the Holocaust during a visit to mark the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Speaking at a joint appearance Monday with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Krakow, Rivlin said that both Jews and Poles were victims during World War II. He then launched into a subtle rebuke of recent efforts to rewrite Poland's wartime history.

"Poland, the place where the Jewish people flourished for centuries, became its biggest cemetery," Rivlin said. "We remember that during the war, the Polish people fought with courage and strength against Nazi Germany. But we also remember that many Poles stood by and even assisted in the murder of Jews."

Rivlin's comment came amid an ongoing effort by some European countries to shift the narrative around their responsibility for Holocaust crimes, an effort that historians deride as a betrayal of the past but one that Israel-with some notable exceptions-has been reluctant to publicly oppose.

Poland has been engaged in a multi-year campaign to burnish its wartime record and shed the stigma of Holocaust collaboration, an attempt most prominently reflected in the 2018 passage of a controversial law making it a crime to accuse the country of responsibility for Nazi crimes.

Similar laws have been passed in Ukraine and Latvia, and Lithuanian lawmakers are currently considering one as well.

The Polish law led to a crisis in relations between Jerusalem and Warsaw that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to tamp down with a statement that avoided the pointed observations Rivlin made on Monday. In a 2018 statement issued jointly with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Netanyahu said that "structures of the Polish Underground State supervised by the Polish Government-in-Exile created a mechanism of systematic help and support to Jewish people."

Netanyahu's attempt to tone down the rhetoric was seen by many scholars as an acceptance of the Polish narrative. But Yad Vashem, Israel's usually apolitical Holocaust authority, issued an unprecedented statement criticizing his "grave errors and deceptions."

On Monday, Rivlin said that both Israel and Poland "must sanctify the purity of history, to leave the work of historical research to historians and experts from Israel, Poland and other countries who research the Holocaust, and let political leaders take responsibility for shaping the present and the future."

This is not the first time that Rivlin has spoken out against the perceived historical revisionism of a European ally. On a visit to the Jasenovac death camp in 2018, the president thanked his Croatian hosts for their efforts to take responsibility for their wartime legacy while gently chiding those who repress their past.

"Some believe especially today that the historical circumstances of World War II, the fact that they were under Nazi occupation, exempts them from any moral responsibility, personal and national, for the horrors that took place in their land," Rivlin said.

Addressing the Ukrainian parliament in 2016 during commemorations of the 75th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre, Rivlin took lawmakers to task for legislative efforts to whitewash the record of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, a far-right movement whose members collaborated with the Nazis and were complicit in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians during the war.

In a speech that elicited harsh criticism from ultranationalist lawmakers, Rivlin condemned the "sin of concealment and destruction of the [victims'] memory."

"We must not be partners in a second crime," Rivlin told lawmakers. "We must not play a part in the sin of forgetting or denial."

Shuli Davidovich, a senior foreign policy adviser to Rivlin, said the president believes history should be left to historians and cautioned that failing to keep those domains distinct harms efforts to combat rising anti-Semitism.

"This is very dangerous and can easily run against democratic values and might endanger the foundations of democracy around the world," Davidovich told JTA by phone from Berlin, where she is traveling with Rivlin.

Other than Rivlin, senior Israeli officials have been largely quiet in the face of resurgent European revisionism, a movement seen as driven by a desire to forge new national identities after decades of communist repression.

Netanyahu has said nothing about the bill under consideration in Lithuania saying that neither the country nor its leaders participated in the Holocaust. Some 95 percent of the 250,000 Jews in Lithuania were wiped out during the war, and historians say its leaders and citizens were enthusiastic participants.

"The president has always been absolute in his insistence that history is the realm of historians and must be told in its entirety and completely truthfully," Jason Pearlman, Rivlin's former media adviser, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "He has also been unwavering in his stand that one cannot be anti-Semitic and pro-Israel just as one cannot be anti-Zionist and not be anti-Semitic."

Efraim Zuroff, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Jerusalem office, said the difference between how Rivlin and Netanyahu have approached this issue can best be explained by the offices they hold.

"The role of a president is far less political, ostensibly, certainly in the international arena," Zuroff said. "And consequently [Rivlin] has more latitude to describe a very unpleasant reality than Netanyahu has."
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday gave his consent to the Annual Financial Statements and Supplementary Grants after the state government provided him with documents he had sought.

The state government will not be able to place the budget in the Assembly on February 10 without the governor's consent to the Annual Financial Statements and Supplementary Grants.

Dhankhar accorded his consent to it after Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha met him at the Raj Bhavan in the evening with supporting documents for it, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

The state finance department had on January 10 sent two notes to the governor for his approval on the Annual Financial Statements and Supplementary Grants without any supporting documents.

"Governor Dhankhar had objected to this procedure and a communication was sent to the Government on January 15 that without supporting documents it will not be constitutionally appropriate" to accord sanction, a Raj Bhavan statement said.

"There was no response to this communication for over three weeks and state Finance Minister Dr Amit Mitra, who called on the Governor a few days ago, pressed for the sanction without documentation. The same did not find favour with the Governor," it stated.

But on Friday, after taking note of the documents provided, Dhankhar gave his consent to the Annual Financial Statements and Supplementary Grants, the statement said.

Prior to his meeting with the chief secretary, Dhankhar interacted with the three principal auditor generals of the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:45:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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By Terri Fortein

CAPE TOWN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) - The 2020 Investing in African Mining Indaba ended here on Thursday, with a call from delegates to grow the mining industry in Africa.

At the world's largest mining investment conference, government officials and mining ministry leaders emphasized the need for reform, policy certainty and innovations to attract investment.

The conference also saw delegates trying to position their respective countries as favourable investment destinations.

In his speech, President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, tried to woo investors, pledging to carry out fiscal reforms, resolve legal and regulatory issues, improve infrastructure, introduce advanced technology and regulate the labor force.

He said Sierra Leone planed to strengthen public financial management systems and multilateral institutions to make the economy more resilient through diversification.

South African Minster of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe told the audience that his government would move to establish a new energy entity to reduce dependence on state-run electricity utility Eskom, which is blamed for constant rolling power blackouts in the country.

He said that allowing independent power producers to enter the market is essential to close the energy gap.

Mantashe also reaffirmed that his government is committed to working with investors to enhance both policy and regulatory certainty.

Delegates from about 40 countries showed continued interest in South Africa's mining industry as the country has created what the government has coined as an enabling regulatory and policy environment for investment in mining to take place.

The gazetting and implementation of the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by the South African government was seen as a critical step in its journey to ensuring security of energy supply for the industry and the country at large.

"The foundation for our economic growth is a solid mining and energy industrial complex, which will allow other sectors of the economy to thrive," Mantashe told reporters.

"We are therefore working hard to solidify that section of the economy,"he added.

South Africa remains an attractive destination for investment in mining, and the government will continue to work with the sector, stakeholders and social partners to ensure that it continues to make a positive contribution to the economy, the minister said.

In an effort to promote and improve intra-continental trade, Mantashe held bilateral meetings with several ministers from other countries on the sidelines of the conference.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga called on all stakeholders to respect the changes in the country's mining code, in apparent reference to ongoing efforts to nationalize mining resources, an issue which continues to be a dominant talking point across the African mining industry.

The conference, which began on Monday, brought together representatives from 94 countries and regions, including more than 38 ministers, under the theme "Optimising Growth and Investment in the Digitized Mining Economy."

The delegates were exploring how the mining industry can be supported to drive investment in a changing technological landscape.
Indigo Airlines received a lot of flak for banning Kunal Kamra for six months from its flight because he created disturbance by heckling TV journalist Arnab Goswami a few days ago.

Not only did it receive criticism from citizens who started trending #boycottIndigo on Twitter, even the flight pilot criticised the move which put into question whether, legally, Indigo could even ban Kamra for that long. The latest development in the whole controversy is that Kunal Karma has sued Indigo for Rs 25 lakh.

People did not just take to Twitter to show their displeasure with Indigos move to ban Kamra, apparently they have occupied the space inside.

According to a Patrika.com report some people started protesting the ban on Kunal Kamra by Indigo... inside the Indigo flight from Varanasi to Delhi. Pictures of some protesters holding up posters that say, 'We condemn Indigo's ban on Kunal Kamra #YouDivideWe Multiply', is are going viral on social media. The pictures and the viral videos convey that the protesters silently held the posters, registering their displeasure while other passengers read what was written on them with attention.

There is no update on how the protesters were dealt with by the crew members.

What Kunal Kamra did, is being considered gutsy as some, but what these protesters have done, by protesting in the very space of controversy, deserves equal attention.
WASHINGTON, D.C.  The U.S. government on Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules.

Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isnt covered by the flavor ban.

These disposable e-cigarettes are sold under brands like Puff Bar, Stig and Fogg in flavors such as pink lemonade, blueberry ice and tropical mango.

The Food and Drug Administrations crackdown narrowly targets reusable vaping devices like Juul, the blockbuster brand that helped trigger the teen vaping craze in the U.S. Under the new policy, only menthol and tobacco flavors are allowed for those devices.

Critics of the FDA policy fear teens will simply switch to the cheaper disposables, which are widely available at convenience stores and gas stations.

They are very accessible and seem to be the new buzzy product, said Dr. Karen Wilson, a tobacco researcher and pediatrician at Mount Sinais medical school in New York.

The FDA confirmed that the flavor restriction wont apply to self-contained, disposable products, but only to rechargeable ones that use pods or cartridges prefilled with a nicotine solution.

The agencys rationale: Reusable vaping devices are far and away the most popular with underage users, preferred by more than 60% of high schoolers who vape, according to survey data collected last year.

The FDAs top tobacco regulator said it can still go after any vaping product that appeals to teenagers.

If we see a product that is targeted to kids, we will take action, Mitch Zeller, who heads the agencys tobacco center, said in a statement.

Thursday was the deadline for makers of reusable e-cigarettes to stop selling fruity and candy flavors. Juul was already in compliance. It dropped its best selling mint and most other flavors before the ban was announced in early January and only sells tobacco and menthol.

The Oregon Health Authoritys lead expert on vaping said hes already heard from students and teachers that kids are switching to disposable vape products.

State health officer Dr. Dean Sidelinger said he became fully aware of the extent of the issue when two students at a community event in Tualatin said they had seen a huge increase in kids using Puff Bars.

These young people have an addiction to nicotine. So if their source of getting that nicotine" isnt available, Sidelinger said, theyre going to switch to another way of getting that drug.

At a congressional hearing Wednesday, the head of Fontem U.S., which makes blu vapes, was pressed to drop its vivid vanilla and cherry crush disposable e-cigarettes.

Fontem chief Antoine Blonde countered that its customers are adults, not children. Less than 3% of high school students who vape reported blu as their preferred brand, according to 2019 government data.

Were not aware of any issue caused by our disposable flavors, Blonde said.

Sales of disposable e-cigarettes and all other tobacco and vaping products are prohibited to teenagers under the governments new age limit, which went from 18 to 21 late last year.

High school student Philip Fuhrman says most of his New York classmates who vape have ditched Juul for disposables like Stig, a tiny e-cigarette sold in flavors like mighty mint and mango bomb.

Theyre easier to hide because theyre smaller and when youre done you can just throw it away, said the 16-year-old Fuhrman, who says he no longer vapes. Hes now an anti-vaping activist and his mother is one of the founders of a parents group opposed to youth vaping.

At $20 for a three-pack, Stig may not seem cheap. But Fuhrman and other teens say its a smaller investment than the $40 or $50 needed to buy a Juul device and a four-pack of pods. Furhman says teens will instead buy a pack of Stigs for the weekend and then just be done with it.

The makers of Stig, Puff Bar and Fogg disposables did not respond to requests for comment.

Analysts report that disposables are still just 5% of the nearly $15 billion global vaping market, according to the firm ECigIntelligence.

Researchers who study e-cigarette trash around high schools say they have noticed a shift in what teens are vaping. Jeremiah Mock, of the University of California, San Francisco, has been finding discarded Puff Bars in local school parking lots over the last three months.

Vape shop owners also say the market is changing.

Since the FDA announcement, distributors and manufacturers have ramped up their disposable offerings, according to Vapewerks owner Jeremy Gardner in Cumberland, Maryland.

How do disposables get a free pass when theyre essentially the same thing as a Juul or anything else that comes with a prefilled pod? he asked.

Gardner doesnt stock his most requested brand, Puff Bar, but sells a rival disposable. Most of his business comes from larger, tank-based vapes, which are more popular with adults and allow users to customize flavors and nicotine concentrations. Those products are exempt from government flavor restrictions.

E-cigarettes, which heat a nicotine solution into a vapor, are often promoted as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes but the FDA has not approved any vaping product to help smokers quit. The makers of all vaping products face a May deadline to submit applications for government health and safety review.

Mike Chang, owner of Master Piece Smoke Shop in New York City, says most of his customers who buy disposables switched from Juul after the company pulled its mint, mango and dessert flavors last fall. The company took that voluntary step under pressure from multiple federal investigations and lawsuits from state and local authorities.

The San Francisco companys retail sales have fallen 35% since their peak last July, driven by the loss of flavors, according to Wall Street research firm Piper Sandler. Juul does not sell disposable e-cigarettes.

In a government survey last year, more than 1 in 4 high school students reported using e-cigarettes in the prior month. The next federal study begins this spring.

Staff writer Fedor Zarkhin contributed to this report.

-- The Associated Press
A man who confessed to killing five relatives because he wanted more crack cocaine was found guilty of capital murder Tuesday.

Jurors deliberated 10 minutes before finding Abel Ochoa guilty of fatally shooting his wife, Cecilia, their two children, plus Cecilia Ochoa's father and one of her sisters.

The punishment phase for Abel Ochoa, 30, begins Wednesday. He faces either life in prison or death.

In a police confession shortly after he was apprehended, Abel Ochoa said he was high on crack when he shot his family as they visited at his home in southern Dallas Aug. 2.

"My body started wanting more crack," he said. "I knew if I asked my wife for more money, she wouldn't let me have it. I knew she'd argue with me about the money, just like we had in the past."

Abel Ochoa fled after the shootings and left a loaded gun behind. He later was caught at a nearby shopping center.

Defense attorneys suggested that perhaps an unknown foreign substance was mixed with the drugs Abel Ochoa took, affecting his behavior, The Dallas Morning News reported in its online edition.
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A veterinarian has discovered a 3,400-year-old Egyptian anchor adorned with images of the goddess Seshat and other hieroglyphics while swimming off the shores of Atilt, Israel.

The anchor, shaped like a trapezoid with round corners, has a large hole drilled near the top that can be tied off with a rope.

The artifact is said to have originated from a large decorated relief that came from a temple or royal precinct giving the marking chiseled into the stone.

Experts believe the slab of limestone has been encased in the sand until a recent storm brought it closer to the surface last month.

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A veterinarian has discovered a 3,400-year-old Egyptian anchor adorned with images of the goddess Seshat and other hieroglyphics while swimming off the shores of Atilt, Israel. The anchor, shaped like a trapezoid with round corners, has a large hole drilled near the top that can be tied off with a rope

Rafi Bahalul, the veterinarian who made the discovery, told HAARETZ: 'I saw it, kept on swimming for a few meters, then realized what I had seen and dived down to touch it.'

'It was like entering an Egyptian temple at the bottom of the Mediterranean.'

Archaeologists determined the anchor was used by a vessel during the Bronze Age and may have been lost in a shipwreck.

Although similar anchors have been uncovered in the area, this one is rare due to its unique inscriptions, which experts believe may have been taken from a wall inside of a temple or royal room.

However, the face of the goddess was noticeably chiseled away, which Ben-Dor Evian believes is because they were reusing something that was once sacred

Shirly Ben-Dor Evian, curator of Egyptian archaeology at the museum, explained that during this time, stone was a very precious commodity 'and it makes sense that every pebble would be recycled, no matter how important its original function was

Shirly Ben-Dor Evian, curator of Egyptian archaeology at the museum, explained that during this time, stone was a very precious commodity 'and it makes sense that every pebble would be recycled, no matter how important its original function was.'

However, this has opened up a new investigation into where the engraved stone originated from and what was its initial purpose.

What stands out the most on the limestone slab is the image of a woman writing on a table, which is the goddess Seshat, the ancient Egyptian deity of writing, Ben-Dor Evian explained.

Seshat did have temples erected especially for her, but has been seen etched in walls of other shrines ' taking note of the booty brought back from military campaigns or helping the king take measurements for the establishment of a new holy site', HAARETZ reported.

She is known as a 'divine scribe, librarian, record-keeper, engineer and Mistress of the house of books.'

Archaeologists determined the anchor was used by a vessel during the Bronze Age and may have been lost in a shipwreck. Although similar anchors have been uncovered in the area, this one is rare due to its unique inscriptions, which experts believe may have been taken from a wall inside of a temple or royal room

Ben-Dor Evian believes this slab may have been part of one of the royal reliefs that were set in temples across Egypt that may have been torn down and this part re-purposed as an anchor.

However, the face of the goddess was noticeably chiseled away, which Ben-Dor Evian believes is because they were reusing something that was once sacred.

'You cannot use the image of a goddess as an anchor, so you deface it and then it's no longer a goddess,' she explained.

Another theory may be that this was a time when a new pharaoh came into power and tried to erase the memory and works of their rival predecessors.
The problems with Sanders are obvious. The country is not nearly as left-wing as he is. It is easy to get seduced by the idea that he represents a new wave, that young people are more open to his ideas, that we are entering a new world in which far-left ideas once considered unthinkable are now part of mainstream conversation. That same argument was made by Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and his supporters in Britains elections this past December  and the party suffered its worst electoral defeat since 1935. Its not just in Britain. French Socialist Benoit Hamon pushed his party left and got only 6 percent of the vote in the 2017 presidential election. New York Times contributing columnist Anna Sauerbrey notes, Across Western European countries, social democratic parties have gone from an average of well over a third of the vote in the mid-90s to about a fifth in recent years.
Swedish English

January 1  December 31, 2019

Net asset value on December 31, 2019, was SEK 112.7 billion, or SEK 259 per share, an increase during 2019 of SEK 63 per share. Including reinvested dividend, net asset value increased by 35%. On February 6, 2020, net asset value was SEK 271 per share.

The total return for 2019 was 30% for the Class A shares as well as for the Class C shares, com-pared with 35% for the Stockholm Stock Exchanges total return index (SIXRX).

Earnings per share during 2019 were SEK 68.56.

During 2019 shares were acquired in Volvo, Class A for SEK 1.6 billion, in Sandvik for SEK 0.5 billion, in Skanska, Class B for SEK 0.4 billion, in Essity, Class B for SEK 0.3 billion, in SCA, Class B for SEK 0.2 billion and in Handelsbanken, Class A for SEK 0.2 billion. Furthermore, shares were divested in, Essity, Class A for SEK 0.3 billion and SCA, Class A for SEK 0.1 billion.

On May 15 the exchangeable bond in the ICA Gruppen share matured preceded by exchangeable holders calling for redemptions in 2019 worth SEK 4.1 billion. During the second quarter of 2019 the remaining shares in ICA Gruppen were sold.

The debt-equities ratio as per December 31, 2019, was 3%, a decrease during the year of 4 percentage points.

The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 6.00 per share (5.75).

Contact persons

Sverker Sivall, Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability Phone: +46-8-666 64 19

E-mail: ssl@industrivarden.se

Jan Ohman, CFO Phone: +46-8-666 64 45

E-mail: jon@industrivarden.se

This information is such that AB Industrivarden is re-quired to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability stated above, at 11:00 a.m. CET on February 7, 2020.

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The wooden folding furniture market expansion is happening rapidly in sync with the urbanization that is unfolding across the globe at an unprecedented speed. This has caused a significant space crunch as more people are now moving to cities for a better lifestyle. In Beijing, it is only 21 square meters per person. Not just in China, but all the leading cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Tokyo, New York are facing the same problem. Hence, saving space to enjoy better becomes important. Folding furniture sector understands better the idea of space economization and is driven by cost-effective measures which are gaining popularity. At the same time, industrial upheaval in developing countries is changing the consumption pattern of the end-users. These folding furniture are luring in more clients such as taking less space than the conventional ones and often are multi-purpose. The global folding furniture market is eyeing for a 5.8% CAGR during the forecast period (2017-2023), reveals Market Research Future (MRFR) in a detailed report.

The report in its discussion has covered major factors such as customer-centric outlook of the manufacturers and eco-friendly approaches. Manufacturers are aware of the problems related to space which is why they are developing multi-functional furniture that is inexpensive, durable, aesthetically pleasing, and lightweight. Their endeavor to increase their product portfolio can assist in the market expansion. In sync, the demand for eco-friendly methods is growing that is why multi-functional furniture has emerged as a new interior decoration rage. These furniture reduce the demand for raw materials and are designed for specific needs which prevent the tendency of unnecessary consumption. Hence, the growth of the folding furniture market is about to be healthy over the forecast period.

Segmentation:

For a better understanding of the overall folding furniture market, the report has been segmented by product and application.

Based on the product, the folding furniture market can be segmented into chairs, tables, sofas, beds, and other furniture.

Application-wise, the folding furniture market includes residential and non-residential. Residential segment is generating the maximum market share and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period as well.

Regional Analysis:

Geographically, the global folding furniture market can be segmented namely by four major regions of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), and Rest-of-the-World (RoW).

The APAC region dominated the market in 2016, with Europe and North America coming second and third respectively. The APAC market can also record the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. China, Japan, India, and Singapore are contributing substantially to the APAC region market growth. Europe is the second-largest market for folding furniture.

Europes future relies heavily on the increasing repair and rehabilitation activities of the already existing infrastructure and interiors. This can considerably take the regional market forward.

North American market is also substantially strong. With major market players operating from the region, this zone is experiencing robust growth at present. Among the others, South America is recording significant move forward. With Brazil and Argentina, emerging as strong economies, the region can enlist significant growth rate.

Competitive Landscape:

Notable players to impact the folding furniture market are Expand Furniture (Canada), IKEA Systems B.V. (Sweden), Meco Corporation (U.S), Resource Furniture (U.S.), La-Z-Boy Incorporated (U.S.), Murphy Bed (U.S.), Ashley Furniture Industries Inc. (U.S.), Flexfurn Ltd (Belgium), Gopak Ltd (U.K.), Nilkamal Limited (India)., Dorel Industries Inc. (Canada), Leggett & Platt, Inc. (U.S.), and others.

In 2018, Layer and Kvadrat collaborated to produce Shift. It is made from recycled pieces of Kvadrat solid textile board which can be assembled or disassembled for multiple purposes. Once done working with the piece, users can turn the piece into something else for further applications.

In 2018, Marcus Voraa launched a role out table that can be used for several purposes and mostly for dining. The table has a telescope like a stand on one end and a steel crank on the other to changes the length of the table from 1.5 meters to 4 meters.
NOTE: The images of the alleged shoplifters were blurred by the Advance based on store owners statements that not all of the people pictured have been found guilty in a court of law.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Shoplifters beware.

Store owners and managers across Staten Island have instituted a policy which they say has proven successful in deterring shoplifters, regained money for stolen items and eased the burden on police officers.

Surveillance images of people accused and/or found guilty of thievery have recently been spotted at the front entrances of at least four businesses, including a gas station in Bulls Head, a grocery store in Grasmere and the Staten Island Mall.

Some legal experts, however, contest the tactics violate citizens rights and put the accused at a disadvantage when typically they lack the financial means and time it takes to properly defend themselves in court.

When asked recently about a dozen or so photos at the Met Foods in Grasmere captioned THIEF," the store manager, who asked to be identified as Nick, said a lot of the people pictured had been arrested, so it serves as a "deterrent for other customers thinking of [stealing].

Surveillance photos of suspected shoplifters are plastered to the front entrance of a 7-Eleven in Bulls Head, which in the past has helped the store recover money for stolen items. (Staten Island Advance/Kyle Lawson)Staten Island Advance/Kyle Lawso

THE ACCUSED

At the intersection of Richmond Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Bulls Head, photos taped to the door of the 7-Eleven have in the past worked to embarrass customers, their family and friends into paying for stolen items in return for having the photos removed, according to a source with ties to the business.

A lawyer who shopped every day at the store was at one point caught slipping a $3 power bar into his coat pocket. Staff had suspected the man of making it a habit, and when he was caught, He paid for like 40 of them," the source said.

Items people have taken over the years include sunglasses, protein shakes and candy.

Police responded to the business on two occasions over the past 12 months for a report of larceny, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

When asked about the policy, shoppers and commuters passing through the commercial corridor on a recent afternoon expressed mixed feelings.

I think its fine that they have [photos] for themselves, so that they remember, This is the person who stole from us before,' said a 19-year-old man waiting for a bus. On the other hand, he said, if a person is falsely accused, it could be dangerous to a persons reputation.

ITS JUST A DESK APPEARANCE

At Met Foods in Castleton Corners, staff members have in the past subdued suspected shoplifters until police arrive, while owners have posted photos of suspects to ward off other potential thieves, said owner Bill Fani.

At the Grasmere location, about a dozen photos were taped to the front window recently.

A sign above the photos reads, We reserve the right to inspect all packages. Another reads: SHOPLIFTING is a MAJOR CRIME. Our Policy is to PROSECUTE.

Police said theyve responded twice to the Grasmere store and three times to the Castleton Corners location over the past 12 months.

Nick said he believes posting the photographs are more effective in deterring would-be shoplifters than the threat of police, because from his experience if someone is arrested, Its just a desk appearance [ticket] ... unless its grand larceny."

Police have not responded to a request for comment about whether the NYPD encourages or discourages store owners from posting the photos.

Once an arrest reaches court, legal experts on Staten Island say its common for the district attorneys office to accept a plea deal that eventually would remove the charges on the condition the person is banned from the store for a certain amount of time.

The Richmond County district attorneys office did not respond to a request for comment in regard to their methods of prosecuting suspects.

A VIOLATION OF RIGHTS?

At larger establishments across the country, such as department stores, the targeting of shoppers of color by private security and other employees has disproportionately affected both working and prominent African-American women, according to a statement by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

A federal jury in Kansas City awarded $1.2 million to a black woman falsely accused of shoplifting by a security guard at a Dillards Department Store in a 1997 case thats recognized by human rights activists as an example of shopping while black."

A private attorney on Staten Island who has defended clients accused of theft said the practice of posting the photos of anybody -- regardless of race -- in lieu of an arrest puts the business owner at risk of a lawsuit.

That being said, its low risk.

Everything is legal until you get caught, said attorney Lou Diamond. [Business owners] can get away with anything until [a suspect] pursues it in a court of law, but they dont have the financial means or time to do it.

Additionally, said Diamond, most defendants accused of shoplifting dont have a criminal past thats consequential in terms of a plea deal. So its easier for the defendant to plead guilty, stay out of trouble for a certain amount of time and have the charges erased.

A person who has a minor record, they just want to get it over with.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:28:14|Editor: Xiaoxia

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VIENTIANE, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Lao authorities are preparing to purchase and stock face masks to ensure a sufficient domestic supply and considering sending them to China to contribute to its fight against the novel coronavirus epidemic.

The Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday issued an announcement, under Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith's instruction, asking the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to work with the Ministry of Health to draw up a purchase plan, according to a report from local daily Vientiane Times' Friday edition.

This will include purchases from local and overseas distributors, according to the announcement.

At-risk groups and officials, such as those devoted to the prevention work of the coronavirus, will be given face masks for free, a health ministry official told the daily.

Laos is also considering sending face masks to China according to its capacity, as Beijing is making an effort to ensure a sufficient supply of medical resources, said the report.

The Lao government warned of increasing prices in its country of face masks, gloves, hand-washing liquid, medicines and medical equipment used for protection against the virus, saying these behaviors will face harsh punishment, including criminal and civil charges.

The Lao Ministry of Industry and Commerce was told to define the sale price of the products in question and to publicize the prices widely.

The prime minister praised the Chinese government for taking "timely and effective" measures to control the outbreak of the virus. He applauded the good cooperation and information sharing the Chinese government has done, which has enabled Laos and countries across the globe to put in place preventive measures to contain the virus.

The Lao government and people expressed heartfelt thanks to China for extending assistance and care to the 242 Lao nationals in China, especially the 37 students in Wuhan.
The CEO and founder of an organic fertilizer company says his life has been ruined after he was fired when he was caught on camera using a racial slur against an African-American Uber driver.

AgroPlasma Inc. founder Hans Berglund was caught on video cursing at 25-year-old Uber driver Randy Clarke in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale.

Clarke, who is also a student at Arizona State University, asked Berglund to sit in the back seat and offered to refund him if he didn't want to sit there, he said.

Hans Berglund,72, left, was fired from the company he founded after he caught on camera using racial slurs at his Uber driver, 25-year-old Randy Clarke

Clarke's Uber profile states clearly that passengers travelling on their own or as a couple need to sit in the back seat

But a camera installed above the dashboard suddenly captured Berglund's racist outburst which ended up with him using the n-word against the driver.

'It's so blown out of proportion, and it's ruined my life. It's ruined my company. It ruins everything about my situation right now,' Berglund said on Thursday.

Berglund, a Swedish immigrant from Scottsdale, said: 'I deeply regret and apologize for the hurtful and derogatory language I used during the altercation with Mr Clarke. I firmly believe that there is no excuse for the use of racial slurs under any circumstance, so I will not offer any.

'It is my sincere hope that Mr Clarke hears and accepts my apology and believes me when I say it is honest and heartfelt,' Berglund added.

Clarke branded the online statement insincere and says he wants to meet him in person. He said he met with his lawyer on Thursday to discuss the incident.

Clarke said: 'I do not accept Mr Berglund's digital apology. It is wrapped in insincerity and so is AgroPlasma's statement on his alleged firing.

'Suspension and firing are two different things. I also am consulting with my lawyer, David Dow, to determine my rights and next steps. We want justice and we want reconciliation. That begins with transparency and Mr Berglund and his company sitting down to meet us.'

Clarke told the Washington Post he would like a sit-down meeting with the man to ensure Berglund walks away with a deeper understanding of the racial slur.

Berglund, pictured, has apologized  but Clarke branded the online statement 'insincere' and would like to sit down with him face-to-face

'I don't want a lawyer apology,' Clarke said. 'I want a genuine, heartfelt apology so I can actually forgive him and give him a big hug.'

Clarke says that he has lost sleep and been physically sick after seeing online reactions to the incident. He now says that he can't even walk outside without being recognized.

He posted his anguish to Twitter on Thursday: 'I am the Uber Driver from Phoenix who had the verbal altercation with Hans Berglund, formerly of Agroplasma. Im coming out on social media to thank the general public their support.

'I also ask that general public stop posting the mans address on social media, thats not cool. This man has a family and as a man with a child myself I wouldnt want to feel that my familys life is threatened.

'I havent slept in days, I barely ate and I havent driven as much as I wanted to since the Incident. School has been difficult as well as my social life.'

On Thursday, Clarke took to Twitter to tell how life has been difficult for him in the days since the video went viral. He has also asked people to be more considerate to Berglund too

Berglund was fired from the company he founded and offered an apology. He has said that he would like a sit-down meeting with Clarke, something which may happen in the days ahead

'I wasn't pleased with how he played the victim,' Clarke said. 'I do pray for him and his family, but you just don't go on TV and put up a pity party when you did something wrong.'

During the video which was captured on Clarkes in-car camera, Berglund can be seen cursing at Clarke.

Clarke said he assumed Berglund read the statement on his driver profile telling passengers about his policy that states the 'front seat is reserved to parties of three or more.'

Clarke started the policy after he was assaulted during a ride in 2018, he told KNXV-TV.

Berglund opened the front door to the car but was told to stay in the back seat. It led to him losing his temper with Clarke and spewing racist insults at the 25-year-old driver

'Mind sitting in the back,' Clarke is heard asking Berglund, who then replies: 'No, I don't like to sit there.'

'I don't like it when people sit in the front,' said Clarke, who doesn't allow passengers to sit in the front.

At this point, Berglund, 72, gets angry and asks: 'Are you f**king serious with me?'

Clarke is heard telling the man that he doesn't mind cancelling and refunding him.

The pair eventually agreed to a refund, but Berglund hops in the back seat anyway.

'I'm here, sitting in the back,' Berglund says.

'Sir, please leave my vehicle,' Clarke responded. 'Is it because I'm white? And you're a f**kin' n***er? You are a f**king idiot,' Berglund shouts.

Clarke says his car has several signs that state the front seat is only for when the back is full

There are signs posted both inside and outsider the car asking passengers to sit in the rear

Clarke even told Berglund that he had two dash cams in his vehicle and that their interaction was being recorded.

Agroplasma said that Jeffrey Ziehmer, its former general manager, would replace Berglund as interim CEO 'until further notice'.

A statement from Agroplasma said the incident does not reflect its values and ethics. 'Our relationships with our employees, customers and the community are the cornerstones of our success, and we are doing everything in our power to rebuild their trust and repair the harm that has resulted from this incident.'

Clarke said the incident left him in 'shock' and he immediately filed a complaint with Uber,

Clarke said the incident left him in 'shock' and he immediately filed a complaint with Uber, which has since temporarily suspended the man's account until their investigation is complete

Clarke and civil-rights activist the Rev. Jarrett Maupin held a news conference outside Tempe City Hall, near one of ASU's Phoenix-area campuses, on Wednesday to 'demand justice.'

'It's shocking when you see anyone use that word or engage in that kind of racism in any circumstance,' Maupin said. 'There's really no excuse for why Hans Berglund engaged in the activity and used the language that he did with Mr. Clark.'

Clarke, Maupin and their lawyer are now asking the state attorney general's office and city of Tempe, where the company is located, to investigate possible civil and human rights violations.

Grant Klinzman, a spokesman for Uber, said in a statement Thursday that 'discrimination has no place on the Uber app or anywhere.

'Whats been described is a clear violation of our community guidelines and we launched an investigation as soon as we learned of it,' Klinzman added.

Clarke said Uber reached out to him Monday to tell him that Berglund's account was temporarily placed on hold during the investigation.

'Discrimination has no place on the Uber app or anywhere. What's been described is a clear violation of our Community Guidelines and we launched an investigation as soon as we learned of it,' Uber said in a statement to ABC.
BAD AXE  Former priest and Port Austin resident Lawrence Ventline, 70, was sentenced to 10 days in jail for exposing himself in an area bakery last year.

Ventline had been charged following a complaint by the business and was scheduled for trial Jan. 28. However, he pleaded no contest to the indecent exposure charge before his trial started.

Prior to sentencing, Huron County Prosecutor Timothy Rutkowski addressed the court and stated that an investigation conducted by the Bad Axe Police Department revealed that Ventline walked around the bakery with his genitals outside his sweatpants for approximately 7-10 minutes.

During a rebuttal by Ventlines attorney, it was argued that Ventline has an enlarged prostrate which caused him to urinate himself, which led to the exposure. Ventlines attorney also said his client has devoted his life to helping others and he believed community service was fair.

Ventline, a former Catholic priest with the Archdiocese of Detroit, was temporarily removed from the ministry in 2016.

Prior to that restriction, he had not been assigned to full-time parish ministry for nearly 20 years, having last served in a full-time role from 1996-97 as an administrator at the St. Mark Parish in Harsens Island.

Ventline was previously accused of sexually assaulting a young boy, though he was never criminally charged or found guilty of sexual assault. At the time the attorney generals office was seeking charges against five catholic priests. The attorney general had dropped the charges against Ventline due to the statute of limitations.

"The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs revoked Ventlines counseling license in September and fined him $5,000.

Rutkowski argued that Ventline should receive 180 days in jail, because in his opinion the exposure was intentional and Ventline had a previous case involving theft from a business, which was forgiven last year because he had no record.

Ventline was sentenced to one year personal-reporting probation, 10 days in jail and 12 hours community service. He was also ordered to pay a total $855 in fines and costs. While on probation, Ventline must participate in mental health evaluations with Huron Behavioral Mental Health.

Ventline has to report to the Huron County Jail Feb. 22, and he may arrange work program.

After sentencing Ventline to jail, Chief Judge David B. Herrington said he reviewed the investigative reports and he felt the sentence was fair, based on previous sentences delivered by the court on cases of similar nature.

I did read the police report and there is nothing in the report that led me to believe that it was unintentional, Herrington said. I am concluding by the information and discovery material that it is a reasonable inference that Mr. Ventline knew he was exposed.
Donald Trump, fresh off his acquittal by Senate Republicans, could be poised to shake up his West Wing staff as he gears up for re-election.

Multiple media outlets reported Friday morning that with impeachment behind him, the president is ready to cast aside several aides  including Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney  but the White House is pushing back.

Also in the line of sight is Alexander Vindman, an active-duty Army officer who currently is the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council. Mr Vindman raised concerns about Mr Trump's 25 July call with Ukraine's president that was the basis of House Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

Mr Trump and Mr Mulvaney have never gelled after the former conservative GOP congressman took over for John Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general who clashed too often with the president.

Mr Trump, while departing the White House for an event in Charlotte, told reporters those reports are "false," adding he has a strong relationship with Mr Mulvaney. He also signalled he is leaving it to National Security Council leaders to decide whether Alexander Vindman, who offered damning testimony about the 25 July Ukraine call, will remain in his NSC post. "They'll make that decision," Mr Trump said. "You'll be hearing."

GOP sources for months have pointed to Congressman Mark Meadows as a potential Mulvaney replacement. He has become a close ally of Mr Trump, and one of his leading defenders on Capitol Hill and -- importantly for the president, on cable television.

During Mr Trump's post-acquittal "celebration" event on Thursday in the East Room of the White House, the president lavished praise on the North Carolina lawmaker, who is not seeking another term.

Mr Trump mused Mr Meadows, if he did run again, would "only win by 40 points."

"He is a tremendously talented man not just as a politician, [but] as a human being He is incredible, and during these horrible times, I mean the way he worked and [Congressman] Jim [Jordan] and all of you guys, the way they worked was so, it was like their life was at stake. So many," the president said of Mr Meadows and other House Republicans who defended him during the impeachment saga.

Though he was seated in the front row at the same event, the president did not mention his acting chief of staff, who was heavily involved in the Ukraine affair, according to the testimony of multiple current and former administration officials.

Early reports about a staff shake-up quickly went from changes were coming to changes are possible -- at some point.

The White House tried to knock down any suggestions that Mr Trump is about to overhaul his West Wing again. Former West Wing officials say senior staff changes only add to his chaotic governing style.

"There are no personnel announcements at this time," White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham told The Independent, before describing the reports as erroneous.

"I find it disappointing but not surprising that at the end of a successful week for this country and the president," she said, "the media has decided to focus on palace intrigue and rumors."
The Supreme Court on Friday postponed hearing plea on the removal of Shaheen Bagh protesters and reopening of the Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj stretch, citing the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections 2020.

In view to the upcoming Delhi assembly elections 2020, the Supreme Court on Friday deferred hearing plea against the CAA protesters sitting at the Shaheen Bagh. The bench comprised justices SK Kaul and KM Joseph. The petition has been filed by a Delhi BJP MLA seeking removal of the protesters and reopening of the road between Shaheen Bagh-Kalindi Kunj, which has been closed for over 50 days. The apex court will now hear the plea on February 10, said reports.

Advocate Shashank Deo today asked the court to pass appropriate directions to the authorities as commuters and locals have been facing problems due to the people sitting on road at Shaheen Bagh, to which, the Supreme Court judges said they understand that there is a problem but they dont want anything to influence the forthcoming Delhi Assembly election 2020.

Justice SK Kaul humorously said the cat is out of the bag, that is why the case has been adjourned. To resolve the matter, the court needs time and will take up on Monday, said the bench comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said.

The 70-member Delhi assembly will go to polls on February 8, 2020.

The Supreme Court also asked petitioner advocates to be prepared for argument on why the matter should not be sent back to the Delhi High Court.

Also read: Coronavirus in India: How to make hand sanitizers at home?

Also read: Coronavirus in India: KKR co-owner Shah Rukh Khan says players, spectators health first

Earlier, the anti-CAA protesters demanded more security at the protest site in wake of 3 firing incidents. Off 3, 2 firing incidents happened near the Jamia Millia Islamia University and 1 took place at the Shaheen Bagh area. To avoid any such incidents in future, the protesters requested the court to order to beef up the security.

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McDonald's is now offering children's books with its popular Happy Meals.

The fast food chain made the announcement on Thursday and said the book option would be permanent addition Australia wide.

A series of 12 books written by Cressida Cowell, author of How To Train Your Dragon, will be released throughout the year with the first two books already available.

McDonald's announced it would be offering books for kids in its popular Happy Meals

The Treetop Twins Wilderness Adventures series is written in cooperation with the Australian Federation of SPELD Associations (AUSPELD) who assist children and adults learning how to read.

Each book will contain tips from AUSPELD for parents to teach their kids how to read.

AUSPELD CEO Mandy Nayton said they were excited about the new partnership with McDonald's that will help parents share the love of reading.

'We know that reading for fun assists in the development of important foundation skills in literacy and the role that parents can play in this is significant,' she said.

'We hope that through this initiative, we can help adults share the gift of reading with children throughout the country.'

A series of 12 books written by Cressida Cowell, author of How To Train Your Dragon, will be released throughout the year with the first two books currently available

The Happy Meal Readers program was first introduced in 2009 and was offered on a temporary basis but it has since been expanded due to the popularity.

Marketing Director at McDonald's Australia, Jo Feeney said the permanent book choice was important to customers.

'We are very excited to be using our scale for good to help inspire a passion for reading through the expansion of our Happy Meal Readers program to offer a book option year round.'
Yuri Oreshkin/TASS via Getty

House Democrats are torn about whether they should call in former National Security Adviser John Bolton to testify following the acquittal of President Donald Trump in the Senates impeachment trial.

The prospect of hauling Bolton before the House has come front and center after he dangled the tantalizing possibility of respecting a Senate subpoena compelling his testimony. Senate Democrats had made the push for Boltons testimony and other new evidence the centerpiece of the trial. But not enough Republicans voted to hear from him, meaning that a key figureone who was in the middle of Trumps efforts to dig up dirt on the Bidens in Ukrainenever ended up telling his story.

With Trump now acquitted and his office secure, House investigators could still issue their own subpoena. And many Democrats believe it remains vital that he testify about what he witnessed during the administrations push to withhold U.S. security aid until Ukraine investigated Trumps political rivals.

But theres a fear among some Democrats that Bolton is primarily seeking to capitalize on the spotlight in order to promote his forthcoming tell-all book. Whats more, some key lawmakers believe Boltons account is no longer essential.

John Boltons gonna come in front of us and say, the President said, dont give out the aid until theres an investigation, Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), a member of the Intelligence Committee, told The Daily Beast.I dont really believe were going to learn a lot more from John Bolton. I want to know what the hell Rudy Giuliani was doing, I want to know why Mike Pompeo didnt stand up much more Im not saying I dont want to hear from Bolton, Im just saying, Bolton will tell us what we already know. And he will do it in a way mainly designed to sell his book.

Himes skepticism isnt shared throughout the party. But Democratic leadership has notably not made any overt moves that suggest imminent plans to issue a subpoena for Bolton in the 24 hours since Trumps acquittal. Instead, theyve signaled a desire to regroup, take a post-impeachment breather, and focus on other topics. All of which has contributed to a curious outcome: that the House might hold off on using its power to get answers to significant lingering questions about the conduct at the heart of the articles of impeachment against the president.

Story continues

While key figures in the party arent ruling out the possibility of a Bolton subpoena Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) ventured on Wednesday it would be likelymost dont seem to be salivating at the prospect. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) told reporters on Thursday that while oversight of the president would continue, there are currently no plans to subpoena Bolton.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the leader of the impeachment inquiry, told MSNBCs Rachel Maddow on Wednesday night that his Intelligence Committee reached out to Boltons attorney when the Senate witness vote failed and asked if he would be willing to submit a sworn affidavit describing what he saw. Schiff said that Bolton refused.

And Schiff added that theres been absolutely no decision made, about a subpoena. Representatives for Bolton did not respond to a request for comment.

Among House Democrats, theres broad consensus that the party needs to be careful in the steps it takes following Trumps acquittal. Many in the caucus, especially those lawmakers in competitive districts that took risky votes to impeach Trump, want to move on to issues like infrastructure and health care and leave impeachment behind. But some lawmakers cant see how Democrats would proceed without making an honest effort to hear from Bolton after having made the case that Trumps conduct was fundamentally unconstitutional and disqualifying for holding the presidency.

I think theres a very strong sentiment that the Congress and the American people are owed Boltons testimony, said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), a Judiciary Committee member. If he has something to say, then we should hear it.

A co-chair of the Progressive Caucus, Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), told reporters on Thursday, I hope we subpoena him.

Others, like Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) said that lawmakers should wait to see whats in Boltons forthcoming bookslated for release in Marchand then proceed. My gut tells me, just as a lawyer, wait for that, so that if you do bring him in, you have the content of the book to examine him on, said Cicilline.

During the House impeachment inquiry, Democrats requested testimony from Bolton, who refused those requests. His lawyer, who also represented Boltons deputy Charles Kupperman, said his clients wanted the courts to resolve whether they would be in a position to testify to Congress without violating confidentiality privileges owed to the president. Democrats chose to withdraw a subpoena for Kupperman, and ice one for Bolton, rather than pause their impeachment inquiry until a possibly lengthy court battle was resolved.

During the Senate trial, the White House defense team and congressional Republicans pointed to that as a key reason for senators to vote against subpoenaing Boltonarguing that Democrats had their chance to get them under oath and declined.

When the trial concluded and questions immediately arose about the Houses plans for Bolton, those same Republicans had a bemused response to the chatter.

Knock yourself out, quipped Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) on Wednesday. They're going to have to litigate that in the courtsomething they didn't do in the impeachment inquiry. But thats their prerogative.

Indeed, the White House would almost certainly file a lawsuit to block Bolton from testifying if the House ultimately did issue a subpoena. That would set up what could be a months-long court battle over whether he could testify.

Without the political time bomb of impeachment, however, Democrats feel no rush. If the Republican Party refrain during impeachment was to let voters decide whether Trumps conduct warranted his removal from office, Democrats view part of their oversight mandate as unearthing more information about that conduct before voters so they can make a decision more fully.

If theres wrongdoing theres wrongdoing, it doesnt matter when you find it out, said Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), a member of the Intelligence Committee. At the very least, you have the responsibility to share that with the American people, and then they can use that to factor in their decision, who to vote for. That seems to me a fair compromise.

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The Earth's oceans are speeding up as global warming has caused strong winds and a 'really huge increase' in the energy of the currents, a study has found.

An international research team found that wind speeds have risen by 4 per cent in the last two decades, churning the ocean faster to depths of up to 1.86 miles.

Current speeds surged on average after the 1990s, they report, with 76 percent of the upper 1.86 miles now moving faster than they were before this threshold.

The team said that there has been a 15 per cent per decade increase in current energies in the period from 1990-2013  equivalent to a 5 per cent rise in speed.

This, the researchers said, is more than can be explained by the ocean's so-called 'natural variability'.

The findings contradict previous studies that suggested that climate change would instead serve to weaken ocean circulation and in the tropics in particular.

Scroll down for video

The Earth's oceans are speeding up as global warming has caused strong winds and a 'really huge increase' in the energy of the currents, a study has found

'The Earth is our patient, and you look for symptoms of how it is reacting to anthropogenic greenhouse gas forcing,' paper author and physical oceanographer Michael McPhaden told the Washington Post.

'This is another symptom,' the researcher from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration added.

In their study, Dr McPhaden and colleagues used five so-called 'reanalyses'  a process in which real-world observations are combined with models to help fill in the missing data points  to calculated the total kinetic energy of the oceans.

The researchers found that  while there were small variations before  the total kinetic energy of the oceans increased drastically at the start of the 1990s.

To verify these findings, the team next turned to measurements of ocean currents made by the Global Marine Argo Atlas between 2005 and 2010.

This is an international project uses thousands of so-called floats  sensor-laden scientific platforms  which are set adrift to gather date about the ocean.

While the floats don't measure water velocity directly, they can indicate where winds have piled up water, creating the pressure differences that drive larger flows.

The team found that the data from the ocean floats pointed to an even clearer speeding up of the global currents then the initial reanalysis models.

The team found that the data from the ocean floats pointed to an even clearer speeding up of the global currents then the initial reanalysis models. Pictured, the areas of the ocean that the researchers found are speeding up, compared to those that are slowing down

To verify their findings, the team next turned to measurements of ocean currents made by the Global Marine Argo Atlas between 2005 and 2010. This is an international project uses thousands of so-called floats  sensor-laden scientific platforms (as pictured)  which are set adrift to gather date about the ocean

An international research team found that wind speeds have risen by 4 per cent in the last two decades, churning the ocean faster to depths of up to 1.86 miles

'The evidence in the Argo data is absolutely astonishing,' UK National Oceanography Centre researcher Eleanor Frajka-Williams, who was not involved in the study, told Science magazine.

According to the researchers, it is possible that a more turbulent ocean could absorb more heat from the atmosphere, or change how and where heat circulates.

This could have various and unpredictable knock-on effects on oceanic life.

'Perhaps the most important consequence is the increased redistribution of heat around the planet that stronger circulation would bring,' University of New South Wales ocean expert Alex Sen Gupta told the Washington Post.

'This would affect temperature distributions and could affect weather patterns  but more work would be needed to make these links.'

'The evidence in the Argo data is absolutely astonishing,' UK National Oceanography Centre researcher Eleanor Frajka-Williams, who was not involved in the study, told Science magazine. Pictured, the distribution of Argo's 3,881 floats that were operating in the February of 2018

According to the researchers, it is possible that a more turbulent ocean could absorb more heat from the atmosphere, or change how and where heat circulates

The researchers noted, however, that the observations in their study were mostly confined to the upper 1.24 miles (2,000 metres) of the oceans.

Given this, they added, thorough studies of global circulation patterns and rates in the deepest ocean are urgently needed to improve predictions of how the seas will continue to change in response to future warming.

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Science Advances.
WASHINGTON  Rep. Mikie Sherrill, whose first choice for president dropped out of the race last month, threw her support to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday.

I served in the Navy with members of our military community dedicated to making our country safer and stronger, and its clear we need the same level of commitment from our political leaders, said Sherrill, D-11th Dist. Mike Bloomberg embodies the integrity we need from leadership and I am proud to give my support to him."

In her endorsement announcement, Sherrill cited Bloombergs support of military veterans and their families, as well as his positions on gun control and the environment.

Bloomberg said Sherrill deserves to work with a president whose allegiance is to the country, not himself, and who is as committed as she is to rebuilding our infrastructure, reducing gun violence, and honoring our veterans  and thats what Ill be.

Sherrill, like the rest of the New Jersey congressional delegation, had lined up behind the candidacy of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, but became a free agent when he withdrew from the presidential contest Jan. 13.

Two other Jersey lawmakers, Reps. Tom Malinowski, D-7th Dist., and Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist., endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president.

Bloomberg, a former Republican, supported GOP President George W. Bush in 2004, contributing $2,000 to his campaign and $25,000 to the Republican National Committee. After winning re-election, Bush let the federal ban on assault weapons expire. Biden had played a major role in passing that ban as part of the 1994 crime bill.

Since then, Bloomberg has championed gun control measures, funding a super PAC, Everytown for Gun Safety, to support candidates of both parties who support new regulations on guns.

Sherrill made gun safety a major issue during her congressional campaign, in which she became the first Democrat to win her New Jersey House seat in 34 years. She decided that the first bill she would co-sponsor would expand background checks for gun purchases.

Another rookie Democrat, Rep. Andy Kim, D-3rd Dist., endorsed former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg for president on Thursday.

Over the years, Ive seen Pete not only step up to face some of our nations toughest challenges with calm and precision, but he also truly cares about helping people live their best lives, Kim 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.

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Laura Whitmore has ensured that her first series presenting Love Island has been an unforgettable one.

Not only has the show experienced record viewing figures - 2.9 million people tuned in to watch the first episode of the series - but 34-year-old Whitmore has also charmed the nation with her laid-back manner.

The good news for brands is that she's also proved that she has some serious sartorial clout too.

For the first episode of the winter-themed series, Whitmore donned a floral jacquard playsuit by Hasan Hejazi which, the brand confirmed, sold out within hours of the show airing.

This selling power mirrors that also exhibited by Caroline Flack, who hosted the previous five seasons of the show. Notable ensembles which Flack wore which sold out were the denim Christopher Kane dress she wore for the first episode of the last series, as well as the hot pink gown by Essential Antwerp she donned in one of the final episodes.

While shooting in Cape Town, South Africa - where the show is set this season - Whitmore's wardrobe has consisted of pieces in a series of retro silhouettes, mainly in an array of cool, muted colours.

For this season's promotional shots she opted for a pastel pink Zimmerman two-piece from the Australian brand's Resort '20 collection and shared images to her Instagram of her trying on a Paul & Joe suit in a similarly subtle shade.

But when back on British soil filming the show's spin-off, Love Island: Aftersun, her look has been notably grungier. For the first show of the sister show, the presenter donned a black leather mini dress from The Mighty Company with a pair of vintage Saint Laurent heels.

Rex Features

Her stylist, Angie Smith, who also styles Holly Willoughby and Davina McCall, usually relies on a rotation of middle-range brands including Anthropologie and Free People, and French brands such as Maje, Claudie Pierlot and Sandro.

Whitmore, who is dating the shows narrator Iain Stirling, has been gifted clothing from ISawItFirst, but is not required to wear any brand in particular.

The 34-year-old's television career began in 2008 when she won a competition run by MTV Networks Europe to become the face of MTV News.

She proceeded to host news bulletins for MTV in her native Ireland for seven years before replacing Flack as the co-host of 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! NOW!' in 2015.

This is her first season hosting Love Island.
New York State officials said on Friday that they planned to sue the Trump administration over its decision this week to ban thousands of New Yorkers from enrolling in programs that allow travelers to circumvent long lines at airports and borders.

The lawsuit would be the latest escalation in tensions between President Trump and his former home state, after the Department of Homeland Security said on Wednesday that it would block New York residents from participating in Trusted Traveler Programs, which includes Global Entry.

The decision was a response to a recent New York law that lets undocumented immigrants who live in the state obtain drivers licenses. The statute, known as the green light law, also prohibits federal immigration officials from gaining access to Department of Motor Vehicles databases without a court order.

The Trump administration accused New York of interfering with federal law enforcements efforts to keep our nation secure by adopting the law. The administration has said it would lift the Trusted Traveler ban if New York granted them access to motor vehicle records.
WASHINGTON (JTA)Much of Elizabeth Warrens presidential campaign narrative subtly casts her as the anti-Obama, the potential president who will not broker sweetheart deals for big business.

That was the subtextactually it was the overt textof a buzzy Politico magazine article in September titled Why Are You Pissing In Our Face?: Inside Warrens War With the Obama Team. It chronicled tensions at the beginning of Barack Obamas first term, when Warren, then a Harvard law professor, was the most prominent critic of the bailout championed by the president.

Its been a narrative useful to the Massachusetts senator as she vies with Sen. Bernie Sanders to be the no-compromise candidate the partys left is dreaming about.

But there was a hiccup in the anti-Obama narrative last month when reports emerged that Obama was talking up Warren in private conversations with donors.

Now a CNN story on Warrens foreign policy team reveals that her Middle East policy advisers are nearly all Obama-ites.

As the story notes, Warren has been uncharacteristically silent about her foreign policy, delivering only one speech and an article about it in the year or so shes been campaigning. She fumbled at an October debate on a foreign policy question when she readily agreed with another candidate, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, saying I dont think we should have troops in the Middle East.

Warren later backtracked, and an aide told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that she was referring only to combat troops. But the impression remained that she was not deeply immersed in the issue.

It didnt help that the same month she told J Street, the liberal Jewish Middle East policy group, that she was ready to leverage aid to Israel to pressure the country into compliance with U.S. policybut was short on details.

Her campaign consultants, as outlined in the CNN story, offer a clearer picture and distinguish Warren from two of her main rivals for the Democratic nomination, Sanders and Joe Biden, the former vice president.

Among them is Ilan Goldenberg, who helped shape Iran policy under Obama. Goldenberg later was chief of staff to Martin Indyk, who tried to broker a Middle East peace deal in 2013-14. Warren also is talking with Hady Amr, Indyks deputy during that doomed peace deal attempt.

They join a raft of Gen-Z foreign policy wonks who served under Obama.

Here are some takeaways from the revelations in the CNN article:

Assistance to both Israel and the Palestinians: Warrens pledge to J Street to consider cuts to Israel assistance notwithstanding, Goldenberg and Amr are steeped in an understanding of Middle East peace brokering that uses American carrots, and not sticks, for both sides.

Indyk and Secretary of State John Kerry went out of their way to offer Israelis incentives for sticking with the talks, notably including U.S. investment in defense infrastructure in the West Bank to assuage Israeli concerns about ceding any security control in the region.

That process was packed as well with economic incentives for the PalestiniansAmrs brief. Thats consistent with the Warren pledge to resume the assistance to the Palestinians that President Donald Trump has eliminated.

The anti-Biden: Biden has taken on board as senior advisers boomer wonks like Tony Blinken and Nicholas Burns. Blinken held senior posts in the Obama administration, but got his start on President Bill Clintons National Security Council. Burns was a career diplomat through the Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

Those are resumes that reflect the last vestiges of the post-World War II vision of an expansive U.S. role on the planet. Warrens consultants, by contrast, are more identified with Obamas retreat from using U.S. military power as leverage. They have a harder-nosed outlook of the limits of U.S. influence, but at the same time repudiate the America first isolationism that Trump has come to embody.

The anti-Sanders, too: Goldenberg, Amr and Warrens other consultants are nonetheless seasoned executive branch diplomats and policymakers.

Sanders, typical of his brand, is taking advice from activists and thinkers he has recruited from outside the Democratic establishment. His top foreign policy adviser, Matt Duss, for a time was the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, which has as its focus two-state advocacy and is sharply critical of Israel policy in a way that Democrats until recently were not.
A gun-toting Houston homeowner shot a would-be intruder early Thursday at a Fifth Ward home.

The man heard noises coming from the back of his house in the 1800 block of Capron Street in northeast Houston around 1:30 a.m., according to Houston Police Department Lt. Ronnie Wilkins. Checking on the noise, he saw someones hand reaching into the home near an air-conditioning unit, so he went and grabbed a pistol, Wilkins said.

MORE FROM JAY R. JORDAN: Person found dead in north Houston apartment fire

The suspected burglar then ran around the house and confronted the homeowner. During that confrontation, the homeowner shot the intruder once, Wilkins said.

Paramedics rushed the man to Ben Taub Hospital. He is expected to survive.

The homeowner was not immediately charged.

Jay R. Jordan covers breaking news in the Houston area. Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan | Email him at jay.jordan@chron.com
WASHINGTON - Post-election tensions between the West and the federal Liberal government are showing signs of easing, two of Canadas premiers suggested Friday as provincial leaders fanned out across the U.S. capital to argue for cross-border trade and investment under a new trade agreement.

With Ottawas work on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement gradually receding, a delegation from the Council of the Federation took its turn in Washington, hoping to convince gubernatorial counterparts of the importance of closer trade ties with the provinces.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewans Scott Moe, speaking at a panel discussion at the Wilson Centers Canada Institute, acknowledged the cold front that moved in after voters in their provinces froze out the climate-conscious federal Liberals last October, in large part over perceived federal hostility to Canadas emissions-causing oilpatch.

But there have been cracks in the ice of late, said the leaders, crediting the work of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The Alberta-born former foreign minister was dispatched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the outreach.

It seems to be an attitude change, it really does, Moe said. The outreach from the deputy prime minister to Saskatchewan has been good, its been appreciated, and its a relationship well be looking forward to continuing in the future.

Added Kenney: We have a long way to go yet, but at least we feel that some of our issues are being listened to.

The stated goal of this weekends mission is to thank U.S. federal and state lawmakers for their support during the drawn-out negotiations to replace NAFTA, and to celebrate the imminent dawn of the USMCA, which awaits only Canadas ratification. Most experts anticipate it will be the law in all three countries by mid-summer.

But they also intend to promote the importance to Alberta of resurrecting the Keystone XL pipeline expansion, a project to deliver landlocked Alberta oilsands bitumen to refiners and shippers along the U.S. Gulf Coast. It was rejected by the previous Obama administration  a rejection Trudeau seemed to abet with his co-ordinated surrender to Barack Obama shortly after becoming prime minister in 2015, Kenney said.

What could he have done? He could have done something, said Kenney, a former Harper-era cabinet minister who accused the government of promising the Obama White House ahead of time that it wouldnt contest the decision.

They never wanted that project, and they were not willing to employ any political or diplomatic leverage against a political decision by a U.S. administration to violate the spirit of NAFTA, which was about, in part, open access to the U.S. markets for our energy exports.

The net result of Canadas inability to build pipelines has resulted in more oil travelling by rail, added Moe, who pointed to the derailment Thursday in Saskatchewan as evidence of what can happen.

That is not the way we should be moving that product, he said, noting that much of the U.S. Midwest has a similar problem. Were cramping our rail capacity  capacity that we need if were going to be producing and exporting other goods that should be on rail.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs were also part of the delegation that met with state leaders at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, which got underway Friday.

In a discussion with Scotty Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council, Ford called on his federal Conservative counterparts to set politics aside on Parliament Hill long enough to get the governments USMCA implementation bill passed.

This is not the time to play politics, he implored. Lets get this deal signed.

Ford also made it clear where his own political allegiances lie when it comes to the United States. He described the prospect of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders becoming president as scary  socialism doesnt work, raising taxes doesnt work, he insisted  and said he was disappointed to see House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tear up her copy of President Donald Trumps state of the union speech.

Thats uncalled for, he said. Ive never seen anything like that in any state of the union speech, ever.

Freeland, who took part in a number of Fridays meetings in Washington, including with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, demurred when asked about Fords remarks.

U.S. domestic politics are domestic, and federal ministers should bear that in mind, Freeland said, citing the advice of former U.S. ambassador David MacNaughton. Thats advice that I think its prudent for the federal government to stick to.

Freeland acknowledged that she raised with Lighthizer recent media reports that the Trump administration was contemplating leaving the World Trade Organizations $1.7-trillion General Procurement Agreement, or GPA  a long-standing agreement that was supposed to backstop a USMCA that lacked the preferential access to U.S. government contracts Canada enjoyed under NAFTA.

But she refused to elaborate, citing her long-standing policy of keeping private discussions private.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

 Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle
A new guide book by Phoenix author Paul Fiarkoski features 50 must-see natural wonders in the Grand Canyon State.

He created the book to help more people discover Arizona adventures and journal their experiences.

It all started when I went on a hiking trip to Havasupai Falls in 2014, Fiarkoski said. That experience inspired me to seek out more fascinating places in Arizona, so I started a bucket list. I decided to put it into a book format in 2019.

After a short introduction, the guide provides two pages for each of the 50 featured sites. On the left side is a page providing an overview of the site with tips on best time to visit, permit fees and travel directions. On the right side is a journal page with writing prompts for date visited, weather conditions, guests and special memories.

In September 2019, Fiarkoski spent eight days road-tripping around Navajo Nation to gather material for the book.

Eight days and I barely scratched the surface of roughly one fourth of the state," Fiarkoski said. "What an amazing place of beautiful landscapes and people with a deep connection to the land."

When pressed for his favorite spots by Phoenix TV personality Kristen Keogh, Fiarkoski instead offered these five underrated places: Petrified Forest National Park, Lower Salt River, Mindeleff Cavates, Madera Canyon and Keet Seel Canyon.

Petrified Forest National Park is an outdoor museum for trees from a prehistoric era, Fiarkoski wrote in the book. They fell thousands of years ago and were fossilized by minerals in the ground. Experience the beauty of the Painted Desert in the northern half of the 28-mile long park.

Early reviews of the book have been very positive. Readers rave about the user-friendly layout and insights into unique places to explore. People really like the journal format, too.

Arizona Bucket List Adventure Guide & Journal was published by PDF Enterprises in October 2019. The 122-page, spiral-bound paperback book is available on Amazon and in ebook format on Kindle. For information about sales outlets and other details visit arizonabucketlistbook.com.
He is set to take centre stage in series four as Charles finally meets and marries Lady Diana Spencer.

And Josh O' Connor was the embodiment of Prince Charles in a sombre black morning suit as he filmed the latest scenes at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday.

The actor, 29, looked dapper in the three-piece ensemble as he arrived for another day of filming, following the recent news that the Netflix epic drama would come to an end after five series.

Smart: The Crown's Josh O' Connor was the embodiment of Prince Charles in a sombre black morning suit as he filmed the latest scenes at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday

Josh was suited and booted as he headed into the Cathedral for another day of filming, donning a suave black and grey morning dress suit for the scenes.

Surrounding him were a slew of extras clad in military attire, as they stood chatting in the capital before filming commenced for the scenes.

Josh will play the role of His Royal Highness The Prince Of Wales, in The Crown's fourth series, after earning critical acclaim for his performance in series three.

Prince Charles will once again take centre stage in The Crown's fourth series, which will document his meeting and marriage to Lady Diana Spencer.

The couple married in 1981 in a lavish ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral and went onto have sons William and Harry.

Busy: The actor, 29, looked dapper in the three-piece ensemble as he arrived for another day of filming, following the news last week that The Crown will end after its fifth series

What's going on? Josh was suited and booted as he headed into the Cathedral for another day of filming, donning a suave black morning dress suit (Prince Charles pictured right in 1984)

Hard at work: Joining Josh for the filming were a slew of extras clad in military attire, as they arrived for another day of filming

Exciting: Prince Charles will once again take centre stage in The Crown's fourth series, which will document his meeting and marriage to Lady Diana Spencer

Concluding: It was revealed on Friday that The Crown will end after its fifth season, with Imelda Staunton taking the throne as the critically-acclaimed show's final Queen Elizabeth II

It was revealed on Friday that The Crown will end after its fifth season, with Imelda Staunton taking the throne as the critically-acclaimed show's final Queen Elizabeth II.

Show creator Peter Morgan confirmed the Netflix drama - currently airing its third season with Olivia in the regal role - would not include a sixth season while revealing Imelda, 64, will take the role 'into the 21st century'.

This means that current Royal scandals including the allegations made against Prince Andrew as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'Megxit' drama won't be featured on the Netflix hit.

Harry Potter star Imelda said: 'I have loved watching The Crown from the very start. As an actor it was a joy to see how both Claire Foy and Olivia Colman brought something special and unique to Peter Morgan's scripts.

Coming to an end: Show creator Peter Morgan confirmed the Netflix drama - currently airing its third season with Olivia in the regal role - would not include a sixth season

Not this time: Current Royal scandals including the allegations made against Prince Andrew as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 'Megxit' drama won't be featured on the Netflix hit.

Wrapped up: One of the extras wrapped up in a green padded jacket along with a black suit as he arrived on the set for filming

'I am genuinely honoured to be joining such an exceptional creative team and to be taking The Crown to its conclusion.'

Series three of The Crown hit Netflix in November 2019, with Oscar-winner Olivia Colman taking the throne from Claire Foy, who portrayed the monarch in the first two seasons.

Peter said: 'I'm absolutely thrilled to confirm Imelda Staunton as Her Majesty The Queen for the fifth and final season, taking The Crown into the 21st century.

'Imelda is an astonishing talent and will be a fantastic successor to Claire Foy and Olivia Colman.'

Peter has also now revealed he decided against making a sixth season of The Crown because there 'has to be distance' between real life and the show.

Sensational: Series three of The Crown hit Netflix in November 2019, with Oscar-winner Olivia Colman taking the throne from Claire Foy, who portrayed the monarch in the first two seasons

The writer and producer admitted he had initially sketched out storylines for further episodes beyond series five.

But he explained to the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye: 'You can't fully examine incidents that happened yesterday. There has to be ten to 20 years' distance. And in some instances much longer.'

Peter promised the final series, which won't be filmed until 2021 or 2022 will be 'explosive' and will culminate with Britain entering the new millennium.

However, the showrunner admitted he would like to visit the royal family again in five to 10 years time, but to examine a different period.

He said: 'I don't know yet, but I might go further backwards in time, perhaps before this Queen.'
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The municipality of Malay, where the world-famous Boracay Island is located, has suspended the entry of all visitors and tourists with history of travel from China, Hong Kong, and Macau in the past 14 days due to the threat of novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV.

Malay, Aklan acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista issued the executive order on Thursday as a precautionary measure to ensure the municipality will remain free of the deadly virus.

Border patrols will be deployed to the boundaries of Malay to check passengers' travel history, especially tourists. Bautista advised all travelers to prepare their IDs and passports for faster processing.

President Rodrigo Duterte on February 2 temporarily banned travelers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau due to the rising number of 2019-nCoV cases in these areas. Filipinos and foreign nationals carrying permanent resident visas to the country are excluded from the travel ban.

The World Health Organization said that it is wrong to impose a blanket travel ban to and from China amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. The WHO called on countries not to impose travel and trade restrictions over the new coronavirus, citing that this may only increase the fear and stigma within the international community.
The 21-year-old former college student who targeted Hispanics in a racially motivated massacre that left 22 people dead was indicted on Thursday through a federal grand jury. The shooting incident happened during the summer at an El Paso, Texas Walmart.

Patrick Crucius, the gunman of the shooting, who lives in Allen, Texas is now facing charges in connection with the El Paso mass shooting that happened on Aug. 3 last year. According to the prosecutor, Crucius wore headphone-style ear protection and carried an AK-47-style rifle and started shooting inside the busy Walmart. Just minutes after the mass shooting, it was discovered that nearly 50 men and women were killed and wounded. This was described as the deadliest anti-Latino attack in modern American history.

In a report from The New York Times, officials from the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation said that the gunman attacked the victims because of their national origin. The indictment was announced on Thursday evening in El Paso.

Patrick Crucius was charged with the following crimes, with a total of 90 indictments:

22 counts of hate crimes that resulted in the death of 22 individuals

23 counts of hate crimes for attempted murder for those who were wounded

45 counts for discharging a firearm in the commission of hate crime

Eric Dreidband, the assistant general attorney for civil rights, told media in El Paso on Thursday, "People in our nation have the right to go to a store on a Saturday morning without fear that they will be shot and killed because of who they are or where they are from."

Dreidband also said that hate crime may be considered as an act of domestic terrorism as the suspect terrorized the whole community.

Hate crimes committed against Latinos have spiked over the years and more than 13 percent from 2017 to 2018. This is based on the FBI's annual compilation of bias-motivated attacks. Moreover, the federal government has identified hate crime attacks as one of the leading national security threats in the country.

Most of the people who were killed and wounded in the shooting were Mexicans or Mexican-Americans. Minutes before the shooting, the suspect posted an anti-immigrant manifesto declaring that the attack he made was a response to the invasion of Hispanics in Texas and all the problems Hispanics caused and will cause.

Moreover, Hispanic residents, elected officials, and activists in El Paso and other cities in Texas, have been calling on the Trump administration to call the Wallmart shooting a hate crime. They are calling on the administration to take federal action in the largest anti-Latino attack in the history of the United States. This is a call that is almost the same as with the case of Dylann S. Roof where he killed nine black parishioners in 2015 and was convicted with 33 federal charges that included hate crime charges.

Cesar Blanco, a Texas State Representative, said: "This was the intersection of racism and mass violence and what he did in our community, based on the manifesto that was posted in advance of the massacre, definitely tells us where his mind was."

Meanwhile, Crucius was indicted with 90 counts in September and the state charged him with capital murder. This crime in Texas is punishable by death or life imprisonment without any possibilities of parole. Moreover, the State Prosecutors vowed to seek the death penalty for Crucius.

However, William P. Barr, the attorney general, will decide later on whether to seek a death penalty or not according to the officials.
Katihar : , Feb 7 (IANS) Former JNUSU President and CPI leader Kanhaiya Kumar's convoy was attacked on Friday in Bihar's Katihar town, the police said.

According to the police, shoes and slippers were thrown at Kumar's convoy while he was going towards Bhagalpur after holding a meeting at Rajendra Stadium in Kaithar.

Some people, who had gathered to protest against the Left leader, are said to be behind the attack. Slogans like "Kanhaiya Go Back" could also be heard.

According to sources, the attackers are suspected to be associated with right wing groups.

Though the Communist Party of India (CPI) leader was not hurt in the incident, two vehicles of his convoy were damaged while a driver sustained minor injuries.

The police, however, prevented the situation from slipping out of control by escorting Kumar's convoy.

The former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader is on a state-wide 'Jan-Gan-Man Yatra' to protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

During his one-month-long journey, he is scheduled to mark his presence in almost all major cities and towns of Bihar. He would also conduct around 50 public meetings.

The Left leader began his 'yatra' from Bettiah on January 30.
File image

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on February 7 said that the government has no intention of playing the role of "big brother".

"The government is a facilitator. The taxpayer is capable of taking a call on where he wants to put his money," Sitharaman said, adding that directing savings through one route and not another is no longer relevant.

Speaking to the media in Mumbai for a post-Budget interaction, Sitharaman explained that the abolishment of the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) would put more money in the hands of the shareholder, particularly the middle-class shareholder, as they would be taxed at the "applicable" tax rate, which would be lower than the 15 to 20 percent tax rate that was earlier charged on the company level.

Sitharaman said that the government has taken many steps to move towards a simplified tax regime.

When asked about the LIC IPO, Sitharaman said: "We are looking at an IPO for LIC which will bring retail investors into the picture."

Sitharaman in her Budget speech had said the government intends to raise funds by selling part of its stake in Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) through an initial public offer (IPO).

Sitharaman also said that infrastructure creation has both short term and long term benefits, and that the government has worked with states and private investors to come up with a pipeline that will invest in infrastructure creation.

Sitharaman also said that there was no trust deficit on the matter of banks in handing out loans. Rather banks were apprehensive that they could be hauled up if their bona fide commercial decisions went wrong, and that the government had addressed these concerns.

The Finance Minister, in December last year, had assured the bankers that a distinction would be made between genuine commercial failures and culpability last month in a meeting with heads of the public sector banks (PSBs), which was also attended by the CBI Director.

She had also told bankers that the CBI will have discussions, and workshops with the bank officials from the level of vigilance officers, senior managers to general managers to explain and eliminate apprehension from their minds.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global lasik eye surgery devices market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4.4% during forecast period 2019 to 2026 and reach the market value of over US$ 2,161.8 Mn by 2026.



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The rapidly increasing cases of vision errors across the globe are primarily driving the market growth. According to the 2015 estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), around 285 million people globally have vision impairment and the report has also mentioned that myopia has affected 1.89 billion people across the globe. The technological advancements in terms of new devices and minimally invasive surgical procedures are supporting the market value. For instance, NIDEK Co., Ltd. has launched NAVEX Quest M2 NIDEK Advanced Vision Excimer Laser System in April 2017. The new system offers highly reliable and accurate data for clinical diagnostics. The new product development strategy helps in increasing the company's portfolio. In addition to these, the favorable government support to improve healthcare infrastructure as well as to spread awareness among people about the advance procedures to correct vision defects is further propelling the market value.

In 2018, North America held the major share of the global market for Lasik eye surgery devices. The advance healthcare infrastructure and favorable government support are primarily supporting market growth. For instance, a 2020 house bill supported by The Idaho Bureau of Occupational Licensing gives a right to optometrists to perform laser eye surgery. According to Idaho News reports, optometrists would have to pass an examination by the National Board of Examiners in Optometry to perform laser procedure. Later they are required to perform at least five procedures under the supervision of an ophthalmologist.

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Asia Pacific is expected to register a maximum CAGR over the forecast period. The region is primarily gaining growth due to the growing purchasing power of residents. The major economies of the region like China and India are particularly supporting the accelerating growth over the estimated period from 2019 to 2026. Additionally, in 2019, researchers from Canada and China have developed a new highly-targeted laser device to close blood vessels within human tissues. The researchers have mentioned that the device can be used to treat any part of the human body where light can be reached and need precise treatment such as nerves or blood vessels in the eye, brain, skin or other vital parts.

Some of the leading competitors are Alcon, BAUSCH + LOMB, Carl Zeiss, Johnson & Johnson, Laser sight Technologies, NIDEK, SCHWIND eye-tech-solutions, TECHNOLAS Perfect Vision, and Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems. Lasik Eye Surgery Devices companies have announced mergers and acquisitions to expand their position in the Lasik eye surgery devices industry. For instance, Johnson & Johnson has acquired Abbott's vision care business unit (AMO) in 2016. Major players are also moving into new regions or advanced technologies.

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Some of the key observations regarding lasik eye surgery devices industry include:

Zeiss medical technology has introduced a new technology for eye care and high-resolution imaging at the European society of cataract and refractive surgery (ESCRS) in September 2019. The new technology is intended to help companies to develop advanced products which will sequentially increase the consumer base of the company.

The Journal of Refractive Surgery has published a study where researchers have found that 92% of myopia or myopia complicated by astigmatism treated with Lasik has achieved 20/20 vision.

The LASIK Vision Institute, United States has opened a center in Duluth, Georgia in 2018. The center has the topography-guided LASIK technology which was approved by the FDA.

Alcon Laboratories Inc. has introduced The NGENUITY 3D Visualization System in 2016 to aid in retinal surgery visualization. The company has also launched next-generation hydrogen peroxide lens care solution AOSEPT PLUS with HydraGlyde Solution in 2015.

ELT Sight, Inc. has announced the creation of its Scientific Advisory Board in January 2020. The created group of recognized ophthalmic and glaucoma key opinion leaders will collaborate with the company and help in delivering the ExTra ELT device. Moreover, ELT Sight Inc. is a Germany based company involved in effective, safe and longer-term micro-invasive glaucoma surgery with its ExTra excimer laser trabeculostomy (ELT) device.

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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.
The following is Caixins interview with Dr. Li Wenliang on Jan. 30 discussing his whistleblowing and personal health. Li, who was only 34, was punished by police for trying to warn the world of the emergence of the new strain of coronavirus. He died Friday from the disease.

Caixin: How do you feel now?

Li Wenliang: I am receiving treatment at the intensive care unit (ICU) for my critical respiratory illness. It is an isolation ward for four but only has two in the room now. I can have contact with the outside through a cellphone. There are doctors and nurses taking care of me. Today (Jan. 30), I heard that my RNA test has turned negative, but it is only the result for a throat swab but not the alveoli. The recovery of my lung function will still take time. I still feel difficulty breathing and need oxygen. I dont have any appetite.

Can you tell us more about the warning you sent regarding the disease? What happened at that time?

I sent the message to a group of 150 former classmates and emphasized that the message should not be spread beyond the group. I wanted to remind my schoolmates who work on the frontlines to protect themselves. I knew of the matter through my discussion with colleagues and was concerned that there would be an outbreak, although the confirmed cases were still small at that time. I felt that way because the virus looked quite similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

Do you mean the virus can be passed from human to human like SARS?

There is obvious human-to-human transmission. I saw patients infected by the virus around Jan. 8. One of our patients who was hospitalized for glaucoma had a weak appetite but normal body temperature. We didnt realize anything was wrong at that time. But she still had a weak appetite after her eyes had healed and had a fever. A CT scan showed a lung infection, but all her other indicators were consistent with what was known about the mysterious pneumonia at that time.

The same day she got a fever, her family members also had a fever, indicating human-to-human transmission. We reported the case to the hospital and invited senior doctors at the hospital to examine her case. They suggested putting her in quarantine. Three days later, a CT scan showed her infection had spread and she was transferred to the respiratory isolation ward. I dont know what happened to her after that.

If there were signs of human-to-human transmission, why was the number of confirmed cases so small at that time?

I think there were difficulties diagnosing the disease at that time. Test kits were not available. Although the virus can be tested for by an RNA test, it is complicated and time consuming. The team of senior doctors at our hospital had a difficult time deciding whether an RNA test should be conducted for the glaucoma patient.

Is your infection related to the patient?

At first I didnt take any protective measures. After the patient was transferred, I started coughing and had a fever the next day. After that I started wearing an N95 mask. On Jan. 12, I had a test for respiratory viruses and a CT scan. The results were highly suspicious for a coronavirus infection. My colleagues showed similar symptoms later and my parents also fell sick three or four days later. My condition deteriorated and now I need antibiotic, antiviral and globulin injections and extra oxygen every day.

Do you pay for the treatments?

I pay for immunoglobulin injections myself. There are also gifts from drug stores and my schoolmates. Ive received between 50,000 yuan ($7,163) and 60,000 yuan. I am not sure whether the costs are covered by insurance.

How did you feel when your warning got out to the public?

That night, I received some WeChat messages asking me about the matter with screenshots of my earlier messages. Most of the screenshots were incomplete. After mentioning that there were seven confirmed SARS-like cases, I emphasized that it was some type of coronavirus that still needed confirmation. But that was not included in the screenshots that were widely spread online. I thought I could get in trouble because it was sensitive information and it was during a sensitive time when the city was having its annual meeting of legislators. At first I was angry at the people who spread the messages without hiding my identity. But later I understood that they were too worried about their families and friends when they distributed the message.

Read More

Whistleblower Li Wenliang Dies of the Disease



Opinion: China Needs to Institutionalize Whistleblower Protection

Were you punished for that?

After the night when the messages went viral, Wuhans municipal health commission convened a meeting at about 1:30 a.m. I was called by our hospital to explain the matter. In the morning when I got to the office, disciplinary officials at our hospital talked to me again, asking about the source of the information and whether I realized I had made a mistake.

I never thought the police would pursue me. On Jan. 3, they called me to sign a letter of admonishment. I had never had trouble with the police before and was worried. So I went and signed without telling my family. I was worried that it might lead to punishment by the hospital and affect my career. Later, one of my schoolmates heard about the matter and introduced me to a reporter.

Police first announced a punishment on Jan. 1 saying they made inquiries into eight people for spreading rumors. But you were summoned on Jan. 3. Does that mean you were not among those eight?

I am not clear about this. What you said is possible. But now my only hope is recovery.

In their admonishment letter, the police said you posted false statements online. At that time, some people thought you were spreading rumors. What did you think about that?

I dont think it was a rumor, because the test report clearly stated that it was SARS. I just wanted to warn my former classmates not to panic. (Editors note: In his WeChat group chat, Li also uploaded a test report, stating the patients clinical pathogen screening results showed a high level of confidence in indicators including the SARS coronavirus, pseudomonas aeruginosa, 46 types of oral/respiratory colonizing bacteria)

Since you dont think it was a rumor, have you ever thought about whether you would pursue legal means to clear your name?

No. Im afraid a legal approach would be troublesome. I dont want to cause trouble with the police. Im afraid of trouble. It is more important for people to know the truth. To clear my name is not that important to me. Justice lies in peoples hearts. Some people said my doctors license was revoked. Thats not true. I want to clarify that.

On Jan. 28, Chinas Supreme Peoples Court published a commentary on its official WeChat account on whether the punishment of the eight Wuhan rumormongers was appropriate. You were probably not one of those eight. What did you think when you read that article?

After reading the Supreme Courts article, I felt a lot of relief and didnt worry too much about how my hospital would deal with me. I believe there should be more than one voice in a healthy society. I dont agree with the use of public power to overly interfere. I also agree with the Supreme Courts article that each case should be treated separately. I dont care too much [about whether I am one of the eight], as the post most widely circulated online and cited in the Supreme Courts article was a screenshot of my original post.

On Jan. 29, the Wuhan police responded to the Supreme Courts opinion on the punishment on the eight rumormongers. There was no mention of your admonition. What do you think about that?

I can only read the polices response. I cant comment on it. Theres no point doing that now. Im not sure myself whether Im one of the eight.

Some people are calling you the alert giver and whistleblower. What do you think about that?

I dont deserve this designation. I was just aware of the information and warned my classmates. I didnt think that much at the time.

What do you plan to do next?

After I recover, I still want to go back to the front line. Now the epidemic is still spreading. I dont want to be a deserter.

How is your family?

My wife is at her parents home in another city. She cant come back because Wuhan is locked down. My parents should be able to be discharged from the hospital soon, but I cant find anyone to help them. They are usually in good health and should be able to take care of themselves afterwards. They sounded fine when I talked with them by phone and can move around by themselves.

Contact translators Han Wei and Denise Jia (weihan@caixin.com, huijuanjia@caixin.com), editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
In what is in effect a deposit to be paid into court pending a full trial in the case, Judge David Waksman has set a six-week timeline for Anil to pay $100 million to three Chinese banks as he concluded that he did not accept Ambani's defence that his net worth was nearly zero or that his family would not step in to assist him when "push came to shove".

A UK court on Friday directed Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani to pay $100 million within six weeks towards a conditional order granted to three Chinese banks pursuing the recovery of over $680 million owed to them as part of a loan agreement.

In what is in effect a deposit to be paid into court pending a full trial in the case, Judge David Waksman has set a six-week timeline for such a payment to be made as he concluded that he did not accept Ambani's defence that his net worth was nearly zero or that his family would not step in to assist him when "push came to shove".

"In my overall conclusion, Mr Ambani has not satisfied me that he can't make any payment at all," Judge Waksman said as he expressed particular criticism of a "lack of candour" and "transparency" on the part of Ambani's defence in reference to his financial means.

The Reliance Group indicated that it plans to appeal against the ruling, which will involve a process of seeking permission to appeal.

"Mr Ambani is reviewing the order of the UK court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal," a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said.

"The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Capital Limited," the spokesperson said.

The banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China - welcomed the order and said they remain confident of their claim succeeding at trial.

"This is a straightforward debt claim to recover outstanding loans made to RCom (Reliance Communications) in good faith and secured by a binding personal guarantee given by Mr Ambani, which he has refused to honour," a statement on behalf of the banks said.

"We remain very confident in our claim.

We hope that Mr Ambani will comply with the court's order and look forward to the swift resolution of the case at trial," the statement said.

Earlier, during a half-day hearing, the court was told that Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a "disastrous turn of events" in the telecom market in India.

The Chinese banks had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around $925 million in February 2012.

Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the high court action in the - the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At the hearing at the Commercial Division of the high court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the "conditional order" granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account.

"The value of Mr Ambani's investments has collapsed since 2012.

The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian government's change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum," notes his defence.

"Whereas Mr Ambani's investments were worth more than $7 billion in 2012, they are now worth $89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account... Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not," said his barrister Robert Howe.

The banks' counsel called Ambani's claims into question and repeatedly referred to his "lavish lifestyle", involving access to 11 or so luxury cars, a private jet, a yacht and rent-free access to the exclusive Seawind penthouse in South Mumbai.

"So, Mr Ambani's assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India," questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing.

Ambani's legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play.

"The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of $700 million into court," said Howe.

The banks, represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been "at best economical with the truth" in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means.

They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambani's defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans.

"Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons can't help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order," said Thanki, who claimed Ambani's evidence was akin to the proverbial "glossy lipstick on the pig" in terms of some "blatant" lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case.

"ADA's (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world.

He has an estimated net worth of $55 to $57 billion," notes the banks in court.

"Despite all of this, ADA has failed to address in any detail the possibility of financial assistance being provided by Mukesh or any other member of his family," it notes.

On December 16, when the UK high court dismissed an application filed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited for a 'summary judgement' in its claims of $680 million against Ambani, a spokesperson of the RCom boss had said: "Ambani was confident that he will have an opportunity to place the necessary evidence before the UK high court, in the course of the trial to establish that Chinese banks claim are without any merit".

The spokesperson said in a statement that Ambani was confident that his position would be fully vindicated once all the facts and the entire evidence are before the court.

Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters
The Hungarian government is interested in restoring good neighborly relations with Ukraine, but the education act remains a difficult issue in bilateral relations, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Peter Szijjarto has said.

He stated this at a press conference with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv on Friday, February 7, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The Hungarian government is interested in restoring good neighborly relations with Ukraine. There is no such normal person who would not want to have a good relationship with his neighbor," he said.

At the same time, Szijjarto recalled that there is "one rather difficult issue" in bilateral contacts, which concerns the law on education.

He said that he had held a meeting with Ukrainian Education and Science Minister Hanna Novosad and expressed to her "two proposals" to solve this issue.

"We have agreed that Ms. Minister will urgently receive representatives of the Transcarpathian [Hungarian] Teachers' Association and that a decision will be made following these negotiations," Szijjarto said.

He added that the Hungarian side "wants to build several pragmatic projects that will give us success and help us restore our good neighborly relations."

op
Wall police this week arrested the last four of six men who authorities say committed a home invasion robbery and attack in the West Belmar section of town last month.

The men burst into the home around 2 p.m. on Jan. 21, and robbed and beat three people inside, authorities said.

One robber hit two of the victims multiple times with a mallet and two of the men physically assaulted all thee people in the residence, according to Wall police. One also pointed a gun at the victims before he and his associates fled, police said.

One resident was treated for an injury not considered life-threatening. The street where the robbery took place was not disclosed by police.

Police called the robbery an isolated incident and said there is no danger to the public.

One of the robbers was arrested Jan. 27 at his home, a second Jan. 28 near his home and four more on Wednesday following an investigation that also involved the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office as well as police in Asbury Park, Neptune Township and Neptune City.

The men facing a combination of aggravated assault, robbery, burglary and weapons charges:

Conrado Hernandez-Garcia, 21, of Neptune City

Kevin Y. Cruz-Ramirez, 18, of Neptune

Shakim I. Miller, 20, of Asbury Park

Joi I. James, 19, of Asbury Park

Kahj C. Jones, 21, of Asbury Park

Ernest L. Jones, 26, of Asbury Park

Wall police couldnt be reached for additional information.

Anyone with information is asked to call patrolman Shane Roland of the Wall police at 732-449-4500.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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HAYWARD (BCN)

A 40-year-old man was charged with murder on Friday for allegedly fatally stabbing his wife at their home in Hayward as their 11-year daughter watched, police and prosecutors said.

The charge against Elmer Ugarte, 40, stems from the stabbing of his wife Maria Hernandez, 38, in the 24000 block of Willimet Way in Hayward, near Birchfield Park just east of Interstate Highway 880, at about 5:40 p.m. on Tuesday.

Ugarte, who is a student according to jail records, was scheduled to be arraigned on Friday in Alameda County Superior Court in Dublin.

Ugarte stabbed Hernandez multiple times when she returned to their home on Tuesday evening, Hayward police Detective Jason Mosby wrote in a probable cause statement.

Before Hernandez came home she phoned the couple's 11-year-old daughter to lock her bedroom door because Ugarte was intoxicated, Mosby said.

Hernandez drove to the home with the couple's 12-year-old son but told him to stay in the car while she went inside, according to Mosby.

When Hernandez went inside she told the daughter to get some belongings to go to her grandparents' house, Mosby wrote.

But Ugarte called out to Hernandez and as she walked toward him he started stabbing her multiple times, Mosby said.

Hernandez fell to the ground and Ugarte continued to stab her, according to Mosby.

"The entire event was witnessed by the 11-year-old," Mosby wrote.

Ugarte washed the knife and his hands and then fled in his vehicle, leaving his two children behind, according to Mosby.

The 11-year-old daughter called police to report the stabbing and multiple officers who responded to the scene found Hernandez suffering from multiple stab wounds to her torso and she was pronounced dead at the scene, Mosby said.

While Ugarte was on the run he called a family member and disclosed that he had killed Hernandez by stabbing her, Mosby wrote.

Ugarte was arrested in Mountain View at 7:52 p.m. Tuesday.

Officers who served a search warrant at Ugarte's home found a large kitchen knife with suspected blood on it, Mosby said.

In addition to murder, Ugarte is charged with felony child endangerment.

Hayward police said anyone who has information about the fatal stabbing is asked to call Detective Mosby at (510) 293-7176.

Hernandez's death is the third homicide in Hayward so far this year.

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.
TUI and Royal Caribbean Expand Cruise Partnership With $1.3 Billion Deal

TUI Group is selling Hapag-Lloyd Cruises to its joint venture with Royal Caribbean Cruises in a deal worth $1.3 billion (1.2 billion).

The headline figure is the enterprise value with a net cash consideration of around $767 million (700 million).

TUI will put the proceeds towards its previously announced digital transformation as well as to strengthen the groups balance sheet.

The purchasing company, TUI Cruises, is a 50:50 joint venture between TUI Group and Royal Caribbean, established in 2008.

Join Us at Skift Forum Europe in Madrid on March 2425

When the deal goes through later this year, two of TUIs three cruise businesses will now be part of the joint venture with luxury and expedition brand Hapag-Lloyd Cruises joining its mass market German business. For the moment its UK-focused brand Marella Cruises remains outside.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises operates five vessels  two luxury liners and three smaller expedition ships, primarily aimed at the German-speaking market. One of the main drivers of the deal is the potential internationalization of the business. The fleet will likely grow in the coming years.

Products and brands such as MS Europa and MS Europa 2 have international potential and appeal, Fritz Joussen, TUI CEO, said in a statement.

Going forward, this will enable us as shareholders to take a capital-light approach to financing the ships and international growth within a joint venture framework. TUI and Royal Caribbean Cruises have developed the joint venture company on the basis of a strong partnership over the past ten years. The expansion decision is the next big step of growth for us  from a strategic and a commercial perspective,

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises generated revenue of $334 million (305 million) and an underlying profit (EBITA) of $47 million (43 million), in the financial year ending September 30, 2019.

The transaction is expected to close in the summer.

Joussen compared the deal to consolidation in the car industry where a luxury brand like Bugatti is part of the Volkswagen Group alongside more mainstream offerings like Seat and Skoda.

Story continues

He said there was a need to have propositions, brands separated and very clear cut, implying that Hapag-Lloyd Cruises name will remain.

Hapag-Lloyd Cruises was once part of the wider shipping business but TUI sold off its remaining stake in the cargo company in 2017.

What the Deal Means For TUI

The deal is pretty much win-win for TUI as it helps generate a decent amount of cash and will enable fast growth of its luxury and expedition cruising business.

While the companys move towards content  hotels and cruise ships  over the last few years has involved taking on more assets, the next stage of growth will be more asset-light. The cruise business is now largely held in a joint venture and its digital and hotels expansion will also be less capital intensive.

Royal Caribbeans Thinking

Royal Caribbean Chief Financial Officer Jason Liberty declined to comment on the prospect of a deal when asked by Skift earlier this week, but on an earnings call on Tuesday he expressed satisfaction about the partnership in general.

[The] performance of that brand has been exceptional, and we really believe that in the German market and TUI Cruises position in that market, how its trading, how its growing in its demand, were very happy and which makes us very excited about the German market and the overall European market, he told analysts.

The acquisition of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises is the second involving a luxury cruise line in recent years. In 2018 it announced a deal to take a majority stake in Silversea. As a result Royal Caribbean now has a much bigger foothold in the growing luxury and expedition market.

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The Maharashtra government on Thursday informed Bombay High Court more than 700 crore was disbursed to thousands of non-teaching staff of six universities in the state fraudulently.

Advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni informed the bench of justice SC Dharmadhikari and justice RI Chagla that under the guise of changing the nomenclature of certain posts, the pay scale of several non-teaching posts was increased and salaries were drawn accordingly after fraudulently obtaining approvals to the proposals.

What we have discovered is a fraud on the state exchequer. This has happened in the case of six universities, Kumbhakoni said.

According to an affidavit filed by the higher and technical education department, thousands of non-teaching staff members of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Shivaji University, Kolhapur, North Maharashtra University at Jalgaon, Sant Gadgebaba University, Amravati and Gondwana University at Gadchiroli have taken undue benefit under the fraud.

Kumbhakoni said after the state government decided to introduce a new staffing pattern in 2014, these universities sent their proposals for changing the nomenclature of several non-teaching posts to a certain desk officer in the higher and technical education department.

The desk officer obtained approvals from higher-ups to the proposals on the ground that there would be no additional financial burden and because of that, no approval of the finance department was obtained.

The universities not only changed the posts nomenclature but also increased the pay-scale for them. The non-teaching staff and their duties remained unchanged but they started getting higher pay scales, said the advocate general.

He added the matter did not stop at that and several employees drew additional amounts running into lakhs of rupees towards arrears, he added.

The total excess amount paid is over 700 crore, he added.

He was responding to a bunch of petitions filed by bodies representing employees of Pune and Shivaji universities and some individuals, challenging the December 17, 2018, government resolution (GR) issued by the higher and technical education department under which a squad was appointed to probe the matter and recover the excess dues.

The GR was issued after the finance department, in October 2017, realised that there was something wrong in the way salaries to non-teaching staff at the six universities were being disbursed after employees of other varsities started demanding higher pay scale at par with them, and asked the higher and technical education department to investigate the matter.

The investigating squad submitted its interim report recently revealing how the fraud was perpetrated by giving a go by to the prevailing procedure  to seek approval of the finance department to every proposal involving financial implications  and how excess amounts have been drawn from the state exchequer.

The court has posted the petitions for further hearing on Friday when it is likely to appoint an independent authority to hear the beneficiary university employees and submit a report suggesting course for further action.
Four of the 27 Royal Caribbean passengers screened for coronavirus after a cruise ship docked in Bayonne, N.J. on Friday morning were sent to hospitals for further evaluation, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The other 23 were cleared and permitted to disembark from the Anthem of the Seas along with the ships other passengers, who said they were unaware of the coronavirus concerns until being alerted by news reports.

Personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded a cruise ship docked in Bayonne this morning and screened 27 passengers who recently traveled from mainland China," Gov. Murphy said in statement that was reported by PennLives sister news site, NJ.com.

That was being done as a precaution, the governor said.

"After being assessed by the CDC, 23 of those passengers were cleared and four individuals are being evaluated at an area hospital. The hospital is following proper infection control protocols while evaluating these individuals. New Jersey currently has no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and the risk to residents remains low.

A Pottsville, Schuylkill County couple who was on the cruise said that for most of the roughly 4,700 on-board, those screenings took place on a strict need-to-know basis.

There was nothing official from the ship at all, said Janice Bevan, who took the 12-day cruise to various Caribbean ports of call with her husband, Howard. We found out by a television newscast" as their ship docked.

The Bevans said they were curious and a little concerned - they believe that a Chinese family in a cabin next door to them was among those screened - and they noted that in years of cruise trips Janice said this was the first time I saw a lot of police and ambulances out on the dock" when the ship arrived.

The workers were all peeking out windows, wondering.... you could see there was some concern," she added.

But, in a telephone interview on their trip home, they also said they never personally felt at risk on the trip.

Theyre very, very clean, and I did feel safe, Janice said, recalling constantly seeing crew members sanitizing public areas, and passengers being strongly encouraged to wash their hands every time they entered a food service venue.

And overall, the Bevans said Friday, they left feeling that whatever the ships officers and government officials knew, it was safe for us.

Royal Caribbean issued an emailed statement acknowledging some passengers were checked.

Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus" the statement said. "We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.

"We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and well being of our guests and crew.

Other cruise ships closer to the epicenter of the epidemic have been hit much harder.

Japanese officials said on Friday that 61 people had tested positive for the coronavirus on a quarantined cruise ship in Yokohama, a steep increase from the 20 confirmed cases on Thursday. The 41 new patients were to be taken off the ship for medical treatment. None were reported to be in serious condition as of Friday morning.

Much is still unknown about the virus, which emerged in China around the beginning of the year. Confirmed cases there have now surpassed 31,000, with 636 deaths. Among questions under investigation are how easily the virus spreads from person to person, and how many of those infected develop severe disease that can lead to death.

World Health Organization officials initially said about 20 percent of the reported patients in China had developed severe illness, and that about 2 percent had died. But many infected people may have developed only mild symptoms and not sought medical care, which would mean the overall fatality rate could be considerably lower than 2 percent.

There are just 12 confirmed cases in the United States to date, and only one of those is on the East Coast (Massachusetts).
Armed men looted Rs 1.95 lakh cash from a petrol pump on Bhopa Road in the city after threatening the staff at gunpoint, police said.

The incident happened on Thursday under New Mandi police station area when the miscreants came on a motorbike and robbed the staff, they said.

Police rushed to the spot and started search operations.

Four teams have fanned out to capture the robbers, they added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Masisi fends off criticism of his governments decision, saying it will not threaten the elephant population.

Botswana, home to the worlds largest elephant population, is set to hold its first major auction for trophy elephant hunting quotas since scrapping a hunting ban last year.

The sale on Friday will be conducted by a local firm, Auction It, from the premises of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism in the capital, Gaborone.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi raised the ire of conservationists in May when he revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who introduced a blanket ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

Masisi fended off criticism of his governments decision, saying the move will not threaten the elephant population.

The government is issuing seven hunting packages of 10 elephants each, confined to controlled hunting areas, a wildlife spokeswoman Alice Mmolawa told AFP news agency on Thursday.

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In a text message, she said hunting would help areas most affected by human-wildlife conflict, a reference to elephants roaming off game parks into communities.

The 2020 hunting season is expected to open in April.

Bidding is open to companies that are either owned by Botswana citizens or are registered in Botswana, she added.

Bidders must make a refundable deposit of 200,000 pula ($18,300) to participate.

According to an auction advisory, bidders must have demonstrable appropriate elephant hunting experience and have no previous wildlife criminal convictions.

Hunting of collared elephants will be prohibited.

All elephant hunting expeditions will be compelled to be accompanied by a guide and a professional, at all times, according to the auction notice.

Masisis decision to lift the hunting ban last year was praised by local communities but derided by conservationists and ignited tension between Khama and Masisi.

Overpopulation

Masisi has defended his decision to end the hunting ban, saying Botswana has an overpopulation of elephants, and pledged to regulate the practice.

His predecessor Khama slammed the decision.

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I have been against hunting because it represents a mentality [of] those who support it, to exploit nature for self-interest that has brought about the extinction of many species worldwide, he told AFP in a phone interview.

He said allowing commercial hunting could demotivate those who are engaged in anti-poaching, who are being told to save elephants from poachers but the regime is poaching the same elephant and calling it hunting.

Audrey Delsink, Africas wildlife director for the global conservation lobby charity Humane Society International said the Botswanan elephant hunting auctions are deeply concerning and questionable.

Hunting is not an effective long-term human-elephant mitigation tool or population control method, she said from neighbouring South Africa.

Neil Fitt, who heads Kalahari Conservation Society in Botswana, said hunting was a new source of revenue for the country, but cautioned it had to be practised ethically and properly.

With unfenced parks and wide-open spaces, Botswana has the worlds largest elephant population with more than 135,000 animals  about a third of the African continents total.

Most of the animals are in the Chobe National Park, an important tourist draw.

But elephants invade villages located near wildlife reserves, knocking down fences, destroying crops, and at times killing people.
Willow Creeks interim pastor to step down as church drops top candidates to fill Hybels shoes

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Elders at Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago announced Thursday that Steve Gillen, their interim senior pastor will step down on March 17. Gillen has been serving in the role since the churchs founder, Bill Hybels, resigned amid a sexual misconduct scandal in 2018.

Before starting the external senior pastor search, we asked Steve to continue in his interim role on contract to provide much needed leadership to the Willow staff and congregation. Given that the search process has taken longer than anticipated, Steve agreed to serve on staff until March 17, 2020. Steve will no longer be interim senior pastor after March 17, but he may stay engaged past that date to support the transition to a new interim senior pastor, the elder board said. He determined that now is an appropriate time for him and his family to seek out what God has in store for them in their next chapter.

The announcement was made in an update from the elder board in which they also revealed that they are no longer considering two leading candidates they had settled on in December to fill the vacancy created by Hybels scandal.

In our December update, we shared that the final two senior pastor candidates were presented to the full Elder Board. While both candidates have strong qualities as pastors, we released both from candidacy, the elders said.

Our consensus was that neither candidate is the long-term leader of Willow Creek; therefore, the search process has continued. We have provided updates throughout the process, and one of the consequences is that in our last communication, we set an expectation that we are not able to meet, they said.

The elder boards decision came just two days after they publicly apologized for allowing Hybels' mentor, Gilbert Bilezikian, a retired Wheaton College professor, who is also credited with helping Hybels start Willow Creek, to keep teaching at the church despite abuse allegations against him.

Longtime Willow Creek member Ann Lindberg recently disclosed in an extended post on Facebook how Bilezikian victimized her for years and suggested he would have had sex with her had she allowed it during a relationship that lasted from October 1984 to 1988.

It began with subtle flirtations after weekend services, and grew to include hand holding, emotional sharing and intimacy, kissing and fondling, and pressure to have sex. Dr. Bilezikian confided about his unhappy marriage, his lack of joy, and desire for a better partnership. He told me I was the type of woman he wished he had married instead of his wife Maria. I was young in my faith, new to church, and hungry for someone to invest spiritually in me. He made me feel special, and he was a spiritual authority in a large church, and I did not feel like I could say no to him, even when my gut was telling me this was not appropriate, Lindberg wrote.

She said when she finally found the courage to report Bilezikian to church leaders in 2010, she did not feel like they treated her experience with the seriousness it deserved.

In a statement on Jan. 28, Willow Creek apologized for how Lindberg was treated without naming her.

While Dr. Bilezikian has never been an employee of Willow Creek, he has been active in the life of the church for decades. At the time, the churchs Elder Response Team (ERT) met at length with the woman and with Dr. Bilezikian. The team believed the womans claim that Dr. Bilezikian engaged in inappropriate behavior dating back to the mid-eighties, including but not limited to hand holding, hugs, kissing, inappropriate touching, and sending overly personal communication, the statement from the elders said.

The ERT did restrict him from serving, but the restriction was not adequately communicated, resulting in Dr. Bilezikian serving and teaching in various capacities over the years. This was wrong, and we are sorry, they said.
Li told the media in earlier reports that "as the coronavirus continues to spread, I don't want to leave. I'll work on the frontline when I recover."





Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight "whistleblowers" who tried to warn other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by local police, died from coronavirus early on Friday, the hospital where he received treatment announced.









Wuhan Central Hospital released on its Weibo account that Li passed away at 2:58 am Friday after emergency treatment.





Li was given emergency treatment with ECMO (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) after his heart stopped beating at around 21:30 Thursday, according to media reports.





Li, a doctor who worked for Wuhan Central Hospital where he was also treated for coronavirus infection, initially warned his college classmates about the deadly virus in December 2019, urging them to take care. On December 30, he obtained a patient report suggesting SARS-like coronavirus positive signs. He then published information in a group chat saying that there have been seven confirmed cases of "SARS," according to one of his Weibo posts. On January 3, local police reprimanded him for spreading "online rumors" and required him to sign a letter of reprimand.





Since then, he returned to work, the post said. After he received patients infected with coronavirus, he began coughing on January 10, then having fever the next day. He was subsequently hospitalized on January 12.





Li was among eight Wuhan residents who were reprimanded by local police in early January for spreading "rumors" about the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.





The information they spread online claimed that cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the viral respiratory illness that battered China in the spring of 2003, were detected in some of Wuhan's hospitals.





Many said the experience of the eight "whistle-blowers" was evidence of local authorities' incompetence to tackle a contagious and deadly virus.





A top epidemiologist at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) said in a recent interview with Global Times' editor-in-chief Hu Xijin that we should highly praise the eight Wuhan residents.





"They were wise before the outbreak," Zeng Guang, chief epidemiologist at the CCDC, said, adding though that any judgment needs to be backed by scientific evidence.





Some Chinese netizens said local authorities owe him an official apology, claiming that it's heartbreaking news. "We lost a hero," a netizen said in a WeChat post, noting that if his warning could send an alarm, the outbreak might not have continued to worsen.





The 34-year-old doctor who was originally from Northeast China's Liaoning Province, was enrolled in at Wuhan University in 2004, majoring in clinical medicine, according to media reports. After three-year of work in Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province, he returned to Wuhan and had been working at Wuhan Central Hospital since then.





Media reports also said his wife, who is pregnant, was not in good conditions. Li said on his Weibo account that he was diagnosed with coronavirus infection on Saturday.





Li told the media in earlier reports that "as the coronavirus continues to spread, I don't want to leave. I'll work on the frontline when I recover."
Leo Varadkar has predicted real difficulty in forming a government after the election.

If the polls are correct, then I think we are going to have real difficulty forming a government, he told Clare FM.

The election three-horse race has taken everyone by surprise.

No election is easy. It has turned into is a three-horse race - Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Sinn Fein - which I think nobody would have anticipated at the start of this campaign, that it would be a three-horse race, but it is, he said.

My fear is that a Fianna Fail-led government or a Sinn Fein-led government - or the two of them in bed together. That could set us backwards, so people have a big decision to make.

Mr Varadkar also revealed he would fight to retain leadership of Fine Gael in the event of his party losing the general election.

Under party rules, he would have to submit himself to a confidence vote.

If that were to happen, I would ask to stay on as party leader and lead the Opposition, and be ready to pick up the pieces in five years time after Fianna Fail do to the country what they usually do, he said.

On health, Mr Varadkar said he deeply regrets that anyone has to spend any time on a hospital trolley.

In a wealthy country like Ireland no-one should have to experience that, certainly their relatives should not have to either, and I know what it is like for the staff too.

But he said it is not true to say nothing was happening to fix the problems.

The housing crisis has come up in so many different ways during the election campaign, he accepted, saying issues ranged from people who are paying rents that are far too high, to people in their thirties living at home who are trying to buy their first home, struggling to get a deposit, to the really sharp end of things which is families in emergency accommodation.

But I actually, genuinely think we are making progress on this, he said.

Mr Varadkar said more houses are being built, house prices are levelling off, rents are going down and the number in emergency accommodation is falling back.

Promises from other parties to double housing within a year is not honest, he added.

On regional disparity in Ireland, Mr Varadkar said: There is an east-west divide and it is very hard actually for governments to turn that around. It exists in every country, London and the rest (of Britain), Paris and the rest of the country. It is not that that happens because of government policy, it is just because of the drift of the cities - it is an international phenomenon. But we do try to push back against that as a government.

The Taoiseach cited the National Broadband Plan and Shannon Airport as examples.
The nation here has done no such thing (the Indian State is robustly heterosexual and masculinist and does not want to claim queers at all), but queers are clamouring to be included in the nation.

If you still had any doubts that the queer movement in India is a right-wing, neoliberal, hellish agglomeration, the events of the last few days should have settled them.

First, there was the singling out of protesters who exercised the democratic right to protest against CAA-NPR-NRC as part of Bombay Pride. And they were singled out and reported by members of the queer community. Ashok Row Kavi, well-known, rabid, right-wing amma of the LGBTs, reduced them to Left-Islamist nonsense and claimed that their colleges were easy to comb and search. Several queers took to the social media to condemn the protesters and claim queer space and Pride March space as apolitical. The organising body of the march distanced themselves from the protesters, condemning pro-Sharjeel slogans as harming the integrity of India, even as they claimed allegiance to the Constitution and law, both of which they clearly know nothing about.

Kris Chudawala, a trans student from TISS who exercised a democratic right is in jail under sedition charges and was denied anticipatory bail (along with 50 others). This for raising a slogan in a protest march and reading the Preamble of the Constitution. The queer community is delighted with this arrest. They had written to the Mumbai police asking for the arrests.

Then, Pune Pride followed with an equally repulsive statement claiming both distance from those supporting anti-nationals and people who bring political flags (what on earth is a non-political flag?) and pollute Pride, which is only about raising awareness. Clearly, these folk have no awareness of the origins and history of Pride. But national integrity and security cannot be compromised. Heil Hitler!

Then, Delhi had an event against the Budget and all sorts of minority organisations participated, but queer groups were conspicuous by their absence. The one trans activist present, Meera Sanghamitra, who, by her own public admission, had not intended to speak at all, eventually spoke but did not feel the need to even mention Chudavala and Bombay or Pune Pride. She settled for bland solidarities and a banal rewriting of the national anthem.

Fourth, no queer group has come out with a statement condemning the CAA-NRC-NPR, let alone the arrest of members of their community.

Fifth, as an experiment, I changed my handle on all the gay dating and hookup apps I am on to No to CAA-NPR-NRC. The barrage of abuse I got from people calling me Muslim (as a form of abuse), wanting to rape my mother, my wife (yes, most Indian gay men have wives or are going to get them, so they presume all gay men do) was predictable.

Jasbir Puar, a US South Asian academic, in her book Terrorist Assemblages over a decade ago, had come up with the idea of homonationalism by which she meant countries like the US and Israel using gay politics/positions to justify imperialism, claiming the gay for the nation to other the figure of the terrorist, demonising the Muslim and the Muslim country.

The nation here has done no such thing (the Indian State is robustly heterosexual and masculinist and does not want to claim queers at all), but queers are clamouring to be included in the nation. They are each more hysterical than the other in their claim to the nationalist.

Moreover, the terrorist is anyone who criticises the State (the duty of a citizen in a democracy) and they dont mind demonising their own community members. This is not a nationalism against an Other outside the nation (the Pakistani) but within the nation. This is a Hindu nationalism, and while Muslims might be the primary enemy, Christians, dalits, adivasis, women and anyone who is critical of the state is the enemy.

This is not a minority as we understand it at all. A minority is a group underrepresented by the state, demanding rights, offering a critique of the state. The Pride march has its origins in transgenders in New York finally losing it with police tyranny, whereas these folk are tweeting the police asking them to come arrest members of the community. Queer has its origins in demanding healthcare from the state at the height of the AIDS crisis when the US had left gay men to die.

These queers embrace the state and are bending over backward to kick their own to the kerb. These Pride arches are about apolitical frolic and parties at five-star hotels later.

If queer lost its political edge long ago in the US (once it was co-opted by US academia), its circulation across the world through the globalspeak of NGOised sexual governance had little more than an assimilationist and inclusivist rhetoric going for it.

But even that is gone from the new (or were they always that, but it is only now that their fangs are bared?), right-wing Hindu-fundamentalist queers who are now deciding which queers get to be Indian and which dont.

The Left anti-Budget meeting had the usual suspects invoking the usual laundry list of minorities: farmer, worker, dalits, adivasi, woman. The queer was missing. While that usually incenses me, this time it was reassuring. Queers are the enemy.

It is time for the real sexual minorities to stand up, please.

Tellis is an academic, a journalist, an editor and a writer on LGBT and other minority issues
A much-needed explainer on everyones favorite form of fizz.

Nothing says "celebrate!" quite like a bottle of bubbly, which is what makes it the drink of choice to toast with on Valentines Day. Its versatile too: sparkling wines light and refreshing enough to sip on its own but also pairs perfectly with party foods and desserts galore.

No matter how much you love Champagne or sparkling wine, chances are youve been (at some point) intimidated by the task of buying a bottle. Whats the difference between Brut and Demi Sec, or Blanc de Blanc and Blanc de Noir, or Prosecco and Cava? Here are five facts that'll help you select and serve bubbles better from expert sommelier Christopher Hoel, founder of Harpers Club and wine curator for Wine Insiders and Martha Stewart Wine Co.

Champagne by any other name is not Champagne.

In order to be designated as Champagne, the sparkling wine must be made from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France and follow very specific Appellation dOrigine Controlee (AOC) production regulations. Without this naming, youre likely drinking sparkling wines known as Cava (from Spain), Prosecco (from Italy), Cremant (made in the same style as Champagne, but produced from French grapes in different regions), or sparkling wines that come from growing regions from all over the world. "Those regions could include the USA, New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Argentina, South Africa, Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom just to name a few," explains Hoel. "That said, I am not a sparkling wine purist! While I love a good Champagne, many people are intimidated by its cost and prestige. Luckily, you can get fantastic Cava, Prosecco, and other sparkling wines for well under $20."

RELATED: 6 Delicious, Affordable Types of Sparkling Wine That Aren't Champagne or Prosecco

Sugar plays a key role in giving Champagne its bubbles and alcohol (in addition to sweetness).

Perhaps the biggest differentiator among Champagnes is the range of sweetness youll taste. Wine drinkers tend to have strong preferences about how sweet they like their bubbles, and it all comes down to how the wine was produced.

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Most Champagne winemakers favor a method of winemaking referred to as the Methode Champenoise, relying on secondary fermentation in the bottle rather than a tank. This method also involves a process of remuage (or periodic shaking) that involves removing dead yeast (called lees) and re-corking the wine.

The secondary fermentation also involves the addition of sugar, (a process known as dosage) to counteract the high acidity of Champagne. Words like Brut or Sec provide an estimate of how much sugar was added and, therefore, how sweet the wine will taste. These descriptions apply to other sparkling wines as well.

The sweetness level also determines what foods pair best with your bubbly.

Brut Nature (Brut Zero): Completely dry, and as the name implies, zero sugar. Enjoy a glass of this versatile bubbly with your favorite fried dishes such as Calamari or French fries.

Extra Brut: Minimal sugar and sweetness; should taste dry. The high acidity (and minimal sugar) makes this bottle perfect for washed rind cheeses that you can pair with jam and crackers.

Brut: One of the drier options, and similarly the most common. Due to the level of crispness, this is the most food-friendly pairing bottle. Enjoy a Brut alongside a rotisserie chicken or grilled fish.

Extra Dry (extra-sec): Medium dry, with a hint of sweetness. Try pairing with a dessert cheese platter featuring double-cream brie, almonds, and honey.

Dry (sec): Noticeably sweet. Balance out the sweetness by pairing a glass with savory bites like buttered popcorn or salami.

Demi-sec: Medium sweetness. Demi-sec marks the beginning of the dessert wine classification. Serve slightly chilled, as itll help counteract the sweetness and preserve the more delicate flavors in each sip.

Doux: Very sweet, and officially considered a dessert wine. As a rule of thumb, Doux Champagne is considered a sipping wine and is seen as an accompaniment, rather than the main event. Try to remain cognizant of serving size to avoid over-pouring your guests.

The grapes you're toasting with can differ bottle by bottle.

Understanding which types of grapes were used to make your bottle of bubbly will help you find the best style (and price point) for your palette. Thankfully, its all in the label:

Blanc de Blanc: This quite literally translates to white from whites, and means the wine was produced exclusively with white grapes. Blanc de Blanc Champagnes are made with 100% Chardonnay grapes. In rare cases, this process can involve using Pinot Blanc grapes as well. While initially used to refer to still wines, blanc de blanc is now almost exclusively used to refer to sparkling wines and is the epitome of Champagne. The resulting wine bears a strong resemblance to a Chardonnay and has minerality and chalkiness. Think of yellow-hued foods here, like butter, lemons, and tart apples for pairing inspiration.

Blanc de Noir: Similarly, Blanc de Noir, or white from reds are made from red grapes, most often Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Interestingly, despite the inclusion of red grapes, Champagne maintains its light coloring because it spends almost zero amount of time in contact with the skins during the winemaking process. These bottles tend to be fruitier and a bit more full-bodied due to the inclusion of red grapes. Red fruits, like raspberries and strawberries, tend to best complement a Blanc de Noir.

Brut Rose: Another style is a brut rose, which as the name suggests, has a pink hue to it thanks to either the inclusion of red grape skins or the addition of still red wine to the sparkling white wine (depending on the winemakers preferred process). While the lovely pink bottle may infer sweetness, its actually a rather dry, acidic wine. Whether youre staying in or dining out, you simply cannot go wrong with a brut rose. As a Valentines Day favorite, it pairs well with Chinese takeout, while also enhancing the flavor of fancier seafood dishes like sauteed salmon or roasted pork.

RELATED: These Red Wines Are Actually Best Served Chilled, Says a Sommelier

Vintage doesn't mean the Champagne is oldit means that the grapes came from one single year.

You may also notice a label designation of Vintage or NV on the bottle, which refers to whether or not the grapes fermented in one year (vintage) or over multiple years (non-vintage.) The important thing to note here is that vintage champagnes tend to be pricier, whereas non-vintage selections are commonly found at lower price points and are more widely available.

Champagne shouldn't be served in flutes.

Without question, the effervescence of Champagne is aesthetically pleasing when serving inside a thin, elongated flute. But sommeliers, wine professionals, and sparkling wine producers all agree that the narrow design of a flute "mutes" the aroma, flavor, and complexity of your bubbly. "A Champagne flute may feel celebratory, but it restricts airflow to the wine, dampening its aroma and flavors," says Maximilian Riedel, CEO and President of wine glass company Riedel. "It actually makes Champagne smell yeasty, and the tall shape allows bubbles to escape directly out of the top of the glass," he adds. A smarter way to serve sparkling wines is in white wine glasses: their rounder, more open shape is better at helping your bubbly express its unique flavor profile and characteristics. There's also more space for your nose and taste buds to experience what you're sipping.

RELATED: You've Been Serving Champagne All Wrong  Here's How To Do It Right
Danielle DiNapolis Facebook group, Justice for Scruffles, became a haven for grieving owners of pets who died following grooming appointments at PetSmart.

But after a lengthy court battle, DiNapoli took down the page  named after her English bulldog who died following a 2017 visit to the Flemington PetSmart  as of Jan. 20 and issued a public apology to the company.

I never should have said on television or here on social media that PetSmart killed Scruffles and for that Im sorry, DiNapoli said in a final post on the page. I have since learned that other health factors caused Scruffles death and PetSmart did not kill my dear Scruffles.

The apology was issued months after the case was settled.

On Dec. 29, 2017, DiNapoli, a Lambertville resident, took what she believed was a perfectly healthy 8-year-old bulldog to a grooming appointment at the nearby PetSmart. At some point during the appointment, Scruffles was taken to the Flemington Veterinary Hospital where the beloved pet was pronounced dead. A baffled DiNapoli said at the time that no PetSmart employees explained to her what happened to Scruffles.

And so commenced DiNapolis lengthy journey in the New Jersey court system.

DiNapoli sued PetSmart in April 2018 for compensatory and punitive damages for the death of Scruffles. She then launched a highly-publicized negative campaign against PetSmart  which included the Facebook page and a Dr. Oz segment.

The Justice for Scruffles page had more than 11,000 followers. It became a place where pet groomers feuded about best practices, other victims came forward with their stories of misfortune and reports from media outlets on pet deaths tied to groomings were shared.

Scruffles story became the impetus of a special NJ Advance Media investigation that documented 47 cases across 14 states since 2008 in which families claim they took their dog to PetSmart for grooming  everything from a nail clipping to a haircut  only to have it die during or shortly after the visit.

English bulldogs and similar breeds known as brachycephalic dogs, or those with short noses and smushed faces, accounted for 20 of the 47 documented deaths. Those dogs can have trouble breathing, especially in stressful environments or areas that get hot.

The investigation also found that PetSmart was pressuring groomers to meet sales quotas, some former employees said, and many felt either ignored or retaliated against when they spoke up about safety concerns or wrongdoing by colleagues.

PetSmart has denied any wrongdoing in the deaths reviewed by NJ Advance Media. From the start, the company said Scruffles death was caused by pre-existing medical conditions, but it did not specify what caused the death. It also filed a counterclaim for defamation against DiNapoli.

In the Facebook post, DiNapoli did not offer an explanation as to how Scruffles died, and she did not return a phone call seeking comment. Her attorney, James Barletti, also did not immediately return a request for comment.

In a statement, PetSmart said, Scruffles "death was, in fact, caused by pre-existing health issues, evidenced by a necropsy report that was deliberately withheld by Ms. DiNapoli while she engaged in a concerted, national smear campaign against the company.

We are glad that the facts came to light and that truth prevailed in this case, the statement said.

Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Sophie Nieto-Munoz may be reached at snietomunoz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her at @snietomunoz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Farmers and vendors are incurring losses due to lack of proper post-harvest handling and preservation techniques.

At Mbare Musika, most farmers and vendors end up throwing away perishables, while in some areas children are suffering from malnutrition and victims of Cyclone Idai are also struggling to get food.=

First Lady Auxillia Mnangagwa yesterday toured the Mbare Musika agricultural produce market and expressed concern that perishables were being thrown away.

She said if preserved, perishables could go a long way in ensuring food security.

"As a mother, I get worried when I see food being thrown away when there are other communities facing food shortages especially children," she said.

"It is now time to go back to the traditional ways of preserving food through processing and value addition. We should now come up with strategies on improving our post-harvest handling of agricultural produce to ensure food is available throughout the year.

"We need to find ways of assisting the vulnerable who are facing food shortages especially the children."

Amai Mnangagwa chose Mbare Musika because it is the place where different stakeholders such as the Government, private sector, transporters of agricultural produce, and the financial sector transact.

"This place makes me happy because despite the different seasons, there is always agricultural produce on sale even during the public holidays," she said.

The First Lady said it was unfortunate that droughts and climate change had taken toll on food production resulting in a huge deficit, hence the need for preservation technologies.

She asked some elderly women to demonstrate how they dry vegetables and some of them had undergone training by the Ministry of Women's Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development.

They are now selling processed food.

The First Lady took the opportunity to urge people to unite, work together and come up with solutions to the problems they face.

She said it was time to bring glamour to Mbare Musika, adding that all other agricultural markets in Zimbabwe should be highly-organised to attract buyers including tourists who bring foreign currency.

Women's Affairs Minister Sithembiso Nyoni applauded the First Lady for working hard to assist the needy, especially children.

"We thank the First Lady for her efforts in supporting the needy. Mbare Musika is a major market in Zimbabwe and faces numerous challenges.

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"The coming of the First Lady marks a new era for this place. She came to unite everyone and that is her aim. People were not aware of Kanyemba area, but through the First Lady, the area is developing. Mbare is now our Kanyemba and together we will develop it," she said.

Minister of State for Harare Provincial Affairs Senator Oliver Chidawu said: "The First Lady is hard working and has her own ways of helping people in Zimbabwe, especially uplifting lives of the vulnerable communities."

Murehwa farmer, Mr Tawanda Mhangwa, said the First Lady had empowered many farmers.

"There are times when our products are flooded at the market and we make huge losses as most of our produce are perishables. Now we will preserve our produce, share with the needy and also stock for future use.

"Not all people like fresh food, some like dried food so instead of throwing away food we can preserve and sell as dried products," he said.
A well-known Russian investigative journalist, Yelena Milashina, and human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovina have been attacked in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Chechnya.

The Moscow-based newspaper Novaya gazeta says its reporter and the lawyer were in the Chechen capital, Grozny, to attend the trial of a well-known blogger, when they were attacked by a group of unknown assailants late in the evening on February 6.

Milashina posted on Facebook a copy of her complaint to police over the incident.

The group of attackers, which included women, assaulted Milashina and Dubrovina at a hotel entrance and continued to punch and kick them as they moved inside the hotel lobby.

The incident was filmed by unknown individuals, the newspaper added.

Milashina, widely known for her investigative reports about the dire human rights situation in Chechnya, and Amnesty International called the assault the latest in a string of attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, and vocal critics in the North Caucasus region.



The Russian Union of Journalists said it expects the authorities to bring those involved in "this blatant attack" to justice.

The representative on Freedom of the Media for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Harlem Desir, urged the authorities to investigate what he called the "very worrying incident" thoroughly.



"It is paramount that journalists are able to work in a safe environment, without fear of reprisals, Desir said in a statement.



Milashina told Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy radio that she believed the attack was orchestrated by local authorities.

"This is the next in a chain of attacks on human rights defenders and journalists, and lawyers who work in Chechnya," she said.

"I believe that, of course, [Chechen leaders] are behind this attack. When such a situation occurs, it is always authorized by the authorities," she added.

Chechen Information Minister Dzhambulat Umarov told Ekho Moskvy that the women might have been attacked by "ordinary people" who are upset with their activities in Chechnya.

Umarov also said that the women "might have staged the attack to discredit local authorities."

Novaya Gazeta's editor in chief, Dmitry Muratov, said the publication will continue to send reporters to Chechnya and expressed hope that police in Grozny will do their job "properly" and find the attackers.

Activists say Kadyrov, who has ruled the volatile region since 2007, uses repressive measures and has created a climate of impunity for security forces in the region. They claim Kadyrov is ultimately responsible for the violence and intimidation of political opponents by Chechen authorities, including kidnappings, forced disappearances, torture, and extrajudicial killings.

"Last year Kremlin-appointed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov openly warned he would bar human rights defenders from Chechnya and threatened them with violence. Now, such violence is taking place," Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty Internationals Eastern Europe and Central Asia deputy director, said in a statement on February 7.

Kremlin critics say Putin has turned a blind eye to the alleged abuses and violations of the Russian Constitution by Kadyrov because he relies on the former rebel commander to control separatist sentiment and violence in Chechnya, the site of two devastating post-Soviet wars and an Islamist insurgency that spread to other mostly Muslim regions in the North Caucasus.

With reporting by Novaya Gazeta and Ekho Moskvy
Indian market is likely to head higher after a flat start on Friday tracking mixed trend seen in other Asian markets, but Nifty50 could face some selling pressure near 12,200 levels based on technicals.

Trends on SGX Nifty indicate a flat opening for the index in India, with a loss of 5 points, or 0.04 percent. Nifty futures were trading around 12,124-level on the Singaporean Exchange.

The S&P BSE Sensex rose for the fourth consecutive day in a row while Nifty50 reclaimed crucial 50-Days Moving Average (DMA) placed at 12,117.

Rate-sensitive stocks, including NBFC and housing finance companies, rallied on ease in liquidity measure introduced by the govt. and the possibility of lower rates in the future.

Lets look at the final tally on D-Street  the S&P BSE Sensex rose 163 points to 41,306 while the Nifty50 closed 48 points higher at 12,137.

Sectorally, action was seen in the S&P BSE Telecom which rose 1.9 percent, followed by the S&P BSE Public Sector that was up 1.5 percent, and the S&P BSE Oil & Gas index rose nearly 1 percent.

The Nifty Bank rose nearly 1 percent outperforming the benchmark indices, supported by gains in IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank, Bank of Baroda, SBI, and PNB.

The rupee on Thursday rose by 6 paise to close at 71.19 against the US dollar after the RBI left the policy rates unchanged but maintained its accommodative stance to boost growth.

On the institutional front, FPIs were net sellers in Indian markets for Rs 560 cr while the DIIs were net buyers to the tune of Rs 304 cr, provisional data showed.

Big News:

As many as 201 companies on the BSE will declare their results for December quarter that include names like Abbott India, ACC, Alkem Laboratories, Apex Frozen, Ashoka Buildcon, Britannia Industries, Corporation Bank, Emami, India Cements, Inox Leisure, JSW Holdings, KEC International, Max India, Mahanagar Gas, NHPC, NTPC, Oberoi Realty, Repco Home, Tata Steel, UPL Ltd, Voltas, etc. among others.

ACC: PAT likely to grow by 43% YoY

Oberoi Realty: PAT likely to grow by 56% YoY

Britannia Industries: PAT likely to grow by 15% YoY

Tata Steel: Likely to report a loss of Rs 372 cr

Voltas: PAT likely to grow by 33% YoY

(All estimates are from Motilal Oswal)

Technical View:

Nifty formed a bullish candle on the daily charts which resemble a Spinning top kind of pattern

It surpassed its crucial 50-DMA placed at 12117

A close above 12,160 would trigger a buy signal on the Supertrend indicator

In the last 4 sessions, Nifty added around 550 points to its kitty thereby dragging some of the momentum oscillators into the overbought zones on lower time frame charts which suggest some consolidation in the offing

As long as it sustains above 12,084 levels it may try to drag on its feet towards its logical targets of 12,266 levels

Short term weakness shall be expected on a close below 12084 levels and in such a scenario initial target can be towards 11950 levels, suggest experts.

Three levels: 12084, 12160, 12266.

Stocks in the news:

Hero MotoCorp on February 6 reported a 14.5 percent year-on-year growth in Q3FY20 profit at Rs 880.4 crore, largely driven by a sharp fall in tax cost.

Pharma firm Lupin on Thursday reported widening of its consolidated net loss to Rs 835 crore for the quarter ended December 2019 on account of exceptional items including impairment of Gavis portfolio.

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail on Thursday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 37.64 crore for the quarter ended on December 31, 2019.

Technical Recommendations:

We spoke to IndiaNivesh Securities Ltd and heres what they have to recommend:

Infosys Future | Sell | Target: Rs 725 | Stop loss: Rs 785 | Downside: 6%

HDFC AMC | Buy Target: Rs 3,700 | Stop loss: Rs 3,100 | Upside: 12%

The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha proceedings were on Friday adjourned for the day after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi condemned a Congress member's attempt to attack Union Minister Harsh Vardhan.

"It is highly uncalled for. If anything is wrongly spoken then it is upto the Speaker to take a call but trying to attack the Minister is condemnable," Joshi said as the House reassembled at 2 pm.

As Congress members too were on there feet, A Raja, who was chairing the proceedings of the House, adjourned it for the day.

Earlier during Question Hour, Congress MP from Tamil Nadu Manickam Tagore attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, as he condemned the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The House was then adjourned till 1 pm and after that till 2 pm.
A legislative committee looking into the states troubled economic incentive program called for major changes in the way the state hands out millions in tax breaks to promote job growth in New Jersey, but stopped short of all the reforms called for by Gov. Phil Murphy.

The tax breaks expired last year and an ongoing debate between Murphy and state legislative leaders has deadlocked efforts to restart the program.

Among the key recommendations of the committee:

Caps on individual tax breaks, but not on the overall program itself  as has been demanded by the governor.

Targeting high-growth, high tech and environmentally beneficial industries with incentive programs.

Agreements that would serve as contracts guaranteeing benefits that a developer or company would be required to provide to residents of the area receiving state incentives

Providing additional incentive benefits to cities needing private and public investment.

The committee in its 18-page report issued on Friday also recommended the establishment of an Office of the Economic Development Inspector General, in the wake of allegations of abuse and fraud in the awarding of tens of millions of incentives.

State Sen. Bob Smith, D-Middlesex, who chaired the special Senate Committee on Economic Growth Strategies, said the report offered a blueprint for reform and improvement to maximize New Jerseys ability to compete for jobs and economic growth.

We took a hard look at the programs in place to determine the reforms needed to make them work with more transparency and accountability, Smith said in a statement. We reviewed past practices with a critical eye so that we can develop constructive strategies for economic growth.

The recommendations, he said, offered an emphasis on expanding opportunities in distressed communities.

The governors office in response noted many of the recommendation are contained in Murphys own proposals for change, but indicated that it remains firm on the need for annual caps on incentive awards, which it called integral to the program.

Opponents have said such limits would put the state at a disadvantage, but Murphy has not budged from his position.

"Were gratified that the committee has recognized issues first raised by the governor in the early days of his campaign. However, we believe these recommendations do not go far enough, said Murphy spokesman Darryl Isherwood. While most of these recommendations are incorporated into the governors plan and others already are part of the EDA process, we look forward to discussing them with the legislature as part of our continued talks.

Sheila Reynertson, a senior policy analyst with New Jersey Policy Perspective, a progressive group that has long argued for changes in the states tax incentive programs, said a hard cap on annual spending is the states best defense against the future waste and abuse.

The committees refusal to include this commonsense reform runs counter to testimony by national economic development policy experts and the overwhelming evidence showing these subsidies are too costly and provide little benefit to New Jersey families or the state economy, she said. The fact remains that New Jersey is not in the financial position to give out limitless corporate tax breaks, and hard caps should be a nonnegotiable component as lawmakers consider tax subsidy reform.

The incentive program under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has been mired in controversy since a task force appointed by Murphy found that the agency responsible for economic development in New Jersey did not have adequate procedures in place to vet applications for literally billions in lucrative awards.

It also found that the agency had a culture with a less-than-rigorous approach of evaluating applications by companies vying for the states tax incentives, often working to get to yes, said the task force.

The states main economic programs, which include the Grow NJ Assistance Program and the state and local Economic Redevelopment and Growth programs, expired at the end of last June.

Murphy has been an outspoken critic of the programs, which he has said wasted far too much taxpayer money and created far too few jobs. And after months of its own hearings, the governors task force last year issued a report charging that millions in incentive money went to politically connected companies and insiders in Camden  including several businesses closely tied to George Norcross III, the South Jersey political power broker and healthcare executive.

Norcross has defended his role, and argued in testimony before the Senate committee that nothing would have occurred in Camden without these tax incentive programs. His appearance led to angry protests by Camden advocates that saw dozens of demonstrators literally dragged out of the room, including activist Sue Altman, the head of New Jersey Working Families.

State Police remove Sue Altman at the special Senate committee hearing on the states tax incentive programs in November.Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for

The state Senate panel, appointed by Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a proponent of the tax incentives, began its own hearings after the task force was launched. Among those who have appeared before the committee have been dozens of elected officials and labor leaders who have strongly argued in favor of the program.

But economists and other experts who have also addressed the committee concluded that New Jersey could get more bang for the buck by targeting economic development programs in different ways, and by capping the amount of money offered as incentives for job growth.

In its report on Friday, the committee recommended what characterized as a strict cap on individual awards, but with no annual limit on the total program.

If projects result in a net benefit to the state and have other desired effects, such as stimulating job growth and contributing to urban revitalization, the Legislature should not limit the aggregate amount of awards that can be granted in a given year, the committee said. Alternatively, the EDA should be given the flexibility to provide incentive awards to applicants that exceed the investment and job creation proposed in the application.

While it said the state should target cities in need of investment, saying select urban areas should receive the most generous incentives, it also called for legislation to entice private investment in distressed suburbs, such as abandoned and underutilized office parks or corporate campuses.

It also called for an increase in the standards showing a net benefit offered by the incentives, and recommended job training, support for affordable housing, and residential tax credits.

Responding to findings of fraud, the committee said the state should also make int explicit that the state attorney general can prosecute companies for falsifying information  a curious finding, since the attorney generals office has said it is already investigating the program.

Sweeney, D-Gloucester said the proposed reforms will bring greater transparency, accountability and oversight.

These recommendations come at an opportune time, providing positive ideas that can be considered for legislation to reestablish a tax incentive program with more safeguards and improvements," the Senate president said in a statement.

READ THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS

Ted Sherman may be reached at tsherman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TedShermanSL. Facebook: @TedSherman.reporter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Analyzing PerkinElmer, Inc.'s (NYSE:PKI) track record of past performance is a valuable exercise for investors. It enables us to reflect on whether or not the company has met expectations, which is a powerful signal for future performance. Today I will assess PKI's recent performance announced on 29 December 2019 and compare these figures to its long-term trend and industry movements.

See our latest analysis for PerkinElmer

How Well Did PKI Perform?

PKI's trailing twelve-month earnings (from 29 December 2019) of US$228m has declined by -3.6% compared to the previous year.

Furthermore, this one-year growth rate has been lower than its average earnings growth rate over the past 5 years of 6.3%, indicating the rate at which PKI is growing has slowed down. Why could this be happening? Let's examine what's occurring with margins and if the rest of the industry is experiencing the hit as well.

NYSE:PKI Income Statement, February 7th 2020

In terms of returns from investment, PerkinElmer has fallen short of achieving a 20% return on equity (ROE), recording 8.1% instead. Furthermore, its return on assets (ROA) of 4.4% is below the US Life Sciences industry of 7.4%, indicating PerkinElmer's are utilized less efficiently. And finally, its return on capital (ROC), which also accounts for PerkinElmers debt level, has declined over the past 3 years from 8.3% to 7.3%. This correlates with an increase in debt holding, with debt-to-equity ratio rising from 49% to 72% over the past 5 years.

What does this mean?

PerkinElmer's track record can be a valuable insight into its earnings performance, but it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. Companies that are profitable, but have volatile earnings, can have many factors influencing its business. I recommend you continue to research PerkinElmer to get a more holistic view of the stock by looking at:

Future Outlook: What are well-informed industry analysts predicting for PKIs future growth? Take a look at our free research report of analyst consensus for PKIs outlook. Financial Health: Are PKIs 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 29 December 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.
Defence Minister on Friday said over 200 MoUs have been signed so far at the DefExpo here, asserting that the country is on its way to achieve the target of $5 billion in by 2024.

Addressing an event at DefExpo-2020, he said the Centre's policy for the sector has begun delivering results.

"In 2018-19, were Rs 10,745 crore, which was seven times the exports in 2016-17. Seeing the success of this Defence expo, I am sure that by 2024 we will achieve the target of five billion dollars in defence exports," the minister said.

He said so far 200 agreements have been signed during this DefExpo and described the outcome as "historic".

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said the initial target for the Lucknow DefExpo was 100 Memorandums of Understanding and business agreements, but till now 200 MoUs have been signed.

Kumar described it as the beginning of a new chapter in this sector.

Indigenously developed products including artillery guns, helicopters, anti-tank missiles and bulletproof jackets are showcased at the DefExpo.

said this reflected Indian capabilities in defence production, according to a press release.

Defence manufacturing firms from across the world are participating in the five-day event inaugurated on Wednesday by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who indicated that the country is eyeing the export target of USD 5 billion by 2024.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state has signed 23 MoUs at the DefExpo through the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPIEDA).

This is is expected to bring in an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and generate 2.50-3 lakh jobs, he said.

"Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a favourite investment destination," he said.

The chief minister said that during the last two and a half years, the state government has attracted investment of more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore, which will help provide employment to over 33 lakh people.

He said the land banks at Aligarh and Jhansi, part of the state's defence manufacturing corridor, are booked.

Land is now available for industrial clusters along the Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway and Ganga Expressway, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Authorities arrested five alleged members of left-leaning groups in two separate operations in Tacloban City, Leyte, on Friday.

The police and the Army conducted a raid at 2 a.m. in Calanipawan Road and arrested Frenchie Cumpio or Pen, who is allegedly the secretary of the Regional White Area Committee (RWAC-EVRPC) and Marielle Domequil or Maye," also an alleged member of RWAC-EVRPC and finance officer of Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Eastern Visayas. Cumpio was also an anchor of radio program Lingganay han Kamatuuran.

At the same time, police caught Mira Legion of Bayan-Eastern Visayas, Marissa Cabaljo of People Surge Network and Alexander Abinguna of Katungod Sinirangan Bisayas in a separate raid in Barangay 77.

The Army's 8th Infantry Division said in a statement the members were arrested for violation of Republic Act 10591 or the "Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act. The raiding teams said they recovered and confiscated pistols, live ammunition, two grenades and a red flag with the Communist Party of the Philippines - New People's Army symbol.

The Army added that the raids were in response to a search warrant issued by Executive Judge Eligio Petilla of Regional Trial Court Branch 44.

The individuals are currently in the custody of the regional police.

A few organizations condemned the arrest of two of the individuals.

The University of the Philippines College of Development Communication Student Council called the arrest of Legion and Domequil "illegal" and a "cowardly act." Legion and Domequil were graduates of the University of the Philippines Visayas.

Gabriela Youth also denounced the arrest of the two and called for their release. The group said Legion and Domequil were former members of the organization's team in Metro Tacloban.

The College Editors Guild of the Philippines also called for the release of all arrested individuals, who it is now calling the "Leyte 5"

The Army maintained that the arrests were lawful.

"Incidental to the lawful search, the government security forces arrested the [Communist Terrorist Group] personalities who were found to have an actual and/or constructive control and possession of illegal firearms, ammunitions and other contraband items inside the searched houses," it said.

Tacloban-based journalist Wil Mark Amazona contributed to this report.
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The tradition in most states is for governors to begin the year with the broadest agenda-setting speech they will deliver: the State of the State address. For the past several years, theeditorial team has picked apart these speeches, looking for clues about new initiatives and areas of focus that will touch technology. These references can be broad, like a mention of a need to modernize an agency, which will likely include a tech overhaul, or they can be specific, such as a discussion about the need for more cybersecurity funding to protect citizen data. Over the years, topics like digital service delivery, cybersecurity and broadband have come up more frequently, indicating that these issues are on the minds of policymakers and the citizens they serve more than ever before.Increasingly, governors are using their platforms to underscore the importance of making sure all residents, regardless of where they live, have options to get online. Internet access has profound impacts on opportunities in education, jobs, health care and nearly every other facet of modern life. The language used to describe getting connected has been slowly shifting: In 2020, broadband is now viewed as critical infrastructure, governors are prioritizing it as such, and its not a partisan issue.Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves, delivering his first address following his election last November, identified broadband access as a priority, while many others outlined specific budget requests for broadband: Maine Gov. Janet Mills asked for $15 million, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem spoke of a recently secured $25 million investment and Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam asked lawmakers for $35 million for broadband. Broadband has become an economic necessity for business, for education, for health care, and for everyday life, Northam said.New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo put broadband in the win column for his administration, citing its availability statewide thanks to past investments. But Cuomos claim is somewhat controversial, as many states have noted the tendency of FCC broadband coverage maps to overstate the reality of Internet access . Complicating this further is the fact that just because service is available doesnt mean its affordable and that residents are satisfied with their options. Clearly, this is an issue that will continue to require further study and substantial investment nationwide.As of this storys publish date, about two-thirds of governors have delivered these speeches. See our map and analysis for clues about what 2020 will likely bring. We rate each speech on a scale of 0 to 5, with 0 representing zero technology mentions and 5 awarded to states where a packed tech agenda is laid out. As additional addresses are given, well add them to this story.TBAGov. Kay Ivey opened Alabamas 2020 legislative session with an acknowledgment of the states strengths as well as its weaknesses. Mentions of technology were few, but Ivey did name broadband as a top priority, noting that 220,000 Alabama residents do not have wired Internet in their homes. She pointed to the federal Broadband Accessibility Fund as one way the state will work to increase high-speed access to rural areas. Ivey also mentioned the importance of the upcoming Census and a need to make sure the state has an accurate count of citizens. Although she did not specify this would involve tech, this will be the first Census with a digital component , which may factor into plans.The governor spoke of an effort to find bipartisan solutions to problems, such as recent work to rebuild roads and bridges throughout the state. Ivey then turned to discuss improvements needed to Alabamas prisons and also inmate rehabilitation efforts, followed by an acknowledgement of the states poor standing when it comes to education, noting that the problem starts at the top. Ivey pledged $25 million to expand pre-K education, as well as a 3 percent pay raise for all teachers, from pre-K through community college.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 27, 2020Gov. Mike Dunleavy focused heavily on the state's financial picture in his Jan. 27 address, as Alaska continues to feel the impacts of a big drop in oil prices. Among his belt-tightening ideas was for the state to create a lottery  a practice embraced by 45 other states, generating billions in revenue for government services. Dunleavy didn't make any specific reference to technology in his speech, though he did propose a new Inspector General office to help encourage government to operate more efficiently, as well as charged the Department of Administration with looking for opportunities to modernize and root out waste, fraud and abuse. Some of this work may fall to interim CIO John Boucher , who has held the position since February 2019.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 13, 2020Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey hit many of the mainstay talking points during his State of the State address Jan. 13, but he also gave a nod to technology for its capacity to improve the government and state overall. He mentioned bolstering STEM workforce development and training, especially at the community college level. Ducey called for more high-speed Internet in rural parts of the state and highlighted the need to triple investments in that area. He cited a $50 million investment in the Smart Highway Corridor program, which leverages the highway system as a route for broadband infrastructure. Regarding drug trafficking, Ducey highlighted increased surveillance technology along Arizona's southern border with Mexico and improvements to law enforcement radio systems. The need for body cameras on every state trooper also got a nod when the governor mentioned that the budget includes funding to do just that.Read the governor's speech here TBATBAJan. 9, 2020Jared Polis' second State of the State address efficiently ripped through past achievements and forthcoming goals, policy announcements and metaphors, personal stories and grandiose statements about the collective identity of Coloradans. The governor used his platform to tout bipartisan efforts to lower health-care costs, increase investment in higher education and put more money toward transportation infrastructure. He spent most of the speech talking about the economy, education and health care, and laid out an array of goals: Helping fossil fuel workers transition to jobs in renewable energy, broadening the tax base, introducing a public option for health care and expanding access to pre-school while encouraging college savings. While Polis mentioned that emerging transportation tech companies need to pay their fair share in taxes, his State of the State address otherwise gave technology a wide berth. However, Colorado is one of the nation's leaders in developing a digital ID , Denver is rolling out 5G communications , the state is playing host to ambitious connected vehicle experiments and it has studied blockchain as well. It is also a standout location for public use of drones Read the governor's speech here Feb. 5, 2020Jan. 23, 2020Delaware Gov. John Carney took the opportunity during his final State of the State address to look back on the achievements of his administration, and to point to areas where the state is working hard to better the lives of its residents. Technology was a consistent theme throughout. He touted the state's efforts to widen rural broadband access, citing two anecdotes of Delawareans, one business owner and one teacher, whose work was changed remarkably for the better after the state brought Internet access to their areas. He also lauded the launch of Delaware OneStop , an online platform where small businesses can do all that they need to be licensed to operate in the state.Delaware CIO James Collins got a shoutout from the governor in this year's address, when he asked his IT chief to lead a new effort to connect state government with Delawareans through technology" and look into the development of a Delaware OneStop platform for citizens to interact with the state. The governor hopes that it will be a game changer for residents.Carney also credited the growth of small businesses for the strength of the state's economy, pointing to the new Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion (EDGE) grant program that has awarded $1.5 million to 20 small businesses since its launch last spring. Among those businesses is W7energy, which makes electric vehicle battery technology.And on an interesting side note, the governor stated that this spring, the USS Delaware, a brand-new Virginia class nuclear submarine and the first U.S. Navy vessel to be named after the state, will be commissioned at the Port of Wilmington.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020Gov. Ron DeSantis gave little attention to technology and modernization in Florida's 2020 state of the state address, focusing predominantly on taxes, education and the economy. His biggest mentions of technology were largely retrospective, and he gave little lip service to how his administration planned to advance its IT footprint in the coming year. The biggest mention came amidst his comments on the economy, when he noted that the state was well positioned to expand its aerospace industry--a reality borne out by reports of companies migrating to the state and anticipation that the newly minted Space Command may set up shop there . He also called the expansion of citizen access to telehealth through passage of HB23 in 2019 , a major reform legislatively, while also making reference to E-Verify, the background check software e has encouraged businesses to use in a bid to end an illegal workforce. DeSantis also noted that we were living in an increasingly mobile and interconnected time, but otherwise shied away from saying directly how his administration planned to take advantage of it.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 16, 2020Technology received virtually no attention in the second State of the State address from Gov. Brian Kemp. The speech's main topics were the economy, education, health care and crime, and Kemp continually employed a metaphor that characterized Georgia as a house being built on a strong foundation. Georgia's record unemployment rate (3.3 percent) was highlighted, as was the historic pay raise that Georgian teachers received in 2019. Kent admitted health-care reform is difficult, but he promoted various measures that aim to help families, including future legislation that would reduce surprise medical billing. The governor came down hard on gang violence and sex trafficking, pointing out that criminals use Atlanta as a hub, trading human life like it's a commodity. Tech got only one reference from Kemp, who said technology would play a role in an initiative for Parkinson's disease research.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 21, 2020Gov. David Ige began his State of the State address acknowledging the breakneck pace of technological advances over the past 20 years and used it to segue into how the issues plaguing Hawaiian residents, such as a living wage, education and housing, haven't changed in that same timeframe.The governor's speech focused on a package of bills that aim to better the lives of working families by gradually increasing minimum wage over time and through targeted tax relief. He continued by explaining how the proposals will expand affordable child care, which closes the gap for about 20,000 toddlers without access to child care or preschool programs by repurposing empty classrooms, underused facilities and offering services near parents.Ige returned to the topic of technology to discuss its impacts on sustainability in Hawaii. He lauded technology's use in agriculture, allowing farms to produce higher yields and spurring multiple agricultural startups. He also noted that residential adoption of solar panels has helped the state achieve its goal of obtaining 30 percent of energy needs from renewable sources by 2020.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 6, 2020Gov. Brad Little delivered Idaho's State of the State address on Jan. 6, 2020, and spoke of investing in education, reducing regulatory burdens, making health care more affordable and, in general, increasing prosperity and quality of life for Idahoans. As new presidents of each of the four-year universities settle in, Little advocated for an approach from universities and community colleges that boldly meets the needs of students and businesses by knocking down silos. His recommendation that cybersecurity programs be offered by local universities in conjunction with one another was a nod to technology in the speech. He further remarked that the state must do more to protect citizen data, noting IT modernization projects that will help shore up cyberdefenses and bolster the public's confidence in government.The governor also pitched a strategic investment in the people of Idaho in the form of improvements in the state's broadband infrastructure. That will begin with the establishment of a State Broadband Office, which will facilitate the use of existing resources and unite efforts to connect all areas of Idaho. The benefits of expanded broadband will include improved telehealth and pharmacy access in rural parts of the state, where some communities face long distances to a doctor or pharmacy. The governor also acknowledged how Americans' life expectancy has dropped for the first time in decades and touted progress with Idaho's Prescription Drug Monitoring Program database.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 29, 2020Gov. J.B. Pritzkers second State of the State address focused mainly on helping Illinois recover from scandal and corruption. But he also reflected on the states innovation, saying Illinois has given the country four transformative presidents as well as technology like the first cellphone and first Internet browser, Mosaic.Pritzker hailed the increase in student applications to its public universities, adding that Illinois is one of the top producers of computer science degrees in the country, making up almost 10 percent of those awarded nationwide. The governor also praised a bipartisan infrastructure bill called Rebuild Illinois, which aims to create 500,000 jobs in areas like road and infrastructure repair, broadband expansion to Internet deserts, and modernizations of facilities including hospitals and universities. Pritzker also discussed building a foundation for technology jobs by standing up new data centers and startup incubators, and investing $100 million in a partnership between the University of Illinois and University of Chicago to make the state the quantum computing capital of the world.And the governor encouraged more focus on clean energy, such as introducing legislation to reduce carbon emissions and create more electric transportation options.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020Gov. Eric Holcomb hit upon tech a few times in his fourth State of the State address. He announced that in April of this year, the state would host the first Indiana Global Economic Summit. At this gathering of local economic development partners, diplomats and decision-makers, topics to be discussed include cybersecurity, energy storage solutions and the future of mobility. The governor also stated that this year, Indiana will be investing in its physical defenses, developing the future of warfare including drones, radar, sonar and hypersonics.Also in the field of tech, Holcomb called for state lawmakers to pass a hands-free device driving law as most other states have done. But in other areas, he encouraged more smartphone use, pointing to the Indiana Career Connect app that showed 92,000 open jobs in the state at the time of his address. He also called to raise the minimum purchasing age for e-cigarettes to 21.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020In Gov. Kim Reynolds' third Condition of the State address, she reflected on how far Iowa has come in the last decade and how strong it has become, as well as emphasized the importance of planning for 10 and 20 years in the future. Broadband remains a priority, and while in 2019 the Empower Rural Iowa Act funded 17 rural broadband projects with $5 million, Reynolds asked for $15 million more so Iowa can continue to leverage federal and private funding to get broadband to every part of the state. She called high-speed broadband critical infrastructure that will enable a robust telehealth system to ensure every community receives the best health-care services possible. The governor also stressed the importance of computer science as a basic skill in 2020, and will push legislation that ensures the subject is taught in 100 percent of Iowa classrooms. More generally, Reynolds' budget includes $103 million in new funds to improve state schools, $20 million for flood relief , a 31 percent increase in funding toward water quality and conservation, and a dedicated mental health fund.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 16, 2020Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly's Jan. 16 address was equal parts retrospective and future-oriented, as she remarked upon the state's struggle to emerge from the economic downturn that gripped the country following the Great Recession. Her first address to citizens in 2019 was during a time when the state was on life support due to austere budget cuts to critical programs, coupled with record debt and high taxes. But in 2020, the state is in a much better place, according to Kelly, with low unemployment, record job creation and investments in critical services. The only economic dark spot Kelly referenced was the recent announcement by Boeing that production on the 737 Max is being suspended. Major Wichita-based supplier of the airplane Spirit Aerosystems announced layoffs as a result. There was no direct mention of technology in Kelly's future plans, though she did tout the creation of the Office of Rural Prosperity, supported by Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers on a statewide listening tour. That initiative aims in part to expand access to rural broadband to support economic growth.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020Gov. Andy Beshear's first State of the Commonwealth address was about setting the tone for his administration and its goals over the next four years, with little specific focus on technology. Beshear outlined his agenda with the acronym WHERE, which stands for wages, healthcare, education, retirement and example.Beshear acknowledged the importance of border-to-border high-speed internet access for Kentuckians, which in turn would boost the state's economy. He remarked that Kentucky consistently appears in the bottom 10 of state surveys, such as 45th in the nation for adults with high school diplomas.With plans to reinvigorate the Kentucky economy, Beshear said he hopes it will attract technology start-ups like AppHarvest, courted by the previous administration to build its 60-acre greenhouse for fresh produce in Morehead, Ky. Overall, Beshear's first address was a mix of policy reform and an entreaty for bi-partisan legislation designed to benefit both the state and its residents.Read the governor's speech here March 9, 2020Jan. 21, 2020In Gov. Janet Mills' second annual speech before the state  and her first official State of the State  she covered a lot of ground. She recognized the 200th anniversary of Maine's statehood, spoke about its history and speculated on its future. She talked about her administration's accomplishments, including Medicaid expansion, enacting a new paid leave law and prescription drug pricing reform. And she called for many specific policies, such as restoring higher education funding and hiring more child welfare caseworkers. That didn't leave a lot of room for tech talk, but she didn't ignore the subject either; Mills called broadband critical infrastructure of particular importance to rural areas and proposed $15 million to expand high-speed Internet in the state. She also highlighted a company working on 5G technologies and spoke out in support of environmentally friendly technologies such as heat pumps, energy storage, electric vehicles and solar panels. She also pointed out that Maine is set to become the first state in the nation to demonstrate floating offshore wind turbines. Toward the end of the speech, Mills veered into futurism and painted a picture of a future Maine where data centers dot the landscape and robots deliver L.L. Bean boots.Read the governor's speech here Feb. 5, 2020Jan. 21, 2020In his State of the Commonwealth address, Gov. Charlie Baker praised the strides his state has made toward ensuring residents in western Massachusetts have high-speed Internet. He reported that all those communities now have broadband connectivity, or plans to achieve it. To expand on work around improving transportation, the governor said he would further increase funds to the T transit system by $135 million. Also in transportation, Baker announced plans to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2015. To that end, Massachusetts officials plan to work with counterparts in other states toward goals set forward in the Regional Transportation and Climate Initiative, a plan to reduce greenhouse gasses (GHGs) by transforming the transportation sector, responsible for 40 percent of GHGs emitted in the Northeast. Baker acknowledged the challenge in this, but said the state has a responsibility to reduce transit emissions. He also cited two offshore wind projects awaiting federal approval that would help eliminate 5.7 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 29, 2020During her State of the State address this year, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer focused heavily on plans to advance Michigans infrastructure, employment and education, but gave almost no comment to modernization, cybersecurity or technology-related efforts. In particular, Whitmer highlighted her plans to invest in the states roads and bridges with her Rebuilding Michigan plan, a strategy that would use $3.5 billion in municipal bonds to tackle crumbling infrastructure. She also emphasized some of the economic gains made during her tenure  including the opening of a new assembly plant in Detroit, the creation of 11,000 new jobs in the automotive industry, and billions in investment in stateside facilities and plants. At the same time, Whitmer spoke to her desire to invest in early literacy for children across Michigan, while also focusing on increasing equitable funding for lower-income school districts, as part of her vision for improving overall education.Read the governors speech here TBAJan. 27, 2020Gov. Tate Reeves outlined his vision for Mississippi under his new administration, which included an investment in education, children in foster care, and health care. As part of his dedication to the state's critical infrastructure, Reeves labeled Internet access as the next great generational issue. While he did not outline an action plan, the governor said the state will continue to develop innovative ways to connect Mississippians.The governor also expressed his desire to make health care more affordable for his constituents by creating incentives for investment in rural hospitals or telemedicine in underserved areas.Aside from those issues, Reeves focused mostly on building a future for Mississippi's children, with proposals to continue education reform citing how changes to date have improved reading levels, test scores and grades; a significant increase in teacher pay allocated in the next budget; and the promotion of adoption to help children leave the state foster-care system.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 15, 2020In his 2020 State of the State address on Jan. 15, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson touted his workforce agenda and the state's growing economy, although technology was not highlighted in the speech. Gov. Parson said that through collaboration with employers, 42,000 Missourians have signed up for on-the-job training through the state's One Start program. The governor touted his state's 3.1 unemployment rate, which he said has been below the national unemployment rate for 40 consecutive months. He said the state ranks seventh in the nation for small business wage growth and added that workforce efforts have created more than 40,000 new jobs during his time as governor.Education was another theme, and the governor said the state is proposing more access to virtual education for high school students and home school students. He reported that the Fast Track scholarship program has hundreds of applicants and is primarily used at the community college level where women make up about 61 percent of the total enrollment. Parson also said the state is dedicated to making state government better, as evidenced by the pay raise state workers received.Read the governor's speech here No address givenJan. 15, 2020Gov. Pete Ricketts gave his State of the State speech after a tough year of flooding in his state, which saw nearly 320 days under flood warning, watch or advisory in 2019. There was little mention of IT in his address, but among his four main plans to push Nebraska forward, Ricketts did briefly touch on the importance of education for tech-related jobs. Citing the importance of offering future-looking opportunities to keep young Nebraskans in-state as they enter the workforce, the governor proposed investing $16 million in scholarships for students to attend universities, state colleges and community colleges to help them get into careers including IT, engineering and health care. In addition to workforce efforts, Gov. Ricketts proposed $500 million in property tax relief over the next three years, $50 million toward helping communities recover from the historic flooding, and pledged to make concrete strides to retrain veterans and offer tax relief that will help them take advantage of retirement benefits.Read the governor's speech here No address givenFeb. 6, 2020Jan. 14, 2020New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy began with a message of unity in his second State of the State address, delivered five weeks after an anti-Semitic hate crime that claimed the lives of four citizens. He went on to enumerate investments in the middle class, reiterating support for the Affordable Care Act, which will soon be evidenced by a New Jersey Health Exchange, expected to be up and running later in 2020. That website will be complemented by other tech-driven efforts, like a new Office of Health Care Affordability and Transparency that will help collect and publish actual health-care costs paid by residents. Murphy also touched on encouraging stats relative to the state's opioid fight, referencing its targeted, evidence-based, and data-driven whole of government approach.In another brief tech mention, Murphy lauded efforts to date to expand student access to STEM education. Shared services came up as well, and while Murphy didn't tie the concept specifically to technology systems, he encouraged communities to look for opportunities to realize savings by developing partnerships. Further, Murphy announced the Jobs NJ program, intended to develop a future-focused workforce and a resilient economy.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 21, 2020Technology was starkly absent from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's second State of the State address. Issues around employment, the economy and education were most prominent in her remarks. While the argument could be made that these issues have tenuous ties to technology, there was no overt mention of those ties. In one example, the governor mentioned the substantial reduction in wait times for the child abuse hotline within the Department of Children, Youth and Families, but made no references to how improvements were made. Similarly, she referenced the Workforce Solutions Department's efforts to cut down on wage theft and bad actors gaming the system, but it's unclear whether technology played a part in these efforts.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 8, 2020In the wake of the late December 2019 attacks on Hasidic Jews in the hamlet of Monsey, N.Y., Gov. Andrew Cuomo's speech often focused on the notion of standing together as New Yorkers and on protecting citizens regardless of their ethnic or religious background. Cuomo proposed a very broad agenda for 2020, including a $3 billion bond act for natural restoration and resilience programs, a tax cut for middle-class families and small businesses, paid sick leave legislation, legalization of adult use marijuana, and record funding to address homelessness and affordable housing.The speech featured several brief references to technology. Cuomo alluded to the increased importance of emergency management, including the need for the right equipment, but no space was dedicated to the specific tech issues that make responding to emergencies an evolving challenge. New York's offshore wind and drone programs also received brief mention. While Cuomo did say cellphone service needs to be expanded throughout the state, he also claimed that Internet is already available statewide, suggesting that broadband coverage is no longer an issue in New York. However, efforts to expand rural coverage are still underway.Read the governor's speech here No address givenJan. 29, 2020Gov. Doug Burgum began his State of the State address this year with a drone delivering him a clicker to advance his PowerPoint slides, and for good reason  his speech was not given in the capital city of Bismarck, but more than 200 miles east in Grand Forks, where the University of North Dakota plays host to one of seven federally approved drone test sites . He used the demo to talk about the state's push to attract drone research and businesses to the state, including inspecting infrastructure such as oil and gas pipelines, as well as its creation of a statewide air traffic control network for unmanned aircraft.And that would hardly be the last time that Burgum, who led a tech company before becoming governor, would mention technology. Burgum called for a reinvention of government, praising the new state website, a common back-end platform he credits with saving money and streamlining digital services, and asking the Legislature for more cybersecurity funding in the process. He spoke about the floods the state suffered last year and the groundwater monitoring sensors North Dakota has deployed, and promoted two flood risk assessment tools, floodsmart.gov and the North Dakota Risk Assessment Map Service . While discussing the importance of oil and gas in the state's economy, he paid ample attention to efforts to develop better carbon-capture technology, including Project Tundra at a coal-burning power plant in Oliver County, and how such efforts could help North Dakota diversify its economy. Indeed, technology infused most of the governor's speech, including his enthusiasm for the developing Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library , the plans for which include online archives and an immersive experience in a digital platform.Read the governor's speech here March 31, 2020Feb. 3, 2020In his Feb. 3 State of the State address to the Oklahoma Legislature, Gov. Kevin Stitt discussed plans to shore up the state financially and continue on the trajectory of the last year that created the states largest savings account in its history at $1 billion, despite an estimated revenue fun that is now down nearly 1 percent. He put forward an image of streamlining state agencies like transportation. Stitt plans to merge the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority to combine all back office and common functions into one shared service entity for both agencies. The governor also wants to merge the Offices of Emergency Management and Homeland Security to streamline response and create stronger prevention programs.In a brief mention of technology, Stitt noted that by putting the states checkbook online last year, Oklahoma moved from 47th to 7th in online budget transparency. transparency, and they will continue to work to improve how citizens interact with the budget to get to first place.Read the governor's speech here TBATBAJan. 14, 2020Well into her second term, Gov. Gina Raimondo covered a wide range of issues she aims to tackle in her State of the State address, noting that to maintain the momentum Rhode Island has built, innovation will need to play a key role in everything from job growth to government processes. Mentions of technology were light, but Raimondo imagined a day when the state tackles transportation and infrastructure the same way they have approached improving roads and bridges, work that would pave the way for high-speed commuter rail and solar-powered electric vehicles in the not-too-distant future. The governor touched on the state's efforts to increase clean energy production, and reported that Rhode Island is now the national leader in offshore wind energy production. She announced she would be signing an executive order to make Rhode Island the first state powered by 100 percent renewable energy by the end of the next decade.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 22, 2020There was very little relating to technology in Gov. Henry McMaster's 2020 State of the State address on Jan. 22. The governor accentuated the state's vibrant economy and praised South Carolina's efforts to reduce income taxes. He said the state returned $67 million to the taxpayers and gave that rebate partial credit for the good economic numbers. In the last three years, McMaster reported, the state has boasted nearly $10 billion in new capital investment and has created almost 35,000 jobs; unemployment is at a record low, and personal income growth at an all-time high.But he also spoke of needed improvements, including making public universities and colleges, both technical and comprehensive, more accessible and affordable and is advocating providing a 5 percent funding increase for those colleges that don't raise tuition. The governor advocated for a transparent process for placing appropriations in the budget, offering a plan that would make state funds available publicly and all applications for such funds and rewards would be placed on agency websites within 15 days, allowing for public scrutiny.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020To align with a new directive of transparency in state government, South Dakota has leveraged technology to become more accountable and accessible, a fact that Gov. Kristi Noem touted in her State of the State address. Noem pointed out how some of the endeavors have improved taxpayers' lives but haven't cost them a dime because of free platforms like YouTube and Facebook Live to bring information directly into the living rooms of South Dakotans. Her administration is working with county and city governments to find ways to post meeting materials online in a way that mirrors state processes.Noem outlined her goal to create a South Dakota that encourages the use of developing technology to bring a satisfactory level of broadband access to businesses and homes. With the enticement of federal grants and state dollars, South Dakota has secured a $25 million investment to bring high-speed Internet to underserved areas, which includes about 6,500 homes and 150 businesses.Highlighted alongside the governor's economic development endeavors was $2.92 million matching local and federal investment in Dakota State University. The National Security Agency named the college a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Operations, and Noem said she hopes the state can recruit its graduates to bolster the state's cyberdefenses and position it as a leader in cybersecurity.Read the governor's speech here Feb. 3, 2020In Gov. Bill Lees second State of the State speech, he gave much attention to education, including increasing teacher pay, to expanding access to K-12 mental healthcare, to adding 100 new middle school STEM programs by 2022 and tripling the number STEM-designated schools. To help boost that STEM access, Tennessee plans to increase its investment in rural broadband from $20 million last year to $25 million this year. That will also help further his interest in bringing more jobs to rural areas, as well as improving access to health care for those living in the far reaches of Tennessee.While broadband access and education were Lees only direct mentions of technology, he also noted that Tennessee residents deserve to have positive interactions with state government. The governor said that he will be increasing resources and funding to Drivers Services Centers to help drive down wait times for those looking to obtain a Real ID this fall.Read the governor's speech here TBAJan. 29, 2020In his 11th and final State of the State address, Gov. Gary Herbert reflected on the strides made in the decade he has led Utah and looked toward how those successes have prepared the state for the future. Despite achieving an all-time unemployment rate of 2.3 percent, the challenge remains to ensure that the quarter of Utahans living in rural communities are employed. Herbert reported that they are on track to surpass a 2020 goal of creating 25,000 rural jobs, in large part due to commitments to expanding broadband throughout the state. He cited the Utah Rural Online Initiative as giving constituents who live far from metropolitan areas job opportunities, as well as a state telecommuting program that allows state workers to live far from the capitol. Other tech mentions included a vision of making commute via public transit as easy as it is in a car. Herbert's proposed 2020 budget includes $66 million for fast electric vehicle charging stations and $34 million toward improvements in railroads and buses.Herbert also praised Utah's progress toward improving K-12 schools, noting that this year's budget will bring total investment public education to $2.3 billion over the last nine years. Going forward, he hopes the state will work to create more affordable housing options, improve services for those experiencing homelessness and continue to reduce air pollution to help improve quality of life.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 9, 2020If you are looking to Gov. Phil Scott's Jan. 9 address as evidence that technology is a front-and-center priority in the state, you would need to read between the lines to find it. While the governor hit all the major talking points  education, economy and workforce  information technology and the like were completely absent from his remarks. One could argue that his comments about workforce stagnation and the need to bring in new businesses and opportunity has some link to tech-oriented companies or that his calls to level the playing field for students across the state would come with a technology component, but it wasn't explicitly mentioned. The nearest direct reference to any state effort in the IT space was that of the creation of the Agency of Digital Services. Led by CIO John Quinn, the agency was created in 2017, but Scott did not elaborate on the agency's work in his speech.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 8, 2020In his State of the Commonwealth address, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam put an emphasis on a changing economy that requires moving not just people and goods, but information. To that end, he asked the Legislature to approve spending $35 million for broadband expansion and improvement, noting that high-speed Internet has become an economic necessity for living and doing business. Also part of an evolving economy, Northam said, is investing in ongoing learning and new skills for students, and 38 percent of the new spending his budget calls for is marked for education. Virginia plans to offer incentives for residents returning to school for training in high-demand areas like health care, public safety or IT. The governor proposes a $1,000 per semester stipend to help with transportation, child care or other costs.The governor also pledged to make advances in clean technology related to energy production and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Northam aims to have the state generate 30 percent of its electricity from renewable sources in the next decade, and 100 percent by 2050. To aid this effort, Northam is proposing the development of a 2,500-megawatt offshore windfarm, capable of powering a million homes. He reports the state is on track to achieve its goals.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 14, 2020Gov. Jay Inslee says one of his favorite parts of his job is shining the light on how great Washington is, and that's what he spent most of his State of the State speech doing this year. That meant that tech talk was light  he praised the University of Washington for developing an app that monitors a person's breathing level in order to identify opioid overdoses, as well as a project in Klickitat County that scrubs methane from a landfill for reuse as truck fuel. Aside from that, his address spent much time on two policy goals Inslee hopes to address in the next year: reducing homelessness and enacting a clean fuel standard. Other aims of the governor's in 2020 include addressing vaping and tobacco use among young people, supporting workplace equity and diversity, passing gun safety laws, expanding early learning programs, and protecting marine wildlife. Meanwhile, the state's IT department has earned plaudits in the Center for Digital Government's Digital States Survey for its emphasis on cybersecurity, its modernization efforts and its cloud strategy.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 8, 2020In his fourth State of the State address to West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice was heavy on promotion and light on specifics, although he touched upon one potentially massive technology project. He said West Virginia University, in Morgantown, is a finalist to become the site of a new testing and research facility for Virgin Hyperloop One. Based in Los Angeles, Virgin Hyperloop One is a transportation technology company that wants to design and build a vacuum tube for moving people and goods at more than 600 miles per hour. Routes and project costs are undecided to date, but Justice said he spoke with WVU staff and he was confident they have the space and interest for the project, and he would support it however he could.That was the only gov tech-related initiative Justice mentioned, although he said in the beginning of his speech that his Secretary of State Mac Warner had made it his mission to ensure the integrity of West Virginia's elections and protect them against cybersecurity threats, a nod at a major national issue Justice also said WVU is building a research facility that's developing a way to manufacture carbon fiber out of coal, although it's not clear whether that facility will be publicly funded. The rest of Justice's speech focused on jobs, Medicaid, taxes, infrastructure, drug addiction programs, education spending and veterans.Read the governor's speech here Jan. 22, 2020Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers delivered his second State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2020, following the completion of his first full year as the state's leader. He mentioned tech and innovation work several times as part of points about other topics. One area of interest was telehealth, which is now covered by Medicare in Wisconsin, a move that stands to help residents of rural areas.In addition, the governor went on to call for a special legislative session aimed at helping strengthen Wisconsin's farmers and rural communities, vital to Wisconsin's identity, as it is known as America's Dairyland. Part of this includes a joint effort between the governor and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to create a new Office of Rural Prosperity for the state. Although the governor did not expressly state it, it seems likely that broadband access will be an ongoing concern for the new agency, and something to watch within the state's broader tech efforts moving forward.Read the governor's speech here Feb. 10, 2020
As a new era ushers upon us, the U.K. is determined to pursue our goals on diplomacy, innovation and sustainable development.

British Ambassador Gareth Ward

On the 31st of January 2020, the U.K. left the European Union (EU). The U.K. is now heading in a new direction, in partnership with, but independent from the EU. We have big ambitions: to be a factory of ideas for the world, driving innovation and growth at home and abroad; to promote free trade and strike deals with new markets in the fastest growing countries; and to act as a force for good by strengthening the international rules and addressing common challenges like climate change. My job is to translate these ambitions into achievements in the U.K.s relationship with Vietnam.

I arrived in Vietnam 18 months ago as British Ambassador as we prepared to celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations. My first big event was to welcome the Royal Navy ship visit of HMS Albion  a clear signal of the U.K.s global security presence. I also spent time meeting U.K. companies exporting to and investing in Vietnam, and visiting Vietnamese universities to hear from the new generation of talent here. It was clear to me that Vietnamese people were most interested in the U.K. as the home of the best universities in the world and a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with a global engagement.

First of all, let me emphasize that the U.K.s relationships in Europe will still be built on common bonds of friendship and cooperation. We will continue to work closely with our European partners on issues of security, for instance - Europes security is Britains security. But, we will also have a clear, independent voice to speak and act on the things that matter to us, and to partner with dynamic countries like Vietnam. A good example is the way that the U.K., France and Germany have spoken with one voice on the importance of UNCLOS and freedom of navigation globally.

One area we will prioritize is innovation through our strong system of education and skills. With 1 percent of the worlds population, the U.K. produces 15 percent of the most frequently cited research papers globally. And, half of those papers are co-authorized internationally. The U.K. will increase R&D (research & development) as a proportion of our GDP to keep us as an innovation and research superpower, and an attractive partner for Vietnamese academics, whether working in the U.K. or Vietnam.

A Union Jack flag flutters next to European Union flags at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, February 16, 2016. Photo by Reuters/Yves Herman.

I have now visited 30 provinces in Vietnam, and have been to local universities, hospitals and factories. I am particularly impressed by the co-operation between Oxford University Clinical Research Unit the Hospital of Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, which is at the forefront of infectious disease control, including for new epidemics such as the 2019 novel coronavirus.

Another area of focus will be the U.K.s role as a global champion for free trade  benefitting businesses, reducing costs for consumers, and helping the poorest countries in the world achieve genuine economic independence. Vietnams dynamism has a lot to do with the 13 free trade agreements (FTAs) you have already signed. We will make sure that a bilateral U.K.-Vietnam FTA is in place to provide continuity for our businesses.

The U.K. will also stick up for the international rules. We are global leaders on climate change, becoming the first major economy to legally enshrine a commitment reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. And, alongside Italy, we are hosting COP26 to galvanize international efforts to tackle climate change. Vietnam is one of the countries which would be most damaged by a global temperature rise of 2 degrees, so we will help you with finance and policies to leave behind coal, and tap your huge wind and solar power potential. I have seen for myself solar power installations in Binh Thuan, co-funded by U.K. overseas development assistance.

As a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council and the only G7 economy to commit 0.7 percent of GNI to overseas development assistance, the U.K. will be a force for good on peace, security and development. For instance, we believe strongly in the U.N. Convention on the Law of Sea, which protects freedom of navigation. We will continue to train Vietnamese peacekeepers as they join U.N. missions in conflict zones around the world. And we will remain committed to universal human rights and freedoms to ensure all our people  irrespective of gender, sexual orientation or ethnicity - benefit from and participate in development.

This year is not only the year the U.K. leaves the EU. It is also the year that the U.K. marks the 10th anniversary of our strategic partnership with Vietnam. We recognize that ASEAN is a region, which will grow in economic and political power this century. We also know that Vietnam is a key partner in this region, growing faster than any of its neighbours. We will support your efforts to make Vietnam a gateway to the wider ASEAN region. So this year I, and our growing team at the British Embassy in Hanoi and the British Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City, look forward to deepening contacts between our two countries, and making a contribution to a safer and more sustainable world.

*Gareth Ward is the British Ambassador to Vietnam.
It's the Ship Korea is a four-day three-night one of a kind experience that will set sail from Busan this August.

7 Feb  Last June, Malaysia's Livescape Group partnered with Seoul-based Cruise Lab Co. Ltd. to expand its music festival at sea, It's the Ship, to South Korea.

Finally, It's the Ship Korea is all set to launch its first sailing this year, from 28 to 31 August 2020.

The ship will depart from Busan, stopping over in Fukuoka, Japan, before returning to Busan. The vessel of choice for this cruise festival is the Costa neoRomantica cruise ship, which hails from Italy.

With this cruise ship concept being new to the local market, it is set to offer world class performances by international and local artists, as well as host pop-up parties and a variety of side activities.

"We are honoured and ecstatic to announce the maiden sailing for It's the Ship Korea, following the success of our previous sailings in Singapore and China," said Iqbal Ameer, Group CEO of Livescape Group, in a press statement.

"We've always believed in creating unforgettable immersive experiences for all our shipmates and we're excited to share this new adventure with our new shipmates from South Korea as well as our returning shipmates."

L-R: Thomas Yang (CFO of Cruise Lab Co. Ltd), Han Sun Ung (Group Head of Business Development, Livescape Group), Iqbal Ameer (Group CEO of Livescape Group), Park Sung Hoon (Deputy Mayor of Busan Metropolitan Economic Affairs), Jang Woo Seok (CEO of Cruise Lab Co. Ltd), Matthew Dason (General Manager, Livescape Group), Steve Lee (Business Department representative of Cruise Lab Co. Ltd).

It's the Ship Korea, which is also held in partnership with BEPC Tangent, a South Korean music festival and creative company, is poised to be at the forefront of the latest trend in music festivals in South Korea as it brings the entire cruise music festival experience to a new audience in the country.

Until 2024, It's the Ship Korea will only be departing from Busan, as the Busan City Hall has signed a five-year business agreement (MOU) with Busan Metropolitan City Hall, Busan Port Authority, and

Busan Tourism Corporation, which aims to use the four-day three-night one of a kind experience to revitalise Busan's cruise tourism industry.

More information on It's the Ship Korea can be found at www.itstheship.kr.

Livescape Group's first It's the Ship set out for the open sea in 2014, departing from Singapore with a stop in Langkawi, Malaysia. It has since expanded its reach by adding stops in Thailand, as well. In 2018, It's the Ship Japan to was introduced, making it the first time that the festival departs from another city aside from Singapore. It's the Ship China followed suit in 2019. Now in 2020, it adds South Korea to the mix.
Increasing, or at least maintaining, Spain's productivity and competitiveness is one challenge faced by the country's new leftist government. But even more important for the untested team comprised of Pedro Sanchez's Socialists and Pablo Iglesias' Podemos is improving the standard of living for those on low incomes and tackling soaring rental prices - part of an overarching aim to reduce Spain's socio-economic inequality. Unsurprisingly, there is no shortage of figures and institutions, both at home and abroad, queuing up to tell Sanchez and Iglesias how to go about these fiendishly complex tasks. Are they likely to be listened to?

This week saw Spain's Central Bank chief Pablo Hernandez de Cos urging the Sanchez-led administration to leave Mariano Rajoy's labour market reforms well alone. Introduced by the then-Conservative prime minister in 2012, at the height of the crisis, the changes enabled companies to cut their costs at the expense of workers' stability.

The legacy of these reforms, apart from the increased competitiveness praised by Hernandez de Cos, is a labour market riddled with insecurity and unemployment, in which a quarter of the workforce are on temporary contracts. Hernandez de Cos's appeal is to a socialist government - whose Employment Minister is a member of the Spanish Communist Party - that has vowed to repeal Rajoy's reforms and make life better for workers. In other words, it is not likely to be heeded.

Meanwhile, Philip Alston, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, has been on a 12-day "fact finding" mission to Spain to explore the socio-economic realities masked by stellar GDP performance. According to Spain's National Statistics Institute, 26.1% of Spaniards are living at risk of poverty or social exclusion, a figure that rises to 38.2% in Andalucia, the second highest in mainland Spain after Extremadura, where it's a staggering 44.6%.

Alston's visit to Madrid and several outlying towns - documented in a thought-provoking article by Sam Jones in The Guardian this week - highlighted the problems faced by Spanish families struggling to make ends meet, especially with rent payments (rental prices have increased by around 50% in Spain over the last six years). One lady from Torrejon de Ardoz, whose family's rent has recently rocketed from 816 to 1,400 per month, told Jones that "we've got politicians up to our eyeballs but none of them does anything".

The UN investigator, whose research also included a trip to the notorious Poligono Sur neighbourhood in Seville, wasn't wrong when he said that "something drastic needs to be done" to combat social inequality in Spain; but it's questionable how much difference, if any, his resulting report will make to the lives of the people he met. Only the new Spanish government, which has vowed to cap rental prices, prevent hasty evictions and make further increases to an already much-improved minimum wage, can do that.
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has asked the suspended Chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property (SPIP), Okoi Obono-Obla, to appear before it and clear his name.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, ICPC Spokesperson, Rasheedat Okoduwa, said the former presidential aide resorted to propaganda against the commission instead of turning himself in.

Mr Obono-Obla is on the ICPC wanted list for alleged corruption and abuse of office.

The anti-graft agency declared him wanted in October following his alleged repeated failure to honour the commissions invitations.

However, he has reportedly denied the allegations and dismissed the action of the ICPC as an attempt to ridicule and embarrass him.

He is said to have also denied being invited by the ICPC for questioning before he was declared wanted.

Mrs Okoduwa said the commission was aware that the former presidential aide was back in the country, and was even sighted at an event recently.

We are aware that Obono-Obla has returned to the county, and everything he has been saying about the commission and its chairman.

He is reportedly going about saying ICPC is a rival office to his own. I have people calling me to react on what he has said.

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The decent thing is for the gentleman to come to ICPC to clear his name. We have given him an opportunity to clear his name of the allegations against him.

Come forward, let us hear your own side of the story. We have done our investigations and have facts. We want to confront him with these facts, she said.

She added that the commission had alerted security agencies to pick him up when seen to enable him to clear the air.

Signals have been sent to all the law enforcement agencies. Whenever they see him I am sure they will pick him up, she added.

(NAN)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 00:39:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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YAOUNDE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon national borders will be closed ahead of general elections polling day on Sunday, according to an order by the country's minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji that is made public Friday afternoon.

"National borders shall be closed 48 hours to polling day. They will be reopened the following day after voting," according to the order, adding that international flights are exempted from the border closure.

The circulation of goods and persons within the territory by intercity road, railway, and airlines is also banned from Feb. 8 at midnight to Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.

The authorities announced the measure as the election of National Assembly representatives and municipal councilors is taking place in a context of growing tension in the Anglophone regions where separatists are fighting to create a new nation they call "Ambazonia".

Armed separatist forces have vowed they will disrupt voting in these regions, representing about 20 percent of the national population.

Cameroon had taken similar mesures restricting transborder and intercity transports ahead of last presidential election in Oct. 2018.
The 2019-nCoV has been successfully cultivated and isolated in the laboratory (Photo: National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology)

This will enable quicker tests of the virus, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said on the sidelines of a meeting of the national steering committee for the nCoV-caused disease prevention and control in Hanoi on February 7.

More than 1,000 people returning from China and nearly 500 others with close contact with infected patients are being quarantined and monitored and waiting for test results.

With the latest achievement, Vietnam is able to test thousands of samples a day when necessary, Long said, noting that this will also be a prerequisite for developing a vaccine against the virus in the future.

At present, the country still has enough materials for 2019-nCoV tests, the official added.

Vietnam reported two more 2019-nCoV cases on February 6, bringing the total number of infected patients in the country to 12.

On February 1, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision declaring the nCoV-caused disease an epidemic in Vietnam.

Earlier, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared the 2019-nCoV outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
This is the moment gardai raided a flats complex in an operation against street drug dealers in the north inner city.

Armed officers were involved in the searches at the Hardwicke Street flats complex, a traditional stronghold of the Kinahan cartel.

The backdrop to yesterday's raids was a major drive against street level dealing in the capital, codenamed Operation Canter.

Gardai yesterday announced results of the operation, saying: "Gardai have seized quantities of cocaine and cannabis along with a sum of cash and an imitation firearm and arrested three men during a planned intelligence-led operation in the Hardwicke Street area of Dublin city centre.

"The operation, led by gardai from the District Community Action Team based at Mountjoy Station, is part of ongoing investigations into the sale and supply of controlled drugs, specifically targeting those involved in street level dealing in the north inner city area. As part of the operation, seven flats were searched under warrant.

Crossbow

"During the searches, cannabis herb with an estimated street value in excess of 40,000 was seized, along with cocaine worth 3,000 (analysis pending).

"Cash of 4,500, an imitation handgun (ballistic examination pending) and pepper spray were also seized. Three men in their 20s were arrested."

As part of Operation Canter, a woman in her 40s was allegedly found with 2,500 of heroin and a crossbow during searches in Summerhill last week.

"There will be more searches and more arrests. Open street dealing has to be stamped out in the city," a source said last night.
Assistant Utah solicitor general to run for Utah County attorney

Looking back at years of policies by the current administration, Jeff Gray feel it is time for a change. The longtime attorney and assistant Utah solicitor general announced Friday that he will run to become the next Utah County attorney. Gray believes the Utah County Attorneys Office, led by David Leavitt, is on the wrong path and that he is in a position to change it. Quite frankly, I have concerns about whats happening at the Utah County Attorneys Office, Gray told the Daily Herald. Gray mentioned a desire to have the office work more closely with law enforcement ...
LOWELL, Mass. - A business incubator working to improve the lives of patients with heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders is expanding its reach to the next generation of pioneering biotech and medical-device entrepreneurs.

Heart, lung and blood diseases account for 41 percent of deaths in the United States and lead to more than $400 billion in health-care expenses and lost income to patients and caregivers, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) assists inventors developing new technologies and medical devices designed to help patients with these conditions manage their well-being wherever they are. The goal is to improve quality of life and reduce the time patients spend in the hospital. CAPCaT is seeking more entrepreneurs to join the incubator in this work.

Innovations supported by CAPCaT are devices and technologies well on their way to going to market. Products already being developed at CAPCaT include a product to help critically ill infants sleep better, an online education program for patients to manage hypertension and a portable device that can evaluate how the user's platelets are performing. The center also seeks to support technologies that promote holistic methods of managing diseases, including devices that measure stress levels or promote mindfulness.

CAPCaT is one of four centers across the country in the National Institutes of Health Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network, which was created in 2018 to help revolutionize patient care.

Supported by a $7.9 million grant from the NIH, CAPCaT is part of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), operated by UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in Worcester to help biotech and medical-device startups bridge the gap between idea and market. CAPCaT is driven by the talent and aspirations of participating entrepreneurs; the expertise of scientists, business developers and legal analysts; and the resources available at UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in collaboration with industry partners.

M2D2's support of medical-device startups in Massachusetts has contributed $42 million in direct economic impact with a total positive effect of $75 million, according to the UMass Donahue Institute. Expanding CAPCaT is expected to increase this impact.

"CAPCaT is an exciting collaboration between clinicians at UMass Medical School and engineers at UMass Lowell that helps medical-device developers as they move their products toward commercialization, knowing these life-changing inventions will help so many patients and transform the industry," said Prof. Bryan Buchholz, co-director of CAPCaT and chairman of UMass Lowell's Biomedical Engineering Department.

Successful applicants will receive seed funding and the support of M2D2's medical, business and legal experts as well as those in the private sector and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

"Last year, we received 90 expressions of interest from entrepreneurs in 26 states and three countries. We were amazed by the quality of applications we received and can't wait to see what technologies are submitted this year," said Dr. David McManus, CAPCaT's co-director and professor of medicine at UMass Medical School.

Entrepreneurs around the world working on inventions that are close to being tested in clinical settings are encouraged to apply to join the center. The application deadline is Monday, March 2. Individuals interested in more information should email Mary Dubuque at mary.dubuque@umassmed.edu.

###

About the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center

M2D2 operates laboratories, research and development and other workspace at UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in Worcester for medical-device and biotech ventures. Since its inception in 2007, M2D2 has assisted more than 100 companies. Each year, the M2D2 $200K Challenge awards seed funding to the best new concepts from early-stage medical device, diagnostic and biotech companies around the globe.

About UMass Lowell

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. http://www.uml.edu

About UMass Medical School

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), one of five campuses of the University system, comprises the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Graduate School of Nursing, a thriving research enterprise and an innovative public service initiative, Commonwealth Medicine. Its mission is to advance the health of the people of the commonwealth through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. In doing so, it has built a reputation as a world-class research institution and as a leader in primary care education. The Medical School attracts more than $257 million annually in research funding, placing it among the top 50 medical schools in the nation. In 2006, UMMS's Craig C. Mello, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with colleague Andrew Z. Fire, PhD, of Stanford University, for their discoveries related to RNA interference (RNAi). The 2013 opening of the Albert Sherman Center ushered in a new era of biomedical research and education on campus. Designed to maximize collaboration across fields, the Sherman Center is home to scientists pursuing novel research in emerging scientific fields with the goal of translating new discoveries into innovative therapies for human diseases.

Contact:

UMass Lowell: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

UMass Medical School: Sandra Gray, 508-856-5842, Sandra.Gray@umassmed.edu
Sanad Aerotech (Sanad), the leading provider of aircraft engine maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions has elevated its business expansion ambitions in Africa by signing a landmark agreement with Ethiopian Airlines.

The agreement paves the way for Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines to collaborate and maximise on untapped MRO business opportunities in the region.

The initial phase of the agreement will see Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines establishing a Centre of Excellence for the repair and overhaul of auxiliary power units (APU) in Addis Ababa and will start with APUs used on B737 and A320 aircraft.

This will pave the way for future collaboration in the provision of APU MRO services to other African airlines.

The strategic alliance also has future aspirations to expand capabilities to include aircraft components and aircraft engine MRO.

The latest agreement between Sanad and Ethiopian Airlines builds on a 2018 MOU to collaborate on APU capabilities, among others.

Mansoor Janahi, Sanad Aerotech CEO, in a statement issued in Accra yesterday said Sanad continues to push ahead with its strategy of expanding a global presence through strategic alliances with well-established companies that share the same vision for quality and excellence.

Our strategic alliance with Ethiopian Airlines goes beyond this announcement, as it provides greater opportunities for us to jointly collaborate and develop mutually beneficial activities across the entire African continent, he said.

Ethiopian Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Tewolde Gebre Mariam, on his part said, This Strategic Alliance with Sanad Aerotech is consistent with Ethiopian Airlines vision of making its MRO facility the leading MRO service provider in Africa through strategic partnerships with OEMs and selected international MRO Service Providers.

Our MRO facility is ready to provide cost effective and efficient overhaul services with standard turnaround time (TAT) to APUs of African Airlines. Ethiopian would like to expand this cooperation with Sanad Aerotech to cover other aircraft components, he said.

Sanad has built strategic relationships with leading international OEMs including Rolls-Royce, General Electric (GE), and International Aero Engines (IAE), which have enabled Sanad to deliver competitive aircraft engine MRO expertise throughout a variety of engine maintenance service programmes across multiple engine platforms.
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London: Australia is pushing to install a new Commonwealth Secretary-General in a worsening behind-the-scenes diplomatic brawl that could force Canberra to suspend millions of dollars in funding for the troubled organisation.

Incumbent Patricia Scotland is under pressure to stand aside rather than seek a new four-year term after she was accused of "circumventing" tendering rules to award contracts totalling 250,000 ($481,000) to a firm run by a friend and former colleague.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland is struggling to secure a second term.

The former Labour attorney-general under prime minister Gordon Brown has angered a swathe of Commonwealth member nations during her term, including Australia which was furious when it last year discovered Baroness Scotland had invited world leaders to Adelaide for a cricket match without telling the Morrison government.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age revealed in November that Foreign Minister Marise Payne had sent the Commonwealth chief a letter asking her to "cease and desist" and demanding an explanation.
Liam Fox is a former Secretary of State for International Trade, and is MP for North Somerset.

I was in Washington at the beginning of this week when the Prime Minister made his speech in Greenwich about trade. There can be few better examples than its reporting of how polarised elements of the British press will twist anything that is said to suit their own preconceived Brexit agenda.

Those who have never accepted Brexit resurrected their predictions of doom and gloom about Britains ability to reach a settlement on trade with the EU in 2020  the same voices who said that the Prime Minister could not reopen the withdrawal agreement or the backstop. Sadly, it seems that there will be those in our country who would rather see Britain fail than see Brexit succeed.

On the other side, there were those who excitedly wrote about a deregulatory Britain able to ditch commitments on employment and environmental issues. Neither seem to have properly read, or at least understood, the speech which was balanced and accurate, both on Britains recent record and on global trade more widely.

The trade negotiations with the European Union will be unique in that we begin with complete legal and regulatory identity. This is a result of 47 years of EU membership rather than any necessity for trade. The EU will want to maintain as much of this harmonisation as it can.

Yet this flies in the face of global trends towards equivalence rather than the highly legalistic regulatory formula favoured by the European Union. Moreover, it seems that there are many in the EU who still do not understand why we have left the organisation, or our desire to take back control of the levers that affect our national life, political and economic.

Britain rejects, quite rightly, the concept of dynamic alignment by which would have to alter its regulations automatically in line with any European changes in order to maintain access to the Single Market. It is totally incompatible with the concept of Brexit.

As the Prime Minister has pointed out, there is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection of the environment as the UK will maintain the high standards in these areas  better, in many respects than those of the EU.

The key difference is that Britain believes that this can be done without the compulsion of a treaty. Herein lies the key political difficulty in the negotiations  a fundamental difference of what constitutes a level playing field.

For Britain, it is about ensuring that rules cannot be broken to create anti-competitive advantages while, for the EU, it is about rules and regulations that force conformity with a pre-set economic model. This mirrors to a large extent our respective legal traditions.

In any case, as the Prime Minister has also pointed out, the EU has enforced state aid rules against the UK only four times in the last 21 years, compared with 29 enforcement actions against France, 45 against Italy  and 67 against Germany. The advantage of equivalence over harmonisation is that, while it accepts the needs for protection against anti-market behaviour, it does so in a way that allows innovation and efficiency to flourish.

Despite these inevitable political differences, there is much to be positive about in these negotiations. On the issue of tariffs, usually one of the causes of lengthy negotiations, we already have a tariff-free environment, and the political declaration agreed by both sides before Brexit aims to ensure no tariffs, fees, charges or quantitative restrictions across all sectors  a sign that both sides do not want to see any new impediments to trade introduced.

On services and investment it calls for ambitious, comprehensive and balanced arrangements respecting each partys right to regulate. This means that both sides should go beyond the WTO commitments, and be more liberal than recent EU Free Trade Agreements in this area.

On financial services, crucial to the UK economy and to the EUs ability to access capital, both parties are committed to preserving financial stability, market integrity, investor and consumer protection and fair competition, while respecting regulatory and decision-making autonomy and each sides ability to take equivalence decisions in their own interest.

Acceptance of the concept of equivalence is crucial as this is the direction in which global discussions around financial services is going. Optimism that an agreement on financial services can be reached even led to a date been included in the political declaration to conclude assessments on equivalence by the end of June 2020.

Even on fisheries, widely regarded as one of the more difficult areas, the Prime Minister has said that we are ready to consider an agreement on fisheries as long as it reflects the fact that the UK will be an independent coastal state at the end of this year 2020, controlling our own waters. This is certainly not the language of the rigid hard Brexiteer that the Prime Ministers Remainer critics would have us believe, and leaves the door open to a sensible and responsible relationship.

In all of this, we must remember the wider economic and trading picture. The UK had an overall trade deficit of 66 billion with the EU in 2018. A surplus of 28 billion on trade in services was outweighed by a deficit of 94 billion on trade in goods.

Some countries have a particular incentive to minimise disruption. Relatively few people seem to grasp that 62 billion of the EUs trade surplus comes from only six countries  Germany (22.6 billion), Spain (13.9 billion), Belgium (9.9 billion), Poland (5.6 billion), the Netherlands (5.0 billion) and Italy (4.9 billion). France has a smaller surplus of 2.7 billion with the UK while Ireland has a deficit of some 13.5 billion.

On top of this, around 40 per cent of the Republic of Irelands freight trade with the rest of the EU comes through British ports. All of these elements, some of them conflicting, will form the backdrop of discussions where it is in our mutual interest to reach agreement as soon as possible. It will be up to Europes politicians to show leadership, so that the economic interests of all the citizens of Europe are put ahead of political brinksmanship or Commission ideology. An agreement is by no means certain, but it is certainly possible.
Death toll tops 600, with more than 3,143 new infections reported across China.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has risen to 636, according to the countrys National Health Commission.

The majority of new cases reported are in Hubei and its provincial capital Wuhan.

Some 31,161 infections have been reported across China.

The virus has killed two people outside mainland China, one in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines, and at least 25 countries have confirmed cases.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has asked for $675m to help countries address the expected spread of the virus.

Here are the latest updates:

Updates for February 7 have concluded. For February 8 updates clicke here:

Friday, February 7

Royal Caribbean bans China, HK, Macau passport holders from ships

Royal Caribbean Cruises said on Friday it would ban guests holding China, Hong Kong or Macau passports from boarding its ships.

Guests or crew members who have traveled to, from or through mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau, or been in contact with someone who has, less than 15 days before sailing will not be allowed to board the companys ships under the new rules.

The company would also screen guests with flu-like symptoms and those who are unsure if they had been in contact with individuals who who had visited the any of the three locations in the past 15 days.

US offers $100m to China, others to fight coronavirus

The US will offer up to $100m to China and other impacted countries to combat the fast-spreading coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

This commitment  along with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sector  demonstrates strong US leadership in response to the outbreak, Pompeo said in a statement.

https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1225870092228943873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Has the coronavirus cracked Chinas Great Firewall?

Al Jazeeras Inside Story programme discusses how Chinese censors are struggling to contain online outrage over the governments handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

Read more here and watch the full episode below.





China doing very professional job against coronavirus: Trump

US President Donald Trump has said that China is doing a very professional job in combating coronavirus.

Trump said that he had discussed the crisis with Chinese President Xi Jinping in a very good phone call late on Thursday.

He added that the US and China were working together on the issue.

WHO warns against hoarding of protective gear

Demand for masks, gowns, gloves and other protective gear has risen by up to 100 times and prices have soared due to the coronavirus, producing a severe disruption in supply, the WHOs chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

This situation is exacerbated by widespread use of personal protective equipment outside patient care, he told reporters in Geneva, adding that he had spoken to manufacturers and distributors to ensure supplies for those who need them.

He also said he could see practices such as hoarding in order to ensure higher prices and called for solidarity from the public and the private sector.

Singapore lifts virus alert to SARS level

Singapore has raised its coronavirus alert level to orange  a level reached during the 2003 SARS outbreak and the 2009 H1N1 influenza which indicates the virus is severe and passes easily between persons.

Singapore has reported 33 cases of patients infected with the new coronavirus.

SK couples unfazed by virus take part in mass wedding

South Koreas Unification Church held a mass wedding amid the outbreak.

About 6,000 couples took part in the ceremony at the Cheongshim World Peace Centre in Gapyeong, about 40 miles (60 kilometres) northeast of the capital, Seoul.

The couples said they were unfazed by the new coronavirus and the organiser said the venue had been thoroughly sterilised and that a thermal surveillance camera had been put in place.

Find out more here.

The Unification Church regularly holds mass weddings for its followers [Heo Ran/Reuters]

Italy contradicts China over possible air traffic restart

Italy has contradicted Chinas assertions over a possible resumption of flights between the two countries.

Romes decision on January 31 to block flights to and from China was greeted with dismay by Beijing, which has been lobbying in the past few days to have the ban lifted.

The block on flights is a measure take to immediately deal with any emergency and we will keep it in place as long as health authorities and therefore the scientific community tell us we should, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio told a news conference in Madrid.

Ericsson to skip mobile trade show

Swedish telecommunications equipment provider Ericsson said it would skip a major trade show because of the risk of spreading the virus.

Due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus Ericsson has taken the decision to withdraw from the industry event GSMA Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 as the health and safety of employees and customers cannot be ensured, it said in a statement.

Ericsson withdraws from MWC Barcelona 2020 https://t.co/rujlbTGdLk  Ericsson Press (@Ericssonpress) February 7, 2020

Turkey halts all imports of livestock and animal fats from China

Turkey has temporarily stopped imports of livestock and animal fats from China, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.

Speaking from the Turkish capital, Ankara, Koca said that none of the 61 Turks brought back from China had been diagnosed with the virus, adding that all Chinese nationals coming to Turkey for employment will be considered on leave for 14 days until the health ministry grants them permission to work.

First Canadians repatriated from Wuhan land in Canada

A plane bringing home the first Canadians from Wuhan has landed at a military base in Canada, where the returnees will be quarantined.

The government-chartered jetliner landed at Trenton air force base east of Toronto, shortly after 6:30 am local time (11:30 GMT), after a stopover in Vancouver, Canadian TV showed.

The plane carried 176 passengers.





Hong Kong unveils virus quarantine plans, up to six month jail for dodgers

Hong Kong will deploy an army of volunteers to bolster plans to forcibly quarantine all arrivals from mainland China, warning that anyone caught breaching the new rules faces up to six months prison.

In a major escalation of its battle against the new coronavirus, the international finance hub has said anyone arriving from the mainland from Saturday will have to undergo 14 days compulsory quarantine.

Read the full story here.

Three more cases reported in Singapore

Singapore reported three more coronavirus cases that the countrys authorities have not yet linked to previous infections or travel to China, prompting the city state to raise its countrywide alert level.

The new cases take Singapores tally to 33, with the alert level raised to orange, denoting the disease is severe and passes easily from person-to-person. Red -the highest alert level  indicates it is spreading widely.

As there are now a few local cases without any links to previous cases or travel history to China, we have stepped up our risk assessment, the ministry said in a statement, advising businesses to cancel or defer non-essential events and to be prepared for widespread community transmission.





China scientists identify pangolin as possible coronavirus host

The deadly coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins, the worlds only scaly mammals, which are prized in Asia for food and medicine, Chinese researchers said.

The pangolin is one of Asias most trafficked mammals, although protected by international law, because its meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China and its scales are used in traditional medicine, the World Wildlife Fund says.

The coronavirus outbreak is believed to have started in a market in the city of Wuhan, in central Hubei province that also sold live wild animals [File: Kham/Reuters]

15th case confirmed in Malaysia

Another case of coronavirus has been reported in Malaysia, bringing the total number of patients infected to 15, according to the Ministry of Health.

The 59-year-old woman from Wuhan, arrived in Singapore on January 17, and entered Malaysia on January 21. She showed symptoms on January 26, self medicated but condition did not improve.





China launches probe after whistleblower doctor dies

Chinas anti-graft watchdog announced an investigation after the death of a whistleblowing doctor sparked anger over the governments handling of the coronavirus emergency.

The discipline inspection commission said a team would go to Wuhan, where doctor Li Wenliang died, to conduct a comprehensive investigation into issues involving Dr. Li Wenliang reported by the masses.

Li, 34, died early Friday, Wuhan Central Hospital said in a post on Chinas Twitter-like Weibo platform.

The death of the ophthalmologist sparked an outpouring of grief and anger

Chinas Xi tells Trump no effort spared in coronavirus fight

The Chinese government has spared no effort in its fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak, having taken the most comprehensive and stringent prevention and containment measures, President Xi Jinping told US President Donald Trump.

In its battle against the coronavirus, China is gradually achieving results, Xi told his US counterpart on a phone call on Friday morning, according to state television.

China is fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic, and the long-term trend of the countrys economic development will not change, Xi said.

Japan finds 41 more cases on cruise ship

Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on a cruise ship thats been quarantined in Yokohama harbour.

Before Fridays 41 confirmed cases, 20 passengers who were found infected with the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess at Yokohama near Tokyo. About 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Japan and Hong Kong.

Doctor who sounded alarm over outbreak dies of virus, report says

Global Times, a tabloid run by the ruling Communist Partys official Peoples Daily, said Li Wenliang an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital and among the first doctors to reportedly warn about the coronavirus outbreak, died of the virus in Wuhan.

Wuhan Central Hospital has also confirmed Lis death.

WHO said it is deeply saddened by the passing of the doctor, adding that everyone needs to celebrate the work he did on the virus.

This sketch of li wenliang one of the many things about him that are blowing up online. His death is crystallizing so much anger and frustration pic.twitter.com/lxlOwj7OhO  Bill Bishop (@niubi) February 6, 2020

UK says citizen infected with coronavirus outside China

The third case testing positive to coronavirus in the UK was infected in an Asian country other than China, authorities said, telling doctors to be vigilant to those showing symptoms from a wider range of countries.

Because of that, it is probably now prudent to slightly widen the geographical area where doctors in the UK and NHS know they should test people if they come with the right symptoms, said Englands Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty.

He did not name the country from where the patient had returned. He said a wider list of countries would be released shortly from which people who developed symptoms should self-isolate if they showed any of the coronavirus symptoms.

WHO says too early to say coronavirus peaking in China

The health agency said it was too early to say that Chinas coronavirus outbreak was peaking, but noted that Wednesday was the first day that the overall number of new cases in the Asian country had dropped.

WHO official Mike Ryan said there had been a constant increase in cases in Hubei province but that that increase had not been seen in other regions.
The Context

Russia has been a deeply destabilizing force on the world stage for several years, including through its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and its meddling in the United States 2016 presidential election. After it annexed Crimea, it was suspended from the Group of Eight bloc of industrialized nations (now, in Russias absence, the Group of Seven). But President Trump has pushed to readmit Russia to the G-7 and has held several meetings with President Vladimir Putin, the contents of which have not been disclosed.

If Russia continues on its current course in Ukraine and other former Soviet states, should the United States regard it as an adversary, or even an enemy?

Should Russia be required to return Crimea to Ukraine before it is allowed back into the G-7?
Japanese health authorities say 10 more people aboard a cruise ship have been diagnosed with the new coronavirus that has killed hundreds of people in China and triggered a global health emergency.

A total of 20 people aboard Carnival Japan's Diamond Princess have been diagnosed with the virus since it arrived at the port city of Yokohama earlier this week. The vessel and its 3,700 passengers and crew members have been quarantined after a passenger who disembarked after the ship docked in Hong Kong late last month tested positive for the virus.

Off the waters of Hong Kong, more than 3,600 passengers and crew are under quarantine after three passengers from a previous voyage tested positive for the virus. The Chinese territory has shut down nearly all land and sea border crossings with the mainland after more than 2,000 medical workers walked off the job Monday demanding that all border crossings be closed completely. Hong Kong was hit hard by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in 2002-03, which killed more than 800 people worldwide.

Chinese health authorities said Thursday another 73 people have died from the coronavirus, raising the death toll on the mainland to 563 since it was first detected in December in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, with the total number of confirmed infections exceeding 25,000.

There are about 150 confirmed cases in 23 other countries, including one death in the Philippines, the first outside of China. Taiwan announced Thursday it was banning all international cruise ships from docking at the island.
Lack of stringent laws and fast track court for rape cases in countries like India and Pakistan are contributing factors to the high number of such incidents. In most cases, the woman is defenceless and can barely fend off rapists.

However, it was different with one woman in Pakistan. According to Daily Mail, a woman cut off a mans penis in Pakistan when he allegedly tried to rape her.

Shutterstock

According to the report, the woman told police she was alone in her house in the central province of Punjab when the attacker entered her place.

The 25-year-old claims the man attempted to rape and assault her. She ran to the kitchen after that and grabbed a knife. In self defence, the woman attacked the mans penis and cut it off, police official Mohamed Ilyas told the DPA news agency.

BCCL

The 28-year-old man was rushed to the Civil Hospital in the nearby city of Faisalabad where he received treatment for his injuries. According to the Daily Mail report that man has been released.

According to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Jaranwala Bilal Sulehri, the man was known to the woman and he was due to be marrying someone else.

Bigstock

An investigation into the incident is taking place.
People undergo temperature checks at the entrance during the "Colours in Harmony" Chingay Parade at the F1 Pit Building on 31 January, 2020 in Singapore. (PHOTO: Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  Three new cases of the novel coronavirus with no links to previous cases or recent travel history to China were confirmed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) on Friday (7 February), including a female teacher from Victoria Junior College.

This brings the tally of such cases to four and the total overall to 33, the second-highest number outside mainland China behind Japans 86.

All three cases, announced during a press conference led by the multi-ministry taskforce for the virus on Friday, are Singaporeans.

They tested positive for the novel coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, at about 11pm the previous day.

The 42-year-old female teacher at Victoria Junior College had reported onset of symptoms last Sunday (2 February) and was admitted to Parkway East Hospital three days later.

Yahoo News Singapore understands that she was transferred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) on Friday morning.

Prior to her hospital admission, the Elias Road resident had visited Changi Airport and Singapore Zoo.

On the teachers activity in the college, Ministry of Education's director of schools Liew Wei Li said that she was last present in school on 31 January as she was on medical leave for her fever.

The woman did not interact with colleagues or students after her symptoms emerged.

As a precautionary move, a few colleagues and students who have been in close contact with the teacher will be given 14 days of leave of absence since the last day of contact, added Liew.

Detailing the schools additional measures, Liew said that the colleges premises will be thoroughly disinfected, such as the staff room, pantry and the teaching rooms that the teacher was in.

Other steps include suspending the schools co-curricular activities for two weeks and conducting classes in smaller sizes with students to sit in alternate seats in lecture halls.

Similar measures will be implemented in other schools if there are cases linked to them, added Liew.

Story continues

Two new cases visited Msia

The second new case is a 53-year-old man who visited Malaysia on 6, 11, and 17 January. He reported symptoms on 23 January and visited a general practitioner clinic on the same day.

The man visited another such clinic on 28 January and was admitted to the Changi General Hospital last Saturday, where he is currently warded in an isolation room.

The Singaporean, who resides at Tampines Street 24, had visited The Life Church and Missions Singapore at 146B Paya Lebar Road and had also visited family members and friends during the Chinese New Year.

The third case is a 39-year-old woman who visited Malaysia from 22 to 29 January.

The Singaporean reported developing symptoms on 30 January. She visited the emergency department at the Sengkang General Hospital last Sunday where she was admitted and is currently warded in an isolation room.

The three patients constitute four cases with no links to previous cases or recent travel history to China.

The first such case of its kind was announced on Thursday, a 41-year-old Singaporean man who had visited the Seletar clinic of Phoenix Medical Group twice, last Thursday and again on Monday. He is currently warded in an isolation room at the NCID.

The taskforces co-chair and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said that investigations over the past two days into how the 41-year-old contracted the disease have been inconclusive.

Given the heightened risk, the taskforce on Friday raised Singapores Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon) alert level from yellow to orange amid the increase in confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

It also announced a series of measures to be taken, including the suspension of inter-school and external activities for schools until the end of the March school holidays and advising event organisers to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale events.

Despite our very best efforts to contain, ringfence and isolate each case that comes out...there is wider community spread, said the taskforces co-chair and National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

And if so, as we have done already, we will have to reassess the situation; if the situation worsens, and we may well have to take more stringent measures beyond what we are announcing today.

More details on Sporean linked to Grand Hyatt meeting

The ministry also provided more details about the case of a 27-year-old man who was announced on Thursday. The Singaporean, who is currently warded at an isolation room at the NCID, tested positive for the virus on the same day at about 2pm.

He had reported the onset of fever on 21 January and visited a general practitioner clinic a week later. He later sought treatment at another GP clinic on Monday.

Prior to his hospital admission, the Shunfu Road resident had gone to Far East Square at 19 China Street and Junction 8 at 9 Bishan Place.

The man was one of 109 staff from an as-yet-unnamed multinational sales firm to attend a private business meeting held at Grand Hyatt Singapore from 20 to 22 January.

Ninety-four foreign participants, including a Chinese delegate from Wuhan where the virus originated, have since left Singapore. Authorities here are currently unable to provide a full list of countries where they are from as well as their statuses.

The man is also one of at least six cases  five participants from the UK, Malaysia, and South Korea as well as one of their siblings  linked to the meeting.

The original source of these cases has not yet been identified, said Assoc Prof Kenneth Mak, MOH director of medical services, in response to questions fielded by reporters.

He also declined to reveal the companys name, citing ongoing investigations, but reports have identified the events organiser as Servomex, a firm founded in the UK in 1952 with offices in several countries.

The spate of cases has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to begin an investigation into the situation.

The WHO said the cases provide more evidence that the coronavirus is spreading through human-to-human contact outside China, which it called deeply concerning and could signal a much larger outbreak.

Two discharged, another two in critical condition

One previously confirmed case, a 53-year-old female Wuhan resident, was confirmed by Prof Mak to have been discharged on Friday, joining a 35-year-old male compatriot who was discharged on Tuesday.

Most of the remaining 31 patients, including a six-month-old Singaporean male infant, are stable or improving.

However, two patients are currently in critical condition in the intensive care unit and both require support to help them with their breathing, Prof Mak said.

Another patient is warded in a high dependency unit, while several require some level of oxygen support, he added.

When pressed on the identity of the two cases in critical condition, Prof Mak declined to provide more details, citing patient confidentiality, but noted that both do not have significant health issues.

(INFOGRAPHIC: Ministry of Health)

Local cluster of seven cases linked to Guangxi tourists

Authorities had announced the first cluster of four locally transmitted cases on Tuesday, including a 28-year-old female Singapore permanent resident and her colleague, a 48-year-old Singaporean woman.

The pair work at Yong Thai Heng, a health products shop in Cavan Road popular with Chinese tourists. The third case is a 32-year-old Singaporean tour guide who brought Chinese tourist groups to the shop.

The trio had close contact with a group of 20 travellers from Guangxi, of whom at least two have been confirmed to be infected with the virus. The fourth case confirmed on Tuesday was the 28-year-old woman's Indonesian foreign domestic maid.

The woman's six-month-old son  currently the youngest confirmed case here  and her husband, a 45-year-old Singaporean man, were amongst three additional cases linked to the cluster announced the following day.

Prior to being admitted to the NCID, her husband stayed at their home at Jalan Bukit Merah and worked as a private hire driver. He indicated that he had visited Tiong Bahru Plaza, Tiong Bahru Market, and Beo Crescent Market and Food Centre.

The couples infant was cared for at home and was not in any infant care facility before he was hospitalised at an isolation room the KK Womens and Childrens Hospital.

The husband of the tour guide, a 40-year-old Singaporean man, was the third such case announced on the same day.

He reported developing a fever on 24 January and visited Hougang Polyclinic with his wife last Thursday. She also visited a supermarket near their home at Buangkok Green.

Subsequently, the man visited the NCID on Monday, where he was immediately isolated and is currently warded.

Prior to his hospital admission, the Singaporean stayed at home and worked at Diamond Industries Jewellery Company at Harbour Drive which was visited by the same tour group from Guangxi.

He indicated that he had visited Pasir Panjang Hawker Centre and travelled by public transport.

All seven cases of local transmissions have not travelled to China recently.

The tourists from Guangxi were in Singapore from 22 to 23 January, re-entered the country from Malaysia at 3am on 27 January and departed Changi Airport at 6am.

Besides Yong Thai Hang and Diamond Industries Jewellery Company, the group also visited Meeting You Restaurant at 14 Hamilton Road, Royal Dragon Restaurant at 2 Havelock Road, T Galleria by DFS at 25 Scotts Road and DResort @ Downtown East at 1 Pasir Ris Close.

The ministry has reached out to 142 contacts and said that all but one are well. The individual has been isolated as a suspect case and test results are pending.

Contact tracing of the crew and passengers of the departing flight on 27 January was also conducted  five still in Singapore have been quarantined.

The novel strain 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 started in China.

The coronavirus  which has been declared a global emergency by the WHO last week  has spread to 27 territories beyond mainland China, sickening over 31,000 people worldwide.

China's death toll from the epidemic soared to 636 on Friday, exceeding the 349 mainland fatalities from the SARS outbreak.

Two territories, Hong Kong and the Philippines, have each reported the death of a patient from the virus.

(INFOGRAPHIC: Yahoo News Singapore)

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

Related stories:

Coronavirus: Singapore raises Dorscon response level to orange

Coronavirus: Schools to suspend inter-school, external activities until end of March school holidays

Coronavirus: 'Patient zero' linked to multiple infected cases at Grand Hyatt meeting not yet identified  MOH

Coronavirus: Don't shake hands, adopt alternative greetings, says Ministry of Health

Coronavirus: Employers must inform MOM of workers returning to Singapore from China  Lawrence Wong

Coronavirus outbreak's impact on Singapore aviation sector will be bigger than SARS: Khaw
Property search portal OnTheMarket.com recorded the highest ever number of visitors to its website last month, it revealed today.

Over 30 million visits to the website were made during January, a 28 per cent rise on the previous year and more than 10 per cent on the previous record of 27.2 million visits during September 2019.

OnTheMarket.com's results follow Rightmove reporting that it had a record 152 million visits to its website in January, a seven per cent increase compared to the same month in 2019.

January saw house prices rise by 1.9 per cent according to the building society Nationwide

The numbers may not be as healthy as upon first glance though, due to a couple of key things.

OnTheMarkets traffic and profile is on an upward trajectory as it has spent heavily on marketing, so not all of the rise can be attributed to improved sentiment among buyers.

The other thing important thing to note is that last year saw the slowest start to the year for the property market in six years as the Brexit wrangling peaked. This also makes the numbers appear stronger than they otherwise would.

Ian Springett, chief executive officer of OnTheMarket, said: 'Our strong January performance provides powerful further evidence that our growth strategy is working and engagement is building amongst both property-seekers and agents.'

The Aldershot-based business, which celebrated its five-year anniversary last month, saw a 52 per cent surge in the number of phone and email leads while the average leads per advertiser jumped by over a third.

Springett attributes the growth to the company's 'brand proposition and our multi-channel marketing investment.'

He added: 'Many of our agent shareholders and customers are choosing to list their properties on a New & exclusive basis, 24 hours or more before Rightmove or Zoopla, and we are generating greater value than ever for our agents and new homes developers.'

January saw house prices rise by 1.9 per cent according to the building society Nationwide. Prospective homebuyers will now need to fork out 215,900 for their dream property, about eight times the average annual wage.

Nationwide said the rise was down to the availability of cheap mortgages and a 'healthy labour market.' The company is predicting that property values in the coming year will remain 'broadly flat.'

London had the largest growth in house sales of any region in January, rising by 26 per cent

Rightmove suggested this week that the more certain political outlook has helped to boost the number of house hunters.

It said the number of sales being agreed by agents was up 12 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, the biggest year-on-year jump in any month since July 2017.

London, the East of England and the South East experienced the largest growth in house sales, with purchases of London homes soaring by 26 per cent, and the other two regions rising by 20 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

Property expert Miles Shipside said: 'Home movers have sprung into action in 2020, with a large number of agents telling us that sales and valuations have picked up significantly in their local areas.

Estate agencies have said more people are rushing to buy houses as a result of increased political certainty arising from the landslide Conservative general election victory in December and the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through Parliament

'There's still an imbalance, with demand growing at a faster rate than new supply and no clear sign yet of any uplift in new listings compared to this time last year, but we could see a new wave of sellers in the coming weeks.'

Between Tuesday 21st January and Wednesday 29th, Rightmove recorded their five busiest days in history, with the 29th being a record for the firm. The company said the rise was the result of a 'more certain political outlook.'

Estate agencies have said more people are rushing to buy houses as a result of increased political certainty arising from the landslide Conservative general election victory in December and the passage of the Withdrawal Agreement Bill through Parliament.

Rightmove say housing sales between the day of the General Election on 12 December and 15 January climbed 7.4 per cent compared to the previous year.




Chapman / MCT

MONROE  Police are warning town residents to be vigilant of scams and not reveal too much personal information to those they dont know.

According to an alert on the Monroe Police Department Facebook page, in recent months, police have seen a huge uptick in a variety of scams.
FLORA, Ind. (WLFI) The flu is continuing to take a toll on local schools. Several schools were closed Thursday due to the weather, but Carroll Consolidated and Clinton Central School Corporations were closed and will be Friday as well due to what they are calling a widespread flu outbreak. Health professionals say closures due to the flu haven't happened in a while.

"When you reach a certain percent of students who are sick if you continue to allow them to be in the school it will go from 20 percent to 50 then to 70 and so forth, said Dr. Daniel Wickert the V.P. of Medical Affairs at Franciscan Alliance in Western Indiana. It can be a larger percentage than originally so they close the schools and encourage people to stay home."

According to the Indiana Department of Education public and accredited nonpublic schools are required to develop a local attendance system for reporting symptoms and health outbreaks. he school nurse is required to report any known or suspected reason for the excessive rate of absenteeism directly to the superintendent or designated administrator.

Clinton Central and Carroll Consolidated schools are both holding e-Learning days for the rest of the wee, due to what they are calling a flu outbreak. Clinton central elementary made the announcement on its Facebook page Wednesday, a decision health professionals say is necessary.

"We are trying to protect the children and we don't want them to unnecessarily have the flu, said Dr. Daniel Wickert. They can prevent it by staying home not being together and allowing those individuals to not infect anyone else."

Franciscan Health tracks the number of positive Flu diagnosis at all their local facilities. The graph attached to this article shows the number of cases it has seen in its facilities from November 24th of 2019 to February 1st of 2020. As you can see, the numbers have gradually increased. Which is a trend nationally.

"Nationally we would say there is a higher number of flu cases this year than last year maybe up by as high as 65 percent as the numbers increase," said Dr. Daniel Wickert.

Franciscans expects its Flu numbers to be high at the end of this week too mainly because it is the heart of flu season.

"The worst months will be January and February, said Dr. Daniel Wickert. Then, typically and hopefully by the end of February or March we see a gradual decrease again."

As for ways you can prevent yourself from catching the flu Dr. Wickert has some advice.

"It's not too late to get the flu shot, added Dr. Daniel Wickert. The other recommendation is to wash your hands, wash your hands, and wash your hands."

In a letter to parents, Carroll Consolidated said its custodians have been cleaning extensively every day and will continue to do so in preparation for return to school on Monday.
Drinking tubes or drinking straws are thin pipes that allow people to consume their beverages conveniently. These straws can be made using various materials, including plastic, stainless steel, bamboo, or paper. These thin pipes can be either straight or bent, and they are intended for single-use. Plastic straws, which are the most common type of straws, have been banned by several municipalities, regions, and nations to reduce pollution. Several companies have reduced the amount of plastic straws that are distributed on their premises or even banned them. Bon-Appetit announced that they will ban plastic straws in their 1,000american locations in May 2019. McDonald's has banned these straws in their Ireland and U.K. restaurants while Starbucks plans to phase them out in 2020. One of the first airlines to ban plastic stirrers and straws is Alaska Airlines.

History Of Straws

Even though plastic straws are a modern invention, human beings have been using drinking pipes for drinking beverages for centuries. Sumerians were the first society to create and use straws for drinking beer. The Sumerians used it to avoid the solid products that sink to the bottom during the fermentation process. The oldest drinking pipe in existence was discovered in a Sumerian tomb that dates back to 3,000BCE. The Argentines have used a metallic straw, known as a bombilla, for centuries as both sieve and straw. Rye-grass drinking pipes were introduced in the 1800s because they were soft and cheap; however, these straws turned into mash when inserted in hot beverages.

Marvin Chester patented a modern paper straw in 1888, to address the problems associated with the Rye-grass straws. Marvin came up with his idea when he was taking mint-julep in Washington, DC. The taste of Rye grass was mixing with his drink; therefore, he wound a piece of paper on a pencil and applied glue between the strips before inserting it in his drink. Marvin created a machine that would add a coat on the outside part of the straw and hold it together.

Plastic straws became famous after the Second World War since the material was inexpensive. The first mass manufacturing of twisted drinking pipes was the Sip-N-See straws created by Dinhofer Milton. Milton had patented his invention in the shape of a pair of scissors, however, Macy's refused t purchase them unless they had a character on them. Therefore they suggested that he should create 3 straws; a clown, a cowboy and another one with an animal. Milton attached these characters on lopped polythene straws. The user was to drink his/her beverage using another detachable straight acetate straw. Still, Macy's refused to sell them; therefore, he turned to Woolworth and convinced them to allow him to display his straws in the stores near his home. After selling for a weekend, Woolworth ordered more straws for their other stores. Soon other buyers wanted to carry these straws and market them as "action-drinking toys". Sip-N-See sold over 6million units.

Types Of Straws

Different drinking pipes have been created for specific beverages. One of the most common types of straw is the bendy straws. A bendy straw has concertina-kind of hinge near its top. Bendy straws were invented in 1937 by Joseph Friedman. The ones with wide opening are used to take bubble tea while the spoon straws are used to drink iced-slush drinks. The tip of numerous straws is cut at an angle, leaving a point which the user can use to puncture the cover on the cup.

Top Plastic Straw Using European States

The United Kingdom

Other than being the eleventh biggest European nation by area, the U.K. is the top plastic straw using state in Europe. According to the British government, the Great Britain uses over 8.5 billion plastic straws annually. According to Plastic Oceans U.K., over 8million tons of plastic-waste ends up in the sea annually, and half of these wastes are single-use plastic items, including straws. Therefore, the Environment-food-and-rural affairs department announced in 2019 that it plans to ban the supply of these straws in the United Kingdom by 2020. The ban excludes all the people using plastic straws due to disabilities. Plastic straws will only be sold online or in pharmacies in the country. A considerable percentage of these straws are used in fast food stores. As of 2018, the citizens of the United Kingdom were using and discarding over 23 million plastic straws per day. Queen Elizabeth banned the use of all single-use plastic items in all her palaces in 2018.

Germany

The Germans are ranked among the biggest users of plastic straws in Europe, followed by France and Italy. The Germans use over 4.8 billion straws per year. Other than supporting the bill passed by the EU on banning 10- single-use plastic items, Germany introduced its 5-part plan that will help the country reduce the amount of plastic waste produced in the country. The 5-part plan is notable since the Germans are the worst offenders in the European Union when it comes to plastic waste production. Each German resident produced about 486 pounds of plastic waste in 2016 alone.

France

Other than being the third-largest European state by area, France is also one of the leading plastic straws using nations in the continent. The French use over 3.2billion straws per year, which ends up polluting the ocean. The French government banned the use of plastic-bags followed by plastic plates and cups in 2016. The government decided to extend its ban on plastic items to include single-user products like utensils and straws. The only disposable items allowed in Germany must be manufactured using about 50% biodegradable material.

Other Top Plastic Straw Users In Europe

Other top plastic straws consuming states that use over a billion straws every year include Sweden (1billion), Netherlands (1.1billion), Poland (1.2billion), and Italy (2billion). After the EU voted in favor of banning the use of single-use plastic items by 2021, several eco-friendly Italian bars started using pasta straws. The pasta straws can last for over an hour in cold drinks. Walbrzych became the first Polish city to ban single-use plastic-items in 2019.

Effects Of Plastic Straws On The Environment

Plastic straws are light, single-use items that are made using polypropylene that is not easily degradable or recycled. Therefore, when disposed inappropriately, it can impact the environment negatively. In Europe, people use over 25.3 billion single-use plastic straws every year while the Americans use over 500 million straws daily. A considerable percentage of these plastic straws contribute a small portion of the world's plastic pollution. If not disposed of properly, these straws end up in soil-ecosystems and oceans. All the major rivers on the planet carry 1.15 million tons of plastic waste into the sea annually. These straws break down into smaller pieces that are hazardous to the animals in the ecosystem.

Plastic pollution can poison animals, which can end up affecting food supplies. Plastic pollution can be very detrimental to huge marine mammals. Several marine animals like sea turtles have been found to have a considerable proportion of plastic waste in their stomachs. When they ingest plastic, these animals can starve since the plastic blocks their digestive tracts.
Minds can get pretty overwhelmed in a modern office. Image: Getty Images

Your colleagues are having a conversation around you and in the background, you can hear someone else talking loudly on the phone.

Doors slam and people scurry past into meeting rooms, disrupting your chain of thought as you try to get on with work and check your emails. Meanwhile, your phone pings with notifications from WhatsApp and Slack.

In the modern world of social media, instant messaging, emails and more, we are required to do several things at once. Our brains are busier, but despite this, we are still expected to take in, process and produce huge amounts of information  which can leave us feeling mentally strained. Dubbed cognitive overload by researchers, its a growing problem that affects our work and our health.

Emotionally exhausted

Recalibrating our operating systems to keep pace with the new challenges, as well as opportunities, that come with progress, is not always a simple matter, says Dr Ken Druck, a psychologist, author and expert on personal and professional development.

Inundated with even greater capacity for processing and managing information, we can become mentally and emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed.

READ MORE: How to sort out your overloaded inbox once and for all

Although technological advances in the workplace are frequently lauded, they come with downsides. The dangers and problematic side effects, such as cognitive overload, must also be considered and addressed. Side effects such as burnout have become an intricate part of popular culture and our language for the past 40 years, Druck says.

When our minds are tasked with an unrelenting stream of critical thinking, problem solving, complex interpersonal communication and strategic decision-making, our minds get tired, he adds.

Driven by the desire to maintain, protect or attain even higher organisational status and productivity, and keep pace with organisational goals, we push ourselves harder. Exhausted, overworked and depleted, we experience a state mental fatigue that diminishes our capacity in all of the critical functions listed above.

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Research has shown that both our health and work suffers as a result of cognitive overload. A study by the University of California, Irvine - The Cost of Interrupted Work: More Speed and Stress  suggested that people compensate for the constant interruptions by working faster. Although this sounds positive, it comes at a price: workers experience more stress, higher frustration, time pressure and effort.

Work smarter, not harder

Although we might pride ourselves in being able to do several things at once, our brains arent actually designed to multitask. As multiple studies have shown, we actually get far more done by doing less.

And according to Stanford University researchers, people who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time.

Multitasking has also been found to increase the production of the stress hormone cortisol as well as the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline, which can overstimulate your brain and make it difficult to think clearly.

So what can you do to reduce cognitive overload at work? Although this isnt easy - particularly if you work in an open-plan office with noise and distractions - Druck says there are a variety of effective individual, departmental, organisational and work-life balance approaches to reducing the mental strain.

READ MORE: How to be mindful at work

Firstly, its important to work smarter, rather than just harder. This might mean setting aside 15 minutes every few hours to check your emails, so you can concentrate on your work the rest of the time with fewer interruptions.

It might not be feasible to do the same with platforms such as Slack, as many workplaces use such apps as the main form of day-to-day communication between bosses and employees. However, setting your status to away in order to focus on your work every so often may help.

Unfortunately, the likelihood is that were likely to be bombarded with even more distractions in the form of new technology and apps, so its a matter of setting clear boundaries when it comes to using them. Many of us find ourselves checking Facebook, Twitter or Instagram without even thinking about it, so logging out  or blocking the websites on your work computer  may make you less likely to scroll mindlessly.

Reducing extraneous noise can help too, which may mean bringing earphones or ear plugs to work so you can cut out background noise when youre trying to concentrate.

Perhaps most importantly, take regular breaks to disconnect from work and step away from your computer and smartphone, Druck adds. Balance your menu of daily activities with music, silence, exercise, walks in nature, lifelong learning and laughter to get your mind off of the steady stream of work problems to be solved.
Syrias offensive prompts Ankara to send 150 vehicles with commandos and ammunition to rebel-held province.

Turkey has sent nearly 150 vehicles with commandos and ammunition to reinforce its 12 observation posts in Idlib, Syrias last rebel-held region, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu.

The entry of the Turkish convoy, at least the second in a week, on Friday followed an increase in fighting in northwestern Idlib province and a rare deadly clash between Turkish and Syrian government forces.

The development also came a day before Russian officials arrive in Turkey for talks over the situation in Idlib.

Turkey says nine of its outposts set up under a 2018 deal with Russia  all in the southeastern part of the region  have now been encircled by the Syrian army, according to Al Jazeeras Sinem Koseoglu.

Koseoglu, reporting from Syrias Bab Al Hawa near the Turkish border, said Ankara is determined to keep the positions.

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Turkey said it will keep reinforcing those military posts. After the Syrian government managed to regain control over the territories down below the M4 and M5 highways as well as Saraqib [town], nine Turkish military posts are now in the areas that are under control of the Syrian government, she said.

For now, they are safe but just a couple of days ago at night a Turkish convoy was hit by the Syrian government. So the safety and security of the Turkish military posts are questionable.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to drive back Syrian troops in Idlib unless they withdrew by the end of the month.

Talks in Turkey

Speaking at a news conference in Ankara on Friday, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu repeated Turkey would do whatever is necessary to stop a humanitarian tragedy in Idlib.

A delegation from Russia will arrive in Turkey. We will hold talks. Our goal is to stop the [Syrian] regimes aggression and move the political process forward, Cavusoglu said, adding the Russians would arrive on Saturday.

On Thursday, Russian-led Syrian forces recaptured the strategic town of Saraqib in the province after fierce clashes with opposition fighters, Syrian state media reported.

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The push caused the displacement of more than a half million people in just over two months, compounding a humanitarian disaster in the region packed with internally displaced people.

The town sits at the intersection of two major highways, one linking Damascus to the north and another connecting the countrys west and east.

Syrian state news agency, SANA, and state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV said Syrian army units entered the town before nightfall and were combing it for the remaining fighters and explosives.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a United Kingdom-based war monitor, said Turkish troops were establishing a new military post east of Idlib city.

Turkey says the recent Syrian advance is in violation of the previous agreements.

In 2017, Turkey, Russia and Iran held meetings in Nursultan (earlier known as Astana) city in Kazakhstan and announced that Idlib and neighbouring cities in the Eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus and the southern cities of Deraa and Quneitra would be de-escalation zones.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone, where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited, and Ankara established 12 observation posts there.

The Syrian push has led to three Turkish posts falling in areas under Syrian government control, a Turkish security source told the Reuters news agency, adding that such posts are equipped with enough personnel and equipment to defend themselves.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of raping a five-year-old girl on the grounds of the US embassy in New Deli, authorities have said.

The 25-year-old suspect was taken into police custody after the childs parents reported the incident, police told the Press Trust of India.

The girl is said to be in a stable condition after being assessed by doctors.

Deputy Commissioner of Delhi police, Eish Singhal said the child was lured and raped in an incident on Saturday.

The embassy was shocked by the claims and said: We promptly took action when we were informed of the allegation, and brought this matter to the attention of the police.

Of course, we are cooperating fully with them."

The US embassy is located in Chanakyapuri, a diplomatic pocket in central Delhi which is home to several embassies and high commissions.

The heavily-guarded compound is spread over 28 acres and employs local people.

Indias poor record of dealing with sexual violence gained attention after the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus.

This led to huge protests and changes to rape laws.

In 2018 after two high-profile rape cases, the government introduced the death penalty for those who are found guilty of committing the act.
"He shredded the truth, so I shredded his speech."

This was Nancy Pelosi's response to scolding criticism of her unceremoniously ripping up a copy of the President's State of the Union address. On the surface, this petty and childish reaction can be seen as a moment of weakness  a sore loser abandoning emotional restraint in the heat of defeat. But to ignore the surrounding context might mean to miss a larger trend of ill fated activity that has engulfed the near and long term fate of the Democratic Party as we know it.

In just the last few days, the attempt to remove the president from office failed in embarrassing fashion, stressing the public's already fatigued tolerance and attention span. An avowed socialist and Democratic outsider with a Trump-esque fan base pulled ahead in primary polling, eliciting fear and backroom conspiring (again) among party insiders, furthering the growing intra-party divide. The long-awaited Iowa caucus, in the gleam of national spotlight, erupted into an unmitigated disaster, reinforcing a narrative of technical incompetence and predictable arrogance. And amid the confusion and disappointment, the president delivered a well timed SOTU address championing low unemployment, rising wages, and recent reforms in criminal justice and school choice, making Democrats' 2020 slogans of doom and gloom appear ridiculous and unproductive. Topping this off, Nancy Pelosi, once thought to be the stoic and undeterred adversary to the president, ripped up her copy of the address, demolishing decades of tradition with a single poorly considered moment.

These circumstances are not so much a string of bad luck as they are a culmination of tragic missteps and miscalculations, aided by a self-righteous reluctance for introspection. The party finds itself being torn apart from two ends  a progressive cult championed by holier-than-thou wokeness on the one end and a wounded establishment of once powerful politicians and technocrats desperately fighting off a slide to irrelevance on the other. Stuck in the middle are the ordinary American voters, who soon might find they have to make a choice between these two weak-minded sparring sides and staying home.

It's not difficult to read between the lines of Trump's view on potential 2020 opponents. He welcomes any candidate from the Far Left, knowing full well he can exploit the deep unpopularity of their socialist branding, calls for government takeovers of industry, and alienating rhetoric of social justice. He fears Joe Biden, and perhaps now Pete Buttigieg (given his recent performance in Iowa  TBD), because they offer centrism and civility absent the progressive quackery  a message that might just resonate with enough of the key voting blocs in swing states across the rural Midwest and Deep South to make a difference.

As Trump's good fortune would have it, the Democrats seem apt to take care of this problem for him by way of self-sabotage. It might not matter who sits on the ticket come November 2020 if the party's leaders, once seen as the steady and cool-handed adults in the room with a manic and uncontrollable president, continue to debase themselves with juvenile and wasteful antics. See, here's the thing: it's pretty difficult to make the case that you present a clear choice when your behavior is no less petty and childish than that of the president you criticize  and, at least last night, far more so.

There need be no reminder of what's at stake for the Democrats in the upcoming election, by both pragmatic and symbolic standards. A defeat at the ballot box would be inevitably followed by an evaporation of any remaining confidence and hope in the party. And with only themselves to blame, you can be sure that the ensuing hostility would result in a circular firing squad, paralyzing any effort for an organized resistance. There would be no chance at resuscitation.

At a time when confidence in democracy is at an all-time low, the demise of the Democratic Party should concern all of us, regardless of political persuasion. American government functions at its best when there exists a strong two-party system, a necessary mechanism for balances of power and healthy tensions between ideas and ideals. For the sake of continuing our American experiment, let's hope the lack of leadership currently on display isn't relegated to the dustbin of history, but replaced by something far more respectable. The country, not just the party, depends on it.
Meghan Markle is adjusting well to life back in North America.

With the decision to step down as senior members of the royal family behind them, Meghan and Prince Harry have begun to put down roots in Canada as they look to the year ahead.

It was just this tremendous shift when Meghan returned to Canada [after their announcement], a source tells PEOPLE in this weeks cover story. You could tell that she felt so much less stressed.

The couple  and their 9-month-old son Archie  have been staying in a $14 million mansion on Vancouver Island, with Meghan enjoying the scenery on hikes with her beagle Guy and the couples Labrador. They are enjoying living a quiet life, an insider says. They go for long walks, they do yoga, and Meghan cooks. They are real homebodies who love to chill out with Archie and the dogs.

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Samir Hussein/WireImage

RELATED: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have the Perfect Reason to Live in British Columbia: Unique Privacy Laws

Being on the west coast of Canada means Meghan is much closer to her circle of friends  she was all smiles picking up pal Heather Dorak at the Victoria International Airport on Jan. 16  and her Los Angeles-based mother, Doria Ragland.

She definitely gets a lot of her strength from her mother, says a close friend.

Ragland, a social worker and yoga instructor who lives in Los Angeles, also spent the holidays with Meghan and Harry in the weeks leading up to the couples announcement that they are stepping down as senior royals. And shes been an important source of support ever since.

Meghan Markle and Doria Ragland

Her former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer also visited and went on a New Years Day hike with Meghan and Harry. Actress Janina Gavankar snapped the adorable photo of Archie that appeared on the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs holiday card. And Meghans good friend Jessica Mulroney, who lives in Toronto, has also come to see her and Archie.

Cant get enough of PEOPLEs Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Story continues

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Archie | Toby Melville/WireImage

Most of all, Meghan, 38, and Harry, 35, are enjoying their time as mom and dad to Archie.

Archie is the priority. Its very much still about taking care of him and putting the family first. Hes a happy kidhe loves to laugh, the close friend says. Archie and Harry have such a good time together. And Meghan is a great mom. Shes very much about tending to him. They are trying to live their life as regular parents.
KINGSTON -- James Hansen is one of the founders of the modern climate activist movement.

The former NASA physicist raised warnings about global warming as early as the 1980s and created headlines more than a decade ago when he exposed the Bush Administrations efforts to stifle discussion by federal scientists.

So it may have been something of a surprise to the roughly 300 people who filled the Kingston High School auditorium on Thursday when Hansen all but endorsed nuclear power as one of several ways to tackle the climate crisis.

He also stressed that fossil fuel use wont be ending in the near-term, given the copious power needs of the world economy.

You can make solar free and it still is not going to replace fossil fuels, said Hansen.

As for nuclear power, Hansen believes the next generation of modular plants that are being explored offers much promise. These smaller generators could be assembled in factories and transported to various sites. The U.S. is where it should happen, Hansen said of such developments.

Hansens talk kicked off a three-day Youth Empowerment and Sustainability Summit at the Ashokan Center, a Catskills-based organization that works on sustainability as well as outdoor education issues. The summit is bringing together middle and high school students from 22 schools for an immersion course in climate literacy.

The students will work with experts in climatology and biodiversity to creating action plans to bring to their hometowns, developing problem solving and design skills in the process.

Hansen ran NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies until his retirement in 2013. He now runs the Earth Institute at Columbia University, which focuses on sustainability.

Hansens thoughts on nuclear and fossil fuels dont change his belief that the human race needs to stop pumping carbon into the atmosphere. Heating of the planet is undeniable, he said, but he takes a decidedly global view and one that is fully cognizant of the political obstacles to tackling global warming.

China, for instance, is the worlds largest user of renewables, he said. But it is also the worlds largest coal burner. India, where the population may in a few years surpass Chinas, is also a tremendous coal burner. As these large nations push to modernize and raise living standards, theyll need any variety of energy needs going forward, said Hansen.

While part of a youth summit, the bulk of Thursdays audience was comprised of Baby Boomers and during a question-and- answer period some pushed him on the nuclear power issue.

What about sources like solar and wind power, along with batteries? asked one person.

Thats fine, said Hansen who has solar panels at his home. But the subsidies for those power sources have been tremendous. Those subsidies over the last three years, he said, have outstripped the subsidies given to nuclear power over five decades.

And when it comes to the link between politics, economics and the push for green energy, Hansen blasted both Republicans and Democrats.

Overall, he said Republicans pander to climate change deniers and they dont follow conservative principles. But Democrats give into rigid ideology and they want to spend climate money on social programs.

Both sides fail young people, he said.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Hansen has called for a carbon tax, which he termed a fee, that would be rebated to the public, thus stimulating the economy while discouraging fossil fuel use. The tax would be based on the societal costs of fossil fuels, like as pollution, lung disease and global warming. Some elder Reagan-era Republicans have also supported the concept.

But this is the Trump Era and Hansen believes the clearest path toward tackling global warming might come from a third political party, which could run on the phrase Make America America Again.

Among the principles: ranked voting, and giving the parties more power in choosing national candidates, which could presumably bring in more centrist, realistic leaders.

He would also want a Natures Corridor, or untrammeled pathway from the North to the South of the U.S. that would allow for wildlife to freely migrate as various species respond to climate change before it is fully controlled.

Overall, he sees the need for a body politic that is pragmatic and science-based as the way to really tackle global warming.,

More for you Climate strikers march through Albany, say immediate change is needed

Most people are not at either political extreme but they vote against the extreme they most dislike, said Hansen.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarllinTU
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs exit takes them away from the royal family, but that doesnt mean their absence hasnt still caused issues for Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. According to one royal expert, theres one frustrating thing that the Cambridges have to deal with.

Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton | Neil Mockford/GC Images

Prince Harry and Meghan announced their surprising plans

In early January, Prince Harry and Meghan announced their plans to step back from their royal duties. Queen Elizabeth approved of their move and quickly got to work ironing out the details.

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, the queens statement began. 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 statement continued: 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.

The one frustrating thing about their exit

With the Sussexes putting their royal life behind them, it would seem that Prince William and Kate wouldnt have many complaints.

The Cambridges have been busy with their duties including Kates launch of a nationwide survey on early childhood. As Kate attended engagements to promote the survey, the Sussexes posted on their Instagram account for the first time since Harry joined Meghan and Harry in Canada.

Many believed the timing was less than ideal and that it pulled attention away from Kates efforts.

It was very unfortunate timing and an unfortunate oversight, royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah, told OK!, adding, The households do know when there are big events coming up and they do try to work around that.

Nikkhah continued: So theres definitely been frustration over clashes with publicity that possibly could have been avoided.

There may be some challenges now that Prince Harry and Meghan arent in the fold anymore, as Nikkhah noted: The Sussexes wont be checking in with the royal household each week to see what big events are happening. There will be less control of Harry and Meghans activities and far less communication.

Thats just one of the things the household will have to come to terms with, but its very frustrating, Nikkhah added.

Are Prince Harry and Prince William still feuding?

The Sussexes departure from royal life reportedly didnt do anything to repair Prince William and Prince Harrys fractured relationship, though perhaps with time, they will bounce back and have a stronger bond.

They didnt leave on good terms by any means, but they are both relieved that its over, a family friend told People.

The insider continued: Perhaps [Meghan and Harry] didnt think things through exactly as they could have, but they wanted to be happy. Who can blame them for that?
Catwoman reunites with an old flame (and meets a new mystery man) as Tini Howard takes over DC ongoing comic

Catwoman returns to Gotham City, with a nod to Les Miserables
Motorola just announced its latest mid-rangers - the Moto G8 Power and Moto G Stylus. The first one brings a huge 5,000 mAh battery, while the other comes with a stylus as you could have guessed from its name. The two pack 6.4-inch screens, Snapdragon 665 chipsets and very attractive pricing.

Moto G Stylus

The Moto G Stylus is the more exciting entry thanks to its built-in stylus, a first for Motorola. While it doesnt come with the fancy pressure sensitivity and Bluetooth functionality of Samsungs S Pens, you get the same basic utility at a fraction of the price. Motorola is also bringing its own Moto Note app which allows you to jot down notes and sketches as soon as you take out the stylus from its housing in the bottom right corner. Theres also a customizable quick launch menu that can house several shortcuts for your convenience.

The 6.4-inch IPS display of FHD+ resolution has a punch-hole cutout for the 16MP selfie cam. The aspect ratio is 19:9.

The back houses the fingerprint reader inside the Moto logo and 3 cameras with a 48MP main shooter and a 16MP ultrawide Action Camera that is inherited from the Moto One Action. Its important to note that this is a dedicated video camera and cannot shoot stills. The third shooter is a 2MP macro cam which comes with a 2cm focus distance.

Under the hood, we have the Snapdragon 665 chipset paired with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage which can be expanded via the micro SD slot. There's a 4,000 mAh cell with 10W charging over USB Type C.

The phone boots Android 10 which comes with the neat Moto Actions. Other noteworthy specs include a 3.5mm headset jack, Bluetooth 5.0 and a Hybrid Dual SIM slot which can house 2 Nano SIMs or a single SIM and microSD card.

The Moto G Stylus will go for $299 and is coming later this Spring. It's only listed on the Motorola US website with availability for other markets yet to be detailed.

Moto G8 Power

The Moto G8 Power is built around the same 6.4 IPS 19:9 display of FHD+ resolution. The selfie camera layout and 16MP resolution is maintained but this time there are dual speakers.

Around the back, we have a four-cam array, headlined by a 16MP main shooter. Theres also an 8MP ultrawide snapper with a 118-degree field of view as well an 8MP telephoto module with 2X optical zoom. The fourth shooter is the same 2MP macro camera as on the G Stylus. The fingerprint reader is again located in the circular Moto dimple.

Moving on we have the Snapdragon 665 chipset alongside 4GB RAM and 64GB storage which can be expanded via the microSD slot. Motorola is also advertising a water repellent design but no actual IP rating.

One of the key features of the device is its 5,000 mAh battery which comes with an 18W charger in the box. Motorola is advertising up to three days of usage on a single charge which is reasonable given the rather low power processor. The software front is covered by Android 10.

The G8 Power comes in Smoke Black and Capri Blue colors and will go for $249 in the US. Like the G Stylus, it's expected to arrive later this Spring.

This one is also going to be available in the UK with Amazon already taking pre-orders at 114. Availability there is expected to start on April 1.
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Vilnius, Lithuania, February 7, 2020  Russian authorities should conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the attack against journalist Elena Milashina and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Yesterday evening, a group of unidentified people attacked Milashina, an investigative reporter for the independent daily Novaya Gazeta, and a human rights lawyer Marina Dubrovina in Grozny, the capital of the Russian North Caucasus region of Chechnya, according to a report by her employer and Milashina, who spoke to CPJ from Grozny in a phone interview.

When Milashina and Dubrovina entered their hotel yesterday, a group of about 15 people were waiting for them in the lobby, Milashina said. Several people from the group, mainly women, threw us to the ground, smashed us with their arms, and kicked us; they pulled my hair, hit my head on the marble floor, Milashina told CPJ. She said the men in the group stood nearby and filmed the attack.

Milashina said she visited a hospital after the attack and filed a complaint with the Chechen police. She told CPJ her whole body was in pain and that she had bruises and scratches on her face and pain across her whole body. She posted a photo of her bruised head on Facebook.

In her statement to police, which Milashina posted Facebook, the journalist said she believed the attack was linked to her work, as she had been threatened by Chechen authorities before, and by Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov personally.

Russian federal authorities should investigate what appears to be an organized attack against prominent investigative journalist Elena Milashina, and bring the perpetrators to justice, said Gulnoza Said, CPJs Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York. Milashina has reported on human rights abuses in Chechnya and it is important that her safety is ensured by the authorities at the federal level. Novaya Gazeta has lost too many of its correspondents because of their stellar reporting.

In a phone call with CPJ, an official in the Chechen Interior Ministrys department in Grozny said that authorities were investigating the incident. He declined to elaborate on the investigation or to give his name.

Milashina and Dubrovina had travelled to Grozny to attend a trial of local blogger Islam Nukhanov, who posted critical blogs about President Kadyrov and has been charged with illegal weapons possession, according to Novaya Gazeta and other media reports. Milashina told CPJ she left Grozny today to return to Moscow, one day earlier than she had planned.

In 2017, Milashina reported in Novaya Gazeta on an alleged campaign of kidnapping, torture, and killing of gay men in Chechnya. She had to leave Russia for several months following the publication of those articles, in response to death threats, CPJ documented at the time.

Following the publication of those articles, an adviser to President Kadyrov accused Novaya Gazeta and reporter Adam Shahidov of defamation and threatened retaliation against the reporter and the paper, CPJ documented at the time.

Milashina previously worked as a Russia correspondent for CPJ.
By Trend

A meeting dedicated to the results of 2019 and upcoming tasks was held at Azerbaijans Azersu OJSC, Trend reports on Feb. 7 referring to Azersu.

The meeting was opened by Chairman of Azersu OJSC Gorkhmaz Huseynov.

The chairman stressed that 2019 was full of significant events.

"The reforms carried out in the country under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have contributed to the macroeconomic stability and dynamic economic development," Huseynov said.

In accordance with the presidents instructions to improve the water supply of the population, Azersu took a number of measures in 2019, the chairman said.

The water supply and sewage systems were commissioned in Agdash and Gabala districts with the participation of President Aliyev in 2019. At the same time, the relevant projects were implemented in Aghjabadi, Dashkasan, Shamkir districts and Khirdalan settlement, Huseynov added.

"The implementation of new projects was launched in Horadiz, Yevlakh, Neftchala and Gazakh districts," the chairman said. "The Shamkirchay water treatment plant was commissioned in 2019. Renewable energy facilities were constructed in Gadabay and Lerik districts."

"During the year, drinking water projects were implemented in 25 villages of 12 districts, as well as in five villages for internally displaced people in Bilasuvar district in which there were problems with drinking water," Huseynov said adding that the projects on drinking water, sewage system, as well as on the collection and treatment of rainwater, were implemented in more than 200 settlements of Baku and the Absheron Peninsula.

During the reporting period, 1,420 kilometers of highways and water supply lines, 480 kilometers of sewage lines and collectors were laid in Baku and the countrys districts, 16 water reservoirs with a total capacity of 30,000 cubic meters were built, and 17 sub-artesian wells were drilled.

As a result of the conducted work, the share of the population provided with drinking water in Baku increased up to 81.5 percent, in the districts - up to 63.6 percent, and on the whole in the country - up to 69.9 percent.

Then heads of the relevant departments of the company delivered speeches reported about the work conducted in 2019.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Huseynov informed the participants about the upcoming work, as well as the tasks arising from the instructions of President Aliyev given during the conference on the results of the first year of the implementation of State Program on the Socio-Economic Development of Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023.

It was noted that in 2020, the implementation of the projects will be continued to improve the provision of the population with drinking water.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Antarctica has experienced its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station on the frozen continent clocking a balmy 18.3C (63.5F).

The reading from the Esperanza base was recorded at midday on Thursday and beats beats the previous record of 17.5C (63.5F) in March 2015 by 0.8C.

Records at the base in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, began in 1961 and the announcement was shared by the World Meteorological organisation (WMO).

The record-high temperature is around the same warmth as an average June day in Nottingham, UK, according to figures from the Met Office.

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Antarctica has experienced its hottest temperature on record, with an Argentinian research station on the frozen continent clocking a balmy 18.3C (63.5F). The record was shared in a tweet (pictured)

SMN Argentina said in a tweet: 'At midday Esperanza Base recorded a new historic temperature record (since 1961) of 18.3 degrees Celsius.

'This temperature beat the previous record of 17.5 degrees Celsius recorded on March 24 2015.'

It also said the Marambio Base on Marambio Island, another Argentinian Antartica base, had recorded the highest temperature for February since 1971.

Thermometers here reached 14.1C (57.38F) and beating a previous high recorded in February 2013.

The Antarctic Peninsula, the northwest tip near South America, is among the fastest warming regions on earth, with temperatures rising almost 3C (5.4F) over the past 50 years, the WMO said.

Some 87 per cent of the glaciers along its west coast have 'retreated' over those five decades and have shown an 'accelerated retreat' in the past 12 years, it added.

The Argentinian research base is at the northerly edge of the continent and yesterday registered the hottest temperature ever for the frozen continent

The reading from the Esperanza base was recorded at midday on Thursday and beats beats the previous record of 17.5C (63.5F) in March 2015 by 0.8C (pictured, the church of Esperanza in Antarctica)

The Antarctic Peninsula, the northwest tip near South America, is among the fastest warming regions on earth, with temperatures rising almost 3C (5.4F) over the past 50 years, the WMO said. Some 87 per cent of the glaciers along its west coast have 'retreated'in that time (stock)

Professor James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University of Wellington, told the Guardian Australia the WMO committee would likely reconvene to ratify the new record.

He told the paper: 'The reading is impressive as it's only five years since the previous record was set and this is almost one degree centigrade higher.

'It's a sign of the warming that has been happening there that's much faster than the global average.

'To have a new record set that quickly is surprising but who knows how long that will last? Possibly not that long at all.'

Esperanza was the site of the first ever shots fired in anger in Antartica in 1952 when an Argentinian shore party fired a machine gun over the heads of a British Antarctic Survey team unloading supplies from the R.R.S John Briscoe.

The incident ended with an Argentinian diplomatic apology.

Last month British endurance swimmer and climate activist Lewis Pugh became the first person to swim under an Antarctic ice sheet.

He performed the feat, swimming for 10 minutes and 17 seconds in the river under the melting ice in just trunks, cap and goggles, to raise awareness of climate change at the Earth's poles.

Recent research found the rate of ice loss from five Antarctic glaciers had doubled in six years and was five times faster than in the 1990s.
OTTAWA  Justin Trudeaus loudest critic doesnt stand across from him in Canadas Parliament or in the White House, but in a provincial legislature 2,000 miles away from Ottawa.

Its from Alberta that Jason Kenney has emerged as the voice of Canadas disaffected West, where jobs are tied to the regions fossil fuel industry and where calls for a Wexit are making headlines. Even as Trudeau works to fight climate change by cutting carbon emissions across the country, the Alberta premier is a salesperson for the oil and gas industry at home and abroad, at a time when its future is unclear.

Kenney arrived in Washington Thursday to hold court with Trump administration officials, American lawmakers and governors, making a pitch for Albertas oil as the most ethically produced fossil fuel in the world.

Hes also one of the most influential conservative voices in Canada, especially while the federal Conservatives are caught up in the search for a new leader.

In an interview with POLITICO, Kenney conceded that "perhaps in some ways," he acts as the leader of Canada's unofficial opposition. But he was quick to point out that tensions between Alberta and Ottawa are nothing new. Trudeau's father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, also sparked the ire of Albertans with his own energy policy intended to hand Ottawa more control of Canadas oil.

Ive been very conscious of that, he said Thursday at the Canadian Embassy in Washington. Ive been working on trying to deepen our relationship with like-minded provincial and territorial governments to defend our economic interests.

Kenneys trip comes on the heels of a victory of sorts. On Tuesday, a Canadian court upheld the federal governments decision to approve the Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion, a project that would transport oil from Alberta to the Pacific coast. Kenney has painted it as an economic lifeline for Alberta, where a lack of pipeline capacity has led to steep discounts and government-imposed caps on oil production.

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Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a news conference updating the Iran plane crash, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, in Ottawa, as Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan looks on. Trudeau said Thursday evidence indicates an Iranian missile downed a Ukrainian jetliner late Tuesday and that the strike

After the court decision, Kenney had unusually friendly words for Trudeau, whose government bought the pipeline project in 2018 and has promised it will be built, part of the Liberals pledge to fight climate change without shutting down Canadas resource industries.

I have my disagreements with Prime Minister Trudeau on a number of issues, Kenney told reporters. But I think they realize there has to be at least one project that gets Canadian energy to global markets so we can get a fair price.

It was a rare moment of unity in a fractious relationship. Kenney has battled Trudeau on much of his environmental agenda, including a federal carbon tax that Ottawa imposed on Alberta and a new, beefed-up environmental assessment law, both of which the province is fighting in court. He argues Trudeau has ignored the concerns of Western Canada, a claim that took on more weight after the Liberals failed to win a single seat in oil-rich Alberta and Saskatchewan in last falls federal election.

On occasion, Kenneys jabs look more like personal animus than a clash of ideas. He once referred to Trudeau as an empty trust-fund millionaire who has the political depth of a finger bowl, a comment for which he later apologized.

But Sean Speer, a former senior adviser to Trudeaus predecessor, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, said Kenney has made himself a voice for Western alienation that might otherwise find a more dangerous outlet.

I actually think  that this approach was needed to kind of manage growing frustration in the province, Speer said in an interview. I trust his instincts on that.

That anger toward Ottawa has spawned a growing separatist movement in the province, where oil industry woes have contributed to an unemployment rate for young men that neared 20 percent last year. Though Kenney has been accused of fanning the separatist flames, he insists hes merely trying to channel the frustration into something productive by demanding greater autonomy for Alberta  what he calls a fair deal.

If its not him  its someone whos a demagogue, Speer said. Its almost about containment more than inflaming things.

But for an attempt at containment, Kenneys strategy involves a lot of fiery rhetoric. In December, he set up an energy war room intended to fight misinformation and lies about the oil industry. He has also launched an inquiry into foreign funding of environmental groups, including from American organizations like the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Tides Foundation, which he says has led to a campaign of disinformation and defamation against the oil sands.

At the same time, hes working to market Albertas oil in Canada and internationally. Hes meeting with a range of oil-friendly audiences in Washington this week, from the president of the American Petroleum Institute to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, a former oil industry lobbyist.

Kenney said he doesnt think its hypocritical to call out American-backed environmental groups in Canada while he himself travels to the U.S. to promote his provinces oil.

I dont begrudge political leaders transparently representing the best interests of their people  its my job to do this, he said. I think its quite another thing for foreign special interest groups to seek, often surreptitiously, to influence the politics of another country.

When it comes to pitching Canadian resources, Kenney knows hes playing a long game, said Ana Curic, Kenneys former chief of staff in Ottawa. Youve got to keep at it. Youve got to keep pushing the Alberta message, explaining why investing in Albertas a good thing.

Its no small challenge to be the champion of Alberta oil at a time of growing concern about climate change, but Kenney is used to a fight. Before entering provincial politics in Alberta, he served as a federal minister in Harpers cabinet, where he was known as the Conservative prime ministers lieutenant and his attack dog in the House of Commons.

Even before Harper resigned after the Conservatives lost the 2015 election to Trudeaus Liberals, there was speculation that Kenney could take his spot. Both were ideological thinkers who believed in building a coalition of fiscal and social conservatives. Kenney is a full-spectrum conservative, Speer said, comparing him to former U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan. While hes not Trump-y, I think he would be positioned quite comfortably in the normal Republican spectrum.

But Kenney opted not to seek the federal Conservative leadership and instead moved back to Alberta, where the political right had fractured, allowing the left-leaning New Democratic Party to form government for the first time in the provinces history.

Kenney successfully merged the provinces two right-wing parties and was elected leader of the new United Conservative Party in 2017. He led the party to a majority government last April, attacking Trudeau and former NDP premier Rachel Notley in the same breath.

Now, with the federal Conservatives in the midst of a leadership race after disappointing election results last fall, Kenneys voice rings louder than ever as one of Trudeaus chief opponents. He and Harper, Speer said, are the two most important Conservative politicians in Canada in the past 15 or 20 years.

That said, although Kenney and Trudeau have used each other as foils, the Alberta leader balks at the de facto opposition label.

I guess my role is different, he said. The leader of the oppositions role is to oppose the default position. Im quite willing and have worked with the Trudeau government positively on a number of things. I just want to get things done for our people.

But if their policies are hurting my voters, well speak out about it.

Maura Forrest reported from Ottawa, and Lauren Gardner reported from Washington.
It's official: Murray State becomes member of Missouri Valley Conference
(INFOGRAPHIC of Dorscon Alert Levels: Ministry of Health)

SINGAPORE  The Singapore government on Friday (7 February) raised the disease outbreak response level to orange from yellow amid an increase in the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in the Republic.

Authorities also revealed three new confirmed cases as of Friday. These cases and one other case have no links to previous cases or travel history to China.

The announcement was made during a media briefing by Lawrence Wong, the co-chair of the multi-ministry taskforce on the novel coronavirus and National Development Minister.

Under the orange level of the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (Dorscon), a disease is considered to be severe and spreads easily from person to person, but the disease has not spread widely in Singapore and is contained. During the SARS epidemic in 2003, the Republic was also at a similar alert level.

We have planned for such a scenario involving community spread. Since last month, the government has implemented a series of defensive measures to reduce the risk of imported cases and community transmission. We have strengthened these measures progressively as the situation escalated, both globally and in Singapore, MOH said in a statement.

Addressing reporters at a media briefing on Friday, taskforce co-chair and Health Minister Gan Kim Yong warned that the situation may take weeks or even months to resolve. I understand that Singaporeans are anxious, concerned. There is much that we do not yet know about the virus...But life cannot come to a standstill.

Nevertheless, authorities have unveiled several additional precautionary measures to minimise the risk of further transmission across Singapore.

Large-scale events

Event organisers are advised to cancel or defer non-essential large-scale events. Should the events proceed, the organisers should carry out precautions such as temperature screening, looking out for respiratory symptoms, reminding participants not to attend if they have recent travel history to mainland China and requiring travel declaration, and stepping up cleaning of commonly used areas.

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Individuals who are unwell, on Leave of Absence, or have recent travel history to mainland China should not attend such events.

Measures for workplaces and hospitals

Employers should require their employees to conduct temperature-taking at least twice a day and check whether they have respiratory symptoms such as cough and runny nose. Anyone with a fever or is unwell should leave office immediately to see a doctor.

All workplaces should step up their business continuity plans including allowing for employees to telecommute or dividing the workforce into segregated teams.

MOH will be implementing temperature screening and closer controls of entry points into hospitals. Among them, patients with pneumonia will be cared for separately from other patients to reduce the risk of transmission.

Measures for schools

With immediate effect, schools will suspend inter-school and external activities till the end of March school holidays including national school games, learning journeys and camps. Schools and teachers will continue to implement the measures announced on Tuesday such as classroom-based assemblies, school-based co-curricular activities in smaller groups and staggered recesses.

Preschools and social/eldercare services will limit the number of visitors to their premises.

Lawrence Wong warned that, despite the governments best efforts to ring-fence the disease, there may still be wider community spread. If the situation worsens, we may well have to take more stringent measures beyond what we are announcing today.

But he also noted that while the mortality rate in China is 2 per cent, it remains at 0.2 per cent outside of Hubei province: much lower than SARS. If the mortality rate remains low or even continues to fall further, depending on the evidence and depending on how it evolves, then I think we are dealing with something quite different and we may well have to consider a different approach.

Meanwhile, for now, I think all of us will have to do our part to stay vigilant, to keep our guards up and carry on with our lives.

Dorscon takes into account the current disease situation overseas, how transmissible the disease is, how likely it is to arrive in Singapore, and what impact it may have on Singapores community.

As of Friday, there are 33 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including one local transmission cluster.

Outside of mainland China, there has been one death reported in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines.

The number of countries and territories reporting confirmed cases has risen to 27.

As of Friday, the death toll in China has increased to 636, with 73 new deaths reported. Of the 73 deaths, 69 cases were reported from Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, including 64 in the provincial capital Wuhan.

(INFOGRAPHIC: Yahoo News Singapore)

Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore

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WASHINGTON  The decorated soldier and national security aide who played a central role in the Democrats impeachment case against President Donald Trump was escorted out of the White House complex on Friday, according to his lawyer, who said he was asked to leave for telling the truth.

There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House, said David Pressman, partner at a New York legal firm that represented Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. Lt. Col. Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.

Vindman status at the National Security Council, the foreign policy arm of the White House, had been uncertain since he testified that he didn't think it was proper" for Trump to "demand that a foreign government investigate" former Vice President Joe Biden and his sons dealings with the energy company Burisma in Ukraine. Vindman's ouster seemed even more certain after Trump mocked him Thursday during his post-acquittal celebration with Republican supporters in the East Room and said Friday that he was not happy with him.

I'm not happy with him, Trump told reporters as he left the White House to head to North Carolina. You think I'm supposed to be happy with him? I'm not. ... They are going to be making that decision.

Vindman, a 20-year Army veteran, wore his uniform full of medals, including a purple heart, when he appeared late last year for what turned out to be a testy televised impeachment hearing. Trump supporters raised questions about the Soviet Jewish immigrant's allegiance to the United States and noted that he had received offers to work for the government of Ukraine  offers Vindman said he swiftly dismissed.

I am an American, he stated emphatically.

When the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Devin Nunes, addressed him as Mr. Vindman, the Iraq War veteran replied: Ranking member, its Lt. Col. Vindman please."

Defense Secretary Mark Esper was asked what the Pentagon would do to ensure that Vindman faces no retribution when he is reassigned to the Pentagon from the White House. He referred the question to the Army, in terms of Vindmans next assignment, but on the retribution aspect, he said, We protect all of our service members from retribution or anything like that. Weve already addressed that in policy and other means.

--The Associated Press
The deadly coronavirus outbreak seems to have stoked an increase in xenophobia and anti-Chinese sentiment, according to members of Asian diaspora communities around the world.

Amid sporadic attacks that have occurred in US and European cities, many overseas Asians interviewed by the South China Morning Post said that while they have not personally experienced extreme bigotry or physical attacks, daily microaggressions appear to have become more common since the outbreak.

Sophie Xu, a 24-year-old British Chinese finance worker based in Frankfurt, said that many strangers have told her to leave Germany outright, or say Chinese or coronavirus when they see her in passing.

A friend of a friend got spat on in the streets by a group of men in Austria  shes not even Chinese but Vietnamese, she said.

In just the past week, local media have reported random physical attacks on Chinese or Asians in New York City, Sheffield in England, and Berlin in Germany. In the New York and Sheffield cases, the victims were wearing masks. In Venice, Italy, two Chinese tourists were spat at on the street.

The coronavirus, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed more than 560 people and infected over 28,000, mostly in mainland China.

But because the virus has now spread to more than 20 countries outside China, numerous countries have placed travel bans on those who have been to China.

Jade, a 23-year-old Chinese British writer in London  who, like others interviewed for this article, asked that her surname not be published due to safety concerns  said that while she had not experienced racism herself, her immigrant parents were worried about their safety because of the reported attacks on Chinese people.

A man turned away from my dad in disgust when he passed him on the street  I was going to see a film with my dad, but hes too scared to go out in public where a lot of people are, said Jade.

I think media and social media play a big part in stirring up hysteria both in terms of people fearing the disease and people fearing racism, Jade added. My parents follow a lot of blogs and media by overseas Chinese people in which racial incidents have been going viral, and this makes them fearful for the whole family.

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Michael, a 23-year-old Chinese Australian civil servant in Melbourne, said that theres assumed blame on Chinese people for spreading the disease, especially as there are currently Chinese people quarantined on Christmas Island.

The xenophobia is not surprising, according to Ying Miao, a lecturer in politics at Aston University in Birmingham, England, since there are few facts about the coronavirus other than it originated in China and most of the cases involve residents there.

When people are afraid we tend to delve into generalisations and stereotypes, in order to establish a sense of control again. But there is a fine line between trying to minimise risk and trying to assign blame to another race or nationality, she said.

According to Emma Teng, a professor of Asian studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, disease-related xenophobia towards Chinese immigrants has a long history in the US, which draws the worlds largest Chinese overseas student population.

Dating back to the San Francisco plague of 1900-1904, Chinese immigrants were blamed for bringing in the disease and the city imposed discriminatory and racist quarantine measures against Chinese residents, she said.

Last week, the University of California, Berkeley, provoked an uproar on social media for publishing an infographic that included xenophobia and fears about interacting with those who might be from Asia on a list of common and normal reactions to the coronavirus.

Obviously, this new virus is very anxiety-provoking for many, but it is also drawing to the surface latent anti-Asian sentiment that has long-standing roots in American culture, said Teng.

Social media campaigns like JeNeSuisPasUnVirus (I am not a virus), a hashtag originated by Asians in France to combat xenophobia, have inspired others to take a stand against the growing climate of fear and mistrust.

A Chinese postgraduate student surnamed Ni at the University of Warwick is part of a group of Chinese international students trying to raise awareness of the issue in Britain through community workshops, posters and a coming protest.

Ni said she had seen lots of racist comments online about a clip, from 2016, of a Chinese travel show host eating bat soup in Palau, suggesting that Chinese people are backwards and dirty in their eating habits.

This out-of-context clip, she said, helped to promote the belief that Chinese people eating bats caused the outbreak, which scientists suspect originated at a seafood and wild animal market in Wuhan.

A lot of British people dont understand why Chinese people wear masks, and they will jokingly ask whether you drink bat soup, said Ni.

Before the outbreak, people would always ask whether Chinese people eat dogs or why our cuisine is so dirty and oily. These stereotypes have always existed, but the coronavirus has brought these prejudices out into the open.

A detail of a mural about the coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese district of Rome on Tuesday. The image of an Asian woman says 'There is an epidemic of ignorance around  We must protect ourselves and the figure holds a sign reading '#JeNeSuisPasUnVirus'. Photo: EPA-EFE

Ni said she feels anxious about wearing a mask in public, in case she gets attacked or yelled at by a stranger, and is sensitive to others reactions if she sneezes or coughs.

Westerners tend to think that only sick people wear masks, but in Asia it is a protective measure against infections, especially in crowded cities, she said.

Asian people will wear them if they have seasonal allergies or even the common cold. But someone elses personal preference to wear a mask shouldnt be an excuse to attack them or discriminate against them.

Even if someone were infected, they shouldnt be attacked or verbally abused, but instead should receive help and treatment.

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Female genital mutilation (FGM) will not be eradicated unless women are economically empowered to make their own decisions, an activist stressed today, as the United Nations released data warning that the ancient practice may take centuries to eliminate.

Despite world leaders promising to eradicate the practice by 2030, FGM remains as common today as it was 30 years ago in Somalia, Mali, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Chad and Senegal. Some countries are not moving at all, and those that are moving are not moving fast enough, said Claudia Cappa, an analyst at the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

Estimated to affect at least 200 million girls and women globally, FGM causes multiple mental and physical health problems. A 12-year-old girl recently died in Egypt after undergoing FGM. The practice typically involves the partial or total removal of the external genitalia. Sometimes the vaginal opening is sewn up.

Jaha Dukureh, a survivor of child marriage and FGM, said that while it is not unrealistic to make the promise to end the practice by 2030, people must put their money where their mouth is and stop wasting funding on ineffective aid programmes.

The best way women can stand up for themselves and their rights is if they are able to earn a little more, said Dukureh, who in 2013 founded the advocacy group Safe Hands for Girls, which works in The Gambia, Sierra Leone and the United States.

She said that all too often, politicians shy away from the sensitive topic of FGM, with the responsibility falling on charities to do the work. What is more concerning is that foreign donors often fund international organisations that do not understand local customs and practices.

I dont know why anyone expects change if thats the way the development sector is going to continue funding these issues, she said.

FGM is most closely linked to 30 predominantly African countries, but UNICEF said it may be practised in about 50 countries including those in Asia, the Middle East, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Although no high-prevalence country is on track to meet the 2030 goal, Cappa said attitudes are changing in many places.

In countries affected by FGM, seven in 10 women think the practice should end, and half of women who have themselves been cut would like to see it stop, according to the report published on Thursday, February 6  the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation.

The most dramatic decline in recent decades has been in the Maldives, a chain of islands in the Indian Ocean, where FGM used to affect nearly 40 percent of girls and women, but has now been virtually eradicated.

UNICEF also voiced concern about increased medicalisation of FGM hampering global efforts to end the practice.

About a quarter of girls and women who have undergone FGM were cut by a doctor, midwife or other health worker as opposed to a traditional circumciser, UNICEF said.

Doctor-sanctioned mutilation is still mutilation. Trained healthcare professionals who perform FGM violate girls fundamental rights, physical integrity and health, said UNICEF executive director Henrietta Fore.
Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday that Israeli air forces nearly shot down a passenger jetliner in during a missile strike on the suburbs of Damascus a day earlier.

The allegation comes as tensions run high in Syria, where fighting has escalated in the northern province of Idlib. Syrian government forces, backed by the Russian military, have clashed with Turkish troops that support the opposition there after failing to observe a cease-fire.

A spokesman for the Israeli prime minister did not respond to a request for comment. rarely acknowledges strikes carried out in In a statement released Friday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said the strike was carried around 2 am local time Thursday.

He said four Israeli F-16 fighter jets hit the suburbs of Damascus with eight missiles without taking into account that a passenger plane with 172 civilians on board was preparing to land in the city's airport around the same time.

Konashenkov didn't name the airline or flight number, saying only that it was an Airbus-320 en route from Tehran that came near to entering the zone of a deadly anti-aircraft missile and artillery fire. The plane had to make an emergency landing at the Hmeimeem Air Base some 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of Damascus, which is operated by the Russian military.

The Associated Press wasn't able to independently verify the Russian claims.

FlightRadar24, a website that provides tracking of air traffic, showed Syrian airline Cham Wings Flight 514 an Airbus320-211 taking off from Najaf at 1:07 am local time Thursday morning. It can be seen approaching Damascus about an hour later before turning back and diverting its course to the north.

It appears to have landed in or near Hmeimeem a half hour later. Flightradar24 listed the arrival time and destination as unknown. The airline offered no immediate comment. In the statement, the Russian military accused of endangering the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians.

Scheduled airline traffic in the Syrian air space, as well as everywhere in the world, takes place on well-known altitude flight levels and is clearly detected by Israel's radar equipment, Konashenkov said. This is not the first time has blamed for irresponsible actions in

In September 2018, the Defense Ministry said Israeli forces failed to give Moscow enough warning about a strike and put a Russian military Il-20 plane in the line of fire of Syrian anti-missile systems. The plane was shot down and 15 people on board were killed.
I had the pleasure of being in Melbourne over Christmas. It was a great time spent with friends and family.

Id actually almost forgotten what insane Aussie summer heat feels like. But it didnt take me long to catch up.

We landed around 18 December. As wed literally rolled in with just a couple of suitcases, it meant time to shop! We had to get Chrissie presents for everyone.

From where we were staying, the closest shopping centre was Southland. That would be our venue of choice. Before we had a chance to get out to Southland though, we had made a couple trips into the city.

One trip took us through South Yarra. Being a Melbourne High School old boy, it was a little trip down memory lane. Many years spent walking through the area either on the way to school, on the way to skiving off for a beach afternoon, or heading home.

Also a few trips to LoC to grab a souva and a coke, or La Porchetta for a large anything. At that age I had a bottomless stomach, something not replicated in my mid-30s.

But this most recent sojourn through South Yarra and Chapel St in particular waswell, it was different.

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Consumers havent stopped spending

Chapel St used to be a thriving hub of retail shops. Every other shop was some kind of boutique clothing shop or a new label that had burst onto the scene appropriately in time for the Spring Racing Carnival.

Then everything else was either a bar or the likes of LoC or LaPorchetta, some kind of restaurant or takeaway.

Today, its a shadow of its former self. It feels like the heart and soul has been ripped out of Chapel St. We also had a chance to head through Fitzroy Street, St Kilda.

While its never been exactly a retail hub of Melbourne, it has always had some kind of thriving scene with bars, boutique restaurants, and some atmosphere. Not anymore. Its as dead as a door nail.

Bet those multimillion-dollar The Block apartments in the former death-den Gatwick hotel were worth it

Nonetheless, you couldnt help but feel these iconic parts of Melbourne were on their last legs.

Its easy to understand where they come from when the likes of Dick Smith say iconic retail is dead.

In fact according to the Daily Mail Australia:

Entrepreneur Dick Smith believes the outlook [for retail] is so bad, high-profile collapses will accelerate until theres very little left. Job losses are concerning. We have 170 retailers slated to close only two weeks into of January this year, he told Today. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia Mr Smith said that internet companies had driven the retail disaster. We will end up with just Amazon and Aldi and basically all the Aussie companies will be sent to bankruptcy, he said.

Iconic retail names such as Harris Scarfe, Bardot, Roger David, Collette by Collette Hayman, EB Games, and Jeanswest are now either running off fumes or completely cactus. Oh and Dick Smith, but that went under years ago.

Going through all those, yep youd think retail in Australia is dead.

Only one problem with that. Its not.

Actually if you know how to properly read the Aussie retail market, you can make a killing. It just depends on where you look.

When we got around to Southland  part of the Westfield shops, owned by Scentre Group [ASX:SCG]  it was clear retail wasnt dead. Not here.

It was thriving. There were people everywhere. And there wasnt an empty store front in sight. The consumer hasnt completely stopped spending. Theyre just pickier on where and how they spend.

The new breed are killing it!

People still buy stuff in Australia. Its just the kind of stuff they buy has radically changed. Thats because tastes, styles, fashions, and perception of value has changed. Stores that cant figure out how to deal with that struggle and die.

Those that can adapt with the market will flourish.

Speaking of iconic names, Im guessing youve heard of Shaver Shop Group Ltd [ASX:SSG]? I remember buying my first Panasonic wet/dry shaver there. I used to buy beard oil from there. If I still lived in Australia Id probably still buy my shaving related kit there.

Shaver Shop has certainly gone through its up and downs. But its still alive and kicking. And right now, its on the up. In fact over the last year, Shaver Shop Groups stock price has gone from around 34 cents to as high as 70 cents less than a month ago. Thats 105% return in the last year. Business cant be that bad, can it?

Then theres Baby Bunting Group Ltd [ASX:BBN]. Does what it says on the tin here. They sell baby related products to the mums and dads of Australia. Here in the UK, their equivalent, Mothercare is currently in the process of administration. But not Baby Bunting.

In the last year their stock price has gone from around $2.12 to as high as $4 in November and now around $3.50. A 65% return to todays numbers. Theyve clearly not submitted to the death of retail idea.

Then theres the City Chic Collective Ltd [ASX:CCX]. Now this is a story of many parts. City Chic is a standalone brand. It used to be known as the Specialty Fashion Group. As SFG it had a bunch of iconic brands, many of which began to fail and drag the company down.

So SFG offloaded them to Noni B. Noni B then changed their name late last year to Mosaic Brands Ltd [ASX:MOZ]. Now if you were to follow the progress of Mosaic, youd see theyre part of the retail group suffering from the death of retail. Their stock has been on a dive, from around $3 in September last year to less than $1.60 in the last week.

But City Chic which specialises in real clothing sizes for women has been on a tear. Theyve found their lane by adjusting to the market. Around this time last year you could pick up CCX stock for about $1. Today at $3.20 youd be sitting on a tidy 220% gain.

And last but not least, theres Temple & Webster Group Ltd [ASX:TPW]. Their business is the new breed of Aussie retail. They sell furniture and homewares online. And their product range isnt designer, but its not bargain basement either. Its affordable luxury. This is a reflection of the modern consumer wanting quality and luxury without exorbitant price tags. Its the new definition of value.

And Temple & Webster have also seen the future of the market and capitalised on the new Aussie retail. A year ago, TPW stock was trading at $1.25. This week it hit $4 and traded over briefly. Thats another 220% gain in a year.

Now call me stupid, but those few dont look like retail is dead at all.

Okay, yes its radically changing in front of our eyes. And yes, fear has kicked into Aussie retail with full force  just ask Dick Smith.

This new breed of retailer is absolutely killing it. Sure there are a few names in there from yesteryear. But theyve learnt to behave like these new entrants and adapt to the new market.

The other good thing here is theyre all small-cap companies on the ASX.

If there was ever a time to buy the fear, then we think this just might be it. Aussie retail is ripe for the picking, so long as you find the right ones making the right moves.

Regards,

Sam Volkering,

Editor, Money Morning

PS: Our publication Money Morning is a fantastic place to start on your investment journey. We talk about the big trends driving the most innovative stocks on the ASX, in particular small-cap stocks. Learn all about it here.
RICHMOND, Va., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Energy and the Library of Virginia celebrated the achievements of five African-American leaders during the eighth annual "Strong Men & Women in Virginia History" awards program held Thursday, Feb. 6, at the Richmond Marriott. The program honors prominent African Americans past and present who have made noteworthy and admirable contributions to the commonwealth, the nation and their professions.

"These honorees are leaders in their communities that have earned this recognition through their passion and hard work," said Maria Pia Tamburri, senior community engagement policy director at Dominion Energy. "They are exemplary individuals, paving the way forward for those who wish to serve their community. We are pleased to recognize them for their leadership and accomplishments."

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Dominion Energy's "Strong Men & Women" series.

"The Library of Virginia is pleased to partner with Dominion Energy again in 2020 to present the Strong Men & Women in Virginia History program," said Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway. "The experiences and accomplishments of the men and women honored this year are inspiring, and it is wonderful to have this opportunity to share their stories with a wide audience."

This year's honorees are:

- Kaci M. Easley Government Official, Charles City County - Penny J. Franklin Community Activist, Montgomery County - Joycelyn S. Harrison Chemical Engineer and Mentor, Hampton - Torrey Smith Super Bowl Champion and Philanthropist, Westmoreland County - Marcus D. Williams Judge and Civic Leader, Fairfax

Four high school student essay winners were also recognized during the ceremony. Each wrote essays, selected from over 200 entries, about the perseverance of African Americans and the importance of their contributions to American history and culture.

The winners of the 2020 Strong Men & Women in Virginia History student essay competition are:

- Rebekah Bautista Massaponax High School/The Commonwealth Governor's

School, Spotsylvania County - Jy'Mir Starks Great Bridge High School, Chesapeake - Ilaria Cabell Forest Park High School, Woodbridge - Ava Seagle Gate City High School, Gate City

Each student will receive an Apple MacBook Air laptop and $1,000 for their school.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Photos and biographies of this year's honorees are available at https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/changemakers/strong-mw-2020.

Winning student essays http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/smw are available at https://edu.lva.virginia.gov/strong-men-women-in-virginia-history/student-essay-contest/student-essay-contest-winners/.

Photos of the event will be posted on the Dominion Energy media downloads page at https://www.dominionenergy.com/contact-us/media-downloads.

About the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation

Nearly 7.5 million customers in 18 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D). Through its Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, as well as EnergyShare and other programs, Dominion Energy contributed $48 million in 2019 to community causes. The Foundation supports nonprofit causes that meet basic human needs, protect the environment, promote education, and encourage community vitality. Please visit www.DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

About the Library of Virginia

The Library of Virginia (www.lva.virginia.gov), located in historic downtown Richmond, holds the world's most extensive collection of material about the Old Dominion and has been a steward of the commonwealth's documentary and printed heritage since 1823. The story of Virginia and Virginians has been told in many ways since 1607. At the Library of Virginia it is told through more than 119 million manuscripts and nearly 2.5 million books, serials, bound periodicals, microfilm reels, newspapers and state and federal documents, each an individual tile in the vast and colorful mosaic of Virginia's experience.

SOURCE Dominion Energy

Related Links

http://www.dominionenergy.com


As the Long Beach Unified School District commits to keeping classes in-person, the city a new testing site opens for LBUSD employees and students only. The city is also ramping up its own testing efforts with a new 3,000-person per...
The Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that all criminal cases against the cadres of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), including for heinous acts, are withdrawn.

Mohilary, who was himself a militant till 2003, made the request at an official function held here to celebrate the signing of the Bodo accord.

Modi, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Governor Jagdish Mukhi were present at the programme.

"For the NDFB, all cases should be withdrawn. Whether they are heinous or non-heinous," Mohilary said addressing the mammoth gathering in which surrendered leaders of different factions of NDFB were present.

Modi in his address did not mention anything about withdrawal of the cases.

According to the peace accord, criminal cases against the members of NDFB for non-heinous crimes will be withdrawn by the Assam government as per the law.

Criminal cases registered in connection with heinous crimes will be reviewed case by case according to the existing policy on the subject, the agreement said.

Citing his own past as example, Mohilary said that all cases against members of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) were withdrawn after the outfit entered into an agreement with the government in 2003, leading to the creation of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The BLT members had formed the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is in power in BTC and is also an alliance partner of the ruling BJP in the state government.

All the factions of the NDFB along with All Bodo Students Union and United Bodo People's Organisation had signed the accord with the government on January 27, 2020 which provided political and economic bonanza to the Bodoland region sans a separate state or union territory.

Following this, a total 1,615 cadres from all the factions of NDFB laid down their arms on January 30 and deposited their arms and ammunition.

NDFB's Ranjan Daimary faction had carried out serial bomb blasts across Assam on October 30, 2008 that claimed 88 lives aand left more than 500 injured.

Daimary, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the blasts, was released on interim bail on January 25 to participate in the Bodo peace talks with the Centre.

The NDFB(S), another dreaded faction, had killed 43 people, mostly from the minority community, in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts in May 2014.

In more attacks the outfit killed at least 81 people, including 76 adivasis, in Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang districts in December that year.

During the signing of the agreement, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said over 4,000 lives were lost in the region due to insurgency by the Bodos which had continued for several decades.

Speaking at the function Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma invited ULFA(I) militants to peace talks by abjuring violence for permanent peace in the state.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Sitapur police on Friday booked Balaji Rasayan Udhyog owner Sukesh Gupta, an employee Sirajjudeen, and an unidentified person on murder and criminal conspiracy charges for the death of seven people, including three children, allegedly due to a gas leak in Jalalpur village of the district on Wednesday night, an official said.

Circle officer, Biswan, Samar Bahadur said, A case has been filed against two named and one unidentified person We are investigating the case. The case has been filed on the complaint of Munnawwar, brother of one of the deceased.

The district administration has meanwhile ordered to scan other such units in the district, which could turn hazardous for locals. Officials of several departments, including the industries department, have been making a list and checking units across the state.

The panel instituted to probe the incident revealed that the unit was registered under Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum (UAM) system. Hence, the local industries department had not direct control on it.

The unit was registered as a trading unit but it was not functioning as per the permission (granted to it). We asked for permission documents for manufacturing or the pollution control board certificate, since they were dealing in a hazardous chemical. But so far, the firm hasnt furnished anything, a government official said, pleading anonymity.

He added, The firm was registered with the sales tax department last year.

The police probe also suggested that more than four tankers had arrived at the chemical unit on Wednesday night.

Sirajjudeen was there at the factory, when tankers were cleaned and washed in the drain that flows through the carpet unit, where seven people died on Wednesday night, the circle officer said.

A few names of firms from Lucknow, Barabanki and Kanpur have cropped up, as the tankers belong to them, he added.

Seven people who died in the tragedy were identified as Atiq, 45, his wife Saira, 42 and children Ayesha, 12, Afroz, 8, and Faisal (18months), and two others, Motu, 75 and Pahalwan, 70.

A doctor at the Sitapur district hospital said the cause of the death was asphyxia (suffocation).
The Khanna police arrested two gangsters and recovered three illegal pistols and 36 bullets from their possession on Thursday late. Police said the accused had come to Khanna with plans of committing a robbery.

The accused were identified as Dhiraj Batta alias Dhiru Batta, 27, of Khalsa School Road in Khanna and Gurpreet Singh alias Laddi, 28, of Barahmpuri, Lalheri Road of Khanna. Police are on the lookout for their accomplice, Amninder Singh alias Prince of Gulmohar Nagar, Amloh Road, Khanna, who managed to escape.

Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gursharandeep Singh Grewal said the police had installed a checkpoint at Amloh Road following a tip-off. The accused were coming from Mandi Gobindgarh in a Maruti Suzuki Brezza car. When stopped for checking, Amninder alighted from the car and fled towards the Dussehra ground, while the two others were rounded up and the car was seized. The police frisked them and seized two 32-bore pistols, three magazines and 24 bullets. Following information provided by them, the police recovered 30-bore pistol, two magazines and 12 bullets from Gurpreets house, the SSP said.

A case under Sections 25, 54 and 59 of the Arms Act was registered against the accused at the Khanna City-2 police station. The police produced the two before a court which remanded them in judicial police custody. The police have been investigating to know from where they procured the weapons.

BAD CHARACTERS IN POLICE RECORD

The SSP said the accused are already on the list of bad characters in police record.

Gurpreet is facing trial in 20 cases of robbery, snatching, attempt to murder, kidnapping and drug peddling. Atleast 13 cases of snatching, robbery and attempt to murder have been registered against Dhiraj. Amninder is also booked in eight cases of assault, attempt to murder, forgery and possessing illegal weapons, said the SSP, adding that more important information is expected from the accused during questioning.
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Wontumi has said the mention of his name in an audiovisual recording involving a suspect in the disappearance of seized excavators, is not an indicator of culpability in illegal mining.

Also known as Chairman Wontumi, the Regional Chairman insisted on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana that he did not have any illegal mining concessions.

The recording featured the voices of the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof. Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and the suspended First Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Central Region, Horace Ekow Ewusi .

Though not conclusive, suggestions have been made that they were discussing plans to allow NPP members to engage in illegal mining to fund party activities.

The land for the alleged illegal mining was said to belong to Chairman Wontumi.

But in response, Chairman Wontumi claimed the discussions centred on him allowing party members to mine on a concession he had acquired legally.

He explained that he first got involved when he reported the activities of Chinese nationals stealing from his concession.

He made his report to Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, stressing that he had worked hard for his mining rights.

Me, I have suffered. If we are talking about somebody who has suffered in mining, it is me, he noted.

They went to stop them. So the time they were going, Ekow Ewusi was the person who led them so immediately they got there, they stopped them [from encroaching on my concession], he recounted.

After receiving the help, Chairman Wontumi said he was then asked to by Ekow Ewusi to consider ceding part of his land to some party members via a letter of consent to help the party.

Chairman Wontumi said Ekow Ewusi said: It would be better that you allow some of the party people who are looking for the concessions to work.

So he mentions John Boadu's name.

Chairman Wontumi admitted that he was willing to cede out part of his concession to party members to mine on but they never came back.

---citinewsroom
- Henry Brown, a Black slave who was on the Virginia plantation managed to escape slavery by mailing himself out in 1849

- The Black genius was helped by a kind accomplice he knew from church and a White storekeeper

- The risky journey took 27 hours for Brown to reach his destination and he nearly died on the way

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

On Friday, March 23, 1849, a Black slave by the name Henry Brown started a very risky plot of escaping from slavery by sending himself as a mail in a wooded box away from a Virginia plantation.

A news report by Face2FaceAfrica.com indicates that the Black genius slave who was an active church member was helped by a church colleague named James Caesar Anthony Smith and a white storekeeper to escape.

It is reported that Henry Brown became highly uncomfortable staying at the Virginia plantation after his wife and child were taken away from him and sold to a plantation in North Carolina.

READ ALSO: Ghanaians finally give satisfying answers to why girls love to date bad guys

Henry's accomplices helped construct a wooden box which was just big enough to contain him. It was labelled "dry goods" and "this way up" so that Henry does not get turned upside down.

The box also consisted of holes that allowed for air to enter so Henry does not suffocate.

On the fateful day, Brown began that dangerous journey. He climbed into the box, carrying with him some water and a few crackers.

After 27 hours, the box arrived at the headquarters of the Philadelphia Anti-Slavery Society after a harrowing experience. Unfortunately for the genius, the box was overturned during the transit and he nearly lost his life.

READ ALSO: Martha Ankomah blesses deprived C/R school with massive stationery donation

He later said:

I felt my eyes swelling as if they would burst from their sockets, and the veins on my temples were dreadfully distended with the pressure of blood upon my head. In this position, I attempted to lift my hand to my face but I had no power to move it; I felt a cold sweat coming over me which seemed to be a warning that death was about to terminate my earthly miseries".

In other news, a beautiful young lady's boyfriend has given her the surprise of her life as her man decided to make a money-stacked birthday cake for her.

In a viral video sighted by YEN.com.gh on social media, the young lady was at a birthday party with some of her friends.

Projecting from the cake was a large ring which appeared to bear the tag 'happy birthday'.

When it was time to eat the cake, she had to take out the ring. That was when her eyes started to pop as the ring was attached to a long chain of money.

Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

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Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 09:44:11|Editor: Liu

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LAGOS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed in a commercial bank robbery in the southwestern Nigerian town of Ile Oluji, a police officer said Thursday.

Two policemen attached to the bank were among the dead in Thursday's robbery in the town located in Ondo State, state police spokesperson Femi Joseph told Xinhua.

The identity of the other two victims remains known, said Joseph, adding that an investigation is underway.
It has emerged that some big men of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) are involved in illegal mining, popularly called galamsey.



A viral video have popped up on social media capturing Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng and NPP former Vice Chairman of the Agona West constituency, Horace Ekow Ewusi having a conversation about how to make capital out of illegal mining in the country.



The video comes days after some 500 excavators seized by Operation Vanguard team have been reported missing.



The two NPP gurus could seen and heard devising ways to engage party folks in acquiring some mining concessions to raise funds for the NPP.



...Did you tell me that you are done forming the team? We talked about the framework...We all know that the party needs money...I told you that Chairman Wontumi has some concession, so go there and inspect the place...but after the meeting, you told me that you are done with everything and your guys have started working, the Minister said in the video.



NPP National Treasurer, Kwabena Abankwah Yeboah in an interview with Peacefmonline.com has however debunked claims that the party has received galamsey money from any party member or supporter.



He stated emphatically that any allegation to that effect is baseless and untrue.



To the best of my knowledge the national headquarters has never received any money from the said NPP member but if there is any donation, then it was done in their Regional or constituency level...Coming through the official sources of the party, I can boldly say that we have never received any donation from these party folks.



He further stated that Ekow Ewusi was supporting some constituencies within the Greater Accra and Central Regions based on his own agenda and not as an official funding through the party. We never received any donation from him on this cause.



He asked Ekow Ewusi to leave the partys name out of the matter.



"As a party member, you are free to contribute and support party activities. That is not the official funding because there is no party that will ask any individual to sell excavators or use galamsey to support the party; knowing the negative effect galamsey has had on our water bodies, he stressed.

Source: Josephine Acheampomaa/Peacefmonline/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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In the months leading up to the crime, Graveley said there is evidence that Volar was trying to distance himself from Kizer, whom he had been abusing for more than a year after responding to an advertisement she posted on Backpage.com. He said Kizer told detectives that after Volars house was raided by the police, he offered to pay her $2,000 to stay away from him. She continued to text him, Graveley said, angry that he wasnt texting her back or was blocking her number.
Don't do or say anything that could damage India's image: Naidu to Rajya Sabha members

Explained: Why did Twitter remove verified blue tick on personal account of Venkaiah Naidu

No remorse: Venkaiah Naidu refuses to revoke suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs

Coronavirus: Venkaiah Naidu congratulates Air India team for evacuating over 600 Indians from Wuhan

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 07: Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday congratulated the Air India team that evacuated around 600 Indians from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

"Many compliments to the 34-member Team Air INDIA for flying into #coronavirus-hit Wuhan city & evacuating more than 600 Indians onboard two special flights," he tweeted.

The two special flights carrying as many as 647 Indians and 7 Maldivians had reached New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday.

Chinese doctor who first warned about coronavirus outbreak dies

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

The team led by Air India's Director of Operations Captain Amitabh Singh included 30 cabin crew, eight pilots, 10 commercial staff of Air India and one senior officer from AI CMD Secretariat.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:26 [IST]
Speaker V P Sivakolundhu served a notice Friday on rebel Congress legislator N Dhanavelou,asking him to reply within a week to the petition by government whip R V R Anandaraman seeking his disqualification as a member of the House.

Official sources said that the notice was served Friday asking Dhanavelou to submit his reply in a week's time as to why he should not not be disqualified as member of the House.

Dhanavelou was first suspended by the Congress committee here on January 15 for alleged anti-party activities and violation of party discipline as he had held a rally in his home constituency of Bahoor and levelled charges of corruption against the Chief Minister and his ministerial team.

Dhanavelou had also called on Lt Governor Kiran Bedi and submitted a petition, seeking a CBI probe for alleged corrupt practices.

The government whip,along with four Congress MLAs, submitted a petition to the Speaker on January 30, seeking Dhanavelou's disqualification as member of the House under the anti Defection Act for "breaching party discipline and accusing the government of being corrupt".

Official sources said the Speaker served the notice on Dhanavelou on Friday and gave him a week to submit his reply as to why he should not be disqualified.

The territorial Assembly is scheduled to meet on February 12 and it is likely that the House would have a day's session and adopt an anti-CAA resolution of the government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Journalists have launched own investigation into a wiretap effort targeting the prime minister.

The team of the 1+1 TV channel's projects whose offices and homes were earlier raided by the Security Service of Ukraine as part of the investigation into a leaked audio of prime minister Oleksiy Honcharuk's meeting with cabinet officials say they had obtained the tapes from open sources, in particular, from YouTube, and refuted allegations of being involved in doing the original recording.

That's according to Maksym Shylenko, head of the journalistic projects department at 1+1 Media.

Speaking at a Pravo na Vladu [Right to Power] panel show on Thursday, Shylenko assured that the journalists working for the investigative project have no special wiretapping devices at their disposal.

"Of course not," Shylenko said, answering the host's direct question on whether 1+1 journalists eavesdropped on the prime minister, adding that "we really would like to have such means to record anyone  prime minister or whoever  but we don't have such devices. And the SBU is well aware of that."

Read alsoServant the People faction, president Zelensky discuss searches in 1+1 Media Group HQ

Commenting on where he journalists had got the recording, Shylenko replied: "Our journalists say they had obtained this recording from YouTube or from the internet, like everyone else."

Also, Shylenko stressed numerous violations during the raid, fixed by 1+1 lawyers and subject to further appeal.

Commenting on the possible pretext behind the SBU raid, Shylenko suggested "pressure on certain MPs with the Servants of the People party who don't want to vote on certain issues."

This version "immediately comes to mind", Shylenko said, adding that there are also "complex ones".

"I can only speculate now. This, for example, could be to distract people from the land [market] issue, which is very scandalous and which they are trying to lobby through parliament. There are a lot of issues. It's direct blow to one of the deputies with the Servant of the People," he added, stopping short of naming the MP.

Shylenko said journalists of the Ukrayinski Sensatsii [Ukrainian Sensations] project had already launched their own investigation to find out who wiretapped the prime minister's meeting.

Read alsoSBU chief says Channel 1+1 searched as part of probe into leak of PM Honcharuk's recordings

As UNIAN reported earlier, on February 5, the Security Service of Ukraine carried out searches at the headquarters of the 1+1 Media Group in Kyiv and homes of three journalists: Denys Danko, Yevhen Kuksin, and Oleksandr Nizovtsev, as part of the probe into the illegal wiretapping of Ukrainian government officials.

"Two of the journalists are employees of the journalistic investigations department, and one has long stopped working for 1+1," said Maksym Shylenko.
PHILADELPHIA  Employers in Philadelphia cannot ask job applicants for their salary history, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a lower court's 2018 decision that said the city could not ban employers from asking about salary history but could ban them from using it to determine wages.

The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce sued the city after the law was passed in 2017, saying the law would violate employers' First Amendment rights to ask potential hires about their salary history.

Supporters of the law have said that since women have historically been paid less than men, the practice of asking for a salary history can help perpetuate a cycle of lower salaries for women.

In Judge Theodore McKee's decision, he wrote that the provision does limit employers' speech, but that it is "only because that limitation prevents the tentacles of any past wage discrimination from attaching to an employee's subsequent salary."

Several cities and states have passed similar legislation including New York City, Massachusetts and New Jersey.
Eddy Kennedy/CBC

Former federal justice minister and attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould says she hopes the Liberal government's minority status means better governance.

Independent MP Wilson-Raybould and former MP Jane Philpott visited Memorial University and took questions from students Thursday afternoon, ahead of a speaking engagement at the university. Electoral reform and reconciliation were among the topics discussed.

"I'm hopeful under a minority government situation that there can be more collaborative decision-making," Wilson-Raybould said in an endorsement of "working across party lines" on policy issues.

Wilson-Raybould and Philpott were expelled from the Liberal caucus by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last April for publicly criticizing Trudeau's and the Liberal government's handling of the SNC-Lavalin affair, with Wilson-Raybould saying the Prime Minister's Office attempted to influence her prosecution of criminal charges against the Montreal-based company.

Both women ran as Independent MPs in last year's federal election. Wilson-Raybould was re-elected, while Philpott was defeated. Ahead of Thursday's Navigating Party Discipline panel at MUN, the women took questions from students for over an hour and discussed policy and progress in Canadian politics.

The SNC-Lavalin affair was not the focus of the talk with students, with Philpott and Wilson-Raybould speaking mostly on ways to improve democracy in Canada.

Eddy Kennedy/CBC

Wilson-Raybould, a member of the We Wai Kai Nation, spoke at length about policies that disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples, such as mandatory minimum sentences.

Gender studies student Hailey Cook told CBC she has closely followed Wilson-Raybould's career.

"The questions of Indigeneity and Indigenous affairs, I was really glad that we got some of those in," Cook said.

Political science student Raiyan Habib also took in the event. Originally from Bangladesh, Habib was impressed by a member of Parliament making themselves directly available to citizens.

Story continues

Habib asked both speakers about who or what inspired them to take part in the political process.

Philpott said it was mostly the desire to effect positive change and improve the lives of all Canadians, particularly the marginalized, but she did name some figures who'd inspired her.

"I was inspired by people like Lester B. Pearson, who I think was our best prime minister we've ever had in the country," Philpott said. "But also inspired by amazing people like Monique Begin, Canada's first woman health minister."

Eddy Kennedy/CBC

After the talk, Habib said the talk was enlightening for students.

"To know their stories and their challenges in the House of Commons and what inspired them to be in this position, really inspires us," Habib said.

"And it also helped us to learn and know more about politics."

The main speaking event at Memorial University, arranged by the Samara Centre for Democracy, focused on how expectations of party discipline affect the ability of MPs to serve their constituents and be independently minded.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
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Seven students in a school bus received minor injuries in an accident with a vehicle whose driver fled the scene Thursday afternoon in the citys Germantown section, police said.

Just after 4 p.m., the bus, ferrying students from DePaul Catholic School, collided with a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta in the unit block of West Tulpehocken Street. The driver of the Volkswagen left on foot and was being sought by police.

The children were taken to St. Christophers Hospital for Children and were expect to be treated and released, police said.
The biggest deluge to hit eastern NSW in years has government agencies scrambling to anticipate and limit the impact on bushfire-hit water catchments, including Sydney's Warragamba Dam.

Warragamba, which provides about 80 per cent of Sydney's storage, collected almost 100 millimetres in the 32 hours to 5pm on Friday. WaterNSW said the Bureau of Meteorology was predicting about 200 millimetres over the weekend for the region to Sydney's south-west.

Warragamba Dam before the fires. Most of the catchment of Sydney's biggest dam has been burnt. Credit:Wolter Peeters

"The catchments have been dry from the prolonged drought," a WaterNSW spokesman said. "At least 75mm of rain is required in the catchment before significant run-off is generated and inflows eventuate."

In the past week, authorities have asked researchers, including from partner agency Melbourne Water, for advice on how heavy rainfall might alter water quality at Warragamba and other reservoirs where catchments have been burnt in recent months. NSW Water Minister Melinda Pavey also briefed the government on steps being taken.
Her voice turned raw as she spoke about her own experience. I was too afraid to be them, she said. I was too afraid to tell anyone who I was, because that stigma and that fear is so real. You have no idea what its like . . . until you have lived it. Until you have cried yourself to sleep over it.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has permitted nonresident banks to sign agreements on sale and purchase of foreign currency for hryvnias between each other, settling payments through correspondent accounts in Ukrainian bank, the NBU has reported on its website.

"From now on, foreign banks will be able not only to sign agreements on purchase and sale of foreign currency for the hryvnia with any Ukrainian bank (regardless of the fact which bank the hryvnia correspondent account is opened in), but also conduct such operations among themselves, making settlements through correspondent accounts in Ukrainian banks," the central bank said in a statement.

According to the report, this step will contribute to further growth of competition and liquidity in the interbank foreign exchange market, and will also increase the attractiveness of hryvnia assets for foreign investors," the central bank said in the report.

The changes were approved by NBU resolution No. 16 dated February 6, 2020 amending the regulation on the structure of the currency market of Ukraine, the conditions and procedure for trading in foreign currency and bank metals in the currency market of Ukraine, which is posted on the regulator's website and comes into force on February 8.
Youve have to be absolutely determined to get what you want because if you compromise youll live to regret it afterwards, says Lance Price, a former deputy communications director under Tony Blair, when asked what advice he would give Boris Johnson when conducting his reshuffle.

If you keep on somebody that you dont think is very good, that theyve made a terrible fuss and it all gets too embarrassing, so because you run out of patience just to let them stay  dont ever do that, he adds.

Cabinet ministers will hardly be appreciative of this advice as they nervously await a phone call from the Downing Street switchboard to inform whether they are up, down or out of Johnsons top team.
Photo: (Photo : pexels)

Child development experts say that 4 or 5-year-old children should be able to stay focused on a task for at least two to five minutes times the year of their age. Young children should be able to focus between 4 and 20 minutes, or even more, depending on the task at hand. This rule of thumb, just like any guideline for raising children, depends on the whole situation.

Neal Rojas, M.D., a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at the University of California said that attention span has to be contextualized. Does the lack of attention span happen in the morning, during the middle of the day or before bedtime? Attention span is elastic and parents will see a variation of it throughout the day.

Give attention to get attention

How much attention a child gives a task depends on whether he is enjoying himself. A lot of children struggle when they are asked to do something that they do not want to do. Dr. Rojas explained that the first time that you introduce an activity that is more important to you than to your child, you are testing your creativity and your flexibility as a teacher and a parent. This is where the struggle happens for a lot of parents because children entering school have to do more repetitive, structured and academic tasks like writing their names or sounding out letters. A lot of parents and kids bump heads on this.

This is where creativity can help you out, as it can turn something dull into something fun. Instead of insisting that your child write a letter with a pencil in his workbook, you can ask your child to write it with chalk, shape it with a Play-Doh, or even trace it with paint or colored pencil. In order to get a child's attention, parents must also give attention. Dr. Rojas said that it is easy for a parent to get stuck in a rut as our attention is usually scattered. But if our attention is scattered, and we can't bring ourselves back to the moment, we can't expect our children to be able to do so.

How to decrease the distractions

Parents should be aware if something is getting in the way of a child paying attention. It could be that your child is tired or hungry, or it could be something else entirely. In order to combat hunger or fatigue, you can give your child a healthy snack before he or she starts homework or any task. If siblings distract each other, you can have them work in separate rooms.

Research has shown that exercise can help kids pay attention to. A research review in 2010 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that elementary school kids who took breaks from classwork are more active during the day and they could concentrate better on schoolwork. Other studies have shown that parents who make exercise a priority in their family life will have more physically active children, parents should help their kids fund a sport that they really like and give outdoor toys like jump ropes and balls.

ALSO READ: Improve Your Baby's Attention Span With 3 Easy Steps
Newlyweds Tim Tebow, Demi Nel-Peters meet Pope Francis after first Night to Shine event in Rome

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Tim Tebow and his new bride, former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, were in Rome this week celebrating the citys first-ever Night to Shine event and were invited to meet Pope Francis.

Night to Shine is sponsored by The Tim Tebow Foundation and aims to help people with special needs, ages 14 and up, experience prom. The couple posted several videos of the event while celebrating the special needs community of the capital of Italy.

"We're so excited to be part of the first Night to Shine in Rome, Tebow is heard saying to the crowd on Instagram story.

It's a night where the church gets to shine, it's a night where people with special needs get to shine, but more than anything it's a night where God gets to shine, he declared.

Nel-Peters took to Instagram after the event with a photo of the couple showing Pope Francis all the footage from the event.

Shared the beautiful highlights from last nights first-ever #NightToShine in Rome with Pope Francis, she wrote.

Tebow didnt share much about the meeting with the pontiff but did post a video saying he was excited to get to meet him.

"We get to meet the pope so we get to do that and then we're gonna take off and fly to another location for the next part of Night to Shine, Tebow shared on an Instagram story.

In addition to Rome and cities across the U.S., proms are held in Peru, New Zealand, Albania, Kenya, and South Africa, among others.

According to the Night to Shine website, the worldwide celebration is hosted by volunteers "in more than 375 host churches in 50 states, several different countries on six continents and in 28 different denominations."

In the footage posted of the event in Rome, prom attendees, volunteers and even priests are seen dancing and enjoying the ball. Every guest of Night to Shine entered their prom on a red carpet, greeted by friendly paparazzi for their unforgettable night.

According to the format of past events, once inside guests have access to hair, makeup, and shoe shining stations. They receive corsages and boutonnieres and theres lots of dancing.

Additional footage shows the former Florida Heisman Trophy winner naming every guest of honor the kings and queens of the prom as they were crowned.

The Tim Tebow Foundation contributes more than $3 million in financial grants to assist churches in hosting Night to Shine in their communities.
Sales of Swiss watches are declining, and sales of Apple watches are rising steeply. This must be a surprise to the makers of Swiss luxury watches, who lifted their imperious snouts in disdain at the cough-drop shaped Apple Watch when it first came out. From Enrique Dans's piece in Forbes, titled, How Apple Killed The Swiss Watch Industry:

In 2015, the year the Apple Watch was launched, LVMH watch division president and Tag Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver said the Swiss industry was not afraid of Apple's new product, because it could not be repaired in a thousand years or eighty years, nor inherited by children, nor would it ever become a status symbol. As is always the case when disruption occurs in an industry, traditional competitors are not able to see the threat, and continue to try to analyze it according to the variables that were important yesterday.

Dans writes, "As soon as you start using the Apple Watch, you realize one thing is clear: the rest of your watch collection will live on in a drawer from now on."

Photo by Chris Abney on Unsplash
Boulder, Colo., USA: Recent seafloor drilling has revealed that the hidden continent  of Zealandiaa region of continental crust twice the size of India submerged beneath the southwest Pacific Oceanexperienced dramatic elevation changes between about 50 million and 35 million years ago. New findings from this expedition, published today in Geology, propose this topographic upheaval may have been due to a widespread reactivation of ancient faults linked to formation of the western Pacifics infamous Ring of Fire.

Since the 1970s the prevailing scientific wisdom has been that Zealandias unusually low profile is due to the thinning of its crust as it separated from Gondwana, the ancient supercontinent that included Antarctica and Australia, around 85 million years ago. After these tectonic fireworks, says Rupert Sutherland, a geophysicist at New Zealands Victoria University of Wellington and the papers lead author, this model has Zealandia doing nothing but gently cooling and subsiding.

But fossils in the drillcores collected in 2017 by International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 371 indicate that during the early Cenozoic, portions of northern Zealandia rose 1-2 kilometers while other sections subsided about the same amount before the entire continent sank another kilometer deep underwater. The timing of these topographic transformations, say Sutherland and his co-authors, coincides with a global reorganization of tectonic plates evidenced by the bend in the Emperor-Hawaii seamount chain, the reorientation of numerous mid-ocean ridges, and the onset of subductionand the related volcanism and seismicityin a belt that still encircles much of the western Pacific.

Although subduction drives Earths plate tectonic cycle, says Sutherland, scientists dont yet understand how it starts. The drilling expedition to Zealandia may offer new insights into this fundamental process. One of the amazing things about our observations, says Sutherland, is that they reveal the early signs of the Ring of Fire were almost simultaneous throughout the western Pacific. Because this timing predates the global tectonic plate reorganization, he says, scientists need to find an explanation for how subduction began across such a broad area in such a short time.

Sutherland and his co-authors propose a new mechanism: a subduction rupture event, which they argue is similar to a massive, super-slow earthquake. The researchers believe the event resurrected ancient subduction faults that had lain dormant for many millions of years.

We dont know where or why, says Sutherland, but something happened that locally induced movement, and when the fault started to slip, like in an earthquake the motion rapidly spread sideways onto adjacent parts of the fault system and then around the western Pacific. But unlike an earthquake, Sutherland says, the subduction rupture event may have taken more than a million years to unfold. Ultimately, he says, Zealandias sedimentary record should help us determine how and why this event happened and what the consequences were for animals, plants, and global climate.

The process has no modern analogue, according to Sutherland, and because the subduction rupture event is linked to a time of rapid, global plate tectonic change, other instances of such change in the geologic record may imply that comparable events have occurred in the past. Geologists generally assume that understanding the present is the key to understanding the past, he says. But at least in this instance, this may not hold.

FEATURED ARTICLE

Continental-scale geographic change across Zealandia during Paleogene subduction initiation

Contact author Rupert Sutherland: rupert.sutherland@vuw.ac.nz; https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/doi/10.1130/G47008.1/581016/Continental-scale-geographic-change-across (open access)

Overview video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qCQAvAXLOU&feature=share

Related article: https://theconversation.com/expedition-reveals-the-violent-birth-of-earths-hidden-continent-zealandia-forged-in-a-ring-of-fire-130860

GEOLOGY articles are online at http://geology.geoscienceworld.org/content/early/recent. Representatives of the media may obtain complimentary articles by contacting Kea Giles at the e-mail address above. Please discuss articles of interest with the authors before publishing stories on their work, and please make reference to GEOLOGY in articles published. Non-media requests for articles may be directed to GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.
Khachmaz, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Eldar Janashvili  Trend:

Azerbaijans Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) has commissioned the first House of SMEs in Khachmaz district, Trend reports on Feb. 7.

Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Chairman of the Board of the Agency Orkhan Mammadov and Head of the Khachmaz District Executive Power Elnur Rzayev, as well as entrepreneurs from the Guba-Khachmaz economic region and media representatives attended the opening ceremony.

The entrepreneurs participating in the event stressed the role of the House of SMEs in their activities and expressed appreciation to the president for the excellent conditions created for conducting private business.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @eldarjanashvili
U.S. The Daily Beast

Fox News White House correspondent and perpetual nemesis of Jen Psaki thought he had Joe Bidens press secretary cornered on Monday when he asked her why the president is still referring to COVID-19 as a pandemic of the unvaccinated when so many people are getting breakthrough infections. He was wrong.I understand that the science says that vaccines prevent death, Doocy began, before undercutting that basic truth. But Im triple-vaxxed, still got COVID. Youre triple-vaxxed, still got COVI
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The municipal council of Capas, Tarlac on Friday unanimously voted to oppose the decision to use New Clark City as a quarantine area for dozens of Filipinos to be repatriated from the epicenter of the novel coronavirus.

New Clark City, which is completely under the control of the government's Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), is located in the towns of Capas and Bamban in Tarlac Province.

Local officials said they were surprised when the Health Department announced that the Athlete's Village in New Clark City  constructed especially for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games  will house the group coming from Hubei Province in China. Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan said they were not informed about the sudden announcement.

"DOH did not at all involve Capas LGU in its last-minute decision for New Clark City to be used as quarantine zone," he said in a statement read during the council's emergency meeting.

Even Tarlac Provincial Health Officer Dr. Jeanette Lazatin said they were unaware of the decision, adding it was the call of the national government.

Capas municipal councilors said the decision made by BCDA and DOH threatens social peace in the area, sowing worry that the virus might spread in nearby residential areas and resettlement areas. One councilor said it won't be a surprise if Capas turns into Hubei, where there are over 600 deaths due to the coronavirus.

Municipal Councilor Estella Manlupig said the Duterte administration should reconsider looking at a more isolated venue.

"Hindi naman tinatanggihan ang OFWs dahil kapwa natin sila Pilipino, pero sana dalhin sila sa lugar na mas mas akma at wala masyadong buhay na maaapektuhan," she said.

[Translation: We are not against our OFWs, but we hope they will be brought to a more proper location where there won't be people affected.]

Forty-five Filipinos from Hubei, Philippine officials who led their repatriation, and the flight crew carrying the group will be housed in New Clark City for 14 days for mandatory quarantine, health officials said.

The health department said all flight passengers will be screened before boarding the flight in China. Those who show coronavirus symptoms will not be allowed to board the aircraft and instead will be taken to hospitals in China. Once the plane lands in Clark International Airport, the passengers will once again undergo medical screening. Those who have fever, colds, or cough will be sent to local hospitals. Those who don't show symptoms will be transported to New Clark City.

Economic implications

Capas, Tarlac Vice Mayor Roseller Rodriguez said they are worried about the possible economic implications of labeling the area as a quarantine site because they are marketing New Clark City as a premier business and tourism hub.

"Kung magkaka-stigma na ginamit itong quarantine area ay maaapektuhan ang ekonomiya ng Capas... May turista pa po kayang pupunta kung malaman nila na naging quarantine area ang isang lugar sa Capas?" he told CNN Philippines on Friday.

[Translation: If there's a stigma because of its use as a quarantine area it will affect the economy of Capas...will tourists still come if they learn that a place in Capas was used as a quarantine area? ]

He added several citizens are planning to take legal action to stop the use of New Clark City as an isolated area. He said that if the citizens' and the local government's efforts fail, they will ask for the help of the Departments of Health and Interior in dealing with the situation.

BCDA assured the municipality of Capas that they are working to ensure its citizens won't be placed at risk.

"All preventive and precautionary measures are being put in place by the Task Force not only for our repatriated kababayans, but to also ensure that the adjacent communities of New Clark City and all Capasenos are kept safe and protected," it said in a statement.
By Trend

The prospects for Denmark and Azerbaijan to develop their relations in the port industry are great, Danish ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan Svend Olling told Trend.

"The innovation and expertise of the Danish port industry is well renowned and Danish companies provide partners with competencies in coastal engineering, port planning and design," said the diplomat.

He pointed out that Denmark is very interested in cooperating with other countries on developing ports and port industry.

As for the current status of trade relations, Olling said that for many years, Denmarks biggest export to Azerbaijan has been pharmaceuticals and the country is naturally interested in maintaining the level of trade in this sector.

"Moreover, our beer brewer Carlsberg is well established in Azerbaijan. In these sectors, Danish companies are naturally interested in cooperating closely with Azerbaijani companies and distributers," said the ambassador.

Moreover, as the diplomat said, Denmark has a number of excellent companies in the sector of sustainable energy.

"Denmark is a first mover on sustainable energy transition and Danish companies working in this sector are always looking for new opportunities to introduce their sustainable solutions to other markets," he added.

Olling also highlighted the great potential for development of bilateral cooperation in the sphere of tourism.

"The potential for boosting tourism between Denmark and Azerbaijan is certainly there. Personally, I find Azerbaijan a great place to visit. The country has an extremely interesting history and the hospitality of the people is exceptional. Moreover, Baku is a wonderful, modern city with lots of activities and attractions for tourists. Copenhagen was recently rated one of the top places to visit in 2020 and the Danish tourism industry is growing every year. I consider Denmark a great place for tourists to visit. Danes are known for being one of the happiest peoples in the world. We are well renowned for the Danish cosiness, which goes by the name hygge. Moreover, Copenhagen holds an interesting mix of royal history, modern architecture and plenty of innovative and sustainable inventions. For example the worlds first waste-to-energy plant which is also a ski slope! We are always looking to receive tourists from all over the world and are happy to welcome tourists from Azerbaijan too," he said.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A Greenville man died while in police custody after being arrested in connection with a home invasion Thursday morning.

Greenville police confirmed that Fredrick Deon Powell, 43, died after being transported to a local hospital from Butler County Jail. Powell was being transported back to Butler County Jail when he became unresponsive in the police vehicle.

Greenville police responded to the scene at Linda Ave around 5:40 a.m. in response to a home invasion call. The victim claimed that Powell broke into her home through a window and began to break items. Officers stated that Powell was acting erratic when they arrived as he was rolling on the ground.

Officers also called paramedics to the scene to do a check on Powell due to his behavior and a cut on his arm he received from breaking in through the window of the home. After becoming unresponsive in the police vehicle, officers tried to perform CPR on him before he was transported to the Regional Medical Center of Central Alabama emergency room where he pronounced dead around 7 a.m.

Greenville police chief Kevin Lovvorn told AL.com that him and other officers have had several encounters with Powell in the past. He believes that narcotics may have played a part in his death, but cant confirm anything until an autopsy is completed.

Lovvorn also stated that body cam and surveillance footage show no signs of brutality or negligence by the officers.

The Greenville Police Department has requested that the State Bureau of Investigation conduct a review of the incident and that an autopsy be performed in order to verify the cause of death.
Minna  The strike declared by organised labour in Niger State entered the second day yesterday paralysing government activities, just as the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) tasked Governor Abubakar Sani Bello to pay the "legally agreed minimum wage" to the civil servants.

The strike, according to findings by THISDAY, has started taking its toll on the ordinary man with the absence of medical personnel from public health institutions and scarcity of potable water in most communities.

It was gathered that patients' family members have decided to patronise private clinics to take care of their sick ones, while water vendors have been making brisk business following skeletal operation by officials of the state's water board.

THISDAY learnt that another meeting held between the organised labour and state government representatives on Wednesday to find solution to the issue was deadlocked.

Meanwhile, PDP in Niger State in its reaction about the dispute between the workers and the government said: "It is shocked that Governor Bello, who almost a year ago boasted that he's ready to pay the new minimum wage of N30,000 passed by the National Assembly and signed into law by Mr. President, has failed to do so."

"It is regrettable that Governor Bello would allow a labour dispute about wages and rights of workers to culminate into a total strike action," the party added, describing the situation as "a classic case of dereliction of duty."

PDP, in a statement its Chairman in Niger State, Tanko Beji, alleged: "It is regrettable that Governor Bello has abandoned the state and this is Day 2 of the strike action that has completely paralysed all hospitals and essential services in a state and which has already grounded the state economically to its knees due to cluelessness, pilferage and governance failures in the last five years."

"It is against this backdrop that the PDP calls on the governor and his party to immediately pay workers their legally approved salaries, provide political and strategic leadership to the security architecture or immediately resign or Niger State House of Assembly should do the needful," the statement said.

Beji also asked the APC-led government to find solutions to the increasing cases of insecurity in the state which has led to loss of lives and property and displaced many villagers from their ancestral homes.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 10:13:15|Editor: zyl

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TRIPOLI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Thursday called for prosecuting migrant smugglers and traffickers in Libya.

The inter-governmental organization related to the United Nations made the appeal following the report that 5 migrants were killed and 12 others injured in a traffic accident as they were being smuggled in the southwestern Libyan city of Sabha late Wednesday night.

"IOM is saddened by yet another incident causing loss of life and reiterates that prosecuting smugglers and traffickers should be a priority, especially amid the current security situation," IOM tweeted.

"We continue to advocate for safe, orderly and regular pathways for migrants," said IOM Libya Chief of Mission Federico Soda.

"This incident is a stark reminder of the dangerous journeys desperate people endure, many of whom are fleeing conflict and poverty," Soda said.

Thousands of immigrants, mostly Africans, attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe from Libya, which has been locked in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

There are more than 650,000 illegal immigrants currently staying in the North African country, including about 6,000 being held in detention centers, the IOM estimated.
A formation of Guard of Honor takes part in a grand military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China in Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 1, 2019. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

China had to suspend its military recruitment program for this year due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, but the postponement will lead to no significant impact on the number or quality of the eventual recruits, an expert with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) predicted on Thursday.

The PLA's heroics in battling the virus and helping people will encourage even more young people to sign up for the military, the expert said.

China is facing a severe situation in controlling the epidemic, so the time for the physical examination phase of the 2020 military recruitment at various locations across China will be adjusted, according to a report by 81.cn, the PLA's official website, released on its WeChat public account on Wednesday.

One place to enact the decision is Hunan Province, which lies next to the virus outbreak epicenter, Hubei Province. The physical examinations originally planned for early February will be postponed until a later date because gathering of people during the event could risk cross-infection, Hunan Province's conscription office said on Tuesday.

The postponement will not hinder the determination of hot-blooded youth who yearn to join the military, 81.cn said, citing comments online saying they can't wait to make their dream of becoming a soldier come true.

Li Daguang, a professor at the National Defense University of the PLA in Beijing, told the Global Times on Thursday that the postponement is needed (to prevent the virus from spreading) and the postponement "should not have much effect on the number or quality of the eventual recruits."

The Chinese military is actively taking part in the battle against the coronavirus, sending 1,400 military medical personnel to Wuhan.

Many young people dream of joining the military because of a sense of honor and duty, 81.cn said.

Li said the military's spirit of responsibility shown in this battle has encouraged people, and he expects more young people will sign up to join the PLA in the future.

About 1.24 million Chinese university students signed up online for military service in 2019, 81.cn reported, noting that countries like the US are having trouble recruiting enough due to war-weariness.
Hong Kong: Rumours on voluntary work refuted

The Government today said rumours claiming that some departments are forcing their staff to participate in voluntary work related to the fight against the novel coronavirus are totally unfounded.

In order to tackle the critical situation, the Government said it hopes departments will encourage staff and former civil servants to voluntarily provide support in carrying out non-medical and non-professional tasks.

Government departments will release their staff, who have voluntarily signed up to be volunteers, on loan to the Department of Health, the Home Affairs Bureau and its departments, or the Social Welfare Department for the work concerned, it added.

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
One of the UKs most senior diplomats has been appointed ambassador to the United States to replace Sir Kim Darroch, who resigned from the post after the leaking of his emails about Donald Trump.

Karen Pierce, who is currently the envoy to the United Nations in New York and permanent representative at the Security Council, will become Britains first female ambassador to Washington.

Since joining the Foreign Office in 1981, she has held a series of senior posts, dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan, Ukraine, the Balkans and Japan, and is highly regarded by her international colleagues.
(Natural News) The Canadian newspaper Ottawa Citizen is celebrating the legalization of assisted suicide in Canada because now there are a whole lot more organs and tissues available for desperate patients.

Because Ontarios transplant waiting list is usually around 1,600 patients at any given time, according to the paper, this abundance of new organs and tissues is decreasing the waiting time for these government-run transplant procedures.

Known euphemistically as MAiD, this organ and tissue donation system relies on a steady stream of suicided corpses from which to harvest  something that the Ottawa Citizen has eagerly been promoting even before assisted suicide became legal in Canada back in 2016.

According to Trillium Gift of Life Network, which oversees organ and tissue donation in Ontario, the 113 MAiD-related donations in 2019 accounted for five per cent of overall donations in Ontario, a share that has also been increasing, the paper report.

In 2018, MAiD-related donations made up 3.6 per cent of the provinces total donations, and in 2017 just 2.1 per cent.

The Trillium Gift of Life Network has been at the forefront of this organ and tissue donation program ever since assisted suicide was legalized. The group has been proactively reaching out to people it deems probable candidates for assisted suicide in order to pair their body parts up with hopeful recipients.

While Canadian law dictates that organs can only be harvested from assisted suicide victims if they die in a hospital, Dr. Moira McQueen of the Canadian Catholic Bioethics Institute says that theres a compromise situation in which an assisted suicide victim can be given the first set of lethal injections at home, and taken to the hospital after that for the final set.

At that point, having lost consciousness at home as they wished, the donor could then be shuttled to the hospital where the final lethal injection would kill him and his organs would be harvested, writes Jonathon Van Maren for LifeSiteNews.

Has society lost all sense of the value and dignity of human life?

To make matters worse, a pair of Montrealers sued their province over a clause in its assisted suicide law that required natural death to be reasonably foreseeable as a qualifying restriction  meaning a person has to be at the end of life in order to legally kill himself with the help of a physician.

The Ottawa Citizen was nothing but glee when this provision was struck down because it means that even more organs and tissues will now be available for patients who want them.

To summarize that: Expanding the eligibility criteria for assisted suicide is a positive thing because more dead people means more available organs, Van Maren goes on to write.

Further to that, allowing people who are not dying in the short-term to have themselves killed means that the likelihood of getting organs in better condition (i.e. not damaged by disease) grows significantly.

Harvesting organs from euthanasia patients, as we previously reported, was only just made legal back in the summer, which means this is a relatively new phenomenon. And its one thats eerily similar to Planned Parenthoods aborted baby body parts racket, which we now know was tailored around preserving fresh and undamaged specimens in order to harvest the best organs and tissues.

This is also apparently a good thing, Van Maren concludes. At no point, it must be noted, does the Ottawa Citizens glowing coverage quote anyone with any ethical concerns about approaching suicidal people with requests for their organs.

Apparently, weve moved past all that.

For more related news about the collapse of morality throughout Western medicine, read MedicalExtremism.com.

Sources for this article include:

LifeSiteNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Hundreds of school children took to the streets today to highlight what they describe as a lack of inaction on climate change.

The sixth student-led Fridays For Future strike to take place in recent months, the demonstrations in Cork, Dublin, and Waterford were timed, to coincide with tomorrow's general election.

Thats according to Beth Doherty, a spokeswoman for the Fridays For Future strikers in Dublin.

We might not have a say in how the election goes but the strikes were planned and timed to make sure that the climate is to the forefront of voters minds.

Election candidates were welcome to attend the strikes but they were told not to bring any political banners.

Ahead of the planned strikes, gardai in Dublin had raised health and safety concerns and expressed reservations about a possible risk of crushing at the event.

They had also warned the group that anyone who was responsible for taking students out of school would be open to criminal proceedings in the event of crushing.

The school strikers gained the backing of former president Mary Robinson, who issued a message of support ahead of the marches.

Its very important that children can protest in their Fridays for Future, particularly because they cant vote in elections  and they want to draw attention to the importance of the climate crisis.

And youre never too young to protest: the right of freedom of expression is a right at any stage.

Fridays For Future aims to demand climate action through peaceful protests and strikes from school.

The global, youth-led movement began after Greta Thunberg sat in front of the Swedish parliament in protest over a lack of action on climate.
Medical staff strike over coronavirus concerns outside government headquarters in Hong Kong (Vincent Yu/AP)

The death toll in mainland Chinas coronavirus outbreak has risen to 636, authorities have announced.

The toll includes a doctor who got in trouble in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Dr Li Wenliang, 34, was reportedly reprimanded for spreading rumours in late December.

(PA Graphics)

And Japan has said 41 new cases of coronavirus have been found on a cruise ship that is quarantined in Yokohama harbour.

That brings the total number of cases to 61 on the Diamond Princess ship.

There are 78 people with British passports  including crew  on the ship, sources told the PA news agency.

The Diamond Princess and another docked cruise ship, the World Dream, with thousands of passengers and crew members remain under 14-day quarantines in Japan and Hong Kong.

Before Fridays 41 further confirmed cases, 20 passengers who were found to have the virus were escorted off the Diamond Princess.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked at Yokohama Port (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP)

About 3,700 people have been confined aboard the ship.

Its going to be like a floating prison, British passenger David Abel wrote on Facebook.

He had set out on a 50th wedding anniversary luxury cruise on the Diamond Princess but found himself in his cabin, eating a lettuce sandwich with some chicken inside.

More than 3,600 people on the other quarantined ship, the World Dream, underwent screening after eight passengers were diagnosed with the virus.

Medical workers in protective suits help patients who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus (Chinatopix via AP)

Meanwhile, a newborn discovered to be infected 36 hours after birth has become the youngest known patient.

The number of people infected globally has risen to more than 31,000.

Dr Li had worked at a hospital in the epicentre of the outbreak in the central city of Wuhan.

He was reprimanded by the police for spreading rumours about the illness in late December, according to news reports.

Its going to be like a floating prisonBritish passenger David Abel

The outbreak has spread to around two dozen countries, triggering travel restrictions and quarantines around the world and a crisis inside the country of 1.4 billion.

Dr Li was among a number of medical professionals in Wuhan who tried to warn colleagues and others when the government did not, The New York Times reported earlier this week.

It said that after the mystery illness had stricken seven patients at a hospital, Dr Li said of them in an online chat group on December 30: Quarantined in the emergency department.

Another participant in the chat responded by wondering, Is SARS coming again?  a reference to the 2002-03 viral outbreak that killed hundreds, the newspaper said.

Wuhan health officials summoned Dr Li in the middle of the night to demand he explain why he shared the information, and police later forced him to sign a statement admitting to illegal behaviour, the paper said.

If the officials had disclosed information about the epidemic earlier, Dr Li said in an interview in the Times via text messages, I think it would have been a lot better. There should be more openness and transparency.

China finished building a second new hospital on Thursday to isolate and treat patients  a 1,500-bed centre in Wuhan.

Earlier this week, another rapidly constructed, 1,000-bed hospital in Wuhan with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms began taking patients.

Authorities also moved people with milder symptoms into makeshift hospitals at sport arenas, exhibition halls and other public spaces.

Altogether, more than 50 million people are under virtual quarantine in Hubei province in an unprecedented  and unproven  bid to bring the outbreak under control.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, centre, speaks during a press conference in Hong Kong (Vincent Yu/AP)

In Hong Kong, hospital workers demanding a shutdown of the territorys border with mainland China were still on strike on Friday.

The territorys leader Carrie Lam announced a 14-day quarantine of all travellers entering the city from the mainland starting on Saturday, but the government has refused to seal the border entirely.

Taiwan has said it will refuse entry to all non-citizens or residents who have recently visited Hong Kong, Macao or China from Friday.

From Europe to Australia and the US, universities that host Chinese students or have study-abroad programmes are scrambling to assess the risks, and some are cancelling opportunities and prohibiting student travel.

The organisers of the Tokyo Olympics have again sought to allay fears that the 2020 Games could be postponed or cancelled because of the crisis.
Ericsson CEO to meet Germany's Merkel next week FILE PHOTO: An Ericsson logo is pictured at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Shanghai

BERLIN (Reuters) - The chief executive of Sweden's Ericsson will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel next week, a government spokesman said on Friday, amid debate in Berlin over how best to regulate foreign providers of telecoms equipment.

Borje Ekholm's meeting on Feb. 13 comes amid calls from some German lawmakers to ban China's Huawei, the global leader in telecoms networks, on national security grounds.

Sources earlier said Finland's Nokia would also send a representative to meet Merkel, although the company has not commented on the report.

Nokia is the world's No.2 supplier of telecoms equipment, followed by Ericsson.

(Reporting by Andreas Rinke; Writing by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Michelle Martin)
Scariano Wholesale Foods said it will spend $10 million to expand its wholesale food distribution facility near Hammond, a move that will create 20 new jobs.

Louisiana Economic Development said the new jobs will have an average annual salary of $42,000 plus benefits. The work will also create 27 indirect jobs.
Its been a rough winter for senators, and not just the Washington Republicans who staged the least substantial impeachment trial in American history. The Democrats who dominate Californias Senate refuse to be left out of the legislative fecklessness sweepstakes.

Consider their latest abdication of duty to address the states most pressing problem, the housing and homelessness crisis. Although California has the nations least affordable housing markets, a quarter of its homeless population and fewer homes per capita than nearly any other state, the Senate recently whiffed its third attempt to revive persistently anemic housing production.

State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, won broad support for SB50, his measure to allow construction of multifamily housing near mass transit and job centers, with a series of concessions to critics. But local officials and legislators representing the exclusively zoned suburban neighborhoods that drive the housing shortage remained implacable. They were abetted by the myth that building more housing would speed gentrification of low-income areas, which are in fact bearing the brunt of demand because wealthier communities are free to block development.

One high-profile supporter of the bill, San Francisco Mayor London Breed, has faced similar opposition from the citys construction-obstructing Board of Supervisors. In the wake of SB50s failure, Breed announced a promising measure to speed housing production that could go before voters in the fall.

The Senate, after stopping earlier versions of SB50 in committee for two years, finally held its first vote on the bill last week. But with 18 ayes, 15 noes and six senators refusing to take a position, it fell short of the required 21-vote majority. That means the legislation could have survived this incremental step and continued to the Assembly if not for the three Bay Area Democrats who voted against it: Jerry Hill of San Mateo, Steve Glazer of Orinda and Bill Dodd of Napa. Given the depth and consequences of the housing shortage in the places these men represent, their votes defy justification.

They and Gov. Gavin Newsom, who despite his pledge to dramatically increase housing production did not endorse SB50, should feel enormous pressure to produce an alternative before the legislative session expires.

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.
A British space scientist says it is 'almost a racing certain' that Jupiter's moon Europa is home to alien life, but believes they are 'octopus' like creatures.

Monica Grady, who the Chancellor at Liverpool Hope University, suggests the icy seas beneath Euorpa's surface is a prime location to find beings with similar intelligence to the marine animal.

Grady also thinks that the deep caverns and caves on Mars may also be harboring life-forms, as these areas provide relief from the intense solar radiation.

'When it comes to the prospects of life beyond Earth, it's almost a racing certainty that there's life beneath the ice on Europa,' she said.

'Elsewhere, if there's going to be life on Mars, it's going to be under the surface of the planet.'

'There you're protected from solar radiation. And that means there's the possibility of ice remaining in the pores of the rocks, which could act as a source of water'.

Scroll down for video

Monica Grady, who is a professor of Planetary and Space Science at Liverpool Hope University, suggests the icy seas beneath Euorpa's surface is a prime location to find beings with similar intelligence to an octopus

'If there is something on Mars, it's likely to be very smallbacteria.'

'But I think we've got a better chance of having slightly higher forms of life on Europa, perhaps similar to the intelligence of an octopus.'

Although the idea of octopus-like creatures living on Jupiter's moon may sound far-fetched to some, it was the plot in the 2013 film 'Europe Report'.

In the film, six astronauts embark on a privately funded mission to Jupiter's moon Europa to find potential sources of life and stumble upon octopus-like creatures living beneath the surface - exactly what Grady, who is also a professor at The Open University, has suggested.

Brady also thinks that the deep caverns and caves on Mars (pictured) may also be harboring life-forms, as these areas provide relief from the intense solar radiation

NASAs Hubble NASA's Hubble Space Telescope spotted the presence of sodium chloride, also known as simple table salt, on the icy planet's surface last June.

While the oceans are beneath Europa's surface, the exterior is basically made up of frozen seawater.

This means that below its icy exterior, there's likely to be a vast salty sea containing large amounts of sodium chloride.

Jupiter's icy moon Europa is slightly smaller than Earth's moon and it orbits Jupiter every 3.5 days.

It is thought to have an iron core, a rocky mantle and a surface ocean of salty water, like Earth, with ice flowing underneath.

As for what's beyond the Milky Way, Grady said the environmental conditions that led to life on Earth are 'highly likely' to be replicated elsewhere.

'Our solar system is not a particularly special planetary system, as far as we know, and we still haven't explored all the stars in the galaxy,' she added.

'But I think it's highly likely there will be life elsewhereand I think it's highly likely they'll be made of the same elements.

'Humans evolved from little furry mammals that got the opportunity to evolve because the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid impact.

Monica Grady (pictured) is a professor of Planetary and Space Science at Liverpool Hope and says that by looking at the bigger, inter-planetary picture, Earth's own ecological situation is brought into sharp focus

'That is probably not going to happen on every planetbut it's at least possible based purely on a statistical argument.

'Whether we will ever be able to contact extraterrestrial life is anyone's guess, purely because the distances are just too huge.

'And as for so-called alien 'signals' received from space, there's been nothing real or credible, I'm afraid.'

This year three separate expeditions are heading to Mars to search for signs of life.

The ExoMars 2020, which launches in July, is a collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Russian space agency, Roscosmos.

NASA's new rover is set to make landfall on the Red Plant in February 2021.

And the Hope Mars Mission funded by the United Arab Emirates, is set to launch in the summer.

Meanwhile Professor Grady says that by looking at the bigger, inter-planetary picture, Earth's own ecological situation is brought into sharp focus.

She says: 'We could be all there is in the galaxy. And if there's only us, then we have a duty to protect the planet.'

'I'm fairly certain we're all there is at our level of intelligence in this planetary system.

'And even if there are octopuses on Europa, that doesn't give us a reason to destroy our planet.'
Breda Moynihan (70) feeds bread to the birds in the field near her home in Limerick. Photo: Press 22

A Limerick pensioner was fined 150 for feeding birds in a field near her home.

Breda Moynihan (70), who lives in the Lee Estate in the city, said she takes great joy in feeding the seagulls which regularly congregate on a green near her house.

However, she has been left "devastated" and "disgusted" after a Limerick council worker handed her a 150 fine when he witnessed her throwing bread to her feathered friends.

The animal lover, who also gives carrots to horses in the estate and biscuits to cats, said she cannot afford the fine, which was made under the Litter Pollution Act 1997.

She was given a form filled in by a council official which accused her of "food thrown on a green area".

However the grandmother, who lives alone, is standing her ground and insists that she won't pay the fine.

Expand Close Breda Moynihan is angry after being fined 150 by the council for feeding seagulls. Photo: Press 22 / Facebook

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"I feed the birds every day," she said.

"I love animals, and just feel like I'm doing good. But this council man approached me recently saying I'm causing rats.

"But rats have been around here all the time. The birds eat up the bread immediately after I throw it so I can't be the one to blame. I just feel devastated and disgusted at how they could fine someone for simply feeding a few animals."

Ms Moynihan added that while she was a shy person by nature, she refused to stay silent on what she deemed to be a "huge injustice".

"I just can't afford to pay the 150. It's a huge amount of money for me and I'm so worried about the thought of having to pay it.

"I just hope the council will pardon me because I haven't done anything wrong. I'm going to fight this and stand my ground," she said.

The pensioner, whose story was first reported in the 'Limerick Leader', is being supported by former councillor John Gilligan.

He said the fine was "scandalous", especially given illegal dumping taking place across the estate. He added that instead of fining her, the council should give her a mayoral reception.

"They're for the birds," he said. "Down through the years, we've been highlighting acts of unspeakable cruelty towards animals in Limerick.

"Here's a woman who's the total opposite of that. She's our own Mary Poppins. And they come down and charge her 150. That's her entire pension gone. You know these rules weren't meant for people like her. She should be applauded, not persecuted. For God's sake, do the right thing for Limerick and our estate, leave this lady alone."

Labour councillor Conor Sheehan, who represents the area at City Hall, said: "I live in an area where people frequently dump bags of rubbish. I haven't seen any of them landed with a fine. It's totally cruel."

Limerick City Council did not reply to a request for comment.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2020) Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid and her Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinisto, discussed bilateral issues, climate neutrality and energy during a meeting in Helsinki, the Estonian president's office said on Thursday.

The Estonian leader is in Finland on a working visit. Apart from talks with the country's head, Kaljulaid is set to visit the European Center of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats, a Finnish intergovernmental think tank, and the innovative programming school Hive.

"President Kersti Kaljulaid ... met with her Finnish colleague President Sauli Niinisto today in Helsinki to discuss Baltic-Nordic cooperation, common goals for renewable energy and climate neutrality, and the Three Seas Initiative summit," the office said in a statement.

The statement went on to cite Kaljulaid as saying that the two countries had several opportunities to deepen their cooperation. The Estonian president added that both states had "a common understanding of the importance of protecting the Baltic Sea and the Arctic, and reducing carbon emissions."

The Three Seas Initiative is a high-level forum gathering 12 Central and Eastern European countries of the EU. The meeting was initiated in 2015 and aims at boosting cooperation, especially in the economy, and dialogue between the states.
Officials with the Houston SPCA and the Galveston County Sheriff's Office seized 51 animals Thursday afternoon from a Hitchcock house they say was in deplorable condition.

Police were called to the house located at 5929 Terrebonne Road in Hitchcock after neighbors made repeated calls about a "horrendous" smell coming from the home, according to Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset. The 51 animals rescued include 39 dogs, seven chickens, two goats, one horse, one cat and one goose, according to SPCA officials.
BOSTON, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sappi North America, Inc., today announced the launch of Verticals: Fashion Marketing, the second installment of the company's educational series for marketers, ahead of New York Fashion Week. The new guide focuses on the fashion industry and highlights successful marketing and promotional approaches used by leading brands.

Sappi's Verticals series dives into individual markets serviced by the company while examining the unique challenges, traditions and idiosyncrasies each faces when communicating with target audiences. Sappi tackled The Marketing of Higher Education in the first part of the series, and now is taking a close look at the world of fashion.

"Sappi takes pride in creating resources that designers, marketers and creatives can leverage when they are looking for inspiration. With retail and fashion changing so quickly, we knew that this was the next industry to cover through Verticals and we are proud to release it during one of the most important weeks for the industry," said Patti Groh, Director of Marketing Communications, Sappi North America. "Nearly every part of our business touches the fashion industry  from our high-quality paper for magazines, catalogs and print advertising, our packaging offerings for shopping bags and boxes, our dissolving wood pulp used to create sustainable fabrics to our release textures for handbags, apparel and footwear  we hope our research and expertise provide inspiration for luxury marketers."

Printed on Sappi's premium McCoy paper, "Fashion Marketing" dives into current marketing trends like micro-influencers, sustainability, omnichannel shopping, mass customization, and premium brand experiences. Much of the resource is devoted to case studies on how leading brands are setting themselves apart through innovative approaches to consumer marketing. Finally, Sappi showcases how print remains a vital part of the marketing mix with examples of special effects that evoke the tactile side of fashion.

Verticals: Fashion Marketing was named a finalist for the 2020 PPI Awards in the Bringing Paper to Life category, which recognizes campaigns that utilize print and paper in innovative ways to inspire end users.

Marketers and brand owners can order a complimentary copy on POP from Sappi, here.

About Sappi North America Sappi North America, Inc., headquartered in Boston, is a market leader in converting wood fiber into superior products that customers demand worldwide. The success of our four diversified businesses  high-quality Coated Printing Papers, Dissolving Wood Pulp, Packaging and Specialty Papers and Casting and Release Papers  is driven by strong customer relationships, best-in-class people and advantaged assets, products and services. Our high-quality Coated Printing Papers, including McCoy, Opus, Somerset, and Flo, are the key platform for premium magazines, catalogs, books, direct mail and high-end print advertising. We are a leading manufacturer of Dissolving Wood Pulp with our Verve brand, a sustainable fiber, which is used in a wide range of products, including textile fibers and household goods. We deliver sustainable Packaging and Specialty Papers for luxury packaging and folding carton applications with our single-ply packaging brands, Spectro and Proto, and for the food and label industries with our specialty papers, LusterPrint and LusterCote. We are also one of the world's leading suppliers of Casting and Release Papers with our Ultracast, PolyEx and Classics lines for the automotive, fashion and engineered films industries. Customers rely on Sappi for high technical, operational and market expertise; products and services delivered with consistently high quality and reliability; and, state-of-the-art and cost-competitive assets and innovative spirit. Sappi North America is a subsidiary of Sappi Limited (JSE), a global company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa, with more than 12,000 employees and manufacturing operations on three continents in seven countries and customers in over 150 countries.

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By Yu Guoqing

The New Middle East Peace Plan recently rolled out by the US has a resounding subtitle - A Vision to Improve the Lives of Palestinian and Israeli People. The comprehensive 180-page document consists of multiple appendixes, including conceptual maps, framework and charts, and it doesnt look like a rigorous peace plan, but more like a bidding document waiting for the highest bid.

The League of Arab States held an emergency foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on February 1, announcing the irrejection of the US-proposed New Plan and the support for Palestine to have its legal rights. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said at the meeting that his country refused to accept the New Plan and would cut off all ties with Israel and the US.

Washington began to hatch this New Middle East Peace Plan that it touted as the deal of the century long ago. It released part of it last June, asking Palestine to give up its core sovereignty in exchange for investment. Then on January 28 this year, Trump, when meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, unveiled other parts of the deal, recognizing that Jerusalem is Israels inseparable capital, Israel has sovereignty over the Jordan Valley and all Jewish settlements are Israeli territory. However, all such contents were rejected by the Palestinian side with good reasons.

The US has recently announced the main contents of the deal for the following considerations.

President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel unveiled the Middle East plan at the White House on Tuesday.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York Times

First of all, the US needs to bolster up the new Israeli administration. Israel is going to have another election early March this year. Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, also went to meet with Trump in January along with Netanyahu, and his party went horse and horse with Netanyahus Likud Party in the two parliamentary elections of 2019. Basically the next Israeli government will either be led by one of them or be a combination of both parties. That Trump announced the deal of the century in front of both of them was a signal to the world that Washington is going to back Israel no matter who the next prime minister is, which is a reassurance for the two candidates.

Second, Trump is trying to win the votes of American Jews in the presidential election to be held in the second half of this year.

Third, the first foreign visit that Trump made after taking office was to the Middle East, where he visited Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine, and now he is eager to achieve something on the Middle East issue for the upcoming election.

The so-called deal of the century that the American government put forth without consulting the stakeholders has inherent flaws. It goes against the international communitys basic consensus on resolving the Palestine-Israel conflict, which is the two-state solution. This solution, based on the Arab Peace Initiative proposed at the Arab Summit Conference in 2002, called for establishing an independent state of Palestine pursuant to the Resolution No.242 and No.338 of the UN Security Council.

Now the US and Israel try to replace this two-state solution with the deal of the century, which, however, shows no respect to Palestines basic rights and violates the UNs resolutions and the international law.

Its clear that the so-called deal of the century is to serve Americas own interests only. There are many descriptions in the deal about Americas relation with the New Plan. For instance, it participates in the design and arrangement of the New Middle East Peace Plan, calls on other Muslim countries to absorb and arrange for Palestinian refugees, and expects Arab countries in the Gulf region and the EU to invest in Palestinian infrastructure. In other words, the US doesnt want to spend a penny on improving the lives of the Palestinians, and expects the international community to foot the bill.

Whats the most unacceptable issue is that while the US claims that the New Plan is open to Palestine, it actually sets a condition for the country, that is to way Palestine has to pay a higher price if it doesnt accept the deal. Its like business blackmailing - asking the other party to make a choice based on your own conditions and principles. The Palestinian leader has made it very clear that our rights are not for sale and not up for bargaining either.

The deal of the century that the US has cooked up out of its own interests is neither just nor sensible and contravenes the UN Security Councils resolutions and the international law. It wont be able to contribute to the Middle East peace process.

(The author is with the Institute of West-Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)
Prayagraj, Feb 7 : The Allahabad High Court has turned down a petition seeking permission to stage protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The court said that it is the duty of every citizen to maintain peace and law and order.

The verdict came on a petition filed by one Mohd Furqan of Ferozabad who had challenged a police's decision to deny permission for an anti-CAA protest.

The court decision is a major blow to anti-CAA protesters across the state.
Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Virology (ICMR-NIV) in Pune is one of 15 international laboratories identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to improve global surveillance and track the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the global health organisation said in its latest situation report on the outbreak on Friday.

ICMR-NIV is part of a global network of specialised referral laboratories with expertise in molecular detection to help countries detect new cases and troubleshoot molecular assays to strengthen local diagnosis of cases.

Testing samples for novel coronavirus from other countries in the South East Asia region has begun. The testing of samples from Maldives has already been undertaken and request from Afghanistan for sample testing has been agreed to. We have also agreed to provide technical assistance to Bhutan in managing infection and screening of passengers, the health minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, said in the Rajya Sabha.

India has three confirmed cases of novel coronavirus in Kerala, where the three are being quarantined and treated. The three are students of medicine based in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak.

All the 654 Indians evacuated from China aboard two special Air India flights, including 10 evacuees with symptoms in Safdarjung hospital in Delhi, tested negative for coronavirus on Thursday.

With no new cases being detected in India, the number of infected remained three even as the number of cases in China jumped by 3,100 on Friday, taking the number of people to 31,161. It has killed 636 people in China, and one each in Hong Kong and the Philippines. Globally, 31,436 cases have been detected in 27 countries.

The main symptoms of 2019-nCoV are fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing. In 10% to 20% of cases, disease may become severe enough to require ventilatory support. The case fatality is around 2%, Vardhan said on Friday.

They will be re-tested on day 14 of the quarantine period to confirm they do not have the disease. WHO estimates that the incubation period  the time between getting infected and showing symptoms  is about two to 10 days.

So far, 12 laboratories under the Indian Council of Medical Research have tested 1,435 samples. Two more laboratories in Guwahati and Ahmedabad will start testing for the novel coronavirus.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday informed the Rajya Sabha that the Indian embassy in Beijing is in touch with around 80 Indian students.By our estimate, there are about 80 Indian students who are currently still in Wuhan. This includes 10 students who had come to the airport but were running a fever so Chinese authorities, after screening, did not allow them to board the flight, he said.

India is screening all passengers coming from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand at 21 airports, 12 major ports and minor ports. As of Friday, 139,539 passengers arriving on 1,275 flights had been screened and 150 passengers with symptoms like fever, cough and difficulty in breathing have been admitted to isolation facilities.

Jaishankar also stated on Friday in the upper house that India had offered to help evacuate citizens of the neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, but only the Maldives had taken up the offer. Seven people from the Maldives were aboard the second Air India flight.

We were prepared to bring back not only our people but also those from all our neighbourhood who would have liked to. This was an offer which was made to all our neighbours but only seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail the offer, Jaishankar said in the Rajya Sabha.

The health ministry has set up a special surveillance web portal for real-time monitoring of 2019-nCoV cases.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anonna Dutt Anonna Dutt is a health reporter at Hindustan Times. She reports on Delhi governments health policies, hospitals in Delhi, and health-related feature stories. ...view detail
Gov. Ned Lamonts marijuana-legalization bill does not include a provision for people to grow the plant for themselves.

But even a chief opponent of cannabis legalization, state Rep. Vincent Candelora, says that if the state were to adopt any marijuana legalization, the General Assembly should follow the lead of Vermont, where in 2017 the legislature approved a law allowing only home growing for state residents, and has yet to set up a retail structure.

Advocates for the states underground cannabis industry say the prohibition against home growing say its a sign that the larger corporate entities, which have expanded as legalization has spread from the West Coast and Colorado to Massachusetts, are trying to protect their future market in Connecticut, if or when full legalization occurs.

Lamonts office said Friday that the current model that will be submitted to the General Assembly is centered on a regulatory structure that would initially assure state oversight of cannabis cultivation and products.

A leading advocate for full legalization, state Rep. Josh Elliott, said hes focused on getting an adult-use bill passed, and if home growers are cut out of the equation, it could be an issue to revisit in the future.

Joseph Raymond, of the New England Craft Cannabis Alliance, said that last years failed Connecticut legislation, which also ignored home growing, was an example of the corporate cannabis market flexing its lobbying muscle. Home cultivation hurts their bottom line, said Raymond, who will support the bill just the same when it is submitted to the law-writing Judiciary Committee.

Overall the bill is great, but the legislature needs to know that if you approve adult use, you have to allow homegrown, Raymond said in a phone interview, stressing that the current bill advances the issue by including so-called micro-marketers; targeting investment in cities where the war on drugs was disproportionately waged; and the expunging of criminal records for those convicted of possession.

So what they would be saying is Were wrong, were going to erase your criminal record, but we dont trust you growing six plants in your house, Raymond said.

The governors priority is a fully competitive marijuana marketplace for adult use only, said Max Reiss, Lamonts communications director. There are questions that remain on home growing, like how to enforce it in a regulated market; what role law enforcement should play; how do we remain in line with our neighboring states? We believe that focusing on getting a fully regulated marketplace up and running should be our priority in the short term.

A highly regulated market is critical to public safety by helping to ensure the product is of a certain quality, including staying within designated THC levels, and is not distributed to minors, said Speaker of the House Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin. This model has worked well for Connecticut in our highly successful medical marijuana program, which provides a solid foundation for a future adult recreational environment. Allowing homegrown not only puts us outside all of these important safety parameters, it doesn't have the needed support in the legislature."

There are more than 38,000 patients registered in the medical cannabis program, which is regulated by the state Department of Consumer Protection.

Karen OKeefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project, said Friday that its too early in the legislative session to determine whether the organization will again push for a home-grower provision. Last year we testified that home growing should be added, but we also really support getting a bill over the finish line, she said, noting that a section of Lamonts proposal would allow for studying the issue, with a report back to lawmakers in 2023, a year after the full legalization bill would take effect.

Last year the Illinois legislature voted to become the 11th state to allow retail sales for adults. The law also allows medical patients to grow five plants, but creates $200 civil penalties for others growing their own cannabis.

I do not support the legalization of marijuana, however if legalization happens, in my opinion the least-offensive way to do it is to allow for home growing, said Candelora, R-North Branford. That eliminates the commercialization of marijuana, along with manipulated levels of THC, vaping, gummies, cookies, sodas and marketing. In the Vermont model, everybody who wants to partake can grow and smoke their own instead of getting into a commercialized market.

Elliott, D-Hamden, who after the bill failed last year said he wanted to make the issue an amendment to the state Constitution and put before statewide voters in 2022, said he will advocate again for home growing.

Also, those with medical cards should be allowed to grow it, Elliott said. Veterans who come back with PTSD should have it as medicine as well. There is a strong argument that can be made that these people should be allowed to care for themselves and use the plants healing properties.

Youre allowed to brew beer at home, said OKeefe, from the Marijuana Policy Project. Cannabis is safer.

kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT
The British are coming this month, for the annual Mostly British Film Festival in San Francisco. From February 13th to February 20th, the historic Vogue Theater will feature films from England and its former colonies  India, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa.

Opening night begins with a screening of Military Wives, the latest from director Peter Cattaneo. Starring Kristin Scott Thomas, the film is a crowd pleaser about army wives who form a choral group to improve morale while their husbands are serving in Afghanistan.

Tuesday, the 14th the Vogue Theater features three Valentines Day romances from the UK  Say My Name with Lisa Brenner and Jay Stern (a screwball comedy); Hampstead with Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleeson (a sweet romance); and Only You with Leia Costa and Josh OConnor (a journey toward parenthood).

February 15th the spotlight is on Australia. Top End Wedding is a charming romantic comedy with Miranda Tapsell (from The Sapphires) and Gwilym Lee (from Bohemian Rhapsody). Baby Teeth is a touching family drama with Ben Mendelsohn, who is expected to appear in person. Hearts and Bones is a moving story which takes us into the world of photojournalist Daniel Fisher, played by Hugo Weaving (The Matrix).

The spotlight is on Ireland February 16th, beginning with The Man Who Wanted to Fly, a delightful documentary about bachelor farmer Bobby Coote from County Cavan in Ulster. Extra Ordinary also plays that evening, with Barry Ward and celebrated comedienne Maeve Higgins. The evening ends with The Delinquent Season, an examination of love, lust and family relationships starring two of Irelands most lauded actors  Cillian Murphy and Andrew Scott.

February 17th begins with Mark Jenkins debut drama, Bait, set in a Cornish fishing village. Martin Ward stars in that narrative, shot in black and white on 16mm film. The evening features Dancing The Invisible, a documentary tribute to Jill Bilcock and her remarkable skills as an influential film editor. Bilcock edited Moulin Rouge!, Road to Perdition, Strictly Ballroom and The Young Victoria, among others.

The centerpiece film showing at the Vogue on February 17th is Ordinary Love with Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville. Rounding out that evening is Around the Sun, a captivating movie featuring Cara Theobond and Gethin Anthony; screenwriter Jonathan Kiefer will be a guest that evening.

Flatland is a film from South Africa, directed by Jenna Bass, and will be shown on February 18th; its part contemporary western viewed through a female prism and part soap opera. Following Flatland will be Sorry We Missed You from director Ken Loach, his latest compassionate look at the struggling working class. Director Ben Wheatley provides lots of mordant humor in Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. Great fun to savor that humor, along with the performances of Sam Riley and Charles Dance.

Ophelia is the centerpiece film on February 19th, wherein director Claire McCarthy tells Ophelias story through female eyes for the first time. Revel in Shakespeares portrayal of first love as Star Wars heroine Daisy Ridley plays the title role. Naomi Watts plays Hamlets mother and Clive Owens is Hamlets uncle. The film will be introduced by KALW movie critic Peter Robinson.

Mrs. Lowry and Son shows earlier on February 19th, with Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall. After Ophelia, the Vogue is showing Closing The Ring with Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer, in a sweeping romantic drama spanning 50 years.

Closing night is February 20th and the film being screened is Greed, from director Michael Winterbottom, which focuses on an exceedingly rich London fashion mogul who decides to throw himself a Romanesque birthday party on the island of Mykonos.
- Kenyas kits for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics were unveiled on Tuesday, February 4, in New York

- The outfits were met with massive criticism from Kenyans

- Kenyans on Twitter lamented the clothing were poorly designed since they strongly resembled a honeycomb

Kenyans on Thursday, February 6, took to social media to lament about the new kits for the national side ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Nike unveiled part of its specialised design kit for but it was not necessarily received positively by a large sections of Kenyans, particularly on Twitter.

READ ALSO: Stunning Instagram models flock Neymars timeline with birthday messages

Nike Inc. has unveiled part of their specialised design kit for Team Kenya for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Photo: Courtesy

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mkasa wa Kakamega Primary: Ibada ya wafu ya wanafunzi 14 kuandaliwa Ijumaa

Kenyas National Olympic Committee was well represented during the New York launch on Tuesday by legendary runner Paul Tergat.

Witnessing the unveiling of the Team Kenya Kit to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics brings with it vivid memories of my pride and fulfilment when I donned the famous red, green and black national colours to the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as well as the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, Tergat said.

READ ALSO: Cristiano Ronaldo at 35: 623 club goals, 99 international goals, 16 trophies

Despite the huge step towards the Olympics, Kenyans took to social media to air the disappointment at the design.

The short-sleeved shirts have a red and green design dominating it, with the Kenyan flag being placed on the shoulder.

READ ALSO: Bruno Fernandes says Ronaldo played role in his transfer to Man United

From the design, it was clear the idea was to simulate a honeycomb and incorporate the Kenya flag colors in it.

READ ALSO: Barcelona meet director Eric Abidal to discuss future after public row with Lionel Messi

TUKO.co.ke has since learnt the Team Kenya kits include running tops, armbands, shorts, track pants and hoodies.

Interestingly, Nock acting secretary general Francis Mutuku said Nike paid "special attention" to Kenya kits with the design.

"When you look at the rest the design is generic rather the same but Kenya's is different. Nike placed Kenya at a different position to summon some of their best designers to work on Team Kenya kit for the purpose of their 'Summer Relief' branding," Mutuku said as quoted by Nation.

Cheeky Kenyans went to the lengths of sarcastically requesting designer Nike to borrow a leaf from Nigeria, whose kits are quite impressive.

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

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FLINT, MI-- Karen Weaver has endorsed Michael Bloomberg for president because he will lead the country in the right direction," she said.

The former Flint mayor met Bloomberg in 2016 in the midst of the citys water crisis. Weaver said that experience showed her what Bloomberg did for the city.

I got to see first-hand what he did not only for Flint but for mayors all over the country," Weaver said. He used his voice, power and money to make things better. Im excited to go around the country and speak on behalf of him and to help make him becoming president a reality. I think hes long overdue for this country and I believe he will lead us in the right direction.

Bloomberg expands Michigan campaign while opponents focus on early-voting states

The endorsement comes a few days ahead of Bloombergs grand opening of his Flint-based campaign office at noon on Saturday, Feb. 8. The office is downtown on Saginaw Street.

Bloomberg is building the most robust field organization in Michigan of any Democratic presidential candidate, MLive recently reported.

Days after Bloomberg held a Detroit rally attended by an estimated 450 people, his second visit to Michigan since launching his presidential bid last November, the campaign announced plans to open 10 field offices throughout the state.

Bloomberg is skipping the first four primary contests and pouring resources into Michigan, telling voters Tuesday that Democrats need a nominee who can win the critical battleground state.

Weaver said Bloomberg puts his money where is mouth is.

He gave mayors all over the country access, services and support to make sure we did what we need to do, Weaver said. I know the direction he wants to take this country and I think its the direction we need to go in. I like what his priorities are and the plans hell put in place to make things happen for this country.

Weaver said she supports Bloomberg's plan for improving the nation's infrastructure.

Flint has become the poster child for infrastructure and water. Hes made infrastructure a priority. Hes focused on the infrastructure a city needs to be successful in the 21st Century, she added.

The former Flint mayor also supports Bloomberg's focus on economic development.

Hes got a strong economic development plan. Thats what this country needs, more jobs, Weaver said. I also like his views on healthcare and expanding the Affordable Healthcare Act. Whether were talking about reducing the price of prescription drugs or fighting the opioid crisis. Hes got a plan to address these challenges and issues that people all over the country are facing.

Bloomberg's experience as mayor of New York City shows he's qualified to lead the nation, Weaver said.

Hes also taking a tough stance on gun violence. Were always talking about reducing gun violence in the city of Flint, Weaver said. Hes been a strong advocate for that. Between what I experienced getting to know him and what other mayors have experienced... I think we need a leader like Michael Bloomberg.

Bloomberg hired 65 organizers for his Michigan operation and will raise that number to 90 in the next few weeks, according to the campaign, complemented by $7.6 million spent on television advertising so far. The campaign will hold office openings in Ann Arbor, Flint, Warren and Bloomfield Hills this weekend, adding to two offices already established in Detroit.

Democrats are still waiting for some resolution from the Iowa caucus on Monday. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called for a recanvass Thursday, after a faulty smartphone app, technical glitches and organizational issues caused delayed results.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Deputy Director General of Information Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the People's Republic of China Lijian Zhao expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

"We sincerely thank the support from the world leaders: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan expressed solidarity with the Chinese people and readiness to provide all necessary assistance," Lijian Zhao tweeted.
A Devlali-Bhusawal passenger train was reversed for about a kilometre in Maharashtras Jalgaon district on Thursday to rescue a passenger who had fallen off, a railway official said.

The incident took place around 9.30 am between Pardhande and Maheji railway stations near Jalgaon, about 425 km from Mumbai.

Rahul Patil, a passenger, fell off the train as it approached Maheji station, the official said, adding that Patils friends immediately pulled the alarm chain.

Train guard R B Paradhe and loco pilot A K Pandy then reversed the train for about a kilometre to pick up the injured man.

Patil was handed over to Government Railway Police in Jalgaon and was admitted to a private hospital, he added.

Divisional railway manager of Central Railways Bhusawal division, Vivek Gupta, lauded the train crews quick decision which probably saved the passengers life. It was safe to reverse a train, he said.

The crew would be felicitated for their action, a railway spokesperson said. The train was, however, delayed by over an hour because of the incident.
Pete Buttigieg appeared on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert Thursday night where the Democratic presidential candidate voiced his concern over the impeachment of President Trump. Trump was acquitted on both impeachment charges Wednesday along a near party-line vote, despite several GOP senators describing Trumps behavior involving Ukraine as shameful and inappropriate. But the outcome was expected based on some high-ranking GOP senators, like Lindsey Graham and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying beforehand that they would not be impartial. That, along with the fact that there were no witnesses called for the impeachment trial for the first time in history, has Buttigieg concerned voters will become disengaged.

My biggest concern about the effect of this is a sense of exhaustion with everything because we see the process in the Senate wasnt a real trial. I mean, they didnt have witnesses. Everybody knows that a trial generally ought to have witnesses, Buttigieg said. The jurors, so to speak, many of the GOP senators made clear this was a foregone conclusion. And the worst thing that could happen is if we give in to a sense of hopelessness or exhaustion and walk away from the whole process.

But Buttigieg reminded everyone who is disappointed with Trumps impeachment trial why they shouldnt lose hope.

The best thing about the fact that this is 2020, were living in an election year, is that, yeah, the Senate was the jury in the impeachment, Buttigieg said, but we are the jury now, and we get the final verdict on the president and on the Senate in the election.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

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Kamlesh Rao

The Finance Minister has presented a balanced budget in spite of the challenges on hand. Revolving around the theme of aspirational India, economic development for all and a caring society, the budget has focused on generation of employment and inclusive growth through increased expenditure on rural economy, infrastructure, MSME and healthcare. In the current economic scenario, the government seemed poised to draw clear plans to bring about long-term change in the economy.

Demographic benefits

As is well-known, the proportion of population in India falling in the productive working age bracket is highest in the world. By focusing on policies aimed at job creation and encouraging entrepreneurship, the government is all set to provide the desired incentives to harness the nations demographic dividend. Enhanced tax concessions to start-ups, along with low tax liability for ESOPs, will encourage the culture of entrepreneurship and drive employment. Alongside job creation, the budget focused on increasing the purchasing power of people in the country.

The budget committed to doubling farmers income and boost the infrastructure sector. The focus on the same will further promote inclusive growth and enhance consumption. Infrastructure focus will help putting India on a high growth trajectory, provided all the plans are executed on time.

The Finance Minister reinstated the fiscal deficit target of 3.8 per cent for FY20, which was in line with market expectations. Along with this, the finance minister announced significant measures towards strengthening a healthier India. Abolition of Dividend Distribution Tax will make companies distribute surplus corpus to shareholders. However, it will introduce tax at the marginal rate in the hands of investors. Moreover, tax relief to the common man along with simplification of the tax regime will widen the tax base and help revive economic growth.

The budgets focus on creating a clean, reliable and robust financial sector towards promoting a strong economy had the common man at heart. Towards this end, the increase in the insurance coverage of fixed deposit from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh aimed at bridging the trust deficit, increasing financial security and protecting household savings.

The listing of the Life Insurance Corporation is a good move that will bring focus on the sector. If executed well, this will help in meeting the disinvestment target and thus maintain the fiscal deficit at 3.5 per cent for FY21. Additionally, with the simplification of the income tax slab and the new tax charter, sectors including life insurance will have to watch out for its implication on 80C investments.

However, broad economic growth and more people joining the formal economy will provide impetus to the growth of the life insurance sector. It will further strengthen the national agenda of building a financially secure society.

This budget is focused towards sustainable growth and long-term growth prospects of the nation. The slew of measures in the budget, especially thrust on rural areas and employment generation showcases the intent of the government in extending from ease of doing business to ease of living  albeit over a longer time horizon.

(The writer is MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance)
Police here arrested one accused in connection with the brutal murder of P Ramesh, whose body was recovered from Yousufguda on February 4, said DCP, West Zone, AR Srinivas on Friday.

"On February 6, the sleuths of SR Nagar Police and Commissioner's Task Force, West Zone team made sustained and consistent efforts and solved the murder mystery of Pampari Ramesh, who was murdered on the evening of February 1, 2020, near Gandhi statue, Jawahar Nagar, Yousufguda, Hyderabad. It is revealed that P Ramesh was brutally murdered by the accused Mude Raju Naik for ransom," Srinivas told reporters here.

A missing complaint was filed by the deceased's son at SR Nagar police station on February 2.

Following this, the police recovered the severely amputated body, with both hands cut off, from a plastic cover near the Gandhi statue on February 4.

Investigations by the police team had later on led to the nabbing of the accused.

The accused has been sent to judicial remand.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In his Feb. 4 op-ed blog excerpt, Give em hell, Donald!, Henry Olsen attempted to draw parallels between President Harry S. Truman and President Trump. Let us see. Truman coined the phrase the buck stops here; Mr. Trump accepts no blame  It was a perfect call. Truman: If you cant stand the heat, get out of the kitchen; Mr. Trump: Fake news. Truman never stood on an international stage and stated he trusted Joseph Stalin more than his intelligence agencies. Truman never threw accomplished and decorated military personnel under the bus.
West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday stuck to the text of the speech handed to him by the Mamata Banerjee-led Bengal government for the governors address to the state assemblys first session of the year. Governor Dhankhar had earlier recommended certain changes to the speech but didnt press the point after the state government declined to take his suggestion.

Dhankhar did, however, make the point on Thursday that he was well within his rights to suggest changes. When these were turned down by the state government, he stuck to the script given to him.

The governors address to the state assembly - or the one made by the President to the joint session of Parliament - reflects the policies and programmes of the government.

There had been some concern that the Bengal governor may, like the Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, spring a surprise and preface portions of the text that he did not approve of with a disclaimer.

Khan had, before reading out the Pinarayi Vijayan governments views against the amended citizenship law, had made it clear that he disapproved of this portion of the address.

On Friday, Governor Dhankhar and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit pause on their rather acrimonious relations. Mamata Banerjee and speaker Biman Banerjee cheerfully welcomed Dhankhar and they could be seen exchanging pleasantries for quite a bit.

Irrespective of the bonhomie that was on display at the assembly complex, the governors decision to summon the three principal accountant generals to his residence at 5 pm has spotlighted the creases in the relationship. The governors approval is needed to table the Finance Bill, which is a crucial part of the budget.

Whether there would be confrontation or not in this session would be clear only after Dhankhars meeting with the accountant generals, said a senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) minister, who did not want to be identified.

Biman Banerjee, the speaker of the Assembly, has said that anything that the governor may say beyond the written speech prepared and approved by the state cabinet would not go on record in the proceedings of the house.

However, in a statement issued in the evening on Thursday, Dhankhars press secretary Manab Bandyopadhyay said that the governor will never cross the Lakshman Rekha created by the Constitution.
Borno State Govenror's Wife, Dr. Falmata Babagama Umara Zulum has Thursday enjoined Northern Governors Wives with the gradual return of peace to the state, to empower internally displaced persons (IDPs( especially, the Women IDPs so that they can build a firm foundation for their children.

She also called on her sisters and collegaues to look at the possibility of meeting the post insurgency programmes and support the IDPs with resettlement equipments, empowerment tools, skills acquisition and vocational training Centers in order for the IDPs to live a normal life and be self reliant.

The Wife of Borno Govenror who stated this Thursday at the opening of the 2020 First Quarter Meeting of the Northern Govenrors Wives Forum (NGWF) held at th Multi Purpose Hall of the Government House Maiduguri, added that, IDPs should be their major topic of discussion at the meeting for their Pet Projects

She further urged the members to give priority to the burning issues with a view to proffer solutions on how best to tackle the issues once and for all by being holistically involved in the fight .

Dr. Falmata Zulum however commended the First Lady of Nigeria, Hajiya Aisha Muhammadu Buhari for her motherly affection and support to the region and the nation at large while pointing out that there are, over two million Internally Displaced Persons across the state.

" My sisters, I want to inform you that at a time we had over two million Internally displaced persons across the state which is the highest in northern Nigeria.

"In view of this, I want to draw the attention of the forum to some disturbing issues that affect our region today which include large number of out of school children, drug addiction, gender violence against women which in my view has contributed immensely to Insecurity and other vices in the state and region", Falmata said

According to her, "currently, Borno State has 55, 000 orphans and nearly 200,000 widows. The internally displaced persons, especially women need to be empowered so that they can build a firm foundation for their families.

" I want you my sisters to look at how you can come in and support the IDPs with resettlement equipments and empowerment items.

"Your concern and support to the state and IDPs are clear testimony of your valuable support and solidarity to the people and government of Borno State" Falmata said.
Several Indians are on board the cruise ship Diamond Princess which has been quarantined off Japan due to the coronavirus outbreak, said the government on Friday. External affairs minister S Jaishankar, however, said that none of the Indians on board have tested positive for the virus.

In a tweet, Jaishankar said, Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship #DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to #Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy @IndianEmbTokyo. We are closely following the developments.

Many Indian crew & some Indian passengers are onboard the cruise ship #DiamondPrincess quarantined off Japan due to #Coronavirus. None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy @IndianEmbTokyo. We are closely following the developments.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) February 7, 2020

Japans Health Ministry had earlier confirmed that the number of people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on board the Diamond Princess ship off the coast of Yokohama reached 61. The 61 confirmed patients are from Japan (28); the US (11); Australia and Canada (seven); China (three); and the UK, New Zealand, Taiwan, Philippines, Argentina (one), according to the authorities.

Earlier in the day, the external affairs minister had informed the Rajya Sabha that an estimated 80 Indian students are still living in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, adding that 70 of them chose to stay behind at the time of the evacuation operation.

The Diamond Princess, owned by Miami-based Carnival Corp, was placed on a two-week quarantine on arriving at Yokohama on Monday after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong was diagnosed with the virus.

About 3,700 people are aboard the Diamond Princess, which usually has a crew of 1,100 and a passenger capacity of 2,670.

The new coronavirus that emerged in a Chinese market at the end of last year has killed more than 630 people and spread around the world. The latest figures from China show there are over 30,000 people infected in the country.
(Photo : Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash) Samsung Galaxy S20 Has Shortage of Producing Accessories Amid Coronavirus Spread (Photo : XDA Developers) Samsung Galaxy S20 Has Shortage of Producing Accessories Amid Coronavirus Spread (Photo : XDA Developers) Samsung Galaxy S20 Has Shortage of Producing Accessories Amid Coronavirus Spread

On Tuesday, Feb. 11, Samsung will finally reveal its very first lineup of smartphones for 2020. One of these is Samsung Galaxy S20-- the company's flagship phone for the year.

Though a lot of Samsung fans and tech experts are already clamoring regarding its specs and new updates, Samsung seemed to be facing a different but terrible problem that might change how the launch will go on Tuesday, Feb. 11.

Panic buying of Samsung Galaxy S20 accessories, expected on the launching?

On Jan. 30, MobileFun reportedly received a huge number of emails stating how Samsung's Unpacked event might be delayed due to the widespread health issue of Coronavirus in China.

According to the report, they received messages from suppliers in China that the Coronavirus issue might affect the production of the smartphone itself and even the phone accessories provided by the company.

"With the majority of phone cases and glass screen protectors manufactured in China, including the extremely popular, Samsung partnered Whitestone Dome, owners of the new S20 phones will likely have to wait in order to provide their phone with enhanced protection," MobileFun wrote.

As factories in China continued to be on total shutdown since the viral disease already caused over 600 deaths in the country, the production of all materials needed for the device is also affected as stringent security and health protocols are implemented in the country, taking more time for the production.

'Secure your Galaxy 20 accessories'

MobileFun advises all customers of Samsung Galaxy S20 that once the launching is done, they must first secure the Galaxy S20 accessories as a shortage of these products is expected to be seen in the event.

Samsung's unpacked event: what to expect

Despite this issue of shortage, Samsung seemed to be focus on starting its Unpacked Event on Tuesday on a positive note. As expected, Samsung will all-out their event with tons of their new gadgets such as the Galaxy S20 series, Galaxy Z Flip, and their brand new Galaxy Buds+.

It was also reported that the Unpacked Event would also reveal the company's much-awaited and long-delayed Bixby-powered smart speakers.

Samsung Galaxy S20 series

Unpacked Event is expected to launch Samsung's Galaxy S20 series that features the S20, S20+, and S20 Ultra. All devices are reportedly to have QHD+ AMOLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate and a Snapdragon 865 processor. The aforementioned features are necessary to meet the requirements for 5G access.

Tech leaks also reported that Galaxy S20 would start at $999 in the United States with the S20+ and S20 Ultra, costing $1,199 and $1,399, respectively. However, the international market might expect higher charges for these devices.

Samsung galaxy z flip

Another Samsung device to be expected on the event is Samsung Galaxy Z Flip that was termed having 'Ultra-thin Glass' that was used to prevent damages on its folding feature.

The device also has Snapdragon 855+, 8GB of RAM, and a 3,300 mAh battery. 9to5mac reported that Z Flip would cost around $1,500 and available to all US carriers.

Other devices are expected to have their grand showcase on the Unpacked event of Samsung, and everyone is all excited!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Violent crime is rare in Key West, where some residents leave their doors unlocked and leave valuables in their car unattended.

In fact in all of 2019, police recorded 11 robberies. There were 10 reported the year before.

But the island turned ugly for a 73-year-old woman on Thursday night when a robber grabbed her purse from her shoulder and slammed her to the ground when she wouldnt let go of it, according to an arrest report.

Ned Jeffrey Layton

Ned Jeffery Layton, 59, who is listed as a drywaller, was arrested on charges of robbery by sudden snatching without a firearm or weapon, felony battery on a person 65 years or older, felony grand theft and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

I needed money to buy crack cocaine, Layton said later, police reported.

Layton didnt get far after snatching the purse in front of a credit union, police said.

A passerby who witnessed the robbery ran after him and tackled him, holding him down until police arrived.

On Friday, Layton was locked up at the Stock Island Detention Center without bond. He has a court hearing scheduled for Feb. 26.

The woman declined medical treatment and didnt have any visible injuries, police said.

Key West police officers arrived at the Keys Federal Credit Union, 514 Southard St., at about 10 p.m. to find the passerby, Kevin Ware, 59, holding Layton down on the ground.

Crime in the Keys has gone down, while number of cleared cases has gone up, sheriff says

Layton admitted grabbing the womans purse, police said, and kept pulling when she wouldnt let go.

The purse contained $220 cash, two American Express credit cards and an Apple 11 Pro Max cellphone valued at $1,000.

Crime in Key West dropped about 9 percent in 2019, the police department recently reported, with the total number of violent crimes down from 101 in 2018 to 97 in 2019. Non-violent crimes fell from 809 in 2018 to 733 last year.

The departments analysis shows the clearance rate for the department is well above the states average of 25 percent. Overall, Key West police have a clearance rate of 32 percent.

But the clearance rate for violent crime is 60 percent, police said.
London, Feb 7 : The UK's Prince Andrew has asked to defer an honorary Navy promotion he was due to receive when he turned 60, according to the Buckingham Palace.

Prince Andrew was set to be promoted to Admiral on February 19, in line with a policy that sees senior royals treated as serving military members, the BBC said in a report.

But the Palace said on Friday that he had asked the Ministry of Defence to defer it until a time when he returns to public duty.

He stepped back from royal duties last November after a backlash over his past friendship with late American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Meanwhile, the government has said it would be advising local councils that there was no requirement to fly the Union flag on the the Duke's birthday, following his decision to step back from public duties.

Downing Street said the matter was looked into after critics branded the celebration "crass and offensive".

But it has been confirmed that the bells of Westminster Abbey will still ring out in celebration, said the BBC report.

Certain royal birthdays, including the duke's, are traditionally marked by the ringing of bells at the Abbey.

A spokeswoman for the abbey said there were "no plans to change these arrangements".
Below is the English version of the original text written in the Spanish language.

How do you rethink Britain's relations with Peru following the departure of your country from the European Union, a process known as Brexit?





We are reinforcing our commitment to raise relations with Peru after our departure from the EU. We are focusing on the importance of continuing to work directly with old partners, such as Peru. Within that framework, we are working on three issues: support infrastructure improvement, fight against climate change, and the importance of gender equality.





Of course, trade between the two nations is also important, even more within a context of growth, which is good. We have already signed a free trade agreement between Peru and the United Kingdom, and we await ratification by the new Peruvian Congress.





Under this agreement, trade and investments will not undergo any change with respect to the framework that existed with the EU; on the contrary, we see a good opportunity for the growth of both spheres.





How will this transition be handled between moving from the agreement with the EU to a bilateral agreement between Peru and the United Kingdom?





2020 will be a year of transition, the terms of the agreement with the EU will apply throughout this year. As of December 31, the free trade agreement signed between Peru and the United Kingdom will come into force.





The terms in both agreements are similar, in some cases there are improvements for trade, but the great advantage is that we have the opportunity to deepen and expand it in a simpler way, because it will be a negotiation between two countries, and no longer with a bloc of 27 countries, as it was with the EU.





Peruvian agricultural exports have a good growth opportunity ahead. Products such as asparagus, blueberries, etc., are highly demanded by British consumers, and are increasingly gaining a presence in our country's supermarkets.





What possibilities are there in this treaty to diversify British investment in Peru, and not concentrate so much on the mining sector?





Since the participation that the United Kingdom has had in the organization of the Lima 2019 Pan American Games, there is more interest of British companies to explore the possibilities of having a presence in Peru.





That alliance for the sporting event has improved the image of Peru among British businesspeople, who are now more interested in investing in this part of the Americas, which surely did not exist before.





Of course, the United Kingdom is already the number one investor in Peru, but this is more linked to mining investments. What we want is a diversification in other areas of the Peruvian economy. We want to see growth in different sectors.





A new Congress has already been elected in Peru, the period of confrontation between powers has been overcome. How do you expect this new stage to develop?





I hope we see a quieter period, because there is much to do.





President Martin Vizcarra has clearly said that he has his own priorities. On our part, we will support those priorities. I think infrastructure is very important, but there are also other topics, in which the United Kingdom can share its good experience. For example, in our country we have the National Health Service, so that anyone can access a free health service, and President Vizcarra is determined to implement a universal health system of these characteristics.





The participation of the United Kingdom has been key in the execution of the works for the Pan American Games Lima 2019, will this support be extended to other processes?





Since 2018, we have technical working sessions with Peru for infrastructure, and we have supported its government in the preparation of the National Infrastructure Plan for Competitiveness. What we are doing now is providing technical support for the prioritization of projects, in line with the criteria of transparency and efficiency.





At the same time, we are in conversations with the Authority for Reconstruction with Changes about the possibility of supporting reconstruction works in the northern regions of the country affected by El Nino phenomenon. We also have conversations with the Ministry of Energy and Mines to bring infrastructure experience where mining is very important, but there is not enough public work to provide services to socially vulnerable populations.





Of course, our companies have more links with Peruvian companies to consider how we can collaborate on specific projects.





This month we will also have six Peruvian professionals in the United Kingdom to follow a very intense training course at our infrastructure agency.
A barrister banking on her fathers legacy in the Congress, an educationist attempting her luck second time in elections on an AAP ticket and a BJP candidate relying on the saffron partys aggressive campaign form the three major contenders in the crucial Kalkaji constituency ahead of the Delhi polls.

A section of voters feel though the Shaheen Bagh protest site is far from Kalkaji area, the anti-CAA protests there, now running for over 50 days, will have a bearing on the elections that is largely being seen as a triangular contest among the three parties.

Shivani Chopra, younger daughter of three-time Congress MLA and its Delhi unit chief Subhash Chopra is exuding confidence, hopeful of leveraging the party veterans legacy, besides the development-centric manifesto of the grand old party seeking resurgence in the elections.

On Twitter, her profile describes her as a Barrister; Cross-country cyclist; Certified yoga teacher; Travel blogger; Techno DJ; Animal/planet lover (hence Vegan).

Pitted against the Congress woman candidate is AAPs Atishi, who unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha polls from East Delhi last year.

An Oxford University graduate, she says education and health has been two of the main components of the Kejriwal government, besides, women empowerment.

The AAP, in the last five years, has relentlessly fought to achieve what other states and governments couldnt, and will continue to do so in the next five years as promised in the new AAP manifesto, she said.

She also claims that the BJP plans to fight elections without a CM face or vision for Delhis future.

Reminds us of the times they bulldozed bills in the Parliament without any proper planning. #KejriwalChallengesShah to reveal BJPs CM candidate for Delhi, she said in a recent tweet.

Completing the triangular contest is BJPs Dharamveer Singh, who feels the Modi governments works in Delhi will give his party an edge. The Kalkaji seat was won by the AAP in 2015 Delhi polls, but the party has not fielded its sitting MLA Avtar Singh, which has upset many locals.

Kalkaji resident Satish Chhabra, a property developer, says, Avtar Singh had done good work, but he was not given a ticket again. Why is that? Similarly, the one in Badarpur was not given the ticket again. This is not a good policy.

Pramod Kumar Gupta, 48, an auto-rickshaw driver, claims Shaheen Bagh protests, now a major poll issue will have a bearing on the elections due on February 8.

Political parties have been making provocative speeches on communal lines, and this will polarise people ahead of polls. Besides, the road blockade in Kalindi Kunj area has affected our movements, so many autowallahs are upset, he claimed.

Suraj Joshi, 35, an astrologer, who sits near Kalkaji Mandir, claims, Modi magic will work this time, like Lok Sabha polls, due to Shaheen Bagh issue. But AAP is playing strong too and has put up a strong front. Amit Lal, 18, who will vote for the first time, says, Shaheen Bagh issue will have an impact but development agenda also cannot be ignored.

I live in a JJ Colony in Madanpur Khadar that neighbours the protest site, and the anti-CAA protests have been made a major poll issue by parties. But, agenda should have been development, education and health and jobs. Gupta agrees with Lal, saying, as a responsible voter no one should get swayed by polarisation. But, people are getting affected, he claimed.

The Kalkaji constituency in South East Delhi district has 1,85,837 voters -- 1,03,535 men, 82,296 women and six transgenders, according to data shared by poll authorities.

The constituency has a diverse mix of people, including Purvanchalis, Sikh refugees, slum and JJ cluster dwellers residing under it.
(Repeats with no changes)

* Thai rice prices fall due to a weak baht, coronavirus

* Deliveries of Vietnamese farm produce hurt by virus-trader

* Bangladesh offers traders cash subsidy worth 15% of rice exports

* India's 2019 rice exports slide to 8-year low - govt data

By Shreyansi Singh

BENGALURU, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Rice export prices in India edged up to the highest level in more than four months this week, helped by healthy demand from African countries, while markets in Thailand and Vietnam grapple with the new coronavirus outbreak.

India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety <RI-INBKN5-P1> was quoted around $370-$375 per tonne this week, the highest since the last week of September.

Export prices were up from $369-$373 quoted in the previous week, also supported by an appreciation in rupee.

"Demand is good for the new season crop. Prices are also competitive," said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

The uptick in demand came after rice exports in 2019 fell 18.1% from a year ago to their lowest in eight years, government data showed.

Thailand's benchmark 5 percent broken rice <RI-THBKN5-P1> prices eased to $425-$439 a tonne from $432-$453 last week, hurt by a weak local currency.

The Thai baht plunged to a seven-month low on Jan. 30, weighed down by the spread of the coronavirus that threatened the country's tourism sector, a key driver of growth.

Traders expect export prices to drop further on the outbreak that has killed 563 people in mainland China.

China was Thailand's second-largest export market last year. Chinese tourists also account for more than a quarter of total tourist arrivals in the Southeast Asian country each year.

Domestic rice prices in Thailand remained high as a persistent drought undermined new supply, according to a Bangkok-based trader.

"The ongoing coronavirus epidemic in China has also caused disruption to deliveries of Vietnamese farm produce to China, including rice," a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

Story continues

The impact on shipments was however limited since China had been cutting down on rice imports from Vietnam for over a year, the trader said.

Rates for 5% broken rice <RI-VNBKN5-P1> in Vietnam rose to $355-$360 per tonne from $345 a tonne a week ago.

"Demand for 5% broken rice remains strong but the growing area in Vietnam is shrinking, partly due to salinity," the trader said.

Farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested around 30% of the winter-spring crop, traders said.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has offered traders a cash subsidy worth 15% of rice exports in a bid to compete with rivals and protect farmers struggling with low prices, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak said on Wednesday.

"We wanted at least a 20% cash subsidy. It'll still be difficult to fight our competitors," a trader told Reuters. (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav in Mumbai, Ruma Paul in Dhaka, Khanh Vu in Hanoi and Patpicha Tanakasempipat in Bangkok; additional reporting by Swati Verma; editing by David Evans)
With the number of passengers travelling to China from the city dwindling following the outbreak of coronavirus in that country, China Eastern Airlines has decided to suspend its flights between Kolkata and Kunming temporarily, sources said.

The airline has decided to suspend its flights between the two destinations from February 10 to February 29, sources in NSCBI airport here said on Friday.

Director of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) airport in Kolkata, Kaushik Bhattacharjee, however, told PTI that the airline has decided to operate four flights between Kolkata and Kunming instead of eight per week.

It operates two flights from the city on Saturdays.

According to the sources, the Shanghai-based airline had initially decided to operate four flights a week instead of eight. But after closely monitoring the situation following the outbreak of the deadly disease, it has decided to suspend its flights between Kolkata and Kunming till the end of this month.

The number of passengers flying in from China has gone down over the last few days, Bhattacharjee said on Friday.

On an average 400 passengers fly to Kolkata from China and Hong Kong daily. The figure has halved at present, the airport director said.

An verage 1,600 passengers travel to Kolkata from four destinations such as Bangkok, Singapore, China and Hong Kong daily. It has come down to 1,200 now, he added.

The number of passengers from China to Kolkata has dwindled over the last few days after e-visa facility for Chinese travellers was temporarily suspended, Bhattacharjee said.

India on February 2 temporarily suspended the facility for Chinese travellers and foreigners residing in China in view of the coronavirus outbreak which has claimed over 630 lives so far.

The airport director said that four aerobridges have been designated at Kolkata airport to handle passengers coming from places where people have been infected with coronavirus.

Aerobridges 8, 9, 10 and 11 are being used to handle flights coming to Kolkata from Kunming and Guangzhou in China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok, Bhattacharjee said.

He said, a total 12,758 passengers (arrival) have been through thermal screening since January 17 and so far no passenger has tested positive for the disease.

Low cost carier IndiGo has temporarily suspended its flights between Kolkata and Guangzhou from February 6.

"In line with the WHO guideline to contain the spread of coronavirus, IndiGo will be suspending its Kolkata-Guangzhou service from February 6, 2020 to February 25, 2020 and Guangzhou-Kolkata from February 7 till February 26," the airline had said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Brig. Gen. Mohammad Yousef Hasouri, who was responsible for the chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun, that killed at least 103 people has been promoted reports Zaman Al Wasl.

The military pilot who carried out the deadly Khan Sheikhoun chemical attack in April 2017 has been appointed by Bashar al-Assad as the commander of the 70th Brigade, which is affiliated to the T-4 airbase east of Homs province.

Brig. Gen. Mohammad Yousef Hasouri was the chief of staff and deputy commander of Shayrat airfield, also known as the 50th Brigade, in central Homs province, from which the deadly chemical weapons attack was launched and killed at least 103 people in Khan Sheikhoun town in Idleb province almost three years ago.

Hasouri was the commander who took off with his Su-22 (dubbed: Quds 1) and bombed Khan Sheikhoun with Sarin gas.

Hasouris airbase was hit by 59 US Tomahawk cruise missiles in a disciplinary act by Donald Trumps administration.

Commanders of the Syrian Air Force never had been so carefully selected, as the appointments of last years show, which include officers famed for their strong loyalty and most descended from pro-regime circles close to Assad himself.

Hasouri was with the 827 Sukhoi Squadron at the T-4 airbase in the eastern countryside of Homs until mid-2014, when he moved to Shayrat airfield as a commander of 685 Squadron (Su-22 M3).

After being promoted to the rank of Brigadier on Jan. 1, 2015, he was appointed Chief of Staff for the 50th Brigade on Jan. 1, 2016, and was appointed deputy commander of the 50th Brigade in 2016.

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.
What TV channel is the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary debate on? How can you watch for free online?

The Democratic presidential primary debate on Friday, February 7, at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, is the first of three primary debates this month and the eight Democratic primary debate of this election cycle. It is taking place after the Iowa Caucuses, and just a few days before the New Hampshire primaries on Tuesday, February 11.

Seven candidates have qualified for the New Hampshire debate leaving four candidates off the debate stage. Thats one more attendee than at the previous Democratic debate in Iowa.

After a chaotic Iowa caucus, in which results were marred by technical difficulties and only 71% of precincts reported more than 24 hours later, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana came out on top. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar were trailing behind.

All five candidates, as well American hedge fund manager Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang, have qualified for the New Hampshire debate. Michael Bloomburg, Tulsi Gabbard, Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick have not qualified, but remain in the race.

The debate comes in the wake of President Trumps Senate acquittal after his impeachment by the House and the presidents relentless optimism during his Tuesday night State of the Union address.

It presents what could be a final opportunity for trailing candidates like Klobuchar to scrutinize the front runners and push themselves into the spotlight, as the next debate on February 19 will have the strictest qualification requirements yet. Heres what you need to know to tune in.

What time is the New Hampshire Democratic presidential primary debate?

The debate is at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. It is scheduled to run for approximately three hours until 11 p.m.

What TV channel is the New Hampshire Democratic debate on?

The debate will be broadcast on local ABC channels. In the Harrisburg area, the local broadcast station is abc27.

How to watch the New Hampshire debate for free online

The following streaming services will broadcast the debate:

The debate can also be streamed live for free on CNN.coms homepage, without requiring a cable provider login. It can also be streamed live with a cable provider login on ABC.com or on ABC apps for Android, iOS, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and other devices.

Who is debating?

Candidates need at least fiver percent in four DNC-approved polls or seven percent in at least two early state polls, not including Iowa, to qualify for the New Hampshire debate. They also need at least 225,000 unique donors with at least 1,000 unique donations in 20 states, U.S. territories or Washington D.C. Candidates who also have at least one delegate at the Democratic National Convention based on the results of the Iowa caucuses also automatically qualify.

These criteria gave stage space to:

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

Billionaire activist Tom Steyer

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

Four other candidates are still in the race, but did not make the cut, including:

Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard who has met the donor criteria, but not the poll criteria

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg who has met the poll criteria, but not the donor criteria

Who is moderating the debate?

ABC New chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, managing editor David Muir and correspondent Linsey Davis will moderate the debate. For Stephanopoulos and Muir, it will be their second time moderating a primary debate this election cycle. WMUR-TV is a co-host of the debate, and that stations political director Adam Sexton and news anchor Monica Hernandez will also moderate.

Apple News is also co-hosting the debate.
Art can be expected to hold a mirror up to society, but it cannot be expected to hold a mirror up to every individual who is engaging with it. Even with its long running time, there is a lot The Inheritance does not and cannot cover.

No one piece of writing about our complex, sprawling community will ever tell the entire story, and I believe that is a good thing: It creates an unquenchable thirst for more and more narratives  a thirst that has been evident in audiences for The Inheritance and a thirst that the theater, television and film industries have been too slow to satisfy.

The Inheritance was not my attempt at a grand summation of the past quarter century of queer history. What I was attempting was an examination of class, economic inequality, and poverty within the gay community  issues I have rarely seen depicted in theater. I have painted on a broad canvas. It is simply not the canvas others might have chosen.

I wanted to write about addiction and alcoholism  a disease I have struggled with, and an epidemic that plagues our community just as perniciously as H.I.V./AIDS did 30 years ago. I also wanted to write about sex: how it can be used as a vehicle for pleasure and intimacy, but how it is also used as a tool to cauterize pain.

Such examinations run counter to our current desire for affirmative representation. But avoidance of uncomfortable truths is not the role of the artist. Healing is impossible if you dont understand the cause of the injury.

And while I examine race in The Inheritance, it is not one of its central themes. This is a decision for which I have been criticized, but it is a decision that I made consciously as a person of color. It is a consideration that is not asked of white writers, but it is one that writers of color must face with every project we begin.

Responsibility to community is the first question we must answer for ourselves. I believe that in writing honestly about my experience as a gay man, I have also contributed one more example of what it means to be a Puerto Rican man.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 17:26:07|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A number of Taiwan compatriots and enterprises have donated funds and materials for the mainland's battle against the novel coronavirus, which is at a crucial moment, according to authorities.

The total value of the donations was about 120 million yuan (17.2 million U.S. dollars) as of Thursday, incomplete statistics showed.

Among the donors are the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland and renowned Taiwan enterprises Ruentex, MediaTek and Want Want, as well as Taiwan enterprises associations based in Hubei, Beijing, Tianjin, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Fujian.
Nationwide has apologised after customers attempting to pay tax bills on 31 January - the self-assessment deadline - were hit by delays, meaning they could face a 100 penalty.

One customer of Britain's biggest building society tried to transfer money from multiple bank accounts to her Monzo account to pay her bill in one transaction.

However, a 3,550 transfer from her Nationwide account didn't arrive until 1 February.

The building society has said it will reimburse those affected.

Nationwide customers could be fined by the taxman after a delay to payments meant people trying to file self-assessment returns on the January deadline only had them arrive in February

The customer had initially sent the payment at around 10am, and a screenshot she sent to This is Money at 10:46pm showed an error message which said: 'We're sorry for the delay to payments today.

'You can make payments to and from your account but there may be delays with these being processed.'

The building society apologised from the processing delay and said anyone who incurred fees from the taxman as a result of paying their bill late would not be left out of pocket, and should contact it.

According to the most recent figures, 735,258 people filed their self-assessment tax return on the 31 January 2019 deadline for the 2017-18 tax year, nearly 7 per cent of the total number of returns filed.

Another 731,000 who were due to file a return missed the deadline, which incurs a 100 penalty. HMRC adds a 10 daily penalty after three months.

While many people sending faster payments transactions were affected by the problems, those receiving their long-awaited January wages on the Friday were not, as these were processed through Bacs.

One Nationwide customer tried to transfer 3,550 into her Monzo account to pay her tax bill in one go, but the payment did not arrive until the next day after payment delays

The building society was posting on social media site Twitter as late as 10.39pm in response to customers complaining about the delay to payments, having initially apologised at 11am.

One user tweeted: 'I trust that you'll be refunding the 100 fine if my tax payment to HMRC doesn't go through before the deadline.'

Another wrote: 'I transferred some money to one of my other accounts and it still hasn't gone in 17 hours later, what is happening?'

Many frustrated Nationwide customers took to social media to ask about the whereabouts of their payments

Another said the building society 'left me with no food tonight after transferring my only funds to my other account which I always use.

'Biggest issue is the absolute lack of real updates. Every one is the same. We want a rough timeline. Even if it's an estimate. You must at least know the nature of the problem.'

The news comes in the same week that Britain's largest mutual was fined 900,000 by the Competition and Markets Authority for failing to notify 70,000 customers they were about to be charged fees for entering their unarranged overdrafts, the second time in six months the watchdog has ordered it to pay up.

Nationwide said in a statement: 'On Friday, there was a delay in processing some Faster Payments.

'This has been resolved and we apologise for the inconvenience this caused our members.

'For any charges and fees incurred, members should contact the society, but they will not be left out of pocket as a result of this issue.'
Storyful

Supporters of world No.1 Novak Djokovic gathered outside a courthouse in Melbourne on January 10 as the player appealed against his deportation from Australia in the hope of staying to play in the Australian Open.According to court filings, Djokovics lawyers say he was granted a visa on November 18. An exemption certificate was issued by Tennis Australias chief medical officer on December 30, they said.The hearing on Monday was due to start at the Federal Circuit and Family Court at 10am but was delayed multiple times due to technical issues. According to local reports, Judge Anthony Kelly said a professor and an eminently qualified physician have produced and provided to the applicant a medical exemption.Further to that, that medical exemption and the basis on which it was given was separately given by a further independent expert specialist panel, established by the Victorian state government. And that document was in the hands of the delegate.And the point Im somewhat agitated about is, was what more could this man have done? Judge Kelly asked.Footage by Slobodan Bendjo shows fans waving Serbian flags and dancing outside the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Melbourne. Credit: Slobodan Bendjo via Storyful
BRUSSELS - A night of reflection was not sufficient to end an impasse in negotiations to relaunch the European operation Sophia which several EU countries would like to boost with naval assets to make controls on an arms embargo for Libya more effective. At a meeting of the Political and Security Committee (CPS), Austria and Hungary kept the door closed to the possibility of revamping Sophia with vessels. The talks should continue over the coming days, European diplomatic sources told ANSA.



Vienna and Budapest insist in saying no to any solution on the redistribution of migrants rescued at sea: it is a secondary issue but the two countries have remained firm in their opposition. At the moment, an agreement has been found among the 27 members only on boosting air patrols. Many states consider this insufficient ahead of an EU foreign affairs council scheduled on February 17.
BOGOTA, Colombia, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecopetrol S.A. (BVC: ECOPETROL,NYSE: EC) and Shell, through its subsidiary Shell EP Offshore Ventures Limited ("Shell"), signed an agreement whereby Shell will acquire a 50% stake in Fuerte Sur, Purple Angel and COL-5 blocks, located in the Colombian Caribbean deep-water, where a new gas province was discovered including the Kronos (2015), Purple Angel and Gorgon (2017) wells, which were previously announced to the market.

Following this commercial agreement, which includes the financing of Ecopetrol's investments by Shell, the latter will assume the operation of the blocks, the drilling of an appraisal well in the area by the end of 2021 and the completion of the first production test, once the approvals from the authorities are received. If these activities provide positive results, the discoveries could be further developed and consequently, expand the country's gas supply in the medium term, potentially exceeding 3 TCF (tera cubic feet) according to Ecopetrol's estimations.

The agreement between Ecopetrol and Shell is subject to approval by the National Hydrocarbon Agency and the fulfillment of other customary transaction conditions.

-----------------------------------------

This release contains statements that may be considered forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All forward-looking statements, whether made in this release or in future filings or press releases or orally, address matters that involve risks and uncertainties, including in respect of the Company's prospects for growth and its ongoing access to capital to fund the Company's business plan, among others. Consequently, changes in the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those included in the forward-looking statements: market prices of oil & gas, our exploration and production activities, market conditions, applicable regulations, the exchange rate, the Company's competitiveness and the performance of Colombia's economy and industry, to mention a few. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For further information, please contact:

Juan Pablo Crane de Narvaez

Head of Capital Markets

Phone: (+571) 234 5190

E-mail: [email protected]

Jorge Mauricio Tellez

Media Relations (Colombia)

Phone: (+ 571) 234 4329

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Ecopetrol S.A.

Related Links

http://www.ecopetrol.com.co






Haiti - Education : D-10, 15,452 candidates registered in the permanent bac





Thursday, Meniol Jeune the Director General of the Ministry of National Education at a press conference announced that 15,452 candidates are expected for the official permanent baccalaureate exams for the academic year 2019-2020 (10,587 in Philo to which is added this year for the first time 4,865 of the New Secondary 4) which will take place from February 17 to 21 next and assured that everything was ready at the level of the 10 departments.



Maxime Meberas, Director of Secondary Education, confirmed that the texts for the permanent baccalaureate exams were ready and hoped that they would be within reach of the candidates.



Renan Michel, Director of the National Office of State Examinations (BUNEXE), recalled that candidates will have to compose only in subjects for which they have not obtained their average. In addition, he specified that the notes retained for the participants in the official examinations in the system of the Ministry, will be valid only for two years. After two years, candidates who have failed to pass the tests will no longer be able to take the permanent baccalaureate exams and will be obliged to repeat all the tests.



Meniol Jeune took the opportunity to recall the usual instructions to be observed "Any candidate, caught in the middle of fraud, will be eliminated from the exam and suspended from exams for at least two years. No candidate may pass the examination center with a weapon. Formal prohibition of programmable calculators and any other communication device. Formal ban on the use of mobile phones by candidates, supervisors and supervisors. Whoever is involved in fraud, in the center or in the vicinity, it will be handed over to the judicial authorities for the necessary follow-up. Without special authorization, no one is allowed to enter the examination center."



S/ HaitiLibre


















I think its just the opposite. When you look at the United States today, were just at about 10 percent rates of home dialysis. Youve got Hong Kong at 85 percent. You have got Guatemala in the 50s. Were way behind, Boehler said. Were nowhere close to reaching a point where somebody is clinically taken and put home when they are not appropriate to be home.
Priyanka Singh election result 2020 live news and latest updates online - Read about Priyanka Singh Congress candidate who is fighting Delhi assembly (Vidhan Sabha) election from RK Puram seat and many more at Firstpost.com.

RK Puram Assembly Election 2020: Priyanka Singh is the Congress candidate from the upscale RK Puram constituency. She is contesting against current MLA of AAP, Pramila Tokas and Anil Kumar Sharma of BJP who is also a former MLA.

A newcomer to electoral politics, Priyanka has been active in politics since 2008 and has served as the vice president of the Delhi Mahila Congress. She is the daughter of former Delhi Assembly speaker Yoganand Shastri.

Last month, Shastri quit the Congress party over differences with party's state president Subhash Chopra. Priyanka was nominated for her first election the day her father quit the party.

Struggling with the 'dynast' tag, Priyanka is lumbering hard to shed the tag. "Firstly, I dont agree with the term dynast. Its derogatory and demeaning. In democracy, the most basic unit is an individual. Our Constitution has given equal rights to every individual including the right to choose any profession. Anybody in India can be a political activist if he/ she wants to. Just because I happen to be born into a political family, why should I be deprived of that right or be demeaned if I happen to choose it?," Priyanka told The Quint. She is hoping to convince voter of her candidature by campaigning on basic issues like sanitation, safety, potable water, better roads, and a safe and secure environment in the primarily residential locality.

The RK Puram constituency has been a Congress strong-hold since 1993, with the BJP winning it only twice. It is considered an affluent locality with a significant Rajput and trader population. OBCs also form 10 to 15 percent of the electorate after the 2008 delimitation. Voters belonging to the Purvanchal region and Uttarakhand are found in significant numbers in the constituency.

Located in New Delhi district of Delhi, RK Puram constituency comes under the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. The Scheduled castes (SC) and Scheduled tribes (ST) ratio is 16.56 and 0, respectively of the total population.

Like other Congress leaders, Priyanka has also taken a stand against the Citizenship Amendment Act, calling any implementation of NRC or CAA outside Assam as unconstitutional move.
FLINT, MI -- Colorful and combative to the core, Flint City Councilman Eric Mays has a history of unorthodox behavior throughout his years in local politics.

The third-term city councilman has been escorted by police out of public meetings in handcuffs on multiple occasions. Hes pawned city laptops and verbally assaulted a reporter in City Council chambers. He has submitted multiple recall petitions against fellow council members and helped in recall campaigns against former mayors.

He even ran for mayor himself in 2015, when he was the only candidate who filed on time.

Recently, he repeatedly used the Nazi salute while calling the council chair Hitler. In fall of 2019, he was on the receiving end of a threat by a city attorney who said he would crack him across the head.

Outside of council chambers, Eric Mays was sentenced to jail in 2016 for impaired driving after he was found next to a disabled car, facing the wrong way on the expressway in 2013.

Most recently, he and the Flints deputy chief of staff were involved in a bar fight.

Mays is one of Flints most outspoken and best-known public officials.

In a call on Friday, Feb. 7 with MLive-The Flint Journal, Mays said the media only focuses on the negative and does not write about his accomplishments

Youre talking about 50 days of my life and Im 62 years old and thats 365 days for 62 years, Mays said.

He said hes been wrongfully kicked out of meetings and generally treated unfairly.

Yeah a lot of this stuff is true and a lot of it aint," Mays said.

Out in the community, Mays said he is the council member people know will always pick up his phone. He said he places priority on his 1st Ward constituents but will come to aid any Flint residents.

On the call with The Journal, Mays highlighted some of his accomplishments over the years:

giving houses back to people all across the city before they go to the Land Bank

voting to switch Flints water source back to Detroit.

helping to get Flint out of a deficit and into a $24 million fund balance and getting the emergency managers out

being part of the effort to get President Barack Obama to declare the water crisis an emergency and helping to go subsequent federal funding

With that said, heres a look back on some of Mays weirdest moments over the years:

Supporters gather to grab a bite with Flint City Councilman Eric Mays, who steps out for his second cigarette, at Starlite Diner & Coney Island in Burton after he was released from Genesee County Jail in 2016. (Jake May | MLive.com)The Flint Journal

Mays was arrested after being found facing the wrong way on I-475

Mays served 22 days in January 2016 days after a trial in which prosecutors claimed he crashed his vehicle in 2013 near Leith Street and Industrial Avenue in Flint before driving it nearly three miles and ending up facing the wrong way on Interstate 475.

He was arrested Nov. 30, 2013, on allegations of drunken driving and possession of marijuana. Police said the vehicle involved had been traveling north in the southbound lanes of I-475 on four flat tires.

He represented himself in two trials connected to the incident and had suggested he was the victim of political, trumped-up charges in the case. Mays was convicted of impaired driving in the first jury trial, a verdict that a judge later overturned. He was found guilty of impaired driving in a second trial.

When Mays first went to trial, in 2014, he pulled out his dentures and argued the dentures could have affected his breathalyzer test.

If the teeth fit, you must acquit, Mays said in a 2014 Flint Journal story.

After being sentenced to 72 days in jail and ordered to pay the city $10,800 in restitution in the morning, Flint City Councilman Eric Mays returned to court for an appeal bond request before Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Farah on Aug. 15, 2014 in Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | MLive.com

Read more here:

Flint Councilman Eric Mays removes dentures to prove point during trial

Flint Councilman Eric Mays sentenced to jail for impaired driving

Mays avoids jail after pawning city laptops

Mays was sentenced in 2017 to pay $300 and put in a weeks worth of service on the sheriffs work detail for pawning his city-issued laptop nine times over the course of two years.

In court, police said Mays pawned the city-issued laptop to Music Man Pawn Shop - located across the street from Flint City Hall - for a $100 loan nine times, beginning on Jan. 15, 2015.

Occasionally, he would pick up the computer from the shop only to pawn it back to Music Man the next day, police said.

Mays pleaded no contest in August to a single misdemeanor charge of willful neglect by a public official and faced a maximum sentence of a year in jail or a $1,000 fine.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such during sentencing.

However, as part of a plea agreement between Mays attorney, Frank J. Manley, and the Genesee County Prosecutors Office, Mays sentencing was delayed until after that years election. The First Ward Councilman was re-elected to his seat with nearly 70 percent of the wards vote.

Read more here:

Flint councilman avoids jail for pawning city laptop for loans

Mays verbally assaults member of the press

In a letter dated April 29, 4th Ward Councilwoman Kate Fields told MSP Colonel Joseph Gasper that 1st Ward Councilman Eric Mays verbally attacked a member of the Press." She requested a police presence at future council meetings based on the incident.

Fields was referring to an outburst directed at MLive-The Flint Journal reporter Zahra Ahmad, who covers City Council. In a cell phone video that went viral on social media, Mays is seen calling Ahmad a nasty woman and a foreigner. Ahmad was born in Iraq and is a U.S. citizen.

Read more here:

Flint councilwoman requests state police presence at meetings following outburst

Flint Journals editorial: Restore decorum at Flint City Council with a return of police presence

Attorney threatens to crack Mays across the head

An attorney told Mays he wanted to crack him across the head" during an altercation that erupted at a council committee meeting Wednesday, Sept. 4.

The incident happened at a meeting where a high-ranking member of Mayor Karen Weavers staff, Aonie Gilcreast, was being questioned about lead pipe restoration contracts and an alleged boycott by department chiefs in July.

Gilcreast was compelled to go before council for questioning after receiving a subpoena. Council also voted to subpoena Weaver for questioning.

Scott and Mays, Ward 1, began arguing in the middle of Gilcreasts questioning because Scott didnt appreciate how Mays was asking questions.

Read more here:

Attorney threatens to crack Flint Councilman Eric Mays across the head

Mays compares Flint council president to Hitler, performs Nazi salute at meeting

Mays met criticism after performing a Nazi salute and comparing the council president to Adolf Hitler at a general meeting on Monday, Jan. 13.

He sat up in his chair and responded to Council President Monica Galloway with a Nazi salute before comparing her to Hitler over a procedural issue.

You dont have to sound like Hitler, Mays said at the meeting.

He later addressed the criticism, stating at a Jan 23 town hall: I researched what apology means, and I said not (that) word. I say I regret if I offended anybody, but that was not my intent, Mays said. The salute came because had I said another word ... I would have been arrested illegally again and wasnt nobody gonna rally."

Mays said he didnt say anything about Jewish people.

Im sensitive to the Holocaust, he added.

Read more here:

Flint councilman criticized for using Nazi salute at meeting

Flint Councilman Eric Mays addresses criticism about Nazi salute

Flint City Councilman Eric Mays was removed as the Finance Comittee Chairman, and removed by police before the decision was finalized on Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019 at Flint City Hall in downtown Flint. (Jake May | MLive.com)Jake May | MLive.com

Mays gets into a bar fight with Flints deputy chief of staff

Mays claimed he was attacked Wednesday evening, Feb. 5, at a local bar by a member of Mayor Sheldon Neeleys staff.

But the administration is alleging Mays is the one who flung insults at DuVarl Murdock, the citys deputy chief of staff, leading to a brawl between the pair.

After being asked to leave Wednesday nights city council meeting due to what a statement from the administration calls disorderly conduct, Mays told MLive-The Flint Journal he went with a group of friends to Rubes Bar & Grill on North Chevrolet Avenue, where the fight occurred.

Read more here:

Councilman Eric Mays and Flints deputy chief of staff involved in bar fight
When she didnt get her mail-in ballot during the 2016 presidential election, Ruby Mosley made sure she was taken to the poll to vote, regardless of her frail physical condition.

And during a recent Thanksgiving holiday, her family added, Mosley was still in the thick of things, making sure others in the Acres Homes community were being helped.

"I remember, only two years ago, when she was 88, seeing her going through her phone book and calling all the seniors in Acres Homes on Thanksgiving to make sure that they had turkey and making arrangements to make sure that those families were being fed," her granddaughter, Ladrenia Dixon recalled.

That dedication to her family, her community as well as to her country set the tone, and the pace, for the life Mosley lived, her relatives said Friday. Mosley, who was known as the Mayor of Acres Homes because of her tireless efforts to support the northwest Houston neighborhood, taking on issues from education to housing to voting rights, died Monday after an extended period of illness, her family said. She was 90.

"The most important thing about her legacy is that she was a champion for this community," said grandson Damian Price, 42. "She was all about community; she was about service and family and she always wanted us to be together."

Ruby Lee Sanders Mosley was born on April 25, 1929, in Mexia and moved to Houston in 1948. She enrolled at Franklin Beauty College and became a licensed beautician and after graduating from high school, she attended Prairie View A&M University.

She was a health coordinator for 18 years at Gulf Coast Community Services, advocating to provide water, sewer and other city services to residents in Houstons rural communities. She then joined the City of Houston Cuney Homes Housing Development as a community services supervisor. For 13 years, she provided essential services for senior citizens and children. She retired in 1995.

Throughout all of that and later on in life, her dedication to the historically African American community in northwest Houston was undying, her family and friends said.

Mosley would fight even against her family's will, like during Hurricane Ike, Price said. The then 79-year-old refused to be evacuated, as family member wanted, so that she could assist people in need.

"I don't think they had lights at her house for about a week, but she would not leave because she wanted to stay in that community to serve those people," said Price.

Mosley was a lifelong community activist and educator, belonging to several organizations, including the Acres Homes Advisory Committee, the Acres Homes Super Neighborhood and the Houston Police Department Advisory Committee, among others.

And in turn, the community recognized that dedication, honoring her by naming local institutions after her, such as the auditorium of the Acres Homes Multi-Service Center, which she helped to create, and the Ruby Mosley Parental Technology Center at M.C. Williams Middle School.

Ruby has been the pillar of our community, the thread that has kept our community together in Acres Homes, said Erica Davis, director of Community Outreach for the Harris County Precinct One Constables Office.

Even during her last years, when mobility for Mosley was challenging, she continued to be conscious and engaged with local and national events, said Price, her grandson. "She was still very up and abreast of the politics and what was going on in the community and the United States," he said.

For Dixon and other family and community members, Mosley was a model of inspiration, especially in her later years.

"I know young people my age that didn't understand the importance of voting or didn't care about the neighbor next door, Dixon said,  and here's somebody who needed 24-hour care, and she's taking time out of her own days and the little strength that she has left in her last years to still see after somebody else."

Mosley is survived by two daughters, eight grandchildren and 14 greatgrandchildren. Her funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Community of Faith Church, 1024 Pinemont. Viewing is from 9 to 11 a.m.

olivia.tallet@chron.com

Twitter: @oliviaptallet
SMITHS FALLS, ON, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth" or the "Company") (TSX: WEED) (NYSE: CGC) will release its financial results for the third quarter fiscal 2020 ended December 31, 2019 before financial markets open on February 14, 2020.

Following the release of its third quarter fiscal 2020 financial results, Canopy Growth will host an audio webcast with David Klein, CEO and Mike Lee, EVP & CFO at 10:00 AM Eastern Time on February 14, 2020.

Webcast Information

A live audio webcast will be available at:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2171215/8311836AC24F7988B042B4BB0FA5622A

Replay Information

A replay of the call will be accessible by webcast until 11:59 PM ET on May 14, 2020 at:

https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/2171215/8311836AC24F7988B042B4BB0FA5622A

About Canopy Growth Corporation

Canopy Growth (TSX:WEED,NYSE:CGC) is a world-leading diversified cannabis, hemp and cannabis device company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms, as well as medical devices through Canopy Growth's subsidiary, Storz & Bickel GMbH & Co. KG. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time. Canopy Growth has operations in over a dozen countries across five continents.

Canopy Growth's medical division, Spectrum Therapeutics is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Spectrum Therapeutics sells a range of full-spectrum products using its colour-coded classification Spectrum system as well as single cannabinoid Dronabinol under the brand Bionorica Ethics.

Canopy Growth operates retail stores across Canada under its award-winning Tweed and Tokyo Smoke banners. Tweed is a globally recognized cannabis brand which has built a large and loyal following by focusing on quality products and meaningful customer relationships.

From our historic public listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange and New York Stock Exchange to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icons Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House Seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eleven licensed cannabis production sites with over 4.7 million square feet of production capacity, including over one million square feet of GMP certified production space. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com



SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation

Related Links

canopygrowth.com


Rueil Malmaison, 6 February 2020

VINCIs 100,000 employees in France become Group shareholders

VINCI paid each of its 100,000 employees in France a special contribution amounting to 400, enabling them to become Group shareholders

It is strengthening employee share ownership through the Group savings plan

VINCI introduced a mechanism last December enabling all its employees in France to become Group shareholders.

This system involves paying each employee with at least three months seniority a 400 employer contribution through his or her account in the Group savings plan, then using the funds to purchase units in a company mutual fund invested entirely in VINCI shares.

With this original mechanism, made possible by the French Pacte law (on business growth and transformation), all Group employees in France* have become VINCI shareholders without having to invest any of their personal savings.

This initiative mirrors the policy that VINCI has been rolling out over the past 25 years aimed at sharing the benefits of its success as widely as possible with its employees.

This new contribution, amounting to 40 million, adds to the Groups other initiatives aimed at sharing the benefits of its performance. In total, VINCI paid its employees in France over 400 million through incentive plans, profit-sharing plans and employer contributions in the Group savings plan in 2019.

Thanks to this special employer contribution, more than 20,000 employees became VINCI shareholders for the first time. In all, some 165,000 current and former Group employees inside and outside France collectively own close to 9% of VINCIs share capital, making them its biggest shareholder.

About VINCI

VINCI is a global player in concessions and contracting, employing over 222,000 people in some 100 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, above and beyond economic and financial results, we are committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. VINCIs goal is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees and partners, and for society at large. www.vinci.com

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BLOOMING PRAIRIE  An Austin man is dead after a head-on collision in Dodge County Friday morning.

Keith Prescott Crape, 27, of Austin died at the scene of the crash, which occurred at about 5:40 a.m. Friday on Minnesota Highway 218 north of Blooming Prairie.

Crape was driving south on Highway 218 in a 2009 Toyota Camry when his vehicle struck a 2008 GMC Arcadia heading north and being driven by Oscar Agustin Perez Morales, 44, of Austin. After the collision, Crape's vehicle caught fire, according to a Minnesota State Patrol report. There was snow and ice on the road at the site of the crash, the report stated.

Crape was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.

Morales was transported to Mayo Clinic Health Systems-Austin with non-life threatening injuries. Morales was wearing his seat belt. No update on his condition was available.

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Deputies from the Dodge, Mower and Steele county sheriffs offices all responded to the scene.
Startup incubator aims to spur life-saving innovations

LOWELL, Mass. - A business incubator working to improve the lives of patients with heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders is expanding its reach to the next generation of pioneering biotech and medical-device entrepreneurs.

Heart, lung and blood diseases account for 41 percent of deaths in the United States and lead to more than $400 billion in health-care expenses and lost income to patients and caregivers, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

The Center for Advancing Point of Care Technologies (CAPCaT) assists inventors developing new technologies and medical devices designed to help patients with these conditions manage their well-being wherever they are. The goal is to improve quality of life and reduce the time patients spend in the hospital. CAPCaT is seeking more entrepreneurs to join the incubator in this work.

Innovations supported by CAPCaT are devices and technologies well on their way to going to market. Products already being developed at CAPCaT include a product to help critically ill infants sleep better, an online education program for patients to manage hypertension and a portable device that can evaluate how the user's platelets are performing. The center also seeks to support technologies that promote holistic methods of managing diseases, including devices that measure stress levels or promote mindfulness.

CAPCaT is one of four centers across the country in the National Institutes of Health Point-of-Care Technologies Research Network, which was created in 2018 to help revolutionize patient care.

Supported by a $7.9 million grant from the NIH, CAPCaT is part of the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2), operated by UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in Worcester to help biotech and medical-device startups bridge the gap between idea and market. CAPCaT is driven by the talent and aspirations of participating entrepreneurs; the expertise of scientists, business developers and legal analysts; and the resources available at UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in collaboration with industry partners.

M2D2's support of medical-device startups in Massachusetts has contributed $42 million in direct economic impact with a total positive effect of $75 million, according to the UMass Donahue Institute. Expanding CAPCaT is expected to increase this impact.

"CAPCaT is an exciting collaboration between clinicians at UMass Medical School and engineers at UMass Lowell that helps medical-device developers as they move their products toward commercialization, knowing these life-changing inventions will help so many patients and transform the industry," said Prof. Bryan Buchholz, co-director of CAPCaT and chairman of UMass Lowell's Biomedical Engineering Department.

Successful applicants will receive seed funding and the support of M2D2's medical, business and legal experts as well as those in the private sector and from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

"Last year, we received 90 expressions of interest from entrepreneurs in 26 states and three countries. We were amazed by the quality of applications we received and can't wait to see what technologies are submitted this year," said Dr. David McManus, CAPCaT's co-director and professor of medicine at UMass Medical School.

Entrepreneurs around the world working on inventions that are close to being tested in clinical settings are encouraged to apply to join the center. The application deadline is Monday, March 2. Individuals interested in more information should email Mary Dubuque at mary.dubuque@umassmed.edu.

###

About the Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center

M2D2 operates laboratories, research and development and other workspace at UMass Lowell and UMass Medical School in Worcester for medical-device and biotech ventures. Since its inception in 2007, M2D2 has assisted more than 100 companies. Each year, the M2D2 $200K Challenge awards seed funding to the best new concepts from early-stage medical device, diagnostic and biotech companies around the globe.

About UMass Lowell

UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be leaders in their communities and around the globe. http://www. uml. edu

About UMass Medical School

The University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), one of five campuses of the University system, comprises the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, the Graduate School of Nursing, a thriving research enterprise and an innovative public service initiative, Commonwealth Medicine. Its mission is to advance the health of the people of the commonwealth through pioneering education, research, public service and health care delivery with its clinical partner, UMass Memorial Health Care. In doing so, it has built a reputation as a world-class research institution and as a leader in primary care education. The Medical School attracts more than $257 million annually in research funding, placing it among the top 50 medical schools in the nation. In 2006, UMMS's Craig C. Mello, PhD, Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and the Blais University Chair in Molecular Medicine, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, along with colleague Andrew Z. Fire, PhD, of Stanford University, for their discoveries related to RNA interference (RNAi). The 2013 opening of the Albert Sherman Center ushered in a new era of biomedical research and education on campus. Designed to maximize collaboration across fields, the Sherman Center is home to scientists pursuing novel research in emerging scientific fields with the goal of translating new discoveries into innovative therapies for human diseases.

Contact:

UMass Lowell: Nancy Cicco, 978-934-4944, Nancy_Cicco@uml.edu

UMass Medical School: Sandra Gray, 508-856-5842, Sandra.Gray@umassmed.edu

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
This is a community calendar. To accommodate demand for the print edition, we ask that items be brief and include time, date, place, address, admission cost and a contact number for publication. Inclusion of items is at the discretion of the newspaper. Further information is available at 541-758-9524 or jane.stoltz@lee.net.

Assistance

SATURDAY

Food distribution, 10 a.m. to noon, food pantry, North Corvallis Ministry Center, 5050 NE Elliott Circle. Applications available at the pantry.

Stone Soup Breakfast, 10 to 11 a.m., McLean Hall, First Christian Church, 602 SW Madison Ave., Corvallis. A free meal to anyone in need.

Corvallis Men's Shelter, 6 p.m. to 9 a.m., 211 SE Chapman Place. Breakfast: 7 to 9 a.m. Information: 541-791-6691.

Classes

SATURDAY

Essentrics, 9 a.m., Crossroads Christian Fellowship, 2555 NW Highland Drive, Corvallis. Focusing on core strength and stability, this workout will improve posture and balance, and relieve back pain. Cost: $5. Information: 541-740-3122.

Events

SATURDAY

Pickleball drop-in play, 8:30 to 11 a.m., Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam, 305 S. Fifth St., Lebanon. Cost: $3 per session; first time free. Information: 541-401-9730 or http://lebanonpickleballclub.weebly.com.

Brunch, 9 to 11:30 a.m., Albany American Legion Hall, 1215 Pacific Blvd. SE.

Household Hazardous Waste Event, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Republic Services, 110 NE Walnut Blvd., Corvallis; enter on Belvue Street. Accepted items include paint and wood treatments, cleaners and degreasers, herbicides and insecticides, antifreeze and batteries, thinners and solvents, fluorescent light tubes, fertilizers and pesticides, computers and other electronics (no appliances), and products labeled flammable, toxic, poison, danger, warning or caution.

"Los Cuentos! Bilingual Story Times," 10:30 a.m., youth activity room, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Genealogical library open, 1 to 3 p.m., annex, Benton County Historical Museum, 1101 Main St., Philomath.

Women in Oregon Prisons: Past, Present and Future, 1 p.m., main branch, Albany Public Library, 2450 14th Ave. SE. Panel discussion including Julia Yoshimoto, Rosa Howard-Mumford and Jessica Kampfe, followed by a question-and-answer session.

A Scarecrow in Oz: An Origin Story, 2 p.m., Russell Tripp Performance Center, Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Directed by LBCC theater faculty member Dan Stone and written by the students and faculty of the department. Tickets: $8 for adults, $6 for those under 18; at the door or at www.linnbenton.edu/tickets.

Movie, 3 p.m., main meeting room, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. Children and their families are invited to a showing of "Toy Story 4."

Stuffed animal sleepover drop-off, 3 to 4:30 p.m., youth activity room, Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave. Children are invited to drop off one stuffed animal to spend the night at the library. Animals will watch a movie, play games and have snacks.

Traces of Love, 3 p.m., First Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 SW West Hills Road, Corvallis. Karen Sikich and Friends perform a concert benefiting Confluence: The Willamette Valley LGBT Chorus. Featuring Confluence vocalists Corey Elliott-Jenks and Sal Currin, Julie Williams of Jubilate and accompanist Stephanie Lynne Smith. Tickets: $20 at the door or at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/4493151.

Bingo, 6 p.m., American Legion Post 184, 339 N. Main St., Brownsville. Cost: $1 a game.

Karaoke, 7:30 p.m., Lebanon Moose Lodge, 4070 S. Santiam Highway.

Fundraisers

SATURDAY

Benefit for Jackson Street Youth Services/'80s Punk Rock Tribute, 9 p.m., Squirrel's Tavern, 100 SW Second St., Corvallis. Featuring Dead Kennedys tribute band Kill the Poor and Misfits tribute band Broken Bodies. Age 21 and up. Proceeds will go to Jackson Street Youth Services. Admission: $7 at the door.

Opportunities

Online open house regarding the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis, through Sunday. Learn about the bridge project and provide input on design elements at vanburenbridge.com.

Organizations

TODAY

Greater Corvallis Rotary Club, noon to 1 p.m., Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis, 1112 NW Circle Blvd. Information: 541-754-7102.

SATURDAY

Pioneer Harley Owners Group, 8 a.m. breakfast, 9 a.m. meeting, Pops Branding Iron Restaurant, 901 Pacific Blvd. SE, Albany. Information: squirrel227@comcast.net.

Mid-Valley Singles Inc., 9 a.m., bar area, Tommy's 4th Street Bar & Grill, 350 SW Fourth St., Corvallis. Breakfast. RSVP: 541-928-0870.

Santiam Spokes, 9 a.m., Lebanon. Bicycle ride. Information: www.santiamspokes.org.

American Sewing Guild, 10 a.m., Calvin Presbyterian Church, 1736 NW Dixon St., Corvallis. Share sewing ideas and techniques. Information: www.willamettevalleysewing.com.

Benton County Genealogical Society, 10:30 a.m., Moreland Gallery, second floor, Benton County Historical Museum, 1101 Main St., Philomath. Benton County Records and Elections Departments Director James Morales will present "Courthouse Records: How to Find Them and How to Use Them."

Corvallis Bicycle Collective, noon to 6 p.m., 707 NW 11th St. Fix up your bicycle with free use of tools and advice; affordable used bicycles and parts. Information: 541-224-6885 or www.corvallisbikes.org.

Albany Magic Club, 1 p.m., upstairs conference room, public library, 2450 14th Ave. SE.

Schools

SATURDAY

Financial Aid Saturday, 2 to 6 p.m., McKenzie Hall, Linn-Benton Community College, 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW, Albany. Financial aid staff members will be available to assist with completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students and parents should attend together, and bring tax returns and legal documentation. Information: www.linnbenton.edu/pay4college.

Support groups

SATURDAY

Parkside Al-Anon, 10 a.m., Room 219, First United Methodist Church, 1165 NW Monroe Ave., Corvallis. Support for families and friends of alcoholics. Information: 541-224-6651.

Alcoholics Anonymous:

 10 a.m., noon, Room 11, First Christian Church, 602 SW Madison Ave., Corvallis.

 5:30 p.m., upper social hall, library, St. Marys Catholic Church, 501 NW 25th St., Corvallis.

 6:30 p.m., upstairs classroom, west-side door, Monroe United Methodist Church, 648 Orchard St., Monroe.

 7 p.m., Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori Lounge, Episcopal Church of the Good Samaritan, 333 NW 35th St., Corvallis.

Information (24 hours): 541-967-4252 or www.aa-oregon.org.

Breastfeeding Support Group, 1:30 p.m., Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, 3600 NW Samaritan Drive, Corvallis. Drop-in session for breastfeeding mothers and their babies. A lactation consultant will be available for questions and support.

Narcotics Anonymous, 6 p.m., Room 11, First Christian Church, 602 SW Madison Ave., Corvallis. Information (24 hours): 877-233-4287 or www.lblna.org.

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Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families is looking to give 10 veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs $10,000 each to start businesses at the 2020 Veteran EDGE Conference.

But you have to be selected to attend the conference -- and the deadline to apply is fast approaching.

Veterans are 45% more likely to be self-employed, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Maybe it's something about the confidence military service brings. It could be the detail-oriented, tireless nature of military life. It could also be something else entirely. Either way, there are 2.4 million veteran-owned businesses in America.

Just being a veteran or a military spouse isn't going to ensure a business takes off.

The trouble for military members, veterans or spouses with a great business idea is they often don't know where to begin. Maybe they don't have the money to get started. They aren't alone. Many Americans have the same issue, but veterans and their spouses have access to a trove of resources others don't.

One of those is the Veteran EDGE Conference, an event designed just for veterans and military spouses that focuses on the unique ecosystems in which they build businesses.

This conference is put on by Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families, one of the most knowledgeable names in veteran education. It's an intense four-day workshop that brings together veteran and spouse entrepreneurs to network and learn the best practices and resources available to them.

Veteran EDGE also includes breakout sessions, opportunities to interact with business experts and keynote speakers. Some 250 entrepreneurs and 200 resource partners will be in attendance in 2020 -- there is even an opportunity for visiting entrepreneurs to set up a booth and showcase their business to other attendees and business leaders.

Ten attendees will even be nominated to participate in a special series of training events intended to help them overcome their barriers to entry into their respective marketplaces. This full-day intensive session will be led by Larry Broughton, former U.S. Army Special Forces soldier and founder and CEO of Broughton Hotels.

After this session, those 10 entrepreneurs will be eligible for a $10,000 startup grant to get their business off the ground.

Time and space to attend the Veteran EDGE conference are limited. The event will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Dallas, running March 5-8. Those who want to attend must apply by Feb. 9, at 5 p.m. EST.

Anyone selected to attend the conference will be notified by email to register on Monday, Feb. 10, 2020.

The cost of attendance is $150, which covers registration and lodging for attendees, but not travel costs. For more information, visit the Veteran EDGE Conference website.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com.

Want to Know More About Post-Military Careers?

Be sure to get the latest news about post-military careers as well as critical info about veteran jobs and all the benefits of service. Subscribe to Military.com and receive customized updates delivered straight to your inbox.
NorthWestern Energy has brought its plan to buy a larger share of Colstrip Power Plant to the Montana Public Service Commission.

The 1,100-page filing asks Montanas regulator of monopoly utilities to approve NorthWesterns purchase of an additional 25% of Colstrip Unit 4 from Washington-based Puget Sound Energy. In approving the purchase, commissioners would also commit NorthWestern Energy customers to paying costs, currently undisclosed, related to the larger share of Colstrip Unit 4.

Those undisclosed costs are capital requirements, or long-term customer debt commitments needed to pay for future replacement and expansion costs. NorthWestern has said it will seek to recover expenses as they arise, by applying for customer rate adjustments.

As NorthWestern Vice President of Supply John Hines explained the arrangement to state lawmakers on the Legislatures Energy and Telecommunications Interim Committee in January, There will not be an application for additional capital requirements. We will be making those requests to the commission as those capital requests occur in the future and the Commission at that point and time will then be able to view the justification and then the validity of those costs.

For now, NorthWestern is presenting what its describing as the positives of the purchase. The aggregate price of the sale is $1. Puget Sound Energy is committed to paying for 25% of the environmental cleanup costs associated with Unit 4, including cleanup costs of pollution generated possibly as long as 20 years after the Washington utility hands its ownership share to NorthWestern; Puget has made no mention of this cleanup commitment or other details potentially affecting the bills of its Washington customers. The Bellevue, Wash., company's message has focused on going coal free earlier than previously expected.

Part of the sale to NorthWestern obligates Puget to buy power from the South Dakota-based utility for up to five years. NorthWestern would purchase Pugets 185-megawatt capacity share of Unit 4, but then sell 90 megawatts back to Puget.

In its filing this week, NorthWestern says it would take the proceeds from power sold to Puget and create a reserve fund to cover its share of environmental cleanup costs. The company has collected no money from customers thus far for its share of environmental cleanup. Montanas Department of Environmental Quality has put the total cleanup of Colstrip at $400 million to $700 million, a bill that will be unevenly split among the four-unit power plant's six owners.

NorthWestern says it will also buy less market power as a result of the purchase. Any savings realized would be shared with customers.

The 50-page purchase agreement, which has been publicly available since Dec. 13 on the companys Securities and Exchange Commission page, also locks Puget Sound Energy into voting in favor of the long-term operation of Colstrip Unit 4 pending closing. This is no small matter. Colstrip owners Avista Corp, PacifiCorp and Puget all face a 2025 coal power ban in Washington State, which is prompting early exits from Colstrip. It's known the unit needs major repairs.

Avista Corp. is proposing a settlement in Washington in which it wouldn't agree to any Colstrip-related expense that prolonged the life of the plant beyond 2025.

It was Puget that identified major repairs needed to the unit it now wants to sell out of for the $1 aggregate price. Last November, Puget told regulators in Washington that the superheated section of Colstrip Unit 4 was badly damaged and needed $20 million in repairs. It said each owner of Unit 4 faced with exiting the plant in less than a decade would have to consider whether shutting down the plant made more sense than fixing it.

The superheat section in Unit 4 is starting to show signs of metallurgical wear and degradation, Puget's Ron Roberts told Washington regulators. The comments were included in a redacted portion of staff recommendations regarding Colstrip. Mr. Roberts goes on to say, '[e]ach of the Colstrip owners, including PSE, must consider if an investment of this size is prudent across the useful life of the facility, especially considering other external factors that may mandate PSE remove coal generation from its portfolio by a date certain.'

The company also told Washingtons Utilities and Transportation Commission that the next coal contract to feed the power plant would come with a significant increase in price. That contract was signed shortly before Puget said it would let its share of Unit 4 go for a buck.

In weeks leading up NorthWesterns filing with the PSC, Montana lawmakers and environmentalists alike expressed concerns about the agreement. Rep. Denise Hayman, D-Bozeman, asked Hines during a Jan. 13 legislative meeting to disclose the new coal price. She was concerned the higher rate would mean undisclosed costs for NorthWesterns 374,000 Montana customers.

"I need that. Everybody in this room needs that, because you're claiming that coal energy is cost effective and we have no idea how much the source is charging us," Hayman told Hines at the Jan 13 meeting. "And so, you can say whatever you want, but we can't verify it. PSC can't verify it. Consumer Counsel can't verify it and the ratepayers can't verify it. So, please come back to us with the cost of, per ton."

Hines told Hayman that she would be able to see the price once NorthWestern filed for PSC approval.

If youll be patient and read the filing that we make in a couple weeks it will be in there, Hines replied.

In a letter to the editor this week, Hayman recounted how Hines assured her the coal price would be revealed once NorthWestern filed its case with the Public Service Commission. That same week, the utility asked the PSC to keep the coal price a confidential, non-public part of the case.

The coal price was redacted in NorthWesterns filing this week. Also shielded from the public were cost estimates for the environmental compliance, capital expenditure projections and operating budget for the power plant. NorthWestern concealed those details at the request of power plant operator Talen Energy, which asked the PSC for an order doing the same.

The Montana Environmental Information Center issued a long statement Thursday cautioning that the aging power plant was becoming increasingly more expensive. It advised the PSC not to commit customers to more Colstrip costs and instead to invest in renewable energy.

Hold on to your wallets. Theres a reason investors and utilities are exiting coal. Its too expensive and too dirty," said Anne Hedges, MEIC deputy director. "Furthermore, NorthWestern's refusal to be transparent about the increasing costs required to operate the plant undermine its claim that this will be good for ratepayers."

Colstrip operations and maintenance costs have increased 6.9% a year, according to the MEIC, a statistic presented last year as the group opposed an increase in NorthWestern utility rates. MEIC also pointed out that Unit 4 has broken down for several months at a time on three different occasions since 2009, when it closed for six months of repairs shortly after NorthWestern bought its current 30% share. It closed again in 2013 and was malfunctioning again for two and a half months in 2018.

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It doesnt look like it, he said of the resolution the town sent to Ross Township recently. Weve met with the (Indiana) Township Association and they want to protect townships, so our first choice would be to join a township, and I would be comfortable joining Ross. They have a very well-run township.
By Rasana Gasimova

Azerbaijans Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) under the Ministry of Economy opened its first-ever House in northern Khachmaz region on February 7.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said that turning small and medium-sized businesses into a driving economic force is one of the priority directions of economic reforms led by President Ilham Aliyev. He stressed that increasing the role of entrepreneurship amounts to ensuring sustainable economic development in the country.

"Created as the continuation of the state support measures for entrepreneurs, the House and Center of SMEs in Khachmaz, is a convenient platform in terms of providing entrepreneurs with high-quality and transparent services," he said.

During the event, it was noted that the House of SMEs will facilitate the work of entrepreneurs in Khachmaz and surrounding regions, stimulate the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the creation of new SMEs, and tapping the regions economic potential.

Chairman of SMEs Development Agency Orkhan Mammadov, said that SMEs services provide government-to-business (G2B) and business-to-business (B2B) services based on state-of-the-art innovation, responsiveness and flexibility.

It was noted that the House of SMEs will assist in initiating startup projects, developing business and marketing plans, increasing business knowledge, registering businesses, receiving licence, receiving access to financial resources, doing accounting, import-export clearance, logistics and infrastructure networks, exports to domestic and foreign markets, promotion of export and other areas.

A total of 200 G2B and up to 100 B2B services will be available at the House of SMEs. Offices, meeting rooms and conference halls will also function there.

The SME Development Center will support micro, small and medium-sized businesses in the implementation of their business ideas through numerous consulting and training services.

The main task of the SMEs Development Agency is ensuring the succession of reforms, improvement of the business regulation system, and the application of effective coordination, enhancing the role and competitiveness of SMEs in the country's economy, as well as the compliance of the management system in this area with modern requirements.

The SMEs held a share of 76 percent in employment in the country last year, and in recent years, comprehensive work has been carried out for the development of SMEs. In particular, inspections of business entities have been suspended and the process of obtaining licenses has been simplified.

The share of SMEs in Azerbaijan's foreign trade is planned to increase to 40 percent after 2025.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
In its bid to contain the coronavirus outbreak, the Gandhi Hospital management allotted a lift only for coronavirus patients and staff. (Photo: Deepak Deshpande)

Hyderabad: A popular perception that rising temperatures in the forthcoming summer will help in combating any possible spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) appears to be based not on any established science but more on hope. The theory that hot weather contributes to killing of the new strain of the coronavirus is probably based on the belief that some viruses do not survive in temperatures in excess of 45C.

The new coronavirus is what is called an envelope virus in that it has is covered by a sheath. While it is a reasonable assumption that heat can make certain viruses ineffective in heat, a blanket rule that all says viruses will be affected by hot weather is not possible. The ability to survive such conditions varies from virus to virus, a senior researcher in viruses with a highly reputed research institution in New Delhi said.

It may be recalled that health minister Etala Rajendar had on January 29, told a news conference here in the city that with temperatures set to rise in the coming weeks and months, the threat from the virus would diminish.

For instance, the researcher explained, that the very contagious Noroviruses, that cause diarrhea, a commonly occurring round-the-year disease, are known to have not just survived for long but also survived repeated transfers up to seven times, through human contact from one surface to another.

There is so little known about the novel coronavirus that we cannot take any chance with it, the researcher said.

Dr Suneetha Nareddy, an infectious diseases specialist from Apollo Hospitals here, said, the novel coronavirus is not a fully known phenomenon. We should take all possible precautions. She said that the Adenovirus, which among other things causes Pink Eye or conjectivitis, can be seen more in summer, at least in the USA from where more data is available on this virus.

Unless we have all the information, practicing best possible hygiene and safety is the best option in addition to medical interventions for testing for the disease, and preventing its spread, she said.

According to Dr Seyed E. Hasnain, head of Jamia Hamdard Institute of Molecular Biology, available research on the novel coronavirus says up to 50 per cent of people infected by it do not display any symptoms for at least two weeks.

This is the most dreadful part of this virus. Right now there are no drugs or vaccines to treat and prevent the disease. People might become complacent on the hope that hot weather will stop the disease, Dr Hasnain, a former staff scientist at the National Institute of Immunology and former head of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics lab here in the city, said.

All we can try and do is to prevent it from spreading. By practicing good hygiene like washing hands frequently after coming home and before eating anything is the way not just to cut the chances of contracting a disease like the one caused by the new coronavirus. This will also mean that the disease, even if some cases are found, can be stopped from spreading, he said.
Members of the Leifeng team volunteer association pose for a group photo. They offer free rides to medical workers. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

Under the call of the Volunteering Service Federation of Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, teams involving nearly 100 car owners have volunteered to serve the city amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

They have driven medical members and other people in need to their posts or home more than 800 times free of charge. They also help deliver materials used for preventing the epidemic.

Members of the Leifeng team volunteer association offer free rides to medical workers. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

Tian Yong who is a Communist Party member, works at the Ningxia Coal Industry Co Ltd. As a volunteer of the Leifeng team volunteer association which was founded in 2015, he spent his spare time and off-duty time driving medical workers home or to their posts.

On Sunday night, he drove a medical worker to her night shift and then he sent two medical workers who finished their work at 10 pm to their homes.

Team members of the Xingqing district volunteer team pose for a photo. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

A volunteer team consisting of 35 car owners was founded in Xingqing District on January 31 to serve people who are working at the front line of fighting against the epidemic. They are also on call for delivering materials as needed, such as disinfectant.

Members of the emergency response team of the Ningxia cross-country family work at a toll station in Yinchuan. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

The emergency response team of the Ningxia cross-country family has been working at the front line of fighting against the epidemic for five days in a row. Yu Biao, the team leader, and 15 other team members are now working at a toll station to help the staff there recording information on people who enter the city.

Members of the emergency response team of the Ningxia cross-country family working at a toll station in Yinchuan record information of people who enter the city. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

The Helanshan Mountain Renyiyuan Wine Chateau volunteer team of eight drivers was founded on January 28 to provide volunteer service to the city.

A member of Helanshan Mountain Renyiyuan Wine Chateau volunteer team helps carry disinfectant. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

Shen Cheng of Ningxia Zhuimeng Farm has been donating facial masks, disinfectant and goggles to several places including police stations and villages in Yinchuan since Jan 29.

"It's not easy to work at the front line. I sent them some protective materials, hoping to make their work a little bit easier," said Shen.

Shen Cheng donates facial masks and goggles to a police station. [For chinadaily.com.cn]

(Source: chinadaily.com.cn)
A terrified man made the split second decision to turn his bike around in the middle of a motorway after two people 'shot at him' in an attempted robbery.

Eduardo Pimenta, 56, was driving on the Fernao Dias Highway towards Atibaia in Sao Paulo, Brazil, when he was accosted by the men on another motorcycle.

During the incident last Sunday the retiree risked going against the flow of traffic on the wrong side of the road, coming perilously close to lorries and cars, to escape.

He told Globo G1: 'I knew that if I stopped I would die. They shot and then it was a matter of survival'.

Shocking footage recorded on Mr Pimenta's helmet camera shows him first driving calmly down the motorway and only being overtaken by one other vehicle.

However after going steady for some time, another motorbike comes into view with two men on the back.

The man driving gestures at Mr Pimenta as he moves the bike from the far left-hand lane into the centre, in an apparent attempt to block the way.

Terrified biker Eduardo Pimenta, 56, was driving on the Fernao Dias Highway in Brazil when he turned around to escape two robbers on Sunday

Mr Pimenta, who has been reducing speed, then looks over his shoulder before turning around and driving the wrong way up the motorway.

He quickly gains speed as he flies up the lane, sticking close to the barrier, and goes past numerous cars as well as two HGV lorries in the nearest lane.

Throughout the incident he manages to keep control of the bike and continues for several minutes until he rejoins traffic going in the correct direction.

Mr Pimenta drove for around two kilometers against the traffic, coming very close to lorries and cars during the getaway

The biker managed to stay in control of his bike throughout the incident and stayed close to the middle road barrier

At some points of the nail-biting journey Mr Pimenta was travelling at speeds of more than 150km an hour and drove for about two kilometers against the road.

After the attempted robbery Mr Pimenta said he tried to report it to police, but was unable to log the incident online.

The Sao Paulo Secretariat said that without a report Civil Police cannot investigate the case, reports Globo.
Calhoun County Sheriffs Office

 Tammy E. Wurtsbaugh, 37, of Hardin was booked into the Greene County Jail at 1:44 p.m. Sunday on an Ohio warrant accusing her of violating probation.

Greene County Sheriffs Office

 Dalton M. Christian, 18, of Farmer City was booked into the Greene County Jail at 12:43 p.m. Monday on an illegal consumption charge.

 David L. Wilson, 36, of Jacksonville was booked into the Greene County Jail at 9:44 a.m. Sunday on charges of possession of methamphetamine, aggravated driving under the influence, driving without a license, criminal damage to property, driving while license is suspended or revoked and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

 Joshua T. Riley, 35, of Carrollton was booked into the Greene County Jail at 9:03 p.m. Saturday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended.

 Adam R. Herdman, 24, of Naperville was booked into the Greene County Jail at 5:54 a.m. Saturday on a driving under the influence charge.

 Hollie Ann Springman, 19, of Roodhouse was booked into the Greene County Jail at 4:28 a.m. Jan. 28 on a charge of possession of alcohol by a minor.

 Summer R. Bricker, 20, of Roodhouse was booked into the Greene County Jail at 4 a.m. Jan. 28 on a charge of possession of alcohol by a minor.

Carrollton Police

 Coty M. Newingham, 30, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 6:12 p.m. Saturday on charges of possession of methamphetamine and driving while license is revoked or suspended.

 Brandi J. Dobson, 38, of Winchester was booked into the Greene County Jail at 5:25 p.m. Saturday on a possession of methamphetamine charge.

Roodhouse Police

 Talisha Ann Mehrhoff, 33, of Roodhouse was booked into the Greene County Jail at 9:04 a.m. Jan. 30 on a disorderly conduct charge.

 Bruce W. Benson II, 25, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 8:22 a.m. Jan. 30 on a disorderly conduct charge.

White Hall Police

 Jennifer R. Hall, 47, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:46 p.m. Wednesday on a criminal trespass to a building charge.

 Joshua S. Adcock, 30, of Carrollton was booked into the Greene County Jail at 2:04 p.m. Monday on a possession of a controlled substance charge.

 Gary D. Eddinger, 45, of White Hall was booked into the Greene County Jail at 8:17 p.m. Sunday on a charge of driving while license is revoked or suspended.
Third, there is no Democratic transcender. The Iowa results, though far from final, indicate that there is no obvious candidate who can be quickly embraced by all factions of the party. With Mike Bloomberg now doubling his campaign spending, it looks like the Democratic primary battle is going to go on for a while.
Coronavirus: Indians stuck in China will have to mandatory undergo 14-day quarantine on arrival

India in touch with families of those killed in Kabul attack: MEA

Indias ambassador presents his credentials to President Trump at White House

International

oi-PTI

Washington, Feb 07: Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's ambassador-designate to the United States, has presented his credentials to President Donald Trump who welcomed him at the White House and wished him success in his new appointment, the Indian embassy here has said.

A 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service Official, Sandhu has had two successful stints at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC - the last one being Deputy Ambassador from July 2013 to January 2017.

He succeeds Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who has been promoted as the Foreign Secretary. Sandhu, till last week, was India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

Howdy Trump: US President to visit India on Feb 21

President Trump, during the Oval Office credentials ceremony, warmly welcomed Sandhu, back to Washington DC and wished him success in his responsibilities as India's ambassador to the US, the Indian embassy said in a statement on Thursday.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

"The President fondly recalled his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their several interactions," it said.

Sandhu conveyed warm greetings from President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Trump and the First Lady, the statement said. He also said that the vision and guidance provided by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in the last three years had moved India and the United States towards greater strategic convergence.

Sandhu affirmed his commitment to work towards strengthening strategic partnership between India and the US, which is anchored in mutual trust and friendship, democratic values and people-to-people ties, the statement said.

"Extending my warmest welcome to @SandhuTaranjitS, India's new Ambassador to the US. A strong champion of US-India ties, Amb. Sandhu's proven record & deep experience augurs well for the future of our partnership. Welcome back to Washington! AGW," Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice G Wells tweeted.

Indo-US trade deal likely to be sealed during Trump's visit

"Thank you Alice Wells. Looking forward to working together to further enhance India - US engagement!," Sandhu replied.

One of the most experienced Indian diplomats on US affairs, Sandhu was First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of India, Washington DC responsible for liaison with the United States Congress from 1997 to 2000.

He has also been at the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York from July 2005 to February 2009. Sandhu arrived in Washington on Monday as India's ambassador-designate to the United States.

"Ambassador of India to the United States arrived this morning and assumed charge," the Indian embassy said in a tweet soon after his arrival.

Born in 1963 in a family of educationists, Sandhu studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and graduated from St Stephens' College, Delhi, with History Honors. He pursued a Master's degree in International Relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Sandhu is married to Reenat Sandhu, who is Ambassador of India to Italy.

In a distinguished career spanning over 30 years in the Indian Foreign Service since 1988, Sandhu started his diplomatic career from former Soviet Union (Russia) where he worked as Third Secretary (Political) /Second Secretary (Commercial) in the Indian Mission from 1990 to 1992. Following the breakup of Soviet Union, he was sent to open a new embassy in Ukraine.

He served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in the Indian embassy in Kiev from 1992 to 1994.

Sandhu was Consul General of India in Frankfurt from September 2011 to July 2013. He has worked in the Ministry of External Affairs in various capacities: as Joint Secretary (United Nations) from March 2009 to August 2011; and later as Joint Secretary (Administration) heading the Human Resource Division.

He was Officer on Special Duty (Press Relations), Ministry of External Affairs from December 1995 to March 1997, and was responsible for liaison with foreign media in India.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:34 [IST]
In view of the widespread locust attack in Rajasthan, state revenue minister Harish Chaudhary on February 4, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to declare it as a national calamity.

In his letter, Chaudhary also requested the PM Modi to bring a change in rules under the State Disaster Response Fund to provide help to affected farmers. He further sought an effective plan to find a permanent solution to the threat.

Troubled by the menace of locust attacks on crops in areas of south Punjab, bordering Rajasthan, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had on January 28 urged PM Modi to direct External Affairs ministry and the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to take immediate action on the issue with Pakistan, from where the locust attack was emanating.

In a letter to PM Modi, Captain Amarinder Singh had said there has been a continuous locust attack on crops in Rajasthan and a significant number of these pests have also entered into southern Punjab.

READ | Prolonged Monsoon In Indo-Pak Region Drove Recent Locust Outbreak: Scientists

Pak declares National Emergency to battle Locust attack

Pakistan, which is facing its worst locust attack in decades, has declared national emergency to tackle the insects destroying crops on a large scale in Punjab province, the country's main region for agricultural production. The decision was taken at a meeting convened by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday.

The meeting, attended by federal ministers and senior officials of the four provinces, also approved a National Action Plan (NAP) that requires a sum of Rs 7.3 billion to overcome the crisis.

Minister for National Food Security Khusro Bakhtiar informed the National Assembly about the gravity of the situation and the steps so far taken by the federal and provincial governments to deal with the crisis, the Dawn newspaper reported.

READ | Punjab Locust Swarm: CM Amarinder Asks PM To Take Matter Up With 'breeding Ground' Pak

Prime Minister Khan ordered the formation of a high-level committee to be headed by Bakhtiar to take decisions at the federal level for the elimination of insects. The prime minister directed the authorities concerned to take immediate measures on the basis of damage of ripened crops.

"Protection of farms and farmers is the highest priority of the government. Therefore, the federal government should take all necessary steps to save national crops and provide required resources to the quarters concerned," Khan was quoted as saying in the report.

READ | CM Gehlot Seeks PM's Help To Check Locust Attack In Rajasthan

READ | Pakistan Declares National Emergency To Battle Locusts

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: AP)
Wipro rose 1.07% to Rs 246.20 after the company on Thursday said it has received a multi-year technology services contract from automotive supplier Marelli.

Marelli is a leading global Tier-1 automotive technology supplier. This partnership will help Marelli to standardize, simplify and further enhance their IT services at a global level and consolidate several current vendors across applications management services & workplace end user services.

As part of this partnership, Wipro will help Marelli by leveraging its global service delivery model and automotive domain expertise and hyper-automation powered by the Wipro HOLMESTM platform.

Vinay Firake, senior vice president - manufacturing business unit, Wipro said, "We are delighted to be selected as Marelli's strategic partner and look forward to supporting them in their challenges. Our strong capabilities, backed by extensive global experience in working with some of the biggest automotive suppliers in the world, will enable us to deliver this high value engagement-for Marelli. This partnership endorses the value we bring to the automotive industry and bears testimony to our growing footprint in Italy and Japan which are strategic markets for us."

Wipro is a global information technology, consulting and business process services company.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Deputy Head of the Office of President of Ukraine met with the company's delegation in Kyiv; DFC stated there is a special interest that foreign investors show towards Ukraine

Yulia Kovaliv meets with DFC delegation, February 2020 Office of the President of Ukraine

Effective cooperation and bringing investments to Ukraine in the infrastructure, energy sector, healthcare, agriculture, technologies and financial services. These were the main topics for discussion, as Yulia Kovaliv, Deputy Head of the Office of President of Ukraine met with the company's delegation in Kyiv. The press department of the Presidential Office reported that on February 7.

The sides discussed effective cooperation in the said areas. Kovaliv told the interlocutors about the important changes that took place in Ukraine that became possible thanks to the government's efforts. She also shared the goals that are now considered priorities.

"Ukraine expects big investments. And, currently, the entire government's team focuses on creating the utmost comfortable conditions for the investor", she said.

Kovaliv also defined the main areas, which need investments and can be interesting to American partners. This, in particular, is the privatization of state enterprises, modernization of infrastructure, healthcare, agricultural area and technologies.

"We open the land market, launch concessive competitions and impose state-run online services. These are the prerequisites that would let make Ukraine more attractive for investors", the official said.

DFC stated there is a special interest that foreign investors show towards Ukraine. The company agreed on extending cooperation with Ukraine.
Struggling with their loss: June Fitzgerald holding a photo of her husband Christopher at Naas Circuit Court with her daughter June and son Gary

The widow of a father of two who was killed in a head-on collision when a van veered into the path of his motorcycle has told how his death was a devastating blow which left their daughter to walk up the aisle without him at her wedding just weeks later.

Christopher Fitzgerald (53) was killed instantly when the vehicle being driven by Michael Dunne (65), from Mountmellick, Co Laois, crossed into his path on the Monasterevin to Portlaoise Road on August 17, 2018.

Mr Fitzgerald had been on his way home after visiting his daughter to drop off invitations for her wedding 11 weeks later.

Witnesses said the wide road was straight and the weather was good, and there was no apparent reason why Mr Dunne's van had crossed to the other side of the road.

There was no alcohol or drugs in Mr Dunne's system, and speed was not a factor. He was not overtaking anyone at the time.

A sitting of the Circuit Court in Naas yesterday before Judge Patrick Quinn heard evidence that analysis of Mr Dunne's phone had shown he had two conversations on it in the minutes before the crash, but there was no evidence he was on the phone at the time of the incident.

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Mr Fitzgerald's widow, June, gave an emotional victim impact statement outlining how her husband's sudden death had affected her and her family.

She told how she waited anxiously at home in Walsh Island, Co Offaly, when Christopher was late home, only to see gardai arriving with the bad news.

"Myself and Christopher had been 32 years married the day I buried him. We were 36 years together. We have two beautiful children, June who is 32 years old now and Gary who is 29 years old now," she said.

"We did everything together. Both children were born with a visual impairment and as a result me and Christopher became a strong team.

"The four of us were best friends. We were always very close. Gary and his father were more like best friends than father and son. After his death I was left heartbroken.

"I have lost my best friend and soulmate. I have struggled since we lost him, as have the kids. June lost the opportunity to have her father walk her down the aisle 11 weeks after he was taken from us.

"That was a particularly hard day. My memories of her wedding are vague because I barely remember it.

"I have one memory of standing on the balcony outside the reception looking out at the stars and saying 'where are you?'," she told the court.

"Life has changed dramatically since losing Christopher."

The court heard evidence from Mr Dunne's barrister, Garnet Orange, that his client had expressed genuine sorrow and remorse for what had happened, and could not explain why his vehicle had crossed to the other side of the road.

He said Mr Dunne had sought medical advice to see if it was possible he had suffered a heart attack or a stroke before the accident but was simply not able to find an explanation.

Mr Dunne has previously pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of Mr Fitzgerald. Judge Quinn adjourned the case for mention again on March 24.
This years African Union Summit has already opened in the Ethiopian capital at the bodys headquarters, but the main two-day event kicks off on 9 February, with heads of state coming in from all over Africa to discuss this years main topic: silencing the guns.

Silencing the Guns is really an effort by the AU to focus energy into meeting development goals as set out by the Aspirations of Africas Agenda 2063, specifically Aspiration 4: a peaceful and secure African, thereby making peace a reality for African people, states the official preamble.

In the lead-up to Sundays final event, side meetings have been taking place on the sidelines since the summit officially opened on 21 January.

Unofficial agenda

Sideline meetings will tackle topics from Gender Equality and Womens Empowerment in an age of #metoo movements, to the African energy sector and food security, particularly at a time when climate change is wreaking havoc on food supplies.

The droughts of southern African and the locust invasion of eastern Africa continue to play into food security, along with the floods in Mozambique in 2019 following cyclone Idai.

All weather related events that point a finger to climate change.

Controversies

Each year brings unexpected controversies as in 2018 when Morocco was officially brought back into the AU family.

Or the brouhaha that erupted the same year following an investigation released by the French paper Le Monde alluding to Chinese espionage through the China-built AU headquarters.

In fact, that leads into todays latest controversy.

China has announced it will build an 80 million dollar headquarter for the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Ethiopia.

Already Washington has spoken out against the move, citing "concerns over Beijings scientific spying programme.

Its a threat to Africa. Africa has vast amounts of genomic data and the Chinese want to build the CDC to eventually steal the data from all the other centres, a US administration official told the Financial Times.

In the wake of the Ebola virus epidemic in 2014, the Africa Center for Disease and Control was launched in 2017, with five regional hubs including Egypt, Nigeria, Gabon, Kenya and Zambia.

In response to the Chinas plans to create such a headquarter in Addis Ababa, the US has threatened to withhold funding to the CDC.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 13:00:32|Editor: huaxia

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A citizen walks in the rain in Sydney, Australia, on Feb. 9, 2020. A huge rainfall hits Australia's bushfire-ravaged east coast on Friday. In the midst of the worst drought on record, the huge rainfall on Friday is predicted to stick around for at least a week and may bring relief to the long-suffering communities. Although the rain is mostly being seen as good news, authorities are also warning that fire-damaged areas are at extreme risk of flooding. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)

SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Extreme weather of heavy rain, damaging winds and flash flooding is not something that would usually be celebrated, Australia farmers and firefighters on the east coast, however, are cheering on the downpour.

In the midst of the worst drought on record, the huge rainfall on Friday is predicted to stick around for at least a week and may bring relief to the long-suffering communities.

However, inland areas that are also in the midst of the drought are likely to miss out on the deluge.

"A coastal trough near the northern and central New South Wales (NSW) coast is bringing increased rainfall and other severe weather to the area," the Bureau of Meteorology said in a forecast.

"This trough is expected to deepen and gradually shift southwards, increasing rainfall and bringing dangerous winds and surf conditions along the central and southern parts of the coast and adjacent ranges during the next few days."

Thunderstorm activity or the formation of mesoscale lows embedded within the coastal trough are possible, according to the forecast.

In the tourism hotspot of Byron Bay, the town received over 250 mm of rain in less than 24 hours -- the heaviest single-day rainfall since 2002.

With severe flooding blanketing several north coast areas of the state, the NSW Emergency Service (SES) said they had received over 600 calls for assistance already.

"We've got our rescue crews right up and down the coast because we know this event will really go border to border," SES Assistant Commissioner Paul Bailey told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

"We put crews in those areas where we traditionally have problems with people driving into flood waters."

While there are still around 40 fires burning across NSW, it's hoped that the sustained downpour will finally bring a halt to Australia's wildfire season which has claimed the lives of 34 people, destroyed over 3000 homes and decimated around 18.6 million hectares of land.

Although the rain is mostly being seen as good news, authorities are also warning that fire-damaged areas are at extreme risk of flooding.

"In some places there is not a lot of vegetation around to stabilize the slopes," said the Bureau of Meteorology's acting NSW State Manager Jane Golding.

"The debris may build up in the rivers and when it gets pushed along, that elevates the risk of flash flooding down the rivers," Golding said.

Meanwhile, along Australia's west coast in the remote region of the Pilbara, residents are being urged to prepare for a category-four cyclone with winds of around 230 km per hour.

The biggest storm system to hit the region in seven years, Tropical Cyclone Damien is expected to make landfall sometime on Saturday evening between Port Hedland and Onslow.
The public have given up on the polices ability to solve crimes, Her Majestys Inspector of Constabulary warned yesterday.

Matt Parr said the failure to investigate crimes such as burglary and car theft was corroding the bond between the public and the police, adding that forces had been rumbled as their ability to investigate cases declined, with many victims not bothering to report crimes.

Among volume crimes such as break-ins, car crime and minor assault, only a tiny proportion of offences are investigated by police, with fewer still leading to offenders being caught.

The public have given up on the polices ability to solve crimes, Her Majestys Inspector of Constabulary warned yesterday

Growing numbers of the public were losing faith in the criminal justice system as a result, the police watchdog said. Its a complex and worrying issue that particularly in volume crime I think the public has rumbled that the polices capacity to deal with this is extremely limited.

If you are the subject of a minor burglary, a minor assault or car crime, I think people have now got to the stage where their expectations are low and the police live down to these expectations because they simply dont have the capacity to deal with it.

There are some startling figures about car crime but most of the public, far from reporting it, simply give up because the chances of anything positive happening are slim.

Growing numbers of the public were losing faith in the criminal justice system as a result, the police watchdog said

He added: Its a genuine live issue. This level of volume crime rates is corrosive for the relationship between the public and police. As police concentrate their resources on crimes involving vulnerable victims, the majority of victims  who do all the tax-paying  end up with a less good service, Mr Parr said.

He added: That cant really be allowed to go on because its corrosive of the bond between the public and the police.

'Jails will run out of space by 2020' Crisis-hit jails will run out of space in two years despite plans to build two more prisons, an official report warns today. The Whitehall spending watchdog said the Government could be left with nowhere to imprison offenders by October 2022. The predictions by the National Audit Office were based on official Ministry of Justice forecasts published today. The true picture is likely to be even more serious because the projections do not take into account pledges to make violent criminals serve longer sentences and scrap automatic early release for terrorists. Currently, the Government is due to complete 3,500 extra prison places by 2025, including two new super jails each housing more than 1,680 inmates at Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, and Glen Parva, Leicestershire. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged a further 10,000 places on top of the 3,500. Even with that extra capacity, the NAO said jails could run out of space by as early as summer 2025. Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said ministers may be forced to release prisoners before the end of their sentences. A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: We will always have enough prison places to keep offenders behind bars. Advertisement

Mr Parr, a former submariner and Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy, joined Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services, four years ago.

His remarks are the strongest yet by any official about the crisis in our police forces.

They came as he published a report which said plummeting confidence in the police was leading to growing numbers of crime victims to withdraw their support.

More than 22 per cent of victims who made a report later retracted their help from the police, up from 20 per cent the previous year, it said, in a vivid illustration of the publics disillusionment.

Performance figures like that chip away at public confidence in the police and may well be part of the reason for that abandonment of victims support, Mr Parr said. There are stark differences in the service victims receive from the police depending on where they live, the report said.

The worst-performing forces are Cleveland, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia, while two of the best are Northumbria and Merseyside.

Its a patchwork across the country, Mr Parr said.

He added that there had been some surprisingly negative volume crime resolution rates published in recent months.

In the year to September, just 5.4 per cent of theft offences led to a suspect being charged. For criminal damage it was 4.9 per cent and violent crime was 7.4 per cent. For car crime, the chances of police catching and successfully prosecuting thieves has fallen to just one in 400 cases. Only 0.25 per cent of vehicle theft and vehicle break-ins resulted in jail, a fine, community sentence or caution last year, compared with 1.1 per cent in 2017.

The report warned that the Governments pledge to hire 20,000 police officers to replace the 22,400 lost between 2010 and 2017 would not be a silver bullet.

The planned recruitment... will not solve all the problems we see in policing, it said.

Gaining more officers will only mask poorer performance if forces fail to solve long-standing problems or are unable to effectively match resources to demand.'
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:42:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Here are the latest developments:

-- Chinese health authorities have sent more than 11,000 medics, including the country's best ICU staff, to the city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

-- The genome sequences of five 2019 novel coronavirus strains on the National Genomics Data Center have been synchronized and shared with an American database.

-- Beijing on Friday published the number of patients suspected to be infected with the novel coronavirus for the first time. As of Thursday, Beijing reported 157 suspected cases and 297 confirmed cases of infection.

-- A 91-year-old patient has been cured in the city of Yichang, central China's Hubei Province, on Friday. The patient is the oldest cured patient infected with the virus in China so far.

-- All schools in southern China's Guangdong Province are required to delay the opening of the 2020 spring semester until the end of February. The resumption date will be confirmed later in accordance with the development of the fight against the epidemic.

-- The National Supervisory Commission has decided to dispatch an inspection group to Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, to thoroughly investigate issues related to Dr. Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist who passed away early Friday after being infected with the virus.

-- The genome sequence of the novel coronavirus strain separated from pangolins was 99 percent identical to that from infected people, indicating pangolins may be an intermediate host of the virus, a study has found.

-- No new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region by Thursday since the region reported its first case on Jan. 30.

-- Starting from Friday, Shanghai will put individuals on a credit blacklist for concealing novel coronavirus-related symptoms or violating quarantine.

-- North China's Tianjin Municipality has asked all residential communities to strictly control the flow of people as part of epidemic prevention and control efforts.

-- Hubei Province, center of the novel coronavirus outbreak, is now able to conduct up to 10,000 nucleic acid tests per day.

-- Chinese authorities asked businesses outside Hubei Province to resume operation in an orderly manner while continuing to fight the novel coronavirus outbreak.

-- Chinese health authorities received reports of 3,143 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 73 deaths on Thursday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.
When scientists talk about climate change effects like sea level rise and extreme temperatures, theyre typically referring to things predicted to start noticeably occurring as soon as, say 2050, or into the next century.

But the impacts of climate change may not be so far in the future for Floridians and those who write insurance in the Sunshine State, a new report claims.

The report, Florida Climate Outlook: Assessing Physical and Economic Impacts Through 2040, projects increased flooding, a statewide rise in average temperatures, and an increase in the statewide average number of days with highs above 95F  in the next 20 years.

The report was put out by Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that conducts independent research into environmental, energy and natural resource issues.

It also examines the projected effects of sea level rise using three scenarios: a moderate scenario defined by 1.6 feet of additional global sea level rise by 2100; a higher scenario defined by 3.3 feet by 2100; and an extreme scenario defined by 8.2 feet by 2100.

Because of wind and ocean circulation patterns, Florida has historically experienced higher rates of sea level rise than the global average, the report notes.

By 2040, under the moderate scenario, median projections of sea level rise at different points along Floridas coastline range from 8 in. to 9 in. Under the higher scenario, median projections show between 12 in and 13 in., and under the extreme scenario, median projections are for 2 feet.

Floridas long coastline and low-lying land make it particularly vulnerable to the damaging impacts of sea level rise. Every additional inch of sea level rise will increase the economic risks Florida faces from flooding, which will threaten more property and infrastructure, the report states. Rising seas will also reduce groundwater quality through saltwater intrusion.

All along Floridas coast, the annual risk of flooding is projected to increase substantially. Extreme flooding that previously would have been expected to occur just once every 100 years, with waters reaching 2 to 3 feet above the high-water mark depending on the specific location, will become more frequent, according to the report.

Statewide, roughly 490,000 people live on land less than 3 feet above the high-water mark, with over 300,000 homes and an estimated $145 billion in property value. Over 2,500 miles of roads, 372 hazardous waste sites, 30 schools and four hospitals could be subjected to flooding.

The counties with the largest number of people facing this risk are Miami-Dade, Broward, Pinellas, Monroe, and Hillsborough, according to the report.

More on Florida

What are Floridians doing about all of this?

The Senate Appropriations Committee this week passed through a bill to create the a state Office of Resiliency to develop strategies to address rising sea levels.

SB 7016 establishes the Office of Resiliency within the executive office of the governor. The office is to be headed by a chief resilience officer appointed by the governor.

The bill would create the Statewide Sea-Level Rise Task Force, adjunct to the Office of Resiliency, to recommend consensus projections of the anticipated sea-level rise and flooding impacts along Floridas coastline.

The bill requires that all appointments be made by Aug. 1, and the chief resilience officer must chair the task force and convene it no later than Oct. 1.

The task force will be required to develop and recommend consensus baseline projections of the expected sea-level rise for planning horizons designated by the task force.

The task force is authorized to designate technical advisory groups to inform its decision-making and to request the Department of Environmental Protection to contract for services to assist in developing the recommended baseline projections.

SB 7016 has been endorsed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and now moves onto the Senate floor for a floor vote.

Its House companion, House Bill 1073, is set for a hearing in the House State Affairs Committee before moving to the House floor.

A fiscal impact analysis of SB 7016 cites estimates that Florida could lose more than $300 billion in property value due to rising sea levels by 2100.

With 1,350 miles of coastline and relatively low elevations, Florida is particularly vulnerable to coastal flooding, the analysis states. There are three primary ways that climate change influences coastal flooding: sea-level rise, storm surge intensity, and rainfall intensity and frequency.

Twitter

Tweets could be good for more than politics and name calling. They may be a good indicator of flooding.

A new paper in Nature Communications, Using remarkability to define coastal flooding thresholds, reports on a study that monitored flooding through Tweets.

The report combed through Tweets from millions of users geotagged in counties along the East and Gulf coasts from 2014 to 2016 and found that high-tide floods may be even more widespread than reports from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest.

The study looked for changes in the volume of Tweets containing flood-related phrases, such as tide, inundate, and rising waters, and matched them with water levels reported by the tidal gauges.

The study showed a spike in flood-related Tweets in 22 counties  including Miami, New York, and Boston, with a total population over 13 million.

Our analysis implies that large populations might currently be exposed to nuisance flooding not identified via standard measures, the study states.

The study highlights the limitations of the tidal gauge stations, the predominant way flooding is currently recorded.

Gauge stations for measuring tide heights are sparse, according to the study, which notes that along the 3,700 miles of coast making up the U.S. Eastern and Gulf seaboards, there are only about 132 tidal gauge stations with long-term records.

Additionally, translating tide heights into local inundation is not straightforward. Most gauges have three tide heights associated with minor, moderate or major flooding, yet the frequency of exceeding these thresholds varies widely, according to the study.

There are two principal benefits of our approach to measuring floods, the study states. Firstly, because of the wide geographic coverage and relatively high density of Twitter data, we are able to estimate localized (i.e., county-specific) flooding thresholds, rather than relying on extrapolation from a sparse network of tide gauges. Secondly, our remarkability metric naturally integrates a measure of the social consequences of flooding, which is theoretically standardized within a particular county and time period.

The resulting dataset has 413,000 observations from 237 counties, and includes 473,000 flood-related Tweets from a population of over 5 million twitter users.

Extreme Weather

We now may have better extreme weather prediction thanks to a deep learning, and an evidently self-learning, computer.

Rice University engineers created a deep learning computer system that taught itself to accurately predict extreme weather events, like heat waves, up to five days in advance using minimal information about current weather conditions, Insurance Journals Andrew Simpson reported today.

Ironically, Rices self-learning capsule neural network uses an analog method of weather forecasting that computers made obsolete in the 1950s, the Insurance Journal article notes.

During its training, the network examines hundreds of pairs of maps, each showing surface temperatures and air pressures at 3.1 miles height, with each pair showing those conditions several days apart. The training also includes scenarios that produced extreme weather  extended hot and cold spells that can lead to deadly heat waves and winter storms.

Once trained, the system was able to examine maps it had not previously seen and make five-day forecasts of extreme weather with 85% accuracy, the article states.

Rices Pedram Hassanzadeh, co-author of a study about the system, which was published online this week in the American Geophysical Unions Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, believes that with further development, the system could serve as an early warning system for weather forecasters, and as a tool for learning more about the atmospheric conditions that lead to extreme weather.

While the accuracy of day-to-day weather forecasts has improved noticeably since the advent of computer-based numerical weather prediction in the 1950s, even with the improved numerical models of the atmosphere and more powerful computers, we cannot reliably predict extreme events.

It may be that we need faster supercomputers to solve the governing equations of the numerical weather prediction models at higher resolutions, Hassanzadeh said. But because we dont fully understand the physics and precursor conditions of extreme-causing weather patterns, its also possible that the equations arent fully accurate, and they wont produce better forecasts, no matter how much computing power we put in.

Deep learning is a form of artificial intelligence, in which computers are trained to make humanlike decisions without being explicitly programmed for them.

Past columns:

Topics Trends Florida Flood Climate Change
With the release of the Trump Middle East peace plan, the Deal of the Century, there have been many questions and challenges posed about whether its good or bad, politically motivated or not, has potential to do anything toward achieving peace or make things worse, and much more. One thing it does do is that it changes the paradigm from the decades old mantra and largely failed policy of two states along the pre-1967 armistice line (the boundaries following the 1948-49 War of Independence) and makes people look at Israel and the Middle East through a different prism.

Here are 10 questions and things to look out for and to ponder as the plan is revealed and the outcome unfolds and pundits and politicians have their input.

1. It seems the Trump plan creates a new paradigm. For those who reject it because the old two-state solution is the preferred model, with whom should Israel make peace if there is no Palestinian Arab partner willing to recognize Israels legitimacy?

2. If there were a partner with which to pursue peace, which should it be: the PLO (Fatah) or Hamas, competing terror organizations, and if Israel made peace with one would the other honor it, and would there even be peace? What would need to be done to ensure that the other didnt overthrow the leader of the group that made peace with Israel, and hijack a Palestinian state by establishing a formal terrorist state on Israels border?

3. Currently the PLO controls the Arab population centers of West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and Hamas controls Gaza. If Israel made peace with one that didnt control the other territory, would there need to be two Palestinian states, or basically a three state solution?

4. How does it impact things that there is no real effective legitimate government within the Palestinian Authority with their President Abbas now in the 14th year of a 4-year term, and afraid to hold elections at risk of losing his tenuous grip on power? Should the Palestinian Authority hold elections as a referendum on what their people want, or is it good enough for authoritarian leaders to claim that they represent their people and their will if not interests?

5. Would Israeli annexation of Jewish communities in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) necessarily preclude the establishment of a Palestinian state should a partner and the right circumstances come to pass? Could Jewish Israeli communities eventually become part of a Palestinian state, as there are Arab communities that are part of Israel?

6. For some years broader Arab support for Palestinian Arabs has been more symbolic than strident. How will the Arab states respond to the peace plan, to Israels response, to Trump administration? Will their support, or lack of protest, indicate possibly pressuring of the Palestinians, pressure from Trump, or just the idea of waiting things out until the dust settles?

7. Some say that by promoting the plan now, Trump is using this toward his advantage politically. Will the notion of establishing a Palestinian state rebuff Trumps evangelical base of support much of which is stridently opposed to dividing any of the Land of Israel not under Jewish sovereignty? If the plan does not take root, or violence follows, would this increase or decrease Trumps support going into November?

8. With Israeli elections coming up, how will the political parties play up the acceptance, rejection, or qualifications of the Trump peace proposal, and how will this impact politics to try to sway votes from one party to another?

9. Some say that releasing the plan now is a gift to Prime Minister Netanyahu who faces his third election in a year. How will the next several weeks of Israels election season allow it to take any decisive action? Is it possible that rather than a gift to Netanyahu, the plan is really a way to nudge Israels two main left and right of center political parties to form a unity government to work together toward implementation of a peace strategy with a national consensus?

10. Does the nature of the Trump peace plan set a precedent that the US can unilaterally decide on elements of a policies in Israel, and is that a good thing? What will happen when a president is elected who is less friendly toward Israel and decides to do things against Israels interests of possible equal proportion?

Its impossible to predict what will happen broadly as a result of revealing the peace plan, however there are a few things that are intuitive. First, peace will not spontaneously break out. No actual comprehensive peace can be imposed, and it wont happen overnight. It will take negotiation and an acceptance by Palestinian Arabs and whoever their leaders are, that this is in their interest and that Israel is legitimate.

It is also intuitive that this is or will be yet another occasion for Palestinian and other Arabs to incite violence against Israel. Its possible that things could get ugly, very ugly. Simply the idea that pre-mediated and orchestrated violence is a possibility shows how far we have to go in realizing the possibility that they are (or ever will be) ready to make peace.

Whatever the outcomes are, its not going to be boring. Little things that are done, or conversely not done, could be telling. Pay attention and stay tuned.

U.S.-born and educated Jonathan Feldstein immigrated to Israel in 2004. Throughout his life and career, he has fellowshipped with Christian supporters of Israel and shares experiences of living as an Orthodox Jew in Israel. He writes a regular column for Standing With Israel at charismanews.com and other prominent web sites. He can be reached at firstpersonisrael@gmail.com.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Onondaga County 911 received more than 200 vehicle-related calls between 7 a.m. and noon this morning as the snowstorm hit the area, according to 911 call logs.

Of the 200 calls between 7 a.m. and noon, about 50 were reports of collisions, 60 were reports of disabled vehicles and the rest were vehicle complaints.

The snowstorm has created treacherous driving conditions, with many vehicles reported in ditches and trucks unable to get up hills. One call reported a plow struck a vehicle.

The speed limit on 140 miles of the New York State Thruway has been reduced to 45 mph due to the storm.

Multiple counties ahve issued travel advisories, including Onondaga County. Cayuga and Madison counties issued No unnecessary travel while other counties advised caution while traveling. Some cities, including Fulton, Oswego and Utica, declared snow emergencies.

In Oneida County, the Route 49 westound exit ramp to Griffiss in the city of Rome is closed due to multiple tractor trailers stuck in the snow, according to Oneida County sheriffs deputies.

A winter storm watch is in effect until midnight, said the National Weather Service in Binghamton.

Winds are expected to pick up today, possibly gusting up to 35 mph. Travel will be very difficult, the weather service said, with blowing snow significantly reducing visibility. Scattered power outages are possible.

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.
Tears and hugs after a shooting that left 23 people dead in a bar in Veracruz, Mexico last August.

I am from northern Mexico, one of the regions most affected by the global war on drugs.

From 2008 to 2012 my hometown  which Im not naming here for safety reasons  went through one of the most violent times in its history. Shootings between cartels and the military became frequent events, which could happen at any time of the day anywhere in the city. I personally witnessed a shooting just across from the university where I used to teach.

The cartels fueled paranoia on social media. Do not come out tonight, a tweet would warn, because there will be a shooting

My friends and family had similar experiences. Some of them witnessed shootings from their cars, others from their home.

In addition to the growing violence, the Zetas cartel started to bribe the local businesses. If owners did not pay, the cartel would either destroy their businesses or kidnap a family member. As a result, many businesses had to close their doors. The cartels fueled paranoia on social media. Do not come out tonight, a tweet would warn, because there will be a shooting. Sometimes, these threats proved to be true.

Similar terror is occurring across Mexico as a result of the war on cartels launched by former President Felipe Calderon in 2006. The violence unleashed by the governments assault on drug-trafficking groups has wracked a nation.

Life stories of former drug traffickers

Not wanting to stay in a country where I felt so vulnerable, I decided to continue my postgraduate studies abroad, in England. There, I channeled my frustration with Mexicos war on cartels into my doctoral dissertation, which analyzes drug-related violence through the lens of those who committed the crimes.

Between October 2014 and January 2015, I interviewed 33 men who used to work in the drug trade to understand how their experiences relate to their involvement in drug trafficking. From street drug dealers to hitmen and bodyguards, I found, they all share similar life stories.

These firsthand interviews with former drug traffickers, widely known as narcos in Mexico, bring a new perspective to political science research on Mexicos drug war: that of the perpetrators.

This analysis of the narcos narratives sheds light on the possible causes of these mens involvement in the drug trade and elucidates the logic through which they understand the world.

This view is almost entirely neglected by researchers and politicians. To date, Mexican policies to curb drug trafficking and reduce violence have been designed using solely the logic of policymakers.

Is it any surprise theyve failed?

Neither monsters nor victims

My research begins with the premise that the narcos are part of Mexican society, just like anyone else. They are exposed to the same messages, values and traditions.

Yet the Mexican government has systematically rejected this notion, preferring to invoke the same binaries present in US policies, such as the war on drugs and the war on terror. Its us against them, this framing goes: the good guys versus the bad people.

In the movies, the narcos are portrayed as bloodthirsty criminals. More compassionate views, especially in academia, suggest the drug trade is the only option for poor kids in cartel-infested parts of the country.

Beyond being simplistic, such framing conceals nuances that may actually help to explain the root causes of Mexicos drug violence.

The narcos I spoke with do not see themselves as victims or monsters. They do not justify their involvement in the drug trade as a survival strategy. They acknowledge that they chose this illegal industry  even when work in the informal economy would have allowed them to support their families  because, they told me, they wanted more.

Despite seeing themselves as free agents who decided to work in the drug trade, the men I interviewed also see themselves as disposable. They shared feelings of social exclusion and a lack of a life purpose, making them feel that their lives are worthless.

The narcos logic is simple, according to Yuca, one of the men I interviewed: We are, all of us, bound to the law of the fittest.

I knew I was alone, one man, Rigoleto, told me. If I wanted something, I had to get it myself.

My research also reveals that these narcos embrace the governments binary discourse. They identified as they  the people excluded from our civil society. The former drug traffickers I spoke with also reproduce the individualistic, every-man-for-himself ethos that has permeated Mexican society since the introduction of a neoliberal, US-style economic system in the late 1980s.

This ethos is a double-edged sword. Mexicos narcos may not blame the state or society for their condition of poverty  each is, after all, his own man  but they dont feel remorse for their crimes, either. They had the bad luck of being born in poverty, they told me, and their victims had the bad luck to be in their way.

The narcos logic is simple, according to Yuca, one of the men I interviewed: We are, all of us, bound to the law of the fittest.

As Cristian said: In my neighborhood we all knew the rules: You snooze, you lose. That was the law. You have to be tough, you have to be violent, you have to take care of yourself, because nobody will do it for you.

Poverty: A fixed and inevitable condition

This is one of several shared values I identified in my interviews, which together form what I refer to in my dissertation as the narco discourse.

The narco discourse puts poverty in sharp relief. The men I spoke with believe poor people have no future and, therefore, have nothing to lose.

I knew I would grow up and die in poverty, said one of my interviewees, Wilson. I just asked God: Why me?

Poverty is understood as an inevitable condition. Somebody has to be poor, said one man, Lamberto.

There is nothing you can do to avoid it, said another, Tabo.

The narco discourse also assumes that poor children will, like them, inevitably become involved with drugs and gangs. It is taken for granted that poor children have no future, that they are disposable.

When you grow up in a poor neighborhood you know that at some point you will become a drug addict, said Palomo. When you are a drug addict you see yourself as trash. Who would care about the life of a poor drug addict?

In this crowd, I learned, an early death is also seen as inevitable.

When you see so many of your peers dying in street fights, from an overdose, shot by the police, you think that that is your future as well, a man Ill call Tigre told me.

The possibility of being killed or killing, then, isnt necessarily a drawback of the drug trade. The kids who grow up to be drug traffickers assume that death is their destiny.

I always thought that my destiny was to die from an overdose or by a bullet, said Pancho.

Consumerism

One of the few ways poor kids with this worldview could imagine enjoying life, they told me, is by buying stuff  nice stuff, luxury items, things they couldnt afford.

The only way to achieve that is with the easy money that an easy life in the drug business would give them.

They understood the happiness brought on by easy money to be momentary. But still, they said, it was worth it. My interview subjects assume that in this world youre a nobody without money, as Canastas put it.

Crucially, the narcos recognize that the flip side of the easy life is either death or jail.

One day you are in a nice restaurant, surrounded by beautiful women and important people, Ponciano told me. The next day you may wake up in a dungeon.

Thats why the easy life has to be so fast, so hedonistic  to maximize the benefits of that easy money.

As Jaime told me, My goal was to live every day as if was the last. I did not pinch pennies when it came to enjoy[ing] myself. [I bought] the best trucks, the best wines [and had] the most beautiful women.

A real man

In the narco discourse, physical violence is essential to survive, literally, in poor neighborhoods that participants referred to as the jungle.

Violence, I was informed, is learned. Men are not born violent, but they must become violent. As Jorge explained: When I was a child, older children hit me, they took advantage of me because I was alone. I was not violent, but I had to become even more violent than them. You must do it if you want to survive in the streets.

In the jungle, men also had to keep a certain reputation as a real man. As they see it, that means being an aggressive, heterosexual, violent womanizer. A true man is good for partying, drugs and alcohol, said Davila.

The real man cannot show his fears  no emotions, no weaknesses. The best way to hide them, the narcos I interviewed said, is by proving their strength. This can be done in different ways: within your own gangs, fighting rival gangs or at home, with their family.

A recurrent theme in my interviews was the anger that participants felt against their fathers, most of whom were domestic abusers.

Twenty-eight out of the 33 men admitted that at some point in their lives their greatest aspiration had been to kill their fathers. All said their biggest frustration had been watching their fathers beat their mothers. They wanted revenge not for themselves, but for their mothers.

The men invoked the trauma of witnessing gender violence not only when we spoke about their childhood but also when we discussed their reasons for illegal acts such as drug use, vandalism and drug trafficking.

To some participants, a fantasy of making their fathers suffer was their main motivation to work in the drug trade.

My only thought was to kill my father when I grew up, Rorro explained. I wanted to cut him into little pieces. Being a narco gave him that power.

A man named Ponciano told me that he thought of his father when he was torturing his victims.

And I made them suffer even more, like he made us suffer.

Not everyone who had the opportunity to kill their fathers could follow through. Facundo, wishing his father to suffer but unable to kill him, told his dad to leave town.

If I see you again, I will kill you, he said.

What can we learn in Latin America?

Poverty and toxic masculinity. These are, my research finds, two common themes driving the men who commit so much violence not only in Mexico but also across Latin America, the worlds most violent region.

The everyday life of these narcos is a breeding ground for all sorts of violence, from domestic abuse to gang rivalry. When policymakers focus on ending drug violence, this is the view so often missing.

Even when poverty is acknowledged as the root of other major social problems in Mexico, as some researchers have done, there is insufficient knowledge of what living in poverty actually means for these people. While many experiences of poverty were shared by my interviewees, each person in each region and each neighborhood had their own problems and specific needs.

Understanding how that background leads to violence would mean listening  really listening  to men like those I interviewed. And it means asking questions that dont fit within the us versus them mentality of presidents, policymakers and police chiefs. To design more effective policies for ending violence, one must understand the logic, the worldview, of its perpetrators.

Where does all this violence come from? Who justifies its use, and how? How is violence reproduced within Mexican families, and echoed within communities? When the government responds to this violence with more violence  by sending soldiers out to fight crime, as Mexico has done for 12 years  what message does that send?

As long as governments maintain their discourse about good people versus bad men, my research suggests, it will only feed their indifference to us.

Karina Garcia Reyes is an associate teacher at the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom.

This article was adapted from the original version, published on The Conversation Espana as part of a collaboration with the Centro de Investigacion Periodistica (CIPER) in Chile.
Citizens of the United Kingdom are fed up with pretending that the royals can get away with anything. Now theyre fighting back by taking a public stand against Prince Andrew and refusing to fly a flag to commemorate his 60th birthday in February.

Not all royals have the honor of seeing a Union Jack flag flown to celebrate their birthdays. Prince Andrew was one of around ten high-ranking royals on the list until he lost his job and so much respect from the public. The Duke of York has been criticized for his involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein plus is accused of having sexual contact with a 17-year-old woman who was allegedly trafficked by Epstein.

Queen Elizabeth had no choice but to encourage her sons resignation from his post but has since been quietly showing support by spending time with him. Meanwhile, the public is intent on canceling Prince Andrew.

Prince Andrew | Paul Kane/Getty Images

Local government officials pushed back against flying the flag for Prince Andrews birthday

It should have been a happy occasion as Prince Andrew reached a milestone birthday on Feb. 19, 2020. But instead, a dark shadow looms over the event as the public voices their displeasure for the former working royal.

The Telegraph reported that an email reminder for government officials to fly the flag on Prince Andrews birthday spurred an outrage, with local officials calling the idea inappropriate in the wake of the scandal.

A government spokesperson said theyre working out a new flag-flying policy that would take into consideration changing circumstances, such as royals who leave the working life. This applies to Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, who will most likely not have flags flown on their birthdays, either.

Union Jack flag | Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Citizens do not support Prince Andrew after his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein

Even though Prince Andrew agreed to an in-depth interview on national television to clear his name of wrongdoing, that move ultimately sealed his fate and made him look more guilty than he did before. Viewer agreed that the interview made Prince Andrew appear unapologetic to victims plus arrogant and irrational. Just days after the disastrous interview aired, the Duke of York announced he was stepping down as a senior royal.

Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said flying a flag for Prince Andrews birthday would outrage the locals.

This isnt to do with being anti-royal, we have flown the flag for the Queen before. But Prince Andrew isnt a major royal, hes not a significant member of the Royal Family, he said. When you look at his behavior  it wouldnt be appropriate for us to mark his birthday.

Queen Elizabeth hopes Princess Beatrices wedding will mark a turning point

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The royal family reputation is in peril right now between Prince Andrews scandal and Prince Harry and Meghan abruptly stepping away from their royal duties. But with a royal wedding to look forward to later this year, Queen Elizabeth is hoping the family can be reunited and their reputation salvaged.

Will the residual backlash from the scandal taint Princess Beatrices wedding celebration, or will the citizens be able to forgive her father, Prince Andrew, by then? Well all be watching to find out.
A doctor who was reprimanded by local police for trying to warn doctors about the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan has died after being infected by the virus, Chinese media has reported.

Li Wenliang was one of eight whistleblowers who tried to send a message to other medics about a Sars-like illness at the end of December.

Global Times, an English-language newspaper linked to the Chinese Communist Party, reported earlier that Dr Li was in a critical condition after his heart reportedly stopped beating at Wuhan Central Hospital. In a statement on its Weibo social media account, the hospital said Dr Li passed away at 2.58am on Friday after emergency treatment.

It had been reported earlier that the doctor was receiving treatment with Ecmo (extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation) and medics were attempting to resuscitate him.

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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. 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(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 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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: 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In December, Dr Li was accused of spreading rumours by Chinese police and summoned to a government Public Security Bureau, where he was warned that he should not continue to make comments that disturb the social order.

We solemnly warn you: If you keep being stubborn, with such impertinence, and continue this illegal activity, you will be brought to justice  is that understood? an official letter given to the doctor said.

Chinas Supreme Court later criticised police in Wuhan for the crackdown and admitted that the information about the virus was not completely inaccurate.

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Dr Li was diagnosed with coronavirus on 30 January after treating patients in the outbreak, which has killed more than 550 people and infected more than 28,000.

Were very sorry to hear of the loss of any frontline worker who has attempted to care for patients, Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisations Health Emergencies Programme said at a press conference in Geneva after hearing about reports of his death. We ourselves have lost our friends in the frontline, so we should celebrate his life and mourn his death with his colleagues.

The UK reported its third case of coronavirus on Thursday, although Chris Witty, the governments chief medical officer, said the patient did not contract the illness in Britain.

It came just hours after Chinas ambassador to London accused the UK of overreacting to the outbreak following government advice to British nationals to leave the country.

We did tell them overreaction is not helpful, Liu Xiaoming said. We asked them to take the advice of the World Health Organisation [to] make a reasonable response. Do not overreact.

All countries, including the UK, should understand and support Chinas efforts, avoid overreaction, avoid creating panic, and ensure normal co-operation and exchanges between countries.
Y our heart pounds so hard you fear they can hear it. Your voice shakes uncontrollably. Your mind goes blank. The words dont come. And all the time the audience look on expectantly.

This combination  being highly visible and feeling out of control is the peculiarly toxic mix that most people connect with that dreaded phrase Public speaking Why wouldnt you dread something that makes you feel simultaneously out of control and judged? Its a pretty daunting combination I think we can all agree. But it doesnt have to be like that. You can learn to make your public moments feel positive and in control rather than rabbit In the headlights.

For the last 15 years, Ive worked with, (and learned from) actors, execs, schoolchildren, politicians. Ive watched people overcome their fears and speak with confidence in their big moments. In the process Ive heard almost every fear you can imagine about public speaking. Ive learned that everyone gets nervous sometimes. Even Helen Mirren gets shaky hands when she has to make a speech. A Cabinet minister told me of an extremely senior politician having to hide in the disabled loo before speaking to a local association. Ive heard from the new FTSE 100 CEO of the abject terror he feels before his first Board meeting. Its strangely calming to know that these feelings are ubiquitous. They are human. And when you normalise your nerves, you can use them to power you not panic you.

First things first. Can we agree to put the phrase 'public speaking' in room 101? Its so deeply 20th century, redolent of lecterns and death by powerpoint. We dont talk about public dancing' or 'public singing' do we? Shall we agree to call it speaking from now on, no matter who you are talking to. Then it feels normal- human, even. If you can have a relaxed conversation with two people, know this  with the right skills in place you can have a relaxed conversation with two hundred. And heres how, my top tips to give you the control back when you speak

Caroline Goyder

1. If you dread public for weeks before... stop making the disaster movie

Dread often comes when we make the disaster movie of what could go wrong in front of an audience. Im no Pollyanna, its definitely a good idea to contemplate the risks before stepping out on stage. But the trouble is I talk to so many people who dread it so much that they avoid all preparation. Dont do it. Flip from victim who is immobilised by fear to the hero who fins their courage. When the dread comes take control. Ask yourself, if I knew I could do this, what would I do?' Imagine how you would speak if you felt confident. Make a movie in your head of it going well  what do you see, hear and feel in that dream movie?

The key is not to stop there  once youve got clear on the vision  then do the work. Map out what you saw and heard in your movie. Then a gentle way to practise is on voice notes on your phone. Speak it in sections and listen back. Get the look you visualised right. Do what you need to get you feeling as confident as possible on the day. And if after this you are still dreading it a little bit (totally normal by the way), make sure you have a treat you have waiting for you when you finish, it gets you through!

2. If you get impostor syndrome... think how can I help?

So often we worry about speaking in public because we think 'Im not good enough'. We compare ourselves to all those other confident types out there. It can make public speaking seem like a solo act where we are competing with others. Competition is the wrong frame. When you are asked to speak, you are there because you know something that can help others, You are there to contribute, not compete. Make 'how can I help' your mantra when prepping to speak, as it puts you in service of others, which takes the edge of the anxiety. And when you step out in front of the audience, show up with contribution in mind. If you help people who cares if you are better or worse than the next person. Its irrelevant. You are you. You are enough.

3. If you feel nervous... use it

Nerves are not a bad thing. They are helpful, you just have to get your nervous system under control. Adrenaline is really just arousal  the racing heart, the flushing. This can also be a good thing cant it? It can happen when we fall in love as much as when we make a speech. To get those butterflies flying in formation there are some ground rules. You have to tell your system its safe, not under mortal threat. First step away from your phone. it may be tempting to distract yourself but its a big no-no if you want to be in control. Your phone is your pocket saboteur for public speaking, because it can trigger breath-holding and text neck  two big culprits when it comes to making you wired and adrenal  a toxic combination.

The best way to make your system feel safe is to focus on your senses, not the chatter in your brain. Fill your attention with 'I can feel air on my face, clothes on my skin, my feet on the floor. Look around to get a sense of what is all around you. Notice something you havent seen before'. Straighten up, ears over shoulders, to tell your system you are in control. As you walk out on stage imagine your audience are old friends and remember that you are lucky to be here, to be invited to speak. Embrace the rush as something fun, a sense of your power, rather than something to be feared.

4. If youre an introvert... own it

Introverts can be great speakers too - you just have to do it your own way. Personally, I love nothing better than sitting quietly reading a book. But Ive learned that I can feel confident as a speaker. There are two requirements. First give yourself quiet time before you speak. Second know that every pause is a moment to come back to yourself. Practise those pauses, audiences love a speaker who can think in front of them. Be comfortable with finding moments of stillness. Look out for speakers who do it well, and know that you dont have to be loud on stage. Quiet charisma can be just as compelling.

5. If you go blank... rehearse

Fear can shut down parts of the brain as your system readys you to fight or run. So you need to get the words really deep in the muscle memory to make sure you can remember them no matter what. Rehearsal is key. You have to speak it as well as write it. As a rule of thumb, you need to have said something aloud three times before you say it in a high pressure situation. You need to say something three times aloud before you say it to an audience. Then when the butterflies come, you have a back up drive in your brain. Voice notes on your phone can be a pain free way to do this.Then its a really good idea to rehearse in front of someone supportive, because it gives you a sense of the adrenalin you will get on the day.

6. If you rush, or get the shakes... find your brakes

The rush when you walk out in front of an audience can feel totally overwhelming. The flight part of fight or flight takes over and you start to speak at hyper speed. Your brain screams 'get out of there' at you, but because all speech is out-breath theres a really straightforward way to get the control back and feel comfortable in front of even the biggest audiences. The secret is to breathe out before you start to speak. Most people feel the adrenaline rush and do a gasped stressed breath as they start to speak. They then turn into a runaway train, accelerating through the talk without brakes. But we dont gasp for breath in conversations with our dearest friends, we pause and wait for the next breath to come.

And thats the secret to being relaxed, conversational and in control on stage. Cut the gasp, find your brakes. Its like driving lessons this  you need to practise it for it to be yours under pressure. When you rehearse your talk practise this calm start. Then keep it going through the pauses. At the end of sentences practise closing your mouth and imagine smelling a rose with all the time in the world (NB it's not a sniff  its a silent, relaxed easy in breath that looks and sounds like a relaxed pause to the audience). The biggest epiphany for me as a speaker was that I only had to think about one sentence at a time. Start well. Breathe. Next sentence breathe feels so much more manageable than runaway train, doesnt it?

7. If you blush... focus out

If you feel yourself blushing, focus your senses out on something in the room. When we blush research tells us that its often because we are worrying about what someone else is thinking about us. Then we worry that they are seeing us blush and it spirals. You have to prise yourself out of your own anxieties and into the room. Notice what someone is wearing, or something yoy havent seen before to flip your focus. Or ask the audience a question and get the focus out on them.
Meeting of Ukrainian-Hungarian commission to be held in March, may open the way for Zelensky-Orban meeting  Hungarian FM

In March, the first meeting over seven years of the intergovernmental Ukrainian-Hungarian cooperation commission will take place in Budapest.

"Our bilateral commission has not been meeting for seven years, which is absolutely unacceptable both in my opinion and in Peter's opinion. Therefore, today we've agreed not to postpone this issue and hold a commission meeting in Budapest the next month," said Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine on European and Euro-Atlantic integration Dmytro Kuleba at a press briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

He added that the event would focus on very specific projects that can be jointly implemented by Ukraine and Hungary.

In turn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Hungary Peter Szijjarto noted: "In March, we will hold the next meeting of the intergovernmental commission on cooperation in Budapest. And, as Dmytro said, it is unacceptable that the commission has not been meeting for seven years."

According to him, at these negotiations the parties expect to agree on the construction of at least one checkpoint on the border.

"If the meeting of the intergovernmental commission is successful, it will open the way also for a meeting in the spring of Prime Minister Mr. Orban and President Mr. Zelensky," Szijjarto said.
Kokrajhar : , Feb 7 (IANS) Yet again taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' jibe targeting him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that sticks cannot harm him as he is protected by the 'armour of blessings' provided by the mothers and sisters of this country.

Modi, without naming Rahul Gandhi, said, "At times people talk of beating me with danda (stick). But when Modi is protected by the armour of blessings provided by so many mothers and sisters, whatever be the number of sticks rained on me, nothing will happen.

"You have come to embrace me... this has increased my confidence," he said while addressing a rally during the 3rd Bodo Peace Accord celebrations here, about 216 km from state capital Guwahati.

Visibly happy at the huge gathering, which included a large number of women, Modi called it the largest rally in independent India.

"The political pundits will surely at some point of time say that this is the largest rally after Independence," he said.

Modi said that he has been coming to the region for decades. "Even after becoming the Prime Minister, I come to this region regularly. But this time the atmosphere is giving me the utmost satisfaction. I have addressed so many rallies. But never have I seen such a sea of humanity," he said.

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday had said that the youth of India will "beat him (Modi) up with a stick" given the rising unemployment in the country.

The former Congress President was addressing a rally in poll-bound Delhi when he said that Modi will "not be able to step out of his house in six months from now. The youth of India will beat him with sticks to make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress." The Prime Minister on Thursday gave a befitting reply to Rahul Gandhi over his 'danda' jibe, saying that he would be sufficiently prepared given his pursuance of yoga in the last 20 years. He said his back has become 'danda-proof', and he will further strengthen it with more 'surya namaskars'.

The issue led to an uproar in the Lok Sabha on Friday, with BJP and Congress MPs getting engaged in a scuffle when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan was making a speech condemning Rahul Gandhi's remark.
The death of coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang has triggered a wave of public anger towards the Chinese government over its handling of the outbreak.

Li, a 34-year-old opthalmologist in the city of Wuhan, became one of the most visible public figures during the crisis after he was reprimanded by police for spreading rumours about the illness.

News of his death on Friday morning became the most-read topic on Chinas microblogging wesbite Weibo and prompted hundreds of thousands of people to pay tribute below the doctors final post on social media.

A hero who released information about Wuhans epidemic in the early stage, Dr Li Wenliang is immortal, wrote Zeng Guang, chief scientist at the China Center for Disease Control.

Light a candle and pay tribute to the hero, said one user of microblogging site Weibo. You were the beam of light in the night.

Others placed blame for the deaths on Chinese officials and called for the government to apologise for its treatment of Li, although the most critical comments were quickly deleted by censors. Some internet users protested by replacing their profiles with a white exclamation mark on a black background.

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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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. 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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 World Health Organisation said on Twitter that it was deeply saddened by news of his death while Amnesty International said the doctors death highlighted Chinas human rights failings.

The case of Li Wenliang is a tragic reminder of how the Chinese authorities preoccupation with maintaining stability drives it to suppress vital information about matters of public interest, said Nicholas Bequelin, the organisationss director for the region.

Nobody should face harassment or sanctions for speaking out about public dangers, just because it may cause embarrassment to the government.

Chinas anti-corruption agency, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said on Friday it would send investigators to Wuhan to probe issues raised by the people in connection with Dr Li Wenliang.

Recommended Chinese doctor who warned about coronavirus dies after being infected

Li raised concerns about the new virus in a message to a group of doctors on WeChat, a Chinese messaging platform, in December. He also posted a picture of a test result and gave details of the virus links to a seafood market in Wuhan.

On 3 January the city police bureau sent him a letter saying he had severely disrupted social order and warned the doctor he would face criminal charges unless he promised to stop posting messages.

Last Saturday Li revealed he had tested positive for the coronavirus. It is likely he contracted the illness while treating patients at Wuhan Central Hospital.

Following his death at 2.58am local time on Friday, the Wuhan government issued a statement expressing deep condolences and regret.

We pay tribute to how he stood at the front line to fight the epidemic and offer our sincere condolences to his family, the government added.

China has confirmed at least 636 deaths and more than 31,000 cases of the coronavirus since the start of the outbreak.

Additional reporting by agencies
Seventeen years after the African Union passed the Maputo Declaration of 2003, which among other things stipulates the allocation of 10 per cent of federal budgets to development of agriculture, Nigeria is yet to implement the agreement.

This is in spite that the Nigerian government signed the agreement in 2003, after which the National Assembly ratified it on 16 December 2004.

African Heads of State and Government passed the declaration at the Second Ordinary Assembly of the AU in Mozambique in July 2003 to promote food security and maximise tangible growth in agriculture.

All but three member-countries of the AU (Botswana, Egypt and Morocco) endorsed the Maputo Declaration on Agriculture and Food Security in Africa.

An AU report titled High-Level Consultation on the Ratification of the Maputo Protocol said the protocol entered into force in 2005 with member nations expected to reach ratification, full domestication and implementation by 2020.

Currently, out of the 55 AU member states, 40 have ratified the Maputo protocol, with South Sudan the latest to do so.

The declaration contained several significant resolutions, prominent among which is the commitment of at least 10 per cent of national budgetary allocation to agriculture and rural development from within five years of the Declaration.

However, since the treaty was signed, Nigeria has never met the target set for funding agriculture in Africa.

Stephen Ajala, the Head of Department of Food Engineering at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), said Nigeria does not implement international agreements.

Almost all agreements, MoU etc signed by the government of our country are not implemented, he said.

Mr Ajala told this newspaper that 10 per cent of the national budget or more can be allocated to the agriculture sector if there is a willingness on the part of the government.

However, you know everything is politicised here, such allocation would be hijacked by the politicians for selfish reasons, he said.

INFOGRAPH: How Nigeria perpetually flouted the MAPUTO AGREEMENT signed in 2003. [CREDIT: Kabir Yusuf]

Checks by PREMIUM TIMES revealed that in 2003 when the pact was signed, budgetary allocation to agriculture was N18.05 billion, representing a measly 1.85 per cent of the national budget of N976.3 billion.

YEAR AGRIC ALLOCATION NATIONAL BUDGET PERCENTAGE (%) 2003 18,048,971,868 976,254,543,375 0.0185 2004 18,984,349,367 1,302,523,844,588 0.0146 2005 20,474,709,808 1,799,938,243,138 0.0114 2006 30,813,391,000 1,899,987,922,467 0.0162 2007 38,300,000,000 2,266,394,423,477 0.0169 2008 134,859,874,260 2,492,076,718,937 0.0541 2009 166,924,361,057 3,101,858,996,078 0.0538 2010 55,334,891,441 4,206,465,676,684 0.0132 2011 65,868,226,097 4,484,736,648,992 0.0147 2012 81,209,867,833 4,877,209,156,933 0.0167 2013 83,204,844,639 4,987,220,425,601 0.0167 2014 67,044,675,939 4,695,190,000,000 0.0143 2015 40,621,020,717 4,493,363,957,157 0.009 2016 75,806,548,275 6,060,677,358,227 0.0125 2017 135,545,345,061 7,441,175,486,758 0.0182 2018 172,796,092,743 8,612,236,953,214 0.0201 2019 137,871,024,261 8,916,234,441,501 0.015 2020 183,081,647,920 10,608,332,364,829 0.0173

Between 2004- 2007, allocations to the agricultural sector relative to total national budget fell to 1.46 per cent in 2004, then to 1.14 per cent in 2005, before it went up to 1.62 per cent and 1.69 per cent respectively in the next two years.

Nigeria recorded the highest budgetary allocation to its agricultural sector in 2008 and 2009.

The 2008 budget allocated 5.41 per cent (N134.90 billion) of the N2.4 trillion total to agriculture. The N166.90 billion allocated to the sector in 2009 was 5.38 per cent of the N3.1 trillion national budget.

Least allocation

In 2015, agriculture drew the least budgetary allocation with only 0.9 per cent of the N4.49 trillion total.

Also, between 2016 2019, Nigeria budgeted 1.25, 1.82, 2.01 and 1.50 percent of the N6.10, N7.44, N8.61 and N8.92 trillions total respectively .

How Nigeria perpetually flouted the MAPUTO AGREEMENT signed in 2003

YEAR NATIONAL BUDGET AGRIC ALLOCATION WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BUDGETED DEFICIT PERCENTAGE 2003 976,254,543,375 18,048,971,868 97,625,454,337.5 79,576,482,469.5 0.018487977331817 2004 1,302,523,844,588 18,984,349,367 130,252,384,458.8 111,268,035,091.8 0.014575049390366 2005 1,799,938,243,138 20,474,709,808 179,993,824,313.8 159,519,114,505.8 0.01137522905914 2006 1,899,987,922,467 30,813,391,000 189,998,792,246.7 159,185,401,246.7 0.016217677299754 2007 2,266,394,423,477 38,300,000,000 226,639,442,347.7 188,339,442,347.7 0.016899088527248 2008 2,492,076,718,937 134,859,874,260 249,207,671,893.7 114,347,797,633.7 0.054115458499016 2009 3,101,858,996,078 166,924,361,057 310,185,899,607.8 143,261,538,550.8 0.053814296932278 2010 4,206,465,676,684 55,334,891,441 420,646,567,668.4 365,311,676,227.4 0.013154723155764 2011 4,484,736,648,992 65,868,226,097 448,473,664,899.2 382,605,438,802.2 0.014687200442819 2012 4,877,209,156,933 81,209,867,833 487,720,915,693.3 406,511,047,860.3 0.016650888903864 2013 4,987,220,425,601 83,204,844,639 498,722,042,560.1 415,517,197,921.1 0.016683610816936 2014 4,695,190,000,000 6,7044,675,939 469,519,000,000 40,247,432,4061 0.014279438305798 2015 4,493,363,957,157 40,621,020,717 449,336,395,715.7 408,715,374,998.7 0.0090402248970505 2016 6,060,677,358,227 75,806,548,275 60,6067,735,822.7 530,261,187,547.7 0.012507933320703 2017 7,441,175,486,758 135,545,345,061 744,117,548,675.8 608,572,203,614.8 0.018215582377033 2018 8,612,236,953,214 172,796,092,743 861,223,695,321.4 688,427,602,578.4 0.020064019799004 2019 8,916,234,441,501 137,871,024,261 891,623,444,150.1 753,752,419,889.1 0.015462920492453 2020 10,608,332,364,829 183,081,647,920 1,060,833,236,482.9 877,751,588,562.9 0.017258287318277

This year, the federal government plans to spend N183 billion on agriculture, representing 1.73 per cent of the 10.6 trillion national budget.

Low allocations, curious projects

While Nigerias agricultural sector struggles to draw more allocation, an analysis of this years agriculture budget by PREMIUM TIMES showed that the spending plan contains vague projects, some of which are completely out of the scope of agriculture.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how some agencies under the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) are planning to execute projects that have no agricultural significance.

For instance, 80 per cent (55 of 68) of the projects to be executed by the Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI) are capacity-building and empowerment projects which ICPC advised should be suspended.

NSPRI, an agency headquartered in Ilorin, Kwara State, has a primary mandate to curb post-harvest loss of crops in Nigeria. But in the 2020 budget, the agency plans to construct ICT centres and provide equipment in selected secondary schools in Lagos.

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It plans to repeat these projects three times this year at a total cost of 768 billion  first for 255 million, then 256 million and 257 million.

Other such projects extraneous to agricultural development were discovered in the budgets of River Basin Development Authority (RBDA), Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Lagos, Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN), and National Center for Agricultural Mechanisation among others.

Adegboyega Taofeek, a senior research fellow at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), said there is an urgent need to reverse the trend of inadequate budgetary provisions.

It is worrisome to note that we are far below the 10 per cent annual budgetary allocation as agreed upon in Maputo Declaration. The sequence of the budgetary allocations shows the agriculture sector received 1.86 % in 2017; 2.23 % in 2018 and far less than 3 % in the 2020 budgets.

Mr Taofeek said low budgetary allocations and lack of political will are the major factors hindering the development of the sector.

He urged the National Assembly and the executive to walk the talk if really the government is serious about diversification of the economy through agriculture, which has been seen as a valuable tool in reshaping the economy.

Prospects

The World Bank forecasts that Africas food market will grow to $1 trillion by 2030. In the case of Nigeria, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) suggests that for the country to maintain its share of the continents agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP), it has to grow the sectors revenues by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.7 per cent.

For this to be achieved, the agricultural budget to GDP will have to be sustained at least at seven per cent annually, the group wrote in its report, titled: Evaluating Agriculture Finance in Nigeria.

Mr Adegboyega said there must be more budgetary provisions for agriculture, particularly given increasing population, food insecurity and adverse effects of climate change.

Mr Ajala noted that Nigeria has fertile soil but this alone will not improve output.

There is a need to research for improved seeds, pesticides and herbicides. However, the most important is improved storage facilities to curb post-harvest losses, he said.

How other countries are faring

A report by Messrs Bassey and Omeremma, titled; Agricultural Expenditure, Maputo Declaration Target and Agricultural Output: A case study of Nigeria noted that nine out of 55 countries of the AU member states have met the Maputo target, but Nigeria is not among them.

Of the nine compliant countries, seven have been consistent over the years. They are Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mali, Niger and Burundi.

The report showed that countries like Ghana, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso have achieved tremendous improvement on their agricultural GDP, with a growth rate above 10 per cent of national GDP.

Between 2005 and 2014, Ghanas average annual growth rate in the agricultural sector was 9.5 per cent. This was attributed to an increase in expenditure of the sector.
The resignation of the creative director, funding shortfalls, rebranding, and extra public relations costs have added to the drama, writes Lorna Siggins

Galway 2020 creative director, Helen Marriage, has described herself as a weather witch, so this weekends forecast may not cost her any sleep. Hail, rain, or whatever Storm Ciara has to offer, the city will mark the formal opening of its European Capital of Culture programme with light, fire, drums and music, and one enormous sigh of relief.

Theres an open invitation for thousands of people to swarm into the Claddaghs South Park (known locally as the Swamp), for the big party. Wellington boots are advised and President Michael D Higgins will be guest of honour. Should conditions prove too challenging on Saturday evening, the event license extends to Sunday.

Live music, pyrotechnics, and seven giant, glowing orbs, representing county and city communities, will light up the coastal rim during the hour-long ceremony, between 6pm and 7pm. A new work by celebrated Irish language poet Louis de Paor will be premiered, voiced by Olwen Fouere, Brid Ni Neachtain, Stephen Rea, Naisrin Elsafty, and Caitlin Ni Chualain.

Event hosts, Wonder Works, veterans of the 2012 and 2016 Olympic games, in London and Rio de Janeiro, respectively, have billed it as a large-scale, dramatic explosion of sound and vision.

Finnish artist Kari Kola hopes to be among the throng, sporting what he describes as the longest beard you will ever have seen.

Kola roars laughing at Irish obsessions with weather: his home is within the Arctic Circle. He is planning one of the programmes first major events, an illumination of Lough na Fooey, in Connemara, during St Patricks Day festivities, from March 14 to 17.

Kola, whose project is called Savage Beauty, developed his obsession with light in a land where winter sun is fleeting, has illuminated the UNESCO Stonehenge site and Finlands sacred Saana mountain, among some 2,500 such projects. He and his team have scoped out Lough na Fooey, the glacial lake central to the Joyce Country and Western Lakes geopark, for some 1,000 LED light fixtures and seven high-powered blue beams.

It will be a big, panoramic picture, contrasting blue and green on the landscape, with nature providing the sound, he told he Irish Examiner. And the lack of light pollution in this area makes it all the more special. Galway 2020 chief executive, Patricia Philbin, who was seconded from Galway City Council to head up the project, in October 2018, has been delighted with the turnout for this weeks build-up in the county, starting in Clifden last Sunday night.

Its lovely to see how proud people are to represent their communities, she says. This week, National Geographic Traveller was the latest international publication to put Galway on the tourism map for this year.

The superlatives from foreign publications have been in contrast to the national and local headlines generated by Galway 2020 since the resignation of its first creative director, Chris Baldwin, in late May 2018.

Soothing noises from Europe that this is the norm in cultural capital projects have cut no ice in a city already brimming with expertise, developed over decades by groups like Druid, Macnas, Branar, Blue Teapot, Music for Galway, and the international arts festival.

At the time of Philbins appointment, 21 leading arts groups were so concerned that they sought an urgent meeting with the chief executives of both Galway city and county councils. The artists were seriously worried about a loss of creative vision, funding shortfalls, poor communication, and other issues.

Over the past 18 months, Philbin and her team, including Helen Marriage, from British company Artichoke, have sought to generate a more positive image. Notwithstanding, the project has continued to generate its own, long-running drama.

Funding earmarked for bid-book projects was cut, and the project has failed to generate an anticipated 7m in private sponsorship; 0.5m is in the bank, with the balance of around 2m promised in kind.

Money has been spent on rebranding, additional public relations, audience monitoring (a 200,000 contract), and other ancillaries, and Galway 2020 employs 40 staff, including several seconded from the city council. It is anticipated that media partnerships will help to create stunning images on camera.

Full details of the financial breakdown have not been made public, as the vehicle established to run Galway 2020 is registered as a private company, limited by guarantee. Yet, as Connacht Tribune arts editor Judy Murphy has pointed out, there is a requirement for more transparency and accountability when the bulk of the funding committed, as in 25m, is coming from the State.

Late last month, a bid by Galway city manager, Brendan McGrath, to secure city councillors sanction for an extra 2.5m, on top of 6m already committed, backfired, due to lack of financial detail.

The list of additional projects for the city that was circulated to councillors appeared to duplicate projects already listed in last Septembers programme. A second attempt to secure the councillors agreement will be made at the next council meeting, on Monday.

Had it been handled differently, one of the promised extra events could be generating far more positive news. Chinese dissident artist, Ai Wei Weis Law of the Journey involves a 70-metre inflatable lifeboat, bearing 250 sculptures of men, women, and children.

Galways dearth of arts infrastructure had been a key reason it lost to Cork the 2005 European capital of culture designation. One of the commitments made by Galway 2020 to the Department of Culture is to create a legacy, but there is a sense it will be more ephemeral.

The current legacy for the slightly war-weary artistic community is a sense that its own local authority could not trust it to handle the capital of culture.

As Murphy says, there is no shortage of experience and professionalism, and if artists in Galway had been given 25m of the 39m budget for the European Capital of Culture, the spend could have included both a much-needed permanent piece of arts infrastructure and an impressive programme.
BRISBANE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Caption Health, a leading medical AI company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized marketing of Caption Guidance, software that assists medical professionals in the acquisition of cardiac ultrasound images. Caption Guidance uses artificial intelligence to provide real-time guidance and diagnostic quality assessment of images, empowering healthcare providerseven those without prior ultrasound experiencewith the ability to capture diagnostic quality images. Empowering more clinicians with ultrasound image acquisition capability will bring the benefits of ultrasound to more patients, help standardize the quality of care, and help institutions realize valuable cost and time savings.

Experience the interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8688351-caption-health-fda-authorization-first-ai-guided-image-acquisition-system/

Caption Guidance was authorized via the De Novo pathway, a regulatory pathway reserved for novel technologies. The granting of this De Novo is groundbreaking, as Caption Guidance is the first medical software authorized by the FDA that provides real-time AI guidance for medical imaging acquisition. Caption Guidance is equipped with numerous features that together act as a co-pilot for clinicians when performing an ultrasound exam. The software emulates the guidance that an expert sonographer would provide to optimize the image, including providing real-time guidance on how to manipulate the transducer, and automated feedback on diagnostic image quality.

"No patient should have to forgo a potentially life-saving cardiac ultrasound," said Andy Page, chief executive officer of Caption Health. "Through the power of artificial intelligence, Caption Guidance will provide patients with unprecedented access to ultrasound when and where they need it most."

FDA's authorization of Caption Guidance comes at a time when democratization of ultrasound is touted as the future of healthcare due to portable form factors and increasing hardware affordability. Ultrasound is a safe, non-invasive, and powerful diagnostic tool, and its benefits to patients have been demonstrated in a variety of clinical settings, from the emergency department to the operating room. However, performing ultrasound is challenging and requires specialized training to master, which prevents its adoption and can compromise quality and care.

"We founded Caption Health to tackle head-on some of the most challenging, intractable problems in medicine," said Charles Cadieu, co-founder and president. "This FDA authorization confirms our unique ability to couple breakthrough technology with robust clinical validation. And we're just getting started."

Caption Guidance will initially be deployed in acute point-of-care settings, including emergency and anesthesiology departments and critical care units, with plans to expand to additional departments. These settings serve a high volume of patients; emergency rooms alone are visited by one in five U.S. adults at least once per year.1 In these environments, ultrasound can be used to triage, monitor, and assess patients who have chest pain, shortness of breath, cardiac arrest, and many other conditions, as well as for the detection of heart disease.

"Point-of-care ultrasound has been demonstrated to expedite time to diagnosis, reduce the need for more costly testing, and decrease complications from invasive procedures," said Dr. John Bailitz, System Point of Care Ultrasound Education Director, Northwestern Medicine. "Caption Guidance can unlock these benefits by addressing one of the largest barriers to ultrasound adoption: the ability to acquire diagnostic quality images quickly."

Marketing authorization was granted after the FDA reviewed extensive performance testing, including data from a pivotal multi-center prospective clinical trial conducted by Northwestern Medicine and Minneapolis Heart Institute at Allina Health, evaluating the use of Caption Guidance by registered nurses (RNs) with no prior ultrasound experience. Caption Guidance successfully met its primary endpoints, meeting the pre-specified criteria for study success.

In this study, eight RNs with no prior ultrasound experience used Caption Guidance to perform ultrasound exams on 240 patients, following a short training course. Patients were stratified to include a wide range of body-mass index and cardiac pathologies. The RNs acquired limited echo exams of 10 views each. Each exam was assessed by a panel of 5 expert cardiologists to determine if the exam was of sufficient quality to make a set of specific qualitative visual assessments.

Caption Guidance successfully met all four primary endpoints, meeting the pre-specified criteria for study success by acquiring images of sufficient quality for specific clinical assessments. Namely, the RNs successfully acquired limited echo exams for qualitative visual assessments of left ventricular size: 98.8%, 95% CI [96.7, 100]; left ventricular function: 98.8% [96.7, 100]; right ventricular size: 92.5% [88.1, 96.9]; and pericardial effusion: 98.8% [96.7, 100].

In 2018, the FDA granted Breakthrough Device designation to Caption Guidance. To qualify for such designation, a device must provide for more effective treatment or diagnosis of a life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating disease or condition, and meet additional criteria including being a breakthrough technology with no approved alternatives and offers significant advantages over existing alternatives.

"Throughout the process, the FDA demonstrated a sophisticated understanding of AI and its unique regulatory considerations," said Sam Surette, head of RA & QA at Caption Health. "It has been a privilege to collaborate with the Agency on the development of a new regulatory paradigm for AI-guided image acquisition."

In addition to Caption Guidance, Caption Health's full software suite includes automated interpretation and quality assessment capabilities, to assist clinicians throughout their workflow. Caption Guidance software can be integrated onto compatible ultrasound devices. It will be paired with Caption Health's automated ejection fraction interpretation capability and will be offered to the market as Caption AI.

About Caption Health

Caption Health was founded in 2013 on a simple but powerful concept: what if we could use technology to emulate the expertise of highly trained medical experts and put that ability into the hands of every care provider? Our vision is to move specialty diagnostics and decision making to the point of care for every patient exam. We are developing AI software that empowers healthcare providers with new capabilities to acquire and interpret ultrasound exams.

Media Contact:

Aaron Murphy

Edelman

[email protected]

415-229-3331

1 CDC National Health Statistics Report, 2016

SOURCE Caption Health
Bashar al-Assads Russia-backed offensive on Syria's northwestern enclave of Idlib  home to the last rebel-held areas  has forced some 150,000 civilians to flee over the past two weeks and led to direct clashes with Turkey.

Why it matters: David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee, tells Axios that the future of Idlib is being decided by an arm wrestle between the Russians and the Turks with no U.S. engagement and massive humanitarian consequences.

Turkey, which supported the rebels against Assad, announced earlier this week that eight of its forces had been killed by shelling in Idlib. It claimed to have "neutralized" 76 Syrian troops in response.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reserved some of his ire for Assad's patron, Russia. Turkey and Russia have inched closer together in recent years but stand on opposite sides in Syria as well as Libya.

Erdogan fears yet another mass exodus of refugees to Turkey, which already hosts more than 3 million Syrians.

What to watch: In northeast Syria, meanwhile, there have been a series of potentially dangerous standoffs between Russian contractors and U.S. troops, per WSJ. U.S. envoy James Jeffrey says Russia is attempting to challenge our presence in the northeast.
Africa is a beautiful continent. Many consider it one of the best destinations for anyone seeking enlightenment, cultural experiences, and adventure. For tourists who visit the continent, it is usually an experience of a lifetime graced by unique views of nature. While many countries in Africa have attractive tour destinations, some can be a nightmare. The most dangerous African countries are characterised by crime, political, and economic instability. Which countries are these?

Image: unsplash.com

Source: UGC

Africa is perhaps the only continent in the world that is constantly changing. Some changes are positive, others volatile, and many are downright dangerous. Safety in some of the 54 countries is a slippery issue. If you are travelling to Africa, you should do your homework well before reaching your preferred destinations.

What is the most dangerous African country?

According to Travel Risk Map, here are the most dangerous African countries to visit (in alphabetical order).

1. Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso is one of the most dangerous countries in Africa. Some of the things that make it dangerous include kidnappings, crime, and terrorism. There exist many extremist groups in the country that plot terror attacks in the capital city. Their main targets include police stations, mining sites, hotels, places of worship, and restaurants. Terrorist attacks have happened in the French Embassy and Army Headquarters in Ouagadougou.

READ ALSO: A list of African countries that receive the most tourists annually

Since 2015, the country has experienced a military coup, state of emergency and terrorist attacks that gained global attention. Some of the worst places to visit in the country include the region of Boucle de Mouhoun, Sourou and Kossi provinces, Loroum, Koulpelogo, and Kenedougou, among others. If you are planning to visit the country, you should review your security plans and take the necessary steps to lessen the risk of becoming a victim of violence.

2. Central African Republic

The Central African Republic is one of the many countries in Africa that are not safe to visit. People who travel to the country should be aware of violent crimes such as homicide, sexual assaults, armed robbery, and carjacking, among others. In some cities, armed groups constantly fight to control specific areas that are full of minerals. Bangui, the countrys capital and largest city, has many roadblocks set up by armed gangs.

Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Source: UGC

Since 2015, many kidnappings have occurred throughout the country. UN workers, humanitarians, and government ministers have all fallen victim. Also, CAR sometimes experiences periodic outbreaks of ethnic violence, reprisal killings, and human rights abuses. But since the country is one of the best places to watch the black rhino, have a contingency plan in case of an emergency.

3. Chad

One of the reasons why Chad is not the safest country to visit as a tourist is because of the increasing rate of crime. Many security organisations and governments report that the country has seen an increase in violent crime in the last three years. Muggings, armed robbery, and carjacking are common. Furthermore, terror groups have conducted terrorist activities in the past.

Terrorists in Chad target foreigners, civilians, and local security forces. Most of the terror activities that exist in the country have happened after Chad involved itself in the regional fight to counter the threat of Boko Haram. The countrys border with both Sudan and Libya are the worst to travel because of terrorism. If you travel to Chad, try to limit your visits to areas frequented by foreigners and be aware of your surroundings.

READ ALSO: List of the best airlines in Africa

4. Democratic Republic of Congo

For many years, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been one of the most dangerous countries to visit. While there are few cases of terrorism in DRC, the country has been struggling with high rates of crime and civil unrest. In recent times, some areas have experienced an increased risk of Ebola. Governments warn people to avoid visiting places like North and South Kivu, Kasai, and Ituri provinces.

The Eastern DRC is another region where many tourists like visiting. However, foreigners who go there are vulnerable when travelling independently without a security escort. The areas experience a lot of kidnappings, crime, and armed conflict. In worst-case scenarios, assailants can pose as security agents and kidnap people. While the police try to maintain law and order, they tend to respond aggressively, thus resulting in civilian casualties.

5. Libya

Presently, Libya is probably the most dangerous country to visit in Africa. After the violence and bombings that saw Muammar Gaddafi captured and killed in 2011, Libya spiralled into a crime state. Libya experiences a lot of terrorism, kidnappings, armed conflicts, and civil unrest. Since 2018, there has been an increase in the number of militarized forces in the western part of Libya.

Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Source: UGC

Libya is also home to one of the most dangerous cities in Africa, Tripoli. In Tripoli, there exist forces opposed to a recognised government. The rebels have been gaining control of many towns in the city. Since 2014, local security situations have been fragile and have deteriorated into clashes and intense fighting.

Although the country has many airports, all are vulnerable to terrorist attacks. That led to the closure of Mitiga airport in September 2019, and Tripoli International Airport has never opened since 13 July 2014.

6. Mali

One thing that makes Mali attractive to tourists is the presence of a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Timbuktu. But at the same time, it may not be safe for foreigners to visit some towns or cities in the country. Crime, kidnapping, and terrorism are rampant in Mali. In November 2015, the government declared a nationwide state of emergency. That was later extended, and the most recent one was put in place in October 2019 until October 2020.

Mali sometimes witnesses violent crime during seasonal events and holidays. Because of the many public demonstrations in the capital of Bamako, there is strong security and police presence in major towns of the city. Also, terrorists are more likely to conduct activities in the country, including the kidnapping of foreigners. If you are planning to go on a vacation, stay vigilant and limit your presence in all public places whether frequented by foreigners or locals.

READ ALSO: List of the most popular volunteer programs for Africa you can join

7. Northern Nigeria

Putting Nigeria on the list of the most dangerous countries in Africa may not be conventional. But over the years, many parts of Northern Nigeria have experienced a lot of crime. The country continues to deal with violent acts of terror, civil unrest, kidnappings, and maritime crime. Some of the most insecure places to visit are Yobe, Borno, and Northern Adamawa states in Northern Nigeria.

These areas are risky because of increased terrorist activities. It is in Borno where the jihadist terrorist organisation, Boko Haram, has established its base. While Northern Nigeria remains unsafe, inter-communal violence is also uncontrolled. Central belt states witness violent incidences such as civil unrest and kidnappings. Maritime crime is rampant in the Gulf of Guinea, and sporadic violence between herders and farmers is common in rural areas.

8. Somalia

Somalia has not had a stable government for over two decades. Civil war in Somalia grew out of resistance to the military junta during the 1980s. In the early 1990s, the countrys armed forces began engaging many rebel groups. That proved futile because it led to the overthrow of the Barre government in 1991. Since then, Somalia has never known peace.

Image: commons.wikimedia.org

Source: UGC

Today, terrorists carry out attacks in many parts of the country, including its capital, Mogadishu. Bombings, kidnappings, and illegal roadblocks are widespread. Although the Somalia Defence Forces, Kenya Defence Forces, and AMISOM have subsequently launched offensives to end the terror group Al-Shabaab, there is still a constant threat of terrorist attacks.

Apart from terrorism, medical facilities are nonexistent in some parts of the country. Pirates are also active in international waters that border the country, and there is an increased risk to civil aviation.

9. South Sudan

On 9 July 2011, the Republic of South Sudan gained independence from the Republic of Sudan. That came after many years of conflict between the northern part of Sudan and the southern Sudan region. Despite its independence, President Kiir accused his deputy of attempting a coup detat in 2013. It is from this point that a civil war broke out in the country.

READ ALSO: Find out all ethnic groups that exist in Africa

South Sudan is one of the most dangerous countries in Africa because of its high crime rate and an armed conflict between various ethnic and political groups. It is illegal for journalists to conduct their activities without proper documentation from the South Sudanese Media Authority. While the government in place has not put an official curfew in the capital of Juba, there is a self-imposed curfew. In most cases, the timing of the curfew changes depending on the conflict of the day.

So, which country is the most dangerous for tourists? While the list contains names of nine nations in Africa considered dangerous, Libya is probably the most dangerous. The country does not have an international airport that extremist groups cannot target.

Some of the things that characterise the most dangerous African countries include civil unrest, armed conflict, terrorism, Ebola, economic instability, and violent crimes. If you are planning to travel to any of the countries listed above, put an exit plan in place. It will help you in case of an emergency. While not all areas may be experiencing violence, follow the safety guidelines put in place to ensure your security.

READ ALSO: All major religions in Africa and where they are practised

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Mayflies have long been indicators of the ecological health of the lakes, rivers, and streams. The more mayflies present in water, the better the water quality.

But scientists from Virginia Tech and the University of Notre Dame recently discovered that a particular species -- the burrowing mayfly -- had a population decrease of nearly 84 percent from 2015 to 2019. The measurements, using radar, took place during the annual insect emergence events at Lake Erie, when the transition of almost 88 billion insects moving from the waterways to the air marks one of world's largest annual insect emergence events.

Although it was previously impossible to analyze the emergence of the burrowing mayfly, researchers were finally able to do so by using meteorological radar data and new methods in tracking the presence of airborne creatures. By observing the swarms on a year-to-year basis, the data showed a shockingly simple trend: over the same timeframe and time of year, the mayfly swarms are growing smaller.

"This refined radar technology that allows for tracking and quantifying aquatic insect populations at such a large scale is instrumental in understanding land-water connections," explained Sally Entrekin, an associate professor in the Department of Entomology in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The finding speaks to more than just the mayfly's decline: It highlights the growing problem of insect decline and the cascading effects that has on ecosystems around the world.

"Radar technology -- coupled with traditional field sampling -- can start to address the scope and magnitude of insect declines from global change in aquatic ecosystems," said Entrekin.

Entrekin and her colleagues, Phil Stepanian, Charlotte Wainwright, Djordje Mirkovic, Jennifer Tank, and Jeffrey Kelly, recently published their findings in the Proceedings in the National Academy of Sciences.

The emergence is visually spectacular (where the skies are darkened by the shear mass of flying insects), but this event also represents a new availability of food for many creatures throughout the food chain, providing more than 3,000 tons of insects for consumption by birds and other land-based plants and animals.

Fish, birds, bats, and other animals consume the mayflies as a source of food and nutrients. Some insect-eating birds in these areas have synchronized breeding habits that coincide with mayfly emergence, and they rely on them as a high-quality food source for their young. These bird populations have also taken a downturn, which has been partially attributed to the lack of insects to eat, particularly aquatic insects.

Historically, negative human impacts on mayfly habitat has led to reductions and disappearances of the mayfly swarms. While conservation and habitat rehabilitation have helped to clean up the waterways and bring back the mayflies, in the Mississippi, Ohio, and Illinois rivers, as well as Lake Erie, efforts to bring back the mayfly swarms took nearly 20 years to reach their previous levels. As the research shows, it appears the swarms are once again declining.

Multiple stressors in these waterways attributed to human activity could be a reason for the reduction in mayfly populations. A warming climate puts more stress on certain aquatic environments, leading to decreased oxygen levels, which can result in fewer mayflies coming out of the water. Runoff from rivers into the warmer surface waters of Lake Erie, for instance, can cause algae blooms, which release toxins that these mayflies are especially susceptible to.

Another type of runoff from agricultural land carries commonly applied pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids, which can kill mayflies as immatures in the water. Even when these pesticides are present in nondeadly levels, they can negatively affect mayfly young by stunting their ability to reach adult stage. Many of these factors likely contribute to the decreasing mayfly populations, and policy and conservation efforts will be needed in order to change this trend.

Global insect population decline is an emerging topic that has sparked public awareness, however there are logistical challenges to analyzing these trends. Monitoring the life-cycle of the burrowing mayfly and other aquatic insects offers an early warning system for changes in our ecosystems.

This monitoring system is also applicable in other parts of the world where large aquatic emergence events occur, and it can be useful in pinpointing regions that would benefit from waterway conservation efforts or ecological rehabilitation efforts. With the impact the climate crisis is having on ecosystems, tracking the emergence of certain aquatic insects could serve to motivate and inform the public as to the effect humans are having on their local waterways.

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More than 40 artists from four cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune -- gathered in Mumbra, a township near Mumbai, last Sunday.

The artists joined women in Mumbra protesting the Citizens (Amendment) Act at an event organised by the Joint Action Committee for Social Justice.

Artists Rise for India, (art students from Jamia Millia University) and the Secular Art Movement initiated the painting event.

The students from Delhi had created installations at Shaheen Bagh and Jamia in Delhi along with other artists.

Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com captures scenes from Sunday's unusual artistic protest.

The painting event was to have begun early on Sunday morning, but the Mumbra police made it clear that the road could not be used. Local organisers were also told to avoid any controversial content in the paintings.

The artists quickly gathered and discussed the content that could be used; the slogans and images were approved by a team of local organisers.

A cloth was placed over the road and the artists decided to paint over it. This could be used later as a banner to decorate the Mumbra protest site.

The theme of the first banner was women.

Popular images the artists chose were the Shaheen Bagh Dadimas, Jamia students protesting and Hum Dekhenge translated in various languages.

Sanjeev Sonpimpare, a well-known artist from Mumbai, decided to paint the cover of the Constitution and the Preamble.

The themes of the artistic protest were Save the Constitution, Save Democracy and Secularism.

As soon as the first banner was completed, local activists decided to immediately put it up above the pandal.

Have you read the Constitution? A stencil used to paint on the banners.

Iradey bulandh hain sathee!

A beautiful woodcut that a Jamia university art student brought along was used to print copies and soon became a popular community activity.

The venue was converted into a mini printing press.

Soon, people were asking for a copy which they could take home.

Faiz Ahmed Faiz's Hum Dekhenge poem was very popular amongst the visual artists who made A4 size copies of its lines in Urdu.

They then had an impromptu workshop with the children asking them to make paper boats which were later converted into an heart-shaped installation.

In the evening, lamps were lit around the installation.

A portrait of the popular Dadimas of Shaheen Bagh.

In Prabhakar Kamble and Gopal Gangawane's painting, Chhatrapati, Shivaji says, 'My Swarajya was inclusive of all castes and religions and if you need Surajya (good governance) today, then save this Constitution'.

This message, Prabhakar says, sitting in Mumbra's Shaheen Bagh, is significant. Shivaji was a king loved by all communities.

In today's times when Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj is being used by Hindutva forces to attack Muslims and other minorities, this painting is about the legacy of Shivaji's inclusive rule which is contrary to the current BJP government's exclusionary policies.

The wall of unity concept was inspired by the human chain protest in Kerala and the motive behind it was to inspire people to stay united and secular against the BJP government's fascist tendencies, says Kauser who had traveled from Delhi to participate in the protest.

Her group painted more than 100 figures of Indians from different communities, mostly women, on this stretch of wall.

'At our homes, words are gems and money. Words only make our weapons. Words alone are the spirit of our living. We will distribute words as money to people. Tukaram says words are indeed God. We will praise and worship these words.' Sant Tukaram's Abhang in a painting by Shrujana.
A record number of migrants have been caught crossing the English Channel on inflatable in one day.

UK authorities intercepted 90 people on six dinghies in a huge rescue operation off the Kent coast.

Despite repeated warnings about the dangers of making the trip in a small boat, Thursday saw the highest about of migrants intercepted in one day.

Women and children were from the boats were treated by emergency services at Port of Dover after crossing the busy shipping lanes in near-freezing conditions.

A migrant is brought ashore on a stretcher in Dover / PA

Dover MP Natalie Elphicke said a fresh approach is needed and migrants should be returned to France regardless of where they are intercepted.

In one incident, at around 2.15am, a Border Force vessel intercepted an inflatable rib boat carrying five men.

The males presented themselves as Senegalese, Malian and Guinean nationals.

In the second incident, also at around 2.15am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a small boat carrying a group of 21 males who presented themselves as Syrian, Yemeni and Egyptian nationals.

A lifeboat approaches a small craft thought to be carrying migrants off the Kent coast / PA

In the third incident, at around 7.40am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a RHIB which was carrying a group of 12 males and females who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

In the fourth incident, at around 7.40am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a RHIB which was carrying 16 men who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

In the fifth incident, at around 8.40am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a RHIB which was carrying a group of 12 people. Their nationalities are yet to be established.

In the sixth incident, at around 10.20am, an RNLI vessel intercepted a RHIB which was carrying a group of 14 people  12 men and two woman  who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

In the seventh incident, at around 11.20am, Kent Police officers detained five suspected illegal migrants in Dover town centre.

In the eighth incident, at around 09.20am, Border Force officers detained a group of five people near Shakespeare Beach who presented themselves as Iraqi and Yemini nationals.

More migrant crossing attempts were responded to by French authorities with a number of people detained.
A forsenic examiner has revealed that Harvey Weinstein accuser Mimi Haleyi crossed out a line in her personal calendar about calling Weinstein's assistant for a plane ticket.

The media mogul's defense called on Jeffrey Luber, a documents expert to work out what was written under a number of entries that Haleyi crossed out.

It covered the period of the summer 2006, the same period in which Haleyi claims Weinstein attacked her.

The calendar - which was used as evidence in court - showed an entry for August 31 in which Haleyi wrote then scribbled out: 'Call Dan and see if I can go'.

Dan refers to Dan Guando, Weinstein's assistant, and the trip was a flight from New York to London she took on September 2, which was paid for by The Weinstein Co, his film production company.

Weinstein has been charged with raping a woman in a Manhattan hotel room in March 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a different woman in 2006.

The 67-year-old however, has maintained any sexual encounters were consensual.

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Mimi Haleyi (pictured) has accused Harvey Weinstein of forcing oral sex on her in 2006. A forensic expert revealed she crossed out an entry about calling Weinstein's personal assistant to book her a plane ticket and another to call Weinstein

Jeffrey Luber, a documents experts, aid Haleyi also scribbled out an entry on May 23, before the alleged sex attacks, which read: 'Call Harvey (something) Emily'. Pictured: Luber questioned by Weinstein's attorneys

Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus testified for the defense that people can create false memories as a result of therapy or leading questions from police. Pictured: Loftus arrives to testify at Harvey Weinstein's trial in New York on Friday

Weinstein's attorneys are looking to raise doubts about the accusers' recollections of encounters that - in some cases - are more than a decade or two old. Pictured: Weinstein leaves at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday

Luber said Haleyi also scribbled out an entry on May 23, before the alleged sex attacks, which read: 'Call Harvey (something) Emily'.

Another line on May 29 had something scribbled out under an email address for Charles Meech, a executive at Weinstein Co.

Luber said that the analysis did not reveal when the entries had been crossed out.

Under cross examination he said that a number of other entries in the diary had been crossed out too.

Earlier that day, the world's top false memory expert testified at Harvey Weinstein's rape trial that people can have entirely false memories implanted into their minds.

Dr Elizabeth Loftus, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California, said that people could develop 'rich false memories' that bear no relation to reality.

She said the false memories could be a result of therapy which several of Weinstein's victims say they have been through.

Weinstein's attorneys called her to the stand because they are looking to raise doubts about the accusers' recollections of encounters that.

Loftus has testified at or consulted on around 1,000 court cases including on behalf of OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson and mass murderer Ted Bundy.

She told the court that if people are given 'new information' about their memories then it can 'contaminate' their recollection, in a process known as misinformation'.

She cited an example from her studies where they convinced test subjects that a thief was wearing a brown jacket but in reality it was a green one.

Another group were convinced that as a child they had got lost in a shopping mall before being rescued.

'You can plant entire events into the minds of ordinary otherwise healthy people,' Loftus said.

'False memories, once created can be experienced with a great deal of emotion, a great deal of confidence and a great deal of detail, even though they're false'.

She added that 'the emotion is no guarantee of an authentic memory'.

Loftus said therapy could be another way that people develop new memories because patients may feel under 'pressure' from their therapists to produce new information and want to appear 'cooperative'.

Warren Leight (left) wrote and directed The Night We Never Met, a 1993 romantic comedy starring actress Annabella Sciorra (right). Sciorra, 59, testified that Harvey Weinstein raped her in her apartment in 1993 or 1994

Defense attorney Diana Fabi Samson asked what the effect would be after 27 years, an apparent reference to actress Annabella Sciorra, who claims that Weinstein raped her in late 1993 or early 1994.

The allegation can't be charged as a crime because the statute of limitations has passed, but prosecutors hope it will show Weinstein is a serial sexual predator.

'That's an extraordinarily long period of time where there can be substantial fading of memory,' Loftus said.

Samson asked what factors could cause memories to degrade over time.

Loftus said that hearing another witness could change one's memories, as could law enforcement asking 'leading questions' during interviews or in court.

Leight is expected to testify that Sciorra showed up drunk on the set of The Night We Never Met. Pictured: Film poster of The Night We Never Met

She added during her testimony that Valium could be one of the prescription drugs which could affect the acquisition of memory.

Sciorra claims that she became addicted to Valium shortly before Weinstein allegedly raped her after he sent her a 'care package' containing the drug.

This is not the only witness the defense plans to call to the stand to discredit Weinstein's accusers.

Warren Leight, who wrote and directed The Night We Never Met - a 1993 romantic comedy starring Sciorra.

But that isn't Leight's only connection to the case.

The showrunner and executive producer of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, wrote an episode based on the Weinstein saga that aired in September 2019.

In the episode, titled I'm Going to Make You a Star, the head of a big media studio is arrested after he's accused of raping young actresses and forcing one to watch him masturbate at an audition.

In a line evoking what accusers have said of Weinstein, the mogul character tells a victim: 'You want this part, don't you?'

'I thought, go big,' Leight told PEOPLE magazine after the episode aired in September.

Leight also wrote a 2019 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in which a studio head (played by Ian McShane, above) is accused of raping young actresses

Sciorra, the first of six accusers to take the witness stand, was friends with Leight and testified that she brought his script of The Night We Never Met to Weinstein's attention.

She even staged a reading with her theater company so the once-revered Hollywood mogul could hear it acted out.

Sciorra said Weinstein agreed to make the film, but only if she starred in it - something she resisted because she already had back-to-back movie shoots booked and didn't want a third.

To help her cope with the grueling schedule, Sciorra said Weinstein sent her a 'care package' that included a bottle of Valium.

By the time The Night We Never Met started filming, she says she was hooked on the drug and started drinking alcohol around the same time.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Donna Rotunno questioned if Sciorra was on Valium or drunk the night she alleges Weinstein raped her.

The actress denied both, saying she had weaned herself off the drug by then and didn't have much to drink that night.

'I realized I was addicted to the Valium and I was taking it during the day a lot, at nighttime,' Sciorra testified. 'I also knew it wasn't good for me.'

The Night We Never Met finished filming in December 1992, according to the Internet Movie Database.

Sciorra's allegation can't be charged as a crime because the statute of limitations has passed. However, prosecutors hope it will show Weinstein is a repeat sexual predator. Pictured: Sciorra departs Manhattan Criminal Court after testifying against Weinstein, January 23, left; and Weinstein leaves Manhattan Criminal Court on Thursday, right

Weinstein arrives in the rain at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday

Sciorra alleges Weinstein raped her in late 1993 or early 1994 after giving her a ride home from a dinner with people in the film industry.

Rotunno foreshadowed Leight's appearance on the witness stand as she grilled Sciorra about her use of Valium and her behavior on the set of 'The Night We Never Met'.

At one point, the lawyer asked if Leight ever spoke to her 'about the fact you were intoxicated.'

Sciorra said no, but later said, 'He might have, I don't recall.'

Prosecutors rested their case against Weinstein on Thursday after more than two weeks of testimony from about two dozen witnesses.

The first defense witness, an industry executive who remains a Weinstein ally, seemed blindsided on Thursday when a prosecutor confronted him with text messages that appeared to justify Weinstein's behavior and bash his accusers.

Paul Feldsher, a former agent who once knew Sciorra, scolded Weinstein in November 2018 for 'behaving like a cad.'

But in another message shown to the jury, he stuck up for Weinstein, telling him: 'I think the dog pile of actresses who are suddenly brave and recalling repressed memories is hideous.'

The defense had hoped Feldsher would discredit Sciorra by recounting a conversation he had with her in the early 1990s in which she supposedly told him she had 'done this crazy thing with Harvey' but didn't say she had been assaulted.

'My understanding was that she fooled around with him,' Feldsher testified.
(JNS)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has perhaps never looked more subtly elated on any previous visit to the White House than he did on Tuesday.

He and U.S. President Donald Trump, the friendliest-ever president toward Israel in U.S. history, stood side by side in the announcement of the friendliest vision Israel has ever seen regarding its borders and its future. Relief that the long-anticipated diplomatic part of the peace plan was revealed to the public for the first time was palpable. So, too, was the fact that this as the first proposal in history that eliminates the 1949 armistice lines or pre-1967 lines commonly referred to as the Green Line.

This plan contains a number of other important firsts. It is the first plan to be officially presented with a map; rejects the erroneous idea that settlements are illegal or an obstacle to peace; recognizes Israels legal and historical right to Judea and Samaria; gives Israel a green light to apply sovereignty immediately to all settlements; and allows Israel to set an eastern border and sovereignty over the Jordan Valley.

Eytan Gilboa, professor and director of the Center for International Communication at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan and a senior research associate at the BESA Center for Strategic Studies, told JNS that this is the first detailed American plan that favors the Israeli position and not the Palestinian one.

He also noted that the plan is a two states for two peoples solution and raises again the idea of partition.

Trump is not the first president to support the establishment of a Palestinian stateU.S. President George W. Bush did so in 2002, he said. But no other president has gone into such detail about how a Palestinian state may be established.

While the plan emphasizes that there is no return to the pre-1967 borders and offers a clear division of territory, this idea is not totally new. As Gilboa noted, Bush also said that facts on the ground must be recognized. Even the Palestinians themselves understood that Israel was not going to evacuate the big settlement blocs.

The only big difference here is the Jordan Valley compared to other ideas, said Gilboa.

Trump, as a businessman, is thinking, Who would reject a proposal that includes $50 billion? said Gilboa, referring to the economic portion of the proposal, which was revealed in June 2019 in Bahrain.

The problem is that Trumps business approach ignores other issues, such as Palestinian pride and culture, he explained. They are not impressed by economic prosperity as long as they are still willing to sacrifice themselves and die. Economic incentives of this kind do not necessarily work. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas himself said, Palestine is not for sale. 

It establishes new parameters for negotiations

Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, threw some water on some of the ideas presented in the plan.

Inbar said he is not enamored with the idea of applying Israeli law to all settlements and outposts immediately. I dont know how wise it is, he told JNS.

He also said he doesnt believe that Gaza can easily be demilitarized.

I dont see peace coming out of the plan, but in the long scheme of things, it is more realistic. This was also part of an educational process for the Palestinians to become more realistic... Over the years, they said no to everything, but now there are facts on the ground.

According to Gilboa, the plan is important because it establishes new parameters for negotiations. Now, there are new guidelines for the first time since 1967. For the first time ever, the U.S. is providing detailed principles that Israel can accept.

Another aspect crucial to the outcome is Muslim support, he noted. The presence in the White House of three ambassadors from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman suggests that there will not be a unified Muslim position.

One of the main reasons for this plan, he said, is to create the infrastructure for closer Israeli and Arab Sunni cooperation against Iran; these Sunni countries no longer consider the Palestinians important to them. There is support from some countries in the Arab world. There are some important differences here compared to the past.

Gilboa noted that former President Barack Obama was the most pro-Palestinian president in American history and, during his tenure, there was the least amount of negotiations between the two sides. He applied much pressure on Israel, and nothing happened. Trump is the most pro-Israeli president in history, and he is doing the opposite, putting such pressure on the Palestinians.

The plan sends a clear message to the Palestinians. First, said Gilboa, time is not on your side. Second, you used to have support, but now you do not have the same level.

Inbar said that it is a great achievement on the part of Netanyahu that Trump looks so favorably upon Israel and takes its interests to heart.

We should also appreciate the fact that Netanyahu began his relationship with Trump many years ago, he added.

Gilboa said he thinks that one of the reasons Trump invited Blue and White leader Benny Gantz was to show that unlike the Palestinians, there is consensus in Israel for the plan.

This is also the first time an American president has ever invited the head of the opposition to review a plan, and it was likely done to demonstrate that if Netanyahu loses in the next election, Gantz, who would likely be the next leader, also supports it. The vast majority represented in Israels parliament approves of the plan, said Gilboa.
A 46-year-old man who was violently assaulted in the early hours of yesterday morning at a house in Kilkenny City has died.

The father-of-five sustained serious injuries following an incident at a house in the High Hayes Terrace area of the city.

Gardai in Kilkenny are investigating the fatal assault of a 46-year-old male, which occurred in a domestic premises on Castlecomer Road, Kilkenny at approximately 4.00am on Thursday, 6th February 2020.

Emergency services also attended the scene and the male was taken to St. Lukes Hospital, he was pronounced dead shortly before 11pm last night.

A post mortem examination will take place later today in Dublin. The office of the State Pathologist has been notified.

A male in his 30s and a female in her 20s were arrested in relation to this incident by investigating Gardai. The female was subsequently released without charge.

The male remains in custody at Kilkenny Garda Station where he is being detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984.

Examinations of the scene are taking place and local gardai are being assisted by the National Technical Bureau.
Seen one art fair, seen 'em all? Not when its the India Art Fair in New Delhi. Like everything else on the subcontinent the premier commercial art event is very different in character to the fairs one sees in Europe or America, or even Hong Kong. This is largely because of its proudly provincial stance. Seventy per cent of exhibitors are Indian, providing a unique survey of an art scene in which a deep respect for tradition jostles against a burgeoning cosmopolitanism.

Installation view of Marcel Dzama's work. Credit:David-Zwirner

Its hard to imagine how long it would take to track down roughly 60 galleries in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Chennai, even Vadodara and Bengaluru.

In India, every venture outside ones front door is an excursion into the unknown. Its frustrating but also exhilarating  a field of competing energies that keeps the senses in a state of high alert. No wonder the countrys age-old spiritual quest is to attain complete indifference to earthly things. Between chaos and the void, there lies India.

For director, Jagdip Jagpal, born and bred in London to Indian parents, the provincial nature of the fair is its greatest strength. In the three years she has been in charge, Jagpal has worked to give the event a clear sense of identity. Why would people come to India, she reasons, to see the same galleries and artists they could see in New York or London?
Sixty is the new 45, 80 is the new 60, and 100 is  well, really dang old. But even centenarians know that once you stop learning, you star...
Fitch Ratings believes larger, more established finance companies are better-placed to meet the new requirements while newer, smaller companies that concentrate on cash loans may find it harder to shift their business models.

Vietnam's new regulatory limits on unsecured consumer-finance personal loans will pressure the business models of more-exposed companies over the next few years, says Fitch Ratings.

The rules highlight regulatory efforts to temper risks from rising consumer leverage, following aggressive consumer credit growth over the past few years. However, they may also push industry competition towards other product segments as lenders seek to grow.

The State Bank of Vietnam's Circular 18, released in late 2019, caps the ratio of personal loans for a finance company to 70% of its total consumer loans from January 2021. This falls to 60% from 2022, 50% from 2023 and 30% by 2024. Only customers with total personal loans exceeding VND20 million (US$860) with the company will count towards the cap. Such unsecured loans are typically higher-risk and known as 'cash loans' locally. The rules also add to consumer protection requirements, which should strengthen the sector's social and governance aspects if well-enforced.

The transition timeline follows a year-long industry consultation and provides breathing room for more-concentrated lenders to adjust their portfolios. However, companies will still have to grapple with the challenge of diversifying their loan portfolios while maintaining growth and profitability. The rules are likely to weigh on industry receivables growth, as we estimate that cash loans accounted for over half of total loans of the top-three finance companies in 2018.

Fitch Ratings believes larger, more established finance companies are better-placed to meet the new requirements. The two largest financiers - FE Credit and Home Credit Vietnam Finance Company Limited - have significant exposure to cash loans. Such loans were roughly 73% of FE Credit's and 58% of Home Credit

Vietnam's total loans at end-March 2019 and end-2018, respectively, based on a catch-all cash-loan definition. However, the companies should be able to reposition their portfolios over the next four years in light of their broad distribution networks and product sets. The third-largest competitor, HD Saison, should be barely affected by the rules, as cash loans only accounted for around 32% of its total loans at end-2018.

In contrast, newer, smaller companies that concentrate on cash loans may find it harder to shift their business models. They may need to develop additional product expertise and distribution channels to diversify away from cash loans. This may entail greater investment cost and execution risk in testing new business models and product lines.

Fitch expects the operating environment and business models of Vietnam's consumer-finance companies to continue to evolve rapidly. Margins are likely to be compressed in other consumer-finance products as companies seek to expand beyond cash loans. Credit cards, an emerging product for consumer-finance companies, and durable-goods financing may be two such products. Industry profitability remains attractive, but returns have narrowed amid increased competition from new entrants, including some subsidiaries of local banks and fresh capital from large regional financial institutions.

Greater exposure to credit cards may bring finance companies into closer competition with banks, which generally enjoy greater benefits of scale and access to lower cost, more stable deposit funding. Relationships with foreign shareholders who can transfer product know-how or help lower funding costs will be an advantage, though any imported expertise will still need to be calibrated to local conditions. Korea's Shinhan Card Co., Ltd., Lotte Card Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Card Co., Ltd. and Japan's Shinsei Bank, Limited have each purchased or are in the process of purchasing stakes in Vietnamese finance companies in recent years. Hanoitimes

Minh An

Wuhan coronavirus could negatively affect Vietnam's economy: Fitch Vietnam last year received some 18 million foreign tourists, including 5.8 million Chinese guests.
Last night, three days later than planned, we finally saw a full set of results from the Democratic caucuses in Iowa. Pete Buttigieg was a hair ahead of Bernie Sanders on state delegate equivalents, the measure traditionally used to crown a winner, though Sanders beat Buttigieg in terms of votes cast. Both candidates have claimed victory. Yet the credibility of the results is seriously in question: The Upshot, a data team at the New York Times, reported that counts released on Wednesday had been riddled with inconsistencies and other flaws, raising doubts as to whether the public will ever get a completely precise account of the Iowa results. Some of the vote tallies analyzed by the Times did not add up; in one instance, votes for Sanders and Elizabeth Warren had been mistakenly allocated to Deval Patrick and Tom Steyer, respectively. Last night, the Associated Pressa highly respected resource when it comes to calling electionsapparently gave up on naming a winner: There is evidence the party has not accurately tabulated some of its results.

The Iowa caucuses have a history of muddled procedure and contested resultsand this year piled on bad blood and epic screw-ups. A new requirement that caucus precincts report popular-vote tallies as well as delegate counts led some results to be misreported. An app that was developed to make sharing results easier malfunctioned. When the problems became evident, Democratic Party officials said little to the press; as the week went on, journalists received mixed messages. Yesterday, Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, called for an immediate recanvass of the caucus results, which would involve checking the math that came out of each caucus precinct (not a recount of individual votes). The Iowa Democratic Party pushed back, implying that Perez lacked the authority to make such a request, and that it would only conduct a recanvass should an affected campaign ask for one. Later, in an interview on Rachel Maddows MSNBC show, Perez backtracked, insisting that he merely wanted problematic precincts to be checked, not the statewide results. The whole situation, Perez added, is a major-league failure.

ICYMI: What happened to The Forward?

No disagreements there. Taken together, the mess in Iowa has proved an enormous headache for news organizations, in ways anticipated and not. But after the confusion surrounding the initial delay, reporting helped elucidate what, exactly, went wrong. On Tuesday, a flurry of stories outlined problems with the reporting appit had not been adequately tested, for efficacy or security, and it contained coding errorsand its makers eyebrow-raising ties to the Democratic Party establishment. On Wednesday, Bloomberg was the first to report that, when the app failed, caucus officials were told to use a helpline, and that it was inundated with troll calls from Trump supporters. Yesterday, NBC News found that the helpline number had been posted on 4chan, a fever swamp of online Trumpism. The Upshot alerted the Iowa Democratic Party to the errors its reporters were finding. But the party was slow to issue corrections on some of its numbers.

Still, the medias performance this week was far from perfect. The Upshots live needlenotorious from the 2016 presidential election, used in Iowa to predict the final resultscreated angst, again. The Upshots Nate Cohn reported problems with his models ability to account for satellite caucuses, some of which took place outside of Iowa (in places as far flung as Paris and the country of Georgia), and which came back more strongly than expected for Sanders. (Previously, the needle had Buttigieg as the very clear favorite. ) On Twitter, Cohn apologized. While this was undoubtedly an especially complex caucus to nail, he wrote, we undoubtedly did not nail it. Yesterday, The Upshot froze the needle, because of the irregularities its team had discovered.

The data wonks, at least, were concerned. Purveyors of the horserace model of campaign coverageon cable news, in particularwere pumped. Rather than refrain from comment in the absence of clear, verified results, pundits resorted to speculation (their go-to). On CNN Monday night, talking heads actively encouraged Democratic candidates (Buttigieg, mainly) to exploit the uncertainty by claiming victory. When the first results came out, late Tuesday, Buttigiegs delegate lead was breathlessly discussed, even though it was based on a partial picture. Since then, votes counted for Sanders have been reported as an erosion of Buttigiegs lead.

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Reporting on elections is hardand contentiousat the best of times, and these are not the best of times. Almost everything that could go wrong in Iowa did. And the range of threats to the integrity of our elections means well surely see similar confusion again this cycle. When we do, lets stick to what we know, while pushing aggressively to find out what we dont.

Below, more on the elections:

Too slow?: Was the press too slow to spot Trump supporters coordinated efforts to clog the caucus helpline? Emily Bell, of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism (and CJR), tweeted yesterday that news organizations with sufficient resources should have reporters hanging around 4chan in the run-up to elections, as well as on the ground.

Was the press too slow to spot Trump supporters coordinated efforts to clog the caucus helpline? Emily Bell, of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism (and CJR), tweeted yesterday that news organizations with sufficient resources should have reporters hanging around 4chan in the run-up to elections, as well as on the ground. Up for debates: Tonight at 8pm, seven Democratic candidates will debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. ABC News, WMUR-TV, and Apple News are hosting; ABCs George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, and Linsey Davis will moderate, with help from WMURs Monica Hernandez and Adam Sexton. (The New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday.) The next debate will be in Nevada, on February 19. Vanessa Hauc, of Noticias Telemundo, will be among the moderatorsthe first time ever that a climate journalist will have chaired a presidential debate. HEATEDs Emily Atkin has more.

Tonight at 8pm, seven Democratic candidates will debate at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire. ABC News, WMUR-TV, and Apple News are hosting; ABCs George Stephanopoulos, David Muir, and Linsey Davis will moderate, with help from WMURs Monica Hernandez and Adam Sexton. (The New Hampshire primary is on Tuesday.) The next debate will be in Nevada, on February 19. Vanessa Hauc, of Noticias Telemundo, will be among the moderatorsthe first time ever that a climate journalist will have chaired a presidential debate. HEATEDs Emily Atkin has more. Disinfo wars: For The Atlantic, McKay Coppins outlines the billion-dollar disinformation campaign to reelect the president. Pro-Trump operatives, Coppins reports, are planning to smear journalists and bury news under an avalanche of online propaganda. Scholars have a name for this, Coppins writes. Censorship through noise.



Other notable stories:

ICYMI: Why did Matt Drudge turn on Donald Trump?

Update: This post has been updated to add a comment from Fox News.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop.
Other establishment Democrats also fear Trump will barnstorm battleground states that Democrats need to keep control of the House and regain the Senate, loudly branding Sanders a socialist  a label many voters find hard to swallow. Montana Sen. Jon Tester, who led Senate Democrats campaign arm in 2016, told the Associated Press, I come from a state thats pretty damn red. There is no doubt that having socialist ahead of Democrat is not a positive thing in the state of Montana.
Cristian Mendez dreams of writing, directing and producing major television shows and films in Hollywood.

For now, the DeSales University TV/film program grad is paying his dues.

A recent assignment at a high-profile event put him in the orbit of a headline-generating reunion between two of Hollywoods biggest names.

The 23-year-old Fair Lawn, New Jersey, native worked behind the scenes at the SAG Awards in January. The Screen Actors Guild awards show in Los Angeles is among the first of the awards shows leading up to the Oscars this Sunday.

Mendez was a card runner for STN Digital. He had to take memory cards from photographers and videographers and get them in the hands of technical personnel so they could edit the photos and post them on social media accounts for SAG and for TBS and TNT, the networks broadcasting the event.

He found himself weaving in and out of dozens of A-listers. Among them was Brad Pitt. Pitt had just won his SAG award for best supporting actor and was running the post-award media gauntlet. After obligatory photos, Pitt was heading to be interviewed when he heard his ex-wife Jennifer Anistons category being announced on a monitor. In Mendezs words, Pitts legs kept moving but his head stayed in place because Pitt wanted to see whether his ex would win.

The moment unfolded next to Mendez.

Not many people get to experience this, being four feet from Brad Pitt, Mendez said. As he considered whether it would appropriate to take a smart phone video, the decision was quickly made for him.

There were a bunch of people. I was the closest one to him. Five people take their phones out, so Im like, OK, Ill get my phone out,' Mendez said. Pitt had been divorced from Aniston since 2005 and fans were touched by the moment of appreciation for his ex.

During a card drop-off, the technical staff saw exclusive videos from other media outlets of Pitt watching the monitor. Mendez told them about his video. The staff quickly downloaded it and turned it into an Instagram story. Pitt would later meet with Aniston backstage in what would was perhaps the most talked about moment of the night.

JENNIFER ANISTON AND BRAD PITT REPEAT JENNIFER ANISTON AND BRAD PITT HOLDING HANDS #SAGAwards pic.twitter.com/tMHHNnpyA4  Maria (@Mariacarp_) January 20, 2020

Mendez sometimes had to remind himself that he was at the SAG Awards on business, not as a fan. It wasnt always easy. At one point he kept getting distracted by photographers calling Cristian, Cristan, for him.

But it wasnt Cristian they wanted. It was Christian. As in Christian Bale.

Mendez admits seeing Bale was one of his more starstruck moments. The actor is among Mendezs favorites. He found himself at one point following Bale outside the auditorium hoping maybe he could pee next to Batman, but the actor was on his way out of the restroom by the time Mendez moved in.

At another point Joaquin Phoenix tried to glide unnoticed past photographers but Henry Winkler convinced him to slow down for photos, according to Mendez.

Cristian Mendez shot this cell phone photo of Joaquin Phoenix and Henry Winkler at the SAG Awards on Jan. 19, 2020.Courtesy Cristian Mendez

Cristian Mendez took this cell phone photo of Brad Pitt talking to Erin Lim at the SAG Awards on Jan. 19, 2020. Courtesy Cristian Mendez

Mendez is slowly building his resume. After graduating college in 2018 he did a lot of work on internet-based commercials in the New York metro area. He worked with the assistant director team on a Discovery Channel program that took him to the Bermuda Triangle for a few months. He took the plunge and moved to Los Angeles in April.

Since arriving in California hes worked for NBC, Disney Channel and National Geographic. Hes taken on jobs with varying pay and responsibility. After his relatively successful gig in Bermuda he found himself putting ice in coolers as a production assistant on the set of Americas Got Talent.

Mendez believes theres something to be gained even from taking out the trash for a major film or TV production. He might make a life-changing connection as long as he keeps working hard.

He admits he was tempted to decline the SAG job but stuck it out.

I was coming off the flu. It was my eleventh day working in a row. But I didnt want to turn down the job, Mendez said.

Next week hell leave Los Angeles for a two-month Discovery Channel show in Virginia.

He aspires to be a show runner, a job where hed be able to exercise his writing, directing and producing talents in one television show. It would be great to direct a major motion picture some day. For now, hell keep learning the ropes.

I love being the underdog and coming in as the young face," Mendez said. "People have their expectations of me and I love proving them wrong.

AND THE OSCAR GOES TO ... ?

Brad Pitt is up for an Academy Award for Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The awards will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9, on ABC. Aniston isnt up for an Oscar.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
Stockholm, Feb 7 : After South Korean company LG electronics, Swedish telecommunication giant Ericsson on Friday announced to withdraw its participation from the flagship Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona, owing to the outbreak and continued spreading of the Novel Coronavirus.

Stressing that health and safety of its employees, customers and other stakeholders is the company's top priority, Ericsson said it has closely monitored the development and adhered to recommendations from relevant national authorities and international bodies, such as the WHO.

"The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly," said Borje Ekholm, President and CEO, Ericsson.

"We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year's event," he added.

With the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus showing no signs of slowing down, LG Electronics has decided to withdraw its participation from the MWC 2020.

Industry watchers had warned that others may soon follow suit.

According to Ericsson, the company has already taken a number of precautionary measures to ensure the health and safety of employees and to minimize the impact on the company's operations.

"After an extensive internal risk assessment, Ericsson has decided to take further precautionary measures by withdrawing from MWC Barcelona 2020, the largest event in the telecom industry," it said in a statement.

Ericsson said as one of the largest exhibitors, it has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors.

To showcase the company's portfolio and innovations, Ericsson will take the demos and content created for MWC Barcelona to customers in their home markets with local events called "Ericsson Unboxed".

Earlier, LG Electronics said in a statement that with the safety of its employees, partners and customers foremost in mind, "LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain".

MWC organiser GSMA said that it is monitoring and assessing the potential impact of the coronavirus on its events held annually in Barcelona, Shanghai and Los Angeles and as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

After report of ZTE cancelling a press conference at the MWC 2020 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak surfaced, the Chinese tech major clarified that it will still have booth space at the show and that its participation in the event will go "as planned".

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Friday with US President Donald Trump on the novel coronavirus outbreak, emphasising that China has "spared no effort in fighting the epidemic", state media reported.

Xi told Trump on the phone that China was "fully confident and capable of defeating the epidemic", and that "the long-term trend of China's economic development for the better will not change", according to state broadcaster CCTV.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A mother whose teenage son was found dead in a field has claimed he received a death threat following a petty row over his haircut just days earlier.

Jamie Marshall, 14, died in the Crosland Moor area of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, on September 23 last year.

Anne Marshall has now spoken for the first time about events that led to her son's death after launching a blog to connect with other grieving parents.

Anne Marshall, pictured with her two sons Jamie, right and William, centre, wants additional support put in place for grieving parents. She said there was nothing available in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire for people like herself

Mrs Marshall said she was utterly stunned when police cam to tell her that her young son had taken his own life

In her blog, Forever A Mum Of Two, Mrs Marshall wrote candidly about the moment she discovered her son was dead.

Recalling that fateful day, Mrs Marshall wrote: 'I got upstairs grabbed whatever was on the floor from the day before, my phone charger and a handful of my meds.

'I got downstairs in minutes, both officers were stood in the living room they turned to look at me when I got to the door we are sorry but Jamie has died.

'I couldn't understand what they were saying, it was like they were speaking in a different language.

'What was I meant to do, what was I meant to say? You see it in films and there's instant tears and emotional words but there was nothing, I don't even think I was breathing.

'I had to get out of the house, I needed air, I needed to get away from them. Then my phone rang, it was my Dad. I answered, his cheery voice said: "Hey up s**t hot!" I had saved myself in his phone some time ago so it was always how he answered.

'I started heaving, he could hear I wasn't right: "What's going on?" I couldn't speak, I didn't want to say those words, I didn't want it to be real and saying it, telling my dad, that would make it real.

'But I did, because I had to as he had asked over and over what was going on; between heaving I managed to get out the words.

'I told him I was going to be taken to the hospital by the police and could he meet me there.'

She says she was unable to find adequate help with local charities.

Mrs Marshall also wants to warn people about the effects of sending threatening messages over social media, which she believes is the reason Jamie took his own life.

Mrs Marshall, 36, said: 'Jamie didn't have mental health problems. This was because of one haircut he had similar to another kid.'

She said Jamie, a pupil at Newsome High School, was not bullied but received a threat to his life and the lives of his family that scared him 'to death'.

Mrs Marshall said: 'He was really scared of this kid and you can't think: "Oh I can send this to this kid because he's tough he can take it". You don't know how people might react.

'Without what was said in that message Jamie wouldn't have done what he did.

'If nothing comes of this criminal-wise I'd be looking to change the law to say you can't just go around saying what you want.'

Mrs Marshall also thinks there is a lack of support for parents in Huddersfield struggling with the loss of a child.

Most of the charities she has contacted are either overloaded or do not cover Huddersfield and the Mind meeting she attends is only a general mental health support group.

Mrs Marshall, who suffers from Crohn's disease, lupus, and arthritis - plus some other effects of a broken immune system, said: 'There are things that I feel and think and I'm going through that I couldn't tell my family and friends because they would be horrified.

'It's a completely different kind of grief than for an older person who died of an illness or something.'

Without the support she needed Mrs Marshall started having suicidal thoughts herself and is now being helped by the Mind crisis team.

Mrs Marshall said the type of grief you endure when a child dies is completely different to that of an elderly person. Mrs Marshall said she had contemplated suicide after her son took his own life

Mrs Marshall said: 'It all became too much. I was reaching out [to charities] for help because I needed it then.

'I knew that I needed help. I couldn't cope and I knew I didn't have a coping method.'

With Jamie's traumatised seven-year-old brother, William, to look after, Mrs Marshall tries to keep the mood in the house as light as possible whenever she can.

As a result the blog has become a vital outlet for her grief. She hopes it

will help her find other parents who are going through something similar so they can help and support each other.

Mrs Marshall has written her own blog in an effort to explain her thoughts and provide help to others in a similar situation

Mrs Marshall said: 'I have made connections with a lady in Kent who lost her son in a car crash and has been thinking some of the same things.

'Somebody had lost a child a few years ago and wished there was somebody they could talk to like this.

'In telling my story you do find there's massive kindness in people.

'It was like an out of body experience.'

She also recalled some of the incomprehensible decisions she faced in the days after Jamie's death.

Mrs Marshall wrote on her blog: 'And then came the question that knocked me off my feet as I never in my life thought I would be asked or have to answer it. I could have his body back earlier if I wanted to see him earlier, or if I wanted the funeral to be organised earlier - but his brain wouldn't be put back.

'I felt like I had stopped breathing. Would you like him back with his brain replaced first?

'Vicky was the most wonderful, gentle, kind lady and I have no idea how I would be able to sit in front of a mother and ask her that question, but she did, and she didn't make me feel any worse than just the question did.

'I answered almost immediately, I want his brain putting back in first please. I don't know how I said the words, I don't know how I wasn't sick on the papers in my hand I had to sign to agree to these things. It was like an out of body experience.'

An inquest into Jamie's death was opened in October and adjourned to a later date.
Mumbai Police on Thursday night nabbed two men from Thane in connection with the rape and murder of a woman in the Santacruz area.

The accused have been identified as Vinod Vishwanath Ghadi (35) and Sunil Sakharam Kadam (35).

According to the spokesperson of Mumbai Police, the incident took place in the Vakola police station area of Santacruz on Tuesday (February 4) evening.

"Both accused lived in the same neighbourhood as the woman. On the evening of February 4, they called the woman to their house while they were both in a drunken state. When they tried to misbehave with her, the woman protested. Following which they beat her up, raped and later killed her and fled the spot," police said.

"A third man who lived along with the accused in the rented apartment, found the woman lying in this condition and immediately informed the police," the spokesperson added.

A case has been registered under Sections 376 (d), 302, 376 and 34 of the IPC and further investigation is underway.

The duo will be produced before the court today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A model wears a design by Grace Lillian Lee, whose work will feature in an exhibition of indigenous fashion at Bendigo Art Gallery.

In the language of the Kaantju people from East Cape York, the word "piinpi" describes seasonal change and regeneration of country.

"There isn't a western word that translates," explains Shonae Hobson, Bendigo Art Gallery's First Nations curator. "What were seeing across the landscape of Indigenous fashion and textiles today is the traditions ... the whole ecology of caring for our country and our land.

"First Nations artists and designers are expressing their culture and connection to Country through very exciting and bold ways  distinct from anything else being produced around the world."

Hobson has chosen Piinpi as the theme and name of the country's first major exhibition of contemporary Indigenous fashion and design, which will open at the gallery in July. "We are starting to see a surge of First Nations designers and artists putting their works out there and getting their work across [to a mainstream audience]," Hobson says.
Many people look forward to the Costco coupon book each month. Its usually chocked full of great deals, and Februarys doesnt disappoint. Its overflowing with deals and discounts as well as a slew of items featuring everyday low prices.

Costco February 2020 Coupon Book

From February 5, 2020, through March 1, 2020, Costco is offering some outstanding deals across a broad selection of items. It shows a price reduction in nearly every major shopping category you can find at Costco, ranging from food to clothing to electronics.

If you have a big purchase you need to make, or just want to handle your usual shopping, its worth checking out the latest Costco deals. That way, you can make the most of your membership and score the best discounts.

Get a $10 Costco Shop Card

Heres a look at just some of whats listed in the Costco coupon book this February:

Select heart health supplements available for $4 to $7 off

Orgain Organic Protein powders and shakes for $6 to $8 off

Save $30 on the Philips Sonicare 7000 ExpertResults toothbrush and $10 off replacement brush heads

Philips Norelco Shaver 9200 is $30 off

Select StriVectin products are $12 5o $25 off

Charmin Ultra Strong Bath Tissue (30 roll packages) are $4.50 off

$9 off Huggles Plus diapers, including little movers and little snugglers

Certain Kirkland allergy relief products are $3 to $7 off

$3 off Champion mens French terry shorts

Select womens Danskin apparel is $3 off

Discounts between $120 and $400 on select laptops

$70 off a 7 th Gen Apple iPad 10.2 128 GB

Gen Apple iPad 10.2 128 GB Get an Epson EcoTank 3760SE Printer for $70 off

$130 off the Dyson V11 Animal+ Cord-Free Stick Vacuum

The Keurig K-Duo Plus Coffee Maker is on sale for $40 less than the usual price

Buy one pair of prescriptions glasses get $40 off every additional pair

Other Discount Product Categories

Youll also find discounts on a bunch of household staples, personal care items, and food basics. Heres a look at just shop of the product categories that have deals in the Costco coupon book in February 2020:

Batteries

Toothpaste

Razors

Shampoo

Flushable Wipes

Potato Chips

Spaghetti Sauce

Popcorn

Coffee

Juice

Yogurt

Frozen Foods

Laundry Detergent

Vitamins and Supplements

There are also discounts on furniture and major applicants, including washer and dryer sets, refrigerators, and more. In total, there are 23 pages of deals. If you plan on shopping at Costco in February, make sure to look through the entire thing and see which discounts can help you save the most during your trip.

Other Ways to Save at Costco

Along with the deals above, you can also use different approaches to save money while shopping at Costco. First, look at the bulk prices to make sure that they are really a bargain. Usually, you can figure it out by looking at the price per ounce and making a comparison.

Second, only buy items in bulk if you can use them before they go bad. Bulk perishables dont work for every family, so only purchase the large sizes if you can use it all or freeze whats remaining, ensuring you get the full value.

Finally, always shop with a list. Its easy to get caught up in the moment at Costco. Plus, enticing samples might try to encourage you to spend more than you initially planned.

With a list in your hand, you can reduce your chances of making an impulse purchase. Just commit to the idea that if you didnt write it down before you arrived at Costco, you arent buying it today. Essentially, a list can help you stay focused, and that can make it easier to keep your spending under control.

Do you take advantage of the Costco coupons? Why or why not? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Give the gift of savings! Learn more

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The Palm Beach trophy home Melaleuca has hit the market with $20 million hopes.

It has been listed by Caroline Jumpertz, the daughter of the late media legend Sam Chisholm after 26 years of family ownership.

It is located between billionaire Gretel Packers $24 million home and the Kalua estate that sold in 2012 to retired car dealer Laurie Sutton in 2012.

It sits on 2564 square metres opposite the beach, with access from Florida Road and Ocean Road.

Sam Chisholm, who died in 2018, aged 78, bought a modest weatherboard for $3.1 million in 1994 and then commissioned a pavilion-style residence from Susan Rothwell.

Melaleuca was once owned by novelist Morris West who sold it in 1978 for $195,000.

Palm Beachs most recent trophy sale saw Dominic Roche buy Palm Haven on the Pittwater beachfront last year.

Last year Chisholm's Bundarbo Station sold to agriculture entrepreneur Markus Kahlbetzer.
The Holodomor was one of the greatest human-made catastrophes of the 20th century. In between the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, more than three million Soviet Ukrainians were deliberately starved to death by Stalins government, in the midst of an ideologically rooted famine that covered large swathes of the Soviet Union. The famine of 1930-1933 began as a consequence of Stalins Five Year Plan of Industrialisation and Collectivisation.

Peasants were driven from their farms and made to join larger state farms; food shortages and hunger ensued. Stalin then deepened the crisis in Ukraine by executing his plan to eradicate the so-called Kulaks, a demonised class of prosperous peasants scapegoated by the state as the cause of hunger in Russia. Deprived of their grain by Moscow, harried by police units who raided their homes for anything edible, and prevented from leaving the republic, Ukrainians found themselves fighting terrible odds to stay alive.

As it was unfolding and for years afterwards, the Holodomor barely impacted on peoples consciousness outside Russia. How this was made possible is now the subject of Mr Jones, a compelling and timely new film from the Polish director Agnieszka Holland and American screenwriter Andrea Chalupa.
The government of Hubei awarded two prominent doctors for championing fight against the novel coronavirus, it said on Thursday.

Zhang Dingyu, one of the two awarded doctors, is president of Wuhan Jinyintan Hospital, one of the major hospitals to treat patients infected with the virus. Zhang, 56, suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

He has put himself in positions with urgent and difficult tasks and has not relaxed in the battle against the virus, said a decision jointly issued by Hubei provincial department of human resources and social security, along with the provincial health commission.

Another awardee is Zhang Jixian, a 54-year-old female doctor and head of respiratory department of Hubei provincial hospital of integrated traditional Chinese and Western Medicine.

"With extremely acute professional awareness, Zhang was the first person to make the diagnosis and insist on reporting the epidemic. She was the first to sound the alarm for the prevention work of the virus," according to the dicision.

Both doctors are excellent representatives of medical workers who are fighting the battle against the virus. By awarding the two doctors, the government has encouraged people to learn from them and win the war against the virus.

The overall confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland had reached 28,018 by the end of Wednesday, said China's National Health Commission. A total of 563 people had died of the disease.
(JTA)Reactions to President Donald Trumps Israeli-Palestinian peace plan unveiled Tuesday took a predictable path, with Jewish groups on the right praising the much-anticipated proposal and those on the left criticizing it.

The proposal, which Trump presented at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would give Israel the Jordan Valley and parts of the West Bank while freezing for four years the areas that the U.S. proposes as part of a future Palestinian state. A Palestinian state would be made up of Gaza and the majority of the West Bank, which would be connected via high-speed rail, and have East Jerusalem as its capital.

Israel would also get overriding security responsibility and control over entire territory from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said in a follow-up call with reporters. The White House released a 180-page document that elaborated on the details of the plan.

Heres what Jewish groups have to say about the proposal (JTA will add add reactions as they come in).

Those who are hopeful about the plan:

The Republican Jewish Coalition endorsed the plan. Executive Director Matt Brooks said [t]he President and his team have put together a bold and nuanced proposal that is deeply rooted in Americas core values of liberty, opportunity, and hope for the future.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee said it appreciate[s] the efforts of President Trump and his administration to work in consultation with the leaders of the two major Israeli political parties to set forth ideas to resolve the conflict in a way that recognizes our allys critical security needs. AIPAC urged the Palestinians to rejoin Israelis at the negotiating table.

The American Jewish Committee said on Twitter that it welcomes President Trumps serious effort to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, assuring Israels security & Jerusalems uncontested status, while creating a path to Palestinian statehood.

StandWithUs CEO Roz Rothstein said the group hope[s] this will be a step towards a better future for both peoples and that it is ultimately up to Israeli and Palestinian leaders to resolve their conflict through direct negotiations.

Those who dislike the plan:

Halie Soifer, the executive director of Jewish Democratic Council of America, said the plan is a green light for Israeli annexation of the West Bank, an intentional undermining of a viable two-state solution and another example of Trump using Israel to further his domestic political agenda.

J Street described it as the logical culmination of repeated bad-faith steps this administration has taken to validate the agenda of the Israeli right, prevent the achievement of a viable, negotiated two-state solution and ensure that Israels illegal occupation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank becomes permanent.

The Israel-based group Peace Now said [t]he insistence of a small and extreme minority to cling to every piece of land is dragging our country to perpetuate this protracted conflict to the point that it is critically threatening Israels character as a Jewish and democratic state.

Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund, said the proposal threatens to make the occupation permanent and is not the vision of Israels founders.

IfNotNow co-founder Emily Mayer slammed the plan as totally and utterly bankrupt, saying it reveals the shameful way that our government has catered to the Israeli rightat the cost of Palestinian freedomfor our entire lives.

Rabbi Alissa Wise, the acting co-executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace, called it an apartheid plan and a distraction ploy by two warmongers who are prioritizing their personal election campaigns over any semblance of statecraft.

Israel Policy Forum described the plan as an annexation roadmap and an Orwellian exercise in doublespeak in which one side gets to talk about peace and two states while actually carrying out a plan that will ultimately end with a single state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
WASHINGTON (RNS)  The United States has been joined by 26 other countries in a new International Religious Freedom Alliance that seeks to reduce religious persecution across the globe.

Together, we say that freedom of religion or belief is not a Western ideal, but truly the bedrock of societies, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo yesterday at a dinner at the US State Department launching the alliance that will involve senior representatives of each government.

The alliances first meeting fell on the eve of the National Prayer Breakfast, which gathers international religious and diplomatic figures once a year to an event chaired by members of Congress and organized by the International Foundation, a Christian organization also known as The Family or The Fellowship.

Poland, one country in the alliance, announced in a joint statement with the State Department that the next Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will be held July 1416 in Warsaw.

Building on the successes of the 2018 and 2019 ministerials hosted by the United States, the 2020 ministerial will allow countries to share different approaches, debate varying perspectives in the spirit of coherence and complementarity, and address challenges threatening the freedom of religion or belief, the statement reads.

The two countries said participants at the Warsaw meeting will address promoting inclusive dialogue to mobilize action and increase awareness regarding the scale of persecution against religion or belief worldwide.

Besides Poland and the United States, the other founding countries of the International Religious Freedom Alliance are: Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Gambia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Togo, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

The State Department issued a list of principles for the alliance that included a commitment to the right to hold any faith or belief, or none at all, and the freedom to change faith. The new organizations priorities include challenging blasphemy laws and the denial of registration to nonreligious and religious groups and advocating for people who are imprisoned or otherwise persecuted due to their religion or beliefs.

The principles did not cite specific countries, but Pompeo mentioned the targeting of religious minorities in Iraq, Pakistan, Nigeria, and Myanmar.

He singled out the Chinese Communist Partys hostility to all faiths, adding, We know several of you courageously pushed back against Chinese pressure by agreeing to be part of this alliance, and we thank you for that.

Pompeo announced plans for the creation of the alliance at the conclusion of the State Departments second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom in July. He and Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback have called it a first-ever global group to focus on religious freedom.

President Donald Trump also cited the alliance at a September event on religious freedom at the United Nations, where he described it as an alliance of likeminded nations devoted to confronting religious persecution all around the world.

Brownback told reporters on a Jan. 29 conference call that there is a pretty high bar for countries included in the group. As of that call, he said 17 had committed to the alliance. Ten more joined over the next week.

We want nations that respect religious freedom in their own country, obviously act that way, and then are willing to push religious freedom in international venues, he said. So this is the activist club of countries.
The Android OS' official Twitter account has posted a message alerting us all to "something exciting" that is "just around the corner". However, we will have to wait until Samsung's next big event to see what it is. The announcement has led to speculation that the long-missed Google Play Edition (GPE) program is being resurrected.

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Android may have something to launch at Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event. This much is clear from a social media post recently released through the former's official account, and a reply from that of the latter with the message, "Saved you a seat!".

It is possible that the initial post simply refers to the new flagship (and foldable) phones to be unveiled at the show in question: however, an actual public announcement to this effect may be rather redundant.

Therefore, numerous replies to the same tweet contain somewhat justifiable speculation that Android representatives will take the stage to debut some innovation of their own, yet also somehow connected to Samsung, during this year's Unpacked event. For example, the prominent YouTuber MKBHD has "dared" the 2 companies to produce a new Google Play Edition (GPE) phone at the appropriate juncture.

Others propose that the "something exciting" is indeed a GPE device, but perhaps one of the Galaxy A series rather than the premium S20 line. However, a return to hardware with 100% stock Android rather than a heavily-skinned and more complicated in-house version of the OS such as Samsung's One UI seems too good to be true.

It is much more plausible that some kind of new software-based feature will be introduced at this upcoming launch. Should this be the case, we can but hope it will be compelling, and yet not exclusive to devices from the South Korean giant.
New York State Police

GALLATIN  State Police hope a $1,000 reward can help them track down the person who fatally shot a German shepherd in Columbia County.

The 2-year-old dog named Duke was found dead Sunday along Silvernails Road, trooper said. A bullet wound was discovered after a resident found the dog and called an animal control officer.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  West Michigan philanthropist and GOP donor Peter Secchia asked two prominent state lawmakers to address beach erosion on the Lake Michigan shoreline, saying that failure to do so would result in diminished donations.

There seems to be little interest in the Michigan House of Representatives or the Michigan Senate, Secchia wrote in a Nov. 4 letter to Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering.

This lack of concern mystifies me. Our property values will diminish greatly  hence, our donations will also diminish.

Secchias letter was released Friday, Feb. 7 by Progress Michigan, a progressive advocacy group.

Erosion has emerged as a major issue for Lake Michigan property owners this year. High water levels are eating away at bluffs, leaving homes up and down the coast perilously close to tumbling into the water. On New Years Eve, a Muskegon County home met such a fate, while elsewhere in the region homes have been demolished before they could face the same outcome.

Secchia, 82, whose family owns lakefront property in Ottawa County, could not be reached for comment. He is the former CEO and Chairman of the Board at Universal Forest Products, Inc. He was also appointed U.S. ambassador to Italy by President George H.W. Bush.

Sam Inglot, deputy director of Progress Michigan, said Secchias letter was troubling because political donors shouldnt be the ones who are setting the legislative priorities of our elected officials.

He linked Secchias letter with the passage of Senate Bill 714, which was introduced on Jan. 9 by Sen. Roger Victory, R-Hudsonville. The bill, approved by the Senate on Jan. 30, allows property owners to build erosion control structures without a permit if certain conditions are met.

Its pretty clear to us that this letter, and the threat of reduced donations, is, in our opinion, what spurred such quick action on this bill, Inglot said.

Victorys chief of staff, Mike Witkowski, said the senators office put in a request to draft Senate Bill 714 on Oct. 24, prior to Secchias letter being issued.

We were on the erosion control issue well before Secchia contacted us, he said. We had dozens of other concerned constituents on the lakeshore talking about the problems they were having with erosion.

In his letter, Secchia did not ask for a specific response to beach erosion. But he did say that those of us who have good sized investments in our Lake Michigan property have nowhere to look.

Do we need to ask the Michigan Legislature to appropriate funds for those of us who have lost lakefront property valued from $4 million-$6 million? he wrote.

The beach has been eroded down to within 8 of our permanent fixed property. It is a decrease of 131 from the past calculations.

The letter went on to say: Its hard to laugh when you are about to swallow a $6 million property loss (by the way, our family members also own the $2.5 million home just south of our log home).

When asked about Secchias letter, Amber McCann, Shirkeys spokesperson, said: The Majority Leader does recall receiving the letter. He threw it away.

Chatfields spokesperson, Gideon DAssandro, said the speaker received the letter but did not respond because he does not link campaign and policy issues.

Secchia years ago served as chair of the Kent County Republican Party and Vice Chairmen of the Republican National Committee.

A prominent philanthropist, he has donated millions to institutions such as Michigan State University, which named its College of Human Medicine building in Grand Rapids the Secchia Center.

Read more:

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Rivers have poured a years worth of water into some Great Lakes in just 4 months

Its about time: Patients can get medical marijuana from facility in Grand Rapids
As Kenyans continue to pay tribute to Kenya's second President Daniel arap Moi who passed on on Tuesday at the Nairobi Hospital, his grandson has revealed what their grandfather hated most.

"Our grandfather [Moi] was not amused by any family member who was drunk. No family member would dare step into his house while drunk during the annual family gathering," said Gerald Moi who is the son of the former president's second born son, the late Jonathan Moi.

ILLICIT BREWS

During his 24-year reign, the former president ordered the provincial administration to crackdown on illicit brews.

Gerald revealed that Moi's family members who kept off alcohol received financial support from the former president.

"Mzee Moi loved family members who avoided alcohol," said Gerald.

He said his grandfather would always reprimand those who drank alcohol.

"The moment Mzee Moi would notice a family member was not sober, he would immediately demand an explanation and later explain to them the dangers of alcohol," said Gerald.

He eulogised his grandfather as a humble and generous man.

"He valued education and today I am pursuing Agricultural Engineering course at the Rift Valley Technical Training Institute in Eldoret, thanks to his financial support," said Gerald.

QUOTE BIBLE

He said they will miss Mzee Moi at the annual December family meeting.

"Mzee Moi would preach to us and quote the Bible extensively. The word of God is the best gift that I will forever cherish from my grandfather. He also urged us to respect our elders and parents," said Gerald.

He said Mzee Moi could recognise his grandchildren during the family gathering.

"He knew all his grandchildren by their names. This was the most amazing thing that shocked us in spite of his advanced age," said Gerald.

He said his most memorable moment with his grandfather was in 2006 when he donated a school bus at Mercy Girls now Eldama Ravine Girls High School.

"Mzee noticed from the crowd, called me and gave me a bunch of new [currency] notes and told me to study hard," recalls Gerald.
[February 07, 2020] Reliq Health Technologies, Inc. Signs Seven New Contracts in Texas

HAMILTON, Ontario, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (TSXV:RHT or OTCQB:RQHTF) (Reliq or the Company), a technology company focused on developing innovative mobile health (mHealth) and telemedicine solutions for Community-Based Healthcare, today announced that it has signed contracts with seven new clients in Texas.

We are pleased to announce that we continue to build on our customer traction in Texas, said Dr. Lisa Crossley, CEO of Reliq Health Technologies, Inc. We will be onboarding these seven new clients in Dallas, Laredo and Hidalgo County this month. With these clients we are expanding into two new clinical use cases - Pediatric Remote Patient Monitoring (Pediatric RPM) and Principal Care Management (PCM). Effective January 1, 2020, the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) introduced PCM billing codes to allow specialists to use the iUGO Care platform to provide disease-specific care management to their patients. Unlike the Chronic Care Management (CCM) billing codes, which are intended for use by a patients primary care provider and require that a patient have two or more chronic conditions, PCM provides reimbursement to specialists managing patients with one chronic condition. This allows Endocrinologists, Nephrologists, Respirologists, Cardiologists and other specialists to provide ongoing care to their patients in the community setting to prevent complications, reduce the cost of care and improve health outcomes. Reliq Health Technologies is a healthcare technology company that specializes in developing innovative software solutions for the Community Care market. Reliqs powerful iUGO Care platform supports care coordination and community-based healthcare. iUGO Care allows complex patients to receive high quality care at home, improving health outcomes, enhancing quality of life for patients and families and reducing the cost of care delivery. iUGO Care provides real-time access to remote patient monitoring data, allowing for timely interventions by the care team to prevent costly hospital readmissions and ER visits. Reliq Health Technologies trades on the TSX Venture under the symbol RHT and on the OTCQB as RQHTF.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Dr. Lisa Crossley

CEO and Director For further information please contact:

Investor Relations at [email protected]

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 Statements Regarding Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, are "forward-looking statements". We caution you that such "forward-looking statements" involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual and future events to differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to commercial operations, including technology development, anticipated revenues, projected size of market, and other information that is based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Reliq Health Technologies Inc. (the "Company") does not intend and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties relating to, among other things, technology development and marketing activities, the Company's historical experience with technology development, uninsured risks. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. SOURCE: Reliq Health Technologies Inc.

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A Forest Grove woman is one of more than 60 coronavirus victims quarantined on a cruise ship off the Japanese coast.

Rebecca Frasure, 35, was on the Diamond Princess with her husband, Kent Frasure, for their 11th cruise together and her first time in Asia. She was waiting to be taken off the ship and to go a hospital, she said late Thursday Portland time. She felt OK except for a minor cough.

I feel fine, for the most part, Rebecca Frasure said.

A Japanese health official and a crew member told her that she had tested positive for coronavirus and her husband tested negative. She will stay at a hospital at least three days. If she gets better, Rebecca Frasure said, she will be taken back to the cruise ship to wait out the rest of the 14-day quarantine. Otherwise, she will stay in the hospital.

Rebecca Frasure said she had confidence in the Japanese health system. Her biggest concern is leaving her husband on board in their suite, she said.

An infected passenger got on the ship in Japan on Jan. 20 and got off in Hong Kong on Jan. 25, according to a message from the cruise company to its passengers. The ship has nearly 2,700 passengers and 1,045 crew members and had traveled to southern Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Taiwan and Okinawa.

The ship is now anchored near Tokyo and is in the first days of a two-week quarantine.

The ships captain announced earlier this week that testing revealed 10 additional coronavirus cases. Another 51 cases have since been announced, including Rebecca Frasure.

The new coronavirus raging through Asia has killed hundreds of people and infected tens of thousands, most of them in Wuhan, China, the city where the outbreak is believed to have originated. There have been 11 confirmed cases in the United States, including one in Washington.

Kent Frasure in an earlier interview expressed concern about officials handling of the crisis. He said passengers were allowed to mingle even after he believes they learned that the Hong Kong passenger had been infected.

Rebecca Frasure works for a medical health plan in Oregon, she told The Oregonian/OregonLive earlier in the week. She was supposed to be back at work Feb. 17, but thats not going to happen now," she said. Among her plans for the quarantine were to watch a lot of TV and to listen to an audio version of a new book by Margaret Atwood, The Testaments.

Contemplating the fact that she is in the unusual position of being an American infected with coronavirus, Rebecca Frasure said that she is just a normal person.

Its weird that so many people are going to know about this, Rebecca Frasure said.

Japan is 17 hours ahead of Pacific Time.

Symptoms of the new coronavirus include cough, fever and shortness of breath.

-- Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com

desk: 503-294-7674|cell: 971-373-2905|@fedorzarkhin

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
A 30-year-old woman, whose injured leg was amputated after a truck hit her scooter while she was avoiding a falling flagpole, was Friday given a government job.

Rajeswari received the order appointing as Village Assistant in Sanganur Village from Municipal Administration Minister S P Velumani at a function in the district collectorate.

Rajeshwari, along with her relatives, thanked the government and Velumani.

Both the legs of Rajeswari got grievously injured after the truck hit her scooter while avoiding the falling flagpole erected by the AIADMK on November 11 last.

Rajeswari was on her way to work when the accident took place and was in the ICU of a private hospital and her left leg had to be amputated from knee after four days.

The incident kicked up a row with opposition DMK raising the issue of erecting flagpoles especially after a banner put by an AIADMK worker fell on another woman and was run over by a lorry in Chennai.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency tonight in response to heavy rains and extreme flooding in multiple jurisdictions in Virginia, including Southwest Virginia.

Localities in Southwest Virginia have been particularly hard hit by flooding, and as the storm continues to move east across Virginia, impacts and storm damage are expected statewide.

Tazewell County has been particularly hard hit, with some evacuations occurring in the town of Richlands.

A state of emergency allows the commonwealth to mobilize resources and position people and equipment to assist in storm response and recovery efforts.

This weather is potentially dangerous, and rivers and streams can reach flood stage hours after the rain has passed, said Northam. I urge all Virginians to monitor forecasts, and be prepared to obey local evacuation orders if needed. We are grateful to first responders who are working to rescue people from flooded homes and keep citizens safe.
A woman killed in storms that hit Alabama early Thursday morning is being remembered as a woman who was always smiling and cared as much about her students as she did her own children.

Anita Rembert was in a mobile home just south of Demopolis with her husband, child, and two grandchildren when the storms hit late Wednesday, said Marengo County Emergency Management Director Kevin McKinney. Rembert was killed and her husband was injured, but the children were not hurt.

The National Weather Service confirmed the next day that an EF-1 tornado had struck the area. High winds destroyed both Remberts and another mobile home.

Rembert was a mother of two who worked as a substitute teacher at all four of Demopolis City Schools.

Superintendent Kyle Kallhoff said Rembert was always smiling and was a joyful person. She was a really good substitute teacher, he said, to the point where she was everyones first choice.

Everyone knew that she would take care of things the way (the teachers) wanted them to taken care of. She was going to take care of your kids, and she would love your kids, Kallhoff said.

The superintendent said Rembert filled in for a middle school class just last week. A seventh-grade student told Kallhoff that before she left school that day, she hugged Remberts neck. She had a large influence on our kids, he said. The kids know when theyre loved.

The teachers respected her. She just loved our children, and thats big to us as teachers and thats big to our students.

In addition to being a teacher, Rembert was a minister at True Light Tabernacle Holiness Church, according to the churchs Facebook page. The church posted about her death. Part of the post read, While we are deeply saddened, we trust & accept Gods will. We do solicit your prayers for Min. Remberts husband, children, family & the community of Demopolis, AL during this difficult time.

Earlier this morning, Thursday, February 6, 2020, we lost one of our very own, Minister Anita Rembert. While we are... Posted by True Light Tabernacle Holiness Church on Thursday, February 6, 2020

The church said details of funeral arrangements will be announced at a later time. May God comfort and grant peace to all effected (sic) by this tragic loss, the church posted.

There is a GoFundMe account for the family, which is asking for donations for the familys children and grandchildren.

The Rembert family was well-known in the community, Kallhoff said. He said hes certain the community will come together to make sure the Rembert family is taken care of in any way thats needed. Thats what Demopolis does, he said. Thats what they do. They take care of each other.
Large commercial banks' moral laxity knows no limits



Some employees at Woori Bank were found to have changed the personal identification numbers (PINs) of about 23,000 dormant accounts to boost their performance records, creating a stir in the financial industry. The commercial bank said it uncovered the irregularities through an in-house audit in July 2018 and reported it to the Financial Supervisory Service. Upon receiving the report, the FSS launched an investigation but has yet to announce the results. The regulator should stop dragging its feet and announce them, disclosing how such an absurd incident took place.



Financial service firms manage customers' assets. They must place the protection of customers' information ahead of all else. Woori's managers stressed that they exposed the scandal, erased the forged records from evaluations, and that clients suffered no financial damage. However, how can these bank officials guarantee their employees will never touch its clients' accounts again, now that they were found to have accessed and utilized the information before?



For internet and mobile banking, any PIN change requires the customer to confirm their identity and approve the change. If employees illegally used clients' information without asking for their consent, they violated the Personal Information Protection Act and Electronic Financial Transaction Act. The fact that the passwords of tens of thousands of clients were changed without any restrictions indicates the banks' internal control system was a complete failure.



More recently, Woori sold a large number of high-risk investment products, referred to as derivative-linked funds (DLFs), resulting in enormous losses for investors. In disciplining the bank, the regulator cited mis-selling of investment instruments and weak internal controls. The bank's illegal use of clients' PINs and the DLF fiasco point to one thing: When financial service companies are bent on boosting performance with no regard to client protection, their internal control system hangs in the balance.



The recent series of moral laxity incidents at financial institutions has deepened customers distrust in the financial sector. The regulator should check for similar irregularities at other commercial banks, and strictly hold violators accountable. It should also look into possible institutional loopholes, overhaul internal control systems of banks and brokerage houses, and strengthen protection for their customers.


analysis

Africa is arguably the fastest-growing continent in the world, yet its infrastructure development, according to a World Bank report, is one of the slowest.

With road, rail and air networks unable to cope with the growing commerce and need for movement of goods between countries and cities, could the solution lie in an unlikely source, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) otherwise, known as drones?

The New Times put this question to various experts attending the Africa Drone Forum underway in Kigali.

No doubt, drones act as a tool to alleviate issues that arise out of lack of access to infrastructure, said Isabelle Umugwaneza, the Deputy Managing Director at Rwanda Airports Company.

"Drones do not replace critical infrastructure such as roads or hospitals, rather they act as a tool to alleviate issues that arise out of lack of access to these infrastructures.

Drone technologies can act as a bridge for remote communities, linking them to essential goods, supplies and potential markets," she said. In Rwanda, drones are already being used to deliver essential blood at hospitals in the country.

Emile Nguza Arao, the Executive Director of Civil Aviation Safety and Security Oversight Agency (CASSOA) believes that drone solutions could be an alternative to the continent's infrastructural problems but they also pose a risk to the current air traffic control.

"Drones are amazing. The sky has given unlimited opportunities. Being a businessman, I see all the good that comes out with drones due to lack of adequate infrastructure like roads, hospitals among others," he said.

But it also comes with some challenges, Nguza argued.

"There are only two approved forms of flying; instrument flight rules that allow you to fly in the clouds, and the visual flight rules where you have to see.

A drone on display at South Korea's Airon stand during an exhibition taking place on the sidelines of the Africa Drone Forum at Kigali Convention Centre on February 5. / Photo: Emmanuel Kwizera

Now, for visual flight rules (VFR), when you are flying in an aircraft you have to see, most people use reference points outside.

You have to stay essentially clear of clouds because once you go into the clouds you can't see.

That is visual flight rule. So if the rules are not adequate enough, you will have collisions among aircraft which will be detrimental to aerospace," he explained.

He also pointed out that between 2016 and 2036, the number of manned aircraft will double the current ones

"Adding drones to the current manned aircraft with in the same aerospace, I suspect that the accident rate will shoot up if nothing is done differently to control and establish stringent rules," he reiterated.

For Leslie Cary, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) chief of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), drones can both compensate for lack of certain infrastructure.

"Whether you have infrastructure or not drones provide a whole new method of accomplishing things. They provide way beyond opportunities other than compensate for shortages of infrastructure," Carey noted.

Just as mobile phones dispensed with landlines, cargo drones can transcend geographical barriers such as mountains, lakes and unnavigable rivers without the need for large scale physical infrastructure, the RPAS officer contended.

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According to Jean-Bosco Rutayisire Muziga, an aviation expert, just a third of Africans live within two kilometres of an all-season road, there are no continental motorways or enough bridges that can reach people living in far-flung areas of the continent.

"It would require unprecedented levels of investment in roads and railways to catch up with the exponential growth in Africa's population which is set to double to 2.2 billion by 2050," said Rutayisire, who currently works as the quality and safety advisor to Charis Unmanned Aerial Solutions, a local firm offering drone services.

An infrastructural leap using drone technology and clean energy systems is essential to surmount the challenge of the future, Rutayisire added.

The Africa Drone Forum which ends Friday has brought together over 800 stakeholders from 44 countries.
Potential Want Want China Holdings Limited (HKG:151) shareholders may wish to note that the Executive Director, Shao-Chung Tsai, recently bought HK$2.3m worth of stock, paying HK$6.44 for each share. While that's a very decent purchase to our minds, it was proportionally a bit modest, boosting their holding by just 0.4%.

See our latest analysis for Want Want China Holdings

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Want Want China Holdings

Notably, that recent purchase by Shao-Chung Tsai is the biggest insider purchase of Want Want China Holdings shares that we've seen in the last year. So it's clear an insider wanted to buy, at around the current price, which is HK$6.50. That means they have been optimistic about the company in the past, though they may have changed their mind. If someone buys shares at well below current prices, it's a good sign on balance, but keep in mind they may no longer see value. Happily, the Want Want China Holdings insider decided to buy shares at close to current prices. Shao-Chung Tsai was the only individual insider to buy shares in the last twelve months.

The chart below shows insider transactions (by individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

SEHK:151 Recent Insider Trading, February 7th 2020

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership of Want Want China Holdings

For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Want Want China Holdings insiders own about HK$45b worth of shares (which is 56% of the company). Most shareholders would be happy to see this sort of insider ownership, since it suggests that management incentives are well aligned with other shareholders.

Story continues

What Might The Insider Transactions At Want Want China Holdings Tell Us?

It's certainly positive to see the recent insider purchase. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. Along with the high insider ownership, this analysis suggests that insiders are quite bullish about Want Want China Holdings. One for the watchlist, at least! Of course, the future is what matters most. So if you are interested in Want Want China Holdings, you should check out this free report on analyst forecasts for the company.

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.
US defence giant on Friday inked an agreement with the state-run to explore opportunities in the F-21 programme.

has exclusively offered its F-21 military aircraft to India, with an eye to bag the Indian Air Force's $18 billion dollar deal to procure 114 jets.

" signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Defence PSU (BEL) to explore industrial opportunities in the F-21 programme today at DefExpo 2020," the company said in a statement.

Lockheed Martin said it is strengthening and growing its partnerships with the Indian industry to support the company's F-21 proposal for the

"We are excited to begin exploring F-21 opportunities with BEL, one of India's leading aerospace and defence companies," said Dr Vivek Lall, Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

He said if India goes for F-21, then it will be plugging into the world's largest fighter plane ecosystem.

"An F-21 partnership with India integrates Indian industry, including BEL, into the world's largest and most successful fighter aircraft ecosystem and demonstrates Lockheed Martin's commitment to India," Lall said.

In April last year, the issued an RFI (Request for Information) or initial tender to acquire 114 jets at a cost of around $18 billion, which is billed as one of the world's biggest military procurement in recent years.

The top contenders for the deal include Lockheed's F-21, Boeing's F/A-18, Dassault Aviation's Rafale, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian aircraft MiG 35 and Saab's Gripen.

"We are happy to collaborate with Lockheed Martin which is a global major in the aerospace sector. We are eagerly looking forward to cash in on this co-operation to address domestic and international market needs in this sector," said Anandi Ramalingam, Director (Marketing), BEL.

Lockheed Martin has projected F-21 as the ideal aircraft to address the IAF's capability needs and deliver unparalleled industrial opportunities in India.

It said the single-engine F-jet will have the most optimal life cycle cost for the Indian Air Force, besides ensuring longest service life of 12,000 flight hours.

"In concert with India's Rafale and Tejas, the F-21 will fill a critical operational role for the Indian Air Force," the company said.

It said the F-21 programme will also provide unmatched opportunities for Indian companies of all sizes, including micro, small & medium enterprises (MSMEs) and suppliers throughout India, to establish new business relationships with Lockheed Martin.
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There is no question that the Iowa Democratic Party badly mismanaged the tabulation process of this weeks caucuses, but part of the problem was also a concerted effort by Trump supporters to flood the backup results hotline.

As MSNBCs Rachel Maddow pointed out on Thursday night, once it was clear that the result-reporting app was on the fritz, Trump supporters from around the country started calling into a phone line meant only for Iowa precinct captains.

In a closed conference call last night, state party officials reportedly talked amongst themselves about the fact that an excessive number of calls from outside the state started pouring into the phone lines that the party had set up in their headquarters in Des Moines to receive and tabulate the results from around the state, the MSNBC host said.

Maddow added, It is clear that that is not the only thing that went wrong with the tabulation of the Iowa caucus results on Monday. But that, it turns out, is one of the things that went wrong.

Video:

Rachel Maddow points out that Trump supporters made the Iowa debacle much worse by flooding the backup hotline meant to report caucus results. #ctl #p2 #maddow pic.twitter.com/gbjrKX3z8T  PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) February 7, 2020

Maddow said:

When it became apparent this years app for reporting caucus results wasnt going to work and precinct chairs decided theyd use the backup plan instead, which was to phone in results to the state party using this hotline, well, that backup plan failed, too, when the hotline was overwhelmed, when precinct chairs couldnt get through and they ended up sitting there on hold for anywhere for half an hour, an hour, in some cases more than two hours until some of them gave up. In a closed conference call last night, state party officials reportedly talked amongst themselves about the fact that an excessive number of calls from outside the state started pouring into the phone lines that the party had set up in their headquarters in Des Moines to receive and tabulate the results from around the state. As The New York Times put it today, quote, the backup hotline number for caucus organizers to call in results was flooded with nuisance calls after the number was disseminated on social media. The Iowa Democratic Party treasurer told members of the part central committee on the closed conference call last night, quote, all the Trump people from around the country started calling and tearing everybody a new one. Since that initial reporting, NBC News and other news organizations have tracked down messages like these from pro-Trump political message boards online, which show Trump supporters in real-time on caucus night not only posting and reposting the hotline number that precinct chairs were supposed to use to call in results to the Iowa Democratic Party but explicitly encouraging one another to call and call and call again specifically to clog up the lines, specifically to mess with the Democrats ability to carry out the caucus. Quote, F them up. Keep clogging the lines. Keep clogging the lines. The results are not being reported because the lines are clogged. Keep clogging the lines. Now, it is clear that that is not the only thing that went wrong with the tabulation of the Iowa caucus results on Monday. But that, it turns out, is one of the things that went wrong. And it is the kind of thing we have seen before.

Democrats should be on high alert in New Hampshire

Just because Iowa is in the rearview mirror doesnt mean Democrats shouldnt be concerned about future contests, particularly the New Hampshire primary next week.

As Maddow pointed out on Thursday, New Hampshire experienced its own phone-jamming scandal in the 2002 Senate race, so there is some precedent in the state for nefarious election behavior.

Not to mention the fact that Trump and Republicans have pounced on the Iowa chaos in recent days, using it as a talking point for how Democrats are unable to manage one election, much less run the country.

They, of course, would love nothing more than to see something similar happen in New Hampshire, which is why officials in the state should be on high alert heading into next weeks primary.

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Toronto, ON, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- An op-ed published by the Toronto Star, Vaping is a widespread issue. Stop making convenience stores a convenient scapegoat, leads readers to believe that the rise in youth vaping is of no fault of the convenience store association. Cherry picked statistics and the omission of facts make convenience stores look like victims to senseless legislation.

The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) applauds legislation that removes flavours and high nicotine strength liquids from points of sale that are not age restricted. Big tobacco vape brands leveraged their relationships with convenience stores to fuel their aggressive national marketing campaigns which promote high nicotine products in environments with youth exposure. This has led to availability of high nicotine products and related advertisements in an estimated 20,000 retail locations across Canada, which never existed prior to 2018. This is a massive expansion in access from the 1,200 adult access only vape shops which had opened over the prior decade.

Youth experimentation with vaping products grew substantially in tandem with this increased access in 2018. This increased access in non-age restricted environments, and the introduction of tobacco owned vape brands, such as Juul and Vype are the only factors which changed at the time of the rise of youth vaping rates. These tobacco owned vaping products have extremely high nicotine content, up to 59 mg/ml, compared to age restricted specialty vape shops who on average sell e-liquids containing between 3 to 9 mg/ml of nicotine.

Additionally, specialty vape stores have personnel knowledgeable within the field which provide education to transition adult smokers to vaping, typically applying an incremental method. In these environments, adult smokers are provided with a liquid that has equivalent nicotine to their typical intake levels based on the amount they smoke. From here it is suggested that they then gradually decrease the nicotine concentration to as low as 0mg/ml thus making it easier to eventually quit vaping as well. Convenience stores dont offer the low strengths that are available to consumers in specialty vape shops, typically carrying only the tobacco brand vape products with nicotine strengths of 17.5 mg/ml and above. This makes it very difficult for adult smokers who transition to vape products sold through these access points to eliminate nicotine completely, instead ensuring that consumers become addicted to these high nicotine vape products.

Story continues

The combination of non-age restricted access points, aggressive national brand marketing campaigns, and big tobacco vape brands with extremely high nicotine contents has led to the steep rise in youth use. This is especially apparent when examining youth vaping rates in the UK. The European union was quick to introduce a nicotine limit of 20mg/ml. This cap on nicotine hindered the entrance of tobacco owned brands and prevented youth from vaping for a heady or nicotine buzz. Although the UK sells a wide range of vape brands in all possible flavours, and currently has over 3.6 million adult vapers, there has been virtually no youth uptake seen in this country.

The author of the op-ed cites that convenience stores have a 96 percent pass rate with mystery shopper programs while vape shops have an 80 percent fail rate. This is disingenuous to readers. The 96 percent pass rate cited in relation to convenience stores relates only to age verification prior to the sale of vaping products. The 80 percent fail rate that is being referred to in relation to specialty vape shops to is in no way related to underaged sales. In fact, specialty vape shops ID people as soon as they walk through the door, rather than at point of sale. The fail rate cited for vape shops is actually tied to regulatory compliance, largely surrounding the labelling standards introduced in 2018. The vast majority of the infractions were non-compliant labels, which the industry has worked tirelessly to rectify. Additionally, the industry continues to work with Tobacco Enforcement Officers (TEOs) who conduct these inspections to drive compliance and ensure standardization of the inspection process.

Industry members have also been working tirelessly with Health Canada towards the development of additional regulations that will both limit youth exposure and access to vaping products. Specifically, in an effort to protect youth and reduce youth uptake, the vape shop owners industry wide have called for various additional measures including:

- National ban on brand advertising

- Dual ID verification for on-line sales

- Restricting vape product sales to adult only environments

- Reducing maximum nicotine concentrations to 20 mg/ml

The CVA and its membership fully support the Ontario governments decision to limit the sale of these adult products within non-age restricted environments, including convenience stores. It was big tobacco companies supported by the convenience store sales channel, that addicted generations to combustible tobacco products. It is now these same companies and sales channels who have exposed youth to aggressive vape product marketing and high nicotine vape products. When big tobacco entered the vape market in 2018 through their convenience store partners, the country witnessed the dramatic increase in youth uptake and yet the convenience stores now make a claim to be the scapegoat. Canadians are not so naive.

Darryl Tempest

The Canadian Vaping Association

647-274-1867

dtempest@thecva.org


He's hung his electoral hat on being Longford's 'radical alternative' and National Party candidate James Reynolds has vowed to execute those credentials to the nth degree if elected to the 33rd Dail this weekend.

The Ballinalee man has made no secret of his desire to offer up an assertive right-wing approach to the policies espoused by the country's two largest, mainstream parties, Fine Gael and Fianna Fail.

And it's a political mantra, Mr Reynolds makes no apologies for as he goes in search of securing the National Party's first ever Dail seat inside Leinster House.

In citing how his own campaign trail continues apace very well, Mr Reynolds says the choices facing voters on Saturday could shape Longford's socio economic future for years to come.

The only thing with Longford having no TD is Longford electing the wrong TD, he says, insisting his indifference to rivalling candidates is positioned more on party as opposed to personal lines.

Love him or loathe his own political affiliation, the former Longford IFA chairman is, if nothing else, steadfast in the principles and ideologies of a party he helped co-found.

Addressing the ongoing beef crisis by introducing far reaching legislation aimed at ensuring Irish farmers obtain a fairer share of a market still ravaged by mass protests and division is just one policy measure he hopes to implement after February 8.

The abolition of what he terms the super quango that is the HSE and the replacement of the medical card system with a universal model in order to allow all citizens access to private healthcare are other key policy considerations.

And its precisely those types of measures which Mr Reynolds hopes strikes a chord with voters while also helping to divert the spotlight away from recent rascism allegations linked to his party's opposition to so-called mass immigration.

Some people have accused me of that (racism), he accepts.

But let me make it clear,I have no issue with immigration, my problem is with mass immigration.

A recent confrontation with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Edgeworthstown, he contends, was designed purely to highlight those concerns.

Patriotic principles aside, Mr Reynolds has placed a large plank of his election manifesto in ensuring the squeezed middle or coping classes are not left behind any longer when it comes to afforbable housing, rolling out more stringent fiscal legislation with Ireland's banking system and attracting i nward investment to the county.

I don't have a degree in economics but I understand it and that's what this county needs-a strong advocate who knows what needs to be said and to be done, to stand up to the political establishment and to promote Longford's interests.

That's what I am about and that's what the National Party are about. We are not a one trick pony.

Given his relatively skimpy 9/2 odds, it's a statement which certainly seems to be gaining credence as polling day looms.

Read also: 'Radical solutions needed' to deal with housing crisis in Longford Westmeath
His pretrial detention was extended until April 10.

A court in Crimea has extended the pretrial detention of pro-Ukrainian activist Oleh Prykhodko.

Prykhodko's lawyer, Nazim Sheykhmambetov, told RFE/RL that the Kyiv district court in Crimea's capital, Simferopol, on February 5, rejected a motion to transfer his client to house arrest and prolonged his client's pretrial detention to April 10.

Read alsoHuman rights activist: At least 89 people held in Russian prisons on "Crimean cases"

Sheykhmambetov said that he and his client learned during the hearing that Prykhodko is now additionally charged with plotting a terrorist attack at the Russian Consulate in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

Sheykhmambetov added that he planned to appeal the court's decision.

Prykhodko was detained in October 2019 and charged with illegally fabricating handmade explosives with the intention to conduct a terrorist act.

In January, Prykhodko was informed that he was also charged with possession of an illegal explosive.

Prykhodko denies all the charges, calling them politically motivated.

Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean peninsula in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries, after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted amid a wave of public protests.

Rights groups say that since then, Russia has moved aggressively to prosecute Ukrainian activists and anyone who questions the annexation.
The Essikado-Ketan Constituency has been considered by the Ghana Investment Fund for Electronic Communications (GIFEC), to have two Cyber laboratories constructed in the coming months, Member of Parliament for the area, Joe Ghartey has hinted.



The Cyber laboratories will add on to an existing facility which was built by Hon. Joe Ghartey at Ketan, in 2008.



The success of the Ketan ICT Center, according to the Member of Parliament, provided a model for the establishment of ICT labs across the country.



The authorities say that this is the best center in Ghana. They have even replicated the model that we use here nationwide. And now they call it the Ketan Model, and that is the model they use in various ICT centers to train the children he told Heads of Schools and teachers in a briefing at the center.



The Ketan ICT Center offers training at no cost to users or students. Course modules according to the managers of the facility, adapts Information Technology and integrate them into any teaching subject offered at various educational level, particularly for the basic schools.



Hon Joe Ghartey argued that the establishment of these satellite facilities [Cyber labs] provide an equal and accessible means for all schools within a catchment area, to acquire IT training. He justified it is ideal and most efficient, as compared to granting each school a few batch of computer sets, which either gets broken down or stolen.



Through the assistance of the Metro Director of Education, we will bring all the other teachers in the other clusters here, to come and have a look at what is being done.



It is possible four you to have a center to serve a cluster of schools, and it is a better model than having each school having its own set of computers he explained.



As a proof of his unbridled support for building IT capabilities among younger generations, Mr. Ghartey donated a cash amount of GH5,000.00 to support the running of the Ketan ICT center, and thus promised to make available additional cash support when needed.



Metro Director of Education, Elizabeth Akuoko who received the cash donation on behalf of Ketan ICT Center, expressed her gratitude for the gesture. She remarked that the support granted by the legislator to the Ketan Sub-Metro over the years is immeasurable.



This one is to the rescue, the desperation that the heads and myself have been through has not been easy and as at today, will really go down in history, as a day when we were rescued she said with excitement.



The Ketan ICT Center serves over 16 schools in the sub-metro. Center Coordinator for the Ketan ICT Center, Regina Farco promised to make the best of resources at their disposal to improve the learning of ICT among the school children.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Corporate Counsel Business Institute, the educational arm of Corporate Counsel Business Journal, published by Law Business Media, announces our inaugural event, the Inner Circle Legal Operation Beverly Hills, Feb. 9-11, 2020, at The Beverly Hilton, 9876 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA, 90210.

Inner Circle Legal Operations Beverly Hills provides an interactive, robust, peer-driven conversation about the trenches of everyday legal operations challenges and proposed peer solutions, geared towards legal operations managers and directors, in-house counsel, as well as legal operations support staff.

The Chairs include Robert Brownstone, Technology & eDiscovery Counsel and Chair, EIM Practice Group, Fenwick & West LLP; Jill Fukunaga, Director of Legal Operations, Blue Shield California; and Shailesh Mathankar, AVP-Data Analytics, Office of General Counsel, AIG. Connie Brenton, Chief of Staff, Senior Director of Legal Operations, NetApp, will deliver the keynote address.

CCBIs Inner Circle events create an inclusive environment for legal operations workers at all levels to participate in open, roundtable discussions about current issues and challenges they face on a day-to-day basis, said Chair Robert Brownstone. Brownstone, who has held a number of varied legal operations roles for several decades, also noted that, This event has a unique peer-to-peer conversational format. As a result, attendees glean many tips they can use right away to start implementing the discussed solutions back at their companies and firms.

CCBJ and CCBI are designed to be powerful tools for our audience. With the addition of the CCBI Inner Circle series, we will have more opportunities to engage with our audience and offer them more incredibly valuable content as well as networking opportunities that will fuel their professional and personal development, said Kristin Calve, publisher of CCBJ.

CCBI Inner Circle topics under consideration include Structure and Strategy for Legal Operations Departments; Legal Spend, Talent and Technology Management; Metrics & Measurement; Data Governance and Privacy; and Ethics of 21st Century Technology.

Current Faculty confirmed include AIG; Blue Shield California; Change Healthcare; DaVita, Dreamscape Immersive; FAIR; Fenwick & West; InStyler; Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith; NetApp; University of California; and UpLevelOps; U.S. Veterans Initiative/U.S. Vets; and ValueStrategies LLC.

Current Sponsors include: Onna, Practice Aligned Resources, Reveal and Thomson Reuters.

Registration and additional information on the Inner Circle Legal Operations Beverly Hills can be found at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-inner-circle-insight-influence-ideas-legal-operations-beverly-hills-tickets-88530522175

About Law Business Media

Law Business Media, publisher of Corporate Counsel Business Journal, is a leading provider of information and insight focused on the corporate legal ecosystem. Through an array of high-quality digital and print publications, live conferences, interactive colloquia, webcasts, bespoke roundtables, and other products and services, LBM continues to focus on understanding and meeting the information and analytics needs of chief legal officers, general counsel and senior legal executives, operations professionals at corporate law departments, corporate executives and board members, and the many elite law firms, technology companies, law companies, academics, consultants and other individuals and organizations whose mission is to help corporate counsel continuously improve the vital services they provide to their organizations.

About Corporate Counsel Business Journal

Corporate Counsel Business Journal was founded more than 25 years ago as Metropolitan Corporate Counsel by Al Driver, the esteemed longtime General Counsel of JC Penney. Al, with his wife Martha Driver, a senior finance executive with TIAA-CREF, developed, launched and operated MCC for 20 years following their retirements from their very successful corporate careers. Law Business Media acquired MCC in 2014 and rebranded as Corporate Counsel Business Journal in 2018.

About Kristin and Joe Calve

Kristin and Joe Calve are the co-founders of Law Business Media. Kristin, a serial entrepreneur with experience in startups, M&A, joint ventures and new product development, serves as publisher and editor of LBMs flagship publication, Corporate Counsel Business Journal. A former publisher with ALM Media and business analyst with A&E Television Networks, she is the founder of Topstone Angels, a private investment group, and the former VP, Revenue, for LiftMetrix, a SaaS platform designed to enable brand marketers to maximize ROI across social media channels. (LiftMetrix was acquired by Hootsuite in 2017.) Kristin has an B.A. in English from Fordham University and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from Fordham Gabelli School of Business. Joe, a former practicing lawyer on Wall Street, has served as Chief Marketing & Business Development for four Am Law 50 law firms. Prior to that, he spent 15 years at ALM Media as an editor, publisher, director of business development and vice president. Joe, along with his J.D. from Western New England College School of Law, has a B.A. in English from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a Masters Degree in Literature from New York University.
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has expressed his inability to pay dues worth $680 million (over Rs 4,860 crore) in defaulted loans to three Chinese banks, saying he doesn't hold "meaningful assets" that can be liquidated and his net worth is "zero". The Chinese banks -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China -- in a lawsuit filed in a London court said Ambani should be ordered to deposit the amount in court's account. Industrial and Commerical Bank of China (ICBC) is the sole claimant in the case before UK High Court and is representing the other two lenders.

The case pertains to a loan worth $925 million given to Ambani's now bankrupt Reliance Communications in February 2012. RCom repaid a portion of the loan, but defaulted on its payment obligations in February 2017.

ALSO READ: Anil Ambani's sons Anmol, Anshu step down from Reliance Infra board

In response to the lawsuit, Ambani said the overall value of his investments had collapsed. "The current value of my shareholdings is down to approximately $82.4 million and my net worth is zero after taking into account my liabilities. In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings," he was quoted as saying in a court filing disclosed on Friday.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said: "Mr Ambani is reviewing the order of the UK Court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal. The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Capital Limited."

In their argument, the Chinese banks said Ambani gave "personal guarantee" for the debt, while the embattled businessman -- in a bid to avoid depositing the pending dues ahead of the trial -- said he only gave "personal comfort letter" not the "extraordinary potential personal liability", which would have tied his personal assets to the loans.

ALSO READ: RCom assets bidder UVARC planning to launch new telco in India?

Ambani's lawyer Robert Howe said Judge David Waksman should not order him to deposit $656 million into the court's account as he was not in position to do so. Attorney Bankim Tanki, who was representing the Chinese banks, termed Ambani's statements as "opportunistic" attempts.

Anil Ambani had told the court in a filing that he would not be able to raise funds from outside resources, including his elder brother Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia. His lawyer had earlier told the court that after the events during the court proceedings, Anil Ambani's relatives would not lend money to him.

The UK court in December 2019 had dismissed an application for a summary judgment by the Chinese banks on their claim against Anil Ambani. The court, however, passed a conditional order on the basis that Ambani's defence against the claim, "while possible", was "improbable". His legal team was also told to submit further evidence in his defence and prove the claim by Chinese lenders holds no merit.

This is not the first time when Anil Ambani showed inability to repay funds. Last year, the Supreme Court had threatened to put him in jail in another case involving pending dues worth $550 crore to Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson AB. Later, his brother and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani saved him by making the payment.

ALSO READ: Forensic audit finds no misappropriation of funds in Reliance Home Finance
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Linkedin Yulia Savitri and Ardila Syakriah (The Jakarta Post) Palembang and Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020

Indonesian students returning from China and Chinese Indonesians have had to suffer the effects of misinformation about the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has caused a public stigma against the two groups.

Adam Amrismafasyah, a 19-year-old student at Jiangsu Normal University thought he would be able to rest easy once he arrived in his hometown in Muaraenim regency, South Sumatra, on Saturday. However, he was met with with suspicion and outright paranoia from locals who were not convinced that he was free of the deadly virus.

Some of my neighbors have steered clear of me. Others have asked me upfront whether I had been thoroughly examined and whether I was completely free of the coronavirus, Adam told The Jakarta Post in a phone interview on Tuesday.

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BEIJING: The Death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has climbed to 636 with 73 mortalities on Thursday, while the total number of confirmed cases crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said on Friday.

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, reported 69 deaths on Thursday while Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one each, China's National Health Commission said.

As many as 73 people died on Thursday, while another 3,143 new cases of infection were reported, which took to 31,161 the total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection from 31 provincial-level regions, the commission said.

Also, a total of 1,540 patients infected with the virus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Thursday, it said, highlighting that a large number of people are getting cured.

The Chinese officials said 19 foreign nationals living in the country have been confirmed of contracting the novel coronavirus as of Thursday but did not disclose their nationalities.

The deceased on Thursday also included Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight whistle-blowers who warned other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by the police.

ALSO READ | Chinese doctor Li Wenliang who first warned about coronavirus outbreak dies

Li, the 34-year-old doctor, died due to coronavirus on Thursday in Wuhan.

He was the first to report about the virus back in December last year when it emerged in Wuhan.

He dropped a bombshell in his medical school alumni group on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and quarantined in his hospital.

Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumour-mongering by the Wuhan police.

He was one of the several medics targeted by the police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, China on Thursday opened a new 1,500-bed makeshift hospital especially built for virus patients, days after a 1,000-bed hospital started functioning with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms in Wuhan.

Chinese officials argue that the death toll and confirmed cases are rising in Hubei province because of lack of enough hospitals and beds.

Officials also started setting up tent hospitals and mobile clinics to treat the growing number of patients.

ALSO READ | Coronavirus outbreak: Stuck at China's Kunming airport, 16 medical students from Kerala seek help

China also lodged diplomatic protests to countries over the cancellation of flights to China due to virus fears.

"As some countries have taken such excessive steps as suspending flights, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) has also issued bulletins and encouraged all countries to follow WHO recommendations," a spokesperson said.

"We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO's professional recommendations and ICAO's bulletins and have lodged stern representations with them," she said.

Several international airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, have cancelled flights to China over fears of the virus spreading across the world, a move which Beijing described as being against WHO guidelines.

Several countries including India and the US have also announced travel bans.
RICHMOND  At times, it can seem like Virginia is two states: rural and urban/suburban.

Sometimes rural residents feel demonized by those in urban and suburban Virginia. And people in urban and suburban Virginia feel misunderstood by people in rural areas.

In an effort to foster a better understanding and respect between different regions, Gov. Ralph Northam initiated an exchange program. Two local governments in Northern Virginia and two in Southwest Virginia will pair up to send delegations to visit the other region to gain firsthand knowledge of the different issues, challenges and cultures.

The pilot program of the Virginia Local Government Exchange Program will begin with Wise County and Norton teaming up with Alexandria, while Danville will connect with Loudoun County.

Lets visit each other and look at other peoples cultures and what they need and then come back to Richmond to make policy and do good things, Northam said Thursday.
Senate acquits President Trump

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The United States Senate voted to reject both articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, making him the third president in United States history to survive such a challenge.

On Article I of impeachment, the charge of abuse of power, the Senate found Trump not guilty with 52 senators voting not guilty and 48 senators voting guilty.

On Article II of impeachment, the charge of obstruction of Congress, the Senate found Trump not guilty with 53 senators voting not guilty and 47 senators voting guilty.

The votes came after lengthy debate on the Senate floor. Senator Kamala Harris of California argued that the House managers made a compelling case for Trumps removal from office.

They have shown that the president of the United States of America withheld military aid and a coveted White House meeting for his political gain, said Harris.

Harris also denounced the Republican-controlled Senates handling of the impeachment trial, calling it a miscarriage of justice, arguing that Trump will escape accountability.

Senator Roy Blunt of Missouri labeled the impeachment process as a partisan-driven effort from the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives.

We dont want partisan impeachment to become an exercise that happens when one party, not the party of the president, happens to have a majority of the votes, said Blunt.

In their haste to put this case together, the House sent the Senate the two weakest articles of impeachment possible.

The votes largely fell on party lines, save Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who announced his decision to vote guilty on the abuse of power charge by stressing that it was based on an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it.

Last year, a whistleblower came forward claiming that Trump had unlawfully asked Ukraine to investigate the son of potential Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and the corruption surrounding the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma that paid Hunter Biden $3 million to be named as a member of its board while his father was overseeing the U.S.'s Ukraine policy under the Obama administration.

The request was seen by many to be the president asking for foreign interference in the 2020 election. The transcript of that conversation can be read here.

Last September, Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the House was going to pursue a formal impeachment inquiry, citing the claims of the whistleblower and alleged mistreatment of the whistleblower.

In November, the House Intelligence Committee held a hearing featuring sworn testimony from acting Ambassador to Ukraine William Taylor, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs George Kent, and former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

Many considered the testimony by U.S. Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland, a Republican and former Trump campaign donor, to be especially damning against the president.

Sondland told the Committee that he considered the phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to include a quid pro quo even though the president never said it.

I know that members of this Committee have frequently framed these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a 'quid pro quo?' As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and White House meeting, the answer is yes, he stated, as reported by CBS News.

Sondland also stated in his testimony that everyone was in the loop on the call and that everyone was informed via email on July 19, days before the presidential call.

In December, the House voted to impeach Trump, approving the abuse of power charge in a vote of 230-197 and the obstruction of Congress charge in a vote of 229-198.

Last month, the Senate held the impeachment trial, with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts presiding.

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer with the conservative legal group the American Center for Law & Justice, was part of the defense team for the president and argued that the impeachment process was part of a years-long partisan effort to remove Trump from office.

When the Russia investigation failed, it devolved into the Ukraine. A quid pro quo, when that didn't prove out it was bribery or maybe extortion, he declared on the first day of the trial.

What are we dealing with here? Why are we here? Are we here because of a phone call or are we here, before this great body, because since the president was sworn into office, there was a desire to see him removed?

Democratic Representative Jason Crow of Colorado, one of the House managers arguing for Trumps removal from office, stated that duty demands they find Trump guilty.

I dont pretend that this is an easy process. Its not designed to be easy. It shouldnt be easy to impeach or convict a president, stated Crow. In America, no one is above the law, even though elected president of the United States.

If you believe  that the presidents efforts to use his official powers to cheat in the 2020 election jeopardize our national security and are antithetical to our democratic tradition, then you must come to no other conclusion that the president threatens the fairness of the next election and risks putting foreign interference between the voters and their ballots.

During the impeachment trial, The New York Times reported on a leaked copy of a forthcoming book by former Trump national security adviser John Bolton which appeared to add evidence to the claim that Trump engaged in a quid pro quo.

Although many believed that the Bolton manuscript justified further investigation, the Senate voted 51-49 last week against a resolution that would have added more witnesses to the trial.

With the acquittal, Trump becomes the third president to have been impeached only to not be removed from office. Before him were Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:40:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson Thursday urged the Taiwan authority to stop impeding Taiwan compatriots stranded in the coronavirus-hit Hubei Province from returning to the island.

After the novel coronavirus epidemic broke out, many Taiwan compatriots living in Hubei or visiting there were stranded in the province due to the cancellation of flights, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

Following the request of the Taiwan compatriots, the mainland arranged a chartered flight to help 247 of them return to the island on Feb. 3.

But further arrangements to help the remaining Taiwan compatriots return on Wednesday and Thursday have been obstructed by the Taiwan authority, Ma said.

All the returned Taiwan compatriots have had their temperature checked and agreed to observe Taiwan's epidemic prevention measures, Ma noted.

But the Taiwan authority suddenly changed attitudes, delaying their return with excuses and making groundless accusations against the mainland, which have turned the service benefiting Taiwan compatriots into a political hype and made them disappointed and heartbroken, the spokesperson said.

Despite arduous epidemic control tasks, the mainland has demonstrated its sincere care and sympathy for the Taiwan compatriots, said Ma, adding that some Taiwan politicians' slandering and groundless accusations would not be allowed.

Ma urged the Taiwan authority to stop any political manipulation, cooperate with the arrangements of the mainland's chartered airliner and offer necessary conditions for the Taiwan compatriots' return to their home.
Oil declined for the fifth-straight week as the spreading coronavirus clouded the demand outlook and OPEC awaited Russias decision on whether to cut production.

Futures in New York fell 2.4% for the week, posting the longest weekly losing streak since 2018. Chinese refiners are processing 15% less crude than before the outbreak as the infection crimps demand. Meanwhile, Russia hesitated to accept a proposal by OPEC+ to cut output by 600,000 barrels a day. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak promised an answer to the proposal in days.

Its wait and see right now, said Rob Haworth, who helps oversee about $150 billion at U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Seattle. Investors have tried to reprice for what they think demand shortfall could be due to the coronavirus and the quarantines, but all those are really guesses for everyone at the moment.

In the U.S., gasoline futures rose to the highest in more than a week after Phillips 66 shut the sole fuel-making unit at its Bayway refinery in New Jersey, the largest on the East Coast. Futures rose 1.7% to settle at $1.5239 per gallon.

Majors including Total and BP projected a significant hit to global oil demand this year due to the virus, compounding fears of a supply glut plunging the markets structure into a bearish contango.

Both state-owned and private refineries in China have scaled back processing by at least 2 million barrels a day over the past week, said people with knowledge of operations at the nations largest complexes. So-called throughput could fall further as demand for aviation and transportation fuels continues to shrink as entire cities remain locked down and travel is restricted, the people said.

West Texas Intermediate for March delivery fell 63 cents to settle at $50.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent for April delivery lost 46 cents to settle at $54.47 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange putting the premium over WTI at $3.92.

Chinas January trade data was scheduled to be released Friday, but will instead be announced together with Februarys numbers, according to the customs administration.
Who said comity and bipartisanship in Washington were dead, what was left of both vaporized in the politically nuclear mushroom cloud of the 45th president's impeachment and acquittal?

They were wrong, we learned in the 21 hours after Senate Republicans cleared Donald Trump on counts of abusing his power and obstructing Congress.

That's right: Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell finally agree with Nancy Pelosi on something. And something of great import  not just for the country's political system, but also for a sharply divided nation and its perception around the globe as a teetering superpower at risk of devolving into a political banana republic armed with the world's most powerful economy and military but besieged by economic, class, racial divisions that could be stacked as high as its Rocky Mountains.

For five months, since Pelosi told the country she saw few other options after the world learned of Trump's request that Ukraine's new president "do us a favour though" by investigating Joe Biden and son Hunter Biden immediately after the two discussed a $391m military aid package, Trump and McConnell have been in lock step.

Pelosi, however, has been criticised by both and other Republicans for deciding to move forward with an impeachment inquiry that had practically zero chances of ending with the president's conviction and removal in a Senate with 53 Republican members.

In fact, even top Senate Democratic leaders repeatedly said during the five-month drama they knew it would be impossible at worst and an "uphill fight" at best to get the 67 votes needed in the upper chamber to convict and remove Trump on just one charge, much less both.

During her weekly press conferences, Pelosi had to field questions about whether she really believed further stoking America's tribal divisions, of further dividing "Red America" and "Blue America"  read: rural America and urban America  was truly worth it because the ink on the last page of the Washington-based real-life theatre performance essentially had dried before a single letter had been written on page one.

For five months, and in the day since, she has defended her decision.

At her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, the speaker described the president as a threat to the country. She accused him of being "sedated" during Tuesday night's State of the Union address, speculating  without evidence, in a Trumpian move  that he was in the same alleged state last year for the big speech.

 Trump calls Russia probe 'bullshit'

Pelosi also described the president as unhinged and unfit for office, saying this: "Next year, we will have a new president of the United States. That is an absolute imperative for our country, for our Constitution. ... It's appalling the things that he says."

While McConnell was more measured about her during his post-acquittal press conference on Wednesday evening, Trump did not hold back a day later during an East Room acquittal celebration during which he also apologized to his family for having to endure the inquiry and trial.

"They are vicious and mean, vicious. These people are vicious," he said of his Democratic accusers. "Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person. And she wanted to impeach a long time ago. When she said, 'I pray for the president, I pray for the president,' She doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite."

The packed room full of his political allies, conservative supporters, White House aides and personal attorneys all laughed. The moment perfectly captured the country's toxic politics and counterproductive tribal divisions.

"But I doubt she prays at all," Trump continued in a personal swipe that must have gone directly to Pelosi's core. She recently snapped at a reporter's question about whether she feels "hate" for the president, saying her Catholic faith teaches her to hate no one.

Yet, beneath all the weaponizing of words, investigations, threats and speech destroying that were the five months of the Trump impeachment era, one cannot forget Pelosi's own advice about impeachment inquires.

"I'm not for impeachment," the speaker told the Washington Post in mid-March. "Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don't think we should go down that path, because it divides the country."

Then, in a move she appeared to intend to hit Trump even harder than the specter of actual impeachment, she added: "And he's just not worth it."

 Trump claims he 'did nothing wrong' as he is acquitted

She says his July 25th phone call with Ukraine's president changed that. McConnell and Trump say she was right all along  and there's ample evidence both men are spot on, that she was spot on for three years as the left wing of her caucus called for impeachment after every Trump tweet and rally insult.

"We all fully remember, and it's been said numerous times, the speaker said roughly a year ago, you shouldn't go forward with an impeachment that was not bipartisan," McConnell said on Wednesday evening.

"I watched her very carefully over the years. Our leadership positions have overlapped, and even before then, we were working together on appropriations bills back in the early days," he told reporters. "I'm pretty sure she didn't want to do this."

To the veteran senator, as he watched from across the Capitol, he saw the pragmatic speaker who is regarded as an expert tactician being "pulled into this direction against what appeared to be her political instincts."

Donald Trump gestures during a televised speech at the White House following his Senate impeachment acquittal (AP)

Trump noticed, too, just accurately enough quoting her on Thursday as he took his victory lap that she didn't think Democrats "should go down that path because it divides the country."

In a largely unnoticed moment, Trump said the Democratic politician who unnerves him like none other had a point.

In fact, he said this: "She was right about that."

Pelosi makes few blunders as the leader of her caucus. If she's not liked, she's respected  or feared. But there is mounting evidence that McConnell and Trump are correct.

There is her own settling for the twin moral victories that Trump will be "impeached forever" and that some GOP senators admitted during the trial "that he did something wrong."

Then there is the polling data. Trump's approval rating has never been higher. During the five months from House inquiry start to the final acquittal vote of the trial, the president closed enough ground on each of the top Democratic presidential candidates in surveys of national and battleground state one-on-one races that just about every one is now a toss-up.

Donald Trump kisses the first lady after giving a speech in front of supporters following his Senate impeachment acquittal (AFP via Getty Images)

Coupled with those trends and lower-than-expected Democratic turnout in Iowa  a sign of low enthusiasm among the opposition party's voters  Trump can now use the impeachment affair as another way to fire up his base in the six or seven battleground states that will matter most to turn out in big numbers.

There were signs aplenty on Thursday that he feels invincible, including his repeated attacks on Senator Mitt Romney, the former GOP presidential nominee and party standard-bearer who was the lone Republican to vote for his removal.

"Then you have some that used religion as a crutch. They never used it before," he said of Romney's contention that his Mormon faith required him to vote honestly before telling this to Utah's other GOP senator, Mike Lee: "Say hello to the people of Utah. And tell them I'm sorry about Mitt Romney. I'm sorry. Okay?'

 Trump attacks Pelosi and Romney at prayer meeting

Five months. An inevitable outcome. And a president as competitive, popular and emboldened as ever before.

Just ask Mitch McConnell.

"I can tell you as a poll watcher who's looking at polls in certain Senate races, every one of our people in tough races, every one of them is in better shape today than they were today the impeachment trial started. So I'm not sitting here predicting what will be the biggest issue in November," he said, adding of Democrats: "But I can tell you this ... Right now, this is a political loser for them."
T he myth has been busted. Many in Westminster believe that the pink ribbons in MPs cloakrooms are an ancient hangover designed for hanging swords, but it turns out they appeared much more recently and have a much more prosaic purpose.

The flimsy pieces of pink (or red) ribbon (or tape) would scarcely bear the weight of a sword, former Commons Clerk and historian Paul Seaward explains. Seaward says he found no link to the ribbons and swords in records and newspaper clippings until 1928, when Liberal MP Fred Martin described them as a survival of the day when gentlemen were gentlemen. But by the time Westminster was rebuilt after the 1834 fire, wearing swords had long gone out of fashion.

So if not for swords, what are these ribbons for? Seaward, writing in a blogpost, thinks he has found the answer in a 1904 speech by Irish MP Thomas Power OConnor. They were designed for hanging umbrellas.

The news will come as consolation to new Liberal Democrat MP Daisy Cooper, who was incredulous when she was told about the sword ribbons on an induction tour of Westminster. Keen to cut down on governmental red tape, Cooper wrote in The Guardian that the ribbons perpetuate the perception that politicians are weird or out of touch. But Seawards big reveal has come too late for some. Jonathan Reynolds, Labour MP for Stalybridge and Hyde, told The Londoner earlier this week that, after 10 years in the Commons, he has acquired a sword for his ribbon  albeit a wooden one. Reynolds said hanging up the gift from a constituent was quite a special moment. And his sword is not just for decoration. He added: If you dont want to sit in the chamber, you can stab yourself in the leg.

Needless to say, the Stalybridge MP was devastated when he discovered the truth. He told The Londoner: Im shocked by this news. I feel generations of MPs have been lied to. There may be a need for a public inquiry once word of this gets out. Release the inquirers.

Positive endgame

The 50:50 Parliament organisation has launched a crowdfunder with an interesting goal  to end their own existence. The campaigning group is seeking to professionalise so it can increase the number of female MPs and ultimately not have to exist.

They want new, permanent staff who can help achieve a gender-balanced Parliament in the next decade. Otherwise it will take us 49 years at the rate were currently going, says director Dolly Theis.

Theis adds: What we stand very strongly by is that Parliament is supposed to be representative. Because its not. The crowdfunder closes in five days.

--

When Sarah Sands edited this newspaper, she travelled to Sierra Leone to write about Ebola and on her return developed flu-like symptoms. To avoid creating panic...

I was told to walk calmly round the corner, where a special ambulance would be waiting. A kindly man in a spacesuit beckoned me in, she says in The Spectator. After a night in isolation, tests proved negative: Soon I was wandering around Waitrose.

--

Comic Aisling Bea says her mum produces cordon bleu cooking but struggles with scones. Bea and her sister had a game, she tells Jessie Wares podcast, who can throw the scone against the wall hard enough to break it. The biggest loser was the wall.

--

Pisces pair declare love of the ocean

(L to R) Uma Thurman, Prince Albert II, Sharon Stone / George Pimentel/Getty Images

The Londoner popped over to Beverley Hills last night to see stars attend an environmental dinner honouring Prince Albert II of Monaco. Actors Michelle Rodriguez and Sharon Stone rubbed shoulders with the Prince at the Hollywood for the Global Ocean gala. Stone hosted the charity auction, encouraging bidders to purchase the Eiffel Tower all for themselves for an evening. She told the audience that she and her dear friend Prince Albert were born four days apart, were both Pisces and attributed their joint love of the ocean and nature to the very Piscean journey they have shared.

TV host and influencer Hofit Golan, fashion designer Ozwald Boateng and Lady Victoria Hervey also attended the dinner. Actor Uma Thurman gave a speech about the environment, saying: We need relentless men and women to enforce sustainable solutions. No holds barred.

SW1A

Chris Heaton-Harris, aka the Minister for Terrible Jokes, has a very specific requirement for the parliamentary intern he is recruiting. The Tory MP and Transport Ministers clangers (or classics, if you prefer) include what goes, Oh, oh, oh? Santa walking backwards and my extra sensitive toothpaste doesnt like it when I use other toothpastes. Candidates for the new job should have a sense of humour, or at least the ability to pretend jokes are funny. We cant fault his honesty.

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News of Tory grandee Ken Clarkes peerage nomination is cheered by Conservative MP Richard Holden. The sort of person we need in the House of Lords to scrutinise, revise and, very rarely, to ask the House of Commons to think again, Holden tweets. Emphasis, perhaps, on the very rarely. Great to have you back Ken, but no more of that rebel business old chap...

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Deadline-shy Sheila goes undercover

Roberto Ricciuti/Getty Images

Sheila Hancock (above) fears the wrath of a publisher whos been waiting for her book. The actress told The Londoner at the launch of Michael Cashmans book One of Them: Im with the same publisher [as Cashman], and Im hiding tonight because I havent delivered.

I should have delivered two years ago. Ive been terrified of seeing my publisher  theyre so angry that I havent.

Im avoiding so many people here. Weve all been there, Sheila.

Quote of the day

'I don't have dreadful moments'
Two people claiming ownership of a four-square mile land have been remanded to prison over accusations of land grabbing.

The Magistrate's Court at Kajjansi, Entebbe, yesterday remanded Ssematimba Kyobe Mutebi, 84, and Lawrence Walugembe until February 10.

They denied charges of criminal trespass in regard to alleged grabbing of land belonging to more than 100 families at Sissa-Kagulu in Wakiso District.

The duo was arrested from Ssisa as they had gone to check on the disputed land hardly a month after they were stopped from entering, and, or carrying out any activities on the said land.

They are part of four others, who were remanded to prison last month.

They include; Thomas Bwayo, alias Tony, Ivan Lubowa, alias Licoln, Samuel Mwasa, and Siraje Mubiru.

It is alleged that the suspects encroached onto land occupied by various people with intent to intimidate, assault and or annoy him.

Last month, 11 people were arrested in a joint operation by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit and the police following a complaint of an attempt to evict residents from the disputed land.

The suspects were arrested over accusations of torture, fraudulent sale and destruction of property belonging to the residents.

Aggrieved residents from Kagulu and Namuzi villages reported cases to the head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, Lt Col Edith Nakalema, claiming that police had failed to help and protect them and their properties.

Local leaders said Mr Walugembe and Mr Sematimba, claiming to belong to the Balangira (royals) clan, had grabbed part of the land and sold it but police had taken no action.

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"It appears that none of us is allowed to do anything on our land because these blood-thirsty men are patrolling the area all the time. We are living in fear because the police has nothing to do," Mr Andrew Njawuzi, one of the leaders, said in an interview with Daily Monitor last month.

He also presented a document signed by President Museveni's adviser on youth, Ms Resty Nakayenga Kiguli, about the same land.

The land in question is on Block 409 at Ssisa-Kagulu.

It is alleged that a group of people claiming to be descendants of Kabaka Kagulu Tebuchweke, who ruled Buganda Kingdom between 1734 and 1736, are claiming the land.

Mr Ssematimba and Mr Walugembe are part of the five people claiming to belong to Buganda royal family in the lineage of late king of Kagulu Tebucweke.

Others are Ssenyimba Kayima, Kiwanga Sseziga, Kattaba Wamala and Kalaki Ngomazawambwa.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said Delhi government officer Gopal Krishna Madhav, who was posted as his OSD and arrested in an alleged bribery case, should be punished immediately.

Madhav was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a late night operation on Thursday for allegedly taking a bribe of over Rs 2 lakh in a matter related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST), officials said.

In a tweet in Hindi, Sisodia said, "I have came to know that the CBI has arrested a GST inspector for taking bribe. This officer was also posted as an OSD (Officer on Special Duty) in my office".

"The CBI should get him the strictest punishment immediately. I have got several such corrupt officials caught in the last five years," he said.

Madhav was posted in Sisodia's office in 2015, according to CBI officials.

The arrest comes just before the February 8 Delhi assembly election.
A Delhi court Friday dismissed the pleas of Delhi government and Tihar jail authorities seeking fresh date for execution of the four death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gang rape and murder case.

Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana took note of the Delhi High Court's February 5 order permitting the convicts to exercise their legal remedies within one week.

"It is criminally sinful to execute the convicts when law permits them to live. The High Court on February 5 has permitted the convicts, in the interest of justice, to exercise their legal remedies within one week from same order," the court said.

"I concur with counsel for convicts that death warrants cannot be executed merely on basis of surmises and conjectures. The application is bereft of merit. Same is dismissed. State is at liberty to move appropriate application as and when required," the judge said.

In its order, the high court was critical of the delay caused by the authorities in seeking issuance of death warrants for the convicts as also of the "delay tactics" adopted by the convicts.

"All the authorities concerned were sleeping" and waited till December 2019 "for reasons best known to them" to seek issuance of death warrants, the high court said.

The Delhi government moved the trial court for issuance of black warrants two years after the Supreme Court in 2017 had dismissed the review petition against the confirmation of death penalty.

During the day's proceedings, the lawyer appearing for the convicts termed the application as "pre mature" and said "the State is in hurry to hang the convicts".

The trial court had on January 31 stayed "till further orders" execution of the four convicts in the case -- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

In the application, the authorities said the President has already dismissed the mercy petitions of three convicts and that no application by any of the four is currently pending before any court.

Pawan has not yet filed a curative petition -- the last and final legal remedy available to a person which is decided in-chamber. Pawan also has the option of filing a mercy plea.

The authorities had also informed the court about the Delhi High Court's February 5 order which directed the convicts to take steps within a week, if they wished, to avail any remedy available under the law.

"It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that, keeping in view a week's time given to the convicts by high court, the fresh dates for execution of death warrants...may kindly be fixed specifying the date and time for execution/ hanging of convicts Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh and Akshay in the interest of justice," the application had said.

The warrants, issued by the trial court on January 7, were later postponed "sine die" by it on January 31, giving the condemned prisoners a reprieve for the second time in two weeks.

The date of execution, first fixed for January 22 in Tihar jail, was later postponed for 6 am on February 1 by a January 17 court order.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi. She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, 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.

The juvenile was released in 2015 and sent to an undisclosed location amid concerns over a threat to his life. He, when released, was 20 years old.

Mukesh, Vinay, Akshay and Pawan were sentenced to death in September 2013 by the trial court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chen Ying and her boyfriend kiss each other through glass wearing masks. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

A photo showing a couple kissing each other through glass while wearing masks went viral recently on Chinese social media. Behind the photo, the love story of nurse Chen Ying and her boyfriend from eastern Chinas Zhejiang Province has warmed the hearts of countless netizens.

Chen and her boyfriend had planned to get married on Feb 14, but the sudden coronavirus outbreak disrupted their plans. Despite her young age, Chen applied to fight the epidemic at the frontline on her own initiative.

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, Chen and five other colleagues returned to work. Her mother could not help crying when she heard this, and tried to persuade her against taking the risk, but Chen said, I have chosen this career, so I have to stand forward at this time.

Chen Ying talks with her boyfriend through glass on an intercom. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Deep red marks are left on Chen Yings face due to the long periods of time wearing protective suits. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

Chen then became one of the first batch of medical staff working in negative-pressure isolation wards. Working as a frontline medical worker is no easy undertaking. The long periods of time wearing protective suits left deep red marks on her face.

After hearing about Chens situation, her boyfriend Huang Qianrui rushed to the hospital to see her. They finally met after 11 days apart. Let me look at your face. Are you feeling better? I miss you so much, said Huang. They talked through glass using an intercom, their eyes suddenly turning red from the tears.

Chen Ying talks with her boyfriend through glass on an intercom. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

A medical worker works in a negative-pressure isolation ward. (Photo/Chinanews.com)

In the face of the epidemic, Huang chose to give her girlfriend his unconditional support, and promised to marry her as soon as the outbreak was over.
Georgian police officers have detained one individual for drug offences in the Georgian town of Poti, the Georgian Interior Ministry reported.



Law enforcers have seized 26 packs of methadone and five packs of cocaine as a result of a personal search of the detainee.



The detainee is accused of the purchase and possession of a large amount of drugs, Agenda.ge reported.

The crime is punishable by eight to 20 years in prison or life imprisonment.
Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood", which has become an award-season favourite, will be re-released in India on February 14. Image Source: IANS News

Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood", which has become an award-season favourite, will be re-released in India on February 14. Image Source: IANS News

Los Angeles, Feb 7 : Filmmaker Quentin Tarantino says his film "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" is the most personal film of his career.

Tarantino's "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" was his love letter to Los Angeles of 1969, and it has won commercial success and critical acclaim all over the world.

"Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" is a fictional story of fading stardom told through aging star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Tarantino has woven real life stories into the plot with the infamous Charles Manson murders, including actress Sharon Tate, as a backdrop to make it more intriguing.

"The first spark happened somewhere after 'Death Proof' actually, and I was making a movie, and I look across the set and I see the actor and the stunt guy sitting in directors chairs, talking to each other, and I thought, wow, that's a really, god that's a fascinating relationship and I know other relationships out there as Steve McQueen had that relationship with his stunt guy and Burt Reynolds had his relationship with his stunt guy. But I was like wow, that's a really fascinating relationship. If I ever do a movie about the making of movies, that could be a really unique way inside," Tarantino said.

"This film is probably my most personal. I think of it like my memory piece. Alfonso (Cuaron) had Roma and Mexico City, 1970. I had L.A. and 1969. This is me. This is the year that formed me. I was six years old then. This is my world. And this is my love letter to L.A," he added.

Talking about working with Tarantino, DiCaprio said: "It's his love of this industry and those in this industry who didn't always get their fair shot but should be recognised in some capacity." The film has garnered glory in award galas, including 77th Golden Globe Awards ceremony. It has also got Oscar nods in major categories. The Oscar ceremony will be held here on February 9, and will air in India on Star Movies on February 10.

Latest updates on Oscars 2020
Prince Andrew defers navy promotion in wake of Epstein scandal



London, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Britain's Prince Andrew is to defer an honorary Royal Navy promotion after he stepped back from full royal duties over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Buckingham Palace said Friday.

The former naval officer, who saw service as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 war with Argentina in the Falklands Islands, was set to become an admiral for his 60th birthday on February 19.

But a palace spokeswoman said Andrew would push back the promotion until he can resume full royal duties.

He retreated from his royal roles in November after denying allegations that he had had sex with a 17-year-old girl procured by Epstein, a wealthy financier found dead in a US prison last August while awaiting charges of trafficking minors.

Senior royals are treated as serving military members.

"By convention, the Duke of York (Andrew) would be in line for military promotion on his 60th birthday," the spokeswoman said.

"Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that His Royal Highness returns to public duty."

The announcement came hours after the British government said it had changed the policy of flying flags on royal birthdays.

The government said there was "no requirement" for local officials to raise flags for Andrew's 60th because of his decision to step back from public duties.

But Westminster Abbey -- the historic central London location of every royal coronation since 1066 and host of 16 royal weddings -- said it would still sound its bells for the prince.

"The bells are rung for the birthdays of HM the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and their children," a spokeswoman said.

The landmark birthday comes weeks after a backlash against Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II's second son, for a television interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.

A US prosecutor last month said Andrew had provided "zero cooperation" to the investigation into Epstein's activities.
While on an expedition in the Galapagos Islands, conservations made several incredible discoveries  including finding descendants of tortoise species believed to be extinct.

In 2012, a tortoise named Lonesome George, estimated to be about 100 years old, died. He was the last known member of the Chelonoidis abingdonii subspecies, which inhabited Pinta Island. On a recent 10-day journey around the Galapagos Islands, researchers from Galapagos Conservancy found a female tortoise at Isabela Island's Wolf Volcano who is a partial relative of Lonesome George.

This is "a story of hope," Galapagos Conservancy President Johannah Barry told NBC News, adding that her team is "absolutely thrilled" by the discovery. Humans have moved tortoises from different islands, and there could be additional hybrid tortoises with Pinta Island linage in other areas of the Galapagos.

The researchers also found 18 additional females and 11 male tortoises from Wolf Volcano that are partially related to another species from Floreana Island that was thought to be extinct. They will be taken to a breeding center and evaluated. "I think we are cautiously optimistic that this is a species that we will be able to bring back from extinction and we can repopulate Floreana with tortoises that have significant Floreana linage," Barry said.

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China is the largest air transport market after the United States. The main companies have suspended or reduced flights to Chinese airports. The carriers of Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea are the most exposed to the downturn.

Hong Kong (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Hong Kong Airlines is set to cut 400 jobs, or 10 per cent of its workforce, after the coronavirus outbreak in China dealt a serious blow to world air transport.

The company based in the autonomous region is already facing huge financial problems, made even worst by the decline in economic activities caused by months of protests by the pro-democracy movement.

Despite its better finances, Cathay Pacific, the flag carrier of Hong Kong, has also had to face the effects of the viral outbreak, asking its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave.

The spread of the Wuhan (Hubei) coronavirus has led to the almost total isolation of mainland China, and flight restrictions will inevitably reduce profits in the airline sector, especially in Asia.

All major airlines in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand have suspended or drastically reduced flights to Chinese airports. The main US and European carriers have done the same, with flights suspended perhaps until March.

In view of the drop of international flights, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has urged the countrys airliners to guarantee flights to and from abroad.

According to the World Bank, China is the main market for air transport after the United States.

Chinese airports received around 610 million travellers in 2018, both international and domestic, plus 47 million passengers that went through Hong Kong.

Channel News Asia reports that Cathay Pacific and Malaysian-based AirAsia are the most vulnerable Asian companies to the negative effects of coronavirus  both cover 10 per cent of the international passenger transport to and from China  followed by Singapore Airlines and South Koreas Korean Air and Asiana.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, the air transport sector was already under pressure as a result of the trade war between China and the United States, only somewhat mitigated by the recent partial agreement between the two superpowers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:36:51|Editor: huaxia

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BERLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- After the EU approval of the planned battery cell plant in the German city of Kaiserslautern, Germany's Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier visited the site and presented the current status together with car manufacturer Opel on Friday.

"A project of the century is being created," said Michael Lohscheller, chief executive officer (CEO) of Opel. With a total capacity of 24 gigawatt hours, three blocks, each with a capacity of 8 gigawatt hours, would be built from 2023 onwards.

About half a million cars per year could be supplied with battery cells made in Kaiserslautern, said Lohscheller, adding that around 2,000 new jobs were planned to be established at the site.

Supported by the German government and the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, the "largest battery cell production for electric vehicles in Germany" was scheduled to start at the Opel site in Kaiserslautern from 2024 onwards, according to the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

"We want to build the best and most sustainable batteries in Germany and Europe," said Altmaier, adding that "the battery cells from Kaiserslautern can set new standards in CO2 balance and sustainability."

Together with the parent company PSA and the French Total subsidiary Saft, the German car manufacturer Opel announced the establishment of a joint venture called Automotive Cell Company (ACC) to produce battery cells for electric cars.

As part of the joint venture, two plants, one in Germany and one in France, are planned with a total capacity of 48 gigawatt hours, which would produce about 10 to 15 percent of the expected European market, the ministry noted. The total investment volume for this project was almost 5 billion euros (5.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Altmaier stressed that he's "delighted that the European Commission has examined and approved the first major battery project for Europe in just a few weeks." Enditem
Ottawa sociology professor Hassan Diab says his long fight against accusations of terrorism wiped out his savings and caused chronic stress, depression and severe insomnia, prompting his lawsuit for financial compensation from the federal government.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hassan Diab holds a news conference on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa Friday, February 7 , 2020. Diab is seeking compensation from the federal government of Canada over his extradition to France on allegations of terrorism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand

Ottawa sociology professor Hassan Diab says his long fight against accusations of terrorism wiped out his savings and caused chronic stress, depression and severe insomnia, prompting his lawsuit for financial compensation from the federal government.

Diab appealed to the government Friday to resolve the case "in a humane and fair manner" as he, his wife and two young children filed a statement of claim in Ontario Superior Court seeking tens of millions of dollars over his extradition to France.

"Throughout this time, my family was an ocean away. I missed the birth of my son. I missed birthdays, first steps, first words and so many other irreplaceable moments," Diab, 66, told a news conference.

"For nearly a decade, my freedom and my life were stolen from me."

Born in Lebanon, Diab became a Canadian citizen in 1993, working in Ottawa as a university teacher.

The RCMP arrested him in November 2008 in response to a request by France. French authorities suspected he was involved in the 1980 bombing of a Paris synagogue that killed four people and injured dozens of others, an accusation he has always denied.

Following drawn-out proceedings that went all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, Diab was extradited to France where he spent three years behind bars, including time in solitary confinement.

In January 2018, French judges dismissed the allegations against him and ordered his immediate release.

Diab accuses the Canadian government of negligent investigation and malicious prosecution and says federal officials violated his constitutional guarantees of freedom of movement, liberty and security of the person.

The statement of claim contends the government withheld crucial fingerprint evidence prior to his extradition hearing.

Guy Pratte, Diab's lawyer, said Friday the evidence would have affected the outcome of the extradition proceedings.

The assertions, first outlined in an initial notice last month, have not been proven in court and the federal government has yet to file a defence.

Pratte said Diab and his family hope the government will "want to right this terrible wrong" without a prolonged court battle.

Upon his return to Canada, Diab said he did not want financial compensation from the Canadian government, just changes to the "lousy" extradition law.

An external review of Diab's extradition case for the Canadian government concluded that federal lawyers who worked on the file "acted in a manner that was ethical and consistent" with law and policy.

Diab has rejected the report as a "whitewash exercise."

He lamented Friday the government had "taken no meaningful action" to reform the extradition law since his release.

"The reality is that my ordeal could have been prevented," Diab said. "And I am here today to ensure that no Canadian ever has to go through the same experience again."

Amnesty International Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association are among the many groups that have called for a public inquiry into the Diab case and a review of Canada's extradition system.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

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The new brand of populism which bases its political programme directly in the power of social media should scare us all.

This year more than 60 countries will hold elections, and all will be facing a similar threat: populist parties and movements that use data analytics firms to help them amplify their message, connect directly with the populace and widen their support base.

In recent years, right-wing populists have taken power in several countries, from Brazil to Hungary and the Philippines. Coinciding with the rise of populism, data analytics firms, such as Cambridge Analytica, Aggregate IQ and others, have been perfecting techniques to quantify the behaviour of voters to influence their votes.

While the expansion of the reach of right-wing populism through the work of such firms is undoubtedly worrying for the future of democracy and human rights, there is another form of populism that is even more dangerous, as it pretends to be above the political categories of left and right all together: digital populism.

In order to identify digital populism, it is first necessary to understand why and how populism itself has returned to political arenas across the globe. In the 21st century, populism has emerged as a reaction to the transformation of politics into the technocratic management of public affairs.

In the past 30 years, democratic elections throughout the West became mainly about pushing forward bipartisan coalitions that could delegitimise both left- and right-wing ideologies, as well as the very notion of opposition. This was done in order to obstruct alternatives to neoliberalism. Against these out-of-touch technical coalitions  responsible for an unprecedented increase in social and economic inequality  populism offers to return politics to the people.

Populism, as famed political philosophers Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe explain, is not an ideology but rather a political strategy capable of articulating identities and bringing together different demands in opposition to a common enemy.

The emotions marshalled by right- and left-wing populists are radically different: fear of the foreigner, rooted in hatred and indifference, on the one hand, and hope for a better future through more justice and equality, on the other. For right-wing populists, such as French National Rally leader Marine Le Pen and US President Donald Trump, the enemy of the people is certain sub-categories of the same people, such as immigrants and minorities. For left-wing populists, such as US Senator Elizabeth Warren and Spanish Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, meanwhile, the enemy of the people is not immigrants but the economic elites, that is, big transnational corporations, such as Facebook, which Warren plans to break up.

Although the neoliberal establishment continues to discredit and ignore the difference between right and left populisms, there is no question that populism is a necessary dimension of democratic politics and that the strategy aligns particularly well with todays distributed information technology.

What the different strains of populists have in common is the direct relationship they claim to have with the people. Populists in the past relied on traditional media to connect with the people, but social media now enables them to convey their messages directly to the people and even interact with them. This use of social media is common among both right- and left-wing populists.

This is where digital populism differentiates itself from traditional right- and left-wing populism. It not only uses digital platforms to allow politicians to communicate with the electorate, but also bases its political programme directly in the power of social media and its potential for manipulation.

This is the case with Italys anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which in just 10 years has managed to become the largest party in the country. Openly populist in its stance against the elitist and closed Italian political system, the party is atypical in its horizontal organisation and flexible ideology.

The party is the vision of a digital marketing specialist who believes the internet has made traditional political parties and the organisational model of democratic politics obsolete. The Five Star Movement was founded not solely by the comedian Beppe Grillo, as many believe, but also by the IT specialist Gianroberto Casaleggio, who once ran a web consulting firm. Although Casaleggio passed away in 2016, the firm continues to offer strategic consulting services for online positioning under the direction of his son and other associates. The leader of the United Kingdoms populist Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, who was among his most successful clients, described Casaleggio as a genius.

Convinced that political parties were no longer needed in the age of the internet, Casaleggio dreamed of replacing parliaments with an online democracy where citizens could decide matters for themselves. In his books, he predicted a world where no one would need to delegate any more as consensus on efficient smart solutions would have been brought about through the wisdom of online crowds. Casaleggios goal was not simply to attack the out-of-touch professional political class as other populists do, but also to start the disintermediation of democratic institutions.

He enacted this disintermediation through the online platform Rousseau, where 100,000 registered members vote on various political matters concerning the decisions of the parliament and the Five Star Movement.

Last year, for example, the platform put the parliamentary immunity of former far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini to an online vote as a group of judges asked for the permission of the Senate to investigate him for kidnapping immigrants using the power of the state. According to Rousseau, its voters elected to preserve Salvinis immunity, an outcome in line with the party leaderships wishes at the time.

A few months later, however, in another vote on the online platform, members of the movement appeared to overwhelmingly support the formation of a new coalition between the Five Star Movement and the centre-left  once again an outcome that pleased the party leadership. When this coalition government came to power, it forced Salvini to face an investigation.

The radically different outcomes of these two votes, as well as many others, have raised suspicion that votes on Rousseau are being manipulated. Fittingly, only Casaleggios son has access to the voting records and the identities of individual members.

Digital populism, like overtly ideological right- and left-wing populism, claims to give politicians supporting it an opportunity to have a direct relationship with the people. But it combines the manipulation of fear used in right-wing populist strategies with the hidden manipulation of private data, making it far more sinister. This explains how the outcomes of votes on the platform can contradict each other so often.

The Five Star Movement will soon vote for a new leader on this platform, as its leader Luigi Di Maio, stepped down as party leader in January and the party suffered a major defeat in the regional elections of Emilia-Romagna and Calabria a few days later.

The use and manipulation of data in politics have already damaged democracy across the world. We have seen this in the overwhelming success of right-wing populist campaigns ran by Trump and Brexit supporters. Nevertheless, the way the Five Star Movement uses data is far more dangerous than anything we have seen before. Trump and Brexit campaigns were at least formally separated from the companies running their data strategies. The Five Star Movement and Rousseau, however, are the one and the same.

For a movement founded on the idea of participatory democracy, the fact that a single person possesses all the data used to supposedly show the desires of the people raises serious transparency concerns. Although the Five Star Movement seems to be the only example of digital populism that has risen to govern a nation, voters around the world should be on the lookout for similar threats.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:

The mission of international observers of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic Speaking Countries (TURKPA) will monitor the early parliamentary elections to be held on Feb. 9 in Azerbaijan, Trend reports.

The mission includes members of the parliaments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, as well as diplomatic representatives of the TURKPA Secretariat.

The observer program includes meetings with representatives of several government agencies. The TURKPA mission will monitor the electoral process in Baku and the country's regions on the day of voting.

The TURKPA observer mission will hold a press conference on Feb. 10 based on the results of the observations, on the basis of which an official statement of the mission will be presented.

Since 2010, the TURKPA observer mission has been monitoring the presidential and parliamentary elections, as well as constitutional referendums held in member countries.
Looking to satisfy your appetite for Middle Eastern fare?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable Middle Eastern restaurants around Washington, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture when cravings strike.

1. Falafel, Inc.

Photo: deepika R./Yelp

Topping the list is Falafel, Inc. Located at 1210 Potomac St. NW in Georgetown, it is the highest-rated, low-priced Middle Eastern restaurant in Washington, boasting five stars out of 522 reviews on Yelp.

Yelper Asher H., who reviewed the business on Dec. 24, wrote, "I really didn't expect to be blown away at the vegetarian-only offerings at Falafel, Inc. The food was not only delectable, but crazy affordable as well. I strongly recommend the falafal/hummus combo sandwiches, as well as the zatar fries."

Shivani G. noted, "This is by far the cheapest meal you'll find in Georgetown. For $3 you can get a falafel wrap and for $4, a salad. Both are beyond tasty and a decent portion, given the prices."

2. Amsterdam Falafelshop

Photo: livia g./Yelp

Next up is Adams Morgan's Amsterdam Falafelshop, situated at 2425 18th St. NW. With 4.5 stars out of 1,900 reviews on Yelp, it has proved to be a local favorite for those looking for a budget-friendly option.

"The owners of Amsterdam Falafelshop pay homage to the many falafel shops of Amsterdam," the business explains on its Yelp profile.

Furthermore, we found this about its signature items: "We serve falafels that you top yourself from our wide variety of garnishes, and twice-fried Dutch-style fries," it notes on Yelp. "You can find a hot meal on the go at almost any hour of the day or night."

3. Byblos Deli

Photo: mae b./Yelp

Byblos Deli in Cleveland Park is another much-loved, inexpensive go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 285 Yelp reviews. Head over to 3414 Connecticut Ave. NW to see for yourself.

If you're curious for more, we found these details about Byblos Deli.

"Marc Adas has been the chef and manager at Byblos for 15 years," the business states on Yelp. "Born in Lebanon, Marc was raised there and in Quebec before moving to Washington."

Story continues

In terms of signature items, it serves "fast-casual Mediterranean dishes, such as gyros, souvlaki, shawarma," it states on Yelp. Also highlighted: "Homemade, hearty Lebanese for under $10, such as kafta and potatoes, stuffed green peppers and Lebanese meatballs. Catering for weddings, anniversaries and other special events."

4. Muncheez

Last, but not least, there's Muncheez, a Georgetown favorite with four stars out of 419 reviews. Stop by 1071 Wisconsin Ave. NW at Blues Alley to hit up the restaurant next time you're in the mood for cheap eats.

If you're looking for more, we found these details about Muncheez.

"Lebanese food is at the heart of what we do, using recipes rich in tradition," the business states on its Yelp page.

Furthermore, we found this about the restaurant's signature items: "Authentic Lebanese cuisine is what we do naturally," it notes on Yelp. "From freshly made manakeesh, in-house-made shawarmas, tabbouleh and more. We also have staples from the West."

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.
Mother does not bring 2 missing Idaho children to police by deadline originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

The mother of two missing children failed to bring the kids to authorities in Idaho by the court-ordered deadline on Thursday.

Lori Vallow, 46, may now be subject to civil or criminal contempt of court, according to the Rexburg Police Department. The penalties that would follow are not immediately clear.

Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, have not been seen since September 2019, but police have said they believe Vallow knows either where they are or what has happened to them.

At a press conference Thursday, after Vallow failed to appear with the kids, JJ's grandmother, Kay Woodcock, said she did not know what punishment Vallow deserved, and did not know what would happen next.

"What exactly that is, I don't know. I can't guess on it, I can't say for sure whats going to happen next. ... I'd love to know where those kids are and I think all of America wants to know where they are," Kay Woodcock said. "I think all of this is beyond crazy. ... How do you not know where your child is? How do you not have them for four months?"

Vallow, who lived in Rexburg, Idaho, up until November 2019, was found over the weekend in Princeville, Hawaii, on the island of Kauai, with her new husband, Chad Daybell.

PHOTO: Lori Vallow is pictured in an undated photo released by the Rexburg Police Department. (Rexburg Police Department)

Larry Woodcock, the biological grandfather of JJ, told ABC News' Amy Robach earlier Thursday that he did not think Vallow would show up with the children.

"Nothing with Lori right now makes sense," Woodcock added, noting that the Vallow he knew for the last 12 years "is not the same person that is here on Earth today."

Kay Woodcock said she was not surprised Lori did not appear with the children.

"I am not at all surprised of that. Lori's not gonna make this easy," Kay Woodcock said. "She's got an end game in her head, even though this is not a game."

Vallow and Daybell are still in Hawaii, according to Woodcock, "probably sitting on the beach somewhere while we're here wondering where the kids are."

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MORE: Inside the mysterious case of 3 deaths, 2 missing children and a terrified husband

The couple was served with a search warrant Sunday for a vehicle they were in when officers with the Kauai Police Department pulled them over.

The police statement does not say that Daybell would be held in contempt of court. A lawyer for the couple didn't respond to ABC News for comment.

The children were not with Vallow or Daybell, and police said there's no evidence they ever were in Hawaii. Authorities have said they think the children's "lives are in danger."

PHOTO: Missing children Joshua Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 17, were last seen on Sept. 23, 2019 in Rexburg, Idaho. (National Center for Missing and Exploited Children)

Assistant Police Chief Gary Hagen told ABC News that he could not detail exactly what penalties Vallow would face if she's held in contempt of court, citing the child protection act.

The Madison County prosecutor in Rexburg similarly said in a statement that child protection cases are "sealed and confidential."

MORE: Missing Idaho kids mystery: Older son begs mom to come home

"While the Court did allow us to announce the existence of the case and the order that Lori Vallow produce her children, any and all other documents, hearings, and court filings are sealed and confidential by law," according to the statement.

The bewildering case made national headlines in December, after police announced the children's disappearance.

Yet concerns for the safety of JJ and Tylee arose well before.

Lori Vallow's former husband, Charles Vallow, who is the adopted father and biological granduncle of JJ, filed for divorce from Lori Vallow in February 2019, court records from Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona show.

He expressed a "genuine fear for his life" and wanted to ensure that JJ was safe and cared for, according to a statement from his attorney Steven Ellsworth that was sent to ABC News.

In July 2019, Charles Vallow was shot and killed by Lori Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, in a case police are looking at as self-defense after an altercation occurred between the two inside Lori Vallow's then-Chandler, Arizona, home.

Cox was then found unresponsive in his Gilbert, Arizona, home in December 2019. He was later pronounced dead, and a spokesperson for Gilbert police previously told ABC News the department still was waiting for autopsy results to determine the cause.

In between Vallow and Cox's death, Chad Daybell's wife also died under circumstances now believed to be suspicious, authorities said.

PHOTO: An undated photo shows Chad Daybell. The Rexburg Police Department is asking for the public's help in locating Chad Daybell who is wanted for questioning in connection with the disappearance of Lori Vallow's children; Joshua Vallow and Tylee Ryan. (Rexburg Police Department)

The remains of Tamara "Tammy" Daybell's, who died on Oct. 19, 2019, were exhumed in late December, police said. Authorities are looking into whether or not she was poisoned.

In November 2019, extended family requested a welfare check for JJ at Vallow and Daybell's Rexburg home.

Vallow falsely told police the children were staying with a relative in Arizona, and the next day when police returned to the home with a warrant, both Vallow and Daybell had "abruptly" left the city.

Rexburg police have lambasted Vallow, saying she "has completely refused" to help in the investigation and instead chose "to leave the state with her new husband."

MORE: Mom of missing Idaho kids knows where they are or what happened: 'Do the right thing,' police say

Rumors that Vallow and Daybell are part of a cult have also stirred since the children's disappearance.

The rumors appeared to stem from their involvement in Preparing a People, an organization that preaches about preparing citizens "of this Earth for the second coming of Jesus Christ."

Preparing a People issued a stark and lengthy denial.

"It is not a 'group' and is not a 'Cult' or something people join, but has educational lecture events that can be attended or watched on video," their statement reads. "We also do not share any of Chad Daybell's or Lori Vallow's beliefs if they are contrary to Christian principles of honesty, integrity and truth."

Woodcock told ABC News that while he has ideas about why Vallow isn't helping authorities, he does not have a truthful answer. He thinks that she changed after becoming involved in the so-called cult.

"Ever since she's been involved in this doomsday cult, that is not the same Lori that we knew for 13 years," Woodcock said. "And the last year has just been not understandable. We just don't understand how any mother can walk away from her children for months now ..., so I don't know who that person is anymore."

ABC News' Mike Repplier and MaryEllen Resendez contributed to this report.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - A federal judge on Friday threw out a lawsuit that challenged Marylands newly enacted ban on the sale of dogs and cats by retail pet stores, a statute billed as a check against unlicensed and unsanitary puppy mills.

Four pet stores, a dog breeder and a dog broker sued in August to block the law, which took effect Jan. 1. Maryland was the second state after California to pass such restrictions on the sale of dogs and cats.

The law bans pet stores from selling dogs and cats but encourages them to collaborate with animal welfare groups to showcase dogs from shelters, animal control units and local breeders.

U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander, who also denied the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction blocking the laws enforcement, said she found ample evidence that state lawmakers had a rational basis for enacting the statute.

Protecting consumers, reducing financial support for mill breeders, and encouraging pet adoption are indisputably legitimate state interests, she wrote in her 79-page decision.

Hollander said the plaintiffs essentially argued that lawmakers improperly tried to harm pet stores by siding with animal-rights groups.

This argument is without merit. Siding with one group does not necessarily signify hostility towards another, the judge wrote.

The pet stores have said the ban will put them out of business. One of the plaintiffs, Just Puppies, closed for a period after the law took effect last month, said plaintiffs attorney Jonathan Kagan. The ban already has significantly impacted the stores that have stayed open in hopes of getting a favourable court ruling, he added.

Kagan couldnt immediately say if his clients would appeal the ruling. Were still trying to digest it, he said.

Marylands law encourages animal welfare organizations to collaborate with retail pet stores to showcase cats and dogs for adoption or purchase from local breeders, according to a summary of the legislation prepared by state analysts.

The pet stores argued the ban is unconstitutional, violating the Commerce Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Their suit said the legislations intent to facilitate sales from local breeders discriminates against out-of-state breeders and brokers.

The judge said the law is a poorly drafted statute that doesnt define the terms showcase and local breeders. But she agreed with the state that the law does not carve out a special exception for local breeders to sell cats or dogs through pet stores or preclude out-of-state breeders and brokers from showcasing their animals in pet stores.

As such, the Act does not expressly distinguish between in-state and out-of-state breeders and brokers, Hollander wrote.

The lawsuit also said animal welfare organizations have made unfounded claims that pet stores are fueling the growth of puppy mills. The suit claimed the ban effectively shifts the sale of puppies from regulated retailers to unregulated sources, such as sellers placing ads on the internet or in newspapers.

Internet pet sales have a notoriously high incidence of fraud and scams which will only increase against Maryland residents once the ban takes effect, the suit said.

The judge said there are certainly grounds to support plaintiffs belief that, in effect, the cure is worse than the disease.

But, whatever the Acts soundness, that is a judgment committed to the legislature, Hollander added.

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, signed the legislation into law in April 2018 after the state Senate unanimously approved it and the House passed it, 129-8.

The defendants include the state Senates finance committee and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, whose office will be responsible for enforcing the ban.

The first law of this kind took effect in January 2019 in California. Unlike Marylands blanket ban on the sale of dogs and cats by pet stores, California law prohibits pet stores from selling a dog, cat or rabbit unless it came from an animal shelter or rescue group. Some local governments, including in Maryland, already have enacted similar measures.

Maine also recently enacted a law prohibiting the sale of cats and dogs in stores, and New York is contemplating a pet store ban similar to Marylands, Hollander noted.
Twenty years ago, Joe Biden's brother Frank had a default judgment entered against him in a wrongful death lawsuit. Now, even though he's fabulously wealthy thanks to brother Joe's influence, Frank refuses to pay that debt.

For a long time, the media looked the other way when it came to Biden's habit of claiming to be an "ordinary Joe," even as he funneled millions of dollars to his family. Things have changed, though, for two reasons:

First, by impeaching Donald Trump over Ukraine, Democrats forced Hunter Biden into the limelight. Now all Americans know that Joe's wastrel son, a man with no qualifications, got himself an $83,000-per-month job for which he had no qualifications in a country in which his father had political influence.

Second, Peter Schweizer published Profiles in Corruption: Abuse of Power by America's Progressive Elite, which examines the ways in which Progressive politicians, all of whom enthusiastically endorse some form of socialism, are raking in money. Chief among the "money rakers" is Joe Biden. The book told us that it wasn't only Hunter who got rich thanks to Joe. Another person who benefited was Joe's brother Frank:

Frank Biden, the youngest brother of former Vice President Joe Biden, saw his business interests benefit from millions of dollars in taxpayer loans to Caribbean nations during the Obama years. [snip] In total, between 2009 and the end of the Obama administration, Frank Biden's Caribbean projects benefited from more than $54 million in U.S. taxpayer loans. [Emphasis added.]

Despite becoming extraordinarily wealthy, Frank is a deadbeat. The Daily Mail discovered that Frank was involved in a fatal car accident in California in 1999, was sued, and fled the state to avoid paying the default judgment rendered against him. The Daily Mail provides a short summary of Frank's heinous behavior (and you can read a more lengthy discussion about the same facts at the link):

Frank Biden was found partially legally responsible for the death of Michael Albano in August 1999 but has never acknowledged his liability or paid any compensation  not even turning up for a single court hearing, meaning the case was a default judgment;

Albano died when he was on foot crossing the road on Highway 101 in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, beside Encinitas, California, when the high-powered Jaguar XK8 convertible rented by Frank Biden hit him at as much as 80mph. The speed limit was 35mph;

Biden, then 43, was riding shotgun when he shifted the 290hp car into manual and told the driver, Jason Turton, 25, to 'punch it,' just before hitting Albano;

Biden was allegedly heard saying 'keep driving' and Turton fled the scene, telling police someone advised him to, while another passenger in the car said 'everyone was drinking';

Biden fled California leaving a trail of unpaid bills and never even turned up in court when Albano's family sued him, according to court document;

In 2008 the dead man's family pleaded with Joe Biden to help in a heartfelt letter, but his Senate chief of staff replied that while Joe wanted him to pay, Frank had 'no assets';

Despite claiming to be a recovering alcoholic, Frank Biden has a string of DUIs as well as other driving offenses, and earlier this month was seen driving with a suspended license in Florida;

He is now finally facing justice over the unpaid compensation, with a legal action to garnish his wages under way in Florida, which could begin to give some cash to Albano's family.

Do we still care about Biden's brother? Yes. And that's true despite the fact that, while there still isn't a final vote tally in Iowa, it's apparent that Biden made a dismal showing there. In other words, as of now, it looks as if Joe is yesterday's news, not tomorrow's potential president.

Nevertheless, the two putative frontrunners in Iowa are not likely to capture the national vote: Bernie is a stone-cold socialist, and blacks don't like Buttigieg, no matter how much he sucks up to them. If the Democrats are willing to game the system again, as they did in 2016, they may find themselves looking at Biden, who still floats along on that reservoir of goodwill he built during the Obama years, especially among the all-important African-American Democrat voting bloc. For that reason, Joe's and Frank's corruption still matters.
Roughly two dozen countries around the world have taken precautionary measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus as the death toll continues to rise. Reports are emerging from China suggesting that many more people the country are dying of the disease than officially reported. Scientists continue to probe the origin of the virus.

This page has updates from Feb. 7. For updates from Feb. 8, click here.

Panic in Singapore After Virus Alert Increased

Singapore on Friday raised its coronavirus alert level to orangea level reached during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and the 2009 H1N1 influenza, which indicates the virus is severe and passes easily between persons.

The countrys infected tally hit 33, with more cases not linked to previous infections or travel to China, a move that sparked panic-buying of essentials in some shops across the island.

With the disease reviving memories of SARS, which killed more than 30 people in Singapore and hundreds worldwide, shoppers started clearing shelves of toilet paper, noodles and rice and formed long queues in supermarkets across the island on Friday evening, videos posted on social media showed.

I understand that people are concerned after the announcement this afternoon. However, we must  not hoard items unnecessarily. This will create undue panic and is unhelpful to the situation at hand, trade minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post about the panic buying.

Singapores highest alert level is red, which, if enacted, would indicate the virus is spreading widely and can result in significant disruption, such as closing schools.

As there are now a few local cases without any links to previous cases or travel history to China, we have stepped up our risk assessment, the health ministry said, announcing the new orange alert level on Friday.

It also said firms should be prepared for widespread community transmission and advised that non-essential large-scale events should be deferred or canceled.

Cruise Lines Ban Travelers with Chinese, Hong Kong, Macau Passports

The Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines announced Friday that they would deny boarding to any guest who holds China, Hong Kong or Macau passports, regardless of residency.

Read more about Royal Caribbeans decision here.

The two cruise lines are among members of the worlds largest cruise industry association, Cruise Line International (CLIA), who operate about 90 percent of the worlds oceangoing cruises. Other members include Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and P&O Cruises.

The CLIA announced on Friday that its members have adopted enhanced protocols to allow for informed decisions on a case-by-case basis whether a guest or crewmember will be permitted to board.

According to CLIA, the members are to deny boarding to all persons who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, within 14 days before embarkation. They will also deny boarding to anyone who, within 14 days prior to boarding the ship, has had close contact with anyone suspected or diagnosed as having coronavirus.

CLIA members will also conduct preboarding screenings, and provide screening and initial medical support to anyone who shows symptoms that may suggest coronavirus.

The announcements come after four people on a cruise that arrived in Bayonne, New Jersey were sent to a nearby hospital early Friday after they were screened for the coronavirus. Read more here.

Meanwhile, two shipsa Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japan, and a Dream Cruises ship docked in Hong Kongare being quarantined after a number of passengers on both ships tested positive for the virus.

Holland Americas cruise ship Westerdam has been denied entry by four countriesJapan, Taiwan, the Philippines and the US territory of Guamamid coronavirus fears, even though its Seattle-based operator has denied knowledge of any cases of the virus.

Funeral Homes in Wuhan Cremating Dozens of Bodies a Day

A senior official of a crematorium in the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan says their intake has skyrocketed in recent weeks, suggesting more people are dying of the disease than officially reported.

Beginning around Jan. 22, the number of dead bodies received by the government-operated funeral home has drastically increasedpeaking at 127 bodies on Feb. 3, the official said. This is about four to five times the usual workload, he added.

The funeral home services eight of the government-designated hospitals for treating the virus, according to the official.

Four other Wuhan funeral homes that service such hospitals have also reported increases in their intake, based on undercover calls and revelations from crematorium workers.

Read more here.

China Starts Testing Antiviral Drug on Patients: Officials

U.S. officials and Chinese authorities said that antiviral drug remdesivir, used as a treatment for Ebola, is being tested on new coronavirus patients in China.

Gilead Sciences announced it would collaborate with U.S., Chinese, and other health officials to investigate whether the drug works.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a news conference that remdesivir tests have now begun in a randomized controlled trial in two separate trials in China by one of our colleagues, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said.

Read more here.

Appears Possible to Have Infection Without Symptoms: US Official

A top U.S. health official said that it appears possible to have the new coronavirus and not show symptoms.

It does appear that you can actually have this infection and not have symptoms. said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at a press conference in Washington on Friday.

Because of that appearance, U.S. officials think that the full spectrum of the outbreak has yet to be defined.

Some countries have reported asymptomatic transmission, or person to person transmission when the sick person doesnt show symptoms, but American officials havent confirmed such transmission happening. Person to person transmission has been confirmed, including two cases in the United States.

Luxury Days Are Gone: Passenger on Quarantined Ship

Some 3,700 passengers are quarantined on a cruise ship outside of Yokohama, Japan, after some passengers tested positive for the new coronavirus. Forty-one additional passengers tested positive on Thursday, including eight Americans, 21 Japanese nationals, and five Canadians.

David Abel, 74, a passenger on the Princess Cruises Ship, told CNBC that the luxuries one gets used to on a cruise ship arent happening during the quarantine.

All of the luxury of having someonea steward coming to the cabin, make the bed, put chocolate on the pillow, change the towels, face cloths, clean the bathroomthose days are gone, Abel said. It just aint happening.

Australians Paul and Coralie Williamson said their cabin was smaller than a motel room and they had heard complaints from others about not having medication, or enough information. Were here for a long haul. I think it is going to get a little bit testing, obviously. But I dont know. What do we do? We couldnt jump out of the boat; thats a bit cold, Jacqui Fidrmuc from the city of Cairns told Australias Nine Network.

Most passengers are confined to their cabins. The captain of the ship recently announced that people in inside cabins, who have no natural light, will be allowed onto the open deck for exercise and fresh air. The outdoor time will be conducted under the guidance of Japans Ministry of Health, Princess Cruises said in a statement.

Princess Cruises said on Feb. 6 that it had activated new in-room entertainment offerings, including new satellite television channels, new videos, and a printed newspaper.

WHO Chief: Global Shortage of Medical Masks

The world is running out of masks and other protective equipment against the coronavirus, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The world is facing a chronic shortage of personal protective equipment, he remarked.

The health official added that he would be speaking to members of the supply chain network to produce more and deal with bottlenecks on mask production.

We have a common enemy which is dangerous and which can bring serious upheaval, social, political and economic, he added.

Ireland Suspends All Mail to China

Ireland said it was suspending all mail services to China as a result of the coronavirus.

This follows the decision by a number of international airlines to suspend their services, An Post said in a statement.

Ireland has no confirmed cases of the new virus but a patient was being tested at a hospital in Derry, Belfast, reported Live on Feb. 6.

The child traveled from Hong Kong with family members about seven days ago.

4 Cruise Ship Passengers Hospitalized in US

Four people screened for the new coronavirus on a cruise ship arriving in New Jersey were rushed to a nearby hospital early on Feb. 7.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas docked in Bayonne. Approximately two dozen passengers of concern were screened, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.

Four of those screened were taken to a hospital in the area for further screening, he said.

At least one of the people transported from the ship was wheeled off on a stretcher, according to video footage.

Read more here.

Chinas Hubei Province Announces Partial Lockdown of Villages

Authorities in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, announced partial lockdown measures for villages in the region in an emergency notice on Feb. 7.

One measure calls for leaving open a single road connecting villages while closing all other roads. It suggests using nets, fences, and water-filled barriers to seal those roads.

It also calls for certain individuals in each village to be responsible for buying living necessities for everyone in the village.

People will be severely dealt with if there are cases of virus transmission in communities or households due to villagers failing to adhere to seal-off management, the notice said.

Vietnam Records 12 Confirmed Cases

Local newspaper Hanoi Times reported two new cases on Feb. 6, bringing the national total to 12, citing local health authorities.

The two new patients are the mother and younger sister of a woman who has already tested positive for the coronavirus. The woman returned to Vietnam from Wuhan on Jan. 17.

The infected woman was among eight workers sent by Japans Nihon Plast Company to Wuhan for training, all of them returned to Vietnam on the same flight on Jan. 17. Five of the eight are now infected with the virus.

Toyota Delays Factory Opening in China

Japanese automaker Toyota will further postpone the restart of its four factories in China until after Feb. 17, according to local newspaper Mainichi Shimbun. The four factories are located in the Chinese cities of Tianjin, Chengdu, Changchun, and Guangzhou.

Originally, Toyota planned to reopen these plants in early February following the Lunar New Year holidays but postponed it to Feb. 10 or later.

According to the outlet, Toyota manufactured about 1.4 million vehicles at these four plants in 2019.

Amnesty International Criticizes China Over Handling of Whistleblower Doctor

Amnestys regional director Nicholas Bequelin said on Feb. 7 that the death of Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who shed light on the coronavirus outbreak in December but was reprimanded by Chinese authorities, highlights human rights failings in China.

Bequelin said, The case of Li Wenliang is a tragic reminder of how the Chinese authorities preoccupation with maintaining stability drives it to suppress vital information about matters of public interest.

China must learn the lesson from Lis case and adopt a rights-respecting approach to combating the epidemic.

Nobody should face harassment or sanctions for speaking out about public dangers, just because it may cause embarrassment to the government, he said.

Xi Jinping and Trump Discuss Virus Outbreak on Phone Call

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday morning, said that the Chinese government is sparing no effort in its fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak, reported Reuters.

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere tweeted that Trump expressed confidence in Chinas strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak during the phone call.

The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides, he said.

Today, @realDonaldTrump spoke with President Xi Jinping of China. President Trump expressed confidence in Chinas strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak.  Judd Deere (@JuddPDeere45) February 7, 2020

Read more about Chinas response here.

Chinas Anti-Corruption Watchdog to Investigate Whistleblower Doctors Death

Chinas National Supervisory Commission, an anti-corruption watchdog, announced on Feb. 7 that it will send an investigation team to Wuhan to conduct a full investigation over the case surrounding Li Wenliang.

Li, an ophthalmologist, died of coronavirus in Wuhan the morning of Feb. 7 after testing positive for the virus on Feb. 1. He was one of eight whistleblowers who initially took to Chinas social media to raise an alarm about an unknown pneumonia outbreak in December 2019.

On Jan. 3, he was summoned to a local police station where he was reprimanded for rumor-mongering.

First Case Reported in North Korea

South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported on Feb. 7 that a woman living in Pyongyang who recently returned from China has been confirmed to have the coronavirus, citing North Koreas state-run media.

JoongAng Ilbo did not provide any other details about the woman.

North Korea has closed its borders with China and Russia to prevent the spread of the virus, according to Reuters. The North has also stopped airline flights and train services with the two neighboring countries, as well as suspending international tourism.

Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea Report New Cases

In Malaysia, two new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, with one being a local case of human-to-human transmission, according to local newspaper The Star.

Local Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly bin Ahmad said in a statement that the local transmission involved a 40-year-old Malaysian woman who did not have travel history to China. Her brother had earlier tested positive for the virus.

Her brother also did not travel to China recently, but he was in Singapore for a business meeting attended by Chinese nationals.

Currently, she is at the isolation ward at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar and is in a stable condition, Dzulkefly said.

The second new case involved a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who arrived in Malaysia on Jan. 25.

With the two new cases, Malaysia now has 14 known cases involving 10 Chinese nationals and four Malaysians.

Singapore now has 30 confirmed cases after two Singaporean men, who no recent travel history to China, tested positive, according to the local Ministry of Health.

One of the men, aged 27, who tested positive on Feb. 6 is one of four Singaporean residents being investigated by the countrys National Centre for Infectious Diseases after he took part in a private business meeting at the Grand Hyatt Singapore from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22 attended by participants from Chinas Hubei province.

The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Feb. 7 that a 28-year-old Korean man who was recently repatriated from Wuhan has tested positive for the virus.

South Korean now has 24 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

See Johns Hopkins Universitys real-time tracking tool for known 2019-nCoV cases in other countries.

Canada and Hong Kong Report New Cases

The Ministry of Health in British Columbia issued a statement on Feb. 6 announcing two new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total in the province to four.

The new cases involved two visitorsone male and one female in their 30sfrom Chinas Hubei province.

The statement said: The people affected are in the same household and have been in close contact with the previously reported second confirmed case announced on Feb. 5. The three cases and all close contacts remain in isolation at home.

The two individuals are presumed positive based on local testing, and samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for final confirmation.

If confirmed, Canada would have seven confirmed cases of coronavirus.

In Hong Kong, two women with no recent travel history to China have tested positive for the virus, bringing the citys total to 24.

A 63-year-old woman began having a cough on Jan. 26 and visited a private clinic on Feb. 5.

Another woman aged 65 began having a fever and cough on Jan. 28. She visited a local private clinic on both Jan. 29 and Feb. 1. She was hospitalized at Prince of Wales Hospital on Feb. 5.

First Italian Tests Positive for Virus

An Italian man, who was one of 56 Italian nationals repatriated from Wuhan on Feb. 3, has tested positive for coronavirus on Feb. 6, Reuters reported, citing the local health ministry.

The man is now at the Spallanzani infectious diseases institute in Rome.

The case marks the third confirmed case in Italy. The two previous cases were Chinese tourists who tested positive last week.

US Ambassador to UN Urges WHO to Engage With Taiwan

Andrew Bremberg, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, has urged World Health Organizations (WHOs) executive board to engage with Taiwan, according to Reuters.

For the rapidly evolving coronavirus, it is a technical imperative that WHO present visible public health data on Taiwan as an affected area and engage directly with Taiwan public health authorities on actions, Bremberg said.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has tried to diminish the islands international presence by blocking it from becoming a member of international organizations such as the WHO.

Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized the WHO for misreporting the number of confirmed cases in the island and calling the island the wrong name.

.@WHO, whats wrong with you? First you called us Taiwan, China, then you changed to Taipei. You misreported the confirmed cases, & now you call us Taipei & Environs. Look! Taiwan is #Taiwan & not any part of the #PRC. JW   Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) ???????? (@MOFA_Taiwan) February 6, 2020

A number of governments around the world have recently voiced support for Taiwans participation in the WHO, including Paraguay and Guatemala, according to local government-run Central News Agency, citing the islands foreign ministry.

I want to thank the representatives from #Eswatini, #Paraguay, & #Guatemala for taking a stand for global health & safety by supporting #Taiwans @WHO participation & highlighting ways that #TaiwanCanHelp combat the spread of #2019nCoV. pic.twitter.com/Q2niR21y7H   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) February 5, 2020

British National Was Infected in Singapore: Reports

In the third known coronavirus case in the UK, the patient, a middle-aged man, became infected with the virus in Singapore, according to British media reports.

The case marks the first British national to be infected.

He tested positive while in Brighton before being taken to a specialist NHS facility at the Guys and St Thomas hospitals in London.

The first two cases in the UK involved Chinese nationalsa student at the University of York and one of his relatives. They tested positive after becoming ill at Staycity Aparthotel in York.

Read more here.

41 More Passengers Infected on Diamond Princess in Japan

Japans health ministry announced on Feb. 7 that an additional 41 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61, according to Japanese media reports.

Currently, the cruise ship is docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama.

Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun added that these newly diagnosed passengers will be taken to medical facilities in Tokyo and nearby prefectures, citing the health ministry.

For updates from Feb. 6, click here.

From The Epoch Times
The attention of the Ministry of Education has been drawn to a news item carried by some media portals, in which former President John Mahama is said to have criticized government for allegedly gagging teachers. This is said to be at a meeting yesterday with the leadership of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT).



Unfortunately, as it usually the case with educational matters, the former presidents allegations are devoid of facts.



In all its reforms since taking office, this government has been particular about engaging all its stakeholders, including the various teacher unions. Indeed, teacher unions will testify that, the sector Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh operates an open door policy and that they need no appointment to visit and engage him on any issue relating to education.



It is worthy to note that the former Presidents record in office in the education sector is the worst since independence, to put it mildly. His government has been the most teacher-unfriendly. Issues detrimental to the teacher perpetrated by his government include;



1. Cancellation of teacher trainee allowances



2. Failure to employ a single graduate teacher throughout his tenure 3. Salary legacy arrears in respect of payments to teachers, in pursuing their three-month pay policy.



4. Non-payment of tier 2 pension funds for teachers



5. A three-year backlog of non-promotion of teachers



6. Non-negotiation for four years for enhanced conditions of service for teachers.



7. No policy targeted at teachers



This government, on the other hand, has a record it can be proud of with respect to our hardworking teachers. These include;



1. Restoration of teacher trainee allowances



2. Upgrading of Diploma awards by Colleges of Education to Degree awarding institutions.



3. Payment of GHC 70 to each teacher as motivation under the Free SHS policy



4. Clearing of legacy debts accrued by Mr. Mahamas government



5. Abolition of three-month pay policy and prompt payment of teachers after recruitment



6. Out of turn promotion for teachers who upgrade to Masters level.



7. Development with partners (UNESCO, Norway) and unions a comprehensive teacher policy



8. Engaging unions on conditions of service, which the previous government never did.



It is worthy of note that in the pursuit of their teacher-unfriendly policies, unions did not indulge in strike actions against the Mahama government. Why, was this because he was gagging teachers and teacher unions?



The government that is paying his legacy arrears, of which over 97% has been paid, is rather on the receiving end of strike actions. Certainly, this is not a sign of gagging.



It beggars belief that Mr. Mahama would proffer views and launch unfounded criticisms on this government, which is doing its best for the teaching profession. He has absolutely no moral right to do so.



The former President is advised to desist from seeking to poison the relationship between the Ministry and the teaching profession for purposes of cheap political expediency.

Source: GNA









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New Delhi [India], Feb 7 (ANI): The special flight of Air India which was deployed for evacuating Indians from the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan to New Delhi had made an emergency landing at the airport in the capital on February 2.

"At 09:35 am, (Air Traffic Control) ATC declared a full emergency for Air India flight, AI-1349, Sector WUHAN/DEL, due to 'shattered cockpit window issue'. The flight landed safely at 09:38 am and was fully parked on a stand," an ATC official told ANI under the conditions of anonymity.

Air India special aircraft B-747 evacuated total 323 Indians and 7 Maldivian nationals from Wuhan, on February 2.

Air India evacuated a total of 640 Indians from Wuhan, in two separate operations.Unfortunately, one of the aircraft landed in emergency conditions at Delhi's IGI airport on February 2, in the second operation.

"AI-1349 of February 2nd had a windshield cracked during the last stage of flight. An emergency message was transmitted to Delhi ATC for priority landing. At no time was the safety of passengers or aircraft compromised. An auto-landing was carried out on RW-28 with full precautions." Captain Amitabh Singh, director of the operation told ANI.

Captain Amitabh Singh was the in-charge of the evacuation operation.

Coronavirus originated in China in December, last year, and has since then killed 636 people in that country alone, while cases have been registered in several countries across the world, including India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
ANN ARBOR, MI  Richard Derick was with his dog Sammy, returning from their daily walk to Sweetwaters coffee shop in Kerrytown, Michigan, when he slipped on ice and fell, his friends said.

The 88-year-old Ann Arbor mans face-first tumble  after stepping over a snow ridge left by a plow truck  broke his glasses and left blood on the concrete, and hours later he died from a brain bleed, his friends said.

The incident, which has generated discussion among city officials, happened Jan. 22 along Division Street near Detroit Street, as Derick had just crossed the street and was stepping up onto a crosswalk ramp to the sidewalk, his friends said.

He died by the next morning, presumably in his sleep, his friends said.

Jeff Crockett relayed the sad news to fellow Old Fourth Ward Neighborhood Association members this week.

This tragedy underscores the importance of keeping our sidewalks salted during icy weather and why we should be reporting violations, he wrote in an email.

The fatal incident also was discussed at this weeks City Council meeting.

Its critical residents use the citys A2 Fix It mobile app to report sidewalks that have not been adequately shoveled or cleared of ice, as well as streetlight outages, said Council Member Kathy Griswold, D-2nd Ward.

We had a senior in our community slip on an icy sidewalk and die, she said. So, for anyone listening, theres a reason why we need to keep our sidewalks free of ice and snow.

Council Member Jeff Hayner, D-1st Ward, also spoke out about it.

I want to send out my condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Derick, he said, noting Derick was his constituent in a neighborhood just north of downtown.

He was just a super nice, friendly guy and really a great guy, Hayner said.

Born in Toledo, Derick, known to friends as Dick, was highly educated, with four masters degrees, according to his obituary.

He taught all over the world: England, Italy, Germany, Greenland, Philippines, and Detroit, among others, it states. His last career was as a clinical social worker who specialized in PTSD with Vietnam vets.

He read extensively, followed politics and enjoyed liberal commentator Rachel Maddow, but his main loves were his dogs, including several Airedale terriers he rescued over the years, his friends said. He never married, but his close friends were like family.

Huron Valley Ambulance said it cant confirm details of the slip-and-fall incident for medical privacy reasons.

The Ann Arbor Police Department said theres no police report on it.

Ann Arbor attorney Mike Shelton said he was leaving work on the afternoon of Jan. 22 when he saw people gathered by the crosswalk outside his Division Street law office.

Because Derick was a client of his, he said, he recognized Dericks dog and his signature beret and ran to help, bringing a towel for a cut over his eye.

He was bleeding, but he knew who I was, Shelton said. He recognized me when I went up and talked to him. He just wanted to go back home.

There was a buildup of snow from where the plows throw it all, Shelton said, adding thats where Derick fell.

He was shocked to later hear Derick died.

He was a good guy, Shelton said.

Derick was taken to the University of Michigan Hospital, had the cut over his eye stitched up and was in good spirits when he was discharged later that night, said longtime friend Vicky Henry, who took him home from the hospital.

He was jolly, she said.

The doctors did a scan of his brain and spine and didnt see anything wrong, though they advised caution, Henry said.

The next morning, his caregiver found him dead in his house, Henry said.

I guess the blessing of all this is he went to sleep and slid into unconsciousness and he didnt die a painful death, she said.

Henry said Derick explained to her how he fell. It was around 4:30 p.m. and he had just crossed Division Street in the crosswalk, walking faster than usual because another pedestrian started to cross and cars were stopped for them.

From the city having plowed, there was a high ridge that went up to a point of snow that one would have to step over to get onto the rest of the curb cut to go up to the sidewalk, she said, adding Derrick said he stepped over that and hit ice.

The crosswalk ramp was clear of snow, Henry said, but she suspects because it was a sunny day some snow may have melted and formed ice by the ridge.

If theres a lesson to be learned, its that there should be better protocols for ensuring sidewalks and crosswalks are safe in the winter, Henry said.

She thinks the city should implement a citywide service similar to SnowBuddy in the Water Hill neighborhood, where residents have pooled their money to fund a sidewalk/crosswalk snow plow service.

We live in Upper Water Hill, a block or two away from that program, but I have friends who pay for it and feel like its very worth it, Henry said. I have one neighbor who never clears (their sidewalk) and Id like to have that service.

City ordinance requires individual property owners and residents to clear sidewalks of ice and snow.

For residential properties, snow accumulations of more than one inch must be cleared from adjacent sidewalks, bus stop walks and crosswalk ramps within 24 hours, and ice must be treated with sand, salt or another substance within 18 hours.

For non-residential properties, snow and ice that accumulates by 6 a.m. must be removed from adjacent sidewalks, bus stop walks and crosswalk ramps before noon the same day.

Residents and property owners who dont follow the rules get one warning per season before incurring penalty fines.

I dont feel like it was negligent what was going on with the sidewalks. Thats my take, said Joel Henry-Fisher, Vicky Henrys son and another longtime friend of Derick.

Henry-Fisher said his parents were close friends with Derick for decades and he was a unique, memorable character.

For me, he was a lifelong friend and ally, and he was brilliant and hilarious, he said. He swore loudly and colorfully, so he was memorable for that, and he was also very gracious.

Derick went through Army officer training to serve in the Korean War, but the war ended in 1953 before they needed him, Henry-Fisher said.

He later taught military officers and other enlisted men at various places, including the University of Maryland.

Derick had never thought about segregation or racism much until he was in the Army in Georgia and he drove back to Ohio with an officer who was black, Henry-Fisher said.

As Derick once told the story, the black officer didnt want to stop for food because they couldnt go anywhere in the south, so they kept driving to Ohio, he said.

That left an impression on Derick.

He was a very moral person, Henry-Fisher said. He thought everyone was equal and should be treated well.

Derick volunteered as a social worker at a prison for years and really cared about people who needed help, Henry-Fisher said.

A memorial to celebrate Dericks life is planned for 7 p.m. March 21 at Casa Dominick's, 812 Monroe St.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Humane Society of Huron Valley.

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(Photo : Pixabay) Apple Products

There have been concerns that this could impact the production of various consumer goods with news of Coronavirus spreading around China and the world.

Apple would be one of those possibly affected. Apple CEO Tim Cook tells its investors that their production might be impacted due to the use of suppliers from Wuhan.

ALSO READ: Real-time and Interactive Coronavirus Online Map Now Available to Track Global Cases

Why the decline?

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo confirmed Cook's statement, saying the coronavirus outbreak may hurt Apple's delivery forecasts for the first quarter of the year. Based on this, he has revised his shipping estimates for iPhones in Q1 2020 to 36-forty million units, which is a seemingly 10% decrease than before.

Apple might not be alone in suffering from this situation. Kuo says that he has visible phone shipments inside the Chinese marketplace decline by 50 to 60% every year.

ALSO READ: Apple CEO Tim Cook to Donate Funds to Fight Against Coronavirus

The decline could be due to the Chinese New Year, where most companies take a break during the holiday. Some of the employees also worry about the coronavirus outbreak, which started in Wuhan. The incident has led to some corporations closing down temporarily.

Unofficial sources said that Apple recently made an order to assemble around 80 million phones, including the "iPhone 9" or "iPhone SE 2." The move, alongside Tim Cook's statement, has led to analysts predicting that the rumored less costly iPhone model could be disrupted.

All of Apple's corporate offices and contact centers in mainland China were closed since February 9 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Apple's decision was after the World Health Organization declaring Wuhan coronavirus, a global public health emergency.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus Outbreak is Hurting Apple's China Operations More Than You Could Imagine

Foxconn denies claim on production delays

Apple's key iPhone manufacturing partner, Foxconn, denied that there will be any production delays and that this latest order will be filled on time.

In a statement, Foxconn denied reports that it plans to reduce its workforce. Apple's electronics manufacturer underscored that they continue to recruit employees to support business and operations globally.

Foxconn added it would continue to maintain a workforce of over one million employees worldwide. The company, being one of the largest private employers globally, is staffed with about 1.3 million people during peak production times.

Foxconn underscored that it is investing in the automation of most of the manufacturing tasks associated with their operations, applying robotics engineering and other innovative production technologies to enable their employees to focus on essential elements in the manufacturing process.

"The magnitude of our employee recruitment is expected to decrease in the years ahead, but we have no plans to reduce our workforce numbers now or anytime in the future," the company said.

Smartphone prices are forecast to drop from an average selling price of US$297 in 2014 to US$241 by 2018, research group International Data Corp said. Falling prices will pressure smartphone manufacturers to become more creative in product design and sales as markets become more saturated.





 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A day before Delhi Assembly elections, the Shiv Sena has praised Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for the work done by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party for what it described as communal polarisation to garner votes and come to power in Delhi.

Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have put their lives at stake on Delhi [polls] after they lost Maharashtra and after a crushing defeat in Jharkhand. Nothing wrong if they want to win Delhi, but despite an army of 200 MPs, BJP CMs and the entire Modi cabinet, it seems that Kejriwal is weighing heavy on all others, an editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana said on Friday.

Delhi will vote on February 8 and the results will be declared on February 11.

In the previous election, AAP had won a resounding majority bagging 67 out of 70 seats. In contrast, the BJP, which was targeting a two-third majority, won just three seats.

The editorial lauded the Kejriwal governments work in the last five years. It added that while Kejriwal is seeking votes on work done in public health, school education, etc, the top leaders of BJP and its minister are engaged in political mudslinging of Hindu versus Muslim.

Kejriwal is seeking votes on the basis of work done in five years. This is a new experiment in the countrys politics. This should be welcomed beyond party lines. Voters of Delhi are intelligent, said the editorial in Sena mouthpiece Saamana.

The former ally of the BJP acknowledged Kejriwals efforts in Delhi and hit out at the Centre for creating obstacles for the AAP government.

Even after having limited power and despite regular obstacles created by the Centre, his [Kejriwal] work in the field of education, health and public facilities is ideal, the Sena said.

The Sena slammed the BJP for calling the AAP Convenor a terrorist and for expressing dislike after he recited Hanuman Chalisa at an event in New Delhi.

The BJPs hate for Kejriwal is so extreme that they dont even like him going to a Hanuman temple and reciting Hanuman Chalisa, the Sena said, taking a dig at the BJP in Saamana.

It added, If he is [a terrorist], then what is the Centre waiting for? They should act. Does the BJP want to suggest that 70% of Delhi voters voted for a terrorist in 2014?

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A GP who molested 24 women at his surgery has been handed three life sentences for 90 sex offences against female patients.

Manish Shah, 50, who will serve at least 15 years behind bars, was branded a master of deception for persuading patients as young as 15 to undergo unnecessary intimate examinations for his own sexual gratification, the Old Bailey heard.

Shah, of Romford, east London, who claimed he had been practising defensive medicine was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against six victims at Mawney Medical Centre between 2009 and 2013 last year.

Shah was jailed for a minimum of 15 years on Friday / PA

At an earlier trial in 2018, he was convicted of offences relating to 18 other women, bringing the total number of offences to 90 relating to 24 women.

Fifteen of the victims watched on as Judge Anne Molyneux QC sentenced Shah to three life sentences with a minimum term of 15 years plus further jail terms to run concurrently.

She said Shah had deployed a mixture of flattery and fear and used celebrity cases to carry out the sex assaults.

Quoting one of his victims, the judge told him: You made up stories which got into heads and caused panic.

Manish Shah has been found guilty at the Old Bailey / PA

You were a master of deception and you abused your position of power. This was a horrible abuse of trust and caused incalculable harm.

The details show a pattern of behaviour over five years. Your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control and on occasions humiliate women.

Earlier, the youngest victim described being left anxious, fearful and shaking at the prospect of visiting the doctor after being abused by Shah.

Speaking in court the woman, who was 15 at the time, said she felt different about men and worried about being seen as a sex object.

Summarising other victim impact statements, prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC said the lack of trust created by Shah meant many of the women refused to see male doctors and that it had affected their relationships.

In mitigation, Zoe Johnson QC said: Manish Shah will never again be able to practice medicine.

The opportunity to offend and the ability to offend only arose because of Manish Shahs profession.

There is not one centile of information to suggest he would offend within the community. Stripped of that profession he is a rather weak man.

It goes without saying that all of these women feel grossly abused, humiliated, and that the trust that they placed in Manish Shah has been so dreadfully exploited.

He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.

The court has heard how Shah picked on patients vulnerability, because of their age or family history of cancer.

Angelina Jolie has spoken openly about her battles to evade cancer (Picture: Getty)

Shah brought up the news story about Hollywood star Jolie having a preventative mastectomy as he asked a woman if she would like him to examine her breasts.

He also mentioned Goody to another woman, saying an examination was in her best interests, it was claimed.

He would not always wear gloves and left one patient entirely naked on an examination table, jurors heard.

Shah attempted to justify an examination in medical notes by suggesting it was requested, the court heard.

Reality TV star Jade Goody died of cervical cancer in March 2009 / BBHPICTURES.COM courtesy of Channel 4

He flouted NHS guidelines on giving healthy women aged under 25 smear tests and routine breast examinations on women under 50, which were said to cause more harm than good, jurors were told.

He also breached guidelines on the use of chaperones during intimate examinations.

Paul Goddard, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: Manish Shah was a trusted family doctor, but he took advantage of that trust to abuse his female patients and then falsified their medical notes to try to justify intimate medical examinations that should not have taken place.
Authorities reportedly arrested Sri Lanka's national carrier's former chief on Thursday on allegations that he received bribes for an aircraft acquisition deal. This recent arrest is the result of a series of corruption probes into the SriLankan Airlines. The probes were ordered by the country's president.

Remanded into custody

The Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa had ordered the probe into the national carrier after SriLankan Airlines was mentioned in documents related to corruption probes into Airbus. In late January a French court-approved $4 billion to be paid by Airbus to France, Britain and US to settle the investigations launched in these countries against Airbus.

Kapila Chandrasena former ceo of Sri Lanka Airlines and wife was arrested Thursday over bribes for a multi-billion-dollar Airbus aircraft deal https://t.co/yt5bb2ZQ3f pic.twitter.com/PC85EVSRpD  George Gerald (@GeorgeGerald) February 6, 2020



According to reports, the investigators in Britain accuses Airbus of being unable to prevent their personnel for offering bribes to directors and employees of the various airlines. The bribes were allegedly offered so that the company may gain or retain a business advantage.

Kapila Chandrasena was the chief executive of SriLankan Airlines in 2013 when the incident took place. After his arrest, Chandrasena was remanded into custody for two weeks. He has been charged with money laundering and bribery.

Read: Cabinet Approves Ex Post Facto Waiver Of '5/20 Rule' For Alliance Air's India-Sri Lanka Ops

Read: Will Not Allow Extremist Organisations To Be Active In Sri Lanka: Prez Gotabaya Rajapaksa

Chandrasena's wife, Priyanka Niyomali Wijenayaka, was also arrested on money laundering charges.

Sri Lanka's previous government had also undertaken an investigation into the purchase of 10 Airbus aircraft. Unfortunately, the investigations at that time did not yield any concrete conclusion.

SriLankan Airlines was originally a profitable joint venture between SriLanka and Dubai-based Emirates Airline. Mismanagement and corruption after the split in 2008 means that now the national carrier is no longer profitable. According to reports, the airline has an accumulated loss of $1.24 billion and debt of about $750 million.

Read: Amid Coronavirus Outbreak, Sri Lanka & Turkey Evacuate Their Citizens From Wuhan

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: Sri Lankan Students From Wuhan To Be Kept Under Quarantine
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on Feb. 6 in connection with an increase in labor pensions, according to which all labor pensions were increased by 16.6 percent from Jan. 1, Azerbaijans deputy prime minister, Deputy Chairman - Executive Secretary of the ruling New Azerbaijan Party (YAP) Ali Ahmadov wrote in the article Great Gift for Pensioners on his Facebook page, Trend reports Feb. 7.

It should be admitted that a serious growth in pensions is a significant increase in the family budget of about 1.2 million people, reads the article. Given that just a few months ago, the minimum level of pensions was increased by more than 70 percent, it is possible to imagine the scale of attention and support that the government, by direct instruction of President Ilham Aliyev, is rendering to improving the living conditions of pensioners.

Ahmadov noted that, first of all, the order on raising pensions can be considered as another clear manifestation of the principle of President Ilham Aliyev: The people of Azerbaijan are at the center of our policy.

The manifestation of inexhaustible care for a person, the improvement of people's living conditions is the main priority of the Azerbaijani government, which is why there is a strong unity between the people and the authorities, according to the article.

The deputy prime minister emphasized that another important feature that should be noted in the context of raising pensions is that, in fact, this initiative is the result and an important component of Azerbaijans economic and social reforms.

There is no need to prove that improving the well-being of the people is the main goal of these reforms reads the article. However, it should be emphasized separately that the above-mentioned order is a direct result of the reforms that are being carried out. Raising pensions requires more than 500 million manat ($294.1 million) per year. The reforms that are successfully being carried out in Azerbaijan are accompanied by the creation of new jobs, higher salaries, elimination of informal employment and strengthening of labor and financial discipline in all areas.

Each of these positive processes, in turn, makes it possible to implement policies aimed at improving the living conditions of various categories of the population, including pensioners, according to the article.

In other words, improving the well-being of the people is reflected not only in the statements of the Azerbaijani government, but also in the real work and its results, Ahmadov said.

Increasing pensions should be regarded as strong evidence confirming successful implementation of the concept of reforms announced by President Ilham Aliyev, the article noted. The people see the fruits of the large-scale reforms announced years earlier and ongoing today, and they believe that more confident reforms will create the opportunity to further improve the well-being of the people.

The YAP deputy chairman added that it is necessary to recall the anti-Azerbaijani propaganda of malicious external forces and the radical opposition trying to denigrate Azerbaijan, its successful policy, to change the opinion of people through lies and manipulations.

Rather, they should be reminded that over the past six months only in the field of raising pensions two major social projects were implemented, and last year, the minimum pensions were increased by more than 70 percent, and this year all labor pensions were raised by 16.6 percent, said Ahmadov.

However, in many countries we are facing the opposite picture, the deputy chairman noted. The well-known Yellow Vests movement lasting more than one year in the center of Europe appeared as a protest against the deterioration of the conditions of the pension appointment, and hasnt lost its relevance so far.

In another European country, the government several years ago had to take such an unpopular decision as reducing pensions, as a result of which the cabinet changed repeatedly, the economic and political crisis broke out, reads the article. Many examples can be brought, but I dont see the need for this, because Im not going to criticize any particular countries. It is obvious that Azerbaijans rapid socio-economic development extremely worries the radical opposition, crosses out their political prospects and nullifies their authority among the people.

Therefore, the opposition resorts to the dirtiest methods, trying to realize its unhealthy political ambitions, acts together with external anti-Azerbaijani forces and helps them, Ahmadov said. There is no doubt that Azerbaijans success is a source of pride of the people. In terms of development, Azerbaijan holds a worthy place in all prestigious ratings, and the country is ranked among the successful countries of the world, so one should rejoice and be proud of it.
A few members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress almost came to blows in the Lok Sabha on Friday when Union health minister Harsh Vardhan roundly condemned Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' remark at Prime Minister Modi and called it "outlandish", sparking demands for apology from each side to the other.

IMAGE: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said their voices were being stifled in Parliament. Photograph: ANI Photo

The ruckus broke out during the fag end of the Question Hour after Vardhan said he would like to make a statement on Gandhi's recent comment on the prime minister before giving an answer to a starred question by the Congress leader related to establishment of medical colleges.

During a poll campaign rally in Delhi on Wednesday, Gandhi warned Modi that in the next six months, the youth will hit him with sticks if he doesn't address the issue of unemployment in the country.

"Sir, please excuse me. Before I begin answering this question of dear Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. I want to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish language that he has used against the prime minister of the country," he said reading out from a prepared note, even as speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the statement, Congress MPs came to the Well loudly protesting against the minister's move.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manickam Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, a BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister.

Singh is incidentally the President of the Wrestling Federation of India.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden also tried to intervene.

Several MPs from both sides and Union ministers, including Smriti Irani, prevented them from coming to blows.

"Guys, what are you doing. What is going on," Irani was heard saying.

Unnerved by the commotion, Vardhan continued reading his statement.

"In a recent speech, he (Gandhi) used words like 6 mahina baad, iss desh ka yuva, Narendra Modi ko dande maar maar ke desh se bahar karenge. (After six months, youth of the country would beat Modi with sticks and throw him out)," Vardhan said.

The minister said Rahul's father Rajiv Gandhi was a prime minister and even he was not targeted like this.

"I don't think in the worst of cases our party leaders have made such outlandish personal remarks against him threatening to beat him with dandas (sticks) and throwing him out of the country."

"The entire House present here must in unequivocal terms condemn his remarks against our prime minister. We demand...," he said.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 1 pm.

Gandhi later alleged that the ruckus in the Lok Sabha was "orchestrated" to prevent him from questioning the government.

As soon as the House reassembled at 1 pm, Kirit Solanki, who was in the Chair, adjourned proceedings till 2 pm.

When the House resumed, parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi condemned Tagore's attempt to attack Vardhan.

"It is highly uncalled for. If anything is wrongly spoken then it is up to the Speaker to take a call but trying to attack the minister is condemnable," Joshi said.

As Congress members too were on there feet, A Raja, who was in the Chair, adjourned the proceedings for the day.

IMAGE: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan's comment on Rahul Gandhi created a storm in Lok Sabha. Photograph: PTI Photo

Vardhan later said Gandhi should apologise to the country for his "derogatory" remarks against the prime minister.

"During the Question Hour (in Parliament), before answering Rahul ji's question, it was necessary for me to urge him to apologise for his remarks against the prime minister," Vardhan said in a tweet in Hindi.

Vardhan later alleged that Congress MPs came to his seat in the Lok Sabha, tried to attack him and snatch papers.

Minister Joshi alleged that at the instance of Rahul Gandhi, Tagore attempted to manhandle Vardhan. He demanded that Tagore apologise failing which he should be suspended from the House.

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, too demanded that Vardhan apologise for his "unparliamentary behaviour".

Gandhi said that "we are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament". "They have suppressed our voices."

"The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the government. The youth of India can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis," he told reporters.

"To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate," the Congress leader said on Twitter

Gandhi said he was seeking to raise an issue of the people of his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad in Kerala not getting access to medical facilities in the absence of a medical college.

"But I was prevented from doing so," he said.

"The BJP obviously does not like me to speak in the House. In a completely unparliamentary manner, the Union health minister raised something that I said outside, which he has no business of doing during the Question Hour. So, we were raising it with the Speaker," the former Congress chief said.

Gandhi denied that Tagore attacked anyone and alleged he was instead attacked.

Speaker Birla held separate meetings with Congress leaders and Union minister Pralhad Joshi.

Gandhi and Chowdhury handed over a complaint against Vardhan for action against him.

The Congress, however, said any of their MPs would be ready to express regret if found violating Parliamentary norms in the Lok Sabha during the acrimony.

"I have proposed that the concerned minister should apologise for his unparliamentary behaviour and have said that our member in the well went there due to the emotional outburst triggered after the minister's remarks. If found to be wrong, we will also express regret," Chowdhury told reporters.
It has emerged that former Chairperson for the Electoral Commission (EC), Madam Charlotte Osei, signed an agreement to purchase new biometric machines to replace the current (old) ones.



Executive Secretary of Mass Action Committee, a Civil Society Organisation, Atik Mohammed, has made this claim, and further disclosed that the procurement agreement with Superlock Technology Ltd (STL) was signed on June 28, 2018.



According to him, per his investigations, that would have cost the nation some $18 million dollars more than the amount the current EC boss, Madam Jean Mensa intends to use to purchase new machines for the 2020 election.



. . . like I said, it is not only this EC boss that wanted to buy new machines. In fact, Madam Charlotte Osei on the 28th June 2018 signed procurement agreement with STL to purchase new machines but the cost of those machines under Madam Charlotte Osei as compared to those that the current EC boss wants to procure, Ghana is making savings to the tune of over $18 million, he argued.



Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show, Atik Mohammed indicated that all the political parties including those resisting the compilation of a new voters register are well aware that the current machines are outmoded to the point where they cannot support new software update.



The only option is to do undertake a new registration exercise so that when new machines are purchased, our generated registration template can be read by the new machines; the data can be stored in a format that is compatible or readable by the new machines we are going to purchase, he explained.



If we all do agree that our current biometric machines have issues and that we cannot migrate the data easily because it is not possible unless we get a data which can be stored in a format which can be read and the only way to do that is a new registration and the cost is reasonable, why this political stampede over each other? he quizzed.





Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[email protected]









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:10:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Reisi has warned the United States against any anti-Iran move in the Gulf, Tasnim news agency reported Friday.

Any U.S. action against Iran will "send the American forces to the bottom of the Gulf," Reisi warned.

He made the remarks during his address to a gathering of military forces in Iran's southern port city of Bushehr.

The Iranian judiciary chief praised the Iranian Armed Forces for what he called their contribution to the regional security.

Iran has said the foreign forces should leave the Gulf waters, as the security of the region could be ensured by the regional countries.
A poet-activist, who was taken to a Mumbai police station by his cab driver after the latter overheard his phone conservation about anti-CAA protest, on Friday said that the driver's aggressive behaviour and violent language reflected the atmosphere prevailing in the country.

The 23-year-old poet, Bappadittya Sarkar, also said that despite the ordeal he faced due to the Uber driver's act, he will not lodge a complaint against him as it may ruin his career and life.

Sarkar, a resident of Jaipur, who had arrived in Mumbai on February 3 for a poetry reading session at the Kala Ghoda Festival, had taken part in the ongoing anti-CAA-NRC protest at Nagpada in Mumbai. He took the Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.

During the journey, Sarkar was discussing with his friend on mobile phone people's discomfort with 'Laal Salaam' slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi. The driver, who was listening, stopped the cab and told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM. But her returned with two policemen, who allegedly asked Sarkar why he was carrying a 'dafli' (a percussion instrument), and also asked him his address.

The driver allegedly asked the police to take Sarkar in custody for "he was saying he was a Communist and was talking about burning the country".

Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan had tweeted about the incident.

According to the statement tweeted by her, the police advised Sarkar not to carry the dafli or wear a red scarf, "as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen".

Talking to PTI on Friday, Sarkar said, "The behaviour of the driver was aggressive and his language was violent. This type of violent language symbolises whatever is going on in the country."



"The driver threatened me that he could have taken me somewhere else, but took me to a police station. I was scared due to his threat. But the driver must have some foundation for giving threat," he said.

Sarkar said he was living at a friend's place in Kurla, but shifted to Andheri after the incident.

"When our fight is only of thoughts, then we have to understand from where violence stems and how," he said.

"I am a student and love to write poems and create slogans and saying them. I could have stayed at my home when protests are going on across the country. But I have a responsibility to come out of the home for our people and our country," he added.

Before coming to Mumbai, Sarkar had also participated in the protests in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi and Jaipur.

When asked whether he plans to take any action against the driver, Sarkar said that he does not want to ruin anybody's life.

"Uber should help the driver and give him counselling and therapy and send him for rehabilitation. His career should not be spoilt," he said.

"There can be differences of opinion and people like me work for the whole society," he said.

Sarkar, who was at the 'Mumbai Bagh' protest in Nagpada on Friday morning, said he will return to his hometown, Jaipur, in the afternoon, where he will take part in similar protests.

"I will go to Jaipur first and meet my family members as they may also be worried (after the incident). After that I will participate in the protests," he said.

He also said he had got a call from Uber and the company condemned the incident saying whatever their driver did was not right and they are taking action.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Burma Myanmar Gunmen Rob Bank of 60 Million Kyats, Leave Fake Bomb Behind

The CB Bank branch in Yangons North Dagon Township that was robbed by two gunmen on Friday morning. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGONTwo gunmen robbed a CB Bank branch in Yangons North Dagon Township of an estimated 60 million kyats (about $41,230) on Friday morning and left behind a fake bomb before making their escape.

The robbery occurred at around 9 a.m. just as the bank was opening, lawmaker U Tin Tun Naing, who represents the township in the Yangon regional parliament, told The Irrawaddy from the scene. He said the two perpetrators fled in a vehicle after robbing the bank.

The lawmaker said a bomb squad from by the regional Ministry for Security and Border Affairs had been called in to neutralize what appeared to be a bomb made of sticks of explosives taped to a cell phone. The bomb-disposal team later confirmed the bomb to be a fake, U Tin Tun Naing said.

Police Colonel Myo Naing Oo of the North Dagon Township police confirmed the robbery to The Irrawaddy, adding that police were investigating.

Stay tuned for updates.

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Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves delivering his second Budget Address, which reflected the largest budget ever tabled in this countrys Parliament.

While the 2020 Budget, the second to be delivered by Minister of Finance Camillo Gonsalves, contained no new taxes, there were a number of moderate increases in existing fees/charges, some new fees, and some concessions in construction and tourism related areas.





The 2020 Budget of $1.2 billion is the largest budget ever tabled in Parliament in this country, and government has projected a $2 million current account surplus at the end of the day.





Increase in existing fees





As it relates to increases, medical fees are prominent. Minister Gonsalves said that in 2019 the fees collected at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH) as a percentage of the amount spent at that institution alone, amounted to eight percent.





"Clearly, a cost recovery ratio of eight percent is quite low. In an effort to make a marginal improvement to this ratio, the government proposes moderate increases to several hospital, laboratory and dental fees paid by private patients, he said.





It is anticipated that the budgeted cost recovery ratio is expected to settle at nine percent.





Some of the increased fees include medical report fees from $25.00 to EC$40; out-patient surgery fees for private patients from $30 to $36; maintenance and nursing fees (per day) from $75 to $82.50 for private patients; operating theatre surgical operations and anesthetic and gases have moved from $250 to $275 for major procedures, from $175 to $192.50 for intermediate, and from $100 from $110 for minor surgeries, for private patients.





Collars, crutches, splints and walkers will see an increased rental charge, and fee of $200 levied on all bodies kept after 24 hours, unless kept for medical and or legal reasons.





Other areas that will see increases include passports. For persons 16 years old, a passport that cost $100.00 in 2019 will now cost $120.00, and one for adults will move from $200 to $250.00





New charges other increases





Among the new charges are boat licences as follows: 10 to 30 feet EC$25.00 and above 30 to 60 feet EC$50.00; and a fishers ID card and health certificate - EC$5 fee each.





Chainsaw operators will now pay an administrative fee of EC$15.





Poultry farmers will face increased prices for chicks, with a broiler chick costing $2.25, an increase of 25 cents, and layer chicks moving from $4.50 to $5.00 a chick.





Reduced tax and concessions





Those in the construction industry can look forward to a further reduction in the excise tax on heavy trucks.





In 2019, the excise tax was reduced from 60 to 55 percent. The 2020 budget makes provisions further reduction from 55% to 30%.





This, the Minister said, was to facilitate the expected boom in the construction sector, particularly with a number of hotels down for construction here, and to address what some contractors have said is a potential shortage of heavy trucks.





Tour bus and boat operators can be said to be some of the primary beneficiaries of the 2020 Budget.





According to Gonsalves, tour buses less than three years old and larger than 26 seats will enjoy a 90 percent waiver; buses of the same size and between four and 12 years old will receive a 75 percent duty waiver.





"These duty waivers are conditioned on the exclusive use of these buses for tours and charters during the cruise season, he explained.





Notwithstanding this condition, there will be no restriction on the use of the vehicles out of the tourism season. Local banks have already signaled their willingness to modify their loan packages to make payments less onerous during the off-season.





Similarly, it was announced that yachts and marine vessels used to offer tours will now receive a 100 percent duty with similar banking arrangements already in order during the off season.








Picture a prosperous nation where the economy is going great guns; unemployment levels are down, wages are up and the stock market soaring.

Life, on the whole, is good for the many  but there is grumbling among working-class voters who have concerns about the arrogance of the governing elite, about crime in their communities, and about immigration.

The leader of this nation is a love-him-or-loathe him maverick, with unruly blond hair, a propensity to open his mouth before engaging his brain, and an infamous inability to grasp detail.

He does, however, have an uncanny instinct for the gut feeling of voters.

The leader of this nation is a love-him-or-loathe him maverick, with unruly blond hair, a propensity to open his mouth before engaging his brain, and an infamous inability to grasp detail, writes HENRY DEEDES

President Trump and Boris Johnson participate in a session on reforming the United Nations in New York in 2017

He can cut through political verbiage to the heart of the matter and connect with millions.

Meanwhile, his opponents are in disarray, as a doddery Left-wing fossil from another era, who boasts a wealth of crackpot economic ideas, is trying to seize power at the head of a disillusioned and discredited party.

Does any of this sound familiar?

No, it's not post-Brexit Britain, of course, but America, where I have spent two rollercoaster weeks watching Donald Trump at close quarters, and speaking to scores who voted for him in 2016 and who intend to do so again.

It's amusing to draw such comparisons, but the parallels between our nations, the similarities between our two leaders, and the bond that already exists between them, have far greater significance at this moment in our history.

At the end of this year, the reality of Britain's departure from the EU will make itself felt. And whether or not we have secured a satisfactory trade deal with Europe, our economic future will be bound up with the U.S.

Never before has the so-called special relationship been so important.

Right now there is a genuine chance to nurture a new transatlantic alliance as warm and mutually beneficial as that between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

Boris Johnson discusses what lessons can be learnt from the 2012 Olympics during his role as Mayor of London

And if the thought of a Boris Johnson/Donald Trump double act doesn't send shockwaves through the corridors of the power in Brussels, then it should.

This past week, here in the U.S. to report on the opening salvos in the 2020 presidential election campaign, has been instructive for someone whose working life is spent in the corridors of Westminster where Donald Trump is a standing joke  as he is with expat Americans I come across back home.

And when I arrived at New York's JFK Airport it seemed to be business as usual. When an immigration official noticed I was planning to stay at one of Trump's hotels in Manhattan. His reaction was utter disgust  I thought he would deport me on the first plane back to London.

In restaurants, bars and shops, as soon as New Yorkers heard my accent, they launched into apologies for their President  for his very existence. This might be Trump's home town but the loathing is visceral.

Yet what a contrast just a few days later, in icy Iowa for the Democrat caucus.

Nearly every Uber driver I meet, generally hard-pressed middle-aged men or women with families to support, backs their President.

Time and again they told me: 'He's getting it done.' (Ring a bell? 'Get Brexit Done!')

What they love is his aggressive defence of their nation, the ruthless way he's gone about renegotiating U.S. trade deals abroad. A trade war with China? Bring it on, says The Don!

The American president addresses the crowd during the Opportunity Now summit at Central Piedmont Community College

At a raucous Trump rally in Iowa's state capital, Des Moines, he bragged to adoring crowds about bullying Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe into opening Japanese car factories in Michigan.

All nonsense, of course, but Trump's blue-collar supporters lapped up this tall tale of souped-up machismo.

It was made clear to me at that rally the real reach of Trump's appeal, which leaves his rivals in Washington open-mouthed.

One of my most telling encounters occurred in the snaking queue to get into the rally, where I met Patti Tibbitts, 60, who'd made the two-hour drive from Iowa City to cheer on the President.

She didn't strike me as the stereotyped, swivel-eyed Trump supporter. A proud Native American, she was a demure, well-spoken, highly educated former Obama supporter. But she'd warmed to Trump over her concerns about immigration. 'I am descended from Comanche Indians,' she told me.

'My forebears knew what it was like to have foreigners come in and take their country away from them. The President is strong on immigration and that's why I'm here to support him.'

President Trump delivers a speech at a summit in Charlotte, North Carolina, on February 7

There are literally millions like Patty. Trump's 90 minutes on stage was below-the- belt stuff.

Statesman-like he ain't. He slagged off opponents in brutal, often personal terms, pulling faces, goading his enemies over the (at that point) almost certain failure of their attempts to impeach him.

John Heraty, a social worker who'd made the five-hour trip from Chicago, told me middle-class voters such as himself simply didn't care about all of that.

'He behaves like he's in a bar-room brawl, sure, but he's a confident guy. And that makes us feel confident.'

I had similar conversations throughout my stay in Iowa. Supporters acknowledge the boorish behaviour but shrug and reiterate that he's addressing the issues that matter to them. 'He's our guy,' is all they say.

And I remembered where I'd last heard similar comments on another campaign trail.

During the 2019 general election, I spent six weeks following Boris Johnson around the West Midlands and beyond, to traditional Labour strongholds in the so-called 'Red Wall' in the north of England.

Time and again, men and women of all ages, Leavers and Remainers told me Boris  an Old Etonian let's not forget  was speaking their language and seemed to understand their concerns, about Brexit, about delivering on the 2016 referendum result, and about taking back control of our borders.

The very issues sneered at by the metropolitan Remain-dominated elite, who dismissed such voters as racist, stupid or old, and had no conception of the disconnect they felt with those governing them.

Among America's liberal dominated mainstream media, the same attitudes prevail. After Trump's State Of The Union address on Tuesday, in which he boasted of his (rather than his administration's) success  'Jobs are booming, incomes are soaring, poverty is plummeting . . . our economy is the best it has ever been,' he bellowed  it was a free-for-all of Trump bashing.

News channels such as CNN and MSNBC were rolling conveyer belts of talking heads, whining, sneering and bemoaning the state of the country.

The American president and British Prime Minister during the annual NATO heads of government summit in 2019

Newspapers such as The Washington Post and the New York Times upped their usual daily misery fest of preaching editorials about this unconscionable White House administration.

Yes, Trump is boorish but the coverage feels vastly overblown. As the more pragmatic Wall Street Journal pointed out this week, the liberal media revels in perpetuating the idea that the country is caught in an epic, Star Wars-like saga, with Trump as the arch villain Darth Vader and the Democrat Party as the plucky rebels.

Their fulminating grows ever more hysterical because they know they haven't a chance of getting rid of him. And the collapse of his impeachment trial this week only added to the President's Mafioso-like sense of invincibility.

But to attribute Trump's sky-high job approval ratings  at 49 per cent, his highest ever  solely to the hopelessness of his opponents would be narrow-minded, though the Democrat Party is in a bigger shambles than our Labour Party.

On Monday, the Iowa caucus  the first step in choosing who will be the Democrat presidential candidate to face Trump in November  ended in farce when the results were delayed by days due to a technological cock-up in the voting system.

As I write, the result is still in dispute, though Bernie Sanders appears to have 'almost' tied with the surprise breakthrough candidate, Pete Buttigieg, a former mayor from nowheresville South Bend, Indiana. Neither has a cat in hell's chance against the Trump election machine  said to be even better organised and better funded than it was four years ago.

Buttigieg, despite his compelling back story (graduate of Harvard and Oxford, gay, served in Afghanistan) seems woefully inexperienced for the task. As for Sanders, his zany politics have zero hope of taking back those floating states Trump stole during his astonishing march to the White House in 2016.

Watching 78-year-old Sanders out on the stump, stooped, craggy and unkempt, he espouses the same brand of radical Left-wing dogma as Jeremy Corbyn, and it has the same appeal to the young middle classes here who worship him.

He's seen as the anti-establishment candidate, but they're also seduced by his unrealistic plans to scrap university tuition fees and cancel all existing student debt.

And just as luvvie bores queued up to associate themselves with Labour at the last election, a steady supply of unctuous celebrities cosy up to back Sanders.

I attended a Sanders rally last week in Iowa's Cedar Rapids which featured fashionable New York rock band, Bon Iver.

By the look on Bernie's face, he'd never even heard of them.

Liberals hope deep-pocketed media tycoon Mike Bloomberg - still to enter the race  might yet breath oxygen into the contest, but the former New York mayor looks suspiciously like shark chum waiting to be gobbled up by the Great White Trump.

One thing is certain, the Democrat establishment would prefer anyone to Sanders, who is viewed as an embarrassment among the party's top brass.

After Iowa I moved on to New Hampshire, a chilly corner of the north-east U.S. where a thick blanket of snow spread over the leafy state. Some 16 inches are due to fall over the coming days in this Democrat stronghold.

It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the Party's presidential candidates out campaigning again ahead of Tuesday's crucial New Hampshire Primary.

The President, meanwhile, is back in Washington, still joking about his recently collapsed impeachment trial. How he flaunted for the cameras the front page of his bete noire, The Washington Post, with its 'Trump acquitted' headline.

He's behaving like a man dipped in sunshine as his opponents continue to tear one another apart.

On Monday, the Trump entourage arrives here for another riotous rally. But between all the grandstanding, the swaggering and the puerile jibes there will be a reminder that his administration has fiscal success to boast about (albeit based on debt-fuelled largesse of some 1.9 trillion delivered via one of the largest 'stimulus' packages  tax cuts and a spending 'bung'  in American history).

Economic expansion is now in its 11th year, a record for the modern era. Unemployment has sunk to 3.5 per cent, down from 4.7 per cent when Trump took office, while workers' wages are growing. As for Wall Street, the stock market is up about 20 per cent from a year ago.

Ultimately, that's what will deliver four more years of Trump in the White House, regardless of tales of foreign influence, sexual scandals and the grandiose promises of reinforced border walls that he's unlikely ever to deliver on.

Pure, interrupted economic growth  it's the fuel that fires the engines that pump the pistons that drive the wheels of America. This extraordinary President knows that better than anyone.

Let's hope Boris can negotiate a piece of it.
Then there are the people away from home to consider, and caucusgoers who speak a language other than English. The list of accessibility challenges helps explain why in Iowa, a state of more than three million people, the largest number to participate in a Democratic caucus  at least as of Monday  was about 240,000 in 2008.

Aware of these longstanding concerns, Democratic National Committee members voted in 2018 to encourage states that held caucuses to switch to primaries, and to require the caucus states that remained  like Iowa and Nevada  to find another way for people to participate.

In Iowa, Democrats spent months trying to design a virtual caucus system, which would have allowed participation through a phone call, but the Democratic National Committee rejected that proposal over security concerns. They also considered mailing absentee paper ballots, but ditched that idea because of fears that it hemmed to close to being a primary.

In the end, they landed on satellite caucuses, which went into action on Monday.

How the satellite caucuses worked

To host a satellite caucus, people unable to attend their regular precinct caucus were required to apply, and a state party panel approved each of the gathering locations. The Iowa Democratic Party initially announced a list of 99 satellite caucuses, but later nixed 12 of them, leaving a total of 87 sites.

The locations were variously meant to accommodate students, workers, older people, people with disabilities, people who speak a language other than English, people wintering in another state and people living abroad. Any registered Iowa Democrat was allowed to participate. Sixty of the 87 sites were in Iowa; the rest were elsewhere in the country and at three overseas locations.

Party officials set up a formula to determine how many state delegate equivalents were allotted to the satellite caucuses, based on turnout at the events (more on that below). The party said more than 1,700 people had registered for a satellite caucus, though more may have shown up on Monday. Of those who registered, officials said a significant majority were out of state or at an international site.

Sanders runs up the score

The Sanders team appeared to make the most concerted effort among the Democratic campaigns to capitalize on the new caucus format.
(Natural News) Just when you thought Chinas draconian measures to stop the deadly coronavirus pandemic couldnt get any more draconian, the communist Chinese regime has announced a whole new level of medical tyranny: Door-to-door forced roundups of infected citizens who will be removed against their will and placed in quarantine prison camps that China absurdly calls hospitals. (Real hospitals dont have bars on the windows of every patients room, see photos below)

Wuhan is told to round up infected residents for mass quarantine camps, reports the New York Times, sounding almost exactly like InfoWars.coms stories from weeks ago. (Isnt it interesting how the mainstream media sooner or later sounds like the independent media when the truth comes out?)

In an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus, Chinas vice premier mandated on Feb. 6 that the Wuhan city government screen each residents body temperature by visiting their homes one by one, reports The Epoch Times, warning that, Chinese netizens are worried that the new regulation may inadvertently cause the virus to spread even more quickly.

An official command from Vice Premier Sun Chunlan described the door-to-door mandatory medical search of every citizen in the region. Via TET:

At a Feb. 6 meeting on the outbreak response, Sun requested that the Wuhan government use the whole citys resources and visit each family, to find the four types of people by taking their body temperatures.

The four types were referring to: diagnosed coronavirus patients; suspected patients; patients who have a fever and have yet to be diagnosed for the virus; and those who have close contact with diagnosed and suspected patients.

You cannot miss any family, or any single person, Sun said, according to state-run media.

Sun used wartime to describe Wuhans current situation, adding that all four types of people must be sent to the citys quarantine centers or hospitals.

She threatened Wuhan officials that they would be punished if they miss any resident.

This means that merely having close contact with a suspected patient can result in you being placed under medical arrest, forcibly removed from your home and placed in a quarantine prison camp under military surveillance. There, you are very likely to be infected by other patients, of course, but China has a plan for that, too: Cremation vans that transport bodies straight from the hospitals to the cremation ovens in order to rapidly dispose of the bodies (see links and photos below).

The New York Times adds this quote from Sun Chunlan, who gave the order, sounding a whole lot like Hitler, Stalin or Mao: Set up a 24-hour duty system. During these wartime conditions, there must be no deserters, or they will be nailed to the pillar of historical shame forever.

As you read this article, remember that everything you are seeing in China today will come to America tomorrow. This has been true with Big Techs draconian censorship measures, the rollout of a social media scoring system that punishes dissenting views, as well as authoritarian medical mandates that are rapidly being ramped up across America (such as Californias SB 277 vaccine mandate law), following the blueprint of medical tyranny in mainland China.

The medical police state that has already become reality in China is just one CDC declaration from becoming the rule of law in America, as confirmed by the CDCs claim of authority over all Americans during a pandemic outbreak. Click here to read the CDCs full explanation of federal laws that allow it to run mandatory medical police state quarantine / roundup operations in America, just like were now seeing in China.

To repeat, everything you are seeing in China right now can be implemented in America with a single declaration from the CDC.

Everything China tries to implement only makes the pandemic spread more quickly

The effort is almost sure to spread the pandemic more rapidly, as it allows health officials who will surely be quickly infected with the coronavirus to invade every individual home in the entire region, spreading the virus from one home to another. The order, if fully followed, is almost guaranteed to accelerate coronavirus infections that have already exceeded 30,000, according to official Chinese numbers.

Remember, China is a communist nation that couldnt control this coronavirus in a BSL-4 biohazard facility how are they going to control it in the wild, on the streets of an open city populated by millions?

Via TET:

Sean Lin, a U.S.-based expert in microbiology and former virology researcher for the U.S. Army, [said], her order worries me because the government cares more about politics than disease control, medical treatment, and humanitarian assistance.

Netizens seemed to agree. Yanan, a Wuhan neitizen posted on Weibo that he and his family members have not left their home since Jan. 23 and are healthy so far.

Now you [the government] will arrange a person from the outside to enter our home and measure our temperature by using a thermometer from the outside [which may be contaminated with the virus], Yanan said.

He added that because his household does not have disinfectant products, he may not have the proper tools to prevent the virus from spreading when the staff takes their temperatures.

In other words, in a desperate effort to stop the pandemic, they are going to invade every home in the region and introduce new risk factors for spreading infectious disease, then medically kidnap the very people they are infecting and ship them off to quarantine prison camps where they are likely to die, but in order to avoid admitting to the deaths, they will burn the bodies in cremation ovens and pretend nothing happened. The plan is so disastrously ill-conceived that it almost sounds like something comrade Bernie Sanders would try to implement if elected President.

TET also reports how this entire effort may cause even more people to become infected:

Other experts, such as U.S.-based China affairs commentator Ai Li, were skeptical that taking body temperatures can accurately identify coronavirus patients, particularly as Chinese medical experts have already confirmed that some people infected with the virus may not exhibit symptoms during the incubation perioda timespan of up to 14 daysbut can still spread the virus to others.

She also questioned the authorities decision to send suspected patients to quarantine centers, as they could cross-infect each other.

If you see the videos [that Chinese netizens filmed] of the quarantine centers and makeshift hospitals, you will know immediately that even healthy people will be sick in that environment, Ai said on a Chinese-language commentary show on YouTube.

Wuhan netizens shared videos of the conditions at those facilities, saying that there is no medicine, no medical staff, very limited food and drinking water, as well as cold, unsanitary environs with unstable electricity.

In other words, its a communist utopia! With this plan, China is making Venezuelas dumpster-diving mass starvation apocalypse look like a fun day at the park.

Chinas hospitals are military-run quarantine prison camps with bars on the windows

Remember when Hillary Clinton said that FEMA camps are fun camps? In China, military-run quarantine prison camps are called hospitals.

All the rooms have bars on the windows to prevent patients from escaping, while held under armed guard by military troops.

Heres a recent photo of one of these facilities under construction. Notice the bars on every window? Theyre welded into place:

More videos of these quarantine prison camp hospitals can be found at NationalFile.com.

Cremation vans running 24/7 as dead bodies are pulled out of the quarantine prison camps and piled into ovens

Just as the quarantine prison camps are being rapidly expanded to hundreds of thousands of beds, news is leaking out about the so-called cremation vans which are collecting dead bodies and ferreting them into cremation ovens to eliminate the dead as quickly as possible.

In a bold claim, Chinese-language news outlet Initium believe that Chinese authorities have been cremating bodies in secret, reports The Sun (UK). This week, they interviewed people working at local cremation centres in Wuhan  where the virus originated from  who said bodies were being sent directly from hospitals without being properly identified and added to the official record.

As The Washington Examiner relates:

Also, one thing that #China is hiding is the number of death caused by the virus, tweeted Deutsche Welle reporter William Yang. Credible Chinese media outlet @initiumnews interviewed people working at local cremation centers, confirming that many dead bodies were sent directly from the hospitals to the cremation centers.

The mass cremation of the dead is one way China avoids having to report both infections and deaths. After all, theres no need to test a person after theyre turned to ash, so the coronavirus cant be explicitly blamed for their death (plus, the hot fire burns away any last shred of any virus). This final solution is so ingenious by communist standards that the Chinese regime will no doubt soon expand this practice to the living, too.

The media is pretending the following photos dont exist, claiming the pandemic is imaginary

As an interesting note about the level of mass mental illness which has spread even faster than the coronavirus itself, the lying mainstream media continues to claim that anyone reporting the truth about the coronavirus pandemic is a fear monger, even as those same media pundits practically claimed the world was coming to an end when the measles was spreading at Disneyland a few years ago. (Hint: That tiny measles outbreak produced exactly zero deaths.)

Now, the media seems to be claiming that there is no coronavirus pandemic and everybody is just imagining it, somehow. Anyone who even dares to talk about the reality of the pandemic in China is immediately branded a fear monger. Remember this is coming from the same lying mainstream media outlets that told us President Trump was working for the Russians, and if we didnt urgently remove him from office, he would sell Alaska to Putin and throw all the children of the world into cages.

So, yeah, you cant really believe anything the mainstream media reports. They dont know the difference between a pandemic and a pan.

But thats why its so important to show the world the photos of whats really happening in China.

This photos shows a partial image of one of these cremation vans  i.e. ambulance in Chinas twisted word games  as men in hazmat suits prepare to load up the body of another victim who collapsed dead on the sidewalk and apparently bled out:

Heres a top-down photo of another body or patient being loaded into an ambulance while under cover of what looks like a hazmat isolation structure:

As you see these photos, keep in mind that the lying fake news journalists of the mainstream media are right now trying to convince the world that none of this is happening:

Heres another dead body on the sidewalk that the mainstream media in America is apparently claiming is all staged, sort of like an Iowa caucus:

Remember, too, that the lying mainstream media claims this coronavirus is no worse than the common cold. Yet how many times have you ever seen medical personnel in hazmat suits loading bodies into ambulances merely because the person had a cold?

Stay informed about the coronavirus pandemic by reading NaturalNews.com and checking the new uncensored videos at Brighteon.com.
Update: On Thursday, Kauai police arrested Lori Vallow on a warrant after she failed to produce her two children to child welfare workers last month. Vallow now faces charges of resisting or obstructing police officers, criminal solicitation to commit a crime, and contempt of court. She is being held on a $5 million bail.

This story was originally published on February 6.

The case of two missing children in Idaho has taken a bizarre turn as a tangled web of conspiracy theories and unusual number of family deaths have complicated the investigation.

The suspects in question are Lori Vallow and her recent husband, Chad Daybell. Vallows children, seven-year-old Joshua JJ Vallow and 17-year-old Tylee Ryan were last seen in September 2019. In November, after authorities received a search warrant for their home and storage unit, Vallow and Daybell fled to Hawaii. This week, the East Idaho News published security camera footage from the Self Storage Plus facility that shows Vallow putting away items belonging to her children, causing further speculation about her involvement in their disappearance.

According to the East Idaho News, Vallow left behind a storage unit full of childrens items, photos, clothing, and other things. Surveillance footage indicates that she and a man who appears to be her brother, Alex Cox, made multiple visits to the storage facility in October and November. The publication reports that cameras show a man, also presumed to be Cox, coming by to store an assortment of items, including gun cases. On October 28, two men moved bikes into the unit. And on November 24th, in her final visit to the storage facility before fleeing to Hawaii, Vallow and an unnamed man stayed for just four minutes before leaving.

The hunt for Vallow and Daybell officially kicked off when the credit card she had on file at Self Storage Plus was denied several times. The facility contacted authorities who tracked down the couple in Hawaii, where they had been living since late November. On January 25th, Vallow and Daybell were stopped by investigators there, and served with a court order to present her missing children to Idaho authorities on January 30th. Vallow failed to meet this deadline, clearing the way for prosecutors to have her extradited from Hawaii to Idaho for contempt of court.

Story continues

Family members suspect foul play in the childrens disappearance. Last week, JJs grandmother, Kay Woodcock, opened up about her worst fears in a press conference. The only word coming to mind right now is monster, Woodcock said, according to The New York Times. All this has just been very disheartening. Im a lot less optimistic at the moment.

Vallow and Daybell have been inconsistent in statements about their childrens whereabouts, initially saying they were with relatives in Arizona. But Daybell allegedly told someone that Vallow didnt have kids, while Vallow herself allegedly told someone else that her daughter had died more than a year earlier, reports The Times.

And in another bizarre twist, there have been an unusual number of deaths on both sides of the couples families that have occurred in a short period of time since the childrens disappearance. Cox, Vallows brother, shot and killed his sisters estranged husband, Charles Vallow, last July, claiming it was in self-defense. And in December, Cox himself died of unknown causes. On Daybells side of the family, his previous wife, Tammy Daybell, died in October of 2019, reportedly of natural causes. But when Daybell and Vallow got married just two weeks later, authorities had Tammys remains exhumed.

In addition to the strange string of deaths, the couple is now believed to have radical doomsday beliefs, with ties to Preparing a People, a doomsday preparation group that is now dubbed a religious cult. Divorce documents filed by Vallows late husband say that she believes she is a god assigned to carry out the work of the 144,000 at Christs second coming in July 2020. And Chad Daybell has authored apocalyptic novels based loosely on Mormon religious theology.

The missing childrens grandmother and her husband are now offering a $20,000 reward for information that could lead to a break in the case and bring to light the childrens whereabouts.

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Ambulance at the port where the quarantined Diamond Princess is docked

Carl Court/Getty Images

Two Americans on the Diamond Princess cruise ship spoke to Insider about their experience as they face a two-week coronavirus quarantine.

As of Thursday, 20 passengers  including one American  have tested positive for coronavirus.

Some people aboard are "panicking, they can't sleep and can't eat," passengers told Insider.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Two years ago, Gay Courter was sailing on the Diamond Princess. An American author in her 70s, she took the voyage to conduct research for a novel. "It's a mystery that takes place on a cruise ship," she said. She wandered the 17-deck vessel, absorbing the details of its lounges and saunas, its 13 bars and its library. The story, she said, "has a whole medical aspect" to it.

Two weeks ago Courter set sail on the Diamond Princess for a second time  and again she found herself in the middle of a tale that seems too improbable to be real. But she is not strolling the decks now.

Today, she and 2,665 other passengers are shut in their cabins, facing down a two-week quarantine just off the coast of Yokohama, Japan. Crew members and Japanese health officials are rushing to stem a coronavirus outbreak after a passenger, who disembarked on January 25, tested positive for the virus. As of Thursday, an additional 20 people on the ship have contracted the virus.

Passengers on the Diamond Princess.JPG

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

'We want to leave healthy'

Officials discovered the outbreak on Monday, and the Diamond Princess quickly docked in the port of Yokohama that night, even though it was not supposed to arrive until the following morning.

Since then, passengers have primarily relied on the captain for information about the current state of affairs on the ship, which are announced through the public-address system. "He's been trying to update us," Courter said. She described his first messages over the PA system as "chipper."

Story continues

But since the quarantine was implemented on Wednesday, "he has gone from being chipper to being very exhausted and serious," she told Insider. "This is probably the most horrible thing he's had to deal with in his life."

And the same is likely true for the passengers. On Tuesday, health officials conducted initial health screenings for everyone on board, including the 1,045 crew members. They did not test every individual for the virus, however.

By Wednesday, only 10 passengers had tested positive for coronavirus.

A day later, that number doubled.

Courter, who is traveling with her husband, Phil, said the Florida couple are eager to get off the ship. "We do understand that we have to be in quarantine. We want to leave healthy."

Others, said Courter, are greatly distressed about the quarantine, which is currently on day three of 14.

Some are "panicking, they can't sleep and can't eat," Courter remarked. "They are freaking out, even though they're not sick."

Coronavirus tests come up against 'a wall for information'

The sense of panic among some passengers could be getting amplified by the striking increase in positive test results over roughly a day. And some passengers harbor concerns about how many tests have been conducted at all.

At the time of writing, health authorities have completed tests for 102 people, according to the New York Times. A total of 273 passengers have been tested for the virus, meaning more than half of the test results are pending.

Spencer Fehrenbacher, an American graduate student at China's Tianjin University who is quarantined on the vessel, said that although he has been tested, he has yet to hear from health authorities.

"It's a wall for information. When we were first tested," he told Insider, "we asked when we would find out [about the results]."

"They said, 'Someone will be in contact with you.'" That was on Tuesday. He has yet to hear back. In conversation with Insider, he repeatedly referred to the "unknowingness" of the situation that hangs above him.

Japanese health workers in Yokohama, Japan, next to the Diamond Princess.JPG

REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

'Ups and downs'

On good days, Fehrenbacher doesn't find it too challenging to get through the quarantine. His friends and loved ones have provided constant support.

His mother Joni recently reached out to many of her son's friends and mentors, "asking them to record a short video we can send to Spencer every day," she told Insider. "A new video from someone in his life that means something to him."

"It just feels good to see familiar faces and hear those voices," Fehrenbacher said of the messages. "When I'm feeling good about the whole thing, it's super encouraging."

But some nights he has gone to bed "just thinking about the worst-case scenario of everything," adding that the quarantine has been "a rollercoaster of ups and downs."

Days ago, when he went down to the first level of the ship for a medical screening, he stood near a woman who he thought was very sick.

"You could hear that cough that's deep down in your lungs. I empathized with her and felt so bad," he said. But he also recalled thinking to himself, "Okay, I don't want to be in this room."

Fehrenbacher said he is lucky to be in good company: He is traveling with three friends  a teacher and two fellow graduate students. The four of them share adjacent cabins and a balcony, and they try to spend as much time as they can in the fresh air and sunlight  anything to ward off the worst psychological effects of the quarantine.

But "there's still a big unknown" among Fehrenbacher and his friends, all of whom were tested but haven't heard from authorities about the results. "We're all trying to occupy ourselves with other things, hoping everything will be okay."

"I just want to get confirmation that they've gotten my test and it's come back negative," he said.

Read the original article on Insider
(Natural News) The most difficult thing to do in todays highly mobile global travel society is to control the outbreak of a deadly virus.

That is especially the case when that virus has a lengthy incubation period during which most people show little-to-no signs or symptoms, making cases hard to spot until its too late.

That characterizes the current coronavirus outbreak: A bug that doesnt show itself right away, takes some time to show up, and can actually re-infect people who have already had it.

So, that means the only way to prevent the virus from spreading more rapidly is to keep people who have it or have been exposed to it from coming into contact with unexposed people, especially those crammed into a densely populated urban center like Hong Kong.

As reported by Russia Today, Hong Kong health officials who are already dealing with a rising number of infected people and a city administrator, Carrie Lam, who was slow to seal the countrys borders, quarantined an entire cruise ship after 30 of its crew members tested positive for coronavirus.

The ship, which arrived from Taiwan, belongs to the World Dream cruise company and is carrying 1,800 people. As RT.com reports, currently everyone on board is being tested for the virus as it remains docked.

The news site noted further that it isnt clear when the ships passengers and crew will be cleared to disembark:

Taiwans Maritime and Port Bureau said no one was allowed ashore, after the vessel alerted the authorities that three of its previous passengers had been diagnosed with coronavirus. The passengers in question took a separate five-day cruise from China to Vietnam in late January and were hospitalized after returning to the Chinese city of Nansha.

Globally, more than 25,000 people have been infected, but the vast majority of those are in China. For its part, according to figures published online by the South China Morning Post, only a handful of people in Taiwan have been infected.

Two sets of data

The current strain of coronavirus was previously unknown. Chinese researchers and health officials believe it mutated to humans from an animal, perhaps bats, in Wuhan City, an urban center of about 11 million people near the central part of the country.

More than 500 people have died from the virus, officials said, with all but a couple having occurred on mainland China. One person has died in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines. In all, more than 911 patients have recovered, Russia Today reported.

Meanwhile, Natural News founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reported Wednesday that there are growing indications that China has not been truthful with the world regarding the number of infections and deaths.

Citing a report by Taiwan News, Adams suggested that Chinese government officials may be keeping two sets of books on infections and deaths.

Netizens also noticed that each time the screen with the large numbers appears, it shows a comparison with the previous days data which demonstrates a reasonable incremental increase, much like comparisons of official numbers. This has led some netizens to speculate that Tencent has two sets of data, the real data and processed data, the Taiwan report said.

While published numbers claim some 25,000 infections and 500-plus deaths, Adams  using screen grabs of subsequently deleted data published online  wrote:

[O]bservers have noted that the official numbers reported by the communist Chinese government recently slipped into the real numbers, suddenly showing far higher confirmed infections and deaths: 154,024 infections and 24,589 deaths.

While some may believe that the data entered was merely a typo, Adams noted further that above each number is an increase factor that calculates how much larger current numbers are compared to figures from the previous day. The figures calculate out to much larger numbers than whats being officially reported by Beijing, he wrote.

See his full report here.

Sources include:

NaturalNews.com

TaiwanNews.com

RT.com
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday gave data relating to employment generation to buttress his claim that more than 11 lakh jobs were created during his term in office so far.

Singh pointed out that more than 12 lakh jobs were created, a day after the Akalis questioned his 11 lakh jobs claim made while canvassing votes for Congress candidates during the Delhi assembly poll campaign.

Calling Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and his leaders as a bunch of ignorants, the 77-year-old said they had absolutely no clue what was happening in Punjab.

In their perpetual haste to react to every word uttered by him (chief minister), they had become habitual of putting their foot in their mouth at the drop of a hat, without checking the veracity of their comments, Singh said in a statement here.

It was the SAD that should apologise for once again misleading the people with their brazen, baseless and unfounded lies, he claimed.

On Thursday, the SAD had reportedly said the youth of the state were waiting for the chief minister to release data of 11 lakh jobs that he had claimed to have generated.

To this, Singh said the actual figure for jobs generated since April 1, 2017, was even higher than the 11 lakh mentioned during campaigning for Congress candidates in Delhi.

As per official data available, the number of government jobs generated from April 1, 2017 to December 31, 2019 was 57,905 with3,96,775 under private placements and another 7,61,289 facilitated by his government in the self-employment category, Singh claimed.

For the convenience of Sukhbir and company, let me tell them that these figures total up to 12,15,969, which was considerably higher than 11 lakh earlier mentioned, off the cuff, during the Delhi campaign, the chief minister claimed.

This was in addition to the 20,21,568 households given employment under the MGNREGA scheme, which translated into a whopping 648.26 lakh mandays.

Singh dared the Akalis to release figures for employment in the 10 years of their misrule adding that his government had already done more in three years than they had delivered in a decade, on every important parameter.

Their (SAD's) pathetic attempts to mislead people of Punjab with their shameless lies would not succeed and in fact, they would only plunge the Akalis further into the abyss of political oblivion, the chief minister charged.

Singh said his government was committed to ensuring jobs for all the eligible youth in the state and take its flagship 'Ghar Ghar Rozgar' scheme to its successful culmination.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South Africa: SA companies embark on West African trade mission

South African business people are upbeat ahead of the start of a trade and investment mission to West Africa.

The Director of Basils Business Opportunists, Basil Phupha, said he is looking forward to the trip, as it will provide his company with an excellent opportunity to expand its market to West Africa.

We are currently exporting our agro-processing equipment to neighbouring countries such as Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Lesotho. We are determined to find companies in Ghana and Nigeria that can import our products and distribute them in the two countries and the rest of the sub-region, said Phupha.

The Bloemfontein-based company is optimistic that the Department of Trade and Industrys (dti) Outward Trade and Investment Mission will assist it to tap into the Ghanaian and Nigeria markets.

Basils Business Opportunists is part of a delegation of local companies that will depart for West Africa on Sunday to participate in the Outward Trade and Investment Mission (OTIM).

The OTIM is funded by the dti through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance Scheme, whose objective is to develop export markets for South African products and services.

Deputy Minister Nomalungelo Gina said the objective of the mission is to increase bilateral trade and investment between South Africa and the two West African countries.

Managing Director of AET Africa, Sandiswa Qayi, who participated in last years West Africa OTIM said the trip was beneficial for her company.

Those trips were very valuable for our company, in that I managed to establish good contacts and generated promising leads that will probably see us exporting our products or technology to the two countries.

"This mission could not have come at a more opportune time, as I have set up meetings with the companies that I met last year to discuss the way forward, as well as follow up with potential customers that I shared samples with, she said.

AET Africa manufactures high quality energy efficiency and clean technology products.

CFAM Technologies, a company that manufactures agricultural processing equipment, is also seeking to expand its footprint.

Our objective is to penetrate the West African market and expand our footprint, as we have already exported our products to countries such as Namibia, Botswana, United Kingdom and Canada. We are positive that the trip will yield positive results for our company, said the companys Director Louis Grobler.

The trade mission to Accra in Ghana and Lagos in Nigeria will include trade and investment seminars, business-to-business meetings as well as site visits.

The OTIM will conclude on Friday 14 February. - SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Members of Parliament have headed back to work in the House of Commons. In anticipation of their return, pharmacare advocates like the Canadian Labour Congress, the Heart & Stroke Foundation and others issued a call urging government to put pharmacare at the top of their agenda.

During the fall election, pharmacare was a major campaign promise from the Liberals, the NDP and the Greens. The Advisory Council on the Implementation of National Pharmacare, led by Dr. Eric Hoskins, has provided a clear road map for the rollout of universal public drug coverage. And in Health Minister Hajdus mandate letter she was asked by the prime minister to continue to implement national universal pharmacare.

With all signs pointing to implementation in this mandate, why then are advocates and health-care providers all over the country still worried? The case should be a no-brainer: one-in-five Canadian households includes a family member who has not taken a prescription medicine due to cost during the past year, and with increasing rates of chronic disease, access to medicines will be critical to keep people healthy and out of hospital.

Universal public pharmacare will also be less expensive than our current wasteful systems: study after study, including the governments own numbers, confirm that public pharmacare will save Canadians billions of dollars a year.

And yet, implementation feels uncertain. Minister Hajdu recently cited the federal-provincial-territorial negotiations required to replace the patchwork of current programs into one comprehensive national program as a source of complexity. (Some premiers have mused aloud as to whether pharmacare should even be a priority, given the current funding pressures provinces face with respect to existing programs like hospitals and transit. The difference between pharmacare and these other programs is that over time, national pharmacare will save individual Canadians and provincial governments billions of dollars.) The question is how to get federal and provincial politicians to take the first step together.

Clearly the next hurdle for pharmacare is not a health policy challenge, nor even an economic challenge. Its a political one.

One possibility  the surest way to ensure pharmacare  would be for the federal government to take full financial responsibility for prescription drugs or for a substantial national formulary. As provinces and territories struggle with limited resources, uploading the cost of drugs would free up billions of dollars that could be used to solve problems like hallway health care.

Fully uploading the cost of pharmacare was actually proposed by premiers unanimously in 2004 and ultimately declined by then-Prime Minister Paul Martin. In Ontario alone, uploading the Ontario Drug Program could save Ontario nearly $4 billion per year  well in excess of the extra $1 billion infusion Ontario hospitals are requesting to deal with crowding.

While the Hoskins plan didnt propose a full uploading of all those costs to the federal government, any amount could help cash-strapped provinces desperate to move people out of hospital hallways and invest in better community supports.

A second best alternative, and one that would help dodge tricky negotiations with the provinces  would be for the federal government to work on implementing the institutional building blocks of pharmacare, in hopes that this would generate greater momentum and public support.

This would involve setting up a national drug agency, developing a national formulary or list of drugs to be covered, and beginning to take a stronger position during drug price negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, in order to lower prices. All these steps are necessary but not sufficient to get us where we need to go.

Finally, alongside this infrastructure-building, the federal government could begin to implement universal pharmacare with a coalition of willing provinces and territories. The fact that medicare started in Saskatchewan and then spread across the country is of course a precedent.

Given the political tensions between the federal government and many provincial governments, this may be a practical option, but it is it still second-best, leaving Canadians in the other provinces and territories behind.

With premiers desperate for solutions to their health care woes and supportive opposition parties, there has never been a better political opportunity to do the right thing for millions of Canadians. Lets not take our eye off the ball.
Pittsburgh: In 2003, when SARS was spreading, Edward Zhang was not yet a teenager and living with his parents in Wuhan, China, largely dependent on the morning paper and the nightly news to know what was happening in the next city over.

The world has changed a lot since then. Now, as the coronavirus renders his home city a ghost town, overwhelming hospitals and forcing his friends and family to don masks in their own homes, Zhang is updated constantly despite living over 7,000 miles away, in Pittsburgh.

I might be finding things out faster than my parents, he said, describing a steady stream of videos, photographs and reports from his friends in Wuhan, even information about specific apartments in specific buildings where the coronavirus has apparently struck.

Its a small world after all, a frightening thought if the virus becomes a global pandemic, but a mixed blessing for the scores of Wuhan natives living in Pittsburgh, which has been a sister city of Wuhan for nearly 40 years.

The designation does not mean much officially, beyond the creation of some local partnerships and occasional delegation visits, where ideas about economics and bike-share plans are exchanged. But it does provoke some extra urgency to help out on the part of city leaders in Pittsburgh, who have offered assistance, and certainly on the part of people from Wuhan like Zhang, 28, who works for an online retailer of prescription eyeglasses. Along with several groups in the city, he helped set up an online fundraiser for critical medical supplies that has raised nearly $50,000.

Wuhan is a much bigger city than Pittsburgh, but the two bear a certain resemblance; in an interview, Mayor Bill Peduto of Pittsburgh called Wuhan a postindustrial city that has created a new economy based upon technology and medicine. Both are former steel cities at the confluence of major rivers, and as Pittsburgh had decades ago, Wuhan has recently taken on the heavy task of cleaning up and reinventing itself.

People from Wuhan began settling in Pittsburgh, a city of about 300,000, in the late 1980s. They stay in touch with one another in a WeChat group and formally get together twice a year to talk and eat  particularly the hometown favorite, hot dry noodles. The number of Pittsburghers who hail from Hubei province, of which Wuhan is the capital, is said by some to be around two or three hundred.

I was surprised how big a group there was from Hubei province, said Dr. Jing He, a neuroscience researcher who grew up near Wuhan and arrived in Pittsburgh two and a half years ago.

Like Wuhan, Pittsburgh is a big college and university city. There are nearly 3,000 Chinese students at Carnegie Mellon University, an engineering powerhouse, and nearly 1,900 Chinese students at the University of Pittsburgh, 53 of them from Hubei province. For years, graduate students from Wuhan University taught Chinese at an institute on Pitts campus, although that program was suspended last summer because of visa issues with the State Department.

Many students from Wuhan are in the medical field, often ending up at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a regional health care giant. They were particularly well-prepared to act after hearing the news from home in January.

We told friends and classmates, Hey, we heard theres a problem there, but they said, Everything is normal, said Xiaoming Li, an engineer who grew up in Wuhan but has lived in Pittsburgh for 26 years. That was early on, when people thought the sickness was confined to customers and vendors at a local meat market.

But suddenly the government declared that the virus could be spread by human-to-human contact and sealed off Wuhan, a city of 11 million. What became a matter of concern immediately became a mass emergency. Natives of Wuhan in Pittsburgh, many of whom are friends with the doctors now in Wuhan hospitals, heard dire reports.

They are short of medical supplies, short of doctors, nurses, short of everything, Li said.

Jing He heard the same things  when he heard from people at all. Its very, very scary, he said. My classmate works at a hospital in Wuhan. I try and try to reach my friend but she doesnt reply. I assume she is overwhelmed with all the patients.

Still, this was the advantage of many of those from Wuhan now in Pittsburgh: They personally know the medical professionals who need the masks, gloves and other supplies, so they can send them directly rather than relying on third parties like the Red Cross. A first shipment has already gone out.

Fundraising continues  the owners of the citys Chinese restaurants raised a few thousand dollars at their annual Lunar New Year party  but the challenge is finding enough supplies to buy. Organizers of the fundraiser said American suppliers were reluctant to sell large amounts in case of an outbreak in the United States, where 12 cases of coronavirus had been confirmed as of Thursday evening.

They understand this reluctance: Their other priority is, obviously, to keep the disease from gaining any foothold here. Volunteers within the Chinese community are bringing groceries to people who have returned from China recently and are secluding themselves in voluntary self-quarantine, as institutions around the city are urging.

So far, there are no confirmed cases in Pittsburgh. Zhang has his hands full as it is. Theres already an outbreak in my hometown, he said. I dont want another.

Campbell Robertson@c.2020 The New York Times Company
The single largest drug asset forfeiture investigation in Jackson County's history is now closed.

The forfeited funds will now be used to help protect and serve the community, including supporting law enforcement.

Back in May of 2019, the Jackson County Sheriff's Office made a record-setting drug bust after pulling over Mauricio Humberto Tola II for speeding.

The conclusion of the the investigation determined that Jackson County, West Virginia will get $193,000 in seized assets.

Officials say as dictated by state law, the money will be used for new equipment and training.

Police can now use that money to buy vests, vehicles, weapons and additional training.

Officials say they'll use an extensive paper trail to track how money is used, since they aren't tax dollars.

For previous information regarding this case:

Keep checking WSAZ.com and the WSAZ app for the latest information.
One is a documentary filmmaker, the other works in the public sector. Fate brought them together to light up Chibok, the North-east town ravaged by terrorism, writes Vanessa Obioha.

When Damilola Ogunbiyi first met documentary filmmaker Joel Benson nine years ago, he was just a young lanky man with his camera. At the time, she was the General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. The agency needed someone to produce a documentary and Benson was recommended. She was intrigued by his enthusiasm and passion to deliver on the job that she didn't blink twice in giving him the deal. The rest they say is history. The relationship has blossomed into one of respect and admiration. He calls her 'his madam' and she, a son whom she is very well pleased with.

"I've watched him grow his business from just a one-man camera crew to a team of young filmmakers who are quite dedicated to their craft," she says.

It was Ogunbiyi who pushed Benson to try his hands on virtual reality, an immersive technology that has recently become a powerful communication tool for filmmakers. Benson recalled that at first he was uninterested but Ogunbiyi's words that it will change his game made him consider learning the new skill.

Indeed, the decision turned out to be a life-changing experience for Benson. His virtual reality films have not only fetched him global spotlight but also helped in bringing hope to a community that is almost forgotten.

Early last year, while working on a project in the North-east region, Benson passed through Chibok, the infamous town of the abducted school girls in 2014. There's so much speculated reports about the town and the abduction that the veracity of the incident seemed suspicious. Out of curiosity, Benson decided to seek the truth. He visited the town, searched for victims and survivors and tried to bring their story to light.

Beyond the despair of mothers waiting for their kidnapped children, Benson saw a town stripped of basic necessities of life. The lands were fallow and dry. There were not enough fertilisers to help farmers grow their crops. Worse, the town has been in perpetual darkness since the terrorist group Boko Haram started ravaging the northern region of the country more than a decade ago. Residents had to travel long distances to charge their phones. At night, phone batteries hung on trees like lights on Christmas trees. Only few who could afford small generator sets can enjoy the luxury of light. For most of the residents, charging phones has become a lucrative business.

Benson made up his mind to use his film 'Daughters of Chibok' not only to portray the emotional trauma of parents of the kidnapped girls but also to bring economic salvation to the town.

'Daughters of Chibok' was greeted with ovation. It was first shown to the public on the fifth anniversary of the sad incident, April 14, 2019. It would later be privately screened at British Council in Lagos and further win the prestigious Virtual Reality Award at Venice International Film Festival last year.

The reaction to the film which centered on Yana Galang, mother to one of the kidnapped girls, Rifkatu Yakubu has always been very emotional. At the festival, Benson was praised for reminding the world of the plight of the villagers. Sometimes, the feedback ignites the spirit of altruism. Like in the case of Ogunbiyi. She gently recalls the first time she watched the film.

"'Daughters of Chibok' is a powerful story. The first time I saw the film, I was moved to tears. Being a mother of two young girls, I could not even begin to imagine the pain that these women were going through, not knowing the fate of their missing daughters, and not able to have any form of closure. Thankfully, what this film has done is to bring the plight of these women back to discussion, and now people are asking, 'what can we do?'"

It was the kind of reaction Benson was hoping for, to make people want to reach out and help the poor villagers. Last year, he was able to get some fertilisers donated to the women.

But the biggest gift came towards the tail end of 2019.

"After she (Ogunbiyi)watched the film, she said, 'I must do something about this.' I asked her what she would love to do for them and she asked if they have power in Chibok, I said, 'No, they don't have power'," recalls Benson.

Ogunbiyi pledged to bring light to the city. At first, Benson didn't give her commitment so much thought until he received 120 portable solar kits from her.

"I couldn't believe it but I was so excited and eager to light up Chibok," he recounts enthusiastically.

The solar kits came with a solar panel that is connected to a small solar generator. It has two charging points where they could charge their phones. It also has a radio and a standing fan.

Benson's plan was to first of all lit up the homes of the victims of the kidnapped girls. But with 120 solar kits, the lights couldn't go round all the homes. However Benson ensured that those who needed the light most got the kits.

"We also focused on homes that have children that are still in school; we wanted to link the provision of these solar kits to the ability of these kids to be able to extend their reading hours; we wanted them to read at night."

The joy of seeing their homes lit was overwhelming for the Chibok residents. They stared in awe, elated that at last, their homes were illuminated and the long trek to neighbouring towns to charge their phones were over. But more importantly, children still in schools can now read at night. Prior to that, they usually read with the aid of a torchlight, strapped on their heads.

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One of the things Benson insisted on when delivering the kits was that the youths get trained on installing the kits.

"We told the community leaders to select 10 youths whom they feel are intelligent enough and some that may have technical background. But we insisted that girls should be among the selected youths. So we had four girls and six boys who were trained on how to install the kits. Out of the 10, we also ensured that some of them come from the affected families. It is a way of empowering the youths."

For Ogunbiyi, donating the solar kits was a way of telling the women that they are not forgotten.

"There's so much that can be done to alleviate the pain of these parents, especially the mothers. During my discussions with Joel I learnt that the women of Chibok place a premium on education, especially the education of their daughters. Seeing that they have no access to electricity, and understanding the impact that this has on the ability of their children to study at night, I decided, with the support of a few dedicated young Nigerians, to provide solar home systems with fans to light up the homes of these women, just as a show of support and solidarity; and to let them know that they are truly not forgotten," she says.
Getty Center Museums Free Concert Series Sounds of L.A. Returns

Sounds of L.A., the Gettys annual concert series exploring the citys varied musical landscape, kicks off the 2020 season on January 18. Each month features two concerts by charismatic musicians who combine global influences in unexpected and original ways.

Sounds of L.A. 2020 launches on January 18 and 19 with African stringed-instrument virtuosi 3MA. The group features Ballake Sissoko on kora, Driss El Maloumi on oud, and Rajery on valihaan instrument described as part-zither, part-lute. The three, hailing from Mali, Morocco, and Madagascar, regularly meet to perform together and create new compositions inspired by their respective traditions and deep friendship.

Oakland-based MC rapper, and spoken word artist Ruby Ibarra takes the stage on February 15 and 16. Listeners will hear stories reflecting the lives of immigrants and communities of color in Tagalog and Waray, these languages originate in the Philippines, just like Ibarra. Both are especially percussive languages: perfect for her voice and vision. Shell be joined by contemporary and traditional musicians for an evening illuminating the social power of music.

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Sounds of L.A. closes March 21 and 22 with one of Brazils most acclaimed contemporary musicians, Hamilton de Holanda. He is known for his tour-de-force compositions and stunning command of his instrument the bandolim, or mandolin. Starting his professional career at the tender age of five, de Holanda went on to reinvent the sound, style, and technique of this beloved instrument by adding two extra strings (low Cs).

Sounds of L.A. Schedule

The series is free; a separate reservation is required for each concert. All performances take place in the Harold M. Williams Auditorium at the Getty Center. Parking $15; $10 after 3:00 p.m. For tickets and information visit https://www.getty.edu/360/ .

Sounds of L.A.: 3MA

Saturday, January 18, 2020, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, January 19, 2020, at 4 p.m.

Sounds of L.A.: Ruby Ibarra

Saturday, February 15, 2020, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, February 16, 2020, at 4 p.m.

Sounds of L.A.: Hamilton de Holanda

Saturday, March 21, 2020, at 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 22, 2020, at 4 p.m.

ADVERTISEMENT

Sounds of L.A. is presented in collaboration with the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wanted to solve the dispute around the Northern Territories - a Japanese term for Iturup, Shikotan, Kunashir and Habomai Islands, boost friendly relations between Moscow and Tokyo as well as sign a peace treaty between the two nations.

"I would like to promote the joint work to find a mutually acceptable solution as well as move forward the talks step by step. I will firmly seek to solve the territorial dispute and sign the peace treaty," he said.

"First of all, it is important to boost friendly and trust-based relations between the peoples of Japan and Russia so that the four islands will become the islands of friendship," Sputnik cited Abe as saying.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:16:26|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has hired a spray plane from the Desert Locust Control Organization for Eastern Africa, a regional pest and vector management organization, in readiness to fight off the invasion of desert locusts, a senior official said on Thursday.

"The government has taken all precautionary measures against the locusts that have already destroyed tens of hundreds of farm crops in Kenya," Japhet Hasunga, the Minister for Agriculture, told a news conference in the capital Dodoma.

He said the plane was on readiness to spray pesticides on the destructive locusts, appealing to the public to immediately report to authorities any signs of the locusts.

Hasunga said Katavi and Kigoma regions had signs of breeding grounds for the locusts.

On Jan 30, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said the east African nation has taken several measures to fight off invasion of the desert locusts from neighboring countries.

"Authorities have already contacted their counterparts in Kenya to see how the country can fight off the invasion of the locusts that feed on food crops and vegetation," Majaliwa told the National Assembly in Dodoma. Enditem
On the eve before the first official day of New York Fashion Week, luxury jewelry house Bulgari pulled out all the stops with an epic party for its new B.zero1 Rock line filled with surprise performances by all your faves.

Related | Inside the Coolest Events and Biggest Parties During NYFW

The highlight of the night was seeing Ciara, who announced last month she's expecting her third child, emerge in a leather moto-jumpsuit while give us some killer choreography and vocals. ("Level Up," "Like a Boy" and "1, 2 Step" were among the biggest crowd-pleasers.)

Ciara at the Bvlgari B.zero1 Rock Party

In addition to other performances by Becky G and Diplo, famous faces like Zendaya, Lily Aldridge and British actress Naomi Scott also took to the stage to announce their new roles as ambassadors for Bulgari's aforementioned B.zero1 Rock collection. (The new jewels consist of gold and rose gold rings and necklaces featuring diamond studs and ceramic detailing.)

Lily Aldridge, Zendaya and Naomi Scott onstage at the Bvlgari B.zero1 Rock Party

The other slew of VIPs who joined the festivities include Alexander Wang, Alton Mason, Tyler Cameron, Jacob Elordi and Indya Moore, who just finished shooting the sequel to the horror flick Escape Room. "I'm looking forward to exploring a little this fashion week and playing dress up," says Moore, who wore a black sheer pleated dress with a plunging neckline to the event.

"The necklaces are so great," they say when asked about the new Bulgari collection. "I can connect them to make them longer. I also love the rings. I don't normally wear rings but [these] are really beautiful."



See below for more photos from last night's red carpet.

Indya Moore
Srinagar, Feb 7 : The Nagrota encounter case in which three militants were killed is likely to be handed over to the National Investigating Agency (NIA), sources said on Friday.

A policeman was also injured in the encounter that took place on January 31 after police intercepted a truck carrying the militants at a toll plaza at Nagrota on the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

The truck was driven by Pulwama resident Sameer Dar, a cousin of Adil Dar. Adil was the suicide bomber in the Pulwama attack on February 14, 2019.

Three overground workers were arrested in the Nagrota case, and a large quantity of arms and ammunition seized from the slain militants.
A global shipping group is being sued in the High Court after one of its 65,000-ton cruise liners ploughed into a tourist boat in a Venice canal last year.

Panicked passengers fell on to the quay as the 1,000-cabin MSC Opera smashed head first into the smaller River Countess in June, crushing its bow and hospitalising two women.

Tourists could be heard screaming and shouting 'hold on' in video footage as passengers fell off the side of the river cruiser.

Panicked passengers fell on to the quay as the 1,000-cabin MSC Opera smashed head first into the smaller River Countess in June

Now Uniworld, the owner of the River Countess, is suing MSC Cruises after it refused to pay 9.7million in damages.

The smaller firm was forced to refund 1,600 customers whose trips were cancelled, and repair the River Countess. It also paid compensation, hospital bills and repatriation costs for injured passengers from Australia and New Zealand.

Uniworld's chief executive Ellen Bettridge said: 'We do not like to litigate but have been compelled to do so based on the stonewalling and delays by MSC.

'They are not being responsible for the environment or for their passengers.

'It has hurt our reputation having the video of the crash played out over and over again, it's damaging for our brand  it's unnerving.'

The crash happened as the MSC Opera, built in 2004, was preparing to dock in the Giudecca Canal in Venice, the waterway which leads to St Mark's Square.

The ship lost control after a steel cable that tied it to a tugboat snapped. MSC will now be expected to respond to Uniworld's claim via the court.

The crash happened as the MSC Opera, built in 2004, was preparing to dock in the Giudecca Canal in Venice (pictured), the waterway which leads to St Mark's Square

MSC is the world's second-largest shipping company, operating in 155 countries, and is owned by Italian billionaire Gianluigi Aponte.

Its fast-growing cruise arm turns over 2.2billion per year and in recent years it announced a 7.6billion investment for 11 cruise liners.

Last month it was rated as the worst cruise line for the second year in a row by consumer champion Which? and in December it was slated after another of its vessels, the Grandiosa, crashed into a pier in Palermo, Sicily.

Uniworld, a California-based company specialising in high-end river cruises, has 19 boats which carry just 130 passengers each. The ten-day Milan to Venice ten-day cruise costs between 3,000 and 9,000 per person.

Its parent, The Travel Corporation, is owned by the South African Tollman family and has a stable of 43 travel brands, including the Red Carnation Hotels in the UK.

In 2008 chairman Stanley Tollman was forced to pay 80m in tax to the US government after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for which his sentence was one day's unsupervised probation.

MSC Cruises said: MSC Cruises has been working constructively with all parties and their legal advisors since shortly after the incident, and has been facilitating a close cooperation between those involved including their insurers.

'As liability in this matter is still under investigation by the responsible authorities it is inappropriate to comment further at this stage. MSC Cruises is committed to continuing to cooperate fully in order to resolve this matter.
The brother of Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi told police he would have 'reported it to (his) mother' had he suspected his sibling's murderous intent, the Old Bailey heard Friday.

Hashem Abedi said he had no involvement in the 'instigation, preparation or commission' of the 2017 attack and added he was 'shocked' when he discovered his older brother detonated his suicide bomb on May 22 2017, killing 22 and injuring hundreds of others as thousands of men, women and children left the Ariana Grande pop concert.

Hashem, 22, was arrested in Libya - where he was allegedly tortured - the day after the atrocity before being sent back to the UK to face police questions amid prosecution claims he was complicit in sourcing and stockpiling components for the bomb.

Hashem Abedi denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions

He denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors, and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

Hashem condemned his brother's action in a statement to police made last summer and read before the jury at the Old Bailey on Friday, saying he did not think his brother 'had it in him'.

The statement, read by prosecutor Duncan Penny QC, said: 'I deny any involvement in the terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017. I was not involved in the instigation, preparation or commission of it.

'Had I had any idea of it I would have reported it to my mother initially and then to other family members to prevent it from happening.

'I was shocked my brother had done this and felt bad for everybody. I could never have envisaged that my brother had it in him to do this to innocent people.'

The 22 victims of the Manchester Arena attack in May 2017. (top row left to right) Off-duty police officer Elaine McIver, 43, Saffie Roussos, 8, Sorrell Leczkowski, 14, Eilidh MacLeod, 14, (second row left to right) Nell Jones, 14, Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15, Megan Hurley, 15, Georgina Callander, 18, (third row left to right), Chloe Rutherford,17, Liam Curry, 19, Courtney Boyle, 19, and Philip Tron, 32, (fourth row left to right) John Atkinson, 26, Martyn Hett, 29, Kelly Brewster, 32, Angelika Klis, 39, (fifth row left to right) Marcin Klis, 42, Michelle Kiss, 45, Alison Howe, 45, and Lisa Lees, 43 (fifth row left to right) Wendy Fawell, 50 and Jane Tweddle, 51

Hashem declined to answer detectives' questions but instead issued the prepared statement through his solicitor setting out his denial, the court heard.

The former electrical installation student said he was a practising Muslim, did not hold extremist views, and did not support so-called terror group Islamic State.

He accepted that he had asked various individuals to buy sulphuric acid, a key ingredient for explosives, on behalf of his brother.

He stated: 'I asked him why he was getting it from different people and he told me it was because companies have a maximum limit they can sell.'

Hashem, who had been in Libya in the weeks leading up the blast, said he had been 'subjected to torture' during more than two years of being held by militia men.

He said in his statement: 'During the last two years I have been held in Libya by the militia and subjected to torture. It has been a difficult time for me for a number of reasons.

'I could never comprehend that my brother would have committed such a devastating attack, taking not only his own life but that of 22 others and injuring many more.

'I have been held in a very small dark cell for two years and almost two months. I have also been tortured.

'I am relieved to be back in the UK and wish to assist in this investigation as much as I can.

'I have asked my solicitor to prepare a statement for me as I wish to explain myself in the best way possible and assist the police as much as I am able to.'

The materials obtained by the bomber and his brother were sufficient to construct an 'extremely large bomb', Duncan Penny QC, prosecuting, told the Old Bailey, on Friday.

Nearly 3,000 nuts were recovered from the blast which, along with other metal fragments, weighed over 30kg.

'The vast majority of the injuries suffered by the victims of this atrocity, both fatal in respect of those who died, and non-fatal in respect of those who suffered terrible injury, were caused by the shrapnel which was forced in all directions by the blast,' Mr Penny said.

An image was shown to the jury of the room, 15 seconds before Salman Abedi set off the device at 10.31pm, as parents and children wandered about.

The court room went silent as a graphic was shown of the bomb that Hashem Abedi had allegedly helped his brother, Salman, build.

CCTV was also played to the jury showing Salman Abedi as he walked onto the tram platform at Shudehill Metrolink Station at 8.14pm and sat on the platform while, at 8.19pm and 8.23pm, he called a phone number in Libya.

He caught a tram the short distance to Victoria Station, getting off the tram at 8.30pm, carrying the rucksack

CCTV handout photo dated 22/05/17 issued by Greater Manchester Police of Salman Abedi (location not given) on the night he carried out the Manchester Arena terror attack

The court previously heard that the brothers allegedly duped friends and associates into helping to buy components of TATP, while switching vehicles and phones to ensure their actions went undetected.

They used an empty house to take delivery of the chemicals ordered on Amazon using others' bank details and fake emails, it was alleged.

There was hushed silence in court on Friday as the prosecutor took jurors through Salman Abedi's final movements, including the seconds before he detonated the bomb.

Later, some of the victims' family members were comforted as details of their loved ones' lives were read out by the prosecutor.

Mr Penny said the 'dreadful events' that evening set in motion an 'enormous police investigation', with 'important findings made' relating to Hashem.

Concluding the prosecution's opening, Mr Penny said: 'And so, ladies and gentlemen, the Crown suggest, it is plain that Hashem Abedi's connection to the events in the Arena on May 22 2017 could not be clearer.

'At all stages of this dreadful chain of events, and in all locations, even through these little metal cylinders found in the basement of Granby Row (where Salman had allegedly rented in the days leading up to the blast), his presence and his involvement with this, the most monstrous of projects, loom large.'

Outlining the hours up to the attack, prosecutor Duncan Penny QC told the trial how Salman made final preparations for the bomb and visited the Arena earlier in the evening, before returning home and waiting to strike.

He later journeyed to the arena and waited for concert-goers to leave before detonating the bomb at 10:31 p.m., causing fatal and serious injuries to innocent bystanders and decapitating himself in the process.

Mr Penny said: 'As you know, the blast and shrapnel contained within the device killed 22 bystanders and caused the catalogue of injuries about which you have heard.'

The 22 Victims of the Manchester bombing The 22 people who were killed were: Elaine McIver, 43,

Saffie Roussos, eight

Sorrell Leczkowski, 14

Eilidh MacLeod, 14

Nell Jones, 14

Olivia Campbell-Hardy, 15

Megan Hurley, 15

Georgina Callander, 18

Chloe Rutherford, 17

Liam Curry, 19

Courtney Boyle, 19

Philip Tron, 32

John Atkinson, 28

Martyn Hett, 29

Kelly Brewster, 32

Angelika Klis, 39

Marcin Klis, 42

Michelle Kiss, 45

Alison Howe, 44

Lisa Lees, 43

Wendy Fawell, 50

Jane Tweddle, 51 Advertisement

Jurors were then told about the 22 victims, aged between eight and 51, who were killed in the blast.

The prosecution say Hashem was 'just as guilty' as his brother by assisting and encouraging the suicide bomber.

Mr Penny said Salman was carrying a paint tin filled with the homemade explosive TATP, placed inside a money tin, and surrounded by a large amount of shrapnel, comprising screws and nuts.

The device - weighing an estimated 36 kilos - was then packed into a rucksack, ready for detonation, Mr Penny said.

Jurors were shown an artist's interpretation of the rucksack and the bomb contained within it during the hearing on Friday.

They used an empty house to take delivery of the chemicals ordered on Amazon using others' bank details and fake emails, it was alleged.

After the bombing, police found a Nissan Micra parked up in the Rusholme area of Manchester containing some bags of screws and nails handled by the defendant, and more than 10 litres of sulphuric acid in the boot and traces of TATP, the court was told.

Mr Penny said Hashem was returned to the UK from Libya in July 2019 and was later charged over the atrocity.

Hashem denies 22 counts of murder, one count of attempted murder encompassing the injured survivors and conspiring with his brother to cause explosions.

The trial, which is due to last for eight weeks, was adjourned until Monday morning.
WHEN: Today, Friday, February 7, 2020

WHERE: CNBC's "Squawk on the Street"  Live from Washington D.C.

The following is the unofficial transcript of a FIRST ON CNBC interview with Vice President Mike Pence and CNBC's Wilfred Frost on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" (M-F 9AM  11AM) today, Friday, February 7th. The following is a link to video of the interview on CNBC.com: https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/02/07/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-vice-president-mike-pence.html.

All references must be sourced to CNBC.

SARA EISEN: Let's get over to what looks like a foggy looking Washington D.C. Our Wilfred Frost is at the White House, along with the Vice President. Wilfred, take it away.

WILFRED FROST: Sara, good morning to you. Thank you very much. And our thanks, in particular, to the Vice President for having us here today. It's a pleasure to be here.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Welcome to the White House, Wilf.

WILFRED FROST: Well, what a week it's been. Great timing to be here. When you consider the, the mayhem of Iowa for the Democrats, the success of the State of the Union, the impeachment acquittal, and today's yet again strong jobs number that we're going to dive into in more detail, what's the mood like here in the White House?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, look. This has been a great week for America. It's been a great week for President Donald Trump. Thanks to the President's leadership, we're in the middle of a booming American economy. We've rebuilt our military, we appointed a record number of judges to our Federal Courts of Appeals, we are respected in the world again, the Senate acquitted the President of the United States, and now a job report that reflects, not only 225,000 jobs, but people coming into the workforce. The labor participation rate tells the story. The American people see that, thanks to the President's leadership, cutting taxes, rolling back regulation, unleashing American energy, but also securing historic trade deals, the USMCA Phase One with China, this economy is working for working Americans. And we've seen more than three and a half million people come into the workforce. And that's reflected in that report today. So, it's a great week for America, and it's a great tribute to the leadership and the vision of President Donald Trump.

WILFRED FROST: And jobs and unemploymentis that top of the list for you, Mr. Vice President? Most important?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I think for this president, it's always about the safety and security of the American people first. That's why, in the last month, you saw the President take decisive action to respond to violence. One American life was lost at the hands of Iranian backed militias. This president ordered airstrikes on five militia air bases in Iraq. First time in 10 years. And then, when we had the opportunity to take out the most dangerous terrorists in the world, Qassem Soleimani, this president acted without hesitation. And even after the missile strike by Iran, their response, no American casualties, Iran is standing down, and the news reports today that we took out another terrorist leader in Yemen. So, it's always first about national security and the safety of the American people. The President's strong action on the Coronavirus to protect the health the American people. But, right after that, here in these hallways, Wilf, you're absolutely right: it's about jobs, jobs, jobs. And, after eight years of the last administration that thought we can tax and borrow and bail our way back to a growing economy, this president put common sense, American principles into work. He used what he in Davos called the American model, the free market model of less taxes. less regulation, more affordable energy and fair trade. And the American economy is booming.

WILFRED FROST: The economy, certainly the numbers are very strong and the unemployment numbers, in particular, very impressive. I wonder whether you feel though a little bit of the gloss of that impressiveness needs to be removed because of the deficit? The size of the deficit and the direction that it's heading.

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, we saw in the last administration, a doubling of the national debt. But we also saw an American economy that wasn't growing by more than 2%. It was the slowest economic recovery since the Great Depression. And the President came into office and he said, First and foremost, we have to restore growth. That's how we will deal with the long-term fiscal challenges facing our country. And deficits and debt are right in line. But it's first about getting this economy moving again. And we really do believe the trajectory of this economy, we're going to end the next year in the 3% range, which is what President Trump said back on the campaign trail in 2016. And day after day, advancing the policies that he promised the American people against unprecedented resistance and obstruction by the Democrats on Capitol Hill. It has been delivering and why this economy is working for every American. Especially, Wilf, for working Americans. You know, as I travel around the country, I go to meetings, large and small, and I have hardworking Americans coming up to me every day and just saying, Tell the president we appreciate what he's doing. It's making a difference in our community. People are going back to work. And this really is a blue-collar boom.

WILFRED FROST: Deficit, as a percentage of GDP, though, has ticked up each year this first-term. Would you like to see it as a focus for the second-term, if you will want to change the direction of that?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I think the President has been very clear. And we've sharpened our pencils on our budgets, and we'll continue to do that. And in a second-term we'll continue to address those issues. But President Trump really believes that the real long-term solution to the fiscal challenges in Washington D.C. is making sure that the budget of every American is growing. And you know. real income, after tax income for working families has actually increased by $5,000 a year in the last three years. So. the President's going to stay focused on a growing American economy. And once we get this economy rolling, we're going to continue to hold Congress to account. And we're going to work real hard, not just to get President Donald Trump four more years in the White House. But we're going to make sure that we have a Republican Senate, and a Republican House to keep America growing and to deal with those long-term fiscal challenges.

WILFRED FROST: Let's talk about the stock market Mr. Vice President, record highs of the clothes again yesterday and clearly. Another example of the strong economy this morning. Is there a belief here in the White House that the two are very closely linked?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, we within the stock market is just a reflection of consumer confidence and the confidence of the of investors around America. You know, the market actually was up over 1000 points over the last several days. And I think that that's all a reflection of the fact that everything President Trump said in the State of the Union address is being reflected all across the country. Businesses large and small are feeling it. And we're seeing growth in this economy. And, and I think you have to you have to give the President's strong stand on trade a lot of credit for that, as well. He drove a hard bargain. We renegotiated our trading relationship with Canada and Mexico. The USMCA is now signed into law. We think it's going to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. And we think very soon it's also going to be reflected in this economy. The Phase One deal with China, and negotiations go on to deal with some of the larger structural issues, we think is also going to greatly benefit, not just agriculture, but it's going to benefit businesses as we've begun to deal with some of those structural issuesintellectual property, forced technology transfers. The President spoke to President Xi last night and those discussions are ongoing, even as China deals with the heartbreaking crisis of Coronavirus.

WILFRED FROST: How have you felt that China has dealt with that Coronavirus? And have you been a little more reserved, perhaps, on criticism of the initial sharing of information because of the warmer relationship off the back of Phase One?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well we think that China has demonstrated an unprecedented level of transparency. And not just with the United States but with the world community. And in their discussion last night, the President and President Xi discussed increased cooperation. They discussed the role of the World Health Organization. I mean, the loss of life, the Coronavirus that is impacting people of China, and fortunately, a small number of people in the United States to-date is heartbreaking. But we stand ready to work with China to provide them any and all support. The President made that clear last night to President Xi.

WILFRED FROST: 11 Americans among the 61 diagnosed on the cruise ship off the coast of Japan. That That aside, are you confident that the threat of this virus, as it relates to Americans here has peaked and is now declining?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, out of an abundance of caution, the President took unprecedented steps to end airline travel and limit access from China to the United States. And we were encouraged by the results were encouraged by the numbers. But we met late yesterday with leaders from the CDC, we got the latest briefing. Our team is going to continue to lean into that. We think that the threat here in the United States remains fairly low because of President Trump's decisive action. Again, putting the health and safety of the American people first. But last night, President Trump also made it clear that the United States of America is ready, willing and able to deploy resources with the world health organization to help China address this crisis.

WILFRED FROST: Let's pivot back to the trade deal with China. Mr. Vice President, you and the President had been very critical in the passing of U.S. companies that have outsourced their production to China too readily or sought to make sales there in a tradeoff for access or information. Does the Phase One trade deal now mean that US companies can go all out again to seek profits in China?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, the Phase One trade deal gave some tariff relief, but it was only the tariffs that have been imposed since last fall. I mean, the vast majority of our tariffs remain in place with and that's because we have serious and long-term issues that still need to be addressed. The President's made that very, very clear. With President Xi and with all of our negotiators, we think that it's a work in progress. But look, the President said early in this administration, we arrived, half of our international trade deficit was with China. It was extraordinary. But I remember in early meetings, the President, the President sat down with Chinese officials, Liu He, the first time that he was in the Oval Office and spoke to the president. And he said, Look, the era of economic surrender is over. I don't I don't want to talk about what happened in the past. The President's been openly critical of the policies of past administrations, in both parties. But we're beginning to see China's step up, be willing to take steps. In fact, the announcement yesterday of $75 billion in tariff relief wasn't even a part of the Phase One trade deal. We think it gives evidence that that China is beginning to step forward, take the actions necessary. But we're going to continue to stand firm. The American people can be confident the President is going to continue to put American workers, American jobs, first. We're going to stand strong on China, and we're going to continue to insist that China adopt, not only the more open market for U.S. goods, but also that they adopt the kind of structural reforms that have threatened intellectual property, resulted in intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, those changes have to happen for us to truly have fair and reciprocal relationship with China in the long-term.

WILFRED FROST: How disappointed were you, Mr. Vice President, that the British decided to grant access to Huawei to that 5G network?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I think the President's been very clear. Secretary of State Pompeo reiterated it this week. The United States is very disappointed that the United Kingdom has decided to go forward with Huawei for a portion of their information--

WILFRED FROST: One report suggested -- the President was apoplectic with fury. Is the gist of that accurate?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, I never, never comment on the President's private conversations with me or for others. But we were profoundly disappointed because look at when I went at the President's direction in September, I met with Prime Minister Johnson I told him the moment the UK is out of Brexit, we were willing to begin to negotiate a free trade arrangement with the UK. And now the UK is out of Brexit. Our teams have begun that process to work, but we just don't believe that, that utilizing the assets the technology of Huawei is consistent with the security or privacy interest of the UK of the United States. And it remains a real issue between our two countries.

WILFRED FROST: Is it a deal breaker on a trade deal?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, we'll see. We'll see if it is, but we'll continue to make it very, very clear the President has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Johnson. And we, are anxious to build our economic ties. But we have made it clear to the Prime Minister Johnson and to officials in the UK that we that as we expand opportunities to build out 5G across this country, the FCC just announced a new arrangement that we think is going to catalyze the expansion of 5g technology. We want to see, we want to see our companies meet the needs in the United States and UK and among all of our allies without the compromise of privacy, and the compromise of security that necessarily comes with Huawei and control by the Chinese Communist Party.

WILFRED FROST: On that note, the Attorney General said yesterday the U.S. should invest in companies like Ericsson and Nokia to help them catch up with Huawei in terms of 5G technology. Is that is that a realistic option in the short-term?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: We have great respect for Attorney General Barr. But we believe the best way forward is what Ajit Pai announced just over the last several days, the FCC has a plan for dealing with the spectrum that we think is going to make 5G much more rapidly available all across the country. And that's the plan the President has endorsed and will be carrying forward we can we can expand 5g especially expand 5G to rural areas of this country by using the power of the free market and American companies. And the United States and our allies around the world can meet those needs ourselves.

WILFRED FROST: One quick final question on the events of this week, Mr. Vice President, which I wanted to focus on was on Senator Romney decided to vote against the President. He said he felt it was his duty to do so. And he said quote, he had an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it. Clearly, you disagreed with his vote. Can you forgive his motivation?

VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Well, look, I don't question his faith, I just question his judgment. We couldn't be more grateful for all the members of the House and the Senate, who not only stood by President Trump and stood by the presidency, stood by the Constitution and rejected this partisan impeachment, saw it for what it was look at the facts and acquitted the President of the United States this week in the United States Senate. You saw the President yesterday thanking those individual members. And we will stay focused on the gratitude that this President this administration feels for all those who saw through this partisan impeachment, the sham investigation, sorry for what it was. But the remarkable thing when you think about the progress, that the President celebrated in the State of the Union Address 225,000 jobs in the January report that came out today. This president did all of that over the last three years in the midst of unprecedented obstruction resistance, continuous investigations, recriminations, but as I said just an hour after the acquittal was voted in the Senate. The good news is, it's over America. And the President is right back to work today, just as he's been every day of this administration, working for a stronger, more prosperous America.

WILFRED FROST: Well, Mr. Vice President, congratulations on another strong jobs number. And thank you very much for having me today.

For more information contact:

Jennifer Dauble

CNBC

t: 201.735.4721

m: 201.615.2787

e: jennifer.dauble@nbcuni.com

Emma Martin

CNBC

t: 201.735.4713

m: 551.275.6221

e: emma.martin@nbcuni.com
There is another way his strategy could help him. In 2016, he won Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin partly because black voters turned out in lower numbers than they had when Obama was running. He doesnt need African Americans to vote for him. He can also win by getting them to vote for no one.
David Barnard from Bolton, a highways worker and musician, is the unlikely star of a new advert in which he gets to meet Boris Johnson.

In the ad, Barnard explains why he broke the habit of a lifetime and switched his vote from Labour to Conservative.

It's a simple message: he wants his own business one day, wants to work hard and be rewarded and felt 'the Conservative Party was really speaking to what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be in the next five to ten years'.

Tough task ahead: Boris is brilliant at popping out from behind screens to woo voters

It's a clever ad, and the message is one echoed by first-time Tory voters around the country, from Bolton in the North West to Newcastle in the North East.

Before Barnard finds out that Boris has been hiding behind the screen while he was being filmed, he adds that he looks forward to seeing how Boris 'takes the chance' to help people like him. Barnard from Bolton has hit the nail on the head.

The challenge facing Boris and Chancellor Sajid Javid is whether they get what Barnard and his fellow switchers are saying. And will they remember why voters switched?

The signs so far are not good. Sure, there are plenty of grand projects in the pipeline for roads, rail and the NHS, which are important. But where are the pro-enterprise reforms promised as part of the election pledges?

Like most voters around the country, Red-Wall voters rejected socialist Corbynism because they want fair but lower and simpler taxes, and an environment that encourages them to be aspirational and create wealth.

Yet to date, the only two tax changes being mooted suggest the Treasury has lost the plot. The first plan is to abolish entrepreneurs' relief, an incentive seen as a relief for the already rich and one that serves no purpose. This is nonsense.

Entrepreneurs' relief allows business owners to pay a lower rate of capital gains tax  10 per cent rather than 20 per cent  on the first 10million when they sell their business, so long as they own at least 5 per cent of the company when they sell. Abolishing the relief would raise around 2billion, peanuts in the scheme of things. Critics argue it does nothing to foster start-ups.

It's true that most entrepreneurs do not start businesses because of the relief  that's not in the nature of their psyche.

But what critics forget is that most entrepreneurs are of the serial type. They are typically the angels and founders who invest in the next generation of new businesses, providing more jobs and wealth.

And they are hopping mad about the Treasury's plans, as is most of the City, disappointed that a supposedly free-market government doesn't understand what drives growth. You have only to look at how so many dynamic companies, created in cities such as Cambridge and Oxford, have been financed by the same serial businessmen and women to see how the money roundabout works.

There's another important element to entrepreneurs' relief which has been missed. This is the Enterprise Management Incentive scheme, which allows start-ups with fewer than 250 staff and 30million in assets to use the scheme to offer workers share options.

Raising money for start-ups is famously tough, so having a share scheme to attract bright brains and stop them being lured by the likes of Google is vital.

The second tax reform is the controversial IR35 rule, which is being introduced in April. This is designed to limit tax avoidance through what's called 'disguised employment'. The aim is to make companies which have off-payroll workers, but who work mainly for one company, taxed at the same rate as employees.

'The only two tax changes being mooted suggest the Treasury has lost the plot', says Pagano

Until now, contractors have had to sort out their own tax affairs. But from April, the law changes so the onus falls on companies to assess the status of their workers.

This is no small beer. Around 60,000 companies in the UK use up to 200,000 self-employed workers, which include freelancers, contractors and consultants. Many companies will want to turn them into staff, others will not.

Not surprisingly, the change is causing an outcry among freelancers, worried it will lead to reduced earnings as tax and NI are taken at source. The trade body, IPSE, says freelancer confidence is at a six-year low and wants the changes stopped until the Treasury holds a proper review.

Boris might be brilliant at popping out from behind screens to woo voters. And the Chancellor may have worked as a City banker. But that does not mean that either of them understand enterprise, or the animal spirits of people such as Barnard.

They would be foolish to ignore why so many new  and old  voters lent them their support in the election.
The 1.2-million Canadians who self-identified as Black on the 2016 census also identified with more than 200 ethnicities and came from 170 different countries of birth. Cogitate on that for a while.

In short, they are a mixed-up bunch  a cornucopia of mankind in a basket of Blackness.

So you can take a wild stab and try to talk Jamaican to the next Black person you see on the street  Yeah, mon. Wha-a-gwaan  but chances are increasing that you might embarrass yourself, whether youre Black or white.

I cant tell you how often I sit in a subway car and watch my brothers and sisters  alien and foreign in dress and language and culture and experience  and wonder whats he thinking or whats she seeing when they look at me who, on the surface, looks like them.

The skin were in so defines us, classifies us, stereotypes us  self-imposed or not  that it masks the complexities that make us tick. And thats just for Black people who present as Black. My wife is still fussed by people who stare at her, the gears turning in their heads, eyes narrowing, trying to place her on the colour spectrum, and one venturing to ask, What are you?

Yeah, Jamaican Black in multiracial skin will subject you to that.

If theres an identified group of Canadians who could do with some homogeneity, its Blacks. The majority of Blacks among us  with a history of dislocation, servitude, denigration, family dismantling, and centuries of the Black holocaust called the maafa, marked by the Atlantic slave trade  would best be served by a unifying religion or culture or association.

Instead, what you have is a free-for-all, a diversity so diverse it defies  or, at least, confounds  codification. The African diaspora has wide and long tentacles  a function of normal human migration, yes, but particularly the trade in human flesh for slave labour throughout the European imperialistic realm.

Consider that three out of every 10 Black people in Canada reported having more than one ethnic or cultural origin. And which were the most frequently reported ethnic origins among the Black population? There were the obvious ones  Jamaican, Haitian, Somali and Nigerian  but the top 10 also included French, Ethiopian and, yes, Scottish. Not sure what that says about the omnipresent Scots, but there it is.

Blacks are just as likely as whites to speak English at home, but a higher percentage Blacks speak French at home (28 per cent) than the total population (23 per cent.

Not surprisingly, Toronto has the largest Black population in the country  442,015 reported in 2016. Thats 37 per cent of all the Blacks in Canada  but the GTAs share of Blacks has dropped from 47 per cent in 2001.

The fastest-growing Black populations in Canada reside in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, Lethbridge and Moncton. By 2016, nine in 10 Black people lived in a Canadian city, compared to 71 per cent for the general population. The city regions with the most Blacks are, in order, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa-Gatineau, Edmonton and Calgary  each with at least 50,000.

While the Black presence is largest in Toronto, the group is still a small minority, with 7.5 Blacks for every 100 Torontonians. Viewed as a percentage of the population, Blacks in Calgary and Edmonton have a larger footprint than Blacks in Hamilton or Halifax.

While six of every 10 Black Canadian live in Ontario, it is in the Atlantic Provinces where the Black roots go deepest. The vast majority of Black Nova Scotians (21,910) and New Brunswick residents (6,995) were born in Canada. In New Brunswick, for example close to a third of the Black population has French as their first official language spoken, which is similar to the overall provincial rate.

Quebec has the second largest Black population in Canada  with 319,230 Blacks in 2016  more than doubled the 131,970 reported in 1996. Those born outside of Canada are most likely to be from Haiti, followed by Cameroon, Congo, Cote dIvoire, Senegal and France.

Closest to home, yes, one in three Black Ontarians has Jamaican roots. Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Somalia, Ghana and Ethiopia were the other five most frequently reported. Maybe, its sometimes lost on us that half of Ontarios Blacks were born here.

Canada has a significant population of Black people, with roots dating to the 1600s, before the British. That population has been fuelled by waves of immigrants from the Caribbean, Jamaica and Haiti at the forefront, and lately by a rush from African countries, many with economic means far above the early immigrant from the Caribbean, but, among them, a number of refugees. Not to mention the children whose home is the Great White North, not their parents.

It short, a Black History Month profile of a community that stubbornly pushes back against stereotypes.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2020) - Revelo Resources Corp. (TSXV: RVL) ("Revelo" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that a review of its exploration strategy has concluded that key changes are required, centered on exploration of the Company's gold portfolio, while leveraging the copper portfolio through partners and spinouts. As a result, Revelo intends to initiate a series of initiatives as outlined below.

The Company will repay $2.23 million in 3 rd party debt from the expected proceeds of the sale of 20 royalties to EMX Royalty Corp (US$1.5 million - see news release dated January 20, 2020) and the sale of marketable securities held by the Company.

The Company will consolidate all its issued and outstanding common shares with ten (10) pre-consolidation shares being exchanged for one (1) post-consolidated share.

The Company will write off certain debt and settle remaining debt totalling $3.8 million to insiders of the Company as follows: Chairman of the Company to write-off $513,000 in accrued fees owed to companies controlled by him; Chairman to convert $2.36 million in cash loans to the Company into shares; CEO to convert $373,000 in fees accrued over 30 months into shares; Directors and other consultants to convert $550,000 in accrued fees and cash loans into shares.

The foregoing cumulative debt, after write-offs, of $3.28 million will be converted at $0.15 (post-consolidation) per share resulting in 21,886,576 shares being issued. Shareholder approval will be required to convert portions of the Chairman's and CEO's debt.

The Company will continue to reduce corporate and exploration costs. The Chairman has waived all fees since January 2019; the CEO has reduced his fees by 50% effective December 2019; all compensation to the board has been waived since January 2019; the Exploration Manager in Chile agreed to a reduction of pay by 50% effective since May 2019; and further cost reductions continue to be made to overheads in Canada and Chile.

The Company will carry out a private placement financing in the near term, the terms of which will be announced once determined.

Pro-forma shares outstanding (post-consolidation and debt settlement, and prior to raising of capital) will be 38,627,079 shares.

Story continues

Over the past three years, a combination of cash loans and accrued fees from management, together with loans from Term Oil Inc. and EMX Royalty Corp., has provided the capital for Revelo to operate. These actions were taken during a period of subdued equity markets in order for the Company to protect and preserve its property portfolio, as well as to continue pursuing its business model in terms of generating joint-venture agreements and selling royalty interests.

EXPLORATION STRATEGY GOING FORWARD AND PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

After an extensive review of its business, the Company has decided to abandon its reliance on third-party funding for exploration of its projects and will now focus on sole-funded exploration of its gold portfolio. Additionally, Revelo will look to create value for its shareholders from its copper portfolio through partnerships and spinouts where we can direct or influence the exploration initiatives.

Once the sale of the 20 royalties to EMX is complete, Revelo will have 4 gold projects and 11 copper projects, as outlined below:

Gold-Silver Portfolio - Self-Funded Exploration

The Company has four gold exploration projects in Chile totalling almost 40,000 hectares:

The Las Pampas and Loro projects comprise a strategic landholding within the Paleocene Mineral Belt, south and southwest of the multi-million ounce El Penon district (Yamana Gold). Limited "proof-of-concept" historic drilling at both projects has identified low-sulphidation epithermal "bonanza" veins with extensive geochemical and geophysical anomalies that require further exploration follow-up.

The Victoria Sur project is located along the Domeyko Mineral Belt, Chile's main copper belt, where several gold and silver mines have operated in the past. Previous exploration at Victoria Sur, including drilling, identified a porphyry gold style target with significant gold intercepts in trenches and drill holes, and higher-grade gold-silver intercepts in high-sulphidation epithermal structures. Several other targets on the property require follow up, including an extensive gold-bearing "lithocap".

The Orca project is located along the Coastal Mineral Belt, close to the world-class Candelaria copper-gold-iron deposit. Orca comprises a series of highly anomalous gold-bearing ductile shear zones with small-scale artisanal mines extending over several kilometers.

Copper Portfolio - Joint Ventured Projects

The Company has three porphyry copper projects in the Paleocene copper and precious metals belt under joint venture totalling 16,100 hectares. A further project, totalling 16,300 hectares, located along the Domeyko copper belt is subject to a letter agreement regarding a possible joint venture.

The Calvario and Mirador projects are located along the Paleocene belt and are subject to a joint venture with SQM Chile. As operator, SQM has the right to earn an 80% interest by spending US$13 million and paying the Company US$5.225 million over five years. Initiation of activities is dependent on a surface rights agreement.

At Cerro Buenos Aires, Teck Chile has joint ventured 1,500 hectares and can earn 60% by spending US$4.8 million and paying the Company US$425,000 over four years. Teck, the operator, has drilled porphyry style alteration associated with a magnetic anomaly which, in Revelo's opinion, suggests the potential for a porphyry copper target at depth.

The Montezuma project is subject to a Letter Agreement with BMR Group PLC. Revelo will operate the project and will have a carried 30% interest through the completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment study. Operatorship will help the Company to offset the Company's burn rate in Chile.

Copper Portfolio: Sole Funded Projects

The Company has assembled five 100%-owned copper projects covering approximately 29,800 hectares along the Domeyko porphyry copper belt, namely Arrieros, Block 2, Block 3, Block 4, and Redondo Veronica, which are located between and along trend from super-giant copper mines such as Chuquicamata and La Escondida. The projects, prospective for porphyry copper-moly-gold, are characterised by extensive post-mineral cover with a variety of known porphyry prospects around the periphery and, in some cases, existing undrilled geophysical anomalies. To advance the projects to drill-ready status, further geophysical surveys are needed. Revelo is considering spinning these projects into a new company with the objective of raising finance to carry out the exploration program, and to identify, drill test and discover new copper deposits.

The Company has assembled three 100%-owned lithocap-related copper exploration projects - Cerro Blanco, Cerro Buenos Aires, and Morros Blancos - covering approximately 22,100 hectares in the Paleocene mineral belt of northern Chile, along trend from the giant Spence and Sierra Gorda copper mines. The projects are prospective for porphyry copper-moly-gold deposits and are characterised by extensive outcropping, high-level "lithocap"-style hydrothermal alteration, post-mineral cover, and significant geochemical and geophysical anomalies. The projects could be advanced to drill-ready status with about six months of additional field work. To fund this work, and to identify, drill test and discover new copper-gold deposits, Revelo is considering spinning these projects out into a new company.

Equity Holdings

Revelo currently owns 10 million shares in one public company - Austral Gold Ltd (TSXV: AGLD) - and 2.7 million shares in one private company - Atacama Copper Exploration Ltd. If the agreement with BMR at Montezuma closes, Revelo will also receive shares in BMR which Revelo understands intends to list on the London Stock Exchange. Finally, should the two proposed copper spinouts into the two private companies be successfully completed, Revelo will then own shares in both of those private companies.

This portfolio makes Revelo an important tenement holder in Chile and continues to give shareholders significant exposure to potential discovery along some of the world's most important and prolific mineral belts that are host to multiple world-class deposits.

RESTRUCTURING OF DEBT AND SHARE CONSOLIDATION

The Company's Board believes that the debt restructuring and share consolidation are necessary to provide the Company with a clean balance sheet in order to attract new capital and position the Company to unlock value within the exploration portfolio and make a discovery.

Third-Party Debt Repayment - To February 29, 2020 the Company will owe EMX Royalty Corp. approximately $534,000 and Term Oil Inc. approximately $1.69 million. The Company will pay back 100% of the EMX debt and $1.45 million of the Term Oil debt through the sale of 20 royalties to EMX Royalty Corp. (subject to completion). The remaining $246,000 debt to Term Oil will be repaid through the sale of marketable securities held by the Company. Revelo expects that all third-party debt will be repaid by the end of February 2020.

Share Consolidation - Revelo currently has 167,405,027 common shares issued and outstanding and, upon the 10:1 consolidation being completed, will have 16,740,503 common shares issued and outstanding. The Company does not intend to change its name in connection with the consolidation, although its CUSIP number and ISIN will change. The Board has approved the share consolidation. The share consolidation is not subject to shareholder approval as the Company's Articles provide the Board with the authority to complete a consolidation up to a maximum of 10 to 1. Consolidation of the shares is subject only to TSX-V approval.

Settlement of Board & Management Debt - To February 29, 2020, the Company will have debts totalling approximately $3.8 million owed to directors, management and advisors from cash loans together with salaries, fees and services accrued from early 2017. The following is the breakdown of the debt and the plans for write-offs and conversion:

The Chairman of Revelo has agreed to the following settlements of certain debts owed to him or companies controlled by him: Companies controlled by the Chairman have advanced cash loans totalling $2.36 million to Revelo over the past 30 months to help fund operating expenses. The Chairman has agreed to convert his cash loans into post-consolidation common shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in the issuance of 15,729,348 common shares. The Chairman has agreed to waive all professional fees since January 2019 and has also agreed to write-off $287,000 of fees previously accrued between 2017 and 2019. An outstanding balance of $52,500 will be converted into post-consolidation common shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in the issuance of 350,000 common shares. A company controlled by the Chairman (Seaboard Services Corp.) provided accounting, corporate, and administrative services to the Company from December 2017 until December 2018. The Chairman has agreed to write-off $226,000 of fees for these services, and an outstanding balance of $32,500 will be converted into post-consolidation common shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in the issuance of 216,667 common shares. A company controlled by the Chairman (Seabord Management Corp. "SMC") provided accounting, corporate, and administrative services to the Company since January 2019. All fees accrued by SMC to December 31, 2019 for these services ($157,000) will be converted into post-consolidation common shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in the issuance of 1,046,667 common shares. Effective November 1, 2019, SMC also agreed to reduce its fee by 50%. The issuance of 17,342,682 shares to the Chairman, combined with his existing share holdings in Revelo, will result in him becoming a Control Person of the Company owning approximately 47.75% of the outstanding shares of Revelo post-consolidation and post-debt conversion. As required by TSX-V policy, the Company will seek shareholder approval, by way of an ordinary resolution, for the Chairman to become a Control Person of the Company.



The CEO has agreed to convert $373,000 of professional fees owed into post-consolidation shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in 2,487,760 common shares being issued. These fees have been accrued over a period of approximately 30 months. Additionally, the CEO has agreed to cut his professional fees by 50% effective December 1, 2019.

Directors and consultants have agreed to convert $308,000 of fees and loans owed into post-consolidation shares at a price of $0.15 per share resulting in 2,056,135 common shares being issued. Directors' fees were accrued from early 2017 until January 2019, following which the Directors have waived all fees. Revelo does not intend to pay any further fees to Directors in the foreseeable future.

The conversion of some portions of the debt and deferred fees into common shares of the Company is subject to receipt of TSX-V approval.

PRO-FORMA SHARE STRUCTURE

Pro-Forma - including rollback and debt conversion but prior to any new financing.

Capitalisation Overview - Current (January 2020) Pro-Forma - (February 2020) Outstanding Shares 167,405,027 Outstanding Shares after 10:1 Rollback 16,740,502 Share Price $0.015 Share Price (Pro-Forma) $0.15 Market Capitalisation $2.51M Market Capitalisation $2.51M



Debt Conversion to Shares $3.28M



New Shares for Debt 21,886,577 Options (@ $0.25 - Expire May 2020) 800,000 Options after 10:1 Rollback (@ $2.50) 80,000



New Outstanding Shares 38,627,079



New Market Capitalisation $5.79M Fully Diluted Shares 168,205,027 New Fully Diluted Shares 38,707,079 Austral Gold Shares (10M) (Approx.' Value) $700,000



Atacama Copper Shares (2.7M - private) TBD Atacama Copper Shares (2.7M - private) TBD Cash $0 Cash $0.43M Notes Payable $5.75M Notes Payable $0.24M

Qualified Person

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 is a Canadian company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: RVL). Revelo has interests in an outstanding portfolio of projects prospective for gold and copper located along proven mineral belts in one of the world's top mining jurisdictions - Chile. The Company has a vision to reward shareholders with wealth-generating mineral discoveries along Chile's prime mineral belts, through leveraged and more efficient capital deployment, exploration, discovery and monetization.

For more information, please visit Revelo's website at www.reveloresources.com.

All dollar numbers in this news release are in Canadian Dollars, unless otherwise stated.

The reader is cautioned that when reference to an historic or an existing mining district is made in the above descriptions, this is to help place the properties into geologic context and is for reference purposes only. There is no evidence to date that similar mineral resources occur on Revelo's properties.

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.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52209
A jury quickly found a Nebraska man guilty Friday afternoon of two counts of first-degree murder in the 2012 ambush shooting deaths of two St. John the Baptist Parish sheriff's deputies.

The guilty verdict, which came after less than half an hour of jury deliberation, capped six days of testimony at the heavily-secured St. John Parish Courthouse in Edgard.

Jurors from Alexandria  who were chosen there because the case is so fraught with emotion in St. John  will now decide if

Kyle Joekel, 35, should be executed for the killings of Deputies Brandon Nielsen and Jeremy Triche during a bloody shootout in August 2012 at a LaPlace trailer park.

The penalty phase begins Saturday.

Defendant in bloody St. John Parish deputy shooting says he never fired a gun that day Since August 2012, the enduring image of Kyle Joekel in many people's minds has been of a man standing over a wounded deputy in LaPlace with a

Two other deputies who survived the shootout said they saw Joekel pick up an AK-47 after an associate of his, Brian Smith, was wounded and dropped the weapon on the ground. Joekel proceeded to fire rounds into the prone body of Nielsen, according to their testimony.

During their closing Friday, a prosecutor told jurors Joekel was a cop-hating extremist who undoubtedly committed the act.

However, defense attorney Kerry Cuccia told the jury that the deputies stories shifted from initial accounts they gave that implicated only Smith, who is widely acknowledged as having started the shootout.

Smiths family members were sovereign citizens who rejected the governments authority, and Joekel had made a statement a year before the shootout threatening to kill police, according to a witness.

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Cuccia said that the state lacked a fingerprint from Joekel on the murder weapon. Pacing around the heavily secured courtroom in Edgard to illustrate Joekel's alleged movements, he also said there was no blood trail from where deputies said a wounded Joekel fired at police.

+2 'You're going to kill everybody!' Woman tells jury how group opened fire on St. John deputies The scar on Chanel Skains left elbow will always be a reminder of what she calls the worst day of her life.

Two members of Brian Smiths family who testified against Joekel were seeking leniency under plea agreements with the state, Cuccia said.

We see that there is good, solid reason to doubt the accuracy of each and every one of their stories, by their own contradiction, and by the physical evidence, Cuccia said.

However, during the state's closing, prosecutor Lea Hall told the jury that the only way the witness accounts could have lined up so neatly was if there was a concerted effort to frame Joekel.

There has to be a nefarious collusion for that to be true, or they couldnt have come up with that independently with their stories. That is impossible. Either they saw something, or those are dirty cops, Hall said as he gestured toward the surviving deputies.

He also emphasized that Nielsen's DNA was found on the bottom of Joekel's bloodied pants.

Hall said he thought Joekels testimony on Thursday  when he claimed that he never fired a gun that day  was scripted, and he mocked the defendant for trying to produce crocodile tears.

Im just anxious to get it to the next step so we can bring justice to Kyle Joekel, the extremist who quailed on you. Convict him. Give the state its justice for its fallen, Hall said.
Environment and human rights activist Priya Pillai and three others held placards in support of blacklisted comedian Kunal Kamra inside a Varanasi-Delhi IndiGo flight.

The incident took place on February 6 to express solidarity with the political satirist. Kamra was banned from flying four domestic airlines (Spice Jet, Air India, IndiGo, and Go Air) for confronting TV news anchor Arnab Goswami onboard an IndiGo flight last month.

Before the evening flight had taken off from the Varanasi tarmac, activists Medha Kapoor, Debayan Gupta, Pillai and one more person stood up holding placards. The posters read: We condemn IndiGos ban on Kunal Kamra. #Youdividewemultiply.

After the activists demonstrated for a while, the airline's ground security personnel intervened and requested them to return to their seats. IndiGo said the protest was 'peaceful', and the protestors obliged when they were instructed to take their seats, The Telegraph reported.

Meanwhile, the activist has informed that some passengers supported them, but some felt they were flouting guidelines.

The picture of the activists demonstrating inside the aeroplane was shared by a Twitter user named Brikesh.
The CPI (M)-led Kerala government on Friday stirred a hornets nest by putting an image depicting Mahathma Gandhis assassination on the cover of the 2020-21 state budget document presented in the assembly by finance minister Thomas Issac and insisting that it was meant to send a political message.

Opposition Congress and BJP decried the move and said it was avoidable. After a row erupted, Issac defended the picture by saying the country wont forget Bapus killers.

Yes, we remember Mahathma was murdered. We will not forget who murdered Gandhiji. He was murdered by Hindu communalists and many in the ruling party still rever them, he said.

The image shows the father of the nation lying in a pool of blood as mourning supporters surround him. Issac said it was a painting by an artist from the state and its depiction was more relevant now as an attempt was being made to rewrite the history of the country.

This is important at the time when history is being re-written. There is a concerted attempt to erase popular memories and use the National Register of Citizens to divide the country on communal lines. Kerala will stand united, he said.

Kerala was the first state to pass a resolution against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and move the Supreme Court against the Central law that triggered widespread protests around the country.

State opposition leader, Congress Ramesh Chennithala said it was wrong to drag the father of the nation in a budget speech. We have been fighting communal forces for long. But I dont think it was an appropriate gesture, he said.

BJP spokesman J R Padmakumar said it showed the bankruptcy of the left front government.

Sad, they dont have anything else to say or show, he said.

Muslim League leader K M Muneer also slammed the decision.
Many fans of Lifetimes Married at First Sight Season 10 think Austin Hurd and Jessica Studer are a match made in heaven. Although the couple could face some difficulties in the future due to their possibly over-involved families, their honeymoon in Panama was nothing short of magical.

Austin and Jessica described themselves as awkward weirdos who couldnt believe how much they had in common. On the Feb. 5 episode, Austin explained that Jessicas strong opinions and confidence made him all the more attracted to her, while Jessica opened up about the couples sex life.

1001 BODAS event at the IFEMA | Oscar Gonzalez/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Jessica said she couldnt believe how natural things were with Austin

Jessica gushed about her new husband to Lifetime producers as they headed out for a day exploring Panama.

Its crazy to think that I met Austin only five days ago because everything feels so comfortable and natural, she confessed.



And while some of the other couples struggled in the bedroom, Austin and Jessica got off to a great start. The new bride even revealed that sex with Austin was as amazing as their connection. Im happy with things that are happening behind closed doors, she told Married at First Sight producers. No complaints. The sex is great.

Austin said he loved that his wife was a strong woman who challenged him

As for Austin, he revealed that Jessicas strong will and confidence were her most attractive qualities.

I wanted a strong woman, and Jessica is definitely a very strong person, the Married at First Sight star said. She tells me how it isand thats something I find attractive in a woman.



On a catamaran trip with the other couples, Austin jumped into open water in part due to Jessicas bravery and risk-taking nature. The MAFS star said he loved to be challenged by women and that Jessicas adventurous attitude was a turn-on.

The Married at First Sight couple wondered if things were too easy

At a candlelit dinner, the MAFS couple wondered if things would get harder for them once they returned to D.C. Its weird how natural and easy it is to talk with him and hang out, Jessica gushed. Hes my best friendIt feels like Im dating my husband, and Im enjoying every minute of this.



Sipping a glass of wine and raving over their love language of shared humor, Jessica told her husband, I wasnt expecting to go into this and feel so comfortable.



Austin agreed, but he admitted he was sometimes concerned that the struggles were yet to come. Im worried that maybe its too easy. Like, why is it so easy? he mused.



But Jessica said she couldnt get enough of Austin and already felt like she could trust him. I feel like I can have my walls down and tell you anything and share pretty much anything with you, the MAFS bride told him.



Her husband returned the favor, telling Jessica he wanted to make any compromises with her because he felt like she was willing to do the same for him. You always have my back, he said. I feel like I can count on you right away.
SPENCERTOWN  Rev. Lynn Horan, 36, is the first female pastor in the 260-year history of rural St. Peters Presbyterian Church in Spencertown. She was permanently installed in the position last month, after serving as interim pastor there for two years. Nestled in a pretty and agricultural hamlet, the beautiful white clapboard church was built in 1771, and today its minimalist Colonial-era exterior is accented by the colors of the rainbow pride flag that flies next to it. (St. Peters became one of America's first integrated churches when its first African-American member, Lilla Van Buren, joined.) Horan grew up in suburban Guilderland where she says her childhood church was progressive, but not to the point of unfurling the rainbow.

An unorthodox path brought Horan  along with husband, Vince, and their two preschoolers  to St. Peter's. Horan spoke with the Times Union about her work for the New York State Senate, volunteering for a nonprofit in Peru to help sexual abuse survivors and to bring their abusers to justice.

Q. Whats it like being a pastor and mother of two young children?

A. As with any working mom, its a constant balancing act. Churches Ive served have been understanding about why I dont bring my kids to church yet. My most recent attempt ended with me scooping up my three-year-old daughter during the first hymn because she wouldnt let go of the microphone. I carried her down the street to bring her home to my husband, hopping through puddles in my clergy robe, and then ran back to the church before the song ended.

But its amazing to see how curious my older daughter is about spiritual things. She asks about God and whether there is grass in heaven. Her questions have been an inspiration for several sermons.

Q: What's St. Peter's like?

A: The congregation was founded in 1760. Spencertown is a quiet area with artisans and independent business owners. A nonprofit historical society, Friends of Historic St. Peters Church, funded repairs for our belltower and other exterior renovations. We pay for repairs inside the church.

The rainbow flag was flying outside the church before I got here, and it was the first thing that drew me to this congregation.

Q: Let's hear about that unusual path that led you to Spencertown.

A: At the University of Michigan, I majored in political science and womens studies. When I landed a job with the New York State Senate as a health policy analyst, I was very interested in championing womens reproductive rights and expanding access to health care. I worked there under three different governors  George Pataki, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

And then I felt it was time to move on. I felt disconnected from grassroots advocacy and knew that was the place of real change. I also wanted to draw together my commitment to social justice with my growing sense of faith.

In 2008, I became a Young Adult Volunteer through the Presbyterian Church (USA), serving for a year in Peru. It was not missionary work or evangelizing. It was important to me that I work alongside the local community, and not be some outside expert. My assignment was to work with survivors of sexual violence, through a Swiss-funded human rights organization called Paz y Esperanza (Peace and Hope). I lived with a host family, the parents, both pastors, and their daughter, a college student. The city has a population of about 200,000, with schools, a university, parks and a beautiful river, but just outside the center of town are indigenous communities that live without access to water and electricity.

Paz y Esperanza is an organization doing exceptional work. It ministers to survivors of rape, sexual slavery, incest and domestic abuse, and tries to keep survivors from being re-victimized by the judicial system.

Q: You mentioned that many abusers and their allies were rich, influential with supporters in the media.

A: Paz y Esperanza tries to make sure that the perpetrators who commit these crimes are prosecuted. As with sex trafficking world-wide, there is a lot of corruption, with people in power turning a blind eye. In the town I was working in, local newspapers often allied with abusers. Articles ran that called me the white foreign woman causing trouble.

Q: It sounds like dangerous work

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

A: Traveling throughout the town, I had to be much more conscious of my surroundings. One day, my host father gave me a ride to work on his moped. Suddenly, I felt like I should ask him if my riding with him put him in danger. He said no but I sensed it did put him at risk. Even though we worked at the same organization, I left the house ahead of him and walked, often changing which streets I took so I wouldnt be followed.

Q: What brought you back to the Capital Region after a year in Peru?

A: I knew there was a lot of need back home, in my own backyard. While still in Peru, I was offered a job as family therapist with the Schenectady City Mission, one of the few safe shelters for women with children fleeing domestic violence and homelessness. The women in both Schenectady and Peru had to overcome so much. In both places I found such resilience and hope.

Q: How did you go from there to becoming a minister?

A: I was with the mission for two years and loved its staff and residents. But I was starting to get burnt out emotionally and spiritually. I learned that I need to balance my desire for transformation in others lives with my own need for renewal. I also wanted to journey with people not just during times of crisis and despair but build more long-term relationships.

I felt a calling to go into the ministry. But I wasnt sure. So, when I went to a Louisville Presbyterian Seminary in Kentucky, I packed almost nothing. I met a wonderful group of friends and was inspired by my professors who showed me how the voices of marginalized people are at the very center of scripture. I ended up staying and eventually hung some pictures on the walls of my tiny apartment on campus.

Q: What appealed to you about your church in Spencertown?

A: The congregation. People here are deeply spiritual and incredibly welcoming. Because this is such a politically divisive time, the congregation is interested in developing outreach opportunities that are non-partisan and draw together community. There is a lot of support for food justice. The church founded an amazing gleaning program called Long Table Harvest that makes fresh local produce available to those in need. We have a Meals on Wheels program and support food pantries.

A lot of people think churches are dying. Some are. Congregations are getting smaller. Buildings are too expensive to keep up. But Im used to small churches; its where I want to stay. Its deeply moving to worship with a group of 40-50 people each Sunday, to know everyone by name, to draw together those thirsty for genuine connection. To those who felt hurt or turned away by church, I remind people were all on our own unique faith journey  and we get to define it and live it, no one else.
Credit Suisse started its own inquiry, conducted by an outside law firm, which found that the spying had been ordered by the banks chief operating officer, Pierre-Olivier Bouee, who resigned in October after the finding. The inquiry found that Mr. Thiam and other executives had not been aware of the surveillance effort.

But the incident was damaging for the bank, which had spent years trying to put its house in order, only to be faced with questions about whether its chief executive was out of the loop on a corporate spying effort and, if he was, what else might be happening under his management that he did not know about.

Before long, more reports about spying emerged in the news media.

In December, the Swiss newspaper Neue Zuercher Zeitung reported that Peter Goerke, a former head of human resources at Credit Suisse, had been followed last February, just before he left the management board. And another former executive, Colleen Graham, said she believed that she had been surveilled in 2017 in retaliation for her stance on an accounting issue, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Another Swiss newspaper, SonntagsZeitung, reported this month that Credit Suisse had spied on Greenpeace after the environmental group disrupted the banks annual shareholder meeting in 2017.

The bank declined to comment on Friday on the more recently reported incidents of spying.

The storm of questions put the bank in the grip of a high-powered tussle, as some shareholders threw their support behind the chief executive and demanded the resignation of the chairman, Urs Rohner.

On Friday, Mr. Thiam maintained again that he had no knowledge of the spying efforts. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt, he said in a statement. I regret that this happened, and it should never have taken place.

During his tenure, Mr. Thiam managed to steady profits at the bank, where a drive for revenue at any cost had pushed traders to take outsize positions in risky and hard-to-sell securities. He turned Credit Suisse away from the volatility of its investment bank by embracing its more reliable wealth management division. That strategy appeared to be working: The bank reported a doubling of profit in the third quarter of last year.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch is helped out of the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft just minutes after she, Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. Koch returned to Earth after logging 328 days in space --- the longest spaceflight in history by a woman --- as a member of Expeditions 59-60-61 on the International Space Station. Skvortsov and Parmitano returned after 201 days in space where they served as Expedition 60-61 crew members onboard the station. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

At 9:34 p.m. EST, the hatch closed between the Soyuz spacecraft and the International Space Station in preparation for undocking. NASA astronaut Christina Koch, Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency) are scheduled to undock their Soyuz at 12:50 a.m.

NASA Television will air live coverage of the undocking beginning at 12:15 a.m.; their landing in Kazakhstan is targeted for approximately 4:12 a.m.

The Expedition 61 crew members contributed to hundreds of experiments in biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development, including improvements to the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer in an effort to extend its life and support its mission of looking for evidence of dark matter and testing 3D biological printers to print organ-like tissues in microgravity.

Koch shared her most memorable moments, from her arrival to the space station on March 14, 2019, to her first glimpse of her hometown on Earth from space, to her first spacewalk.

On-Orbit Status Report

Change of Command Ceremony and 59S Undock/Landing: Today, the ISS Crew participated in a Change of Command Ceremony during which Luca Parmitano handed over command of the ISS to Oleg Skripochka. Luca Parmitano, Aleksandr Skvortsov and Christina Koch will return to Earth tonight on 59S. Undocking is scheduled for 11:49 PM CT with landing in Kazakhstan scheduled tomorrow at 3:14 AM CT.

Payloads

Confined Combustion: The crew continued the experiment using acrylic and fabric samples with a combination of black and transparent baffles to ignite and observe combustion results. This project aims to study flame spread in confined spaces, specifically the interactions between spreading flames and surrounding walls. Flame spread in confined spaces (such as buildings and vehicles) may pose a more serious fire hazard than flame spread in open spaces because of acceleration caused by radiative heat feedback from the surrounding walls and a tunnel flow acceleration effect. However, several aspects of flame spread are difficult to study in normal gravity conditions. Gravity-driven buoyancy flow complicates the fire growth process and prohibits a fundamental understanding of the underlying physics. However, in microgravity, buoyancy is eliminated, allowing scientists to better study the physics of flame spread.

Bio-Monitor: The crew completed the 48 hour data measurement session using the Bio-Monitor garment. Data was secured and the garment and support hardware was stowed. Although the ISS is equipped with health and life sciences research tools, the existing instrumentation for continuous and simultaneous recording of several physiological parameters is lacking. To tackle this issue, the Bio-Monitor Commissioning activity tests the Bio-Monitor facility; a wearable garment capable of monitoring relevant physiological parameters for up to 48 hours in a non-invasive and non-interfering way. The physiological parameters which can be monitored consist of heart rate, respiration rate, Electrocardiogram (EKG), skin temperature, peripheral blood oxygen saturation, etc.

Actiwatch Plus: Crewmembers doffed and stowed the hardware. The Actiwatch is a waterproof, nonintrusive, sleep-wake activity monitor worn on the wrist of a crewmember. The device contains a miniature uniaxial accelerometer that produces a signal as the subject moves. The data are stored in nonvolatile memory within the Actiwatch until they are downloaded for analysis.

Systems:

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Onboard Trainer (ROBoT) Self Study Session: FE-8 and FE-9 completed a session of this training to practice 2 meter, Capture Point (CP) and High Hover (HH) approaches in preparation for NG-13 launch on February 9 and berthing on February 11.

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Maintenance: The crew retrieved EMUs 3006 and 3009 and removed the Lower Torso Assembly (LTA) stowage bags. They then installed the bags on EMUs 3004 and 3008. This reconfiguration is in preparation for a planned EVA in April. Currently the crew is performing a full dump and fill on EMUs 3006 and 3009 to meet annual maintenance requirements.

Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Filter R&R: The crew is R&Ring the PWD filter including cleaning the fan filter areas on the back side of the PWD. This is preventative maintenance that is required every 18 months.

Completed Task List Activities:

Data prep return FE-3 & CDR

Crew departure prep

WHC KTO R&R

Ground Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

EMU maintenance support

59S departure activities

Friday, 2/7 (GMT 037)

Payloads:

Food Acceptability (NASA)

CBEF-L LTL box vlv setting (JAXA)

HOURGLASS SD card removal (JAXA)

Confined Combustion Ops (NASA)

SAMS laptop screen cleaning (NASA)

MIS-RECYCLER H/W stow (NASA)

Food Physiology Sample to cold stowage (NASA)

Systems:

Valve Box Remote Controller fastener repair

N1 CBCS install/checkout

OBT Cygnus offset grapple

Saturday, 2/8 (GMT 038)

Payloads:

No Science activities

Systems:

Crew off duty

Today's Planned Activities:

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations

JEM Airlock Depressurization

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Personal Medication Stow

Comm check and ops from Soyuz 746 via RGS (VHF2)

Soyuz 746 Stowage Ops for Return. Note 9

Confined Combustion Test Operations

Bio-Monitor Wearables Data Transfer And Removal

JEM Airlock Vent

Probiotics Capsule Stow

JEM Airlock Vent Confirmation

Soyuz 746 P/L Container Transfer Operations Report (S-band)

Soyuz 746 [] cooling down prior to descent

Change of Command

HRF Generic Saliva Collection 10 Minutes

HRF Generic MELFI Sample Retrieval And Insertion Operations

HRF Generic Saliva Collection Stow

ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Columbus

MSK-2. Hardware deactivation

HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection 15 Minutes Subject

ISS HAM Radio Power Down in Service Module

Potable Water Dispenser (PWD) Filter Remove and Replace (R&R)

HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection Operator

MSK-2. Transfer of MSK-2 cultivator and Delivery Battery stowage in Soyuz 746

HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection 15 Minutes Subject

Transfer emergency equipment (Portable Repress Tank (), -1 gas mask, Atmosphere Purification & Filtration Unit -2) from Soyuz 746 to MRM2

HRF Generic Ambient Blood Collection Pack And Handover

Soyuz 746 time critical stowage, Photography of [] and cargo bags return for return, GoPro HERO3 camcorders adjustment and installation in Soyuz 746 for operation during the descent

Bio-Monitor Hardware Stow

Crew Departure Preparations for Return to Earth

Soyuz 746 Transfers Status Report

Photography of the external surface of Soyuz 746 []  hatch cone

Actiwatch Plus Watch Doff

Comm check with Soyuz 746 in RSA2-S/G2

Soyuz 746 Activation (without deactivation of Gas Analyzers). Transfer of Soyuz 746 Emer-1a Book to MRM2

On MCC GO Soyuz-MRM2 Hatch Closure, Mpeg2 TV Coverage of Soyuz 746- MRM2 Hatch Closure

Closing of transitive hatches Soyuz - MRM2

On MCC GO Soyuz 746- MRM2 Hatch Leak Check

Soyuz 746 ODF Ops

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Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh releasing the latest edition of 'Brahmand World Defence Update 2020' at DefExpo India in Lucknow. Photo: Brahmand

LUCKNOW (BNS): Shri Rajnath Singh, Honble Defence Minister of India, today on 7th February 2020 released the 9th edition of global military yearbook Brahmand World Defence Update 2020 at the BrahMos Aerospace pavilion during the 3rd day of Defexpo India 2020 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.



Shri Rajnath Singh has penned the Foreword for the book.



The yearbook was released in the presence of Dr. Sudhir K Mishra, DS & DG (BrahMos), DRDO and CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace.



In its latest edition, the yearbook  an initiative of India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace  has made an exclusive inclusion of Military Radars & Sonars of six powerful countries, namely China, India, Israel, Japan, Russia and the USA, in addition to the comprehensive coverage of military data of 113 countries worldwide.



Military Radars & Sonars play one of the most important and strategic roles in securing the borders of a country and also safeguard the armed forces from enemy attacks. With network-centric warfare leading the battlefield and potential adversaries fielding new advanced capabilities, military radar and sonar operators are continuously developing new systems to identify, track and monitor evolving threats to their airspace, in sea or land.



Brahmand World Defence Update 2020 has listed in detail about such advanced systems possessed by few powerful nations in the world.



Besides, it has provided incisive, comprehensive and up-to-date facts, figures and data on the armed forces of 113 countries worldwide with the objective to give a comprehensive assessment of the present-day global military order.



The yearbook has covered each countrys overall military capability by listing its existing weapons' inventory, ongoing/ future arms procurement plans and annual defence spending besides detailing important political & defence personnel along with the countrys core conflict areas.



It has also provided detailed strategic information on 33 leading countries selected from each continent/region with key focus on their geopolitical importance, strategic relations, threat perception, defence capabilities and defence budget trends.



Like all its previous editions, Brahmand World Defence Update 2020 promises to be a vital source of reference for the armed forces and defence establishments and also for global arms manufacturers, research institutions, academia, think-tanks, captains of industries and even for the general readers keen to know about latest global military developments and trends.



The yearbook is published by Pentagon Press.


A young writer living with stage four melanoma has shared the life lessons she's learned during her battle with the disease so far.

Natalie Fornasier, from Sydney, discovered she had skin cancer following a shock diagnosis after a tiny mole on her foot left the 'perfectly healthy' student fighting for her life.

In a heartbreaking admission, the 25-year-old woman said: 'I have no idea what I'm doing in life, and that's a hard pill to swallow.

'My days are filled with idleness and uncertainty when all I want to do is move forward and establish a new normal. I want to have a career but no one will give me a chance because of my health.

'I want to have a family, but I don't know if I will be able to. I want to live until I'm 80, but who knows if I'll see 30.

'I mourn the version of myself that I thought was forever, and every day I'm left no choice but to dive headfirst into this new person I'm still figuring out.'

Natalie Fornasier (pictured), from Sydney, was diagnosed with stage four melanoma after a tiny mole on her foot left the 'perfectly healthy' student fighting for her life

Melanoma symptoms Melanoma is a type of skin cancer which usually occurs on the parts of the body that have been overexposed to the sun. 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 Advertisement

Natalie was just 20 years old when she woke up one morning to find her legs covered in bruises during a holiday in Greece.

She initially thought she'd been sleep walking but her friends didn't notice anything until she realised the mole on her toe, in which she had since birth changed shape.

It wasn't until two weeks after returning home, she was told she had advanced melanoma before undergoing surgeries to get her toe amputated and remove the lymph nodes in her groin.

Natalie - who's the ambassador for a social media campaign called #CallTimeonMelanoma - has since been urging young women to get their skin checked and to be more cautious with sun baking.

Speaking out on World Cancer Day on Tuesday, February 4, Natalie said she wanted to use her platform to raise awareness about the life-threatening illness.

The 25-year-old (pictured with her boyfriend Alex) has been using her platform to urge young women to get their skin checked and to be more cautious with sun baking

'Cancer isn't something we can turn a blind eye to,' she said.

'As much as we strive for inclusion and diversity, cancer isn't often included in that list despite it being something that will touch us all at some point in our lives.

'So, it's important that we acknowledge it for what it is. It's a horrible disease that needs awareness in many facets, from fundraising to inclusion in every day life.'

She described cancer as a 'life-changing' moment in her life because she 'didn't sign up for this battle willingly'.

'I know we all can't be promised tomorrow, and these feelings aren't just my own, but are felt by all who have had their bodies turn against them,' she said.

Natalie has been using her platform to raise awareness about the life-threatening illness

'Cancer is life changing. Truly. And that's just putting it mildly. There's a new normal we must learn, our feet forever walking the fine line between the 'before' and 'after'.'

'Sure, there are elements of beauty in my new-found life. I'm more aware of just how treasured my breaths are, that every hug I'm given I commit to memory, that every laugh I laugh is a joy. Yet, it is a life that I didn't choose for myself.'

By sharing her story, she said she wanted to 'live in a world that sees cancer not considered as a hindrance or a hurdle'.

'That the organisations dedicated to the cause are there to speak with us, not for us. There are so many instances it stops us from living our lives,' she said.

'That along with our toxic bodies, our voices aren't heard and our freedom of choice is something we reflect upon every day.'
A 30-year-old woman was allegedly raped and strangled to death by two persons in the western suburb of Santa Cruz here, police said on Friday.

The incident came to light on Thursday evening after the victim's body was found at the residence of one of the accused in Milind Nagar, an official said.

The two accused, identified as Vinod Dhadi (35) and Sunil Kadam (34), have been arrested, the official added.

"The accused duo took the victim, who was acquainted with them, to the house of one of them, where they consumed alcohol before raping her and strangling her to death," he said.

The victim's body has been sent for post-mortem, he added.

A case has been registered under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and others, the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
L ike any bona fide member of Generation Snowflake, I spend a lot of time fretting about what Greta would think. Every time I forget my KeepCup or neglect to recycle an Actimel bottle or buy a tomato that has travelled (air) miles and miles from Morocco, my conscience manifests as Thunberg, shaking her head, her mittened fingers gripping a skolstrejk for klimatet! placard (I didnt even need to Google the spelling, its hardwired). I am haunted, possessed, driven mad by the image of a teenager with pigtails who will not forgive my trespasses. Do not @ me, I have suffered enough.

And yet, I contain multitudes  which critics (OK, boomers) might call inconsistencies, say, or glaring hypocrisies. For when it comes to online shopping  wasteful, very rarely green, bad with a capital B  I am compulsive. It is not so much about the thrill of my bounty (last week I bought a vacuum cleaner) but the convenience. And, conveniently for my conscience, whenever I hit that big, tantalising buy now button, Greta disappears from my mind.

Still, as a bona fide member of Generation Snowflake, self-improvement is important to me. And so in the spirit of personal growth, I have acquired another mascot to help me kick my habit  albeit one I have picked up by mistake, by the (bad) luck of the draw. My new patron saint of buying less? My Hermes delivery man, with whom I am locked in a war of wills, mainly about the size of my letterbox.

You see, (grab a seat, this will take a while) said letterbox is too small to fit anything but the slimmest of paperbacks. So, my delivery man, and it is always the same man doing the same route through the wilds of south-east London, has taken to calling to rail against the size of my letterbox. Were never in to answer the doorbell, so he also rants about my incorrigible habit of ordering something that will be delivered when I know Ill be out, and that I know will not fit through the letterbox. Also our doorbell is a bit dicey  so even when I am in, I often dont notice hes there. And sure, he might be onto something  but does he have to shout? It is triggering.

File photo of Amazon parcels / REUTERS

Surely the question is: how does anyone in London get anything delivered? Day after day, my buildings doormat is carpeted with sorry we missed you slips; in the office, colleagues yowl into the void  literally; theres never a person at the end of the customer-service line  about microwaves dumped behind wheelie bins, or Asos parcels nicked from doorsteps. Online, righteous keyboard warriors go off on one  blood roaring in their ears  effing and blinding and @ing indiscriminately about an & Other Stories trenchcoat that has been returned to the warehouse. One friend swears that the answer is to get one of those doorbells where you can see the parcels arrive via an app, but that feels like letting Big Delivery win. Also youd probably need to order it online, so it would never be delivered.

Outsized gowns and attitude to match

Awards-season fashion is rarefied, excessive, impractical; for observers it is about distraction, not a template for daily dressing. Brilliant  arise its ambassador, the British actress Florence Pugh, who has been giving Big Dress Energy on red carpets since the release of Little Women in December. Behold her at the Baftas, magnificent in a colossal Dries van Noten confection that puddled around her feet; see her on Jimmy Kimmel, looking like a Greek goddess in shimmering Galvan, rather like a classical idol who ought to be immortalised on the side of a cracked urn and spotlit at the British Museums new Troy exhibition.

This Big Dress Energy complements Flos Big Dick Energy. Whether she is antagonising trolls with acid comebacks, sharing a bed sheet selfie from the morning she got her Oscar nomination or mixing a potent Martini in an Instagram stories tutorial, she is quick, smart, ambitious  like her wilful Amy March. Shes a trailblazer of the new Hollywood generation of women who want to take up space  whether thats with outsized gowns or outsized attitude.

Florence Pugh at the BAFTAs / PA

Breaking Oscar records

On the subject of Oscars season, I have seen  for me  an uncommonly large number of the movies nominated for best picture this year (two).

There was Little Women, which I adored, obviously, and 1917, which was also brilliant  which I say with certainty despite the fact that I experienced more than half of it staring at the floor on account of the fact that it was giving me horrendous motion sickness.
How iron carbenes store energy from sunlight -- and why they aren't better at it

Photosensitizers are molecules that absorb sunlight and pass that energy along to generate electricity or drive chemical reactions. They're generally based on rare, expensive metals; so the discovery that iron carbenes, with plain old iron at their cores, can do this, too, triggered a wave of research over the past few years. But while ever more efficient iron carbenes are being discovered, scientists need to understand exactly how these molecules work at an atomic level in order to engineer them for top performance.

Now researchers have used an X-ray laser at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to watch what happens when light hits an iron carbene. They discovered that it can respond in two competing ways, only one of which allows electrons to flow into the devices or reactions where they're needed. In this case, the molecule took the energy-producing path about 60% of the time. The team published their results January 31 in Nature Communications.

In a solar cell, an iron carbene attaches to the semiconductor film on the surface of the cell with its iron atom sticking up. Sunlight hits the iron atom and liberates electrons, which flow into the carbene attachments. If they remain on those attachments long enough - 10 trillionths of a second or more - they can then move into the solar cell and boost its efficiency. In chemistry, the energy boost that photosensitizers provide helps drive chemical reactions, but requires even longer residence times for the electrons on the carbene attachments.

To pin down how this works, an international team led by researchers from the Stanford PULSE Institute at SLAC examined samples of iron carbene with X-ray laser pulses from the lab's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). They simultaneously measured two separate signals that reveal how the molecule's atomic nuclei move and how its electrons travel in and out of the iron-carbene bonds.

The results showed that electrons were stored in the carbene attachments long enough to do useful work about 60% of the time; the rest of the time they returned to the iron atom too soon, accomplishing nothing.

PULSE's Kelly Gaffney said the long-term goal of this research is to get close to 100 percent of the electrons to stay on carbenes much longer, so the energy from light can be used to drive chemical reactions. To do that, scientists need to find design principles for tailoring iron carbene molecules to carry out particular jobs with maximum efficiency.

###

PULSE postdoctoral researcher Kristjan Kunnus led the analysis for this study, which was carried out at LCLS and at SLAC's Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), both DOE Office of Science user facilities. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden prepared the samples for analysis, and scientists from Uppsala University in Sweden, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen University, Wigner Research Centre for Physics and ELI-ALPS, ELI-HU Non-Profit Ltd. in Hungary, and Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) in Germany also contributed to the research. Major funding came from the DOE Office of Science.

Citation: Kristjan Kunnus et al., Nature Communications, 31 January 2020 (10.1038/s41467-020-14468-w)

SLAC is a vibrant multiprogram laboratory that explores how the universe works at the biggest, smallest and fastest scales and invents powerful tools used by scientists around the globe. With research spanning particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology, materials, chemistry, bio- and energy sciences and scientific computing, we help solve real-world problems and advance the interests of the nation.

SLAC is operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
I dont know if he can keep this tone, because unlike Ronald Reagan, hes not an optimistic, generous person. But if he can, and he can keep his ideology anodyne, this message can resonate even with people who dont like him.

Trumps speech reframes the election around this core question: Is capitalism basically working or is it basically broken?

Trump can run on the proposition that its basically working. He has a lot of evidence on his side: The unemployment rate is the lowest in decades. Wages are rising. The typical family income is higher than it has ever been.

Americans seem to accept this position. Confidence in the economy is higher now than at any moment since the Clinton administration. According to Gallup, 59 percent of Americans say they are better off than they were a year ago. Three-quarters of Americans expect to be even better off a year from now.

Democrats, by contrast, have congregated around the message that capitalism is fundamentally broken and that the economy is bad. As Matthew Yglesias noted recently in Vox, when Democrats were asked in the PBS NewsHour/Politico debate if the economy was good, they all gave the same answer.

Joe Biden: I dont think [Americans] really do like the economy. Look at the middle-class neighborhoods. The middle class is getting killed. The middle class is getting crushed. Pete Buttigieg: This economy is not working for most of us. Elizabeth Warren: A rising G.D.P., rise in corporate profits, is not being felt by millions of families across the country. And so on down the line.
Photo: iStock

You can leave your umbrella at home through Saturday, but rainfall is in the forecast for Houston later in the week, according to the seven-day forecast from drone-powered weather service Saildrone. Wednesday's forecast shows the greatest likelihood of rain at 78 percent, with rain generally expected through Thursday.

The coming days will also bring warm temperatures, due to last through Monday. Temperatures will turn cooler on Wednesday and Thursday, getting up to just 50 degrees on Thursday.

Winds are forecast to rise up to 20 mph on Sunday, with daily top speeds in the teens for the remainder of the week. Skies will be clear today and cloudy on Saturday.

This story was created automatically using Saildrone's local weather forecast data, then reviewed by an editor. We also incorporate historic weather data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
The Ghaziabad authorities will allot unique number that will be painted on auto-rickshaws plying in the district to ensure that the drivers or miscreants posing as passengers do not get away after crime, a senior police official said on Friday.

The police launched 'Operation Nakail' under which the identity of all auto-rickshaw drivers will be verified and a unique four-digit number will be allotted to them. The drivers will be required to get the unique number painted on front, left, right and rear side of the auto-rickshaws, Senior Superintendent of Police Kalanidhi Naithani told PTI.

The development comes after a number of incidents of passengers getting looted or harassed on auto-rickshaws were reported.

In many cases, auto-rickshaw passengers were targeted by criminal groups such as 'Jahar Khurani' gang. The gang members pose as passengers and loot other people travelling in the auto-rickshaws after serving them laced sweets.

The SSP said many incidents of women getting harassed also take place in the auto-rickshaws.

"In any such untoward situation, the distressed passenger can easily remember the unique number and easily file a complaint," Naithani said.

When the complainant will provide the unique number, the police can easily search the details of the driver.

Apart from bearing the unique number, the drivers will also be required to get their names and mobile number of the auto-rickshaw owner painted on the vehicles.

The 'Operation Nakail' will enhance women's security, the SSP said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Rajasthan revenue minister Harish Chaudhary has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking to declare locust attack in the state as a calamity.

He also requested the Prime Minister for a change of rules under the State Disaster Response Fund to provide help to affected farmers and for an effective plan to find a permanent solution to the menace.

Earlier on February 4, Chaudhary had written to PM Modi seeking a declaration of locusts attack in the state as a calamity.

Concerned over the spate of locust attacks on crops in areas of south Punjab, bordering Rajasthan, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on January 28 urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct External Affairs ministry and the Indian High Commission in Islamabad to immediately take up the issue with Pakistan, from where the pests were emanating.

In a letter to Prime Minister, Captain Amarinder had said there has been a sustained locust attack on crops in Rajasthan recently and a significant number of these pests have also entered into southern Punjab.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nine industries could be negatively affected in the short term by the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic, according to SSI Securities Corp.

A seaport in HCM City. Ports are among nine sectors expected to be affected by the coronavirus in the short term.

In its report on the impacts of the epidemic on 23 industries, SSI listed textile, retail, seafood, beer, oil and gas, securities, seaport - shipping, airport services, and aviation as the most vulnerable.

It said aviation would be most negatively affected because travel demand has plummeted, especially China-related tourism.

In 2019 Chinese national passengers accounted for 40 per cent of all arrivals in Viet Nam.

Freight transport from and to China is also set to reduce due to lower demand from Chinese consumers and limited production.

While there is no direct impact on the Vietnamese garment industrys exports since it does not export to China much, production is likely to be affected since many textile factories in China have been shut down and they are the biggest suppliers of fabric to Viet Nam.

The retail industry will be affected since people are wary of going to public places due to the coronavirus epidemic.

Beer consumption will face the same situation. The industry has already been reeling under the effect of Decree 100, which has exponentially increased penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Seafood exports to China are also forecast to decline due to lower demand there. Last year the market bought 16.5 per cent of Viet Nam's seafood exports, including 16.1 per cent of shrimp and 33 per cent of pangasius exports.

For the oil and gas industry, the price of Brent crude ended 16 per cent lower on January 30, 2020, from a temporary peak formed earlier in the month. The fall in oil prices has been attributed to investor concerns about weakening oil demand in China.

The epidemic also had a negative impact on the psychology of securities investors in the short term, but the market is expected to immediately recover strongly when the disease is controlled, as has happened in the past.

With consumer demand in China negatively affected in the short term due to disease concerns, SSI said Viet Nam's exports to China would be adversely affected in the first quarter, thereby affecting ports business.

SSI expected four industries to benefit from the epidemic: pharmaceutical, information technology, electricity, and water. It had a neutral assessment for 10 industries -- automobile, dairy, housing, industrial park real estate, banks, insurance, construction, steel, cement, and fertilisers.

Other experts pointed out that consumers would shift from traditional to modern trade channels and online shopping to ensure hygiene and safety.

Thus demand for e-commerce and express delivery services are also expected to increase sharply.  VNS

Vietnam plans to ensure supply of essential goods amid epidemic outbreak The new strain of coronavirus has killed nearly 500 people and infected more than 24,000 across the globe. Tran Duy Dong, director of the Domestic Market Department, speaks about its plans to ensure supplies of essential goods.
February 07 : Debutante director Anubhuti Kashyap says she is really excited for her web-series with Amazon Prime Video India, which has its World Premiere last night in Mumbai.

Amazon Prime Video India hosted a world premiere for their next web-series Afsos, starring Gulshan Devaiah, Anjali Patil, Heeba Shah, where a suicidal man and a deadly assassin encounter the world of immortality.

The web series is directed by Anubhuti Kashyap who has been the assistant director of Anurag Kashyap for his acclaimed movies  Gangs of Wasseypur and Dev D.

Talking about the series, Anubhuti said, Really excited for Afsos, it is a very different kind of story. It is a satire, it is a dark comedy, and when people will watch it, I think they will like it. It is funny and it is dark, I dont think this space has been explored or seen in web-series, as most of them are based on gangster stuff

Shooting was fun, it was hectic and we had fun shooting the action part. After watching the trailer, people think they might have a little idea about the story, but the story is totally different added Anubhuti.

Written by by Dibya Chatterjee and Anirban Dasgupta, Afsos is about a man, who has nothing going right in his life. Hes attempted to kill himself 11 times, but hes even failed at that. Hes been removed from four jobs. Hes a failed writer as well. In his own words, his life story is so bad that it seems, he has only written it. He hires an agency to kill him so that the job is finally done.

The star cast also include Anirban Dasgupta, Dibya Chatterjee, Sourav Ghosh, Aakash Dahiya, Dhruv Sehgal, Ratnabali Bhattacharya, Ujjwal Chopra and Jamie Alter.

"Afsos" is an upcoming black comedy-suspense series on Amazon Prime Video. The web series is produced under Only Much Louder.
LOWER SALFORD  Applications will be submitted for use-and-occupancy permits for two parking lots that are being used to park trucks that make deliveries from Amazon, the owners of the properties told township supervisors at the boards Feb. 4 morning work session.

Its not always clear what approvals are needed for new and different uses, though, attorney Nate Fox, representing property owners Mike and Zach Moore, said.

I think were finding with this facility use, as elsewhere, there are holes in local municipal zoning ordinances because theres nothing that really speaks to this, Fox said.

But its easier to handle those holes when were informed about them at the beginning of the process as opposed to getting calls from concerned residents and neighbors and having to kind of try to catch up to the process, Township Manager Joe Czajkowski said.

Sixty trucks are being parked at Ametek Pittman on Godshall Drive and 30 at the former Nyce Printing on Main Street without permits having been applied for in either case, township officials said. Both properties are owned by the Moores.

Amazon is not the tenant in either case, Zach Moore said.

Amazon does not own and operate these fleets. Theres Amazon logos on them, but its not Amazon. Theyre all subcontractors that Amazon partners with, he said. Amazons a great buzzword, but this is not Amazon.

Theyre a result of Amazon having a warehouse in Towamencin, but theyre not Amazon vehicles, understood, board member Chris Canavan said.

The townships questions are about the allowed use of the properties under the zoning rules, he said.

In the case of the Ametek site, which is zoned for industrial use, the parking lot which was an accessory use becomes a primary use, he said. At the Nyce site, which is zoned for residential use, it would be another non-conforming use joining other businesses already using the property, he said. Rock Community Church, which also uses part of the property, is not a non-conforming use because the institutional use is allowed, he said.

The Ametek lot has about 260 parking spaces, Fox said. Pittman was bought by Ametek, which moved the manufacturing work previously done at the site to Mexico, he said. The company still has engineering offices at the site, he said.

Historically, it was a heavy manufacturing operation, and warehousing and storage, with tons of parking and tons of employees, Fox said. We dont have that anymore.

Even if there are less vehicles, there are different traffic patterns and times of peak use, which also has to be considered, Canavan said.

There are also aspects of the plan that work in its favor, he said.

The sites buffered. Its got an access to [Route] 63. Its close to the turnpike, he said.

A permit application and township review is necessary, though, he said.

Its just a matter of knowing whats there so that we dont get ahead of ourselves, and not that I think youre trying to over-stuff it, but, Canavan said, things have a tendency to grow.

Jim Garrity, the townships solicitor, said he will have to check to see if the parking use is allowed in the industrial zoning district.

Well look at it when the applications filed, but the use really is not of the building. The use is of the parking lot and its a truck depot, Garrity said.

The drivers come to the site, take the trucks out and make deliveries, then return the trucks and go home, Zach Moore said.

Its not 24/7. Theyre not storing anything at this facility, he said.

There have been complaints from neighbors of the Nyce property about additional lighting having been installed in the parking lot, which was expanded, Czajkowski said.

The lighting was added for security, Mike Moore said.

Grading was done, but the lot wasnt expanded, he said.

A site plan filed with the township shows the large parking area in the rear of the building when it was used by Nyce Printing, Zach Moore said.

What you see here has always been there, he said as a photo of the lot was shown.

The biggest issue at the Nyce site is that the plan adds a new non-conforming use, which would need to go to the zoning hearing board for its approval, Rob Reilley, the townships director of building & zoning/code enforcement officer, said.

There is also a stipulation agreement for the Nyce property signed in 1996 by a previous owner that limits the types and amount of uses, township officials said. That was never recorded with the deed and he had not previously seen it, Mike Moore said.

The permit applications will be filed for the townships review, he said.

We live here in this community, Mike Moore said. We want to have a good relationship with you.

Garrity said the Nyce property is complicated.

Lets decide whats non-conforming and agree to it and then everybody knows where theyre going, he said.
Police on Thursday said investigators recovered five stolen cars, drugs, guns and arrested two men in a string of crimes spanning New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Leon Lowery, 42, of North Brunswick, and Ishawn Redd, 39, of West Orange, face several felony charges, the New Jersey State Police announced.

The arrests came as part of a six-month investigation dubbed Operation Hellcat, where detectives probed a string of commercial burglaries and car thefts in Monmouth and Middlesex counties as well as in Pennsylvania, according to authorities.

The suspects allegedly targeted and broke into various check cashing facilities, scrap metal yards, and convenience stores in the area where they stole cash, the State Police said in a statement.

Members of the State Police, joined by Howell and South Plainfield police, served search warrants at the homes of Lowery and Redd on Sept. 11, authorities said.

That effort turned up the stolen vehicles - a Dodge Challenger Hellcat, Audi A7, Dodge Ram 3500, and a Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG. Police said they also seized burglary tools, 169 THC vape cartridges, $15,300 along with a 40 caliber handgun and a .45 caliber handgun.

Two days after that search, the State Police, Paramus police and Middlesex County Prosecutors Office searched an East Orange storage space that Lowery rented, the state agency said. That search led to a stolen Jeep Grand Cherokee, 4 ounces of methamphetamine, more than 500 grams of Xanax and at least 50 grams of marijuana, and ecstasy.

Detectives believe that Lowery and Redd may have committed additional commercial burglaries and thefts throughout New Jersey, State Police said.

Lowery was charged with offenses, including receiving stolen property, burglary, drug and weapons charges, along with operating a facility for sale of stolen motor vehicle parts, according to police. He was being held at the Middlesex County Jail pending a detention hearing.

For his part, Redd was lodged at the Essex County jail on charges of receiving stolen property and removal or altering of vehicle identification numbers, authorities said.

State Police asked anyone who believes they might be a victim of the crime spree to call investigators at 609-584-5000, ext. 5351.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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IOCL signs first term contract for importing Russian crude oil

State-run Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) on Wednesday signed a term contract with Russian oil and gas giant Roseneft for importing 2 million tonnes of Urals grade crude oil during the year 2020.

The first-ever term contract between IOCL and Rosneft was signed after a meeting between minister of petroleum and natural gas and steel, Dharmendra Pradhan and Igor Sechin, CEO and chairman of Rosneft, in New Delhi today.

Sourcing of Russian crude oil through long term contracts is a part of Indias strategy of diversifying the countrys crude oil supplies from non-OPEC countries, and a part of the five-year roadmap for bilateral cooperation in the hydrocarbons sector that was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to Vladivostok last September.

The addition of Russia as a new source for crude oil imports by Indias largest refiner will go a long way in mitigating the risks arising out of geo-political disruptions. The new arrangement would also usher in price stability and energy security for India, which is witnessing robust growth in demand for petroleum products. It will also open up the avenues for other PSU oil refiners to enter into similar term contracts for import of Russian crude oil, a petroleum ministry release stated.

Both sides agreed to take forward mutually aligned priorities, including preparing a roadmap for Indian investments in the Eastern Cluster projects of Russia.

Indias four oil and gas public sector undertakings have already submitted expression of interest to Rosneft for participating in the project. In order to negotiate the terms of Indian companies entering Vostok Oil in the shortest time possible, it was agreed to create a working group of representatives of Russian and Indian companies.

During the meeting, both leaders reviewed the ongoing investments between Indian oil and gas PSUs and Rosneft, and discussed further enhancing energy cooperation and strengthening hydrocarbons engagement, both on investment front as well in sourcing natural gas and crude oil.

During the meeting, Pradhan said that hydrocarbon is an important pillar of the bilateral strategic partnership. Indian oil and gas companies value their association with Rosneft, one of the important companies partnering in Indias energy security objectives.

Both sides agreed to take forward mutually aligned priorities discussed during Pradhans visit to Russia in September last year, including preparing a road-map for Indian investments in the Eastern Cluster projects of Russia, especially in the Arctic.

Pradhan said that Indian companies, especially Engineers India Limited, have considerable expertise in providing engineering consultancy as well as executing mega projects across the hydrocarbon value chain.

Roseneft CEO Sechin indicated his readiness to intensify cooperation further to strengthen Indias energy security and work jointly with Indian oil and gas companies.

Crude oil being sourced under the contract will be loaded in Suezmax vessels at Novorossiysk port of Russia and will come to India, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Hong Kong SARs stock exchange is changing its rules on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting to improve corporate governance.

IFLRs latest primer looks at how, following similar rule changes in the US and EU, Hong Kong SAR is changing its listing rules to increase transparency and the accountability of listed companies.

What are the HKEXs new ESG disclosure rules about?

Under HKEXs new mandatory disclosure requirements, which will be effective July 1 2020, companies will need to provide: a board statement setting out its consideration of ESG matters, disclosure of significant climate-related issues which have impacted and may impact the issuer, disclosure obligation to comply or explain key ESG performance indicators, and published ESG reports within five months of the financial year-end.

The new rules are not just about reporting specific indicators, says Mervyn Tang, senior director, global head of ESG research at Fitch Ratings. Companies have to demonstrate how they assess and manage ESG issues, and the role and expertise of the board in this process. In particular companies have to disclose how climate-related issues could impact their business.

See also: ESG now a key factor in M&A

The latest requirements expect a shift in corporate attitudes towards ESG from a box-ticking exercise to embracing it to drive long-term value, which can be challenging for many companies, according to Hermes Investment Managements Janet Wong. For example, the requirements emphasise the importance of forward-thinking in ESG reporting through target-setting.

To set meaningful environmental and/or social targets, companies need to first have a good understanding of their internal operations. That often requires dedicated resources to define, collect and analyse quantitative data, says Wong. Buy-in throughout the organisation  not only from senior management but also other departmental and business heads  is also essential. Companies that have not established a proper governance structure to manage ESG issues may struggle to live up to the latest expectations.

See also: ESG: asset managers vary in enthusiasm

What has driven the HKEX to change its reporting requirements?

ESG considerations have recently become a key element of fiduciary duties for many asset owners, and an important part of investment product marketing for asset managers. Those who cannot demonstrate ESG integration in the investment process are increasingly being asked why not.

The availability of ESG data has become essential for asset managers to demonstrate their sustainable credentials. The HKEXs requirement for ESG disclosure will help asset managers to demonstrate ESG integration and increase investor demand for HKEX-listed securities.

According to Roman Novozhilov, head of ESG at New Development Bank, asset managers are actively addressing the demand by developing and marketing specific products to access ESG-conscious investors and demonstrate strong financial returns following ESG integration.

A positive impact of the new requirements is that this will facilitate the inclusion of HKEX-listed issuers into the universe of ESG-conscious investors and asset managers, says Novozhilov.

ESG: the financial costs of climate change

What aspects will listed companies find most challenging to comply with?

Market participants believe that the new requirements will not present a significant challenge for large companies who regularly issue, since many aspects are aligned with the regulatory requirements theyre already subject to. But for smaller issuers, this will likely require creating a new data collection system across various business lines, as well as additional resources to implement the disclosure.

ESG industry leaders are already undertaking most, if not all, of the revised ESG reporting requirements  however, there will likely be a larger gap for smaller companies or companies less engaged with ESG issues, says Gabriel Wilson-Otto, head of stewardship, APAC at BNP Paribas.

Wilson-Otto adds: Areas that companies may find challenging are the requirement for more strategic engagement with material ESG issues, and increased disclosure requirements. This is due to the potential for capability gaps, including ESG expertise on the board or more broadly within an organisation, and resource constraints.

For many company boards, ESG has not been on the radar until recently. Our previous research showed that a majority of boards have not been paying enough attention to ESG, says Brian Ho, climate change and sustainability partner at EY. Where now ESG risks should be, in some way, discussed in board meetings, this implies that capacity-building on ESG topics is required for the board.

Wong adds: Devoting sufficient time and resources to ESG issues can be challenging for board directors in Hong Kong, especially when many have an already-busy schedule.

According to a CLSA report in March 2019, 94 people occupy six or more listed company board seats each in Hong Kong SAR.

Another potential issue is greenwashing. To ensure the validity of the data and avoid the temptation to greenwash, companies will need to establish corporate data collection and validation procedures, says Novozhilov. Without these procedures in place, businesses will face reputational issues if the validity of disclosure is questioned.

Ho adds: A very limited number of issuers do set quantifiable targets, such as energy and water consumption and carbon emissions. For most, readiness to set and communicate these targets is low.

The majority of issuers may not have conducted ESG risk identification properly, including the involvement of relevant stakeholders in the process. Many issuers will have to conduct a stakeholder engagement exercise for ESG risk identification for the first time  and the market has limited knowledge on how to do this, says Ho.

Additionally, issuers can be exposed to shareholder pressure if their disclosed ESG data is found to be erroneous, insufficient, or if its targets are not deemed ambitious enough. Such gaps can potentially attract scrutiny and activist shareholder campaigns, says Novozhilov.

Another challenge will be to ensure consistency of reported ESG disclosure data across different businesses operating in different jurisdictions.

See also: ESG survey: no need to accept lower returns over long term

How do the new reporting rules compare with those in other jurisdictions?

According to Wilson-Otto, in Asia, regulation has played a large role in improving ESG disclosure  but for many companies, this has not led to increased engagement with the underlying issues. Essentially, ESG disclosure has been treated as a compliance requirement by some companies, and not as part of a strategic assessment of risks and opportunities.

Additional requirements to provide detailed information on management and strategy of ESG is consistent with the direction of change in many countries, as investors pay more attention to ESG issues, says Tang. Investors will judge companies on the strength and coherence of their ESG strategy, along with the execution of that strategy.

Singapore has a similar ESG disclosure framework. The local exchange (SGX) requires issuers to make statements indicating that company boards have overseen the management and monitoring of the material ESG issues, and have considered sustainability issues as part of their strategic formulations. Unlike HKEX, the SGX has not prescribed any particular sustainability reporting framework, so issuers can select the framework which is suited to its industry and business model, and explain its choice, says Ho.

However, the latest HKEX rules have a relatively light touch on social framework and indicators, which has been a key topic in other markets, according to Wong. For example, the European Commissions non-binding guidelines reference international frameworks like the OECD due diligence guidance for responsible supply chains from conflict-affected and high-risk areas and the UN guiding principles on business and human rights. These are not discussed or covered in the latest reporting requirements.

Plus, some social key performance indicators remain input-based instead of outcomes-based. For example, companies are required to disclose anti-corruption training provided to directors and staff, which is an input proxy to measure a companys ESG performance.

Globally there have been increased expectations on outcomes-based measurements. In the UK, the revised 2020 stewardship code has placed a strong focus on activities and outcomes of stewardship. Wong believes this will be the trend in future.

Market observers generally agree that theres a lot of room for ESG to grow in Asia, and companies should expect to see increased compliance requirements. The mainstreaming of ESG in Asia-Pacific financial markets is still in its infancy, and I expect an ongoing trend towards further enhancements to ESG disclosure requirements and increasing convergence of ESG standards and classifications, says Wilson-Otto.

ESG investor interest swerves east

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Karen Pierce is set to become the first woman to serve as the UK's ambassador to the US, it was announced today.

Dame Karen, who is currently representing Britain at the UN, will replace Lord Darroch after his extraordinary public spat with Donald Trump.

She will take up the job when the appointment is rubber-stamped by Washington. However, that is thought to be a formality, with the president having previously praised her as 'fab'.

The government is hoping that the change will mean a fresh start as they launch negotiations on a post-Brexit trade deal.

Dame Karen said she was 'honoured' to be playing a part in the UK's 'single most important relationship'.

Boris Johnson hailed her as 'outstanding', while Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said she was the right person to start a 'new chapter' in the Transatlantic alliance.

Karen Pierce is set to become the first woman to serve as the UK's ambassador to the US, it was announced today

Dame Karen, who is currently representing Britain at the UN, will replace Lord Darroch (right) after his extraordinary public spat with Donald Trump (left)

Lord Darroch's time as ambassador descended into turmoil last summer after secret diplomatic cables were leaked in which he gave a withering assessment of the 'inept' US administration.

Trailblazer who champions Special Relationship Karen Pierce has been a trailblazer for women throughout her career - and has a reputation as a strong advocate of the Special Relationship. Dame Karen, 60, has been at the Foreign Office for nearly 40 years. She has served in America before, as well as being posted to the Balkans, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Her most recent posting was as ambassador to the UN, where again she was the first female to hold the post. She was credited with helping marshal a tough international response to Russia's nerve agent atrocity in Salisbury, with the US joining in expulsions of Moscow diplomats. The mother-of-two is married to fellow senior civil servant Charles Roxburgh. Dame Karen has previously been praised for her 'vivid presence' and was once photographed wearing a feather boa in the UN Security Council. She also reportedly travels with an 'ambassadorial step' so she can get in and out of helicopters while wearing stiletto heels. Advertisement

Mr Trump - who had previously lobbied for Nigel Farage to be the UK's man in Washington - branded him a 'very stupid guy' while the White House retaliated by insisting it would not work with him any more.

Although the UK government defended Lord Darroch in public, he later announced he was standing down as his job had become 'impossible'.

Dame Karen, 60, has been at the Foreign Office for nearly 40 years.

Her most recent posting was as ambassador to the UN, where again she was the first female to hold the post.

She was credited with helping marshal a tough international response to Russia's nerve agent atrocity in Salisbury, with the US joining in expulsions of Moscow diplomats.

The mother-of-two is married to fellow senior civil servant Charles Roxburgh.

Mr Johnson tweeted: '@KarenPierceUN is an outstanding and accomplished diplomat and I can think of no better person to drive forward our hugely important relationship with the United States at this time.

'I'm delighted she'll be representing us in Washington.'

Mr Raab said today: 'It is a time of huge opportunity for the friendship between the UK and US and I am delighted that Karen Pierce will take forward this exciting new chapter in our relationship.

'We're proud to be sending to Washington such an outstanding diplomat, and I warmly congratulate her on her appointment.'

Dame Karen said: 'I am honoured to have been asked to represent the UK in the US. I think it is the UK's single most important relationship. There is a deep bond between Britain and the US, built on many pillars.

'We have a fantastic cross-Government team across the US and I look forward to working with them to strengthen and even further deepen the special relationship between our two countries and peoples.'
What's better than fried food? Free fried food.

Sorrento Ristorante & Pizzeria is celebrating 19 years of business in San Antonio on Feb. 10. The 5146 Broadway restaurant is inviting customers to celebrate the milestone with them by coming in from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday for free fried appetizers.

"Come tell us happy anniversary and receive an order of Fried Ravioli of Cheese Sticks with your meal," the restaurant says online.

RELATED: Deal of the Day: Popular San Antonio Italian restaurant offering $5 appetizers, drinks on Friday

In 2011, Sorrento won the San Antonio Express-News Critics' Choice award for best Neighborhood Restaurant in the North Central area.

The restaurant says the Monday deal is "just a little way of saying thank you for 19 wonderful years."

Madalyn Mendoza is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mmendoza@mysa.com | @MaddySkye
My hairdresser, Yimi Kolo, a 37-year-old mother of four who speaks little English but listens almost all day to a radio station that transmits in pidgin English, told me last week that she just loves Trump for his toughness. He says what he is going to do, and he goes ahead and does it. Her opinion was unsolicited, inspired merely by the mention of Trumps name on the radio while she was plaiting my hair. The perception of Trump as tough, no-nonsense, blunt, pro-religion and entertaining could be in part why a majority of people in this deeply religious and most populous country in Africa like him. Like a fire eater, he swallows every challenge that comes his way: Stormy Daniels, Russia, Ukraine, impeachment. Each time it appears as if hes down, he rises, seemingly stronger. Its like watching an action movie, or the best reality show Nigerians have ever seen  expressions of wonderment and wild laughter can be heard when people gather to discuss him.
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In case you haven't heard, America's most important social program, Social Security, is in a bit of trouble. A number of ongoing demographic changes have Social Security on track to completely exhaust its $2.9 trillion in asset reserves (i.e., net-cash surpluses built up since inception) by 2035. Should this happen, Social Security wouldn't be bankrupt, but it would mean sweeping benefit cuts to then-current and future retired workers of up to 23%.

Social Security needs a fix, and it's lawmakers on Capitol Hill who will have to deliver that resolution. That's why it's more important now than ever to know where the leading 2020 presidential candidates stand on Social Security. Today, we'll take a closer look at incumbent Republican Donald Trump's viewpoints on Social Security.

How did Trump view Social Security while campaigning in 2015-2016?

The first aspect of Donald Trump's stance to tackle is how he stood on America's top social program while on the campaign trail prior to being elected the 45th president. In general, Trump views the federal government making good on payouts to workers who've paid into the program for decades as "honoring a deal," as he put in his book Time to Get Tough (2011).

What's more, the president has advised his fellow Republicans to approach the issue cautiously. While speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013, Trump said the following:

As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen ... What we have to do and the way we solve our problems is to build a great economy.

In other words, Trump understands that if direct resolutions are made to Social Security (and other entitlement programs), some groups of people are going to be worse off than they were before. That makes direct fixes to the program a dangerous game to play when nearing an election.

What has Trump done to tackle Social Security's cash shortfall during his first three years in office?

So, what has Donald Trump done to improve Social Security while in office? With the president clearly averse to tackling the issue directly and potentially losing votes, Trump has instead focused his efforts on indirect solutions, the most notable of which is the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

When signed into law in December 2017, the TCJA represented the most sweeping tax overhaul in the U.S. in over three decades. It lowered the tax liability of most working Americans, while capping the marginal corporate income-tax rate at 21%, down from a peak of 35%. In essence, it was a tax cut designed to stimulate economic growth by encouraging businesses to innovative, hire, and expand, as well as encourage consumer spending.

How does this help Social Security, you ask? The program has three sources of funding: a 12.4% payroll tax on earned income, the interest income earned on its asset reserves, and the taxation of benefits. The former, the payroll tax on earned income of up to $137,700 (in 2020), is the program's workhorse. In 2018, it was responsible for $885 billion of the $1 trillion in revenue collected. The thinking here is that if tax cuts can bolster economic growth, workers should see an increase in wages and/or income, leading to more payroll tax being collected. This increase in payroll tax collected should put Social Security on better financial footing.

If you're curious, the TCJA does appear to have had a very modest upward lift on the U.S. economy and Social Security over the past two years. For example, the 2018 Social Security Board of Trustees report had called for the program's first net-cash outflow since 1982 that year, but this forecast was ultimately proved wrong, with Social Security generating a net-cash surplus of $3 billion. Similarly, the program's net-cash surplus of a little over $2 billion in 2019 was slightly higher than the $1 billion net-cash surplus the Trustees report had projected for last year.

How would Trump approach "fixing" Social Security if reelected to a second term?

Now for the big question: What happens to Social Security if Donald Trump is reelected as president?

While no one knows this answer with any certainty, we've been given a number of clues during his presidency to make logical guesses. Perhaps the biggest clue came in January 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box, host Joe Kernen asked Trump if "entitlements [would] ever be on your plate?" to which the president replied, "At some point they will be."

To be crystal clear, this doesn't mean that Trump has decreed Social Security spending cuts are coming. However, it does raise eyebrows given the contrasting nature by which Democrats and Republicans have approached fixing Social Security's imminent cash shortfall.

For instance, Democrats have predominantly been in favor of increasing revenue by raising or eliminating the earnings cap associated with the payroll tax. In 2020, all earned income (wages and salary) between $0.01 and $137,700 is subjected to the payroll tax, with earnings beyond $137,700 exempted. Raising or eliminating this cap would require the well-to-do to pay more into the system.

Meanwhile, Republicans have predominantly championed reducing long-term outlays (a fancy way of saying "cutting benefits"). The GOP has proposed gradually raising the full retirement age from 67 to as high as age 70 to account for increased longevity over the past eight decades. If the full retirement age were raised, future generations of retirees would either need to wait longer to claim their full monthly payout or accept a steeper reduction if claiming early. The point is that, no matter their choice, lifetime benefits paid by Social Security would be reduced, thereby saving the program money.

While Trump hasn't specifically mentioned raising the full retirement age, he and his administration have suggested amending the rules for the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. In Trump's fiscal 2020 budget proposal, for example, Trump proposed cutting $26 billion from Social Security over a 10-year period. A good portion of this reduction ($10 billion) was to be made by cutting back SSDI retroactive pay to six months from 12 months.

Again, while Trump has not specifically said that spending cuts are going to happen, there is a good likelihood that outlay reductions would be how Trump would tackle Social Security's imminent cash shortfall.

Trump has tossed around a number of surprising solutions

Of course, it's also important to understand that Trump's views on Social Security have changed considerably over time, and he has, on occasion, tossed around a number of ideas that you may find surprising.

Back in 2000, in his book The America We Deserve, Trump proposed the idea of a one-time 14.25% tax on individuals with a net worth of more than $10 million. In Trump's view, this one-time tax would have allowed the federal government to collect enough revenue to pay off its national debt (at the time), saving it $200 billion annually on interest payments. Trump proposed taking $100 billion of this $200 billion in annual savings and adding it to the Social Security program over a 10-year time frame.

Donald Trump has also loosely tossed around the idea of means-testing for benefits. Means-testing would partially reduce or eliminate Social Security benefits once an individual or couple crosses above a preset earnings threshold. Since Social Security was designed to predominantly protect low-income workers during retirement, such a move would ensure that the rich aren't receiving payments they don't need.

Trump even once offered up the idea of partially privatizing Social Security -- a view he now steers clear of. In The America We Deserve, Trump suggests that workers have the option of utilizing personal accounts to invest in stocks, bonds, diversified mutual funds, and bonds funds.

The point being that Trump may be more open to a middle-ground solution than most folks realize.

Additionally, it should be noted that the political makeup of Congress is going to play a big role as to whether or not major Social Security reforms are pursued. Without significant Republican gains in the House or Senate, Trump's push for direct reforms, assuming a successful reelection, would likely fall on deaf ears.
CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Alireza Moshaverinia, DDS, MS, PhD, FACP, was honored with the Distinguished Researcher Award from the American College of Prosthodontists (ACP). This award recognizes outstanding contributions through original research, literature, teaching, or clinical applications. He received the honor at the 49th Annual Session of the ACP held in Miami, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, 2019.

"I am truly honored to receive such a prestigious award," said Dr. Moshaverinia. "This award encourages me to continue pursuing this avenue of translational research and train the next generation of prosthodontist-scientists."

Dr. Moshaverinia is a tenure track assistant professor at the UCLA School of Dentistry, Division of Advanced Prosthodontics. He directs the Laboratory for Biomaterials Innovation & Tissue Engineering (BITE) at Weintraub Center for Reconstructive Biotechnology, UCLA School of Dentistry.

The honoree lectures nationally and internationally on various topics such as dental ceramics, implant dentistry, and multidisciplinary treatment planning. He has published more than 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals on dental materials, implant dentistry, and stem cell-mediated tissue engineering, and serves as an editorial review board member for several scientific journals.

Dr. Moshaverinia is a Fellow of the ACP and a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics. He completed his advanced clinical education in prosthodontics and earned his PhD in craniofacial biology from the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.

About Prosthodontists

A prosthodontist is a dental specialist who focuses on the restoration and replacement of missing teeth and other oral or facial issues. Prosthodontists specialize in helping patients with implants, dentures and veneers, all the way to full mouth and jaw reconstructions.

About the ACP

The American College of Prosthodontists (ACP) is the association that represents the specialty of prosthodontics. Founded in 1970, the ACP is dedicated to advancing the art and science of prosthodontics and promoting the specialty to the public and dental professionals. For more information, consumers can visit GoToAPro.org and dental professionals can visit Prosthodontics.org.

Evan Summers

[email protected]

SOURCE American College of Prosthodontists

Related Links

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A 40-year-old Ramon L. Millan from Bridgeport, Conn. pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Friday and was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 21-year-old Kevin O. Cabrera-Soto in Fitchburg on Dec. 3, 2016.

Firefighters were called to the apartment around 10:35 p.m., Dec. 3, 2016, for a report of a two-alarm fire at 122 Laurel St. Cabreras badly burned body was found in the bedroom. He was on his stomach and his hands were tied behind his back.

His girlfriend and their 7-year-old son escaped the fire, police said.

She told investigators that she recognized the two assailants, Millan and Jose Crespo of Newark, N.J., who wore masks and latex gloves and carried guns. The intruders allegedly demanded cash and were given $2,700. Cabrera-Soto had been pistol-whipped and beaten during the burglary.

Jose Crespo, 32, pleaded not guilty in Worcester Superior Court on July 14 for charges in connection with the death of Kevin Cabrera in Fitchburg

Millan and Crespo were arrested in Bridgeport the day after the attack and Crespo is still awaiting trial for the charges, including first-degree murder.

After their arrest in Bridgeport, Crespo declined to speak to investigators, authorities said in records filed in Fitchburg District Court. Millan however spoke to detectives in a recorded interview, State Police Trooper Shawn Murphy wrote.

In the process of the robbery, Millan tied the decedent up and Crespo assaulted him causing his death, Murphy wrote in a statement of facts. Millan further stated that Crespo lit a pillow on fire in the vicinity of the decedent to cover up the crime scene.

Wilfredo Muniz, 31, pleaded not guilty the intimidation of a witness statute for misleading a police investigation.

Millan will be eligible for parole after 25 years, also pleaded guilty to the home invasion and three counts of aggravated kidnapping with a sentence of at least 25 years, a minimum of five years for one count of armed robbery and 19 years to 20 years on a charge of arson.

A third defendant Wilfredo Muniz, also from Bridgeport, is charged with misleading investigators in connection with the case and is also awaiting trial.

Assistant District Attorneys David P. Feraco and Louis Tosches prosecuted the case.
The solutions to the problems of the press today may lie in the hands of journalists themselves

Constructive self-criticism is an art, but criticism of others can be much more artistic. Self-criticism involves diving deep into ones personal traits that include behaviour, beliefs and ideas in order to define the weaker aspects of an individuals character and to try to amend them.

Such criticism can focus on an individual, a group or a whole society. The aim is to bring about reform that may extend to society as a whole and help societal institutions and organisations to rectify their mistakes. In a word, self-criticism should help to rectify accumulated problems that can endanger such institutions and even lead to their destruction.

In order to engage in positive self-criticism, we should avoid harsh words, however. Being too harsh can make it much more difficult to reach a solution and may make problems more complicated. Self-criticism differs according to who is practising it. We also need to differentiate between political and philosophical criticism.

Some people believe that self-criticism is meant to be undertaken by an individual with a view to correcting personal mistakes without waiting for the judgement of others. A man criticising himself is likely to be free and honest in facing his own mistakes alone but doing so in the presence may make him ill at ease.

Criticism in politics is different, and here the opinions of others are vital. Some political parties oblige their members to attend sessions of self-criticism where wrong practices are openly discussed. In certain cases, some members may face dismissal, and for this and other reasons self-criticism is of paramount importance in the working of political parties. It can help ailing parties to recover and to restore their strength.

The same technique can be applied to the press. The world is now talking about the decline of print newspapers and their possible obsolescence. As a result of developments in technology, notably information technology, print newspapers have real problems, and many have already disappeared owing to falling circulations.

Something similar has happened in Egypt, where the problem has also been attributed to a lack of press freedom. This is not 100 per cent true, as there are other reasons that have caused the current crisis, and I believe that the solution lies in the hands of journalists themselves.

Since the second half of the 19th century, the Egyptian press has been subject to censorship, and so the control of the press is not something new. Even with such control, it was able to grow and flourish. Indeed, during the British occupation of Egypt and in the wake of the 1952 Revolution, when the press suffered from strict censorship, sometimes almost stifling it, famous newspapers still appeared together with prominent writers.

What is happening today is quite different, however, since now the newspapers have lost their distinctiveness. Many of them look the same. At the same time, many of them have tended to steer away from discussion of societal problems, and this has meant that they have lost their credibility with the public. Sometimes, their content has been sarcastically referred to as only press talk.

Another issue is newspaper design, which has lacked uniqueness. All newspapers in Egypt use similar layouts, and though we now have modern printing and typography at our disposal most layout editors still use the same monotonous designs. Distinctive photographs have also been absent from newspaper pages.

The art of the cartoonist, sometimes called the vitamin of the press, has suffered, and many readers now miss the work of the cartoonists of the past, among them Salah Jahin and Mostafa Hussein. It is difficult today to find talented journalists of the calibre of those of the past, men like Mohamed Al-Tabei, Ali and Mostafa Amin, Ihsan Abdel-Quddus, also a novelist, Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Mahmoud Al-Saadani, Mostafa Mahmoud, Tawfiq Al-Hakim, Naguib Mahfouz and Louis Awad, the latter three being journalists as well as critics and creative writers.

These names were once the lifeblood of the Egyptian press. Do such talented writers no longer exist? Or have we stopped searching for them?

The search for talent was one of the main jobs of the last generation of journalists, as could be seen in the career of the late Louis Greis, editor of the Cairo magazine Sabah Al-Kheir in the 1960s, who made a tour of Upper Egypt to find new talents, among them vernacular poets who accompanied their verses with music on the rababa, a stringed instrument. Greis came back with a number of promising new poets and started to publish their works, among them Abdel-Rahman Al-Abnoudi, who later achieved wide fame in Egypt and the Arab world.

I can also still remember how pleased the distinguished writer Kamel Zoheiri was when he saw the new layout of Al-Ahram some 28 years ago. It may be useful, too, to quote the distinguished 19th-century British journalist Henry Wickham Stead, who once said that it was necessary for any newspaper that goes after success to be distinctive in its layout as well as in its content.

I was once asked why the poems of the early 20th-century Egyptian-Tunisian poet Bayram Al-Tunisi have managed to survive. Al-Tunisi, one of the pioneers of colloquial nationalist poetry, was able to touch the feelings of all Egyptians during the period of the British occupation. Newspapers publishing his works enjoyed a wide circulation, and people used to chant songs written by Al-Tunisi at social gatherings.

Al-Tunisi wrote one famous patriotic poem in which he addresses the ancient Egyptian king Tutankhamun. I think this should be incorporated into an opera and should be part of the 2022 celebrations marking 100 years since the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. Who knows, it may also be the kind of poem that would have personally pleased the ancient Egyptian pharaoh.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 6 February, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

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A San Antonio Police Department officer has been charged with possession and distribution of obscene images depicting the sexual abuse of children, according to a joint news release from the FBI and SAPD.

Sebastian Torres, 25, was arrested Thursday morning by SAPD without incident, the release said.

A two-count federal grand jury indictment, unsealed Friday, charged Torres with distribution and possession of obscene visual representations of the sexual abuse of children. Torres is a patrolman who has served with SAPD for two years.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

The charges against Torres are deeply disturbing," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in the news release. "When I was initially made aware of the allegations, he was immediately placed on administrative duty and a joint investigation with the FBI was launched."

McManus said Torres is now on administrative leave, adding the case remains under investigation.

Torres made an initial appearance Friday in San Antonio before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Chestney. It is anticipated that his detention hearing will be scheduled next week, according to the news release.

Torres is facing up to 20 years in prison for each charge.

Priscilla Aguirre is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read her on our breaking news site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre
Santarpio's Pizza | Photo: Robert S./Yelp

A lot goes into choosing a pizza  even beyond the question of toppings. But whether you go for takeout or sit-down, thick crust or thin, sauced or bare, you want something delicious  particularly on National Pizza Day, Feb. 9.

Fortunately, Boston boasts a number of quality pizza shops to satisfy your craving for a slice or a pie.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top pizza outlets, using both Yelp data and our own blend of spices to produce a ranked list of the best places to venture  or to call  on National Pizza Day.

1. Santarpio's Pizza

Photo: Susan S./Yelp

Topping the list is Santarpio's Pizza. Located at 111 Chelsea St. (between Washington Avenue and Porter Street) in East Boston, the spot to score pizza and more is the most popular pizza spot in Boston, boasting four stars out of 1,223 reviews on Yelp.

2. Ideal Cafe & Pizza

Photo: harsha r./Yelp

Next up is Jamaica Plain's Ideal Cafe & Pizza, situated at 484 A Centre St. With 4.5 stars out of 71 reviews on Yelp, the spot to score pizza has proved to be a local favorite.

3. Pino's Pizza

Photo: emily c./Yelp

Brighton's Pino's Pizza, located at 1920 Beacon St. (between Pendergast Avenue), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the spot to score pizza and more four stars out of 438 reviews.

4. Union Park Pizza

Photo: julia k./Yelp

Union Park Pizza, a spot to score pizza and more in South End, is another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 72 Yelp reviews. Head over to 1405 Washington St. (between Monsignor Reynolds Way and Union Park Street) to see for yourself.

5. All Star Pizza Bar

Photo: tiffany l./Yelp

Over in Beacon Hill, check out All Star Pizza Bar, which has earned 4.5 stars out of 80 reviews on Yelp. You can find the spot to score pizza and more at 204 Cambridge St. (between Joy and Russell streets).

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.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast

CALI, ColombiaIn Pablo Escobars day, in the 1980s and early 1990s, the erstwhile Cocaine King moved mass quantities of the drug out of Colombia. But his planes loaded with dope had to take off from small airstrips hacked out of the jungle. That limited the size of the aircraft and the amount of contraband they could carry.

Why the Drug War Cant Be WonCartel Corruption Goes All the Way to the Top

After Escobar was killed in 1993, things started to change and by the mid-2000s his successor as kingpin-of-kingpins, Mexicos Joaquin El Chapo Guzman, allegedly came up with a simple solution to that smuggling dilemma. Why muck around in the bush when you can use one of the biggest and busiest hubs in Latin America to ship your illicit cargo?

According to multiple detailed reports in the Colombian and Mexican press, Guzman turned flights out of Bogotas El Dorado International Airport into his own cocaine delivery service for about two years using a now defunct company dubbed Air Cargo Lines. And he had plenty of help doing it.

The central allegations in the story are sourced to an anonymous whistleblower who claims that the deal was done through a broad narco-trafficking conspiracy involving a former Colombian president, a Colombian senator, Chapos Sinaloa Cartel cohorts, airport officials, right-wing paramilitariesand an ICE agent working out of the U.S. Embassy.

El Chapo himself already is serving a life sentence at America's supermax prison in Colorado. His lawyers did not respond to requests for comment. Other alleged ringleaders in this aviation scam deny the claims. But the informant reportedly stands by his statements, and independent researchers find his testimony credible.

So, by this account, how did Chapo Air come to be? And since the whistleblower remains unavailable, apparently in hiding, what corroboration is there for this story that has sent shock waves through the Colombian political eliteand should shake up some American law enforcement officials as well?

Story continues

Senor Pista

The charges come courtesy of Richard Maok, a former detective with Colombias treasury police (the fiscalia), who now lives in Canada.

This isnt the first time Maok has been a thorn in the side of Colombian government officials. In 2002, he uncovered a bloody nexus among military officers, right-wing politicians, and drug-trafficking paramilitaries. That scandal was widely covered by the New York Times and other international media, and resulted in a number of high-profile arrests. But it also led to death threats against Maok and, eventually, he sought asylum in Canada.

Apparently not one to be deterred by exile and what he says are several attempts on his life, Maok has continued to launch scathing attacks on corruption from afar, using his popular website as a platform. And he makes no secret of his fierce antipathy to former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who remains one of the countrys most powerful politicians. (The headline on Maok's version of the story is a hashtag, #ElFinalDeUribe, the end of Uribe.)

A few weeks ago, Maok says, he was contacted by a man well call Senor Pista who provided evidence that in the 2000s he had worked as the security director for a Colombian air cargo companyand that he had bombshell accusations to disclose.

So, in early January, the whistle blew. Names were named. And a blow-by-blow description of an audacious drug trafficking scheme began to emerge, all of it catalogued in meticulous detail on Maoks website.

The most sensational accusation brought by Maoks informant was that former president Uribe had been involved in the scam during his time in office.

But perhaps that shouldnt come as a surprise. As Maok notes, "Uribe and his family have been accused of links to trafficking and organized crime for years."

Also unsurprisingly, Uribe denies all these allegations.

Escobars Friend

A declassified 1991 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency report, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and published in 2004 by the National Security Archive at George Washington University in D.C., offered a damning assessment of Uribe and his Medellin Cartel connections.

The document led with the caution that it was an info report, not finally evaluated intel and originally was classified CONFIDENTIAL NOFORN (not to be released to foreign nationals) WNINTEL (Warning NoticeIntelligence Sources or Methods Involved). It listed "Important Colombian Narco-Traffickers" and their associates.

Escobar is cited as the maximum chief of the Medellin Cartel who began as an assassin and now is in charge of the biggest multi-national criminal organization in the world.

Further down the same page we find Alvaro Uribe Veleza Colombian politician and senator dedicated to collaboration with the Medellin Cartel at high government levels. Uribe was linked to a business involved in narcotics activities in the U.S. His father was murdered in Colombia for his connection to the narcotic traffickers. Uribe has worked for the Medellin Cartel and is a close personal friend of Pablo Escobar Gaviria.

National Security Archive, George Washington University

At the time, Uribe was governor of Antioquia department, which has Medellin as its capital.

Despite these allegations in official Pentagon communications, when Uribe was president of Colombia from 2002 to 2010 he was able to position himself as a staunch U.S. ally in both the War on Drugs and the fight against Marxist guerrillas. Those postures made him something of a darling in D.C., and that fact granted him a certain amount of political immunity back home in Colombia.

In the trenches of the War on Drugs, its sometimes hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Often, its more like our bad guys against other, maybe worse, bad guys. But the distinctions can get pretty subjective.

A 1993 State Department cable released in 2018 notes allegations that Uribes early political campaigns were financed by the Medellin Cartel, but he had begun to fear for his life because he had failed to deliver sufficient political favors for his Medellin Cartel mentors.

Escobar had escaped from jail. He was on the run, increasingly desperate, and Uribe began trying to reposition himself as a go-between with the U.S. embassy, talking to Escobars wife in an effort to get Escobar to surrender. The cable notes that when Uribe met with a U.S. diplomat, Uribe constantly paced the small office; he was visibly agitated, but insisted there could be no dialogue with Escobar about government concessions the kingpin had requested. As far as Im concerned, Escobar has three optionssurrender unconditionally, be captured, or be killed.

National Security Archive, George Washington University

Escobar died during a shootout with Colombian National Police in December 1993.

Uribe has dismissed accounts of his ties to Escobar as fake news, but former U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Myles Frechette, who served from 1994 to 1997, gave an interview in 2015 for a book on his tenure in Bogota in which he said Uribe had "no interest in being honest with me or other people. That's who Alvaro Uribe is." Frechette, a career diplomat, also called Uribe's use of U.S. funds to arm drug-trafficking right-wing militias a "setup that Washington swallowed."

At the moment, ex-President Uribe is also under investigation by Colombias supreme court for attempting to bribe and manipulate witnesses who have linked him to widespread extrajudicial killings, including the massacre of 15 villagers in 1997, while he was still a governor. Nonprofit organizations from at least four countries, including the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and Lawyers Without Borders, have sent observers to monitor Uribes trial.

According to the Colombian newspaper Vanguardia, Uribe is also the subject of 276 additional pending investigations by the countrys Congressional Accusation Commissionfrom wrongful contract infractions to violations of international humanitarian lawalthough he declares himself innocent of all charges.

Uribe, now a senator, remains one of the most influentialand widely fearedmen in Colombia. Current President Ivan Duque is often described as Uribes protege, or his puppet, depending on who you ask.

The Powder Elite

Finally we have a survivor come forward to speak out against Uribe. Many people in Colombia were waiting for this moment, says Maok, whose YouTube video on the air cargo scandal has racked up more than 370,000 hits since it was posted last month.

Neither Uribe nor spokespersons for his Central Democratic Party responded to multiple interview requests for this article. But Senator Carlos Felipe Mejia, a member of the party, fired back the day after Maoks report went viral. Mejia uploaded his own video to Twitter denying Maok's accusations and referring to the "supposed" trafficking plot as "Operation Liar." Mejias short clip also attacked Maok himself, calling him a fugitive from Colombian justice who had "escaped to Canada"despite the Canadian decision that he should be granted asylum as a victim of death threats and political persecution.

On January 24, during an interview with the magazine La Semana, Colombian senator and former mayor of Bogota Gustavo Petro also accused Uribe of having ties to the Sinaloa Cartel and specifically mentioned the El Dorado cocaine scandal.

"Doesn't this merit an investigation?" he said. "[Isn't it] terrible what this could mean?"

Gonzalo Guillen, a Colombian journalist and director of the magazine La Nueva Prensa, also finds Maoks reporting credible.

The relation between Chapo and Uribe is unmistakable, Guillen says, and cites his own research to back up the connection. I had already interviewed a pilot for Chapo Guzman, who had all the information. So this was no shock to me.

In that interview, Chapo's pilot claimed that the DEA had managed to catch at least one of the Sinaloa Cartel's flights into Bogota. A Boeing 707 had been sent from Mexico full of cash and expected to return with "several tons" of cocaine, but ended up being sold for scrap after it was seized. Interestingly, that could imply the cartel was using other airlines, as Maok's whistleblower makes no mention of a Boeing jet being involved in the Air Cargo Lines scheme.

Guillen also points out family ties between Uribe and Chapo, notably the fact that Uribes brother was married to the sister of a man named Alex Cifuentes, who just happened to be Chapos head of operations in Colombia. Both Cifuentes and his sister have since been extradited to the United States on charges of narcotics trafficking. Another of Uribes brothers has been charged by the Prosecutor Generals Office in Colombia with leading death squads to carry out social cleansing in the 1990s.

These allegations about Colombia follow on the heels of several similar and possibly related disclosures about drug trafficking in Mexico and Central America.

In December, Genaro Garcia LunaMexicos former national security secretary and the architect of the nations long-running drug warwas arrested in the U.S. on charges of taking bribes from Chapos Sinaloa outfit. In Honduras, the sitting president has been named an unindicted co-conspirator in a drug-trafficking case by U.S. prosecutors, as was a former president of that country.

During Chapos New York trial last year, Mexicos most recent commander in chief, Enrique Pena Nieto, also was accused by a witness of being on Chapos payroll. That same witness also alleged Chapos criminal organization had bribed the Colombian air force for information on aircraft flight routes and strategic installations, and bought off General Oscar Naranjo, the national police commissioner under Uribe. Those charges were denied. But the witness in question? None other than Uribes brother-in-law Cifuentes.

Robert Bunker, a cartel specialist at the U.S. Army War College, describes the ongoing pattern of corruption as structural in nature.

In countries with traditions of authoritarian governance and impunitysuch as Mexico, Honduras, Colombiathe elites have a tendency to profit when they can from illicit dealings, Bunker said. The entire system in such countries is skewed by elites and traffickers working together for mutual economic advantage.

Guns, Gems, and Cash

From 2006 to 2007, some 10 metric tons of cocaine were shipped from El Dorado airport to Sinaloa, using Air Cargo Lines as a shell company, according to Maoks informant. Uribe, who allegedly was known to the traffickers by the alias Gobierno (Government), is supposed to have arranged for a special hangar to be built at El Dorado solely for the purpose of handling contraband for Chapo and his partners.

Uribe authorized the Aerocivil, or civil aviation authority, to build a cold storage facility close to the tarmac, Maok says. Thats where they kept the cocaine. Most of it came from the Antioquia region, and allegedly was supplied by the same far-right paramilitaries Maok had exposed in 2002.

From the cold-storage unit it was flown to Mexico in a DC-8 four-engine cargo plane. In return, Uribe is supposed to have received jewelry and cash from the Sinaloa Cartel, including an emerald presented to him in the presidential palace, and at least a million dollars in U.S. currency, which Maoks informant claims he delivered personally.

Uribes chief paramilitary ally, who is alleged by Maoks informant to have delivered the cocaine to Bogota, in turn is supposed to have received a shipment of high-powered 5.7 mm pistols, called cop killers because the rounds they fire can penetrate police body armor.

The whistleblower named other major players, such as Chapos son, Jesus Guzman, who allegedly entered Colombia without passing through customs in order to speed up Air Cargos delivery efforts. And Sinaloa Cartel co-founder Ismael El Mayo Zambada, who allegedly sent his own people to assist with logistics.

All told, the operation involved scores of people, including airline officials, Air Cargo Lines personnel, and various paramilitaries and sicarios.

Due to restrictions on flight manifests, and runway scheduling, If top officials hadnt been involved, says journalist Guillen, they couldnt have shipped out a single gram.

One of the most eye-popping names on Senor Pistas list of alleged conspirators is an American special agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who was serving in Colombia at the time Pista was working as security director for the airline and as an ICE asset.

Pista says his handler went by the alias Abastos (Supplies).

By 2006 I was [working with] Abastos, an ICE official for Colombia, who received me at the American embassy, the whistlerblower says in Maoks published report. There I told him about all the illegal activities of Mr. Raul Jimenez Villamil. Villamil was president of Air Cargo Lines at the time, and is now in prison in Spain after he was caught using the airline to ship some two tons of cocaine into that country.

But to the informants dismay, he found that his handler at the embassy already knew all about the cargo runs out of El Dorado.

After several meetings with [Abastos], he confirmed that there was no problem with Raul Jimenez Villamil and that I could work for both of them, that is, for Abastos and Jimenez Villamil, the source says.

The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, ICE, and the DEA did not respond to interview requests for this article.

Sometimes special agents work undercover out of the embassy, pretending to aid cartel operations so as to capture an entire criminal network, Maok says. The curious thing about [Abastos] of ICE is that it appears he knew what was going on, yet didnt bust anybody, even while tons of cocaine were being flown into Mexico.

More Powerful Than Escobar

Colombia produces 80 percent of the worlds cocaine, notes Guillen at La Nueva Prensa, with much of it bound for the U.S. market. That profound, concentrated, and illicit wealth has resulted in a narco-state with a narco-economy, Guillen said.

Todays traffickers arent like Pablo Escobar. Theyre much more sophisticated and powerful. And theyve learned they cant operate without buying off the authorities.

Bunker says there are two primary factors that make a country prone to becoming a so-called narco-state. One is that it is authoritarian in nature meaning its weak judicial institutions are unable to hold ruling officials to account, and that narcotics production and trafficking represents a high value industry [compared to] the rest of the countrys economic output.

Back in 2007, when Chapo Air shut down, it wasnt because of a threat from ICE or the government, but because more than a ton of cocaine went missing in Mexico. After that, a couple of sicarios showed up at El Dorado aiming to kill the owner of the DC-8 transport used in the runs. A month later, says Maoks informant, a video arrived at Air Cargo Lines HQ showing the beheaded corpse of the alleged thief.

Today, more than a decade after the El Dorado Airport smuggling ring self-destructed, the Sinaloa cartel maintains a far stronger presence in Colombia than even Chapo could have foreseen. Chapos old syndicate, currently ruled by his partner Ismael Zambada and Guzmans own sons, has moved on from merely exporting, and now has direct access to cocaine production for eventual distribution into the U.S., Bunker says.

Theyve achieved that by working closely with the network of operatives, supporting gangs and private armies, and Colombian governmental elites that they are colluding with.

Former prosecution agent Maok describes the growing power of Sinaloa and other cartels in Colombia as a threat to civic freedoms.

"In the narco-state, real democracy doesn't exist. Instead of his constituents, the corrupt politician serves the criminals who have bought him off. Meanwhile, armed groups decide who will run for office and are free to kill anyone who challenges them," Maok says.

The people of Colombia deserve something better than this kind of domination, he says. They deserve justice.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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(Photo : Screenshot From NASA 360 Official Facebook Page) Christina Koch

A record-breaking event for Earth as Christina Koch, a female astronaut, returns back home after an astonishing 328 days in the space station. Thursday was the day that marked the 41-year-old astronaut's return to Kazakhstan with fellow astronauts Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and also Alexandr Skvortsov from Russia.

The International Space Station mission

328 consecutive days or about 11 months was a mission not fit just for anybody, and the screening process for this mission took quite a while. The previous record for a female to stay in the ISS was 289 days, which happened shortly before.

Read Also: Wonder How the Artemis Program Will Bring NASA From Moon to Mars?

Other achievements of Christina Koch

Other achievements of Christina Koch include her involvement with the first all-female spacewalk alongside Jessica Meir, who has made a trip tasked to venture to the external of the ISS to reboot and fix a certain power controller which was a big step for humanity. The progress of this trip was very beneficial to the ISS.

The documentation of Koch's trip

Koch has been providing civilians with glimpses of her life in a literal out-of-this-world expedition and documented it all on her social media profile. The documentation process showed her bonding with her fellow astronauts and crewmates shortly before she went back to earth, which goes to show the very personal side of this expedition.

The only record higher than Christina Koch's

NASA clarified that there was one astronaut who was able to stay in space longer than Koch, and this was Scott Kelly, who stayed in the ISS for 340 days total. This has been the pride and joy of NASA as Scott Kelly was the closest to reach a whole year in space. The mental, physical, and psychological battle the astronauts have to face is no joke, which is why NASA makes sure they only get the best of the best. Staying somewhere apart from the Earth is not only hard, but it also takes personal strength.

Koch's background and history

Koch was a simple gal who was born in Michigan but was then raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina. She later graduated from North Carolina State University, which was her first achievement. Before living among the stars, she lived with her husband, Robert Koch, in Montana before she became an astronaut in 2013.

Read Also: Suspicious Russian Spacecraft Kosmos 2542 Spotted Tailing on US Spy Satellite USA 245

The start of the mission

Koch's first day at the ISS was on March 14 which was a very important day for her because it was the start of her progress for humanity altogether. Koch recalls the nostalgia she feels when reminiscing over the first time she actually arrived and the privilege she felt to make history!

The intent of the mission

Koch's mission was to help researchers come up with better data as to the effects of space specifically on the female's body and help scientists construct better ways to increase the livability of human beings especially females in space.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Twelve actors telling 12 stories in 12 languages: "The New Colossus" has a lot to say about America, the immigrant experience and the ties that bind in a time of discord. So does its co-writer and director, Tim Robbins.

"Everything's so divided. We're trying to tell stories that remind us that everyone has a shared humanity," says Robbins, who's traveling with the Actors' Gang theatrical troupe  which he helped found  on a short tour that includes two shows at Proctors.

At each stop, a map of the world sits in the lobby, filled with magnetic pins showing audience members' countries of origin. And at each stop, Robbins walks out at play's end to spark conversation with the crowd.

Who's descended from indigenous peoples? A few hands go up. Which nations? Cherokee. Navaho. Is anyone here descended from people brought against their will? African-Americans raise their hands.

Any refugees? Immigrants? Hands go up. Any sons and daughters of refugees and immigrants? More hands go up. Grandsons and granddaughters? More still. Eventually, he says, "The entire audience has put up their hands. That's our shared experience in this country."

Robbins is on the phone from his home in Los Angeles, where he just got back from a frustrating trip to the DMV. "Oh, my God, it didn't work out that well for me." See, he'd just bought a Volvo, and it was a lemon, but he couldn't get a refund without a title, and motor vehicles told him he had a lien on the car, which was ridiculous because he paid cash for it, and ... so on.

"This is why I have a sense of humor at this stuff," he says, sounding resigned. "I used to get angry at this sort of thing."

The Tim Robbins on the phone is pretty much the Tim Robbins you'd expect: Funny, political, loquacious. The actor known for iconic roles from "Bull Durham" to "The Shawshank Redemption"  and lately seen in "Dark Waters"  talks, and talks, expounding on the play, its themes and humanity itself over an hourplus interview that was only meant to last 30 minutes. Short answers morph into long ones, filled with reflection on immigration and the American character.

More Information If you go "The New Colossus" Where: Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady When: 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $25 Info: proctors.org; 518-346-6204 See More Collapse

Co-written with the Actors' Gang, the play bears witness to the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" immortalized in bronze at the Statue of Liberty. Emma Lazarus' hopeful sonnet shares more than just a title with the production, which aims to honor the immigrant spirit in the midst of divisive political rhetoric. "That's something we should celebrate. That's the heroes' journey, and that's what unites us with the people at the border to the south. ... They're trying to provide a better future for their kids, and what are we doing? We're demonizing them."

None of that is anything new, he says: Not so long ago, Irish and Italians felt the brunt of it. "I'm sorry that people fall for that. It's tragic. But one of the reasons that I wanted to do this piece was to remind people that we have a lot more in common than we have differences."

The idea for it sprang, several years back, from an Actors' Gang production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The cast included actors who spoke English as a second language and wrestled with the ornate Elizabethan phrasings. "I wanted to find a piece that I could do with these great actors that wasn't as reliant on the English language. ... so I started asking them to tell stories in their native tongue." Then he asked them to write tales based on the lives of their forebears  "to tell the story of their ancestor's journey from oppression to freedom."

In the play that resulted, actors inhabit their own parents, grandparents, ancestors  strivers and survivors from Iran after the 1979 Revolution, from Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. In one story, a black woman flees the KKK during Reconstruction; in another, a Jewish woman flees the Nazis just before World War II.

What underpins their stories, he says: "Strength." That's the short answer. The long answer: "First of all, just to say 'no' in their home country. 'No, I will not tolerate religious oppression. No, I will not tolerate oppression. No, I will not tolerate this famine that's going on."

After that, "To have the strength and the resilience to survive the journey  oftentimes on foot, or hard travels over ocean and boat. And then to have the survival skill to land in a new land with nothing, and somehow find a way. That's our collective DNA."

Robbins' own American storyline goes back to around 1660, give or take, when John Robbins arrived from England and settled in Massachusetts. He died in 1680. A family Bible passed down for generations tracks the genealogy, its front page thick with history. "My mother's side had some Irish in it," he adds. "They came up through Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, but then moved out West."

Both sides landed in California, where his parents met. The actor was born there but grew up in New York City, where his dad  Gil Robbins of the Highwaymen  pursued his career in folk music. Robbins attended SUNY Plattsburgh for two years, becoming "pretty good" at broomball before moving back West, establishing residency and attending UCLA.

Western-state progressivism is in his genes, he says. He talks about this, talks about gratitude and humility, talks about the privilege of being onstage and learning from audiences, talks about his theater work in prisons, talks about the joy in seeing former gang members overcome their former hatreds to hug and make art together. "So yes," he says. "I do have hope."

With Tim Robbins on the phone, it has to be asked. What about "Shawshank"? Why, after 26 years, is a contemplative film about inmates so universally loved?

"I've been curious about that," he says. This time, there's no short answer. "One is that there's very few movies made that are about friendship, about genuine friendship, between two men. But I also think there's a theme of redemption in it  and the idea that we all, to some degree, metaphorically build prisons for ourselves in our lives, and some live in those prisons for years. And whether it's a bad relationship or a sh---y job, for some reason we say, 'I don't deserve more than this.'"

The film's message gives us an answer to all that, he says: We can have our "Shawshank" moments of hope and reclamation. We can walk away and find our spots on the beach.

Has he found his?

The actor pauses a bit before answering. "Yes. Yes," he says, adding: "That's an entirely different conversation. ... but the short answer has been in realizing that success has to do with a lot more than finance and fame."

Then, as ever, the short answer turns into a long one.

"One of the things I learned in prison"  meaning his work with inmates  "was something that my grandmother had to teach me, and I might not have learned too well. Which is that real generosity doesn't have to be acknowledged ... and that you'll never understand how to give love until you learn how to receive love. And that," he says, "the spirit of love is out there."

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli
By Jeff Mason and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges with a pair of caustic, freewheeling speeches on Thursday that drew on White House pomp and the solemnity of an annual prayer breakfast to underscore the fact that he remained in office

By Jeff Mason and Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal on impeachment charges with a pair of caustic, freewheeling speeches on Thursday that drew on White House pomp and the solemnity of an annual prayer breakfast to underscore the fact that he remained in office.

After walking down a red carpet to a standing ovation from scores of Republican lawmakers, administration officials and conservative media figures in the East Room of the White House, Trump re-aired old grievances and accused Democrats of staging a "corrupt" effort to undermine his presidency in a speech lasting more than an hour.

"I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit ... but this is what the end result is," Trump said, holding up a copy of the Washington Post with the headline "Trump acquitted."

The Republican president then handed the newspaper to his wife, Melania, and said maybe they would frame it.

Speaking without a teleprompter, he referred to the 22-month investigation by former U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller into his 2016 election campaign's possible contacts with Russia, using a profanity.

"It was all bullshit," he said.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted on Wednesday to acquit Trump on charges brought by the Democratic-led House of Representatives stemming from his dealings with Ukraine, only the third time in U.S. history that a president has been impeached.

The acquittal was Trump's biggest victory yet over his foes in Congress, who had attacked Senate Republicans for refusing to call witnesses or seek new evidence at the trial.

Earlier on Thursday, Trump spoke at the annual National Prayer Breakfast, a historically bipartisan event attended by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, faulting those who invoked their religious faith during the impeachment battle.

Pelosi, a Catholic who launched the impeachment inquiry in September, said in December that she did not hate Trump and that she prayed for him. Republican Senator Mitt Romney, a Mormon, cited his faith when he voted to convict Trump on the charge of abuse of power. Romney was the only Republican to vote for conviction. No Democrat voted to acquit.

"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you,' when they know that that's not so," Trump said at the breakfast as Pelosi sat nearby on the stage.

Trump, who has strong support from evangelical Christians and conservative Catholics, referred to the issue again in the East Room: "I doubt she (Pelosi) prays at all."

Pelosi said that Trump's comments at the breakfast, the theme of which was "loving your enemies," were inappropriate.

"He's talking about things he knows little about - faith and prayer," she told a news conference.

In his East Room speech, which was interrupted several times by thunderous applause and laughter from the audience, Trump called former FBI Director James Comey a "sleazebag" and Representative Adam Schiff, the House Democrat who spearheaded the impeachment drive, a "vicious, horrible person." He also reprised his attacks on 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.

At the same time, he thanked dozens of Republican lawmakers by name, working alphabetically from a list.

The hyper-partisan tenor of Thursday's events did not bode well for the already sharply divided mood in Washington, especially in an election year. Trump is running for re-election in November.

Democrats said Trump wasted an opportunity to bring the country together.

"Instead of self-victimizing and self-aggrandizing, instead of being spiteful and vindictive, President Trump could have used his nationally televised speech to show some contrition and unite the nation," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

NEXT STEPS?

Senate Republicans voted to acquit Trump of abuse of power for pressing Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a contender for the Democratic nomination to face Trump on Nov. 3, and of obstructing a congressional investigation of the matter.

Democrats said the acquittal did not exonerate Trump.

"No one believes he did nothing wrong," Senator Bob Casey told Fox News on Thursday.

Democrats were unclear, however, about their next steps in investigating Trump. There are several pending court cases related to Democratic efforts to get more information, and Pelosi has issued a statement saying the House would protect the Constitution "both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion."

Several House Democrats said they should subpoena John Bolton, Trump's former national security adviser, to testify to House committees, but Pelosi downplayed the notion for now. Senate Republicans rejected Democratic efforts to subpoena Bolton during the impeachment trial.

Trump heads into the campaign with the advantages of a powerful fundraising machine and near universal support from Republicans. His job approval ratings have remained fairly consistent throughout his presidency and the impeachment process, as his core conservative supporters stuck with him.

The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday showed 43% of Americans supported Trump's acquittal against 41% opposed and 17% undecided, even though more respondents than not think he probably did something wrong.

According to the national poll conducted after the vote, 39% of respondents said the president "is probably innocent of the charges against him, and the Senate made the right decision to acquit," while 48% said Trump "is probably guilty of the charges against him, and the Senate is protecting him."

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Richard Cowan, Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu, Makini Brice, David Morgan, Lisa Lambert, Peter Szekely and Chris Kahn; Writing by John Whitesides and Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Andy Sullivan, Paul Simao and Peter Cooney)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Atlantic Police Department arrested a man Thursday who is allegedly connected to a burglary at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics in Iowa City.

A stolen pickup truck found in Red Oak Wednesday allegedly connected 45-year-old Stuart James Andrew Sellers to a burglary that happened Tuesday at the Iowa City hospital, according to the Red Oak Police Department.

Red Oak Police assisted the UI Police Department Tuesday in identifying the male suspect, who allegedly stole more than $10,000 worth of electronic equipment, printers, phones, personal belongings and other miscellaneous equipment, according to a press release.

Red Oak Police located Sellers, but he reportedly fled from officers on foot near the 100 block of West Washington in Red Oak on Tuesday. Sellers continued running into a creek, but officers slipped on ice and fell to the ground, losing distance from Sellers and ending the foot pursuit, police said.

A perimeter was established and three K-9 units from Montgomery, Mills and Fremont Counties were called for assistance. The K-9 units were able to track Sellers for two blocks. A drone was also used but found no trace of Sellers, police said.

Officers discontinued their search at 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, but were able to recover most of the electronic equipment, printers, phones, personal belongings and miscellaneous equipment stolen from the hospital.

On Wednesday morning, Red Oak Police were notified that a 2006 White Chevrolet extended cab pickup was parked in an alley behind 709 E. Nuckols St. in Red Oak. The vehicle was reported stolen at 1:23 a.m. Officers obtained security footage and identified Sellers as the driver of the pickup, making the stolen vehicle a direct correlation to the University of Iowa incident, police said.

Sellers was transported from Atlantic to the Montgomery County Law Enforcement Center where he is being held on suspicion of interference with official acts  aggravated misdemeanor  and theft in the second degree, a Class D felony.

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Tanking freight rates on the back of the epidemic in China are likely to hurt the earnings of Indian companies in the March quarter. Freight rates have tumbled significantly and are impacting ( Corporation of India) across segments. We have seen the damage in January already. Our Q4 earnings are most likely to be affected due to this, said Harjeet K. Joshi, chairman of state-owned on Friday. She was speaking on the sidelines of an ASSOCHAM event held here.

reported consolidated net sales of Rs 1,25,761 crore in December quarter, up 17 per cent over the same period last year with strong contribution from the tanker segment.

We had robust performance in the third quarter, mainly from tankers. Now, tanker freights have softened. So, we are in a wait-and-watch mode. There is impact on every segment for us but it is varying, said Joshi, without detailing the quantum of impact on each of its businesses. Liners, offshore, bulk carriers, tankers and containers are the business segments of the SCI.

was first detected on December 8, 2019, and by January 1, 2020, Chinese authorities pinpointed the source to a seafood market in Wuhan, said reports. By the end of January, about 9,700 cases were detected and 213 deaths reported. By February 3, there were 17,000 confirmed cases and, as on date, the number stands at 28,000, informed industry officials.

The impact is much bigger than what the market had predicted. We are helpless and simply watching the market at present. Nothing can be done, said Anil Devli, chief executive officer (CEO) of Indian National Shipowners Association (INSA)

The Chinese New Year (January 25, 2020) is the time when most native Chinese workers travel to their hometown for the festival. On this day, Wuhan was cordoned off and transportation restrictions imposed in most parts of the country because of the corona epidemic. On February 1, all international flights to China were cancelled and this brought down the countrys fuel consumption drastically.

China consumes 16 per cent of the total global oil production. Lower consumption led to a drop of about 4 per cent in crude oil import by China. This, in turn, has heavily impacted the transportation of oil by sea.

The very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that were trading at over $100,000 per day in December have dropped to $15,000 per day as on February 7, Captain Rahul Bhargava, director of commercial & operations at Essar told Business Standard via email. Similar impact has been felt on dry bulk cargo movement, he added.

The Baltic Dry Composite Index (BDI), which was trading at about 1,500 on December 10, dropped to 976 on January 3. It was trading at 431 as on February 6. Baltic Cape index, for the first time in the history of the Baltic Index, dipped to negative digits on January 31 and is now trading at a negative 187. For on-time charter yield of equivalent Cape-sized vessels, freight rate has come down to $3,000 per day from $22,000 per day. Similarly, Panamax vessel freight has come down to $3,400 per day from $12,000.

All the sections of the dry bulk trade have lost about 75 per cent to 85 per cent of earnings in the last one month, said Bhargava. Supramax and Handysize vessels are part of the dry bulk trade section along with Cape and Panamax, among others. However, Great Eastern Shipping, Indias largest private sector shipping company, is of the view that the epidemic alone is not responsible for the drastic fall in freight rates.

Economic slowdown and lifting of Cosco sanctions by the US, which brought vessel supply into the market, have also led to the fall in freight rates, said a company source. The next one month will be crucial and we are watching, source added. On September 25, the US laid sanctions on Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) and Cosco Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman and Ship Management for trading oil with Iran. Those sanctions were lifted by the US last week. Cosco Shipping controls more than 5 per cent of the global VLCC fleet.




This is sort of an odd part of campaign finance rules, where if (a candidate) were transferring money from a campaign committee for a different federal office, that would be allowed, Powell said. Because the states all have their own diverse campaign finance rules, you cant transfer money from a non-federal account to a federal account, because often the same rules wouldnt have applied in terms of how that money could be used.
A father demanding 25,000 for a fall at work is being accused of fundamental dishonesty amid accusations he worked as a funeral pallbearer shortly after the accident.

Leroy Baker says he was left permanently disabled after breaking mutiple bones in a 30ft fall on a building site in 2013 and that the injuries have left him unable to manage heavy physical work.

Mr Baker, 51, is suing building company Pellikaan Construction Ltd over the accident.

But he is accused of exaggerating the effects of the fall to boost his court claim after evidence emerged that he was working as a pallbearer 10 months after his accident.

Pellikaan Construction Ltd admitted liability and agreed to pay Mr Baker 25 per cent of the claim.

But on the first day of a hearing at Central London county court, the companys lawyers asked for his claim to be thrown out, accusing him of fundamental dishonesty.

Mr Baker told the judge it was untrue that he kept the pallbearer work secret and that it was a limited role.

He is claiming compensation for permanent symptoms which he says are a legacy of the accident.
Steve Coogan has teamed up with acclaimed filmmaker Michael Winterbottom for his new film Greed, a searing satire on the life of the ultra-rich.

The Alan Partridge star plays self-made British billionaire Sir Richard McCreadie, whose retail empire is in crisis, after a damaging public inquiry leaves his image tarnished. To save his reputation, he decides to bounce back with a highly publicised and extravagant party celebrating his 60th birthday on the Greek island of Mykonos.

Were thrilled to share a brand new clip from the film, taken from early in the film, with Coogans McCreadie standing up for his right to avoid paying tax.

Read more: Predicting the Oscar-winners

Why are you chasing me? McCreadie asks the head of the inquiry, played by Miles Jupp, imploring them to look into the affairs of U2 frontman Bono, who once espoused for the right to pay less tax.

Steve Coogan in a still from Greed. (2020)

Coogan and Winterbottom have worked together a number of times in the past, most recently in The Trip To Spain, also starring Rob Brydon, Paul Raymond biopic The Look of Love, and Madchester movie 24 Hour Party People. A fourth series of The Trip, set in Greece, will air on Sky One in 2020.

Greed sees McCreadies rise and fall through the eyes of his biographer, Nick (David Mitchell).

It comes to cinemas on 21 February. Watch a trailer below.
Women wearing protective facemasks amid concerns of the novel coronavirus outbreak, wait on a street in Hanoi, Feb. 7, 2020.

Vietnam raised its tally of coronavirus cases to 13, while authorities in Myanmar continued to search for missing Chinese travelers from Wuhan, the outbreak epicenter, as Chinas Southeast Asian neighbors wrestled with the economic and health consequences of the deadly outbreak.

Hanois health ministry reported Friday that one worker among eight who returned from Wuhan, China, tested positive for coronavirus. On Thursday, authorities said two positive patients were related to one of five workers returning who had returned from Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and source of the outbreak.

Schools at 41 Vietnamese provinces, as well as major cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Danang remained closed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (nCoV). The education ministry has asked local authorities across the country to extend school closures.

Vietnam also braced for a bit hit to tourist revenue from the epidemic, with authorities saying Chinese tourists, which accounted for a third of Vietnams 18 million tourists, would decrease by more than 2 million in 2020, leading to a loss of tourism revenue of US $1.8-2 billion.

In Myanmar, which also shares a long border with China and sends many workers there, residents in the border town of Muse were alarmed by a leaked letter from Chinese authorities asking local counterparts to find five Chinese citizens from Wuhan who are believed to have crossed the border illegally.

Police in Muse township said they have found a woman, who tested negative for coronavirus, but are still looking for the other four.

We found the Chinese woman, one of the five suspect carriers, in an apartment in Muse. She worked in a plastic bag factory for a year in Wuhan. She has been transferred to Chinese authorities, said Major Aung Kyaw Oo of the Muse Township Police Force.

The leaked letter from China has caused panic among the people, Muse resident Zaw Min told RFAs Myanmar Service.

Now, the people from Wuhan, where the outbreak begin, came to this town and the Chinese government has officially confirmed it, he said.

There are rumors that the virus carriers might be going around town spreading the virus. The level of concern is highest here. 

Thaung Htun of the Gayunar Humanitarian Group, said Residents of this city are all very worried about the disease because it has not been contained yet.

I would like to tell the people it is normal to fear but dont panic, he said and urged people to wash their hands, wear face masks and avoid crowded places.

I also would like to warn people to avoid going to the Chinese side of the border except for emergencies, added Thaung Htun.

Local health officials told RFA that in normal times nearly 300 Chinese nationals enter Myanmar every day through three official border gates while over 30,000 Myanmar nationals goes to China every day.

In Cambodia, meanwhile, the government continued to resist popular demands to reverse Prime Minister Hun Sens refusal to suspend flights from China, as experts warned that the country would face economic consequences from its exposure to Chinese travelers largely blocked off from other countries.

Last week, Hun Sen dismissed fears of an epidemic in Cambodia, warning that a ban on flights from China would kill the countrys economy and destroy ties with China.

He also said that there were no plans to evacuate Cambodians from China.

Cambodian people are so worried about Chinese people and other travelers from China, and other countries are also worried about people leaving Cambodia for their countries, said Sorn Chey, executive director of the Cambodian Social Accountability Alliance organization.

Moeun Tola, Executive Director of the Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL), said that with most countries closed to flights from China, Cambodia will become the transit route of the Chinese nation, and may find itself on a travel blacklist.

Cambodias Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said that Cambodia stands behind the repeated declarations of Hun Sen.

We have taken measures to detect coronavirus on land and water borders and we have put scanning machines at all international airports, he said.

Laos, meanwhile, authorities told the 242 Lao students thought to be stranded in China to wait until transportation is restored, one student told RFAs Lao Service.

I told the Lao consulate and embassy that I wanted to go home but I dont know how; all trains and airports are closed. They told me that they cant help much right now and that I have to wait until the situation improves, a student near Beijing told RFA on Thursday.

A second Lao student based in Hubei province told RFA Im on my own, receiving no assistance from the authorities at all, in fact relying only money sent from my family back home.

The student, who request anonymity, added: At first I wanted to go home too; but now Im worried that my return might put my family in danger.

Reported and translated by RFAs Khmer, Lao, Myanmar and Vietnamese Services. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
Photo: DriveBC Hwy 5, 61km south of Merritt, looking north - 6:30 p.m.

Upwards of a foot of snow is expected to fall on the Coquihalla Friday.

Environment Canada issued a snowfall warning for Highway 5 between Hope and Merritt, calling for 20 to 30 cm by Saturday morning.

An approaching low pressure system will give snow to the southern highway passes tomorrow. Snow over the Coquihalla Summit will start tomorrow morning and then spread to Kootenay Pass tomorrow afternoon, the alert says.

Highway 3 between Paulson Summit and Kootenay Pass should also receive 20 to 30 cm, while the Hope-Princeton corridor will get 15 to 20 cm.

The snow will intensify tomorrow night as the low nears, the continues. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult.

Motorists should check Castanet or DriveBC for up to date on the regions highways.
A Marathi film actor filed a complaint against three people for allegedly touching her inappropriately, confining and threatening her at an event in Pune's Ranjangaon, police said on Friday.

The case was filed in Saki Naka police station in the metropolis, where the actor stays, on Thursday and was then transferred to Pune police, an official said.

"The complainant has said that she had attended an event in Ranjangaon in Pune. She was inappropriately touched by an unidentified person and she left the event after her complaint to the organisers about the incident was not taken seriously," he said.

However, the actor's car was stopped when she was leaving and one person made a threatening call to her mother who is a heart patient, the official said quoting the complaint.

"She returned to Mumbai and filed a case on Thursday. We have transferred the case to Pune as the offence happened under their jurisdiction," he added.

A case has been registered against three persons under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Boeing's first CST-100 Starliner spacecraft on the ground at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, shortly after landing on Dec. 22, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Boeing is considering another test flight for its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew spacecraft amid concerns from a NASA safety panel about its first flight.

Boeing's Starliner spacecraft launched on Dec. 20, but was unable to dock with the International Space Station as planned because it ended up in the wrong orbit. But of growing concern now are two software problems that were uncovered after the flight was complete.

A newly disclosed timer error on the Dec. 20 flight had the potential to lead to "catastrophic" failure, NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said during a meeting at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Thursday (Feb. 6), according to SpaceNews.

Related: Boeing's 1st Starliner flight test in photos

Starliner is supposed to be ready to carry humans to the International Space Station (ISS) later in 2020, along with SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft. Both vehicles have faced technical and program delays in their journey to send astronauts safely to space.

NASA's Office of the Inspector General warned late last year that these problems could lead to smaller ISS crews until the commercial crew program is ready to go. (The office said NASA could address the shortage by purchasing more seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles, or extending the typical six-month stay of astronauts  which NASA has already done twice recently with astronauts Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan.)

The timer error on Starliner was discovered by ground controllers during the flight and corrected while the spacecraft was still aloft, but panel member Paul Hill said the consequences of the error would have been grave if it had gone unnoticed.

"While this anomaly was corrected in flight, if it had gone uncorrected, it would have led to erroneous thruster firings and uncontrolled motion during [service module] separation for deorbit, with the potential for a catastrophic spacecraft failure," Hill said in the meeting.

Related: How bad luck foiled efforts to get Starliner back on course toward space station

An artist's illustration of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft in orbit. (Image credit: Boeing)

The panel has recommended reviews of Boeing's software and testing processes as "required input for a formal NASA review to determine flight readiness for either another uncrewed flight test, or proceeding directly to a crewed test flight," and Boeing issued a statement on Thursday (Feb. 6) saying that it has accepted the recommendation from the panel.

Boeing further said on its Starliner website that is committed to safety, which could include booking a second uncrewed Starliner test flight before its first flight with astronauts, if NASA gives the approval.

"Boeing is as committed as ever to safe flight, mission assurance and helping our customer meet its crew transportation needs," the company said, pledging to spend $410 million to put Starliner "in position to support another flight should that mission be deemed necessary, while limiting the schedule impact on beginning regular Starliner service missions to the space station."

"The charge is intended to cover not only the cost of another flight test," Boeing continued, "but also the anomaly investigation and corrective action implementation, program disruptions and other work outside the scope of normal program operational costs post-OFT [orbital flight test]."

NASA and Boeing will issue a further media update during a teleconference today (Feb. 7) at 3:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT), and you can tune in live here.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
(Photo : REUTERS/Nacho Doce) An employee walks past an MWC20 (Mobile World Congress) banner in Barcelona, Spain February 5, 2020.

In less than three weeks, the collective eyes of the tech enterprise will go to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020, the most important and most essential trade display within the world of cellular communications. More than 100,000 participants from nearly two hundred countries are anticipated to attend each year. MWC, unlike CES in previous events, still regularly manages to entice famous manufacturers into pronouncing their most important devices at the show.

Things could be a bit different this year. The outbreak of the coronavirus in China and subsequent unfold to different international locations victimized thousands of lives. Coronavirus has additionally been disrupting supply chains essential to the development of smartphones, and wreaking journey havoc in Asia, where most of MWC's marquee exhibitors are based; many countries are limiting flights to and from China. LG and ZTE have already canceled a few plans for the display.

ALSO READ: Ming-Chi Kuo Says Coronavirus May Negatively Affect Apple's Q1 Shipping Forecast

Most Chinese tech companies are nevertheless planning to attend

MWC 2020 would feature an even larger Chinese contingent than ever before, with all the country's powerful smartphone brands making plans a significant presence. As of today, that appears not to be the case.

Xiaomi, Vivo, and Honor all told The Verge that they stay plan on attending. Qualcomm, Lenovo, and Motorola additionally plan to push through for MWC.

Huawei is also still planning to make announcements at the show despite canceling its latest Shenzhen developer conference. However, sources familiar with the situation say Huawei is likely to remove individual events and significantly lessen the range of employees who need to travel.

ALSO READ: Huawei Aiming To Catch Up Samsung By 2020 In Smartphone Market

Meanwhile, LG withdraws from MWC, citing the safety of its personnel and [the] general public. The South Korean electronics company added it wanted to "needlessly prevent exposing its LG personnel to international travel, which most health professionals have advised."

ZTE, meanwhile, said it changed into canceling its press conference because it tends to be "a very courteous company and simply [doesn't] want to make humans uncomfortable."

ALSO READ: Why is ZTE No Longer Attending the MWC? Is It Really the Coronovirus Scare to Blame?

'The show must go on,' says organizer

The GSM Association (GSMA), which organizes MWC, remains to be business as usual in Barcelona. GSMA is an industry trade organization that represents more than 1,200 organizations throughout the mobile ecosystem, and MWC is the threat for heaps to accumulate partnerships, deals, and product launches for the international press.

The show, according to GSMA, spent 492 million or almost $541 million this year and additionally generated 14,000 part-time jobs. GSMA said there is minimal impact on the occasion yet. The organization said MWC Barcelona would proceed as planned in all venues on Feb. 24 to 27.

The GSMA says it will likely be growing medical support and disinfection measures on the website online and communicating high-quality practices to attendees. Speakers are subjected to a new microphone changing the protocol. A "no-handshake policy" is likewise being recommended for all at the show, though that sounds impractical to enforce.

Regardless of reassurances from the organizers and exhibitors, it seems inevitable that the coronavirus could affect MWC. Cases were surging in the latest days, with no sign of the spread of the virus slowing down. Several countries are already advising people to stay away from public gatherings, not to mention events wherein tens of heaps of attendees are flying around the sector to accumulate shoulder-to-shoulder in the same rooms.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Texas Executes Death Row Inmate After US Supreme Court Denies Case

Texas executed a death row inmate who was convicted for the murders of five people, including children, on Thursday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to stay the execution.

Abel Ochoa, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m. local time after he was administered a lethal dose of pentobarbital at a prison in Huntsville, Texas, according to The Associated Press.

I want to apologize to my in-laws for causing all this emotional pain, Ochoa said in his final statement before the process was initiated. I love yall and consider yall my sisters I never had. I want to thank you for forgiving me.

Ochoa was convicted in the slayings of his wife, two daughters, and three of his wifes family members, AP noted.

I accepted the fact as a child, at 12 years old, when I buried my mother, my sisters, my aunt and my grandfather, a family member, Jonathan Duran, said. Nothings going to bring them back. Its up to us to keep their memory alive, rebuild what we lost. I cant ever replace my mother or my sisters.

He added: After 17 years, me, my family, .. the whole tree. We can finally say we got closure, we got justice. 

Prosecutors said that in August 2002, Ochoa went on a rampage in his living room after he smoked crack cocaine.

Police stopped Ochoa while he was driving soon after he opened fire on his family members.

Ochoa told the arresting officer that the gun he used was at his house on the table, that he could not handle the stress anymore, and that he had gotten tired of his life, according to court records, Reuters reported.

Later, according to AP, he told police that he was spending as much as $300 on crack cocaine and even took out loans to support his drug addiction.

While I was lying on the bed my body started wanting more crack. I knew if I asked my wife for more money to buy some more crack she wouldnt let me have it, Ochoa said when he confessed to officials.

The Supreme Court rejected his case at around 6 p.m. on Thursday, setting up the execution just minutes later

Mr. Ochoa presented a compelling case for commutation to a life sentence given his deep and sincere remorse for his crime, the positive impact he has had on guards and other inmates, his personal story of redemption, and his remarkable faith and relationship with God, his attorney, Jeremy Schepers, wrote to the high court on Wednesday, reported The Texas Tribune. Given his unique story, Mr. Ochoa retained a professional videographer to conduct a filmed interview with Mr. Ochoa to present to the Clemency Board.
It's been a little over 16 months since an accident at New York Street and East Boulevard in Rapid City took the life of one-year old Mackayla Dillon.

Thursday, the suspect accused in that crash finally made his first appearance in court here.

Prosecutors say 37-year old George Matousek was the driver who caused the fatal crash back in October of 2018 and then ran.

After a long investigation, Matousek was arrested late last year in Washington state and was extradited back to South Dakota and booked into the Pennington County Jail on Wednesday.

He's charged with second degree manslaughter, hit and run with injury and driving under suspension.

Matousek faces up to twelve years in prison if he's convicted.

Seventh Circuit Magistrate Judge Marya Tellinghuisen ordered Matousek held without bond
Time and time again President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda, Cuomo said. The Department of Homeland Securitys decision to ban New Yorkers from the Trusted Traveler Program is yet another example of this administrations disrespect of the rule of law, hyper-partisan politics and use of extortion.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI  A worker at Arnies Bakery suffered minor injuries Friday, Feb. 7, when he was allegedly stabbed by a co-worker.

The stabbing occurred inside the business during an altercation between the workers, Grand Rapids police said.

Both the alleged victim and suspect waited at the business for police to arrive, Sgt. John Wittkowski said.

Police also interviewed witnesses who were at the scene.

The incident was reported around 7:30 a.m. at 815 Leonard St. NW near Alpine Avenue. It remains under investigation.

First medical marijuana shop opens its doors in Grand Rapids

Kent County man wins $94K lottery prize, immediately calls ex-wife with the news

Steve Mariucci: Before we all die, the Lions have to get that revolving door out of the front of their facility
The Elders (ASX:ELD) share price has done well in the last month, posting a gain of 36%. The full year gain of 33% is pretty reasonable, too.

Assuming no other changes, a sharply higher share price makes a stock less 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. The implication here is that deep value investors might steer clear when expectations of a company are too high. One way to gauge market expectations of a stock 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.

View our latest analysis for Elders

Does Elders Have A Relatively High Or Low P/E For Its Industry?

We can tell from its P/E ratio of 13.24 that sentiment around Elders isn't particularly high. We can see in the image below that the average P/E (21.0) for companies in the food industry is higher than Elders's P/E.

ASX:ELD Price Estimation Relative to Market, February 7th 2020

Its relatively low P/E ratio indicates that Elders shareholders think it will struggle to do as well as other companies in its industry classification. Many investors like to buy stocks when the market is pessimistic about their prospects. If you consider the stock interesting, further research is recommended. For example, I often monitor director buying and selling.

How Growth Rates Impact P/E Ratios

When earnings fall, the 'E' decreases, over time. That means even if the current P/E is low, it will increase over time if the share price stays flat. Then, a higher P/E might scare off shareholders, pushing the share price down.

Elders saw earnings per share decrease by 7.7% last year. But over the longer term (5 years) earnings per share have increased by 12%. And EPS is down 3.0% a year, over the last 3 years. So you wouldn't expect a very high P/E.

A Limitation: P/E Ratios Ignore Debt and Cash In The Bank

Story continues

It's important to note that the P/E ratio considers the market capitalization, not the enterprise value. That means it doesn't take debt or cash into account. In theory, a company can lower its future P/E ratio by using cash or debt to invest in growth.

Spending on growth might be good or bad a few years later, but the point is that the P/E ratio does not account for the option (or lack thereof).

Elders's Balance Sheet

Elders has net debt worth just 7.2% of its market capitalization. So it doesn't have as many options as it would with net cash, but its debt would not have much of an impact on its P/E ratio.

The Verdict On Elders's P/E Ratio

Elders has a P/E of 13.2. That's below the average in the AU market, which is 18.8. With only modest debt, it's likely the lack of EPS growth at least partially explains the pessimism implied by the P/E ratio. What we know for sure is that investors have become more excited about Elders recently, since they have pushed its P/E ratio from 9.7 to 13.2 over the last month. If you like to buy stocks that have recently impressed the market, then this one might be a candidate; but if you prefer to invest when there is 'blood in the streets', then you may feel the opportunity has passed.

When the market is wrong about a stock, it gives savvy investors an opportunity. As value investor Benjamin Graham famously said, 'In the short run, the market is a voting machine but in the long run, it is a weighing machine. So this free report on the analyst consensus forecasts could help you make a master move on this stock.

But note: Elders may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a P/E ratio below 20).

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Azerbaijans consolidated budget revenues increased by 9.4 percent year-on-year in 2019, amounting to 33.8 billion manats ($19.88 billion), while the amount of expenditures was 26.5 billion manats ($15.6 billion), the Finance Ministry reported in its official website.

During the broad meeting on the results of 2019 and the tasks facing the ministry in 2020 held on February 5, it was noted that the consolidated budget surplus was equal to 7.3 billion manats ($4.3 billion), which is 2.9 times above the forecast.

At the same time, in 2019, the state budget revenues were executed at 24.2 billion manats ($14.2 billion), or 4.5 percent more than the approved forecast, while expenses were 24.4 billion manats ($14.35 billion) or three percent less.

The state budget deficit was 207.0 million manats ($121.76 million) while the forecast was $2 billion manats ($1.18 billion). Significant contraction of the state budget deficit was primarily connected with the implementation of forecasts by the tax and customs authorities on budget revenues, as well as the cost savings.

Another important element of the state budget for 2019 was the implementation of the Presidential Decree signed by the head of state on the resolution of problem loans worth 640 million manats ($376.5 million) and covering 593,000 individuals.

At the meeting, the tasks for the Finance Ministry in 2020 include the preparation of the state and consolidated budget projects for 2021 and the summary budget indicators for the next three years and their submission in accordance with the dates set out in the Budget System Law.

It was noted that the Action Plan, which consists of 39 items, has been approved to prepare 2021 state and consolidated budget projects and the summary budget indicators for the next three years.

In addition, ensuring the implementation of the state's financial resources in line with programs and strategic goals, the budgeting of public authorities on the basis of expected results from these agencies, the clear determination of the main results, the accelerated implementation of medium-term expenditure frameworks, and the transition to a cost-effective mechanism were also discussed during the meeting.

In line with the presidential decree, 2020 is defined as a pilot period, while the functional classification of budget expenditures - the Education, Agriculture and Environmental Protection sections are determined as pilot sectors.

---

Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
A resident doctor of the Yavatmal Government Medical College and Hospital in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra was suspended from duty for eight days at the behest of district guardian minister Sanjay Rathod.

Dr Achyut Narote was on duty for the casualty ward the day the incident took place. His suspension was issued by Dr Milind Kamble, the dean in-charge of the hospital. The resident doctor has been accused of disrespecting the Maharashtra Forest Minister  a peoples representative  by not taking his call.

According to a report by the Times of India, on February 3, an elderly man had rushed in with his son, who allegedly consumed poison, to the hospital.

He had requested Dr Narote to treat him urgently, but the doctor had asked him to wait.

However, the patient's father made a call to his bhau (brother) and handed over the phone to the resident doctor after a brief conversation.

This "bhau" was none other than Rathod. According to the report, Narote said he can talk only after 10 minutes because he is busy and suggested the bhau could also come and meet him in person at the hospital.

The report noted that Rathod overheard this, and ordered Dr Kamble to take action against the young doctor. Narote was suspended and show cause notices were issued to three nurses for not attending the call.

Rathod said he had sought action against the irresponsible doctor and the nurses because a person from his constituency had called him and complained about Narote not attending to his son, and that he had heard the junior doctor insulted against an elderly person, which prompted him to give the order.

The report noted that Narote has reportedly apologized and a delegation of resident doctors have urged the dean to revoke his suspension.
Twenty-eight people were also handed terms of 10-15 years of forced labour for murder and illegal possession of weapons.

Five leaders of a predominantly Christian militia in the Central African Republic have been handed life sentences for war crimes and crimes against humanity after dozens of Muslims were slaughtered in a southeastern town in May 2017.

Twenty-eight individuals were on Friday also given terms of between 10 and 15 years of forced labour, mainly for murder and illegal possession of weapons.

Its the first time that a sentence for crimes against humanity has been handed down by a CAR court, Justice Minister Flavien Mbata said.

The trial at the criminal court in the capital Bangui broke new ground in a country struggling to provide justice for victims of militia violence.

The trial concerned an attack on a district in the southeastern town of Bangassou and a nearby United Nations base on May 13, 2017.

According to the UN, 72 people were killed, 76 were wounded and 4,400 people were displaced from their homes.

The militiamen especially targeted members of the Muslim community who had taken refuge in the towns Catholic church.

Ten UN peacekeepers were killed in attacks by armed groups in the Bangassou area between May and November 2017.

The sentences can only be appealed once under CAR law.

Cycle of violence

The CAR has been grappling with violence since 2013.

The Pino Pino militia was one of the predominantly Christian and animist armed groups that sprang up to combat a mainly Muslim rebel coalition, the Seleka.

Vicious fighting brought the country to the brink of sectarian war, prompting intervention by France, the former colonial power.

CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera now governs with the support of MINUSCA, a 14,700-strong UN peacekeeping force whose full name is the Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic.

But armed groups control two-thirds of the country, typically claiming to represent a religious or ethnic group and frequently fighting over CARs rich mineral resources.
Over 54,011 airline flights scheduled to, from, and within China between January 23 and February 4 were canceled, according to Cirium data cited by CNBC, creating a ripple effect for global oil demand.

The 50,000+ flights account for 28% of all scheduled flights to, from, and within China, and 14% of those flights that were canceled were international flights.

And more cancellations are coming.

And as much as China is hoping that airlines will not get too carried away by cancelling flights, even Chinas state-run airlines are considering flight cancellations. Earlier this week, Air China announced that it was canceling some flights to Singapore, Vietnam, and Australia, and is considering limiting its China to US service to just two routes.

China has the second highest number of airline passengers in the world behind the United States, although it is expected to surpass the US in the number of passengers some time this decade.

The flight cancelations have cut into jet fuel sales, which slumped by 25% in the last week of Januarya slump that will no doubt trickle down to its sourcecrude oil.

Jet fuel, a middle distillate, has been a mainstay of the crude oil industry. While crude oil has other, larger, applications, its demand growth is expected to outpace all other petroleum products in the next couple decades, according to the IEA, which sees jet fuel demand rising 50% by 2040.

And because demand for jet fuel has been secure with no viable alternative, the oil industry hasnt been too worried about the world giving up on jet fuel. The rest of the transportation sector remains under threat by electric vehicles.

Airlines and world leaders are restricting travel in a mad dash to contain the coronavirus epidemic, which has so far claimed the lives of more than 560 people and infected 28,000.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
A ballot question asking voters to approve an amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution expanding the rights of crime victims will remain on the April 7 ballot after a Dane County judge on Friday denied a request to block the question from appearing.

But opponents of the measure, called Marsys Law, said they will continue after the election to challenge the wording of the ballot question and will try to persuade the public to vote against it at the polls.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington said after oral arguments Friday that the Wisconsin Justice Initiative Inc., which filed a lawsuit in December challenging the ballot question as misleading, had not shown the group would be irreparably harmed by the placement of the question on the ballot.

Remington said while he is given pause by the groups argument that somewhat differing language in the ballot question and in the law could be misleading, he isnt ruling on the merits of the case at this stage, only on the injunction.

I dont know whether the public will be misled by voting on a question that uses the words equal force rather than no less vigorous, he said, referring to differing terms used to describe the rights of crime victims versus those of the accused under the amendment, and as stated in the ballot question. But I do know that at least for today ... I believe that I need to presume that the question is constitutional.

Although Fridays ruling wont keep the measure off the April ballot, briefs on the merits of the lawsuit will continue to be filed over the summer, with an oral argument scheduled in August. The case doesnt challenge the substance of the constitutional amendment, only the wording of the ballot question.

Todays decision will ensure Wisconsinites have the opportunity to vote on April 7 to strengthen the constitutional rights of crime victims, Marsys Law for Wisconsin spokeswoman Myranda Tanck said in a statement after the decision. We look forward to continuing to educate voters on the need to give victims of crime additional rights.

Wisconsin Justice Initiative president Craig Johnson said the organization also plans to educate voters, but about the dangers and the fundamental problems this constitutional amendment in substance represents for the justice system and the due process rights for accused persons.

He said the group plans to hold events, possibly purchase advertisements and perhaps hold a forum debating the substance of the ballot question with its proponents.

We think that the question presented really doesnt inform the voters fully about the full consequences of (Marsys Law), Johnson said. Voters really shouldnt have to vote in the dark, and thats the problem with the question and the way its worded.

Wisconsins version of Marsys Law was approved by the state Legislature in May with bipartisan support. As an amendment to the state constitution, it had to be approved in two successive sessions of the Legislature.

Ten states have some version of Marsys Law, named for Marsalee Marsy Nicholas, a California woman who was killed in 1983 by her ex-boyfriend after he was released from jail, without notification to Nicholas.

Wisconsin Justice Initiatives lawsuit states the ballot question fails to fully provide a full and fair summary of a constitutional amendment and fails to pose a question that states the substance and essentials of the proposed amendment.

Besides Johnson, plaintiffs also include attorneys Jacqueline Boynton and Jerome Buting, along with state Sen. Fred Risser, D-Madison.

Wisconsin Justice Initiative asserts that the amendment, as posed in the ballot question, infringes on the rights of people accused of crimes by giving rights to a crime victim before any conviction has occurred, infringes on their right to have certain proceedings, such as bail hearings, if victims are not available to be present, and infringes on the rights of the accused to a public trial.

Johnson added victim privacy provisions in the amendment could keep exculpatory evidence, such as data on computers or other electronics, away from those accused of crimes.

Lawyers for the state Department of Justice, asking that the lawsuit be dismissed, counter that the Legislature has broad discretion in creating the form that a ballot question takes. As written, it only needs to help voters identify the question being voted upon, the states lawyers wrote, and doesnt have to explain the amendment in detail or discuss its policy implications.

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Haiti - News : Zapping...





PNH Nippes : a thief killed

Thursday, a repeat robber Davidson Otaris (29), well known to the justice system and the police, was killed around 5 a.m. in Calbassier (Dept. of Nippes) during an exchange of fire with Miragoane police officers, after having robbed several vehicles.



Coronavirus Global Assessment on February 7

Friday February 7, 2020 compared to Thursday February 6: 31,515 people infected (confirmed cases + 11.2%), 638 dead (+ 12.9%) and 1,665 (+ 27.7% people healed, i.e. 2.6 times more than deaths).



Textile : 95% of Haiti's exports to the USA

Haitian exports to the United States for the year 2019, all goods amounted to 1 billion 61 million US dollars an increase of 7%; including 1 billion and 8 million from the textile sector (95% of all exports)



Monthly assessment of the ambulance center

During the month of January 2020, according to the emergency statistics of the National Ambulance Center, the Center took care of 253 cases of road accidents, 44 cases of gunshot wounds, 55 cases of other injuries and fractures, 494 cases obstetric emergencies, 308 cases of diarrhea, vomiting and pain and 193 cases of chronic diseases.



New elected Batonnier

Thursday, February 6, at the Court of Cassation, following the elections of the Bar Association of Port-au-Prince, Me Monferrier Dorval was elected new president of the bar with 228 votes far ahead of his competitors. Me Stanley Gaston (146 votes) and Me Jacquenet Oxilus (150 votes). Me Monferrier Dorval replaces Me Stanley Gaston, who ran for two terms as head of the Bar.



Taiwan : Partnership agreement with the Court of Cassation

Thursday February 6, Bang-Zyh Liu, Ambassador of. Taiwan (Republic of China) and Me Rene Sylvestre, President of the Court of Cassation, signed a Partnership Agreement relating to support for the logistical functioning of the Court.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















A decision by the administration of Upper Hill School to cancel Sunday off day is what led students to burn down one of the dormitories in the school on Wednesday night, Nairobi News has authoritatively established.

The night fire destroyed several beds in one dormitory that houses 30 students in Form Three and Form Four.

Nairobi News has further learnt that the Principal Peter Muia has had reservations about the first Sunday of the month being an off day for the students, as has been the case.

One parent of a Form Three student also shared with Nairobi News WhatsApp messages of how one teacher kept feeding them with contradictory information about the incident.

She claimed that teacher was telling Form Two parents that it was a Form Three dormitory that was on fire while on the other hand giving the opposite information to Form Three parents.

"They kept telling us that it was a Form Two dormitory that had been burned down, but when we went to the school last night, they sent us away. I managed to see my son today during break and he explained everything to me. That it was a dormitory that houses Form Three and Four students that got burnt down," said the parent.

CAUSE OF FIRE

According to the school principal, the fire was put out immediately and there were no casualties during the incident.

"While the students were having supper before proceeding for preps, a student noticed smoke from the dormitory and informed us. We successfully contained the fire and put it off," he told parents who gathered at the school.

The principal however said the cause of the fire has not been established.

Police were still in the compound at 8pm on Wednesday night when the principal addressed the parents.

At the time of the incident, there were no student in the dormitory.
President Buhari had while commissioning two Nigeria Air Force Agusta 109 Power Helicopters and Mi-17 E Helicopters at the Eagle Square on Thursday, said, I want to, once again, salute the resolve of our Armed Forces and the invaluable contributions of all security agencies for their efforts towards the decimation of Boko Haram.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

A federal judge in San Francisco will hear arguments on Feb. 14 on a political campaign committee's free-speech challenge to new donor disclosure rules enacted by city voters in November.

The federal lawsuit against the city was filed on Jan. 28 by the Yes on B committee and its treasurer, Todd David. The committee is supporting Proposition B, an earthquake safety bond measure on the March 3 ballot.

The lawsuit claims that rules approved by San Francisco voters as part of Proposition F in November violate the committee's First Amendment free-speech rights because the required disclosures occupy so much space in audio, video and newspaper advertisements that they "effectively drown out" the political message.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer will consider the group's request for a preliminary injunction blocking the rules at the Feb. 14 hearing.

City Attorney's Office spokesman John Cote said in a statement, "We are defending this ballot measure consistent with First Amendment law."

Proposition F is known by its supporters as the Sunlight on Dark Money Initiative.

The portions of the measure challenged in the lawsuit include a requirement that an ad must list the contribution amounts as well as the names of the top three donors of $5,000 or more, plus the names and amounts of the top two donors of more than $5,000 to a secondary committee that contributes to the primary committee.

The suit also disputes the lowering of the donation disclosure threshold to $5,000 from the previous threshold of $10,000, and a requirement that donation disclosures must be made at the beginning rather than the end of an audio or video message or telephone call.

Proposition F supporter Jon Golinger charged in a statement, "This lawsuit is designed to keep voters in the dark so that secretive Super PACs can hide the real agenda behind their campaign ads."

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.
LG's Beijing Twin Towers in China





By Baek Byung-yeul, Kim Yoo-chul







With the ongoing coronavirus wreaking havoc in China, LG Electronics is preparing a "Plan B," including boosting liquidity by selling off its Beijing headquarter buildings.







The plan announced by LG, last week, comes after it decided the virus was having an impact on its core businesses in China, a crucial market for the company. Precisely, countermeasures for the virus could have a "meaningful short-term," negative impact on smartphone shipments in the first quarter, dropping them by at last 7 percent. China accounts for about 28 percent of global smartphone shipments.







While LG's share in the Chinese smartphone market isn't substantial, any disruption in the smartphone sector there is expected to hit its display business as LG Electronics owns a 37.9 percent stake in LG Display, which has manufacturing facilities in China. The display affiliate operates a cutting-edge plant in Guangzhou that supplies premium OLED panels to Chinese vendors.







LG Electronics agreed to sell its Beijing Twin Towers to a subsidiary of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation for 3.94 billion yuan ($5.63 billion). The decision was aimed at raising funds for "future mergers and acquisitions and investments in new businesses," LG Electronics said in a statement.







"LG Electronics held a board meeting Feb. 7 and made a decision to sell off the Beijing Twin Towers. The board members decided to sell a 49 percent stake in LG Holdings Hong Kong, which wholly owns the two buildings, to RECO Changan Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation," the company said in the statement. LG has tried to sell the office since the second quarter of 2019.







"LG will be able to use the funds generated by the sale to invest in future growth engines and raise liquidity," the company said, without revealing any details in what businesses it will invest in.







The company will sign a stock sale agreement by the end of February and complete the deal by April.







Located near Tiananmen Square, the Beijing Twin Towers is comprised of two buildings occupying 13,022 square-feet. The two-buildings resemble LG's headquarter buildings in Yeouido, Seoul, the LG Twins Towers. LG Group affiliates such as LG Electronics, LG Chem and LG International jointly invested around $400 million into the buildings.







LG Electronics didn't elaborate regarding the specifics of its plans for any further asset sales. LG Group's three key affiliates  LG Display, LG Chem and LG Electronics  aren't in good shape in terms of profits. LG Electronics' operating profit last year was down 10 percent from the previous year, while LG Display reported a more than 1 trillion won in operating losses for 2019.







In a group-wide effort to save costs, LG's technology units are moving forward on the sale of none-core assets and realigning their businesses






Click here to read the full article.

This week was a week of firsts for actor Yoson An.

The 27-year-old actor, who stars in Disneys Mulan premiering on March 27, traveled to New York for the first time to experience also his first NYFW: Mens.

More from WWD

An checked out the Whitney Museum, walked the High Line, saw Times Square and the 9/11 Memorial, and had his first authentic New York pizza. He attended the N. Hoolywood show, Keenkee, Todd Snyder and Victor Li in a custom ensemble designed by Li himself.

He was also photographed by Tommy Ton in outfits by N. Hoolywood, Phillip Lim and Deveaux, the New York City-based label that the photographer designs for. Not bad for the first fashion week or the first time in the city.

Its my first time in New York and sitting in this hotel building and looking out the window Im like Man, its a whole new world for me, An said. Im sure theres a whole bunch of stuff I gotta see.

Do you think I could walk to Times Square from here, An asked at his hotel room on Spring Street in SoHo. Despite the even tone in his voice, one could sense the excitement that was bubbling inside him.

Im really excited. Ive seen glimpses of fashion shows, I find it super interesting, he said. Fashion is super interesting. I see styles in the Eighties and styles are always timeless because it just suits peoples characters and personalities. Im excited to see and learn and be exposed.

Born in Zhuhai, China, just outside of Macau, and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, An has three younger sisters and he is very close to his very fashionable mother. He performed in musicals in high school and acted in student films in university before appearing in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny and The Meg. In Mulan, he plays Chen Honghui, a recruit in Commander Tangs unit and Mulans love interest.

Story continues

I still remember watching it as a kid in my grandparents place for the first time and it just stuck with me, An said about the 1998 Disney animated movie. The tunes were catchy, everything was really catchy about it and cool seeing the Chinese culture that I grew up with in my early childhood on screen. But in the time that didnt really click for me, but it still stayed with me. Its one of my favorite animated movies.

The live-action adaptation that An costars in with Liu Yifei, Jet Li, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee and Gong Li is much different from the animated iteration. The adaptation draws more from the Chinese ballad, but according to An, All of the elements that I personally loved  the mystical elements, the action-packed elements, the comical elements, the camaraderie from the animated movie  are still in this live action adaptation. The animation itself was derived from the ancient ballad, the ancient poem, so we went back to the ancient poem and were making it relevant for our audiences today.

The audition process took several years for An. He said he imagined himself playing the love interest role hearing in 2014 through industry whispers that fellow New Zealander Niki Caro would be directing the film. (Caro was officially announced as director in 2017.) An did a brief audition and didnt hear back for a year.

And then literally a year later I get a random e-mail from my agent and was like Hey do you remember that audition you did last year like a year ago? Disney wants to see you for it again, he explained.

I learned my lines again and did my Skype audition with Niki and within five days I was in L.A. meeting Niki and the producers doing the audition in person. I flew back home, and I didnt hear back for another eight months. It was a long process but it was a relief when I signed that contract.

Mulan refers to magnolia in Chinese, which was the main detail of Ans custom ensemble by Victor Li. The actor wore a black corduroy suit with embroidered magnolias that Li liked so much that he added a similar look to his fall 2020 collection inspired by travel and food.

Li jumped on the opportunity to design for An due to his excitement for the live action adaptation. When I first heard theyre doing a Mulan remake I was very excited. Its all about representation, thats really important to me, Li said. We styled [the suit] with this kimono shirt. Its a good balance of our Asian culture together and he fit it beautifully and Im really happy.

An expressed interest in attending the international fashion weeks in London, Milan and Paris, but said attendance is dependent on scheduling. He couldnt discuss all of his 2020 projects, but spoke briefly about an upcoming BBC show called The Luminaries that he stars in with Eva Green, Eve Hewson and Marton Csokas. Its an ensemble piece written by Eleanor Catton who won the Man Booker Prize, he said. Its about these 12 zodiac signs and I play the Aquarius sign.

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P edestrians and shoppers were cleared from New Oxford Street this afternoon as police responded to reports of a suspicious package.

Officers were seen outside Tottenham Court Road clearing pedestrians from the area at around 2.20pm.

Police vans and cars were at the scene as a cordon was put in place, which was stood down shortly after 3pm.

The blocked stretch of road went back to Centre Point Tower. Cordons are being lifted, Scotland Yard said.

Police evacuating Tottenham Court Road 1 /8 Police evacuating Tottenham Court Road Officers cordoned off the road Racheal Burford An officer standing guard by the cordon Racheal Burford Vehicles and officers blocked the road @SophiaSleigh @SophiaSleigh Passengers gathered outside Tottenham Court Road @SophiaSleigh Police vehicles on the scene @SophiaSleigh

Crowds were seen gathered outside Tottenham Court Road station.

An officer was heard shouting about a "suspect package".

Police vehicles descended on the scene / @SophiaSleigh

A worker in New Oxford street was evacuated from their office and told the Standard they had been told there was a suspect package.

Police tape blocked the road this afternoon / Racheal Burford

A statement from the Met Police said: "A security alert in central London has been stood down.
Editors note: As of 6 Feb at 10 pm, the total number of 30 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection in Singapore is at 30. The Ministry of Health confirmed two more cases on Thursday evening with one who did not travel to China recently and does not seem to be linked to previous cases. The other case is linked to a conference at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore in January. The announcement followed the confirmation of four additional cases on Wednesday which include case 28, the 6-month-old Singaporean baby who is the son of an infected couple.



The rising cases of the latest coronavirus, also known as the Wuhan Virus, has created panic among many people. Most cases reported, though, are adults. Very few cases of children have come forward, including the latest Wuhan new-born. Parents dont need to worry about coronavirus in babies if they maintain hygiene and follow basic rules strictly.

Coronavirus: Who Is At Risk?

Coronavirus in Babies

Image source: iStock

Human coronavirus is a family of viruses that affect humans at various times. Some strains can cause serious damage such as the SARS and the MERS. The latest epidemic is identified as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). It spreads like other respiratory diseases; similar to cold-causing viruses.

People with low immunity are at risk, especially, pregnant women, older people, patients with coronary diseases, etc. Though children are listed as high risk, very few cases show coronavirus in babies. However, some of the latest coronavirus cases confirmed in the world are infants.



A newborn baby in China was born to a virus-stricken mum and was diagnosed just 30 hours after birth. In Singapore, a 6-month-old baby boy also contracted the virus and became case 28 here. He is the son of a couple who earlier tested positive of the novel coronavirus.

There are various assumptions for fewer cases of coronavirus in babies. It could be that for some unexplained reason, the immune system of children is better equipped to fight the disease. The other assumption is that parents are more protective of their kids hygiene. Also, they are getting less exposure to carriers of the disease.

Story continues

Awareness among parents about the disease, its symptoms and precautions seem to play a very important role in curbing the spread of coronavirus in babies. So lets recap some valuable information to help you protect your kids:

Symptoms of Coronavirus

Coronavirus in Babies

Image source: iStock

Common symptoms of coronavirus are the same as rhinovirus or flu. Upper respiratory infections like runny nose, sore throat, coughing and fever are the usual symptoms. It becomes serious if the infection spreads to lower respiratory tract  windpipe and lungs. This may lead to complications like pneumonia.

Reducing Risk of Coronavirus

Coronavirus in Babies

Image source: iStock

There are a few things you can do to protect your family. Symptoms, as well as the method of spreading of coronavirus, seem to be the same as flu. Therefore, similar precautions are likely to work.

Boost hand-washing habits. Use soap and water for 20 seconds and as often as possible.

Avoid direct exposure to sneezing and coughing, and cover nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.

Forbid touching eyes, nose and mouth unnecessarily.

Clean and disinfect household items and surfaces.

Use alcohol-based hand sanitiser to help keep their hands clean.

Visit the doctor when feeling unwell.

The post Coronavirus in Babies: Is There A Worry? appeared first on theAsianparent - Your Guide to Pregnancy, Baby & Raising Kids.
Supernovas will be the first band performing at Saturdays Large Bands final of the National Panorama Championships at the Queens Park Savannah.

The band is playing an Amrit Samaroo arrangement of Dear Promoter recorded by Kees Dieffenthaller and Voice (Aaron St Louis).
The nightmare for residents of Sydney's Mascot Towers isnt over yet, with fresh concerns over the cracking of a brick facade in one of the apartment towers, which has forced businesses in the complex to close for possibly up to six weeks.

Fire and Rescue were called to the apartment block just after 10pm on Thursday after reports of the cracking. Crews taped off the area and temporary fencing is expected to be erected on Friday.

Remediation work on Mascot Towers has been under way since last July. Credit:Kate Geraghty

Engineers working on tower one of the apartment complex reported concerns over cracking brickwork on the Bourke Street facade, which was taking unintended loads caused by the original damage.

About 7.45pm on Thursday, building management sent an email to three commercial and retail shops informing them they would be vacated as a precautionary measure. The affected businesses have been told they could be shut for four to six weeks.
A four-year-old boy has died in a fire after smothering his baby sister to shield her from being burned alive.

But the girl, one, was also killed by the blaze in Managua, Nicaragua, which was sparked when a tablet overheated and burst into flames on Wednesday.

Their father Marvin Obando, 24, was unable to open the door to the children's room and was instead forced to dismantle the zinc roof to gain entry.

When he finally got inside, he found the boy, Jordan Caleb Obando Soto, sprawled atop his sister, Alessandra Adelaid Obando, and hugging her tightly.

Both children were scooped up and rescued via the roof before being rushed to Antonio Lenin Fonseca Hospital.

Jordan Caleb Obando Soto, four, lies outside his home in Managua, Nicaragua, after suffering fatal burns

The scorched room at the house in the Julio Buitrago neighbourhood where a tablet overheated and burst into flames

A picture at a vigil held for the two tragic children, who died hours apart from each other on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively

Jordan, who suffered burns to 100 per cent of his body, died three hours later while Alessandra, who suffered burns to 98 per cent of her body, lost her fight for life in the early hours of Thursday despite doctor Julian Corea's desperate attempts to save her.

Raw with grief, Mr Obando broke down in tears as he told reporters: 'The boy was covering his sister when I went in to save my kids. The boy was hugging this girl, he was over her.

'He threw himself over her because he knew something was going to happen. He protected her. He only survived three hours, my Jordan.

'My girl, thanks to him, survived until 3.40am. I would like him to be applauded.'

Nicaragua's health minister comforts Marvin Obando, 24, who was unable to open the door to the children's room and was instead forced to dismantle the zinc roof to gain entry

The tragic deaths tugged on the nation's heartstrings and their funeral attracted scores of mourners

The children's mother Marbely Soto Castillo, 21, was working when the blaze started at the family's home in the capital's Julio Buitrago neighbourhood.

Rosario Murillo, the Vice-President of Nicaragua, said to local media that 'a tablet connected to the mains overheated and caused the fire that cost the life of the two children (brother and sister)'.

It is not clear what the make and model of the tablet was.

According to the General Direction of Firefighters, a team of firefighters went to the scene but the children had already been taken out of the burning room.

The children's funeral was well attended after their death shocked the country.
A YOUNG man with a rare type of Crohns disease attempted to take his life in the emergency department at University Hospital Limerick, having spent four days suffering with excruciating pain on a trolley.

The 30-year-old professional, who did not wish to be named, told the Limerick Leader that he spent 104 hours on a trolley in August 2019, after being in constant pain for three months.

The man was diagnosed on April 1 with Crohns disease, a long-term illness that can cause severe inflammation along the digestive tract.

The Tipperary man was taken by ambulance to UHL, requiring a CT scan, on the evening of the All-Ireland hurling final on August 18, while using a colostomy bag and suffering with a superbug called clostridium difficile (C-diff).

For infection prevention and control measures, the young man could not use the public bathrooms and had to empty his colostomy bag in the nearby biohazard bins, he said.

He said that he could not eat properly as the only food servings were egg salad sandwiches and vegetable soup.

So, someone with Crohns, you might as well hand them a pill of diarrhoea, he said.

The man, who was mainly on fluid- and injection-based painkillers endured hours of pain on one day, after he was prescribed tablet painkillers, which he said would not stay in his system.

The prescription was amended four and a half hours later, he said, adding that a member of staff later apologised to him.

On August 21, the same day Minister for Health Simon Harris visited the emergency department, the patient says he was relocated to a separate room that was completely out of sight, likening it to an old storage room.

Pictures of the square room, seen by the Leader, shows an examination table with shutters in the background. The Leader has asked the UL Hospitals Group the purpose of this room and why a patient was placed there. It declined to comment on this for reasons of patient confidentiality.

He said he was told he was moved to that room to make room for other patients. He told the Leader that he attempted to take his own life prior to being relocated to the new room.

At this stage, he said, he was in a separate room behind blinds, close to the nurses station in the emergency department.

I actually tried to kill myself inside there, I was in that much pain.

He explained that it was a build-up of everything and the experience was just the straw that broke the camels back.

It wasnt just the emergency department. It was the whole Crohns thing. I had been in hospital for 10 weeks at this stage. I was only out three weeks and sent back in then. I was in constant pain for the bones of three months, he said, adding that he seemed to be getting nowhere with the constant pain.

He underwent a CT scan after four days, after which doctors discovered that his GI tract was completely covered in ulcers, he said this week. He issued a handwritten complaint during his treatment.

This week, the patient received a letter from the UL Hospitals Group, dated January 31, stating that a consultant advised that it was very unfortunate that you were accommodated in an overcrowded emergency department between August 18 and August 22 2019, this was not appropriate to deal with your complex clinical rare type of Crohns disease.

From April to August, the young man required seven different surgeries, and a number of appointments with a gastroenterologist in Nenagh.

His first major surgery required the removal of a perianal abscess which prevented him from going to the bathroom. However, the abscess burst prior to a planned surgery, he claimed.

Due to his difficulties with pain and going to the bathroom, he was fitted with a colostomy bag in the summer. The Tipperary man said that his condition is now under control with treatment.

He praised his consultant surgeon, whom he described as a pure, absolute gentleman and brilliant; the nurses who were exemplary with the resources they were given; and one medical staff who helped him with pain medication even after his shift was over.

The UL Hospitals Group said it cannot comment on individual cases for reasons of patient confidentiality. It said that it carries out a number of measures to alleviate overcrowding, but despite these measures, bed capacity remains a challenge. It said that it regrets that too many patients face excessive waits on trolleys.

Commenting on pain relief, it cited the latest National Patient Experience Survey which stated that for every one patient who said staff didnt give them enough pain relief, there were 19 who said they did, and four who said they did to some extent.

In relation to the lengthy waits for a scanner, the spokesperson said that UHL has three CT scanners and access to scans is decided by a consultant radiologist and is based on clinical need. We regret that patients may sometimes have to face long waits in this regard.

If you have been affected by this story contact any of the following organisations

Samaritans: 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

Console 1800 247 247

Aware 1890 303 302

Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie
- Country Director of World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte has expressed worry at the rate at which the Government of Ghana is borrowing

- According to him, the country risks being classified as a high debt distress country if the situation persists

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Country Director of World Bank, Pierre Frank Laporte has expressed worry at the rate at which the government of Ghana is borrowing to stay afloat.

He said the country risks being classified as a high debt distress country if the situation of excessive borrowing is not curbed.

His genuine concern comes a day after the government successfully raised US$3 billion Eurobond which was five times oversubscribed.

Speaking to the media after a courtesy call on the Speaker of Parliament, he said the government must be cautious of the amount of being borrowed.

READ ALSO: Missing excavators: We have started retrieving them - Operation Vanguard taskforce

Countries especially developing countries have to borrow because most of us do not have adequate resources, we have to borrow to develop but we have to borrow responsibly.

At the moment, Ghanas debt situation according to World Bank description is a country at moderate rate to high risk of debt distress; of course, yes the country has to be careful, said Mr. Laporte.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also warned the nation that it is at a high risk of becoming a debt-distressed country.

According to the Fund, the Debt Sustainability Analysis is mainly driven by debt service to revenue exceeding the threshold throughout the forecast horizon, though all other indicators also exceed their threshold at some point over the horizon.

Concerns have also been raised regarding the borrowed funds being used mainly for consumption rather than capital projects or investments.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus wont survive in Ghana and Africa - Korle Bu CEO

In other news, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, popularly known as the Ridge Hospital, has disclosed that an emergency response team consisting of 9 doctors and 26 nurses have been put on standby to tackle the deadly coronavirus.

Medical Director at the hospital, Dr Emmanuel Srofenyo, said the hospital is ready to handle any coronavirus case brought before it.

He made this known yesterday, February 6, 2020, while taking some media men around the facility designated to handle such cases in case of any eventuality.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus: 9 doctors, 26 nurses boldly dedicated to fight the virus at Ridge Hospital

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

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
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Kokrajhar in Assam on Friday to participate in an event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo agreement in January this year.

This will be the prime ministers first visit to the Northeast since protests erupted against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act last December.

Tomorrow, I look forward to being in Assam. I will be in Kokrajhar to address a public meeting. We will mark the successful signing of the Bodo Accord, which brings to an end a problem that had been persisting for decades. It marks the start of a new era of peace and progress, he said in a tweet.

The Bodo agreement was signed on January 27 by the Central government with four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), All Bodo Students Union and a civil society group for bringing a lasting peace in Bodo-dominated areas in Assam.

A cultural programme of ethnic groups of Assam is being organised to showcase the diversity of the state, the statement said.

In a recent tweet, the prime minister had termed the day the accord was signed a very special day for India and said that it will lead to a transformative results for Bodo people, ushering in a new dawn of peace, harmony and togetherness.

Over 1,615 cadres of different factions of the NDFB surrendered their arms and joined the mainstream within two days of the signing of the agreement.

In his latest Mann ki Baat radio address, the prime minister had appealed to all those on the path of violence to return to the mainstream and lay down their arms.
WASHINGTON  The Navy secretary ousted by President Trump said Thursday that he would endorse Michael R. Bloomberg for president, a high-profile defection that Mr. Bloombergs allies hope will convince Democratic voters that their best chance of defeating Mr. Trump is the former mayor of New York.

Richard V. Spencer, who was ousted as Navy secretary in November after he publicly disagreed with Mr. Trumps intervention in an extraordinary war crimes case involving a member of the Navy SEALs, is a lifelong Republican.

In a telephone interview, he said he had never before voted for a Democrat, but was ready to do so now. His support could help the argument by Mr. Bloomberg that, as a successful businessman himself, he is uniquely qualified to take on Mr. Trump and become the next commander in chief.

We need a leader who can bring the country together, Mr. Spencer said, rather than the cleaving that he said had occurred under the stewardship of his former boss.
An algorithmic risk scoring system deployed by the Dutch state to try to predict the likelihood that social security claimants will commit benefits or tax fraud is a breach of human rights law, a court in the Netherlands has ruled.

The Dutch government's System Risk Indication (SyRI) legislation uses a non-disclosed algorithmic risk model to profile citizens and has been exclusively targeted at neighborhoods with mostly low-income and minority residents. Human rights campaigners have dubbed it a "welfare surveillance state."

A number of civil society organizations in the Netherlands and two citizens instigated the legal action against SyRI  seeking to block its use. The court has today ordered an immediate halt to the use of the system.

The ruling (now here in English) is being hailed as a landmark judgement by human rights campaigners, with the court basing its reasoning on European human rights law  specifically the right to a private life that's set out by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)  rather than a dedicated provision in the EU's data protection framework (GDPR) which relates to automated processing.

GDPR's Article 22 includes the right for individuals not to be subject to solely automated individual decision-making where they can produce significant legal effects. But there can be some fuzziness around whether this applies if there's a human somewhere in the loop, such as to review a decision on objection.

In this instance the court has sidestepped such questions by finding SyRI directly interferes with rights set out in the ECHR.

Specifically, the court found that the SyRI legislation fails a balancing test in Article 8 of the ECHR which requires that any social interest to be weighed against the violation of individuals' private life, with a fair and reasonable balance being required. The automated risk assessment system failed this test in the court's view.

Story continues

Legal experts suggest the decision sets some clear limits on how the public sector in the UK can make use of AI tools -- with the court objecting in particular to the lack of transparency about how the algorithmic risk scoring system functioned.

In a press release about the judgement (translated to English using Google Translate), the court writes that the use of SyRI is "insufficiently clear and controllable". While, per Human Rights Watch, the Dutch government refused during the hearing to disclose "meaningful information" about how SyRI uses personal data to draw inferences about possible fraud.

The court clearly took a dim view of the state trying to circumvent scrutiny of human rights risk by pointing to an algorithmic "blackbox" and shrugging.

The Court's reasoning doesn't imply there should be full disclosure, but it clearly expects much more robust information on the way (objective criteria) that the model and scores were developed and the way in which particular risks for individuals were addressed.  Joris van Hoboken (@jorisvanhoboken) February 6, 2020

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

The UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston -- who intervened in the case by providing the court with a human rights analysis -- welcomed the judgement, describing it as "a clear victory for all those who are justifiably concerned about the serious threats digital welfare systems pose for human rights."

This decision sets a strong legal precedent for other courts to follow. This is one of the first times a court anywhere has stopped the use of digital technologies and abundant digital information by welfare authorities on human rights grounds," he added in a press statement.

Back in 2018, Alston warned that the UK government's rush to apply digital technologies and data tools to socially re-engineer the delivery of public services at scale risked having an immense impact on the human rights of the most vulnerable.

So the decision by the Dutch court could have some near-term implications for UK policy in this area.

The judgement does not shut the door on the use by states of automated profiling systems entirely, but it does make it clear that human rights law in Europe must be central to the design and implementation of rights risking tools.

It also comes at a key time when EU policymakers are working on a framework to regulate artificial intelligence  with the Commission pledging to devise rules that ensure AI technologies are applied ethically and in a human-centric way.

It remains to be seen whether the Commission will push for pan-EU limits on specific public sector uses of AI (such as for social security assessments). A recent leaked draft of a white paper on AI regulation suggests it's leaning towards risk assessments and a patchwork of risk-based rules.
Rawalpindi, Feb 7 : Bangladesh were all out for 233 on Day 1 of their first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Friday. The hosts pierced into the visitors' top order through pacers Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas. Afridi ended the day with four wickets to his name.

Pakistan will now be looking to capitalise on Bangladesh's low first innings total on a pitch that provides a lot of assistance to the batsmen. Only Mohammad Mithun managed to cross 50 and Bangladesh's highest partnership was 59 for the third wicket between Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Afridi struck in the very first over of the day, dismissing the highly rated debutant Saif Hassan for a duck. Tamim Iqbal, playing his first Test since March 2019, followed in the next over after being trapped in front of off stump.

Mominul and Najmul then went about trying to rebuild the Bangladesh innings. A few overs before lunch however, Mominul got an edge off Afridi and was caught by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan. Najmul and Mahmudullah then saw Bangladesh through to end of the session.

They started on 95/3 after Lunch and just as in the first session, Bangladesh lost a wicket in the first over. Najmul edged the ball off Abbas which flew straight into the wicketkeeper's gloves.

Mahmudullah was then dismissed off Afridi thanks to a screamer from Asad Shafiq at second slip after which came Bangladesh's second highest partnership of the innings as Mithun and Liton Das put up 54 runs for the sixth wicket.

Liton fell on 33 to Haris Sohail, although the umpire had initially turned down the LBW appeal with the only question being whether the ball had pitched in line with the stumps. Pakistan reviewed the call and replays showed that it had indeed pitched in line.

This was followed by Bangladesh's third 50-plus stand, this time between Mithun and Taijul Islam, who saw them through to tea. Taijul fell in the third session to Harris looking to heave the ball over the ropes. Yasir Shah ran back from mid-off and took a sharp catch.

Bangladesh folded in the next four overs with Mithun being dismissed on 63.

Brief scores: Bangladesh 233 (Mohammad Mithun 63, Najmul Hossain Shanto 44; Shaheen Afridi 4/53)
Sky News

The programme of events marking The Queen's 70th year on the throne has been revealed by Buckingham Palace. Instead, it is believed that other members of the Royal Family will take on much of the duties in her place, including Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess Of Cornwall. "But yet, because she has reigned for so long, there is a chance for the nation to celebrate her and she has through her household, and many other people who are taking part, put forward for this weekend events that people can involve themselves in, or ignore, in the true British style, just as they please."
80 senior doctors in a disadvantaged area just north of Paris have resigned in protest at poor working conditions, and are demanding a meeting with the Prime Minister.

The consultants, from Seine Saint-Denis, which is one of the poorest departments in France, told journalists at a press conference that they are unable to treat patients properly and there are not enough nurses and supplementary staff.

How can you justify paying a nurse - with at least 3 years training, who works weekends and difficult hours, dealing with so much pain and misery  just a bit more than the minimum wage? asked Dr. Yacine Tandjaoui-Lambiotte, who works in the emergency unit in the Hopital Avicenne in the town of Bobigny in Seine Saint-Denis. Even in Poland and Slovakia, they're paid more than that, he added, public hospitals need an injection of money. Lots of money.

'It's a disgrace'

Dr. Noel Pommepuy, child psychiatrist at France's second biggest psychiatric hospital, Ville Avrard, said there had been cases where patients had to be restrained or put in isolation because of lack of staff. It's a disgrace he said.

We are physically and psychologically exhausted, we feel as though we are doing our job badly and in a rush, added another doctor.

Health minister Agnes Buzyn said she would meet Doctors' representative in mid-March, after an upcoming spending package to see if further measures were needed.

But the doctors say they want an appointment with the Prime Minister or President Macron.

A strike among hospital staff is planned for 14 February.

( - with Wires)
ABERCROMBIE, N.S. - The parent company for the Northern Pulp mill has announced former Nova Scotia premier John Hamm has resigned from a board connected with the mill.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ABERCROMBIE, N.S. - The parent company for the Northern Pulp mill has announced former Nova Scotia premier John Hamm has resigned from a board connected with the mill.

Hamm had been a director and was chairman of the board of directors for Northern Resources Nova Scotia.

In a brief statement, Paper Excellence Canada does not give a reason for the resignation.

The company thanked Hamm for his "valuable service" to its subsidiaries.

Paper Excellence says it remains focused on the "safe and environmentally sound" hibernation of the mill located in Abercrombie Point, N.S.

The company shut down production at the mill last month, after its plan for a new treatment system that would see it pump treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait was rejected by the province in December.

As part of a so-called orderly closure, the province is allowing warm boiler water to continue to flow into an effluent treatment lagoon near the Pictou Landing First Nation until late April, despite the legislated Jan. 31 deadline.

The company has committed to continue with an environmental assessment process for a new effluent treatment system ordered by the province  something that could take up to two years to complete.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
The US nationwide ban on flavored e-cigarette products, aimed at curbing underage vaping, went into effect on Thursday - but some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules.

The ban covers reusable vaping devices with flavors such as mint, cherry blast and creme brulee - which have been described as purposely marketed towards teens,

Under the new policy, only menthol and tobacco flavors are allowed to be sold for the multi-use devices.

But parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isn't covered by the flavor ban.

These disposable e-cigarettes are sold under brands like Puff Bar, Stig and Fogg in flavors such as pink lemonade, blueberry ice and tropical mango.

The US nationwide ban on flavored e-cigarette products but experts say the FDA policy has too many exemptions including on disposables. Pictured: A woman holds a Puff Bar flavored disposable vape device in New York, January 2020

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed that the flavor restriction won't apply to 'self-contained, disposable products,' but only to rechargeable ones that use pods or cartridges prefilled with a nicotine solution.

The agency's rationale: Reusable vaping devices are far and away the most popular with underage users.

According to survey data collected last year, these are the devices used by more than 60 percent of high schoolers who vape.

Critics of the FDA policy fear teens will simply switch to the cheaper disposables, which are widely available at convenience stores and gas stations.

'They are very accessible and seem to be the new buzzy product,' said Dr Karen Wilson, a tobacco researcher and pediatrician at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

Also not included in the ban are flavored e-liquids that don't come in pod form and are easily found in vape shops.

'I think it's a joke to call it a vaping ban at all,' Erika Sward, a spokeswoman for the American Lung Association, told The Washington Post.

High school student Philip Fuhrman, 16, says most of his New York classmates who vape have ditched the popular Juul for disposables like Stig, a tiny e-cigarette sold in flavors like mighty mint and mango bomb.

Disposable are easier to hide because 'they're smaller and when you're done you can just throw it away,' said Fuhrman, who says he no longer vapes.

He's now an anti-vaping activist and his mother is one of the founders of a parents' group opposed to youth vaping.

At $20 for a three-pack, Stig may not seem cheap.

But Fuhrman and other teens say it's a smaller investment than the $40 or $50 needed to buy a Juul device and a four-pack of pods. Furhman says teens will instead buy a pack of Stigs 'for the weekend and then just be done with it.'

The makers of Stig, Puff Bar and Fogg disposables did not respond to requests for comment.

Thursday was the deadline for reusable e-cigarette manufacturers to stop selling fruity and candy flavors.

Juul was already in compliance. It dropped its best-selling mint and most other flavors before the ban was announced in early January and only sells tobacco and menthol.

The San Francisco company's retail sales have fallen 35 percent since their peak last July, driven by the loss of flavors, according to Wall Street research firm Piper Sandler.

At a congressional hearing on Wednesday, the CEO of Fontem US, which makes blu vapes, was pressed to drop its vivid vanilla and cherry crush disposable e-cigarettes.

Fontem chief Antoine Blonde argued that the company's customers are adults, not children or teenagers.

Less than three percent of high school students who vape reported blu as their preferred brand, according to 2019 government data.

E-cigarettes are often promoted as a less harmful alternative to traditional cigarettes but the FDA has not approved any vaping product to help smokers quit.

The makers of all vaping products face a May deadline to submit applications for government health and safety review.
Almost half of British farmers are looking at diversifying their businesses ahead of the biggest shake-up of farm funding for decades, new research suggests.

With Brexit now underway, farmers in the UK are looking at a 2020 'diversification drive' to help further support their businesses.

This is according to rural insurer NFU Mutual, who says that changes to government support are driving farmers downs new paths in order to boost profitability.

Forty eight percent of farmers are planning to set up or expand diversification businesses, moving into new areas such as tourism, hospitality, retail and renewable energy.

This figure has doubled since NFU Mutual carried out similar research in 2018 and found 23 percent of farmers were planning to expand or start diversification enterprises.

The next seven years will be crucial for the farming industry, explained Chris Walsh, NFU Mutuals Farm Specialist.

Because of this, many farmers are looking at new business opportunities in order to spread their risk.

Farmers have always had to adapt to changing times, and a number have been diversifying for decades, but even more are now deciding to support their work with new ideas.

Whether its building holiday cottages, launching a wedding venue, or opening a farm shop, not only can these new businesses supplement the farm, they often provide other members of the family with a crucial role.

NFU Mutual's new research, unveiled today (7 February), shows how a quarter of farmers are planning to diversify in order to create business opportunities for family members.

Mr Walsh added: There is only room for a certain number of farm shops, holiday cottages and wedding venues so farmers planning to diversify need to do careful research and costings before they start converting cow sheds into cafes.

Farmers and their families also need to have the right skills - particularly if theyre going to be working with the public. Its a big change looking after a demanding wedding party if youre used to being on a hillside with a flock of sheep all day.

The report stresses the importance of detailed planning to minimise risks to the public and employees and make insurance of new diversification schemes straightforward.

It also highlights the importance of looking at the financial implications of setting up non-farming activities to avoid higher Inheritance Tax Bills.

Looking ahead, the report suggests there may be new opportunities for farmers to access government financial support for diversification schemes as changes to agricultural support are rolled out.

Defra statistics show that diversification activity brought in 740m of income in 2018/19  up 6% on the previous year.
T he Duke of York has asked to defer his military promotion to Admiral after stepping down from public duties in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Andrew was due to be promoted on his 60th birthday later this month, in line with a longstanding policy that sees senior royals treated as serving members of the military.

But Buckingham Palace has said the duke has requested to forego the planned promotion until he is able to fully resume royal duties. "By convention, the Duke of York would be in line for military promotion on his 60th birthday," the spokeswoman said.

"Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that His Royal Highness returns to public duty."

Andrew stepped back from royal duties over his friendship with Epstein / REUTERS

The Duke stepped down from public duties last year over his friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein.

His decision comes after the Government announced that councils are no longer required to fly flags to mark the Duke's birthday on February 19.

Downing Street said the matter was being looked into after critics branded the celebration "crass and offensive".

A Government spokesman said: "The Department of Culture, Media and Sport will be advising councils that there is no requirement to fly flags on February 19 following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future."

The decision will also apply to other government buildings.

However, a spokeswoman for Westminster Abbey said the Duke's birthday will still be marked by the traditional ringing of bells.

"Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar and the bells are rung for the birthdays of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh; their children; and TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children.
The Winona Area Public Schools board agreed to a settlement  which includes updating policies, agreements and training  with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to help avoid discrimination within the district.

The settlement, approved Thursday by the board, was the result of a complaint issued by a MDHR commissioner on Aug. 15, 2017, after the department received reports of incidents of discrimination in the district.

Nancy Denzer, WAPS board chair, said the board does not have access to the original incidents because of privacy protections. Names and other personal information are included in the original reports that MDHR received.

When the district received information about this charge, the district denied engaging in discrimination as alleged by the department, according to the settlement.

The district and its attorneys did not receive any more notification about this situation until recently, when a settlement agreement was created between the districts attorneys and MDHR. The settlement agreement would help avoid possible lawsuits or trials from occurring in the future related to these incident reports.

The settlement includes, among many components, the district agreeing to focus more on complying with the Minnesota Human Rights Act and updating the student handbook.

The agreement for the police-school liaison officer will be updated and implemented after negotiations, which will work to specify the officers role with students.

The settlement instructs that the district should attempt to include in the updated agreement that the officers primary function will be to address matters involving criminal behavior, crisis management and immediate safety concerns; the police-school liaison officer will not recommend, determine or provide input on the districts disciplinary or other response to student misbehavior or policy violations.

The officer will have to attend district staff trainings and professional development sessions at least once a year so the officer can fully understand their responsibilities.

The district can insist that a city-provided police-school liaison officer be removed from the district if the officer is not properly fulfilling responsibilities or disobeying district policy.

During required annual staff trainings, district employees will learn when it is appropriate to contact the police-school liaison officer about situations with students. The sessions will also focus on understanding the anti-discrimination law.

Annual student training in the high school and the Winona Area Learning Center will also be required to help train students to help support a healthy environment without discriminatory behaviors.

The only payment the district will make with this settlement agreement is fees for the work that its attorneys completed.

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This is the moment suspected cartel killers flaunted their assault rifles as they announced their arrival with jolly traditional music to fearful residents in Mexico.

Footage shows four pickup trucks filled with suspected cartel members as they flaunted their weapons and jeered at the camera in the municipality of San Lucas in the western Mexican state of Michoacan.

Overheard in the video is narcocorrido music which has a polka-like rhythm based on the traditional Mexican corridor genre.

The suspected cartel members flaunt their assault rifles as they arrived in in the municipality of San Lucas in the western Mexican state of Michoacan (left). A total of four pickup trucks were seen arriving (right)

The lyrics typically speak approvingly of illegal activities such as drug trafficking.

The suspected cartel members reportedly shouted from the pickup trucks to announce their arrival in the town.

Reports said they were part of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).

However, the municipality of San Lucas and nearby Huetamo are said to be controlled by Don Jose, the leader of the cartel La Familia Michoacana, according to local media.

Don Jose reportedly controls the municipalities of Pungarabato, Cutzamala de Pinzon, Tlalchapa, Coyuca de Catalan and Zirandaro in Guerrero State.

The group hold their assault rifles in the air and look at the camera (left). Overheard in the video is narcocorrido music which has a polka-like rhythm based on the traditional Mexican corridor genre (right)

According to local media, the CJNG has expanded its operations quickly over the last 10 years under the leadership of Nemesio Oseguera alias 'El Mencho'.

The cartel is allegedly at war with other criminal groups, including La Familia Michoacana, for control of Michoacan and other Mexican states.

And one of their main enemies is believed to be Don Jose.

The CJNG is reportedly operating in 26 of Mexico's 32 states and Mexican and US authorities consider them one of the most violent organisations in the region.

It comes after shocking images of children as young as five toting rifles in Ayahualtempan, a town in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero.

The group revealed that it was using children as young as six as 'recruits' for armed defense patrols, Mexico's president said Thursday that drug cartels too are recruiting ever-younger kids.

The children cover their faces while undergoing weapons training in Guerrero State, Mexico

The head of the Guerrero state human rights office forcefully condemned the vigilantes, saying they were exposing the children to danger

The whole issue has sparked a debate in Mexico over the use of children in armed confrontations, with rights groups saying the practice threatens not only kids' safety, but their mental health.

Images appear to show children aged from around five to 15, and they carried shotguns and rifles. Some of the very youngest carried sticks instead of guns.

They performed rifle drills on a road in the township of Alcozacan in southern Guerrero state.

In a nearby town, a local drug gang had killed 10 men and burned most of their bodies, and vigilante organizers said the kids were needed to guard their villages against the drug gang.
" " Prosopis juliflora shrub, an invasive species in Africa, is a type of mesquite. Forest and Kim Starr/Flickr/ CC BY 2.0 Theshrub, an invasive species in Africa, is a type of mesquite.

Swat a mosquito? You've just conquered one of humankind's greatest enemies, as mosquitoes may be the deadliest animal in the world. Each year, they kill more than 1 million people by transmitting the parasites that cause malaria, a disease that destroys red blood cells and, if untreated, can lead to systemic organ failure.

The solution, however, may be as close as a common shrub. Researchers have discovered that removing the flowers of an invasive shrub from mosquito-rich areas makes significant headway in reducing malaria numbers. A new study published in the Malaria Journal reports that malaria-carrying mosquito populations plummeted by as much as 60 percent in areas using this flower-removal method.

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" " Mosquitoes feed on the flowers of the Prosopis juliflora, and a new study shows that targeted pruning could have an impact on the spread of malaria. Muller et al., Malaria Journal, 2017

Mali, a country of nearly 15 million people in West Africa, is the site of this first effort to control mosquitoes through environmental manipulation. The targeted shrub, Prosopis juliflora, is a type of mesquite plant native to Central and South America and the Caribbean, but was introduced to Africa to aid in deforestation recovery. The shrub now takes up millions of acres on the African continent  and its flowers have become a favorite of mosquitoes.

To determine the effect of the shrub on mosquito populations, researchers traveled to the Bandiagra District in Mali, where they cut flowering branches off P. juliflora in three of six mosquito-infested villages. In the villages where the flowers were removed, mosquito numbers (as evidenced by mosquito traps) dropped by about 60 percent when compared to mosquito populations in villages where the flowers remained intact.

"Mosquitos obtain most of their energy needs from plant sugars taken from the nectar of flowers," said Dr. Gunter Muller, the study's lead author, in a press release. "Our results show that removal of this particular shrub reduces total population levels of mosquitoes and reduces the number of older female mosquitoes in the population, which are known to transmit malaria parasites to humans. This suggests that removal of the flowers could be a new way to shift inherently high malaria transmission areas to low transmission areas, making elimination more feasible."

The researchers also believe the P. juliflora flower serves as a cautionary tale for those introducing exotic plants to new areas. Not only could these plants become invasive to local flora and fauna, but they could negatively impact public health  just like the P. juliflora attracts mosquitoes that carry malaria.

Now That's Interesting Malaria is spread to humans by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which transmit Plasmodium parasites. The parasite causes malaria, and in some cases, must be treated in 24 hours or it leads to death.
Former U.S. National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia, is preparing to apply for the extension of his Russian residence permit which expires in April, his lawyer Anatoly Kucherena told Russian media on February 7.



Snowden has been living in Russia since 2013 after he revealed details of secret surveillance programs by U.S. intelligence agencies.



"At Edward's request, I am drawing up documents for the Russian Interior Ministry migration service to extend his residence permit," Kucherena said.



Snowden was charged under the U.S. Espionage Act for leaking 1.5 million secret documents from the NSA on government surveillance, prompting public debate about the legality of some of the agencys programs, on privacy concerns, and about the United States snooping on its neighbors.



If convicted, Snowden faces up to 30 years in prison.



In September, Snowden called on French President Emmanuel Macron to grant him asylum. The French presidency did not comment.



Snowden had unsuccessfully applied for asylum in France in 2013 and several other countries.



"Everything is okay with him. He is working. His wife is with him," Kucherena said.



Asked if Snowden plans to apply for Russian citizenship, Kucherena said, "I haven't discussed this matter with him so far."

With reporting by ADP and Interfax
Daniele La Monaca/Reuters

John Kercher, the father of Meredith Kercher, the British college student whose brutal murder in Perugia, Italy, in 2007 made worldwide headlines, has died under mysterious circumstances.

The journalist of more than 40 years and the author of 24 childrens books was stoic in his grief as his 21-year-old daughters murder trial became one of the most sensational media frenzies in modern history. American Amanda Knox, Italian Raffaele Sollecito, and Ivorian Rudy Guede were all originally convicted of her murder. Knox and Sollecito were later released on appeal and Guede is expected to be released this year.

Meredith Kerchers Father on Our Daughters Murder

Kercher, who wrote a book about his daughters murder called Meredith in 2013, said the acquittal of Knox and Sollecito was devastating. Hundreds of miles away from the center of the events, I sat stunned and open-mouthed, he wrote. To hear that they had been acquitted and exonerated of any blame in Merediths death was staggering.

The 77-year-old, who suffered a stroke in 2009 that kept him from attending much of his daughters murder trial, was found with devastating injuries, including a broken arm and leg, outside his home in Croydon, England, on Jan. 13. The Sun newspaper reports that he had no recollection of what happened to him when he was found just yards from his home around 7:30 p.m. on a misty evening. He died in a hospital from his injuries last weekend after reportedly slipping into a coma.

Police are asking for leads and information to determine exactly who is responsible for Kerchers injuries, which led to his death. While they are initially working on the theory of a hit-and-run vehicular accident, they have not ruled out that he could have been intentionally hit or even beaten up.

Met Police Det. Sgt. Steve Andrews told local reporters the incident is under investigation. Despite thorough inquiries made so far, including speaking to witnesses and examining potential CCTV opportunities, we have not as yet been able to establish how he came to sustain his injuries, which included a broken arm and broken leg, he said. We are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of his death, including whether he may have been involved in a collision.

Story continues

Over the years, Kercher told The Daily Beast that he was not satisfied with the outcome of the final trial and felt personal pain over Knoxs rise to stardom over the high-profile trials, which lasted for nearly a decade. Knox, who recently posted a photo on Instagram in her old prison garb for reasons not yet clear, has not publicly commented on the death of her former roommates father. She had previously expressed interest in meeting them, but they refused any such encounter.

The Seattle native has maintained a high profile as an advocate for wrongfully convicted people. She returned to Italy for the first time last summer to speak at an event sponsored by the Innocence Project.

The Kercher family released a statement confirming the death: We loved him dearly and he is going to be very sorely missed.

Editors note: Barbie Latza Nadeau is the author of Angel Face: Sex, Murder and the Inside Story of Amanda Knox, which was adapted for film in 2014.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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A report that South Koreas Kia Motors is contemplating shifting its India plant from Andhra Pradeshs Anantapur district to Tamil Nadu on Thursday triggered a war of words between the ruling YSR Congress Party and the opposition Telugu Desam Party.

News agency Reuters reported on Wednesday that Kia was in preliminary negotiations with the Tamil Nadu government for moving its $1.1 billion manufacturing plant from Anantapur.

The report said the company was facing problems in Andhra Pradesh following policy changes in the state.

However, both Andhra Pradesh government, as well as Kia Motors India management, denied the report.

There is absolutely no truth in the news report. The government of Andhra Pradesh is closely working with Kia Motors and extending all cooperation. We strongly condemn the news, which is malicious and it appears to be deliberately planted, special chief secretary of industries, investments and commerce department, Rajath Bhargava, said while speaking to HT.

Bhargava said senior officials from the industries department in Tamil Nadu also got in touch with their counterparts in Andhra Pradesh and confirmed that there were no talks whatsoever with Kia Motors.

The TN government never had any discussions with Kia, the senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer said.

When contacted, a spokesperson of Kia Motors India said the news about the potential movement of the plant from Andhra Pradesh to another state is unfounded and untrue.

The spokesperson said Kia had a long-term commitment to the Indian market and had made an investment of US $1.1 billion for the state-of-art manufacturing facility at Anantapur.

We do not have any plans to shift our production facility from the current location and we are on the right track to utilise the full capacity of the facility, she said.

She also said the company would continue to offer world-class, made-in-Anantapur vehicles and innovative mobility experience to its valuable customers in India.

Kia, the worlds eighth-largest automobile manufacturer, began commercial production at Erramanchi village of Penukonda block in Anantapur plant last year. It had its trial run in January 2019 and rolled out its first car Seltos in August that year.

By the time the company was getting ready for the launch of its first car, there was a change in the state government and chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy enacted a legislation in the assembly seeking to reserve 75% of the jobs to locals in any industry.

Jagan also skipped Kias event to roll out its first car from the plant on August 8, causing a lot of embarrassment to the company. Adding to this, local YSR Congress MP Gorantla Madhav penned a protest note on the first car, Car roll out - our youth ruled out here. Sorry.

However, the chief minister attended the formal inauguration of the Kia Motors plant on December 5 last year, indicating the restoration of normalcy. The plant projected annual production of 300,000 cars.

But the report on the proposed moving of Kia Motors plant to Tamil Nadu comes amidst of allegations by TDP lawmaker Jayadev Galla in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that the Jagan government is scaring away investors with its alleged illogical and irrational decisions.

Investments worth more than Rs 1.8 lakh crore had been withdrawn due to such decisions, damaging the reputation of the state and the country, Galla said.

TDP president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu told the media on Thursday he had to lobby extensively to bring Kia Motors to Andhra Pradesh amidst tough competition from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, which resulted in an additional investment of Rs 13,500 crore in the form of ancillary industries.

But the YSRC leaders have been intimidating the Kia management, while the government threatened to withdraw incentives to the company, Naidu alleged.

Finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy, however, said there were absolutely no issues with Kia Motors.

We are extending all cooperation to the company. There is a conspiracy behind the media report and the government will take strict action against those who are behind such false reports, he said.

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Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) CEO Tidjane Thiam is headed for the exit after a prolonged power struggle that pitted him -- and some large U.S. investors -- against Chairman Urs Rohner. His ouster removes a major source of uncertainty that has hovered over the banking giant for nearly a year, but raises new questions about its future.

Thiam and Rohner have been at odds over the bank's spying on Iqbal Khan, formerly its head of international wealth management. After Khan -- who had his own clashes with Thiam -- moved to archrival UBS Group, Credit Suisse (at the instigation of COO Pierre-Olivier Bouee) hired detectives to follow Khan and make sure he didn't poach other top talent to join him at his new employer.

An investigation cleared Thiam of involvement, but the scandal did not go away. Rohner and other directors worried that the headlines had damaged the bank's reputation in Switzerland, which still accounts for nearly 40% of Credit Suisse's income. Thiam will be replaced by Thomas Gottstein, a 20-year bank veteran who will its first Swiss-born CEO in nearly two decades.

But Thiam's ouster was not universally applauded. Two of the bank's largest shareholders, 8.42% holder Harris Associates, and 3.26% holder Silchester International Investors, reportedly had urged Rohner to either back Thiam or resign.

Gottstein is stepping into a difficult situation. The new CEO will need to both heal internal wounds at the bank following the high-profile power struggle, and figure out how to reverse its 40% share price decline over the past five years.

Nor are the investors loyal to Thiam likely to fade into the background. David Herro, Harris Associates' deputy chairman, told Bloomberg TV on Friday that while he believes Gottstein is "talented," the bank still has "a chairman who is less capable and talented and a board who seems to just mimic, just follows blindly whatever he says."
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the 15 member trust for the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya in Parliament on Wednesday but a controversy has erupted about the representation of the committee.

Some BJP leaders have raised exclusion of OBC members in the trust. Two former party Chief Ministers, Kalyan Sinagh and Uma Bharti, who were in forefront in the Ram Mandir agitation and have been facing cases in the CBI court, have sought reservations for them on the committee.

"Not just Dalits but backwards too should get representation in the Ram Mandir Trust as they are as staunch Ram Bhakts," said Kalyan Singh, who was Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister when the Babri Masjid was razed in 1992.

Now sources close to Dalit leaders have said that they are contemplating the matter to challenge in the court as the "government body should adhere to the policy of reservation" in which adequate representation of SCs, STs and OBCs is required.

But they are talking to legal experts if the constitution of a trust can be challenged or not, said a source. The Dalit leaders have been affirmative after the court order on rebuilding of Ravidas Temple in Delhi.

There also have been spats between Congress leaders also on the members of the trust. While Congress leader Udit Raj questioned why only one person of the Dalit community have been given representation, other leaders objected to it. Party leader Jitin Prasada said: "Whatever the subject, the Congress tradition is not to attack any caste or community. I believe that Congress policy for scheduled caste with positive provisions and equal opportunity to all."
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Linkedin Agustinus Hari (The Jakarta Post) Manado  Fri, February 7, 2020

Tiara sat quietly on a pew at a church in Manado, North Sulawesi. As a transgender woman, she was worried that she and her friends, fellow members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, would get sneered at by other churchgoers.

The 20-year-old was attending a book discussion on LGBT issues at the Minahasa Injili Masehi Church (GMIM) Sion Winangun. The book, titled Menafsir LGBT dengan Alkitab (Interpreting LGBT through the Bible), was written by Emanuel Gerrit Singgih.

However, her concerns were quickly forgotten, as she said the participants welcomed her and the other participants from the community.

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Newly-seated York County Judge Matthew Menges didnt endanger a police officer who was directing traffic at a medical emergency scene but did commit three Vehicle Code violations, the district attorneys office said Friday.

DA David Sunday Jr. made that call after investigating a claim that Menges nearly struck Officer Alexander Nova with his car at Philadelphia and Duke streets in York City on Jan. 20. Evidence examined include footage from police body cameras.

This office concluded that, based upon all evidence, Judge Menges did not willfully or wantonly disregard the safety of Officer Nova or recklessly engage in driving conduct that may have placed Officer Nova in danger of death or serious bodily injury, the DAs office said in a statement.

However, it concluded Menges should be cited for disobeying an officer who was directing traffic, breaching a drivers duty in an emergency response area, and careless driving. Those charges were filed Thursday.

Menges, a Republican, joined the county bench in January after winning election to the seat in November.
Q. What was the best advice you ever got and from whom?

A. I had returned to India at the height of the Maggi controversy. The problem was to do with reputation, business. A fourth of our turnover had come to a grinding halt, five out of eight factories had been shut. For us, trust and responsibility is the anchor and that was up in flames. It was an existential crisis.

Q. Who did you approach for advice?

A. The best advice I have ever got was from a non-corporate person. I had gone to meet my grandmother in Bangalore to take her blessings. Before starting this journey, I needed a confidence building measure. I told her about the huge challenge and asked her what her advice would be.

Q. What was the advice?

A. She told me that I should take care of my people. That was the soundest piece of advice I have ever got. She is not an MBA or a corporate captain but she is a fond grandmother to all of us. That, I believe, is something I will always cherish. She was enormously wise. Her advice to focus on people was wiser than any professor in a business school would have given. That's what I value the most.

Q. How effective was it in resolving the problem?

A. Four years on, in terms of value and volume, we are well ahead of what we had done in 2014. The company is on the path of excellent growth. We have innovated and renovated 60-plus new products in the last three years. I believe some have called our performance an outliar. But it is a tribute to the people and teams that have made this happen. Adversity builds enormous strength, it also give you huge opportunities. Nestle India has benefited in some sense from this trial by fire.
Turkey continues to send military reinforcement to Syria

A convoy of nearly 150 vehicles headed to the observation posts inside Syria's Idlib.

Turkey on on February 07, 2020 continue to send military reinforcement to the Syrian border after the Assad regime forces attacks attack against Turkish troops in Idlib.

SOLDIERS WELCOMED BY RESIDENTS

Hours before the dispatching, during a UN Security Council meeting in New York, Turkey's UN Ambassador Feridun Sinirlioglu said the Assad regimes any attack against Turkish troops will be severely punished.

The additional personnel carriers, military vehicles and commando units reached to Reyhanli district of border province Hatay. The soldiers were warmly welcomed by the residents and the children of a village near the border.

Assad regime carried out several attacks against Turkish observation position last year.

Turkey is a key guarantor country in the region as part of the de-escalation agreement, with its observation posts.
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By DEE-ANN DURBIN

AP Business Writer

This should have been a good year for global tourism, with trade tensions gradually easing, certain economies growing and banner events like the Summer Olympics taking place in Tokyo. But the viral outbreak in China has thrown the travel industry into chaos, threatening billions in losses and keeping millions of would-be travelers at home.

Gabrielle Autry, an American who lives in China, had expected to travel to Hong Kong this week to get engaged to her Chinese boyfriend. But those plans are on hold, and the couple is quarantined in their apartment in Hangzhou, an eight-hour drive from the epicenter of the outbreak in Wuhan. As of Wednesday, China had reported 28,018 cases and 563 deaths.





. . .
A college student from Birr has raised over 4,500 for the Irish Cancer Society after his mum sadly lost her battle with cancer in December.

Kieran Riley from Birr, a student at GMIT, recently celebrated his 19th birthday. To mark his birthday, Kieran decided to set up a Facebook appeal for the Irish Cancer Society and asked people to make donations.

Sadly, Kieran and his four siblings lost mother, Jeannette Field to advanced cancer just before Christmas. His late mum battled the disease for close to eight years and he wrote at the time of setting up the appeal that he would appreciate any donations, tall, big or small because it can really make a difference. Together, we prevent cancer, empower and support people and save lives, he continued.

Last week, Kieran closed the Facebook appeal having raised 4,600 in total for the Irish Cancer Society. Writing after the appeal, Kieran issued a huge thank you to everyone and every person, who donated to the cause. It means the world to me and my family and I can't thank you enough. With an initial target of 200, I couldn't have imagined getting anywhere near a final total of 4,600. This will make a huge difference to other people in Ireland suffering from cancer, which is something a lot of families will see throughout their lives. The Irish Cancer Society is an amazing organisation.

This has been a tough couple of months now for my family and I will always try to remain as positive and strong as I can and make my mother proud in everything that I do. Thank you everyone.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - The Maldives government plans to increase security for tourists after suspected Islamic extremists stabbed three foreigners in the Indian Ocean nation.

The National Security Council was working with the police and other agencies to find out more about the attack, its motives and the perpetrators, the presidents office said.

Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the wounding of two Chinese nationals and an Australian.

The three were stabbed outdoors in separate attacks Tuesday on Hulhumale Island, adjoining the airport island in the capital region. The government says the three are recovering in a hospital.

The security council met with tourism industry representatives Thursday to consult about enhancing security in areas frequented by tourists, the statement from the presidents office said. It wasnt specific about the measures that were planned.

Police also are investigating the authenticity of a video circulated on social media in which a masked man claims responsibility for the attacks.

Maldives is an Indian Ocean archipelago known for its expensive luxury island resorts.

With a population of about 400,000 people, predominantly Sunni Muslim, the Maldives was known to have contributed the highest number of foreign fighters per capita in Syria.
President Donald Trump fired Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman from the White House on Friday after the war hero testified against him in the House impeachment inquiry.

Vindman was escorted out of the building this afternoon and told his services were no longer needed, CNN reported.

'Today, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman was escorted out of the White House where he has dutifully served his country and his President,' his attorney David Pressman said in a statement. 'He does so having spoken publicly once, and only pursuant to a subpoena from the United States Congress.'

He indicated Vindman was fired for his testimony to the House.

'There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House,' Pressman said.

Vindman's twin brother Yevgeny Vindman, a National Security Council attorney, walked off the White House grounds alongside him. He was also fired.

Earlier in the day, the president did not deny the reports of Andrew Vindman's imminent dismissal.

'I'm not happy with him. Am I supposed to be happy with him? I'm not,' he said to reporters at the White House on Friday who asked him about Vindman.

Vindman, a National Security Council aide, oversaw American policy on the Ukraine in his role on the NSC.

Vindman, who received the Purple Heart after being wounded in Iraq, had told officials at the NSC that he intended to take an early exit from that assignment and leave by the end of the month, sources told the newspaper, but Trump wants to make a symbol out of the Army officer now that the president has been acquitted by the Senate.

President Trump said he is not happy with Alexander Vindman

President Donald Trump is preparing to push Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman out of White House

Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman was first White House official on July 25 call to testify and he said he believed Trump acted 'improper'

National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, left, and his twin brother, Yevgeny Vindman, right, in November of last year

He was appointed to the position in July 2018 and expected to stay for two years.

But White House aides told Bloomberg News that Vindman and other NSC staff were being reassigned as part of a move to shrink the foreign policy bureaucracy.

Vindman, a Ukrainian immigrant whose father brought his family to the United States from the former Soviet Union, testified in the House impeachment inquiry after receiving a subpoena from Congress.

The president has privately fumed about Vindman's testimony, according to reports, and that fury has not waned in the wake of his acquittal.

'Lieutenant Colonel Col. Vindman and his twin brother  right?  we had some people that  really amazing,' Trump said during a celebratory event at the White House on Thursday.

Vindman was the first White House aide who was on the July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to testify in the inquiry.

Dressed in his full Army dress uniform, he told lawmakers that he believed Trump acted 'improper' on the call.

At the time of the call, Vindman reported his concerns that President Trump asked Zelensky to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, particularly Hunter's work for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

'I was concerned by the call. I did not think it was proper to demand that a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen, and I was worried about the implications for the U.S. Government's support of Ukraine. I realized that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the Bidens and Burisma, it would likely be interpreted as a partisan play which would undoubtedly result in Ukraine losing the bipartisan support it has thus far maintained. This would all undermine U.S. national security,' he told House investigators.

Additionally, White House aides are weighing to remove or reassign other officials who testified.

Jennifer Williams, who worked for Mike Pence and testified in the House impeachment inquiry, left the vice president's office for a new position in Central Command.

Jennifer Williams, who worked for Mike Pence and testified in the House impeachment inquiry, left the vice president's office

Her exit came two months ahead of a planned March departure.

Trump also fired a warning shot to Democratic Senator Joe Manchin. The West Virginia senator hails from a state the president carried in the 2016 election. Trump has tried to woo Manchin to the Republican Party with no result.

Manchin voted to convict Trump on both charges in the Senate impeachment trial, which the president took note of. He also noted Manchin's fellow West Virginia senator, Republican Shelley Moore Capito, voted for his acquittal on both charges.

'I was very surprised & disappointed that Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia voted against me on the Democrats totally partisan Impeachment Hoax. No President has done more for the great people of West Virginia than me (Pensions), and that will always continue,' the president tweeted Friday afternoon.

'Every Republican Senator except Romney, many highly religious people, all very smart, voted against the Impeachment Hoax. @SenCapito was all in (a great person). I was told by many that Manchin was just a puppet for Schumer & Pelosi. Thats all he is!,' he added.

Republican Senator Mitt Romney, who voted to convict the president on the abuse of power charge, is also expected to feel Trump's wrath.

On Thursday, during his acquittal celebration at the White House Trump told Sen. Mike Lee - the other senator from Utah - to deliver a message to the people of that state: 'Tell them I'm sorry about Mitt Romney.'

'We can say, by far, Mike Lee is the most popular senator in the state,' Trump said.

When he announced his decision on the president Wednesday, Romney said he expected the Trump to retaliate.

'I'm aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters I will be vehemently denounced. I'm sure to hear abuse from the president and his supporters. Does anyone seriously believe that I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before god demanded it of me?,' he said during his speech on the Senate floor.

Trump slammed Romney for using his faith to justify his decision during his remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast Thursday morning.

He did not mention Romney name but his meaning was clear.

'I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong,' the president said.

Romney, a devout Mormon, cited his faith as one of the reasons for his guilty vote. He voted to acquit the president on the second charge: obstruction of Congress.

'The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are very serious. As a senator juror, I swore an oath before god to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before god as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced,' Romney said.

The White House has indicated the president is in a vengeful mood.

Donald Trump also fired a warning shot at West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin

Mitt Romney cited his faith as the reason for his guilty vote on Trump

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told Fox News Channel Thursday that people would 'pay' for what they've done.

She noted the president was 'going to talk about just how horribly he was treated and, you know, that maybe people should pay for that.'

The Senate will aid the president in some of his desire for revenge.

Two powerful Republican Senate chairmen revealed they are cranking up a probe of Hunter Biden's travel in the minutes after the Senate acquitted President Trump of abuse of power over his own conduct toward Ukraine.

The president makes Hunter Biden a frequent target of his mocks during campaign rallies.

The Senators, Charles Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, released a letter they wrote to Secret Service Director James Murray seeking documents on the former vice president's surviving son immediately after the acquittal vote.

They wrote that they are 'reviewing potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration' particularly in Ukraine and China, where he had business dealings.

They are seeking information on any security detail provided to Hunter Biden, as well as travel aboard government aircraft.

The same day the Senate acquitted President Trump, two GOP senators released a letter they wrote to the Secret Service seeking information about Hunter Biden

Their letter underlined that the president is getting the investigation he wanted, after his request for the president of Ukraine to do him a 'favor' and investigate the Bidens and the 2016 elections prompted a House Democratic impeachment inquiry.

Democrats called it cheating and inducing foreign interference in the U.S. elections, but Republicans said it was not an impeachable offense. Every Senate Republican other than Mitt Romney of Utah voted to acquit, and Trump brandished headlines of his acquittal at the congressional prayer breakfast Thursday morning.

The letter explains that senators are reviewing transactions by Rosemont Seneca Partners, a companyHunter Biden formed in 2009 along with Christopher Heinz the step-son of former Secretary of State John Kerry.

Sen. Charles Grassley, who announced the probe, has been a firm backer of Trump's. He was at the White House Thursday as Trump was set to proclaim victory over what he calls a hoax impeachment

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. released a letter about his own interactions with the Ukrainian president and with President Trump during key parts of the timeframe of the Democratic inquiry

Vice President Joe Biden waves as he walks out of Air Force Two with his granddaughter Finnegan Biden and son Hunter Biden (R) on December 4, 2013 in Beijing, China. Biden was on the first leg of his week-long visit to Asia. The senators are seeking information on Hunter Biden's use of government aircraft and exploring any potential conflicts

'We write to request information about whether Hunter Biden used government-sponsored travel to help conduct private business, to include his work for Rosemont Seneca and related entities in China and Ukraine,' the senators wrote. The mentioned Hunter Biden's trip aboard Air Force Two along with his father to China in 2013.

During the trip, he reportedly arranged for the CEO of a Chinese firm, Jonathan Li of Bohai Capital, to shake hands with the then-vice president, and ultimately landed a business deal.
KAMPALA  Conservationists from all over the country led by World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) will on Thursday, February 13 march on streets of Kampala to reinforce the campaign on plastic pollution and to stop the deluge of plastics in all-natural environments.

The much-anticipated march starting at 9 am, to be held under the theme No to plastic and Kaveera Pollution, let Uganda breathe; it will see the wave walk from Kampala City Square to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) grounds  Lugogo- a distance of five kilometers.

Other agencies including National Forest Authority (NFA), National Environment and Management Authority (NEMA) Plan International, Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and Youth Alive Uganda schools and universities among others are also on board.

The march will be flagged off by Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga who is so passionate about nature conservation.

Globally, WWF is one of the key actors driving the plastic initiative to convince governments to endorse a global agreement to stop the flow of plastics into natural environments.

At a national level, the WWF Uganda Country Director, David Duli, says the campaign involves clients, industries, retailers and the government to work towards urgently implementing practical approaches and policies to address the environmental plastic problem collectively throughout its life cycle  from production and consumption to waste management.

The plastic challenge is so huge and multi-faceted, it has to be addressed at multiple levels and sectors, says Duli, who is leading the Plastic Pollution campaign.

He describes plastic as an extraordinary material, which has revolutionised many aspects of our lives over the past 50  80 years.

The problem, as he explains, is that it is cheap and therefore widely used and easy to throw away. It doesnt break down for a couple of hundred years, creating a serious source of pollution in our watercourses, wetlands, and environments.

Duli cites some alarming statistics based on widely-accepted research. Since 1950, an estimated 8 300 million tons of plastic have been manufactured  half of it since 2005. Only 25% of this plastic is still in use.

Most of it is waste, as only small volumes have been recycled or turned into energy. The majority, if not captured in landfills, has found its way to the natural environment.

It is everywhere and literally choking our environment and all the species that inhabit it. And its not just the macro, visible plastics (plastic bags, bottles, containers) that are a problem. There is also the deadly problem of microplastics with so many resulting issues that most of us dont even think about,

He believes that plastic pollution is an opportunity to start thinking differently about economic models and recognizing that natural resources are finite.

There is an economic opportunity to start thinking differently about plastics in line with circular economic models where companies can design plastics that can be reused, shared, repurposed and recycled. Solutions are emerging from all corners and the trend is gathering momentum throughout society, he said.

Speaking to PML Daily, WWF-Uganda Communications Officer Happy Ali WWF is engaging students from Makerere University, Kyambogo, and Kampala International University to come innovative ideas to handle plastic pollution.

It is no doubt a crisis, but it is also one of the biggest opportunities ever presented to think differently, consume differently and take responsibility for our environment. Changing our behavior to address this environmental challenge effectively may just help us to develop the skill and understanding necessary to address some of the bigger, more intractable challenges. A shared interest in getting plastics out of nature could also be an important step in the big push necessary to shift towards a low-carbon society, he said.

He added that the yearlong campaign will include an Inter-university Innovations Challenge that will see young minds present mature and well-thought-out innovations all tailored to address Ugandas chocking plastic pollution.

Happy also told reporters that WWF-Uganda will launch the Earth Hour 2020 Campaign, a global conservation initiative started and supported by WWF in 2007 where across the world, individuals, businesses, governments, and communities are invited to turn off their nonessential lights for one hour.

Parliament created a plastic bag ban a few years ago but soon the law was broken apart.

Related
NORWOOD, Mass., Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MariMed Inc. (MRMD:OTCQX) (the Company or MariMed), a leading multi-state cannabis and hemp operator focused on health and wellness, today issued a statement regarding the recent development that GenCanna Global, Inc. (GenCanna), a vertically-integrated producer of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products has filed for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 in the Eastern Kentucky United States District Court.

On February 6, 2020, GenCanna issued the following press release:

* * *

GenCanna Global Files for Chapter 11 to Implement Financial and Operational Restructuring Plans

Secures $10 Million In DIP Financing From Existing Senior Lender and Will Evaluate all Strategic Options to Maximize Value

WINCHESTER, KY.  Feb. 6, 2020  GenCanna Global USA, Inc. (GenCanna or the Company) announced today it has filed a petition for voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Kentucky (the Court). The filing will allow GenCanna to continue to operate its business without interruption to customers, vendors, partners and employees while working through a reorganization plan that could include refinancing of the Companys existing indebtedness, or an alternative restructuring transaction such as a sale.

GenCanna has obtained approximately $10 million in post-petition debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from its senior lender, which, subject to Court approval, will provide the Company with liquidity to maintain its operations in the ordinary course of business during the Chapter 11 process.

We are taking this action in order to position our business for success in a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving industry, said Matty Mangone Miranda, Chief Executive Officer of GenCanna Global. While this is certainly not the outcome we desired, the bankruptcy process gives us the ability to move forward in a way that allows us to best continue operations and serve customers as we work through our reorganization, resolve an outstanding legal dispute involving our Western Kentucky facility, navigate an uncertain regulatory environment and adjust our annual operating costs to better match the landscape.

Miranda added, Through this restructuring, we plan to address certain structural issues that we could not fix on our own. We are grateful for the continued support of our existing senior lender, who recognizes the strength of our brand, and we will continue to work tirelessly on behalf of our employees, farmers, and vendor partners.

GenCanna has hired the following professionals to assist with its restructuring. Huron Consulting Services LLC is serving as Operational Advisor, Jefferies LLC is serving as financial advisor, and Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP along with Dentons Bingham Greenebaum LLP is serving as the Companys legal counsel in connection with the Chapter 11 case. For more information about the Chapter 11 case, including access to Court documents, please visit: https://dm.epiq11.com/GenCanna .

End of GenCanna Press Release

* * *

MariMed, which owns a 33.5% stake in GenCanna and is also a creditor, continues to work with GenCanna as a supplier to its MariMed Hemp subsidiary and is closely following this situation. GenCanna recently announced the completion of the largest recorded hemp harvest in Kentucky (approximately 6000 acres). Over 14 million pounds of CBD rich biomass is ready to be processed at a South Carolina processing plant. Sales of products from this production are expected to begin in Q2 and are expected to generate meaningful revenues for GenCanna in 2020.

Jon Levine, CFO of MariMed, commented, GenCanna experienced several challenges last year ranging from contraction in cannabis sector of the capital markets to a fire in November at its main processing and lab facilities in Kentucky, which adversely impacted its sales and revenue. We are hopeful the Chapter 11 filing and proposed restructuring will facilitate GenCannas ability to generate meaningful revenue in the near-term and to utilize the Chapter 11 proceedings to quickly refinance its senior lender debt and arrange resolution for the orderly payment of its farmers, contractors, and creditors, including MariMed. During this process, GenCanna is expected to continue operating as a supplier of top-quality, hemp-based CBD products.

Mr. Levine concluded, MariMed appreciates GenCannas responsible decision to proactively implement a strategic plan to repay its creditors. This reorganization does not impact MariMeds core cannabis business, which is focused on developing and operating state licensed cannabis facilities and cannabis brands and products, including our industry-leading brands Kalm Fusion and Betty's Eddies. We expect revenues from our cannabis business to continue to grow in 2020 as demand for high quality cannabis and cannabis-infused products continues to occupy a growing share of the overall legal cannabis market.

To be added to the email distribution list, please email MRMD@kcsa.com with MRMD in the subject.

About MariMed:

MariMed Inc., a multi-state cannabis operator, is dedicated to improving the health and wellness of people through the use of cannabinoids and cannabis products. The Company develops, owns, and manages seed to sale state-licensed cannabis facilities, which are models of excellence in horticultural principles, cannabis cultivation, cannabis-infused products, and dispensary operations. MariMed has an experienced management team that has produced consistent growth and success for the Company and its managed business units.

The Company is at the forefront of science and innovation through research developed by its lab technicians and medical advisors resulting in industry-leading products and brands, including "Kalm Fusion" and "Betty's Eddies." These precision dosed products are focused on specific medical symptoms and are licensed and distributed across the country.

In 2019, with the enactment of the 2018 US Farm Bill, MariMed formed MariMed Hemp, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to leverage its seed to sale cannabis platform and experience into the emerging hemp-based CBD industry. MariMed Hemp has developed and is marketing a portfolio of CBD brands and products to multiple retailers and direct to consumers both domestically and internationally. MariMed Hemp recently launched its Hemp Engine store-within-a-store distribution platform for retailers. For additional information, visit marimedinc.com.

Important Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements:

This release contains certain forward-looking statements and information relating to MariMed Inc. that is based on the beliefs of MariMed Inc.'s management, as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Such statements reflect the current views of the Company with respect to future events, including estimates and projections about its business based on certain assumptions of its management, including those described in this Release. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risk and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including, among other factors, changes in demand for the Company's services and products, changes in the law and its enforcement and changes in the economic environment and developments in, and the outcome of, GenCannas Chapter 11 proceeding. Additional risk factors are included in the Company's public filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as "hoped," "anticipated," "believed," "planned, "estimated," "preparing," "potential," "expected," "looks" or words of a similar nature. The Company does not intend to update these forward-looking statements. None of the content of any of the websites referred to herein (even if a link is provided for your convenience) is incorporated into this release and the Company assumes no responsibility for any of such content.

All trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.

Company Contact

Jon Levine, CFO

MariMed Inc.

Tel (781) 559-8713

Media Contact

Jo McCarran, SVP Creative & Branding

MariMed Inc.

jmccarran@marimedinc.com

Annie Graf

KCSA Strategic Communications

agraf@kcsa.com
The eighth Democratic debate is tonight, Feb. 7, at 8 p.m. ET tonight on ABC. You can also live stream the debate through Hulu + Live. Hulu subscribers will also have access to the pre- and post-debate coverage, according to The Verge.

This debate is four days before the New Hampshire primary, on Feb. 11. The Democratic debate is taking place at St. Anslem College in Manchester, New Hampshire and is hosted by ABC News and WMUR-TV. The moderators are ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos, World News Tonights David Muir, ABC News correspondent Linsey Davis, WMUR-TVs Adam Sexton and WMUR-TV Monica Hernandez.

What channel is the Democratic Debate on?

Its airing on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. You can find which channel it is on by using the channel finders here: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice, DIRECTV and Dish.

Where can I watch it if I dont have cable?

You can watch it on Hulu + Live.

Whos on stage tonight?

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Former Vice President Joe Biden

Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg

Billionaire philanthropist Tom Steyer

Entrepreneur Andrew Yang

The requirements to get on stage at a Democratic debate are getting tougher. Democratic presidential candidates were required to poll at 5 percent in four national or early-state polls or poll at 7 percent in two early-voting states. Candidates also need to have 225,000 donors, and 1,000 donors across 20 different states. They can also qualify if they receive one national delegate from Iowa.

Who else is still in the race?

These candidates didnt qualify for this debate but are still running.

Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick

Former New York City Mayor and billionaire Michael Bloomberg

Whens the next debate?

The ninth debate is Feb. 19 in Las Vegas.
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Linkedin Ati Nurbaiti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 07:41 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630be6b 1 Opinion child-marriage,#commentary,women-empowerment,marriage,childrens-right,girls-empowerment,girls Free

Underage brides and their supporters have finally succeeded in raising the legal marriageable age to 19 for both sexes, from 16 for females and 19 for males previously. It is now time for men to join the fight to protect Indonesias children.

New challenges in curbing child marriage are emerging. A report from a Supreme Court working committee on women and children says that requests for legal dispensation for marriages involving minors are increasing because of the new age limit. The Religious Affairs Ministry is thus stepping up its efforts to spread understanding on the reasoning behind the higher marriageable age.

In Aceh, for instance, the provincial religious affairs agency under M. Daud Pakeh had campaigned against child marriage long before September 2019, when the House of Representatives passed the new Marriage Law that sets the new legal marriageable age. Emotional and physical maturity, including reproductive health could help prevent divorce, Daud said, pointing out that marriages involving minors were particularly vulnerable to high divorce rates.

Campaigns to end child marriage are beginning to involve men, especially those in high places with significant community reach. Better late than never: Yuniyanti Chuzaifah, the then outgoing member of the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), recently reminded the public that many child brides feel that they are raped every night.

In October, Islamic clerics joined the launch of a book on the contested meaning of guardianship, which is often abused to justify child marriages and forced marriages, as a study by research and advocacy NGO Rumah KitaB has found.

Whether by reasons of poverty, customs or ignorance, child marriages have remained legal and normalized for far too long, with no one condemning the pedophilic (adult) grooms, especially when they are rich and powerful; never mind prosecuting them for statutory rape.

Parents likely wont refuse when a revered pesantren (Islamic boarding school) leader asks for their underage daughter as his bride.

The dramatic increase of the legal marriageable age followed the Constitutional Court decision in December 2018 that ruled in favor of three former child brides to revise the Marriage Law.

Earlier in April 2017, the first congress of the Indonesian Womens Ulema (KUPI) issued a historic fatwa that included a mandate that all parties must prevent child marriage because of the harm it does to these children and their offspring.

The KUPI  which included several survivors of child marriage  campaigns on a platform of the oft-neglected Islamic teachings on human rights. Its campaign attempts to correct bestial, patriarchal interpretations that justify marrying underage girls: for example, that it was permissible once the girl had started menstruating because one of the Prophet Muhammads wives, Aisyah, was believed to have been only 9 when he married her.

This interpretation overlooks marriage in the context of the Arabic society of that time, says Nur Achmad of Muhammadiyah, the second-largest Islamic organization in Indonesia.

The member of the Muhammadiyah reform council (MTT) was among the several men who addressed a December 2019 seminar on child marriage at the Ahmad Dahlan Institute of Technology and Business (ITB Ahmad Dahlan) in South Tangerang, Banten. Nur Achmad cited results of the 2018 MTT national meeting, which ruled that since children were a gift from God, they needed to be protected at all costs, including from child marriage.

For instance, in defense of child marriage, parents cite fears that their daughters will become spinsters as unmarried women have a low status in society; the belief that flirtatious teens should be married off to avoid sin; the conviction that marrying off minors, especially girls, will save a family from poverty; and that girls who became pregnant should be married off to protect the familys honor  even if the prospective groom was her rapist.

With weak law enforcement allowing child marriages, the latest figures show that Indonesia still has among the worlds highest cases of child marriages. Child marriage also contributes to Indonesias high maternal and infant mortality rate, as well as poor infant growth and development  despite all the rhetoric about developing quality human resources.

At the seminar on child marriage, young men and women read out declarations that they would do everything within their power to prevent child marriage. Though ceremonial, these declarants represented the student associations of thousands of higher education institutions under Muhammadiyah and its womens wing, Aisyiah.

The seminars speakers stressed that Muhammadiyah  a pioneer of modern education among the countrys Islamic organizations for over a century  had always been committed to mandatory basic education, from six years of schooling originally to 12 years today, and that this commitment helped curb the temptation to marry off children before they were of age.

However, as the rector of ITB Ahmad Dahlan, Mukhaer Pakanna told The Jakarta Post, child marriage still continues, including in the campus surroundings of high rises and malls.

One student in the audience voiced doubt as to how young adults could prevent child marriage. How do I face my relatives? she asked, referring to a young relative who was facing family pressure to marry.

Nur Achmad said instead of marrying off minors to avoid sin, Muslims should instead refer to the chapter of An-Nissa in the Quran, which among others says that guardians should fear Allah [...] if they had left weak offspring behind which could include child brides and their children.

Since children are married with the permission of their parents and mostly male local religious leaders and officials, the abuse and misinterpretation of religious teachings and values will likely continue.

Despite excuses to end family poverty, studies have also found that poverty and child marriage were intergenerational. The child brides mostly lose their right to develop their full potential, with survivors saying that their world suddenly came to an end when they learned of their betrothal.

The Rumah KitaB study has found that child marriage is common in areas with severe ecological damage due to overexploitation of natural resources. Researchers say that during a localized economic crisis and land shortage, the economic role of men declines and shifts to one of upholding perceived morality.

If men, particularly those in influential positions do not join the campaign against child marriage, officials and advocates of childrens rights fear that the pervading excuses for allowing child marriages will render ineffective the new marriageable age as enshrined in law.
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. -- Independence police are searching for two suspects who stole a kitchen faucet and other items from Menards. According to police, the two suspects entered the Menards on Little Blue Parkway on the morning of Nov. 1, 2019 and loaded several items into a shopping cart before walking through the check out lane without paying.
Queensland's corruption watchdog will not recommend criminal charges over a multi-million dollar contract between the Moreton Bay Regional Council and a private industry and tourism company.

The Crime and Corruption Commission has, however, made recommendations to address a practice it uncovered that saw "informal meetings of elected officials" occur in private ahead of council meetings.

The CCC has not recommended charges against suspended mayor Allan Sutherland and other Moreton Bay councillors over a multi-million dollar contact. Credit:Dan Peled/AAP

"The CCC understands discussions or decisions at these meetings were not minuted or recorded," it said in a statement on Friday.

The watchdog launched its investigation in August 2018 after allegations several councillors, including since-suspended mayor Allan Sutherland, did not disclose or manage conflicts of interest relating to Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism Ltd.
Beauty and cosmetics giant Sephora has suspended and in cases, cancelled some of its make-up appointments across its stores as a precaution against the deadly coronavirus.

Some services will still proceed as long as customers buy in-store make-up brushes which can retail for about $120.

Sephora has suspended and in cases, cancelled some of its make-up appointments across its stores as a precaution against the deadly coronavirus. Credit:Dallas Kilponen

"In view of the ongoing 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) situation, Sephora would like to reiterate that the health and wellbeing of our customers and our cast members (beauty advisors) is of paramount importance," Sephora said in a statement.

"As a precautionary measure, all custom makeover services have been suspended until further notice."
Ericsson has pulled out of the world's biggest mobile phone show in Barcelona later this month, citing as its reason fears over the present coronavirus outbreak.

The Swedish telecommunications firm said that it would not be attending the annual event as the 'health and safety of employees and customers cannot be ensured.'

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the largest events in the industry calendar and will take place in Barcelona from February 2427 this year.

The announcement from Ericsson comes just days after the Korean firm LG revealed that it too would be avoiding the tech convention this year.

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Ericsson has pulled out of the world's biggest mobile phone show in Barcelona later this month, citing as its reason fears over the present coronavirus outbreak

Ericsson said that it appreciated moves to control the risk by event organiser GSMA, but the large size of its own exhibition space means it 'cannot guarantee the health and safety' of attendees.

'The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority,' said Borje Ekholm, Ericsson president and chief executive.

'This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona.'

'It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this years event,' Mr Ekholm added.

The Swedish firm that said it would instead showcase the demos and content planned for MWC in a series of local events.

A number of other technology heavyweights are due to appear at MWC  including Huawei, Microsoft, Samsung and Sony.

'The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority,' said Borje Ekholm, Ericsson president and chief executive, pictured here in 2019

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is one of the largest events in the industry calendar and will take place in Barcelona from February 2427 this year. Pictured, last year's event

Last week, the GSMA told the PA news agency that it was monitoring the outbreak and would put additional medical precautions in place around its venues.

'The GSMA continues to monitor and assess the potential impact of the coronavirus on MWC Barcelona 2020,' the organisers said in their most recent statement.

'The GSMA confirms that there remains minimal impact on the event thus far.'
The coronavirus outbreak will cost the worlds economy more than 217bn in the first quarter of this year, experts have estimated.

Capital Economics predicted global GDP growth would stall for the first time in more than a decade, even if the epidemic is brought under control soon.

The warning came hours after luxury fashion brand Burberry scrapped its profit forecast for the year as the coronavirus outbreak threatens turmoil for global businesses.

European car manufacturers and beauty companies including LOreal were among other firms sounding the alarm about the epidemics economic impact on Friday, as factory shutdowns, travel restrictions and quarantines imposed by Chinese authorities take their toll.

Analysts have cut forecasts for GDP growth in China, where more than 31,000 people have been infected with the virus and 637 have died.

Many factories, shops and restaurants across the country have closed as Chinese authorities place cities on lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the disease. Transport restrictions have also been disrupting supply chains around the world.

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

Simon MacAdam, global economist at Capital Economics, said: For now, our best guess is that the economic disruption related to the coronavirus will cost the world economy over $280bn in the first quarter of this year. If were right, then this will mean that global GDP will not grow in quarter-to-quarter terms for the first time since 2009.

He added GDP was forecast to return to pre-outbreak levels by the middle of next year, providing the virus is contained soon and lost output is made up in subsequent quarters.

The big picture is that, assuming the economic disruption comes to an end soon, the coronavirus will probably end up just delaying the global economic recovery in 2020, rather than cancelling it altogether, Mr MacAdam said.

On Friday, Burberry said its sales in mainland China had declined 70 to 80 per cent in the past two weeks amid reduced customer visits and trading hours. The British luxury fashion house has closed 24 out of its 64 shops in the country as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.

China and Hong Kong are two of the brands most important markets, with analysts estimating last month that Chinese sales would account for 46 per cent of its trade this year.

Recommended World Bank warns of coronavirus danger to global economy

Burberrys shares fell nearly 5 per cent in early trading on Friday after chief financial officer Julie Brown said uncertainty over coronavirus meant the company could no longer stand by its previous forecasts for the financial year ending in March.

Analyst Luca Solca, of asset management firm Sanford C Bernstein, said Burberrys warning was likely to be the first of a string of painful announcements.

Cosmetics brand Estee Lauder cut its profit forecast for 2020 this week as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, while LOreal expects the crisis to have a short-term hit in its Asian business  its key sales driver.

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo has closed 350 of its 750 stores in China to comply with closures of public transport and shopping centres. About a fifth of the brands global sales come from the country.

The US Federal Reserve warned in a report to congress on Friday that coronavirus could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy.

In Europe, car production could face delays as coronavirus shutdowns in China affect parts supply to major factories.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced it had identified potential risk within the next two to four weeks at one manufacturing facility in Europe, and there were concerns that this could affect other manufacturers across the continent and in the UK.

David Leggett, automotive editor at analytics firm GlobalData, warned the next few weeks were critical for vehicle manufacturers because the typical car is made up of 20,000 parts, and there is an elongated supply chain of parts and sub-assemblies put together in complex sequence to create the finished vehicle.

He added: We have been waiting for this and it is an inevitable consequence of the deepening and spreading economic impact of the coronavirus, especially on manufacturing supply chains.

Many factories in Hubei province, the epicentre of the outbreak, have been shut since the beginning of the Chinese new year holidays three weeks ago.

Electronics giant Foxconn, which manufactures Apples iPhone, has switched some of its production to surgical masks to protect its workers from infection and keep factories open.

The Taiwanese firm aims to be making 2 million masks a day by the end of the month, and said it would begin supplying them externally once its workforce had been fully kitted out.
Often, when a candidate cancels an ad buy, its either a sign of shifting priorities (a desire to go all in on a certain state) or a sign of flailing finances.

For Biden, signs point to a little of both.

After a disappointing finish in Iowa and fund-raising that lags behind his top rivals, Bidens campaign appears to be shifting its focus to Nevada. It pulled nearly $150,000 in advertising from South Carolina and $60,000 from Nevada. But the campaign then quickly added $160,000 to Nevada, a move known as shuffling that occasionally drives a mistaken report on social media that a candidate is cutting ads when he or she is really just shifting money around.

Biden has been getting air cover from Unite the Country, a super PAC supporting his candidacy. It has currently reserved more than $720,000 on New Hampshire television in an effort to bring Mr. Bidens sagging television advertising into parity with some of the top-tier candidates (those who are not self-funding billionaires, that is).

Buttigieg, who detoured to New York on Wednesday for a fund-raiser, has also been getting some help on the air from a super PAC  Vote Vets, which is poised to spend nearly $1.3 million for Buttigieg in New Hampshire, according to Advertising Analytics.

Warren, on the other hand, was forced to take down roughly $375,000 worth of ads in South Carolina and Nevada, and has no current plans to put that money back into television advertising.

I just always want to be careful about how we spend our money, Warren told The Washington Post on Wednesday.

Sanders, by contrast, announced on Thursday that after raising a whopping $25 million in January, he had placed TV and digital ad buys totaling $5.5 million in 10 different states through Super Tuesday.
When Robert Bentley was Alabamas governor four years ago, he asked the Legislature to approve an $800 million bond issue to replace most of the states aging prisons with four new ones.

Lawmakers could not agree on a final plan and the proposal died. Bentley brought it back the next year, saying it was his top priority. The Legislature again said no.

Three years later, the problem of overcrowded, violent, and deteriorating prisons confronts Gov. Kay Ivey. And the stakes are even higher, with the Department of Justice demanding improvements, prison space shrinking because of crumbling facilities, and inmate deaths and violence on the rise.

Ivey said she understands that a bond issue for new prisons is a tough sell, especially to lawmakers who might lose a prison in their district, meaning lost jobs and utility revenue.

So, Ivey is trying a different approach. Her administration is seeking bids from private developers who would finance and build three mens prisons, then lease them to the state, which would operate them. The governor said the Legislature has no direct role.

They tried. The Legislature took two sessions to deal with floating a bond issue for prisons. Both times it failed, Ivey said.

Ivey answered questions about the prison plan during an interview Wednesday, the day after her State of the State address to kick off the 2020 legislative session. During the televised speech explaining her top priorities, Ivey said the state cant afford to wait any longer to begin changing a prison system that warehouses inmates into one that rehabilitates them.

While her administration is pursuing the plan for new prisons, Ivey is asking lawmakers to increase funding for the Alabama Department of Corrections to hire more correctional officers, improve mental health care, and expand job training and education programs to reduce recidivism. The ADOC is seeking an increase of $42 million for the state General Fund in next years budget, 8% more than this year.

Were doing this through the executive branch, working with the Legislature, Ivey said. Because weve got a multi-faceted problem, weve got a multi-faceted solution.

A study group appointed by Ivey, which included six legislators, issued a report stressing the urgency of the prison problems, saying that failure to act could result in court-ordered inmate releases, which happened in California in 2012. The Department of Justice alleged in April that conditions in Alabamas mens prisons violate the Constitution because of the violence, drugs, weapons, overcrowding, under-staffing, and other problems.

House Speaker Mac McCutcheon, R-Monrovia, said Thursday that although Ivey can use her executive authority to have the prisons built, he said as a practical matter the Legislature and governor need to be in agreement on how that will be done. McCutcheon has said prisons are the number one priority for the legislative session.

We still have questions, McCutcheon said. Locations. Cost. Theres still a lot of questions out there that need to be answered. And were working with the governors office on that.

McCutcheon, the governor, and other officials have said new prisons are just one component in what has to be a broad-based approach to improving Alabamas criminal justice system.

From day one we have looked at this as a package deal, not just talking about bricks and mortar, McCutcheon said. "There are a lot of other components that have to go into this as well. And thats where we all have a voice at the table.

Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, said Tuesday that lawmakers need to know how much prisons will cost. Alabama Department of Corrections Commissioner Jeff Dunn has given a rough estimate of a total of about $900 million. Ivey said the cost wont be known until development teams that are bidding on the projects submit proposals. Proposals are due April 30.

The ADOCs request for proposals says the states affordability limit on the total cost of the lease payments for all three prisons would be $88 million a year. The leases would be for 30 years. The prisons would be designed to last 50 years. One of the prisons would hold about 4,000 inmates, the other two about 3,000. That 10,000 total is a little less than half the current inmate population.

The ADOC has said it can cover the cost of the leases through savings on labor costs and maintenance that will result from closing and consolidating old prisons into modern facilities with better designs.

Rep. Mike Holmes, R-Wetumpka, who has several prisons in his district, said hes anxious to hear more details. Holmes said communities in his district have borrowed money to provide water and sewer service to the prisons and would lose needed revenue if a prison closes as part of the consolidation. Holmes said hes skeptical about the plan to cover the lease payments with savings.

Wheres the money coming from? Holmes said. How are you going to pay for it? All weve heard so far is were going to pay for it with labor savings. Well, you do the math and that just doesnt come out. If you want to keep your ratios anywhere near where they are that good prison management requires, from guards to inmates, its going be very difficult to pay for with labor savings.

The ADOCs request for proposals says the largest of the three new prisons, which will be for inmates with special medical needs, aging inmates, and inmate intake, will be built in central Alabama. Holmes said its important to have one in his district because of the number of jobs at stake. Overall, he said he needs more information on the whole plan.

I guess all I can say at this point is Im all ears and Ill have my notepad ready," Holmes said. "And I need to hear whatever the details that come forward before I can offer a solid, permanent opinion.
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Four Royal Caribbean passengers have been rushed to a hospital for coronavirus testing after the cruise ship carrying more than two dozen Chinese nationals held in isolation docked in New York Harbor.

The Anthem Of The Seas docked in Bayonne, New Jersey around 6am on Friday morning, after steaming from the Bahamas with 27 Chinese nationals held in 'isolation' in one of the ship's restaurants.

Four of the Chinese passengers, who had traveled to the cruise directly from China, were rushed off the ship for testing for coronavirus. At least one was carried on a stretcher by medics who were not wearing masks or other protective garments, aside from gloves.

The four passengers were taken to University Hospital in Newark, which has negative-pressure isolation rooms, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis told WNBC-TV.

One of those four passengers displayed a fever on board the ship, but the fever went away when the person was given Tylenol, the mayor said. The other passengers had no symptoms.

The other 23 Chinese nationals, who had not boarded the cruise directly from China, were interviewed and screened by CDC and health officials.

'I was advised CDC considers this 'Below Low Risk' situation,' Mayor Davis said in a tweet, adding that health authorities had released the thousands of other non-Chinese passengers without any other action needed.

The Anthem Of The Seas docked in Bayonne, New Jersey around 6am on Friday morning, after steaming from the Bahamas with at least a dozen Chinese nationals in isolation

Passengers were seen being taken off the ship on stretchers after it docked in New Jersey

Four passengers were taken to University Hospital in Newark, which has negative-pressure isolation rooms

The cruise ship Anthem of the Seas is docked at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port on Friday in Bayonne, New Jersey

There are 12 coronavirus cases reported in the US so far, but no cases in the New York area

The 23 Chinese nationals who were not hospitalized will next be escorted to Newark Liberty International Airport for a flight back to China.

Anthem Of The Seas ports of call January 27: Departs Bayonne January 30: San Juan, Puerto Rico January 31: Philipsburg, St Maarten Island, Dutch Antilles February 1: St. Johns, Antigua February 2: Castries, St Lucia Island February 3: Basseterre, Port Zante, St Kitts Island February 7: Returns to Bayonne Advertisement

The U.S. currently bans any non-citizens from entering the country if they have traveled in mainland China in the proceeding two weeks.

None of the passengers on the ship were from the Wuhan region, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, or had traveled there recently, the mayor said he was told.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn have been both designated as emergency camps to quarantine potential patients in the event an outbreak occurs in the U.S.

Meanwhile, thousands of other passengers were seen disembarking the cruise ship later on Friday.

The ship has a passenger capacity of 4,180 but it's unclear how many were on board during the scare.

The Anthem Of The Seas had been scheduled to depart Bayonne on another cruise at 3pm on Friday.

It was unclear whether that timetable was affected by the health scare, and a representative from Royal Caribbean did not immediately respond to an inquiry from DailyMail.com.

None of the passengers on the ship were from the Wuhan region, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, the mayor said

Passengers disembark from the cruise ship Anthem of the Seas at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne on Friday

The CDC decided that the thousands of other non-Chinese passengers could disembark without screening

Passengers await transportation after disembarking from the cruise ship Anthem of the Seas in Bayonne

There are 31,481 cases across the world so far and 638 reported deaths, almost entirely in China. There are 12 confirmed cases in the US but none in the New York area.

On Wednesday the 12th confirmed U.S. case of the virus was confirmed in Wisconsin, health officials said.

Coronavirus symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Royal Caribbean said in a statement: 'We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place on board our ships.

'(We) are participating in elevated levels of guest screening (to combat the spread of the virus).

'We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and well being of our guests and crew.'

Thousands of other passengers were seen disembarking the cruise ship later on Friday. The ship has a passenger capacity of 4,180 but it's unclear how many were on board during the scare

Royal Carribbean ship docks in New Jersey with suspected coronavirus patients on Friday morning

Medical staff were seen boarding the Anthem of the Seas this morning as patients who will be tested for the coronavirus were removed

The vessel set off from Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 27 for a 12-day cruise taking in Puerto Rico, the Dutch Antilles, Antigua, St Lucia and St Kitts Island, before returning to New York.

Cruise ship Diamond Princess remains in quarantine lockdown off Japan with 61 confirmed coronavirus cases, including 11 Americans

The developments in New Jersey come as Japan confirms 41 new cases of the virus on the quarantined Diamond Princess, adding to 20 escorted off the ship earlier. The nearly 3,700 passengers and crew still on board remain under 14-day quarantines.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign passengers on another ship, Holland America's Westerdam, won't be allowed into Japan. He said suspected virus patients were on board, but the Seattle-based operator denied anyone had virus.

The ship with more than 2,000 people was currently near Ishigaki, one of Okinawa's outer islands, and was seeking another port, said Overseas Travel Agency official Mie Matsubara.

'Everyone is starting to reject the ship and we are getting desperate,' she said. 'We hope we can go somewhere so that passengers can land.'

At least four other cruise ships, two foreign and two Japanese-operated, are headed to Japan by the end of the month, Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said, urging port authorities around the country to turn them away.

Health workers in protective gear were still working in Yokohama Bay as darkness fell on Friday with the Diamond Princess in quarantine

A post from a Twitter user who said they also were on board the reveals images of medical teams in protective suits treating passengers, who also were shown congregating in a dining area.

A passenger posted a view from their balcony showing ambulances being loaded with passengers and crew sick with the coronavirus. 'We go to sea tomorrow to produce needed water and hope that the quarantine is successful in preventing more infections,' he said

Rebecca Frasure is one of the US citizens quarantined aboard the ship alongside her husband. She was shocked when a doctor on board the ship knocked on her door to inform her that her throat swab had tested positive for the virus, as she had no symptoms other than a cough.

In a Skype interview with CNN, Rebecca said: 'I don't know what's going to happen an hour from now, tomorrow. For all we know, we could stay quarantined on the ship for a month.'

Another American couple on the Diamond Princess, novelist Gay Courter and her husband Philip, are in their 70s. While they are among the passengers that have access to a balcony, they have expressed concerns they are stuck in an unsafe environment with people breathing air which is circulated throughout the whole ship.

Courter said: 'We're in a contaminated prison, possibly...

'This is not a safe environment and we don't think anybody, let alone the Japanese government, wants to be responsible for making a bad decision about quarantining us in an unsafe place.'

Another post shows a team sorting medical supplies at the base of a staircase on the cruise ship

A team of health workers in hazmat suits on the shore in Yokohama today where Japanese authorities said the tally of coronavirus patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship had risen to 61

Husband Philip posted a picture of the view from their balcony showing ambulances being loaded with passengers and crew sick with the coronavirus.

'We go to sea tomorrow to produce needed water and hope that the quarantine is successful in preventing more infections,' he said.

'We likely won't hear news about that until tomorrow night. If there are no infections, we may have an end to the confinement on the 19th. Sure hope the microscopic virus organisms aren't circulating in the ship's air system.'

The number of infected people on board the ship tripled from 20 to 61 last night after another 41 people tested positive for the deadly virus.

There are eight Americans among the 41 newly diagnosed passengers, along with 21 Japanese nationals, five Canadians, five Australians, a Briton and an Argentine.

The eight new US cases bring the number of infected Americans aboard the ship to 11.
Fianna Fail justice spokesman Jim O'Callaghan has rejected accusations his legal work for former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams amounted to a "conflict of interest".

Mr O'Callaghan has ruled out going into government with Sinn Fein.

The Irish Independent revealed today that the TD - who also works as a barrister - was hired by Mr Adams to act in a defamation action against a national newspaper.

Mr O'Callaghan has disputed a claim there was a conflict of interest saying he has also represented individuals from a number of political parties including Fine Gael and Labour during his legal career.

He said his politics and views are "not affected in any way" by his representation of any person.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "Im asked to do a job in the same way... if a patient goes in to Dr James Reilly or into Dr Leo Varadkar and sought treatment that patient is entitled and would get the best treatment from those doctors because theyre acting professionally.

Read More

"Similarly anyone who comes to me - irrespective of their politics - if they come seeking my legal services I give them the best treatment possible," he said on RTE Radio's Sean O'Rourke.

Fine Gael Minister Regina Doherty argued that barristers are allowed to refuse a case if a "conflict of interest" is likely.

Mr O'Callaghan initially began representing Adams in 2015 when he was a member of Dublin City Council.

Ms Doherty claimed that "Jim was desperately attempting to be a TD in 2015 and always knew he was going to be on the ticket".

"You have to ask yourself the question can you trust Fianna Fail when they tell you that they wont go into government with Sinn Fein," she added, listing some of Mr O'Callaghan's Fianna Fail colleagues who haven't ruled it out in the past.

Mr O'Callaghan said: "I am not allowed to comment on individual cases.

"So that means I cant really dispute Reginas claim theres a conflict of interest here.

"She doesnt know the circumstances of a case in which I previously represented a person. But Im not going to talk about the case."

He said the public is aware that a barrister is asked to represent a client and "does so without fear or favour and without any concern for the politics of the client".

Ms Doherty said: "A barrister is also justified in refusing a case where there is a conflict of interest arises or likely to arise and I think Jim in fairness in 2015 you were on the ticket to be a Fianna Fail TD".

Mr O'Callaghan said: "Regina you talk about a conflict of interest. You cant state what it is. People come to me all the time looking for legal advice."

He rejected her claim that the conflict was Mr Callaghan "saying one thing and doing another".

Mr O'Callaghan said: "My views on Sinn Fein are unaffected by any representation I ever did for members of Sinn Fein just as my views of your party unaffected by the representation I did for members of your party.

"We have been very clear that we will not be going into government with Sinn Fein after the next general election."

The presenter Mr O'Rourke put it to Mr O'Callaghan that he would have been "spared all this" if he had said he would become a full-time representative when he became a TD.

Mr O'Callagan said the issue being raised was something that happened in 2015 when he had no certainty that he would become a TD.

He also said: "You dont know what happened in the case... after I became a TD and I cant tell you because I have a duty of confidentiality and the code of conduct precludes me from talking in public."

Mr O'Rourke asked Mr O'Callaghan if see sees "an appearance of hypocrisy here?"

Mr O'Callaghan rejected this saying: "No. None whatsoever."

He said that a barrister in Northern Ireland, Des Boal - who was a founding member of the DUP - represented members of the Provisional IRA during his legal career.

He said Fianna Fail ministers used to go to Fine Gael barristers for legal advice.

"It is simply unfair and wrong for Fine Gael to suggest that simply because I represented individuals who have politics to me that I now adopt the politics of those individuals."
Houstonians may know Jimmy the Jeweler for his refined sense of bling. Jimmy Phan, aka Jimmy Boi is the creator of some most extravagant, iced-out jewelry designs for noted celebrities from Texas to Hollywood. But those who truly know this man understand that part of what inspires him is giving back to others.

The owner of Done Right Jewelers, Phan decided to pay it forward to a lucky military couple right in time for Valentines Day. Phan designed an exquisite $10K, 2.4-carat diamond engagement ring set in 14-karat gold, as a special gift to a U.S. military couple who couldnt afford a Valentines Day proposal.
Arvind Kejriwal, tipped to have the advantage in the Delhi elections, has framed his campaign as being about kaam ki rajneeti (politics based on work) . In an interview with me, he reiterated his argument that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was seeking votes on its governance record  on the schools it has turned around, on the slashed electricity bills, on its public healthcare schemes. This, he said, is true desh bhakti or nationalism.

Liberal pundits have been quick to seize on his campaign as an illustration of how the humdrum of peoples daily lives matters more to them than the rhetoric of religious polarisation. Their argument goes something like this: If AAP is able to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the unprecedented and aggressive polarisation attempts by the BJP, it is proof that Indian voters care more about economic well-being than they do about any other issue.

Yes and no.

It is true that the AAPs mohalla clinics, its stellar commitment to raising the standards of government school education, and its offer of free or subsidised electricity appear to have won it the working class and lower-income vote for Delhi. So, yes, without that track record and model of welfare economics, this election would have been very different.

ALSO WATCH | Delhi Election 2020: Hurt by BJPS terrorist jibe, says Arvind Kejriwal

But if you examine the Kejriwal campaign carefully, you will notice several tactical moves and shifts that indicate that Hindutva has not been disregarded as a factor by the strategists of the AAP campaign. And nor has the BJPs strident attempt to own the nationalism space.

The recital of the Hanuman Chalisa by Kejriwal in an interview was no coincidence, for instance.

In the very last mile of the campaign, all the party candidates could be seen at temples in their constituencies, as also photographed while performing yagnas and poojas. Prashant Kishors team (which is working with AAP in this election) had clearly decided to take no chances. More than anything else, this was to empower AAP cadres with answers if confronted with the charge of being anti-Hindu, something the BJP has often accused its political opponents of.

Kejriwals deft sidestepping of the Shaheen Bagh protests against the citizenship legislation, and his virtual dare to Amit Shah to shut down the protests and open the road, is in keeping with this strategy. I say schools, they say Shaheen Bagh, I say roads, they say Shaheen Bagh, I say hospitals, they say Shaheen Bagh, said Kejriwal to me, thrusting the responsibility for handling the women-led vigil onto the home minister.

How he handled the tag of terrorist is also instructive. Not just did he see an opportunity here to convey a sense of emotional injury; he also used the slur to underline his nationalistic credentials. I am a kattar deshbhakt ( staunch nationalist), he said, my political journey began with the Anna Andolan whose central slogan was Bharat Mata ki jai (victory for Mother India). The patriotism curriculum in Delhi schools is part and parcel of this tactical refusal to let the BJP cast its opponents as anti-national. In many ways, Kejriwal has been consistently careful to avoid the sort of liberalism associated with progressives on the Left of the spectrum. For instance, he supported the effective nullification of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kejriwal calls his political style authentic desh-bhakti. It is much more nationalistic to talk about schools and education than it is to constantly harp on Hindu-Muslim politics, he says.

His popularity in Delhi has also been aided by his own transformation. He is clearly less impetuous and reactive than before. His politics may have been rooted in the belief that he was the clean outsider in a corroded system; but the system has mellowed him and taught him to hunker down and work and build relationships even with those he once used the choicest of words for.

You could call it the mainstreaming of Kejriwal. But he has still played a political hand that has placed a new set of cards on the table.

It would be a complete misreading of the AAP campaign to believe that its architecture has been built around an ideology stridently opposed to the BJP. It is also erroneous to think that this is entirely a bijli-paani election. After the Amit Shah-led BJP hitback made it clear that it would not allow that to be the framing of the polls, Kejriwal had to adapt and re-adapt. And though Kejriwal invited Shah to a debate with him after the BJP failed to declare a chief ministerial candidate, one of the cleverest things about the AAP campaign has been to avoid a direct rhetorical confrontation with its key opponent.

In the language of combat, it would be called avoiding the landmine. Stepping onto one can either freeze you or kill you.

Kejriwal has preferred a different route. To win the battle before the war.

Barkha Dutt is an award-winning author and journalist

The views expressed are personal

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Srinagar, Feb 7 : In a series of steps against narcotic drugs across Kashmir valley, the police arrested eight drug peddlers and seized contraband substances from their possession on Friday.

In Srinagar, officers at a check point at New Bypass in the jurisdiction of Police Station Nowgam, Srinagar, intercepted a vehicle with three persons inside. The police recovered 300 gm of charas and 250 gm of opium husk from their possession.

In Budgam, the police recovered 380 gram of charas from a person identified as Gulzar Ahmad Shah, resident of Nagbal Khag.

In Awantipora, the police arrested three persons on charges of keeping contraband substances.

The police have requested people to come forward with any information on drug peddlers in their neighbourhood.
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A second oil train derailment in Saskatchewan in two months has prompted the federal Canadian government to enforce lower speed limits for trains carrying potentially dangerous goods.

Reuters reported that the speed limit would be 25 mph for all trains carrying more than 20 cars of dangerous goods. The limit will be in force for 30 days.

I realize there will be an effect on the economy of the country ... but it is very, very important that we do not sacrifice safety, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said.

To have two major derailments that are incredibly serious is something that is almost incomprehensible, an MP for the Moose JawLake CentreLanigan constituency where the accidents occurred said, as quoted by the Toronto Sun. I am not a big believer in coincidence, and this seems to be that its more than just coincidence.

The first derailment occurred in December, when some 19 cars went off the rails and some 1.5 million liters of crude oil leaked out. In the second accident, more than 30 cars went off the rails, with a dozen of them catching fire.

Oil train traffic in Canada has increased because of the opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project that has delayed the start of work. The expansion might never get built, which means there will be even more oil trains running across Canada to transport the growing output of heavy crude to markets.

In early 2019, then-premier Rachel Notley said Alberta would spend $2.78 billion (C$3.7 billion) on leasing 4,400 additional rail cars to transport some 120,000 bpd of heavy crude to the market. Total volumes of oil moved by rail out of Alberta last year hit a record, and this years volumes are seen even higher since the pipeline network cant cope with the oil being produced. This would mean a greater risk of derailments simply because of the number of trains that will be on the railroads.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
In a bid to attract tourists to Maharashtra, the state tourism directorate on Friday organised a road show in Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai.

According to an official statement, several cultural programmes were held, while Maharashtra's native cuisine too was made available on the occasion.

In his video address during the road show, Maharashtra Tourism Minister Aaditya Thackeray spoke about deepening cultural ties between the state and Tamil Nadu, the statement said.

"There is big diversity in the areas of Maharashtra's art and culture. Tourists from Tamil Nadu should visit Maharashtra. Maharashtra is eager to welcome you," he said, according to the statement.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has held 35 rallies and nine road shows in the national capital in the last 13 days in an attempt to build support and draw votes for the saffron party candidates contesting the February 8 Assembly elections.

The campaign for the Delhi Assembly elections came to an end at 6 p.m. on Thursday.



The BJP's election campaign was mainly anchored by Shah and newly appointed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Jagat Prakash Nadda.





Shah has held 47 election meetings that included 35 rallies and nine road shows. Besides, Nadda took part in around 40 meetings and road shows.



In the last leg of the campaign leading to the polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also campaigned for his party.



Modi, arguably the biggest crowd puller for the BJP, while targeting the Opposition, mainly Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, compiled a list of all major decision and action taken by his government during a public rally at CBD Ground in east Delhi's Karkardooma on Monday. He also took part in another rally in Dwarka on Tuesday.



In the last two weeks, the BJP's election campaign was completely taken over by Shah.



Between January 23 and February 6, Amit Shah campaigned for 13 days in Delhi, conducting a total of 47 election meetings, road shows and programmes.



Shah even went door-to-door for a day to seek votes and also addressed booth workers in Talkatora.



The BJP, latching on to the Shaheen Bagh anti-CAA protests issue, also sought the services of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to collect votes.



Adityanath campaigned mostly in the Purvanchali-dominated areas of the national capital.



Besides, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari also organised five election meetings while Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was a part of nine such meets.



The election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 8. The votes will be counted on February 11.
Bappadittya Sarkar, who was taken to a Mumbai police station by his cab driver after the latter overheard his phone conservation about an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest, said the language symbolises whatever is going on in the country.

IMAGE: Bappadittya Sarkar, a resident of Jaipur, at the ongoing anti-CAA-NRC protest at Nagpada in Mumbai. Photograph: @Bappadittoh/Twitter

A poet-activist, who was taken to a Mumbai police station by his cab driver after the latter overheard his phone conservation about an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest, on Friday said that the driver's aggressive behaviour and violent language reflected the atmosphere prevailing in the country.

The 23-year-old poet, Bappadittya Sarkar, also said that despite the ordeal he faced due to the Uber driver's act, he will not lodge a complaint against him as it may ruin his career and life.

Sarkar, a resident of Jaipur, who had arrived in Mumbai on February 3 for a poetry reading session at the Kala Ghoda Festival, had taken part in the ongoing anti-CAA-NRC protest at Nagpada in Mumbai. He took the Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10.30 pm on Wednesday.

During the journey, Sarkar was discussing with his friend on mobile phone people's discomfort with 'Laal Salaam' slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi. The driver, who was listening, stopped the cab and told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM. But he returned with two policemen, who allegedly asked Sarkar why he was carrying a 'dafli' (a percussion instrument), and also asked him his address.

The driver allegedly asked the police to take Sarkar in custody for "he was saying he was a Communist and was talking about burning the country".

Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association Kavita Krishnan had tweeted about the incident.

According to the statement tweeted by her, the police advised Sarkar not to carry the dafli or wear a red scarf, "as the atmosphere is not good and anything can happen".

Talking about the incident, Sarkar said, "The behaviour of the driver was aggressive and his language was violent. This type of violent language symbolises whatever is going on in the country."

"The driver threatened me that he could have taken me somewhere else, but took me to a police station. I was scared due to his threat. But the driver must have some foundation for giving threat," he said.

Sarkar said he was living at a friend's place in Kurla, but shifted to Andheri after the incident.

"When our fight is only of thoughts, then we have to understand from where violence stems and how," he said.

"I am a student and love to write poems and create slogans and saying them. I could have stayed at my home when protests are going on across the country. But I have a responsibility to come out of the home for our people and our country," he added.

Before coming to Mumbai, Sarkar had also participated in the protests in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi and Jaipur.

When asked whether he plans to take any action against the driver, Sarkar said that he does not want to ruin anybody's life.

"Uber should help the driver and give him counselling and therapy and send him for rehabilitation. His career should not be spoilt," he said.

"There can be differences of opinion and people like me work for the whole society," he said.

Sarkar, who was at the 'Mumbai Bagh' protest in Nagpada on Friday morning, said he will return to his hometown, Jaipur, in the afternoon, where he will take part in similar protests.

"I will go to Jaipur first and meet my family members as they may also be worried (after the incident). After that I will participate in the protests," he said.

He also said he had got a call from Uber and the company condemned the incident saying whatever their driver did was not right and they are taking action.
Pupils with a foreign first language are at the top of the class in GCSE English and maths, data shows.

Some 43.8 per cent of children who grew up using a foreign language achieved 'strong passes' in the subjects, compared with 43.2 per cent of native English speakers.

A strong pass is grade 5 or higher  between an A* and C under the old marking system.

The difference in performance was larger in free schools, where non-native English speakers are beating their peers in the two subjects by nearly 6 per cent, the 2018/19 data from the Department for Education (DfE) shows.

In 2017/18, native English speakers were ahead by 0.1 percentage points, with 43.4 per cent achieving 9-5 in English and maths, with 9 being the highest grade.

To find out the performance of schools in your area, use MailOnline's tool below:

Professor Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, said the results showed 'very bright people are coming to this country, who are ambitious, keen to learn the language and can see how the education system can help them'.

Yesterday's data also revealed that poorer pupils' GCSE performance has fallen further behind their wealthier classmates.

Gaps in the proportions of disadvantaged and advantaged pupils being entered for, and achieving, the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) as well as attainment over eight GCSE grades all widened.

The EBacc recognises pupils who take a range of academic GCSEs  English, maths, science, history or geography and a foreign language.

The latest data shows that only 27.5 per cent of disadvantaged teenagers were entered for all of the EBacc subjects last year, compared with 44.5 per cent of other pupils  a difference of 17 percentage points.

In 2018, the gap was 16.4 percentage points.

Disadvantaged pupils got an attainment score of 36.7 in their GCSEs, compared to 50.3 for advantaged students. The widest difference is between pupils with special educational needs and those with no identified needs, with a difference of 22.3 points, similar to 22.6 in 2018

The percentage of girls gaining a grade 5 or above in their English and maths GCSE last year stood at 46.6 per cent - nearly seven percentage points above the score of boys at 40 per cent

An ongoing divide between boys and girls was also evident, with 28 per cent of girls passing all components of the EBacc, compared with 18 per cent of boys.

Children who grew up speaking a foreign language are also ahead of native English speakers in achieving grade 9-5 in the EBacc.

Some 20.2 per cent of non-native speakers got the grades, compared with 16.5 per cent of their native-speaking peers.

The attainment gap index between disadvantaged pupils and others increased last year to 3.70, after rising from 3.68 in 2018 and 3.66 in 2017 - although this is down on 4.07 in 2011

This table shows 24.7 per cent of disadvantaged pupils achieved a grade 9-5 in their English and maths last year, compared to 50.1 per cent of all other pupils - the same difference as 2018

Schools minister Nick Gibb said: 'The attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers remains stable and is down by around 9 per cent since 2011  but we recognise there is more to do.'

The DfE publishes a 'disadvantaged gap index' which looks at the attainment gap between poorer pupils and their peers.

The proportion of pupils at secondary schools in England achieving a grade 5 or above in their England and maths exams was roughly level at 43.2 per cent last year, compared to 2018

Nearly 14 per cent of children with special educational needs achieved at least a grade 5 in their English and maths last year - compared to 48.2 per cent of children with no identified SEN

GCSE achievements of pupils with or without English as a first language are roughly similar, with native speakers slightly beaten by those who don't have England as a first language

GCSE English and maths attainment when broken down by ethnicity is at its highest among Chinese children (76.3 per cent), and at its lowest among black children (37.8 per cent)

A gap of zero would indicate that disadvantaged youngsters were performing as well as those from more advantaged backgrounds.

Last year, the gap was 3.70, compared with 3.68 in 2018.

The data also shows that black and white children are struggling to get strong passes in the EBacc.

Only 15.2 per cent of black pupils and 15.9 per cent of white pupils achieved the grades, compared with 19.8 per cent of mixed-race pupils, 23.9 per cent of Asians and 44.9 per cent of Chinese pupils.
Much of the connection between Haitian and New Orleans culture has been lost to history, but for Haitian-Canadian Regine Chassagne of Arcade Fire and Ben Jaffe of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band, theyve provided fertile ground for their Krewe du Kanaval Mardis Gras parade and ball. The idea for Krewe started when Chassagne and her husband/bandmate Win Butler took the members of Perservation Hall on a trip to Haiti back in 2015. Chassagnes family had fled Haiti during the brutal reign of Franccois Duvalier and have been returning to Haiti regularly since the band first played there in 2004, raising money for a local hospital. In 2005, they began working with Partners in Health and Kanpe, continuing their efforts after the earthquake which devastated the country in 2010.

Both Arcade Fire and Preservation Hall will play again for the festivals third and biggest year on Feb. 14 at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans Louis Armstrong Park, along with guests Michael Brun, Jillionaire, Lakou Mizik, Pierre Kwenders and more. I spoke with both Chassagne and Jaffe about why they created Krewe du Kanaval and what we can expect from this years festivities.

Paste: To start out, can you talk a little bit about why a Haitian-themed festival in New Orleans? Can you talk a little bit about the connection between Haiti and the city and what made you want to launch the Krewe du Karnival?

Ben Jaffe: So Im going to let Regine tackle that because shes, shes the one responsible for introducing me to Haiti and sort of beginning my, my discovery journey.

Regine Chassagne: So first of all, I just want to say its not just Haitian-themed; its a reality. I grew up in Montreal, and my family is from Haitiall of it. So I grew up speaking French, and I also grew up around Haitian Creole and more of a Caribbean culture. And when I visited New Orleans, every time we would stop by playing, something was just like, What is this place? This place has something different that completely felt really familiar to me. Even though it was this different, it was kind of like similar cultural componentsbut with a different combo of the French and a little bit of Spanish and the Creole. I recognize it, and it really attracted me to the city. Its kind of like a cousin universeits kind of an oldest connection that come from this.

Jaffe: I didnt grow up in the typical community in New Orleans. We were very blessed to have so much music, and we really value community here. After I visited Cuba and visited Haiti, Ive really begun to understand more deeply the source of the things that I appreciate so much about New Orleans. Community isnt just something you talk about or try to define. Its actually a thing, you know? Its actually a neighborhood and actually people that you grew up with. Its the great grandmother, the great grandfather. Its the priest and the minister of the church. Its the person who runs the little grocery store, the member of the social aid and pleasure club, the musician, the Mardi Gras Indian. Its the Neville Brothers. Its all of these people that make up this incredible city. And then within the city, there are these little micro-communities of people. And as Ive gotten older, Ive grown to have a deeper appreciation for that and understand how precious and sacred and rare that is. And its something that I was able to experience, and the whole Preservation Hall band was able to go there and actually feel sort of like this big, big family coming togetherlike a reunion of families.

Chassagne: Thats true. It feels like that.

Jaffe: At one time there was more of a fluid back-and-forth between Haiti and New Orleans and other communities in the Caribbean just because of our trade and because of New Orleans very important geographic location. We are the first city at the mouth of the Mississippi. We were the gateway to the Americas from the Caribbean. Everything coming into the country had to come through New Orleans. Coffee, sugar, evenand its sad to even talk about itbut humans, as well, coming into this country and leaving the country. All of our exports and cotton, coffee and sugar, were coming out of the country. Its just interesting that the connection was in some ways more realized 200 years ago. And over the centuries weve, weve sort of lost a little bit of that. But its fingerprint and DNA is still here.

Paste: Yeah. Weve seen a huge influx of Haitians into New Orleans over the course of the last couple of hundred years. Both places have also suffered two of the most devastating natural disasters of this century. Haiti just marked 10 years since the earthquake and the country is still suffering from its efforts. What do you see of the differences in the way those two places have bounced back and what do you see as the biggest needs that still remain in Haiti?

Chassagne: Those are gigantic questions. I will speak for what I knowthe work thats being done by organizations like Partners in Health and Kanpe, who are working in the Central Plateau. So I think the earthquake revealed the fragility of the system, the non-system. Its really hard to build on a foundation when theres no system like the government, because it was very weak or fragile. When NGOs perpetuate this fragility by bypassing the official infrastructure even as weak as it is, its really a short-term solution because you cant just run a country on NGOs. People need their own infrastructure. So I think well get there. The people on the ground I know are so extremely dedicated but dont often get the highlights. Its mostly the outsiders that get all the talk. Anyway, I could go on and on. I dont want to dwell on that, but I really believe NGOs need to look at themselves. And Im always talking to myself because to me its really important to make sure that we do a good job. And if its not working, we have to ask ourselves, Why?

Paste: I want to get into the Karnival itself, but I wanted to ask one about your familys immigration from Haiti. It was out of necessity due to the [Francois] Duvaliers violent reign. I dont want to compare, but there have been extra-judicial killings recently that had been linked to the government. How has your history affected your relationship with Haiti and your experiences going back there and your heart for the country? I know you guys have done a lot to try to raise awareness just do good in the country.

Chassagne: Well for me its two things. Its the livelihood. I care about the livelihood of people in Haiti and the opportunities for amazing people to get great things done because theres so much talent in Haiti, that its unbelievable. So that, and also the cultural aspect, which is really important for me because, even as a daughter of immigrants, I think it does stipulate a lot of different people who are sons and daughters of immigrants. It is a thing where when youve arrived in a new country, parents feel like they have to negate or deny their whole culture. That they have to like dissolve it so they can blend in. And so they put that on their children as well.

I think its still really cool to be adaptable to a new place where you arrived, of course, but that shouldnt be accompanied by a shame of what you were like, you know? And that the culture that you haveits not one culture or the other. Its like one on top of the other. So you can speak French and English and Spanish and Creole and youre not one or the other. Youre one. And the other. So its a plus to me that you have access to all the universes. Its a real value because I want to fight that sense of having to be or feel less than by these layers that you have. But on the contrary, you shouldnt feel less than but feel even richer for having all these layers for yourself. Haitian culture has been often just completely discarded, and its so sophisticated and its a diamond in the rough. And its given so much to American culture, and people dont even know about it. So yeah, Im always trying to put it forward everywhere I go.

Paste: Thats great. And Ben, can you talk about that first Preservation Hall trip to Haiti and what that was like?

Jaffe: Yeah, I went down with Win [Butler] and Regine and a member of our foundation on sort of a research visit to understand more about the work that Kanpe does and just to understand the whole landscape. When we were down there, Regine introduced me to the gentleman who had the band called RAM, Richard Morse. And immediately there was a brotherhood there. Hes doing very similar things in his community that are also being done in New Orleans, like what Preservation Hall does, just on a different scale and with different obstacles. That just grew into me thinking, Oh my gosh, this is part of the Preservation Hall journeypart of the journey of the members of the band. And part of what I do is to create this dialoguethe moment where the band, the members of my band can go learn something about themselves and continue to grow as musicians. And thats really impactful when youre going into a community, like youre going into Cuba or youre going to Brazil or Colombia or Mexico. And this trip it was to Haiti, and I dont even know when the last time a band from New Orleans has been to Haiti. The Preservation Hall band had never been. It may have been hundreds of years since a New Orleans band has been there. Ive never heard anybody in New Orleans, in my community of musicians, ever speak about Haiti. They speak about it, but we think about it in terms of our connection to voodoo or the Mardi Gras Indian tradition or the jazz tradition and the jazz processions that take place at funerals.

The experience was incredible for the band members. I remember just preparing the guys for the trip and some of the obstacles that we were going to face just in terms of just the the physical challenges of being there and things being outside of our normal comfort zone as a band. But you know, in New Orleans, thats something youre kind of prepared for because of the way that we grow up playing in parades and things being played without electricity and you know, like, Hey, when does the parade start? I dont know, when everybody gets there. That kind of attitude lends itself to the way we grew up in new Orleans.

And I remember one of the experiences that I loved was just watching from the porch of this old Colonial hotel that we were staying in that was built into the side of a mountain that was a couple hundred years old and watching two of the members of my band watching these the young dancers work on a piece based on sort of traditional voodoo rhythms and dances, and then just being almost like as if they were in watching this happen. They were that moved by just the experience of being in the community of the artists. And that was, that was really how we all felt.

I remember also our trombone playerhis family had told him, Look, youre probably gonna run into some family members when youre down there. Cause our families have Haitian roots. And sure enough, here we are just kind of hanging out at this event that we helped produce at this incredible hotel, and nothing like this had ever really been done before. Bands from all over the country had come to those to perform. And he was backstage and he saw theres a woman who looks just like his aunt, and hes texting pictures to his mom. And she was like, Oh yeah, thats your aunt so-and-so. No mom, Im in Haiti. This is not my aunt. Shes like, Oh thats your aunt. Thats definitely your aunt. And they come to find out that theyre all cousins. Theyre all back in touch again. And it was that moment that you realize that were not even like one degree of separation musically or culturally from Haiti. Its just something that was cut off for economic reason and political reasonsthe same way we were cut off from a lot of our African roots in New Orleans. And this is probably a step in that direction to learn more about that piece of us as well.

Paste: Thats fantastic. It sounds like this was a long overdue connection that needed to happen. So can you talk a little bit about the Krewe du Karnival and the ongoing way thats kind of reviving that connection between New Orleans and Haiti?

Jaffe: I guess its important to understand a little bit about like what a krewe is in New Orleans. It goes back to the beginning of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. And it was these organizations that still today are organizationswhether its a neighborhood organization or a political organization or a group of friends or business people who get together and form a club. Some krewes have their own clubhouse, and they have events throughout the year. So we wanted to create something that reflected our Orleans experience, something thats brought together people from the entire city, not just one particular area. And also open up our membership to like-minded people worldwide. We have members from all over the world who come in for Kanaval. So that was really the idea. And we wanted to create something that reflected all of the things that we love about New Orleans and Haiti. The idea of dancing down the street. Thats something that I thought was very particular to New Orleans, but then I went to Haiti and Im like, Oh wow, they have that here too. In Haiti, they call it Rara. In New Orleans, its the second line. In both places, those are sacred traditions. In New Orleans thats a sacred African-American tradition. But its where a band marches down the street, accompanied by a social aid and pleasure club, which are primarily African-American neighborhood organizations followed by dancers. And its a community, and its amazing. Its the most punk rock thing you can imagine. And then when I went to Haiti to experience a Rara, it was like being in a mosh pitnot in terms of like running around pushing and punching people, but in terms of like of just that release of energy being instant, just calm music and the vibration of the moment. To actually be on the street dancing with a band moving down the street is incredible.

Paste: Lets talk about this years Kanaval. What are each of you most looking forward to for this this third version here?

Jaffe: Well, the two things that stick out this year for meand Im going to let Regine talk about like all the choreography and the music of the dancebut the few things that really mean something to me this year is we are going to be holding our ball. So each Mardi Gras parade and each crew has a ball to celebrate their crew. And this year our ball is going to be in the Mahalia Jackson Theater in Armstrong Park, which is adjacent to Congo square, just outside the French Quarter, sort of nestled between the French Quarter and Treme, which is the oldest African-American neighborhood in the country. So thats really beautiful to me that were putting life back into this underutilized and amazing theater in this underutilized park and bringing life back into it. And Im really proud that were doing that this year. And Im also really excited that this year were going to be parading along a major parade route, which in New Orleans is straight down St. Charles Avenue. And thats an amazing achievement. A lot of organizations dont get to that point where they actually get permitted to march down St. Charles Avenue. And thats really a badge of honor. Getting to down St. Charles Avenue and to represent the colors that we represent and the principles that we represent is really beautiful. And I mean Regine could talk about the music and the dance because Arcade Fire is going to be performing and Lakou Mizik from Haiti is going to be performing, Jillionaire, Michael Brun, Pierre Kwenders, Windows 98, Preservation Hall Jazz Band. This year our queen is Mia X, who is a legendary figure in New Orleans bounce, part of the No Limit family. And especially since we just lost a 5th Ward Weebie, theres like a spotlight on New Orleans bounce. And the bounce community in New Orleans is as important as our jazz community.

Paste: Regine, how about you? What are you looking forward to this year?

Chassagne: Well, Sunday was the actual anniversary of the earthquake. And we had a first big proper dance rehearsal. And theres a dancer friend who taught us some moves. And it was really moving. We had a moment and she spoke about the earthquake. That plus the fact that we lost one of our master drummersFrancois San Damas Louis, who used to lead the Rara of the previous years. And I dont know, for me, it really moves me to see these Haitian dance being able to infiltrate the mainstream and Haitian culture pushing through and actually bringing it to mainstream is a big deal. Were not in Haiti, so its not super traditional. But just to be able to recognize that and just add that the spotlight is on this really special communityIm really, really, really excited about that.

Paste: Oh, well, it sounds like an amazing event and I wish you both the best this year. One of these years Ive got to get down for one of these. It sounds amazing.

Chassagne: Yeah. Yeah. Its good for the soul.

Watch the new video on Krewe Du Kanaval from director Julia Simpson:

And watch the Preservation Hall Jazz Band at the Paste Ruins at Newport Folk Festival in 2012:
Harvey Weinstein fell from his chair while trying to switch his seat at lunch Friday, needing assistance from a waiter to get back up, DailyMail.com can disclose.

The disgraced media mogul was dining at Cut at the Four Seasons in downtown Manhattan after leaving court, where he is on trial for raping a woman in a hotel room in March 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a different woman in 2006.

The 67-year-old entered the upscale restaurant alone using his walker and initially sat in a corner booth, but when moving to a different seat within the booth, he lost his balance and fell to the floor, an eyewitness at the restaurant told DailyMail.com.

Weinstein attempted to quiet waiters who rushed over to assist him, telling them he was fine, but ended up needing their help to get back into his seat, the source said.

They added: 'He didn't want a scene but he definitely didn't have the strength to get up himself. He didn't look well, he looked gray.'

Harvey Weinstein fell from his chair while trying to change seating positions at lunch on Friday, needing assistance from a waiter to get back up, DailyMail.com can disclose

Weinstein attempted to quiet waiters who rushed over to assist him, telling them he was fine, but ended up needing their help to get back into his seat, the source said. They added: 'He didn't want a scene but he definitely didn't have the strength to get up himself. He didn't look well, he looked gray'

The disgraced media mogul was dining at Cut at the Four Seasons in downtown Manhattan after leaving court on Friday (pictured), where he is on trial for raping a woman in a hotel room in March 2013 and forcibly performing oral sex on a different woman in 2006

Although Weinstein initially turned up alone, he was later joined by two associates and his lawyer Donna Rotunno, who recently told the New York Times she has never been assaulted because she would never 'put herself in that position'.

During the two hour lunch, Weinstein ate a leafy dish and appeared to make a call to his doctor, complaining about his hip, the source said.

They added: 'You wouldn't think he was on trial. He wasn't trying to be hush-hush. They were just people out for lunch.'

He wore a dark suit, blue dress shirt, an olive green tie and dark sneakers.

Weinstein has been accused of faking his frailness in court by using a walking frame to win sympathy.

He first appeared with his walker at a court appearance in December, hobbling into court for a bail hearing, looking distinctly more frail and unsteady on his feet than in months past.

In early December, his lawyer Imran Ansari asked for a $45 million civil lawsuit against him to be paused because the 'weight' of multiple legal proceedings and dealing with health problems was 'too much'.

During the two hour lunch at Cut (left and right), Weinstein ate a leafy dish and appeared to make a call to his doctor, complaining about his hip, the source said. They added: 'You wouldn't think he was on trial. He wasn't trying to be hush-hush. They were just people out for lunch'

Although Weinstein initially turned up alone, he was later joined by two associates and his lawyer Donna Rotunno (pictured on January 17), who recently told the New York Times she has never been assaulted because she would never 'put herself in that position'

At court on Friday, Weinstein's lawyers tried to cement doubts about his accusers' allegations after using cross-examination to highlight inconsistencies in some of their accounts. In some cases, the encounters the women were recalling happened a decade or longer ago.

The world's top false memory expert Dr Elizabeth Loftus, a cognitive psychologist at the University of California, testified that people can have entirely false memories implanted into their minds.

Dr Loftus said people could develop 'rich false memories' that bear no relation to reality.

She said the false memories could be a result of therapy, which several of Weinstein's victims say they have been through.

Prosecutors rested their case against Weinstein on Thursday after more than two weeks of testimony from about two dozen witnesses.

The first defense witness, an industry executive who remains a Weinstein ally, seemed blindsided on Thursday when a prosecutor confronted him with text messages that appeared to justify Weinstein's behavior and bash his accusers.
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top White House expert on Ukraine who testified in the House phase of the recently concluded impeachment trial, was fired from the White House Friday and escorted out, according to his attorney.

LTC Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth, Vindmans lawyer David Pressman said in a statement. The truth has cost LTC Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy.

Vindman, a National Security Council official, testified to the House Intelligence Committee in November that he had discussed the controversial July 25 phone call between Trump and the Ukrainian president with an unknown intelligence community member as well as State Department official George Kent, who also testified to lawmakers.

Vindman listened to the call between Trump and Ukrainian president Voldymyr Zelensky, during which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Bidens. The White House meanwhile temporarily froze $391 million in U.S. military aid to Ukraine, prompting Democrats to accuse Trump of attempting a quid pro quo in which the release of the aid was contingent on Ukraines agreement to investigate the former vice president.

Vindman told Congress he felt it improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and political opponent.

The most powerful man in the world  buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit has decided to exact revenge on Vindman, his lawyer said.

Trump had expressed frustration with Vindmans testimony and on Friday said he was not happy with him.

You think Im supposed to be happy with him? Im not. Theyll make that decision. Youll be hearing, Trump said.

Also on Friday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Pentagon does not allow retribution against service members.

We protect all of our persons, service members, from retribution or anything like that, Esper told reporters. We welcome back all of our service members wherever they served, to any assignment they are given.

Story continues

Vindman was not scheduled to leave the White House until July. He is expected to return to work at the Pentagon.

More from National Review
WASHINGTON - Any semblance of a working relationship between Washington's two most powerful political leaders disintegrated perhaps beyond repair this week, leaving doubts about whether Congress and the White House will be able to accomplish anything in this election year.

In back-to-back public appearances the day after the Senate acquitted him in the impeachment trial, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi traded barbs that got remarkably personal, including Trump questioning the Catholic faith of Pelosi and the speaker saying the president is "talking about things he knows little about: faith and prayer."

That followed an unusually public display of their mutual disrespect when Trump refused to shake Pelosi's hand before the State of the Union address Tuesday and the speaker dramatically tore up of a copy of his speech from the dais after he had finished.

Trump and Pelosi, D-Calif., paired their insults Thursday with offers to work together on their shared priorities, such as an infrastructure package and a bill to lower prescription drug costs.

But their caustic comments raised significant questions about where Congress and the White House are heading in the bitter partisan aftermath of impeachment, particularly during an election year when substantive legislative change is already hard to achieve.

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"The coin of the realm in politics has always been a level of trust," said Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Calif. "If you couldn't trust someone, whether they're Republicans or Democrats, or conservatives or liberals, these institutions don't function."

The House speaker suggested Thursday that her public displays of disapproval of Trump marked the turning of a page in her relationship with the president.

"I feel very liberated," she said. "I feel that I've extended every possible courtesy. I've shown every level of respect."

Even amid their war of words, however, Pelosi and Trump on Thursday left open the possibility of compromise or negotiation in the future.

And there could be strong incentives to do so.

"I think both sides have things that they need to get done that they can take to the voters to present as a record of accomplishment," said Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., predicting that time would probably soften the rancor.

"My impression around here is that everything has a pretty short shelf life," he said. "What's a crisis today tomorrow will be something else."

Such bipartisan cooperation was evident last month when Congress passed a revised North American Free Trade Agreement. It had been a top campaign promise of Trump. But Democrats demanded significant changes at the end regarding labor and the environment. Now both sides claim the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement as a victory.

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"There's no such thing as an eternal animosity," Pelosi said. "You never know of what cause you may come together with somebody you may perceive as your foe right now. Everybody is a possible ally in what may come next."

Perhaps the most likely place for common ground would be an infrastructure package - funding to rebuild bridges and roads, expand broadband to rural areas and build water systems, among other initiatives.

"I hardly ever had a conversation with (Trump) when he wasn't talking about infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure," Pelosi said. "I think he really wants that."

Toward the end of a speech Thursday, Trump also referenced what could be accomplished together.

"What we can do working with both parties in Congress is - would be unbelievable," he said. "Think what we could have done if the same energy was put into infrastructure, prescription drug prices. Think of what we could have done."

But there are other reasons to be skeptical that Washington can even accomplish an infrastructure package. For years, it has been the first item politicians name when asked about bipartisanship, but one that never seems to move forward.

Congressional Democrats and Trump had begun negotiations on an infrastructure package in May. But talks were scuttled when Trump stormed away from a White House meeting, arguing that compromise was impossible in the face of House oversight investigations.

Rep. Peter A. DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat who as chairman of the House Transportation Committee is writing an infrastructure bill that he hopes to release in March, appeared unfazed by the idea that Trump - or Pelosi - is interested in reengaging on the issue.

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He said he hasn't heard from the White House since before a senior legislative aide left in May last year. "I don't even know who the liaison at the White House would be," he said.

And then there's the open question of whether Trump and Pelosi could actually work together post-impeachment.

Pelosi on Thursday called his State of the Union address "a reality show," "quite appalling," "beneath the dignity of the White House" and "a manifesto of mistruths, of falsehoods, blatantly, (and) really dangerous to the well-being of the American people." She ended her Capitol Hill news conference suggesting that he might have been "sedated" as he delivered the speech.

In the White House speech to tout his Senate acquittal, Trump said "Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person" and questioned whether "she prays at all," let alone for him, as she has said she does. He called Democrats "vicious people" who would have impeached George Washington.

Pelosi took particular umbrage at Trump's criticism of her religious faith and that of GOP Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, who was the only Senate Republican to vote to remove Trump from office Wednesday. Romney said his personal faith compelled his vote.

At the National Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Trump said: "I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong, nor do I like people who say, 'I pray for you,' when they know that's not so."

The tension between Pelosi and Trump has gotten particularly acute since Democrats took control of the House in early 2019, elevating Pelosi to one of the most powerful positions in Washington.

Earlier in Trump's term, he seemed to have a measure of affection and respect for the House Democratic leader. Though she seldom publicly conveyed any sense of warmth toward him, he spared her - for a while - from his nearly constant public lashing on Twitter. He didn't attack her even when she compared his quest for a border wall to a "manhood thing."

But the relationship - as tenuous as it was when Democrats were in the minority - would not survive 2019. The back-and-forth was minor at first. He dubbed her "Nervous Nancy." She postponed his 2019 State of the Union address so it would not take place during the government shutdown. In response, he canceled her planned trip with a congressional delegation to Brussels and Afghanistan.

The two have not spoken since an October White House meeting that ended with Pelosi walking out after he called her a "third grade" politician and she told him "all roads with you lead to Putin."

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(Los Angeles Times staff writer Eli Stokols contributed to this report.)

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(c)2020 Los Angeles Times

Visit the Los Angeles Times at www.latimes.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Princes Cruises, the co-mpany that runs Diamond Princess among others, confirmed to Deccan Chronicle that six Indian passengers are onboard. According to reports from Japan till Friday, of the 263 passengers tested by the Japanese health authorities, 61 tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

Hyderabad: Six Indians are among the more than 2,500 passengers stuck on the novel coronavirus-stricken cruise ship Diamond Princess, docked at Yoko-homa port in Japan since February 4. With 61 of its 2,666 passengers testing positive for the disease till Friday, the cruise ship has emerged as the second largest cluster for the disease outside of Wuhan, where the virus emerged in China.

Princes Cruises, the co-mpany that runs Diamond Princess among others, confirmed to Deccan Chronicle that six Indian passengers are onboard. According to reports from Japan till Friday, of the 263 passengers tested by the Japanese health authorities, 61 tested positive for the coronavirus infection.

Forty one were informed on Friday that they were infected while 20 others were informed earlier  in two batches of 10 each.

When contacted about the presence of Indian passengers onboard the ship, Princes Cruises, in an email response, said: There are six Indian passengers onboard. Howe-ver, the company did not release any further information on the identity of the Indian passengers.

India on Friday officially announced that there were many Indian crew-members and passengers on board Diamond Princess but that none have tested positive as per the latest information with the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. But fears are mounting following reports of at least 61 people of other nationalities testing positive.

In an update posted on its website, Princess Cruises said it can confirm the nationalities of the 41 people who were tested positive on Friday: Argentina (one); Australia (five); Canada (five), Japan (21); UK (one) and US (eight). Earlier tests confirmed that passengers from Australia, Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, as well as one crew member from Philippines were infected by the disease, it posted.

According to the company, the Japanese ministry of health has confirmed this is the last batch to be tested and the quarantine will end on February 19, barring unforeseen developments. The Japanese government is also

providing our ship and team members additional manpower support, it said.
An African-American man fired from his TV talk show producer job at One America News Network was not harassed on the basis of racial prejudice, but was fired in part because he lodged his complaint, a California jury found.

The San Diego Superior Court jury this week awarded Jonathan Harris nearly $290,000 in damages, the Union-Tribune reported. The bulk of the award was for non-economic losses including pain and suffering.

The panel will reconvene Wednesday to decide whether to award Harris punitive damages.

Harris lawsuit claimed he was harassed at work based on his race and because of his liberal political views, which clashed with OANs conservative bent, according to the newspaper.

The San Diego-based cable channel gained national prominence after President Donald Trump praised it, while critics have questioned its journalistic standards.

The lawsuit named Graham Ledger, the host of a talk show that Harris helped produce and Robert Herring Sr., OANs founder and the CEO of its parent company, Herring Networks Inc.

Jurors decided Harris was not harassed or discriminated against because of his race. However, they did conclude that he had complained about race-based harassment and discrimination, and that those complaints helped motivate his firing.

The jury also found that the network failed to take all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment, or discrimination, or retaliation, the Union-Tribune reported Tuesday.

In addition, the jury found that Ledger and the network engaged in conduct with malice, oppression or fraud toward Harris.

However, the attorney representing the defendants said that the jury had mistakenly answered that question on the jury form.

Attorney Patrick Nellies said that was because the panel  in an earlier question on the form  had already unanimously cleared the defendants, including Ledger, of harassing Harris on the basis of race.

Once they were cleared of that allegation, Nellies said, Ledger and Herring were no longer part of the lawsuit.

Because Mr. Ledger had already been exonerated on the harassment claim, it was legally impossible for the jury to find that he acted with malice, fraud, or oppression, Nellies said.

Harris attorney did not immediately respond to an email from the Union-Tribune for comment on the verdict.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California
Two men on Friday fired four rounds in northeast Delhis Jaffrabad area and flee, despite heavy security presence in the area for February 8 Delhi elections.

Police said that the men, both wearing helmets, shot twice at a garments shop and then fired two rounds in the open. Senior police officers said they suspected personal enmity behind the incident.

However, the shop owner claimed that neither did they owe money to anyone nor did they have any enmity. No one was hurt in the incident.

According to the police, they got a call around 1.30pm stating that two men had opened fire in a market place in Jaffrabad, but no one was injured. A senior police officer, who did not wish to be named, said they rushed a team to the spot and found that the men had come on a bike and were wearing helmets to cover their faces.

Locals said the men fired two shots at the shop and two rounds in the open. We have collected the empty bullet shells from the spot and a crime and forensics team have combed the area. Initial probe has suggested that the two men were targeting a garment shop, right outside which two bullets were fired, the police officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast) Ved Prakash Surya also said that preliminary inquiry has ruled out a robbery attempt. A case has been registered and we are probing the possibility of the shop owners personal enmity angle behind the incident, he said.

The owner of the garment shop, Shabir Khan,50, who lives in Babarpur, said he has no enmity with anyone. I was sitting in the sun outside my shop when the two men came on a bike and fired two bullets at my shop and twice in the open. My brother Murtaza Khan and I run this shop together. We dont owe any money to anybody. Police is trying to cover up the incident as a case of personal enmity because it happened just hours before Delhi goes to polls. The incident happened just as locals were getting ready to offer their afternoon prayers, he said.

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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

Plea to clear protesters at Shaheen Bagh to be heard on Monday

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a plea to clear protesters at the Shaheen Bagh on Monday.

The Bench said that the plea would be taken up on Monday. When the lawyer for the petitioner said that the Delhi Elections are being held tomorrow, the Bench said that is exactly why we said Monday. You have read our minds, the Bench also noted.

The plea was filed to clear the protesters from Shaheen Bagh. The petitioner said that as a result of this protest, the public were being put to inconvenience.

The plea also said that various other arterial roads of Delhi have been facing traffic congestion due the protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Unauthorised colonies, Shaheen Bagh, clean water sum up the Delhi elections

Restrictions have been imposed on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and Okhla underpass since December 15, when hundreds of women sat on a protest against the amended law.

Saying that the law enforcement machinery has been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters," the plea has sought laying down of guidelines for protests leading to obstruction of public place.

"It is disappointing that the state machinery is muted and silent spectator at hooliganism and vandalism of the protesters who are threatening the existential efficacy of the democracy and the rule of law and had already taken the law and order situation in their own hand," said the plea.

It said the Shaheen Bagh protest is "undoubtedly within the constitutional parameter" but it has lost its legality as constitutional protection were being "blatantly and brazenly flouted and violated".

The State has a duty to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, who have been facing trouble due to the road blockade, it said.

"Hence, it is urgently required that the public places must not be allowed to be abused and misused for ulterior and mala fide purposes such as staging protest against the constitution amendment in the heart of the capital city and thereby causing incalculable hardships and difficulties to the common people," it said.

It said a similar plea was filed by another litigant in the Delhi High Court, which on January 14 directed the local authority to deal with the situation. The litigant has filed an appeal in the apex court against the high court order and sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court.

Shaheen Bagh now breeding ground for suicide bombers: Giriraj Singh

Meanwhile, the apex court has already listed for hearing on February 7 a similar plea filed by lawyer and activist Amit Sahni.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

Sahni has filed a special leave petition in the apex court against the Delhi High Court''s order directing the local authority to deal with the situation keeping in mind the law and order.

The plea has sought directions to the police to ensure smooth traffic flow on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch.

It has sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh, where several women are sitting on protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court in order to circumvent any violence.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:17 [IST]
A Chinese onboard an Air India flight from New Delhi to Pune vomited during the flight triggering concerns over novel coronavirus, leading to a delay in flight operations on that route by over four hours.

The passenger, 31-year-old Siyuan MR was deboarded and admitted to isolation centre of Naidu Hospital in Pune and his samples have been sent to the Institute of Virology for testing, an Air India spokesperson said.

The Air India flight from Pune to Delhi scheduled to depart at 7:40 am was delayed by over five hours. The flight which he arrived in was supposed to take off for Delhi again with another set of passengers but after this incident, it was taken for sanitisation leading to delay in departure time.

According to Dr Ramchandra Hunkare, Chief of Health department, Pune Municipal Corporation: "A 31-year-old Chinese traveling from Delhi to Pune complained of vomiting mid-air and had cough problem. On arrival at Pune Airport, he was shifted to Naidu Hospital. His samples have been sent to NIV (National Institute of Virology) and he has been kept under observation."

Naidu Hospital of Pune is one of the dedicated hospitals in Maharashtra for viral diseases, including coronavirus.

"The Chinese national has been in India from January 29 and has travel history to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Delhi," he added.

Meanwhile, the Air India 852 flight departed for New Delhi at 12:11 pm.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This is the moment a herd of cows is forced to run through fire as part of a Hindu festival.

In the ritual, a herd of decorated cattle is forced through the flames in Sompura village near Bengaluru in Karnataka, southern India in footage taken on January 15.

The ritual is usually carried out on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a day in the Hindu calendar which is dedicated to the sun God.

In the bizarre ritual, a herd of decorated cattle are forced through the flames in Sompura village near Bengaluru in Karnataka, southern India

Cattle are decorated using garlands and hanging bells in a ritual known as 'Kicchu Hayisuvudu'.

For the occasion, the villagers pamper their cows and decorate them in order to prepare for the event.

They are then made to cross the lines of fire, usually during the night.

As there is a huge crowd of spectators who come to watch the festival, some shows start in the early evening to cater to the flow of the crowd.

The ritual is usually carried out on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, a day in the Hindu calendar which is dedicated to the sun God

The video shows the herd of cattle being chased towards the line of fire as the crowds stand on both the sides and cheer

The video shows the herd of cattle being chased towards the line of fire as the crowds stand on both the sides and cheer.

Performing this ritual, 'Kicchu Hayisuvudu', is said to bring good fortune and protect the devotees from harm.

This festival comes at a similar time to the bull-taming festival 'Jalikattu' held in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India.

The festival has come under fire as some commentators claim the traditional ritual is cruel to animals.

Petitions have even been filed in the supreme court of India by animal rights groups.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump fired two high-profile impeachment witnesses on Friday  a national security adviser and a prominent ambassador  in what appeared to be a campaign of retribution for their damning testimony to House impeachment investigators.

Trump first ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert, from the National Security Council, and just hours later, yanked Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union, from his post in Brussels.

I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union," Sondland said in a statement Friday evening. "I am grateful to President Trump for having given me the opportunity to serve."

Vindmans lawyer, David Pressman, said his clients removal smacked of payback.

"(Lt. Col.) Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful," Vindman's attorney, David Pressman, said. "There is no question in the mind of any American why this mans job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House."

"We do not comment on personnel matters," NSC spokesman John Ullyot said Friday.

But Trump slammed Vindman in a Saturday morning tweet, saying he was "insubordinate," received poor performance reviews and and incorrectly reported on a phone call with the president of Ukraine. When referring to Vindman, he put his military title  Lt. Col.  in quotations.

"Fake News @CNN & MSDNC keep talking about 'Lt. Col.' Vindman as though I should think only how wonderful he was," the president wrote. "Actually, I dont know him, never spoke to him, or met him (I dont believe!) but, he was very insubordinate, reported contents of my 'perfect' calls incorrectly," the president tweeted. "In other words, 'OUT.'"

Both men provided pivotal testimony during last fall's House impeachment hearings.

Story continues

Sondland testified on Nov. 20 that he worked with Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal lawyer, at "the express direction of the president" to pressure Ukrainian officials to open two politically motivated investigations.

Sondland told lawmakers that Trump's demands on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky amounted to a "quid pro quo," noting the White House was withholding security assistance to Ukraine and a White House meeting for Zelensky. And he said "everyone was in the loop," implicating Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in the scheme.

Sondland snagged the EU ambassador post after donating $1 million to Trump's inaugural committee. He took on the plum job with no diplomatic experience, but Trump soon added Ukraine to Sondland's portfolio, even though it's not an EU country. At the president's direction, Sondland shunted aside more seasoned Ukraine experts in the administration.

As the impeachment proceedings unfolded and Sondland revealed startling new details about Trump's Ukraine pressure campaign, the president tried to distance himself from his ambassador.

Trump also targeted Yevgeny Vindman, Alexander's twin brother and also a national security adviser, firing him from the White House on Friday even though he did not testify in the House hearings.

"The administrations dismissal of Lt. Col. Vindman, his brother and US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland is clear political retaliation, the likes of which is seen only in authoritarian countries around the world," said Sen. Robert Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"In coming forward to testify about this presidents behavior, in speaking the truth, in raising concerns about events that troubled them as guardians of our national security, they carried out an act of selfless patriotism and love of country that most in the White House are incapable of understanding," Menendez said. "Those who suggested President Trumps behavior would improve following his impeachment have been proven wrong."

But Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., defended the personnel moves.

"Col. Vindman wasnt 'fired' hes still an Army officer," Rubio tweeted. "He was assigned to NSC to serve the President who has a right to have people he trusts on his staff Sondland was a politically appointee. No point in having a political appointee who no longer has the Presidents confidence."

While the White House was mum, Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., tweeted about Fridays apparent purge.

Allow me a moment to thank  and this may be a bit of a surprise  Adam Schiff, Trump Jr., wrote, referring to the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who led the Democrats impeachment probe. Were it not for his crack investigation skills, @realDonaldTrump might have had a tougher time unearthing who all needed to be fired. Thanks Adam!

And Trump had made it clear earlier on Friday that he wanted Vindman gone.

Im not happy with him, Trump said on the South Lawn when asked about the reports that Vindman's job could be at risk.

Taking aim at Trump, Pressman said Alexander Vindman, who was wounded in Iraq and was awarded a Purple Heart, served honorably. And for that, he said, "the most powerful man in the world - buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit  has decided to exact revenge."

Vindman was escorted out of the White House by security, Pressman said, even though he has "spoken publicly once, and only pursuant to a subpoena from the United States Congress."

His brother, who worked as a senior lawyer and ethics official at the National Security Council, was also escorted off of the White House grounds "suddenly and with no explanation, despite over two decades of loyal service to this country," Pressman said. "He is deeply disappointed that he will not be able to continue his service at the White House.

The trio of firings came two days after the Senate acquitted Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in an impeachment trial, which centered on allegations the president tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden.

During his public testimony, Vindman told House impeachment investigators that he viewed Trump's request to Ukraine as "improper."

It was inappropriate, Vindman said during that high-profile hearing. It was improper for the president to request, to demand an investigation into a political opponent, especially a foreign power where there is at best dubious belief that this could be an impartial investigation and that this would have significant implications if it became public knowledge.

Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called Vindams removal shameful and warned that Trump would likely retaliate against other witnesses.

Vindmans ouster is what we should now expect from an impeached president whose party has decided he is above the law and accountable to no one, Engel said. Any senator who voted to keep Trump in office thinking he has learned his lesson must answer for this and for whatever parade of abuses we see in the future.

Alexander Vindman was detailed to the White House from the Pentagon, and his appointment was scheduled to end this summer.

The Army confirmed Friday that both Vindmans have been reassigned to the Army but would not say what their duties are. Col. Kathy Turner, an Army spokeswoman, said out of respect for their privacy, we will not be providing any further information at this time."

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a Ukraine expert for the National Security Council, testifies on Nov. 19, 2019 before the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in a public hearing in the impeachment inquiry into allegations President Donald Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals.

During a White House event on Thursday to celebrate his acquittal, Trump lashed out at "evil" people and "scum" he blamed for his impeachment. In a rambling speech, he made a vague reference to Vindman and his twin brother Yevgeny Vindman.

"Lieutenant Colonel Vindman and his twin brother  right?  we had some people that really amazing," Trump said, without elaborating further.

Vindman was among several aides who listened to Trumps July 25 call with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. At the time, Vindman reported concerns to superiors that Trump requested investigations of Biden and his son Hunter, who had business interests in the country; he later became a key witness in the Democrats' impeachment inquiry.

Vindman's dismissal quickly prompted accusations of reprisal.

"All public servants of integrity at are risk with a vindictive president, enabling cabinet, and complicit Senate," tweeted Barb McQuade, a former prosecutor who teaches law at the University of Michigan. "I hope they will do their duty anyway. Thanks for doing yours, Lt. Col. Vindman."

Mark Zaid, an attorney who represents whistleblowers, said he did not know if removing Vindman constitutes "unlawful retaliation." But escorting him off the White House grounds "was definitely tacky at a minimum," he said in a Twitter post.

On the other hand, Zaid said Vindman "may very well be relieved to be out" at the White House. "Could you blame him!" he wrote.

In his Nov. 19 testimony, Vindman said he realized he was taking a risk in coming forward but believed he would be fine because the protections afforded in a democracy. He recalled his fathers decision to flee the Soviet Union in search of a better life.

I am grateful for my fathers brave act of hope 40 years ago and for the privilege of being an American citizen and public servant, where I can live free of fear for mine and my familys safety, he told lawmakers. Dad, my sitting here today, in the U.S. Capitol talking to our elected officials is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America in search of a better life for our family. Do not worry, I will be fine for telling the truth.

Even before Fridays developments, the Ukraine inquiry had caused upheaval at the National Security Council and inside the State Department, leading to the departure of a half-dozen seasoned foreign policy officials with Ukraine expertise.

Trump's special envoy for Ukraine, Kurt Volker, resigned in September. Morrison, the president's national security expert on Russia and Europe, left in October. Morrison had replaced Fiona Hill, a leading expert on Russian President Vladimir Putin, who left the NSC in July of 2019.

Other casualties include Marie Yovanovitch, the one-time U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who was the target of a smear campaign by Rudy Giuliani, Trumps personal lawyer, and his associates. Trump ended her tenure abruptly in May 2019. Her successor, William Taylor, has also left his post in Kyiv.

Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump ousts Alexander Vindman, aide who testified in impeachment
WUHAN, China  More than 700 people have died. Tens of thousands are infected. Millions are living under lockdown, and the government has sought to silence complaints.

But what provoked an online revolt in China on Friday, the fiercest assault on the censors in almost a decade, began with the death of one man: the doctor who tried to warn others about the coronavirus.

The deluge of mourning and anger at the death of the doctor, Li Wenliang  from the same virus he was reprimanded for mentioning  at times overwhelmed Chinas sophisticated censorship and propaganda systems. Many on social media called the doctor a martyr and a hero, and government officials, celebrities and business leaders risked rebuke by the Communist Party to join ordinary citizens in expressing frustration and grief.

Li Wenliangs death has become an emotional flash point, said Wang Yu, a Wuhan man in his 20s, showing the torrent of comments on his phone about Dr. Li in his social media feeds.
B otswana will auction licences to hunt a total of 70 elephants in a bid to "end human-wildlife conflict".

This is the first such hunting to take place since President Mokgweetsi Masisi lifted a five-year ban on big game hunting last May.

Africa's overall elephant population is declining due to poaching but Botswana, home to almost a third of the continent's elephants, has seen numbers grow to 130,000 from 80,000 in the late 1990s.

Botswanan officials say hunting is necessary to ease conflict between animals and humans, especially farmers who have seen their crops and infrastructure destroyed by elephants roaming outside their feeding zones.

A young bull elephant is seen in the Okavango Delta, Botswana / Reuters

A spokeswoman for the Department of National Parks and Wildlife said the licences would be for controlled hunting areas and that the auction was open only to companies registered in Botswana.

"There are seven hunting packages, of 10 elephants each, available. The seven areas chosen are those most impacted by human-wildlife conflict, especially involving elephants," Alice Mmolawa said.

Bidders are expected to pay a refundable deposit of 200,000 pula ($18,000) each, according to the auctioneers.

Officials said on Tuesday three bidders had registered to participate in the auction, and that discussions were underway to consider whether a bidder could buy more than one licence.

Botswana and its neighbours Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and South Africa have in the last few years reconsidered conservation laws to try and balance the need to protect sought-after species such as elephants, rhinos and buffalo from poaching while managing the danger they pose as they encroach on areas of human habitation.

"Elephants have killed a lot of people and destroyed livelihoods. I think government is doing the right thing in reducing their numbers," said Tiro Segosebe, a Gaborone resident whose home village of Maun is one of the areas most affected by the human-wildlife conflict.

Colonel George Bogatsu of Botswana Defence Force (BDF) reacts as he inspects the carcass of an elephant killed by men / Reuters

Environmentalists are divided on the best means to manage the conflict, with some fearing licensed hunting could fuel demand and thus encourage even more illegal poaching.

The killing of Cecil the Lion four years ago by an American tourist in Zimbabwe sparked international uproar, and in 2019 Botswana banned two professional hunters who shot dead a research elephant and then tried to hide the evidence.

"Hunting elephants may not be a standard tool of sustainable use of natural resources, or the best method of alleviating the problem of human-wildlife conflict," said Neil Fitt, former chief executive of the Kalahari Conservation Club (KCC).
Maharashtra Minister for Fisheries and Port Development Aslam Shaikh on Friday said the guidelines have been issued to the ports in the state, instructing them not to allow anyone coming from China to step out of the ports and if someone has to be allowed at all, he will have to undergo mandatory health screening.

Speaking to ANI, Aslam Shaikh said: "The ports, which are under Maharashtra government, are not passenger ports. Whatever ports we have and whatever vessels come into the state, strict guidelines have been given to all officers and departments to see that not a single person has the permission to enter the state."

"If they want to enter the state at all, then we will ensure that they visit the local hospital first," he said, saying the government is not allowing any person -- Chinese or Indian -- with the suspected symptoms of coronavirus to enter the state.

He said the state government has appointed doctors at every port to check the crew members coming from China and nearby countries. The arrangements have been made to restrict the crew and send them back from the ports only.

Meanwhile, he also attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fighting the Delhi poll over the issue of Shaheen Bagh instead of development and employment.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting the poll over the issue of Shaheen Bagh instead of development and employment. All BJP ministers are camped in Delhi for the election. In UP, there is a law and order situation but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is busy campaigning for Delhi polls," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The news of the review from Cy Vance's office comes as the Netflix documentary 'Who Killed Malcolm X?' airs on the streaming platform starting on Friday

Manhattan's district attorney office is reviewing the details surrounding the 1965 shooting death of civil rights icon Malcolm X in Washington Heights, including looking over the convictions made for his alleged murderers.

The news of the review from Cy Vance's office comes as the Netflix documentary 'Who Killed Malcolm X?' airs on the streaming platform starting on Friday.

Peter Casolaro is one of the assistant DAs assigned to the case.

Casolaro famously worked on the investigation that led to the exoneration of the Central Park Five, DA spokesman Danny Frost explained to the New York Daily News.

Frost also said that integrity bureau deputy chief Charles King would also be looking into the case.

The Innocence Project has been in talks with Vance over the case as well.

Scroll down for video

Crowds and police officers stand outside the Audubon Ballroom prior to the appearance of Malcolm X and prior to him getting assassinated

Followers of Malcolm X kneel by the mortally wounded Black Muslim leader

Frost shared that Vance 'has determined that the district attorney's office will begin a preliminary review of the matter, which will inform the office regarding what further investigative steps may be undertaken.'

There have been many points of speculation surrounding the 1965 death of Malcolm X at the Audubon Ballroom in Washington Heights.

Three Nation of Islam members were arrested and convicted of killing Malcolm X during the crowded event.

Authorities detained Thomas Hagan - known as Talmadge X Hayer - at the scene, where he confessed to the killing. Hagan said the other two men - Muhammad Abdul Aziz, known as Norman 3X Butler; and Kahlil Islam, known as Thomas 15X Johnson - as not being involved.

Peter Casolaro (left) is one of the assistant DAs assigned to the case. Integrity bureau deputy chief Charles King (right) would also be looking into the case

Islam died in 2009 while Aziz was paroled in 1985. He is 85-years-old today.

Columbia University professor Manning Marable published a book in 2011 identifying Al-Mustafa Shabazz as one of the killers. Shabazz appeared in a 2010 campaign video for Cory Booker prior to him becoming a U.S. Senator.

Shabazz, an ex-con, turned his life around after marrying activist Carolyn Kelley. He denied any involvement in the killings.

Garret Felber, an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi, is appearing in the Netflix documentary and talks at length on Twitter about how Malcolm's death could have been tied to 'state violence.'

Authorities detained Thomas Hagan - known as Talmadge X Hayer - at the scene, where he confessed to the killing

Three Nation of Islam members were arrested and convicted of killing Malcolm X during the crowded event

Hagan (pictured) said the other two men - Muhammad Abdul Aziz, known as Norman 3X Butler; and Kahlil Islam, known as Thomas 15X Johnson - as not being involved

Columbia University professor Manning Marable published a book in 2011 identifying Al-Mustafa Shabazz as one of the killers after Hayer's death. Shabazz also maintains his innocence

'First, it's long been clear that Muhammad Abdul Aziz and Khalil Islam were not at the Audubon,' he said on a Twitter thread.

'But this idea of "justice" being served by convicting the "right" people is punitive garbage. While it's unjust Aziz and Islam did time, it's not justice to convict others instead.'

He continued: 'The racist trope of "Black-on-Black" crime shields the state's culpability. Headlines like this emphasized internecine struggle and fetishized the NOI (Nation of Islam). "Malcolm waged a struggle for supreme power. It failed," said @nytimes. This narrative gives state violence a pass.'

It has long been speculated that Malcolm's death was a government cover up, with Felber highlighting that there is evidence where several witnesses noted seeing a 'second man' getting apprehended by authorities. Felber suggests that the person was an 'NYPD undercover agent.'

'Who Killed Malcolm X?' will reportedly point fingers at Shabazz and three other Nation of Islam members, taking the blame away from Aziz and Islam.

Garret Felber, an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi, is appearing in the Netflix documentary and talks at length on Twitter about how Malcolm's death could have been tied to 'state violence'

It has long been speculated that Malcolm's death was a government cover up, with Felber highlighting that there is evidence where several witnesses noted seeing a 'second man' getting apprehended by authorities
Vakhtang Butskhrikidze became the CEO of TBC Bank Group PLC (LON:TBCG) in 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. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

Check out our latest analysis for TBC Bank Group

How Does Vakhtang Butskhrikidze's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, TBC Bank Group PLC has a market capitalization of UK681m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth GEL3.4m over the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at GEL929k. We further remind readers that the CEO may face performance requirements to receive the non-salary part of the total compensation. When we examined a selection of companies with market caps ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, we found the median CEO total compensation was US$1.2m.

It would therefore appear that TBC Bank Group PLC pays Vakhtang Butskhrikidze more than the median CEO remuneration at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this fact alone doesn't mean the remuneration is too high. We can get a better idea of how generous the pay is by looking at the performance of the underlying business.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at TBC Bank Group has changed over time.

LSE:TBCG CEO Compensation, February 7th 2020

Is TBC Bank Group PLC Growing?

Over the last three years TBC Bank Group PLC has grown its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 16% per year (using a line of best fit). In the last year, its revenue is up 17%.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's a real positive to see this sort of growth in a single year. That suggests a healthy and growing business. It could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future.

Story continues

Has TBC Bank Group PLC Been A Good Investment?

With a three year total loss of 6.4%, TBC Bank Group PLC would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously.

In Summary...

We compared total CEO remuneration at TBC Bank Group PLC with the amount paid at companies with a similar market capitalization. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However we must not forget that the EPS growth has been very strong over three years. On the other hand returns to investors over the same period have probably disappointed many. One might thus conclude that it would be better if the company waited until growth is reflected in the share price, before increasing CEO compensation. Whatever your view on compensation, you might want to check if insiders are buying or selling TBC Bank Group shares (free trial).

If you want to buy a stock that is better than TBC Bank Group, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Pakistan cement industry records a growth of 11% in January 2020

07 February 2020

Pakistan's cement industry showed encouraging performance in January 2020. As per the data released by All Pakistan Cement Manufacturers' Association (APCMA), domestic consumption increased by six per cent to 3.265Mt in January 2020 from 3.082Mt in January 2019, while the exports registered another impressive growth of 39.5 per cent from 0.579Mt in January 2019 to 0.808Mt in January 2020.



Therefore, the cement sector continued to post growth in January as its total dispatches increased to 4.074Mt, a rise of 11.3 per cent from 3.662Mt during the same month last year. The rise was attributed to domestic growth being entirely led by the north-based plants while the exports were led by mills based in south, said an association spokesperson.



Northern region

North-based mills dispatched 2.684Mt locally, almost 11.3 per cent higher than the dispatches of 2.371Mt during the corresponding month of last fiscal. In exports the north-based production continued to show decline as exports fell by 13.6 per cent with exports of 0.186Mt in January 2020 compared with exports of 0.215Mt in January 2019.



Southern region

In the sSouth of the country, the domestic consumption declined appreciably by 18.23 per cent from 0.711Mt in January 2019 to 0.581Mt in January 2020. However, exports surged by 70.84 pe rcent to 0.623Mt from 0.364Mt in January 2019.



Total dispatches in 7MFY20

In the first seven months of this fiscal (July  January 2020), the cement dispatches in the country increased by 7.15 per cent to 28.824Mt against 26.9Mt dispatched during the same period last year. The domestic consumption registered an increase of only 3.86 per cent to 23.638Mt that was 22.759Mt in the same period last year, while exports increased by over 25.23 per cent to 5.186Mt from 4.141Mt in the same period last year.



The APCMA appealled to the government to start working on the housing schemes and other construction activities as many job opportunities in not only the cement sector, but the whole construction industry are on the line in the current economic scenario.



Currently, the cement production capacity reached 69.54Mt, while domestic dispatches would be around 41Mt, leaving a huge surplus of 28.54Mt. Therefore, it is imperative that consumption of cement increases to cover the huge surplus and save the industry from total collapse.

Published under
43,000 worth of drugs, cash and an imitation firearm were seized and three men were arrested after a planned operation in Dublin. Credit: An Garda Siochana

THREE MEN have been arrested after 43,000 worth of drugs, cash and an imitation firearm were seized during a search in Dublin's north inner city centre this afternoon.

Some 40,000 worth of cocaine and 3,000 worth of cannabis, which are subject to analysis, were found by gardai as well as 4,500 in cash, an imitation handgun and pepper spray in Hardwick Street.

The operation took place as part of planned intelligence and investigations into sale and supply of controlled drugs and street dealing in the area.

Seven flats were searched under warrant and three men in their 20s were arrested.

They are currently being detained for questioning at Mountjoy Garda Station under section four of the Criminal Justice Act 1084.

"The operation commenced at 4pm and involved Gardai from the District Community Action Team based at Mountjoy Station assisted by Emergency Response, Armed Support and local Roads Policing Units," said a garda spokesperson.
Pakistan's opposition leader and PPP member Farhatullah Babar on Friday slammed the Pakistan government, amid news stating that the former Tehreek-E-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan has escaped from the jail.

Ehsan was involved in the brutal attack at a Peshawar school on December 16, 2014, that killed 150 children. He is also responsible for the attempted murder of the youngest Noble peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai.

"Reports that TTP spokesperson Ehsanullah Ehsan fled from custody highly disturbing. One of the two explanations possible; Complicity or sheer incompetence. What about massacred APS children? Jailing HR defenders and freeing self-confessed terrorists. Demand explanation," Farhatullah Babar, Secretary-General PPP wrote on Twitter.

According to a video circulating on Facebook and Twitter, Ehsan escaped on January 11 but no confirmation has been made by the Pakistan Army.

"With the help of God, I succeeded to escape on January 11, 2020, from the confinement of the security forces," he is heard saying in the clip.

Meanwhile, MNA and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar criticised the government saying that no one is listening to their warnings about regrouping Taliban.

"Worrying news coming in that TTP's Ehsan Ullah Ehsan has escaped. In no way can this be a result of incompetence. @OfficialDGISPR should confirm or deny this news. We demand a thorough investigation into this incident. No one is listening to our warnings about regrouping Taliban," wrote Member National Assembly (MNA) and Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) leader Mohsin Dawar on Twitter.

The authenticity of the audio and veracity of Ehsan's claim are yet to be verified by the Pakistani officials.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
PRISTINA -- Kosovos new prime minister says he intends to abolish punitive tariffs on Serbian goods, as the two countries struggle amid an international push for them to establish diplomatic relations.



But Albin Kurti cautioned that he would only lift the 100-percent tariffs imposed two years ago after his government introduces measures of "reciprocity" in trade, politics, and economy.



"It is not that we will remove the tariffs without introducing reciprocity, but we will introduce reciprocity and then we will lift the tariffs," Kurti said in an interview on February 7 with RFE/RL.



Kurti, whose government was approved by parliament on February 3, suggested that Kosovo may stop recognizing driving licenses for Serbian truck drivers.



Our truck drivers were fined hundreds of euros in Serbia because their drivers licenses were not recognized, he said.

Kosovo, a former Serbian province, unilaterally declared independence in 2008. The move has been recognized by more than 110 countries but not by Serbia.



Both the European Union and United States have made reconciliation between the two countries a priority, saying it was key to economic development. But dialogue is stalled in part over Pristina's imposition of the 100-percent tariffs in 2018.



Belgrade has been lobbying for countries to reverse their recognition of Kosovo and it has sought to block Kosovo from joining international organizations.



"For us, it is unacceptable not to have symmetry in our relations," Kurti said. "We consider this to be a healthy principle for constructive, bilateral, neighborly relations."



Kurti said he would lead Kosovo's team for negotiations with Serbia. But for the talks to resume, he said he wants the Kosovar and Serbian teams to first discuss the agenda with European Union representatives.



"I believe we dont have the luxury to fail again in the dialogue," he said.



Kurti said an agreement between Kosovo and Serbia would "help the perspective of economic development" in the region. He also pledged to tackle poverty as well as crime and corruption, which is endemic in the country.
The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) plans to move the Supreme Court to stake claim on the debris of the demolished Babri mosque.

BMAC convenor Zafaryab Jilani told PTI that he has spoken to Muslim residents in Ayodhya to arrange land to dump the debris.

"We have discussed with our lawyer Rajiv Dhawan and he is also of the opinion that we must claim the debris of mosque, so next week we will be meeting in Delhi and move forward our process," Jilani said.

The Muslim parties want to remove the debris of Babri Masjid, which was demolished in 1992, before the construction of a Ram temple starts.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on Wednesday announced the formation of a trust for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya as directed by the Supreme Court in its judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid case in November last year.

Chairman of Babri Masjid cell in the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, SQR Ilyas said, "We will move the Supreme Court through our litigants who were in the Babri Masjid case, and it is necessary that the debris of Babri Masjid must be removed before the temple construction starts."



Sayyad Ekhlaq Ahmas, a prominent cleric of Ayodhya, said he has got a land in Ayodhya where the debris of Babri Masjid can be easily dumped.

Haji Mahboo, who was one of the litigants in the Babri Masjid case, said the land to dump the debris can be easily arranged in Ayodhya.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has described the deregistration of 74 political parties by the Independent National Electora...

The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has described the deregistration of 74 political parties by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a good omen.Mr Bestman Okereafor, NYCNs National Public Relations Officer, said this in a statement made available to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Friday.He said that INECs current position on the state of some political parties was a good step, especially in preparation for the 2023 general elections.NYCNs attention has been drawn to INECs decision to deregister 74 political parties and bringing the number down to 18.We consider this as a giant stride and a step in the right direction, it shows that the electoral commission is poised to do it well, he said.Okereafor congratulated the 18 political parties that survived INECs scrutiny, urging them to play their roles in the nations polity.He said it was worrisome that most political parties were mere appendages of the major ones, saying, they are silent and unable to check the activities of the major parties.The NYCN congratulates the successful 18 political parties, we charge them to serve as checks to the policies of the ruling party,
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), a non-profit organisation has purchased an $8.4 million former hotel to help alleviate homelessness

The newly-renovated building, now called Fusion Studios, has since become a building with 139 mini-apartments for the homeless

Fusion Studios now serves as a shelter for homeless people who are struggling to survive in Denver, USA

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In an effort to address the plights of people, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH), a non-profit organisation in Denver, has purchased an $8.4 million former hotel to help alleviate homelessness in the area.

The newly-renovated building, now called Fusion Studios, has since become a building with 139 mini-apartments for the homeless.

YEN.com.gh learned that since 1985, the organisation has been working to provide housing and support to the increasing number of homeless people in the United States. In Denver alone, there are at least 5,755 homeless people.

Grabbing the opportunity

When John Parvensky, President and CEO of the organisation, learned that Quality Inn and Suites, a local hotel on the major road was up for sale, he grabbed the opportunity to turn it into a homeless shelter.

Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

Using funds from the city, state, and private organizations, CCH purchased the hotel, renovated the property, and renamed it Fusion Studios.

Fusion Studios, the 17th building of its kind that CCH has established, now serves as a shelter for homeless people who are struggling to survive the city's urban camping ban that is still being implemented despite the unconstitutional ruling of a county judge.

Aim of project

The project, which was born out of desperation will help people who are on the streets to have a place to call their home.

Homeless people from the city are welcome at Fusion Studios, where the monthly rent payment is just 30 percent of their income or disability benefits, typically just $100 a month.

They have access to a room that is equipped with a private bathroom and kitchen with basic amenities such as a bed, a table and chairs, a cabinet, a television, a mini-refrigerator, a microwave, and a food pantry.

In other stories on YEN.com.gh, a benevolent UK-resident young man has paid for the medical bills of six-stranded new mothers at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for the new mothers to be released.

According to Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri, the founding editor of Ghanacelebrities.com and Human Rights Advocate, his friend was left heart-wrenched by the state of the women when he arrived in Ghana and visited the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Source: YEN.com.gh
The Senate acquitted President Trump on both articles of impeachment.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been acquitted by the U.S. Senate, has described the impeachment procedure as "hell."

"We went through hell, unfairly, did nothing wrong. Did nothing wrong. I've done things wrong in my life, I will admit. Not purposely, but I've done things wrong. But this is what the end result is," he said in remarks to the Nation on February 6, according to the Ukrainian TSN TV news outlet.

He says "this is a political thing" and "this should never, ever happen to another president, ever." "I don't know that other presidents would have been able to take it," he said.

The U.S. president added that the "witch hunt" against him began as soon as he launched his previous election campaign.

Read alsoU.S Senate acquits Trump of impeachment charges  media

"We had the witch hunt. It started from the day we came down the elevator, myself and our future First Lady, who's with us right now. Thank you, Melania. And it never really stopped. We've been going through this now for over three years. It was evil. It was corrupt," he said.

The U.S. president also called the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who announced the formal impeachment inquiry of Trump, a "horrible person." Once again, he mocked her words that she was praying for his good.

"Nancy Pelosi is a horrible person. And she wanted to impeach a long time ago. When she said, 'I pray for the President. I pray for the'  she doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite. But I doubt she prays at all," he said.

Trump held up a copy of The Washington Post to show its banner headline, "Trump Acquitted," saying that was "the only good headline" he has ever had in that newspaper.

As was reported, the Senate on February 5 acquitted President Trump on both articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

As UNIAN reported, the United States in September 2019 launched a probe into the possibility of Trump's impeachment after a whistleblower's complaint about the pressure that the U.S. president was allegedly exerting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to "dig up dirt" on his potential 2020 election rival Joe Biden.
New York City is the greatest city in the world, but many New Yorkers have real fears that the city they love is slipping away, the mayor said. From making pre-K universal to creating the safest big city in America, we have accomplished so much together, but we need to go much farther.

The mayor pledged to legalize basement apartments to increase the citys supply of affordable housing and to take more aggressive measures to improve street safety. He also wants to help mom-and-pop shops by reducing fines and approving a tax on landlords who keep storefronts vacant while waiting for high-end tenants like banks and chain pharmacies.

The speech had a format that mirrored the dozens of town halls the mayor has held while in office. Mr. de Blasio encouraged feedback from the audience, which was seated beneath a 94-foot-long blue whale at the American Museum of Natural History in Manhattan. He asked them to raise their hands if they were afraid that they would be the last generation of their family to be able to afford living in New York and if a store in their neighborhood had gone out of business. Many raised hands and nodded heads.

This is a plan to save our city, the mayor said as he announced new community centers and an expansion of free preschool. And I thought long and hard about whether those words were called for, but they are.

Still, the theme raised some questions: Save the city from whom or what exactly? (Forces of greed, for starters, the mayor argued.) And why didnt Mr. de Blasio, a Democrat in his second term, start the battle earlier in his administration?
Philippines Security Pact Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. gestures during a senate hearing in Manila, Philippines on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. The Philippine foreign secretary warned Thursday that abrogating a security accord with Washington would undermine his country's security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

MANILA, Philippines (AP)  The Philippine foreign secretary warned Thursday that abrogating a security accord with Washington would undermine his countrys security and foster aggression in the disputed South China Sea.

The warning came after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened last month to give notice to the U.S. to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement, which allows American forces to train in the Philippines, if the reported cancellation of the visa of his political ally, Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, was not corrected within a month.

Im warning you ... if you wont do the correction on this, I will terminate the ... Visiting Forces Agreement. Ill end that son of a bitch, the brash-speaking Duterte said in a Jan. 23 speech.

Dela Rosa served as Duterte's first national police chief and enforcer of the president's deadly anti-drugs crackdown in 2016. Thousands of mostly poor suspects have been killed under the campaign, alarming the U.S. and other Western governments and human rights watchdogs.

Dela Rosa and later Duterte have said Dela Rosa's visa was canceled, but U.S. officials have not addressed the matter.

Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. used a televised Senate hearing to enumerate what he described as crucial security, trade and economic benefits the accord provides. The U.S. is a longtime treaty ally, a major trading partner and the largest development aid provider to the Philippines.

While the Philippines has the prerogative to terminate the VFA anytime, the continuance of the agreement is deemed to be more beneficial to the Philippines compared to any predicates were it to be terminated, Locsin said.

The accord, known by its acronym VFA, took effect in 1999 to provide legal cover for the entry of American forces to the Philippines for joint training with Filipino troops.

A separate defense pact subsequently signed by the allies in 2014, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, allowed the extended stay of U.S. forces and authorized them to build and maintain barracks and warehouses and store defense equipment and weapons inside five designated Philippine military camps.

Story continues

Terminating the VFA would affect more than 300 joint trainings and other activities this year with U.S. forces which the Philippine military and law enforcement agencies need to enhance their capabilities in countering threats to national security, Locsin said.

The U.S. provided more than $550 million in security assistance to the Philippines from 2016 to 2019, Locsin said, adding that there may be a chilling effect on our economic relations" if the Philippines draws down its security alliance with Washington.

American forces have provided intelligence, training and aid that allowed the Philippines to deal with human trafficking, cyberattacks, illegal narcotics and terrorism, Locsin said, citing how U.S. military assistance helped Filipino forces quell a disastrous siege by Islamic State group-aligned militants in southern Marawi city in 2017.

U.S. military presence has also served as a deterrent to aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea, Locsin said.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam and three other governments have rival claims to the strategic waterway.

Duterte first threatened to abrogate the VFA in late 2016 after a U.S. aid agency put on hold funds for anti-poverty projects in the Philippines. The 74-year-old leader, who has been harshly critical of U.S. policies while often praising China and Russia, has walked back on his public threats before.

Aside from threatening to take down the VFA, Duterte has said would ban some U.S. senators from entering the Philippines. He apparently was referring to American senators who sought to ban unspecified Philippine officials from entering the U.S. for their role in the continued detention of Phillippines opposition Sen. Leila de Lima, a vocal critic of Dutertes deadly campaign against illegal drugs.

Duterte has publicly accused de Lima of receiving money from drug traffickers and called for her detention. De Lima has dismissed the allegations as fabricated charges designed to muzzle dissent under Duterte.

Duterte has also barred his Cabinet officials from traveling to the U.S. and turned down an invitation by President Donald Trump to join a special meeting the U.S. leader will host for leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in March in Las Vegas, according to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo.
BEATRICE  A day after a jailhouse informant told the jury Joshua Keadle confessed to him between bars he killed Tyler Thomas but "theyll never find the body," jurors heard recordings of Keadle showing investigators the boat ramp where he says he left her alive early Dec. 3, 2010.

After days of denials, Keadle finally told investigators Dec. 7 that he had been with Thomas early that morning in his Ford Explorer at the boat ramp just outside of Peru.

He said as he headed there to smoke pot and stopped at a stop sign, she got in the back, then crawled to the front. Keadle says she wanted him to drive her to Omaha.

He said at first he agreed in exchange for a sex act. But after, he said he changed his mind and Thomas was mad. She said she was going to go back to campus and say he raped her.

Keadle said Thomas wouldn't get back in his Explorer for a ride back to campus, so he left, pointing into the woods to the direction of Omaha, where she'd vowed to go earlier that night even if she had to walk there.
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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 12:53:31|Editor: Lu Hui

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's central bank said Friday that it will issue 30 billion yuan (about 4.3 billion U.S. dollars) of bills in Hong Kong on Feb. 13.

Among the total, bills worth 20 billion yuan will mature in three months, while the remaining bills will mature in one year, according to a statement on the website of the People's Bank of China.

The move aims to enrich yuan-investment products with high credit ratings in Hong Kong and improve the yield curve of yuan bonds, it added.

The central bank first issued such bills in Hong Kong in November 2018, raising 20 billion yuan. It then issued bills in February, May, June, August, September, November and December in 2019, raising a total of 120 billion yuan.
After Phillip Schofield came out as gay on Friday morning, unearthed interviews have shown the star fighting against homophobia through the years.

During a series of debates surrounding LGBT issues, the star, 57, has launched scathing attacks on guests with homophobic and anti-LGBT views.

In a memorable interview in 2017, the star criticised an anti-transgender campaigner, while last May he branded anti-LGBT protesters 'discriminating' as well as hitting out at Strictly for still not having same-sex dance routines.

Raging: After Phillip Schofield came out as gay on Friday morning, unearthed interviews have shown the star fighting against homophobia through the years (pictured in May 2019)

On Friday, Phillip caused a media storm when he announced that he is gay in a lengthy and impassioned post before appearing on This Morning to discuss his announcement with his co-star and best friend Holly Willoughby.

After 27 years of marriage to his wife Steph, he has now revealed that he has suffered 'inner conflict' and is ready to 'celebrate and be proud' of his sexuality, yet insists he is not thinking about a new relationship.

Amid a mass of praise for his bravery in coming out, unearthed interviews have seen Phillip lock horns with anti-LGBT guests.

In December 2017, Andrea Williams, the CEO of campaign group Christian Concern, appeared on the show to discuss trans equality, during which the campaigner said children shouldnt be allowed to identify as trans.

Raging: During a series of debates surrounding LGBT issues, the star, 57, has launched scathing attacks on guests with homophobic and anti-LGBT views

Last time: After 27 years of marriage to his wife Steph, he has now revealed that he has suffered 'inner conflict' and is ready to 'celebrate and be proud' of his sexuality, yet insists he is not thinking about a new relationship (pictured together last month)

Brave: Phillip announced he was gay in a statement posted on Instagram on Friday, moments before talking about his sexuality on This Morning

In a shock rant, Amanda said: 'Very often when we see children identifying as homosexual, it is not good for them to live out in such a lifestyle. It's not good for our children to be highly sexualised.'

Hitting back at the sentiment, Phillip said: 'Im finding this utterly abhorrent. Well get back to the show, and back to 2017 and not medieval Britain, in just a moment.'

Again, in May last year, he joined Holly in speaking to anti-LGBT protester during which he branded their beliefs 'discriminating' and 'encouraging children to be less tolerant'.

Anti-LGBT protester Shakeel Afsar sparked a furious debate online after appearing on This Morning - where he spoke of 'poisoning children's minds'.

Shocking: In December 2017, Andrea Williams, the CEO of campaign group Christian Concern, appeared on the show to discuss trans equality, during which the campaigner said children shouldnt be allowed to identify as trans

Shocking: Anti-LGBT protester Shakeel Afsar sparked a furious debate online after appearing on This Morning - where he was of 'poisoning children's minds' (Pictured in May 2019)

Not happy: In a memorable interview in 2017, the star criticised an anti-transgender campaigner, while last May he branded anti-LGBT protesters 'discriminating' as well as hitting out at Strictly for still not having same-sex dance routines

The campaigner led protests against Anderson Park Primary over LGBT teaching - despite admitting he has no children at the school. Phil hit out at Shakeel for 'discriminating' and 'encouraging children to be less tolerant'.

In September 2017, Phillip and Holly threw their support behind autism and LGBT rights activist Dan Barrett after he wrote to them in a bid to help raise awareness of LGBT people living with autism.

Phillip said: 'Coming out as gay and bisexual is more challenging with learning difficulties like autism, so lets see what its like from Dans point of view.'

Support: In September 2017, Phillip and Holly threw their support behind autism and LGBT rights activist Dan Barrett (pictured) after he wrote to them in a bid to help raise awareness of LGBT people living with autism

Following controversy over his and Holly's show Dancing On Ice's decision to include a same-sex routine, Phillip was very vocal about the decision for Ian H Watkins and professional skater Matt Evers to dance together.

He joined in the calls for Strictly Come Dancing to follow suit, as he said: 'Whats lovely about that is Its a big deal this year, but then either next year when we or Strictly or whoever does it, then it wont be.

'It can be second and it wont be as extraordinary. Its the dynamics of the performance, how they work together.'

Praise: Following controversy over his and Holly's show Dancing On Ice's decision to include a same-sex routine, Phillip was very vocal about the decision for Ian H Watkins and professional skater Matt Evers to dance together
Modi doesn't behave like prime minister, says Rahul Gandhi on 'tubelight' barb

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

New Delhi, Feb 07: Hitting back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his 'tubelight' barb, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he does not behave like a prime minister.

He also alleged that the ruckus in the Lok Sabha was "orchestrated" to prevent him from questioning the government. "Normally, a prime minister has a particular status, a prime minister has a particular way of behaving, a particular stature, our prime minister doesn't have these. He does not behave in a prime ministerial way," he told reporters outside Parliament.

Gandhi said this when he was asked about Modi's "tubelight" barb at him during his reply to the motion of thanks to the president's address in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. He also said that "we are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament". "They have suppressed our voices," Gandhi said.

They talk about beating me...': PM Modi rakes up Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' remark at Assam rally

On Friday, there was an uproar in the Lok Sabha over comments made by BJP MP and Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan against Gandhi. The House was adjourned for the day at 2 pm.

"The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the government. The youth of India can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis. "To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate," the Congress leader said on Twitter later.

Gandhi told reporters that he was seeking to raise an issue of the people of his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad not getting access to medical facilities in the absence of a medical college. "But I was prevented from doing so," he said.

It was Vardhan's comments on Gandhi that led to the ruckus in the Lok Sabha with some Congress MPs, including Manickam Tagore, protesting in the Well of the House.

"The BJP obviously does not like me to speak in the House. In a completely unparliamentary manner, the Union health minister raised something that I said outside, which he has no business of doing during the Question Hour. So, we were raising it with the Speaker," the former Congress chief said.

"I think, the main issue is that we are being stifled. We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. The health minister instead of giving an answer to my question, was raising some other issue. Where ever they can suppress our voice, they try to do that," he said.

Gandhi denied that Tagore attacked anyone and alleged that he was instead attacked. The Congress leader said people who are going to suffer as a result are the youngsters who are looking for jobs.

"Yesterday, the prime minister gave a long speech, I asked him what is happening about jobs and employment. The prime minister talked about Jawaharlal Nehru, he spoke about Pakistan and all sorts of things, the Congress party, but the prime minister is unable to answer what he is doing to give jobs to the youth of the country.

"He is unable to give an answer and jobs to the youth, and that is why this drama that you saw today," he said. Gandhi along with Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury later met Speaker Om Birla over the ruckus in the House.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 16:47 [IST]
From being a name in the sidelines to having a legion of fans and admirers, Vicky Kaushal has carved a niche for himself in Bollywood as one of those few actors who keep challenging themselves to try something new every time with every script.



The actor is now all set to begin preparing for Aditya Dhars upcoming project, titles The Immortal Ashwatthama.

According to a report in Bollywood Hungama, the actor will train in mixed martial arts, Israeli martial art Krav Maga and Japanese martial art, Jujutsu for the same, and will also learn archery, sword fighting and spear fighting for his role in the film.

Interestingly, the actor will also undergo a massive physical transformation as he has to beef up majorly for the role. For the role of Ashwatthama, he is likely to weigh around 110 to 115 kgs.



Well, it would be a sheer delight to see Vicky take this challenge head-on and nail the character, as he always does.

A spokesperson of the director had earlier shared details of The Immortal Ashwatthama saying, "It is not a period film, it's a superhero action film set in modern times."

For uninitiated, Ahswatthama is a character from the Indian epic Mahabharata. He is the son of Guru Dronacharya, who fought in the battle of Kurukshetra, for the Kauravas and against the Pandavas.

Produced by Ronnie Screwvala, it will be extensively shot across global locations such as New Zealand, Namibia, Tokyo and Greenland.

In an earlier conversation with Hindustan Times, Aditya Dhar had said that he narrated the film to Vicky and Ronnie a day before Uri released, and both immediately gave a go-ahead and he began working on the script.

Ashwatthama is one of the most powerful and mysterious characters from the Mahabharata. Being Dronas son, he is a brilliant warrior but also arrogant and egoistic because he is immortal. In comparison to other warriors like Arjuna and Karna, not much is written about him in various versions of the Mahabharata. He is not perfect but then none of us are, which is what I love the most about him, Aditya said.



It will be interesting to see Vicky play the role of Ashwatthama.
Kizer Pontoon (pictured) was arrested for the 66th time by the Sarastoa County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday

A Florida man was arrested for the 66th time on Wednesday after he was on the run from authorities for eight months.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office took Kizer Pontoon, 28, into custody for resisting an officer, attempting to flee the scene with sirens activated and a moving traffic violation.

Authorities featured Pontoon as part of their 'Fugitive Friday' series, noting that he has been spotlighted four times and has more than five dozen local arrests.

'[Pontoon] was most recently featured in October 2019 for failure to appear, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana, high speed vehicle pursuit while fleeing to elude, and driving while license suspended,' they wrote.

In a May 2019 Fugitive Friday post, Kizer was arrested his 65th time 'for contempt of court stemming from several charges of drug possession, fleeing to elude and driving while license suspended.'

Pontoon (pictured) was arrested by authorities in May 2019 for drug possession, among other charges, and shortly after failed to appear in court

According to criminal records obtained by DailyMail.com, Pontoon first began his long affair with law enforcement at the age of 12 in 2003 for a disturbing the peace at a school function.

From there, Pontoon continued to rack up a laundry list of charges like petite theft, larceny, drug possession and possession of a firearm or ammunition.

'Youll sometimes see people who have 40 or 50 arrests and it sounds like o my god how can somebody get arrested 40 or 50 times,' Derek Byrd, criminal defense attorney, told ABC 7.

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells says Pontoon's long criminal history isn't unique in the coastal city of Sarasota, and certainly not Florida.

Pontoon's arrests began as early as 2003 when he was arrested at the age of 12 for disturbing the peace at a school function

Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells says the some offenders constant back and forth in police custody is because they are given light sentences and may not see prison time for a while

Byrd: 'Theres plenty of time for rehabilitation but thats up to them. We can give them the tools and put them in the right program but they have to make the decision to quit committing crimes'

'They get a light sentence, they come right back out into our community and they start committing crimes again. Back in jail...light sentence,' he said.

'So it takes several convictions for them to even make it to prison. So we already see on a local level how important it is to keep these criminals off the streets.'

The Florida Department of Corrections reports 86 percent of prison inmates will be released back into the community.

Byrd noted that although Florida has the third highest prison population in the country, most people are not committing crimes at Pontoon's level.

He said: 'Theres definitely a percentage of people that no matter what you do for them they just arent going to get it. They just cant get it.'

'Theyre just bad people and cant get their head on straight and they probably belong in jail get them off the streets. But the vast majority arent people like that.'

He also noted that some criminals need mental health and rehabilitation services, not jail time.

'Theres plenty of time for rehabilitation but thats up to them. We can give them the tools and put them in the right program but they have to make the decision to quit committing crimes,' Byrd said.

Even so, the Department of Corrections show the amount of offenders returning to jail within three years of being released has decreased over the last decade.

Byrd says more assistance is needed in the system to help offenders properly transition back into society and minimize chances of imprisonment all together.
In an order issued on Friday, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education said that a general exam will be held for students of class 7 in government, aided and private state syllabus schools in the second week of March.

"The question paper will be prepared in one centre and will be distributed to schools (similar to SSLC board exam). But the evaluation will be strict compared to other grades. The result of the individual will be uploaded to the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) software," an excerpt of the order copy reads.

For the purpose of distributing question paper, SATS data will be utilised. Hence, schools have been asked to update student-related information by February 5. An order issued by KSQAAC states that if there is any discrepancy in the medium, student number, language subjects etc of students, KSQAAC is not responsible

"As per the National education policy of 2019, with the objective of improving quality of learning a decision has been taken under the leadership of the education minister that before they write SSLC, students should face a public exam in some grade. The decision has been made after aking opinions and discussing with teachers, parents and other stakeholders, while also keeping in mind CCE (Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation). State syllabus of all private, government and aided schools will write general evaluation exam in the 7th standard. Rs 640.664 lakhs will be needed to implement this," the order from the Education department reads.

"Students should not get stressed regarding this. In order to prepare them for competitive exam environment, it is important they write this exam. From this exercise, we will get information on quality of learning and teaching at district and school level and help improve the same, through framing better policies. It will also help students understand what level they are at. It will create motivation for parents so they can know learning progress of their child," it goes on to add.

For implementing this, the government will either take funds from Centralised Admission Cell (CAT) or Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) budget of 2019-2020 and give it to Karnataka School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Council (KSQAAC), on the condiion that KSQAAC will pay the money back.

The exam will be conducted within the school's own premises and regular classrooms and will replace the term end assessment, following the same pattern and will be based on syllabus of the second semester. The invigilators will be the school teachers. The preparation of papers and printing will be done by KSEEB and KSQAAC. Evaluation will be at the school level.
Adarsh Shastri election result 2020 live news and latest updates online - Read about Adarsh Shastri Congress candidate who is fighting Delhi assembly (Vidhan Sabha) election from Dwarka seat and many more at Firstpost.com.

Dwarka Assembly Election 2020: A grandson of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Adarsh Shastri will be contesting the upcoming election from Dwarka, a constituency he previously represented as an Aam Aadmi Party legislator.

Born to former Union minister Anil Shastri, he completed his higher education from Hindu College and Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management. Shastri had a long and successful career in the corporate sector before he took the political plunge in late 2013.

During his 17 year-long career, Shastri worked with reputed brands such as Vodafone, Essel Group, Sagemcom, Samsung and Apple. His last stint was with Apple, where he was the national head of sales.

After joining the AAP, Shastri played a key role in drafting the party's manifesto for the 2014 Lok Sabha election. He was also instrumental in organising the Delhi Dialogue along with the late Meera Sanyal and Ashish Khetan. The initiative was aimed at making Delhi a world class city and was the inspiration behind the Delhi Dialogue Commission set up in 2015.

As an organisation man, Shastri was tasked with the expansion of the party across the country. In 2015, he was given the ticket to contest from Dwarka, where he defeated veteran BJP leader Pradyumn Rajput by nearly 40,000 votes.

However, he joined the Congress on 18 January after the AAP denied him the ticket and fielded Vinay Mishra, son of former Congress MP Mahabal Mishra. The Congress, however, chose to field Shastri from Dwarka. The denial of ticket is said to have come as a surprise for Shastri, who was expecting to play a prominent role in the party.
2:17 a.m.  First wake up of the night. Stay calm. The thing about sleep, I have learned, is you cant appear to want it too much otherwise it runs away.

3:02 a.m.  Still awake. Try not to despair.

5:14 a.m.  Second wake-up of the night. Or is it morning? There is no going back to sleep this time. At least no nightmares were involved. Contemplate doing work. Decide against it. Make a mental note to call Mom.

6:15 a.m.  Alarm goes off. No shit 

6:30 a.m.  Finally get out of bed. I have a slight headache. I might or might not have had too much fun last night celebrating an election I didnt vote in.

6:30 a.m.  7:00 a.m.  brush teeth. Take a hot shower.

7:00 a.m.  Turn on the BBC World Service (a family habit I carried across the Atlantic). Get dressed. Eat plain Greek yogurt with muesli and honey for breakfast.

7:42 a.m.  Arrive at Saints Rest to write. Order a medium house. It has just been brewed. Its a sign.

7:45 a.m.  Begin writing. Struggle. Delete bunch of stuff. Begin again! Delete again! Begin 

8:30 a.m.  Maybe a muffin will help? A second cup of coffee?

8:45 a.m.  Leave Saints. Stop by the Bank to get cash.

9:03 a.m.  Arrive late to my coffee date with Karla Erickson. We have fun. What a wise joyous woman Karla is!

10:00 a.m. Meet with a Vivero Fellow about his project. It was once my project. Let it go, Farah!

10:40 a.m.  Meeting ended early. Spontaneous chat with Tess Kerkhof!

10:46 a.m.  S&B Photographer takes my photo. I try hard not to be a diva. I fail.

11 a.m.  1:00 p.m.  Table for Vivero with the marvelous Liz Rodrigues. We sign students up, we debrief about the caucuses, we laugh a lot.

1:03 p.m.  Arrive late to Partners in Education meeting. Laugh some more.

2:06 p.m.  Arrive late to the Partners room. No students are waiting. No one witnesses my shame.

2:10 p.m.- 3:00 p.m.  Listen to The Daily while answering emails

3:02 p.m.  First student shows up. He has a test on Plato coming up. Glad to no longer be a student!

3:30 p.m.  Brush teeth.

3:34 p.m.  Realize I didnt eat lunch.

3:55 p.m.  Third cup of coffee. Courtesy of Mears Cottage. The history department is getting ready for a meeting. The kind Sarah Purcell and Catherine Chou give me a big chocolate bar!

4:20 p.m.  Help a student with the library search functionalities. Adventures with Google Scholar. He finds what he is looking for. I momentarily feel good about self.

5:01 p.m.  Two missed calls and a voicemail from unknown number. Wait did I apply to grad schools in Alabama?? Alas, an automated call informing me about my compromised social security number. But what about grad school, Robot???

6:04 p.m.  I am hungry, see entry 22.

6:14 p.m.  Go home. Pick up mail. My tax documents have arrived. #adulting is such a bummer!

6:15 p.m.  I am too tired and too uninspired to cook dinner. I find leftover lentils and sweet potatoes masala I cooked yesterday and eat it with injera the forever-generous Maura Strassberg got for me from the halal grocer in Des Moines. Maashi haal.

6:16 p.m.  Fuck, I forgot to call Mom. It is three oclock in the morning for her now.

7:04 p.m.  Return to work. Chat with student.

7:11 p.m.  Julias back hurts. I offer to sit on her (it usually works for me!). She humors me and I proceed to sit on her back. She doesnt like it.

8:30 p.m.  Prepare for tomorrows team meeting. I make Julia listen to Arabic poetry as we tiringly tackle tedious administrative tasks. .. .. .. .. .. .. 

9:30 p.m.  Ask Julia about how one can acquire antibiotics without a good reason. Julia counters by inquiring how she can have bagels shipped to her. Neither of us find a satisfactory answer.

9:38 p.m.  Print readings for GWSS Senior Seminar with Prof. Tamara Beauboeuf.

10:02 p.m.  Decline Julias offer to drive me and walk home. The final walk home is always my favorite part of the day. Perhaps, I should just keep walking and start a new life in a farm up state.

10:10 p.m.  10:35 p.m.  Take out trash, brush teeth, change into comfortable PJs (no bra for 8 hours! Hooray!) .

10:40 p.m.  Continue making my way through Elif Shafaks 10 Minutes and 38 Seconds in this Strange World. Devastating. Exquisite. But Im tired as hell, so I give up about 10 minutes and 38 seconds later!

11:04 p.m.  Set an alarm. Make another mental note to call Mom tomorrow. Lights out.
Ukrainians to keep managing Ukrzaliznytsia, but with possible support of Deutsche Bahn managers

11:20, 07.02.20 2595

This refers to counseling at the first stage, while, depending on the outcome, further steps may be taken.
New CAR-T target yields promising results for multiple myeloma

Too many patients with cancers like multiple myeloma relapse after treatment. This grim reality motivated researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) to try to improve the depth and durability of treatment response in multiple myeloma through a new cancer cell targeting mechanism. Multiple myeloma is the second most common blood cancer and develops in the bone marrow. Approximately 30,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and almost all patients eventually succumb to their disease.

In research published today in the journal Nature Communications, the Utah-based scientists describe a novel way to treat cancers using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy. Laboratory tests using mouse models and tumor cells from patients displayed promising results for this novel cellular immunotherapy for multiple myeloma and other types of blood cancer.

The Utah-based scientists developed CAR T cells that target a molecule, CD229, that is present on the cancer cells of patients with myeloma throughout the course of their disease. Importantly, CD229 is also present on myeloma stem cells, which are the source of treatment-resistant tumor cells in patients who relapse.

Immunotherapies that activate a patient's own immune system to fight their cancer have proven to be highly effective for many types of blood cancers. In CAR T cell therapy, doctors take T cells from a patient's blood and engineer them to recognize and attack cancer cells via an added "hook," called a CAR, that recognizes a surface molecule on cancer cells. Engineered CAR T cells are returned to patients via intravenous infusion. The CAR T cells then find, attack, and destroy cancer cells in the patient's body. While these approaches have demonstrated remarkable progress and long-term results for some, many patients experience only brief improvement, followed by recurrence of their disease.

The study was led by Djordje Atanackovic, MD, a physician-scientist at HCI and an associate professor of internal medicine, division of hematology and hematologic malignancies at the U of U, who cares for patients with multiple myeloma. The study builds on earlier work by Atanackovic and his colleagues in which they identified CD229 as present on multiple myeloma and other B cell cancer cells. Once the CD229 target had been identified, it took several years to complete the complicated engineering and laboratory work to test whether CD229 was a viable new agent for a CAR T approach.

"We were dismayed that although some of our patients respond quite well to currently available immunotherapies, they relapsed as early as one year after treatment," says Atanackovic. "We thought if we could target every last cancer cell in a patient's body, including the cancer stem cell, this could make the critical difference and yield more durable, deeper responses to treatment."

HCI researchers Tim Luetkens, MD, an expert in cell and protein engineering, and Sabarinath Radhakrishnan, MD, assistant professor of internal medicine at the U of U, led the development of the therapy in Atanackovic's lab. They engineered the first fully human antibody against CD229 and, with this newly engineered "hook," produced CAR T cells targeting CD229. They confirmed their hypothesis CD229 CAR T kills mature multiple myeloma cells, as well as myeloma stem cells, using a mouse model, as well as stem cells derived from myeloma patients. They also showed that in this laboratory setting, the tumors treated with CD229 CAR T appeared to result in long-lasting responses.

The team plans to complete further analyses to understand whether this approach can be safely used in humans. They hope to open clinical trials to further understand the potential of CD229 as a novel therapy for multiple myeloma.

"An impressive set of resources and collaborators in Utah really enabled this study to progress," said Atanackovic. "Having access to tissues from patients willing to share their blood and bone marrow for research, working in partnership with other scientists providing their expertise, and receiving small grants to support early phases of this research have all been critical to our study. We have made remarkable progress on addressing a problem I see in my patients each day I am in the clinic."

###

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, including P30 042014, the International Myeloma Foundation, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Young Investigator Award, the American Association of Cancer Research, the University of Utah including a Joseph Quagliana, MD, Fellowship Award, and Huntsman Cancer Foundation. The study extends work Atanackovic began in the lab of Lloyd Old at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and is recognized among the best cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at HCI than at any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database, the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 11 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. HCI was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
We asked the 2020 Democrats how theyd approach war and peace, diplomacy and national security. Here is what they said.

For most of the past year, the Democratic presidential campaign has been fought in the arena of domestic policy. But since President Trump ordered the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani last month, bringing the United States and Iran to the brink of war, foreign policy has become a more pressing concern.

The Times sent a survey to the candidates about a range of foreign policy issues. We wanted to get a better sense not only of how they would handle specific conflicts and partnerships, but also of their broader approach to international relations. Here is what they said.

Read our analysis: Democratic Candidates Reject Trumps Foreign Policy, but Dont Agree on Theirs
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.
Here's what investors will focus on in the week ahead on Wall Street.

On Monday, Facebook goes to court. The IRS will try to convince a judge in San Francisco that the social networking company owes more than $9 billion in taxes. It revolves around the company's move to shift profits to Ireland.

Investors' focus will then turn to Washington. Fed Chair Jerome Powell takes the hot seat in Congress. He'll give his semiannual monetary policy report before the House Financial Services Committee on Tuesday, then the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday.

We could get a tale of two toy makers this week. Expect Hasbro on Tuesday to report rising holiday quarter sales. It's benefiting from strong demand for Star Wars toys tied to the release of the latest installment from the Disney movie series in December. But on Thursday, arch rival Mattel will likely report a drop in holiday revenue, hurt by competition from Hasbro's Disney-based toys.

On Friday, we'll learn more about the health of the American consumer. Expect retail sales in January to have risen 0.3%. That follows a similar increase in December. Also that day, look for the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index to slightly decelerate in February from the month before.
The ruling AAP is going into the Delhi election with the hope to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls, while the BJP, which bagged all seven seats here in the Lok Sabha election, will be aiming at expanding its vote share in the national capital.

IMAGE: Polling officers carry EVM machines and other polling material as they leave for their polling stations on the eve of the Delhi assembly elections at Akshardham in New Delhi. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

The national capital votes Saturday to elect a new government, after a campaign in which the Bharatiya Janata Party pulled no punches against the Aam Aadmi Party which is eyeing another term in office.

The Congress is the third main force in the contest in which 672 candidates are in the fray for 70 assembly seats.

Over 1.47 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise.

Polling will begin at 8 am and will end at 6 pm.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party is going into the Delhi election with the hope to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls, while the Bharatiya Janata Party, which bagged all seven seats here in the Lok Sabha election in May 2019, will be aiming at expanding its vote share in the national capital.

The Congress is seeking to better its performance than last time when it did not bag any seat in the assembly polls but improved its vote share in 2019 polls.

IMAGE: Security personnel stand guard outside the strong room on the eve of Delhi Assembly elections. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

The AAP had got 54.3 per cent votes in the 2015 assembly polls, while the BJP secured 32 per cent and the Congress bagged just 9.6 per cent of the total votes polled.

The BJP mounted its one of the most aggressive campaigns in the Delhi assembly polls so far, with Union home minister Amit Shah leading the saffron charge fuelled by its planks of Hindutva and nationalism and its strident opposition to anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protest in Shaheen Bagh.

On the other hand, the AAP tried to hard sell its development agenda, while the Congress sought to showcase its achievements during its 15-year rule under Sheila Dikshit from 1998 to 2013.

Riding on tech-savvy elements like QR codes and mobile apps, poll authorities have geared up for the polls, making tight security arrangements across the national capital and keeping an extra vigil in Shaheen Bagh and other sensitive polling areas.

In view of the ongoing anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh, the Delhi CEO Office has put all five polling stations in the area under the "critical" category, and confidence-building measures are continuously being undertaken to reassure voters, officials said.

Shaheen Bagh falls in the Okhla assembly constituency.

IMAGE: Poll officials arrive at a polling station at Shaheen Bagh. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

The area has become the epicentre of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in the national capital and the agitation has been thrust by political parties into a poll issue.

The police have deployed around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the polls.

Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said 1,47,86,382 people are eligible to vote in the Delhi polls, and 2,32,815 are in the age group of 18-19.

Voters in various categories include males (81,05,236), females (66,80,277), service voters (11,608), third gender voters (869), and senior citizens (aged 80 and above) voters (2,04,830), officials said.

On Friday, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari paid obeisance at famous temples in the national capital.

IMAGE: Buses on election duty, carrying polling officals, prepare to leave from the distribution centre for the respective polling stations. Photograph: Ravi Choudhary/PTI Photo

Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, along with his wife Sunita offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place.

"Sought blessings of Hanuman ji at famous Hanuman temple at CP. Bhagwan ji said-'You are doing good work. Continue serving people like this. Leave the outcome to me, all will be fine," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

Tiwari also visited the famous Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples and offered prayers.

"I prayed for the happiness of the people of Delhi and also sought blessings of the goddesses to enable people to cast their vote judiciously," Tiwari said.

IMAGE: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with family pays obeisance at the famous Hanuman Temple near Connaught Place. Photograph: Arun Sharma/PTI Photo

The bitterly fought high-octane campaign that lasted for over three weeks ended at 6 pm on Thursday, just 38 hours before the start of voting for the high-stakes Delhi assembly election.

There are 13,750 polling booths, besides one auxiliary booth, located at 2,689 locations across Delhi.

"As far as critical polling stations are concerned, there are 516 locations and 3,704 booths in that category," Singh said.

Besides police security, polling stations falling in the "critical category" get paramilitary cover. Activities will be monitored through webcasting, Singh said.

Police and election machinery are on "extra vigil" and assessing the situation all the time across the national capital, he added.

IMAGE: 110-year-old Kalitara Mandal poses for photographs along with her family members at her residence at Chittaranjan Park. Mandal is the oldest voter among the 150 centenarians registered with the Delhis Chief Electoral Officer. Photograph: Kamal Singh/PTI Photo

Security personnel kept guard at strong rooms storing EVMs. Election staff carried EVMs and other polling material to booths under tight supervision in all constituencies.

Poll authorities had met protesters recently and encouraged them to vote on the polling day.

"The 2020 Delhi polls will be tech-driven with greater use of technology elements like mobile apps, QR codes, social media interface, seeking to enhance the experience of all categories of voters, before polling or on the voting day. And we are trying to make the best use of it," he said.

Electors can carry smartphones at polling stations in 11 assembly constituencies for accessing QR codes from the voters' helpline app in case they have not brought the voters' slip to the booth.

Counting will be held on Tuesday.
Authorization from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) allows for Khiron medical cannabis product to be imported for use on an individual patient basis

Authorization follows December 2019 announcement by ANVISA allowing for a new class of medical cannabis-based product to be prescribed by doctors and sold through pharmacies, enabling patient safe and legal access

announcement by ANVISA allowing for a new class of medical cannabis-based product to be prescribed by doctors and sold through pharmacies, enabling patient safe and legal access In Colombia , Company prepares for final authorization milestone allowing for domestic medical cannabis distribution

, Company prepares for final authorization milestone allowing for domestic medical cannabis distribution Brazil represents the largest addressable market in Latin America with an anticipated 3.4 million patient population and a potential USD $1.4 Billion network for medical cannabis (New Frontier Data)

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Khiron Life Sciences Corp. ("Khiron" or the "Company") (TSXV: KHRN ), (OTCQB: KHRNF), (Frankfurt: A2JMZC), a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America, today announced that the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) has authorized for Khiron medical cannabis product to be imported into Brazil on an individual patient basis. This authorization will enable the Company to apply for a permit to export the product from Colombia. Commercialization in Brazil is also conditional on TSXV approval.

"Within our LatAm strategy receipt of this authorization from ANVISA represents another regulatory milestone in bringing our medical cannabis products to the largest patient market in Latin America. With a continued focus on the health and wellbeing of patients in the region, we continue to grow our network in Brazil as we also work towards pending authorizations in Colombia and Peru." Comments Alvaro Torres, Khiron CEO and Director.

The announced regulatory framework, administered by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), sets a comprehensive procedure for the manufacture and import of medical cannabis products and requirements for commercialization, prescription and dispensing. In the announcement, a new class of medical cannabis-based products will be prescribed by doctors and sold through pharmacies, enabling patient safe and legal access.

The medical cannabis market in Brazil is anticipated to grow to 3.4 million patients and a market of US$1.4 Billion within three years, including serving patients with chronic pain conditions (Source: New Frontier Data). Further, total requests for medical cannabis have tripled since 2015 (Source: ANVISA) and today, approximately 1,100 physicians are now prescribing medical cannabis to their patients.

About Khiron Life Sciences Corp.

Khiron Life Sciences Corp. is positioned to be the dominant integrated cannabis company in Latin America. Khiron has core operations in Latin America and is fully licensed in Colombia for the cultivation, production, domestic distribution, and international export of both tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) medical cannabis. The company delivers best in class regulatory compliance, has the first approved set of CBD cosmetic products on shelf in Colombia, and is currently facilitating testing to meet and surpass all license requirements for commercial cannabis derived products.

With a focused regional strategy and patient oriented approach, the Company combines global scientific expertise, agricultural advantages, branded product market entrance experience and education to drive prescription and brand loyalty to address priority medical conditions such as chronic pain, epilepsy, depression and anxiety in the Latin American market of over 620 million people. The Company is led by Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Alvaro Torres, together with an experienced executive team, and a knowledgeable Board of Directors that includes former President of Mexico, Vicente Fox.

Visit Khiron online at www.khiron.ca and on Instagram @khironlife

Cautionary Notes

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain certain "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All information contained herein that is not historical in nature may constitute forward-looking information. Khiron undertakes no obligation to comment analyses, expectations or statements made by third-parties in respect of Khiron, its securities, or financial or operating results (as applicable). Although Khiron believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, such forward-looking statement has been based on expectations, factors and assumptions concerning future events which may prove to be inaccurate and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond Khiron's control, including the risk factors discussed in Khiron's Annual Information Form which is available on Khiron's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and are made as of the date hereof. Khiron disclaims any intention and has no obligation or responsibility, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

United States Disclaimer

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons (as such term is defined in Regulation S 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

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

SOURCE Khiron Life Sciences Corp.

Related Links

https://www.khiron.ca/en/home


The concept of nationality and the idea of being an anti-national is being subtly inculcated in people which makes them feel they are the caretakers of what they consider their idea of nation is.

A man was having a phone discussion with someone about the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in an Uber, the driver overhearing the call, decided that the passengers anti CAA stance was anti-national and like a rakhvala of nationals decided to take the matters into his hand and took the man to a police station.

Twitter

Secretary of the All India Progressive Womens Association Kavita Krishnan tweeted about the incident, which according to the tweet involved poet Bappadittya Sarkar.

Last night, poet @Bappadittoh had a scary episode in Mumbai, at the hands of an @Uber driver and @MumbaiPolice cops (see screenshots): a glimpse of scary India under NPR NRC CAA, where every person will be incentivised to suspect & turn in others & police can harass everyone. pic.twitter.com/OOKUB58BxK  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020

She tweeted a series of screenshots in which Sarkar narrates what happened. According to the messages, he took an Uber cab from Juhu to Kurla around 10.30 pm on Wednesday. He was on a phone call and discussing peoples discomfort with `Laal Salaam slogan at Shaheen Bagh protest in Delhi. Listening to the conversation the cabbie told Sarkar he wanted to withdraw money from ATM.`Dafli and asked him his address.

Basically an @Uber driver Rohit Singh (said he's from Bhopal) overheard an innocent phone conversation of a passenger, and called the cops to "turn in" and denounce @Bappadittoh as a "Communist" etc, and the police even discussed calling the ATS! This can happen to ANYONE.  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020

Sarkar told the policemen that he was from Jaipur, and had visited the anti- CAA `Mumbai Bagh protest in the city. The driver allegedly asked the policemen to take Sarkar in custody as he was a communist and was talking about burning the country.

Sarkar was taken to a police station where he requested the police to listen to the conversation that the driver alleged that he recorded.

The driver allegedly said, You people will destroy the country and do you expect that we will sit looking at you. He also hinted that Sarkar should be thankful that he was taken to the police station and not somewhere else.

The most chilling thing is, he said to @Bappadittoh :        ,      - be thankful I took you to the police, I could have taken you elsewhere. What a menacing threat - since "elsewhere" could mean lynching or death.  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020

Sarkar was let go from the police station after midnight when S Gohil reached the police station.

Kavita Krishnan tagged Mumbai Police and Uber in the tweet.

If you think you needn't bother coz you are pro CAA, think again. Tomorrow this cd happen to YOU, for any reason at all. A quarrel with a neighbour, a run in with your boss or employee, or with a driver or passenger cd result in you being denounced as Doubtful Voter/Dissident.  Kavita Krishnan (@kavita_krishnan) February 6, 2020

The police replied to it. We have followed you. Please share the exact details of case in DM, the police said in a reply to her tweet. Uber India Support also replied asking the details of the ride be shared with them.

This is concerning. We'd like to address this on priority. Kindly share the registered details from which the trip was requested via Direct Message. A member from our safety team will get in touch with you at the earliest. https://t.co/1WqzzOmdKe  Uber India Support (@UberINSupport) February 6, 2020

An incident like this exemplifies how people feel entitled to impose their ideas on others and feel brave enough to threaten them with consequences of dissent.
Pittsburgh residents gather in 2010 to protest the physical beating of an 18-year-old by three plainclothes police officers. Read more

Philadelphias new police commissioner, Danielle Outlaw, faces big challenges when she starts her job Feb. 10. In 2019, the city saw increased shootings and a high murder rate; allegations of gender bias and sexual harassment in the department; fallout from bigoted social media posts; and an overall lack of trust among residents, particularly black Philadelphians.

In one of her first public statements, Outlaw said the paramount factor is the trust residents have that their police force will keep them safe and treat them with respect.

It might help Philadelphia police to unpack lessons from a case of police/citizen violence from across the state, in Pittsburgh, 10 years ago.

In my new book, A City Divided: Race, Fear and the Law in Police Confrontations, I examine an encounter between three plainclothes Pittsburgh officers and an 18-year-old who attended Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School. The officers, belonging to a special undercover unit that combats drugs and guns, said they saw a man lurking next to a house and announced: Police! While the man stopped and talked with them, they said they saw signs he was armed. When he ran, they tackled and beat him. When they feared he was going for a gun, they hit him in the head. They found no gun on him, nor anywhere on the ground, but they arrested and charged him with felonies.

The young man remembered it differently: Three big strangers in regular clothes jumped out of a dark car and came at him, without warning, yelling at him to give up his drugs, guns, and money. When he ran, fearing a robbery, the men piled on and beat him badly, until he stopped struggling. He never knew, until the beating stopped, the men were police.

When pictures of the young mans disfigured face hit local media, people were appalled: How could a 5-foot 6-inch 150-pound viola player, an honor-roll student who never had a whisper of trouble with police, get beaten so badly by three large trained officers? A court threw out the felony charges against the young man. The officers were suspended, and criminal investigations of their conduct began. But in the end they faced no charges nor internal discipline, and were reinstated. Two federal civil trials yielded inconclusive, contradictory verdicts.

Ten years later, we can look back: What could have made a difference? After so many instances of police/citizen conflict, we hear: training. How has that panned out in Pittsburgh?

In 2015, Pittsburgh became one of the six national pilot sites for the National Initiative to Build Community Trust and Justice. Those cities police departments received funds and support for three years of intensive training in implicit bias, procedural justice, and racial reconciliation. An independent organization measured how Pittsburgh residents felt about their interactions with police before and after training.

Results were positive  mostly. In four cities, residents opinions of police, including confidence and trust in them, improved modestly. People reported a difference in how they were treated and the respect they were shown.

In the fifth city, the survey showed no change. And in the sixth, results showed a decline  that is, citizen attitudes toward the police actually became more negative after training.

That city was Pittsburgh. Why?

First, the police did not take on the crucial task of racial reconciliation  such as guided conversations between police and minority groups about their history of interaction  until too late in the process to shape peoples responses.

Second, while training helps, what counts is peoples interaction with police on the ground. And that apparently didnt change enough. Data from the Pittsburgh police indicate that racial disparities in enforcement actually increased after the training when comparing 2018 with 2017, in categories like arrests and stop-and-frisks.

 READ MORE: Pro/Con: Should Philly police be required to live in the city? | Opinion

Third, there seems to have been little change in what happens when something goes very wrong publicly. In October 2018, several undercover officers were caught on camera drinking to excess in a bar. When a bar fight ensued, some officers were captured on video punching a man in the face when he was already helpless. Those officers were reassigned. There were no reports of firings or even discipline, let alone criminal charges against the officers. All this earned the department multiple lawsuits, and seemed to reinforce the narrative that officers get away with almost anything.

In short, its necessary for the person at the top  a leader like Commissioner Outlaw  to articulate clear goals for the citys policing.

But that isnt enough. The message has to permeate to the street. When conduct doesnt meet stated expectations, officers should be held responsible, to send the message that, just as with any regular citizen, gross misbehavior wont be tolerated.

As Commissioner Outlaw contemplates the big job ahead of her, a message from Pennsylvanias other large city: Weve gotten some things right, but we havent lived up to the challenge in other ways. We can do better. So can Philadelphia.

David Harris is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He will present on his book A City Divided at the Free Library Parkway Central on Feb. 13.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 19:15:20|Editor: yhy

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PHNOM PENH, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Friday approved the construction of two coal-fired power plants with a combined capacity of 965 megawatts, government chief spokesman Phay Siphan said.

The approval was made during a weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen, he wrote on his Facebook.

Local firm Han Seng Coal Mines Co., Ltd. was granted the right to build a 265-megawatt plant in northwest Oddar Meanchey province with the investment cost of 294 million U.S. dollars, Siphan said, adding that the project is expected to be completed in late 2021.

For the second project, he said local company Royal Group and Chinese firm Sinosteel Equipment & Engineering Co., Ltd. were licensed to jointly construct a 700-megawatt plant in southwest Koh Kong province with the investment cost of 1.34 billion U.S. dollars. The project is expected to be fully finished in 2024.

"These projects are vital to meet the growing need of electricity, and to ensure energy safety and security in Cambodia from 2021 to 2024, especially in a dry season when hydropower plants cannot produce electricity in their full capacity," he said.
Adani Enterprises rose 1.42% to Rs 239.80 after Airbus India and Adani Defence & Aerospace signed an agreement on Thursday to explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of aircraft services for Indian and South Asian market.

Airbus India and Adani Defence 8 Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at DefExpo 2020 to leverage synergies in aerospace and civil aviation sector. Both the companies will explore opportunities for collaboration in the area of aircraft services for Indian and South Asian market. Airbus' Global Services forecast envisages the Indian aircraft services market to grow to $6.3 billion by 2025.

"Adani Defence & Aerospace has established a comprehensive aerospace and defence ecosystem in India. With Adani's recent foray into airports. this potential collaboration will leverage the synergies between the product and services excellence of Airbus and infrastructure, engineering and mega project execution capabilities of Adani," the Indian company said in a statement after market hours yesterday, 6 December 2020.

Adani Elbit Advanced Systems, a joint venture between Adani Defence & Aerospace and Elbit Systems of Israel, said during trading hours on Thursday, it has started exporting Hermes 900 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform to international customers.

Hermes 900 is a combat-proven, multi-role unmanned platform with an endurance of 36 hours, payload capacity of 420 kg and altitude of over 32,000 feet with applications across civil, defence and homeland security.

Shares of Adani Enterprises jumped 8.53% in four consecutive trading sessions to its current market price of Rs 239.80, from its recent closing low of Rs 220.95 recorded on Monday, 3 February 2020.

On the technical front, the stock's RSI (relative strength index) stood at 69.217. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Traditionally the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when below 30.

The consolidated net profit surged 364.20% to Rs 426.26 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) as against Rs 91.83 crore reported in Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19). Net sales increased 5% to Rs 10,948.17 crore in Q3 FY20 over Q3 FY19.

Adani Enterprises is the flagship company of Adani Group, one of India's largest business conglomerates. AEL is a fast-growing company with a diversified business portfolio comprising integrated coal management and mining services, solar modules manufacturing as well as edible oil business.

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Diversity and inclusion are playing an increasingly important role in talent retention for companies based in Ireland, said Micheline Corr, director of hospitality recruitment specialist The Firm.

The Dublin-based recruiter says hotels and other hospitality companies are literally bending over backwards to support all forms of staff wellbeing.

Like the companies it works with, The Firm is practicising what it preaches. When we spoke earlier this week, on Wellness Wednesday, Micheline was enjoying a staff yoga day. How does she feel about the initiative?

Right now, I feel a bit sore, to be honest, said Micheline. Im in my yoga pants, like the rest of the staff. All jokes aside, yes its working. It makes you more flexible.

"Its not enough to just talk about it. Once you make a commitment, you have to see it through. Its also very bonding to be on the floor with your colleagues.

Micheline says hospitality companies see the value in diversity and inclusion in retaining staff. She notes that big companies like Aer Lingus are appointing an in-house diversity officer, while the employer group hosts events on the topic.

The Firm also hosts talks around workplace topics, the latest of which was delivered by Margot Slattery, global chief diversity and inclusion officer with Sodexo, the food services and facilities management company.

The feedback were getting is that companies want to know how to follow the principles through to their companies. They want to know how to make this work for them, some companies with five to 50 staff, others with huge numbers, said Micheline.

We all know that there are perhaps unconscious biases in every industry. What were seeing is that there is a need for these talks, and a genuine appetite to talk our biases through.

The talk given by Margot Slattery was particularly enlightening. Margot currently sits on Sodexo Global LGBT leadership team.

She progressed through several roles in the company and became country president for Ireland in 2015. In that role she oversaw all operations for the organisation which employs 4,000 people on the island of Ireland.

Margot describes herself as a determined optimist. Addressing the recent third event in the Firm Talks series in the RDS Dublin, she recounted a story from her youth in Limerick.

One Christmas Eve my mother, my brother and I went to midnight Mass. My father didnt go to the Mass because he would have been tired after a long day and may have had a drink or two.

"When we got back from Mass there was a horse standing in the field outside the house and the front door was wide open. I said, Oh look, Santa has come and brought me a horse!.

So happy to have won a @SITEGlobal Crystal award at #SITEGC! We have been recognised for Excellence in Incentive Travel for a 2,600 person incentive trip in #Ireland. This was a collaboration between our great suppliers and our top operators lead by @yvonne_colucci & @dundealgan pic.twitter.com/AcVuuxXmPo  Odyssey DMC (@Ody_Intl) January 26, 2020

"My brother said No, weve been broken into! and some other things as well. That shows you how much of an optimist I am.

She carried that positive outlook into her career in the hospitality industry, beginning her career in hotels in the 1980s. She won numerous hotel awards and is now a leader in guiding positive change in the sector.

Sodexos journey to creating that environment began 18 years ago following the creation of the role of global chief diversity officer and the appointment of Dr Rohini Anand to take it on.

She is a wonderful lady from India who did the job for 17 years and advised President Obama and other leaders on diversity issues during that time, said Margot.

I was honoured to take over the position last year. We have 480,000 employees in 80 countries around the world and I am responsible for driving strategy and everything we do around diversity and inclusion.

She pointed to a survey carried out for recruitment site IrishJobs.ie as a reason for the rest of the industry to sit up and take notice of diversity. That survey found that generation Z students wanted to work in places alongside colleagues with the broadest possible mix of backgrounds.

The survey found that having a workplace committed to diversity was increasingly seen as a key to recruiting and retaining graduates. Organisations need to challenge themselves and examine their own biases if they wish to become truly diverse. Do we walk the talk and make people feel they belong? What is happening beyond the cead mile failte? she asked.

Margot reminds hospitality employers that being diverse and inclusive also adds to their bottom line. She cited research by McKinsey showing that radically diverse companies outperform industry norms by 35%.

We found where the balance was around 60/40, we had increased retention, improved engagement, profitability and performance. What really surprised us was the scale of the difference  it was up to 9% in each measure.

"It hasnt been a hard job to sell the importance of diversity, inclusion and belonging. These results make a very powerful case.

She also cautioned that failure to change and adapt to this new world will have serious consequences. In an age where hospitality guests can freely criticise, it is important that staff are well cared for, so that they in turn are caring towards hotel and restaurant guests.

Its all about the experience, said Margot. Look at influencers on platforms like TikTok. They will tell the world within two minutes if they have had a bad experience in a hotel or workplace.

"Thats generation Z and they are going to be our customers and employees in future.

We have to ask ourselves if we are able to compete in the hunt for talent. There is so much choice now we have to be able to go out and compete and look at how we can create an environment where everyone feels truly welcome and where they belong.
: There have been no coronavirus- positive cases in Telangana as of Friday, even as the test results of five people were awaited, government officials said.

A total of 56 samples had been tested till Thursday.

The five people, whose test results were awaited, have been admitted to state-run hospitals here.

The tests for determination of nCov are now being conducted at the state-run Gandhi Hospital.

The samples used to be sent earlier to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune.

Stating that no positive cases had been reported in the state till date, Health Minister E Rajender appealed to the media to observe restraint in reporting about the deadly virus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Virginia is poised to do away with a Confederate-related holiday.

The Virginia House voted this week to remove Lee-Jackson Day  named for Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson  in favor of an Election Day holiday, Erie News Now reported.

The state has traditionally observed Lee-Jackson Day on the Friday in January before the holiday honoring civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The Election Day holiday would be marked on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The Virginia Senate passed an identical bill last month. The full bill must be approved by both chambers before heading to Gov. Ralph Northam, who has indicated he supported the measure.

Virginia has honored native son Lee since 1899, adding Jackson to its holiday around 1915. Kings name was added in 1984, but the state split the Confederate holiday and that honoring the civil rights leader in 2000.

Alabama currently honors Lee and King on a joint January holiday. The day is one of three Confederate-related holidays: King-Lee Day, Confederate Memorial Day; and the birthday of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in June.
Several Rajya Sabha members cutting across party lines on Friday supported a private member's bill, which seeks to set up a committee to scrutinise foreign investments in financial services, critical infrastructure and technology sectors having bearing on national security.

Members hailing from the BJP, the Congress and other parties raised concerns over data security and said it was an issue of national security and that there was a need to ensure that foreign direct investments (FDI) in sectors such as financial services are scrutinised.

The members were taking part in a debate on the Foreign Investment in Financial Services, Critical Infrastructure and Technology Affecting National Security (Regulation) Bill, moved by Narendra Jadhav, a nominated member of Rajya Sabha.

The bill was moved by Jadhav on December 6, 2019 during the last session, but he could not conclude his opening speech then. He concluded his submission on Friday.

According to Jadhav, the FDI level has increased to an unprecedented level USD 284 billion and "we are still giving a free hand to foreign investors" in sensitive areas such as financial sectors in the rapidly changing digital environment.

"What about NBFCs and payments firms. There is no limit for foreign ownership of NBFCs. 100 per cent ownership is allowed in this through automatic route," he said.

"Can we simply sit and allow the foreign firms have controlling stake in NBFCs and payment firms? We simply cannot. The cost of inaction would be huge national security risk. There is also absence of data protection law in this country and we are finally moving in that direction," said Jadhav, who is also an economist, educationist and public policy expert.

This will make personal and financial data of millions of Indians available to foreign governments, which would include the data of key politicians and military personnel, and "this could be misused and weaponised".

"These data could be misused and undermine our national security. We must act and act without any further delay," he said.

The bill seeks to establish a committee on foreign investment headed by the economic affairs secretary to effectively guard against the risk to national security posed by certain types of foreign investment in financial services, critical infrastructure and technology sectors.

Citing an example, Jadhav said that two years ago the US government had thwarted attempts by Chinese ecommerce major Alibaba founder Jack Ma's plan to acquire money transfer company MoneyGram over national security concerns.

MoneyGram was to be bought by Ant Financial, a financial services and payment processing company Ma owns.

Moreover, even a country like China has limited FDI in the finance sector to around 1.5 per cent. Even countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia allow only 25 to 40 per cent FDI in the finance sector, but India has allowed 74 per cent.

"Why we are so desperate or too liberal to get it," he said.

Participating in the debate on the bill, BJP member Shiv Pratap Shukla said that in the current scenario, FDI is necessary for the growth of the economy, but it should not be above national security concerns.

Anil Desai of the Shiv Sena said there should be a high- powered committee to scrutinise such FDI proposals. Ram Kumar Verma of the BJP said there should be due diligence by the committee on foreign investments as suggested by Jadav.

Supporting the bill, Congress member Rajeev Gowda said there was a need for wider participation in a committee on FDI that currently includes government secretaries and officials. He suggested that security experts and other sections of people are taken on board of the panel, who should be equal members.

BJP member D P Vats, RJD's Manoj Jha and T K S Elangovan also supported the bill. BJP members Ashok Bajpai, Mahesh Poddar and Vikas Mahatme were of the view that there were enough safeguards in place to deal with any such security challenge.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkish tourist acquitted as Patong ladyboy death ruled accidental

PHUKET: The Turkish tourist that was being held as a suspect in the death of a Phuket ladyboy who fell from a seventh-floor hotel balcony in Patong has been cleared of any charges.

accidentsdeathcrimepatong

By Khunanya Wanchanwet

Friday 7 February 2020, 04:19PM

Aphinyo Kaewkhaw fell to his death from the seventh-floor of a Patong hotel on Jan 7. His death was ruled as accidental by police and the suspect linked to the case, a Turkish man, has been cleared of any charges. Photo: Aphinyo Kaewkhaw Facebook.

Police confirmed yesterday (Feb 6) that the cause of death was by accidental fall and no blame could be apportioned to the tourist. They added that evidence proved the suspect could not have been directly involved when the incident occurred.

The Turkish man was not involved with this death, stated Patong Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Jetsada Seangsuree.

He was in the hotel lobby when the incident happened and therefore cannot be held responsible, added Lt Col Jetsada.

The incident occurred on the evening of Jan 7 when 28-year-old Thai ladyboy, Aphinyo Kaewkhaw, originally from Songkhla, died as he fell from a seventh-floor balcony at a hotel in Patong (see original story here).

Aphinyo had gone back to the hotel with the Turkish man after they met earlier that evening on Bangla Road in Patong.

A second Turkish man, a friend of the suspect, and another ladyboy, known only as Miss Prisana, also went back to the hotel and stayed in a separate room.

The suspect was showering when he heard his belongings being tampered with and then a door shut. He exited the shower to discover Aphinyo was not in the room and that money had been stolen from his wallet and some of his belongings were missing. Believing Aphinyo to be feeling, he then ran down to reception to report the theft.

It was at this same time that Aphinyo had fallen from the balcony and was lying dead in the forecourt.

Accidental fall

After fleeing the suspects room, Aphinyo had ran to the next room, where the second Turkish tourist and Miss Prisana were. Aphinyo then used the balcony of their room to try and escape which is when he fell to his death.

We investigated with witnesses and checked the CCTV recording from the hotel, said Lt Col Jetsada.

The CCTV recording shows the hotel corridor and Aphinyo exiting one room to rush to the other, he added.

Death by accidental fall, is how Lt Col Jetsada described the verdict of the investigation.

There was no motivation for the deceased to have committed suicide, he added. We concluded from the position the body lay and how it would have fallen that it is highly unlikely to be a suicide."

When asked if the cash and valuables the tourist had declared stolen were in Aphinyos bag, the police declined to comment.

We investigated both rooms and there was no evidence of a struggle or any sort of disturbance in either. There is also no suspicion at all attached to Miss Prisana and the second Turkish tourist and they will not be charged, confirmed Lt Col Jetsada.

Police have informed Aphinyos family about the accident.

When asked about the whereabouts of the Turkish man, Lt Col Jetsada replied: "Right now, I dont know. But he has not been charged and is free."
A five-foot-tall robot, built to detect coronavirus in the United States, was reportedly kicked out from a park in Manhattan after it was unable to produce required permits for operating in the premises. The robot, created by Pennsylvania-based company Promobot, arrived at Bryant Park to detect possible cases of coronavirus but got barred due to lack of requisite paperwork.

The droid has been designed to ask a set of pertinent questions regarding peoples health and detecting symptoms through interactive surveys. According to Oleg Kivorkutsev, Promobot founder, the robot helps spread awareness about the deadly coronavirus and warn them of resembling symptoms, reported New York Post.

However, the bot was unable to convince the concerned authorities at Bryant Park Corp. They maintained that any commercial entity, be it human or robot, needs permission to carry such operations. Earlier, a similar bot was seen distributing surgical masks to people at Times Square to help them prevent from catching the deadly virus.

Read: Information About Coronavirus Given To Employees Of Vadodara Airport

Several versions of the bot are available in the market with a starting price of $25,000. The bot has not detected any positive case of coronavirus in its previous survey involving 300 subjects. It also got unpopular reception on social media with many calling the robot creepy and dystopic.

Everybody gangsta until the robot starts beeping  Chill~Waves (@waves_chill) February 6, 2020

Not just creepy, but stupid. Corona virus is the common cold.  Johnny's Law PreLaunch Page on IGG    (@JohnnysLaww) February 7, 2020

Read: China Deploying Robots To Contain Spread Of Deadly Coronavirus

China relying on robots

China has turned towards robots to provide various services to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Robot waiters were seen delivering food and supplies to quarantined patients and now a Shanghai-based enterprise has deployed 30 disinfection robots in various hospitals in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, a Chinese news agency reported. Currently, these robots have been deployed in isolation wards, ICUs, operating rooms and fever clinics in major coronavirus treating hospitals.

Read: WHO: World Facing Chronic Shortage Of Protective Equipment Amid Coronavirus Dread

Read: Jaishankar Confirms India Offered To Evacuate Pakistani Students In Coronavirus-hit Wuhan
Major banks Citibank, HSBC and Barclay's in London's Canary Wharf financial district. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters

Banks have paid upwards of $36bn (28bn) in fines since the 2008 financial crisis, with penalties swelling to almost $10bn in 2019 alone.

Some 12 of the worlds top 50 banks were penalised last year, according to data compiled by regulatory technology firm Fenergo.

Swiss banks were the worst offenders in 2019, thanks to the $5bn (3.8bn) in fines and damages handed to UBS (UBS) for helping French clients evade tax authorities.

Italian banks, meanwhile, racked up $1.5bn in total fines for sanctions violations and breaches of the EUs GDPR privacy regulation, Fenergo said on Wednesday.

The vast majority of fines issued by US authorities targeted European banks for anti-money laundering breaches and violations of economic sanctions with countries such as Iran, North Korea, and Libya.

In late 2018, Frances Societe Generale (GLE.PA) agreed to pay more than $1.3bn in penalties for processing and concealing transactions with countries that were under sanction.

Over the 10-year period between 2003 and 2013, the bank engaged in thousands of transactions involving parties in Iran, Cuba, and Sudan, in violation of US sanctions.

Fenergo pointed to heightened geopolitical tensions as an explanation for the rise in fines in 2019. Some 86% of fines issued by US authorities since the firms 2018 report were for sanctions violations, it said.

The US introduced new sanctions against Iran in November 2018, months after US president Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. Trump in September 2019 told his treasury department to increase sanctions on the country.

Financial institutions are required to be vigilant in identifying sanctioned entities and individuals through robust screening processes, Fenergo said.

One of the more notorious fines in the past decade was levied on HSBC, which the US justice department said was used to launder $880m in money between a Mexican and Colombian drug cartel.

HSBC (HSBC.L) agreed to pay a record $1.92bn in fines to US authorities following the scandal.

Story continues

Financial institutions were meanwhile fined a further $82.7m in 2019 for data privacy breaches and violations of the EUs markets in financial instruments directive, which is designed to increase transparency in the investment industry.

2019 was another record year for fines, the second-biggest in history, and 2020 is shaping up to be a very busy year in this space, said Laura Glynn, the global compliance and regulatory director of Fenergo.

Rachel Wooley of Fenergo said that many of the institutions penalised in 2019 for money laundering-related activities lacked appropriate systems and compliance infrastructures that are necessary to identify and address areas of high risk.
Only a dozen foreign-language films have even been nominated and the most recent, Mexico's masterful Roma, was beaten by the Hollywood crowd-pleaser Green Book last year. While Parasite has been acclaimed since claiming the Palme d'Or at Cannes, it was the surprise win for best ensemble at the Screen Actors Guild Awards  when most of the voters would not even have known the actors' names  that showed how much Hollywood has embraced it. Searching for free Wi-Fi: Park So-dam and Choi Woo-shik in Parasite. Credit:Madman Given actors are the largest single group of the almost 8500 academy members  reportedly 16 per cent  it could easily win best picture. On the Hardhead Index, it is hard to fault: it's a creatively brilliant and savage commentary on inequality that stays gripping as it switches from dark comedy to thriller. But it's in a foreign language. While Mendes is favourite to win best director after the Directors Guild Awards  90 per cent of winners there have won the same category at the Oscars  Bong deserves the award. Parasite's best picture chances might depend on 

Have Oscar voters overcome their distaste for Netflix? A key factor in Roma's loss to Green Book last year was Hollywood anger about Netflix's disruptive strategy of limited cinema seasons just before a streaming release. Netflix has two really strong films up for best picture this year in epic mob drama The Irishman and divorce drama Marriage Story. But even with another year of streaming services, these two films have not been getting the rewards they deserve during the awards season. Laura Dern, left, and Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story. Credit:Netflix via AP While the sprawling length of The Irishman counts against it, Marriage Story is as deserving as Parasite for its creative excellence  especially the writing, direction, casting and acting  for what it says about relationships and the raw emotional impact.

Can any other best picture nominee spring a surprise? Given the preferential voting for best picture, it's possible a much-admired film could win even if it's not the most popular first choice. Jojo Rabbit is a brilliantly warm-hearted and witty film with a contemporary resonance given the rise of neo-Nazis, but writer-director Taika Waititi's idiosyncratic humour seems to be lost on some American critics and, you suspect, Oscar voters. Taika Waititi, left, and Roman Griffin Davis in Jojo Rabbit. Credit:Twentieth Century Fox Joker is up there with Parasite and Marriage Story on the Hardhead Index  a raw creative take on a comic book origin story  but has been divisive. Little Women has been widely acclaimed as a fresh take on a classic novel, but plays best to fans of the book.

The race car drama Ford v Ferrari is lucky to be nominated ahead of the likes of sexual harassment drama Bombshell, religious dramedy The Two Popes, Spanish drama Pain and Glory and French lesbian romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Whether any of these nominees can surprise might depend on  Is this Quentin Tarantino's year to finally claim best picture or director? When the Oscar nominations were announced, Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood was immediately favourite to win best picture. And that made sense: made by one of Hollywood's favourite directors, it taps into nostalgia for a golden past for Hollywood, stars Hollywood royalty and centres on that favourite location for best picture winners  Hollywood. Brad Pitt, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood.

Tarantino has had three films up for best picture without winning  Pulp Fiction (1994), Inglourious Basterds (2009) and Django Unchained (2012). While winning two screenplay Oscars, he has also lost when nominated as best director for Pulp Fiction and Inglourious Basterds. As1917 and Parasite have picked up momentum during the awards season, Once Upon A Time has drifted away from Oscars favouritism. While hugely entertaining, the Hardhead Index suggests it runs too long at 161 minutes, lacks the pace and wit of Pulp Fiction and the climax is unnecessarily violent. None of these drawbacks might matter, of course. Anyone who has followed The Hollywood Reporter's demonstration in recent years that some academy members are shallow, egotistical philistines, its series on "brutally honest" Oscar voters, will recognise votes are cast for all sorts of reasons, including a sense that someone is due a win. If it's about sheer cinematic excellence, best picture should go to Parasite or Marriage Story.

Can Margot Robbie win? With nominations for I, Tonya and now Bombshell in three years, Robbie has proven to be the real deal. But there are five virtual certainties at the Oscars this year and she is up against one of them  Laura Dern for Marriage Story. Margot Robbie, left, and Kate McKinnon in Bombshell. Credit:Lionsgate via AP Taking into account the eye-catching quality of the work and success over awards season, it's hard to see anyone beating Dern for best supporting actress, Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) over the excellent Adam Driver (Marriage Story) for best actor, Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time) for best supporting actor, Roger Deakins (1917) for best cinematography and Parasite for best international feature film. Renee Zellweger (Judy) is close to a certainty for best actress, though the film is disappointing and Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story) is just as deserving, especially given she is also up for best supporting actress (Jojo Rabbit).

With the smarts she has shown as an actor-producer, Robbie's time will come. Loading Can these awards restore the Oscars' credibility? The #OscarsSoWhite controversy in 2015, the fiasco over wrongly announcing La La Land best picture winner in 2017 and Green Book's controversial win over Roma last year have all tarnished the awards' credibility. Despite an aggressive drive to include more academy members from diverse backgrounds, Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) is the only non-white acting nominee this year, with the Parasite cast, Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Lupita Nyong'o (Us) among the deserving contenders overlooked.

And despite the cinematic boldness of Celine Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day In The Neighbourhood) and even Australia's Jennifer Kent (The Nightingale), best director is an all-male line-up yet again. Women are finally getting to direct more Hollywood movies - though still hugely under-represented - but it is shameful that only five have been nominated for best director in entire history of the awards - Gerwig (Lady Bird), winner Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation), Jane Campion (The Piano) and Lina Wertmuller (Seven Beauties).

Adele Haenel (left) and Noemie Merlant in Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The fact the best picture nomination of the unremarkable Ford v Ferrari was not controversial when there were so many more accomplished (and more diverse) films eligible shows the staleness that has infected the nominations ... and Hollywood's limited perception of the types of films that should be honoured. A historic best picture win for Parasite could signal a change but, even so, the Academy has much more work to do to stay relevant.
From early on, the show was to be upbeat; it was also designed to illustrate something of each culture. The writing process proved to be a testing ground for understanding how the relationship would and wouldn't work, says Tukiwaho. A fluid process, it started with four writers and was quickly pared back; people stepped in and out. In the end it was written by John Harvey and Tukiwaho. "There was lots of moving around, it was a great way to see how engagement might look," Tukiwaho says. "Also directing as a team, producing as a team, our cast is split in half, all of that learning inside the room is really paying off." While potentially fraught, the goodwill between the two groups held them in good stead. By all accounts, rehearsals have been hilarious. From left, Tuakoi Ohia, Lisa Maza, Lana Garland, Uncle Jack Charles and Mark Coles Smith during rehearsals. Credit:Eddie Jim "One of the reasons I think this will be so successful is that no one else could have written this play," Tukiwaho says. "The amount of cultural insensitivity between our cultures and yet the amount of laughter that comes from it ... Thats why I think were sitting on something so special. Theres a whole bunch of things I know New Zealanders wont have heard said out loud."

Maza agrees it will be the same for Australian audiences. Ilbijerri has collaborated with many artists over the years but never with a First Nations-led company. "It was a different conversation right from the get-go," she says. "There's none of that tippy-toey, nicey-nicey, cultural understanding. Weve just bypassed all of that." She recalls Tukiwaho working on a particular scene. "And hes going, 'I just feel like this is where the gloves really come off' ... It was this hilarious brainstorming of whats the worst thing, the most offensive thing we could say. We kept getting there and going, 'Ah no, we can get worse than that'." Tukiwaho says there is immense mutual respect in the room. "We know the place that these insults are coming from... and why theyre being said and the bigger picture story that we are trying to tell  Right now I feel we are speaking for our blackfella communities, speaking for our Maori communities. We are allowing [non-Indigenous people] an insight into what a world might be like if you were part of a black family or part of a Maori family, or part of a bicultural family made up of those two cultures." Maza says it's a different way of learning. "Someone can lecture you and talk at you, or you can just sit quietly and be invited into the space and listen. And learn in a much deeper way." I wonder if audiences today are more willing to listen to these sorts of stories.

"Whether or not people are ready to listen," Tukiwaho says, "we are ready to do this. Thats whats more important. We are ready to speak for our people. We want our focus to be on our people. We want our non-Indigenous family to be part of it but in the right way. For years we have created artworks, both in Australia and New Zealand, where we were preaching at non-Indigenous people, telling them all things they have done wrong. There was a place for that voice  and there still is  but the best way to access our audiences is to take a different voice. Were varying the voice because that is the best way to engage." Both directors want to help create a sustainable industry for Maori and Indigenous creatives. In the show they have cast a balance of emerging, training and established artists, including Uncle Jack Charles, Mark Coles Smith, Lisa Maza, Tuakoi Ohia and Brady Peeti. Ages range from 15 to 75, and, as Maza says: "The world in the play reflects the world outside the play and what is important to us." A band headed by Brendon Boney features Kiwi artist Laughton Kora and drummer Mayella Dewis from Cairns; the musicians rove around as well as appearing as a traditional wedding band. Hilarious and shocking, Maza says the show  and the collaboration  has been a long time coming. Since that initial meeting three years ago, the relationship has had time to gestate and programmers aren't as risk-averse, says Tukiwaho. "Everybodys minds were shifting and it just so happened that we had an idea that fitted. A year earlier, or maybe even a year later, it might not have worked." Both credit Stephen Armstrong of AsiaTOPA, whose labs allowed the two groups to come together to develop the idea, and Wesley Enoch of the Sydney Festival, for helping the project come to life.
Mumbai, Feb 7 : Setting a new record, the Western Railway has sold a staggering 550,000 tickets through the UTS App to Mumbai suburban train passengers in a single day, an official said here on Friday.

The feat was achieved on February 3 when 550,000 - or around 11.03 per cent of the day's 5.28 million commuters - bought tickets through the UTS App on their mobiles, said WR spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar.

"During November 2018, the average daily active users were 124,000 which climbed to 339,000 in January 2020, and shot upto 550,000 on February 3. This mode of digital ticketing has become a hit among the commuters," he said.

The objective of introducing the UTS App was to promote self-ticketing and ensure passengers buy tickets without facing the ordeal of long queues at various railway stations.

For this, the WR carried out rigorous awareness campaigns and roped in college students, across the suburban network and highlighted the utility and benefits, including a 5 percent bonus on every recharge amounts, and has appealed to all commuters to utilise the UTS App to book their tickets and hop onto a train.

Bhakar said the App is easy to download and simple to operate, and all unreserved and season tickets can be booked on it, with options available for paper or paperless tickets and for quick payments through inbuilt R-Wallet or other channels.
- Sophia Danenberg made history as the first African-American and the first Black woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal

- The trailblazer also successfully climbed Mount Tasman, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Rainier and Mount Kenya

- Sophia Danenberg joined nearly 2,500 people who have actually reached the top of Mount Everest since 1953

Trailblazer Sophia Danenberg joined nearly 2,500 people in 2016 who have actually reached the top of Mount Everest in Nepal, the world's tallest mountain.

Danenberg made history when she became the first African-American and the first Black woman to climb to the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal.

READ ALSO: Janet Mbugua advises fan pressuring wife to dress like ex-TV anchor: "Let her dress as she wants"

READ ALSO: Fired Betty Kyallo's ex-nanny exposes TV anchor as an absentee mother

According to blackhistory.com, since 1953, only about 2,500 people have actually reached the top and over 300 people have died attempting to reach the top of the mountain.

Sophia Danenbergs recent achievement is highly remarkable because of the potential threat of death.

READ ALSO: Kijakazi amuanika Betty Kyallo, asema hampatii bintiye malezi ya mama

When she reached the peak, she suffered from bronchitis, a stuffed nose, frostbite on her face and a clogged oxygen mask but she made it to the top and made it back alive.

She has also successfully climbed other popular mountains including Mount Tasman in New Zealand, Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Mount Rainier in Washington State, and Mount Kenya.

Beyond attaining great feats as a mountaineer, she works for Boeing as an aerospace industry expert in the global chemical and environmental regulations.

Her job is to advise the corporation on EH&S policy developments and interfacing with global trade associations, governments, the United Nations, OECD, APEC and other intergovernmental organizations.

Prior to launching her career, Sophia was a researcher-writer for a travel guide in Thailand and a Fulbright Fellow in environmental economics at Keio University in Tokyo.

Sophia Danenbergs went on her first hike at Harvard University when she went rock climbing with a friend.

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.

Moi was a dictator - Kenyans Mixed reactions on President Daniel Moi's 24-year reign | Tuko TV

Source: TUKO.co.ke
Good morning, Bay Area. Its Friday, Feb. 7, and one of San Franciscos biggest bakery names is the object of a rare union drive. Heres what you need to know to start your day.

Max Harris had plenty of good reasons to leave Oakland, but haunting memories from the 2016 Ghost Ship fire and its aftermath did not drive him away. The same problem he had before the disaster pushed him out: the high cost of living.

In his first interview since being acquitted on 36 charges of involuntary manslaughter  one for each person killed in the warehouse fire in Oakland, Harris tells reporter Megan Cassidy why he left for Portland, Ore., and what he wished he had said on the stand.

Background: Fifth & Mission podcast  the Ghost Ship verdicts.

After the impeachment

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

If there was ever a hope President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi could establish a working relationship after his impeachment trial, it appeared to have evaporated Thursday.

The president unleashed a grievance-filled attack before a White House audience in which he questioned the sincerity of Pelosis faith and called her a horrible person. She said he appeared to have been sedated during what she called a falsehood-filled State of the Union speech and said she had torn up her copy of the speech to clearly indicate to the American people that this is not the truth.

Dustin Gardiner reports on the fallout between the president and the House speaker after Trumps impeachment trial.

Union drive

Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

Employees at San Franciscos world-renowned Tartine Bakery announced their intent Thursday morning to unionize, a move that is extremely rare in the restaurant industry.

Though Tartine began as a standalone bakery in the Mission District in 2002, it now has 10 cafes and restaurants across the Bay Area, Los Angeles and South Korea and recently moved its headquarters to Los Angeles. Employees seeking to unionize say they want better pay and a voice in a company that they say is becoming increasingly corporate, Janelle Bitker writes.

Previously: Anchor Brewing workers can toast to their union.

Gig law updates

Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press 2019

The author of AB5, Californias new gig work law, said Thursday shell seek amendments that remove some restrictions on freelance journalists and photographers, and is eyeing further changes for nonprofit community theaters, musicians, small businesses and others.

Read more about the proposed changes from reporter Carolyn Said.

Coronavirus impact

Nick Otto / Special to The Chronicle

The last air link from the Bay Area to China will end Feb. 16 when China Southern Airlines halts its route from San Francisco International Airport to Guangzhou.

No flights to mainland China are scheduled from any Bay Area airport from mid-February to the end of March because of the coronavirus outbreak, which has killed more than 560 people and infected more than 28,000, mostly in China.

Read more.

More: S.F. hotels, restaurants see slowdown as Chinese tourists dwindle.

Around the Bay

 Big trade: Warriors trade DAngelo Russell to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins, draft picks. From Bruce Jenkins: Big win for Warriors? Trade with Timberwolves promising, but questions loom.

 100% personal: Top EPA official in California has no idea why he was dismissed but has his suspicions.

 Lawsuit against private prison ban: Federal government doesnt want California telling it what to do with prisoners.

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.

 Shelter versus housing: S.F. officials debate Navigation Centers for homeless people in every district.

 A few acres available: Caltrain board signs off on building affordable housing near tracks.

 In Butte County: Fire victims committee flags considerably rusted hooks on PG&E power line.

 Malpractice: Menlo Park pastor placed on leave over not acting on volunteers admission of attraction to kids.

 Two-week notice: California voting bill allowing last-minute party switches heads Gov. Gavin Newsoms desk. March primary: Our voter guide.

 This story has everything: A Berkeley school, a beloved Disney movie, and a Prop. 13 argument.

In case you missed it

Courtesy Barbara Fletcher 1976

The surprise snowstorm of 1976 turned San Francisco into a winter wonderland. And thanks to the citys residents, that miracle has been preserved in time.

Last year we started our S.F. Snow Day 1976 project with dozens of Chronicle photos documenting Feb. 5, 1976, the last time a heavy snow fell in San Francisco. Our readers have filled out the map, adding stories and photos to build a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at the city under snowfall.

See all the photos and add your own here.

Fifth & Mission podcast: YIGBY  Yes In Gods Back Yard. Reporter J.K. Dineen explains whats going on with a new series of housing developments.

Bay Briefing is written by Taylor Kate Brown and sent to readers email inboxes on weekday mornings. Sign up for the newsletter here, and contact Brown at taylor.brown@sfchronicle.com.
By Trend





The Turkmen delegation took part in the meeting of the India-Central Asia Business Council, which was held in New Delhi, Trend reports referring to the Business Turkmenistan agency.

The Turkmen side was represented by Turkmen ambassador to India Shalar Geldynazarov. The representatives from India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan also attended the meeting.

The parties exchanged the views on the development of trade relations and the industrial sector.

"The annual trade turnover of India with the Central Asian countries reaches up to $2 billion," Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said during the event.

The creation of air corridors between the countries will stimulate the development of trade relations, he said.

"It is necessary to develop relations in the fields of energy, pharmaceutics, automobile industry, agriculture, education, urban infrastructure, transport, civil aviation, IT and tourism," the diplomat said.
BPs head of downstream  or oil refining and processing  operations Tufan Erginbilgic will step down next month after six years in the job, the company said, becoming the latest top executive to leave as Bernard Looney takes over as CEO.

Mr Erginbilgic, who joined BP in 1997, oversaw the expansion of the downstream business, which includes refining, retail and petrochemicals, into electric vehicle charging and added thousands of petrol stations in developing economies.
Utah bill to require warning labels on porn, describing ill effects on mind, self-esteem

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A newly introduced proposal in Utah requires pornography to come with labels warning of "addictive sexual behavior" and "low self-esteem" among other ill effects in the latest legislative push against porn.

According to state Rep. Brady Brammer, R-Highland, the proposed label on pornography circulated in the Beehive state warns of impairment of brain development, emotional development, and the ability to maintain intimate relationships, the Salt Lake Tribune reported Tuesday.

Exposure to porn may also result in the improper objectification of and sexual violence towards others, among other numerous harms, Brammers label would also say.

The idea is weve already found that ... exposing minors to pornography can be extremely damaging, Brammer said, drawing inspiration from a California measure, Proposition 65, which required warning labels on products that contain certain cancer-causing chemicals.

Weve already made that finding as a state. So [the bill] says, well, lets put a warning label on pornography, and were going to enforce it the same way that Californias Prop 65 is enforced, he said.

Defenders of pornography often do so on First Amendment grounds. The lobbying arm of the pornography industry and longtime foe of anti-porn activists is called the Free Speech Coalition.

Brammers bill stipulates such warning labels ought to be displayed on the cover of any pornography print publication or shown for at least 15 seconds prior to the viewing of online explicit videos or images.

While the labels may not dissuade minors from looking at porn, the Utah lawmaker said, it may give them more time to reconsider watching or prevent them from seeing it lest they stumble upon it accidentally.

Its a clear demarcation of, you know, Im not supposed to be here, he said. They could ignore it. But thats how every warning label works.

Those who decline to affix the labels could face fines up to $2,500 for every violation, he said. Brammer's bill also allows individuals to take legal action against pornographers who do not place warning labels on the material.

Utah is among the 15 states where legislatures have passed resolutions declaring pornography as a public health crisis, linking it to domestic violence and human trafficking.

The ubiquity of porn has also inspired greater movement among conservative intellectuals and thought leaders in recent weeks.

In December, four Republican members of the House of Representatives wrote to Attorney General Bill Barr to address the scourge of porn with the appropriate legal tools available in keeping with then-candidate Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign pledge to enforce existing obscenity laws.

"Child pornography is on the rise as one of the fastest-growing online businesses with an annual revenue over $3 billion. The United States has nearly 50% of all commercialized child pornography websites. Pornography is ubiquitous in our culture and our children are being exposed at younger ages. Nine in every ten boys under the age of 18 have seen porn. Children are struggling with pornography addiction," said Rep. Jim Banks, R-Indiana, one of the authors of the letter in an interview with National Review at the time.
Clearing of bank cheques is set to become faster. In its sixth bi-monthly monetary policy statement, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday said it would implement the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) across the country by September 2020.

In CTS, banks use scanned copies of cheques for settlement instead of the physical copy. It makes the cheque clearing process partially electronic. The CTS makes clearing cycle shorter. The verification and reconciliation process is also superior to the physical settlement of cheques. There have been instances of banks losing cheques in the physical clearing system, which wont happen now. RBI started implementing the CTS as entirely phasing out the cheque system is not possible despite digital transactions picking up.

According to bankers, the majority of the cheque clearing is already under the CTS.

A few banks have even stopped taking non-CTS cheques anymore. For all practical purpose, the cheque clearing between scheduled commercial banks now happens within three working days, said an official of Indian Bank on anonymity as he is not authorised to talk to media.

In the CTS, the image of the cheque is captured at the presenting bank level. It is then transmitted first to the clearing house and then to the drawee branches. Each image carries digital signature from the presenting bank, and there are multiple checks for authenticity of the image captured.

According to the RBI, the cheque truncation speeds up the collection of cheques and therefore enhances customer service, reduces the scope for clearing related frauds, minimises the cost of collection of cheques, reduces reconciliation problems, eliminates logistics problems, and so on.

The system was started in the National Capital Region (NCR) on a pilot basis in 2008, and the central bank kept expanding it to other major cities. In Chennai and Mumbai, it was implemented in September 2011 and April 2013 respectively.

In the older system, cheques that the customer presents are sent to the clearing house, then sorted and the physical copy is sent to the drawee branches. Once this process is complete, banks release credit to the customer.
By MJ Old

oldmadel@grinnell.edu

Students attending Grinnell College in the 2020-2021 school year will have to pay a comprehensive fee of $70,544, up almost $3,000 from last year. At 4.3 percent, the increase is comparable to previous years, and the College remains committed to meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need.

David Maxwell, chair of the board of trustees, noted that the boards top priority in spending is resources for financial aid, followed by faculty and staff salaries. Its also important to note that net revenue from tuition covers less than 50 percent of the cost of a students education at Grinnell, Maxwell said. The rest comes from endowment income and gifts to the annual fund.

The student activity fee, which funds the Student Government Association (SGA), increased by only 2.1 percent, much less than the 4.3 percent increase for the other components of the comprehensive fee (tuition and room and board). SGA Treasurer Amanda Weber 21 explained that while SGA does not have any control over the other components of the fee, the student activity fee is based on requests made by SGA and the Student Publications and Radio Committee.

We sit down with the college treasurer, Keith Archer, and Keith gives us some potential numbers, usually in the range of three to four percent, and asks us what we think of the numbers hes presenting, Weber said. This year we decided to go a lot lower than the numbers they had projected for us.

The increase in SGAs budget will serve as a buffer to deal with unforeseen expenses.

The Division of Student Affairs has been pushing for something called a Programming Board, which would be a separate or connected group to SGA that would take over all the programming aspects of SGA and SGA would remain a governance body, Weber said. The increased budget can also be used to pay the students who do work for SGA more fairly.

In deciding how much to charge students, the College considers the comprehensive fees of the Peer 16, other private, elite, liberal arts institutions in the country, including Smith College, in Massachusetts, and Oberlin College, in Ohio, of comparable size. Smiths comprehensive fee for 2020-21 is $77,148.

In contrast to such private institutions, attending school for the 2020-21 at the University of Iowa will only cost $21,420 for Iowa residents.

The cost differential between public and privates is very easy to explain, said Maxwell. An educational model that has experienced professors in the classroom with 18-20 students (like Grinnell) costs a lot more than one with hundreds of students in a lecture hall with a part-time adjunct faculty member or graduate teaching assistant.  That, sadly, is all too common in the public institutions.

$70,000 is still a lot of money: one hundred iPhone 11s; an entire house in the town of Grinnell. In terms of current political events, attending Grinnell College will cost $70,000 more than the University of Iowa if Bernie Sanders gets elected president of the United States and implements his plan to make public college free.

Maxwell isnt a fan of free college, favoring an expansion of Pell grants for low-income students. If public education across the country were truly free, hundreds (if not more) of the small, less-than-elite private institutions would go out of business, putting tens of thousands of faculty and staff out of work, and tanking their communitys economy in the process, Maxwell said. Not to mention that schools like Grinnell would have to lower their fees to attract students.

His own experience paying for college was far from the norm. My father was a well-known jazz trumpet player, based in NYC, and my family could afford Grinnells tuition and fees  which, if my memorys correct, totaled $2,500 my fourth year!
In early 1998, Tom Junod received an assignment that was outside his wheelhouse. His editor at Esquire asked him to profile Fred Rogers, the beloved television personality and Presbyterian minister. By the time Junod was done writing the story, he had become friends with Rogers. The two remained close until Rogerss death, in early 2003.

Junod and Rogers exchanged dozens of emails that would reshape Junods religious faith and, as a result, his approach to journalism. The beginning of their friendship inspired A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the recent movie starring Tom Hanks as Rogers and Matthew Rhys as a journalist based on Junod.

This past summer, the movies screenwriters shared with Junod the contents of a file that Rogers had kept throughout their friendship. In it was a piece of paper on which Rogers had jotted four precepts for journalism:

Journalists are human beings not automatons. Human beings not stenographers. Journalists have a duty to let their outrage show through when they come across injustice. Journalists need to let their compassion show through for other peoples suffering. Journalists need to let their ahhh (wonder) show through when they witness the glory of life they have as much responsibility to celebrate life and the goodness of it as they do to root out evil.

CJR spoke with Junod about those principles, how his friendship with Rogers changed the way he approaches journalism, and how that relationship came to bear on his faith. The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

It caught me completely by surprise. I was amazed by it. We certainly dont think of Fred Rogers as a professor at J-school.

What was going on in your life at the time you began the story about him?

Right before I met Fred, I wrote two stories for Esquire that really chewed me up. One was about Kevin Spacey, in which we outed him and did a rhetorical dance around that. Kevin, in response, called for a Hollywood boycott against me and the magazine. The other thing I wrote was about a person in the Atlanta area, a twin who had killed his twin brother. The mother called me after that story came out and basically said, How could you do this? How could you do this for a magazine story? Its one of the things Ill never forget. Not just How could you do it? but How could you do it for something as inessential as a magazine story? To me, a magazine story was not inessential. You would walk through fire to write a magazine story.

With [my editor] David Granger, our philosophy was: Show the thing that youre writing about. If youre writing about a crime, go into the crime. I thought that I could only do that for so long. I was going pretty deep into the tank.

When I first met Fred, I knew that he was different from anybody else Id ever met. And the thing that sustained me through the reporting and writing has turned out to be what has sustained me through my career since then: it has been this possibility that goodness might be as interesting as evil. Ever since I was quite young, I was mystified by the existence of human evil. But Fred offered me a completely different avenue of inquiry. I look at my career as before Fred and after Fred.

In the Esquire piece about Fred, you wrote, There was an energy to him, however, a fearlessness, an unashamed insistence on intimacy, and though I tried to ask him questions about himself, he always turned the questions back on me. That must have been jarring for a journalist.

Its not just jarring for a journalist. Generally when you meet people, theyre more interested in answering questions than they are in asking them. It was extraordinary on a couple of levels. It was extraordinary to have the questions turned on me, but it was also extraordinary just to hear somebody express interest in me in that insistent a way.

It was definitely the kind of thing where I understood that I was going to have to make a decision. Am I going to battle, or am I going to go for this particular ride? I decided to go on the ride. That was a conscious decision: He is turning this around on me; can I, in turn, turn that around on him by making that the bones of the story? Which is essentially what I did.

How did your relationship with Fred evolve from journalist and interview subject to friends?

I think that Fred was extremely talented at friendship. It was a remarkable ability he had to form bonds with people. He had that. But I think that he saw that I needed to be trusted again, and he gave me that. That was the great gift he gave me. He trusted me. And I think he trusted me because he saw the need in me.

His emails were just so extraordinary. I would send him long emails with lots of questions about good and evil, God and the absence thereof, and he would write these long answers back. And over the course of four years there were seventy of these things.

Fred made me think about: Is God good? Does God love us? Is love the basis of creation?

Freds answer to all three was a resounding yes, and he lived by that answer.

I was not so certain and am not so certain now. But Fred made me realize that if love can be at the center of human interactionsand theres no doubt it can be, because he proved itthen the possibility that theres not only a moral arc to the universe, but a loving one, is not as far-fetched.

What was your own faith background? Were you raised religious?

I went to twelve years of Catholic school, and that experience does not just dissipate. It sticks with you. I definitely stopped being a practicing Catholic, but Catholicism has always been a part of me.

Fred showed me a lot of different things about religious practice. He definitely figured out a secular language for spiritual matters. That whole you are special thingI look back on it now and its very much a religious sentiment that he managed to couch in not just secular but childlike tropes.

Also, Fred was very Protestant. He was a Presbyterian minister. His relationship with God required no intermediaries. Freds prayer was very direct.

Was there something about that that spoke to you in a different way than your Catholic upbringing had?

Oh, yes. It was definitely, like, my own personal reformation. I think Fred turned me into a Protestant. My daughter was baptized at a Presbyterian church. That was in 2004, after Fred died. And one of the lingering regrets of my friendship with Fred is that he did not get to meet my daughter.

When I met Fred I did not have a child, and I would say our [my and my wifes] childlessness at the time was an issue. It was definitely something I was really, really angry about in my life. I was angry at God, to be quite open. Fred was the person who softened some of that for me, for sure.

How did this softening affect your journalism? In the four precepts he wrote down, Fred stresses the importance of celebrating goodness. What does that mean for us?

The thing thats really interesting about that particular sheet of paper is that I learned about it this summer. And it caught me completely by surprise. I was amazed by it. We certainly dont think of Fred Rogers as a professor at J-school. I dont know whether this was something Fred was trying to communicate to me, or maybe it was something I communicated to Fred. I dont know.

Ive been working on a story for ESPN for a while now, for a year and a half, about a tragedy that happened on the ball field and all the people who were affected by it. There was a crime in it, a crime that was unveiled by this tragedy, and a secret. And when I started doing this story, nobody would really talk to me. I had that familiar feeling as a journalist: I want to do this story, I need to do this story, Im gonna do this story, but man I feel shitty being the villain here. And I think thats a fairly familiar journalistic emotion. But I kept at it. Recently, I got a call from one of the people in the story, and he wanted to apologize to this person who had been looking for an apology for this thing for a really long time. And so I helped facilitate this thing, and it was so extraordinary. I just realized the opportunity that journalists have when they tell peoples stories, and how important and sacred those stories are to the people who are sharing them with you. And did I think of Fred Rogers and his precepts? I did, very much so.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Stephanie Russell-Kraft is a Brooklyn-based freelance reporter covering the intersections of religion, culture, law, and gender. She has written for the New Republic, The Atlantic, Religion & Politics, and Religion Dispatches and is a regular contributing reporter for Bloomberg Law. Follow her on Twitter: @srussellkraft.


Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 1 p.m. on Friday after the treasury benches raising the issue of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's 'danda' jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Gandhi had said that the youth of India will "beat him (Modi) up with a stick" given the rising unemployment in the country. The issue was raised by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan during Question Hour condemning Gandhi's "disrespectful" remarks against the Prime Minister while addressing a rally in poll-bound Delhi on Wednesday. The Minister said "we condemn" the remarks made by Gandhi against Prime Minister. As Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tried to stop the Minister while reading a statement over the issue, Harsh Vardhan continued leading the ruckus in the House. Following the pandaemonium, the Speaker adjourned the House till 1 PM. Various MPs from Congress, Trinamool and BJP approached the Spekaer's podium. Gandhi had said that Modi will "not be able to step out of his house in six months from now. The youth of India will beat him with sticks to make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress." Gandhi was addressing the rally at Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi area. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday gave a befitting reply to Gandhi over his 'danda' jibe, saying he would be sufficiently prepared given his pursuance of yoga in the last 20 years. He said his back has become 'danda-proof', and he will further strengthen it with more surya namaskars. Replying to a debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Narendra Modi on Thursday said: "I heard a Congress leader say that youth will hit Modi with sticks in six months. I have decided that I will increase my frequency of 'surya namaskar' so that my back becomes so strong that it can bear the hits."




One person has been shot and killed near the Brigham and Womens Hospital, according to WCVB. Another was shot and in stable condition.

During this mornings active shooter incident, a member of our Valet team was shot. Our Emergency Department team responded immediately, and our colleague is currently in stable condition," the hospital tweeted. "There is no further threat to our campus.

A Boston Police spokeswoman confirmed a report of a person shot in the area of 60 Fenwood Road around at 9:20 a.m.

Massachusetts State and Boston police are processing two crime scenes. The shooting in Boston and then subsequent crash and shooting in Brookline.

A spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorneys Office said that they are currently active in Brookline investigating a police involved fatal shooting in the vicinity of Route 9 and Hammond Street.

Police have said that Boylston Street on Route 9 is now open but expect delays.

Massachusetts State Police say to avoid the area and will update the public when more information has been made available.
- Abuja police arrest five persons for raising a false alarm at the Wuse General Hospital over contracting of the coronavirus

- Anjuguri Manza, the spokesperson for the command said the suspects who are alleged pranksters had visited the Wuse District Hospital claiming that one of them had been infected by the Coronavirus

- The police spokesperson said the prank led to panic and confusion as well as a disruption of normal health service delivery at the hospital

- Our manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Five Abuja residents have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command for falsely claiming to have contracted the coronavirus.

Anjuguri Manza, the spokesperson for the command said the suspects who are alleged pranksters had visited the Wuse District Hospital claiming that one of them had been infected by the Coronavirus, Vanguard reports.

The police say the suspects visited the Wuse District Hospital claiming that one of them had contracted the Coronavirus, photo credits: Vanguard

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Angel Obinim launches anointing oil claiming it can cure deadly Coronavirus (Photo)

The police stated that the prank led to panic and confusion as well as a disruption of normal health service delivery at the hospital.

The command stated that investigations into the activities of the suspects and would charge them to court when it concludes its investigation.

In another report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Friday, January 31, listed Nigeria among high-risk African nations for the Coronavirus.

WHO said that the African countries included in the list have direct links as well as a large number of travels to China and as such, have a high tendency of persons contacting the virus.

African nations on the list include Algeria, Angola, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Zambia.

READ ALSO: Chinese doctor who warned the world of deadly coronavirus dies of the disease

The international health body said that it is making efforts to help nations of the world with the capacity for early detection of the disease.

Still on health matters,, despite initial warning from the minister of health, Osagie Ehanire, that Nigerians should avoid travelling to China, the epicentre of Coronavirus, the federal government on Friday, January 31, said that citizens are free to visit the Asian nation.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

The new directive was issued by the minister of information and culture, Lai Mohammed, on Friday based on some resolutions made after an inter-ministerial meeting held in Abuja.

Mohammed, speaking to journalists, said that a travel advisory is much better than declaring a ban because doing will be the same as stigmatising the country in question.

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Coronavirus wont survive in Ghana and Africa - Korle Bu CEO

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
Passengers on Royal Caribbeans Anthem of the Seas cruise ship that docked in Bayonne on Friday morning are expected to be screened by health officials for coronavirus, officials said.

A dozen passengers on the Anthem of the Seas - all Chinese nationals- began showing signs of respiratory illness while on a cruise to the Caribbean, according to abc7ny.com. The passengers are being screened as a precaution, the report said.

Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus," Royal Caribbean said Friday in an emailed statement. "We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.

"We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.

Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis tweeted early Friday that he has consulted with health officials about the ship.

I have been briefed on the RC cruise ship arriving this morning," Davis said. " I am certain that the NJ DoH, CDC, and PA NY/NJ are prepared and equipped to address any concerns this morning.

There have been confirmed cases of coronavirus in 28 counties, according the latest numbers provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. In the U.S., 11 people from five states have tested positive, though none have been in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania. The results of 76 more tests are pending.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday launched a task force to make sure New Jersey is prepared for any threat from the surging coronavirus. The state launched a website and a hotline  1-800-222-1222  to answer questions about the virus.

Princeton University earlier this week ordered some students, faculty and staff who recently traveled to China to self-isolate

The coronavirus has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed at least 638  almost entirely in China  since it was identified in December.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was added to a list of military installations near 11 major U.S. airports that could host additional passengers if local health care facilities become filled, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.

On Friday, Japan reported 41 new cases of a virus on a quarantined cruise ship and turned away another luxury liner while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

#breaking Several ambulances just pulled up to the cruise ship.  Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas cruise ship docked 30 minutes ago in Bayonne New Jersey. We understand some passengers will be screened for #coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/wuDyslIMwo  Alex Butler (@AlexButlertv) February 7, 2020

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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China's civil aviation regulator has required all domestic airlines to strive to ensure services of international routes amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Many Chinese airlines are trying their best to find ways to overcome difficulties, said Yu Biao, an official with the Civil Aviation Administration of China, at the daily press briefing Thursday in response to reports that many foreign airlines have suspended their flights to China.

Yu took Air China as an example, noting that the carrier is applying to open international multi-stop flights to pick up more passengers, which could be a good choice at such a hard time.

The administration also worked with the foreign ministry to send out a notice to the civil aviation regulators of over 70 countries to introduce China's prevention and control measures on outbound flights, customs and quarantine, Yu said.

"We hope this could eliminate unnecessary worries of those countries," Yu added.

Yu said the authorities in some countries and regions have expressed their trust that the measures are safe and effective and responded positively to the resumption of flights.
NASA astronaut Harrison Schmitt collected the moon dust later used in this sample as part of the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

Moon dust is precious to Earthlings; after all, only about 900 lbs. (400 kilograms) of rock came back during the Apollo human lunar-landing missions in the 1960s and 1970s.

So a team of scientists set out to find a way to analyze moon dust based on only a single grain of the material. The researchers reported their results in a new study that analyzes a single grain of moon dust gathered in 1972 by astronauts on the Apollo 17 mission .

"We're analyzing rocks from space, atom by atom," lead author Jennika Greer, a doctoral student in geophysical sciences at the Field Museum and University of Chicago, said in a statement . "It's the first time a lunar sample has been studied like this. We're using a technique many geologists haven't even heard of."

Related: NASA fed Apollo 11 moon rocks to cockroaches (then things got even weirder)

"We can apply this technique to samples no one has studied," co-author Philipp Heck, a curator at the Field Museum and an associate professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, said in the same statement. "You're almost guaranteed to find something new or unexpected. This technique has such high sensitivity and resolution, you find things you wouldn't find otherwise and only use up a small bit of the sample."

Researchers use the technique, called atom probe tomography, to learn more about the moon's history. For example, scientists can analyze samples to figure out how water and helium formed on the moon . Both compounds could be useful resources for future landing missions, the first of which NASA is planning for 2024.

A microscope's view of a grain of lunar dust. (Image credit: Jennika Greer, Field Museum)

In the sample of moon dust, or regolith, that she analyzed, Greer found water, helium, iron and even traces of weathering caused by the exposure of the regolith to harsh phenomena in space, including micrometeoroids and radiation.

To find those features, she shaved a layer of a few hundred atoms of material from the surface, a sample much thinner than a sheet of paper, which is hundreds of thousands of atoms thick. Then, she placed the sample inside an atom probe at Northwestern University in Illinois and used a laser to carefully peel individual atoms off the sample and crash them into a detector plate for analysis. The team measured how long it took each atom to strike: The heavier the element, the more time it takes to reach the detector; for example, iron would travel more slowly than hydrogen.

According to the team, the same technique could be applied to samples from other solar system bodies. The Japanese Hayabusa2 and NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft are slated to return to Earth in the next few years bearing samples from asteroids they visited. "This is a technique that should definitely be applied to what they bring back, because it uses so little material but provides so much information," Greer said.

A microscopic view of a sharpened grain of moon dust. (Image credit: Jennika Greer, Field Museum)

Heck suggested that the technique could even be used on unofficial samples of moon dust, such as what astronauts accidentally brought back embedded in their spacesuits and tools. "Thousands of such grains could be on the glove of an astronaut, and it would be sufficient material for a big study," he said.

NASA is particularly interested in pursuing the technique to study space weathering. By comparing the weathered surfaces on the moon with regolith not exposed to space, scientists can learn more about what causes weathering and, by extension, could make predictions about what lies underneath the surface of asteroids and moons, the team said.

A study based on the research was published today (Feb. 7) in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .
SAGINAW TWP, MI  Morley Companies is hosting a hiring event on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to fill full-time customer service positions.

The event is scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Morley, 4075 Bay Road, and job recruiters aim to make same-day offers.

Dont miss out on this great chance to jump-start your career with one of the fastest-growing privately held companies in Michigan, reads an event description. Were hiring now, and well be making offers on-the-spot.

Morley offers a comprehensive benefits package and perks, including free on-site gym with fitness classes, according to Morleys Facebook event page. Benefits offered include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, 401(k) with percentage match, and paid vacation and holidays.

Job requirements include:

high school diploma or GED

at least 2 years of customer service experience

excellent communication skills

computer and Microsoft Office proficiency

Job seekers may park in any available spaces, including visitor parking, on the side of the building that faces McCarty Road, enter through the executive conference center and check-in at the welcome table. The dress code is business casual.

Space is limited and appointments are encouraged. Click here to schedule an appointment. Job seekers should also monitor their email prior to the event for related communications from the company.

Visit the Facebook event page for more details.

Related news:

Saginaw Valley State hosting 3 job fairs January through March

See highest and lowest wages in Saginaw County and upcoming job fairs

Saginaw County-based Morley Companies on 150 years: We have embraced change and have been successful
Taps in an apartment building in India began spewing a mix of beer, rum and brandy, leaving perplexed residents without a clean source of water.

When they contacted the local authorities, residents were told that it was actually a mistake made by officials who had dumped 6,000 litres of confiscated booze.

The seized alcohol had been disposed of in a pit, but leaked into a well through the soil, contaminating the water that supplies 18 apartments in the Thrissur district, in the Indian state Kerala.

Alcohol is seen spewing out of a pipe outside an apartment block in India after its well was contaminated with a potent mix of beer, rum and brandy

The problem was discovered when the water motor was switched on and began pumping out a brown liquid from taps.

When residents checked the tank, they discovered an oil-like film sitting on top of the water, accompanied by a horrible smell.

'We were so shocked,' said Joshy Malyiekkal, owner of the Solomon's Avenue Apartments complex, to BBC Hindi.

Malyiekkal said that due to the contamination, residents did not have a source of clean water to drink or wash. 'The children couldn't go to school and even their parents couldn't go to work.'

After they received complaints from the residents, officials have taken steps to rectify their mistake, but the process of cleaning the well could take up to a month.

During that time, residents will have to rely on deliveries of clean water from the authorities, who have provided 5000 litres of water so far, which Maliakkal says is not enough.

Authorities are working to pump the alcohol out of the well, but the process could take up to a month, leaving residents without a clean source of water

'The alcohol had come from the nearby Rachna Bar and Hotel, and Maliakkal said that workers had been seen digging a hole and disposing of the alcohol the day before their unfortunate discovery.

'The liquor had expired and was kept there since 2014 so we dug a trench on the premises to dispose of the liquor,' a local official told CNN.

'Unfortunately, it seeped into the nearby well and polluted the water stream of the nearby apartment complex.'

In 2014, Kerala became a dry state and the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but the rules were relaxed on 2017. The state has the highest level of alcohol consumption in the country.
Japan's Health Ministry on Thursday confirmed that the number of people who tested positive for the novel coronavirus on board a quarantined ship ' title=' cruise ship '>cruise ship off the coast of Yokohama has increased to 20.

On Thursday morning, the Ministry released a second set of results for tests carried out on 71 of the more than 3,700 people on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship, reports Efe news.

The ship, which moved away from the coast on Wednesday to carry out sewage sanitation tasks, will again dock at the Yokohama port and the newly identified carriers will be transferred to regional medical centres.

The Ministry has asked the rest of the 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members to remain on the ship for at least 14 days, the estimated maximum time for the incubation of the virus.

Health authorities were analyzing samples from 273 people on the ship that displayed potential symptoms.

The first man to be identified was a Hong Kong citizen in his 80s. The ship sailed on January 20 from Yokohama and went through Okinawa and Kagoshima in southwest Japan.

Counting Thursday's tally, there are already 45 people infected by the virus in Japan, which on Wednesday confirmed two cases aside from those of the cruise ship: that of a Chinese tourist, resident of Wuhan, whose wife was previously diagnosed, and a young man from Kyoto.

His relationship with China has not been specified.

Chinese health authorities on Thursday raised the death toll from the virus to 563 among the 28,018 infected diagnosed so far in the country.
Three days after the Iowa caucuses, the state Democratic party at last released all of the results, showing the tightest of races between Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

With 100% of precincts reporting, Buttigieg held a narrow lead, claiming 26.2% in state delegate equivalents, the traditional metric by which an Iowa winner has been determined. Sanders had 26.1%.

The results followed a chaotic count marred by technical issues, and an official winner has not been declared. Sanders, however, held a lead in the popular vote, and he claimed victory earlier in the day, noting that he had an advantage of roughly 6,000 votes in the first round of the caucuses and about 2,500 in the second round.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., finished third, with 18% of state delegate equivalents. Former vice president Joe Biden earned 15.8%, a disappointing fourth-place finish that he described as a "gut punch."

And Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., has 12.3% in state delegate equivalents.

All of the candidates have pledged to continue on in New Hampshire, where they are campaigning. Several of the candidates suggested that they would not seek a recanvass of the Iowa results.

"I think we've got enough of Iowa," Sanders said at a CNN town hall when asked whether he would request such a review. "We should move on to New Hampshire."

Warren, too, said she was looking ahead to New Hampshire.

"I'm not focused on Iowa now," she told reporters Thursday. "I'm focused on moving forward."

In his own appearance on CNN, Buttigieg demurred when asked about a possible recanvass. "I'll leave it to the party to get into that," he said. "But what I'll say is, nothing can take away what happened Monday night. It was an extraordinary moment."

The final release of results late Thursday capped off Iowa's first-in-the-nation nominating process - one that started off smoothly Monday, by most accounts, then devolved into chaos and uncertainty as precinct captains reported problems with transmitting data to the state party using a new app. When the app failed, many tried calling in their precinct's numbers over a party hotline, only to encounter hold times of more than an hour in some cases.

As Monday stretched into the wee hours of Tuesday morning - and with most candidates jetting off to New Hampshire, the next nominating state - there were still no official results available.

Late Tuesday afternoon, the state party released an initial batch of results, to the dismay of candidates such as Biden and Warren, who said the party should have waited until all the results were available before publicizing them. Buttigieg, meanwhile, had already declared his campaign victorious the night before, ahead of leaving Iowa for New Hampshire.

Three days later, at his New Hampshire headquarters in Manchester, Sanders would also declare victory, citing popular vote numbers with 97% of the Iowa results reported.

"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said early Thursday afternoon. "When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory."

Sanders diminished the importance of the state delegate equivalents, saying they were "meaningless" because he and Buttigieg were both likely to receive the same number of national delegates.

"Those national delegates, not the state delegates, are the ones that really matter in the nominating process," Sanders said.

Sanders's speech came less than an hour after Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called for a recanvass of the results from the Iowa caucuses.

Though Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, had promised that forthcoming results would be accurate, another batch released Wednesday afternoon was quickly recalled after people pointed out errors - including one that had given former Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick a sudden boost in state delegate equivalents. Patrick, who waited until November to enter the race, had largely skipped campaigning in Iowa.

"There will be a minor correction to the last batch of results and we will be pushing an update momentarily," the state party tweeted Wednesday.

State delegate equivalent figures show how support from caucus-goers roughly translates into the number of delegates each candidate will get at the state convention. Those then translate into how many of Iowa's 41 pledged national delegates (out of 3,979 nationwide) each candidate will get.

Biden on Wednesday said the results were disheartening.

"I am not going to sugarcoat it," he told a standing-room-only crowd at a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. "We took a gut punch in Iowa. The whole process took a gut punch. But look, this isn't the first time in my life I've been knocked down."

Buttigieg called the early results "the single best piece of news" his campaign has received.

"This is definitely a victory for this campaign," he told CNN on Tuesday, shortly after the early results were released. "I know we got some more math coming in, but any way you cut it . . . we've been able to do something extraordinary."

Sanders's campaign expressed more caution Tuesday but was quick to highlight the candidate's popular-vote edge.

"We want to thank the people of Iowa. We are gratified that in the partial data released so far, it's clear that in the first and second round more people voted for Bernie than any other candidate in the field," Sanders senior adviser Jeff Weaver said in a statement regarding the early results.

Until this year, the Iowa Democratic Party released only state delegate equivalent counts, and those numbers remain the traditional metric for a campaign's victory.
The College of Military Engineering of the Indian Army has developed the world's first helmet which can stop an AK-47 bullet round from a distance of 10 meters. The helmet launched at the DefExpo-2020 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, weighs 1.4 kgs, according to news agency ANI.

The college has also developed India's first and world's cheapest gunshot locator. In a joint venture with a private firm, this innovation of the college can locate the exact location of the bullet from a distance of 400 meters which will help to locate and neutralise terrorists faster.

The 11th edition of DefExpo in Lucknow is India's biennial military exhibition which seeks to showcase the potential of the country as a global defence manufacturing hub. It has become one of India's largest defence exhibition platform as well as one of the top DefExpo in the world. This time more than a thousand defence manufacturers and 150 companies from all over the world are part of this Expo.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said over 200 MoUs have been signed so far at the DefExpo, asserting that the country is on its way to achieving the target of USD 5 billion in defence exports by 2024. Addressing an event at DefExpo, he said the Centre's policy for the sector has begun delivering results.

"In 2018-19, defence exports were Rs 10,745 crore, which was seven times the exports in 2016-17. Seeing the success of this Defence expo, I am sure that by 2024 we will achieve the target of five billion dollars in defence exports," the minister said. He said so far 200 agreements have been signed during this DefExpo and described the outcome as "historic".

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said the initial target for the Lucknow DefExpo was 100 Memorandums of Understanding and business agreements, but till now 200 MoUs have been signed. Kumar described it as the beginning of a new chapter in this sector. Indigenously developed products including artillery guns, helicopters, anti-tank missiles and bulletproof jackets are showcased at the DefExpo.

Rajnath Singh said this reflected Indian capabilities in defence production, according to a press release. Defence manufacturing firms from across the world are participating in the five-day event inaugurated on February 5 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who indicated that the country is eyeing the export target of USD 5 billion by 2024. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the state has signed 23 MoUs at the DefExpo through the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPIEDA). This is expected to bring in an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and generate 2.50-3 lakh jobs, he said.
The storm front destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi and Alabama, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky, and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region. In Florida, high winds closed both the north and south lanes of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge spanning Tampa Bay, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Afternoon tornado watches were in effect for a huge swath of the southeast, from the Florida Panhandle up through North Carolina.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Falling in the South Delhi Parliamentary constituency, Ambedkar Nagar is a Scheduled Caste reserved seat which is ready for a fierce battle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).



It was with the Congress since 1993 before falling in the AAPs kitty in 2013.

Former Congress MLA Prem Singh held the constituency for four terms between 1993 and 2008 till he lost to AAPs Ashok Kumar Chauhan in 2013.

It has been downhill for the Congress since then as the BJP leapfrogged to the runner up position in 2013 and 2015.

The BJP has placed its trust on Khushi Ram Chunar to take on AAPs sitting MLA Ajay Dutt. Yaduraj Chaudhary is the Congress candidate.

At ground level, the demolished Bus Rapid Transit corridor, the poor roads leading to localities inside Dakshin Puri and Madangir show signs of dilapidation. Piles of garbage and open sewers make it more than obvious about under development in the constituency.

No wonder that many locals feel that the local AAP legislator has a tough fight in his hand. Jitender Singh, a chemist, pointed at the small iron gates at the entrance towards the residential localities of Dakshin Puri.

These gates were installed by the AAP in last six months for safety. The pathetic condition of roads is clear and open sewer indicates that the current government hasnt done much on development, Jitender said. Another local Puran Chand said though there is an AAP wave, the competition is tough from the AAP.



ALSO READ | BJP will form govt in Delhi by winning more than 45 seats: Amit Shah



BJP candidate Khushi Ram is a strong candidate. He is from Scheduled Caste and connects with a large population in this constituency. Last time, the winning margin was not too wide between him and the AAP candidate. The BJP campaign has been very effective this year, Chand told this newspaper. Ambedkar Nagar constituency includes half of Deoli, Tikri, Pushp Vikar, Khanpur, Dakshin Puri, Madangir and also the posh Sainik Farms.



The reason behind the AAPs resonance among a large section of voters in this constituency is the freebies of free electricity and water.

It was so difficult to live in Delhi because of skyrocketing expenditure on basic essentials, but life is easy ever since the AAP has come in governance. Kejriwal has given the people better education for children, free electricity and water. My electricity bill was exceeding my budget but since we got the facility from the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government, I am managing everything, said Sonia Chaudhary, who runs a boutique at her house in Madangir.

Not all are impressed as Sonia. Hari Ram a transport dealer invoked the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that AAP was becoming a hindrance for implementation of the central government schemes.



The BJP is running the country right now. They have more power to change the lives of people but Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has not allowed the BJPs schemes to work in Delhi so that he can rule here. We will vote carefully in this election and not fall in any trap, Ram said.
Not for distribution to U.S. newswire services for dissemination in the United States of America. Any failure to comply with this restriction may constitute a violation of U. S. securities law.

TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the news release, Stratabound Increases New McIntyre Brook Land Package by 750% and Provides update on 2019 Drilling, issued on February 6, 2020 by Stratabound Minerals Corp., please note the following changes were made in the release. Two changes are in the first paragraph where 245,000 hectares was changed to 2,450 hectares and 37,500 hectares was changed to 375 hectares. The remaining three changes are under the headings McIntyre-Moose Brook Claim Group Option Agreement:, Gold Brook Claim Group Option Agreement: and Stratabound Completes Staking of New Claim: where 160,000 hectares, 22,500 hectares and 62,500 hectares were changed to 1,600 hectares, 225 hectares and 625 hectares respectively. The complete, corrected release follows:

Stratabound Increases New McIntyre Brook Land Package by 750% and Provides update on 2019 Drilling

February 6, 2020  Toronto, Ontario: Stratabound Minerals Corp. (TSXV: SB) (Stratabound or the Company) is pleased to announce that it is acquiring an additional 2,450 hectares of favourable prospective ground adjacent to and along strike of its currently optioned 375 hectare McIntyre Brook Gold Project in northern New Brunswick through staking and further property option and purchase agreements.

The total acquisition package will extend the strike component from 1.2 km to approximately 12 km and includes three recorded gold and base metals showings approximately 10 km along strike to the west of the main McIntyre Brook Gold Occurrence. This property, already optioned by Stratabound, features 40 grab and trench samples grading between 0.25 to 43.1 gpt gold in a newly recognized iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) style of mineralization along 300m of open-ended strike as reported in the previous press release of Dec. 5, 2019.

McIntyre-Moose Brook Claim Group Option Agreement:

Stratabound has signed a Definitive Option and Purchase Agreement which sets out the terms under which Stratabound has the right and option to earn 100% interest in 11 claims comprising 1,600 hectares located either side of the currently held McIntyre Option through cash payments, share issuances and work commitments. Stratabound will issue 500,000 common shares to the owner subject to TSXV approval, and by the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of signing Stratabound has committed to complete $10,000, $10,000, $15,000 and $15,000 respectively, in exploration work at the property. Payments on the first, second, third and fourth anniversaries of signing of $40,000, $60,000, $70,000 and $80,000 respectively, are required to maintain the option, which may be paid, at Stratabounds election, up to 50% in shares. Upon completion of the fourth anniversary payment Stratabound will have earned 100% ownership in the claims. Stratabound has the option to accelerate the payments and expenditures to exercise the Option sooner if it so desires. Stratabound has also agreed to pay the owner a 2% net smelter return royalty on production from the claims of which 1% may be bought back for $1M.

This new claim group features one recorded base metals and two gold showings including a 2011 drill hole that intersected 1.2 gpt gold over 2 metres within 0.49 gpt gold over 11 metres down the hole, west along strike of the main McIntyre trench results previously reported.

Gold Brook Claim Group Option Agreement:

Stratabound has also signed a definitive option agreement which sets out the terms under which Stratabound has the right and option to earn 100% interest in 1 claim comprising 225 hectares located south adjacent to the currently held McIntyre Option through cash payments, share issuances and work commitments. Stratabound will issue 90,000 common shares to the owner subject to TSXV approval, and by the second and third anniversaries of signing Stratabound has committed to complete $5,000 and $5,000 respectively, in exploration work at the property. Payments on the first, second and third anniversaries of signing of $5,000, $10,000, and $15,000 respectively, are required to maintain the option, which may be paid, at Stratabounds election, up to 50% in shares. Upon completion of the third anniversary payment Stratabound will have earned 100% ownership in the claims. Stratabound has the option to accelerate the payments and expenditures to complete the ownership to exercise the Option sooner if it so desires. Stratabound has also agreed to pay the owner a 2% net smelter return royalty on production from the claims of which 1% may be bought back for $1M.

Stratabound Completes Staking of New Claim:

In addition to the acquisitions through option agreements Stratabound has completed staking of a new claim block comprising 625 hectares located adjacent to the north of the currently held McIntyre Option.

Figure 1 is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d9dc273-9a68-47b0-a7a3-ce7366744825

McIntyre Main Block December 2019 Drilling Update:

Two diamond drill holes were completed in December 2019. The program was cut short due to heavy snow fall and inclement weather. Results of the drilling are expected to be released shortly.

Mr. R. Kim Tyler, President and CEO of the Company stated, We are very pleased to be acquiring these new properties alongside our previously optioned central McIntyre Brook Block. IOCG-type deposits are an exotic new style only recently being recognized in North America and have the potential to be world-class deposits on par with Australias Olympic Dam and Chiles Candelaria mines. Stratabound is pleased to be moving to the forefront of exploration for these types of deposits in the Canadian Maritimes.

About Stratabound

Stratabound Minerals Corp. is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on gold exploration at its flagship Golden Culvert Project, Yukon Territory and its new McIntyre Brook Project, New Brunswick, Canada. The Company also holds a significant land position that hosts three base metals deposits in the Bathurst base metals camp of New Brunswick featuring the Captain Copper-Cobalt Deposit that hosts an NI 43-101 Measured and Indicated Resource.

Mr. R. Kim Tyler, P.Geo., President and CEO of Stratabound, and a Qualified Person for the purpose of NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. For further information, please visit the Stratabound web site at www.stratabound.com .

For further information contact:

R. Kim Tyler, President and CEO

416-915-4157

info@stratabound.com

www.stratabound.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.

WARNING: The Company relies upon litigation protection for forward looking statements. The information in this release may contain forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. This forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by the forward-looking information. Factors that may cause actual results to vary materially include, but are not limited to, inaccurate assumptions concerning the exploration for and development of mineral deposits, currency fluctuations, unanticipated operational or technical difficulties, changes in laws or regulations, failure to obtain regulatory, exchange or shareholder approval, the risks of obtaining necessary licenses and permits, changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets and the inability to raise additional financing. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update this forward-looking information after the date of this release or to revise such information to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
The Charger Blog

Marissa Lehner 21 says the experiences she had studying at the University of New Havens campus in Prato, Italy, and attending a Model United Nations conference in Erfurt, Germany, will stay with her the rest of her life. By Marissa Lehner 21

Lehner (left) attended a Model United Nations conference in Germany.

During the fall semester, I had the privilege of not only studying abroad at the University of New Havens campus in Prato, Italy, but, also, competing with the Universitys Model United Nations team at an international conference in Erfurt, Germany. My experiences enabled me to discover how an international perspective on history and current issues is crucial to working toward a better future.

Throughout the semester in Prato, it was sometimes easy to forget that we were going to school. Much of what we learned we saw with our own eyes  we didnt just read about it in a textbook. Many of us explored the history not only of Prato, but also other parts of Italy as well as Europe as a whole.

Marissa Lehner 21

Although it was easy to get lost in the art, architecture, and culture we experienced, it was just as striking to see the stumbling stones on the streets of Prato, which mark the Italians who were deported during World War II, or to watch people of all ages in cities across Europe walk the streets to protest climate change. It reinforced the fact that though we may all come from different places, we all share a history  and a future.

The importance of what one might call shared humanity was further reinforced when I attended the Model United Nations conference in Erfurt, Germany. These conferences always have a large international focus, as many students travel from across the world to attend. But this conference was different.

"The most impactful part of the conference was the international cooperation that we were emulating." Marissa Lehner 21

The conference focused on multilateralism and the importance of building bridges  not walls  between people. This metaphor was especially impactful considering where we were: Erfurt is located in what was formerly East Germany, and 2019 marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. All week, this served as a reminder of the importance of not only remembering the past, but, also, creating a better future.

This was apparent when the committee meetings were held. I represented Japan on the Human Rights Council throughout the week, and our meetings were held in a building that previously served as a prison for political opponents of the East German government and headquarters for the East German police. Being able to discuss current human rights issues while standing in a place that has so much history with human rights violations was incredibly moving. It made the issues we were discussing seem all that more real.

Marissa Lehner 21 studied in Italy during the fall semester.

The most impactful part of the conference was the international cooperation that we were emulating. As we came together to represent different countries, many of us brought experiences from very different backgrounds. We all had different perspectives on the various issues we addressed, and our solutions reflected that.

The conference reinforced the importance of working together to solve the problems that the world faces  and will continue to face. I would like to thank everyone who made our attendance at this conference possible, including University benefactors Phil and Susan Bartels, Dr. Chris Haynes, and Joseph Scollo. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to attend the Model United Nations conference, and I know that what I learned will stay with me for the rest of my life.
A man in Kathonzweni, Makueni County, Kenya has been disarmed after he deflated a Catholic priests car tyres alleging that he caught the clergyman red-handed with his wife.

According to the police report, Thomas Kimeu Mulwa, a licensed firearm holder arrived at his house in Kathonzweni at 2 am on Thursday morning.

Mulwa said he found a strange vehicle parked in his compound and on inquiring about its ownership, one of his servants told him it belonged to Father Wesonga Maloba of Gatundu Parish.

He knocked on the door but there was no response. He was told by his servant that the vehicle belonged to a Catholic priestIn the process, he fired four rounds of 9mm deflating the four tyres, alleging that the priest was sleeping with his wife, said the police report.



Further, the police said the mans wife, Susan Kivuva, refused to open the door to let him in.

The scene was visited by National Police Service officers from Kathonzweni sub-county. The firearm, make Ceska, has been repossessed with two empty magazines and 13 live ammunition, said police.

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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed how the late former President of Kenya, Arap Moi, educated him on the Sudan crisis.

Obasanjo acknowledged the contributions of the late Africanist, who passed on February 4, towards the search for international peace, especially in Africa.

He recalled Mois efforts at engendering the successful outcome of the peace negotiations, which he brokered between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement/Army in 2002.

Obasanjo affirmed that the successful execution of the Machakos Agreement by the two major parties to the Sudanese conflict represented a substantial step in the direction of a just and durable resolution of the long-drawn crisis in Sudan.



In a letter of condolence sent to President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Thursday, the former Nigerian leader said that President Moi lived a fulfilled life, having served his country energetically in various capacities before he finally became the second President of Kenya from 1978 to 2002.

A man of principle and commitment, he embodied the virtues of labour. He was accommodating but firm and decisive.

Obasanjo recalled that under President Moi, Kenya was globally acknowledged as not only a frontline State that had widespread influence in cementing East African countries like Uganda and Tanzania into a coherent trading block but also one of the few African countries that have served as a beacon for the hope of African Renaissance.

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The last two flights that the US State Department chartered to evacuate Americans from the coronavirus outbreak's epicenter in Wuhan, China, have landed in Texas and California after one passenger on each showed symptoms of coronavirus, forcing the planes to be held temporarily.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sources told Fox that there were 'two persons of interest' had started to show signs of the virus, such as cough, trouble breathing or fever.

The first plane has now landed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego after being paused in Vancouver, Canada.

A second plane slated has landed Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas - with its final destination at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska - after being held at Travis Air Force Base in California.

Each plane is thought to be carrying about 300 passengers, and the last the State Department spoke to Wuhan evacuations, these were the last evacuees the US had any intention of going back to rescue.

Once they reach their final d destinations at the San Diego, San Antonio and Omaha air bases (passengers from the first plane will be dropped off in both Texas and Nebraska), the evacuees will join hundreds of other Americans repatriated from Wuhan and will be placed under a 14-day federally mandated quarantine.

So far, more than 800 Americans have been evacuated from Wuhan, the White House's coronavirus task force said on Friday.

In addition to travel restrictions and quarantines, the task force is working on the development of vaccines, additional diagnostics and treatments, one of which is on track to begin clinical trials in humans in two-and-a-half months, said National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases Dr Anthony Fauci during a Friday press briefing.

And US Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said that the Trump Administration is prepared to commit up to $100 million to the ongoing efforts to fight the outbreak.

The task force said that while the outbreak is 'beyond containment' in China, and the virus does appear to be transmissible even when a patient doesn't have symptoms, the risk remains low in the US.

One of the last two planes is currently held at Travis Air Base because a passenger developed potential coronavirus symptoms, before going on to its planned final destination at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, where some evacuees have already landed and been quarantined (pictured: an evacuation flight that landed Wednesday)

Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska is the final destination for the second flight, which is currently held in Vancouver with a potentially infected passenger and is then expected to drop some if the evacuees in San Antonio

A child and his mother were among the hundreds of passengers that flew into California on one of the last two flights out of Wuhan on Friday

Abigail Roth, five, wore a face mask during her harrowing journey back to the US from Wuhan with her mother and sister. The family was on the second flight out of Wuhan, and is now under quarantine in California

US CASES OF CORONAVIRUS RISE TO 12 AS THE CDC AWAITS THE RESULTS THE RESULTS OF 100 TESTS

So far, 12 cases have been confirmed on US soil, though some are improving.

On Thursday, a husband and wife who were the first case of human-to-human transmission of coronavirus in the US were discharged from the hospital and sent home to self-isolate.

The first US patient as well as a pair of infected Chicago patients were released from the hospital this week after treatment.

Earlier this week, patient zero in the US, a 36-year-old man in Washington state, was also discharged from the hospital. He had been treated experimentally with Remdesivir, a drug developed originally to treat Ebola, and a case report says a single dose led to significant improvement of his symptoms.

California has the greatest number of coronavirus cases, at six, including a husband and wife who are the second case of human-to-human transmission in the US.

In addition to the original patient in Washington and the pair in Illinois, Arizona and Washington each have on cases of coronavirus.

The most recent US case diagnosed was in Wisconsin, in a person of undisclosed age and sex.

Other possible cases under investigation are in Pennsylvania, where a Lafayette College student who has visited China developed symptoms, and in Texas, where a man has been tested but the results have not yet come back.

In California, a second child was taken from quarantine at March Air Reserve to the hospital this week with a fever, though they had no other symptoms. The first child that was taken to the hospital from the base has since tested negative for the virus.

Meanwhile, a person in New Jersey has been placed under mandatory quarantine after traveling from the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China.

The woman, who is not a resident of the state, flew from Hubei Province to Newark Liberty International Airport on Tuesday on a United Airlines flight, according to the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH).

She did not show any symptoms of coronavirus but, because she traveled within the province where the virus originated, health officials told her she had to be placed under quarantine.

The NJDOH said the woman is staying at an undisclosed location in Essex County where she will be monitored.

Similarly, a man in California who had recently been to the Hubei province of China - the region that Wuhan is located in - has been transported to March Air Reserve for quarantine per the protocols announced by the White House's coronavirus task force last Friday.

There are now more than 21,000 confirmed cases worldwide, in at least 27 countries and territories, and more than 630 people - all but two of which were in China - have died.

There are currently 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, with the most recent confirmed on Wednesday in an unidentified Wisconsin patient

The twelfth case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Wisconsin in a patient who recently traveled to Beijing. Pictured: Medical staff in protective suits treat a coronavirus patient at Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, January 27

More than 41,500 cases have been confirmed in at least 25 countries and territories around the world and more than 630 people - all but two of whom were in China - have died

HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced on Friday that the US would commit up to $100 million to helping China and other countries fight the coronavirus outbreak that's spread to at least 27 countries

HUNDREDS OF AMERICANS QUARANTINED

Five planes have now returned to the US, carrying more than 800 passengers evacuated from Wuhan.

The first was chartered by the State Department to retrieve diplomats from the epicenter of the outbreak after Wuhan was put on lockdown.

Following that first flight, another four were chartered to rescue stranded visitors.

According to the White House's Friday press briefing, the US sent 18 tons of medical supplies - such as gowns, masks and gloves - on the flights to China, where shortages are a growing concern.

But following the Trump administration's travel restrictions, they and any citizen or close family member of a citizen who returns to the US within two weeks of travel to Hubei, will be held in a federally mandated quarantine for 14 days.

This is the first time the CDC has mandated a quarantine in 50 years.

Quarantines have been set up on the grounds of several Air Force bases, including March Air Reserve, Travis Air Force Base and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, all in California.

An additional quarantine is ready set up at the Fire Training Academy in North Bend, Washington and, ostensibly, at or near the Texas and Nebraska air bases where one of the two last flights out of Wuhan landed Friday.

A child who was among the 195 Americans on the first flight evacuated from Wuhan, and who are now quarantined at March Air Reserve in Riverside, California, has been hospitalized with a fever, but later tested negative for coronavirus and was taken back to quarantine.

Wednesday night, another child with a fever followed that same trajectory, though the results of their coronavirus test have not been announced.

Aside from a fever, neither child had other symptoms, according to Jose Arballo, Jr, a spokesman from the Riverside County Department of Public Health.

Quarantined Americans on the bases, where they are mostly staying in on-base hotels, are entertaining themselves by learning Zumba and boxing, drawing on sidewalks and teaching one another various skills.

Hundreds more people - including Americans - are currently quarantined on cruise ships, or have been taken off of them for treatment.

In Japan, eight Americans who were on the now-quarantined Diamond Princess ship have been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Another cruise ship-turned-floating-quarantine has now docked near New York City. Twenty-seven of its passengers were further screened, and four were taken to a hospital for examination and testing for coronavirus.

During the Friday press briefing, CDC director Dr Robert Redfield said that while Americans should not be afraid to take any cruise, they might consider what parts of the world the ship was going to or had been, and how likely contact with travelers from China would be.

A child on the first flight of Americans that were evacuated from Wuhan, and who are currently quarantined in Riverside County, California, has been hospitalized with a fever. Pictured: Personnel in protective clothing approach the flight that evacuated Americans after it arrived at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, January 29, 2020

Aside from a fever, the child had other symptoms. Samples were taken and sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing. Pictured, left and right: Officials in hazmat suits met passengers as they stepped off the plane and onto awaiting buses

Milena Basso (left) and Gaetano Cerullo (right) are among the Americans passengers trapped on the cruise ship in Japan

WHITE HOUSE COMMITS $100 MILLION TO FIGHTING OUTBREAK IN THE US AND ABROAD AS CDC REPORTS STEPS TOWARD TREATMENT

Surging cases of coronavirus last month triggered stock price free falls. Public health experts reminded the world that just six months of the 2003 SARS outbreak cost the global economy some $40 billion - and warned that 2019-nCoV could cost more.

'The novel coronavirus outbreak has now spread to 27 other countries and I'm now pleased to announce that the US government is ready to spend up to $100 million to assist China and other countries...and the WHO to combat coronavirus,' said HHS Secretary Azar on Friday.

The financing promise was made in spite of his acknowledgment that China has yet to allow American scientists into the country to study coronavirus (although several US scientists seem to be among the group of WHO experts that the international agency has said will now be able to go into China to study and assist with the outbreak).

'Our long-standing offer to send world class experts from the US to assist China remains on the table,' said Secretary Azar.

Last week, The HHS sent notice to Congress that it may request to transfer funds to further support work against the outbreak, but Azar said that for the moment the response is still being financed by the $105 million allocated to US agencies for tackling health emergencies.

So far, that's helped the CDC to ship its emergently-authorized coronavirus test to more than 100 US labs, in an effort to expedite screening and contact tracing.

CDC and National Institutes of Health (NIH) officials have also partnered with private pharma firms in the hopes of creating additional tests, vaccines and treatments.

Dr Fauci said on Friday that US officials had been pursuing two treatment options, and one has been identified as a solid 'candidate' therapy.

The drug, Remdesivir, was originally developed to treat Ebola, but doctors believe that it was responsible for easing the symptoms of the first US coronavirus patient after just one test.

And now, Dr Fauci says it's on track for development into a more broadly distributed treatment.

He said a clinical trial has already begun in China and that one should be starting soon in the US, too.

'I'm happy to tell you there have been no glitches,' in the development so far, Dr Fauci said Friday.

'It succeeded in the first step, now we put it in mouse models...thus far no glitches and I think there will likely not be, and if that occurs, we will be in people with a phase 1 trial within two-and-a-half months.'

The CDC have shipped coronavirus tests to more than 100 labs after getting emergency approval from the FDA. Pictured: Medical staff in protective suits treat a coronavirus patient at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan, January 28

Each of the first 100 or so labs will get two test kits, capable of screening 700 to 800 patient samples. Pictured: Medical workers in protective gear help a suspected coronavirus patient get out of an ambulance in Wuhan

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARES CORONAVIRUS A GLOBAL HEALTH EMERGENCY

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced LAST WEEK that it was declaring the deadly coronavirus outbreak spreading from China to be a global health emergency.

The warning, officially known as a 'public health emergency of international concern' and defined as an 'extraordinary event', is the highest alert the UN health agency can issue.

Just one week ago, the organization decided to hold off the declaration as there was no evidence of human-to-human evidence outside of China.

However, in the week since, the number of cases surged ten-fold.

'The main reason for this declaration is not for what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries,' Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said at a press conference.

'Our greatest concern is for the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, which are ill prepared to deal with it.'

He added that the declaration didn't mean a 'vote of no confidence in China' and, in fact, congratulated the Chinese government for taking 'extraordinary measures' to contain the outbreak.

This marks the fifth time the WHO has made such a declaration since the rule to do was implemented in 2005: for the influenza pandemic of 2009, a resurgence of polio 2014, the Ebola crisis in 2014, the outbreak of Zika virus outbreak in 2016 and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019.

Such a declaration does not give the WHO more money, but officials can make recommendation on travel or trade was well as mobilize public and political action.

Last week, the World Health Organization announced in a press conference (pictured) that it was declaring the deadly coronavirus outbreak to be a global health emergency
(Newser)  Another debate gets rolling Friday at 8pm ET on ABC. This time, seven Democrats will be on stage in Manchester, New HampshireJoe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. Here's a look at what's stake and what to watch for:

Biden: The former VP held no public events in New Hampshire Thursday, just five days before the primary, so he could hole up with advisers back home in Delaware, "seeking a reset and perhaps a last-ditch effort to save his candidacy," per the Washington Post. It all starts with Friday night's debate. Biden did poorly in Iowa, and he's on track for another lackluster finish in New Hampshire. A notable indicator: His campaign pulled money from South Carolina, which votes Feb. 29, and moved it to Nevada, which votes sooner on Feb. 22. It suggests Biden fears the worst in New Hampshire and knows he may not be able to survive three consecutive bad election results, notes the Post.

The former VP held no public events in New Hampshire Thursday, just five days before the primary, so he could hole up with advisers back home in Delaware, "seeking a reset and perhaps a last-ditch effort to save his candidacy," per the Washington Post. It all starts with Friday night's debate. Biden did poorly in Iowa, and he's on track for another lackluster finish in New Hampshire. A notable indicator: His campaign pulled money from South Carolina, which votes Feb. 29, and moved it to Nevada, which votes sooner on Feb. 22. It suggests Biden fears the worst in New Hampshire and knows he may not be able to survive three consecutive bad election results, notes the Post. Biden II: At the Los Angeles Times, David Lauter amplifies the stakes: Biden finished fourth in Iowa, and a fourth-place finish in New Hampshire "might not be survivable." Biden, therefore, will need to be persuasive Friday night in a state that isn't great for him: Not only is it largely white, notes Lauter, its electorate is heavy on white-collar voters.

story continues below

Sanders: The big question in much of the previews is whether Sanders will go after Buttigieg. They are essentially tied for first in Iowa and tied atop the latest New Hampshire polls. I like Pete Buttigieg, nice guy, Sanders said Friday. "But we are in a moment where billionaires control not only our economy but our political life. The New York Times reports he cited newspaper coverage citing support of Buttigieg from millionaires and billionaires, and it could be a hint of what's to come Friday night. However, the Times notes that Sanders still sees Biden as more of a long-term threat and may go after him, too.

The big question in much of the previews is whether Sanders will go after Buttigieg. They are essentially tied for first in Iowa and tied atop the latest New Hampshire polls. I like Pete Buttigieg, nice guy, Sanders said Friday. "But we are in a moment where billionaires control not only our economy but our political life. The New York Times reports he cited newspaper coverage citing support of Buttigieg from millionaires and billionaires, and it could be a hint of what's to come Friday night. However, the Times notes that Sanders still sees Biden as more of a long-term threat and may go after him, too. Buttigieg: He could be a big target from multiple rivals, especially in terms of experience, because of his strong Iowa finish. Plus, he irked his fellow candidates by essentially declaring victory even before the first caucus results were in, per the Times.

He could be a big target from multiple rivals, especially in terms of experience, because of his strong Iowa finish. Plus, he irked his fellow candidates by essentially declaring victory even before the first caucus results were in, per the Times. Warren: She finished third in Iowa and also needs a New Hampshire bump. The Wall Street Journal observes that the debate "could prove critical" as well as tricky for her. She's been urging party unity of late, suggesting she might not engage when the other candidates begin sparring.

She finished third in Iowa and also needs a New Hampshire bump. The Wall Street Journal observes that the debate "could prove critical" as well as tricky for her. She's been urging party unity of late, suggesting she might not engage when the other candidates begin sparring. Klobuchar: CNN suggests the Minnesota senator could be a threat to others on stage because New Hampshire is a "do-or-die state" for her. She has gone on the attack in previous debates, particularly against Buttigieg, and Friday's debate could well be her final chance to vault into the top tier of candidates.

CNN suggests the Minnesota senator could be a threat to others on stage because New Hampshire is a "do-or-die state" for her. She has gone on the attack in previous debates, particularly against Buttigieg, and Friday's debate could well be her final chance to vault into the top tier of candidates. And: Yang and Steyer, of course, will be looking for breakout moments, and the Hill also wonders whether the absent Mike Bloomberg will loom as a presence over the debate. The billionaire is waiting out the early states, and "how or whether he weighs on the discussion on Friday night remains a key question." Another factor: How many people will be watching on a Friday night?

(Read more Democratic debate stories.)
The Mumbai Police's Crime Branch on Friday claimed to have busted an illegal Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone exchange which facilitated international calls with the arrest of a 34-year-old man from Kerala.

Names of some more suspects, including a Chinese national, came up during the arrested man's interrogation, a police official said here.

A SIMBOX enables calls to be routed through Internet, cutting cellular service providers out of the loop, he said. The investigators seized eight such SIMBOX units, procured from China.

"Hilar Thacharail Mohammed Kutty, resident of Palakkad in Kerala who runs a software business, was arrested on Thursday," the Crime Branch official added.

The arrest came after teams of the Crime Branch and Military Intelligence conducted raids in Kerala and in Noida in Uttar Pradesh, the official said.

"A special team of Crime Branch officials conducted raids and seized eight SIMBOX units and more than 600 SIM cards," he said.

Kutty had worked in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where he met members of a similar racket, and after returning to India, he started his own illegal telephone exchange, the official said.

"During his interrogation names of his aides have come to light. We are verifying the information," he said.

The gang was involved in these activities since 2017 and cheated telecom service providers such as Idea, Vodafone and Airtel and the Government of India out of crores of rupees in revenue, he said.

The investigators suspect that another illegal telephone exchange was being operated from some other place, the official added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prohibiting political adds on social media: Why no order as yet, HC asks ECI

From Pipli to the World: The story behind PMNCH 2018

Harsh Vardhan comes on a bicycle to take charge of ministry

Explainer: As Centre drafts bill with 5yr jail for fair skin ads, is it time to be 'fair'?

India

oi-Briti Roy Barman

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Health and Family Welfare Ministry has proposed the draft amendment to the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements Act, 1954), with a stringent punishment of a jail term of up to five years and a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh for advertisements for remedies for fair skin by drugs.

The draft also includes the other proposals like enhancing sexual performance, stammering, infertility in women, premature ageing and greying, increasing brain capacity.

The draft amendment has listed 78 diseases, disorders and conditions saying any "magic remedies" to cure these should not be advertised.

Here are some of the new included additions that the Centre is opposing against for ads--disorders of menstrual flow hysteria, obesity, improvement in height of kids/adults, enhancing sexual performance, sexual impotence, premature ejaculation and spermatorrhoea, cure for AIDS, and insanity.

Under the act, the first conviction is proposed to increase the punishment and penalties to up to two years and fine up to Rs 10 lakh from six months or fine or both while the subsequent conviction to increase to five years with a fine of up to Rs 50 lakh from a year or fine, or both.

The objections may be forwarded within 45 days from the date of issue of this notice.

The root of the racism

The Indian subcontinent has been under the radar of various settlers, rulers, invaders, colonizers, and traders from the very 1400s who were Dutch, French, Portuguese, Mughals, and of course, the British.

The British were settled in the country from the 17th century till 1947.

All these foreigners were of relatively fair complexion and were relatively claimed to be superior.

During the British Empire, they kept light-skinned Indians as allies and gave them extra advantages over the dark-skinned ones.

The East India Company named their settlement-for as 'White Town' while their Indian settlement 'Black Town'.

Also, according to the Indian socio-economic hierarchy, the upper castes like Brahmins and Kshatriyas were fair-skinned and lower castes who performed manual tasks, were dark-skinned.

Reason?

People from lower castes were tagged of having dark skin because for generations they have been subjected to hard physical labour which were mostly exposed in the sun.

So after a certain time fair-skinned became synonymous with the elite class and darker-skinned Indians were not allowed to match with them.

Farming still is one of the most major profession in India. Our culture and history speak for farmers, who have to toil under the scorching sun which makes their skin darker.

As farmers are not so-called rich in our society, fair skin equalled only for prosperity.

Country's obsession for fair skin is recent. If you look at the Gods, Krishna, Parvati, Arjun, Vishnu, they are mostly dusky.

This particular racism is brought by our rulers and inherited by our ancestors and having dark skin became a stigma for Indian men and women. And many companies have been doing business over the weakness for decades.

The skin whitening market of the country is expected to achieve annual market revenue of $720 million by 2023 and the category of women's fairness cream is supposed to achieve market revenues of more than Rs 5,000 crores by 2023, with the dark-skinned unmarried women still are waiting to be fairer to find groom.
Fatah and Hamas are working to put aside their differences to foil the "deal of the century," which the White House unveiled Jan. 28. All Palestinians, including the two long-divided movements, denounced the peace plan, which Palestinians say heavily favors Israel.

Palestinians are evaluating the negative implications of the deal, as well as its potential to turn the page on the Palestinian division. Their similar take on the peace plan stirs talk about how determined they are to achieve reconciliation and refuse the deal in one united voice. They are discussing the remaining points of contention between them, a possible meeting between their leaders  be it in Gaza or outside of it  and their demands from each other to achieve reconciliation.

In a rare step following the deal's introduction, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on most Palestinian faction leaders, including Hamas leaders in the West Bank, to come to the presidential headquarters in Ramallah. Hamas figures responded to the invitation, including several former ministers and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council such as Nasser al-Din al-Shaer, Samir Abu Aisha, Ayman Daraghmeh, Omar Abdul Razak and Ahmed Atoun.

Also that day, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called Abbas and stressed his rejection of the deal, the importance of national unity, and Hamas readiness to work jointly with Fatah politically and in the field to thwart the US plan.

Mahmoud Mardawi, a member of Hamas' National Relations Office, told Al-Monitor, The declaration of the deal and the stances of several Arab states have disappointed Palestinians who are leaning toward clearing the air internally and restoring chances for Hamas and Fatah to work together and beef up their cooperation to foil the deal. But the strategic decision is in the hands of Abbas, who should take serious action regarding the reconciliation, rather than [uttering] the usual platitudes. The bilateral meetings between Fatah and Hamas should not be part of a public relations campaign  that would soon fade away. Otherwise, we would be committing a strategic error that would play against the Palestinian cause for future generations.

At a special meeting held Feb. 3 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss the US peace plan, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation announced it rejects the deal and called on member states not to deal or cooperate with the US administration for its implementation.

The Arab League as a whole unanimously rejected the deal Feb. 1, saying it does not meet the minimum rights of the Palestinian people and it violates the principles of the peace process. Yet despite the official stance, the positions of individual ministers there varied. In his speech at the meeting, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned against the repercussions of the plan. But his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah bin Faisal Al Saud, stressed in his speech that military approaches to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have not achieved peace or security.

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmad Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah expressed his countrys appreciation for the US effort to find a solution to the Palestinian cause. For his part, Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa called for considering the peace plan as a way to begin negotiations between Israel and Palestinians, saying Israel is moving forward with peace. Meanwhile, Anwar Gargash, United Arab Emirates minister of state for foreign affairs, stressed his countrys support for efforts aimed at reaching a solution through direct talks between Israel and Palestinians. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry stressed the importance of achieving a comprehensive settlement in the region to prevent terrorists and extremists from highjacking the Palestinian cause.

Despite Hamas political action against the US plan, it seems the movement was unable to win over some major Arab countries. In light of those positions, Hamas sought to draw on some other Arab and Islamic countries that rejected the deal. On Feb. 1, Haniyeh met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul, where they discussed the deal and its consequences.

On Feb. 4, Haniyeh also discussed the deal in a call to Moroccan Prime Minister Saad-Eddine El Othmani. The same day, Haniyeh called Lebanons parliament speaker, Nabih Berri, to stress the need to consolidate rejection of the deal.

A delegation of Palestinian factions plans to head to Gaza to prepare for Abbas ultimate visit there, after receiving an invitation from Haniyeh, Fatah Central Committee member Azzam al-Ahmad announced in a Jan. 29 press statement. Ahmad did not specify when the visits will take place, but he explained they will herald meetings to end the rift and find ways to confront the US peace plan. Haniyeh said he welcomes the visit and considers it a steppingstone for a new phase of the national dialogue.

Fayez Abu Aita, deputy secretary-general of Fatah's Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, The deal of the century sabotages the Palestinian cause, and Fatah and Hamas should put forth a serious plan that they both agree on to outline their next steps.  They should expedite their endeavors to end the rift." He said the upcoming meetings can "set the foundations for a new phase."

Saeb Erekat, a member of the PLOs Legislative Committee, told Al Jazeera on Jan. 29 that the first steps to defy the deal will be to tackle Palestinian weak spots, including the division. He said the reconciliation will happen, and the division between the West Bank and Gaza Strip will end. Also that day, Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem emphasized to Arabi21 news the importance of setting a national strategy against the US proposal.

Ahmed Youssef, director of the House of Wisdom for Consultation and Conflict Resolution in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, If the Palestinian Authority (PA) remains opposed to the deal of the century and resists US and Arab pressure to accept it, the chances of reconciliation with Hamas will increase. Gaza is a suitable place to hold the reconciliation meetings between Fatah and Hamas because it is almost totally free from Israel. Hamas might be more inclined toward the PAs stance of rejecting the deal with peaceful tools and diplomatic action rather than armed attacks. After Trump slammed Hamas during the announcement of the deal, the movement will be more cautious in using arms.

Trump noted the "essentials" for Palestinians include "stopping the malign activities of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and other enemies of peace, [and] ending the incitement of hatred against Israel. Also during the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu noted the plan calls for Hamas to be disarmed and for Gaza to be demilitarized.

Fatah and Hamas have repeatedly tried and failed to reconcile since the Palestinian split in 2007. Likewise, Fatah leaders have tried to mend their internal disputes. In a Jan. 28 Facebook post, dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan called on his rival Abbas to take decisive action to unite the Palestinian position regarding the deal.

Emad Mohsen, spokesperson for the Dahlan-led Democratic Reformist Current, told Al-Monitor, "The deal of the century is pushing Palestinian forces toward unity, ending the rift and restoring the Palestinian militancy project that was weakened and drained due to internal bickering. All Palestinian forces are invited to take the initiative to reject the deal, which has trampled on the two-state solution and the complete liberation of Palestinian territories. The national unity meeting should be held without further ado to put an end to the Oslo Accords.

Izzadeen Ibrahim, a Palestinian journalist who writes for several news websites, told Al-Monitor, The catastrophic situation the Palestinian cause has reached due to the rift is making it more difficult to confront the deal. The PA is unable to take real action to address the deal, and Abbas is just making threats that have no real impact. Hamas is in an unenviable situation, as it is besieged in Gaza, and its hands are tied in the West Bank. Any calls for a new uprising without a clear, agreed-upon strategy will be fleeting and will only throw Palestinian generations into a new cycle of frustration.

Despite the potential rapport building between Fatah and Hamas, PA security has not stopped arresting Hamas members in the West Bank. This casts doubt over the PAs seriousness in reconciling with Hamas and gives the impression that rapprochement is a tactic rather than a strategic decision.

Some Hamas circles in the West Bank believe Abbas could have asked his security apparatus to release dozens of Hamas detainees to prove his good intentions when he invited Hamas leaders to meet with him. Without real action, reconciliation calls will remain propaganda slogans rather than serious and tangible steps for Palestinians.
A former US drone operator is speaking out against the atrocities he says he was forced to inflict during his time in the armed forces and says the American military as worse than the Nazis.

Brandon Bryant was enlisted in the US Air Force for six years. During his time with the military, he operated Predator drones, remotely firing missiles at targets more than 7,000 miles away from the small room containing his workspace near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mr Bryant says he reached his breaking point with the US military after killing a child in Afghanistan that his superiors told him was a dog. Mr Bryant recalls the moment: After firing a Hellfire missile at a building containing his target, he saw a child exit the building just as the missile struck. When he alerted his superiors about the situation after reviewing the tape, he was told it was a f***ing dog, drop it.

Following that incident, Mr Bryant quit the military and began speaking out against the drone program.

During his time in the Air Force, Mr Bryant estimates he contributed directly to killing 13 people himself and says his squadron fired on 1,626 targets including women and children. He says he has been left suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Bryant said he saw the man he targeted bleed out from his legs and watched as his body went cold on his thermal imaging screen.

The smoke clears, and theres pieces of the two guys around the crater. And theres this guy over here, and hes missing his right leg above his knee. Hes holding it, and hes rolling around, and the blood is squirting out of his leg  It took him a long time to die. I just watched him, Mr Bryant said in an interview with GQ.

That image on the screen is still in my head. Whenever I think about it, it still hurts me, Mr Bryant said. When I pulled the trigger, I knew that it was wrong. When the middle struck I knew in my soul I had become a murderer.

Story continues

Other airmen in Mr Bryants squadron celebrated his first kill, saying Brants popped his cherry.

Mr Bryant was enlisted from 2006 to 2011, working as a sensor operator, which helps direct missiles to their targets.

In a conversation with the Roots Action Network, Mr Bryant recalled an instance early in his enlistment where he and his fellow drone operators were shown a video montage of drone strikes, after which they were told their jobs were to kill people and break things.

It went against everything that I had ever learned about honor and justice and training. It was terrifying how dismissive people were about the whole affair. We were safe in the U.S. and those over there were not. We win. But thats not how it goes, Mr Bryant said.

Mr Bryant said that despite his misgivings about the program, his superiors used punitive measures and mockery to keep him in line.

It broke my spirit. It went against everything I learned about being a warrior, about holding yourself to higher standards. My superiors psychologically beat me and ridiculed me to keep me in line. They took away my free time and forced me to sit in a seat or be tried under the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) for disobeying orders, Mr Bryant said. In a sense, it was my prison. I served my time to learn and reflect. And so I hold the key now, to the entire apparatus. I just dont know what to do with it.

He has said the US military is worse than the Nazis because we should know better.

Mr Bryant said he and his family have been threatened for speaking out against the drone program and that he has lost friends and been estranged from other members of his family over his whistle-blowing.

Ultimately Mr Bryant wants the public to understand the dehumanizing effect of the drone program on the operators and the individuals targeted.

I would want people to know, beyond its existence, the consequences it has on us as a species to delineate our power into something so easily destructive. Every time we get closer to that edge, were going to have to realise where it places us, Mr Bryant said.
It didnt take long for SafeRoom Lounge Bar to find its footing when it opened in October. SafeRoom is the first bar from proprietor Jeremy Howard, who was already known in Birminghams nightlife scene after years of working in private security. Located in the basement of the Watts building in downtown Birmingham and anchored by a gold-painted safe (hence the name SafeRoom), the lounge has attracted a regular list of patrons, as well as the attention of Mayor Randall Woodfin.

SafeRoom owner Jeremy Howard (Shauna Stuart for AL.com)

Three months after its debut, SafeRoom has started its next phase. The bar is the new stomping grounds for Stephen Suitts, who joined the team as beverage director in December, and has developed the bars new cocktail program. Formerly the beverage director at Dread River Distillery, Suitts now splits his time between SafeRoom and Cayo Coco Rum Bar in Founders Station.

In the market for a new position after leaving Dread River, Suitts heard that SafeRoom was hiring. After attending a meet and greet with the owners, Suitts says they hit it off.

"I came down here. I loved the venue, the design and everything, said Suitts. And I thought it was something that, with my talents and what they've already set up here, would be just a perfect fit.

To add flair and coziness to basement space of SafeRoom, interior designer Chloe Rebekah outfitted each section of the bar with velvet curtains. For wallpaper, she opted for vibrant patterns, from colorful peacocks to custom-designed paisley. (Courtesy, SafeRoom)

SafeRoom's interior designer Chloe Rebekah (Shauna Stuart for AL.com)

He says SafeRoom, with its industrial chic design and pops of color, was similar to a bar hed wanted to open when he was living in Los Angeles.

This is Suitts second time living in Alabama. In the early aughts, the Houston native spent a few years waiting tables here before he moved to Los Angeles for school and began bartending. He found his footing working as a barback for one of the bars in sbe, a global hospitality empire of hotels, nightspots, and restaurants that now includes partners Lenny Kravitz and Jose Andres.

Suitts later started working for famed Los Angeles bartender Devon Espinosa. The pair worked at Woodley Proper in Encino, Calif., and it was Espinosa, said Suitts, who helped him elevate his bartending craft from just being able to make other peoples drinks.

He told me, You do this really well and you need to start exploring. You have the technique because I see you make drinks for people, but you dont add to the menu, Suitts said. And hes the one that pushed me over the limit to start making drinks for everybody.

The interior of SafeRoom Lounge Bar (Courtesy, SafeRoom)

Popcorn and champagne at Saferoom (Courtesy, Saferoom)

After his stint at Woodley Proper, Suitts moved to a restaurant called The Villa in Woodland Hills outside of Calabasas. The site was a frequent film location for the television show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

It became known as a hot spot where you could people watch and everything like that, said Suitts.

He continued to make a name for himself in the Los Angeles hospitality scene, winning accolades, including the citys qualifier for the Bombay Sapphire bartender competition.

Suitts eventually became a roving barman, working as a beverage consultant in California, then expanding his services to restaurants and bars throughout the country, including San Antonio, Charlotte and Tennessee.

That's when I decided to move, since I was never home, said Suitts. You know, find cheaper rent. And that's how I got back to Alabama.

In Birmingham, Suitts stepped behind the bar at Paper Doll in the Loft District. There, he started to gain a following for his layered cocktails. In March 2019, Paper Doll partnered with Kulture City to become the first sensory inclusive bar in the country. To mark the occasion, Suitts crafted the Kulture City cocktail. At the Birmingham qualifier for the Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience (his first bartender competition since returning to Alabama) his cocktail Rockin with Ri" a mix of Woodford Reserve rye with honey lavender syrup and lemon juice, topped with a champagne foam  would nab him the pick for Peoples Choice.

Suitts said Paper Doll was his reintroduction to Alabama, where he could observe Birminghams burgeoning cocktail scene.

It was mainly to test the market out. Some of my [drinks] are very different layered cocktails, not your standard Manhattans or your Old Fashioneds. And I was lucky enough to get the chance to explore that there.

With his reputation growing in the city, Suitts left Paper Doll to become the beverage director for the massive 5,000-square-foot tasting room at Dread River Distillery on the Southside. Since Dread Rivers liquor license only allows the distillery to serve the alcohol it produces, Suitts had to create a cocktail menu without the array of spirits, vermouths, or liqueurs normally at his disposal. He fully embraced the challenge, building an extensive cocktail program for the distillerys whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum, while training a team of bartenders to use foams, syrups and cordials in lieu of secondary spirits.

At SafeRoom, Suitts is facing a new challenge. While hes no longer limited to five base spirits, hes also not working with the expansive liquor selections of his previous bars. His mission: Bring SafeRooms beverage program more in line with neighboring bars in the Loft District, such as Paper Doll or the Collins. He plans to remove the bars draft tower and streamline the beer selection, swapping big brand brews for local offerings. For the distilled spirits, he wants to highlight SafeRooms scotches, such as Glenfiddich and Glenlivet.

A selection of Oban scotch at SafeRoom (Courtesy, SafeRoom)

A lot of people dont know that we carry scotch, said Suitts. We dont have the all of greatest scotches yet, but we do have the basics.

For SafeRooms new cocktail program, Suitts goal is to expand the libations from a mostly spirit/mixer menu to include a selection of craft cocktails. To be clear, he doesnt want to stop patrons from ordering simpler mixed drinks, if thats what they prefer.

You can drink what you want, Suitts explains. But on that premise, and within that group, people want to try new things.

Stephen Suitts crafted a menu of eight cocktails for SafeRoom's new beverage program. (Shauna Stuart for AL.com)

But aside from a few vermouths, Suitts isnt rushing to bring in an entirely new selection of spirits, liqueurs and garnishes. Hes working with the spirits already on hand.

To match the new cocktail program, Suitts brought in new glassware and a host of new bar tools  shakers, bar spoons and muddlers  all suitable for serving and making craft cocktails.

He leads a team of eight bartenders and conducts weekly staff training and education sessions. Suitts says it took a little over a month to expand the groups Rolodex of cocktails, as well teach them to make fresh juices and homemade syrups. He anticipates it will take an additional three to four months to teach his new staff more complicated recipes, as well as shaking and stirring techniques. To help teach the SafeRoom staff how to build cocktails with speed on busy nights, Suitts invites his peers, such as Jesus Mendez from The Louis, to guest bartend.

The greatest thing about it is, they are all very eager, said Suitts. Its exciting to see a group of people who want to learn.

In late January, SafeRoom debuted eight cocktails on its new menu. The bars namesake cocktail, The SafeRoom will be a rotating Old Fashioned, and Suitts is starting with a base spirit of Jack Daniels Tennessee Apple. The first iteration is a blend of the flavored whiskey, demerara, and orange bitters.

Like at Dread River, some of Suitts creations pay homage to the city the 20th Ave N is a blend of vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, and raspberries. The Cirocojito is Suitts take on the classic mojito, with the rum swapped out for Ciroc vodka and topped with sparkling wine instead of soda water. For a bitter cocktail, Suitts created the Joe Pesci: gin, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup and egg whites.

Its fun introducing everybody down here to egg whites, said Suitts, smiling. One of the things I love most is educating people. Introducing them to a new light, just like the beer scene has done here.

He also has another project in the works. Suitts has long been wanting to experiment with Hennessey. At SafeRoom, he plans to center the cognac in a number of cocktails, encouraging patrons to enjoy it beyond the bounds of just neat or with a single mixer (although in France, the spirit tends to be enjoyed plain, or with a dash of sparkling water.)

On the new menu, the 3rd Ave North features the cognac with mango syrup, peach schnapps, pineapple juice and lime juice.

I like Hennessy because of the story behind it, notes Suitts. And why, as a culture, we drink Hennessy.

Suitts says he encounters a lot of people who think Hennessy  and cognac as a whole was catapulted to popularity due the spirits frequent mentions in rap lyrics. And while hip hop and Hennessys relationship has gone hand in hand over the past few decades, the brands connection to American culture starts much earlier.

Cognacs history in the United States dates back to the 1800s, where the upper class revered the French spirit for its smooth and refined taste, compared to the more unaged spirits emerging from the American frontier, according to Slate.

But the spirits appeal to African-American consumers dates back to the first and second World Wars when black soldiers were stationed in France. Cognac was often sold in French nightclubs, venues which celebrated black culture, embracing jazz and blues and booking artists such as Josephine Baker, a headliner of Parisian nightlife.

After they returned home from the war, cognac remained a favorite of African-American soldiers. When scotch entered the French market and started to displace cognac, the spirits distributors doubled down on marketing in America.

Maurice Hennessy of the Hennessy family and cognac house would go on to cement a friendship with William Jay Schieffelin, the CEO of Schieffelin and Co., the sole distributor of Hennessy in the United States. Both men were interested in reaching consumers and cultures beyond their own. Direct descendants of John Jay, the first American chief justice, the Schiefflin family had a longstanding history supporting social justice initiatives. Bothered by the particularly deplorable conditions for black people in American factories, Schieffelin co-founded a social justice non-profit that would eventually become the National Urban League.

An early corporate supporter of W.E.B du Bois and the NAACP, Schieffelin also befriended Booker T. Washington, the founder of Tuskegee Institute. He joined the institutes board of directors and became a lifelong trustee and benefactor.

In 1931, Schieffelin led a national committee to raise funds for the defense of the Scottsboro Boys who were convicted raping of two white women on a freight train in Jackson County, Ala.

Josephine Baker would become a spokesperson for Hennessy in the 1950s, and at a time when luxury brands rarely marketed to African-American consumers, Hennessy was the first spirits company to take out ads in Ebony and JET.

In the 1960s, the brand also promoted Herb Douglas to one of the first African-American vice presidents in the county. Decades later, Noel Hankin, Hennessys former senior vice president of multicultural relations, would secure the company as a sponsor for events dedicated to celebrating African American culture. Fast forward to the late 20th century, Hennessy began to appear in rap lyrics, further cementing the brand into the countrys pop culture lexicon.

So, thats why I wanted to focus that spirit, explained Suitts.

The veteran barman said he plans to expand SafeRooms beverage menu as more people try the bars style of cocktails. And as he helps the bar distinguish itself in the city, he hopes to prove that testing the palette of a new audience doesnt mean reinventing the wheel.

The Cirocojito is a take on the classic mojito, with the rum swapped out for Ciroc vodka and topped with sparkling wine instead of soda water. (Shauna Stuart for AL.com)

Its downtown where people are drinking cocktails, its a beautiful venue, its a beautiful spot. Everything in that sense is going great, said Suitts. I think the only ingredients SafeRoom is missing are the salt and pepper, which is a good cocktail program.

Heres a look at SafeRooms new cocktail menu:

CIROCOJITO Ciroc (any flavor), lime juice, simple syrup, mint, topped with bubbles

JOE PESCI gin, Aperol, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites

CARIBBEAN SMOKE rum, mezcal, lime Juice, coconut, simple syrup

3RD AVE N cognac, mango syrup, peach schnapps, pineapple juice, lime juice

BLACK & BLUE bourbon, lime juice, blueberry syrup

20TH AVE N vodka, lemon juice, simple syrup, raspberries

TBDM (or The Best Damn Margarita) tequila, orange liqueur, lime juice, agave nectar

SafeRoom Jack Apple, demerara, orange bitters

DETAILS: SafeRoom Lounge Bar | 2008 3rd AVE N Birmingham, AL | Sunday- Thursday 4 p.m. to 12 p.m./Friday to Saturday- 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. | (205) 201-4808 | https://www.facebook.com/SafeRoomLounge
A Chinese doctor who was detained by police for issuing the first warning about the coronavirus outbreak in late December, died of the disease early on Friday, triggering a wave of anger and grief.

The death of Li Wenliang, 34, comes amid a mounting toll of the coronavirus outbreak in China since he first shared his fears among a group of friends about a new SARS-like disease in the city of Wuhan.

Health officials announced on Friday that the death toll had risen to 636 on the mainland with 69 new deaths reported until Thursday midnight.

More than 31,000 are now infected with the disease across China with Hubei reporting 2,447 new cases on Thursday; the central Chinese province alone now has 22,112 cases.

The WHO, meanwhile, has announced that 15 laboratories worldwide will act as reference testing labs for the Coronavirus. The list includes Indias National Institute of Virology in Pune.

WHO will use the Shipping Fund Programme, established by the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System, to send clinical samples from patients meeting the case definition of suspected #2019nCoV infection to international referral laboratories, the organisation tweeted.

Wuhan Central Hospital, where Li worked, announced his death on its social media account and said that Li, an ophthalmologist, was unfortunately infected during the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection. We deeply regret and mourn this, the post said.

The World Health Organisation tweeted: We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate the work that he did on the virus.

The final announcement came after hours of confusion during which Chinese media first announced Lis death late on Friday night only to withdraw it a couple of hours later, claiming he was undergoing emergency treatment. Li is survived by his wife, pregnant with their second child, and his parents.

On December 30, Li chanced upon a test result of a patient who had been admitted to his hospital with a new, unidentified disease. He shared the information on a private WeChat group with seven other friends, saying that from the results it looked like SARS (a SARS had killed hundreds in China in 2002-03 but was initially covered up by the government.) Li later said he only wanted to warn friends about the disease but his post went viral.

The young doctor and his friends were soon summoned by the Wuhan police for spreading rumours, harassed, detained and then forced to sign a confession. After his release, he went back to work and in the second week of January, contracted the disease.

Li contracted the disease while treating a patient with an eye condition who was also down with the coronavirus, but didnt know about it. He was hospitalised on January 12 and in the following days, as his condition deteriorated, Li was admitted to the intensive care unit. On February 1, he tested positive for coronavirus.

Last week, the Supreme Peoples Court criticised Lis detention, saying it would have been beneficial for the public if what he said was believed.

Many on Chinas Twitter-like platform, Weibo, hailed Li as a hero who sacrificed his life to treat the sick after his death.

Within hours, the news of his reported death was trending on Weibo with more than 50 million having read it. At least 11,90,00 threads of discussions were about him. Many posted angry messages also, The damned are not dead. The least damned are dead, wrote one user in Chinese. He didnt even receive an apology before death, wrote another.
Indian Ambassador Taranjit Sandhu presents credentials to US President

Ambassador of India to the United States Taranjit Singh Sandhu presented his credentials on Thursday to President of the United States of America Donald Trump at the Oval Office of the White House.

President Trump welcomed Ambassador Sandhu back to Washington DC and wished him every success in his responsibilities. The President recalled his friendship with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their several interactions.

Ambassador Sandhu (right) conveyed the greetings from the President and PM of India to President Trump. Photo courtesy: Indian Embassy to USA 

Sandhus previous posting had been as Ambassador to Sri Lanka. He had also served in the Indian Mission to the US twice earlier as Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Washington DC from July 2013 to January 2017 and First Secretary (Political) responsible for liaison with the US Congress from 1997 to 2000.

Ambassador Sandhu conveyed the greetings from the President and PM of India to President Trump and the First Lady. 

"The vision and guidance provided by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in the last three years have moved India and the United States towards greater strategic convergence," Ambassador Sandhu added, affirming his commitment to work towards strengthening the strategic partnership between India and the United States.

Trump is set to visit India in the last week of February to discuss a new trade deal with India, according to media reports.
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on Friday mourned the death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn about the outbreak amid widespread public anger against the government for trying to suppress the whistleblower, as Beijing launched a "people's war" against the epidemic that has claimed 637 lives.

On Thursday, the death toll in novel epidemic rose to 637 with 73 new mortalities, mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said on Friday.

Li Wenliang died after contracting the virus while treating patients in Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak that has spread to over 20 countries, including India.

Last December Li, 34, sent a message to fellow medics warning of a virus he thought looked like Sars - another deadly

The Communist nation, in rare gesture, grieved the passing away of Li who was told by police to "stop making false comments" and was investigated for "spreading rumours".

Amid the outpouring of grief and anger all over the country, China's ruling Communist Party sent a high-level investigation team to the epidemic-hit Wuhan to probe his death.

If his warnings have been heeded, perhaps over five million people from Wuhan would have been prevented from travelling within and abroad for week-long Chinese New Year holiday which began on January 23.

Both and over 27 countries including India are struggling to cope up with the spiralling virus mostly spread by the travellers from Wuhan and Hubei province.

A total of 220 cases have been reported from overseas. Kerala has reported three cases while 647 evacuated Indians from Wuhan are going through quarantine in Manesar.

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan reported 69 deaths on Thursday while Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one each, health authorities said.

As many as 73 people died on Thursday, while another 3,143 new cases of infection were reported, taking the total number of confirmed cases of infection to 31,161 from 31 provincial-level regions, they said.

In the midst of mounting crisis at home, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to his US counterpart Donald Trump and asked him to assess the epidemic in a "calm" manner.

He urged America to adopt and adjust its response measures in a "reasonable way" to China's intensified efforts to contain the dreaded virus.

Xi, in his first phone call with Trump since the coronavirus outbreak told the US president that China had launched a "people's war" against the epidemic that has been wreaking havoc in China and across the world.

People's war is an ideological concept developed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong which meant a prolonged struggle with the support of people while fighting for a particular cause.

Xi told Trump that the Chinese government and the people were making their maximum efforts to contain the outbreak.

"We are fully confident and capable of fighting the epidemic.

The long-term trend of China's economic development will not change," he said asked Trump to respond reasonably to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Ahead of Xi and Trump phone call, China has accused the US of creating global panic with travel bans and evacuation of diplomats besides flight cancellations.

Meanwhile, Wuhan began combing communities to ensure every confirmed or suspected patient is located and attended to as a senior official vowed to nail any official deserter "to history's pillar of shame." A conference on epidemic control on Thursday ordered the megacity with a population of over 11 million to make all-out efforts to locate patients confirmed or suspected to be infected with the virus, close contacts of confirmed cases, as well as patients with fever.

Once identified, these people must be treated or placed in quarantine in a timely manner, the conference said, adding that "no family or individual shall be neglected," state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

City officials said checkpoints are being set up outside every community and apartment building to measure residents' body temperatures, while community workers and volunteers are paying house-to-house visits to conduct checks.

Fever patients found in the process will be escorted to community clinics, which will decide whether they should be quarantined at home or be sent to other isolation areas. Police will step in if a patient refuses to obey quarantine rules and all persuasion fails, officials said.

Chinese health officials have sent more than 11,000 medics, including the country's best ICU staff, to the city of Wuhan, Among them, over 3,000 doctors and nurses are intensive care specialists, Guo Yanhong, an official with the Health Commission, told media here.

"We are fully aware of the urgent need for ICU professionals in Wuhan. The current medics have been working for quite a long time and are exhausted both physically and mentally," Guo said.

The World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Friday said the world was running out of masks and other protective equipment against the novel coronavirus.

Pangolins could be responsible for the spread of the deadly coronavirus in China, scientists said on Friday after they found the genome sequence separated from the endangered mammals 99 per cent identical to that from infected people.
New Delhi/Islamabad: In yet another setback to Islamabad, Saudi Arabia has once again declined Pakistan`s request for an urgent meeting of the council of foreign ministers on Kashmir at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), according to the Pakistani media reports.

In December, Pakistan had trumpeted that it secured a diplomatic win by prevailing on Saudi Arabia to hold a special session on Kashmir at the OIC. However, officials in New Delhi had expressed scepticism about the news, saying that the OIC did not make any official announcement or issue any confirmation of the meeting.

Pakistani media had reported on Thursday that Prime Minister Imran Khan`s plea for a discussion on Kashmir has been rejected by Saudi Arabia. The OIC is holding its senior officials` meeting in Jeddah on February 9 to make arrangements for the council of foreign ministers.

Khan has been campaigning around the world against India ever since the Narendra Modi-led government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August last year.

Recently, Khan was forced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamad Bin Salman to cancel his trip to Malaysia where he intended to slam India over Kashmir at the Islamic Summit hosted by the Mahathir Mohamad government in Malaysia.

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Riyadh took serious offence to the summit where it was not invited and perceived it as a challenge to its leadership in the Muslim world by Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. The Saudi Kingdom threatened to withdraw its massive aid to Pakistan, already reeling under an economic crisis.

"Islamabad`s feeling of unease with the OIC on its failure to get the CFM`s meeting appears to be growing. Prime Minister Imran Khan voiced frustration over the OIC`s silence on Kashmir while speaking at a think-tank during his visit to Malaysia," the Dawn reported.

The newspaper quoted Khan as saying: "The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We can`t even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Riyadh in October last year, the second time since 2016, and met the Crown Prince five times. The outcome of the meetings has been strategic partnership pact between the two countries, making India fourth country after France, the UK and China to earn such a significant status in Riyadh.

India is a major importer of oil from Saudi Arabia.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Samir Ali  Trend:

There are three people in quarantine in the division of infectious diseases of the Azerbaijani Clinical Medical Center, Trend reports referring to a joint statement made by the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health and the State Agency for Compulsory Medical Insurance.

They do not have big health problems, the statement said. They are under medical supervision.

"These people were in those Chinese cities where coronavirus was not detected and had no contact with the infected people, the statement said. Those who arrived from the Chinese regions where the virus was observed are in a special medical institution. According to this medical institution, they do not have health problems. After the quarantine period, they will be discharged."

The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. Since then over 600 people have died and over 31,000 people have been confirmed as infected. At the same time, the number of people reportedly recovered from the infection has surpassed 1,500.



Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The symptoms include cough, headache, fatigue, fever, aching and difficulty breathing. It is primarily spread through airborne contact or contact with contaminated objects.



Chinese health authorities say that the majority of the people who have died were either elderly or had underlying health problems.



Aside from Mainland China, the cases of coronavirus spreading have also been confirmed in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Australia, Germany, the US, Malaysia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Macau, France, Canada, the UAE, India, Italy, Russia, Philippines, the UK, Nepal, Cambodia, Belgium,Spain, Finland, Sweden, Sri Lanka.
Mel Evans/AP Photo

En espanol | Like so many of us, Kaj Miller, 49, almost never answers her home phone anymore. But when it rang one Saturday morning in August 2015, the caller ID said San Diego County Sheriffs Office. Since shed had a number of family members in trouble with the law over the years, she decided to pick up. Turns out that she was the one in trouble. The officer on the phone told her she had missed jury duty and there were warrants out for her immediate arrest.

Kaj didnt believe him. I had just served on a jury three months before. So I pushed back and told him I thought it was a scam. I asked to talk to his supervisor.

The man on the phone calmly said, No problem, gave Kaj the number for the sheriffs office and told her to ask for the Court Services Division. When she called the number, a recording answered with San Diego County Sheriffs Office, then ran through a series of prompts. She pressed 3 for Court Services Division.

Captain Dwight Garrison picked up the call and, after a pause to check her status, told her the same story: She had missed several jury duty notices and there were two warrants in circulation for her arrest. Unfortunately, because its Saturday, if you dont work with me to pay the $989 fine, officers will come out to your house and arrest you.

Kaj told Garrison that there must be some mistake; he responded kindly, saying she was probably right. But only the court could say so, and it was closed. Meanwhile, the warrants were still live. The one way to avoid arrest was to pay the fine and then straighten things out on Monday, when the court reopened. Otherwise, Kaj would likely spend the rest of the weekend in jail.

Kaj was still skeptical, but the prospect of being arrested and spending a night or two in jail really did frighten her: At this point, I am scared, Im nervous, Im not liking this at all. Im all alone; its midafternoon on a Saturday. I was terrifiedlike, really terrified.

So she decided to follow Garrisons instructions. She drove to Walmart, as she was told to do, took out a $989 MoneyGram wire and gave him the wiring information and immediate access to the money.

Still on the phone, Garrison told her that only part of the money went through, so she needed to get another money order to avoid arrest. By this time, Kaj had had it. After a testy back-and-forth with Garrison, she hung up and nervously waited out the weekend.

On Monday she called the San Diego Police Department, and an officer confirmed her fears.

Contraband cellphones used in scheme

"Captain Dwight Garrison was actually sitting 2,200 miles away in a jail cell at Autry State Prison, a medium-security facility in Pelham, Georgia. His real name? Joseph Tate. He was two years into serving a 30-year sentence for cocaine distribution. His cellmate, Jessee Lopez, was the first officer Kaj Miller had spoken with; he was serving a 10-year sentence at Autry for two robbery convictions.
For our free coronavirus pandemic coverage, learn more here.

Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size There was a dead lizard in the mail. But that wasnt the unusual part. Australias wildlife coroner, forensic veterinary pathologist Dr Lydia Tong, performs hundreds of autopsies on native and exotic animals each year, many of them from zoos; others, such as this shingleback lizard, the victim of a multibillion-dollar global trade gone wrong. This time the reptile had its own unusual traveller  a parasite never before seen in a shingleback. Straight away that was a clue that it might have been handled with another species, maybe there had been a jump, Tong says. Its hard to say but thats why we monitor and investigate these kinds of infections so closely with wildlife. The trade is a melting pot for it." From live monkeys smuggled through customs to tigers shot or bred for their bones, soaring demand for wildlife, dead or alive, has spawned the worlds fourth-largest contraband market - right behind drugs, humans and guns. Gram for gram, rhino horn and endangered turtles are now worth more than cocaine. But experts warn the world's latest coronavirus outbreak shows the trade threatens more than just animals. As people push farther and farther into the last wild places, more diseases previously unknown to humanity are making the leap across species lines. Vet and epidemiologist Dr Jon Epstein says habitat loss, global travel and a persistent appetite for wild animals have created a perfect storm for the next human pandemic. And Asia's infamous wet markets  where both the deadly 2003 SARS outbreak and now the latest coronavirus COVID-19 are thought to have started  remain ground zero. Early research suggests the world's most illegally trafficked animal - the endangered pangolin - could be the very species that passed on this new virus to humans. So how do these diseases spread, why are people still buying wildlife and what is being done to stop the next animal-borne epidemic? Warning: distressing content.

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An image of a bamboo rat caged on top of a deer allegedly sold at the Wuhan seafood market has circulated online. Credit:Weibo Where did the coronavirus come from? In the Chinese city of Wuhan, the sickness seemed to come from the western end of the seafood market  where the fare on offer wasn't only taken from the sea. As China began to realise just what had stirred inside its borders, a team of forensic medical experts descended on the market. They found traces of the mystery virus in areas where traders reportedly sold wild animals: porcupines, raccoon dogs, foxes, bamboo rats, frogs and more, all caged together for slaughter in the rush and press of the market. Some of those traders ended up in hospital with strange fevers and pneumonia. Close to 2 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide since December. Not all of those initial patients reported contact with the market. But while Chinese researchers so far have claimed they are yet to find the source species, they have already ruled that the illegal wildlife trade is involved. "It looks like there was transmission in the market," Epstein says. "But where the virus actually came from, which animal, that's still a mystery, that's still the black box." By New Year's Day, the entire market had been shuttered under quarantine in scenes eerily reminiscent of the SARS crisis. For scientists such as Epstein, who have been monitoring wild diseases ever since, it wasn't a surprise.

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How do animal viruses get into humans? More than 70 per cent of all new diseases emerging in humans are thought to have been caught from animals, some of which, such as bats, primates and rodents, might have lived with the viruses for thousands of years. Bats are essential to many ecosystems we rely on but, through a lucky quirk in their immune system, they also carry a whole host of diseases that do not harm them. As animals come into contact with each other, the viruses that have grown up with one species have a chance to jump to something new. Often it is the new host's reaction to these tiny invaders that causes illness. And as viruses copy and mutate in unfamiliar environments, they can also become more unstable. Experts warn such diseases are now making the jump to humans more often and spreading farther as the global trade in exotic wildlife  sold for their meat, parts and as exotic pets  ramps up. Every day in Asia, scores of live animals are trucked into markets for slaughter from all corners of the region as part of a longstanding cultural preference for fresh meat over frozen. Some of them have been caught from the wild, sold on from remote or poorer communities to vendors or smugglers, both legally and as part of a thriving global trade in "wild tastes" and exotic products. More than 5500 of the 31,500 known vertebrate species on Earth are now traded and another 3196 are at risk as similar species dwindle in the wild. But as well as driving extinction, the trade puts unfamiliar animals on a collision course with each other. Increasingly, endangered species are taken from more exotic locales in Africa, South America and even Scandinavia and then thrust close together in cages. "These markets [and cages] are often really dirty and cramped, you might have bats on top of rabbits on top of rodents," Epstein says. "They're stressed out, trading body fluids, there's faecal matter, blood. That's the perfect opportunity for a virus [to] jump."

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Update: China's response backflips Since this article was first published on February 7, China has taken conflicting steps on the wildlife trade. Under fire for keeping much of the trade legal after SARS, Beijing had in February announced seismic reforms to outlaw the sale of all wildlife for food and restrict their commerce for medicine, pets or research. Shenzhen also recently became the first Chinese city to ban the sale and consumption of dogs and cats, millions of which are also sold in wet markets for meat every year. But by April, China was offering tax breaks to ship wildlife products overseas (a perk not extended to medical supplies) and reopening wet markets back home - a move slammed as unfathomable by Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison given what is known about the market's risks to human health. The World Health Organisation has warned against wet markets but stopped short of condemning China's decision, noting it cannot police countries, it can only advise them and its advice is to shut the markets down. Beijing had initially blamed the wildlife trade for the outbreak, but its Foreign Ministry spokesman Lijian Zhao has since ignored research showing the natural origins of the virus in favour of unfounded conspiracy theories about where it came from. China's national health commission has even advised that unproven traditional remedies including bear bile can help patients critically ill with COVID-19. The endangered pangolin now carries the auspicious title of the world's most illegally trafficked animal amid demand for its scales and meat in cuisine and traditional medicine. Credit:Getty Images It's what biologist Professor Diana Bell calls "the speed-dating of diseases", where animals under intense stress shed their viruses faster and have fewer immune defences against new ones. The killing is often bloody, done by hand with knives in the middle of the market, amplifying the risk to humans. If a vendor already has a cut on their hand or touches their nose or mouth, they can be infected. Coronaviruses can also be passed on by rodents like bamboo rats, commonly sold in wet markets, Bell says. At Traffic, an international group that monitors the wildlife trade, Dr Richard Thomas says it is still unclear if the Wuhan wet market was the source of the latest outbreak, but conditions in such places are a "recipe for disaster". What are wild animals traded for besides food? Elephants are killed for their valuable ivory. Species, such as the endangered rhino and tiger, are prized for the unproven medicinal value of their bones or parts. Bears are caged and "milked" for the bile of their gall bladder, smaller mammals like foxes bred for their fur; the skins of predators like lions and polar bears become trophies or their young are smuggled overseas live as pets. Monkeys are even caught in the wilds of Southeast Asia for live sale to Western research labs. In one extraordinary case in 1997, a long-tailed macaque bound for the US escaped from its crate on a flight stopover in Paris and caused chaos on the tarmac. Scientists poring over the virus's genome say it is about 75 per cent similiar to the original SARS strain but have found a closer (96%) match to another coronavirus already found in bats, which are still eaten throughout some parts of Asia. As bat viruses tend to be very stable, many experts expect another mammal likely served as "the missing link" between bats and humans, as was the case with viruses such as SARS and Hendra. Once the virus jumped from a bat to a new host species, it mutated and grew in potency before leaping again into humans. More than one paper has since found an even closer match for the new virus in pangolins. While studies have so far been based off samples from pangolins taken elsewhere in China over the past year, experts are nonetheless intrigued by the theory, given the widespread trade of the mammal for its meat and scales. (An an earlier report linking the virus to snakes has already been widely dismissed by experts, who say such diseases are unlikely to jump from reptiles to humans.)

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But they can spread swiftly in the exotic pet trade as well as wet markets, Tong notes, as animals are again thrown together and transported great distances. At the Australian Museum, wildlife forensic scientist Dr Greta Frankham helps run DNA tests and gather evidence for local police and border officials prosecuting wildlife crime. She says the trade carries a huge biosecurity risk. "In recent cases we've seen native and exotic species held together in the same rooms, so it's always possible things could jump," she says. "Even pets coming in, we've had cases of them turning up abandoned, they could pass something on to our native wildlife. It'd only take one bird with Newcastle disease to devastate the agriculture industry." Less than 4000 tigers remain in the wild but at least 100 are still killed each year for the global trade in their parts and skin. Credit:Getty Images Were there signs this would happen? Yes, and warnings from scientists. Epstein has been to the wet market in Guangzhou where SARS emerged. At least two species there tested positive for the virus: raccoon dogs and civets, a cat-like mammal served as a delicacy in Asia. Thousands were seized and killed by Chinese officials at the height of the crisis. But two years later, Epstein was part of the team that eventually traced the virus back to another wild animal in China - bats. "Some researchers think it could even have been passed directly to humans by bats in the market, and then poor civets caught it from us," Epstein says. Since then bats have been implicated in ongoing outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus in Africa, sometimes directly or via infected gorilla carcasses brought back from the jungle, and in the case of the coronavirus MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), through camels. Disease hunters such as Epstein, along with researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, have continued to monitor wild bat populations for the past 15 years through the group EcoHealth Alliance.

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Kessler Foundation and University of New Hampshire nTIDE Report-- featuring Real World Lehigh Valley, an innovative employment partnership with Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom and the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation

East Hanover, NJ - February 7, 2020. The news was positive for the year's first jobs report, with small gains for Americans with disabilities, according to today's National Trends in Disability Employment - Monthly Update (nTIDE), issued by Kessler Foundation and the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability (UNH-IOD).

In the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Jobs Report released Friday, the employment-to-population ratio for working-age people with disabilities increased from 29.8 percent in January 2019 to 30.7 percent in January 2020 (up 3.0 percent or 0.9 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the employment-to-population ratio also increased from 73.6 percent in January 2019 to 74.4 percent in January 2020 (up 1.1 percent or 0.8 percentage points). The employment-to-population ratio, a key indicator, reflects the percentage of people who are working relative to the total population (the number of people working divided by the number of people in the total population multiplied by 100).

"The labor market's continuing strength seems to be benefiting workers with disabilities," said John O'Neill, PhD, director of employment and disability research at Kessler Foundation. "This gain in the employment-to-population ratio is heading in the right direction as we enter the new year."

The labor force participation rate for working-age people with disabilities increased from 33.0 percent in January 2019 to 33.6 percent in January 2020 (up 1.8 percent or 0.6 percentage points). For working-age people without disabilities, the labor force participation rate also increased from 76.9 percent in January 2019 to 77.4 percent in January 2020 (up 0.7 percent or 0.5 percentage points). The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the population that is working or actively looking for work.

"Perhaps January is the start of an upward trend for 2020," said Andrew Houtenville, PhD, acting director of the University of New Hampshire's Institute on Disability, "which would be an improvement over 2019 -- a fairly flat year for employment growth for people with disabilities."

In January 2020, among workers ages 16-64, the 4,628,000 workers with disabilities represented 3.2 percent of the total 146,367,000 workers in the U.S.

Beyond the Numbers

The political activism of the 1960s fueled grass root movements for societal change, including the Independent Living Movement, aimed at the inclusion of people with disabilities in American life. This Movement influenced important legislation, such as the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and contributed to the formation of the first Center for Independent Living in Berkeley, California. Today, more than 400 nonprofit consumer-directed Centers for Independent Living (CILs) provide consumer-driven community-based programs and services centered on information and referral, peer support, advocacy, and independent living skills. To ensure that the interests of their constituencies are served, CILs require that their staff and boards comprise greater than 50 percent participation by people with disabilities.

In 2014, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) changed the national landscape for workforce development with its focus on the transition of people with disabilities to competitive integrated employment. A Pennsylvania CIL was recognized by the Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) for its innovative approach toward fulfilling this mandate, according to Dr. O'Neill. Based in Allentown, PA, the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living (LVCIL) was well positioned to fulfill WIOA's mandate because of its long-term partnership with the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR), according to Seth Hoderewski, LVCIL's Director of Transition Services.

LVCIL's programs for youth transition are models for success, which Hoderewski attributes to close relationships with community organizations and employers, as well as with OVR. One example is Real World Lehigh Valley, a summer program for young people ages 16 to 21 years. The program is embedded at Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom, a local employer that hires 3,000 to 4,000 people each year.

"Working at Dorney Park is a rite of passage for the youth of Lehigh Valley," noted Hoderewski, "and now, through Real World, young people with disabilities can share in the universal experiences of their peers. They learn how to get a job and how to keep a job," said Hoderewski. "In addition to paid work experience, they interview with Dorney Park, and some have been hired," he said. Human resources at Dorney Park has embraced Real World Lehigh Valley, proposing new ideas for improving the program. Their in-service training now includes yearly disability sensitivity training, another sign of their commitment. Hoderewski is hopeful that their enthusiasm will influence employment practices at the ten other properties owned by parent company Cedar Fair. "Through our partnerships, we have established pathways to the workplace," he said, "but much of what we do involves changing attitudes about people with disabilities. That's what is crucial to the long-term success of our transition programs."

Ask Questions about Disability and Employment

Join our nTIDE Lunch & Learn series today, February 7, at 12:00 pm Eastern. This live broadcast, hosted via Zoom Webinar, offers attendees Q&A on the latest nTIDE findings, provides news and updates from the field, as well as invited panelists to discuss current disability-related findings and events. Today's guests are Richard Petty, director, IL-NET National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Independent Living at ILRU, and director, National Center for Aging and Disability at TIRR, and Seth Hoderewski and Joe Michener from the Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living in Allentown, PA. They join nTIDE hosts Dr. O'Neill, Megan Henly, PhD, project director at UNH-IOD, and Denise Rozell, policy strategist at AUCD. Join live or watch the recordings at: ResearchonDisability.org/nTIDE.

NOTE: The statistics in the nTIDE are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers but are not identical. They are customized by UNH to combine the statistics for men and women of working age (16 to 64). nTIDE is funded, in part, by grants from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) (90RT5037) and Kessler Foundation.

###

About Kessler Foundation

Kessler Foundation, a major nonprofit organization in the field of disability, is a global leader in rehabilitation research that seeks to improve cognition, mobility, and long-term outcomes -- including employment -- for people with neurological disabilities caused by diseases and injuries of the brain and spinal cord. Kessler Foundation leads the nation in funding innovative programs that expand opportunities for employment for people with disabilities. For more information, visit KesslerFoundation.org.

About the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire

The Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) was established in 1987 to provide a coherent university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. For information on the NIDILRR-funded Employment Policy and Measurement Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, visit ResearchonDisability.org.

For more information, or to interview an expert, contact: Carolann Murphy, 973.324.8382, CMurphy@KesslerFoundation.org.
Zimbabwe now has a one-stop investment centre after the Zimbabwe Investment Development Agency (ZIDA) Act was yesterday signed into law, consolidating previous agencies and simplifying the process of registering a new business.

It was passed last year and is part of Government's broader efforts to improving the ease of doing business in Zimbabwe.

While addressing diplomats during a luncheon to mark the beginning of the year yesterday, President Mnangagwa said he had assented to the law.

"This morning, I signed into law the ZIDA Bill," said President Mnangagwa.

The new Act establishes the Zimbabwe Development Agency to facilitate entry and implementation of investment projects as well as coordinate investment programmes and strategies.

The law also provides for organisations that would constitute the agency.

The agency will be a one-stop shop investment centre with representatives of entities that play a role in the licensing, establishment and operationalisation of investments.

The entities operating from the one-stop centre will include the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), National Social Security Authority (NSSA), Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA), Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, the State Enterprises Restructuring Agency and specialised investment units and other relevant line ministries.

The President also took the opportunity to brief the diplomats on the legislative agenda that will see the completion of the alignment of various pieces of legislation to the Constitution.

"To date, POSA (the Public Order and Security Act) has been repealed and replaced by the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act, effective 15 November, 2019.

"Furthermore, two out of three Bills that will replace the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) have been gazetted. The Protection of Personal Information Bill is still under stakeholder consultation and we trust that it will be gazetted during the first quarter of this year," he said.

President Mnangagwa said a draft Independent Complaints Mechanism Bill was being evaluated while the International Treaties Bill is under parliamentary consideration.

"An omnibus Constitutional Amendment Bill which includes, inter alia, a number of agreed amendments to the existing electoral law designed to further enhance democratic space in Zimbabwe, has been gazetted and will now be tabled in Parliament," he said.

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President Mnangagwa said Cabinet had also approved recommendations by the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce chaired by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on views raised in a report by international observers to the 2018 harmonised elections as well as the Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry.

"As part of reintegrating Zimbabwe into the global family of nations, my Government is currently conducting an audit of regional, continental and international agreements that we have not yet signed or ratified with a view to honouring our obligations," he said.

The President also said Zimbabwe's chairing of the Sadc Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation had increased the country's contribution to international security.
A prison officer has been sentenced to two years behind bars for having an affair with a notorious criminal in jail.

Stephanie Smithwhite, 40, was an officer at top-security HMP Frankland, near Durham, where Curtis Cocky Warren  once named on the Sunday Times Rich List  was serving time.

During the trial Smithwhite denied that a hole found cut into her prison uniform was for a sexual purpose, but the sentencing judge said it was hard to imagine why else it was there.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said 56-year-old Warren was a major league offender who tried to manipulate Smithwhite into bringing contraband into the prison.

Stephanie Smithwhite. (PA Images/Durham Constabulary)

The judge said she was infatuated with him, as demonstrated by her tattoo of the name Curtis next to a rose.

The judge said: Your conduct represents the very most grave breach of trust placed in you.

Smithwhite, from Boldon Colliery, South Tyneside, appeared before Durham Crown Court last month to admit two counts of misconduct in a public office.

One count related to her sexual relationship with Warren, which is said to have taken place between June and December 2018, while the second related to her not reporting that she knew Warren had access to a tiny prison phone, believed to be a handset little bigger than a 2 coin.

Smithwhite, left, and Curtis Warren, right. (PA Images)

Prison officer Stephanie Smithwhite (center) arriving at Durham Crown Court before her sentencing after admitting two counts of misconduct in a public office. (PA Images)

Warren, 56, a Liverpool-born gangster who became an international drug trafficker worth tens of millions, moved to the Netherlands in the 1990s and was jailed there after a police raid on his villa found a huge haul of drugs and weapons.

He was later convicted of manslaughter after he got into a prison yard fight with a Turkish inmate.

Weeks after his release, he was arrested in Jersey for a major drug smuggling plot and was told in 2013 that he faced another 10 years in prison if he did not abide by a 198 million confiscation order.

Suspicions about Smithwhites relationship with Warren were raised by staff and a surveillance operation started.

She was seen passing a note to the prisoner and getting one back.

Story continues

She tried to eat her note when officers went to retrieve it from Warren, the court heard, and the notes were found to be highly sexualised.

She tried to deny having a physical relationship with Warren.

Police searched her home where they found more notes and a copy of his autobiography called Cocky, The Rise and Fall of Curtis Warren, prosecutor Rupert Doswell said.

Police also found 450 further notes at the business of one of her relatives, many of which contained sexual fantasies, and found a white Samsung in her car that was used to call a number used by Warren in Frankland Prison.

Smithwhite told detectives she was devastated but hoped for a chance the relationship could continue.

Andrew Nixon, for Smithwhite said she made a catastrophic error of judgment.

He said: This is a woman who has fallen in love with the wrong person.
THURSDAY, Feb. 6, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a first, scientists have used gene-editing technology to create "designer" immune system cells that can fight tumors and survive for months in cancer patients' bodies.

It's a proof of principle, the researchers say -- and an early step toward bringing the gene-editing tool known as CRISPR into cancer treatment.

CRISPR allows researchers to precisely "snip" bits of DNA within a cell and make repairs to a flawed gene or perform other alterations. For years, scientists have been developing and studying CRISPR in the lab, in part to better understand the genetics underlying various diseases.

Ultimately, though, researchers hope to use the technology to cure diseases caused by specific genetic mutations -- or, in the case of cancer, to genetically arm the immune system to fight the disease.

The new findings, published online Feb. 6 in Science, come from the first U.S. trial to test CRISPR gene-editing in humans.

"The goal here was to see if this is safe and feasible. Can CRISPR live up to its hype?" said senior researcher Dr. Carl June, a professor of immunotherapy at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

The initial findings suggest the answer is "yes," he said.

The researchers were able to use CRISPR to make several specific gene edits in T cells taken from three cancer patients; T cells play a critical role in the immune system response. The modified cells were then infused into the patients, where the cells survived for months.

Finally, when June's team took samples of the T cells from the patients' blood, they found the cells were still able to kill tumor cells in a lab dish.

Experts cautioned that much work remains.

"This research is just out of the gate," said Dr. Catherine Diefenbach, an associate professor at NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center in New York City.

"The technology is exciting. This is a new way of engineering T cells to recognize tumor cells, but all they've shown here is that they can infuse these cells into patients, and no one got hurt," she said.

"This is nowhere near ready for prime time," added Diefenbach, who is also with the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

The use of T cells to fight cancer is not new. An approach called CAR T cell therapy is approved in the United States for some aggressive blood cancers. It involves removing a patient's T cells and genetically tweaking them to sprout specific receptors on their surface. Once they are infused back into the patient, the receptors help the T cells find and destroy tumors.

But current therapies have major limitations, said Dr. Jose Conejo-Garcia, chair of immunology at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla.

CAR T cells only work well against blood cancers, he explained: "Solid" tumors in other types of tissue suppress the immune response against them.

In this study, June's team used CRISPR to make three edits. The first two removed natural receptors from the T cells, so they could be reprogrammed to produce a synthetic receptor designed to help them seek and destroy tumor cells. The third edit removed a protein called PD-1, which can inhibit T cells from doing their job.

The ability to remove PD-1 "paves the way for a new generation of 'super T cells'" that might overcome the immune-evading tricks of solid tumors, according to Conejo-Garcia, who was not involved in the research.

"Transferring genetically modified T cells is not new," he said. "However, manipulation of multiple genes to achieve superior anti-tumor activities represents a breakthrough in the field."

But everyone cautioned that all this study demonstrates is that the multiple gene edits are possible; the resulting T cells can survive in patients' bodies (with the longest follow-up being nine months in one patient); and, in the lab, they can kill tumor cells.

A critical question is: Can the edited cells do harm? Here, the researchers saw no major side effects.

But, Diefenbach stressed, much more work is needed to assess the tactic's short- and long-term safety.

A general concern with CRISPR, June said, is the potential for "off-target" effects: Could the edited genes end up affecting the activity of other genes?

Another is chromosome "translocation" -- where a piece of chromosome breaks off and attaches to another chromosome. (Translocations are a cause of some cancers.) That did happen in the T cells June's team engineered, and some translocations persisted in patients' bodies. But over time, June said, the frequency of those rearrangements dropped as the T cells expanded and proliferated in the blood.

The ultimate question is whether CRISPR-edited T cells can actually beat cancer back.

June predicted that it could be a decade before any such treatment advances to the point of approval.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on immune system therapies for cancer.
OTTAWA - The evacuees from Wuhan expected to arrive in Canada Friday face two weeks of isolation, as they are confined to their assigned motel rooms on a Canadian Forces base in southern Ontario, where they will be monitored for signs of the novel coronavirus.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Minister of Health Patty Hajdu speak about Canada's efforts to evacuate citizens from China during a news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA - The evacuees from Wuhan expected to arrive in Canada Friday face two weeks of isolation, as they are confined to their assigned motel rooms on a Canadian Forces base in southern Ontario, where they will be monitored for signs of the novel coronavirus.

Public health officials and members of the armed forces have said they hope to keep the Canadian evacuees as safe and comfortable as they can throughout 14 days of mandatory isolation at Canadian Forces Base Trenton to protect against the possible spread of infection disease.

That follows having already endured an unprecedented quarantine in Wuhan, a city of 11 million in central China at the centre of the outbreak.

"It will be very stressful for them," federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu warned Thursday.

There will be social and mental health support available as they are placed in even further isolation on the base, even from each other.

"This is part of the stress of being in a quarantine situation," Hajdu said.

A plane carrying 176 Canadian citizens from the centre of the global novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, lands at CFB Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

"Individuals will have to find ways to occupy themselves with very little movement on the base."

Canada has not called for a public health emergency in the wake of the coronavirus, but has the authority as part of an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act to keep those returning from Wuhan from leaving the base.

So far, there's no indication any of the 176 Canadians ion board the first government-chartered flight from Wuhan show signs of the illness.

They will take a short bus ride to the Yukon Lodge, a 290-room motel on the base typically reserved for military personnel and their families. There, they will be confined to their rooms throughout the quarantine period and be delivered meals prepared by the military.

Families will remain together.

Hajdu said staff, including those from the Red Cross, will visit the rooms to check on their health and well-being.

People under quarantine will be given clothes, diapers, baby formula, games and other things they need.

The rooms are usually set up with single or queen-sized beds, but the military has been busy rearranging rooms to accommodate families so they can stay together. They each feature their own full bathroom, high-speed internet, a TV with a DVD player, as well as a fridge and microwave.

Military officials have assured the people in the area of CFB Trenton that the risk of transmission is low.

"These returnees are healthy Canadians," Maj.-Gen. Andrew Downes, surgeon general of the Canadian Armed Forces, told the Commons health committee Wednesday. "There is a risk of course that one or more of them might have been exposed to this virus, but I think that the risk is low."

Earlier this week, Ontario's chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, cautioned that passengers will need to be monitored for more than just possible symptoms of the novel coronavirus.

"We're looking at the facilities there," Williams said Monday in Toronto.

"Is it adequate, is it nice lodging, and proper food? All those day-to-day needs are going to be met because these people coming will need to be handled in that way."

After two weeks, when the threat of the virus manifesting itself has finally passed, the evacuees will be taken to the Ottawa, Montreal or Toronto airports for the final leg of the journey home.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.
Brazils far-right president is calling his new controversial plans for indigenous land a dream but his critics are calling it a genocide bill.

Brazils President Jair Bolsonaro is proposing a bill that would open up indigenous land to mining, agriculture and energy projects.

It is yet to receive congressional approval, but has drawn criticism from environmentalists and indigenous groups. They say it could wipe out their communities and speed up deforestation.

Al Jazeeras Joao da Silva reports.
Chinese cryptocurrency entrepreneur Justin Sun Yuchen has finally sat down for a meal with Berkshire Hathaway chairman and legendary investor Warren Buffett after postponing it last year due to a kidney stones issue.

Sun bid a record US$4.57 million for the opportunity to have lunch with Buffett at a charity auction last June but postponed it first citing health issues then apologising to the public for overhyping the plan to dine with one of the worlds richest people.

Sun thanked Buffett for his dinner, wisdom and vision. US$4.56 million for a US$515.05 dinner was money well spent! The insights I received are priceless, Sun said on Twitter on Thursday.

The 20th-anniversary charity lunch hosted by Warren Buffett was originally scheduled for July 25 last year. Sun earlier said on Twitter that he intended to invite blockchain industry leaders to join him and hope this benefits everyone.

Sun and four other cryptocurrency advocates finally met Buffett on January 23 at the Happy Hollow Club in Omaha, Nebraska. Suns guests were Charlie Lee, the creator of peer-to-peer internet currency payment service provider Litecoin; Chris Lee, the chief financial officer, board secretary and vice-president of international business development at Chinese cryptocurrency exchange Huobi; Yoni Assia, founder and chief executive of social trading and multi-asset brokerage company eToro and Helen Hai, head of the Binance Charity Foundation.

Sun also brought Buffett several gifts, including a Bronze Horse, a traditional Chinese paper cutting of a mouse and a Galaxy Fold phone stored with one bitcoin.

Sun, founder of cryptocurrency platform Tron and chief executive of software company BitTorrent, is a controversial figure in China.

Shortly after he came under the spotlight because of the Buffett lunch, Chinese media Caixin reported that Sun was under investigation by local authorities and was not allowed to leave China, though Sun subsequently posted a video on his Twitter account, saying he was in San Francisco.

Story continues

The entrepreneur was allegedly involved in illegal fundraising via the Tron project, which operated illegal gambling services accessible to Chinese residents, according to a report by The 21st Century Business Herald. The report also noted that Suns early start-up Peiwo, a social app which allows strangers to chat with each other, had been accused of being a vulgar and pornographic business.

Sun has denied the illegal fundraising and money laundering accusations, but admitted that some content on his social app Peiwo had negative energy.

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 Chinese cryptocurrency billionaire Justin Sun finally sits down to eat with Warren Buffett first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020.
Life Insurance Corporation is keen to unlock value in in the run up to the insurance behemoth's IPO, which is likely to happen in FY21, its Chairman M R Kumar said on Friday.

Presenting the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman had said the government would sell a part of its 100 percent holding in LIC through an IPO in the next fiscal year.

Later, Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar said the government could divest up to 10 per cent in LIC, which has an enterprise value of Rs 36 trillion.

The government aims to garner Rs 90,000 crore from the listing of LIC and stake dilution in in the next fiscal out of the total target of Rs 2.10 trillion.

In January 2019, LIC picked up 51 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, making it the majority shareholder of the lender. The Irdai regulations bar an insurance company from holding more than 15 per cent in any listed entity. However, Irdai has given some exemption to LIC in regard to its holding in

LIC Chairman Kumar said though Irdai has not fixed any timeline for LIC to reduce its stake in IDBI Bank, the Reserve Bank has given a 12-year timeframe.

"We would not want to wait that long, especially when we are also going to be listed, but we have to find some ways to unlock value in IDBI Bank," Kumar told reporters here on Friday.

He said once the bank comes out of the lending restrictions imposed by the RBI under the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and becomes profitable, the bank would be able to attract investors.

"Once they come out of the PCA and start lending again, I believe that their profitability will go up substantially and also attract investors," he said.

IDBI Bank, which is under PCA framework since May 2017, had met RBI in January to seek lifting of the operational restrictions, PTI had earlier reported.

The lender had made a presentation to the RBI on its improved financial position. The government holds 47.11 per cent stake in IDBI Bank, while 51 percent is with LIC. This leaves practically nothing for investors, as its floating shares are only 3 per cent of the paid-up equity.

Sitharaman had said the government would want to tap the retail investor segment to sell its stake completely.

Kumar said the stake sale by the government in IDBI Bank will help bring in more retail investors.

"Once the stake sale happens, people will show more interest in the scrip, because as of now with 51 per cent with us and over 47 (per cent) with the government, there is hardly any free float to give value to shareholders," Kumar said.

When asked about the IPO's timing, Kumar refused to give any timeline.

"Yes, the finance secretary was on record saying listing will happen in the H2 of FY21. We have to work it out. I don't know how long it takes for the very simple reason that we are doing for the first time," he said.

Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar had on Sunday said the LIC IPO may be done in the second half of FY21.

The LIC chairman said the listing would need some legislative changes in the LIC Act. "Basic amendment to the LIC Act would be required," he said.

Explaining further, the corporation's appointed actuary Dinesh Pant said, "LIC (Act) has got a Section 24 where the entire fund of the corporation is a controlled fund which is under one fund. So how will be now be bifurcated. There is Section 28 about dividend distribution and so all those things have to be taken care of."



He also said it needs to be seen how Section 37,which talks about the sovereign guarantee, is amended. Spelling out the priorities in the run up to listing, he said the focus would be on creating right perception in the market and to work on the process of valuation.

He also said the policyholders and employees will not have any impact due to the listing.

Earlier this week, nearly 1 lakh employees of the corporation staged an hour-long walkout against the IPO plans.
An innovative approach to tackling the challenges of pediatric sarcomas is being pursued by researchers at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, Tennessee) with a new grant from Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT).

The $500,000 ACGT grant supports Stephen Gottschalk, MD, chair of Bone Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy at St. Jude's, in exploring the use of genetically engineered immune cells to attack pediatric sarcoma. Dr. Gottschalk and his team target not only the cancer, but the blood vessels supporting tumor growth. Dr. Gottschalk has conducted more than 25 previous clinical trials and most recently worked on gene therapies for treating infants with the "bubble boy" disease.

"There is an urgent need to develop meaningful treatments for children with solid tumors," says Kevin Honeycutt, CEO and president of ACGT. "Dr. Gottschalk's research combines state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies to attack two targeted gene proteins found in pediatric sarcomas. The members of the ACGT Scientific Advisory Council are enthusiastic about Dr. Gottschalk's vision and very promising preliminary data."

"Pediatric sarcoma, which comes back after initial therapy or is present at multiple sites, is difficult to treat even with the most aggressive, currently available therapies," noted Dr. Gottschalk. "Because Sarcomas are a relatively uncommon group of cancers, accounting for about 15 percent of childhood cancers, improving outcomes has been challenging. This ACGT grant enables me to further investigate how we can leverage different proteins to attack not only abnormal sarcoma cells but also the blood vessels that provide nutrients to tumors. We've seen this approach work in mice. Given the resources from ACGT, we can move ahead much faster to complete all the preclinical studies that are needed to evaluate our approach in the clinic."

Dr. Savio Woo, chairman emeritus of the ACGT Scientific Advisory Council and recently retired from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (New York, New York), dedicated his career to the pursuit of fundamental science and technology development in gene and cell therapy, and translating those laboratory advances into direct patient benefit. Dr. Gottschalk, who did a post-doctoral session with Dr. Woo from 1992 to 1995, acknowledges that it was Dr. Woo's commitment to ACGT that drove his quest to secure a grant from the organization.

"Being connected to the organization that Dr. Savio Woo helped direct on the scientific side, is a great honor," said Dr. Gottschalk.

To learn more about Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT), visit acgtfoundation.org, call 203-358-5055, or join the ACGT community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. To learn more about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, visit stjude.org or follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.

###

Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy (ACGT)

For nearly 20 years, Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy has funded research that is bringing innovative treatment options to people living with deadly cancers - treatments that save lives and offer new hope to all cancer patients. Founded by Barbara and Edward Netter after their daughter-in-law's devastating death from breast cancer, ACGT funds researchers who are pioneering the potential of cancer cell and gene therapy - talented visionaries whose scientific advancements are driving the development of groundbreaking treatments for ovarian, prostate, sarcoma, glioblastoma, melanoma and pancreatic cancers. 100% of all public funds raised by ACGT directly support research. For more information, visit acgtfoundation.org, call 203-358-5055, or join the ACGT community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
Vermont State Police and the Department of Corrections are searching for a convicted murderer who cut off an electronic monitoring device and escaped while on furlough.

William Wheelock, 55, was convicted in 1987 of second-degree murder and sentenced to serve 21-99 years in prison. He was released on furlough on Jan. 28 and was living in transitional housing in Bellows Falls, approximately 60 miles east of the New York state border. Nine days after his release, he cut off and discarded the monitoring device, Vermont State Police said.

Bellows Falls and State police searched for Wheelock for several hours after he escaped at about 2:30 p.m., Wednesday. A warrant for his arrest has been issued by the Department of Corrections, police said.

Police confirmed Wheelock was last seen at about 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, outside a store in Bellows Falls. He got into a dark-colored SUV, possibly a newer Nissan Rogue, with Vermont license plates and headed north on Route 5 toward Rockingham. Two or three other people were in the car, police said.

Wheelock is described as white, 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing about 215 pounds. He has blue eyes, thinning gray hair and a distinctive 666 tattoo on his left eyelid. He has ties to the Springfield, Massachusetts, area, police said.

People are advised not to approach Wheelock but are asked to call 911 immediately if they see him.

Based on the circumstances surrounding his abscondence and his lengthy remaining incarcerative sentence, Wheelocks behavior is considered unpredictable and potentially dangerous, police said.

Anyone with information about Wheelocks escape or location is asked to call the Vermont State Police at 802-722-4600 or the Bellows Falls Police at 802-463-1234.
HARARE (Reuters) - Commodities trader Trafigura will take control of its Zimbabwe business after buying out local partner Sakunda Holdings, which is owned by a businessman close to President Emmerson Mnangagwas government.

Trafigura will increase its stake in Trafigura Zimbabwe to 100%, from 49%. The rest was owned by businessman Kudakwashe Tagwireis unlisted Sakunda, which also operated Trafiguras Puma Energy fuel outlets.

The global commodities trader said in a statement late on Tuesday that it had signed an agreement with Sakunda in December to take full control of the Zimbabwean business after buying Sakundas shares.

Trafigura did not say how much it had paid for the stake but added that the deal was awaiting final regulatory approval.

This will bring improved clarity on Trafiguras activities in the country, an opportunity for more robust financing of Trafigura Zimbabwe and (it) aims to help improve the security of supply of fuel to Zimbabwe, Trafigura said.

Zimbabwe is gripped by acute shortages of fuel and foreign currency as the economy grapples with its worst crisis in a decade.

Tagwirei did not immediately respond to a request for comment while Sakundas chief operations officer Mberikwazvo Chitambo could not be reached for comment.

The businessman sits in Mnangagwas advisory council while his Sakunda company is a major financier of the governments agriculture programme, providing fuel, fertilisers and seed for farmers. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe Editing by Tim Cocks)
New Delhi: It is that time of the year when a huge bouquet of flowers is seen more often than not. No price for guessing that the Valentine Week has begun today with February 7 being the Rose Day. Lovers and friends exchange roses on this day and celebrate the special day with utmost zest.

The Valentine Week begins from February 7 and lasts till 14th of the month. The air is filled with love and no one's complaining. But you know, social media can be quite innovative in celebrating special days. Well, this time a meme fest has been unleashed on Twitter and Rose Day jokes have flooded the internet.

We thought of compiling some of the most hilarious ones for you to have a good laugh right away:

#RoseDay

*When it's Rose day and gf ask for rose*

My type of boys:- pic.twitter.com/yeMU2hAqCX  banna_manraj (@Manrajsinghrat2) February 7, 2020

During rose day

Owner of Flower Shop:#RoseDay pic.twitter.com/DTbNjPWSuq  Aminul Islam (@Aminul_iislam) February 7, 2020

Starting from Rose Day, Propose Day, Chocolate Day, Teddy Day to Promise Day, Hug Day, Kiss Day and finally the much-awaited Valentine's Day. So, start planning your entire week according to Valentine's calendar.

Here's wishing our readers a very Happy Rose Day!
1. Yes. The downtown area needs a good draw. Some quality taverns would be a plus.

2. Yes. Too many storefronts are vacant. Bars could help to bring in needed revenue.

3. No. Putting a number of bars downtown is just asking for trouble. Dont change things.

4.No. Several churches have located downtown. Putting bars close by would be a bad fit.

5. Unsure. It would depend on how the law is written and what standards are enacted.

Vote

View Results
Experience the Living God: To God Be the Glory: an enthralling narrative of the authors life story, bringing Jesus closer to the readers so they all may be able to experience His genuine love. Experience the Living God: To God Be the Glory is the creation of published author Lily Liu Wong, a writer who received a Master of Music Education degree. She started serving in her church as a pianist at the age of fifteen while she was in Taiwan. She has also served as the choir director, the chairperson of the mission department, and the pianist for the Sunday worship service.

Wong writes, I was born in Taiwan. In 1974, I came to the United States of America for my graduate study. I received two masters degrees, one in music education and the other one in piano performance. My whole life revolved around the piano. It was my mothers will that she dedicated me to serve the Lord with this instrument.

At age six, I started learning to play the piano. I was baptized at age twelve. At age fifteen, I served as the Sunday worship service pianist at my local church in Taiwan. The year 1990 was my turning point back to God. I thanked God for the crisis that happened in my life. By his guiding and loving hand, he changed me from a lukewarm Christian to a disciple of Jesus Christ.

I have lived in Norman, Oklahoma, for thirty-three years as a piano teacher. I am a member of Southern Oklahoma Chinese Baptist Church and have served as choir director, Sunday school teacher, chair of the mission department, and Sunday worship service pianist. In 2004, God led me into Bible Study Fellowship International. Two years later, I was called by God to step out of my comfort zone and into the leadership circle by becoming a group leader where I still serve up to now.

Through serving and walking with Jesus, I have experienced so many miracles from our Lord, just as Jesus promised abundant life for his believers. Philippians 3:1314 (ESV) says, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Lily Liu Wongs new book is a stirring account that touches and opens the heart of the readers for them to be able to understand and realize that God will forever stay on their side regardless of the gravity of the challenges they are experiencing in their life.

With this purpose, Wong encourages everyone to walk and acknowledge Christ in their life so they may be able to experience God and His encompassing grace and mercy for everyone.

View a synopsis of Experience the Living God: To God Be the Glory on YouTube.

Consumers can purchaseExperience the Living God: To God Be the Glory at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Experience the Living God: To God Be the Glory, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.


BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Kazakhstans Bek Air airline company the plane of which crashed near Almaty International Airport has cancelled all flights up through Feb. 16, 2020, Trend reports with reference to the company.

Earlier this month the company reported on cancellation of all flights up through Jan. 24, 30 and Feb. 9, 2020.

Currently, due to technical difficulties, implementation refunds is not possible. However, all the refunds will be made, the company said.

The company said that in order to receive the refund, one must contact the place of ticket purchase. In case if the tickets were purchased online, a refund inquiry must be sent to [email protected]

On Jan. 31, 2020 Kazakhstans Consumer Protection Committee has sued Bek Air airline company for not refunding returned tickets.

On the morning of Dec.27, 2019, the Fokker-100 plane of Bek Air airline implementing flight on the route Almaty  Nur-Sultan lost its height during take-off and broke through a concrete fence, colliding with a two-story building.

According to the latest data, 12 people died, and 66 were injured as a result of the Bek Air's plane crash on Dec. 27. A total of 98 people were on the plane, including nine children and five crew members.

Shortly after the accident, Bek Air companys operations as well as the use of Fokker-100 type aircraft in Kazakhstan have been suspended.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
At 2 am, one Bengaluru woman woke up to see her nightmare come to life. A man was allegedly trying to break into her apartment. He, for some reason, also threw condom packets inside the house through the window.

In her complaint, the Bengaluru woman lives alone in a locality which comes under Puttenahalli police station, mentioned that she was sleeping in her bedroom while she was woken up by the constant knocking on the main door of her apartment at night.

The incident took place on January 30, the women said that she got immensely scared because of the constant knocking and ringing of the bell when she immediately dialed 100 in the middle of the night.

The man, meanwhile, opened the window which was next to the main door and switched the hall lights--the switches for which were also accessible to him--on and off continuously just to scare her more.

Shutterstock

She also said that the police did not arrive at the venue till 2.30 am and the man had fled by then. She spoke to the media and mentioned that the police checked the terrace and area near the building but the man escaped. The man could have hurt himself while climbing her building as there were blood-stains on the stairs and her windowpane.

After that police left the venue and asked her to contact them if something happens again.

Shutterstock

After the long night, the woman got up in the morning to get ready for work when she found a packet of condoms near her fridge. She went to the police station to file an FIR but was shocked when the cops asked her not to mention the condoms in her complaint, adding casually that she should just throw the packet away.

I told the sub-inspector of the police about the events that happened the previous night. But he refused to register an FIR, saying we cant because the guy is unknown, the woman told media.



Details of the CCTV footage that showed that the man had done the exact same thing on the first floor, also didn't make it to the complaint initially.

That said, the cops did acknowledge the fact that an unknown man had indeed banged on random doors and windows and filed a complaint eventually.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court Thursday dismissed the bail application of former independent MLA in Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Abdul Rashid, arrested in a case related to terror-funding activities in the Valley.

Popularly known as Rashid Engineer, he was a legislator from the Langate Assembly seat in north Kashmir and is the first mainstream politician to have been arrested by the NIA in the case.

Special Judge Praveen Kumar rejected the application saying the prosecution has successfully established that "there exists reasonable grounds to believe the accusations against the accused are prima facie true".

Rashid was arrested on August 9 last year, since he was unable to give any convincing answers to the questions, the NIA had said.
Health officials visit an nCoV-infected patient at the healthcare centre of Binh Xuyen district, Vinh Phuc province, on February 6 (Photo: VNA)

One of the two cases is a 49-year-old female farmer, residing in Son Loi commune, Binh Xuyen district, northern Vinh Phuc province. She is the mother of a 23-year-old female patient who had previously tested positive for the virus.

The other is her 16-year-old daughter and a younger sister of the female patient.

As both of them had close contact with the infected patient, so they have been closely monitored.

On February 4, local medical workers found that they showed symptoms of cough and tiredness. Both then were taken to the local medical station for quarantine and having samples tested.

The tests by the National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology indicated that they were positive for nCoV. They are now in stable health conditions.

The 23-year-old patient was one of eight people who returned from Chinas Wuhan city on the same flight. Five of them were infected with the virus, while three others have been quarantined.

The eight Vietnamese people were sent to Wuhan for training by Nihon Plast Co Ltd of Japan and returned to Vietnam on China Southern Airlines fight CZ8315 on January 17.
Nope. Donald Trump.

And so he began to shift his position. At first, he dipped in a toe, declining to criticize Mr. Trump when given the chance. Then, when he saw dissenting Republicans defeated in primaries or humiliated in tweets, he waded in deeper, publicly coming to Mr. Trumps defense. Now, hes undergone a baptism. When I recently asked him about Mr. Trumps behavior, he told me about the strength of the economy, the reduction in taxes and regulation, and the danger of extremist Democrats.

How did he go from Never Trump to never allow a witness who might implicate Trump?

Hes part of a growing wing of the Republican Party: the rationalizers.

Im familiar with political rationalization  I watched and even practiced it during my time in Congress. Like erosion, political rationalization is incremental, shaped by harsh winds and climates over a period of time. It usually begins when a small issue meets a larger electoral consequence. Constituents push you to vote yes when you want to vote no, so you rationalize: Ill wait for someone else to put it over the top, then my yes vote wont mean as much. Or: Ill vote yes, but the Senate will defeat it. Or the president wont sign it. Or if it does become law, well, theres always the Supreme Court.

Pressured by re-election, you make a tiny, inconsequential concession on a specific issue or vote. Nothing more than a small chip off your principles.

Early in my career, I had my own moment of rationalization. In 2001, only six months after being sworn into the House of Representatives, President George W. Bush proposed significant tax cuts. I was deeply concerned about their impact on the debt, but my polling showed that voting against lower taxes in my Republican-leaning districts was politically fatal. So I rationalized: This will be the last tax cut I support (it wasnt); the deficits will be offset (they werent); by voting with Republicans on this, it gives me more credibility to vote against them on other issues (actually, in that case, it did).
Over 200 partnerships involving Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs), Transfer of Technology (ToTs), Product launches were concluded on the third day of DefExpo 2020.

"Over 200 partnerships involving Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs), Transfer of Technology (ToTs), Product launches were concluded on the third day of DefExpo 2020, at ceremony tilted "Bandhan", making it the most successful such events to be held in India," the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

The pacts were inked by representatives of various DPSUs, Indian private Defence cos and foreign companies in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow.

According to the statement, the Defence Minister described the signing of MoUs as a step in the direction to achieve Prime Minister's $5 billion defence exports target in next 5 years.The Defence Minister thanked all the stakeholder who signed MoUs and expressed hope that Uttar Pradesh would emerge as a Defence Manufacturing hub.

Among those MoUs signed today, 23 of them were by Uttar Pradesh Government.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath was quoted as saying that these MoUs envisage Rs 50,000 crores investment in the defence corridor set up in the state and generate 3 lakh job opportunities.

As per the statement, the Chief Minister assured that investments coming to the state were secure and the state investment policy was the most attractive in the country. He also announced that HAL would soon supply Dornier 19-seater civilian aircraft to UP.

"During the course of the ceremony, a major announcement in the form of issuing the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). LUH is designed and developed as a replacement for Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which are currently being operated by Indian Armed forces," the statement read.

LUH is a new generation helicopter in the 3-Ton class incorporating the state-of-the-art technology features which will meet the emerging needs in this class of helicopters in the coming decades.

OFB launched "Sharang" the 155mm artillery gun with 36 km range and handed over a model to Chief of Army Staff Gen M M Naravane. OFB also launched JVPC Alpha gun with 100 mt range, Light Machine Gun of 800 mt range and UBGL - Under barrel Grenade launcher.BDL launched Amogha-3 the anti-Tank Guided Missile. It is a man portable fire and forget missile.

BDL also launched Varunastra - the anti-submarine torpedo, manufactured under the technological guidance of DRDO.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has climbed to 636 with 73 mortalities on Thursday, while the total number of confirmed cases crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said on Friday.

Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, reported 69 deaths on Thursday while Jilin, Henan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces reported one each, China's National Health Commission said.

As many as 73 people died on Thursday, while another 3,143 new cases of infection were reported, which took to 31,161 the total number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection from 31 provincial-level regions, the commission said.

Also, a total of 1,540 patients infected with the virus had been discharged from hospital after recovery by the end of Thursday, it said, highlighting that a large number of people are getting cured.

The Chinese officials said 19 foreign nationals living in the country have been confirmed of contracting the novel coronavirus as of Thursday, but did not disclose their nationalities.

The deceased on Thursday also included Chinese doctor Li Wenliang, one of the eight whistle-blowers who warned other medics of the coronavirus outbreak but were reprimanded by the police.

Li, the 34-year-old doctor, died due to coronavirus on Thursday in Wuhan.

He was the first to report about the virus back in December last year when it emerged in Wuhan.

He dropped a bombshell in his medical school alumni group on the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat that seven patients from a local seafood market had been diagnosed with a SARS-like illness and quarantined in his hospital.

Soon after he posted the message, Li was accused of rumour-mongering by the Wuhan police.

He was one of the several medics targeted by the police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak.

Meanwhile, China on Thursday opened a new 1,500-bed makeshift hospital especially built for virus patients, days after a 1,000-bed hospital started functioning with prefabricated wards and isolation rooms in Wuhan.

Chinese officials argue that the death toll and confirmed cases are rising in Hubei province because of lack of enough hospitals and beds.

Officials also started setting up tent hospitals and mobile clinics to treat the growing number of patients.

China also lodged diplomatic protests to countries over cancellation of flights to China due to virus fears.

"As some countries have taken such excessive steps as suspending flights, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) has also issued bulletins and encouraged all countries to follow WHO recommendations," a spokesperson said.

"We deplore and oppose those countries who went against WHO's professional recommendations and ICAO's bulletins and have lodged stern representations with them," she said.

Several international airlines, including Air India and IndiGo, have cancelled flights to China over fears of the virus spreading across the world, a move which Beijing described as being against WHO guidelines.

Several countries including India and the US have also announced travel bans.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Some people do not care about their surroundings when they get raunchy. They have utter disregard for public decency.

A British woman and an Australian man were recently caught having sex in broad daylight on a busy family beach in the Philippines and the two refused to stop even after the police arrived.

AFP

Daily Mail reports the pair to be Jasmine Nelly and Anthony Carrio, both 26 years old. According to the report, the couple carried on doing it even after they were arrested and handcuffed.

People saw them on popular Boracay Island in Aklan province.

The cops apparently stood over the pair, asking them to stop but they paid no heed and continued with their act. The incident took place around 5.45 pm, a busy time on the beach.

Representative Image/Viral Press

According to the Police Corporal Joel Banga-ora the pair was drunk. They had to be handcuffed and dragged to the station but they were still all over each other in the back of the police truck.

Officers arrived at the beach and they kept going. We were stood next to them and they continued having sex. They were not embarrassed that everybody could see their bodies. The woman's breasts were fully exposed and the man's penis was visible. They were so engrossed in each other they did not know what was happening around them, Daily Mail quoted Police Corporal Joel Banga-ora as saying.

They have both been charged and released on bail pending a court appearance in February, if they fail to appear in court they might face a travel ban in the Philippines.
People who text while walking face a higher risk of an accident than those listening to music or talking on the phone, a study has found.

The study, published in the journal Injury Prevention, found that smartphone texting is linked to compromised pedestrian safety, with higher rates of near misses, and failure to look left and right before crossing a road.

Researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada call for a more thorough approach to exploring the impact of distracted pedestrian behaviours on crash risk.

Worldwide, around 270,000 pedestrians die every year, accounting for around a fifth of all road traffic deaths, according to the researchers.

Pedestrian distraction has become a recognised safety issue as more and more people use their smartphones or hand held devices while walking on the pavement and crossing roads, they said.

The researchers looked for published evidence to gauge the potential impact on road safety of hand-held or hands-free device activities.

This included talking on the phone, text messaging, browsing and listening to music.

From among 33 relevant studies, they pooled the data from 14 -- involving 872 people -- and systematically reviewed the data from another eight.

The analysis showed that listening to music wasnt associated with any heightened risk of potentially harmful pedestrian behaviours.

Talking on the phone was associated with a small increase in the time taken to start crossing the road, and slightly more missed opportunities to cross the road safely.

The researchers found that text messaging emerged as the potentially most harmful behaviour.

It was associated with significantly lower rates of looking left and right before or while crossing the road, and with moderately increased rates of collisions, and close calls with other pedestrians or vehicles, they said.

Texting also affected the time taken to cross a road, and missed opportunities to cross safely, but to a lesser extent, according to the researchers.

The review of the eight observational studies revealed that the percentage of pedestrians who were distracted ranged from 12 to 45 per cent, they said.

It also found behaviours were influenced by several factors, including gender, time of day, solo or group crossing, and walking speed.

The researchers acknowledge a variety of study quality issues which limit the generalisability of the findings.

Given the ubiquity of smartphones, social media, apps, digital video and streaming music, which has infiltrated most aspects of daily life, distracted walking and street cross will be a road safety issue for the foreseeable future, the researchers noted.

And as signage and public awareness campaigns dont seem to alter pedestrian behaviour, establishing the relationship between distracted walking behaviour and crash risk is an essential research need, they said.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

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A warehouse in Delhi's Bijwasan caught fire in the wee hours on February 7.

As many as 15 fire tenders have been pressed into service. Fire fighters are trying to douse the massive fire.

Live TV

The warehouse with lab equipment caught fire at around 4 am on Friday morning.

(This is a developing story, more details awaited)
A group of passengers at risk of falling ill to novel coronavirus landed at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland on Friday.

The charter flown by Yipsilanti., Mich.,-based Kalitta Air landed at 12:23 p.m. It was carrying evacuees from Wuhan, China, where the deadly virus first emerged in late December. The number of passengers wasnt known.

A spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Amy Rowland, said Friday she did not have details about the flight or the passengers.

Passengers on the flight have been screened for any signs of illness multiple times during their journey, including when the plane refueled at Travis AFB in California.

Rowland said CDC wouldnt know whether any of the passengers had the coronavirus until tests had been done and lab samples had been returned.

That cant happen in a matter of minutes, she said.

Now Playing: Capt. Jennifer McQuiston, a veterinarian who is deputy director, CDCs Division of High Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, talks about coronavirus. A CDC spokeswoman is with her. Video: San Antonio Express-News

On ExpressNews.com: Evacuees will be confined to a hotel at Lackland

The passengers are the first of up to 250 who could come to Lackland, one of four bases that will house Americans evacuated from China, where the coronavirus outbreak has struck thousands and claimed hundreds of lives.

The evacuees arriving in the Alamo City are among 1,000 leaving China. Some arrived Thursday at Travis and at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, also in California.

Once on the ground, the evacuees will be under guard by federal marshals, who will patrol a fenced perimeter around the hotel where they will be housed. Specially trained contractors will feed them and handle housekeeping chores at the Gateway Inn, a lodging facility on Lackland.

Jennifer McQuiston, deputy director of the division of high-consequence pathogens and pathology at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said no one on the base would have contact with the evacuees, who will remain under a quarantine that will start from the time their plane leaves China and last for 14 days.

Thats believed to be the approximate incubation period of the virus. If more coronavirus cases are identified, the quarantine period could be extended.

As of Friday, more than 31,000 cases have been reported along with more than 600 deaths, but the numbers are growing. Transmission is thought to be person to person in China, and there are a growing number of cases among travelers.

Coronavirus cases have been reported in 28 countries. In the United States, 12 cases have been reported in Arizona, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Washington. Earlier in the week, a case was reported in Wisconsin as well.

CDC officials have stressed that the risk of transmission of the coronavirus to the general public is low.

While conceding that not everything is known about coronavirus, with the CDCs McQuiston calling it a brand-new, emerging virus that scientists are still learning about, she stressed that the immediate risk of this new virus to the American public is believed to be low at this time. For Americans, the biggest risk continues to be travel to China, the epicenter of the outbreak, or caring for people who have been sickened by the virus.

sigc@express-news.net
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An 11-year-old boy is recovering in Grand Rapids after being assaulted and stabbed by a man who broke into his familys home overnight.

Police identified the accused assailant as Denny William Mcnees. The 21-year-old suspect was charged Friday, Feb. 7, with intent to murder and first-degree home invasion.

Officers were dispatched around 3 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, to a report of a home invasion in the 800 block of Sheffield Street SW in Grand Rapids.

Police said the incident was a random act. Mcnees broke into the house, without any prior connections to the scene. During the incident, the 11-year-old boy was stabbed and assaulted in the head multiple times, according to the Kent County Prosecutors Office.

The boy was transported to a local hospital to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Police have not released his name.

Officers used a K-9 unit to track and apprehend Mcnees about 30 minutes after he fled. He was taken into custody without incident, according to police.

On Friday, Mcnees was arraigned in Grand Rapids District Court. He remained in custody Friday afternoon on a $500,000 bond.

The incident remains under investigation by the Grand Rapids Police Department.

Read more:

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Left: Arianna Taylor-Israel  first murder victim for the year  was from all reports well liked and respected for her dedication and professionalism by her colleague nurses here. Right: Murder accused Mitchell Israel as he left the Serious Offences Court last Monday.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines was thrown into a state of bewilderment and panic, during the mid-afternoon hours of Thursday 30th January 2020, when the news broke that a female had been shot in the yard of a Kingstown secondary school.





When the smoke cleared, the real news flew like Miss Janey Fire: A Cuban nurse assigned to duties at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital (MCMH), had been shot in the yard of the St. Martins Secondary School, Kingstown Park, just after school was dismissed for the day at 3pm.





Confirmed reports came soon after, indicating that the victim was Arianna Taylor-Israel, who had gone to the school to pick up the elder of her two sons.





Taylor-Israel was rushed by private conveyance to the MCMH where she died about an hour or so after arrival.

Soon after the incident, and still shaken, some students told this publication that they heard at least five shots.

Others said that a man had done the shooting and calmly left the scene in a "fancy vehicle.





Arrest made  Husband charged





THE VINCENTIAN understands that Taylor-Israels husband, Mitchell Israel, a 57-year-old Civil Servant, was taken into custody by the evening hours of the day of the shooting.

Reports also indicated that the police had retrieved a licensed revolver from the person of Israel, and they were treating it as the weapon used in committing the crime.





Police confirmed on Saturday 1st February that they had formally charged Mitchell Israel with the murder of his wife, Arianna Taylor-Israel.





Israel was arraigned on Monday morning at the Serious Offences Court. He was not required to plead to the indictable charge, and Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne ordered that he be remanded to prison to await a preliminary inquiry set for May 18.





The relationship





Sources trusted by THE VINCENTIAN spoke of a 15-year marriage between Mitchell and Arianna as being characterized by ongoing disagreement, heightened aggression and violent acts on Mitchells part.

One source said that there were times when she reported for work showing clear signs that she had been physically abused.





In fact, a member of her profession said that she had spoken of her ordeal to her co-workers, and had made numerous reports of her husbands physical and emotional abuse of her and threats to her life, to the Questelles Police Station. The couple and their two sons resided at Lower Questelles.





A co-worker disclosed that Arianna had told her that one of those reports was lodged just days before the fatal shooting.





While THE VINCENTIAN has been unable to confirm it, a chorus of persons closely associated with the deceased said that Mitchell was served with divorce papers the very day his wife was shot.





Who was Arianna Taylor-Israel





Taylor-Israel was a member of one of the early batches of Cuban nurses recruited during 2001 to 2003, to address a shortage of nurses in the health system here.





She and Mitchell Israel were married in 2004. The marriage produced two sons - the elder a student at the St. Martins Secondary School, his fathers alma mater, and the younger enrolled at the St. Vincent Grammar School.





Arianna was remembered as being dedicated to her profession and was active in the Nurses Association here.

She was known to enjoy music and singing, and in addition to being active in this regard at events organized by the Cuban and Venezuelan Embassies, she was a member of the all-female choir Cantemus.





Taylor-Israels death is recorded as the first murder in St Vincent and the Grenadines for 2020.




(JTA)-President Donald Trump's long-awaited peace plan has been met with plenty of skepticism since its release on Tuesday.

Could Trump actually be the one to settle a decades old conflict where so many other American presidents have failed, with a plan that was devised without consulting the Palestinians?

But some critics zeroed in on a much more specific aspect of the plan: the proposed high-speed railway connecting the West Bank and Gaza, the two geographically distinct territories of a potential future Palestinian state. Based a map provided by the White House, the tunnel would have to have to traverse 20 to 30 miles.

The tunnel idea was widely mocked on Twitter as a "crazy" idea. But some were wrong on the facts-the tunnel would not be the longest in the world, as was claimed.

(It should also be noted that news of a tunnel from Gaza could have sounded bad to Israelis-their army has for years been on a mission to destroy tunnels from Gaza that terrorists use to infiltrate the country.)

Turns out, building a 30-mile tunnel might be the least of the peace plan's challenges, at least according to Arnon Rozen, an Israeli engineer who has specialized in tunnel building for 50 years.

"This is something which from an engineering point of view, it can be done-no problem," Rozen told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency on Wednesday.

He noted that tunnels of similar length already exist. The Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, runs 31 miles between England and France, with the additional complication that it had to be built underwater. The Brenner Base Tunnel, a 34-mile railway tunnel currently under construction, will run between Austria and Italy beneath the Alps.

Rozen, who runs an engineering firm in the Israeli city of Kfar Yona and worked on tunnels for the new train line between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, said that one challenge is the different types of soil. The ground in Gaza is made up of soft soil, while the West Bank is rockier. A tunnel boring machine, or TBM, which can drill through a range of materials, can be used to overcome such challenges, he said.

"You're going from soft soil into rock, but the machinery, the TBM, can be adapted accordingly," Rozen said. "There will be of course technical problems like ventilation and lighting, but all of it can be solved by those dealing in this field."

Rozen said it's hard to offer an exact estimate on the tunnels cost, which depends on various factors, including the number of lanes it would have. But Rozen guessed it would cost "several tens of millions and more." Building such a tunnel would take several years, but could be shortened if it was bored from both sides at the same time.

Ron Benari, a geotechnical engineer who has a firm in the moshav Kfar Bin Nun, echoed Rozen's sentiments, saying a tunnel like the one outlined in the plan is feasible.

"It's hard for me to believe that if tomorrow there would be an agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians and they will accept all the Trump idea and Netanyahu, then it will fall down because somebody will say that's a good idea, but its impossible to make this tunnel," he said.
The Congress on Friday demanded an apology from Union Minister Harsh Vardhan for making "unparliamentary" remarks in Lok Sabha against Rahul Gandhi, who alleged that the BJP "orchestrated" the ruckus in the House to prevent him from questioning the government.

There was an uproar in the Lower House of Parliament after the Union health minister made the remarks against the former Congress chief, leading to the Lok Sabha being adjourned for the day at 2 pm.

Gandhi and other Congress MPs complained to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and demanded action against Vardhan for making "unwarranted" remarks.

BJP members also prevented Gandhi from exercising his right to ask questions, the opposition party alleged and added that if Congress MPs have violated parliamentary norms, they will express regret.

"The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the government. The youth of India can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis.

"To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate," Gandhi said on Twitter.

The Congress leader also said that "we are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament". "They have suppressed our voices," he had said earlier.

Gandhi told reporters outside Parliament that Vardhan passed the remarks when he was seeking to raise the issue of the people of his Lok Sabha constituency Wayanad not getting access to medical facilities in the absence of a medical college."But I was prevented from doing so," he said.

Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Gandhi along with him and some other MPs met the speaker and handed over a complaint against Vardhan for action against him.

"Gandhi pleaded that his rights and privileges should be restored and opportunity should be given to him to ask questions.

"I have proposed that the minister concerned should apologise for his unparliamentary behaviour and have said that our member in the Well went there due to the emotional outburst triggered after the minister's remarks. If found to be wrong, we will also express regret," he said.

"This was a pre-conceived way to defame Rahul Gandhi," Chowdhury alleged, while listing out a detailed chronology of events that led to the ruckus in Lok Sabha.

Congress leader Anand Sharma said his party and Gandhi at no stage have expressed any intent to cause any hurt to the prime minister.

He said the Question Hour is very formal and a special occasion, and Gandhi's question was listed. He cannot be denied his right and the minister cannot violate his right, Sharma said.

"We hope the speaker will intervene firmly and timely so that the member's rights are protected," he said.

During the uproar some Congress MPs, including Manickam Tagore from Tamil Nadu, protested in the Well of the House.

"The BJP obviously does not like me to speak in the House. In a completely unparliamentary manner, the Union health minister raised something that I said outside, which he has no business of doing during the Question Hour. So, we were raising it with the Speaker," Gandhi said.

"I think, the main issue is that we are being stifled. We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. The health minister instead of giving an answer to my question, was raising some other issue. Where ever they can suppress our voice, they try to do that," he said.

Gandhi denied that Tagore attacked anyone and alleged that he was instead attacked.

During the ruckus Tagore came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Tagore in a separate complaint to the speaker alleged that there is threat to his life.

The treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha when Union Minister Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the Question Hour, when Gandhi asked a question related to establishment of the medical college, Vardhan said before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leader's recent comment on the prime minister.

Vardhan said he "condemns in no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks of Gandhi.

"Sir, please excuse me. Before I begin answering this question of dear Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. I want to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish language that he has used against the prime minister of the country," he said.

Speaker Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the statement, Congress MPs came to the Well strongly protesting against the minister's move.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hong Kong Airlines has been forced to fire 400 of its staff after sales nosedived amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The remaining staff have been ordered to take unpaid leave while the airline weathers the ongoing tourism slump.

Passenger demand was already low as people shirked the embattled city-state which has been in the grip of violent anti-government protests.

The firm's economic woes were further compounded by the coronavirus, which has infected 24 and killed one in Hong Kong since it spawned in Wuhan, China, late last year.

Travel to neighbouring countries - especially the Chinese mainland - is tightly restricted and several governments have enforced a flight freeze to prevent the spread of the killer bug.

Hong Kong has been hit by 24 cases and one death since the coronavirus broke out in China late last year (people receiving face masks in the city-state, pictured)

People line up to receive free face masks from a convenient store chain in Hong Kong today

Hong Kong Airlines said in a statement today the firm had to take 'vigorous measures' to mitigate its challenges.

The company said it will lay off 400 employees, with the remainder asked to take a minimum of two weeks no-pay leave per month or work three days a week from February 17 until the end of June.

'There has never been a more challenging time in Hong Kong Airlines' history as of now,' the company said in an email statement.

'As uncertainty looms with the evolving nature of this global issue, weak travel demand will likely continue into the summer season and we need to take further action to stay afloat.'

The airline is owned by struggling Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, which has been looking to lower its debt burden.

Hong Kong Airlines said in a statement the firm had to take 'vigorous measures' to mitigate its challenges (file photo)

Travel to Hong Kong's neighboring countries - especially mainland China - is tightly restricted and many faraway nations have also imposed a flight freeze to prevent the spread of the killer bug (global infections pictured)

In November it announced it would delay salary payments to some staff as it struggled to find cash, triggering a warning from regulators that its licence might be at risk.

While it managed to keep flying thanks to an injection of funds, it continues to struggle.

The coronavirus, which was first detected in the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, spread over the Lunar New Year holiday and has now killed more than 600 people in the country, with at least 31,000 infected.

The crisis has seen a number of governments around the world and in Asia block flights to and from Hong Kong, including popular destinations Taiwan and the Philippines.
Micheal Martin has attacked the lop-sided economic development of Ireland towards Dublin and the east coast.

The Fianna Fail leader suggested a government led by his party would directly intervene to push more investment into the west.

Im not a Dublin-centric person, he told Clare FM on the final day of campaigning.

I think there is a huge imbalance in how Ireland is developing economically. It is too lop-sided.

Everything is towards the east coast. We have to directly intervene as a government and as a State.

Mr Martin said he would tell State investment agency IDA we want to direct employment to the mid west, to the western seaboard and towns across the country, outside of Dublin.

Greater State infrastructure and services are also needed outside the capital, he added.

On Fianna Fails role in the last economic crash, Mr Martin said: Of course people will never forget the impact of the crash of the economy and on peoples lives.

"But on the doorsteps.. the overwhelming focus of people we spoke to was on the health services and housing.

It had been nine long years in opposition but they have been constructive, he said.

The bottom line in this election campaign is that people want a change of government and Fianna Fail is the only party, given the number of candidates it is running, which could lead it, he added.

Asked if outgoing Clare TD Timmy Dooley could look forward to a ministerial post in such a government, Mr Martin said he was very conscious of the importance for strong voices from around the country in Cabinet but he wouldnt fall into the trap of selecting would-be ministers ahead of polling.

On whether the votegate controversy harmed Mr Dooley, the Fianna Fail leader said it wasnt comparable to other controversies, citing the example of Fine Gaels Dara Murphy as an example.

Mr Martin praised Mr Dooleys on contribution to last Dail particularly on climate change.

No-one would take from him that he has been, from a policy perspective, a very constructive and active member of the last Dail, an also a very hard working constituency worker a as well, he said.

Mr Martin repeated his preference for a coalition with centre ground politicians who are up for sensible, financially sustainable solutions, adding that the Greens, Labour and Social Democrats are key to make that work.
National Assembly and Senate Speakers have summoned special sittings of their Houses on Monday to give the lawmakers a chance to mourn and condole with the family of the former President Daniel arap Moi, who died on Tuesday.

The two Speakers issued the summonses as military police took over the security of Parliament minutes after the government announced that Moi's body will lie in-state at Parliament Buildings for three days from Saturday through Monday.

Following notices in two separate special editions of the Kenya Gazette published Thursday, the two Speakers acceded to requests from their respective majority leaders and ordered their members to attend the sittings slated for Monday afternoon.

Among the issues Garissa Township MP Aden Duale and Senator Kipchumba Murkomen want the two Houses to consider when they convene are procedural motions that if adopted will adjust the annual calendar of the two Houses and offer members of the National Assembly and Senate the opportunity to debate and offer special condolences to the former President's long service in Parliament.

The lawmakers were to return from the long Christmas recess on Tuesday next week for the third session of the 12th Parliament, according to the calendars approved by both Houses last year.

ALTER CALENDAR

However, in the wake of Moi's death and the decision by the government to gazette Tuesday as a national holiday, both the National Assembly and Senate must alter their calendar, a process that can only be done through a procedural motion, according to Mr Duale.

Mr Duale wants the calendar altered from February 11 and for the record of the House to indicate the third session will start on Thursday, February 13.

Until his retirement in 2002, Mr Moi had served in Parliament for 47 continuous years, starting in 1955, when he became one of the first eight Africans to be elected to the White-dominated Legislative Council, popularly known as Legco.

"Following the Presidential proclamations of February 4, regarding the passing on of Kenya's second President, Daniel arap Moi, the condolences of this House be recorded in honour of Moi's long service to this House, his selfless and exemplary service to the republic, and for promoting good neighbourliness and stability in the region," Mr Duale says in his motion.

The Senate motion is similar. However, Mr Murkomen wants senators to record their condolences "in honour of the late President's service as a Statesman, Pan Africanist, MP, his contribution to national building and promotion of peace in Africa and the World".

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SECURITY MEETING

On Thursday, security agencies held a meeting at Parliament soon after the government announced that the body will lie in-state for three days.

Senior officials from the National Intelligence Service, National Police Service and the Kenya Defence Forces and parliamentary security held a meeting and developed a mechanism of securing the place ahead of the arrival of the body Saturday morning.

It was decided that the body will be placed in the National Assembly's reception area in the foyer leading to the chamber from where the public will get a chance to view it.

However, there was panic after the military police asked Parliament staff, who had their cars parked in the open parking area, to remove them by late Thursday or risk the ignominy of the vehicles being towed away.
The home at 10 Bryan Ave. in Malvern was used for the local filming of director Peter Jacksons 2010 movie, The Lovely Bones. It will go on sale later this month. Read more

A Chester County home used in a production by director Peter Jackson more than a decade ago will hit the market later this month.

Located at 10 Bryan Ave. in Malvern, the house was featured prominently in Jacksons 2010 movie The Lovely Bones, which is based on Malvern-raised author Alice Sebolds 2002 novel of the same name. Set in 1970s Norristown, the story follows protagonist Susie Salmon, a 14-year-old rape and murder victim who watches over her family from heaven after her tragic death

Jackson came to town to scout filming locations for the movie in 2007, when he was fresh off his 2005 adaptation of King Kong. Ultimately, according to an Inquirer report from that year, the director and his crew reviewed about 75 locations for the local filming, and settled on 10 Bryan Ave. as the Salmon family home.

Other area locations used for the shoot would come to include South Brandywine Middle School in Coatesville, MacDade Mall in Delaware County, and Main Street in Royersford, among others.

Homeowner Betty Seeley, 83, purchased the three-bedroom, split-level house in 1963 with her late husband. Now, she is moving on from Malvern to be with family in Massachusetts, real-estate outfit James Harner Group told the Inquirer.

Seeley was present for much of the filming, which lasted from October to December 2007 and brought stars like Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, and Saoirse Ronan to the area. Her husband, meanwhile, hightailed it to his cabin in Maryland for the duration of filming at 10 Bryan Ave., according to a 2010 edition of the WillisTowne Crier Newsletter.

Crews primarily used 10 Bryan Ave. for exterior shots in the film, though scenes featuring the Salmon family having dinner together were shot in the home. The remainder of interior shots were filmed in a nearby studio, where filmmakers recreated several of the homes rooms.

Jackson and his cohorts also modified the exterior of the home  as well as a number of other homes on the block  to appear more period-correct to the 1970s, and reverted some changes after the production wrapped. Seeleys home, for example, received a new brick patio out back, a new oven, and a makeshift production studio setup in the garage.

Changes on the block, a 2007 Inquirer report indicates, included the addition of rooftop TV antennas, metal trash cans, and period patio furniture to about 20 split-level houses in the area. A release, meanwhile, adds that several homes were stripped of their vinyl siding for the shoot, after which crews replaced the siding. Vintage vehicles were also trucked in and parked along the street.

Seeley ultimately became known as The Cookie Lady among the movies production crew, thanks to her habit of serving chocolate chip cookies and Earl Grey tea  a type of tea favored by a character in The Lovely Bones  to crew members when they were working at the house.

Today, about 13 years after filming wrapped, the house is still known to some locals as the Lovely Bones home, the realty group indicates. Released in January 2010, the film received mixed reviews (including from the Inquirer), and has an overall score of 32% on movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

The realty company will host an open house for 10 Bryan Ave. on Feb. 23, when the home is set to officially hit the market  and yes, Seeleys cookies will be served. The expected sale price is about $420,000.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Fidan Babayeva  Trend:

In accordance with the Azerbaijani law "On the protection of children from harmful information", new measures are being taken to restrict children's access internet, Osman Gunduz, president of the Azerbaijan Internet Forum, told Trend.

The providers must review all virtual information by using filtering systems in accordance with this law.

In addition to the existing ones, new filtration systems are being developed, Gunduz added. "Providers must ensure that children have safe internet at the request of parents. If the parents want, children are provided with an alternative resource with safe content.

"Presently, there is a dilemma about whether to use public or private internet providers' funds for the implementation of this project, the president of the forum said. When using the finances of private providers, another important question arises. Will they increase the tariff for safe internet? This question still remains unresolved."

The educational institutions already use safe internet which is rendered by AzEduNet provider, exempted from the monthly subscription fee.

Azercell, Bakcell, ENGINET companies are implementing the Safe Internet project, in particular, through Azercell Kids and Bakcell Stars services within the activities aimed at protecting children from the negative impact of the internet.

The filtering system restricts access to 18 million websites from 90 groups that contain information considered harmful to children.

By purchasing safe internet packages, Bakcell subscribers will be able to protect their children from accessing websites containing adult content, violence, illegal or suspicious content, drug information and other unwanted content through web pages filtering.
The young father was arrested after his 6-week-old son was found lifeless in his crib in the Bronx one morning last week. Investigators had found undated video on a baby monitor of him pressing down on a pillow over the tiny boys head and charged him with murder.

But it was not the first time the authorities had heard about the father, Teshawn Watkins.

Not only had the police arrested him twice on charges he had assaulted the babys mother, but the authorities investigated him four times over allegations of child abuse in the family, including once when another son had a broken leg, law enforcement officials told The New York Times.

Now, nearly a week after Mr. Watkins, 27, was charged in his son Kaseems death, questions have begun to arise over how so many warning signs went unheeded and whether the city could have done more to protect Mr. Watkinss three sons.

The citys Administration for Childrens Services, which handles child abuse allegations, and the New York Police Department, which investigated at least one suspected case of abuse in the family, have not explained how the agencies responded to a troubling sequence of violence. Now, city officials are trying to determine if the system broke down.
Now in its second year, its my hope the event will continue to shine a light on investors who have taken the time to help entrepreneurs get their startups to a fundable stage, and then led the charge to secure for them that all-important seed round.

The Siggie Awards (https://www.siggieawards.com/), an event honoring the early-stage investors helping to grow Atlantas entrepreneurial ecosystem, announced today that it is accepting nominations now through March 31. Named after well-known Atlanta investor Sig Mosley, the Siggie Awards will be hosted by Emory Universitys Goizueta Business School for the next three years and will take place this year at The Hatchery, Emorys new innovation center, on April 16 from 4 to 7 p.m.

Since 1990, Sig Mosley has been the most prolific Southeast investor, encompassing 145 startups with 105 liquidity events. Widely regarded as the godfather of angel investing, he is also the record holder for the largest venture deal in the Southeast with the $5.7 billion acquisition of Tradex by Ariba.

Sig has been a pillar of the startup community for the past three decades, said Gordon Rogers, early-stage tech investor and along-time friend of Mosleys. He was the first post that helped our tent stand, laying the foundation for other risk-takers to follow. Without that first step, the angel community in Atlanta may have taken many more years to get going. In giving investors an opportunity to nominate their peers, and giving founders who have raised angel and seed capital the chance to nominate their unsung heroes, we can honor Sigs legacy and show him that the Atlanta startup community will continue to grow and thrive.

Accredited and professional early-stage investors, as well as startup founders, are invited to nominate individual investors in the following categories:



Investors Choice  An early-stage investor who embodies the spirit and vision of Sig Mosley as nominated by their peers

Founders Favorite  An early-stage investor who has a deep commitment to founders and has worked closely with them to help launch, fund, and scale their ventures

Horizon Award  A rising early-stage investor who will help lead the way to build and support the Atlanta ecosystem in the years ahead

Conscious Capital Award  An investor funding enterprises committed to social good

Last years award recipients included Virginia Persons, CFO and co-founder of CoinReg Tech and an investor with Atlanta Tech Angels (Investors Choice); Paul Iaffaldano, managing director at BIP Capital (Founders Favorite); Blake Patton, managing partner at Tech Square Ventures and managing general partner at Engage Ventures (Horizon Award); and the Emory Impact Investing Group managed by Goizueta Business School student Priyanka Desai and advised by Sam Moss, former president of Gray Matters Capital and current senior director of Finance atEast Lake Foundation (Conscious Capital Award).

I continue to be honored and humbled by the naming of the Siggies, said Mosley. Now in its second year, its my hope the event will continue to shine a light on investors who have taken the time to help entrepreneurs get their startups to a fundable stage, and then led the charge to secure for them that all-important seed round. Im incredibly proud of what we in the investment and startup communities have collectively achieved.

A portion of the proceeds from this years ceremony will go to re:imagine/ATL (http://www.reimagineatl.com/), the education and workforce solution to train and connect talented young people to the creative media industry. An alumni of the Civic Accelerator program, re:imagine/ATL exists to equip the next generation of storytellers by providing career exposure, training, and placement in media. Through their programming, youth have the opportunity to explore career pathways in film, music, podcasting, and more.

"At re:imagine/ATL, we choose to invest in young creatives because we believe that they are the next global changemakers,said Kimberlin Bolton, executive director for re:imagine/ATL. "We are so grateful for Sig Mosley and the Siggie Awards committee who continue to find ways to help communities thrive."

The Siggie Awards join an already impressive list of entrepreneurship initiatives at Goizueta Business School, including an accelerator, a funding forum, an annual entrepreneurship summit, and more. From ideation to early-stage investment to corporate innovation, Goizuetas initiatives span each phase of venture creation. The Hatchery is Emory Universitys newest space for student ideation and innovation. A highly configurable, 15,000-square-foot facility, The Hatcheryincludes collaboration areas, a makerspace, a presentation and event space, classrooms, online tools, a breakroom, and more.Emory University is Mosleys alma mater (BBA, 68).

Over the last few years, as part of Goizuetas strategy, we have been consistently growing our entrepreneurship and investing initiatives into a complex portfolio to serve the venture aspirations of our community, from students to alumni, said Erika James, dean of Emory Universitys Goizueta Business School. The Siggie Awards complement the building of a network of investors across the entire Southeast, which starts with programs like the RAISE Forum and fits the growing number of startups were helping to fund.

Nomination information as well as details on sponsorship opportunities can be found on the Siggies website: https://www.siggieawards.com/.

The Siggies will take place on Thursday, April 16, from 4 to 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased through the Siggies website. Admission includes networking, drinks, hors doeuvres, and the awards ceremony.

About the Siggies

The Siggie Awards were named after well-known Southeastinvestor Sig Mosley and created to recognize and honor early-stage investors who are helping to grow the metro Atlanta entrepreneurial ecosystem. Siggie award recipients will be selected by the Siggies committee from the pool of nominees. For more information, visit our website: https://www.siggieawards.com/.
Photograph: Jacob Moscovitch/Getty Images

A Missouri state representative who once beheaded a chicken on Facebook to make a point about abortion wants police officers to stop women from terminating pregnancies.

Mike Moon, a Republican Missouri state representative, introduced a bill he calls the Right to Due Process Act, which redefines a fertilized egg as a person with all the constitutional rights of any other citizen. The suggested law then requires police and the courts to affirmatively enforce the Missouri constitutions due process clause which guarantees legal rights to people, effectively turning any attempt to terminate a pregnancy into murder.

Moon also filed a bill to abolish abortion in Missouri, and specifically cites murder by abortion. The law makes no exemptions for rape, incest or apparently for women who have pregnancies which are not viable and potentially fatal, since the proposals strike references to abortion exemptions for maternal health.

Despite multiple calls to his office, Moons legislative assistant said he was not available for comment.

Related: Will 2020 be the year abortion is banned in the US?

His bill did not lay out how, exactly, law enforcement would affirmatively enforce such a provision. But a frequent collaborator of Moons, the state representative Ben Baker, said the legal focus was right to be on conferring rights to fetuses.

The main thing for me, is understanding again  if it is a life and we believe it is a life then it should have rights just like the rest of us, said Baker. But how we go about that line of where we would forcefully deal with that situation  I think we have to take a lot of things into consideration, he said.

Baker said he would seriously consider such a proposal as Moons, although he is not a co-sponsor at this time.

Abortion is legal in all 50 US states because of the landmark 1973 US supreme court decision Roe v Wade. While the decision is imperiled by an abortion case scheduled to come before the court in March, it remains in force across the country.

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The suggested law would require police and courts to affirmatively enforce the state constitutions due process clause which guarantees legal rights to people, effectively turning any attempt to terminate a pregnancy into murder. Photograph: Shawn Thew/EPA

Both Moons bills are long-shots. The due process act has only one co-sponsor: representative Jeff Shawan who did not respond to a request for comment. The bill to abolish abortion has no co-sponsors.

Representative Moons bills rarely receive hearings and rarely make it to full score votes, said MEvie Mead, the director of policy and organizing for Planned Parenthood Advocates in Missouri. His desire in this debate is focused on getting a lot of attention, she said. She said policies to limit sexual and reproductive health services have costs, real human costs.

The bill is a reminder of an eight-week abortion ban law Missouri passed less than a year ago, and mirrors other extreme proposals from states such as Ohio.

In Ohio, a group of extreme anti-abortion lawmakers proposed a law which created a new crime, abortion murder, and required doctors to try to re-implant ectopic pregnancies, a procedure which does not exist in medical science.

Related: Ohio bill orders doctors to reimplant ectopic pregnancy or face 'abortion murder' charges

Such proposals represent a fissure in the anti-abortion world. Mainstream groups such as the anti-abortion March for Life continue to focus on proposals to winnow down womens rights incrementally. Others, like Moon, feel emboldened by the Trump administrations conservative record on appointing judges and its public rhetoric to ban abortion and want to see how courts handle any challenge.

Moon is a longtime anti-abortion extremist. In 2017, he decapitated a live chicken on Facebook to call for an end to abortion. In the video, he then removed one of the chickens internal organs, and said Missourians needed to get to the heart of the matter, and ban abortion.

Anti-abortion activists commonly compare abortion to slavery, and Moon has also sought to make that comparison literally. He introduced a bill to create an abortion exhibit at the Missouri state museum, one that would be required to be shown alongside exhibits on slavery.

These abortion bills are a key part of a larger agenda to codify a far-right evangelical Christian America Rachel Laser

When a statue of the Greek goddess of agriculture Ceres was removed from the state capitols rotunda for cleaning, Moon opposed its replacement, arguing it was pagan and offensive to Christians.

Just this session alone, Moon has introduced bills to require internet service providers to block obscene websites or face penalties (later withdrawn); to allow parents to opt their children out of sex education in public schools; and a bill to prohibit doctors from treating children with gender dysphoria with hormones or surgery, under penalty of losing their license.

In addition to his work against abortion, Moon is the co-chair of the Missouri chapter of the Congressional Prayer Caucus. The Christian group pushes legislation to enshrine rightwing Judeo-Christian values into law through public declarations, such as In God We Trust placards, and religious freedom laws used to deny services to people of other faiths and beliefs.

These abortion bills are a key part of a larger agenda to codify a far-right evangelical Christian America, said Rachel Laser, the president and CEO of Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

In 2019, Missouri was one of a handful of states which passed a ferociously anti-abortion law called heartbeat bills, which bans abortion at six weeks (in Missouris case, abortion is banned at eight weeks). But Missouris law was not just a six-week abortion ban.

It also held that if the eight-week ban was found unconstitutional, which it almost certainly would be, then another ban at 14 weeks would go into effect. If that is found unconstitutional, then 18 weeks, and if that too is found unconstitutional, then at 20 weeks. The law also held that if Roe v Wade were ever overturned, the state would automatically outlaw abortion.

Missouris health department has repeatedly attempted to shutter its last remaining abortion clinic in St Louis. It denied the clinic a license to operate, which is now being challenged in court.
Li Wenliang " one of the first doctors who tried to alert the public about the coronavirus outbreak, only to be reprimanded by local police " has died, Wuhan Central Hospital confirmed early Friday morning, hours after it initially denied reports of his death.

"In the fight against the pneumonia epidemic of the new coronavirus infection, our hospital's ophthalmologist, Li Wenliang, was unfortunately infected. He passed away after all the efforts we've taken to resuscitate him. We deeply mourn his passing," the hospital said on its official Weibo account.

Li, 34, died at 2.58am on Friday, the hospital added.

The announcement capped several chaotic hours in which Chinese media first reported Li's death, only for the hospital to respond that Li was alive, though in critical condition.

The earlier reports of Li's death by multiple Chinese outlets, including Beijing News and Global Times, triggered an outpouring of mourning and tribute both on Chinese social media and at health agencies trying to stem the outbreak.

Chinese social media has been awash with anger over the death of the whistle-blower " some mourning Li's death with candles, some demanding that the authorities apologise for the way they had treated him

"None of the police has ever apologised to you. You could have been a national hero, but the dereliction of duty has claimed your life, along with a few hundred innocent lives," a user said on Weibo.

"The reprimand of Doctor Li will be a shame in China's anti-epidemic history. Doctor Li alerted the public at the expense of his life. Wuhan police station still hasn't recalled that reprimand notice even after his death," another Weibo user wrote.

On December 30, Li warned his medical school classmates in an online chat group that a Sars-like illness had stricken several patients in a Wuhan hospital and that all of them were quarantined in the emergency department.

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The same day that the doctor shared the message, local health authorities announced that the city had confirmed 27 cases of a new type of virus, most of them linked to a seafood market.

However, Li, along with seven other doctors who shared information about the outbreak, was summoned to the local police and forced to sign a letter promising to make no further disclosures concerning the disease.

On January 1, CCTV, the Communist Party's mouthpiece, accused the eight doctors in Wuhan for spreading what the government had called "rumours".

"Cyberspace is by no means a lawless frontier, the police has zero tolerance to any illegal acts of fabricating or spreading rumours that disrupt social order," the broadcaster warned.

Dr Li Wenliang. Photo: Li Wenliang via Weibo alt=Dr Li Wenliang. Photo: Li Wenliang via Weibo

In a Weibo post discussing how he broke the news and his interactions with the police, Li said he returned to work on January 3 after the police reprimand " but then started to cough on January 10.

"I was feverish on January 11 and was hospitalised the next day. Back then, the government still insisted that there was no human-to-human transmission, and said none of the medical staff had been infected. I was just confused," Li posted on Weibo on January 31.

Li was found to be infected with the coronavirus on Saturday.

"My virus tests are still negative, but I am having difficulties with breathing, I can barely move. My parents are also hospitalised," Li said on Weibo a day before he was diagnosed with the infection.

On the same day, he attached the reprimand that he signed on January 3.

The reprimand letter police issued to Li. (Click on photo for larger version.) Photo: Weibo/Li Wenliang alt=The reprimand letter police issued to Li. (Click on photo for larger version.) Photo: Weibo/Li Wenliang

"We solemnly warn you that if you stick to your guns and remain impenitent, and continue to engage in illegal activities, you will be punished by law," the Wuhan police wrote in the reprimand.

As of Friday, according to Chinese health authorities, the deadly virus had claimed 563 lives in mainland China, plus another two in Hong Kong and Philippines. The outbreak has infected more than 28,000 in China, far exceeding the 2002-03 Sars epidemic, which killed almost 800 people worldwide.

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 originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered to evacuate Pakistani students from China's Wuhan city hit by novel Coronavirus but Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to respond to his humanitarian gesture.

Top sources told IANS that Modi made the offer soon after India decided to evacuate around 640 Indian nationals from Wuhan which has been placed under a lockdown due to the outbreak of 2019-nCoV. The epidemic has killed around 650 people and infected over 30,000 in China.

The thinking in New Delhi was that it was a humanitarian cause, sources said. However due to "hullabaloo in Pakistan", Prime Minister Khan failed to respond to the offer, a top source said.

In the end, India evacuated seven Maldivian students at the request of the Ibrahim Mohamad Solih government along with Indian students.

Khan has been traveling around the world, campaigning against India over Kashmir ever since the Modi government reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir and revoked its special status in the Indian Constitution on August 5. Pakistan has attempted to invade Kashmir four times since 1947 and has been sponsoring an Islamist militancy and cross-border terror in Kashmir for the last three decades.

Sources in Islamabad said that Pakistan Army is already infuriated with Khan because of his inaction and failed diplomacy over Kashmir since the international community has not paid any attention to his rhetoric on the issue.

An ailing economy, along with pressure from the Financial Action Task Force, a global watchdog of terror funding, has prevented Pakistan from making any impact on the Kashmir issue even as Khan has spent most of his time seeking allies.

Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Muslim world, has also declined Khan's plea to hold a discussion on Kashmir at the level of council of foreign ministers in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The Pakistani Army, sources said, are not pleased with Khan's diplomatic efforts which have yielded no results in Pakistan's favour.
Matthew Gales has a goal and he wants the Jews of Orlando to embrace this goal: To unite and stand for what is right-To reject hate while embracing love and community.

While anti-Semitism is not as prevalent in Florida as it is in other parts of the country and in Europe, Gales expressed that it is never too early to show Jewish solidarity and pride in mass, as was recently shown in the march against anti-Semitism in New York City.

"If we sit here and start reclusing ourselves, saying we've got to be careful, then anti-Semitic attacks will start moving forward," Gale stated. "We are taking measures to secure our synagogues, but people are cutting back in their public lives and that isn't a good way to do it. I've heard people say they want to take their mezuzah off their house so people wouldn't target their homes. That is scary to think!"

Gales, who is a member of the Southwest Orlando Jewish Congregation, is not planning a march. He is coordinating an Orlando Jewish Awareness Event to be held March 15 at Lake Eola. This event will be a gathering to remind one another to exemplify the core values of the Jewish People: peace, justice, unity and truth. This event is for all Central Florida Jewish people, affiliated and unaffiliated. His hope is the more who come out, the better.

He is in liaison with StandWithUs, Emunah of America, Jewish community leaders across Orlando from all backgrounds, as well as leaders from communities outside the Jewish community who may wish to show their support and participate in this event. He has spoken with Gov. Ron DeSantis's office and Sen. Rick Scott.

"Come join us as we fight off darkness by fulfilling and publicizing these powerful Jewish values," he said. "We truly wish this to be an influential revival for our community and the population of the city. We hope to be a reminder to our fellow Jews by publicizing the timeless and significant values of the Jewish people."

The date is set, but the planning is still in the early stages. For more information about this event, visit Orlando Jewish Awareness Events on Facebook. If you would like to help in any way, contact Gales at mattconch@gmail.com or call him at 321-314-5093.

Watch for more details about this event in the Heritage.
MONTREAL A Montreal school board on Thursday said it would renounce the money it was slated to receive from the federal government for a court challenge against Quebecs secularism law, hours after the premier said the funding was an insult to Quebecers.

The English Montreal School Board was granted funding from a federal program to contest Quebecs Bill 21, which forbids some public sector workers such as teachers from wearing religious symbols at work.

But when Quebec Premier Francois Legault heard about the money awarded to the EMSB, he demanded Prime Minister Justin Trudeau intervene to stop the payment.

Justin Trudeau is insulting Quebecers by financing a challenge against this law ... which is supported by a majority of Quebecers, Legault told reporters earlier in the day.

Hours later, the school board released a statement stating that while it applied for the funding, it hadnt yet received any federal money. The EMSB said it renounced any funding it could receive from the Court Challenges Program.

But, the board said, that decision didnt effect its resolve to see to an end its challenge against Bill 21.

The Court Challenges Program of Canada is an independent non-profit run out of the University of Ottawa. It provides financial support to groups bringing human rights or language-related cases of national significance before the courts.

Groups are chosen for funding by an expert panel that reports to the university, not the federal government. Trudeau repeated Thursday the program is independent and makes its own decisions.

But Legault said it was unacceptable that federal funds would go to fight against a duly passed law that represents the will of the majority of Quebecers. Legault said the lawsuit against Bill 21 is not like other suits.

I agree we protect and help financially minority groups,Legault told reporters, but I dont accept that we sue, that the federal government finance a suit against a government.

The story was first reported by the Montreal Gazette, which stated the school board was entitled to up to $250,000 from the federal program for its two legal challenges  one against Bill 21 and another regarding school transfers.

Bill 21 is already being challenged in court by a national Muslim organization, a civil liberties group and a university student who wears the hijab, who claim the legislation is discriminatory and unconstitutional because it disproportionately affects Muslim women.

Trudeau has repeatedly said he doesnt agree with a government telling people how to dress, but has said the federal government would not intervene in any legal challenges at this stage.

Legault said he would review the EMSBs ability to sue.

In November, his government placed the school board in the province under trusteeship following a report that revealed the board had allegedly improperly awarded millions of dollars worth of public contracts and politicized its decision-making to the detriment of students.

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Executives and investors are trying to gauge how the coronavirus outbreak could affect business in real time, and McCormick & Company head Lawrence Kurzius was candid on Thursday, saying, "It's hard to say that it's a positive."

"Right now, it's hard to know the impact of the coronavirus in China. We have a large business in China," the chief executive told CNBC's Jim Cramer in a sit-down on "Mad Money." "Part of it is supplying consumers, part of it is supplying restaurants. Consumers are not, you know, going out. A lot of the country's on lockdown."

Last week, Cramer suggested that McCormick, the parent of Old Bay Seasoning, French's and Frank's Red Hot, could be a stock worth investing in to hedge against the novel virus that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan and has spread across the globe. The host recommended it as the "ultimate stay-at-home stock" because the company sells a range of condiments and seasonings consumers can stock up in their kitchen cabinets.

As the outbreak reached epidemic levels in the Hubei province and trickled across the world, Chinese officials placed multiple cities there on partial or complete lockdown. The region is a major manufacturing center for companies doing business with American companies.

In Wuhan, the virus's epicenter, McCormick employs more than 900 people, Kurzius said. He added that it's unclear how it could impact operations, though supplies outside the China market will not be affected. McCormick's China factory makes products for that market, he said.

"Right now, our No. 1 concerns are for the health and safety of our employees and the quality and integrity of our products," he said. "It's a little soon to know ... the financial impact, but it can't be a positive, you know, when people aren't going out to restaurants and consuming our customers' products. I think it's a tough time there."

McCormick shares have climbed almost 32% to $162.12 in the past year. The stock has traded in the red within the past two weeks.
Corona app will help people assess their risk of infection, take self protection measures as well as contact health stations.

The Ministry of Health is working with Military Telecom Industry Group (Viettel) to develop an app on mobile phones to help people know how to prevent the new coronavirus, Cafef.vn quoted Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long as saying at a press conference on February 5.

Illustrative photo

Long said this app will help people assess their risk of infection, take self protection measures as well as contact health stations.

"In a few days, this app will be completed and put into use. Through the app, health workers will find it easier to support the people in assessing the risk of infection," said the deputy minister.

He added that peoples calls to the heath ministrys emergency lines are mostly to inquire about the disease situation as well as signs, symptoms and prevention measures. The app will provide the most accurate information, avoid fake news and help ease peoples confusion during the nCoV epidemic.

For the past three days, traffic to Ministry of Healths official website has increased sharply. There have been about 43,000 calls to the ministrys hotlines to ask how to prevent on respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus, Long said. Hanoitimes

Anh Kiet

Vietnams tourism suffers from coronavirus At some travel firms, a new reception counter has been set up to receive clients who are cancelling tours and want a money refund.
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Medical face mask stocks at pharmacies and other business outlets in Vietnam seem to be dwindling as worried residents attempt to stockpile enough supplies to hold them over until fears of 2019-nCoV dissipate.

Meanwhile, in the countrys remote mountainous areas, lower-income Vietnamese are seeking out alternatives to expensive protective measures.

In the north-central province of Nghe An, in particular, a photo of students wearing DIY face masks made from notebook paper has gone viral.

The photo, showing students wearing paper masks at Pha Danh Middle School, a boarding school for underprivileged children in Nghe Ans Ky Son District, was first shared on social media on Thursday morning.

The 'masks' -- paper sheets torn from the students own notebooks with holes poked on either side so that they could be hung from their ears -- highlight the countrys widespread fear of 2019-nCoV and the general lack of understanding regarding the way viruses can spread.

Nguyen Que Truong, principal of Pha Danh Middle School, confirmed to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that the photo was authentic and taken at the school by a teacher during class on Thursday morning.

The teacher then uploaded it on a social network, where it has since caught the attention of Vietnams netizens.

According to Truong, the school had requested its students wear face masks after news hit that the 2019-nCoV epidemic had made its way to Vietnam.

However, as local pharmacies had run out of face masks, the students were asked to make their own.

News of 2019-nCoV infected patients in Vietnam has fueled public fear, as well as increasing local demand for face masks, one of the measures believed by many to reduce the risk of infection, though the World Health Organization (WHO) claims there is no evidence that medical masks can actually protect people from the virus.

They may have made their own face masks just for fun, but the fact is that they do not have face masks to protect themselves from the [2019-nCoV] infection, Truong said.

Three hundred and twenty-three students attend Pha Danh Middle School each day, 182 of whom are boarding students from low-income ethnic minority families, according to Truong.

Students wear face masks while attending a class at an elementary school in the north-central province of Nghe An on February 5, 2020. Photo: Doan Hoa / Tuoi Tre

Students in Nghe An and the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre have returned to school after the end of the Lunar New Year or Tet festival.

Vietnams remaining 61 provinces and cities have allowed K-12 students to stay home since February 3 instead of returning to school in order to minimize the possibility of a widespread 2019-nCoV outbreak in the country.

However, the Nghe An People's Committee has sent an official dispatch to departments, agencies, and local authorities to allow students at all levels to be off from schools starting Friday.

Over 60 universities and colleges nationwide have also granted their students at least a week of extra vacation following the Lunar New Year holiday.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected more than 31,400 globally as of Friday morning, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has since spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters tally based on official statements from the various health ministries around the globe.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 12 cases of the virus, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese have fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

The World Health Organization has declared the new coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO said on Thursday it was too early to say that China's coronavirus outbreak was peaking, but noted that Wednesday was the first day that the overall number of new cases in China had dropped.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
An official and journalist are seen in silhouette after a press conference during World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks on July 25, 2008 at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. FABRICE COFFRINI

The United States, Europe and China have clashed over trade policy for several years and tensions could continue for decades without serious reform, experts have told CNBC. One of the most contentious points is the future of the World Trade Organization (WTO)  an intergovernmental institution that regulates international trade practices. President Donald Trump has called the WTO "broken," saying countries such as China have taken advantage of it. The U.S. has also threatened to leave. Speaking last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said the WTO "has been very unfair to the United States for many, many years. And without it, China wouldn't be China, and China wouldn't be where they are right now." Standing right next to the president, WTO Director General Ricardo Azevedo accepted that it "has to be updated. It has to be changed. It has to be reformed." But the question is how?

A failed institution?

"The WTO hasn't produced any big achievements since 1994, when the Uruguay Round closed, and has progressively lost its attractiveness," Fredrik Erixon, an international trade expert at the Brussels-based think tank ECIPE, told CNBC via email. The Uruguay Round was a trade negotiation involving 123 countries which led to the creation of the WTO. The latter was officially formed in 1995 and expanded world trade rules beyond just goods. The Geneva-based institution covered trade in services and intellectual property for the first time. However, critics say it's still failed to evolve since its creation. "It hasn't updated rules and commitment to make them fit with the modern 21st century economy, substantially dependent on services, digitization and cross-border flows that are different from the goods-trade flows that give life to much of the WTO rules," Erixon told CNBC. In the latest blow to the WTO, the U.S. is reportedly looking to leave the WTO's government procurement agreement. This would block most foreign and non-defense contractors, from countries such as Canada, the U.K. and the EU, from bidding on U.S. tenders.

Without a deal featuring buy-in by all of the major players, trade conflict will become the new normal. Chad Bown Senior fellow at PIIE

Furthermore, the U.S. has also prevented the appointment of new judges to the appellate body of the WTO. The group was responsible for hearing and deciding on international trade disputes, and it means it can no longer issue rulings. To overcome this, the EU, China and 15 other WTO members agreed in January to have an ad-hoc appeals body, with the U.S. not part of this temporary agreement.

What kind of new WTO?
More than two dozen passengers on a cruise ship docked near New York City have been tested for the new coronavirus, state officials said Friday, and four have been hospitalized.

Personnel from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded the ship to test 27 passengers "who recently traveled from mainland China," New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday.

"After being assessed by the CDC, 23 of those passengers were cleared and four individuals are being evaluated at an area hospital," he said.

The ship, Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas, is docked in Bayonne, New Jersey, about 15 miles from New York City.

The four hospitalized passengers are a family that was recently in mainland China but not Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak, the CDC said in a statement, adding that two were ill when CDC personnel boarded the ship.

At least two passengers were removed from the ship on stretchers, footage of the scene shows.

Royal Caribbean said the passengers had not been in China since Jan. 26, which might put them past the 14-day incubation period. The company said one of the passengers had already tested positive for influenza A.

"We appreciate the CDC's abundance of caution and their partnership," the company said. "None of the four guests showed any clinical signs or symptoms of coronavirus while they were onboard our ship."
Gas is back on the national agenda. A deal between the Prime Minister and NSW Premier asks the state to target production of an additional 70 petajoules of gas a year in return for $960 million in federal grants or loans  to be matched by $1.01 billion in funding from the NSW government  to upgrade interstate power transmission capacity. This is supposed to enable renewable energy investment.

A coal seam gas construction site in the Pilliga Forest near Narrabri. Credit:Rob Homer

Investing in renewables and the grid is good, but why is government subsidising gas?

Santos has been seeking the right to extract coal seam gas from a site near Narrabri in Western NSW. The project is slated to produce  coincidentally?  70 petajoules of gas a year.

In announcing the deal, Scott Morrison claimed Narrabris gas was critical to increasing Australias energy supply, and that we needed the gas to lower domestic power prices and reduce emissions.
Lahore, Feb 7 : An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore has reserved its verdicts in two cases pertaining to terror financing against Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) who mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

ATC judge Arshad Hussain Bhatta will announce the verdicts in both cases on Saturday, Dawn news said in a report on Thursday.

The cases were filed by the Counter-Terrorism Department's (CTD) Lahore and Gujranwala chapters.

The case filed by CTD's Gujranwala chapter was initially being heard in a Gujranwala ATC but was shifted to Lahore on the directions of the Lahore High Court.

During the trial of both cases, the court recorded the statements of 23 witnesses.

The JuD chief was arrested by CTD in July last year, while he was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala.

Prior to his arrest, 23 first information reports had been registered against JuD leaders, including Saeed and JuD Naib Emir Abdul Rehman Makki, at CTD police stations of Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan, Faisalabad and Sargodha in July 2019.

According to the CTD, JuD was financing terrorism from the massive funds collected through non-profit organisations and trusts, said the Dawn news reported.

These non-profit organisations were banned in April 2019 as the CTD, during detailed investigations, found that they had links with the JuD and its top leadership.

Saeed is nominated in about 29 cases pertaining to terror financing, money laundering as well as illegal land grabbing.
TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Flora Growth Corp. (Flora or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has initiated its entry into the Brazilian medical CBD market, the biggest market in South America. The Company has engaged legal counsel to incorporate a Brazilian subsidiary, Flora Brazil.



The Brazilian Market

In December 2019, ANVISA, the Brazilian regulatory agency equivalent to the FDA established a legalized environment for the sale and consumption of cannabis for medical use in Brazil. In the announcement from ANVISA, a new class of medical cannabis-based products will be prescribed by doctors and sold through pharmacies, enabling patient safe and legal access. The regulatory framework sets a comprehensive procedure for the manufacture and import of these products as well as the requirements for commercialization, prescription, dispensing, monitoring and supervision of cannabis products for medical purposes. The resolution was approved unanimously and is valid for an initial three-year term.

Brazil is a major market for pharmaceutical products. With approximately 208 million people and the worlds 9th largest economy. Brazils GDP per capita is over US$16,000. Sao Paulo is the largest urban centre in Latin America and the Golden Triangle of Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo is the largest single market in the Americas outside of the United States.

Special Advisor

Flora is also pleased to announce that it has engaged Retired General Dr. Paulo Sergio Iglessias as a special advisor for its operations in Brazil, in particular advising Flora on strategic opportunities in Brazil.

General Iglessias received his medical training in the state of Rio de Janeiro, promoted through the ranks of the Brazilian army where he was Director of various Brazilian Army hospitals including Brasilia (2011-2014). In 2015, he was appointed Inspector for Health Services for the Army for the Amazon and in 2017, Vice Director of Health Services for the Brazilian Army. General Iglessias retired in 2018 and continues to be actively involved in public health issues from his home in Campo Grande, Matto Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

The Brazilian army currently has 235,000 soldiers in active service and runs 27 hospitals of which 12 are fully outfitted. In addition, the Brazilian Army manufactures medications for national distribution at its own laboratories and performs research at the Army Institute of Biological Research.

Flora Growth Corp.

At Flora, we are building the worlds largest and lowest cost vertically-integrated producer of organic cannabis oils, CBD-infused food & beverage, pharmaceutical-grade, medical and cosmetic-grade derivatives from the cannabis plant.

For further information, contact:

Damian Lopez

+1 416 861 2269

damian.lopez@floragrowth.ca

Website: www.floragrowth.ca

Cautionary Notes

This news release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements include statements regarding the Companys operations, the Companys ability to operate in Brazil, the Companys future plans and objectives. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.
DETROIT -- Days after Ford Motor Company reported profits were down by more than $3.6 billion in 2019, the companys automotive president Joe Hinrichs announced he will retire effective March 1. According to the Associated Press, Hinrichs oversaw operations on the production of two vehicles that had issues in 2019 and were partially blamed for the profits being down.

During a earnings call Tuesday, Ford CEO Jim Hackett said problems with the newly launched Explorer SUV and transmission issues with Ford Focus models caused the companys profits to plunge. When the Explorers came off the assembly line, multiple problems were reported and had to be addressed at Detroit factories which led to a delay in deliveries for customers.

However, Hackett said Friday those issues had nothing to do with the retirement announcement. Hinrichs has been with Ford for 19 years. Hackett described as an outstanding operational leader while affirming how beloved Hinrichs is in the company.

With Hinrichss departure, the Dearborn-based automaker will shift Jim Farley, president of new business and strategy, to the role of chief operating officer in charge of global markets and automotive operations. Along with that move, product development chief Hau Thai-Tang will take on an expanded role for products, services and customer experiences.

Farley has been with the company since 2007 where hes led the Lincoln brand and operations in South America and Europe. Last Spring, he took over the duties of new business, technology and strategy.

Now its go time, Farley said on the conference call. Execution. Really excited to lead the team to bring Fords vision to life.

Hackett said the two work well together and are committed to working to improve the Ford brand.

This is the kind of thing that I love to do, Hackett said. Im having really a fulfilling assignment here. Ive told everybody that Ive fallen in love with the company.
Conor Neylan, head of advocacy and communications, American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, looks ahead to AmCham Transatlantic Conference 2020 on Thursday, March 5, in Croke Park, which will bring together the leading voices of the Transatlantic business relationship.

President Kennedy's visit to Ireland in June 1963 and the return visit by Taoiseach Lemass to the US in October 1963 marked a seismic shift in the US-Ireland relationship and Irelands international trading relationships.

The decade ahead represents considerable geopolitical change for Ireland. This starts in 2020 with elections, Brexit, potential global trade negotiations and technological change, all of which will shape the US-Ireland Business Relationship.

Moving forward, Ireland is well-positioned to deal with the challenges. As the gateway to Europe for many US businesses, it is in prime position to excel. But what opportunities should Ireland seize, and what risks should we be alert to?

On March 5 in Croke Park, the leadership of US multinationals, Irish companies with operations in the US and key stakeholders will explore these fundamental themes and questions. As part of the agenda, delegates will get a unique perspective from Brussels, Washington DC and Wall Street.

[gallery]134[/gallery]

Eminent guest speakers

With the UK set to negotiate a new trade deal with the EU and EU-US trade talks likely to progress, EU Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan will share his thoughts at the Conference.

It will also mark the official launch of the 2020 US-Ireland Business Report. Inside, eminent Wall Street Economist and leading voice on Transatlantic trade Joseph Quinlan will present his analysis of the state of play for transatlantic trade relations. The conference will also include voices like Secretary-General of the Department of Business, Enterprise & Innovation, Dr Orlaigh Quinn and Head of Facebook Ireland and AmCham Vice President Garth Lambe among others to reflect on his findings.

As part of the programme, AmCham will host a special segment called The Ambassadors Perspectives. Irish Ambassador to the US Daniel Mulhall will share his thoughts on the current relationship while US Ambassador to Ireland, Edward F Crawford will provide his the perspective from the US administration and reflect on his interactions with the US business community in Ireland since his appointment by President Trump.

Kennedy-Lemass Medal

The key theme of Research, Development and Innovation will play a central role throughout the day as Ireland looks to remain ahead of the curve with an eye on futureproofing our economy.

Leading voice in science

One of the most influential voices in science, engineering and education will share her insights on futuristic trends  The Honorable France A. Cordova.

Cordova is an astrophysicist and the 14th director of the US National Science Foundation (NSF). She was nominated by President Obama in 2013 having previously served as NASAs Chief Scientist.

Among her many accomplishments, Cordova was the youngest person and first woman to serve as NASAs chief scientist and was awarded the agencys highest honour, the Distinguished Service Medal.

At the conference Dr. Cordova will be presented with AmChams Kennedy Lemass Medal. This Award honours US leaders of Irish heritage who have helped to strengthen the Irish-US relationship. It is given in recognition of the visit by President Kennedy to Ireland in June 1963 and the return visit by Taoiseach Lemass to the US in October 1963. These visits symbolized a seismic shift in the US-Ireland relationship and Irelands international trading relationships. Dr. Cordova, with family on her mothers side from Co. Clare, has fostered strong linkages with the science community in Ireland throughout her time.

This has led to strong collaboration with Science Foundation Ireland.

After her key note address, the Head of Science Foundation Ireland, Professor Mark Ferguson will debate some of the key innovation trends such as Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Industry 4.0 with Ken Moore, Head of Mastercard Labs, Ann-Marie Holmes, VP of Intel and Cliona Murphy, VP for R&D at PepsiCo.

The Digital Debate

One of the greatest challenges for regulators and society is finding the balance between the pace of change on innovation and regulation in a data driven world. This is a theme which influential tech advocate Jason Oxman will explore in detail during his keynote address. Oxman is CEO and President of the Information Technology Council (ITI). The ITI is the global voice of the tech sector and represents 70 of the world most innovative companies.

Mr Oxman has over 20 years experience as a globally recognised leader in technology advocacy. Prior to joining the ITI, Mr Oxman served as CEO of ETA, the international trade association of the payments technology industry, for seven years. In that role, Mr Oxman led ETA and its 500 global financial and technology member companies through unprecedented industry transformations and served as the voice of the industry before policymakers around the world.

Mr Oxman will be later joined by leading CTOs (Chief Technology Officers) and Dale Sunderland, Deputy Commissioner for Data Protection in Ireland to frame the global digital debate in the context of Ireland.

The Transatlantic Conference will start with an AmCham Board perspective delivered by 2020 President and Head of JP Morgan Ireland, Carin Bryans. The event is kindly sponsored by Matheson and Aer Lingus.

For more information on the Transatlantic Conference visit:

www.amcham-transatlanticconference.com.
Western Australia's mineral-rich Pilbara region braced Friday as powerful Cyclone Damien prepared to make landfall, causing ports to close and forcing mining firms to stand down non-essential staff. Damien is already a category three storm and is expected to bring winds of up to 230 kilometres (140 miles) per hour as it strengthens to category four and touches the coast near the town of Karratha, population 16,000, early Saturday. A spokesperson for Rio Tinto told AFP the company had "started the process of demobilising non-essential people from our sites which may be affected by the weather system." The region is the centre of Australia's world-leading iron ore trade, and home to mining giants Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP, which was also reportedly reducing operations. Key ports at Walcott, Dampier, Ashburton and Hedland have also been cleared as strong winds made mooring dangerous. The Bureau of Meteorology warned residents of "very destructive" winds and heavy rain that is likely to cause flooding. Pilbara region is the centre of Australia's iron ore trade and home to mining giants Rio Tinto, Fortescue and BHP
Have you been intrigued about how a health insurance company calculates the premium you are required to pay? Here are some of the answers. While getting an insight of any individual company may not be a simple exercise, but they all follow certain broad guidelines and these will be highlighted in this article for the consumers.

Premiums are calculated based on the insurance product (or plan) purchased by the individual. These insurance products may be packaged in various ways to either provide a general coverage or may meet the needs of a particular age group. To decide on the amount that one would need to shell out, the insurance company takes all costs into considerations. Some of these factors are enlisted below:

a) Personal History: It takes into consideration the individuals health, present health status, past medical history, family history, age of the individual, personal habits (e.g. smoking, alcohol addiction etc.). For purchasing a health insurance cover, the insurance companies may/may not conduct an initial medical examination of an individual before issuance of health cover.

b) Mortality Rate: These are charges incurred by an insurance company to cover the risks in-case of any eventuality to an individual. The mortality expenses differ depending on the age and the Sum Assured being availed by an individual. Important points to be remembered in co-relation with mortality rate are:

i) Premiums increase, as you grow older.

ii) Premiums increase in co-relation to hereditary or lifestyle ailments such as Diabetes, Hypertension, Obesity etc.

iii) In principle, premiums increase by availing higher Sum Assured by an individual.

c) Administration and marketing expenses: Such expenses are incurred by the organization as part of their operational expenses. These operational expenses are recovered in the form of premium that a policyholder pays while purchasing an insurance product.

Administration and marketing expenses also incorporate the costs incurred on designing the insurance product, market publicity, advertisements, brochures, leaflets, booklets, pamphlets etc to create awareness amongst the public regarding the option of various insurance products and services in the market.

Under this heading, expenses pertaining to payment of monthly salaries to their employees, commission to insurance brokers, insurance agents, marketing and sales of insurance products and overhead costs are included, that constitute payment of premium by the policyholder. It also incorporates the costs required to meet the operational expenses on daily basis.

d) Savings component: This portion of the premium is invested in various public investments approved by the Government of that country. Investments in private sectors are generally not practiced. This is based on the guidelines issued by the Regulatory Body which is approved by the government of that country.

In India, IRDA (The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority), at Hyderabad is the regulatory body and it controls the activities and functioning of Life and Non-Life (General) insurance organizations.

e) Medical Underwriting: Underwriting of various insurance products is done to create a balance between an organization and an individual. This is done with a view to analyze risks from various angles and broad-spectrum factors so as to contain fiscal bleeding and containment of losses in the insurance sector. It takes into consideration the number of individuals covered under the health policy and conducts a review pertaining to any claims history pertaining to that individual or that group or an entire organization.

Medical Underwriting is done with a view to establish eligibility, set premiums or deny coverage. For example premiums can significantly increase in case there is an individual with a past medical history of any chronic ailment or with a long-standing prevailing illness or has had a severe Road Traffic Accident etc.

In case, a group or an organization is involved, medical underwriting is done uniformly for that particular group taking into consideration a host of factors.

f) Adjusted or Modified Community Rating: This factor takes into consideration the geographical location, topography, physical factors of the region, economic factors involved in that region, financial stability, political stability, industrial development, trade activities, lifestyles and other varied factors.

For example developed regions have to shell out higher premium in comparison to regions with minimal development, for example a village area.. This means that if you live in metropolitan city like Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi or Chennai, you have to pay higher premium in comparison to people living in Tier-II and TierIII cities, as your risks are higher of falling sick or being injured in an accident.

In addition, recently another method of calculating premium has evolved called as Experienced Rating. In this method, usage of historical data is used to decide upon the rates based on the number of claims and the claim amount made during a given period. As a result, the data that is generated is used to calculate and predict the probability and potential for claims in the future. With extensive data that is now available on Internet, the experienced rating method has proved to be a boon for the underwriters and the insurance companies. The method uses a comparison of past or historical data. This data forms the ground-work for analyzing the future premiums.

g) Rating Bands: Under this category, the insurance company fixes a base rate that can be charged for a particular group possessing the same characteristics. The case characteristics include factors such as age, gender, geographical region, family composition, group size, occupation details, industry etc. For example a workforce comprising of healthy employees who are in their youth in the age group of 25-30 years will pay less premium as compared to the workforce who are in the age range of 45-60 years.

We have given only broad guidelines to educate you about how a health insurance company is likely to decide what you will end up paying as premium to insure your health against disease and accidents. Companies that take group insurance are likely to benefit by getting a group discount, depending on the numbers of the staff that they may wish to insure,

Disclaimer:- Note that the methods involved in calculation of premium can vary from company to company and can change with time. The author does not take responsibilities in case of alteration/modification/deletion/additions in calculating premiums on health-insurance policy covers that occur.
We did it the old Chicago way. We talked with the local community, the Police Department, the neighborhood association. You have to put their minds at ease and make them sure (they know) what is happening. They dont want to see an increase in crime. You have to assure them everything is going to be OK and it wont disrupt their lives, Lee said.
The sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus, an eatable species of great commercial interest found in the Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic, is more vulnerable than so far believed.

This is stated in a study by the University of Barcelona, the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the University of Troms (Norway) on the genetic distribution of populations of this species, led by the experts Marta Pascual, from the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio) of the University of Barcelona, and Xavier Turon, CSIC research professor at the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC). The study has been recently published in the journal Diversity and Distributions.

Using a genetic analysis of the populations of this sea urchin, this work assesses its population structure and connectivity as a result of its dispersal ability. Scientists analysed about two-hundred and fifty individuals of Paracentrotus lividus from eleven marine areas, spanning from the French Atlantic coast to the eastern Mediterranean.

Researcher Xavier Turon (CEAB-CSIC) notes that "adult sea urchin barely move" and that dispersal occurs during the larval stage, since "when they are larvae, they swim in the plankton and are carried away by marine currents. We thought they had a high dispersal capability, since they have a long larval lifespan, which lasts for weeks".

What the study reveals is that "the dispersal is not as wide as we expected-says Turon- and geographical barriers such as the Strait of Gibraltar limit the connectivity of populations. The exchange of sea urchin larvae between different areas is more limited than what we thought".

Another shocking result is that the selection at a local level is having an impact on the genetic make-up of the different populations of urchins. "We found different allele composition among populations", note researchers Marta Pascual and Carles Carreras (UB-IRBio). "When we analysed the genetic sequences in which these differences appeared, we saw that they lay in genes that code for processes related to temperature and salinity". There is a strong selection pressure related to temperature in the Mediterranean, which can have important consequences regarding global warming.

The study reveals there is a progressive adaptation to salinity and temperature from west to east, and that the largest genetic differences are found between populations in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. In the latter, the populations of western Mediterranean areas are also differentiated from those in the eastern Mediterranean.

Despite being the target of an active fishery, this species is very abundant in the Catalan coasts, since the fishing pressure has removed many of its predators (mainly fish). Urchins are herbivorous and eat seaweeds and seagrasses. With no predators, the populations can grow excessively and can eliminate submarine forests by overgrazing.

There are two main species of sea urchins in the littoral area of the Mediterranean: the eatable species Paracentrotus lividus, and the black sea urchin Arbacia lixula, non-edible. The new study brings new data to consider so as to predict potential future scenarios of how the common sea urchin populations will respond to antagonist pressures of predator removal and fishing, in a context of progressive warming.

###
A Houston teen accused of luring a Lamar High School student to his shooting death is being held in jail in lieu of posting $450,000 bond, according to court records.

The Harris County Jail took Keona Mouton, 17, into custody Thursday. A juvenile court judge in January ruled that she would be tried as an adult in DeLindsey Macks murder, even though she was 16 at the time of the offense.

Moutons case is in Judge Chuck Silvermans court. He ordered that she be kept separate in the jail at all times from her co-defendants, Kendrick Johnson and Daveon Thomas, court records show.

Mack died on Nov. 13, 2018, after Mouton led him to a location about a block away from his River Oaks-area school, where he was set to be ambushed by several 100 Percent Third Ward (103) gang members, police said.

The 17-year-old boy had a crush on Mouton, according to testimony. Mack and another girl were walking with Mouton to get food, away from where he was scheduled to be picked up by a relative, when two shooters pulled up in a car and gunned him down.

Mouton ran away before the bullets started flying, and the other girl was grazed by gunfire, police testified.

The teens defense says she believed she was setting up a fight, not a shooting. She has been in the juvenile system since August 2019 but wasnt named because of her age.

Macks parents said after the shooting that he had been falsely posing on social media as a member of the Freemoney gang, which is allied with the Young Scott Block gang. The clique has had a long dispute with the 103 gang, which, according to court records, has documented ties to Mouton, Johnson and Thomas .

Johnson is one of two alleged shooters, and Thomas is the accused getaway driver. A second shooter hasnt been arrested.

Mouton is set to appear in court on Monday.
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The number of coronavirus cases across the world could be ten times higher than official figures show, a leading British scientist warned yesterday.

Amid rising concern over the spread of the virus, experts said the vast majority of cases were likely to have been missed.

The death toll in mainland China  the epicentre of the outbreak  has now reached 722, with 86 people dying on Friday alone and there being more than 34,400 patients infected. There have been a further 320 cases in 27 other countries, including three in Britain, and one death reported from the Philippines.

But scientists warned the rapid spread of the virus across borders, coupled with its suspected two-week incubation period and the unreliability of testing methods, made it difficult to track.

A British scientist has warned the number of coronavirus cases could be 10 times higher than figures say. The UK's third coronavirus patient went to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night and was rushed to Guy's Hospital in London. It came almost a week after two Chinese nationals, a University of York student and his mother, were confirmed to have the lethal virus and they have been quarantined at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Meanwhile 93 others are quarantined on the Wirral after being evacuated from Wuhan - while another among them was rushed to a hospital in Oxford (numbers as of Thursday, February 6)

The death toll in mainland China  the epicentre of the outbreak  reached 637 yesterday, with a total of 31,211 confirmed cases. On Saturday the number of dead was raised to 722. Pictured are newlyweds, Alan Steele and Wendy, who have been separated after Mr Steele was taken off to be quarantined

Public Health England announced last night it would be possible to test more than 1,000 people a day for suspected coronavirus in laboratories across the UK from next week.

The diagnostic test currently used in London  where only 100 cases can be tested per day  will be available at 12 centres across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to increase capacity and speed up results.

The number of reported cases has slowed over the past two days.

But John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said modelling showed there were ten times more cases than have been reported  or even more.

John Edmunds, a professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said modelling showed there were ten times more cases than have been reported  or even more. Pictured is the Diamond Princess cruise ship with over 3,700 people quarantined on board

He added: Its a mild disease that might be missed if somebody doesnt seek healthcare. And none of the tests is going to be 100 per cent sensitive so it is not unusual to only capture maybe 10 per cent of the cases.

Professor Edmunds acknowledged that predicting the true scale of the outbreak involved a degree of guesswork, adding: When there are very large numbers of cases it becomes very hard to confirm them all just because of manpower. Time will tell.

He said the coming days would show whether the containment measures put in place by China had been effective.

Experts said it was too early to tell whether the declining number of cases in recent days was good news because so much was unknown.

Roughly 3,900 new cases were reported worldwide on Wednesday, compared with 3,700 on Thursday and 3,200 yesterday.

Roughly 3,900 new cases were reported worldwide on Wednesday, compared with 3,700 on Thursday and 3,200 on Friday. Pictured is an ambulance believed to be carrying someone infected with the virus in Japan

A group of Britons living in the Hubei province of China are due to return to the UK tomorrow. They will be quarantined at an NHS facility in Milton Keynes, unlike a previous group of nearly 100 returned Britons who have been treated at a dedicated facility in the Wirral, Merseyside.

It emerged yesterday that a businessman who became the first Briton to contract the virus fell ill after travelling to a business meeting at a luxury hotel in Singapore.

The unnamed man was one of 109 people who attended the meeting at the Grand Hyatt Singapore in January, where a number of other attendees also became ill.

When he tested positive after returning to the UK, he was taken to Guys and St Thomas infectious disease centre in London. Officials are thought to be tracking individuals he may have had contact with.

The Wuhan coronavirus had killed 722 in China and 724 worldwide as of Saturday, with one death in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines (pictured are cases around the world)

It came amid warnings that health chiefs face a race against time to prevent the virus from hitting NHS hospitals already stretched dealing with winter illnesses.

Experts say rapid progress has been made developing a vaccine but it would not be available until the end of the year at the earliest.

Yesterday it emerged that Kaletra, a combination of two drugs used to treat HIV, is being trialled on coronavirus cases in China.

World health chiefs have warned hospital staff are at risk from a global shortage of protective masks.

Chinese scientists said pangolins, the scaly mammals, may have passed the coronavirus to humans after contracting it from bats.

There was an outpouring of grief in China yesterday after Li Wenliang, the whistleblowing doctor who tried to sound the alarm about the virus, was killed by it.
BEIJING (AP)  Chinese tech giant Huawei accused U.S. phone company Verizon of violating its patents in a lawsuit Thursday, broadening efforts to defend the company's business in the United States amid government sanctions.

Huawei Technologies Ltd. accused Verizon Communications Inc. of violating 12 patents on optical transmission, digital communications and other technology, according to a copy of the lawsuit released by the company. Huawei said it filed the lawsuit after negotiations failed to produce a licensing agreement.

In separate cases, Huawei also is challengingU.S. government measures to limit its access to the American market on security grounds. There was no indication Thursdays lawsuit was related to those.

The lawsuit asks a U.S. federal court in Waco, Texas, to award unspecified damages and license fees.

Verizon, one of the largest U.S. telecom companies, said Thursday that the lawsuit was a PR stunt and that Huawei's target was any country or company that defies it. It said the company will defend itself.

Huawei, the No. 2 global smartphone brand and the biggest maker of network equipment for phone companies, denies U.S. allegations it might be a security risk or facilitate Chinese spying.

Sanctions imposed by the Trump administration in May block Huaweis access to most U.S. components technology. The company says it has replaced most American technology in its main products.

Huaweis U.S. market largely vanished after a congressional panel warned phone carriers in 2012 to avoid the company. It still serves small, mostly rural American carriers, although the U.S. government is trying to get Huawei out of those networks as well by barring telecom companies from using government subsidies for Huawei equipment. Meanwhile, Huawei has grown rapidly in Asia, Europe and developing countries.

Huawei has one of the world's biggest corporate research and development budgets at some $15 billion last year. The company says it it has collected more than $1.4 billion in patent fees from U.S. and other companies since 2015.

___

Huawei Technologies Ltd.: http://www.huawei.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:02:11|Editor: Wang Yamei

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COLOMBO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday left for a five-day visit to India, his first overseas visit since being appointed to office in November last year, the Prime Minister's Media Division said in a statement.

Rajapaksa was accompanied by a 10-member delegation. During his visit, Rajapaksa will hold discussions with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and other senior government officials.

Talks will focus on politics, trade, development, defense and culture and tourism, the statement said.
Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamshala is distributing a type of pill, that one requires to wear around his or her neck, claiming that it can prevent people from Coronavirus and other contagious diseases.

Speaking to ANI, Dr Tenzin Yeshi, a researcher at Men-Tse-Khang, Tibetan Medical Institute in Dharamshala said, "We all know that there is an outbreak of coronavirus in China and in many other countries. It is spreading very fast. These pills act as a protective shield against the virus."

"This medicine is not to be taken orally but one has to wear it around the neck and this pill is wrapped in a black cloth and sealed by five different threads, which symbolized five elements," said Dr Yeshi.

"It has a strong smell, a strong aroma which protects the individual from the contagious disease. It also helps to improve the immune system," he added.

"We believe that this pill works on preventing other contagious diseases also," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
When I was coming up everybody knew We Shall Overcome and knew Lift Every Voice and Sing was the black national anthem and these days, the youth have no idea and if not for programs like the Chicago Childrens Choir they do not get that part, he said. Theres an absence there. This has to go beyond the notes on the page and make sense to them especially when we are still fighting for arts to exist in schools and when we are fighting for equity in the teaching of history as far as Latino and African American history. Sometimes its programs like this that is the only outlet where they will get an in-depth understanding of the world at large and not just limitations exist in history books."
Having lived in Queens, Nassau and New York City NY, Micah Raskin finds plenty of opportunities to empower members in his community and create resources to help better their everyday lives; hoping to lead by example, Raskin regularly volunteers with local soup kitchens, non-profits, afterschool programs, and more to give aid to the needy in the neighborhoods he has lived

OLD WESTBURY, NY / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / Today, Micah Raskin is recognized as one of the best poker players and top earners in the country. Earning hundreds of thousands of dollars playing poker during occasional tournaments has allowed Raskin to spend much of his free time volunteering in various capacities to support and uplift his neighborhood and the greater NYC community. He's especially known in Queens and Nassau County for his work in soup kitchens and shelters where he helps purchase, prepare, and serve meals among other tasks.

Micah Raskin also encourages his peers, friends, family and neighbors to get involved wherever they can, as many shelters and outreaches are severely understaffed. He demonstrates his own dedication to the community by preparing meals for the homeless, creating after-school programs for kids in at-risk neighborhoods, donating time and resources to various outreaches, and more. In this way, he leads by example and inspires others in his neighborhood to find their own outlets to volunteer.

"It's difficult to imagine that people in our country today go to bed starving, but it happens every day--and that's if they're lucky enough to have a bed to go home to," says Micah Raskin. "There are plenty of ways for people to jump right in and help out. They just need to look to community boards or local nonprofit groups who post their volunteer needs."

Nonprofit volunteers like Micah Raskin get involved in their neighborhoods to combat crisis in places like churches and food banks where they can cook and supply resources to the homeless or needy. In addition, these and similar outreaches help the volunteers and those coming in for shelter develop relationships and uplift one another.

"It's shocking to see how many people come into soup kitchens looking for a meal every day," says Micah Raskin. "That, combined with the cold and the general feeling of homesickness is rough on those in need, especially on those such as runaway teenagers who are fleeing a bad situation at home. We need to be able to give them a safe place and a warm meal to show that there is support nearby and people who care right in their neighborhoods."

Micah Raskin says that although there are dozens of ways for people to get involved in their neighborhoods and communities, they can also stay close to home and help those directly around them. He mentions that neighbors may need help preparing food, cleaning for guests, or are just in need of an extra pair of hands or some company.

"The point is to go out and find where the people in your city need help the most," says Micah Raskin. "Any little bit of volunteer work can help out."

CONTACT:



Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7862338220

SOURCE: Web Presence

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575771/Community-Outreach-Volunteer-Micah-Raskin-Encourages-Giving-Back-to-Local-Neighborhoods
Ashwini M Sripad By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Yediyurappa cabinet became bigger with the induction of 10 more ministers on Thursday.

Of the 27 ministers in the cabinet, more than 40 per cent are from Bengaluru and Belagavi districts, while 13 districts have no representation, creating a regional imbalance.

Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa inducted 17 ministers into his cabinet in August 2019, of whom four were from Bengaluru  S Suresh Kumar, V Somanna, R Ashok and Dr CN Ashwath Narayan.

Now in the second instalment, three more have been inducted  Byrathi Basavaraj, Gopalaiah and ST Somashekar.

The chief minister has kept the Bengaluru Development portfolio with himself and most of the newly-inducted and old ministers are eyeing the plum post.

More ministers are likely to be inducted in the near future and the probable candidates are Munirathna, if he wins from the Rajarajeshwarinagar assembly constituency when the elections are held, and Aravind Limbavali, a senior BJP leader.

ALSO READ | Angry Umesh Katti may be thorn in BJP flesh

The cabinet already had two ministers from Belagavi district  Laxman Savadi and Shashikala Jolle. In the latest expansion, two more have been added  Ramesh Jarkiholi and Shrimant Patil.

There is one minister each from Bagalkot, Chitradurga, Chikkamagaluru, Ballari, Bidar, Hubballi, Dakshina Kannada, Kolar, Haveri, Mandya, Tumakuru, Gadag, Uttara Kannada and Chikkaballapur. Shivamogga has two, including CM Yediyurappa.

But Kalaburagi, Raichur, Koppal, Yadgir, Dakshina Kannada, Mysuru, Kodagu, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Davanagere and Vijayapura have no representation at all, though the saffron party has won a considerable number of seats from these districts.

Former home minister Ramalinga Reddy told TNIE that the normal practice is to give representation to each district. Leaving out many districts will only deepen the imbalance, he said.

A senior BJP leader, requesting anonymity, said that of the 17 rebels who quit the Congress and JDS, a large number is from Bengaluru, and they had to be inducted as the CM had promised them ministries.

Of the four assembly segments in the city, rebels have won three. It does not send out a positive signal when turncoats are given berths, ignoring loyal BJP workers, he said.

ALSO READ | Triumphant Ramesh Jarkiholi wants DKS spoils

Political analyst Prof Harish Ramaswamy said that it is the governments duty to give representation to all regions.

Since newcomers know that the government is giving them more mileage, they will demand more. This will create problems, and sends out a message that the migrants are valued more than old party members, he said.
DENVER, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- South Platte Trading Co., one of Colorado's largest retailers of salvaged, repurposed, and vintage furniture, is excited to announce its grand opening. To celebrate, South Platte is running a Grand Opening Sale where customers are able to take 20% off everything storewide from now until February 29th. Store hours are from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 12 to 6 p.m. on Sunday.

South Platte Trading Co. occupies a 19,000 sq. ft space just north of downtown Denver. This uniquely large space allows the store to house unparalleled selection of upcycled goods and unique finds from all over the world. South Platte Trading Co. further separates itself from competitors through its focus on unique customer experiences as well as the unbelievably affordable pricing found within.

In a recent interview, Rheanne Stringer the Store Manager of South Platte Trading Co. explained, "Whenever we are asked who we best cater to, we always want to say that our store is for, well, everybody. We are founded on the belief that vintage furnishings and reclaimed materials should be accessible to everyone, no matter the background or budget. Our wide, continuously updated selection of furnishings and our unbeatable price-points make it so that people of all ages and interests can find something special to enhance their home each time they visit. That's the drive behind opening South Platte, and we are thrilled to bring this service to Denver."

If you're someone who appreciates beautiful furniture with a story to tell, or if you feel it is important to reuse, recycle, and repurpose, then come to South Platte Trading Co. and discover those extraordinary pieces you've been missing.

About South Platte Trading Co.

At South Platte Trading Co., we specialize in reclaimed, repurposed, and one-of-a-kind furniture that you just can't find anywhere else. We salvage goods and partner with craftsmen from all over the globe, many of our sources originating in India and Indonesia, making our selection unique, worldly, and exciting. In addition to furniture and decor, we also offer salvaged lumber, metalwork, hardware, and we even commission custom creations using our recovered resources.

Contact:

John Knippenberg

303.566.8605

SOURCE South Platte Trading Co.
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Linkedin Riza Roidila Mufti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 07:46 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630dc1c 1 Business port,port-operator,ferry,ASDP-Indonesia-Ferry,digitalization,online,offline,ticketing,booking-service,Merak-port-Banten,Bakauheni-port-Lampung,Ketapang Free

State-owned ferry operator ASDP Indonesia Ferry will require passengers at 35 seaports to book online by next year. The company is eyeing partnerships with online travel agents such as Traveloka and Tiket.com.

ASDP Indonesia Ferry will start selling online tickets for four major seaports in Indonesia in March: Merak port in Banten, Bakauheni port in Lampung, Ketapang port in Banyuwangi and Gilimanuk port in Bali, said ASDP Indonesia CEO Ira Puspadewi.

By March this year, hopefully no more buying tickets on the spot in the four seaports. Everything must be reserved online, thus the manifest can also be predicted before the trip, Ira told the press in Jakarta on Thursday.

With seaports getting cramped during holidays, particularly the Idul Fitri exodus, the online ticketing system is expected to eliminate long lines of passengers waiting to board ferries, she said. The online system is also expected to make seaport operations more efficient.

The online ticketing system will be introduced in stages in all the 35 ports that ASDP Ferry operates across the archipelago. The goal is to have the online system in all the ports by next year, said Ira.

ASDP Indonesia introduced online reservations in June of last year for passengers in Merak, Bakauheni, Ketapang and Gilimanuk. However, only a small number of passengers have utilized the system as most still prefer booking tickets offline, said Ira.

In the future, Ira said, ASDP Indonesia might provide both offline and online channels for ticket reservations, especially for smaller ports or those in the eastern part of the country.

As of today, there are offline and online reservations. For instance, in eastern part of Indonesia such as in Kupang, Labuan Bajo, many people are still buying tickets from the local postal office, said Ira. State postal company PT Pos Indonesia is ASDP Indonesias partner in selling ferry tickets.

ASDP Indonesia provides short-distance ferry services, operating 150 vessels along 243 routes across Indonesia.
A third Republican, Mike Plochocki, has jumped into a state Assembly race just days after a veteran assemblyman announced his retirement.

Plochocki, a former Onondaga County legislator, now is a deputy Onondaga County attorney and the director of clean water initiatives. He would have to quit those county positions should he win the seat for the 126th Assembly District.

The environmental lawyer said hes pursuing the state spot because he wants to help direct environmental policy in Albany. If you want to do effective change, thats the place that you need to be, Plochocki said.

Assemblyman Gary Finch, 75, announced Monday he would not seek reelection after 10 terms in Albany. LaFayette Supervisor Danny Fitzpatrick and local lawyer Ken Bush III also said this week they intend to pursue the Republican spot on the ballot.

Jermaine Bagnall-GrahamProvided by Jermaine Bagnall-Graham

A fourth person, Jermaine Bagnall-Graham, also said today he plans to run for the Assembly seat as an unaffiliated candidate. Bagnall-Graham, of Sherburne, is a U.S. Army veteran and works as a hospital information technology employee. Hes also a Sherburne Public Library Trustee. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for state Senate as a Democrat in 2016.

Plochocki, 47, served as mayor of Marcellus for four years before serving on the county legislature from 2012 to 2018. He left his election position there to take the county positions under County Executive Ryan McMahon.

Onondaga County Democratic Party Chairwoman Pam Hunter said today shes hearing from people interested in running and expects the party to field a candidate. The county Democrats will designate its slate of candidates on Feb. 15.

The 126th Assembly District includes portions of Cayuga County, the city of Auburn, and portions of Cortland and Chenango counties. The district also includes seven towns in Onondaga: Marcellus, Skaneateles, Camillus, Otisco, Spafford, Elbridge and LaFayette.

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The latest in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran, an Iranian lawmaker offered a $3 million reward to anyone who would kill U.S. President Donald Trump. The U.S. president ordered an airstrike earlier this month that killed the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani. Trump said Soleimani was "plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel." It was a move that lawmakers criticized as putting the U.S. at the brink of war. But some U.S. veterans of the Iraq War and their families share a different view. VOAs Elizabeth Lee has the details. VOA Khmer's Pin Sisovann narrates in Khmer.
First Chair and Co-chair of GCCA India's CEO Committee announced

07 February 2020

Mahendra Singhi, managing director and CEO of Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd, and Nilesh Narwekar, CEO of JSW Cement, have been elected as the chair and co-chair respectively of the Global Cement and Concrete Association India (GCCA - India). The chair and co-chair have been appointed for the first two years (2020-22).



Speaking at the GCCA India CEO meeting of the member companies in Mumbai, Benjamin Sporton, GCCA CEO, said: "I'm delighted to have overseen the first CEO meeting of the GCCA India member companies. It is important for the Indian cement sector to continue to work collaboratively on sustainability and innovation work.



"We now have eight major Indian cement companies contributing to the GCCA India work programme. India is a significant market in terms of cement producing capacity and, with population growth, the growing demand and need for affordable houses and infrastructure, cement and concrete are going to play an important role in the future development of the country. Its very much the aim of GCCA India to help ensure that this is undertaken sustainably."



Members of the Indian cement industry have been working together to achieve low-carbon growth for the Indian cement sector. Mr Sporton recognised the efforts of UltraTech Cement and Heidelberg India in helping to establish GCCA India.



GCCA India has developed a work programme that will focus on the GCCA priorities but with practical application across the Indian built environment. GCCA India priorities include:



 Fostering good health & safety practices in the cement and concrete industry

 Providing thought leadership for cement and concrete

 Outreach to more cement companies to make a positive contribution to sustainable development

 Positioning concrete as the sustainable building material of choice

 Fostering innovation in the cement and concrete sector

 Sharing of best practices and benchmarking cement manufacturing processes

 Promoting the principles of a circular economy across the value chain.

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A mother-of-three in Virginia was caught on Ring doorbell camera giving birth to her baby boy on a neighbor's front lawn when her water unexpectedly broke.

Although the incredible moment took place in September 2019, footage of Amy Robinson's delivery just released this week.

According to Andrew Robinson, his wife went over to a neighbor's home to ask if they could watch their two oldest children, Eleanor and Henry, while the couple went to the hospital.

Amy Robinson (pictured) went over to a neighbor's house to ask if they could watch their oldest children, Eleanor and Henry, while she went to the hospital

Unknown to Andrew and Amy, the newborn baby boy was already on his way.

'My wife's due date was September 11, but as of her appointment on the sixth, we knew the baby was going to be arriving sometime in the next 24 hours,' Andrew told Newsflare.

Andrew said the pair thought they had at least a few hours before the baby arrived, but 'out of nowhere things got intense.'

The Virginia couple thought they had a few hours before baby Arthur arrived, but were shocked when Amy's water broke in the front lawn

The couple, with the help of their two neighbors, delivered the infant boy just minutes before local EMTs arrived at the scene

'We decided to head to the hospital (about 1 mile away) a couple minutes after 5pm and around 5:08 my wife knocked on the neighbors door to watch the kids for 15 minutes or so until my parents could get over,' Andrew said.

'Right after talking to our neighbor, another big contraction came while I was gathering the hospital bag.'

Andrew recalled the moment he heard his wife scream and her water suddenly breaking on the sidewalk.

Arthur Alexander (pictured) was born around 5.20pm in Fredericksburg, Virginia on September 6, 2019

Andrew Robinson (left) said he caught Arthur Alexander in his arms when his wife, Amy Robinson (right), gave birth

Andrew: 'Everyone was fine and we now are adjusting to life with three little ones under four. It's quite exciting in our home any given moment!'

He said: '...Our neighbor helping her through contractions. With the previous two children, once the water broke, the baby arrived within minutes so I knew we had no time.'

Minutes after calling 911, Amy realized that she had to push and that the little bundle of joy would arrive before EMTs could reach the couple.

'Our neighbor went in to grab towels to keep the baby warm and by the time she came back outside around 5:17pm, baby boy Arthur Alexander had arrived right into my arms with my wife standing on the sidewalk and my 3-year-old son right next to me,' said Andrew.

Once EMTs drove onto the scene, they helped Amy through the rest of her delivery, cut the umbilical cord and loaded her into an ambulance with a healthy Arthur Alexander.

'Everyone was fine and we now are adjusting to life with three little ones under four. It's quite exciting in our home any given moment!' Andrew said.
Oil palm tree produce fruits from which oil palm is extracted. The scientific name of the tree is Elaeis guineensis. For thousands of years, people have cultivated oil palm in different settings and for various purposes. Since the rise of consumerism and processed food, palm oil has increased to become a global oil commodity. As of 2017, oil palms occupied 18.7 million hectares of industrial-scale plantations. Some view oil palms as land efficient oil crops because they occupy less land than soy and rapeseed and produce more per hectare compared to both soy and rapeseed. Oil palms produce around 35% of all vegetable oil but only sit on less than 10% of land occupied by oil crops. Today oil palm plantations can be found in different countries. Countries with the largest acreage of oil palm in the world include Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Columbia, Brazil, and Papua New Guinea.

Palm-oil Plantations Trigger Deforestation

Over the years, oil palm plantations have led to high rates of deforestation in palm oil-producing countries. The growth of the palm oil industry in Malaysia has contributed to about 47% of deforestation experienced between 1972 and 2015 in the country. In Indonesia, which is the largest producer of palm oil in the world, about 16% of deforestation was attributed directly to the production of palm oil over the same period. Similar deforestation patterns can be found on the island of Borneo, West Africa, Central, and South America. In Nigeria, one study suggested that oil palms accounted for 3% of forest loss in the early 2000s. Deforestation leads to the destruction of habitats that are crucial for the survival of many species.

Monoculture Destroys Plant Genetic Diversity

Agriculture is ranked as one of the most common threats to species listed on the IUCN Red List. An in-depth search of keywords such as palm oil, oil palm, and palm plantation on the IUCN Red List database reveals that the production of the crop threatens 405 species. One hundred ninety-three of the species mentioned are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. Some of the most severely affected species include orangutans, gibbons, and tigers. Tree and other plant species are also affected as some planted areas have over 99% less plant and tree diversity compared to natural forests. Studies have also shown a reduction in mammalian diversity of 65-90% in oil palm plantations. A majority of species groups decline in both abundance and richness. Given the monoculture nature of oil palm cultivation, it is hardly surprising that plant diversity is lost.

Invasive Traits

There have been reports of the species escaping cultivation and naturalizing. Such incidents of invasive oil palms have been noted on several islands in Micronesia. There are also unconfirmed reports of invasive palm oil trees in Bahia, Brazil, where oil palms are threatening remnants of native coastal Atlantic forest. While the plant is not a major invasive species, it is essential to limit its spread in sensitive ecological sites.

Pest Spillover Is Highly Likely

Oil palm plantations provide favorable conditions and breeding grounds for pests that affect crops. Some of the pests commonly found in oil palm plantations include rats, Rhinoceros beetles, caterpillars, and other leaf-eating insects. Experts have raised concerns that the accumulation of such pests in oil palm plantations could lead to a spillover of damaging pests to adjacent forests. For example, a spillover of large numbers of Rhinoceros beetle could cause significant damage to leaves of native plant and tree species. Oil palm plantations also serve as breeding grounds for microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses that cause diseases such as stem rot, a severe fungal infection that affects the oil palm truck. An outbreak of diseases could potentially affect surrounding forests.

Irresponsible Use Of Pesticides Is Bad For The Environment

Conventional agriculture utilizes a pick and choose technique of pesticide use, which treats the symptoms of poor land management instead of acknowledging the underlying problems. The method fails to understand agriculture as a system and its impact on wildlife. Pesticides used to control pests and diseases in plantations also cause substantial damage to insect and animal populations living around the plantations. Pesticide poisoning of wildlife may occur as a result of acute or chronic poisoning. Acute poisoning occurs due to short exposure. It can occur when animals consume vegetation that has been treated with harmful pesticides. Chronic poisoning happens for a long period when the levels of pesticides are not immediately fatal. Consumption of animals that have consumed pesticides by prey species can also lead to secondary poisoning. Pesticide use can also lead to indirect effects on the habitat and food supply. For example, insecticides reduce pollinators, which consequently affects plant pollination.

Destruction Of Forested Riparian Reserves

Freshwater fish are dependent on the water quality of streams, rivers, and lakes in which they live. The most widely used strategy to protect the quality of water in production areas is the retention of forests along rivers and streams. Forested riparian areas can reduce chemical runoff, sedimentation, and maintenance of temperature regimes in rivers and streams. In both Malaysian and Indonesia, the retention of riparian reserves is a requirement of the law. Unfortunately, non-compliance is common due to unfortunate enforcement and legal vagueness. In Indonesia, most of the large and small rivers should have a 328 and 164 feet buffer of natural vegetation, respectively. The country, however, lacks definitions of what should be considered a large river, a small river, and natural vegetation.

Fertilizer Use Creates Toxic Runoff

Fertilizers used in oil palm plantations have large quantities of phosphorus and nitrogen. When such chemicals are carried and eventually reach waterways, they can trigger the hastened progression and growth of aquatic plants. The fertilizers can promote fast growth of nuisance algae in a process known as eutrophication. Eutrophication can adversely affect water quality through increased growth of aquatic weeds and algae, which is harmful to marine life. Decomposition of dead algae at the bottom of the rivers and streams could also lead to the removal of oxygen from the water creating zones that are unsuitable for aquatic life.

Use Of Fire For Clearing

The use of fire while clearing land can lead to the extermination of plant and animal species that previously occupied the land. Continuous use of such a technique can have devastating effects on wildlife in the area.

Human-wildlife Conflict

Orangutans are classified as critically endangered animals according to the IUCN Red List. Bornean orangutans have declined by about 25% over the past decade. Researchers have determined that between 1,500 and 2,500 Bornean orangutans are killed annually. Half of that number die as a result of human-wildlife conflict. Such conflicts often occur around areas where agricultural activity is expanding.

Hunting Of Wildlife Is Made Easy

Bearded pigs are an essential source of protein for a significant number of forest-dwelling people. The species has economic and cultural importance for communities living in rural areas in Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and Borneo, where it has been a popular source of food for thousands of years. Until recently, the bearded pig was widespread across the Malay Peninsula. During a survey conducted in 2015, direct observation showed the existence of bearded pigs in oil palm plantations. They were seen to feed opportunistically on palm fruits on the ground, an easily accessible and dependable resource. The simplified landscape has, however, meant that they are hunted with relative ease compared to natural forests. As a result, their populations have declined significantly.

Mitigating The Effects Of Oil Palm

The main strategies used in mitigation of the effects of oil palm cultivation on biodiversity revolve around addressing the loss of forests and peatlands. Some of the strategies used to protect these areas include the adoption of certification standards, regulatory policies, and corporate commitments. Conservationists utilize methods in auditing, traceability, and monitoring to realize desired conservation outcomes.
A US Army tank crew has been forced to remove an Anarchist flag that was being flown on an armored vehicle in Kuwait.

The tank from the South Carolina Army National Guard was seen with a stylized red 'A' inside a circle - a symbol associated with revolutionary political ideologies since the 19th century.

Pictures published by the US Army last week showed the tank from A Company flying the large red and black flag as it took part in training missions in Kuwait.

A crew member wearing a patch on his helmet with a similar circled A and the phrase 'No Masters', which is synonymous with the movement, was also in the photographs.

A-112 were pictured conducting gunnery training with other tanks from the battalion in the series of publicity images posted on February 4.

The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team during training a mission in Kuwait. The A Company tank was seen flying the Anarchist flag and was ordered to removed it

A patch on a crew member's helmet with a circled A and the phrase 'No Masters', was pictured during missions in Kuwait earlier this month

Since the images emerged, the US Army claimed the flag was flown without any intent to make a political statement and has since been removed.

A spokesman apologized and said Alpha Company had to find a 'tough' nickname for their lead vehicle that started with an 'A'.

US Army Lieutenant Colonel Cindi King, a public affairs officer for the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team in Kuwait, said in a statement that the company used the flag without realizing what it represented.

He added that the company will now fly their state flag and come up with another name for their tank that begins with 'A'.

King told The Drive: 'They are A company - so it is tradition they nickname their lead tank and company after something that starts with A. There was nothing intended to be disrespectful nor political.

'They do not want to appear disrespectful or making any type of statement other than they are A company and this nickname sounds tough.

US soldiers in Alpha Company, 4-118th Infantry Regiment, 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team, conducting tank gunnery training while deployed in the Middle East on February 4

The Alpha Company unit of the South Carolina Army National Guard is currently deployed to support US Operation Spartan Shield (pictured during a training mission)

'To ensure there is no further misunderstanding or appearance of making any statement - these photos are deleted and the unit is notified that this appears to represent something that it is unintended to.

'They will proudly continue to fly their state flag and US flag and think of something else that begins with A.

'We apologize if this sent any type of negative message or appeared disrespectful or offensive.

'They did not want it to come across as any type of political statement.'

Other nicknames used in the 1st Squadron, 150th Cavalry, a unit from the West Virginia Army National Guard include, 'Bulletproof', 'Dealer', 'Dinocave', 'Don Quixote' and 'Dracarys' from game of Thrones.

The Alpha Company unit is currently deployed in Kuwait to support Operation Spartan Shield the ongoing US mission in the Middle East.

Last month 16 US servicemen were transferred to a military hospital in Kuwait following Iran's retaliatory missile attack against the Ain Al-Assad Air Base in Iraq.
Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "The UK Defense Market - Attractiveness, Competitive Landscape and Forecasts to 2024" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



Driven by the need to counter a resurgent Russia, the UK's defense expenditures are anticipated to increase from US$50.3 billion in 2019 to US$52.6 billion in 2020. Over the forecast period the country's defense budget is anticipated to post a CAGR of 4.13%.



Aside Russia and traditional geopolitical threats, the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI) defines the primary threats to UK's national security to be terrorism, espionage, proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and cyber threats, all of which have the potential to be detrimental to the safety of the UK's national infrastructure of critical importance.



UK Defense Market 2020-2024 provides readers with detailed analysis of both historic and forecast defense industry values, factors influencing demand, the challenges faced by industry participants, analysis of industry leading companies, and key news.



The report offers detailed analysis of the UK defense industry with market size forecasts covering the next five years. The report will also analyze factors that influence demand for the industry, key market trends, and challenges faced by industry participants.



In particular, it provides an in-depth analysis of the following:



The UK defense industry market size and drivers: detailed analysis of the UK defense industry during 2020-2024, including highlights of the demand drivers and growth stimulators for the industry. It also provides a snapshot of the country's expenditure and modernization patterns

Budget allocation and key challenges: insights into procurement schedules formulated within the country and a breakdown of the defense budget with respect to capital expenditure and revenue expenditure. It also details the key challenges faced by defense market participants within the country

Import and Export Dynamics: analysis of prevalent trends in the country's imports and exports over the last five years

Market opportunities:list of the top ten defense investment opportunities over the next 5 years

Competitive landscape and strategic insights: analysis of the competitive landscape of the UK defense industry.

Reasons to Buy

This report will give the user confidence to make the correct business decisions based on a detailed analysis of the UK defense industry market trends for the coming five years

The market opportunity section will inform the user about the various military requirements that are expected to generate revenues during the forecast period. The description includes technical specifications, recent orders, and the expected investment pattern by the country during the forecast period

Profiles of the top domestic and foreign defense manufacturers . This will provide the user with a total competitive landscape of the sector

A deep qualitative analysis of the UK defense industry covering sections including demand drivers, Key Trends , and latest industry contracts

Key Topics Covered



1. Introduction



2. Executive Summary



3. Market Attractiveness and Emerging Opportunities

3.1. Current Market Scenario

3.1.1. Primary Threat Perception

3.1.2. Military Doctrine and Strategy

3.1.3. Procurement Programs

3.1.4. Geopolitical, Social and Economic Scenario

3.1.5. Political and Strategic Alliances

3.1.6. Key Drivers and Challenges

3.2. Defense Market Size Historical and Forecast

3.2.1. The UK's defense expenditure is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 4.13% over the forecast period

3.2.2. Counter-terrorism activities, procurements, and peacekeeping operations are the primary factors driving defense expenditure

3.2.3. Defense budget as a percentage of GDP is anticipated to decrease over the forecast period

3.3. Analysis of Defense Budget Allocation

3.3.1. The allocation towards capital expenditure will remain constant

3.3.2. Capital expenditure is anticipated to record CAGR of 3.41% over the forecast period

3.3.3. Per capita defense expenditure to increase over the forecast period

3.4. Homeland Security Market Size and Forecast

3.4.1. The Homeland Security market in UK is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.20% over the forecast period

3.4.2. Border security and cyber-security will be the key drivers for homeland security

3.5. Benchmarking with Key Global Markets

3.5.1. The UK ranks among major Global Defense Markets

3.5.2. The UK is expected to be among the top 10 defense spending countries in the world

3.5.3. The UK allocates a significant percentage of GDP towards defense

3.6. Market Opportunities: Key Trends and Growth Stimulators

3.6.1. Top 10 Defense market sectors by value (US$ Million) - Projections over period 2019-2024

3.6.2. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) - Physical Security

3.6.3. Land Based - C4ISR

3.6.4. Multirole Aircraft



4. Defense Procurement Market Dynamics

4.1. Import Market Dynamics

4.1.1. Defense imports are expected to remain consistent with the historic trends

4.1.2. The US is the leading arms exporter to UK, a trend expected to continue in the coming years

4.1.3. Aircraft, Missiles, and Engines account for more than three-quarters of UK arms imports

4.2. Export Market Dynamics

4.2.1. UK Defense Exports are anticipated to increase over the historic period

4.2.2. Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Indonesia are the main buyers of UK defense exports

4.2.3. Aircraft make up the majority of the UK's defense exports



5. Industry Dynamics

5.1.1. Five Forces Analysis

5.1.2. Bargaining power of supplier: low

5.1.3. Bargaining power of buyer: medium to high

5.1.4. Barrier to entry: medium

5.1.5. Intensity of rivalry: medium

5.1.6. Threat of substitution: medium



6. Market Entry Strategy

6.1. Market Regulation

6.1.1. Offset policy discarded in order to maintain competitiveness of domestic suppliers

6.1.2. The UK permits 100% FDI in its defense industry

6.1.3. Government initiatives to boost the defense industry

6.2. Market Entry Route

6.2.1. Budgeting Process

6.2.2. Procurement Policy and Process

6.2.3. Joint weapons development programs are a viable market entry opportunity

6.2.4. Joint ventures open up new market entry strategy choices

6.2.5. Forming subsidiaries in the UK and the acquisition of domestic companies provide good market entry opportunities

6.3. Key Challenges

6.3.1. Inconsistency defense budget policy have negative implications for defense companies

6.3.2. Dominance of domestic and EU defense companies impede the progress of non-European firms



7. Competitive landscape and Strategic Insights

7.1. Competitive landscape Overview

7.2. Key Domestic Companies

7.3. Key Foreign Companies



8. Business Environment and Country Risk

8.1. Economic Performance



Companies Mentioned



BAE Systems PLC

Rolls-Royce PLC

GKN Aerospace Services

Babcock International Group PLC

Leonardo

Thales UK

General Dynamics UK Ltd.

Boeing UK

Lockheed Martin UK Ltd.

L-3 Communications Group PLC

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Airbus S.A.S.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ek71zq

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
By Rania El Gamal, Ahmad Ghaddar and Marianna Parraga DUBAI/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Russia supports a recommendation to deepen OPEC+ global oil supply curbs to compensate for a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday. A technical panel that advises the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia proposed a provisional cut in output of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), three sources told Reuters earlier

By Rania El Gamal, Ahmad Ghaddar and Marianna Parraga

DUBAI/MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Russia supports a recommendation to deepen OPEC+ global oil supply curbs to compensate for a drop in demand caused by the coronavirus, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.

A technical panel that advises the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia proposed a provisional cut in output of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd), three sources told Reuters earlier.

That is about 0.6 percent of global supply and would extend current curbs of 1.7 million bpd.

The OPEC+ group pumps more than 40 percent of the world's oil.

"We support this idea," Lavrov said when asked about the panel's proposal at a news conference in Mexico City, according to a live translation of his comments into Spanish.

Lavrov said Russian President Vladimir Putin had recently spoken with the king of OPEC's de facto leader Saudi Arabia about the new virus, which has spread through China and beyond and sapped energy demand.

"Of course it will have some consequences for the oil market," Lavrov said.

Lavrov said Russia was in consultations to determine which were the optimum measures for all market participants.

Russia's support could pave the way for OPEC to bring forward to February a ministerial policy meeting planned for early March to formalise the decision.

The Joint Technical Committee (JTC), the panel that recommended the cut, is a non-decision-making body that advises the oil producer group.

Earlier, the sources said the panel was awaiting Russia's final position on the proposal and that ministers would not change the meeting date if there was no agreement on further supply cuts.

The panel had extended its meeting into a third day on Thursday after Russia signalled a preference for an extension of current cuts rather than deeper cuts, one source said on Wednesday.

In previous years, Russia has regularly signalled opposition to OPEC before ultimately agreeing on policy during formal meetings.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday he could not say for sure whether it was time to tighten output further.

Saudi Arabia has been voluntarily holding its output to 400,000 beneath its quota, bringing the total effective OPEC+ cuts to 2.1 million bpd.

The OPEC+ JTC has also recommended extending current output cuts of 2.1 million bpd until the end of 2020, two sources said. The current OPEC+ agreement expires in March.

One OPEC source said the proposed output cut of 600,000 bpd, if agreed by all members, will start immediately and continue until June.

"The 600,000 bpd has taken into consideration the expected return of Libya oil production and all scenarios for oil demand growth," the source said, adding that the proposed cut was enough to counter the expected drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus.

Oil prices have fallen by more than $11 a barrel this year to $55, alarming producers.

Saudi Arabia and other OPEC members are worried that the continued spread of the virus could hit oil demand and prices further, the sources said.

The economic slowdown resulting from the virus outbreak is expected to reduce 2020 global demand growth by 300,000-500,000 bpd, or roughly 0.5%, BP Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures lost 35 cents to settle at $54.93 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 20 cents to settle at $50.95 a barrel.

(Additional reporting by Alex Lawler, Olesya Astakhova, Sharay Angulo and Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Simon Webb and Daniel Wallis)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass. Two of those compounds - perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct 2 - are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.

Scott Belcher, associate professor of biology and corresponding author of a paper describing the research, led a team that included NC State colleagues Detlef Knappe, Ben Reading and postdoctoral researcher Theresa Guillette as well as partners from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The team isolated serum from the blood of 58 wild caught Cape Fear River striped bass ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. In collaboration with EPA researchers Mark Stryner and James McCord, they determined the concentrations of 23 different PFAS chemicals present in the serum using a combination of liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

"Testing blood levels gives you an idea of the 'body burden' of these particular chemicals," Belcher says. "The levels of these chemicals in the water were measured in parts per trillion, but in the serum of the fish levels are higher and in parts per billion, demonstrating that they have clearly bioaccumulated in these fish."

The team then compared the blood serum samples from the wild caught fish to those from a reference population of 29 striped bass raised in an aquaculture facility fed by ground water. "The serum levels of chemicals in the wild caught bass were 40% higher, on average, than the background levels found in this reference population," Belcher says.

In comparison to the levels of PFAS found in Cape Fear River water, elevated levels of PFOS and Nafion byproduct 2 were found in 100% and 78% of the wild bass samples, respectively. The serum concentrations of these compounds were associated with biomarkers of altered liver enzyme activity and immune function in those fish.

"These PFAS levels are some of the highest recorded in fish," Belcher says, "but one of the most unusual findings here is that smaller or younger fish had the highest levels of these compounds. This points to the fact that PFAS chemicals are very different from other persistent chemicals, like mercury or PCBs. They have unique and very different chemical properties that cause them to bioaccumulate differently, and we're really just beginning to understand why and how they do what they do."

###

The work appears in Environment International, and was supported in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (award numbers P30ES025128 and R21ES029353), and a North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant. Theresa Guillette is first author. Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera and Nadine Kotlarz from NC State, as well as Kyle Rachels and Clint Morgeson from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, also contributed to the work.

Note to editors: An abstract follows.

"Elevated Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are Associated with Biomarkers of Altered Immune and Liver Function"

DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358

Authors: T.C. Guillette, Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera, Nadine Kotlarz, Detlef Knappe, Benjamin J. Reading, Scott Belcher, North Carolina State University; James McCord, Mark Strynar, National Exposure Research Laboratory, ORD, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Kyle Rachels, Clint Morgeson, N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Inland Fisheries Division Raleigh, NC

Published: Environment International

Abstract:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals of concern that persist within the environment. Environmental monitoring revealed high concentrations of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and other novel PFAS in the lower Cape Fear River; however, there is limited information on PFAS exposures and effects of this contamination on aquatic biota. Serum concentrations of 23 different PFAS in Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) from the Cape Fear River (n=58), and a reference population from an aquaculture laboratory on the Pamlico/Tar watershed (n=29), were quantified using liquid chromatography, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and correlations between PFAS concentrations and health-related serum biomarkers were evaluated. Perfluorooctane sulfonate, the predominant PFAS in Cape Fear River Striped Bass serum, was detectable in every sample with serum concentrations reaching 977 ng/mL. Perfluorononanoic and perfluorodecanoic acid were also detected in all samples, with perfluorohexanesulfonic acid present in >98% of the samples. HFPO-DA (range <0.24-5.85 ng/mL) and Nafion byproduct 2 (range <0.2-1.03 ng/mL) were detected in 48% and 78% of samples, respectively. The mean total PFAS concentration found in domestic Striped Bass raised in well-water under controlled aquaculture conditions was 40 times lower, with HPFO-DA detected in 10% of the samples, and Nafion byproduct 2 not detected. The elevated PFAS concentrations found in the Cape Fear River Striped Bass were associated with biomarkers of alterations in the liver and immune system.
Members of Indonesias elite anti-terrorism police escort suspected militants during a news conference at the National Police headquarters in Jakarta, Oct. 17, 2019.

Indonesian police shot dead a suspected militant who hurled a homemade bomb at officers who were trying to arrest him on allegations of links with a banned group affiliated with the Islamic State in Riau province on Sumatra Island, officials said Friday.

A policeman was injured in the incident that took place on Thursday on a fishing boat in the Kampar river in Pelalawan district, according to Senior Commissioner Sunarto, provincial police spokesman.

Police identified the slain 29-year-old suspect as Wahyu (alias Ibnu Thayyi) and said he was believed to be a member of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), an Indonesian group that was designated by the U.S. State Department in January 2017 as a terrorist group.

When asked to surrender, the suspect threw a pipe bomb at the officers, so they had no choice but to paralyze him, Sunarto, who uses only one name, told BenarNews.

National police spokesman Asep Adi Saputra declined to provide details of the arrest, saying police were still investigating.

Local media reported that Wahyu, who had a wife and a child, had disappeared from his village in Jambi province since last month.

I have lived in this village for a long time but we did not know he was involved in terrorism," village head Razali was quoted by the news portal Tribunnews as saying, referring to Wahyu.

Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority country, has been hit by a string of terrorist attacks in the past two decades, with more recent strikes being blamed on JAD, which was founded in 2015 by Aman Abdurrahman, who was sentenced to death in 2018 for his role in a series of deadly terrorist attacks.

An Indonesian court outlawed JAD in a July 2018 verdict that was seen as making it easier for law enforcement officials to arrest suspected members.

JAD was tagged as an illegal group two months after the coordinated attacks in the Indonesian city of Surabaya, where two families carried out suicide bombings on three churches and a police station. Twenty-four people were killed, including the attackers who used their children as young as 9 in the bombings.

The group has also been linked to the terror attack in January last year in the southern Philippine island of Jolo, where an Indonesian couple blew themselves up at a cathedral, killing 23 and wounding more than 100.

But last year, Indonesian police noted only eight acts of JAD-related terrorism in Muslim-majority country, a 57-percent decline from 2018, according to security analyst Zachary Abuza.

The few attacks that did take place tended to be counterproductive, with over 280 suspected militants arrested in 2019, he said.

The arrests included at least 74 suspects who were detained after the November 2019 suicide bombing at a police station in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra province. The attack killed the bomber and injured six other people, including four officers.

Investigators said they believe that the bomber, 24-year-old Rabbial Muslim Nasution, and his widow, belonged to JAD.

The Medan attack took place a month after two suspected militants stabbed and wounded then-Security Minister Wiranto and two other people as he was visiting Banten province.

Both cases were linked to JAD, police said.
Members of anti-coronavirus team spray chemical into vehicles on a road in Thai Nguyen province, Vietnam February 7, 2020. Kham | Reuters

The number of new coronavirus cases slowed in China for a second day, but it's too early to celebrate, World Health Organization officials said Friday. There are 31,211 confirmed cases in China and at least 637 deaths as of Friday morning, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, said during a news conference at the agency's headquarters in Geneva. Tedros said the slowing rate of new cases is "good news" but cautioned the public not to read too much into the new data. "The numbers could go up again," he told reporters. "As you know, epi curves can zigzag," referring to a diagram that shows the distribution of cases over time.

WHO said it has sent medical supplies such as masks, gloves, gowns and diagnostic tests around the world. It is discouraging stockpiling of protective gear, saying the limited items need to be saved for regions most impacted by the virus. The price of protective gear has increased, while availability has decreased, WHO officials said. That could have a "knock-on effect" for other ongoing epidemics such as Ebola, Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of WHO's emergencies program, said Friday. The agency is asking member countries for donations to help with outbreak response efforts after tapping $9 million from its contingency fund for emergencies earlier this week. So far, the agency has received donations from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and from Japan, Tedros said at a news conference Thursday.

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of WHO's emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, said Friday that the agency has set up a referral system where countries that don't have the capacity to run diagnostic tests can send samples to 15 labs located in different regions around the world. Kerkhove said the agency also shipped 250,000 diagnostic tests this week. Officials are looking for more "countries that have the molecular capacity" to run tests, she said. On Wednesday, Tedros said that the number of confirmed cases grew by more than 3,100 over the previous 24 hours, which he said was "the most cases in a single day since the outbreak started" on Dec. 31. However, he emphasized that the overwhelming majority of cases are in China, and of those, 80% are in Hubei province, where the virus was first detected in the city of Wuhan. "Our greatest concern is about the potential for spread in other countries with weaker health systems and who lack the capacity to detect and diagnose the virus," he said. "We're only as strong as the weakest link."
India and several African nations on Thursday called for an increase in maritime security through mutual cooperation to prevent crimes like trafficking and piracy.

"We seek to increase our cooperation in securing sea lines of communication, preventing maritime crimes, disaster, piracy, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing through sharing of information and surveillance," as per the Lucknow Declaration adopted by the ministers after the meeting.

The discussion in this regard was held between Defence Ministers and Heads of Delegation from African countries, along with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the first-ever India Africa Defence Ministers' Conclave held on the sidelines of the ongoing DefExpo 2020 here.

India and several African also called on the world community to take resolute action in rooting out terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, disrupting terrorist networks, eliminating their financing channels and halting cross-border movement of terrorists.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A four-day sit-in by students at Dickinson College bore fruit Thursday evening when college officials signed an agreement vowing to improve the schools handling of sexual assault complaints.

The accord came after negotiations with the protesters led by Rose McAvoy, the student who sparked the sit-in by airing her displeasure with how school officials responded  sluggishly, she insisted  when she reported being sexually assaulted in 2017.

On behalf of President Margee Ensign, and the entire Dickinson community, I want to thank Rose and her fellow students for their conviction, for their courage and for bringing forward a series of proposals to improve our Title IX policies and practices, college Provost Neil Weissman said in a statement after the signing.

I also want to thank them for working so effectively with us to implement those proposals. As a result, we are a better and safer community, he said.

McAvoy said she is pleased with the outcome and the fact that officials and students of the Carlisle college ended up working toward the same goal. Even though there were minor differences of opinion on some points, they still addressed the issues that we wanted addressed, she said.

Asked if she believes that taking her stand and publicly airing her own experience with sexual assault were worth it, McAvoy answered, Oh my God, yes!

Key points of the just-inked agreement include:

The minimum sanction for sexual assault must be a semester suspension. A second incident must trigger expulsion. Students who commit rape must be expelled.

Investigations of sexual assault complaints must be completed within 60 days. (McAvoy said the investigation of her case took seven months, during which time her attacker committed other assaults.)

Changes to the schools sexual harassment and misconduct policy must be approved by students before implementation.

Complainants and the accused must be given access to and allowed to keep copies of investigative material. Weekly updates of investigations must be provided to the complainant and the accused.

Both parties must agree to the lifting of no contact directives.

Additional blue light emergency alarm boxes are to be installed on campus.

Sensitivity training for faculty must be increased.

Some of the agreements terms are to take effect this month. The full pact is to be in force by July 2021.
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Louis CK has cancelled six sold out shows the comedian was to perform in Texas on his first comeback tour after sexual harassment allegations were made against him by five women, whom he admitted he masturbated in front of.

CK was to perform at the Houston Improv starting Thursday.

However, an email that went out to ticket holders said the performances, which ran through Sunday, were cancelled.

The cancellations were due to an 'unforeseen family emergency', reports TMZ.

Louis CK (pictured) cancelled six sold out shows slated for a Texas venue, starting Thursday

Louis' website indicates the shows at the Houston Improve were soldout, but doesn't say they were cancelled. An email went out alerting ticket holders about the cancellations

No additional explanation was offered.

Ticket holders were offered refunds, or a chance to see CK when he reschedules, TMZ reports.

CK's website indicates the shows were sold out, but does not say they are cancelled.

The affected ticket holders were invited to still come to the venue to see CK's replacement, comedian Joe Machi, free of charge, TMZ reports.

Machi, according to his bio on the venue's website, recently made his network television debut on NBC's 'The Tonight Show Night Starring Jimmy Fallon'.

The 52-year-old CK, also a writer, actor and filmmaker, had been one of the biggest names in comedy until his reputation was tainted with a bombshell New York Times investigation in which his alleged victims made their accusations, which he later confessed was true.

CK laid low for about nine months after the November 2017 story, and then returned to the stand-up stage, without giving up his signature brash style to performing.

CK laid low for about nine months after a November 2017 New York Times story revealed the allegations made against him, and then returned to the stand-up stage, without giving up his signature brash style to performing

In Tampa, Florida, a year ago, he touched on his sketchy past, joking that a good way to make people forget that he masturbated in front of women was to 'tell a joke about some kids that got shot at a school', according to the Tampa Times.

'That's worse...They tend to forget the first thing,' he added as the crowd laughed.

He was referencing one of his comeback shows, where he made fun of the fatal high school shootings in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead and 17 people hurt.

'You're not interesting because you went to a high school where kids got shot'.

'You didn't get shot. You pushed some fat kid in the way and now I gotta listen to you talking,' he added in the December 2018 act, sparking outrage.

He then started off on his first comeback tour late last year, which included both domestic and international dates.

CK's website indicated the tour kicked off in Richmond, Virginia, on November 2, and continued on making several stops in US cities before heading off to Israel, Italy and Slovakia.

He then returned to the states for several more dates through April, before a planned return to Europe and Scandinavia.
Monday nights Iowa caucuses were an epic fail for Democrats. Thanks to a star-crossed ballot-tabulation program written by alumni of the Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns, final results are still unavailable as of this writing, early Thursday morning. The party that is desperate to control every Americans health-care options, energy purchases, consumer decisions, and much more could not smoothly stage a caucus and count its votes. As the Washington Posts Marc Thiessen explained, Democrats created a balloting system so needlessly convoluted that it spun them into a nearly terminal tizzy. Even worse, arrogant Democrats rejected the Department of Homeland Securitys offer to test this technologys security and reliability.

Democrats were so busy hallucinating about nonexistent Russian collusion and obsessing over Ukraine-o-rama that they never noticed the electoral fiasco ticking like a briefcase bomb, right beneath their upturned noses.

This unmitigated fiasco should strip Democrats of the right to claim that they have any idea of what theyre doing. This fine mess confirms yet again that virtually everything the Democrats touch turns to manure.

Democrats impeachment gambit was supposed to drive President Donald J. Trump from office or, more likely, leave him savaged on the floor, slowly bleeding, with his reelection plans in tatters.

Instead, the U.S. Senate acquitted Trump on Wednesday, after House Democrats, with zero Republican concurrence, voted on December 18 to charge the president with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. But rather than a political hemorrhage, hapless Democrats gave him a transfusion.

President Donald Trumps job approval rating has risen to 49 percent, his highest in Gallup polling since he took office in 2017, Jeffrey M. Jones wrote Tuesday for Gallups website. His 94 percent approval rating among Republicans is up 6 percentage points from early January and is 3 points higher than his previous best among his fellow partisans. The 42 percent approval rating among independents is up 5 points, and ties three other polls as his best among that group. Democratic approval is 7 percent, down slightly from 10 percent.

Story continues

Trumps brightening halo is lighting a path for the GOP.

As Trumps job approval rating has improved, so has the image of the Republican Party, Jones noted. Now, 51 percent of Americans view the Republican Party favorably, up from 43 percent in September. It is the first time GOP favorability has exceeded 50 percent since 2005.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of Americans have a positive opinion of the Democratic Party, a slight dip from 48 percent in September.

Additionally, the poll finds 48 percent of Americans identifying as Republicans or leaning toward that party, compared with 44 percent Democratic identification or leaning, Jones concluded. Recent Gallup polls had shown a fairly even partisan distribution, after the Democratic Party held advantages for much of 2019.

Beyond the impeachment disaster, Democrats seem incapable of getting anything right.

Major cities run by Democrats such as New York, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle are overrun with al fresco mentally ill vagrants, drunks, and drug addicts. These urban centers teem with garbage, hypodermic needles, human waste, and rats. In downtown L.A., fleas are suspected to have transmitted typhus from rodents to as many as six LAPD officers and Elizabeth Greenwood, a public attorney at City Hall.

Meanwhile, as the homeless turn sidewalks and gutters into toilets, the resulting runoff bypasses sewage-treatment facilities and pours directly through storm drains into the Pacific, hikes E. coli levels, and sickens marine mammals.

Crime is climbing in big Democratic jurisdictions, as left-wing anti-police hatred handcuffs cops. Californias Proposition 47 essentially decriminalized property thefts below $950. The predictable result? A burgeoning shoplifting industry.

New York States new bail reform frees criminal suspects soon after arrest. This has turbocharged recidivism. One Gotham crook repeatedly was arrested, released, and rearrested across six bank robberies. Because he successfully used handwritten demands, rather than a gun, to steal money, his nonviolent behavior was no big deal under Democrats new reform.

Right now, its almost a lawless society, a source told the New York Post, amid a 16.4 percent hike in major crimes in 2020, including a 34.7 percent spike in robberies, a 40.7 percent bump in shooting victims, and a 70 percent jump in car thefts. Criminals now know there are no consequences for their actions, and they are causing havoc for innocent people of New York City.

This situation has become fatal. The Empire States reform includes new rules that give defense attorneys the names of witnesses to crimes for which their clients have been accused. As the New York Post reported Thursday, Nassau County officials believe that MS-13 members killed Wilmer Maldonado, who was prepared to testify against the murderous gang. The court-issued protective order that shielded Maldonados identity was superseded by New York States new soft-on-crime statutes. In December, prosecutors gave Maldonados name to an arrested suspects legal team. On Sunday, Maldonado was found behind an abandoned house in New Cassel. He had been bludgeoned to death.

The system failed, Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder told journalists Wednesday. This man is dead because we didnt do enough . . . and this law is not helping us.

Government schools are largely a system of institutionalized child abuse in Democratic districts. As millions of students are cheated out of learning, teachers unions pay Democratic politicians to look away. Most gleefully comply, in one of this countrys most vulgar, corrupt symbioses.

Americans are escaping high-tax, big-government, Democrat-operated states such as California, Illinois, and New York and fleeing to low-tax, limited-government, Republican-managed states such as Arizona, Texas, and Florida.

And now, the neo-socialist Democratic Party that cannot organize a farm-state caucus promises to nationalize health care, erase Americas borders, and padlock ICE. Democrats want to ply illegal aliens with free tuition, free medical treatment, drivers licenses, and even local-election ballots. Democrats crave more fugitive cities and fugitive states, to shield sometimes-violent illegal-alien criminals from federal immigration authorities. Democrats want inmates to vote from their prison cells and hope to inflict a $33 trillion Green New Deal on Americas taxpayers.

Its well past time for Americans to say, Hell No! to the Democratic Party.

Last but not least, lets hope that Mondays meltdown finally kills the Iowa caucuses. This odd quadrennial exercise has more perverse and highly destructive side effects than a failed experimental drug.

Politicians  especially presidential aspirants  buy the votes of Hawkeye State farmers by promising them a parade of agriculture subsidies, protections, and mandates to purchase their output. Absent the Iowa caucuses and a desire to bribe these First-in-the-Nation farmers, the ethanol program would have died a merciful death by now. Alas, even President Trump has embraced this boondoggle.

Turning food into fuel is folly. The ethanol, soybean, and other wasteful and distortive programs that pay Iowans for their votes with taxpayer money should be plowed under like last seasons corn stalks.

Scuttling the Iowa caucuses might begin to end the lustful embrace of pandering politicians and subsidy-hungry farmers.

More from National Review
Du Fujia, sister of Du Fuguo, a decorated soldier, on duty at the fever clinic of the Meitan County People's Hospital in Guizhou Province. [For China Daily]

A courageous and decorated soldier is providing inspiration for his sister fighting on the frontline against the coronavirus outbreak.

Nurse Du Fujia volunteered to work at the fever clinic of the Meitan County People's Hospital in Guizhou Province and hasn't had any time off recently.

The hospital is among the 183 facilities designated to treat pneumonia patients in Guizhou. She is among the first batch of medical staff who volunteered to combat the growing coronavirus outbreak in the hospital.

The virus, the epicenter of which is Wuhan, Hubei province, has infected more than 28,000 people and killed more than 560 across the country as of Thursday, the latest official data shows. In Guizhou, 69 cases of infection were confirmed as of Thursday with one death reported.

"Just as minefields were my brother's battlefield, amid the fight against the coronavirus outbreak, the hospital is mine. It is a doctor's and nurse's duty to cure and treat the ill, and we are ready to serve the country," Du says.

Her brother, Du Fuguo, lost his hands and eyes when a bomb exploded during a mine-clearing operation in October 2018. He was honored as an Heroic Demining Soldier by the Central Military Commission in July.

"I feel very proud of him, he has empowered me with his energy and courage," Du Fujia says.

"It is the first Spring Festival that my brother has stayed with the family at home in seven years, but I cannot be reunited with him, in case I bring the virus back," Du Fujia says.

She signed up to join the coronavirus team immediately after the hospital, on January 27, issued an initiative asking medical staff to work in the fever clinic, the frontline.

"Without telling the family, I signed up at once. I know they will support it," Du Fujia says.

She says that although no infected cases have been reported in Meitan, a surging number of residents have gone to the fever clinic. Besides taking temperatures, Du Fujia also shows the public how to prevent being infected and helps to deal with mental health issues.

Besides Du Fuguo and Du Fujia, there are also two brothers  Du Fuqiang, a border soldier in the Tibet Autonomous Region, and Du Fumin, an ICU doctor at Jiali Hospital in Meitan.

"The development of the epidemic is unexpectedly quick. Every Chinese person should stand up to combat the illness," Du Fumin says.

"I hope the war without gun smoke can be over soon," he says.

Du Fuguo solidly supports his younger sister's and brother's decision.

"It is their mission to save patients. They are true to their mission," Du Fuguo says, adding all the doctors and nurses on the frontline to contain the virus are heroes in our heart.

"Stay strong, medics! Stay strong, Wuhan! Stay strong, China!" He says.

Their story has become a hot topic online, viewed more than 130 million times on social media site Weibo by Thursday. One user comments: "Salute their mother. Her children make the country proud."

Like Du Fujia, there are hundreds of thousands of doctors and nurses, who have devoted themselves to controlling the coronavirus on the frontline.

At the same time, thousands of medical staff from across China are being dispatched to help tackle the epidemic in Hubei, which has isolated itself in a bid to curb the rapid spread of the virus.

Medics, who were in close contact with infected patients, have in some cases been infected with the virus and their plight has hit the headlines. Many of them, even in isolation, still keep an eye on the outbreak and make their own contributions from their hospital beds.

Yu Changping, a respiratory specialist at the Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, who was infected by the virus and is still in isolation, has updated news on his treatment and recovery online.

Yu said in a video clip that his symptoms were relieved after five days of treatment and he hopes to get back to work as soon as he is cured.

"Through the clip I want to use my experience to tell the public that we can win the battle. Stay strong, Wuhan," Yu says.

On Monday, five medics in the intensive care unit of the cardiology department at Beijing Fuxing Hospital were confirmed to be infected.

"There is no angel in white, but a group of young people wearing medical uniforms following the steps of their predecessors to tackle the illness," Tang Sha, head nurse at The Central Hospital of Wuhan, posted to her WeChat circle.

(Source: China Daily)
Climate change has become a weapon with which to wage war over other issues in Australian politics, says former foreign minister-turned Australian National University chancellor Julie Bishop.

Ms Bishop also said she had no regrets about the Coalition's campaign against the Gillard government's carbon price.

The Australian National University's first female chancellor, Julie Bishop. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

But she did regret the dumping of the National Energy Guarantee, which triggered an internal party furore that ended close ally Malcolm Turnbull's prime ministership, and her 11-year tenure as deputy Liberal leader.

"It was a national energy policy  we do not currently have a national energy policy, as far as I can see," she said in her first series of interviews as ANU chancellor.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 23:31:00|Editor: ZD

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MANILA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte wants Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin to notify Washington about the intention of Manila to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) between the United States and the Philippines, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said on Friday.

"President Duterte is instructing Executive Secretary (Salvador) Medialdea to tell Foreign Affairs Secretary Locsin to send the notice of termination to the U.S. government," said Panelo in a text message to reporters.

Panelo said Duterte is also scheduled to speak with U.S. President Donald Trump through a phone call "soon." He did not elaborate when the telephone call will take place.

In a text message to the local media, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also said, "The president said he is terminating the VFA. I asked for clarification and he said he is not changing his decision."

Panelo's announcement came after Locsin told the Senate that Duterte ordered him to send the termination notice.

"I have prepared a notice of termination but it has not been sent upon the orders of the president," Locsin said in a Senate hearing Thursday.

Under the two-decade military pact between the Philippines and the United States, the VFA can be terminated via a written notice from either of the countries. Expiration will come 180 days from the time either party notifies the other.

Duterte last week reiterated he wanted to scrap the agreement that allows U.S. forces to participate in large-scale military drills in the Philippines.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A total of 27 passengers of a cruise ship that arrived in Bayonne Friday morning were screened for coronavirus, according an NJ.com report.

Four of them were sent to local hospitals for further evaluation, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The passengers were all on board a Royal Caribbean cruise and recently traveled to mainland China, Murphy said.

After being assessed by the CDC, 23 of those passengers were cleared and four individuals are being evaluated at an area hospital, Murphy wrote in a statement. The hospital is following proper infection control protocols while evaluating these individuals.

The hospital is following proper infection control protocols while evaluating these individuals. New Jersey currently has no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and the risk to residents remains low.



For more information on novel coronavirus visit:https://t.co/XoWMvzv6Rv pic.twitter.com/ED30tFMx0r  Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) February 7, 2020

The New Jersey governor added that there arent any confirmed cases of coronavirus at this point.

Multiple passengers on the ship told NJ.com that they were not concerned about being infected with the virus, which currently has infected 11 people in the United States and killed 638 people world wide.

On Thursday, the citys Department of Health said that two more people were being evaluated for the virus.

I think someone was listening to television news and they told us about it while we were eating breakfast, said Dr. Robert Harvey, who was on board of the cruise. It didnt bother me. Its a minor thing when compared to the flu and all the deaths (from that)."

In a statement to NJ.com, Royal Caribbean said that the company is closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.
Japanese defense contractors Pasco and Kobe Steel have disclosed security breaches that they have suffered back in 2016 and 2018.

Pasco is Japans largest geospatial provider and Kobe Steel is one of the major steel manufacturers. Just last week, Japans Ministry of Defense announced in addition to Mitsubishi Electric and the NEC defense business division other two unnamed contractors suffered a data breach.

The Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said during a p ress conference on January 31 that four defense suppliers were hacked between 2016 and 2019,

After the announcement, both Pasco and Kobe Steel disclose the incidents, while Pasco declared that it had not found any evidence that personal or business information had been stolen by attackers, Kobe confirmed that some files may have been exfiltrated .

Kobe identified unauthorized access to its network in August 2016 and in June 2017, Pasco had detected the intrusion in May 2018.

However, contrary to what Kobel declared in the official statement, the N ikkei website reports that hackers have accessed to 250 files containing data related to the Ministry of Defense and p ersonal info.

The Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono added that there is no evidence that the attacks are related to each other.

In January, Mitsubishi Electric disclosed a security breach that might have exposed personal and confidential corporate data. According to the company, attackers did not obtain sensitive information about defense contracts.

The breach was detected almost eight months ago, on June 28, 2019, with the delay being attributed to the increased complexity of the investigation caused by the attackers deleting activity logs.

Two Japanese media outlets attributed the cyber attack to a China-linked cyber espionage group tracked as Tick (aka Bronze Butler).

The hacker group has been targeting Japanese heavy industry, manufacturing and international relations at least since 2012,

According to the experts, the group is linked to the Peoples Republic of China and is focused on exfiltrating confidential data. The attackers have exploited a directory traversal and arbitrary file upload vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2019-18187, in the Trend Micro OfficeScan antivirus.

According to people involved, Chinese hackers Tick may have been involved. According to Mitsubishi Electric, logs (to check for leaks) have been deleted and it is not possible to confirm whether or not they actually leaked. reported the Nikkei.

According to the company, at least tens of PCs and servers in Japan and overseas have been found to have been compromised. The amount of unauthorized access is approximately 200 megabytes, mainly for documents.

A few days later, the IT giant NEC confirmed that the company defense business division has suffered a security breach back in December 2016.

The Japanese firm confirmed the unauthorized access to its internal network after Japanese newspapers disclosed the security incident citing sources informed of the event.

NEC is a contractor for Japans defense industry and was involved in various defense projects.

Roughly 28,000 files were found by the company on one of the compromised servers, some of them containing info about defense equipment.

Experts believe that the attacks on Japanese Defenses contractors were part of a cyber espionage campaign carried out by Chinese hackers.

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs  Pasco and Kobe Steel, hacking)

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A car-ramming targeting Israeli troops in Jerusalem wounded 14 people Thursday while two Palestinians were shot dead in clashes in the occupied West Bank, as violence spiked a week after Washington's controversial Middle East peace plan. A third person was killed by Israeli officers inside the Old City in east Jerusalem after firing on police, Israeli officials said. The alleged perpetrator of the car ramming was arrested Thursday evening after a day-long manhunt. The suspect was not immediately identified. The army said it was deploying additional troops across the West Bank ahead of Friday prayers, often a gathering point for Palestinian demonstrations. The ramming occurred in central Jerusalem shortly before 2:00 am (0000 GMT) where the soldiers had been marching, the army said, adding that one of them was "severely injured". Public radio said they were new recruits on their way to an induction ceremony at Jerusalem's Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray. The attacker fled to the occupied West Bank but was arrested near the Gush Etzion settlement, Israeli police said. Prior to the arrest, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a visit to near the settlement and pledged a firm response. "Terrorism will not defeat us; we will win!," he said It was the most serious escalation in violence since US President Donald Trump revealed his peace plan on January 28. A spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas blamed Trump's peace proposal for the unrest. "It was the deal of the century that created this atmosphere of escalation and tension," Nabil Abu Rudeinah said. - Soaring tensions - Netanyahu hit back, directly addressing Abbas and accusing him of stoking violence. "This will bring you nothing -- neither the stabbings, car rammings... or incitement to violence. We will do whatever it takes to keep us safe." The Islamist Hamas movement, which controls the Gaza Strip and has fought three wars with Israel, hailed the car-ramming as a "practical response" to Trump's plan, but stopped short of claiming responsibility. Rightwinger Netanyahu is facing an election on March 2 and his main rival also pledged a tough response to the attack. "We will settle the score with anyone trying to do us harm," centrist Benny Gantz, himself a former military general, said in a statement. Trump's plan unilaterally gives Israel most of what it has sought in previous negotiations including an "undivided capital" in Jerusalem. The plan angered Palestinians, whose leaders called for street protests over what they saw as its pro-Israel bias. Trump's adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner was scheduled to meet UN Security Council members on Thursday to present the plan, which he drew up. Abbas is due at the UN next week to express opposition to the US initiative. While the initial Palestinian response to the plan saw little violence, tensions have soared in recent days. In the northern West Bank town of Jenin on Thursday, Israeli forces shot dead two people -- 19-year-old Yazan Abu Tabikh and Palestinian policeman Tareq Badwan. The Israeli army said it had gone to the area to demolish the home of a Palestinian involved in the killing of a Jewish settler in 2018. Troops then shot at Palestinians who had "hurled explosive devices and fired towards them", the army said. Palestinian security sources said that Abu Tabikh was among the protesters when he was killed, but Badwan was in the courtyard of a police station close to the clashes when he was hit. Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told reporters troops had shot a member of the Palestinian security forces and the army was investigating. - Gaza flare-up - Separately a man opened fire on Israeli forces near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem's Old City, with forces responding by shooting him dead. Police identified the gunman as an Arab resident of northern Israel who recently converted to Islam and is known to authorities over previous crimes. The army said that it had decided to "reinforce Judea and Samaria Division with additional combat troops", using the biblical terms for the West Bank. In the Gaza Strip, Israeli aircraft struck Hamas positions early Thursday, after Palestinians fired rockets or mortar rounds at Israel and launched incendiary balloons. Since Trump's plan was announced, there has been almost daily fire from Gaza into southern Israel, drawing Israeli retaliation. There have been no reported casualties.
NASA's new experimental supersonic X-plane is on a fast track to flying.

The plane, officially named X-59 QueSST in 2018 and often referred to as just X-59, was greenlit for final assembly during a critical design review in 2019. With this plane, NASA aims to create an ultraquiet craft that can travel over land faster than the speed of sound.

In 2020, Lockheed Martin, which NASA commissioned to build the plane, plans to mate the aircraft and completely finish the building process by the end of the year, a company representative told Space.com. "It's moving very fast on the shop floor in terms of manufacturing and production," the company said.

Related: Supersonic! The 10 Fastest Military Airplanes

This follows a year of serious progress as the plane's wings have been assembled at Lockheed Martin Skunk Works in Palmdale, California, and innovative systems for the craft continue to develop.

After the "mating of the aircraft and final assembly," the representative said, "we'll take the airframe to do some proof testing and get some other parts installed, do some test runs of the systems, and then roll it out."

Once the plane is all together, it will take its first flight in 2021, the representative added.

Shake shake shake, shake shake shakeShake your eXternal Vision System To revolutionize flight, @NASAaero created a forward-facing camera & display system for X-59 pilots. Vibration testing will validate the system's structural integrity so it can fly: https://t.co/sCfAqZPQJm pic.twitter.com/6MP8hjzbuNJanuary 27, 2020 See more

Assembly of the X-59 continues @LockheedMartin Skunk Works! Seen here? The wing assembly is lifted by a crane and moved to another area of the manufacturing floor in preparation for wing skin installation. Learn more about our mission to quiet the boom https://t.co/n7C0Batq9Q pic.twitter.com/oPulTEbpqEJanuary 17, 2020 See more

But will a plane that travels at supersonic speeds, or faster than the speed of sound, really be quiet enough to avoid causing a major disturbance? According to the representative, the team behind the plane is confident that the craft will be ultrafast and ultraquiet.

"We're very confident. All kinds of modeling simulations and predictions align, so we believe, based on these models and simulations we've run, that it will achieve that low-boom sound once it reaches supersonic speeds."

It's a bird... It's a plane... It's the Shock Sensing Probe! Wait, what?! This instrument will be used to observe various characteristics of the X-59s shockwaves and confirm whether they match models to reduce the sound of a sonic boomhttps://t.co/r19SP4deOkJanuary 9, 2020 See more

To ensure that this is the case and that the plane not only works correctly and reaches these incredible speeds, but also remains quiet enough to not be a public nuisance, additional testing will follow the completion of the plane in 2020.

As the Lockheed Martin representative explained, building the plane is really only Phase 1 of the entire project. With Phase 2, further testing, certifications and acoustic (or sound) validation will occur. After that, in the third phase, community-response testing will ensure that, with a low-boom (a quiet sonic boom) demonstration, will validate how people respond to the craft flying overhead.

According to a NASA statement , in the community response testing, the team will "fly the X-plane over select U.S. communities to gather data on human responses to the low-boom flights and deliver that dataset to U.S. and international regulators."

Follow Chelsea Gohd on Twitter @chelsea_gohd . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .
The man accused of killing 22 people and wounding 23 more in a shooting that targeted Mexicans in the border city of El Paso, Texas, has been charged with federal hate crimes.

Patrick Crusius, 21, has been charged with 90 counts under federal hate crime and firearms laws for his role in the Aug. 3 shooting authorities said was aimed at scaring Hispanics into leaving the United States, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday.

Federal prosecutors announced the charges against Crusius of Allen, Texas, at a news conference in El Paso. The Department of Justice will consult with defense attorneys and victims' families before deciding if they will pursue the death penalty. Ultimately, the decision is up to Attorney General William Barr.

The DOJ will prosecute on a parallel track with state officials. Crusius faces the death penalty on a state capital murder charge to which he pleaded not guilty last year.

FILE PHOTO: El Paso shooter Patrick Crusius arraignment

El Paso Walmart mass shooter Patrick Crusius, 21, in court in that city on October 10, 2019. Mark Lambie/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Bringing hate crime charges show members of targeted communities that "they are valued, that their protection matters, and then we will protect them and their rights," said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the DOJ Civil Rights Division. "People in our nation have the right to go to a store on a Saturday morning without fear that they will be shot and killed because of who they are, or where they're from," Dreiband said.

The shooting happened at a time when immigration officials were trying to manage a crush of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and there was political battle over their treatment. El Paso was the epicenter of the influx. President Trump has made cracking down on immigration a hallmark of his administration and the polarizing topic makes headlines around the world.

Eight Mexican nationals were among the victims, and the indictment accuses Crusius of targeting people because of their "actual and perceived national origin." That Walmart is popular with shoppers from nearby Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just on the other side of the Rio Grande from El Paso.

Story continues

In a statement issued Thursday evening, Crusius' family said it was aware of the indictment and has been and continues to be mindful of "the immense pain and suffering of all those affected and touched by this tragedy." Beyond that, the family said it would make no comment.

City Council member Cassandra Hernandez, whose district includes the Walmart, said the announcement was part of the healing process for El Pasoans and the victims. The federal indictment comes as El Paso marks the six-month anniversary of the shooting.

The federal grand jury that indicted Crusius found his alleged crimes came "after substantial planning and premeditation." He bought a Romanian-made AK-47-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of hollow-point ammunition online more than six weeks before he drove 10 hours overnight from his grandparents' house in a Dallas suburb to El Paso to carry out the attack, according to the indictment.

Crusius has been held without bond since the shooting and kept isolated from other prisoners, on suicide watch for at least two months after the shooting.

Crusius surrendered to police after the attack, saying, "I'm the shooter," and that he was targeting Mexicans, according to an arrest warrant.

In court documents, prosecutors said Crusius published a screed online shortly before the shooting that said it was "in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas." It cited, as inspiration, a mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, that killed scores of Muslim residents of that country.

The document parroted some of Mr. Trump's immigration policy rhetoric. El Paso residents such as former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination this year, accused Mr. Trump of promoting harmful stereotypes and fueling the idea that the increase in migrant crossings was a coordinated "invasion" by Latinos. The president has denied inciting violence.

The hate charges being announced Thursday are the latest by federal prosecutors following high-profile violent incidents.

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Good morning, how are you?" principal Tej Pal Singh asked a student. I am fine sir. What about you?" They stopped to chat for a few minutes. Its not something you see on the hierarchy-conscious campuses of our educational institutions, where its more likely a student will walk hurriedly by the principal, muttering good morning, her eyes fixed on the floor ahead of her. But at the Rajkiya Pratibha Vikas Vidyalaya (RPVV) in Dwarkas Sector 10, students are encouraged to speak up, both in the classroom and outside. As the Aam Aadmi Party fights for a second term in the Delhi election, its worth revisiting the partys impact on education through the story of this government school.

I witnessed this exchange in end-2018 when I was taken on a school tour by Singh, who helped me understand why the institution came out tops in an annual ranking for 2018-19. In September, it made it to the top of EducationWorlds all-India rankings for the second consecutive year in 2019-20; once again it was named best government-run day school. Singh retired in 2019 after a nearly 10-year stint, but this RPVVone of 22 such schools in Delhicontinues to shine.

When it won first place the previous year, the Education World magazine had said, For the first time since 2014, a Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) is not ranked No.1." So how did this RPVV schoolwhere the monthly income of 60% of parents is not more than 3,000breast the tape ahead of the Centrally-funded KVs, or the crown jewels" of public school education, as the magazine described them?

RPVV schools have a stellar record: It certainly helps that they admit top-performing children from government schools in classes VI, IX and XI and are considered the elite pack among Delhis 1,000-plus state-run schools. These are English-medium schools with manageable classrooms of 35 children and this particular RPVV school has performed well in the rankings for several years. Like all the other government schools in Delhi, they have benefited these past five years. AAP increased Delhis education budget by 106% to 9,836 crore in 2015-16 and education gets roughly a quarter of the Delhi governments annual expenditure now. In 2017-18, Delhi spent 23.8% of its budget on education. This is the highest in the country where an average expenditure by states is 14.8," said Shailendra Sharma, principal adviser to the director of education, citing central bank statistics.

While the verdict is out on whether or not these schools are performing better on traditional quantitative indicators such as marks and dropout/enrolment rates, nobody will dispute the fact that AAP has changed the way we view education.

Infrastructure is the most visible change: RPVV schools were always better off than the rest but even these have seen significant changes in the last few years, starting with infrastructure, Singh told me then. Whatever we ask for, we get," he said. We have a well-stocked library, laboratories, grass-cutting machines, a budget for civil work, a multi-purpose air-conditioned hall and even a 2.5 crore running track I didnt request," he said. Singh proudly showed me the washable 200m synthetic turf track that had been installed a few years earlier as part of the Delhi governments effort to encourage sports in schools. In its 2018-19 budget, the government allotted 20 crore to promote sports and an additional 10 crore to train girls in self-defence.

They pay attention to detail: Prince Kumar said that for him, it was the small things that made a difference. The son of a DTC bus driver who topped the science stream in the CBSE XII class exam with 97% in 2018, he listed some of the factors that made him study better: The toilets at school were very clean; the midday meal was served at the proper time and hygienically by servers with covered hair and gloves; students ate at tables and not on the floor; teachers came to class on time; and every teacher had a tablet so there was not much paperwork that wasted time," he recalled of his two years at the RPVV in Dwarka.

They monitor progress closely: The school makes it their business to know everything about its students. They track how attendance is related to academic performance. Overall, they have a low absenteeism rate at 5-8%. If a student doesnt come to school on time frequently, teachers investigate whats going on. If they find its because of some discord at home, the student gets prompt counselling support. Theres a robust monitoring system that looks at everything from health to performance," Singh told me.

The school measures the body mass index of its students and tweaks their exercise regime and midday meals based on the results of these health surveys. Their strategy for dealing with difficult students is to make them take responsibility for themselves. You decide, you introspect and choose, we wont tell you what to do," was one teachers response to a student who didnt want to appear for an examination. The school even conducts a socio-economic survey of its students to understand them better. The survey has found that the monthly income of 60% of their students parents is not more than 3,000. Most of their students are first-generation learners from marginalized families.

Everyone is focused on learning": Like many of the Delhi governments better-run schools, the teachers work hard to bridge the gaps in the education system, where rote learning has always been the preferred method of teaching (We believe in facilitating self-learning rather than spoon-feeding," one told me). Singh said then that the school had access to the education minister and academic autonomy. They were encouraged to develop their own syllabus. Teacher shortagea problem at many schoolswas not an issue here. Teachers understand that being knowledgeable is not the same as being able to communicate that knowledge effectively and they work hard on their methodology of teaching.

We are very connected with all stakeholdersstaff, children, parents, community," biology teacher Anita Singh told me then. That its my school feeling of ownership is great." Now that other schools have the magic formula, maybe the competition will be fiercer next year.

Priya Ramani shares whats making her feel angsty/agreeable.

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Kazakhstan like no other emerging economy is uniquely capable of emulating the American model of agricultural prosperity. Using the American experience as a model, recreating successes and avoiding mistakes, Kusto Group ambitiously aims to establish in Kazakhstan in 10-20 years what it took America 100 years to accomplish.

Kusto Group, under the guidance of Chairman of the Board of Directors Yerkin Tatishev, aspires to establish a sophisticated modern agriculture ecosystem in Kazakhstan based on an integrated protein strategy. Tatishev's comprehensive approach will likely have far-reaching implications on the country's economy as Kusto Group aims to take into consideration all aspects of the agro-value chain.

Daniel Kunin, Managing Director of Kusto Group, detailed the company's inclusive strategy:

"This is a project where the winners can include local farmers in rural and under-developed regions - it can include city dwellers looking for affordable, local sources of food and meat, and it can benefit exporters and foreign customers with a growing demand for healthy products. Many others who stand to benefit in the complex web that is agribusiness. I believe Kazakh agriculture will stand out because it will be sustainable - which is a very attractive way to generate income, reduce poverty and build lasting wealth."

Developing an agricultural ecosystem in Kazakhstan

The American model of agroindustry advocates and employs techniques that improve crop performance, boost water conservation, encourage non-GMO crop development, and promote a sustainable impact on the land. While the United States and Kazakhstan may not be comparable today in terms of agricultural output and yields - Kazakhstan is uniquely similar in crucial ways. Introducing all elements of success in the American model, the country can jumpstart meat production on a national scale.

"We do not approach the deficits or shortcomings experienced today in the industry with pessimism," says Kunin, "but rather with optimism that they provide an opportunity to realize the enormous potential in Kazakhstan."

Kusto Agro, the agricultural division of Kusto Group, has already established itself as a rising player in the Ukrainian market after entering eight years ago. The company seeks to take advantage of the competencies acquired there to the maximum extent possible in Kazakhstan.

Kusto Group's vision is to contribute to establishing the foundation ecosystem to support Kazakhstan's greater agricultural transformation. The company shares the country's long-term goal of developing a productive, sustainable industry that could one day rival the prosperous oil and natural resources sector.

The company, which operates in multiple divisions across three continents, has focused its efforts in five primary domains: non-GMO seed cultivation, feed and agro production, mechanized irrigation and water efficiency, livestock rearing, processing and export.

Yernur Aydarkin, Managing Director of Kusto Agro Kazakhstan, explained Kusto Group's holistic approach at the recent Central Asian AgTech Summit saying, "You can draw an analogy with human health - it is ideal when everything works in tandem: sleep, proper nutrition, physical activity, mental state. Also, in the agricultural business, quality inputs will result in a well-functioning system - from the production of high-quality feed, the use of the best seeds and irrigation technology to the sale of finished products."

Kazbeef: A holistic approach to livestock

Kusto Group's livestock division, KazBeef, has been building and expanding its operations in the beef cattle market for the last few years in the Akmola region of Kazakhstan.

Kazbeef was established with a commitment first and foremost to quality. The company seized the opportunity to introduce a new class of livestock and was the first to import premium Angus and Hereford breeding stock from the United States.

Today, the company is thriving with 120,000 hectares of pasture in the Akmola region alone, 5 thousand heads of breeding stock cattle and two feedlots with a total capacity of 15 thousand heads of cattle. The company recently built a new state-of-the-art meat processing facility in Schuchinsk, increasing storage capabilities to 6,000 tons of produce per year.

KazBeef's production figures illustrate the company's impressive achievements. In 2018, KazBeef supplied more than 1 thousand tons of meat to the domestic Metro distribution network. The company expects to increase output by an additional 50% to 1.5 thousand tons by the end of this year. In the next two to three years, Kazbeef aims to achieve a projected production volume of 8 thousand tons.

Given the tremendous agricultural potential of Kazakhstan, these volumes are just the beginning. The ninth largest country in the world has an abundance of wide-open space, rich, fertile land, and a climate ideal for animal rearing - taken together, the country is primed to become a regional and global leader in agriculture.

According to Yerkin Tatishev, "The basic ingredients are there, and now we need to make use of the best technology and investment to make it a reality. However, such a transition cannot happen overnight. It requires policymakers and business leaders to work hand-in-glove and develop an approach characterised by a broad range of high-growth, high-skilled and high-quality industries. I am pleased to see this collaborative approach starting to fall into place, particularly in areas that can benefit lower-income rural communities."

Helping to fuel growth is a growing demand for high-quality beef in both domestic and neighboring markets such as China, a country with an almost unlimited capacity.

"There is definitely demand," says Aydarkin. "For example, we were recently approached by one of the largest beef dealers in China, that sees volumes of more than 500 thousand tons of meat annually. This is more than the entire annual output in Kazakhstan! They looked at our enterprise, tasted our meat and said that they are prepared to take everything that we offer, the condition - a stable supply. Of course, it is important not to put all your eggs in one basket. After all, if you configure the entire system with only an eye on China, any problems entering the market will result in huge losses for the industry. Therefore, our strategy is to sell part of our volume inside Kazakhstan and export the rest. This guarantees us stability. It is also important for us to provide Kazakhstanis with high-quality, healthy meat."

Kusto's efforts to introduce innovation and best practices to Kazakhstan

An integral part of Kusto Group's strategy is reliable, quality feed production. For the company, securing their own food supply is a key to profitability - ensuring quality and avoiding the volatility of prices and unmanageable logistics. Kusto Group's agricultural operations include the cultivation of non-GMO corn for grain and silage, barley, and other crops.

Kusto Group's investment in feed production goes beyond providing a supply for its own integrated livestock operations by offering a high-quality, stable domestic product to farms that partner with the company. Smaller third-party feedlots who do not have the financial means to invest in their own feed operations can also benefit from Kusto Group's feed cultivation.

The company continues to pursue a vision of collaboration that benefits the entire agricultural ecosystem of Kazakhstan, not just their own operations. This strategy has motivated Kusto Group's efforts to improve seed production and cultivation abilities and to introduce modern soil irrigation technology.

As non-GMO seed production is a fundamental element of the American model of development, the company initiated a joint venture with the Minnesota-based Baumgartner Agricultural Science and Service (BASS) to introduce novel production methods to Kazakhstan. It is estimated that 10% of Kusto Group's production will be used to supply their own operations, and the rest will be sold on the domestic market and exported to Asia and Europe.

Kusto Group also signed a deal this year to partner with US-based Valmont Industries, a leading producer of precision irrigation systems, to build a production facility in Kazakhstan. Currently, only 7% of arable land in Kazakhstan is irrigated, which accounts for about 40% of the country's agricultural production. The introduction of modern irrigation technology will no doubt have a positive, far-reaching impact on the industry.

The company also inked a landmark deal with Tyson Fresh Meats, a division of the American Tyson Foods, one of the world's largest food production companies, to build a state-of-the-art meat processing facility in Kazakhstan with an estimated harvest capacity of 2,000 head per day. The deal is projected to provide an annual economic benefit in excess of one billion dollars (USD) to the country.

Achieving long-term, profitable growth and sustainability

"Building a sustainable protein export business and modern agricultural sector in Kazakhstan is a fascinating, supremely complex and interesting project," Daniel Kunin explains. "By definition, it requires long-term thinking, strategic planning, intensive stakeholder mapping and understanding, and the creation of a network of inter-linked partnerships that are both joint ventures but also intensive public-private partnerships."

Kusto Group also aims to integrate farmers into their agricultural ecosystem. Farmers are at the heart of transitioning the sector from the framework of Soviet-modeled subsistence farming to a competitive network of small commodity producers. The company's initiatives include a breeding stock rental program to help farmers establish and build their own herds at a lower initial investment cost. Engaging individual farmers in the transition to modern agribusiness will help the entire system to increase productivity and achieve stable, sustainable growth.

"Achieving our ambitious - but attainable - vision of helping transform Kazakhstan's agricultural system will create a modern, competitive and prosperous sector in the national economy that can complement and maybe one day surpass the oil industry," says Kunin. "Once the elements of a well-functioning system are established, success will follow."
A State solicitor has said that the file into the abduction and false imprisonment of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney is so big that it is half his height.

Rory Hayden, the State solicitor for Cavan, said that the book of evidence was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) last Friday, January 31.

Mr Hayden said the file was the biggest he had seen in 25 years and that while he spent all week reading it, he still had not gone through all of it.

Mr Hayden told Judge James Faughnan at Harristown District Court in Roscommon that he was confident that direction would be forthcoming from the DPP in "the near future".

I can confirm that the file is with the DPP a week, since January 31, said Mr Hayden.

It is a complex investigation, the file is half my height, its up to my waist.

Three of the four men charged with the abduction and false imprisonment of Mr Lunney appeared before Harristown District Court this morning.

Darren Redmond, 25, from Caledon Road, East Wall, Dublin and Alan O'Brien, 38, of Shelmalier Road, East Wall, refused consent to be remanded in custody for a month.

A third defendant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, also refused consent to be remanded for a month. All three were remanded in custody to appear before the same court on February 21.

A fourth defendant, Luke O'Reilly, 66, from Mullahoran Lower, Kilcogy, Co Cavan, was remanded in custody at a previous sitting to February 14.

Legal representatives for the men urged that the case be moved forward but Judge Faughnan said it was clear some cases were more complex than others.

A previous court sitting heard that the investigation in two jurisdictions involved over 1,000 lines of inquiry, 400 statements and extensive CCTV footage and phone records.

Mt Hayden said the case was "moving along" as quickly as possible and the investigation was "a mammoth task", but he was confident that direction would be forthcoming soon.
This story has been updated. Read the latest here. 

SPRINGFIELD  Police closed a section of Parker Street Friday morning after a vehicle crashed into a utility pole.

Parker Street, between Dean and Goodwin streets, will likely remain closed until early afternoon, Ryan Walsh, spokesman for Springfield police, said.

No injuries were reported in the crash.
Professor Jack Crane on Channel 4's Barrymore: The Body In The Pool

A Northern Ireland pathologist has shed light on how a man, whose body was found in entertainer Michael Barrymore's swimming pool, may have died.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, was found dead at Barrymores then-home in Roydon, Essex, on March 31 2001.

TV star Barrymore was arrested in 2007 but never charged with any offence.

Former Northern Ireland state pathologist Professor Jack Crane shared his theories about Mr Lubbock's death on Barrymore: The Body In The Pool, which aired on Channel 4 on Thursday.

The Belfast man was the fourth forensic pathologist asked by Essex Police to review how Mr Lubbock died.

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In the programme, Professor Crane said he does not believe Mr Lubbock drowned at Barrymore's home.

The difficulty was that even after the second post-mortem, there still seemed to be some uncertainty about both the cause of death and the circumstances surrounding Stuarts death," he said.

The assumption that he had drowned in the swimming pool, in my view, was based on rather tenuous and rather flimsy evidence.

But where we [the other pathologists] were agreed was that Stuart had been the victim of a serious sexual assault."

I cannot contemplate any circumstances where this was a consensual act, he said, concluding it was a very likely scenario that Mr Lubbock had been raped.

From my point of view, I think the sexual assault would have been the most important aspect of the case," he said.

Here we have Stuart with both cocaine and MDMA in his bloodstream, then this sudden assault.

That combination, in my opinion, could have very easily have a sudden cardiac arrest. To me, that is one very plausible explanation to account for Stuarts death."

Barrymore, who was one of the UK's best-known TV presenters when the body of Mr Lubbock was found, has always insisted he did not know how the injuries were sustained and was adamant that they could not have happened at his home.



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Essex Police launched an investigation into claims made by Barrymore that Stuarts injuries were inflicted at the hospital after his death, but it was concluded that they occurred before he died.

When you find bruising, it indicates that the person is still alive and their heart is still beating, so theres no doubt that he was still alive when those injuries were sustained," Professor Crane said.

In my opinion, Stuart Lubbock sustained those injuries at Michael Barrymores house. I think they occurred shortly before his death.

Professor Jack Crane joined the Northern Ireland State Pathologists' department in 1980 as a registrar, later becoming a consultant and then being appointed department head in January 1990.

He retired from the role after 24 years, during which he dealt with the aftermath of some of the bloodiest days of the Troubles, including the 1987 Enniskillen bomb, the 1993 Shankill bomb and the 1998 Omagh bomb.

Barrymore: The Body In The Pool is available online at All 4 now.
HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd (HDFC ERGO Health), erstwhile Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company (Apollo Munich), today announced the launch of a new brand campaign 'Bad News - Good News', that communicates about the landmark acquisition of Apollo Munich by HDFC Ltd in the General Insurance sector and the many benefits this will now offer the existing & new customers of HDFC ERGO Health.

Conceptualized by Mullen Lintas, the new 'Bad News - Good News' campaign, builds a narrative through two campaign videos around patients who have encounter health emergencies.

The campaign features Bollywood celebrity, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, in binary journalist roles - one who reports the 'Bad News' of unfortunate events that individuals have to face as a result of a health emergency and the other Nawaz counters him to deliver 'Good News' of Apollo Munich now being renamed to HDFC ERGO Health and the wide suite of benefits which are now available for the customers as a part of the acquisition.

Packed with humour, the campaign ends with the tagline 'India is Now Feeling Better' which is created to highlight Apollo Munich's expertise and HDFC's trust.

Commenting on the launch of the campaign, Anuj Tyagi, MD and CEO, HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Ltd said, "The acquisition of Apollo Munich Health Insurance by HDFC Ltd., led to the creation of a new entity, HDFC ERGO Health Insurance. This merger will provide significant benefits to our existing & prospective customers. Trust, Transparency and Fairness across all stakeholders are at the core of the entire HDFC Group and is a promise by HDFC ERGO Health leadership to each one of our policyholders."

"Further, many of HDFC ERGO General's best practices, including 10,000+ cashless network hospitals, industry-leading turnaround time for cashless claim settlement, seamless online policy issuance and 24x7 customer service helpline are being adopted by HDFC ERGO Health to provide a significantly better experience to all our customers. Our new TVC has been strategically executed to ensure customers are made well aware of the benefits this acquisition has to offer them. We hope to deliver this 'Good News' and make our existing & new customers feel better," he added.

Azazul Haque and Garima Khandelwal, CCO, Mullen Lintas said, "Our task was to create a high impact campaign to convey the biggest news in General Insurance of Apollo Munich being renamed to HDFC ERGO Health and the benefits this acquisition will offer the consumers. We wanted to give the brand a unique idea and put out a clutter-breaking campaign. The starting point was that people only think of Health Insurance when they come across any unfortunate incident related to health around them. And to convey this news, we roped in Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Thus the campaign idea of 'Bad News - Good News' was born. We are sure this campaign would do just that and also build a strong resonance of HDFC ERGO Health with Health Insurance."

This campaign is now live and will feature across all genres of TV, major Radio stations, OOH in 17 cities and Print media. Moreover, the campaign will also reach out to internet users through a well spread digital plan.

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.)
China's Xi Declares 'People's War' on Coronavirus

By VOA News February 06, 2020

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday declared a "people's war" on the coronavirus outbreak, whose death toll grows by the day.

"The whole country has responded with all its strength to respond with the most thorough and strict prevention and control measures, starting a people's war for epidemic prevention and control," China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying.

Officials in Hubei province, where the outbreak began, reported 69 new deaths early Friday, pushing the total number of fatalities from the virus past 600. They also reported 2,500 new cases, taking that number to more than 30,000.

The World Health Organization said it was too early to confirm one Chinese official's belief that the outbreak was about to peak.

There were about 150 confirmed cases in 23 other countries, including one death in the Philippines  the first outside China  and one death in Hong Kong.

The whistleblowing Chinese doctor who tried to raise the alarm about the outbreak died in Wuhan. Li Wenliang, 34, was declared dead early Friday morning local time, according to the Global Times, a Communist Party-controlled newspaper.

Police had accused Li of "spreading rumors online" and "severely disrupting social order."

The cases so far include 20 aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, moored off Japan. Three thousand seven hundred passengers faced a 14-day quarantine aboard the ship. The virus' incubation period lasts 14 days.

About 3,600 passengers are stuck aboard another ship off Hong Kong, with three cases on board.

Hong Kong has shut down nearly all land and sea border crossings with the Chinese mainland after more than 2,000 medical workers walked off the job earlier this week.

Taiwan announced Thursday that it was banning all international cruise ships from docking at the island.

The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global health emergency and is appealing for $675 million to fight the virus.

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Maharashtra minister Jitendra Awhad on Friday said it was "ridiculous" and "unfortunate" to not allow Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Tushar Gandhi to speak at an event organised by a Pune college.

Tushar Gandhi had tweeted that a Hindutva outfit forced a college in Pune to cancel his address scheduled on Friday as part of a seminar on Mahatma Gandhi.

The programme 'Revisiting Gandhi' was organised at Modern College in association with Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU).

"Modern College Pune was forced to cancel a program scheduled for tomorrow celebrating the 150th anniversary of Bapu because they invited me, Patitpavan Sanstha threatened to disrupt the program if I was present. The Goli Maro Gang in Action," Gandhi said in a tweet on Thursday.

Condemning the episode, Awhad tweeted, "Not allowing #TusharGandhi to speak in Modern College on #MahatmaGandhi in Pune on his 150th birth anniversary because some Gandhi haters objected and threatened is ridiculous and should b condemned Pune police should have not allowed this to happen it's unfortunate."



Awhad said he had raised the issue with state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh who took prompt action which sent out a clear message to "anti-democratic" forces that they will be given a fitting reply by the (state) government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The big day is nearly here for Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB), the most-held cannabis stock among millennials. According to Wall Street, Aurora is just about set to lift its hood on its fiscal second-quarter results after what's been a challenging past year for marijuana stocks.

What should investors expect? The consensus among analysts is that Aurora will report $81.2 million Canadian in revenue (about $61 million), which would represent a modest uptick from the CA$75.2 million in net sales reported in the sequential first quarter. As for its bottom line, the consensus calls for a loss of CA$0.06 per share, which would be a marked improvement over the CA$0.25 per share lost in the year-ago period.

But truth be told, when Aurora does lift the hood on its operating results, its headline numbers aren't going to be nearly as important as a handful of other figures its report will contain. Here are the five figures you'll want to keep a particularly close eye on when Aurora Cannabis delivers its operating results next week.

1. Wholesale cannabis revenue

Although you might be under the impression that Aurora Cannabis is liable to see a big uptick in margins because of the commencement of derivative sales, understand that these derivatives didn't even begin hitting dispensary shelves until about two weeks before the end of 2019. Because of ongoing supply issues and inventory buildup, high-margin alternative consumption products probably had very little impact on Aurora's fiscal Q2 results.

What'll be far more interesting is to see what percentage of sales Aurora Cannabis recognized as wholesale. While the wholesale business can allow Aurora to move a large portion of its product at once, the margins associated with wholesale cannabis are traditionally much lower than the retail side of the business. Management has been pretty clear that it wants to focus on retail and get away from wholesale, but I'm curious to see if the data matches the mission statement. If wholesale cannabis revenue represents an increasingly larger percentage of sales, it'd be a worrisome sign for investors.

2. International sales

Next, investors should keep a close eye on Aurora's international sales, especially given how much money and effort has been spent to make this company a major international player.

In recent quarters, Aurora Cannabis has seen little in the way of overseas revenue. In Q4 2019 and Q1 2020, international sales totaled CA$4.5 million and CA$5 million, respectively, which doesn't come close to offsetting the company's investments. However, with Aurora recognizing CA$0.4 million in high-margin extracts in international markets (that's up from CA$0 in previous quarters) during the sequential first quarter, there is hope that overseas markets will finally begin delivering as expected. Then again, another quarter of subpar overseas sales (let's say sequential growth of around 10% or less) will not be well received by Wall Street or investors.

3. Operating performance (sans bells and whistles)

It probably goes without saying, but Canadian pot stock earnings reports can be confusing. That's because Canadian growers are treated as agricultural companies and as such are required to report their results using International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which differs from the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) we're used to.

One of the quirks of IFRS accounting is the need to estimate the value of crops every quarter, as well as the cost to sell these crops. These fair-value adjustments can lead to some pretty wild swings in a company's gross profit.

What's more, Aurora Cannabis' operating results have also been influenced by revaluing investments or recognizing capital gains. In other words, there are a lot of bells and whistles that tend to distract from this company's true operating performance.

My recommendation is to look beyond the fair-value adjustments and one-time benefits (and costs) to see how Aurora really performed on an operating basis. If the company winds up dramatically reducing its operating losses in Q2 2020, it could go a long way toward restoring faith in management.

4. Cash on hand

Investors are also going to want to pay very close attention to Aurora Cannabis' cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments. Even though it's often a borderline player among the most cash-rich pot stocks, Aurora also has debt obligations that it needs to take care of. Without a major equity investor and closed off to additional nondilutive forms of financing, the company's only means to raise capital of late has been to sell its common stock. That's a problem when its share price is sinking and its outstanding share count has ballooned by nearly 1.1 billion shares in 5.5 years.

Mind you, Aurora has taken aggressive steps to mitigate its cash burn, including idling construction at its two largest cultivation farms, Aurora Sun in Alberta and Aurora Nordic 2 in Denmark. It's also put the Exeter facility, acquired with the MedReleaf acquisition in July 2018, up for sale. But it remains to be seen if these cost-cutting measures will be enough to stave off a serious cash crunch.

5. Goodwill

Finally, as always seems to be the case, investors should keep a watchful eye on Aurora Cannabis' goodwill, which should be mostly unchanged from the sequential first quarter after no major acquisitive activity.

The problem here is that Aurora Cannabis ended Q1 2020 with CA$3.17 billion in goodwill, which is far and away the highest in the cannabis space. Representing 57% of the company's total assets, this figure appears to suggest that not only did Aurora overpay for most of its acquisitions, but it overpaid by a lot! I don't see any way for the company to recoup more than CA$3.1 billion in goodwill anytime soon, which makes a major writedown all the more likely. Plus, with the Exeter facility now on sale, it locks in the pricey MedReleaf transaction as perhaps the worst deal of all time in the marijuana space.

Now that you know what to watch for, we simply wait for Aurora Cannabis to lift the hood next week.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussexs exit from their royal duties for greener pastures left royal fans wondering about the status of Prince Harry and Prince Williams relationship now that the Sussexes are living in Canada. Harry had confirmed the reports of their feud were true and, if a new report is to be believed, they didnt leave on good terms.

Prince Harry and Prince William | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Prince Harry admitted things were tense between them

While rumors have persisted that there was a rift between the brothers and it had everything to do with William cautioning Harry about moving too fast with Meghan, they stayed mum about the gossip.

During the 2019 documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, Prince Harry finally addressed the rumors.

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 explained. 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.

He added: We dont see each other as much as we used to because were so busy, but I love him dearly. The majority of stuff is created out of nothing.

Prince Harry seemed hopeful about their relationship, however, as he noted: But as brothers, you have good days and you have bad days.

'As brothers you have good days, you have bad days'



Prince Harry says the 'majority of stuff' written about his relationship with his brother William is 'created out of nothing' and adds: 'I love him dearly' #HarryAndMeghan https://t.co/GWs5KfuovM pic.twitter.com/bW7GVALZR6  ITV News (@itvnews) October 20, 2019

They still werent on good terms when Harry and Meghan left

When Prince Harry and Meghan announced they would be taking a step back from their royal duties, it was unclear whether the brothers feud had anything to do with the decision. An insider shares that they didnt smooth things over when Prince Harry and Meghan made their exit, but there is a sense of relief, so perhaps removing the stressful elements of their relationship will allow the brothers to make peace.

They didnt leave on good terms by any means, but they are both relieved that its over, a family friend told People.

The insider added: Perhaps [Meghan and Harry] didnt think things through exactly as they could have, but they wanted to be happy. Who can blame them for that?

Did Prince Williams reaction to Brad Pitts joke about Harry reveal anything?

Prince William was on hand for the BAFTAs, as president of the academy, on Feb. 2, and his attitude about the exit drama was put to the test when Brad Pitt joked about it in his acceptance speech.

Since Pitt wasnt able to attend the awards ceremony, his co-star Margot Robbie delivered a speech he wrote, which she delivered when he won the best supporting actor prize.

Hey Britain, heard you just became single  welcome to the club, Robbie read from Pitts speech. Wishing you the best with the divorce settlement.

After rattling off the obligatory thank yous, Robbie read: He says that hes going to name this Harry because he is really excited about bringing it back to the states with him. She added, His words, not mine!

The camera panned to Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge in the audience for their reaction to the joke and they both appeared in good spirits.
She was supposed to end up in Paris.

When the composer Tania Leon was 9, her piano teacher, traveling in France, sent a postcard back to Cuba with a picture of the Eiffel Tower. I dont know what happened to me when I saw the card, Ms. Leon, now 76, said recently. I went to my family, and I said, This is where Im going to live. And I became obsessed.

A few years earlier, her intrepid grandmother had marched her to the local music conservatory in Havana and demanded that she be enrolled. They didnt usually take students so young, but Ms. Leon already showed promise: Even at 4, she would press against the radio at home, dancing to salsa and singing along, with perfect pitch, to the classical station.

Following rigorous, European-style conservatory training, and inspired by her teachers postcard, the young pianist set her sights on France, intent on becoming a touring virtuoso and helping lift her family out of poverty. After years of waiting, she landed a free flight to the United States through a resettlement program. In 1967, at 24, Ms. Leon left for Miami, intending to travel on to Europe.

But right before boarding the plane she learned that she would not be permitted to return to Cuba, and upon entering the United States, she discovered that she would have to stay at least five years before she could apply for citizenship. She was trapped, a citizen of nowhere.
[February 06, 2020] The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz Continues Its Investigation on Behalf of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., Investors (SPR)

The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz continues its investigation on behalf of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc., ("Spirit AeroSystems" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPR) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws. If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.



In December 2019, Spirit AeroSystems commenced a review of its accounting process compliance and determined that it did not comply with established accounting processes related to certain potential contingent liabilities. On January 30, 2019, Spirit AeroSystems announced resignations of both its Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer for failure to comply with accounting rules on contingencies. On this news, the company's share price dropped more than 5% in early morning trading. Follow us for updates on Twitter (News - Alert): twitter.com/FRC_LAW.

If you purchased Spirit AeroSystems securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Frank R. Cruz, of The Law Offices of Frank R. Cruz, 1999 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 1100, Los Angeles, California 90067 at 310-914-5007, by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.frankcruzlaw.com. If you inquire by email please include your mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206006032/en/

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Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ) and PulteGroup Inc (NYSE:PHM) announced quarterly dividends on Thursday, Feb. 6. These large-cap stocks are loyal payers as they have been distributing dividends for more than a decade.

Union Pacific Corporation

In line with the previous distribution, Union Pacific Corporation announced a 97 cents per share quarterly cash dividend that the Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad transportation services provider will pay on March 31, 2020. The ex-dividend date is scheduled for Feb. 27.





Based on Thursday's closing share price of $186.11, the quarterly distribution produces a forward dividend yield of 2.08% versus the industry median of 2.63% and produces a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 1.99% versus the industry median of 2.39%.

Union Pacific Corporation has paid dividends for three decades. The company has hiked the dividend by more than 14% over the past five years.

The railroad company backs the dividend with $891 million in cash available on hand as of the most recent quarter which ended on Dec. 30, 2019. The last 12 months of activities have generated an operating cash flow of $8.6 billion.

The stock has risen nearly 3% year to date. The 52-week range is $149.09 to $188.96.

The stock has a market capitalization of $129.2 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 22.18, a price-book ratio of 7.13 and a price-sales ratio of 6.05. The Peter Lynch chart below shows that the stock is trading above its fair value so it may be not at its cheapest.

With 8.3% of outstanding shares, Vanguard Group Inc is the company's largest top fundholder, followed by BlackRock Inc with 6.65% and State Street Corp with 4.44%.

Sell-side analysts in Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating for shares of Union Pacific Corporation with an average target price of $199.17 per share.

Story continues

Mondelez International

Mondelez International Inc announced a 28.5 cents quarterly cash dividend per common share (on par with the previous one), which the East Hanover, New Jersey-based manufacturer and marketer of snack food and beverage products worldwide will pay on April 14, 2020. In order to benefit shareholders must be on the company's record not later than March 31. The ex-dividend date is scheduled for March 30.

Based on Thursday's closing share price of $58.42, the quarterly cash dividend produces a forward dividend yield of 1.95% versus the industry median of 2.29% and produces a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 1.87% versus the industry median of 2.03%.

Mondelez has paid quarterly dividends for nearly two decades and increased them by 13.5% over the past five years.

The company funds the quarterly dividend payment with about $1.3 billion available on hand as of the most recent quarter, which ended on Dec. 30, 2019. Also, the last 12 months of activities generated an operating cash flow of almost $4 billion.

The stock price has grown nearly 6% year to date. The 52-week range is $45.75 to $59.43.

The stock has a market capitalization of $84.1 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 21.96, a price-book ratio of 3.11 and a price-sales ratio of 3.29. Based on the Peter Lynch chart, the stock is trading above its fair value.

Vanguard Group Inc is the company's largest top fund holder with 7.7% of outstanding shares, followed by BlackRock Inc with 6.51% and State Street Corp with 4.67%.

Sell-side analysts in Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating for shares of Mondelez International Inc with an average target price of $63.00 per share.

PulteGroup Inc

PulteGroup Inc announced that a payment of 12 cents cash quarterly dividend per common share will be made on April 3, 2020 to shareholders of record as of March 13. The ex-dividend date is scheduled for March 12. The payment is in line with the previous distribution of the Atlanta, Georgia-based home builder.

Based on Thursday's closing share price of $45.49, the quarterly dividend generates a trailing 12-month dividend yield of 0.99% and a forward dividend yield of 1.06%. The industry median yields 3.63% for the trailing 12-month dividend and 3.89% for the forward dividend.

PulteGroup has paid dividends for about 26 years and increased them by 14.4% over the past five years.

The company sustains the payment of the quarterly dividend with $1.23 billion cash available on hand as of the most recent quarter which ended on Dec. 30, 2019. Further, the business generated an operating cash flow of nearly $1.1 billion over the last 12 months.

Year-to-date, the stock price has risen by 18%. The 52-week range is $25.24 to $47.3.

The stock has a market capitalization of $12.34 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 12.48, a price-book ratio of 2.27 and a price-sales ratio of 1.23. The Peter Lynch chart shows that the stock is trading below its fair value.

With 11.45% of outstanding shares, Vanguard Group Inc is the company's largest institutional owner, followed by State Street Corp with 4.57% and AQR Capital Management LLC with 3.36%.

Sell-side analysts in Wall Street issued an overweight recommendation rating for shares of PulteGroup Inc with an average target price of $48.50 per share.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any securities mentioned.

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Afzal Miah tormented his targets by bombarding them with intimidating voicemails and emails which included death threats (Picture: PA)

A stalker who bombarded victims including a barrister, headteacher and NHS staff with threatening voicemails and emails has been jailed for six years.

Afzal Miah even sent threatening messages to his targets during his trial, which saw him convicted of seven counts of stalking, and one count of breaching a criminal behaviour order (CBO) and a restraining order.

The Met Police said the cunning and sinister 33-year-old frequently diverted police away from actual crimes by making fake reports about his bullies, trying to get them sacked and arrested.

Some of his victims were known to him and had helped him in the past, while others had no affiliation with him, police said.

Scotland Yard said Miah was "cunning and sinister" (Picture: PA)

Miah was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London on Thursday where he was also handed a 10-year restraining order, the Metropolitan Police said.

Police said he had fled to Belfast to escape the jurisdiction of his CBO but was tracked down and extradited.

READ MORE

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Investigating officer Sergeant Jonathan Brandman said: Afzal Miah is an incredibly cunning and sinister individual who has taken great pleasure in making his victims feel vulnerable and frightened.

The fact that he fled to Northern Ireland to escape his CBO, and knew that there is no such offence, shows how dangerous this individual is.

Miah was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court (Picture: PA)

Detective Constable David Tate, from Scotland Yards stalking threat assessment centre, said: Miah is what we would call a resentful stalker  someone who feels as though they have been mistreated or that they are the victim of some form of injustice or humiliation and they want to exact revenge or even the score.

In Miahs own head, he believed that the systems had failed him and he became fixated on the disservice he thinks that he received from some of his victims.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has emerged the second largest Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market in Africa with current market capitalisation of N6.9 billion.

NSE Chief Executive Officer, Oscar Onyema, stated this on Friday at the Smart Investment Workshop themed, Using Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as a Proxy for Investing in Nigerian Equities in Lagos.

ETFs are securities that closely resemble index funds, but can be bought and sold during the day just like common stocks.

These investment vehicles allow investors a convenient way to purchase a broad basket of securities in a single transaction.

Mr Onyema said from a single ETF tracking the price of Gold in 2011, the market has deepened with 10 ETFs currently offering exposure to equities, fixed income, commodities and thematic and smart investment solutions.

He noted that the ETFs market segment was radically reshaping the asset-management industry.

With the market witnessing low yields, we have seen an increasing appetite for equities, and ETFs present investors with an alternative channel to maximise investment and minimise the risk that comes with investing in equities.

Consequently, NSE is resolute in its goal to collaborate with market stakeholders to not only increase listed ETFs, but also provide the necessary sensitisation and capacity building that will boost activity in the market, Mr Onyema said.

He stated that the exchange has identified the ETFs segment as a viable investment option for investors with the growing demand for cost-effective, low-risk, diversified and income generating investment instruments.

Mr Onyema said the workshop was in line with the exchanges commitments to deepen capital market activity through innovative and value-driven products and services, as well as provide opportunities for in-depth investor education.

He added that the workshop was hosted in partnership with Meristem Wealth Management Limited.

In his presentation at the workshop, Head, Asset Management, Meristem Wealth Management, Taiwo Yusuf, noted that ETFs were inherently designed to give investors access to a wide range of viable assets.

By investing in ETFs, investors are free from the rigors that come with trading in equities including: stock valuation, screening, selection and liquidity risk, Yusuf said.

This, according to him, makes ETFs more cost-effective investment solution.

ETFs serve as a bespoke product for investors who want to add a tinge of innovation to their investment portfolios, he added.

(NAN)
The family of a 14-year-old boy in Texas is speaking out after neighbors called the police on him.

Last Sunday, the Bexar County Sheriffs Office responded to call about a person walking around in a military uniform while carrying a gun in the Falcons Landing neighborhood, which is just outside of San Antonio. When police arrived, they encountered 14-year-old Diego Mercado, a young military buff and congenital amputee who had been out with his airsoft rifle, a type of air gun and replica toy weapon. Mercado has been wearing camos since he was 6 years old.

Diego Mercado likes to wear a military uniform just like his father, Jason Mercado. The police were called to their home last Sunday by concerned neighbors. (Photo: Courtesy of Jason Mercado)

What kind of surprised me is that I've been here for a year, Mercado, who was born with one leg and just two fingers on his right hand, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. I've been outside every day and I'm well known to this community, and two officers show up at my door and ask me if I'm the kid walking around with an AR [Armalite rifle], that's what the surprising part is.

After explaining that hed been wearing camos but was not armed with a gun, the teen was not cited and said that the deputies were very understanding. The minimum age to be able to carry an Airsoft gun is 16 in San Antonio, but since Mercado was outside of the city limits, he had not broken any laws.

I knew this would happen eventually. A new resident comes in, I look like a soldier, you see a guy walking around with an AR, I understand that, but it has a big orange tip at the end, Mercado said.

Diego Mercado in his military uniform and Airsoft gun. (Photo: Jason Mercado)

Though this was the first time that the police were called, this was not the first time neighbors had been concerned with the teens appearance.

The Mercados moved into their new neighborhood last year while Diegos father, Jason, was stationed in Afghanistan. While overseas, Jason had happened to come across a post about Diego on the community Facebook page that seemed to paint a fearful image of him.

I set the record straight, Jason said. I've gone through great lengths to inform them that hes a kid and this is what he likes to do and I support him in that, and help them understand the reasons why he does what he does.

Story continues

Because he was born with amniotic band syndrome, the boy is unable to follow in the military footsteps of his father, who has been on active duty in the Army for 20 years. But he has pursued his passion by wearing the uniform since he was a young child. He has also worked with amputee veterans and went viral in 2016 after posting a video to Instagram of a workout session he had with one of the vets.

For Mercado, the military gear he dons on a daily basis is more than just for play.

I've always seen my dad put on his uniform and head out to work, and that's always inspired me because he defends our country, and I've always wanted to defend our country, he admitted.

Though the teen expressed a bit of apprehension about continuing to walk around the neighborhood, he and his father agreed they could continue to educate the community.

I just want them to feel safe and comfortable with me walking around, Mercado said. And I don't want to be seen as a threat. I just want to be seen as a friend to this neighborhood. I want to know everybody. I just want everybody to be friends.

Jason said he hoped his sons story would inspire others.

We have an entire country filled with other Diegos, Jason explained. There's kids with special needs that want to be a part of the community [and] I think Diego represents that. When [children] see this story, one, they'll say I can do that too and two, they will say, this is how he did it, so we now we have a formula for success.

Since the initial complaint, Diego has been invited to a SWAT training in the spring with the Bexar County Sheriffs Office.

The Bexar County Sheriffs Office has not yet responded to Yahoo Lifestyle's request for comment, but confirmed to WOAI/KABB that they received a complaint last Sunday.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

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KALAMAZOO, MI --The final two candidates hoping to lead Kalamazoo Public Schools as the next superintendent interviewed with the district leaders Thursday.

Fabby Williams, learning area superintendent and school support officer for Guilford County Schools in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Efe Agbamu, assistant superintendent of schools at St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minnesota, interviewed with the Board of Education and the community in attendance Thursday, Feb. 6.

The board invited four people for in-person interviews after reviewing prerecorded interviews from six candidates during a meeting Tuesday, Jan. 28. The first two candidates interviewed with the board Wednesday, Feb. 5.

At Thursdays meeting, the candidates spoke about combating the school-to-prison pipeline, affirming LGBTQ students, their experience building budgets and their opinions on transparency with the community.

The search for a new superintendent began in May after longtime district leader Michael Rice was chosen as Michigans new state superintendent. The district chose Gary Start, deputy superintendent of business and finance, to serve as interim superintendent while the board conducted a search with help from the Michigan Association of School Boards.

Williams holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership and two additional educational specialist degrees. He earned two masters degrees in both administration and supervision and school guidance counseling, and a bachelors degree in social work.

Prior to beginning as the North Carolina school districts superintendent in 2017, Williams worked about five years as a high school principal in North Carolina, one year as principal in Illinois, one year as interim principal in Chicago and two years as a principal in North Carolina. He also worked as a guidance counselor and special education teacher.

Williams talked to the board about his experience raising student achievement, being visible in the school buildings and the importance of communicating openly with parents. He also spoke about educating the community about the benefits of a diverse school population and allocating money in the budget to services for students.

Communication is key to transparency," Williams said.

Williams was asked about his experience combating the school-to-prison pipeline and spoke about the importance of decreasing out-of-school suspensions and drop-out rates. When asked by board member Tandy Moore about decreasing the number of black students who disproportionately face discipline, Williams said its important to build relationships with students and have a teacher population that matches the demographics of the student body.

(Students) want to know that you care about them, Williams said.

After the first round of interviews Tuesday, Jan. 28, the board expressed concern about Williams professional relationship with district teachers, referencing a disagreement with teachers while working in Illinois about nine years ago.

Williams fired a number of teachers while working as interim principal in 2011 at Austin Polytechnical Academy, which is part of Chicago Public Schools. The action sparked student protests and walk-outs, according to an article by The New York Times published May 19, 2011.

Williams spoke about this incident during his interview Thursday. Teachers effectiveness is the number one thing that affects student success, Williams said, and its important for a district to employ the best teachers.

We cant settle for mediocrity, he said. The stakes are too high.

Williams said he learned from this experience, and while he still sees teacher effectiveness as the number one priority, he believes in providing the resources and supports to help teachers do the job best for students. He celebrates teachers and believes that unions do great things for them, he said.

Agbamu has 30 years working in education, according to her resume. She noted a proven ability to work in unison with students, teachers and community members.

She holds a doctorate degree in educational leadership and masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria. Shes worked as the assistant superintendent at St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minnesota since 2012. Prior to that, she was an executive director and high school principal in the district.

Agbamu said during her interview that the districts goals and mission statement align with her values and that she is better equipped as a candidate to be the superintendent.

Agbamu talked about bringing a language immersion program to her district and her success using students achievement data to help improve student success.

As a superintendent, Agbamu would be visible to all stakeholders. She would have an open-door policy and welcome meetings -- especially over tea -- with parents and students.

We are in the relationship business, Agbamu said. Im a people person. A superintendent has to be a people person.

Agbamu said collaboration with others is the best approach to making decisions.

When asked about how best to help marginalized populations of students, Agbamu said theres a sense of urgency to create systems that are equitable and that courageous conversations are necessary to take on the issues.

She believes leaders need to take on the school-to-prison pipeline head on and that diversity should not be simply tolerated but celebrated.

Agbamu said school curriculum should be culturally relevant and act as mirrors for students. Its a priority for schools to affirm and support LGBTQ students, she said,

Its a superintendents priority to protect every child, Agbamu said. Im not very patient when a child is made to feel less than because of the color of their skin, their choice or how God made them.

Agbamu said when asked about teachers, that unions are partners and stressed the importance of recruiting and retaining teachers.

Agbamu is a very dedicated educator who treats every student like her own child, she said.

Its my lifes mission to support and nurture young ones, Agbamu said.

Two other candidates, Darrin Slade, assistant superintendent of school leadership at Kansas City Public Schools in Kansas City, Missouri, and Rita Raichoudhuri, executive director of early college and career education at Chicago Public Schools in Chicago, interviewed with the board Wednesday.

The board reviewed submitted comments from the public after the fourth candidate interviewed and is expected to narrow the pool further Thursday evening. Finalists will be invited back for a third round of interviews scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 18 and Thursday, Feb. 19.

The candidates full resumes, with some personal information redacted, are available online.

Inquiries about the superintendent search should be directed to Greg Sieszputowski, director of leadership development and executive search services at MASB, by calling 517-327-9224 or emailing gregs@masb.org.

Also on MLive:

Two of 4 candidates interview for superintendent at Kalamazoo Public Schools

Meet four superintendent candidates called back for interviews in Kalamazoo

Kalamazoo superintendent search narrows to four candidates

Values of collaboration, responsiveness sought in Kalamazoos next superintendent

Board emphasizes public participation in search for new superintendent at Kalamazoo Public Schools
MANHATTAN -- Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan Thursday that includes the Islands South Shore getting a new community center and the hours of operation will be extended at the boroughs four recreation centers.

The announcements came during the mayors seventh State of the City address under the blue whale at the Museum of Natural History in Manhattan on Thursday. The theme was save our city and return it to the people of New York City.

We need a plan to save our city because thats where we are right now, were at a point where we have to be saved, this city and everything it stands for must be saved and we are the ones that have to save ourselves, de Blasio said.

We have to save ourselves from the forces of greed, we have to save ourselves from laws that no longer serve us  we have to save ourselves from an existential threat facing New York City and facing everywhere in the world ...this is a plan to take us forward, he continued.

TRAFFIC SAFETY AND MORE

His plan includes installing 1,000 stop signs, speed bumps and stop signs at schools in need across the city, ensuring every city car, bus, truck, and ferry be converted to electric power by 2040 and launching a $43 million program that will offer home visits to all first-time parents in the city by 2024.

None of the Islands three City Council members attended the mayors State of the City and neither did Borough President James Oddo.

De Blasio took the time to personally applaud Sanitation worker Timothy Moore, who talked a woman out of jumping from the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in July.

The mayor applauded sanitation worker Timothy Moore for saving a woman from jumping off the Verrazzano Bridge https://t.co/aAgm4SnrbQ pic.twitter.com/fjQ2HTxeIk  Sydney Kashiwagi (@SydneyKashiwagi) February 6, 2020

POOL, REC CENTER HOURS EXTENDED

Starting this summer, the hours of the Islands Lyons Pool, Faber Pool Recreation Center, Greenbelt Recreation Center and at Ocean Breeze Track & Field will be extended untill 10 p.m. seven days a week and membership fees will be waived for 18- to 24-year-olds.

The initiative is part of the administrations plan to expand late night and weekend hours at 36 recreation centers across the city.

His plan outlined on Thursday includes the construction of the new recreation center on the South Shore within the next five years. However, the administration said it does not have a timeline or site in mind just yet for the new center, but plans to work with the community to find the right site.

South Shore Councilman Joe Borelli said it was the first he was hearing about plans for a new community center in his district when reached by the Advance, but welcomed the news.

Great, Im looking forward to hearing more, Borelli said when told by the Advance about the news community center in his district.

SOME SKEPTICISM OF MAYORS PLAN

But Borelli and some of the Islands other Republican lawmakers appeared skeptical of the mayors ambitious plan and wondered who exactly the city needed to be saved from.

His theme was save the city! He has been mayor for 6 of his 8 years, who does he think it needs saving from? Borelli said.

Borough President James Oddo argued the biggest enemy of New Yorkers right now is the city itself in the form of dysfunctional city agencies.

Actually, the biggest enemy of [New Yorkers] is the bureaucracy and poorly run city agencies. The most direct way of improving the lives of 8 1/2 million [New Yorkers] is to run the city better. ... That means better managed and an accountable delivery of city services, Oddo said on Twitter.

PROPERTY TAX REFORM; AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The mayors seventh State of the City came on the heels of the release of his administrations long-awaited property tax commission's preliminary report, which favored Staten Island homeowners.

De Blasio said the city needed to reform the current property tax system during his Thursday address, but Minority Leader Steven Matteo said the mayor needed to follow through on that promise.

But if the mayor really wants to improve the lives of New Yorkers, he should focus on lowering the cost of living here by providing property tax relief for hardworking families right now, improving transportation options for the outer borough residents, tackling the troubling rise in crime this year and reigning in out-of-control government spending, Matteo said.

Fellow Democrat Councilwoman Debi Rose (North Shore) said: In addition, affordability, for both residents and small businesses, is among the primary concerns of my constituents. The concerns the mayor outlined this afternoon and the same ones we hear every day in my district. Too many residents fear they and their children will not be able to afford our neighborhoods. And too many small businesses struggle to stay afloat. We implemented a blueprint for change with our rezoning last year, but additional resources are needed, and I am pleased the mayor plans to intensify these efforts.

FOLLOW SYDNEY KASHIWAGI ON TWITTER.
There have been hundreds of calls across Australias east coast already due to torrential rain but the deluge is far from over.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the intense coastal trough off northern NSW has delivered up to 300 millimetres in some parts of the north coast, with similar totals expected in the Sydney basin by the end of the weekend.

Byron Bay received 283mm in the 24 hours up to Friday 9am while Bellingen to the south on the Mid North Coast had 231mm.

Manly on Sydneys Northern Beaches has received 104mm in the past 24 hours while Sydney received 79mm.

Sydneys suburbs of Canterbury and Marrickville each received about 50mm while the North and Mid North Coasts were drenched.

On the Upper North Shore firies removed 150,000 litres of storm water flooding at Boundary Street, Roseville, on Friday afternoon.

#FRNSW crews assisted NSW Roads and Maritime Services to alleviate approx 150,000 litres of storm water flooding at Boundary Street, Roseville.



If you see flooding, please do not attempt to drive, ride or walk through it. pic.twitter.com/y6bIZJdM9D  Fire and Rescue NSW (@FRNSW) February 7, 2020

Noonannie received 209mm in 24 hours while Kingscliff received 181mm. On the Central Coast, Coffs Harbour received 150mm.

The NSW State Emergency Service has responded to 683 jobs across the state since the wet weather arrived on Wednesday.

In the Northern Rivers Region, a car was washed off a road in Glenreagh, and in Tyagarah, two people had to be rescued from a caravan due to rising floodwaters.

"Most of the damage so far is the leaking roofs, damaged properties, fallen trees and stranded motorists, some of whom have attempted to drive through flooded areas," SES commissioner Carlene York said on Friday.

Pedestrians in Sydney brave the conditions on Friday. Source: AAP

Severe thunderstorm warnings remain in place for parts of the Mid North Coast, Hunter Region, North West Slopes and Plains, Lower Western and Northern Tablelands.

Story continues

Flood watches are also in place for Brunswick to the Bega Rivers.

Conditions arent expected to ease up either with rain forecast throughout NSW right up until Monday.

BoM meteorologist Dr Adam Morgan said by the time the rain ends, coastal areas in the northern parts of the state will have seen their highest rainfall totals since March 2017.

For parts of southern NSW, they will see their highest totals since June 2016.

All the ingredients are there for continued prolonged rain, heavy showers and thunderstorms throughout the weekend, Dr Morgan said.

Heavy rain causes the Parramatta River to overflow. Source: AAP

Sydney could be drenched by up to 120mm on Saturday and 150mm on Sunday.

Coffs Harbour is forecast for up to 70mm on both days while Ballina on the north coast could receive up to 90mm and 60mm on Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The states Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said he was optimistic the rain will help extinguish some blazes over the coming days. He said there were still 42 fires burning in the state, with 17 of those not contained.

"The rain is good for business and farms as well as being really good for quenching some of these fires we've been dealing with for many, many months," he told ABC.

We don't want to see lots of widespread damage and disruption from flooding, but it is certainly a welcome change to the relentless campaign of hot, dry weather," he added.

A woman battles the conditions in Parramatta. Source: AAP

Bureau of Meteorology acting NSW manager Jane Golding says rain could cause roads to be flooded in the city, but much less will fall in the state's drought-ravaged west.

"The bulk of the rain does look like it will affect the coastal ranges and the eastern side of the divide, some showers will make it across but we're not expecting the same flood-producing rain," Ms Golding told reporters on Friday.

Queensland smashed by rain ahead of wet weekend

Heavy rain also drenched parts of the Queensland state.

Suburbs around Brisbane were smashed by more than 100mm of rain in the past 24 hours.

Bribie Island, north of Brisbane, was hit by 104mm while further south and Miami on the Gold Coast was smashed by 110mm.

A map shows Australia's rainfall right through to Monday. Source: Windy.com

Conditions should ease across the weekend in Brisbane though with 35mm and 50mm forecast for Saturday and Sunday respectively.

The Gold Coast is in for a wetter weekend than its northern neighbours with up to 50mm on Saturday and 80mm on Sunday.

With AAP

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

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Inspectors from the Federal Emergency Management Agency were in southeast Wisconsin this week inspecting damage along the shoreline caused by the Jan. 11 storm.

Gov. Tony Evers had asked FEMA to do a preliminary estimate on the cost of repairing damage to public infrastructure. Its the first step in seeking a federal disaster declaration.

Its an area-wide concern: The combined damage estimate for Kenosha, Racine and Milwaukee counties is $30 million.

At a time when FEMA is pulled in many directions, our needs merit consideration. Its important to note that any FEMA aid, if approved, would help pay for public infrastructure and not go toward private homeowners.

The shoreline damage is severe and stunning, even to people who have seen storm damage time and again.

In Kenosha, Jeff Warnock, superintendent of parks for the city, said the storm ripped brick pavers from the lakeside promenade, caused the collapse of shoreline in Southport Park and damaged the beach there.

Its the worst Ive ever seen, he told the Kenosha News.  We lost about half of the beach at Southport Park.

In Racine, John Rooney, Public Works commissioner, estimated damage at $6.4 million, with $4.25 million of it to Pershing Park/boat launch.

This is something Ive never seen before, and Ive been in this community my entire life, he told the Journal Times.

In Milwaukee County, damage is estimated at $10.7 million to infrastructure.

County officials pledged to work with federal officials, whose visit this week started the process to determine whether our area meets the threshold for federal aid.

Were there to work hand-in-hand with locals, Sandy Jasmund, external affairs officer for FEMA, told the Journal Sentinel. Well be there as long as needed to look at any of the damage they want us to see.

Early indications from the inspectors visit in Kenosha were that local damage estimates met the threshold for aid, said Horace Staples, county emergency management director. Staples said Evers will have 30 days to submit the request for federal aid once all of the estimates are completed.

Given the need locally, we hope our representatives in Washington get on board and lend their support to bringing federal dollars to Southeast Wisconsin.

And its clear that we can count on U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, who said he is committed to doing his part to help local areas receive federal resources.

We need to make sure we get a fairer shake on this, Steil said at one of his recent listening sessions in Somers. One of our greatest resources is the Great Lakes. Its something we need to continue to protect.

Wed like to hear the same strong support from Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin. Coming off the impeachment trial where they agreed on nothing, this matter so important to our vibrant home should give them an issue to join forces on for their constituents.

Any help they can give is welcome and needed.

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SpendEdge has been monitoring the global pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market and the market is poised to experience spend growth of more than USD 30 billion between 2019-2024 at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period. Request Free Sample Pages

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005130/en/

Read the 125-page research report with TOC and LOE on "The Global Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Procurement Intelligence Report, Pricing Outlook in Geographies that include APAC, North America, South America, and MEA, top service providers, supplier selection and negotiation strategies, and insights into best practices to optimize procurement spend."

The increase in the onset of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes, dementia, and arthritis is creating the necessity for new technological advancements for the production of innovative APIs. This is contributing to the spend momentum in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market.

While the high healthcare expenditure is contributing to the market spend growth in North America, the outsourcing of drug manufacturing services from developed regions to LCCs is boosting the prospects of spend growth in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market in APAC, such as India, China, and Singapore.

Subscribe to our procurement platform to get instant access to over 1000 market-ready procurement intelligence reports without any additional costs or commitment.

The Top Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Service Providers Enlisted in this Report:

Warehousing of drugs is serving as a significant cost accelerator for service providers and is eschewing their profit margins. To compensate for this expense, service providers are expected to increase their service charges which will inflate buyers' procurement expenditure in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing services market. Considering its probability, this report has listed the top pharmaceutical contract manufacturing service providers, SLA agreement insights, and the selection and negotiation strategies that buyers must undertake to achieve optimal and cost-effective procurement in this market. Insights into some of the service providers are given below:

Pfizer- It is essential that buyers establish a program to get the most of this service provider's capabilities in terms of quality reliability and cost overruns and reduce instances of downtime. The program should define processes and approaches for standardization, metrics for benchmarking of performance and improve service provider's performance. Concepts such as Lean, Six Sigma, and total production system approaches can be established for driving performance.

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH- Buyers are advised to adopt the project-based pricing model while finalizing a contract with this pharmaceutical contract manufacturing service provider. This pricing model encourages service providers to provide effective and efficient services, as the performance is associated with value-additions based on the customized requirement, thereby ensuring better ROIs for buyers.

Lonza Group- Prices of raw materials required in the manufacturing of drugs are volatile. Thus, an increase in the prices of chemicals results in the rise in the cost of drugs manufactured. During such instances, buyers have to pay more to service providers. To address such situations, buyers are advised to collaborate with this service provider on a price risk-sharing basis to avoid such price increase, which in turn helps them to mitigate risks associated with the price increase of the drugs.

Buy 1 report and get the second for 50% off. Buy 2 reports and get the third for free. Download the free sample of this report on the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market.

Some of the key topics covered in this report are:

Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market spend segmentation by region

Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing supply market analysis

Regional spend opportunity for pharmaceutical contract manufacturing service providers

Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing service providers cost structure

Total cost of ownership analysis in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market

Pharmaceutical contract manufacturing pricing models analysis

Category management objectives

Cost saving opportunities in the pharmaceutical contract manufacturing market

Free sample of reports that you may like:

Global Clinical Research Services Market Procurement Intelligence Report

Global Medical Transcription Services Market Procurement Intelligence Report

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SpendEdge shares your passion for driving sourcing and procurement excellence. We are the preferred procurement market intelligence partner for 120+ Fortune 500 firms and other leading companies across numerous industries. Our strength lies in delivering robust, real-time procurement market intelligence reports and solutions. To know more, https://www.spendedge.com/request-free-proposal

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South Africa: President heads to Ethiopia to assume AU Chairship

President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a South African delegation to the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Heads of State and Government Summit to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 9 - 10 February 2020.

During this Summit, South Africa will officially assume, for the second time, the chairship of the African Continental body - the African Union (AU).

South Africa assumed the chairship the first time, 18 years ago in 2002, during the formation of the AU.

Amongst many issues on the agenda, the 2020 Assembly will consider the report of the 35th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council, the peace and security situation on the continent, and draft legal instruments of the AU, said the Presidency in a statement on Thursday.

The continental body will also receive presentations from various Heads of State and Government championing specific thematic issues of the Union, namely:

King Mswati in his role as the champion for the African Leaders of Malaria Alliance (ALMA);

King Mohammed the VI of Morocco as the champion for Migration issues;

President Paul Kagame on championing Domestic Health Financing;

President el-Sisi as champion the for Post Conflict Reconstruction Development (PCRD);

President Edgar Lungu of Zambia on Ending Child Marriage in Africa;

President Danny Faure as the champion for the Blue Economy; and

President Nana Akufo Addo as the champion for Gender Development Issues in Africa.

The ceremony, wherein the current chairperson, President Abdel Fattah el Sisi of Egypt, will officially hand over the reins to President Ramaphosa, will take place at the opening session of the assembly.

The Summit will be held under the theme for 2020 Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africas Development.

In this regard, the assembly will take stock of progress and challenges to peace, stability and sustainable development in Africa, said the Presidency.

President Ramaphosa will be supported by International Relations Minister Dr Naledi Pandor, Defence and Military Veterans Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula; State and Security Minister Ayanda Dlodlo; Communications, Telecommunications and Postal Services Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams; Minister in The Presidency Jackson Mthembu; and Public Services and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
by Larissa Faw , February 7, 2020

Agencies Bounteous and the Liquid Agency are each bolstering their service offerings with acquisitions.

The Liquid Agency is sharpening its experience design expertise with the purchase of Vignette, an agency specializing in offering employee experiences. This niche helps company's better enhance their internal policies, encompassing everything from leadership training and healthcare to app design and videos.

Vignette was an early pioneer in the employee experience space, transitioning its offering in 2005 from one that was consumer centric to employee centric as more of its clients sought expertise in programs designed to engage and retain their employee base.

Liquid has slowly been building its own employee experience capability and now has over 20 people within the agency working with clients on multiple employee experience initiatives. This deal will add notable clients, such as Walmart.

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Vignette will be based out of both Liquid's Portland and San Jose offices.

Separately, Chicago-based Bounteous is purchasing Wilmington-based The Archer Group, a specialist expertise design as well as digital strategy, usability research, technology, and media. Their combined footprint includes offices in Chicago, Wilmington, Denver, Pittsburgh, Toronto, San Francisco, and Berlin.

Under the agreement, Michael Derins, CEO and Managing Director of Archer since 2011, will join Bounteous as executive vice president of business development and will also serve on its Board of Directors.
The hearing, CJI Bobde said, would take place on all the five days of the week from Monday to Friday.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will hear on the larger reference on the gender justice and the essential religious beliefs and practices discriminatory to women in Sabarimala temple and other religions, including Muslims, Parsis and Dawoodi Boha community.

Rejecting the procedural challenge to the reference, Chief Justice S.A. Bobde heading the nine-judge Bench while reserving the order said that they would pass the order on preliminary objection on February 10 and also spell out the question that would be adjudicated in the course of the hearing commencing from Wednesday.

CJI Bobde said that they would pronounce the operative part of the order on the preliminary objections to the November 2018 reference on Monday to be followed by detailed reasoning later.

The hearing, CJI Bobde said, would take place on all the five days of the week from Monday to Friday.

Coupled with the order on the preliminary objection to the November 14, 2019, reference by the five-judge constitution Bench, the CJI said that they will also announce the question that will be adjudicated which they have already thought over.

Besides CJI Bobde, other judges on the Bench are Justices R. Banumathi, Ashok Bhushan, L. Nageswara Rao, Mohan N. Shantanagoudar, S. Abdul Nazeer. R. Subhash Reddy, B.R.Gavai and Surya Kant.

The larger question to be addressed by the constitution Bench will include the legality of religious belief and practices having the colour of being essential to religions vis-a-vis womens right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.

The larger questions to be adjudicated by the nine-judge constitution Bench are rooted in the matters pending before the top court.

These matters include plea for the reconsideration of September 2018 judgment permitting the entry of all women in Lord Ayyappas Sabarimala temple, prohibition on the entry of Muslim women in mosques, bar on the entry of Parsi women in the temple of holy fire after they marry outside the community and female genital mutilation amongst Dawoodi Bohra community.

Essential religious beliefs and practices are protected by Article 25 and 26 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion and freedom to manage religious affairs.

Earlier at the start of the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta described the objections frivolous.
Foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday assured Chinese ambassador Sun Weidong that there was no travel ban on Chinese nationals or other foreigners based in mainland China over the coronavirus outbreak, even as he noted that 2020 marked an important milestone in the bilateral ties between the two nations. Shringla also met the high commissioners of Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives to discuss bilateral relations and emphasise Indias neighbourhood first policy, days after taking over as the Indian foreign secretary.

People aware of the developments said Shringa told Weidong that if anyone from China wished to travel to India, they could apply for a fresh visa. Weidong, who called on the foreign secretary to discuss ties, briefed Shringla on the measures taken by the Chinese government to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. While appreciating Chinas efforts, Shringla requested the Chinese authorities to ensure that Indian students evacuated from Wuhan did not suffer academically, they added.

The foreign secretary also noted that this year marked an important milestone as India and China will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Several activities have been planned by both sides to commemorate the occasion, he said.

In his meeting with new Bangladesh high commissioner Muhammad Imran, Shringla expressed satisfaction at the transformation in bilateral ties in recent years. He underlined the highest importance that India accords to Bangladesh, in keeping with its neighborhood first policy.

The foreign secretary also met Nepals ambassador Nilamber Acharya. This was Shringlas first formal meeting with a resident ambassador in Delhi, which demonstrated the priority India attaches to its close and multi-faceted relationship with Nepal, officials said. He reiterated Indias commitment in taking forward the bilateral relations based on mutual trust and benefit.

Shringla also received the outgoing high commissioner of Maldives, Aishath Mohamed Didi, and acknowledged the positive transformation in ties over the last 14 months, since President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih came to power. The foreign secretary congratulated Maldives on its readmission to the Commonwealth and conveyed his best wishes to the envoy, who will be assuming the office of the minister of gender, family and social services on her return to Maldives.

Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, the government has focused on cementing and improving ties with its neighbours. While leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) attended his swearing-in five and a half years ago, leaders of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Economic and Technical Cooperation (BIMSTEC) attended his swearing-in after his second victory in 2019.

India has pushed regional connectivity projects in the neighbourhood and deepened both government to government cooperation, as well as people to people linkages. The enhanced involvement of China across politics and economy in capitals, from Kathmandu to Colombo to Male, has also led to Delhi deepening its engagement and leveraging its traditional strengths in the region.

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The Supreme Court on Friday said there was a need to give "more focus" to those states where disposal rate of cases pertaining to sexual offences against children under the POCSO Act was very poor.

A bench comprising Chief Justice S A Bobde and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant was hearing a batch of petitions, including those which have been take note of by it suo motu (on its own), relating to sexual offences against women and children.

"Yesterday, I was looking at a report on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases. There were 40,000 cases and out of that, only 10,000 have been disposed off. It means 30,000 cases are unattended," the bench asked Attorney General K K Venugopal and other senior lawyers to "suggest measures" to effectively tackle the problem.

"We want Siddharth Luthra (senior advocate who is assisting the bench as an amicus curiae) to prepare the list of states where maximum number of such cases are there. We will take greater care of those states where the pendency of such cases are high," the bench said, adding that issuance of general order will not serve the purpose.

However, during the hearing, the bench was told that another bench headed by Justice Deepak Gupta has been extensively hearing a similar suo motu case titled "In-re Alarming Rise in The Number of Reported Child Rape Incidents" and has passed a slew of directions to deal with the problems.

"Now, all these cases will be heard by the special bench, comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Aniruddha Bose, after four weeks," it said and asked the lawyers to advance their arguments before the special bench only.

During the brief hearing, the bench was suggesting to rope in organisation like 'Bachpan Bachao Andolan' (BBA) to help it in dealing with sexual offences against children.

Senior advocate Indira Jaising, who is also assisting the bench as an amicus curiae, opposed the suggestion saying that BBA was dealing with child labour.

Earlier, in December last year, the top court had taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of assessment of the criminal justice system in response to sexual offences and had said that delay in cases like the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case in the recent times has created "agitation, anxiety and unrest" in the minds of people.

It had said post the Nirbhaya case, which shocked the conscience of the nation despite many amendments introduced in the criminal law to redefine the ambit of offences providing for effective and speedy probe and trial in rape cases, the NCRB's 2017 data said 32,559 cases of rape were registered in India.

It had asked all states and high courts for the status report on various questions on compliance of procedure laid down by the court and the law, including whether medical experts have done away with the controversial Per-Vaginum examination, commonly referred to as 'Two-finger test' of rape victims, which was held to be violative of the dignity of woman in 2013 by the apex court.

The bench, headed by the CJI, had sought responses and status reports by February 7 this year from all states and high courts on several aspects, including utilisation of the Nirbhaya fund, speedy probe and trial, collection of evidence, forensic and medical evidence, recording of statement and compensation to the victim in such cases.

Prior to this, the predecessor of Justice Bobde, then CJI Ranjan Gogoi (since retired), on its own had taken cognisance of alarming rise in the number of reported child rape incidents and had asked the Centre and all the state governments to play "a much more proactive role" in ensuring speedy probes and completion of trials of such cases within a year.

It had directed all state governments and the Centre "to do what is required to be done to ensure" that the probe and the trial in Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases are completed within the time frame by creation of "additional force for investigation".

It had further directed the Centre and the states to take steps for sensitisation of their officials associated with the probe and create dedicated courts to try POCSO cases on "top priority" so that the chargesheets are filed and the trials are completed within the time frame contemplated under the law.

The Supreme Court has also sought the Centre's response on the "draft scheme" for compensation, the apex court's registrar, who took note of the fact that in 99 per cent POCSO cases, the child victims are not paid any interim compensation by government authorities.

In 2013, it had taken note of a PIL, which was filed after the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case.

The petition had said that there are various prominent issues, including establishment of a formal compensatory mechanism for rape victims, which needs to be addressed for the safety and security of women.

It had said that private buses, which are operating in the National Capital Region region without valid licences, should be brought to book and if anyone is found violating the same then their licence be cancelled. They should also be booked for offences under the Motor Vehicles Act or the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

It had also pointed out that there is a "compelling need" to establish a criminal injuries compensation board to provide instantaneous and expeditious monetary relief to rape victims.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A third UK patient has been diagnosed with coronavirus, medics have said. The person, who has not been identified, contracted the disease overseas, the Department of Health confirmed.

According to The Guardian, the patient was diagnosed in Brighton, and is being taken to a hospital in London.

It comes after two people in York, believed to be a student and his mum, were taken ill with the deadly disease, which has claimed more than 500 lives worldwide.

The student had been staying at Staycity Aparthotel in the city when they were taken ill last Wednesday, January 29.



Professor Chris Whitty said the person, who did not contract the virus in the UK, is currently being transferred to one of the UKs four infectious diseases centres for treatment.

Two other patients are still being treated at the Royal Victoria Infirmary infectious diseases centre in Newcastle upon Tyne.

In a statement, Prof Whitty said: A further patient has tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the UK to three.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Mumbai, Feb 7 : Actors Diljit Dosanjh and Manoj Bajpayee recently shot at a crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) platform here for their upcoming film "Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari".

The cast and crew of Abhishek Sharma's upcoming family comedy shot outside the crowded station. They also shot the pre-climax sequence on platform number 10.

According to a source, there was a huge crowd gathered outside the station when they got to know the film's team was going to shoot there. "While we had about 150 junior artistes inside to shoot the sequence on the platform, the crowd gathered to get a glimpse of the actors," added the source.

Sharma shared: "There's a pre-climax scene in the film that required a railway station. Usually filmmakers like to shoot in controlled environment, perhaps on a created set, but it felt inauthentic." "The film is set in the '90s and Victoria Terminus was just the perfect place to shoot. We took necessary permissions from the Central Railways for the shoot who were extremely forthcoming and helpful. This was more expensive, but the venue lends itself to a better atmospheric experience in the scene. The engine drivers were so precise and professional. We shot for two days from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m." He also said the team was excited like kids. "We took turns to check out the engine and honk the train's horn. We set camp close by at the parking area but during our break, we sat and ate our meals inside the train compartment because going to vanities was taking 15-20 minutes," said the director.

From setting up a massive set in Film City recreating chawls of Mumbai to exquisite, old libraries, the film, which is a Zee Studios production, is being shot entirely in Mumbai.

"We are shooting primarily in South Mumbai. I was particular that my crew doesn't violate any rules or cross railway lines. Before we got to shoot, I had an elaborate meeting with them telling them to keep guidelines in mind. We kept a vigilant eye and I told my crew that I would fire anyone who crossed the railway tracks or cause disturbance to travellers and passengers," said the director.

-- Except for the title, this story has not been edited by Prokerala team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed
Photos of Storm Damage in Frederick County (1 of 3) pic.twitter.com/WjsZvpliN2  FrederickCounty Fire (@FCDFRS) February 7, 2020

Dallastown Area School District sent most of its students home Friday when the power was unable to be restored in a timely manner.

Severe weather that tore through southern York County caused power outages at the districts high, middle and elementary schools, excluding Dallastown Intermediate and Dallastown Elementary school. Staff and students were sent home around 11:30 a.m., the district reported on its Facebook page.

Photos of Storm Damage in Frederick County (2 of 3) pic.twitter.com/y7JBLPWMTA  FrederickCounty Fire (@FCDFRS) February 7, 2020

Southern York School District also had to institute severe weather procedures, according to the York Daily Record.

Across the state line, the same line of strong storms caused property damage, the report noted. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning earlier today in Carroll County, Maryland, which is about an hour south of Dallastown in York County.

At least one farm in Frederick County, Maryland suffered damage from Friday mornings severe storms.

Photos of Storm Damage in Frederick County (3 of 3) pic.twitter.com/vfIiObt8Hr  FrederickCounty Fire (@FCDFRS) February 7, 2020

PPL has a map of outages found on their website; to report an emergency or downed power lines, PPL customers can call 1-800-342-5775 and press 1 for power problems" at the prompt.

Met-Ed customers can call 1-888-544-4877 to report an outage. FirstEnergy, Met-Eds parent company, also offers a map showing outages.

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 Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Central government on a plea challenging the Constitutional validity of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and effective implementation of the Assam Accord.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) SA Bobde also sought Centre's response on the plea filed by Assam Social Justice Forum.

The petition sought appropriate directions for taking effective steps for the implementation of Assam Accord, 1985 in letter and spirit and for conservation and preservation of the of a distinct culture, heritage and traditions of the indigenous people of Assam.

The Assam Accord, 1985, had fixed March 24, 1971, as the cut-off date for deportation of all illegal immigrants irrespective of their religion.

The Bench also sought Centre's response on another fresh batch of pleas challenging CAA and tagged them along with other petitions pending in the matter.

One of the petitions, filed by the Association of Advocates from Maharashtra among others, sought to declare the Citizenship Amendment Act as discriminatory, arbitrary, and illegal and consequently set aside the impugned act as ultra-vires the Constitution of India.

On the other hand, over a hundred petitions have been filed in the apex court, for and against the amended citizenship law, which is facing opposition and protests across the country.

CAA grants citizenship to Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who fled religious persecution in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan and took refuge in 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.)
Filipino journalists demonstrate outside the headquarters of the Philippine military in Manilas Quezon City suburb to demand an end to what they described as government attacks on members of the news media, May 3, 2019.

A 21-year-old journalist who has long complained of harassment by the government was among five people arrested and detained by security forces in pre-dawn raids Friday in the central Philippine province of Leyte, a media group and police said.

Frenchiemae Cumpio, executive director of the alternative publication Eastern Vista, was arrested days after she reported to the nonprofit foundation Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility that masked men had been tailing the staff of her community newspaper.

They are reportedly being charged with illegal possession of firearms, AlterMidya, the parent network of Eastern Vista, said in a statement, referring to Cumpio and the four others who are locally known human rights advocates.

A police report said that the five were in possession of firearms and communist paraphernalia at the time of their arrests.

Cumpio is also the anchor of a local radio program that specializes in reporting on local rights abuses by military and police authorities in the city of Tacloban, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) said in a statement.

Eastern Vista is a member of the AlterMidya Network, a small group of independent publishers across the country that report mainly on social issues such as human rights, poverty and the insurgency, the NUJP said.

But members of the network, including Eastern Vista, have long been openly accused by the government of being fronts for the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, the New Peoples Army (NPA). Network officials have denied the allegations.

Cumpio is the second community journalist arrested since October, when Anne Krueger of Paghimud-os, another alternative media company, was among more than 50 persons rounded up in simultaneous raids launched by security forces against suspected communist fronts in Bacolod city. Krueger later posted bail.

The NUJP said that Cumpio's arrest was clearly part of governments crackdown against not only these supposed communist fronts but the critical media, mainstream and alternative.

Before her arrest, Cumpio had been the subject of continued harassment and intimidation by men and at least one woman believed to be state security agents who had been tailing her around since September last year, the NUJP said.

The arrests of Cumpio and Krueger came amid the governments legal moves and attempts to shut down news website Rappler and ABS-CBN, a television network.

President Rodrigo Duterte has lashed out at the media numerous times since he took power in 2016, saying journalists were distorting news coverage of his anti-narcotics campaign that has killed thousands.

These are all part of this governments efforts to silence the free exchange of ideas and coopt media into mouthing only what it allows, the NUJP said.
Trump apoplectic in phone call to Johnson

Donald Trump vented apoplectic fury at Boris Johnson in a tense phone call over Britains decision to allow Huawei a role in its 5G mobile phone networks, according to officials in London and Washington. The British prime minister spoke to the US president last week soon after he announced his decision to allow the Chinese manufacturer to participate in the UKs next-generation cellular network. This was in spite of vocal opposition from senior figures in the Trump administration, which is opposed to Huawei on national security grounds. Following the decision, Britain and the US tried to gloss over their differences with muted public statements. But one individual briefed on the contents of the call said Mr Trump was apoplectic with Mr Johnson for his Huawei decision and expressed his views in livid terms. A second official confirmed that the Trump-Johnson call was very difficult. British officials with knowledge of the exchange said they were taken aback by the force of the presidents language towards Mr Johnson.  Financial Times

Claims are overblown, Downing Street insists  The Guardian

If Trump loses this year it will be because of the culture war, not his record as president  Leader, Daily Telegraph

>Today: ToryDiary: Strife between Johnson and the media is a good thing

PM to cut back on foreign travel to focus on domestic agenda

Boris Johnson has ripped up plans for a series of foreign trade trips this year so he can stay in Downing Street to prioritise his levelling up agenda. No10 aides drew up a plan for a number of far-flung visits over the next few months to key countries where rapid agreements are hoped for  with a Japan trip top of the list.But the PM postponed the Tokyo plan and sent Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab there this week instead. In a dramatic departure from many of his predecessors, who used the early months of their premierships to globe-trot, the PM has ordered his travel plans are kept to a minimum this year. That has even meant a long-expected trip to Washington DC to launch landmark trade talks with Donald Trump has been postponed from this month to March at the earliest, and may be pushed back still further.  The Sun

Hannan and Moore on peerages list

Boris Johnson has nominated a string of Tory donors for peerages including a controversial businessman who was embroiled in a cash-for-access scandal. Peter Cruddas, who donated 50,000 to Mr Johnsons campaign for the Tory leadership, is one of 28 people that the prime minister has recommended as Tory peers. He has donated more than 3 million to the Tories since 2007.Michael Spencer, a billionaire financier who has also served as Tory treasurer, has been nominated.Jon Moynihan, a multimillionare venture capitalist who chaired the Vote Leave finance committee, is also understood to be on the list.Others in line include Charles Moore, a former editor of The Daily Telegraph, Dan Hannan, a prominent Brexiteer and former Tory MEP, and James Wharton, a former Tory MP who helped Mr Johnsons campaign.  The Times

Jenrick helps key workers become first time buyers

Key workers, such as nurses, police and military personnel, will get priority under a new scheme offering homes for first-time buyers at a 30% discount, the housing secretary will say on Friday. Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, said the new First Homes scheme, first announced during the election campaign, would save eligible buyers an average of approximately 100,000 on a first property. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is launching a consultation on how the scheme will work on Friday, without saying how many will be on offer. It said the 30% discount would apply to a proportion of new homes and would be funded out of contributions from developers. Jenrick said the scheme would be genuinely life-changing for people all over the country looking to buy their first home.  The Guardian

A grand plan  Leader, The Sun

20,000 bonus for doctors to relocate to areas with a shortage of GPs  Daily Mail

Truss plans to scrap tariffs on wide range of products from next year

Brits could enjoy cheaper coffee, trainers and wine as ministers plan to cut import tariffs from next year. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss today launched a consultation on the duty charges, and revealed plans to slash prices across the country. British businesses would then be boosted by the prices once Britain is finally out on January 1 2021. Higher tariffs on some goods would be cut completely because Brits dont make them, making it cheaper for UK consumers. This could see a 7.5 per cent tariff scrapped on coffee, 16.9 per cent off trainers, or 32 euro cents per litre off wine. Other savings could include 42 euro cents per kg off Sugar, as well as slashing the 12.8 per cent tariff on limes.  The Sun

>Today:

Williamson: Universities must uphold free speech

The right to civil and non-violent protest is sacrosanct. However, intimidation, violence or threats of violence are crimes. Universities must make clear that intimidation is unacceptable and show a zero-tolerance approach to the perpetrators, applying strong sanctions and working with police where appropriate to secure prosecutions. Universities should also do more to promote the right culture. The University of Oxford has adopted strong codes of conduct that champion academic freedom and free speech, explicitly recognising that this may sometimes cause offence. Every university should promote such unambiguous guidance. If universities dont take action, the government will. If necessary, Ill look at changing the underpinning legal framework, perhaps to clarify the duties of students unions or strengthen free speech rights. I dont take such changes lightly, but I believe we have a responsibility to do whatever necessary to defend this right.  Gavin Williamson, The Times

Bercow 1) Speaker urges any victims of bullying to speak out

The Commons Speaker has urged anybody who believes they have been bullied by John Bercow to come forward, dealing a blow to his predecessors hopes of a peerage. The call from Sir Lindsay Hoyle came as Mr Bercow was rebuked by the parliamentary authorities yesterday for identifying Commons employees without their permission in his memoir Unspeakable for the purpose of financial gain or commercial success. Mr Bercow was accused of undermining the principle of confidentiality that protects Commons staff who provide impartial advice to MPs. A House spokesman said that some employees named in the book, which was published yesterday, had an expectation of privacy and were not in a position to respond to his depiction of events, adding: We condemn this behaviour.   The Times

Fox breaks through Commons security  Daily Mail

Bercow 2) No chance of peerage after new claims he used sexually and racially inappropriate language

John Bercows hopes of receiving a peerage were extinguished on Thursday night after he was publicly rebuked by the House of Commons and accused of using sexually and racially inappropriate language by his former most senior official. After the former Speaker was admonished for naming former staff he is accused of bullying in his autobiography, The Telegraph can reveal that he is facing fresh claims of offensive behaviour. Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the House of Commons, is understood to have set out details of Mr Bercow making inappropriate remarks in an official complaint submitted to the Commissioner for Standards, the Parliamentary watchdog. While Lord Lisvane declined to comment, senior allies have confirmed to this newspaper that his complaint goes beyond allegations of bullying and harassment to include examples of comments made by Mr Bercow in his presence.  Daily Telegraph

Public had given up on the police

The public has given up on the police solving crimes, an official report warns on Friday, as it says officers have been rumbled for failing to investigate offences including burglary and theft. Matt Parr, HM Inspector of Constabulary, said the failure of the police to investigate high-volume crimes like car thefts, minor assaults and burglaries was having a corrosive effect on the publics trust in the police. His comments follow a series of investigations by The Daily Telegraph revealing how car thieves and burglars are not being pursued by police. The report reveals that victims are losing faith and pulling out of prosecutions across nearly all crimes. It also shows the proportion of offences solved has plummeted from 14 per cent in 2015 to 7.3 per cent in 2019. I think these levels of volume crime resolution are corrosive for the long-term relationship between the public and police, said Mr Parr as he noted the proportion crimes closed because the victim did not support a prosecution had risen to 22.6 per cent in 2019 from 8.7 per cent in 2015.  Daily Telegraph

Prisons are running out of space  The Times

Police officers can no longer ignore the crimes people care about  Leader, Daily Telegraph

>Yesterday: Shabnam Nasimi on Comment: We changed the law to deal with Stephen Lawrences murderers. We must do the same for terrorist threats.

SNP 1) Scottish finance secretary quits over messages to boy

Scotlands finance secretary has quit hours before delivering his budget amid reports that he messaged a 16-year-old boy on social media. The Scottish Sun said that Derek Mackay contacted the schoolboy over a six-month period, and told him that he was cute. Mr Mackay said he had behaved foolishly and took full responsibility for his actions. He also apologised unreservedly to the boy and his family. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she did not know about Mr Mackays unacceptable behaviour until Wednesday evening, and is not aware of any further allegations against him. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, she confirmed that he has been suspended by the SNP while further investigations are carried out.  BBC

Minister had warned of online risks  The Times

SNP 2) Nelson: Its part of a trend

The finance secretary, Derek Mackay, quit just hours before he was due to deliver the Budget after admitting to foolishness in bombarding a 16-year-old boy with text messages. Worse, it fits a trend. It starts with Angus MacNeils foolishness (his word) with a Church of Scotland ministers teenage daughter. Then the affair that saw Stewart Hosie stand down as SNP deputy leader, then Mark McDonald quit as a minister after a sexting scandal. Its all a bit much. You can, of course, argue that each of these is an individual and personal tragedy. At a push, you might laugh it off, say that (to use the joke in Holyrood) the nationalists can be seen as romantic mujahideen whose antics dont affect their politics. But, as Sir John Major found, there comes a point where a pattern is spotted. Unkind words such as sleaze are used  and labels stick. Voters do not see isolated cases but a theme: the arrogance, carelessness and decadence of a party too long in power.  Fraser Nelson, Daily Telegraph

Sleaze scandal exposes SNPs power vacuum  Iain Martin, The Times

Burgon proposes Labour members be consulted before military action is taken

Labours leadership candidates distanced themselves yesterday from a proposal to ballot party members before future military action. Richard Burgon, who is standing to be the partys deputy leader, has proposed a peace pledge committing a Labour prime minister to ask party members for their views before a proposed armed intervention. The shadow justice secretary released a video yesterday of him discussing his plans with Jeremy Corbyn, who spoke of his failed attempt to prevent Britain from expanding military action in Syria in 2016. Mr Burgon said there would be exceptions if there were a genuine threat to national security or the action had UN backing. He acknowledged that if MPs voted for military intervention the ballot would have no legal force.  The Times

Nandy criticises proposal  The Guardian

Labour still cant define its purpose in life  Philip Collins, The Times

US Democrats and Labour are making the same mistake  Ross Clark, Daily Express

Firefighter sacked from union post after speaking at pro-Brexit rally sues for unfair dismissal

A firefighter has lodged a claim for unfair dismissal after he was sacked by the Fire Brigades Union for speaking at a pro-Brexit rally. Paul Embery said today that an employment tribunal will take place later this year and he will have my day in court following his dismissal. The full-time trade unionist was kicked out of the national executive of the FBU after speaking in favour of Brexit at a Leave Means Leave rally in March. It sparked a backlash among other unions, there were calls to reinstate him and he won support from other firefighters.  Daily Mail

Sinn Fein challenged over links to violence

Sinn Fein has spent the final days of Irelands general election campaign dogged by familiar links to republican violence but is still poised to breach the countrys political dam tomorrow. Mary Lou McDonalds party is leading in opinion polls, albeit with little chance of reaching power, as she faces demands to apologise to the family of a man killed in 2007. Paul Quinn, 21, fell out with an enforcer in Cullyhanna, Co Armagh, and was lured across the border. He was beaten to death by republicans wielding iron bars. His mother, Breege, said that Sinn Fein, the main political force where the family lives, never came to apologise. Ms McDonald, 50, was caught off guard in a television debate this week over suggestions that her party had linked Mr Quinns death to crime. She denied it but was swiftly contradicted by the emergence of video featuring comments by Gerry Adams, the former Sinn Fein leader, and by Conor Murphy, the partys finance minister in Northern Ireland, who claimed that Mr Quinn was involved in smuggling and criminality.  The Times

Baroness Scotland challenged over cronyism

Commonwealth chief Baroness Scotland was hit by a further blow last night after it emerged that Australia may halt its funding in protest at her conduct. Canberras threat to axe its 4million-a-year grant came as she faced a trial by diplomat at her Marlborough House headquarters near Buckingham Palace yesterday amid mounting pressure to resign. Baroness Scotland was interrogated by 50 high commissioners at a crisis meeting of the Commonwealth Secretariat over a report which lambasted her over a 250,000 commission to a firm run by her Labour friend Lord Patel of Bradford. The showdown took place hours after a leaked letter by Boris Johnson confirmed a report by the Daily Mail last week that Baroness Scotland has been denied a second four-year term as the 160,000-a-year Commonwealth Secretary-General.  Daily Mail

Yemen Al-Qaeda leader al-Raymi killed by US strike

The United States has killed the leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), President Donald Trump said. Qasim al-Raymi, who has led the jihadist group since 2015, was killed in a US operation in Yemen, the White House said. The jihadist leader had been linked to a series of attacks on Western interests in the 2000s. He took over the leadership after his predecessor was killed by a US drone strike. AQAP was formed in 2009 from two regional offshoots of Al-Qaeda in Yemen in Saudi Arabia, with the goal of toppling US-backed governments and eliminating all Western influence in the region. It has had most of its success in Yemen, prospering in the political instability that has plagued the country for years.  BBC

News in brief
The meticulous research by the prime minister into history was an attempt to show, primarily, that it is the Congress and Opposition that has deviated from the secular tradition.

One of the things that keeps anti-CAA protests such as the one in Shaheen Bagh going is a moral legitimacy. It is projected as an organic uprising by citizens (especially Muslims) who have been dealt a cruel blow by an authoritarian government that has gone against the Constitution and is trying to divide the country on the basis of religion. This, in a nutshell, is the charge against Narendra Modi government.

Regardless of CAAs reality, of what it may or may not do, in opposing the government and demanding a repeal, therefore, the protestors are defending the Constitution and being the moral guardians of society  or so, at least, goes the justification and the narrative.

In two back-to-back speeches in Parliament on Thursday, the prime minister took away the moral justification behind the protests and stripped the movement of its elaborate construct to reveal the political project within.

Coincidentally, Modis intervention in Parliament on the protests came on the day Enforcement Directorate (ED) submitted a report to home ministry establishing a money trail between PFI, the extremist Islamist organisation, and Shaheen Bagh protests and political link between anti-CAA protestors and leaders of AAP and Congress.

#Alert  Exclusive details of ED report on PFI link to Shaheen Bagh protest. 120.5 crore credited in 73 bank accounts: ED report. Ashish Mehrishi with details. | #CitizenshipShowdown pic.twitter.com/jW5L9fv7jv  News18 (@CNNnews18) February 6, 2020

The ED will have to prove its case and we havent heard the last of that development, but the prime ministers twin speeches in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha dug into history and established a clear link between Indias political discourse and policy positions on non-Muslim refugees since Partition and the amendment passed by the Modi government in January 2020.

This link is important because it busts the narrative that has so far fed and justified the continued picketing in the heart of New Delhi. The demonstrations, whose Islamist underpinnings and political motives are slowly unfolding before our eyes, were based on the narrative that Modi government has deviated from Indias secular tradition in bringing a law that gives citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring nations.

Though the CAA in no way alters the legal status of any Indian citizen, this spurious narrative allowed the organisers and vested interests to use secularism, defence of the Constitution, flag-waving, Preamble-reading and anthem-singing as covers to play their political games and meet partisan objectives. The moral justification behind defence of the Constitution and Indian secular tradition also allowed extremist elements within the community such as Sharjeel Imam to use the platform as a legitimate tool and advance their dreams of breaking India.

By digging into history and reading out extracts from a resolution passed by a Congress Working Committee in 1947 to quoting extensively from Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Ram Manohar Lohia, BR Ambedkar, and even Jogendra Nath Mandal and Bhupendra Kumar Dutt, Modi launched a staunch defence of CAA during his Parliament speeches and showed that the amendment was the logical culmination of a policy of giving shelter to persecuted minorities from Indias neighbourhood that has long been part of Indias political discourse.

The positions taken by Indias former prime ministers, political stalwarts, founding father of Constitution and even lawmakers in Pakistan show that not only has CAA corrected a historic blunder, it is not anti-Muslim legislation and is rooted firmly in Indias secular tradition.

This was a surgical strike carried out on the spurious narrative against CAA by the prime minister, and he used Congress own luminaries to execute it. Modis first point of reference, during his reply to the Motion of Thanks on Presidents address in Lok Sabha, was Nehru. He referred to the Nehru-Liaquat pact signed in 1950 to point out that it was meant to protect minorities in Pakistan and posed, Why did Nehru, a big thinker and a secularist, say minorities and not all citizens of Pakistan?

He then quoted from Nehrus letter written in 1950 to Gopinath Bordoloi, Assams first chief minister, where Indias first prime minister asks the Assam government to differentiate between Hindu refugees and Muslim immigrants. In Parliament in 1950, Nehru had said that there is no doubt that the affected people who have come to settle in India deserve citizenship and if the law isnt suitable then it should be modified

Was Pandit Nehru communal? Did he want to create a Hindu Rashtra? Did he discriminate between Hindus and Muslims, Modi asked of the Opposition benches, pointing out that his government has done what Nehru had said decades ago.

He then referred to freedom fighter Bhupendra Kumar Datta, a member of All India Congress Committee, who stayed in Pakistan after Partition but eventually returned to India, protesting against abject persecution of minorities in that country. Modi quoted Datta, as saying in the Constituent Assembly so far as the side of Pakistan concerned, minorities are practically liquidated. Those who live in East Pakistan live in total frustration.

Modi also quoted from the resignation letter of Congressman Jogendra Nath Mandal, the first law minister in Pakistan who also returned to India after raising his voice against the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In the resignation letter to Liaquat Ali Khan, Mandal writes: I must say that this policy of driving out Hindus from Pakistan has succeeded completely in West Pakistan and is nearing completion in East Pakistan too Pakistan has not given the Hindus entire satisfaction and a full sense of security. They now want to get rid of the Hindu intelligentsia so that the political, economic and social life of Pakistan may not in any way be influenced by them.

In his Rajya Sabha speech, Modis first reference was former prime minister Shastri, whose words on a resolution in Parliament on 3 April, 1964, were: The House is of the opinion that in view of the insecurity of the life, property and honour of the minority communities living in the Eastern wing of Pakistan and general denial of all human rights to them in part of Pakistan, the Government of India should in addition to relaxing restrictions in migration of people belonging to minority communities from East Pakistan to Indian union also consider steps for enlisting the world opinion.

Modi then quoted Lohia, urging Samajwadi friends to listen to their ideologue and founder: I refuse the fact that we should not care about the Hindus of Pakistan since they are Pakistani citizens. Irrespective of citizenship of Pakistans Hindus, it is our duty to protect them like we protect Indian Muslims and Hindus, adding, this wasnt said by a BJP or a Jan Sangh leader but Ram Manohar Lohia. I urge Samajwadis to not ignore him.

On the anti-CAA resolutions being passed by different states, Modi, quoting Shastri again, pointed out that many states in 1964 (when most were under Congress rule) had volunteered to resettle non-Muslim refugees, and also quoted from a Rajya Sabha speech delivered by the former prime minister where he said that as far as East Pakistan is concerned, its decision seems to indicate that all non-Muslims will be driven out from there. It is an Islamic state non-Muslims cannot live there Modi then asked, Will you also call him communal?

Finally, Modi referred to the resolution passed by the CWC on 25 November, 1947, where it read: Congress is further bound to afford full protection to all those non-Muslims from Pakistan who have crossed the border and come to India or may do so to save their life and honour. This set the stage for a parting shot from Modi.

I dont think Congress was communal in 1947 and has turned secular suddenly. You could have written all communities coming from Pakistan. Why did you use the term Non-Muslims?

On NPR, that has been linked to CAA and has been opposed by various states, Opposition leaders and the ecosystem critical of the government, Modi pointed out that NPR was implemented in 2010 and biometric data was collected in 2011  when Congress-led UPA was in power.

By 2014, when you were out of power, the photo data of crores of people were collected. The work of NPR was on. NPR record which you had prepared was updated in 2015. Your record was used to reach out to beneficiaries left out of welfare schemes like Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Direct Benefit Transfer Today, you are opposing and stopping people from taking benefits of such schemes.

The prime ministers meticulous research into history was an attempt to show, primarily, that it is the Congress and Opposition that has deviated from Indias secular tradition and have gone back on their promises and words. But the speeches also elaborated how the current protests are not a result of policy dissonance but a de facto political project against the electoral hegemony of Modi-led BJP government, and expression of frustration against Modis popularity. In short, Shaheen Bagh and its clones have no lofty purpose. It is a front for anarchy and political opportunism.
The Department of Health has assured the public that it is ready to deal with coronavirus should it ever arise in Northern Ireland.

It comes as the family of an infant who was tested for the coronavirus at Londonderry's Altnagelvin Hospital await the all-clear from doctors.

However, the Belfast Telegraph understands tests on the baby have come back negative.

It is believed the baby, who is thought to be less than six months old, had flown into Ireland with his mother from Hong Kong at the weekend and had experienced flu-like symptoms.

His mother had contacted the family GP in the city with concerns about a cough before being advised to take the tot to hospital to be checked over. As is NHS protocol, the family were met at the door of Altnagelvin Hospital A&E unit by medical staff in protective clothing. It is believed the baby was tested for the coronavirus - which has killed more than 560 people and infected 28,000 in China - while police sealed off the area and diverted visitors to other hospital entrances.

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A PSNI spokesperson said: "At 7:30pm on Thursday, police attended Altnagelvin Hospital in relation to a concern for safety. The officers in attendance were advised to wait outside while hospital staff dealt with a public health matter. Shortly before 9pm, police were advised they could enter the hospital."

SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan said staff are well trained and well equipped to deal with suspected cases.

"I have had contact with the Trust on Thursday night and attended a scheduled briefing this morning," he said. "I have been reassured that they do have the people and the practice in place to deal with any suspected cases of coronavirus that present.

"My thoughts are with the family who find themselves at the centre of this storm through no fault of their own."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said: "We would like to again assure the public that plans are in place to deal with a positive test for coronavirus in Northern Ireland when it occurs. It is also inevitable that a number of people will continue to be tested on a precautionary basis in the weeks ahead and it is important to keep these tests in perspective.

"A test does not mean that a positive result is expected or likely. As of February 6, a total of 566 tests were concluded across the UK, of which 563 were confirmed negative and three positive.

"Different precautionary measures are taken as part of the testing protocols. This can include protective clothing for health and social care staff - for their protection and protection of the wider public. Again, the use of protective clothing should not be taken as an indication that a positive test is expected."

Three patients in England have tested positive for coronavirus.

A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust said: "We do not comment on the individual treatment and care of our patients, for all information and guidance regarding the coronavirus please visit www.publichealth.hscni.net."
FRESNO, Calif.While Shen Yun Performing Arts seven touring companies travel to over 100 cities in the span of 6 months each year, the classical Chinese dance companys sterling reputation travels even farther and faster.

We wanted to come and we werent ever able to, said Jeremy Pierson, who attended on Feb. 6, 2020. After two years of seeing advertisements for the New York-based performing arts company, the co-owner of a pediatric surgery center in California purchased his Shen Yun tickets nine months before opening night at the William Saroyan Theatre in Fresno.

And this year when we first started seeing the advertisements that they were coming to Fresno, we said Were going this year, and we bought the tickets, I think maybe nine months ago, said Pierson, who works on the administrative and investing side of the health care operation.

I think [Shen Yun] its amazing! The coordination of all the movements represents hours and hours and hours of practice. Thats fascinating. Its amazing. The discipline from each one of those dancers has to be amazing, Pierson said.

Piersons young daughter Kiara chimed in, I really, really like it! I think [Shen Yun dancers]  It looks so easy when they do it. But then when you actually try it, its like Good luck! Break a leg! Kiara said with a tone of facetiousness, which elicited a proud chuckle from her dad.

I mean, its super, super hard, she continued. How they make it so smooth and make it look so, so easy. Thats what I really, really like!

Shen Yuns mission is to revive traditional Chinese culture through highly-expressive and ancient art forms such as classical Chinese dance, bel canto singing, orchestral music, and couture costumes. Since traditional Chinese culture has always had an essence that is deeply spiritual, Shen Yun carries on this tradition by depicting sacred themes and divine beings on stage. Because of this, Shen Yun cannot perform in China today, due to a decades-long campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to wipe out traditional Chinese culture, which includes persecution against spiritual believers.

Pierson found this spiritual and historical aspect of Shen Yun one of its most compelling.

I think one of the most interesting things to me, he said, is that [Shen Yun] is talking about the history before modern-day China, which we assume is just communism and a lack of religion and a lack of understanding of any type of spirituality. But whats so fascinating about this history that theyre talking about is that there is a lot of spirituality. Theres a lot of these teachings that are much, much older than what we know about modern-day communist China. And its just such a rich history. Its amazing!

Many of Shen Yuns performance elements are one-of-a-kind, according to artists and technicians around the world. Its live orchestra is unique in the world, and its backdrops that employ digital projection are patented.

Pierson noted both of these elements as especially memorable for him.

The music is amazing. Obviously it gives an extra level of importance that the music is live. It would still be beautiful because the dancing is amazing if the music were not live, but since the music is being performed live right here in the theater, its amazing! Its absolutely wonderful.

Each of Shen Yuns seven touring groups travels with a full live orchestra comprised of Eastern and Western instruments playing all original scores each season.

Shen Yuns background stood out to Pierson, he said, because the colors are so vivid on the screen.

And I think that if it were just a screen, it wouldnt be as good. But what theyve done with the technology is that they [the characters and dancers] interact with the screen. When the first time that the dancer came and he jumped down, and it looked like he got on to the bird and flew away, the whole crowd was just amazed. They were like Wow! So the interaction and the magician who used his wand to pull things out of the screen, I think these are intelligent ways to use a background and yet turn it into something that is interactive with the dancers and with the audience, he said.

With reporting by Lily Yu 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.
Strategic planning is a polarizing term. For some people, its cringeworthy, conjuring up images of long meetings that are driven more by outdated process than by purpose. Ive been there myself; I remember one particularly painful strategic-planning session that consisted of two days of irrelevant data analysis and concluded in a few documents that were never referenced again.

With experiences like this, its easy to see why strategic planning gets a bad name  and why business leaders avoid it like a tax audit. But now is the worst time it to dodge it. How people travel, work, live, shop and communicate changes more frequently and significantly now than at any other point in modern history, and that means you dont have five years to respond and adapt. You might not even have one year.

The constant evolution of todays consumer and marketplace means its critical you pay attention to whats going on outside of your organization, industry and geography. If you want to build a business that lasts forever, strategic planning  specifically, external analysis  must become an ongoing, agile process.

Related: 5 Actionable Strategic-Planning Tips

Heres the good news: Analyzing your external environment doesnt have to be miserable. Lets reframe the process. At its core, reviewing your external environment is a practice in relevancy testing during times of change. It gives you an opportunity to assess if youll be consumable by, connected with and valuable to cultures and consumers in the future. Rather than using the outdated strategic planning models that arent serving you, and put your leadership team to sleep, practice relevancy testing instead. Heres how you do it in four steps.

1. Look at competitive business models

And not just the ones in your industry. DoorDash and Shipt applied Ubers model to transform how people eat, even though the transportation, grocery and restaurant industries are all very different. Other major market shifts  virtualizing healthcare, digitizing financial transactions, emphasizing sustainability and the environment  may soon impact your business. While its impossible to know what the world will look like five years from now, its important to recognize and analyze trends to prepare for whats coming your way.

2. Select the ones that are relevant to you

After youve gathered a collection of trends, determine which ones are relevant to you and your customers, and which arent worthy of further analysis. Organize that list by speed of change; although driverless cars may make a big impact in the future, theyre not coming as fast as other shifts. Place emphasis on thats happening now or soon.

3. Visualize adopting a new model

With this new perspective, ask yourself and your team: If we were opening our doors for the first time tomorrow, what would we look like? This question allows you to eliminate creative restrictions and think outside of what currently exists. One day at Iams, Clay Mathile gathered us into a conference room and told us our biggest competitor had expanded into grocery. Our task was to determine how to respond. We didnt know at the time that it wasnt true; the exercise was designed to implore us to look at our business with a new lens  and it worked.

Related: 5 Steps to Create a 1-Page Strategic Plan

4. Review competitive materials

Whens the last time you looked at your competitorss websites to analyze their positioning? Create a habit of understanding how your competitors are changing and what theyre bringing to the table so you can continue to add value and differentiate your business.

Last year at Summit, Ailerons annual two-day community gathering, Entrepreneur Editor-in-Chief Jason Feifer spoke to us about bicycles, specifically how many people in the media alleged the invention was doomed for failure and would never be adopted by society at large. Society, as we know, had other plans. This anecdote sheds light on an eternal truth: Change is inevitable, no matter how hard we push against it or how little we plan for it.

As leaders, its our responsibility to recognize the inevitability of change and embrace it rather than remaining ignorant. Regardless of the path we choose, change will happen, and we can choose to either be its champion or its prey.

Related:

How to Uncover Hidden Sales

Identifying the 4 Unique Types of Successful People

Three Reasons To Adopt AI Automation Technology In Your Grow Operation



Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
The overcrowded boat capsized and he lost every possession he owned. He was picked up by a U.S. naval ship and, along with other boat people, he later wound up in a refugee relocation camp in Alabama. He eventually moved to Virginia where he would fulfill another promise: to find his childhood sweetheart and marry her. She, too, fled Vietnam and wound up in the U.S. They have lived there happily ever after.
TASHKENT, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Executives from BP and Azerbaijan's SOCAR will visit Uzbekistan this month for talks about potential production sharing agreements to develop local hydrocarbon deposits, the Central Asian nation's energy ministry said on Wednesday.

Uzbekistan, keen to attract foreign investment to tap its large natural gas reserves, has been in talks with the two companies about three contract territories in its western Ustyurt region.

On Wednesday, the ministry said in a statement it planned to host talks with SOCAR and BP representatives this month "to discuss the main terms of a production sharing agreement". It provided no further details.

The former Soviet republic produces about 60 billion cubic metres of gas per year, exporting some of its output by pipelines to China and Russia. (Reporting by Mukhammadsharif Mamatkulov Writing by Olzhas Auyezov Editing by Louise Heavens)
Thousands of Hong Kong medical workers voted to end their strike on Friday, as the city's government warned that anyone breaking a mandatory 14-day quarantine could be jailed for up to six months.



Some 3,600 members of the newly formed Hospital Authority Employees Alliance voted to end the strike, which had been called to demand the total closure of Hong Kong's border with mainland China to put an end to an influx of coronavirus infections.



The union also wanted adequate protective equipment for hospital staff and a promise that the Hospital Authority woudn't retaliate against striking workers.



The decision came after the union said that talks with the Hospital Authority hadn't progressed, because management had failed to bring anything to the table.



Union vice-chair Ivan Law said the body that runs government hospitals in Hong Kong hadn't prepared any facts or figures about their plans to protect staff from the coronavirus epidemic or to support them.



Meanwhile, the city's second-in-command Matthew Cheung said that anyone breaching orders to remain in quarantine for the 14-day incubation period of the coronavirus could face prosecution and six-month jail term.



Anyone arriving from mainland China will be ordered to remain under quarantine for 14 days with no visitors, and can call 24-hour hotlines to access food, help, or other supplies.



Travelers planning to stay for less than 14 days will be denied entry to Hong Kong.



Essential transportation staff will be under constant medical surveillance if they need to cross the border for their jobs.



The measures came amid a surge in arrivals to 145,000 on Thursday, ahead of the implementation of the new quarantine restrictions.



"This is understandable and to be expected, because many people will be returning to Hong Kong ahead of the 14-day compulsory quarantine measures which begin tomorrow," security secretary John Lee told reporters.



"Since Jan. 30, the number of arrivals has fallen by 75 percent, although this is a partial figure, and does not reflect the overall situation," he said.



Long lines at border crossing



Media footage showed long lines at the Shenzhen Bay border crossing, with passengers scrambling to complete health declaration forms in the immigration hall, or lining up in masks with their luggage to catch the bus into the city.



Some travelers said they had come to stock up on daily necessities before heading back to mainland China, where they were based.



Some people said they had deliberately come home early to escape the quarantine measures.



"If we had just left it another two days, we might not not be allowed in," a traveler surnamed Chu told RFA.



Some 3,600 people remain confined aboard the World Dream cruise vessel at Hong Kong's Kai Tak Cruise Terminal after several people reported fever or respiratory symptoms. The 33 crew members who reported symptoms earlier have all tested negative for the coronavirus.



A quarantined passenger surnamed Lei said the mood aboard is fairly calm, with supplies being delivered daily in spite of some shortages in Hong Kong supermarkets.



"Nobody here has been diagnosed yet, the crew included," he said. "[Officials] are coming to take our temperature; it's normal to minimise large gatherings in the event of an epidemic."



Call for medications



A family member of one passenger, surnamed Cheung, said some relatives needed deliveries of medications for existing health problems, and that their families had had to find and deliver them to the ship.



"[The government] doesn't help at all," Cheung said. "Couldn't they have told us a bit sooner that it was going to be 14 days?"



Democratic Party lawmaker Helena Wong said 17 passengers and family members have requested assistance so far after running out of medication, and called on the department of health to arrange for their medications to be supplied.



Reported by Tseng Yat-yiu, Lau Siu-fung and Man Hoi-tsan for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
For Season 13 of Ink Master, the theme is Turf Wars, and the 20 artists compete in teams based on their regions: South (Jason Elliot, Money Mike Thornton, Nychelle Elise, Jordi Pla, and Patrick Flynn), East (Jimmy Snaz, Jessa Bigelow, K Lenore Siner, Emac, and Jordan Hicks), West (Angel Rose, Bob Jones, Raul Ugarte, Hiram Casas, and Arlene Salinas), and Midwest (Frank Ready, Jake Parsons, Jordan Allred, Kelly Severtson, and Jerrel Larkins).

The winner will receive a $100,000 cash prize, an editorial feature in Inked Magazine, and of course, the coveted Ink Master title. Jessa Bigelow is a competitor on Ink Master: Turf Wars, who doesnt get much air time but consistently completes top-notch tattoos every week.

Judges Oliver Peck, Dave Navarro, and Chris Nunez | Bryan Steffy

After winning their first challenge, despite only having three artists on Team East, the neo-traditional specialist took to Instagram to answer any questions her followers might have.

In one response, Jessa revealed the hardest part of competing on the show from her perspective, and how appearing on Ink Master changed her as a person.

Jessa Bigelow on Ink Master Season 13

Before participating on Season 13 of Ink Master, Jessa Bigelow tattooed and pierced full-time alongside her fiance in New Jersey-based shop, Gallery of Ink, which she also co-owns.

Jessa first became interested in the art because her father is covered in tattoos, and she used to fill them in with a marker as well as accompany him to appointments as a child.

Now 27-years-old, Jessa first started in a tattoo shop almost ten years ago cleaning and helping customers before learning how to tattoo. When shes not in the shop, Jessa travels with a group of women, Tattoo Like A Girl, and they attend conventions and guests spots around the country.

No team showed more consistency this week than the EAST! Sometimes having a leaner team pays off. #InkMaster @jessatattoos @Jimmysnaz1 @snakeoclock pic.twitter.com/HUNNu4ewUj  Ink Master (@inkmaster) February 5, 2020

For Ink Master Season 13, Jessa was selected to join Team East alongside returning artist Jimmy Snaz, K Lenore Siner, now-eliminated Emac, and Andrew Hicks, who quit the first day.

Even though Jessa hasnt received a lot of screen time as of yet, her New Jersey-inspired tattoo from the first episode, traditional fairy, and schematic tattoo of a vintage typewriter have been heavily praised by the judges, and she has yet to see the bottom.

In fact, her team won the most recent challenge with their Earth-inspired tattoos.

Jessa Bigelow explained the hardest part of competing

After the episodes air, Jessa asks her Instagram followers if they have any questions for her. One user asked what the hardest part of competing on the show is from her perspective.

The artist admitted dealing with issues or stuff going on at home that I couldnt be there to handle took a toll on her. She also revealed she was mentally strained on top of a 12 hour day and found it difficult to stay creative/perform at my peak, as well as getting critiqued on everything.

via Jessa Bigelow response

Even though it was the hardest thing Jessa has done, she feels it made me a better person, a stronger artist, and taught me about the things in life that really matter to me.

In a separate post, Jessa revealed another difficult part of competing is that the viewers at home judge her work as well as her appearance. Watch Ink Master Tuesdays at 9 p.m. EST on Paramount Network.
The Second Judicial Pay Commission has submitted its final report recommending an increase in salary, pension and allowances of judicial officers across the country to the Supreme Court. As per the recommendations, the salary of the junior civil judge or first class magistrate will be increased almost three times.

Further, the report states that the District Judge will appoint a Nodal Officer to assist the pensioners and family pensioners.

Recommendation for substantial increases have also been made in the various allowances of these judicial officers and some new allowances such as education-related allowances, domestic orderly allowances, transport allowances.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. Credit:AP Nor are obvious cultural icons necessarily included. The Statue of Liberty doesnt rate at all and 30 Rock (30 Rockefeller Plaza) is mentioned indirectly as part of a chapter Roberts devotes to the flies in the ointment, the cantankerous "holdouts" who refuse to make way for progress. "ts not an architecture book," his introduction declares. "My goal is to get you thinking about your surroundings, about things we see every day but take for granted, and about history  not by rote but in ways that resonate in issues that we still grapple with today." Buildings  of all casts and scales  are a device to tell social history: the rise of New Yorks theatre district is told through the Lyceum; from a fire in the eerily titled Asch building that killed 146 female garment workers emerges a story of the union movement, worker safety and building codes; the Tweed Courthouse exemplifies political corruption; while A.T. Stewarts Marble Palace details retails sophisticated transformation, becoming the prototype for the modern department store and a major influence on Broadways mid-19th century hotels. Instead of Frank Lloyd Wrights Guggenheim Museum, with its internationally recognised spiral, we have the 69th Regiment Armory. Both buildings could reveal New Yorks emergence as modern arts capital, but the Armory was ground zero  for America at least. The impressive Beaux Arts buildings vast scale allowed major showcases of car and aircraft manufacturing and, most famously, the 1913 Armory Show that introduced America to Cezanne, Picasso, van Gogh and Duchamp. Thirteen hundred works by 300 artists were shown across 18 octagonal galleries. Eighty-seven thousand people saw it. The same year as the Armory Show, Grand Central Terminal opened. "The nations greatest monument to 20th-century mass transportation," according to Roberts, is also a vehicle to tell the story of the building preservation movement. The destruction of Pennsylvania Station across town spurred the protection and appreciation of Grand Central, which was also at the centre of ground-breaking political movements in worker and civil rights.

Sam Roberts is a prolific chronicler of the Big Apple. Credit: Slightly less grand infrastructure projects such as the High Bridge, the citys oldest, reveal how polluted New York was in its early days. It was vital to pipe fresh water from the Croton Reserve. In fact the importance of water to the port city is reiterated by Pier A, another tale of neglect. Where once Herman Melville could write of New Yorks resident "'Manhattoes' fixed in ocean reveries" the piers would eventually be demolished. Meanwhile a recurring presence throughout the book is another piece of water infrastructure, albeit upstate. The Erie Canal (1821), connecting New York to the Great Lakes via the Hudson river at Albany and across to Buffalo, assured the citys future, allowing it to ship manufactured goods to the midwest. Perhaps the most heartbreaking story concerns the Bank of United States in the South Bronx. It was not imposing by any means, but its canonical title persuaded immigrants (mostly Jewish) to invest their life savings. When it crashed in 1930 one-third of the people of New York were affected. "The worst bank failure in the history of the republic," according to historian William Leuchtenburg. Economists still debate the role anti-Semitism had in its demise. Paradoxically, one of the funniest stories involves religious tolerance. Ostensibly it revolves around the Bowne house (the oldest in the book, circa 1661) where John Bowne harboured Quakers. Its the intolerance displayed by Peter Stuyvesant, the director general of New Amsterdam, who outlawed their proselytising, that contributed to the English wresting the colony from their commercial rivals in 1664.

"While the Dutch vastly outnumbered the English in the New World," Roberts writes, "by the time four English warships sailed into New Amsterdams harbour  Stuyvesant was so despised because of his autocratic intolerance that few of his constituents responded to his rallying cry to defend the city." The TWA Hotel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in the former 1962 TWA Flight Centre designed by architect Eero Saarinen. Credit: Sometimes the arguments for inclusion can sound shaky. For Roberts, the Flat Iron building is emblematic of the ingenuity  and necessity  to use every available piece of land, including an unpromisingly small triangular block. But he includes the photogenic Flat Iron largely because its the "most reproduced postcard reminiscence of New York"  behind the Statue of Liberty and Brooklyn Bridge. Indeed Roberts admonition to "get you thinking" makes you wonder whether a bit of research could shoehorn any building into service. Why not, for instance, use Eero Saarinens gloriously sinuous TWA Flight Centre as a way to discuss the rise of modern New York and the consequences of mass air travel? Too small to cope with the size of modern aircraft, the mid-century masterpiece was mothballed for two decades and only now has been transformed into a luxury hotel. However, such a choice highlights one possible reader frustration with the book. Just two small black-and-white pictures bookend each chapter. Stories rather than images are the drawcard.

So bountiful are New Yorks stories that Roberts sentences regularly swell with parenthetic facts and detailed subclauses.

"On October 27 Mayor George McClellan jnr, the son of the Civil War general, placed his hand on a silver throttle, cast specially by Tiffanys for the occasion, as he ceremoniously inaugurated subway service from the city hall station of the Interborough Rapid Transit System." Influential characters regularly collide with equally fascinating historic events. In 1915, while making his annual pilgrimage to Europe to find new plays to produce at his Lyceum theatre, owner Charles Frohman was killed when the Lusitania was sunk by German U-boats. Within the same chapter we learn that in 1904 Adolph Ochs, publisher of The New York Times, persuaded the obsequious Mayor McClellan jnr not only to build a subway station at his newspaper headquarters, but to rename the square in the papers honour. The motto of the Apollo - where stars are born and legends are made - could have stood for New York itself. Credit:Joel Gibson In a later chapter, the transformation of mid-town Manhattan with the Empire State and the merger of the Waldorf and Astoria hotels (owned by once-feuding rich cousins) carries another tragic maritime aside that Astoria owner John Jacob Astor IV went down with the Titanic in 1912. In such a storied city as New York, its a big claim to subtitle your book "the 400-year untold story of an American metropolis". Its not exactly that. Suffice it to say that Roberts himself has told at least one of them (the Bowne house) in his collection of 101 Objects and written an entire book on another (Grand Central Terminal).
FILE PHOTO: A worker unloads palm oil fruits from a lorry inside a palm oil factory in Salak Tinggi, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

By Mei Mei Chu

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian palm oil inventories likely tumbled to its lowest since June 2017, as dry weather and lower fertiliser usage in the second largest palm producer early last year suppressed output to near four-year lows, a Reuters surveyed showed.

January stockpiles in Malaysia are forecast to fall 12% to 1.76 million tonnes from December, the lowest in two and a half years, according to a median estimate of nine planters, traders and analysts polled by Reuters.

Production also likely dropped 9% to 1.21 million tonnes from the month before, its lowest since March 2016.

"Output fell on a combination of lower harvesting and milling activities due to the Lunar New Year holidays," said Sathia Varqa, co-founder of Singapore-based Palm Oil Analytics.

Meanwhile, January exports likely plunged 8.2% month-on-month to 1.28 million tonnes as Malaysia faced lower purchases from its biggest customers India and China.

Malaysia's monthly palm exports to India fell to about 40,500 tonnes compared to 201,450 from the year earlier, after the world's largest consumer of vegetable oils restricted imports of refined grades and informally stopped all purchases from Malaysia over a diplomatic row.

On Tuesday, Pakistan said they will import more Malaysian palm oil to help offset the lost sales to India, but traders said that would not fully compensate.

"Pakistan's edible oil consumption is around 4.50 million tonnes while India consumes 24 million tonnes; the scales are too wide," Sathia said.

Exports to China also saw a decline as the coronavirus epidemic raised fears of a sustained disruption in supply chains and eating habits in the world's most populous nation.

However, the crude palm oil market appears to be more concerned over supply shortfall than potential demand rationing due to slower global growth from the virus outbreak, Ivy Ng, regional head of plantations research at CIMB Investment Bank said in a research note.

Story continues

The benchmark palm oil contract for April last climbed 2.3% to 2,730 ringgit ($662.46) on Wednesday.

Official palm oil data will be published by the Malaysian Palm Oil Board on Jan. 10.

The median results from the Reuters survey put Malaysia's consumption in January at 258,977 tonnes.

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
Credit Suisse said on Friday it had accepted Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam's resignation following a spying scandal. The Zurich-based bank said he would be replaced by Thomas Gottstein, the head of the bank's Swiss business. Credit Suisse's board also said Chairman Urs Rohner had backing to complete his term that runs until April 2021. "Urs Rohner has led the Board of Directors commendably during this turbulent time," said board member Severin Schwan in a statement. "After careful deliberations, the Board has been unanimous in its actions, as well as in ...
Norfolk, VA, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dominion Dealer Solutions, a leader in automotive dealership software and services, announced today that it has named Shane Marcum as President of Dealer Specialties, LLC to lead the companys expanding software and services lines.

Mr. Marcum is a Kentucky native, second generation automotive operator with a twenty-five-year background in the automotive industry. He possesses a deep understanding of the industry, the product lines and the automotive community. Mr. Marcum joined Dominion Dealer Solutions (DDS) in December 2010 as the National Sales Manager for Cross-Sell, LLC where he was quickly promoted to General Manager in July 2012. In August 2017, Mr. Marcum was promoted to Vice President of Inventory Services & Solutions for DDS which included responsibilities specific to Cross-Sell, Dealer Specialties and SelectQu. He is a former Ford Motor Company franchisee and automotive industry consultant with a successful background of managing top-performing domestic and import automotive organizations at the executive level.

As President of Dealer Specialties, Mr. Marcum will report to Dominion Dealer Solutions President Dan Sykes, and will be responsible for developing and driving Dealer Specialties overall strategy, leveraging the companys existing relationships, and identifying new opportunities to support Dealer Specialties growth.

Headquartered in Monroe, Ohio, Dealer Specialties is a unified family of market-leading brands, including VinMotion inventory management software, CARScore vehicle condition reports, LiveLot video software, and DealerSpin360, among others. Serving nearly four-thousand (4,000) clients ranging from multi-rooftop automotive dealers with national footprints to single rooftop dealers at the local level throughout the continental United States, Dealer Specialties provides unique, one-stop solutions for a full range of automotive software and full service merchandising needs, including data collection, photography, window labels and inventory management and merchandising solutions.

Dan Sykes said: We are fortunate to have such a strong natural leader in Shane. Combined with his wealth of automotive industry knowledge, he is the ideal leader to capitalize on the growth prospects for the new software products being rolled out at Dealer Specialties.

Im excited for the opportunity to lead the Dealer Specialties organization and look forward to engaging with our customers and employees who serve our great industry, stated Mr. Marcum. I pride myself on leading by example and driving accountability by empowering managers and collaborating with our team at every level.

###

About Dealer Specialties:

Dealer Specialties, a division of Dominion Dealer Solutions, is the nations leading provider of vehicle data collection, image generation, window labeling services, inventory management and marketing. Providing both on-the-lot services and in-house solutions, Dealer Specialties has the industrys largest Internet distribution channel with more than 1,600 partners including GetAuto.com, Cars.com, eBay Motors, Overstock.com, Google Base, AutoTrader.com, The Cobalt Group, Manheim and more.

About Dominion Dealer Solutions:

Dominion Dealer Solutions makes dealers lives better by providing the automotive industrys most innovative technology. Products include native cloud dealer management system (VUE DMS), inventory management and data distribution solutions, vehicle registration reporting, and AI-powered Consolidated Marketing Platform for sales and service (Activator CMP).

Based in Norfolk, VA, every OEM and more than7,000 U.S. dealers depend on Dominion's foundation of innovation, integrity, excellence, and teamwork to deliver first-class, business intelligence-driven customer experiences and results. For more information, visit our website, like us on Facebook, or YouTube, or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. 
He did what any member of our military is charged with doing every day: He followed orders, he obeyed his oath, and he served his country, even when doing so was fraught with danger and personal peril, Pressman said of his client. And for that, the most powerful man in the world  buoyed by the silent, the pliable, and the complicit  has decided to exact revenge. LTC Alexander Vindman leaves the White House today. But we must not accept the departure of truth, duty, and loyalty that he represents.
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Linkedin (Reuters)  Fri, February 7, 2020 13:04 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632150c 2 News Airlines,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,wuhan,China,Lion-Air Free

Airlines are suspending flights to China in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak.

Below are details (in alphabetical order):

Airlines that have canceled all China flights

American Airlines - Jan. 31-March 27. Hong Kong service suspended Feb. 8-March 27.

Air France - Said on Feb.6 it would suspend flights to and from mainland China for much of March

Air Seoul - The South Korean budget carrier suspended China flights from Jan. 28 until further notice.

Air Tanzania - Tanzania's state-owned carrier, which had planned to begin charter flights to China in February, postponed its maiden flights.

Austrian Airlines - until end February.

British Airways - Jan. 29-Feb 29.

Delta Airlines - Feb. 2-April 30

Egyptair - Feb. 1 until further notice.

El Al Israel Airlines - Jan. 30-March 25 following a health ministry directive.

Finnair - Suspended all flights to China between Feb. 6-29, to Guangzhou between Feb. 5-March 29.

Iberia Airlines - The Spanish carrier extended its suspension of flights from Madrid to Shanghai, its only route, from Feb. 29 until the end of April.

Kenya Airways - Jan. 31 until further notice.

KLM - Will extend its ban up to March 15

Lion Air - All of February.

Oman and Saudia, Saudi Arabia's state airline, both suspended flights on Feb. 2 until further notice.

Qatar Airways - Feb. 1 until further notice.

Rwandair - Jan. 31 until further notice.

Nordic airline SAS - Feb. 4-29.

Scoot, Singapore Airlines' low-cost carrier - Feb. 8 until further notice.

United Airlines - Feb. 5-March 28. Service to Hong Kong suspended Feb. 8-20.

Vietjet and Vietnam Airlines - Suspended flights to the mainland as well as Hong Kong and Macau Feb. 1-April 30, in line with its aviation authority's directive.

Read also: Indonesia cancels all Wuhan flights in wake of coronavirus outbreak

Airlines that have canceled some China flights/routes

Air Canada- Cancelled direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai Jan. 30-Feb 29.

Air New Zealand - Suspended Auckland-Shanghai service Feb. 9-March 29.

ANA Holdings - Suspended routes including Shanghai and Hong Kong from Feb. 10 until further notice.

Cathay Pacific Airways - Plans to cut a third of its capacity over the next two months, including 90% of flights to mainland China. It has encouraged its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave in a bid to preserve cash.

Emirates and Etihad - The United Arab Emirates, a major international transit hub, suspended flights to and from China, except for Beijing.

Hainan Airlines - Suspended flights between Budapest, Hungary, and Chongqing Feb. 7-March 27.

Philippine Airlines - Cut the number of flights between Manila and China by over half.

Qantas Airways - Suspended direct flights to China from Feb. 1. The Australian national carrier halted flights from Sydney to Beijing and Sydney to Shanghai between Feb. 9-March 29.

Royal Air Maroc - The Moroccan airline suspended direct flights to China Jan. 31-Feb. 29. On Jan. 16, it had launched a direct air route with three flights weekly between its Casablanca hub and Beijing.

Russia - All Russian airlines, with the exception of national airline Aeroflot, stopped flying to China from Jan. 31. Small airline Ikar will also continue flights between Moscow and China. All planes arriving from China will be sent to a separate terminal in the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport.

Singapore Airlines - Suspended or cut capacity on flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Xiamen and Chongqing, some of which are flown by regional arm SilkAir.

UPS - Cancelled 22 flights to China because of the virus and normal manufacturing closures due to the Lunar New Year holiday.

Virgin Atlantic - Extended its suspension of daily operations to Shanghai until March 28.

Virgin Australia - Said it will withdraw from the Sydney-Hong Kong route from March 2 because it was "no longer a viable commercial route" due to growing concerns over the virus and civil unrest in Hong Kong.
Cities along Australia's east coast will be pummelled with 200mm of rain in just one day, according to a horror weather map.

A Bureau of Meteorology map shows that Sydney, Brisbane, Wollongong, Byron Bay, Grafton and Port Macquarie will all receive increasingly heavy rain over the weekend, culminating in a 200mm deluge on Monday.

The torrential rainfall is expected to last until at least Tuesday and forecasters warned that there was an increased risk of flooding in Sydney and the rest of the NSW coastline.

Much-needed rainfall has meant reprieve for exhausted firefighters and the downpours have put out 22 bushfires in the space of just three days.

By the end of Wednesday, there were 62 active fires in NSW and the ACT, which dropped to 42 by the end of Thursday and to 40 on Friday.

Storms continue to batter the state after Byron Bay was hit with 280mm of rain on Thursday night, which flooded streets and submerged cars.

On Friday night, the BOM issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall, damaging winds, abnormally high tides and damaging surf.

A Bushfire-scorched forest near Taree on the NSW mid north coast is relieved by the rainfall. Cities along Australia's east coast will be pummelled with 200mm of rain on Monday

A man stands with his car stuck in flood waters in Byron Bay. The coastal town was hit with 280mm of rain on Thursday night and flood warnings have now been issued for the NSW coast

A Bureau of Meteorology map shows that Sydney, Brisbane, Woolongong, Byron Bay, Grafton and Port Macquarie will all receive increasingly heavy rain over the weekend, culminating in a 200mm deluge on Monday

Widespread beach closures are expected on Saturday and Sunday and Surf Life Saving NSW director Joel Wiseman urged people 'not to engage in risky coastal activities' during the wild weather.

'Surf Life Saving NSW is anticipating that many NSW beaches will be closed due to dangerous surf conditions,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

'If lifesavers and lifeguards haven't put the red and yellow flags up, the beach is not safe for swimming.'

While many firefighters are having a much needed break, Emergency Service volunteers are stepping up their operations to respond to the growing flood threat.

On Friday, NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons announced that his service had begun accommodating the NSW SES.

'With significant focus shifting from fires to floods, the NSW RFS State Operations Centre has now been reconfigured to operate as the NSW SES Sydney Zone Operations Centre in support of state-wide flood operations,' he wrote on Twitter.

Large waves lashed the shore at Sydney's Coogee Beach. Surf Life Saving NSW director Joel Wiseman said many beaches will likely be closed over the weekend

The NSW SES has stepped up their operations and is using the NSW RFS operational centre to monitor flood situations.

On Friday, NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons announced that his service had begun accommodating the NSW SES

Flash flooding has already had a significant impact in both NSW and Queensland since the heavy rainfall began.

Since Wednesday, emergency services in both states have received almost 1,000 calls for help.

Five flood rescues have been carried out in NSW so far while there have been two reported rescues in Queensland.

On Wednesday night, three people were rescued after their car was washed away by floodwater in regional Queensland's Western Downs, four hours west of Brisbane.

Meanwhile, a Sunshine Coast woman was rescued from her car by emergency services after she became trapped in flood waters on Thursday.

Several roads were flooded across Greater Sydney on Friday and trains between Waterfall and Thirroul on the South Coast were been replaced by buses.

There were delays on the North Shore line after a tree fell on the line.

The Parramatta Weir has overflowed and buses have replaced ferries between Parramatta and Rydalmere.

On Friday, the rain was so heavy on the NSW Central Coast that it caused a shopping centre roof to cave in.

Over 100mm of severe rain at the Village Central Wyong shopping centre caused part of the roof to fall onto the mall floor as shoppers walked by.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, centre manager Richard Jack said: 'It's been raining outside. Nobody was hurt but the area has been cordoned off and we're trading as usual.'

Pedestrians tried used their umbrellas to brave the elements but the rain was too strong at times

At the Village Central Wyong shopping centre on the NSW Central Coast, over 100mm of severe rain caused the roof to collapse and fall onto the mall floor as shoppers walked by. Australia's east coast is being battered by a dangerous storm, which will bring a weekend of heavy rain, massive swells and severe flooding

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, centre manager Richard Jack said: 'It's been raining outside. Nobody was hurt but the area has been cordoned off and we're trading as usual.'

Trains in Sydney were delayed by up to two hours due to the heavy rain on Friday.

Roads were flooded in Sydney, Brisbane and in Byron Bay as a direct result of the wet weather, causing traffic chaos.

The weather system hit south-east Queensland on Wednesday before moving south to affect NSW. The current rain is expected to continue well into next week.

While coastal areas will be copping more than 200mm of rain, Canberra will receive up to 35mm on Sunday and 30mm on Monday.

South of the city, the Orroral Valley fire is still burning out of control, although it has dropped to a lower 'advice' level warning.

A NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman told the Canberra Times: 'We're not out of the woods yet. There are still active fires, and there are likely to be active fires after the weekend

'[Also,] we're certainly not at the end of the fire season - we've still got a number of weeks to go.'
Photo credit: Sony

From Cosmopolitan

We here at Cosmopolitan are absolutely obsessed with movies, but we get that youre a busy person and its hard to see all the films that are going to be important in any given year. In this series, Low-Key Highbrow, were giving you the basic gist on every one of those pictures you probably should have seen but never got around to. When your friend inevitably throws that Oscars watch party, were here to help you scam your way into sounding like the smartest person in the room.

Of all the movies nominated for Best Picture this year, Little Women is the only one thats fully about women. If youve made it this far in your life without reading the book or watching the movie(s), heres the deal: Four sisters growing up in Civil Warera Massachusetts navigate their teen and early adult years, trying to figure out how to create art and get married and be parents and generally just survive life in the 1800s. This adaptation of the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, and Florence Pugh as the March sisters. I rewatch the trailer at least once a week because it is a goddamn work of art.

The movie came out on Christmas Day, and considering that people have adapted this book four times already, its pretty impressive that the reviews were as positive as they were. The film has lots of awards season mainstays (Saoirse has been nominated for four Oscars and shes 25, and theres Meryl f*cking Streep), so the buzz has been there since the beginning. Greta Gerwig, who you might know as the brain behind Lady Bird, wrote and directed the film.

I saw it twice and was struck by how fresh and new the movie felt considering the subject material is, like, a million years old. Im also not afraid to admit I sobbed openly for about half of it. Also, Greta (yes, we are on a first-name basis) wrote the movie so that two separate timelines run concurrently, which is a whole new approach to telling this story. It was one of my favorite movies of 2019 because it hit me right in the feels but also because I could relate to the sisters struggles even hundreds of years after the book was published.

Story continues

Greta didnt earn a Best Director nomination, which many people thought was a snub, but Little Women earned six total Oscar nominations. Its up for Best Picture. Heres what people will be saying if it wins.

Why people would be pumped if it won:

As Saoirse/Jo herself says in the film...women. In all seriousness, the fact that this movie is written by, directed by, and brought to life by women is a big deal. Most Best Picture winners are dude heavy, historically. Almost the entire lineup this year is made up of male-driven dramas. Women make up half of the planet, and in my humble opinion, they should make up AT LEAST half of the Best Picture noms. Thats just math.

This movie is an instant classic. Not to be all cheesy about it, but I walked out of the theater thinking, Im showing that movie to my kids someday. Shouldnt that be exactly the kind of movie that should win Best Picture? Plus, the actors in this movie, particularly Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamet, and Florence Pugh, are very much still at the beginning of what will be exciting careers, which means the film will probably age well.

Its a super wholesome and pure movie thatll make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. The other Best Picture noms cover war, gangs, divorce, and villains, so recognizing a movie that is so positive would be a nice contradiction to how all of 2020 has been so far.

Photo credit: Sony

Why people would be pissed if it won:



Uhh...IDK, sexism?? When Little Women was first screening for critics and Academy voters, sources told Vanity Fair that the vast majority of the audience at every screening was female. Thats a problem because the majority of Academy members are male. In that VF story, Tracy Letts, who plays Mr. Dashwood in the film, said, I just cant believe were still having this f*cking discussion where movies by men and about men and for men are considered default movies. And womens movies fall into this separate and unequal category. Its absurd. So its possible that if Little Women wins, there will be a chunk of male humans who would be mad about that??? But they get literally everything else in this world, so I think they can calm down.

Some people felt the two-timelines structure was confusing and hard to follow. I can see how, if you havent read the book, that could be true.

While this movie is about women, every character in the film is white. Sure, some of the themes are universal, but critics have fairly pointed out that this story isnt for *all* women.

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A 22-year-old student on Friday approached Bombay High Court seeking pre-arrest bail in a sedition case lodged against them (their preferred pronoun) for allegedly shouting a slogan in support of jailed JNU student Sharjeel Imam at a LGBTQ event.

Mumbai: A 22-year-old student on Friday approached Bombay High Court seeking pre-arrest bail in a sedition case lodged against them (their preferred pronoun) for allegedly shouting a slogan in support of jailed JNU student Sharjeel Imam at a LGBTQ event.

Chudawala, who identifies themselves as Kris, approached the high court on Friday after a sessions court rejected their anticipatory bail plea on 5 February.

Chudawala's lawyer, Vijay Hiremath, mentioned the plea before Justice SK Shinde who posted it for hearing on 11 February.

The student was not granted interim protection from arrest by the sessions court to enable them to approach the high court. Chudawala is a student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences in the city.

According to police, during a rally of the LGBTQ community at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai last week, Chudawala shouted the slogan "Sharjeel tere sapno ko hum manzil tak pahuchaenge" (Sharjeel, we will realise your dreams).

Imam, a PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Historical Studies, was arrested on 28 January from Bihar after he was booked in sedition cases lodged across several states for alleged "inflammatory" speeches made during protests against Citizenship Amendment Act.

According to Chudawala's plea, the slogan was taken out of context to allege that she wanted to create hatred against a community.

The plea added that a particular section of society may not agree with the slogan but that does not amount to sedition.

Mumbai's Azad Maidan police registered a case against Chudawala and 50 others (unidentified persons) on 3 February after a video showing Chudawala raising slogans in support of Imam went viral after the LGBTQ rally on 1 February.
An airport worker was killed this morning (Feb 7) and another was injured after a plane crushed a tow truck while it was being pulled to the gate. The Boeing 737 was being moved into position to collect passengers at the Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, at around 8am local time when the accident happened. A connecting bar between the Nok Airplane and the tow truck snapped. The aircraft then continued rolling forward with the momentum before crushing the white vehicle under its body next to the wing. Engineer and groundworker Thanisorn Oncha-am was rushed to hospital but it was later confirmed that he had died from ''severe injuries sustained in the crash''. A second mechanic who was in the tow tractor was injured in the collision. CCTV footage of the incident appears to show that the towing tractor was unable to move after the bar snapped. It was then trapped under the huge plane, which has 189 passenger seats and distinctive orange and yellow bird livery. Airport director Samphan Khutharanon said: ''The Nok Air flight DD6458 from Don Mueang to Nakhon Si Thammarat collided with a Nok Air tow truck. ''The accident happened while the truck was dragging the plane to the gate to wait for passengers to travel. ''The towing device that connects the vehicle to the plane broke, causing it to stop while the plane continued moving forwards.'' Nok Air Scheduled flight DD6458 from Bangkok to Nakhon Si Thammarat in the south of the country was delayed while authorities began investigating. The regional carrier is now taking the plane out of duty in order to assess the damage and investigate what caused the crash. A new plane was used for the 8.40am flight and it departed at 9:50am. Nok Air, a publicly listed company on Thailand's SET exchange, said in a statement that they were now waiting for a post-mortem examination to confirm exactly how their employee had died. The said: ''One member of ground staff in the tow truck was seriously injured and died at the hospital and another injured officer has been taken to the hospital. ''The airline will provide assistance in terms of financial remedies for the family of the victim and continue to take good care of the family's mental state.'' Thailand has two airports serving the capital Bangkok. The Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan province handles international flights while the smaller, older airport Don Mueang that it replaced in 2006 and which now handles domestic flights and regional flights in Asia.
Native flowers and greenery have begun to bloom on South Australia's Kangaroo Island after a horror bushfire season.

New growth has been spotted in burnt out regions of the island after the landscape was ravaged by wildfire over the summer period.

Two people were killed during an out-of-control blaze on the island in January, where a third of the island was up in flames, with torched animals found littered through the Flinders Chase National Park.

Local flora has began regenerating after the flames were extinguished, with each growing shrub offering new hope for the island and it's ecosystems.

Native flowers have begun to sprout on Kangaroo Island after a devastating bushfire season

Trees in the burnt out landscape have started showing new growth and a regeneration of the local ecosystem

Residents on the island are hoping for tourist traffic to return to the island, and generated a much-needed local economic boost for local businesses.

Qantas have announced they will more than double the number of flights between Adelaide and Kangaroo Island after a decision by Regional Express to withdraw from the route.

The airline will now run 12 return flights each week, an increase on the existing five.

'Now is the time to be supporting Kangaroo Island, not deserting it,' QantasLink chief executive John Gissing said on Friday.

'What Kangaroo Island needs over the months and years ahead is for tourists to come back and a reliable air service is vital for that to occur.'

Mr Gissing said everyone at the airline was proud to be helping Kangaroo Island get back on its feet.

A dead charred koala found on the side of the road at the Flinders Chase National Park in January

Local wildlife were devastated by the fires on Kangaroo Island, with numerous animal rescue groups working on the island to gather and support injured wildlife after the fires

'We continue to work closely with tourism agencies to get the message out to potential visitors from around Australia and the world that Kangaroo Island remains one of Australia's most idyllic destinations,' he said.

Premier Steven Marshall said the extra flights by Qantas would give island tourism a major boost while federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the announcement offered tourists and locals certainty.

'The Kangaroo Island community can now be confident that regular flights to and from the Island will continue, ensuring visitors continue to access the incredible hospitality and natural beauty that Kangaroo Island has to offer,' he said.

Qantas plans to revise current timetables to ensure its new flight schedules allow easy connections through Adelaide for both domestic and international tourists.

It also plans to continue its summer services between Melbourne and Kangaroo Island.
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address in the chamber of the House of Representatives in Washington, on Feb. 4, 2020. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Appeals Court Rules Democrats Cannot Sue Trump on Emoluments Case

A federal appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump brought by Democratic lawmakers, who accuse him of illegally profiting from his vast business holdings around the world.

The three-panel judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that the 215 Congress members who brought the suit did not have standing to sue in the case. The case is centered on allegations that the billionaire president had violated the Constitutions Foreign Emoluments Clause, which prevents any person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

The Members can, and likely will, continue to use their weighty voices to make their case to the American people, their colleagues in the Congress and the President himself, all of whom are free to engage that argument as they see fit, the judges, two Republican appointees and one Democratic appointee, wrote in their 12-page opinion (pdf). But we will notindeed we cannotparticipate in this debate.

Opponents have raised concerns that Trump still owns businesses, through a trust, that are frequented by foreign and domestic government officials. The president has previously said he is losing money by being in office and called the legal action presidential harassment.

Reacting to Fridays decision, Trump wrote on Twitter, Another win just in. Nervous Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats in Congress sued me, thrown out. This one unanimous, in the D.C. Circuit. Witch Hunt!

One of the lawmakers suing Trump, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) also weighed in on the ruling, saying that he was deeply disappointed [and] alarmed by this decision.

This dismaying decision adds to the already widespread fear that the checks on unbridled presidential power, corruption, & self-enrichment have been seriously undermined, Blumenthal wrote on Twitter.

He said they were evaluating the next steps in the case and did not confirm or deny whether they plan to appeal the decision.

A Justice Department spokesperson told The Epoch Times in a statement that the department is very pleased.

The case, cited as Blumenthal v. Trump, filed in 2017, was seeking declaratory relief and an injunction against the president. The Justice Department tried to dismiss the case by arguing that the lawmakers lacked standing, no cause of action authorized the challenge, the lawmakers failed to state a claim where relief could be granted, and that an injunction against the president in his official capacity would violate the Constitution.

The district court rejected the presidents attempt to dismiss the case, but this was overturned by Fridays circuit decision who said the lawmakers did not have standing because the 29 senators and 186 members of the House of Representatives who brought the case did not represent the majority of either chamber and thus are powerless to approve or deny the Presidents acceptance of foreign emoluments. The circuit court did not decide on the question of whether the president had violated the emoluments clause.

Other emoluments lawsuits are going through the court in the 4th Circuit in Virginia and the 2nd Circuit in New York.
UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Meltzer told the rally that he visited Assange in prison in May last year on an official visit to respond to reports of Assanges psychological torture accompanied by a medical doctor and a psychiatrist. They examined and interviewed Assange for three hours in line with the internationally recognised Istanbul protocol. His report on this inspection stated that he believed that Assange showed clear symptoms of having been psychologically tortured.



Jen Robinson told the meeting that there had been serious breaches of process in her clients treatment. These included client/lawyer meetings in the Ecuadorean embassy being secretly recorded on behalf of the US authorities, and her repeated denial of access to speak with Assange in prison.

Kristinn Hrafnsonn said that charges that Wikileaks dumped data unedited were unfounded and that no one had ever come forward to say that an individual had suffered any harm because of his websites revelations. He also pointed out that there had been no prosecutions resulting from evidence published that clearly showed war crimes being committed.

Event organiser John Rees said he took hope from recent events at HMP Belmarsh, where the Wikileaks founder is detained. A petition by inmates said Assanges detention in solitary confinement was "unfair and unjust". As the result, the prison governor moved him to a conventional cell.

There will be a march calling for the Assanges extradition to be abandoned on Saturday 22 February, assembling in Aldwych at 13.30.

Story originally published on www.nuj.org.uk
An eagle-eyed Michigan sheriff was driving in suburban Detroit on Thursday when he spotted an odd decal on what appeared to be a police vehicle, which led him to unmask a suspected cop impersonator.

The bizarre incident took place on M-59 near Telegraph Road in Waterford at around 2pm.

Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard said he was driving away from a meeting in the afternoon when he came across the suspicious vehicle that was made to look like a cruiser, complete with police-style bumpers, an array of lights on the back and a sticker on the rear window that read: 'Caution K-9 Stay Back.'

Scroll down for video

One of them is not like the other: A phony police SUV is seen on the far left after the sheriff of Oakland County, Michigan, pulled over the driver on Thursday

Sheriff Mike Bouchard (left) was driving away from a meeting in the afternoon when he came across the suspicious vehicle, which was made to look like the real thing (right)

The bogus cop car (left) had police-style bumpers, an array of lights on the back and a sticker on the rear window that read: 'Caution K-9 Stay Back'

But one detail struck Bouchard as out of place: a decal on the side of the vehicle that read: 'Emergency Response.'

'I was like, "Thats not a police car. Something weird is going on here,"' he recalled to WDIV-TV as thinking to himself.

Bouchard activated his emergency lights and pulled over the black 2014 Ford Explorer with heavily tinted windows, reported Fox 2 Detroit.

He said there was a fake radar on the dashboard and a police-style computer. He also discovered a loaded .45-caliber Glock, for which he had no license, and a large Bowie knife.

'He looks at me and says, "Who are you?" And I said, "I'm the sheriff. Who are you?"' Bouchard told WDIV-TV.

The man, which DailyMail.com can now identify as 23-year-old Adrian Ansah-Asante, was booked into the Oakland County Jail on preliminary charges of false personation of a police officer and carrying a concealed weapon.

In a phone interview with DailyMail.com on Friday afternoon, the sheriff said that Ansah-Asante was dressed in civilian clothing and seemed 'nonplussed' when he confronted him.

Adrian Ansah-Asante, 23 (left), was arrested on counts of impersonating an officer and carrying a concealed .45-caliber loaded Glock. His Facebook page displays a photo of the bogus cop car (right)

Bouchard said the man identified his profession as a mechanic and cryptically added that he sometimes helps police, but he did not elaborate.

'We want to know if anybody had been stopped by this vehicle,' the sheriff said.

A Facebook page belonging to Ansah-Asante displays a photo of what looks like the back of a police vehicle displaying the 'Caution K-9 Stay Back' decal.

Bouchard said the rear of the suspect's SUV contained dog cages and the floor was covered in dog hair.

'It's just really odd, the extent to which this car had been marked to resemble a police car,' the sheriff said, noting that the vehicle featured a 'Blue Lives Matter' sticker.

Ansah-Asante has no prior criminal record in Michigan, according to Bouchard.
Samsung's Unpacked event has been penned in for February 12, and it appears it's not only Samsung fanboys that are excited about the event. In fact, the event has received a dose of hype from an unlikely source, Google.

Yesterday, the official Twitter handle of Android tweeted a Samsung Galaxy Unpacked teaser video, claiming that something exciting is just around the corner. This is quite surprising as Android's official Twitter handle very rarely teases launch events from third party manufacturers.

While there is no clarity on what changed, it is interesting to see Google hinting at something interesting for the event. Reports suggest that the big announcement that Google is set to make at Unpacked 2020 could be about Google Duo video chat support being integrated into the phone's messaging application.

A suggestion to this have also been seen in previous leaks, which claim that Samsung and Google are working to integrate Google Duo into the native messaging app. Although the feature could initially only be made available to users in Korea, there is a suggestion it will later be launched across the globe.

If not Google Duo, the tweet could also be a way for Android to show support for Samsung's upcoming foldable phone, the Galaxy Z Flip. The phone could be a good way for Android to show off built-in support for foldable technology and what it could bring with it in the future.

There are suggestions that Google could be working with Samsung on stock Android phones. However, it's unlikely as we haven't heard about the same from any credible source till now. Additionally, this would come as quite surprising considering that Samsung's been working hard on improving its One UI.

While all of this remains in the realm of speculation, what is known for sure is that Samsung will be launching the Galaxy S20 series of smartphones at its Unpacked event on February 12. The launch event is set to take place in San Francisco, where the phone maker is set to launch three new flagship S series smartphones, along with a new foldable Galaxy Z Flip device.

The Galaxy S20 series is being tipped to bring with itself several new industry firsts, with one of the phones from the series even bringing a mammoth 108-megapixel camera and 16GB of RAM under the hood. This will be the Galaxy S20 Ultra which could be made available with 128GB, 256GB or 512GB internal storage options. Here's what we can expect from the upcoming flagship.
MACAO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Macao's first confirmed novel coronavirus infection patient had recovered from the disease and was discharged from the hospital, the special administrative region's health authorities said on Thursday.

The Health Bureau of Macao said the 52-year-old female patient was discharged due to the improvement of her health after twice negative test results for any remaining presence of the novel coronavirus. All relevant laboratory indicators of her health were now at normal levels.

The woman, who had traveled to Macao on Jan. 19 from Wuhan in central China, had been diagnosed with the disease by Macao's Centro Hospitalar Conde de Sao Januario on Jan. 21 and quarantined and treated in that hospital.

The bureau added that the patient is a Wuhan resident and had left Macao on Thursday afternoon.

Macao has reported a total of ten cases of the novel coronavirus. Among them, the first seven cases were visitors from Wuhan, and the other three were Macao residents.
Burma Myanmar Deports Chinese Coronavirus Suspect While Hunting Another Four

Health workers conduct screenings at the checkpoint in Muse, Shan State, on the Chinese border. / Ministry of Information

Mandalay  A coronavirus suspect in Myanmar that the Chinese authorities raised an alarm about was found in Pang Hseng in northern Shan State and deported to China on Thursday.

The police in the Chinese border town of Ruili warned the Shan State authorities that five of its citizens, who were suspected of carrying the coronavirus, had entered the country.

The Ruili police supplied pictures of four men and the woman that came from Wuhan.

We found Xin Zui Fang in Pang Hseng last night. Tests showed she is healthy and has no symptoms of the coronavirus. We handed her over to the Chinese authorities from Wandingzhen, said Police Major Aung Htain Lin, chief of Muse police.

The Myanmar police said the Chinese authorities later reported that laboratory tests showed Xin was clear of the coronavirus.

The Chinese authorities told us this morning that she is free from the virus and healthy. We are still looking for the four men. We alerted every border checkpoint and residents to inform us if they are found and to follow the safety measures to prevent infection, he said.

Myanmars Health Minister U Myint Htwe called for increased measures to boost protection and warned that people might be infected but show no symptoms.

People need to avoid public gatherings, crowded places and follow the safety instructions to prevent infection, said the minister.

The ministry has called on the public and hotels to inform the authorities if they see sick people from countries where infections have been reported.

The death toll due to the coronavirus has reached 636 with 31,161 infections in China, according to the World Health Organization on Thursday.

The virus has spread to at least 25 countries, including Thailand, India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Australia, France and the United States.

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Autoplay, which has existed as a built-in feature since 2016, seemed designed to keep subscribers eyes on Netflix and off their streaming competitors (and real life, for that matter). When one episode of Arrested Development ended, another would begin in seconds  no need to wear yourself out by clicking a button. And if no title was revealing itself as the pick of the night, an automatic preview might whet your binge-watching appetite.
With such evocative nicknames as the Athens of the South and Music City, U.S.A., it only makes sense that Nashville boasts a vibrant indie bookselling scene mashing together books, music, and neighborliness to create a loyal customer base.

Grimeys, a 21-year-old record store beloved by Nashvillians and housed in a 4,000-square-foot former church, has been selling new and used books since 2013. The 200300 new titles30% of inventoryare primarily nonfiction pertaining to music and musicians, although the used-books selection is more eclectic.

We tend to sell a good deal of Americana books, as well as books about the folk side of things, says book buyer Jason Bennett, noting that perennial bestsellers are about and by country folk musician John Prine, who lives in Nashville and has performed at the store to promote both books and records.

Though Grimeys is an institution, the most high-profile indiea tourist destination in its own rightis Parnassus Books, founded in 2011 by author Ann Patchett and former Random House sales rep Karen Hayes. The double whammy of Davis-Kidd Booksellers closing in 2010 and Borderss bankruptcy a few months later had devastated the two women and other booklovers in a city that has long prided itself on its literary chops.

We have used bookstores, but the closest Barnes & Noble is 20 miles outside of town, Patchett told NPRs Diane Rehm at the time. I cant live in a city that doesnt have a bookstore.

In reference to Nashvilles classical aspirations, the stores mission statement declares: Mt. Parnassus in Greek mythology is the home of literature, learning, and music. We will be Nashvilles Parnassus by providing a refuge for Nashvillians of all ages who share in the love of the written word.

Less than a decade later, Parnassus has kept that promise. The 5,000-square-foot store stocks 35,00040,000 books for both adults and children, including a bay filled with signed copies of Patchetts 12 books, plus her latest recommendations. Because so many customers are musicians, the store maintains a large selection of books about music. The stores bookmobile, Peggy (short for Pegasus), makes regular stops at farmers markets, schools, and festivals, and there is even a Parnassus outpost at Nashville International Airport, managed by Hudson News.

Parnassus sponsors approximately 300 events per year, some in the store and larger ones offsite, with appearances by such local favorites as presidential biographer/historian Jon Meacham, whose latest book, Songs of America, coauthored by another local, Tim McGraw, was, with 1,600 copies sold, a Parnassus bestseller last year. Books by two other local authors topped the stores 2019 bestseller list: Patchetts The Dutch House (3,500 copies) and Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss by Margaret Renkl (close to 3,000 copies).

Nashville is in the midst of a literary revival, and Parnassus plays a vital role in this. Along with the Nashville Public Library, NPL Foundation, Bookpage, and Humanities Tennessee, it cosponsors Salon@615, a series that brings more than 30 preeminent authors and other dignitaries to Nashville regularly each year. It is also the official bookseller for the 32-year-old three-day Southern Festival of Books that, after alternating for several years with Memphis, is once again held annually in Nashville and this year runs October 911.

A city with a full-scale replica of the Parthenon obviously revels in its eccentricity, and Parnassus, too, celebrates its quirks: not only do four shop dogs owned by various of its 30 employees roam the store while their owners are on duty but there is a piano for customers to practice on. Hometown celebrities like McGraw, Roseanne Cash, Robert Plant, and Faith Hill have been spotted browsing the shelves, but it is unclear whether they ever take advantage of the piano, although alt-rock musician Ben Foldss in-store fund-raiser for NPL in August featured both a signing for his book, A Dream About Lightning Bugs, and a concert.

Amazon opened a bricks-and-mortar store in the mall across the street last summer, but Hayes reports that there has been no impact upon salesalthough she admits that the stores revenues have begun to level out after eight years of double-digit growth. The real booklovers are not interested in walking into that mall, she notes. Amazons advertising for employees didnt even mention books. That tells you everything you need to know. For us, the threat is online.

Small Stores, Neighborhood Hangouts

On the other side of the Cumberland River from Parnassus, the Bookshop was opened in 2016 by a 20-year industry veteran, Joelle Herr, whose background includes editing stints with Running Press, Workman, and Sterling. Herr says that she had an epiphany, a vision of a cozy, highly curated shop with a focus on the types of gift books Id been editing for the better part of my career. Finding a great location in her East Nashville neighborhood, she initially called it Her Bookshop as a pun on her surname, but changed it last year due to customer confusion regarding the bookstores target audience.

The stores size, 550 square feet, Herr says, requires that the 2,000-title inventory be carefully selected, with a combination of books with known customer appeal, as well as books that they may not otherwise discover. Though the occasional tourist ventures into her store, Herr describes it as a neighborhood hangout. Its programming reflects this: rather than focus on author events, the Bookshop encourages interactions, such as a book club, where customers discuss the books they are reading, have read, want to read, and even those we wish we hadnt read.

Late Migrations was a store bestseller last year, as was culinary revivalist Sean Brocks cookbook, South. Brockwho is building a restaurant complex nearbyregularly dropped by during the holidays to sign stock, which helped drive sales. And Nashvillian Julie Solas two childrens books, Run Fast, Milo! and Possum Dreams, are also selling well, in part because Sola has led some fun in-shop story times, allowing the kids to make their own prints from her original linoleum blocks.

Music, fun, and personal connections permeate Fairytales Bookstore and More, a childrens store founded in 2008 by Tammy Derr, who died five years ago. Her husband and three teenage daughters have kept the store going, along with one other employee, a former teacher who brings her infant daughter to work with her.

It was Tammys dream to open this bookstore, and her energy is still present here, John Derr says. This is her legacy. Her mission in life was to foster imagination and to connect kids with books.

Like the Bookshops Herr, Derr describes Fairytales, which won the 2011 WNBA Pannell Award for best childrens bookstore, as a neighborhood hangout that takes a highly personalized approach to doing business: it doesnt even maintain a website. The store takes up 850 square feet in a house that also contains an ice cream parlor. One room is filled with books, the other with toys.

Its a place for neighbors to come to, and its a birthday party headquarters, Derr says, describing the 3,500-title inventory as emphasizing board books and picture books, though it carries books up through young adult. A section showcases local authors, as well as a lot of books on music and our music scene. He adds, We try to cater to things that highlight Nashville.

Describing the author as one of his personal favorites, Derr notes that John Carter Cash, Johnny and Junes son, has appeared at Fairytales to promote all three of his childrens picture books. And when Grammy Awardwinning songwriter Scot Sax needed an illustrator for a picture book hed written, The Mosquito & the Bumble Bee, Derr connected him with Molly Reynolds, then a store employee, whos now off as an artist.

Making such connections is all in a days work, Derr says, explaining that he and his family have always strived to run a business where customers dont just connect with a retailer: they connect on a personal level with Nashvilles community, which is a melting pot of artists of all kinds: musicians, and authors, and other creatives.

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The Brandon Bear Clan's outreach worker Marshall Morrisseau, left, travels to Vienna in early March, joining the Canadian delegation participating in the 63rd session of the Unitted Nation's Commission on Narcotic Drugs. (File)

Brandon Bear Clan patrol member Marshall Morrisseau has a prestigious trip ahead of him.

The community steward been chosen to join the Canadian delegation of ministers, government officials and advocates participating in the 63rd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Morrisseau will travel to Vienna, Austria, in early March.

"I was so pleased and so impressed when Marshall brought this forward as an opportunity. He asked if I would help him and that was an absolute honour," said Giselle Campbell, one of 13 on the Bear Clan Womens Council. "I knew this was going to happen. They couldnt have chosen anybody better."

She wrote a letter of support and helped Morrisseau with his application package. His sister helped, as well.

Campbell said Morrisseaus knowledge is deep and from the heart.

The commission is one of the functional commissions of the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is the central drug policy-making body within the UN system, and has important functions under the international drug control conventions, according to the UNs website.

The opportunity came by way of his affiliation with We Matter as an ambassador of hope, a national program to empower Indigenous youth. It was that projects co-ordinator who alerted him to the opportunity, saying it was a good fit.

"They were looking for a youth representative, and basically the youth delegate is age 18 to 24 and has knowledge, experience with narcotics and drug use in their community, is aware of the needs, and has an awareness of what needs to be implemented as far as services go, and what sort of programming a community or even the province would need," Morrisseau said.

For the Bear Clan, the 23-year-old Cree man works with people who struggle with addictions. He is one of two outreach workers. He outlined this work, what he has seen and come to know, including the needs that must be met. He noted the work hes done in the past with child and family services agencies, with youth who struggled with addictions.

"That started my own knowledge of harm reduction, which is a big thing that we believe here," said Morrisseau.

Campbell is especially excited, as the news about Morrisseau comes days after James Favel, the Winnipeg Bear Clan Patrols leader, learned he would travel to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, to participate in the UNs World Urban Forum Feb. 8 to 13.

The Bear Clan Patrol concept, resurrected in Winnipeg by Favel in 2015, has spread to more than 60 communities across Canada.

As the Brandon chapter puts it on their Facebook page, the patrol is a community-based solution to crime prevention, providing a sense of safety, solidarity and belonging to both its members and to the community.

Volunteers, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, walk the streets, hand out food, warm clothing and other necessities.

Morrisseau is an active advocate  he was hired last year to increase donations and increase contact in the community. On patrol, he wears the same telltale bright orange vest the other volunteers wear. Most recently, he takes out a mock youth patrol where he teaches young people about the work being done.

"I do a lot of the trench work so the womens council can focus on the strategic planning," said Morrisseau.

Donations are steady and have increased, while there are more than 350 volunteers registered to patrol. Each Thursday and Friday, 20 patrollers head out.

"When it (the Bear Clan) started, there was a high need for those that are out on the street. I see there being change in the way that we have people who are advocating for those that are struggling. With the needles, as well, theres a crisis in our downtown. Weve addressed that by disposing of them properly," Morrisseau said.

He adds that the Bear Clan has helped bridge the education gap, addressing the stigma people can heap on those who are struggling with addiction and those who are homeless.

"Its not rocket science. Its just caring for people, Indigenous and non-Indigenous," said Campbell, quoting Favel.

When he applied, Morrisseau said to his partner Gabrielle Jubinville he was definitely going to Austria. He feels everything hes done so far has led to this opportunity. Wednesday, the day before his birthday, he woke up to the news.

"Guess who else is going to the UN," Campbell asked him.

 mletourneau@brandonsun.com

 The Local Journalism Initiative is a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.
MONTREAL, Feb. 4, 2020 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin (TSX: SNC) is pleased to announce its wholly owned subsidiary Candu Energy Inc. has been awarded four contracts by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (KHNP) worth approximately $22 million in total. The awards consist of multi-campaign field inspections, prolonged operation assessment and thermalhydraulic computer code updates. The inspections will provide assurance to KHNP and the Korean nuclear regulator that the CANDU nuclear reactors at the Wolsong site continue to be safe to operate until the next planned inspection. All the contracts are within SNCL Engineering Services, the cornerstone of our strategy moving forward to greater growth and support for our partner and customer.

SNC-Lavalin will inspect fuel channels and perform pressure tube sampling campaigns for Wolsong Units 2, 3 and 4, all to begin in 2020. An engineering analysis and assessment will be completed on the fuel channels and fuel channel components (including calandria tubes) for Wolsong Units 2, 3, and 4. The thermalhydraulic computer codes (CATHENA and NUCIRC) update will support KHNP in updating the safety analysis report for Wolsong units 2,3 and 4.

"We are always proud to have these opportunities to support KHNP and the CANDU reactors at Wolsong as we have done so safely for decades," said Sandy Taylor, President, Nuclear, SNC-Lavalin. "SNC-Lavalin has performed these campaigns for over 20 years and continues to conduct these inspections on both international and domestic CANDU reactors using the latest tools and technologies for inspections and non-destructive testing."

The Wolsong CANDU nuclear power plants are owned and operated by KHNP. The four units at Wolsong are 700 MWe class CANDU 6 reactors. Units 2, 3 and 4 began operation in 1997, 1998 and 1999 respectively. CANDU reactors produce clean, low-carbon energy and are designed to operate economically and reliably for up to another 30 years with an extended outage at mid-life to replace fuel channels. SNC-Lavalin is the steward of the Canadian CANDU nuclear reactor technology.

About SNC-Lavalin

Founded in 1911, SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world. SNC-Lavalin connects people, technology and data to help shape and deliver world-leading concepts and projects, while offering comprehensive innovative solutions across the asset lifecycle. Our expertise is wide-ranging  consulting & advisory, intelligent networks & cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project & construction management, operations & maintenance, decommissioning and sustaining capital  and delivered to clients in four strategic sectors: EDPM (engineering, design and project management), Infrastructure, Nuclear and Resources, supported by Capital. People. Drive. Results. www.snclavalin.com

SOURCE SNC-Lavalin

For further information: Media, Daniela Pizzuto, Director, External Communications, 514-393-8000, ext. 54772, [email protected]; Investors, Denis Jasmin, Vice President, Investor Relations, 514-393-8000, ext. 57553, [email protected]

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Scientists have urged caution around claims the deadly Coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegally trafficking of pangolins.

The coronavirus, which is believed to have originated in a fish market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has now spread to more than 25 countries outside China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.

The illegal trafficking of pangolins could be linked to the Coronavirus outbreak (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

On Thursday, according to the Reuters news agency, the South China Agricultural University identified the pangolin as a potential intermediate host. The university said in a statement: This latest discovery will be of great significance for the prevention and control of the origin (of the virus).

However, experts have warned more information is needed to be made public before any conclusions can be drawn.

Prof James Wood, Head of Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, said: The evidence for the potential involvement of pangolins in the outbreak has not been published, other than by a university press release. This is not scientific evidence; investigations into animal reservoirs are extremely important, but results must then be published for international scrutiny to allow proper consideration. Simply reporting detection of viral RNA with sequence similarity of >99% is not sufficient.

Dr Efstathios Giotis, Research Fellow in Department of Infectious Disease, Imperial College London, said: All research claims need to be rigorously and independently scrutinised by experts in the subject area to confirm whether they are valid.

He added: Identifying a 99% identical virus in pangolins suggests that pangolins have an important role in the lifecycle of the virus, presumably as intermediary hosts.

Pangolins are believed to be the most illegally traffic mammal in the world

Pangolins are the worlds only scaly mammals, and prized in Asia for food and medicine. Their scales are made of keratin, which is the same protein found in rhino horn and human fingernails.

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They are believed to be one of the world's most trafficked mammal, accounting for as much as 20% of all illegal wildlife trade.

Although protected by international law, illegal trafficking is rife because pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China, and its scales are used in traditional medicine, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Dirk Pfeiffer, professor of veterinary medicine at Hong Kongs City University, also cautioned that the study was still a long way from proving pangolins had transmitted the virus.

You can only draw more definitive conclusions if you compare prevalence (of the coronavirus) between different species based on representative samples, which these almost certainly are not, he said.

Even then, a link to humans via food markets still needs to be established, Pfeiffer added.

READ MORE ON YAHOO NEWS UK:

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Coronavirus: Chinese whistleblower doctor 'in critical condition' after earlier reports he had died

There are at least 320 confirmed cases of coronavirus in more than 25 countries and territories outside mainland China. Two people have died outside of mainland China from the virus -- a 44-year-old Chinese man in the Philippines, and a 39-year-old man in Hong Kong.

The news comes after a third person in the UK was diagnosed with coronavirus. The middle-aged British man is understood to be the first UK national to contract the disease after apparently catching the illness in Singapore.

---Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK---
Real Housewives Of New Jersey personality Melissa Gorga admitted she was never fond of Joe Giudice, her sister-in-law/co-star Teresa's ex.

The reality star made her confession while calling in to chat with Jonathan 'Foodgod' Cheban on his Foodgod podcast for Thursday's episode.

'I'm really not close to him. I never was and I'm not gonna deny it,' Melissa said in a matter of fact manner.

Not her cup of tea: Melissa Gorga admitted that she and husband Joe never really liked Teresa Giudice's husband Joe. The couple are seen in 2018 above

'We were never besties... I never thought he was the greatest,' she went on.

Making it clear she and husband Joe were no longer on good terms with ex-con Giudice, she even admitted that they'd cut ties with him on social media.

'My husband unfollowed him on Instagram because he thinks he's crazy on Instagram,' Melissa dished.

The reality star said that the split was best for everyone.

'It's time to make new lives. I think they've both accepted it. The only thing everybody was holding on for is, obviously, the kids, because they want their kids to have their parents together.'

On the town: Cheban is seen here heading to Paris Hilton's birthday party on Thursday

She went on, 'But sometimes it just doesn't work out and it's not working out because they live in two different countries at this point, so it is what it is.'

Melissa also talked about her relationship with Teresa, admitting that while they respect each other, they don't spend much time together.

'I don't see her a ton, we'll see her on Sundays for dinner... We're both now at a point we're so busy, having kids and husbands and appearances and all of these social things... We don't have a lot of extra time. We're both really, really busy,' Melissa said.

Not a lot of fans: Joe is seen above on Instagram

The latest: Teresa told PeopleTV that her separation from estranged husband Joe, 47, was a long time in the making

Teresa recently said her separation from estranged husband Joe was a long time in the making.

'I've known for like a long time,' the Bravo beauty, 47, told PeopleTV on Thursday. 'Just because we've been apart for so long. Like, we've been apart for a really long time. I've had - after my mom passed away - like a lot of resentment, a lot of things that just happened after I lost my mom.'

She added: 'It's just been a build-up ... but I do wish him well and I just want him to be happy.'

Teresa spoke to the outlet along with pal Dolores Catania amid a new Real Housewives of New Jersey episode in which she revealed to her brother Joe Gorga that it was 'hurtful to hear' Joe Giudice when he told her, 'I feel nothing for you.'

Problems: Teresa said there was 'like a lot of resentment' between her and Joe

She told People of the remark, which Joe Giudice made while he was behind bars, 'I think where he was, he was really angry, just because of the situation and everything. And I think he just took out a lot on me.'

On the show, Teresa told her brother that her estranged husband told her that he wouldn't be mad if she found somebody else.

The mom-of-four, who shares daughters, Gia, 19, Gabriella, 16, Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11, with Joe, 47, told People that she remains on cordial terms with Joe, who was recently seen frolicking on a beach with multiple women in bikinis at an Isla Mujeres, Mexico resort.

Got her back: Teresa spoke to the outlet along with RHONJ pal Dolores Catania

Simpatico: Teresa made clear she and Joe remain on fond and cordial terms

Teresa said she told both Joe and her daughters that for the sake of them, she would happily support Joe in any new relationship he begins.

'I even told the girls ... and him this,' she said. 'When [he's] with someone, I'll even come and hang out with you with her and with our daughters because I want to make it good.

'I want to make it good for my daughters because if I'm good with it, then they'll be good with it.'

Teresa made clear she and Joe remain on fond and cordial terms.

'I will always have a special place for him in my heart,' she said. 'He texts me all the time that I love you. I adore you. You're the best wife, best mother.'

She continued: 'We want the best for each other, I want him to be happy. He wants me to be happy. And that's it. We're going to be the best parents we could to our four daughters.'

Supportive: Teresa said she told both Joe and her daughters that for the sake of them, she would happily support Joe in any new relationship he begins

Moving forward: Teresa told the outlet that she didn't foresee any rekindling of the romance amid the ongoing legal circumstances

Teresa told the outlet that she didn't foresee any rekindling of the romance amid the ongoing legal circumstances.

'We're separated from the Atlantic Ocean - and from the federal government, so we really, how can I be with someone [when] he lives in Italy and I live here?' she asked.

The estranged couple remains picking up the pieces after their 2014 convictions in connection with mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud.

Teresa served 11 months her a 15-month sentence and was released in December of 2015, while Joe began serving his 41-month prison sentence in March of 2016 at Fort Dix, New Jersey's Federal Correctional Institution.

Things further got complicated for Joe, who was born in Saronno, Italy and but never applied for U.S. citizenship, when federal officials ordered his deportation following his sentence, due to his admission to 'a crime of moral turpitude' or 'aggravated felony.'

He was subsequently held in ICE custody at Pennsylvania's Clinton County Correctional Center from March 2019 until he eventually was taken to Italy in October.
The police on Thursday admitted the loss of an inspector following a raid on a hideout of suspected terrorists in Kaduna State Wednesday.

Chief police spokesperson Frank Mba said Thursday night that Muhammed Abubakar, a member of the elite police special forces, was the only casualty recorded in the dawn raid that left at least 250 suspected criminals dead.

The police said those killed included members of outlawed Ansaru sect, bandits and other criminals supposedly using Kuduru forests as a hideout.

Mr Mbas statement came a day after he told PREMIUM TIMES that no officer was killed.

He also said that two officers who were in a police chopper that was allegedly shot down by the suspected terrorists only sustained minor, non-life-threatening injuries.

But on Thursday evening, amidst raging suspicion that the police account of the operation left more questions than it answered, Mr Mba said the police lost a dedicated inspector.

He also provided names of two suspects out of the over 250 he said were neutralised during the raid on Wednesday morning.

Haruna Basullube, a suspected cattle thief, and Bashir Leta, a suspected bandit, were the only two high-profile deaths named by the police on Thursday night.

READ ALSO:

Two other suspects, Mallam Abba, labeled as a Boko Haram commander in Kuduru Forest, and another man named only as Mofa, sustained injuries.

Mr Mba did not immediately return a request seeking clarification on whether Messrs Abba and Mofa were arrested after being critically injured.

Mr Mba said officers recovered 11 AK47 rifles with 730 bullets and other munitions. Thirteen pairs of military fatigues, two cartons and 48 sachet of contraband tramadol, masks, phones and other items were also collected from the scene.

Mr Abubakar was hailed as one of the finest officers in the special forces, with vast training and operational background, both at home and abroad.

Born on July 8, 1985, he enlisted into the Nigeria Police on June 1, 2008 as a constable, becoming an inspector before his untimely death in action. He received training in Belarus and once participated in combat against Boko Haram, police said.

Mr Mba said the police leadership consoled with the officers family, friends and professional colleagues.
Hero Electric on Friday announced partnership with State Bank of India to provide dealer network inventory financing solutions.

This partnership will allow Hero Electric to widen its reach in the country, thereby extending its pan India customer base, the company said in a statement.

Hero Electric aims to have 1,000 dealerships across the country this year and the partnership will allow existing dealers to invest more and encourage new dealers to sprout across the country, it added.

Commenting on the tie-up, Hero Electric CEO Sohinder Gill said, "We are pleased to have SBI as our partner and we are confident that their expertise and nationwide presence will allow our dealer network to seamlessly expand their business and manage cash flows through attractive rates on inventory financing."



Moreover, Gill said,"It will empower the dealers to cater to a wider customer base and achieve their sales target efficiently."



SBI MD (Retail & Digital banking) PK Gupta said, Hero Electric are the pioneers in promoting clean and emission free mobility and through the partnership "we as the leading bank of India will also be contributing to the government's vision of adopting green mobility".

"Lending support to the brand's widespread dealer network will allow the brand to access SBI's pan India network for best financing solutions to its dealers across India," Gupta added.

Hero Electric said the partnership with SBI will help the brand's products make inroads in Tier 3 and Tier 4 markets and raise awareness around electric mobility.

The company said it plans to take its current 620 touch-points to 1,000 by end of 2020. It also plans to ramp up production capacity of its electric scooters to 5 lakh units annually with a focus on low-speed scooters for last mile connectivity.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
COVINA, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2020 / North America Frac Sand, Inc. dba Voycare (OTC PINK:NAFS) ("NAFS" or "Voycare"), is pleased to announce it has signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Incinta Medical Holding Limited ("Incinta"), a California-based global reproductive medical company with state-of-the-art fertility treatment clinics in the U.S., Cambodia and Russia, specializing in Natural Cycle IVF (NC-IVF), Minimal Stimulation IVF (MS-IVF) and modified conventional IVF.

The MOU covers several areas of collaboration including but not limited to marketing support, business development, investment opportunities and travel services; relating to the expansion of Voycare's IVF services at a global level, in order to better facilitate overseas Chinese medical tourists in need of high-quality fertility treatments, such as in vitro fertilization, egg freezing, embryo freezing and transfer, and intrauterine insemination among others.

The MOU outlines Incinta will receive marketing support across Voycare's many marketing assets, helping Incinta further tap into China's rapidly growing IVF market, which is expected to grow to US$ 1.5 Billion by 2022, according to a recent report by BIS Research. Voycare's dedicated travel specialists will also oversee all travel logistics ensuring world-class travel for medical tourists visiting Incinta clinics

In return Voycare will benefit from Incinta's global network of best-in-class fertility treatment centers with high live-birth success rates. Incinta's Phnom Penh fertility clinic alone, was able to provide reproductive treatment to over 1,000 patients in 2019. Fertility centers in Los Angeles and Moscow will open for operations in March and June 2020, respectively.

Lastly, per the new partnership, both parties will assist each other in exploring new business and investment opportunities mutually beneficial to each other.

"We're excited to be signing an MOU with a global IVF provider like Incinta," said Voycare CEO, Hong Chen. "We feel very confident this partnership will allow both of our companies to grow our businesses globally and achieve our mid to long term projections ensuring we continue to help expecting parents realize their dreams of building a family, as well as maximizing value for our shareholders. This MOU is in line with our company mission, which is to provide access to quality health care to overseas patients unable to attain the necessary medical care in their home countries."

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Voycare and Incinta have agreed to negotiate expeditiously and in good faith to enter into a more formal Definitive Agreement, or equivalent type agreement, having terms and conditions set forth in the MOU.

For more information about Voycare, please visit, www.voycare.com or follow us on Twitter @nafsvoycare.

About Voycare

North America Frac Sand, Inc. (NAFS) dba Voycare (www.voycare.com) is a California based medical tourism service provider helping overseas patients gain access to quality health care primarily in the fields of oncology, in vitro fertilization, cosmetic surgery and wellness. Voycare's executive team has over 20 years of cross border tourism experience, specifically servicing Chinese outbound travelers to North and South America.

About Incinta

Incinta Medical Holding Limited (www.incinta.cn) is a California-based global reproductive medical company with state-of-the-art fertility treatment centers in the U.S., Cambodia and Russia, specializing in Natural Cycle IVF (NC-IVF), Minimal Stimulation IVF (MS-IVF) and modified conventional IVF.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains certain forward-looking information. All information, other than information regarding historic fact that addresses activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future is forward-looking information. The forward-looking information contained in this news release reflects the current expectations, assumptions and/or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to the Company. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. Any forward-looking information speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking information, either because of new information, future events or for any other reason. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking information are reasonable, forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such information due to the inherent uncertainty therein.

China IVF market reference, for more information see:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-16/chinese-women-are-driving-a-global-fertility-industry-boom

Contact Information

Voycare

+1.626.784.5846

info@voycare.com

www.voycare.com

SOURCE: North America Frac. Sand Inc. / Voycare





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https://www.accesswire.com/575513/Voycare-Enters-into-MOU-with-Incinta-Medical-Holding-Limited-to-Further-Tap-into-Chinas-Rapidly-Growing-IVF-market-of-US-15-Billionby-2022




BERKELEY (BCN)

UCSF Health and John Muir Health have opened a new cancer care center in Berkeley.

The cancer center, which is located in the jointly-operated Berkeley Outpatient Center at 3100 San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, opened on Monday.

Appointments are available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

"Adding cancer services to the wide range of specialties that we are able to offer reflects our commitment to meeting the needs of our patients in one location, close to home," Dr. Caroline Schreiber, a family medicine physician and medical director of the Berkeley Outpatient Center, said in a statement.

Schreiber said, "Having primary care and specialist physicians together in our Outpatient Center enhances collaboration, knowledge sharing and care coordination, so patients receive the best possible care and expertise from UCSF and John Muir Health."

Berkeley Outpatient Center officials said that with the addition of cancer care they now have 19 specialty care services available, as well as primary care, urgent care, lab and imaging services.

Shelby Decosta, the president of UCSF Health affiliates network and UCSF Health's chief strategy officer, said, "UCSF Health and John Muir Health are collaborating to bring the most advanced cancer service to Berkeley, home to many patients we jointly serve."

Decosta said, "These patients will have access to the most precise and personal cancer care services that both of our organizations offer through our developing cancer network that is designed to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients."

Mike Thomas, the executive vice president and chief transformation officer at John Muir Health, said, "We're excited to open the first of several locations for cancer services in Berkeley as we develop a broader cancer network in the East Bay."

Thomas said, "There is a growing demand for cancer care and long-term surveillance that stems from an aging population, a rising incidence of cancer and a significant increase in the number of cancer survivors."

Berkeley Outpatient Center officials said cancer specialists will provide a full range of clinical care, including treatment for both newly diagnosed and metastatic cancer patients, as well as ongoing surveillance and survivorship care.

For patients with breast cancer or benign breast conditions, breast surgeons will be available for evaluations and discussions of treatment options, including the latest minimally invasive techniques.

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.
ITHACA., N.Y -- A second Cornell University student is in isolation after presenting symptoms on Sunday that met criteria for a possible Coronavirus case, Cornell university officials said today

The student, who does not live on campus, is receiving medical care while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention processes lab tests, Cornell officials said in a statement. Results of the lab work can take a week.

Earlier this week, another Cornell student was tested for the virus, but the CDC and Tompkins County Health Department confirmed that this person does not have the disease, Cornell officials said.

"We are grateful for this good news and for the expertise and compassion exhibited by the campus and community staff members who have been assisting this student,'' university officials said. We are again hopeful for the best possible outcome with the second student, official said.

The virus, which has sickened about 12,000 people across the world, the vast majority with connections to China. The outbreak was first reported in Wuhan, China on Christmas Eve.

There are no confirmed cases in the state of New York at the moment.

The university is providing additional information and updates about the situation as it develops on its Cornell University novel coronavirus website.

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 electoral commission chair Jane Ansah, who supports the appeal, says the court overstepped its powers.

Malawis President Peter Mutharika and the countrys electoral commission have formally filed an appeal against a court ruling that overturned his win last year.

I can confirm that the court has received both appeals by first respondent [the president] and second respondent [electoral commission], High Court Registrar Agnes Patemba told the Reuters news agency on Friday.

A sworn statement by Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) Chairperson Jane Ansah, who supports the appeal, said the constitutional court overstepped its powers by ordering parliament to convene within 21 days to amend the Electoral Act.

Ansahs statement also asserts that the budget for a fresh election would cost Malawi a lot of money unless enforcement of the courts judgement is suspended.

The constitutional court on Monday annulled last years disputed presidential election results, citing widespread irregularities and ordering a new vote.

The election last May returned the sitting president to power, leading to deadly confrontations and widespread unrest.

The MEC had declared Mutharika the narrow winner of the May election with 38 percent of votes, followed by Lazarus Chakwera with 35 percent and former Vice President Saulos Chilima third with 20 percent.

Mutharika had denounced the ruling as a serious subversion of justice, an attack on our democratic systems and an attempt to undermine the will of the people.
(Bloomberg) -- The Pentagon is bolstering the number of warships the Navy will seek in its fiscal 2021 budget request after the White House complained an initial proposal was too low to meet President Donald Trumps long-term target, according to officials.

In the budget proposal expected Monday, the Navy will request funding for eight ships, up from seven in a draft service request in mid-December. The new request for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 includes two DDG-51 Arleigh Burke destroyers built by General Dynamics Corp., one more than the service proposed seeking in the December draft.

The Navys proposal indicates it was unable to add a second Virginia-class submarine, for a total of two, instead of the additional guided-missile destroyer. That move to swap the sub for the destroyer came after the Pentagon, under pressure from the Office of Management and Budget to bolster funding for the agency that manages nuclear weapons, shifted about $1.6 billion in proposed funding away from the submarine program for that effort, according to officials.

The overall request will help the Navy get marginally closer to Trumps long-term goal of creating a 355-ship fleet. The service was pressed by the White House budget office in December to accelerate its ship-building plans to show it could achieve a fleet of that size including manned and unmanned ships, by 2030. Thats about four years earlier than the Navys public plan and more than 20 years earlier than a previous schedule.

Still, eight ships would be less than the 11 ships that the administration requested for procurement in last years budget for this year and less than the 13 that Congress authorized in its action on the current budget, Ronald ORourke, a naval analyst for the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service, said in an emailed statement.

White House Presses Navy to Stick With Trumps 355-Ship Target

Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly and Defense Secretary Mark Esper reached agreement on the new budget proposal, which came as Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican, spearheaded a successful effort to boost funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration by about $2.5 billion to nearly $20 billion. To meet that goal, the Pentagon shifted about $1.6 billion of the proposed funds away from the submarine program. The remaining defense dollars were shifted from other areas.

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The funding shift likely wont sit well with Armed Services Democrats Jack Reed of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Tim Kaine of Virginia. The Virginia-class submarine is made jointly in Connecticut and Virginia by General Dynamics and Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc.

A significantly expanded naval fleet was a key campaign promise of Trumps in 2016. The Navys proposal in December targeted a 287-ship fleet by fiscal year 2025 -- the last year of a potential second Trump administration, according to the budget office. But that level, which included the decommissioning of 12 warships to save money, would be well below the long-term 308-ship target set by the Obama administration, the budget office said in a memo obtained by Bloomberg News.

The service currently has 293 deployable vessels.

Navy Deploys Low-Yield Nuclear Warhead on Sub For First Time

The public battle over the adequacy of the next five-year shipbuilding plan will be get underway next week when the Navy releases its final fiscal 2021-2025 blueprint.

The budget proposal will likely meet the approval of National Security Advisor Robert OBrien. Before he joined the Trump administration, OBrien was the co-author of an April 2017 article in Politico entitled How Trump Can Build a 350-Ship Navy. Addressing Trumps goal, OBrien wrote that if he succeeds, he will join Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan as presidents who have shaped the world and America through their commitment to the Navy.

Modly referred to OBriens support for a larger fleet last week during a Washington event where he discussed force structure and the need to balance buying more vessels but not at the expense of a force that cant be maintained.

We dont want a hollow force, Modly said. Still, he added in reference to the 355-ship target, Its my obligation to give the president a plan, give the secretary of defense a plan, for how we can get there at the lowest amount of cost.

(Adds CRS analysts comments in fifth paragraph)

To contact the reporter on this story: Tony Capaccio in Washington at acapaccio@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Bill Faries at wfaries@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

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Additional reporting by Brian Hutton

Latest: Leo Varadkar said Jim O'Callaghan could have recused himself from representing Gerry Adams.

"You can recuse yourself from a case if you declare a conflict of interest," he told Clare FM.

"Now isnt it a conflict of interest that the Fianna Fail justice spokesperson, who was legal advisor to Micheal Martin before he was justice spokesperson, is representing the (then) leader of Sinn Fein, the former leader of Sinn Fein in the courts?

"Im pretty sure, if he wanted to, he could have found a way to recuse himself. "

Mr Varadkar added: "There is a lot of people now in Fianna Fail - candidates all over the country - who have indicated in the past couple of weeks that they are open to coalition with Sinn Fein.

"I think a vote for Fianna Fail is a vote for Sinn Fein in this election."

O'Callaghan: I do no discriminate against people as a barrister because of their politics

Fianna Fail's Jim O'Callaghan said it would be a breach of his profession's code of conduct if he refused to represent someone legally because of their politics.

It is after it emerged Mr O'Callaghan was hired by former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams to act in a defamation case.

Barrister and TD Jim O'Callaghan has been heavily critical of Sinn Fein during the election.

But the Fianna Fail candidate said he separates his private profession and his politics.

"I represented thousands of people, I've been a barrister for 25 years," he said.

"I've represented Fine Gael TDs and ministers, Fianna Fail TDs and ministers, Labour politicians, people from the SDLP, Sinn Fein, unionist parties in Northern Ireland, prominent businessmen and prominent trade unionists.

"I do no discriminate as a barrister between people who come to me looking to be represented, nor could I.

"I would be breaching the code of conduct of the Bar of Ireland if I decided I was not going to represent that person because I don't like their politics."

However, Fine Gael's Regina Doherty said the Bars code of conduct allows for barristers to step away from a case where there is a conflict of interest or likelihood of a conflict of interest arising.

But what we have here is Fianna Fail want us to do what they say and not what they do, she told RTEs Today with Sean ORourke.

You have to be able to trust in what people say. So before people go to the ballot boxes on Saturday and make that decision I think it is fair for them to know if they can trust what Fianna Fail says.

And is it fair for Jim OCallaghan to come out and lambast Sinn Fein for their policies or for their past political manoeuvres and still be able to take their coin by doing their work.

Ms Doherty said she was not just singling out Mr OCallaghan, adding that a number of Fianna Fail TDs had suggested a coalition with Sinn Fein was possible.

On Mr OCallaghan not being a TD when representing Mr Adams in 2015, Ms Doherty said: Jim was desperately attempting to be a TD in 2015 and always knew he was going to be on the ticket.

It is about whether people can trust Fianna Fail when they say they wont go into government with Sinn Fein, she said.

Ms Doherty said there are decent people in Sinn Fein and accepted she worked with the party during her time as Government Chief Whip.

But it was the partys policies which were absolutely unacceptable to her, she added.

You have to talk the talk, and walk the walk.
New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested a Delhi government officer Gopal Krishna Madhav, who is posted as Officer On Special Duty (OSD) to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on bribery charges.

Gopal Krishna Madhav, an Andaman Nicobar Island Civil Services (DANICS) officer who is posted in the office of Delhi Deputy CM, was nabbed by the CBI after he was allegedly caught red-handed while taking a bribe of Rs 2 Lakh. According to sources, the central agency had laid a trap and caught him red-handed while taking a bribe to settle a tax evasion matter.

Subsequently, he was taken to the agency headquarters for questioning and formally placed under arrest. However, no involvement of Manish Sisodia in the case has been established so far and the investigation is going on, the sources said.

Live TV

As per the Delhi government website, Madhav was appointed as an OSD to the Deputy Chief Minister in 2015. The arrest comes several hours ahead of the crucial assembly election in Delhi.

Earlier on Thursday, a criminal complaint was filed against Sisodia for allegedly inciting violence by blaming Delhi Police for setting transport buses on fire during the violence in Jamia Millia Islamia in December.

The high-voltage campaigning for Delhi Assembly election came to an end on Thursday. Aiming to dislodge AAP from power in Delhi after a gap of 22 years, the BJP targetted the ruling party over its support to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests at Shaheen Bagh and failure to deliver on key promises.

Addressing a public meeting, BJP MP Parvesh Verma referred to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as 'terrorist'. While PM Narendra Modi made references to Shaheen Bagh and labelled it as an experiment to damage the national harmony, Home Minister Amit Shah spearheaded the campaign around Ram temple, CAA, abrogation of Article 370 and other nationalistic issues.

The AAP, on the other hand, highlighted government's achievements in the past five years and sough vote on good governance and issues such as free electricity, water, education, free bus rides to women etc. Delhi will go to polls on February 8, while the results will be declared on February 11.
Last Thursday night, I started getting picture messages from friends which showed a message from Paschal Donohoe, the Dublin Central TD and finance minister.

I need your number 1 vote, the leaflet contained in the picture messages screamed.

Donohoe in trouble, said one of the messages I received.

Fine Gael is in trouble and will lose this election, but for a true heavyweight like Donohoe to be nervous of his seat is an indication of just how far the partys stock has fallen.

Readers of this column will not be surprised to say I am an admirer of Donohoe.

A rare commodity in Irish politics in that he has a brain, he is also simply one of the finest advocates of the art of politics this country has.

Much of the respect he garners in politics stems from the fact that in 2016, against all the odds, having lost two-thirds of his electoral base from devastating boundary changes, he kept his seat in a much reduced Dublin Central.

In a lesson to many, he eked out votes in Sheriff St and some of the Dublin inner citys most impoverished areas where others would have simply ignored.

The retiring Michael Noonan confirmed this week our 2017 story that he wanted Donohoe to stand for the leadership of the party, only for Donohoe to refuse.

He showed remarkable strength and restraint in not engaging in a major giveaway budget last October ahead of this election, in a minority government, and will more than likely hand over an economy in rude health.

But, despite his best efforts, this time it is not working.

Donohoe, as director of elections for his party, has been a mainstay of Fine Gaels campaign along with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney.

At the start of the campaign, they sought to rely heavily on their record on the economy and Brexit, only for it to fall flat on its face.

They chose a campaign slogan which was as insipid as it was uninspiring, while also being too long.

A future to look forward to ultimately turned out to be a poor mans reworking of Fianna Fails iconic 2002 slogan: A lot done, more to do.

As opinion polls went against them and the Sinn Fein surge took hold, Donohoe, Varadkar, and Coveney were forced to change tack.

Recognising the mood for change, the party has been striving in recent days to paint itself as the real agent of change.

It pointed to the Eighth Amendment and marriage equality referenda (even though Labour drove the latter), Garda reform, and so on and so on to prove just how changey it is.

But it is not working.

In 2011, Fine Gael won 76 seats. In 2016, it won 50. In 2020, I predict it could win as few as 29.

Should that occur, Varadkars days as leader are over.

Once all the voting and counting are done, the recriminations will start and people will blame Fine Gaels poor campaign for its defeat.

But in truth, the origins of its demise are far more fundamental.

Fine Gael has abandoned the middle class. In his first budget speech as finance minister, Donohoe referenced WB Yeats poem The Second Coming.

Yeats wrote: Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.

Donohoe turned this phrase around insisting the centre must hold and that it was incumbent on him and other centrist parties to make sure that it did.

Despite his best efforts, the middle classes in this country are slipping into extremes.

The children of the aged well-educated are now existing as an underclass.

Despite being highly educated themselves, they are locked out of the basic three elements of a functioning moderate democracy: Being able to own or rent your own home, having an adequate pension for your retirement, and job security.

The idea of a job for life rarely exists anymore for people outside the public sector.

Most people no longer have one career, they have two or three, and often with limited job protection and benefits.

Because of the disgraceful raiding of pension funds by the baby boomers, my generation and the snowflakes coming after me have no chance of an adequate pension for our retirement, meaning we will all have to work until we are 80.

Finally, and probably the most acute issue of the campaign: Housing.

I was lucky to have bought my house a decade ago (thanks to the bank of mum and dad as well) but I see many younger colleagues locked out of such an aspiration.

It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of people spending hours a day commuting, dropping kids off, in the dark, to creches for 12 hours, in order to allow them to earn a crust.

Why would you play by the rules and believe in the status quo if you are locked out of being a full participant in society?

One of the greatest sensations of becoming a father and a homeowner is that you are a fully invested member of the country.

You care when things go right and you care when things go wrong. Thousands of people are being denied their chance of experiencing that and they are not happy.

They are bloody livid, to be honest, and they see, for all its faults, Sinn Fein as a convincing agent of change.

The greatest defence against political extremism is a prosperous middle class, but around the world the middle class, for more than a generation, has been under attack.

Ireland is no different and Fine Gael and Fianna Fail before them, allowed the middle class to wither on the vine.

Fine Gael is heading to the opposition benches, unless it decides to abandon its position on coalition with Fianna Fail or Sinn Fein, and in truth it can have few to blame but itself for its defeat.

Through its own mismanagement, it threw away the 2016 election and has done the same again this time.

On seeking the Fine Gael leadership, Leo Varadkars big pitch to colleagues was that he was a vote-getter for the party, but he is on course to crash and burn.

He eschewed the calling of an election in 2017 and 2018 when he enjoyed a 10-point-plus lead over Fianna Fail.

Had he gone then, he would be a taoiseach with his own mandate in charge of a majority coalition.

If the polls are to be believed, he is about to match or come close to Michael Noonans record defeat in 2002.

It all could have been so different.
SUWANEE, GA, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (SNWV) today announced the appointment of Dr. Tom Price to its Board of Directors. Dr. Price brings over 30 years of medical practice and knowledge to SANUWAVE. Dr. Prices extensive experience in public service, serving the state of Georgia in the statehouse followed by 12 years in the House of Representatives, brings a board perspective that shall greatly enhance the profile and value of SANUWAVEs Board of Directors.



We are delighted to welcome Dr. Price to our Board of Directors, said Kevin A. Richardson II, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors of SANUWAVE Health, Inc. Toms experience and background will prove invaluable as a board member as we continue to grow and expand as a company. We look forward to his strategic insights and guidance as we navigate this rapid growth and the challenges that come with it in the coming years, concluded Mr. Richardson.

Dr. Price holds a BA and MD from the University of Michigan and completed his residency in orthopedic surgery at Emory University in Atlanta. He entered private practice in 1984 and returned to Emory as an assistant professor in of orthopedic surgery in 2002. He was director of the orthopedic clinic at Atlantas Grady Memorial Hospital. Dr. Prices political career began as a Member of the Georgia Senate from the 56th district from 1996 to 2005, he was the minority Whip from 1998 to 2002, and the Majority leader of the Georgia Senate from 2002 to 2003. He served in the US House of Representatives from Georgias 6th district from 2005 to 2017, during which time he served as Chair of the House Budget Committee from 2015 to 2017. In February 2017 he was confirmed by the Senate as the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and remained in that position until September 2017. Currently Tom serves on the boards of several privately held health care companies and non-profits as well as consulting and advising companies.

Story continues

Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Price stated, I am very excited to join SANUWAVEs Board of Directors at this point in time when they are entering the commercialization phase with such rapid growth. I am impressed with SANUWAVEs commitment in research and development and clinical trials to treating cumbersome medical conditions. Diabetes afflicts millions of Americans and even more globally. The dermaPACE System for treating Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFUs) is a novel and effective treatment to help improve the quality of life for diabetic patients. I am especially impressed and ready to assist the team achieve their goal of having a device placed anywhere and everywhere a DFU is treated.

About SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (SNWV) ( www.SANUWAVE.com ) is a shockwave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVEs portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the bodys normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is US FDA cleared for the treatment of Diabetic Foot Ulcers. The device is also CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVEs shockwave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food and industrial markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Companys product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Companys ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.

For additional information about the Company, visit www.sanuwave.com .

Contact:

Millennium Park Capital LLC

Christopher Wynne

312-724-7845

cwynne@mparkcm.com

SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

Kevin Richardson II

CEO and Chairman of the Board

978-922-2447

investorrelations@sanuwave.com
Who knows what classicism ultimately means, but the draft order makes it come across as awfully prim and petty. No matter how much its supporters say that enforcement wouldnt be dogmatic, the order provokes inevitable allusions to authoritarian regimes of the past that imposed their own architectural marching orders, and dredges up images of antebellum America, when classicizing Federal architecture was all the rage. Associations like these might sound extreme; but then, so does the order.

Just to have this argument feels demeaning, like so much else about American public discourse today. Shouldnt it go without saying that the United States has long exercised its soft power by building embassies and other buildings whose architectural nonconformity conveys an expedient message of optimism, innovation and freedom?

Our ability to compete effectively in international markets depends largely on an often overlooked but integral element  design quality, is the way President Ronald Reagan put it in 1987 when he announced a second round of federal awards for design excellence, a forerunner of the Design Excellence program that the proposed order aims to quash.

And does one really need to point out why its so rich of those who argue for states rights to argue against site-specific architecture, stylistically conceived to suit Americas diverse cultures, and instead favor obedience to a mandate from Washington? Or to explain that disagreements about architectural style speak to a healthy, democratic society in action? After all, there is no single style of architecture that represents nationhood  or that does not, and should not, provoke debate.

The executive order borrows language from the Guiding Principles for Federal Architecture that Daniel Patrick Moynihan wrote in 1962 when the future senator was working in Kennedys Labor Department. Moynihan believed that federal architecture must provide visual testimony to the dignity, enterprise, vigor and stability of the American government. The new proposal also refers to dignity, enterprise, vigor and stability.

But it undoes the key principles on which, as Moynihan made clear, those goals depend  that design must flow from the architectural profession to the government, and not vice versa, because expertise matters, and that an official style must be avoided.
WATERLOO  Hundreds of Northeast Iowa soldiers will be headed to the Middle East later this year.

The Iowa Army National Guard announced Thursday its Ironman Battalion will deploy approximately 550 soldiers from armories in Waterloo, Charles City, Oelwein, Iowa Falls, Dubuque, Iowa City and Davenport.

The 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division of Iowa Army National Guard will participate in Operation Spartan Shield.

Their primary mission will involve area security and force protection operations in the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility, which encompasses 27 countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

This is an opportunity to serve, said Lt. Col. Garrett Gingrich, who took over command of the Ironman Battalion last fall. I think for the most part (the soldiers) are proud to serve and are excited for the opportunity to step forward and protect freedom.

Gingrich, a Waterloo firefighter, will be making his fourth deployment, but noted its been nine years since the Ironman Battalion served overseas.

We have a lot of new or younger soldiers that have come into the battalion over that nine-year period so this will be a new experience for them, he said. We have a lot of older soldiers too, mostly in leadership positions.

Gingrich said hes advising the younger soldiers to prepare their lives and families for the expected year-long deployment and to get support systems in place.

This is the fifth federal mobilization of the Ironman Battalion since 2000, including nearly 22 months supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2005 through August 2007. The battalions most recent deployment was to Afghanistan in 2010.

The battalion is working to schedule send-off ceremonies for the end of May before the soldiers travel to Ft. Bliss, Texas, for final training before deploying overseas.

This is the first of several deployments announced by Maj. Gen. Ben Corell, the Iowa National Guard adjutant general, during his Jan. 16 Condition of the Guard address to the Iowa Legislature.

The Iowa National Guard will see more deployments as a number of its units enter their mission year through the Armys current force generation cycle.

Iowa Army National Guard units have been building readiness over the past four years under the sustainable readiness model adopted in 2016 to increase the number of National Guard and Reserve units available for operational deployments.

The Iowa National Guard family services branch is hosting a joining community forces event starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Waterloo Readiness Center, 3106 Airport Blvd.

The event is for organizations interested in working together to support the Northeast Iowa military community. The program aims to connect the local community with soldiers and their families in preparation for the upcoming deployment.

The Ironman Battalion has served honorably in the Civil War, World War I, World War II and during the current War on Terror conflicts, Gingrich said. The legacy of the battalion is deeply rooted in the history of the great state of Iowa.

Our soldiers live here, work here and serve here, he added. The Ironman Battalion is proud to represent eastern Iowa, The Ryder Brigade, and the Iowa Army National Guard, and we are grateful for the unconditional support of the citizens of Iowa and look forward to making them proud.

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Family and friends of tragic Lauren Bullock, one of three young people who died in a crush at Cookstown's Greenvale Hotel almost a year ago, have set up an appeal in her memory to raise money for two local children's charities.

Lauren, from Donaghmore, was just 17 when she, Morgan Barnard (17) and Connor Currie (16) died as a huge crowd gathered for a St Patrick's Day disco outside the Co Tyrone venue.

The GoFundMe appeal, which was set up just two days ago, has already raised more than 1,000 of its initial 5,000 target.

The appeal has been organised by Mary Bullock, Catherine McHugh and Hannah Campbell.

In a heartfelt message posted on the fundraising page, they wrote: "It is almost a year since Lauren walked with us in our family.

"We miss her dearly - every moment of every day.

"Our hearts were broken when she was taken from this world.

"So, to honour her legacy of thinking and doing for others, we have decided to raise some money for charity in Lauren's memory

"Eighty of us will be Climbing Cuilcagh Mountain - The Stairway to Heaven - on Saturday, March 14, 2020.

"We will walk in Lauren's memory.

"We will walk and talk and laugh and share our stories and memories.

"The charities we will donate to will be Angel Wishes and Children in Crossfire.

"Lauren loved helping others and she was particularly passionate about helping children."

Angel Wishes supports children who are fighting cancer.

It was created by Gaye Kerr in memory of her twins Helen and Brian.

Children in Crossfire works with poor youngsters in Tanzania and Ethiopia to help them achieve their potential.

Following the tragedy, owner of the hotel Michael McElhatton (52) and a 40-year-old man, who is understood to be a member of the hotel's door staff, were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter.

Both were later bailed.

Last night the PSNI issued an update on its investigation into the Greenvale deaths.

"To date two people have been arrested and a further eight people have been interviewed under caution," a PSNI spokesman told the Belfast Telegraph.

"The two people arrested have been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service."
Preparations are under way to use a mining camp near Darwin to temporarily house people evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government had been advised the Christmas Island facility could not properly segregate the next group of people being evacuated from Wuhan.

'With that advice we will be moving to the contingency plans for overflow,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Townsville on Friday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the government had been advised the Christmas Island facility could not properly segregate the next group of people being evacuated from Wuhan

Preparations are under way to use a mining camp near Darwin (stock image) to temporarily house people evacuated from coronavirus-hit Wuhan

The advice was given by the chief medical officer to a national security committee of cabinet meeting on Thursday.

Mr Morrison said he had spoken with the Northern Territory's chief minister Michael Gunner.

'We will before using a mining camp facility in the Northern Territory near Darwin and we are working through the consultation phase with the local community and others about the implementation of those arrangements,' he said.

'My advice is that is progressing extremely well and we will be able to continue to go down the path of the planning for the second assisted departure flight.'

Earlier Mr Gunner said he had been guaranteed there would be no health risk to the general public.

'There will be no confirmed cases of the virus amongst the evacuees,' he said.

'They are not sick. They will be isolated at the site purely as a precaution only.'
Ireland is prepared to stop coronavirus being passed on to the rest of the population, says the Department of Health chief medical officer.

We know what to do, said Dr Tony Holohan.

Ireland is currently in a containment phase with all efforts directed at picking up a case as early as possible and putting good quality control measures in place.

The next level is mitigation, where it is no longer to control the spread of the virus. If there is a large number of cases the focus would switch from picking up every case to prevent transmission to ensuring help is there for those most severely affected.

Dr Holohan said Ireland is following World Health Organisation guidelines and no cases have been confirmed in Ireland. However, point of entry screening at airports is not being recommended because it is largely inefficient.

Dr Holohan said screening could be used if a particularly high-risk situation was identified. He also said there are no plans to have people who might have been exposed to the virus put in quarantine. People would be advised to go into self-isolation and follow the advice of public health officials.

HSE national clinical advisory and acute hospital group lead, Dr Vida Hamilton, said the health authority has set up a communications network with GPs.

Dr Hamilton said individuals who may have had close contact with an infected person would be asked, within reason, to restrict their movements. If they become symptomatic they are asked to phone their doctor.

She said: An asymptomatic individual is not considered an at-risk individual."

Dr Hamilton said hospitalised cases would be managed either in individual isolation rooms or grouped in wards if there was a large number. Plans on how to deal with cases are being updated to reflect the knowledge of the virus.

Chairman of the coronavirus expert advisory group, Dr Cillian De Gascun, said there is no definitive evidence that people could transmit the virus while asymptomatic.

There have been 15 suspected cases of coronavirus tested in the National Virus Reference Laboratory but, to date, there have been no confirmed cases.

If you want to be optimistic the number of new cases reported every day in China seems to be declining, he said.

Dr De Gascun said it is hoped that the number of cases will begin to plateau in the next couple of weeks. If that does not happen it would suggest that the containment measures imposed by Chinese authorities, through no fault of their own, are unsuccessful.

Until we see sustained person-to-person transmission in other areas, I think we are reasonably confident that containment measures will work.

Dr Hamilton said 3,000 personal protection packs have been issued to GPs and clinics around the country and will be received in the coming days.

The WHO warns that the world is running out of protective equipment amid a surge in demand from efforts to curb the spread of the virus, which has so far resulted in more than 600 deaths. But Dr Holohan said Ireland has substantial supplies of personal protection equipment and that the HSE is considering measures to ensure a continuing supply.

If supplies become pressurised, countries will work together in ensuring that they continue to be available.

Dr Hamilton said coronavirus is spread through contact and droplets so good cough and sneeze-hygiene with regular handwashing is the best way to keep well.

It is now believed that the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China could have spread from bats to humans through the illegal traffic of pangolins, the worlds only scaly mammals, which are prized in Asia for food and medicine.

The pangolin is one of Asias most trafficked mammals, although protected by international law, because its meat is considered a delicacy in countries such as China and its scales are used in traditional medicine.
Ozanam Inn, the main shelter in the city for homeless men, has bought new premises to replace its longtime home on Camp Street, which was sold late last year to a hotel developer.

The new site is a disused medical building at 2239 Poydras St., on a strip of road between South Broad and South Galvez streets that is largely occupied by light industrial workshops and warehouses.

The sale of the Camp Street building last year caused consternation among activists for the homeless because of the key role Ozanam Inn plays in providing services. It provides meals and accommodations for hundreds of homeless men, as well as feeding and providing Salvation Army vouchers to homeless women, children and families.

Ismail Foad, who has been a resident at Ozanam Inn for the past five months after he lost his grocery store and fell on hard times, said he would rather stay in the current location but is resigned to the move.

"What you going to do? We moving," said Foad. "What I really want to do is get out of this situation, get something permanent."

Clarence Adams, Ozanam Inn's chief executive, said the plan is to make the move later this year after renovation work is completed on the new building. "Our goal is to ensure a seamless transition for our clients and the community," he said.

The Poydras Street building had been owned by Steve and Monica Montagnet, who are based in Pass Christian, Mississippi, but have extensive New Orleans property interests, including 731 St. Charles Ave., which recently was converted into a 67-unit luxury condominium complex .

+19 Ozanam Inn building sold, forcing leaders to seek new home for homeless shelter The homeless men who for decades have taken shelter at Ozanam Inn in the Warehouse District will soon be without a refuge after the religious 

The Poydras Street property had been listed at $6.5 million, but Ozanam Inn is buying only the building and not the land that had been used for 85 parking spots. Buyer and seller declined to specify the sale price.

Ozanam Inn has been at 843 Camp St. in the Warehouse District since 1955, but it was forced to look for new digs after the religious organization that owned its building, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, sold it last November.

The Camp Street building is in the heart of the Warehouse District, which has been transformed from a notorious "skid row" part of the city to a gentrified area, with luxury houses and condominiums, swanky restaurants, shops and hotels.

Michael Sherman, whose firm Sherman Strategies is advising Ozanam Inn on the Poydras Street property purchase and permit process, said they've started to inform residents near the new site of the shelter's intention to move into the building.

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He said a public meeting is scheduled for Feb. 19 at 2239 Poydras St., as required by city rules, and he expects there'll be at least one more meeting to allow residents and other interested parties to air their views.

"Well give it enough time to hear the full range of opinions," Sherman said. "So far, it's all been positive, but it is still early in the process."

Indeed, representatives of two neighborhood organizations that cover the area have said they support Ozanam's move to the Poydras Street building.

Jake Rickoll, a nurse who is a former president of the Lower Mid-City Neighborhood Organization and is still on the board, said he has worked with Ozanam Inn in the past and is supportive.

"I can't speak for the organization yet as we haven't met to discuss it, but my personal opinion is that I'm very much in favor," said Rickoll, who works at Crescent Care, less than a mile from Ozanam Inn's new site. He noted that the Poydras Street building is close to the Rebuild Center at St. Joseph's Church on Gravier Street, where a cluster of services aimed at the homeless and others in need are housed together.

Don Wentworth, president of the Faubourg Tulane Gravier Neighborhood Alliance, another local residents group, also gave Ozanam Inn's move the thumbs up.

"I'm going to vigorously support this," he said. "I've already gotten emails from neighbors and would say at this point everybody is supporting it."

The building on Poydras Street is already zoned for the "permanent supportive housing" that Ozanam Inn offers, but it must apply for an additional permit to provide emergency housing.

In a letter he said was sent to residents in the area, Sherman said that Ozanam Inn plans to begin work within the next three months on interior renovations, which will include a new kitchen, sleeping rooms, offices, recreation space and small clinical rooms. That work will take up to eight months.

The immediate neighbor to the Poydras Street site is the Marquis Apartments, which has 250 units that in the last few years have begun to fill up with people who work in the medical district along Tulane Avenue and Canal Street.

Jenny Woods, manager of the Marquis Apartments, said Friday that she hadn't yet heard about the Ozanam Inn plans and wasn't sure if any residents had received a letter.
The Roman senator Marcus Brutus literally stabbed his friend Julius Caesar in the back. You could look at this as a great betrayal, as Lou Dobbs did on Fox Business show Wednesday night when he savaged Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) for voting to convict President Trump of abuse of power in Trump's impeachment trial. "Romney is going to be associated with Judas, Brutus, Benedict Arnold forever, when he is not even a footnote in a footnote otherwise, because of his betrayal," Dobbs said.

Lou Dobbs: "Romney is going to be associated with Judas, Brutus, Benedict Arnold forever" pic.twitter.com/JS3m3LEdNC  Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) February 6, 2020

But Brutus, according to Shakespeare and contemporaneous accounts, was motivated to take part in Caesar's assassination because Caesar's increasingly monarchical and authoritarian behavior threatened to destroy the Roman Republic. The phrase he is purported to have said while stabbing Caesar, "Sic semper tyrannis!"  or "Thus, always, to tyrants!"  is now Virginia's official motto. On the other hand, Dante places both Brutus and Judas Iscariot in the lowest circle of hell, so it's complicated.

In any case, Caesar died and Trump was acquitted with all but one Republican voting against conviction and every Democrats voting in favor. And despite Brutus' desperate bid to save the republic, it soon fell to a Roman Empire led by Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, renamed Augustus. Brutus, like Judas, killed himself in despair. Romney, according to former adviser Stuart Stevens, "will sleep very well tonight."

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The real State of the Union


I am Maja Nikolic from Podgorica, Montenegro. I am 23 years old and I have been a student of World Politics and International Relations in Beijing at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) for a year and a half.

China has always treated me with respect and love - the same way I act towards China and its people. Since day one, I have felt exceptionally safe and accepted here in China. For every country and nation there are stereotypes, but China always sees everyone in the best possible light. This enormous country succeeds from day to day in maintaining, through peace and prosperity, social harmony and order.

I could write many pages about China with the knowledge that I gained here and, of course, back in Montenegro. Because of their remarkable hospitality and very long and extremely rich cultural, moral, and ideological history, no contact with the people of China will leave you indifferent. All of this has made me, the only daughter of my parents, feel extremely calm about this coronavirus outbreak. Maybe its hard to believe for us Montenegrins that the situation is indeed like that. Even with all the news which they listen to and watch on a daily basis, our students and I think that the situation is not that bad and that we dont feel endangered here.

This is a feeling we get from the government and people of China, who take care of us 24 hours a day with all the precautionary measures that are being carried out. The level of professionalism and politeness is incredible. Every university has demonstrated exceptional ability to take control over this situation. At this time, all universities in China have declared a state of quarantine. The procedures for keeping track of our health and well-being are elegant and precise. They keep records of our body temperature and exit and entry of each person from the campus on a daily basis. The level of disinfection and maintenance of general hygiene is high and that only makes me feel even safer.

As I studied at a medical high school, I know theres no need to worry. Of course, my parents, like all parents of Montenegrin students, are worried and wish only the best and the safest for their children, and Im sure that none of us will end up leaving China with a feeling of discomfort or, God forbid, bitter experience from this situation while the epidemic is ongoing.

Also, I hope that all of the students will return to our dear China and that they wont give up on it because of coronavirus, because that is something that can happen anywhere in this world.
Two unidentified bike-borne men allegedly opened fired in the air near an anti-CAA protest site in northeast Delhi's Jafrabad, eyewitnesses said on Friday.

No one was injured in the incident, which the police said appeared to be a case of personal enmity and not related to the anti-CAA protests.

However, some of the protesters alleged that it was a repeat of intimidatory tactics like the one at Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh. They said with every such incident, the accused are changing their modus operandi.

The Jafrabad police rushed to the spot after the incident.

"The firing was not in connection with the anti-CAA protests. We suspect it to be a case of some personal enmity," a senior police official said.

The incident took place barely 400 metres away from the site where people have been protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act since last month.

Nihal Ashraf, one of the protesters at Jafrabad, said,"The armed men fired three rounds in the air and fled the spot. They were on a scooter without a number plate unlike the Jamia incident in which the vehicle used by those who fired had number plate. They two men fired after moving a few metres ahead of our protest site".

Mohd Irshad, a Jamia student said a youth fired outside the Jamia Millia Islamia on January 30 and also shot a student in front of the police.

"He (youth) provoked and then fired. In the second incident on February 1 at Shaheen Bagh, the assailant fired from a few metres away from the main gathering to cause disturbance.

"In the third incident again outside Jamia on February 2, the assailants shot in the air from the opposite road so that they could not be caught like the previous two accused. However, the police got their vehicle number. Therefore, the assailants at Jafrabad got a vehicle without a number plate so that their vehicle cannot be identified.

After sometime, the people resumed their protests.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Im sorry, but your editorial about the crunch in complying with the Real ID law (Oregonians pay the price for legislators Real ID protest, Jan. 26) is a day late and a dollar short. If there were a real threat to air travel due to the lack of an enhanced drivers license, shouldnt you have been leading the drumbeat years ago to get it done? Oregons reluctance to comply is still valid, and your complaints are misdirected. Its a big expense to Oregonians and the Department of Transportation. My wife and I just recently got our drivers licenses renewed and will have to pay again come July. Another federal mandate with no money to back it up. Washington should provide a remedy and should at least share the blame.

Joel Daniels, Canby
Three single mothers who started an alcopop-fuelled fight on a girls' night out have been shamed by a magistrate for setting a 'bad example' to their five children.

Leanne Gilligan, 25, Nicola Cox, 30, and Samantha Hirst, 26, were arrested by police after they began tussling with three other women on a taxi rank pavement in Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester.

The hell-raising group punched, kicked, spat at and pulled the hair of the victims during the 3am brawl, after one of the women was laughed at for being drunk.

One of the victims suffered black eyes and a cut to her thumb and a taxi was kicked causing 1,200 damage to the door panels.

Nicola Cox (left) Samantha Hirst (middle) and Leanne Gilligan (right) leave Tameside Magistrates' Court after receiving community orders for public order offences and criminal damage during a night out

It emerged the fight stated after the friends - all of whom live on state benefits - had been out for five hours during which two of them indulged in a Malibu, vodka and alcopop binge.

All later claimed the scuffle started after the victims attacked another woman arguing with her boyfriend.

At Tameside Magistrates Court, Cox, who lives in Oldham with her two children aged five and 11 admitted using threatening behaviour.

Cox's younger sister Gilligan, 25, of Ashton, who has a young son pleaded guilty to assault and public order offences.

It emerged the fight stated after the friends - all of whom live on state benefits - had been out for five hours during which two of them indulged in a Malibu, vodka and alcopop binge

All walked free with 12 month community orders. Nicola Cox (left) and Leanne Gilligan

Hirst, 26, also of Ashton and who has two young sons admitted criminal damage and public order offences.

All walked free with 12 month community orders but chairman of the magistrates Susan Jones told them: 'You are supposed to be mature, responsible women with families and you really just can't behave like this in a public place.

'I think all three of you realise now it was the wrong thing to do but this sort of behaviour frightens people in public places. It also sets a bad example to your kids. You would never want your kids to have to stand at a taxi rank and experience grown women on the floor. Take that away with you today and I hope we don't see you here for that sort of thing again.'

The court heard the incident occurred on November 4 2018 after the friends booked babysitters to look after their children so they could go out clubbing.

Nicola Cox (pictured) says she only has a night out once or twice every couple months

A probation report read on behalf of Cox said: 'They had been drinking from 10.30pm up until 3.30am and she was drinking Malibu and coke and WKDs and rated herself as eight out of ten in terms of intoxication.

'Within the club there had been an incident with the victims and these three actually moved away from them as they felt that they weren't being nice towards them. The friends went downstairs and continued dancing but when they did leave there was a man and a lady who were arguing and walking in the same direction as the taxi rank.

'The defendants were giggling, laughing and joking because Samantha had stumbled into a car because of her level of intoxication. But the three ladies behind them also started laughing too. It also seems according to Nicola one of the three victims actually attacked the lady who was arguing with her boyfriend and the lady was kicked to the floor.

Leanne Gilliigan (left) and Samantha Hirst. The three were arrested by police after they began tussling with three others on a pavement when one of them was laughed at for being drunk

'Nicola said that she couldn't leave it so she shouted 'what do you think you're doing'? and that's when the scuffle happened. 'All she can remember is she was put to the floor herself having her own hair pulled.

'She then got involved for her own self defence to get the lady off her. The scuffle was then broken up by a man who pulled a blonde lady off Nicola. Both parties where shouting at each other and the verbal abuse continued.

'She accepts that the three girls are the ones who were attacked and it involved punching, kicking and hair pulling. It would have caused pain and scared them but she said that it also happened to her and her friends too. One of the victims caused her bruising to her eyes and a cut to her thumb. She said she should have called the police and apologises to the court for her actions.

Nicola Cox (left) who lives in Oldham with her two children aged five and 11 admitted using threatening behaviour. Cox's younger sister Gilligan, 25, of Ashton, who has a young son pleaded guilty to assault and public order offences

'She runs her own business but is on universal credit and is paying off school fines. She says she only goes out once or twice every couple of months.'

A report on Hirst said: 'She had been out socialising and describes herself as very intoxicated consuming vodka throughout the evening.

'She was unable to estimate how much she had drunk but on leaving the bar she fell over due to the level of intoxication. She says that the three women started to laugh at her so she shouted over for them to shut up.

'She says she wasn't particularly bothered about them laughing at her. She was just very intoxicated, very tired and wanted to make her way home. But she witnessed another female being kicked by one of the victims and went over to ensure the women that had been kicked was okay.

Pictured is: Leanne Gilligan (right) with Nicola Cox. It emerged the fight stated after the friends - all of whom live on state benefits - had been out drinking for five hours

'The situation deteriorated and she admits to trying to pull one of the victims off the top of Nicola Cox. Abuse was shouted by all parties.

'She says: '"we where all shouting abuse, all got involved and are all equally responsible for the situation". She expresses remorse and it does seem to be genuine.

'The trigger to the events was the three victims laughing at her after that everything escalated quite quickly.

'Since the incident she has reflected and has now reduced her alcohol intake when out and alternates drinking with water. When sober she is able to demonstrate good thinking skills.'

A report on Gilligan said: 'There had been some contact with the three victims before they left as they weren't happy with the way one of the women was dancing behind one of them. They moved themselves but when leaving they have seen the woman on the street being kicked and it prompted them to go over to see if they she was alright.

Leanne Gilligan (right) with Samantha Hirst. The three single mothers were told to make sure it doesn't happen again

'She said she hadn't been drinking and doesn't drink as she doesn't like the effects of alcohol. There are occasions that she drinks but not a lot of alcohol. She said that the three victims were all assaulting her sister, Nicola Cox. One was sat on top of her, one standing on her hands and the other standing on her feet. She felt she had no choice but to go to the aid of her sister.

'Things got out of hand very quickly but she can't account for why and in the future she would now phone the police. She understands spitting isn't acceptable and she describes it as disgusting and can't say why she spat.'

Defence lawyer Simon Harrison who represented Cox and Gilligan said: 'They saw an incident where one of the complainants is causing another woman to be knocked to the floor which was clearly the catalyst.

Samantha Hirst, 26, (pictured) from Ashton, Tameside, has two young sons admitted criminal damage and public order offences

'This is the reason why Nicola Cox says she went over. She would say she was being the good samaritan. Her instinct was to say I want to help this person who she felt was being assaulted.

'Afterwards the incident moves to the taxi rank and an exchange between both groups. I have to accept they are the two main perpetrators of what happens afterwards. The ladies feel angry and aggrieved about what's happened and Leanne Gilligan in frustration spits in the direction of one of the complainants. It is not the most mature response to what went on but what happened was in the heat of the moment.'

For Hirst, Angela Fitzpatrick said: 'She was so intoxicated she fell over and lost her shoes and thereafter she has a very vague recollection of what happened. She had wanted to get home, she had had a drink and was tired and had lost her shoes.

'She did get involved generally to assist Nicola Cox who received some injuries from that scuffle but she saw red.'

Cox was also ordered to complete 40 hours unpaid work and pay 175 in costs and surcharges. Gilligan will also have to abide by a six week 8pm to 6am curfew and pay 50 in compensation plus 175 costs. Hirst was also ordered to complete 60 hours unpaid work, pay 100 compensation for the damaged car door plus 175 court costs.
They posted videos of the Les Miserables song Do You Hear the People Sing. They invoked article No. 35 of Chinas Constitution, which stipulates freedom of speech. They tweeted a phrase from For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The Chinese public has staged what amounts to an online revolt after the death of a doctor, Li Wenliang, who tried to warn of a mysterious virus that has since killed hundreds of people in China, infected tens of thousands and forced the government to corral many of the countrys 1.4 billion people.

Since late Thursday, people from different backgrounds, including government officials, prominent business figures and ordinary online users, have posted numerous messages expressing their grief for the doctor, who contracted the new coronavirus, and their anger over his silencing by the police after he shared his knowledge about the virus. It has prompted a nationwide soul-searching under an authoritarian government that allows for little dissent.

I havent seen my WeChat timeline filled with so much forlornness and outrage, Xu Danei, founder of a social media analytics company, wrote on the messaging platform WeChat.
Nepal on Friday gifted 100,000 protective masks to China which is battling against the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 630 lives.

The decision to gift the masks came in the backdrop of its shortage in China.

Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali and Health Minister Bhanubakta Dhakal handed over the masks to China's ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi at an event here.

A high-level meeting of the Nepal government on Thursday decided to dispatch one lakh protective masks to China.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese ambassador Hou thanked the Nepal government and the international community for their contribution to contain coronavirus.

"This kind of support and unity has provided China and its citizens with the much needed willpower to battle it," she remarked.

As of Thursday, 636 people have died mostly in Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan due to the virus with the total number of confirmed cases jumping to 3,143, Chinese officials announced on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Politburo appointed Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue as new Party Secretary of the capital city on Friday.

Hue will replace former Deputy PM and Hanoi Party Secretary Hoang Trung Hai, who received a warning from the Politburo last month over violations in overseeing the functioning of state-owned steel company TISCO (TISCO II project).

Vuong Dinh Hue, 63, a native of the central province of Nghe An Province, is a professor with a doctorate degree in economics. He's been a member of the 10th and 11th Party Central Committee, member of the 12th Politburo, the Communist Party's decision-making body, and delegate of the 13th and 14th National Assembly.

Hue served the Academy of Finance in Hanoi for 22 years, holding several senior positions including head of the Accounting Department and deputy principal of the academy in charge of training affairs.

During this period, he spent four years (1986-1990) as a research fellow at Slovakias University of Economics in Bratislava.

Hue was appointed Deputy Head of the State Audit Office of Vietnam in July 2001. He became its head in 2006.

He was Vietnams Minister of Finance from August 2011 to May 2013, the head of the Central Economic Commission from December 12 to April 2016, and has been a Deputy Prime Minister from April 2016.
United Airlines to train flight attendants to stop passengers from watching porn onboard

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United Airlines is now training flight attendants to intervene when passengers watch pornography on their personal devices as part of an effort to curb the increase of porn viewing on airplanes, according to the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.

United flight attendants alerted the nonprofit watchdog that their airline last month began providing new training on topics of pornography and sexual harassment.

A United Airlines spokesperson confirmed to NCOSE that the new training is taking place.

The safety of our customers and colleagues is our top priority. Sexual harassment, inappropriate behavior, intimidation or predation have absolutely no place anywhere in our society  including, and especially, in our industry and on our aircraft, a United Airlines statement shared with NCOSE reads.

In 2018, we strengthened our training for flight attendants to recognize, address and respond to instances of sexual harassment of any kind onboard our aircraft and will continue to adapt and enhance this training moving forward.

NCOSE listed United Airlines on its 2019 Dirty Dozen List of mainstream companies and entities considered to be "facilitators of sexual exploitation in our society and culture."

Among NCOSEs concerns was that United Airlines employees were ill-prepared to address the growing problem of viewing pornography on airplanes.

NCOSE called United out for instances in which employees failed to intervene when men satisfied themselves while watching pornography in close proximity to others onboard.

Uniteds statement shared with NCOSE declared that United Airlines recognizes the need to ensure that our policies reflect our values and safeguard those traveling with us.

NCOSE Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach Haley Halverson said that in recent years, the number of passengers who watch pornography on their personal devices while on airplanes has increased dramatically.

Because United Airlines has updated its training, NCOSE said it will remove United from its Dirty Dozen List.

Many airlines have policies on paper that prohibit such content, but they are not adequately training their in-flight crews or support staff to ensure they are consciously aware the policy exists or know how to enforce it, Halverson said in a statement.

When this lack of clarity and training existed, before they began in-person trainings, United aircrews previously resorted to giving alleged hush money or even openly joking about these cases of sexual harassment. This left passengers vulnerable and isolated to endure a toxic sexual environment without recourse.

NCOSEs 2020 Dirty Dozen List will be released on Thursday.

In December, United Airlines agreed to pay $321,000 to settle a sexual harassment lawsuit backed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Under the terms of the settlement, United Airlines agreed to amend its policies to ban online sexual harassment.

The lawsuit alleged that a senior United pilot repeatedly posted online lewd images of a flight attendendant with whom he previously had a consensual romantic relationship. He did not have her consent to share the images.

The pilot, who is now retired, was reportedly sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after he continued posting the lewd photos and refused to remove them. Despite that, United Airlines reportedly took no disciplinary action against the pilot and even allowed him to retire with full benefits.
As flooding on the Umatilla River continues, the Oregon National Guard reports the agency has rescued 10 people in less than 24 hours, including two National Guard Swift Water rescuers who were stranded while doing search and rescue work.

Yesterday afternoon an HH60 Black Hawk flew to Umatilla from Salem and was able to rescue four individuals who were stranded on a structure, Oregon Military Department spokesperson Major Stephen Bomar said Friday, because of the flooding.

The second rescue came Friday morning, according to Bomar, when a CH-47F Chinook helicopter and six crew-members based in Pendleton recovered four civilians and two Swift Water Rescue personnel that had become stranded during search and rescue efforts.

Helicopter flight crews from the Oregon Army National Guard have been assisting search and rescue efforts during the... Posted by Oregon National Guard - Oregon Military Department on Friday, February 7, 2020

The Eastern Oregonian reported that the Thursday night rescue was in the community of Thorn Hollow. According to the father-in-law of one of the rescued men, the group included a stranded elderly couple and two men who were attempting to use a boat to get the couple to safety.

Flooding in eastern Oregon has closed a large portion of I-84.

This is kind of an unfolding situation, Peter Murphy, an Oregon transportation spokesman based in Bend, told The Oregonian/OregonLive Friday.

He said crews were still determining the damage and could not say how long road closures would continue.

It looks like this could go on for a while, Murphy said.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052 lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Tyler Wallace, of Joliet, remains in custody at the Will County Jail after he turned himself into Joliet police Thursday. A 17-year-old male, who police said was with Wallace during the incident, has been charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass and has been referred to juvenile court.
Vision Engineering has been recognized as the Optical Instrumentation Company of the Year by Business and Industry Today magazine for its ongoing commitment to providing cutting-edge and ergonomically optimized inspection equipment.

Vision Engineering is a global, leading manufacturer of high-quality visual inspection and measurement technology, and has established a reputation for developing and manufacturing revolutionary optical equipment. Last year, Vision Engineerings best-selling product, the Mantis microscope, saw record success with 20,000 sales over 5 years.

Also in 2019, Vision Engineering released its flagship product: The DRV-Z1 (Deep Reality Viewer). The DRV-Z1 uses a world-first technology which produces high-resolution three-dimensional stereo images without the need for a monitor, headset or glasses. Essentially, images float in front of a viewing mirror for the user.

As a result, Vision Engineering saw great commercial and critical success in 2019, having won the prestigious inspect magazine award 2020 in the category VISION for the Deep Reality Viewer technology. Furthermore, Vision Engineering was also awarded the Palmares Technologique award for Innovation by respected French publication, Mesures; named Best Stereo Microscope & Measuring Systems Manufacturer 2019 by Global Health and Pharma Magazine in March, and awarded Optical Instrumentation Company of the Year by Industrial Process News for an outstanding commitment to the advancement of its world-leading products and expert staff.

Mark Curtis, Managing Director, Vision Engineering comments:
Berlin: A German state premier who got the job with the help of the far-right said he planned to step down and seek a new regional vote - after just a day in office that was marked by mounting criticism, including from Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Thomas Kemmerich, of the small pro-business Free Democrats, was elected as governor of eastern Thuringia state by its regional legislature on Wednesday with the support of the far-right Alternative for Germany, or AfD.

Newly-elected Thuringia premier Thomas Kemmerich announces he will quit, in Erfurt, Germany. Credit:Getty Images

The result stoked uproar. It became a major embarrassment for Germany's mainstream centre-right parties and revived questions about the future of the country's governing coalition.

The governor is elected by the state legislature. Merkel - whose centre-right party's own regional lawmakers voted for Kemmerich against the wishes of its national leaders - condemned his election as "inexcusable" and said the result must not stand.
As Jammu and Kashmir Polices suspended DSP Davinder Singh, awaits in Jammus Hiranagar after a special National Investigation Agency (NIA) court sent him to 15 days judicial custody, the NIA is looking closely through evidence, records and seized materials. Some of them were retrieved from week long raids conducted in North and South Kashmir.

The extended questioning of Davinder Singh has led the probe agency to believe that he was a "lone wolf" that is to say he was acting on his own and not working for any intelligence agency. Sources told India Today that Davinder Singh had been discredited much earlier and could not be counted on.

Critical observation of his mobile phone and various chats also point towards a complicated lifestyle, the sources said.

Apart from regular consumption of alcohol, NIA sources stated their team "discovered his liaison with over a dozen women". He is said to have "spent lavishly on his several affairs". "He is a self-admitted 'sex addict' where he regularly took little blue pills (viagra)," a source told India Today TV.

In about four weeks after his arrest, Davinder Singh appears to be "pale and older", sources said.

They stated that he now often asks police to play hymns on YouTube for him.

The claimed that Davinder Singhs need for money grew over the years and needed "exorbitant amounts" to maintain his lifestyle.

"Besides being a playboy, he was falling short of money to build a lavish mansion in Srinagar's Indra Nagar. He had to pay fee of his two daughters who are medical students in Bangladesh, and a teenage son studying at a leading school in Srinagar. With the anti-hijacking unit, Singh was doing well for himself, till he was caught red-handed with militants and arms," the sources said.

Davinder Singh became disreputable after he joined SOG, but his name was enmeshed in a number of controversies from making money by selling contraband, charges of extortions and engagement in Trath Gola scam.

Sources aware of the investigation say in due course the greed to make more money made Davinder so blind that he put himself on the course of self-destruction.

Singh is said to have broken down and was crying numerous times with realization that he is about to lose everything he built in his four and a half decade stint with the J&K police. "Just short of retirement, he stands disgraced," they said.

Talking to India Today TV, NIA sources stated, "Singh was providing active help to Hizbul commander Naveed Babu and two of his aides." The NIA has not found any other connection with "anti-national activities".

The sources stated, "Davinder Singh's phone has been sent to CERT-in for recovering deleted WhatsApp chats. Prima facie, no other message, chat or mail showed any reference to anti-national activity."

55-year-old DSP is an expert in counter insurgency and shot into limelight on 11th January after the Jammu and Kashmir police apprehended him while he was transporting two Hizbul terrorists in a vehicle to Jammu.

It is alleged that he had come to an informal agreement with the terrorist that not only will he assist them in crossing the Kashmir valley to Jammu, but will also accommodate terrorist at his safe house till they could flee to Pakistan occupied Kashmir in few months.

According to sources the deal was struck at Rs 40 lakh.

The lawyer Irfan Ahmed, had legally gone to Pakistan four to five times, reportedly met the Hizbul leadership and even visited their office.

A year ago, Davinder Singh allegedly got Naveed and his aide to Jammu and kept them at his Jammu house.

"His chats (with them) were mostly on WhatsApp. He took Rs 12 lakh in cash and the rest in kind-an LED TV and some other goods," the sources said.

The investigating agency also claimed to have come across a money trail which they say displays Irfan Ahmed had paid for Singhs flight to Srinagar.

During his investigation, Singh reportedly told the probe agency that he would take money from Hizbul and after receiving it, he would get the militants he aided killed in an encounter.

Nevertheless, sources say, "Being caught red-handed is proof enough that DSP Singh was in the wrong. There is no way to substantiate his claims that he would get militants killed, as he was abetting them escape."

Also Read: Suspended DSP Davinder Singh, three others presented before National Investigation Agency court in Jammu

Also Read: Arrested J&K cop Davinder Singh took money from Hizbul for transporting, sheltering militants: reports
Ahead of the first anniversary of the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama on February 14, Pakistan is training a group of terrorists in Balakot to carry out an attack in India, sources said on Friday. In a major conspiracy, Pakistan is training a total of 27 terrorists at Jaish-e-Mohammad's Balakot to infiltrate India and launch an attack, added the sources.

The sources further said terrorists from Afghanistan are giving training to the 27 terrorists and eight of them are from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to sources, the Balakot camp is being run by the son of terrorist Maulana Masood Azhar, Yusuf Azhar.

Two terrorists from Pakistan's Punjab and three from Afghanistan are giving training to these terrorists. This is one of the reasons why Pakistan has been violating ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) so that it can help the terrorists infiltrate and carry out the attacks.

India on February 14, 2020, will observe the first anniversary of the Pulwama suicide attack on the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) convoy which resulted in the martyrdom of 40 security personnel. India had avenged the Pulwama attack by conducting airstrikes at terror camps in Balakot in Pakistan with the Indian Air Force (IAF) Mirage 2000 jets pounding JeM's terror training camp in Balakot on February 26, killing several terrorists.

The Narendra Modi government adopted a 'zero tolerance towards terrorism' policy and within a few months of the Pulwama incident, Indian security forces eliminated all JeM terrorists involved in the CRPF convoy attack. This was done through a combination of technical and human intelligence-based operations conducted by the armed forces in J&K.

After the Pulwama attack, four Jaish terrorists who were involved directly in the Pulwama attack were killed while four others were arrested in different operations. The intelligence inputs provided by the interrogation of at least 40 Jaish over-ground supporters in Kashmir Valley helped various counter-terrorism teams to crack down on the terror network in the region.

The Jaish terrorists killed by the security forces include Kamran, who was neutralised on February 18, 2019, Mushashir Ahmed Khan on March 11, 2019, and Sajjad Bhat on March 11, 2019.

Following the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan has been trying hard to carry out its nefarious activities in the Valley. The terrorist base of JeM in Balakot, Pakistan, that was demolished by an IAF airstrike, has been reactivated for the same reason.
The administration of United States President Donald Trump has purchased commercial databases and software that tracks millions of mobile phones and used the information to crack down on undocumented immigrants in the US, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter and documents it has seen, the WSJ reported that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) has made arrests based on the data, which helped identify the movement and location of undocumented migrants.

According to the report, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began purchasing location data back in 2017 from Venntel, a Virginia-based company, which declined to comment. The data is gathered through smartphone applications after users grant access to their locations.

The DHS and its agencies acknowledged buying access to the data, but did not discuss details about how they are using it in law-enforcement operations. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has said it has privacy protections in place and limits on how it uses location data. The agency says that it accesses only a small amount of the information, which is anonymised to protect the privacy of Americans.

While CBP is being provided access to location information, it is important to note that such information doesnt include cellular phone tower data, is not ingested in bulk and doesnt include the individual users identity, a CBP spokesman told the WSJ.

Using mobile phone data purchased from a private company raises major concerns about privacy.

The use of data purchased from a commercial company allows the government to bypass a 2018 US Supreme Court decision, which ruled that phone location data was a protected class of information that requires law enforcement to obtain a warrant.

The report that the federal government is buying private, sensitive data to track down immigrants and carry out deportations is deeply troubling, Saira Hussein, a staff lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Al Jazeera. And its only possible because of our societys failure to protect people from companies that harvest and monetise their personal information. This report precisely illustrates the need for strong consumer data privacy laws.

In a statement issued on Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the news detestable.

DHS should not be accessing our location information without a warrant, regardless whether they obtain it by paying or for free. The failure to get a warrant undermines Supreme Court precedent protecting our most sensitive information, especially our cell phone location history, from unfettered law enforcement access, read the ACLU statement.

We will be demanding the government turn over all records concerning this disturbing practice, which is just the latest example of the extreme lengths the Trump administration will go to carry out its cruel and heartless immigration policies.

Trump has made cracking down on immigration a focus issue of his administration. He has falsely described asylum seekers and other border crossers as con artists who scam the system.
A courtroom descended into chaos after the relatives of a one-year-old who had died started brawling at an inquest looking into the infants' death.

The toddler's father Tommy Robinson, 23, grandfather James Robinson, 51, and aunt Abbey Pert, 30, were all found guilty of affray after a hearing at the Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone in November 2018 turned violent.

The family had been attending the inquest into the death of Jimmy Robinson who died five days before his second birthday in June 2017.

However police officers were left rushing to the scene after an argument saw chairs thrown across the room, glasses smashed and one female member of staff barged from behind, Kent Live reported.

Tommy Robinson (pictured),23, had been attending an inquest into the death of his son Jimmy Robinson when a brawl began

Grandfather James Robinson (pictured), 51, and aunt Abbey Pert, 30, were found guilty of affray alongside the child's father Tommy Robinson

Jurors at Maidstone Crown Court heard how a 'fast, frightening' punch-up erupted at the hearing in November, which was looking into the child's mystery death.

Another man who had been dating the child's mother at the time - 24-year-old Joe Elkington-Rose - was cleared of affray but found guilty of threatening behaviour.

The four will be sentenced next month for the 'deeply unpleasant incident', with Judge Julian Smith granting them all bail.

The fracas began when Elkington-Rose was reluctant to give evidence, after claiming he had received threats.

As assistant coroner Ian Wade QC went to speak with him to try to persuade him to answer questions, chairs and punches were thrown.

Police rushed to the scene after the hearing at the Archbishop's Palace in Maidstone in November 2018 turned violent

At Maidstone Crown Court jurors heard how a punch-up began at the hearing in November

The inquest had been due to look into the circumstances surrounding Jimmy's death, five days before his second birthday in 2017.

The child died at London's St Thomas' Hospital after suffering a potential cardiac arrest at his mother's home in Chatham, Kent - but the inquest did not determine exactly how he died.

Speaking in 2018, mother Jordan Beck said: 'Jimmy was cheeky. He was really good with his sisters when they were born.

'He wasn't the typical boy - he liked dolls and liked pushing them around in the buggy. He did have a big personality and he was really clever for his age.

'He had loads of words and was putting sentences together and had started using his potty, bless him.

'I'll never forget him. There's not one day goes by when I don't look at my other children and think Jimmy would have done that, or I think Jimmy would have loved that.'

Speaking at the inquest, Prosecutor Patricia May said a police investigation into the death had resulted in 'no arrests or charges of any individual and the cause of death could not be ascertained.'
Stars attending this Sunday's Oscars in Los Angeles will be treated to a gift bag worth over $100,000, containing everything from beauty treatments to luxury holidays.

Today on This Morning, Hollywood reporter Sam Rubin, took a look inside the 'Everyone Wins' nominee gift bag, created provided to the Academy by Los Angeles-based marketing company Distinctive Assets.

He told how some lucky stars will receive a 12-day trip for two on the world's first ultra-luxury expedition yacht  the Scenic Eclipse as well as Biodegradable Bust support tape by Yen the Label.

Among the 75 gifts in the swag bag are a hammock from Wise Owl Outfitters, a break at one of California's leading spas Golden Door; a 24 carat gold Royal Chakra Bath Bomb from Hotsy Totsy Haus and up to $25,000 of treatments and cosmetic procedures from Upper East Side cosmetologist, Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich.

Here, we reveal some of the most expensive - and quirky - gifts the A-list will reportedly be treated to this weekend.

Today on This Morning, Hollywood reporter Sam Rubin (pictured) , took a look inside the 'Everyone Wins' nominee gift bag

12-day trip for two on the world's first ultra-luxury expedition yacht  the Scenic Eclipse.

Stars will be able to take a 12-day trip to the Antarctic on ultra-luxury yacht, the Scenic Eclipse, which carries only 228 passengers.

The boat is the first foray into ocean cruising for Australian company Scenic, long known for luxury tours and river ships, and was christened by Dame Helen Mirren.

The cutting-edge boat features its own helicopters, 114 cabins, and a $10,000-per-night, two-bedroom Owners Penthouse Suite which spreads across 2,659 square feet.

Stars will be able to take a 12-day trip to the antarctic on ultra-luxury yacht, the Scenic Eclipse (pictured) which carries only 228 passengers

The cutting-edge boat features its own helicopters, 114 cabins, and a $10,000-per-night, two-bedroom Owners Penthouse Suite which spreads across 2,659 square feet

A five-night stay at a new lifestyle hotel in Waikiki, Hawaii.

If traveling to the Antarctic wasn't enough, celebrities can head off on a trip to a warmer location with their five-day holiday to Waikiki, Hawaii.

Stars will stay in the Waikiki Beachcomber, a new wellness hotel, which provides poolside yoga, rotating art exhibits and is steps from iconic Waikiki Beach.

Guests will be able to take part in spa rituals, visit the hotel's farm-to-table brewpub or enjoy a night of cultural celebration at its Magic of Polynesia show

Stars will stay in the Waikiki Beachcomber, a new wellness hotel, which provides poolside yoga, rotating art exhibits and is steps from iconic Waikiki Beach. Pictured is the skyline on Waikiki Beach

Biodegradable Bust support tape .

Stars need never worry about wardrobe malfunctions again, because their bags also includes Bust support tape by Yen the Label.

The tape is 95 per cent sustainable and organic eco-friendly cotton, with no genetically modified seeds and is 5 per cent Spandex to give celebs the stretch and strong support they need.

According to the product's website, it is a sensitive body adhesive that's nylon and latex free, hypoallergenic and can even be reused

Stars need never worry about wardrobe malfunctions again, as their bags also includes Bust support tape by Yen the Label (Pictured)

A stay for eight guests in a Spanish lighthouse.

If the other luxury holidays didn't win over the stars, they also have a chance to have a stay at The Faro Cumplida.

The active lighthouse hosts up to eight guests in three private suites and is located on the Canary Island of La Palma, and it's the first getaway of its kind in Spain.

Guests will win an eight-person stay at an active Spanish lighthouse. Pictured is Dalt Vila old town and Ibiza harbour entrance

$25,000 of treatments and cosmetic procedures from New York cosmetologist Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich

After the stress of the big day, stars are bound to need some pampering, and can now enlist $25,000 worth of help of New York-based cosmetologist Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich.

Dr. Konstantin is a double board-certified facial plastic surgeon specializing in artful treatment of the aging face, eyelids, and neck.

The cosmetologist is one of the busiest facial plastic surgeons in Manhattan provide both surgical and nonsurgical facial rejuvenation treatments.

Stars will receive $25,000 of treatments and cosmetic procedures from New York cosmetologist Dr. Konstantin Vasyukevich. Pictured, stock image

Soma's Sensuous Silk Kimono Robe

Nominees will also receive a Soma's Sensuous Silk Kimono Robe which retails for $218 in the UK and is made from 100 per cent silk.

The design was originally designed for the brand's first collection in 2004, but was later recreated it for its limited-edition Heritage collection, 15-years later.

They will also receive a Somainnofit smart-fit bra, which is able to give specific measurements to a smartphone via Bluetooth.

Nominees will also receive a Soma's Sensuous Silk Kimono Robe which retails for 168.86 in the UK and is made from 100% silk (pictured)

A set of Coda Signature's chocolate edibles for eight.

Stars will also get to try a tasting set of Coda Signature's chocolate edibles for eight, infused with C02-extracted cannabis oil.

The brand's signature chocolate bars are made from ethically-sourced cacao and includes flavours such as Fire and Orange, maple and pecan and coffee and doughnuts.

The tasting kit will end with a specially-made dessert inspired by the individual nominee's favourite flavours.

Stars will also get to try a tasting set of Coda Signature's chocolate edibles for eight, infused with C02-extracted cannabis oil. Pictured, a range of Coda Signature's chocolate bars

24 karat gold Royal Chakra Bath Bomb from Hotsy Totsy Haus.

The celebrities will also receive a Royal Crown Chakra Bath Bomb 24-karat Gold Full Moon Charged Amethyst with Organic Hyaluronic Acid, from Hotsy Totsy Haus.

The bomb includes ingredients such as Brazillian purple clay, buckhorn and oat kernel extract coconut milk, aloe, and organic hyaluronic acid.

The website claims: 'As you lower the bath bomb into a warm, drawn bath, feel your anxiety, fears, and spiritual obstacles dissipate in a wake of lavender oil-infused, moon-charged water'.

The celebrities will also receive a Royal Crown Chakra Bath Bomb 24-karat Gold Full Moon Charged Amethyst with Organic Hyaluronic Acid, from Hotsy Totsy Haus (pictured)
COLUMBUS, Ohio  Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said hes taking some new ideas back with him from Israel after spending a few days there last week for a cybersecurity conference.

LaRose, the states top elections official, was an invited speaker at the CyberTech conference in Tel Aviv, Israel. LaRose said the events organizers are aware of Ohios status in American electoral politics, and were interested in the steps LaRose and his staff have taken to prepare for this years primary and general elections.

Among the stops on LaRoses itinerary was a visit to a civilian computer-response unit thats part of the countrys homeland security apparatus. The agency has a hotline members of the public can call to report a cybersecurity event, which he said is something he wants to look into bringing to Ohio.

Obviously putting something together like that would be costly and challenging, but certainly worth exploring, he said.

LaRose also toured the countrys central elections center and met with security industry, business and government officials, including the supreme court justice who oversees Israels elections committee. He also visited the new American embassy in Jerusalem, which the Trump administration controversially moved there from Tel Aviv last year.

LaRose said Israelis were interested in this years U.S. election. They asked him for predictions.

I told them Im not in the prediction business. I said the people of Ohio would answer that. They asked the same thing about whether Ohio is still a swing state. I said, Yes, absolutely, I think its competitive for either party, he said.

LaRose said he covered his travel costs with campaign funds.
The murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi at the purported direction of crown prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2018 led several prominent board members to withdraw from the government-backed event. Now, the participants who remain are left wondering whether the world will be able to see through the shadow of the crime to the art.  Artnet
Woman in TMS treatment Nationwide, results have been phenomenal, said Bejoy John, MD, psychiatrist, Blessing Physician Services. Relapse rates are comparatively less than when using medication alone.

Patients living with major depression have a new care option available through Blessing Physician Services. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) is an FDA approved, non-invasive treatment that can provide relief of depressive symptoms when medications and talk therapy, also known as psychotherapy, do not deliver the desired results.

Through an electromagnetic coil placed against the side of the patients head while they sit in a comfortable chair, TMS releases magnetic pulses that stimulate nerve cells and blood flow to the region of the brain affected by depression, relieving symptoms. Patients undergo 36 TMS treatments. The first appointment is one hour. The remaining appointments are approximately 30 minutes.

Nationwide, results have been phenomenal, said Bejoy John, MD, psychiatrist, Blessing Physician Services. Relapse rates are comparatively less than when using medication alone.

Salvador Sanchez, MD, psychiatrist, Blessing Physician Services, says TMS differs from Electroconvulsive Therapy or ECT.

There is no hospitalization with TMS, as there is with ECT. There is no period of recovery after a TMS treatment, as there is after ECT. And the side effects of TMS are minimal when compared to ECT, said Dr. Sanchez

TMS side effects may include headache and lightheadedness.

Patients are more willing to complete TMS therapy because it has fewer side effects and less discomfort than medications and ECT, added Dr. John.

This is a treatment, not a cure, Dr. Sanchez stated. Medications will still be needed for the majority of patients. TMS gives people living with depression another option to improve their quality of life.

While TMS is considered safe, people with metal devices in the upper part of their bodies and pregnant women cannot receive the treatment.

There are eight recognized forms of depression, making it the most common form of mental illness. In general, depressions causes a person feelings of sadness and hopeless that can leave them unable to function in their daily life, cause suicidal thoughts and require hospitalization.

For more information, call (800) 222-9913 in Illinois or (800) 222-9914 in Missouri.
Social media is ubiquitous in our lives. People can spend hours posting and scrolling on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and a host of other platforms. You may know people who are especially absorbed in the social media frenzy, including those who seem to post everything online, Society for Personality and Social Psychology writes in the article HOW NARCISSISM RELATES TO SOCIAL MEDIA. A major component of social media is the ability to display ones own life to the world, which may lead some people to post an inordinate amount of information about themselves.

Perhaps because posting on social media involves some degree of seeking attention, people have wondered how social media use may relate to narcissism, a personality trait that is often tied to self-absorption.

The researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas examined this question in a new research study. Researchers agree that there are three dimensions of narcissism. Each dimension is characterized by a heightened sense of self-importance, but they differ from each other in important ways.

First dimension

If you were to ask most people to define narcissism, they would probably emphasize the dimension of narcissism that psychologists conceptualize as grandiosity. People higher in grandiosity put themselves out there: they are bold, extraverted, assertive, and overconfident. They believe they are the best and often try to seek power over others.

Second dimension

On the other hand, vulnerability is characterized by being shy, inhibited, and anxious. People higher in vulnerability desire success and admiration similar to those higher in grandiosity but have difficulties in achieving these goals. Although it is not always obvious, some people with narcissistic tendencies score quite high in vulnerability.

Third dimension

Entitlement involves believing that you deserve more than you do. People higher in entitlement believe that they should be treated special and that they deserve the best. The researchers studied how these three dimensions of narcissism relate to social media use.

How these categories relate to social media

People approach social media in different ways. Sometimes, people post something and wait for the likes and comments to roll in. At other times, people may just scroll through other peoples content, possibly feeling like others are better off than them (She went to Hawaii again?!). Occasionally, people may come across a post from someone who is complaining about all the things wrong with his or her life and feel better off by comparison. People may even come across pictures from a family or friend event, and feel left out because they werent invited. These are the kinds of social media behaviors that were looked at in the study:

active use (posting content)

passive use (looking at other peoples content)

upward comparison (thinking others are better off)

downward comparison (thinking others are worse off)

and social exclusion (seeing an event from which you were excluded).

The results showed that grandiosity was especially related to downward social comparison. When on social media, people higher in grandiosity tend to believe that everyone else is worse off than they are. Vulnerability, though, was particularly related to upward social comparison and perceived social exclusion. When on social media, those higher in vulnerability tend to believe that other people are better off than they are, and they report seeing more social events from which they were excluded.

In addition, people higher in grandiosity and entitlement seem to post more on social media. This was especially the case for those higher in grandiosity posting more things on Snapchat, a messaging app that lets users exchange pictures and videos that disappear after they are viewed. Other than this, findings were generally similar across Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, and entitlement was generally not strongly related to peoples use of social media.

Overall, then, people who post a lot on social media may tend to be higher in narcissism, particularly in terms of higher grandiosity. But, the strength of the relationship between narcissism and social media use was small-to-moderate. So, posting a lot on social media does not necessarily mean that a person is narcissistic. In addition, the findings involving vulnerability suggest that some people who are higher in narcissism may often feel bad when using social media.

The research suggests that different dimensions of narcissism relate to social media experiences in different ways. For people who are higher in grandiosity, these experiences may be relatively pleasant, as they may find social media another outlet to showcase their life and to perceive others to be worse off than themselves. But, for people higher in vulnerability, experiences on social media may be fairly negative because viewing others posts make vulnerable people feel excluded and worse-off by comparison.
A day before the Delhi Assembly polls, the Shiv Sena on Friday heaped praises on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his government's "ideal" work in the last five years, and said the Centre should have replicated the 'Delhi model' of development in other states.

The Sena said Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Home Minister Amit Shah should have felicitated Kejriwal for fulfilling the promises in Delhi, but instead of doing that senior BJP leaders and ministers are raking up the 'Hindu vs Muslim' issue in a bid to win the elections.

"PM Modi and Amit Shah are leaving no stone unturned in Delhi Assembly elections. They (BJP) could not come to power in Maharashtra and lost in Jharkhand. Therefore, the BJP wants to win Delhi and there is nothing wrong in it," the Sena said in an editorial in the party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

"With the aim of winning the Delhi polls, 200 MPs from across the country, chief ministers of all the BJP-ruled states and the entire Union Cabinet are in the arena. Despite that Kejriwal has clearly emerged stronger than them," it said.

There could be differences of opinion on Kejriwal's views and style of functioning, it said, adding, "But despite having limited power in hand and the hurdles created by the Centre, his government's work in the fields of healthcare, education, civic amenities is ideal."



PM Modi and his cabinet should have replicated this 'Delhi model' in other states and utilised Kejriwal's vision across the country, the Sena said.

"Instead, all efforts were being made to prove Kejriwal wrong. If anybody is doing good work in a state and even if that person does not follow your ideology, the country's leader should still praise him and implement his good work elsewhere. But there is no magnanimity left in now," the Uddhav Thackeray-led party added.

"Children from poor families study in government-run schools in Delhi and such schools have turned ideal. The mohalla clinics there are doing good work. Water and electricity tariffs were either waived or halved. It means the promises that Kejriwal had given were fulfilled.

"PM Modi or Amit Shah should felicitate Kejriwal for fulfilling the promises, but instead of doing that senior BJP leaders and ministers are raking up 'Hindu vs Muslim' issue in their bid to win the elections," the saffron party said.

During the poll campaign, the BJP accused Kejriwal of being a 'terrorist', the Shiv Sena said, adding, "If they have proof, why don't they take action against him?"



The party also lashed out at Modi for devoting his campaign speeches to the issues of Batla House and Article 370.

"Modi said in his speech that those who ask for the proof of surgical strikes should be punished through voting. But if the voters in Delhi do not listen to him, then will he dub them as anti-nationals and dismiss the new government? The BJP should not lower the stature of the PM's position. The PM should exercise restraint," it said.

"There is no presence of Congress in Delhi. The BJP is trying to make lotuses bloom in a dried-up lake...But Kejriwal is seeking votes on the basis of his performance in the last five years. This is a different experiment in the of the country, which should be welcomed," it said.

Kejriwal has emerged as stronger than others. Delhi's voters are mature enough, so they don't need anybody's advice, the Shiv Sena concluded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DUBLIN - Irelands elections are usually two-horse races. But this time theres a third contender, as a party with historic links to the Irish Republican Army soars in the polls.

As Irish voters prepare to choose a new parliament on Saturday, a restive electorate is rattling the two parties that have dominated the countrys politics since it won independence from Britain a century ago, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.

Polls show a surprise surge  maybe even a lead  for Sinn Fein, the party historically linked to the IRA and its violent struggle for a united Ireland.

Sinn Fein is a major force in Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., but has long been a minor political player in the Republic, shunned by the bigger parties because of its ties to the IRA. But the partys left-wing proposals for tackling Irelands housing crisis and creaking healthcare system are striking a chord, especially with young voters.

Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald said this week that there was a thirst for change in Ireland.

The people were ahead of the curve in real terms in articulating the kind of profound change that they want. People were telling us We want change and by the way you are it, so get ready and serve us well, she said on Friday, the final day of campaigning.

The two big parties, whose origins lie on opposing sides of Irelands 1920s civil war, are fierce rivals but share a broadly centre-right outlook. For decades power has alternated between them.

Irelands next Taoiseach, or prime minister, is highly likely to be either current Prime Minister Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael or Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin.

But support for the two parties has fallen since the 2008 global financial crisis, which hit the debt-fueled Celtic Tiger economy particularly hard. Ireland was pushed to the brink of bankruptcy and forced to seek a humiliating international bailout that was followed by years of austerity.

The last election, four years ago saw voters shift in big numbers to protest parties and independents. It produced a Fine Gael minority government propped up by Fianna Fail votes.

Varadkar took office after becoming Fine Gael leader in 2017. The son of an Indian doctor and an Irish nurse, he was Irelands youngest-ever Taoiseach and its first openly gay leader. For many, he was the face of a confident, modern Ireland that has loosened the grip of the Roman Catholic church, legalized abortion and same-sex marriage, revitalized a long-stagnant economy and built up a thriving high-tech sector.

Internationally, Varadkar was the face of Ireland during Britains lengthy divorce negotiations with the European Union. The outcome of those talks was crucial to Ireland, the only EU country to share a land border with the U.K.

Most people think Varadkar and his party handled Brexit well, securing guarantees that people and goods will continue to flow freely between Ireland and the north. But thats unlikely to bring him an electoral reward. Polls suggest Fine Gael is trailing both Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail, though the margins are narrow.

Jonathan Evershed, a postdoctoral researcher in government and politics at University College Cork, said Varadkar wasnt getting much credit for his leadership on Brexit because Britains exit from the now 27-nation bloc, which became official on Jan. 31, is widely seen as mission accomplished  there will be no hard border on the island of Ireland.

That has left an election dominated by domestic problems, especially a growing homelessness crisis, house prices that have risen faster than incomes and a public health system that hasnt kept up with demand.

Both Fine Gael and Fianna Fail say they will build more houses, ease hospital overcrowding and cut waiting times for medical treatment. But their proposals look like tinkering compared to Sinn Feins more radical  and costly  plans to raise taxes on the wealthy, freeze rents, build tens of thousands of new homes and lower the state pension age.

The big parties say Sinn Feins socialist plans would hurt businesses and hit economic growth. And they have tried to remind voters of the partys ties to past violence.

Sinn Feins links with the IRA, which disarmed after Northern Irelands 1998 peace accord, became an issue late in the election, when the mother of a Northern Ireland man who was beaten to death in 2007  a killing the family blames on the IRA  accused party members of slandering her son as a criminal and failing to reveal what they knew about his death.

Fianna Fails Martin said Sinn Fein was not fit to govern because they have not cleansed themselves of their bloody past.

Sinn Fein denied Irish republicans were involved in the killing, but the party was put on the defensive. McDonald  a capable, 50-year-old Dubliner who has helped the party shed its hard-line Troubles-era image  condemned the murder as barbaric.

Sinn Feins struggle for a united Ireland has been on the back burner during the election, but it is calling for a referendum on Northern Ireland rejoining the south within five years. Thats not something an Irish government could deliver without the support of Britain and Northern Ireland  highly unlikely in the short term.

But Brexit looks likely to nudge Northern Irelands economy closer to that of its southern neighbour, and could yet increase pressure for a poll on unification.

Under Irelands proportional representation system, no party is likely to get the 80 seats they need for a majority in the 160-seat Dail, parliaments lower house, so some form of coalition government is likely.

Sinn Fein is running only 42 candidates, too few to win outright, but could hold the balance of power. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael both say they wont form a coalition with Sinn Fein  but their resolve could be tested if the party does well.

Evershed said that, whatever the result, the election has demonstrated the extent to which Sinn Fein has moved into the political mainstream.

They play the long game, he said of the nationalist party. If they dont get into government this time, I think that they will view whatever happens as nonetheless a success, because it becomes a staging post for the next time.

Varadkar, battling to keep his job, made a plea for voters to think before casting their ballots.

Bear in mind that all change isnt change for the better, Varadkar said Tuesday during a televised leaders debate. We saw in Britain with Brexit, people voting for change and they got Brexit. We saw Donald Trump being elected in the U.S.  thats not the kind of change we want.

___

Jill Lawless reported from London.
Trump: U.S. Forces Kill Leader of Yemeni Al-Qaeda In Counterterror Operation

February 07, 2020

President Donald Trump has announced that the United States killed the leader of the Al-Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) extremist group in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

Trump said in a statement on February 6 that Qassim al-Raymi's death will weaken the terror group in its region and Al-Qaeda globally. He did not say when Raymi was killed.

"Under Raymi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said.

"His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa'ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," he said.

Raymi succeeded Nasser al-Wuhayshi as military commander of AQAP after Wuhayshi was killed in a U.S. drone strike in 2015.

In his first speech as new leader in July 2015, Raymi called for attacks on the United States.

"You Americans, the more you kill from us, the more determined we become. Each leader you kill there is one to replace," said Raymi in an audio recording at the time.

Based on reporting by Reuters and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-us- forces-kill-qaeda-yemen-leader -raymi-rimi/30421630.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.

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Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science Hanna Novosad was asked to take them into consideration.

Hungary has made two proposals to the Ukrainian side on the law on education.

Speaking at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Ukrainian Minister of Education and Science Hanna Novosad had been asked to consider the said proposals, as well as to accept representatives of the Zakarpattia Union of Teachers.

Read alsoHungary's PM Orban names condition for unblocking NATO's Ukraine Declaration

"I believe that Ukrainian and Hungarian goals can be achieved. So that the Hungarians living in Ukraine learn the state language without the number of classes taught in Ukrainian increasing. We will help make teaching the Ukrainian language to the Hungarians of Zakarpattia region more effective. Learning the language at a very high level and simultaneously mastering and applying the mother tongue in the field of education are two goals that can be achieved simultaneously. We made proposals in this regard," the top diplomat said, according to a report by RBC delivered in Russian.

Earlier, Hungary named the condition for unblocking Ukraine's integration into NATO. In particular, Budapest believes that Ukraine should amend the law on education in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.
T he father of Meredith Kercher, a British student murdered in Italy, has died following in a suspected hit-and-run near his south London home.

John Kercher was found on the pavement with a broken arm and leg in Croydon three weeks ago.

The 77-year-old was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries last Saturday.

Mr Kerchers death is being treated as unexplained, but police said he may have been involved in a collision.

Meredith Kercher's father John has died in a suspected hit-and-run / AFP via Getty Images

His daughter was murdered in Italy in 2007 when she was 21 years old.

Her American roommate Amanda Knox and Knoxs Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted of murder but later cleared on appeal.

Following Mr Kerchers death, his family said in a statement to The Sun: We loved him dearly and he is going to be very sorely missed.

Detective Sergeant Steve Andrews, of the Mets South Area Command Unit, is investigating Mr Kerchers death.

He said: We are currently treating the death of this man as unexplained and our thoughts are with his family at this very sad time.

Despite thorough enquiries made so far, including speaking to witnesses and examining potential CCTV opportunities, weve not as yet been able to establish how the man came to sustain his injuries which included a broken arm and broken leg.

We are keeping an open mind as to the circumstances of his death, including whether he may have been involved in a collision.

Please make the call to us, or anonymously via Crimestoppers if you can help us determine what happened.

Anyone who was in the Windmill Road area at around 7.30pm on Monday, January 13 and can help provide information that could assist officers is asked to contact police on 101 and quote Cad 6441/13Jan.
Jung Eun-kyeong, head of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at a briefing on coronavirus contamination at the government complex in Sejong, Friday. /Yonhap



By Bahk Eun-ji



The government confirmed an additional case of the new coronavirus infection Thursday, bringing the total number of such cases to 24.



The 24th patient is among 701 Korean evacuees from the city of Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak. They were brought home earlier this month and have been under quarantine at state-run facilities in Asan and Jincheon in the Chungcheong provinces.



According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), the new patient, a 28-year-old Korean man, is a colleague of the country's 13th patient, and both went on the same business trip to Wuhan. The two of them were evacuated from the Chinese city on the same chartered flight.



"The newly confirmed patient tested positive after showing symptoms including a sore throat while he was staying in the quarantine facility in Asan. The patient was immediately sent to the National Medical Center last night," KCDC director Jung Eun-kyeong said during a press briefing at the Government Complex in Sejong.






Common-law wife of convicted Zakharchenko fined for evidence tampering

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

12:50 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  Moscows Nikulinsky District Court on Friday fined Anastasia Pestrikova, the partner wife of a former Russian anti-corruption official Dmitry Zakharchenko convicted of graft, 150,000 rubles for evidence tampering, RAPSI reports from the courtroom.

However, the court released the woman from punishment due to expiration of limitation period.

A case has been opened against Pestrikova over her attempt to return about $16.5 million deposited on bank accounts of Pestrikovas acquaintance Lilia Gorshkova. According to investigators, the accused Colonel gave illegally received funds to Pestrikova, who deposited the money in account opened by Gorshkova.

According to the court ruling, to return the money Pestrikova turned to an arbitration court using forged evidence including a fictious contract of debt. When arbitration proceedings were completed, she applied to a court in the Moscow Region to receive an order of enforcement, using a cession for changing a beneficiary from herself to a commercial organization.

Earlier, judicial authorities seized the funds. In December 2017, the funds were forfeited to the state.

Ex-Russian anti-corruption official Zakharchenko was arrested on September 8, 2016. During searches at his sisters apartment law enforcement officers found around 9 billion rubles ($140 million). He denied any relation to the seized funds.

In June, Moscows Presnensky District Court sentenced Zakharchenko to 13 years in high-security prison for 3-million-ruble corruption crimes and obstruction of the investigation. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to pay a 117-million-ruble fine ($1.8 million), stripped of his police colonel rank and prohibited from holding law enforcement posts for 2 years.

However, the court acquitted him of a $500,000 bribery count.

The defendant pleaded not guilty.




BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A mainland spokesperson on Thursday expressed firm opposition to any form of official interaction between the United States and Taiwan.

Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks when he responded to a question about Lai Ching-te's trip to the United States and his contact with the U.S. side.

"Lai Ching-te's trip to the United States, meeting with U.S. officials and members of U.S. Congress at his request, and his plot to seek 'Taiwan independence' and split the country are despicable dirty tricks," Ma said.
Universities around the world have all seen a trend towards internationalisation, either through actively developing strategies to attract students, staff and institutional partners from overseas, orjust because the world is 'getting smaller'.

A large number of students are increasingly seeking study abroad experiences as the resulting skills are highly sought after by employers, and solutions to global problems can only be achieved by working collaboratively across institutions, borders and disciplines. It is no surprise therefore that the university campus is becoming highly internationalised. Even students who decide to stay home will have exposure to a diverse classroom, a global perspective and an international teaching and research environment. Courses are now offered in English in countries where it is not the official language something even the French government, a great defender of its native language, is currently debating!

In trying to appeal to overseas students, a number of institutions, from a range of countries, have gone that little bit further, they are exporting. Exporting what? Well. . . themselves, that is the qualification and expertise that they normally provide in the 'mother' campus to a satellite location. This can take the form of so-called 'branch campuses'; and a variety of other structures, from franchising to joint-programmes.

Often designed to attract global students (the term glocal students was recently penned to describe the rise of students studying at home at an international university), branch campuses can have an appeal to other students. Youre from India and want to study at a French university in Malaysia? No problem!

You may be surprised to know that at the end of 2011 there were around 200 degree-awarding branch campuses worldwide and many more in the pipeline. The most popular locations for international branch campuses are China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Dubai and Qatar, which are seeing the development of education hubs, in order to boost their countrys higher education provision. The range of host countries is expanding rapidly and youll also find overseas universities in Egypt, Thailand, Cyprus and many others.

It is not just institutions from English-speaking countries which go overseas (Frances private Grandes Ecoles are very active in this) and interestingly institutions from some of the 'traditional' host countries are now setting up shop overseas.
In the face of an ongoing trade war and a historically tight labor market, furniture makers in America are up against a unique challenge  finding skilled workers to keep up with demand.

Interest in certain products, like upholstered sofas and armchairs, made in the U.S. is on the rise, but the number of workers with the skills and experience needed to meet increased demand seems out of reach.

In January 2000, more than 670,000 workers were employed in furniture manufacturing but that plummeted to just 360,000 in 2010. Numbers have risen slightly in recent years, however, hovering closer to the 400,000-employee mark.

In North Carolina, furniture companies have turned to the Catawba Valley Furniture Academy in Hickory. Catawba Valley Community College had a furniture manufacturing course for 40 years, but as graduates struggled to find work upon completing the program and the curriculum failed to keep up with changing technology, its relevancy waned. To help bring it back to life, the college teamed up with five local furniture makers in the area  founding partners are Century Furniture, Lee Industries, Lexington Home Brands, Sherrill Furniture and Vanguard Furniture.

Students like Casey Pennington study for up to nine months at the academy and then are guaranteed a job at one of the participating companies. Pennington's husband is an instructor at the academy and a fifth-generation furniture maker.

"There's definitely an art to it," Pennington, 27, said. "It's not something you can just sit down and know how to do."

Beyond that, the pay available can reach up to $30 an hour for those with experience, offering a life-changing raise for students.
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Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 2,900 Thanked: 25,214 Times

View My Garage





re: Hyundai Tucson Facelift @ Auto Expo 2020. EDIT : Launched at Rs. 22.30 lakh





3-spoke steering wheel is leather wrapped and gets thumb contours. The left side houses the media controls while the right gets the cruise control buttons:





Left hand stalk gets wiper controls...





...while the one on the right gets the light controls:





Buttons for the boot release, differential lock, traction control off and backlight illumination:





The centre console:





Tucson gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay:





Dual-Zone climate control:









The car gets dual 12V sockets along with Aux-in, USB and wireless charging:





Diesel engine is paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox:





Tucson gets electronic parking brake, auto hold, drive modes and hill decent control:





Vertically arranged cup holders + a small cubby in the front:





Arm rest reveals a large storage space underneath:





Black leather seats:





Both driver and passenger seats get electric adjustments:





Simple looking twin dials - the left is the tachometer, while the right is the speedometer. Temperature and fuel gauges sit inside them:





A colour MID between the dials:





Switchgear on the driver's door:





Doors house a speaker and a tweeter:





Infinity surround sound system:





Auto-dimming IRVM gets Blue link buttons. Read more about it





Individual map lights and sunroof controls:





Felt lined sunglass holder:





Even the driver's visor gets a vanity mirror:





Panoramic roof can be closed off completely if not needed:





Due to the large roof, LED cabin lamps are pushed to the edges:





Illuminated glove box:





A look at the white stitching on the dash:

Insides get an all-black theme:3-spoke steering wheel is leather wrapped and gets thumb contours. The left side houses the media controls while the right gets the cruise control buttons:Left hand stalk gets wiper controls......while the one on the right gets the light controls:Buttons for the boot release, differential lock, traction control off and backlight illumination:The centre console:Tucson gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Android Auto and Apple CarPlay:Dual-Zone climate control:The car gets dual 12V sockets along with Aux-in, USB and wireless charging:Diesel engine is paired with an 8-speed automatic gearbox:Tucson gets electronic parking brake, auto hold, drive modes and hill decent control:Vertically arranged cup holders + a small cubby in the front:Arm rest reveals a large storage space underneath:Black leather seats:Both driver and passenger seats get electric adjustments:Simple looking twin dials - the left is the tachometer, while the right is the speedometer. Temperature and fuel gauges sit inside them:A colour MID between the dials:Switchgear on the driver's door:Doors house a speaker and a tweeter:Infinity surround sound system:Auto-dimming IRVM gets Blue link buttons. Read more about it here Individual map lights and sunroof controls:Felt lined sunglass holder:Even the driver's visor gets a vanity mirror:Panoramic roof can be closed off completely if not needed:Due to the large roof, LED cabin lamps are pushed to the edges:Illuminated glove box:A look at the white stitching on the dash: Last edited by blackwasp : 7th February 2020 at 16:54 .
BRANDON, Fla. - A Florida man and his furry accomplice were taken into custody by authorities who said the man shoplifted from a store.

Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office said Logan Wilson was arrested Wednesday and charged with petit theft and possession of meth, WTSP-TV reported.

Wilson admitted to stealing $259 worth of items from Bass Pro Shops, deputies said. He was arrested during a traffic stop after he was seen leaving the store.

Deputies also took Wilsons four-legged friend into custody. A sheriffs office Facebook post showing an officer holding a small puppysaid deputies took care of the cutest accomplice before handing him over to Hillsborough County Animal Services.

Animal services will care for the dog until his owner is released from jail. Animal services has listed the puppy as pre-adopted. Deputies said that if the owner doesnt claim the dog, it will go up for adoption

Its unclear whether Wilson has an attorney who can comment on his behalf.
The Edo state police command has arrested a 29-year-old thief named Adetunji Adesina who confessed to using new method to steal millions from the ATM machine.

The suspect was arrested after withdrawing N678 000 from the account of one Mr. Ekhitomwen Aghama.

Confessing to the crime, the suspect said:

Read Also: Policeman With POS Demands ATM Card Of Nigerian Man (Video)

I pretended that I wanted to use the ATM machine, then deliberately dropped my phone on the ground. While Aghama was trying to help me, I punched the cardless button on the ATM machine.

He was, unaware that I pressed the cardless button, so he thought his card was stuck in the machine and went to seek for help from bank workers. At that point, I removed it from the cardless transaction and removed his ATM card.

I got his ATM pin number when I was pretending to help him and later withdrew 678,000 from his account, using the ATM and PoS, just before I was arrested by the police, he said.
Georgi Roberts & Asako Tomotani, Senior Producers at Tokyo-based creative agency monopo share a behind the scenes look at the Japanese digital design industry. From nurturing a globally-minded collective between Tokyo and London, practical insights on how creative collectivity mobilizes communities, and breaks down barriers of language and culture, and show examples of building design-driven digital solutions for brands , from Awwwards Digital Thinkers Conference Tokyo.

Collective creativity brings individual and diverse elements together to create something essentially new.

Watch 100s of UX, UI Design, Animation, Web Design and Development talks on the Awwwards YouTube Channel - subscribe here!

Get your ticket for the next Awwwards Conference: Talks, Workshops, Meetups and Parties for digital creatives to learn key tools, current trends and emerging web technologies from leading agencies, whilst making connections within the international design community.
(Kitco News) - Gold and silver prices are steady to slightly down in early U.S. futures trading Friday, pressured only mildly following a stronger-than-expected U.S. employment report for January. Losses are limited heading into an uncertain weekend on the coronavirus front. The safe-haven metals bulls have stabilized their markets late this week, despite rallies in global stock markets this week, led by the U.S. stock indexes that hit record highs. February gold futures were last down $1.20 an ounce at 1,568.90. March Comex silver prices were last down $0.083 at $17.74 an ounce.

The just-released U.S. employment situation report from the Labor Department showed the

key non-farm payrolls figure come in up 225,000. The number was forecast to come in at up around 160,000. A very strong ADP national employment report reading on Wednesday had some correctly reckoning Fridays jobs report would be stronger than forecast.

Asian and European shares were weaker overnight as traders and investors have pushed the coronavirus outbreak in China back to near the front burner of the marketplace. U.S. stock indexes are pointed toward lower openings when the New York day session begins. Traders can correctly argue many of the rallying stock indexes are on Friday just seeing some normal profit-taking pressure from recent gains that put some stock indexes at record highs earlier this week, including those in the U.S.

Still, the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, with over 625 reported dead in China and over 31,000 afflicted in that country. President Trump and Chinese Premiere Xi Jing Ping discussed the matter in a telephone call late Thursday. Chinas domestic economy is being impacted, as is the global economy, to a degree. There are also reports coming from China that the nation may invoke a disaster clause in its trade agreement with the U.S. that would allow China to purchase less than their January trade agreement stated. Look for safe-haven assets like gold, U.S. Treasuries, the Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar to perform better on Friday, heading into an uncertain weekend regarding the coronavirus situation.

The key outside markets today see crude oil prices weaker and trading around $50.50 a barrel. Meantime, the U.S. dollar index is firmer and hit a four-month high overnight.

Other U.S. economic data due for release Friday includes the monthly wholesale trade report, and consumer credit.

Technically, the gold bulls have the overall near-term technical advantage and have stabilized the market late this week. Bulls are working on restarting a nearly three-month-old price uptrend on the daily chart. Bulls next upside price objective is to produce a close in April futures above solid resistance at $1,600.00. Bears' next near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at $1,550.00. First resistance is seen at the overnight high of $1,573.60 and then at $1,580.00. First support is seen at $1,560.00 and then at Thursdays low of $1,556.00. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 6.5

March silver futures bulls and bears are on a level overall near-term technical playing field amid recent choppy trading. However, a downtrend line is in place on the daily bar chart. Silver bulls' next upside price breakout objective is closing prices above solid technical resistance at $18.00 an ounce. The next downside price breakout objective for the bears is closing prices below solid support at $17.00. First resistance is seen at $18.00 and then at this weeks high of $18.125. Next support is seen at this weeks low of $17.465 and then at the January low of $17.28. Wyckoff's Market Rating: 5.0.
Unmasked, which will have its world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse Feb. 9, is the perfect title for the a musical showcasing the life and work of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Not only is it a reference to one of the his most beloved shows  The Phantom of the Opera  but it is also a hint to audiences that this is their chance to peek behind the curtain and learn more about the composers creative thoughts and inspirations as well as the personal stories behind some of his most beloved songs.

Its a little bit getting to know the creator while getting to know his body of work, director/choreographer JoAnn M. Hunter said. Its like a revue but its more than that. Its not just people coming up with handheld microphones and singing a song and sitting down. Its more cohesive, more theatrical.

Lloyd Webber is one of musical theaters most successful and prolific living composers, giving life and sound to megahit shows including Jesus Christ Superstar, Cats, Evita, School of Rock," Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Sunset Boulevard. Several of his songs have become off-stage hits, including Memory from Cats and Superstars I Dont Know How to Love Him." Hes one of about a dozen people who can say theyve won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, the sacred EGOT. Queen Elizabeth II has honored him with both a knighthood and a peerage, although hes since left the House of Lords because of his schedule.

In his 2018 memoir Unmasked, Lloyd Webber writes that he had planned to tell his life story in one book. But, as he wrote, his 500-page autobiography judders to a halt at the first night of Phantom of the Opera" - and that was in the mid 1980s.

The stories in the musical Unmasked are told and sung by a cast of 12 and Webber himself, who appears via video throughout the show. A nine-piece rock band that never leaves the stage provides the accompaniment for a diverse body of work.

Even if youre not a theater fan, you will know some of these songs," Hunter said. Anyone can come in and be immediately entertained.

Co-writer Richard Curtis called the show an intense smorgasbord of his stuff. ... There are about 30 songs and I cant believe he wrote them all. It contains two new songs and shines light on some of Lloyd Webbers lesser-known works, including Amigos Para Siempre, a song written for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics with lyrics by Don Black and originally performed by Sarah Brightman and Jose Carreras.

Its a very sweet song and he talks about how suspiciously late it was when they approached him (to write it), Curtis said. He suspected he was the 19th person asked to write it or surely they would have asked him sooner than two weeks before hand.

Curtis predicts many of Lloyd Webbers behind-the-scenes stories will delight audiences: How the tune of Sunset Boulevard's With One Look was originally intended for Disneys The LIttle Mermaid; how Judy Garland inspired Evita's Dont Cry for Me Argentina; how Pie Jesu was written after the deaths of Lloyd Webbers father and a friend.

I really think people will feel theyve seen the man and get a sense of where it all comes from, Curtis said. You get a different insight into almost all the music as well as getting almost perfect versions of (them)."

UNMASKED: THE MUSIC OF ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER

Paper Mill Playhouse

22 Brookside Dr., Millburn

Tickets: $32-112, available online at papermill.org. Through March 1.

Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.
Billion-dollar deals are being put off as travel in and out of China is curbed to contain the coronaviruss spread.

More than two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in Asia have been postponed because of the spread of the coronavirus from China, shuttering events where billions of dollars worth of deals have been signed in the past.

The deferred events, including some scheduled as late as the end of March, show the ripple effect the virus is having on businesses globally with airlines cancelling flights as governments and companies curb travel and thousand of factories and shops remain shut.

The venue of Chinas oldest and biggest trade fair, the Canton Fair, has suspended exhibitions until further notice. It was due to hold its spring exhibition at the complex from April 15. Last year, $29.7bn worth of deals were signed at the event.

Organizers of the East China Import and Export Commodity Fair, due to be held in Shanghai over March 1-4, said they would postpone the event, without giving later dates. The fair that usually attracts traders of garments and household goods, announced $2.3bn in deals last year.

The Chinese government has also asked local authorities and business associations to hold off hosting events and conferences, as concerns rise about the disease that has killed more than 560 people and infected more than 28,000.

Clients are asking me, is it safe to go to China and thats a very hard question to answer, said Malcolm McNeil, a partner at global law firm Arent Fox, whose clients include firms based in the United States with business interests in China.

A client scheduled to go to Shenzhen in southern China decided to put that off until June, McNeil said. He expects it to take at least six-nine months before people regain full confidence to travel to China again for business.

Other postponed events, due to be held in the last two weeks of March, include the annual trade conference for the global chip industry in China, SEMICON and the International Building and Construction Trade Fair in Shanghai.

The annual China Development Forum, a high-level gathering of international leaders, whose past attendees included Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook will be delayed, its organisers said. It is usually held in late March.

The outbreak casts doubt on attendance at high-profile events outside China as well, industry executives said, as companies restrict mainland Chinese visitors from travelling to other countries.

Koreas LG Electronics has withdrawn from the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona scheduled for February 24-27.

Hospitality hit

In Singapore, Food & Hotel Asias trade show which attracted more than 80,000 people in 2018, has postponed the first of two events it had planned in the city-state this year.

Travel fair NATAS Travel 2020 has also been pushed back.

At least four employees of a multinational company that held a meeting of more than 100 international staff in Singapore in January contracted the virus, sparking a World Health Organization investigation of the case.

Meanwhile, International art organisation Art Basel on Friday announced the cancellation of its high-profile Hong Kong annual show next month as the city grapples with the coronavirus outbreak.

The fair had been due to take place from March 19 to 21 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre according to a statement on the Art Basel website.

Art Central, an associated event, also announced the cancellation of its show.

Some hotels are bracing for the effects to be at least as bad as the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, based on booking cancellations so far, industry sources said.

Multinational companies who are the main customers of luxury hotels have halted trips to China  all big events have been called off across the country, said Mei Xin, an analyst with Huatai Securities in Beijing, adding that these were key revenue sources for high-end hotels.

Hotel occupancy in China, at 70 percent on January 14, dropped by three-quarters within the next two weeks, a report by hospitality industry consultancy STR published on Tuesday showed.

A report by data consultancy Tourism Economics published last week forecasted that visits to the US from China could drop by 28 percent in 2020, equivalent to 4.6 million hotel room nights and $5.8bn in visitor spending.
Beijing: The death from coronavirus of a Chinese doctor who had been reprimanded for issuing an early warning about the disease has triggered a wave of public mourning and rare expressions of anger against the government online.

Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at a hospital in Wuhan, the city at the epicentre of the outbreak, became one of the most visible figures in the crisis after he revealed he was one of eight people reproached by Wuhan police last month for "spreading rumours" about the coronavirus.

News of Li's death at the age of 34 became the top-read topic on China's microblogging site Weibo on Friday, local time, with over 1.5 billion views, and was also heavily discussed in private WeChat messaging groups, where people expressed outrage and sadness.

There were also signs that discussions of his death were being censored, especially ones that blamed the government. Topics tagged "the Wuhan government owes Doctor Li Wenliang an apology" and "we want free speech" briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday, but yielded no search results on Friday.
Jewish Academy of Orlando partnered with PJ Library Greater Orlando to bring the community, "#beeyourselfie," a day that celebrated every child's uniqueness. The fun-filled morning started with a story time led by JAO Head of School Alan Rusonik and a "selfie" photo session with JAO's beloved mascot, "Mac the Bee."

Later the families started their exploration of what makes each person unique. Each child was provided a passport. The passport guided families to travel between three different rooms that celebrated different aspects of their own original gifts: #BEEInnovative, #BEEArtistic and #BEEDelicious. In JAO's innovation lab, participants used the makerspace to engineer and build unique projects. The art room was the background for #BEEARTISTIC where children created artistic and personalized picture frames to house their selfies. In the #BEEDelicious room, participants mixed their own unique and delicious trail mix.

"We were delighted to partner with JAO to bring the community a program that celebrates what makes each person unique," said Rebecca Tregerman, director of Outreach and Engagement, Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando. "We look forward to working with JAO for future programs!"

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.
HERSHEY, Pa., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Hershey Company, one of the largest chocolate and confectionery producers in the world, has announced it will use only cage-free eggs and egg products across its global supply chain, including in China.

In an updated farm animal welfare position statement released on the company's website , Hershey's committed to using "100% 'cage-free' eggs for products globally by 2025" with "housing conditions in line with the American Humane Certified" standards. The company had previously committed to using only cage-free eggs in the U.S. and Canada by the end of this year. The expanded policy will cover Hershey's products in China, Asia, and the rest of the globe.

"An increasing number of leading food companies have made a global commitment to use only cage-free eggs, which are less cruel to animals and better for consumers," said Kirsty Tuxford of Lever Foundation, a non-governmental organization that worked with The Hershey Company on expanding its animal welfare policy. "With this commitment, Hershey's joins other leading confectionery and packaged foods brandsincluding Mondelez, Ferrero Roche, Nestle, Danone, and General Millsin pledging to using only cage-free eggs worldwide."

The Hershey Company, a Pennsylvania-based brand with a presence in over 60 countries, is known worldwide for their chocolate products. The decision to go cage-free globally will cover all eggs and egg ingredients used by the company, and the transition is to be completed by 2025.

Lever Foundation is an international animal protection non-profit based in Pennsylvania, with staff operating in the United States, Europe and the greater China region.

CONTACT

Kirsty Tuxford, [email protected], +1 (717) 584-1805

SOURCE Lever Foundation

Related Links

http://www.leverfoundation.org


CHARLOTTE, N.C. - President Donald Trump came to North Carolina on Friday to showcase a new economic revitalization program, but he quickly took a verbal detour to reprise complaints about his impeachment by the House, saying Democrats should have to list a failed impeachment hoax on their resumes.

As he left Washington for his first trip since being acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate, Trump said of the Democrats, I think theres a lot of evil on that side.

Trump was speaking to a friendly crowd at the Charlotte summit on economic opportunity for those in low-income areas. The event took on the feel of one of his raucous political rallies, with audience members at one point leaping to their feet and breaking into chants of Four More Years, Four More Years.

Trump, soaking up the sentiments, wisecracked: Now, if you want to drive them crazy, go: Twelve more years. Sixteen.

Speaking of his Democratic accusers back in Washington, Trump told the audience: It was the impeachment hoax. That was a thing of the past. Now they have a failed impeachment hoax. They can put that on their resume.

Trump revived portions of this weeks State of the Union address and made a few overt appeals for support from African Americans, a demographic that polls show he fares poorly with.

He also took pleasure in making note of the Democratic disarray in Iowa, where problems tabulating votes in the states leadoff presidential caucuses left the results in dispute.

Trump said hed heard fretting that This a disaster. Trump is going to kill us on this one. He added: Theyre right. Theyre right.

Before leaving Washington, Trump told reporters on the South Lawn that reports that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was on his way out now that the impeachment drama is over were false.

People close to Mulvaney, who was among the White House staffers travelling with Trump on Friday, pushed back against the notion that he will soon leave his job.

Trump was in Charlotte to deliver closing remarks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit at Central Piedmont Community College. Its the first in a series of trips he will be taking to promote opportunity zones, the White House said.

He announced a new campaign to revitalize under-served neighbourhoods and said the effort would be called Opportunity Now but gave few details. He called it a big deal that would involve community leaders, workers, entrepreneurs, employers and faith leaders.

Thousands of neighbourhoods around the country have been designated as opportunity zones under tax-cut legislation Trump signed into law in 2017. Tax breaks are provided for certain investments in these lower-income areas by businesses and wealthy individuals.

We believe in no American left behind. Thats what its all about, Trump said.

Trump introduced Tony Rankins, an Army veteran from Cincinnati who turned his life around and overcame homelessness after getting a job with a construction company that invests in opportunity zones. Rankins was one of Trumps guests at the State of the Union address this week, and Trump called him up to speak on Friday.

Trumps remarks included overt appeals for support from African Americans, including mentions of legislation he signed to permanently fund historically black colleges and universities, and to overhaul federal criminal sentencing policy.

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who introduced Trump, event went as far as saying his boss is not a racist. Carson said Trump, after buying his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, fought for Jews and blacks to be admitted.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.

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Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap
American actor Daniel Pinder shared a photo himself in Tokyo this past week on his Instagram account (@danieljpinder) that has over 100,000 followers.

The post read "Japan! You were simply amazing and incredibly beautiful. I'll see you again soon."

The actor shared some of his trip on his social media visiting TeamLab Borderless Tokyo, the Senso-ji temple, Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima and he spent time in Fukuyama.

Pinder will be working with Japanese born actress Hazuki Kato in the action movie Garrison 7: The Fallen. It's unclear if the American actor was in Japan for production or just vacation.

In a past article from Asianmoviepulse.com, Pinder did mention how his fiancee was born in Japan and that he would be visiting the country in 2020.
Drug firm Alkem Laboratories on Friday said it has received three observations from the American health regulator after inspection of its facility at St Louis in the US.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) had conducted an inspection of the company's manufacturing facility located at St. Louis, USA from January 27 to February 6, 2020, Alkem Laboratories said in a filing to the BSE.

"At the end of the inspection, the company has received Form 483 with three observations," it added.

The company shall submit to the USFDA within the stipulated timeline a detailed response to close out all the observations associated with this inspection, Alkem Laboratories said.

An FDA Form 483 notifies a company's management of objectionable conditions at the facility inspected by the US health regulator.

Shares of Alkem Laboratories were trading at Rs 2434.45 per scrip on the BSE, up 1.21 per cent from its previous close.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Childcare worker Amy O'Neill thinks the old ways of Irish politics may have run their course.

The 26-year old from Tipperary works two jobs to make ends meet and usually votes for Fine Gael, one of the two parties that have largely dominated Ireland's political landscape since the foundation of the state a century ago. As she prepares to vote in Saturday's election, she's considering making a change.

"I'm leaning toward Sinn Fein," said O'Neill.

She's not the only one. The left-wing nationalist party, once the political wing of the IRA terrorist group, jumped into the lead in one poll in the final days of campaigning.

The electoral math of a fragmented system means Sinn Fein won't lead the next government, but its rise speaks to the shifting tectonic plates that are upending traditional power structures in Ireland and across Europe.

When O'Neill joined an estimated 20,000 childcare workers marching through Dublin on Feb. 5 to demand better pay and conditions, the buzz was all about a shift to the left.

"That's what everyone here is talking about," she said.

Voting began on some of Ireland's islands on Friday, with the mainland going to the polls on Saturday. State broadcaster RTE will release an exit poll immediately after voting ends at 10 p.m. Saturday. Around Sunday lunchtime, it will become clear if the centrist hold on power has been broken.

The traditional divide in Irish politics runs between Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, separated by little except where they stood on the division of Ireland in 1921.

In 1982, the two dominant tribes accounted for 84% of the vote. By 2016, they had less than 50% of the vote and that's likely to fall further tomorrow as Sinn Fein makes inroads.

The shift in Ireland matches a pattern that has seen traditional parties eroded in places like Germany, Italy and Spain -- and all but wiped out in France where President Emmanuel Macron and the right-wing populist Marine Le Pen overturned the old guard in 2017.

In Ireland, Sinn Fein can't lead the next government because it isn't running enough candidates to clinch a majority. But Fianna Fail's Micheal Martin, the favorite to take power, may face an awkward dilemma: does he bring Sinn Fein into his coalition or allow them to become the main opposition?

He's officially ruled out a pact, though the bookmakers still make it the most likely outcome. Either way, Sinn Fein's influence is set to grow.

"There is something important going on here," said Eoin O'Malley, a politics professor at Dublin City University. "After almost 100 years, voters are becoming sick of the two big parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and are looking for change."

He said Sinn Fein could be in a position to take power itself come the next election.

Before then, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald may force the next government to do more to protect workers rights and boost wages. She's promised people like O'Neill she would spend an extra 500 million euros ($550 million) on childcare providers, raise entry-level wages and make the state responsible for pay and pensions in the sector.

Irish voters may be open to a more regulated economy after both the main parties ran into trouble for their handling of the state finances -- Fianna Fail is struggling to shake off its role in Ireland's 2008 economic crash while Varadkar has overseen vast cost overruns on projects like the new National Children's Hospital.

Nevertheless, Varadkar and Martin both attacked her tax-and-spend plans during an election debate last month.

"Listening to these men you'd never imagine that one had crashed the economy and that the other is so fiscally irresponsible that he's producing the most expensive hospital in the world," McDonald replied.

Sinn Fein's main historical mission has been to reunite the two parts of the island of Ireland and the deal that Varadkar struck last year over the border with Northern Ireland has already weakened the ties binding the six Irish provinces to the rest of the U.K.

Brexit has also helped soften opposition to reunification in the north and Sinn Fein, the only group with a significant representation in institutions on both sides of the border, could increase the chances of a vote on the issue.

The party only began seriously contesting Irish elections in the 1980s under a strategy known as "the Armalite and the Ballot Box" -- in which the Republican movement sought to further its goals through both democratic means and violence.

The end of the Troubles in 1998 helped to normalize the party, but it's still never been in government. And in an election where voters are demanding change, that's a significant advantage.

Sinn Fein may be tapping into "a latent republican sentiment, also fueled by the long Brexit saga," said Diarmaid Ferriter, professor of history at University College Dublin. But mainly, he added, the party is "a lightning rod for the discontent out there, for the things that people feel are wrong about their lives."

- - -

Bloomberg's Ben Sills, Peter Flanagan and Rachel McGovern contributed to this report.
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Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States  Fri, February 7, 2020 16:07 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632d745 2 Lifestyle New-York-Fashion-Week,Somber,fashion,fashion-week,coronavirus,China,Wuhan-coronavirus Free

New York Fashion Week started on a gloomy note Thursday, with a Chinese designer showcasing its wares to a partially empty room amid fears the coronavirus could force labels from the Asian giant to cancel their catwalks.

"Mukzin might be the only Chinese brand you will see at this New York Fashion Week," said an announcer, before introducing the autumn-winter 2020 collection of designer Kate Han.

The compere referred to the deadly virus that has killed more than 560 people and sparked global alarm as it spreads around the world as "a disaster and a sad, sad story."

"We're not here only to present the great pieces of the design but also we're showing Chinese people and the people around the world we have strong will and strength and love through all difficulties and hardship," she added.

There were rows of empty seats, a rarity for New York Fashion Week, at the beginning of Han's parade of designs which fuse traditional Chinese influences with a modern twist.

Read also: Another 41 on Japan cruise have new coronavirus: Minister

A cloud is hanging over the involvement of Chinese designers, buyers and journalists this week due to the deadly coronavirus.

Chinese label Sheguang has said its New York show will go also ahead and Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), which helps run Fashion Week, says it has no information about possible cancellations.

But Chinese fashion houses Angela Chen, Ricostru and Hui have already canceled runway appearances at Milan Fashion Week later this month because of the virus.

Around 1,000 Chinese buyers, journalists, stylists and other industry staff are also going to miss the event, Italian officials have said.

"I felt very confident and very safe here to make the show," said Han.
Letter folded into a tiny square, rolled into a chapatti, smuggled in a lunch box.

This is how former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been communicating with her daughter in Kashmir, Ilitija disclosed in a long post on Twitter.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti has been under preventive custody since August 5, when Centre abrogated Article 370 stripping Jammu and Kashmir of its statehood and dividing the state in two Union Territories.

Describing her mother's detention, Iltija wrote, ""On a personal level, words escape me to describe the past six months since the reading down of Article 370 followed by my mother's detention. In particular I will never forget the week that she was arrested and jailed."

She goes on to state, "I spent next few days riddled with anxiety until I received a crumpled and tersely worded note, the first of many furtively exchanged letters. I found it in a tiffin box that contained home cooked food sent for her."

Mehbooba Mufti's note for Iltija warned her against using her Twitter profile on her behalf. "They have taken an undertaking that I won't be using social media to communicate. In case someone else does it, he will be booked on charges of impersonation. Love you and miss you a lot," Mehbooba Mufti wrote in her first note to her daughter. According to Ilitija, many notes followed.

Explaining how she sent her notes back to her mother, Iltija said, "My grandmother found an ingenious solution. The letter I wrote was folded into a tiny square and carefully sealed, rolled and locked inside the middle of a chapatti."

Iltija has claimed that she was able to communicate via these notes with her mother despite a very heavy security at the state guest house, where she was put up for six months. According to sources, even as she will be most likely shifted to her residence soon she will remain under house arrest as she has been charged under Public Safety Act.

Mehbooba Mufti was earlier kept at Chashmashahi guest house and was shifted to a government bungalow on MA Road in Srinagar in December after her daughter said she was suffering from the severe cold weather.

While Mufti will continue to be held at the government house, Omar Abdullah will remain in custody at Hari Niwas, a state guest house.
Women protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Idgah ground in Deoband since January 27 spurned the appeal of clerics to end their stir on Friday. They greeted a delegation that tried to convince them with slogans of go back and a few angry women also threw bangles at them.

Aamna Roshi, president of Mutahid Khawatin Committee that is heading the protest, said Ulema have nothing to do with our protest. Its a movement of the people and we will accept only their decision.

She said that a single wrong action would make us responsible for the dark future of the coming generation.

Our children will question us if we fail to secure their future, she said. Roshi admitted that members of the delegation were greeted with slogans of go back and some angry women threw bangles at them.

To be sure, Mohatmim (vice chancellor) of Islamic seminary Darul Uloom of Deoband appealed to the protesting women to end their protest in view of the governments response that no decision had been taken yet to implement NRC in the entire country.

Mohatmim Mufti Abul Kasim Nomani addressed a meeting of a peace committee held in Deoband on Thursday. In a video, the Mufti was seen sitting with Ulema and others while cops were standing behind him.

Mufti mentioned the speech of Nayab Mohatamim Maulana Abdul Khaliq Madrasi and said, I do agree with his views but it would not be appropriate to direct them (women) to completely end their protest. Instead, it would be easier to ask them to end their protest for now in view of the governments response that no decision was taken yet to implement NRC in the whole country.

Mufti said that many people were not convinced with the words until and yet. But it showed that for now the government had promised to not implement NRC and it should be seen as an achievement. He said such issues were also in courts and if they were resolved, then there would be no need to protest. Otherwise legal options always remained open to people.

Mufti said he belonged to an educational institute which had no direct right to ask women to end their protest. So some influential and respected people should convince the protesting women to end the protest.

Subsequently, a sub-committee of 15 people was formed to this end and 5 to 6 members approached the protesting women. However, the protesters not only rejected their appeal but also shouted slogans against them.

Aamna Roshi reiterated that accepting the appeal of the Mufti and other clerics would send a wrong message across the country and weaken their movement. Therefore we have decided to continue our movement until the government announces roll back of CAA, she said.

Darul Uloom clarification

Darul Uloom of Deoband later distanced itself from the appeal issued by its cleric. In a statement issued on Friday evening, Darul spokesperson Ashraf Usmani underlined that it has not appealed to women to end their protest against CAA. Daruls spokesperson Ashraf Usmani said that the views expressed by the Mohatmim (VC) during a meeting of peace committee convened by the district administration, were his conditional and personal views and should not be seen as views of the Darul Uloom.

It said Darul Uloom had already given its memorandum to the Government of India and the Chief Justice of India and believed that the nationwide movement against CAA and NRC was to protect the Indian Constitution and its spirit.

The release reiterated that Darul Uloom was not satisfied by the governments statement in which it said that it had no plan till now to prepare nationwide NRC. It is a very serious issue and it must not be taken lightly. We should continue our peaceful struggle by exercising our constitutional right until the CAA is withdrawn and NRC gets cancelled forever, the release said.

(This report has been updated to reflect that the appeal by the Darul Uloom cleric was directed at women protesting CAA at Deoband)
Fresh off his impeachment acquittal Wednesday, President Donald Trump spoke Thursday morning at the National Prayer Breakfast. "Today, we proudly proclaim that faith is alive and well and thriving in America and we're going to keep it that way, nobody will have it changed," Trump said. "It won't happen as long as I'm here, it will never, ever happen."

Trump also took aim at the faith of two political rivals: "I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong," he said in reference to Mitt Romney, who cited his Mormon faith as the reason he felt obligated to vote to convict the President. "Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you' when they know that that's not so," in reference to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Romney and Pelosi aren't the only people's faith Trump is casting aside. He rejects the authentic faith and prayers of any and all religious Americans who don't share his narrow definition of conservative, white evangelicalism. He then defines "religious liberty" as the imposition of this flawed "Christian" ideology upon Americans of all faiths and no faith.

During Tuesday's State of the Union, he declared "we don't tear down crosses" and "we don't muzzle preachers and pastors." He said, "My administration is also defending religious liberty, and that includes the constitutional right to pray in public schools." It wasn't a coincidence that Trump didn't mention Buddhist meditation in schools or the right to build mosques in America.

The President's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast and State of the Union fell flat for millions of religious Americans who are suffering under his administration's policies, including those who are religious minorities, LGBTQ, poor and migrants.

These are the prayers President Trump isn't hearing. White, straight, rich, evangelical men are the only people whose prayers the Trump-Pence administration hears. We see them in the White House and at the National Prayer Breakfast. But there are many more prayers being offered up in America. At least God, I believe, is hearing them all.

Families impacted by his travel ban on mostly Muslim majority nations are praying for our nation to live up to its commitment to religious liberty. Just last week, the Trump administration announced its expansion of its travel ban to six more countries: Nigeria, Eritrea, Tanzania, Sudan, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar.

During the 2016 election, Trump ran on the promise of a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States," as one campaign press release stated. Now as he faces reelection, he's arbitrarily picking countries to ban and score points with his political base.

Trump's assertion during the State of the Union that "We are advancing with unbridled optimism and lifting our citizens of every race, color, religion and creed very, very high" cannot square with what many have perceived as a ban on Muslims. And they're hardly the only religious minority suffering under this administration.

The Jewish community is lamenting the rise in anti-Semitism which Trump administration has failed at key moment to address (and which many believe his administration has emboldened.)

Just last month, the administration granted press credentials to an anti-Semitic news organization TruNews. Its founder, pastor Rick Wiles, described Trump's impeachment as "a Jew coup" planned by "a Jewish cabal."

LGBTQ people of faith are praying for our God-given dignity to be respected by our fellow Americans. Trump cited "the eternal truth that everyone is made equal by the hand of Almighty God" while his Department of Justice is arguing against LGBTQ rights at the Supreme Court.

Thankfully, a broad consensus of religious Americans disagree with Trump -- 80% of Jews, 72% of Hispanic Catholics, 71% of white Catholics, 71% of white mainline Protestants, 70% of Mormons and even 54% of white evangelical Protestants support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people, according to a 2018 Public Religion Research Institute survey.

And, finally, Trump refuses to hear the prayers of immigrants and refugees. In addition to the Muslim ban, his administration has attempted to ban pregnant women, asylum seekers and working-class immigrants. Religious groups across the political and theological spectrum have spoken out in favor of welcoming the stranger. One case stands out in particular.

President Trump issued an executive order allowing states and localities to opt-out of refugee resettlement. The Catholic governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, took him up on the offer. In response, all 16 Catholic bishops in Texas called the policy "misguided" and said it "denies people who are fleeing persecution, including religious persecution, from being able to bring their gifts and talents to our state and contribute to the general common good of all Texans."

Sadly, Trump's remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast weren't that surprising. The organizer of the event, the "Fellowship," is a secretive Christian nationalist organization that was recently exposed in a Netflix documentary.

Vice President Mike Pence also addressed the National Prayer Breakfast this morning. "Since the founding of this nation, the American people have relied on prayer," he said.

I don't have a problem with the President, vice president and other leaders praying. To the contrary, I believe it's right and good for political leaders to authentically practice their faith in the public square. Many Americans of all political beliefs rely on prayer. My problem is that the President and vice president are only listening to the prayers of a very small subset of religious Americans.
President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He (2nd from R) before signing Phase One of a US-China trade agreement as Vice President Mike Pence (R) looks on at the White House in Washington, Jan. 15, 2020.

Just two weeks after the United States and China called a truce in their two-year trade war, the outbreak of the coronavirus has threatened to put the agreement on hold.

On Jan. 30, a Chinese trade agency said it would offer "force majeure certificates" to companies facing problems meeting their international contractual commitments due to the epidemic, Reuters reported.

The statement by the China Council for The Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) may be the first sign that Beijing will invoke force majeure, a legal principle that can exempt parties from contractual obligations in case of circumstances beyond their control.

The CCPIT declaration at the end of January came as Chinese health authorities reported 7,711 confirmed cases of the infection and 170 deaths. Confirmed cases and deaths have more than tripled since then.

"Some Chinese companies have suffered severe impacts on goods and logistics and may not be able to fulfil their contracts amid the coronavirus," the trade agency said.

By opening the door to force majeure claims, China may be calling into question its ability to raise imports from the United States by U.S. $200 billion (1.4 trillion yuan) over the next two years under the Phase One deal.

Even before the dimensions of the coronavirus crisis became known in mid-January, economists and trade experts had voiced doubts that China would fulfill the commitment for such a large increase in imports compared with the base year of 2017.

Economic damage, decreased demand and logistics problems due to the epidemic may have put the goal far out of reach.

"My guess is that there will be substantial shortfalls in the Phase One targets, at least through the first half of 2020, both because the targets are extremely ambitions and because of the coronavirus," said Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

Although the text of the Phase One agreement makes no specific reference to force majeure exemptions, it includes a clause calling for consultations "in the event that a natural disaster or other unforeseeable event" delays compliance with the agreement, Bloomberg News noted.

"Even though force majeure is not mentioned in the Phase One text, it's an established legal principle, and I'm sure it will be invoked by China," Hufbauer said.

Bloomberg said it was unclear whether China had formally asked for consultations, but it cited "people familiar with the matter" as saying that plans called for such a request.

In a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, President Xi Jinping raised the issue of the Phase One agreement, saying that "the two countries can always find solutions acceptable to both through dialogue and consultation," according to the official Xinhua news agency.

President Trump responded in Twitter postings with praise for Xi and China's efforts.

"We are working closely with China to help!" he said.

Major risk

Whether consultations take place or not, force majeure already poses a major risk for the "trade opportunities" that were promised to the United States in the Phase One deal.

The breakdown of increased U.S. exports that China agreed to buy over a two-year period includes U.S. $77.7 billion of manufactured items, $32 billion of agricultural goods, $52.4 billion of energy products and $37.9 billion worth of services.

A postponement or cutback in the targets could spell trouble for the agreement and sectors such as agriculture that have depended on the promised increases after suffering with the effects of tariffs since 2018.

On Tuesday, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow indicated that the increases in U.S. exports to China are expected to be delayed, Reuters said.

Maritime reports suggest that the virus has been playing havoc with Chinese port operations.

Shortages of cargo handling personnel and truck drivers have been slowing vessel turnaround times and clogging up storage yards, the website splash247.com reported.

"Many shipyards" have already applied for the CCPIT force majeure certificates, the report said.

An automotive parts supplier in coastal Zhejiang province received the first CCPIT certificate on Feb. 2 after failing to meet a scheduled delivery to France's Peugeot SA due to the virus, the official English-language China Daily reported.

"Such (a) certificate will help reduce our economic losses by at least 30 million yuan (U.S. $4.2 million)," said a manager at Huzhou Huida Machinery Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

As of Thursday, more than 1,000 Chinese enterprises had consulted CCPIT and its branches about certification applications, China Daily said.

It is unclear how quickly the use of the certificates will spread as Chinese companies seek to put off obligations under existing contracts. A larger economic impact of the epidemic may result if it prevents new contracts from being signed.

The effects from the CCPIT offer of certificates were felt almost immediately in the markets for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which were already suffering from a drop in Chinese demand after boom years for imports in 2017 and 2018.

LNG prices have fallen to the lowest point in over 10 years, S&P Global Platts news service reported, noting a controversy that has already surfaced over the force majeure declarations.

"China's move is aimed at protecting the interests of domestic companies and helping mitigate their losses," Platts said.

The liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Stena Blue Sky is seen at a new LNG terminal owned by Chinese energy company ENN Group, in Zhoushan, eastern China's Zhejiang province, Aug. 7, 2018. Credit: Reuters Force majeure card

But it might be too soon to play the force majeure card, since most of China's LNG imports take place under long-term contracts with annual volumes that allow for postponements of deliveries to later in the year.

"It might take some time for China to be able to justify this virus outbreak as force majeure," Platts said. "The key still lies in to what extent China can demonstrate that the contractual requirement cannot be fulfilled."

China has invested heavily in nearly two dozen LNG port terminals following forecasts of continuing demand growth, only to be hit first by an economic slowdown, and then the coronavirus. In January, state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) predicted gas demand would grow at the slowest pace in four years.

International reactions to the epidemic have also chilled the oil market with expectations that demand from the world's leading importer will drop sharply this year. Officials of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are considering the need for an emergency meeting to call for further output cuts, The New York Times said.

Signals in China have been mixed, however.

This week, officials in the viral center of Hubei province ordered an increase in discharge volumes from the Three Gorges reservoir to generate more electricity, offsetting lower coal reserves and output from coal-fired power plants, Xinhua said.

The National Energy Administration also directed coal companies to coordinate supplies to regions that are threatened with shortages and "ensure that there are no coronavirus outbreaks at mines under their jurisdiction."

China's energy demand during the epidemic appears unpredictable and may depend on its economic response to the crisis.

This week, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) injected at least 1.6 trillion yuan (U.S. $228.6 billion) into the financial system, signaling that the government means to fight the slowdown with more liquidity.

Force majeure declarations and certificates for existing contracts may generate headlines but they are likely to capture only a small fraction of the economic disruptions from the coronavirus.

Far larger damage may result from travel restrictions, border closings, factory shutdowns and withdrawal of foreign personnel.

If force majeure is declared with respect to the trade opportunities promised in the Phase One agreement, the question of China's foreknowledge is likely to arise.

On Feb. 1, The New York Times reported that Chinese officials at several levels delayed a response to the first signs of the virus in early December for seven weeks by downplaying the dangers in the central city of Wuhan and accusing doctors of spreading rumors.

"The government's initial handling of the epidemic allowed the virus to gain a tenacious hold," the paper said.

The force majeure claim raises the question of what senior Chinese officials knew about the virus on Jan. 15 when the Phase One agreement was signed, and when did they know it.

If force majeure is invoked, U.S. exporters may be entitled to ask whether the epidemic was an "unforeseeable event," or one to which the government turned a blind eye.
ABC/Image Group LAThe Hella Mega Tour is headed Down Under.

The stacked bill of Green Day, Fall Out Boy and Weezer will head to Australia and New Zealand in November. Tickets will go on sale next Friday, February 14, at 11 a.m. local time.

The Hella Mega Tour will launch June 13 in Paris, and arrives in the U.S. in July. For the full list of dates and all ticket info, visit HellaMegaTour.com.

Both Green Day and Weezer have new albums arriving this year. The former's Father of All... arrives this Friday, February 7, while the latter's Van Weezer is due out in May.

Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Whilst it may not be a huge deal, we thought it was good to see that the Telenor ASA (OB:TEL) Executive VP & CFO, Jrgen C. Rostrup, recently bought kr57k worth of stock, for kr163 per share. That might not be a big purchase but it only increased their holding by 0.2%, and could be interpreted as a good sign.

Check out our latest analysis for Telenor

Telenor Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Executive VP of Developed Asia Cluster & CEO of Digi - Malaysia Albern Murty bought kr949k worth of shares at a price of kr172 per share. That means that an insider was happy to buy shares at above the current price of kr163. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.

Telenor insiders may have bought shares in the last year, but they didn't sell any. 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!

OB:TEL Recent Insider Trading, February 7th 2020

There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying.

Insider Ownership

Looking at the total insider shareholdings in a company can help to inform your view of whether they are well aligned with common shareholders. Usually, the higher the insider ownership, the more likely it is that insiders will be incentivised to build the company for the long term. Our data indicates that Telenor insiders own about kr74m worth of shares (which is 0.03% of the company). We do generally prefer see higher levels of insider ownership.

Story continues

So What Do The Telenor Insider Transactions Indicate?

It is good to see recent purchasing. We also take confidence from the longer term picture of insider transactions. Insiders likely see value in Telenor shares, given these transactions (along with notable insider ownership of the company). If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

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.
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By Fayaz Bukhari

SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - India has extended the detention of four political leaders in Kashmir and a prominent lawyer who have been held since August to quell dissent after the federal government stripped the region of its autonomy, officials and a lawyer said on Friday.

The extension was issued under India's Public Safety Act (PSA) which allows detention without trial for up to two years, the officials in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, told Reuters.

The four leaders include two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir - Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti - and two regional party leaders, Ali Mohmmad Sagar and Sartaj Madni, the officials said

The four were originally held under a law that allows a maximum detention of six months and their terms were about to expire. "So they had to be either released or booked under PSA," said one government official.

"Several other regional leaders who have also completed six months under preventive detention are likely to be booked under PSA," a second official said.

The officials requested anonymity due to the sensitivity over security matters.

A spokesman for India's home ministry was unavailable for comment. In a reply to parliament on Thursday, the ministry said 389 people in Kashmir had been held under the PSA since August.

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday also dismissed a plea challenging the detention of Kashmir's Bar Association President Mian Abdul Qayoom.

Qayoom, a supporter of separatist groups that want the region to secede from India, has been detained under the PSA in a jail in the country's capital New Delhi.

"We will appeal against the decision," Qayoom's lawyer Zafar Shah told Reuters.

'LAWLESS LAW'

Kashmir was at the heart of two of the three wars fought by India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, and the dispute between the now nuclear armed neighbors over the Himalayan region remains unresolved.

Story continues

Ahead of scrapping of Kashmir's autonomy last year, India's federal government detained about 5,000 people including businessmen, civil society members, lawyers and activists to prevent protests breaking out.

The Indian government has argued that the detention of politicians and an internet blackout was needed to maintain order in a region where security forces have been fighting a long-running insurgency encouraged by Pakistan. Islamabad denies giving material support to the insurgency.

The removal of autonomy and subsequent crackdown in Kashmir has also drawn international criticism and diplomats from several countries say they have raised human rights concerns with India's foreign ministry.

Rights group Amnesty International has described the PSA as a "lawless law".

Some of those detained have been put under house arrest, while others have been taken elsewhere.

Mehbooba Mufti's daughter Iltija Mufti confirmed her mother's detention under the law on Twitter.

"Slapping the draconian PSA ... is expected from an autocratic regime that books nine-year-olds for 'seditious remarks'. Question is how much longer will we act as bystanders as they desecrate what this nation stands for?" Iltija said.

Last month, India's Supreme Court rebuked the government for shutting down the internet and telecommunications in Jammu and Kashmir, which was India's only Muslim-majority state before it was split into two federally administered territories.

A ban on public meetings remains in place, but unrest seen in the weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government stripped Kashmir of its autonomy has died down, and an uneasy calm prevails amid a heavy security presence.

(Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore and David Clarke)
Fluctuations in markets, prices

In the first 11 months of 2019, the Philippines ranked first among Vietnams export rice markets, accounting for 31.5% of the market share. The country imported 1.97 million tonnes of rice from Vietnam worth US$813.3 million, an increase of 2.55 times in volume and 2.34 times in value over the same period in 2018.

Vietnam also saw an increase in rice export value to othermarkets including Senegal, Ivory Coast, Taiwan (China), Hong Kong (China), among others.

However, Vietnams rice export revenue to China in the first 10 months of 2019 decreased sharply by 66.7% compared to the same period in 2018.

In addition to market fluctuations, the export prices of rice in 2019 was also a matter of great concern. The average export price of rice reached US$439 per tonne in the first 11 months of 2019, down 12.7% over the same period in 2018.

The price decline was due to the fierce competition from other rice exporting countries including India, Thailand and Cambodia. Meanwhile, major and establishedmarkets of Vietnam such as China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh all reduced imports from Vietnam which was one of the many factors to drop down the export prices of rice.

Its predicted that the Vietnam's rice production and processing industry will continue to encounter difficulties due to strong fluctuations in production, demand and prices. The demand for rice in the world market is decreasing as a number of major importing countries have been restructuring their agriculture to improve domestic self-sufficiency. In addition, many markets are setting stricter requirements of traceability and food safety, requiring higher quality of Vietnamese rice.

Improving quality to build brands

A representative from the Vietnam Food Association (VFA) said that it is absolutely necessary to boost the export of high quality rice to catch up with the world market while avoiding excessive dependence onestablished markets in order to foster rice exports in 2020.

This is also the direction for rice production in many localities. Most provinces in the Mekong Delta region have increased the farming area of high quality rice andsynchronously applied updated mechanisation in production, processing and export of rice.

According to the Agricultural Product Processing and Market Development Department, the national brand of Vietnamese Rice was granted a certificate of VietnamRice associated with the brand logo and the promulgationof a regulation on the use of the national brand Vietnam Rice.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is actively completing international trademark registration under the Madrid system. Vietnam has also builtgeographical indications for some types of rice includingHai Hau rice in Nam Dinh province, Dien Bien rice in Dien Bien province, fragrant Nang rice in An Giangprovince and Hong Dan rice in Bac Lieu province.

Many local rice brands have been protected by collectivecertification such as Kinh Mon sticky rice in Hai Duong province, Dong Trieu sticky rice in Quang Ninh province, Soc Trang fragrant rice in Soc Trang province, amongothers. This is an vital basis for Vietnamese rice to meet the requirements from importing countries and to promoteVietnam's rice brand in the world market.
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thomas L. Marzetta, a distinguished industry professor of electrical and computer engineering at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering and the director of the research center NYU WIRELESS, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Election to the NAE  part of the 157-year-old National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine  is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

The NAE specifically cited Marzettas contributions to massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna arrays in wireless communications. Massive MIMO  considered a key enabler for the fifth generation of wireless technology, or 5G  utilizes numerous small, individually controlled, low-power antennas to direct streams of information, selectively and simultaneously, to many users. This confers spectral efficiency orders of magnitude greater than that experienced in 4G service, along with high-quality service throughout the cell, simplicity and scalability, and outstanding energy efficiency.

Marzetta developed the concept of Massive MIMO during his 22 years at Bell Labs, where he directed the Communications and Statistical Sciences Department within the former Mathematical Sciences Research Center. His seminal paper, "Noncooperative cellular wireless with unlimited numbers of base station antennas," published in 2010 in IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, has been cited well over 4,000 times. He is the author or co-author of more than 220 published papers and is the lead author of the book Fundamentals of Massive MIMO, published in 2016.

Under his leadership, NYU WIRELESS researchers are exploring the next frontiers of communications where users will demand factor-of-ten or greater throughputs, and corresponding reductions in latency, compared with 5G. Lines of research include experiments in terahertz propagation, with promise of vast amounts of new spectrum, novel forms of relaying, and new types of Massive MIMO. Examples of the latter are Large Intelligent Surfaces, which would surround the user with ultra-low power antenna arrays, and Holographic MIMO, which ultimately could replace arrays of discrete antennas with continuous transmitting/receiving surfaces.

I am deeply honored to be in the company of such a transformative and talented group of engineers, Marzetta said. While it is gratifying to receive this award for Massive MIMO, one of the foundations of 5G, we must now look to the future, where even 5G wont be able to meet the communication requirements of augmented reality and holographic video. Our utmost research efforts are needed to create the technology that, eight or ten years from now, will enable 6G.

In addition to his election to the NAE, recognition for Marzettas contributions to wireless communications include the 2019 Armstrong Medal from Radio Club of America, the 2017 IEEE Communications Society Industrial Innovation Award, the 2015 IEEE Stephen O. Rice Prize, and the 2015 IEEE W. R. G. Baker Award. He was elected a Fellow of the IEEE in 2003 and a Bell Labs Fellow in 2014.

Tom Marzettas groundbreaking research on Massive MIMO has enabled the spread of 5G; Tom's election to the National Academies of Engineering is a well-deserved honor, said NYU Tandon Dean Jelena Kovacevic. I am exceptionally proud to be able to call him my colleague at NYU Tandon and look forward to NYU WIRELESS contributions to 6G under Toms leadership.

Marzetta, along with 86 other new members and 18 international members, will be inducted during a ceremony at the NAE's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on October 4, 2020.

About the New York University Tandon School of Engineering

The NYU Tandon School of Engineering dates to 1854, the founding date for both the New York University School of Civil Engineering and Architecture and the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute (widely known as Brooklyn Poly). A January 2014 merger created a comprehensive school of education and research in engineering and applied sciences, rooted in a tradition of invention and entrepreneurship and dedicated to furthering technology in service to society. In addition to its main location in Brooklyn, NYU Tandon collaborates with other schools within NYU, one of the countrys foremost private research universities, and is closely connected to engineering programs at NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU Shanghai. It operates Future Labs focused on start-up businesses in Brooklyn and an award-winning online graduate program. For more information, visit engineering.nyu.edu.

About NYU WIRELESS

NYU WIRELESS is a vibrant academic research center that is pushing the boundaries of wireless communications, sensing, networking, and devices. Centered at NYU Tandon and involving leaders from industry, faculty, and students throughout the entire NYU community, NYU WIRELESS offers its industrial affiliates, students, and faculty members a world-class research environment that is creating fundamental knowledge, theories, and techniques for future mass-deployable wireless devices across a wide range of applications and markets. Every April, NYU WIRELESS hosts a major invitation-only wireless summit, in cooperation with Nokia Bell Laboratories, for the centers industrial affiliates and thought leaders throughout the global telecommunications industry. For more information, visit wireless.engineering.nyu.edu.

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Barring any further delay, farmers across the country would receive tractors, fertilizers, chemicals and other inputs under a soft loan scheme designed to boost agricultural mechanisation.

The Minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development Alhaji Muhammad Nanono, said this during a visit to the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi, recently.

Nanono, said the federal government has concluded plans to distribute over 10,000 tractors and inputs to farmers in the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria.

He explained that each of the councils would be allocated tractors worth N150, 000 million and inputs as soft loan to be repaid in an 11-year plan.

"What we need is that the beneficiaries must be genuine farmers and Indigenes of the participating local government councils," he said.

"The gesture is to assist farmers to boost their production capacity so that the government could mop up excess produce for strategic reserves. The Federal Government would commence implementation of the programme in the second quarter of the year 2020," he added.

The Emir, who was represented by Alhaji Basiru Sanusi, lauded President Muhammadu Buhari over his commitment to reinvigorate the Agricultural Sector.

The Emir informed that the council had set up a committee to mobilise participation in the agricultural transformation programme of the government, "when we heard about the federal government's plans to give soft loans to farmers in the 774 local government areas, we set up an awareness creation committee to mobilise participation in the programme."
The Context

The war in Afghanistan, begun after the Sept. 11 attacks, is the longest war in United States history, and documents released in December revealed that three successive presidential administrations misled the American people about the progress  or lack thereof  being made on the ground. That the United States should withdraw has become a rare point of agreement between President Trump and Democrats. But there are still significant disagreements over when, and under what conditions, that withdrawal should happen.

Would American troops be in Afghanistan at the end of your first term? If so, would you limit those troops' mission to counterterrorism and intelligence gathering?

Would American presence in Afghanistan be dependent on other nations contributing troops on the ground?

How long do you envision American troops being required, in any numbers, in Afghanistan?
Palestinian health ministry says Badr Nafla, 19, died after being shot by Israeli forces in the neck near Tulkarem city.

Israeli forces have shot dead a Palestinian in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry has said, part of a spike in violence after the United States announced a controversial Middle East plan.

The death brings to five the number killed in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem since US President Donald Trump angered the Palestinians with his plan released last week that heavily favours Israel.

The Palestinian health ministry said Badr Nafla, 19, died after being shot by Israeli forces in the neck during clashes near the northern West Bank city of Tulkarem.

Earlier on Friday, Israel deployed additional forces in Jerusalem and occupied West Bank after its soldiers killed four Palestinians in the last two days.

Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians on Thursday during a demonstration in Jenin against the demolition of a Palestinian house.

One of those killed was named by official Palestinian news agency, WAFA, as a 19-year-old student, Yazan Abu Tabekh. The second was identified as Palestinian policeman Tareq Badwan.

A Palestinian citizen of Israel was also killed after he was accused of opening fire on the police near the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalems Old City

On Wednesday night, Israeli forces shot dead 17-year-old Mohammed al-Haddad during clashes in Hebron.

Meanwhile, 14 Israelis were injured on Thursday after a car rammed into soldiers in Jerusalem.

The driver was arrested and is being questioned, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP news agency, adding that there had been no new security-related incidents since Thursday evening.

200205172539250

Thousands of Palestinians prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the third holiest site in Islam and a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The site is known to the Jews as the Temple Mount.

On Friday morning, Israeli police turned back busloads of worshippers en route from northern Israel to the mosque compound.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP there was heightened security in Jerusalem, including extra police units, particularly in and around the area of the Old City.

Trumps Middle East plan

The rise in tensions came a week after President Trump released a controversial plan for the Middle East.

It would grant Israel a number of its long-held goals, including full control of disputed Jerusalem and a greenlight to annex all settlements and other parts of the West Bank.

190726135016709

In exchange, the Palestinians would be offered a state in the remaining parts of the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas immediately rejected the plan and called for street demonstrations.

Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and chief architect of the plan, on Thursday said Abbas does have a responsibility for the uptick in violence.

He calls for days of rage in response and he said that even before he saw the plan, Kushner told reporters after briefing United Nations Security Council members on the plan behind closed doors in New York.

On Friday, Palestinian chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Twitter that Kushners plan had enabled Israel to move ahead with further annexation/colonization.

But he blames President Abbas because according to those like him, our mere existence and rights  are the problem, Erekat added.
Thailand's health minister lashed out at "Western" tourists on Friday for not wearing face masks and suggested they be expelled from the country for putting others at risk during the coronavirus outbreak. The outburst came as the kingdom faced steep losses over a drop in visitors from China, where the virus has killed more than 600 people and prompted sweeping travel restrictions. Tourism accounts for 18 percent of the country's gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up a quarter of total arrivals. Thailand has detected 25 coronavirus cases and nine of those patients have recovered, while streets, public transport and shopping centres have filled with people wearing face masks. Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul was distributing masks at a busy Bangkok skytrain entrance when he complained that "farang" tourists didn't take them and acted as if they "don't care". Farang is a commonly used Thai word to describe Westerners and is sometimes used dismissively. "These kinds of people, we should kick them out of Thailand," he told reporters, waving a handful of masks in the air. Anutin did not respond to additional requests for comment but posted an apology on his Facebook page for "losing it" after "some foreigners from Europe" were uncooperative in the mask campaign. More than 10 million Chinese tourists visited Thailand last year but the industry projects about two million fewer arrivals in 2020 because of the coronavirus, making US, European and other markets more vital. Debates over the efficacy of masks have bounced around the internet since the contagion first emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan last month. Since then it has spread to more than two dozen countries and infected tens of thousands, mostly within mainland China. Health experts generally agree masks are useful if you have respiratory symptoms or are caring for patients. But the World Health Organization's own Thailand office tweeted a graphic on February 4 stating masks are "not needed for general public who do not have respiratory symptoms". The WHO has advised people to wash their hands regularly and avoid touching their face.
UPDATE: Most of I-84 has reopened, but one problem stretch may remain closed for a week or more.

Oregon transportation officials are in eastern Oregon assessing damage caused by what theyre calling widespread flooding of the Umatilla River and its tributaries, which led the state to close westbound traffic on Interstate 84 between Hermiston and Ontario.

A shorter section of the eastbound interstate is also closed Friday.

Peter Murphy, a state transportation spokesman based in Bend, said the agency is still assessing the damage to the interstate and surrounding roads.

This is kind of an unfolding situation, Murphy said.

He cautioned that the state is preparing for an extensive closure," but its not clear what that means. He offered no specific timeline, saying crews are assessing the damage.

Murphy urged patience. It looks like this could go on for a while, he said. "People need to understand that.

"As hard as it is to swallow, patience is required.

One image shared with The Oregonian/OregonLive shows water appears to have eroded away the freeways shoulder near Milepost 189 west of Pendleton. Murphy said the photos also appear to indicate significant scouring of the freeway. He said its unclear where additional damage may be found. We really have to take a good close look, he said.

Trucks are reportedly stuck in the water along the interstate.

Murphy said he couldnt confirm that, as crews were still responding to the region.

Closures are in effect on other eastern Oregon highways, as well.

Drivers should not try to drive through standing water. The National Weather Service said as little as a foot of water can move most cars off roads.

Murphy said the forecast also isnt appearing to help the situation. More rain and snow appear to be in the forecast.

Travelers should continue to monitor TripCheck.com for the latest traffic news.

--Andrew Theen and Jim Ryan

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and senior leaders Mukul Roy and Joy Prakash Majumder were on Friday taken into preventive custody during the start of a pro-CAA rally.

Kolkata: BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya and senior leaders Mukul Roy and Joy Prakash Majumder were on Friday taken into preventive custody during the start of a pro-CAA rally. Police said the rally was being held without permission, but the saffron party asserted that it has informed the authorities about it.

The Mamata Banerjee government has started an "autocratic" rule in West Bengal but the BJP cannot be intimidated, Vijayvargiya told reporters while being taken to police vehicle in the Talligunge Phari area.

Kolkata: Police detains BJP national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya at the start point of BJP's rally in Tollygunge Phari supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act. pic.twitter.com/NVEU9f1TCp  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2020

"We were taking out a rally in support of the CAA which has received overwhelming support from all over the country. But the police of Mamata Banerjee is not allowing us to take out a peaceful, democratic rally," said BJP's West Bengal minder.

Vijayvargiya said they won't resist being taken to the city police headquarters "as we believe in democratic protest."

Police sources said the three, along with several supporters, were taken into custody as the party was organising the rally without permission.

BJP sources, however, said they had given prior intimation to police for the rally from Tollygunje phari to Hazra Crossing.
WASHINGTON - As she exited the Capitol late Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested she would continue to offer President Donald Trump a handshake out of respect for the office.

"We always extend the hand of friendship; if he rejects it, that's up to him," Pelosi told reporters, recalling how Trump declined to shake her hand at the start of his State of the Union address.

By lunchtime Thursday, Pelosi turned her hand of friendship into a balled-up fist of fury. A few hours earlier, standing a few feet from Pelosi at the National Prayer Breakfast, the president questioned Pelosi's statements of prayer for him, something he doubled down on later when he questioned the entire extent of her faith.

"I don't know if the president understands about prayer or people who do pray," Pelosi told reporters. "But we do pray for the United States of America. I pray for him, President Bush still, President Obama. Because it's a heavy responsibility. And I pray hard for him because he's so off the track of our Constitution."

That is a bridge that, when crossed, prompts the practicing Catholic to reach a more passionate level.

Religion has always been a central part of life for Pelosi, the youngest of seven children from Baltimore, who attended Catholic schools from elementary through Trinity Washington College in the District of Columbia.

While some conservative Catholics have criticized her for supporting abortion rights, Pelosi has always embraced the church.

In January 2007, she kicked off the week she made history as the first female House speaker with a Mass at Trinity. Leading a congressional delegation to Italy in 2009, the speaker met with Pope Benedict XVI.

She has acknowledged fierce debates with family members over abortion rights. And in early December, when a reporter asked whether she hated the president, Pelosi returned to the podium to explain why she never uses that word, citing her Catholic rearing.

"I don't hate anyone. I was raised in a way that is full - a heart full of love - and always pray for the president. And I still pray for the president," she said.

Trump clearly had that moment in mind Thursday, when he lashed out at Pelosi and Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who cited his own Mormon faith in leading him to be the lone Republican to vote to convict Trump in the Senate impeachment trial.

"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong," the president said. "Nor do I like people who say, 'I pray for you,' when they know that that's not so."

Later, in front of dozens of members of Congress at his acquittal celebration at the White House, Trump singled out Pelosi and Romney by name, going further by accusing her of neither praying for him, nor praying at all. "She doesn't pray. She may pray, but she prays for the opposite. But I doubt she prays at all," the president said.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said later that he did not know Trump questioned Pelosi's faith.

"I think that there was some question whether she actually prays for the president and then acts the way that she does. But, listen, I'm not going to judge anybody's faith; I gotta worry about my own," Meadows said at the Capitol after returning from the White House.

Longtime confidants say Pelosi's and Romney's respective faiths are a common denominator.

"Neither one of them ever apologizes for or hides the importance of faith in their lives," said the Rev. Patrick Conroy, the House chaplain. "So, to make any kind of judgment, it's like: Who can go there? They're both very public, she's a public Catholic, he's a public Mormon. I mean, I don't know who does that."

At her news conference, Pelosi called the attack on Romney's faith "particularly without class."

"He's talking about things that he knows little about: faith and prayer," she said.

She had already delivered more than eight minutes of opening remarks that focused on picking apart Trump's Tuesday State of the Union address, explaining why she ripped it apart in a public display at the end of the speech. She had already cried foul about his statements on guaranteeing health insurance coverage for those with preexisting conditions and lowering prescription drug costs, among other issues, when in fact he is trying to gut the Affordable Care Act, which includes those insurance protections.

But she still said she was "very proud of the work, in a bipartisan way," on the budget and trade deals in December, hoping they could serve as road maps for working together on some high-priority items this year.

The question about prayer sent her to a different place, questioning Trump's own faith and morals while critiquing his policy positions. "He really needs our prayers," she said.

When asked whether she would invite him back to deliver the joint address if he wins reelection in November, Pelosi questioned whether Trump was on medication.

"He looked to me like he was a little sedated. He looked that way last year, too. But he didn't want to shake hands. That was that," she said.

A third of the way through the speech, she said, the plot began to emerge to rip up the copy of the speech that is delivered to the House speaker at the outset of every presidential joint address to Congress. She said that Trump was "shredding the truth" in the speech and that his behavior leading to his impeachment was "shredding" the Constitution.

But she had to sit through another hour of the speech, listening to him praise his guests, including his presentation of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

"We don't come in your office and do congressional business," she said. "Why are you doing that here?"

During the speech, some Democrats thought Trump was extending an olive branch when he started discussing someone just diagnosed with cancer, believing he was talking about Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., who is undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Instead, it was Limbaugh, who recently announced he had been diagnosed with late-stage lung cancer.

Pressed on her decision to rip up the speech, Pelosi said, "I feel very liberated. I feel very liberated. I feel that I have extended every possible courtesy," Pelosi said.

Even some prayers.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 06:10:36|Editor: huaxia

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Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (L) meets with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 7, 2020. Sergey Lavrov arrived in Venezuela on Friday to pay an official visit, as part of his tour of Latin America, which has also taken him to Cuba and Mexico. (Xinhua/Marcos Salgado)

CARACAS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Venezuela on Friday to meet with his Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, as part of his tour of Latin America, which has also taken him to Cuba and Mexico.

The Russian embassy in Venezuela said via Twitter that among the issues that will be raised during Lavrov's visit is improved coordination in the international arena as well as the sanctions against Venezuela.

The Venezuelan foreign minister said on Twitter that both government representatives "are reviewing the bilateral cooperation and joint projects agenda for the benefit of both peoples."

The diplomatic relations between Russia and Venezuela were established in 1945, and have grown stronger over the last two decades.
Lieutenant General Soe Htut, Myanmar's incoming home affairs minister, attends a meeting with the intelligence chief of the Royal Thai Armed Forces in Pattaya, Thailand, March 5, 2019.

Myanmars military commander-in-chief on Thursday nominated the head of the countrys military intelligence to fill the cabinet seat of the outgoing home affairs minister, a key post at one of three defense and security ministries directly controlled by the armed forces.

Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who oversees the country's defense forces, put Lieutenant General Soe Htut forward for the ministerial post during a parliamentary session in the capital Naypyidaw.

Soe Htut, 59, has led the Office of the Chief of Military Security Affairs since 2016. He will replace the current home affairs minister, Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe, who is stepping down.

A native of Mandalay, Soe Htut is the son of late Brigadier General Lun Maung, a former minister at the Prime Ministers Office, who died along with Lieutenant General Tin Oo, one of most powerful generals in a former military junta that ruled Myanmar, in a helicopter crash in southeastern Myanmars Kayin (Karen) state in 2001.

Former Brigadier General Maung Myint, an opposition party lawmaker, told RFA's Myanmar Service that Soe Htut's appointment will ensure a continuation of the current home affairs policy under Kyaw Swe.

Because they are both from military intelligence, they have good relations with the Ministry of Home Affairs and can more effectively ensure the security of the country and the national interest, he said.

Rakhine lawmaker Oo Hla Saw, who represents Mrauk-U in Myanmars lower house of parliament and is a member of the Arakan National Party, said he also predicts a continuation of policy.

I dont think there will be a change in policy because the military has nominated someone it can completely trust, he said.

Close to Aung San Suu Kyi

Other analysts say that Kyaw Swe was removed from his position for being too close to Aung San Suu Kyi, the countrys de facto leader, with whom he frequently traveled on trips around the country.

They also say that Soe Htut has unfavorable attitudes toward Aung San Suu Kyis ruling pro-democracy National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

The military has viewed former minister Kyaw Swe as being too close to Aung San Suu Kyi, especially because he saluted her, said political analyst Maung Maung Thein.

In my observation, the military removes its own officials deemed to have close relations with the civilian government, he said. It replaces them with people it can manipulate and who will be more obedient to authorities.

But Aung Myo, another political analyst, said that close ties between the new home affairs minister and Aung San Suu Kyi will not be automatic.

Some people assume Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi needs to have a friendly relationship with the home affairs minister, but it is not true, he said.

In fact, the home affairs minister has no real authority, he added. I can say this for certain because I have close relations with the former minister. I dont think it will be easy to build such relations with the new minister.

NLD spokesman Myo Nyunt said his party tries to have good relations with all government ministers and will do likewise with Soe Htut.

We hope to have good relationships with them regardless of their backgrounds, he said. We treat them with respect, complying with existing laws and regulations.

I dont think we will have problem with him [Soe Htut], he added.

The Home Affairs Ministry administers Myanmar's internal affairs and is responsible for overseeing the police force, prisons, and intelligence-gathering activities.

Myanmars constitution, drafted by a military junta in 2008, also places the defense services and border patrol ministries under the direct control of the military, with their ministers and deputy ministers nominated by the head of the defense forces and appointed by the president with the approval of the national parliament.



Reported by Thet Su Aung, Thiha Tun, and Tin Aung Khine for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
TORONTO, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gran Colombia Gold Corp. (TSX: GCM; OTCQX: TPRFF) announced today that it has closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement (the Private Placement) of 7,142,857 Units of the Company at a price of CA$5.60 per Unit for total proceeds of CA$40 million. Each Unit consists of one common share and one common share purchase warrant exercisable into a full common share at CA$6.50 per share expiring February 6, 2023. As of today, Gran Colombia has 60,812,630 common shares issued and outstanding and, including the effect of warrants, stock options and convertible debentures, the total would be 88,710,189 common shares on a fully diluted basis.

Gran Colombia also announced today that it will use a portion of the net proceeds of the Private Placement to redeem 30%, equivalent to US$19,162,500, of the aggregate principal amount outstanding of its 8.25% Senior Secured Gold-Linked Notes due 2024 (the Gold Notes) (TSX: GCM.NT.U) on March 31, 2020 (the Redemption Date), reducing the aggregate principal amount outstanding to US$44,712,500. The redemption price will be equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount of the Gold Notes redeemed plus the Applicable Premium calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Gold Notes Indenture, currently estimated to be approximately 10%. Further details, including the actual amount of the Applicable Premium, will be announced later in March as it gets closer to the Redemption Date. The balance of the net proceeds of the Private Placement will be used for general working capital and corporate purposes, including potential repurchases of the Companys listed warrants (GCM.WT.B) under its normal course issuer bid.

Serafino Iacono, Executive Chairman of Gran Colombia, stated, We are pleased to see Mr. Sprott, a well-known gold investor, increase his stake in Gran Colombia to over 10% and to welcome investment from other key strategic and institutional investors. While our operations continue to generate free cash flow, we believe the opportunity to apply a significant portion of the net proceeds of this private placement toward a further deleveraging of our balance sheet creates value for our shareholders, particularly in the current gold price environment, enabling us to reduce our debt service ahead of schedule and preserving for our shareholders the gold premium we would otherwise be paying on the Gold Notes we intend to redeem.

Prior to completion of the Private Placement, Mr. Sprott owned or controlled 3,260,870 common shares and 3,260,870 warrants of the Company, which represented 6.09% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia on a non-diluted basis and approximately 11.48% on a partially diluted basis. Through the Private Placement, 2176423 Ontario Ltd., a corporation that is beneficially owned by Mr. Sprott, acquired 3,571,429 Units of Gran Colombia at a price of CA$5.60 per Unit for a total investment of CA$20 million. As a result of the Private Placement, when combined with existing holdings, Mr. Sprott beneficially owns or controls 6,832,299 common shares and 6,832,299 warrants of the Company representing 11.24% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia on a non-diluted basis and approximately 20.20% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia assuming only the exercise of the warrants. This represents an increase in the number of common shares held or controlled by Mr. Sprott by 5.15% on a non-diluted basis and by 8.72% on a partially diluted basis. Mr. Sprott has undertaken not to exercise more than 1,784,471 warrants acquired in the Private Placement without prior approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and until shareholder approval (excluding the votes of 2176423 Ontario Ltd. and its associates and affiliates, as those terms are defined by the TSX Company Manual) has been received. Gran Colombia intends to seek the requisite approval from shareholders at its annual and special meeting to be held in early June 2020. The Units were acquired by Mr. Sprott for investment purposes. Mr. Sprott has a long-term view of the investment and may acquire additional securities of Gran Colombia including on the open market or through private acquisitions or sell securities of Gran Colombia including on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other factors that Mr. Sprott considers relevant from time to time. 2176423 Ontario Ltd.s early warning report will appear on Gran Colombias profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and may also be obtained by calling Mr. Sprotts office at (416) 945-3294 (200 Bay Street, Suite 2600, Royal Bank Plaza, South Tower, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2J1).

In addition, through the Private Placement, MM Asset Management Inc. (MM Asset), on behalf of MMCAP International Inc. SPC (MMCAP), acquired 1,785,714 Units of Gran Colombia at a price of CA$5.60 per Unit for a total investment of CA$10 million. Prior to completion of the Private Placement, MMCAP owned or controlled 4,868,431 common shares and CA$18 million of convertible debentures of the Company, which represented 9.09% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia on a non-diluted basis and approximately 15.10% on a partially diluted basis. As a result of the Private Placement, when combined with existing holdings, MMCAP beneficially owns or controls 6,654,145 common shares, 1,785,714 warrants and CA$18 million of convertible debentures of the Company representing 10.94% on a non-diluted basis and approximately 18.42% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Gran Colombia assuming only the exercise of the warrants and convertible debentures beneficially owned or controlled by MMCAP. This represents an increase in the number of common shares held or controlled by MMCAP by 1.85% on a non-diluted basis and by 3.32% on a partially diluted basis. The securities were acquired in the ordinary course of business, for investment purposes only and not for the purpose of exercising control or direction over the Company. Depending on market conditions and other factors, MM Asset, on behalf of MMCAP, may in the future increase or decrease its ownership, control or direction over securities of the Company through open market transactions, private agreements or otherwise.

About Gran Colombia Gold Corp.

Gran Colombia is a Canadian-based mid-tier gold producer with its primary focus in Colombia where it is currently the largest underground gold and silver producer with several mines in operation at its Segovia and Marmato Operations. Gran Colombia is continuing to focus on exploration, expansion and modernization activities at its high-grade Segovia Operations and, through a spin out transaction with Bluenose Gold Corp. announced on October 7, 2019, is progressing toward a major expansion and modernization of its underground mining operations at the Marmato Project.

The head office of Gran Colombia is located at 401 Bay Street, Suite 2400, PO Box 15, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4.

Additional information on Gran Colombia can be found on its website at www.grancolombiagold.com and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking information", which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to anticipated business plans or strategies. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Gran Colombia to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements are described under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Information Form dated as of March 27, 2019 which is available for view on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this press release and Gran Colombia disclaims, other than as required by law, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, results, future events, circumstances, or if management's estimates or opinions should change, or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
Most Palestinian refugees in Jordan live below the poverty line and outside camps.

They are sometimes described as the people of a forgotten war.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees are either living in Syria or have sought refuge in Lebanon or Jordan since the Syrian war began in 2011.

And the so-called right of return of Palestinians to their homeland remains as far from reach as ever.

Al Jazeeras Natasha Ghoneim reports from Jordans capital, Amman.
Carmel Pizza Company | Photo: S G./Yelp

A lot goes into choosing a pizza  even beyond the question of toppings. But whether you go for takeout or sit-down, thick crust or thin, sauced or bare, you want something delicious  particularly on National Pizza Day, Feb. 9.

Fortunately, San Francisco boasts a number of quality pizza shops to satisfy your craving for a slice or a pie.

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top pizza outlets, using both Yelp data and our own blend of spices to produce a ranked list of the best places to venture  or to call  on National Pizza Day.

1. Carmel Pizza Company

Photo: Carmel Pizza Company/Yelp

Topping the list is Carmel Pizza Company. Located at 2826 Jones St. (between Jefferson and Beach streets) in North Beach, this outdoor pizzeria is the highest-rated pizza spot in San Francisco, boasting 4.5 stars out of 808 reviews on Yelp.

2. Montesacro Pinseria



Photo: John K./Yelp

Next up is Roman-style pizzeria Montesacro Pinseria, situated at 510 Stevenson St. (at Sixth Street) in SoMa. With 4.5 stars out of 686 reviews on Yelp, it has proven to be a local favorite.

3. The Pizza Shop

Photo: Noimee L./Yelp

The Mission's The Pizza Shop, located at 3104 24th St. (between Folsom and Shotwell streets), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving this spot 4.5 stars out of 367 reviews.

4. Arinell Pizza

Photo: Adam S./Yelp

Also in the Mission, Arinell Pizza is another high-traffic go-to, with four stars out of 1,160 Yelp reviews. Head over to 509 Valencia St. (near 16th Street) to see for yourself.

5. Za Pizza

Photo: Leyna S./Yelp

Last but not least, over in Russian Hill, check out Za Pizza, which has earned four stars out of 1,115 reviews on Yelp. You can find it at 1919 Hyde St. (between Green and Union streets).

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.
In the face of US criticism regarding the UK Huawei decision over its 5G network, British foreign secretary Dominic Raab says the move is justified.

The UKs decision over Huawei 5G is justified

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab says the UKs decision is best. We were absolutely clear and looked at it very carefully that there is nothing in the decision we took that would inhibit or disrupt in any way whatsoever the Five Eyes intelligence sharing.

And there is nothing in the approach that were taking that would have an impact on, for example, the sharing of sensitive data, Raab said in a Canberra interview.

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The Five Eyes intelligence sharing to which Raab refers concerns five international countries. These are Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, New Zealand, and the United States. Raab says that limiting Huawei wont compromise the Five Eyes alliance. Keeping Huawei on the network periphery wont compromise important data.

Raab supports limiting Huaweis influence over 5G to the periphery instead of the core. The Foreign Secretary says that the country made a technical decision. The technical decision is based on examining the network.

In the countrys examination, Huawei can work on the outer components. The core components can have secure vendors without excluding Huawei altogether.

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UK decision is questionable

The UK made a decision it considers sensible. And yet, some dont see it that way. After all, if the UK wants a secure 5G network, why allow a questionable vendor to build it? Truth be said, Huawei hasnt been proved to be at fault regarding almost anything, so theres that.

Even with a small influence over the UKs 5G network, security issues can still arise. Theres no guarantee that Huaweis minimal access wont still negatively impact the UKs 5G network. But, as we said, Huaweis blame hasnt been proven, so perhaps the UK doesnt have such concerns.

The UK can use Huawei for its peripheral network but must use Ericsson and Nokia for the remainder. And yet, if the UK must use Nokia and Ericsson anyway, why not just exclude Huawei altogether? The only reason to use Huawei for 5G is to save money.

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Huawei has the most inexpensive 5G telecom gear on the market. Sure, the UK can use Huawei and save money, but it might end up paying more to restore security later. When it comes to security, one either pays up-front or pays later. Everyone pays in some form or another.

Though the UK stands by its decision, the United States disagrees. The US is discouraging its allies from using Huawei in 5G network deployments. To help ward off Huaweis hegemony in 5G and its budding research in 6G, the Trump administration is currently considering gaining a controlling stake in Ericsson or Nokia or both.

US Deputy National Security Advisor Matt Pottinger met with UK ministers on January 13th to present a dossier of information that contradicts Britains Huawei findings.
Twenty-six persons with coronavirus-like symptoms in Punjab have tested negative, a state health minister on Friday.

"Till date, 26 symptomatic cases belonging to Punjab have been reported negative by the National Institute of Virology, Pune," Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said in a statement here.

He said the list of passengers having travel history to China was being shared by the Centre with the state.

Out of 1,375 passengers, 1,250 have been traced by the teams of the health department and they all were found asymptomatic, Sidhu said.

The rest would also be screened by Saturday, he said, adding no positive case has so far been confirmed in the state.

It has been made mandatory that any person having symptoms of fever, cough, running nose, difficulty in breathing within 14 days of arrival from China has to be admitted to an isolation ward, Sidhu said.

The minister also instructed civil surgeons that they should personally monitor the screening campaign.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Reliance Group Chairman Anil Ambani has expressed his inability to pay dues worth $680 million (over Rs 4,860 crore) in defaulted loans to three Chinese banks, saying he doesn't hold "meaningful assets" that can be liquidated and his net worth is "zero". The Chinese banks -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., China Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China -- in a lawsuit filed in a London court said Ambani should be ordered to deposit the amount in court's account. Industrial and Commerical Bank of China (ICBC) is the sole claimant in the case before UK High Court and is representing the other two lenders.

The case pertains to a loan worth $925 million given to Ambani's now bankrupt Reliance Communications in February 2012. RCom repaid a portion of the loan, but defaulted on its payment obligations in February 2017.

ALSO READ:Anil Ambani's sons Anmol, Anshu step down from Reliance Infra board

In response to the lawsuit, Ambani said the overall value of his investments had collapsed. "The current value of my shareholdings is down to approximately $82.4 million and my net worth is zero after taking into account my liabilities. In summary, I do not hold any meaningful assets which can be liquidated for the purposes of these proceedings," he was quoted as saying in a court filing disclosed on Friday.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Anil Ambani said: "Mr Ambani is reviewing the order of the UK Court and will take legal advice as to further remedies in appeal. The order pertains to an alleged personal liability of Mr Ambani and will have no bearing on the operations of the Reliance Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Power Limited and Reliance Capital Limited."

In their argument, the Chinese banks said Ambani gave "personal guarantee" for the debt, while the embattled businessman -- in a bid to avoid depositing the pending dues ahead of the trial -- said he only gave "personal comfort letter" not the "extraordinary potential personal liability", which would have tied his personal assets to the loans.

ALSO READ:RCom assets bidder UVARC planning to launch new telco in India?

Ambani's lawyer Robert Howe said Judge David Waksman should not order him to deposit $656 million into the court's account as he was not in position to do so. Attorney Bankim Tanki, who was representing the Chinese banks, termed Ambani's statements as "opportunistic" attempts.

Anil Ambani had told the court in a filing that he would not be able to raise funds from outside resources, including his elder brother Mukesh Ambani, the richest man in Asia. His lawyer had earlier told the court that after the events during the court proceedings, Anil Ambani's relatives would not lend money to him.

The UK court in December 2019 had dismissed an application for a summary judgment by the Chinese banks on their claim against Anil Ambani. The court, however, passed a conditional order on the basis that Ambani's defence against the claim, "while possible", was "improbable". His legal team was also told to submit further evidence in his defence and prove the claim by Chinese lenders holds no merit.

This is not the first time when Anil Ambani showed inability to repay funds. Last year, the Supreme Court had threatened to put him in jail in another case involving pending dues worth $550 crore to Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson AB. Later, his brother and Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani saved him by making the payment.

ALSO READ:Forensic audit finds no misappropriation of funds in Reliance Home Finance
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

This year, there are plans to increase the number of employed citizens by 30 percent and bring this indicator to 130,000 people, while the number of people involved in vocational training - by over 40 percent and bring it to 5,000, Azerbaijans Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev told Trend Feb. 7.

The minister noted that along with these steps, it is also planned to expand the coverage of the self-employment program in 2020. To this end, cooperation with the World Bank will be established, Babayev said.

The minister noted that the program will also be expanded to provide job seekers with paid public work. In general, this year, up to 12,000 families will be involved in the self-employment program, 64,000 people - in paid public work, Babayev added.

Thus, the employment bodies of the ministry are aimed at providing support to over 200,000 people this year, the minister said.

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Why it's taking so long to get Canadians out of Wuhan, and other coronavirus airlift questions

As Canadians are airlifted out of Wuhan, China, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, many are asking how the exodus will unfold, why it took so long for Canada to get its citizens out of the country and what happens when these Canadians arrive back home.

1. How are Canadians who've requested evacuation from Wuhan getting out?

An aircraft, chartered by the federal government, with 211 Canadians on the manifest is expected to leave Wuhan around 12 p.m. ET on Thursday. As many as 373 Canadians have requested evacuation, but the number, according to officials and senior cabinet ministers, is a moving target. The chartered aircraft will fly to the Canadian military air base in Trenton, Ont.

Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne revealed late Wednesday that the U.S. had offered up space for a "handful" of Canadians on one of its charter evacuation flights, which is due to leave Wuhan Tianhe International Airport shortly after the Canadian aircraft departs.

The American plane will stop in Vancouver "where Canadian passengers will disembark for onward travel to CFB Trenton, where they will be subject to the same processes as those Canadians travelling on the Canadian flight." Champagne said. The federal government is considering a second chartered flight should more Canadian request repatriation.

2. What has taken the federal government so long?

Health Minister Patty Hajdu has conceded the federal government was initially caught off guard and had "a slow start in terms of organizing" the evacuation plane.

"We didn't have an understanding of the number of people that needed assistance," she said. "As we communicated more [with people in the region] about the need to register and let us know, our numbers shot up rather dramatically."

The government has only a sketchy idea of the number of Canadians in China's Hubei province, which is the epicentre of the outbreak. Collecting information was also apparently hampered by the absence of a consulate in the area, senior government officials said on background.

Story continues

In addition, the Chinese government is apparently only allowing evacuation flights in and out of Wuhan at night because their own relief and quarantine efforts take place during the day.

The Canadian government also said Wednesday that bad weather further delayed the flight.

3. Why have other countries been able to move more swiftly in organizing flights?

The United States, Japan, South Korea, Jordan, Britain, Portugal, Bangladesh, Egypt, Thailand and Indonesia have all gotten at least evacuation flights out of Wuhan.

Mike Blake/Reuters

Hajdu said those countries have not faced the same challenges, mostly because "they had a better sense" of where and how many of their citizens were in the affected area.

4. What precautions will be taken to ensure the evacuees are not carrying coronavirus?

Chinese health authorities are set to screen each individual passenger and no one who is sick  or displays symptoms - will be allowed to board the chartered aircraft. There will be a six-person Canadian military medical team on-board the aircraft who will conduct further screening and monitor the condition of the passengers.

Maj.-Gen. Andrew Downes, the surgeon general of the Canadian Forces, told the House of Commons health committee Wednesday that the team will be wearing masks and protection and will offer the same to evacuees.

"Our medical team that deployed last weekend took with them an extensive array of personal protective equipment, including, masks, gowns gloves, face shields, et cetera," Downes testified. "Should one of the passengers manifest symptoms that would be consistent with coronavirus during the flight, they will be isolated, so much as is possible, in the aircraft and they will be required to wear full protective equipment."

He insisted it will be the same level of protection as one sees in a hospital.

5. What happens to the evacuees once they are at the Canadian air base in Trenton?

The evacuees will be quarantined there for two weeks. Maj.-Gen. Trevor Cadieu, who is in charge of the military's strategic joint staff, told the Commons health committee that individuals and families will have their own quarters at the base's Yukon Lodge and will be sequestered from all military personnel and the outside world.

Alex Filipe/Reuters

During the quarantine period, "they'll have an opportunity to move about in that very local area but they will not be mingling," Cadieau said.

Canada Border Service Agency officials will meet the plane at the ramp upon arrival and Ontario health officials will conduct further medical tests, he said.

In addition, if the federal government organizes further flights, Cadieu said the military is "conducting a stocktaking of all infrastructure accommodations at Canadian Forces bases throughout Canada" in case Trenton becomes full.
Five naxals including three girls were held from separate places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Friday, the police said.

Security forces had received information that naxals were planning attacks on police in urban areas of the district, Superintendent of Police (SP) Abhishek Pallava said.

Combined teams of the police's District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and local police conducted raids in Kirandul, Dantewada and Geedam, rounding up nine suspects including seven minors, he said.

Two of them were identified as Sodhi Bhima (29) and Sodhi Nanda (20), who were part of "action teams" of Maoists while three girls were members of the rebels' 'Jan militia', Pallava said.

Remaining four minors were released as they were found to have no connection with Maoists, the SP said.

Bhima and Nanda were allegedly involved in the killing of a villager in Nilawaya forests on January 31, planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) to target security forces in Potali area during the recent panchayat polls, and attacks on police and CRPF personnel, the official said.

Both were carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh each on their heads.

Maoist literature, a detonator and 100 gm gun powder were recovered from their possession, he said.

The three Jan militia members, aged 12-17 years, were allegedly involved in reconnaissance of security forces and planting explosives and iron spikes to target them, he said.

Naxals had planned attacks in view of 110th anniversary of 'Bhumkal revolt' between February 4 to 10, he said. They had recruited minor boys and girls for use as human shield, the SP claimed.

'Bhumkal revolt' refers to a rebellion by tribal farmers in Bastar region against British rulers in 1910.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UK India Council (UKIBC) and the Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers (SIDM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to forge closer defence ties between the two countries.

The MoU was signed on sidelines of the ongoing DefExpo 2020 in the presence of UK Minister for Defence Procurement James Heappey MP, Director of the UK Department for International Trade's Defence and Security Organisation (DSO) Mark Goldsack, and Defence Advisor at the British High Commission in India Brigadier Gavin Thompson.

The collaboration reaffirms the UK-India partnership's intent for even more trade, made possible through strong economic and industrial cooperation between the two nation's defence industries. It also seeks to promote a sustainable framework for the present as well as future partnerships.

The MoU was signed by the Vice-Chair of UKIBC Richard McCallum and Rear Admiral AK Verma IN (Retd.), Principal Advisor, SIDM at the UK-India Defence Industry Forum.

The UKIBC also announced that Commodore Bunty Sethi (Retd.) will work with UKIBC's Aerospace and Defence Industry Group in a strategic advisory role.

"This MoU will help in building partnerships and capabilities in the Aerospace and Defence sector and will support and build on the huge opportunities for collaboration that exist between the defence industries of the UK and India. The collaboration will not only advance India's defence acquisition process but also foster long-term technology and hardware transfers. Our aim is to boost India's defence sector, which possesses immense potential", said Richard McCallum Vice-Chair UKIBC.

The Aerospace and Defence Industry Group chaired by the UKIBC was formed with the support of the Defence and Security Organisation (DSO), UK Defence Solutions Centre (UK DSC), ADS Group Ltd & the Department for International Trade (DIT).

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.)
Five Cambodian NGOs have raised concerns over a planned hydropower dam in Luang Prabang, Laos, pointing to the potential effects on water flow, fish population and sediment transfer in the lower Mekong.

The 1,460 MW Luang Prabang dam is expected to begin construction later this year, making it the fifth of nine dams in Laos on the Mekong basin. The new dam has compounded concerns already expressed by civil society over the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams because of the economic and environmental impact on the critical Mekong River.

The Cambodian civil society groups  3S River Protection Network, FACT, The NGO Forum on Cambodia, My Village, Center and Environment Preservation Association Thursday expressed alarm in a press release at the potential impact on fish migration, hydrology and sediment transfer that would occur from the hydropower projects on the Mekong mainstream.

The groups added that the new project, along with existing hydropower dams, would affect the hydrology of the lower Mekong, especially the Tonle Sap Lake, which is critical to a large section of Cambodians.

We are concerned by the timeframe proposed by the Laos Government to commence construction at the end of 2020 as it will not provide sufficient time for developers to conduct more rigorous studies upon the comments and recommendations put forth by relevant stakeholders, the statement reads.

The groups are concerned there is insufficient time for developers to conduct more rigorous studies in response to the comments and recommendations put forth by stakeholders if the construction commences in late 2020.

The Laos embassy in Phnom Penh couldnt be reached for comments on Thursday. But, the Laos government has defended the project in the past, by saying the dams design team will come up with a good construction plan, like the Xayaburi dam.

Cambodia National Mekong Committee officials recently participated in the 9th Mekong River Commission Regional Stakeholder Forum from February 5 to February 6 in Luang Prabang, to provide input and conduct consultations.

Te Navuth, secretary-general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, could not be reached for comments. Kol Vathana, deputy secretary general of the Cambodia National Mekong Committee, who lead delegation to Laos, declined to comment on Thursday since he was taking part in the final day of meetings.

When I go back to Cambodia, then we can meet up and talk about this matter, he told VOA Khmer, via a messaging application.

But, according to presentation provided by Kol Vathana, Cambodia did recommend establishing a mechanism for risk management and compensation, especially if the dam breaks, as well as ensuing the proposed fish pass was effective for all kind of migratory species.

The livelihoods of 60 million people depend directly on the 2,700-mile-long Mekong River, which originates in China and empties into the South China Sea. As a food source, the river "touches the lives of more than 300 million," according to the World Wildlife Fund.

China has already built eight dams on the river, while more than 20 others are under construction or being planned in Yunnan, Tibet and Qinghai, according to International Rivers.

Gary Lee, Southeast Asia program director for International Rivers, said the Luang Prabang dam should not be built, given that it would displace hundreds of households and have major social and environmental impacts.

There is no guarantee that Luang Prabang dam will proceed. There is strong opposition from communities and civil society. Some government officials from neighboring countries have also expressed concerns about the project, he said.

A Mekong River Commission statement released Friday showed that Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia had expressed concern over the proposed dam and wanted for further studies and impact assessments to be conducted.

The also cited poor and inconsistent use of data in the project documents, calling for better in-depth studies to facilitate further discussion about the dams impact.

This statement will call on the Lao government to make every effort to implement the identified measures to avoid, minimize and mitigate potential adverse transboundary impacts, said An Pich Hatda, the MRC Secretariats chief executive officer.

Phloak Sareth, 48, a villager in Kratie province who lives on Tnaut Island in the Mekong River in Cambodia, said villagers are as it is uncertain of the water levels because it had become irregular off late and that the amount of fish in the river had also decreased.

In the dry season, there is more water or some time it is not the dry season yet, but there is very low water [levels], said Phloak Sareth.

Brian Eyler, Southeast Asia program director at the Stimson Center in Washington, D.C., said all the upstream dams, including the Luang Prabang dam, will significantly impact the Tonle Sap, affecting a major source of food for the Cambodian people.

The Luang Prabang dam will block sediment flow to the Tonle Sap, and sediment is the key ingredient for producing the food web which feeds the world's largest inland fishery, said Eyler, who is also the author of the Last Days of the Mighty Mekong.
A top Alabama cop has been forced to apologize for a Facebook post where he said Nancy Pelosi could be targeted with a roadside bomb on her way home and called Democrats 'Dumbocrats' after she was seen ripping up Donald Trump's State of the Union speech.

Jeff Buckles, the assistant chief of the Geraldine police department, in DeKalb County, made the shocking remarks on social media after House Speaker Pelosi was seen ripping apart her copy of the president's address on Tuesday night.

'Pelosi just ripped up his speach (sic),' Buckles posted on his personal account.

'Road Side bomb on her way home and any other Dumbocrats.'

Jeff Buckles (pictured), the assistant chief of the Geraldine police department, in DeKalb County, took to social media saying Nancy Pelosi could be targeted with a roadside bomb on her way home and called Democrats 'Dumbocrats' after the House Speaker was seen ripping up Donald Trump's State of the Union speech

The original post (above) was later removed

The official later apologized for his remarks in a separate Facebook post Wednesday but defended his actions citing his sadness that 'our great country is so divided'.

'I want to apologize for venting on FB,' wrote Buckles.

'I have definitely offended some people with my remarks. It just rips my heart out that our great country is so divided.'

Buckles also seems to have removed the original post, but not before it had been shared and commented on by hundreds of social media users.

Several users slammed his words as 'terroristic'.

Buckles Facebook account is littered with posts slamming the 'Dumbocrats' and praising Trump, including one where he says Trump was sent by God.

'I honestly believe that God has placed Donald Trump in the position to bring about prophecy. God Bless Trump. God Bless America.'

In another post on January 15 when the articles of impeachment are signed, the officer says Pelosi 'makes me sick'.

Buckles later apologized for his remarks in a separate Facebook post Wednesday but defended his actions citing his sadness that 'our great country is so divided'

His Facebook account is littered with posts supporting Trump, including one where he says Trump was sent by God

He slams the Democrats as 'Dumbocrats' on his account

In another post on January 15 when the articles of impeachment are signed, the officer says Pelosi 'makes me sick'

Geraldine Mayor Chuck Ables said on Thursday that he and Police Chief Heath Albright were gathering information and will meet with the town's attorney Friday to decide the best course of action.

Ables also confirmed that Buckles was not on duty Thursday or Friday but insisted that the cop hadn't been suspended but simply had prearranged days off prior to the incident, according to AL.com.

Geraldine Mayor Chuck Ables (right) said on Thursday that he and Police Chief Heath Albright were gathering information and will meet with the town's attorney Friday to decide the best course of action following Buckles' (left) comments

There was no love lost between Pelosi and Trump on Tuesday as the State of the Union cemented their hostility towards each other.

It began when Trump snubbed Pelosi as he started his speech, by ignoring her when she extended a handshake to him.

He turned away as she took her copy of his speech before launching into his address that took aim at his political opponents and boasted of his own achievements.

During the speech, Pelosi was seen biting her lip and shaking her head when Trump claimed he saved the pre-existing condition provision of Obamacare - a law Pelosi fought to get passed and he then tried to dismantle.

There was no love lost between Pelosi (top right) and Trump (centre) Tuesday as the State of the Union cemented their hostility towards each other. It began when Trump snubbed Pelosi as he started his speech, by ignoring her when she extended a handshake to him

Pelosi, who stood on camera next to an applauding Vice President Mike Pence, then ripped up her copy of the speech and threw it down when Trump was done speaking

The president was met with cries of 'four more years' from Republicans.

Pelosi, who stood on camera next to an applauding Vice President Mike Pence, then ripped up her copy of the speech and threw it down when Trump was done speaking.

'I tore it up,' Pelosi told reporters after.

'It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternative. It was such a dirty speech.'

The feud came the night before Trump was acquitted of the two charges in his impeachment trial.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Here are some stocks in the news:

Results Today: ACC, ADF Foods, Alkem Laboratories, Ashoka Buildcon, Britannia Industries, Corporation Bank, Daulat Securities, Emami, 3i Infotech, 63 Moons Technologies, Abbott India, NCC and NTPC

Reliance Infrastructure: Vanguard Energy Fund sold 20,89,713 shares of the company for Rs 4.6 crore in a bulk deal on NSE on February 6.

Indiabulls Housing Finance: Credit Suisse Singapore sold 40,21,973 shares of the company for Rs 127.1 crore in a bulk deal on NSE on February 6.

Wipro: Company bagged multi-year strategic IT deal from Marelli.

Adani Enterprises - Airbus signs aircraft services MoU with Adani Defence & Aerospace

Bharti Airtel - DOT has conveyed that the schemes of arrangement w.r.t. demerger of consumer mobile business of Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) and Tata Teleservices have been taken on record

BEML Unveils Latest Products at DEFEXPO 2020

Adani Transmission's subsidiary Adani Electricity Mumbai has priced the issuance of USD 1 billion 10Y senior secured notes

Minda Industries approved the Draft Scheme of Amalgamation of Minda iConnect with the company

Hero MotoCorp: Q3 profit rises 14.5 percent to Rs 880.4 cr, revenue drops 11 percent to Rs 6,996.7 cr YoY.

Aurobindo Pharma: Q3 profit dips 1 percent to Rs 705.3 cr, revenue rises 11.9 percent to Rs 5,895 cr YoY.

Bata: Q3 profit rises 13.6 percent to Rs 117.2 cr, revenue increases 6.5 percent to Rs 829.6 cr YoY.

SKF Q3: Net profit down 42.2 percent at Rs 51 crore versus Rs 88 crore, revenue down 7.9 percent at Rs 707 crore versus Rs 768 crore, YoY

TD Power Q3: Consolidated net profit at Rs 6.71 crore versus loss of Rs 3.75 crore, revenue up 134.5 crore versus Rs 87.5 crore, YoY

Redington India Q3: Consolidated net profit up 26.4 percent at Rs 164.4 crore versus Rs 130.1 crore, revenue up 17.3 percent at Rs 14,794.5 crore versus Rs 12,610 crore, YoY

Aarti Drugs Q3: Consolidated net profit up 33 percent at Rs 27.8 crore versus Rs 20.9 crore, revenue up 24.6 percent at Rs 473.5 crore versus Rs 380.1 crore, YoY

Usha Martin Q3: Consolidated net profit at Rs 7.6 crore versus loss of Rs 35.5 crore, revenue down 13.4 percent at Rs 536.9 crore versus Rs 619.8 crore, YoY

Hitachi Air Q3: Net profit at Rs 13.4 crore versus loss of 7.6 crore, revenue up 0.3 percent At Rs 435.9 crore versus Rs 434.8 crore, YoY

Akzo Nobel Q3: Net profit up 27.5 percent at Rs 77 crore versus Rs 60.4 crore, revenue down 7.2 percent at Rs 727 crore versus Rs 783.3 crore, YoY

United Bank Q3: Net profit at Rs 113.6 crore versus loss of Rs 1,139.3 crore, NII at Rs 819.4 crore versus Rs 380 crore, YoY

UBL Q3: Net Profit down 2.6% at Rs 106.4 crore versus Rs 109.2 crore, revenue up 0.1% at Rs 1,453 cr Vs Rs 1,451.2 crore, YoY

Mphasis Q3: Net profit up 7.4% at Rs 293.6 crore versus Rs 273.3 crore, revenue up 5.5% at Rs 2,276.7 crore versus Rs 325.3 crore, QoQ

NMDC Q3: Net profit down 12.7% at Rs 1,376.4 crore versus Rs 1,576.7 crore, revenue down 17.6% at Rs 3,006.4 crore versus Rs 3,649.4 crore, YoY

ICRA Q3: Net profit down 15.7% at Rs 22.5 crore versus Rs 26.7 crore, revenue down 6.3% at Rs 79.4 crore versus Rs 84.7 crore, YoY

IGL Q3: Net Profit down 25.5% at Rs 283.8 cr Vs Rs 381 crore, revenue down 1.7% at Rs 1,664.2 cr Vs Rs 1,692.4 crore, QoQ

Endurance Tech Q3: Consolidated net profit down 26.6% at Rs 124 crore versus Rs 169 crore, revenue down 7.4% at Rs 1,640.5 crore versus Rs 1,771.2 Crore, QoQ

LT Foods Q3: Net profit up 26.1% at Rs 48 crore versus Rs 38 crore, revenue down 10.6% at Rs 996 crore versus Rs 1,114 crore, YoY

Consolidated net profit down 15% at Rs 71.2 crore versus Rs 83.8 crore, revenue up 8.3% at Rs 451.2 crore versus Rs 416.4 crore, YoY
From History.com:

The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Voting Rights Act is considered one of the most far-reaching pieces of civil rights legislation in U.S. history.

Lyndon B. Johnson assumed the presidency in November 1963 upon the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In the presidential race of 1964, Johnson was officially elected in a landslide victory and used this mandate to push for legislation he believed would improve the American way of life, such as stronger voting-rights laws. After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibited states from denying a male citizen the right to vote based on race, color or previous condition of servitude. Nevertheless, in the ensuing decades, various discriminatory practices were used to prevent African Americans, particularly those in the South, from exercising their right to vote. During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, voting rights activists in the South were subjected to various forms of mistreatment and violence. One event that outraged many Americans occurred on March 7, 1965, when peaceful participants in a Selma to Montgomery march for voting rights were met by Alabama state troopers who attacked them with nightsticks, tear gas and whips after they refused to turn back.

More here. (Note: Throughout February, at least one post will honor The Black History Month. This years theme is African Americans and the Vote. Readers are encouraged to send in their suggestions)
UCM Information Morning opens tomorrow



James Emmett is an apprentice who is currently studying the Installing Electronic Systems (NVQ Level 3) course at UCM.

University College Isle of Man is holding an Information Morning tomorrow.

The free event is open to anyone considering furthering their education and training, where they can discover the range of learning options available at UCM.

UCM Vice Principal, Geoff Chatwood said: 'This event gives you the opportunity to meet with tutors from all subject departments and discover the wide variety and breadth of courses that we offer.

'All our lecturers have substantial working experience in their subject related sectors and are therefore well-positioned to give you the best advice about opportunities available to you and how that might fit with your future career goals.'

A discussion on apprenticeships entitled, Look Beyond, which coincides with the UK National Apprenticeship Weeks theme this year, will take place, where people will learn about the range of apprenticeship programmes that UCM offer, as well as their benefits.

A representative from the Department of Education, Sport & Culture (DESC) will also be available to explain how they support students and businesses undertaking apprenticeship programmes.

Visitors will also have the chance to explore the wide range of facilities at the University College, including realistic working environments which are learning spaces that re-create workplace settings around the campus.

The Information Morning will take place on Saturday 8th February between 9.30 am and 12 pm, at UCM, Homefield Road, Douglas.

For more information call 648200 or visit www.ucm.ac.im.
A team of researchers from the has found that most cities in the country are turning into "urban heat islands" in all seasons during day and night, officials said.

In their study, researchers from the Centre for Oceans, Rivers, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) of the IIT-KGP and its Architecture and Regional Planning department showed that most big cities in the country with population more than one million have recorded rise in mercury level during daytime while showing an increasing trend in the night hours.

The study, 'Anthropogenic forcing exacerbating the urban heat islands in India', noted that the relatively warmer temperatures in urban areas, compared to suburbs, have potential health hazards due to heat waves apart from pollution, an IIT KGP statement said on Friday.

"Our research is a detailed and careful analysis of urban heat islands of India, which is the difference between urban and surrounding rural land surface temperatures, across all seasons in 44 major cities from 2001 to 2017," Professor Arun Chakraborty, one of the researchers, said.

He further said, "For the first time, we have found evidence of mean daytime temperature of Surface Urban Heat Island (UHI Intensity) going up to 2C for most cities, as analysed from satellite temperature measurements in monsoon and post-monsoon periods."



In Kolkata, Pune and Guwahati where the urban areas are surrounded by large green cover in suburban regions, there is "an enhanced cooling effect on surface" in suburban areas during daytime as against cities in arid regions, the researchers said.

"Evidence from our study suggests that more green spaces within the city and its boundary could reduce the temperature in the city and its neighbourhood,"co-author of the paper Prof. Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath said.

Conservation and expansion of green areas, and preservation of water bodies in and around cities could be an effective strategy to curb the effects of urban heat islands, he said.

The construction of buildings and infrastructure with eco-friendly materials could also prove to be crucial to mitigate the effects of heat islands, he said.
Isak, the boy who rejected Real Madrid, hurt them again with a brace Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad Swede was in sensational form

In January 2017, Real Madrid were waiting on a young Swedish forward who went by the name of Alexander Isak.

He was compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Los Blancos took the deal for granted, so much so they were stunned when he arrived at Borussia Dortmund after rejecting the Spanish giants, and he has hurt them once again on Thursday evening.

Isak's time in Germany didn't work out as Dortmund and the player had hoped, leaving Los Blancos to perhaps believe they had dodged a bullet in missing out on his signature.

Yet, a move to Real Sociedad appears to have reignited Isak's eye for goal, especially since the turn of the new year, and his latest feat was a brace at the home of the club which once courted him.

Isak's movement drove Los Merengues' defence crazy; they could barely keep tabs on his whereabouts, with not one single defender being able to slow the Swede down.

Alphonse Areola paid the biggest price for this, picking the ball out of his net on two occasions after Isak shots.

Isak was clinical in the final third, and he even saw a further goal ruled out for offside, preventing him from recording a famous hat-trick.

Thursday evening marked the former Dortmund forward's best performance of the campaign, yet his record continues to improve with 13 goals coming in 27 matches this term.

Seven of those strikes have come in the Copa del Rey, a competition where Real Sociedad have really captured the imagination of the neutral supporter, and they will hope Isak can add to his tally in the semi-final.
In the hallowed halls of Princeton University, Mario Moore noticed dozens of portraits of deans, donors, famous alumni, and college presidents in buildings across campus, a testament to the Ivy League institutions illustrious past.

Moore, a 32-year-old artist who had observed the same thing at other universities, decided he could improve upon the mostly white, mostly male paintings that todays diverse student bodies rarely look at in the daily rush to get to class.

What about the blue-collar workers, he wondered, who toiled behind the scenes to keep college campuses running?

I wanted to honor them in some way  especially African Americans, said Moore, who grew up in Detroit, where his father worked as an art museum security guard and his mother taught art classes at the College for Creative Studies.

For a long time, I had this idea, he said. I wanted to make black people like my dad visible and put them in positions of power. In America, we put people in certain hierarchies and usually dont consider blue-collar workers to be on the same level as other people around campus. It became important to me to change that.

In summer 2017, Moore, who had been making a living creating artwork in Brooklyn, decided to apply for Princetons Hodder Fellowship  an annual $83,000 award given to several artists, writers, filmmakers, and other creative types, enabling them to pursue independent projects at the university for an academic year.

When Moore received a call notifying him he was a winner for the 2018-19 school year, he packed his bags and moved to Princeton, N.J., excited to put his dream on canvas. The end result  10 paintings and 12 etchings of cooks, security guards, and groundskeepers at Princeton  has drawn accolades from artists, administrators, and students.

Marios portraits capture beautifully the character and contributions of valued members of our campus community and bolster our broader efforts to ensure Princetons portraiture and iconography reflect the universitys values and diversity, Princeton spokesperson Ben Chang said.

Moores exhibit, titled The Work of Several Lifetimes, was put on display for three months in the fall at the Princeton University Lewis Arts Center. The university subsequently bought five of the paintings to hang permanently.

Its been such a wonderful experience, but Im mostly happy for the people I painted because theyre finally being recognized, Moore said. That was my entire goal. For them to be seen.

Moore, the second oldest of five children, grew up doodling, he said, and was influenced by his mother, Sabrina Nelson, and her art students.

When I was a kid, I would sit in on my moms classes and was always amazed to watch something created from nothing, he said. It was magical to me, and I knew that I wanted to be a part of that.

Moores father, Kris Moore, was equally inspiring, he said, teaching him that he could achieve whatever he wanted if he was willing to work hard.

My dad isnt an artist, but he loves art and he showed me how much there was to learn from it, he said. Today, he works in the mail room at the Detroit Institute of Art, but when he was a security guard, he really came to know a lot about the paintings that surrounded him. I felt Id probably find the same thing with the security people at Princeton.

Moore, who earned a masters degree in fine arts at Yale University, strolled around Princeton with his camera and notebook in the fall of 2018, looking for subjects to immortalize on canvas. Security guards, food service workers, and groundskeepers are among those he painted over a year.

Its the first project Ive ever done that required me to walk up to strangers and get to know them, he said. I loved capturing those first moments and getting to know about their lives and experiences.

To Moore, the project was larger than simply portraying the unique personalities of his subjects, he said.

It was more about the idea of representing black figures and thinking about them in the history of paintings, Moore said. So many times, black people are in the background of paintings, serving Europeans. I wanted the people in my paintings to be powerful and prominent and look directly out at the viewer and draw them into the work. I wanted the viewer to see that gaze and directly share in that persons story.
A Dallas man was executed on Thursday night for a shooting in which he killed his wife, two children and two other relatives during a drug-fuelled rage nearly 18 years ago.

Prosecutors say Abel Ochoa was high on crack cocaine and looking for money to buy more drugs when he started shooting inside his home in August 2002.

Ochoa, 47, was pronounced dead at 6.48pm (12.48am on Friday, UK time), 23 minutes after receiving a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the slayings of his wife, Cecilia, 32, and his seven-year-old daughter, Crystal.

He also killed his nine-month-old daughter, Anahi; his father-in-law, 56-year-old Bartolo Alvizo; and his sister-in-law, 20-year-old Jacqueline Saleh, and seriously injured his sister-in-law Alma Alvizo.

"I want to apologise to my in-laws for causing all this emotional pain," Ochoa said, strapped to the death chamber gurney and looking at several of his victims' relatives who watched through a window a few feet from him.

"I love y'all and consider y'all my sisters I never had. I want to thank you for forgiving me."

As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began, Ochoa closed his eyes and had no visible reaction.

Jonathan Duran, who watched Ochoa die, said he accepted Ochoa's apology.

"I accepted the fact as a child, at 12 years old, when I buried my mother, my sisters, my aunt and my grandfather," Duran said.

"Nothing's going to bring them back. It's up to us to keep their memory alive, rebuild what we lost. I can't ever replace my mother or my sisters.

"After 17 years, me, my family .. the whole tree. We can finally say we got closure, we got justice. "

Ochoa was the second inmate put to death this year in Texas and the third in the US.

Seven other executions are scheduled in the next few months in Texas, the nation's busiest capital punishment state.

The execution was carried out after the US Supreme Court turned down a request by Ochoa's lawyers to halt it.

They wanted a review of whether his rights were violated because he initially was not allowed to film a prison interview with his legal team for his state clemency petition.

A Texas appeals court this week turned down a different request for a stay on claims that there were problems with paperwork related to Ochoa's death warrant.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down a clemency petition.

Ochoa's legal team said in court documents that his death sentence should be commuted to a life sentence because of "his deep and sincere remorse".

His trial layers described him as a hard-working, law-abiding citizen whose life unravelled amid a 21/2-year addiction to crack.

Ochoa spent up to $300 a week on cocaine and took out loans to support his drug habit.

At one point, he underwent treatment at a drug rehabilitation centre, but then continued to use cocaine, according to court documents.

Ochoa had gone 10 days without using cocaine leading up to the shootings. Desperate for the drug, he persuaded his wife to take him to buy crack. After returning home, he smoked the drug in his backyard.

"While I was lying on the bed my body started wanting more crack. I knew if I asked my wife for more money to buy some more crack she wouldn't let me have it," Ochoa said in his confession to police.

He told police he grabbed his 9mm handgun, walked into the living room and started shooting until he ran out of bullets.

He then went and got more ammunition and returned to the living room, where his seven-year-old daughter was still alive, he said.

"Crystal saw me with the gun and she started running away. I chased after her and I shot her," Ochoa said.

Police later arrested him at a shopping centre after he tried to get money from an ATM.

At the trial, Ochoa's lawyers argued that he shot his family in a cocaine-induced delirium and had brain damage from drug abuse.

Ochoa testified that he did not remember shooting his family.

Howard Blackmon, one of the Dallas County prosecutors who tried the case, said he argued that Ochoa killed his family in frustration and anger.

"It's just a horrendous set of circumstances for a parent just to murder, gun down their own children," said Blackmon, who is now a criminal defence lawyer in Dallas.

Alma Alvizo testified that Ochoa had become aggressive towards his wife after learning she had a son from a previous relationship.

She said her sister told her Ochoa had pointed a gun at her three weeks before the killings.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:39:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RIGA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Over 7 million cigarettes and around 20 tons of tobacco were seized and 11 arrests made as police raided a clandestine cigarette factory discovered in Latvia this week, local media reported Friday citing the Baltic country's law enforcement authorities.

According to information provided by the state police, the illegal cigarette factory, one of the largest ever uncovered in Latvia, was in a hangar in the central Latvian district of Jelgava.

Eleven persons, aged 25 to 55, were detained during the police operation. Eight of them are foreign nationals, according to the state police.

Police raided the hangar on Tuesday, Feb.4, after an investigation into illegal storage, transportation and distribution of large amounts of tobacco products.

Altogether, 7,387,969 cigarettes of the Prince brand and 20.16 tons of tobacco were seized during the searches. None of the products had any excise stamps.

The officers also confiscated the production and packaging equipment as well as various materials like foil, polyethylene and cigarette filters.

Investigators presume that the illegal factory has probably been operating for a year, making cigarettes for selling outside Latvia. The investigation into the case is ongoing.
San Antonio police are searching for three males in connection with a smash-and-grab robbery at a Northwest Side luxury jeweler.

Officers responded around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday to a report of a robbery at Tiffany & Co. at The Shops at La Cantera.

One of the men smashed a glass case with a tool, according to the San Antonio Police Department. The suspects, who were only in the store for a few minutes, took jewelry from the case and fled on foot toward the parking lot.

FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox

There were no threats made or injuries, police said. The case will be handled as a theft, and police have not released an estimate of the jewelry's value.

The suspects were wearing sunglasses and ball caps, police said.

Thursday's robbery follows a similar incident last Friday, when multiple men made off with valuables after a smash-and-grab robbery at Gurinsky's jewelry store in North Star Mall.

Police are investigating whether the robberies were connected.

Mark Dunphy is a breaking news reporter and general assignment writer. Read him on our breaking news site, MySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com | mark.dunphy@express-news.net | @m_b_dunphy
High levels of PFAS affect immune, liver functions in cape fear river striped bass

Researchers from North Carolina State University have found elevated levels of 11 per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemicals in the blood of Cape Fear River striped bass. Two of those compounds - perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and Nafion byproduct 2 - are associated with altered immune and liver functions in those fish.

Scott Belcher, associate professor of biology and corresponding author of a paper describing the research, led a team that included NC State colleagues Detlef Knappe, Ben Reading and postdoctoral researcher Theresa Guillette as well as partners from the North Carolina Wildlife Commission and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The team isolated serum from the blood of 58 wild caught Cape Fear River striped bass ranging in age from 2 to 7 years old. In collaboration with EPA researchers Mark Stryner and James McCord, they determined the concentrations of 23 different PFAS chemicals present in the serum using a combination of liquid chromatography and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

"Testing blood levels gives you an idea of the 'body burden' of these particular chemicals," Belcher says. "The levels of these chemicals in the water were measured in parts per trillion, but in the serum of the fish levels are higher and in parts per billion, demonstrating that they have clearly bioaccumulated in these fish."

The team then compared the blood serum samples from the wild caught fish to those from a reference population of 29 striped bass raised in an aquaculture facility fed by ground water. "The serum levels of chemicals in the wild caught bass were 40% higher, on average, than the background levels found in this reference population," Belcher says.

In comparison to the levels of PFAS found in Cape Fear River water, elevated levels of PFOS and Nafion byproduct 2 were found in 100% and 78% of the wild bass samples, respectively. The serum concentrations of these compounds were associated with biomarkers of altered liver enzyme activity and immune function in those fish.

"These PFAS levels are some of the highest recorded in fish," Belcher says, "but one of the most unusual findings here is that smaller or younger fish had the highest levels of these compounds. This points to the fact that PFAS chemicals are very different from other persistent chemicals, like mercury or PCBs. They have unique and very different chemical properties that cause them to bioaccumulate differently, and we're really just beginning to understand why and how they do what they do."

###

The work appears in Environment International, and was supported in part by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (award numbers P30ES025128 and R21ES029353), and a North Carolina Sea Grant Community Collaborative Research Grant. Theresa Guillette is first author. Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera and Nadine Kotlarz from NC State, as well as Kyle Rachels and Clint Morgeson from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, also contributed to the work.

Note to editors: An abstract follows.

"Elevated Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Cape Fear River Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) are Associated with Biomarkers of Altered Immune and Liver Function"

DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105358

Authors: T.C. Guillette, Matthew Guillette, M.E. Polera, Nadine Kotlarz, Detlef Knappe, Benjamin J. Reading, Scott Belcher, North Carolina State University; James McCord, Mark Strynar, National Exposure Research Laboratory, ORD, U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina; Kyle Rachels, Clint Morgeson, N. C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Inland Fisheries Division Raleigh, NC

Published: Environment International

Abstract:

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are anthropogenic chemicals of concern that persist within the environment. Environmental monitoring revealed high concentrations of hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA) and other novel PFAS in the lower Cape Fear River; however, there is limited information on PFAS exposures and effects of this contamination on aquatic biota. Serum concentrations of 23 different PFAS in Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) from the Cape Fear River (n=58), and a reference population from an aquaculture laboratory on the Pamlico/Tar watershed (n=29), were quantified using liquid chromatography, high-resolution mass spectrometry, and correlations between PFAS concentrations and health-related serum biomarkers were evaluated. Perfluorooctane sulfonate, the predominant PFAS in Cape Fear River Striped Bass serum, was detectable in every sample with serum concentrations reaching 977 ng/mL. Perfluorononanoic and perfluorodecanoic acid were also detected in all samples, with perfluorohexanesulfonic acid present in >98% of the samples. HFPO-DA (range

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Congregational Church to install Karla Miller on Sunday

First Congregational United Church of Christ invites the community to the installation of the Rev. Karla Miller as its settled pastor at its Sunday, Feb. 9, 10:30 worship service. The Reverend Dr. Carter Heyward will conduct the service.

View the Slideshow Related Stories Forum to focus on gay acceptance

Rev. Karla Miller began as FCCs settled pastor last February. She comes to First Congregational UCC with over 33 years of a variety of ministries in Florida, Massachusetts, Raleigh and Asheville. Most recently, she was the minister for community life at Old North Church UCC in Marblehead, Massachusetts.

Miller earned a B.S. in Religious Studies from Wheaton College in Illinois and a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. She also has continuing education and professional development training in marriage and pastoral counseling, women in ministry, suicide prevention and ceramics in spiritual expression.

Miller is married to Dr. Anne Liz Thurston, a college administrator who most recently served as director of student affairs at Harvards Graduate School of Education. Karla and Liz have three dogs and two cats, and are very dedicated to animal welfare. In her free time Miller enjoys knitting, hiking, reading and cooking.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The Cherokee Nations lawsuit against opioid distributors and pharmacies has been sent back to federal court in Muskogee, where it is expected to become a bellwether test case in efforts to find a global solution to the thousands of lawsuits filed over the United States opioid epidemic.

This is a good thing, said Sara Hill, attorney general for the Cherokee Nation. We want our day in court. Thats why we filed the lawsuit.  Were looking forward to getting a chance to put our case on.

The Cherokee Nations lawsuit against Walmart, Walgreens, CVS and other major pharmacies and drug distributors had been just one of nearly 2,700 cases against opioid manufacturers, pharmacies and drug distributors that were bogged down in a federal multidistrict case in Ohio.

The cases had been consolidated there in an effort to conserve judicial resources by eliminating duplication.
Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

Its payback time at the airport gate. Just days after President Trump denounced sanctuary laws, his immigration agency is suspending trusted traveler programs at New York airports. The decree means no more passengers can sign up for the screening plans to speed up customs checks on international flights.

In his State of the Union address, the president blasted New York and California for adopting sanctuary laws intended to protect undocumented immigrants. Now comes the follow through with the directive unleashed in the name of better security.
The current state of Fine Gael constituency rivalries according to one well-placed party member is as follows: "It's essentially like putting two rats in a bag, tying the top of it and waiting to see which of them comes out alive."

Premium articles will soon be available only to Independent.ie subscribers.

A grim but illustrative image of how Fine Gael election tickets were being viewed by party headquarters two days out from polling.

The Fine Gael optimists are predicting 40+ seats while the more realistic party members say anything around 35 would be a good day.

Candidates were still pounding the pavements last night in the hope that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had turned the tide with his performance on the RTE debate. They hope there is a silent Fine Gael out there. Voters who don't want to be seen to be backing Varadkar but are secretly happy with their lot under Fine Gael. Others are more pessimistic.

There is an increasing expectation that in most constituencies where there are two sitting TDs only one will return, ala the rat analogy. This will mean serving ministers are up for the chop.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty and European Affairs Minister of State Helen McEntee are scrapping it out for the last seat in Meath East. Defence Minister Paul Kehoe and Minister of State for Insurance Reform Michael D'Arcy are facing the same battle in Wexford. Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy and high-profile Fine Gael TD Kate O'Connell are fighting it out in Dublin Bay South.

Health Minister Simon Harris is up against two party rivals in Wicklow in Andrew Doyle and Billy Timmins, and who knows how that will play out. Harris has faced accusations of hiding during the campaign, as has Eoghan Murphy.

But they have been practically running the show compared to the involvement in the election of Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. Either fairly or not, Flanagan is shouldering a lot of the blame for Fine Gael's poor campaign due to his determination to hold a commemoration of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) days before the election was called.

Since then, he has been put in cold storage. Although he can supposedly be spotted in his native Laois.

As one Fine Gael source noted it was telling that Senator Neale Richmond was put out before Flanagan to address the Paul Quinn murder on behalf of the party.

Ironically, Flanagan probably has one of the safer Fine Gael seats despite being seen as responsible for kick-starting the party's troubles.

The fallout from the election is likely to be intense for Fine Gael. But yesterday most party members were not eager to see Varadkar turfed out just yet. Some said he was a natural opposition leader rather than a Taoiseach. Minds might change once the final ballots are counted in the coming days but for now he is being given the benefit of the doubt.

To make it worse, last night ministers were reminded they have a Cabinet meeting next Wednesday. Some were thinking they could be returning to Government Buildings without a mandate.
A special court in Delhi on Friday allowed businessman CC Thampi, who is currently out on bail in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to the overseas properties related to Robert Vadra, to travel abroad with certain conditions including not to tamper with evidence.

Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar also directed him to deposit a fixed deposit receipt (FDR) of Rs 25 lakh.

Earlier today, the court had reserved its order after concluding arguments in the matter.

The NRI businessman has sought the court's permission to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for two weeks. The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is probing the case, had opposed Thampi's plea.

Thampi, who is a close aide of businessman Robert Vadra, was recently granted bail in the matter on the condition that he can't go abroad without the permission of the court.

According to ED, Thampi, along with Sanjay Bhandari and Vadra had conspired to launder money.

Thampi, an NRI, and his three companies -- Holiday City Centre, Holiday Properties, and Holiday Bekal Resorts -- were on ED radar "under FEMA for an aggregate amount of Rs 288 crore".

The ED has booked Thampi, who has businesses extending across India and the UAE, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with alleged wrongful approval for an engineering college in Thrissur by the All India Council for Technical Education in 2009.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Question: What activity is done by most teachers in the United States, but has almost no evidence of effectiveness in raising student test scores?

Answer: Analyzing student assessment data.

This practice arose from a simple logic: To improve student outcomes, teachers should study students prior test performance, learn what students struggle with, and then adjust the curriculum or offer students remediation where necessary. By addressing the weaknesses revealed by the test results, overall student achievement would improve.

My own recent experiences visiting schools imply this trend continues."

Yet understanding students weaknesses is only useful if it changes practice. And, to date, evidence suggests that it does not change practiceor student outcomes. Focusing on the problem has likely distracted us from focusing on the solution.

With the birth of large-scale state assessments and widening data availability in the 1990s, school leaders and teachers could access information on student performance that was common across schools and classrooms. Many schools also instituted standardized interim assessments, claiming that this periodic, low-stakes testing could help teachers identify difficult content and struggling students before the state assessment, giving both teachers and students a chance to catch up. Over time, educational testing and data companies including the Achievement Network, NWEA, and McGraw-Hills Acuity began to sell interim assessments to schools and states, making such assessments (and their cousins, test-item banks that support formative assessment) a billion-dollar business.

Currently, a large number of teachers report they regularly get together to analyze student assessment results. In a 2016 survey by Harvards Center for Education Policy Research, 94 percent of a nationally representative sample of middle school math teachers reported that they analyzed student performance on tests in the prior year, and 15 percent said they spent over 40 hours that year engaged in this activity. Case-study research suggests that in many Title 1 schools, this activity is a cornerstone of teachers weekly or monthly collaborative time.

About this series This essay is the second in a series that aims to put the pieces of research together so that education decisionmakers can evaluate which policies and practices to implement. The conveners of this projectSusanna Loeb, the director of Brown Universitys Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and Harvard education professor Heather Hillhave received grant support from the Annenberg Institute for this series. Read the full series here .

But heres the rub: Rigorous empirical research doesnt support this practice. In the past two decades, researchers have tested 10 different data-study programs in hundreds of schools for impacts on student outcomes in math, English/language arts, and sometimes science. Of 23 student outcomes examined by these studies, only three were statistically significant. Of these three, two were positive, and one negative. In the other 20 cases, analyses suggest no beneficial impacts on students. Thus, on average, the practice seems not to improve student performance.

One critical question, of course, is, why?

Observational studies suggest that teachers do, in fact, use interim assessments to pick out content that they need to return to. For instance, in a study published in 2009, Margaret E. Goertz and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania observed teachers planning to revisit math topics using a combination of whole-group and small-group instruction.

But Goertz and colleagues also observed that rather than dig into student misunderstandings, teachers often proposed non-mathematical reasons for students failure, then moved on. In other words, the teachers mostly didnt seem to use student test-score data to deepen their understanding of how students learn, to think about what drives student misconceptions, or to modify instructional techniques.

My own recent experiences visiting schools imply this trend continues. Field notes from teacher data-team meetings suggest a heavy focus on watch list studentsthose predicted to barely pass or to fail the annual state reading assessment. Teachers reported on each student, celebrating learning gains or giving reasons for poor performancea bad week at home, students failure to study, or poor test-taking skills. Occasionally, other teachers chimed in with advice about how to help a student over a reading trouble spotfor instance, helping students develop reading fluency by breaking down words or sorting words by long or short vowel sounds. But this focus on instruction proved fleeting, more about suggesting short-term tasks or activities than improving instruction as a whole.

Common goals for improving reading instruction, such as how to ask more complex questions or encourage students to use more evidence in their explanations, did not surface in these meetings. Rather, teachers focused on students progress or lack of it. That could result in extra attention for a watch-list student, to the individual students benefit, but it was unlikely to improve instruction or boost learning for the class as a whole.

In reviewing the research on teachers analyzing student data, I came across a small number of programs that included interim assessment as one part of a larger instructional package. While I excluded these studies from the formal review I undertook for this essay, they are notable nonetheless. One, by Janke M. Faber and colleagues in the Netherlands, focused on a program that not only contained computer-based interim assessments but also provided both instructionally focused feedback to teachers and students and personalized online student assignments. Another study, led by Jonathan A. Supovitz and colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania, examined the Ongoing Assessment Project, a program that helps teachers create assessments and examine the results, then combines this practice with professional development focused on mathematics content and student thinking about that content. Both of these studies saw positive impacts, suggesting that the analysis of data can, when combined with strong supports for improved teaching, shift student outcomes. But the small number of programs that combine the study of data with wider instructional supports limits our ability to draw real conclusions.

In total, the research in this area suggests that district and school leaders should rethink their use of state and interim assessments as the focus of teacher collaboration. Administrators may still benefit from analyzing student assessment results to know where to strengthen the curriculum or to provide teacher professional learning. But the fact remains that having teachers themselves examine test-score data has yet to be proven productive, even after many trials of such programs.

For many schools, this news is disheartening. Retooling teacher collaborative time will be a major shiftand thats assuming that schools can first identify more effective ways to help teachers improve their instruction. In our next column, well cover possible replacement activities.
(JNS)The Trump administration has just released the long-anticipated deal of the century, designed to resolve the seemingly intractable Arab-Israeli conflict. Before commenting on the plan, everyone should actually read it. It is a remarkably comprehensive document spelling out the concrete steps necessary to bring to reality the long sought-after two-state solution to the conflict. We shall not see another such prospect for peace and prosperity in the region in our lifetime.

Unfortunately, this creative proposal is dead on arrival. Although the Israelis immediately embraced the plan, the Palestinians rejected it. Indeed, they rejected it years before it was finalized or made public. As early as January 2018, Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas called the Trump plan a slap in the face. He greeted its actual unveiling with the response of a thousand nos. Palestinians designated the day of the plans unveiling as a day of rage and took to the streets in protest.

What is particularly unfortunate is that the economic development part of the planwhich comprises the vast majority of the overall peace proposalis devoted to significantly improving the lives of the Palestinian people. It focuses in great detail on economic development in the proposed State of Palestine and promises $50 billion in economic assistance, which would create a million jobs in the West Bank and Gaza, reduce Palestinian poverty by half and double the Palestinians GDP. However, last year, the Palestinian leadership rejected this part of the plan out of hand and boycotted the conference in Bahrain where it was discussed.

As the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban famously said, The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.

Although the new proposal is unlikely to achieve its purported goal, it is a useful exercise because it underscores certain facts long debated and now confirmed, and sheds light on the future path for resolving the conflict.

1. The two-state solution is dead (and was never alive in the first place).

The two-state solution to the conflict has long been favored by most interested parties. Notably absent from that group are the Palestinians themselves, who have rejected generous offers to create their own state on at least six occasions (in 1937, 1948, 1967, 2000, 2008, 2013), not including the present proposal.

historical record, the reason the two-state solution has failed is because the Arabs do not actually want their own independent state living in peace next to the State of Israel. It is apparent that they never haveand never willaccept the existence of a Jewish state in what they consider to be historic Palestine, which includes present-day Israel. If there was any doubt about that, just listen to the Palestinians present-day chant for the liberation of Palestine, from the river to the sea (from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, meaning both the West Bank and all of present-day Israel).

Although proponents of the two-state model repeatedly proclaim that it is the only solution to the conflict, 100 years of history demonstrate that this solution is a delusion untethered to reality.

2. The Palestinian cause is dead.

The newly-released plan also reflects the growing realization that the Palestinian cause should not necessarily be a priority on the world stage. The Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations cites the claims for statehood of over 350 stateless peoples. Many are ancient peoples who have had their own separate identities for centuries, including 45 million Kurds, 6 million Tibetans, 70 million stateless Tamils in Southern India, 30 million Igbos in Nigeria, 30 million Sikhs in India, 10 million Ahwazi Arabs in Iran, the Basques, the Catalans, and more.

The elevation of the Palestinian narrative over the last few decades is especially anomalous given that, unlike other stateless people, the stateless status of the Palestinians is largely self-inflicted. As discussed above, they are the only stateless people who have turned down repeated offers of statehood and independence over the last hundred years.

They are also the only stateless people who have repeatedly and routinely turned to indiscriminate violence and terrorism in pursuit of their goals, including years of hostage taking, plane hijackings, stone throwing, stabbings and suicide bombings, leaving thousands of innocent civilians dead and maimed. In spite of their own desperate conditions, the Kurds, the Tibetans and other stateless peoples have never turned their call for statehood into an excuse for mass murder.

In short, to the extent that the current plan fails to fulfill the fantasies of Palestinian extremists, it reflects the worlds growing weariness with a terrorist organization disguised as an independence movement.

3. There is an inevitable alternative.

The final steps of the 1993 Oslo Accordsthe latest (and only) peace accord negotiated between the partiescould be implemented. Many are unaware of the fact that, under the Accords, for the last 25 years the Palestinians have ruled themselves, with their own government, their own police force, their own courts, their own schools, without the presence of a sustained Israeli military force in Areas A and B of the West Bank.

This agreement remains in force today, and the Palestinians should be given even greater autonomy in those areas if possible. They should remain in control of their own autonomous region and possibly achieve statehood one day. Until that day comes, there is no reason the valuable economic-development part of the Trump plan could not still be implemented, with the parties cooperation.

Contrary to the view expressed by many anti-Israel advocates, this notion does not amount to apartheid. The concept of autonomous regions within existing states is well recognized in todays world. For example, there is Kashmir in Pakistan; there are 17 autonomous communities in Spain; 117 autonomous communities in China; several autonomous Indian nations in the United States; 14 autonomous regions in India; several self-governing Crown dependencies (Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man) which are not part of the United Kingdom but where the U.K. is responsible for defense and international affairs; and 13 other British Overseas Territories (including Gibraltar) which have autonomy in internal affairs through local legislatures.

There is even the example of Puerto Rico, a commonwealth of the United States, whose residents elect their own legislative assembly, a governor, and a representative to the U.S. House of Representatives, but cannot vote in presidential elections and whose representative in the House has no vote. No one calls Puerto Rico an apartheid state.

As for Area C, where the majority of Israeli settlers presently live in major blocs in close proximity to Jerusalem, Israeli sovereignty and law should be extended to this area and all of its residents, including Palestinians, should be accorded full Israeli citizenship.

In short, the Palestinians should be accorded every essential ingredient of statehood except defense and international affairs, just as with other autonomous regions in the world. Israeli law should be extended to that part of the West Bank where the vast majority of the Jewish settlers live and which no onenot even Palestinian leadersrealistically expect Israel to abandon.

The deal of the century may have failed to achieve its ultimate goal, but its proposal and rejection by the Palestinians has illuminated the conflict as it exists in 2020. Parts of the plan, particularly its hugely beneficial economic development plan, may live on in the years to come. But as to other unresolved issues, most importantly the matter of sovereignty, it is time to move on. As Rabbi Hillel said: If not now, when?

Steve Frank is an attorney, retired after a 30-year career as an appellate lawyer with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. His writings on Israel, the law and architecture have appeared in publications including The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Jerusalem Post, The Times of Israel and Moment magazine.
The World Dream cruise which had been denied entry in Taiwan amid concerns of coronavirus infection on board, is seen docked at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong

By Jessie Pang and Donny Kwok

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong authorities quarantined a cruise ship for a second day on Thursday as they checked thousands of passengers and crew for the new coronavirus, forbidding anyone from disembarking to prevent further spreading of the epidemic.

Authorities said the World Dream's roughly 1,800 crew members had all tested negative for the coronavirus, although 33 of them had respiratory tract infection symptoms of whom three had been sent to a hospital for isolation.

The roughly 1,800 passengers were now also being tested, said health official Chuang Shuk-kwan.

It was not clear how long they would all remain on the boat, where previously three mainland Chinese on board between January 19-24 were found to have the virus.

The cruise ship, operated by Dream Cruises, docked in Hong Kong after it was denied entry to the Taiwan port of Kaohsiung on Tuesday. Authorities have now suspended Hong Kong's two cruise terminals.

The former British colony saw its first death from the virus on Tuesday. It has confirmed 22 cases, two of them critical, with at least six of the latest cases transmitted locally, authorities said.

The government has imposed a mandatory two-week quarantine for anyone entering the Asian financial hub from the Chinese mainland.

Thousands of medical workers have joined striking union members to call on the government to fully seal the border, something leader Carrie Lam has so far rejected as impractical and discriminatory.

The city's Hospital Authority said on Thursday emergency services would be severely hampered due to the large number of absent staff.

The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance (HAEA) union questioned the government's plans to adequately quarantine people due to the large numbers still entering Hong Kong from the mainland.

"The HAEA expresses the highest level of doubt on whether Hong Kong has the ability to care for such a large number of people under mandatory quarantine when we are already dealing with severe shortage of resources and the depletion of surgical masks in our community."

Story continues

Separately, panicked residents, reacting to online rumours about supply shortages, hit supermarkets in droves to buy toilet rolls and hygiene products overnight. Fears over the virus have seen shelves cleared of basic essentials for much of the past week while people wait in over 12-hour queues to procure masks.

The virus outbreak has also amplified pressure on Hong Kong's flagging economy, which contracted for the first time in a decade in 2019.

Hong Kong's Retail Management Association said sales revenue of most retailers fell up to 50% since Jan. 24, while retailers of jewellery, watches, cosmetics and apparel - products typically popular with mainland tourists - fell as much as 80%.

"Small to medium enterprise shops will be the hardest hit ... If the retail industry fails to receive timely and appropriate support, there will be a large wave of closures," it said.

Credit Suisse Group said on Thursday that its Asian Investment Conference, due to be held in Hong Kong in March, has been cancelled due to the risks posed by the coronavirus.

(Additional reporting by Jessie Pang, Scott Murdoch and Donny Kwok; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Andrew Cawthorne.)
Last night on our Power Line VIP program, Steve noted that the Department of Homeland Security plans to deny the privileges of its Global Entry and other Trusted Traveler Programs to New Yorkers. The Global Entry program enables American citizens and permanent residents who travel abroad to avoid long customs lines when they return to the U.S.

As I understand it, to determine who qualifies as a trusted traveler, the DHS relies on various government data including information related to drivers licenses. It uses such information as criminal history and fugitive warrants, as well as corroboration of address and physical characteristics.

New York, having declared itself a sanctuary state, allows illegal immigrants, who do not have social security numbers, to obtain valid state drivers licenses. It also bars the state from sharing with federal immigration authorities data relating to drivers licenses.

By doing so, it restricts DHSs ability to properly vet would-be trusted travelers. Hence the move to bar New Yorkers from the Global Entry program  a move, the rationale for which applies to other states with similar sanctuary laws.

Critics claim that the Trump administrations move is purely punitive. New York governor Andrew Cuomo accused the administration of unbounded arrogance and disrespect of the rule of law.

Its not clear to me what law the administration is disrespecting. As far as I can tell, DHSs action is lawful.

Is it a good faith effort to ensure that the Global Entry program doesnt jeopardize Americas security? Nothing Ive seen so far demonstrates otherwise, but I dont know enough to say for sure.

But even if DHSs move is punitive, I dont have a problem with it.

If New York can tell federal immigration authorities to go to hell, why shouldnt federal immigration authorities respond in kind for the limited purpose of the Trusted Traveler Program. And if New Yorks elites want to signal their virtue by enabling dangerous criminal illegal immigrants to have sanctuary in their state, why shouldnt these elitists actually display virtue by willingly standing in long lines when they globe trot?
China on Friday said it was in the middle of an extraordinary and full-scale war against the coronavirus epidemic and urged cooperation from the international community after reports in local media said Indian hackers had targetted Chinese medical institutions amid the epidemic.

A Chinese internet security firm alleged Thursday that Indian hackers had targeted local hospitals and medical research institutions amid the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak in the country.

The Chinese tech security company 360 Security Technology told the nationalistic tabloid Global Times that they have evidence that India-based hackers attacked medical organisations through a phishing scheme sent by email.

Responding to a request for a comment on the report from HT, the Chinese foreign ministry said it had taken note of the relevant media reports.

China, a major cyber power and a major victim of hacking, is firmly opposed to cyberattacks of any kind, ministry spokesperson, Hua Chunying said Friday without naming India.

At the same time, China believes that the international community should strengthen dialogue and cooperation to jointly cope with all kinds of cyberattacks and build and maintain a peaceful, secure, open, cooperative and orderly cyberspace, Hua said via an online press conference.

I want to emphasise that China is in an extraordinary period of full-scale war against the epidemic. Faced with the public health crisis, countries should work together to overcome the difficulties, she added

Cases have shown that an Advance Persistent Threat (APT) from India is trying to attack Chinese medical organisations through a phishing scheme sent by email, the company told the tabloid.

The tech company didnt respond to questions mailed by HT to an email available on its website.

The Global Times has published a critical opinion piece on the alleged attack.

With suspected Indian background, a group called BITTER has launched continuous APT attacks since March 2019 targeting Chinas government agencies and Chinese organisations, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it said.

Chinas most advanced medical technology and data of our high-end medical equipment could be stolen and maliciously used. Whats worse, those hackers with evil intentions could create more fear related to the virus, and thus disturb the social order, it said.

The already hard battle against the epidemic would be fiercer if Chinas cybersecurity is endangered, especially with hacker attacks targeting the countrys medical system. Consequently, it wont be just China but the entire mankind who will suffer ultimately, it said.

It quoted Indias external affairs minister, S Jaishankar as saying in November, 2019: We need to arrive at a global understanding if not a global regulation, in order that the cyberspace remains open, safe and secure.

We wish India could keep in mind its words, the GT opinion said.

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Senator Lindsay Graham says God will not judge him for refusing to vote to convict President Donald Trump.

In a dig at Senator Mitt Romney, who on Wednesday was the only Republican to go against his party to vote Trump guilty, Graham said he 'used the common sense that God gave me to understand this is a bunch of BS.'

Before Romney cast his fateful vote, making him an instant pariah in the Republican party, he gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor that it was his faith  Romney is a devout Mormon  that led him to that decision.

In response, Graham called in to the Brian Kilmeade Show on Fox and said: 'When I go to meet God at the pearly gates, I don't think he's going to ask me, ''Why didn't you convict Trump?'''

'I may be wrong, but I don't think that's going to be at the top of the list.'

Senator Lindsay Graham said God will not judge him for refusing to vote to convict President Donald Trump, in a dig to Senator Mitt Romney

President Trump has already issued his own attacks on Romney, criticizing him on Twitter and taking a veiled swipe at him at the National Prayer Breakfast

Graham told the Fox News host that the impeachment was 'politically driven.'

'It was driven by people who are not looking for the truth, they hate Trump, they were going to impeach him the day he got elected and if you can't see through this, your religion is clouding your thinking here.'

Graham admitted that he 'always liked' Romney, but didn't share the same battle with faith over the vote to acquit Trump, calling it the 'easiest decision I've ever had to make.'

Romney was the lone Republican to find Trump guilty on one article of impeachment: abuse of power. He voted to acquit the president on the second charge: obstruction of Congress.

In his remarks on the Senate floor, Romney said: 'The allegations made in the articles of impeachment are very serious. As a senator juror, I swore an oath before god to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious.

'My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before god as enormously consequential. I knew from the outset that being tasked with judging the president, the leader of my own party would be the most difficult decision I have ever faced.'

And the Republican senator from Utah acknowledged he expected to feel the president's wrath for his decision.

'I'm aware that there are people in my party and in my state who will strenuously disapprove of my decision, and in some quarters I will be vehemently denounced. I'm sure to hear abuse from the president and his supporters.

'Does anyone seriously believe that I would consent to these consequences other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before god demanded it of me?,' he said.

Sen. Mitt Romney, a Utah Republican, said Thursday he was bracing for 'unimaginable' consequences for his vote to convince President Trump on one of the two articles of impeachment

The President has already issued his own attacks on Romney.

'Had failed presidential candidate @MittRomney devoted the same energy and anger to defeating a faltering Barack Obama as he sanctimoniously does to me, he could have won the election,' Trump tweeted Thursday.

He also tweeted a video accusing the Utah senator of being a 'Democrat secret asset' and criticized him for his failed 2008 presidential campaign.

Trump then dedicated part of his address at the National Prayer Breakfast to trashing Romney, though he made no mention of the senator's name.

'I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong. Nor do I like people who say I pray for you when they know that's not so. So many people have been hurt, and we can't let that go on. I will be discussing that a little bit later at the White House,' he said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Export of grains and legumes from Turkey to Kazakhstan increased by 23.3 percent and amounted to $22.2 million in 2019, the Turkish Ministry of Trade told Trend.

Export of grain and legumes from Turkey to Kazakhstan in December 2019 decreased by 11.2 percent compared to December 2018 and amounted to $1.5 million.

Turkey exported grains and legumes worth $6.8 billion in 2019, which is 1.6 percent more compared to the export of grains and legumes in 2018.

"In December 2019, export of grain and legumes from Turkey increased by 5.9 percent compared to December 2018 and amounted to $628.8 million," the ministry said.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
It was as Robert Downey Jrs Doctor John Dolittle performed a colonoscopy upon a CGI dragon that my soul finally left my body.

Up and up I drifted until it seemed I was floating high above the screening room. Down below  so far away  the once (and potentially future) Tony Starks first post-Marvel project was cranking through the gears of existential horror. Id already experienced one or two wobbles of cosmic dread sitting through Dolittle (opening Friday). The first came as the Oscar-nominated Ralph Fiennes turned up voicing a digitally rendered tiger  with deep psychological issues  named Barry. There was another flutter of almost-panic when Jason Mantzoukas buzzed in as a romantically frustrated dragonfly and the camera insisted on zooming in on his huge and disturbing insect eyes. Instantly, my bug phobia had shot into the red zone.

But nothing could prepare the unsuspecting cinemagoer for the Human Centipede-levels of abhorrence now unfolding. Downey Jr was armed with a giant leek and a Welsh lilt 10 per cent Tom Jones doing Delilah, 90 per cent Anthony Hopkins doing Hannibal Lecter.

The wedged veg had just disappeared from view, deployed to remove a blockage from a depressed fire-snorting lizard. The dragon was voiced by veteran actress and three-times Olivier Award winner Frances de la Tour. Back in the Seventies, when she became famous for playing Ruth Jones in the sitcom Rising Damp, she surely couldnt have imagined that this is what her future held. For all concerned, it was turning out to be a very bad day at the orifice.

Still, as is the way with the truly disturbing, the tableau had a mesmerising quality. Perhaps this is how Game of Thrones should have concluded, suggested a stray thought. With Jon Snow applying a massive vegetable to Drogons bum. It would have been better than the actual ending. Especially if, as was the case here, it culminated in our hero yanking out a set of bagpipes that had become lodged within.

Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did Show all 14 1 /14 Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 1. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Kicking us off is Phil Lord and Christopher Milles bizarre animated film about a scientist who creates a machine that transforms water into food. So far, not too crazy, but then the machine gets stuck in the sky and it starts raining food. Everything goes wrong and Flint Lockwood must save the day by flying up to the machine and kicking fried chicken butt. Yeah, a pretty crazy premise, but a fantastic film. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 2. Frank Michael Fassbender may be one of the most bankable stars of the moment - having starred in the likes of Steve Jobs, X-Men and Macbeth - but in 2014, instead of flaunting his face, producers decided to make him wear a weird papier-mache mask for the films near entirety. The plot sees Fassbenders titular character front a rock band, play SXSW and make likeable music. Its all just a bit strange. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 3. Groundhog Day Almost anything with Bill Murray in it is a win in my book, but when you say the premise of Ground Hog day out loud - a weatherman who must relive the same day over and over again - it sounds quite boring. What transpired was one of Murrays funniest films. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 4. Star Wars With Star Wars being so prevalent in pop-culture, its hard to imagine a time when no-one except George Lucas knew what a Lightsaber was. Producers must have been shocked when this young director came into the office trying to sell a script about Luke Skywalker, R2D2, Darth Vader, Chewbacca and Stormtroopers. Thankfully, they believed in his vision and now we have one of the best sci-fi sagas of all time. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 5. Incepetion A dream, within a dream, within a dream. Even those who watched Inception were left confused, let alone those who only heard what the film was about. Christopher Nolans final flick, however, was a masterclass in storytelling and one of the best films of the last ten years. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 6. Speed The high-concept Speed is quite ridiculous really. Keanu Reeves cant let a bus go below 50 miles per hour or it will blow up. Its quite amazing how Jan de Bont managed to make his debut 116 minutes long in the first place, let alone making it a decent film in the process. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 7. Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton is a director who could fill this entire list up. While he may have chosen to reboot numerous films in the past few years (Alice in Wonderland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the upcoming Dumbo 2) it was his original concepts that set him apart from everyone else. In Burtons head, the love story of a man with scissors for hands and a young woman made complete sense, while for everyone else - from just the premise - it seemed entirely weird. Luckily, he was given the opportunity to make the film and a cult classic was born, all while Johnny Depps ability to play the outsider was solidified. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 8. Mrs Doubtfire Post-Hook and Aladdin, Robin Williams was on a role. One of his standout performances was as Mrs. Doubtfire, the father-turned-drag-housekeeper. As a premise, dressing your lead male as a woman wasnt exactly new (see Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie), so the filmmakers ran the risk of it all seeming like an overdone joke. Luckily, Chris Columbus managed to pull off the ridiculous plot (how wouldnt the kids know its their father, really?) leading to one of the funniest films of the 90s. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 9. The Lobster Like Burton, most of Yorgos Lanthimoss films could probably feature on this page, but weve gone with The Lobster. The film tells of a hotel where residents must find a suitable partner within 45 days otherwise they will be turned into an animal. Try to run away and the other residents will hunt you down with tranquillisers. The result was one of the best love stories of 2015. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 10. Ant-Man Some comic book superheroes should not be adapted to the big screen (*cough* Howard the Duck *cough*). Ant-Man is not one of them. Against all the odds, Paul Rudd and Peyton Reed managed to make a compelling film about a man who could shrink down in size and control ants. Whats incredible is that - somehow - the film quickly became one of Marvels most beloved films. Of course, everyone knew Marvel could pull off weird, having knocked it out of the park with Guardians of the Galaxy the year before. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 11. Beetlejuice Two ghosts living in their old home want to scare away the alive people who now live there. Unfortunately, the new home-owners cant see them and so the ghosts have to call upon a deranged Michael Keaton to help them out. Add one of the strangest afterlife scenes in film history and youve got a brilliant film. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 12. Forrest Gump While not an obvious contender like Star Wars or Beetlejuice, when you think about it, Forrest Gump is a weird idea. A below-average intelligent man, sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus, telling strangers about all the famous moments in history where he observed/effected. Thanks to Tom Hanks, Gump was a magical film of love and hope, winning over the hearts of thousands and becoming an instant classic. Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 13. The Lego Movie Another film from Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, The Lego Movie shouldnt have worked. Making a beloved toy into a film; it was all just a bit silly. Thankfully, Chris Pratts turn as Emmett (and a catchy song in Everything is Awesome) the film was a huge hit with critics and fans alike, and now we have a cinematic universe of Lego movies to come. Awesome? Film premises that shouldnt have worked but did 14. Im Not There Lets get Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw to all play Bob Dylan in a single film, Todd Haynes said. While you would think that would be overkill, the result was stunning, with Dylan himself eventually praising the film in 2012.

Did I mention that Robert Downey Jr  portraying the doctor who can converse with animals  appeared to have dubbed his voice in afterward? It sounded as if his soul wasnt quite in his body either.

Twenty four hours later, Im still slightly shaken. And to think how much worse it could have been. An earlier cut apparently had Downey Jr removing  and here I quote The Hollywood Reporter  a boulder-sized stool out of the dragon. Kids flicks have clearly moved on from ET and The Neverending Story.

The making of Dolittle is, itself, a bit of a yarn that went on forever. Downey Jr never intended it as his post-Marvel coming-out picture. It was supposed to be an extracurricular lark, in which the greatest actor of his generation had fun with sundry CGI animals.

These would be voiced by a menagerie of A-listers, who, in the final cut, include Emma Thompson as a macaw, Rami Malek as a shy gorilla, Tom Holland as a lurcher, Selena Gomez as a giraffe and Marion Cotillard as a fox. The heavy-duty cast is filled out by Michael Sheen as Dolittles bitter rival Blair Mudfly, Antonio Banderas as the docs pirate father-in-law, Jim Broadbent as a royal adviser and Jessie Buckley as Queen Victoria.

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Dolittle had been pencilled in for release early last year when it would have played second fiddle to Avengers: Endgame. That was before executives at Universal Pictures sat down in front of the film and quickly concluded director Stephen Gaghan had himself produced a bit of a boulder-sized stool.

Gaghan was best known as director of 2005 Middle East thriller Syriana, an accomplished, paranoia-infused nerve-jangler but not necessarily something youd take your kids to on a Saturday morning. The Dolittle cut he submitted was reportedly low on humour, glossing over the talking animals and instead focusing on the psychological issues afflicting Downey Jrs character. Probably not what you want from a movie called Dolittle.

Universals solution was to parachute in Seth Rogen to punch up the script  ie write some jokes for this alleged comedy. But then he left to do something more interesting (such as not write jokes for a Robert Downey Jr vehicle about talking animals).

He was replaced by Lego Batman Movie director Chris McKay. Shortly afterwards, McKay quit the coop too, to work with Chris Pratt on science fiction epic The Tomorrow War. Apparently it is more epic even than Iron Man removing bagpipes from a dragons back passage.

Extensive reshoots were already underway. For this, Downey Jr was required to return for three weeks to Cumbria, Windsor Great Park in Surrey and to the Menai Suspension Bridge in northwest Wales. The new footage was overseen by Jonathan Liebesman, director of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He had been hired at the instigation of Downey Jr, co-producing the feature with his wife Susan through their Team Downey partnership. Somewhere along the way, the title had changed too  from The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle to the more stripped-down Dolittle.

Still, even as the cameras rolled, issues with the script persisted. Enter McKays Lego Batman Movie co-writer John Whittington. He flew to London with a new screenplay for Robert Downey Jr. Yet upon touching down he discovered the actor had some ideas of his own.

Robert Downey Jr alongside Chee-Chee, voiced by Rami Malek (AP)

Downey Jr had already worked hard to put his stamp on this third retelling of Doctor Dolittle. The first, a 1967 musical starring Rex Harrison, was a notorious flop. That was followed by the 1998 Eddie Murphy comedy, which became a hit despite  possibly because of  having nothing to do with the original Hugh Lofting novels from the 1920s.

Now, Downey Jr was eager to carve out his own place in the Dolittle expanded universe. To put his own spin on the Doctor, he decided to play him as a Welsh neo-Druidist.

I was just googling weirdest Welsh doctor, he would say. I just wanted to think of, I dont want to just do another English accent... so there was this guy called William Price, whos a nutty Welsh doctor, he was a neo-Druidist, he believed that he could communicate with all nature and all that stuff, so I sent [Gaghan] a picture of this wild-looking guy wearing this kind of suit with stars on it and like a staff in his hand.

He was just getting started. Gaghan, whod quickly proved ill-suited to the childlike subject matter, had finished the movie with a big emotional moment between Dolittle and a dragon guarding a magical grove the Doctor needs to get to. In that cut  the one immediately rejected by Universal  the two had bonded weepily over their lost loves. It was grim; not what you want from a family film.

Downey Jr had a radical suggestion for Whittington as the screenwriter arrived in London. At their first meeting, the newcomer to the production had been immediately struck by the mischievous twinkle in the actors eye. I have a few ideas, said Downey Jr. He certainly did.

What Downey Jr proposed was an ambitious overhaul of the dragon scene and with it the projects emotional core. There was plenty of precedent for this in Hollywood. Brad Pitt had saved World War Z by re-tooling the final act completely so that it finished on a satisfyingly downbeat note. Apocalypse Now was originally intended to end in a massed pitched battle before Francis Ford Coppola performed emergency surgery on the script.

Downey Jr was about to pull a Francis Ford Coppola of his own by bunging in a set-piece in which Dolittle, and his leek, get up close and personal with the dragon. Yet however radical the, erm, insertion, it could do little do scrub away the rot already gnawing deep. Perhaps the original sin was hiring Gaghan, a skilled director who lacked the experience to shepherd a CGI romp. Whatever the reason, it was ultimately a case of Dolittle, too late.

This is not the kind of movie he should have directed, an insider from the production told The Hollywood Reporter. People backed him thinking, Well surround him with the best teams, but at a certain point it became clear this wasnt working. And by then it was too late. And it was all hands on deck.

Dolittle, unsurprisingly proved a huge flop on release in the US in late January. It has to date earned $126.6m on a budget of $175m. Critically, it has been savaged too. Downey Jrs performance has been singled out as especially disappointing. What happened to the easy charisma that characterised his decade plus as Iron Man? (He is rumoured to be returning to the part of Tony Stark via a cameo in the forthcoming Black Widow prequel.)

To shake off his past decade of work as the beloved Tony Stark, he has settled on a performance that can only be described as anti-charming; hes more of a collection of tics and grunts than a human being, groaned The Atlantic. His Welsh accent is absurd  when its audible. More often than not, Downey Jr looks bored, unamused by the CGI antics swirling around him, and even less interested in whatever flimsy action hes supposed to be driving forward.

The eye lines between the humans and CGI animals never quite seem to match, says The Independents Clarisse Loughrey in a two-star review. Nor does the dialogue fit comfortably with the movement of their lips. Emma Thompson voices a parrot whose narration fills the gap between clearly missing scenes.

Universals Cats also flopped at the end of last year (Universal Pictures)

And yet, perhaps it is too soon to declare Dolittle a complete disaster. As with Cats, Tom Hoopers crime against Andrew LLoyd Webber and nature itself, there is the potential for the film to live on in ghoulish infamy. It really is too bad to believe, especially when Dolittle sticks that leek where the light of creation doesnt shine (triggering nearly a minute of sustained dragon flatulence).

This could potentially be Downey Jrs lasting contribution to cinema. His legacy even. It was he, after all, who fought for the enema. As an anonymous crew member told The Hollywood Reporter: When Iron Man tells you something, you listen to Iron Man.

Dolittle is in cinemas on Friday 7 February
In view of the outbreak of novel coronavirus, the Manipur government has banned the import of packaged food items from China, Myanmar and Southeast Asian countries which do not comply with FSSAI regulations, officials said on Friday.

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Manipur bans packaged food items from China

The notification issued by K Rajo Singh, Additional Food Safety Commissioner, Directorate of Health Services said:

"No person shall import any packaged food items made in China, Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries that do not comply with the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017." "No person shall manufacture, distribute, sell or expose for sale or dispatch or deliver to any agent or broker for the purpose of sale, any packed food products which are not marked and labelled in the manner as specified by the regulations," it said.

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As a precautionary measure, the Directorate has urged the public "not to consume any packaged food items made in China, Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries". It has also directed all designated officers in the state "to inspect, seize and to keep keen vigilance in the interest of the public health" and that non-compliance of the notification will be "viewed seriously".

Manipur shares a 398-km international border with Myanmar and the border town of Moreh serves as a major trade hub between India and her eastern neighbour. Meanwhile, Additional Director (Public Health) L Arke told reporters that 172 persons who have entered Manipur from China, Thailand and Singapore between January 11 and February 5 have been kept under surveillance at their residences.

He said samples of the 172 persons will be sent to the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata for testing for coronavirus. The notification came after two cases of "mild" swine flu were detected in samples of people entering Manipur.

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QAMISHLI, Syria  In a small dark room in northeast Syria, women of all ages scan one another with a critical eye. Several have gauze bandages over their noses, others strips of plaster over their eyelids. They are waiting for Edip Mahmoud Ali, Qamishlis most celebrated cosmetic surgeon, who is so overwhelmed by demand he no longer answers his telephone.

Fatima Mohammed Zain, the wife of a local policeman, has had her cheekbones chiseled and lips puffed into a permanent pout. Here in Qamishli, rich or poor, people dont care," she said. "If they want something they go for it.

Hevin Maher, a bottle blonde in a leopard-print jumpsuit, brought her sister-in-law, a cheerful 58-year-old wearing a hijab, in for an eyelift. We made the decision to be beautiful because it helps raise our spirits, it makes us feel more powerful," Maher said. "Because every day has become much harder since the Turkish operation.

She was referring to Turkeys Oct. 9 assault against the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkeys so-called Operation Peace Spring displaced tens of thousands of civilians and provoked a global outcry as Ankaras jihadi allies murdered and plundered their way through the towns of Ras al-Ain and Tell Abyad, occupying both towns and the areas lying between them.

The United States said there was evidence of war crimes. Yet, amid all the fear and misery, the invasion has also ignited the sort of quiet defiance that competes with vanity in Dr. Alis chambers and that is palpable across much of the mainly Kurdish northeast.

If the Turks come again, we are ready, grinned Garo Iso, a matronly Kurd pulling out a Kalashnikov from under a stack of cushions in her living room. At least three other guns were similarly concealed in the rectangular space. Iso was celebrating her grandsons birthday over cakes, kebabs, stuffed grape leaves and popcorn in their family home in Amude, the administrative capital of the autonomous administration of northeast Syria.

Garo Iso shows off her rifle in her living room in Amude, Syria, Jan. 19, 2020. (Amberin Zaman/Al-Monitor)

The guest of honor is Salih Muslim, the veteran Kurdish politician from Kobani, whose cuddly veneer belies a razor-sharp mind. Muslim currently runs external relations for the autonomous administration. This includes keeping ties with the Kurdish-controlled areas Arab tribes on an even keel. Everyone predicted the Arabs would abandon us when the Turks invaded, he told Al-Monitor. Instead, the Arabs were flooding me with telephone calls, asking if we were going to abandon them.

When President Donald Trump told US forces to pull back, clearing the path for the Turkish attack, many predicted the collapse of the Kurds seven-year experiment with self-rule.

As Trumps orders stood at the time, all US forces in northeast Syria were going home, casting their Kurdish partners, who fought with them against the Islamic State, at the mercy of Turkey and the Syrian regime. His U-turn in the face of congressional fury, with around 1,000 or so US forces redeployed away from the Turkish border to secure the oil, is the biggest reason the autonomous administration is still standing. But not the only one.

US forces have retreated from Arab majority areas such as Raqqa, the erstwhile capital of the Islamic States vanquished caliphate, along with Tabqa and Manbij. Despite sporadic protests, particularly over oil, local Arabs have remained largely loyal so far because the SDF is what stands between them and the return of the regime or Turkey.

Fawza Yusuf, a senior official in the autonomous administrations top governing body, known as TEV-DEM, acknowledges that the security environment is much tougher. Her security detail, two female fighters who normally join her for interviews, stand guard over her car. You never know if someone is going to plant a bomb, she said. We share our locations on a must-know only basis. We dont let people bring their cellphones when meeting us. We know that Turkish intelligence is after us, she said. And so is Daesh, Yusuf added, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State.

The number of checkpoints here has visibly increased. People rarely travel by night. Yet the Kurdish-run area remains the safest and most stable part of Syria. Life under Turkey and jihadis is the opposite  lawless  many former Ras al-Ain residents say.

The Washukane camp near Hasakah is home to nearly 7,000 people, most of them Arabs, fleeing Turkish forces in Ras al-Ain and its environs. On a recent afternoon, crowds of ragged internally displaced people gathered around a truck delivering crates of foodstuff.

Wafaa Dahan al-Salem, a mother of four, had freshly arrived from a village in the Tel Tamer countryside. Armed people kicked us out of our house, then the clashes began," she said. "Before [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan came, we had a good life. We had food, sheep, mazot [fuel]. We were safe. Now it's all blood and ruin. Such sentiments were echoed among over a dozen camp residents interviewed by Al-Monitor.

Jamil Ahmed Smellah, a farmer, said, I had 100 beehives. They [the Sunni rebel forces] told me I had to pay them $50 per beehive if I wanted to take them with me. They stole my home, my livelihood, everything. My life was 'mumtaz' before the Ottoman occupation, Smellah said, using the Arabic word for excellent.

In the local bazaar in Amude, business is slow and the mood circumspect. Weddings have been postponed out of deference to the fallen, leaving jewelers in financial limbo. Rumors of a fresh Turkish invasion, fed by Erdogans threats, abound.

Salah Hasso, who runs a perfumery, believes the safest bet is for the regime to reassert its control. As Kurds, of course, we want to keep our independence, but at the same time this prolonged uncertainty is bad for everyone, he said.

A tailor who would only identify himself as Ahmad has seen his income halved because of the wilting Syrian pound. Dresses he stitched for $4 now only fetch $2. He sounded resigned: Whoever comes and rules over us, will we say welcome, father'?

However, preserving the remaining chunks of northeastern Syria, which sits on the countrys economic spine  oil, water and wheat  has become a priority for the SDFs commander in chief, Mazlum Kobane.

The coolly confident 52-year-old guerrilla turned diplomat is widely credited for keeping the administration on its feet. Close associates speaking not for attribution said he did not lose his nerve  not even once  throughout the Turkish invasion. He single-handedly struck an accord with the regime and the Russians to have their forces replace the Americans, but solely along the Turkish border and without ceding another inch of the administrations land or authority.

Our people continue to stand with us, to trust us fully, Kobane told Al-Monitor in a recent interview.

The Syrian regimes strategy is to separate the Arab areas from the Kurdish ones. Through the Russians, the regime has tried to cajole Kobane to discuss a deal that would cover the predominantly Kurdish areas and give the Kurds skimpy political and cultural rights that could be rescinded as the regime grows stronger.

But Kobane has set the bar high, some say impossibly so. He insists the SDF and the local governing structures in the northeast remain intact. Oil revenues from fields in Deir ez-Zor and Rmeilan help bankroll the administration, including over 100,000 members of the SDF and internal security forces known as the Asayish, bolstering Kobane's power under US protection. Some of the money, paradoxically, comes from oil smuggled to Turkey.

He appears to be playing the long game, hedging his bets. Perhaps like many here, Kobane is hoping that the elusiveness of any political settlement with Damascus will allow the northeast to settle into the quasi-independent status of neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan, albeit minus the formality accorded it by Iraqs constitution. Yet Kobane is keenly aware that the US presence is on the clock and that Trump could spring withdrawal orders again, leaving him and the SDF horribly exposed.

As such, the SDF chief knows he can squeeze the most out of the Russians and Damascus while the Americans are still around. For the same reason, neither will engage with him seriously until the Americans go.

In the meantime, Kobane has embarked on a flurry of diplomacy, seeking to mend ties with Syrian Kurdish opposition rivals, courting the powerful Barzanis of Iraqi Kurdistan, hobnobbing with Gulf princes, and chatting with Frances Emmanuel Macron and President Trump, if only over the telephone. But he faces unremitting opposition at every turn from Ankara, which successfully blocked Kobane from traveling to Washington.

Turkey has placed a bounty on his head and a red notice for his arrest via Interpol on the grounds that Kobane is a terrorist. The accusation stems from Kobanes past inside the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The PKK has been fighting the Turkish army since 1984, initially for Kurdish independence and now political autonomy, and is on the US list of terrorist organizations. Turkey touted the SDFs alleged ties to the PKK to justify its incursion.

Turkey is also hounding Muslim. Last year, Czech authorities in Prague briefly detained Muslim, who was attending a conference. Germany recently blocked his application for a Schengen visa, ostensibly to humor Turkey, Muslim said. It means I will have to apply individually to EU countries, which is so time-consuming, he told Al-Monitor. Ironically, both he and Kobane were among Turkeys top interlocutors when a once dovish Erdogan was overseeing now-scrapped peace talks with the PKK.

Kobane acknowledged that he is worried Turkey might strike again.

He is especially nervous about the mainly Arab area east of al-Qahtaniyah, which is home to a small oil field. Erdogan has aired his interest in laying his hands on some oil to finance the construction of homes for Sunni Arabs displaced by regime attacks on the rebel-held province of Idlib and for Syrian refugees in Turkey. These would be built in the areas Turkey recently occupied, and in Kurdish eyes amount to nothing less than ethnic cleansing. Erdogan is talking about resettling up to a million Syrians, hence he may feel compelled to grab more land, including the city of Kobani, because of its symbolism for the Kurds. But Russia may not prove so accommodating. Also, US forces are perilously close to the oil field, and Congress will surely push for a whole new raft of sanctions against Ankara.

Back in Qamishli, Dr. Ali finally emerges from his room. He has just performed rhinoplasty on a young woman whose nose is swathed in bloodstained gauze. Does he ever get requests from the fabled Kurdish woman fighters of the Womens Protection Units, or YPJ? He nods toward his patient. She scowls. For the YPJ and all our heroic fighters, treatment is free, he said. She asked me to write a report saying her nose was grazed by shrapnel, but I refused.
The parents of a 6-year-old girl who died of H1N1 influenza in 2018 after being sent home from Hoboken University Medical Center have filed a lawsuit against the hospital, alleging that medical staffs negligence caused their daughters death.

The suit, filed by North Bergen residents Stephanie Conteron and Gabriel Hernandez, alleges doctors at the hospital did not follow standard medical procedures when they failed to check their daughter Nevaeh Hernandezs basic vital signs and ignored her medical history before discharging her.

The hospital staff members were negligent, careless, reckless, and unskillful in failing to properly diagnose and care for Decedent Nevaeh Hernandezs influenza, the suit alleges, causing, ultimately, her untimely death.

The suit, which was filed Feb. 1 in Essex County Superior Court, names Hoboken University Medical Center, CarePoint Health, and a number of the hospitals medical staff as defendants and requests a jury trial.

A spokesman for CarePoint Health declined to comment, saying the healthcare company does not comment on pending litigation.

Nevaeh Hernandez, a kindergarten student at Lincoln School, went home from school on Feb. 9, 2018, complaining of a headache, the familys attorney Louis Zayas said at the time. At Hoboken University Medical Center, tests for strep throat and the flu came back negative, and she was sent home despite having a fever that reached 105 degrees, Zayas said.

When her symptoms did not improve, her mother took her to Hackensack University Hospital, where, according to Zayas, the 6-year-old girl had four seizures and slipped into a coma. She died Feb. 12, 2018.

The familys current attorney, Francisco Rodriguez, said Hoboken University Medical Center discharged Hernandez without conducting routine tests. Medical staff only checked her vital signs once, Rodriguez said, and did not check her heart rate, breathing rate, blood pressure, or do any blood tests before discharging her.

What happened is both tragic and preventable, said Rodriguez. Had they rechecked her vital signs, they probably would have found some information that would have caused them to now dig deeper as to what (was) going on with her.

The hospital also ignored the fact that Hernandez had a history of seizures while feverish, Rodriguez added.

With a kid with that kind of history, you want to watch them for awhile, he said.

The suit is still in the discovery process, and no court dates have been set.
An Afghan asylum seeker and her daughter cross a trash-filled gully at an improvised camp on the Greek island of Lesvos, November 2019.  UNHCR/Achilleas Zavallis

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urging Greece to intensify efforts to address alarming overcrowding and precarious conditions for asylum seekers and migrants staying on the five Greek Aegean islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos, and Leros.

UNHCR has been appealing to the Greek government to use emergency measures to expedite its plans to transfer a greater number of asylum-seekers to appropriate accommodation on the mainland. More than 36,000 asylum seekers are now staying in reception centres across five islands which were originally designed for 5,400 people.

Greece has been generous and compassionate towards refugees, despite a very complex and difficult situation, and the East Aegean islands have taken on a vastly disproportionate burden and responsibility. It is critical that other regions in Greece step up their solidarity to help alleviate pressures by receiving transferred asylum seekers and opening up reception places. Continued European resources, capacity and solidarity are also needed to boost Greeces response.

On Samos 6,782 people are staying in a centre designed for 660 while others are in makeshift shelters pitched on surrounding fields on a steep slope. Moria on Lesvos is hosting 18,342 inside a facility for 2,200 and others are staying in adjacent olive groves.

Reception centres on Chios, Kos, and Leros are also overcrowded. The majority of asylum-seekers and migrants are families. A third of the population are children, most below the age of twelve.

Thousands of women, men, and children who currently live in small tents are exposed to cold and rain with little or no access to heating, electricity or hot water. Hygiene and sanitation conditions are unsafe. Health problems are on the rise. Despite the dedication of medical professionals and volunteers, many cannot see a doctor as there are simply too few medical staff at the reception centres and local hospitals.

Tensions were high on Lesvos earlier this week, where police faced off with asylum-seekers during their recent protest. Dire conditions and the long wait to complete asylum procedures have made asylum seekers afraid and anxious. In recent weeks local communities have also protested and demanded urgent action to alleviate the pressure of the islands.

The trust of local communities must be regained through decisive and coordinated government action strongly supported by the European Union.

Longer-term solutions and improvement of conditions on the islands are necessary but will only be possible once the overcrowded centres are decongested. UNHCR remains ready to assist with transfers and in finding quick ways to increase reception capacity. UNHCR is appealing to European States to open relocation places for unaccompanied children and other vulnerable people and to accelerate transfers for children eligible to join family members.

Nearly 2,000 children without parents or relatives in Greece are at risk at island reception centres. Over 5,300 unaccompanied children are now in Greece and only less than a quarter are in shelters adequate for their age.

Greeces asylum system is overloaded with a backlog of nearly 90,000 cases. Government efforts to overhaul and speed up asylum procedures must maintain standards and safeguards. The majority of asylum seekers in Greece have refugee profiles and are likely to be in need of international protection.

UNHCR welcomes the creation of a dedicated ministry, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum, to strengthen the governments capacity. The announced boost to the capacity of the Greek Asylum Service and the doubling of European Asylum Support Office staff should help address the substantial backlog of asylum cases. It is imperative for all government institutions to act now in coordination to resolve these issues. Non-governmental organizations which continue to play a vital role in Greece should be included in the response.

Arrivals to Greece are just a fraction of 2015 and 2016 number when a million people reached its shores. But with some 59,000 sea arrivals in 2019, coupled with lengthy asylum procedures, this has led to a sharp deterioration in conditions. It is critical that the EU Member States demonstrate their solidarity and help to alleviate pressure by relocating asylum seekers.

UNHCR stands ready to support Greece and find solutions to address this complex situation.

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Renewing Illinois, statesmanship programs highlight Simon Institute lineup

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondales Paul Simon Public Policy Institute will focus on renewing Illinois and restoring American statesmanship with a spring program that features nationally recognized experts who will discuss leadership challenges in the state, nation, and the world.

The program will include Institutes annual Renewing Illinois Summit, April 2-3, and the release of Restoring American Statesmanship: A Citizens Guide. The 75-page guide, which the Institute has been working on for more than a year, will offer historical case studies and provide real-world illustrations of statesmanship in American history.

Available March 1, the book will be free and available in hard copy and online. The guide will be sent to presidential candidates, policymakers, political analysts, business and civic leaders, and journalists in Springfield, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

Contributing to political debate

The Restoring American Statesmanship guide can make an important contribution to the political debate in both Illinois and the nation, said John T. Shaw, Institute director.

Statesmanship is one of the Institutes three major initiatives.

The Institutes spring agenda includes:

Monday, Feb. 10  5 p.m., Simon Institute Lobby, Pizza & Politics: State Rep. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro.

Thursday, Feb. 13  6 p.m., Student Center Auditorium, Lincoln and Kennedy: Two Iconic Presidents. Illinois State Historian Sam Wheeler and Shaw will discuss two legendary presidents.

Feb. 19  5 p.m., Student Center, Ballroom B, Decision 2020. Institute Student Ambassadors host experts to discuss election topics.

March 23  7 p.m., Morris Library, Guyon Auditorium, Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Lecture: Christina Wolbrecht, associate professor of political science and director, Rooney Center for the Study of American Democracy, University of Notre Dame. - CANCELED

March 25  6 p.m., Student Center Auditorium, Former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun, D-Illinois.

April 2-3  Student Center, Renewing Illinois Summit. - CANCELED

April 8  6 p.m., Student Center Auditorium, John Cruickshank, Consul General of Canada. - CANCELED.

April 20  6 p.m., Student Center Auditorium. John S. Jackson, visiting institute professor and Charlie Leonard, consultant, will provide a briefing on the 2020 Simon Poll results. - CANCELED.

April 23  6 p.m., Morris Library, Guyon Auditorium, Amy Chua, John M. Duff Professor of Law at Yale Law School.

The institute hopes that the canceled events can be rescheduled.

Summit, Simon Poll upcoming

This years Renewing Illinois Summit theme is One Illinois: Noble Aspiration or Impossible Dream? The two-day event, which will attract college students from throughout Illinois, will consider the challenge of forging a common identity in Illinois given the states regional differences and tensions, Shaw said.

The Renewing Illinois Summit is a signature program that has significantly elevated the profile of the Institute and SIU across Illinois, Shaw said.

The summits detailed program and agenda of speakers will be released in March.

The Institute will release the findings of the Simon Poll later this month. The Institute decided to return the poll to an annual survey rather than a twice-a-year poll.

We are confident that the release of our annual findings each spring will become an important event on the states political calendar, Shaw said.

For more information on this or any other institute program, contact the institute at 618/453-4078 or visit paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu.
By Trend





An OPEC+ technical panel has recommended a provisional cut in oil output of 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) in response to the coronavirus impact on energy demand as it awaits Russias final position on the proposal, Trend reports citing Reuters.

The Joint Technical Committee (JTC) is not a decision-making body but does advise the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+.

OPEC and its allies led by Russia produce over 40 percent of global oil and the new proposed cut would constitute around 0.6 percent of global supply.

OPEC+ ministers have not decided on further action, but the recommendation on Thursday by all the members of the JTC, which includes Saudi Arabia and Russia, would signal progress towards a decision.

The recommendation is for a cut of 600,000 bpd. Russia has asked for more time for consultations, one of the sources said.

Another OPEC source said the proposed output cut of 600,000 bpd, if agreed by all members, will start immediately and continue until June.

The 600,000 bpd has taken into consideration the expected return of Libya oil production and all scenarios such as oil demand growth elsewhere, the second source said, adding that the proposed cut was enough to counter the expected drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus.

The OPEC+ ministers have yet to decide on whether to bring forward their upcoming policy meeting to February from March 5-6, the sources said.

The JTC panel extended its meeting into a third day on Thursday after Russia voiced its opposition to a deeper supply cut and was instead suggesting an extension of current cuts.

In previous years, Russia has regularly signaled opposition to OPEC before ultimately agreeing on policy during formal meetings.

Oil LCOc1 prices have fallen by more than $11 a barrel this year to $55, alarming producers.

Saudi Arabia, OPECs de facto leader, and other OPEC members are worried that the continued spread of the virus could hit oil demand and prices further, the sources said.

Steps that OPEC+ is weighing include further output cuts, extending cuts due to expire in March, and moving forward its planned policy meeting.

OPEC sources said the meeting was unlikely to be brought forward unless there was general agreement on the need to reduce output further.

OPEC+ is currently cutting output by 1.7 million bpd.

While OPEC countries such as Iraq, OPECs second-largest producer, have voiced support for any agreement that would stabilize the market, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Tuesday he could not say for sure whether it was time to tighten output further.

The economic slowdown resulting from the virus outbreak is expected to reduce 2020 global demand growth by 300,000-500,000 bpd, or roughly 0.5%, BP (BP.L) Chief Financial Officer Brian Gilvary said on Tuesday.

Brent pared early gains on Thursday and was 80 cents down to $54.47 a barrel by 1446 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down 34 cents to $50.41.
Twelve actors telling 12 stories in 12 languages: "The New Colossus" has a lot to say about America, the immigrant experience and the ties that bind in a time of discord. So does its co-writer and director, Tim Robbins.

"Everything's so divided. We're trying to tell stories that remind us that everyone has a shared humanity," says Robbins, who's traveling with the Actors' Gang theatrical troupe  which he helped found  on a short tour that includes two shows at Proctors.

At each stop, a map of the world sits in the lobby, filled with magnetic pins showing audience members' countries of origin. And at each stop, Robbins walks out at play's end to spark conversation with the crowd.

Who's descended from indigenous peoples? A few hands go up. Which nations? Cherokee. Navaho. Is anyone here descended from people brought against their will? African-Americans raise their hands.

Any refugees? Immigrants? Hands go up. Any sons and daughters of refugees and immigrants? More hands go up. Grandsons and granddaughters? More still. Eventually, he says, "The entire audience has put up their hands. That's our shared experience in this country."

Robbins is on the phone from his home in Los Angeles, where he just got back from a frustrating trip to the DMV. "Oh, my God, it didn't work out that well for me." See, he'd just bought a Volvo, and it was a lemon, but he couldn't get a refund without a title, and motor vehicles told him he had a lien on the car, which was ridiculous because he paid cash for it, and ... so on.

"This is why I have a sense of humor at this stuff," he says, sounding resigned. "I used to get angry at this sort of thing."

The Tim Robbins on the phone is pretty much the Tim Robbins you'd expect: Funny, political, loquacious. The actor known for iconic roles from "Bull Durham" to "The Shawshank Redemption"  and lately seen in "Dark Waters"  talks, and talks, expounding on the play, its themes and humanity itself over an hourplus interview that was only meant to last 30 minutes. Short answers morph into long ones, filled with reflection on immigration and the American character.

Co-written with the Actors' Gang, the play bears witness to the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free" immortalized in bronze at the Statue of Liberty. Emma Lazarus' hopeful sonnet shares more than just a title with the production, which aims to honor the immigrant spirit in the midst of divisive political rhetoric. "That's something we should celebrate. That's the heroes' journey, and that's what unites us with the people at the border to the south. ... They're trying to provide a better future for their kids, and what are we doing? We're demonizing them."

None of that is anything new, he says: Not so long ago, Irish and Italians felt the brunt of it. "I'm sorry that people fall for that. It's tragic. But one of the reasons that I wanted to do this piece was to remind people that we have a lot more in common than we have differences."

The idea for it sprang, several years back, from an Actors' Gang production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream." The cast included actors who spoke English as a second language and wrestled with the ornate Elizabethan phrasings. "I wanted to find a piece that I could do with these great actors that wasn't as reliant on the English language. ... so I started asking them to tell stories in their native tongue." Then he asked them to write tales based on the lives of their forebears  "to tell the story of their ancestor's journey from oppression to freedom."

In the play that resulted, actors inhabit their own parents, grandparents, ancestors  strivers and survivors from Iran after the 1979 Revolution, from Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, from Vietnam after the fall of Saigon. In one story, a black woman flees the KKK during Reconstruction; in another, a Jewish woman flees the Nazis just before World War II.

What underpins their stories, he says: "Strength." That's the short answer. The long answer: "First of all, just to say 'no' in their home country. 'No, I will not tolerate religious oppression. No, I will not tolerate oppression. No, I will not tolerate this famine that's going on."

After that, "To have the strength and the resilience to survive the journey  oftentimes on foot, or hard travels over ocean and boat. And then to have the survival skill to land in a new land with nothing, and somehow find a way. That's our collective DNA."

Robbins' own American storyline goes back to around 1660, give or take, when John Robbins arrived from England and settled in Massachusetts. He died in 1680. A family Bible passed down for generations tracks the genealogy, its front page thick with history. "My mother's side had some Irish in it," he adds. "They came up through Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, but then moved out West."

Both sides landed in California, where his parents met. The actor was born there but grew up in New York City, where his dad  Gil Robbins of the Highwaymen  pursued his career in folk music. Robbins attended SUNY Plattsburgh for two years, becoming "pretty good" at broomball before moving back West, establishing residency and attending UCLA.

Western-state progressivism is in his genes, he says. He talks about this, talks about gratitude and humility, talks about the privilege of being onstage and learning from audiences, talks about his theater work in prisons, talks about the joy in seeing former gang members overcome their former hatreds to hug and make art together. "So yes," he says. "I do have hope."

With Tim Robbins on the phone, it has to be asked. What about "Shawshank"? Why, after 26 years, is a contemplative film about inmates so universally loved?

"I've been curious about that," he says. This time, there's no short answer. "One is that there's very few movies made that are about friendship, about genuine friendship, between two men. But I also think there's a theme of redemption in it  and the idea that we all, to some degree, metaphorically build prisons for ourselves in our lives, and some live in those prisons for years. And whether it's a bad relationship or a sh---y job, for some reason we say, 'I don't deserve more than this.'"

The film's message gives us an answer to all that, he says: We can have our "Shawshank" moments of hope and reclamation. We can walk away and find our spots on the beach.

More Information If you go "The New Colossus" Where: Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady When: 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday Tickets: $25 Info: proctors.org; 518-346-6204 See More Collapse

Has he found his?

The actor pauses a bit before answering. "Yes. Yes," he says, adding: "That's an entirely different conversation. ... but the short answer has been in realizing that success has to do with a lot more than finance and fame."

Then, as ever, the short answer turns into a long one.

"One of the things I learned in prison"  meaning his work with inmates  "was something that my grandmother had to teach me, and I might not have learned too well. Which is that real generosity doesn't have to be acknowledged ... and that you'll never understand how to give love until you learn how to receive love. And that," he says, "the spirit of love is out there."

abiancolli@timesunion.com  518-454-5439  @AmyBiancolli
The current outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China is turning out to be one of the deadliest on record and the Chinese authorities are putting their best efforts to control the spread of the virus.

But China could have prevented the spread of the epidemic if they had listened to Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist from Wuhan.

As early as December 30, Li had warned fellow medics about the spread of a 2003 Sars-like virus and asked them to take precautions. After noticing seven cases of a virus, on 30 December he sent a message to fellow doctors in a chat group warning them to wear protective clothing to avoid infection.

However, instead of taking his warning seriously, some doctor who was part of the WeChat group informed it to the police.

Four days later he was summoned to the Public Security Bureau where he was told to sign a letter. In the letter, he was accused of "making false comments" that had "severely disturbed the social order". He was one of eight people who police said were being investigated for "spreading rumours".

On January 10, by the time the virus was already confirmed and deaths began reporting in Wuhan, Li posted on Weibo saying that he started coughing, the next day he had a fever and two days later he was in the hospital. He was diagnosed with the coronavirus on 30 January.

The 34-year-old who reportedly contracted the virus while treating a Glaucoma patient died of the infection on Thursday. There were allegations that the Chinese state-control media tried to cover up Li death after initial reports of it triggered widespread outrage in Chinese social media.

Even the hospital had released a statement saying Li was still alive and in critical condition, adding that they were "making attempts to resuscitate him."

However, after much confusion, the hospital acknowledged the death of Li. "Our hospital's ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected with coronavirus during his work in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic," the hospital said. "He died at 2:58 am on Feb 7 after attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful."

As expected, Weibo, the largest social media platform in China is flooding with messages of anger and grief over the death of Li, with many demanding an apology from the Wuhan government for silencing the whistleblower.

Many also pointed out that if the authorities had taken Dr. Li's warning seriously and acted on it instead of silencing him, the epidemic that killed more than 600 including him could have been prevented.

Till now at least 636 people have been killed by the virus which has also affected 31,161 others and has almost brought China to a virtual shutdown.


The 26-year-old man pleaded guilty to eight out of 16 charges of insulting the modesty of a woman. He will be sentenced next Friday. (Photo: Facebook / Yale-NUS College)

SINGAPORE  A former Yale-NUS College student who filmed four of his female housemates showering on campus over a one-and-a-half year period was on Friday (7 February) jailed for 27 weeks.

The 26-year-old man, who was expelled from the college in October last year, had pleaded guilty on 13 January to eight out of 16 charges of insulting the modesty of a woman. The remaining charges were considered in sentencing.

He cannot be named due to a court-imposed gag order to protect the victims identities.

Apart from filming his housemates, the man also recorded upskirt videos of unknown women inside classrooms at Yale-NUS College.

Yale-NUS College is Singapores first liberal arts college, established in 2011 as a collaboration between Yale University and the National University of Singapore.

Deleted incriminating videos

The man had stayed at a suite residence with five other female students between August 2017 and May 2018, and again between January and March last year.

These students comprised the four victims, all of whom were 22, and one other female housemate. The students stayed in separate individual bedrooms in the suite, but shared a common bathroom.

On 3 March last year, one of the victims took a shower at about 8pm. The man recorded a video of her showering by standing in front of the bathroom door and placing his phone above the door.

The victim heard noises outside the bathroom and saw a pair of feet when she looked under the gap of the bathroom door. She then looked up and saw the phone camera pointed towards her.

The culprit then ran to the sofa in the living room of the suite and deleted the four-second video that he took of the victim showering, along with other incriminating videos.

To deflect suspicion from himself, he also lied that the fifth housemate had entered the suite, raised the possibility that someone from an on-going party on the 10th floor of the building might have entered the suite, and even suggested that the victim lodge a school report.

Story continues

Confessed, but didnt come clean

At about 11pm, the victim told the perpetrator that she would be making a police report. She also told him that she did not suspect him to be the culprit.

But just as she was about to head to a police station half an hour later, the man gathered his suite mates and confessed to them.

However, he then lied to them that it was his first time doing such a thing, and that at that point in time, he had yet to activate the video-recording function on the phone, hence there was no video recorded, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Gabriel Lim.

Believing the culprits story, the victim decided against lodging a police report that day. After a subsequent meeting between the victims and culprits parents organised by their church, the victim then made a police report on 13 March last year.

Investigators seized the mans phone, iPad, laptop and hard drive. A forensic examination uncovered incriminating videos which had been deleted.

According to the accused, he recorded videos of his suite mates showering as it helped him to destress from his academic pressure, said DPP Lim.

After recording the videos, he would store some of them into the hard drive which was connected to his MacBook. Most of the videos would be automatically uploaded to his iCloud account. He also re-watches the said videos on his handphone whenever he felt overwhelmed with schoolwork.

Strong propensity for reform: lawyers

In asking for at least 30 weeks jail, DPP Lim said there was a strong public interest in deterring such crimes involving students in educational institutions, who are entitled to feel safe.

The culprit had abused the trust of his fellow housemates, the prosecutor said, and students staying in hostels are entitled to safety and privacy in their second homes.

Meanwhile, the mans lawyers Josephus Tan and Cory Wong of Invictus Law highlighted a litany of awards and scholarships that he had, and called for a 20-week jail term. The perpetrator also has several anchors for rehabilitation, they said.

He enjoys the strong support of a loving community comprising his own immediate family, his fiancee, and her family too, said the lawyers. The couple are planning to wed later this year.

The man also has support from his church fellowship, and has been attending therapy sessions with a psychologist at the Institute of Mental Health to help him curb his urges to make such videos. He was not suffering from any mental disorders.

(The man) is arguably an atypical offender who can be readily distinguished from the usual less meritorious (insulting modesty) offender. We even go as far as to suggest that (his) instances of offending were wholly out of character, the lawyers said.

For each of his charges, the man could have been jailed for up to one year and also fined.

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.

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Other Singapore stories:

Religious teacher apologises after Shanmugam condemns his 'racist' coronavirus-related post

Spartans Boxing Club maintains deep community roots even as it expands

Ex-Reds skipper Jamie Redknapp: I doubted Jurgen Klopp at first

China's aerobatics team entered S'pore after 'careful consideration': Mindef

Wuhan virus: 2 more confirmed cases in Singapore, total at 30
A mysterious full-page newspaper ad attacking teachers unions has been traced to a Vaughan lawyer with Progressive Conservative connections, the Star has learned.

Invoices were sent to Loopstra Nixon LLP for the colour advertisements that were placed by a group calling itself Vaughan Working Families in the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, the National Post and the Toronto Sun last weekend.

Calls to the law firm were forwarded to partner Quinto Annibale, whom the Conservatives appointed as vice-chair of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario last April.

Vic Fedeli, who was Premier Doug Fords finance minister at the time, announced the three-year appointment in the legislature and introduced the lawyer from the visitors gallery.

It is unclear if it was a client of the law firm who commissioned the ad, at an estimated cost of more than $200,000.

According to corporate records, Annibale is a director of Vaughan Working Families. The name was registered in 2018 by an advocacy group called Vaughan Health Campus of Care, which lobbies for hospital improvements in Vaughan.

We have no comment, Annibale said when contacted by the Star on Thursday.

Last March, in testimony before a legislative committee examining his appointment, Annibale said he had previously served as chair of the board at Villanova College, a private Catholic school in King City.

I am a member of the Conservative Party of Ontario, Annibale told the committee. I have not been a member of the federal Conservative Party. Ive been a member of both the Liberal Party and the NDP in the past.

He has also donated money to the Progressive Conservatives.

When Annibale was a law student at Queens University in 1984, he wrote a letter to the editor of the Globe and Mail, complaining about Tory patronage appointments and recent Tory fiascoes under PC premier Bill Davis.

The ads placed last weekend contained the phrases Teachers unions are risking student success and Children are not pawns. They included a stock photo of a woman holding up a mock report card, which contained a number of grammatical errors.

They were placed on the eve of widespread strikes this week by three of the four Ontario teacher unions.

A second blitz of the paid ads had been scheduled to be published this week, but they were pulled at the last minute.

Fords office has strongly denied any connection to the ads.

Education Minister Stephen Lecces office said he was not involved or aware of the creation of these advertisements.

The minister has not spoken to the mentioned individual in regards to this. His focus remains on keeping students in class, spokesperson Alexandra Adamo said.

A senior Conservative official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, conceded the ads could have been placed by an overzealous supporter.

We do not think this is helpful in any way, the official confided, speculating that the mystery advertiser may think countering union ads bolsters the governments position in an ongoing public relations war with teachers.

It doesnt, the Tory said with a sigh.

Neil Oliver, president of Torstar Daily News Brands, said the advertisement should not have been published in the Star because it did not specify who was behind it or include contact information, such as a website address.

Through inadvertence, the ad slipped through our (vetting) processes, Oliver said. I apologize to our readers for the error, as we hold ourselves to a standard that on this occasion we did not reach.

Torontos other three daily newspapers have so far not commented on the ads or whether they were vetted for content.

At the Star  as at most newspapers  the advertising and editorial departments are separate entities.

The group Vaughan Working Families has no online presence and there was no contact information for it in the print ads.

Its name is similar to Working Families, a coalition of unions that has been doing political advertising in Ontario since 2003. Working Families has said it is in no way, shape or form, affiliated with Vaughan Working Families and is considering legal action.

New Democrat MPP Taras Natyshak (Essex) has called for Elections Ontario to investigate whether the ads violate provincial campaign finance laws because they were placed during the byelection period in Ottawa-Vanier and Orleans. Votes will be held in those ridings on Feb. 27.

Toronto Catholic District School Board trustee Norm Di Pasquale formally complained to the industry group Ad Standards about the ads, which include a claim that teachers work about eight months of the year.

However, Ad Standards said it does not have jurisdiction in this case. As a self-regulatory body, we enforce the (Canadian) Code of Advertising Standards, which excludes political advertising, it said on Twitter.

We also do not have authority to investigate advertiser funding. However, we alerted the carrying media about the concerns shared to give voice to all concerned.

Green party Leader Mike Schreiner has said he is very suspicious that a group with no online presence that uses stock photos from Poland actually represents the parents of Vaughan, referring to a Press Progress report about the photo used in the ad.

How can a group that appears to have been created out of thin air afford full-page ad space in Canadas most-read newspapers? All signs point to something disingenuous at play, Schreiner said, adding, I urge the people behind these ads to be transparent about who they are.
Just when the country's 50 fee-paying schools thought their future was secure, along comes a new threat - three parties are now promising to abolish the 90m annual subsidy these schools get for teachers' salaries, and at least one of them is certain to be in the next government.

The manifestos for Sinn Fein, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party are much tougher on fee-paying schools than in the previous general election in 2016.

This will worry the surprisingly large number of Dublin middle-class parents who think that 'nice' Mary Lou McDonald deserves a chance in government to bring about change.

If she and party luminary Eoin O Broin get into government they will join a long list of Fine Gael and Labour ministers (including Leo Varadkar, Richard and John Bruton, Ruairi Quinn) who attended fee-paying schools - she went to Notre Dame in Churchtown before going to Trinity, while he studied in Blackrock College, the University of East London and Queen's Belfast. Will they become the 'posh radicals' of the next government who want to penalise their old schools?

Like everywhere else, the sector suffered during the recession. Many parents were unable to pay the full fees and schools had to write them off. A worsening of their pupil-teacher ratios during the Fine Gael-Labour coalition also left them nervous. But the return of 'boomier' times and the exit of Labour from government in 2016 gave them a new confidence.

Pupil numbers began climbing again, as did annual fees. Two out of three put up fees last September with an average rise of 165. A couple put them up by more than 400 a year and yet the demand for places continued to rise. Enrolments have risen from 25,403 last year to 25,684 in the current school year.

Some of the party promises will give their parents cause for concern again.

The biggest surprise about the recent opinion polls was not just Sinn Fein's rise, but the fact that one in seven in the AB class - middle and upper-middle classes - say they will vote for the party.

They might think again if they read the pledges, especially if they have children in fee-paying schools.

Some manifestos are well over 100 pages long but worth the read. In 2016, Sinn Fein said that subsidising private schools with millions in taxpayers' money was further entrenching educational inequalities and a two-tier system. This time round it says one of its education priorities is "ending public subsidies to private schools".

Some might quibble with what exactly the party means as strictly speaking all voluntary secondary schools are private and are (with one exception) subsidised by the State, but it is taken to mean the fee-paying sector.

The Social Democrats are much clearer when they promise to "seek an end to the State subsidy of fee-paying schools over the course of the next government".

No doubt about the intent there.

Nor is there in the Labour Party document, which largely ignored fee-paying schools in its 2016 manifesto.

This time round, the promise to "progressively remove State subsidies from the 7pc of secondary schools that are private fee-paying" is clear.

"Access to highly competitive university education is dominated by students from private schools who have an unfair advantage of having additional resources from fees combined with teachers whose salaries are paid by society as a whole," it says in its manifesto, which is mercifully shorter than some of the others.

Whether or not ending that subsidy would help Labour's aims of fostering excellence for all schools and opening up access to university is debatable.

It's quite possible and likely that the same social classes who dominate highly competitive courses would continue to do so.

Labour, of course, has history here. It sought drastic cuts to fee-paying schools in 2011 and 2012 but its demands were resisted by the dominant coalition partner, Fine Gael.

As an adviser to the then education minister Ruairi Quinn, I was approached by several schools worried about their continued existence. At one stage a dozen schools were 'kicking the tyres' about the benefits of the Free Education scheme and a handful did join.

We can predict how Fine Gael in government will react if this becomes an issue again, but if it's Fianna Fail in the driving seat what then? It's not a question that seems to have troubled that party too much over the years, but it may have to make its mind up in the near future.

The arguments for and against the subsidy are well rehearsed. Upholding privilege and inequality versus the pragmatic argument that the savings would be small as the teachers would still have to be paid if the schools joined the Free Education Scheme. Some would resist but they would have to charge very high fees to survive and would thus become even more elitist than they are at present.

Still, it could be worse. People Before Profit promises that in power it would take schools "into public ownership and put them under local democratic control". That would certainly upset St Michael's fee-paying school - which Richard Boyd Barrett attended - on Dublin's leafy Ailesbury Road.

Solidarity pledges to nationalise all Church lands which have services like schools or hospitals, but "with no compensation". Henry VIII, who seized Catholic Church lands in England in the 16th century, would have been pleased.
(L-R) Tom Steyer, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) listen as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) (3rd R) speaks during the Democratic presidential primary debate at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, on Jan. 14, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Democratic Debate: 7 Candidates to Take Stage in New Hampshire After Chaotic Iowa Caucuses

Seven Democratic presidential candidates will gather on a debate stage in New Hampshire on Feb. 7, four days before voters head to the polls to cast their ballots in the first-in-the-nation primary.

Candidates will try to sway voters with final arguments in an event that will likely include direct attacks among the contenders. Tensions are especially high because of the bungled Iowa Democratic caucuses, which still have no officially declared winner.

Ex-South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, 38, maintained a narrow lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), 78, with 100 percent of all precincts reported on Thursday night, but irregularities in the reporting process and talk of a recanvass stopped groups and news outlets from definitively declaring Buttigieg on top.

Former South Bend, Ind., mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington on Jan. 23, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks during a press conference at his New Hampshire campaign headquarters in Manchester on Feb. 6, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Like most candidates, the men traveled to New Hampshire after the Feb. 3 caucuses to meet with voters. The candidates who qualified for the debate were joined in the state by other contenders still in the race, two of whom have focused primarily on winning the first primary in the nation in the hope it would vault them into the spotlight.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), 38, and Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), 55, have struggled to gain traction in the polls, finishing with virtually no votes in Iowa. But they both have high hopes for New Hampshire, and could pose an additional challenge for more established candidates.

Bennet made plans late last year to hold 50 town halls in New Hampshire in the months leading up to the primary, making the case to voters for why hes the best candidate to beat President Donald Trump. He has a town hall on Friday shortly before the debate starts, and five more before the Tuesday primary.

Democratic presidential candidate former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks speaks to students after a town hall meeting at the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. on, Feb. 3, 2020. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) hosts a town hall meeting at the Keene Public Library in Keene, N.H. on Jan. 21, 2020. (Kristopher Radder/The Brattleboro Reformer via AP)

Gabbard has been surfing and snowboarding in New Hampshire since the New Year in addition to appearances at a number of more traditional events. As Ive traveled across the state, preparing for the first-in-the-nation primary next week, I am heartened by how Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and Libertarians are coming together at our town halls every day, working side by side to ensure our government is of the people, by the people, and for the peoplenot the powerful elite, she said in a statement last week.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, 63, has also been trying to drum up votes in New Hampshire.

Poor showings in the state could torpedo any of the campaigns.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 3, 2020. (Alex Edelman/Getty Images)

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) talks to media during a break in the closing arguments of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump in Washington on Feb. 3, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden wishes Barbara Moroney, of Rocky Point, N.Y., a happy 80th birthday on the phone during a campaign rally in Nashua, N.H. on Feb. 4, 2020. (Mary Altaffer/AP Photo)

Buttigieg and Sanders will be joined on the stage at 8 p.m. by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 70, former Vice President Joe Biden, 78, former tech executive Andrew Yang, 45, billionaire activist Tom Steyer, 62, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), 59.

The debate, held at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, will last for around three hours.

ABC Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos, a former Bill Clinton aide, will moderate, along with David Muir and Linsey Davis of ABC and WMUR-TV political director Adam Sexton. ABC will air the debate on television and an online livestream.

Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang speaks during a campaign event in Keene, New Hampshire on Feb. 5, 2020. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in an elevator during a break in the closing arguments of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 3, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer speaks to the New Hampshire Youth Climate and Clean Energy Town Hall at the Bank Of New Hampshire Stage in Concord, New Hampshire on Feb. 5, 2020. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)

The next debates are slated for Feb. 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Feb. 25 in Charleston, South Carolina.

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, 77, who announced his bid for the presidency late last year around the time Patrick did, may qualify for the Vegas debate after the Democratic National Committee eliminated one of two thresholds candidates needed to meet.

Bloomberg, a billionaire who has already spent hundreds of millions of his fortune on the race, has not made a debate stage yet.
Abstract

Vaccine hesitancy (the reluctance to accept recommended vaccines) is a complex issue that poses risk communication challenges for public health authorities and clinicians. Studies have shown that providing too much evidence on vaccine safety and efficacy to those who are vaccine-hesitant has done little to stem the growth of hesitancy-related beliefs and fears. The objective of this paper is to describe good practices in developing communication materials to address vaccine hesitancy.

An inventory of vaccination communication materials in Canada was assessed according to the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Health Product Risk Communication Evaluation (2015). Many of the current communication products could be improved to better align with evidence-based risk communication best practices. Five best practices were identified. First, identify target audience and establish trust. Second, provide both the risks and benefits of vaccination, as most people are looking for balanced information. Third, give the facts before addressing the myths. Fourth, use visual aids. Fifth, test communication material prior to launch.

Applying these best practices to current or future communication products will help vaccine providers (including physicians, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, public health professionals) to develop communication materials that are sensitive to the complex ways that people process and value information and thus more likely to optimize vaccine uptake in their communities.

Introduction

Studies have shown that providing evidence of vaccine safety and efficacy to those who are vaccine-hesitant has done little to stem the growth of hesitancy-related beliefs and fears. Previous research has shown that messaging that too strongly educates and advocates vaccination can be counterproductive for those who are already hesitantFootnote 1. Providing too much information can even generate hesitancyFootnote 2. To address this paradoxical effect of some communication material, research has been done on what communication techniques and strategies are most effective. Research evidence of what works (or not) in health risk communication has been compiled by Fischhoff and colleaguesFootnote 3 and endorsed as good practices by the Council of Canadian Academies Expert Panel on Health Product Risk Communication EvaluationFootnote 4. To explore how Canadian communication material reflects these best practices, we assessed an inventory of Canadian vaccination communication materials (websites, factsheets, posters, videos, etc.) using Fischhoffs good practicesFootnote 3.

Although the communication of information is one of the primary tools at the disposal of vaccine providers, information alone is unlikely to dramatically change vaccine acceptance. Given the amount of financial and human resources invested in developing and diffusing communication materials about vaccination, it is critical to optimize these tools to ensure that they work as intended. The objective of this paper is to describe good practices in developing communication materials to address vaccine hesitancy. This is the second of a series of articles, produced by the Canadian Vaccination Evidence Resource and Exchange Centre (CANVax), which include both the identification of existing resources and the creation of new resources by this group of multidisciplinary professionalsFootnote 5Footnote 6.

General observations

Our analysis showed that existing communication materials in Canada could be improved to better align with established best practices in risk communication. We found that most communication material focused on risks of vaccine-preventable diseases, the risks of adverse events and debunking common myths. The approaches used to debunk myths generally focused on the myth itself rather than the correct information. We found the information about risk was mainly qualitative (e.g. The risk of adverse events after immunization is small and The diseases we can prevent with vaccines can lead to pneumonia, deafness, brain damage, heart problems, blindness and paralysis in children who are not protected). Few of the materials used probabilities to quantify risks. When probabilities appeared, they were unidirectional (e.g. presenting only risk of diseases or number of cases in an outbreak) rather than bidirectional (e.g. presenting risk of diseases and risk of adverse events after immunization). Only a minority of the materials used graphics or videos.

We then did a limited scan of international materials and found that some communication tools that have been developed do meet best practices and could be adapted for Canadian parents (e.g. http://talkingaboutimmunisation.org.au/).

Best practices

Addressing vaccine hesitancy requires tailored strategies that are tested, evidence-informed and take into account that vaccine hesitancy is complex and context specific, varying across time, place and vaccine typeFootnote 7.

1. Identify target audience and establish trust

Understanding the perspectives of the people for whom immunization services are intended, and their engagement with the issue, wrote Goldstein and colleagues, is as important as the information that experts want to communicateFootnote 8. The amount, content and type of information that is needed to move a vaccine-hesitant individual toward vaccine acceptance differs greatly from the basic information needed by a person who is already favourable to vaccination and intends to vaccinate. Research has shown that vaccine-hesitant individuals are active information-seekers that are looking for balanced information presenting both pros and cons of vaccination in order to make an informed decision about vaccinesFootnote 9Footnote 10. Their information needs are usually not fulfilled with typical information from public health authorities, as this information generally does not usually provide references to scientific studies and is often perceived as focusing on the benefits of vaccines and not discussing the potential risks of vaccinesFootnote 7. Addressing those who are strongly anti-vaccines merit specific strategies. This is not the subject of the current paper but will be addressed in a future CANVax Brief.

A key factor influencing vaccination decision-making is trust in the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, in the system that delivers them, including the reliability and competence of the health services and health professionals, and in the motivations of the policy-makers who decide which vaccines are needed when and whereFootnote 11. Many studies have shown that vaccine hesitancy was not due to being uninformed or misinformed, but reflected a general distrust of doctors, government sources and/or pharmaceutical companiesFootnote 12Footnote 13Footnote 14. In this context, the perceived credibility of the institutions delivering the vaccination information often matters more than the information itselfFootnote 15, highlighting the importance of transparency and honestyFootnote 16. Presenting both the potential benefits and potential harms of vaccines is also key. Studies in other countries have shown this to be a promising approach for increasing vaccine acceptanceFootnote 17Footnote 18Footnote 19.

Research has shown that individuals, when faced with information that contradicts their values, can feel threatened and react defensively. This creates resistance, resulting in a strengthening of their initial beliefs and reducing the likelihood of engaging in the desired behavior (i.e. vaccination acceptance)Footnote 20. However, messages can be framed in ways that addresses patients values and promotes trustFootnote 21. For example, when human papilloma virus vaccination was framed as a cancer-prevention vaccination, less resistance was generated than when it was framed as a means to prevent a sexually transmitted infectionFootnote 22.

2. Provide both the risks and benefits of vaccination

Providing information about the risk and benefits of vaccination is not as simple as it might seemFootnote 3. When developing communication material, healthcare workers must be sensitive to the complex ways by which people process and value information. Do not assume that numbers will speak for themselves. How the message is developed is as important as the contentFootnote 23: while the content of the tools should be based on available scientific evidence, the development should be based on risk communicationFootnote 24.

Best practices arising from this literature review include providing data on risks and benefits of vaccination and providing critical qualitative information:

Providing numeric likelihood of risks and benefits of vaccination

Tools should clearly define both the risks and potential consequences of not being vaccinated (risks of vaccine-preventable diseases) and the risks of adverse events after vaccination. This should be done using not just words but also numbers. Keep denominators constant (e.g. one in 10,000; 25 in 10,000) and use whole numbers rather than fraction or decimalsFootnote 25Footnote 26.

Providing critical qualitative information

Material should not only present quantitative numeric information on vaccination risks and benefits, but should also provide qualitative information to present the evidence supporting these estimates. Focus on the critical information and why it is critical that people understand this information in order to make their vaccination decision. For example, people might not realize that their individual vaccination decision has an impact on herd immunity, or parents may not understand that postponing vaccination is an option.

3. Give facts; then address myths

One of the main objectives of most communication material on vaccination is to correct misconceptions about vaccination. But communication material needs to be carefully designed, as attempts to debunk a myth could actually reinforce itFootnote 20. When developing communication material, put the emphasis on the facts, not the myths. The common technique of headlining the vaccination myth in big, bold letters is not the best strategy, as people will remember the myth, not the fact. Instead, communicate the core fact in the headline, and then follow-up with an alternative explanation. When a myth is debunked, a gap in the persons mind is created. To be effective, the communication material must then fill that gap (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Addressing vaccination myths Text description: Figure 1 Figure 1: Addressing vaccination myths This figure notes the Dos and Donts addressing vaccination myths. The image has two columns; the right column are the Dos and on the left are the Donts. The Dos column starts with three points: Emphasize the fact Give alternative explanation to fill the gap Provide references concerning vaccination Immediately below these points are three questions and answers addressing a few vaccination myths: Question: What about autism? Answer: Many large studies have found that vaccines do not cause autism. Question: How do we know? Answer: Many good studies have compared the health of large numbers of vaccinated and unvaccinated children over many years and found that vaccinated and unvaccinated children were as likely to develop autism. (References to scientific studies). Question: Then what causes autism? Answer: It is not known exactly why some children develop autism. Current research suggest that autism has many causes. (References to scientific studies). The Donts column has three points: Emphasize the myth Give no alternative explanation for the potential causes of autism Use complex language Immediately below these points is a question and answer concerning a vaccination myth: Question: Do vaccines cause autism? Answer: Medical researchers and scientists around the world have NOT found a link between vaccines and autism. The study that had initially reported a link between the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine and autism was retracted in 2011. Evidence-based reviews have rejected any casual associations between the MMR vaccine and autism spectrum disorders in children. Figure 1 footnote Figure 1 - source Source: Adapted from http://adelaidephn.com.au/assets/What_autism.pdf

4. Use visual aids

Visual supports like infographics or video can enhance a persons understanding of complex risk information. Studies have shown that visual aids may help people to understand health risks, especially for those with low numeracy skillsFootnote 27Footnote 28. Visual aids include videos, pictures, icons array (i.e. a picture using one shape that is repeated a specific number of times, usually 10, 100 or 1,000, with some of the shapes altered, usually in a different color, to represent a proportion) or infographics (i.e. a combination of images and text to quickly summarize a large amount of information). Graphs can make numeric information easier to understand and pictographs are the best strategy for communicating both gist (meaning) and verbatim (exact details) knowledge (Figure 2).

Figure 2: A short introduction on vaccine safety by Immunize Canada Text description: Figure 2 Figure 2: A short introduction on vaccine safety by Immunize Canada The figure is a snapshot that was taken from a short video on vaccine safety. This is a video that is currently on YouTube by Immunization Canada. The figure has multiple multicultural cartoon characters to the bottom right with the words above the characters noting vaccination protects us from disease. Figure 2 footnote Figure 2 - source Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4N4_1PNtfk

5. Test communication prior to launching

It is important to test a communication material prior to launching to make sure it is working as intended for the target audience. The results might be surprising: a study showed that information given in frequency formats (e.g. one out of 10 infants will have a fever after a vaccination) were perceived as more risky than the same information conveyed in probabilistic terms (e.g. 10% of infants will have a fever after a vaccination)Footnote 27. Studies have also shown that as many as one out of two adults do not have the necessary skills to interpret probabilities and other mathematical conceptsFootnote 27Footnote 28.

Use communication material that is clear and easy to understand

Use simple language, short sentences and subheadings. Avoid dramatic language and derogatory comments that alienate people. It is important that numbers used are easy to understandFootnote 28.

Avoid the back-fire effect

For those who are strongly fixed in their views, being confronted with counter-arguments can cause their views to be strengthenedFootnote 29. Testing communication material is important, as even carefully crafted efforts to influence individuals holding factually incorrect beliefs can, in fact, reinforce these beliefsFootnote 29.

Conclusion

Risk messaging cannot be one-size-fits-all. Most people are seeking balanced information on vaccines when deciding whether to take them or not. People need to verify with their health care provider that there is misinformation on vaccines. People with strong antivaccination views may not change their minds, regardless of what the message is or how it is communicated, so short messaging may be all that is indicated. To address the spectrum of beliefs that contribute to vaccine hesitancy, communication materials need to be tailored and targeted to these different knowledge systems, and the unique information needs and preferences of particular communitiesFootnote 8Footnote 23. Updates on this issue will be published on the CANVax websiteFootnote 5.

Authors statement

ED  Conceptualization, supervision, writingoriginal draft

DG  Writingreview and editing

MV  Data curation, formal analysis, writingreview and editing

Conflict of interest

Dr. Dube reports grants from the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Quebec ministry of Health and Social services, le Fonds de recherche en Sante du Quebec, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Canadian Immunization Research Network, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Dr. Vivion reports grants from Canadian Public Health Association and from Canadian Immunization Research Network during the conduct of the study.

Funding

The analysis of communication material was supported by the Canadian Immunization Research Network under Grant 385094. The development of the CANVax Briefs are supported by the Immunization Partnerships Funds of the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Diversified developer Mirvac has snapped up the land that houses Nine Entertainment Co's headquarters at Willoughby on Sydney's north shore for $249 million.

Nine has been broadcasting from the 3.2 hectare site on Artarmon Road, often referred to as "the home of television", for 60 years.

A rendering of what the planned residential development for the Willoughby site will look like.

The deal comes with plans in place for a new development comprising 460 apartments, town houses and 6000 square metres of public space, similar to the property developer's Harold Park project in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Glebe.

As part of the sale, Mirvac will demolish the controversial transmission tower owned by TX Australia and repurpose that site.
I worked for Homestake for 12 years. Local taxpayers did not pay for the Whitewood Creek clean-up or the innovative biological process for water purification and Homestake was certainly not polluting "up to the end."

It is very refreshing that an elected body in South Dakota, the Rapid City Council, resolved to oppose mining exploration and operation. Thank you for protecting our water and environment.

All three schools I attended growing up in Kansas City are still in use. Im 73. Whats wrong with this picture? You take care of the facilities the taxpayers invested in and nourish their future just like you do the kids. Come up with a viable plan to work within current resources.

Kudos to the school districts maintenance team for doing the best they can with resources they have had. Its clear from the facilities tour that the buildings have been maintained well  some were just not built in great locations and have issues that couldnt be prevented even with regular maintenance.

In todays world, if you voice an opinion, you have offended someone.

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Goldman Sachs Group Inc plans to raise $8 billion in only its second buyout fund since the 2008 financial crisis, bolstering its ability to secure deals worldwide, said two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Undeterred by a coronovirus epidemic in China that has cast a shadow over the global economy, the Wall Street heavyweight will kick off the fundraising next week via its private equity arm West Street Capital Partners, said the people.

The fast-spreading virus is not seen as a hurdle to the fundraising as the bank is mainly targeting offshore, non-Chinese prospective investors, said one of the people.

It is aiming for a first close by the end of March - an important milestone indicating the fund has crossed a minimum threshold and can begin making investments, said the other person.

The new fund, substantially smaller than Goldman's biggest fund of $20 billion in 2007, underscored its commitment to the private equity business. Many banks, including Citigroup Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co , have spun out or divested their private equity arms in recent years following the adoption of the Volcker Rule, which limited banks from investing their own balance sheets in funds.

Private equity firms have also been raising record amounts of capital globally, with Blackstone Group, the world largest alternative asset manager, last year raising a record $26 billion for its latest buyout fund.

Goldman's new fund will focus on deals where it gets majority control, with the goal of deploying 60% of the capital in America, said the first person. It also plans to make about 25 investments in various sectors, with the deal size ranging between $150 and $600 million.

Like its last fund - West Street Capital Partners VII that raised about $7 billion in 2017 - the new fund will seek capital from both intuitional investors and the bank's own employees, said the person.

Goldman didn't respond to a request for comment. The sources declined to be identified as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

Goldman's private equity arm, established in 1986, has been managed by its merchant banking division. It has raised about $47 billion since inception across eight funds, according to industry data provider Preqin.

In 2016, the arm was named West Street Capital Partners, after Goldman's New York City address, to comply with a post-crisis rule that does not allow private equity funds to bear the parent bank's name.

It has generated a net internal rate of return (IRR), which deducts management fees, fund expenses and carried interest, of 19%, since 2000, according to the first person.

Its last fund has made investments including the $2.7 billion buyout of eye-care manager Capital Vision Services in 2019 and joined energy-focused peer Riverstone Holdings in the $1.6 billion acquisition of Lucid Energy Group's Delaware Basin unit, showed Preqin data.
District authorities here have asked the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) for the home addresses and other details of 58 students to serve them notices over the participation in anti-CAA agitation on the campus.

Police said the students had violated restrictions imposed under section 144 of the CrPC, which prevents gatherings of five or more people at a place.

Additional city Magistrate Ranjit Singh on Friday said, "Before issuing such notices, we need family details and hence, we want the university to send us the documents."



The notices will be served under section 107 of the CrPC (security for keeping peace).

When contacted, an AMU spokesman said, "I am not aware of this matter and awaiting details."



The varsity was closed early for winter vacations from December 16 last year, a day after students clashed with police during a protest against the contentious Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) on campus.

The university was to reopen on January 6 but the vacation was extended owing to persisting tension over the changes in the citizenship law.

Students have been boycotting classes seeking the withdrawal of "false cases" against those who took part in protests against the CAA on December 15.

On February 1, AMU officials had said that there was a "marked improvement" in attendance in all faculties.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Preemptive measures are in place to deal with the threat posed by coronavirus in Jammu and Kashmir, a senior government official said on Friday, asserting that people, who have arrived from China, have been screened and were found to be asymptomatic.

Financial Commissioner, Health and Medical Education Department, Atal Dulloo also advised the officers to be extra vigilant and follow the established protocol in handling all suspected cases.

"The suspected cases so far in Jammu and Kashmir have tested negative and have been advised home quarantine," Dulloo said at a meeting of senior functionaries and health officials here. He reviewed the preemptive measures taken by the Health and Medical Education Department to deal with coronavirus threat.

The measures taken include establishment of isolation wards, stocking of Personal Protection Equipment, N95 masks, triple-layer masks, hand sanitizers, while the sample of suspected cases would be sent outside the Union Territory for testing.

"Proper care needs to be taken to avoid intermingling of suspected cases, if any," he directed the officers concerned, while asking them to keep a close watch on the patients with matching symptoms and strictly follow the standard operating procedure (SOP).

He also issued directions to the officers for collection of samples from the suspected cases at the Medical Colleges of Anantnag, Baramulla, Doda, Rajouri and Kathua, besides other established facilities.

"The samples should be sent for testing as soon as they are collected to prevent any unnecessary delay," he said.

Dulloo also asked the Chief Medical Officers to keep isolation wards ready with all the machinery and manpower in place to face any eventuality.

Noting that the situation is to be closely and regularly monitored by the officers on a daily basis, the Financial Commissioner stressed on spreading community awareness with surveillance and also stressed on training of medical officers and paramedical staff to intimate them about the SOPs.

The meeting was informed that more space is being identified and isolation wards have been made ready to handle suspected cases, an official spokesman said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Absolutely, Meydi will stay here in Crystal Lake with my family and me, Huser said. I will definitely make sure she gets to her court hearings and does what she needs to do to obtain permanent residency. Returning to Honduras and to the violence that she fled is just not an option, if there's anything I can do about it.
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 12:13 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631f2ae 1 SE Asia diplomatic-relations,Singapore,Halimah-Yacob,UGM,Indonesia Free

Singaporean President Halimah Yacob has voiced her desire for youths in Singapore and Indonesia to strengthen people-to-people ties, especially by maintaining good relations and joining hands to overcome global issues together.

We are in a time of global challenges, such as economic uncertainty, climate change, health and threats of terrorism, Halimah said during a visit to Gadjah Mada University (UGM) in Yogyakarta on Thursday.

Halimah said she believed Indonesia had maintained good diplomatic ties with Singapore but hoped for the two Southeast Asian countries to expand collaboration in other areas.

In the digital revolution, there are many areas in which we could collaborate, such as e-commerce and artificial intelligence, she said.

UGM rector Panut Mulyono concurred with Halimah, saying that youths in Singapore and Indonesia needed to learn from one another.

Indonesia is a big market for Singapore and natural laboratories. The younger generation in Singapore cannot afford to ignore Indonesia, she said during a dialogue session themed Singapore and Indonesia: Strengthening Bridges and Progressing Together at UGM.

Read also: Indonesia, Singapore reaffirm economic, people-to-people relations

Students in Singapore and Indonesia need to be aware that we have promising developments in our region that require their attention, he added.

Aside from discussing collaboration prospects, Halimah also shared insight on corruption eradication and maintaining harmony between people from diverse cultural backgrounds in her country.

Halimah said a cultural approach was needed to eradicate corruption.

We need to take this as an important lesson since Indonesia tends to prioritize legal approaches rather than cultural ones when it comes to this matter, said UGMs vice rector for cooperation and alumni, Paripurna P. Sugarda, who moderated the dialogue session.

Thursday marked Halimah's second visit to UGM following her visit to the university on November 2012.

The Singaporean president visited Yogyakarta after meeting with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo earlier on Tuesday, during the occasion of which the two engaged in bilateral talks at Bogor Palace in West Java.

Halimah arrived in Yogyakarta on Wednesday and was welcomed by Yogyakarta Governor Hamengkubuwono. (dpk)
EDWARDSVILLE  Police arrested one person and charged a total of four, furthering an investigation into more than 200 vehicle burglaries in Madison, Macoupin and Jersey counties.

Three men, all from Granite City, were charged with a count of stolen vehicle possession. Also charged was an unidentified juvenile, whose charges were not clear.

One of the men, Sean A. Breeden, 18, is in custody at the Madison County Jail after being charged with five counts of burglary, according to the Madison County Sheriff's Office. Shane M. Carney, 18, was charged with 12 counts of burglary, and Timothy D. Sunderland, 21, was charged with 11 counts of burglary.

Only Breeden was in custody.

The investigation, which included help from many surrounding departments, began in mid- to late January after authorities noticed an increase in burglaries in the Prairietown, Godfrey and Granite City areas.
The Mayreau Microgrid Solar Project is in its final stage, which is the testing and commissioning of the solar photovoltaic (PV) and Battery Storage system. St. Vincent Electricity Services Limited (VINLEC) and the Rocky Mountain Institute - Carbon War Room (RMI-CWR) partnered on this initiative which introduced renewable energy for electricity generation on that Grenadine island.





This project is consistent with one of VINLECs strategic objectives to expand renewable generation in St. Vincent and Grenadines. The installation comprises of a 100kW solar PV system that converts sunlight into electricity, a 216 kWh batteries system which stores energy produced for use at a strategic time (to boost economy, reliability or and quality of supply) and several inverters that convert battery power (dc) to utility power (ac) and manage the operations of all including that of the diesel generators. The combined generation infrastructure is termed a solar/battery/diesel hybrid system.





The Mayreau hybrid generation project is expected to have a significant impact on electricity generation on the island. On site, there are 313 solar panels that will produce conservatively 164,049 kWh(units) of electric energy per year which equates to a 28% renewable energy penetration on the islands grid based on recent demands. Every unit of energy produced from an RE resource reduces the amount of fuel transported, handled and utilized in that fragile and pristine environment. The cost of maintenance is reduced in that there is no degradation of expensive moving parts and less trips needed to the site. The project was empirically designed to withstand a class five (5) hurricane and has a lifespan over 20 years. Lessons learnt from the impact of resent storms on similar regional projects were implemented in the racking and mounting of the panels on this project.





The testing stage commenced in mid-January and will resume next Wednesday, February 12th. Commissioning Engineer from SMA Solar Technology AG, Mr. Heiko Stieber along with Engineers and Technical staff from VINLEC will be on site to manage the process.





Mayreau is the smallest of the Grenadine islands with an area of approximately 3.9 square kilometers.





VINLECs generation plant, which is located in Saline Bay, was commissioned in 2003 and serves one hundred and thirty-three customers. The demand for electricity on the island is low and a new project can have significant impact on the electricity system. There was a 23% increase in the all-time peak demand during the recent Christmas holidays. Battery storage and higher PV penetration projects are being contemplated for Bequia and St. Vincent to act in conjunction with yields from geothermal production.

(Source: VINLEC)
'Bulli Bai' app case: Mumbai police arrest one more student, 3 held so far

Mumbai cops arrest 2 people for rape, murder of woman in Santacruz

India

oi-Mousumi Dash

Mumbai, Feb 07: The Mumbai police arrested two people for allegedly raping and murdering a woman in Santacruz area of Mumbai, Maharashtra on Friday. A case also has been registered under relevant sections, further investigation is underway.

In recent times several incidents of crime against women have been reported in Maharashtra.

On Thursday, Mumbai's railway police arrested Raijur Habibur Khan who was accused of molesting women on a railway bridge in Matunga area in the country's commercial capital. The CCTV footage showed Raijur molested women on the bridge in Mumbai's Matunga. He was seen touching and kissing women on the bridge.

Earlier, a 25-year-old woman teacher was set ablaze by a stalker in Maharashtra's Wardha district, the woman remains critical so far. In another incident, a 50-year-old woman was assaulted and set ablaze in her home by a beer bar owner in Andhari village of Maharashtra.

Maha atrocity against women: Man throws inflammable liquid on a woman for rape complaint

In another shocking incident on Wednesday a woman suffered eyes injury after a man allegedly threw inflammable substance on her as she refused to withdraw a rape complaint against him at Mira Road in Maharashtra's Thane district.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

Such horrific and shameful incidents in Mumbai yet again raise question at women safety in India.
Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson on Friday pulled out of international industry event GSMA Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 due to outbreak of novel coronavirus across several countries and continued spreading of the infection.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic has risen to 636 with 73 new mortalities reported, mostly from the worst-affected Hubei province, while the total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000.

"Following the outbreak and continued spreading of the novel coronavirus, Ericsson has closely monitored the development and adhered to recommendations from relevant national authorities and international bodies, such as the WHO. After an extensive internal risk assessment, Ericsson has decided to take further precautionary measures by withdrawing from MWC Barcelona 2020, the largest event in the telecom industry," Ericsson said in a statement.

The infection has spread to 25 countries, including in Spain, where the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2020 is scheduled to start from February 24.

Ericsson is one of the leading telecom companies that participates in MWC at a significant scale.

"The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly. We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is unfortunate but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year's event," Ericsson President and CEO Borje Ekholm said.

E-mail query sent to the GSM Association elicited no immediate reply.

"Ericsson appreciates that GSMA have done everything they can to control the risk. However, as one of the largest exhibitors, Ericsson has thousands of visitors in its hall each day and even if the risk is low, the company cannot guarantee the health and safety of its employees and visitors," Ericsson said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Multiple award-winning Ghanaian film director, Peter Sedufia has said lack of distributors has been the cause of Ghanaian movies poor appearance on on popular US movie streaming site Netflix.



According to the Away Bus movie producer, the lack of effective movie producers has been the bane of the movie industry. Peter Sedufia sealed a deal to have two of his films on the popular US movie streaming site.



The movies, Keteke and Side Chic Gang made its first appearance on Friday, January 31, 2020. Speaking to MzGee on Showbuzz on 3FM92.7, the talented Creative Writer explained that Nigerian movies were more succesful on Netflix due to their larger market.



Our main challenge as Ghanaian movie producers is distribution. And if you dont have a distributor too you cant be selling to Netflix on your own. We lacked the avenues of getting our movies there all these years hence our no show, He explained



Adding that: Ghanaians are not afraid of putting their movies on Netflix. Some Ghanaians are very daring. Its just that Netflix is also a business entity and they are interested in the numbers. Nigeria has a bigger market thats why they are more successful with having movies there. For a very long time, Ghana has lacked a good distribution network.



Keteke which was released in March 2018 cast Edwin Acquah, Fred Nii Amugi, Adjetey Anang, Lydia Forson, Jeneral Ntatia, Edmund Onyame, Joseph Otsi, Raymond Sarfo and comedian Clemento Suarez.



In December 2018, Keteke represented Ghana at the annual Khouribja Africa Festival in Morocco, where it received the Jury Special Mention Prize.



Peters second movie on Netflix is Sidechic Gang is a Ghanaian drama/comedy movie that tells a story of three female friends who quit their jobs as ushers to set up a new business sidechic gang.



The cast included Nana Ama McBrown, Lydia Forson, Adjetey Anang, Bernard Nyarko, Sika Osei, Adjetey Anang, Eddie Kufour and Akofa Edjeane.



In 2018, the movie was nominated for five awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Comedy and Best Achievement In Sound.

Source: Mzgeegh.com









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Friday, February 7th, 2020 (12:51 pm) - Score 2,014

Fibre optic UK broadband ISP Trooli (CallFlow), which last year secured 30m from European investors (here) and extended their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to reach 10,000 homes and businesses (mostly in Kent and Hampshire), has today gained a further 5m of funding via a senior facility agreement with NatWest Bank.

So far most of their initial build has occurred around Kings Hill, Kate Reed Wood, Paddock Wood and Hawking in Kent, as well as Ropley and Bramdean in Hampshire. Later this was followed by another expansion into West Malling, Leybourne, Ryarsh and Coxheath across Kent.

However the operator aims to grow their network to 150,000 premises passed by around mid-2022 and, if all goes to plan, then their long-term ambition is to reach 500,000 by the end of 2025. The new funding is predominantly expected to assist their roll-out across Kent in England.

Ashley Atkins, CFO for Trooli, said: Were extremely passionate about rolling out our Full Fibre network to as many communities in Kent as possible and providing the broadband speeds they deserve. Demonstrating the ability to deliver against our business plan was a critical factor in gaining the confidence of the NatWest Structured Finance team. It is testament to the hard work of the whole Trooli team that we have secured this investment at such an early stage in the companys growth plan. I would also like to thank Acuity Partners for their support through this process.

Ian Mason, Relationship Director for NatWest, said: At NatWest, we are passionate about helping British businesses to prosper, and in turn to provide our regional communities with greater connectivity. With Trooli, we have not only found a business that is in a great position to succeed but one that will provide a real benefit to residents and business owners in Kent. We look forward to working with Trooli to help them deliver their business plan, whilst connecting thousands of new customers across Kent to Full Fibre broadband.

At present Troolis packages tend to cost from 50 inc. VAT per month for an unlimited 300Mbps service and this rises to 80 for 900Mbps+ (one-off installation charges range from 80 for self-install to 120 for a Trooli install). However theyll need to raise significantly more investment to achieve that ambition of 500,000 premises, but theyre off to a good start.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

A 40-year-old Finance Offcer of the Bagabaga College of Education, Mr Francis Tingoti Kombong has upon declaring his intention to contest the Bunkpurugu constituency as Parliamentary Candidate, picked a nomination form to enter the race.

Tingoti, who is native of Najong No. 1 says he is motivated by his desire to serve his people having demonstrated same as an elected Assembly Member for two terms in the Nanjong area.

Speaking to the Voiceless Media in Tamale, Mr Tingoti told our correspondent how he nursed the Constituency for which reason he finds himself fit for the position of MP.

According to the aspirant, he has served the party in several capacities from 1996 to date.

Tingoti revealed that, he started party work as polling agent in major elections. "I was the NPP agent in 2000 at the Najong No. 1 Primary School A and Dong-Laar-Gberuk Polling Station in 2004" Tingoti said.

The Aspiring Parliamentary Candidate was also the Campaign Coordinator for the Binde / Najong Zone in 2008 with Lawyer Dubik Mahama as Parliamentary Candidate.He has been a member of the Council of Patrons of the NPP in the Bunkpurugu constituency since 2009 to date. In 2012 and 2016, Tingoti served as a polling and counting agent at the Constituency Collation Centre.

On his key achievements in the Bunkpurugu area, Tingoti said he has Committed enormous resources financially and logistically in the Bunkpurugu Constituency. He said, " I sponsored the education of many students and constructed Pavilions in Binde, Najong No 2. I also donated in constructing same in many parts of the Constituency. As a key member of the 2012 and 2016 NPP candidate's campaign team, I supported and adopted polling stations in 4 Electoral Areas of the Constituency".

He told the *Voiceless Media* that he will bring his experience and network home and abroad in finance, local governance and integrated development to bear on the transformation of the area, something he has been doing over the years.

Tingoti will be contesting with the North East Regional Minister and MP for Bunkpurugu, Hon Solomon Boar.

Voiceless Media will keep an eye on the Constituency and bring to our readers developments from area before, during and after the Parliamentary Primaries slated for 25th April 2020.

----The Voiceless Media
The Washington Post confirmed that Donald Trump has issued 15,413 false or misleading statements, and that was only as of last December 16; and now it appears he was just winding up.

Republican strategist Rick Wilson declares with painful accuracy that everything Trump touches dies  he has managed to destroy the former truthful inclinations of that partys leadership. Whereas they once stressed his obvious unfitness for the presidency, they have devolved into hypocrites, and worse than that, mouthpieces for a KGB-schooled tyrant named Vladimir Putin.

HBO issued a warning through its miniseries CHERNOBYL, emphasizing in compelling detail the deceitful nature of Soviet politics and how costly it proved to be to the entire world: the death toll was approaching one-quarter million in 2018. The KGB, with Vladimir Putin in a position of command, bears much of the blame for the humanitarian disaster that followed. Not only did HBO warn us of the dangers in mishandling nuclear radiation, it showed us how devastating dishonesty on the government level can be.

A real-life agent in the tragedy, Valery Legasov, closes the miniseries with observations that need to be shared with the American voters, particularly those filled with anger and resentment and apparently willing to lie to themselves:

I lied to the world . . . we were following orders. From the KGB, the Central Committee . . . our lies. Theyre practically what define us. Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid.

John S. Sultzbaugh, Washington Township, Dauphin County
The success of AAP's Mohalla Clinics in Delhi has brought its own set of problems, one being that the clinics probably never anticipated nor were designed to cater to a large number of patients

Having garnered international appreciation from the likes of former UN Secretary Generals Kofi Annan and Ban Ki-moon for its accessibility and effectiveness, compared to healthcare in general in India which is ranked at a lowly 145 on the global healthcare access and quality (HAQ) index, the incumbent AAP government of Delhi is inevitably using his governments healthcare initiatives as one of its major electoral campaign planks.

With the AAP government making education and health its top priorities, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal launched several schemes to provide free medicines, diagnostics and several life-saving surgeries through a three-tiered network of Mohalla Clinics, Polyclinics and Hospitals. The Mohalla Clinics, which function as primary healthcare centres, charge no fees and have been set up at 158 locations across the city, each staffed by a doctor, pharmacist and clinic assistant and are located in portacabins or rented premises. Renowned cardiac surgeon and founder of Narayana Health, Dr Devi Prasad Shetty, visited a mohalla clinic in Todapur and expressed amazement at the facilities provided.

While some clinics work from 8 am to 2 pm, those with double shifts are running between 7 am and 1 pm and 1 pm to 7 pm with two different sets of staff members, including doctors, said a health department official. The clinics, functional on all days except Sunday, provide basic medical care for common illnesses like fever, diarrhoea, skin problems, respiratory problems, first aid for injuries and burns, dressing and management of minor wounds and referral services. It also allows 212 types of lab tests by the empanelled laboratories. The clinics also provide medicine free of cost.

Deepak who sells bread in Mayur Vihar was bitten by a dog and was treated free at the nearby Mohalla Clinic in the East Delhi colony of Trilokpuri, where two such clinics are located. I found their treatment good and was given free medication. The only problem is one has to spend a lot of time waiting for his turn, said Deepak.

These clinics are now providing primary healthcare to previously unserved communities. Diagnosis, medicines and tests are all free of cost in Mohalla Clinics. But success brings with it some problems. The clinics probably never anticipated nor were designed to cater to a large number of patients that visit them to avail of the free treatment. According to available figures, at least over 200 to 300 persons visit these clinics, located near lower-income colonies, daily.

Detailed coverage of Delhi Assembly Election 2020

Though we have to wait in a long queue for our turn to be checked by the doctor, it is better than spending money at a private clinic where apart from the charges by the doctor which sometimes is almost about Rs 300 for every visit, the cost of medicine is also equally high and we spend almost all our earnings on healthcare, said Deepa, who works as a maid in one of the housing societies in Mayur Vihar Extension.

As of now, the Mohalla Clinics and polyclinics are functioning only at 10 to 15 percent capacity, but once fully functional they will help de-congest government hospitals, said officials. Delhis government hospitals currently have to cope with huge numbers of patients. In 2016, these hospitals registered 3 crore OPDs which went up to 4 crore in 2017.

We will cover at least 5 crore OPDs, said Delhi health minister Satyendra Jain. We are providing free of cost medicines and tests, so many are coming from nearby states as well. The increase in OPDs itself shows that the services have been enhanced. For example, the Delhi government has tied up with certain private labs which conduct MRI, PET scans and ultrasounds for free for poor citizens. Till now, over 5,000 scans are conducted in these labs per month.

The AAP government also launched 23 polyclinics, with a target of 150 such polyclinics that offer specialised diagnosis and treatment to poor patients for free. This, in turn, is expected to reduce the out-patient burden on government hospitals enabling them to focus on quality in-patient care.

We are taking measures to reduce the burden on government hospitals while simultaneously ensuring timely treatment for patients, said Jain. Referring to the Mohalla Clinics, Jain said the cost of construction of 1,000 mohalla clinics is estimated at Rs 200 crore and its operation per year will cost Rs 400 crore. For the existing 158 clinics, the operation cost comes to around Rs 30 crores yearly.

Transformation of government hospitals

The Delhi government runs 38 full-fledged hospitals across the city including the Janakpuri Super Speciality Hospital, Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital, Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital and Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital. Over the last two years, the government has significantly improved conditions in these hospitals. The state has made all medicines, tests and surgeries at these hospitals completely free.

Further, if patients who are residents of Delhi are waitlisted for a life-threatening surgery at a Delhi government hospital for more than 30 days, the hospital refers the patient to any one of its 31 private centres and 57 empanelled private hospitals, which treats the patient for free within 15 days. For the first time, even expensive tests like CT scans and MRIs are being conducted for free. We lay emphasis on health and education, there will be no dearth of funds for this scheme, said Kejriwal. The cost of these procedures, for which no upper limit has been set, will be paid by the Delhi government.

As part of the expansion process, about 1,016 surgical, 123 oncology and 10 neonatal procedures and six medical packages are now part of the 86 surgeries already covered under the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK). This includes implants as well as treatment for vector-borne diseases. Also, the AAP governments Farishte Dilli Ke scheme ensures that regardless of domicile or income status, anyone can be taken to any hospital (public or private) in case of an accident and the government will pay for the entire treatment.

As one beneficiary of the health facility of the Delhi Government said: We were referred to a speciality hospital and the Delhi government reimbursed the entire amount of Rs 1 lakh for surgery.

However, several private doctors approached by this correspondent refrained from commenting on the health scheme. It is controversial and dont want to say anything, said one doctor, while another said I dont know the full scheme so would not like to say anything about it.

Private hospitals too did not respond to queries.

The administration runs other schemes under the Delhi Arogya Kosh that incorporate private healthcare providers (1,155 surgeries and procedures, as well as 133 diagnostic tests, can be availed cashless in private empanelled facilities). There are plans to open six new government hospitals, while the government has more than doubled the bed capacity of existing hospitals by upgrading infrastructure and diagnostic and treatment facilities. All citizens of Delhi are currently entitled to free medicines, OPD, lab tests and hospitalisation at the state-run healthcare facilities, with cashless referrals to private providers when required.

According to figures given out by Satyendra Jain, till the end of June 2019, a total of 1,34,609 patients had benefitted from the scheme for free diagnostics facilities like MRI, CT, PET CT, Nuclear, USG and Doppler, Mammography, at 23 empanelled private labs. Also, 4,654 patients received cardiac, urinary, general, eye and ENT surgeries, and lap-cholecystectomy among other treatments. Further, 2,938 road accident victims and one acid attack victim were treated free from 15 February, 2018, to 30 June, 2019. The Delhi government bears the cost of treatment at many multi-speciality hospitals in the city, added Jain.

The Delhi government announced an allocation of Rs 7,485 crore for the health sector in its budget, with Rs 588 crore being proposed for construction of new hospitals and re-modelling of existing ones. Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia presented a Rs 60,000 crore budget for 2019-20 in the Delhi Assembly laying emphasis on education, health and transport.

I propose a total outlay of Rs 7,485 crore on the health sector for 2019-20. This includes revenue budget of Rs 6,462 crore and capital budget of Rs 1,023 crore. An amount of Rs 3,737 crore is earmarked for implementation of various health schemes, programmes and projects, he had said.

The Delhi government has also said that given the health care initiatives it has taken, there is no need for it to implement the Centres Ayushman Bharat scheme, something the Union Health Ministry disagrees with.

This claim is baseless, said Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare. All your fancy schemes await implementation. Your Mohalla Clinics too are an utter flop, he said. That, however, is not a sentiment with which many Delhiites agree.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court refused to entertain a plea which alleged that the AAP governments health scheme, being implemented by the Delhi Arogya Kosh (DAK), was discriminatory as only residents of Delhi have access to it. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar questioned the manner in which the petition was drafted. Such petitions are filed just to make it a sensational matter. This is a Publicity Interest Litigation, the bench observed.

This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative
Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking a stay on the release of the movie 'Shikara' which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.

The film which hit theatres today has Vidhu Vinod Chopra at the helm and narrates the story of the mass exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in 1990 that forced lakhs to flee their homeland almost overnight following a genocidal campaign by militants.

Shot primarily in the Valley, the movie is being promoted mainly as a journey of love between the lead couple.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / Compare-autoinsurance.org has released a new blog post that explains how to compare car insurance prices and track the best deals on the insurance market.

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Make a list of available discounts . Drivers can get access to a series of discounts, but only if they meet the conditions. Policyholders can benefit of discounts for safety equipment, making no claims for several years, being a loyal customer or accessing multi-vehicle programs. Be on the lookout for offers that provide discounts for newcomers and analyze long-term benefits. A really good newcomers' bonus does not always guarantee a good long-term investment.

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President Uhuru Kenyatta yesterday held a meeting with US president Donald Trump at the White House.

This came on the backdrop of news that the worlds largest economy will sign a trade agreement with Kenya, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa and only the second in the continent after Morocco.

Previously, the US has been dealing with blocks of countries instead of a single one.

Trump has established himself as a trade agreements president, and has so far ripped apart historical deals the US had with other countries that he felt were not favouring them, and made new ones.

According to the US trade office, the Kenya deal will be used as a model for other countries in Africa. Under President Trumps leadership, we look forward to negotiating and concluding a comprehensive, high-standard agreement with Kenya that can serve as a model for additional agreements across Africa, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.

Uhurus meeting with Trump is his second in 2 years. He becomes only the first sub-Saharan Africa president to be invited to the White House twice by this administration. His visit happened just a day after Trump was acquitted by the senate in his impeachment trial.

Here are photos from the White House.
During Stephen Bieguns ceremonial swearing in as the No. 2 official at the State Department, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldnt help but gently rib him about his popularity in Washington.

Biegun, Pompeo noted, was confirmed by the Senate on 90-3 vote, a sign of the widespread, and bipartisan, respect for the secretarys new deputy. Pompeo, on the other hand, squeaked by on a 57-42 vote, with numerous Democrats arguing he didnt deserve to be the chief U.S. diplomat.

Pompeos quip got plenty of laughs, according to three people familiar with the Jan. 17 ceremony. But it also spoke to a larger point: Many inside and outside the State Department are looking to Biegun as the man who can repair some serious rifts in Washington.

Those rifts include the widening gulf between Pompeo and the career Civil and Foreign Service employees he leads, many of whom are unhappy with his handling of the Ukraine scandal that prompted President Donald Trumps impeachment. It also includes the growing chasm between Pompeo and Democrats on Capitol Hill, many of whom view him as a partisan warrior concerned above all with keeping the president happy.

Biegun may be that rare bird in Washington capable of smoothing over, if not eliminating, the tensions. According to several current and former U.S. officials, Biegun is already making moves designed to present himself as both a healer and a risk-taker. Hes signaled that he wants to play a role in Ukraine policy  a near-toxic issue now at the State Department  and openly praised the rank and file.

He has an enormous amount of good will and credibility coming into this position, said Heather Conley, a former official in the George W. Bush administration. But, of course, he comes in at an incredibly difficult moment.

The 56-year-old Biegun has served in an array of roles in both the public and private sector, including as the executive secretary of the National Security Council during the second Bush administration.

Story continues

He joined the Trump administration first as a special envoy for North Korea, leaving behind his job as vice president of international governmental relations for Ford Motor Company. His online State Department bio says he has excelled in tough negotiating settings, although hes had little luck with the exceptionally tricky North Korea portfolio.

Biegun was officially sworn in as deputy secretary on Dec. 21 of last year. He took over from John Sullivan, a well-liked figure who was often seen a stabilizing force at the State Department but one with limited influence on Pompeo or Trump. Sullivan is now the U.S. ambassador to Russia.

In a Jan. 21 email to staffers, Biegun wrote that his number one priority is supporting the people of the Department of State, and that he wants the department to take care of, grow, and retain talent.

But the carefully worded missive also contained a subtle warning. While Biegun praised career employees, he also urged them to uphold an ethos statement unveiled by Pompeo months earlier and made clear that he was working in tandem with the secretary.

And while he stressed the importance of Americas international alliances, which Trump has dismissed in more than one way, he also mentioned the need to advance the interests of the United States  a line in tune with Trumps America First foreign policy vision.

Biegun further wrote that he wanted to hear staffers views, whether picking up a sandwich in the departments cafeteria or dropping by staff meetings in the various bureaus. Former and current department officials say hes definitely shown up in the cafeteria, always a signal that youre a man of the people at Foggy Bottom.

One person Biegun has met in the cafeteria was Eric Rubin, the president of the diplomats union, the American Foreign Service Association. Among other things, the union wants him to push Pompeo to appoint more career staffers to leadership roles and ambassadorships.

The dearth of career employees in positions such as assistant secretaries has contributed to the tensions between career staffers and Trumps political appointees. Those tensions have spiked due to Pompeos unwillingness to publicly defend U.S. diplomats caught in the impeachment scandal.

Top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine William Taylor arrives to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in Washington on Nov. 13, 2019.

One of those diplomats was William Taylor, the top U.S. official at the American Embassy in Kyiv who also testified in the impeachment inquiry. Pompeo ordered Taylor out of Ukraine before he visited the country last month. Taylor, however, attended Bieguns ceremonial swearing in at the departments headquarters, a person familiar with the event confirmed.

Brett Bruen, an outspoken former U.S. diplomat who now leads Global Situation Room, a strategic communications firm, said Foreign Service officers know that Biegun is limited in what he can accomplish. Still, they hope that he can act as a strain that tries to filter out the wackiest ideas from Pompeo, Trump and others in the administration.

Some career State Department staffers say they might have higher hopes for Biegun if Pompeo leaves and Biegun takes over as the acting secretary. Many expected that would happen as Pompeo mulled running for a Kansas Senate seat. But the secretary has ruled out that run and appears likely to stay at State for the foreseeable future.

A former George W. Bush administration official who has worked with Biegun warned career staffers that they might rue the day they lose Pompeo. After all, Pompeo retains Trumps ear and confidence, despite running a department viewed by many Republicans as a liberal bastion.

Biegun doesnt have that sort of access to or influence on Trump, and hes not a confrontational person. Given Trumps tendency to go by his instinct and ignore outside counsel, Biegun as acting secretary would be uniquely powerless, the former official predicted.

At the end of the day hes constrained by the fact that hes working in the Trump administration, too, the former official said. In the Trump administration you need to pick your battles carefully.

Biegun did not respond to a request for an interview.

He has indicated in private settings that he wants to get involved in Ukraine policy, a highly sensitive topic given its role in Trumps impeachment, current and former U.S. diplomats say.

Ambassador Kurt Volker, former special envoy to Ukraine, arrives to testify before the House Intelligence Committee in Washington on Nov. 19, 2019.

In particular, hes eyeing the duties once assigned to Kurt Volker, the former special envoy who was tasked with trying to end Ukraines war with Russia in the Donbass region. Volker quit that position as Democrats impeachment inquiry ramped up, testifying in the process and handing over a key set of texts that were particularly damaging to Trump.

In a recent op-ed, Volker urged Pompeo to name Biegun as the point person for Ukraine negotiations. Others in the foreign policy establishment have echoed that recommendation. Because the U.S. at present does not have an ambassador in Kyiv, theres a leadership vacuum on that issue.

Biegun is unlikely to take on a formal Ukraine-related title. But he has experience and many contacts in that part of the world; in the 1990s, he worked in Moscow for the International Republican Institute, a democracy building organization funded by the U.S. government. He studied Russian while attending the University of Michigan.

Biegun also intends to keep the portfolio hed earlier had under Trump: U.S. special representative for North Korea. Hes held that position since August 2018, and U.S. officials says it makes sense for him to retain it given how long hes worked to learn the issues and build connections in the region.

That being said, despite three face-to-face meetings between Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the U.S. has made no real progress in convincing North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.

The North Koreans prefer to deal directly with Trump, making the job of the special representative near-impossible, no matter who holds it. Theres some hope that Bieguns elevation to deputy secretary might entice Pyongyang to take him more seriously, but observers say its unlikely to make much difference.

But theres one Trump adversary Biegun might have more success in dealing with: the Democrats in Congress.

That relationship has long been sour under Pompeo, who has been unable  or unwilling  to shed his image on the Hill as a highly partisan congressman from Kansas. His refusal to hand over State Department documents and attempts to block witnesses during the impeachment inquiry has only deepened anger against him.

More recently, hes rebuffed requests to testify on the Hill on non-impeachment issues.

Current and former U.S. diplomats say Pompeo should dispatch Biegun as often as possible to the Hill to help right the relationship. Thats especially the case in the House, which is controlled by Democrats. Just this week, Biegun helped brief lawmakers on the U.S. response to the coronavirus outbreak.

At this point, I would send the local dogcatcher to the Hill rather than Pompeo, one ex-diplomat said.


The Ambassador of Philippines to India, Ramon S Bagatsing, Jr, said on Friday that there is need to strengthen people-to-people contact between the two countries to promote soft diplomacy.

He also called for visits by more Indian tourists to Philippines for which an MoU between the tourism departments of the two countries is necessary to make travel easier.

Speaking at the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry here, the envoy said that while 2.8 million tourists from India visited Thailand last year, only 1.2 lakh of them visited Philippines.

"There is good connectivity between India and Thailand in terms of direct flights. There are plans to operate direct flights between India and Phillipines by December 2020", he said.

Last year there was 10 per cent growth in the number of Indian tourists visting Phillipines, he said adding that an MoU between the tourism departments of the two countries will make travel easier between the two countries.

The envoy said NASSCOM had signed an MoU with its counterpart in the Phillipines following which eight to ten Indian IT companies established BPO operations in that country employing over one lakh employees.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nicholas Forman, 23, of Perkiomen Township, was arrested Thursday afternoon and charged with first- and third-degree murder. Read more

In the video saved to Nicholas Formans phone, Sabrina Harooni lies motionless on a lawn in Montgomery County. A voice from behind the camera taunts her.

This is what cheating liars get, says a man police believe to be Forman, 23, the womans boyfriend. You hear me?

On Monday, police say, Forman buckled Haroonis battered body into an Uber and had the driver take them to a hospital. He told the driver and, later, nurses at Pottstown Memorial Hospital that Harooni, 22, had been attacked by a group of women the night before.

Authorities say that was a calculated lie. The real assailant, they allege in documents filed late Thursday, was Forman.

Forman, of Perkiomen Township, was arrested at his home Thursday afternoon and charged with first- and third-degree murder, according to court records. There was no indication he had hired an attorney.

Emergency room doctors who examined Haroonis body called state police to report that she had been assaulted. She had evidence of severe head trauma, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Formans arrest.

When Forman dropped Haroonis body off at the hospital, it was ice cold, the hospital staff told police. There were bruises to the neck and dried blood in the nose. Forman calmly told the medics that she had been in that condition for a while, according to the affidavit.

During an interview with state troopers, Forman said he and Harooni had gone to a bar in Oaks to watch the Super Bowl. There, he said, Harooni, his girlfriend of seven months, got into an argument with three women and gave them his address in case they wanted to meet her there later to fight, the affidavit said.

Forman told investigators thats just what happened. He didnt get involved, he told police, because hes on probation in Philadelphia. (Court records show that he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and resisting arrest in 2017.)

He said Harooni was badly injured in the fight, but seemed fine until the next morning, when he decided to take her to the hospital, according to the affidavit.

An Uber driver who drove the couple home from the bar in Oaks gave a different account. He said the couple got into a heated dispute after Harooni mentioned getting a text message from an ex-boyfriend, according to the affidavit. Forman became irate and demanded to see her phone, and Harooni said he was scaring her, the driver told investigators.

When he pulled away, the driver said, the two were arguing in the street, and Forman was refusing to allow her into the home. Hours later, investigators say, she was dead.
The human capital management (HCM) solutions market is expected to grow by USD 8.97 billion during 2020-2024, according to the latest market research report by Technavio. Request a free sample report

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Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled global human capital management (HCM) solutions market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire)

Recruitment is one of the most difficult tasks in the HCM process. Most multinational companies (MNCs) require many employees. But finding out the best candidate takes recruiters a long time. This is because the complete offline recruitment profile involves manual shortlisting of the candidates from thousands of applications. This requires large investments in terms of money, time, and effort. Advances in technology have made HCM solutions capable of automating recruitment processes. The HCM software shortlists candidates according to the profile, sends interview invitations, and confirms interview slots. This process reduces the overall time, effort, and cost of the process and increases the chances of recruiting the right candidates. Thus, the growing demand for automated recruitment processes is expected to boost the growth of the market.

To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR40495

As per Technavio, the emergence of cloud-computing services will have a positive impact on the market and contribute to its growth significantly over the forecast period. This research report also analyzes other significant trends and market drivers that will influence market growth over 2020-2024.

Human Capital Management (HCM) Solutions Market: Emergence of Cloud-Computing Services

The emergence of cloud-computing services is one of the major trends being witnessed in the market. Cloud computing is one of the emerging trends in the IT industry. Owing to the adoption of the latest technologies in HCM solutions, organizations also use cloud storage for storing critical information at remotely cheap rates. The use of cloud storage allows the central administration to have control over all the resources and HR activities. It also eradicates the need for users to update and maintain IT infrastructure. Services and maintenance activities are usually taken care of by service providers. Thus, users do not have to install additional packages as all updates, during the contract period, are also be taken care of by the service providers.

"Factors such as the increased popularity of advanced workforce analytics, increasing workforce diversity, and the growing demand from SMEs will have a significant impact on the HCM solutions market growth during the forecast period," says a senior analyst at Technavio.

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Human Capital Management (HCM) Solutions Market: Segmentation Analysis

This market research report segments the human capital management (HCM) solutions market by application (core HR, talent and workforce), and geography (APAC, Europe, MEA, North America and South America).

The North American region led the human capital management (HCM) solutions market in 2019, followed by Europe, APAC, South America and MEA. During the forecast period, the North American region is expected to register the highest incremental growth due to factors such as growth in job opportunities and increase in the number of job seekers due to globalization, wider penetration of social media in recruitment processes, and increased need for cost optimization.

Technavio's sample reports are free of charge and contain multiple sections of the report, such as the market size and forecast, drivers, challenges, trends, and more. Request a free sample report

Some of the key topics covered in the report include:

Application

Core HR

Talent

Workforce

Geographic segmentation

APAC

Europe

MEA

North America

South America

Market Drivers

Market Challenges

Market Trends

Vendor Landscape

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors

Competitive scenario

About Technavio

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions.

With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

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COVID-19, the disease that led to the current global pandemic, was first seen in Wuhan, China

Given China's economic heft and position at the nexus of global supply chains, the new strain of coronavirus is affecting companies far and wide and in multiple sectors.

Here's how a selection of multinational brands are responding to the epidemic, which has forced many companies in China to stay shut into next week at least, well beyond the country's Lunar New Year holidays:

- Travel and tourism -

The travel sector is most directly affected by China's decision to quarantine dozens of cities and ban overseas tour groups, in a bid to contain the outbreak. Other countries have told their nationals to avoid travel to China and banned arrivals from there.

Leading carriers have cancelled all their flights to China including Air Canada, Air France-KLM, American Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Finnair, Lufthansa, United Airlines and Virgin Atlantic.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific is suffering the biggest financial hit and this week asked its entire workforce of 27,000 to take up to three weeks of unpaid leave.

Casinos in Macau, normally a playground for the rich and the hopeful from mainland China, have closed their doors. So have Disney theme parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Paris department stores, a de rigueur stop for Chinese tour groups, are unusually quiet, and luxury brands in Europe are growing more worried after protests in Hong Kong had already hit their performance in greater China.

Italy's tourism market could face a hit of 4.5 billion euros this year, according to the think-tank Demoskopika.

MSC Cruises, Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean have cancelled stops by their ships in China while others decided Friday to refuse any passengers who has been to China, Hong Kong or Macau in the previous 14 days.

- Electronics -

Taiwan tech giant Foxconn is telling some staff to stay away for up to 14 days, the incubation period of the virus, even after it resumes most production on February 10.

That could affect global supply chains for tech companies that rely on Foxconn to assemble everything from Apple's iPhones to flat-screen TVs and laptops.

Story continues

For its part, Apple is working on "mitigation plans" to make up for any production loss from its suppliers in China.

South Korea's LG Electronics and Swedish group Ericsson have withdrawn from this month's Mobile World Congress, the leading showcase for the smartphone industry, citing expert advice to avoid non-essential travel.

Chinese telecoms groups such as Huawei and ZTE say they will take precautionary measures and limit their presence at the February 24-27 conference in Barcelona.

- Autos -

Wuhan, the central Chinese city that is ground zero of the outbreak, is a hub for foreign carmakers from the United States, Europe, Japan and South Korea.

The extended holidays have limited the immediate impact on their production in Wuhan itself, but concerns are growing about spillover effects, including on auto suppliers around China.

Hyundai Motor says it is suspending all production in South Korea because of a lack of parts from China. Toyota has extended the closure of its Chinese plants to February 16.

Electric car pioneer Tesla says the virus could delay a planned acceleration of production at its giant new factory in Shanghai, and potentially affect earnings this quarter.

- Food and beverage -

Mainland China is the second-biggest market of US coffee chain Starbucks, with more than 4,000 outlets. Half of them have been closed by the outbreak.

Fast-food giant McDonald's has closed all of its "several hundred" restaurants in Hubei, the province of Wuhan, but some 3,000 others in China remain open.

Pizza Hut and KFC are also suffering closures in Hubei province imposed by their Chinese parent company, Yum China.

- Others -

Sportswear giants Nike and Adidas have shuttered hundreds of stores in China and warned of a negative impact on their performance this quarter.

European plane maker Airbus has halted production at its plant at Tianjin, east of Beijing.

Heavy-equipment maker Caterpillar, which has already suffered from the Sino-US trade war, warned of "continued global economic uncertainty" this year.

- Some winners -

Not all companies are suffering. 3M, a leading maker of protective face masks, is cranking up production.

The server of British games studio Ndemic Creations went down in late January after a surge in popularity for its title Plague Inc., in which players vie to "bring about the end of human history by evolving a deadly, global plague".
February 6, 2020

News

By David Vergun

Defense.gov

Esper Discusses 2 Years of National Defense Strategy Efforts

Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper returned to the venue where the National Defense Strategy was unveiled two years ago to discuss how the Defense Department is implementing it.

Esper spoke today at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies' Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies in Washington.

The National Defense Strategy outlines the plan to maintain a competitive U.S. advantage in a new era of great-power competition with Russia and China, Esper said. To meet that challenge, he said, DOD is modernizing its forces, experimenting with new technologies that ensure battlefield success, and reforming the way the department does business to ensure taxpayer dollars are aligned with the strategy's priorities, such as artificial intelligence, a 5G network, hypersonic weapons and modernization of the nuclear triad.

To free up funds for these and other priorities, the secretary said, he directed a new initiative called the Defense-Wide Review. "Over the course of four months, we examined $99 billion in appropriated resources across the Fourth Estate, which is comprised of roughly 50 DOD organizations outside of the military departments," he said. "Ultimately, this process generated over $5 billion in savings. The majority of it came from reductions to legacy activities that don't adequately support NDS requirements, as well as decreasing overhead and shedding lower priority programs."

To bolster the department's National Defense Strategy alignment, Esper said, the department is continuing to build strong relationships with allies and partners. For example, he said nations in the Indo-Pacific region recognize better than anyone the threats posed by a rising China, and share the DOD's desire to uphold international norms and values.

On the other side of the globe, the secretary said, DOD is working to strengthen bonds with European allies who see Russia as a threat and are now becoming more and more aware of the threat China poses, as well.

"A ready and capable NATO is vital to our collective security, and we are pleased to see member states increasing their investments to advance burden sharing," he said.

This year, Esper said, the department is launching a review of all combatant commands to identify opportunities to rebalance troops, missions and resources in support of the National Defense Strategy.

The secretary said the administration and Congress have been especially supportive of the department's efforts at modernization, readiness and reform. In turn, he added, he has provided them with information and transparency to show efforts to align with the National Defense Strategy, ensure national security, and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars.

Esper said the well-being of service members and their families is a high priority. "These men and women are the backbone of our national security," he said, "and it is our duty to ensure they and their families are cared for, so that they can focus on their mission."

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The Fudan MBA Program was awarded the top rankings for several key criteria; taking the second place in terms of Salary Percentage Increase, while ranking sixth for Career Progress. For four criteria - Salary Today, International Course Experience, Alumni Recommend and FT Research - the program was considered the best among business schools in mainland China.

The program's position among FT's top 100 MBA programs has consistently improved, after being placed in the top global rankings for several consecutive years. This achievement is due to the steadfast, ongoing improvements of the Fudan MBA Program, the focus on practical learning and the program's overall globalization.

Notably, in the Executive MBA Ranking 2019 released by the FT on November 18, 2019, the School of Management at Fudan University saw three of its EMBA programs  the Washington University-Fudan University EMBA Program, the BI Norwegian Business School-Fudan University MBA Program and the University of Hong Kong-Fudan University IMBA Programme - among the Top 50 EMBA Programs. Among the three ranked programs, the one that came in highest claimed the number 7th place.

Continuous innovation and upgrading the curriculum to enhance the learning experience

Curriculum reform and innovation is a permanent topic of the Fudan MBA Program. The forward-looking stance adopted by the program's managers has led to the creation and maintenance of a curriculum that stands out due to its innovation, its ability to adjust and adapt to the changing higher education landscape and the evolving needs of the employers that look to the program as a source for new talent. Students involved in the programs are able to acquire a holistic trove of knowledge and management skill sets.

The program's curriculum widens the number of compulsory courses while deepening the content of the elective courses, assuring that students acquire the knowledge needed to fulfill the kind of high-level management roles that will be on offer upon graduation. In 2015, the program introduced six established majors: finance, marketing, innovative transformation, e-commerce and big data, industrial analysis and investment management, business decision-making and leadership. Each include a series of elective courses categorized according to level of difficulty: entry level, advanced and comprehensive practice.

In addition to the continuous upgrading of the content of the six elective courses, the program now includes a series of unique courses on "humanities classics" to round out the skill sets of the MBA students and satisfy their growing demand for careers that are intellectually and emotionally stimulating and satisfying.The program again revised and upgraded its online capabilities, further optimizing the design of the curriculum, as well as the presentation, platforms and systems, in a move that further enhance the student experience.

Broaden the international outlook and inspire a multi-dimensional approach

The Fudan MBA Program has always stressed its development as an international offering, and pioneered a model focused on diversified and multi-channel international communications, providing the students with rich international learning and communication opportunities through a combination long-term, mid-term and short-term international communication curriculums.

During the process of worldwide economic integration, the program has always deepened communication and cooperation with the world's top business schools, further stimulating its vitality and arming the students with the tools that will allow them to stand out in a fiercely competitive market.

As one of China's first international MBA program, the program has, from the beginning, teamed up with the MIT Sloan School of Management, and has deepened the cooperation over the years. Besides MIT, the program offers a series of short-term overseas courses from the world's top business schools, including Yale University, London Business School and Tel Aviv University.

Meanwhile, the program has participated in the implementation of the Chinese government's Belt and Road initiative, giving students an opportunity to learn from and contribute ideas to companies in the countries targeted by the initiative.

The importance of practical education and 'learning by doing'

The Fudan MBA Program adheres to the philosophy of applying the acquired knowledge to practical use with the aim of improving students' all round literacy. The program has established the iLab  Fudan MBA Business Consultation Lab, allowing students to combine management theory with business practice, improving their ability to analyze complex business issues in an international environment and to make effective decisions. MBA students, serve as the companies' independent consultants, help them to analyze practical issues and provide solutions and ideas, with the goal of driving their development and growth.

In January 2019, the Fudan MBA Program kicked off its start-up competition, with a focus on gathering together the best resources and offering an educational series on innovation and entrepreneurship. Seventy-four start-up teams, attended by over 280 participants, took part in 2019 "JOIN" Start-up Competition. After a period of competition that spanned six months, nine start-up teams successfully passed entered the final competition. The teams entering the final competition covered a variety of sectors, including new technologies, new materials, AI, e-commerce, biopharmaceuticals, consultation, creative/cultural as well as public welfare, reflecting the ongoing trend towards industry integration, while showcasing the innovative vitality of the students.

About The Fudan-MIT International MBA Program

The Fudan-MIT International MBA (IMBA) Program was launched in 1996 through collaboration between the Fudan University School of Management (FDSM) and the MIT Sloan School of Management. This program, taught entirely in English, aims to cultivate professionals with an international perspective and entrepreneurial spirit, well-adjusted to the demands of economic globalization in China and the rest of the world. Fudan IMBA Program ranked 1st among the Business Schools in Chinese Mainland Universities, 6th in Asia Pacific and 33rd in Global MBA Programs by Financial Times in 2020.

SOURCE School of Management, Fudan University

Related Links

http://www.fudan.edu.cn


LANSING, MI -- A guest column written in response to the opt-out process for mosquito spraying this summer initiated hundreds of comments, a few death threats and, most recently, a presentation at the Michigan Mosquito Control Association conference for the Kalamazoo professor who wrote it.

Parker Crutchfield, associate professor of medical ethics, humanities and law wrote an column published by MLive after Kalamazoo County residents opted out of mosquito spraying in September 2019. Crutchfield was invited to the associations conference after the head of the planing committee read his guest column.

The audience I had in mind initially were the several hundred or thousand people who opted out," he said. But it was heartening to see that people who do make these sorts of decisions had read it.

Crutchfield is an associate professor at Western Michigan University Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine but expressed that his opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of his employer.

In September, Crutchfield argued that opponents of mosquito spraying are the new anti-vaxxers."

As the number of the rare mosquito-borne illness Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) grew in Kalamazoo County, state and local officials instituted plans for aerial spraying of pesticides in an attempt to control the outbreak. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services set up a form for residents to opt-out of aerial spraying.

To allow the plane enough time to stop spraying, each property that opted-out resulted in a 1,000-by-1,000-foot buffer zone around it. This meant highly populated areas, like subdivisions and small urban neighborhoods, could be excluded entirely if only a few residencies opted out.

When Crutchfield saw the news the next morning that Kalamazoo County received enough opt-outs to call off the aerial spraying, he was angry.

Many people in Kalamazoo and Portage who opted out of the spray bear significant responsibility for any suffering, and likely death, that results from their opting out, he wrote in the column.

As of Oct. 9, 2019, there were 10 confirmed human cases  four of which were fatal  and 39 animal cases of EEE in Michigan, according to MDHHS. Health officials called it the worst outbreak of the disease in the states history.

While Crutchfield said he does not engage in social media, friends and coworkers sent him negative feedback to his column. Some comments were directed at him personally including death threats, he said.

In some sense I was wanting to bring that out, not necessarily personally directed at me, but for people to get sort of mad at what I had to say," Crutchfield said. It was a collective decision that was a very poor one.

He affectionately calls the comment sections of news sites a garbage dump of human ideas," but said he was surprised by criticism that he was not placing enough value on bees who could be harmed by the spraying.

Crutchfield said he agrees the risks of wiping out a bee colony would be worth weighing in the decision-making process. But he does not believe that was relevant to the treatment proposed in Kalamazoo County, since the aerial treatment was set for the night and bees are active during the day.

We can intervene on the collective good of bees or the collective good of humans," Crutchfield said. Ill take the intervention collective good of humans every time.

At the statewide conference in Lansing, Crutchfields presentation followed others about the history of EEE and pesticide risks. He explored ethical question of individual liberties and what role they play in public health decisions.

Overall, the perception of his presentation and column was positive and most of those at the conference were in agreement with him, Crutchfield said.

Still, he has doubts about how prepared the state will be for the upcoming 2020 mosquito season.

Aerial spraying company Clarke, which conducted the emergency spraying last fall in Kalamazoo County and elsewhere in the state, presented examples how states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island handled the 2019 EEE outbreak in two to three days. In comparison, the plan to set up aerial spraying in Michigan took 10 days, the company said.

During the conference, an agenda was passed around from the 1992 Michigan Mosquito Control Association symposium. It included a session discussing risks of EEE, which had not produced an outbreak of similar scale in Michigan prior to 2019.

If it warranted a symposium then and it warrants a symposium now then why, in those 38 years, has no progress been made? Crutchfield asked.

Also on Mlive:

Sixth Michigan resident dies from rare mosquito-borne illness

Michigan teen fighting deadly EEE virus beating the odds

Michigan advises against outdoor activity due to deadly mosquito-borne virus
The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, on Thursday set a new record on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana show by attracting more viewers to the stations' Facebook handle.



If you are guessing who the new celebrity King is, look no further; the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party has proven his popularity goes beyond his political life.



Donning a gold chain worth over $100,000 to match his Rolex watch, the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NPP, Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, on Thursday set a new record on Metro TV's Good Evening Ghana show by attracting more viewers to the stations' Facebook handle.



As at 10:23pm last night, host of the show Mr. Paul Adom Otchere, revealed that his engagement with the NPP Chairman had seen their media handle record figures that surpasses the number of viewers who came online to watch his interview with Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale.



Mr. Bernard Antwi-Boasiako in the course of the interview told Mr. Otchere that "I am celebrity" and to add credence to that the host announced before the show ended that 5700 viewers had visited their Facebook page to watch him.



In 2019, award-winning Dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale made an appearance on Paul Adom Otchere's Good Evening Ghana show.



The musician spoke on issues surrounding his career, personal life, relationships with Michy, Efia Odo and Wendy Shay, among others.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
North Korea Bars New Foreign Diplomats to Block Virus

By Ahn So-young February 06, 2020

North Korea barred new foreign diplomats from entering the country as it intensified efforts to contain the coronavirus.

Pyongyang informed foreign embassies of the measure in a diplomatic letter, according to a Russian Embassy post on Twitter and Facebook accounts.

"Entry to and exit from the country is forbidden for members of the diplomatic corps as well as for new staffers," said the Facebook notice posted Tuesday.

The Russian Embassy further noted that Pyongyang imposed a 15-day quarantine on foreign diplomatic personnel who need to enter North Korea for unspecified reasons of "necessity." If they leave quarantine before serving 15 days, they will be requarantined, the embassy said.

Intensified measures

Ken Gause, director of the Adversary Analytics Program at CNA, told VOA on Wednesday that North Korea is taking intensified measures to stop the virus from penetrating into the country because its medical system would not be able to handle the outbreak.

"Their tendency is to clamp down and seal off the country," Gause continued. He added that the response is typical of North Korea where the leadership "knows that if infection gets inside the country, it's going to be hard to stop."

Quarantine measures imposed

North Korea also imposed quarantine measures on diplomats and international organization staff working in the country by restricting them to their embassy buildings and residential complexes, according to the Russian news agency Tass.

Tass also reported that Pyongyang barred foreigners from hotels and restaurants in North Korea.

The new measures come after North Korea temporarily closed its border with China starting Jan. 22 and suspended all air and train links to and from China on Friday.

Working with South Korea

In consultation with South Korea on Jan. 30, Pyongyang closed the inter-Korean liaison office it shares with Seoul in North Korea's border town of Kaesong.

As of Wednesday, South Korea reported 19 confirmed cases of the virus.

North Korea's stepped-up measures come as the number of confirmed cases and deaths increase daily in China. There are no cases of the virus reported in North Korea

"Autocratic countries usually have lousy medical infrastructure [and] it's their natural tendencies to take an action like this," Gause said.

Call for 'absolute obedience'

North Korea has been ruled by three generations of the Kim dynasty that had strict control over its population since 1945. As the regime copes with the threat posed by the coronavirus, it has called on citizens to show "absolute obedience" to its efforts, the country's official newspaper the Rodong Sinmun said Saturday.

On Wednesday, North Korea's state media Korean Central News Agency said passengers crossing into North Korea's provinces of Jagang and North Hamgyong along its northern border are being examined at checkpoints.

'Emergency anti-epidemic headquarters'

The KCNA report said the government set up "emergency anti-epidemic headquarters" across the country and that "the Party organizations at all levels and officials in the public health sector are launching a campaign to arouse all the masses to the work for preventing the novel coronavirus infection."

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said, "I think it is easier for autocratic regimes like North Korea to take swift, stringent measures."

He added, "But I think their efforts to respond to the pandemic are not that different from those of the U.S."

Christy Lee contributed to this report which originated in VOA's Korean Service.

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Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia have bet big on tourism in recent years. Officials in the three South Caucasus nations equate tourists with economic growth, diversification and new jobs. And they know that in the global hospitality industry, the new money comes from China, Eurasianet writes in the article Pre-coronavirus, the Caucasus was liking the Chinese tourism bump. Now what? Thats a problem, now that China is on lockdown battling an outbreak of coronavirus.

Prior to the outbreak, the countries had been relaxing visa requirements for Chinese tourists  the worlds largest group in size and spending, according to a 2019 report from the UNs World Tourism Organization.

Chinese tourists could get a relatively seamless e-visa to Georgia. Azerbaijan offered e-visa and visa on arrival. Last May, Yerevan and Beijing concluded negotiations to allow each others citizens visa-free travel for a period up to 90 days (making Armenia one of 31 countries offering visa-free travel for Chinese citizens). China has also begun adding the countries to its so-called Approved Destination Status program, allowing tour groups to visit: Georgia received ADS status in 2012, Armenia in 2016, and Azerbaijan looks likely to receive this seal of approval soon.

But on February 1, after it had been in effect only a few weeks, Yerevan temporarily suspended its visa-free regime with China until the end of March. Azerbaijan and Georgia have not yet imposed any blanket travel bans on Chinese visitors, but are surely affected by the worldwide plunge in travel. All regional carriers have stopped servicing China.

The silver lining here is slight, and only visible to a dyed-in-the-wool optimist: Yes, the influx of Chinese tourists to the region has skyrocketed  increasing by 40 to 50 percent last year over 2018  but the number of Chinese visitors remains low. By the Georgian National Tourist Administrations estimates, only about 50,000 Chinese citizens visited Georgia last year; numbers for Armenia and Azerbaijan are lower, around 15,000 and 25,000 respectively. They simply dont compare to the Russian visitors in the region. (Russian tourists comprised 19 percent of inbound visitors to Georgia in 2019, or 1.47 million, even with the Kremlin travel embargo in June).

Fortunately for hoteliers, peak tourism season is five or six months away. If the coronavirus is still raging in July, the South Caucasus will have bigger worries than this still-slim portion of visitors.
On a Tuesday afternoon a week into President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, Senator Mitch McConnell could see his carefully laid plan to deliver a swift acquittal veering off the rails.

An explosive report detailing how John Bolton, the former national security adviser, had confirmed a central allegation against Mr Trump had roiled the Capitol and upended his push to block new witnesses, and if Mr McConnell did not corral restive Republicans into submission, the trial could be blown wide open.

We can be smart or we can be stupid, Mr McConnell warned his rank and file during a closed-door lunch of halibut, fried chicken and pecan pie in the Capitol, steps from the Senate floor where the trial was to convene shortly. The choice will be up to us.

Republicans ultimately opted, as they almost invariably do, to stick with Mr McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and block Democrats attempts to allow new evidence to be considered. All but one of them voted on Wednesday to acquit Mr Trump of both of the charges against him.

The story of how Mr McConnell held Republicans together  even in the face of stunning revelations about the presidents conduct and uneasiness in his party about Trumps actions  reflects how a master Senate tactician deployed his command of procedure and keen political instincts to lock down a process that posed an existential threat to the president. In doing so, he may have cemented the presidents hold on his office and provided a defiant campaign message to propel him to re-election, uniting the party around a figure who brooks no dissent and dealing a death blow to Democrats hopes of removing 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

If this was all about politics, and it was, at least at the moment I think it is fair to conclude that we won and they lost, Mr McConnell said in an interview on Thursday in his Capitol office before he headed to the White House, where he was effusively thanked by the president and received a standing ovation in the East Room.

A Year of Preparation

Democrats contend that the victory is hollow and that they won something as well, showing the public that Senate Republicans  including several who are facing re-election this year in politically competitive states  were unwilling to challenge Mr Trump on either his behaviour or his blithe dismissal of Congress right to oversee the executive branch.

What we feel is we created Pyrrhic victory for them, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat for New York, and the minority leader, said in an interview. This trial is regarded by most Americans as not a real trial, a sham. The acquittal has virtually no value because Americans know it wasnt fair.

But it evidently has great value to the president and to McConnell, who had spent nearly a year preparing for it. From the instant that Democrats assumed power in the House of Representatives last January, denying that they had any intention of impeaching Mr Trump, Mr McConnell, a six-term Kentuckian and the longest-serving Senate Republican leader, directed his staff to quietly dig into the history of impeachments and consult outside experts.

We thought they would finally work themselves up to doing this on something, Mr McConnell said. It has been threatened endlessly. We needed to come up to speed on what actually happens, and that began in earnest last fall.

So when Mr McConnell fielded a phone call from Mr Trump days before Christmas, he was ready. Stung by the House vote to impeach him on two charges, the president reached out to the majority leader from Trumps Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, throwing out ideas about how to handle his coming Senate trial.

Mr McConnell had a reassuring response for the third president ever to face removal by the Senate, urging Mr Trump to trust him to manage the confrontation.

What I have consistently said to him is I think I know more about the Senate than you do, which he usually concedes, Mr McConnell recalled, saying he told the president to keep public commentary about impeachment to a minimum. My consistent advice to him with regard to this subject was to avoid it  and for the most part, for the most part, he did.

Throughout the process, Mr McConnell consistently refused to say how he viewed the presidents conduct, even as other Republicans eventually said that Mr Trumps actions were wrong, inappropriate and even shameful.

I say things I choose to say, he said when pressed Thursday.

Yet that reticence did not dampen Mr McConnells zeal for beating back the impeachment push. Interviews with more than two dozen senators and top aides reflected how the impeachment fight that came to a close Wednesday was never about whether Mr Trump would be the first president to be removed from office  both sides knew he would not. It was instead about how Republicans and Democrats would arrive at the inevitable outcome and how much damage they would inflict on one another, the president and the Senate in the process.

Mr McConnell set out to create the framework for a trial that his members could get behind, that could withstand the possibility of compromising new information emerging and that would deliver the White House a quick but credible verdict of not guilty. It went far from perfectly for Republicans  among other setbacks, Senator Mitt Romney, Republican for Utah, voted guilty on the charge of abuse of power, depriving Mr Trump of the absolute party loyalty he coveted  but Mr McConnell reached his desired end.

He is very good at what he does, said Senator John Cornyn, Republican for Texas, and a close ally of Mr McConnell.

By October, McConnell recognised that a trial was a near certainty. An anonymous White House whistleblower had accused Trump of trying to cheat in the 2020 election by seeking to condition crucial military aid to Ukraine on the countrys announcing investigations into his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden. The Democratic-led House was plunging ahead over solid Republican opposition.

McConnell tasked Andrew Ferguson, his chief counsel, with mapping out a full trial strategy. He spoke with Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and senior adviser, counselling him that the White House needed to take the impeachment process seriously and study how President Bill Clintons White House built a legal and communications defence team in 1998.

Then he began to educate his colleagues, delivering a PowerPoint presentation to his members on what an impeachment trial would look like, introducing senators with a self-conscious matter-of-factness to what he called the Clinton model. He and his advisers quickly determined that the question of calling witnesses would be the focal point of the trial fight and they seized on the ground rules governing Clintons 1999 impeachment trial. In that proceeding, the modern precedent, the debate over calling witnesses came only after the House and the White House made opening arguments and senators posed written questions.

That approach would help address a problem McConnell saw coming: likely demands by Democrats to include new testimony in the trial. In November, McConnell began sharing with Republicans his fear that votes to allow witnesses could create messy interparty disputes with the White House that would prolong the trial for weeks or more, without changing the outcome.

He warned his fellow Republicans that Democrats would use the trial to force senators in tough re-election fights to take difficult votes as part of their drive to recapture the Senate.

And Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, were plotting just such a strategy. With no hope of reaching a two-thirds threshold for removing a president from office, they had no illusions about ousting Trump.

The Legal Eagles

But Democrats wanted to make Republicans  especially those facing voters in November  cringe in defending the conduct of the president and force them to go on the record absolving Mr Trump despite compelling evidence from the House that he had abused his power and sought to hide his actions from Congress.

As the Thanksgiving recess approached, Mr McConnell deputised a group of the senators who were lawyers to help him sell the plan. The Legal Eagles, as the group was informally called, included Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas, and John Cornyn of Texas and their role was to educate their colleagues in constitutional law. Mr Cruz eventually set up a war room for the trial in a rented space off Capitol Hill, staffed by members of his congressional office and political organisation.

Mr Schumer had his gaze down the road as well. In November and again in December, Mr Schumer summoned to his office a dozen moderate Democrats known to have relationships with Republicans to make a request: They should feel out their Republican counterparts in the chamber on the Ukraine matter and the looming trial, and report back. The overtures went nowhere. There would not be another of the famous bipartisan Senate gangs to try to find a compromise outcome.

One more twist would come before lawmakers departed for Christmas. After the House impeachment vote, Nancy Pelosi announced that she would delay sending the articles needed to formally spur the Senate trial until she was assured that Mr McConnell would conduct a fair one. Democrats now say they were also worried that Mr McConnell might use the holiday recess crunch to seek a quick dismissal of the accusations.

He was not planning to do so but also did not intend to relinquish his grip on the proceedings or bend to House Speaker Pelosi. When he spoke with Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the No 2 House Democrat, on a call to celebrate the passage of a bipartisan omnibus spending bill, he offered a quiet warning.

Ive been in politics long enough to know you should never say never, but let me say this, Mr McConnell told Mr Hoyer. I will never allow the House of Representatives to dictate rules to the Senate. Never.

Behind the scenes, Mr McConnell was trying to nail down the backing of the handful of Republicans who could complicate his careful planning. Four senators had expressed enough qualms about the president to give them leverage to win concessions from Mr McConnell: Mitt Romney of Utah, the 2012 presidential nominee; Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who had in the past bucked Mr McConnell and the White House; Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, a veteran politician with plans to retire, and Susan Collins of Maine, a centrist facing the re-election challenge of her career.

In two early January meetings in McConnells office, with Alexander participating by conference call, the four negotiated a guarantee that the Senate would vote on whether to allow witnesses as it had been done in the Clinton trial.

When McConnell unveiled his proposed resolution on the eve of the trial, it immediately provoked an uproar. The language guaranteeing a vote on witnesses was there but so was a provision limiting to two days the 24 hours the House prosecutors and the presidents defence team had for their oral arguments. And the rules said the record of the House impeachment inquiry would not be admitted unless the Senate voted to do so later.

In a private lunch before the trial was to open, Senate Republicans rebelled, saying that the two-day limit was too abbreviated and that the House record had to be admitted to provide the basic evidence in the proceeding. Mr McConnell and his team quickly backtracked, scrawling last-minute changes in the margins of the resolution moments before the debate began. Senate Republicans adopted it on a party-line vote after rejecting Democratic attempts to subpoena John Bolton and other witnesses, beginning the trial on a contentious and partisan note.

From the outset, the pace was grinding, with senators unaccustomed to the long hours confined to the chamber. The gruelling schedule was no accident. Mr McConnell had instructed his staff to make it punishing, to exhaust senators and fuel their eagerness to bring it to a quick end.

But as the trial progressed, it remained uncertain whether enough Republicans would break with the party to force the Senate to call witnesses. Mr McConnell and his lieutenants were increasingly confident that the prosecutions arguments  often repetitive  were not taking hold and that Republicans were eager to move on.

Then on 26 January, The New York Times reported that John Boltons firsthand account directly undercut the presidents defence, rattling Republicans and complicating Mr McConnells plans.

At the luncheon, Mr McConnell led his anxious colleagues through a litany of sharp questions about what could go wrong if Republicans buckled and called Mr Bolton. He kept up the pressure after the trial adjourned later that afternoon, gathering Republicans again, this time in a smaller room with just one door to limit comings and goings. Brandishing a card bearing a whip count, he made it clear that Republicans still lacked the votes to defeat witnesses, an unmistakable message that it was time for them to fall into line.

Mr McConnell in the East Room before Trump addresses his Senate impeachment trial in Washington DC February 6 2020(Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images) ((Nicolas Kamm/AFP /Getty Images))

I thought they needed to hear it, he said in the interview. There were no free passes.

As he worked to round up votes to block witnesses, Mr McConnell told wavering Republicans that they were being used as pawns in a Democratic scheme to undermine the courts by embarrassing Chief Justice John Roberts, who was presiding over the trial.

Managing Quid Pro Quo

When Senator Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat running for president, asked whether a chief justice overseeing a trial without witnesses would undermine the courts, Mr McConnell scrawled a quick note to Lisa Murkowski, who was still undecided on witnesses, to point out the attack.

With his eye on the undecided senators, Cruz also counselled the White House legal team to avoid arguing that there was no quid pro quo  a strategic mistake that might make Boltons testimony seem more relevant to those lawmakers. During questioning, Cruz helped draft a question, submitted jointly with senators like Ms Murkowski and Lamar Alexander, that asked Mr Trumps legal team whether, if Mr Bolton testified to the existence of a quid pro quo, it would amount to an impeachable offence.

When Patrick Philbin, a deputy White House counsel, rose to answer, asserting that Mr Trump had never engaged in a quid pro quo, Senator Cruz was a little white-knuckled, he recalled. But then the answer he was looking for came: Even if there was a quid pro quo, it did not matter.

I think that answer played a really important part in helping get the votes of both Lamar and Lisa, Senator Cruz said later.

By the next day, Ms Murkowski had come out against witnesses, using as a rationale what she characterised as an attack on Roberts. She followed Mr Alexander, who said that while Mr Trump had acted inappropriately, his actions did not merit impeachment. The final vote on witnesses was 51-49 and the trial hurtled to its finale, with Mr Romneys vote to convict the president as the final twist.

Mr McConnell shrugged off fierce criticism that he had overseen a sham.

I didnt rig anything, he said. We had a vote. No vote was prevented. No debate was prevented. These guys didnt have the votes, he said of Senate Democrats.

These guys would win more often if they win more elections, he said, and they have the opportunity to do that this year.

The New York Times
Weber State Hosts 24th Annual Storytelling Festival

January 21, 2020

OGDEN, Utah  Storytellers will gather to share tales with audiences of all ages at Weber State Universitys 24th annual Storytelling Festival, Feb. 24-26. All events are free and open to the public.

The unique festival features national, regional and youth storytellers who perform in venues across Weber, Davis and Morgan counties. This years theme will be In My Shoes.

The Storytelling Festival brings together families, children and the community to celebrate the power of story, said Stephanie Speicher, festival chair and teacher education assistant professor. The festival offers something for people of all ages to connect and engage with. It grows a little more each year and is always a highlight.

The festival will feature renowned storytellers Kuniko Yamamoto, Bobby Norfolk and Sherry Norfolk. Yamamoto is best known for her creative depictions of traditional Japanese folktales using masks, origami, musical instruments and mime. Bobby and Sherry Norfolk are a storytelling duo known for bringing familiar stories to life while integrating educational content.

The storytellers are selected from around the world, allowing them to tell captivating stories infused with their own culture and life experience.

The festival is unique because it combines the talents of both professional and youth storytellers.

More than 12,000 children attend the Storytelling Festival and hundreds prepare and tell stories in their school districts, making it the largest youth storytelling festival of its kind in the country. In addition, 60-70 students are chosen as storytellers to share the stage with distinguished professional storytellers.

WSU will host several performances and events during the festival. All events are free and open to the public.

Feb. 24, Peery's Egyptian Theater (2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden).

6:30 p.m. - Bedtime Stories: an evening of traditional tales to spark imagination and sweet dreams.

7:30 p.m. - Spooky Campfire Tales: enjoy a selection of stories inspired by old campfire tales.

Feb. 25, Shepherd Union Wildcat Theater.

1:30 p.m. - WSU Online & Continuing Education marketing director Shane Farver will share his story, From Climbing Mountains to Climbing Stairs, chronicling his journey following a spinal-cord injury.

Feb. 26, Davis Conference Center (1651 N. 700 W., Layton).

6:30 p.m. - Family Fun Night: an evening of stories the whole family can enjoy.

7:30 p.m. - National Storytellers Showcase: distinguished storytellers will wrap up the festival with a celebration of stories, imagination and memories.

This years festival is held in collaboration with WSUs Engaged Learning Series. The series is a collaborative cross-campus effort to host events and lectures that bring multiple perspectives to a single issue, and engage students, faculty, staff and community in discussion, learning and action.

For more information about the Storytelling Festival, visit weber.edu/storytelling

For photos from the 2019 event, visit the following link.

wsuucomm.smugmug.com/2019-Storytelling-Festival

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  Two Capital Region contractors are facing felony charges after allegedly failing to obtain workers' compensation coverage for their construction workers.

State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro said Thursday that Segundo Loja and Robert A. Lutz were arraigned in Saratoga Springs City Court on charges related to their failure to obtain coverage.

Loga, an Albany resident and owner of NY Power Construction Corporation, allegedly submitted a certificate of insurance indicating his company had obtained both commercial general liability and workers' compensation insurance coverage, as required by all entities with employees, she said. The inspector general confirmed with the carrier that his business, which had several workers, did not in fact carry insurance, she said.

He was charged with falsifying business records, failure to secure compensation and fraudulent practices, all felonies.

Lutz, a Ballston Spa man who owns Robert's Roofing & Remodeling, was charged after he allegedly submitted a building permit application for a residential roofing job to the Saratoga Springs Building Department last July that claimed he had no employees. According to the IG's office, multiple witnesses however said they observed three people working on the job throughout the project, all of whom lacked coverage.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

He was charged with offering a false instrument for filing and fraudulent practices, both felonies, as well as failure to secure compensation, a misdemeanor.

Workers compensation insurance provides critical protections to safeguard both the business and the worker, Tagliafierro said. Companies that disregard this important legal requirement put their employees at severe financial risk  especially in the construction fields. I thank our law enforcement partners for their ongoing support to ensure that contractors put the necessary protections in place for their employees.
Taiwan bans cruise ships port calls on Wuhan coronavirus fears

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 05:33 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) International cruise liners will not be allowed to make port calls in Taiwan, with immediate effect, as the novel coronavirus has shown no signs of abating across the globe, the country's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced Thursday.

The decision was made earlier in the day during a weekly Cabinet meeting, with experts all agreeing on the issue, Minister of Health and Welfare and CECC head Chen Shih-chung () confirmed at a news conference after the meeting.

It was the latest move by the Taiwan government to combat the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei Province in mid-December and has since infected tens of thousands of people and killed hundreds, mostly in China.

On Thursday, it was confirmed that a Taiwanese woman traveling on the Diamond Princess cruise liner was among 10 passengers infected with the Wuhan coronavirus -- the second wave of infections confirmed on the ship after it arrived in Japan on Monday on a round trip cruise that included a 10-hour stop in Taiwan's Keelung Port on Jan. 31.

On Wednesday, the first group of 10 patients -- nine passengers of various nationalities and a Filipino crew member -- was diagnosed with the virus.

The ship, carrying 2,666 passengers and 1,045 crew members, has been quarantined off the coast of Yokohama since it returned to port there on Monday.

The vessel was quarantined after a Hong Kong man, who disembarked at his home port during the trip, tested positive for the 2019-nCoV and was hospitalized in Hong Hong.

On Tuesday, Japan's heath ministry said it had completed the "first phase" of health screening of everyone on board the ship, according to international media reports.

The Diamond Princess cruise got underway in Yokohama on Jan. 20 on a 14-day round trip that included Keelung and Hong Kong, but it ended one day early on Feb. 3.

(By Flor Wang and Chen Wei-ting)

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We had reported in these columns earlier that Santhanam, who was part of most of director Kannans previous films as a comedian, has been roped in for the latters next as the lead hero. Now, in keeping with Santas recent flicks, this latest venture has been given a funny title. It has been named Biskoth.

Says Kannan, Santa and I always gel well and had fun in our earlier collaborations. Biskoth is an action-based comedy and Santa has a three-dimensional role in it. He has two heroines  Tara Alisha Berry who romanced him in A1, and Swathi Muppala. A family entertainer, it will go down well with all types of audiences.

Art director Rajkumar has erected a huge palace set at Hyderabad and the lead actors shot there for 25 days recently.

Anandraj, Naan Kadavul Rajendran, Lollu Sabha Manohar etc. are all reportedly part of the supporting cast. Legendary actress Sowcar Janaki, who has acted in multiple languages with the likes of NTR, MGR, Sivaji, Rajini and Kamal, has been roped in for a crucial comical role. This is Sowcars 400th film.

Trident Arts Ravindhran has bought the films worldwide rights and is planning to bring the film to screens this March as a summer treat for Santas fans.
Iranian Christian convert granted early release from prison; 2 others expected to be freed

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One Iranian Christian convert imprisoned for his faith has been released early from prison and it is expected that two more converts will also be granted an early release.

According to Middle East Concern, Asghar Salehi was freed from his six-month prison sentence this week after being charged with propaganda against the Islamic Republic.

The nonprofit advocacy group that operates in 24 countries across the Middle East and North Africa previously reported that Salehi was arrested along with Mohammadreza Rezaei and four other associates in the Fars Province after their homes were raided by intelligence officers in September 2018.

Asghar was allegedly interrogated for three days in which he was kept blindfolded for most of the time. He was eventually transferred to Eghlid prison for eight days before being released on bail.

Asghar, Mohammadreza and one other convert whose name was not reported were summoned to a court hearing in Eghlid last April and charged for their Christian activities.

According to the advocacy group, the judge refused to allow Asghar to speak. Additionally, he was warned that he was being monitored and told he would have to commit to stopping his Christian activities before another court session.

Last September, the three men were reportedly sentenced to six months in prison under Article 500 of the Iranian legal code banning propaganda against the System through promoting Zionist Christianity.

Asghar was again arrested last December and sent to Eghlid prison. He and the other two applied for a pardon and early release. According to MEC, Asghars request for early release was granted after serving only two months of the six.

While he was freed on Feb. 2, MEC reports that the two other converts are scheduled to be released on Feb. 8.

A source close to Asghar told MEC that pardons are less likely in the larger cities or for Christians accused of acting against national security.

Iranian Christians are very pleased that Asghar Salehi has been given early release from Eghlid Prison, a MEC spokesperson told BosNewsLife. It is expected, fellow prisoners Mohammadreza Rezaei and A.T. will also be released soon.

Iran ranks as the 9th worst country in the world when it comes to Christian persecution, according to Open Doors USAs 2020 World Watch List. The regime has for years arrested, tortured and imprisoned Muslim converts to Christianity and has severely restricted the rights of recognized Christian minorities like Assyrians and Armenians.

This week, the daughter of an Assyrian pastor currently imprisoned in Iran on a 10-year sentence for running house churches spoke at a Family Research Council panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on religious freedom.

Dabrina Bet Tamraz described what it was like for her growing up as an Assyrian in Iran.

We have been monitored, our house has been broken in. My father was regularly arrested and interrogated, she said. Sometimes it was just before the Sunday service began. We always had to be prepared to preach in case my dad got arrested. That became normal but it was part of our life growing up.

In 2009, her familys Pentecostal church in Tehran was shut down by the government for refusing to agree to only allow Assyrian-speaking members.

Today, Tamrazs father, mother and brother are all in prison. She is traveling the world to advocate for their release.

Today, there is not a free church. There is no free evangelical church, nor free Pentecostal, she said. The only churches that are allowed to function are orthodox or Catholic churches with restrictions. They are not allowed to have books in Farsi. They are not even allowed to, nowadays, print books in our own language. Any Christian literature or Bible even in our own language is not permitted. They are not even allowed to speak to a Farsi person near the church.

Muslim background believers risk arrest just by simply attending church in Iran.

Any time if the government find out, they can raid the gathering, arrest people, torture them and confiscate their property, Marziyeh Amirizadeh, a former Muslim who helped lead two house churches in Iran before fleeing in 2010, said during the FRC panel discussion.

That is why they have to be very cautious about their communications. They cant worship God loudly. We have to stay very quiet because you never know who is your neighbor and it can happen at any time.

The Christian persecution watchdog group Article 18 reports that there were at least 25 Christians arrested in Iran in 2019 while at least 13 Christians received sentences that ranged from four months to five years.

According to Article 18's annual report, in 2019, intelligence agents harassed family members of Iranian converts who fled the country even though they themselves may not be Christian.
Mobile wireless data traffic in the US hit another record high in 2020, topping 42 trillion megabytes. That represents a 208% increase since 2016, according to industry trade group CTIA. As a result, mobile network operators (MNOs) are prioritizing network densification, which will increase the capacity of their networks, helping them deliver the consistent, reliable and speedy service that 5G has promised. In addition, the new infrastructure law recently passed by the US Congress has allocated $65 billion for broadband access, especially in underserved areas.

However, funding and planning broadband deployments is just the first step. Now the objective is to prioritize network deployments (pre-provisioning) and target existing or prospective customers who could benefit from the new services. For this to be successful, large-scale pre-qualification of known and potential customer locations is required so that targeted marketing can be executed efficiently. In this webinar we will discuss fully or semi-automated pre-qualification steps to confirm customers' eligibility for a specific service or product.

We will demonstrate a step-by-step process that includes:

Pre-provisioning - where the equipment is already installed

Adding equipment on premises for existing clients, such as installing an antenna to boost the signal

Post-provisioning where adding antennas for a new business customer is required or where the network capacity could be exceeded. This includes a comparison between different products, such as fiber vs fixed wireless.

In this webinar, you will learn how to...
I ts unusual to mention youre staying at an established five-star hotel in London, particularly one thats been open since 1991, and not one of your eight friends at dinner to have ever heard of it.

But thats exactly the magic of The Como Halkin. Tucked away on a very quiet street in Belgravia, a five-minute walk South of Hyde Park, its an incredibly discreet hotel that doesnt shout about its existence. In fact, much to the delight no doubt of its high profile clientele, it barely whispers.

The area

Located in Belgravia, a wealthy district situated just south of Knightsbridge, The Halkin is a ten-minute walk to Green Park and Buckingham Palace, and 15 to Harrods and Harvey Nichols.

This is embassy land, which means the streets are mostly empty at the weekend, bar a handful of diplomats and the occasional lost tourist.

The hotel

With a Georgian-style exterior of brick, Portland stone and arching windows, The Halkin has an elegant yet understated exterior on Halkin Street, with very little in the way of signage or pomp typical of most five star hotels.

Enter into the light and airy marble-floored reception where you will immediately be greeted by smiley and professional staff. Bags are whisked off you and check-in is done with satisfying efficiency and youre sipping on a Friday night G+T in your room less than 15 minutes from arrival.

While most five star hotels invest their money in luxury public spaces and extensive facilities, the Halkin, with no spa, lounge or library spaces, has very little of the above. Instead the property delivers five star luxury via its discreet and uber slick service and an emphasis on privacy for all guests.

If youre looking to lounge around in the hotel all day, or youre a celebrity that secretly likes getting papped, its not the one for you.

The Halkin exterior

Rooms

The 41 rooms and suites, reached via curved corridors of black wooden panelling, are spacious and elegant, with a calming neutral colour scheme. The decor is best described as bespoke Italian luxury-meets-contemporary Asian minimalism, and is reminiscent in places of some of the Aman hotel chains beautiful city hotels.

The rooms are furnished with soft carpets and warm wood panelling, with accents of brown and purple, and have some of the largest bathrooms in London, designed in floor-to-ceiling marble. All rooms come with Egyptian linen-clad giant beds, Bose iPod docks and wall consoles to call the butler and guest services, control lighting, room temperature, and doorbell

Most popular, though, are the hotels spacious and incredibly relaxing suites, located on the sun-soaked fifth floor, some of which have private balconies that face into the inner courtyard.

Ametsa restuarant / Como The Halkin

Food & drink

On the ground floor, Ametsa, the hotels restaurant, brings flavours of the Basque Country to Belgravia. The tapas-style food here is colourful, packed with flavour and beautifully presented. There are excellent wines on offer and a sommelier talented with pairings.

Ametsa is also the location where an a la carte breakfast is served, featuring some delicious Spanish-inspired egg dishes, alongside more traditional fare of granola and avocado toast.

The decor of the restaurant is cool, minimal and overwhelmingly white bar the hundreds of spice-filled test tubes suspended from the ceiling. Its elegant, but lacking in atmosphere or cosiness of any sort. The service is however impeccable.

This is not entirely unconnected, presumably, to its general emptiness. We had dinner on a Friday night before Christmas and were the only people in the restaurant  based on the culinary finesse on show, it deserves to be busier. At breakfast, we were joined by a solo female business traveller, and a wealthy-looking American couple. This is most definitely the place to read your morning papers in peace.

Also on the ground floor is the 24-hour Halkin bar, a long, thin and brightly lit space with Georgian windows and a black and red colour scheme serving daily afternoon tea and an all-day menu of hearty classics like pasta and fish and chips. More of a meeting point than a sexy low-lit cocktail bar.

The Halkin Bar

Facilities

The hotel is limited when it comes to facilities. Theres no spa or pool, and a tiny fitness centre, with personal trainers available. A jog in beautiful Hyde Park would definitely be preferable.

Those looking for a treatment are able to book into the Como Shambhala Urban Escape Spa at the Halkins sister hotel, The Metropolitan, located a ten-minute stroll the other side of Hyde Park corner.

Read our review of the Como Shambhala Urban Escape here.

Detail
(Bloomberg) -- Jeff Bezos is on a selling spree.

Stock disposals by Amazon.com Inc.s founder and chief executive officer over the past week have reached 1.7 million shares, or $3.45 billion, according to the latest round of regulatory filings. The stock has ticked higher regardless, gaining 9.6% since Jan. 30, the day before his sales began. The transactions are part of a pre-arranged trading plan.

An Amazon spokesman declined to comment.

That brings Bezoss total stock sales to more than $13 billion, with the majority occurring in the past four years, according to calculations by Bloomberg. Bezos, 56, said in 2017 that he was selling about $1 billion a year in Amazon stock to fund Blue Origin LLC, his space flight company. The rocket builder has since expanded operations and signaled its first human test flights this year.

Bezos also has been on a shopping spree for art. He was seen walking through the previews at Sothebys in November. He reportedly set a record for artist Ed Ruscha at a Christies auction the same month with a $52.5 million purchase of Hurting the Word Radio #2. Bezos also bought Vignette 19 by Kerry James Marshall for $18.5 million at Sothebys, more than doubling its high estimate. And he has been hunting around for another Los Angeles home, according to agents there.

The scale of his stock sales -- including $2 billion in 2017 and $2.8 billion in 2019 -- partly reflects Amazons soaring valuation, which surpassed $1 trillion at the close of trading for the first time on Tuesday. The 1.7 million shares make up such a small portion of his stake in Amazon that he still owns about 11% of the company, worth $114.5 billion.

(Updates with stocks performance in second paragraph)

--With assistance from Hari Govind and Matt Day.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Metcalf in London at tmetcalf7@bloomberg.net;Sophie Alexander in San Francisco at salexander82@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Pierre Paulden at ppaulden@bloomberg.net, David Scheer, Dan Reichl

Story continues

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com

Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.

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The Supreme Court Friday stayed the proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) against a 'minor' allegedly involved in the sensational gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua.

A bench of Justices N V Ramana, Ajay Rastogi and V Ramasubramanian stayed the proceedings after Jammu and Kashmir administration claimed that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had erroneously affirmed the order of a trial court holding him as juvenile at the time of the offence in 2018.

"Having heard senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing on behalf of the petitioners and after perusing the averments made in the application for stay, we direct that the further proceedings pending before the Juvenile Justice Board at Kathua, titled as...shall remain stayed," the bench said, listing the matter for further hearing on March 16.

Senior advocate P S Patwalia, appearing for J&K adminstration, said the high court had on October 11, 2019, wrongly affirmed the trial court order of March 27, 2018, without appreciating that the date of birth recorded in the municipal and school records are contradictory to each other.

He said that despite the notice to the 'minor' accused issued by the apex court on January 6 on the administration's appeal, the JJB has continued its proceeding against the accused, treating him as a juvenile.

Patwalia contended that the accused is one of the main conspirators of the entire incident and kidnapped, gang-raped and murdered the victim.

He said it is the admitted case of the accused that there was contradiction in his date of birth recorded in the municipal and school records and therefore, the opinion given by the medical board holds paramount importance.

Patwalia said that medical board constituted by the high court by its order of February 21, 2018 had opined that the accused was aged between 19 to 23 years at the time of offence.

The JJB had last year framed charges against the 'minor' and continued with the proceedings of examination of prosecution witnesses.

The top court on May 7, 2018 transferred the trial of the case from Kathua in Jammu to Pathankot in Punjab and ordered for day-to-day trial after some lawyers prevented the Crime Branch officials from filing a charge sheet in the sensational case.

The special court on June 10 last year sentenced three men to life imprisonment till last breath for the ghastly crime that shook the nation.

Sanji Ram, the mastermind and caretaker of the 'devasthanam' (temple) where the crime took place in January, 2018; Deepak Khajuria, a Special Police Officer, and Parvesh Kumar, a civilian -- the three main accused --were spared death penalty, a punishment sought by the prosecution during the year-long in-camera trial in the court.

The three who were given life term were convicted under Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) sections relating to criminal conspiracy, murder, kidnapping, gang rape, destruction of evidence, drugging the victim and common intention.

The other three accused -- Sub Inspector Anand Dutta, Head Constable Tilak Raj and special police officer Surender Verma -- were convicted for destruction of evidence to cover up the crime and handed down five years in jail and Rs 50,000 fine each.

The trial court had acquitted the seventh accused Vishal Jangotra, son of Sanji Ram, giving him the 'benefit of doubt'.

According to prosecution, the eight-year-old girl was kidnapped on January 10, 2018 and was raped in captivity in a small village temple, exclusively manned by Ram, after keeping her sedated for four days. She was later bludgeoned to death.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi is all set to cast its vote to elect a new 70-member Assembly with voting on February 8 (Saturday). The counting will take place on February 11. It is the right of every eligible person to cast his or her vote to bring the right person to power. A person, of 18 years of age or above, can vote only if their name appears in the Voter List otherwise known as the Electoral Roll.

The voting in the national capital will commence from 8 am and continue till 6 pm. However, those people in the queue at polling booths will be allowed to exercise their franchise even after the allotted time for polling.

A person should have a voter card. A photo voter slip shall not be accepted as a stand-alone identification document for voting. However, if a person does not have a voter card but is enrolled on the electoral list, they can cast their vote if they have these documents--driving licence, service identity cards, passport, passbook, MNREGA job card, PAN card, health insurance smart card issued under the scheme of Ministry of Labour, pension document, smart card issued by RGI under NPR, official identity cards issued to MPs/MLAs or Aadhaar card.

The Delhi Metro services will also start commuting from 4 am on February 8 in view of the officials who will travel for election duty. It is to be noted that in normal days the metro services start at 6 am.

Delhi is in for a three-cornered fight between the main rivals-- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

The Election Commission and Delhi Police have made all possible arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of the election. Security arrangements have been tightened with around 2,50,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary force personnel deployed.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, 50,000 police personnel were deployed in the national capital, while the number has increased this time in view of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in many parts of the capital. Delhi Police will also be monitoring 4000 sensitive polling booths through CCTV cameras.
MOSCOW  Ratcheting up pressure on Belarus to join it in a union state, Russia rejected pleas from its increasingly balky ally on Friday to provide it with cut-rate oil supplies, insisting that it could not provide any discount.

The Belarusian leader, Aleksandr G. Lukashenko, emboldened by a visit last weekend to his country by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, pushed hard for cheap energy during what he called a moment of truth meeting in Sochi, Russia, with President Vladimir V. Putin. Mr. Putin has used Belaruss dependence on Russian oil and gas to revive a moribund plan to merge the two countries.

But a senior Kremlin official, Dmitri Kozak, told journalists late Friday that Russia, which temporarily suspended oil deliveries to Belarus last month, could offer only market rates with no discount. He added that negotiations between the two countries on oil sales would continue on a commercial basis.

Russia seems to have offered some concessions on supplies of natural gas, with Mr. Kozak saying that favorable terms set in 2019 would continue for the moment. But its firm stand on oil increased pressure on Belarus to accede to demands by Mr. Putin that the two countries implement a long-stalled 1999 plan to unite their two countries in a union state.
Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief ministers under detention since August, charged under PSA law.

Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir  Two former chief ministers of Indian-administered Kashmir have been charged under strict Public Safety Act (PSA) six months after they were detained.

Authorities on Thursday charged Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti under PSA  a law that allows detention without trial for up to two years  as part of a crackdown to prevent protests against New Delhis decision to strip the Muslim-majority regions autonomy.

A senior police official in the region told Al Jazeera that the PSA was slapped on the two formers chief ministers as the detention under the current charges could not be stretched beyond six months.

https://twitter.com/news_bracket/status/1225457599572668416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Since government was running out of options PSA was slapped on them, the official, who did not want to be named, said.

Besides the two former chief ministers, a few more mainstream politicians have been booked under the same law that has been described as draconian by the Amnesty International.

Indias Hindu nationalist government imposed a security lockdown in Kashmir hours before it abrogated Article 370 of the constitution which granted the Himalayan region special status and protected its demography.

Massive crackdown

Thousands of people have been arrested, including pro-India and separatist politicians, as part of the massive crackdown that has been criticised by the UN human rights body.

Earlier, the Indian government, led by right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), also booked Farooq Abdullah, a three-time chief minister and a sitting parliamentarian under the same law. Farooq has completed half a year in detention.

Members of the Abdullah family have ruled the Muslim-majority region for most of the last 70 years.





The strict measures against the mainstream politicians were taken after they strongly opposed the governments move to abrogate the special law that had provided the region with a separate constitution, a flag and barred outsiders from the permanent settlements.

While the Indian government claims that things are normal in Kashmir, the tension continues to persist as internet services continue to be partially cut off in the region with strict curbs on dissent.

Iltija Mufti, the daughter of former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, whose Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ran the regional government in alliance with the BJP, told Al Jazeera that the government is hurtling to become a banana republic.

For them statements that are laid with division and bigotry are acceptable. But if we stand for our people, as Jammu and Kashmir is the only Muslim-majority state in India, they give us a collective punishment that started with first disempowering people and then creating a sense of fear psychosis, she said.

Farooq Abdullah is a member of parliament and you cannot punish somebody who is an elected representative. It is his fundamental right to say how he feels and has a right to attend the parliament. But there is no respect for the rule of law.

200129084025204

They cannot behave like autocrats.

Kashmiris are being humiliated

Imran Nabi Dar, a politician from National Conference (NC), termed the slapping of PSA on the two leaders as shocking.

It was never expected that things will come to this point. It is the same people who participated in [mainstream politics] despite the killings of their party workers for aligning with electoral politics. I dont know where we are heading, its a dark tunnel, he said.

There are no tourists here, economy is down the drain, and there is no political activity. Just having shops open and cars moving does not mean anything is normal. Kashmiris are being humiliated again and again.

A political analyst based in Kashmir said these actions show the governments insecurities.

It means that the government is quite insecure to allow elected politicians by their own laws to come into the picture. The other thing is not allowing freedom of expression no matter what Mehbooba and Omar say, said Siddiq Wahid, who is based in Srinagar, the main city in the disputed region.

India and Pakistan, who have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir, claim the disputed in full, but control only parts of it.
opinion

In 2010, almost nobody was talking about FGM, but I can now say that Britain cares about women like me

When I was seven I was taken on holiday to Djibouti where I underwent female genital mutilation. I'm still living with the consequences, and for the last decade have been campaigning against FGM both at home in Britain and around the world.

In 2010, almost nobody was talking about it here. We were told it wasn't a topic for mainstream media. One breakfast TV producer told Brendan Wynne, my colleague and co-founder of The Five Foundation, that "FGM and cornflakes don't mix ". But much has changed since then, and FGM now makes frontpage news.

Once seen as an issue of culture and tradition, FGM has been reframed as one of violence against girls and child abuse in a campaign where FGM survivors have taken centre stage. I can now say that Britain cares about women like me and is deeply committed to ending the practice both at home and worldwide. It has strengthened its laws and committed 85m since 2013 to tackle FGM in Africa.

FGM is now seen as a global issue affecting women and girls from Europe and the Americas to the Middle East and Asia, but it is overwhelmingly relevant to Africa. According to UNICEF, over 200 million of us are affected and 68 million girls are at risk between now and 2030. That number is likely to keep increasing as better data becomes available.

In late 2019, UNFPA estimated $95 is needed to protect each girl at risk. The need is immense and hugely urgent, but for the most part donors have sidestepped this issue. They seem to think it's too difficult and somehow not central to realising gender equality. This is one of the biggest barriers to change that we continue to face.

Political will is now much higher than a decade ago. Although still permissible in Indonesia and elsewhere in Asia, FGM is now illegal in almost every African country where it is prevalent. But it is still legal in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Mali in West Africa, and Sudan, Somalia and Somaliland in East Africa.

In Somaliland, where I was born, we've been working with President Musa, the authorities and local activists to ban FGM. But there is opposition, particularly from religious leaders in the Ministry of Religion and Welfare, who may not agree to an outright ban on all types of FGM. In Liberia and Sierra Leone there continues to be political resistance to banning it for fear of losing votes.

And yet, governments do not seem to see that ending FGM is fundamentally linked to Africa's economic prosperity. The Legatum Institute's Global Prosperity Index shows not a single African country affected by FGM made it into the top 100. An important new economic tool launched this week by the WHO will show countries the cost of FGM.

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We are also starting to get a better sense of what approaches are actually effective in ending FGM. Despite significant investment, some countries like Senegal have still not reduced FGM prevalence according to UNICEF data, while others like Kenya have led the way, due to a combination of active civil society, an engaged media and political will to protect girls at risk - at least on some level. It's optimistic but important that President Kenyatta has stated he wants to end it there within two years.

Let's make this a decade of deliverance for African women and girls and see the links between gender equality, women's economic empowerment and a country's prosperity. I hope that foundations will finally get behind frontline activists like Jaha Dukureh, founder of Safe Hands for Girls in The Gambia and Josephine Kulea, founder of Kenya's Samburu Girls Foundation. Let's continue to get the private sector involved too and follow trailblazers like African payments group Dahabshiil, which has supported us and work to end FGM in Somaliland.

We have ten years to end FGM in Africa and beyond, but unless we change our approach we will still be talking about this devastating abuse in ten years' time.

Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Nimco Ali OBE, a British-Somali campaigner against FGM and co-founder of The Five Foundation, a global partnership to end FGM
Minutes before a Paulsboro man was sentenced to 54 years in prison for killing Shawneeq M. Carter during a burglary in Woodbury, the victims father spoke about his pain.

I wasnt there to protect her when she needed me the most and for the rest of my life I have to live with that agony, Sean Carter told the court on Friday.

A Gloucester County jury convicted Brandon D. Wilson, 21, on first-degree murder and other charges in December for the September 2017 killing of Carter, 26, of Camden County.

Wilsons parents were sentenced to probation Friday for hindering a police investigation of the case.

Carter was house sitting for a friend in Woodbury and was staying there with her 5-year-old son and a 5-year-old cousin, when Wilson broke into the home and bludgeoned the woman with a metal bar from a weight bench. She was also stabbed during the attack.

The children were sleeping at the time and woke to find the woman dead.

Wilson had lived in that house for five months as a foster child, authorities previously said.

Shawneeq M. Carter, 26, of Camden, was killed in a Woodbury home in 2017.

Sean Carter told the court about how losing his daughter has changed him.

I never thought that I would have to go to a funeral home and see my dead daughter on a table beaten to death, he said.

Carter observed that there are terms to describe a wife who loses her husband or a child who loses his parents.

There is no name for a parent who loses a child, he said. Which means that I am unidentifiable. So what the defendant did was he altered my whole life.

His daughters son, who is now 7, asks his grandfather questions about death and whether his mother will recognize him in heaven if he lives to be an old man, Carter said.

I explained to him that it doesnt matter if you are 7 or 70. The day your mother sees you, she will know who you are.

When asked if he had anything to say prior to sentencing, Wilson responded, Not at all, your honor.

Defense attorney David A. Snyder explained that Wilson declined to speak to preserve his right to appeal his case. Snyder said his client maintains his innocence.

Superior Court Judge M. Christine Allen-Jackson reviewed Wilsons extensive criminal history, including charges of burglary, receiving stolen property, unlawful possession of a weapon, obstruction and drug offenses.

A day or two before the killing, Wilson was released from jail in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he had been held for skipping a court hearing on a drug charge. A car linked to the murder case was reported stolen from a home near the jail shortly after his release, the judge noted.

Allen-Jackson also spoke about the severity of the killing.

This was an especially cruel and heinous crime, she said. Not only was she beaten about the body with the exercise equipment, but also stabbed with the knife. The blade of the knife had been dislodged from its handle. Part of her brain did suffer a laceration and there were injuries over and above what was needed to terminate her life.

Wilson showed no emotion as the sentence was read. He even yawned.

During the trial, Assistant Prosecutor Bryant Flowers presented DNA evidence that tied Wilson to the killing, video surveillance of the defendant near the scene and GPS data from the stolen car that placed him near the home.

Wilsons DNA was found on a bloodied T-shirt located at the house, and Flowers argued it was the same shirt Wilson was seen wearing on security camera footage from downtown Woodbury around the time of the crime.

His DNA was also found on the weight bench bar, a window prosecutors believe he used to enter the house, and on a hat found in the stolen car, Flowers said. Investigators also recovered the knife they said was used in the attack.

Wilson faced 30 years to life on the murder charge.

In seeking a sentence on the low end of that range, Snyder argued that his clients record included no other violent offenses.

He noted that Wilson was a foster child at one time and has dealt with substance abuse issues. He will receive drug treatment and help for mental health issues while serving time, Snyder said, meaning he is unlikely to re-offend once he leaves prison.

Flowers argued for a tougher sentence, pointing to the injuries Carter suffered and Wilsons lengthy record. I think a term of life would be appropriate, he said.

Allen-Jackson sentenced Wilson to 50 years on the murder charge and a consecutive four years for a charge of receiving stolen property. That charge relates to the stolen car.

He must serve at least 42 1/2 years on the murder charge before he is eligible for parole.

Prior to sentencing, Allen-Jackson denied a defense motion for a new trial.

Evidence presented during the trial included a recording of a phone call Wilson made to his parents from jail in which he asked his father to dispose of two pairs of shoes. He made that call after his shoes were taken for inspection in connection with the investigation. He was in jail on unrelated charges at the time and had not yet been charged in the killing.

Wilsons parents were charged with hindering after investigators arrived at the familys house and found the two pairs of shoes in the attic, where they were still wet and smelled of a cleaning solution.

David A. Wilson, 54, and Kim Ward, 52, pleaded guilty to hindering charges in November as they were also preparing to face trial.

Both apologized for their actions Friday before they were each sentenced to two years of probation.

Attorneys for the parents argued for leniency, noting that the couple has health and financial issues, and both are in drug treatment.

Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Teen Mom alum, Farrah Abraham is certainly no stranger to rumors. But, this time the rumor mill is rife with accusations that are more egregious than usual. Over the weekend, rumors swirled that Child Protective Services (or CPS) was called on the former reality star for allegedly abandoning her 10-year-old daughter, Sophia. But just how did this rumor start, and what did Abraham have to say about it?

Farrah Abraham and Sophia Abraham | Araya Diaz/Getty Images for Mashup LA

Farrah Abraham was in Mexico with her rumored boyfriend

This past weekend, Abrahams daughter posted a video to the popular app TikTok. This is pretty usual behavior for the 10-year-old, who is active across a myriad of social media platforms. However, this particular video alarmed fans because Sophia appeared to be home alone. Sources reported that Abraham was allegedly in Mexico with her rumored boyfriend, Daniel Ishag. Things really began spiraling out of control when a screenshot, that claimed CPS had been called, was released to the public and sent to Abrahams mom, Debra Danielsen.

Abrahams mom denies the Child Protective Services rumors

Farrah abandoned Sophia home alone in their apartment to fly to Mexico to celebrate this boy toy, Daniel Ishags, birthday. Police have been notified and CPS is investigating, the screenshot read. As the rumors began gaining traction, the TikTok that Abrahams daughter posted was swiftly deleted. Danielsen eventually came out and said that the rumors were fabricated. She maintained that her granddaughter was safe with family. Furthermore, she shared that the TikTok was posted by a stalker who is obsessed with Abraham. She alleged that they had turned it over to the police for investigation. Sophia wasnt even on her phone. She wasnt alone, never made a post and was swimming, Danielsen claimed. Farrah has not done anything wrong here, she continued, maintaining her daughters innocence.

The Teen Mom alum responds to the news on IG

But despite the claims that the rumors were fake, fans were still in disbelief. They began to express concern for Sophias safety and bashed Abraham for not properly caring for her daughter. The rumors got so bad that the Teen Mom alum felt compelled to address them herself. On February 4, 2020, Abraham took to her Instagram to post a video of her attempting to meditate and a statement. #LinkInBio Heres the TRUTH on Child Protective Services being called on me regarding Sophia. Im DONE staying silent. This is the one and only time I will speak on this bullshit. Haters, stay jealous. , the 28-year-old wrote.

Is a stalker truly to blame for the rumors

In the statement published by Champion Daily, Abraham doubled down on the story that Danielsen released, putting the fault on stalkers. Since I have had continued harassment, stalkers, and haters from the Teen Mom show continue to call Police on me after being hated on the show, I have taken extensive precautions against those who sell stories, lies, and harass my family. Sophia is protected from the evil people and its sad people are jealous of my dating life, and try to affect my family in a negative way. We live a great life and are not affected by harassment of any sort and I will not tolerate unsafe illegal actions by others lying, stalking, or harassing my family, Abraham shared.

Abraham denies that her underage daughter was left home alone

The former reality tv star concluded by saying that she needed to take a step back from social media to protect herself and her daughter. She also assured people that Sophia was always taken care of. I see I need to post less on social media since cyberbullying and hate still has not been filtered out on social media. My father and family always watch Sophia when Im away, as sadly nannies have proven to not be trustworthy, Abraham concluded. While the story doesnt completely add up, were pleased to hear that Abraham will be posting to Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube less frequently. As she and her daughter receive a lot of hate through those platforms, it certainly cant hurt to ease up on them.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The reeve of a Saskatchewan municipality where a second fiery train derailment has occurred in less than two months says it's time for the federal government to look more seriously at pipelines to move oil.

Jack Gibney of the Rural Municipality of Usborne says "oil is going to move one way or another."

"We have no choice."

A Canadian Pacific Railway freight train jumped the tracks near Guernsey, about 115 kilometres southeast of Saskatoon, early Thursday.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency said 31 of the train's 104 cars derailed and a dozen caught fire, sending flames and thick, black smoke into the air.

The fire was still burning Friday morning. The Transportation Safety Board said its investigators could not get to the wreckage as a result.

About 85 residents who were ordered to leave the agricultural community on Thursday remained out of their homes. Gibney said the smoke had subsided and people might be able to return on the weekend if the wind worked in their favour.

Residents gathered in the town hall in nearby Lanigan on Friday and met with CP officials. Gibney said people appreciate the rail company's efforts, but are still concerned about rail safety and the transportation of oil.

Another derailment about 10 kilometres away on the same set of tracks in December also caused a fire when 1.5 million litres of oil spilled.

After the second derailment Thursday, the federal government ordered lower speed limits for all trains carrying large amounts of dangerous goods.

Trains carrying oil move through Guernsey every hour, said Gibney, who added the track is busier than it's ever been.

"We call it our Canadian pipeline here going by."

Tom Lukiwski, the member of Parliament for the area, said he believes pipelines are the safest way to transport crude oil and bitumen.

"This, I hope, will be a reminder to the government that they have to take a very hard and long look at increasing our pipeline capacity in this country."
As we pulled in front of the plantation house, the ride-hail driver marveled at the oak trees, hung with gauzy Spanish moss.

Dont touch it though, she said. Someone told me its full of bugs.

Research bore out her advice: The bromeliad can be rife with chiggers, the small red bugs that burrow into your skin, causing pain and itching.

As I waited on the porch of the Gamble Plantation, I overheard another visitor say, Its so beautiful. She gazed up at the stately white columns, which had the iconic look of Tara from the movie epic Gone With the Wind.

Such grandeur, but also such an ugly history. It was the first time Id ever been to a plantation, glimpsing the past that still touches almost every part of American life.

Before we entered the only surviving antebellum mansion in South Florida, the ranger intoned that the house spoke to him, a symbol of survival and self-reliance. If you choose, it can speak to you, too, he said.

Survival? Self-reliance? Of whom  of sugar plantation slaveholder Robert Gamble, the son of a Richmond, Va., merchant and slaveholder? Fathers and sons wealth rested upon the backbreaking labor of those stolen from their homelands and parted from their families.

Gamble had settled there under the auspices of the Armed Occupation Act, designed to attract white settlers to the Florida peninsula and push out the Seminoles. It reminded me that indigenous people in this country would get stripped of their land, language and culture in the generations that followed.

As we passed from room to room of the Greek Revival-style mansion, the ranger told us Gamble lost a brother and suffered crop losses, fires and other calamities, but I couldnt muster much pity for a man who owned 190 slaves on his 3,500 acres.

The rangers corny jokes grated on me, how Gamble had been hounded by creditors like Visa and MasterCard. At Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp  the largest one, which was liberated 75 years ago last week  imagine if jocular tour guides focused upon the life and times of the Nazi officials, with only a nod to the 1.1 million victims who perished?

In time, Gamble had to sell his estate to men who took the plantations most valuable asset ...  The ranger trailed off, but gave us an expectant look, prompting us to elaborate.

The slaves, we said.

He nodded. The state park is also a memorial to Judah P. Benjamin, the Confederate secretary of state. Fearing he would get tried for treason, Benjamin fled the country via the plantation before eventually becoming a barrister in England. He was buried at the famed Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, where the United Daughters of the Confederacy placed a plaque on his grave in 1938. In this version of history, he was exalted  no war criminal.

At the end of the tour, the ranger asked if we had any questions.

Where were the slave quarters? I asked.

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.

Between here and the river, he said, pointing off in one direction.

After he had gone into so much detail about Gamble and how the walls of the mansion were made from crushed oyster shells, sand, water and lime, his vagueness upset me. Shouldnt we know the specifics of the horrific conditions that the enslaved lived in?

I thought of a Bay Area treasure, Betty Reid Soskin, the 98-year-old ranger at the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond. Her presentations are both intimate and sweeping, connecting past injustices with the present.

That day, at the plantations visitor center, I studied a list of slaves, the names rendered in tiny cursive script: John, Margaret, and Betsy Brown, her child Ellen, the scant detail heartbreaking. The tally also included farming utensils of every description  chilling proof of how human lives were commodified and considered just another tool.

Afterward, I passed a sign for wedding, tour bus and RV parking and strolled into a grove of oak trees veiled with Spanish moss, the sort of backdrop where a bride and groom could pose.

Both Pinterest and the Knot, two major wedding planning websites, recently decided to stop promoting wedding venues and content that romanticizes slave plantations. Its a move that asks us to reflect upon context, to avoid getting swept up into a dangerous nostalgia that erases history. To pull back the camera lens to include all those who lived here, and to consider how Spanish moss, beautiful as it might seem, harbors what gets under our skin.

Vanessa Huas column appears Fridays in Datebook. Email: datebook@sfchronicle.com
I believe I know what that government is going to be.

This view is based on analysing opinion polls, listening to what the party leaders have said  such as Brendan Howlin  and working it out from there.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you your new government: Fianna Fail, the Green Party, the Social Democrats and a small group of like minded Independents, supported by Labour from Opposition in a new confidence and supply agreement. In other words, a bit of a muddle, but stable enough all the same. Ireland is about to go centre-left.

There will be an awful schmozzle for about three weeks after the votes are counted before such a government is put in place; in the end though, this government, I believe, will emerge and also, crucially, will just about meet the publics demand for change.

In that schmozzle there will be loads of speculation about deals between Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein; Fianna Fail and Fine Gael and Fine Gael and Sinn Fein, and possibly even negotiations behind the scenes between representatives of some or all of those parties, but they will come to nought.

That is because too much has been said and done in this campaign about and between the three main parties  FF, FG, SF  for a permutation of any such government to be formed.

The only possible alternative to the government I have outlined above is Fianna Fail and the Greens, supported by Fine Gael in a confidence and supply arrangement, but I do not think such a government will meet the publics demand for change.

In the immediate aftermath, this Sunday and next week, a lot of talk will be around Sinn Fein. Mary Lou McDonalds party will have a considerable mandate. Sinn Fein will do well, winning in or around 30 seats and the party will demand its place in power as a result. The other main parties are finding it increasingly difficulty to deny that mandate, although nobody is obliged to go into government with Sinn Fein. An increased mandate for Fianna Fail, the Greens and Social Democrats will be just as legitimate.

After the events of this week, and all that has emerged and been said, I believe it will be impossible for either Fianna Fail or Fine Gael to go into government with Sinn Fein, tempted though some TDs in both parties will be. So something else must happen.

In this regard, the most relevant finding in the opinion polls taken during the campaign related to one question: which political party or parties, if any, would you not like to see in government after the election? Of the three main parties, over 30pc said, in order, Sinn Fein and Fine Gael - but just 23pc said Fianna Fail.

In other words, Fianna Fail will in my view, not only command the largest first preference share of the vote but, as importantly, will be by far the more transfer friendly of the three, an opinion poll finding that holds across all demographics of political party allegiance, age, social class and geographic location. Perhaps more than at any other time in living memory, this poll finding will be central to the eventual outcome.

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To put this in the form of a conundrum that might be perplexing and understandable at the same time: many Fine Gael supporters will transfer to Fianna Fail to keep Sinn Fein out, such is their alarm at the prospect of Belfast in power; and many Sinn Fein supporters will transfer to Fianna Fail in the hope that a deal can be done and of getting into power.

That is why, for example, Micheal Martin has said, at least three times this week that his difficulty is not with Sinn Fein voters, whom he respects, but with the set up and operation of that party itself. He was referring in particular to those who have not voted for Sinn Fein before but are determinedly minded to do so this time. In other words, Fianna Fail is looking for their transfers.

These voters, five to eight per cent of the total electorate, are most anxious for change. But let us not forget, Sinn Fein does not have enough candidates in the field to meet the potential demand. In Dublin, it is running two candidates in just one of 11 constituencies. On Sunday there will also be a lot of talk about the seats Sinn Fein has left behind.

So, in urban areas Sinn Fein voters can be expected to mostly transfer to the Greens and Social Democrats, with a tick to a Fianna Fail candidate who has worked hard on the ground and, well, because Fianna Fail is republican and not Fine Gael; and in rural areas they will mostly transfer to Fianna Fail and Independents. In all scenarios, Fianna Fail will benefit to a greater or lesser extent.

As a result, I expect Fianna Fail to win between 55 and 60 seats. The Greens will win 10 seats on a good day and more on a great day; and the Social Democrats will win three, maybe four. So between them, Fianna Fail, the Greens and the Social Democrats will win between 70 and 75 seats.

Now let us turn to the Independents: candidates such as, say, Marian Harkin, and Katherine Zappone (if she holds her seat) and others on the centre and centre left would appeal to the Greens and Social Democrats in government. Boxer Moran will be there or thereabouts too.

And there will be a fair few of what Leo Varadkar might call backwoodsmen gene pool Fianna Fail Independent TDs  let us say five Independent TDs all in, which would take this prospective government close to the required 80-seat majority.

In the first week of the campaign, Labour leader, Brendan Howlin said it was Labours intention, or hope, to be in the next government; but  and this is forgotten - he also said Labour would be open to a confidence and supply deal with an ideologically compatible administration.

I believe Labour will do well to hold seven seats on this occasion. In such circumstances, I expect the party will decide to go into opposition under an eventual new leader and rebuild on a platform of having provided three or four years of relatively stable government.

Sinn Fein will not easily accept such an outcome. As the prospect of power slips away, Mary Lou McDonalds party may even announce its support for the Special Criminal Court, or contrive to transfer the partys powerbase from Belfast to Dublin. In such circumstances, Leo Varadkar will be sorely tempted to do a deal, and a schmozzle may ensue for a while.

But no, to coin a phrase, on this occasion Sinn Fein must waitand further evolve. So, for what it is worth, that is how I see this most interesting and demonstrative election campaign working out, an outcome albeit a little frustrating and somewhat stillborn in the end.
The last few weeks have shown that navigating Latino identity is a minefield that can set off an explosion at any moment in American culture. Such as: Is Antonio Banderas Latino or not?

This and other hot-button debates  including the unalloyed joy at Shakira and JLo performing at the Super Bowl  expose the complexity of what it means to be Latinx. These heated discussions drive home why Hollywood desperately needs gatekeepers who understand what these cultural firestorms are really about.

Thats because the unspoken rules regarding Latino identity shift depending on the context. (We cant even agree on what to call ourselves, but thats a topic for another time.)

Let me break down the firestorms of the past month as a way to unpack the lessons embedded within.

1. Antonio Banderas: Colonist or Hollywood trailblazer for Latinos?

Exactly on queue, on the morning Oscar nominations were announced last month, outrage among Latinxers erupted on social media. Aside from widespread frustration with JLos nomination snub, despite her head-turning role in Hustlers, debate raged over Banderas nomination for his leading role in Pedro Almodovars Pain and Glory.

The rub? For some, Banderas, who was born in Spain, does not represent diversity in Hollywood. The outrage at the suggestion that his nomination was a small win for all Latinos was so strong, one would think Banderas makes it a habit of waking up in the morning and dressing in Spanish conquistador armor before heading to Hollywood meetings. Others within the Latinx community dismissed the debate as divisive  a win for someone with Spanish-speaking roots should be a win for all.

That awkward moment when Antonio Banderas, a white man from Spain, is included with Cynthia Erivo in @CTVNewss #OscarNoms report. Antonio Banderas, just like Catherine Zeta Jones, is a white European. #OscarsSoWhite pic.twitter.com/zjrXkCGQpv

 Alfonso Martin Espina Opiniano (@alfonsoespina) January 13, 2020

Story continues

Perhaps a more constructive conversation would be examining how Hollywoods executive elite perceives Banderas. Have studio heads historically seen him as one of their own, a slam dunk for quintessential Hollywood roles? Or has Banderas, in his 30+ years in Hollywood, too been perceived as an other in those closed-door, career-defining conversations by gatekeepers?

The response to Banderas nomination among the Latinx community should have come as no surprise: The entertainment industry would do well in trying to understand the nuances of representation.

Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron last year captured the ongoing struggle about the lack of representation of U.S. born Latinos in an interview with media company Remezcla.

There is so much talk about diversity, and I mean some progress has been made, but definitely the Hispanic Americans  and specifically Chicanos  are really, really badly represented still, Cuaron said after winning an Oscar for the feature film Roma. Its amazing, you know? Its a huge percentage of the population.

2. Why Hollywood darling American Dirt turned to ash

Before copies even hit the bookshelves, the Mexican migrant novel by Jeanine Cummins unleashed the wrath of many Mexican Americans and other Latinos for what has been described as the books unsophisticated narrative  a tale laced with stereotypes, cliches and a hollow understanding of the journey to cross the border.

Imperative Entertainment, the production company behind Clint Eastwoods The Mule, acquired the rights to the novel after a publishing bidding war resulted in a seven-figure sum for Cummins. In the authors note, Cummins now famously says she wished someone slightly browner than me had written the novel, before conceding she had the capacity to be some sort of a cultural bridge, presumably because her husband was an undocumented immigrant (from Ireland, it was later known) and her grandmother is Puerto Rican.

Jeanine Cummins

Barnes & Noble

Did Hollywood jump before doing its due diligence? How we tell the important stories of our time is just as important as deciding what stories to tell.

The American Dirt controversy reminds me of a time early in my career when I was tapped by newsroom editors as a lead writer to chronicle Californias changing demographics. I was being dispatched to the border to tell the story of the explosive population growth among Latinos, which for the first time was more a result of births than of immigration.

Barely out of college from my hometown of Miami  where Latinos dominate every layer of business, politics and culture  I felt the assignment was all wrong. So I mustered up the courage to ask for a meeting with editors to discuss the direction of the story.

Journalists, as with entertainment execs, are fans of storytelling extremes  when, in fact, most of our daily lives are lived within the gritty, ambiguous in-between. My twenty-something self sat in a chair inside a small office, flanked by three veteran journalists, all white men. I proceeded to explain what I saw as flaws of the story idea.

Latinos, it seemed from our conversation, were something to observe through a fishbowl. Why do Latinos have so many babies? Lets go see them in the wild, it felt as though they were asking.

When I pushed back, one of the journalists who was standing inside of the cramped office asked if I felt as though I was too close to the story and couldnt be impartial.

Would it be better, he asked, if a Bavarian wrote it? He was the said Bavarian.

Im not exactly sure how I managed to pick up my metaphorical mouth from the floor and continue my pitch, but it remains a moment of pride that I walked out of that office with a completely different assignment of my own choosing. I would spend several months reporting and writing  alone, without the Bavarian.

It helped that I came to the meeting prepared, having spent hours analyzing census and private polling data. I found that if you look deeper at the trends over time, Latinos across generations very much begin to resemble white America when it comes to birth rates.

So I set out and found the perfect family (who hadnt settled on the poverty-stricken border) from which to tell a generational story that begins at the Rio Grande, migrates to Californias crop-picking fields and finishes (or begins again) on college campuses.

Its too late to change the immigrant tale at the center of American Dirt, though its publisher, Flatiron Books, backpedaled on its marketing push and book tour after the fervent backlash:

We should never have claimed that it was a novel that defined the immigrant experience; we should not have said that Jeanines husband was an undocumented immigrant while not specifying that he was from Ireland the statement read. We can now see how insensitive those and other decisions were, and we regret them.

Does it come as a surprise that Latinos made up just 3 percent of the publishing workforce in 2018, according to a 2019 Publishers Weekly study?

No, not really.

Jennifer Lopez Shakira Super Bowl LIV

3. How Shakira and JLos performance united Latinos

Ive often wondered why Latinos, particularly considering our share of the population, have struggled to make the same headway in Hollywood as African Americans and Asian Americans.

Then I think about some of the complicated conversations with my friends. For context: Im the daughter of Cuban immigrants; my husband is second-generation California Mexican American; our friends are a mix of children and grandchildren of Mexican, Peruvian, Argentinian and European immigrants; and several also proudly represent Boyle Heights and East L.A.

On a recent night, we went from debating the Banderas nomination to discussing the Latino director of some obscure film. The assumption was that he was of Mexican heritage. Then we Googled his name.

Oh, hes Puerto Rican, my friend, a self-described Chicana, said.

You sound disappointed, I responded, as her shoulders slumped slightly.

I thought he was Mexican.

In that disappointment lies the crux of why what Shakira and JLo did Sunday night felt so significant. For 12 minutes, these power women brought pan-ethnic Latinos together, forcing us to forget our differences and instead focus on our shared culture, experience and love of Spanglish.

We were one. And when JLo draped herself in a feathered Puerto Rican flag, Latinos collectively cheered, regardless of what country our parents or grandparents immigrated from; whether or not we speak Spanish; and no matter if we identify as Latinx or not.

Because in the context of making entertainment history on the most significant of stages, Latino identity transcended divisions.

So, yes, Latinos can gripe about whether a Banderas Oscar nomination counts toward Latino representation  and still see ourselves in Pain and Glory. We can tear apart the immigrant story central to American Dirt  and still demand more stories about the struggles south of the border. We can wear our different nationalities as badges of honor  and still come together as one when our culture is center stage.

Rather than see us as too difficult to understand, Hollywood should value us for being complicated and dynamic and flawed  a true American story.

Read original story The Latest Latinx Cultural Firestorms Show What Hollywood Still Needs to Learn At TheWrap
The Labour leader Brendan Howlin says its important to have a critical mass of left parties after Saturdays general election.

Brendan Howlin also said he would love to sit down with the Green Party and the Social Democrats next week to hammer out a progressive agenda to respond to crucial issues such as health and climate change.

He made his comments during the last leaders debate of the general election campaign tonight which featured Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, Social Democrats co-leader Roisin Shortall, Ruth Coppinger of Solidarity-People Before Profit and Aontu leader Peadar Toibin.

The leaders of the smaller political parties which could be king-makers in talks to form the next government made their final pitches for votes during the Prime Time debate during which they outlined their plans to tackle the climate crisis, to deliver affordable housing and fix the health crisis.

Free public transport and the introduction of a four-day working week were among the pledges made.

Mr Ryan suggested it is possible to have a bus from every town and village in Ireland given the wealth in the country, with Mr Toibin saying Aontu would look at decreasing the cost of the tickets while also increasing capacity.

Refusing to take action is no longer an option. @eamonryan establishes that ambition on climate change and biodiversity loss is a red line issue for the Green Party.#WantGreenVoteGreen #RTELeadersDebate #RTEPT #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/XU8mMFHGDq  Green Party Ireland (@greenparty_ie) February 6, 2020

But Ms Coppinger went a step further and said her party, if in government, would bring in free public transport.

She was pressed for specifics on her partys manifesto suggestion of nationalising the construction industry but she said it would only apply to large construction companies.

Mr Howlin said he wanted to be straight with the electorate and not make promises that couldnt be delivered, while at the same time ending the waste of public money.

We will end the waste of public money and build homes and fix health.



We are not promising big tax giveaways which wont fix the biggest crises we face in Ireland. #rtept #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/zvGnhCufNJ  The Labour Party (@labour) February 6, 2020

Ms Shortall agreed largely with Mr Howlins stance on the Slaintecare strategy but she stopped short of answering a question of whether she was prepared to rejoin the Labour fold.

She says its great that parties are signed up to the health strategy but said parties need to put their money where their mouths are.

Mr Toibin said if people vote in large numbers for Fianna Fail or Sinn Fein this weekend, circumstances could arise that would put Fine Gael back into government.

And he said people would feel cheated if they saw Simon Harris or Eoghan Murphy back at the cabinet table after the election.

Aontu in government will introduce a tax on banks' profits.



Votail Aontu #1 #RTEpt #GE2020 pic.twitter.com/ZauPxnYWrB  Aontu (@AontuIE) February 6, 2020

Meanwhile, RTE will publish the results of an exit poll on Saturday night.

The Ipsos/MRBI Exit Poll, commissioned by RTE, The Irish Times, TG4, and University College Dublin, will be published simultaneously by RTE and The Irish Times at 10pm.

Following an interview with about 5,000 people after theyve voted, the results of this opinion poll are set to give the earliest reflection of voting patterns.
Photo credit: Win McNamee

From Popular Mechanics

UPDATE 2/19/20: The Iowa Democrats have published another update to their caucus data. They reviewed dozens of precincts at the requests of the Buttigieg and Sanders campaigns, including all four precincts we discussed in this article, which are now fixed. The margin between Buttigieg and Sanders has officially shrunk to .08 State Delegate Equivalents, which is .0004 percent. That difference is roughly the weight of a single delegate at a single precinct. An additional wave of recounts may be conducted before the Iowa state convention. With the margin now incredibly close, this story may still not be over.

***

The first Democratic presidential primary of 2020 happened Monday night in Iowa. Five days later, we still dont actually know who won. While the percentage of reporting precincts has slowly crept toward 100 percent this week, we arent there quite yetbut the journey has been a mess riddled with mathematical errors.

Thursday nights last update went to 99.9 percent reporting, and shows Senator Bernie Sanders winning the popular vote by over 2,000 votes, with Mayor Pete Buttigieg capturing the State Delegate Equivalents (SDEs) by less than 0.1 percent. This razor-thin margin will translate to Sanders and Buttigieg getting equal delegates from Iowa to the national Democratic convention, so in that sense, theyve tied. (By all measurements, Senator Elizabeth Warren took third place, while former Vice President Joe Biden came in fourth.)

One of the main causes for the delay in results, according to the Iowa Democrats , was a reporting app that was not adequately tested before the caucuses. With the commotion of these technical difficulties, the entire usual timetable has been so pushed back that some basic, embarrassing math errors have slipped by, according to the standards for delegate math laid out by the Iowa Dems . Its our job to point those out.

Photo credit: Xinhua News Agency - Getty Images

Delegate Math

There are three steps to the delegate math: calculate, round, adjust.

Story continues

First is a calculation for each candidate. Its (number of voters that candidate got)*(number of delegates at stake)/(total voters at the caucus), which gives the raw number of delegates that candidate earned, typically not a whole number.

Second is rounding. Theres nothing tricky at this stepjust round up if the decimal is 0.5 or higher, and round down otherwise.

After rounding, the candidates delegate counts may not add to the total delegates at stake. That calls for an adjustment step.

If several candidates were rounded down, their delegate counts might add up to less than the intended total. The spare delegate is then given to the candidate who was closest to their next delegateessentially, the one who got rounded down the farthest.

Similarly, the other way, if rounding makes the total go too high, then a delegate is taken back from the candidate who got rounded up the farthest.If two candidates are tied at the adjustment step, then a coin is flipped to see who gains/loses the adjustment delegate. Thats the only time coin flips are supposed to happen.

The Errors

Des Moines Precinct 80 has already received heavy attention, centering on this tweet and video from that day :

Des Moines Precinct 80:



Bernies group had 101 people

Petes group had 66 people



Bernie & Pete end up tied at 4 delegates following a coin toss.



This is democracy??? #IACaucus pic.twitter.com/g9q1k67Vpn  Jaylen (@jaylencavil) February 4, 2020

Before precinct data was published, the tweet mightve been explained by some sort of miscommunication. Now that data is officially out , it confirms the numbers in the tweet: Sanders had 101 voters and Buttigieg had 66 on final alignment, but both received 4 delegates.

Photo credit: Dave Linkletter

The full picture painted by the data is 101 votes for Sanders, 66 for Buttigieg, and 48 for Biden, plus 25 uncommitted voters, for a total of 240. Delegates were officially distributed 4-4-2 for Sanders-Buttigieg-Biden. But that should have been 5-3-2.

Why? Because after the first calculation step, Sanders had 4.21, Buttigieg had 2.75, and Biden had 2.0. These round to 4, 3, and 2, respectively, which add up to 9. The precinct had 10 delegates to give out, so it needed to give the final delegate to the candidate closest to their next delegate.

At 0.79 away from his fifth delegate, Sanders was closer than Biden, who was 1.0 away from his third delegate, and Buttigieg, who was 1.25 away from his next fourth delegate. The tenth delegate unequivocally should have gone to Sanders.

Another apparent math error is in Dubuque Precinct 36. Its published numbers show final vote counts of 46 for Buttigieg, 45 for Sanders, 30 for Biden, and 23 for Amy Klobuchar, plus 1 voter who left or remained uncommitted.

Photo credit: Dave Linkletter

Initial calculations yield the numbers 2.22 for Buttigieg, 2.17 for Sanders, 1.45 for Biden, and 1.11 for Klobuchar. After rounding, thats 2, 2, 1, and 1, which add up to 6. The precinct had 7 delegates to give, so it had to give its last delegate to the candidate who got rounded down the farthest: Biden.

But the official report for Dubuque 36 shows it gave 3 delegates to Buttigieg and 1 to Biden. That was a mistake.

Next, lets look at Muscatine Precinct 02. We have a nice firsthand glimpse into this precinct thanks to its caucus math sheet posted online by a journalist:

Photo credit: Twitter/bhalle87

From the picture, you can see the step 1 calculations yielded 3.44 for Buttigieg, 1.76 for Sanders, 1.36 for Biden, and 1.36 for Warren. These round to 3, 2, 1, and 1, which add to 7, which is 1 less than the 8 delegates the precinct had at stake.

The correct adjustment would have been to Buttigieg, since he was closest to his next delegate. But, perhaps excited at the rare prospect of a coin flip, the precinct captains that night apparently thought they needed to flip a coin between Biden and Warren, which landed in favor of Biden.

Perhaps under normal circumstances this error would have been detected and fixed. Instead, its the end of the week, and Muscatine 02 still officially shows 3 for Buttigieg and 2 for Biden, where it should be Buttigieg with 4 and Biden with 1.

Finally, check out Guthrie Gold precinct.

Photo credit: Dave Linkletter

This precinct had 14 delegates at stake, and its reported final votes were 13 for Biden, 13 for Buttigieg, 13 for Klobuchar, 11 for Sanders, and 10 for Warren. Those calculate to 2.94, 2.94, 2.94, 2.48, and 2.26, respectively, and round to 3, 3, 3, 2, and 2, which add up to 13. Thats short of 14, so an extra delegate must be dished out.

If youre getting used to this, you can probably spot that the last delegate belonged to Sanders, who, at 2.48, had been rounded down the farthest. Apparently that was overlooked at the time, and a coin was flipped between the three candidates who had already been rounded up, ending in favor of Buttigieg.

The official results for Guthrie Gold , as of this pieces publication time, still show 4 delegates for Buttigieg and 2 for Sanders, whereas both should have 3.



Photo credit: The Washington Post - Getty Images

How Does This Add Up?

The four mistakes weve just highlighted have helped and hurt a mix of candidates. Three of them helped Buttigieg, while one hurt him. Biden broke even with one positive and one negative, and Sanders was hurt twice.

Fixing these errors alone will thus have a net impact of raising Sanderss SDE total while lowering Buttigiegs. It will be a fraction of a delegate, but at the current margin of SDEs between them, that will be substantial.

Moreover, this was not exhaustive. Weve stuck to the precincts where the numbers are fully published and clearly erroneous. Many other precincts have been plagued by the relatively simpler issue of numbers input into wrong columnsa problem the Iowa Dems have been methodically fixing.

To some extent, its routine to have a few stray math errors among thousands of people coordinating weird calculations in one day. This time, the errors seem to be lingering. They also have a unique impact given the closeness of the SDE count.

These errors, along with the others out there, ultimately could change who wins the SDE total. Either way, that number is an intermediate between the popular vote, which was won by Sanders, and the national delegate count, which is a tie between Buttigieg and Sanders.

Well continue to monitor as the Iowa Democrats fix these mistakes.

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: 'Social,' a cafe-bar, will be open for public at the Express Avenue Mall here on February 9.

The outlet by Impressario Handmade Restaurants, helmed by Riyaaz Amlani, will serve as a work space during the day and a resto-bar once office hours end.

CEO and MD of Impressario Handmade Restaurants Amlani said, "Social has a unique identity as a space where culture, creativity and community collide, and we're very excited to bring it to the cosmopolitan city of Chennai."



The Chennai outlet is Social's 27th in the country. Every weekday (from Monday to Friday) between 11 am and 6 pm, Social turns into a cafe-cum-co-working space and has all the amenities of an office-from printers to high-speed internet and stationery.

"I was inspired by the millennials to start the concept (of Social) and there are now 26 outlets (in India)," he said.

And on choosing to open 'Social' in the city now, he said, "Chennai has a large young population who want to experience new things, different cuisines, and have sufficient disposable income to do the same."



"The F&B industry has seen huge potential here as there is a good return on investment, leading to big chains opening outlets here," Amlani added.

The Chennai outlet offers all-day breakfast alongside kebab platters, munchies, tandoori pizzas, and biryanis. Also on the menu are Thalaiva Breakfast tray, Anna's Pepper Roast Momos, Podi Chicken Masala to cater to the taste buds of the city populace.

Amlani said there were plans to open more 'Social' outlets across the country, adding it included launching three more in the next three years.

On the revenue front, he said Impressario Handmade Restaurants expected to make about Rs 580 crore in 2021.

Also, Amlani said the plan is to open about 10-12 'Social' outlets by March this year and have a network of 80 outlets in the next three years.

He said Impressario Handmade Restaurants had forayed into Chennai as early as in 2001 with 'Mocha Coffees & Conversations.' which was in operation for eight years or so.

Further, Amlani said Impressario Handmade Restaurants was betting big on the millenials to embrace the cafe-bar concept.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.

Making a suo motu statement in Rajya Sabha, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said the government has asked people not to travel to China, the epicentre of the deadly virus outbreak, and will mandatorily quarantine anyone returning from China.

Screening of passengers has been stepped up at 21 airports as well as 12 major seaports and all minor ports. Also, screening is being done at all integrated check posts on the Nepal border after the Himalayan nation reported a confirmed case.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said there are about 80 Indians who remained in Wuhan. Of them, 10 students who came to the airport were running fever and were not allowed to board the special Air India flight by the Chinese authorities. The remaining 70 have voluntarily stayed back.

When MPs asked if Pakistan has sought Indian help in evacuating its citizens from China, he said the offer was made to all neighbours and only Maldives choose to avail the offer.

While the Cabinet Secretary is taking daily reviews with all related ministries, a Group of Ministers comprising Cabinet Ministers for External Affairs and Civil Aviation Minister and Ministers of State for Home, Shipping and Health and Family Welfare has been constituted to monitor the situation.

"As of today, a total of 1,275 flights have been screened covering a total of 1,39,539 passengers, and 150 passengers identified with symptoms have been referred to isolation facilities," the health minister said.

Detailing steps taken to check the spread of coronavirus, he said travel advisories have been issued.

Besides "existing visas (including eVisa already issued) are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China," he said. "People travelling to China henceforth will be quarantined on return."



People having compelling reasons to visit India are asked to contact the Indian embassy in Beijing or consulate in Shanghai or Guangzhou, he said.

Universal thermal screening has been made mandatory for all flights from Singapore and Thailand, besides Hong Kong and China. "All these flights will park at earmarked aero-bridges to facilitate screening," he said.

The minister said three positive cases have been reported so far in India, all from Kerala. "All these cases have a travel history from Wuhan, China. They have been isolated and are reported to be clinically stable."



Besides screening incoming passengers, India evacuated 647 Indians and 7 Maldivian nationals from China.

"After the evacuation, the people are presently undergoing quarantine at special facilities created by the Indian Army in Manesar and by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chawla Camp," he said, adding 10 of the evacuees who showed symptoms of the virus have been shifted to isolation.

All of them have tested negative and are stable, he said.

Besides, 262 symptomatic travellers have been referred to isolation facilities and are being monitored.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Lion King (Credit: Disney)

Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney, has personally apologised to a school in Berkeley, California, after it received a fine for screening the remake of The Lion King for a fundraising event.

The elementary school was billed $250 for showing the film without the correct permissions by Disney's licensing company, a fair-sized chunk of the $800 it raised for the PTA.

Read more: Future of Star Wars on TV for now, says Disney boss

Iger tweeted an apology to Emerson Elementary, and also said that he would be making a donation to its fundraising initiative.

Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative.  Robert Iger (@RobertIger) February 6, 2020

CNN reported the news of the school receiving the fine, after it bought a physical copy of the 2019 CGI remake of the animated classic and showed it at the 'parents night out' fundraiser.

One of the dads bought the movie at Best Buy, PTA president David Rose told CNN. He owned it. We literally had no idea we were breaking any rules.

Not long after the event, the school was contacted by licensing firm Movie Licensing USA, which enforces such matters for Disney and other film companies.

Bob Iger (Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Television Academy/AP Images)

Any time movies are shown without the proper license, copyright law is violated and the entity showing the movie can be fined by the studios, read the statement from the company.

Read more: Elton John was disappointed with the Lion King remake

If a movie is shown for any entertainment reason  even in the classroom, it is required by law that the school obtains a Public Performance license.

Movie Licensing USA said it had been alerted to the breach of copyright, but did not say how.
The chairman of the Democratic National Committee has called for a re-canvass of the results of the Iowa caucuses.

Tom Perez said it was needed to assure public confidence after three days of technical issues and delays.

Enough is enough, Mr Perez wrote on Twitter.

Enough is enough. In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.  Tom Perez (@TomPerez) February 6, 2020

Following the Iowa Democratic Partys release of new results late on Thursday night, former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg leads Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders by two state delegate equivalents out of 2,152 counted. That is a margin of 0.09%.

Both candidates have declared themselves victorious.

But there is evidence the party has not accurately tabulated some of its results, including those the party reported as complete.

The Associated Press is unable to declare a winner.

The state party apologised for technical glitches with an app that slowed down reporting of results from Mondays caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results.

However, it was unclear if the party planned to follow the directive of the national leader to re-canvass those results, a process that would probably require state officials to review worksheets completed at more than 1,600 caucus sites to ensure the calculations were done correctly and matched the reported results.

There was a moment in the night where, it became clear, Oh, the phone number just became available to the entire country'Rob Sand

Iowa chairman Troy Price suggested in a statement that he would only pursue a re-canvass if one was requested by a campaign.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled 2020 field.

Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion (772 million) spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Mr Sanders called the Iowa Democratic Partys management of the caucuses a screw-up that has been extremely unfair to the candidates and their supporters.

Weve got enough of Iowa, he said later at a CNN town hall. I think we should move onto New Hampshire.

Iowa marked the first contest in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several US territories, ending at the partys national convention in July.

The Democrats, they cant count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your health care systemDonald Trump

As first reported by The New York Times, numerous precincts reported results that contained errors or were inconsistent with party rules.

For example, the Associated Press confirmed that dozens of precincts reported more final alignment votes than first alignment votes, which is not possible under party rules.

In other precincts, viable candidates lost votes from the first alignment tally to the final, which is also inconsistent with party rules.

Some precincts made apparent errors in awarding state delegate equivalents to candidates.

A handful of precincts awarded more state delegate equivalents than they had available. A few others did not award all of theirs.

The trouble began with an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results of the contest. The app was rolled out shortly before caucusing began and did not go through rigorous testing.

Democratic presidential candidates Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

The problems were compounded when phone lines for reporting the outcomes became jammed, with many callers placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes.

Party officials said the backlog was exacerbated by calls from people around the country who accessed the number and appeared intent on disrupting the process.

There was a moment in the night where, it became clear, Oh, the phone number just became available to the entire country, said Iowa state Auditor Rob Sand, who was answering calls for the party. It was a pretty big problem.

President Donald Trump relished in the Democratic turmoil.

The Democrats, they cant count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your health care system, Mr Trump said at a White House event on Thursday celebrating his impeachment trial acquittal. Think of that  no, think of that.

Mr Buttigieg and Mr Sanders will emerge from Iowas caucuses with the most delegates to the partys national convention, regardless of which one eventually wins the contest.

They have each won at least 11 national delegates, with a handful of delegates still to be awarded.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has won at least five delegates, while former Vice President Joe Biden has won at least two and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has at least one.
Greys Anatomy The Last Supper Season 16 Episode 12 Editors Rating 3 stars * * *  Previous Next  Photo: Lisa Rose/ABC

Daaaaaang, Greys Anatomy. Here I was, preparing to write about a lackluster episode that had some touching moments but took us away from the hospital with very little payoff. But then The Last Supper ends with two major showdowns and I am on my feet and living again. I still feel weird not checking in on Meredith or Bailey this week, but I also feel like I want to take the drama that is being set up in the last three minutes, compress it into a bath bomb, release it in my tub, and soak in it for, like, two to three hours.

The Last Supper is essentially an episode about two deaths. The first is an actual death: Schmitt learns that his Uncle Saul, a man who apparently hated everyone except his nephew Levi, is on hospice. Schmitt and Nico go to pay him a visit, Schmitt tells his uncle hes gay, and Uncle Saul immediately flatlines and dies. I killed him with my gayness! is a line uttered on Greys Anatomy in the year of our Lord 2020. What a time!

Thanks to the arrival of a well-dressed, very forlorn man named Daniel Schwartz, it doesnt take long before Schmitt learns that Uncle Saul was a closeted gay man, his marriage to Schmitts Aunt Gertie was all for show, and Daniel was the true love of his life. Daniel weeps at Sauls side. In a moving montage, Daniel teaches Schmitt how to properly clean and prepare Sauls body per Jewish tradition. But even more moving is the moment after, when Daniel explains that he and Saul never had a real life together because Daniel didnt know how to build a life with a man who was so ashamed of himself simply for loving who he did. It is tragic all around, for everyone.

There is one silver lining here. Daniel tells Schmitt that Saul really saw him for who he was, that it feels right that it was Schmitt with him in the end, and that now Schmitt has the freedom that Saul never did. So Schmitt goes home to the basement of his mothers house and he and Nico start packing up his things. He had been waiting to iron things out with his mother who, you may recall, told Schmitt she was fine with him being gay as long as he didnt tell anyone else in their family, so, like, shes pretty terrible. Well, hes not waiting around anymore. He tells his mother that her accepting him but wanting him to keep who he really is a secret isnt accepting him at all and from now on hes going to surround himself with people who truly love him. Hes moving out. You guys, Glasses has finally grown up.

The second death in The Last Supper is more a symbolic one: Catherine and Richard are really over. When this episode started, I thought we might get a short separation but that eventually theyd make up and make out and all would be right again. After what goes down at this dinner party? Oh, no. No, no, no. I dont think theres any coming back from that. Normally, Id be bummed. In their heyday  we actually get to relive their swoony Well, its about damn time engagement proceedings and its just as good in the retelling  Richard and Catherine were great together. Sexy and loving and powerful. But now, I have to admit, Im kind of into this messy, hell-hath-no fury breakup situation. This season of Greys needed a little hellfire and it is about to get some. Bring me my bath bomb of drama!

So, Catherine and Richard have decided to separate and, because theyre high maintenance, invite Jackson and Maggie over for dinner to tell them the news. The dinner falls just a few days before Catherine and Richards anniversary, so the kids assume theyre celebrating and not only do they bring gifts, but Jackson also brings Vic, who in turn, has asked Dean to tag along as a buffer. She assumed it was a party party and not a rich peoples dinner party in which there is a giant elaborate dinner table set up, but a minimal amount of guests. Later, Dean will remark, this was not a place I shouldve been, and now I want to use that line every time I leave any social engagement I ever attend for the rest of time.

Since you already know that Jackson and Maggie cant go three seconds without taking swipes at one another, Im sure you can guess that this dinner is poised to be uncomfortable at best and a garbage fire that burns as brightly as ten thousand suns at worst. And youre right! People are chugging wine before they even get to the table, and once everyone sits down things get awkward and petty fast  both between Jackson and Maggie and Richard and Catherine. The Station 19 kids are sitting there, stuffing bread in their faces being like, We crossed over for this?

We should be thankful for the Station 19 kids because they are the ones who get Catherine and Richard talking about their engagement. That story, paired with Jacksons toast, has Catherine rethinking things. She and Richard have a chat in the kitchen and guys, it takes a turn. Catherine knows theyre both hard-headed and angry and she doesnt want to give up. Richard takes it in, and tells her she still needs to apologize for what she did to him. Shes never said shes sorry for not standing by him when he got fired from the hospital he built, for forcing him to reinvent his entire life. Catherine gets as far as Im sorry, but before Richard stops her. Apologies dont have the word but in them, he tells her before invoking the immortal words of JoJo: Its just too little too late.

At this point, normal people would call this dinner party off. This charade is giving me an ulcer and these guys took an oath to heal, you know? But it is not their way. The whole thing goes downhill fast, thanks to an amusing text Richard gets that Catherine assumes is from his girlfriend. Richard doesnt have a girlfriend and its actually a text from Karev (hes still alive, folks!) with an offer for Maggie to head Pac-Norths cardio department. It doesnt matter  Catherine drops the separation bomb and they both walk out. Jackson flocks to his mother, consoling her because she feels like a failure. Maggie goes to Richard, who confirms that its really over. At least now Catherine, Richard, Jackson, and Maggie can all stop pretending to be civil for each others sakes. Itll be a sniping free-for-all! Oh, and no big deal, but Richard shows Maggie the Pac-North offer and her eyes bug out like a cartoon character and she says yes, please. Will everyone be defecting to Pac-North by seasons end?

Not if Catherine Fox has anything to do with it.

After all the guests get the hell out of there and swear off dinner for the rest of their lives, Catherine and Richard share some parting words. Friends, are we watching The Real World: Grey Sloan? Because things stop being polite and start getting real. Catherine thinks Richards embarrassing himself with all this Pac-North stuff and now hes dragging his daughter down with him. Richard thinks Catherine cant stand that hes succeeding and she has nothing to do with it, that she has no control over it and theres no way to stop him. Catherines like, excuse me, butler, hold my chardonnay. Then she up and calls someone on her team right there while sitting in front of Richard and tells him to look into purchasing Pac-North. Maybe itll be a good investment, or maybe shell just shut it down. Before walking out the front door she turns to Richard to make sure he knows shes not sorry for a damn thing. Oh, okay, so Catherine Fox is exiting this marriage in a gosh darn blaze of bitter glory. Things are about to get real messy for Richard Webber.

The O.R. Board

 Remember when Schmitt had sex with Jo in his moms basement? This show is wild!

 Im thankful that Deans at this dinner because he informs everyone, including Catherine Fox (Dr. Fox to him, thanks) that Vic will put anything in her mouth, and thats just hilarious.

 But seriously, Dean wins dinner parties: Let me tell you about that time [Vic] stopped a snake from eating a baby.

 I remain firmly planted on #TeamMaggie in all of this Maggie-Jackson animosity, so I found it delightful that she pointed out Jacksons habit of jumping from one relationship to the next because he cant be alone, and that she includes the random woman he befriended while off wandering in the woods trying to find himself in that list.

 Why dont Maggie and Dean date? Whats stopping them now? Did you see him wearing that coat? Get yours, Pierce!

 Okay but seriously: no surgery?
Margot Robbie was pushed to the brink of tears this week when she completed a spicy wing and hot sauce challenge on air.

The Australian star, 29, ate the tasty chicken dish as part of a hilarious interview with First We Feast's Hot Ones.

At one point, the Birds of Prey star tried a sauce called Da Bom, but said she thought she 'might die.'

'I think I might die!' Margot Robbie is pushed to the brink of tears as she completed a spicy wing and hot sauce challenge as part of a hilarious interview with First We Feast's Hot Ones

'Oh my f**king God! I think I might die, it's so spicy, holy s**t, I don't know how it could get more spicy than that,' Margot exclaimed.

'My mouth is on fire! I can barely concentrate.'

Margot was force to answer questions while she was eating, but had a large glass of water and milk on hand to keep the heat at bay.

Feeling the heat! At one point, the Birds of Prey star tried a sauce called Da Bom, but said she thought she 'might die'

She said that she struggles with hot food as she has a 'palette of a four year old and grew up eating mash potato.'

During the chat, Margot revealed that before she broke into Hollywood, she once worked as a sandwich artist at Subway.

It comes in handy! Margot was force to answer questions while she was eating, but had a large glass of water and milk on hand to keep the heat at bay

'I would spread everything out to the edges': Speaking at her time at Subway, Margot said she thought she was a good sandwich artist

'I would really spread everything out to the edges(of the sandwiches), evenly, the right amount of everything,' she said.

'Now when I go to Subway, someone just kind of throws it on right in the middle, puts a tonne of sauce there it kills me, I don't go that often anymore, I watch them make it badly and I'm upset.'

She also revealed that she's allergic to chicken egg whites, so for Birds of Prey, staffers had to use duck eggs for Harley Quinn's bacon and egg sandwiches.

Branding herself a 'bogan', Margot said she used to wear Ugg boots to dinner.

Margot is celebrating the release of her new film, Birds of Prey, in which she plays Harley Quinn.

The blonde bombshell has rose to fame, thanks to films including I, Tonya, Suicide Squad and The Wolf of Wall Street.
TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VitalHub Corp. (the Company or VitalHub) (TSXV: VHI) is pleased to announce the sale of Pirouette, an easy-to-use cloud based case management system designed for social service agencies, to ENAGB Indigenous Youth Agency, Eden Community Homes, and Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services.

Pirouette is an essential part of VitalHubs robust suite of EHR solutions, serving an important segment of the community health market, offering a cost-effective and accessible solution for social service agencies who require less complex systems than larger scale care organizations.

Pirouette is a simple and easy-to-use, comprehensive client management system that supports documenting case notes, tracking services provided and time spent, and includes modules for case management, supportive housing, crisis teams, ACT teams, early intervention and employment supports.

Pirouette has been designed to support self-service on-boarding and low cost of ownership. All training and resources are made available online, requiring no professional services for agencies to implement and use the software. Pirouette is designed to offer a turn-key, self-serve solution, that is the easiest to deploy among VitalHubs EHR offerings.

VitalHub has licensed Pirouette to ENAGB, a Toronto-based Indigenous Youth Agency, Eden Community Homes, a Toronto-based Supportive Housing Agency, and Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services, a Toronto-based Community Services Agency offering a wide range of programming and services.

Pirouette will offer these agencies, as well as all agencies in Ontario, fully supported integration with MOHLTC data collection, reporting and assessment requirements, with built in CDS and MIS reports with validation checks. As a mobile, tablet, laptop and desktop-optimized solution, Pirouette offers streamlined integration into workflow and robust data management tools where agencies need them most.

"Our community that we work with and their personal health information is important for us to protect and to ensure this we decided to use VitalHubs Pirouette application," said Cynthia Bell-Clayton, ENAGB Executive Director.

The Pirouette solution is a significant improvement over the open source software program that we were using previously. Our staff finds it more intuitive and it supports the needs of our business cost-effectively. The software allows us to be very independent as we can self-manage the application and because its hosted by the vendor it makes things easy for our team, said Margaret Lynch, Executive Director, Eden Community Homes.

We're excited to be using Pirouette. As we get the program up and running we can already envision the rich opportunities that this tool will provide us with to support our client groups, said David Reycraft, Director-Housing Services, Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services.

VitalHubs strategy is to be a leader in providing community health agencies with easy to use and effective client management software. We are happy to see the ongoing validation of the Pirouette product, targeted as an easy-to-implement solution for smaller organizations, said Dan Matlow, CEO of VitalHub Corp. Our continued product evolution and growth, both organically and through strategic M&A, have resulted in a robust platform of offerings that span the health IT landscape from smaller agencies in need of simple solutions, to complex, large-scale hospital networks. We are excited to continue expanding our reach, providing valuable solutions as we grow our established presence, and continue to add to our recurring revenue base.

ABOUT ENAGB:

The ENAGB Youth Agency focuses on providing cultural, employment, life skills, holistic wellness, and recreational opportunities to youth ages 12  24. Programming is designed through youth participation and works to build self-esteem, confidence, skills and self-determination.

ABOUT EDEN COMMUNITY HOMES

Eden Community Homes is committed to providing a safe environment of acceptance, hope and encouragement to adults experiencing mental health difficulties and addictions.

Our aim is to promote wellness and meet the evolving needs of those who use our quality services. We embrace each person as a unique contributor to society, capable of making her or his own choices.

ABOUT DIXON HALL

Dixon Hall Neighbourhood Services began as a soup kitchen in 1929, and since then has been steadily increasing and strengthening a diverse range of integrated services for residents of east downtown Toronto.

Dixon Hall serves more than 10,000 people annually, impacting the lives of the most vulnerable and the most at-risk members of our community. We work with at-risk youth, seniors, adults with physical and health disabilities, people who need housing, individuals searching for employment, those with mental health issues, and newly immigrated individuals and their families.

ABOUT VITALHUB:

VitalHub develops mission-critical technology solutions for Health and Human Services providers in the Mental Health (Child through Adult), Long Term Care, Community Health Service, Home Health, Social Service and Acute Care sectors. VitalHub technologies include Blockchain, Mobile, Patient Flow, Web-Based Assessment and Electronic Health Record solutions.

The Company has a robust two-pronged growth strategy, targeting organic growth opportunities within its product suite, and pursuing an aggressive M&A plan. Currently, VitalHub serves 200+ clients across North America. VitalHub is based in Toronto, Canada, with an offshore development hub in Sri Lanka. The Company is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "VHI".

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This press release includes forward-looking statements regarding the Corporation and its business, which may include, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the appointment of a new directors. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "is expected", "expects", "scheduled", "intends", "contemplates", "anticipates", "believes", "proposes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Such statements are based on the current expectations of the management of each entity and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Although the management of each entity believes that the assumptions underlying these statements are reasonable, they may prove to be incorrect. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release, including the share consolidation proposal, may not occur by certain specified dates or at all and could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the companies, including risks regarding the technology industry, failure to obtain regulatory or shareholder approvals, market conditions, economic factors, the equity markets generally and risks associated with growth and competition. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results to differ from those anticipated, estimated or intended. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Corporation undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dan Matlow

Chief Executive Officer, Director

(416) 727-9061

dan.matlow@vitalhub.com
Importing high quality, lower cost food from Ukraine is "exactly the type of benefit for UK consumers" that Brexit is supposed to bring.

The UK and Ukraine can both greatly benefit from increased trade post-Brexit  but only if the right trade deal is done, Bate Toms, Chairman of the British Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce, wrote in a letter to The Financial Times.

The recent suggestion that the UK quickly roll over EU trade treaties into UK treaties is wholly inappropriate for a UK-Ukraine trade treaty, as this will needlessly limit UK access to food. While quick UK rollover of other EU treaties, primarily concerning manufacturing where the EU obtained good terms, is acceptable, this approach is not appropriate for a free trade agreement with Ukraine. Instead, Ukraine is the only country for which the UK should be able to obtain much better trade terms, Toms wrote to FT.

Importing high quality, lower cost food from Ukraine is "exactly the type of benefit for UK consumers" that Brexit is supposed to bring, the letter says.

Read alsoZelensky wants trade with Turkey to skyrocket to US$10 bln

The EU treaty restricts EU, and thus still UK, access to Ukrainian food, limiting price competition with German, French and other EU farmers. The UK depends on food imports, already importing over half its food, and with its increasing population needs to substantially increase food imports, as it cannot readily increase its own agricultural production. (UK farming is subsidized, so Ukrainian food imports compete only with foreign farm imports.)

"Ukraine is the principal available food resource to lower UK food costs and addresses Britain's future food needs. Based on massive investment in modern agriculture over three decades, Ukraine is already the worlds second largest grain exporter (based on wheat, corn, and barley). It has one-third of the worlds chernozem, the famous black earth that is the best soil. As the largest country in Europe, it has much more land to cultivate and increase production using IT-mechanised, low cost basis farming. Ukraine is also relatively close, so Ukrainian food can be quickly transported to the UK over land," the letter reads.

The UK should, as a priority, conclude a UK-Ukraine FTA eliminating restrictions on food imports, the author stresses, adding that otherwise China, Ukraine's largest trading partner, along with Japan, South Korea and other Asian consumers aggressively pursuing food in Ukraine, will tie up most Ukrainian food supplies.
Delhi Election 2020 Voting LIVE Updates: The New Delhi constituency, from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in the fray, saw a voter turnout less than 50 percent during the polling for the Delhi Assembly election on Saturday. The constituency polled 42 percent at 5.50 pm, while the overall Union Territory's voter turnout was 44.74 percentage till 5 pm.

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Over 1.47 crore voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Polling will begin at 8 am and will end at 6 pm.

The National Capital votes on Saturday to elect a new government, after a campaign in which the BJP pulled no punches against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP which is eyeing another term in office. The Congress is the third main force in the contest in which 672 candidates are in the fray for 70 Assembly seats.

The Congress is seeking to better its performance than last time when it did not bag any seat in the Assembly polls but improved its vote share in 2019 polls.

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party is going into the Delhi election with the hope to repeat its stellar performance of the last assembly polls, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which bagged all seven seats here in the Lok Sabha election in May 2019, will be aiming at expanding its vote share in the national capital.

"Respecting the Model Code of Conduct that prohibits canvassing by political parties within 100 meters of a polling station, we have decided to move our protest to gate number 4 of the university, even though we are not a political party," the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said, adding that protests will be held at Gate no 4 only on 7 and 8 February.

Jamia Millia Islamia lies under the Okhla constituency, where sitting MLA Amanatullah Khan will be contesting on an AAP ticket, while Congress has fielded former Rajya Sabha MP Parvez Hashmi. Khan's campaign in the constituency was toned down keeping in view the anti-CAA protests in Jamia Nagar, Shaheen Bagh and surrounding areas.

The venue of protests against Citizenship Amendment Act being held at Jamia Millia Islamia since over a month was shifted on Friday night ahead of polling in Delhi on 8 February. The protests, that were being held outside Gate no 7, were shifted to Gate no 4.

The AAP has renominated Som Dutt from the Sadar Bazar seat. But two independent candidates -- Som Dutt (symbol brush) and Somdutt (symbol ice cream) are also in the fray from the same seat. Candidate Nathu Ram has been fielded by the CPI (M) from Wazirpur.

The two Khans - Imran Khan and Imran Matlub Khan - fighting the polls on tickets from the Tipu Sultan Party, are testing their fortunes from adjoining Karawal Nagar and Mustafad constituencies, respectively, the party symbol being a kettle.

The list of candidates for the Delhi polls is a mix with three namesakes fighting from the Sadar Bazar constituency, two Imran Khans fielded by a nondescript party from the neighbouring seats and a Nathu Ram trying their luck.

Electors can carry smart phones at polling stations in 11 assembly constituencies for accessing QR codes from the voters' helpline app in case they have not brought the voter's slip to the booth.

Security remains tightened in the Jamia Nagar area, where protests against CAA and NRC are being witnessed. Five polling booths have been marked 'critical' and will have paramilitary cover. Three shooting incidents were reported in the area during the ongoing agitation.

The AAP tried to hard sell its development agenda and even launched a unique 'Kejriwal Aapke Dwar' campaign and website. Maanwhile, the Congress sought to showcase its achievements during its 15-year rule under Sheila Dikshit from 1998 to 2013.

During one of the most aggressive campaigns , BJP picked the planks of Hindutva and nationalism and its opposition to anti-CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Millia Islamia. Union Home Minister Amit Shah led the campaign from the front, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing rallies in various localities of the National Capital.

The Congress will fight on 66 seats and its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) will fight on the remaining four seats.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has fielded its candidates on all seats. However, the BJP has given three seats to allies Lok Janashakti Party and Janata Dal (United).

In Karol Bagh, AAP has fielded its sitting MLA Vishesh Ravi from here. BJP's Yogendra Chandolia & Congress' Gaurav Dhanak are contesting from here.

Voters have started arriving at a polling station in the Jhandewalan area, which lies in the Karol Bagh Assembly constituency.

Tiwari visited the famous Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples and offered prayers. "I prayed for the happiness of the people of Delhi and also sought blessings of the goddesses to enable people to cast their vote judiciously," Tiwari said.

Kejriwal, along with his wife Sunita, offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place. "Sought blessings of Hanuman ji at famous Hanuman temple at CP. Bhagwan ji said-'You are doing good work. Continue serving people like this. Leave the outcome to me, all will be fine," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal specially appealed to women to vote. "Just as you bear the responsibility of home, bear the responsibility of the country and Delhi. All women must go to vote and take the men of their houses," he tweeted in Hindi. In the 2015 election, 66.5 percent of Delhi's eligible women voters voted.

In an appeal on the voting day in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in record numbers. He urged the youth specifically to exercise its franchise.

BJP candidate from Krishna Nagar Assembly constituency Anil Goel, said that he is confident that in the next five years, Delhi will have 'Saaf paani, saaf hawa aur saaf vyavhaar' (clean water, air and conduct).

Controversial BJP MP Parvesh Verma, who was handed campaigning bans by the Election Commission owing to his statements, cast his vote at a polling station in Matiala assembly constituency; BJP and Congress have fielded Rajesh Gehlot and Sumesh Shokeen from the constituency respectively. Gulab Singh Yadav of AAP is the current MLA and party's candidate from Matiala.

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar cast his vote at the polling station set up at NDMC School of Science and Humanities Education at Tuglak Cresent. He said, "It is basic duty of every citizen to vote. It is important to get out there and contribute."

The EVM is also not functioning at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya booth number 114, which lies in the New Delhi constituency.

Voting has not yet begun at C10 block booth in Yamuna Vihar due to a technical issue in the EVM. Election Commission's technical team at the spot, reports ANI.

Congress candidate from the Chandni Chowk assembly constituency Alka Lamba cast her vote at polling booth number 161 at Tagore Garden Extension. She is pitted against Prahlad Singh Sahni of Aam Aadmi Party and BJP's Suman Gupta. Chandni Chowk is the smallest constituency in terms of electorate with a little over 1.2 lakh voters, followed by Matia Mahal.

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan along with his mother voted at the Ratan Devi Public School in Krishna Nagar. BJP's Anil Goel and Congress's Ashok Walia are contesting from in this constituency against sitting MLA and AAP candidate SK Bagga

Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said, "I appeal to all, specially to the women, to cast their votes today. I am hopeful that people of Delhi will vote on the basis of the work done. I am hopeful that Aam Aadmi Party will come back to power for the third time."

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his family cast his vote at a polling booth in Civil Lines. In this constituency, he is pitted against BJP's Sunil Yadav and Congress's Romesh Sabharwal.

Asked how many seats he thought the BJP would win this time, Tiwari said, "We will win 50-plus seats and form a government with people blessing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership." However, he dodged the question about BJP's chief ministerial face, saying "Ho jayega, bahut accha hoga (There will be someone, someone very good)."

Speaking to reporters, BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said that "vibrations" and "sixth sense" told him his party would come to power in the capital. He added his mother, who had come from their village in Varanasi on 1 February for his birthday, was on a fast and had pledged to leave only after today's vote.

AS of 10 am, a meagre voter turnout of 4.36 percent was reported in Delhi. The highest turnout was reported in Chhatarpur (12.56 percent) and the lowest in Ambedkar Nagar (1.91 percent)

ANI reports claim that one election officer, who was deployed at a polling booth in Babarpur Primary School in Northeast Delhi, has died, More details are awaited to see what caused his death.

Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to share his family's photograph taken after casting their respective votes. He pointed out that his son is a first-time voter. "Urge all young voters to come out to vote. Your participation strengthens democracy," he said in a tweet.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, who is eyeing to repeat his party's 2015 Assembly performance, voted at the Rajpura Transport Authority polling station in the Civil Lines area and was accompanied by his wife Sunita and son Pulkit.

It said 32 candidates have declared cases related to crime against women. Out of 32 candidates, one candidate has declared cases related to rape. Four contestants have declared cases related to attempt to murder.

Fifteen percent of Congress candidates also have declared serious criminal cases against them, the ADR said.

Twenty-five per cent of AAP candidates and 20 percent of BJP contestants in the fray for the Delhi Assembly polls have declared serious criminal cases against them in their affidavits, according to the Association of Democratic Reforms.

In the Delhi Assembly polls, 672 candidates are in the fray, one less than in 2015. The top three richest candidates are from the AAP. They are Dharampal Lakra from Mundka (Rs 292 crore), Parmila Tokas from R K Puram (Rs 80 crore) and Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur (Rs 80 crore).

The centenarian is the eldest of four generations of Mandals who live in CR Park, a famous Bengali enclave set up in the national capital after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War that led to the creation of Bangladesh

Born in undivided India in 1908, Mandal has seen the subcontinent go through turbulent phases many times, including two partitions, and lived twice as a refugee in India along with her family before finding a home in the National Capital.

Delhi's oldest voter, 110 years old Kalitara Mandal, who originally came from Bangladesh cast her vote at SDMC Primary School, Chittaranjan Park in Greater Kailash assembly constituency on Saturday.

With over 4.2 lakh registered voters, Matiala is the largest constituency in terms of electors, followed by neighbouring Vikaspuri.

As of 11 am, a voter turnout of 10.36 percent was reported in Delhi. The highest turnout was reported in Kirari (19.31 percent) and the lowest in Matiala (2.31 percent).

In response, AAP's Sanjay Singh asked if the BJP looks at the Delhi CM through the view of untouchability. "There couldn't be a more petty comment. You are still in the times when Dalits are denied entry into temples. Even Lord Ram cannot save the BJP, he said.

BJP chief Manoj Tiwari hit out at Chief Minister's Arvind Kejriwal's visit to the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place on Saturday. "Did he go there to pray to God or make him impure. He used the same hand to garland the idol with which he had removed his shoes. This is what fake bhakts do. The priest there has washed the idol many times," he said.

Alka Lamba, the Chandni Chowk MLA, had quit AAP in September 2019 and joined the Congress, the party she originally belonged to. This time she contested the Delhi elections from Chandni Chowk and was pitted against Prahlad Singh Sahni of Aam Aadmi Party and BJP's Suman Gupta.

AAP leader Sanjay Singh has said the party will complain to Election Commission.Sources told India Today that the AAP worker passed a remark against her son, however, it is not clear what led to the slap.

A scuffle broke out between AAP and Congress workers near Majnu Ka Tila, where Congress candidate Alka Lamba tried to slap a worker of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. Police officers present at the scene intervened as she raised a complaint with the officials.

"When I read out the Hanuman Chalisa on television, the BJP made fun of me. Today, a BJP leader is saying that my visit made the Hanuman temple impure. I hope God blesses everyone, including the BJP," he tweeted in Hindi.

Responding to the row over the Hanuman temple remark made by the BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal criticised the kind of politics on display by the BJP.

"No strong woman needs to discuss with any male whom she wants to vote for. Women ably shoulder the responsibility of both work and their households. The Anti Aurat Party should not try to impose their patriarchal mindset on the people of Delhi," she tweeted in Hindi.

In response to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's appeal ahead of the commencement of voting, asking women to not just come out in large numbers and vote, but also to discuss with the men in their households their choice of candidate. This comment received criticism from BJP's Nupur Sharma.

Okhla, the constituency where five polling booths have been marked as critical owing to anti-CAA protests in Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh, saw a dismal turnout of 4.66 percent. News reports since morning have been showing long queues outside polling booths in the area.

As of 1 pm, a voter turnout of 17.82 percent was reported in Delhi. The highest turnout was reported in Sultanpur Majra (29.98 percent) and the lowest in Vikaspur (0.75 percent).

"As soon as I came out from polling booth, I saw the son of AAP candidate arguing with the police over getting admission inside polling booth. At that moment, an AAP worker Harmesh used abusive language against me. I thank the police for arresting him him immediately," Lamba told ANI.

Speaking about the viral video in which she is seen trying to slap an AAP worker outside a polling booth in Majnu Ka Tila, Congress candidate from Chandni Chowk Alka Lamba said that an the man in question had used abusive language with her.

Mustafabad is one of the areas in Delhi which has a sizeable Muslim population and is also one of the three constituencies won by the BJP in the 2015 Assembly polls.

Police and paramilitary personnel conducted a flag march in Brij Puri, an area which falls under the Mustafabad Assembly constituency. Jt CP Eastern Range Alok Kumar said, "There's adequate arrangement in place for smooth conduct of polls. All senior officers along with the forces are patrolling the area. Quick Response Teams are deployed at sensitive areas."

In a tweet in Hindi , she asked, "Do you consider women so incapable that they themselves cannot decide whom to vote for?" She used the hashtag 'Mahila Virodhi Kejriwal (anti-women Kejriwal)'.

Union Minister Smriti Irani criticised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over appeal to women ahead of polling asking them to turn out in large numbers and discuss the candidate they chose to vote for with the men in their family.

The Election Commission has provided a service for senior citizens to be able to vote in the Delhi Assembly election currently underway, where in they can be picked up and taken to the polling booth and then dropped back home by volunteers and police personnel.

"My message to the voters is 'aaj apna kagaz jaroor lekar jayen. Kagaz jaroor dikhayen' (Today, take your documents along with you and show your documents)," Lal said. In Delhi, there will be a government which can coordinate with the Centre, Lal, who was in the BJP till last year, said.

Talking to reporters after casting his vote at a polling booth in Nirman Bhawan, Lal asked voters to keep in mind who can make Delhi the best capital city in the world. Hundreds of people, protesting against the CAA and the NRC in many areas across the country, often raise the slogan of "kagaz nahi dikhayenge".

Taking a swipe at those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), senior RSS functionary Ram Lal on Saturday said those shouting "kagaz nahin dikhayenge (we wont show our documents)" will be defeated in the Delhi Assembly election, and appealed to people to show documents while voting.

Former president Pranab Mukherjee cast his vote in the Delhi Assembly election at a polling station in the Kamraj lane area of the New Delhi constituency. Incumbent Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the New Delhi constituency.

The voter turnout has been recorded at 29.89 percent in the Delhi Assembly election till 3 pm, according to the Election Commission's official website.

Accusing the party of giving the protesters biryani and money, Verma was quoted by India Today as saying that the protesters in the areas, which have been the epicentres of the anti-CAA movement.

BJP MP Parvesh Verma, who courted controversy during the election campaign in the run-up to the Delhi polls, on Saturday said that anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters in the Shaheen Bagh, Jamia Millia Islamia university, and Seelampur areas are "paying back their debt" to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

In a video, Verma said, "I want to tell the Delhi voters that you also owe a debt to the country, to the defence forces, you are nationalistic people and will not allow the country to break. So I appeal that you also come out in large numbers and say that we will vote for the rashtra bhakt party and shout 'Jai Shri Ram'."

Parvesh Verma, making an appeal for voters to turn out to exercise their franchise in large numbers, said that even though anti-CAA protesters in areas like Shaheen Bagh were supporting the AAP, "nationalistic" people should vote for the "rashtra bhakt (nationalist)" party.

Raihan, who is a first-time voter, said ,"It was a nice feeling to take part in the democratic process. Everyone should exercise their right to vote; I think everyone should have access to public transport and it should be subsidized for students."

BJP MP Parvesh Verma, in a video on Twitter, said, "If the people of Shaheen Bagh can shout in long queues and vote for the AAP party, then the people of Delhi too, should come out of their homes and vote for the 'nationalist' party."

"We are fighting an ideological war. Delhi has seen slow pace of progress in the last five-six years. People are looking at the Congress with hope as Aam Aadmi Party makes false promises and the BJP spreads communalism," Chacko said, refuting speculation that the Sonia Gandhi-led party had allowed the incumbent ruling party to have a "walk over" in the fight for the National Capital.

Delhi Congress in-charge PC Chacko on Saturday was quoted by News18 as saying that the party "will spring a surprise" on 11 February, which is when the votes will be counted.

Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is in the fray from the Patparganj constituency against the Congress' Laxman Rawat and the BJP's Ravi Negi.

Along with the New Delhi constituency for which Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is in the fray, some contests to look out for are for the Kalkaji seat where AAP leader Atishi is facing off against the BJP's Dharam Veer Singh and the Congress' Shivani Chopra.

At least 42 percent of voters have cast their vote till 4 pm, according to the Election Commission website. Only two hours left for the polling to conclude.

Even as the voter turnout has been less than satisfactory in the Delhi Assembly polls till 4 pm on Saturday, News18 reported that voters standing in queue were complaining that the process was "taking longer than usual". "There are long queues at the polling booths with some voters waiting for as long as 2 hours," the report said.

However, BJP MP Parvesh Verma posted a video on Twitter appealing to Delhi voters for support to the 'nationalist' party, while voting for the Delhi Assembly elections is underway. He also slammed the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh and other sites for "voting" the incumbent AAP.

Additionally, there is an important component of ECI's guidelines to be followed during the election campaign  the silence period . The election silence is a ban on political campaigning prior to voting, to give voters a peaceful time to consider and make a final decision on their vote.

The Model of Code of Conduct (MCC) covers a wide range of possible violations that a political candidate may commit. Under the code of conduct, candidates are barred from making communally provocative speeches, appealing to a particular community for electoral gains, and targeting rivals over their personal lives. Any form of bribery, through cash or liquor, to influence voters is a violation of the MCC.

"The personnel, including senior officers, conducted flag marches in sensitive areas. They also conducted patrolling on motorcycles. PCR and quick response teams have also been deployed at sensitive areas" Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar said.

Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel conducted flag marches in "sensitive" areas in northeast and east Delhi during polling on Saturday. Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the Delhi Assembly elections, PTI reported.

In a taunt directed at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for his tweet urging women voters to turnout in large numbers and "discuss the candidates" with their male family members, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that "Shaheen Bagh supporters" only think of women as second-class citizens.

He was quoted by ANI as saying, "I had just gone to the shop to buy some stuff. The shopkeeper is a known person. It has been done to raise an issue of Bihari vs non-Bihari."

BJP leader Giriraj Singh, addressing Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh's accusation that he was distributing money to voters in the Rithala Assembly constituency on Friday evening, a day ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, said that he had only gone to the area to shop.

With just one hour of polling left, Delhi has recorded a voter turnout at 44.74 percent till 5 pm. Polling officials were quoted by PTI as saying that the turnout for the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday was low.

Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday urged Delhi voters to turnout in large numbers to vote in the Assembly election. Polling will conclude at 6 pm.

AAP's Amanatullah is the sitting MLA and 2020 candidate of the party, he is up against Congress's Parvez Hashmi and BJP's Brahm Singh Bidhuri.

The New Delhi constituency, from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in the fray, saw a voter turnout less than 50 percent during the polling for the Delhi Assembly election on Saturday. The constituency polled 42 percent at 5.50 pm, while the overall Union Territory's voter turnout was 44.74 percentage till 5 pm.

The exit polls predictions for the Delhi Assembly election will begin after 6.30 pm, half an hour after polls close on Saturday. The actual counting of votes will take place on 11 February.

"The personnel, including senior officers, conducted flag marches in sensitive areas. They also conducted patrolling on motorcycles. PCR and quick response teams have also been deployed at sensitive areas" Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Alok Kumar said.

Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel conducted flag marches in "sensitive" areas in northeast and east Delhi during polling on Saturday. Elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the Delhi Assembly elections, PTI reported.

In a taunt directed at Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for his tweet urging women voters to turnout in large numbers and "discuss the candidates" with their male family members, BJP leader Amit Malviya said that "Shaheen Bagh supporters" only think of women as second-class citizens.

A poor voter turnout could be worrying for all three candidates contesting from the region.

It has the most number of unauthorised colonies in the capital, which is why the regularisation of colonies is a big issue here where BJP sees a chance to score some brownie points. However, most of the residents here are poor or fall in the lower-middle class category, making AAPs subsidies on water and power quite vital in the area. But also, almost one-fifth of Sangam Vihars population is Muslim. The BJPs attempts to polarise voters are quite likely to be visible in this area, which may either unite Muslim votes against BJP, or also split it between AAP and Congress.

The Sangam Vihar Assembly constituency is important for all the key contestants as it throws up an interesting mix of demography and class. This means that no party has a clear upper hand over the voters here.

He was quoted by ANI as saying, "I had just gone to the shop to buy some stuff. The shopkeeper is a known person. It has been done to raise an issue of Bihari vs non-Bihari."

BJP leader Giriraj Singh, addressing Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh's accusation that he was distributing money to voters in the Rithala Assembly constituency on Friday evening, a day ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, said that he had only gone to the area to shop.

"By the evening, we will be a full house again, all geared up to continue our protest," she said.

Zaheeda Khan, another resident of Shaheen Bagh, said they decided to vote in batches. "The women here had decided a day before voting that some of them would go out for voting in the morning, while others will stay back for chores. The others will go in the afternoon and then come back to the protest site.

Mehzabeen Qureshi, who returned to the protest site after voting said, "I stayed at home to let other women in the house go out and vote. Now I have joined them here at Shaheen Bagh after voting. I voted today to secure democracy".

On a sit-in for almost two months against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), women protesters at Shaheen Bagh voted in batches on Saturday so that the agitation remains unaffected. While some of the women voted in the morning, others chose to get their fingers inked in the afternoon and the remaining in the evening.

With just one hour of polling left, Delhi has recorded a voter turnout at 44.74 percent till 5 pm. Polling officials were quoted by PTI as saying that the turnout for the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday was low.

Voted today for the #DelhiAssemblyElections . Every election is important. Every vote is essential and it counts. I urge my fellow citizens in #Delhi to come out and vote in large numbers and participate in the strengthening of our Democracy. #CitizenMukherjee pic.twitter.com/CEsBk4twqI

Former president Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday urged Delhi voters to turnout in large numbers to vote in the Assembly election. Polling will conclude at 6 pm.

#DelhiElections2020 : Voting underway at a polling booth in Shaheen Public School in Shaheen Bagh. AAP's Amanatullah is the sitting MLA and 2020 candidate of the party, he is up against Congress's Parvez Hashmi and BJP's Brahm Singh Bidhuri. pic.twitter.com/URTFL7OpJq

AAP's Amanatullah is the sitting MLA and 2020 candidate of the party, he is up against Congress's Parvez Hashmi and BJP's Brahm Singh Bidhuri.

The New Delhi constituency, from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in the fray, saw a voter turnout less than 50 percent during the polling for the Delhi Assembly election on Saturday. The constituency polled 42 percent at 5.50 pm, while the overall Union Territory's voter turnout was 44.74 percentage till 5 pm.

The exit polls predictions for the Delhi Assembly election will begin after 6.30 pm, half an hour after polls close on Saturday. The actual counting of votes will take place on 11 February.

Delhi Election 2020 Voting LATEST Updates: The New Delhi constituency, from where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in the fray, saw a voter turnout less than 50 percent during the polling for the Delhi Assembly election on Saturday. The constituency polled 42 percent at 5.50 pm, while the overall Union Territory's voter turnout was 44.74 percentage till 5 pm.

With just one hour of polling left, Delhi has recorded a voter turnout at 44.74 percent till 5 pm. Polling officials were quoted by PTI as saying that the turnout for the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday was low.

The National Capital had recorded a voter turnout of 67.12 percent in the 2015 Assembly elections.

The Model of Code of Conduct (MCC) covers a wide range of possible violations that a political candidate may commit. Under the code of conduct, candidates are barred from making communally provocative speeches, appealing to a particular community for electoral gains, and targeting rivals over their personal lives. Any form of bribery, through cash or liquor, to influence voters is a violation of the MCC.

Additionally, there is an important component of ECI's guidelines to be followed during the election campaign  the silence period. The election silence is a ban on political campaigning prior to voting, to give voters a peaceful time to consider and make a final decision on their vote.

However, BJP MP Parvesh Verma posted a video on Twitter appealing to Delhi voters for support to the 'nationalist' party, while voting for the Delhi Assembly elections is underway. He also slammed the anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh and other sites for "voting" the incumbent AAP.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union minister Smriti Irani traded barbs on Twitter on Saturday after the AAP leader issued a "special appeal" to woman voters and asked them to discuss with men as to who could be the right choice for votes.

"Must go to vote. A special appeal to all women. As you take care of your family, there is another responsibility on your shoulder which is of the country as well as Delhi. All women must vote and also take men of their family for it. You also must discuss with men who will be the right choice (for votes)," Kejriwal tweeted minutes before the polling for electing the Delhi assembly began.

Irani, a BJP leader and Lok Sabha MP, took a swipe at Kejriwal, asking if he does not consider women capable enough to decide for themselves who to vote for.

Irani retorted, "Don't you consider women so capable that they could decide themselves who to vote for?" She also used a hashtag, projecting him as anti-women. Kejriwal soon hit back at her, saying the women of Delhi have decided who to vote for.

"And this time in Delhi, women have decided their family's choice for votes. After all they have to run their household," he added.

The voter turnout has been recorded at 29.89 percent in the Delhi Assembly election till 3 pm, according to the Election Commission's official website.

Former president Pranab Mukherjee cast his vote in the Delhi Assembly election at a polling station in the Kamraj lane area of the New Delhi constituency. Incumbent Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate from the New Delhi constituency.

Union Minister Smriti Irani criticised Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over appeal to women ahead of polling asking them to turn out in large numbers and discuss the candidate they chose to vote for with the men in their family. In a tweet in Hindi, she asked if the CM considers women incapable of taking decision on whom to vote for.

As of 2 pm, a voter turnout of 27.92 percent was reported in Delhi. The highest turnout was reported in Babarpur (37.63 percent) and the lowest in Ambedkar Nagar (16.26 percent). Okhla, the constituency where five polling booths have been marked as critical owing to anti-CAA protests in Jamia Nagar and Shaheen Bagh, saw a dismal turnout of 14 percent. News reports since morning have been showing long queues outside polling booths in the area.

BJP chief Manoj Tiwari hit out at Chief Minister's Arvind Kejriwal's visit to the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place. "Did he go there to pray to God or make him impure," Tiwari asked. Responding to the row over the Hanuman temple remark made by the BJP chief Manoj Tiwari, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal criticised the kind of politics on display by the BJP.

A scuffle broke out between AAP and Congress workers near Majnu Ka Tila, where Congress candidate Alka Lamba tried to slap a worker of the Arvind Kejriwal-led party. Police officers present at the scene intervened as she raised a complaint with the officials. AAP leader Sanjay Singh has said the party will complain to Election Commission.

Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Singh cast their vote at Nirman Bhawan in New Delhi Assembly constituency. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi arrived to cast his vote at polling booth number 81 and 82 at Aurangzeb Road. Delhi's oldest voter, 110 years old Kalitara Mandal, who originally came from Bangladesh, cast her vote at SDMC Primary School, Chittaranjan Park in Greater Kailash Assembly constituency on Saturday.

Udham Singh, an election officer deployed at a polling booth in Babarpur Primary School in Northeast Delhi died after suffering a heart attack, reports news agency ANI. Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal took to Twitter to share his family's photograph taken after casting their respective votes.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his family cast his vote at a polling booth in Civil Lines. In this constituency, he is pitted against BJP's Sunil Yadav and Congress's Romesh Sabharwal. Speaking to reporters, Kejriwal said, "I appeal to all, specially to the women, to cast their votes today. I am hopeful that people of Delhi will vote on the basis of the work done. I am hopeful that Aam Aadmi Party will come back to power for the third time."

Voting has not yet begun at C10 block booth in Yamuna Vihar due to a technical issue in the EVM. Election Commission's technical team at the spot.

In an appeal on the voting day in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to vote in record numbers. He urged the youth specifically to exercise its franchise.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal specially appealed to women to vote. "Just as you bear the responsibility of home, bear the responsibility of the country and Delhi. All women must go to vote and take the men of their houses," he tweeted in Hindi. In the 2015 election, 66.5 percent of Delhi's eligible women voters voted.

The venue of protests against Citizenship Amendment Act being held at Jamia Millia Islamia since over a month was shifted on Friday night ahead of polling in Delhi on 8 February. The protests, that were being held outside Gate no 7, were shifted to Gate no 4.

Electors can carry smart phones at polling stations in 11 assembly constituencies for accessing QR codes from the voters' helpline app in case they have not brought the voter's slip to the booth. The 11 constituencies are Sultanpur Majra, Seelampur, Ballimaran, Bijwasan, Trilokpuri, Shakur Basti, New Delhi, Rohtas Nagar, Chhatarpur, Rajouri Garden and Jangpura.

Voting in single-phase Assembly elections in Delhi is set to be held on 8 February (Saturday), while counting of votes will take place on 11 February, (Tuesday). This year, the 70- membered Assembly polls in the National Capital will see a triangular contest between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (APP) is set to make a determined bid to return to power while the BJP seeks for a win after losing to AAP in the 2013 and 2015 polls. In the 2015 Assembly polls, the AAP won 67 seats, leaving just three for the BJP

Voting is scheduled to begin at 8 am and end by 6 pm at all polling booths, the Election Commission of India said. The term for the current Delhi Legislative Assembly ends on 22 February.

This year, Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer, has roped in six celebrities from sports, media and classical dance fields as poll brand ambassadors to create awareness among voters. In order to attract people to vote in large numbers, the Delhi CEO has adopted campaigns like 'Delhi Ka Voter' and 'Delhi Ka Dabang'.

To attract people at polling stations, 70 Model Polling Stations (one in each constituency) are being set up and all booths in these polling stations would not only have facilities such as medical kit, creche, ramp, wheelchairs, pick up and drop for elderly like other booths, but they would be highly decorated and made attractive in every sense," said Delhi Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Ranbir Singh

According to the data provided by the Election Commission, there are a total of 1,46,92,136 voters in Delhi, comprising of 80.55 lakh male and 66.35 lakh female population. There are 58 general category seats, 12 for Scheduled Castes and none for Scheduled Tribes in Delhi Assembly.

In a unique initiative to create awareness among voters to exercise their voting rights, Delhi Chief Electoral office has tied up with Delhi Metro and 17 Metro Trains would carry awareness campaigns. Similarly at several Metro Stations would also display awareness advertisement issued by the electoral office.

The Model Code of Conduct is already in effect in Delhi after Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora's announcement on 3 February. Arora said that 90,000 policemen will be deployed for the smooth conducting of Delhi election. There are 13,750 polling stations in Delhi.

Delhi elections, this time, would pass on some strong social messages to the people. In each district, one booth will be entirely managed by Persons with disability (PwD). There will be 11 such booths.

"Women would take a lead in 380 Model booths and apart from polling activities, even security will entirely their responsibility. At 11 booths, one in each district, voters would have unique experience tech-driven exercise when QR Code would facilitate the entire process of voting," said Delhi CEO.

The Congress, which ruled the National Capital for three consecutive terms from 1998 to 2013, is for the first time contesting the Delhi Assembly polls in alliance with another party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Lalu Prasad Yadav-led RJD had initially demanded 10 percent seats in Delhi from the Congress, but it was finally decided that the party would contest on four constituencies  Burari, Kirari, Palam and Uttam Nagar. Out of the four seats RJD got in the pre-poll alliance, the party had earlier unsuccessfully contested in Kirari, Burari and Palam seats.

In an unusual twist, BJP's age-old ally, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), is not contesting along with the saffron party this time. Instead, the BJP has given the remaining three seats to JD(U) and Lok Janshakti Party (LJP).

AAP was the first to announce its candidates for all 70 assembly segments on 14 January. In the first list, BJP had released 57 names which included AAP rebel Kapil Mishra and BJP veteran Vijender Gupta. After the second list, the total candidate count of the BJP has now gone up to 67. The Congress has named candidates on 67 seats, with Romesh Sabharwal competing against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived here on Friday on a five-day visit during which he will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to explore ways to further boost bilateral ties.

After his official engagement in Delhi, Rajapaksa will travel to Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya and Tirupati.

A host of issues, including fulfilling the aspirations of the Tamil community in Sri Lanka, the situation in the Indian Ocean Region and ways to boost defence and trade ties, are expected to figure in the talks between Modi and the Sri Lankan prime minister.

President Gotabaya Rajpaksa visited India in November which was his first official overseas trip after taking charge of the top office.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
People often look like they are sleeping just after dying, having a neutral facial expression. But one of my relatives, who had intense pain the hours leading up to his death and lacked access to medical care, had a radiant, ecstatic expression. For decades, I have wondered whether the last minutes of life can be euphoric. Could dying perhaps trigger a flood of endorphins, in particular in the absence of painkillers? Goran, 77, Helsingborg, Sweden.

The poet Dylan Thomas had some interesting things to say about death, not least in one of his most famous poems:

And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

It is often assumed that life wages a battle to the last against death. But is it possible, as you suggest, to come to terms with death?

As an expert on palliative care, I think there is a process to dying that happens two weeks before we pass. During this time, people tend to become less well. They typically struggle to walk and become sleepier  managing to stay awake for shorter and shorter periods. Towards the last days of life, the ability to swallow tablets or consume food and drinks eludes them.

This article is part of Lifes Big Questions

The Conversations new series, co-published with BBC Future, seeks to answer our readers nagging questions about life, love, death and the universe. We work with professional researchers who have dedicated their lives to uncovering new perspectives on the questions that shape our lives.

It is around this time that we say people are actively dying, and we usually think this means they have two to three days to live. A number of people, however, will go through this entire phase within a day. And some people can actually stay at the cusp of death for nearly a week before they die, something which usually is extremely distressing for families. So there are different things going on with different people and we cannot predict them.

The actual moment of death is tricky to decipher. But a yet unpublished study suggests that, as people get closer to death, there is an increase in the bodys stress chemicals. For people with cancer, and maybe others, too, inflammatory markers go up. These are the chemicals that increase when the body is fighting an infection.

You suggest that there may also be an endorphin rush just before someone dies. But we just dont know as nobody has yet explored this possibility. A study from 2011, however, showed that the levels of serotonin, another brain chemical that is also thought to contribute to feelings of happiness, tripled in the brains of six rats as they died. We cant rule out the possibility that something similar could happen in humans.

The technology to look at endorphin and serotonin levels in humans does exist. Nevertheless, getting repeated samples, especially blood, in the last hours of someones life is logistically challenging. Getting the funding to do this research is hard, too. In the UK, cancer research in 2015-2016 was awarded 580m whereas palliative care research was awarded less than 2 million.

There is no evidence suggesting that painkillers such as morphine would prevent endorphins from being produced, however. Pain isnt even always an issue when people die. My own observations and discussions with colleagues suggest that if pain has not really been an issue for a person earlier, it is unusual for it to become a problem during the dying process. In general, it seems like peoples pain declines during the dying process. We dont know why that is  it could be related to endorphins. Again, no research has yet been done on this.

There are a number of processes in the brain that can help us overcome severe pain. This is why soldiers on the battlefield often dont feel pain when their attention is diverted. Work by Irene Tracy at the University of Oxford demonstrates the fascinating power of placebo, suggestion and religious beliefs in overcoming pain. Meditation can also help.

Euphoric experiences

But what could cause a euphoric experience during death, other than endorphins or alternative neurotransmitters? As the body shuts down, the brain is affected. It is possible that the way in which this happens somehow influences the experiences we have at the moment of death. The American neuroanatomist Jill Bolte-Taylor has described in a TED talk how she experienced euphoria and even nirvana during a near-death experience in which her left brain hemisphere, which is the centre of logic and rational thought, shut down following a stroke.

Interestingly, even though Bolte-Taylors injury was to the left side of her brain, an injury to the right side of the brain can also increase your feelings of being close to a higher power.

I think there is a chance that your relative had a deep spiritual experience or realisation. I know that when my grandfather died he raised his hand and finger as if he was pointing at someone. My father, a devout catholic, believes that my grandfather saw his mother and my grandmother. He died with a smile on his face, which brought profound reassurance to my father.

The dying process is sacred to Buddhists, who believe that the moment of death provides great potential for the mind. They see the transition from living to dying as the most important event of your life  that point when you carry Karma from this life into other lives.

That doesnt mean that religious people generally have more joyful death experiences. I have witnessed priests and nuns become extremely anxious as they approach death, perhaps consumed by concerns about their moral record and the fear of judgement.

Parashkev Nachev

Ultimately, every death is different  and you cant predict who is going to have a peaceful death. I think some of those I have seen die didnt benefit from a rush of feel-good chemicals. I can think of a number of younger people in my care, for example, who found it difficult to accept that they were dying. They had young families and never settled during the dying process.

Those I have seen who may have had an ecstatic experience towards the end of their lives were generally those who somehow embraced death and were at peace with the inevitability of it. Care may be important here  a study of lung cancer patients who received early palliative care were found to be happier and lived longer.

I remember one woman who was getting nutrition through her veins. She had ovarian cancer and was not able to eat. People fed like this are at risk of serious infections. After her second or third life-threatening infection, she changed. The sense of peace emanating from her was palpable. She managed to get home from hospital for short periods and I still remember her talking about the beauty of sunsets. These people always stick in my mind and they always make me reflect on my own life.

Ultimately, we know very little about what happens when someone is dying. After 5,000 years of medicine, we can tell you how you die from drowning or a heart attack, but we dont know how you die from cancer or pneumonia. The best we can do is describe it.

My research is focused on trying to demystify the dying process, understand the basic biology and develop models predicting the last weeks and days of life. In time, we may also get to research the role endorphins play in the last hours of life and actually get to answer your question definitively.

It is possible that we experience our most profound moment in the murky hinterland between life and death. But that doesnt mean we should stop raging against the dying of the light. As the Swedish diplomat Dag Hammarskjold put it:

Do not seek death. Death will find you. But seek the road which makes death a fulfilment.

To get all of lifes big answers, join the hundreds of thousands of people who value evidence-based news by subscribing to our newsletter. You can send us your big questions by email at bigquestions@theconversation.com and well try to get a researcher or expert on the case.

More Lifes Big Questions:

Seamus Coyle, Honorary Clinical Research Fellow, University of Liverpool

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Washington/Manchester: Pete Buttigieg narrowly won Iowa`s Democratic presidential caucuses, the state party said on Thursday, after a long delay in releasing the results of the first contest in the race to pick a challenger to Republican President Donald Trump.

Buttigieg, the moderate 38-year-old former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, edged out progressive US Senator Bernie Sanders by 26.2% to 26.1% of state-delegate equivalents - the data traditionally used to determine the winner - with 100% of precincts counted, the Iowa Democratic Party said.

US Senator Elizabeth Warren finished third with 18%, while former Vice President Joe Biden limped to a disappointing fourth with 15.8%. US Senator Amy Klobuchar finished fifth with 12.3%.

The results, which have been marred by technical and organizational errors, could reshape the 2020 race for the Democratic presidential nomination for November`s election and raise doubts about the future of Biden, the one-time front-runner.

Live TV

Iowa Democrats had poured into 1,600 schools, community centers and other public locations on Monday night to make their choices among the 11 candidates in the Democratic race.

But the Democratic candidates had already departed Iowa and turned their attention to the next nominating contest in New Hampshire on Feb. 11 before the first results were even released in two batches on Tuesday..

Officials blamed inconsistencies related to a new mobile app used for vote counting for the unusual delay in Iowa, the state that traditionally kicks off a US presidential election campaign that culminates this year on Nov. 3.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez called on Thursday for an audit of the Iowa caucuses after the technical glitch created uncertainty about the accuracy of the tally.

"I want to make sure every Iowa voter knows that their vote was counted," Perez said in an interview with MSNBC.

He said any review was unlikely to change the composition of the state`s 41 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Iowa Democratic Party leader Troy Price said the local party did not plan to start an immediate audit and it would do so only if a candidate asked for one.

Before the final results were released, Sanders thanked Iowans for "the very strong victory they gave us" in Monday`s caucuses.

Asked later at a CNN event if he would request a recanvass, Sanders said: Weve got enough of Iowa. I think we should move on to New Hampshire.

He added: "I suspect that at the end of the day, Mr. Buttigieg and I will have an equal number of delegates to the national convention.

'Screwup'

Party officials initially attributed the delays to a technical problem with the new mobile app, but other concerns have since emerged, complicating efforts to release the final tallies.

The Iowa Democratic Party received an "unusually high volume of inbound calls" to its caucus hotline on Monday night from "callers who would hang up immediately after being connected, supporters of President Trump who called to express their displeasure with the Democratic Party, and Iowans looking to confirm details," a party official said.

The call volume was "highly irregular" compared with previous caucuses, the official said.

The New York Times has also reported that more than 100 precincts reported results that were inconsistent, had missing data or were not possible under the caucus rules, casting doubt on the count.

The Iowa Democratic Party declined to comment on inconsistencies.

Both parties have criticized Iowa`s process.

"They can`t count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your healthcare system," Trump said of Democrats during an address celebrating his acquittal on impeachment charges.

His own party, however, switched the declared Iowa winner two weeks after its own Iowa caucuses in 2012.

In Manchester, New Hampshire, Sanders called the caucus debacle a "screwup" that was unfair to all candidates.

After Iowa`s reporting issues and delays, the Nevada Democratic Party, which hosts its caucus on Feb. 22, is "scrapping both the app and ties to Shadow," the company that developed caucus-reporting apps for both Iowa and Nevada, party spokeswoman Molly Forgey said.

"Luckily for us, we had a series of backup plans in place," Forgey added.Iowa Democrats had poured into 1,600 schools, community centers and other public locations on Monday night to make their choices among the 11 candidates in the Democratic race.
Vietnamese textile and footwear manufacturers are struggling to import material from China where the new coronavirus outbreak has resulted in factories being shut down.

Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) recently advised textile companies to tap other markets to meet production targets.

The move came as a response to the novel coronavirus (nCoV) continuing to claim lives in China, which in 2019, accounted for almost 60 percent of Vietnams garment imports, and 55 percent of fiber, according to VITAS.

Tran Van Dang, owner of a handbag manufacturer in District 3, Ho Chi Minh City that regularly sources material from China, said there was no leather left when his factory resumed operation on Monday, following the seven-day Lunar New Year, or Tet break.

"If we cannot import more material from China this week, production will cease next week," he told local media.

Another manufacturer in Go Vap District said his Chinese suppliers still let workers stay home to avoid spreading the nCoV, meaning his stock will run out in two weeks.

Truong Thi Thuy Lien, CEO of Lien Phat Footwear in southern Binh Duong Province, has enough material for the next three months, but remains concerned because the deadly virus is still spreading across China.

"If the disease persists, our supply and transport chain will be in trouble. In the worst case scenario, manufacturing will have to stop or be delayed."

Many clothes sellers in An Dong Market of District 5, HCMC have not been able to order more stock from China where factories have yet to resume operations, having to pay VND2 million ($86) a day in stall rent.

Dieu, a seller at the market, said: "Usually by this time each year I have received 3-4 packages from China. But so far, none have arrived, and we might have to continue waiting for weeks."

Other sectors have also reported challenges in acquiring materials as China shuts down manufacturing in many cities to contain the nCoV outbreak. In central Hubei Province, where the majority of nCoV-related deaths have occured, factories will not resume production until February 14 and could run on a limited scale after that.

Nguyen Quoc Anh, chairman of Ho Chi Minh City Rubber Plastic Manufacturer Association (HRPMA), said production of rubber and plastic in Vietnam is largely dependent on China with 70 percent of materials imported from the country.

Anh, also CEO of rubber firm Duc Minh, said the companys material will run out in a month. If Chinese suppliers still cannot provide more material by that time, the company would have to source from Japan and South Korea where prices are 15-20 percent higher.

"Profitability will be challenged by higher material costs as we have fixed prices with customers since the end of last year."

Leading stock brokerage SSI Securities Corporation (SSI) noted the nCoV outbreak could negatively impact on 10 major industries in Vietnam, including textiles, as Chinese factories close down.

In January, Vietnams imports of fabric from China fell 18.1 percent to $950 million, according to General Statistics Office (GSO).

Exports of textiles, a key sector, in all markets fell 21 percent year-on-year to $2.6 billion in January, while that of footwear fell 9.7 percent to $1.6 billion, it added.
- The current Pound-to-Euro exchange rate is buying at 1.17742 on 08/02/2020 at inter-bank levels. See GBP/EUR page for the top 10 travel money (tourist) rates that are purchasable. Our list is 100% unbiased.

- Pound Sterling could take advantage of Euro weakness if the UK sorts out its own domestic pressures.

- GBP is "fairly undervalued" at current levels with "little justification for the relatively significant depreciation" says top analyst.

Coronavirus fears are shrugged off by most markets, but continue to dominate headlines.

EUR/GBP exchange rate remains stuck around the 0.85 mark as both currencies have domestic issues preventing any sustained uptrend.

Boris Johnsons hard-line rhetoric on trade has worried some GBP traders, but should not have a long-term effect.

Most markets are pausing in early Friday trading ahead of the important NFP report due out later in the US. Many risk markets are back at the highs after recovering from earlier coronavirus fears, but are unlikely to trend smoothly higher as the concerns have not completely disappeared. Indeed, the coronavirus still dominates headlines and the knock-on effects to Asian economies and commodities such as oil could be significant.

Currencies have reacted less to the virus spread. The Euro and Sterling in particular remain focused on domestic issues and in both cases there has been some cause for caution. This means both currencies have lost ground against the US dollar, but have stayed steady in relation to eachother. EURGBP continues to hover around 0.85 and looks unlikely to move far from this exchange rate as things stand.

Eurozone data this week has disappointed again and while there are signs of bottoming out, even a turnaround in some areas, German industry continues to weigh. Industrial production data just came in at -3.5%, missing the estimate of a -0.2% fall. This comes hot on the heels of industrial orders which ING described as a horror show on Thursday. Their note today describes a sector in turmoil,

The manufacturing slump continues. The pick-up in November brought only temporary relief for German industry, as the just-released December data showed a continuation of the broader downward trend. Industrial production fell by 3.5% month-on-month in December, from 1.2% MoM in November. It was the fifth drop in the last seven months. On the year, industrial production was down by almost 7%.

A variety of factors have contributed to this slump. ING summarizes it below,

The German manufacturing sector remains caught between cyclical weakness, on the back of the trade conflict and weaker global growth, and structural weakness, on the back of disruption in the automotive sector and too little investment. The entire manufacturing sector, except for food, is currently in stagnation mode.

The complexity of the problems means there is no easy fix, but fiscal spending packages should help in the long-term, as should the ECBs stimulus package. Meanwhile the Euro could remain under pressure against the majority of G10 currencies.

Pound to Euro Forecast

GBP could take advantage of Euro weakness if the UK sorts out its own domestic pressures. However, these are plentiful and were put in focus this week as Boris Johnson made several hard-line speeches which underlined the rift with the European Union. As the Guardian reported,

A flood of senior German politicians visiting the UK this week have been left confused and unnerved by the hardline rhetoric set out by Boris Johnson on trade talks, prompting warnings that the risk of a breakdown, or a no-deal Brexit, is as high as it has ever been.

Germany takes on the EU presidency in the second half of this year, and will have a crucial role in helping the European commission to steer the talks on a future UK-EU trading relationship to a successful conclusion by the end of the transition period in December."

The speeches prompted some heavy falls in the Pound early this week but are unlikely to drive long-term trends as trade negotiations will take the remainder of the year. Indeed, Johnson may be striking a hard-line now in preparation for these negotiations.

Positioning in GBP pairs is still net long and favouring the downside so any negative news will likely produce a downside reaction.

Is the Pound a Cheap Buy?

Marc-Andre Fongern, Head of FX Research & Keynote Speaker at MAF Global Forex questions the current market view on the Pound, suggesting it is cheap at current levels.

"Let's face it, the UK pound is undoubtedly a bargain, yet it is the currency's fate to magically attract downward spirals.

"Given the UK's improved economic data since the beginning of the year, there is little justification for the relatively significant depreciation.

"The market may be fearing an incalculable risk scenario.

"However, this might turn out to be unfounded, as I expect both the EU and the UK to show some willingness to compromise during the course of the year.

"Hence, the GBP is fairly undervalued."
By Daniel McConnell and Juno McEnroe

Fine Gael is in full crisis mode as it is set to lose more than 15 seats, with several senior ministers in jeopardy.

Senior party figures have privately conceded to the Irish Examiner the election will not go our way and the partys time in government is coming to an end.

We cannot win. The tide of change is too strong. We just need to try and keep as many seats as we can, said one minister.

The party, under Leo Varadkar, is on course for an election hammering, even though the Taoiseach urged the media not to write the obituary just yet about Fine Gael.

Predictions, both external and internal, emerged yesterday suggesting that the party could return with as few as 32 seats.

Such a result would see several Cabinet ministers in danger of losing their Dail seats.

Among those of most concern include: Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy

Chief Whip Sean Kyne

Super Junior Defence Minister Paul Kehoe

Junior health minister Catherine Byrne

In a sign of how nervous the party is, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe chose to appear on Today FMs Last Word with Matt Cooper from his constituency rather than in studio, which was seen as significant.

The campaign has been pretty flat and our top guns have not fired, said one minister.

I should be safe but I am struggling. I dont think it is bad as the national polls are saying, but it is bad.

Internally, recrimination is already emerging about the Fine Gael campaigns decision to so heavily focus on Brexit when the public was, at best, apathetic on the issue.

The campaign has been a fucking disaster, said one senior party figure. The D4 boys ran it again and it hasnt worked. Blame nine years all you like, we made things difficult for ourselves.

Mr Varadkar, on the campaign trail in Carlow, warned voters not to back populist promises and amadain economics.

The election will be one of the most important for generations, he said.

Mr Varadkar played down reports his ministers and TDs are were risk of losing seats and said he would be fighting for votes right up until polls close on Saturday night.

It is going to be a very tight election, he said. Im sure of that, with the three major parties competing for first, second, and third place.

In many ways, it makes it one of the most important elections in generations, a decision for people as to whether we continue to go forward or whether we go back with Fianna Fail.

Theres definitely an appetite for change. But we have to ask ourselves what type of change do we want?

And thats what makes this election so crucial, in my view. Weve seen Brexit in Britain and the vote for Donald Trump in America and the rise of populism and extremism in many European countries.

He added that he felt more worried about the country now more than anytime since the crash.

He said Sinn Fein was offering voters the biggest con job since the Fianna Fail 1977 manifesto with promised tax cuts but extra charges for businesses.

We all know that doesnt work. It didnt work in East Germany, it didnt work in Venezuela, said Mr Varadkar.

All it does is drive business and jobs into the ground, as the economy and other revenue isnt there to pay for all the crazy promises that were made in the first place.

And that was amadain economics, he insisted.
The First Lady Jeannette Kagame is currently in the United States for the 68th US National Prayer Breakfast, whose activities started Tuesday and end Thursday February 6 in Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, she attended two related events including the International Luncheon, and the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain States Congressional Dinner IV, where she delivered keynote remarks, sharing Rwanda's journey towards Unity and Reconciliation.

In her remarks, she reminded the audience how, on February 3, 1994, the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, addressed the National Prayer Breakfast and called upon the audience to be instruments of peace - while that same year, a few months later, Rwanda experienced the Genocide against the Tutsi.

"Mother Teresa, invoked the audience to pray for peace, joy and love. Tragically, in that same year, far across the ocean, in my home country Rwanda, peace, love and joy, seemed to be alien concepts. As turmoil, fear and anguish set in leading to the Genocide against the Tutsi, only a few months later," the First Lady said.

However, in retrospect, she noted that the prayer recited 26 years ago, "strongly resonated across the ocean and inspired the leadership of Rwanda to take, "by divine commission the high road" that eventually led to reconciliation and unity, that marks Rwanda today.

Sharing the steps taken to transform the country, the First Lady emphasized the fact that "Nothing grows where there is divisionism and hatred." In the case of Rwanda, she explained that "we understood that to bring sustainable peace, we needed to allow room for repentance and forgiveness and forever close the window to vengeance."

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More specifically, she added that, Rwanda relied on lessons learnt from the country's history, to transform all aspects of governance.

"Thinking critically around issues of security and dignity for all, helped us to deeply analyse the options set before us, and carve out a clearly defined path, to a unified, peaceful and prosperous nation."

"We adopted inclusive policies and structures, and created platforms - many of which were home-grown solutions, at all levels, to encourage community involvement in nation building efforts." The First Lady also noted that Rwanda promoted inclusive and intentional leadership, defined by three key pillars: unity, accountability and thinking big.

"These pillars have instilled in each of us: the sense of responsibility towards sustaining our collective gains; as well as the discipline needed to work towards our shared goal of realizing the Rwanda we want," she said.

The First Lady concluded saying that, "overall, through repentance, forgiveness and a genuine value for unity, Rwandans walked a difficult path, leading us to where we stand today." She attributed, Rwanda's progress to-date, to the many sacrifices made by every Rwandan, to have the necessary discussions and take the needed steps, to transcend the pain caused by the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.

"Today, the returns manifest themselves, in a growing economy, and in a society in which the rights to a dignified life are continuously fought for, in our pursuit of unshakable peace, and unity."

Later on today, the First Lady will attend the National Prayer Breakfast and thereafter the Leaders' Luncheon
Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Key Trends in Cruises" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global cruise industry is growing and evolving - companies are targeting a new demographic and aiming to offer new destinations and activities to grow their market share. This report looks at the key trends & issues within the cruise industry, as well as the opportunities and threats. It also offers an insight into key destinations, traveler groups, and into the strategies of the leading companies.



Key Highlights

Cruises appear to be extremely popular among those aged between 18 and 44, making up 63% of tourists interested in going on a cruise in 2020

By 2025, members of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) plan to see a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions as sustainability becomes a growing concern

Embarking on a cruise holiday used to mean it would be very difficult to communicate with people back home and passengers were essentially cut off from technology and the rest of the world. However, within the last few decades, there have been huge changes and now cruise companies are embracing technology and are even using it to entice more customers

Sustainability is likely going to be a major focus for all segments of the travel and tourism industry and cruises will be no exception. A large cruise ship can use up to 250 tons or 80,000 gallons of fuel per day, and mile-for-mile the carbon footprint for cruises is worse than flying. Cruise companies will need to use technologies such as exhaust gas cleaning systems and advanced wastewater treatment systems to ensure they are as efficient as possible. Single-use plastics are chastised all over the travel industry and as hotels increasingly switch to more sustainable alternatives, cruises will be expected to follow suit.



On the other hand, Wearable Technology as that of Carnival-owned Princess Cruises' Ocean Medallion has been a game changer for the cruise industry. This wearable disc enables passengers to benefit from keyless cabin access, tracking of family and friends, and high-speed internet. In return, the company can collect valuable data while also providing a streamlined way for its guests to get around the ship and pay for services. The technology will be rolled out to more ships in 2020 and Carnival may look at introducing the medallion to its other cruise brands.



According to the researchers's Q3 2018 survey, 53% of 18-24 year olds would rather spend on new experiences than new products so this age group could be very lucrative should cruise companies choose to target them. The younger generations are also most likely to want to experience the bars and clubs of the cities they visit so this would give them a reason to go on a cruise.



Carnival Corporation, which owns P&O, has already ventured into late and overnight stays at ports, with Princess Cruises' More Ashore' program. Evening stays are available in multiple places across the Caribbean, California and Hawaii with overnight stays in Cabo San Lucas in Mexico proving popular. One of Carnival's largest competitors, Royal Caribbean, is also already offering overnight stays. Its brand Azmara has already introduced AzAmazing nights, and its celebrity brand has Evenings Around the World' offering an array of options for night owls.



Cruises are an ideal holiday type for single travelers because there is so much to do and a lot of opportunity to meet other people. Single supplements are being wavered and single berth cabins are increasingly common. As more people search for solo trips, cruise companies are in a great position to showcase their offerings and catch the attention of new potential customers.



Reasons to Buy

Gain an insight into the cruise industries leading players.

Understand the key traveler types cruise companies can look to attract

Look at the key destinations and why they appeal

Gain a detailed understanding of the key trends, isseus and chellenges facing cruiseline operators

Key Topics Covered



Snapshot Traveler Types Key Market Trends Sustainable Travel Incorporating Technology Transformational Travel Key Destinations Caribbean Asia Norway Challenges and Opportunities New Ports around the World Appendix

Companies Mentioned



Carnival

Royal Caribbean

Norwegian Cruise Line

MSC

Genting

Princess Cruises

Azmara

Crystal Cruises

Virgin Voyages

Saga

Fred Olsen

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/7va9ct

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
Congressional District 23, which stretches for 550 miles, from San Antonio to El Paso along the U.S.-Mexico border, is a true swing district.

Since 2006, it has frequently flipped parties. Only Rep. Will Hurd has held the seat for more than two terms. Hurd is retiring after three terms.

That means in November, voters in the district will elect yet another new representative. For the Democratic nomination we recommend Gina Ortiz Jones, a superbly qualified candidate and former U.S. Air Force intelligence officer.

For the Republican nomination, we recommend Tony Gonzales, another talented young veteran whose experience and skills would serve him well in Congress.

In 2018, Jones nearly beat Hurd, losing by less than 1,000 votes.

She is a graduate of John Jay High School and Boston University, where she earned bachelors and masters degrees in economics and a bachelors degree in East Asian Studies. She also has a masters degree from the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies.

During her active-duty service, Jones, 39, was deployed to Iraq.

Her post-military career included advising on operations in Latin America and Africa, and advising military operations that supported South Sudans independence referendum. She also worked in trade enforcement and investment under President Barack Obama.

Jones said her top issue is health care, calling it a moral imperative.

Issues such as health care, national security and immigration touch all congressional districts, but few as heavily the 23rd. Jones has a deep understanding of these issues and frames ideas as solutions. If elected, she would hit the ground running.

We were also impressed with Gonzales, a standout in a crowded Republican field. A San Antonio native, the 38-year-old Gonzales recently retired from the U.S. Navy after a 20-year career. A cryptologist who was deployed multiple times in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, he was also a Department of Defense legislative fellow for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Gonzales holds a graduate certificate in legislative studies from Georgetown University and a masters degree in international relations from American Public University, and is a Ph.D. candidate in international development at the University of Southern Mississippi.

He is solidly conservative and has an assertive leadership style focused on finding solutions.

Gonzales would bring a uniquely informed perspective to national security and border issues.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have reportedly made their first appearance in public following their royal exit  in Miami, of all places.

According to People, they showed up at a private JPMorgan event on Thursday on South Beach in Miami. During the event, held at the 1 Hotel, Prince Harry gave a speech, though Meghan did not.

It's unclear what the event was about, or whether baby Archie was in attendance with them, and unfortunately, since it was a private event, there were no photos released.

People previously reported that Meghan and Harry are adjusting well to a quieter life in Canada, where they're currently staying as they navigate the next part of the process of their step back from the royal family.

WPA Pool/Getty Images

"It was just this tremendous shift when Meghan returned to Canada [after their announcement]," a source told the magazine. "You could tell that she felt so much less stressed."

RELATED: How Meghan Markle Is Doing in the Wake of the Sussex Exit

It's also been reported that the two have been house hunting in Los Angeles, and may set up home bases in both Canada and L.A.
Srinagar Police on Friday informed that they have arrested three people in connection with the incident of a grenade attack in Pratap Park on February 2. Six civilians and two personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had sustained injuries in the attack.

"We have arrested three persons in connection with the attack and out of those arrested, two are from Pulwama and one is from Shopian," Haseeb Mughal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Srinagar said.

"We raided several places and screened the suspected and it took us four days to bust this Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) module. All three are students, one is a second-year graduation student and the other two are 12th pass," said the SSP.

Further investigation in the case is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In Ex on the Beach: Peak of Love Episode 9, Ryan Gallagher and his girlfriend, Magdalena Ruiz, left the house to go home due to a family emergency.

They returned in the following episode, and co-star Jemmye Carroll noticed something was shady about their trip. In her weekly recap YouTube video, the MTV star exposed the couple for lying about going home when they never left the country.

Jemmye Carroll | Paul Zimmerman

Jemmye Carroll reveals Ryan Gallagher and Magdalena Ruiz didnt go home

At around 11 minutes and 40 seconds into her Peak of Love recap, Jemmye Carroll explained Ryan Gallagher and Magdalena Ruiz left the house because a member of Ryans family got into a car accident.

They were gone for three to four days until the couple returned to the house to continue working on their relationship. Once they came back, Jemmye realized they couldnt have flown home to Michigan and back to New Zealand within that time frame.

Therefore, she asked Magdalena about her flight path, but the clothing designer deferred the questions to Ryan. He told Jemmye they couldnt talk about it, so The Challenge star checked out their luggage and noticed they brought all their suitcases back.

Jemmye also saw the luggage still had old tags on them, so she told Ryan and Magdalena she knew they never left the country. The couple then admitted they didnt go back home but stayed in separate hotel rooms for a couple of days while Ryan figured everything out with his family.

Ryan Gallagher and Magdalena Ruiz respond to Jemmye Carroll

After Jemmye posted her YouTube video, Ryan responded to her in a lengthy comment on Instagram. He started by admitting they never left, but the show needed to make sense of me and Mag being absent for one whole day of filming.

Additionally, Ryan said hes thankful he was able to stay in the house with Magdalena because it allowed us to fall back in love with each other. Ryan also threw shade at Jemmye in his explanation by saying she didnt have anybodys eye since the moment she entered the chalet.

via Magdalena Ruiz Instagram

Shortly later, Magdalena reposted her boyfriends response to her Instagram story, adding, If only I had enough time in my life to talk bad about people and lie on them on social media to make myself feel better.

She also tagged Jemmye and told her, we are praying for you.

Jemmye Carroll responded to Ryan Gallagher and Magdalena Ruiz

On the same day, the MTV star uploaded a video to her Instagram, informing the couple that she gets paid to talk about things. Additionally, Jemmye pointed out a comment they made in their statement about her was disrespectful, and she can play the same game.

She also told Magdalena to keep her prayers because theyre filled with hate, and she only needs the prayers of her mother. Its not clear which comment Jemmye interpreted as disrespectful, but some fans believe shes referring to Ryans remark about her not having anybodys eye since the moment she entered.

Jemmye comes up with a plan to be messy pic.twitter.com/S33siSvnjb  Jay (@jaychallenge_) January 31, 2020

Watch Ex on the Beach: Peak of Love Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on MTV.
A fter years of talk, Heathrows new third runway is meant to be happening. Parliament has backed the plan. So have the last two Prime Ministers. But the current one? Thats where things get sticky. Its said that Boris Johnson is so adaptable the only thing he believes in is winning. Thats not fair.

There is at least one other thing he believes in very strongly, which is that Heathrow is the wrong place to build a new runway. To ask the obvious question, then, why, when he has just become a Prime Minister with an all-powerful majority, would he allow one to go ahead?

Weve heard a lot recently about the dilemma he faces over high-speed rail. So much has been leaked, including the excellent report he commissioned into HS2, that anyone with half an interest in transport must feel they have been living the debate in real time.

But we should pay attention to the future of the other multi-billion-pound infrastructure scheme hes inherited. There isnt a fuss because there isnt any noise coming from Downing Street on Heathrow. But it is the absence of noise thats telling. Maybe its the silence of the quiet assassin.

This isnt the place to discuss whether the third runway is a good idea or not. It is just over 11 years since a forgotten Labour transport secretary announced one would be built  a devastating blow for millions of Londoners, said Johnson then, as Mayor. The Government is hell-bent on exacerbating a planning error of the Forties  and that was long before he became a west London MP.

Julian Glover / Daniel Hambury

When taxiing at Heathrow, take-off can take a long time. In the last decade the airport has been through the wringer. The old plan for the runway has been cancelled, replaced and relaunched, but none of the changes have done anything to meet the Prime Ministers objections. In fact, the latest scheme would make the runway even busier, longer and more expensive, although also more useful.

In 2018, Johnson was conveniently out of the country for the Parliamentary vote which gave the formal go-ahead. He toned down his opposition as he became leader but never dropped it. The issue with Heathrow is there is still substantial doubt about the ability of the promoters to meet their obligations on air quality and noise pollution, he said just before the election  a fair challenge.

The Conservative manifesto said much the same, mentioning the project in the sort of tone people use when they find dog muck on their shoes. None of this means the third runway is dead  yet. But there is a sense that the Prime Minister is looking for a way to assist its early exit. Thats what the projects leaders fear. Its a lonely life, trying to create a global mega-hub in the middle of Brexit, when our jovial Prime Minister isnt smiling.

One thought doing the rounds is that Johnson wants to see the project brought down by its own contradictions. If he thinks it cant pass tests on noise, air pollution and costs, then he simply has to wait for it to fail.

Heathrow itself is sure it can succeed  at least when it comes to the first two. Planes are getting cleaner and quieter, and road vehicles can go electric.

The hard part is money. Its never been clear what the scheme will cost. Until it has final planning approval and is designed, no one can know. Is it just a plan for a new runway, for instance, or a slick new Terminal Six, too?

Scrapping Heathrow wouldnt look very glorious for a PM who says he wants to build a global Britain

What counts is how much extra airlines will have to pay. Thats set by the capable Civil Aviation Authority regulator, which wont have its arm twisted and is already, rightly, playing tough. If it refuses to allow big charges, then some Heathrow backers might pull out. The Spanish firm Ferrovial, which owns a quarter of the airport, warned of this the other day.

Heathrow is a prize asset and makes piles of cash. Its a better bet than most low-return investments, and new shareholders could be found. But they may decide rapid expansion isnt worth the bother. The Government could also pull back from funding infrastructure to support it, such as a rail link to the West, which has been greatly delayed. This might stop the new runway for years.

For a Prime Minister who stakes his reputation on building a global Britain and backing infrastructure, this would not be very glorious. It would leave everyone angry. People who dont want the runway would still fear it was coming  Londons mayoral candidates are moving against it.

So theres now talk of more dramatic action. The Government might link the cancellation of the third runway on cost and environmental grounds to a commitment to build HS2. It would show support for infrastructure, the Midlands and the North, improved air quality and reduced carbon emissions. Growth would have to come at Birmingham and Manchester airports, both on HS2 (one day), and both with spare capacity.
By The Associated Press Feb. 07, 2020 | 08:38 AM | WASHINGTON

Long before Donald Trumps impeachment landed in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had one piece of advice for the president: Focus on the House.

Gin it up. Use maximum effort. Make sure Republicans are united. And leave the Senate to him.

The Republican leader encouraged the president not to turn attention on wayward GOP senators, like Mitt Romney, who were troubled by Trumps actions toward Ukraine, but to stir the partisan passions of the House.

It was the GOP leader's central strategy to produce as partisan an impeachment as possible -- too polarizing for any centrists to touch -- to secure Republican acquittal in the Senate.

He understood right from the start, this was crooked politics, said Trump, singling McConnell out for praise Thursday at the White House. You did a fantastic job.

In the aftermath of only the third presidential impeachment trial in U.S. history, McConnells power over the Senate is now without doubt. His approach reflects the times of the Trump era, but also is shaping them.

Even before the senators even took the oath to uphold impartial justice, it was all but over. The Senate would have nowhere near the two-thirds majority needed to convict the president. McConnell announced he was not an impartial juror, but one working closely with the White House, and few strayed from his plan for speedy acquittal.

The Kentucky Republican may be less Master of the Senate, as historian Robert Caro indelibly labeled Lyndon B. Johnson, than master of a Senate that is being transformed in the age of Trump.

McConnells political brand centers on being an institutionalist, a keeper of traditions of the Senate he yearned to join since young adulthood. Yet in leading the majority, he is breaking old norms, introducing new ones and capitalizing on Trump's hold over the party.

Much like the way he rewrote the Senate rules to ensure confirmation of Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court on largely party-line votes, McConnell became the architect of a presidential impeachment trial that drifted from precedent. It was first without new witnesses or Senate deliberations, a shift for the chamber long heralded as the world's greatest deliberative body.

Far from preserving the Senates historic role, McConnell is demonstrably changing it.

Mitch McConnell, from the beginning, sided with the president in conceiving the entire impeachment process as illegitimate, said Timothy Naftali, a clinical professor of history at New York University, and co-author of a book on impeachment.

The Senate is often referred to as a cooling saucer, tempering the House heat. McConnell drew on that tradition to impress on senators their historic role in cooling the House's partisan passions.

"House Democrats may have descended into pure factionalism, but the United States Senate must not," he said on the eve of the trial.

The Senate was designed to stabilize our institutions. To break partisan fevers. To stop short-term passions from destroying our long-term future, McConnell told them.

After McConnell encouraged the president to fire-up partisan fervor in the House to ensure a party-line impeachment vote in December, the Senate followed suit, delivering the first party-line presidential acquittal in the nations history.

The passions that he should have been cooling in the Senate were the Republican partisan passions of the House, Naftali said.

Romney was the only Republican to cross party lines to convict.

Ahead of the trial, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he tried three times to engage McConnell on terms before the House's articles of impeachment were transmitted to the Senate. But he says he was rebuffed.

I said, Mitch, whenever yourre ready, I want to sit down and talk, Schumer told The Associated Press. I got no bites.

When McConnell presented GOP senators with his own plan for organizing the trial, he found little dissent. He had been discussing it privately with them for months. The main objection was his proposed 12-hour sessions, so a hand-scribbled change allowed for shorter days. It was an easy fix.

By the time the trial was ready to begin, "Hes already finished, said Josh Holmes, a former McConnell aide. Its the hallmark of his career.

It wasn't all McConnell's doing that brought Republicans in line. Trump maintains an extraordinary hold on his party. And Democrats own partisan passions against the president made it easier for Republicans to defend him.

The House approved the articles of impeachment in December on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's disciplined timeline, resulting in in the quickest, most partisan impeachment vote in history.

Once the trial began, GOP senators soured on the first day when Schumer protested McConnell's refusal to allow more witnesses, forcing a series of midnight votes that some Republicans saw as overtly partisan.

When Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asked Chief Justice John Roberts during the trial if he would cast a tie-breaking vote, one key centrist, GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, was done.

"Enough," she said later, announcing she would not vote to convict, blaming all sides for what she viewed as a new partisan low.

Trent Lott, the Republican Senate leader during then-President Bill Clinton's impeachment two decades ago, acknowledges times are different than when his party joined with Democrats to acquit the president of charges stemming from a sex scandal at the White House.

One thing thats different we had a center, Lott said in an interview. "The center has just disappeared."'

What McConnell rarely did, though, throughout the months long impeachment inquiry, was publicly dispute the facts of the case against Trump.

Democrats say Trump pressured a fragile ally, Ukraine, to conduct political investigations of Democratic rival Joe Biden, or risk losing its U.S. military aid. He then obstructed Congress as it probed a whistleblower's complaint about it.

A half-dozen Republican senators spoke of their unease with the president's actions. Wrong," said Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander. Shameful," said Murkowski. Susan Collins, Marco Rubio, Rob Portman and others called his behavior inappropriate.

But they also said the charges didn't rise to impeachable offenses and it would be better to let the voters in the 2020 election decide. McConnell and Trump both face re-election in fall.

Ahead of Wednesday's vote, McConnell told his colleagues, The United States Senate was made for moments like this.

Then, without further debate, the Senate voted to acquit.
Patience is a virtue, as some pious so-and-so with too much time on his hands once said. Five of this years nine Academy Award best picture nominees, announced Monday to a fair amount of controversy, have entered the streaming, downloading and DVD/Blu-ray phase. Those, you can see right now.
Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod says his country fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and congratulates the Ukrainian authorities on the progress made in the fight against corruption.

He said this during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko in Kyiv on Thursday, February 6, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

We reiterated Denmarks absolute support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, Kofod stressed.

In addition, he thanked the Ukrainian government for continuing important reforms and congratulated on the achievements in the fight against corruption.

This, of course, is very important for Ukraine so that it becomes a safe and stable country, and it is also important for security and stability in Europe, the Danish minister noted.

ish
RIVERTON  A structural deficit in Wyomings K-12 school system will require a $222 million transfer from savings in the coming biennium, forecasters have informed the Joint Appropriations Committee.

That is what is supporting the school foundation program going forward, said Don Richards, cochairman of Wyomings Consensus Revenue Estimating Group, a transfer from the Legislative Stabilization Reserve Account.

The solution is not permanent: Richards said the LSRA is losing money, with its balance falling from more than $1.5 billion in the 2019-2020 biennium to a projecte...
Dr. Panossians Annual Mending Kids Mission Continues to Expand with the Inclusion of Teaching and Training

Dr. Andre Panossian -- board member and founder of the Mending Kids annual medical mission in Armenia -- is a renowned plastic surgeon and highly-respected philanthropist who offers his medical expertise in inner cities in the USA and in remote areas throughout the world. The Mending Kids medical mission offers teaching, education, medical instruments, and resources to surgeons in Armenia and consistently expands its outreach to better the lives of others.

Dr. Andre Panossian initiated the very first Mending Kids mission to Armenia in 2015 as an independent effort. Mending Kids Armenia mission provides reconstructive surgery at the childrens hospital (Arabkir) in the capital of Yerevan. Approximately 16 to 20 complex reconstructive surgeries are performed each week during the mission on underprivileged teens and children, including:

Complex cleft lip and palate deformities

Vascular birthmark removal

Facial paralysis reconstruction

Neurofibromatosis reconstruction

Correction of congenital hand and foot deformities

Trauma and burn reconstruction

Dr. Panossian is a Harvard-trained, board-certified plastic surgeon and a first-generation Armenian-American who has a passion for international medical missions. The Armenia mission, under Dr. Panossian, has a strong educational component.

Mending Kids advanced surgeons are board-certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and train local Armenian doctors on technical aspects of complex reconstructive plastic surgery, including an annual lecture given by Dr. Panossian to medical students, residents, and practicing physicians in the area. Mending Kids surgeons maintain strong ties with local doctors and frequently review cases and perform postoperative follow-ups using telehealth technology. This educational effort is empowering local Armenian surgeons and physicians to advance their skills and better serve their patients and community.

Medical donations also provide crucial supplies and equipment, including sutures, fine instruments, drills, saws and other surgical power equipment, and magnification loupes for Armenian surgeons. Future missions are being planned with the hope of including smaller hospitals in rural locations, like Artsakh, which is on the outskirts of the country. Anyone can join as a volunteer or give donations toward the mission at mendingkids.org.

Dr. Panossian is passionate about helping others and frequently participates in medical missions providing reconstructive surgery for adults and children all over the world who have been affected by geographic isolation, natural disasters, unstable economies, devastating trauma, and birth defects. Dr. Panossian is also affiliated with Operation Smile and has been featured as a Top Doc in Pasadena Magazine. The doctor has served as an expert medical consultant for Greys Anatomy, Nip/Tuck, and The Doctors. Dr. Panossian has been annually nominated as a Los Angeles Super Doctor since 2012.

The Los Angeles Times, Good Morning America, KTLA-5 News, and other major media outlets have highlighted beautiful stories from patients whose lives have been positively impacted by the Armenia missions with Dr. Panossian.

Board-certified plastic surgeon Andre Panossian, MD specializes in the treatment of various medical and cosmetic conditions, including vascular birthmarks, facial paralysis, neurofibromatosis, and pediatric plastic surgery. Call 800-958-3778 for a consultation with Dr. Panossian in Los Angeles, or visit Mending Kids online to gain more information on the Armenia medical missions.
(Newser)  Hundreds have been killed by the coronavirus in China, but none of those deaths have rattled the nation like that of Li Wenliang. The 34-year-old Chinese doctor sounded an early alarm about coronavirus in December, only to be silenced by police who warned him about spreading rumors. Li died at Wuhan Central Hospital on Friday morning local time, and the public has been vocal about its anger on social mediato an extreme. As the BBC puts it, "it is hard to recall an event in recent years that has triggered as much grief, rage, and mistrust against the government." Indeed, CNN called it "almost unprecedented." The Guardian reports that Li's death surged to the top of the most-read list of topics on Weibo, with more than 1.5 billion views.

story continues below

"Wuhan government owes Dr Li Wenliang an apology" and "We want freedom of speech" were trending as hashtags until they were censored by the "hundreds of thousands," per the BBC. Indeed, the latter hashtag amassed 1.8 million views before being censored. That's highly unusual, observes CNN, which notes that topics relating to censorship itself [are] usually absolutely verboten" but weren't deleted for a number of hours in this case, "rare evidence of indecision and confusion." Another rare more: The New York Times reports the government reacted unusually quickly to the clamor, with the State Supervisory Committee issuing a one-line statement Friday that said it would conduct an investigation in Wuhan "on related issues reported by the masses about Dr. Li Wenliang." (Read more coronavirus stories.)
A Kansas woman has been found guilty of decapitating her ex-boyfriend's mother with steak knives and leaving her head in the kitchen sink.

Rachael Hilyard, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday in the killing 63-year-old Micki Davis in Wichita.

Hilyard cut off the victim's head with two steak knives back in April 2017.

Prosecutors said Hilyard had insisted that Davis come to her home to collect items that belonged to her son who had dated Hilyard.

Rachael Hilyard, 38, was convicted of first-degree murder on Thursday in the beheading murder of 63-year-old Micki Davis in Wichita, Kansas in April 2017

Davis arrived at Hilyard's home with her nine-year-old grandson. The child ran away before his grandmother was beheaded and called for help.

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said during his closing arguments that Hilyard attacked the older woman with provocation.

She then grabbed a knife 'to finish what she started,' Bennett said.

He said Hilyard used a second knife after the first blade broke.

'For her own reasons, Rachael Hilyard had had it with Micki,' Bennett said.

Hilyard's lawyer, Quentin Pittman, acknowledged his client killed Davis but said it was not premeditated, which is required for a first-degree murder conviction.

Her attorney said Hilyard thought Davis was dead when she severed her neck.

Testimony during the trial indicated Davis may have been unconscious but was alive when Hilyard decapitated her.

Hilyard testified on Wednesday (above) that she thought Davis was already dead and that she cut off her head to free her soul from her body. Photo courtesy of Fox19

Hilyard cut off the victim's head with two steak knives back in April 2017

Pittman insisted there was no premeditation but he didn't ask the jury for a lesser charge.

The jury could have found Hilyard guilty of second-degree intentional murder, second-degree reckless murder or involuntary manslaughter.

'What we have are bad decisions and horrible consequences,' Pittman said.

Hilyard testified on Wednesday that she thought Davis was already dead and that she cut off her head to free her soul from her body.

Prosecutors said police found Davis' body in Hilyard's garage and her head in the kitchen sink.

Hilyard, who was treated at a state psychiatric hospital before she was declared competent for trial, said she was discussing a painting with Davis when she lost her temper.

'I just freaked out, and we were wrestling into the garage, and we got into a fight,' she said.

But prosecutors noted a police interview in which Davis grandson described Hilyard jumping on and beating Davis with no warning.

She is due to be sentenced on March 27.
analysis

There's been some progress towards ending wars on the continent, but 2020 was never a realistic goal for ending all conflicts

Seven years ago, in 2013, African leaders solemnly vowed "not to bequeath the burden of conflicts to the next generation of Africans". The occasion was the 50th anniversary of the founding of the continent's premier political body, the Organisation of African Unity, the predecessor of today's African Union (AU). As part of a broader development plan extending to the hundredth anniversary, the AU set a goal of ending all African wars by 2020. That campaign, known as Silencing the Guns, is now reaching its deadline. It has registered some accomplishments in that short time. During 2019 alone, the AU helped negotiate new peace accords among warring parties in South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR).

Then in August, AU and Ethiopian mediators persuaded Sudan's generals to form a transitional government with leaders of the popular uprising that had ousted longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir four months earlier, at least momentarily averting the likelihood of greater bloodshed. The gains remain fragile, however. And across the continent, Africans continue to die in large numbers. According to Uppsala University's Conflict Data Programme, some 15,000 people were killed in violent confrontations in Africa in 2018, the last year for which figures are available. The bulk of those casualties were in five countries: with Nigeria at the top, followed by Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the CAR and Mali. Although 2018's total was notably down from a peak of more than 24,000 deaths in 2014, it was still only slightly below the figure for the year Silencing the Guns began.

"As human beings we cannot accept such levels of violence," AU commissioner for peace and security Smail Chergui told a reporter for the London magazine New African in February 2019. However, sceptics, accustomed to the organisation's history of unmet targets, never expected very much. The limited results have less to do with excessive ambition than with the sheer difficulty of quickly resolving such complex conflicts. The tight deadline was intended to spur African leaders to concentrate their energies more than they might have otherwise. Everyone agrees that ending war is essential for Africa's future. "We cannot have sustainable development without sustaining peace," Amina Mohammed, the UN deputy secretary-general, who is from Nigeria, observed at a March 2019 African regional conference in Morocco.

She promptly added: "neither can we build a secure future for everyone without addressing the root causes of our conflicts and vulnerabilities." The old Organisation of African Unity (OAU) only occasionally engaged in peacekeeping, hindered by its prohibition against African interference in the internal affairs of member states. By the early 1990s, as more conflicts erupted, that notion began to change. The principle of noninterference became less categorical in the face of massive human rights violations and population displacements that threatened regional security. The OAU set up new mechanisms to quickly field mediation and observer missions. Initially, however, the most active African-led peacekeeping came from regional organisations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) or East Africa's Intergovernmental Authority on Development, sometimes as precursors to better-financed UN operations.

With the transformation of the OAU into the AU in 2002, security issues acquired an even higher priority. The AU's Constitutive Act explicitly gave it authority to "intervene in cases of war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity", thereby replacing the principle of non-interference with one of "non-indifference". Still, it took some time before African leaders assumed greater responsibility to act on their own, rather than leaving the task to the UN or other foreign entities. The AU has mounted peacekeeping missions in Darfur, Burundi, Somalia and several other countries. It is also in the process of establishing an African standby force capable of rapid interventions. The Silencing the Guns campaign builds on those efforts. It explicitly links security with the wider range of AU concerns.

Eliminating the root causes of conflict in African societies, notes the 2013 declaration, will require effort on a number of levels: improved governance, better entrenched democratic and human rights norms and stronger anti-corruption measures. Economic and social disparities fuel tensions and discontent, especially among marginalised ethnic groups, youth and women, and they need to be addressed. Making progress in all these areas, moreover, cannot rest on the shoulders of African leaders alone. A detailed "Master Roadmap" to ending conflicts adopted in 2017 specifies tasks to be carried out by the AU, regional organisations, governments, international partners, civil society groups, and local communities. Like the UN and other organisations, the AU emphasises the need to increase women's involvement in peace efforts, often citing the role of women activists in helping end Liberia's civil war.

But the record so far is disappointing, for the AU as well as its partners. In Mali, for example, the highest body overseeing the implementation of a 2015 peace agreement is composed entirely of men. Women did better in Sudan. After the AU suspended Sudan's membership in June 2019 to pressure the junta into negotiating seriously with protest leaders, women had limited involvement in the talks. But when the resulting transitional government was announced, four women figured among the 18 cabinet members, including the new foreign minister, Asmaa Mohammed Abdullah. Levinia Addae-Mensah, deputy executive director of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding, says that there has been only a "marginal increase" in women's roles in African peace efforts. And while a few women may now be in prominent positions, their absence on the ground is most serious.

Pointing to the need to narrow the gap between national decision makers and local communities, she told allAfrica.com, "that is why we want the voices of women to be heard in ... community dialogues". The AU originally sent peacekeepers to Darfur, Sudan in 2004 at a time of widespread killings by pro-government militias. In 2007, when the UN authorised its own intervention, the AU troops were merged into the UN-AU Mission in Darfur, the first such hybrid undertaking. There is still no peace agreement between Khartoum and the Darfur rebels, but the violence has declined considerably. Also in 2007, the AU established a Somalia peacekeeping mission to support the government in Mogadishu. Despite the presence of nearly 20,000 AU troops there, parts of the country remain outside government control and insurgents continue to attack Somali and AU positions, including in the capital.

The AU's peace toolkit is varied, however, and includes a spectrum of initiatives, from conflict prevention to post-conflict stabilisation. Mediation, which requires no troops, arms or expensive logistical support, is an important one. In March 2019, a peace accord between various rebel groups and the government of the CAR was on the verge of collapsing, as its seven predecessors had. The AU hastily brokered a new round of talks that brought more rebel leaders into the deal. According to Mankeur Ndiaye, head of the UN's CAR peacekeeping mission, the competing rebel factions still sometimes fight each other, but "there are no more direct confrontations between the government and the armed groups". In 2019, the AU sent election monitoring missions to Madagascar and the DRC, with the aim of averting renewed partisan bloodshed.

While the election in the DRC featured major irregularities, both contests yielded political reconciliation rather than violence. The AU is also working to control the proliferation of illicit guns. An AU funded report by the Small Arms Survey, a Geneva research group, estimates there were more than 50 million small arms and light weapons in Africa in 2017. Only one fifth were held by official military or police forces. The rest were in the hands of non-state armed groups, private security businesses and individuals. Such weapons have fuelled fighting by organised factions, but they have also aggravated community disputes and enabled all sorts of criminal activity. Small arms, notes Kwesi Aning, a director of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Ghana, are "Africa's weapons of mass destruction". Reducing illegal imports or cross-border smuggling is difficult.

Small arms experts argue that the demand for guns must be reduced, whether through the disarmament of organised military factions or by better ensuring the safety of local communities, which often acquire arms for self-defence against marauding rebels, predatory soldiers or bandits. Consolidating peace after conflicts formally end is essential for preventing a reversion to warfare. But funding is often scarce for community recovery efforts, the reintegration of ex-combatants and numerous other pressing tasks. One of the greatest handicaps, notes the AU's Master Roadmap, is "inadequate resources" for financing peace operations. The AU has struggled to ensure funding from its own members. Until recently, only about two thirds of assessed contributions were collected, with more than half of all members in default.

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In 2017, the AU started assessing a 0.2% levy on all imports into African countries to support the group's various activities. It is also exploring other, more innovative ways to raise funds. Regional African organisations face similar problems. Despite meagre resources, the Sahel Group of Five (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger) launched a joint anti-terrorist military force, but after several years have yet to mount significant ground operations against jihadist groups active there. But a September 2019 summit meeting of the broader ECOWAS decided to commit $1 billion over four years to combating jihadism in the Sahel, in principle tapping the greater resources of Nigeria and other states in the region. More international support will also be essential, including from the UN, which currently has seven peacekeeping missions in Africa.

The UN, however, faces resource difficulties of its own, especially with major US cutbacks to its funding contributions. In July 2019 the AU Executive Council proclaimed that its theme for 2020 would be "Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development", inviting African leaders to take stock of what has been achieved so far. But by tacitly dropping the 2020 deadline, the body suggested that the process will be ongoing. Whatever new mechanisms or timetables Africans develop, reducing mass bloodshed will remain a vital goal for the continent's future.
OPEC expects Russia to respond in days, rather than weeks, to a production-cut proposal as the cartel confronts a price rout triggered by the collapse in petroleum demand from China, according to a delegate.

The OPEC+ alliance, which controls about half of the worlds oil production, is facing one of its biggest ever tests as the coronavirus outbreak in Asia sent oil prices to one-year lows this week, hurting the budgets of entire nations from Saudi Arabia to Kazakhstan.

In response to the epidemic, technical experts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies on Thursday recommended a further supply curb of 600,000 barrels a day until June, said OPEC delegates, who asked not to be named because talks were private.

In addition, the technocrats recommended that the current 2.1 million barrel-a-day cut already in place be extended until the end of the year, rather than expiring in March as originally planned.

RELATED: Oil rises on hopes Russia will agree to OPEC+ production cut

The proposal from the groups Joint Technical Committee cant take effect until its agreed on by ministers. In a potential sign of the trouble ahead, the technocrats didnt set a date for emergency ministerial talks this month.

Saudi Arabia had requested an early meeting, but throughout this week Russia remained non-committal and suggested meeting again in early March, as initially scheduled. That stance continued on Thursday as Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said his country was still assessing the impact of the outbreak and hasnt decided on an appropriate response.

Yet, an OPEC delegate said the group was expecting Moscow to make up its mind in the next few days, potentially as soon as over the weekend, once Novak had the time to consult with the Kremlin. Neither Novak nor his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman attended the meeting in Vienna on Thursday.

The conflicting dynamic between Saudi Arabia and Russia is not new. Since the OPEC+ alliance was created three years ago, the two sides have disagreed about whether to cut production, often publicly, but have ultimately found a way to compromise.

FUEL FIX: Get our energy news in your inbox each weekday

If OPEC wants a decisive break from the current bearish sentiment, it would have to consider deeper cuts, said Amrita Sen, chief oil analyst at consultant Energy Aspects Ltd. in London.

OPEC+ faces a difficult balancing act. The coronavirus is still spreading rapidly and its impact on oil use is uncertain. Estimates of how much demand will be wiped out in the coming months vary widely, with OPECs internal analysis predicting a modest impact of no more than 400,000 barrels a day, but outside estimates showing a much bigger hit.

The magnitude of the demand shock were seeing is on par with '08-'09, Jeffrey Currie, global head of commodities at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said in a Bloomberg Television interview, in a reference to the financial crisis a decade ago. During that meltdown, oil prices plunged from above $140 a barrel to less than $40.

As the coronavirus caught the attention of the oil market, Brent crude has fallen more than 15% so far this year to trade near $55 a barrel. The price structure of futures has flipped into a state called contango, when contracts for immediate delivery trade at a discount to those for later dates. Thats a sign that the epidemic is expected to create an enduring surplus.

To further complicate OPEC+ decision making, a political standoff in Libya has reduced the African nations output by about 1 million barrels a day this month. Nobody knows how both events will unfold, or how long they will last.

Despite the loss of production in Libya, the market has remained focused on the impact on demand in China, which many believe is several times larger.

OPEC has to cut, said Gary Ross, chief investor officer of Black Gold Investors LLC. They dont have an option, he added, saying that demand in China is right now probably down by 3 million to 3.5 million barrels a day below what it should be in normal times.

--With assistance from Alex Longley.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
A dedicated team of four journalists with an ambitious commitment to in-depth reporting will be hired to report, write and edit for Fresnoland. The lab will be featured in a special section on The Fresno Bee website and publish a weekly newsletter, open-source information and host public events, all of which will be available at no cost.

The Fresnoland Lab is made possible with the financial support of The James Irvine Foundation, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

"We are grateful for the support of our funders, whose contributions are integral to our work and the lab's ability to reach new audiences," said Tim Ritchey, Publisher of The Fresno Bee.

The Fresnoland Lab team, in collaboration with others in the news organization, will train 20 to 30 citizen journalists who will attend and document public and community meetings throughout the region. Their reporting will become an open-source repository of information for other community media partners to use and will also serve as source material for reporting projects for the Fresnoland Lab team.

The Fresnoland Lab will also host eight Public Newsroom events in its first year to connect and build relationships with the region's diverse residents. These events will be held at community centers and libraries and will include Spanish/Hmong translation and childcare. One Public Newsroom event will be held primarily in Spanish and another primarily in Hmong.

"This is a unique opportunity for The Bee to bolster local journalism on topics that are critical to the advancement of the central San Joaquin Valley and test approaches to engage members of our community in new and exciting ways," commented Joe Kieta, Editor of The Fresno Bee.

Kieta also announced the appointment of Danielle Bergstrom as Policy and Engagement Editor of the Fresnoland Lab. She is an urban planner with more than a dozen years of experience working in local government and philanthropy and founder of the nonprofit Fresnoland Media. An editor and two reporters will be hired to complete the Fresnoland Lab team and will be housed in the Bee's newsroom and report to Kieta.

"I'm excited to join forces with The Fresno Bee to build on the mission of Fresnoland," said Danielle Bergstrom, formerly Director of Fresnoland. "Our goal is to help explain complicated policies and programs in our community that impact the lives of residents in the Fresno area. We know that the San Joaquin Valley is ground zero for what the country could look like in 20 years and these stories offer a preview to the challenges that many American regions may face."

The Fresnoland Lab is The Bee's second significant journalism initiative in the last year supported by donor funding. In September, The Bee launched the Education Lab , which focuses on education issues critical to the advancement of residents in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley.

The Fresnoland Lab will go live in late February on The Fresno Bee website. In the meantime, readers can learn more about the Lab and sign up for the weekly newsletter on the Fresnoland Lab landing page .

About McClatchy

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The first lady of Lesotho, Maesaiah Thabane, has been charged with murder after she allegedly shot and killed her husbands former wife, Lipolelo Thabane, according to multiple reports.

Maesaiah Thabane was accused of being the mastermind behind the killing of Lipolelo Thabane and the attempted murder of family friend Thato Sibolla, according to the BBC. Sibolla survived the attack, and is set to play a key role in the court hearing.

Thomas Thabane also stated that he intended to resign as prime minister after all the pressure surrounding the case involving his wife, according to CTV.

Two days before Prime Minister Thomas Thabanes inauguration in June 2017, Lipolelo Thabane was found shot outside her house in capital Maseru. According to the BBC, Lipolelo Thabane was ambushed and shot several times at close range, then left to die on the side of the road.

Initially, it was believed that Lipolelo Thabane was attacked by armed men, but new evidence suggests that might not be the case. According to an earlier report by the BBC, police discovered that there was a cellphone call from the scene of the crime to the prime ministers number.

After First Lady Maesaiah Thabane failed to show up for questioning when asked by the authorities, a warrant for her arrest was issued. The first lady was not seen for several days, and no one knew where she was. The prime minister also did not disclose the location of his wife and avoided questions regarding where she might be.

Maesaiah turned herself in for questioning on the morning of Feb. 4, after arranging it between her lawyers and police, according to the BBC.

She has been charged with murder alongside either other who are in Lesotho and South Africa, said Paseka Mokeke, the Deputy Police Commissioner, according to NPR.

Prime Minister Thomas Thabane was also questioned by police, and authorities will be looking into whether the prime minister had any role in the killing of his former wife.

Maesaiah Thabane was reportedly hiding out in South Africa, which surrounds the small country of Lesotho.

Lipolelo Thabane was living away from the prime minister at time she was killed as they were going through a divorce, according to the earlier report by BBC. Thomas Thabane was living with Maesaiah at the time, but without the divorce Lipolelo Thabane would still be recognized as the official first lady of Lesotho.

The divorce was reportedly never finalized.
In the span of just one week, criminal offences  both alleged and proven  involving the use of social media ended up making national headlines.

In one case, infamous chair girl Marcella Zoia faced a sentencing hearing Friday after pleading guilty to mischief endangering life for throwing a chair off a Toronto condo balcony, an incident recorded in a Snapchat video that went viral. The Crown is pushing for a sentence of four to six months in jail. Zoia will learn her fate March 12.

In the other, 28-year-old James Potok was arrested for mischief and breach of recognizance after causing a Jamaica-bound plane to return to Pearson airport on Monday over a coronavirus prank. Potok, an aspiring rapper, later told media outlets he had been hoping to make a viral video of the incident. (Video of the incident was indeed widely shared online.)

Both cases pale in comparison to videos and images posted online in recent years depicting actual murders and sexual assaults, but they do raise questions:

Why do people do it? And what impact, if any, would the social media posting have on a persons sentencing should they be charged with a crime?

The simple, off-the-top answer is: There is no IQ test for being on social media, said Ray Surette, professor in the department of criminal justice at the University of Central Florida.

Some of it is just stupidity, I have to say. Its people posting confessions, posting inarguable evidence of their guilt, sometimes posting evidence of a crime that might not have come to the polices attention except for the posting.

Surette said he believes the posting of possible criminal offences to social media  including livestreaming incidents in progress  are increasing, though said he hasnt seen any major research confirming this.

In a blog post based on his 2015 paper Performance Crime and Justice, Surette wrote that an increase in popularity of social media over the last decade led to a new type of what he calls performance crimes.

The core elements of contemporary performance crimes are that they are created for distribution via social media and involve both willing and unwilling performers, he wrote, saying there are two types of these performance crimes.

One is where the people are aware that the social media content is being made, maybe even filming it themselves, and at least tacitly support its subsequent distribution  in this sense, a crime performer is behaving for the camera similar to an actor in a play.

The second type involves a posting where the person is unaware theyre being recorded.

Social media have caused performances of both types to explode, Surette writes. These performances are no longer rare events place and time bound to physical stages and scheduled broadcasts; they are now ephemeral renditions constantly created and digitally distributed.

Factors that could play into a persons decision to post potential criminal activity on social media is their age, or level of maturity, said psychologist Naftali Berrill, executive director of New York Forensic, which provides treatment to people on probation and is involved in criminal and civil justice cases as expert witnesses.

In a world where people receive accolades and attention for the most mundane behaviour, theyre elevated to star status for preposterous activities, he said. The sense of power makes them feel special if not grandiose.

He acknowledged that there have always been cases of people committing crimes to gain attention, such as serial killers sending letters to the police, a form of cat and mouse.

But this isnt cat and mouse. This is essentially producing an advertisement of your culpability in connection to a crime. So thats really weird, he said. Every schmuck with a smartphone can do this.

But with the growing number of people  especially young people  trying to make a living on the Internet as influencers, theres also a constant pressure to produce and get attention, said Fenwick McKelvey, associate professor in communication studies at Concordia University.

To me, this speaks in some ways to the long media tradition of scandal, and the fact that scandal is popular, he said. You see some influencers gravitate toward something controversial in the hopes it will help distinguish themselves.

Social media has also made it so much easier for attention-seekers to reach a much wider audience with postings of their crimes, doing away with the need to depend on media institutions and their gate-keeping function of deciding what should be broadcast.

Televisions went into your living rooms, iPhones go right into your pocket. It widens the potential audience, Surette told the Star. You dont have to worry about getting on the news, and setting up your event to sort of fit the news format anymore...Because you dont care if youre going to be on the news, youre going directly to the people. You become the producer, the controller and final editor of what goes out there.

When a social media posting leads to someone facing criminal charges, the posting could be used to explain the persons motivations for doing what they did, which could ultimately have an impact on their sentence, said Daniel Brown, vice-president of the Criminal Lawyers Association.

You can look to the motivations behind it. The fact that somebody was doing it simply to gain notoriety is perhaps something that a judge can consider as an aggravating feature in sentencing and may decide to send a message to the community at large by giving this person a harsh sentence in order to deter others from doing the same type of thing, he said.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 6, 2020) - Ely Gold Royalties Inc. (TSXV: ELY) (OTCQB: ELYGF) ("Ely Gold") or the ("Company") further to the Company's announcement of February 3, 2020, the Company has amended the strike price of the consideration warrants to acquire seventy-five (75) patented mining claims pursuant to an agreement (the "Agreement") with Cliff ZZ LLC, a Nevada limited liability company ("Cliff ZZ"). The claims are located in Esmeralda and Nye Counties, Nevada and are known as the Tonopah Extension Claims ("Tonopah Extension Claims"). Under the terms of the Agreement to acquire the Tonopah Extension Claims, the Company will pay Cliff ZZ US$650,000 in cash and will issue 600,000 Ely Gold share purchase warrants. Each warrant will be exercisable into one common share at $0.78 per share for a period of two years. The transaction, expected by May 2, 2020, remains subject to completion of the Company's due diligence process and to acceptance for filing the TSX Venture Exchange.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

Signed "Trey Wasser"

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

Trey Wasser, President & CEO

trey@elygoldinc.com

972-803-3087



Joanne Jobin, Investor Relations Officer

jjobin@elygoldinc.com

647 964 0292

FORWARD-LOOKING CAUTIONS: This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the Company acquisition of the Tonopah Expansion claims (as defined above), including a requirement for TSX Venture Exchange approval. These matters are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "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, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include risks that the Company may not secure the required regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange, and the Company may not be able to identify suitable new royalty acquisitions, and the risk of political uncertainties and regulatory or legal disputes or changes in the jurisdictions where the Company carries on its business that might interfere with the Company's business and prospects. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effect.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52208
SIOUX CITY -- Sioux City Democratic state Rep. Tim Kacena said he plans to seek the Woodbury County supervisor seat vacated by Jeremy Taylor.

Kacena, who represents a House district that covers portions of the city's west and north sides, announced on Jan. 29 he would not seek re-election this year. Two days later, Woodbury County Supervisor Jeremy Taylor resigned his District 2 seat in the wake of residency questions that prompted the county's top elections official to revoke Taylor's voter registration.

A county panel this week set April 14 as the date for a special election to select a candidate to fill the remainder of Taylor's four-year term, which runs through 2022.

If Kacena would win the special election, he would have to resign from House District 14, possibly before the end of the state Legislature's current session.

Kacena, a two-term House member, confirmed Thursday he would make a formal announcement on the county seat in a few days.

"The knowledge I have gained (in the Legislature) will serve me well as I intend to formally announce next week my intention to run for Woodbury County Supervisor in the upcoming special election in April," he wrote to the Journal.

Taylor, a Republican, resigned after County Auditor Pat Gill on Jan. 24 ruled Taylor improperly used his address at 3215 Grandview Blvd. to register to vote.

Taylor and his wife, Kim, own the Grandview Boulevard home and another residence at 5202 Christy Road, which the couple purchased in May 2019.

After a two-hour hearing on Jan. 23, Gill found the "preponderance of evidence," which included water bills and mortgage documents, established Taylor's voting residence as Christy Road.

Prior to running for the Iowa House, Kacena spent 33 years on the Sioux City Fire Department, retiring as a lieutenant. He served as both president and vice president while a member of the Sioux City Iowa Association of Fire Fighters Union, Local 7. He also served three years in the U.S. Army stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri.

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Former Vice President Joe Biden is shaking up his presidential campaign as he promotes longtime advisor and Democratic strategist Anita Dunn.

The decision was announced in an email to Biden campaign staff, according to NBC News.

"Most of you already know Anita or may have seen her hanging around communications  she will be working closely with us on campaign strategy and overall coordination on budget and personnel as we build a bigger campaign for the next phase," the email read.

Dunn, a partner at advertising juggernaut SKDKnickerbocker, has been a surrogate for Biden since the start of his run for president. She served key roles in President Barack Obama's White House and campaigns after spending decades working for top Democratic figures such as former Vice President Al Gore, and Sens. Tom Daschle and Bill Bradley.

The decision to give Dunn more responsibilities comes as the campaign is at a crossroads. Biden underperformed rivals Sen. Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Elizabeth Warren in the Iowa caucus, although that contest's results were marred by discrepancies in the count.

In New Hampshire, which holds its primary Tuesday, polls show Biden on track for another disappointing finish, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.

Still, Biden continues to lead in most polls nationally, ahead of Sanders, Warren, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Buttigieg.

Top Biden advisors said in a call with reporters before a debate in New Hampshire on Friday night that Dunn's new role should not be seen as a "dramatic shift" because she held a senior position prior to her promotion, NBC reported.

Since his disappointing showing in Iowa, people in Biden's orbit have been privately questioning the campaign's tactics. There are now serious doubts about whether Biden's campaign could survive what appears to be a likely loss in New Hampshire and if it were to underperform in the Nevada caucuses and South Carolina primary, which are scheduled for Feb. 22 and 29, respectively. Biden holds a slight edge in the Nevada polling average, while he holds a double-digit edge in the South Carolina average.

"The one thing that's wrong with the Biden organization is that the staff is not preparing him with the kinds of things he has to face," Bernard Schwartz, a longtime investor and Biden donor, told CNBC.

Biden's struggles are also linked to his fundraising woes. His campaign went into 2020 with less cash on hand than many of the other contenders. In the aftermath of Iowa, he canceled nearly $120,000 in South Carolina ads, according to tracking firm Advertising Analytics, and added to his TV bookings in Nevada.

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Here's the text of the email that was sent to Biden staff, according to NBC News.
Prince Andrew has turned down a senior Navy position in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

He has declined the rank of Admiral for the sake of the Queen. He was made vice-admiral on his 55th birthday.

The Queen was due to promote her second son, who was a Sea King helicopter pilot with the Royal Navy in the Falklands, so his rank is in line with currently-serving peers.

Prince Andrew, seen here at Trooping the Colour last June, was due to be promoted to Admiral

A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: 'By convention, The Duke of York would be in line for military promotion on his 60th birthday.

'Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, The Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that His Royal Highness returns to public duty.'

The Prince stepped back from royal work last year after backlash followed a BBC interview discussing his relationship with billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He was also forced to give up his affiliations with charitable organisations following the scandal.

Andrew was due to be promoted on his 60th birthday later this month, in line with a longstanding policy that sees senior royals treated as serving military members.

His decision comes after the Government announced that councils are no longer required to fly flags to mark the Duke's birthday on February 19.

Downing Street said the matter was being looked into after critics branded the celebration 'crass and offensive'.

A Government spokesman said: 'The Department of Culture, Media and Sport will be advising councils that there is no requirement to fly flags on February 19 following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future.'

The decision will also apply to other government buildings.

Andrew turned down the promotion to save the Queen's blushes, say sources. They are pictured together at Sandringham last month

However, a spokeswoman for Westminster Abbey said the Duke's birthday will still be marked by the traditional ringing of bells.

'Westminster Abbey is a Royal Peculiar and the bells are rung for the birthdays of HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh; their children; and TRH The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their children.

'There are no plans to change these arrangements.'
Growing numbers of Irish people enduring lockdown conditions in coronavirus-hit China are frustrated at the poor communication and support from Irish foreign affairs officials.

In Wuhan, in the Hubei province, the epicentre of the virus, food and medicine shortages are emerging.

Greg McDonough, from Listowel in Kerry, who is mostly confined to his home with his wife Wang Xuan and son Joseph (2) in a small town in the neighbouring Anhui province, said the Department of Foreign Affairs was providing them with little information other than to "check our website".

The department's website earlier this week asked Irish people still in China to consider leaving and go to a travel agent if their presence was not essential.

However, Mr McDonough said a large Irish group in China who are in contact through WhatsApp wanted the Irish Embassy to do more.

"Restrictions are getting more strict. Only one person a day from a house is allowed out to go to supermarket. The website recommended going to a travel agency but that is unrealistic because of the lockdown," he added.

He said a key concern for Irish people with Chinese partners was that they be allowed to travel with them should they decide to leave China.

"They do not want to leave them behind. The embassy needs to secure an agreement with Chinese authorities to permit them to travel," he said.

They also want the Irish officials to plan for repatriation if the situation deteriorates. If a plane was sent to Shanghai, it might be possible for Irish people in neighbouring provinces to travel there.

Mr McDonough said the roads out of his town were currently blocked off.

The Chinese spring festival was extended for a second week and the hope is the roads will reopen on Monday.

However, the future continues to remain uncertain as deaths from the virus near 500 in China with no sign of slowdown.

A foreign affairs spokesman said the embassy had been liaising with other countries on options for supporting Irish citizens in China.

It is in contact with the remaining Irish nationals in China.
Police have been making arrests only to watch the accused go free with a ticket to commit more crimes. District Attorneys are also under a great deal of pressure to produce discovery under tight deadlines. Madison County Chief Assistant District Attorney Bob Mascari says Bail Reform and Discovery laws are now turning the good guys away.

"Severe, and I do mean severe retention, recruitment, and morale problem that bail reform and discovery are causing in law enforcement and district attorney offices. We used to be coveted jobs. We cant find somebody to take an opening we have now."

Sheriffs across the State have gone to Albany to voice their concerns, but Assemblyman John Salka, (R) 121st District talked bout how bail reform opponents are being shut down.

"With so much outrage, I wonder why we have not been allowed to debate this issue once in the past 5 weeks since this years legislative session began."

Its been just over a month since the bail reform laws took effect, and theres been plenty of outcry from Upstate New York, but is it having any effect on the Downstate majority?

"If the majority is so sure that bail reform is beneficial to communities, then let these changes live and die by the merit of the arguments made in public, with debate on the floor of the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate."

Republicans are calling for bail repeal, but with Democrats controlling the house, its not likely. So what is a realistic idea of when bail reform amendments may be heard? Senator James Seward, (R) 51st District weighs in on the the deadline he expects to see.

"As a practical matter, I would look toward when we do a budget. Hopefully by March 31st. Thats another almost 2 months, and Id hate to see this on the books, but as a practical matter that may be a pressure point to see something done."
US imports of French wine have plummeted since President Donald Trump imposed 25 per cent tariffs on a range of European delicacies in a battle over subsidies to planemaker Airbus, officials said on Friday.

Deputy Foreign Minister Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said exports dropped 44 per cent by value in November from the previous month, after the 25 per cent import penalty came into effect on October 18.

He called it a "shock" for growers, adding that France has asked the European Union to provide compensation for their losses.

"We hope to have their response in the coming weeks or months," he said.

Lemoyne, who was presenting France's trade figures for 2019, did not provide overall figures for wine exports.

But US Census Bureau data released last month showed that American imports of French wines plunged to just USD 57.1 million in November from USD 130 million the month before, when the tariffs began to bite.

Imports fell again in December, to USD 55.7 million, according to the Ccnsus data compiled by the American Association of Wine Economists.

The tariffs have been especially painful to producers at the lower ends of the market, where a 25 per cent price hike can turn an affordable bottle into a once-in-a-while luxury.

Along with French wines, the tariffs target USD 7.5 billion worth of Spanish olive oil, Irish and Scottish whiskies, German industrial tools, British cashmere and a wide range of European cheeses.

They were imposed after the World Trade Organization faulted the EU for failing to remove illegal subsidies for the pan-European aerospace group Airbus, whose main rival is the US giant Boeing.

Trump has threatened to hike wine tariffs even further unless their is a deal on taxing digital companies, which European nations want to impose on American giants like Amazon and Facebook.

Last month, France suspended its own digital tax after agreeing on further talks with the US to establish a global framework among members of the OECD group of free-market democracies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Wieser said that with so many candidates in the race, it comes down to name recognition and finance. He called out McDermott, Mrvan and Reardon as candidates that are well known and have (campaign finance) ability.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020

Jakarta's poverty rate -- the ratio between the number of poor people and the total population -- was recorded at 3.42 percent in September last year, the third lowest since widespread reforms were introduced in 1998. The lowest rate of 3.14 percent was recorded in 2001, while the second of 3.18 percent was recorded in 2004, according to a data released on Jan. 15 by Statistics Indonesias (BPS) Jakarta office.

BPS Jakarta head Buyung Airlangga said poverty in the city was complex because the breadwinner in a poor family had to provide for nearly six family members. A 2018 Susenas survey by Statistics Indonesia found that a poor family consisted of at least five members and its affluent counterpart consisted of at least three members.

"Therefore, the fact that the Jakarta administration managed to lower the poverty rate was worth noting given the complexity of the problem," Buyung told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday. "It is not only about the decline in itself."

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It was purely thanks to the prompt actions of air traffic controllers at Damascus airport and the effective operation of the automated air traffic control system that the Airbus 320 passenger plane was promptly rerouted from the Syrian air defense area of engagement and safely landed at the nearest reserve airfield  the Russian air base Hmeimim, he said.
by Larissa Faw , February 7, 2020

There are a few occasions when all it takes is ambition, hard work and the right connections to transform a dream into reality. Although Norwegian TV personality Rolf Arne Leer launched his love letter to New York City three years ago, the awareness and acceptance of his Quoted magazine is recently gaining traction, particularly among New York City influencers and advertisers thanks to his associations with the advertising community.

The print-only for influencers by influencers platform serves as Gen Zs iteration of cult trend-setting magazines Nylon or Paper. Each issue features NYers expressing their hopes, dreams and aspirations. We all have our truth, and I've always been fascinated by the diversity of New York and all the stories that hide behind closed doors, says Leer. Quoted Magazine has one simple philosophy: free your truth."

advertisement advertisement

The magazine comes out four times a year, with the most recent edition featuring ads from lifestyle brands such as Happy Socks, John Frieda, Mucker activism-wear and Puerto Rico Coffee.

StrawberryFrogs founder Scott Goodson was recently asked to sit on Quoteds board of directors, using his talents and connections to help raise awareness for the publication. StrawberryFrog also placed an ad in the most recent issue.

They want to identify a select group of brands who understand the power of influencers in NYC on the city culture, but also the national culture, says Goodson. Im a sucker for a beautifully designed printed magazine. It just feels and looks so extraordinary.

Quoted is available via several magazine shops, but one innovative distribution channel is via hip hotels. It was a hustle all the way to get the first partners to say yes to have it as an in-room magazine, says Leer. Once the magazine got launched, weve had an incredible response I must say, as it is disruptive compared to many other magazines.

The magazines circulation stands at 350,000. It aims to bring back the printed magazine to a new generation looking for the cool factor of genuine magazines rather than just staring at their phones, says Leer.

Still, advertisers arent merely satisfied with a print ad, which is why Quoted has more recently branched out into branded sponsored events. Each experience invites 150+ select New York influencers. Our original and unique network of these influencers believe in our values, says Leer. We curate for those brands and companies that wish to get their products into the hands and to the lips of these culture-makers.

Leer admits it can be brutal to attempt to launch a new magazine in todays digital world, particularly in New York. There is a lot of persistency to get through the clutter, both with distribution and brand partners, he says. Still, he has hope, since brands and readers both seem to love the feel and smell of an old school beautifully designed magazine in their hands, he believes. That's incredible to watch.

In addition to building the New York franchise, Quoted will introduce an Oslo-specific issue. Once we establish Quoted here, we will look at other cities, says Leer. Weve already been approached by publishers who want to buy a franchise from us but we are not making any moves until we grow New York into the new Interview magazine, the culture defining magazine for the next decade.
Sirius Minerals shareholders will decide its future in a make-or-break vote on March 3.

Investors will choose whether to back a 405million takeover from global mining group Anglo American, which has made a 5.5p-per-share offer for the struggling Yorkshire potash miner.

For the takeover to go through, Anglo needs 75 per cent of votes cast in its favour.

Crunch vote: Investors will choose whether to back a 405m takeover from global mining group Anglo American

Sirius's management has said it is the only way to avoid going bust  it has only enough cash to last until the end of March.

It is thought up to 50 per cent of Sirius's stock could be owned by individuals, a huge percentage for a firm that spent years trading on the FTSE 250 index.

Sirius is worried many retail backers will not register a vote because they own stock through investing platforms.

Unless a shareholder contacts the investing platform to tell them how they want to vote, the platform will often automatically include their shares in a default vote.

Shares were flat at 5.53p.
Armed forces won't let political turmoil in any other country affect India: Om Birla on Afghan crisis

Constitution of India is like modern version of 'The Gita': Lok Sabha Speaker vows for unity

LS Speaker chides Babul Supriyo; expunges his remarks

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 07: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday chided Union minister Babul Supriyo for making certain remarks against Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, saying no right has been given to the minister to scold any member in the House.

Supriyo made certain remarks, which the Speaker immediately expunged from records, against Chowdhury and there were also protests from Congress members over the minister's remarks.

Birla also told Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi to make Supriyo understand Parliamentary proceedings. Supriyo -- who is the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change -- was replying to a supplementary related to air pollution during Question Hour.

BJP never resorted to shoot people: Babul Supriyo on Dilip Ghoshs controversial statement

"Mantri ji, aapko adhikaar nahi diya (gaya hai) daatne ka (minister, you have not been given right to scold)," Birla said.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

The Speaker also cut short Supriyo's reply. Amid the protests, the minister said he has known Chowdhury for a long time and was withdrawing the remarks.

Earlier, about the written reply related to national clean air programme, Chowdhury -- leader of Congress in Lok Sabha -- said it was just a statement of intention and alleged that the government has failed in addressing the issues.

In response, Supriyo remarked that since Chowdhury is following 'Fit India' regime, he might be doing more Yoga and might not have had time to read the answer. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was present in the House.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 12:58 [IST]
By Jun Ji-hye



Lee Kyung-hee, a senior director at Oracle Korea, is cited as the first generation female professional in the IT industry here.



Lee, who currently heads the Tech Cloud Customer Success, joined the Korean unit of the California-based computer technology company in 1993 and has since served in major posts such as a senior regional director and sales consulting director.





Lee Kyung-hee, senior director at Oracle Korea / Courtesy of Oracle Korea
The Business Council of Alabama this week announced endorsements in six of Alabamas seven Congressional races this year, including the highly contested races for two open seats.

The BCA endorsed state Rep. Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, in the 1st District. That seat is open because U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne is running for the Senate instead of seeking another term.

In the 2nd District, the BCA endorsed Dothan businessman Jeff Coleman. U.S. Rep. Martha Roby is not seeking another term in the 2nd District.

The BCA endorsed four incumbents: Reps. Mike Rogers, R-Saks in the 3rd District; Robert Aderholt, R-Haleyville in the 4th District; and Gary Palmer, R-Hoover in the 6th District; and Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, in the 7th District.

Palmer and Sewell have no opponents in either party. Rogers and Aderholt are unopposed in the March 3 primary but have Democratic opponents.

The BCA did not announce an endorsement in the 5th District, where U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Huntsville, faces a Republican primary challenge from Chris Lewis.

BCA Chairman John Mazyck of The Frazer Lanier Company said the endorsed candidates all support common sense, pro-jobs polices.

Whether through service in the private sector, the state legislature or Congress, these candidates have all clearly demonstrated their dedication to building a better Alabama," Mazyck said in a statement. "We are proud to support their candidacies and look forward to our local networks of job creators rallying around them in each respective district.

Alabama and national politics.
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Miami's Valentino Longo was crowned North America's "Most Imaginative Bartender" in the 13th Annual Competition by BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin, in partnership with the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. For the first time in the competition's history, Bombay Sapphire has contributed a $25,000 Creative Grant prize and mentorship for the winner to put towards their creative proposal. This supports Bombay Sapphire's belief in the innate creativity of bartenders and aims to empower bartenders to embrace their own self-expression behind and beyond the bar. This expanded Most Imaginative Bartender competition feeds into Bombay Sapphire's 'Stir Creativity' platform, based on the belief that creativity exists within everyone.

Miamis Valentino Longo was crowned the 2019 Most Imaginative Bartender in Chicago (Shannon Sturgis) Valentino Longos Final Cocktail Challenge Cocktail (Shannon Sturgis)

Following a week-long finale of three challenges, Longo was recognized among 11 other finalists across the region from San Francisco, Portland, Denver, Austin, Miami, Ontario, Columbus, Atlanta, NYC and New Orleans for his innovative "The Decisive Moment" cocktail recipe and project idea Shoshin. His creative idea is a private members club for industry people where artistry meets mixologist. Longo joins an illustrious roster of former program winners raising the industry's artistic standards.

"As the popularity of gin continues to rise, we're thrilled to keep propelling that growth through initiatives like our Most Imaginative Bartender competition, which has always sought to bring out the infinite possibilities that Bombay can bring to cocktail-making. This competition is designed to be a canvas for the brightest talent in the country, and now, as well as the famed cocktail challenges, we're pushing the boundaries of creativity even further  beyond the glass, even beyond the bar  through introducing our new Creative Grant challenge," said Tom Spaven, North America Brand Director for BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin.

The finals were held in Chicago, the hometown of last year's MIB winner, Carley Gaskin. The judging panel included Carley Gaskin, Artist Hebru Brantley, entrepreneur Ryan Wilson, and top mixologist Lynnette Marrero, who witnessed each finalist's boundary-pushing craft in three challenges:

STAGE 1: Botanical Challenge: Finalists were assigned one of the 10 vapour-infused natural botanicals that make up BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin. Finalists were tasked with creating an avant-garde recipe that celebrated the botanical's country of origin and its unique flavor.

STAGE 2: Canvas Challenge: The second challenge had each of the 12 finalists present a business idea to the judges that reflects their creative passion and how they would use the $25,000 creative grant to bring this to life, be it opening their own bar, designing a sneaker collection, artworks or other ventures.

STAGE 3: Final Cocktail Challenge: All finalists were tasked with crafting a new, original cocktail to submit to the judging panel for the finale, incorporating BOMBAY SAPPHIRE gin. Finalists had seven minutes to create and present two serves of their original recipe on-stage for judges.

The 12 finalists were selected over the last year from over 30 North American cities for having the most innovative cocktail creations.

"For 13 years, MIB has set the bar for creativity and innovation in the cocktail industry. The level of ingenuity Longo displayed proves what I have been saying all along; that bartenders are some of the most diversely creative people. The way he showed that by combining his creative outlet outside of bartending with his creative process behind the bar was nothing short of stunning. In making 'The Decisive Moment' he has set an even higher standard for the competition moving forward," said Bombay Sapphire National Brand Ambassador Ryan Wainwright.

Prior to Chicago, the twelve finalists (eleven from the U.S. and one from Canada) visited BOMBAY SAPPHIRE's Laverstoke Distillery in Hampshire, England for a gin immersion and to be briefed on this year's new Creative Grant component.

"What inspired me to create the concept of Shoshin is the idea that bartending is much more than just making a cocktail, it's a state of mind and a philosophy of living. We need a physical place where people can understand that bartending can be one of the best industries in the world," said Longo.

Valentino Longo  The Decisive Moment

1.50 Oz Bombay Sapphire Gin

0.75 Oz Fortified Bergamot

1.25 Oz Sherry Lactic Blend

Garnish: 2 Drops coconut olive oil, 2 drops of coffee balsamic

Press Contact :

Kiwan Anderson

Account Director

917-855-8655

[email protected]

Erica Son

Director, Brand PR

646-784-3854

[email protected]

ABOUT BOMBAY SAPPHIRE

BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is the world's number one premium gin by volume and value. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is created with a unique combination of ten sustainably sourced botanicals from around the globe. The brand's signature distillation process known as vapour infusion is showcased at the BREEAM award-winning Laverstoke Mill Distillery in Hampshire, England. The vapour infusion process skillfully captures the natural flavors of the botanicals which results in the gin's fresh, bright taste. Awarded a double gold medal in the 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, BOMBAY SAPPHIRE is consistently recognized for crafting the finest quality gin. For more information, please explore www.bombaysapphire.com.

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The Sinn Fein president has said her phone call with Breege Quinn, mother of murder victim Paul Quinn, went very well.

The two women spoke by phone for around 15 minutes on Thursday evening, and Mary Lou McDonald said she hopes to meet Mrs Quinn face to face soon.

The brutal killing, and Sinn Feins response to it, has become a major issue in the Irish General Election campaign, with rivals claiming it is proof of the partys continued defence of IRA violence.

Paul had a very, very vicious and brutal death and the idea that those who are responsible for that are not brought to justice is, for me, unthinkable

Ms McDonald said on Friday: I have conveyed directly to Breege our profound sympathy at the loss of her son, obviously the family are dealing with very significant trauma and in truth will deal with that trauma for the rest of their lives.

Im very anxious that the police on both sides of the border need to do their job and advance this investigation.

I think it is worthwhile for us to meet, I said that to Breege and I think its important that the Quinn family and Conor (Murphy) speak to each other.

Above all Paul had a very, very vicious and brutal death and the idea that those who are responsible for that are not brought to justice is, for me, unthinkable.

Northern Irelands finance minister Conor Murphy apologised on Wednesday for comments made 13 years ago in the wake of Mr Quinns murder, when he branded the South Armagh man a smuggler and criminal.

Mr Murphys apology represented a dramatic change in position as prior to that he had denied even making the comments.

But Mrs Quinn said she was left disappointed by the phone call on Thursday, claiming Ms McDonald had not committed to telling Mr Murphy to publicly state her son was not a criminal.

To say that the media and political parties are only interested in our search for #JusticeForPaul at election time is at best wrong and at worst deeply cynical. Read this article from 3 years ago. #JusticeForPaul #RememberPaulQuinn #ge2020 https://t.co/WUzS99Xluy  Breege Quinn (@BreegeQuinn) February 7, 2020

Mrs Quinn told the BBCs Stephen Nolan Show: She said that Conor Murphys apology was sincere, I said yes, but there is a couple of words he hasnt said and he needs to say them publicly to give us peace of mind.

She thought the best idea was to sit around a table and talk about it, I said I wouldnt be sitting around a table until Conor Murphy has said those words.

She said Conor Murphy has written to us, I said we didnt have a letter yet, and I still insisted I wouldnt be meeting with him until he said that Paul wasnt a criminal. But she would not say she would ask him to say that, no matter how often I asked her.

I said Mary, you are the leader of Sinn Fein, youre a mother like myself, and if your son was taken and beaten and his name blackened, wouldnt you fight teeth and nail to get it cleared? She said she sure would. I said, Mary well then will you go to Conor Murphy and ask him to come out publicly and say those few words? But she still wouldnt say she would say it.

But we will wait for this letter, I will reply to it, I will keep asking Conor Murphy.

Mr Quinn, a 21-year-old from Cullyhanna in south Armagh, was beaten to death by a gang of around a dozen men in a farm shed across the border near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan.

His family blame members of the IRA, but Sinn Fein has long denied republican involvement.

A month after the murder, Mr Murphy, a Sinn Fein representative for Newry and Armagh, claimed Mr Quinn was involved in smuggling and criminality.

While Mr Quinns family and other political representatives have demanded his resignation, DUP leader Arlene Foster declined to add her voice to those calls when she appeared before an Assembly committee on Wednesday.

Ms McDonald has insisted Mr Murphy will be staying in post.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 06:32:37|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NICOSIA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus has struck a defense deal with France to the tune of 240 million euros, its Defence Ministry said on Friday.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said "contracts were signed related to upgrading specific weapons systems at an estimated cost of 240 million" euros, adding that it is "part of upgrading the National Guard's military capabilities."

"Due to the sensitive nature of this issue and its relation to national security, no further details will be made available at present," noted the statement. (one euro currently equals to 1.09 U.S. dollars)
Scientists have discovered the existence of life in tiny bubbles inside sheets of flammable ice that could show how aliens exist on other planets.

Flammable ice, or methane hydrate, forms when ice traps methane within its molecular structure.

The team found tiny habitats, dubbed death stars, that are grown by bacteria within pockets of oil and water in flammable ice sheets from the Sea of Japan.

The fact that microhabitats exist in near-freezing temperatures conditions provides tantalising clues about the existence of life on other planets, the scientists say.

Scientists have dubbed this image of a microhabitat that grew in methane hydrate the 'Death Star' - it grew from microbial activity at near freezing temperatures, deep underwater, in one of the countless isolated pockets of saltwater and oil found within methane hydrate

In combination with the other evidence collected by my colleagues, my results showed that even under near-freezing temperatures, at extremely high pressures, with only heavy oil and saltwater for food sources, life was flourishing and leaving its mark, said Dr Stephen Bowden at the University of Aberdeens School of Geosciences.

Providing they have ice and a little heat, all those frigid cold planets at the edge of every planetary system could host tiny microhabitats with microbes building their own "death stars" and making their own tiny little atmospheres and ecosystems, just as we discovered here.

Methane comes from buried organic matter after its ingested by bacteria or heated and cooked.

The gas migrates upward, under high pressure and low temperature, and can combine with water to form methane hydrate, or flammable gas.

Dr Glen T Snyder, lead author of the study, from Meiji University in Japan, had been melting hydrate to study methane gas when he noticed an unusual powder consisting of microscopic spheroids with mysterious dark cores.

Using analytical techniques suited to small sample quantities, Dr Bowden was able to show that oil was being degraded in the micro-environments within the methane hydrate.

Lake Baikal Bubbles in the ice caused by methane gas produced by algae in Lake Baikal, the world's deepest lake in Siberia, Russia

The methane in methane hydrate is known to form as microbes degrade organic matter on the seafloor.

But what we never expected to find was microbes continuing to grow and produce these spheroids, all of the time while isolated in tiny cold dark pockets of saltwater and oil, said Dr Snyder.

The discovery stemmed from a larger project led by Professor Ryo Matsumoto from Meiji University in Japan.

Yellow patches within the frozen hydrate, which represent the microdolomite habitats, dubbed 'death stars'

After the tsunami and nuclear disaster, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Economy (METI) allocated funding for research into non-conventional energy sources  one area of which has been gas hydrates.

The US Department of Energy also called for research proposals back in 2014 to tap into the great potential of flammable ice as a green energy source.

Methane is the main ingredient of natural gas and is naturally occurring, meaning it emits less waste carbon than traditional fossil fuels.

Natural supplies of the methane, such of those in Japan and along Alaska's North Slope, could therefore be plentiful and environmentally friendly to burn.

The new discovery of the microhabitats is detailed in Scientific Reports.
As the Democratic presidential contenders head into Fridays New Hampshire debate, Iowas Democratic Party is still sorting its caucus delegate apportionment out, and may continue to sort for some time. In broad strokes, though, we know what happened: The democratic socialist (Bernie Sanders) and the small-city mayor with virtually zero nonwhite support (Pete Buttigieg) did well, while the experienced early favorite with far more party endorsements than any other candidate (Joe Biden) did not.

If these trends continue through New Hampshire and beyond, Dems will have one front-runner whose economic platform could turn off the well-to-do suburban voters they need to turn out to win swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin  and another whose unfamiliarity and history of tense relations with activists might turn off the black voters they need to turn out to win swing states like Michigan and Wisconsin. This is an ironic state of affairs for a party whose voters have said in every single one of the 400,000 polls taken in the past year that their top priority in the primary is finding a candidate who can beat Donald Trump in November.

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But perhaps there is a middle ground? A candidate who matches Sanders level of ambition and outraged concern for inequality with the interest in practical solutions and ability to unify that the partys more status quofriendly voters say they are drawn to?

And perhaps that candidate is Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who finished third in Iowa and was mostly ignored in the inflamed postIowa news cycles and whose formerly top-tier campaign is maintaining a tenuous relevance that may vanish altogether if she doesnt start finishing higher soon?

No? If a Warren unity candidacy sounds ridiculous, it might be because Warren, despite not being a democratic socialist, doesnt participate in the typical mainstream Democratic-politician practice of using the words practical, solutions, and unity as a means of signaling her distance from the left. Many Democratic voters still believe in Clintonian compromise politics, are afraid of getting McGoverned by nominating a radical, and worry earnestly that too much liberalism will be too expensive and difficult to implement. These feelings can be manipulated, and you can get pretty far as a so-called pragmatism candidate in this environment without proving you have any ideas at all, much less ideas that would be practical to pass and implement. Warrens decision not to sabotage her partys long-term interests by disparaging the idealistic vision that is exciting to many of its young voters is admirable, but it has obscured the fact that she, unlike others who have claimed the mantle, actually is a practical-minded center-left candidate with a plausible case that she will get useful things done.

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To wit, when Hillary Clinton asserted at a debate in February 2016 that she had a more practical plan to achieve universal health coverage than Sanders did, the Clinton campaign had not actually released a universal care plan at all. Biden likes to talk about making tangible progress toward universal coverage rather than making the expensive and risky switch to single payer, but undermines his case to be put in charge of achieving that progress when he demonstrates unfamiliarity with basic terms like deductible. Buttigiegs health care plan as written features provider payment cuts, a market-upending public insurance option, and substantial auto-enrollment bills, all of which could be as disruptive as anything Sanders proposes. On the other hand, Buttigieg has packed his staff and donor lists with employees of major corporations and lobbying firmsand despite having made real solutions one of his catchphrases, he typically provides few specifics during campaign appearances, as the New York Times recently noted in a comparison of candidate stump speeches, about what those solutions would actually be. To vote for him with the expectation that he would create and pass a plan that actually benefits tens of millions of currently uninsured or underinsured Americans is to take a risk.

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Warrens pitches are more substantive than Clinton or Bidens were, and she rejects the big businessfriendly belief that most problems can be solved with technology and efficiencythe so-called technocratic and incrementalist tradition that Buttigiegs background exemplifies, which is loathed (often for good reason) by the left. But her proposals are more reminiscent of FDR-LBJ Democrat ClassicTM legislation than Euro-style socialism. Sanders wants to break up the big banks; Warren prefers subjecting them to escalated regulation and savage congressional grillings. Sanders wants to forgive all college debt; Warren would means-test such a program so higher-income individuals still had to pay some back. He would seek a single payer transition immediately and eliminate private insurance; Warren has backed off from her initially hard-line position on the issue and now says private insurance shouldnt be made illegal until after the introduction of a public option. Sanders acknowledges that full implementation of his program would require increasing middle-class taxes; Warren says that hers can be accomplished by returning to a 1950s-style regime of high rates on the rich. Sanders asks voters to imagine a new era of American government; the premise of Warrens top campaign priorityeliminating the corrupting and market-skewing influence of money in politicsis that there is such a thing as a sustainable version of the existing one.

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In a way it was bad luck for Warren that her early 2019 surge coincided with a flat period for Sanders polling. It gave her partys moderates and conservatives the impression that she was the leftmost viable candidate, and she became cast as the races McGovern. She was attacked for supporting single payer, being too antagonistic to business, and being too angry to win over voters who just want to get Trump out so things can go back to normal. Major donors who werent already with Biden coalesced around Buttigieg, as did rank-and-file voters swayed by his all-things-to-all-people uplift rhetoric.

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Then, as Bernie rose on the pure socialist energy of an AOC endorsement and heart attack recovery, she dropped back to the pack. The rejuvenated Sanders campaign overtook her on the left, without Warren being able to shake the centrists perception that she is a my way or the highway ideologueeven though her hedge on private insurance is the only example of anyone in the Democratic field during the 2020 cycle actually acknowledging the importance of listening to voters and making a compromise to political circumstances.

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You could say Warren bears some responsibility for drawing the centrists hostility. Her rhetoric is confrontational toward Wall Street. She uses the word fight frequently. She hasnt attacked Sanders or drawn a contrast with him by belittling his platform as free stuff.

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Another way of looking at that, though, is that she is being realisticthat she is recommending big, structural change and identifying malefactors of great wealth because problems have causes and the common good can sometimes conflict with the interests of the privileged few. You could also say shes behaved in a unifying way by trying to win the nomination without caricaturing candidates to her left or rolling her eyes at Buttigieg when he says he will deliver solutions that will unite liberals, Goldman Sachs, and red-state gun owners in a warm glow of patriotism.

But Warren herself hasnt yet been able to make that case persuasively enough; in the debates since her polling started to suffer, shes continued to lean on her basic talking points rather than selling herself to voters who already know what shes about but need more convincing. Having successfully made herself an early front-runner, she tried to play disciplined defense against other candidates who were trying to get attentionbut one passed her anyway. She needs to contrast herself to Sanders and Buttigieg, but without being all mean about it. And times running out.
" " Researchers in Madagascar discovered the remains of a horned crocodile in a water-filled cave. Barry Coleman

Winding through the South Carolina low country, the Cooper River is a reed-lined haven for sportfish and shorebirds. The waterway originates in Berkeley County's Lake Moultrie. From there, it proceeds all the way down to Charleston, where it merges with the Ashley and the Wando to form that city's world-famous harbor. (Ever hear of Fort Sumter?)

The Cooper River took its name from Anthony Ashley Cooper, a 17th-century English lord. As time wore on, it became a lifeline in the region's burgeoning rice trade. But the Cooper also bears the hallmarks of a far more ancient chapter in South Carolina history.

If you know where to look, and you've got scuba gear handy, you just might find a mammoth tusk lurking beneath the water's surface.

Matthew Weas knows that feeling. He and his father, Joe Harvey, are experienced local divers who patrol the Cooper for fossils  many of which end up on display at the Berkeley County Museum in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

Not all the giants they encounter are prehistoric. To hear Weas tell it, run-ins with living modern-day river-beasts aren't uncommon. "I have had a [catfish] swallow my hand in a log jam underwater, a manatee break the surface while I was swimming back to the boat... [and] alligators swim toward me," he says via email. Once, he came "nose-to-nose" with a gator measuring about 10 feet (3 meters) long.

" " This skull was from an extinct lemur that was part of a primate community in Madagascar that disappeared during the last 1,100 years. Barry Coleman

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Cave of Wonders

The American alligator may be synonymous with the South, but underwater fossil-hunting is a global pastime. Outside the U.S., divers have encountered paleo-treasures in such places as Australia, Bali, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico and the Bahamas.

Back in 2014, a bona fide "lemur graveyard" was discovered in the submerged caves of Madagascar's Tsimanampetsotsa National Park. The big find was made possible by an international collaborative effort between anthropologists, paleontologists and scuba divers.

Hundreds of bones appeared in the underwater sediments. Some came from contemporary species like the invasive black rat. Other remains were left behind by animals that went extinct within the past few millennia.

The site quickly established itself as the world's biggest cache of Pachylemur fossils. An ancient relative of the ruffed lemur, this creature was about twice as heavy, weighing an estimated 22 pounds (10 kilograms). It would've been utterly dwarfed by the gorilla-sized Mesopropithecus, a gargantuan lemur also represented in these caves.

Pygmy hippo, elephant bird and horned crocodile material was also recovered by the dive team  along with the rare, virtually complete skull of yet another bygone lemur species.

Getting access to the bounty wasn't easy. The caves in question were likely dry at some point, but today they're part of a flooded sinkhole. Right now, the system's most fossil-laden cave runs 82 feet (25 meters) deep. It's a dark environment with a complex layout, full of horizontal passageways and murky waters.

In short, this is no place for novice divers. Cave-diving in general is a high-risk sport; if you wander off-course, you can't always ascend straight up to the surface. So to avoid getting lost, the scuba specialists on that 2014 team tracked their pathways with about 879 feet (268 meters) of safety lines.

" " This 30-inch piece of Mastodon tusk was recovered during a dive in the Cooper River in South Carolina. Joe Harvey

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Preparation Is Key

Another precious sinkhole is the Page-Ladson site in northwestern Florida. Hidden below the Aucilla River, it's yielded some of the oldest-known human artifacts in North America. Equally fascinating are the locality's mastodon bones, including some 14,550-year-old fossils bearing scars that suggest the animals were butchered by ancient Floridians.

Here, tannins are a real nuisance. A vital component in leather, tannins are chemical compounds released by various plants. When these seep into ponds or rivers, they can turn the water blackish-brown. Needless to say, this impairs visibility. In some corners of the Aucilla, the tannins help block out sunlight, shrouding everything deeper than 10 feet (3 meters) beneath the surface in inky darkness.

Back north in the Cooper River, divers face this same problem. To see clearly, they  and their Aucilla-based colleagues  make good use of high-wattage underwater lights.

Weas says he and his father wear Dive-Rite "cave lights" attached to their helmets. The rest of the duo's equipment would look pretty familiar to other recreational divers. "We use the standard tank, regulators and BCDs," Weas says. (For the record, BCD stands for "Buoyancy Compensating Device," a wearable gadget used to keep divers at their desired depth.)

On summer dives, Weas and Harvey can comfortably don pants and T-shirts. But under some weather conditions, dry suits, semi-dry suits or wetsuits might be more appropriate. Since the Cooper gets strong tidal currents, the water's speed at any given moment affects their schedule. Faster currents make for shorter excursions.

" " This cache from a dive in the Cooper River includes several shark's teeth as well as a brass Colonial belt buckle. Joe Harvey

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Giant Sharks ... And Beavers?!

Why do people go through all this trouble when there are loads of fossils hanging out on dry land? Well for one thing, immersion in water has some preservation benefits. Deep in the bowels of a sunken cave, bones are less likely to be disturbed  either by scavengers or the ravages of open-air climates.

And whereas land fossils are often caked in rock, some of the bones in flowing rivers get polished clean by the currents.

Most of the material Weas discovers out in the Cooper River comes from two different points in geologic time. The river's most sought-after fossils are probably shark teeth from the Miocene Epoch, which lasted from 23 million to 5.3 million years ago. Some of these chompers get quite large: A tooth from the extinct megalodon shark can be up to 7.6 inches (19.3 centimeters) long!

"Shark's teeth are the most common finds," says Weas, "though whale ear bones come [in] a close second."

Other Cooper River fossils were laid down during the more recent Pleistocene Epoch. That began just 2.6 million years ago and ended a mere 11,700 years before the present. Back then, sea levels were lower and the Carolina coastline lay farther to the east.

Over the years, Weas and Harvey have extricated the bones of Pleistocene mammoths, capybaras, hoofed herbivores  and giant beavers. The latter calls for an explanation. During the last ice age, North American wetlands were occupied by Castoroides, 8-foot (2.5-meter) beavers that likely weighed 220 pounds (100 kilograms) or more.

Having a manatee sneak up on you is undoubtedly scary. But just imagine taking a dip with one of those mega-rodents! Thanks, but no thanks.

NOW THAT'S INTERESTING Great Britain was connected to the rest of mainland Europe as recently as 8,200 years ago. For this reason, mammoth bones are periodically dredged up out of the North Sea, which separates the U.K. from its continental neighbors.
 Close Briton who tested positive for coronavirus on board ship was on honeymoon

The third person to have been diagnosed with coronavirus in the UK is believed to have caught the disease in Singapore.

It comes as Japan reported 41 new cases of the illness on a quarantined cruise ship near Yokohama. Before the new cases, 20 infected passengers had been escorted off the Diamond Princess.

Meanwhile, a Chinese doctor who had been threatened by police after sounding the alarm about the coronavirus died.

The illness has killed 636 people and infected 31,161, with 260 cases recorded outside of China.

Follow the latest updates
Navi Mumbai police on Friday arrested four persons and detained a minor girl in connection with the murder of a 55-year-old woman in Dundre village, Panvel, on February 4. Police also registered a case of murder on Friday, altering a suicide case they had filed earlier. The victim, Sharda Govind Mali, was allegedly set on fire on February 4, and then hanged by some of her neighbours, owing to a dispute over a missing mangalsutra, according to her husband.

DCP (zone II) Ashok Dudhe, while confirming the arrests, said the post-mortem report is inconclusive. The report has not given a definite reason for the death.

The arrested accused are Ulka Gopal Patil, 45; Vanabai Arjun Davne, 60; Gopal Vitthal Patil, 48; Hanuman Bhagwan Patil, 42. The police also detained a minor girl. Another officer said another post- mortem could be conducted.

Opposition leader in the Legislative Council, Pravin Darekar, along with Panvel MLA Prashant Thakur met the Navi Mumbai CP to discuss the case on Friday.  I have spoken to the home minister and will also speak to the CM to improve the law-and-order situation.
The US peace plan announced in the White House Jan. 28 has not only unified the Palestinians, but appears to have cemented Jordanian-Palestinian relations that in the past went through some rocky ups and downs. As he was delivering his scathing criticism to the US plan at the Arab League foreign ministers meeting Feb. 1, President Mahmoud Abbas turned to the Jordanian foreign minister. As he rephrased the plans restrictions on Palestinian sovereignty over the crossing points, Abbas looked at Ayman Safadi and commented jokingly using the first name of the minister, What do you think Ayman, will we need Israeli permission to visit you in Jordan according to this plan?

Abbas Zaki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee responsible for relations with the Arab world, told Al-Monitor that the Jordanian position to the plan has been great. Jordans position has been great; the official and popular positions have been supportive of Palestinian rights and we appreciate that.

Lamis Andoni, a veteran Jordanian analyst and former lecturer at the University of California-Berkeley, told Al-Monitor that normally any US Middle East plan often leaves a shadow on relations between Palestinians and Jordanians because the Palestinians worry that the Americans want Jordan to represent the Palestinians due to the fact that pre-1967 Jordan controlled the West Bank. The United States, however, has brought the two sides together this time. Both sides are very worried, and therefore they need to cooperate because this is a direct threat to both sides, she said.

Andoni noted that King Abdullah II has made it clear that Jordan will accept only what the Palestinians accept, so the rejection of the Palestinians makes it easy for Jordan to also reject it. However, this plan  which is not a peace plan but a war plan  will increase pressure on Jordan. Jordan cant get away totally from the Trump plan if it continues to ward off the pressure; the coming period will be very tense even though so far there are no signs of any cracks between the two leaderships.

Andoni noted, In the past, we saw signs of mistrust. But this time, I cant see any such signs. But, in the end, it depends on how much pressure the United States and Saudi Arabia will exert on Jordan  and if that happens, this will revive the mistrust.

The height of mistrust Andoni talks about refers to the bloody internal violence between the Jordanian army and the PLO guerrillas that became known as the Black September of 1970 and the exit of Palestinian fighters from Jordan to Lebanon. And despite the fact that the Arab summit in Rabat in 1974 declared that the PLO is the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, Palestinian officials continued to worry about Jordans stance regarding various peace plans that were being offered or negotiated. At one time, the idea of a Palestinian-Jordanian confederation was on the table, pushing late King Hussein to publicly declare, I dont want to hear the word confederation anymore.

Ahmed Awad, director of the Phenix Center for Economics and Informatics Studies in Jordan, told Al-Monitor that at the present time, there are close relations between both sides. As for the future, it all depends on how each side will react to the implementation phase of the US plan, especially when and if the Israelis move regarding the clauses in this plan on Jerusalem and the annexation of the West Bank settlements and the Jordan Valley.

Awad, a Jordanian citizen of Palestinian origin, argued that Jordanians and Palestinians need each other to stand up to external pressures. Both sides are vulnerable. The Palestinians face a difficulty but Jordan will have an even harder time to keep saying no. They cant stand up for a long time to external pressure that might certainly escalate in the coming days  especially as a result of the upcoming Israeli and US elections.

Both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump are fighting to stay in power with crucial Israeli elections due on March 2 and US presidential elections in November.

Jamal Nazzal, the Fatah spokesman in Europe, told Al-Monitor that the early reaction from Jordan has been positive. On the public rhetorical level, both Jordanian and Palestinian leaders have made strong statements. Jordans rejection is welcomed by the Palestinians. Fatah, for its part, is very concerned about the situation in Jordan and we want to be as supportive as possible to them [Jordanians] in their attempts to ward off the external pressures that will be placed on them.

It seems clear that for the time being, both Palestinians and Jordanians have chosen to stick together to stand up to the US bullying efforts. Their mutual goal for now is to buy time until the results of the Israeli and US elections are known, and they will wait to see what kind of pressure they will be under in the coming months, and especially whether the United States will make life unbearable  particularly for Jordan  or not. The Arab and international opposition to the US peace plan has been reassuring, but it is not certain if this rejection will continue or not if the United States and Israel decide to implement this one-sided deal.
New Delhi: Major trouble erupted in the Lok Sabha on Friday when Union health minister Harsh Vardhan asked former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to apologise for a remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election rally earlier this week.

Within minutes of Dr Harsh Vardhans demand, MPs from both the treasury benches and the Opposition were seen facing each other as if in a battlefield and almost came to blows.

It all began when the moment the minister read out the apology demand to the House, Congress MP from Virudhnagar Manickam Tagore jumped into the Well and moved towards the minister, but was stopped by BJP MPs led by Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

As both sides almost came to blows, Congress MP from Ernakulum Hibi Eden was seen playing peacemaker and leading Tagore out of the melee.

After the House was adjourned by the Speaker, MPs from both the ruling side and the Opposition were seen shouting slogans at each other. Many remained in the well.

Shortly thereafter, both Rahul Gandhi and Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary met Speaker Om Birla and demanded that Dr Harsh Vardhan should apologise and Gandhi should be given a chance to speak in the House.

In a separate complaint to the Speaker, Mr Tagore alleged that he was manhandled and said the CCTV footage should be seen to take action.

Later, speaking to the media outside Parli-ament, Mr Gandhi said he had attacked the Prime Minister for his tubelight comment against him in the House on Thursday, and said:

Normally, a Prime Minister has a particular status, a Prime Minister has a particular way of behaving, a particular stature, our Prime Minister doesnt have these. He does not behave in a prime ministerial wayGandhi said, We are being stifled and we are not being allowed to speak in Parliament. They have suppressed our voices. The Congress also took offence to the fact that the minister chose to seek the apology while getting up to reply to a question by Gandhi on the status of medical colleges in Wayanad.

It is after a lot of patience and perseverance that one gets to ask a question in the Lok Sabha. The minister has trampled on the rights of the MP by his remarks, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary said.

The ruling side, meanwhile, was adamant that Gandhi should apologise. Meetings were held in the chamber of parliamentary affairs minister Prahlad Joshi, who also later reiterated the demand in the House.
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ALBANY, Ore. (AP)  Benton County has been cited for five safety violations and fined more than $30,000 by the state of Oregon after a 2019 accident that killed a county road maintenance worker.

The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division launched an investigation after Pete Neuman, 59, was crushed by a heavy piece of equipment called a skidder that's used to move logs, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported Thursday.





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1 / 10 Adani Enterprises: Airbus India and Adani Defence signed an agreement on Thursday to leverage synergies in aerospace and aircraft services, a fast-growing sector that is estimated to generate annual business worth USD 6.3 billion in the country by 2025.



2 / 10 Wipro: Wipro has won a multi-year strategic IT deal from Marelli. This partnership will help Marelli standardise, simplify and further enhance lT services at a global level. (Image: Reuters)



3 / 10 BEML: The company launched its latest products at Defence Expo 2020 including an advanced version of Medium Bullet Proof Vehicle (MBPV).



4 / 10 Minda Industries: The board approved the draft Scheme of Amalgamation of Minda iConnect Private Limited with the company. (Minda Facebook Page)



5 / 10 Bharti Airtel: DoT has conveyed to the company that the schemes of arrangement regarding demerger of consumer mobile business of Tata Teleservices and Tata Teleservices Limited have been taken on record.



6 / 10 Emami Group: The company has entered into a binding agreement with Nuvoco Vistas Corporation Ltd to sell 100 percent equity in its cement business for an enterprise value of Rs 5,500 crore. | Unsplash



7 / 10 Lakshmi Vilas Bank: At least two new suitors  DBS and Indostar Capital  have emerged for the ailing Chennai-based private sector lender.



8 / 10 Hero MotoCorp: Q3 profit has risen 14.5 percent to Rs 880.4 crore while revenue dropped 11 percent to Rs 6,996.7 crore YoY.(Image: Reuters)



9 / 10 Aurobindo Pharma: Q3 profit slipped 1 percent YoY to Rs 705.3 crore.
Sen. Rob Portman wants us all to know that what President Donald Trump did is improper, but not impeachable. It was the wrong thing to do, but worse still would be to remove him from office. Yet President Trump has made it abundantly clear that he believes he did nothing wrong. Is there any reason to think he wont do it again, now with full carte blanche? Is there any reason to have full faith in our election process now that the executive can meddle if theyre so inclined?

Portmans focus on concrete issues in his recent New York Times op-ed is a supremely cynical move. He cant possibly think that Trump wont do this again, and perhaps he doesnt care. Instead, he dangles the promise of consensus issues, when the president himself divides Americans and sets them against each other. He does so simply in the hope that, by 2022, everybody will have forgotten his vote on this issue.

I encourage you: Dont forget. Remember that it was Portman who was quite comfortable undermining our democracy, and vote accordingly.

Zeb Larson,

Columbus
The Federal Government of Nigeria has slashed its visa application charges for citizens of the United States from $180 to $160.

This is coming few days after the United States added Nigeria to the list of countries banned from getting visa.

Also Read: US Visa Ban: Dont Punish Nigerians Because Of Buharis Failures, Atiku Tells Trump

According to the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, in a memo to Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reduction followed a review of the US visa reciprocity policy for Nigeria.

Babandedes letter came a day after the President Muhammadu Buhari launched the Nigeria Visa Policy 2020 which, among others, increased the countrys visa classes from six to 79.
Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on Friday with his US counterpart Donald Trump on the novel coronavirus outbreak and asked him to assess the epidemic in a "calm" manner, urging America to adopt and adjust its response measures in a "reasonable way" to China's intensified efforts to contain the dreaded virus that has claimed over 630 lives.

Xi, in his first phone call with Trump since the coronavirus outbreak in December, told the US President that China had launched a "people's war" against the epidemic that has been wreaking havoc in China and across the world.

People's war is an ideological concept developed by the ruling Chinese Communist Party founder Mao Zedong which meant a prolonged struggle with the support of people while fighting for a particular cause.

Xi told Trump that the Chinese government and the people were making their maximum efforts to contain the outbreak.

"We have adopted the most comprehensive and strictest prevention and control measures through mobilising and rapid responses. We have declared a people's war against the epidemic through prevention and control," Xi was quoted as saying by state-run CCTV.

"We are fully confident and capable of fighting the epidemic. The long-term trend of China's economic development will not change," the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted the official television as reporting.

Xi asked the US side to respond reasonably to the novel coronavirus outbreak, state-run Xinhua agency said in its report.

Noting that China's prevention and control efforts are gradually yielding positive results, Xi stressed that Beijing had full confidence and capability to overcome the epidemic.

China hopes that the US will assess the epidemic in a "calm" manner, and adopt and adjust its response measures in a "reasonable way", Xi said, adding that the two sides can maintain communication, strengthen coordination and work together to contain the epidemic.

The death toll in China's novel coronavirus epidemic continues to mount. A total of 636 people have died so far, while the total number of confirmed cases has crossed 31,000, Chinese health officials said on Friday.

Ahead of Xi and Trump phone call, China has accused the US of creating global panic with travel bans and evacuation of diplomats besides flight cancellations.

"The US government has not provided any substantive help to the Chinese side yet. On the contrary, it was the first to withdraw its consulate staff from Wuhan, the first to suggest the partial withdrawal of embassy staff, the first to announce a ban on entry by Chinese citizens after the WHO made it clear that it doesn't recommend or even opposes travel and trade restrictions against China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told the media on February 3.

The two leaders also talked about the phase-one economic and trade agreement the two countries signed recently, and agreed to push forward the bilateral relations.

US President Trump launched a trade war with China in 2018, demanding that Beijing reduce massive trade deficit.

His demands included an intrusive verification mechanism to supervise Beijing's promise to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) technology transfer and more access to American goods to Chinese markets.

The two countries signed phase one deal last month which reportedly contained provision for verification mechanism for IPR enforcement.

On Thursday, China sliced tariffs on USD 75 billion worth of US products which is in reciprocation for the Trump administration's plan, announced last month, to halve tariffs on about USD 112 billion in Chinese goods, in view of the phase one deal.

Analysts say the tariff cuts scheduled to take effect on February 14 may be the latest sign that the trade war between the world's two largest economies is easing.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dr Li Wenliang, a 34-year-old ophthalmologist, was reprimanded by officials after warning about the disease in December.

Beijing, China  Li Wenliang, a medical doctor and one of the first eight people to warn the public about the novel coronavirus, has died late last night due to the infection, sparking a level of collective anger and grief unseen on Chinese social media.

Hailed as a national hero, Dr Li was apprehended by Wuhan police for spreading rumours earlier last month.

He had warned his classmates in a private WeChat message about a SARS-like virus spreading in Wuhan, the epicentre of the epidemic. He first came in contact with the virus, after treating a glaucoma patient who at the time was not aware that he had already been infected with the deadly virus.

The news of his death came around 9:30pm local time on Thursday (13:30 GMT Thursday), when Dr Lis colleague posted on his Weibo, saying he had passed away after being sent to the intensive care unit.

Global Times, Chinas English-language state media, first reported the story and opened a social media discussion on Weibo.

The death of Dr Li was first reported on Chinese social media on Thursday night but was only confirmed by hospital officials on Friday [Weibo social media account of Dr Li Wenliang]

His death quickly became the most-talked topic on WeChat and Weibo, Chinas two-biggest social media platforms, attracting millions of posts and searches.

In response to the doctors death, Chinas anti-corruption agency, the National Supervisory Commission, announced on Friday that it is sending a team to Hubei to conduct a comprehensive investigation.

In an almost unprecedented scene, peoples Weibo and WeChat feeds were filled with grief over Dr Lis death.

The topic Li Wenliang and Wuhan Government Still Owes Dr Li an Apology were trending on Weibo in the first hour following the news, topping the list.

Dr Lis death has further inflamed a nation already reeling from the outbreak that has so far killed at least 636 people and infected 31,161 others. Earlier on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the number of new confirmed coronavirus cases had fallen for the first time since the outbreak began.





Sign of our times

Those who tell the truth are arrested for spreading rumours and those who tell nothing but lies become the leaders, a post on Weibo said of his death. What a sign of our times!

The Chinese government, especially the local leadership, has been facing widespread criticism from the public over the handling of the outbreak.

From when Hubei province admitted its first coronavirus-infected patient in early December until mid-January when there was a clear sign of human-to-human transmission and a potential outbreak, the local government had tried to limit the information flow.

Why are they still deleting posts on how the local government owes him an apology?! He deserves it! And the government really thinks we are all stupid? another netizen angrily wrote on Weibo, referring to the hashtags related to Dr Li soon being censored.

However, as the outpouring anger flooded online, asking people to never forget his name in the battle against not just virus but also bureaucracy, Wuhan Central Hospital, the medical facility where Dr Li was receiving treatment, posted on its official Weibo account at 11pm local time (15:00 GMT Thursday), saying they were still resuscitating Dr Li.

Political resuscitation

As more people joined the prayer, hoping for a miracle, information started to emerge on how Dr Lis heartbeat had stopped for over three hours and the resuscitation was only to calm the publics rage.

His condition was critical, and he stopped the heartbeat earlier tonight already, but he was put on intubation and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) just out of pressure from the leaders, a source at Wuhan Central Hospital, who requested to stay anonymous, told Al Jazeera.

Their testimony was later corroborated by a number of posts online, including screenshots of conversations among doctors saying the team only tried to resuscitate him to deflect public anger about this death.

While hashtag we want freedom of speech got censored, we DEMAND freedom of speech started trending. The popularity of the topic began to surge from 6 am in China, around when the other hashtag got censored. It got ~3 million views. h/t @shenlulushen Now it's also censored. https://t.co/YcLr79kXZV pic.twitter.com/Lc7fhpSGUc  Muyi Xiao (@muyixiao) February 7, 2020

At 3:48am on Friday (19:48 GMT Thursday), the official account of Wuhan Central Hospital posted on Weibo that the death was confirmed six hours after his heartbeat allegedly stopped.

This was greeted by a wave of widespread furore.

I learned two words today: political resuscitation and performative resuscitation, the top comment of Wuhan Central Hospitals post reads.

As a journalist, I refuse to quote the official time of death of Dr Li, which is February 7 early morning, Muyi Xiao, the visual editor at ChinaFile, an online magazine, said on Twitter.

It is important for us to determine when he actually passed away, so his death date isnt assigned by the authorities. He deserves that at the very least.





Freedom of speech

Soon, the anger that had been focused on Dr Lis death morphed into something much larger: an unhapiness about the lack of freedom of speech in China.

People started to cite the constitution of China: Citizens of Peoples Republic of China have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, and freedom of press.

The hashtag We Want Freedom of Speech soon surged and attracted millions of searches and posts.

On Friday, China confirmed 636 deaths due to the coronavirus, with 31,161 others infected [Lu Hongjie/EPA]

After this hashtag was censored, We Demand Freedom of Speech became the most popular topic.

Do not persuade me to be afraid of losing my account, and I hope you are not, either, one user on Weibo, referring to the typical action censors take to delete the account if they find the posts too sensitive. Fear is exactly what they want.

A top comment replied with a photo shot during the infamous 1989 Tiananmen Square protest  the photo features a banner that says: We will not fall! We will not let the executioners look tall and stop the wind of freedom from blowing.

Some others were even creating Telegram groups to ride the wave and organise civil society, in the hope of mobilising the entire country to demand the basic political rights, which they said the Communist Party has denied them.



#Wuhans final push? 10+ venues were transformed into quarantine areas, offering 10k beds to patients w/o severe symptoms. The rest goes to the 28 designated hospitals. Neighborhoods are going door-to-door to check any suspected cases who will later be quarantined in hotels. pic.twitter.com/iIWbOmF6rK  Shawn Yuan (@shawnxyny) February 6, 2020

A number of people are also reporting that their WeChat moments (the Chinese equivalent of Facebook feed) were flooded with Dr Li-related posts and some were even referring this to the Wuchang Uprising  the armed rebellion against the Qing Dynasty that also happened to take place in Wuhan.

Collective anger is extremely rare on Chinese social media.

As more posts are being censored across social media, a growing number of people have started to think about how to capitalise on the anger towards the clampdown on free speech.

Tomorrow, when you wake up, I implore you not to forget what happened last night, one Weibo user said. We as a nation tend to forget things like this, but for our future, please never ever forget this one.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 12:06:27|Editor: Lu Hui

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CAPE TOWN, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 2020 Investing in African Mining Indaba, the world's largest mining investment conference, on Thursday highlighted the role of youth in the mining industry.

The event offered young people an opportunity to meet with and learn from some top executives of leading mining companies.

The conference, starting here on Monday, brought together representatives from 94 countries, including more than 38 ministers, under the theme of "Optimising Growth and Investment in the Digitized Mining Economy."

Shatadi Seakamela, a financial accounting specialist at Anglo American, a globally diversified mining business, said it is important for the youth to make their voice heard.

As one of the speakers at the conference's Young Leaders Program, Seakamela encouraged mining companies to let diversity and innovation take the businesses to the next level.

"You do not grow by just doing the same thing you have always done," she said.

Timothy Schultz, director of Brunswick South Africa, said mining is not just about breaking rocks and processing them, but also "winning support from communities and staff, crunching big data and attracting billions of rands of investment."

Schultz praised South African students for their talents and skills, saying that "we need to create opportunities for them to speak about mining with top CEOs, innovators and government leaders."

Themba Mkhwanazi, CEO of mining company Kumba Iron Ore, encouraged young people to make progress step by step.

"Do not take the elevator, take the stairs," he said, adding that there is no shortcut in work.

Tom Quin, head of Content for Mining Indaba, said the Young Leaders in Mining Program helps students participate in the big debates about the future of mining.

Mining as an industry has a promising future in Africa, but it needs to attract talents, investment and community support if it is going to thrive, Quin said.
Two activists are working to make voter turnout in Cork the highest in the country through a citizen-run project which demystifies our voting system and helps people get on the voter register.

Low voter turnout in Cork North Cental at Novembers by-election motivated community worker and post-graduate law student Padraig Rice to found Cork Votes.

With the help of UCC PhD law student Aisling Ryan, the pair registered 215 people to vote in just two hours on a cold January morning.

This week, they opened a public stand outside Cork City Library where they gave impartial information about candidates in all five Cork constituencies, explained the voting process and handed out mocked-up ballot papers so people could familiarise themselves with them before Saturdays vote.

Id love to see Cork having the highest turnout in the country, Mr Rice, said.

One of the great things about elections is that every vote is equal  nobodys vote is worth more than yours. Every vote matters and every vote counts.

In the local elections last May, the last seat on Cork County Council was decided by one single vote. A similar situation could be repeated in this election. So dont underestimate the power of your vote.

Novembers by-election returned the fewest votes ever recorded for a by-election with more than one in two regular voters failing to cast their ballot, Mr Rice added.

One ballot box came back empty in Cork North Central, the returning officer said he had never seen that before. Voter turnout in the constituency was just 30%, he said.

However, the activist believes that demand for his Cork Votes service, which saw people queuing in the cold for 40 minutes to get information about the election, proves people do want to engage in the political process.

Theres a real energy with people wanting to engage, he said. They queued in the cold for the service. People are motivated to vote and they do care, if we could only make it a little easier for them.

Mr Rice said people using the service were of all ages and demographics  from first-time voters to seasoned voters in their 70s, new citizens to the country and people with low literacy.

Aisling Ryan and Padraig Rice of Cork Votes

Some people we saw had been voting for 50 years but they didnt know that they could rank their votes according to preference, he said.

Theres a gap in knowledge and understanding. Other countries have an electoral commission to help educate voters.

We need a well-funded, independent electoral commission here to provide impartial information about elections. Lots of things could be done to make it easier to engage.

In Cork North Central there are 18 candidates vying for four seats  thats quite daunting to navigate through on a ballot paper. People said that seeing a print-out of the ballot beforehand was really helpful.

Some people with poor literacy dont vote because they struggle with the forms. But we can remove those hurdles by helping people with them.

Mr Rice advised people to plan getting to their local voting station on Saturday ahead of time.

The polls will be open from 7am to 10pm, he said. As long as you are registered you dont need your polling card to vote but, make sure to bring photo ID. Over the years Ive seen votes being spoilt by accident  so take your time and carefully rank the candidates in order of preference [e.g. 1, 2, 3].

"If you make a mistake or error dont be afraid to ask the polling clerk for help. There are lots of candidates running this time so take some time in advance of Saturday to consider all of your options.

Ten voting tips
NEW DELHI: The first meeting of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust, which was announced by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, will take place in Prayagraj district of Uttar Pradesh. Zee Media sources said on Friday that though a date for the first meeting of the newly-announced trust has not been finalised but it is expected to take place in ten days time during which chairman, general secretary and treasurer and other office-bearers will also be elected.

A bank account will also be opened in the name of the trust for accepting donations for the construction of Ram temple will be accepted. During the meeting, Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Janmbhumi Nyas and the most respected seer in Ayodhya, may be elected as the chairman of the trust.

There are speculations that senior VHP leader Champat Rai may be included in the trust as the general secretary. Speaking in Lok Sabha on Thursday, PM Modi announced the setting up of an independent trust to finalise the details for the construction of a Ram Temple in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya.

Live TV

Sources asserted that the trust will comprise a total of 15 members - 9 permanent and 6 nominated members. The body, to be called Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust, has been formed as per the directions of the Supreme Court, pointed out the Prime Minister in the Lok Sabha.

While the announcement has triggered celebrations with temples in Ayodhya being lit with earthen lamps and lights, there is resentment among a section of seers, saints and Hindutva groups. Heads of several religious places and Shankaracharyas, who had lobbied hard in the last three months to push their names in the trust, are reportedly disappointed.

The name of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, the head of the Ram Janmbhumi Nyas who had led the Temple movement for decades, is missing from the Trust. According to sources, K Parasaran is the first member of the trust and Ayodhya District Magistrate (DM) Anuj Kumar Jha has been named the convening member.

The seven other permanent members are - Shankaracharya Vasudevanand Maharaj, Parmanand Jimaharaja Haridwar, Swami Govindgiri Ji Pune, Vimalendra Mohan Pratap Mishra, Dr Anil Mishra Homeopathic Ayodhya, Dr Kamaleshwar Chaupal Patna, and Mahant Dhinedra Das Nirmohi Akhara.

The six nominated members will be selected by the board of trust.

The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust will take all decisions for the construction of a massive and grand Ram Temple on the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya, added PM Modi. The decision to form the trust was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

The 67.703 acres of land along with the inside and outside courtyard will be transferred to the Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra for the construction of the Ram Temple.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued a notification announcing that the office of the trust will be in New Delhi. As per the home ministry, the trust's registered office is at R-20, Greater Kailash Part-1, New Delhi.

Referring to the Supreme Court order on the Ayodhya case on November 9, 2019, PM Modi said the judgement was in favour of Ram Temple in Ayodhya and the decision to form the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirth Kshetra trust. According to the Supreme Court order, the Sunni Waqf Board will be given 5 acres of land in Ayodhya, announced the Prime Minister.

"On November 9, 2019, I was in Punjab for Kartarpur Sahib Corridor's inauguration. During the inauguration ceremony, the Supreme Court judgement on Ayodhya was delivered and I got to know about the historic decision. Uttar Pradesh government has already given its approval for giving 5 acres of land to the Sunni Waqf Board," he said.

Announcing another major decision taken by the Union Cabinet, he declared the government will also develop the area around the proposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya as a major pilgrimage and tourist attraction.

In a related development, the Uttar Pradesh government also issued a notification saying the government has already issued an allotment letter of a five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board, as ordered by the Supreme Court in its November 8, 2019 verdict on the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir dispute.

Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told the media that five-acre plot for the mosque is in Dhannipur village on the Lucknow highway, about 18 kilometres from Ayodhya.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 03:38:42|Editor: zyl

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U.S. President Donald Trump (1st R, Rear) makes a statement about his acquittal at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on Feb. 6, 2020. Donald Trump took a victory lap Thursday, a day after a divided Senate voted to acquit him on impeachment charges. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump took a victory lap Thursday, a day after a divided Senate voted to acquit him on impeachment charges.

In a lengthy speech at the White House East Room packed with Republican lawmakers, administration officials and reporters, Trump called the event "a celebration."

While holding up a copy of Thursday's The Washington Post with the headline "Trump acquitted," the president joked about going to take the paper home and frame it.

On Wednesday, the final day of the Senate trial of Trump's impeachment, senators voted 52 to 48 to reject the first charge of abuse of power, and 53 to 47 against the second charge of obstruction of Congress.

Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah and the 2012 GOP presidential nominee, broke from the party by voting "guilty" on the abuse of power charge against Trump, becoming the only member of the chamber who crossed party lines.

Taking a shot at Romney, Trump called him "a failed presidential candidate."

Romney, in a Senate floor speech on Wednesday explaining his decision, said "the president is guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust."

During Thursday's remarks, Trump also went after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, lead impeachment manager Adam Schiff, and other Democrats, who were pushing the impeachment drive.

Pelosi, in her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, said that the House "had a strong enough case to impeach and remove."

"You're impeached forever, you're never getting rid of that scar," Pelosi said of Trump. "History will always record that you are impeached for undermining the security of our country, jeopardizing the integrity of our elections, and violating the Constitution of the United States."

The strained relationship between Trump and Pelosi is in limelight again after a pair of dramas on the occasion of the president's State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Trump, before starting the address, appeared to snub Pelosi's offer of a handshake; when the president finished speaking, the House's top Democrat ripped up her copy of the speech.

The Pelosi-led House impeached Trump in December last year after an inquiry triggered by a whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about the White House's interactions with Ukraine.

Trump was alleged to have pressured his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, into launching investigations that could politically benefit him by withholding military aid from Ukraine. Furthermore, the White House allegedly tried to cover it up.

The president has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing or a "quid pro quo" with Ukraine.

The White House stonewalled the House impeachment inquiry, accusing Democrats of an unfair process.

Bitter partisan wrestling continued in the Senate impeachment trial as Republicans and Democrats were sharply divided on whether to allow subpoenas for witnesses and documents till a failed motion last week kicked off an endgame.

Trump's acquittal was widely expected as Republicans, largely unified during the impeachment proceeding, control the Senate, making it almost impossible for the 67-vote conviction threshold to be reached.
Many people dream of buying their own island someday, a place where they can get away from it all, enjoy nature, and good fishing.

If that has been your dream, then you don't need to go any farther than Rockport, Texas to make it come true.

Traylor Island is an iconic landmark on the Texas coast, listed by Janae Evans with Evtex Companies.

The uninhabited 383 acre property is on the coast of Rockport. "A portion of the island has been zoned as residential, but a number of conservation entities have expressed interest as well," said Evans.

PRICED TO MOVE: Museum District estate sees $900K price cut

Its sparkling shorelines are highly revered by anglers, hunters, birders, artists and tourists. This unspoiled tropical oasis serves as the northern border of the hallowed fishing grounds of Estes Flats, the classic setting for many coveted artistic renderings of world-class hunting and fishing scenes from the likes of Barnes, Booth, Dearman and Cowan.

Its sprawling sand and shell shores also border Aransas Bay to the east, and the Intracoastal Waterway to the north and west. Generations of boaters and outdoors enthusiasts have formed their own special memories around the shores of this Texas treasure.

According to CoastalBendFishing.com, "The east shoreline of Traylor Island faces Aransas Bay. It is a favorite for early morning trout and redfish feeding ambushing bait fish in the grass and potholes of the shoreline. Later in the day move out to 3 to 4 foot of water to catch trout schooling over deeper structure. The cuts leading back into Estes Flats and California Hole can be good ambush points for flounder as well."

Stxmaps.com reports, "The shoreline on the Aransas Bay side of Traylor Island can be good for trout and redfish in the spring, summer and fall. It can also be good for flounder in the fall."

If you would like to buy your own private fishing hole, the listing price is $ 24,980,000 . However, Evans said if you use the right kind of bait, you might be able to reel in a super deal.

Danny Hermosillo is the Sr. Digital News Editor for Chron.com | Read him on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com | Follow him on Twitter at @Dannyherm1| Email him at Danny.Hermosillo@chron.com
Washington Coast: Admiralty Head Lighthouse Closed for Renovation

Published 02/06/2020 at 6:30 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Coupeville, Washington)  The iconic Admiralty Head Lighthouse near the outer Washington coast is going under the knife and thus will be closed for awhile. Visitors to Fort Casey Historical State Park will see a host of scaffolding and signs cordoning off the area, keeping it off-limits to the public. Washington State Parks (WSP) said the closures of the century-old lighthouse began last week as a major renovation is now underway. (Photo courtesy Washington State Parks).

During construction, the interior and grounds immediately surrounding the lighthouse will not be accessible, WSP said. The lighthouse is scheduled to reopen in late summer.

The Washington coast favorite had work done on it ten years ago when state officials replaced the roof and some windows. WSP said much of the exterior stucco and metal work are deteriorating, the interior walls have cracks and some railings need repair.

Renovation work to the lighthouse tower, the attached lighthouse residence and the nearby oil house includes:

 Exterior and interior masonry work

 Metal work in the tower structure

 Window restoration

 Painting of both structures and interior and exterior metal lantern components

 Gift shop, exhibit center open in March

Just in time for spring break, March will bring about a temporary lighthouse exhibit center and gift shop will open at the Fort Casey park office building. (Days and hours of operation will be posted on the agencys website.) Visitors will be able to view a selection of exhibits normally housed inside the lighthouse and speak with volunteer experts about the lighthouse and its history. In addition, special volunteer-led interpretive talks outside the lighthouse are planned during the temporary closure.

For more information about the exhibit center, gift shop and interpretive talks, call the park office at (360) 678-4519.

WSP said the anticipated cost for the lighthouse renovation is just under $1.7 million. The 2019 Legislature approved capital funding for the lighthouse historic preservation project.

In 2019, Washington State Parks completed a comprehensive four-year restoration of the North Head Lighthouse at Cape Disappointment State Park, close to the Oregon coast.

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The best New Years Eve party Ive ever been to, by far, was over a decade ago at a former workmates high-rise apartment near Downtown.

It was loud with abundant food and drink. At midnight, the DJ went retro and played REMs Its The End of the World As We Know It while a large group of happy, diverse and manic people danced, hips and shoulders bumping because so many tried to occupy too little space. The host had put out fliers, which obviously were effective. Once the front door opened for guests to arrive, the flow of partygoers kept it open the entire night, for hours.

The turnout was too much to control, and as youd expect, there were inevitable casualties. The hosts really nice billiards table was one, it succumbing to spilled drinks and squatters scratchy pants. Some outside landscaping at the complex took a hit too.

The one bathroom, you dont even want to know.

I hadnt thought about that night in years, until we all heard about Lobo JaQuan Lyles Saturday night party gone awry a few weeks ago.

In case you dont know: While the Lyle-less Lobos were getting blown out at Nevada, Lyle stayed behind, ostensibly to nurse a knee injury.

But he also found time to rent an Airbnb house for his own party, and to market such party with digital fliers so that a large number of people turned out. Included were at least some of the UNM hoopers, already back from Nevada and apparently still in a partying mood despite getting worked by Steve Alford, Craig Neal & Co.

At some point way after midnight, and nothing good happens in public after midnight, people were shooting at each other, a police spokesperson said.

Surely the shooters were uninvited, and thankfully the two people who were shot, one a UNM softball player, didnt sustain life-threatening injuries. But if Lyle is honest, and regardless of what an attorney might posit, he has to think he is at least partially responsible. He held the event and, as it were, propped the door open.

Lyle has been suspended since, maybe for the horrible optics if nothing else, and has apologized profusely on social media. If he violated any NCAA rules in the whole operation, UNM has not said, but maybe more will come out.

The Lyle fiasco is only the latest for UNM hoops that required police intervention, of course. Add that to the legal difficulties facing the dismissed Carlton Bragg and the suspended J.J. Caldwell, and thats three of the teams best players.

Caldwell, who had been kicked out of the Texas A&M program, faces a domestic abuse allegation that is stuck, for the moment, with a district attorney in Alamogordo. Bragg already was fighting off a sexual assault allegation when he was arrested for drunken driving. He had been asked to move on from the programs at Kansas and Arizona State.

The other commonalities for the three are that each is a transfer who came with baggage. Lyle is in his third year at UNM, by all accounts an impressively smart guy, and, to be clear, has not gotten into any trouble here. But he quit at Ohio State and had been arrested for public intoxication and disorderly conduct shortly thereafter.

To be clear again, I support second chances and have used this space previously to champion such. But the more chances you give, the more the risk outweighs the reward.

This instead is a cautionary tale that when Paul Weir and his peers prop the door open, theyd better be certain not to invite trouble.

Weir, meanwhile, looks at the Lobos Mountain West Conference competition and sees San Diego State  23-0, ranked fourth nationally, and three of its top five scorers also came from other D-1 schools. He sees Nevada, which built a two-year powerhouse with transfers  a Sweet Sixteen season two years ago, 29-5 last season. Even New Mexico State has built a nice team with lots of second-chance guys, including senior Terrell Brown, who left San Jose State after he was one of five people arrested for robbing a man and using his credit card in California.

So it can be done this way, and maybe even here, with guys who need a port in the storm or greener grass in the brown of the high desert, whichever metaphor suits you.

And my guess is Weir will keep trying, despite the way these players have embarrassed the program. Hes a bright guy  I keep hearing on the radio hes a doctor, though he cant stop the bleeding when other teams start hitting 3s. And probably hes not a math Ph.D.; when the off-court issues are greater than the on-court triumphs, the problem cant be solved.

Lyle and maybe the injured Vance Jackson will be back Saturday at home vs. Wyoming. A win over the leagues worst team wont prove much, but would be welcome after 1-5 over the last six.

It just feels like this team, still with a nice 16-8 record but without Caldwell and Bragg, has a lower ceiling.

As for the fan base with perpetually grandiose expectations, maybe its not The End of the World As We Know It.

But who feels fine?
Republicans have been begging to end impeachment so they can "get back to work" and accomplish "the priorities that matter most to the American people."

Apparently, those priorities involve whatever former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was doing in 2009. Because less than a day after voting for President Trump's acquittal, Republicans are turning to investigate Clinton's private email server, with Senate Homeland Security Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) requesting more information on the subject from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a Thursday letter.

In the letter, Johnson discusses how he's spent the past five years "conduct[ing] oversight of Clinton's private email server" even though she hasn't worked in the federal government for that entire time. He then brings up a September 2019 State Department report that found security violations regarding "the handling of classified information" on that server, and asks Pompeo for a 14-point list of information that delves further into the report's findings.

It's unclear just why Johnson would want to touch the Clinton email investigation now that Trump has finally escaped the impeachment cloud hanging over his head. After all, questions about the 2016 election and unfounded claims about where that server physically ended up are a big piece of what launched Trump into impeachment in the first place.

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Moroccan and French senior military officials discussed means to further promote military cooperation notably in terms of the exchange of expertise and training.

The visit by French Minister of the Armies Florence Parly to Rabat where she met Minister Delegate responsible for the administration of national defense, Abdellatif Loudyi, as well as with Inspector General of the Royal Armed Forces, General Abdelfattah Louarak, was an occasion to highlight and assess the progress made in different fields of military cooperation.

Morocco is a reliable and essential partner in the fight against terrorism, for us as well as for the countries of the Sahel, said the French official, who paid a working visit to the Kingdom Feb. 5-6.

Besides reviewing French-Moroccan relations in matters of defense, the two sides also discussed their cooperation on the African continent, in particular regarding the situation in the Sahel and the Libyan crisis, two subjects on which Morocco holds a strategic position.

The two armies have been exchanging visits regularly and organized joint training sessions, a statement of the Royal Armed Forces said, noting that cooperation covers technical support as well.

This trip, the first of a French Minister of the Armed Forces in eight years, enabled Florence Parly to reaffirm Frances interest in strengthening its cooperation in all fields with Morocco.

The visit also comes after reports of Moroccan plans to buy 400 million worth of French weapons, including Caesar self-propelled howitzer and related ammunition.

Already one of the biggest arms importers in Africa, Morocco has multiplied contacts with international partners to develop its own military industry in a bid to curb imports and boost domestic capabilities through technology transfer.

Such deals were discussed with Pakistan and Brazil as well as companies in the UK and Belgium.

Morocco, France Eye Closer Military Cooperation

A report issued by the Strategic Defense Intelligence (SDI) recently said that Moroccos advanced procurements will enable it to contain Algeria and become Africas leading army in 2022.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 07:38:01|Editor: Lu Hui

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese UN envoy on Thursday stressed that the terrorist groups in northwest Syria must be "resolutely crushed" in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions and international law.

Addressing the Security Council, Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said the complex situation in northwest Syria is both a security issue and a humanitarian issue, traceable to the root of the terrorist forces' control of the Idlib area.

"The listed terrorist organizations must be resolutely crushed in accordance with council resolutions and international law by unified standards," he said.

In this regard, he proposed that weapons collected in the course of combating terrorist organizations should be investigated for the origin, and the channels for supplying weapons to terrorist organizations should be cut off.

For foreign terrorist fighters, he said, a database should be established to lay the foundation for addressing this problem, and measures should be taken to prevent them from fleeing to other countries and regions to continue their criminal activities.

Before Wu spoke, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Syria Geir Pedersen stressed that many fighters in the war-torn country sought refuge in Idlib, and terrorist groups and foreign fighters are a major force in Idlib.

"Their presence and influence in the area is unacceptable and a major challenge, first and foremost to the civilian population of Idlib itself and also in a wider sense for Syria and for regional and international security," he said.

The UN envoy warned that a continued all-out military approach will not solve this problem, and cautioned against the risk of dispersal of foreign terrorist fighters and ongoing insurgency as a result of such an approach.

Nevertheless, he said the question of foreign fighters needs to "squarely tackled."

While noting the provision of support to "internationally proscribed terrorist groups" needs to be further restricted, he stressed that any use of force against those terrorist groups should be carefully targeted to avoid spillover casualties.
Amid reports of religious persecution of minority communities in Pakistan comes heart-warming news of a 200-year-old temple that was handed over to Hindus in the tribal district of Zhob, 330 km from Quetta, in Balochistan seven decades after Partition.

A media report from the provinces capital, said that the government primary school being run in the temple building had been relocated and a ceremony was held on the premises on Thursday to hand over the keys to Hindu community leaders in the presence of the deputy commissioner of Zhob, Taha Saleem and the leader of the Jamaat-e-Islami mosque, Maulana Allah Dad Kakar.

Addressing the gathering, Saleem said, Today is an important day in the history of Balochistan. This is an example of religious harmony. Maulana Allah Dad, the khateeb of the Jama Masjid, not only supported the decision but also participated as a special guest at the ceremony. The world should see how deeply our scholars have embraced the minority community.

The DC said that a government primary school was established in the historic temple 30 years ago. The school was moved to another building before the temple was delivered. Hindus have returned to their temple 70 years later. We apologise to the minority community for the delay, he said, assuring them of restoring the temple.

After the restoration, Hindus will not only be able to perform rituals at this temple but visitors from far away will also be able to attend them.

HINDUS HAPPY; GURDWARA NEXT?

Hindus of Zhob have expressed happiness over the development.

Expressing gratitude for having got the opportunity to perform the ceremony, Saleem Jan, the chairman of the committee for the minority community in Zhob, told Urdu News over phone: Its a matter of great pleasure to have been able to visit this temple after 70 years. Sometime ago, Balochistan high court chief justice Jamal Mandokhel had visited the temple when we requested that the building be handed over to the Hindu community. He assured us and today we are thankful to the district administration and him for meeting our demand.

According to Jan, the temple in Babu Mohalla is nearly 200 years old and was built by cutting a mountain. Hindus inhabited the area for centuries but most of them migrated to India in 1947. About 50 Hindu families live here now. They have only one temple to go to and there too the roof can fall any time. Official records of 1928 show there were six temples, including the Arya Samaj mandir, in Zhob that were occupied after Partition. These properties should have been with the government but people occupied many of them, he said.

He urged the government to provide funds to renovate the temple.

The minority community leader said that Hindus did not even have a cremation ground in town because a high school had been built on what was once the shamshan ghat. We have requested the chief justice to allow the school to be run there and give us another site for the cremation ground, he said.

According to local leaders, a nearby gurdwara of the Sikh community is also occupied as a school is being run in it. There are a few Sikh families in Zhob and the administration has promised to get the gurdwara building vacated with the school being moved to another location.

Local leaders of the Jamaat-e-Islami, Pashtun Khomip and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf attended the ceremony.
WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.Circus and The Gallery at Circus announced the inaugural exhibit, Jeremy Kost: Seismic Dreams.

This marks Jeremy Kosts first exhibition in Los Angeles, and features more than 30 works from his newly released book of the same name.

Jeremy Kost: Seismic Dreams opens on Feb. 15 and will remain on view through April 18.

The gallery inside the adult boutique will host an opening reception 7-10 p.m. Feb. 15.

Jeremy Kost has been a tireless chronicler of gender, sexuality, and nightlife for more than 15 years. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, he now lives and works between Los Angeles and New York City. Traveling the world to make images, whether theyre of male models in the Californian desert or drag queens strutting through Pittsburgh, is a nonstop pursuit.

New gestures recall dreamlike hazes, swirling brushstrokes, and seismic heartbeats while packing a poetic punch of intense color, all over Jeremy's signature, male-nude polaroids. These new marks are more painterly, more intentional, more whimsical, and more romantic. The Polaroids are sharper, with stronger definition and deeper range.

The resulting works stand in contrast to the overly-saturated, high-contrast photography we see in todays Instagram world. Two-dimensional snapshots become textured and alive. Contrast is distilled. The paint acts as an energetic punch against the muted, dreamlike tones of the Polaroid.

Rather than disguise or obscure, the paint brings both the figure and landscape of the original image into sharper relief, while repeating the conversation of figure and ground again with paint to Polaroid.

Whether staring back at the camera or captured at a distance, the men in Kosts work exude a true sense of intimacy. They offer a canvas for our own projections and fantasies. The paint fractures the image, almost puncturing a reverie, reminding us of the vulnerability of that moment and inviting us in while also keeping us at a distance.

Limited to 750 signed and numbered copies, Seismic Dreams continues the investigation of painting and Polaroid that Jeremy began with his last book, Isolated But Not Alone. It is a substantial 194 pages and features 162 new oil painted Polaroid works, all made between October 2018 and October 2019.

For more, visit CircusOfBooks.com.
SHIAWASSEE COUNTY, MI -- Charges are expected to be sought against a driver who police say was intoxicated during a high-speed crash that left their vehicle smashed against a utility pole in Shiawassee County.

Deputies with the Shiawassee County Sheriffs Office responded around 12:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7 for a report of a crash on M-52 north of Owosso.

A preliminary investigation has revealed the vehicle was headed south on M-52 at a high rate of speed when it lost control on the curve in front of the Shiawassee Conservation Association, 4247 M-52, in Rush Township.

The vehicle wound up perched on a utility pole, according to picture released by police. The driver, whose name has not been released, was transported to Memorial Healthcare in Owosso for treatment of minor injuries. 

Deputies are seeking charges on the driver who is believed to have been operating under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the crash, police said.

MMR ambulance, Owosso Township Fire Department, Shiawassee County Road Commission, and Consumers Energy assisted Shiawassee County Sheriffs deputies at the crash scene.
Third confirmed UK coronavirus case contracted disease outside China

Iran Press TV

Thursday, 06 February 2020 6:49 PM

This latest patient to test positive for the coronavirus, the third so far in the UK, was diagnosed in Brighton and is being transferred to a hospital in London, did not contract the virus in the UK or mainland China but, rather, another country in Asia.

Professor Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer confirmed the case in a statement to the press.

"A further patient has tested positive for coronavirus bringing the total number of cases in the UK to three. The individual did not acquire this in the UK," said Prof Chris Whitty, the CMO, in a statement.

"The patient is being transferred to a specialist NHS centre, and we are using robust infection control measures to prevent any possible further spread of the virus. The NHS is well prepared to manage these cases and we are working quickly to identify any contacts the patient has had."

The patient will probably be admitted to the Royal Free hospital in north London, which is one of the UK's two main centres for what the public health authorities call "high consequence infectious diseases", or HCIDS. The other is in Newcastle upon Tyne, where the two first coronavirus cases were taken. London also has a unit at Guy's and St Thomas' hospital.

The first two confirmed cases were Chinese nationals, from the same family, one a student at York University the other, his mother, on a visit from China. They were diagnosed last week after falling ill at a hotel in York where they had been staying. The student had not been on campus or in student accommodation prior to his infection.

As of Wednesday there had been 466 negative test results in the UK. 1,469 passengers and 95 staff had arrived in the UK from Wuhan - the epicenter of the outbreak in China - between 10 January and 24 January. All 1,304 who remained in the UK are now out of the incubation period for the virus, which suggests the latest case did not come to the UK from Wuhan itself.

Professor Whitty refused to disclose the person's nationality or the country in which they had caught the virus.

He said: "The person who caught this did not catch it in China, they caught it elsewhere in Asia. That's an important point from an epidemiological point of view because, whilst it's absolutely the case that by far the biggest risk remains in China  nevertheless there is now evidence of some limited transmission in a number of Asian countries."

As of Thursday morning, following a scientific and advisory committee meeting, doctors at the NHS are being advised to extend the number of countries that should be looked at for individuals returning to the UK who display symptoms.

Whitty said: "We've decided  based on transmission potential and travel patterns  to extend geographically the countries where if a doctor in the NHS sees a patient who has traveled from Asia, now they will start thinking about testing from a wider geographical area than would have been the case before. So we are shifting geography for NHS doctors to test."

"It is not surprising to see a third case. It has been expected that the UK would see more than just the two previous cases. Therefore, public health and NHS authorities will be well prepared to deal with and follow up on this news," said Dr Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at the University of Southampton.

"Clearly the outbreak is at a very important point, both globally and here in the UK. It looks at this stage like the infection is imported, rather than acquired through human-to-human transmission within the UK. So far, outside of China, there has been very limited human transmission of the coronavirus, which is good news in terms of potentially being able to contain the international spread."

The Department of Health and Social Care has yet to release its list of Asian countries where it is now advising people who have traveled to and developed symptoms on their return to the UK to immediately self-isolate and call NHS 111 for advice.

The department says it is aiming to release the list this evening.

However, the list could include Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Nepal and Sri Lanka where cases of coronavirus have been confirmed.

According to the latest World Health Organisation figures, Japan now has 33 confirmed cases, Thailand 25 and Singapore 24.

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Two bike-borne men allegedly opened fired in the air near an anti-CAA protest site in northeast Delhi's Jafrabad on Friday, but the police said it appeared to be a fallout of personal enmity and not related to the stir over the contentious law.

No one was injured in the incident, which some protesters alleged to be a repeat of intimidation tactics after the firings near Jamia Millia Islamia and at Shaheen Bagh.

According to the police, Shabir (50) was at his garments shop when two men arrived on a motorcycle and fired two rounds. The Jafrabad police rushed to the spot after the incident.

"A case has been registered and an investigation initiated," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Ved Prakash Surya said.

He said police are trying to find out if any CCTV camera was installed in the area and obtain footage of the alleged incident to ascertain the sequence of events and establish the identity of the suspects.

"The firing was not in connection with the anti-CAA protests. We suspect it to be a case of some personal enmity," a senior police official said.

The incident took place barely 400 metres from the site where people have been protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act since last month. Some agitators claim it to be a threat tactics and with every such incident, and alleged the accused are changing their modus operandi.

Nihal Ashraf, one of the protesters at Jafrabad, said, "The armed men fired three rounds in the air and fled the spot. They were on a scooter without a number plate unlike the Jamia incident in which the vehicle used by those who fired had number plate. They two men fired after moving a few metres ahead of our protest site".

Mohd Irshad, a Jamia student, said a youth fired outside the Jamia Millia slamia on January 30 and also shot a student in front of the police.

"He (youth outside Jamia) provoked and then fired. In the second incident on February 1 at Shaheen Bagh, the assailant fired from a few metres away from the main gathering to cause disturbance.

"In the third incident again outside Jamia on February 2, the assailants shot in the air from the opposite road so that they could not be caught like the previous two accused. However, the police got their vehicle number. Therefore, the assailants at Jafrabad got a vehicle without a number plate," he said.

Protests resumed after sometime.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The pregnant teenage Russian girl who says the father of her unborn child is a 10-year-old boy has become an online "influencer" and is looking for sponsors after her social media following rocketed following news of her pregnancy.



The schoolgirl mum-to-be, who lives in Siberian town Zheleznogorsk, attends seventh grade while the 10-year-old who is reportedly the boyfriend and father of her child is still in fourth, according to reports.



She was only 13 when she fell pregnant but the girl, who was initially identified as Daria "Dasha" Rubchinskaya but later as Daria "Dasha" Sudnishnikova, has reportedly recently turned 14.



Read Full Story .... mirror.co.uk >>> :

















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Donald Trump targeted Democrats for their impeachment inquiry and those seeking to defeat him in November during an economic speech in North Carolina that had the feel of one of his campaign rallies.

The president blasted his political enemies and gave shout-outs to several supporters in the crowd, including regular attendees of his campaign rallies that he recognized and members of Congress who supported him during the impeachment inquiry.

Congressman Mark Meadows, who was one of Trump's biggest Republican defenders on Capitol Hill during the inquiry, got a shout out. Meadows also rode down to Charlotte with the president on Air Force One.

Trump even thanked an attendee wearing a red 'Make America Great Again' hat, pointing to him and saying: 'Thank you for putting on that beautiful hat. I love that hat.'

And the president entered the venue to his campaign walk-on music: Lee Greenwood's 'Proud to be an American.'

Donald Trump targeted Democrats for their impeachment inquiry and those seeking to defeat him in November in economic speech

Speaker Nancy Pelosi started the formal impeachment inquiry into the president

The president flew to Charlotte, N.C., for an Opportunity Now summit, which advocates for disadvantaged communities.

'This isn't a rally you know. This is a serious deal,' he said.

But his remarks were reminiscent of one of his campaign speeches.

He proceeded to blast Democrats for their 'failed impeachment hoax' - a theme he has stuck to since the Republican-controlled Senate voted to acquit him on Wednesday.

He joked it wasn't an item Democrats would put on their resume.

'Now that is a thing of the past. Now they have a failed impeachment hoax. They can put that on their resume. That doesn't go good on a resume. That is a failed hoax. Every one of them has to put it on their resume,' he said.

He also addressed the upcoming November election, saying he always ran like he was one point down so he'd work his a** off.

'Somebody said how are you doing and I said we are one point down everywhere,' he said. I always say pretend you are one point down so you work your a** off.'

He then mocked Democrats for the fiasco with the Iowa caucuses. The state hasn't been able to declare a winner in the first voting contest in the Democratic presidential primary after an app the party developed to count votes failed.

Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg - who were neck-and-neck in unofficial counts - each declared themselves the winner.

'The Democrats don't know what they hell they're doing,' Trump mocked them. 'The only thing they didn't check was to see if the app worked. It didn't. It all fried.'

He then singled out Buttigieg, who was the first to declare himself the winner of the caucuses and took advantage of that to propel his candidacy into the next contest in New Hampshire.

'It turned out to be Pete Buttigieg. Who ever the hell that is? Mayor Pete,' Trump said. 'Somebody explain that one to me. Have you ever seen anything so crazy?'

He then repeated his criticism if Democrats can't count votes, they can't be counted on to fix healthcare

'They can't count simple votes but they want to fix your healthcare system,' he said as the crowd laughed.

Trump mocked Pete Buttigieg, who declared himself the victor in Iowa; 'Who ever the hell that is?' the president said

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson as he arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit

He also - in an unusual rift - described how world leaders and powerful corporation heads cried when they walked into the Oval Office for the first time.

'They walk in -- powerful people, big people -- and you see them crying,' he said.

He went on to add: 'You see them start to cry -- tough people. They have not cried since they were a baby and some of them never cried at all even when they were a baby and they start to cry when they enter the Oval Office.'

Trump also made an appeal to African Americans during his speech, touting the high black unemployment numbers and suggesting to them they should give him a chance.

He also brought up Pastor Tony Lowden of Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Georgia, who he made the new head of his prisoner re-entry initiative - to speak to the crowd.

And he reminded people he freed Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life in prison for her involvement in a Memphis cocaine trafficking organization.

Trump featured her in his Super Bowl campaign ad, which he also reminded the crowd.

He also had Ben Carson, his housing secretary and most prominent African American in his administration, introduce him.

'The people who drive the cars and park the cars at Mar-a-Lago -- they love him. They people who wash the dishes because he's kind and compassionate. When he bought Mara-a-Lago he was the one who fought for Jews and blacks to be included in the clubs that were trying to exclude them. You know, people say he's a racist -- he is not a racist,' Carson said.
Four of the 27 Royal Caribbean passengers screened for coronavirus after the cruise ship docked in Bayonne on Friday morning were sent to hospitals for further evaluation, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.

The other 23 were cleared and permitted to disembark from the Anthem of the Seas along with the ships other passengers, who said they were unaware of the coronavirus concerns until being alerted by news reports.

Personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention boarded a cruise ship docked in Bayonne this morning and screened 27 passengers who recently traveled from mainland China," Murphy said in statement. "After being assessed by the CDC, 23 of those passengers were cleared and four individuals are being evaluated at an area hospital. The hospital is following proper infection control protocols while evaluating these individuals. New Jersey currently has no confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and the risk to residents remains low.

Dr. Robert Harvey, a passenger on the cruise from Barnegat, said he didnt learn about the screening of the passengers until Friday morning.

I think someone was listening to television news and they told us about it while we were eating breakfast, Harvey said, after disembarking at the Cape Liberty Cruise Port. It didnt bother me. Its a minor thing when compared to the flu and all the deaths (from that)."

Harvey said the ship was constantly being cleaned during the cruise.

They scrubbed that ship constantly, he said. I felt very safe the whole time.

Four passengers from Canada were split about whether they were concerned about the coronavirus.

We knew nothing," said Ron Newelo. We saw it on TV. They (the ships crew) were always careful. Theres not much you can do when youre in the ocean.

A man from Pennsylvania who asked not to be identified said the news was a complete surprise to him.

"We didnt know anyone was sick, we didnt see anyone who was sick, he said.

Royal Caribbean issued an emailed statement acknowledging some passengers were checked.

Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus" the statement said. "We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.

"We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.

There have been confirmed cases of coronavirus in 28 countries, according the latest numbers provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. In the U.S., 11 people from five states have tested positive, though none have been in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania. The results of 76 more tests are pending.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday launched a task force to make sure New Jersey is prepared for any threat from the surging coronavirus. The state launched a website and a hotline  1-800-222-1222  to answer questions about the virus.

The coronavirus has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed at least 638  almost entirely in China  since it was identified in December.

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The supreme court has affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal which handed a 12- year jail sentence to Jolly Nyame, a former gove...

The supreme court has affirmed the judgment of the court of appeal which handed a 12- year jail sentence to Jolly Nyame, a former governor of Taraba state.





The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had charged Nyame with abuse of office.





He was accused of diverting N1.64 billion during his tenure as governor of Taraba between 1999 and 2007.





Having stood trial for about 11 years, Adebukola Banjoko, judge of a federal capital territory high court in Gudu, convicted Nyame on May 30, 2018, and sentenced him to 14 years in prison.





The former governor then appealed the judgment of the trial court and the jail term was reduced to 12 years but still dissatisfied, he headed to the apex court.





Nyame had contended that the trial court did not have the jurisdiction to hear his case. He also asked the apex court to further reduce the sentence from 12 years. He challenged the N100 million fine which was imposed on him.





Delivering the lead judgment on Friday, Amina Augie, a judge, dismissed the issue of jurisdiction, holding that the trial court did not err by hearing the matter.





She, however, held that the court of appeal ought not to have imposed a fine on Nyame because the issue of fine was never raised by the prosecution or defendant for determination.





Augie upheld the verdict of the appellate court, saying: it will not be possible to further reduce the sentence as the appellate court was gracious enough to do so having considered Nyame as a first time offender.




Rice export prices in India edged up to the highest level in more than four months this week, helped by healthy demand from African countries, while markets in Thailand and Vietnam grapple with the new coronavirus outbreak. India's 5 percent broken parboiled variety was quoted around $370-$375 per tonne this week, the highest since the last week of September. Export prices were up from $369-$373 quoted in the previous week, also supported by an appreciation in rupee. "Demand is good for the new season crop. Prices are also competitive," said an exporter based at ...
By PTI

NEW DELHI: As many as 150 passengers with symptoms of coronavirus have so far been referred to isolation facilities in the country as the government steps up efforts to deal with the outbreak.

Making a suo motu statement in the Rajya Sabha on Friday, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said existing visas are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China.

"People travelling to China henceforth will be quarantined on return," he said.

Screening of passengers has been initiated since January 18 and this facility has now been extended to 21 airports, Vardhan said, adding that universal thermal screening has been made mandatory for all flights coming from Singapore and Hong Kong as well.

He said three people in Kerala have tested positive for coronavirus so far.

A group of ministers (GoM), headed by the Union health minister, has been constituted to monitor the situation.

This group consists of ministers of External Affairs, Home, Shipping and Civil Aviation.

Vardhan said 1,275 flights have been screened for coronavirus so far, covering 1,39,539 passengers.

As many as 150 passengers with symptoms of the infection have been referred to isolation facilities, he added.

ALSO READ: Chinese man vomits in flight, quarantined in Pune for possible coronavirus exposure

Screening has also been initiated at all integrated check posts on the Nepal border after a confirmed case was reported in Nepal.

The three people who tested positive for coronavirus had a travel history to Wuhan in China but are now reported to be clinically stable, the health minister said.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S. January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Reuters

President Donald Trump took a victory lap on Thursday after Senate Republicans acquitted him of the two charges against him following a bitter impeachment trial.

"It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops," Trump said of his impeachment trial. "It was leakers and liars, and this should never, ever happen to another president, ever."

"If this happened to President Obama, a lot of people would have been in jail for a long time already  many, many years," Trump added.

The president also singled out Sen. Mitt Romney, the lone Republican who sided with Democrats to vote to convict and remove Trump from office, and accused Romney of using religion "as a crutch."

Here's a rundown of what Trump said and how it stacks up with reality.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Thursday gave a speech to celebrate that the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of two charges following a bitter impeachment trial.

Here's a rundown of what Trump said and how it stacks up with reality

What Trump said: His impeachment was a "war," and he was treated "unbelievably unfairly" by "dirty" intelligence officials, including former FBI Director James Comey. "It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops. It was leakers and liars, and this should never, ever happen to another president, ever. I don't know that other presidents would have been able to take it," he said, adding, "If this happened to President Obama, a lot of people would have been in jail for a long time already  many, many years." Fact check: Trump is correct that what he went through was a unique occurrence in American history. The FBI had never investigated whether a presidential campaign conspired with a foreign government to tilt a US election in one direction. Ultimately, the special counsel Robert Mueller found that although the Trump campaign did not conspire with Russia to swing the 2016 election in his favor, the campaign enthusiastically welcomed Russia's interference and expected to benefit from it. Trump is also the first US president to publicly call for multiple foreign powers to investigate or damage his political rivals. In July 2016, he asked Russia to recover the 30,000 emails that were missing from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's email server. And since last year, Trump has called for Ukraine and China to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter over unfounded allegations of corruption.

What Trump said: "A corrupt politician named Adam Schiff made up my statement to the Ukrainian president. He brought it out of thin air. Just made it up." Fact check: Trump was referring to the way that Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and the lead impeachment manager, characterized his July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During the call, Trump repeatedly asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens and a bogus conspiracy theory suggesting Ukraine interfered in the 2016 US election. Schiff was paraphrasing the call when he first described it. He said as much before detailing "the essence of what the president communicates" and not "the exact transcribed version of the call." Trump has accused Schiff of treason, a crime punishable by death.

What Trump said: "If we didn't win, the stock market would have crashed, and the market was going up a lot before the election because it was looking like we had a good chance to win," Trump said. "And then it went up tremendously from the time we won the election to the time we took office ... That's all our credit." Fact check: The stock market was on an upswing for a while before Trump took office. And while it's performed well under Trump  in large part because his administration has strongly pushed for financial deregulation  it's not unprecedented. As of December, the stock-market rally still lagged behind its performance under Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

What Trump said: Trump accused Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, the lone Republican senator who voted with Democrats to convict and remove Trump from office, of using his religion "as a crutch." Trump boasted that his own poll numbers in Utah were "through the roof" while Romney's "went down big." Fact check: A recent poll found that Trump's approval rating in Utah was 53% while Romney's was 52%.

What Trump said: The US and Ukraine have a treaty "that we will work together to root out corruption in Ukraine," Trump said. "I probably have a legal obligation, Mr. Attorney, to report corruption. But they don't think it's corrupt when a son that made no money, that got thrown out of the military, that had no money at all, is working for $3 million up front, $83,000 a month  and that's only Ukraine  then goes to China, picks up $1.5 billion, then goes to Romania, I hear, and many other countries." Fact check: Trump was referring to Hunter Biden's employment on the board of the Ukrainian natural-gas company Burisma Holdings. While ethics experts have said the younger Biden's work for the company could have posed conflicts of interest, there is no evidence that Hunter or Joe Biden engaged in any corrupt activities related to Burisma. The Bidens and Burisma were at the center of Trump's impeachment. Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested Joe Biden inappropriately used his role as vice president in 2016 to push for the ouster of Viktor Shokin, then Ukraine's prosecutor general, to stymie Shokin's investigation into Burisma. Trump and Giuliani have said that was why the president asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens. But the investigation was dormant when Biden called for Shokin's ouster. Moreover, Biden was representing the US's official position, as well as that of the rest of the Western world and financial institutions, when he demanded Shokin be fired for corruption. There is also no evidence that Trump showed an interest in rooting out corruption in Ukraine before Biden's decision to run for president.

What Trump said: Trump asked why other European countries weren't paying more to help Ukraine. Fact check: Iain King, a visiting fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, last year found that European nations had contributed roughly two-thirds of all aid to Ukraine since Russia annexed the territory of Crimea in 2014 and began encroaching in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.

What Trump said: Democrats "took a phone call that was a totally appropriate call  I call it a perfect call, because it was  and they brought me to the final stages of impeachment." Fact check: Multiple firsthand witnesses who listened in on the July 25 call testified that they found it "unusual," "inappropriate," and "improper." Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council and one of the people who heard the call, reported it to John Eisenberg, the NSC's chief lawyer. The whistleblower complaint detailing the call said that multiple White House officials were alarmed by it and that White House lawyers believed they had witnessed the president violating campaign-finance laws by asking Ukraine to investigate the Bidens. Eisenberg told Vindman not to tell anyone else about what he heard, and a transcript of the phone call was moved to a top-secret codeword NSC server typically used to house sensitive information pertaining to national security. The White House released a partial summary of the call that later became one of the central primary documents in Trump's impeachment trial.

What Trump said: "I love the FBI and the FBI loves me, 99 percent." Fact check: This appears to be an exaggeration  there is no publicly available polling showing FBI employees' support for the president. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders similarly claimed in 2017 that she "heard from countless members of the FBI that are grateful and thankful for the president's decision" to fire former FBI Director James Comey. She later admitted to then-special counsel Bob Mueller that the claim was false.

What Trump said: "We had for the first time in 51 years where drug prices actually came down last year. First time in 51 years" Fact check : Politifact rated this claim "mostly false" because there is no solid evidence to support it, and, according to federal government data, drug prices actually increased between April 2018 and April 2019.



Story continues

Romney sent shockwaves through Washington when he announced on Wednesday that he would vote to oust the president.

"Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine," Romney said, adding that he expected to face harsh blowback from members of his own party for his decision to break ranks.

"Does anyone seriously believe that I would consent to these consequences, other than from an inescapable conviction that my oath before God demanded it of me?" he said.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 52-48 to acquit Trump of abuse of power and 53-47 to acquit him of the obstruction charge.

For weeks, the president's lawyers have described the impeachment process against Trump as a partisan "sham." The White House was also said to have courted some Democratic swing votes before the final vote, like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, in hopes of a bipartisan acquittal. But Manchin sided with the rest of the Senate Democratic caucus to call for Trump's removal.

Meanwhile, Romney's vote made Trump's impeachment the first time in US history that a member of the president's own party voted to remove him from office. It was also the first time that the entire opposing party voted to convict the president.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Brazil has the highest teenage pregnancy rate among all other countries in Latin America. This led the Brazilian government to send a strong message to its teens that they have to stop, reflect, and enjoy their lives without getting pregnant.

The government hopes that one day they can decrease the teen pregnancy rate of the country. The campaign of the government is called "Adolescence First, Pregnancy After." This campaign is run jointly by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women, Family, and Human Rights. To intensify this program, they used social media to target its audience using the hashtag #tudonoseutempo or "all in good time."

Damares Alves, Minister for Women, Family, and Human Rights, and also an evangelical pastor said: "It didn't come from an insight, from a moment of madness from a fundamentalist minister." She also added, "It's been a year of talking because we need to bring the numbers down. We had the courage to say we are going to talk about delaying the start of sexual relations."

The move of the government to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies in the country is good news for the growing number of evangelicals. Isabela Prito, 15 years old and part of a youth group at Paz Church in Ttauape, said: "When you have a relationship before getting married, you're connecting with that person and it can come with consequences like pregnancy and illness. So I think you're saving that moment for when you marry when it's very important."

Alves consulted many abstinence groups and organizations in Brazil and one of these is "Eu Escolhi Esperar" or "I Decided to Wait." Although the government did not directly use the term abstinence when they launched their campaign.

Junior said that Alves spoke with him about bringing the same organization from the United States that had never worked, but now she is very optimistic that it will work in Brazil because of her being a minister. When the Junior saw the potential of the campaign of Alves, he was "very happy."

Junior said: "It's logical, not ideological or religious. One thing we need to overcome here in Brazil is this new debate that everything that comes from religion is bad."

Meanwhile, Danie Sampaio, a doula and a birth support activist and also works with teenage girls in some areas of Sao Paulo's poorest suburbs, said that part of the growing increase of teenage pregnancy is religion.

Vitoria Maria de Oliveira, 20 years old, who is 36 weeks pregnant with her first baby said that she started having sex at the age of 15 and she was not given much information about sex education until she was 16 or 17. She also said that her family does not want to talk about sex. And when she found out that she was pregnant, she was very shocked.

Moreover, Sampaio said that the macho culture and hyper-sexualization in the country are the challenges to bringing the teenage pregnancies down in the country. She said: "We need to talk more with women to break down taboos and beliefs that constrain women, beliefs that are just passed on by their mothers and grandmothers." She added, "abstinence is not the path, information is: understanding your body and saying 'no'."

The government of Brazil said that they will continue their campaign by giving contraceptives and an information drive about sex education. They will also encourage teens to talk with their families and seek health advice.

However, the critics say that much needs to be done regarding sex education in schools.

Helena Bertho, one of the critics, said: "The focus should be on making sex education work better but it's going in the other direction." She added, "they [the government] will not have both [abstinence and sex education] because having both would mean making sex education better. Abstinence is something that you believe in. You shouldn't run a campaign for young people not to have sex, you should educate them to say it's one of the options."
Sheehy Volkswagen of Hagerstown details its President's Day Sales Event. Pictured is the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta.

Drivers near Hagerstown, Maryland, will be excited to hear that two Volkswagen models will be on sale at Sheehy Volkswagen of Hagerstown for its Presidents Day Sales Event. For the entire month of February, the 2019 Volkswagen Atlas S 4MOTION and the 2019 Volkswagen Jetta S will be offered at special rates. No other models will be included for this sale.

Customers that choose to lease the 2019 VW Atlas S 4MOTION can do so at $428 a month for 36 months. Drivers interested in the 2019 VW Jetta S can lease this model for $238 a month for 36 months. For both of these lease offers, there is no deposit required at signing. Shoppers that choose to purchase either of these models will receive 1.9% APR for 60 months. Customers are encouraged to take advantage of these deals soon as these offers will expire on February 29.

To learn more about Sheehy Volkswagen of Hagerstown, visit its website at http://www.sheehyvwhagerstown.com. Anyone interested in either of these specials can find more details on the special offers page on the Sheehy Volkswagen of Hagerstown website.

Customers that have questions can contact the sales team by calling 301-396-7673. Those that prefer to speak to a representative in person can visit the dealership at 10310 Auto Place in Hagerstown, MD.
Reuters

Saudi Aramco has seen an increase in attempted cyberattacks since the final quarter of 2019, which the company has so far successfully countered, the state oil giant's chief information security officer told Reuters on Thursday.

"Overall there is definitely an increase in the attempts of (cyber) attacks, and we are very successful in preventing these attacks at the earliest stage possible," Khalid al-Harbi told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"The pattern of the (cyber) attacks is cyclical, and we are seeing that the magnitude is increasing, I would suspect that this will continue to be a trend," he said, without giving further details on who was behind the attacks.

Saudi Arabia has been the target of frequent cyberattacks, including the "Shamoon" virus, which cripples computers by wiping their disks and has hit both government ministries and petrochemical firms, the latest of these was in 2017.

Aramco, which pumps 10% of global oil supply, experienced its largest cyberattack to date in August 2012, when a Shamoon virus attack damaged around 30,000 computers and was aimed at stopping oil and gas production at the biggest OPEC exporter.

Aramco's facilities were also attacked in September by drone and missile strikes that temporarily shut down 5.7 million barrels per day of output - more than 5% of global oil supply. The U.S. blamed Iran for the attack, something Iran has denied.

Harbi also said that there had been attempts to infiltrate Aramco via Emotet, a malware that has been active globally, but it was successfully prevented.

The malware has impacted other small organisations in Saudi Arabia, he said, without elaborating.

Harbi said that identifying the source of the cyber attacks was the most difficult aspect of cybersecurity.

In 2017, Saudi Arabian security officials said that the country had been targeted as part of a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign observed against five Middle East nations as well as several countries outside the region.
The premier of Germany's Thuringia state stepped down and called for snap elections Thursday, barely 24 hours after he was elected with the help of far-right AfD lawmakers in a vote Angela Merkel called "unforgivable". Thomas Kemmerich, from the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), said he would apply for the regional parliament to be dissolved in response to the outrage over his appointment, which drew comparisons with the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s. "We want new elections to remove the stain of the AfD's support from the office of the premiership," he told reporters, adding that his resignation was "unavoidable". Kemmerich's election on Wednesday marked the first time in German post-war history that a state premier was helped into office by accepting far-right votes, crossing a red line in a nation haunted by its Nazi past. He became the surprise winner of a run-off vote after AfD lawmakers ditched their own candidate to back him. Chancellor Merkel called the vote "unforgivable" and said the result "must be reversed". She reiterated that her centre-right CDU would never work with the anti-Islam, anti-immigrant AfD, on a regional or national level. Thousands took to the streets in cities across Germany late Wednesday to vent their dismay at the vote outcome, including in Berlin, Frankfurt and Thuringia's capital Erfurt. Some carried signs that read "Never again", while others recalled that it was in Thuringia in 1930 that a Nazi minister was first allowed into government. - Confidence vote - The aftershocks of the crisis were being felt in Berlin too, since Thuringian state lawmakers from Merkel's own CDU lined up with the FDP and far right in voting for Kemmerich over popular incumbent Bodo Ramelow from the far-left Die Linke. Merkel's federal coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats, reacted furiously to the debacle, calling for her conservative party to clearly distance itself from the AfD. "There can be no carrying on as usual without resolving this problem," fumed SPD co-leader Norbert Walter-Borjans. The SPD and CDU are to hold crisis talks in Berlin on Saturday. Addressing the controversy during a visit to South Africa, Merkel called Wednesday's vote "a bad day for democracy" and said the role played by her local allies "broke with the values and convictions of the CDU". Christian Lindner, national leader of the FDP, one of Germany's smaller parties, announced a vote of confidence on his own leadership on Friday. If Kemmerich gets the necessary two-thirds majority to dissolve Thuringia's parliament, ousted premier Ramelow told Spiegel weekly he was "ready to throw his hat in the ring again". According to the latest surveys, Ramelow has a 71 percent approval rating in Thuringia. His Linke party is tipped to come first in fresh polls but fall short of an overall majority. - 'Shame' - In states across Germany's former communist east, the AfD is a major political force and mainstream parties are increasingly scrambling to keep it locked out of the corridors of power. In Thuringia, the AfD is led by Bjoern Hoecke, one of the party's most radical figures who has called for a "180-degree turn" in Germany's atonement for Nazi crimes. A picture of Hoecke shaking hands with Kemmerich after the election win was splashed across the front pages of German newspapers. "The handshake of shame", screamed best-selling daily Bild, slamming Kemmerich for "letting himself be elected by a neo-Nazi". On social media, the picture was quickly twinned with one of Adolf Hitler shaking hands with German president Paul von Hindenburg in 1933, the year Hitler became chancellor. Since its creation in 2013, the AfD has gone from strength to strength in Germany, capitalising on anger over Merkel's 2015 decision to allow in over a million asylum seekers. At the last general election, the party scored almost 13 percent nationwide. The SPD's Walter-Borjans warned that the world was watching how Germany dealt with the rise of the far right and the "breach in the dam" in Thuringia. "What has happened here is a signal that we can't allow to go unanswered," he said.
Hungary hopes to see success in March talks of the intergovernmental commission.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will depend on the success of the meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation, which is to be held in Budapest in March.

"We will hold another meeting of the intergovernmental commission on economic cooperation in Budapest in March," Szijjarto said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoHungary puts forward new proposals regarding Ukraine's education law

He also agreed with Kuleba that the situation was unacceptable where the commission had not held meetings for seven years already.

"We want to succeed in the negotiations in March and thus agree to build at least one checkpoint at the border," the Hungarian foreign minister said.

"If the meeting of the intergovernmental commission is successful, it will also pave the way for holding a meeting between Hungarian Prime Minister Orban and President Zelensky in the spring," Szijjarto added.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 02:58:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israel was boosting its forces in the occupied West Bank on Thursday evening, as violence has flared up between Israel and Palestine following Washington's controversial Mideast peace plan.

A military spokesperson said in a statement that "following the ongoing IDF (Israel Defense Forces) situation assessment," the army has started to reinforce its forces in the West Bank with additional combat troops.

Earlier, Israeli security forces announced they have arrested the alleged perpetrator of a car-ramming attack in Jerusalem after a day-long manhunt, whose identity was not immediately disclosed.

In the attack, he allegedly slammed his car at a group of Israeli troops in Jerusalem overnight between Wednesday and Thursday and wounded at least 12 soldiers, including one who sustained serious injuries.

Individual Palestinian attacks continued throughout Thursday, with a man opening fire at Israeli Border Police officers in east Jerusalem's Old City, lightly wounding one of them, before being shot dead.

In a separate incident outside a settlement in the central West Bank, a Palestinian opened fire at a military post, lightly injuring a soldier.

Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinians during clashes, including a Palestinian police officer and a cadet.

Also on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a checkpoint in Gush Etzion, a major settlement bloc, and warned that Israel's security forces will respond forcefully.

The violence broke out about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump unveiled his plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Israel embraced the plan, but Palestine and most of the Arab world have denounced it as unfair and biased.
ArcelorMittal and commissioners of the Ilva steelworks in southern Italy have agreed to extend talks to the end of the month after making progress towards a possible deal to buy the plant, a lawyer for the company said on Friday. The world's biggest steelmaker had tried to walk away from a 2018 deal after parliament scrapped a guarantee of legal immunity from prosecution over environmental risks during a clean-up of the heavily polluting factory. But the steelmaker has since returned to discussions. "Negotiations between the two parties have made a significant step ...
A former News of the World journalist has been slammed on social media after commenting that the only way the story of the dead body in Michael Barrymore's pool could have 'been bigger' is 'if a pretty girl had died'.

Paul McMullan appeared in a documentary that aired on Channel 4 last night that looked into the death of Stuart Lubbock in March 2001.

Mr Lubbock died in mysterious circumstances after his lifeless body was found in the swimming pool of TV star Barrymore's home in Essex.

Mr McMullan, one of the journalists who investigated Mr Lubbock's death, contributed to the documentary but caused fury on Twitter with some of his comments.

He said: 'The only way the story could have been bigger is if there was a sweet innocent girl found floating in the pool.

'There would have been better pictures - people might have felt more sympathy.'

Paul McMullan was critcised for comments he made in the documentary about the death of Stuart Lubbock

During the documentary, he also spoke about how he posed as a police detective to get Mr Lubbock's mother to confirm he wasn't gay and how he gave thousands of pounds to other party-goers to get their accounts of what happened.

Asked if truth was the most important thing during his search, Mr McMullan disagreed, suggesting the story was more important than establishing the facts.

He described the story as the biggest in Britain in the decade and added: 'Very rarely did I consider the feelings of anyone.'

His comments provoked stinging backlash on social media, with several users criticising him.

One user wrote: 'Paul McMullan showing once again that he is an utterly revolting person.'

A second said: 'Paul McMullan, what an absolute parasite.'

While a third added: 'What the f***ing hell is wrong with Paul McMullan. A vile individual.'

Mr Lubbock was found dead at Barrymore's house after a party with nine people present.

He was found in the swimming pool with 'horrific' anal injuries and police believe that he was raped and murdered - though Barrymore has always denied any wrongdoing.

The other people present on the night were Barrymore's ex Jonathan Kenney, Justin Merritt and his sister Kylie, Claire Jones and Kelly Campbell and Simon Shaw and James Futers.

Stuart Lubbock, 31, (right) was found lifeless at Michael Barrymore's mansion (he is pictured left on Good Morning Britain in June last year) in Roydon, Essex, in 2001

The Channel 4 Documentary has exclusive photographs from inside Barrymore's house

Another image from Barrymore's house shows glasses stacked up in the kitchen sink

Police believe Mr Lubbock was sexually assaulted and murdered with his body possibly moved from a jacuzzi to make it look like he had accidentally drowned

Barrymore, who was recently forced to pull out of Dancing on Ice because of an injury and was one of ITV's biggest stars with a string of hit shows including Strike It Lucky, fled from the house before police arrived.

A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Lubbock, a divorced father-of-two from Harlow, had suffered major internal injuries consistent with rape.

The cause of death was never established and an open verdict was recorded after conflicting reports from pathologists. Cocaine, ecstasy and alcohol were found in his system.

Barrymore was arrested on suspicion of rape and serious sexual assault in 2007, along with two other people. No charges were brought due to lack of evidence.

Barrymore,  who has always denied any involvement in the death  launched a high court case for 2.4million damages for wrongful arrest. He received a nominal sum after Essex Police won an appeal.

Tonight's documentary shone a light on the case, which remains unsolved, and also included comments from Mr Lubbock's father.

Terry Lubbock attacked the 'f***** b*******' who he thinks murdered his son and said: 'It has consumed me, what happened to Stuart. It has taken over my life.'
Rome, Feb 7 : Italy is watching the government offensive in Syria's rebel-held northwest province of Idlib "with concern and anxiety", the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

"We are following the developments taking place in the area of Idlib with concern and anxiety," said the statement, which came the day that Turkish armoured vehicles reached there to reinforce troops and equipment sent by Ankara in recent weeks.

"The intensified clashes has caused hundreds of civil victims, thousands of casualties, further destruction and the displacement from their homes of over 500,000 people," the statement added.

At least eight Turkish military and civilian personnel and 13 Syrian soldiers were killed on Monday in clashes with Syrian troops.

The Turkish troops were sent to Idlib to observe a previous truce which has since crumbled but also deployed around towns threatened by the Syrian military advances.

Syrian government troops overran Idlib's strategic former rebel town of Saraqeb this week, after a two-day siege in which they exchanged artillery fire with Turkish forces who were supporting Syrian rebels.

The capture of Saraqeb follows weeks of aerial bombardment by the Syrian air force and its Russian backers, combined with a ground offensive.

In Friday's statement, Italy appealed to the warring sides in Idlib to "immediately cease hostilities and allow the arrival of humanitarian aid" and to "respect international humanitarian law".

"No solution to the Syrian crisis can come from the military option but should be centred on a credible and inclusive political process, in line with UN Resolution 2254," the statement said.

The statement referred to a resolution that the UN Security Council unanimously adopted on December 18, 2015 calling for a ceasefire and political settlement to Syria's bloody civil war.

"This is why we must continue to firmly support the work of the Special Envoy of the United Nations, Mr Pedersen," the statement said.

Geir O. Pedersen has been the UN special envoy for Syria since January 7, 2019.
Women who left the UK to join ISIL as a teenager had citizenship revoked one year ago on national security grounds.

A British woman who as a teenager ran away to join the ISIL (ISIS) group has lost a legal challenge aimed at restoring her citizenship.

The Special Immigration Appeals Commission in London ruled on Friday that Shamima Begum was not improperly deprived of her nationality, meaning she cannot return to London.

Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who travelled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria last year and told reporters she wanted to return home.

But her apparent lack of remorse has triggered criticism in the United Kingdom.

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship on national security grounds, but she challenged the decision.

British media reported that the action was taken on the grounds that she could obtain another passport because of her Bangladeshi heritage.

While Begums parents are of Bangladeshi origin, she does not hold a Bangladeshi passport.

Some legal experts criticised Javids move to strip her nationality, saying it left Begum stateless.

Shamima Begum was 15 when she was groomed online, was born and grew up in Britain and has never been to Bangladesh, said Omar Khan, director of Runnymede Trust, a race equality think-tank.

If she was called Sarah Brown she would never have had her citizenship stripped. She obviously remains British and not Bangladeshi, however Orwellian citizenship law and policy is.
Highlights HMD Global has started rolling out Wi-Fi calling feature to Nokia phones.

As many as nine Nokia smartphones are now receiving the update.

Wi-Fi calling is only offered by Reliance Jio and Airtel in India presently.

Nokia smartphone users will now be able to make calls over a Wi-Fi network. HMD Global has started the rollout of Wi-Fi calling feature to a range of Nokia smartphones, supported by Reliance Jio and Airtel. Wi-Fi calling is the latest advancement to how consumers make calls in the areas with spotty cellular reception, introduced in 2019 in the Delhi-NCR region. HMD Global has now joined the list of brands that are providing their customers with the Wi-Fi calling service.

The Wi-Fi calling service, also called VoWiFi, will be rolled out to the following Nokia smartphones on Jio network, as listed by HMD Global:

Nokia 9 PureView

Nokia 8 Sirocco

Nokia 8.1

Nokia 7.2

Nokia 7.1

Nokia 7 Plus

Nokia 6.2

Nokia 6.1 Plus

Nokia 6.1

All of the aforementioned smartphones, except the Nokia 7.2, will support Wi-Fi calling on the Airtel network.

How to enable and use VoWiFi on your Nokia smartphone?

Firstly, go to your phone's settings

Now, either search for Wi-Fi calling inside the settings or navigate to the option, located under the mobile network tab

Enable Wi-Fi calling toggle. Also, ensure the VoLTE option is enabled as well

Now, your phone will automatically switch to VoWiFi mode whenever it is connected to a Wi-Fi network

What is Wi-Fi calling or VoWiFi?

Wi-Fi calling or VoWiFi is a wireless communications technology that allows users to make and receive calls, send and receive SMS on their phone through a Wi-Fi network. The data packets are exchanged over the wireless broadband connection, which means its best use case is when the cellular signals are below par.

VoWiFi was introduced in India last year by Airtel in the Delhi-NCR circle, followed by its rollout in other circles. Reliance Jio followed Airtel's move to launch Wi-Fi calling throughout the country in a matter of a few days. However, Vodafone Idea has surprisingly lagged behind by not launching the service for its customers.

Calls made via third-party Wi-Fi networks are also supported on both Airtel and Jio. For now, there are no charges for using the Wi-Fi calling facility.
Strong job creation should help drive US economic growth that Trump is making a cornerstone of his re-election campaign.

The last thing an incumbent United States president seeking re-election needs is a slowing jobs market. On Friday, government figures showed President Donald Trump has little to worry about on that front  for now.

The US economy added a blockbuster 225,000 jobs in January, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported  far more than the 100,000 needed to absorb new entrants into the labour market and streaks ahead of analysts estimates.

The unemployment rate in January held comfortably near 50-year lows, edging up slightly to 3.6 percent. And Americans saw modestly fatter paychecks last month, with average hourly wages rising 3.1 percent from a year earlier.

The headline numbers signal that the jobs market will continue to be a source of strength for the US economy, which Trump is making a cornerstone of his re-election campaign.

On Tuesday, Trump lauded his stewardship of the economy during his annual State of the Union address, declaring, in just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of Americas destiny. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!

What Trump has characterised as an unprecedented economic boom is by most measures in line with the steady, modest growth trajectory he inherited from the previous administration of President Barack Obama.

The economy grew a respectable but unspectacular 2.3 percent in 2019, matching the average pace since the Great Recession ended a decade earlier.

But annual revisions released on Friday to past jobs numbers served up a mixed reality check on Trumps economy boast.

Employment gains prior to March 2019 were revised downward by a whopping 514,000 jobs.

Capital Economics chief US economist Paul Ashworth described the revision as a very big drop but noted that is ancient history at this point.

More relevant in Ashworths view were the revisions to employment gains between April and December last year, which were revised up by 92,000 jobs.

That means the rebound in employment growth late last year only looks stronger now. The six-month average gain was 206,000 in January, up from a low of 137,000 last July, Ashworth wrote in a note to clients.

The January jobs numbers were helped along by mild weather as evidenced by the construction sector, which added 44,000 jobs. Healthcare, transportation and warehousing also showed healthy employment gains.

Manufacturing, though, continues to struggle, and shed 12,000 jobs in January.

And there are potential risks surfacing that could present some growth challenges to the economy. Boeing Corp  which accounts for a major component of US exports  halted production of its troubled 737 MAX aircraft last month.

The coronavirus is also injecting fear and uncertainty into economic forecasts as businesses, investors and governments try to gauge how deeply the outbreak could disrupt supply chains, production and demand.

On Friday, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, said in its semi-annual report to US lawmakers that the recent emergence of the coronavirus could lead to disruptions in China, and that significant distress in China could spill over to U.S. and global markets.
Homework. Its one of the most contentious issues in the primary school yard. Many parents demand more, others less, and teachers and kids are often stuck in the middle.

Recent reports of Australian school children slipping in international measures for literacy and numeracy has fuelled the pro-homework side among parents.

Research shows that homework has little to no academic benefits in primary school. Credit:Stocksy

In 2019, Australian students went backwards in the OECDs Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA) which measures the reading, maths and scientific literacy of 15-year-olds. For the first time we failed to exceed the OECD average in maths.

But is loading up kids with homework, particularly in the early years of schooling, the answer to improving our standing in international rankings as many parents passionately believe it to be?
- The coronavirus continues to spread at an alarming rate and measures are currently being implemented to halt it

- Africa is yet to record a case of infection but some African countries are already bracing themselves for it

- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has meanwhile stated that 13 African countries are at risk of exposure

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The coronavirus has, in recent times, caused havoc in a number of countries in the developed world, and the race for a cure appears to be all that everyone looks forward to.

As health officials brace themselves for the worst, Africa is yet to record a single case of infection.

Information available shows that over 31,000 people have been infected since late December 2019.

Source: bloomberg.com

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: Mercedes Benz drops details about its new 'open-top' camper van (Photo)

Trips between Africa and China grow by the day, and per a report by Bloomberg.com, closer ties between them has increased the rate of exposure to the virus.

YEN.com.gh understands that about 20 African countries have already discussed the possibilities of an outbreak, taking into consideration the general state of medical facilities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has meanwhile listed 13 African countries as being at risk of exposure.

As a means of bracing themselves for the worst, some countries have meanwhile instituted measures at detecting and halting the spread of the virus.

In other news, South Sudan will host its first ever oil and gas bidding round in March 2020, YEN.com.gh has learned.

This comes after Sudan dissolves the central bank board as well as 11 other state-owned banks, in a bid to dismantle toppled president, Omar al-Bashirs regime.

Sudan, the most oil-dependent nation in the world, has oil accounting for almost all of its exports and about 60% of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank.

South Sudans petroleum minister, Daniel Awow Chuang, said the move is a plan to accelerate the economy and an environmental audit into the bidding process has already started.

Per a report by Business Insider, he added that companies that express interest in the process need to prove themselves as there would be a thorough evaluation process.

READ ALSO: Apple teams up with Genius to produce video series in Apple Music

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An all-women-run jewelry company with a mission to do good is behind the popular bracelets now gracing the wrists of celebrities like Taylor Swift, Olivia Culpo and Alicia Keys.

Little Words Project creates hand-crafted bracelets adorned with inspiring words and phrases meant to empower the women who wear them. The bracelets  which have messages like 'hope,' 'love yourself' and 'fearless'  are intended to be registered online and then passed on to other women who could use a boost.

Founder and CEO Adriana Carrig, 29, told DailyMail.com about the process of choosing each word, and said that through Little Words Project she hopes to 'touch more lives with our bracelets and spread kindness and confidence among even more amazing women.'

Feel-good bling! Little Words Project creates hand-crafted bracelets adorned with inspiring words or phrases to empower the girls who wear them

Building it up: Founder and CEO Adriana Carrig, 29, started the company in her parents' basement six years ago and has transformed it into a multi-million dollar business

Pay it forward: The bracelets are made with 'little words' like 'hope,' 'love yourself' and 'fearless' and are meant to be passed on to other women

Adriana started out by making the bracelets for her sorority sisters in college who quickly fell in love with the design and concept.

'My favorite part of the brand is the simple knowledge that every single day that we continue to do what we are doing, we are making a difference. It is the best feeling in the world,' Adriana said

'The goal was for each girl to wear a bracelet for as long as she needed it, then pass it on to another sister when she felt she had been fulfilled enough by that word,' she said.

When Adriana decided to make the business her full-time gig  after graduating college, working a full time job for a year, and beading late at night into the early morning hours  she knew the pass-it-on formula had to stay.

Now the bracelets feature a tag inscribed with a registration code. This code is used to register the bracelet to see where the Little Words have been.

Women who wear them are part of what Adriana's team calls the 'Nice Girl Gang'  a community of women dedicated to building each other up.

'The Nice Girl Gang represents collaboration over competition, and promotes bringing girls together through our words instead of tearing each other down with them,' Adriana said.

'It's a community and it's a movement. Sadly, there is a time in every woman's life where being the ''mean girl'' is cool. We're here to change that narrative completely.'

Famous fans: Little Words Project bracelets have been worn by stars Olivia Culpo and Bella Thorne

Bracelet lover: Taylor Swift is even a fan of the bracelets, showing off her own little word 'fearless' in an Instagram post from August 2019

Each bracelet is beaded by hand, and words are chosen at the Little Words Project headquarters in New Jersey, where Adriana has grown the company from a one-woman operation in her parents' basement to a 1,400 sq. ft. office space with more than 10 female employees.

She told DailyMail.com about the 'fun, yet difficult' process of picking out each unique word.

'Since the beginning, I think a really fun yet difficult part of the job has been choosing words and phrases that would be relevant and well-liked by women of all ages, whether it's based on trending topics in girl-world, wrapped around holidays, or just collections that we know a woman would need, we think of it all,' she said.

Bracelets can also be customized with specific phrases for an added personal touch.

And though the company is completely powered by females, Adriana revealed that the inspiration for the name came from a man.

This bling is on fire! Girl boss Alicia Keys posed with her bracelet embellished with 'boss lady'

Party favors: Adriana said her favorite experience was learning that Sister, Sister actress Tia Mowry chose to have the bracelets as the gift at her baby shower

'The name Little Words Project actually was thought of by my husband, Bill, who creatively thought that keeping it simple would be the most striking as a brand name  and he was absolutely right!' she said.

A-listers including Taylor Swift, Rosario Dawson, Bella Thorne, Olivia Culpo and Alicia Keys have all gotten themselves a 'stack' of Little Words.

And even though business is booming and now worth several million dollars, Adriana says she's taken aback when a celebrity she idolizes is spotted sporting her work.

'Knowing that such incredible and impactful women love what we are doing and understand why we are doing it is a feeling that is almost impossible to explain.'

Of all the celebrities to have worn her bracelets, she said her favorite experience was learning that Sister, Sister actress Tia Mowry chose to have the bracelets as the gift at her baby shower.

Positive message: Women who wear them are part of a community that Adriana's team calls the 'Nice Girl Gang'  a community of women dedicated to building each other up

Bespoke: Bracelets can also be customized with specific phrases for an added personal touch

'Tia chose our bracelets because she wanted to see her friends pass them on to each other during the many ups and downs in their lives. To think that our tiny bracelets were so important and special to this huge day was just beautiful to us,' she said.

Adriana added that even through low points, she never once thought about ending her dream and shuttering the business.

'Of course, there have been low points, and yes there have been moments where I thought to myself, "Wow, this is hard. I really can't believe how hard this is."

'But I always knew this is what I wanted, and I never had a doubt. Something my mom instilled in my mind from a young age was ''querer es poder," which in Spanish means "If you want it, you can achieve it."

'She always made me feel as though if I truly wanted something, there is nothing that can stop me from getting it.'

Because of that perseverance, Little Words Project bracelets are now on shelves at Nordstrom and thousands of other retailers across the U.S.

Impressive! Each bracelet is hand-beaded with words chosen at the Little Words Project headquarters in New Jersey, where Adriana has grown the company from a one-woman operation in a basement to a 1,400 sq ft office space with more than 10 female employees

Where to buy: Little Words Project bracelets are now on shelves at Nordstrom and thousands of other retailers across the U.S.

Adriana has been so moved to make a difference through her bracelets that, with the help of her team, she has expanded to a non-profit called The Block.

The Block enhances self-esteem and cultivates communities of kind and confident female leaders through a confidence curriculum, cross-campus retreats, and on-campus speaker events.

It's still in the early stages and the team is looking for young women across the country to bring it to their campuses.

Adriana said that the most exciting part of her job is seeing the reach of the brand expand worldwide, and she and her team are thrilled each time they get an international order because they know that 'kindness is spreading.'

'My favorite part of the brand is the simple knowledge that every single day that we continue to do what we are doing, we are making a difference. It is the best feeling in the world,' she said.
By The Associated Press Feb. 07, 2020 | 02:37 PM | KENTUCKY

The House passed the measure on a 78-8 vote Friday. The bill now goes to Gov. Andy Beshear. The bill previously passed the Senate. It's a follow-up to last year's sweeping school safety law, which did not specify whether school police officers needed to carry a weapon.





The new bill's efforts to bolster school counseling had widespread support. But the requirement that school-based officers  known as school resource officers  be armed caused disagreements.

Kentucky lawmakers have given final approval to a bill requiring police officers to carry weapons when assigned to schools.
Medical workers in protective suits attend to patients with the new coronavirus inside an isolated ward at a hospital in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China on Feb. 6, 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

US Working to Prevent A Second China in Coronavirus Outbreak: CDC Director

U.S. officials are working to prevent an outbreak of the new coronavirus in a country outside of China, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday, as the United States said it was prepared to spend up to $100 million to help China and other impacted countries.

I can say that were on a close watch around the world to see: Is there another country to starts to get what we call sustained human-to-human transmission, Dr. Robert Redfield, the CDC director, said at a press conference in Washington.

There have been isolated cases in some two dozen countries outside of China, including the United States, Germany, and Australia, as well as occasional human-to-human transmission.

What youre really looking for is when you get a sustained human-to-human community-based transmission, and obviously being on the lookout for where that occurs and then try to get the collective effort of the worlds public health community to try to prevent a second China right now as we try to help China contain their outbreak they currently have, Redfield said.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield speaks during a press conference on recent developments with the coronavirus with other members of President Trumps Coronavirus Task Force at the Health and Human Services headquarters in Washington on Feb. 7, 2020. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The vast majority of the cases have been inside China, where the new virus originated from a yet-to-be-confirmed source in December 2019. But countries across the world, including many without any confirmed cases, have taken a wide range of actions, including banning travelers from China and preventing cruise ships from docking at ports.

Asked for a prediction on what could happen next, health officials on President Donald Trumps Coronavirus Task Force said there were simply too many unknowns.

The best scenario would be the Chinese successfully containing the virus, no more seeding in areas outside of China, and no sustained transmission in the parts of the world with travel-related cases, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

The thing that could happenwhich we dont know, and thats the reason why we dont predictis  they dont control it very well, or they do but it gets seeded in a country that doesnt have the resources to be able to do the kind of identification, contact tracing, and isolation.

A volunteer disinfects a residential compound to prevent and control the new coronavirus, in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China on Feb. 6, 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

U.S. officials are preparing for a worst-case scenario while hoping for the best one, he added.

Redfield appeared to be the first U.S. official to confirm asymptomatic transmission of the virus when talking about having confidence in Chinas CDC but still believing that the numbers released by the Chinese Communist Party dont reflect the true impact of the virus. Its very clear that people who arent showing symptoms can, in fact, transmit the virus, Redfield said.

I think the challenge is, understanding more right now the spectrum of this illness. It does appear that you can actually have this infection and not have symptoms, he said.

China has been looking at cases where the person was sick enough to go to a hospital, but theres been very little broader look at the spectrum of this to see how many people are truly infected, he said. We dont think that the full extent of this outbreak has been defined through the spectrum of symptomatic, asymptomatic disease.

The press conference came as the U.S. government said it was prepared to spend up to $100 million to help China and other impacted countries.

This commitmentalong with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sectordemonstrates strong U.S. leadership in response to the outbreak, Secretary of State Pompeo said in a statement.

The State Department said it has facilitated the transportation of nearly 17.8 tons of donated medical supplies to the Chinese people, including masks, gowns, gauze, respirators, and other vital materials.
Russians are among the top five most active foreign real estate buyers in Turkey. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat), nearly 1.35 million housing units were sold in Turkey last year. Of those sales, at least 45,500 houses and apartments were bought by foreigners, marking a 14.7% increase from the previous year.

For the first time, Russians were among the most active buyers of Turkish property. In 2019, Russians accounted for 2,893 property sales. The only two demographics purchasing more property than the Russians were Iraqis and Iranians, with 7,596 and 5,423 sales, respectively. In 2019, Russians bought 26% more apartments and houses in Turkey than in 2018.

Real estate experts attribute the increase in Russian sales to low prices. The depreciation of the Turkish lira provided many Russians the opportunity to purchase Turkish property.

As a rule, Russians choose properties located near the sea, which costs less than $1,000 per square meter, according to Anastasiya Falei, a real estate analyst with Prian.ru.

"For this money they get high-quality new complexes with swimming pools, gyms, playgrounds for children," she told Al-Monitor. "New buildings in Turkey are very different from new buildings in Russia. Of course, comfort attracts a lot of Russian clients. Plus, the content of housing, taxes and the cost of living and recreation in Turkey are also relatively low."

Russians have also been drawn to Turkey for its warm climate. Many Russians appreciate that swimming season in Turkish resort areas can last from May till November. The Turkish climate annually attracts millions of Russian tourists, so it is logical that some have decided to buy property. On top of that, Russians can travel to Turkey visa-free, and low-cost flights are always available from many Russian cities to Turkey.

Turkey is a top destination for Russian tourists. Last January, during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit to Moscow, Turkey and Russia declared 2019 a "tourism year" to boost the number of Russian visitors to Turkey and Turkish visitors to Russia. The target was easily reached.

According to Turkish media, the country attracted a record number of tourists in 2019. More than 51 million foreigners visited the country, and Russia took first place in the number of tourists. Over 7 million Russians visited Turkey.

Russian buyers prefer houses and apartments in Antalya and Alanya, on the Mediterranean coast. Big cities are not so popular among Russians. For example, Russian buyers are not as interested in Istanbul or Bursa, where many other foreign buyers purchase property.

According to Falei, the typical Russian buyer is 35-50 years old. "It is a family with children," she said. "As a rule, they come from large Russian cities. These Russian customers view the purchase of housing in Turkey as a summer residence, where they plan to spend a long vacation with children and other relatives."

Igor and Elena, both in their early thirties, moved to Turkey from Moscow last year. They both work in information technology and plan to find permanent jobs in Turkey in the future. "We rent a four-room apartment in Alanya at the moment," the couple said. "But we are considering buying our own apartment or even a house next year."

"Turkey is a beautiful country with perfect warm climate, tasty food, fresh fruit and vegetables all year around," they said.

Many Russians buy apartments in Turkish resort areas for investment purposes, with plans to resell the properties in the future, when prices rise. Many apartments are sold while still under construction.

However, according to Falei, "Investment transactions are rare, because package tourism is very developed in Turkey. It is difficult for private owners to compete with hotels."

New Turkish citizenship rules are also among the reasons why Russians are investing in Turkish real estate. In 2018, Ankara simplified the rules for obtaining citizenship. Previously, to obtain a Turkish passport, it was necessary to invest $1 million in real estate. Now, $250,000 is enough.

Many Russian businessmen want Turkish passports. Turkish citizenship provides two important advantages, said Polina Kuleshova, a public relations manager at Henley & Partners. Turkish passports provide visa-free access to Japan and Singapore, and Russian citizens who are interested in the Asian market may be interested in Turkish citizenship. Turkish citizenship also provides for the possibility of obtaining an American E-2 investor visa, which, in turn, could lead to American citizenship.

Russians once preferred to buy houses in Spain, Bulgaria or Italy. Yet interest in European real estate is decreasing, and interest in Turkey is on the rise. According to Russias Forbes, Russian interest in Spanish property weakened. In 2018 Spain formed more than a third of all applications (35.1%), and in 2019 it formed just 18.4% of applications.

Real estate experts say that buying property in Turkey has been always popular with Russians. However, after the Turkish political crisis in November 2015, many Russians stopped buying houses. Now, as relations between Russia and Turkey normalize, more and more Russians are choosing Turkey.

That said, political strain between the two countries, especially with regard to Syrias Idlib, makes Russian investors and buyers wonder if they are making the right choice and if they will have access to their properties in case of political tensions escalating.
The firm defined a "controversy" as "when a company's activity has unintended and/or undesired negative environmental and/or social effects on stakeholders, with corresponding reputational risk," adding that it's the "extreme ESG downside risk, with at times a massively negative impact on company share prices."

The firm found that in two thirds of "high ESG controversy" cases a company's stock experienced "sustained underperformance," trailing the global index by an average of 12% over the course of the following 2 years.

As the ESG and sustainable investing movement grows, Societe Generale quantified the potentially large consequences for companies that don't follow suit.

Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

The firm based its analysis on 80 past ESG controversies, dating back to 2005 and spanning regions and sectors.

"A controversy event will halt the rise in a stock price, and for a sustained period: a solid two years ... Prior to the high controversy occurring, these companies were typically performing in line with the market," analysts led by Charles de Boissezon said.

In addition to underperforming the MSCI World Index by 12%, the stocks typically lagged their regional sector by 4%.

The firm noted that a stock's drop can contribute significantly to the performance of its regional sector, which is why the underperformance relative to the global benchmark was more extreme.

ESG investing strategies grew to more than $30 trillion in 2018, according to Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, and that number is set to keep rising as consumer tastes shift and investors demand more transparency. By many accounts, companies can no longer afford to ignore these factors.

Sustainable investing was a key theme at this year's World Economic Forum in Davos, with a number of world leaders and CEOs stressing the urgency of the climate crisis.

"All investors are saying, 'I want you to invest in companies doing right by society,'" Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said at Davos. "We have $25 billion in ESG funds, and more is going there."

This follows BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's comments in January that the climate crisis is about to trigger "a fundamental reshaping of finance" as issues like climate change "become a defining factor in companies' long-term prospects."
A SINN Fein general election candidate has said he is not in favour of the Special Criminal Court.

Wexford candidate Johnny Mythen said no when asked for the third time on South East Radio on Friday morning whether he is in favour of the non-jury court.

His position would appear to put him at odds with official Sinn Fein policy which is to carry out a review of the Special Criminal Court.

Speaking during a debate on South East Radio on Friday, Mr Mythen said: Were in favour of sentencing and sentencing matching the crime.

We took a decision on it and we stuck to that and thats the way it is. What wed like to see is more gardai on the street, which we have put forward, 16,000 gardai we want on the street.

Were... against criminality and thats what we stand for.

Asked about his own stance on the Special Criminal Court, he said: As our party stance, no.

Sinn Fein has long opposed the court and consistently voted against the extension of the Offences Against the State Act, the legislation which underpins the court, in the Dail in recent years.

The party has shifted from this position in this general election campaign although it has remained a contentious issue in recent weeks.

Read More

Speaking in Dublin on Thursday, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said her partys decision to change its policy and drop its demand for the abolition of the non-jury court was a decision taken in 2017. It now wants a review of the court.

"We want a review that's complete and it starts with reviews of garda numbers, garda resources, garda practices and procedures, the judicial process, including the special courts and we accept that you need special measures to deal with 21st century criminals," she said.

"We also need to deal with sentencing policy and we need sentencing guidelines. We need to ensure that the DPP's office is properly resourced and then we also need to invest in communities."

She said the party would accept the recommendations of the review which it wants a High Court judge to carry out if in government.

Mr Mythen did not immediately respond to a call seeking further comment.
The Dublin-Kildare rail route recorded its highest ever passenger numbers of 3.1million in 2019, a 6.5%% increase on 2018, according to Iarnrod Eireann. Numbers on the Maynooth line also grew strongly to 4.6million passenger journeys, an increase of 4.9% on 2018.

Iarnrod Eireann said that the Phoenix Park Tunnel services, including the introduction of off-peak services, greatly contributed to the growth in passenger numbers. Kildare to Heuston commuter services are also buoyant. Maynooth line figures recorded significant growth, with a greatly improved off-peak and weekend service on the Maynooth line also contributing to the growth in numbers, it said.

The company, also known as Irish Rail, said that this year work will commence on design and railway order phase for the extension of the DART to Maynooth and Hazelhatch, which will transform the frequency and capacity of both routes, and see electrification of the routes, delivering a more sustainable and energy efficient service.

SEE ALSO: Ten new homes in 1 million development in Carbury refused permission

Nationally, Iarnrod Eireann recorded its highest ever number of passenger journeys in 2019, with 50.1 million passenger journeys made across DART, Commuter and Intercity services, 4.4% growth on the previous year.

Commenting on the figures,Iarnrod Eireann chief executive, Jim Meade, said: It is great to see such strong growth on the Kildare commuter lines, it is good news for us and it is also good news for the economy, as it demonstrates that more and more people are joining the workforce, but it is not without its challenges, and capacity at peak times is an issue. An order for 41 additional rail cars, which will benefit capacity on these routes, was placed in 2019 and these will be delivered from late 2021. Work is also progressing of the extension of the DART to Maynooth and Hazelhatch as part of the National Development Plan

SEE ALSO: more Kildare stories

The Taxsaver scheme run by Iarnrod Eireann continues to grow, with more and more employers opting to join the scheme, which offers savings of up to 52% of travel costs through tax and PRSI and universal social charge savings for employees.

Employers can save up to 10.75% on PRSI.

Many Commuters from Kildare are availing of this scheme through their employer.
South Africa: BMW supports efforts to curb GBV

BMW Group South Africa has handed over five BMW i3 cars that will be used by community-based care workers to reach victims of gender-based violence.

The vehicles were received by President Cyril Ramaphosa and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They were handed over to the South African Business Coalition on Health and Aids (SABCOHA) to manage on behalf of the multi-sectoral Interim Steering Committee on gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).

The automotive groups contribution is a significant demonstration of the growing partnership between government and civil society, which includes the business sector and international partners, in the fight against GBVF.

The initiative is part of the Automotive Industry Transformation Fund (worth R6 billion), which was established to transform the automotive value chain and enable participation in the sector by previously and historically disadvantaged groups, including women, youth and people with disabilities.

Speaking at the vehicle handover ceremony, held at the BMW Group production plant, on Thursday in Rosslyn, Tshwane, President Ramaphosa said the vehicles will help to save lives. He expressed his gratitude to BMW for being the first company to donate the vehicles, and encouraged others to follow suit.

This practical expression of good corporate citizenship is sending a very good and clear message that we would like many other companies to also notice and adopt.

The existence of BMW in South Africa demonstrates long standing and strong economic ties between [Germany and SA], President Ramaphosa said.

Emergency response plan to address GBV



Government has been implementing an emergency response plan to address GBVF.

A National Strategic Plan on GBVF, which outlines a range of measures to tackle GBVF, has also been developed.

The plan focuses on strengthening prevention efforts, and ensuring safety and justice for the women and children of our country. The plan also touches on economic empowerment, an area that is so important that we, as government, will be focusing on, President Ramaphosa said.

Group Head of Production and chairman of BMW South Africa, Dr Milan Nedeljkovic, expressed the companys appreciation for the expertise and wonderful warmth of South Africans.

Nedeljkovic said a total of 4 000 people in South Africa are directly employed at BMW Group, including four out of five managers being local.

In addition to this, Nedeljkovic said more than 40 000 people are employed indirectly through the companys utilities in South Africa.

Our first formal training facility in BMW SA opened its doors in 1978 and since then, more than 2 000 have gone through training with BMW and received jobs at BMW.

Three years ago, the company opened the training academy to raise the technical training to a new level, Nedeljkovic said.

He said the companys philosophy underlines that education is the key to success, and life-long learning through BMW Group is part of that success.

By 2025, we will support one million children and young people globally through targeted education programmes, focusing on skill programmes.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
On Tuesday I linked to a CNN story reporting that Emerson Elementary School in Berkeley, California held a screening of The Lion King, and received a $250 charge for "illegally screening the movie." Today The New York Times reports that Disney chief Bob Iger apologized to the school and said he will donate money to its PTA:

Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative.  Robert Iger (@RobertIger) February 6, 2020

The New York Times notes that it "was not immediately clear whether the company was still requiring the licensing fee after Mr. Iger's tweet." My guess is that Iger's donation will exceed $250, but that the licensing fee will stand. If Disney dropped the fee, it would set a precedent that would give anyone a good excuse to screen Disney movies at fundraising events without having to buy a license.

Image by Thomas Wolter from Pixabay
The Tokyo District Court on Thursday sentenced popular Japanese actress Erika Sawajiri to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years, for possessing illegal drugs.

In handing down the ruling, the court said possession of the drugs MDMA and LSD carries great criminal responsibility. At the same time, Judge Toshifumi Takioka said, "She pleaded guilty and showed remorse. Her doctor and older brother have also offered to support her."

According to the ruling, Sawajiri was in possession of 0.19 gram of powder containing MDMA, 0.6 gram of liquid containing LSD, and a 0.08-gram piece of paper laced with LSD at her home in Tokyo on Nov 16.

Sawajiri, wearing a black suit, clasped her hands together in front of her, stood straight and nodded several times while listening to the ruling.

After giving the sentence, Takioka told Sawajiri, "I want you to make efforts to recover trust."

"I think my only way to compensate is to do my best to rehabilitate," Sawajiri said in a statement hand-written that was released by her management office.

Prosecutors had sought an 18-month prison term for the 33-year-old, who was arrested in November on charges of drug possession, while her defense team asked for a suspended sentence.

In the first hearing of her trial last Friday, Sawajiri offered an apology and said she "does not plan to return to work as an actress."
President Trump wouldn't choose between Sen. Bernie Sanders or former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg - who topped this week's Iowa caucuses - as the scarier general election opponent.

'Everybody's a threat. I view everybody as a threat,' the president told reporters outside the White House Friday.

But Trump also couldn't resist making fun of the Democrats for the debacle that was the Iowa caucuses, saying the vote totals were 'fried.'

President Trump talked about the mess that was the Iowa caucuses outside the White House Friday, describing the votes as 'fried'

President Trump wouldn't say if he thought running against former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg (left) or Sen. Bernie Sanders (right) would be the more difficult Democrat to beat

President Trump called it 'very sad' how former Vice President Joe Biden got fourth place in the Iowa caucuses earlier this week

'All the money that the Democrats spent and the votes are fried,' Trump commented. 'They have no idea who won.'

Trump was referring to the technological breakdown that occurred as the Iowa Democratic Party tried to report the results of Monday night's caucuses.

The final tally was released Thursday night, though there was still so much uncertainty surrounding the vote that the Associated Press was 'unable' to call the race.

The results showed Buttigieg .1 per cent ahead of Sanders, as he had earned two state delegates more than the Vermont senator.

Sanders won both popular vote metrics in the state.

'They couldn't even take a simple tabulation and yet they're telling you how to run the country and how to run healthcare,' Trump said.

The president also commented on Vice President Joe Biden's fourth place showing in the Hawkeye State.

'And it's also very sad how he's doing, how he's doing in the polls,' Trump said.

He, of course, had to tout his own victory in the Iowa caucuses.

'Trump won,' he noted. 'And it was a lot of votes.'

Trump's comments came in the hours leading up to the 2020 Democrats next challenge: facing off on the debate stage in New Hampshire.

The debate, which will kick off at 8 p.m. EST on the Manchester campus of St. Anselm College, will be moderated by a team from ABC News - George Stephanopoulos, David Muir and Linsey Davis - sitting alongside WMUR's Monica Hernandez and Adam Sexton.

It will mark the eighth time Democratic candidates have faced off onstage - but the first time after some votes have been counted.

Four years ago, the New Hampshire debate on the Republican side snuffed out the rise of Sen. Marco Rubio.

Rubio came in an impressive third in Iowa, after conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, a natural fit for GOP voters in the Hawkeye State, and Donald Trump, who had been leading national polls for almost the entire cycle.

But Rubio stumbled that night thanks to broadsides coming from then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who mocked the Florida senator for using a canned response three times, saying he was only capable of delivering a '25-second speech.'

Like with the Republicans in 2016, the Iowa results - once they were finally almost tallied - shuffled the deck in interesting ways.

The most surprising result was Biden's fourth place finish.

The former vice president has long positioned himself as his party's best chance to beat Trump, but with sluggish finish, he suddenly looked vulnerable to being beat in the primary by two left-wing rivals - Sanders and Warren - and a 38-year-old mayor.

After admitting he knew that he had underperformed - telling a crowd that he took a 'gut punch' in Iowa, he tried to right the ship by hitting both Sanders and Buttigieg harder.

He said Sanders' label of being a democratic socialist would not only hurt the Vermont senator should he be the nominee, but would trickle down to every Democrat on the ballot in 2020 as well.

'Donald Trump is desparate to pin the socialist label on our party,' Biden pointed out.

He then went after Buttigieg for his youth and inexperience.

'I do believe it's a risk - to be just straight up with you - for this party to nominate someone who's never held office higher than mayor of a town of 100,000 people in Indiana,' Biden said at a campaign event Wednesday in Somersworth, New Hampshire.

Biden also captivated an audience during his hour at a CNN town hall Wednesday night when he devoted 10 minutes to talking about how he overcame his stutter.

He then left the state and headed back to Delaware for debate prep, leaving his wife to do Biden campaign events on Thursday while his competitors continued to stump through the state.

In the early minutes of Friday, two new New Hampshire polls showed Biden also in fourth place in the Granite State.

The Emerson poll had Sanders far ahead of the pack.

The Vermont senator had 32 per cent, followed by Buttigieg with 23. Warren took the same position she did in Iowa - third - with 13 per cent support. Biden slipped into fourth at 11 per cent.

The seven candidates participating in the New Hampshire debate (from left) are Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer

The Boston Globe-Suffolk University survey released Friday showed Sanders and Buttigieg neck-and-neck, with 24 per cent support and 23 per cent support respectively. Warren again follwed with 13 per cent support. And Biden, again, came in fourth with 11 per cent - the same per cent of Democrats who said they remained undecided in the primary, which happens Tuesday.

In both new polls, Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in fifth, the place she took in Iowa as well.

On the debate stage Friday night, these five top candidates will be joined by billionaire Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang, who are both polling in the single digits.

The New Hampshire debate marks Yang's return to the debate stage as he didn't meet the required thresholds, mandated by the Democratic National Committee, to make the debate stage in January in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Democratic candidates will debate two more times this month.

They'll take the stage in Las Vegas on February 19 in the run-up to the Nevada caucuses.

Then those who qualify will head to Charleston, South Carolina for a debate on February 25 in advance of South Carolina's primary.
FUKUOKA, Japan, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TRIPLE-1, Inc. (henceforth "TRIPLE-1"), based in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan, has announced the development of the AI processor "GOKU" for deep learning that uses the world's cutting-edge 5-nanometer process.

Logo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M105925/202002056475/_prw_PI1im_ZR3VAL3t.png

- Overview

"GOKU" is an AI processor for deep learning that uses the world-leading 5-nm process born from the development of the TSMC 7-nm process "KAMIKAZE." It utilizes core know-how such as design ability, optimization of power consumption, and yield improvement in cutting-edge processes cultivated in the "KAMIKAZE" project started in February 2017.

In addition, with the cooperation of research institutes (related to AI core architecture), TRIPLE-1's elite engineers, who have been involved in ASIC development for over 20 years, design the circuit. The first-stage prototype has been completed, and the company is inspecting its performance. Seeking to realize mass production in 2021, it will complete the prototype closer to a mass-produced product within 2020. It will be sold to equipment and device manufacturers for data servers or deep-learning centers around the world, and TRIPLE-1 has already begun to discuss commercial deals with multiple companies.

Photo: https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M105925/202002056475/_prw_PI2lg_aL0m486W.jpg

(*Image of expected completion for illustration purposes. It may differ from the actual product.)

- Development background

In recent years, various companies have entered the AI chip market, including not only giant IT companies but also fast-growing start-ups in China. As competition for edge AI chip development intensifies, oligopoly supply by several major companies continues in the deep-learning AI processor market. Currently there are no mass-produced chips smaller than a 12-nm process.

On the other hand, the electrical consumption of data centers is expected to exceed 10% of the entire world's electrical energy by 2030. TRIPLE-1 believes that AI processors for deep learning need not only high "computing power" to learn and process a huge amount of data, but also a severe viewpoint on "power consumption" from the perspective of energy conservation and cost reduction.

Therefore, TRIPLE-1 has launched the project to develop "GOKU," a deep-learning AI processor dedicated to ultra-low power consumption, using the world's highly advanced 5-nm process and utilizing its unique low-power / high-performance technology and design know-how in the cutting-edge process.

- "GOKU," an AI processor for deep learning with the world-leading 5-nm process

Feature: Using the world's leading advanced 5-nm process, it has 10 times higher power efficiency than the conventional process

TRIPLE-1's goal is to reduce power consumption to 1/10 of the equivalent performance compared to conventional products (process: 12 nm), and its feature is low-voltage operation that is inconceivable with existing products.

Process: 5 nm

Power consumption: 100 W

Peak performance (half-precision): 1 PFLOPS (1,000 TFLOPS)

Electrical efficiency (half-precision): 10 TFLOPS / W

Feature: Design to connect multiple calculation units

Like the structure of the human brain, where synapses connect neurons in a complex manner, a great amount of communication as well as very complex inter-core communication is important for deep-learning AI processors.

Utilizing the unique circuit design technology of "GOKU," which arranges many small arithmetic units on one large die as much as possible, it is designed to secure the communication (interconnect) band between the arithmetic units as much as possible. It has been designed to get closer to the human brain.



Feature: Partially analog-designed to optimize multiplier performance

The highly power-consuming multiplier circuit was analog-designed. By designing analog (hand placement and hand wiring) instead of digital (automatic placement and wiring), it can be carefully designed by hand and designed to minimize power consumption.

- Challenge to 5 nm. Unique yield improvement technology used in cutting-edge process

As the process shrinks, the yield issue becomes more complex. The main determinants of yield in conventional processes were stuck-at faults and characteristic variations between lots. However, in the highly advanced process, characteristic differences between chips generated from a single wafer and variations within a single chip have become a major issue. This has become a serious problem directly linked to the manufacturing cost in mass production, and it has been common sense that addressing this problem depends on the improvement of the manufacturing technology of the foundry (contract chip-manufacturing company) responsible for semiconductor production.

Considering this situation, TRIPLE-1 has succeeded in commercializing a unique circuit design technology that reduces the effects of characteristic variations in the highly advanced process and improves the effective yield. By doing so, the company can not only pursue high performance but also produce cost-competitive products, and its products will be used all over the world.

TRIPLE-1 outline

Company name: TRIPLE-1, Inc.

Representative: Representative Director CEO Takuya Yamaguchi

Corporate headquarters:

7F IT Bldg.2, 1-14-20 Hakataeki-Higashi, Hakata-ku Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka Pref., Japan

Capital: 3,662,895,398 yen (including the capital reserve)

URL: https://triple-1.com/en/

SOURCE TRIPLE-1, Inc.

Related Links

https://triple-1.com/en/


Asta Juskauskiene arranged a deadly 'medieval duel' between her ex-husband and her lover to see which of her two admirers

A thrill-seeking mother of four who arranged a 'medieval duel' to the death see which of her two admirers would win her hand has been jailed for life.

Asta Juskauskiene, 35, left husband Giedruis Juskauskas for Mantas Kvedaras, after meeting the 25-year-old online following his release from a Lithuanian prison for rape.

The care worker ended the relationship with Mr Juskauskas, 42, who continued to provide financial support for their daughter.

But both men claimed Juskauskiene as their own and she decided to settle the argument with a fight to the death in an alleyway in Stratford, east London.

Kvedaras stabbed his love rival 35 times to the body and neck on June 17 last year and then bought Juskauskienea pizza to celebrate.

Juskauskiene had been warned Kvedaras was dangerous but said: 'I think I will play until I get into trouble. I probably like the risks, dangers.'

She denied but was convicted of conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice after a five week trial at Kingston Crown Court.

Juskauskiene's ex-husband Giedruis Juskauskas, 42, (left), was stabbed 35 times by her lover Mantas Kvedaras, 25, (right), as they met in Stratford, east London, on July last year

Juskauskiene stood expressionless in the dock as Judge Peter Lodder jailed her for life with a minimum term of 24 years

Kvederas was sentenced to life with a minimum off 22 and a half years for murder.

Juskauskiene was still in a physical relationship with her ex-husband despite their divorce in December 2018 when her lover Kvedaras flew to stay at her east London home.

Both men claimed her as their own so she decided to settle the argument with a fight to the death in an alleyway in Stratford - a duel that she meticulously arranged while at home looking after her children, the youngest of which she shared with Mr Juskauskas.

Kvedaras, who admitted murder, stabbed his love rival 35 times to his body, chest and neck on June 17 last year, leaving Mr Juskauskas to bleed to death at the scene

Juskauskiene (pictured) was today jailed for live with a minimum term of 24 years for arranging the fight to the death between her two male admirers

In sentencing her today at Kingston Crown Court, Judge Peter Lodder QC said: 'You deliberately and cynically lured Mr Juskauskas into a dark alley where just after midnight you, Mantas, slaughtered this drunk and defenceless man.

Such was the speed and the surprise of your brutal knife attack, that he suffered 35 individual wounds to his neck, head, arms and body, by contrast you, Mantas walked away without a mark.

'The force you used was sufficiently great that he suffered many wounds that were deep enough to cut through bone, and one passed through his neck. He bled to death in but a few minutes.

'That he was taken off-guard is clearly demonstrated by the circumstances of this attack.

'Mr Juskauskas had been Astas third husband and was the father of her five year old daughter.

'But you two regarded him as an unwelcome irritation to your relationship and so you resolved to get rid of him.

Juskauskiene (pictured) had denied the charges but was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court

'It was your joint plan that he would be seen as victim of a drug deal that had gone wrong, and you meticulously planned it in the belief that the police would not be able to track this attack back to you.

Earlier Hugh Davies, prosecuting, had told the court that Juskauskiene had discussed the purpose of the fatal meeting with her friend Jurgita Sulciene.

'That purpose was for the men to settle the issue in relation to the defendant with violence - in effect a latter-day medieval duel.'

Kvedaras had begun a relationship with Juskauskiene following his release from prison in Lithuania.

'Giedrius was however still on the scene,' said Mr Davies. 'He regularly visited the address to see his daughter.

'He had not wanted the divorce. He was providing financial support for his daughter and maintaining a sexual relationship with the defendant.

'In their different ways each man felt that they had claims over Asta Juskauskiene. The situation was inevitably going to come to a head.

Juskauskas was found dying from multiple stab wounds this lane in Stratford, East London

'It did come to a head in Whalebone Lane on that Monday morning.

'Giedrius and Mantas had obviously met there by arrangement rather than by chance: neither was anywhere near where they lived, and telephone records demonstrate there was repeated communication between them during the day of Sunday 16 June as they travelled from different locations to the scene.

'Juskauskiene is a manipulative and controlling figure central to the orchestration of these events.

'She knew in advance that Mantas Kvederas was intending to use serious violence and cause at least serious harm to Giedrius and she encouraged, assisted and intended to do this.

'Juskauskiene then actively assisted Mantas in removing his important documents from her house.

'She harboured him at her house following the murder, she selectively deleted text messages from her mobile phones before they were seized by police, and she lied repeatedly in interview.

Mr Juskauskas was found with stab wounds to the body and neck, probably from a single knife, with 11 wounds to the neck alone.

The case is being heard at Kingston Crown Court in South West London (file picture)

Juskauskiene, a care worker, of Iron Mill Lane, Dartford, Kent, was convicted of conspiracy to murder and perverting the course of justice at an earlier hearing.

She was sentenced to two years for perverting course of justice to be served concurrently.

Kvedaras, of no fixed address, admitted murder.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on Friday urged the Supreme Court to lay down a law in the execution of death sentence, as the convicts in the Nirbhaya case were making a mockery of the process. The Supreme Court posted the Centre's plea on February 11, when the one week time given by Delhi High Court to the convicts, to exhaust legal remedies, will expire.

A bench headed by Justice R. Banumathi held a brief hearing on the Centre's plea challenging the Delhi High Court order dismissing its petition which had challenged the Patiala House Court order staying execution of the four convicts. The High Court also ruled that all the convicts should be hanged together and not separately. The Centre has challenged this too.

"Ultimately, this court will have to lay down a law. Nation's patience is being tested. We succeeded partly in High Court but it was not enough. Although, the High Court ruled that the mercy plea is not a judicial application, but it refused to allow separate execution of the convicts", contended Mehta before the apex court.

The Centre is seeking to execute those convicts in the Nirbhaya case who have exhausted all their legal and constitutional remedies. Out of the four convicts, three have exhausted all the legal remedies.

Only one convict is left to file a mercy petition before the President and the Centre is saying that he is deliberately delaying it. The court said: "Nobody can be compelled to take remedy challenging the death sentence if one chooses not."
More than 40 chiefs from six Nakuru sub counties have benefited from a legal aid training.

The administrators were drawn from Nakuru West, Subukia, Naivasha, Molo, Bahati and Rongai.

VIOLENCE

"The main objective of the training is to impact skills to the chiefs to enable them mitigate on human rights cases, gender-based violence, and resolve other family problems amicably within their jurisdiction," said Dr Ruth Aura on Wednesday.

Dr Aura, who is also the Egerton University Dean Faculty of Law, said the project seeks to strengthen justice system among the administrators.

"Some of the residents, due to poverty, are unable to access justice but once we empower the chiefs with legal aid knowledge, they will help bridge the justice gap at the grassroots," said Dr Aura.

She said such courses are critical since Kenya is evaluated on its response to the needs of its citizens at international forums.

"The chiefs have an important role to play in ensuring the poor are not marginalised and blocked from accessing justice and that is why we are giving them legal training," said Dr Aura.

Dr Aura said the university is committed to taking law to the people. She said high fees charged by lawyers has made legal services inaccessible by the poor.

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

"Some of the issues affecting the residents could be resolved through alternative dispute resolution approaches, that is why we are partnering with chiefs who are always in touch with the people," said Dr Aura.

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Ms Valerie Kutima, a law lecturer at the university, said with legal aid skills, chiefs will be able to tackle some of the problems without going to court.

"Many residents will access justice as chiefs will use their barazas to disseminate information relating to legal matters such as succession, land disputes and gender-based violence among other challenges," said Ms Kutima.

LEGAL ISSUES

Nakuru County Administrative Officer Mary Mwangi urged the chiefs to make good use of the training as it will enhance their skills to deal with the daily legal issues in their locations.

During the training held at a Nakuru hotel on Wednesday, the chiefs narrated some of the challenges they are facing in the course of their duties.

They cited insecurity, lack of powers to arrest drug peddlers and increasing illicit brews.

"Chiefs are killed while others injured while on duty and nobody speaks out about these attacks. We are human beings and our rights need to be respected and protected," said a chief from Elburgon.

The exercise was sponsored by Egerton University, Amkeni Wakenya and the United Nations Development Programme.
VICTORIAThe British Columbia government has asked two mediators to try again to help find a resolution in the coastal forestry dispute, just days after they withdrew their services over a deadlock.

Labour Minister Harry Bains says Amanda Rogers and Vince Ready have been appointed by the government as special mediators in the strike by the United Steelworkers against Western Forest Products.

Rogers and Ready pulled out Tuesday saying the two sides were too far apart, but Bains says theyll now have additional powers under the labour code to reach a settlement.

The government says in a news release that if the parties cant reach agreement after more collective bargaining, the mediators will provide recommended terms for settlement.

Each side will have five days to accept or reject the proposal and the minister of labour can make the terms of the settlement public.

About 3,000 workers and contractors have been off the jobs since last July and Bains says the dispute has taken a huge toll on the entire coastal forestry community.

I am confident that with the assistance of two of the nations top mediators, and the additional powers provided to them under the Labour Relations Code by this appointment, both sides can achieve a deal that ensures the sustainability of coastal forestry jobs and supports the terms and conditions of employment important to workers.

Read more about:
New Delhi/IBNS: To avoid creating any "influence" on the Feb 8 Delhi assembly elections, the Supreme Court on Friday adjourned hearing of pleas seeking the removal of anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protestors from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, an issue which kept cropping up in the poll campaign, till Monday, media reports said.

Arguing the postponement, petitioner Nand Kishore, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a former Delhi MLA, said this means the case will not be heard before the Delhi polls.

Justice SK Kaul responded to Kishore wittily saying, "Cat is out of the bag.."

"That is exactly why we are saying 'come on Monday'. Why should we influence it (the election)? We understand the problem and we have to see how to resolve it. We will take it up on Monday. We will be in a better position by then," a two-judge bench consisting of Justice Kaul and KM Joseph said as quoted by NDTV.

Hundreds of Muslim women and men are camped for more than a month in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, blocking roads, to protest against the contentious CAA which aims to grant citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi but not Muslim refugees who came to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh before 2015.

The Shaheen Bagh issue was repeatedly raised by the BJP in the campaign for the Delhi assembly elections which is scheduled to be held on Feb 8.

Union Home Minister and BJP's main campaigner Amit Shah had urged people to "press the button (of BJP) on voting machine so hard that Shaheen Bagh gets an electrical shock."

Union Minister Giriraj Singh courted a row a day ago by saying Delhi's Shaheen Bagh has become the breeding ground for suicide bombers.

Singh tweeted a video where several Muslim women are seen raising slogans. The Minister said in the tweet, "This Shaheen Bagh is not just a protest but the breeding ground of suicide bombers. Conspiracy against country is being made in the national capital."

Union Minister Anurag Thakur was banned from campaigning for 72 hours by the Election Commission (EC) for leading people to chant "shoot the traitors" in reference to the Shaheen Bagh protestors.

Parvesh Verma, a BJP MP from West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, had said the protestors at Shaheen Bagh will enter people's houses and rape women.

Referring to the dark days of ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir, Verma had said, "These people had raped Kashmiri Pandits in Jammu and Kashmir... Now they have come to Delhi. They will enter the houses of Delhi and rape daughters, sisters. People of Delhi must keep all these things in mind because Narendra Modi and Amit Shah will not be there to save them at that time."

He was banned from campaigning by the EC for 96 hours.

Responding to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate and social activist Amit Sahni, the Delhi High Court last month had asked police to clear the blocked route in Shaheen Bagh through "persuasion" and not by "force".
(Newser)  Utah kidnapping and rape survivor Elizabeth Smart said Thursday that she was sexually assaulted on an airplane last year while she was sleeping. Smart, now a 32-year-old mother of three, referenced her kidnapping from her Salt Lake City home in 2002 in describing her reaction to the attack to CBS News This Morning. She said she was asleep during a flight when the man next to her began rubbing her inner thigh with his hand, the AP reports. "The last time someone touched me without my say-so was when I was kidnapped, and I froze," she said. She said the man said nothing. Smart later reported the attack to authorities and said she wants to prevent the man from preying on others.

story continues below

Smart's spokesman, Chris Thomas, said Thursday the attack happened July 19 on a Delta Air Lines flight from Philadelphia to Atlanta. He said it's being investigated by the FBI and Delta. "I called up my husband and I was like, Do I just have a big badge on my forehead that says 'Easy Prey' or 'Victim?'" Smart told CBS. "Because I'm sick of it." In 2002, Smart was held captive and repeatedly sexually assaulted for nine months before she was rescued. After last year's flight, she said she began training in self-defense, and now runs a program to train other women and girls. A Delta statement said the airline is cooperating with the investigation. An FBI spokeswoman Sandra Barker said she could not confirm or deny that an investigation exists.

(Read more Elizabeth Smart stories.)
AUSTIN, Texas, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Future Proof Brands LLC, the small entrepreneurial beverage company that introduced its Brizzy premium hard seltzer in 2019, has filed litigation in an Austin federal court, charging that Molson Coors (NYSE: TAP) is infringing on Brizzy's federally registered trademark and creating market confusion through the industry giant's planned launch of a competing product, Vizzy, later this year.

In the lawsuit, filed February 6, Future Proof claims that Molson Coors, through its MillerCoors subsidiary, is moving forward with the Vizzy introduction despite the company being fully aware of Brizzy, its trademark and the ongoing distribution of Brizzy products.

"The goodwill associated with the Brizzy mark is a valuable asset to Future Proof, and Future Proof has expended great effort and considerable resources in promoting its products using the BRIZZY mark," the lawsuit states.

Future Proof launched the four-flavor Brizzy line in 2019 and the brand is currently sold at more than 1,000 retail locations in Texas, Kansas, Virginia, California and North Carolina. Future Proof has sold more than 10,000 cases since September, and projects Brizzy sales to exceed $2.5 million in 2020, with plans to continue expanding distribution.

"The positive market reaction to Brizzy has exceeded our expectations," says Future Proof CEO Justin Fenchel. "Unfortunately, several wholesalers and retailers are already expressing concerns about likely consumer confusion with Vizzy. The names are nearly identical, they sound alike, the product is similar, the packaging is similar, and we are often distributed by the same wholesalers."

Future Proof also makes the BeatBox line of alcoholic party punches, which gained national recognition in 2014 when the company gained a $1 million investment from Mark Cuban on ABC's Shark Tank program. Last year the company was named to Inc. Magazine's annual list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the nation. BeatBox's distribution footprint now covers 22 states, and more than 10,000 retailers.

"We believe that Brizzy is poised to generate similar if not greater success," said Fenchel. "But a multinational brewing conglomerate doesn't have the right to bigfoot a smaller competitor and blatantly violate our trademark and jeopardize everything we've built."

During the last decade, the hard seltzer market has grown to account for nearly half of all U.S. mixed drinks sales.

Future Proof is represented in the case by Christopher J. Schwegmann and Kent Krabill of Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst LLP in Dallas.

The case is Future Proof Brands LLC v. Molson Coors Beverage Company f/k/a Molson Coors Brewing Company and MillerCoors LLC., NO. 1:20-cv-144 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Media Contact:

Barry Pound

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst
A prosecutor in Harris County for more than 20 years, Lori DeAngelo is our choice for District Attorney in the Republican primary.

DeAngelo, 46, has deep experience and knowledge of the inner workings of the Harris County District Attorneys Office. She began her career under D.A. Johnny Holmes and worked her way up the ranks. Before she left the county last year, she was the chief prosecutor for the 208th District Court.

She supports misdemeanor bail reform, saying that no one belongs in jail simply because they cant pay bail.

It should be everybodys goal to balance public safety with the rights of the accused, she told the Editorial Board, but stressed she will be a strong voice for public safety as the debate over the proposed felony bail reform gets underway, ensuring violent offenders stay behind bars.

DeAngelo supports the death penalty but said seeking capital punishment should not be done lightly and requires experience to evaluate such an important decision. In her many years as a prosecutor, she has handled every type of case, including capital murder cases, direct appeals and capital writs.

After she left the D.A.s office last year, DeAngelo has been representing indigent defendants, which has given her a view from the other side that she said has been invaluable to her broader understanding of the justice system.

Her opponent, Mary Nan Huffman, is an attorney for the Houston Police Officers Union and previously spent almost a decade as a prosecutor in Montgomery County. She is smart, sharp, well-versed on the issues and impressed us with her work prosecuting difficult child exploitation cases.

But in this race, the edge of experience goes to Lori DeAngelo. Republicans should choose her as their candidate.
On the night of 2 February, around 11.45 pm, as I sit on GD Birla Road, recording and editing videos of the Shaheen Bagh protest, a boy tells me shots have been fired at Jamia again. I dont tweet about it yet but wait, and continue working.

There are whispers amongst the youngsters; everyone else carries on with the events in the tent. Activists had earlier initiated a #GoliNahiPhool day in response to shooting gun-wielding visitors Shaheen Bagh is receiving. The women sitting in, keep sitting in. The ladies making announcements make announcements. It is Umar Khalids turn to go up next. He makes a passionate speech invoking everyone from Bhagat Singh to Bismil to Babasaheb Ambedkar, claiming pre-existing citizenship, completely bamboozling anyone with preconceived notions about the political positions of Kashmiri Muslims.

Hijabi women and children are sitting-in with aunties, punk chicks, students, daadis, YouTubers and media waale.

From the stage they have received various metaphors: Jhansi Ki Rani, Fatima, Durga Mata, Kali Ma, Bharat Mata. With applause, they welcome all. Kahaan hai kattharpanti Islamism yahaan? Im more conservative than the hijabis. The idea of being co-opted into a patriarchal nationalistic narrative that is used by casteist, communal Brahmin supremacist bigots to further their agenda rankles me to eternity.

But here is a stage where everyone from Brahmins to Pasmandas are able to have their say. Umar Khalid looks like a not-too-tall regular boy for his stature, I think. A 10-year-old comes and tells me to be alert: Umar needs to be protected. I just look confused and nod.

It gets colder. Wow, I never made it India Art Fair; wasted my hard-earned money purchasing that ticket. But after they banned any solidarity, it didnt seem worth it.

Above image: Shaheen Bagh | Goli Nahi Phool | 2 February 2020 | Photo by Priyadarshini Ohol

***

BJP leaders have been calling for the people here to be shot.

Since then, at least three armed men have arrived, and the women still sit here. On 28 January, volunteers tackled a group of infiltrators, one of whom brandished a gun. On 30 January, a youth fired at the protestors in Jamia, injuring Shadab, a student from Kashmir. That same day, the Hindu Sena called on Hinduwaadi brothers from all over the country to mobilise on 2 February, to clear the road of the Shaheen Bagh protest if the government didnt by 4 pm that evening.

On 1 February, a man identifying himself as Kapil Gurjar fired three shots at Shaheen Bagh. Most media outlets reported it as shots fired in the air. I went to Shaheen Bagh in the evening to talk to people and took a beautiful picture of a man in sajdah in front of the site of the firing, where the shell casings fell. I was introduced to the boys who faced Gurjar; they told me he didnt shoot in the air  he shot towards them.

***

The morning news on 2 February reported that a mob of a few hundred was pushed back by the police on the first barricade under the bridge. When I get there, there are only a few hangers on, police, some news crews. They ask for my ID to allow me to pass through, ask which channel?. I say Im an independent artist. They still want to see a media pass or something. I show them my youth hostel I-card and go in.

In between the first and second barricades, a larger than normal CRPF deployment is visible. So much of the force is present with guns that I wonder if it is an Army battalion. I naively ask which battalion it is. CRPF, they respond. There is tension in the air. I ask if they have any orders to storm or break up [the crowd]. One fellow tells me, Force has been deployed so lets see.

An intimidating looking Sikh officer eyes me suspiciously. I attempt a conversation, asking if theres any danger or alert. Someone replies laconically, Why would we be in danger in our own country? After a bit of reluctant banter (they aren't allowed to talk and my camera makes me look like a mediawaali) the other men call the officer Baba and crack jokes. I capture them as I pass along: lined up on the sides, another 360-degree shot of them scattered over the other side of the divider.

It must look strange to them. All this capturing I do in various ways with the intention of making video art. They are trying to place who and what I am. I say Bye, Babaji as I leave. Everyone cracks up. They too are human after all.

At the second barricade, police and CRPF personnel walk over to take stock. I use the camera from various angles. They look at me and diffuse. Youd better use this footage for something Piu! No sitting on it because editing is boring!
(Alliance News) - Oil & gas company SDX Energy PLC on Friday said it hired Catherine Stalker as an independent non-executive director, effective from Thursday.

Stalker is an experienced non-executive director and consultant to the boards of FTSE companies, public sector bodies, regulators, pension funds and not-for-profits, London-based SDX noted.

She is currently a partner at board evaluation firm Independent Audit Ltd and is on the board of two subsidiaries of Dutch energy company DTEK Energy BV. She is also a non-executive director of Ukrainian retail bank, PUMB.

"I am delighted that Catherine has joined the board. Her experience on boards and in the fields of governance and energy will be invaluable to us as we drive the business forward in what is due to be a particularly busy year," said SDX Non-Executive Chair Michael Doyle.

The stock was trading 2.1% lower at 23.01 pence each in London.

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Large-scale quarantine facilities are ready to welcome home Vietnamese citizens returning from China and other areas affected by the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

Authorities in Hanoi and multiple provinces in northern and central Vietnam have established the quarantine zones to prepare for the return of the nationals in virus-hit areas.

In Hanoi, the capitals military command has prepared a four-story building to quarantine up to 950 people.

The venue has been strictly safeguarded and thoroughly sterilized, Bui Xuan Ngoc, a military official, said, adding that beds, food, and other necessities have been stocked for the people who will be staying here.

The Hanoi military command also established another facility at a military school on the outskirts of the capital city capable of housing 800 people.

People returning from high-risk areas will be quarantined at these venues for 14 days after their return and will be admitted to hospital if they show such symptoms as fever.

If they are in good health following the period, they will be allowed to return to their hometowns.

A dining area inside a quarantine facility in Hanoi. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

In the northern province of Lang Son, local authorities confirmed they had quarantined 410 citizens returning from China via local border gates.

The Peoples Committee in the north-central province of Thanh Hoa stated on Thursday they were finalizing preparations to welcome back 394 citizens returning from China.

They will be isolated at a building that belongs to Hong Duc University with a maximum capacity of 500 people.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected over 31,400 globally as of Friday, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has spread across mainland China and to 31 other countries and regions, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Vietnam has confirmed twelve cases so far, including nine Vietnamese, one Vietnamese-American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from hospitals as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
UPDATE FEB. 6: Forest Grove woman infected with coronavirus on cruise ship

While the only confirmed case of coronavirus in the Pacific Northwest was discovered about 200 miles north of Portland, the diseases outbreak in China has forced local schools to cancel trips to the country and forced Chinese delegations that had planned to visit Portland schools to stay home.

Southeast Portlands Hosford Middle School was expecting a group of visitors from the city of Suzhou, located about 461 miles east of Wuhan, where the virus was discovered. Fifth-graders at the Portland International School were expecting a visit from students in the same area.

Our kids are disappointed but were trying to find ways to make it a more memorable experience, said Bodo Heiliger, the international schools head of elementary programs.

Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Karen Werstein said the district has suspended exchange programs and foreign field trips to and from China for the time being. International School officials say theyve taken similar steps.

Students are still communicating with their buddies at Suzhou Experimental Elementary, Heiliger said. The international school was expecting 30 Chinese students and three teachers last week, all of whom would have stayed with host families whose children would then travel to Suzhou in early March.

Robert Woods, the head of school, said he hopes this years fifth-graders will get to travel to China and host their buddies, even if both visits happen next year when the kids are in middle school.

Woods said the experience proves valuable for students in both Portland and Suzhou.

The design is to get them to experience life and school here in the U.S. Its reciprocated when we go there, Woods said. And oftentimes what happens is those host relationships grow into longer-term friendships.

Although coronavirus concerns have grounded the international schools trips to China, students on the Spanish track are still scheduled to visit Mexico in the spring. The schools Japanese studies cohort visited Japan in November.

Still, Woods said, its too soon to make plans for make-up trips or visits for the fifth-graders studying Chinese.

School officials are waiting until they can reliably tell whether the epidemic is over, Woods said. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says the diseases spread may not have crested yet, Reuters reports.

The cancellation of field trips and visits from Chinese students come as the countrys officials take steps to stem the virus spread. A Forest Grove couple was recently stranded on a quarantined cruise ship, where theyre waiting out their two-week isolation with free internet, iPads and an Nintendo Switch.

The State Department has advised against travel to China. And people arriving to the U.S. from Wuhan are held at Air Force bases for 14 days. Health officials say the risk to the American public is low.

The virus has been contracted by approximately 28,000 people and killed more than 600, according to the latest estimates.
The Cabarrus County Democratic Party is hosting the 2020 North Carolina Lieutenant Governors Debate today in Kannapolis.

The debate will begin at 4 p.m. at Kannapolis City Hall. The doors will open at 3 p.m. for a meet and greet with the candidates.

The Democratic candidates this year are: Chaz Beasley, N.C. House District 92; Yvonne Lewis Holley, N.C. House District 38; Ronald L. Newton, who ran in 2016 for lieutenant governor; Allen Thomas, Hoke County commissioner; Bill Toole, former Belmont City councilman; and N.C. Sen. Terry Van Duyn.

Tom Campbell, host of N.C. Spin and newspaper columnist, will pose the questions to the candidates. Campbell is known to many as the dean of North Carolina politics. The questions, known only to Campbell ahead of time, are aimed at demonstrating the knowledge and poise of each candidate.

All six candidates are expected to attend.

Harrisburg Councilwoman Diamond Staton Williams will be the host. Seating is limited to the first 450 to attend.
An investigation is underway after a fatal shooting Thursday afternoon in Ensley.

Birmingham police and Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service responded just after 4 p.m. to a report of a person shot in the 2300 block of 27th Street in Ensley. According to authorities, the male shooting victim was pronounced dead on the scene. The Jefferson County Coroners Office confirms they are en route to the scene.

Police have taped off 27th Street and are focusing their attention on a residence and its perimeter. Birmingham police Sgt. Johnny Williams said the victim and another man were standing outside when a third man emerged from in between homes and approached them. Some kind of argument took place, and then the suspect fired shots.

Williams said investigators dont yet know if the shooting was the result of a robbery, or something else. Authorities have not released the identity of the victim.

The deadly shooting is the second in Birmingham in less than 12 hours.

At 6:30 a.m., East precinct officers reported to a home on Dogwood Lane, off Five Mile Road. Once at the residence, officers found 27-year-old Devonta Reddick unresponsive in the front yard. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

His pregnant girlfriend, 25-year-old Sabrea Baylor, was seriously injured.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
LONG BEACH, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C.  Rosenbaum Famularo, the law firm behind AmazonSellersLawyer.com, is helping people and companies that sell products on Amazon when courts order Amazon to freeze their accounts, money and inventory. The firm is accepting clients with frozen Amazon Seller accounts to continue to reach resolutions and, when needed, fight the orders in court.

Travis Stockman, Esq., Rosenbaum Famularo's litigation department's Managing Attorney stated that "Amazon Sellers are victimized by Amazon and the court system. Often, the Amazon Sellers have no notice of the lawsuit until after their money and inventory is frozen." CJ Rosenbaum, Esq., one of the founding partners of the firm stated that "it is awfulcould you imagine your entire business, your inventory and your cash being withheld based on one-sided accusations?"

Many of the orders against Amazon Sellers come from one courthouse: the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago including orders issued in the following cases:

Richemont Intl. (Montblanc/Cartier) Case # 19-cv-06369 Volkswagon / Audi Case # 18-cv-03229 Christian Dior Case # 18-cv-00366 Wham-O Inc. (Frisbee) Case # 18-cv-05878 Gianni Versace Case # 18-cv-01173 Viahart (Brainflakes toys) Case # 17-cv-08142

"Big brands often obtain orders against Amazon Sellers who never made any sales. Clearly if you never made any sales at all, you never delivered counterfeit products despite what the brands claim in their lawsuits" says CJ Rosenbaum.

A video on Temporary Restraining Orders can be viewed by clicking here.

CJ Rosenbaum further states that "Amazon Sellers can obtain relief from temporary restraining orders if they have the right information."

Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C., is an international intellectual property law firm based in Long Beach, New York that helps people and companies that sell products on Amazon.com and other Amazon websites around the world. The firm has staff in New York, and Shenzhen, China and Yiwu, China.

SOURCE Rosenbaum Famularo, P.C.

Related Links

www.amazonsellerslawyer.com


We aim to launch the first unmanned space flight by the end of 2020 and the first manned space mission will be launched prior to 75th Independence Day in 2022, said K Sivan, chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro).

Sivan was the HK Firodia Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology, held on Friday at Bal Gandharva Rangmandir in Pune.

Four astronauts have been short-listed for the Gaganyaan mission who will go to Russia for 15 months training. The astronauts from the Indian Air Force were identified after months of rigorous medical check-ups. A series of tests pertaining to the design and engineering of the mission systems have been planned in 2020, he further added.

Sivan was awarded the HK Firodia Vidyan Ratna Puraskar for his work in the field of space research. Shekhar Mande, director, council of scientific and industrial research (CSIR) was awarded the HK Firodia Vidyan Bhushan Puraskar for his exemplary work in the field of science and technology.

This award will always be special to me as it recognises my efforts to make India a self-reliable nation; this coincides with Isros idea, which is to be self-reliable in space technology. I thank HK Firodiya Foundation for giving me the honour to receive this award. It is not my sole efforts that has brought me here, to this position, hence, I thank my family, my Isro colleagues and all those who supported me in my career. Today, we have realised fully the vision of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, as we are taking up extremely challenging space missions like Mission Mangal and Chndrayaan Mission, said Sivan.

The selection committee for the awards comprised scientist Raghunath Mashelkar and Arun Firodia, chairman of Kinetic group.

Vijay Raghvan, principal scientific adviser to the government was the chief guest for the event. However, he was not present due to an emergency and congratulated the awardees via a video message, which he sent from New Delhi.

Mande who gave a presentation about his work on Tuberculosis (TB) in his speech said, TB is a perfectly treatable disease and the strategy to control it, is by prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Under prevention, vaccination and wellness is required; for diagnosis early detection is needed and treatment is done through chemotherapeutic methods, he said.
Restaurants in New York City's Chinatown have seen business drop dramatically due to fear of coronavirus, even though the city has yet to have a confirmed case of the virus.

Jing Fong owner Truman Lam estimated that there's been a decrease in patronage of about 25 to 50 per cent, 'depending on the day,' at his restaurant.

'It is a cause of concern, because its basically all related to coronavirus,' Lam said, adding that 'We dont know how deeply people feel about it, especially because there are no confirmed cases in New York.'

Coronavirus fears are being blamed for keeping people away from popular restaurants in New York City's Chinatown. A woman is seen January 29 in Chinatown wearing a protective mask

Restaurateurs said that Chinatown is 'a ghost town' as people keep away over coronavirus fears, despite there being no confirmed cases in New York City (file image)

In addition to seeing drops in patronage ranging from about 40 to 50 per cent, local restaurant owners noted that the neighborhood's normally bustling streets have been significantly less crowded, especially considering what should be the current Lunar New Year celebration season.

'Its a ghost town in Chinatown right now. Theres just nobody around. Typically theres a lot of tourists, stuff going on,' Nom Wah Tea Parlor owner Wilson Tang told Grub Street.

He said that business at his historic dim sum restaurant in Manhattan, which has been known to command long wait times for tables and is frequently flooded by out-of-towners, was down about 40 per cent on February 3, making it the slowest Monday the place had seen in five years.

Although February is often a slow season for tourism, Wilson Tang said that 'Its just unprecedented, how the business has dropped because of this whole situation that were in.'

The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus strain a global public health emergency at the end of January.

Nom Wah Tea Parlor's owner said Monday was the slowest he'd experienced in five years at the restaurant that usually requires a long wait for a table (file image)

Hwa Yuan Szechuan reported a 40 per cent decrease in customers at the buzzy restaurant since coronavirus fears have spread (file image)

Xi'an Famous Foods' owner said that their outposts in Manhattan and Queens' Chinatowns have been hit harder by low custom than restaurants in other neighborhoods

Since the outbreak started, there have been more than 31,400 reported cases of coronavirus, which has killed more than 630 people in China. The United States now has 12 confirmed cases of the virus.

New York City has had five suspected cases of coronavirus, but recently-completed testing revealed that the first three patients were negative for the virus.

Restaurateur James Tierney Tang said business at his Manhattan-based Hwa Yuan Szechuan has also been down 40 per cent over the last week.

He told the food news site that business at the buzzy Chinatown restaurant 'has been gangbusters for the past year' but that reservations had dropped since February started, with a 100-person banquet dinner being cancelled as recently as Monday.

Restaurants in New York City's other Chinatowns are also reporting an unusually low turnout.

Xian Famous Foods CEO Jason Wang told Grub Street that not only has business at the chain's outpost in Manhattan been sluggish, but that its restaurant in Queen's Flushing has also seen a notable downturn.

The chain also has locations in Manhattan's West Village, Midtown and Upper West Side, among others, which have not been hit as hard.

Lam noted that he's heard that restaurants are now serving far more Chinatown locals than tourists, while Wang said that 'the Chinese immigrant population in Chinatowns are also very wary of the virus and have been avoiding crowds.'

The downturn in patronage comes in the middle of the Chinese New Year celebration. A sparsely populated scene from the Year of the Rat parade, kicking off festivities on January 25

Another scene from the January 25 parade shows relatively few attendees, as the parade came while coronavirus fears were on the rise

A scene from February 2019's Chinese New Year celebration, showing packed streets

Restaurateurs expect there to be an increase in turnout during the upcoming weekend's final Chinese New Year celebrations, but that it would not be nearly as significant as in previous years. Locals and tourists are seen flocking to the Chinatown streets in February 2019

The restaurateurs said that there was no telling how long business could be done as a result of coronavirus fears, which is likely to have a tremendous impact on the mom-and-pop restaurants in the neighborhood.

'A lot of the businesses in Chinatown are just getting by as is. But this is kind of a slap in the face,' Wilson Tang said.

It's thought that business might get some sort of an uptick over the weekend, during the final two days of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration, surrounding the annual Lunar New Year Parade on Sunday.

Under typical circumstances, the parade all-but shuts down Chinatown, rendering the neighborhood almost impossible to navigate as crowds of locals and tourists descend to watch the festivities.

Chinatowns across the country have also been experiencing low patronage due to coronavirus fears.

On Thursday, Philadelphia's mayor Jim Kenney went to lunch in the city's Chinatown, encouraging others to do so as well.

'Come back to Chinatown and eat  its great,' the mayor said while at Philadelphia's Ocean Harbor restaurant, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. 'Chinatown is safe. The city is safe. America is safe. Everybody should relax.'

Restaurants in Boston's Chinatown have also been more empty than not, following the revelation that a man who had recently arrived from Wuhan - believed to be the center of the outbreak - became Massachusetts' first confirmed case of coronavirus.

A cashier at Boston's New Golden Gate Seafood told WBUR that, at this time of the year, the restaurant should have had multiple diners, but on that particular day, there was nobody except a waiter sitting at one of the tables.

'There are no customers, so theres no work to do,' she said.

Steven Chen, who owns Boston restaurant and bakery Great Taste told the radio station that 'People [are] worried' and added that 'If I have no business, I have to lay off some employees, right? If I have no business, I can't pay rent.'
Judges needed for Region 8 Science Fair March 3 at SIU

by Tim Crosby

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondale next month will host students from around the region for the annual Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 8 Science Fair, and organizers are looking for judges from among the SIU and local communities.

Hundreds to compete

This year, officials expect about 350 projects from junior high and high school students from the states 21 southernmost counties to enter the event, which is set for March 3, in the Student Center ballrooms. Judging is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with all projects open to public viewing from 1 to 4 p.m.

Officials will present awards beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Neckers Building, Room 240.

Judges duties

Usually, each judging team consists of two people, one faculty member and one undergraduate or graduate student. Each judging team typically will judge up to five projects. Judges will select about 60 projects total to advance to the state competition in early May.

Multiple, diverse categories

There are 18 project categories, ranging from aerospace to behavioral science, health and zoology. More than 150 SIU faculty and graduate students typically volunteer their time at the event. Many academic departments and campus units also sponsor student and school awards totaling several thousand dollars.

Only those registered with IJAS are allowed to compete. There is a $75 to $100 registration fee to become a member of the state organization.

Judges play a key role

On the day of the event, the first judging session will meet promptly at 8:45 a.m. in the Student Center Auditorium for a brief orientation covering the judging criteria and distribution of assignments. The second session will meet at 10:45 a.m. in the same location,

Volunteers are free to sign up for both sessions. Juice, coffee, and donuts will be available throughout the morning and early afternoon.

Those interested in judging are asked to sign up as soon as possible.

For more information, contact Vina Castelli, mathematics lecturer, at 618/453-6570 or at vina@siu.edu.
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man accused of deliberately targeting Mexicans in a shooting spree that killed 22 people at an El Paso Walmart store last year will be charged later Thursday with hate crimes, a source with direct knowledge of the case said.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man accused of deliberately targeting Mexicans in a shooting spree that killed 22 people at an El Paso Walmart store last year will be charged later Thursday with hate crimes, a source with direct knowledge of the case said.

Patrick Crusius, 21, the suspected shooter, is already facing a capital murder trial and has pled not guilty.

The hate crime charges he will now face will be announced by investigators in Texas on Thursday evening, said a source who spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Crusius was indicted last year for the August shooting and has pled not guilty in his capital murder trial in a state court. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

He is accused of driving 11 hours to El Paso from his hometown of Allen, near Dallas, on Aug. 3 and firing at shoppers with an AK-47 rifle inside the Walmart store. He surrendered to officers who confronted him outside.

Crusius confessed while surrendering and told police he was targeting Mexicans, according to an El Paso police affidavit released days after the shooting. Most of those killed were Latinos.

A manifesto believed to have posted online by Crusius on 8chan, a message board often used by extremists, described called the Walmart attack "a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas."

(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Austin and Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bernadette Baum)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The relationships between fathers and daughters are often complicated, but King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II are a glowing exception. Her father may have been a busy man ruling a nation, yet he always made time for his little girl and whats more, he treated her with respect unlike so many other men of the era. Their shared destinies created a special relationship between these two that lasted until his untimely death in 1952.

The queen still follows certain protocol that was inspired by her fathers death on Feb. 6, 1952 while Elizabeth was out of the country. For example, she and other royal family members always travel with a somber black outfit in case someone in the family dies while theyre away.

Queen Elizabeths father prepped her for the biggest role of her life. Heres why his confidence in her helped make her the woman she is today.

King George VI and Queen Elizabeth | Studio Lisa/Getty Images

King George VI was never supposed to become the king

The only reason Queen Elizabeths father became king was because of major drama in the royal family. Georges brother, King Edward VIII, shocked the world when he decided to abdicate the throne and marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson in 1936.

At the time, Elizabeth was just 10 years old. But even though she was Georges eldest daughter, she didnt become the Princess of Wales or heiress apparent because she was female. The line of succession favored male heirs and any subsequent male children would have taken precedence.

George, Duke of York and Princess Elizabeth | Lisa Sheridan/Studio Lisa/Getty Images

Despite the law, King George began training Elizabeth for her future role

Even though Elizabeth, the Queen Mother took on the majority of child-rearing duties, King George was a devoted and involved father who spoiled his little girls, Elizabeth and her younger sister, Princess Margaret. He called Elizabeth Lilibet and apparently referred to his quiet, studious daughter as his pride while describing the more rambunctious Margaret as his joy.

King George and family | Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

When Elizabeth was 14, King George entrusted her to give a radio broadcast to British children who had been evacuated from their homes during World War II. He also made her an honorary Royal Army colonel and encouraged her to participate in the war effort.

At the tender age of 18, the future Queen Elizabeth became counselor of state, which let her represent her father whenever he was traveling.

King George wrote Elizabeth the most beautiful letter on her wedding day

Like Elizabeth, King George was not overly expressive in public with his emotions. But the letter he wrote to Elizabeth when she wed Prince Philip fully explains how much he loved his eldest daughter.

Queen Elizabeth wedding | PhotoQuest/Getty Images

King George wrote:

I was so proud and thrilled at having you so close to me on our long walk in Westminster Abbey. But when I handed your hand to the Archbishop, I felt I had lost something very precious. You were so calm and composed during the service and said your words with such conviction that I knew everything was alright. I have watched you grow up all these years with pride under the skillful direction of Mummy, who, as you know, is the most marvelous person in the world in my eyes, and I can, I know, always count on you, and now Philip, to help us in our work. Your leaving us has left a great blank in our lives. But do remember that your old home is still yours and do come back to it as much and as often as possible. I can see that you are sublimely happy with Philip, which is right, but dont forget us, is the wish of your ever loving and devoted Papa.

Queen Elizabeth was devastated by the death of her father

Even though King George had been sick, no one expected him to die while Queen Elizabeth was in Kenya. The king died on Feb. 6, 1952 when Elizabeth was just 25 years old.

She cut the rest of her trip short to return to London and pay her respects, plus take her place as reigning monarch. Shes now the longest-serving queen in history.

Queen Elizabeth | Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

The queen has made many significant changes to the monarchy during her rule, including changing the law that favors male offspring over female by placing them automatically higher in the line of succession. The new Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 ensures Princess Charlotte will always be ahead of her younger brother, Prince Louis.

Her Majesty doesnt talk much about her father, but she does still honor him in small ways such as leaving the Christmas decorations up until the anniversary of his death as a form of silent tribute.

Wed like to think King George VI would be so proud of the leader his beloved daughter grew up to be.
Trump lashes out

President Trump is preparing to push out a national security official who testified against him during the impeachment inquiry after he expressed deep anger on Thursday over the attempt to remove him from office because of his actions toward Ukraine.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman  a National Security Council aide who testified during House Democrats impeachment hearings  will be informed in the coming days, likely today, by administration officials that he is being reassigned to a position at the Defense Department, taking a key figure from the investigation out of the White House, according to two people familiar with the move who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss personnel decisions.

At an event in the East Room of the White House, Trump called Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) a horrible person and derided Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) as a flip-flopping Republican with no sign of principles whose vote to convict Trump on abuse of power charges was born not out of principle but bitterness over his failed 2012 presidential bid. (Washington Post)

Featured news

President Donald Trump gestures Thursday as he speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington.Patrick Semansky | AP Photo

Analysis: Trump celebrates end of impeachment with angry, raw and vindictive 62-minute White House rant (Washington Post)

Schiff: Bolton wouldnt sign affidavit on Trump, Ukraine after Senate rejected new impeachment witnesses (USA Today)

Senate report criticizes Obama administration handing of Russia election meddling (Reuters)

China tightens Wuhan lockdown in wartime battle with coronavirus (New York Times)

Outrage in China over death of whistleblower doctor (CNN)

Storms sweep over Southeast with rain, wind, floods; 4 dead (NBC News)

National news

NBC News review of Iowa caucus vote finds potential errors, inconsistencies (NBC News)

Democrats to face off at ABC debate in New Hampshire after chaos mars Iowa results (ABC News)

El Paso shooting suspect indicted on 90 federal charges (Fox El Paso)

These southern Utah sites were once off-limits to development. Now, Trump will auction the right to drill and graze there (Washington Post)

ICE agent shoots man in face during deportation fight in Brooklyn (ABC 7 New York)

Five dead in commuter plane crash in western Alaska (NBC News)

Driver who killed trooper on I-95 was irate about tow truck payment, witnesses say (Miami Herald)

On Facebook, anti-vaxxers urged a mom not to give her son Tamiflu. He later died (NBC News)

Climate change is killing the bumblebees, study says (CBS News)

Elizabeth Smart says she was assaulted on a flight. That inspired her to create a self-defense program (CNN)

World news

A couple shelter under an umbrellas as rain falls in Sydney, Australia. The rain comes as a slight relief for some areas dealing with wildfires that devastated large swathes of land across the state over the last several months. (Rick Rycroft, Associated Press)

Leader of al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen killed in U.S. operation: White House (ABC News)

Heavy rain, floods lash eastern Australia, help with fires (Associated Press)

Turkey prosecutors summon pilots after plane skids and snaps into three pieces (CNN)

Israeli airstrikes in Syria force Russian plane into emergency landing (The Guardian)

Three Palestinians killed, 12 Israeli soldiers hurt in 24 hours of violence (CNN)
SCHENECTADY  In the wake of religious tensions and acts of violence across the country, Schenectady Inner City Ministry (SICM) decided it wanted to do something. The nonprofit, which is known for its food pantry and meal programs, is officially becoming an interfaith organization.

When the organization was founded in 1967 many people in the area were predominantly Christians, said Rev. Dustin Wright, who is on a task force for the interfaith initiative.

A couple years back we said, that's not the case anymore,  Wright said. There are robust synagogues, mosques and Sikh temples in the area, many that we interact with on a regular basis.

Pressure to move the initiative forward mounted as acts of violence toward religious groups began to crop up across the United States. Most recently, an intruder broke into a Hasidic rabbis home in a New York suburb, stabbing and wounding five people just as they were gathering to light candles for Hanukkah.

The thing that really put some fire under us over the last six months is, over and over again, our community has been responding to acts of hate, Wright said.

For, Wright and leaders at SICM, it wasnt enough for them to just condemn these acts of bigotry. So, if were saying no to hate, what are we saying yes to? Wright asked.

Wright, who is a pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Rotterdam, had his congregation write a letter to get the process going. Last June, the task force to make SICM an interfaith organization was underway.

As of now, there are two confirmed partners: Congregation of Gates of Heaven, and Nemeton of the Waves, a small local organization that focuses on the sacredness of nature, Wright said. Those are the two official confirmations, but SICM has been in talks with other religious groups in the area, and will be reaching out to more organizations in the coming months.

Thats our starting point. Were hoping with getting the word out there will be more folks joining in, Wright said.

Wright said part of being an interfaith organization is learning about other traditions and celebrating others' holidays, or even small gestures like making sure snacks at an assembly meeting are kosher and halal.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

These are things that are important to make sure we dont just make folks feel like were welcoming them into the big Christian club, but were truly an interfaith organization, Wright said.

Besides sharing traditions, its also about members rolling up their sleeves and getting the work done, Wright said. He hopes that the move to becoming an interfaith organization will help people of different faiths come together to serve the community, whether its helping clean up a park or stocking a food pantry.

We talk to a lot of younger people, and when I talk to a lot of my peers there is an understanding that religion drives people apart more than it brings together, and it doesn't have to be like that. Its a way we can bring people even closer together, Wright said.
A British teenager who threw a six-year-old French boy off the 10th floor of London's Tate Modern art gallery had said he planned to push someone off a high building, the BBC and Daily Mail reported Friday.

The two groups obtained a recording of Jonty Bravery, who has autism, reportedly telling care workers a year ago that "in the next few months I've got it in my head I've got to kill somebody".

"It could be anything just as long as it's a high thing and we can go up and visit it and then push somebody off it and I know for a fact they'll die from falling from a hundred feet," he was quoted as saying.

Bravery's care provider said they had "no knowledge or records of the disclosure". The six-year-old suffered a broken spine, legs and arm when he was thrown from the 10th floor viewing platform of the Tate Modern in front of horrified visitors on August 4.

Bravery, 18, pleaded guilty to attempted murder at a hearing in London's Central Criminal Court on December 6 and is in custody awaiting sentencing later this month. In a post published on a GoFundMe page helping to pay for their son's recovery, the victim's family said he had regained some movement in his limbs and was beginning to start speech.

But they said he was still in great pain and progress was slow.

The boy fell onto a fifth-floor roof below. Prosecutors at Bravery's last court hearing said it was "extraordinary" he survived at all.

Bravery's lawyer told the court her client had autistic spectrum disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and was likely to have a personality disorder.

The court was told he claimed to have heard voices tell him he had to hurt or kill people, and that he said to police he wanted to "prove" he had a mental health problem.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
CFB TRENTON, Ont. - Family members looked forward to reuniting with loved ones after two groups of weary Canadian citizens finally returned home Friday from the centre of a novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JONATHAN HAYWARD / THE CANADIAN PRESS Officials gather at the entrance of a plane carrying Canadians back from Wuhan, China, on the tarmac at Vancouver International Airport, in Richmond, B.C., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

CFB TRENTON, Ont. - Family members looked forward to reuniting with loved ones after two groups of weary Canadian citizens finally returned home Friday from the centre of a novel coronavirus outbreak in China.

One Canadian government flight carrying 176 people touched down just after dawn at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, Ont., where they were to undergo two weeks of quarantine and monitoring to check whether they've contracted the virus.

Media were kept well away as the passengers deplaned and stepped onto waiting buses in frigid weather.

Later Friday, another 39 Canadians arrived at CFB Trenton after they were able to board a flight from Wuhan chartered by the U.S. government.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne tweeted Friday afternoon that the second group had arrived at Trenton on a Canadian flight, and would be subject to the same quarantine period.

Richard Fabic, the father of 15-month-old Chloe, hoped to be joining his daughter in quarantine later Friday.

Fabic, of Mississauga, Ont., said Ottawa had reached out to ask him if he wanted to join his daughter.

A plane carrying 176 Canadian citizens from the centre of the global novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China, lands at CFB Trenton, in Trenton, Ont., on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

"I said yes before they even finished the sentence," Fabic said. "It's very considerate, very thoughtful, I was really blown away from being given that option."

The 14 days in quarantine will be "bonding time" with his daughter, Fabic said.

Fabic said his wife had mixed feelings about him being in isolation with Chloe, because she wanted to be the one in there.

"I just want to spend time with my daughter and also help with taking care of her," Fabic said.

The past few weeks have been stressful, he said, adding he was excited at the prospect of the reunion.

His daughter has all the entertainment she needs in quarantine, Fabic said, but just in case he planned to load up his tablet with movies and shows.

Champagne said Friday that the government is now turning its attention to a second flight it has chartered for any more Canadians in Wuhan who have asked for help to leave. It is scheduled to depart Feb. 10 and arrive at CFB Trenton the next day.

"It's quite a good thing that we have a bit of time in between," Champagne said in Ottawa.

"Because it really allows us to make sure that we contact every family, make sure that everyone who wants to get on board can get their name on the manifest, make sure that we can work the logistics on the ground to make sure that they can go to the airport," he said.

About 11 million people are currently under quarantine in the central Chinese city, where the coronavirus is believed to have originated.

Myriam Larouche, a Canadian student who was studying in Wuhan, said she was relieved to be back home after a long process that felt longer in a different country.

"I think I'm going to sleep for 20 hours straight," Larouche said after arriving in Vancouver, adding that the last few days have been stressful.

Health authorities have documented five confirmed cases of the new coronavirus in Canada so far, and say the quarantine is necessary to ensure the virus doesn't spread further.

The government is also monitoring the well-being of 285 Canadians quarantined on two cruise ships off the coast of Japan and Hong Kong.

There are seven Canadians with confirmed cases of the coronavirus contracted aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship docked in the port city of Yokohama, just outside Tokyo. Those patients have been taken to Japanese hospitals for treatment and monitoring.

The novel coronavirus has spread to more than 34,500 people and killed 722 worldwide, with the highest concentration of cases in the Hubei province of China.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

 With files from Hina Alam in Vancouver and Laura Osman in Ottawa
LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Retailer Burberry Group plc (BRBY.L) announced Friday said the ongoing coronavirus outbreak will impact retail sales in both Mainland China and Hong Kong S.A.R. In China, the company's 24 stores, out of 64 total stores, are closed at present, while the remaining stores are operating with reduced hours amid significant footfall declines. Marco Gobbetti, Chief Executive Officer, said, 'The outbreak of the coronavirus in Mainland China is having a material negative effect on luxury demand. While we cannot currently predict how long this situation will last, we remain confident in our strategy.' Burberry noted that the spending patterns of Chinese customers in Europe and other tourist destinations have been less impacted to date. However, due to the widening travel restrictions, the company anticipates these to worsen over the coming weeks. The company said it is taking various actions but the benefit will be limited in the current year. The company also intends to continue its key growth initiatives in preparation for a recovery in luxury demand. The company will provide a retail trading update following financial year end. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
By Kim Se-jeong



The spread of the new coronavirus here is shedding light on a study that detected a type of coronavirus in bats living on the Korean peninsula.





Rhinolophus ferrumequinum
Srinagar, Feb 7 : The J&K Police on Friday claimed to have busted a Jaish-e-Mohammad module involved in a grenade throwing incident at the Lal Chowk here last Sunday by arresting three JeM men, including the nephew of former PDP legislator Khalil Bandh.

According to the police, the arrest of the three terrorist associates was made after receiving credible inputs.

The three have been identified as Naveed-Ul-Lateef Padroo, Shakeel Ahmad Bandh, residents of Pulwama and Shamshad Manzoor, resident of Shopian.

As per police reports, they were linked to proscribed terror outfit JeM and were involved in the recent grenade explosion at Partap Park, Lal Chowk. According to the police they had established links with terrorists across the border in Pakistan using the Internet and VPN. And on the direction of Pakistan-based terrorist Shaheen, they were extending terror networks in the Valley.

Investigations also revealed that Shakeel was communicating with Pakistani terrorist Shaheen and sought the assistance of Naveed and Shamshad for carrying out terror attacks in Srinagar.
Nostalgia is a powerful necromantic magic that can bring anything back from the dead. Even some things that no one truly cared were gone. Dunkaroos are one such artifact. Any kid who grew up in the 90s has fond memories of cracking open a thing of Dunkaroos and ignoring the bland cookies and just going to town on the frosting cup with their tongues in ways you only now realize were unsettlingly pornographic. Now that General Mills is bringing Dunkaroos back to squeeze every last penny out of the few remaining good memories millennials and older Gen Z kids had lingering from their youth, you can revisit this sweet and delicious cunnilingus training tool for the first time since they were discontinued way, way back in...2012.

Dunkaroos were at their most popular in the 90s, sure. But they were killed when Obama was just entering his second term. Anyone in their 30s complaining that they missed out on their chance to have Dunkaroos was probably too busy drawing Disney princesses as Transformers or whatever other dumb garbage we were doing in 2012. You only have yourself to blame. Anyone eight years old and up had their shot and blew it.

The name, a portmanteau of dunk and kangaroo, was the brainchild of a General Mills executive who, while struggling to come up with a name for a new dunkable cookie product, had an epiphany as he was drowning a kangaroo for sport. Noticeably absent from their return is its kangaroo mascot who you didn't know was named Sydney but likely would've guessed if asked. There were a few iterations of Sydney back in the cartoon mascot wonder years of the 90s.

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His first look had a distinct Crocodile Dundee vibe that suggested he knew how to use a gun. For his next look, he got a cool, hip makeover. They gave him a backward snapback cap and a sweater with some kind of harness that formed an "x" on his chest that made him look like someone the X-Men had repeatedly told to fuck off.

Luis can be found on Twitter and Facebook. Check out his regular contributions to Macaulay Culkin's BunnyEars.com and his "Meditation Minute" segments on the Bunny Ears podcast. And now you can listen to the first episode on Youtube!
Taylor said rock climbing differs from ice climbing because instead of finding holes or crevasses in the rock to latch into you can make your own holes in the ice with an ice hook or with spikes attached to the bottom of your boots.




Source: thestar.com

BEIJING, Feb 6 -- An aerobatics team of the Chinese Air Force will put on flight performances at a Singaporean airshow as scheduled despite the coronavirus outbreak, reported Global Times.

Singapore did not quarantine Chinese pilots who arrived in the country on Wednesday, and Chinese experts see this as a move showing Singapores high level of trust in Chinas epidemic control measures.

On the invitation by Singapore, the Chinese Air Forces August 1 Air Demonstration Team will put on flight performances at the 2020 Singapore Airshow from February 11-16, as nine aircraft, including seven J-10 fighter jets that will feature in the performance, the official Global Times reported.

More than 100 Chinese personnel arrived in Singapore on Wednesday, according to statements released by the Chinese Air Force and the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

After the Chinese pilots arrived on Wednesday, they started training for the performances without being quarantined, a source told the Global Times.

He said this showed Singapores high level of trust in Chinas epidemic control measures, which is very different to some Western countries moves.

Air defense expert Fu Qianshao told the Global Times that the Chinese military has taken very strict protective measures, especially for pilots.

For every flight, pilots have to undergo health checks and anyone found to be sick will not be allowed to fly at all, Fu said.

At a time when China is fighting against the virus outbreak, the performances of the August 1 Air Demonstration Team in Singapore will showcase the Chinese militarys confidence, analysts said.

The Singapore Airshow is a good chance to show Chinas epidemic control measures, and let the world see the Chinese speed and spirit from the Chinese pilots up close, Fu said.

The August 1 Air Demonstration Team, or Bayi Aerobatic Team, is considered as Chinas honor guard of the sky, a window of military communication and an envoy of peace and friendship.

This will be the first time the team participates in the Singapore Airshow.

At least 15 exhibitors have pulled out of the Singapore Airshow due to the coronavirus outbreak. South Koreas Black Eagles Air Demonstration Group also dropped out because of the virus, according to media reports.

As many exhibitors retreat from the Singaporean exhibition, the August 1 Air Demonstration Teams arrival should also be considered a strong sign of support for Singapore, analysts told Global Times.

Chinese and Singaporean military relations have been flying high since 2019, as the two countries signed an upgraded version of the Agreement on Defense Exchanges and Security Cooperation in October.

The original link: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/02/06/chinese-air-force-to-perform-in-singapore-no-quarantine-done


In Vietnam, Lunar New Year is also known as Tet Nguyen Dan (or Tet) and is a time for everyone to spend time with their families.

According to data from Agoda, traveling to Thailand (or more specifically, Bangkok) seems to be an annual tradition for Vietnamese travelers, with the destination consistently ranking first over the past three years.

Outside of Thailand, the Vietnamese have diverse tastes in their travel preferences  with Singapore (#2), Taipei (#3), Tokyo (#5) and Bali (#6) all making the cut.

Vietnam is yet another hot spot to visit during the Spring Festival  with the country achieving second place in the list of top country destinations for South Korea. Top cities that made the cut for the Koreans include Nha Trang (#3) and Da Nang (#4).

Tokyo, Bangkok and Taipei are the top three destinations for travelers from across Asia to celebrate the Lunar New Year. This year, Tokyo nudged Bangkok off pole position, steadily climbing the ranks from third place in 2018 to the top spot, while Taipei moves to third place.

In fact, Taiwan is a key destination this year, with four of the markets cities featuring in the top ten, Taipei (#3), Taichung (#4), Kaohsiung (#6) and Tainan (#9). Other favourite destinations to welcome the Lunar New Year include Seoul (#7) and Chiang Mai (#10).

Lunar New Year, also known as Spring Festival, sees the biggest global migration as revellers across the globe visit family and friends. Spending quality time with family and enjoying tasty treats for reunion dinners takes precedence during the Lunar New Year, making it a perfect time for the whole family to travel together.

It is little wonder then, that Japan, Malaysia and Thailand secured top overall destinations for Asian travelers, to bring in the Lunar New Year  each offering their own unique blend of mouth-watering eats, cultural experiences and shopping havens for every member in the family to enjoy.

Lunar New Year Travel Highlights by Market:

 Travelers from China are flocking to Japan with Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo the top international destination cities for Chinese travelers.

 Japan is the number one country for travelers from Thailand this Spring Festival, with eight of the top 10 cities in Japan.

 Meanwhile, Japanese travelers are heading to more tropical destinations this Lunar New Year  Thailands Bangkok, Pattaya and Chiang Mai scooping 1st, 3rd and 9th spots respectively while Singapore, Cebu and Honolulu come in 7th, 8th and 10th. Meanwhile Seoul moves up from 4th in 2019 to 2nd spot for this year.

 South Korean travelers are also heading for beach destinations to celebrate Seollal with top ten entries including Nha Trang (#3), Da Nang (#4), (in Vietnam), Cebu (#6) (in Philippines), Guam (#8) (in Micronesia) and Bali (#10) (in Indonesia).

 Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand are the main beneficiaries from Singapore travelers this Lunar New Year, while Batam, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur scoop the top three cities titles.

 Travelers from Taiwan are heading to international destinations to celebrate the Spring Festival are flocking to Japan with 7 of the top 10 top destinations within the country. South Koreas Seoul (#6) and Busan (#9) are also winners this year.

 Vietnamese travelers celebrate Tet Nguyen Dan (or Tet), and this year, once again, travelers seeking international destinations are heading to the bustling cosmopolitan cities Bangkok (#1), Singapore (#2), Taipei (#3) to celebrate.

 Malaysia, the second most visited country for travelers from across Asia this Lunar New Year, also scoops five of the top 10 international destinations for Indonesian travelers  Kuala Lumpur (#1), Genting Highlands (#4), Penang (#6), Johor Bahru (#8), and Kuching (#9).

 Malaysian travelers heading for international shores are choosing neighbouring Thailand for five of its top destination cities (Hat Yai, #1; Bangkok, #2; Krabi, #3; Phuket, #4; and Koh Lip, #10).

Q. Khuyen
By PTI

KATHMANDU: Nepal on Friday gifted 100,000 protective masks to China which is battling against the deadly coronavirus outbreak that has claimed over 630 lives.

The decision to gift the masks came in the backdrop of its shortage in China.

Foreign Minister Pradip Kumar Gyawali and Health Minister Bhanubakta Dhakal handed over the masks to China's ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi at an event here.

A high-level meeting of the Nepal government on Thursday decided to dispatch one lakh protective masks to China.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese ambassador Hou thanked the Nepal government and the international community for their contribution to contain coronavirus.

"This kind of support and unity has provided China and its citizens with the much needed willpower to battle it," she remarked.

As of Thursday, 636 people have died mostly in Hubei province and its provincial capital Wuhan due to the virus with the total number of confirmed cases jumping to 3,143, Chinese officials announced on Friday.
Coronavirus is spreading across the world at an unprecedented rate, claiming over 500 lives and it has also made its way to India.

Reuters

Authorities across the nation are issuing guidelines to make people aware of this life-threatening disease and how they can keep themselves safe while also avoiding the spread of the disease.



What is Wuhan Coronavirus?

Wuhan Virus is a kind of coronavirus like SARS and MERS. Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that are normally contracted from animals (like civet cats caused SARS in China).

Even the Wuhan Virus originated from the seafood market in the city -- with most of the initial victims being either vendors or buyers at the fish market. Researchers were able to find the virus similar to the ones found in bats and snakes.

Reuters

The disease spreads from human contact so for being safe from it, personal hygiene is of utmost importance. Brihanmumbai Mahanagar Palika (BMC) among other authorities across the nation has issued a set of guidelines (which are identical to what WHO has been recommending) to stay safe from the Wuhan Coronavirus. Here are the Dos and Donts to prevent catching the coronavirus in India.



Dos and Donts for Wuhan Coronavirus

Wash Hands Regularly

Our hands are the primary way something infected could enter our body. We eat with them, we rub our eyes, noses with them and these act as gates for the virus to enter our body and get us infected with the coronavirus. Its strongly advised that you wash your hands for more than 20 seconds or sanitise them regularly.

Avoid Eating Halfcooked Meat

Coronaviruses come from animals. And in case youre consuming the meat of an infected animal, if its not cooked well, the infection will still be active in it, and will infect your body upon entering.

If You Feel Sick, Stay Indoors

While you might think that you can work or travel with a little cold or fever, taking a day off will not only help you get healthy quicker but also save others from catching the virus youre infected from. In case you feel severe cold or flu and have trouble breathing, head to the nearest hospital or healthcare centre.

Getty Images

While Sneezing, Use Handkerchief Or Tissue, Always



Whether you feel well or you dont, make sure your mouth is covered with a handkerchief and tissue. This will prevent the respiratory droplets from entering the air and infecting others in close proximity to you. Also, once used, dispose the tissue off appropriately in a dustbin, instead of keeping it lying around your desk like a souvenier -- no one likes that.

Stay Away From People Who Look Sick/Unwell

It is strongly advised that you avoid contact or being in close proximity with people whore unwell. Even if they dont have the coronavirus, the infection will damage your immune system that will not keep your body ready in case you actually come across it.

Clean Commonly Used Surfaces At Home

Commonly used surfaces like door levers, armrests etc can be hotspots for germs to stay accumulated, only to infect others that come in contact with that surface. Keep such surfaces clean and tidy with the help of rubbing alcohol, disinfectants or even hand sanitisers. This will destroy the germs and not let it spread.
T idjane Thiam was ousted on Friday as chief executive of Credit Suisse after an extraordinary power struggle with his chairman and despite the public support of leading investors.

The former Prudential chief, one of the best-known names in finance, rose from his roots as an Ivory Coast politician to become one of the most prominent black businessmen in the world.

Chairman Urs Rohner has been warring with Thiam for months, ever since it emerged the bank had been spying on two of its own executives, including Iqbal Khan, long regarded as a likely successor to Thiam. Thiam, 57, said he did not know the spying was taking place, but said today: It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.

The Swiss press was quick to blame the spy scandal for Thiams departure. The Tages Anzeiger said that while Rohner has prevailed, he now faces a mud fight with the important shareholders who have campaigned for Thiam in public.

Those shareholders include Harris Associates, which believes a Swiss clique opposed to change worked to undermine Thiam. New York hedge fund Eminence Capital had already threatened legal action if Thiam was fired. Rohner was supported by Severin Schwan, the lead independent director on the board. Yesterday, the directors accepted Thiams resignation. Thiam, a suave, highly intelligent man, joined in June 2015. In the next four years he was paid a total of 31 million, including nearly 10 million last year.

The annual report makes it clear that, in the event of his departure, the remuneration committee is free to award Thiam as it sees fit.

So while the spy scandal has hurt Credit Suisses reputation, he may still land another 10 million for 2019. He is credited with turning around a bank whose fortunes were languishing when he arrived, though the share price remained resistant to improvement.

His strategy to scale back investment banking and push into wealth management didnt always meet with approval from the Swiss banking establishment, for whom Credit Suisse is a national champion. Thiam will be replaced next week by Thomas Gottstein, who heads the domestic business. He is a more traditional bank executive who has been with Credit Suisse since 1999. He had started as a telecoms analysts for UBS in London.

One observer said: Tidjane is Mr International. Gottstein looks like other Swiss bankers. Rohner will stay as chairman until April 2021. Credit Suisse has results next week.
Jeremiah Dickey, 19, was fatally shot in the head inside a car parked in Brooklyn Tuesday while rapping on Facebook Live

A 19-year-old man was shot and killed while rapping on Facebook Live inside a car parked on a Brooklyn street.

At around 6.45pm on Tuesday, police responded to a 911 call reporting shots fired at Elton Street and New Lots Avenue in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

Upon arrival, officers discovered Jeremiah Dickey with a gunshot wound to the head.

He was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

In Dickey's livestreamed video, which has since been removed from Facebook, the teen reportedly could be seen singing along to his favorite song, '30,' by rapper Bizzy Banks.

About 35 seconds into the recording, Dickey looks around, at which point five gunshots ring out.

The fatally struck teen drops his phone and the screen goes black.

As of Friday morning, no arrests have been made in connection to his shooting, leaving his family members searching for answers.

Scroll down for video

Dickey was discovered unconscious at Elton Street and New Lots Avenue in East New York

Five gunshots rang out outside a bodega at 6.45pm on Tuesday, with at least one round striking Dickey in the head

'He was a good person. I dont know what happened,' his sister Melissa Dickey said to New York Daily News.

Jeremiah and Melissa's mother, Debra Dickey, told CNN her son loved helping others.

The woman was said to have recently suffered a stroke, and Jeremiah had moved from Brooklyn to The Bronx to help her and his seven siblings, reported New York Post.

Neighbors remembered Dickey as a quiet young man who never caused trouble.

Family members and neighbors described Dickey (pictured) as a good person who was eager to help others

Police did say that Dickey had a criminal record that included an arrest on January 8, 2017, on charges of robbery and resisting arrest, according to News 12 Brooklyn.

NYPD is searching for Dickey's killer. The suspect, described as a man in his 20s, was last seen wearing blue jeans and a blue coat with a fur hood.
Nothing reveals the character of the Democratic Party more clearly than the Democrats' vote to convict based on the second article of the impeachment of Pres. Trump  an article that was about legal disputes over subpoenas, which would normally be settled through the courts. Instead of doing that, however, the issue was sent to the Senate, where, instead of making legal arguments, Democrats simply cried "cover-up!" to Republican opposition to their demands. For this, because Trump adhered to the legal process, Democratic senators voted, and voted unanimously, to remove...not themselves, but President Trump from office. (Were they kidding?)

The other, the first article of impeachment  which charged that, in asking Ukraine to investigate corruption involving former V.P. Joe Biden, and which also charged that Trump withheld military aid to force such compliance  was only superficially less-clearly baseless. This too was unanimously supported by the Democrats, but this time, there was also someone else  Republican Sen. Mitt Romney  who joined them.

This should not have come as a complete surprise. In a previous vote, over whether the Senate should call witnesses that the House failed to call  that is, whether the Senate should do what the House could and should have done before sending the matter to the Senate  Romney voted that the Senate should ignore the delinquency of the House and do what the House had called on the Senate to do, or be charged with a "cover-up"  reason enough in itself for Republicans to reject the House demand. But there was another reason as well  specifically, that calling witnesses could tie up the Senate for weeks or months for what would have been, like the Mueller investigation, a piously justified Democratic fishing expedition. Yet Romney voted for this, and, on the final vote, he continued in similar fashion, voting to remove Trump from office for, at the unproven worst, trying to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens.

In an Atlantic interview, he explained some of the reasons. To Trump attorney Alan Dershowitz's argument that a president who believes that his re-election is in the national interest can't be impeached for pursuing a political advantage, Romney said simply, "I had Professor Dershowitz for criminal law in law school, and he was known to occasionally take his argument to its illogical conclusion."

Exactly what was "illogical" about Dershowitz's conclusion in this case? To dismiss such an argument on this monumental issue with such a flip answer is astonishing. Why is his argument illogical? Romney owes his constituency, if no one else, an answer.

To the argument that a president can be impeached only for breaking a statutory law, Romney says:

To use an old Mormon hymn phrase, that makes reason stare. The idea that Congress would have to anticipate all of the offensive things a president could possibly do, and then make them a statute? ... What if the president decided to pardon every Republican in prison nationwide, while leaving every Democrat locked up? There's no law against that! So it's not a crime or misdemeanor. But it's obviously absurd.

What is absurd about saying, for non-criminal offenses, we have elections? What is absurd about arguing  as Trump's attorneys and others in fact argued  that, were there no such a restriction on impeachment, any political party that gained control of Congress while an opposing party member controlled the White House could impeach such a president for anything that  to use Romney's word  its members found offensive." Under Romney's prescription, the United States would effectively become a parliamentary democracy  something that Trump's defenders argued was clearly against the intention of the founders. And Romney dismisses such objection as "absurd"? He owes his constituency, and he owes the founders of this nation, an explanation.

There are other things that call for explanation. In the impeachment, it is the accusers, not the president, who have the burden of proof. In this regard, on the delay of military aid to Ukraine, it was contended that such delays of aid were common, and that aid to Ukraine was one of them. Yet Romney speaks as if the reason the accusers asserted were a matter of uncontested fact.

And there is the matter of adjectives. Romney describes Trump's request as an "appalling abuse of public trust," yet it was made before 25 other government officials, and none commented. He describes it as a "flagrant assault." And he says "corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive, destructive violation of one's oath of office I can imagine."

The first question that last particular statement raises is how exactly any information coming out of an investigation and Ukraine would "corrupt" an American election.

The second question is whether or not Romney is aware of the fact that in the previous administration, the IRS was subverted to impede conservatives from organizing in the run-up to the 2012 election. (Where was the impeachment then?) And is he aware that the FBI was (not openly, but secretly) used to spy on the Trump campaign in the 2016 election? He doesn't have to imagine these things; they occurred.

Does he not think that these undisputed offenses might "perhaps" (got to have that weasel word) be more abusive, etc. to one's oath than Trump's contended offense, even if we assume the worst? And if so, with words like "appalling" and "flagrant" already used to describe Trump's contended abuse, what words does Romney use for the far more ominous abuses of the Obama administration?

Romney seeks to minimize his vote. He says,

I will only be one name among many, no more, no less. To future generations who look at the record of this trial they will note merrily that I was among the senators who determined that what the president did was wrong  grievously wrong."

This is complete nonsense. He will not be one name among many; he will be the only Republican, in the Senate or House, to vote for either of the articles of impeachment. In doing this, he gives credibility to an enterprise that was itself nothing more than a partisan scheme, and so gives credibility for future such enterprises.

In prefacing his announcement to the Senate, Romney said:

As a senator/juror, I swore an oath, before God, to exercise impartial justice. I am profoundly religious. My faith is at the heart of who I am. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential.

Here, he is suggesting that his devotion to God is the reason for his decision, which implies that, for other senators, such devotion is not the reason.

Aside from that, however, there is also the minor fact that, in the explanations that Romney has put forth, explanations that ignore arguments that were made during the trial, and making statements without a basis for them, Romney has not honored his obligation, his pledge made before God. And he will not have honored it until he provides explanations that can justify his position. If he cannot do that, then, to undo at least partially the damage that he has done, he must at least repudiate his vote, if not resign.

Bert Peterson worked as a campaign volunteer for Mitt Romney in 2012.

Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr.
Coronavirus: Will India evacuate Pakistani students from China? Govt answers

The Indian government commented on the possibility of evacuating Pakistani students from China's Wuhan. Raveesh Kumar, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs, was asked about alleged appeals from Pakistani students stuck in the city which is the epicentre of an outbreak of a mysterious Coronavirus. Kumar said that India had not received any such request from its Pakistani counterpart. He added that if Islamabad made such a request, Delhi would think about it keeping in mind availability of resources. The NDA administration brought back over 600 Indians and 7 Maldivians from Wuhan in two special flights on February 1 and 2, 2020. ...read more
Slate is making its coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. Start your free trial.

The Chinese doctor in Wuhan who tried to sound the alarm in the early stages of what would soon become the coronavirus outbreak died Friday from the virus. Thirty-four-year-old ophthalmologist Li Wenliang tried to raise concerns around the new year about what was then an unidentified virus. On Dec. 30, Li described to medical school classmates in an online chat room that what he was seeing in the capital of Hubei province resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome (or SARS). The Chinese state apparatus quickly intervened. Li was interrogated by both medical authorities and police before being forced to sign a statement disavowing his early warning of the deadly disease as an illegal rumor. Soon, however, thousands of residents in Wuhan had contracted the virus that has now spread around the world, claiming hundreds of lives so far, including Lis, who contracted the disease from a glaucoma patient he was treating.

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In China, Li is being referred to as a whistleblower. In most places, he would just be referred to as a doctor. Its a maddening story of censorship and propaganda, one that shows the global impact that Chinas stifling approach to hard truths can and will have on us all. For years, economic opening and technological advance have been seen as potential drivers of systemic political change in China, but in many ways its worked the other way around. The expansion of Chinese economic influence buoyed by technology has effectively exported its values of secrecy in the name of stability. You need not look further than the hushed responses across the West to the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong and Chinas chilling treatment of the Uighurs. That silence you heard from the NBA, from Donald Trump, from the once-vocal corners of the globe, was the sound of punches getting pulled, values getting quietly shelved, reality rearranged. But what the past month has shown is the silver bullet to propaganda everywhere is going to be something far less hopefuldisease. The threat of pandemic requires experts and truth, honest and principled leadership. Without it, alternative sources of power well up. Technological authoritarianism and craven populism might be effective in placating the masses, wherever they reside, dividing by confusion and convenience, obfuscation and fear, but when you tell people its safe for their kids to go outside and you know its not, something changes in people, and the stakes change.

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The Chinese government has largely held its line, taking down unharmonious feelings of anger and anguish, and pushing out numbing statements. [Li] had the misfortune to be infected during the fight against the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, and all-out efforts to save him failed, the Wuhan City Central Hospital announced on Weibo. We express our deep regret and condolences. But there have been rare outbursts of public anger about Lis death and Chinas treatment of the truth. Dr. Lis death appeared unlikely to inspire protests in Wuhan, which has been under lockdown for just over two weeks in an unprecedented effort to extinguish the epidemic, the New York Times reports. In Wuhan and other heavily restricted areas of Hubei, residents mostly stay inside their homes and avoid socializing for fear of catching the virus.

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The result? The Chinese public have staged what amounts to an online revolt after the death of [Li Wenliang] who tried to warn of a mysterious virus that has since killed hundreds of people in China, infected tens of thousands and forced the government to corral many of the countrys 1.4 billion people, the Times reports. Since late Thursday, people from different backgrounds, including government officials, prominent business figures and ordinary online users, have posted numerous messages expressing their grief at the doctors death and their anger over his silencing by the police after sharing his knowledge about the new coronavirus. It has prompted a nationwide soul-searching under an authoritarian government that allows for little dissent.

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Here are some examples from the Times of the extraordinary dissent being voiced largely online:

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 Refusing to listen to your whistling, your country has stopped ticking, and your heart has stopped beating, Hong Bing, the Shanghai bureau chief of the Communist Partys official newspaper, Peoples Daily, wrote on her timeline on WeChat, an instant-messaging platform. How big a price do we have to pay to make you and your whistling sound louder, to reach every corner of the East?  Both the Chinese- and English-language Twitter accounts of Peoples Daily tweeted that Mr. Lis death had prompted national grief. Both accounts deleted those messages before replacing them with more neutral, official-sounding posts.  The Weibo account of Shandong Provinces law enforcement body posted a portrait of Mr. Li with two sentences that have been circulating online: Heroes dont fall from the sky. Theyre just ordinary people who stepped forward.  Its time to reflect on the deeply-rooted, stability-trumps-everything thinking thats hurt everyone, Wang Ran, chairman of the investment bank CEC Capital, wrote on Weibo. We all want stability, he asked. Will you be more stable if you cover the others mouths while walking on a tightrope?

A pandemic, it turns out, may be a great leveler, the alarm clock awakening us from our slide into an authoritarian dozeand not just in China.
February 6, 2020

A Stellar State of the Union

President Trump gave his third State of the Union speech this week and greatly highlighted the successes of our nation. He spoke on many issues facing Americans from the economy and healthcare to our Constitutional rights to life, religious liberty, and to bear arms. There were many moments where Americans could identify with the stories of people who are currently living out their dreams in this nation. Even though the partisan tension over impeachment was hard to ignore, President Trump put that aside and spoke directly to the hearts of his fellow Americans.

No one can deny the economic success that our President has spurred. Over the last few years, Americans have seen what President Trump called the Blue-Collar Boom. More than 7 million jobs have been added during his term. The employment rate has been consistently low and is currently at 3.5 percent being the lowest in fifty years. The bottom half of households have seen a 47 percent growth in net income.

The President tackled one of the most egregious ideologies that is seeping into our culture: socialism. He pointed to Venezuelan opposition leader, Juan Gaido, who has fought against the harmful Maduro regime. After calling him Venezuelas true and legitimate president, he asked Gaido to take back this message to his people: All of the American people are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom. In the same vein, he vowed to never allow it to destroy our healthcare system.

Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh was a special guest of the President. Because of his radio show, many conservatives have felt empowered to be engaged in todays politics. Recently, he announced that he has stage four lung cancer. The President announced that Limbaugh would be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor; and in a break with tradition, he authorized the First Lady to make the presentation at the State of the Union.

Of course, our most pro-life President did not forget to mention the importance of every life, even inside of the womb. President Trump introduced Ellie Schneider who was born at 21 weeks and 6 days old. He stated, Ellie reminds us that every child is a miracle of life. Every human life is a gift from God. He then called on Congress to pass legislation to ban late-term abortions.

The best was saved for last. President Trump introduced Amy Williams and her children from Fort Bragg, North Carolina whose husband was deployed to Afghanistan. As he was thanking her for her sacrifice, he also announced that her husband was back, and they reunited in the House Chamber.

As the President finished his speech, Speaker Nancy Pelosi crudely ripped up his written words directly behind him. Not only is this a reflection of the intolerable lefts attitude against the President, but also against those who uphold traditional values. Many Democrats have started a culture of reacting with pettiness when they disagree with someone else. This has not stopped conservatives however from striving to preserve every persons rights, including free speech.

The President touched on many more issues, some that we will keep an eye on such as paid family leave, education, and immigration. You can read the full transcript of his speech here. Eagle Forum will continue to support the President in achieving great successes for American families. To sum up the Presidents ambitions, he declared, Our agenda is pro-worker, pro-family, pro-growth, and most importantly, pro-American.

Acquittal roll-call votes:
Its been a grueling couple of weeks for the Washington Post. The paper found itself as the subject of news, rather than its author. Morale is hurting. The newsroom is angry. Management is stumbling. Whether this leads to growth or just to festering resentment depends on the capacity of an entrenched institution to imagine that the way things have always been done may not work any more.

It began when Post reporter Felicia Sonmez tweeted a link to a story about rape allegations against Kobe Bryant shortly after Bryants death in a helicopter crash. She was hit with knee-jerk criticism from the Posts top editors, resulting in her suspension, even as she was facing hate mail and death threats online.

The masthead reaction sparked its own backlash from Sonmez and her colleagues in the Posts newsroom, the staff union, most working journalists, and anybody in the general public who cared about media. Shortly thereafter, the suspension was reversed, a not-actually-an-apology was issued by Post editor Marty Baron, and a bitter public discourse ensued about social media, the myth of journalistic objectivity, and the obligation of media companies to back their reporters.

THE MEDIA TODAY: Covering an election when its credibility is in doubt

This discourse was intensified by a Daily Beast report that alleged that Baron and managing editor Tracy Grant had last year told Wesley Loweryperhaps the most high-profile black reporter at the Postthat his tweets criticizing a New York Times story for failing to note the racist roots of the Tea Party violated the Posts social-media rules and threatened the newspapers credibility.

Lowery, who recently left the Post for a job at CBS News, tweeted this week that reporters of color shouldnt have their jobs threatened for speaking out about mainstream media failures to properly cover and contextualize issues of race. Whats the point of bringing diverse experiences and voices into a room only to muzzle them?

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As you might imagine, the working journalists at the Post are not pleased by any of this. Staffers variously described the mood in the newsroom to me as both riled up and demoralized, and some said that the way that Baron had handled the issues made them consider leaving the paper. Apart from the fundamental disagreement over standards, they noted that the Posts social media policy feels arbitrarily enforced, and that they lack confidence that management will protect them from the inevitable right-wing internet mobs that come for Post reporters with regularity in the Trump era.

The newspapers union, the Post Guild, spoke out strongly in favor of Felicia Sonmez, but is trying to strike a conciliatory tone in order to have something useful come out of a turbulent week. Post management has offered up dialogue channels to talk about our social media policy and find ways to improve it together for todays world while still protecting our work, the union told me. Were encouraged by this and have assembled a working group to help move the conversation forward in a productive way.

Baron himself, who did not respond to a request for comment, noted in his email to the newsroom that In recent months, we have begun to review our social media policy to update its provisions in recognition of how social media has changed since our policy was written in 2011. Sources say that review began late last year, but achieved nothing tangible. Perhaps a public crisis is just what was needed.

These incidents (along with a HuffPost report this week about sexism at the Post) bring up several issuesnot least of which is the perpetual and omnipresent struggle of people who are not straight white men to be treated as well as straight white men in the media industry. Since the Posts social media review committee is unlikely to resolve that struggle, we will focus more specifically on what the company itself probably believes is the issue here: how to, as countless journalism chin-strokers have opined in countless memos, navigate the tricky and always changing nature of social media, in the context of being employed as a journalist.

This is not something that younger journalists who grew up online worry about, for the same reason that birds dont worry about heights. Navigating social media is a normal human skill for them, like driving a car or eating without spilling food all over yourself. Some people might be bad at it, sure, but its not something you generally need to have a seminar to discuss.

Unless youre old enough to be running a newspaper. (Baron is in his mid-60s.) For the 55-and-over demographicor for anyone who would unironically describe themself as a person with ink running in my veinspersonal Twitter use seems to be an unsolvable puzzle. The way that people communicate in 2020 often causes such managers to, at least initially, try to muzzle and restrict the very things that make those modes of communication useful and attractive. At the Post (and at countless less prominent newsrooms across the country), the result is inconsistent enforcement of outmoded standards that are guaranteed to leave a good portion of people upset, no matter what decision is made.

For the Post, or any influential publication, to pretend that it is not a participant in politics is a failure to acknowledge reality.

The problem here is not one of technology. It is one of politics. The attempt of prestige newspapers like the Post to cast themselves as perfect sentinels of objectivity standing outside the tawdry world of political judgment is, as honest journalists have long realized, absurd. And impossible. The Posts current social media policy forbids posting anything that could objectively be perceived as reflecting political, racial, sexist, religious or other bias or favoritism.

Consider the assumptions inherent in such a standard. It posits, first, the existence of someone capable of telling hundreds of journalists with hundreds of different sets of life experiences covering a complex nation of 330 million citizens what objectively is political or racial bias. (Maybe God is up to that job, but Marty Baron is not.) We see in practice that what is ruled to violate this standard is a reporter noting a history of sexual assault in a recently deceased celebrity, or a reporter saying that the Tea Party was motivated by racism. Are these observations objectively evidence of some sort of bias? No. They are, instead, evidence that it is a fools errand for the management of the Post to act as though they alone have insight into objective truth.

Banning a female reporter from noting that a famous person was famously accused of rape is, itself, a political act. Banning a black reporter from saying that a racially motivated movement was racially motivated is, itself, a political act. Banning reporters at your media outlet from saying anythingno matter how accuratethat sounds like it is criticizing a competing media outlet is, itself, a political act. All of these standards serve to protect existing power structures. That is what politics is: deciding who has power, and how it gets exercised. For the Post, or any influential publication, to pretend that it is not a participant in politics is a failure to acknowledge reality.

If we as an industry are ever going to move past this interminable issue of social-media use, we are first going to have to stop acting as if it is a simple matter of catching up to the latest technological trends. In truth, it is just the latest manifestation of the old, self-serving, ridiculous notion that the press can stand on a magical, bias-free island outside of reality. As long as newspapers are writing policies to enforce that impossible dream world, their policies will fail. Instead, they should stick to a much simpler guideline: reporters should tell the truth.

PREVIOUSLY: How the Washington Post pulled off the hardest trick in journalism

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Hamilton Nolan is CJR's public editor for the Washington Post.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

I am sure that the share of renewable energy in our total generating capacity will and should gradually increase, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his closing speech at the conference dedicated to the results of first year implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023", Trend reports.

Certain issues arose in 2020, quite recently, and resources are required to resolve them, said Ilham Aliyev. The State Investment Program has been approved. It is quite extensive. At the same time, there are some reserves because issues emerge during the year that also need to be resolved.

And now I would like to dwell on the key upcoming issues and projects, so that the program and the development of our country as a whole are ensured this year as well, the Azerbaijani president noted. First of all, I would like to start with infrastructure projects, despite the fact that great success has been achieved in this area and most of the issues have been resolved. However, life does not stop. The needs, population and the industrial potential of our country are growing, new enterprises are being commissioned. Therefore, the implementation of infrastructure projects should continue to be ensured.

In my opening remarks, I provided some data regarding the production of electricity, Ilham Aliyev said. I want to add that an important event took place in January this year. Two major foreign investors signed a protocol of intent with Azerbaijan on the production of renewable energy. This is actually called an executive agreement, and more detailed work will be carried out on these contracts over the course of the year, for several months. I am sure that relevant contracts will be signed by the end of this year.

This issue is very important because it is renewable energy that will be produced exclusively with foreign investment, the Azerbaijani president noted. Of course, as I noted in my opening remarks, if our credit rating were not high and if Azerbaijan were not among top 20 most reforming countries in terms of the business environment, foreign investors would not invest here.

When meeting with the executives of these major companies, I was also convinced that the key reason behind this decision was, first of all, the stability and calm prevailing in our country and investors faith in the long-term development of Azerbaijan, added Ilham Aliyev. These are very large projects. Two power plants will be built  wind and solar. Their total generating capacity is at 440 megawatts  very large stations. About $400 million of foreign investments are envisaged. Therefore, I am sure that other investors will also show interest after this. I can say that we received proposals from nine leading companies in the world for the implementation of this project.

Work is already under way on an individual basis and with companies that, if I may say so, have remained on the sidelines, the Azerbaijani president said. New proposals are being prepared for them. I am sure that the share of renewable energy in our total generating capacity will and should gradually increase.

In parallel, AzerEnergy will begin the construction of a large new power station with a generating capacity of about 350-400 megawatts, noted Ilham Aliyev. There is a need for this because, as I have already noted, our export opportunities are expanding and domestic needs will gradually grow. So domestic consumption must be always taken into account. We now have about 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity that is not used in the country. A significant part of that is exported.

AzerEnergy should also begin the construction of a new wind farm, the Azerbaijani president said. A station with a capacity of 50 megawatts was commissioned recently. The generating capacity of the second station is 84 megawatts. And this is another manifestation of renewable energy in Azerbaijan. Several countries of the world, especially those not rich in natural resources, are implementing similar projects now. Our policy is this: despite the fact that we have both oil and gas, we must use renewable energy in order to ensure their economical use and exports, especially since we have ample sun and wind.

At the same time, construction and restoration work will be carried out at the other three blocks of the Mingachevir Thermal Power Plant, Ilham Aliyev noted. Five blocks have already been repaired, which means an additional about 400 megawatts of generating capacity. Therefore, in the next two to three years we will significantly increase our energy capacity. At the same time, of course, issues of installing transformers, launching new substations and updating power lines are also on the agenda.

As for gasification, as I have already noted, although we have reached 96 percent, the state investment program provides for the allocation of 130 million manats from the state budget of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan for gasification, said the Azerbaijani president. Using these funds, many villages that are not receiving gas today will have gas supply.
Chairman of Pro Romania Victor Ponta said on Thursday evening that, in his view, the designation of Ludovic Orban for the Prime Minister office, after the consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, represents a "frivolous matter" and he is convinced that President Klaus Iohannis's proposal won't be voted in Parliament.

"The proposal with Ludovic Orban won't pass. (...) The man is a governmental catastrophe. How can one vote for such a thing? (...) Orban is too weak. I will not vote and nobody from Pro Romania will vote for Mr. Orban. (...) But, beyond what we are doing, those from Pro Romania, we are 24, it is my understanding that those with the PSD [the Social Democratic Party] won't be in the room either, neither will be those from the PMP [the People's Movement Party], those from the ALDE [the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats] and the minorities, they announced today [Thursday]. The PNL [the National Liberal Party] and the USR [the Save Romania Union] are one third, maximum, I don't think they are even a third. (...) It is a frivolous matter to propose a Prime Minister whom nobody endorses. (...) I await to see whether Mr. Orban has the necessary votes to be Prime Minister, but I understand that nobody will vote for him. (...) However, don't you find it ridiculous to propose a Prime Minister whom nobody votes for? It is a first in the world history, not only of Romania," Victor Ponta told Realitatea Plus private broadcaster.He argued that the proposal made by President Klaus Iohannis is "a fake" and that it probably is part of the strategy to trigger early elections."It's possible, but I don't want to talk about what Mr. Ciolacu and Mr. Corlatean will do, the presidents of the two Chambers, however, I understood from their public statements that they will use the legal prerogative - the two presidents of the Chambers have the right to notify the Constitutional Court. From my point of view, the notification would be fair now, after the nomination, because, but this is up to the Constitutional Court to decide, one cannot propose a candidate for the Prime Minister office who hasn't any political support, no party announcing their vote for him. (...) There is no party to vote for Orban, the PNL announced that they will note vote for him, the USR won't vote, we even less. (...) The proposal of Orban is a fake. (...) After these three months I am more certain than before that he is incapable of being Prime Minister. (...) Mr. Iohannis will turn to plan B, which he announced: if they don't manage to trigger early elections with Orban, they are going to form a government around the PNL. And he'll propose a genuine Prime Minister, not a fake one," Victor Ponta said.
By Marianna Parraga

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, criticizing U.S. "provocations" and attempts to create what he called a pretext for military intervention.

Lavrov's censure of Washington, on a low-profile visit to Mexico, came at an awkward time for the host nation. Mexico's government has been going out of its way avoid antagonizing the Trump administration, meeting its demands over immigration and other issues to avoid punitive U.S. measures.

Russia and the United States have repeatedly clashed over Venezuela, where Russian oil companies and military advisers are playing a key role in support of the socialist government of President Nicolas Maduro.

The United States and dozens of other countries recognize opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been trying to oust Maduro, as Venezuela's rightful president. Washington has imposed sanctions in a bid to dislodge Maduro.

Lavrov condemned attempts to remove Maduro as not "useful," and said Washington's threats against Venezuela were counterproductive.

Lavrov said the United States was "threatening that all options are on the table" and was involved in "provocations" in Venezuela.

"No one can solve the problems of Venezuelans for them, but others may very well try to prevent them from negotiating. We see such attempts aimed at setting a pretext for a military intervention," Lavrov said, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

"Russia and Mexico agree that this will be categorically unacceptable," Lavrov added, according to Tass.

Lavrov met with Mexican counterpart Marcelo Ebrard on Thursday and afterwards said U.S. foreign policy was stuck in the past, accusing Washington of bullying tactics.

"The United States thinks that everything is allowed and in the meantime they threaten the interlocutors, including punishments and sanctions," Lavrov said at a news conference in Mexico City, according to a live translation of his comments into Spanish.

Story continues

While Lavrov spoke warmly of a shared vision for Latin America with Mexico, his Mexican counterpart Ebrard did not make a public appearance with him. During last year's visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Ebrard and Pompeo met the press together.

"Its a snub," Jorge Castaneda, a Mexican former foreign minister, told Reuters. "It just shows how subservient this government has become to the Americans."

Mexico's foreign ministry, in a statement, said it shared with Russia its "vision" for its rotating presidency of a regional body, known as CELAC, which was established by Venezuela as a counterweight to the U.S.-backed Organization of American States (OAS).

Mexican and Russian positions on Venezuela have moved closed under Mexico's leftist President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, with both calling for talks without pre-conditions. However, Mexico has been less vocal in regards to the future of Maduro amid its efforts to have smooth relations with Washington.

(Reporting by Marianna Paragga; writing by Drazen Jorgic; additional reporting by Sharay Angulo and Adriana Barrera; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien and Lincoln Feast.)
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Cyprus orders missiles amid Turkey gas tensions



Nicosia, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Cyprus has signed contracts for weapons orders to bolster its defences at a time of heightened tensions with Turkey over maritime gas deposits, its defence ministry confirmed Friday.

"Contracts were signed related to upgrading specific weapons systems at an estimated cost of 240 million" euros, the ministry said in a statement.

"Given the sensitivity of national security issues, no further details will be made available at present," it said.

A source told AFP the Cypriot army signed a 150 million euro ($165 million) contract in December with European manufacturer MBDA Missile Systems for short-range Mistral surface-to-air missiles.

The information, from a source close to the matter who did not want to be named, corroborated an article in the Tribune, a French financial newspaper.

MBDA also reportedly signed a contract worth 90 million euros for anti-ship Exocet missiles to bolster coastal defences.

Contacted by AFP, MBDA said it did not wish to comment.

Turkey has in recent months sent ships to explore the Exclusive Economic Zone of EU member state Cyprus, despite warnings from Washington and Brussels.

The Mediterranean island is divided between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and a breakaway northern third recognised only by Ankara.

Turkey has had troops stationed in the country since 1974 when it invaded and occupied its northern third after a coup sponsored by the military junta then ruling Greece.

In December, Ankara deployed a military drone in northern Cyprus amid growing regional tensions over a Turkish maritime and security deal with Libya's UN recognised government.

Cyprus, Greece and Israel in early January signed an agreement to build a 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) gas pipeline, known as the EastMed project, amid Turkish hostility to the deal.

cc-burs/dwo/dr
Stocks in news today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Friday's trading session based on latest developments. Investors are also awaiting December quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Britannia, SML Isuzu, CARE Ratings, Voltas, Inox Leisure, Corporation Bank and Whirlpool among others.

Eicher Motors Q3: The company reported a 6.3% fall (YoY) in consolidated net profit to Rs 498 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 as against Rs 532 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Total revenue from operations rose 1.28% (YoY) to Rs 2,371 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 2,341 crore during the same period last financial year. EPS registered (YoY) at Rs 182 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, from Rs 195 crore, booked in the corresponding quarter in previous year.

Sun Pharma Q3: The company reported 26% decline (YoY) in consolidated net profit to Rs 913.52 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 as against Rs 1,241.85 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Total revenue from operations rose 5.3% (YoY) to Rs 8,154.85 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 7,740.19 crore in the same period last financial year. EPS registered (YoY) at Rs 3.81 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, from Rs 5.18 crore, booked in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

RITES Q3: The company reported 13% rise (YoY) in consolidated net profit to Rs 139.74 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 as against Rs 122.81 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Total income rose 13.90% (YoY) to Rs 645.58 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 566.78 crore in the same period last financial year. EPS registered (YoY) at Rs 5.59 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, from Rs 4.91 crore, booked in the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Company also declared interim dividend at the rate of 40% of the paid-up share capital of Rs 4.00 per share.

Bata Q3: The company reported 14% rise (YoY) in consolidated net profit to Rs 118 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 as against Rs 103 crore, recorded in a year-ago period. Total income rose 6.80% (YoY) to Rs 847 crore in the October-December quarter of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 793 crore in the same period last financial year. EPS registered (YoY) at Rs 9.20 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2019, from Rs 8.02 crore, booked in the corresponding quarter in the previous year.

Q3 Earnings Today: Britannia, Container Corporation Of India, Godfrey Phillips India, Sterling And Wilson Solar, Whirlpool Of India, Voltas, Oberoi Realty, Procter & Gamble Health, SML Isuzu, CARE Ratings, Future Supply Chain Solutions, Inox Leisure, Corporation Bank, Excel Industries, Venky's, Abbott India, Globus Spirits, Mahanagar Gas, Alkem Laboratories, Apex Frozen Foods, Ashoka Buildcon, Apollo Finvest, Archies, Emami, Essel Propack, IIFL Securities, JSW Holdings, KEC International, Kolte-Patil Developers, Maharashtra Seamless, Max India, New India Assurance Company, NTPC, Repco Home Finance, Varun Beverages, UPL, TV Today Network, Tata Steel, Symphony among others will announce their quarterly results today.
By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/02/06

One of the more everyday demonstrations of the popularity of "Crash Landing on You" has been the drama's influence on fashion. Leading lady Son Ye-jin has become a byword in much merchandising, as vendors have started describing earrings, coats, jackets, and bags as all being in the Son Ye-jin style.

Advertisement

A major reason for this is that what the Son Ye-jin style means in the context of her latest drama is actually quite broad. In "Crash Landing on You" Son Ye-jin has two distinct styles. The first style is based off of her character's identity as a corporate heiress, with luxury brand products. The second style is a more retro branding that's based around the clothes she has used to fit in while in North Korea.

Naturally there are major price distinctions between the two styles. A Chanel tweed jacket that featured on a recent episode of "Crash Landing on You" was listed on Chanel's website for a price of over eight thousand dollars. A white floral pattern blouse featured in an earlier North Korean episode from the domestic brand Letter From Moon, by contrast, retails for under thirty dollars.

Written by William Schwartz

___________

"Crash Landing on You" is directed by Lee Jeong-hyo, written by Park Ji-eun, and features Hyun Bin, Son Ye-jin, Seo Ji-hye, Kim Jung-hyun, Kim Sun-young, Kim Jung-nan. Broadcasting information in Korea: 2019/12/14~Now airing, Sat, Sun 21:00 on tvN.
The perpetrators illegally transferred migrants from Turkey to Greece and Italy and from Greece to Italy by sea

Open source

Employees of Department of fight against crimes tied with human trafficking along with Chief investigating department of the National Police of Ukraine under the procedural direction of the Prosecutor Generals Office blocked the transnational channel Ukrainians trafficking by and their further exploitation as the National Police reported.

On the pretext of the participation in the transport of refugees, the perpetrators illegally transferred migrants from Turkey to Greece and Italy and from Greece to Italy by sea. The police officers detained the active participants of the criminal grouping. The involvement of 12 citizens of Zaporizhia in the recruitment was documented. Eight of them served sentenced abroad.

The perpetrators involved the recruited citizens in the criminal activity out of our state. Particularly, the issue is about illicit transfer of migrants from Turkey to Greece and Italy and from Greece to Italy by sea.

It is established that during the transfer of illegal migrants, the perpetrators used sailboats and pleasure boats. The recruited Ukrainians were used as the crew.

In the result of the operative actions, the police established that a 35-year-old citizen of Zaporizhia was the active partaker of the criminal group with the signs of the organization, which provided the functioning of this channel.

According to the police, the suspect has sustainable linkages with foreign people who transferred illegal migrants. He recruited Ukrainian citizens for them. Moreover, he was responsible for the recruitment and transfer of recruited members of the crew to Turkey. In particular cases, he accompanied recruited people to Turkey, instructed and controlled them abroad.

Moreover, earlier man personally participated in the transfer of illegal migrants and he is familiar with the specificity of this illegal activity.

Police officers found out that the detainee attracted contacts of his familiars for search of future victims.

As we reported, women and girls make around 72% of human trafficking victims. Mostly, it is about sexual exploitation.
(Natural News) This is a breaking news update from Natural News, translated from the Chinese language Liberty Times Net website, which has produced some of the best reporting on the coronavirus pandemic outbreak.

According to the report, the communist Chinese government has just announced the imminent quarantine of the city of Shenzhen in the Guangdong Province, causing a mad rush of Chinese citizens fleeing to Hong Kong to try to escape the quarantines before the international community blocks all flights from Hong Kong. This effort will, of course, only serve to accelerate the spread of the virus internationally.

There are roughly 25 million people in the greater Shenzhen municipal area, so this is a significant increase in the number of Chinese citizens who will soon be living under military-enforced quarantine. (Currently over 50 million, soon to be at least 75 million and growing)

Heres the translated text that explains this. Just remember, automated machine translations from Chinese to English are very difficult, so the English appears quite broken:

Shenzhen News Network reported that the Shenzhen Municipal Peoples Government said on the 7th, all communities will be 100% closed management, if there are confirmed cases of residential hard isolation for 14 days, and organize regulatory service team to do key ethnic groups tracking, where there is a history of close contact with the case 100% of the implementation of centralized isolation, households also want to take temperature and other measures.

According to Hong Kongs Position News reported that Shenzhen city from the 8th began to seal the city after the announcement of the news, 7 days from the emergence of a large number of people want to pour into Hong Kong, from the scene film can be seen at 10:28 p.m., shenzhen port before the appearance of long lines of taxis, are to load the people of Shenzhen into Hong Kong, long car long about 1 km.

The same story also reports that the hard quarantine of Shenzhen begins on Feb. 8th (tomorrow), which is why people are panic fleeing today, while they can still get out: (another important reminder to always have a bugout bag)

Comprehensive Chinese media reports, the Shenzhen Municipal Government announced that from February 8 on the citys peoples vehicles fully implement control, in the vehicle epidemic control checkpoint vehicle control, and foreign vehicles to sacrifice advance declaration measures, the first time the public driving through the vehicle epidemic prevention checkpoint, must be at least 1 day in advance of the Internet registration declaration, approval before passing.

The Wuhan quarantine has been breached Hong Kong is finished

Shenzhen, in Southern China, is very close to Hong Kong. This explains why Shenzhen residents are fleeing to Hong Kong, no doubt bringing more infections with them. Many residents will attempt to take flights out of Hong Kong in order to escape the draconian quarantine, which means of course that some of these people will be inadvertently spreading the coronavirus pandemic to yet more countries, including the United States, which still accepts flights from Hong Kong and China.

According to the Liberty Times Net story, observers in Taiwan are now saying, Hong Kong is finished and are demanding that flights from Hong Kong be cut off in order to protect Taiwan and other Asian countries from the exploding pandemic. Some of the quotes in the story include, The people of Hong Kong are dead, Taiwan will soon be cut off and next week becomes the crazy influx of Hong Kong people into Taiwan.

We pray for the people of Hong Kong in this desperate time. They are good people, and they dont deserve this madness from communist China.

Chinas quarantine efforts now accelerating the spread of the pandemic

It brings up an important point in all this. As China is chasing the outbreak with ever-expanding quarantines, the citizens who live in those areas are attempting to flee before the quarantine, causing a mass exodus of infected individuals who would have otherwise probably just stayed home if not for the draconian quarantine measures enacted by the Chinese government. In effect, the quarantines are accelerating the spread of the virus to other countries due to this fleeing effect.

Much of this likely stems from the fact that China is now running door-to-door roundups of citizens, medically kidnapping them and throwing them into quarantine prison camps with bars on the windows of each room. Nobody wants to end up a prisoner in one of these death hospitals.

The coronavirus pandemic is currently spreading at the rate of roughly a 20% increase per day, achieving sustained, exponential growth that has spread to three cruise ships, dozens of countries and an ever-expanding list of mainland Chinese cities.

The initial attempt to quarantine the Wuhan region in order to stop the coronavirus has clearly failed. Yet the WHO, the CDC and the totally discredited mainstream media are still lying to the public, falsely claiming this outbreak is under control and poses no risk to America. Those claims are malicious, dangerous lies that even the CDCs own scientists are contradicting in their public statements.

In addition, multiple health experts are now on the record confirming this pandemic has broken containment and will spread globally.

Any media source saying this is no big deal is actually trying to make the pandemic worse by keeping people uninformed and unprepared.

Stay informed. Read NaturalNews.com for frequent updates, and watch uncensored videos on Brighteon.com.
In light of the UK decision, Vodafone is removing Huawei from its core networks.

Vodafone removing Huawei from core components, honors UK decision

Vodafone says it is doing this to comply with the nations decision. Last month, the UK decided to keep Huawei in its 5G deployment. Rather than restrict Huawei entirely, the UK says it will let Huawei supply 35-percent of its network periphery. In other words, Huawei wont be the only 5G deployer the country uses.

Vodafone, as a UK operator, must comply with national telecommunications decisions. This is no different than Verizon Wireless obeying the Federal Governments wireless laws.

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This decision doesnt eliminate Huawei from Vodafone networks entirely. It does remove Huawei from the majority of the carriers mobile networks, however. With only 35-percent network access, Huawei wont make as much profit behind Vodafone and other UK carriers.

What did Huawei do?

Some wonder what Huawei has done to deserve this. Simply put, the Shenzhen-based telecom maker is under American suspicion. Last summer, US President Donald Trump declared Huawei a threat to national security. He banned Huawei from buying or selling goods and services in the US.

Ever since then, the US has encouraged its allies to exclude Huawei from 5G network deployments across the globe. So far, Australia agrees with the US, though countries like Germany do not.

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The US is excluding Huawei from its network entirely, subsidizing telecom gear for smaller carriers that cant afford to ditch their Huawei gear. The UK recently said in its decision that Huawei would be under scrutiny but wouldnt be excluded on the basis of US fears alone.

UK Huawei decision: driven by US fears

The US fears Huaweis espionage activities, particularly due to the countrys espionage activities with its safe cities in Uganda and Zambia. Huawei is majority-owned by the Chinese Government, with Huaweis CEO owning only 2-percent of company stock.

Nokia CTO Marcus Weldon said last year that Huaweis security report was troubling considering the companys Beijing subsidies. Nokia found it hard to compete with Huawei in the country because Huawei received monetary support from the Chinese Government.

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While the UK wont ban Huawei from its networks entirely, it is playing it safe by restricting Huaweis access to a peripheral 35-percent, far less than the core. The restriction comes in light of US fears of Beijing espionage. The European Union agrees with the UKs decision.

Huawei has denied any instance of espionage and says that it would resist doing so to maintain its clientele. And yet, if Huawei does it for foreign governments, why would it be any less loyal to its home country?

Security reports provided by Finite State and Huawei-backed Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC) last year reveal that Huawei has a number of software loopholes and vulnerabilities it has yet to fix.

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The alarming number of loopholes in devices and software should give any country or carrier pause to do business with Huawei. But Huaweis dominance in mobile networks and 5G, and its head start in 6G technology makes the company hard to exclude.

Huawei owns 15% of all standards-essential 5G patents. The company has been gaining new network clients since its US ban last summer. Huaweis dominance in the telecom industry is moving the US to gain a controlling financial stake in Ericsson and Nokia, Huaweis smaller rivals.
NORTHAMPTON  A Brazilian-born speaker and international advocate for the rights of indigenous people will give a talk on Indigenous Women on the Front Lines of Climate Activism: The Battle for Environmental Justice in the Amazon on Feb. 13 at Smith College.

Sonia Guajajara, an advocate for the indigenous in a country where economic woes contributed to the impeachment of one president and the rise of the current one  who wants to open indigenous lands for development  is a leader-in-residence Feb. 11 through 15 at the colleges Lewis Global Studies Center.

Smith College professor Rosetta Marantz Cohen called Guajajara a powerful, global voice.

Guajajara is a powerful, global voice in advocating for the rights of indigenous people and the protection of the Amazon rainforest, said Cohen, the colleges Elizabeth Mugar Eveillard 1969 faculty director of the Lewis center. A tireless activist, she stands on the front lines of the fight against climate change.

Last year, Guajajara told the editorial board of the New York Times that indigenous peoples who for centuries have inhabited the Amazon rain forest are now the first impacted by climate change and government policies that contribute to it.

Were seeing floods that last longer, were seeing droughts that are longer, were seeing a reduction in fish with the drying out, Guajajara said. And so, it affects our food security. It also affects our culture.

Currently, Guajajara serves as executive coordinator of the National Articulation of the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil, a network of organizations advocating for the countrys 900,000 indigenous people.

Born among the Guajajara people in an Amazonian village in the state of Maranhao, where it is said the last remaining tracts of forest there are found only in the indigenous territories, she has addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council, the World Conference of Parties negotiating climate change agreements well as the European Commission of Human Rights.

She accompanied the Oscar-nominated Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa (The Edge of Democracy) to the 92nd Oscar nominee lunch in Los Angeles on Jan. 27.

Indigenous people in Brazil live in tribes of various sizes both in the countrys Amazon region as well as outside it.

Their reservations, said to occupy about 12 percent of Brazils national territory, are seen by environmentalists as protection against further deforestation in the Amazon. Advocates say deforestation contributes to the build-up of greenhouse gases and encroaches on the reservations, threatening the indigenous populations way of life.

The countrys far-right President Jair Bolsonaro introduced a bill this week to open up indigenous lands to mining, agricultural work and hydraulic energy production.

President Bolsonaro wants to destroy the indigenous peoples of Brazil. His racism and hate encourage miners and loggers to invade our territories and kill our people, Guajajara said during a protest in November outside the Brazilian Embassy in London. Well, Ive got news for him  we love our lands much more than he hates us, and we will never allow him to destroy us, or the forests we have protected for so long.

Registration for the Feb. 13 event  scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Paradise Room of the Smith College Conference Center, 49 College Lane  is requested and can be done online. The event is being simultaneously translated from Portuguese.

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The Osun State police have confirmed the arrest of Monday Omo-Etan, a tutor at the Obafemi Awolowo University Distance Learning Centre, exposed on Wednesday for reportedly sexually molesting a teenager.

PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday reported how Mr Omo-Etan who teaches Chemistry at the Universitys pre-degree centre reportedly took advantage of a student who mistakenly sent her nude pictures to the class WhatsApp page.

Unconfirmed reports said the student, whose name has not been made public to avoid stigmatisation, meant to send the pictures to her boyfriend.

According to our findings, the pictures were shared by several colleagues and later uploaded in other Whatsapp groups.

Mr Omo-etan, who is also on the WhatsApp group, where the nude was first sent, reportedly summoned the victim and took advantage of her.

The lecturer later reportedly demanded sex from the student and ordered her to suck his private parts.

On Wednesday, the university management via a statement by its spokesperson, Abiodun Olanrewaju, announced Mr Omo-Etans suspension and handed him to the police.

Police confirm arrest

While the spokesperson of Osun Police Command, Folashade Odoro, has refused to respond to PREMIUM TIMES enquiries since Wednesday, the state police commissioner, Johnson Kokumo, confirmed Mr Omo-etans arrest.

Mr Kokumo spoke with Vanguard Newspaper. He said the alleged tutor is in the custody of the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) where he is being interrogated for assaulting his student.

Fresh investigation has commenced on the allegation and the suspect will soon appear in court, the police boss said.
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An aspect of our ministry that has seemingly come from nowhere, but in fact, I have been prepared most of my adult life, is our visitation efforts at local health care facilities. It is true that I worked inside the four walls of three different hospitals. I have been involved for more than six years working for an organization that helps these health care interests prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Almost all of the work that I have been involved in has focused on the physical environment in which health care is delivered. As one who led facility services departments for these hospitals, I did not have a clinical role and did not have a direct responsibility with patient care.

As many readers know, I do not pastor a church. That is not an area of ministry where I am called to serve. Pastors bear a great responsibility to the people entrusted to their spiritual well-being. Given the experience my wife and I have in health care facilities, we see our ministry as a way to connect with those who are sick or injured.

A pastor friend of ours who lives in Luray recently began posting on social media whenever he was visiting a particular hospital. In his social media post, he would routinely include a photograph of the particular health care facility and a message indicating when he would be there. He invites those who see his message that he is open to visiting family and friends who are receiving care at the facility. We copied his approach resulting in some pretty incredible experiences.

In almost every situation, we receive three to four requests for visits when we are at a particular facility. In most instances, we are familiar with the person who is asking us to visit someone in particular  even if we do not know the patient or family at the facility. Sometimes we are asked to check on a loved one because the family lives a great distance from the health care facility. Other times, we are asked to visit out of concern for ones faith (or lack thereof). In all instances, we are asked to visit someone because another person genuinely cares about the patient or resident.

There is a process of checking in with health care facility personnel to understand any visitation restrictions or concerns. We also seek permission from the patient and/or the family before entering any room. Occasionally, the patient will be alone and asleep. In such an instance, we remain in the corridor outside of the room quietly speaking a word of prayer over the patient or resident and their family. In every instance where the person is awake, we have always been welcomed into the room.

Our time with the patient or family might be a one-time visit lasting only a few minutes. In other situations, we might sit with a family in the waiting room while their loved one is having a surgical procedure. Our approach in all situations is purely from a ministry of presence perspective. We approach each situation with prayer and openness as to how God would use us in a moment. Maybe we are there just to hear someones fears about their health condition. Some invite us to read scripture that is of significance to them. Others just want someone to sit with them for awhile. In each situation we have encountered, the patient and family have invited us to speak prayer over their situation.

In Matthew 25, there is scripture where Jesus is speaking of the least of these. Bible scholars and offer their perspective over the meaning of who Jesus was referring in this passage. In each instance that we have encountered, we see this as an opportunity to bring comfort to those who already believe in the saving grace of Jesus Christ. And to speak words of life and love into those that might not have had such an encounter yet.

In all the time I spent working inside health care facilities, I did not know I was being prepared for this type of ministry. It is faith-affirming to be invited to return to visit someone who only a short time before was a total stranger.
South Africa: SA urged to welcome Miss Universe

Government has called on all South Africans to welcome Miss Universe 2019, Zozibini Tunzi, home this weekend.

The Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) has urged South Africans to arrive in their numbers at the O.R Tambo International Airport on Saturday.

The build-up event will start at 7am. This will be followed by a press conference which will be held shortly after Tunzis arrival.

Tunzi flew the South African flag high and that of the African continent when she bagged the coveted title during the Miss Universe pageant, last year, wherein she emphasised the importance of celebrating and recognising black women and their natural beauty.

She expressed her passion on the empowerment of women and fighting issues of gender-based prejudice, which is one of the priorities of government, GCIS said in a statement.

Tunzi is expected to visit Canaan Academy Primary School in the Eastern Cape on Monday.

On Thursday, she will embark on an early morning street tour of Johannesburg and in the evening she will be amongst the Presidents special guests for the State of the Nation Address.

As a young nation, South Africa is proud of the strides that we have made in this sector, and government is particularly proud of Tunzi, GCIS said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Given the reports coming from Trinidad, Vincentian Shertz Problem Child James is a front-runner in the Power Soca category of 2020 International Soca Monarch competition. (Photo Credit: ebuzzit)

According to LOOP News, the performance by Vincentian Shertz Problem Child James in the International Power Soca semis staged last Saturday night in Trinidad and Tobago, was one of three outstanding spots in what the news agency described as a segment of many flat performances.





LOOP News pointed to Problem Child (Nasty Up), Iwer George (Stage Gone Bad- and Lyrikal (Rukshun) as waking up what was already a "dwindling crowd.





Problem Child, like his countryman Skinny Fabulous, is no stranger to the T&T soca circuit; he is widely acclaimed there as both composer and performing artiste.





Last Saturday was no exception to that acclaim when his performance was well-received, boosted by a small but vociferous Vincentian presence in the crowd, LOOP News reported.





Problem Child, making his second appearance in the final of the coveted competition, his first being in 2008 on the back of his monster hit Party Animal, will be joined in the finals by another OECS act, the duo of brothers Luni Spark and Electrify Kellon and Kelson Ogiste respectively.





After some initial doubt, most news agencies in T&T are reporting that 2019 Power Soca Monarch, Hollis Mr Killa Mapp of Grenada, will defend his title. He is expected to do his 2020 chart climber Soca Storm.





Mr. Killa was the first non-Trinidadian to win the International Power Soca Monarch title.





Other than Mr. Killa, there is only one of the 11 selected to challenge him, who has tasted victory in the competition.





Iwer George won in 2007, 2003 and tied in 2002 with Bunji Garlin.





In the Groovy Soca category, SVGs Hance John failed to make the cut from the semis to the finals. His performance was viewed by many to be a spirited one.





Among the ten finalists in this category are Barbadians Ding Dong and Leadpipe, and Grenadian Skinny Banton.





The defending Groovy Soca Monarch is Swappi of T&T, and he will be the only one in the 2020 Groovy Soca category to have had a taste of victory.





The final of the 2020 International Soca Monarch is set for Friday, February 21, 2020, dubbed Fantastic Friday, with a commencement time of 5pm.




New Delhi, Feb 7 : Full-service carrier Vistara on Friday said that it will operate daily flight service between Delhi and Dehradun from March 29.

The airline opened the bookings for the sector with an introductory all-inclusive one-way fares starting from Rs 2,499 in Economy class, Rs 4,699 in Premium economy and Rs 12,299 in Business class.

According to the airline, passengers from Dehradun can also take connections through Delhi to other cities on Vistara's network, including but not limited to Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Ranchi, Raipur and Varanasi.

Vistara Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan said: "With its close proximity to several of India's most-visited tourist destinations, Dehradun is the gateway to the state of Uttarakhand." "Over the past decade, the city has seen tremendous upswing in economic growth following the establishment of software technology parks and SEZs. We see a significant demand for a full-service flying experience on the Delhi-Dehradun route and look forward to bringing our five-star rated service to business and leisure travellers alike." At present, Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA), connects 36 destinations and operates over 200 flights a day with a fleet of 32 Airbus A320 and 7 Boeing 737-800NG aircraft.
Earlier this year, I was dining at a nationwide chain where I'm sure they served me beef in a dish that was billed as lamb on the menu.

I have investigated the food industry for more than 30 years, and reviewed restaurants weekly over that period, so I'm sure my hunch was correct.

Lamb has a different grain from beef, and a distinctive aroma; it also commands a higher price.

When I asked the manageress to check if there had been a mix-up in the kitchen, she came back saying the chef was adamant that the meat on my plate was lamb.

Fish and seafood are the easiest for restaurants to misrepresent, writes Joanna Blythman. (Stock image)

Because I was visiting the restaurant as an anonymous reviewer, I didn't want to blow my cover and reveal my credentials for recognising ingredients. And, besides, I couldn't prove it.

After all, I do not carry a DNA testing kit  the only way to have confirmed the truth about the meat in question.

There is no way of knowing how commonly restaurants mislead customers, but if the recent court case involving the Ask Italian chain is anything to go by, it could be happening more often than we think.

A routine check by Swansea Council's Trading Standards department discovered that Ask's 14.95 Aragosta e Gamberoni (lobster and king prawns) dish contained an ultra-processed mixture of lobster, white fish and other ingredients, formed to look like whole, natural lobster meat.

The judge fined Ask 40,000 for the misleading description, which to my mind, is a light penalty.

But the truth is that, in the catering business, opportunities for misrepresentation and downright dishonesty are endless, and the chances of being caught are slim.

As Professor Chris Elliott, the leading UK authority on food fraud warns: 'There's probably quite a lot of this type of thing going on in food service because of a lack of inspections and lack of testing due to budget constraints.'

There are now just three local authority food law enforcement staff in post for every 1,000 food establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Fish and seafood  particularly expensive scampi, prawns, crab and scallops  are the easiest for restaurants to misrepresent.

If your fish is filleted or served as breaded goujons, would you be able to tell the difference between prime sole and a cheaper species such as catfish?

In 2016, when scientists used DNA testing to screen samples of white-fleshed fish used for ready-made sushi in England, they found that ten per cent of it was not correctly described on the menu.

Lamb, as I discovered first-hand, seems to represent a perpetual invitation to defraud.

In 2018, the owner of Concord Pizza in Sheffield was fined more than 1,000 after being found guilty of selling 'lamb' kebabs actually made from less expensive beef.

It is only one of several takeaways to have been prosecuted for selling beef instead of lamb.

In the catering business, opportunities for misrepresentation and downright dishonesty are endless, and the chances of being caught are slim, writes Joanna Blythman. (Stock image)

The 2017 Food Fraud Report from insurer NFU Mutual found that 42 per cent of people felt that takeaways were the least trustworthy catering outlets. But similar cons take place in swanky restaurants, too.

The most extensive investigation into restaurant fraud in modern British history was carried out by Lancashire Trading Standards officers in 2010. Of the 41 randomly chosen premises they visited, 32 were making misleading claims on their menus.

The team identified 14 restaurant lies, including 'free-range' eggs that were nothing of the sort, 'fresh' mussels that came from the freezer, 'Goosnargh duck' that wasn't the prestigious bird, 'Bowland beef' from suppliers in Merseyside rather than the premium product from the family-run farm in Lancashire, 'local' samphire imported from Israel, and 'wild' mush- rooms that were actually farmed.

Of course, menus are prone to flowery exaggeration. Usually descriptions are left vague to allow for different interpretations.

For instance, seeing the dish 'Truffle Risotto', typically priced at about 15, we might conclude that its alluring aroma is due to notoriously expensive fresh truffle, a delicacy dug from the ground by specially trained pigs and dogs.

Actually, the dish is more likely to contain synthetic truffle oil, which owes its alluring aroma to added chemical flavouring.

Food fraud apart, the practice I most abhor is those restaurants, pubs, and cafes that give customers the impression that they cook more than they actually do.

There's a flourishing  and perfectly legal  wholesale trade in the UK that sells what you might call 'shortcuts' to chefs and restaurateurs who want to reduce their wages bill by buying in ready-made meals and pre-prepared ingredients.

They just plate up dishes that have been prepared in factories and delivered to the kitchen door, along with a few fresh add-ons. How many of us would spot that?

For instance, if you saw 'Slow-cooked Shin of Beef' on a menu, you'd probably believe that with its wholesome name, it was cooked from fresh. Not necessarily.

Brakes, one of the leading suppliers to the catering trade, sells just such a product to restaurants, describing it as follows: 'Slow-cooked for the ultimate tender texture and individually portioned in convenient pouches, suitable for microwaving from defrost or boiling in the bag from frozen.

'Ideal for saving on time and labour, minimising wastage and delivering consistently sized, mouth- watering results.'

Sounds delicious, doesn't it?

Plated up with a few vegetables, who would bat an eyelid at a price tag of 15 or so? You might not feel the same if you knew the restaurant had simply reheated it and paid just 4.20 per portion.

Likewise 'Duck Confit with Orange Sauce' sounds posh, a dish that could easily be put on a menu at 16 or more.

But would you find it quite so tempting if you knew your restaurant had bought it in at 4.10 a portion from The Pub Food Company, with the following cooking guidance: 'Once reheated in the bag we recommend that the duck leg is flashed under a hot grill or oven to 'crisp up' the skin, the sauce [pre-made in a plastic pouch] can then be added.'

It's well-known in the catering trade that vegan menu options are a licence to print money. That is why Sat Bains, a two Michelin-starred chef in Nottingham, refuses to serve it.

'Vegan food is the biggest rip-off,' he recently wrote online. 'The ingredients are so cheap. I want to give people value for money.'

But less-revered chefs, under pressure to cut costs and up the profit they make on ingredients, can take full advantage of the vegan premium.

Brakes, for example, supplies a gluten-free 'Vegan Cottage Pie' at 1.67 a serving. With salad leaves on the side, most kitchens could easily price it at 9.99.

And what busy chef, plating up Sunday roasts, wouldn't be tempted to buy rather than make Yorkshire puddings, when they cost only 26p each, and can be served from frozen in minutes?

Who hasn't visited a restaurant and tried one of those hot chocolate fondant puddings, where you sink the spoon into the crust to release oozing, runny sauce? Served with a couple of berries and a scoop of ice cream, these sell at 7 a pop.

But did a skilled pastry chef make them from scratch or were they bought in for 1.44 each from a catalogue that describes them as: 'An authentic Italian, rich, dark chocolate pudding with a soft and gooey chocolate centre. Microwaves from frozen in 30 seconds!

'Individually portioned and cooks quickly from frozen for convenience' ?

Sadly, restaurant trickery, both legal and illegal, is a hazard of eating out. But after three decades studying the restaurant, pub and cafe trade, I'd say that the chances of misrepresentation and downright fraud occurring are much higher in establishments where both kitchen and front-of-house staff come and go with frequency.

It's just too easy for the people responsible to claim they weren't aware of discrepancies.

On the other hand, restaurateurs who live and breathe their own small businesses put their personal reputations on the line daily, and have everything to lose if they were ever exposed as food crooks.

When it comes to eating out, as in other areas of life, small tends to be beautiful  which is why I favour the modest independently run places to the giant tricksters such as Ask.

Joanna Blythman is the author of Swallow This: Serving Up The Food Industry's Darkest Secrets.
An Italian restaurant is hosting 'bottomless' pasta sessions, offering diners as much as they can eat for just $30 per person.

Mamma's Boy Trattoria, an eatery in north Melbourne, is serving up indulgent plates of unlimited gnocchi at exclusive mid-week evening and weekend lunchtime sittings.

Lovers of Italian cuisine can choose between fluffy pillows of handmade pasta tossed in bolognese, creamy spinach and mushroom or traditional Napoli tomato sauce, all topped with lashings of melted Parmesan cheese.

The offer runs between 5:30pm and 7:30pm from Tuesday to Friday, and from 12pm to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

Mamma's Boy Trattoria, an eatery in north Melbourne, is serving up indulgent plates of unlimited gnocchi at exclusive mid-week evening and weekend lunchtime sittings

Lovers of Italian cuisine can choose between fluffy pillows of handmade pasta tossed in bolognese, creamy spinach and mushroom (pictured) or traditional Napoli tomato sauce, all topped with lashings of melted Parmesan cheese

Gnocchi is a variety of pasta consisting of a blend of thick dough dumplings, usually made from flour, egg, cheese, potato or breadcrumbs.

Foodies have been dreaming of dinner at the popular eatery ever since an ad for the bottomless pasta nights was posted on Facebook food blog, Cheat Meals of Melbourne.

The idea proved an instant hit, racking up a staggering 19,000 comments since it was shared on January 12.

Foodies have been dreaming of dinner at the popular eatery ever since an ad for the bottomless pasta nights was posted on Facebook

One woman tagged her friend and joked: 'This would be completely wasted on you. I, however, would get my money's worth.'

Others asked if they could fill lunchboxes to eat later, while some said the concept had tempted them to consider relocating to Victoria.

'I never consider moving to Melbourne before, but...,' said one man.
Much of the cheap oil has been produced, and the oil industry is increasingly relying on costly reserves. While the world is awash in supply right now, the market may begin to tighten up in the next few years, forcing prices higher.

But the global economy will begin to sputter as a result of higher crude prices. The current economic system cannot sustain oil prices above $100 a barrel, and engage in genuine growth in the real economy for very long, warned the report, authored by Dr. Simon Michaux and published by the Geological Survey of Finland. Alternatively, producers cannot sustain oil prices as low as $45 a barrel and still make a profit.

Thats especially true of U.S. shale. Wall Street is taking an increasingly critical view of shale, an industry which has never been cash flow positive for any meaningful period of time. As investors, banks and other forms of finance distance themselves from unprofitable shale drilling, the rate of bankruptcies is on the rise. Clearly, at least a portion of the global oil industry needs much higher prices in order to sustain growth. The production gains of the past decade were possible via cheap credit and an overcapitalized industry in North Dakota and Texas.

U.S. shale could be nearing a peak, or, at least a plateau. There isnt a consensus on this, by any means, but a growing number of analysts and even some within the industry are eyeing such a possibility. For example, John Hess, CEO of Hess Corp., recently said that production in the Bakken could peak within the next two years and the Permian will peak in the mid-2020s. But others have said that the Permian peak may arrive sooner. Steep decline rates mean that any slowdown in the pace of drilling will quickly impact production.

The financial stress sweeping across the shale industry may bring forward the peak in shale production. But the precise date is not all that important. The problem is that the plateauing of U.S. shale, and the resulting increasing in prices, could spell trouble for the global economy. Michaux, author of the Geological Survey of Finland, cited the 2008-2009 global financial crisis as an example. Saudi oil production stalled out in the years preceding the crisis, precipitating a massive price spike in 2008, which contributed to the financial market meltdown. Related: Oil Prices Already Reflect Huge Demand Destruction

The report  which was recently analyzed in an excellent article by Vice  notes that about 70 percent of the worlds oil supply comes from fields discovered before 1970, and the bulk of that comes from 10 to 20 enormous fields. The pace of discoveries has slowed dramatically in the past decade. In fact, conventional oil production largely plateaued in 2005. Since then, U.S. shale and Canadian oil sands accounted for most of the new supply. But as the number of bankruptcies in the shale patch reveal, the new forms of oil are more costly to produce.

The report concedes that the oil market is currently oversupplied. But Michaux takes a dim view of peak oil demand, instead predicting that demand growth will once again begin to exceed supply growth, putting a lot of pressure on spare capacity, which will shrink to ever-smaller levels. Oil demand is still growing by ~1mbd every year, and no central scenarios that have been recently assessed see oil demand peaking before 2040, Michaux warns.

Roughly 81 percent of existing production is already in decline. Given that the average decline rate bounces around between 5 to 7 percent per year  which translates to lost production of about 3 to 4.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) each year  the world will need to come up with an extra 40 mb/d just to keep output flat, Michaux predicts.

In other words, the market will need the equivalent of four additional Saudi Arabias just to replace depleted fields by 2040. But, as previously mentioned, the major source of supply growth in the past decade  U.S. shale  is running on fumes, and needs higher prices in order to grow. Related: Can OPEC+ Rescue Oil Markets Once Again?

To be clear, this flies in the face of lot of conventional wisdom in the industry (newfound conventional wisdom, it should be noted). For instance, Suncor Energy just announced a C$2.8 billion write-down on its newest oil sands production facility, due to the expectation of low long-term oil prices. When the price went down in 2014, I dont think people realized that we literally were going to go (down) year over year over year, Suncor CEO Mark Little said Thursday on a conference call. "Were literally bouncing around, but trading sideways. When we look at the markets we think, 'hey were sitting in this same range going forward for foreseeable future.'

Many industry analysts see oil prices remaining lower for longer, or even permanently lower. The prospect of peak demand plays into this, and the shift away from fossil fuels would relieve pressure on the global economy and prevent oil prices from spiking.

But Simon Michaux wrote in the Geological Survey of Finland that the energy transition may not be fast enough. As slowing supply growth runs into ongoing increases in demand, the result could be much higher prices in the years ahead, and a major risk to the global economy. Money supply and debt have grown faster than the real economy. Debt saturation and paralysis is now a very real risk, requiring a global scale reset, Michaux warned. Thats a nice way of saying that an oil price spike could cause another financial crisis.

By Nick Cunningham of Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Mormon Church withdraws missionaries from Hong Kong, Macau over coronavirus concerns

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has announced that they're removing their missionaries from Hong Kong and Macau due to concerns over the coronavirus outbreak.

A flu-like illness, the coronavirus was first detected in China and as of Thursday evening has killed over 600 people and infected more than 31,000, the vast majority in mainland China, according to CBS News.

The largest Mormon denomination in the United States announced earlier this week that it was removing all 125 missionaries from the two Chinese cities, doing so after Hong Kong announced its first confirmed coronavirus-related death.

The LDS Church's Missionary Department has temporarily reassigned 113 of the missionaries to other missions and released from service the other 12, according to Deseret News.

In a statement, the LDS Church explained that the missionaries had taken precautions even before leaving the cities, such as limiting their time outdoors.

Therefore, the likelihood of any of these missionaries having contracted the coronavirus is very low, the LDS Church added, according to Deseret News. Additionally, each missionary is required to show no symptoms before leaving Hong Kong.

The LDS Church does not have any missionaries working in mainland China, according to a statement released last month when the coronavirus first started getting headlines.

We are closely monitoring the situation with the coronavirus and are in regular contact with medical professionals and experts on this issue, they added.

We are following the recommendations of the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and local authorities throughout the world and are ready to make adjustments as needed.

Last month, the LDS Church announced that they were sending medical supplies to China to help with the growing outbreak. The delivered equipment included 220,000 respirator masks, over 6,500 pairs of protective coveralls, and 870 pairs of protective goggles.

I have had associations with the good people of China for decades, stated LDS Church President Russell Nelson, who once served as a surgeon in the Asian country.

These are our dear brothers and sisters, and we feel privileged to be able to offer some small measure of help. We pray for them and know God will bless them.

The coronavirus originated in Wuhan, a city of 11 million in Chinas Hubei province, and can lead to respiratory illnesses which are fatal in some cases.

Last week, the World Health Organization declared it a public health emergency, with cases being reported in several countries, including around a dozen in the United States.

It is readily apparent that we are facing a test of our faith, declared an unnamed pastor living in Wuhan in a public letter, published by China Source.

The situation is so critical, yet [we are] trusting in the Lords promises, that [H]is thoughts toward us are of peace, and not evil (Jeremiah. 29:11), and that [H]e allows for a time of testing, not to destroy us, but to establish us.

Therefore, Christians are not only to suffer with the people of this city, but we have a responsibility to pray for those in this city who are fearful, and to bring to them the peace of Christ, the pastor added.
WELLESLEY, Mass., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Babson College, the top ranked college for entrepreneurial education, announces the establishment of the Butler Institute for Free Enterprise through Entrepreneurship, with $10 million in funding from the John E. Butler family.

Babson College President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA92, PhD, Professor Andrew Corbett, Andrew Butler 84, John Butler 52, and Debi Kleiman, executive director of the Blank Center for Entrepreneurship, announce the establishment of the Butler Institute for Free Enterprise Through Entrepreneurship.

In its first century, Babson had an outsized and highly successful impact on individual entrepreneurs and their businesses. Now in its second century, Babson will scale its impact to positively shape the ecosystem that supports and enables the growth of entrepreneurs and their businesses. With the establishment of the Butler Institute, Babson seeks to drive research and policy outcomes through the exploration of how governmental policies, social values, and ethical business can influence entrepreneurship, free enterprise, and prosperity for all.

"We have admired entrepreneurs for a long time," says John Butler, the chairperson of his family's business, Cottingham & Butler, Inc. "They make an amazing contribution to our society."

"Entrepreneurship does so much more than help the individual entrepreneur," says Andrew Butler, Cottingham & Butler, Inc. executive chairperson. "It provides jobs and opportunities. It does so much for our society and economy."

Paul T. Babson Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and Entrepreneurship Division Chair Andrew Corbett will serve as the Faculty Director of the new institute.

"I'm unbelievably excited," says Corbett. "Through the wonderful and generous support of the Butler family, we have a great opportunity."

"What kind of impact can entrepreneurship have on the greater good?" asks Corbett. "We live in an entrepreneurial age. We live in an age of creativity. This mindset is a way to solve problems. We want to put policies in place that allow this to happen."

Programming will take multiple forms. The Butler Institute will study the relationship between free enterprise and entrepreneurship through numerous research projects. This work will leverage research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM), the Babson-led research study that has been examining levels of entrepreneurial activity around the world for two decades, in new and innovative ways. The Institute will also serve as a convener, bringing together a community of thinkers and business leaders that will examine the policies and practices that create economic and social value for businesses, regions, and economies and creating opportunities for student engagement. With this approach, the Butler Institute will be able to have a macro-level impact.

This $10 million gift from the Butler family is the most recent gesture of their support for entrepreneurial leadership at Babson. They previously endowed the John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad at the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship. Through the Launch Pad's diverse programs, student and alumni entrepreneurs explore opportunities and move their business concepts forward, taking advantage of workspace, mentoring programs, expert advisers, and other valuable resources. Beyond their giving to Babson, John and Alice Butler and their son Andrew support numerous causes within the arts, preservation, medicine, and other higher education institutions.

About John E. Butler

John E. Butler joined his family's insurance firm in 1957 as one of three employees. Under his leadership and vision, Cottingham & Butler, Inc. has grown to over 1,000 employees. The company's growth as consultants has been fueled by the development of alternative market facilities including claim administration, health, managed care, and safety. His current focus is the development and implementation of initiatives for the company's vigorous growth.

John Butler is a former director and executive committee member for both Assurex Global and the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers. He is a past chair of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

In his community, John Butler currently sits on the Executive Committee of the Board for the University of Dubuque and formerly the Grand Opera House Foundation. He was honored with the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award. He has also served as a former board member for a number of local organizations. Currently, he serves on the Executive Committee of The Noble Network of Charter Schools as well as The Lyric Opera, both of Chicago.

He recently was one of the principal founders of Heritage Works, a nonprofit fostering historic preservation.

About Andrew J. Butler

As Executive Chairperson, Andrew J. Butler is responsible for providing oversight and direction to the Cottingham & Butler, Inc. Board of Directors and to the organization as a whole. Prior to this role, Andrew Butler served as Vice chairperson of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. and President of SISCO and HealthCorp. He has served on the Board of Directors of Cottingham & Butler, Inc. since 2010. He has worked with an exceptional leadership team to grow Cottingham & Butler, Inc. into the fifth largest privately held insurance brokerage firm in the U.S.

Prior to joining Cottingham & Butler, Inc., he was President and CEO of Butler Insurance Service, Inc. and Butler Benefit Service, Inc., where he spent his time building the organizations to be the premier providers of employee benefit consulting and claim management services.

Andrew Butler earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Babson College. He also earned his MBA from The College of Insurance. Industry designations include CPCU, CEBS, ARM, and CSFS. He currently serves as the Vice President of the Dubuque Museum of Art and is a trustee of Junior Achievement of the Heartland. He was also on the founding board of the Regional Opportunities Council and was President of the Figge Art Museum.

His wife, Debi, has been a huge supporter and significant contributor to his success, as has their son, Ryan and daughter-in-law, Priscilla.

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

Michael Chmura, [email protected]

SOURCE Babson College

Related Links

http://www.babson.edu


The Ghana Water Company Limited in the Western Region is producing as low as 2.3 million gallons of water a day out of the usual 4 million gallons it produces during peak period at its Daboase Treatment Plant in the Western Region.



Regional Production Manager Ing.Vincent Opoku Ware Darko during an interview with UTV news team blames the shortfall largely on unstable power supply and the unavailability of raw water due to galamsey activities near the main production point at Daboase and at the Pra River.

Unfortunately, activities of illegal alluvial small-scale miners on the Pra River have increased color and turbidity of the raw water.



Figures from Ghana Water Company Limited show that the turbidity of the raw water has increased from 850 Hu to 2.500 Hu.



This has caused the raw water to stagnant around the intake point thereby promoting algae growth which creates odor in the raw water.

Western Region Production Manager Vincent Opoku Ware Darko explained the challenge has increased the cost of production.



Currently, the company is dredging the intake point at the Daboase Treatment Plant. The company is hopeful the exercise will allow them to draw more water and increase production.



He stated the rationing will only be over when the rains set in.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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President Muhammadu Buhari will depart Abuja today to attend the 33rd Ordinary Session of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The President will join leaders from the 55-member countries of the African Union to participate in the Summit with the theme, Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africas Development.

The President will attend the 29th Forum of Heads of State and Government of Participating States of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the 27th Session of New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD) Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (AUDA-NEPAD).

The meetings will precede the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 06:49:58|Editor: zh

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Guangzhou Evergrande playmaker Ricardo Goulart could return to his native Brazil to play with Atletico Mineiro this year, according to media reports in the South American country.

Goulart is contracted with the Chinese Super League club until December 2023 but Atletico are considering an offer of around 6.5 million euros (7 million U.S. dollars) to secure the 28-year-old, the Lance news portal said on Thursday.

The former Brazil international, who became a naturalized Chinese citizen last July, has scored 110 goals in 155 appearances for Evergrande across all competitions since joining the club from Cruzeiro in 2015.

He returned to Brazil last year for a brief loan spell with Palmeiras, with whom he played 11 Brazilian Serie A matches and scored four goals.

Evergrande won their eighth Chinese Super League title in nine years in December by finishing the 2019 season just two points ahead of Beijing Guoan.
Washington: President Donald Trump said on Thursday the United States had killed Qassim al-Raymi, the leader of Islamist group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

"Under Raymi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said in a statement.

"His death further degrades AQAP and the global al Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," the president said. He did not say when Raymi was killed.

Live TV

The United States regards AQAP as one of the deadliest branches of the al Qaeda network founded by Osama bin Laden.

Reports in Yemen have suggested in recent days that Raymi had been killed in a drone strike in Marib. Reuters was unable to verify the reports.

One Yemeni government official told Reuters there had been a drone strike in Marib but it was not Raymi who had been killed.
The January fire that destroyed the famed Shirleys Tippy Canoe restaurant is being investigated as suspicious, the Corbett Fire District said Thursday.

Investigators are looking into the days and hours before the blaze ruined the iconic spot on the Sandy River, said Corbett Fire Chief Dave Flood.

There are some concerning things that happened leading up to the fire that dont add up and that kind of point us to what happened, he said, but declined to say more about the circumstances.

Fire officials havent determined a cause yet, he said. Investigators have narrowed the place where they believe the fire started to a small area on the second floor and are trying to recover security camera footage but dont know if it will be usable, he said.

They also asked anyone who might know more details about the blaze to call the department at 503-695-2272.

Firefighters responded to the scene, at 28242 E. Historic Columbia River Highway, around 5 a.m. and found that the entire second floor of the restaurant ablaze. The first floor had high heat and heavy smoke damage.

Investigators said they believe the losses total more than $1 million. The restaurant was a total loss.

Flood noted that the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office investigated a burglar alarm that was tripped in the restaurant shortly before the fire began, but believe that the motion sensor picked up movement from the flames  not from a person.

Restaurant owner Shirley Welton did not immediately return messages for comment. Shortly after the Jan. 17 fire, she told KATU that she learned about it from a TV report. She told KATU that she has owned the restaurant along the Historic Columbia River Highway since 2007.

Flood said the fire district is aware that Welton has had several other restaurants that have caught fire in the past 40 years.

We have looked into those fires as well, he said. But thats driving very little of our investigation.

Newspaper articles indicate that fires damaged three other restaurants owned by Welton. None of those fires were suspicious, according to the accounts.

The most recent was in 2011 at Shirleys At The Beach in Lincoln City. Investigators found the fire was accidentally started by a chef who left a pot on the stove and the burner on, according to records from the North Lincoln Fire & Rescue District obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Flood said it could take months or years to determine what happened at the Tippy Canoe. Investigators can take samples and bring out search dogs to determine if accelerants were used, for example, but that process can be long and slow, especially if a building was heavily damaged as was the Tippy Canoe.

The restaurant was once notorious for raucous parties and brawls, according to a 2008 story in The Oregonian/OregonLive when Welton bought the restaurant. Welton said she had a special connection to the place, as she had ordered her first-ever beer at the roadhouse on her 21st birthday. She said she had long been interested in the place and decided to buy it after seeing three consecutive owners buy and sell the property. Welton turned the former tavern into a family restaurant, the story said, and revamped the space, pouring more than $300,000 into it.

Jayati Ramakrishnan; 503-221-4320; jramakrishnan@oregonian.com; @JRamakrishnanOR

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
The proceedings of the Lok Sabha was stalled on Friday, as the House witnessed ruckus over Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan's statement condemning a remark Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an election rally in Delhi.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) later alleged that some Congress MPs had made an attempt to manhandle the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare during the ruckus in the Lok Sabha. The Congress, on the other hand, criticized Harsh Vardhan for targeting Rahul Gandhi instead of replying to his query during the Question Hour. Rahul Gandhi, himself, posted on Twitter, accusing the BJP-led Government of orchestrating the ruckus in the Lok Sabha in order to prevent him from questioning it.

The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the Govt. (Government), Rahul Gandhi posted on Twitter. The youth of In (India) can clearly see that the PM (Prime Minister) has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis to protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate.

Speaker Om Birla first adjourned the Lok Sabha for a little more than an hour. But as the stalemate could not be resolved by the time it reassembled at 1:00 p.m. the House was adjourned again till 2:00 p.m. It was later adjourned for the day.

The Congress later lodged a complaint with Speaker Om Birla against the Health Minister and other MPs of the ruling party.

The trouble started during the Question Hour when the Speaker called Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare to reply to a question by Congress MP from Wayanad in Kerala on establishment of medical colleges. Harsh Vardhan, however, instead of replying to the question, said that he would first like to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish remarks made by Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister. He was supported by other BJP MPs too.

He was referring to Rahul Gandhi's remark said that Modi would not be able to come out of his home a few months later as the youths would beat him up with sticks and make him understand that the country could not progress unless he provide employment for them.

Harsh Vardhan said that Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi too was a Prime Minister.

I don't think in the worst of cases our party leaders have made such outlandish personal remarks against him (Rajiv Gandhi) threatening to beat him with dandas (sticks) and throwing him out of the country, he said, even as the Speaker tried to stop him.

The Congress MPs protested against Harsh Vardhan's bid to condemn Rahul Gandhi's remark on Prime Minister during the Question Hour. Several Congress MPs came to the well of the House, while one of them, Manickam Tagore, was seen moving towards the Treasury Bench, where Harsh Vardhan was speaking from the second row.

Tagore was stopped by Brij Bhushan Saran Singh, a BJP member from Gonda in Uttar Pradesh, who held the Tamil Nadu MP by his arm. Prahlad Joshi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister, also came to the Well. Hibi Eden, another Congress MP from Kerala, was also seen apparently trying to intervene. As a scuffle between the MPs of the BJP and the Congress looked imminent, the Speaker adjourned the House.

After Rahul Gandhi's instigation, they (the Congress MPs) thought they would show us the 'danda' (stick) way, Joshi told journalists outside Parliament. This was an attempt to manhandle Dr Harsh Vardhan. This shows the frustration level of the Congress and its height of goondaism.

Rahul Gandhi said that he was keen to raise the issue of lack of medical college in his constituency Wayanad in Kerala. (The) BJP obviously does not like it if I speak. We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. See the visuals, Manickam Tagore did not attack anyone, rather he was attacked.

Tagore later wrote to Speaker alleging that the BJP MPs had manhandled him. He alleged that Singh had pushed him and threatened to kill him.
There are many compelling reasons why Sinn Fein is unfit to be in government in Dublin, and they have been put forward with increasing eloquence and force since the party started to make huge strides in the polls ahead of Saturday's election.

It still hasn't answered the deeper question of why the same politicians now barring the doors of Dail Eireann against the rising Shinner tide also spent years insisting that unionists must share power with the IRA's political wing at Stormont and denouncing those who objected to doing so as Orange bigots.

If Mary Lou McDonald is not a suitable person to be in office because a senior member of her party in another jurisdiction made certain repulsive allegations against Paul Quinn after his 2007 murder, why was that same senior member's installation as Finance Minister alongside the rest of the Executive a few weeks ago met with official celebrations for the return of common sense rather than with angry protests?

"Forget the language of win and lose," was how Tanaiste Simon Coveney urged parties in January to view the deal which gave Conor Murphy control of Northern Ireland's purse-strings. This week, by contrast, he has thrown the kitchen sink at Sinn Fein, calling them "wreckers" and their manifesto a "con job".

How quickly things change when it's his own people, rather than just voters north of the border, who might have to put up with being ruled by a party with its own military wing.

Did patronising know-it-alls in Dublin really think they could repeatedly fall in behind and encourage Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland whilst simultaneously putting up a protective political and moral cordon around their own country?

The argument from those opposed to Sinn Fein entering government in Dublin is that Northern Ireland suffered decades of bloody conflict and therefore has to make uncomfortable choices in order to leave the past behind and achieve some kind of normality, whilst the Republic has always been a stable, law-abiding state and that this will be put at risk by allowing in those who are iffy about democracy.

It is a fine argument in principle, but it's also gratuitously insulting to people here who bore the brunt of violence and for whom it is therefore harder on every level to be required to make those sacrifices. Stormont absolutely must not be destabilised again by the latest row, but this condescending attitude coming out of politicians in Dublin does look to many in Northern Ireland like bare faced double-standards, especially when the same people were quick to back Sinn Fein when it collapsed the Executive over some wood pellets.

Did patronising know-it-alls in Dublin really think they could repeatedly fall in behind and encourage Sinn Fein in Northern Ireland whilst simultaneously putting up a protective political and moral cordon around their own country?

Far too little attention was paid to the obvious danger of contamination. Indeed, those who dared warn about the possible risks were castigated for years in the highest political and media circles in Dublin for not getting fully behind the peace process, as if it was they, rather than the bombers, who were the real problem. Now those pigeons are coming home to roost.

The late Seamus Mallon always knew Sinn Fein's aim was to supplant the SDLP as the main party of nationalism in Northern Ireland, so why wouldn't that be the aim in Dublin too? It is possible to fervently wish they don't succeed in that plan whilst still deploring the double standards that allowed reality to sneak up and bite Fine Gael and Fianna Fail on the backside.

Gleefully Brit-bashing and sneering at Brexit, the Irish Government thought itself immune from the populist, anti-Establishment backlash happening everywhere else in the world, and pooh-poohed any suggestion that, when it did break out, it would take on the ancient, familiar shape of toxic nationalism.

That complacency was rooted in a smug belief that the people of the Republic were more morally robust than those in the north and would not succumb to Provo blandishments. In the end, that makes what is happening now all the more troubling.

Republicans had to bomb their way to power in Northern Ireland.

In the Republic, they just had to throw on some new clothes and a smile and the voters appear ready to invite them in to sit by the fire.

If Paul Quinn had been from their side of the border, would they be so blase about it?
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)  A federal Transportation Security Administration agent tricked a traveler into twice showing him her breasts as she went through security at one of the world's busiest airports, California's attorney said.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Johnathon Lomeli, 22, was working at Los Angeles International Airport in June when he used fraud or deceit to falsely imprison the woman. Lomeli was arrested early Thursday at his home.

He first said he had to look inside her bra to make sure she wasn't hiding anything, then had her hold her pants away from her waist so he could look inside, she told investigators.

He subsequently took her to what he said would be a private room for more security screening, according to an arrest affidavit. But once they were alone on an elevator, she said he told her he could do the screening right there.

The woman said Lomeli told her he had to make sure she still had nothing in her bra, requiring her to lift her shirt to show me your full breasts. He also again looked down her pants, she said, before telling her she was free to go and adding that she had nice breasts.

He was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and was expected to make an initial appearance Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Officials with the union representing TSA employees, the American Federation of Government Employees, did not respond to requests for comment, and officials could not say if Lomeli has an attorney.

There is no excuse for this kind of alleged behavior," Becerra said in a statement.

The TSA initially brought the case to the FBI and Lomeli was let go from his airport job months ago, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

She said the initial complaint involved "improperly screening at least one woman in a private area of the airport.

The TSA in a statement called the alleged behavior unacceptable and an affront to the hardworking and committed members of our workforce.
Beef, spice and a kissing pig and goat took center stage at the Katy Independent School District FFA Chili Cook-off that raised money for Future Farmers of America programs.

About 300 community members came out on Thursday, Feb. 6, to the parking lot at 814 East Ave. to eat chili, socialize and most importantly, raise funds for young students as they raise animals and learn responsibility, hard work and life skills.

Bill Lacy, loan officer with Independent Bank Mortgage and vice president of the Katy ISD board, said he has been supporting FFA in Katy for more than 20 years through buying ads, going to their shows and rodeos and showing up for fundraisers.

Its a group that I have a love for. Its a fantastic group to be affiliated with. There are so many things that the FFA does right, that the kids are doing right, said Lacy.

Related: Katy Bengal Brigade and Cheerleaders director receives top honors

He said students that raise animals are there at the barn early in the morning and again in the evening every day taking care of them and working diligently. While Lacy has seen the Katy FFA change many young lives for the better, he recalled his sons middle school best friend, who he said could have gone any which way then but got involved with FFA in high school. After he graduated four years ago, he went straight into the workforce, has a great work ethic and is very successful, Lacy said.

In its second year, the event was a bit chilly and windy but brought out a good crowd. Each made a donation to eat chili and received a cup to sample chili from several booths sponsored by groups like State Farm, the Katy Chamber or Commerce and the Katy Business Association.

Rick Ellis, vice president of the Chamber, said there wasnt much complexity or heat to their groups chili recipe.

Its really simple. I mean we dont go crazy like these guys that enter all the contests, said Ellis. We threw some stuff, we threw some meat, we threw some canned stuff in there, put a little spice here and there. Were excited about it. Were not as spicy as the other ones, which is good. We have flavor. We dont have spice.

It was the chambers first year to participate, partly because its new offices are at the events address. Ellis is excited that the chamber is now back in downtown Katy and ready to serve the community from its better location.

We support the community. We definitely support the Katy ISD community. This is going back to the FFA. Give those kids some opportunities, which is great, Ellis said.

Related: Get free kolaches for a year at Kolache Factory opening in Katy

Mathew David was there representing the Katy Business Association and had a different approach to the chili cook-off: handing out crackers and swigs of milk for those with a little too much heat on their tongues.

David said, We are trying to help put the fire out. Were trying to be a little bit more original.

He said KBA is regularly there to boost small businesses in the community and allow them to network and that they were there Thursday to also help the students. His daughter is a freshman this year and plans to raise rabbits next year.

Another option to help out the eight FFA programs at Katy ISD high schools was to buy tickets and write someones name on them with the hope that one would be drawn. But the winner had the choice of kissing a pig, a goat or paying $100 to get out of the ordeal. A lucky person was chosen several times through the evening. At one point, Mayor Bill Hastings name was drawn. He laughed as he opted to pucker up to the goat instead of paying up. It was all in good fun though, supporting the FFA program that goes back 77 years.

Breaking News: Get email alerts from Chron.com sent directly to your inbox

Although the count on how much was raised was unavailable in time for publication, Lacy said last years event raised around $3,000. The monies will be divided up among the eight programs to be used at their discretion, Lacy said.

The cook-off came just days before the 77th Annual Katy ISD FFA Livestock Show & Katy Rodeo, slated for Tuesday, Feb. 11, through Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Katy ISD Agricultural Sciences Center, located at 5825 Katy Hockley Cut Off Road. Rodeo events include animal shows, performances, a barn sale, auction and parade.

Events such as the Katy ISD Annual Livestock Show become the building blocks for students aspiring to grow into future veterinarians, engineers, agricultural teachers among other industry professions, said Sarah Martin, PhD, Katy ISD director of career and technical education, in a news release.

Visit www.katyrodeo.org for details.

tracy.maness@hcnonline.com
Highlights The OnePlus 8 series might launch by end of March or early April.

OnePlus might be coming with a green colour variant on the OnePlus 8 series phones.

OnePlus 8 Lite may not launch in India as of now.

There's been a lot of discussion on the OnePlus 8 series since the OnePlus 7T series was officially launched. The OnePlus 8 series is expected to get massive upgrades when compared to the existing models and a few renders of these phones have given us enough idea of what to expect from OnePlus. However, there has been almost nothing about when OnePlus could launch its new phones. Some speculations suggested an early-March launch but a new tip suggests we could see new OnePlus phones by April.

Popular tipster Ishan Agarwal has shared information on his Twitter handle regarding the launch date for the new OnePlus 8 series phones. Unlike the previous years when OnePlus used to have a launch in June and one later in November, OnePlus is now expected to launch its OnePlus 8 series as soon as the end of March. Agarwal even says the launch could extend to the first week of April. Given that Agarwal is usually consistent with his leaked information, chances are that we might see new OnePlus phones early this year.

Last year, OnePlus shifted the launch date for its OnePlus 7T series a few months ago. Instead of launching the T-series upgrade in late November, OnePlus launched the OnePlus 7T in late September. While OnePlus did not have an explanation for the early launch, it seems that OnePlus is shifting its launch schedules to match the launches from the big players like Samsung and Apple. OnePlus may be looking to compete with the Galaxy S20 series from Samsung with the OnePlus 8 series phones.

Agarwal shared a GIF on the post that keeps on flashing the number '8' in different colours. It is said that OnePlus may launch the OnePlus 8 series in a new green colour variant. The green shade might be similar to the one of the latest iPhone 11 Pro and chances are that OnePlus may offer the colour on its frosted glass finish. The matte finish might be exclusive to the OnePlus 8 Pro while the regular OnePlus 8 might get a glossy version of the same.

Other speculations for the OnePlus 8 Pro includes a Snapdragon 865 chipset with support for 5G networks, a new quad-camera setup with the main camera being a 64-megapixel Sony IMX686 sensor. We can also expect up to 10x hybrid zoom as well as a macro camera. Rumours suggest the Pro variant might also get wireless charging this year.
Photo: Great Harvest Bread Co./Yelp

Looking to try the top cafes around?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the best affordable cafes in Pittsburgh, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to meet your needs.

1. Cafe Cravings

Photo: DAVID B./Yelp

Topping the list is Cafe Cravings. Located at 402 Bigham St. in Mount Washington, the cafe and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches and more, is the highest-rated affordable cafe in Pittsburgh, boasting 4.5 stars out of 43 reviews on Yelp.

As to what the business is known for, "[Look for] gourmet coffee, breakfast sandwiches, hot paninis and deli sandwiches made with Boar's Head deli meat, freshly baked pastries, and tons of specialty drinks," it states on Yelp in the section about specialties.

2. Banh Mi & Ti

Photo: sophia c./Yelp

Next up is Central Lawrenceville's Banh Mi & Ti, situated at 4502 Butler St. With 4.5 stars out of 259 reviews on Yelp, the cafe and Vietnamese spot, serving bubble tea and more, has proved to be a local favorite for those looking for an affordable option.

Furthermore, we found this about the cafe's signature items: "[This spot serves a] variety of authentic traditional and vegan banh mi sandwiches, bubble teas, Vietnamese coffee and sugar cane juice," it states on Yelp in the section highlighting specialties.

3. Tazza D'oro

Photo: marty h./Yelp

Highland Park's Tazza D'oro, located at 1125 N. Highland Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the budget-friendly cafe, which offers coffee and tea and more, 4.5 stars out of 167 reviews.

This spot, which debuted in 1999, also boasts two locations on Forbes Avenue and Millvale, according to its website. On the menu, look for fresh bread, hand-rolled bagels and pastries.

4. Great Harvest Bread Co.

Photo: Great Harvest Bread Co./Yelp

Great Harvest Bread Co., a bakery and cafe that offers sandwiches and more in East Liberty, is another much-loved, cheap go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 43 Yelp reviews. Head over to 6401 Penn Ave. to see for yourself.

"John Myers is the new owner of Great Harvest Bread Company," the business explains in the bio section of its Yelp profile. "[This spot offers] bread, treats, soups, sandwiches, and salads."

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.
Berkeley City Councilwoman Lori Droste didnt expect the international furor that came after she started tweeting about her outrage at Mickey Mouse.

Mickey, or rather the Walt Disney Co., demanded a $250 copyright use fee from an elementary school after it had shown the new Lion King movie at a PTA fundraiser.

The movie had made more than $1.6 billion, including the $22 or so that an Emerson Elementary School parent paid for the DVD, yet Disney wanted its legally allowed cut of the $800 raised at the screening.

After Droste brought Disneys request to light, local  and then national  media picked up the story and donors stepped forward during the past week, eager to pay the fee. Then Thursday, Disney CEO Robert Iger tweeted a personal mea culpa and promised a contribution to the school.

Iger tweeted: Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative.

A license is typically needed to screen a movie for non-educational purposes, according to Swank Motion Pictures, which issues them through Movie Licensing USA, and pursues copyright violations for Disney and other studios. Only one school in Berkeley, Washington Elementary, has a license, Droste said. The license to show Lion King costs $250.

Yet the demand for the $250 from school kids was insult-to-injury injustice, said Droste, whose children are among the 320 students at Emerson, located in the hills of South Berkeley. Schools are struggling to balance their budgets and parents are holding bake sales and movie nights to help pay for PE teachers and librarians, she said.

In her rage-fueled tweets, Droste also raised the fact that Disney is among many corporations across the state that pays relatively low property taxes based on 1978s Proposition 13, and those taxes help pay for schools, the councilwoman noted.

The company, which owns Disneyland and movie studios in California, would pay an estimated $24 million more in taxes each year if it were charged for what the property is worth today, said Alex Stack, communications director for the campaign to revise Prop. 13 tax rates for businesses.

Honestly, I think it was a horrible PR nightmare for them, Droste said.

Its unclear how Disney or Swank Motion Pictures learned of the Lion King fundraiser. Its a fairly common practice for PTAs and schools to hold movie nights to raise money, despite potential copyright violations. Parents and teachers are often unaware of the requirement.

While we and the studios we represent take unauthorized use of licensed and copyrighted works seriously, we understand that this situation, done in error, was not a malicious act, Barbara Nelson, senior vice president of Swank, said in an email Wednesday to the school waiving the fee. We, on behalf of the studios whose product we license, will continue our efforts to notify and inform parties on how to license films in accordance with the law.

Prior to the waiver, district officials had been fielding calls from corporations and ordinary folks around the country offering to pay the fee, said Berkeley Unified School District spokeswoman Trish McDermott.

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 PTA is still tallying the money coming in, and it was not immediately clear how much Igers check will be, McDermott said. Emerson plans to share the donations with other district schools.

I think most parents in the Bay Area, and really throughout the state of California, understand the plight of schools, said McDermott. PTAs hold these small fundraising events to add a few hundred dollars for a school's budget.

Thats probably what hit a nerve with a lot of people.

Droste said that while this Disney tale has a happy ending, she will continue to fight to change the commercial property tax rate, so that companies pay higher taxes and for the state to increase funding for schools.

Theres nothing more Berkeley than a Berkeley politician shaking her fist at the man, Droste said. In the meantime, Mickey Mouse and I are now in couples counseling.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam

Reuters

Tidjane Thiam offered his resignation to the Credit Suisse board on Thursday, and it accepted.

His departure, scheduled for February 14, follows a scandal at the bank that involved a former executive being tailed by a private investigator after leaving for another bank.

An internal investigation cleared Thiam of wrongdoing, but the affair still cast a shadow over his tenure.

He will be replaced by the 20-year Credit Suisse veteran Thomas Gottstein.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Tidjane Thiam has resigned as the CEO of Credit Suisse. He will be replaced by another executive, the bank's board announced Friday.

In a press release, the bank announced that board members accepted his resignation at a February 6 meeting.

It follows an acrimonious spying scandal, in which a former Credit Suisse banker was tailed by private investigators after accepting a job at the rival bank UBS.

An internal investigation cleared Thiam of any wrongdoing, but the incident nonetheless cast a shadow over his leadership. His last day will be February 14.

The investigation blamed the firm's chief operating officer, Pierre-Olivier Bouee, who was fired.

Thomas Gottstein, the head of Credit Suisse's Switzerland division, will take over as CEO. He has been with the bank since 1999.

According to the Financial Times, Thiam wanted to stay on as CEO but lost an internal power struggle. The paper reported that he was "ousted" despite the support of shareholders.

"I will be an enthusiastic supporter of my colleagues, as they continue to build momentum in the business," Thiam said in a statement in the press release. "I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all at Credit Suisse for their support in my work. I will be forever grateful.

"I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues. It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place."

Story continues

UBS analysts on Friday said the shakeup wont affect the bank's business plans.

"Change of CEO doesn't mean material change of strategy," the analysts wrote in a note to clients. "The two-line investment case has been consistent and hasn't changed since Tidjane Thiam's appointment in summer 2015."

An overhaul and cost cutting plan "was largely finished by the end of 2018 and we do not think CS will change the key pillars of its strategy any time soon," UBS wrote. That said, "there are still question marks and increasing pressure on IB (investment banking) businesses."

Credit Suisse shares slumped as much as 4% on the news of Thiam's departure.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Adventurer & animal expert Coyote Peterson has a new series for Animal Planet.

Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild includes footage filmed in Tasmania and Queensland.

Passionate about inspiring a whole new generation of animal enthusiasts, Coyote, host of popular Brave Wilderness YouTube channel (15.5M subscribers), travels around the world, including Australia, to share his incredible experiences with the most fascinating, bizarre, and iconic animals on Earth.

In Coyote Peterson: Brave the Wild, Coyote brings the animal kingdom up close for the next wave of explorers in an entertaining way, while promoting conversation and welfare for the natural world. Together with wildlife biologist Mario Aldecoa and his crew, Coyote shares their breathtaking adventures with Animal Planet viewers. No matter the location, his mission remains the same: to get up close and uncover the secrets of creatures that are often misunderstood or feared. Every animal has a story, and Coyote braves the wild to tell it.

This season takes Coyote to Brazil where he encounters the Yacare Caiman, a cousin of the crocodile, and swims alongside the animal to study its perfect-predator behaviour as jaguars and capybara lurk from the shoreline; and the swamplands of Texas to search for a giant alligator snapping turtle known as Raphael, among other destinations.

Coyote also spends a lot of time in Australia, where people think everything can kill you! He heads to Tasmanias Devil Ark conservatory to reveal the history behind the critically endangered Tasmanian devil and the manpower needed to conserve this species; tackles hostile outback landscapes in search of the elusive perentie  the largest, strongest and fastest monitor lizard in Australia; gets up close to some of the most toxic marine creatures including the blue-ringed octopus and stonefish in tidal pools along the Sunshine Coast, and more.

From python bites to jaguars and run-ins with crocs, join Coyote Peterson and his crew on their wild adventures.

Saturdays from 22 February at 7:30pm AEDT on Animal Planet
Shikara declares, at the very onset, that it has mostly used real refugees and not actors for an authentic look and feel.

Shikara should have also declared that it has simplified the story to let nothing interfere in the narrative of the tragedy of a people.

Rating:

Cast: Sadia, Aadil Khan

Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra

Writer-director Vidhu Vinod Chopras Shikara, that tells the deeply sad and tragic story of Kashmiri pandits forced exodus from their homeland in January 1990, is dedicated to his mother who could never return home.

Its personal. And a labour of both, love and exhalation.

The tragedy of four lakh Hindus being driven from their homes, jobs, schools, lives and rendered homeless, refugees in their own country by a handful of militants while the state and Centre watched is unfathomable, unpardonable. In more ways than one, it was like the second Partition.

Shikara declares, at the very onset, that it has mostly used real refugees and not actors for an authentic look and feel.

Theres little artifice here, it seems to suggest.

Shikara should have also declared that it has simplified the story to let nothing interfere in the narrative of the tragedy of a people. No complexity, no politics, no crimp are allowed in, not even suggestion about where the blame may lie. According to Shikara, it doesnt really lie with Delhi, neither with Srinagar, nor with the Delhi-appointed governor, Jagmohan. It lies with Islam, Pakistan-trained militants, but above all with Kashmiri Muslims who either turned foe or rapacious.

There is, of course, no deadline on telling a story. But the timing of when one decides to tell a story often carries a story of its own.

Its almost as if Shikara was timed to appear after the abrogation of Article 370. As if to justify yet another tragedy perpetuated by the state.

There is a tinge of obscenity in accusing a people of complicity in a crime when they are under lockdown, muzzled, turned prisoners in their own homes.

In Shikara, Vidhu Vinod Chopra is often at pains to say that he is against hate, any shade of hate. And even adds, for good measure, that leader ka kaam jorna hota hai, todna nahin.

But his film fits a certain narrative thats in currency, one that tries to justify state-sponsored atrocities in the name of righting past wrongs.

In 1987, young Shiv Kumar Dhar (Aadil Khan) meets sweet Shanti Sapru (Sadia) at the shoot of a Bollywood film in the haseen vaadiyan of Kashimir.

She is training to be a nurse and he is a writer, poet and soon-to-be professor.

When they meet, she is clutching a book of his poems and he, on the insistence of a directors assistance, grabs her hand.

They have a cute, short courtship after which they marry, in the course of which it is established that Shivs best-friend, Latif miyan, is soft on the heroines bestie.

Shiv and Shanti want to build a house for which his besties dad, Khurshid saab, sends stones after stopping the construction of his own house, thus establishing a utopia where all was well and Kashmir was indeed a paradise.

But Khurshid saab, a Muslim leader, is killed, and Shiv, who now teaches at Srinagars Amar Singh College, is whisked away to meet his friend who is being guarded by boys carrying automatic assault rifles.

Go to India, sell your house and go to India, he is told.

Pindi Pindi, Rawalpindi, the conductors of busses scream.

J&K Commander Force puts out hit-lists of Hindus who must leave or face consequences.

Some prominent pandits are killed, including Shivs Naveen bhaiyya and, on the night of January 18-19, 1990, Shiv and Shanti leave for Jammu with other Kashmiri Pandits, abandoning on the way a calf.

In the refugee camps, theres government apathy, inefficiency and insults heaped by trucks carrying tomatoes while an old man cant stop wailing about returning home, to Kashmir.

And then, many years later, a man comes to Shiv, asking him to sell his house. Thats the day Shiv writes his first letter to the President of America.

Shikara, in fact, opens when Shiv is writing his 1,664th letter to the US President on his typewriter in his 28th year in the Muthi Refugee Camp. Though this is a recurring theme in the film, its not quite clear to me what he says in those letters apart from telling George Bush and subsequent US Presidents that the guns they sent to Afghanistan are being used to kill Kashmiris.

In these letter-writing scenes, Shanti often suggests to Shiv to share stuff from their personal lives, some happy news as well with the US President, as if he was their friend, reading Shivs letters, interested in their lives, waiting for the next one even if hes unable to respond or help.

There is a particularly troubling melancholy to the dogged discipline of letter writing, posting and repeating the exercise without a response or riposte from someone you think has the power to change things, better your life.

It carries a hint of being driven to quiet madness by a tragedy, apathy and yet an attempt to clutch onto some dignity in the relentless, scholarly appeal.

Shikara has a few such tiny but brilliant vignettes that are cinematically quite clever, powerful.

The film, written by Abhijat Joshi, Rahul Pandita and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, uses these to layer the story, and make the unbearable, bearable.

But the films real power comes from the love story of Shiv and Shanti who hug and clutch at each other every time something bad happens. They are not just shielding and protecting each other, but theres almost a belief in that action that the sheer power and tenacity of their grip around each other will dissuade the storm coming their way.

As Shiv and Shanti move from the tent to an 8x8 pucca apartment, we see how she quietly deals with her own trauma, or shares his. And when they move around the presidential suite of a hotel in awe and finally sit in the bathroom, next to a bathtub decorated with rose petals, its their bond, their love which makes their yearning for their home very touching.

Shikaras casting, by Indu Sharma, is inspired. Apart from people from the Jagti refugee camp, many of whom have a blank, forlorn wait in their eyes, its Kashmir-born Aadil Khan and Sadia as the leads who really bring a breeze of the Valley to Shikara.

Both are good and the rough, amateur edges they have, obvious in between scenes where they dont have dialogue, is actually very fresh, very charming.

Sadia has a bit of Leela Naidu and Swaroop Sampat in her, and Aadil has an old world charm born out of not just good looks, but decency. Together, they add a moral sting to this tragic tale.

Often, writers and directors who want to tell big, sweeping, epic tales of historic proportions, turn that into a backdrop, placing front and centre a love story. Its the easiest way to humanise a story, to give a face to a tragedy. But in those choices, in who those characters are, what they say and do, they also sell a worldview and make a statement.

The problem with Shikara is not that it wants to tell the story of a people forced out of their homes. But that it paints the common Kashmiri Muslim as a colluder, an active one at that.

The film shows two types of Kashmiri Muslims  one who turned to militancy and killed Hindus, and the other who, at least on the surface, tried to save their homes, but did so only so he could take them over.

There is no third type of Kashmiri Muslim in Shikara. But there is a cow. Calf, actually, lost, sad and abandoned. The film weeps for the calf, but not for the thousands of Kashmiri families who have, since 1990, lost a son, a husband, a father, a relative, friend or neighbour to bullets that sometimes come from militants and sometimes from the Indian Army.
They said wed be riding in flying cars by 2020. While this vision hasnt quite materialised, the turn of the decade is seeing tech and automotive giants locked in a silent and secretive battle. The quest? To seize control of the futuristic driverless cars market which could be worth $41.25 billion by 2024.

The modern revolution started in 2010 when Google announced it had been experimenting with driverless-car technology for more than a year.

The foundations had been laid decades before  notably with Norman Bel Geddess Futurama exhibit at the 1939 World Fair, which predicted modern motorways and argued humans should be removed from the process.

In the 1960s, the UKs Transport and Road Research Laboratory experimented with driverless cars powered by magnetic cables embedded in the road, while advanced sensor technologies were adopted by the US military.

What the Google announcement did, however, was to take driverless technology out of the realms of fantasy and into the conceivable near future. No longer a niche topic for government automotive and military agencies, driverless technology was suddenly at the heart of the agenda in Silicon Valley.

Car manufacturers started to sit up and take notice from 2013  especially General Motors, which acquired Cruise in 2016, and Tesla, whose astronomical investments have paid off.

Autopilot  a technology which can assist with parking, lane centring and which has adaptive cruise control  was launched in 2014.

According to a report into the impact of driverless cars, this marks stage 2 of 5 in the journey towards full automation. Next up: cars performing every function all by themselves, with orders given by the driver. But the ultimate goal is full automation, which will need to see cars connected to advanced algorithms.

Enter Big Tech, which is determined to make this vision a reality and to win control of the market. In 2016 Google launched side-project Waymo, which began a limited trial of self-driving taxis in Phoenix, Arizona. In the same year, robotaxi rival Uber also started piloting automated vehicles.

Its perhaps unsurprising that Apple has also thrown its hat into the ring. Project Titan was launched by the tech giant in 2016; a series of strategic recruits and the 2019 acquisition of Drive.ai has the smartphone specialists poised for action.

Its a high-stakes battle dominated by billionaires. Developing this kind of tech is expensive, but whoever succeeds in creating the first prototype approved for use on public roads will reap rewards from an extremely lucrative market.

Cisco is trying to lay claim to the Big Data side of driverless technology using blockchain. Outside of Silicon Valley, China is a key player in the drive for an automated vehicle revolution. Chinese search engine Baidu released a fleet of 45 autonomous cars onto the streets in 2019. Since the countrys road system is now larger than Americas, the Chinese government could be next to invest.

The growing importance of software know-how threatens to reset the automotive economic model. Some say car ownership will soon be a thing of the past, with motorists taking out contracts with tech companies for access to cars.

Still, some traditional car manufacturers have spotted the momentum and are trying to get ahead. Some are buying tech start-ups, while others forge inter-company allegiances to future-proof their profits.

Hyundai partnered with Aptiv in 2019 and the BMW-Intel-Mobileye partnership is pushing for a big product launch in 2024. As traditional players scramble for a place at the table of automation, allegiances and loyalty are bound to be tested.

How will automation reach its next stage? Part of the challenge lies in convincing the public to trust this technology  especially following the high-profile 2018 Uber crash that killed 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg. This event has contributed to a downward trend in public trust.

For this roadblock to clear, the major stakeholders need a breakthrough: perfectly-preened machine learning algorithms that can detect danger better than the human brain. Whoever achieves this wins the PR battle surrounding driverless cars, too.
Emma Carter's grandsons comb the remains of her mobile home, looking for salvageable clothing and personal items after severe weather hit the area, in Pickens, Miss., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

Bad Weather Moves Into Eastern States; 5 Dead in South

Nearly 150,000 homes and businesses in the southeastern United States were without power early Feb. 7 after a powerful storm raked the region. At least five people were killed.

Florida bore the brunt of the power outages, with nearly 75,000, according to poweroutages.us. The Carolinas, Georgia, and Virginia also reported outages, and tornado watches and warnings were in effect Thursday night from northern Florida up through North Carolina.

The National Weather Service advised early Friday that the storm system was strengthening in the mid-Atlantic region, bringing snow, ice, and rain northward.

The weather destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi and Alabama, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region. Rain kept falling over a path of splintered trees and sagging power lines that stretched from Louisiana into Virginia. School districts canceled classes in state after state as bad weather rolled through.

Winston-Salem Fire Department firefighters with the Rescue Task Force rescue Donald Harold from his home at Liberty Landing Apartments as flood waters rise around the building in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Feb. 6, 2020. (Andrew Dye/The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency Thursday evening because of heavy rains and extreme flooding. More than 500 people in southwestern Virginia were displaced by flooding and needed rescue from their homes, he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority warned that people residing near rivers and lakes should prepare for rapidly changing water levels. The TVA is managing rising water behind 49 dams to avert major flooding, but with more rain expected next week, the agency may have to release water downstream, said James Everett, senior manager of the TVAs river forecast center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Authorities confirmed five storm-related fatalities, in Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

One person was killed and another was injured as high winds destroyed two mobile homes near the town of Demopolis, Alabama, the Storm Prediction Center reported. The victim, Anita Rembert, was in one of the homes with her husband, child and two grandchildren, said Kevin McKinney, emergency management director for Marengo County. A man was injured but the children were unhurt, he said.

High winds there left roadsides strewn with plywood, insulation, broken trees and twisted metal. The National Weather Service was checking the site for signs of a tornado.

Fallen trees rest on a damaged postal truck at an apartment complex where a reported tornado passed through in Spartanburg, S.C., on Feb. 6, 2020.(Sean Rayford/AP)

Weather-related crashes left at least four people dead and numerous authorities pleaded with motorists to avoid driving where they couldnt see the pavement.

A driver died in South Carolina when a tree fell on an SUV near Fort Mill, Highway Patrol Master Trooper Gary Miller said. The drivers name wasnt immediately released.

In North Carolinas Gaston County, Terry Roger Fisher was killed after his pickup truck hydroplaned in heavy rain, plunged down a 25-foot (8-meter) embankment and overturned in a creek, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said, according to news outlets.

An unidentified man died and two others were injured Thursday when a car hydroplaned in Knoxville, Tennessee, and hit a truck, police said in a news release.

And in Tennessee, 36-year-old teacher Brooke Sampson was killed and four people were injured when a rain-soaked tree fell on a van carrying Sevierville city employees, officials said. The crash, though still under investigation, appeared to have been weather-related according to preliminary information, said Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Bill Miller.

Flooding, meanwhile, forced rescuers to suspend their search for a vehicle missing with a person inside it in north Alabamas Bucks Pocket State Park. The vehicle quickly disappeared Wednesday in waters too dangerous for divers to search.

As the car started shifting because of the water we noticed what appeared to be an arm reaching out, witness Kirkland Follis, who called 911, told WHNT-TV.

By Jay Reeves
Deputy Director General of Information Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the People's Republic of China Lijian Zhao expressed gratitude to President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, Trend reports.

"We sincerely thank the support from the world leaders: President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan expressed solidarity with the Chinese people and readiness to provide all necessary assistance," Lijian Zhao tweeted.
[February 07, 2020] Hg Invests in smartTrade Technologies to Accelerate Its Growth as a Global Leader in Multi-asset Electronic Trading Solutions

Hg, Europe's leading software investor, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire stakes from Keensight Capital and Pleiade Venture in smartTrade Technologies ("smartTrade"), a leader in multi-asset electronic trading solutions, headquartered in Aix-en-Provence, France. David VINCENT, CEO & co-Founder, and the smartTrade management team will remain invested in the business alongside Hg. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005745/en/ smartTrade is a managed services and hosted software provider for trading desks and a global leader in this sector. smartTrade's liquidity management solutions enable financial institutions to develop and run high-performance trading platforms throughout the world. The business has expanded rapidly in recent years and today has a global client base, with subsidiaries around the world, including in London, Geneva, Milan, New York, Tokyo and Singapore. Hg has been investing in Capital Markets and Wealth and Asset Management technology for almost 20 years and has known the smartTrade team since 2015. During this time Hg has recognised smartTrade as a truly innovative business, which has developed leading, modular solutions (LiquidityFX and smartFI), used by sell-side and buy-side market participants. With an exceptional leadership team, smartTrade has achieved industry-leading technology credentials supported by well-run operations, with continued potential for growth, making it a compelling fit with Hg's expertise and capabilities. Hg's investment will be made from the Mercury 2 Fund and represents the firm's 7th investment in technology businesses serving the Capital Markets and Wealth and Asset Management sectors, including previous investments such as Ullink, a global multi-asset trading technology software provider (Paris); and more recently FE fundinfo, th global fund data and technology leader (London and Zurich).



David VINCENT, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder at smartTrade Technologies, said: "The success of our business is based on continued innovation and technological advancement, putting R&D at the heart of our business. Welcoming Hg, a real expert in software and technology in this sector, creates a truly compelling offering. I am personally very excited about the prospects of the business. Keensight Capital and Pleiade Venture have played a decisive role in our growth to date, and we are grateful of their involvement. Now, with Hg's support, alongside the smartTrade team, I am committed to further developing a great service for our customers, as they look to modernise their own systems." This proposed investment is subject to French workers' council consultations and customary clearances. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Hg was advised on the investment by White & Case, Deloitte (News - Alert) and Bryan, Garnier & Co. smartTrade was advised by Arma Partners and Hoche Partners. About Hg Hg is the largest European investor in software and services, focused on backing businesses that change how we all do business. Deep technology expertise, complemented by vertical application specialisation and dedicated operational support, provides a compelling proposition to management teams looking to scale their businesses. Hg has an investment team of nearly 100 professionals, plus a portfolio team of more than 30 operators, providing practical support to help our businesses to realise their growth ambitions. Based in London, Munich and New York, Hg has current funds under management of approximately 12 billion, an aggregate portfolio enterprise value of c. 30 billion and serves some of the world's leading institutional and private investors. For further details, please visit the Hg website: https://hgcapital.com/ About smartTrade Technologies smartTrade Technologies, a pioneer in multi-asset electronic trading solutions, delivers innovative and intelligent technology enabling you to focus on your trading and grow your business while lowering total cost of ownership and allowing you to quickly adapt to changing market requirements. smartTrade Technologies provides agile end-to-end trading solutions supporting Foreign Exchange, Fixed Income, Equities and Derivatives asset classes with connectivity to over 130 liquidity providers, aggregation, smart order routing, order management, pricing, distribution, risk management capabilities and a HTML5 user interface. We work with a variety of clients ranging from banks, brokers and hedge funds to proprietary trading desks. LiquidityFX for FX and smartFI for Fixed Income, are solutions available as software only or as a fully managed and hosted service, collocated in all the main market places globally. For more information, visit www.smart-trade.net. The contents of the Hg and smartTrade and websites are not incorporated into, and do not form part of, this announcement. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206005745/en/

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Amid the gloomy world of the Duke of York, a small light shines. His Pitch@Palace Global business has returned a handsome profit.

Despite being forced to give up his public duties three months ago following his disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke chose to cling on to Pitch Global, a Dragons Den-style business he set up in 2014 that brokers deals between tech start-ups and wealthy investors.

Pitch@Palace Global was designed as a commercial business controlled by the Duke and  according to the companys latest accounts  it posted a profit of 576,000 for the year ended March 31, 2019.

Despite being forced to give up his public duties three months ago following his disastrous Newsnight interview about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke chose to cling on to Pitch Global

The accounts for the company, whose registered office is at Buckingham Palace, were signed off last week by Amanda Thirsk, who remains a director at Pitch@Palace Global despite resigning as Prince Andrews private secretary earlier in January. The Dukes refusal to surrender control has caused the business to suffer in other ways though; three of its directors resigned last month.

Only one other director remains beside Thirsk  the princes pal, Johan Eliasch.

The accounts also report an increase in assets from 943,731 in 2018 to 3,125,398, indicating turnover for the business exceeding 2.2 million.

Pitch@Palace Global was designed as a commercial business controlled by the Duke and  according to the companys latest accounts  it posted a profit of 576,000

The accounts for the company, whose registered office is at Buckingham Palace, were signed off last week by Amanda Thirsk (pictured), who remains a director at Pitch@Palace Global despite resigning as Prince Andrews private secretary earlier in January

A note to the accounts describes turnover as amounts received in sponsorship or donation income.

The Dukes other initiative, Pitch@Palace CIC, a UK-based charitable venture he set up at the same time, has already been wound up.

Corporate sponsors withdrew their support amid worries that Andrew was mixing his charitable work with his business interest. Concerns included a clause handing the Duke 2 per cent equity stake in any new businesses that sprung from the scheme.

Thirsk tells me that Pitch@Palace Global will continue.

The Duke owns the Pitch@Palace Global shares but is not involved in the day-to-day running of the company, she tells me. No dividends have been paid.

As heiresses to a billion-pound hotel fortune, Paris Hilton, 38, and Nicky Hilton-Rothschild, 36, have never failed to cause a stir and this week donned matching red sequinned dresses at a charity gala in New York City.

Strutting in killer heels, the Hiltons (Paris is on the left) were helping to raise the profile of the Go Red For Women dress collection, in aid of the American Heart Association.

Strutting in killer heels, the Hiltons (Paris is on the left) were helping to raise the profile of the Go Red For Women dress collection, in aid of the American Heart Association

Given that the new Commons Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, was John Bercows deputy for a decade, how did he get on with his vexatious boss?

The burly Hoyle towered over Bercow and this helped.

They had one blazing row  the two of them shouting at each other  and a witness reports that it was Bercow who left the room first.

After that early incident, Hoyle never had any further trouble.

Sir Mick Jagger might be famous for his snake hips but his Rolling Stone bandmate, Ronnie Wood, is giving him a run for his money.

On holiday this week in the Bahamas, the 72-year-old demonstrated his prowess as he taught his three-year-old twins, Gracie and Alice, how to use a hula-hoop before they all headed off for a dip.

On holiday this week in the Bahamas, the 72-year-old demonstrated his prowess as he taught his three-year-old twins, Gracie and Alice, how to use a hula-hoop before they all headed off for a dip

His theatre producer wife Sally, 42, captured the gyrations on film, sharing the footage online. Serious business, she joked.

Ronnie will have to keep shipshape ahead of the latest Stones tour of the U.S., which was announced yesterday.

Holiday was great  Im back now  things about to get busy, he tweeted last night.

Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons says social media is the bane of modern life.

We have an epidemic among our young people of mental illness and depression, he said at the 30th Anniversary of Chickenshed at Hard Rock.

Theres all the photographs with everyone looking wonderful, drinking cocktails in Mauritius and things, like: This is the life I lead. But we all know that the life we lead is 3 oclock in the morning lying in bed worrying that we cant cope, or that we havent got enough talent, or we have no future.

'That is the reality. All this social media has been misleading our children for the last ten, 15 years, and continues to do so.

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who declined to compose a verse commemorating the UKs exit from the EU, has signed a deal with Decca Records to release an album of post-rock electronica, partly inspired by doom rockers Joy Division.

One song Urban Myth #91 contains lyrics referring to greasy sex and a Confederate belt buckle.

William Wordsworth will be turning in his grave  although lusty former laureate John Betjeman might have approved.

The drama surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs departure from Britain could soon find its way to the screen.

Screenwriter Scarlett Lacey  daughter of historian Robert, a consultant on The Crown  has been asked to write a film about their move to Canada.

The drama surrounding the Duke and Duchess of Sussexs departure from Britain could soon find its way to the screen

Scarlett has already made two TV films about the couple which also portrayed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

This would be a follow-up, and theres a huge appetite for it, says my man with the clapperboard.
Holocaust survivor and Irish citizen, Tomi Reichental visited Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT) this week to speak to students about his personal experiences of the holocaust as a prisoner in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp during the 1930's and 1940's.

He visited the campus last year and was invited back by the School of Informatics & Creative Arts due to high demand from students.

Speaking to a packed lecture hall, Tomi spoke of his concerns about the rise in right-wing politics.

The holocaust is more important today than it was twenty years ago due to the rise of racism in Europe and America in recent times and the evident rise of Anti-Semitism. The holocaust did not start with gas chambers. It started with whispers, taunting, abuse and then finally murder. It is up to us to stop this situation at the whisper stage because if we dont do anything now, we might find out that its too late.

He urged students not to become bystanders to bullying or racist behaviour and to stand out against it. He also spoke about the importance of continuing to teaching young people about the history of the holocaust.

Young people will carry the memory of this atrocity into the future. I hope that when they hear my story that they will share it with friends and family. I ask all the young people that I meet to tell their children and grandchildren that they met a living survivor of the holocaust and tell them that it did happen.

DkIT President, Michael Mulvey, PhD greeted Tomi as he arrived on campus, saying: We are delighted to welcome Tomi back to share his story and his important message of respect, tolerance and remembrance to our students. This year we commemorate 75 years since the liberation of Nazi concentration camps and it is vital that we continue to learn from lessons of the past. It is a privilege for our students and staff to meet with Tomi and hear his personal accounts and reflections about this dark side of history.
WASHINGTON, D. C. - Champaign Countys Rep. Jim Jordan has been picked to succeed Georgias Doug Collins as top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee when he leaves the post to run for U.S. Senate, a spokesman for Jordan said.

Jordan - a House Freedom Caucus co-founder who played a vocal role in defending President Donald Trump from impeachment charges - expressed interest in that job in 2018, after losing a longshot bid for House GOP Leader to Californias Kevin McCarthy.

Instead, Jordan became the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee while playing an active role on the Judiciary Committee, which signed off on Trumps impeachment. Collins announced his Senate run on Jan. 29, which requires him to vacate his Judiciary leadership post under House Republican Conference rules.

Members of the GOP Steering Committee on Thursday decided to switch Jordan to the top Judiciary Committee position and give North Carolinas Mark Meadows the top Oversight post. Jordan spokesman Ian Fury said the full House Republican Conference must sign off on the switch before Jordan gets the job.

Read more coverage:

House passes veterans service dog bill by Ohios Rep. Steve Stivers

Rep. Tim Ryan walked out of Trumps State of the Union speech, calling it fake like professional wrestling

Ohios U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown and Rob Portman defend upcoming impeachment votes (videos)

Trumps State of the Union speech: Who are the guests from Ohio?

Rep. Jim Jordan is raising big campaign bucks, Rep. Tim Ryan isnt: See what Northeast Ohio Congress members collected

Sen. Rob Portman announces hell vote against calling impeachment witnesses

Ohio Democrats decry Trump administration Medicaid change

Senate should designate PFAS water contaminants hazardous substances, says Sen. Sherrod Brown

Sherrod Brown calls its brazen for Trump attorneys to chide Hunter Biden for using his famous dad to make money

Bankrupt Murray Energy coal company still banks on Trump, FEC records show

Democrats including Rep. Marcia Fudge back lawsuit to fight food stamp cuts

Retired carpenter challenges Rep. Dave Joyce in GOP primary
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Prabhudas Lilladher's research report on Cadila Healthcare

CDH revenue grew 2% YoY and 8% QoQ to Rs36.38bn (PLe Rs33b), while EBITDA declined 17% YoY and grew 11% QoQ to Rs6.93bn (PLe Rs6.1b). EBITDA margin were 19.1% (PLe 18.6%). India business increase 8% YoY, below the industry average and company guidance post restricting of sales team. Consumer healthcare grew 2% QoQ due to seasonality of Heinz portfolio. US formulations grew 14% in constant currency on account of Rxt share gain in non-AG portfolio, additional volume gain, new launches and benefits of shortage in Losartan. Europe business continued to decline at 21% QoQ. CDH trades at PER of 15.8x (FY21E) and 14.3x (FY22E). With higher leverage, key product concentration in US and many one-off sales in EMs, we expect drag in valuation to continue in FY21E and FY22E.

Outlook

We rolled forward to FY22E and derive our new TP of Rs247 (previous TP of Rs220) on PE 13x of FY22E. We maintain 'Hold'

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Married At First Sight's lesbian bride Tash Herz confirmed her romance with Amanda Micallef was officially over when she was spotted kissing new girlfriend Madison Hewitt last month.

And it seems things are heating up between the 31-year-old reality star and blonde bombshell Madison.

Tash couldn't keep her hands off her new love as the pair enjoyed a night out on the Gold Coast last week.

Pucker up! Married At First Sight's Tash Herz (right) packed on the PDA with her new girlfriend, Madison Hewitt (left) as they enjoyed a romantic night out last week

It's over! Tash and Amanda Micallef (left) tied the knot on Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight and at first they appeared to be a perfect match

The bartender flaunted her tattooed pins in a pair of tiny denim shorts as she packed on the PDA with Madison, whom she reportedly first met online five years ago.

She completed her ensemble with a sheer black blouse and bra along with a pair of matching coloured boots.

Madison looked stylish in white shorts, crop top and matching coloured jacket and a pair of black sneakers.

Loved-up: Tash flaunted her tattooed pins in a pair of tiny denim shorts as she packed on the PDA with Madison, whom she reportedly first met online five years ago

Style: She completed her ensemble with a sheer black blouse and bra along with a pair of matching coloured boots

It's believed they didn't start dating until recently, after Tash had called it quits with strength trainer Amanda.

Tash and Amanda tied the knot on Tuesday's episode of Married At First Sight and at first they appeared to be a perfect match.

But while on their honeymoon, Amanda complained about their lack of intimacy and Tash confessed that she wasn't attracted to 34-year-old brunette.

Fashionista: Madison looked stylish in white shorts, crop top, matching coloured jacket and a pair of black sneakers

Moved on: It's believed they didn't start dating until recently, after Tash had called it quits with strength trainer Amanda

The tattooed bombshell also failed to show up to a planned meeting with Amanda by the pool and instead decided to meditate in her hotel room.

'I needed a bit of time by myself. I was acting a certain way at the wedding but now I'm not attracted to her,' Tash told producers.

Three hours later, she finally showed up to meet a sunburned, irritated Amanda and opened up a book rather than engaging in conversation with her new wife.

New romance:The pair held hands as they enjoyed a romantic dinner date at an establishment on the Gold Coast

Look of love: At one point, Tash gazed into Madison's eyes as she embraced her while standing outside

'We're supposed to be building a relationship! Don't sit there and read your book by the pool. We're here to get to know each other. This is not what I was expecting at all!' Amanda raged.

Finally cracking under the frustration, she stormed off.

'I'm annoyed. I didn't come on a honeymoon to spend it on my own. She's just being distant... and it's throwing me off,' she said.

Kiss like no one is watching! The pair also smooched before heading into the venue

Night out: The couple were eventually joined by a male, who stood and chatted to them

'Where's the stroke of the arm? Where's the small glimpses of a little bit of intimacy here and there? We're on our honeymoon for f**k's sake, embrace it! Just embrace it for what it is. Here, be in the moment.'

Bursting into tears as she stood alone in front of the beach, Amanda added: 'F**k, this was harder than what I thought.'

Married At First Sight continues Sunday at 7pm on Nine

Close bond: They held hands and kept close as they stood alongside one another
THIBODAUX, La. - A Louisiana university has cancelled a student trip to China in May because of the deadly outbreak of a new virus there.

The cancelled 10-day trip to China is an annual event for the College of Business Administration, Nicholls State University spokesman Jacob Batte said in an email late Thursday.

He said in a news release Wednesday that the university is barring all travel to China for university academic or business purposes because the State Department is advising Americans not to visit the country.

The China study trip, led by computer information systems professor En Mao, takes students to businesses in Beijing, Shanghai and a third city for a research project. This year, Batte said, the third city was to be Guangzhou. He said the university has refunded payments from the six students who had signed up so far.

All three cities are 520 to 660 miles (840 to 1,060 kilometres) from Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak which has sickened more than 31,000 people and killed more than 600. Virtually all patients have been in China.

The new virus is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. It causes fever, cough, shortness of breath and, in severe cases, pneumonia.
The Election Commission on Friday issued a show cause notice to Delhi Chief Minister for posting a "Hind-Muslim" video on his Twitter handle to target the opposition, saying prima facie it has the potential of disturbing communal harmony.

Kejriwal has been asked to respond to the notice before 5.00 pm on Saturday, the day of polling in Delhi.

The video purportedly shows that other parties and media are allegedly talking of "Hindu-Muslim", "CAA" and "mandir-masjid", but Kejriwal was talking of development, schools and women safety.
The tea party favorite turned radio talk show host became Trumps second 2020 primary challenger when he announced his candidacy in August, saying the incumbent was unfit for office and must be denied a second term. He presented himself as a conservative choice for people who were fed up with the chaos of the Trump era. Brimming with confidence over his campaign prospects, Walsh declared, I think this thing ... will catch on like wildfire.
AMES, Iowa  For six months, some of President Trumps most implacable foes have invested great hope in two Republicans  former Rep. Joe Walsh and former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld  who are challenging the president for the GOP nomination. Could they do some damage to Trumps re-election prospects?

In the Iowa caucuses, that hope was put to a first test. It failed.

In the states Republican caucuses  yes, there were Republican caucuses, and they ran smoothly, unlike the Democratic contest  the Walsh and Weld candidacies fizzled.

In the end, Trump won 97.15% of the vote, to Walshs 1.08% and Welds 1.31%. Others  write-ins of various people  totaled 0.47%. It was a striking show of strength for the president.

Beyond that, turnout was high for a year in which an incumbent president is assured of renomination. In 2016, about 180,000 Republican voters turned up for Iowa caucuses. But that was a highly competitive year in which Trump battled Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush and a number of other candidates. The last time there was a non-competitive GOP race, that is, a race with an incumbent president, was in 2004, when President George W. Bush was in the White House. That year, about 8,000 Republicans showed up for what were essentially meaningless caucuses.

This year, the turnout was 32,320, an impressive number for an incumbent year.

Delighted state GOP officials owed a lot to the presidents decision to make a serious effort in Iowa this caucus season. First, he visited Des Moines and held a rally last week; it was far bigger than any event staged by any Democratic candidate. Then, Trump sent more than 80 surrogates to the state, including his two sons, a slate of Cabinet members, Republican congressmen and GOP governors. Then, the Trump campaign stepped up its social media work in the state.

The reason was not that Trump was afraid of Walsh or Weld. The reason was that Trump was trying to strengthen support in Iowa, a swing state won by Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, so that it will be in the Trump general election win column before Democrats even pick their candidate.

Organizers of the caucus in Ames, home to Iowa State University, hoped that perhaps 100 people would show up. And that was with the participation of one of the campaigns star surrogates, presidential son Donald Trump Jr. As it turned out, 449 people showed up to vote, and another 80 or so came just to watch what was going on.

By and large, the attendees did not merely like the president; they loved the president.

I think hes doing a great job, said Rod Kern.

I am thrilled with him, said Paula Anderson.

Best president weve ever had, outside of Reagan, maybe, said Bob Folkmann.

I hope people are telling you they are so excited about our president, said Joyce Hoffman. (They were.)

Im so on for Trump, said Andrea Hrbek. I have not loved a Republican president like Trump. Hrbek explained that she voted for Bush, McCain and Romney but today feels a bit embarrassed by each vote. Not so with Trump.

And so on.

At caucuses, representatives of each candidate are supposed to have a little time to tell the audience why they should vote for that candidate. In Ames, Trump Jr. was the star of the show, talking for more than 20 minutes about his fathers accomplishments, and also dwelling on the investigations to which Democrats have subjected Trump and his family.

Jeff Ortiz, the co-chair of the Story County GOP, went from table to table, asking people if anyone would like to make remarks on behalf of Walsh or Weld. There were no takers.

In the end, out of 449 votes, Trump received 415, Walsh 20, and Weld 9. There was one write-in each for a disparate group: Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse, and Dispatch writer David French. One person abstained.

In the end, Ortiz was delighted with a turnout more than four times what he originally expected. Yes, that was a display of clout by Trump, but it was also an organizational shot in the arm for the local party.

Its critical that we get these people to turn out, to sign up for our central committees, to stay involved right up until the end, Ortiz said. Because there are no guarantees come November.

As good as the result was for the Trump team, it was at best a discouraging outcome for the NeverTrump challenge. In late January, former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol pleaded on Twitter: Iowa Republicans: Caucus for Joe Walsh or Bill Weld or uncommitted. Youre better than Donald Trump. Dont stoop to support this man so unworthy of your support.

Iowa Republicans ignored the entreaty, and many others that came before it.

Now the campaign is on to New Hampshire. As in Iowa, Trump plans a rally in the state before the primary. Again there will be surrogates, and again there will be stepped-up online campaigning. The result could be another difficult night for the quixotic Republican effort to stop the president.

Byron York is chief political correspondent for The Washington Examiner.
smartTrade Technologies, an Aix-en-Provence, France-based provider of multi-asset electronic trading solutions, received an investment from Hg.

Hg, which made the investment from the Mercury 2 Fund, acquired the stakes in the company from Keensight Capital and Pleiade Venture.

The amount of the deal  still subject to French workers council consultations and customary clearances  was not disclosed.

Led by David Vincent, CEO and co-Founder, smartTrade is a managed services and hosted software provider for trading desks. Its liquidity management solutions enable financial institutions to develop and run high-performance trading platforms throughout the world. They support Foreign Exchange, Fixed Income, Equities and Derivatives asset classes with connectivity to over 130 liquidity providers, aggregation, smart order routing, order management, pricing, distribution, risk management capabilities and a HTML5 user interface. Today, the business has a global client base, ranging from banks, brokers and hedge funds to proprietary trading desks, with subsidiaries around the world, including in London, Geneva, Milan, New York, Tokyo and Singapore.

FinSMEs

07/02/2020
(Newser)  If a Transportation Security Administration agent asks you to lift up your shirt in an airport elevator, he's probably not following screening protocol. One woman found that out the hard way, and now an ex-TSA agent is facing legal repercussions. Per a criminal complaint cited by the AP, 22-year-old Johnathan Lomeli has been charged with false imprisonment by fraud or deceit after he allegedly tricked a traveler last year while she was going through security at Los Angeles International Airport. Per an arrest affidavit, the woman told investigators that during the June 10 incident, Lomeli told her he had to look into her bra to make sure she didn't have anything hidden; she says he also asked her to pull her pants away from her waist so he could peek down there, too. Then, she told investigators, Lomeli instructed her that additional screening was needed in a private room.

story continues below

But while they were in the elevator going to the supposed room, Lomeli allegedly asked her to lift her shirt up so he could see her "full breasts" (which she says he complimented her on), peeked inside her pants once again, and then told her she was good to go. Per KTLA, false imprisonment under California law is defined as "the unlawful violation of the personal liberty of another." A rep for the FBI, which was brought into the case, tells the AP Lomeli was fired. "Women deserve to be treated with dignity and respect everywhere," California Attorney General Xavier Becerra says in a release. "There is no excuse for this kind of alleged behavior. It's not OK on the street, it's not OK in our schools, and it's certainly not welcome at the airport." Bail for Lomeli, who was arrested Thursday at his home, has been set at $50,000; his first court appearance is set for Friday. (Read more Transportation Security Administration stories.)
St. Andrews-Sewanee School is launching a new tuition plan to make boarding school more affordable for families, said officials.

Moving into the 2020-2021 school year, students from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia will qualify for the Mountain Tuition rate of $43,000, making SAS one of the most affordable boarding schools in the Appalachian states, said officials. The base domestic boarding rate is being reduced from $50,400 to $49,980.

For years, the growth in boarding school tuition has outpaced family incomes, said SAS Head of School Karl Sjolund. While the cost of providing such personalized and high-quality instruction is high, we recognize that our families are also having to save for college tuition. Our hope is that this tuition reset will help to alleviate some of that pain.

The school will continue to provide financial aid for qualifying families. This year, it awarded nearly $2.3 million in aid with approximately 62 percent of students receiving some assistance. The schools Claiborne Scholars program provides merit aid for students who demonstrate academic prowess and leadership potential. The Hubbard Scholarship provides full tuition for qualifying students from Shelby County (Memphis). Special scholarships are also available for students whose parents are Episcopal employees and/or seminarians.

When the Brothers of the Order of the Holy Cross founded St. Andrews School on this campus, their desire was to provide an education for the barefoot boys of Appalachia, said Mr. Sjolund. We have remained committed to the spirit of that mission while recognizing that the labor of talented and dedicated individuals, small class sizes, and a wide array of enrichment opportunities are expensive endeavors. We are committed to increasing affordability through lower tuition and a continued commitment to generous financial aid.

St. Andrews-Sewanee School currently enrolls 240 students in grades 6-12 from 13 states and 12 countries. Eighty-seven percent of the students are from states that make up the Appalachian region. The schools graduates matriculate to colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Chicago, Columbia University, Vanderbilt, Wellesley, and New York University. Thanks to a historic relationship with the University of the South (Sewanee), qualified SAS students may take classes for free and for credit at the University.

Director of Admission Derek Perkins said he is excited about the new program. At SAS, we say You belong here. It is a reflection of our welcoming community. By holding our tuition costs down, we hope to expand the population of families whom we can welcome here.

SAS parents see their children transformed by a school culture that challenges students to fulfill their greatest potential while cultivating lives of balance and joy. Is there any investment more important than our childrens futures?

St. Andrews-Sewanee School is currently accepting applications for August 2020 enrollment. The schools next Admission Shadow Day is Monday, Feb. 17. For more information, go to sasweb.org/admission.
NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) is recommending that Boeing's software testing processes undergo a review, following the discovery of another problem with the on-board system that was in operation during the CST-100 Starliner uncrewed Space Station docking test launch in December. Starliner never made it to the Space Station as planned during that launch, due to a mission timer error that resulted in the capsule burning too much fuel too early in the flight.

During their meeting on Thursday, the ASAP group revealed that there was a second software "anomaly" detected during the mission, which was corrected while the capsule was in flight, Space News reports. Had the issue not been noticed and corrected, the result would've been misfired thrusters that could've ultimately led to a "catastrophic spacecraft failure," per panel member Paul Hill via Space News.

Both Boeing and NASA are currently investigating the issues that occurred during the test mission. Both partners also stressed that the launch, which did result in a successful Starliner re-entry and landing in White Sands, N.M., accomplished a number of planned tests despite not making it to the ISS.

At the time, they also pointed out that the error with the mission timer would not have resulted in any danger to any astronauts on board. This newly disclosed error sounds like it may have been more severe, without correction, and it was fixed just two hours prior to the capsule's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

Accordingly, the panel would like to see a review of Boeing's systems engineering, software integration and verification testing, and that doing so should precede a decision about whether or not to go ahead with either another uncrewed launch, or move ahead to the crewed test flight, which would've been the next step had everything gone to plan on the December launch.

NASA has already decided to go ahead and conduct an "organizational safety assessment," the panel said, which it has already conducted for fellow commercial crew program participant SpaceX last year.

Story continues

Speaking of SpaceX, the panel also shared that its program is "at a point where there is not a question of whether they will be flying crew in the near term, but when," which does sound promising for their goal. Separately, a report on the Commercial Crew Program issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) earlier this week revealed that SpaceX is actually ahead of its current schedule on delivering the Crew Dragon capsule for the first operational crew mission.

Boeing provided TechCrunch the following statement regarding the ASAP's statements at the meeting on Thursday:
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Following a brief altercation between Congress and BJP MPs inside the Lok Sabha on Friday, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged that his voice is being suppressed in the House.

Gandhi is in the middle of the Friday row inside the House as MPs from treasury benches clashed with opposition over the former Congress chief's "danda" remark against the Prime Minister.

Gandhi alleged that there were instructions from BJP heirarchy to stiffle his voice in the House.

The incident happened when Congress MP Manickam Tagore tried to snatch away a paper being read out by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. The Minister was condemning Gandhi's 'danda' jibe against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reacting on the episode Rahul Gandhi defended Manickam Tagore and alleged that Tagore was roughed up and claimed that the oppposition and the Congress were "being sidelined".

After the incident Rahul Gandhi spoke to the media and said: "There is a issue in Wayanad about them not having Medical College this is long standing issue so I wanted to raise this issue in the House.

"However, the BJP doesn't want me to speak in the House so and in a completely un-parliamentary manner the Health Minister raised an issue which happened outside the House and has no business here in Parliament." "We are not being allowed to speak in Parliament," said Rahul

The Government has alleged that after Rahul Gandhi's instigation, the Congress MPs thought they will live up to their leader's 'danda' comment. This was an attempt to manhandle Dr Harshvardhan. This shows the frustration level of Congress and is height of gundaism," said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
Yoga could help combat back pain. (Getty)

Yoga, tai chi and the mind-body martial art qigong may be effective alternatives to drugs when treating back pain, research suggests.

Around four in five people experience lower back pain at some point in their life.

Despite advice to manage the discomfort via exercise, many turn to painkillers and even surgery.

With an opioid epidemic well underway in the US, scientists from Florida Atlantic University looked at the effectiveness of movement-based mind-body interventions across 32 studies with a total of more than 3,400 participants.

Read more: People feel less pain after performing selfless acts

Back pain is a major public health issue often contributing to emotional distress such as depression and anxiety, as well as sleep issues and even social isolation, said study author Dr Juyoung Park.

Results, published in the journal Holistic Nursing Practice, reveal the majority of studies showed movement-based mind-body interventions to be effective for treatment of low back pain.

This was measured by a reduction in pain or psychological distress, like depression or anxiety.

Some participants also had a decline in pain-related disability and were able to be more active.

Long duration and high dose yoga was particularly linked to reduced discomfort.

Four out of five people suffer back pain at some point. (Getty)

Tai chi was found to ease acute lower back pain among men in their twenties.

The ancient martial art was also more effective than stretching for lower back pain in young men, the results suggest.

In general, tai chi reduced pain intensity, bothersomeness of the discomfort and related disability more than any other intervention.

With just three studies available, the scientists concluded it cannot be said with certainty that qigong eases back pain.

Read more: 3 little-known signs of kidney cancer

Qigong is a traditional Chinese meditative therapy that focuses on body awareness and attention via slow, fluid body movements,

Only four studies have been done on tai chi, making it also under-investigated.

Story continues

Nevertheless, Dr Park said: Yoga, tai chi and qigong could be used as effective treatment alternatives to pain medications, surgery or injection-based treatments such as nerve blocks, which are associated with high incidence of adverse effects in treating lower back pain.

We need more clinical trials and empirical evidence so that clinicians can prescribe these types of interventions with more confidence for managing lower back pain in their patients.
STAMFORDAn employee at Hatch & Bailey, the building supply store, has been arrested for allegedly allowing a contractor to steal items from the business for a payoff on the side.

Employee Manuel Lugo, 50, was charged with fourth-degree larceny Tuesday and released after signing a written promise to appear in court.

According to his five-page arrest affidavit, a complaint from the owner of Hatch & Bailey was made to police on Jan. 22, about an employee stealing building supply items from the business.

The owner undertook his own investigation and found a video tape of Lugo giving $1,637 worth of roofing shingles, cases of ice and weather shield, and nail gun nails to the contractor, but only charged him for a few two-by-fours and sheets of plywood, according to police.

When Lugo was brought into the owners office and confronted with the video, he confessed to the crime while a police officer was present, the affidavit said.

Lugo said the contractor made a deal with him where he would come in on Saturdays when things were slower and load his truck with supplies and pay him off the books for some of the items, the affidavit said.

Lugo had been working at the business for over five years, but said it was only over the past three months that he was helping the contractor steal from his employer, the affidavit said.

Lugo even admitted to allowing another customer to take items without paying for them on one occasion in January, police said.

He told police that after the two contractors pulled out of the store, they would pay him $100 for the extra items that they took.

Police say one contractor could be seen on video trying to give Lugo money, but he told the man, Outside, outside, the affidavit said.

Lugo was arraigned Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
Happens when you have WhatsApp University Degree: Congress jabs PM Modi

India

oi-Deepika S

New Delhi, Feb 07: Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited an article from satire website Faking News to attribute a fake quote to Omar Abdullah on the abrogation of Article 370, which has evoked a strong response from the opposition including Congress.

"Mehbooba Mufti said 'India has cheated Kashmir. It seems we picked the wrong side in 1947'. Omar Abdullah had said 'Removing Article 370 would bring an earthquake that will separate Kashmir from India'. Farooq Abdullah said 'if Article 370 is removed, there will be no one in the valley to unfurl the Indian flag'. Can any person devoted to the Indian constitution ever accept this?" PM Modi said in parliament.

Mocking the Prime Minister, the Congress tweeted, "(PM) Modi quotes a satirical website, literally called 'Faking News' to justify his draconian actions against former J&K CM Omar Abdullah. This is what happens when the only degree you have is from WhatsApp University."

PM Modi reaches Assam to celebrate signing of Bodo agreement

Meanwhile, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, besides two political stalwarts from NC and its arch-rival PDP were booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) by the administration on Thursday.
As the children of famous businessmen with assets worth trillions of dong, they not only inherit huge assets but also have higher education levels and business success.

Do Huu Hau, a businessman born in 1984, is the son of Do Huu Ha, president of Hoang Huy Investment and Finance Service JSC (TCH) who holds 42.77 percent of shares of the business, and 6 percent of shares of the Hoang Huy Investment & Service (HHS).

Do Huu Hau





Hau is now a member of the board of directors of Hoang Huy and CEO of Hung Viet Trade JSC.



Hau studied economics and trade in Beijing. He returned to Vietnam and started in the truck and trailer trade. Over many years, Hau, besides managing the TCH, has also invested in the real estate sector and gained impressive success.



As of October 30, 2019, Hau held 18.15 million TCH shares, worth VND720 billion. The assets of the company reached VND8.197 trillion and revenue by December 31, 2019 had hit VND1.47 trillion and pre-tax profit VND580 billion, double the previous year.

As the children of famous businessmen with assets worth trillions of dong, they not only inherit huge assets but also have higher education levels and business success.

Hoang Huy Group caught the publics attention when signing an agreement on importing thousands of tractors from the US worth multi billions of dollars some years ago.



Businesswoman Nguyen Thai Nga is the daughter of Ho Thi Kim Thoa, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade.



Nga, born in 1984, became a member of the board of directors in 2018 and held the post of director of the Hanoi branch of the Dien Quang Lamp JSC in June 2013.



Later, she was appointed to the post of deputy general director of Dien Quang in November 2015.



As of June 30, 2019, Nga held 4 million Dien Quang shares (DQC), or 14.97 percent of the companys chartered capital. She is the shareholder holding the biggest amount of shares in her family of five members who are holding DQC.



Dang Thanh Duy is the son of Dang Phuoc Thanh, chair of Anh Duong Viet Nam (Vinasun  VNS).



Born in 1984 and with a bachelors degree in economics, Duy was once a member of the board of directors and is now deputy CEO of Vinasun. He is holding 7.97 percent of VNS, worth VND56 billion.



Tran Ngoc Phuong Thao is the daughter of Cao Ngoc Dung, president of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Company (PNJ).



Thao is famous for her learning records. It took her only 1.5 years to fulfill the curricula for high school students. She studied at Harvard University. Five large universities in the US and UK offered full scholarships to her for tertiary education.



Thao holds 4.7 million PNJ shares and a large amount of DAF shares.

Mai Lan

Vietnam's richest billionaire reports huge profits More large corporations have released 2019 finance reports. The 2019 business season witnessed a boom of enterprises with the profit of over VND10 trillion.
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Linkedin Ronald Rulindo and Siti Humairoh (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 10:58 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631b11a 3 Opinion halal-tourism,halal-tourism-destination,halal-destination,Muslim,muslim-tourists,travel Free

Once we get over this coronavirus epidemic  hopefully sooner rather than later  Indonesia still has big potential in tourism given its beautiful natural scenery and rich culture. With a vast population including 220 million Muslims, there is particular potential for halal tourism, according to the Global Muslim Travel Index.

Amid a global Muslim population of some 1.7 billion, Indonesia and Malaysia share the top position, both scoring 78 in the 2019 Index, which was released by Mastercard-Crescent rating early last year. In 2018, Indonesia was placed second behind Malaysia.

This achievement was possible because of the increasing number of Muslim tourists, with arrivals in 2017 reaching 1.95 million, up 15 percent from the previous year. This produced foreign exchange earnings equivalent to Rp 27 trillion, according to Anang Sutono, head of the Tourism Ministrys halal tourism development unit.

The increase in Muslim tourists may offset a decline in foreign tourists in general as a result of growing competition among Southeast Asian countries  as long as tourism management improves. Amid tight business competition, the hospitality sector must closely follow customer needs. Thus, the scope of hospitality today goes beyond the provision of accommodation, food and beverages to encompass a sense of excitement through a vibrant and creative atmosphere.

This sense of experience needs to be further explored in attracting tourists to Indonesia. For Muslim tourists, the government and private sector have increased conveniences, such as corners for ablution (mandatory before prayers) near restrooms and ample praying spaces. Mosques and halal food are more easily found now around tourist destinations.

But the effort to chase the governments target of generating $300 billion in revenue from Muslim tourists in 2026 must engage all stakeholders  the government, investors and hospitality managers. Our recommendations in this regard include sharing Indonesias rich traditions related to Islam through creative events. For instance, visitors could enjoy the traditional eating of eggs from horseshoe crabs or mimi in Central Java and could participate in the ritual of mabbaca-baca (prayer reading with serving of special dishes) in Sulawesi during Ramadan.

Another recommendation is to strengthen Muslim-friendly hospitality standards, including the provision of sharia banking services at ATMs or bank counters in tourist destinations that are proportional to the availability of conventional banking services. Moreover, the quantity of Muslim-friendly accommodation and lodging, travel services, food and beverages needs to be increased in tourist destinations.

Our third recommendation is for strong online promotion to convey positive messages to a national and international audience, especially focusing on Muslim-majority countries that show Indonesias progress in Muslim-friendly tourism. Such a campaign would need a memorable tag line and video content.

Another suggestion is strong research and development on Muslim-friendly tourism development in Indonesia in cooperation with local universities. Seminars and competition for the best research could attract academics to contribute insight on the subject.

By engaging all of those stakeholders by 2026, the government should be able to reach its target.

***

The writers work at the National Committee for Sharia Finance (KNKS).

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha has ordered schools in Siaya County to admit pregnant girls in Form One.

Prof Magoha on Wednesday intensified the search for pupils who sat last year's Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam and are yet to join Form 1 in Siaya County.

Prof Magoha directed education officials to ensure two pregnant girls get admission in boarding schools.

LOW TRANSITION

The girls were rescued by Siaya County Commissioner Michael ole Tialal. The CS, however, warned students against engaging in pre-marital sex.

"We are admitting you to schools you so that you learn, stop engaging in these adult activities [sex] that affect your studies," said the CS.

The CS, who raised concern over the low transition rate in Siaya County, asked the county commissioner to mobilise chiefs to track down pupils who are yet to join Form One. Over 258 pupils are yet to join secondary schools in the region.

Siaya County Director of Education Joseph Omocho said Alego Usonga has the 166 pupils who are yet to join Form One. It is followed by Ugunja (45), Rarieda (29), Gem (7) Bondo (6) while Ugenya has five.

INFRASTRUCTURE

The CS headed to Bishop Okoth Girls Mbaga Secondary School where the two girls were to be admitted on Wednesday.

Earlier, the CS said the government would develop infrastructure in secondary schools to accommodate more students.

While insisting that a 99 per cent transition mark has been attained, the CS exuded confidence that the government would hit its target by Friday.

He assured Kenyans of the government's commitment to address congestion and inadequate infrastructure in schools across the country.

The CS commended efforts by some leaders and well-wishers to provide students with learning materials.

"As the government prepares to do its part, the community should also chip in to ensure our children learn in conducive environments," he said.

LOWEST ENROLMENTS

In Kisumu, the CS said 203 learners in Nyanza region are yet to join Form One.

"With the help of local administrators, I have managed to trace 10 candidates today. I now hope that the regional director of education will trace and enroll those who have not reported [to school] so far," he said at Kasagam Secondary School.

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Most of the pupils were from Kisumu's Nyalenda and Manyatta estates. He called on residents to report cases where children have not been sent to school. He said that lowest enrolments have been witnessed in Nyandarua, Narok, Kajiado, Embu and Tana River counties.

A total of 36 students were enrolled at Kasagam Secondary School. They are expected to benefit from Sh22, 244 the government.

Meanwhile, education officials in Nyamira County have begun implementing President Uhuru Kenyatta's directive of ensuring all pupils who sat last year's KCPE join Form One.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Nyamira County Director of Education Margaret Muirigi told chiefs, their assistants and village elders to track down all pupils who are yet to join Form One.

Ms Muirigi said the government had set aside funds for construction of infrastructure in secondary schools. She said parents who have fail to enroll their children in Form One will face the law.

"We have instructed school principals to admit children unconditionally," she said.

She said the ministry of education had disbursed Sh6,000 per child for infrastructure. In Nyamira County, at least 921 students are yet to be traced. Out of 16,634 who sat their KCPE exam last year, 15,713 have already joined secondary schools.

"Measures have been put in place to comb up all villages in order to bring all children to school," said Ms Muirigi.
They once stood side by side against tear gas and bullets, protesting together against Iraq's government. But after cleric Moqtada Sadr's followers switched sides, young activists feel vulnerable and betrayed. "We used to distribute food to their protest tents in the first days of the demonstrations -- and this is how they treat us?" said Mona, a medic and activist in Baghdad. "I said from the very first days they'd abandon us." The diminutive Iraqi woman was referring to Sadr's surprising endorsement of Mohammad Allawi as Iraq's new premier, a man the core protest movement rejects as too close to the ruling class they have spent months seeking to overthrow. The cleric's diehard supporters quickly turned on the other protesters, and clashes in the holy city of Najaf and nearby Hilla have left eight dead this week alone. In Baghdad's Tahrir Square, Sadr supporters -- usually identified by blue caps -- have beaten anti-government demonstrators with sticks and threatened others. Clusters of glowering men in blue caps guard the entrances to the now-empty "Turkish Restaurant," the gutted building protesters had turned into their bustling headquarters. Sadrists ousted demonstrators from the building's 15 floors last week and tore down commemorative posters of those killed while protesting. "It's a totally different situation in Tahrir now," said Mona, who just a month ago could be seen in the square every day, delivering food to keep the sit-in going and treating teens shot by riot police at makeshift clinics. No more. Mona comes to Tahrir every three or four days and looks over her shoulder even though she speaks quietly, worried a diehard Sadr supporter might hear her criticism. - Deal with the devil - It was an odd alliance from the start: politically unaffiliated demonstrators partnered with followers of Sadr, who had inherited a socioreligious current from his father, also a cleric. That movement has thrived during protests and it has frequently slammed the ruling elite. When anti-government protests erupted in October, Sadrists organised round-the-clock shifts to make sure Tahrir would stay occupied and brought food, mattresses and other logistical necessaries to the square, activists said. They also helped in a less visible way. Sadr controls parliament's largest bloc and key ministry posts, and his backing gave the protests a degree of political cover that mostly precluded a full-on crackdown. Some activists felt uneasy about making such a deal with the devil until a bloody night in December saw them reluctantly accept Sadr's support. That month, unidentified gunmen attacked a protest site near Tahrir, killing 20 demonstrators, but Sadrists armed with daggers fought back, activists who were there at the time said. "Look, I know it's crazy but I had to thank them for the stand they took there," said Hakim, a longtime protester who is deeply opposed to Sadr. "It really did save us." But Sadr's recent flip-flopping has confused them. A week before endorsing Allawi, he held his own rally -- to demand US troops leave Iraq -- and said he would no longer back the anti-government protests. A few days later, he switched again, tweeting to his supporters to flood the main squares before then instructing them to help Iraqi security forces reopen schools and roads shut by months of sit-ins. "A tweet they come, a tweet they go," muttered Mona. - 'Surrounded on all sides' - At a recent student rally in Baghdad, a young demonstrator held up a sign reading, "For God's sake, what do you want?" Protesters, including a burly Iraqi named Ali, said Sadrists in recent days have stomped around Tahrir with bats to threaten protesters chanting against Allawi. Ali dipped into a blue tent where he and his university classmates have been sleeping for months. "We were okay with the Sadrists before because they didn't intervene in our protests. Now it's different," Mohammad, one of the students, told AFP. "We're doing night shifts now around the tent to make sure no one attacks us," he added. Just behind their tent is the Tahrir parking garage -- the Sadrists' main gathering place. To the left and right of their tent are tarp structures put up by Sadr followers. "We're surrounded on all sides," said Mustafa, a history student who has skipped class since October so as to take part in the protests. "We've got the government, the political parties and now we have the Sadrists" to contend with. Anti-government demonstrations resumed in the central city of Najaf and other cities on Thursday Protesters fear being muzzled, with one saying they are now surrounded on all sides -- by the government, political parties and now Sadr and his supporters Protesters have railed for months against an establishmnet they deem to be irretrievably corrupt Iraqi students also protested in the southern city of Basra on Thursday, the day after a night of violence blamed on supporters of Sadr
People order burger meals at McDonald's restaurant in Seoul in this 2019 file photo. / Yonhap



By Kim Jae-heun



The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has recently requested the Fair Trade Commission investigate "alleged unfair business practices" conducted by McDonald's Korea.



According to the ministry, the Korean branch of the U.S.-based fast food chain received 544 million won ($458,298) from 22 prospective franchisees between Sept. 13 and Nov. 2016.



According to the Fair Franchise Practices Act, franchises can keep any deposits received from prospective franchisees at a designated financial company, such as a commercial bank. This is to protect franchises from any unexpected incidents such as a franchisee going out of business or fleeing the country. The ministry said McDonald's Korea may have violated the subcontract and fair franchise practice acts.



"McDonald's Korea has also failed to provide disclosure documents to prospective franchisees that give them information on how to run their franchised business," a ministry official said. Some of them have received the document but they opened the fast food chain two weeks before they signed the contract. The law bans this in order to give a franchisee enough time to review the document before starting the business.



Last June the FTC issued a correction order to McDonald's Korea and imposed a 52 million won ($43,807) fine.



However, the ministry requested the FTC to take legal action against McDonald's Korea considering the amount of damage it has caused to SMEs here.



By law, the ministry can push the antitrust watchdog to file a complaint with the prosecution.



"The FTC only decides to pursue legal action after examining the legality of it. But our ministry came to conclusion that the McDonald's case is more severe so bringing the matter to a close by issuing a correction order is insufficient," a ministry official said. "This is a law that a major company like McDonald's cannot be ignorant of. The American fast food chain has been violating this quite often and for a long time."



McDonald's Korea said their official was not aware of the law and deposited the funds into a registered account.



"After the FTC took corrective action against us, we deposited the amount into our designated financial company. Our official didn't know about the law and kept it on the business account," a McDonald's official said. "Regarding the disclosure documents, our official also did not know a hard copy was required so there was only verbal mention of it. We can assure you that franchisees were not damaged by the oversight."



McDonald's Korea recently named Antoni Martinez as the new managing director of the Korean branch Jan. 29. Martinez has not yet arrived in Korea as his term starts in March.



The managing director said in a statement that "We have a robust plan in place for 2020, and I am confident that we can continue to drive our business forward by putting even more focus on customers, to deliver an outstanding performance in the future."



However, he has yet to make any comment on the government's plan to take possible legal action against McDonald's Korea over their alleged unfair business activities in the past.


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Court has ordered Kampala Capital City Authority to refund Shs4.8b paid by St Balikuddembe (Owino) Market vendors in 2011 for a non-existing piece of land purportedly at Kisenyi in Mengo.

High Court judge Musa Ssekaana also ordered KCCA to pay the traders more than Shs1.15b in compensation for loss suffered during the sale of their land on Plot 388 in Mengo-Kisenyi plus legal costs of Shs500m.

"The court has a duty to disgorge the value received from the plaintiff. This is intended to prevent gain by the defendant as a defaulting party against the plaintiff in order to stop unjust enrichment," Justice Ssekaana ruled.

The court agreed with the traders that the written statement of defence contains an admission of the initial sum of Shs4.2b.

"The defendant's submission is neither here nor there, since the defendant admitted receiving a payment of Shs4.2b from the plaintiff and plaintiff has indeed satisfied the court that the said money was borrowed from the bank at an interest of 19 percent annum," Justice Ssekaana observed.

In 2010, the defunct Kampala City Council leased the land occupied by Owino Market to the vendors through their St Balikuddembe Market stalls, space and Lock up Shops Owners Association (SSLOA) at Shs4b payable in advance and Shs200m as ground rent per annum.

The vendors secured a loan from dfcu Bank and paid to KCC for a number of plots at Owino Market and surrendered the leases as collateral security to the bank and mortgaged some titles for other land they privately owned.

However, after receiving the money from the vendors, KCC reportedly claimed it, saying it did not have any land to lease or sublease and it was thus unable to fulfil its obligations.

The vendors could not pay back the loan and the bank sold off their property in Kibuga on May 5, 2014 at Shs1.5b which was below the market value which was estimated at Shs3 billion.
The novel Coronavirus (nCov) has claimed over 600, with 30,000 confirmed infected cases. While scientists and researchers are looking for a cure, a team led by an Indian scientist in Australia has grown the first batch of the virus in sufficient stock for forthcoming studies.

This first batch of the virus was developed in a high-security lab at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) by the Indian citizen Professor SS Vasan-led team, The Times of India reported.

Researchers at Australias Doherty Institute were able to isolate the virus from a human sample. However, the growth of this virus at the CSIRO is of high importance considering the scale needed to conduct preclinical trials.

Vasan, who is a BITS Pilani and IISc-Bengaluru alumnus, told TOI that with the real isolated virus, it is quicker to perform preclinical studies on the relative efficacy of vaccine candidates under development.

He also informed about the work on diagnostics, surveillance, and response carried out by his colleagues at the Animal Health Laboratory in Australia. Another part of the CSIRO (Manufacturing) is supporting the scale up of vaccine antigens being developed by the University of Queensland, Vasan told the publication.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

He believes that the studies will now accelerate the development and evaluation of therapeutics to compliment vaccines. The lab in CSIRO will now work on increasing the virus stock for preclinical studies.

Vasan has also worked on dengue, zika and chikungunya prior to nCov.
With the health scare forcing Chinese visitors to stay at home, tourism across Asia and beyond is feeling the pain.

As Chinas economy surged over the last two decades, Chinese tourists have become increasingly adventurous. They now make up the largest contingent of foreign tourist arrivals in many parts of Asia, and are also travelling in increasing numbers to Europe and North America.

But following the outbreak of a deadly coronavirus that originated in China, many Chinese are cancelling or delaying their travel plans, as authorities impose travel restrictions. And with the numbers of deaths and infections climbing, some tour operators in Asia say about the only thing that is travelling right now is the virus itself.

And that is hurting economies across the region.

Its gonna be a tough few months for the tourism industry, Jeremy Mak, an independent tour guide in Malaysia, tells Al Jazeera.

Mak said he is already seeing cancellations and a decline in bookings as people from around the world put off plans to travel to Asia due to worries about the contagious virus.

Several major airlines in the United States have suspended flights to and from mainland China and Hong Kong. Meanwhile, Hong Kongs main carrier, Cathay Pacific Airways, has asked its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave after the airline cut about 30 percent of its overall capacity, and 90 percent of its flights to the mainland.

The industry as a whole is widely affected, but Chinese speaking guides are having a wipeout in terms of work  at least until April, if not longer, Mak said.

The numbers of Chinese tourists have skyrocketed since the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China in 2003, making the economic effects of a slowdown in travel even more damaging to tourism-dependent countries.

Between 2002 and 2004, as a result of SARS, Hong Kong saw a 41 percent reduction in the contribution of tourism to gross domestic product, with a 43 percent decline recorded in Singapore and a 25 percent drop in China, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.

This time, the effects of a slowdown in tourism are most likely to be felt not only across many other Asian countries  which have long been popular holiday destinations for Chinese tourists  but much farther afield.

Thailand, one of the top international destinations for Chinese tourists, stands to lose 109.3 billion Thai baht ($3.51bn) in tourism revenue due to the virus outbreak, RHB Investment Bank economist Billy Toh said in a report shared with Al Jazeera.

While the latest virus outbreak has stirred comparisons with the 2003 SARS outbreak, Chinese tourists only accounted for 7.4 percent in 2002 prior to the outbreak. Last year, Chinese tourists accounted for 27.6 percent [11 million visitors] of total visitor arrivals while 28 percent [$17.5bn] of total tourism receipts were from Chinese tourists, overtaking the European, ASEAN and Japanese tourists, which dominated Thailands tourism industry back in 2002, said Toh, who is based in Kuala Lumpur.

But domestic tourism in Thailand is also likely to be affected, he told Al Jazeera, taking into account that Thai residents will also delay travel plans due to the virus outbreak.

Our base case is for the virus to be contained by the middle of this year, he said, adding that Thailand could record a 15 percent decline in Chinese tourists for the full year.

Thailand and other Asian countries have already felt the pinch from the dearth of Chinese tourists over the Lunar New Year holidays that began on January 25 and lasted more than a week.

Global tourism, which relies heavily on Chinese tourists, could experience a negative growth of more than 30 percent, said Iris Pang, ING Wholesale Bankings economist for Greater China, in a commentary.

Hong Kong retail sales, which dropped 23.6 percent last November on a yearly basis, could plummet by 30 percent over the coming months, she added.

Indonesias tourism minister warned on Thursday that the country stands to lose $4bn in industry-wide earnings if the coronavirus outbreak disrupts travel from China the whole year.

Meanwhile, economists at Oxford Economics estimate that the drop in outbound tourism from China could lead to a 50 percent decline in imported services in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report shared with Al Jazeera.

Given that Asia-Pacific accounts for almost 80 percent of Chinas outbound destination, economies in the region that are reliant on tourism and Chinese tourists  especially Thailand  are expected to see larger downward pressure on economic growth, said economists Tommy Wu and Louis Kujis of Oxford Economics.

The global aviation industry is also facing a crunch as international airlines suspend flights to and from China, especially in areas where high numbers of coronavirus cases have been reported.

There will be a negative impact but its too early to give a precise figure, said Chief Executive of the International Air Transport Association Alexandre de Juniac in a Bloomberg interview on Wednesday.

We can give a lot of measures [to help] to contain the outbreak and to ensure that it is still safe to fly, he said.
Car buying is a deeply emotional process. While most people think of it as a logical financial decision, feelings play a larger role than anything else. Constant thought of what others will think, how the car will look on Instagram how nice it is; all of this can cloud your judgement. The fact is, while the student debt crisis takes over headline after headline, there is more outstanding car debt than student debt in the US. To the tune of $1.2 trillion, bad car buying decisions plague this country in a massive way. This needs to end, and so I am writing this so you have something to link your friends when they give your used wheels the side-eye. Without further adieu, here are the reasons the 4-figure car purchase is the way to go.

The New Car Tax

Everybody knows this one, and yet, we fall into the same old trap. The moment a new car is driven off of the lot, the value plummets. Is this due to mileage? No. New cars on dealer lots can rack up hundreds of miles due to test drives, and the value doesnt change. Simply, the idea of a new car has value in our society. So you are, quite literally, paying for nothing. This causes people to buy from unreliable brands like Nissan and Kia in order to get a new car for a low price. I dont have to tell you not to do this, because you probably cant for less than $10k anyway!

Affordable Luxury

Just because a car is older and cheaper, doesnt mean they cant be pretty. $9999 is an amazing car budget. For example, the main picture on this article is a 1990s Lincoln Town Car, which goes for $1000-3000 on the used market with decent mileage. Only a couple thousand for an amazing suspension, beautiful classic looks, and astoundingly comfy seats. On the higher end, E90 BMW 3 series are available easily for less than $10000. A wonderful combination of sport, luxury, and sex appeal. If you think cheap has to mean low-quality, you havent been looking.

Cost of Repair

This ones easy. Older cars tend to have cheaper parts and better aftermarkets. This means whether you do the work yourself, or let the dealer take care of it, your repair bills are going down. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but it remains a general rule nonetheless.

Reliability

They just dont make em like they used to. An early 2000s Lexus LS400 was a luxury showstopper that could run forever. Costing about $2000-3000 for a decent example now, these absolute zombies could run for 300-400 thousand miles. No new car is expected to reach numbers like this, even from the same historic Toyota brand. Older cars were, in general, made to last much longer than the newer ones. Not only that, but there is better information out to inform your purchasing decisions. Odds are if you are buying a car for under $10k, your local mechanic has had enough time to get to know the reputation of most options pretty well. Youll be paying much less to get much more out of your purchase.
MADRID, Jan. 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --A Spanish Telecom company Lleida.net closed its post yearly-results with an all time high stock price of a1,35A per share in the Madrid Stock Exchange and of a1,23 at Euronext. The company recorded a 32% increase it its EBITDA during 2019, to 2.2 million euros, in its best financial results since it was list in the Spanish Alternative Market (MAB) in mid-2015.A 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 1,074A 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. ThroughoutA 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, twoA pointsA 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,A Lleida.net will hold its first Investors' Day before Spanish and French institutional and minority investors. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1079375/Lleida_net.jpg Contact:

RamAn Pedrosa

Media, ramonpedrosa@bracken.es A

Comedias, 17 Valencia Spain

+34-672-129-922

https://Lleida.netA A
A "cunning and sinister" stalker who fled to Northern Ireland, where stalking laws do not apply, has been jailed for six years.

Afzal Miah, 33, who was living in Belfast when he was arrested, tormented his targets, including a headteacher, a criminal barrister and NHS staff, by bombarding them with threatening voicemails and emails, some of which included death threats.

Miah, who frequently diverted police attention in London by making false reports about "bullies", was found guilty of seven counts of stalking and one count of breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order and a restraining order at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday, February 7. He was also handed a ten-year restraining order.

The Met Police said Miah sent numerous abusive emails to a criminal barrister who was known to him. He lodged four complaints against the barrister - all of which were not upheld.

He also made threats to kill the barrister over the phone leaving him feeling vulnerable and frightened.

He emailed a head teacher at an Enfield school about his desire to "shut it down".

The head teacher said that staff at the school were anxious and scared of the defendant and what he might do in the future.

Two NHS staff also received abusive emails and letters, as well as phone calls from Miah where he threatened to kill them.

A member of staff from the Criminal Case Review Commission (CCRC) also became a target after Miah first came into contact with the CCRC in 2012. Miah had made several applications for a case of his to be reviewed, after which the CCRC stated that they could no longer respond to his requests unless through a lawyer.

Nevertheless, Miah persisted in contacting the CCRC, sending abusive letters and leaving threatening voicemails.

The Met Police said the "resentful stalker" continued to send threatening letters to his victims throughout his trial.

Following a six month investigation the Met Police liaised with the PSNI to extradite Miah, who had been arrested by the PSNI.

Upon flying back to London from Belfast, Miah violently fought with Met officers, one of whom he assaulted.

Sergeant Brandman said: Afzal Miah is an incredibly cunning and sinister individual who has taken great pleasure in making his victims feel vulnerable and frightened.

The fact that he fled to Northern Ireland to escape his CBO and knew that there is no such offence, shows how dangerous this individual is."

Detective Constable David Tate, from the Met's Stalking Threat Assessment Centre, said: "Miah is what we would call a resentful stalker; someone who feels as though they have been mistreated or that they are the victim of some form of injustice or humiliation and they want to exact revenge or even the score.

In Miahs own head, he believed that the systems had failed him and he became fixated on the disservice he thinks that he received from some of his victims.

Resentful stalking can arise out of a severe mental illness when the perpetrator develops paranoid beliefs about the victim and uses stalking as a way of getting back at the victims who can be strangers or acquaintances who are seen to have mistreated them.

"Miahs victims fall into both of these categories as some of his victims had helped and known him in the past, whilst others were healthcare professionals that had no affiliation with him.

Northern Ireland is currently the only region of the UK which does not have specific legislation on stalking.

However, Justice Minister Naomi Long has said she will bring legislation through Stormont to combat domestic abuse.

The new laws will make coercive control, such as behaviour that amounts to "psychological, emotional or financial abuse", a criminal offence.

The Department of Justice told the Belfast Telegraph that the legislation will also make provisions to combat stalking in Northern Ireland.
The United States and Russia have exchanged harsh words over Venezuela, where Moscow supports a president considered illegitimate by the United States and some 50 other countries.

Elliott Abrams, the U.S. special representative for the South American country, warned Russia on February 6 over its support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying its backing for the embattled leader could cease to be "cost-free."

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov denounced U.S. foreign policy in Venezuela, criticizing what he called Washington's "provocations" and attempts to create a pretext for military intervention.

Venezuela is in the midst of a political crisis after months of anti-government street protests against Maduro, who was sworn in for a second term in January 2019 following elections in May 2018 that were marred by an opposition boycott and claims of vote-rigging.

Millions of Venezuelans have fled the country under his rule, which has been marked by economic woes and humanitarian disaster.

The opposition has accused the socialist Maduro of mismanaging the economy, sending the country into an economic crisis. Maduro has blamed outsiders, including the United States, for creating the crisis.

The United States and more than 50 other countries have recognized opposition figure Juan Guaido as the legitimate interim leader of Venezuela.

Russia, Cuba, and China continue to back Maduro, and Washington has called on the three states to withdraw what it has called their "intolerable" support for him.

Moscow in March 2019 undertook a show of force in the South American country, landing two Russian military planes in Caracas as part of military cooperation between the two countries.

In his remarks to reporters, Abrams hinted at possible sanctions against Moscow for its support of the embattled president.

"As several administration officials have noted, the Russians may soon find that their continued support of Maduro will no longer be cost-free," the envoy said, while adding that others who profit from supporting Maduro should also take notice.

Abrams' comments came a day after Guaido met with President Donald Trump at the White House, leading to a warning by the U.S. diplomat to the Venezuelan government against preventing Guaido from returning safely back home.

"We hope that the regime makes the calculation, particularly after this trip, that the support for Guaido is strong and that the counter-reaction to any move against him would make it a mistake for the regime," Abrams said.

"We're very concerned about it and we hope that he will return safely," he told reporters.

Guaido, who met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on February 6, did not answer reporters' questions about his plans to return home.

Lavrov, on a visit to Mexico, blasted U.S. attempts to remove Maduro as not "useful" and said Washington's threats against Venezuela were counterproductive.

"No one can solve the problems of Venezuelans for them, but others may very well try to prevent them from negotiating. We see such attempts aimed at setting a pretext for a military intervention," Lavrov said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

"Russia and Mexico agree that this will be categorically unacceptable," Lavrov added.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and TASS
CHICO, Calif. - A California lawmaker proposed legislation that would require closer scrutiny of hunting licenses, similar to the one used by a teenager charged with opening fire at a synagogue last year.

The suspect, John T. Earnest, was issued a hunting license, but it was not set to go into effect until about two months after shooting in April at the Chabad of Poway. Earnest is charged with killing a 60-year-old woman and injuring three others, including the rabbi and an 8-year-old girl, according to the Associated Press.

Democratic Sen. Anthony Portantino of La Canada Flintridge said the gun store did not adequately check to make sure the hunting license was valid.

His SB914 bill would require the retailer and the State Department of Justice to re-run background checks.

After a person purchases a firearm, they will have to go through a 10-day waiting period before their background is cleared even if they already have a hunting license.

After the 10 days, the gun purchaser is able to pick up their item.

Action News Now spoke with the owner of the Down Range, Will Clark, he thinks this bill is a limitation of people's constitutional rights.

"We as firearm dealers or anybody selling a firearm will have to confirm for 18, 19, and 20-year-olds that their hunting license is valid through the Department of Fish and Wildlife," Clark said. "Well, a hunting license that issues its either valid or not valid. So, one of the things about that law is that it won't prevent evil people from getting guns. So that means now 18, 19, and 20-year-olds cannot buy firearms unless they have an exemption - which is a limitation of their constitutional rights."

People in Chico told Action News Now they feel the restrictions on the bill are ridiculous.

"I think that when people are 18-years-old, they're adults, they can serve in the military, they can defend our country, and they should have the right to own firearms and hunt," Dana Davis said.

Action News Now reached out to the California Fish and Wildlife Department but has not heard back from them.

If the new bill becomes a law, the State Justice Department will have to coordinate with the California Fish and Wildlife Department since they issue hunting licenses.

California's current age limit law kept the minimum age to buy a gun at 18 for military, law enforcement, and those with valid state-issued hunting licenses.
Delhi police has made adequate arrangements and deployed around 40,000 security personnel, 19,000 home guards and 190 companies of Central Armed Police Forces to ensure smooth conduct of the assembly elections in the national capital on Saturday, officials said.

Polling will begin at 8 am and will end at 6 pm on Saturday.

While specific election duties have been given to Delhi Police personnel, the CAPF companies have been deployed to provide security at polling booths and movement of EVMs.

Around 19,000 Home guards from states like Uttarakhand, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh will also assist the local police in providing security at polling booths, the officials said.

A multi-layered security has been put in place at 21 counting centres and 2,689 polling premises, out of which 545 are "critical", they said.

"Delhi Police personnel and para military forces have been deployed at critical booths so that more enforcement and better arrangement can be ensured. Patrolling has also been intensified in those localities," said Sharat Kumar Singha, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Election Cell).

Marked by the BJP aggressively pushing the anti-CAA protests in Shaheen Bagh as a poll issue, the AAP hard selling development and the Congress conspicuous by its near absence, the bitter, often divisive campaign for the Delhi assembly elections ended on Thursday.

Additional forces have also been deployed to bolster the security of EVMs, critical booths and counting centres, he said.

Static surveillance teams and flying squads have been deployed and special checking drives are being conducted in vulnerable areas to check any attempt to influence voters by money or muscle power and other unlawful practices, police said.

"EVM transportation drill has been planned in coordination with polling officials. All necessary measures have also been taken, including from the anti-terror angle in vulnerable areas. Senior officers will closely supervise arrangements at the ground level.

"Thorough area domination will be ensured in sensitive and vulnerable areas, and all precautions will be taken to ensure smooth movement of voters to the booths," a senor police official said.

Pickets on borders have been strengthened to check transportation of illicit liquor and other contraband. All border areas will be kept under strict vigil by regularly coordinating with counterparts of NCR police, he said.

Also, patrolling on boats in the Yamuna river is being done, he added.

According to police, since the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct, 99,210 litres of illicit liquor, with a market value of Rs 2.72 crore and 774.1 kg drugs with a market value of Rs 4.91 crore have already been seized as part of the special drives.

So far, 504 illegal fire-arms and 730 ammunition have been recovered. Besides, 7,397 licensed weapons have also been deposited as a preventive measure, police said.

Action has been taken against 7,820 people under the Excise Act.

While 5,943 persons have been booked under various sections of CRPC, 1,26,095 persons have been booked under DP Act. Besides, 529 cases have been registered under Defacement Act so far, according to the police.

Police have also issued a public appeal to report and share objectionable messages and other social media messages which violate the poll code.

The counting of votes will be taken on February 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
UNIVERSITY Hospital Limerick will still be under target for the number of beds that are needed even after the development of the 60- and 96-bed blocks.

This is despite recommendations that were made more than 10 years ago, in advance of the closure of three emergency departments in the Mid-West.

A HSE report in 2008 stated UHLs centre of excellence would need a total of 642 beds to deal with the increased level of demand.

As of December 31, there are 450 inpatient beds at UHL, nearly 200 beds below target.

There has been an increase of 81 patients since 2009 when there were 369 inpatient beds. From September 2016 to 2019, UHL saw an increase of just 20 inpatient beds.

Read also: UHL overcrowding worsened over 13 years with three governments

Last month, referring to plans for the 60- and 96-bed block, spokesperson for Simon Harris said: After years of people talking about much needed extra capacity for the Mid-West, the Minister is now delivering it. It is a shame others didnt in the past but the Minister is. But figures show that Harris predecessor Leo Varadkar saw the delivery of up to 74 beds, with the new critical care building block and Leben building.

A spokesperson for Minister Harris said that he was referring to the period of 2007 to 2010, when Mary Harney was in charge when there was a reconfiguration of hospitals in the Mid-West area, capacity was reduced significantly and increased beds for UHL were not delivered.

The spokesperson said since 2016, he has funded and opened the new ED, and 40 beds in Limerick. This week saw the landing of two units for the 60-bed block, which is due for completion at the end of 2020. Minister Harris spokesperson said the HSE will proceed with the design stage for the 96 beds this year. The spokesperson added that he has increased UHL staff numbers by 427.
Since coronavirus broke out in a few cities in China and a couple of cases were spotted in India as well, rumours claimed for the first time that it was carried by birds.

Rumours on social media about the spread of coronavirus through birds have beaten down poultry prices, which have declined 10 per cent in the past two days owing to a sudden plunge in its demand in the country.

Broiler chicken per kg is now being sold to consumers at Rs 65 in Pune and Rs 72 in Delhi as against Rs 73 and Rs 80 a kg, respectively, last week.

Similarly, egg prices have declined and are trading at Rs 3.75 per piece.

Since the epidemic broke out in a few cities in China and a couple of cases were spotted in India as well, there were rumours that birds were the vector.

Normally mammals are possible origin of this virus, which spills over into humans.

Coronavirus is feared to have originated from bats in China.

Poultry demand has fallen by 10-15 per cent in the past two days.

"Rumours surrounding the spread of coronavirus through animals and chicken could be a reason.

"Prices of broiler chicken have declined by 10 per cent across all categories, said Balram Yadav, managing director, Godrej Agrovet.

He added that coronavirus was different from avian influenza (H5N1), for which there was not even the remotest possibility of spreading to birds.

Meanwhile, poultry farmers are facing squeezed profit margins between high-feed and low-broiler and egg prices.

The benchmark broiler chicken continues to trade below the estimated cost of its production of Rs 80 a kg for a sustained period of over a year now.

Many farmers in major producing states like Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar are protesting intermittently, seeking the governments support on minimum support price and feed at a discounted price.

But, there has been no favourable response yet.

While small farmers have stopped farming and are seeking other means of livelihood, large companies with deep pockets continue to incur losses in poultry farming.

Poultry demand is very week due to a lean season.

"Normally, the six weeks between February 1 and March 15, demand for poultry products remains seasonally down due primarily to a slowdown in consumption during school examination period.

"Rumours of coronavirus worsened poultry demand.

"We hope, poultry prices to decline further till demand resumes possibly by March-end, said K G Anand, general manager, Venkatashwara Hatcheries, the producer of Venkys brand raw and ready-to-eat chicken products.

Meanwhile, feed prices have jumped significantly over the last one year.

Both maize, bajra and oilmeal prices have gone up by up to 60 per cent since January 2019 to make survival difficult in poultry farming.

Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
So the Trump administration has been trying to support the Turks  though so far only with rhetoric. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a statement on Jan. 27 condemning the unjustifiable attacks against the people of northwest Syria and declaring that the United States is prepared to take the strongest diplomatic and economic actions against the Assad regime and any state or individual that aids its brutal agenda. In a briefing for reporters Wednesday, the State Departments special envoy for Syria, James F. Jeffrey, placed blame for the new offensive squarely on Moscow.
With an intention to cause an explosion on the day Britain left the European Union, the Irish Republican Army dissidents had planted a bomb on an UK-bound truck. The Police Service in Northern Ireland said on February 6 that a Belfast newspaper had received a warning call on January 31 saying that there was a bomb on a truck at Belfast docks which was headed for a ferry to Scotland. However, despite the search, nothing was found.

Read - IndiGo's Delhi-Mumbai Flight Receives Hoax Bomb Threat

Another call was made on February 3 to the same newspaper with a piece of new information which led to the discovery of bomb aboard a lorry at an industrial park in Northern Ireland town of Lurgan. The Police Assistant chief constable George Clarke said that the caller had also informed that intention was to cause an explosion on Friday evening. However, according to reports, the bombers might have picked the wrong truck because the vehicle which had explosives planted in it remained at a haulage company's yard in Lurgan until it was discovered.

An explosive device was found in the Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan:https://t.co/GeM5VxHarm  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) February 6, 2020

Read - MIA Bomb Case: Suspect Remanded To 14 Days Judicial Custody

Suspected group is Continuity IRA

The Irish police also said that they believe the entire plan was carried out by a group known as the Continuity IRA. However, the investigators have said they would like to speak to anyone who has noticed any suspicious activity in the area on the day of Brexit.

Once that device had left that yard if it had ... it was exposing people on the public road, at a busy time, and at busy places, to huge levels of risk, Clarke said. These people are absolutely callous and reckless in what they have done.

Read - UK Hopes To Strike Early Free Trade Agreement With Australia After Brexit

Before the peace accord of Northern Ireland in 1998, reportedly, more than 3,700 people had died during decades of violence. But, there are still some groups like IRA dissidents which continue to carry out occasional bombings and shootings. The violent groups reportedly became more confident due to the several years of political drift in Northern Ireland. The Irish coalition government was also suspended between January 2017 and last month as it faces uncertainty about the future of its borders after Britain finishes the transition period with the European Union.

Read - 6 Soldiers Killed By Roadside Bomb In Burkina Faso

Read - NCW Chief Warns Kerala Of 'love Jihad' Cases; Calls It A 'ticking Bomb Waiting To Explode'

(With AP inputs)
Chesapeake Energy Corp. and three oilfield service firms were sued by the daughter of a worker who suffered fatal injuries when a Texas oil well exploded in flames in late January.

The wrongful death suit seeks at least $1 million from Chesapeake Energy, Forbes Energy Services, Eagle Pressure Control and Halliburton Co. It was filed this week in Harris County District Court by Madison Hendrix, whose father, Brad Hendrix, died in a hospital days after the blast.

Hendrix alleged that Chesapeake, the well owner, and the oilfield service companies were negligent, failed to provide a safe work environment or adequate medical care to the workers.

Chesapeake declined to comment and Eagle Pressure Control did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Forbes Energy Services said it was beyond saddened that three fatalities have been confirmed and offered its deepest sympathy and condolences to families affected by the incident.

Attorneys representing Hendrix did not respond to a request for comment.

Halliburton said it was not performing any services on the rig when the well control incident occurred. Its well control unit, Boots & Coots, was hired to handle the post-incident well intervention work, a spokeswoman for the company said.

Brad Hendrix was a well intervention technical adviser at Eagle Pressure Control, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was one of three workers fatally injured in the Jan. 29 explosion near Deanville, Texas.

A second Eagle Pressure Control employee, Windell Beddingfield, died on the day of the accident, according to an attorney for the family. His mother last week sought a temporary restraining order against Chesapeake to require it to preserve evidence from the blast.

A third victim, identified by local media as Brian Maldonado of San Diego, Texas, died in a hospital over the weekend. A fourth worker was airlifted to a hospital and has not been identified.

The companies and local officials have not officially released the names of victims from the incident.

Employees of Chesapeake, Eagle Pressure Control and Forbes Energy Services were on the site when natural gas leaked from a well during a workover operation and exploded near Deanville, about 75 miles (120 km) east off Austin.

WildHorse Resource Development Corp, which Chesapeake acquired last year, also was named in the lawsuit.

(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Houston; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Peter Cooney)

Related:
MIAMI - A former aide to the mayor of Miami has been charged with groping a teenage boy at City Hall and then sending him a lewd photograph.

Rene Pedrosa, 48, was charged Friday with battery and transmitting pornography to a minor, court records show. It wasnt immediately clear if he had a lawyer to speak for him.

Pedrosa was a high-profile spokesman for Miami Mayor Francis Suarez until the investigation became public in recent days, triggering his resignation. Before that, Pedrosa was a longtime reporter for a Miami Spanish-language television station.

Pedrosa was an acquaintance of the 16-year-old victim, according to a police report, which said the boy and an older woman reported him to authorities.

The Miami-Dade state attorneys office asked Gov. Ron DeSantis to assign the case to a different prosecutor because of contacts Pedrosa had with the Miami office.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan and Made Anthony Iswara (The Jakarta Post) Medan, North Sumatra/Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020

State-owned port operator Pelabuhan Indonesia I (Pelindo I) will turn two of its ports into crude palm oil (CPO) export centers as the company beefs up its palm-oil related services, an executive has said.

Pelindo I senior vice president M. Eriansyah said on Wednesday the two ports were Dumai Port in Riau and Belawan Port in North Sumatra, both are CPO shipment hubs for Indonesia that have seen growing CPO exports.

Moreover, the government is currently intensively developing infrastructure that is able to accelerate the distribution of goods and reduce logistics costs, Eriansyah said.

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A California man convicted of sexually assaulting a child in the state was arrested in Michigan where he'd fled to meet a 22-year-old woman.

A jury in Sacramento, California, convicted Michael Alan Khatoonian of multiple charges in December 2019, related to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

Before he could be sentenced, however, Khatoonian left California and traveled to Michigan, to meet with a 22-year-old woman, authorities said.

Michael Alan Khatoonian was convicted on multiple charges involving sexually assaulting a child. Before his sentencing, he fled to Michigan to meet a woman, 22, where he was arrested

Michigan State Police and the US Marshals tracked Khatoonian down in Tuscola County and arrested him, according to a post on the county's Sheriff's Office Facebook page.

State Police confirmed to DailyMail.com that Khatoonian and the woman - who has not been named - became friends online and that she was unaware of his actual identity because he had used an alias when communicating with her.

The woman lived in Cass City, Michigan, which is within Tuscola County.

Authorities told WNEM that it did not appear that anything criminal had occurred while Khatoonian was in Cass City.

He is now awaiting extradition back to California.

Michigan State Troopers and US Marshals apprehended Khatoonian (in an undated photo) in Michigan. He was said to have been using an alias when he befriended the woman online

Khatoonian was convicted of two counts of sexually assaulting a child under 10, two counts of forcible sexual abuse and one count of lewd and lascivious touching of a child younger than 14 years old.

The Sacramento District Attorney's Office said in a December 2019 media alert that the incidents took place while Khatoonian was at his home with the victims mother and her 10-year-old daughter.

The DA said that Khatoonian 'sexually assaulted the 10-year-old daughter when her mother was in the bathroom and also when her mother was sitting on the other side of Khatoonian on the couch.'

It was also noted that Khatoonian had prior strike convictions. One dated back to 2000 and involved battery causing serious bodily injury. The other conviction was from 2006 for arson on an inhabited structure.

California has a Three Strikes sentencing law, which states that if a defendant was convicted of any felony with two or more prior strikes, the penalty will be a mandated state prison term of at least 25 years to life.

The DA's office said that Khatoonian faced a maximum sentence of 85 years to life in prison for the sexual assault charges he was convicted on.

It's unclear if additional charges will be lobbed against him for his flight to Michigan.
A common man running the government of the capital of India  it is stuff that movies are made of, one would say. Although not completely unheard of, the phenomenon is rare.

Arvind Kejriwal will have successfully completed his first term as the chief minister of Delhi in February 2020  a feat no one knew was possible five (or seven) years back.

Not only has Kejriwal delivered a successful term, he has matured as a politician, taking the party forward from an anti-corruption movement during its inception to a regional political party giving veteran national parties a run for their money.

This time around, the party has emerged more confident, backed by the work that they have done in the last five years. This includes subsidised electricity bills, 20,000 litres of water free, free tickets for women in DTC buses as well as the metro, Mohalla clinics among other things. Although, the ruling government has seen shortcomings in fulfilling promises on increasing the fleet of public transport, which remains a major issue, as does dealing with the issue of garbage disposal.

The BJP and the Congress have attacked the Kejriwal-led AAP government on the quality of water, installation of CCTV cameras and the deteriorating air quality in the capital city, but the chief ministers comebacks have seemingly outwitted the Opposition, especially on social media.

From an anti-corruption crusader, to a chief minister running for a second term, Kejriwal has come a long way.

A mutiny

It was in the year 2000, that he had secretly started a non-profit organisation called Parivartan to check the malice of corruption in government offices. He was then working as an Indian Revenue Services (IRS) Officer. The organisation, then led by close aide Manish Sisodia, facilitated people whose pensions had been stalled by greedy government officers.

Read Also: Manish Sisodia  the de-facto CM widely regarded for educational reforms

Saturated by the blooming culture of bribery in his own office, Kejriwal took a two-year study leave from bureaucracy, focussing on his NGO and garnering support for a law on Right to Information (RTI) in order to nip corruption in the bud.

After the RTI Act was passed in 2005, Kejriwal was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Eminent Leadership  activating Indias right to information movement at the grassroots and empowering New Delhis poorest citizens to fight corruption by holding government answerable to the people.

A movement

His next target was establishing an ombudsman  which later came to be known as Lokpal  to ensure proper enforcement of the RTI Act as well as for the safety of RTI activists. Amid multi-crore scams making headlines in post-2010 during the Congress government, Kejriwal commissioned the 'India against Corruption' movement, striking the iron while it was hot. At the same time, he started drafting the Lokpal Bill.

Veteran Indian social activist Anna Hazare (R) speaks to Arvind Kejriwal, a member of his team during their hunger strike in New Delhi August 2, 2012. (Image: Reuters)

While Anna Hazare seemed to be the apt face for the anti-graft movement, the Bhushans provided legal aid on the drafting of the Lokpal.

As Anna sat on days-long fasts, Kejriwal mobilised support for their cause, wrote press notes, held meetings with the Manmohan Singh-led government and attended press conferences. Protests and demonstrations, usually culminating in hunger strikes at the historic Jantar Mantar in central Delhi, had become commonplace during those days. The skeptics of the Lokpal looked at team Anna, including Kejriwal, as anarchists.

A party

Talks with the UPA government over the Lokpal Bill had reached a stalemate when Kejriwal decided to jump into active politics. However, that came at a huge cost  breaking away from Anna.

Ditching a movement that he commissioned for political adventurism did not bode well with his followers, yet Kejriwal went ahead and formed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2012  a year ahead of the Delhi assembly elections.

He had a mammoth task ahead of him  mobilizing a diverse population of more than 1.9 crore people and the challenge to defeat two national parties.

Funds were collected from donations and crowd-sourcing. With no money to spare on large hoardings and advertisements, small banners were put behind auto-rickshaws, whose drivers willingly accepted Kejriwal as their crusader. AAP volunteers indulged in going from door-to-door to reach out to everyone.

Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal addressing the masses . (Image: Reuters)

While championing for RTI, Kejriwal had come across discrepancies in the privatisation of electricity and water, and a staggering increase in price rise after that. He made water and electricity his poll planks, accusing three-time chief minister Sheila Dikshit of rampant corruption.

In the chilly winter evenings of Delhi, a petite figure with a small moustache, neatly-parted hair and a muffler around his neck was seen holding road shows, travelling in the metro in order to reach out. He was seen visiting JJ clusters and burning electricity bills.

A victory

As a statement of intent, Kejriwal challenged Sheila Dikshit and contested against her on her home turf  the New Delhi constituency  in the 2013 assembly polls. At this time, Kejriwal battled infighting in the party, threats, scandals and many a controversy surrounding his party members accepting bribes. Meanwhile, Dikshit was confident that Kejriwals AAP had no influence in the city. In an interview prior to elections, she is seen telling a news channel, Arvind Kejriwal was a story; which is now over.

Kejriwal, chief of AAP, addresses his supporters after taking the oath as the new chief minister of Delhi during a swearing-in ceremony at Ramlila ground in New Delhi

Kejriwal defeated Dikshit by over 25,000 votes and formed the government, only to resign after 49 days over the drafting of the Lokpal Bill. This stint was followed by another crushing defeat against Narendra Modi from Varanasi, during the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. Kejriwal wasnt as popular outside of Delhi as he had hoped.

Come 2015, using electricity and water as poll planks, Kejriwal and AAP came back with a resounding victory, winning 67 of the 70 seats. Months after wresting power, he audited power and water companies.

A vice

Kejriwal is known to be a rigid and headstrong leader. Many founding members, who were with Kejriwal from the time of the anti-graft movement, left AAP due to disagreements over the future prospects of the party. These include figures like renowned political analyst Yogendra Yadav, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Shazia Ilmi, Ashutosh and close aide Kumar Vishwas. Most have cited Kejriwals 'iron fist' way of ruling the party and a general 'my way or the highway' attitude.

Besides, after forming the government in Delhi, Kejriwal was consistently embroiled in squabbles with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over issues of distribution of power in the Capital. Often when his demands were not met, he took to sit-ins at the Jantar Mantar, leaving the operation of the state government in limbo.

During the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal was questioned by his supporters for his keenness to ally with the Congress. When his proposal of alliance was rejected by the Congress, Kejriwal blamed the party of dividing anti-BJP votes.

Delhi will go to polls on February 8. Kejriwal will be contesting from the New Delhi constituency against BJP's Sunil Yadav and Congress' Romesh Sabharwal.
Denmark's biggest pharmaceutical company to start operation in Iran: Ambassador

02/07/20

Sources: Islamic Republic News Agency & Tehran Times

Denmark's Ambassador to Iran Danny Annan said on Tuesday that his country is determined to develop ties with Iran, adding that the biggest Danish pharmaceutical company is to start activities in Iran within two months. Speaking at a meeting with Fars Governor Enayatollah Rahimi in Shiraz, Annan said despite the fact that economic sanctions damage parts of Iran-Denmark economic mechanism, but bilateral cooperation still continues between the two sides.



Denmark's AmbassadorDanny Annan with Fars Governor Enayatollah Rahimi



Annan noted that Denmark and the EU will not support US' unilateral sanctions against Iran.

Commenting on High Representative of the European Union (EU) Josep Borrell trip to Iran, Annan said EU is after deescalating tensions in the Middle East since no country will benefit from increasing tensions.

Danish diplomat referred to high volume of trade relations between Iran and Denmark before sanctions and underlined that Denmark has decided to promote its relations with Iran.

The ambassador said that the large Danish company is going to start pharmaceutical production at a factory in Iran's northern city of Karaj within the next two months



He added that Danish pharmaceutical company will produce Injectable Insulin which will be distributed in Iran. It will also be exported to neighboring states in the next phases.

Iran, Denmark to launch "diabetes bus" in Shiraz



The envoy also noted that the major Danish enterprise is also working in cooperation with the pharmaceutical companies of Fars Province.



Under a joint program, the Danish companies and the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences will soon unveil a "diabetes bus" in Shiraz, the ambassador said, referring to a bus providing service for diabetes patients and checking the blood glucose of people.



Denmark's Ambassador to Iran Danny Annan

Denmark Ready to Engage with Fars Province

He noted that Shiraz and Fars have many capacities in the economic field.



Denmark is willing to develop interaction with Fars Province in tourism, agriculture, food and petrochemical fields, he said.



He reiterated that Denmark is ready to cooperate with Fars in academic, economic, investment, preventing diseases, wind turbines and renewable energies.

Impact of U.S. sanctions on Food and Medicine



Although food and medicine were claimed to be exempted from the U.S. sanctions, financial and banking sanctions have limited the life-saving medicine trade which harshly targeted the patients suffering from rare diseases.



Moreover, fears of falling afoul of Washington have restricted exports to Iran.



Exemptions for humanitarian trade (such as food, medicine, and medical equipment) have not been effective in protecting Iranian patients from access to imported medicine, such as the bandages used for patients suffering Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare genetic disease that causes painful blistering of the skin.



With the return of sanctions, over a year (May 2018-May 2019), 15 patients covered by EB Health House lost their lives, including Ava, a two-year-old girl in Ahvaz city, who died of infection and lack of skincare.



Companies exclusively producing medicine for Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) patients, such as BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. of the U.S. and a South Korean company, have refused to export these drugs to Iran, threatening the lives of 335 patients in Iran.
Learners of foreign languages can hear the errors in pronunciation that fellow learners tend to make, but continue to fall foul of them themselves despite years of practice. A new study of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich shows that everyone believes their own pronunciation to be best.

One of the most difficult aspects of learning a foreign language has to do with pronunciation. Learners are typically prone to specific sets of errors, which differ depending on the learners first language. For instance, Germans typically have trouble articulating the initial 'th' in

English, as evidenced by the classical expression 'Senk ju vor trawelling' familiar to passengers on German railways. Conversely, native speakers of English tend to have difficulty with the German 'u', which they tend to pronounce as 'u'. Many people laugh at these mistakes in pronunciation, even though they make the same mistakes themselves. But this reaction in itself points to a paradox: It demonstrates that learners register errors when made by others. Nevertheless, the majority of language learners finds it virtually impossible to eliminate these typical errors even after years of practice. A study carried out by LMU linguists Eva Reinisch and Nikola Eger, in collaboration with Holger Mitterer from the University of Malta, has now uncovered one reason for this paradox. "Learners have a tendency to overestimate the quality of their own pronunciation," says Reinisch. "As a rule, they believe that their English is better than that spoken by their fellow students at language schools, although they make the same set of errors." This exaggerated assessment of one's own ability is an important factor that helps explaining why it is so difficult to learn the sounds of a foreign language.

In the study, the researchers asked 24 female German learners of English to read out 60 short sentences, such as "The family bought a house", "The jug is on the shelf", and "They heard a funny noise". Several weeks later, the same learners were invited back to the lab and asked to listen to recordings of four learners - three others and themselves. Specifically, they were asked to grade the pronunciation of each sentence. In order to ensure that participants would not recognize their own productions, the recordings were manipulated in such a way that the female speakers sounded like male speakers. "This element of the experimental design is crucial. It was essential that none of listeners would be aware that their own productions were included in the test sample; otherwise their assessments couldn't be taken as unbiased," says Holger Mitterer. The results of this test were unambiguous. In all cases, the listeners rated their own pronunciation as better than others did, even though they were unable to recognize that it was their own recording. "We were surprised that the experiment so clearly pointed to the significance of overestimation of one's own abilities in this context," says Reinisch.

There are several possible explanations for these findings. Previous research has shown that familiar accents are easier to understand than accents that are less familiar. "One is best acquainted with the sound of one's own voice, and has no difficulty understanding it," says Reinisch, who is at LMU's Institute of Phonetics and Language Processing. "Perhaps this familiarity leads us to regard our pronunciation as being better than it actually is." Another possible contributory factor is what is known as the 'mere exposure' effect. This term refers to the fact that we tend to rate things with which we are more familiar - such as the sound of our own voice - as more congenial.

The results of the study underline the importance of external feedback in language courses, because it increases the learners; awareness of deficits in language production and comprehension. "As long as we believe that we are already pretty good, we are not going to put in more effort to improve," Reinisch points out. A lack of feedback increases the risk of what researchers refer to as 'fossilization'. Leaners feel that they have already mastered the unfamiliar articulation patterns in the new language, although that is in fact not the case. They therefore see no reason why they should invest more time in improving their pronunciation. The authors of the new study are not likely to fall into this sort of error. They are already considering ways to improve the situation with the aid of apps that generate the necessary external feedback - irrespective of how users rate their own performance. PLOS ONE 2020

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Then why didnt you stay in Mexico?

Ugh. Again with The Question  for which the only answer is a solemn, stone-faced look.

Last week, a viral video surfaced showcasing The Question at a parents meeting in Michigan in a school district where the student body is predominantly white. In the video, a man with an accent is telling a story about how his son has been affected by racism at school. Adrian Iraola was holding a microphone amid dozens of other parents and school officials, telling a story about how hed gone to his sons bedroom to say goodnight and found him crying because of the abuse he was getting at school. Thats when another parent, Tom Burtell, blurts The Question.

The crowd gasped and protested the interruption. In the days that followed, the video drew outrage from all corners of the country as it made its way though the news cycle. Burtells adult son distanced himself, his mom and his 10 siblings from his dads views.

But heres the thing: The reason the meeting had been called in the first place was because school administrators found some high school students had posted racist comments about African Americans on social media. Thats why Iraola was telling the story about his son; by way of his story, he was telling the community that the meeting wasnt just to discuss the kids bad choices on Snapchat. The man holding the microphone  owner of a chain of Mexican restaurants in Ann Arbor  was anecdotally alerting the crowd about a very real recurring problem in their school district.

Burtell highlighted the message when he burst in with The Question, as if on cue. It was bad enough that he interrupted a man who was sharing a recollection that would have left most parents fuming, if not heartbroken. But so boldly asking The Question in a forum called specifically to address bigotry suggests he believed Iraola could have prevented his sons tears if hed stayed in Mexico, framing the anecdote as a complaint of life in America.

It also suggests Burtell assumed hed have backup from the crowd. But thats not always the case.

Thats the thing about The Question; its not really a question as much as it is a notice that you dont belong. Its a reminder that yours isnt to demand respect and consideration, but to comply, conform and know your place. Its a marginalization. Its an insult that, too often, doesnt fit. Its a veiled threat.

And its far from isolated in the realm of the thinly-veiled bigotry many students face in schools where they are stark minorities, especially when the staff and administration is not aware of the cultural nuances that shape the lives of the children it is charged with educating. Latinos shouldnt have to defend language and accents, black students shouldnt have to defend hairstyles and nobody should tolerate mocking. Its 2020 and, by now, racially stacked assumptions and presumptions should have been kicked out of schools, especially in places such as Texas.

But back to The Question and the main part of the lesson we ought to have learned.

Brian Wright, a parent at the meeting, reminded the crowd that this wasnt an isolated incident. He said that regardless of how they felt about the issue, they should hold on to the feelings they felt upon hearing Burtells words and the discussion that followed, because thats the feeling of frustration minority students in their district are carrying with them over and over again.

The Answer, it appears, is tolerance.

mariaanglinwrites@gmail.com
Credit Suisse (CS) chief executive Tidjane Thiam on Friday resigned in the wake of a spying scandal at the bank.

The board of the Swiss lender said in a statement it unanimously accepted Thiams resignation and appointed company veteran Thomas Gottstein as its new chief executive.

Thiams resignation follows a spying scandal that shocked the world of Swiss banking. Iqbal Khan, formerly head of Credit Suisses wealth management division, was tailed by private investigators working on behalf of the bank last year, leading to a public confrontation in Zurich.

Read more: Car cashes, cocktail party bust ups, and spying: Inside the scandal at Credit Suisse

The incident led to the resignation of Credit Suisses chief operating officer Pierre-Olivier Bouee in October. However, it emerged at the end of last year that a second Credit Suisse executive had also been followed.

Credit Suisse chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam. Photo: Michael Buholzer/AFP via Getty Images

Read more: Credit Suisse exec quits over spying scandal

I had no knowledge of the observation of two former colleagues, Thiam said in his resignation statement on Friday.

It undoubtedly disturbed Credit Suisse and caused anxiety and hurt. I regret that this happened and it should never have taken place.

Shares in Credit Suisse (CSGN.SW) fell 2.5% in early trade in Zurich.

Thiam has been in charge of Credit Suisse since 2015 and overseen a restructure of the bank, focusing on new businesses such as sustainable investing and more traditional wealth management operations.

I am proud of what the team has achieved during my tenure, he said Friday. We have turned Credit Suisse around.

The logo of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse. Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner said: Tidjane has made an enormous contribution to Credit Suisse since he joined us in 2015.

It is to his credit that Credit Suisse is standing on a very solid foundation and has returned successfully to profit. The board of directors and I wish Tidjane all the best for his future endeavors.

The Financial Times reported earlier this week there was a souring of relations between Rohner and Thiam over the spying scandal, with some shareholders calling for Rohner to resign instead of Thiam.

Story continues

Severin Schwan, the lead independent director on Credit Suisses board, on Friday backed Rohner. Schwan said Rohner had acted commendably during this turbulent time and said the board acted unanimously.

Thiam resigned on Thursday and will officially step down as chief executive on 14 February, following the banks full-year results.

New boss Gottstein said: I am grateful to the Board of Directors for the trust they have placed in me. I am looking forward to devoting my full energy to this treasured bank, its clients and shareholders.

Gottstein has been at Credit Suisse since 1999 and currently runs its Swiss banking operations.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 06:10:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations humanitarian chief on Thursday told the UN Security Council that protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure in northwest Syria remains fundamental, while noting that the humanitarian needs are growing exponentially.

"A ceasefire would be a first step, and compliance with international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure remains fundamental," UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the council meeting on the situation in Syria via video teleconference in Geneva.

Echoing Geir Pedersen, UN special envoy for Syria, Lowcock said that "what is needed is a genuine dialogue by the parties to the conflict towards a sustainable political solution pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2254."

Talking about the humanitarian situation, he said that "in the week since I last briefed you on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in northwest Syria, we have seen a further substantial escalation."

"Every morning we wake up to more reports of shelling and airstrikes on dozens of communities throughout the northwest," he said.

The impact of military operations on civilians has been severe. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented 373 civilians killed since Dec. 1. Forty-nine deaths were recorded between Feb. 1 and 5. Three humanitarian workers from organizations the United Nations works closely with have also been killed in recent days, he said.

"OHCHR reported one of the most serious incidents in the last two months on Jan. 15, when at least 19 civilians are believed to have been killed, and more than 60 others injured, as a result of an airstrike that hit the al-Hal vegetable market in Idlib city," he added.

"The United Nations and the broader humanitarian community are doing everything possible to address the significant needs of some 3 million people who need help in northwestern Syria," said Lowcock.

"Despite the efforts of humanitarian organizations, needs are growing exponentially," he said.
By Trend

Azerbaijans government is interested to implement its reforms agenda as early as possible so that the results can be achieved earlier, Editor of Pakistan in the World magazine Tazeen Akhtar told Trend.

Akhtar arrived in Azerbaijan as a member of journalists' delegation from Pakistan to cover early parliamentary elections in Baku, Azerbaijan.

We have observed activity of the Central Elections Commission (CEC). CEC has taken all necessary measures that are required to make elections as free and fair as possible and to provide an even playing field to all candidates who are to take part in the election, Akhtar said.

He said that according to what the delegation have learned from their own observation is that Azerbaijan government is interested to implement the reform agenda as early as possible so that the results can be achieved earlier and reforms benefits can be made public.

That is the main thinking and the main view of the countrys government and that is why there are early elections, he said.

He also expressed hope that the elections will go smooth as information about every candidate and every party has been published on the main elections website so that everyone can familiarize themselves with it.

The parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9. There are 125 constituencies in Azerbaijan. Presently, the number of MP candidates is 1,321.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
During his talks with Russian Defence Minister General Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, Lich affirmed that Vietnamese people and army always keep in mind and grateful for the great support and assistance from their Russian counterparts during the past struggle against foreign aggressors for national liberation, as well as the help of the Russian State and army during the current cause of national construction and defence.

He, therefore, highlighted Vietnams consistent policy of enhancing the solidarity, friendship and comprehensive strategic cooperation with Russia, which is also the top priority in the foreign policy of the Vietnamese Party, State and army.

Lich lauded the Russian Defence Ministrys engagement in regional security mechanisms, especially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), saying the practical and effective collaboration will contribute to intensifying trust, and handling and preventing security challenges, particularly non-traditional ones.

As the Chair of ASEAN in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in the 2020-2021 tenure, Vietnam will continue to coordinate with Russia and partner countries to realise the set targets, and back Russias efforts in expanding cooperation with the ASEAN, for peace, stability and development.

The minister took this occasion to applaud the Russian Defence Ministrys role in the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Centre.

For his part, Shoigu stressed the significance of Lichs visit, saying it contributed to the enhancement of the comprehensive strategic partnership, especially in the context that the two countries are celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties (January 30, 1950).

Russia always considers Vietnam a traditional friend and an important strategic partner in the region, he said, adding that the enhancement of the comprehensive cooperation will benefit people of both countries and help to maintain peace, stability and development in each region and the world.

Russia prioritises developing cooperative relations with Vietnam, including defence collaboration, Shoigu noted.

The two ministers shared their views on the progress of defence ties that have contributed to consolidating political trust between the two countries.

Vietnamese Minister of Defence Ngo Xuan Lich and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu hold talks during the formers visit to Russia. (Photo: NDO/Nam Dong)



They said the exchange of delegation at all levels and cooperation mechanisms such as defence policy dialogues and working groups have been maintained, military technology cooperation through the Inter-Governmental Committee has proven effective, and cooperation in personnel training has remained a bright spot in defence ties.

Lich and Shoigu agreed to forge the defence cooperation on the basis of the mutual trust and signed documents, especially a joint vision statement signed during the Vietnamese ministers visit.

The two sides will increase the exchange of viewpoints on issues of share concern regarding national defence and security, step up defence links in traditional fields, and strengthen military technology cooperation sustainably and equally, for mutual benefits.

Lich said the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence will support and join hands with its Russian counterpart to successfully fulfil their role as co-chairs of the ADMM+ experts working group on counterterrorism during the 2020-2023 period, while creating consensus among the ASEAN on Russias proposals in the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+).

He invited Shoigu to pay an official visit to Vietnam and attend ADMM+ as well as the ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of ADMM+.

At the end of the talks, the two ministers signed the joint vision statement on Vietnam-Russia defence cooperation for 2020-2025. The statement is of significance as it supplements the inked cooperation documents and contributes to orienting the bilateral defence ties, for the sake of people of the two countries, and for peace, stability and cooperation in the region and the world.

The same day, Lich visited and talked with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia.

Earlier, Lich and his entourage paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his statue in Moscow and laid wreaths at the monument for unknown martyrs next to the Kremlin Palace.

During his official trip to Russia, Lich also met with Director of Russia's Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov and received Russian war veterans who helped Vietnam during the struggle for national liberation.
Six of the redrawn districts would cover the western three-fourths of Nebraska, with Lincoln and Keith counties joined by seven surrounding counties in District 5.

In introducing both bills to his committee, Hughes said he didnt launch them to target any current Game and Parks board member.

But just looking at Game and Parks, its wildlife and parks, Nowhere does it say people, he said. LB 860 aims to get better representation in the west.

Both of Hughes bills won backing from the Nebraska Association of Resources Districts, representing the states 23 natural resources districts.

The Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Farm Bureau and John Ross, a farmer from Bancroft in northeast Nebraska, also supported LB 859 in person or by letter.

Ross said he has owned his land since 1971, but deer have been present there since the early 1960s and steadily grew in numbers.

At one point, I had 50 to 60 deer on 300 acres, he told the committee. I was losing a lot of crop.
An alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia has helped prop up oil prices for the last three years. But the two big oil producers were not in perfect harmony this week, as they have tried to recalibrate production targets to cope with reduced demand from China, whose economy has been crippled by the coronavirus epidemic.

Saudi Arabias oil minister, Abdulaziz bin Salman, wanted to move ahead quickly with a meeting to consider new production cuts, but he has struggled to persuade Moscow, even after his father, King Salman, made a call to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on Monday.

Instead, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries this week convened three long days of meetings of a technical group that produced a recommendation to cut output by 600,000 barrels, an almost 30 percent addition to curbs agreed upon in December but probably less than the Saudis wanted, according to some analysts.

Still, Russias representatives told the group that while they found the recommendations reasonable they needed more time to consider them, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Life after Ghost Ship Max Harris breaks his silence five months after a jury acquitted him of 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter  one for every person killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland.

Life after Ghost Ship Max Harris breaks his silence five months after a jury acquitted him of 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter  one for every person killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland.

There were plenty of reasons for Max Harris to leave Oakland.

But haunting memories from the Ghost Ship fire, and from more than two years in lockup facing charges in 36 deaths, werent what drove him away. After walking free in September, the full-time artist faced the same problem he had before the disaster: the high cost of living.

I didnt move away because of any hard feelings, Harris told The Chronicle in a series of phone interviews from his home in Portland, Ore., where he now lives with his partner. It was virtually impossible to find anywhere to live in the Bay Area.

Speaking publicly for the first time since a jury acquitted him of three dozen counts of involuntary manslaughter  one for each person who died in the Dec. 2, 2016, fire during a crowded concert  Harris, 30, said his new life is in some ways dictated by the same housing crisis that helped create the Ghost Ship warehouse.

The regions extreme housing shortage and high costs pushed a collective of Oakland artists and musicians to the edge of poverty. Without creating nontraditional living spaces like the Ghost Ship, where tenants paid rent as low as a few hundred dollars a month, many said they would have been homeless.

Harris maintains that it was the city of Oaklands apathy and inaction that led to the deadly blaze, not the actions of two artists who took the blame. The charges forced him to mourn seven friends who died in the fire and the loss of his home, while fighting for his own freedom. Had he been convicted, Harris faced a sentence of up to 39 years in prison.

I never for a moment doubted myself, he said, when asked whether he expected an acquittal. Now, as far as fairness of the judicial process? No. I was not anticipating fairness in the trial, any step of the way.

But Harris expressed pain and empathy for the families of those who died, something he said he could not do during four days of testimony. He said he wanted the opportunity to address those family members  many of whom wanted to see him sent to prison.

The one thing I wasnt able to say is that I love you, Im sorry, and my heart hurts, Harris said. Thats not something I was able to say.

Harris spent 819 days in jail along with Ghost Ship co-defendant Derick Almena, 49, the warehouses master tenant, who remains behind bars. The same jury that found Harris not guilty deadlocked on a verdict for Almena, who will face another trial this spring.

Described as Ghost Ships creative director and Almenas right-hand man, Harris declined to discuss his friends legal case, but called it a complete and total travesty that Almena is still behind bars.

At times, Harris is able to see a silver lining from his time in jail, which he treated like an artists residency. Watercolors hes now framing were created behind bars, using toothbrushes, powdered punch for ink and legal paperwork for canvas. Some were branded with CONFIDENTIAL or EXHIBIT L in the corner.

It was in some ways an extreme luxury to have a roof over my head and albeit a very meager sustenance, and not have to be working on commercially consumable art, Harris said. I love jewelry, I love tattooing, and I love selling paintings, but when you can take money out of the equation, you can go a lot deeper.

And yet, the tragedy lingers in nearly every aspect of his life, which hasnt gotten much easier since his release.

Im still on the brink of poverty. Im still struggling, Harris said. I dont have any justice. What justice? I lost two years of my life. I did the best with it that I could; what do I get for that? Oh, we made a mistake? Thats cheap.

Last years trial came after a judge stunned the courtroom in 2018 by throwing out a plea deal that would have sentenced Harris to six years in prison and Almena to nine. Judge James Cramer said Almena had not shown enough remorse to merit the plea bargain. While the judge did deem Harris remorseful, the deals were done as a package so both were dissolved.

Harris is particularly careful with his words when asked about Almena or the Ghost Ships ongoing legal battles. He may testify on Almenas behalf at the next trial, which is expected to start March 30, so he didnt want to say anything that could compromise his friends case.

The two remained close in custody, but he hasnt been allowed to visit Almena since his release in September. A rule prevents former county jail inmates from visiting Santa Rita for six months after their release.

A circumstance like this with someone, its obviously a certain life bonding, which goes both ways, Harris said. When youre bonding to a person its just not always just pleasant things. But there sure were a lot of those.

Harris also maintains an uncommonly close friendship with his defense attorneys: Curtis Briggs, Tyler Smith and Jimmy Mulgannon. Not long after the trial, he gave the lawyers matching tattoos of a fly inspired by a Zen Buddhism book he gave them during his incarceration, with the hopes that he would soon be free. Harris said he plans to get the same tattoo.

When Briggs initially accepted the case pro bono, the arrangement was supposed to be temporary. He saw a client who badly needed a public relations campaign  a courtroom tactic frowned upon by most judges but embraced by Briggs and Almenas attorney, Tony Serra.

Almena was considered the brasher of the two defendants, and prosecutors accused him of ignoring fire codes and calls to make the space safer. Harris was seen as more sympathetic, but he had a role in planning the party and was working the door at the time of the blaze.

The attorneys plan was to inject more publicity into the case and paint a sympathetic portrait of starving artists who were failed by their landlord, fire inspectors and bureaucrats. Then they would hand off the case to a public defender.

But Max and I developed a relationship and a rapport where I wouldnt feel comfortable leaving him, Briggs said. We all believed in him so much, we just knew he was innocent. Thats the kind of case I became a lawyer to fight.

Briggs erupted in tears in the court when the jury foreman listed Harris 36 not guilty verdicts.

We were trying to free the kindest gentlest young man ... from essentially this completely evil bureaucratic system that was scapegoating him, Briggs said. So, yeah, I lost it when the jury came back.

Victims families contacted by The Chronicle for this story had little to say about Harris.

Id rather not talk about him, said Colleen Dolan, the mother of 33-year-old fire victim Chelsea Faith Dolan. I have feelings about it. ... Ive had time to digest the new trial and the civil trial and everything else, and it hasnt been easy.

Dolan, who attended every day of the trial that ended in Harris acquittal and a hung jury in Almenas case, is bracing to do it all over again.

Throughout the trial, victims families were unmoved by Harris story. After Harris took the stand in his own defense, David Gregory, the father of 20-year-old victim Michela Gregory, told The Chronicle he had expected Harris to show more remorse.

After two days of listening to him, Ive lost all the respect I had for him, Gregory said at the time.

Prosecutors Casey Bates and Autrey James declined to be interviewed for this article.

Sheriffs officials helped spirit Harris out of the jail within an hour after the verdict, and he slipped by without a single media outlet snapping as much as a photograph. A woman in a car was waiting for him.

Aside from his attorneys, Harris had no greater defender than Danielle Silva, a petite woman with a blue mohawk who was unwavering in her support and took the lead in organizing Free Max Harris protests.

On one occasion, Silva was arrested and jailed during a demonstration for allegedly violating an order to move away from courthouse property. Another time, TV crews captured a heated exchange between Silva and some of the victims family members, who became fed up with her portrayal of Harris as a victim.

Harris and Silva didnt know each other before his June 2017 arrest. They met during the cases initial proceedings through Carmen Brito, a mutual friend and former Ghost Ship tenant who escaped the warehouse the night of the fire. Like many Ghost Ship residents, Brito defended Harris and Almena as fall guys for a system that failed them and those killed in the fire.

We werent hiding, Brito said in a recent interview. We were in a residential neighborhood, in a fairly prominent position in Fruitvale, thats around the corner from the Fire Department. We were all going, We saw you, and you saw us. How can you stand there and say that you had no idea?

Silva came to a hearing to support Brito and began exchanging letters with Harris.

If you think about being, in many ways, in literally the loneliest place on Earth and meeting someone so special, Harris said. I dont really know how to put that into words, how much of a blessing that is.

The couple have since settled into an airy, exposed-brick loft in a historic part of downtown Portland. The space is a little bit closer to an apartment, Harris said, but like his Ghost Ship residence and his old jail cell, it also doubles as an art studio.

Harris reasons for relocating to Portland were largely practical: Hes now closer to his mother, who lives in Washington. Oregon also provides a place where he can decompress and be closer to nature, he said. And the cost of living is lower.

Despite Oakland officials vows to protect artists and other low-income residents in nonconforming spaces after the Ghost Ship fire, Harris said, hes seen countless friends pushed out of their homes.

Its either forcing people into homelessness or forcing them into having to change their lifestyle in a way that compromises their heart, he said. It was a bunch of empty promises, and its only gotten worse.

Friends of Harris say the tragic fire, the extended stay in jail and the taxing trial, which featured him taking the stand in his own defense, took an extreme emotional toll.

Brito recalled a moment a few months ago, when she was driving with Harris and Silva while they still lived in the Bay Area, and the couple were discussing where they wanted to move.

He was in the passenger seat, and he just kind of turned around and he just said, You know, I dont know if you know what its like to be me, here, Brito said. The way that he looked, it was just so sad. So haunted.

Silva said Harris has started to regain his physical self. Hes eating vegetables that werent available in jail and doing what he wants with his hair. The slick ponytail seen in court was soon replaced with dreadlocks and then a shaved head.

I think jail takes so much away from you, and theres no surviving well, Silva said. The one thing I feel like he hasnt lost is this vibrancy about life.

Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The deadly Coronavirus has started taking heavy toll on travel sector with national carrier Air India seeing booking cancellation across various routes to the Southeast Asian cities such as Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.

Faced with lower passenger load, the airline has replaced B787 with smaller A320 aircraft to serve Singapore.

"The passenger load has fallen on Southeast Asian routes. There has been cancellation till April by both foreign groups coming to India as well as Indians going outside," Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani told IANS.

"This means our domestic flights also getting affected. The Buddhist circuit traffic has been impacted," he added.

Air India operates about 40,000 seats on international routes with Southeast Asian sectors accounting for a little less than 10 per cent of the total.

In the wake of rising toll from coronavirus in the Chinese city of Wuhan and infections spreading fast both inside China and outside, many airlines have suspended their flights to and from the virus-hit country.

Air India had earlier announced to suspend its flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong. It has temporarily stopped taking bookings for these flights.

Another domestic carrier IndiGo has also suspended its flights to Chengdu in China and Hong Kong.

Travel industry insiders said that this holiday season has been the worst affected. An executive said that almost all the Southeast Asian carriers have seen their flight occupancy declining.

"Those looking for cheap holiday destinations, Dubai is a better option. Because of fear of Coronavirus, there has been massive cancellation," he said.

While Wuhan in China is the epicenter of novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV), infections have been reported globally, especially in Southeast Asian countries. The deadly virus has fast spread in China infecting more than 30,000 people. The death toll from the virus is estimated to have reached 600 in China.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Reeaz Khan, a 21-year-old undocumented immigrant from Guyana accused of sexually assaulting and killing 92-year-old Maria Fuentes last month, pleaded not guilty in a New York courtroom on Thursday, according to an article by Fox News.

According to authorities, Fuertes was on her way home in the early morning hours of Jan. 6, when she was assaulted by Khan, a day laborer who lives within a mile of the murder scene.

According to District Attorney Melinda Katz, surveillance footage shows the immigrant following Fuertes and then knocking her to the ground near some parked cars. Authorities also said the video shows Khan sexually assaulting Fuertes and later fleeing the scene.

"This was a senseless, brutal act of violence," Katz said. "The victim was found with her clothes pulled above her waist, and near death."

Fuentes was rushed to the hospital after she was found by a passerby who called 911, but upon arriving, the victim was declared dead from injuries sustained during the assault.

When Khan's brother saw the grainy footage, he turned his brother in who was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree sexual assault. Initially, Khan told investigators that Fuertes had fallen and he only tried to help her up, but during questioning, Khan admitted to having sexually assaulted the victim.

During a brief pretrial hearing on Thursday, Khan, through his lawyer Johnathon Latimer requested to prohibit cameras in the courtroom. However, this was rejected by the judge who angrily insisted, "the public has the right to know."

"In this particular situation, the public has been inundated with information about this case," the lawyer complained. "If there exists a presumption of innocence and due process ... the court at some point has to become concerned about the poisoning of public opinion." The lawyer said that allowing cameras is just piling on negativity and poisoning the public opinion.

But the judge allowed a half-dozen still and video cameras to record the proceeding, as he explained that while "the case has garnered a lot of attention," any eventual murder trial would not be tainted "one, two years down the road."

"It's news," the judge said. "The public has the right to know. I don't think the public is overburdened by information. Objection is denied."

Meanwhile, the judge approved the prosecutors' request for an additional two weeks before proceeding and scheduled the new court date for Feb. 24, 2020.

On Monday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement demanded the city hand over information on Khan as it claimed it issued a detainer request for Khan, after his detention due to an earlier incident where he allegedly assaulted his father with a broken coffee cup.

The detainer request pertains to giving authority to ICE to hold undocumented immigrants who have been charged or convicted of crimes for two days after their release so that immigration officials can pick them up.

However, the NYPD denied receiving a detainer. This prompted ICE to release a copy of the fax form they sent to New York authorities dated Nov. 27, 2019.

"A phone call, one simple phone call and Maria Fuertes could be alive today," ICE Director Matthew Albence told reporters.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump singled out Khan in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, saying it was an example of what's wrong with the "Sanctuary City" of New York.

He added, New York's laws led to Fuertes' rape and murder.

"If the city had honored ICE's detainer request, his victim would be alive today," Trump said.

The statement angered some organizations and led to a petition signed by more than 120 groups in support of the city's approach to detainer policies. The letter was addressed to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In the past, the U.S. president has also slammed sanctuary cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago which he claims to have become a hideout for criminals who seek to destabilize public safety.
Andrew, who served as a pilot in the Royal Navy, will also be missing out on a military promotion this year. On his 50th birthday, he was promoted to rear admiral. On his 55th, he became vice admiral, the position he holds now. Normally, on his 60th, he would be expected to be promoted to admiral, the highest rank in the Royal Navy for serving officers.
The 42nd session of the National Assembly Standing Committee will take place in Hanoi from February 10  11, the NA Office said in its communique on February 6.

NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan will deliver an opening speech, and take turns directing discussions together with NA vice chairs.

As scheduled, the NA Standing Committee will give opinions on the draft Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on the Handling of Administrative Violations and the draft Law on amendments and supplements to several articles of the Law on NA Organisation.

Participants will also debate preparations for ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) Chair Year 2020, decide on the arrangement of administrative units at communal and district levels in several centrally-run cities and provinces.

The committee also plans to offer feedback on the adjustment of fixed funding for the General Department of Taxation and the General Department of Vietnam Customs for the 2016  2020 period, and the issuance of the Decree guiding the implementation of the temporary self-governance mechanism in accordance with the Istanbul Convention./. VNA

National Assembly strives to implement institutional reform Implementing institutional reform is a crucial and challenging task of the National Assembly, especially in the context of the country's rapid development and deeper economic integration, according to NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
St. Petersburg scientists have proposed a technology for manufacturing high-efficiency solar cells based on A3B5 semiconductors integrated on a silicon substrate, which may increase the efficiency of the existing photovoltaic converters by 1.5 times.

A group of St. Petersburg scientists has proposed and experimentally tested a technology for the fabrication of high-efficiency solar cells based on A3B5 semiconductors integrated on a silicon substrate, which in the future may increase the efficiency of the existing single-junction photovoltaic converters by 1.5 times. The development of the technology was forecasted by the Nobel Laureate Zhores Alferov. The results have been published in the journal Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells.

Today, with the rapid exhaustion of hydrocarbon fuel reserves and a growing concern about environmental issues, scientists are paying more and more attention to the development of the so-called "green technologies". One of the most popular topics in the field is the development of solar energy technologies.

However, wider use of the solar panels is hindered by a number of factors. Conventional silicon solar cells have a relatively low efficiency - less than 20%. More efficient technologies require much more complex semiconductor technologies, which significantly increases the price of the solar cells.

The St. Petersburg scientists have proposed a solution to this problem. The researchers from ITMO University, St. Petersburg Academic University and the Ioffe Institute showed that A3B5 structures could be grown on inexpensive silicon substrate, providing decrease in the price of multi-junction solar cells.

"Our work focuses on the development of efficient solar cells based on A3B5 materials integrated on silicon-substrate," comments Ivan Mukhin, an ITMO University researcher, head of a laboratory at Academic University and a co-author of the study. "The main difficulty in the epitaxial synthesis on silicon-substrate is that the deposited semiconductor must have the same crystal lattice parameter as silicon. Roughly speaking, the atoms of this material should be at the same distance from each other as are the silicon atoms. Unfortunately, there are few semiconductors that meet this requirement - one example is gallium phosphide (GaP). However, it's not very suitable for the fabrication of the solar cells since it has poor sunlight-absorbing property. But if we take GaP and add nitrogen (N), we obtain a solution of GaPN. Even at low N concentrations, this material demonstrates the direct-band property and is great at absorbing light, as well as having the capability to be integrated onto a silicon substrate. At the same time, silicon doesn't just serve as the building material for the photovoltaic layers - it itself can act as one of the photoactive layers of a solar cell, absorbing light in the infrared range. Zhores Alferov was one of the first to voice the idea of combining ASB5 structures and silicon."

Working at the laboratory, the scientists were able to obtain the top layer of the solar cell, integrated onto a silicon substrate. With increase of the photoactive layers number the efficiency of the solar cell grows, as each layer absorbs its part of the solar spectrum.

As of now, the researchers have developed the first small prototype of a solar cell based on the A3B5 on silicon-substrate . Now they are working on the development of the solar cell that would consist of several photoactive layers. Such solar cells will be significantly more effective at absorbing sunlight and generating electricity.

"We've learned to grow the topmost layer. This material system can potentially also be used for intermediate layers. If you add arsenic, you obtain quaternary GaPNAs alloy, and from it several junctions operating in different parts of the solar spectrum can be grown on a silicon substrate. As demonstrated in our previous work, the potential efficiency of such solar cells can exceed 40% under light concentration, which is 1.5 times higher than that of modern Si technologies," concludes Ivan Mukhin.

###

Reference: Liliia N.Dvoretckaia, Alexey D.Bolshakov, Alexey M.Mozharov, Maxim S.Sobolev, Demid A.Kirilenko, Artem I.Baranov, Vladimir Mikhailovskii, Vladimir V.Neplokh, Ivan A.Morozov, Vladimir V.Fedorov, Ivan S.Mukhin, "GaNP-based photovoltaic device integrated on Si substrate", Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, 2020

ITMO University (St. Petersburg) is a national research university and Russia's number-one higher education institution in the field of information and photonic technologies. The university is a leader of Project 5-100, the Russian academic excellence program.

ITMO is the alma mater of winners of numerous international programming competitions such as ICPC (ITMO's team is the world's one and only seven-time ICPC champion), Google Code Jam, Facebook Hacker Cup, Yandex Algorithm, Russian Code Cup, and Topcoder Open. The university's priority research areas include IT, Photonics, Robotics, Quantum Communications, Solution Chemistry and Advanced Materials, Translational Medicine, Urban Studies, Art & Science, and Science Communication.

In 2016, ITMO University received the UNESCO Medal "For the Development of Nanosciences and Nanotechnologies" for its unique environment that unites science, education and innovations.

Since 2016, ITMO University has been a constant feature in the world's top 100 universities in Computer Science according to the Times Higher Education (THE) subject ranking. In 2019, the university made its debut in the world's top 100 universities in Automation & Control, and strengthened its position in Nanotechnology (top 300) and Materials Science (top 400) in the Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS) of Shanghai Ranking (Academic Ranking of World Universities, ARWU).

According to the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) subject rankings for 2019, ITMO University is one of the world's top 300 universities in Engineering & Technology and Physics & Astronomy; it also became the only Russian university to be featured in the QS Art & Design subject group (top 200 universities).

In 2019, ITMO University was featured in the world's top 500 higher education institutions according to THE and QS World University Rankings, and represented in 13 subject rankings published by ARWU, THE and QS.

IT's MOre than a UNIVERSITY!
A Time to Build: From Family and Community to Congress and the Campus, How Recommitting to Our Institutions Can Revive the American Dream

By Yuval Levin

Basic. 241 pp. $28

---

From the Senate impeachment trial to the Iowa caucuses fiasco to religious leaders' scandalous behavior, the evidence of institutional malfunction is ubiquitous. Why is this happening? What are the consequences? And what can we do about it? These are the questions that Yuval Levin, the most thoughtful conservative theorist of his generation, addresses in his latest book, "A Time to Build."

Recent decades, Levin says, have brought a withdrawal of trust from all but a few of our institutions, ranging from the family to the political order, and a rise of antinomian sentiments on both the right and the left. But we cannot do without these institutions, he argues: Not only are they instruments for accomplishing essential goals, but they form our character in ways essential for individual and collective flourishing. When we lose sight of the role that only institutions can play and misconceive them as vehicles for self-interest and self-display, we end up undermining ourselves and others.

In focusing on the need for character formation in every walk of life, Levin consciously breaks with the argument James Madison famously urged in Federalist Papers 10 and 51: Because good character is typically in short supply, we must use the artful arrangement of institutions to compensate for ambition, self-interest and the absence of devotion to the common good.

Levin appeals instead to a tradition reaching back to Aristotle that holds that institutions are what form us to practice the virtues we cannot do without. We suffer from our current ills, he insists, because we have forgotten why we need institutions. We think we want to break free from institutional constraints, but in fact, we yearn for structure and belonging - for institutions to which we can devote ourselves. We demand a politics that breaks down authority when what we really want is a politics that rebuilds authority we can respect. To get this, Levin says, we must "pour ourselves" into our institutions and "let them form us." This is a stringent demand, because it requires "a kind of devotion, even submission, to institutional formation" that finds its natural home in religious experience.

At a time when so many religious institutions are seen as hypocritical and corrupt, making a wholehearted, quasi-religious investment in secular institutions is a tall order. But Levin is undaunted. "What's required of each of us," he declares at the end of his book, is "devotion to the work we do with others in the service of a common aspiration, and therefore devotion to the institutions we compose and inhabit."

Why then have Americans ceased to trust most of our institutions? According to Levin, trust is based on the belief that institutions have an internal ethic that makes their members more trustworthy. When we regard our institutions as having abandoned this mission in favor of individual ambition and self-display, we withdraw our trust.

I find this explanation less than fully persuasive, in part because Levin's account of the sources of trust is incomplete. Trust has two dimensions: motivation and competence. We may regard institutions as untrustworthy because we regard their members as unconcerned with the welfare of others, or because they do not know how to do their jobs, or both. Good intentions are not enough, and neither is technical competence untethered from appropriate motives. A trustworthy institution needs both.

Over the past two decades, we have seen both kinds of institutional failure. No one believes that the U.S. intelligence community did not want to prevent the 9/11 attack, but it still failed to do so. Similarly, this community wanted to provide an accurate assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, but it got this assessment wrong, with disastrous consequences that reverberate to the present day. Policymakers totally misunderstood what the postwar reconstruction of Iraq would entail and were slow to admit their error. With few exceptions, economic analysts underplayed the systemic weakness that led to the Great Recession. Policymakers across the political spectrum believed that China's entry into the World Trade Organization would accelerate the convergence of Beijing's economic and political models with those of the West, a misjudgment with which we are just beginning to grapple. In these circumstances, the populist rejection of expertise is anything but surprising.

On the other hand, institutions whose formative mission is central to their identity have also fallen short, sometimes shockingly so. The Catholic Church became a venue for sexual abuse, a fact that its officials covered up for decades. No wonder 13 percent of all U.S. adults are former Catholics; for many, the strain of continued commitment became too much to bear. We cannot devote ourselves to institutions that we regard as unworthy of our devotion. And if we see no prospect of changing them to become worthy once again, exit may be the only option.

Another problem goes even deeper. The fact that an institution is formative says nothing about its ethical character. It may form us in positive ways, or it may deform us by stunting the development of our gifts and distorting our character in harmful ways. Employers may require employees to behave in ways they regard as demeaning or outright immoral. So may government leaders.

This problem extends to our most intimate relations. To be sure, as Levin says, families require sacrifice and can constrain personal choice. But this does not mean that women's revolt against the family arrangements of the 1950s was selfish, unjustified or a mere reflection of the culture war. We cannot expect institutional devotion from those who experience institutions as stultifying and unfair. We all owe a debt to the women and men who decide to reform the family rather than abandon it. Today, families that have embraced a more balanced understanding of gender roles have remained strong, even as others have weakened.

Despite these objections, which are not trivial, Levin's core contention remains compelling. Our institutions are not machines that run smoothly, whatever the character of their members - a fact of which we are reminded in daily headlines. Even James Madison acknowledged that without a measure of virtue, Republican self-government would be impossible. We rely on individuals in positions of responsibility to take their institution's rules and norms seriously and to put its mission ahead of their personal advantage. This requires strength of character, which must be cultivated; it is not innate.

We need an approach to politics and society that combines the best of the right with the best of the left - that brings together the right's concern about character and the left's concern about fairness. Only institutions whose mission incorporates both can help break our current impasse.

---

Galston is a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. His most recent book is "Antipluralism: The Populist Threat to Liberal Democracy."
- Talented Kids winner Nakeeyat Dramani has met Ghana's High Commissioner to the UK, Papa Owusu Ankomah

- Nakeeyat met HE Owusu Ankomah at the High Commission's offices in London

- Nakeeyat is currently in London for a two-week vacation

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Young Ghanaian poet, Nakeeyat Dramani, has wowed with Ghana's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Papa Owusu Ankomah.

READ ALSO: Barcelona plays Shatta Wale's Borjor song in their dressing room ahead of Copa Del Rey

Nakeeyat, the winner of Talented Kidz season eight met HE Owusu Ankomah at the High Commission in London.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that Nakeeyat had travelled to in London as part of a two-week vacation.

As part of her rounds, the eight-year-old paid a visit to the Ghana High Commission. It was during this visit that she delivered a performance to HE Owusu Ankomah.

In a video sighted by YEN.com.gh, Nakeeyat could be seen delivering a poem in her usual commanding style to the admiration of the High Commissioner who was seated in a chair across the room.

READ ALSO: DJ Switch named in list of 50 women who are changing in the world in 2020 (photo)

HE Owusu Ankomah who looked impressed by Nakeeyat's delivery was smiling throughout her performance.

READ ALSO: Stonebwoy's daughter rocks oversize BHIM slippers as she models for dad (video)

Later, Nakeeyat took pictures with the High Commissioner alongside the people she was with.

Nakeeyat won the Talented Kids competition in June 2019 when she was only seven years old.

READ ALSO: 3 old photos that prove Serwaa Amihere was a big slay queen before meeting Nana Aba

As previously reported by YEN.com.gh, the little girl who performed mainly as a poet during the competition had earned massive praises for her performances over the period.

It, therefore, came as a little surprise when she was announced the winner.

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The Karnataka Postal Circle under India Post, Karnataka, has invited applications in a prescribed format from eligible and interested candidates for filling 37,987 vacancies to the post of Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) and Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) through direct recruitment to posted across postal divisions and units in the State. The offline application process towards the same started on February 4, 2020 and closes on February 17, 2020.

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) and Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) Organisation Karnataka Postal Circle - India Post Educational Qualification Class 10/Matriculation or equivalent or any other qualification as prescribed Experience Freshers can apply Skills Required Desirable Job Location Karnataka Salary Scale Level 1 of the pay matrix Industry Postal Service Application Start Date February 4, 2020 Application End Date February 17, 2020

Age Criteria And Fees

Candidates interested in applying for GDS & MTS posts under Karnataka Postal Circle must have attained 18 years of age and not be more than 25 years, with relaxation (upper age limit) up to 30 years (SC/ST) as specified in the notification.

For details regarding fee towards application processing, refer to the official notification given at the end of the article.

ISRO Recruitment 2020 For ITI Apprentice In Multiple Trades, Register Online Before February 21

Educational Criteria And Eligibility

Candidates applying for GDS & MTS posts under Karnataka Postal Circle must have passed Class 10/Matriculation or equivalent or any other qualification as specified in the advertisement given at the end of the article.

Candidates must have knowledge of Kannada language - speak, read and write.

Selection And Pay Scale

The selection for GDS & MTS posts under Karnataka Postal Circle Circle will be done through a Competitive Examination and Interview.

Candidates selected for GDS & MTS posts under Karnataka Postal Circle will be paid emolument under Level 1 of the pay matrix.

BPSC Notification For 553 Assistant Prosecution Officers, Apply Online Before February 21

How To Apply

Candidates applying for GDS & MTS posts under Karnataka Postal Circle must fill the application form in a prescribed format attached with the advertisement, and send the same along with relevant supporting documents, etc. to "The Assistant Director ( R&E), O/o Chief Postmaster General, Karnataka Circle, Bengaluru-560001" on or before February 17, 2020 by registered/speed post.

The envelope containing application form and other supporting documents must be superscribed as, "Application For Recruitment to The Post Of GDS/MTS in Karnataka Circle."

Download application form and read the detailed notification about Karnataka Postal Circle recruitment for Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) and Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS) posts here
Ex-clerk of Moscow court gets 4 years in jail in fraud case

 flickr.com/ Jobs For Felons Hub

10:55 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  Moscows Cheremushkinsky District Court has sentenced a former court clerk Lilia Bolovina to 4 years in custody as part of a fraud case, the Moscow prosecutors office has told RAPSI.

According to the statement, Bolovina acting as a clerk to a judge of one of the Moscow court and using her job position has conspired with several defendants in criminal cases and for a monetary reward has typed on her work computer three patently false court rulings, forged the judges signature and added false information on the consideration of civil cases to the automated court records information system.

Later, the prosecutors state, the accused woman gave false orders to accomplices, who applied to the Moscow Federal Agency for State Registration, Cadastre, and Cartography directorate for the apartment property registration. As a result of their illegal actions, victims have lost property rights to 2 flats, and the Moscow City Governments Department of Municipal Housing has been caused damage estimated at more than 17.6 million rubles (about $300,000).

Bolovina has pleaded guilty in full.




A l Qaeda's deputy leader Qassim al-Rimi was killed in a US anti-terrorism operation, Donald Trump has announced.

Rimi founded the offshoot group al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and had claimed responsibility for a shooting at a Florida military base that killed three American sailors in December.

Confirming earlier reports that Rimi had been killed, Mr Trump said: We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm.

The president did not say when the operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out.

However, reports have linked Rimis death to a suspected US drone attack that destroyed a building housing al Qaeda fighters in eastern Yemen late last month.

Shortly afterwards, the New York Times reported that officials believed the 41-year-old had likely been killed in a drone strike in Wadi Abedah, an al Qaeda hotbed.

On February 1, Mr Trump retweeted several other tweets indicating that the attack had killed al-Rimi, without providing his own confirmation.

Mr Trump said the US and its allies were safer as a result of his death, with AQAP long considered al-Qaedas most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland.

Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the December 6 shooting at the Naval Air Station Pensacola.

He called the gunman, Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, a courageous knight and a hero. The shooter opened fire inside a classroom at the base, killing three people and wounding two sheriffs deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.

The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets. In January, the US sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had contact with child pornography, including in internet chat rooms.

Rimi is the latest high-profile figure to be killed in a US strike in the Middle East.

Last month President Trump ordered a US airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. In October, Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died in a nighttime raid conducted by American forces on his compound in northern Syria.

Rimi reportedly became the groups leader following a 2015 drone strike that killed Nasir al-Wuhayshi. Rimi issued a video soon afterward calling supporters to attack the United States, urging that all of you must direct and gather your arrows and swords against it.
Fishing: EU countries seek tough stance on access to UK waters

by Jennifer Rankin

February 07,2020 | Source: The Guardian

European countries that fish in British waters are pushing for a tougher stance to protect their fishing crews before trade talks with the UK.



Western coastal states made the call at a meeting of European Union ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday evening, the first high-level diplomatic talks on chief negotiator Michel Barniers draft negotiating mandate since its publication on Monday.



EU sources said western coastal states with a strong fishing interest wanted Barniers text to be clearer that the EU would seek to maintain the same access to British waters, and the same quota shares for 100 types of fish that swim in shared seas.



Boris Johnson has vowed to take back control of British waters, saying the UK would be an independent coastal state conducting annual negotiations with the EU as Norway does. On Wednesday it emerged that the UK has been quietly increasing its maritime defences in a bid to avoid a rerun of the 1970s cod wars.



But the EU wants to maintain the status quo that grants its member states 35% of the quantity of fish from British waters, with the richest harvest for France, the Netherlands and Denmark. France and Denmark, along with Belgium and Portugal, said the text on fisheries needed to be stronger, before ministers approve Barniers mandate at the end of the month. A revised text is expected by the end of the week.



David McAllister, a German Christian Democrat MEP, who is leading the European parliament on EU-UK talks, said the issue of access to waters was inseparable from the overall deal, as well as access to European fisheries markets. Two-thirds of fish caught by British boats are exported to the EU.



The issue of free access to waters is inseparable from the issue of free trade and access of UK fisheries products to the EU market, the MEP told journalists last week. So the negotiations of the UK on fisheries cannot be disconnected and will have a direct link with the negotiations on trade in goods. Its that simple. If the UK grants us access to territorial waters, to fish, then on the other hand the UK will have access to export fisheries to the single market.



At the Brussels meeting, Germany and the Netherlands said Barnier should be ambitious on post-Brexit police cooperation with the UK.



As a non-EU country outside the EUs border-free travel zone, the UK will be switched off from the Schengen information system when the transition period ends in 2020. Germany and the Netherlands said the EU needed to look at alternatives to sharing information, other than the SIS database, which has 64m entries of information on criminal suspects, identity documents and missing people and is used by British police every day.



Diplomats were said to be very happy with Barniers text, which sums up the EUs long-established positions  including the exclusion of Gibraltar from any EU-UK trade deal. Diplomatic sources say the document is more likely to become tougher, rather than weaker under the scrutiny of member states, before its adoption on 25 February.



The meeting took place as MEPs on the newly-created UK coordination group met Barnier for the first time to give the European parliaments input on the unprecedented negotiation with an ex-member state.



Several MEPs told Barnier they were concerned about Boris Johnsons statements about the Irish protocol, an integral part of the withdrawal agreement he signed last October. The prime minister has repeatedly said there will be no checks on goods going from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, although the agreement makes clear there will be checks.



McAllister told journalists he was hopeful a deal could be struck by the end of the year. The 31 December is a new cliff-edge we are all heading for but we got it done in the first round [ of divorce talks], why dont we get it done in the second phase.

 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved.

Theme(s): Others.
Love Island viewers were threatening to complain to Ofcom after Shaughna's heartache over her partner Callum's Casa Amor betrayal on Thursday.

After much speculation over the results of the annual stunt on the show, all Shaughna's worst fears were confirmed when he returned with new girl Molly - leaving the Democratic Services Officer single and fans devastated.

Many were outraged and pointed out how producers played Casa Amor previously - after Ocom received a record 4000 complaints in 2018 when Dani Dyer was left distressed by a misleading video of her partner Jack Fincham.

Shocking: Love Island viewers were threatening to complain to Ofcom after Shaughna's heartache over her partner Callum's Casa Amor betrayal on Thursday

Casa Amor kicked off earlier in the week, with the shift seeing the villa divided with new bombshells entering and tempting the currently-coupled stars.

Couples can either stay together or pair with a newbie. While Shaughna opted to stay single, Callum returned with Molly, who he'd previously confessed he is more sexually attracted to than his previous partner.

Leaving the episode on a cliffhanger, all the couples were seen pairing up, however Shaughna's reaction was saved for Friday's show.

Flooding Twitter, users were left complaining about both the cliffhanger ending and the distress caused to Shaughna on the show.

Painful: After much speculation over the results of the annual stunt on the show, all Shaughna's worst fears were confirmed when he returned with new girl Molly - leaving the Democratic Services Officer single and fans devastated

Fans penned: 'Actually considered phone ofcom to complain... Gonna make a complaint to Ofcom about #loveisland having me in tears tonight #loveisland2020...

'Totally feel for Demi and Shaughna seeing it played out in front of millions of people. People deserve to be treated better @Ofcom... Officially preparing my complaint to ofcom about these frigging cliffhangers #LoveIsland...

'Me writing a complaint to ofcom for leaving us on a cliffhanger at such an intense moment which weve been waiting for ALL DAY... Ofcom must have to get extra staff once is on cos everyday.l people scream ofcom... Im writing to ofcom.'

Shocking: Many were outraged and pointed out how producers played Casa Amor previously - after Ocom received a record 4000 complaints in 2018 when Dani Dyer was left distressed by a misleading video of her partner Jack Fincham

Shocking: Twitter was awash with heartbreaking reaction to the moment

After former contestants Mike Thalassitis and Sophie Gradon killed themselves in the wake of their time on the show, much has been made of the stars' mental health - leading one fan to call for the show to be 'shut down'.

The viewer wrote: 'I say a tweet yesterday about how ofcom will have love island shut down soon due too the damage it does mentally too some of them and i can see it.'

Recalling previous Casa Amor moments - including Amber Gill's heartache over Michael Griffiths' return to the main villa with new girl Joanna Chimonides - fans insisted the star should see the upside, as Amber went on to win.

Pained: Flooding Twitter, users were left complaining about both the cliffhanger ending and the distress caused to Shaughna on the show

The fan wrote: 'How uncomfortable was that to watch! Hate the #CasaAmor part of @LoveIsland....however @Shaughna_P just remember what happened last year to @AmberRoseGill #propthatcrownbackup #lovelsland...

'My heart has just dropped to my stomach, poor Shaughna. Callum what have you done! I cant bare to see tomorrows episode of #LoveIsland2020 Im gutted!...

'You really cant compare Georgia and Ambers Casa Amor recoupling with and Shaughnas. Shaughna and Callum have been together from the start. What he has done is brutal... #LoveIsland'.
Hong Kongers Scramble for Scarce Necessities Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

By Verna Yu February 06, 2020

There is increasing anxiety in Hong Kong over the coronavirus outbreak, as citizens began camping outside shops overnight this week in the hope of buying surgical masks while others snapped up household necessities from rice to toilet rolls.

Shelves for toilet paper, tissues, kitchen towels, cleaning wipes and other paper products in supermarkets across Hong Kong were mostly empty Thursday morning after people bought them all the night before, largely thanks to an online rumor that China would stop manufacturing toilet paper for the next two weeks.

"These black-clad young people who say they are against China  look at this now! If China stops exporting stuff here, where would we get our necessities from?" yelled an elderly woman in front of rows of empty shelves where paper products are usually placed in a supermarket. She was referring to demonstrators who have been staging anti-government protests over the past few months in Hong Kong's ongoing political crisis.

There is also panic buying on rice  a staple food for Hong Kongers  packet noodles and vitamins, leaving the shelves eerily empty, although there was no shortage of meat and vegetables in shops.

"Looks like a war is coming!" joked a supermarket worker in a middle-class neighborhood, where there was a long line at the cashier. Many people leaving the supermarkets were carrying multipacks of toilet rolls, tissues and kitchen rolls.

There has been a severe shortage of surgical masks and sanitizing agents such as alcohol hand rubs and wipes, with many pharmacies posting notes on their windows saying "No masks, alcohol sanitizing agents or wipes available."

Long queues quickly form outside any shops that announce they have a supply of masks. Thousands braved chilly winds and camped overnight Tuesday outside an outlet at Kowloon Bay that said it had procured a supply of masks from Dubai.

The Hong Kong Medical Association said Thursday at least 10 private clinics have temporarily closed while some are opening for shorter hours because they were running out of surgical masks, reported public broadcaster RTHK. The association said if supplies do not arrive soon, another 400 clinics may also have to close.

Lack of surgical masks

The association said it had recently received about 30,000 masks from the government, but there was only enough for 600 private doctors, despite more than 1,000 requesting masks.

"We tell our members that if you do not have sufficient, adequate masks, you should keep safe and close your clinics and not to put yourself in a very dangerous position." Dr. Douglas Chan, a member of the association's council, was quoted by RTHK as saying.

"During the SARS period, there were fatalities of our comrades. Private doctors died during SARS. We hope this does not happen again in Hong Kong," he said, referring to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003, which killed more than 800 worldwide.

Meanwhile, hundreds of hospital workers who demanded the government close all of its border with China and provide adequate protective gear continued to strike for a fourth day. They threatened to continue to stay off work if the Hospital Authority refuses to negotiate with them.

On Thursday morning, long queues of workers formed outside several public hospitals across the city, as people waited to sign up for the strike, reported RTHK.

"If the safety of the medical workers can't be assured, how can people go back to work?" the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance's vice chairman, Ivan Lam, was quoted as saying. He warned of low morale and possible mass resignations if staff lacked adequate protection.

Closing borders

The government this week announced the closure of several borders with China but left a few open still. It said Wednesday it was impractical to close all of them but would impose a 14-day quarantine on anyone entering from the mainland. Many of the health workers said this was inadequate to contain the epidemic, citing fears that mainlanders would continue to rush to Hong Kong for treatment, as they have in past weeks.

Meanwhile, about 3,600 people are still stranded on the cruise ship World Dream at a port terminal in Hong Kong over the coronavirus scare while health authorities were searching for others who went on a previous cruise on the vessel.

The Center for Health Protection said late Wednesday that after eight travelers from mainland China who were on the ship Jan. 19-24 were confirmed to be suffering from coronavirus, it has been assessing the health of more than 1,800 passengers and more than 1,800 crew members on board. They were required to stay on board while the health inspection continued.

As of 9 p.m. Wednesday, three crew members have developed fever and were sent to a hospital while 33 crew members claimed to have developed upper respiratory tract infection symptoms. It called on people who took the cruise Jan. 19-24 and left the ship to report to the authorities.

A passenger posted a video on Facebook showing the outdoor facilities on the ship largely closed while many inside continued to play mah-jong and stay in their rooms watching television.

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in China rose to 563 Thursday. At least 230 cases have been confirmed outside China, including one fatality in Hong Kong and another in the Philippines.

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Mumbai, Feb 7 : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said the IPO of the state insurer LIC will bring retail investors into the picture and that the government would come up with steps to simplify the tax regimes.

"We are looking at an IPO for LIC which will bring retail investors in the picture", she said, at an interaction with the industry, media and academia here today on Union Budget 2020-2021.

In the Budget, the government announced its decision to list LIC in the next fiscal with the aim of bringing the much-needed revenues to the government which is facing a shortfall due to poor tax collections.

"We are coming up with steps to simplify the tax regime. We have shown our intent to move towards a simplified tax regime and corporate tax simplification and reduction is a move towards that. The taxpayer charter (as announced in the Budget) is based on trust that should be there between the taxation regime and tax payers", Sitharaman said.

In the Budget speech, Sitharaman, noting that the government has launched Rs 103 lakh crore of infra projects, announced providing about Rs 1.70 lakh crore for transport infrastructure and accelerating highways construction to augment India's infrastructure and create jobs.

She said focus is on infrastructure for economic development and 6,500 projects across sectors under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) envisions ease of living for citizens.AAA About Rs 22,000 crore has already been provided as a support to the NIP.

Sitharaman also told the industry that the government is engaged with states and private investors to come up with an infra pipeline comprising over Rs 6,000 crore projects.

The minister also said that the government will take steps so that civil offences are not treated as criminal offences and government looks forward to invest in infrastructure creation.

Sitharaman said the Budget aims to provide a "discreet and considered stimulus" to the economy, and draws on the experiences of all the past instances of slowdown in growth where the government intervened to give a boost.

"Based on the experiences in the past, we have essentially ensured that we are doing it in a very discreet and considered manner," she said, addressing disappointment in some sectors that the Budget lacked any major announcements at a time when growth has slipped to its lowest in a decade.

Sitharaman said the government has kept in mind macro-economic fundamentals to ensure that the required stimulus, both for boosting consumption and for investments in long-term asset building, as a means to providing the impetus would be taken up.

She cited the instances of the 16-point agenda for the rural and farm sectors, the boost to start-ups and infrastructure investments.

Unlike in the past, the minister said the remedies in the Budget 2020 are "very focused and very clear, that things are traversing a well-chalked out path, and intentions of spending responsibly to build capital assets".

Sitharaman said the government would sell only those companies where there is no strategic rationale in running them, while divestments were necessary to ensure transparency in working of companies by making the required disclosures.
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The newlywed wife of a British coronavirus patient who was hauled off a cruise ship during his honeymoon today said she had been left 'bereft' and 'in ribbons'.

Wendy Marshall Steele, who married Alan Steele last month, said she did not know when she would next see her husband after he tested positive for the virus on board the Diamond Princess in Japan.

Writing on Facebook from the quarantined cruise liner in Yokohama Bay, she said she would not be able to care for him despite being a nurse.

'They have just taken Alan away. I am in ribbons. He is healthy and not displaying any symptoms,' she said. 'I am bereft... if he ends up being ill I can't look after him. NOT only as a wife... but as a nurse.

'Apologies if this sounds over emotional but to have your husband taken away from you. Not sure how long it will be until I see him again.

'In my working life my colleagues would say "balls of steel" but not today. Counting down the days until I can laugh about stupid things with my husband again.'

Mr Steele, from Wolverhampton, said he was not yet showing symptoms of the virus and hopes he may just be a 'carrier' but faces a lengthy quarantine in hospital on the mainland.

He becomes the second UK national known to have the virus, after a businessman who had recently flown back from Singapore tested positive in Brighton yesterday.

Mr Steele was one of 41 people who learned they had the virus after 171 remaining test results came back on Friday, trebling the ship's total of virus patients from 20 to 61.

The newly diagnosed also include 21 Japanese nationals, as well as eight Americans, five Canadians, five Australians and an Argentine.

Alan Steele (pictured with his new wife Wendy) was today taken off the Diamond Princess and sent to hospital on the mainland after testing positive for the virus

Alan Steele (pictured right) was separated from his new wife Wendy (pictured left on board the cruise ship) and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results in Yokohama Bay today

A team of health workers in hazmat suits on the shore in Yokohama today where Japanese authorities said the tally of coronavirus patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship had risen to 61

Health workers wearing protective suits carry bags to an ambulance near the cruise ship Diamond Princess today, which is anchored and being held in quarantine near Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama

Health workers in protective gear were still working in Yokohama Bay as darkness fell on Friday with the Diamond Princess in quarantine

A worker in a hazmat suit drives a fork lift truck to load supplies on to the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Yokohama today

Masked passengers are seen on the deck of the ship today, where passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks briefly under strict conditions

A woman holds a Japanese flag that reads 'shortage of medicine' on the cruise ship Diamond Princess as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Friday

An official in a protective suit walks near the cruise ship Diamond Princess anchored at Yokohama Port today

Japan Self-Defence Forces officers use canvas sheets to cover the walkway from the cruise ship Diamond Princess on Friday as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly flu-like virus after 20 were rushed off to hospitals on the mainland earlier this week

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, is seen anchored at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port

Experts say cruise ships are vulnerable to virus spread Cruise ships are vulnerable to the spread of viruses because of the high number of elderly passengers who are confined together and have forked out large amounts of money for their holiday, experts say. Professor William Keevil said some passengers may be unwilling to come forward with their symptoms to avoid putting an expensive holiday at risk. The Southampton professor said keeping guests in their cabins was the 'best option' until the incubation period - thought to be around 14 days - has passed. Crews are 'well aware of the spread of disease on board, considering that you can have hundreds or thousands of passengers in a relatively confined, isolated environment for days or weeks,' he said. 'They rely on the honesty of the passengers declaring if they are unwell or have had a recent illness as they board ship. 'The problem is that some potentially ill passengers, having looked forward to their holiday and spent a lot of money, do not want to miss out and board ship anyway. 'Alternatively, someone may innocently board the ship without any symptoms which subsequently develop onboard. They are required to immediately declare this and isolate themselves.' It is not yet known exactly how the new coronavirus spreads, but similar viruses spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. 'Outbreaks of droplet spread diseases such as influenza and norovirus are relatively common' on such ships, said Prof Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia. 'Cruise ships often have large numbers of passengers and crew, these people come from all over the world, and passengers at least are often elderly. 'Given that many passengers spend a large part of their time indoors, one would expect droplet spread diseases such as [the new virus] to spread readily on board. 'As passengers will disperse back around the world then outbreaks on board such ships will have the potential to enhance the global spread of this current epidemic.' Advertisement

The huge leap in virus cases has added to concerns among the ship's 2,600 passengers that they are being kept in the dark about the crisis.

One American passenger told a journalist she was 'scared... I don't want to leave this ship in a box.'

Passengers who show symptoms such as fever may now face additional testing, with the quarantine due to continue until February 19.

Others have voiced fears about dwindling medical supplies, including a Japanese passenger who held up a sign from her balcony declaring a 'shortage of medicine' in Yokohama Bay today.

Japan ordered the ship into quarantine after an 80-year-old former passenger who left the vessel in Hong Kong last month was found to have the virus, which has killed more than 630 people.

All 3,711 people on board were screened for the virus, and 273 of them were selected for further tests because they were either showing symptoms, had disembarked in Hong Kong or been in contact with the 80-year-old.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Japanese authorities announced that the first batch of 102 test results had produced 20 positive results.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters today that the remaining 171 test results had shown 41 cases of coronavirus, taking the total to 61 out of 273 who were tested.

'Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that,' the health minister said.

The passengers were due to be taken to medical facilities in Tokyo and nearby Saitama Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures as well as Shizuoka prefecture in central Japan.

Mr Steele later revealed himself on Facebook as one of the virus patients, saying: 'Just to let you all know I have been diagnosed as having the virus and am being shipped to hospital.

'Would also like to say that at the moment I am not showing any symptoms so just possible a carrier. Will let you know how I am going on when possible.'

A neighbour, 72-year-old Veronica Richards, said today that Mrs Steele was a care home worker and mother-of-one who had married Mr Steele after divorcing her previous husband.

'This will give her something to talk about,' she said

'I knew she was on her honeymoon and was expecting her back any time now. She is a lovely woman and she always has a bit of drama in her life.

'I've not met him [Alan] properly and I hope he's got over it when I do. I don't need that Coronavirus, I've got enough on my plate with my hip.'

The 20 people who were earlier diagnosed with the virus have already been removed from the vessel by health workers in protective hazmat suits and taken to hospitals on the mainland.

One of them is in a serious condition, a health ministry official said, without providing further details.

The tests for coronavirus could now be expanded to further passengers who are 'susceptible to illness, including elderly people and those with other ailments,' the health minister said.

In addition, passengers who had close contact with the 61 virus patients could also be subject to further testing to contain the spread of the virus.

A Japanese foreign ministry official said today that the quarantine would end on February 19, more than two weeks after the vessel arrived in Japan.

The official also rejected fears that the virus could be spread through the ship's ventilation system.

Tour operator Princess Cruises confirmed the February 19 end date, barring 'unforeseen developments'.

Medical staff clad in protective gear prepare to provide care for suspected coronavirus patients on board the cruise ship

Passengers stand on their balconies aboard the ship today, some of them wearing face masks and warm coats

Medical staff in hazmat suits walk past ambulances on the dock in Yokohama where they are assisting the Diamond Princess

Officials in protective suits drive an ambulance near the cruise ship today after another 41 coronavirus cases were confirmed

Passengers aboard the quarantined vessel look out from their balconies today, waving to the media at the Yokohama port

A passenger waves next to another wearing a face mask from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, as it is anchored at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan on Friday

A Japan Self-Defences Forces officer wearing a face mask is seen next to the cruise ship Diamond Princess as the ship was prepared for resupply

Today health workers were working on the shore dressed in white hazmat suits, complete with face masks and helmets.

An extendable white-tented passageway was wheeled to a door on the side of the massive cruise ship, apparently to protect the identity of people being evacuated from the boat.

As the ship docked, passengers who have been told they will have to stay aboard days even if they test negative for the virus came out on to their balconies, some waving to assembled media or taking pictures.

People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to their cabins and banned from even walking down the corridors following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

Passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks briefly, under strict conditions, including wearing a mask at all times.

'The quarantine officials require that you avoid congregating in large groups and maintain a separation of at least one metre from each other when talking,' the ship's captain said in an announcement on Friday morning.

'We require that you wear as a minimum, warm clothing, hat and a scarf if possible,' he added.

Experts say that cruise ships are particularly vulnerable because of the large number of passengers, many of them older people, in a confined space.

The ship has spent much of its time anchored in Yokohama Bay, where fork lift drivers in hazmat suits have helped to load supplies on to the vessel.

It has also returned to the open sea to collect seawater, which can be converted for use in showers and drinking water.

This morning, Briton David Abel who is with wife Sally, said: 'My major concern now is to let the captain and the crew know, that we want to be informed of what is going on. We don't want second hand news, we don't want rumours, we want to know precisely what is going on'

A man wearing protective gear is seen at the port where cruise ship Diamond Princess as preparations were made for further supplies to be delivered this morning

Olivia Capodicasa (pictured) was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down

British passenger David Abel, who is travelling with his wife Sally, today voiced anger that passengers were finding out news from the media and told the captain: 'We don't want second hand news, we want to know precisely what is going on.'

He said today: 'We haven't had our temperatures taken we haven't been asked any more questions ... that has not happened for days so how are the medical people able to monitor the health situation of 3,600 passengers on board. So this is what needs to be answered.'

He also raised concerns that, along with the dozens of other Britons on board, he might be quarantined yet again when they arrive.

The UK government put 93 people in quarantine in the Wirral after flying them back from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.

'It would really be good if the Home Office would put something on the news.' Mr Abel added. 'It would certainly put the minds of the Brits on board at ease.'

There are 78 people with British passports on board the vessel, including crew members, but there are no plans to fly anyone back to the UK at present.

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China

For breakfast, quarantined cruisers yesterday were served a measly fruit salad, pastries (both sweet and savoury), a Fru Fru yoghurt and a glass of apple juice

Health workers in protective suits put up hoardings on Wednesday as passengers who were diagnosed with the virus are moved

Officers in protective gear carry luggage cases after people who were transferred from cruise ship Diamond Princess on Wednesday when the first 10 people were taken off, another 10 were confirmed to have the virus on Thursday, and another 41 on Friday

American attorney Matt Smith, 57, and his wife Katherine have a suite with their own balcony but said the quarantine was a 'hard pill to swallow'.

'My thought is, the greater number they diagnose on the ship, the greater chance they're going to find some reason to extend the quarantine,' he said.

Also among those stranded on board are 233 Australians, including Olivia Capodicasa, from Melbourne, who was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down.

She described the conditions as being like 'hell' and said she had been watching movies to pass the time.

'It has been a hell of a 24 hours stuck in here', she told Sunrise on Thursday morning. 'I think it is really starting to hit me now that this is the reality and I'm not going home anytime soon'.

Passengers were finding out about the new infections from the internet before they were announced on the ship, said a 43-year-old Hong Kong resident who is on the ship with his family.

A separate cruise ship, the World Dream, is being held in quarantine in Hong Kong after eight former passengers tested positive for the virus.

The ship's 3,600 passengers are facing a third night stranded, but conditions are less stringent and there are not yet any confirmed virus cases on board.

In addition, more than 2,000 people are marooned on board the MS Westerdam after Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and Guam all refused entry.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe yesterday said his country would not allow foreign passengers to disembark, saying there were suspected virus patients on board.

However, cruise operator Holland America said last night that 'the ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board'.

An ambulance and Japan Coast Guard members in protective outfit prepare for the arrival of infected passengers that were onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, at Yokohama port on Wednesday when another ten were rushed off to hospitals on the Japanese mainland

Despite some of the ship's 3,700 passengers complaining of 'prison' like quarantine conditions they were seen gallivanting on the colossal ship's galleries on Thursday within arms reach of their neighbours

Japan has now confirmed 25 cases of the new coronavirus - excluding the cruise ship infections - among them citizens returning from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak.

Tokyo has evacuated more than 500 Japanese citizens from Wuhan, and attracted some criticism for its relatively loose quarantine approach.

There have been several incidences of apparent person-to-person transmission in Japan, including a tour guide and bus driver who contracted the virus after coming into contact with visitors from Wuhan.

Neither had visited China in recent months.

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed more than 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world, although but 99 per cent of infections have been in mainland China.

The outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency, several governments to impose travel restrictions, and airlines to suspend flights to and from China.

Researchers suspect the virus emerged from a Wuhan market selling exotic animals at the end of last year.
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Linkedin Agustinus Hari (The Jakarta Post) Manado, South Sulawesi  Fri, February 7, 2020 07:35 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630b2de 1 National smuggling,cockfighting,North-Sulawesi,Indonesia,Philippines Free

Authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle dozens of Philippines-bred roosters for cockfighting on Sangihe Island, North Sulawesi, which shares a border with the Philippines.

A joint team comprising personnel of the North Sulawesi Police and the National Polices water police directorate secured on Wednesday 59 undocumented roosters from the Philippines at Peta Port on the island.

Comr. Ekanto, the commander of the polices security maintenance agencys (Baharkam) Prahasta 7015 fleet, said that the roosters were transported by a man identified as Sugono Bentelu. He was arrested and named a suspect in the case.

We have brought the suspect to Bitung Water Police headquarters for further investigation, Ekanto said in Manado on Wednesday.

Sugono was en route to Peta Port from Tinakareng Island, located on the Indonesia-Philippines border, when security personnel stopped him. He failed to show health permits or other licenses for the roosters to the police.

I was paid Rp 4 million [US$ 292] to deliver the roosters, which were brought by a Philippine citizen to Tinakareng, Sugono said.

Police identified the buyer as an individual named Leksi B. Wulur, who had formerly been a witness in smuggling cases. Leksi claimed that he had been running the business for 10 years, but this was the first time for law enforcers to prosecute him.

In running his business, Leksi had to go to several islands to find high-quality Philippines-bred roosters. For example, he bought dozens of roosters brought by a Philippines citizen to the location. The price for each rooster ranged from Rp 1.5 million (US$109.54) to Rp 2 million. Leksi later sold the roosters for Rp 3 million each.

The roosters are still tagged, showing they came from a farm in the Philippines, he said.

He claimed he was unaware about license permit requirements for delivering roosters. Leksi went on to say that he had only obtained a letter from the village chief stating that he bought the roosters from a certain village.

Ekanto said such smuggling operations were common on islands located on the border between Indonesia and the Philippines. The roosters, often used for cockfighting, are unloaded on Nipa Island, Sangihe before being taken to Peta Port.

He dismissed a circulating rumor saying a police officer was involved in the smuggling.

This smuggling case was the biggest case uncovered by the police in the area this year, since the authorities have difficulty in tracking down the smugglers.

The police charged Sugono with violating the 2019 Animal, Fish and Plant Quarantine Law, which carries a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and Rp 10 billion in fines. (dpk)
THE Department of Finance has accused the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council of misrepresenting the main findings of a report on Irelands corporation tax take.

A sharp exchange of emails between the two bodies came last November surrounding publication of the Fiscal Assessment Report, a key part of Irelands budget process each year.

The argument related to interpretation of research by two senior Department of Finance economists on corporation tax and how it can be modelled.

In an email, the Departments Fiscal Analysis Unit said the Fiscal Council report misrepresents the main findings of the paper.

It said it was highly selective to reference the paper in the way it had been in the Fiscal Assessment Report.

In response, Fiscal Council chief economist Eddie Casey insisted that the interpretation was correct. That may be your opinion or someone else in the Departments, he wrote. I disagree with it.

Moreover, I checked that specific wording and representation of the findings with the author in advance and they did not indicate any disagreement with it.

Responding to the email, the Department of Finance said that was not its understanding of what had happened.

The Fiscal Analysis Unit wrote: In relation to the exchange below and your interpretation of the paper and the press release that accompanied it, well have to agree to disagree.

For the record, we would also refute the suggestion that one of the authors did not indicate any disagreement with it.

In response, Mr Casey said that while he was happy to disagree, the Department was clearly in the wrong here. He said he had quoted the sentence over the phone with an author of the paper and outlined his interpretation.

No issues were raised, wrote Mr Casey. You werent on the call and you arent an author of the paper.

Mr Casey also said it was highly misleading to suggest that the models involved accounted for the majority of corporation tax take.

He said it was an excellent paper but that it could not reliably be used to account for how Irelands corporation tax take might change over a longer period of time.

Asked about the disagreement, Mr Casey said the issue was around the interpretation of economic models which he said could be read in different ways.

In a statement, the Department of Finance said: It is not unusual for disagreements of this type to arise.

It added: To clarify and resolve the matter, an official within the Department rang the Fiscal Council and discussed some of the technical aspects within the modelling paper.

Separately, the Fiscal Council also questioned the Department over why it could not pay relocation expenses to new staff.

The Department of Finance said that Government policy was that such expenses could only be paid to existing, serving public servants.
A Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond. Photo: Chuck Myers/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

It was assumed there would be a major change in legislative priorities thanks to Democrats winning control of the Virginia legislature last year, giving them (along with the governorship under Ralph Northam) a governing trifecta. Bills more than doubling the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 are moving through both chambers of the legislature. A bill abolishing the Commonwealths ban on collective bargaining by public employees has been passed by the House of Delegates and is moving toward passage in the Senate.

But the most richly symbolic sign of a new day in the Old Dominion is undoubtedly this one, as reported by CNN:

Virginia is one step closer to ending its tradition of honoring Confederate generals.

This week, the Virginia House voted to strike Lee-Jackson Day from the list of state holidays. The holiday, observed on the Friday before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January, honors Robert E. Lee and Thomas Stonewall Jackson as defenders of causes.

Both men owned slaves and fought to preserve slavery in the US. In its place, the House bill proposed that the state replace it with Election Day, the first Tuesday after the First Monday in November, instead.

Gov. Ralph Northam included the measure in his 2020 legislative proposals. If Election Day becomes a state holiday, he said, itll be easier for Virginians to vote.

Lee, of course, has been the object of an enormous and region-wide cult of Confederate memorial and neo-Confederate defiance. In Virginia, though, he has long been rivaled in esteem among admirers of the Lost Cause by his most famous field commander, General James Stonewall Jackson (given that nickname after heroics in the first major engagement of the Civil War at Bull Run). Military prowess aside, the intensely religious Jackson became known as the epitome of the Christian soldier, a reputation somewhat at odds with his advocacy of brutal treatment for disobedient soldiers and enemy combatants. And without question, part of the devotion surrounding him in subsequent decades derived from the belief that had he not died of an injury from friendly fire in 1863, the South would have won the war and its right to become an independent slave-owning republic.

The home in which he died was for many years known, without even a hint of irony, as the Stonewall Jackson Shrine; just last year the National Park Service finally changed the name to the Stonewall Jackson Death Site. During the great neo-Confederate monument-building era that accompanied the imposition of Jim Crow on the South, Virginia created a Robert E. Lee state holiday (in 1889), and then added Jacksons name to it in 1904. Thus it remained through and beyond the fight against racial desegregation in which Virginia politicians played a leading part, and beyond the civil-rights era, until 1983, when in conjunction with the creation of a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., the legislature incongruously grafted Kings name onto the existing state holiday, creating Lee-Jackson-King Day. But that abomination ended in 2000 when Virginia redivided the two holidays, with Lee-Jackson Day occurring on the Friday before the King commemoration.

Now, at long last, the rebel yell of defiance associated with a state holiday in honor of these two racist traitors (which, no matter how you judge them otherwise, they most definitely were) is apparently going to be silenced. And it is highly appropriate that this particular state replace this particular tradition with an Election Day holiday to encourage voting. Under Jim Crow and the Byrd Machine, Virginia famously disenfranchised poor whites as well as African-Americans; the great historian of southern politics V.O. Key said of the Commonwealth in the late 1940s: By contrast, Mississippi is a hotbed of democracy.

Fare thee well, Lee-Jackson Day! Soon enough only open, hard-core racists will mourn its passing.
FLINT, MI -- Jeremy David McCallum, 43 has been arraigned and charged on multiple felonies for allegedly possessing childrens pornography and other items in his Groveland Township home. McCallum was arraigned Monday following his arrest last Friday evening after his son told police hed found child pornography on his fathers tablet.

McCallum was charged with 10 counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of felony firearms, one count of child sexual abuse, one count of extortion and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon. He was arraigned in 67th District Court and bond was denied by the judge.

MSP became aware of the issue after officers were called around 7 p.m. on Jan. 31 for a report of a runaway juvenile. Once officers made contact with the boy, he told them hed run away from home after finding the pornography.

After hearing the boys story, officers obtained a warrant and searched McCallums home and discovered the tablet and found the materials the boy said he saw. Police went on to say the home was extremely cluttered and will cause the investigation to be lengthy.

The boy was placed in the care of family members following his fathers arrest. Police did not release details on what has been found in the home that led to the charges being filed by prosecutors. An investigation is ongoing.
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Last week, a Berkeley elementary school received a letter from Disney's licensing agent, Movie Licensing USA, ordering them to pay $250 for screening "The Lion King" without a license at a PTA fundraising event. On Thursday, Disney CEO Bob Iger tweeted an apology.

"Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative," he wrote.
Moving through history from the 1700s, the museum features artifacts including a UK penny black stamp from 1840, an original decal vase from the 1800s, fruit crate labels from the 1910s, Wacky Packs stickers from 1974, a vintage Velvet Underground album with an Andy Warhol-designed banana sticker on the front and more.

Curated by Dave and Holly Combs, editors of the seminal sticker zine Peel Magazine , Stickers: RePEELed takes a look at the unifying art of stickers, bringing together hundreds of pieces of original sticker art from around the world. The exhibition includes works from artists including Shepard Fairey , who celebrated the 30th anniversary of his iconic Obey Giant sticker-turned-brand last year, Rodger Beck , Robots Will Kill , Matthew Hoffman and more.

StickerYou: The Store is the world's largest sticker store, and features a unique, 3-storey high stickerbombed design on the storefront, installed in collaboration with applied sciences giant 3M, a stickerbombed interior, a custom experience center where customers can touch and feel stickers and be inspired.

"The History of Stickers Museum and Stickers: RePEELed showcase StickerYou's deep knowledge of stickers and the impact they can have on business and personal expression," says StickerYou founder and CEO Andrew Witkin. "At StickerYou, we make what matters stick."

StickerYou

StickerYou is a global, e-commerce leader in custom-printed, die-cut products that empower businesses and consumers to create professional-grade materials for marketing, packaging, decor and personal expression. In 2019, StickerYou opened StickerYou: The Store, the company's first retail location in Toronto, Canada.

Founded in 2008, StickerYou used one machine and some coded software to offer customized designs to any sticker fan. Fast forward to today, and StickerYou is an influential e-commerce trendsetter, using proprietary die-cut technology to create customized stickers, decals, iron-ons, badges, patches, labels, magnets and more in orders of one- to hundreds of thousands.

SOURCE StickerYou Inc.

Related Links

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EUGENE, Ore. -- Hours after President Donald Trump was acquitted by the US Senate on Wednesday, protesters gathered outside the federal courthouse in downtown Eugene as part of a nationwide Reject the Coverup rally.

Over 100 people stood at the corner of 8th Avenue and Mill Street holding signs that said "Dump Trump" and "It was a sham." Many of the protesters said the Senate trial was invalid because there were no witnesses or evidence.

Jerry Samaniego, one of the organizers, said he expected President Trump to be acquitted but he is still upset.

"We knew it was coming. We are disappointed, we are angry, and we feel like there was a coverup," Samaniego said. "We feel like the House managers proved their case without a shadow of a doubt and many of the Republican senators admitted it as much."

The Lane County Republicans said they will be holding a United for Trump rally on Feb. 15.
The proposed funding in Joness bill is almost three times as much as Hogan has offered to settle the lawsuit. An attorney for the governor said the $200 million counter offer, which was substantially more than his predecessor made, was a final offer. The black caucus called the offer low ball.
Francesca Orsini, professor of Hindi and South Asian literature at SOAS University of London, is a literary historian working primarily with Hindi and Urdu material. Known as the School of Oriental and African Studies, SOAS is a leading public research university for the study of Africa, Asia and the Middle East (West Asia). In an interview, Orsini spoke about the multilingual literature of Avadh.

What brings you to the east?

I have been interested in how to do literary history in a multilingual society, especially the literary history written in Hindu, Urdu or Persian. It is interesting to see and understand how does a Persian writer rewrite Mrigavati? ((Composed in Avadhi by Qutban, a Sufi poet of the medieval era, Mrigavati tells of the princess Mrigavati of Kanchanpur and the prince of Chandragiri, son of Ganapati Devi. The prince wins her after overcoming many difficulties).

If you copy the same text in different speech, what does it mean? All this make us understand as to how does literature live in a multilingual society. For this, I chose the east, particularly this region.

Why Avadh?

Avadh allows us to think about the culture away from the Mughal court. There are two things. One is how was the culture in the Mughal period, which is also the Bhakti period. How it was there in the towns or villages. Second, of course, the Avadh culture was here much before as the first written Hindi text we get is Dauds Chandayan of 1379. Thats even before the Mughal times.

Has multilingualism overshadowed Brajbhasha, especially post 14th century?

The emergence of nawabi Faizabad and Lucknow prompted a move among the Persian-educated towards Urdu and away from the cultivation of Brajbhasha courtly poetry. Brajbhasha did not disappear completely from the urban culture of nawabi Lucknow, but became the language of music and songs. Actually, the old taste doesnt completely die. Somehow, it exists side by side.

What is the significance of places when we talk about multilingualism of literature?

Its very important to bridge the gap between the texts and the places in poetry or literature. I went to Kada (near Allahabad, which is now known as Prayagraj)the place of Maluk Das (a poet-saint of the medieval history). His place is surrounded by a Dargah and other Sufi places. Without visiting the place; one cant understand why Maluk Das mentioned Khadak Shah. I have been visiting kasbas of saint poets. I visited Mir Abdul Wahid Bilgramis place Bilgram, Maluk Dass Kada, Paltu Dass kasba in Ayodhya. After visiting their places, you get an actual idea of their writing. North Indian Sufis wrote in Persian because everyone understood Persian and Muslims like Jayasi wrote in Avadhi because of place they belonged to.

How do you see Avadh in world literature?

Avadh is an example of a multilingual and non-systematic literary history that provides an alternative to monolingual and competitive literary histories of Hindi, Urdu, and Persian in north India.

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Students in Australias most disadvantaged schools are about 10 times more likely to have their education hindered by chronic teacher shortages than students in wealthier schools.

New research shows they are also more than five times more likely to have their learning disrupted due to teacher absenteeism, with rates of absenteeism deteriorating in the past three years.

Poorer schools have poorer teachers.

They are also five times more likely to be taught by a teacher who is not qualified in that subject.

The research, by advocacy group Save Our Schools, has revealed that the gap in teaching quality and learning resources in Australia is among the widest in the developed world.
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The controversial Newland Sierra housing project  2,135 homes proposed just west of Interstate 15 about five miles north of downtown Escondido  will be considered Thursday by the countys Planning Commission.

Newland Sierra is the largest of the North County housing developments scheduled to come before the commission this year. At the end of the hearing, the commissioners will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, who will have the final say on whether to grant a general plan amendment. That decision is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 26.

This is the second time development plans for the property just north of Deer Springs Road will go before the commission and the supervisors. In 2010, what was then known as the Merriam Mountains project was denied by the supervisors by a 3-2 vote.

A new development team led by Newland Communities has since scaled back the project by a few hundred houses and renewed efforts to build on roughly 800 of the nearly 2,000 acres of hilly, open property with spectacular views. The rest of the land would be preserved as permanent open space.

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This time, however, the project goes before county leaders acutely aware of a critical housing crisis in the area.

Hundreds of people are expected to attend the commission hearing, which will begin at 9 a.m. at 5520 Overland Ave. in Kearny Mesa. It is scheduled to last two days, but its possible the commission could try to make a decision Thursday.

It will be the housing crisis, and the need for more homes in the San Diego region to stem the tide of people moving to Riverside County and then making long commutes to local jobs, that will be front and center of the arguments made by Newland proponents.

The project would provide a mix of single-family and multi-family homes, as well as some commercial space, in an area along the Interstate 15 corridor.

Instead of a massive commercial and office development and 99 large lot homes for which the property is zoned in the General Plan, we believe -- given the regions housing crisis -- that the better choice is to build attainably-priced housing for the next generation of North County families, said Rita Brandin, Newland Sierras development director said.

We are proposing a true community, with seven distinct neighborhoods, multiple parks and 19 miles of trails with a small town center, and well preserve more than 61 percent of the property as open space.

Opponents, which include nearby residents, environmental groups and the owners of the exclusive Golden Door Spa, will stress concerns about traffic, fire hazards, and destruction of neighborhood character.

They are expected to say building a project that will house more people than live in the City of Del Mar will forever change the surrounding community for the worse and make a terrible traffic situation on I-15 and surrounding local streets dire.

Kathy Van Ness, the general manager of the Golden Door, said Twin Oaks is a rural area and noted the local community planning groups have all voted against the project.

We hope the planning commission will support the community, and the county general plan which places growth in appropriate places with supporting infrastructure, Van Ness said in a statement. Traffic impacts everyone along I-15, whether you are in City Heights, Tierrasanta, Scripps Ranch, Escondido, or Twin Oaks -- and this project only makes it worse -- with no improvements or mitigation.

An amendment to the countys General Plan is being sought because under current zoning only about 100 homes could be built on the land. Opponents have been saying for years tht allowing such an upzone would make a mockery of the countys blueprint for growth, which stresses building in urban areas near mass transit and other types of established infrastructure.

The Golden Door has largely been funding the opposition, filing numerous lawsuits and determined to challenge any approvals in court. The spa is located south of Deer Springs Road across from where the entrance to Newland Sierra would be built.

The Golden Door has also vowed to mount a signature-gathering campaign with the goal of having a measure put on a county-wide ballot in 2020 that would overturn any project approvals.

Five large housing projects in the unincorporated parts of North County, as well as two others to the south, will all be considered by the supervisors this year.

The commission has already recommend approval of two projects  Harmony Grove Village South (463 units) and Valiano (377 units)  in the Harmony Grove/Elfin Forest areas west of Escondido. Those projects, as well as a much larger project in Otay Mesa, will be voted on by supervisors at a hearing tentatively set for July 25.

Still to come before the commission are two additional North County projects, each of which will face strong opposition: Lilac Hills Ranch (1,746 units) in Valley Center just east of Interstate 15 and Warner Ranch (780 units) proposed to be built just north of state Route 76 basically across the highway from the Pala Casino & Resort.

The supervisors will likely consider those projects, plus a third in Otay Mesa, on Halloween, Oct. 31.

jharry.jones@sduniontribune.com; 760/529-4931; Twitter: @jharryjones
A Pune court on Friday reserved its order on the transferring of the Bhima-Koregaon case to the Investigation Agency (NIA).

Additional Sessions Judge SR Navandar will pronounce the order in the matter on February 14.

The Maharashtra state government, in an application filed before the court today, objected to transferring all the court records, seized articles from the file of this court to an NIA court in Mumbai.

"That present application is not legally tenable under the provisions of law and particularly according to the provisions of UAPA 1967 and NIA Act 2008," the application read.

It said that the investigation machinery of NIA has not given legal and sufficient reasons for transferring the proceedings.

"It is submitted that the offence is committed within the local jurisdiction of the Pune court and the investigating authority after completion of the investigation filed the charge-sheet before this court and as such, the matter is fixed for framing of the charges," the application added.

It submitted that Section 22 (2) of the NIA Act empowers the state government to constitute one or more special court for the trial of the offence under any or all the enactments.

"Therefore, in view of this provisions for the appointment of a special court to conduct the scheduled offences, the Government of Maharashtra has established the special courts," the application said.

The NIA had earlier filed a petition in the Pune sessions court on January 29 seeking transfer of the case to the agency's court in Mumbai.

On January 1, 2018, violence had erupted during the 200th-anniversary celebrations of the Bhima-Koregaon battle. One person had lost his life while several others were injured in the incident.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The invocation of the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against former chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti, enabling their detention without trial for up to two years, drew flak in the Valley on Friday as a blow to the democratic process in the newly created Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir.

Even so, several people, especially in the Hindu-majority Jammu region, welcomed the move, noting that the administration often used the same Act to detain people when the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) were in power in the erstwhile state.

The Jammu & Kashmir administration on Thursday booked four politicians, including NCs Abdullah and PDPs Mufti under the PSA. The completed six months in preventive detention on February 5.

PSA was invoked against them hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi targeted Abdullah and Mufti in a speech in the Lok Sabha, pointedly referring to their  anti-Constitution speeches before their detention in August last year, when the Centre nullified Article 370 that guaranteed J&Ks special status.

Its not in tune with democratic and constitutional practices. The former CMs didnt break any law; still this stringent act was used against them, said Noor Ahmad Baba, former head of the department of political science at Kashmir University.

He noted that Abdullah and Mufti had represented India or had been part of the Indian political system and were in alliance with national parties, the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The preventive detention of both former CMs under the Code of Criminal Procedure was to end just before they were booked under PSA, a law under which a person can be detained for at least three months and up to two years without trial. In December, the detention of former J&K CM and Srinagar MP Farooq Abdullah, Omars father, under the PSA was extended by three more months.

Omar Abdullahs cousin, Muzuffar Shah, vice-chairman of the Awami National Conference and currently under house arrest, said his family was not going to change its stand against the revocation of Article 370 because of such tactics being used by the administration. For our family it doesnt matter whether we are under detention under preventive custody or PSA, he said.

Ishfaq Ahmad, an information technology professional, said the administrations move showed the uncertain future confronting J&K. The detention of the two former chief ministers shows how rampantly and blatantly PSA has been used in Kashmir to silence political dissent. Besides, the detention of former CMs shows the failure of the government to convince these leaders that abrogation of Article 370 was a step in the right direction.

The detention of the former CMs under PSA was discussed on social media and at shopfronts. Some noted that the same Act had been often used by erstwhile state governments when the two were in power.

Today, the same medicine is being tried on them. Though it is sad that they have been booked under the stringent PSA, here we have people who have been booked under PSA 10 to 12 times even when these people ruled the state. They must now be realising how it feels when people are held on political grounds, said Fayaz Ahmad, who runs a shop in Lal Chowk.

Amir Ahmad, a private-sector employee, referred to the use of force against protestors who took to the streets during the tenures of Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

In the tenures of Omar and Mehbooba, hundreds of youth lost their eyesight after pellets were used on them but that does not mean the central government was right in abrogating Article 370. The centre also put thousands of youth in jail and booked hundreds under PSA. Our special status was taken away and our legislature downgraded. We have been rendered powerless, he said.

A senior PDP leader who was part of the government and was released recently from detention said on condition of anonymity that it was in the interest of peace to let the democratic process evolve again and release detained political leaders

The leader added that the detention of politicians under PSA has left the valley leaderless and people clueless. In no way does it contribute to normalcy. Mainstream space cant be criminalised or restricted, it has to be given its own space in democracy.

To be sure, the detention of both Abdullah and Mufti under the PSA was welcomed by their critics, who cited their social media posts and statements as challenging the country s integrity.

They want the countrys disintegration so its right to book them under the PSA, said Mohammad Hanief, the Poonch-based father of Indian Army soldier Aurangzeb, who was abducted and killed by terrorists in South Kashmir in 2018.

Its a good decision. They are still issuing controversial statements, especially through Mehboobas Twitter handle. Though she has authorised daughter Iltija, you can see the content. She is challenging the integrity and sovereignty of India despite the fact that she is under detention. They are resorting to blackmail politics. Let them stay in prison because since 1947, these two dynasties have ruled and exploited people in the name of religion, separatism and special status, said Dinkar Gupta, a cellular phone company employee in Jammu.

Sunil Pandita, a Kashmiri Pandit who migrated from Shopian in the Kashmir valley to Jammu, disagreed.

They are two former CMs and booking them under PSA will do no good. It seems the government wants to damage the order of the day and regional politics. The Centre should adopt a reconciliatory approach. They have been under detention for six months and now [detained under] PSA. Like the Congress, the BJP is also resorting to arm-twisting tactics. This reminds me of the Emergency days during Indira Gandhis rule, he said.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) boss Arvind Kerjiwal headed to Hanuman temple on Friday to offer prayers. Kejriwal, who had earlier complimented party workers for the campaign, declared that he had prayed for the progress of the national capital and the country.

Received the blessings from lord Hanuman at CPs ancient Hanuman Temple. Prayed for Delhi and Indias progress. God said, You are doing good work, continue to serve people like this. Leave the fruits (of hard work) to me. All will be well Kejriwal tweeted.

Kejriwal had invoked lord Hanuman on February 5 too that had provoked barbs from the BJP, which is tipped to be his partys chief rival in the electoral contest.

BJP is troubled since I read Hanuman Chaalisa. I desire that they read it daily too. They will find peace and their language will improve too, his February 5 tweet said.

A day earlier, he had welcomed Centres announcement to set up a 15-member trust to oversee the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, surprising many who had questioned the timing of the announcement by the Modi government.

There is no right time for good work, Kejriwal said, virtually endorsing the announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament on Wednesday morning.

He even congratulated the people of the country, saying this was a good thing.

Some people are asking about the timing. There is no right time for good work. Lets make announcements for good work, Kejriwal said before adding, I want them to make more announcements today as well as tomorrow and there is no problem, Kejriwal said.

Kejriwal was not the only Delhi politician seeking divine intervention on Friday, BJP Delhi chief, Manoj Tiwari also visited the famous Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples in Delhi and offered prayers.

I prayed for the happiness of the people of Delhi and also sought blessings of the goddesses to enable people to cast their vote judiciously, Tiwari said.

Voting for the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi will take place at over 13,000 polling booths across the city from 8 am to 6 pm on Saturday and results will be declared after counting of votes on February 11.
Singapore raised its risk assessment to the second highest level of alert on Friday as the number of coronavirus cases linked to China rose to 33. The Southeast Asian nation  which has one of the most confirmed cases of the mysterious new virus  raised the Disease Outbreak Response System Condition (DORSCON) to orange. That means the disease can be easily transmitted and is severe, but contained. The system is color-coded, starting from green at the lowest level, followed by yellow, orange and red  the highest risk level. During the SARS outbreak 17 years ago, which killed 33 people in Singapore and infected 238, the status was orange. On Friday, three new cases were announced, which took Singapore's total confirmed cases to 33, according to the health ministry. The youngest patient so far is a six-month-old baby.

Tourism impact

The impact on the tourism sector will be "significant" as tourists from mainland China accounted for 20% of Singapore's total international visitors last year, Keith Tan, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, told CNBC on Thursday, one day before the alert was raised. "The Chinese economy is a lot more significant now than it was 17 years ago during SARS. And ... in 2003, for tourism, China accounted for just 9% of our international visitor arrivals," he told CNBC Thursday. "Now it's about 20%. So the direct impact, everyday this lasts, will be more significant than SARS."

Medical staff walk to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases building at Tan Tock Seng Hospital in Singapore on January 31, 2020. Roslan Rahman | APF | Getty Images

The latest coronavirus outbreak, thought to have originated from a seafood market in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has brought back memories of SARS. During the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003, regional economies including Singapore were sent into a tailspin. Singapore was among the worst-hit countries in Asia during SARS.

Singapore bars travelers from China

As the current outbreak worsened, China in January ordered travel agencies to stop organizing tours to other countries. Last week, Singapore began barring those arriving from mainland China, if they had been there in the past 14 days, from entry or transit. Authorities also stopped issuing visas to those with a Chinese passport. Singapore will now focus on reaching out to other markets in attracting a "good share of non-China markets," Tan said. He pointed out that Singapore already has a good mix of visitors from other regions  with around 30% from other parts of Southeast Asia and another one-third from the rest of the world. Northeast Asia, which includes China, also makes up about a third of the total number of visitors.

'Doubling down' on hygiene efforts

Tan said the government is now rallying on efforts to protect visitors by ramping up its hygiene standards. "We have to shore up defenses," he said, adding that the government is "doubling down" on a clean-up at hotels and attractions.
An "Iranian message" that was supposedly carried by the leader of the Qods Force of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) before being killed in Baghdad purportedly contained Tehran's "vision" for rapprochement in the region.

Iran's envoy to Iraq was quoted by local media on February 4 that Qassem Soleimani was carrying a message spelling out Iranian stance on counter-terrorism when he was killed last month.

Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes deputy chief of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) "al-Hashd al-Sha'bi" were killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad airport on January 3.

The Iranian ambassador, Iraj Masjedi, told Iraqi News Agency that "the message included Iran's vision for fighting terrorism, spreading peace and security, love, and achieving stability and security in the region." He added in an interview, "Tehran welcomes Iraqs role in seeking to resolve outstanding issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia and regional issues."

The so-called "Iranian message" was first alluded to by Iraq's caretaker prime minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on January 5 when he told a parliamentary session that he was scheduled to meet with Soleimani on the morning the top Iranian general was killed. He added that Soleimani was to deliver a message from Iran "in response to the Saudi message that we brought to Iran in order to reach important agreements and situations regarding Iraq and the region."

Two days after Abdul Mahdi's statement, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo refuted the claim, saying to reporters at the State Department, "Is there any history that would indicate that it was remotely possible that this kind gentleman, this diplomat of great order, Qassem Soleimani, had traveled to Baghdad for the idea of conducting a peace mission?

Observers in Baghdad believe that Iran is trying to send a message to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with the aim of resolving differences to ease the economic pressure on Tehran caused by the U.S. sanctions imposed on the regime. Iraqi Journalist and observer of Iran Mustafa Kadhum said in comments published February 5 on Alhurra website.

"The Revolutionary Guards have always obstructed any attempt by moderates in the Iranian administration to negotiate with the United States or calm the crisis." He added, "Iran is trying to portray Soleimani as a man of peace, not as a man of war." While another Iraqi journalist, Qassem al-Sanjari, believes that "Iran is trying to neutralize Saudi Arabia and the Emirates to get them out of the conflict, knowing that its chances are very weak by the presence of these two countries on the list of enemies."

On his part, Political Science Professor at Baghdad's al-Mustansiriya University, Ali al-Badri, told Alhurra, "Iran can send its foreign minister, the soft hand Jawad Zarif, or any person other than Soleimani or his officer colleagues from the Revolutionary Guard, but its insistence on exporting the idea of (Soleimani's peace) means that it is considering a peace imposed by the force of threat."

While none of the top Iranian IRGC commander's travels in the region had ever been described as of "diplomatic" nature, a leading Iraqi politician said that "Soleimanis power by the end was so great he behaved like a viceroy on his visits, convening not just allies but forces from across the spectrum."

The unidentified Iraqi politician's statement was contained in a report by Reuters which said on February 3 that a month after a U.S. missile killed him, "Soleimani looms as large over Iraqs fractured democracy as he ever did alive."

The report added that while Soleimanis death weakens Iran, "it also leaves a damaging security vacuum in Iraq because the veteran commander held final sway over Tehrans Iraqi paramilitary forces."

Iraq's highest Shi'ite religious authority, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who repeatedly warned in his weekly sermons against foreign interference in Iraqi affairs sent an unprecedented letter of condolences to Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one day after the killig of Soleimani.

Al-Sistani endorsed the ongoing protests against the Iran-backed ruling elite which have entered their fifth month on February 1. The demonstrators who initially took to the streets in protest against rampant corruption, unemployment and poor basic services have since October 1 raised the ceiling of demands to include wide rangning reforms and regime change. But while they have forced the resignation of the prime minister on November 30, they have made no change to the pro-Iranian paramilitary groups. Estimated to be 160,000-strong, the PMF groups are built around a core of militias founded, trained, armed and ideologically loyal to Iran.

Anti-Iran sentiment still runs high among the activists encamped in Baghdads main protest hub at downtown Tahrir Square and other center-south cities. But while their main slogan since October was "Out, out Iran", protesters started chanting "No to Iran, No to America" after the U.S. strike that killed Soleimani, increasingly expressing anger that Iraq was becoming a battleground for the settling of scores between Washington and Tehran.

Reuters quoted a prominent Iran-aligned Shiite party leader, who declined to be identified, as saying, "There is mounting Iraqi determination to reject the increasing Iranian influence and this is what we are seeing in the protests." He added, "The Iranians should review their policies if they want to build good relations with Iraq."
Khachmaz, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Eldar Janashvili  Trend:

The role of entrepreneurship in ensuring Azerbaijans sustainable economic development is growing every day, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov said.

Jabbarov made the remark at the opening ceremony of the House of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Khachmaz district, Trend reports on Feb. 7.

One of the priority spheres of ongoing economic reforms is the transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises into the main driving factor of the economy, the minister said.

The minister also stressed that during the conference dedicated to the results of the activity for the first year of the implementation of the state program for the socio-economic development of the Azerbaijani districts in 2019-2023, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev determined the development of entrepreneurship, the formation of the main part of GDP in the medium term through this sector of the economy and an increase in employment in it as the main goals.

"The House and Center of SMEs in Khachmaz created as the continuation of the state support measures for entrepreneurs, is a convenient platform in terms of providing entrepreneurs with high-quality and transparent services," the minister said.

Azerbaijans Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) commissioned the first House of SMEs in Khachmaz district on Feb. 7.

Azerbaijani Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov, Chairman of the Board of the Agency Orkhan Mammadov and Head of the Khachmaz District Executive Power Elnur Rzayev, as well as entrepreneurs from the Guba-Khachmaz economic region and media representatives attended the opening ceremony.

The entrepreneurs participating in the event stressed the role of the House of SMEs in their activities and expressed appreciation to the president for the excellent conditions created for conducting private business.
Utilties stocks were trading in green, with the S&P BSE Utilities index increasing 8.42 points or 0.46% at 1844.23 at 09:49 IST.

Among the components of the S&P BSE Utilities index, Reliance Infrastructure Ltd (up 4.83%), Reliance Power Ltd (up 4.71%),NTPC Ltd (up 2.9%),BF Utilities Ltd (up 2.46%),A2Z Infra Engineering Ltd (up 2.31%), were the top gainers. Among the other gainers were Adani Transmission Ltd (up 1.26%), Mahanagar Gas Ltd (up 1.13%), Indraprastha Gas Ltd (up 1.01%), Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (up 0.9%), and Indian Energy Exchange Ltd (up 0.78%).

On the other hand, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (down 1.99%), Jaiprakash Power Ventures Ltd (down 1.04%), and Torrent Power Ltd (down 1.03%) turned lower.

At 09:49 IST, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 67.25 or 0.16% at 41238.78.

The Nifty 50 index was down 8 points or 0.07% at 12129.95.

The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 59.85 points or 0.41% at 14789.83.

The S&P BSE 150 Midcap Index index was up 16.66 points or 0.33% at 5124.09.

On BSE,726 shares were trading in green, 592 were trading in red and 61 were unchanged.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
29.15% efficiency is the new world record for a tandem solar element, developed by Lithuanian and German researchers; the material used to produce the record-breaking solar cell was developed at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania

29.15 per cent efficiency is the new world record for a tandem solar element. The record-breaking solar cell made of the semiconductors perovskite and silicon was developed by Lithuanian and German researchers. This value has been officially certified by the CalLab of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems; the material used to produce the record-breaking solar cell was developed at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania.

Material, synthesised by Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania scientists, which self-assemble to form a molecular-thick electrode layer, presents a facile way of realising highly efficient tandem solar cells.

Developed monolayers can be called a perfect hole transporting material, as they are cheap, are formed by a scalable technique and are forming very good contact with perovskite material. The self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are as thin as 1-2 nm, covering all the surface; the molecules are deposited on the surface by dipping it into a diluted solution. The molecules are based on carbazole head groups with phosphonic acid anchoring groups and can form SAMs on various oxides.

"Perovskite-based single-junction and tandem solar cells are the future of solar energy, as they are cheaper and potentially much more efficient. The limits of efficiency of currently commercially used silicon-based solar elements are saturating. Moreover, existing production capacities of silicon solar cells can be used", says Professor Vytautas Getautis, the head of the KTU research group behind the invention.

By integrating a SAM-based perovskite solar cell into a tandem architecture, the cell, which converts 29.15 per cent of the incident light into electrical energy was produced. This means that the 30 per cent efficiency mark is now within reach.

Using traditional technologies, 1 g of silicon (Si) is enough to produce only a couple of square centimetres of the solar element; however, 1 g of the material synthesised at KTU is enough to cover up to 1000 m2 of the surface. In addition, the self-assembling organic material synthesised at KTU is significantly cheaper than the alternatives used in photovoltaic elements currently.

The team of KTU chemists has been studying the use of the self-assembling molecules in solar cells for a couple of years. The material, synthesised at KTU, was applied in the production of a functioning solar cell in collaboration with Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Germany and Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (Lithuania) physicists.

"The licence to produce the material synthesised at KTU laboratories was purchased by a Japanese company Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., LTD; one more Japanese company has shown interest in the product. This is already the second invention by this KTU research group, which has been licensed successfully", says KTU Intellectual Property Management Project Manager Greta Zekiene.

The material called 2PACz and MeO-2PACz will soon appear in the market. This means that innovative technology using self-assembling compounds can be further researched in the best laboratories of the world and eventually find its way into the industry.

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Around half a dozen big tech companies have now demanded that Clearview AI, the now-notorious facial recognition company that has scraped more than 3 billion images of people from millions of websites, stop using their data.

Clearview, which was founded in 2016, has been under scrutiny ever since the New York Times reported on its crusade for omniscience in January. The Times found that the company has been marketing its powerful facial recognition tool to law enforcement for the last few years. In one case, Indiana State Police officers were able to use Clearviews app to track down a shooting suspect in 20 minutes based on footage that a bystander had captured on a phone. Police in New Jersey, Georgia, Alabama, Illinois, and Florida have also used the app for crimes as petty as mailbox thefts. Because Clearview takes images from social media and other websites, and not just from mug shots and drivers license photos, its database is superior to what most law enforcement usually has access to. Police say that Clearviews algorithm can also identify people from various angles, whereas many technologies require the target to be looking into a camera.

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One immediate react to the report was: Facial-recognition technology should be banned, ASAP. Another was: If governments wont do the banning, Facebook, Twitter, and all the other companies that made Clearview possible should. Were now going to find out how hard these companies are willing to tryand if it will matter.

The week after the report came out, Twitter sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company ordering it to stop mining the social media platforms data and delete anything it had already collected. CBS then reported this week that Google, its subsidiary YouTube, and Venmno sent their own cease-and-desist letters, and LinkedIn told BuzzFeed on Thursday that it had done the same. Facebook notably has not sent a formal cease-and-desist letter but claims to have sent other letters to Clearview to request more detail on its practices and then eventually demanded that it stop scraping user data. Peter Thiel, a venture capitalist and notable surveillance enthusiast who sits on Facebooks board of directors, invested $200,000 in Clearviews first round of funding.

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Hoan Ton-That, and app developer and entrepreneur who co-founded Clearview, has been trying to defend his companys practices over the last month. He puzzlingly argued to CBS that the company has a First Amendment right to social media pictures because they are publicly available information. He also claimed that the tool is only available to law enforcement and said, You have to remember that this is only used for investigations after the fact. This is not a 24/7 surveillance system. BuzzFeed has found, though, that Clearview is seeking to expand internationally, pitching its product to 22 countries, some of whom have committed human rights abuses.

There have been few laws put in place regulating the use of facial regulation in the U.S., particularly at the federal level, which like made the emergence of Clearview or a similarly brazen company inevitable. These larger tech companies could try to hogtie Clearview in the courts, but imitators would presumably show up to fill its place. If anything could stop technology like Clearviews from becoming the new normal, its probably not Facebook, but Congress.
Trumps remarks on the Middle East peace process are another example of pure political spin on a policy that is dead in the water. He touted son-in-law Jared Kushners peace plan, which has been soundly rejected by the Palestinians and many of their biggest Arab supporters, making it a nonstarter. But the fact that it heavily favors Israel makes it red meat for the donors. Few believe it is likely to bring any significant progress.
A new study has found four distinct sub-populations of leopards in India with high genetic variations  leopards of the Western Ghats, the Deccan Plateau semi-arid region, the Shivalik mountains, and the Terai region in North India. The assessment of genetic data has also revealed a possibly human-induced population decline of 75% to 90% among leopards in India in the past 120 to 200 years.

The findings are significant because leopards are otherwise among the most adaptable carnivores, and are known to exist very close to human habitations.

The authors of the study, published in the journal PeerJ on February 4, have recommended that similar conservation attention be given to leopards as is given to tigers to contain a further decline in distribution and numbers.

The authors from the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Bengaluru-based Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS) used faecal samples to study genetic markers that revealed genetic variations and the demographic history of leopards. They used historical records to obtain a set of locations where leopards were known to have been present at some time in the last 200 years, and then used occupancy estimation models to estimate the current presence in the same locations.

The results of the study showed that coalescent simulations with microsatellite loci (DNA signatures which help understand differences among sub-populations) revealed, across India, a possibly human-induced 75% to 90% population decline between approximately 120 to 200 years ago, the study stated.

These four genetic groups which the authors found during their study correspond to biogeographic zones of India. Western Ghats and combination of Deccan Plateau semi-arid region form two sub-populations, and the north Indian sub-population of Shivalik and Terai are part of the Himalayan mountain and Gangetic plains zones.

We presume that these genetic clusters were formed due to restricted gene flow along major habitat type differences between these biogeographic zones. For example, the difference between habitat types of large contiguously forested Western Ghats (largely moist deciduous habitat) and the Deccan Plateau semi-arid (mostly dry deciduous habitat) probably lead to genetic differences between leopards from these regions. Similarly, difference in habitat types in the Bhabar habitats of Shivalik (hilly rugged terrains, large trees, high leopard abundance) and Terai region (flat terrain, grassland, low leopard abundance) has possibly led to reduced gene flow between these two areas, the study added.

A number of factors may have led to such a steep decline in the distribution of leopards. In the 1850s to 1950s, there was a lot of trophy hunting of all large wildlife, including tigers, leopards and rhinos. After the 1900s, there was large-scale decline in habitats, particularly grasslands and scrubland. There was also a deterioration in the quality of forests leading to prey loss. The decline in their spatial distribution may be a result of all of this. The decline is worrying because we may be pushing the species to its limits, said Krithi K Karanth, chief conservation scientist at CWS.

We know that most wildlife population in India recorded a major decline with human population growth in the 1800s and 1900s, which led to habitat fragmentation, hunting, and loss of forests. However, there is a need to quantitatively assess this decline. This is probably the first study to use genetic tools to quantify decline in leopard populations, said Aritra Kshettry, senior research fellow, department of science and technology, and wildlife biologist.

Kshettry added that leopards in India may have been a single population but isolated over time due to habitat loss into sub-populations.

They are extremely adaptable animals. There is no evidence of major decline in their populations in recent years. They exist inside and outside forest areas close to human habitations, Kshettry said.
Regardless of the outcome, the sheer magnitude of what Mr. Yang has achieved seems to be dawning fully upon him. He broke down in tears last week at an event in Iowa as he observed that campaigning for the last two years had been the journey of my life. And speaking with voters in New Hampshire on Wednesday, he shared what he said he had been telling his two young boys in recent days: Daddys got a big deadline on Tuesday.

When the Democrats do eventually pick a nominee and reflect on this process, the rise and staying power of Mr. Yang in this race  outlasting some governors and senators, drawing money and interest far longer than most people expected him to  will offer a clear lesson: In a campaign of maximum anxiety and maximum field size, an outsider with a specific message and a fanciful promise of free money can stand out.

But what was lost in the novelty, his former employees say, was real scrutiny.

Some of his former employees see, in Mr. Yangs unlikely staying power into the early 2020 nominating contests, not just an odd embrace of an outsider, but a casual disregard for allegations about how he treated women who worked for him. It is a collective shrug, they say, that they find all the more disconcerting given how explosive and relevant gender has become in the race.

At the same time, Mr. Yangs cavalier use of racial stereotypes about Asian-Americans and what his former employees say is a surprising lack of attention to his record as a chief executive have also gnawed at those who say they watched their boss similarly fumble delicate topics and conversations for years.

Some of Mr. Yangs former employees describe a jubilant, funny, thoughtful leader who gave high fives and fist pounds, and sought to keep the mood light  a man who resembles the candidate they see on the campaign trail. Mr. Yang does not drink alcohol, but he would buy the first round during company celebrations, they said. He took employees on ski trips and to sporting events. And he encouraged people to do well while holding them to account.

But even years after their time spent working for him, many other former employees still recall specific episodes that they say highlighted Mr. Yangs shortcomings: several women allege that he treated them unfairly when it came to compensation and employment; he once offhandedly remarked that the nonprofit fellowship program, Venture for America, might simply not be the best fit for black applicants; he convinced his nonprofit to pay for his family to join him on a lengthy fund-raising trip to California that proved largely unsuccessful.
The first Canadians to be evacuated from the epicenter of the new-coronavirus epidemic departed Wuhan on a government-chartered flight Thursday, Ottawa announced, even as the two nations confront "angry" ties on other issues.

Several countries including the United States and France have already repatriated their citizens from Wuhan. But with strained ties between Beijing and Ottawa, Canada's airlift took longer to be approved.

At last count, 347 Canadians had sought Ottawa's help to come home from China, Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said, and 176 made the flight.

Only passengers who were asymptomatic were allowed to board.

Several Canadians also traveled on a US plane that had empty seats and was scheduled to depart shortly after the Canadian plane. Both were due to arrive in Canada Friday morning.

"Our evacuation is underway," Champagne said before takeoff. A second Canadian airlift has been scheduled for Monday, he added.

Champagne noted "a small number of no-shows" at the Wuhan airport who had "changed their minds at the last minute." In Canada, the passengers are to be housed at the Trenton air force base east of Toronto under quarantine for 14 days, to cover the incubation period of the virus.

Canada's relations with China soured over its 2018 arrest on a US warrant of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou. In apparent retaliation, Beijing detained two Canadians, former diplomat Michael Kovrig, and businessman Michael Spavor.

Canada's ambassador to China Dominic Barton described the tensions to a parliamentary committee late Wednesday.

"We're angry. We're very angry because of our people that had been taken. China is very angry as well, furious. We're both furious," Barton said.

"The first conversation I had there was probably one of the most unpleasant conversations I've ever had. I mean, the shaking and anger," he said.

Since the new-coronavirus outbreak, Champagne spoke with his Chinese counterpart in a rare telephone call and said Foreign Minister Wang Yi "responded positively" to his requests for help in getting the Canadians out.

Beijing singled out Canada for praise on Monday for not closing its borders to travelers from China. The government of the neighboring US has banned the entry of foreign nationals who have been in China.

As of Thursday, there were five confirmed cases of the virus in Canada.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Virginia House of Delegates voted on Thursday to approve a bill that would eliminate Lee-Jackson Day and replace it with an Election Day holiday. It is now almost guaranteed to be signed into law.

The bill, which came soon after Democrats took majority control of the House, marks a major blow against supporters of Confederate memorialization, who were already losing ground in the debate over monuments in public spaces. In recent years, cities such as Charlottesville and Richmond have elected to ignore the state celebration. And Gov. Ralph Northam, in part to atone for the blackface scandal that nearly forced him out of office last year, has vocally committed to fighting against symbols of racism with the rest of his term. Already he and the legislature have set their sights on a number of bills that would shift funding away from honoring Confederate figures and toward recognizing black activists and heroes in the states history.

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Lee-Jackson Day, honoring the Confederate Gens. Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, has been celebrated in Virginia for more than 100 years. Previously, it had been celebrated on the same day as Martin Luther King Day (Alabama and Mississippi still celebrate Robert E. Lee Day on the federally mandated MLK holiday). But in 2000, the state voted to move it to the Friday before MLK Day, in what was seen by some as a very small step toward progress.

According to local media, the bill is virtually identical to one passed by the states Senate last month. The two chambers will now have to agree upon a final version before Northam can sign it into law.

Election Day is already an official holiday in several states, including Delaware, Hawaii, Kentucky, and New York. Proponents of the idea have argued that giving state employees the day off would boost voter turnout. Critics have noted that many of those who already struggle the most to vote, such as low-wage shift workers, will not benefit. Because voter turnout is a number affected by multiple and often unmeasurable factors, its hard to know if any of the state election holidays have had any real effect and whether Virginias proposed Election Day will increase turnout significantly.

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The national reckoning over symbols of the Confederacy began in 2015, when a white supremacist killed nine black worshipers in a church in South Carolina. In response, South Carolina removed the Confederate flag flying at its statehouse. But as opponents of Confederate symbols grew in numbers, their supporters became more vocal and found allies with other far-right groups. In 2017, the arguments came to a head in a violent clash between far-right hate groupsincluding neo-Confederatesand counterprotesters in Charlottesville. The Unite the Right rally ended tragically when an avowed neo-Nazi drove his car into a crowd, killing the counterprotester Heather Heyer.

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Since that weekend, the city has been fighting to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee that sparked the protests in the first place. After the rally, the city draped the statue with a black shroud, and the City Council voted to remove the statue. Opponents sued to stop the city, claiming it violated state code, and a judge has since issued an injunction against the shrouding and the statues removal, ruling that the statues did not send a racially discriminatory message. The city has said it will appeal the decision.

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While Virginia and North Carolina (the home of Silent Sam) have experienced active debates over these symbols, other states have made less progress on shifting the conversation. A number of Southern states celebrate official and unofficial Confederate Memorial Days and Robert E. Lee Days (or, in the case of Alabama and Mississippi, Robert E. Lee/MLK Day). Alabama has a bonus holiday just for Jefferson Davis birthday. Tennessee recently declared a Nathan Bedford Forrest Day, honoring a slave trader and early KKK figure.

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Virginia towns have celebrated Lee-Jackson Day with wreath-laying ceremonies, a Civil War parade, a ball, and the placing of Confederate flags in cemeteries, according to NBC12. The Virginia General Assembly has historically also held floor speeches to mark it.

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Now that the states legislative and executive branches are controlled by Democrats, it seems possible that the Confederate statues in the state Capitol and the statue of Lee representing Virginia in the National Statuary Hall may be the next targets. Some Democrats have also voiced support for the removal of a statue of Democrat Sen. Harry Byrd, a giant of Virginia politics who engineered the states opposition to desegregation.

Virginia has more Confederate monuments than any other state. Defenders of Confederate monuments have argued that the statues are meant to honor the states history. In Virginia, the birthplace of both Lee and Jackson, that battle has often felt more deeply entwined in the states self-image than in other Southern states. But most of the monuments dedicated to Confederate generals and soldiers were erected by propagandists pushing a Lost Cause mythology meant to paper over the Confederacys overt motive of preserving slavery and present its leaders as driven by honor and states rightsan ideology they had not possessed at the time.

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As historians pointed out, these statues were for the most part erected during the enactment of Jim Crow laws and later during the civil rights movement, indicating their placement was meant to send a message during times of racial tensions rather than to honor the dead.

Some defenders of the Lee-Jackson Day have also argued that the generals were men motivated by a love of their homeland rather than racism. But as some have noted, Lee was a cruel slave master and during the war, led an army that conducted slave hunts and commanded the massacre of black Union soldiers who attempted to surrender. Jackson, whose reputation has fared better than Lees, owned slaves and went to war to uphold the institution of human bondage.
Juba  South Sudanese government and multilateral partners on Thursday launched a national campaign that will see more than 700,000 children enroll back in school.

A statement from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) issued in Juba, said the campaign will help 709,002 children enroll for early childhood education, primary or alternative education programs.

"The campaign is part of the national Back to Learning initiative, providing learning opportunities to children currently out of school," said UNICEF.

An estimated of 2.2 million children were pushed out of school due to more than five years of conflict that devastated the economy and left thousands dead and millions displaced.

UNICEF said that while access to free quality education is a basic child right, the campaign is focused on reaching the most vulnerable, the ones who are less likely to access education services without support.

XINHUA.
Terry DeCarlo, a spokesman for Floridas L.G.B.T.Q. community who was thrown into the national spotlight after the mass killing in a crowded gay nightclub in Orlando in 2016, died on Jan. 27 at a hospital in Hollywood, Fla. He was 57.

His husband, Bill Huelsman, said the cause was face and neck cancer.

Mr. DeCarlo moved to Orlando in 2014 to become the executive director of the Center, a nonprofit L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy organization. He became a familiar face in his community.

But after a gunman opened fire at the nightclub Pulse in the early hours of June 12, 2016, killing 49 people and wounding 53, Mr. DeCarlo found himself in a role that he could never have imagined  becoming a public source of comfort and information on television and radio news programs while the country mourned the victims of what was at the time the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. (The next year, 58 people were killed at a country music festival in Las Vegas.)

Terry was one of the first faces I saw on TV, Carlos Guillermo Smith, a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives, said in a recent interview on the NPR program All Things Considered. It was 7 a.m., and he was already on the ground providing support and comfort to those seeking information, many who would later discover that their loved one was killed in the attack.
SANTA FE  The father of a woman who died after allegedly being initially denied treatment at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility is circulating a petition calling for a grand jury to be empaneled to investigate malfeasance and any other illegal act committed by jail employees and county officials.

Antonio Ikie DeVargas claims the death of his daughter, Carmela DeVargas, in November could have been prevented had jail employees not ignored her repeated requests to be taken to a hospital.

Carmela DeVargas was eventually taken to the intensive care unit at Santa Fes Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center and died from meningitis at an Albuquerque hospital two weeks later.

In a news release distributed to the media Thursday, Ikie DeVargas expressed his frustration over law enforcements failure to investigate the incident.

My efforts to get the New Mexico State Police to investigate what I consider to be the negligent homicide of my daughter, Carmela DeVargas, the death of Rex Corcoran Jr., and many others at the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility have been ignored, he said in a statement. Therefore, it is imperative that the citizens of the City and County of Santa Fe exercise their constitutional rights to petition for the empanelment of a citizens Grand Jury to investigate misfeasance, malfeasance, and other crimes that may have been committed by their county government and its agency, the Santa Fe County Adult Detention Facility.

Rex Corcoran Jr. also died at an area hospital after being incarcerated at the jail, just days after Carmela DeVargas death.

According to the state Constitution, a grand jury shall be convened when a judge empowered to try capital, felony or infamous crimes deems it necessary, or a judge may order a grand jury be convened if a certain number of people sign a petition. The number of valid signatures must not be less than the greater amount of 200 registered voters or 2% of registered voters in a county.

With roughly 102,192 registered voters in Santa Fe County, DeVargas petition would need more than 2,044 valid signatures to qualify.

A spokeswoman for Santa Fe County said the county would not comment on threatened or pending litigation.

The petition will be launched at 10 a.m. Saturday during a demonstration at the state Capitol.
New Jersey legislators on Friday issued their recommendations for fixing how the state gives out corporate tax breaks, seven months after a controversial multibillion-dollar tax incentive program expired.

State senators said the legislature should both create a position for a chief compliance officer, and establish an inspector generals office at the Economic Development Authority, the agency that oversees New Jerseys tax credit programs for businesses.

Companies that receive awards in the future should have to sign community benefit agreements to guarantee jobs, affordable housing, or other improvements for local residents, state senators said. Businesses should also be required to engage in workforce training and educational partnerships, according to the recommendations.

The report, published by a special state Senate committee, stopped short of a key reform measure that Gov. Phil Murphy would like to see: A cap on the amount of tax credits that New Jersey issues each year.

Rather, the committee said, the legislature should consider limiting the size of awards for individual companies, but not the annual amount of incentives that the state can grant.

We took a hard look at the programs in place to determine the reforms needed to make them work with more transparency and accountability, said State Sen. Bob Smith (D., Middlesex), the committees chairman. We reviewed past practices with a critical eye so that we can develop constructive strategies for economic growth."

Murphys office said that the administration was gratified by the report, and that many of the committees suggestions are already reflected in the governors plan to recast the state incentive programs. But a Murphy spokesperson also said the senators recommendations do not go far enough when it comes to capping tax breaks.

An annual cap "is integral to the program, said spokesperson Darryl Isherwood. In fact, even the nationally recognized experts that testified before the Senate committee recommended an annual cap on any incentive package.

The state has approved about $9 billion worth of tax breaks that are awarded to companies over time. Businesses can use the credits to offset their tax bills, or sell them to other companies to use. Last year, the state treasurer told lawmakers that New Jersey will lose out on about $1 billion in revenue per year between 2020 and 2023, as companies redeem the tax breaks.

New Jersey Policy Perspective, a left-leaning group thats been critical of the tax break programs, said some of the committees recommendations are worth pursuing, including loans for small businesses. But the group also zeroed in on the lack of a hard cap for total annual awards.

The fact remains that New Jersey is not in the financial position to give out limitless corporate tax breaks, and hard caps should be a nonnegotiable component as lawmakers consider tax subsidy reform, said Sheila Reynertson, a senior policy analyst with NJPP.

The Senate committees report follows intense scrutiny of tax credit programs. A scathing comptrollers audit in early 2019 prompted Murphy to appoint a special investigative task force to review the programs. State and federal authorities also launched probes in connection with the tax incentives.

The work of the task force  which held its own hearings and issued two harsh reports  has roiled state politics over the past year and sharpened divides between the Democratic-controlled legislature and the Democratic governor.

The Senates Democratic leaders are seen as close to George E. Norcross III, an insurance executive and de facto leader of the South Jersey Democratic machine, who has feuded openly with the governor. The Murphy-appointed task force has suggested that companies tied to Norcross were awarded tens of millions of dollars more in tax credits than they deserved, while Norcross has defended the program, saying it has helped revitalize Camden.

Meanwhile, the Grow New Jersey incentive program expired last year on June 30, meaning that the state cannot consider new project applications submitted after that date. While the state Senate proposed a stopgap extension of Grow NJ until early this year, Murphy conditionally vetoed that bill in August, and offered five new incentive programs instead. Legislators didnt take him up on that.

Now that both the committee and the governors task force have weighed in with recommendations, we expect there will be no more delays from the legislature on passing a new incentives package, Isherwood said.
A bipartisan group of six Senators has urged the Trump administration to work with the Indian government to reduce its import tariff on US soda ash from 7.5% to 5.5%.

In a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the Senators said that thousands of US jobs relied on the soda ash industry and keeping tariffs low will help US workers and economy nationwide.

The letter, dated February 3, was signed by Senators Mike Enzi, John Barrasso, Richard Blumenthal, David Perdue, Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden.

In October 2019, soda ash producers in India recommended doubling the tariff on soda ash imports from 7.5% to 15% as part of the governments Make in India policies.

It is vital to fair trade that the GOI reject this blatant protectionism, the Senators wrote.

A tariff reduction would principally benefit US exporters rather than other exporters such as those from China who produce more costly and environmentally-damaging synthetic soda ash. Indias history of restricting US soda ash should no longer be tolerated, they said.

The Senators said natural US soda ash  which is a key component in glass, detergents and paper  is the most competitive and environmentally-friendly soda ash in the world.

About 58 per cent of US soda ash production is exported. According to the Senators, because of the global rise in environmentally conscious policies and the thousands of US jobs dependent on soda ash, the US has prudent interests in keeping tariffs low with India and other nations.
(Natural News) Another disturbing layer to the novel coronavirus outbreak has been unearthed after a newborn baby tested positive for the deadly disease just 30 hours after leaving the womb.

Though the child is said to be in stable condition, the fact that he or she contracted it at all suggests that this mutating strain of coronavirus can transmit from mother to child before that child even gets the chance to take his first breath.

Sources say there were actually two cases of newborn babies testing positive for coronavirus, but that this one was the youngest at just one day and six hours old.

The mother of the newborn was a confirmed patient of the coronavirus, reads a quote from CCTV that was cited in the South China Morning Post. At present, the infants vital signs are stable.

Zeng Lingkong, a senior physician in the neonatal unit at the hospital where this child was born, told the media that we should be concerned about the possible new transmission route of the coronavirus, referring to transmission in the womb.

Pregnant women, he further added, should do everything possible to stay as far away from infected patients as possible so as to not put their unborn children at risk of falling ill.

Is novel coronavirus a manufactured biological weapon as opposed to a natural phenomenon? Find out more by listening to the following episode of The Health Ranger Report:

Asymptomatic transmission of coronavirus confirmed by Chinese health authorities

After initially denying that there was even an outbreak at all, the communist Chinese regime is now reluctantly admitting that not only is there a serious outbreak now occurring, but many people without symptoms are becoming carriers of the disease.

As it turns out, coronavirus can lie dormant within a persons body for days or even weeks before showing symptoms. And during this time, it can still silently spread to others.

Li Xingwang, the chief infectious diseases expert at Beijing Ditan Hospital, contends that most of the dormant carriers of coronavirus hes seen have caught it from others who did show symptoms. But theres still a risk of infection from those without symptoms.

These [carriers] have the virus and can transmit it, he says. The amount of the virus correlates to the severity of the illness, which means these patients carry less of the virus and their ability to transmit disease is weaker.

New guidelines issued by communist Chinas National Health Commission advise that people with milder symptoms such as fever, cough and fatigue, but no lung infection, be quarantined and treated to prevent the silent spread of infection to others.

These same guidelines indicate that airborne and digestive tract infections represent additional modes of potential transmission, now that coronavirus has been identified in the feces of multiple different patients, though Li still says theyre only possible routes.

Meanwhile, communist China has applied for a new patent on an experimental drug that it says could treat novel coronavirus.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology, which could be where the virus originated in the first place, announced online that a patent application was filed on January 21 for the use of a drug known as remdesivir, developed by biopharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences, to treat coronavirus.

The drug has not been approved or licensed anywhere in the world, but has been rushed into trials in China after showing signs of effective use on coronavirus patients, notes the South China Morning Post.

Chinese scientists have found remdesivir  and chloroquine, an 80-year-old malaria drug  highly effective in laboratory studies aimed at thwarting the coronavirus, the news outlet further reports.

More of the latest news about coronavirus is available at Outbreak.news.

Sources for this article include:

SCMP.com

NaturalNews.com
Public Joint Stock Company Vladimir Power Sale Company (MCX:VDSB) shareholders might be concerned after seeing the share price drop 13% in the last month. But looking back over the last year, the returns have actually been rather pleasing! Looking at the full year, the company has easily bested an index fund by gaining 75%.

View our latest analysis for Vladimir Power Sale

Vladimir Power Sale isn't currently profitable, so most analysts would look to revenue growth to get an idea of how fast the underlying business is growing. Shareholders of unprofitable companies usually expect strong revenue growth. That's because fast revenue growth can be easily extrapolated to forecast profits, often of considerable size.

In the last year Vladimir Power Sale saw its revenue shrink by 60%. The stock is up 75% in that time, a fine performance given the revenue drop. We can correlate the share price rise with revenue or profit growth, but it seems the market had previously expected weaker results, and sentiment around the stock is improving.

You can see below how earnings and revenue have changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image).

MISX:VDSB Income Statement, February 7th 2020

You can see how its balance sheet has strengthened (or weakened) over time in this free interactive graphic.

What about the Total Shareholder Return (TSR)?

We'd be remiss not to mention the difference between Vladimir Power Sale's total shareholder return (TSR) and its share price return. The TSR attempts to capture the value of dividends (as if they were reinvested) as well as any spin-offs or discounted capital raisings offered to shareholders. Vladimir Power Sale's TSR of 75% for the year exceeded its share price return, because it has paid dividends.

A Different Perspective

It's nice to see that Vladimir Power Sale shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 75% over the last year. Since the one-year TSR is better than the five-year TSR (the latter coming in at 6.0% per year), it would seem that the stock's performance has improved in recent times. In the best case scenario, this may hint at some real business momentum, implying that now could be a great time to delve deeper. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. For example, we've discovered 4 warning signs for Vladimir Power Sale (2 are concerning!) that you should be aware of before investing here.

Story continues

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 RU 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.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said India and the Central Asian countries should examine the viability of establishing air corridors between them to boost trade and economic engagement.

New Delhi: Pointing to the lack of efficient overland connectivity between India and the Central Asian countries, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the two regions should examine the viability of establishing air corridors between them to boost trade and economic engagement.

He added that India plans to overcome this lack of overland connectivity by using the route passing through the Chabahar Port in Iran.

"Clearly, a great potential exists in enhancing trade and economic engagement between India and Central Asia. There is the challenge of lack of efficient overland connectivity. India proposes to overcome this challenge through the Chabahar route," Jaishankar said in his speech at the India-Central Asia Business Council at the industry body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

India, Iran and Afghanistan believe that Chabahar will become the fulcrum of connectivity for Indian goods to reach Afghanistan and further north to the Central Asian states, he said.

Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are part of Central Asia. In the budget presented last week, the government allocated Rs 100 crore for the Chabahar Port for the fiscal 2020-21.

"It shows India's commitment towards the development of Chabahar and our determination to develop it as a viable connectivity option," Jaishankar said.

The minister said, "we should also examine the viability of establishing air corridors between India and the Central Asian states".

While flying time from Delhi for most of the Central Asian destinations is two hours, it may take two months for containers sent overland from India to reach these places, he added.

"Availability of air corridors can boost trade in perishable goods, agricultural and food products. I would encourage FICCI to take lead in bringing together stakeholders and conduct a brainstorming session to examine this," he suggested.

Tourism and higher education are also the sectors that have tremendous potential for collaboration between India and the Central Asian countries, the minister said.

"Indian tourist traffic to destinations like Almaty and Samarkand has been increasing. The tourism industry should come up with attractive and affordable packages for increase of tourist traffic between India and Central Asia," he stated.

Medical tourism to India from Central Asia has a great demand and Indian healthcare industry should endeavour to meet it better so that each visiting patient goes back fully satisfied, Jaishankar said.

"In the field of education, a good beginning has been made with the opening of Indian private universities in Uzbekistan. We should also try to attract students from Central Asia to our higher educational institutions by offering quality and affordable education in various technical and non-technical fields," he noted.
The Greater Accra Regional Organizer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Anthony Nukpenu, says the General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Johnson Asiedu Nketia, will be in trouble if he signs the Vigilante Bill proposed by National Peace Council.

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has refused to sign a document on Roadmap and the Code of Conduct put together by the National Peace Council to check political vigilantism.

Mr Nukpenu says he backs his party's decision not to sign the Code of Conduct put together by the National Peace Council to check political vigilantism over reasons that the document is not complete.

"I fully support my party decision not to sign the vigilante bill, the grassroots of NDC will revolt against Asiedu Nketia if he had signed the Vigilante Bill proposed by National Peace Council, Anthony Nukpenu told Lawyer Ohene Gyan on Pae Mu Ka on Accra-based Kingdom FM 107.7.

"The National Peace Council itself are hypocrites, they always take decisions to favor NDC, he added

Not even the Peace Council Chairs plea for the party to sign the document sufficed.

Meanwhile, Mr. Alex Segbefia who led the NDC delegation made it clear to NPC members at meeting that the signing ceremony was premature.

According to him, the parties involved have not exhausted all the possible issues that are required to have a meaningful document.
Passengers wear face masks to protect against the spread of the Coronavirus as they arrive on a flight from Asia at Los Angeles International Airport, California, on January 29, 2020. Mark Ralston | AFP | Getty Images

The fast-spreading new strain of coronavirus is reminding Middle Eastern and other economies just how much they rely on China for business as human activity across the country of 1.3 billion shuts down while authorities race to contain the outbreak. Oil prices have already been depressed for months, weighed down by buoyant American supply and internecine trade wars. China's new coronavirus epidemic, which has killed more than 600 people and sickened more than 31,000, threatens to plunge the commodity  the lifeblood of many Middle Eastern economies  to further lows. Oil demand from China  a top buyer of crude from Gulf states  is "significantly down" and consumption has fallen around 20%, or around 3 million barrels per day, according to Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "Any extended period of time where we see this decline in demand is really going to further pressure the oil market," he told CNBC Wednesday.

China's oil demand

Saudi Arabia alone, OPEC's largest crude producer, was exporting around 1.8 million barrels of crude per day to China in the summer of last year. All eyes will now fix on China's March crude contracts to see how much that level has dropped. To meet budget requirements, the Saudis need oil prices somewhere between $61 and $64 per barrel  international benchmark Brent crude was trading at $55.02 on Friday morning. Trading at the start of the week saw oil down more than 20% from its January highs, closing below $50 a barrel for the first time in more than a year on Tuesday as fear over the virus mounted. OPEC+ producers, a group comprising OPEC and non OPEC suppliers, have held emergency talks to further slash oil output beyond the group's current cut of 1.7 million barrels per day. But analysts say anything less than a 1 million bpd cut will likely fail to boost prices.

Ehsan Khoman, head of MENA Research and Strategy at Japanese bank MUFG in Dubai, said that while uncertainty over the crisis' duration makes it hard to quantify its longer-term economic impacts, anything that impacts Chinese demand for foreign exports will have a major effect on the Middle East's economies. "If the requirement for the crude for the factories and domestic consumption drops, if China is going to be closing for business and they're not going to be demanding that crude, then that has a big impact," he told CNBC. "But we don't know if China's refineries are rejecting that just yet." "Should lower oil prices endure, then this will be a testing period for MENA regional hydrocarbon exporters... with lower economic growth, fiscal consolidation and potential credit rating downgrades on the table," a February report from MUFG wrote. Still, "the structural changes the region has shown are commendable," Khoman added, noting that the diversification strategies of many Gulf states and investment in their non-oil sectors should make them more resilient to oil shocks.

Tourism and retail to take a hit

Finance experts say it's too soon to calculate the scale of the hit to global or Middle Eastern business, as no one knows how long the health crisis will last and how severe it will become. But governments and major airlines across the region have suspended their China flights, with some barring visitors who have recently been in China. Coming at the height of tourist season for the Gulf, this could mean a hit for some countries that welcomes large numbers of Chinese tourists, particularly the United Arab Emirates  the site of the region's first confirmed coronavirus cases. The UAE sees the highest volume of Chinese tourists anywhere in the Middle East  one in every 16 visitors to the UAE is from China, or 6% of its total tourism  and they tend to spend heavily on Dubai's high-end shopping and on package tours and resorts. Across the Middle East, 2.4 million Chinese visitors traveled to the region last year, comprising 2.7% of the region's total of 91 million tourists, according to CEIC data.

Dubai starts to feel the impact

Chinese shoppers also make up a significant proportion of the global luxury goods market, with Dubai's "China Readiness" strategy developed specifically to cater to Chinese tourists, which numbered at 1 million last year. Data from Dubai's Tourism and Commerce Marketing department shows 291,662 Chinese travelers visited the desert emirate in the first quarter of 2019; retail analysts expect the majority of that to be lost this quarter. Numbers on the last month's consumption is not available, but tour operators say they've seen heavy cancellations as most air travel between China and Gulf countries screeches to a halt. During the SARS outbreak in 2003, an epidemic originating in China that killed some 800 people globally and infected just over 8,000, the global Travel & Tourism sector lost between $30 and $50 billion, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC). "China is much more integrated into the global economy than in 2002 when SARS broke out," the EIU report wrote. China's growth already hit its lowest level in 30 years, 6.1%, largely due to the trade war with America. Now the EIU has cut its GDP forecast from 5.9% to 5.4% for 2020 and warns this could drag global growth for 2020 to below 2%, down from 2.3% currently.

Panic worse than the virus?
In 2005 John Hornby was appointed CEO of Luceco plc (LON:LUCE). 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. And finally - as a second measure of performance - we will look at the returns shareholders have received over the last few years. This method should give us information to assess how appropriately the company pays the CEO.

View our latest analysis for Luceco

How Does John Hornby's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?

According to our data, Luceco plc has a market capitalization of UK234m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK504k over the year to December 2018. While we always look at total compensation first, we note that the salary component is less, at UK325k. We looked at a group of companies with market capitalizations from UK155m to UK618m, and the median CEO total compensation was UK665k.

So John Hornby receives a similar amount to the median CEO pay, amongst the companies we looked at. This doesn't tell us a whole lot on its own, but looking at the performance of the actual business will give us useful context.

You can see, below, how CEO compensation at Luceco has changed over time.

LSE:LUCE CEO Compensation, February 7th 2020

Is Luceco plc Growing?

On average over the last three years, Luceco plc has shrunk earnings per share by 27% each year (measured with a line of best fit). It achieved revenue growth of 2.4% over the last year.

Few shareholders would be pleased to read that earnings per share are lower over three years. The fairly low revenue growth fails to impress given that the earnings per share is down. It's hard to argue the company is firing on all cylinders, so shareholders might be averse to high CEO remuneration. Shareholders might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts.

Has Luceco plc Been A Good Investment?

Since shareholders would have lost about 7.4% over three years, some Luceco plc shareholders would surely be feeling negative emotions. It therefore might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously.

Story continues

In Summary...

John Hornby is paid around the same as most CEOs of similar size companies.

Returns have been disappointing and the company is not growing its earnings per share. Few would argue that it's wise for the company to pay any more, before returns improve. CEO compensation is one thing, but it is also interesting to check if the CEO is buying or selling Luceco (free visualization of insider trades).

If you want to buy a stock that is better than Luceco, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.



We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
[February 06, 2020] Zigmabit Inc. Starts a New Era in Cryptocurrency Mining

TOKYO, Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Zigmabit (www.zigmabit.com) is pleased to announce the formal launch of three new mining rigs with capabilities to take the global crypto space by storm. Led by some of the most experienced specialists in the cryptocurrency mining industry, Zigmabit has utilized ASIC chip technology to deliver three introductory products that are pre-configured for ease of use and promise return on investment within just one month. The company is currently offering three different products - ZigBit 2.0, ZigBit 3.0 and the latest ZigBit 5.0, which support profitable operations on the blockchain of choice, according to a statement. The company has put together a brilliant hardware design to come up with products that will stand apart from the rest by delivering high hash rates and low power consumption. Prior to the launch of the product, each miner has been thoroughly evaluated, prototyped, and pressure tested under extreme conditions. The company has accomplished this objective by maximizing the hash rate to a level that has never been achieved in this industry. These miners canoperate under multiple algorithms and are capable of mining Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, and Dash. Mentioned below are the hash rate powers offered by the three miners.



Bitcoin: ZigBit 2.0. 260 TH/s, ZigBit 3.0. 330 TH/s, ZigBit 5.0. 2000 TH/s

Litecoin: ZigBit 2.0. 44 GH/s, ZigBit 3.0. 55 GH/s, ZigBit 5.0. 300 GH/s

Ethereum: ZigBit 2.0. 11 GH/s, ZigBit 3.0. 14 GH/s, ZigBit 5.0. 75 GH/s

Dash: ZigBit 2.0. 6 TH/s, ZigBit 3.0. 9 TH/s, ZigBit 5.0. 50TH/s * Noiseless fans with improved aerodynamics of the blades and built-in anti-vibration pad

* Radiators with more than 15% increased rib area * Silent high-pressure pumps * Durability of more than 70,000 hours of working "We made it easier for the common man to join the mining game. All you have to do is just plug in the socket and start mining," says Khan Huan, the CEO of Zigmabit. To find out more about Zigmabit and their exquisite range of products, please visit http://www.zigmabit.com/ About Zigmabit: Zigmabit Miners is a manufacturer of high-quality cryptocurrency miners that deliver extremely high hash power without consuming a lot of power. Their team comprises of several top-level professionals from renowned organizations such as Samsung, Microsoft, IBM, and many others. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, the company currently has facilities in the United Kingdom and Germany. Related Images image1.jpg View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zigmabit-inc-starts-a-new-era-in-cryptocurrency-mining-301000718.html SOURCE Zigmabit

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Hanoi will complete a system of 81 air quality monitoring stations by the end of this year, said Director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Trong Dong on February 5.

A worker checks air quality at an air monitoring station in Hanois Gia Lam district

The system would contribute to environmental protection and management, as well as the supervision of air quality in the city, said Dong.

At present, the capital city has 11 stations. The remaining 70 will soon be completed.

The department is coordinating with the French Development Agency (AFD) to give more training to workers about the system and air monitoring data management.

A conference on improving air quality in Hanoi is scheduled to begin in April.

The department said to improve air quality in Hanoi and conduct environmental protection measures effectively, police and inspectors should improve monitoring and punish any firms transporting construction materials or waste violating environmental regulations.

The Department of Health should cooperate with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and the Department of Information and Communications to give recommendations to residents about health protection measures during days with bad air quality.

Concerned organisations should educate residents on proper disposal of rubbish.

Earlier, the Hanoi Peoples Committee asked the Department of Construction and the Department of Finance to develop a resolution in which stricter punishments would be given to environmental violations. The punishments should follow the committees instruction released on January 10 this year./.VNA

Air quality monitor equipment at schools seeks to raise students awareness of pollution Students of Thanh Da Secondary School in HCM Citys Binh Thanh District have greater awareness of air pollution and measures to prevent it after an air quality index monitor was installed in the school a few months ago.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:59:01|Editor: xuxin

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TOKYO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Japan's farm ministry said on Friday that the country's agriculture, fishery and forestry exports in 2019 hit a record high for the seventh straight year, but fell short of the government's 1 trillion yen (9.1 billion U.S. dollars) goal.

According to preliminary data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, such exports increased 0.6 percent from the previous year to 912.1 billion yen (8.3 billion U.S. dollars). By item, beef climbed 20.0 percent, while sake saw a 5.3 percent rise and apples a 3.7 percent increase.

But the overall rise was the slowest in the past seven years.

Taku Eto, minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said at a press conference that he takes the failure to hit the 1 trillion yen target "seriously" and that Japan aims to reach the goal in 2020.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday expressed confidence that the country will achieve the target of five billion dollar worth of defence exports by 2024. Today MoUs signed by us will strengthen defence industrial base and will prove beneficial for the country. You all must be convinced that our policy in defence sector has started giving results, he said at an event - Badhan - at the Defexpo here.

In 2018-19, defence export was Rs 10,745 crore, which was seven times the export in 2016-17. Seeing the success of this Defence expo, I am sure that by 2024, we will achieve the target of five billion dollar worth of defence exports, the minister said.

He said till now over 200 agreements have been concluded in this Defexpo and described it as historic.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said through the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPIEDA), 23 MoUs were signed and Rs 50,000 crore investment is expected. Besides, it is likely to generate 2.50-3 lakh jobs, he said.

Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a favourite investment destination, he said.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said during this Defexpo, initially a target of signing 100 MoUs and business agreements was fixed, but till now over 200 MoUs have been signed which is the beginning of a new chapter in this sector.

Defence manufacturing firms from across the world are participating in the five-day mega event, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.
The Motorola RAZR is not going to be an easy smartphone to repair, based on a newly reported tear-down video published to YouTube by PBKreviews.

The challenge in repairability is hardly surprising. Motorola utilized a design that much more closely resembles the RAZR V3. That means that there are two separate segments with a lot of modern technology squeezed into a relatively small space. But Motorolas device design appears to have some serious caveats in repairability right from the start.

A cluster of fasteners, adhesive, and easily destroyed cables

To begin with, the videos presenter heats up the lower rear panel  there are two panels in this device. That needs to be slid carefully away after cutting away at the underlying adhesive. The first possible pain point appears immediately. Thats because the ribbon cable for the fingerprint scanner needs to be unclipped from the front side of the device before the panel can be removed completely.

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From there, the front rear panel needs to be removed. Thats held in place by fairly standard fasteners. Those sit just below the camera module when the device is viewed from the front. When sliding the now-free plastic cover away, yet another well-hidden cable gets in the way. So, as with the previous step, the panel needs to be partially removed to detach the cable.

The remainder of the video showcases a similarly slow process of removing brackets and other small pieces, disconnecting cables in-between steps. A significant portion of the device, as shown in the video below, is also held in by more fasteners. So those will need to be kept track of as well. The display itself is held in place by a separate frame, which needs to be heated and disassembled in order to remove the screen completely.

No surprise. New technology means guaranteed challenges

Summarily, following the maze of steps to tear-down the Motorola RAZR is going to be a daunting task for even users. Most users will likely have an even more difficult time putting the gadget back together, given the minuscule amount of space Motorola has left on the inside. None of that is necessarily surprising.

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Standard smartphones are typically fairly easy to repair. But there are several reasons that folding smartphones arent quite there yet. To begin with, folding smartphones are still a brand new technology. As became immediately apparent with Samsungs Galaxy Fold at initial release, they already pack in plenty of inherent problems. Thats well before a user ever thinks to take one apart.

More importantly, folding smartphones havent had years of refinement. While modern design principles ensure that the gadgets look nice and work aesthetically, OEMs simply havent had the time to reiterate on internal design. That generally means taking more time to organize parts and determine the best placement for cables, adhesive, and fasteners, among other things.

The Motorola RAZR is the companys first attempt to build a folding smartphone. The company only just launched the handset back in November. This isnt necessarily a bad start, even if a professional should probably be hired to take care of any repairs.
Seven years ago, amid extravagant celebrations marking the African Union's 50th anniversary, the continent's heads of state declared they would "end all wars in Africa by 2020."

But as leaders travel to Addis Ababa this weekend for the latest summit of the 55-member bloc -- organised under the theme "Silencing the Guns" -- there is little question they are doomed to fall well short of their goal.

Some success has been achieved in Central African Republic and Sudan, but long-running conflicts in places like Libya and South Sudan have been joined by new crises from the fringe of the Sahara to Mozambique.

In remarks Thursday to AU foreign ministers, AU Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat painted a bleak picture of the continent's security situation, citing extremist threats stretching from the Sahel to Somalia.

The "missed deadline" to silence the guns, he added, "reveals the complexity of the security situation in Africa."

In an op-ed this week in South Africa's Mail & Guardian newspaper, Solomon Dersso, head of the AU's human rights body, was blunter, saying the current level of insecurity "seems to make a mockery of the theme of the year."

Two days of talks open on Sunday.

As they grapple with their failure to foster peace, African leaders have struggled to convince world bodies like the UN to take them seriously -- for example as they seek a more prominent role in Libya.

A December car bomb attack by Somalia's Al-Shabaab jihadists killed 81. By Abdirazak Hussein FARAH (AFP/File)

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who will take over from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as AU chair on Monday, appears well aware of these challenges.

In a speech to South Africa-based diplomats last week, he warned that conflict "continues to hamper" development.

South Africa's goals of advancing economic integration and curbing violence against women "must be underpinned by the promotion of a peaceful and secure Africa," he added.

Libya and South Sudan

Diplomats say Ramaphosa would do best to tackle the economic and political root causes of violence.

"Silencing the guns of course is the mother of all themes," Osama Abdelkhalek, Egypt's ambassador to the AU, told AFP.

"If you want to address it, you're speaking about the grass-roots socio-economic challenges, about political challenges, in addition to security challenges."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said Libya would be a key focus of his AU chairmanship. By Fabrice COFFRINI (AFP/File)

Ramaphosa has said Libya -- mired in chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising that killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi -- will be a key focus during his time in the chair.

Ahead of a peace conference last month in Berlin, a spokeswoman for Faki complained that the AU "has consistently been ignored" in Libya-related peace processes, led primarily by the UN.

But the AU's attempts to assert itself have also been undermined by internal divisions.

These date back to 2011, when African members of the UN Security Council endorsed military intervention, even as the AU's Peace and Security Council opposed it.

A Nigerien source recently explained that the AU remains divided on Libya, claiming that Egypt, for example, doesn't want the AU to get involved.

Abdelkhalek, the Egyptian ambassador, disputed this, saying that Egypt above all wanted "a Libyan-led political process" but stressing that "the international community must fulfill its mandate."

Meanwhile the AU has been overshadowed by Europe, which sees Libya as an urgent crisis fuelling migration and transnational crime, said Shewit Woldemichael, an Addis Ababa-based researcher with the Institute for Security Studies.

"Libya... has been framed as a crisis unfolding on Europe's doorstep, requiring a hands-on response by European countries," Shewit said.

Manage expectations

Ramaphosa has also pledged to pay special attention to South Sudan, where a civil war has dragged on since 2013. Leaders have missed multiple deadlines to form a unity government.

Last weekend, South Sudanese President Salva Kiir met with Ramaphosa during a trip to South Africa.

Analysts said the move may have been an attempt to see what concrete progress could be made before the next deadline, which comes less than two weeks after the AU summit ends.

"This is an opportunity for Ramaphosa to demonstrate his own personal interest in addressing issues beyond the rhetoric of public statements," said Piers Pigou, from the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

South Africa currently holds a seat on the UN Security Council, potentially giving it more clout.

In a report published Friday, ICG indicated Ramaphosa could face resistance from other African leaders, who "appear cagier than in the past about collective peacemaking."

But it urged Ramaphosa to try anyway, saying South Africa "could use the meeting to reinvigorate African efforts to calm the continent's deadliest crises."
NEW YORK and DENVER, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimmeridge Energy Management Company, LLC ("Kimmeridge" or the "Firm"), a private equity firm focused on upstream energy, today announced that Mark Viviano has joined the Firm and is expected to lead a new investment strategy focused on equity underperformance in the public E&P space. Public E&P companies have suffered from mismanagement and a focus on growth that is inappropriate considering global demand growth expectations and the upcoming energy transition. E&P companies should instead seek to return capital to investors through sustainable dividends and buybacks.

Mr. Viviano's experience as a public energy investor, including the past 17 years at Wellington Management Company, will strengthen Kimmeridge's capabilities in this area. Mr. Viviano also brings longstanding relationships with E&P management teams, public energy investors, and index funds.

Ben Dell, Founder and Managing Partner of Kimmeridge, said, "We are delighted to welcome Mark to Kimmeridge at this critical juncture for the E&P sector. Mark has distinguished himself in the asset management and energy industries, as a highly regarded analyst and portfolio manager. His expertise will complement our team and he will be instrumental to the Firm as we further our unique capabilities in activism and the public equity space." Mr. Dell continued, "Since Kimmeridge's founding in 2012, we have assembled a best-in-class team of professionals with deep buy-side, sell-side, activism and operational expertise."

Mark Viviano, Head of Public Equities at Kimmeridge, said, "Many public E&Ps possess low cost assets that have the potential to generate meaningful cash flow, yet they continue to see their stock price and operational performance deteriorate, while believing that the cause of this disparity is dislocation in commodity pricing. However, the systemic problems within the industry are most notably misguided capital allocation and the misalignment of management incentives."

Mr. Viviano continued, "I've worked tirelessly to engage with public CEOs and boards of directors in order to help evolve the E&P business model, but the results have been far too slow and incremental for the crisis of confidence at hand. The sector is in dire need of a dedicated activist approach, which Kimmeridge and I are uniquely positioned to launch. Our shared mission is to help reposition the industry for the energy transition, restore it to profitability and make it investable again."

Mark Viviano's Bio:

Mr. Viviano has spent the majority of his professional career at Wellington Management, including over 15 years investing in the energy sector. Most recently, he served as Managing Director, Global Industry Analyst (E&P) and Portfolio Manager (energy & natural resources). In that role, he was responsible for firm-wide equity research coverage of the North American and International E&P sectors, and was co-portfolio manager for the Global Natural Resources and the Select Energy Opportunity strategies. Mr. Viviano is a CFA charterholder and received a M.S. in Investment Management from Boston University and a B.A. in Economics from Hamilton College.

About Kimmeridge

Founded in 2012 by Ben Dell, Dr. Neil McMahon and Henry Makansi, Kimmeridge is a private equity firm focused on making direct investments in unconventional oil and gas assets in the U.S. The Firm is differentiated by its direct investment approach, deep technical knowledge, active portfolio management and proprietary research and data gathering. In addition to its New York headquarters, Kimmeridge maintains a fully-staffed, in-house operating and geology team in Denver, with experience across all major upstream functions and disciplines.

Media Contact:

Daniel Yunger / Simone Leung

Kekst CNC

212.521.4800

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SOURCE Kimmeridge Energy
VALPARAISO  Government information technology agencies are now trying to close doors to hijackers who hold computers hostage while trying to keep private data from being stolen.

Joe Beckman, lead IT security analyst for the Purdue Technical Assistance Program, briefed the Porter County Board of Commissioners last week on the cybersecurity landscape for local government, his assessment of the countys computer systems and his recommendations.

Porter County officials have been tightening security in hopes of avoiding ransomware like the kind that has hit neighboring LaPorte County and other government computer systems.

LaPorte County paid about $132,000 worth of bitcoin to hackers last summer to get control of the countys back from the hackers. But thats no guarantee that the hackers wont try again, Beckman said.

This is a big problem and a growing problem, Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs, R-North, said.

Its especially important for county government which, like state government, is involved in many different aspects of peoples lives, from health to law enforcement to finance and more. Unlike state government, however, counties arent as well funded.
Well, that was a bolt from the blue, wasn't it? Television presenter Phillip Schofield, who has been taking a lot of flak in the media recently, made headlines on Friday for an entirely different reason. After 27 years of marriage and with two grown-up daughters he's come out as gay.

In a raw and impassioned post on Instagram he talked about the "heartbreaking" conversations he's had with his wife Steph and his daughters Molly (27) and Ruby (24), and his sense of guilt at the hurt he believes he has caused to his family. "My family have held me so close: they have tried to cheer me up, to smother me with kindness and love, despite their own confusion. Yet I still can't sleep and there have been some very dark moments."

On the This Morning sofa his fellow presenters - including Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, with whom he's had some much-publicised disagreement - embraced him with the same kindness and love shown by his family.

And the public - not just This Morning fans - have rushed online to praise him too.

This is a "coming out" story that ends well. But the saddening thing about it is this, if Phillip Schofield has found it so very difficult to express his true sexuality for all these years, what does that say about how very difficult it still is for others who feel themselves similarly forced to live a lie?

For Phillip Schofield works in an industry, operates in a world, where homosexuality is openly accepted and hardly regarded as shameful, something to be hidden.

Yes, for their career reasons many entertainers, actors and media people down the years have felt it might be better to keep their sexual orientation private from the public.

And yes, it should be recognised that there are plenty of people in the industry too who just want to keep their private life just that. Private, full stop.

That said, generally their colleagues know, their family and their friends.

Phillip Schofield's didn't.

He didn't come out to them. And by the sound of it he even struggled to come out to himself.

That phrase "come out" seems so dated, doesn't it? Why in 2020 should we still be using it? Short answer: in 2020 gay people are still being stigmatised and discriminated against.

For so many young people it is still extremely difficult to tell parents, family and friends that they are gay. And so frightened are some of losing the love and approval of those they love most, they continue to live a lie.

With all the hellish toll on their own happiness and mental health that that entails.

Over the 27 years of his marriage Phillip Schofield kept his own secret. He didn't come out, not because he felt it would hurt him. But because he thought - and still thinks - of the hurt it would cause to those he loves.

Some may criticise him for getting married in the first place and further see this as a betrayal of his wife and daughters.

But it's society's pressure that is to blame for creating heartbreaking situations like this. For forcing men and women to feel they have no option but to conform to somebody else's "norm".

This week Robyn Peoples and Sharni Edwards spoke about their excitement - and the traditional nerves - as they look forward to their wedding next Tuesday, when they will become the first gay couple to get married in Northern Ireland under same-sex marriage legislation.

A love story there with a happy ending.

In 2020 everybody should be free to be who they are and to love who they want.

But as Phillip Schofield's revelation shows - and the obvious anguish and soul-searching that led to it - it's still not that easy.

People are right when they commend him for speaking so publicly about his private life. And yes, hopefully this will be an encouragement for others to similarly be true to themselves.

But let's not forget all those who still fear they can't.

And let's not forget it's wider society that is still to blame for that.

From sea cruise to cabin fever

As holidays from hell go, the coronavirus cruises in the news this week take some beating. Being stuck on a floating prison with thousands of other shipmates who may or may not carry the virus is bad enough, but to be holed up in a small cabin with food left at your door by masked waiting staff is hardly the luxury trip passengers forked out for. Even the booze is rationed. All at sea - and they can't even sink a few.

Dressing down goes over the top

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Dress of the week - the black, off-the-shoulder number worn by MP Tracy Brabin during a Commons debate. She'd just come from a music industry event, so the outfit was inevitably a bit more rock'n'roll than usual Westminster workwear. Inappropriate? Online, she got called everything. She isn't the first politician, however, to have worn a loose one-shouldered garment to a place of government. But nobody ever trolled Julius Caesar about his toga.

Donald comes up trumps yet again



It's been some week for Donald Trump, who has been acquitted of impeachment, delivered his State of the Union address and watched the Democratic Party stumble around having shot itself in all available feet.

First up, the impeachment process itself, which was always going to be a hiding to nothing for the Democrats since the Republican-dominated Senate was always going to find its man not guilty.

Far from winging him, which was presumably the intent, impeachment has merely made the Gloater-in-Chief look even more of a martyr in the eyes of Trumpeteers.

Then there was the caucus chaos in Iowa, which I will not even pretend to understand.

The caucus system is the offside rule of US politics - comprehensible to insiders, mystifying to everybody else.

The result took longer to come through than a Northern Ireland council election.

And when the vote-counting app being used lost count, the party lost the plot. Although not, sadly, the petulance...

At the end of Trump's State of the Union address the normally dignified Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, melodramatically tore up a copy of his speech to symbolise, she insists, how he's torn up the truth.

Good line, Nancy.

But the execution did you no favours.

Ripping up of a few sheets of A4 while he was lapping up the applause just made you look petty and prissy.

To paraphrase Michelle Obama - when he went lower, you went shredder.

Does nobody in the Trump opposition see how this is only playing into his hands?

Boris Johnson's best election agent was arguably Jeremy Corbyn.

The entire Democratic Party currently seems to be doing it for Donald.
The government will initiate talks with representatives, farmers and other stakeholders to find out reasons behind Maharashtra reporting maximum 2,239 suicides by farmers out of the 5,763 across the country in 2018, the Rajya Sabha was told on Friday.

During Question Hour, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Parshottam Rupala said it was a matter of concern that despite a number of steps taken by the Maharashtra government as well as the Centre, the state reported the maximum suicides by farmers.

"Maximum number of suicides have been committed by Maharashtra farmers. It is a matter of pain. There are several schemes by the Government of India and Maharashtra government and there is a system to monitor it. Maximum suicides are there despite efforts of both govenrments...We are trying to assess why such a situation is there...We will hold talks with representatives, farmers and stakeholders," Rupala said.

Of the 5,763 suicides by farmers in 2018, Karnataka accounted for 1,365 followed by 900 in Telangana, 365 in Andhra Pradesh, 303 in Madhya Pradesh and 229 in Punjab, as per National Crime Records Bureau, he said.

Detailing efforts by the government to benefit farmers, he said the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Yojna was launched to directly benefit farmers and for the first time Rs 12,000 crore was directly deposited in accounts of 6.11 crore farmers.

The agriculture department has data of 8 crore farmers now for the first time, he said, adding a number of steps have been taken to empower farmers.

Through the new Prime Minister Crop Insurance policy, Rs 58,592 crore was paid to farmers and steps are on that insurance companies provide receipts to farmers on paying premium of insurance.

On natural calamities, he said, a Central team visits affected areas on state's request and accordingly the Home Ministry recommends funds on the basis of assessment.

He said so far there has been no information of funds not reaching farmers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five leaders from a predominantly Christian militia in Central African Republic were given life terms Friday for war crimes and crimes against humanity over atrocities committed in 2017.

Justice Minister Flavien Mbata said the sentences, handed down by the CAR Criminal Court in the capital Bangui, were the first ever issued by the nation's judiciary for crimes against humanity.

Two of the sentences concern well-known militia figures known by their nicknames of Pino Pino and Bere-Bere, an AFP reporter in the courtroom said.

Their men are accused of slaughtering dozens of Muslims on May 13 2017.

CAR, one of the world's poorest countries, has been grappling with violence since 2013.

The "Pino Pino" militia was one of the predominantly Christian and animist armed groups that sprang up to combat a mainly Muslim rebel coalition, the Seleka.

Vicious fighting brought the country to the brink of sectarian war, prompting intervention by France, the former colonial power.

Today, CAR President Faustin-Archange Touadera governs with the support of MINUSCA, a 14,700-strong UN peacekeeping force.

But armed groups control two-thirds of the country, typically claiming to represent a religious or ethnic group and frequently fighting over its rich mineral resources.

The trial concerned an attack on a district in the southeastern town of Bangassou and a nearby UN base.

According to the UN, 72 people were killed, 76 were wounded and 4,400 people fled their homes.

The militiamen especially targeted members of the Muslim community who had taken refuge in the town's Catholic church.

Pino Pino is the nom de guerre of a self-described general named Crepin Wakanam, and Bere-Bere is the name of his lieutenant, Kevin Bere.

Bere-Bere turned himself in to a MINUSCA base in January 2018, saying he sought their protection against his former chief.

Four months later, Pino Pino was arrested with 33 followers in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, which then extradited him.

Friday's verdict came two days after the first anniversary of a peace agreement signed in Khartoum between the government and 14 militia leaders -- the eighth such attempt to end violence.

Fighting has forced nearly a quarter of 4.5 million people in the CAR to flee their homes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Con el objetivo de acercar los servicios publicos del Estado a las reales necesidades de la poblacion del ambito petrolero de #Loreto, el presidente del Consejo de Ministros, @VicAZeballos, arriba a la ciudad de Iquitos para presentar el Plan de #CierreDeBrechas. pic.twitter.com/qzJXQ086MR
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Mutual funds have added a whopping Rs 3.15 lakh crore, or 13 percent, to their asset base in 2019 raising it to to Rs 26.77 lakh crore at the end of December, up from Rs 23.62 lakh crore at the end of December 2018, as per the latest data available with the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) quoted by a PTI report.

Fund managers raised stake in as many as 243 BSE500 companies on a sequential basis in December quarter that includes names like Avanti Feeds, Jindal Steel, Gujarat Gas, Adani Enterprises, SAIL and Amber Enterprises, data from AceEquity showed.

More than 50 percent of the companies in which fund managers raised stake have given negative returns since September 2019.

Dewan Housing Finance, The Lakshmi Vilas Bank, Dishman Carbogen, InterGlobe Aviation, Aurobindo Pharma, GE Power, JustDial, and TeamLease were among the stocks that fell in double digits during September-January period.

On the other hand, Avanti Feeds, Jindal Steel & Power, Gujarat Gas, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Adani Ent and Essel Propack were the top gainers in the mutual fund portfolios.

After a sharp fall seen in the broader market space, fund managers have been active in spotting opportunities in the small & midcap space, suggest experts which could turn out to be wealth creators in 2020.

Midcaps and smallcaps have seen significant price correction in the last 2 years. This space seems to have now come out of corrective phase and has shown good traction since the last quarter, primarily driven by attractive valuations and bottoming of growth concerns, Atish Matlawala, Sr Analyst, SSJ Finance and Securities told Moneycontrol.

In 2020, we see mid and small-cap space outperform large-caps, with the caveat that investors focus on quality businesses cannot be diluted. Fund managers smelled opportunities in midcaps and small caps and have started to invest in these companies from the last few months, he said.

MF investment in Sensex companies:

Fund managers raised stake in 17 Sensex companies sequentially in the December quarter. These include Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finance, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp, ITC, L&T and Maruti Suzuki.

They reduced stake in as many as 12 Sensex companies sequentially. The list includes Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, M&M, ONGC, TCS and RIL.

Fund managers tend to raise stake in companies with strong fundamentals and are likely to post good performance in the long run once the momentum starts.

Stocks in which fund managers raised stake has strong fundamentals for the long run and can give 20-30% returns here onward. Until and unless we find some fundamental changes which might hamper the performance of the company we are keeping the optimistic view on the mentioned stocks, Ritesh Asher  Chief Strategy Officer at KIFS Trade Capital told Moneycontrol.

All the stocks look fundamentally strong if we look at the long term horizon and the companies have also shown a very bold performance quarter on quarter and also the year on year results have been quite impressive, he said.

What should investors do?

Investors should use the list to shortlist stocks for investment but at the same time use their own research as an investment into small & midcaps stocks could be tricky.

The recent price correction is an ideal opportunity to invest in clean mid and small caps, and while selecting one must also look for companies which have strong earning, better ROE, high EPS, and other valuations while making an investment decision.

A typical health check of a company includes healthy ROE, strong consistent growth in the top and bottomline, operationally sound with a manageable working capital cycle translating to margins, ethically strong management with sound corporate governance policies, good gearing ratio and other healthy return ratios, Nirali Shah, Senior Research Analyst, Samco Securities told Moneycontrol.

Qualitative factors along with valuations provide cues for picking fundamentally sound stocks. Picking stocks without proper sanity checks can be extremely harmful to your portfolio, said Shah.

: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 10:04:14|Editor: zyl

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CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Government has flagged overhauling English training for refugees in a bid to reduce the "unacceptable" unemployment level in the community.

In a speech on Friday, Alan Tudge, the Minister for Population and Acting Minister for Immigration, said that the government would address the "systematic" unemployment crisis for refugees.

According to government data, 77 percent of refugees remain unemployed 12 months after their arrival in Australia.

After three years unemployment remained at 38 percent and after a decade it was 22 percent.

Only 21 percent of new arrivals have a "functional" level of English despite having access to free language tuition.

"Unemployment at this rate is not good enough. Long-term-welfare dependence is debilitating for anyone, be they a refugee, long-term citizen or anyone else. We have to do better," Tudge said.

"Data shows that when identifying reasons for finding it difficult to get a job, close to 60 percent of humanitarian entrants said 'my English isn't good enough yet'.

"There is no other indicator which is as stark."

In response the government will trial English language training in overseas refugee camps to up-skill refuges before they arrive in Australia.

A Refugee and Migrant Services Advisory Council will be established to encourage businesses to capitalize on the skills of refugees.

Australia currently accepts approximately 18,750 refugees every year. The government aims to have 50 percent of new arrivals settle in regional areas by 2022 in order to reduce the pressure of population growth on major cities.

The initiatives have been welcomed by the Migration Council of Australia.

"It's critical that we set people up to succeed and reach their full potential, and getting a job is one of the biggest and most important milestones for refugees in their settlement process," chief executive Carla Wilshire told News Corp Australia.

"We need to see employment as a key part of settlement and a goal from day one. People arrive wanting to contribute and wanting to provide for their families and the onus on us is to find better ways of supporting them to do that."




Siju Olawepo

Siju Olawepo, a primary five pupil of Carol School in Lagos, has been hailed as a calendar prodigy who knows the day for any date supplied to him, as far back as the 16th century.

According to Daily Trust, the nine-year-old genius provides corresponding day to any date he is given almost faster than an internet search engine. This innate ability was first noticed by one of his teachers who observed that he was always demanding for plain sheets to design calendars. Later he was seen designing calendars for the future without the aid of any existing one.

Nine-year-old Siju Olawepo Siju, like a soothsayer, once given a date, can tell the corresponding day of the week. In addition to knowing the dates, he also doesnt forget any date he knows. He can tell anybody the particular day of the week he/she was born.

Within seconds, he told the Daily Trust reporter her birthday while he also said Nigeria will be 100 years on Friday, October 1, 2060. He was also quick to say it would be a leap year.

When asked how he came about knowing days with their corresponding dates, he response was, I just know it. My instinct tells me dates with the corresponding days. It comes naturally to me, I cannot explain how. Daily Trust gathered from Sijus computer teacher, Mr. David Ugiomoh, that what the boy enjoys doing most is designing calendars.

He was always coming to my office to ask for plain sheets for designing calendars. I and others in the school initially thought he was copying from an existing calendar until the day he came to my office to design a calendar for year 2023. When I checked the dates on my phone, I saw that they were all correct,

Then I started asking him days for different dates and he was answering correctly. I also asked him for the day to my birthday, which he provided seamlessly.

I was baffled and discovered he was a genius, he explained. Siju said his future ambition is to become an horticulturist and will plant varieties of flowers.
MONTREAL, Feb. 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, Google announces the expansion of its presence in Canada with plans to build three new offices in Montreal, Waterloo and Toronto. The news coincides with the launch of new research about Google's impact on the Canadian economy along with significant funding for digital skills programming for Canadians.

Google's Growth in Canada

In 2001, Google opened its first Canadian office in Toronto. Nineteen years later, Google employs more than 1,500 people including engineers, game developers, sales leaders and AI researchers. Google has a long history of investing north of the border. By 2022, Google's Canadian offices will accommodate up to 5,000 employees.

Google's Growth in Quebec

Google planted its roots in Quebec over a decade ago when it opened its downtown Montreal office in 2004 with three employees. By the end of year, Montreal-based software developers, game developers, sales leaders, AI researchers and Cloud experts will move to 425 Viger West.

The new Viger space, which will have capacity to welcome up to 1000 employees, will span across 5 floors. Each floor, by way of interior design, will pay homage to Montreal by reflecting the essence of five of the city's most beloved neighbourhoods - Little Italy, Le Village, Le Plateau, Chinatown and Old Port. A Google Montreal logo in comparable calligraphy to the iconic Farine Five Roses sign will adorn the reception area walls - greeting team members and visitors upon arrival.

Googlers in Montreal work on some of the most visible and influential work Google does:

Safe Browsing - Montreal is one of the most avant-garde cities in terms of cybersecurity, an area that affects all business sectors, including higher education, banking, health technologies, aerospace and video games. Several Quebec universities have developed programs intended to meet this growing demand for digital security professionals . Google's Safe Browsing team in Montreal provides one of the most crucial services the company offers worldwide - it protects over 4 billion devices worldwide each year sending well over 250M security alerts monthly.

- Montreal is one of the most avant-garde cities in terms of cybersecurity, an area that affects all business sectors, including higher education, banking, health technologies, aerospace and video games. Several Quebec universities have developed programs intended to meet this growing demand for digital security professionals Google's Safe Browsing team in Montreal provides one of the most crucial services the company offers worldwide - it protects over 4 billion devices worldwide each year sending well over security alerts monthly. Stadia - Just last year, Google recognizing the abundant talent-pool in Montreal chose the vibrant city to establish its very first Stadia gaming studio. This tech-forward, AAA-grade studio will live within the Viger space. And, as of now and through 2022 hundreds of new opportunities will become available within Stadia with the goal to build a team which will help propel gaming experiences to new heights.

- Just last year, Google recognizing the abundant talent-pool in Montreal chose the vibrant city to establish its very first Stadia gaming studio. This tech-forward, AAA-grade studio will live within the Viger space. And, as of now and through 2022 hundreds of new opportunities will become available within Stadia with the goal to build a team which will help propel gaming experiences to new heights. Google AI - The local Google AI team is led by one of the most respected minds in the AI space, Hugo Larochelle . Under his supervision, Marc Bellemare , Nicolas Le Roux and Danny Tarlow are just some of the world-recognized talents focused on promising work in areas such as of reinforcement learning - tackling challenging, high-dimensional decision-making problems, and f ew-shot learning - looking into methods that could reduce the gap between how quickly humans learn concepts compared to machines. Externally, Google has granted over 4.5M$ to eight faculty professors across a number of Montreal academic institutions through Mila and plans to continue supporting the AI community in the short and long term.

- The local Google AI team is led by one of the most respected minds in the AI space, . Under his supervision, , and are just some of the world-recognized talents focused on promising work in areas such as of - tackling challenging, high-dimensional decision-making problems, and f - looking into methods that could reduce the gap between how quickly humans learn concepts compared to machines. Externally, Google has granted over 4.5M$ to eight faculty professors across a number of academic institutions through and plans to continue supporting the AI community in the short and long term. Cloud - Montreal, is the only Google Cloud Region in Canada which powers the business of some of Quebec's most beloved brands.

Google's Economic Impact in Canada

Google's investment in Canada extends beyond its growing offices. New data illustrates how Google is helping Canadian enterprises of all sizes unlock the prosperity of the internet. According to research released today from Public First, Google's search and advertising products helped generate an estimated $23 billion CAD in annual economic activity for more than 500,000 businesses in Canada last year alone - a total impact equivalent to approximately 1.1 percent of Canada's entire GDP.

"The open web allows any size company or individual creator in Canada to become a global business and reach customers ," says Ruth Porat, Senior Vice President and CFO at Google. "Canada's digital economy is now bigger than its forestry, mining and gas industries, and the transition to digital reflects incredible momentum for Canadian businesses leveraging data and online technologies."

Google for Startups Accelerator Launch

As part of today's announcements, Google will also be launching the first Google for Startups Accelerator in Canada . The Accelerator will be based in Waterloo, and will be Google's 12th accelerator globally. Google has been working with Canadian founders and ecosystem partners to invest in their potential so more Canadian startups can grow, scale and reach global success.

Investing in Canada's future workforce

To help Canada's workforce leverage the opportunities presented by digital technologies, Google.org is also announcing today a $2.5 million grant for NPower Canada , a charitable organization that launches underserved young adults into meaningful and sustainable careers. The grant will go towards scholarships for the IT Support Professional Certificate and the IT Automation with Python certificate , to equip Canadians with in-demand tech skills to land new jobs in Canada's booming digital economy.

Attributable quotes

Pierre Fitzgibbon, Minister of Economy and Innovation and Minister Responsible for the Lanaudiere Region:

"Economic development and growing wealth are among the Quebec government's priorities and these objectives will be achieved by strengthening innovation, boosting exports and increasing foreign investment in this province. The opening of this Google office in Montreal, which will have capacity to welcome up to 1,000 employees, is extremely heartening news. Earlier in December, Quebec Premier Francois Legault met with company executives at Google's headquarters in Mountain View to praise all that Quebec has to offer in terms of artificial intelligence and video gaming. Quebec is an innovative society in the midst of rapid technological boom and has, once again, been able to attract one of the biggest players in the world."

"Since Google's arrival in Montreal more than a decade ago, they have become a key part of the Montreal ecosystem, steadily growing their footprint and identifying our city's core strengths," said Stephane Paquet, President & CEO of Montreal International. "With the launch of Chrome Security, Google AI and Deepmind, Google has helped amplify two major Montreal industries: cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Most recently, Google announced the arrival of Stadia Games, an original games studio in Montreal. Moreover, Google is committed to helping grow Montreal's tech ecosystem and talent pool. They have partnered with local start-up organizations to increase opportunities for networking through their Google for Startups program; worked with all levels of school to help educate and expose the next generation to tech industry opportunities; and they actively help attract talent to the city. Google carefully considers expansion decisions and we are proud to see they have decided to grow their teams in Montreal, Toronto and Waterloo. Google is an important part of any world-class ecosystem and we look forward to working with them to continue strengthening Montreal and Canada's tech ecosystems."

Additional Resources

About the Economic Impact Report

Google commissioned Public First to estimate the economic activity generated by Canadian businesses, content creators and developers that use Google services. Estimates of the economic activity are based on top-down and bottom-up approaches to provide a reasonable range of potential impact given publicly available data and Google's privacy policies. The estimates in the study are based on data for the twelve month period between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2019, and are referred to as 2019 estimates.

About Google Canada

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. As a global technology leader, Google's innovations in web search and advertising have made its website a top internet property and its brand one of the most recognized in the world. Google Canada has offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa with over 1,500 Canadian Google employees working on teams across Engineering, AI Research, Sales and Marketing.

SOURCE Google Canada

For further information: Luiza Staniec, Google Canada, [email protected]
Hot Topics Recap: Coronavirus

Following are the latest Coronavirus news releases and story ideas for reporters, bloggers and media outlets. These recaps, curated by Business Wire, provide reporters and bloggers around the globe instant access to the latest news releases, providing relevant and trending content to share with their audiences. Discover more news via Business Wire's Hot Topic recaps or create a custom news feed specific to your needs here . This service is provided at no charge to members of the media and financial communities.

DENVER--VF Corporation Provides Update on Business Impact of Coronavirus in China Source (News - Alert): VF Corporation

LONDON--GMSA Provides Latest Update on Coronavirus Source: GSMA (News - Alert)

LONG BEACH, Calif.--EB-5 Industry Leader ALC Spearheads Medical Donations and Support to Help Fight Wuhan Coronavirus Source: American Lending Center

PARIS & CAMBERLEY, England--Novacyt S.A.: Update on Novel Coronavirus Test Source: Novacyt S.A.

SINGAPORE--NCH Products to Assist in Dealing with 2019 Novel Coronavirus-Acute Respiratory Disease (2019-nCOV-ARD) Source: NCH Asia

HOBOKEN, N.J.--As Global Coronavirus Concerns Grow, Octaplas Provides Enhanced Safety Option Source: Octapharma USA

BEIJING--New Frontier Health Provides Coronavirus Readiness Update Source: New Frontier Health Corporation

MELBOURNE, Australia--Rio Tinto Supports China's Fight Against Novel Coronavirus Outbreak Source: Rio Tinto

WUHAN, China--CloudMinds Donates Emergency Shipment of 5G Cloud Robots to Help Combat the Coronavirus Epidemic in Wuhan and Shanghai Source: CloudMinds Technology Inc.

BEAVERTON, Ore.--NIKE, Inc. Provides Update on Impact of Coronavirus in Greater China Source: NIKE, Inc.

LONDON--GSMA Updated Statement on Coronavirus Source: GSMA

NEW YORK--KBRA Releases Research - Slowing U.S. Import Growth: A Harbinger of Change? Source: Kroll Bond Rating Agency

LANCASTER, Pa.--Emerald Investment Conference Tackles the Coronavirus Source: Emerald Asset Management PA, LLC

LAS VEGAS--Rapaport Press Release: Diamond Market Cautious Amid China Concerns Source: Rapaport

SALT LAKE CITY--Co-Diagnostics Inc to Discuss New Coronavirus Test During GenomeWeb Webinar on Feb 5 Source: Co-Diagnostics, Inc.

SAN DIEGO--Ligand's Technologies Support and Enable Potential Coronavirus Treatments Source: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated

LOS ANGELES--Dimer Offers New Germ-Killing Robot to Disinfect Airplanes at Key US Airports to Protect Passengers from Coronavirus Outbreak Source: Dimer







SAN DIEGO--AntiCancer Inc. to Target Its Oral Recombinant Methioninase Against 2019-nCoV Coronavirus Source: AntiCancer Inc.

SHANGHAI--What US Influenza Data Tells Us About the 2019 Novel Coronavirus - a Brief Version of James Liang and Huang Wenzheng's Op-Ed Source: Ctrip

NEW YORK--Moody's Donates $50,000 to Coronavirus Relief Source: Moody's Foundation

NEW YORK--KBRA Releases Comment on the Coronavirus and its Effect on the Commercial Aviation Industry Source: Kroll Bond Rating Agency

EVANSVILLE, Ind.--Berry Global Increases Production to Aid in Coronavirus Protection Source: Berry Global Group, Inc.

SALT LAKE CITY--Co-Diagnostics, Inc. Announces Successful Initial Verification of Novel Coronavirus Test Source: Co-Diagnostics, Inc.

NORTON, Ohio--Fiberlock Shockwave Concentrate EPA-Registered and Tested to Kill Human Coronavirus Under the Harshest Conditions Source: Innovative Chemical Products

CUPERTINO, Calif.--Huami's Amazfit Donates $1.5 Million to Help Combat the Coronavirus Outbreak in China Source: Huami

LONDON--GSMA Issues Updated Statement of Coronavirus Source: GSMA

TORONTO--How Will Coronavirus Affect Canadian Real Estate? Source: MortgageCalculator.ca

JERUSALEM--Nobel Laureate Leads MedTech Startups Addressing China's Deadly Virus at OurCrowd Global Investor Summit Source: OurCrowd

OLDWICK, N.J.--Best's Commentary: Coronavirus Outbreak Highlights Insurers' Pandemic Risks, Importance of Stress Testing Source: AM Best

LONDON--GSMA Statement on Coronavirus Source: GSMA

BOSTON--Investor Confidence Declined in January by 3.2 Points to 76.5 Source: State Street Corporation

SAN FRANCISCO & SALT LAKE CITY--Novel Wuhan Coronavirus Detectable with IDbyDNA Explify Respiratory Test Source: IDbyDNA, Inc.

WALTHAM, Mass.--Wolters Kluwer Provides Easier Access to Latest Coronavirus Resources & Tools for Front-Line Clinicians and Medical Researchers Source: Wolters Kluwer

VANCOUVER, British Columbia--AbCellera Is Mobilizing a Response to the Novel Coronavirus Outbreak as Part of Its DARPA P3 Program Source: AbCellera

WASHINGTON--Coronavirus Preparedness Summit to Be Held in Washington, DC, June 17-19 Source: SyllabusX

ANN ARBOR, Mich.--Kraig Biocraft Laboratories announces Commercial Production Update Source: Kraig Biocraft Laboratories, Inc.

SALT LAKE CITY--Co-Diagnostics Inc CEO Discusses Novel Coronavirus with CNBC Squawk Box Asia Source: Co-Diagnostics, Inc.

PARIS & CAMBERLEY, England--Novacyt S.A.: Launch of Novel Coronavirus Test Source: Novacyt S.A.

LOS ANGELES--AHF Urges WHO to Immediately Declare Novel Coronavirus an International Health Emergency Source: AIDS Healthcare Foundation

MEMPHIS, Tenn.--FedEx Pledges Transportation Support to Aid in Coronavirus Emergency Source: FedEx Corp.

SALT LAKE CITY--Co-Diagnostics, Inc. Designs Test for New Coronavirus Using CoPrimer Platform Source: Co-Diagnostics, Inc.

CONCORD, Calif.--Coronavirus Inactivation Reported in Recent INTERCEPT Blood System Publication in Transfusion Medicine Source: Cerus Corporation

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Moderna Announces Funding Award from CEPI to Accelerate Development of Messenger RNA (mRNA) Vaccine Against Novel Coronavirus Source: Moderna, Inc.

TORONTO--At Times of Viral Global Outbreaks Like the Coronavirus, Ontario's Overcrowded, Underfunded Hospitals Severely Disadvantaged Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees

FORT WORTH, Texas--Interest in EMist Electrostatic Technology Spikes as Coronavirus Spreads Around the Globe Source: EMist

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Camesia Millers actions unintentionally caused the death of Sindi Miller as the couple traveled on I-57 and subsequently caused their involvement in the two-vehicle crash, according to a news release from state police. Following an autopsy performed Tuesday, the Cook County medical examiners office determined Sindi Miller died of multiple blunt force injuries in the collision, and her death was ruled a homicide.
MOSCOW -- February brings bone-chilling temperatures to the windswept expanse that surrounds Tyumen, an oil-rich Siberian city 2,100 kilometers east of Moscow.



But for 144 Russian travelers, many accustomed to warmer, more westerly climes, its home for the next 14 days as they wait in state-ordered quarantine for confirmation that theyre clear of the deadly coronavirus thats raging across swaths of Asia.



On February 5, government-commissioned military jets landed on a snow-covered airstrip in this region carrying the group of passengers evacuated from Wuhan, the epicenter of the growing epidemic in China.



The preplanned repatriation was one of a series of measures the Russian government has taken to try to curb the epidemics spread across its borders. Last week, Russian officials reported the countrys first two cases: one in a Siberian region near Lake Baikal; the other in the Tyumen region, where the evacuees from Wuhan were flown.

The group from Wuhan was met with an army of medical workers in masks and protective gear, wearing light-blue overalls fluttering in the chilly breeze and equipped with thermometers to check for symptoms of the highly contagious disease.



Not long after arriving, they were transferred in a fleet of minibuses to a doubly fenced-off sanatorium about 30 kilometers outside the city, for a two-week period of quarantine and medical tests.



Russias chief medical officer, Anna Popova, insisted that the virus, if detected, would not spread beyond the walls of the sanatorium.



"The necessary measures have been taken so that nothing happens beyond the building, no matter how the situation develops, she told the state news agency TASS on February 6.

Russian state media ran reports praising the Defense Ministrys repatriation mission, which was ordered by President Vladimir Putin amid fears the virus could spread in Russia.



In an interview with Russian media, comedian Pavel Lichman said that he was contacted by diplomats while he was on a work visit to Wuhan on February 1 and told that transport would arrive within three days to take him and other Russians out of China.



He said he was permitted to take luggage not exceeding 30 kilograms and was picked up at his accommodation in Wuhan by a minivan organized by the embassy.



This was good, because a taxi trip poses extra risk of infection since the driver interacts with various people while he works, Lichman said in a post to the social-media site VK.



Even before they boarded the aircraft in China, many of the passengers took to social media to share details of the journey and what they faced on arrival in Russia.



Many were critical of the conditions during the flight.



Marina Zaitseva, a biology student from the Yaroslavl region northeast of Moscow, said in an Instagram post that the group did not know they were going to Tyumen until they had boarded the plane.



In a video taken during the 10-hour flight, Zaitseva complained about the noise, the hard benches, and what she said was a lack of seat belts and adequate sanitation. One photograph she posted showed the interior of a cargo plane, with two small camping tents erected, she said, to serve as toilets during the flight.

Another passenger, who gave her name only as Nadezhda K, told the news site Meduza that after hearing of the coronavirus outbreak during a trip to Wuhan, she contacted the Russian Embassy and the local consulate to learn of evacuation plans.



She corroborated Zaitsevas claim that the destination was unknown even after transport had been arranged.



Until the last moment, no one knew we were going to Tyumen, she said. But the quarantine didnt faze me. I wouldnt want to place other people at risk.

Isolation in the middle of the Siberian winter was one of the more extreme measures the government has taken to try to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.



With a 4,000-kilometer border with China, the country has been on high alert in connection with the outbreak that has thus far claimed more than 600 lives. Control points along the entire stretch of the border were closed on January 31, and all passenger rail links with China suspended four days later.



The outbreak has also been the first major test for Russia's new government, with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin taking a lead role in coordinating the response. On February 3, he announced plans to deport foreigners diagnosed with the illness.



For Russians exposed to sensationalist state TV coverage and the conspiracy theories it has peddled about the epidemic, the news of more than 140 fellow citizens being repatriated from the Chinese city where it began was not met with enthusiasm.

In social-media posts, many slammed the government for what they saw as a move that put others at risk.



"Let them stay there, one user wrote on Instagram of the evacuees. Why the hell would we want them spitting out their contagion here?"



"They've crawled out like rats from various cities," another person wrote.



Many of the comments were collected and shared as screenshots by Marina Turkina, a Beijing-based Russian who criticized her compatriots attitude in her own Instagram post.



Whats the worst thing about the Chinese coronavirus? Its not the unpaid quarantine for a month, or the canceled flights, or the lack of masks for sale, she wrote. The worst ishow people react to a real epidemic.

Popova said on February 6 that none of the Russians quarantined outside Tyumen had been diagnosed with the illness.



But authorities were taking no risks. Russian media showed clips of the two Ilyushin jets used for the repatriation being hosed down and disinfected prior to their onward journey.



Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said an estimated 600 Russians remained in Chinas Hubei Province, which includes Wuhan.



If Turkina had wanted to take the next IL-76 home, Moscow had bad news for her. On February 5, the Russian Embassy announced that all those who asked to return home had been offered transport.



More air evacuations were not immediately planned.
China: Blowing Up Trust and Burning Bridges

Lasting impact of coronavirus will be the vast moral, leadership failures of Chinese regime

Commentary

As the source of what appears to be the next global pandemic, China is blowing the perfect opportunity to build trust with the world.

Not that anyone held any illusions that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was a paragon of decency, but the coronavirus outbreak was a chance for the CCP to show its human side.

It turns out that it has none.

Even so, nations are naturally sympathetic to the fact that the Chinese people are bearing the brunt of this very dangerous and deadly outbreak. Fortunately, the situation hasnt devolved into a world-against-China kind of thing.

Not yet, anyway. People of all nations still want to help.

But, per the CCPs typical modus operandi, the Party continues to lie or withhold information and key points regarding the outbreak.

The True Source of the Virus?

For example, where did the virus originate?

Did it just come from one or more of the wild animals kept in close proximity in the vast open market in Wuhan?

Perhaps it did.

Its long been suspected that the devastating Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 came from birds and pigs living in close proximity for an extended period of time. Accordingly, some reports identify the coronavirus as one typically carried by bats and perhaps other wild or exotic creatures.

Another conclusion is that it was somehow transferred to humans by other animals, or from people consuming bats or other wild beasts.

But is that really the case? Is the coronavirus outbreak yet another instance of people creating the perfectand unnaturalclose quarters circumstances for animal viruses to move from one species to another, mutating rapidly until one is finally able to make the jump to human adaptation?

Sounds plausible. But is that what really happened?

Other reports convey a very different provenance of the virus, and of course, speculation is rampant.

Rumor or Conspiracy Theory?

In a narrative that includes names of people, places, timelines, and activities, its alleged that in March 2019, the virus was smuggled out of Canadas National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) by Chinese doctors who also acted as agents for the Chinese regime. The NML is Canadas only Level 4 facility, one of just a few in North America that deal with highly contagious and deadly diseases such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), et cetera.

Whats more, Chinese scientists were subsequently expelled from the NML by Canadian authorities in July 2019. But according to recent online reportsfrom the BBC, no lessthe entire theft-from-Canada scenario is a false rumor.

But is it?

Not according to Science magazine, which, among other news sources, reported the incident at the time. It turns out that in July, Chinese scientists were, in fact, kicked out of Canadas NML for a policy breach. Furthermore, the matter wasnt swept under the rug, but was reported to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP).

Do the folks at NML, Science magazine, and the RCMP know that everything they know about it is just a rumor or a conspiracy theory?

Actually, the facts of the breach are of critical importance to all of us.

The aforementioned report relates an assessment from James Giordano, a neurology professor at Georgetown University and senior fellow in biowarfare at the U.S. Special Operations Command, regarding the theft of a virus from NML. He noted that such a theft could also mean that such an offensive agent could benefit China, which might have the only treatment or vaccine.

Thats right. A vaccine to the coronavirus could already exist within Chinas Wuhan laboratory, possibly derived from the stolen virus.

But Giordano isnt the only one talking about a potential vaccine. So are the Chinese, albeit from a different and controversial source.

The Associated Press reports that Chinese scientists want patents on a drug thats already being made by Gilead Sciences, a U.S. pharmaceutical company. According to the report, government-run Wuhan Institute of Virology  applied for the patent in January along with a military laboratory.

The institute acknowledged the intellectual property barriers, but said it was acting to protect national interest.

CCP Learned Nothing From SARS, Swine Flu, or Tariffs

The bottom line is that after causing a second global epidemic in less than 20 years, this time, China now wants to steal a potential vaccine, as well. And they do so while keeping the world in the dark about the real statistics and other key facts about the outbreak.

Clearly, the Party has learned absolutely nothing from prior experience. Its behavior of deception, denial, and deflection hasnt changed one iota from one crisis to the next.

In fact, if anything, its behavior is further proof that it is unfit to lead China. Clear and accurate communication and open-handed cooperation are the most potent and efficient weapons against the spread of the coronavirus. But the Party leadership offers neither.

The CCP is more interested in suffocating the spread of informationeven among its citizens, and stealing from the very nations that can help the most. It has withheld critical information from the publicand the worldduring the SARS and African swine fever outbreaks, and its doing so now, when the risks are even greater.

Evidently, the Party leadership fears the outbreak of information, the peoples righteous anger against them, and the truth far more than it fears the coronavirus. Wouldnt it be fitting if the CCP became the next, and very last victim, of the outbreak?

James Gorrie is a writer and speaker based in Southern California. He is the author of The China Crisis.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
How a Native American tribe reclaimed the land they once sacrificed in exchange for their physical survival.

On Mooningwaanikaaning (the place of the yellow-breasted flicker birds) Madeline Island, Wisconsin  along the shore of Gichigami (the great sea) Lake Superior  Katherine Morrisseau of the Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe dances in her zibaaskaiganagooday (dress of exploding sound), or jingle dress.

For me, an enrolled citizen of the Red Cliff Ojibwe Reservation, this moment preserved on film is a powerful emblem of Ojibwe resistance and resilience and the essential role that women play in our survivance in the face of centuries of colonisation and suppression.

Well-known Ojibwe activist Winona LaDuke has described Mooningwaanikaaning or Madeline Island, the largest of Lake Superiors Apostle Islands, as a kind of Jerusalem for Ojibwe people.

As told in oral tradition, Ojibwe migrated to the Great Lakes region from lands near present-day Nova Scotia over 800 years ago. It is said that the people chose to settle where the food grows on the water, a reference to manoomin or wild rice, a staple good that grows abundantly in the lake sloughs and rivers in the region. It was here on the northern shore of Madeline Island  now called Amnicon Bay  that those early immigrants conducted the first dance of the Grand Medicine Society, one of the most important Ojibwe ceremonies.

In the Treaty of 1854  in which the great chief and diplomat Bezhike (Buffalo) ensured that Ojibwe would remain in their ancestral homelands in exchange for lands ceded to the United States  the 81-hectare (200-acre) Amnicon Bay shoreline was included in lands set aside for the Bad River Reservation located about 90 kilometres (35 miles) away on the Wisconsin mainland.

But the Bad River tribe struggled for physical survival on the reservation, where land for hunting, fishing and gathering was limited, there were no jobs, and access to transportation, healthcare and food was miles away.

So the tribe was forced to sacrifice Amnicon Bay in the form of a lease to wealthy white vacation cabin owners. In 1967, the tribe agreed to a 50-year lease of the shorelands for an initial annual payment of $5,000.

Back in 1967, the tribe was broke; even a thousand dollars coming in was a lot of money, said Edith Leoso, Bad River Tribal Historic Preservation officer.

People werent happy about it but we knew it was temporary; one day we would take the land back, she said.

An old story

It is an old story in Indian country: Sacrifice of dearest cultural possessions in exchange for physical survival.

As years went on and Madeline Island became more popular with wealthy vacationers, Ojibwe connection to their beloved Mooningwaanikaaning grew more tenuous.

According to a study by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the average tourist visiting the Apostle Islands area is overwhelmingly white, well-educated, with an income of more than $100,000. Meanwhile, most folks from Bad River hover near the federal poverty line; most people do not go on to college.

The $39 roundtrip ferry ride from the mainland to the island was the final straw, effectively cutting Ojibwe off from one of their most sacred sites.

In 2017, after hearing that Bad River people were considering cancelling the lease renewal, I visited the Amnicon Bay cabin owners. Several of the 18 cabins were beautifully built and well-appointed. It was pretty clear the owners did not see much likelihood that Bad River would decide to cancel a lease that had paid the tribe more than $2m over the past 50 years.

When I mentioned to cabin owner Peggy Swarz that Bad River people did not feel welcome on the island or at Amnicon Bay she said: Its not as though our paths normally cross; were not friends. This is a resort area, its understandable that they dont feel comfortable here.

Swarz and other cabin owners also mentioned several past incidents between Native and non-Native people on the Bay. Once, a belligerent cabin owner ordered Bad River tribal members engaged in a sweat lodge ceremony to leave the leased land; another time white people confronted tribal members trying to pray along the shore.

Dancing and telling our stories

Visiting Mooningwaanikaaning is one of my private acts of resistance. Making my way past the souvenir and t-shirt shops, I have stubbornly offered up prayers at Amnicon Bay for years.

So, it came with great personal satisfaction when I learned that the Bad River tribe chose not to renew the Amnicon Bay lease. I heard that those cabin owners unceremoniously handed the keys of their fancy cabins over to Bad River tribal members and simply walked away. I would have given anything to see the looks on the faces of those entitled vacationers, but was unable to witness their delicious denouement.

I did, however, get to see and photograph Morrisseau in 2018 dancing along the shore in her jingle dress. She and others were staying in the cabins while conducting a workshop for Native youth.

An Ojibwe woman dancing in her jingle dress is believed to have great healing powers. And it is women who play a central role in promoting the Ojibwe world view in which spirituality is the bedrock for life.

That day, Morrisseau danced leisurely along that shore as though she owned it. There was no one to shoo her away.

For Ojibwe women, our feet grow right into the ground here on Mooningwaanikaaning; were here dancing and telling our stories again, she said.
Mobile now eclipses PC and console in terms of revenue for Activision Blizzard, a category that includes revenues from its mobile-heavy King segment as well as contributions from recent launches across other brands like Call of Duty: Mobile.

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick highlighted the shift in the companys latest investor call, noting as well that mobile has helped boost the audience for some of Activision Blizzards core franchises like Call of Duty, and will do so for properties down the line.

Using Call of Duty as an example, with the introduction of Call of Duty: Mobile, we grew our player base from 40 million to 100 million players in less than a year, said Kotick. We expect significant growth in the Call of Duty franchise in 2020 as compared to 2019, as a result of this and from other unannounced Call of Duty initiatives."

Activision Blizzard reported $2.2 billion in mobile revenue during the year ending December 31, 2019, 34 percent of its total revenue for that period. During the same span of time, console accounted for $1.92 billion and PC for $1.72 billion. During the previous year, console revenue led the pack with 34 percent with mobile representing 29 percent.

The business model for Call of Duty: Mobile is free to play, which enables the rapid development of large community of players with the option to purchase digital items and services as well as our ability to generate advertising revenues, said Kotick.
I SIS bride Shamima Begum will look to appeal a decision which ruled revoking her British citizenship did not render he stateless.

Ms Begum lost the first stage of a legal bid against the decision to revoke her British citizenship today.

The 20-year-old travelled to Syria from east London with two other schoolgirls to join so-called Islamic state in 2015.

She was stripped of her citizenship last year by then home secretary Sajid Javid, after being discovered nine months pregnant in a refugee camp and expressing her desire to return.

Shamima Begum when she was 15 and ran away from Bethnal Green to join ISIS in Syria / PA

It has been argued that doing this has rendered her stateless, though at the time the government said that she is eligible for Bangladeshi citizenship through her parents - though the nation has rejected this notion.

A tribunal today, led by SIAC president Mrs Justice Elisabeth Laing, ruled on Friday that the decision to revoke Ms Begums British citizenship did not render her stateless.

Judge Doron Blum, announcing the decision of the tribunal, said that the move did not breach the Home Offices extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Ms Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment.

He added that, while Ms Begum cannot have an effective appeal in her current circumstances, it does not follow that her appeal succeeds on that ground.

Shamima Begum spoke of her desire to return to Britain / BBC

In a statement, Ms Begum's solicitor Daniel Furner of Birnberg Peirce said his client "will immediately initiate an appeal" against the decision "as a matter of exceptional urgency".

He said that the ruling "will be hard to explain to her", adding: "The logic of the decision will appear baffling, accepting as it does the key underlying factual assessments of extreme danger and extreme unfairness and yet declining to provide any legal remedy."

Ms Begum's representation previously had described the "wretched and squalid" conditions in the camps where she has lived. He said the decision was "designed" to prevent her returning home and left her "abandoned".

Jonathan Glasson QC, for the Home Office, argued Ms Begum "was a Bangladeshi citizen by descent, in accordance with Bangladeshi law, and so was not rendered stateless by the deprivation decision".

When Ms Begum was 15 she was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS.

Kadiza Sultana and Amira Abase, then 16 and 15 respectively, and Ms Begum boarded a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul, Turkey, and made their way to Raqqa in Syria.

Ms Begum has claimed she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory.

She told The Times last February that she left Raqqa in January 2017 with her husband.
A team of researchers have mapped the mysterious Dragons Breath Cave in Namibia, one of the worlds largest underground lakes located below the Kalahari Desert.

The lakes size and depth had been a problem for human divers who attempted to document it in the past.

These werent problems for the AI-powered underwater drone, nicknamed SUNFISH, which the team from Stone Aerospace, a company in Austin, Texas, used to create the first fully realized 3D map of the mysterious cave.

Scroll down for video

A team of engineers from Austin traveled to Namibia to try and map one of the world's largest underground lakes, the Dragon's Breath Cave, with an AI-powered drone

SUNFISH looks like a small enclosed canoe and is powered by a set of small propellers.

It uses a sonar mapping system to create a 3D image of its surroundings, which an onboard AI system then uses to make decisions about where to go next.

It doesnt use GPS or any other external navigation tools so it's entirely dependent on the accuracy of its own sensor readings.

The team from Stone Aerospace thought deploying it in a still uncharted place like the Dragons Breath Cave could be a good test of how self-reliant the drone would be in a real world setting.

In this case here, were faced with the ultimate unknown, Stone Aerospace CEO Bill Stone told Discover.

The region is filled with natural sinkholes, or 'cenotes,' where underground caverns and lakes poke through the surface

The team used an underwater drone called SUNFISH, which uses sonar mapping technology, similar to a bat's echolocation abilities, to create detailed maps of their surroundings

The team hope the SUNFISH drone will eventually be used to explore other planets, including Europa, Jupiter's ice-covered moon with subterranean waters where scientists believe they might find signs of life

'We dont even have an orbital observatory or satellite shots like the [Mars] rover.'

The team sent the SUNFISH into the Dragons Breath Cave and the robot methodically mapped the space, which measured 575 wide and 670 feet deep, with an additional 200 feet of open space between the top of the water and the ground above.

For good measure, the team also used the drone to map out two other underwater lakes which were accessible through sinkholes that had eroded the arid ground above.

The SUNFISH drone uses sonar sensors to create a detailed 3D map of its surroundings and its AI is equipped to help it make complex navigational decisions and recognize dead ends

The drone's mapping software allows it to steadily build out a full 3D map of every location its passed through, reaching areas that would otherwise be too deep and dangerous for humans

The SUNFISH drone doesn't have any onboard GPS and because the lakes are subterranean the team couldn't rely on overhead satellite imagery to help fill in the map, putting all the pressure on the drone's internal imaging systems

This whole project is a window into where we are with this gradual transition towards true autonomy and AI behavior in completely unstructured environments, Stone said.

Were talking about vehicles going into places never before seen by humans. And that was what SUNFISH just did, for the very first time--it explored a completely unknown place inside this planet beyond where humans had ever been before.

Stone Aerospace researches autonomous vehicles and navigation systems for vehicles it hopes could one day be used on other planets.

The AI system used in SUNFISH could one day be used in the subterranean waters of Europa, one of Jupiters moons where many researchers believe signs of microscopic life might be found beneath the icy surface.

We are just now beginning to see what we would call true AI entering the world of exploration, Stone said.
(TNS)  A state district judge in Houston told Facebook on Jan. 29 that it must take down a privacy tool announced with much ballyhoo that same day and promoted with a blog post by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.But if you go to the Off-Facebook Activity tool on either the social giants website or in its mobile app settings, the feature is still there, despite the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Tanya Garrison in Harris Countys 334th State District Court.Even sprawling, multinational corporations like Facebook must follow the law. So why is this particular order being ignored?Facebook continues to be in contempt of Judge Garrisons order, said Annie McAdams, the attorney who won the TRO. She has filed for a contempt-of-court ruling, and Facebook has requested an emergency appeal with the Houston-based 14th State Court of Appeals.Both legal maneuvers are on hold because the two sides are talking, and met Thursday in San Francisco for the deposition of a Facebook executive.Data collectionFacebook works with third-party sites and mobile apps to collect data about its users behavior on those sites. That data is then used to make Facebook ads  and those distributed through affiliated third-party ad networks  more personalized to user interests. This is so effective that it has caused some people to believe Facebook is using their smartphones microphone to spy on what they are saying.The Off-Facebook Activity tool does two things: It lets you see a list of third-party apps and sites that funnel your activity back to Facebook. You can then instruct Facebook not to associate data from those apps and sites with your account in the future. You can also toggle a setting that disassociates your identity from all previous data that has been collected.McAdams is concerned that the tool could delete or damage data needed for her case, filed on behalf of a client identified only as Jane Doe. As a 16-year-old girl, the client met a man on Facebook McAdams alleges groomed her with promises of money from modeling, then lured her into sex trafficking. After a meeting with the man, the girl allegedly was gang-raped by seven men.The lawsuit, Jane Doe vs. Facebook, alleges the social giant does little to prevent such activity its platform. McAdams  who has other, similar suits against Facebook  requested as part of the discovery process data that the alleged perpetrator generated both on and off the platform. She said Facebook has so far not produced that data, though Facebooks attorney has said in court that the evidence has been preserved.According to court documents, Facebook contends it is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a part of that law that shields the operators of online services from liability due to content posted by its users.But that does not explain why Facebook would ignoring a judges order to take down the privacy tool. The answer, said attorney Katie Sunstrom of Lorance Thompson not involved in the matter, may have to do with economics.It might make more economic sense to not comply with the order, said Sunstrom, who specializes in internet, intellectual property and technology law. Whatever amount of damage Facebook might incur from not complying with the ruling would pale in comparison to the damage from taking it down.In other words: Court fines for disobeying a TRO in Harris County would be pocket change for Facebook, which reported $7.3 billion in profit on $21.1 billion in revenue for the final quarter of 2019 alone.Facebooks attorney handling the case did not respond to multiple requests for comment.Sunstrom said Facebook also is between a rock and a hard place, because an increasing number of states are passing laws that require online companies to provide a way for users to delete their data. Thats particularly true in California, which last year passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. Facebook may face more legal threats if it does not make tools such as Off-Facebook Activity available, she said.McAdams said her ultimate goal is to acquire the evidence she needs from Facebook. If that occurs, she said she will pull down our motion for contempt.We are not looking to stop Facebook from advancing its privacy applications, she said. We just want to understand and preserve evidence, and protect childrens interactions on Facebook.
There was heated argument in Parliament yesterday, on the mass failure of students who wrote the entrance examinations into the Ghana School of Law for the 2019/2020 academic year, with the house generally recommending to the General Legal Council to re-mark the failed scripts of the students at a very reasonable cost.

One thousand eight hundred and twenty prospective law students wrote the entrance examination into the Ghana School of Law last year but only 128 students passed and gained admission into the law school, prompting the disgruntled students to petition the President and Parliament over their predicaments which they attributed to systematic failure and crisis in legal education in the country.

The student body of National Association of Law Students in its petition accused the General Legal Council (GLC) of deliberately instituting filtration mechanisms to deal with its systematic failure to provide corresponding facilities to accommodate the increasing number of prospective students.

The students also said the mass failure did not reflect their actual performance and the deliberate attempt by the authorities to discourage them from asking for re-marking by pegging the re-marking fee at a whooping GH3,000.

Most of the Members of Parliament (MPs) including the minority chief whip, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga completely sided with the students' concerns and said politicians as well as technocrats in the educational sector had failed to ensure that there was corresponding expansion in infrastructure to cater for legal training as the population grew rapidly.

The minority chief whip said Parliament as an institution has failed on its oversight responsibility as well as National Accreditation Board and the National Council for Tertiary Education to ensure that universities with the requisite academic facilities are given the permission to run law faculties and also to ensure that more satellite campuses of the Ghana School of Law are opened to accommodate the increasing number of qualified students from the accredited tertiary institutions.

The MP for Bawku Central suggested that the current law should be amended to ensure that accrediting law faculties of tertiary institutions would be done with professional recommendation from the Ghana Legal Council.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) MP for Adansi/Asokwa, K.T. Hammond in his submission said the status quo for production of quality lawyers must be maintained stressing that students of these days do not want to learn hard to justify their admission into the Ghana School of Law.

Mr Speaker, students of these days don't like to learn, they don't want to spend on books. Most of them use social media English language to take their exams and that is seriously affecting the standard of education in the country, he said.

The house however adopted the report of the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs which recommended for the nation to carry out massive legislative and structural reforms towards finding lasting solution to the challenges in the system by introducing a private member's bill to deal with that.

---Daily Guide
Elizabeth Warren is apologizing to six women of color who left her presidential campaign office in Nevada before the state's caucuses because they felt marginalized and because their concerns weren't addressed by supervisors.

'I believe these women completely and without reservation. And I apologize that they have had a bad experience on this campaign,' the Massachusetts senator told reporters after an event in Derry, New Hampshire, on Thursday night.

'I tried to build a campaign and an organization that is diverse and welcoming, that celebrates people, that encourages people to bring their whole selves to work every single day,' she said.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks with members of the media after a campaign event in Derry, New Hampshire

'I believe these women completely and without reservation. And I apologize that they have had a bad experience on this campaign,' the Massachusetts senator told reporters in response to the staffers who quit on Thursday night

Politico reported that the former staffers had left Warren's campaign office by November. Nevada holds its Democratic caucuses on February 22.

'During the time I was employed with Nevada for Warren, there was definitely something wrong with the culture,' Megan Lewis, a field organizer who joined the campaign in May and departed in December, told Politico.

'I filed a complaint with HR, but the follow-up I received left me feeling as though I needed to make myself smaller or change who I was to fit into the office culture.'

Another recently departed staffer, who is also a field organizer and asked not to give her name, said 'I felt like a problem  like I was there to literally bring color into the space but not the knowledge and voice that comes with it.'

'We all were routinely silenced and not given a meaningful chance on the campaign. Complaints, comments, advice, and grievances were met with an earnest shake of the head and progressive buzzwords but not much else' the former staffer added.

A third ex-field organizer who was among the six who quit and also asked not to be identified said those descriptions matched her own experience.

The other remaining three declined to be interviewed when Politico reached out, the news outlet says.

Of the first four voting states, Politico reports, Nevada is the least one Warren has visited. The candidate has spent less than two weeks of her time visiting the state, which was another complaint voiced by the ex-staffers.

The campaign also scaled back its TV advertising there this week by about $140,000.

Campaigning in New Hampshire for the state's February 11 primary, Warren said she understands 'the long legacy of racism in this country and what it means, how it creates power dynamics and inequities that are toxic and dangerous and that's why we be constantly vigilant and determined to do better.'

A sign promoting Elizabeth Warren's campaign in Las Vegas, Nevada. Of the first four voting states, Nevada is the least one Warren has visited during her presidential campaign

Presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren campaigns in Las Vegas, Nevada, in February 2019. She has spent less than 2 weeks of her time in the state since she began her presidential run

'I take personal responsibility for this, and I'm working with my team to address theses concerns,' she added.

Asked what specifically she could do to address them, she said, 'I want to create enough space in our offices to make sure that we're hearing from everyone and to determine where there may be concerns.'

Her campaign also had not disputed the ex-staffers' complaints.

'We strive for an inclusive environment and work hard to learn and improve,' Warren campaign spokesperson Kristen Orthman said in a statement.

'We have an organization of more than a thousand people, and whenever we hear concerns, we take them seriously. It's important that everyone who is part of our team has a voice and can be heard. That's why we are proud that we have a unionized staff and clear processes for issues to be addressed.'
The optimistic predictions of former Truth and Dignity Commission (IVD) president Sihem Bensedrine, speaking to Justice Info just after the legislative elections last autumn, seem now to be proving right. Up until recently, relations between the Tunisian truth commission, which ended its work in December 2019, and the government seemed marked by hostility, but things seem to be changing significantly since constitutionalist lawyer Kaies Saied was elected head of State on October 13 and the new parliament installed in November.

This political about-turn was recently signalled strongly to Tunisian civil society: for the first time, a representative of the Prime Minister did not refuse an invitation to speak at a meeting organized by the  La Roujou3  (Never Again) campaign led by three civil society associations  Avocats Sans Frontieres, the NGO Bawsala (Boussole) and the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Transitional justice, the subject of such meetings, clearly indisposed the team of the previous government led by Youssef Chahed.

Mr. Transitional Justice

On January 28, the participants at that meeting on the theme of perspectives and future of post-IVD transitional justice also discovered that the Prime Minister has an advisor on transitional justice, Belhassen Ben Amor. This jurist has been named to the post since July 2017. Although he arrived late to the panel and left early, Ben Amor made some important declarations for the future of the countrys transitional justice process. A committee is finishing up its work with the aim of publishing the IVDs final report and making it really official, he asserted.

This final report of 2,344 pages, with seven chapters covering the period from July 1955 to December 2013, synthesizes five years of work by the truth commission. It deals with the mechanisms of despotism and corruption, violations against women and children, human rights abuses in the main historic periods, and reparations and rehabilitation for the 50,000 victims.

We are awaiting the outcome of appeals to the Administrative Tribunal by injured people who did not find their names on the list of injured and martyrs of the revolution before also publishing this document in the Official Journal, newly appointed prime ministerial envoy Elyes Fakhfakh said at the same gathering. We also plan to activate the Dignity Fund for Victims Reparation. We are in the process of responding to all the IVDs demands.

Ben Amor also informed the meeting that a commission of jurists has been set up by the Prime Minister to examine all the issues left pending after the truth commission ended its work and find suitable responses for all the files linked to the process. 2,700 reparations decided have not been granted to their beneficiaries, he noted. We are committed to transmitting them to the victims concerned, in coordination with the IVD and its regional offices.

Creation of a parliamentary commission

Tunisias Transitional Justice Law provides that within one year of publication of the commissions overall report, the government prepare a plan and work programmes to implement the recommendations and proposals of the Commission, adding that a parliamentary commission will be set up to this effect which will collaborate with the associations concerned to make the recommendations and proposals concrete. Thus it is parliament that will monitor the application of this new programme announced by the government representative, on the basis of the IVD report.

A few days after their 28 January congress, which will mark history, the organizers of the Roujou3 campaign were contacted by representatives of parliament. On February 6, they had an appointment with parliamentary chairman Rached Ghannouchi to discuss the creation of the parliamentary commission provided for in the transitional justice law. And so the future of transitional justice in Tunisia remains dependant on the changing balances of political power.
The European Union (EU) has denied rumors that it will ban Morocco from exporting products from the southern region of the Sahara to European states.

The EUs position on the labeling of Moroccan products has not changed, affirmed the EUs spokesperson Peter Stano on Thursday, Feb. 6, from Brussels, Belgium.

The union will apply the same standards to all imports into the European market from all countries and territories, including Moroccos Sahara, he said.

The Sahara is covered by the EU-Morocco agreement in the agricultural field that entered into force in July 2019, said Stano at his daily press briefing.

The EUs position on labeling is determined by the relevant Council Regulation  on the fruit and vegetable sectors, which sets out the criteria to be met for the commercialization of these products, added the spokesperson.

The customs authorities of the member states are competent to ensure the implementation of the regulation, he noted.

The spokesperson stated further that the EUs stance on the Sahara conflict has not changed either, noting that the EU fully supports the UN-led process.

The European official explained that the EUs position on the issue is determined by the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council, in particular resolution 2494 of October 2019.

At a meeting on January 29 in Brussels between EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, the two sides reiterated their support for the UN-sponsored political process, aiming to reach a lasting, just, realistic, pragmatic, political and mutually acceptable solution.

The EU-Morocco partnership is more than ever necessarythe EU and Morocco must join efforts to stimulate regional cooperation for the benefit of stability, prosperity and inclusive development and in order to respond better to regional and global challenges, read a joint statement issued following the Borell  Bourita meeting in january.
"Bear in mind that all change isn't change for the better, Varadkar said Tuesday during a televised leaders debate. We saw in Britain with Brexit, people voting for change and they got Brexit. We saw Donald Trump being elected in the U.S.  that's not the kind of change we want.
End of the line for Iran's bird-watching paradise?

02/07/20

By Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times

Miankaleh international wetland has recently witnessed the death of over 13,000 migratory birds. Although veterinary organization announced that the birds have been killed due to the "botulinum toxin", some environmentalists believe that water pollution and other factors that have not yet been investigated have caused unprecedented bird mortality in the area.

Miankaleh a long and narrow peninsula is 48 kilometers long, and between 1.3 and 3.2 kilometers wide, which sets apart the Gorgan Bay from the Caspian Sea. Four villages namely Ashuradeh, Qezel-e shomali, Qezel-Mehdi, and Qavasatl are situated on the peninsula.

The peninsula was designated a Ramsar site in 1975 and called Iran's bird-watching paradise. Major habitats include wetlands, inter-tidal mud with sandy shores, shallow marine waters, forests, peatlands, and agricultural areas. It is home to many unique Caspian birds and reptile species native to this region. It's also a very important internationally-recognized refuge for migratory birds.

Water deficit, mismanagement, unsustainable agricultural practices, and severe depletion of the wells and groundwater resources have exacerbated Miankaleh peninsula's condition.

Overgrazing, illegal hunting, fishing, deforestation and the unplanned spread of villages are some of the challenges posing threat to the region's environment.

Lack of scientific information in wildlife veterinary

On January 23, mysterious death of migratory birds in Miankaleh were first reported in the media. Two days later, the Department of Environment (DOE) announced that an expert team was being sent to the area to investigate the cause of death.

The veterinary organization also said that tests based on avian influenza and Newcastle disease have been ruled out and further investigations are needed to determine the exact cause.

Three days passed, and the deaths of migratory birds were still in a state of uncertainty, with the death toll increasing day by day.

Iman Memarian, a wildlife veterinarian, told ISNA on Wednesday that unfortunately we have a lack of knowledge in the field of wildlife veterinary medicine; and taking several days to determine the exact cause of bird death is a proof to the fact.

Another evidence of the lack of wildlife veterinary science in the country is that we raise the issue of Newcastle disease for the purpose of investigating the migratory birds' death, while aquatic birds are highly resistant to the disease, he said.

Even in zoos, aquatic birds do not need to be vaccinated against Newcastle disease, he lamented.



See more photos by Mostafa Shanechi of ISNA

Anxiety signs observed in bird carcasses

As the number of bird deaths has risen to 10,000 in Miankaleh, experts and NGOs in Mazandaran province claimed that industrial wastewater released into Miankaleh has caused water contamination and could be a cause of death.

Memarian said that the published footage of bird carcasses showed symptoms of nervousness that could reinforce the theory of heavy metal poisoning, and that feeding manually is very dangerous for migratory birds and could cause food poisoning.

The veterinary organization announced last Tuesday that "botulinum poisoning" was the reason behind mass bird mortality.

Botulism is caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum, and the birds become infected by the ingestion of plants or animals infected with the toxin and lose their lives.

Clostridium botulism is an anaerobic bacterium that grows in decaying plants and animal material and often occurs in lakes during periods of lack of oxygen and poor water quality.

Esmaeil Kahrom, an ornithologist, stated that "If we accept the veterinary organization's claim of feeding the birds in a closed and polluted wetland environment, then the question arises whether all the birds at one point, decided to drink water and die together?"

"It is not possible for several thousand birds to drink water and die at once in the wetland where botulinum toxin is, did they commit mass suicide? did birds have symptoms of yellow excrement and yellow liquid outflow from the mouth?", he lamented.

He further suggested that the death of migratory birds in the wetland might be deliberate and claims that some fishermen, landowners or hunters may have thrown poison into the water and killed these species.

Kahrom said that the birds are a victim of conflict of interest and emphasizes the need to pursue and punish the main contributors to this environmental phenomenon.

Soheil Oladzad, an environmental activist and expert, also said in a report published by the Shahrvand newspaper that "We sent four birds with great difficulty kilometers away from Mazandaran to carry out the necessary tests and investigate the cause of death, but they didn't cooperate under some circumstances.

Memarian had also previously told ISNA that botulinum toxin bacteria were unlikely to grow extensively in the ponds.

Lack of water flow into the wetland produced botulism

Despite different speculations about the incident, Shahaboddin Montazemi, director of wildlife's conservation office at the DOE, said that "We must admit that if agricultural, industrial and other poisons were directly released into the water, other aquatic species, including fish, would also have been killed, while the large population of the deaths is related to shorebirds.

While Issa Kalantarai, head of DOE, believes that the lack of upstream water in Miankaleh wetland is the reason for the loss of birds.

Montazemi earlier told ISNA that large numbers of migratory birds were killed in shallow areas where oxygen was likely to be unavailable, so it could even be said that lack of water flow to the wetland could create anaerobic conditions and produce botulinum.

Investigation needs to be continued

According to ISNA, the DOE is reporting that bird deaths in Miankaleh have plummeted, and hopes that this will not happen again in the future, while there are still doubts and questions about the cause of deaths in the area.

Excessive hunting in migratory birds' habitats in the country has made the Convention on Migratory Species to warn some countries about this issue, which has always been a global threat to biodiversity and has attracted international attention.

Now, along with illegal hunting, there are other environmental threats, including water pollution and wastewater flow, lack of provision of wetlands' water right, etc. So, it is expected that the DOE carefully investigate and not allow that the migratory birds habitat management gets out of control more than ever.
Independent forensic tests "proved that the person on the tape is 10 centimeters higher" than Duhar.

Lawyers of a Ukrainian Army medic suspected of involvement in the murder of journalist Pavel Sheremet say they have "additional proof" that their client had nothing to do with the high-profile killing.

Yana Duhar's lawyers, Mykola Orekhovskiy and Vitaliy Kolomiyets, told reporters in Kyiv on February 7 that they provided the Prosecutor-General's Office with materials that "prove" their client had not been involved in Sheremet's assassination, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) said.

Sheremet was killed on July 20, 2016, when an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle he was driving exploded.

Read alsoInterior Ministry speaker refers to slain journalist Sheremet as "Russian agent", leaked correspondence suggests

Investigators suspect Duhar and two other people of involvement in the killing, all of them with ties to the war taking place in eastern Ukraine.

The materials included the results of a lie detector test, they said.

The lawyers said the investigators had "mistakenly" identified a person recorded on a CCTV camera monitoring Sheremet's apartment block a day before his killing as their client.

Independent forensic tests "proved that the person on the tape is 10 centimeters higher" than Duhar, they said.

Sheremet was a Belarusian-born Russian citizen who had made Kyiv his permanent home.

His killing underscored concerns of a climate of impunity for attacks on journalists and others who challenge the Ukrainian authorities, while the government has faced persistent criticism over a perceived lack of progress in solving the case.

Those suspected in the case also include former special operations Sergeant Andriy Antonenko and pediatric surgeon and volunteer Yuliya Kuzmenko.

Police have also named a couple as persons of interest in the investigation: Inna Hryshchenko and Vladyslav Hryshchenko.

On January 30, Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Ruslan Riaboshapka said additional evidence is needed for the case as "the volume of compiled evidence isn't enough."
(Alliance News) - Novacyt SA on Friday said it has seen a strong demand for its recently launched coronavirus detection test, adding that it is seeking approval for the test to be used in the US and the UK.

The clinical diagnostics firm also said it will launch a CE-Mark approved test in the week commencing February 17. This will mean that the test can be used for clinical diagnostic testing, as well as expanding its use within laboratories.

In January, Novacyt said its subsidiary Primerdesign had developed a test with the ability to detect the 2019 strain of coronavirus, the spread of which has been declared a global emergency by the World Health Organisation. Currently, the virus has been reported in 23 countries with more than 28,000 reported infections, Novacyt noted.

The Camberley-based company said that to date, it has received orders for 33,000 tests and quotation requests for another 32,000 tests from more than 30 countries.

It added that it has applied to the US Food & Drug Administration for emergency use approval of its test, which would allow US laboratories to temporarily use it for clinical diagnosis. In the UK, it is in discussions with various NHS hospitals and Public Health England regarding the test, adding that it has already sold a limited number of tests to some hospitals for validation purposes.

"As one of the first companies to develop and launch a test to detect the 2019 strain of nCoV, we have received unprecedented interest in our test and anticipate demand continuing to grow. In addition, we look forward to launching our CE-Mark approved nCoV test, which we believe provides laboratories with a fast and reliable nCoV test without the need to carry out their own validation, said Novacyt Chief Executive Graham Mullis.

"We continue to support our new and existing customers and are working with the various regulatory authorities to try to make our nCoV test available to as many countries and laboratories as possible to support clinicians in reducing the spread of the disease," he added.

The stock was trading 15% higher at 46.50 pence each on Friday morning in London.

By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
A 21-year-old man charged with the fatal shooting of two sisters at a university dormitory in Texas this week has also been charged with the shooting of a man on New Year's Eve.

Jacques Dshawn Smith was arrested in Rowlett, Dallas, on Tuesday. He had previously been accused of shooting Abbaney Matts, 20, believed to be his ex-girlfriend, and her sister Deja, 19, at Pride Rock residence halls at Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Abbaney's two-year-old son was injured but has been discharged from hospital.

He has now also been charged with shooting Steven Daniels in Denton, about 75 miles away, and is one of three charged with capital murder in relation to the death.

Jacques Dshawn Smith was arrested in Rowlett, Dallas, on Tuesday. He shot sisters Abbaney Matts, 20, and Deja, 19, at Pride Rock residence halls at Texas A&M University-Commerce

He has also been charged with murdering Steven Daniels about 75 miles away on New Year's Eve. (Pictured: Police at the shooting at Texas A&M University-Commerce)

Law enforcement officers gather outside of the Pride Rock residence hall following a shooting, Monday, February 3 at Texas A&M University-Commerce

Denton police said their detectives were helping the Texas Department of Public Safety execute a search warrant in Rowlett on Tuesday when evidence was located that connected Smith and two others to the New Year's Eve killing. Denton detectives then applied for a secondary search warrant.

Police in Garland, a suburb of Dallas, said Smith was arrested on an aggravated assault charge a week before the sisters were killed after attacking Ms Matts and threatening her with a knife.

Smith is being held in Hunt County Jail on capital murder charges out of Hunt and Denton counties. His bond is set at $2 million. Jail records did not list an attorney for him.

Denton police found Daniels lying on the ground inside a gated apartment complex parking lot with a gunshot wound to the chest at about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The medical examiner's records say he died about 40 minutes later.

The shooting Monday at Texas A&M University-Commerce led to the cancellation of classes until Thursday.

Law enforcement officers gather outside of Pride Rock residence hall following a shooting, Monday, February 3 (pictured)

Police tape cordons off the area outside of Pride Rock residence hall following a shooting on Monday February 3 (pictured)

The Pride Rock residence halls where the shooting took place are pictured above

School officials said Deja Matts was a freshman at the university. Abbaney Matts and Smith were not enrolled at the school.

In October, two people were killed and a dozen others injured in an off-campus shooting at a homecoming and Halloween party involving Texas A&M-Commerce students.
Vice President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said so in his statement, as the authority claimed it was "aware of the alleged ties of the C14 group to far-right movements"

Open source

The EU has urged Ukraine to combat extremism and its manifestations. Josep Borrell, Vice President of the European Commission, released the respective statement on Thursday.

"The EU rejects and condemns all forms and manifestations of racism, racial discrimination, and xenophobia directed against a person defined by reference to race, color, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin. The EU is aware of the alleged ties of the C14 group to far-right movements.

The EU-Ukraine Association Agreement is based on respect for democratic principles, human rights, and fundamental freedoms. This means also that Ukraine has committed to promote, enforce and ensure respect for these principles.

Borrell's statement on C14, extremism, February 2020 europarl.europa.eu

The EU follows closely the developments in Ukraine, including the legislative steps that may impact on democracy, human rights and the rule of law and is consistently encouraging Ukraine, as well as all its partners, to continue efforts to fight any incidents of violent extremism", reads the statement.
With Prince Harry and Meghan busy making their fortune in America, and Prince Andrew withdrawn indefinitely from royal duties, there is a gaping hole in The Firm.

And now the Queen has come up with what she hopes could be a solution. She is understood to want Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to carry out public engagements for the Royal Family.

Her Majesty thinks that her granddaughters should attend more royal events and carry out more duties, a courtier tells me.

Her Majesty would like her granddaughters, Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie (right), to carry out more duties, according to a courtier. The sisters are pictured in a carriage as they travel to the House Guards Parade during the Trooping the Colour ceremony in 2019

The Queen (pictured during the State Opening of Parliament in December) is understood to want Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to carry out public engagements for the Royal Family

Prince Charles was previously thought to be opposed to Beatrice and Eugenie taking on official roles because this would conflict with his vision of a slimmed-down monarchy when he becomes king.

However, I can reveal that the Prince of Wales would now be content for them to step up.

The Royal Family has already become slimmed down with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex giving up public duties, a close friend of Charles tells me. As the older members of the family retire, it will become slimmer still, so there are spaces to be filled.

His Royal Highness is very fond of his nieces and would not stand in the way if they did want to carry out more duties.

Duke and Duchess of Sussex (pictured at the Commonwealth Service in March 2019) stepped down as senior royals last month. The couple have begun their new life in Vancouver Island, Canada

Up until now, Princesses Beatrice (right) and Eugenie (left) have attended occasional royal events, sometimes with their parents, Prince Andrew (centre) and Sarah, Duchess of York

The Prince of Wales would now be content for them to step up. Prince Charles has a vision of a a slimmed-down monarchy when he becomes king.

Princess Beatrice, 31, will marry fiance Italian property developer Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, 37, following a five-month engagement

Sarah, Duchess of York, with Princess Eugenie at the wedding of Ellie Goulding and Caspar Jopling in August last year

Newcastle graduate Eugenie, 29, has a full-time job as a director the Mayfair art gallery Hauser & Wirth. Beatrice, 31, who has a degree from Goldsmiths, University of London, works in finance and consulting.

Up until now, they have attended occasional royal events, sometimes with their parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York.

A Buckingham Palace spokesman declined to comment on whether Beatrice and Eugenie want to take on more royal duties.
A radicalised chemistry teacher who was jailed for planning to join ISIS and due to be released from prison next month is already back on the streets.

Jamshed Javeed, 30, was jailed for six years in March 2015 for planning to travel from his Manchester home to Syria to join Islamic State.

Despite being handed an extended sentence, last year parole board officials gave the green light for him to be released halfway through his prison term in March.

But officials have now confirmed he has already been let out on licence.

It comes after terrorist Sudesh Amman was able to stab two people in Streatham, south London, last weekend after being automatically freed mid-sentence less than a fortnight beforehand.

Jamshed Javeed (mugshot pictured), 30, was jailed for six years in March 2015 for planning to travel from his Manchester home to Syria to join Islamic State. But officials have now confirmed he has already been released on licence

The Government is desperately trying to pass a new law to stop any more terrorists being freed from prison automatically by setting up a specialist Parole Board panel to review cases eligible for release.

Lawyers are gearing up to fight the proposals, set to be put before the House of Commons next week, arguing that the rules cannot be imposed retrospectively on criminals already sentenced.

The urgent legislation was put in motion after the London Bridge attack, which saw released Jihadi prisoner Usman Khan kill two Cambridge graduates in November last year.

Javeed was poised to travel to the war-torn state in late 2013 but his family hid his passport in a desperate attempt to thwart his plans.

Despite learning his wife was pregnant, the teacher - who taught 11 to 16-year-olds in Bolton - persisted with his plan after helping his younger brother make the trip.

But he was arrested hours before he was set to leave the UK.

Police discovered he had researched prominent figures such as the radical clerics Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada, as well as the jihadi group Jabhat al Nusra on the internet.

Javeed insisted he was travelling to support the people of Syria and not join the terror group when he admitted two counts of engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorist acts.

But Judge Michael Topolski QC, when sentencing the 30-year-old, said he was 'not satisfied' that Javeed had rejected 'ISIS's ultimate aims' and ruled that he posed a danger to the public in the UK and abroad.

He was handed an extended sentence of nine years, six of those to be served behind bars with a three year licence period afterwards.

At the time Judge Topolski said: 'Whether you believed you were fighting in a just cause is irrelevant. The law is clear - this was terrorism.'

When sentencing Javeed (pictured in a court sketch from his trial), the judge said he was 'not satisfied' that Javeed had rejected 'ISIS's ultimate aims' and ruled that he posed a danger to the public in the UK and abroad

He said Javeed remained 'adherent to a violent jihadist mindset', adding: 'You are in my judgment an individual whose potential danger to the public in this country or abroad is clear.'

The Parole Board said his case was 'concluded' in June last year. He has since been released.

Offenders are subject to strict licence conditions and can be recalled to prison at any point if they breach them or their risk appears to have increased, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said.

Conditions include GPS tags, internet bans, curfews, living in a bail hostel or restrictions on who they meet.

Terrorists on licence are banned from contacting accomplices or others with terror convictions and are 'closely managed' by probation, police and other authorities who share information on the risk they pose.

A target of February 27 has been set to rush the Bill through Parliament as police chiefs warned that the threat of terrorism is 'not diminishing'.

It is understood Sunderland shopkeeper Mohammed Zahir Khan is due to be released on February 28, while around five other terrorists are expected to be let out in March unless the new law is in force.

The father, originally from Birmingham, was jailed for four-and-a-half years in May 2018 for posting messages and material that was supportive of IS on social media.

Sudesh Amman wore a fake suicide belt as he grabbed a knife from a shop in Streatham High Road, south London, on Sunday, before stabbing two bystanders.

The 20-year-old had been jailed for possessing and distributing terrorist documents in December 2018, but was freed automatically halfway through his sentence less than a fortnight ago.

He was put under 24-hour police surveillance on his release after it is understood security services regarded him as an 'extremely concerning individual'.

Saskia Jones and Jack Merritt were killed by Usman Khan in November when he launched his attack armed with two knives and wearing a fake suicide vest during a prisoner rehabilitation programme near London Bridge - nearly a year after he was released halfway through a 16-year jail sentence for terror offences.

There are 224 terrorists in prison in Britain, with most thought to be holding Islamist extremist views, according to the latest published figures to the end of September.

According to official figures, as many as 50 terrorists could be freed from jail this year.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  Court officers were about to escort alleged mob-boss killer Anthony Comello back to a holding cell at the end of a court conference Friday when his lawyer told a judge the defendant wanted to speak.

Ears perked up in the courtroom. Comello was warned anything he said could be used against him.

Undeterred, the Eltingville resident, speaking rapidly, launched into a bizarre and rambling 20-second monologue in which he said his phone had contained information on human sex-trafficking and drug smuggling.

Then, in quick succession, Comello referenced Australia, Russia and Ukraine, as well as Operation Mockingbird, without further details.

The latter is an alleged large-scale CIA program dating to the 1950s which attempted to manipulate the news media for propaganda purposes.

Theres a lot in my phone, said Comello, adding, everything got cleaned out.

He said his lawyer would get the information if it was still there.

The clean-shaven Comello, who was neatly garbed in a gray suit and open-neck blue dress shirt, then turned to Assistant District Attorney Wanda DeOliveira, one of the prosecutors on the case.

Good luck, Wanda, he said sarcastically before being led out.

Comello addressed the court shortly after he appeared to have undercut the viability of an insanity defense.

Defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb said Comello refuses to be examined by prosecutors psychiatric expert.

An interview is scheduled for Monday, although Gottlieb said Comello has no intention of speaking to the doctor.

He is not going to cooperate, said Gottlieb.

The defendants failure to do so would preclude his own psychiatric experts from testifying at trial.

However, lay witnesses could offer psychiatric testimony.

In court papers, Gottlieb contends Comello, 25, was deluded by conspiracy theories when he allegedly fatally shot Gambino crime family boss Francesco (Franky Boy) Cali, 53, outside Calis Dongan Hills home last March 13.

Comello is charged with murder and criminal weapon possession.

Authorities have not publicly commented on a possible motive, and Comello gave conflicting accounts during the course of a three-and-a-half-hour interrogation after his arrest.

A videotape of Comellos interview with a detective was played at a pretrial hearing in state Supreme Court, St. George, in October.

On it, Comello initially said he slew Cali because Cali threatened to have him killed after Comello hit his SUV on the street.

Later on, Comello changed his story, saying he had been blackmailed into killing Cali by people who threatened to reveal how he had contracted HIV from a stripper.

Comello also provided a third account, saying he had actually gone to the victims house to spill the beans and warn him that organized crime had ordered a hit on him.

In court papers, Gottlieb said Comello was delusional and didnt intend to kill Cali.

Rather, the defendant drove to the victims house to affect a citizens arrest on the mob boss, maintains Comellos court filings.

He believed Cali held a significant status in a worldwide criminal cabal bent on the destruction of American values and the American way of life, a defense motion contends.

That alleged criminal conspiracy group is commonly referred to as the Deep State.

According to the motion, Comello planned to handcuff Cali and deliver him to the military.

The two men began arguing, and Comello shot Cali in self-defense when the victim made a furtive action with his hand, allege the defendants court filings.

At Fridays conference, Garnett, the judge, said he had signed a defense subpoena seeking the production of federal wiretaps of wiseguys talking about the shooting.

According to a detention memo filed in Brooklyn federal court in an unrelated racketeering case, several high-level Gambino family members met on March 17 to discuss the then-unclear circumstances surrounding Calis death.

Gottlieb said there was an indication that mobsters apparently had gone to Calis home and were inside before police arrived.

That raises questions, he said, of whether the house, crime scene, the victims car or other evidence was tampered with.

Also, on Friday, Garnett initially set an April 20 trial date.

However, Gottlieb said he likely wouldnt be available then.

The lawyer said he has four other trials scheduled in the coming months in various jurisdictions that may occupy him through June.

Garnett adjourned the case to April 20 for a final status conference.

The judge may set a trial date then.
Robert Sloan, with his parents Bryce and Anne and wife Emma, run the 180-cow Townlaw Holstein herd alongside the 60-cow Darnlaw Jersey herd that was introduced in 2016.

In 2011, to increase productivity while managing the available labour, the Sloans switched to robotic milking in a new purpose-built shed on a greenfield site on the farm. The Holsteins are now housed all year round and milked through three Lely robots. Yields and cow longevity reflect the success of the system. In 2018 we had eight 100-tonne cows, a herd replacement rate of 19% and an average lifetime yield of 46,000kg, says Robert.

We employ three people, each working up to 50 hours a week  but rarely more than four and a half days a week so they get time off to pursue their own interests.

The Jersey herd is run separately and milked twice a day through the original parlour, grazing in summer and housed in winter. Milk from this herd fulfils a specialist contract with their milk buyer Grahams Dairy.

Both herds calve all year-round. The Holsteins averaged 11,980kg of milk at 3.99% fat and 3.13% and the Jerseys produced 7,115kg of milk at 6.02% fat and 4.01% protein in the Gold Cup qualifying year to the end of September 2018. Somatic cell count for the Holsteins averaged 116,000 cells/ml and 79,000cells/ml for the Jersey herd.

Commenting on the winner, RABDF chairman and competition judge Peter Alvis said:

This is a business where family members have worked together to develop the dairy herds and to establish a good working relationship with their milk buyer. They have invested well in technology and systems and their flexible approach to staffing ensures a good work life balance.

The 2019 Chris May Memorial Award, for the Gold Cup qualifying herd with the highest lifetime daily yield, that reflects the herds all round milk production, health, fertility and longevity achievements, is awarded to Bill and Joe Ives from Herriard, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire.

Their 272-cow Gladwyke Holstein herd had an average lifetime daily yield of 19.6kg a day for the year to September 2018 with an average milk production of 12,742kg of milk.

Three awards were presented to Gold Cup qualifying herds that had achieved the highest combined weight of fat and protein production for their breed.
Recent revelations that government is mortgaging the country's mineral wealth to Russian companies in exchange for arms and fuel are a damning indictment on the authorities' penchant for murky and opaque deals in which strategic national resources are abused by the rich and the ruling elite at the expense of the citizenry.

The Zimbabwe Independent, on January 10, reported that government would soon take delivery of fighter jets, among other armaments from Russia, in a deal that has seen Harare mortgaging some of its minerals, particularly chrome and platinum, to Moscow.

The deal is seen as part of Zimbabwe's efforts to revamp its antiquated military hardware, although government critics have said it is an attempt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to consolidate power by strengthening the state's military might, given that he has not hesitated to make full use of the troops even at the slightest threat.

The total platinum concession being offered to the Kremlin is worth a staggering US$3 billion -- an amount which beggars belief. It remains a mystery what sort of weaponry the country requires to warrant a deal that size.

Public policy expert Tawanda Zinyama rightly notes: "If this is real, then I think the Russians cannot believe their luck. This is a huge bargain on their part."

Last week, the Independent further reported another barter trade deal in which Russia's state-owned petroleum and gas company, Tatneft, is eyeing Zimbabwe's diamonds in a murky fuel-for-gems deal, which desperate officials in Harare believe will ease the acute shortage of the commodity.

Both deals were negotiated during Mnangagwa's visit to Moscow in January last year.Zimbabwe is in the throes of a deepening economic crisis characterised by severe fuel shortages compounded by an acute foreign currency crunch.

Then, there is one man with absolute control of the entire fuel sector, business tycoon Kuda Tagwirei. Tagwirei was in Russia with Mnangagwa when the deals were negotiated.

"It's an undeniable fact that there are a few individuals and the ruling elite enjoying the fat of the land on behalf of everybody else and this is not what should be happening," Zinyama, who is also a lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe, said.

Tagwirei has been repeatedly accused of holding the Zimbabwean government to ransom. The latest accusation this week came from the Zanu PF Youth League top brass -- deputy secretary Lewis Matutu and national commissar for the wing, Godfrey Tsenengamu -- who labelled him the most corrupt man in Zimbabwe.

What has fuelled doubts about the sincerity of government in negotiating these deals is its dark history when it comes to managing public goods.There are many examples from the recent past to fully illustrate this aspect.

In 2008, for instance, a massive shipment of Chinese small arms bound for Zimbabwe was stopped from docking in Durban, South Africa, just before the March general election.

The shipment was coming from state-owned Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco, which the previous year had reportedly been included in a joint venture agreement to start mining on platinum concessions seized from Anglo Platinum and Implats. Those concessions were seized as part of a loan agreement that saw US$100 million being handed to Zanu PF ahead of elections that year.

Norinco had invested in Zimbabwe either directly or through subsidiary units partnering the state-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation. Through its subsidiary companies, Wanbao and Zimbao, Norinco has held platinum claims in Chegutu, mineral rights for copper mining at a Sanyati mine and gold claims in Chimanimani.

Zimbabwe's mineral resources were handed to China instead of cash in 2009, in order for the Ministry of Defence to purchase 12 K-8 jet-trainer aircraft worth US$240 million.

Only a fraction of the costs were covered by money from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, but the payments were made, leading to the delivery of the aircraft and in 2011 it was also reported that the Chinese government had sent a shipment of 20 000 AK-47 assault rifles to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.

The deals may help explain why Mnangagwa's administration has frustrated Finance minister Mthuli Ncube's efforts to help Zimbabwe join the Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (Eiti), an international organisation whose chief mission is to promote transparency and accountability in the extractive sector.

"It doesn't make sense at all. Instead, we have proven to be disastrous with accounting for resource rents," charged Centre for Natural Resource Governance (CNRG) director Farai Maguwu.

"I would recommend minerals-for-infrastructure deals where foreign companies are given specific deliverables such as road, rail and dam construction in exchange for mining rights.

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"Given the billions we have lost to corruption in the extractive sector, had we invested in minerals-for-infrastructure deals, Zimbabwe will be boasting of world-class road and rail infrastructure which is a precursor to industrial revolution. The mines-for-weapons deals demonstrate misplaced priorities.

"Whilst government has a duty to ensure our military is well equipped for the purpose of national security, I think the biggest security threat we are facing now is a failing economy which is in urgent need of capital injection. Government must consult citizens and stakeholders on strategies for an economic turnaround and setting of priorities."

James Mupfumi of the Centre for Research and Development said government contracts evaded parliamentary oversight because of "kleptocracy".

"The best opportunity for citizens to control the governance of their resources is to force government to implement a democratic devolution process that will give locals power over their resources," Mupfumi said.

"The overarching indication in all this is that the current government has learnt nothing and forgotten nothing insofar as managing mineral resources is concerned and, for citizens, it is heads you lose, tails you lose."
Revenge appears to be the motive for the attack on tourists. An Islamist recruiting militants to fight in the Mideast was arrested last year. The latest incident is a wake-up call after the attacks in Sri Lanka.

Male (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The Islamic State (IS) group has claimed responsibility for a stabbing attack against three tourists, two from China and one from Australia, carried out this week on one of the Maldivian islands.

Yesterday, local police arrested three men in connection with the incident, and are investigating the veracity of the claim by the Caliphate.

The attack took place last Tuesday on Hulhumale, an island some seven kilometre from the capital city of Male. The victims were taken to hospital and are in stable conditions.

The attackers are believed to be members of a radical Maldivian group affiliated with IS, which claimed responsibility for the attack in a video posted online.

Three masked men appear in the video. One of them accuses the Maldivian government of being run by infidels and promises more attacks.

According to experts, the stabbings could be revenge for the arrest of a local radical Islamic leader involved in recruiting militants to fight in the Middle East.

At least 160 Maldivians who left the archipelago to fight in Syria and Iraq are currently held in prison camps.

This violent incident highlights the increasing Islamist presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

In April last year, another country in the area, Sri Lanka, was hit by terrible attacks against three churches and three hotels on Easter Sunday that left 263 people dead and over 500 wounded.

The Maldives is an archipelago with a population of 340,000. Sunni Islam is the state religion and Sharia (Islamic law) is enforced  there is no religious freedom.

In 2008 a constitutional amendment stripped non-Muslims of the possibility of acquiring citizenship.

Alcohol and pork can only be served at the airport and in resorts where Maldivians are not allowed to work. Furthermore, idols of other religions cannot be brought into the country.
Fifteen Kerala students who were stuck in China after the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic have finally returned home on Friday night around 11 pm after the governments successful intervention.

Air Asia flight carrying the students from Bangkok landed at Kochi Airport where five sterilised ambulances and a team of doctors were waiting to transport them to Kochi Medical colleges isolation ward. They were not allowed access to airport lounges and other areas exposed to the general public. After their medical examination is conducted, it will be decided if they have to be isolated or sent home. The transit arrangement was done through the airside.

These students were stranded in Kunming airport for three days after Singapore announced it will not allow transit of foreign nationals from China for the time being. The students were supposed to fly to Kochi last Tuesday but were stranded at the airport. Their plight came to light after some news channels talked to them

Later junior MEA V Muraleedhran intervened and the authorities conceded.

India had earlier this month brought back over 600 Indian nationals from Wuhan in two trips made by Air India flights. Several Indian students are still in Wuhan and the government said it is in regular touch with them.

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An astronauts long and historic trip in space, the governors plan to lease prisons, and a tree lighting in February.

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Linkedin William Mallard and Elaine Lies (Reuters) Tokyo  Fri, February 7, 2020 20:00 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206338a98 2 News coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,wuhan,cruise,cruise-ship,Hong-Kong,Japan,quarantine Free

When American Sawyer Smith got hold of discount cruise tickets, he invited his brother and grandparents along for what they expected to be a luxurious treat, from Japan to Hong Kong and back again, full of good food and fun port calls along the way.

They boarded on Jan. 20 and all went well until a passenger, who had disembarked in Hong Kong, was diagnosed with the coronavirus, and their ship, the Diamond Princess, was locked down in quarantine just off Yokohama, the port south of Tokyo from where the tour had started.

Now Sawyer, 25, his brother and their grandparents, Clyde and Renee, both 80, are spending their second full day in a cabin that, as Renee told Reuters by phone from the ship, is tiny.

"We don't have a window, there are four of us - and only one chair," she said.

About 3,700 people on the Diamond Princess face quarantine for at least two weeks on the ship, which has 20 virus cases, with testing continuing.

Everybody's temperature was taken by health officials who swarmed the ship, with Clyde and Renee - who'd been on a bus tour with the infected man - given additional tests. Both proved negative.

"If they'd had symptoms we would have been more worried," Sawyer said. Clyde's past work, including a stint doing epidemiological work for the U.S. state of Georgia, may also have contributed to their equanimity.

Read also: How to avoid coronavirus on flights: Forget masks, says top airline doctor

Clyde and Renee have been spending their time reading. The family has also watched movies, including Crazy Rich Asians and Aquaman.

Sawyer, a fitness fanatic who went to the ship's gym or pool every other day and came second in a shipboard "Sexiest Legs" contest, now does crunches and pullups in the room, which at six meters by nine doesn't allow for a lot more.

Masked and gloved ship staff brought a breakfast of pastries, granola with yogurt, fruit and boiled eggs around 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, along with a menu from which they could choose later meals. Wednesday they had mostly sandwiches.

The death toll from the virus, which originated in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, jumped by 73 to 563 in China, with more than 28,000 confirmed infections there.

Sawyer's family said they appreciated the efforts health officials were making to contain the virus and that the ship's crew was taking good care of them, although Renee spoke wistfully of the "Hungarian Rhapsody Trio" that had played live several times a day.

Sawyer said cruise officials were negotiating to see if small groups could be taken on deck for air.

"It's not really at the point where we're getting stir-crazy," Sawyer said. "If they keep us in the rooms for four to five days, it might be a little different."
Get this newsletter in your inbox Monday-Friday by signing up at subscription.oregonlive.com/newsletters.

Top stories for Friday, Feb. 7

@daxa_tw via AP

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: A Forest Grove woman is one of more than 60 coronavirus victims quarantined on a cruise ship off the Japanese coast. A passenger photo shows medical workers aboard. In Lane County, a suspected coronavirus case turned out to be a false alarm. Portland schools have canceled trips to China, the epicenter of the epidemic, and Chinese delegations that had planned to visit Portland schools are staying home. (Associated Press)

OREGON LEGISLATURE: Logging and agricultural truckers and their supporters encircled the state Capitol and blasted their air horns Thursday as the rural advocacy group Timber Unity gathered in protest of Senate Bill 1530, which would cap statewide carbon dioxide emissions and require that certain polluters acquire emissions allowances. Also in Salem Thursday, Sen. Kim Thatcher announced a run for Oregon secretary of state. Legislators are considering a bipartisan bill that would prevent detained immigrants from being housed in Norcor jail in The Dalles.

OREGON EDUCATION: Oregon public schools enrolled nearly 583,000 students this year, 0.2% more than in 2018-19, the state reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Oregon 5-year-olds readiness for kindergarten has remained stubbornly unchanged over the past few years, even after the state modestly expanded free preschool for low- and moderate-income children, figures released Thursday show.

GUN VIOLENCE: Portland police made their pitch Thursday to maintain their Gun Violence Reduction Team in the next budget, saying its needed to zero in on the serial trigger-pullers responsible for shootings across the city.

UNITY CENTER: Safety violations and patient overcrowding have long plagued a California psychiatric hospital that served as an inspiration for Portlands mental health ER, the Unity Center for Behavioral Health, suggesting that some of the trouble Unity leaders continue to face should have been foreseeable.

GHOSTS OF HIGHWAY 20: Roger Dale Beck, convicted of killing runner Kaye Turner in 1978 in a case documented in a 2018 Oregonian/OregonLive series, lost his fourth bid for eventual parole Thursday.

Snap of the day

LC-

CASCADE PERMITS: Planning a hike on Olallie Butte at Mount Jefferson (shown) or elsewhere in the central Cascade wilderness? U.S. Forest Service officials announced Thursday that a restrictive permitting system will go on as planned for the Mount Jefferson, Three Sisters and Mount Washington wilderness areas, but without the proposed recreation fees. The Forest Service will still charge processing fees for day and overnight permits. (Terry Richard/Oregonian file photo)

More news

Facebook lays out protections for U.S. elections  but will continue to allow misinformation on its platform

Les Schwabs plan to sell shakes up an Oregon institution

Fire at Shirleys Tippy Canoe was suspicious, investigators say

Japanese company plans 47-acre data center on SolarWorlds Hillsboro site

Officers cleared in fatal shooting of man in SW Washington

American Dirt reminds Oregons Latino writers, journalists of their own barriers, struggles in publishing

Portlands Colin OBrady blasted in National Geographic for exaggerating his Antarctica trek; OBrady decries magazines errors

Find more at oregonlive.com

Weather and traffic

Rain continues Friday. A cold front will move into the metro area Friday night. The Cascade passes should get a good dose of snowfall Friday night. High 52, low 42.

In Pendleton, floodwaters washed out a bridge Thursday, and the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the Umatilla River. The weather service said the river would continue to rise overnight and hit its highest point Friday morning.

Get the latest forecast at oregonlive.com/weatherStay up to date on traffic conditions at oregonlive.com/commuting

Advice

Ask Amy: Moms outburst at daughters wedding creates a chasm

Dear Abby: Same bride, second shower - must we bring another gift?

Dear Annie: Her parents wont share their money and time, and she really resents it

Find more, including todays horoscope, at oregonlive.com

Today's comics

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Today's obituaries

Click here to find area deaths reported recently

Today in history

In 1812: Author Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England.

In 1962: President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.

In 1964: The Beatles arrived at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour.

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THE death of a woman in a Rotherham underpass is now being treated as unexplained by police after a post-mortem proved inconclusive.

Emergency services were called to Drummond Street in Rotherham town centre shortly before 8pm on Wednesday.

The woman (32) had apparently suffered a cardiac arrest. She died in hospital and formal identification is yet to take place.

Police said a post-mortem examination was inconclusive.

Detectives were now treating the death as unexplained and not suspicious.

A 59-year-old Rotherham man who was arrested on suspicion of robbery and murder has been released without charge and enquiries are ongoing.

Officers would like to hear from witnesses and are keen to trace two men who were seen with the woman shortly before emergency services were called.

Call 101 quoting incident number 775 of February 5, or contact Crimestoppers via their website, www.crimestoppers-uk.org, or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.
Sewage sludge used as fertiliser on British farms could be contaminating land with microplastics, an Environment Agency report has warned.

Around 3.6 million tonnes of sewage sludge, known as biosolids, is reprocessed for farmers' use every year, and the practice has boomed within the last 20 years.

The 'Materials to Land' report highlights that, in 1998, the government banned water firms from dumping the sewage at sea due to the threat to marine life.

Farmers are entitled to use the biosolids as an alternative to manufactured fertilisers, and they play a significant role in enhancing soil quality and soil fertility.

But concerns have been raised that the sludge could be contaminating farmland with creeping levels of microplastics, metals and organic pollutants.

The report, completed in 2017 but only made public now due to a freedom of information request, says the composition of the sludge has changed over the years.

It explains that the 'number of pollutants which may pose a risk to human health and the wider environment has expanded'.

It adds that microplastics could be harming soil ecosystems or crops either directly or through hormone-disrupting substances.

The Environment Agency, which commissioned the report, said it is currently working on a sludge strategy which is due to be published later this year.

The strategy aims to find solutions to sludge pollution and how toxins can be removed from the UK's natural environment.

It will also assess how the EA can continue to find waste recovery activities that work as an alternative to manufactured fertilisers whilst counteracting the damaging pollutants that have been introduced.

An Environment Agency spokesperson said: We take our responsibility to protect the environment very seriously, which is why we commissioned this report to inform our upcoming sludge strategy and make sure our regulations are based on the latest scientific data.

While spreading waste can have beneficial impacts on the land when used as a substitute for manufactured fertilisers, we are clear this practice must not harm the environment.

We will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those who fail to manage any risks appropriately  including prosecution in the most severe cases.

Indeed in 2017 we strengthened our regulation by amending permits to spread on land and in 2018 we increased our charges to better fund our compliance activities.

Greenpeace's investigative journalism unit, Unearthed, obtained EA's report through a freedom of information request.
February 7, 2020



POCATELLOThe Idaho State University College of Technology has been awarded a more than $2.3 million grant to construct a new technical education facility to train students in diesel power generation systems.

The Economic Development Administration awarded the grant to Idaho State because the demand for a trained workforce is critical. Idaho State is one of only two schools in the nation that provide specific training in on-site power generation. The curriculum at ISU mirrors industrys needs by preparing technicians who can service all varieties of generators.

The hands-on training our graduates receive in this program not only prepares them for successful careers, but also meets a critical workforce need in our communities, said President Kevin Satterlee. Receiving this grant will help us to expand opportunities and meet an ever-growing demand.

The grant announcement was made by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The grant will be matched with additional fundraising from donors and commitments by the University. This facility addition will complete the William M. and Karin A. Eames Advanced Technical Education and Innovations Complex on Alvin Ricken Drive.

Idaho State Universitys expertise, working with this EDA grant, will benefit our state in many different ways and for many years to come, said U.S. Senator Mike Crapo. This endeavor adds fuel to our cutting-edge training initiatives in Idaho and will benefit our workforce in much-needed technical fields while supporting continued economic growth in Idaho.

The placement rate of graduates from the ISU program is 100 percent, and industry demand currently exceeds the number of graduates. Students who graduate with this training are able to perform preventative engine maintenance checks and services, diagnose and repair electrical problems, parallel or put two generators in series, install and repair transfer switches, gain experience troubleshooting/diagnosing mechanical or electrical problems, become well acquainted with programmable logic controls and provide guidance to customers in residential, industrial, or commercial applications for backup power.

The diesel power generation systems training started at ISU in 1978, and has evolved to meet industry needs. Today, the program remains a national leader.

This generous grant is a game changer for the College of Technology and will allow for the completion of the Eames Complex project, said Dean R. Scott Rasmussen. This monumental show of support will allow the College of Technology to be a national leader in diesel electric and power generation education. With the growing national need for emergency on-site power generation, this new facility will allow the program to increase the number of skilled technicians to provide a workforce in high demand for today and tomorrow.
More than 50 families that were affected by flash floods in Hwange are still housed at the Colliery Company guest lodge where they share rooms, 18 days after the harsh weather phenomenon hit the area.

Hwange received a total of 139mm of rain within three hours on 18 January resulting in flash floods that left more than 100 people affected in Lwendulu and Cinderella suburbs.

The Hwange Colliery Company and Hwange Civil Protection Unit responded by evacuating the families to the guest house in Lwendulu and are surviving on handouts from well-wishers.

The affected homes were built during the colonial era as bachelors' accommodation for colliery company workers.

Each unit has eight rooms and occupied by four families using two rooms each and were built on a low-lying area making them prone to flooding.

The houses have been affected by floods for many years and this is the second time occupants have been evacuated after another incident in 2016.

The low lying vlei like area stretches from the central business district and cuts across connecting to Deka River.

TM supermarket is still closed after its internal system crushed as a result of the rains that also flooded the shop.

Rugare Dobhie, spokesperson for the colliery company, said the drains which were blamed for the floods will be rehabilitated.

A visit to the affected area a few days ago showed that no work has been done yet.

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The affected houses are still unoccupied with some still damp on the floor and walls.

Anguished victims who spoke to NewZimbabwe.com said they were not sure about their future.

"We don't even know what fate has for us. We were told that we will go back once it's safe to do so but they later changed and said they are trying to get us alternative houses. Our worry is that these floods have been happening every time and no action being taken and this might happen again this time," said Ronia Mwinde.

Some of the victims are pregnant women while some have newly born babies.

School children were also affected as they lost all their stationery and are now struggling to do their homework as they live in shared rooms.

Families however cook separately after donations are shared among them.

Some organisations have been taking turns to donate foodstuffs and other goods through the local councillor and CPU.

Hwange District Development Coordinator Simon Muleya said they were waiting for direction from the colliery company which administers the area.

"Colliery management said it is trying to secure alternative houses for the victims and will hear from them once they are ready," he said.
: A senior minister in the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy cabinet announced on Friday that the process of "decentralization" has already begun,amid speculation that the government will shift its (administrative) operations to port city Visakhapatnam after Telugu New Year Day Ugadi (March 25).

The buzz in the state Secretariat here is that government departments will be moved to Visakhapatnam by the first week of April.

Already, the government has issued orders shifting the offices of the Vigilance Commissioner and Commissionerate of Inquiries to Kurnool "on administrative grounds".

The state High Court is currently hearing a petition against the government's move.

At a press conference in the Secretariat here, Municipal Administration Minister Botsa Satyanarayana said that the government was going ahead with decentralization (of administration) in accordance with the law, implying that the move to have three capitals for the state was very much on.

"The decentralization process began when the government passed a resolution in the Assembly (last month).

We will follow the Constitution and the law while carrying out the process and respect the court directions," the minister said.

Stressing that decentralization was the "governments policy", the minister said they would go ahead with the plan of having the executive capital in Visakhapatnam, legislative capital in Amaravati and judicial capital in Kurnool.

Asked if the legislative process, which got stuck in the Legislative Council,on decentralization would be taken further or dropped, he remarked that "it will take its due course."



To another question on how long the process could take and if there were any specific timelines, Botsa said he did not have relevant information on hand.

The minister denied that government employees were opposing the decentralization plan.

"They are all happy. We have not received a single complaint or objection from them so far," Botsa maintained.

He lashed out at the opposition Telugu Desam Party for 'spreading lies' even in Parliament that Information Technology companies were being forced to vacate Millennium Tower-A in Visakhapatnam to accommodate government offices.

"Not a single IT company has been asked to move out. By making such misleading statements, the TDP is only damaging the states interests," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mothers love: Shannen Joyce says her daughter Roisin (3) has been her driving force

A young mother who is a two-time cancer survivor is the face of the 2020 Daffodil Day campaign.

Shannen Joyce (25), from Youghal, Co Cork, captured the hearts of thousands when she was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma aged 19 and shared her journey on social media.

Speaking at the launch of the Irish Cancer Society's Daffodil Day, she recalled her first diagnosis.

"Back then it was all about me.

"I had to drop out of college, I couldn't go on nights out," she said.

"My hair falling out felt like the end of the world."

Having defeated the illness once, she was diagnosed again aged 24 after becoming a mother to her daughter Roisin, who she says was her "driving force".

"At the time of my second diagnosis I was a mother myself and my fear was not for myself but for my little girl.

"It was gut-wrenching to miss out on time with her when I was having treatment, or when I was too unwell to do everyday things like dress her.

"But Roisin was also my driving force - the reason I got out of bed each day," Ms Joyce added.

She said she wants people to know that cancer does not discriminate on the basis of gender or age.

"Cancer can come knocking on anyone's door at any time," she said.

Daffodil Day, supported by Boots Ireland, is the Irish Cancer Society's annual fundraising drive and the proceeds raised contribute towards free services.

These include counselling, Night Nurse, the Volunteer Driver Service and Survivor Support.

The drive this year supported by retailer Boots and the society aims to raise 4m. Averil Power, CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, said Ms Joyce was a "wonderful advocate".

"Every three minutes somebody like Shannen receives a cancer diagnosis in Ireland and the number of people getting cancer is growing. She is an inspirational young woman and a wonderful advocate.

"We are very lucky to have Shannen using her voice to fight for people and families affected by cancer," she added.

You can get involved at cancer.ie.

Read More

ARCHIVE WATCH:
Pete Buttigieg has kept a narrow lead in Iowa's Democratic presidential caucuses after a days-long count and reports of inaccuracies - as Bernie Sanders declares he's had enough and says he won't call for re-canvassing after the fiasco.

The Iowa Democratic Party revealed Thursday night that Buttigieg (26.2%) had edged out Sanders (26.1%) by just 0.1 per cent in state delegates with 100 percent of precincts counted.

Both candidates had earlier declared themselves victorious.

Buttigieg had declared himself the winner based on the number of delegates from the Midwestern state while Sanders claimed victory based on the popular vote.

Sanders, the progressive Vermont Senator, vowed not to call for a re-canvass and said he was ready to move on from the debacle.

'We've had enough of Iowa. I think we should move on to New Hampshire,' he said, when asked by CNN's Anderson Cooper whether he would request a canvass.

Soon after, Buttigieg - the former South Bend Mayor - appeared at CNN's town hall and was told new results showed he was victorious.

'That's fantastic news to hear that we won,' he told interviewer Chris Cuomo. 'First of all, I want to say, Senator Sanders clearly had a great night too and I congratulate him and his supporters.'

Pressed on whether he would seek a canvass, Buttigieg said he would 'leave it to the party,' saying they should do 'whatever they need to do in order to make sure that the information is clear and verified.'

Pete Buttigieg has narrowly won Iowa's Democratic presidential caucuses after a days-long count and reports of inaccuracies

The Iowa Democratic Party revealed Thursday night that Buttigieg (26.2%) had edged out Sanders (26.1%) by just 0.1 per cent in state delegates with 100 percent of precincts counted

Following the results, Buttigieg said it proved his 'electability' over his more centrist rival Joe Biden.

He told TMZ: 'I can't tell him how to ruin his campaign, but I'll say this: If your focus is on electablity, and you bet that's a big consideration when you think how important it is to so many of us we just make sure we are ready to defeat Donald Trump.

'For the last year every candidate, of more than 20 candidates, have been working and seeking to gain support and claiming that they would be one.

'The first chance to actually prove it was in Iowa, and so the best way that I think to demonstrate you're a candidate who can win is to go win.

'And that continues to be our focus coming out of Iowa and going in to New Hampshire and the states that lie a head.'

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez asked the Iowa Democratic Party to conduct a recanvass.

'Enough is enough,' Perez said on Twitter. 'In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.'

Perez said it would involve an examination of the results from each caucus site rather than a full recount.

The state party put out a statement saying it would not occur unless requested by a candidate.

The candidates have until Friday to call for a recanvass.

Perez sought the recanvass following days of uncertainty about the results reported by the Iowa Democratic Party, which includes technology problems with the mobile phone app used by the party to collect results from caucus sites, an overwhelming number of calls to the party's backup phone system and a subsequent delay of several days of reporting the results.

The state party apologized for technical glitches with the app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results.

The caucus crisis was an embarrassing twist after months of promoting Iowa as a chance for Democrats to find some clarity in a jumbled 2020 field.

Instead, after a buildup that featured seven rounds of debates, nearly $1 billion spent nationwide and a year of political jockeying, caucus day ended with no winner and no official results.

Buttigieg - the former South Bend Mayor - appeared at CNN's town hall on Thursday night and was told new results showed he was victorious over Sanders

Buttigieg addressed a few hundred supporters at American Legion post in Merrimack, New Hampshire, later on Thursday where he only made a brief mention of the mishaps in Iowa

Campaigning in New Hampshire, Sanders called the Iowa Democratic Party's management of the caucuses a 'screw-up' that has been 'extremely unfair' to the candidates and their supporters.

He pointed to his lead in Iowa's actual vote totals.

'In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else,' he said.

'From where I come from, the person who gets the most votes wins,' he said, arguing that too much emphasis was being put on delegate totals.

At the end of the day, he said the caucus system is 'much, much, much too complicated' and it was a mistake for the state party to 'rely on untested technology.'

Meanwhile, Buttigieg addressed a few hundred supporters at American Legion post in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where he only made a brief mention of the mishaps in Iowa.

'New Hampshire is not the kind of place to let Iowa or anybody else tell you what to do,' he told military veterans and other voters.

'It has been an extraordinary week and we are absolutely electrified... by the extraordinary validation of this campaign's vision that we had in Iowa.'

He also turned an eye toward the state's primary vote that will be held Tuesday.

'So I know in the days leading up to primary day it is my responsibility to seek to earn every vote in a state that famously thinks for itself, in a state that lives by the motto of 'Live Free or Die',' he said.

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez asked the Iowa Democratic Party to conduct a recanvass. The state party put out a statement saying it would not occur unless requested by a candidate

The state party apologized for technical glitches with the app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. Precinct workers are pictured above counting the votes by hand

In Iowa, Senator Elizabeth Warren finished third with 18%, while former Vice President Joe Biden limped to a disappointing fourth with 15.8% and Senator Amy Klobuchar finished fifth with 12.3%.

Biden, the national frontrunner who described his likely fourth-place finish in Iowa as a 'gut punch', met with advisors on Thursday to map out strategy.

'I expected to do better,' Biden, 77, said as he launched attacks on rivals.

'If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America... will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself,' Biden said of the self-described democratic socialist.

Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years before becoming Barack Obama's vice president, said 38-year-old Buttigieg's lack of experience was 'a risk' for Democrats.

The two Iowa leaders, Buttigieg and Sanders, are separated by 40 years in age and conflicting ideology.

Sanders, a 78-year-old self-described democratic socialist, has been a progressive powerhouse for decades.

Buttigieg, a 38-year-old former municipal official, represents the more moderate wing of the Democratic Party. Buttigieg is also the first openly gay candidate to earn presidential primary delegates.

Joe Biden, the national frontrunner who described his likely fourth-place finish in Iowa as a 'gut punch', met with advisors on Thursday to map out strategy

Iowa marked the first contest in a primary season that will span all 50 states and several U.S. territories, ending at the party's national convention in July.

In the Iowa saga, numerous precincts had reported results that contained errors or were inconsistent with party rules. For example, dozens of precincts reported more final alignment votes than first alignment votes, which is not possible under party rules. In other precincts, viable candidates lost votes from the first alignment tally to the final, which is also inconsistent with party rules.

Some precincts made apparent errors in awarding state delegate equivalents to candidates. A handful of precincts awarded more state delegate equivalents than they had available. A few others didn't award all of theirs.

The trouble began with an app that the Iowa Democratic Party used to tabulate the results of the contest. The app was rolled out shortly before caucusing began and did not go through rigorous testing.

The problems were compounded when phone lines for reporting the outcomes became jammed, with many callers placed on hold for hours in order to report outcomes. Party officials said the backlog was exacerbated by calls from people around the country who accessed the number and appeared intent on disrupting the process.

President Donald Trump relished in the Democratic turmoil.

'The Democrats, they can't count some simple votes and yet they want to take over your health care system,' Trump said at a White House event Thursday celebrating his impeachment trial acquittal. 'Think of that - no, think of that.'
United States on Thursday asked all countries to speak out against mistreatment of Muslims living in China especially in Xinjiang region by Chinese authorities.

Alice G. Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, while talking to reporters appreciated the steps taken by Central Asian states to ensure that no ethnic Kazakh, Uighur, Kyrgyz is refouled to China and that the human rights of individuals who reach Central Asia are observed.

"As a matter of principle we urge all countries, not just Central Asian countries, to speak out against human rights abuses that are evident against Muslims in all of China but certainly in Xinjiang. And the countries of Central Asia, several of the countries of Central Asia have deep first-hand knowledge of those abuses given the direct impact it has on their own populations who have loved ones, family members, that are swept up in these detention centers," Wells said.

"We appreciate steps by Central Asian states to ensure that no ethnic Kazakh, Uighur, Kyrgyz is refouled to China, that the human rights of individuals who reach Central Asia are observed. And we also appreciate I think what countries like Kazakhstan can do to promote the free and safe travel of compatriots, ethnic compatriots across the border," she added.

China has been accused of oppressing the Uighurs by sending them to mass detention camps, interfering in their religious activities and sending the community to undergo some form of forceful re-education or indoctrination. However, Pakistan has stayed mum over this issue.

As many as 1 million people, or about 7 per cent of Xinjiang's Muslim population, have been incarcerated in a sprawling network of "political re-education" camps, according to US and UN studies.

In 2018, the New York-based Human Rights Watch released a report accusing Beijing of a "systematic campaign of human rights violations" against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.

Beijing says its camps in Xinjiang are "vocational training centres."

Last year, several documents leaked revealed details about Beijing's fears about religious extremism and its wholesale crackdown on Uighurs.

The US had called on the Chinese government to "immediately release all of those who are arbitrarily detained and to end its draconian policies that have terrorised its own citizens in Xinjiang.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BUSINESS

An article on Thursday about the effect of the coronavirus on carmakers supply chains in China described incorrectly the distribution of the Volvo XC60 sport utility vehicle. While the car is still made in China, it is no longer available for export to the United States.

SPORTS

An article on Thursday about the return of the XFL misspelled the name of an XFL player. He is Matt McGloin, not Matt McGlouin.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Thursday about the actor Kirk Douglas misstated the branch of the military to which the colonel he played in the movie Seven Days in May belonged. It was the Marines, not the Air Force.

Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions.
Bumble bee numbers tumble with climate change: study



Paris, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Climate change has contributed to a sharp drop in bumble bee populations across North America and Europe in recent decades, scientists said Friday.

Compared to the period 1900-1974, bumble bee numbers across dozens of distinct species dropped, on average, 46 percent during the first 15 years of the 21st century in Canada and the United States.

In Europe, the corresponding decline of the pollinators was 17 percent, they reported in the journal Science.

Many species of bees and other insects are in a downward spiral, previous research has shown.

Nearly half of all insect species worldwide are in decline and a third could disappear altogether by century's end, scientists concluded last year in a landmark study, warning about dire consequences for crop pollination and natural food chains.

But the main drivers of extinction are thought to be habitat loss and pesticide use, and teasing out the possible impact of climate change -- a more recent threat -- "has proven exceptionally challenging," researchers led by Peter Soroye, a biologist at the University of Ottawa, said in the new study.

To get around that problem, the scientists analysed more than half-a-million geo-localised bumble bee sightings mapped onto a 100-km2 grid in each continent.

They analysed population changes over time in each grid and matched those to average increases or decreases in temperature, as well as heat peaks beyond the threshold of bumble bee tolerance.

As expected, areas most affected by global warming showed the most acute declines in bumble bee density, while populations rose in regions that had previously been too cool for the bees to thrive.

But the numbers did not offset each other -- even after taking into account the new bee colonies in cooler climes, total population were way down.

The results, the scientists concluded, "suggest that recent climate change has driven stronger and more widespread bumble bee declines than have been reported previously.

"Climate change-related local extinction among species greatly exceeded those of colonisation, contributing to pronounced bumble bee species decline across both Europe and North America."

Insects are the world's top pollinators -- 75 percent of 115 top global food crops depend on animal pollination, including cocoa, coffee, almonds and cherries, according to the UN.

One-in-six species of bees have gone regionally extinct somewhere in the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:23:48|Editor: xuxin

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LONDON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The British government has started developing the country's new tariff regime for imports after the Brexit transition period, which ends in December this year.

It is the latest effort by the British government to shape its post-Brexit trade policy. Earlier this week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Britain will seek a Canada-style trade agreement with the European Union (EU) as part of its future trade relationship with the bloc, and diverge from EU rules.

The new tariff regime, known as the UK Global Tariff, will come into effect on Jan. 1, 2021 for imports from any country that Britain does not have a free trade agreement with. The Department for International Trade on Thursday launched a four-week public consultation, seeking views on simplifying and tailoring the tariff to suit British businesses and households, such as removing tariffs of less than 2.5 percent and rounding tariffs down to the nearest 2.5 percent, 5 percent or 10 percent band.

Other contents for consultation include removing tariffs on key inputs to production which could reduce costs for British manufacturers, and removing tariffs where the Britain has zero or limited domestic production which could help to lower prices for consumers.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said: "The UK has left the EU and it is time for us to look forward to our future as an independent, global champion of free trade...It is vitally important that we now move away from complex tariff schedule imposed on us by the European Union."

In Johnson's vision for Britain's post-Brexit trade relations, the country will be unshackled after 47 years tied to the EU.

"We have so often been told that we must choose between full access to the EU market, along with accepting its rules and courts on the Norway model, or a free trade agreement, which opens up markets and avoids the full panoply of EU regulation, like the Canada deal," Johnson said earlier this week in a speech to business leaders in London.

"We want a comprehensive free trade agreement, similar to Canada's. But in the very unlikely event that we do not succeed, then our trade will have to be based on our existing Withdrawal Agreement with the EU," he said.

The prime minister said the choice for Britain is emphatically not a case of "deal or no deal", the question is whether Britain agrees a trading relationship with the EU comparable to Canada's -- or more like Australia's.

"And I have no doubt that in either case the UK will prosper," he said.

Canada and the EU signed in 2016 the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement after seven years of negotiation. It is regarded as the most ambitious trade agreement that the EU has ever concluded with non-EU countries. Under it, import tariffs on most goods have been eliminated, though customs and VAT checks still remain. The flow of services, such as banking between the two sides are much more restricted.

Australia and the EU launched negotiations for a free trade agreement in June 2018, aiming at removing barriers to trade in goods and services while creating opportunities for small and large companies.

"There is no need for a free trade agreement to involve accepting EU rules on competition policy, subsidies, social protection, the environment, or anything similar any more than the EU should be obliged to accept UK rules," Johnson said.

Britain and the EU are expected to start trade talks in March. Britain will continue to follow all EU rules and regulations during a transition period after Brexit, due to end on Dec. 31.

Michel Barnier, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, said earlier this week that the bloc was ready to offer a "highly ambitious trade deal as the central pillar of this partnership", but Britain needs to agree to "specific and effective guarantees to ensure a level playing field" to ensure competition "is and remains open and fair."
Has centered his campaign on a universal basic income plan that would give every American adult $12,000 a year.

From the January debate: G.D.P. and corporate profits are at record highs in America today. Also at record highs? Depression, financial insecurity, student loan debt.

National polling average: 4%

Yang 0% 30%
President Donald Trump touted programs to help underserved communities, while also railing against the impeachment 'hoax' at his first trip outside DC since the State of the Union.

Trump on Friday talked up a new nationwide effort to revitalize underserved cities across the country, hours after saying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'broke the law' by tearing up his speech on national TV.

The new effort will be called 'Opportunity Now,' Trump said at an economic summit in Charlotte, North Carolina. He called it 'a big deal' that would involve community leaders, workers, entrepreneurs, employers and faith leaders.

But the topic didn't appear to hold his interest for long. Five minutes into his speech, Trump began to gloat anew about being acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday after the House impeached him on charges of abuse of power and obstructing the work of Congress.

President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C.

'It was the impeachment hoax. That was a thing of the past,' he said of his Democratic accusers. 'Now they have a failed impeachment hoax. They can put that on their resume.'

Trump then delivered a reprise of his State of the Union address, including comments about the U.S. economy, his trade policies and other issues.

Before leaving Washington, Trump also remarked on the Democratic-led effort to remove him from office, saying of Democrats: 'I think there's a lot of evil on that side.'

Introducing Trump was Housing secretary Ben Carson, who complained about people saying 'He is guilty of every evil thing they can think of.'

Then Carson continued: 'He's guilty of creating a dynamic economy that is working for everyone. He is guilty of creating a mil that is so strong that it can't be challenged by anyone He is guilty of recognizing how important it is to have a Space Force ...'

He also told reporters on the South Lawn that reports that acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney is on his way out are 'false.'

People close to Mulvaney, who was among the White House staffers who traveled with Trump on Friday, pushed back against the notion that he will soon leave his job.

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C

Trump was in Charlotte to deliver closing remarks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit at Central Piedmont Community College. It's the first in a series of trips he will be taking to promote opportunity zones, the White House said.

Trump was set to spotlight help for thousands of neighborhoods around the country that were designated as opportunity zones under a tax-cut package he signed into law in 2017. Tax breaks are provided for certain investments in these lower-income areas.

'It's all working,' Trump said Tuesday night as he highlighted opportunity zones in his State of the Union address.

As an example, Trump introduced an Army veteran from Cincinnati who turned his life around after getting a job with a construction company that invests in opportunity zones.

'Wealthy people and companies are pouring money into poor neighborhoods or areas that haven't seen investment in decades, creating jobs, energy and excitement,' Trump said.

Trump will return to Charlotte in late August for the Republican National Convention, where he is expected to claim his party's nomination for president.

'We'll be coming here a lot,' Trump said Friday.

___

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Jill Colvin in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Darlene Superville on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dsupervilleap

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump speaks at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson as he arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit, at Central Piedmont Community College, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump pauses as he speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Donald Trump walks to speak to members of the media on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, before boarding Marine One for a short trip to Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and then on to Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

President Donald Trump gives the thumbs-up as he walks with Col. Donald Schmidt, commander of the 89th Operations Group, to board Air Force One, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020, in Andrews Air Force Base, Md., for a trip to Charlotte, N.C. to attend the North Carolina Opportunity Now Summit. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 15:37:49|Editor: xuxin

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Italy has agreed to temporarily resume some flights with China after it suspended direct air traffic between the two countries last month, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Friday.

According to a statement on the ministry's website, Vice Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a meeting with Italian Ambassador to China Luca Ferrari Thursday.

Qin said that after the novel coronavirus outbreak, Italy's unilateral decision to stop flights without previously contacting China has resulted in great inconvenience to travellers from both countries, and many Chinese citizens are still stranded in Italy.

China urges the Italian side to actively respond to China's urgent and reasonable concerns, and cancel the decision to suspend flights as soon as possible.

For his part, Ferrari said Italy sympathizes with and understands the situation facing Chinese citizens stranded in Italy. For now, it is willing to approve the resumption of some flights upon Chinese airlines' application, and work hard to normalize exchanges between the two countries.
WINSTON, Ore. -- Some parents in the Winston-Dillard School District remain on edge after a possible threat was made toward two schools.

Police are continuing their investigation into the report, which involves Douglas High School and Winston Middle School.

Officers first learned of the possible threat late Wednesday night when a community member reported it and identified a specific person.

RELATED: WINSTON-DILLARD SCHOOL DISTRICT INVESTIGATES POSSIBLE THREAT

Police contacted the accused person and advised them to stay away from the schools.

However, some parents said they are still worried about their children's safety.

"That makes me feel very uncomfortable, and Im not easy about this, said parent Amanda Guthrie. This isn't very okay with us."

District officials said they have increased security presence at both schools.

They also said they have implemented a Crisis Management Plan until the investigation is finished.
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, best known as Malcolm X or Malcolm Little, was an African-American human rights activist and Muslim minister. He was one of the popular figures during the civil rights movement and is best known for advocating for the rights of the blacks and for harshly indicting white Americans for its crime against the blacks. Malcolm X was a member of the Nation of Islam which he joined while in prison. It is while in prison that he changed his name from Little to X, claiming that the former had been imposed by the white slavemasters.

Early Years

Malcolm X was born in 1925 as Malcolm Little in Omaha Nebraska. He was the fourth born in a family of seven children. His father Earl who was an outspoken church minister died while Malcolm X was only six years, possibly killed by white racists. His mother Louise was confined to a mental institution for about 24 years for mental health issues. Malcolm Little was a bright student in school but dropped out after one of his teachers told him to drop his ambition of becoming a lawyer and instead become a carpenter. In 1943, he moved to New York where he got involved in petty crimes such as drug dealing, robbery, and gambling. While in Harlem, he met and befriended Sanford (Redd Fox) and acquired the nickname Detroit Red because of the reddish hair. Little returned to Boston in 1945 where he was arrested and sentenced to 8-10 years imprisonment.

Involvement with the Nation of Islam

While in prison, Little received seral letters from his siblings about a new religious movement called Nation of Islam that was preaching about black self-reliance and their ultimate return to Africa. In 1948, he wrote to the movements leader, Elijah Muhammad who advised him to repent, pray to God, and never engage in destructive behaviors again. Known to be anti-religious, Little found it difficult to pray, but he eventually did. In 1950, he declared himself a Communist and changed his name to Malcolm X. Muhammad had advised members of the Nation of Islam to abandon their family names and instead use X. In 1953, Malcolm X was named NOIs assistant minister for the Nations Temple Number One. As a minister, he established temples across the US and successfully recruited more members to the NOI.

Teachings Associated with Malcolm X

Malcolm X propagated the Nation of Islams teachings that included the belief that the blacks were the original people of the world and that the whites were evil, less superior to the blacks, and their demise was imminent. He was often accused of racism because of his controversial teachings. He and other NOI leaders forbade members from taking part in any political process, including voting. Malcolm X also criticized the civil rights movement, accusing the movements leaders of colluding with the whites. He advocated for total separation while civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. fought against segregation.

Assassination

Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam in 1964 and immediately became the groups enemy. On February 19, 1965, he claimed that the group was trying to kill him. Two days later, Malcolm X was shot and killed by NOI member Talmadge Hayer. Elijah Muhammad said that Malcolm X got what he wanted but denied NOIs involvement. He was buried in Ferncliff Cometary in New York.
The UAEs Khalifa Fund for Business Development has provided about $10 million in financial support to Burkina Faso to create 50,000 jobs for the youth in the West African nation.

The agreement was signed by the president of the Khalifa Fund, Hussain Jasim Al Nowais, and the Burkinabe minister in charge of youth, Salfo Tiemtore.

According to the authorities, this financial support will make it possible to invest in the employability of young people, training, womens self-sufficiency, and development of micro-projects and SMEs and SMIs.

it is a loan at a preferential rate. It aims to create 50,000 jobs for young people in Burkina Faso, 50% of which will go to women and 50% to men, the president of the fund said.

In 2018, the estimated youth unemployment rate in Burkina Faso was at 7.95 percent.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, and despite significant gold reserves, it is one of the poorest countries in both the region and the world.

Poverty in Burkina Faso has a rural face with a 51 pc rural poverty rate, compared to 20 pc in urban areas. The regions in the North and East of the country are struggling with poverty rates of respectively 68 pc and 62 pc.
Wyoming Business Tips for Feb. 10-16

A weekly look at issues facing Wyoming business owners and entrepreneurs from the Wyoming Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Network, a collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Janean Forsyth Lefevre, procurement specialist, Wyoming Procurement Technical Assistance Center

Federal, state and local governments spend millions of dollars every year to purchase products and services from small businesses in Wyoming. An upcoming event in Wyoming is the best chance of the year in our state to learn everything there is to know about government contracting.

This years annual GRO-Biz Conference takes place in Cheyenne March 25 and promises to deliver a robust offering of matchmaking, networking and learning opportunities for Wyomings small businesses. Whether you are new to the idea of selling your goods or services to the government or you have been working in contracting for years, heres a quick look at why you should attend:

-- Meet your representatives. Federal, state and local procurement representatives from all over our region will be on hand to speak with you face-to-face about government contracting opportunities for your small business. This is your best chance this year to make these connections and get all of your questions answered.

-- Learning opportunities. There will be multiple sessions to choose from, with some topics focused on the basics of government contracting, while others will cover issues more relevant to those who have experience or want to dive deeper into specific topics.

-- Powerful networking. The GRO-Biz Conference prioritizes not only face-to-face meetings with procurement representatives, but also is an opportunity to meet with other small-business owners, experts from multiple business resource organizations and dignitaries from local, state and regional governments.

To make sure youre ready to get the most out of the event, you can read the full version of this Biz Tip at www.wyomingsbdc.org/biz-tips. To learn more or to register for this years GRO-Biz Conference, visit www.wyomingsbdc.org/grobiz. Unlike in the past, this years event will focus solely on government contracting. We hope youll join us.

The Wyoming SBDC Network offers business expertise to help Wyoming residents think about, launch, grow, reinvent or exit their businesses. The Wyoming SBDC Network is hosted by UW with state funds from the Wyoming Business Council and funded, in part, through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

To ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu, or write 1000 E. University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY 82071-3922.
Its hard to get your start in politics. After winning that first election, one immediately finds themselves a member of the rank and file, stuck in a hierarchy that, regardless of ones ability or depth of knowledge, takes some time to adjust to.

While a lawmakers first stint in the Legislature can be intimidating, some manage to make an impact right away, either as sponsors for bills or as reliable allies in coalitions formed by other, more influential lawmakers. Others  using expertise gathered in the private sector  can lend a depth of policy expertise few of their peers can match, gaining power through their ability to take ownership of certain issues. Former police officers and lawyers find themselves writing criminal justice policy, for example, while ranchers immediately get swept into working agricultural policy.

Oftentimes, those stages give legislators a platform to gain notice by their peers, leading the charge on legislation and having interactions with fellow lawmakers that can, eventually, lead to the coalitions needed to ascend the ladder in Wyoming politics. While their moments in the spotlight may have been limited, so far, these are 13 lawmakers determined by their peers to be on the path to power in the Legislature.

Rep. Shelly Duncan, R-Torrington

A first-term lawmaker, Duncan has been an integral voice in Blockchain legislation in her first year in office and has built up a reputation as a thoughtful and well-read voice on a multitude of issues  most of all real estate, which has caused some conflict with representatives in Teton County.

Rep. Cyrus Western, R-Sheridan

A former intern for Sen. John Barrasso, the Sheridan Republican is ambitious and energetic and, early on, has already established a positive relationship with members of leadership. A 2016 Harvard graduate and among the youngest members of the Legislature, the ceiling remains high enough for Western that some politicos are already whispering about his potential for higher elected office someday.

Sen. Tara Nethercott, R-Cheyenne

A powerful voice in the Senate, Nethercott is both effective and efficient and  in addition to her work ushering in criminal justice reform as chair of the powerful Judiciary Committee  has taken the lead on some of the most significant legislation to pass in recent years, including a bill allowing community colleges to offer certain four-year career and technical education degrees last year.

Rep. Tyler Lindholm, R-Sundance

Already boasting one of the most meteoric rises to leadership in recent memory, the charismatic House majority whip has already gained national recognition for his work on blockchain as well as for his position as a loud voice in the conservative movement to end endless wars. Another lawmaker with a high ceiling.

Rep. Sara Burlingame, D-Cheyenne

A rare progressive voice in the Wyoming Legislature, Burlingame is respected by her peers for bringing a unique and often, underrepresented perspective to state government. Immensely outgoing, Burlingame is also an effective coalition-builder and has already developed strong relationships on both sides of the aisle that could pay off down the line.

Rep. Hans Hunt, R-Newcastle

Elected to the Legislature at the age of 22, the former House majority whip leads an agricultural committee that, last year, oversaw key public lands legislation and the passage of an industrial hemp bill, which garnered a significant amount of publicity in the state. While hes been out of leadership for several years, Hunt maintains close ties and, with his long tenure, is well-positioned to make even larger moves down the line.

Rep. Jared Olsen, R-Cheyenne

After spearheading the most successful death penalty repeal campaign to date in Wyoming, Olsen  who nonetheless, failed in that effort  has kept the pressure on in 2020. With close ties to a number of influential lawmakers, he could be well on the path to a greater role in the lower chamber of the Legislature in the coming years.

Rep. Andi Clifford, D-Riverton

After winning one of the most stunning victories of the 2018 election, Clifford has been an exemplary voice for members of the Wind River Reservation as well as an effective coalition builder. As one survey respondent said, when Andi Clifford talks, people listen.

Rep. Dan Laursen, R-Powell

Laursen has played a critical role in a number of discussions on agricultural policy this past interim, gaining himself some additional visibility. Should be worth watching.

Sen. Brian Boner, R-Douglas

The co-chairman of the legislatures Joint Committee on Agriculture, Boner has proven to be an efficient and informed legislator and, in the past year, has shown a growing willingness to be heard on national issues. It will be interesting to see where the Converse County rancher goes from here.

Rep. Jerry Obermueller, R-Casper

Still early in his political career, Obermueller is a highly independent voice in the Legislature and, with an eye-grabbing corporate income tax proposal last session, has already shown his capacity to make waves early and garner support for controversial legislation.

Rep. Fred Baldwin, R-Kemmerer

Like Rep. Sue Wilson  who chairs the House Committee on Health and Human Services  Baldwin has become a leading voice on health care policy in the House at a time when its become a critical issue. Expect him to be a key voice there.

Rep. Sandy Newsome, R-Cody

Though relatively quiet, the Cody Republican counts roles on a number of committees that deal in legislation crucial to economic development in Wyoming. With a varied background in both tourism and economic development, Newsome has quickly become a key voice in one of the most important conversations in Wyoming and will continue to be seen as such.

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The world is facing a chronic shortage of gowns, masks, gloves and other protective equipment in the fight against a spreading coronavirus epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief said today.

The UN agency has been sending test kits, masks, gloves, respirators and gowns to every region, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the WHO Executive Board in Geneva.

'However the world is facing a chronic shortage of personnel protective equipment, as you might imagine.

Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday

According to the news reprots, all India food and drug license association (AFDLH) has sought a ban on exports of surgical face masks and N95 masks, after there might be a shortage of N95 masks in India as demand rises after the WHO declared coronavirus as a global emergency

A municipal worker wearing a protective face mask rides on a three-wheeled bicycle at Hutong neighborhood, in Beijing, China today

'This afternoon I will be speaking to the pandemic supply chain network to identify the bottlenecks and find solutions and push (for) fairness in distribution of equipment,' he said.

As of 6 am Geneva time (0500 GMT) there were 31,211 confirmed coronavirus cases in China and 637 deaths, as well as 270 cases in 24 other countries with 1 death, Tedros said.

'For the last two days there had been fewer reported infections in China, which is good news, but we caution against reading too much into that. The numbers could go up again,' he said.

A makeshift hospital in Wuhan has started accepting patients infected with coronavirus

During its technical briefing for member states, there was discussion about naming the virus - which emerged in a seafood market in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in late December.

WHO has already assigned an interim name of 2019-nCOV (novel coronavirus) acute respiratory disease.

'We thought it very important that we provide an interim name so no location was associated with the name. I'm sure you have seen many media reports that are still calling this, using the name Wuhan or using China,' WHO epidemiologist Maria van Kerkhove told the board.

A vendor shows a mask N 95 at medical store in Bhopal, India today

Patients infected with the coronavirus are pictured arriving at a makeshift hospital in Wuhan, the Chinese city at the centre of the outbreak

'We wanted to ensure that there was no stigma associated with this virus, and so we've put out this interim name,' she said.

Dr. Mike Ryan, WHO's top emergency expert, said: 'I think the bigger point here is to ensure that some of the actions, some of the reactions internationally, it is the responsibility of us all to ensure there is no stigma associated with this disease.

'The unnecessary, unhelpful profiling of individuals based on ethnicity is utterly and completely unacceptable and it needs to stop. Governments have a responsibility to communicate with their populations on this,' Ryan told the board.
Queen Elizabeth is normally out and about attending various functions as part of her royal stature. However, today, February 6, she has opted to stay indoors and spend the day with Prince Philip.

Unknown to many, there is a heartbreaking reason for this.

The Queen has remained in her Sandringham Estate in Norfolk after the holidays to attend several engagements in the area. Soon, she is expected to return to Buckingham Palace, but not before this special day for the Queen.

On This Day

On February 6, 1952, the life of then Princess Elizabeth changed forever. Her father, King George VI died in his sleep at the Sandringham Estate. He was only 56.

The king was suffering from the early stages of lung cancer and several other health issues, but his death came as a surprise to the world -- most especially to the young Princess Elizabeth. The cause of his death was identified to be a fatal blood clot in the heart.

Elizabeth, sadly, was not with her father when he passed away. She was on an official royal trip to Kenya with her husband Prince Philip. When the news of his death reached Kenya, it was Prince Philip who found out about it first through a reporter. He then took Elizabeth in a quiet corner and broke to her the sad news.

Immediately, Princess Elizabeth cut short her royal tour and made arrangements to fly back to England.

The New Queen

In her father's passing, Princess Elizabeth -- who was only 25 at that time -- had to assume the role left by her father. She was handed down the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty.

"My heart is too full today to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the prosperity and happiness of my people," Elizabeth said back then.

Her return to England took longer than expected, as their flight was delayed due to a thunderstorm. Her mourning dress also went missing since it was already sent to the next location of her tour before it was cut short.

Prime Minister Churchill, at that time, offered his condolences and said there are no words to describe the spontaneous expression of grief that they are feeling.

In the death of a king, however, a strong queen was born.

Since then, Queen Elizabeth II would spend this day remembering her father in the Sandringham Estate with her husband Prince Philip. They have been doing this together for 72 years.

A Father's Legacy

This year, a day before her father's death anniversary, the Queen went on a poignant engagement that echoed her father's legacy: she opened Wolferton's new pumping station which is within the Sandringham Estate.

The new pumping station was to replace the old one, which her father opened shortly after World War II ended.

The station allows the 7,000 acres of marshland to be drained, dried out and farmed. It was designed to protect the area from flooding. It has been rebuilt to become more sustainable, efficient, and environment-friendly.

Remembering a loved one of the day they died is truly heartbreaking. Today, Queen Elizabeth spent a quiet time at home with Prince Philip, remembering his father and the legacy he has left her.
A former Virginia Military Institute student is suing the school, alleging he was waterboarded, assaulted and forced to wrestle another student while partially clothed.

The lawsuit says the incident prompted the student to withdraw from the school.

The man is identified as John Doe because he is worried the lawsuit will affect his future and fears retribution from military institute leaders, the mans lawyer, Timothy Furin, told The Washington Post.

In 2014, the U.S. Education Departments Office for Civil Rights found the school permitted a hostile environment for female students. In response, VMI agreed to adopt policies to improve its response to sexual violence and harassment.

The former student alleges that the school does not enforce those policies when victims are men.

Col. Stewart MacInnis, a VMI spokesman, said the school denies the allegations. He said cadets are trained to prevent and report hazing and sexual misconduct.

The lawsuit alleges that upper-class cadets covered John Doe and another first-year cadets faces with towels and drenched them with water to simulate drowning. They were bound at the feet with duct tape and beaten by several students while others watched, then forced to wrestle each other in front of other cadets, the lawsuit alleges.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Virginia
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The ongoing protest outside the Jamia Milia Islamia's Gate No 7 was on Friday shifted to Gate 4 of the varsity in order to facilitate a smooth polling process in the Delhi Assembly polls on Saturday.

One of the protesting student told IANS over the phone that they will "ensure that the protest will not affect the polling process in any manner. We have shifted the protest site in order to create smooth passage".

"This protest is by the people and for the people and voting is a fundamental right which should not be hindered in any manner." Another student from the varsity said: "Not only have we cleared the protest site, many of us would also act as volunteers to facilitate maximum voting. We also urge people to come out in large numbers and vote." Ridhima, a second year student of the varsity, said: "I would urge everyone to come out in large number and vote, voting isn't just a right but is actually a duty of each and every citizen of the country." While the Delhi election will take place on February 8, the results of it will come out on February 11.
Protesters shut down Portage Avenue and continued to occupy a federal cabinet minister's constituency office as support for pipeline opponents in British Columbia spread across the country on Friday.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Protesters shut down Portage Avenue and continued to occupy a federal cabinet minister's constituency office as support for pipeline opponents in British Columbia spread across the country on Friday.

About 200 protesters gathered in front of RCMP headquarters in Winnipeg during the early afternoon to show solidarity against RCMP actions in Wet'suwet'en Territory while, in another area of the city, members of the same group continued what they called a "peaceful occupation" of Liberal MP Dan Vandal's office in St. Boniface for a fourth straight day.

Brielle Beardy-Linklater, an organizer of the protest put on by several organizations including Indigenous Youth for Wet'suwet'en and Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition, said the battle to stop a pipeline from being constructed in that area "is a fight bigger than all of us.

"This is a critical moment in history and I hope people get on the right side of history by standing with us," she said on Friday.

"This is an issue that affects all of us, not just Indigenous people, because water and land, all life on Earth depends on it and we have so little left of it... it is important for all of us to stand up because we're robbing future generations of quality of life.

"This is really what this is all about."

Beardy-Linklater said the Indigenous protesters in B.C. are fighting climate change.

"The first peoples of this land, we know about the impending effects of climate change as well as harmful affects of resource extraction," she said.

"The people who live on the land are the ones who experience the direct impact of resource extraction."

While people inside the RCMP building on Portage Avenue looked out through windows, protesters carried signs which read "Wet'suwet'en Strong" and "Eyes of the Frontlines, Feet on the Street".

MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Emily Amos, spokeswoman for Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, chants into a megaphone during a protest against RCMP actions in Wet'Suwet'En Territory in British Columbia.

Then, for about 40 minutes, the protesters linked hands and created a circle on Portage Avenue itself, quickly bringing motor vehicle traffic to a standstill in both directions. Winnipeg police showed up about 15 minutes after the traffic jam started to detour traffic into the Wolseley and West End areas of the city.

Emily Amos, a spokeswoman for Aboriginal Youth Opportunities, said she was at the meeting with Vandal and "it didn't go as well as we hoped it would.

"He just said this has nothing to do with him -- just get out of my office," she said.

Amos said they were hoping that because Vandal himself is Indigenous -- he is Metis -- that he would have been more helpful.

"I'm disappointed," she said. "It's like he doesn't care. Canadian officials don't care for anything more than money and profit."

Vandal could not be reached for comment. But he tweeted on Twitter that he told the group the protesters were coming to the wrong level of government.

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"This project falls fully under provincial jurisdiction, and no order of government can direct the RCMP and their operations," he said.

"I encouraged the group to raise their concerns with the B.C. government, which has taken important steps to work towards a solution. We encourage all the parties to continue that important work."

Joseph Munro, leader of the First Nation Indigenous Warriors, said they're supporting the protest because the RCMP actions in B.C., which arrested six protesters on Thursday, "has been aggressive at times.

"We do not think that's a true reconciliation with First Nations," he said. "They are loaded like the army.

"We fear for the lives of the people there. Something bad might happen. We all want to stand up so that's why we're here."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
The changes to Levines bill did little to satisfy gun rights activists, who complained that the ban on extended magazines would criminalize possession of items they had legally purchased. After the committee approved the measure on a party-line 12-to-9 vote, some in the hearing room chanted, and one man yelled the state motto  Sic semper tyrannis, or thus always to tyrants.
Prague is expected to rename a square where the Russian Embassy is located after slain Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov.



Czech media reported on February 7 that the Prague city council could vote on the measure later this month and Pod Kastany Square could be officially renamed on February 27 -- the fifth anniversary of Nemtsov's killing.



The major parties represented in the Prague city council have voiced support for the move.



In February 2018, Boris Nemtsov Plaza was officially unveiled outside the Russian Embassy in Washington, followed by a similar move in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.



The renaming of the squares triggered criticism from Moscow.



 former deputy prime minister under President Boris Yeltsin, Nemtsov was an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, and had sought to build a viable opposition movement. He was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015.

In July 2017, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of Nemtsov's murder and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms.



But Nemtsovs relatives and associates believe his killing was ordered at a higher level, and say justice will not be served until the person or people behind it are identified and prosecuted.

Based on reporting by AFP and Aktualne.cz
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:11:11|Editor: huaxia

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Doctors present flowers to the two recovered patients of the novel coronavirus, including a 55-year-old woman (2nd R) and a three-year-old child (in red clothes), at the Changpo hospital attached to the Third People's Hospital of Kunming in the city of Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Feb. 7, 2020. Two patients of the novel coronavirus were cured and discharged from the hospital on Friday. They will be quarantined for 14 days for further recuperation, during which regular follow-up visits would be made by doctors of the hospital. (Xinhua/Jiang Wenyao)
WASHINGTON - Post-election tensions between the West and the federal Liberal government are showing signs of easing, two of Canada's premiers suggested Friday as provincial leaders fanned out across the U.S. capital to argue for cross-border trade and investment under a new trade agreement.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe sits for a year end interview at the Legislative Building in Regina on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2019. A delegation of premiers will be in Washington this weekend to reinforce cross-border business ties with their American counterparts, hedging their bets at the dawn of a new and uncertain era of managed North American trade. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mark Taylor

WASHINGTON - Post-election tensions between the West and the federal Liberal government are showing signs of easing, two of Canada's premiers suggested Friday as provincial leaders fanned out across the U.S. capital to argue for cross-border trade and investment under a new trade agreement.

With Ottawa's work on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement gradually receding, a delegation from the Council of the Federation took its turn in Washington, hoping to convince gubernatorial counterparts of the importance of closer trade ties with the provinces.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and Saskatchewan's Scott Moe, speaking at a panel discussion at the Wilson Center's Canada Institute, acknowledged the cold front that moved in after voters in their provinces froze out the climate-conscious federal Liberals last October, in large part over perceived federal hostility to Canada's emissions-causing oilpatch.

But there have been cracks in the ice of late, said the leaders, crediting the work of Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. The Alberta-born former foreign minister was dispatched by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the outreach.

"It seems to be an attitude change, it really does," Moe said. "The outreach from the deputy prime minister to Saskatchewan has been good, it's been appreciated, and it's a relationship we'll be looking forward to continuing in the future."

Added Kenney: "We have a long way to go yet, but at least we feel that some of our issues are being listened to."

The stated goal of this weekend's mission is to thank U.S. federal and state lawmakers for their support during the drawn-out negotiations to replace NAFTA, and to celebrate the imminent dawn of the USMCA, which awaits only Canada's ratification. Most experts anticipate it will be the law in all three countries by mid-summer.

But they also intend to promote the importance to Alberta of resurrecting the Keystone XL pipeline expansion, a project to deliver landlocked Alberta oilsands bitumen to refiners and shippers along the U.S. Gulf Coast. It was rejected by the previous Obama administration  a rejection Trudeau seemed to abet with his "co-ordinated surrender" to Barack Obama shortly after becoming prime minister in 2015, Kenney said.

"What could he have done? He could have done something," said Kenney, a former Harper-era cabinet minister who accused the government of promising the Obama White House ahead of time that it wouldn't contest the decision.

"They never wanted that project, and they were not willing to employ any political or diplomatic leverage against a political decision by a U.S. administration to violate the spirit of NAFTA, which was about, in part, open access to the U.S. markets for our energy exports."

The net result of Canada's inability to build pipelines has resulted in more oil travelling by rail, added Moe, who pointed to the derailment Thursday in Saskatchewan as evidence of what can happen.

"That is not the way we should be moving that product," he said, noting that much of the U.S. Midwest has a similar problem. "We're cramping our rail capacity  capacity that we need if we're going to be producing and exporting other goods that should be on rail."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs were also part of the delegation that met with state leaders at the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, which got underway Friday.

In a discussion with Scotty Greenwood of the Canadian American Business Council, Ford called on his federal Conservative counterparts to set politics aside on Parliament Hill long enough to get the government's USMCA implementation bill passed.

"This is not the time to play politics," he implored. "Let's get this deal signed."

Ford also made it clear where his own political allegiances lie when it comes to the United States. He described the prospect of independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders becoming president as "scary"  "socialism doesn't work, raising taxes doesn't work," he insisted  and said he was disappointed to see House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tear up her copy of President Donald Trump's state of the union speech.

"That's uncalled for," he said. "I've never seen anything like that in any state of the union speech, ever."

Freeland, who took part in a number of Friday's meetings in Washington, including with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, demurred when asked about Ford's remarks.

"U.S. domestic politics are domestic, and federal ministers should bear that in mind," Freeland said, citing the advice of former U.S. ambassador David MacNaughton. "That's advice that I think it's prudent for the federal government to stick to."

Freeland acknowledged that she raised with Lighthizer recent media reports that the Trump administration was contemplating leaving the World Trade Organization's $1.7-trillion General Procurement Agreement, or GPA  a long-standing agreement that was supposed to backstop a USMCA that lacked the preferential access to U.S. government contracts Canada enjoyed under NAFTA.

But she refused to elaborate, citing her long-standing policy of keeping private discussions private.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.

 Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle
Banning mobile phones inside the Golden Temple complex will have to be "thought over" if visitors continue to click selfies and shoot TikTok videos inside the holiest Sikh shrine, Jathedar of the Akal Takht, the top temporal body of Sikhs, Giani Harpreet Singh said on Friday.

TikTok is a short-video platform which is extremely popular among youngsters globally, including India. Owned by China-based ByteDance, it has about 200 million users in India.

"We want all devotees to visit the Golden Temple without any hassle and we are not in favour of imposing any such (mobile) ban but the way the incidents of TikTok are surfacing, I think imposing ban on carrying mobile phones inside (Golden Temple) will have to be pondered over in the future," Singh told reporters in Amritsar.

The Jathedar (head priest) also pointed out that some of the devotees even argue with 'sewadars' (workers) upon being stopped from clicking photos inside the premises.

"It is a very serious problem," said the Jathedar advising devotees to refrain from doing such acts.

Photography and videography in the precincts of the Golden Temple have already been banned by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to avoid any "disturbance" to the spiritual atmosphere.

Notice boards in the marbled periphery of the Sikh shrine, prohibiting devotees to click photos and make videos, have also been installed. However, devotees continue to take selfies with the Golden Temple in the background.

The Jathedar's statement comes two days after a TikTok video shot inside the Golden Temple by three girls with a Punjabi song playing in the background went viral on social media.

A police complaint was lodged to identify the girls.

It was the second such incident in a short span of time as in January, a police complaint was lodged against a girl for hurting religious sentiments of Sikhs after she shot a dance video inside the Darbar Sahib complex.

Later, the girl had to apologise.

Meanwhile, endorsing the views of the Akal Takht Jathedar, SGPC chief Gobind Singh Longowal said strict action was needed to stop people from making TikTok videos in the precincts of the Golden Temple.

"We will have to take strict action if such incidents do not stop," said Longowal.

He said more SGPC workers would be deployed to prevent devotees from making videos inside the Golden Temple complex.

"We will also discuss this issue in the upcoming meeting of the executive committee of the SGPC on February 12," said Longowal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A dispute between a New Mexico-based group called Cowboys for Trump and Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver is headed to arbitration.

The Democratic secretary of state recently fined the group $7,800  and possibly more  for not filing expenditure reports with her office, after ruling in November that Cowboys for Trump meets the states definition of a political action committee and ordering the groups leaders to register as such.

Cowboys for Trump, through its attorney, has said the Secretary of States ruling violates its free speech rights and has balked at paying the fines.

In an attempt to break the impasse, an arbitration hearing will be held Feb. 28, Secretary of States Office spokesman Alex Curtas said Thursday.

The arbitrator will have 30 days after that hearing to make a final determination, which either side could appeal in state District Court.

Cowboys for Trump has generated headlines for its cross-country horseback ride to support President Donald Trump. The group also held a rally outside the state Capitol during last years 60-day legislative session to protest an abortion rights bill and border-related issues.

The group came under scrutiny from the Secretary of States Office after several complaints were lodged by citizens.

In determining that Cowboys for Trump should have to register as a political committee, the Secretary of States Office said Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin, the groups founder, has solicited money for the group that would go toward political purposes.

In addition, Toulouse Olivers office determined that Griffin may have broken state law by filming a video in the Otero County Commission chambers in which he requested donations to help pay for a horseback ride in support of Trump.

That potential violation has been referred to Attorney General Hector Balderas office for further review.

In response, Griffin has said he does not believe he has done anything wrong and suggested that Democratic officials feel threatened by the political profile of Cowboys for Trump and his past visits with the Republican president.

Its all politically driven, Griffin said in a November interview. Ive got nothing to hide.

Cowboys for Trump first registered as a New Mexico corporation in March 2019, according to state business filings, and sells T-shirts, hats and decals through its online shop.

In New Mexico, political committees are generally required to file periodic reports with the Secretary of States Office and disclose their donors.
Today, social media has become a powerful platform to share your views and opinions with your friends and acquaintances.



However, in case you were looking to apply for a job that you really want, you might want to limit commenting on controversial topics.

Getty Images

According to a study conducted by Pennsylvania State University, job recruiters are less likely to select candidates who share strong opinions on social media posts.

First published in the International Journal of Selection and Assessment, the study also revealed that recruiters are less likely to choose candidates who share posts on drug and alcohol use.

Micheal Tews, associate professor of hospitality management told in the study how many people dont really realise the importance hiring managers give to the content on someones social media page.

Researchers checked the effect on hiring managers on three negative topics posted on a candidates social media page -- self-absorption, opinionatedness and alcohol/drug use.

They got onboard 436 hiring managers from a variety of fields -- 61 percent being from the hospitality industry while remaining 39 percent were employed in fields like IT, healthcare etc.

Researchers gave them hypothetical scenarios for potential job candidates to read, one of which included the candidate to show enthusiasm towards the job with the right answers to the interview questions, while also having a problem of job-hopping.

After this, they asked hiring managers to see their Facebook profiles and choose candidates that they deemed worthy. Managers were randomly given profiles where candidates showed self-absorption, opinionated-ness and alcohol/drug use.



At the end when they were asked to give their final evaluation. The results revealed that self-absorption negatively affected recruiters perception towards the candidates.

Reuters

According to Tews, "Social networking sites are often lamented as incubators of self-absorption, motivating people to tell others about their every deed and thought. It could be that hiring managers view individuals who are more self-absorbed and focused on their own interests to be less likely to sacrifice for the benefit of other employees and the organisation."



Being opinionated was second-most factor negatively affecting recruiters, with drug and alcohol abuse coming last.

According to Tews, "People who post divisive subject matter may be viewed as more argumentative and less cooperative. Additionally, their views could run counter to those of hiring managers, which may influence managers' beliefs in candidates' qualifications for jobs."He further added, "One possible reason for the relatively small effect alcohol and drug use content is that hiring managers may perceive the content as relatively normal," he said.
Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman's cartel allegedly flew 10,000 kilos of cocaine from Colombia to Mexico on cargo planes - after politicians approved plans for him to build a hangar at Bogota airport.

The drugs kingpin reportedly used the hangar near the tarmac at El Dorado International Airport from 2006 to 2007, and used it to covertly ship drugs to Mexico which were then distributed to the United States and around the world.

In a report released last month, a former Colombian government official alleges that the country's former president Alvaro Uribe gave the green light for the hangar - and received expensive gems and $1 million from the Sinaloa Cartel in return.

Richard Maok, who served as a detective with Colombia's treasury department and is now living in Canada, said he was tipped off about the scheme recently by a former security worker for a Colombian air cargo company.

He claimed that the drugs were dropped off at the airport by paramilitary groups allied to Uribe.

In return, the cartels provided them with dangerous 5.7 mm handguns, widely known as 'cop killers' because the bullets can penetrate through a police body armor.

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An ex Colombian treasury agent says that from 2006 to 2007, an informant witnessed how El Chapo's cartel shipped 10,000 kilos of cocaine from a hangar at El Dorado International Airport in Bogota to his Mexican hometown of Sinaloa, allegedly made possible by Colombia's former president Alvaro Uribe's, who was paid off for the favor

A report published last month by a former detective with Colombia's ex president Alvaro Uribe alleges that the leader received pricey gems, guns and $1 million from the Sinaloa Cartel in exchange for allowing El Chapo's group to ship multiple tons of cocaine back to Mexico

Uribe, who served as Colombia's president from 2002 to 2010, had links to the cartel because his brother was married to the sister of Alex Cifuentes - a former high-ranking official in El Chapo's organization, who is now serving time in the United States.

During El Chapo's trial, Cifuentes charged that former Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto also received a large sum of money by El Chapo's cartel.

According to documents turned over by Maok's informant, who worked at Air Cargo Lines in Colombia, the kingpin's transnational criminal organization took advantage of the airport warehouse for its international drug route.

The elaborate scheme allegedly depended on support provided by paramilitaries, executives at Air Cargo Lines, officials in Colombia's air transit agency, Aerocivil, and additional backing from a top agent in the country's national police department.

The daring scheme was a step up from the days when Pablo Escobar displayed the Medellin Cartel's power by dispatching cocaine-filled small planes from clandestine dirt-filled airstrips.

The same runways served as the landing spot for planes returning with loads of cash that placed him among the world's richest men.

El Chapo's cartel reportedly had access to a warehouse at Colombia's El Dorado International Airport in Bogota. The group used a cargo plane to send out 10,000 kilos of cocaine during a two year period

Uribe allegedly intervened on behalf of the cartel and ordered the aviation officials to allow a DC-8 four-engine cargo plane, nicknamed 'Aeropostal'.

The cartel, with the help of a drug trafficking group known as 'Los Paisas,' then dispatched the jet to ferry the Type-A drug to Sinaloa.

Colombia exports 80 percent of the world's cocaine, and to this day still serves the network, which is overseen by its co-founder Ismael 'El Mayo, Zambada and El Chapo's three children.

One of El Chapo's sons, Jesus Guzman, evaded customs each time he traveled to Colombia.

The informant told Maok that an American ICE agent, who also worked for the DEA, knew of the organization's deal but did nothing about it.

The massive shipment, in today's United States street market, would carry an estimated value of $400 million.

The plot was eventually rumbled when Mexican officials busted a fifth Bogota flight with six and a half metric tons of cocaine - but the shipment later went missing.

El Chapo is now serving a life sentence inside a United States prison

Uribe, who is now serving in the Colombian senate, has been the subject of an on-going investigation.

El Chapo was able to sneak into Colombia aboard a DC-8 four-engine cargo plane (pictured is a file image of a DC-8 unrelated to the plot)

Former Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto was reportedly compensated with a large sum of money by El Chapo's cartel in order to allow the organization to traffic cocaine

The case stems from allegations raised by Senator Ivan Cepeda, who claims he has firsthand witness accounts that Uribe was a founding leader of a paramilitary group in his home province during the decades-long civil conflict involving government forces, leftist rebels and right-wing bands.

The ex-chief of state has denied all accusations of ties to the paramilitaries, who are accused of drug trafficking, killing innocents and driving thousands from their homes or lands while fighting rebels.

Perhaps no political leader in Colombia's recent history has wielded as much influence as Uribe, who still has legions of followers.

He led the 'no' campaign that preceded Colombian voters rejecting a peace accord with leftist rebels in 2016, though the government later adopted a slightly revised version. Last year, Uribe's support lifted a little-known senator, Ivan Duque, to the presidency.

But allegations of ties to drug cartels and paramilitaries have dogged him since the early 1980s, when the civil aviation agency he led was accused of giving air licenses to drug traffickers. Declassified State Department cables from a decade later show U.S. officials were told the up-and-coming politician had ties to cartels.

Uribe has persistently denied those charges and was an unwavering U.S. ally in the war on drugs during his 2002-2010 presidency. He extradited a record number of suspected drug traffickers to the U.S. and aggressively expanded a U.S. program to aerially spray wide swaths of illegal coca crops with chemical agents.
Concerns that the anaesthetic drug ketamine  which causes hallucinations and can lull users into a coma  could be on the increase in Cork after nearly 27,000 worth of the drug was seized in the city in recent weeks.

Gardai in Cork seized 23,900 of ketamine at a house in Ballincollig on February 5; and on January 30, gardai seized 3,000 of ketamine after they stopped a car on the South Ring Road at Mahon. Two men, both in their 20s, were arrested in relation to the separate incidents.

Superintendent of serious crime in Cork, Mick Comyns, said that gardai are now concerned that ketamine abuse could be on the increase: Gardai have certainly been seeing more of it in recent months."

But it is too early to tell whether that is due to increased garda searches and intelligence, or due to a change in drug culture in the city, he added.

Ketamine can be lethal. A powerful sedative, it can send users into a coma, leaving them vulnerable to rape or assault or to choking on their own vomit.

Hallucinations on the drug can also bring users into danger. One man was found walking up the fast lane of the M50, drawn to the bright lights, but was luckily picked up by gardai before he was hit by traffic, Micheal Guerin of addiction charity Cuan Mhuire recalls.

Ketamine and GHB  the date rape drug  have been been on our radar for the last couple of years as being drugs of note, Mr Guerin said.

We've mostly seen it used by younger people as part of polysubstance misuse issues.

It causes hallucinations and the come-down from it is quite significant with panic attacks, anxiety, suicidal ideation, so people use other drugs like benzodiazepines to cope with that.

"Modern-day drug use involves mixing different substances, he said.

Dr Chris Luke, adjunct senior lecturer in Public Health at UCC, said the comatose state that the drug can cause is particularly dangerous.

Dr Luke said: Ketamine puts people into a dissociated, trance-like state.

It can be lethal. If you take too much it can put you into a coma. And if you're lying in a coma on the pavement you're at high risk of being assaulted.

"It's one of the drugs you now expect to see in emergency departments everywhere.

He said that ketamine is often mixed with cocaine by users and the substance is then commonly referred to as 'Calvin Klein' or 'CK'.

Calvin Klein or CK  a mix of ketamine and cocaine  is how people often take it on the dance scene in Ireland, the UK, Ibiza. Cocaine is a stimulant and ketamine is a sedative, so they're trying to find that 'sweet spot' of being a little stimulated and a little relaxed," Dr Luke said.

But the danger is that you can become too relaxed and comatose and inhale vomit or be assaulted or robbed, or with the cocaine you can be so stimulated that you can have a heart attack, a stroke or a seizure.

"Two people a day now are dying in Ireland from drug-taking every day. That's more than road deaths, he said.

Ketamine, like cocaine, was originally invented by scientists and used by doctors to treat patients, Dr Luke said.

Ketamine was an anaesthetic agent very popular with doctors in the 50s and 60s, it fell out of fashion because of safety concerns.

"Now, it's very popular with emergency doctors in ambulances and emergency departments but really nowhere else. But as long as it's made it will leak into the black market, he said.

He compared the seeping of ketamine into the black market to cocaine's earlier entry, saying: Cocaine was made popular by Dr Sigmund Freud, he was a psychiatrist in Vienna and he was the one who popularised it because he gave it to his clients in Vienna in the 1880s.

"So that's where the whole thing of the glamour and addiction and the use of it in high society began. The truth is that most of the drugs that we have problems with were invented by scientists, prescribed by doctors and were leaked into the black market.

A gram of ketamine powder, the average amount bought for personal use, costs between 20-50 on the street or online.

A former ketamine user told the Examiner that the drug, also known as 'K' or 'special K' is usually bought in powder form and snorted  although it can also be injected in liquid form. They said that the drug can have long-term health impacts.

Ketamine skews your perceptions of reality and what's around you. High doses cause severe inebriation and you lose your ability to walk," the former user said.

There was a casualness to it, you'd have a sniff at parties and it was easy enough to control your dose. It's not physically addictive but it is mentally addictive and it can do long-term damage. It can really damage the bladder and some heavy users have to rely on colostomy bags after sustained abuse.
A Scottish manual worker killed his partner before r.a.p.i.n.g and killing her teenage daughter in a barbaric double murder-suicide, an inquest in Northern Ireland has heard.

The bodies of the mother and daughter were discovered in an apartment in Newry on March 7, 2019, along with Russell Steele by police after they had all been reported missing.

Coroner Joe McCrisken found Giselle Marimon-Herrera, 37, died from asphyxiation and suffocation and 15-year-old Allison Marimon-Herrera died due to manual strangulation and suffocation.

Their chihuahua dog was also found dead. Mr McCrisken in County Armagh described the deaths of the mother and daughter as one of the most difficult inquests he has ever presided over.



He said he could not be certain that Ms Marimon-Herrera had been sexually assaulted, but that there is evidence her daughter had been raped.

Steele was found to have died by hanging, and he had intended to die, the inquest heard. Torn womens underwear was found in his pocket.

Steeles family had been kept informed of the proceedings but chose not to attend, the hearing was told.

At the opening of proceedings on Thursday morning, Mr McCrisken said he was holding separate inquests into the deaths of Ms Marimon-Herrera and her daughter, and Steele.

He heard evidence about events in the run up to the deaths.

A statement from Ms Marimon-Herreras sister Paola was read to the inquest.

She described how her sister had arrived in Northern Ireland in 2016 after separating from her Portuguese husband, and was followed by her daughter in 2017.

She also told the inquest that her sister had felt Steele was controlling and she had wanted to end the relationship.

PSNI Investigating Officer Victoria Holmes said text messages exchanged between Steele and Ms Marimon-Herrera revealed a recent argument which included an attempt by her to end the relationship.

Statements from two Polish men, Szymon Kosecki and Pawel Bronk, who had been work colleagues of Steele, were read to court.

They are believed to be the last to have seen Ms Marimon-Herrera and her daughter alive after meeting up with the mother and Steele for a night out on Saturday March 2 at Brass Monkeys in Newry.

They returned to the Glin Ree Court apartment where they saw Miss Marimon-Herrera with her pet dog.

They stayed for around an hour for drinks, leaving at around 3am.

Ward Devlin, an ex-partner of Ms Marimon-Herrera, gave evidence to the inquest about how he raised the alarm after she failed to respond to messages for several days.

Neighbour Gerard Doran is believed to be the last person to have seen Steele alive.

The family said they were devastated by the deaths, adding in a statement: We are a very private family who have been catapulted into the public domain as a result of this murder.

They thanked the public and others who organised donations, which the family used to travel from France and Colombia to Northern Ireland, where they were able to see where the victims had lived and to meet pupils and teachers at Allisons school.

The fund also assisted in paying for the cremation in Belfast and for family members to travel to Portugal, where their ashes have been laid to rest.

The statement concluded: The family appeal to anyone who is at risk of domestic violence to seek help.

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Ms. Suen endured Hong Kongs earlier problems, like the outbreak 17 years ago of SARS, which killed almost 300 people and briefly knocked the territorys economy off track. This time feels different, she said, as Hong Kong endures political, economic and social crises all at once.

During SARS, she said, people were still working together.

The new coronavirus, which has killed hundreds and sickened thousands in mainland China, has been much less prevalent in Hong Kong. One person has died and at least 26 have been infected, mostly while traveling in the mainland. Its hospitals are respected around the world, and its grocery stores remain largely well stocked.

The world is not drawing a distinction, however, in part because the city has tightened but not fully closed the border with the mainland. As a result, people in this global city are feeling increasingly cut off.

The multinational companies that helped make this city global are restricting travel there. Some are advising or requiring returning employees to quarantine themselves. And getting to Hong Kong is becoming increasingly difficult: Virgin Australia on Thursday joined United Airlines and American Airlines in cutting service.
'You cannot achieve peace if your objective is not to make political accommodations,' notes Dr Nyla Ali Khan, Sheikh Abdullah's grand-daughter, Dr Farooq Abdullah's niece and Omar Abdullah's cousin.





IMAGE: Former Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in happier times.

On February 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government has charged Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti under the draconian Public Safety Act.

Both Omar and Mehbooba, former heads of government, have been in detention since August 5, 2019.

And now their detentions have been extended by another three months, without formal charges.

In the current situation, the local community in Jammu and Kashmir is unable to exercise any clout and is unable to think constructively about structural change.

With the stifling of civil liberties in J&K, politics is now an abstract notion for the young people in the state, and not a concrete method to bring about long-term reforms.

The translation of a political vision into reality requires diligence and hard work at the grass-roots level, which would produce dynamic indigenous politics. That cannot be achieved through the politics of vendetta.

You cannot achieve peace if your objective is not to make political accommodations.

The federal government of India cannot remain unmindful of the fact that the attitude of inflexibility and intransigence exacerbates conflict in the region.

The powers-that-be do not, then, give first priority to peace but to hold on to what they have got in their possession by any means.

It is because of this that it is incumbent on well-meaning and rational analysts and policy makers in India to clearly fix their objective before they deliberate upon the lack of civil liberties and local politics in J&K.

In Kashmir, rights relating to life, liberty, and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution of India, embodied in the fundamental covenants and enforceable by courts of law, must be protected.

The maneuvers employed by the federal government in Jammu and Kashmir jeopardise the federal structure of India.

The erosion of the rights and privileges of a State is an unhealthy precedent to set in a diverse and federal country. The current curbing of political and civil rights in Jammu and Kashmir is reprehensible.

The communication and information blackout, and incarceration of a large number of people, including elected politicians, in Kashmir have relegated every stakeholder in the state to the background.

In effect, dissenting voices, even those of legislators and parliamentarians of Opposition parties, have been stifled.

In doing so, the federal government has ignored the statute of limitations and Constitutional checks and balances that should have prevented the over centralisation of powers in Jammu and Kashmir.

With the suspension of the legislative assembly of J & K and detention of legislators, the space for young people in Kashmir to reflect on strategies, dialogue, and accommodation, which would bring every stakeholder to the table, has been seriously conscripted.

Our ancestors maintained that the special position accorded to Jammu and Kashmir could alone be the source of a closer association between the State and mainland India. The Constituent Assembly of India took note of the special circumstances in the State and made provisions accordingly.

Firstly, the autonomous status for Kashmir as envisaged by the Constitution of India was not a favour to us, but an acknowledgement of the special circumstances that constitute a part of our past and future.

Secondly, autonomy was not meant for Kashmiri Muslims alone, but for the Hindus of Jammu, the Buddhists of Ladakh, and the Sikhs and Christians of the state as well.

In Kashmir, rights relating to life, liberty, and freedom of expression guaranteed by the Constitution, embodied in the fundamental covenants and enforceable by courts of law, have been flouted.

Author and academic, Professor Nyla Ali Khan is commissioner of the Oklahoma Commission on the Status of Woman, USA. Her latest book is Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah's Reflections on Kashmir. She was raised in Kashmir.
Over 200 partnerships and technology transfer initiatives involving state-run defence majors, private firms and foreign arms manufacturers were sealed on Friday at the defence expo here, providing for joint development of military hardware and weapons systems.

The pacts were inked at the on-going defence expo, two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi set a target of USD 5 billion in defence exports in the next five years and make India self-reliant in military manufacturing.

Twenty-three of the total MoUs were signed by the Uttar Pradesh government.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the MoUs envisage Rs 50,000 crores of investment in the defence corridor in the state and generate 3 lakh job opportunities.

The 11th edition of the DefExpo, India's biennial exhibition of military platforms and weapons, is being attended by over 1,000 defence companies and delegates from 40 countries.

Another major announcement was the issuance of the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate to state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the production of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

The LUH is designed and developed as a replacement for the Cheetah and the Chetak helicopters being operated by the Indian armed forces.

Officials said signing of such a large number of MoUs made the current edition of the DefEXpo the most successful one.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh described the signing of MoUs as a step in the direction to achieve the prime minister's defence exports target in the next five years.

"The defence PSUs and the Indian defence private industry were better placed today to lead India as the emerging research and development hub of the world leveraging the sharp minds of Indian youth," he said.

Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar said DefExpo 2020 would be remembered for many firsts, including for the signing of the largest number of MoUs.

Twenty-three MoUs were signed between the UP government and the private companies.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Sateesh Reddy said technology transfer was being made available at no cost to companies in order to boost the defence ecosystem in the country.

The five-day-long DefExpo was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 5.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A worker inspects an order at a JD.com delivery station in Yizhuang, Beijing, amid the coronavirus outbreak. Hilary Pan | CNBC

BEIJING  More people are stuck at home in China as they wait out the coronavirus outbreak, giving some delivery and e-commerce companies an opportunity, even as they try to manage the risks of the disease. Previously, on a typical day, a courier for JD.com in Beijing would deliver about 140 to 150 packages per apartment complex, said Lansong Sun, head of the company's delivery station in Yizhuang, on the outskirts of Beijing. Now, that's climbed to more than 200 orders a day, Sun said Tuesday, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. More than half of China is shut down as authorities try to limit the spread of a pneumonia-causing virus that emerged in late December. It has killed more than 500 people, primarily in the city of Wuhan, but has infected more than 20,000 people throughout the country. In an effort to prevent the virus from spreading, at least 24 provinces, municipalities and other regions have told businesses not to resume work before Monday. Beijing city authorities have strongly encouraged companies to let employees work remotely until Monday as well. Schools across the country are also generally shut until mid-February or later.

Pick up in grocery delivery

As people stay at home and avoid public areas, they've turned to grocery shopping online from companies that boast of one or two-hour delivery during normal operating times. As expected, orders for face masks and disinfectants have also surged. For example, JD's affiliate Dada, which delivers for Walmart and local grocery chains, said sales more than quadrupled from a year ago during the 10 days of the Lunar New Year holiday that ended this past Sunday. In the same period, JD said its own sales of fresh products increased more than three times compared with last year. The company said it sold 15,000 tons of fresh products during the holiday period. Figures from rival Alibaba's Hema grocery store and fresh produce delivery platform were not available.

Anecdotally in Beijing, while workers make their way back to the city, the customer demand is so high that orders can take hours longer than scheduled to arrive. And rather than stretching into the evening, available delivery slots are often cut short. Demand also remains relatively high in meal delivery. On Wednesday, a Beijing city official disclosed that about 20,000 delivery people were manning an average of more than 400,000 orders a day from takeout platforms Meituan and Elema, according to state media. The article added that delivery people are requested to wear face masks and conduct temperature tests.

Challenges from the virus

The virus has created some other logistical challenges for delivery, especially food. Meituan, Hema and Dada have announced an in-app feature for contactless delivery, allowing the courier to leave an order in a convenient spot for the customer to pick up, without having to interact. Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut brands also launched a similar option for delivery. Parent company Yum China said in a statement to CNBC that the brands are testing out a feature in China for ordering online, and picking up in-store without contact. Meituan said it is trying something similar.

In many areas, couriers can no longer send packages straight to the door. Instead, they must call customers to pick up parcels from the front gate of the apartment complex, which can sometimes be a several minute walk away from the customer's unit. "It certainly lowers efficiency," Ruichuang Chen, a JD.com courier, said, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. One of JD's selling points is same-day or next day delivery. While most people are at home and will fetch packages quickly, Chen noted that other customers may be asleep or not understand the policy and are unwilling to pick up deliveries. In order to make sure customers get their packages, Chen said he starts his day around 7 a.m. and keeps going until all the parcels are delivered. Overall, industry representatives and analysts said logistics companies were operating fairly normally outside of areas such as Hubei, the province that has been hit hardest by the virus. Many businesses have also participated in accelerating delivery of medical supplies and other necessities to Hubei and the city of Wuhan through special channels. But for most of the country it may take a few days or even weeks longer for orders to arrive, given the postponed re-opening of many businesses and quarantined cities. Earlier this week, some cities such as Hangzhou  where Alibaba's headquarters is located  also stepped up inter-city highway closures and said households should only send one person out to buy goods every two days. Alibaba's logistics affiliate Cainiao said it "will deploy workers according to the specifics of government policy on returning to work." That's according to a CNBC translation of the Chinese-language text.

Virus-related disruptions, especially for China's manufacturing hubs, will hit the entire logistics industry, Charles Guowen Wang, director at think tank China Development Institute, said, according to a CNBC translation of his Mandarin-language remarks. Delays in returning to work will slow down the ability of manufacturers and related logistics services to get back up to normal operating speed, Wang said, adding that the efficiency of logistics relating to daily needs will also have a clear drop, likely affecting profits.
Prince Harry has spoken out about leaving the royal family and revealed hes in therapy during a speech, according to reports.

The former royal was introduced by Gayle King at the JPMorgan-sponsored Alternative Investment Summit in Miami, Florida, on Thursday, according to the New York Post.

A source told the newspaper: Harry spoke about mental health and how he has been in therapy for the past few years to try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother.

He talked about how the events of his childhood affected him and that he has been talking to a mental health professional.

Harry also touched on Megxit, saying while it has been very difficult on him and Meghan, he does not regret their decision to step down as senior royals because he wants to protect his family. He does not want Meghan and their son Archie to go through what he did as a child.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures Show all 55 1 /55 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2017 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada. The Invictus Games is an international sport event for wounded, injured and sick (WIS) servicemen and women, both serving and veteran. It was created by the Duke of Sussex and aims to use the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding of all those who serve their country Invictus Games Foundation/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures November 2017 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for a photograph in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace following the announcement of their engagement AFP/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures November 2017 Meghan Markle shows off her engagement ring AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures December 2017 Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene in King's Lynn Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures January 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan during a visit to Reprezent 107.3FM in Pop Brixton. The Reprezent training programme was established in Peckham in 2008, in response to the alarming rise in knife crime, to help young people develop and socialise through radio Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures January 2018 Meghan Markle greets well-wishers on arrival at Cardiff Castle for a day showcasing the rich culture and heritage of Wales AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures January 2018 The couple watching a dance performance by Jukebox Collective during their to Cardiff Castle AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures February 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people in Edinburgh. The reception celebrated youth achievements, marking Scotlands Year of Young People 2018, an initiative that aims to inspire Scotland through its young people: celebrating their achievements, strengthening their voice on social issues and creating new opportunities for them to shine AFP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures February 2018 Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William at the first annual Royal Foundation Forum in London. Under the theme 'Making a Difference Together', the event showcased the programmes run or initiated by The Royal Foundation Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures March 2018 Prince William, Kate, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures March 2018 Meghan Markle greets well-wishers after a visit to one of Belfast's most historic buildings, The Crown Liquor Saloon, a former Victorian gin palace, now run by the National Trust. It was the Royal couple's first joint visit to Northern Ireland AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures April 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet participants as they attend the UK team trials for the Invictus Games Sydney 2018 at the University of Bath AFP via Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland arriving at Cliveden House Hotel the night before her wedding to Prince Harry Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 Royal fans sing for the television in Windsor the day before the Royal wedding AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 Meghan Markle walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, during her wedding AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand facing each other hand-in-hand before Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby during their wedding ceremony AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 Prince Harry kisses the Duchess of Sussex, as they pass through the Cambridge Gate into the grounds of Windsor Castle at the end of their carriage procession AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2018 The newly married royals leave Windsor Castle after their wedding to attend an evening reception at Frogmore House AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures June 2018 Queen Elizabeth II sitts and laughs with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures June 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan return in a horse-drawn carriage after attending the Queen's Birthday Parade, 'Trooping the Colour' on Horseguards parade AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures July 2018 Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF flypast on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, as members of the Royal Family attend events to mark the centenary of the RAF Chris Jackson/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures July 2018 Meghan and Prince Harry kiss after the Sentebale Polo event that was held at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures August 2018 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet the cast and crew of "Hamilton" backstage after the gala performance in support of Sentebale at Victoria Palace Theatre Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2018 Meghan meets 7-year-old Matilda Booth during the annual WellChild awards at Royal Lancaster Hotel in London Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan meet 98-year-old Daphne Dunne during a meet and greet at the Sydney Opera House during an official 16-day Autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala named Ruby and its koala joey named Meghan after the Duchess of Sussex during a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry looks on as his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is hugged by student Luke Vincent of Buninyong Public School following the couple's arrival at Dubbo Regional Airport in Dubbo AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Harry and his wife Meghan watch aboriginal dances at Victoria Park in Dubbo AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet with lifeguards at South Melbourne Beach. BeachPatrol is a network of volunteers who are passionate about keeping Melbourne's beaches and foreshores clear of litter to reduce the negative impact of litter on the marine environment and food chain, and provide a safe environment for the public to enjoy their local beach Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan join a circle during a "Fluro Friday" session run by OneWave, a local surfing community group who raise awareness for mental health and wellbeing, at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach AFP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 The British royals kicked off their shoes and donned tropical garlands on Bondi Beach AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts, mats and tapa cloths at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in Nuku'alofa, Tonga Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and Meghan laying a wreath at the National War Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2018 Prince Harry and his wife Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in Rotorua AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures November 2018 Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at a service marking the centenary of WW1 armistice at Westminster Abbey Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures February 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, visit the Kasbah of the Udayas near the Moroccan capital Rabat AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures March 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan speak on stage during WE Day UK 2019 at The SSE Arena in London Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures March 2019 Meghan and Prince Harry react as they are presented with baby gifts by Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Janice Charette, at Canada House, during an event to mark Commonwealth Day, in central London AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2019 A congratulatory banner message circling the BT Tower reading "Congratulations Harry and Meghan It's a Baby Boy!" AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2019 Footmen Stephen Kelly and Sarah Thompson set up an official notice on an easel at the gates of Buckingham Palace on May 6, announcing the birth of a son to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2019 Pround parents pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle. The Duchess of Sussex gave birth at 5:26 on 6 May Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures May 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan walk away after posing for photographs with their newborn son AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures June 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan join the New York Yankees in their clubhouse and receive gifts for Archie ahead of their match against the Boston Red Sox at the London Stadium. The historic two-game series marked the sport's first games ever played in Europe and The Invictus Games Foundation was selected as the official charity of Mitel and MLB London Series 2019 Invictus Games Foundation/Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures July 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan meet cast and crew, including US singer-songwriter Beyonce and her husband, US rapper Jay-Z as they attend the European premiere of the film The Lion King in London AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex dance as they arrive for a visit to the "Justice desk", an NGO in the township of Nyanga in Cape Town, as they begin their tour of the region. Their first official family visit in the coastal city AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan pose with members of "Waves For Change" NGO at Monwabisi Beach outside of Cape Town. "Waves For Change" NGO fuses surfing with child-friendly mind and body therapy to provide mental health services to vulnerable young people living in challenging communities AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 The royals arrive to visit the oldest mosque of Cape Town in Dorp Street in Bo Kaap district AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 The Duchess of Sussex visits Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day with the Duke of Sussex during their royal tour of South Africa. Auwal Mosque is the first and oldest mosque in South Africa and for the Muslim community, this mosque symbolises the freedom of former slaves to worship Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan hold their baby son Archie as they meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his wife Leah at the Tutu Legacy Foundation in Cape Town AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures September 2019 The British royal couple were on a 10-day tour of southern Africa -- their first official visit as a family since their son Archie was born AFP via Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2019 Prince Harry and Meghan meet Graca Machel, widow of the late Nelson Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Duke last met with Mrs Machel during his visit to South Africa in 2015 Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures October 2019 Meghan and Prince Harry attend a roundtable discussion on gender equality with The Queens Commonwealth Trust (QCT) and One Young World at Windsor Castle Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures December 2019 Prince Harry holding his son Archie. The photo was used on Instagram to wish their followers a happy new year SussexRoyal/PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures January 2020 Duke and Duchess of Sussex depart Canada House in London after visiting to show thanks for the warm hospitality and support they received during their recent stay in Canada Getty Prince Harry and Meghan Markle  in pictures January 2020 Front page headlines, from UK daily papers, reporting on the news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, plan to step back as "senior" members of the Royal Family AFP via Getty

Meghan also reportedly addressed the crowd at the summit  the couples first joint public appearance since stepping back as senior members of the royal family  where she briefly expressed her love for her husband.

The source told the newspaper that Meghan and Harrys presence at the event was all very hush-hush, with a lot of security and that the couple allegedly headlined the event as keynote speakers. It is currently unknown whether the couple, who announced that they would be working to become financially independent, were paid for the appearance.

This is not the first time that Prince Harry has discussed his decision to seek mental health treatment following the death of his mother. In 2017, Prince Harry revealed in an interview with The Telegraph that he shut down all his emotions for almost two decades before seeking professional help.

Following his admission, mental health charities reported a surge in the number of people contacting them.

Since stepping back from their royal duties, the couple and nine-month-old Archie have been staying on Vancouver Island, People reports. In January, Prince Harry said during a speech at a private dinner for the Sentebale charity that he felt he had no other option but to step back from the royal family, but wanted to make it clear were not walking away.

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, he said.
More than 2,000 people are marooned at sea after four countries denied entry to a cruise ship over coronavirus fears - despite the crew's insistence that there are no virus cases on board.

Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and the US territory of Guam have all denied permission for the MS Westerdam to dock.

Japanese leader Shinzo Abe yesterday said his country would not allow foreign passengers to disembark, saying there were suspected virus patients on board.

However, cruise operator Holland America said last night that 'the ship is not in quarantine and there are no known cases of coronavirus on board'.

Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and the US territory of Guam have all denied permission for the MS Westerdam cruise liner (pictured) to dock

The Westerdam left Hong Kong on February 1, with 687 passengers remaining on board from a previous voyage.

There are 1,455 passengers and 802 crew on board, a total of 2,257 people.

One passenger, Bev Thurbin, said the ship had been denied entry to the Philippines and then to Taiwan over virus fears.

The vessel then sailed to Japan, with the cruise operator saying that passengers would disembark in Yokohama rather than Shanghai as initially planned.

But Japan wrecked those plans yesterday by announcing it would use immigration laws to block the entry of foreign passengers from the ship.

Transport minister Kazuyoshi Akaba later went further and said Japan had asked the cruise ship not to call at the country's ports.

Four other ships are scheduled to arrive in Japan this month, and would also be asked to turn back if infections are reported on board, Abe said.

Health workers in protective gear enter the cruise ship Diamond Princess in Yokohama today. 61 cases have been confirmed among the ship's passengers and crew

Masked passengers are seen on the deck of the Diamond Princess today, where passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks under strict conditions

The Westerdam's problems mounted further when the governor of Guam, a US territory, rejected a State Department request to allow the ship to dock there.

'While we feel for every soul on board the MS Westerdam, our obligation is to protect the people of Guam,' Leon Guerrero said.

'Though Guam is prepared to deal with the potential implications of the coronavirus, few jurisdictions can screen, quarantine, or treat 1,400 patients at one time.'

Australian passenger David Holst said today that the ship's captain had not yet revealed where the Westerdam was going next.

'After about 15 hours of being stationary in the middle of nowhere we are now moving south west,' he said.

'Yes it has been stressful and distressing and my bad humour is a cover for the deep angst we feel.

'Having the virus hanging over your head while squashed in a boat is scary. '

Holland America maintains that there are no cases on board, saying it had imposed stringent hygiene measures to prevent an outbreak.

Health workers wearing protective suits carry bags to an ambulance near the cruise ship Diamond Princess today, which is anchored and being held in quarantine near Daikoku Pier

'We are quickly working to develop alternate plans and are keeping guests updated on board as information becomes available,' a Holland America statement said.

'We are closely monitoring the evolving situation with respect to coronavirus that originated in mainland China.'

Any guests who suffer breathing problems will be screened for coronavirus, the company said.

Suspected virus cases will be reported to the health authorities of nearby countries.

There are also stringent checks on who will be allowed to board the ship, although it is unclear when that will next happen.

Japan is already holding one cruise ship, the Diamond Princness, in quarantine with 61 virus cases confirmed.

The number trebled from 20 last night after test results for 171 passengers came back and showed 41 new cases.

The newly diagnosed are 21 Japanese nationals, as well as eight Americans, five Canadians, five Australians, a Briton and an Argentine.

The Briton was later named as Alan Steele, who was separated from his new wife Wendy and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results.
Six minutes after the last of two armed robberies Thursday night in Bethlehem, city police stopped a suspect.

Joshua Altruz, 25, is accused of robbing the Taylor Family Mini Mart off of Stefko Boulevard and later robbing the Rite Aid pharmacy, 104 E. Third St. on Bethlehems South Side. He made off with cash and pills, police said.

Police were called at 6:45 p.m. for the Rite Aid robbery, and at 6:51 p.m. city police stopped a gold Honda in the 1000 block of East Fourth Street. Altruz was driving, and was identified as the suspect from the two robberies, police said.

Police said Altruz had a loaded 9mm handgun in his waistband and two bottles of generic Xanax stolen in the Rite Aid robbery, as well as 17 Oxycodone pills.

Altruz, of the 1100 block of Mechanic Street in the city, was charged Friday morning with two counts each of robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and simple assault, and a single count of possession of a controlled substance.

He was sent to Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail.

Police were called at 3:11 p.m. Thursday for the robbery at the convenience store at 1907 Stefko Boulevard. The cashier reported a man, later identified as Altruz, opened his coat to show a pistol in his waistband.

Altruz demanded money from the register and was given about $180, police said. The robber left in a gold Honda Civic with tinted windows and a dent on the drivers side door.

In the Rite Aid robbery, Altruz walked to the pharmacy section of the store and gave the clerk a note that read Act normal all the opioids and xanx in a bag now!! Dont make this harder than it need to be," according to police.

Altruz then lifted his coat, showing the pistol in his waistband. Altruz was given two bottles of Xanax, totaling almost 500 pills.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Federal prosecutors who have brought down a dozen Baltimore police officers through their investigation of the Gun Trace Task Force promised more to come Thursday at the sentencing hearing for the latest officer headed to prison in the long-running case.
Barcelona, Spain -- (SBWIRE) -- 02/07/2020 -- Keilley Lee Marques, a very talented and independent jewelry designer is pleased to present her latest lifestyle portal that helps people visit the world through Keilley's eyes. This site was created to help visitors understand about the diversity of experiences that life can offer. Keilley believes in Carpe diem and that life is full of moments, hard work, opportunities that have to be tapped and the feelings that need to be shared.



The blogging site is not just about blogs related to fashion, food, travel, lifestyle or music. It is about an experience that has been lived and will be cherished for a long time. With her own travel experiences from across the world, Keilley wishes to inspire people to travel and explore the world. This brilliant jewelry designer is a true diva and an individual with a great purpose in life.



About Keilley Lee Marques

Keilley Lee Marques, the owner of Klee Official, is a jewelry designer based at Barcelona, Spain. Keilley hails from Brazil with a license in Arts and Degree in Jewelry. Keilley is married to former volleyball player Lubos Barton bron in Czech Republic. She along with her husband and two beautiful children has gained immense experience traveling around the world; and this is due to here sheer passion for fashion, food, travel, mental and physical detoxification and desire to discover and rediscover life.



Media Contact

Keilley Lee Marques

Email: Contact@Keilley.com

Website: https://www.keilley.com/

Barcelona Spain 08029
Bringing over 20 years' experience with Marriott International to his new role, John's illustrious career has taken him around the globe, most recently to the island of Gods in 2015. As General Manager at Courtyard by Marriott Bali Seminyak Resort from 2015 to 2019, he enjoyed tremendous success, and was recognized as 'Courtyard General Manager of the Year' in 2018, and 'APAC Sales General Manager of the Year' in 2016.

"It is both an honor and a thrill to be at the helm of such a highly-regarded luxury resort in Bali. The island has become my true home over the last four years. I am passionate about the luxury travel sector here in Bali, so I relish this opportunity to apply my strategic vision and global experience to all aspects of the resort, and bring it to the next level of success. I particularly look forward to working with the esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton Bali to ensure our guests have the best holiday experience and take home memories that last a lifetime," says John.

A dynamic, adaptable and result-driven leader, John's leadership roles have spanned multiple disciplines, including sales and marketing, operations and regional team, across four continents. Career highlights include positions of Area Director of Sales and Marketing, South Asia and then the Caribbean. Successfully launching a cutting-edge sales engine the European Convention Network that supports Marriott's large group hotels in Europe before moving into general management in Bali.

A US and UK national John is a champion of customer-centric and associate-centric culture, values that makes him the perfect fit for The Ritz-Carlton Bali, which prides itself on our brand's motto of Ladies and Gentlemen serving Ladies and Gentlemen.

SOURCE The Ritz-Carlton, Bali
A Canadian-American couple on-board a cruise ship that has been quarantined off the coast of Japan say they're "a little stir-crazy" from being confined to their room.

A two-week cruise that Roger and Karey Maniscalco embarked on Jan. 24 has now turned into a nearly month-long stay after 61 people were tested positive for the new coronavirus aboard the ship.

A statement from Princess Cruises, the operator of the Diamond Princess, said seven of the 61 passengers who tested positive are Canadians. The ship carrying 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew was first quarantined in Yokohama on Tuesday following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The couple were scheduled to disembark Feb. 4 but the statement said the quarantine end date will be Feb. 19, unless there are any other unforeseen developments.

"If we knew Feb. 19 we will be back home it will make it a lot less stressful than not knowing what's going to happen after this ... whether they'll let us go on the 19th," said Roger Maniscalco, who is Canadian but lives in the United States.

"Uncertainty is the worst. Not knowing information is the worst."

The couple first heard the outbreak from a friend, he said.

"We weren't going to mainland China so we weren't so concerned. And it just escalated like crazy."

On Monday, Japanese authorities began testing the passengers in their staterooms and gave them forms to fill out, which included their recent travels and whether they were feeling sick.

"They started at 11 p.m. and we were given the exam at 3:30 a.m. in the morning and it went on and on for hours," Maniscalco said.

"It was almost another full day when they actually got everyone done. We were told on an announcement that we were being quarantined for 14 days and it was quite devastating."

Princess Cruises said local public health authorities will disembark the passengers who are infected with the virus for transport to local hospitals. The company said staff are doing their best to make the quarantined passengers comfortable.

Maniscalco said the couple is lucky they have a small balcony and can get some fresh air and sunlight.

Passengers without a balcony are taken out on the deck - a few at a time - with gloves and masks, he said.

The couple pass their time watching movies, talking to family and friends on social media and trying to get some exercise inside their room. They say they are healthy and have no symptoms.

"This is a tough situation for everyone," Maniscalco said.

"The food isn't the same as the normal food for cruise line either...everything's just changed and now we just want to get home."

The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 31,400 people globally.

China has seen 636 deaths and 31,161 confirmed cases on the mainland. In addition, Hong Kong has had 22 cases, including one death. Macao has had 10 cases. Most of the deaths have been in central Hubei province, where illnesses from the new type of coronavirus were first detected in December.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign passengers on another ship, Holland America's Westerdam, won't be allowed into Japan. He said suspected coronavirus patients were on board, but the Seattle-based operator denied anyone had the virus.

At least four other cruise ships, two foreign and two Japanese-operated, are headed to Japan by the end of the month, Japanese Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said, urging port authorities around the country to turn them away.

Meanwhile, Maniscalco said he can either be devastated by the situation or take it in stride.

"We try to make the best of it," Maniscalco said, adding that it makes for a good story.

"It's a great way to break ice. It really is. Not the way I would like to but yes."
A Canadian Pacific (NYSE: CP) trail derailed early Thursday morning in Saskatchewan in a fiery wreck that forced the evacuation of a nearby village and the closure of a portion of Highway 16, a key trucking route in Western Canada.

The accident occurred about 6:15 a.m. CST east of Guernsey, CP said in a statement. The railway is making initial assessments as emergency responders tend to the wreck.

No one was injured in the derailment, but authorities are evacuating residents of Guernsey because of smoke from the wreckage, Royal Canadian Mounted Police Capt. Rob King told FreightWaves.

CP had no immediate information about what the train was hauling. A photo from a witness appears to show several tanker cars fully engulfed in flames.

The RCMP closed a small stretch of Highway 16 southeast of Saskatoon near the junction with Highway 20. The five-mile diversion should add about 15 to 20 minutes for truckers, King said.

"We'll open the road as soon as we can," he said.

Saskatchewan Highway 16 serves as a key freight route in Western Canada, linking with Edmonton and Winnipeg as part of the Trans-Canada Highway's Yellowhead branch.

The accident came less than two months after a CP train hauling crude derailed  also near Guernsey.

A recent CBC documentary also raised questions about CP's handling of the investigation into a fatal accident in February 2019. CP criticized the CBC's reporting, calling elements of it misleading.

Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay

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Marilyn Nieves/iStock(EL PASO, Texas) -- Already facing capital murder charges, the alleged gunman who killed 22 people at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, in August 2019 was hit with federal hate crimes on Thursday, according to a source familiar with the case.



Patrick Crusius, 21, pleaded not guilty in October to capital murder charges after being indicted by an El Paso County grand jury in September.



Crusius was indicted by prosecutors on 90 federal charges, including 22 counts of committing a hate crime resulting in death, 22 counts of use of a firearm to commit murder, 23 counts of a hate crime involving an attempt to kill and 23 counts of use of a firearm during a crime.



He is accused of being the sole gunman to carry out the Aug. 3 killing rampage that federal authorities investigated as an act of "domestic terrorism," meaning the suspect was allegedly intent on "coercing and intimidating a civilian population," officials said.



Crusius allegedly told investigators following his arrest that he set out to kill as many Mexicans as he could after driving from his home in Allen, Texas, about 650 miles east of El Paso, officials said.



During the investigation of the massacre, investigators discovered a screed allegedly written by Crusius and posted on the dark website 8chan, in which his discussed his hate for immigrants and Mexicans, authorities said.



Law enforcement officials told ABC News that Crusius cased the Walmart, going inside without any weapons, apparently to size up the clientele inside the store, which is about 5 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border.



After seeing the 1,000 to 3,000 people that police estimate were inside at the time, Crusius exited the store and allegedly armed himself, officials said. He returned wearing protective ear muffs, safety glasses and wielding a high-powered assault-style rifle, according to video surveillance of him inside the store.



Police officials said Crucius allegedly started firing indiscriminately at victims, many of whom were doing back-to-school shopping, before he even walked through the front door.



The victims killed ranged in age from 15 to 90. More than two dozen people were injured in the rampage.



Eight of the 22 people killed were Mexican nationals and nine additional Mexicans were among those wounded, officials said.



Weeks before the shooting, Crusius' mother contacted police to express concern over her son owning an assault rifle due to his age, maturity level and lack of experience, the family's attorneys, Chris Ayres and R. Jack Ayres, told ABC News in August.



A day after the El Paso mass shooting, another gunman killed nine people, including his sister, and injured 27 in Dayton, Ohio. Officials said the gunman, 24-year-old Connor Stephen Betts, allegedly carried out the massacre with a .223-caliber rifle that he legally purchased.



Betts was wearing a ballistic vest, a mask and protective ear muffs when he allegedly opened fire on people lined up outside bars in Dayton's bustling Oregon District, police said. Betts was shot to death by police officers who were nearby when the shooting broke out.



Copyright  2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
Good morning. I hope youll be getting first tracks at Mt. Hood in Oregon this weekend, pushing out of Timberline to hit Thunder to Phlox to Wingles Wiggle, then back up Pucci, en route Magic Mile. I hope youll greet sunrise at the edge of the Everglades, push down toward the Lostmans River, Watsons Place, Shadow Country, and cast to rolling tarpon or hidden snook. I hope youll get out into Acadia for a few hours if you live Down East, hike the Witch Hole Pond Loop, warm up with some hot chocolate afterward. I hope youll end the day at Grandview, in Encinitas, Southern California, ripping swells that developed hundreds of miles to the west.

Not me. Ill be looking out into the mealy-mouthed winter of New York circa 2020 and thinking about my grill. Live-fire cooking, after all, is an activity that can unite the nation, even if some of us will be cooking in layered wool, and others in flip-flops. (This time of year, if you visit the public park grills at Jacob Riis Park, in Queens, youll see how some combine those looks.)

What Id like to cook, what maybe you could cook yourself: Momofukus bo ssam (above), but on the grill and not in the oven, the heat opposite the protein, with lots of wood chips to flavor the smoke. (Yes, of course, you can make the dish in your oven instead of going outside and firing up the grill. Thats how the recipe is written. But the fantasist takes it outdoors!) What a Saturday night that would be, along with a few dozen oysters on the half shell.

Though maybe a whole day of smoke-roasting is not in the cards for you? I get it. Im wired differently. If youd still like to grill, though: How about this awesome and speedy charred broccoli situation I learned to make from the chef Joe Carrolls book, Feeding the Fire? You could pair that with some grilled sausages and radicchio, from Melissa Clark. Or her sweet and spicy grilled chicken breasts.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) has held a stakeholder consultative forum in Kumasi.

The forum dubbed "Towards Receiving the First Batch of Free SHS Students in the Public Universities; the Roles of University and Teachers."

The forum brought together vibrant university lecturers, administrators, students among many others.

The stakeholders meeting discussed issues towards the absorption of free SHS students into public universities this year.

The forum also discussed issues pertaining to welfare of lecturers, infrastructures and technology.

Professor Nana Yaa Afia Amponsaa Opoku-Asare, associate Prof. to the faculty of education says the chunk students entering universities this year due to free SHS demand adequate preparation towards.

She said, the swift and applauded government free SHS policy needs to care also about the furtherance of the policy through the universities.

According to her, universities, lecturers and all stakeholders need better position to think about the student's career with better intuition.

To sustain the larger number of students entering universities, Prof. Opoku-Asase noted that, "staff welfare should be looked at more critically and with consciousness, effort should be made to prepare both the teaching and non-teaching staff for the takeoff.

" A large number will add to the stress levels of the teaching staff in particular," she stated.

According to her, this will affect the health and emotional status of the university teachers and they have to find effective ways of psyching themselves up for the journey ahead.

As part of the preparation, universities have to employ more teachers since the current teacher students ratio will exceed their carrying capacity.

She maintained student numbers continue to rise and create an imbalance in the academic and administrative workload of university teachers in KNUST.

In his presentation, Prof. Charles Barnor the Pro Vice Chancellor of UPSA urged the government to ensure technology learning in our universities.

As part of government mechanisms to absorb free SHS leavers into the universities, he urged government to put more into physical expansion of existing institutions and invest in capacity building.

Prof. Barnor says application of modern education should be able to address complex goals through technology. This According to him should be collective responsibility of both government, universities management and lecturers.

He urges government to increase the retirement age from 60 years to 70 years.

This he said will help employ more diversity of experienced age to contribute to conducive environment for teaching and learning.

He maintained that obtaining lectures is difficult because qualified lecturers prefer joining other sectors where the condition of service are better, while many others seek greener pastures.

Prof. Charles Marfo, the national president of UTAG says they will continue to engage government to ensure the smooth running of the process.

He said though there are challenges confronting UTAG, the organization will continue to fish different schemes to resolve them.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:47:17|Editor: huaxia

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TAIPEI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's total exports in January fell 7.6 percent year on year to 25.07 billion U.S. dollars, with imports down by 17.7 percent to 21.61 billion dollars, the island's finance department said Friday.

Taiwan's exports to the mainland and Hong Kong fell by 7.8 percent year on year to 9.46 billion dollars in January, but still accounted for about 37.7 percent of its total exports, the department said in a press release, noting that the mainland and Hong Kong remained Taiwan's biggest export market.

The island's exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Japan and Europe dropped by 8.3 percent, 10.1 percent and 11.4 percent year on year, respectively, while its exports to the United States increased by 1 percent.

The department attributed the trade reduction to fewer working days in January this year due to the Spring Festival holiday and weak demands of its traditional export products.
The photo itself is iconic. The seemingly anonymous POWs back is to the camera as his gleeful family runs pell-mell towards him. The image, dubbed, Burst of Joy, was printed and touted across America, earning photographer Slava Sal Veder the Pulitzer Prize in 1974. Veders photograph came to represent those American POWs who were, at long last, free. The actual story behind the photo, however, was significantly less joyous than the title implied.

The POW in the photo, Lt. Col. Robert L. Stirm, was a fighter pilot who was shot down over Hanoi, North Vietnam, on October 27, 1967. He would go on to endure nearly six years of mock executions, torture, illness, and starvation while living in the notorious Hanoi Hilton. Yet throughout the ordeal, the momentum to stay alive for my familys sake was very strong, Stirm told the Associated Press. I had four neat children and what I believed to be a neat wife that I wanted to get back to see. Thats a strong incentive.

After years of tense start and stop negotiations between the U.S. and North Vietnamese governments, the appropriately coined Operation Homecoming began. Starting on February 12 and continuing until March 29, 1973, nearly 600 American POWs were released from North Vietnamese POW camps. Hanoi Taxis, or C-141s, ferried the sick and wounded out first, followed by the taxis those who had been imprisoned longest. Among the POW ranks were: Floyd Thompson, who was shot down in 1963 and retained the undesirable title of the wars longest-held prisoner; John McCain, the late senator and former presidential candidate; and former senator Jeremiah Denton Jr., who famously blinked out the letters T-O-R-T-U-R-E, in Morse code, while being interviewed for a propaganda film, according to Vietnam magazines Rick Fredericksen.

Thanks to Veders Burst of Joy, Stirm would join the small cadre of prisoners captivating public interest. His arrival, however, would leave him feeling anything but loved.

Just three days before Stirms March 1973 arrival at Travis Air Force Base, California, he received a Dear John letter from his wife of 18 years, Loretta.

I cant begin to tell you how proud we are of you, Loretta wrote. The children and I never missed a night saying a prayer for your safe return. I have your pictures up and your certificates and have kept you very much with us while you were gone and the children have not forgotten their father.

I would like to see you when you come home, but will understand if you would rather not.

As Stirm descended from the plane onto the tarmac, there was Loretta.

In some ways, its hypocritical, because my former wife had abandoned the marriage within a year or so after I was shot down, Stirm recounted. And she did not even have the honor and integrity to be honest with the kids. She lived a lie. This picture does not show the realities that she had accepted proposals of marriage from three different men. . . . It portrays (that) everybody there was happy to see me.

Lorrie Kitching, nee Stirm, who was just nine years old when her father was shot down, later noted that her mother was quite young at the time and that raising four children on her own had taken its toll.

The pair divorced within a year, with Lorrie and her brother Robert Jr. living with Stirm. The two youngest children, Cindy and Roger, remained with Loretta. Despite the turmoil surrounding the reunion, the personal reunion that was made so public elicits a different memory for Stirms children  one of sheer happiness.

Its a wonderful piece of history that we just happened to stumble into, Lorrie recalled. It never would have gone away in my mind, but seeing that photo brings it all back again  just all the joy that was there.

And while all four children have Burst of Joy hanging in their homes, its more complicated and bittersweet for Stirm.

He kept copies of the image, but none are on display. Asked why, Stirm doesnt mince words.

Because of her.
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.
A 19-year-old North Carolina man has been returned to the region to face charges from an August home invasion in Plainfield Township that left a 66-year-old resident with two gunshot wounds to his leg, Slate Belt Regional Police report.

Hezekiah Daron Moore, of Greenville, was actually arrested last fall after a traffic stop turned up the Slate Belt warrant, Chief Jonathon Hoadley said Friday. But the warrant violated the conditions of Moores release from a previous crime and he had to serve more jail time in Pitt County before he could be returned north, Hoadley said.

Moore was released in late January into the custody of Slate Belt Regional officers, Hoadley said. Moore was arraigned Jan. 27 before District Judge Alicia Rose Zito on six conspiracy counts involving aggravated assault, robbery and recklessly endangering another person and an individual count of unlawful restraint/serious bodily injury, records show.

Police charge Moore was an accomplice of shooter Kevin Campbell, 32, also of Greenville.

The pair the evening of Aug. 7 went to Richard Fischers home on Delabole Road, police said.

Fischer, in an interview last summer, said he and his girlfriend were just finishing supper when they heard a knock on the door. Fischer, who works as a taxidermist, the same as his father, said he thought it was someone coming to the home to pick up a mount.

The girlfriend let the pair inside, and I turned around and he had a gun pointed it at me. Just that quick, Fischer said.

Police said the man, later identified as Campbell, followed Fischer and allegedly pointed the gun at Fischers chest.

Fischer said when he yelled no, Campbell shot him twice in his right leg.

Fischers girlfriend tried to flee out the front door but was accosted by Moore, before breaking free and running off, police said.

Fischer said she was beaten up pretty bad and had bruises.

The men left with a safe, police said.

Moores preliminary hearing, tentatively scheduled for Monday, was postponed when it was learned Campbell and he were both represented by the same public defender, a court clerk said. Public defender James Connell now only represents Campbell.

Campbell, who has Slate Belt ties and who was arrested in North Carolina soon after the attack, is scheduled to go on trial on March 2 in Northampton County Court, records show.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
There was upset this week after the US issued a warning to Americans that it is increasingly risky for single women to travel alone in Spain.

It says that its embassy in Madrid has received a surge in cases of sexual assaults on its citizens.

A spokesperson also said the US is unhappy that victims in Spain have their credibility questioned in post-attack interviews, an accusation that the National Police has denied.
Budget 2020: What is PM KUSUM scheme that will aid 20 lakh farmers to income from solar power

BJP received 39.85 per cent of total donations received by all parties from Electoral Trusts

Under garb of farmer protests, SJF collects funds and diverts it for subversive activities

Being strangulated without funds says Keralas FinMin

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 07: Making a scathing attack on the Central government, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac on Friday said the BJP-led NDA government was "strangulating" the southern state by denying funds.

Presenting the 2020-21 budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan led-LDF government, he alleged the centre has been "helping" corporates rather than the common man.

"The Centre has been strangulating Kerala by denying funds for the state and has been moving on a self-destructive path by corporate-friendly policies and privatisation. The GST implementation has not been beneficial for the state," he said.

In the budget, Issac set aside Rs 1,000 crore for coastal area development, Rs 1,500 crore for the public works department, Rs 1,000 crore has been allotted for village road projects and Rs 4,383 crore for drinking water projects in the state.

"The government proposes 2.5 lakh water connections in the upcoming financial year. We will also construct one lakh houses under Life Mission," the finance minister said.

Coronavirus outbreak: Chinese tourist seeks police help for hotel room in Kerala

The budget has allocated Rs 90 crore for Pravasi Welfare Fund and the government proposes power projects with a capacity of 500 MW.

"The government proposes Kochi development plan with a fund of Rs 6,000 crore. The city will get a unified travel card and Metro project will be extended," Issac said.

The state government has increased all welfare pension funds by Rs 100, allotted Rs 40 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 10 crore for startups in the state.

The local self-governments have been allotted Rs five crore for waste management, Rs 20 crore has been set apart for 1,000 food stalls under hunger-free Kerala, where meals will be made available at Rs 25.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

The second meeting of the joint commission on economic cooperation between the Azerbaijani and South Korean governments was held in Baku, Trend reports referring to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies.

The Azerbaijani delegation was led by Co-chairman of the Commission, Deputy Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Elmir Valizade, and the Korean delegation was headed by Co-chairman of the Commission, Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Soo-kyoung Park.

At the meeting, broad prospects for cooperation between the countries in the field of ICT, e-government, transport, energy, science, culture and other spheres were discussed.

The active cooperation between the two countries within a number of international organizations, in particular the UN, was stressed. The sides exchanged views on macroeconomic indicators of Azerbaijan and Korea, as well as on the volume of trade between the two countries and emphasized the great potential for expanding current economic relations.

The meeting participants praised Azerbaijans efforts to diversify the economy to reduce its dependence on oil export. The Azerbaijani side said that most of the investments attracted from Korea in 1995-2019 were made in the non-oil sector.

Seventy-four Korean companies, which carry out activity in the field of industry, construction, trade, services and transport, have been registered in Azerbaijan. There is great potential for attracting investments in other spheres.

The Republic of Korea is a priority country for Azerbaijan in terms of economic partnership. The cooperation between the two countries is developing, especially in such spheres as infrastructure, energy, construction, transport, information technologies, the environment and alternative energy.

The Azerbaijani side emphasized that Korea is a reliable partner and the expansion of economic ties has become a common goal for both countries. Moreover, the participation of Korean companies in big projects which are implemented through state financing in Azerbaijan, as well as the importance of the growth of Korean investments in the non-oil sector and social spheres were stressed as a positive example of cooperation.

A proposal was made to organize bilateral meetings for businessmen, as well as render mutual support in searching for business partners to exchange information on exhibitions, fairs, conferences, business forums and other events which are held in both countries.

The Azerbaijani side invited the Korean technical universities and technology-oriented companies to take part in the activity of the Technology Transfer Center, created by the Innovation Agency under the Azerbaijani Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies.

The importance of further developing of the trade and economic cooperation and increasing the efforts to bring the export-oriented products of both countries to other markets was also emphasized at the meeting of the commission.

Azerbaijan is Koreas main trading partner in the South Caucasus region.

Following the meeting, a protocol of the second meeting of the joint commission on economic cooperation between the governments of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Republic of Korea was signed.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Friday accused the BJP-JJP coalition government in Haryana of underperforming in its first 100 days of the rule in the state.

Citing a report from a vernacular newspaper, Surjewala's tweet, roughly translated in English from Hindi, reads: "BJP's promise of providing a permanent roof turns out to be false. Their claim: building 64,000 permanent houses in five years. Reality: 52 per cent of them are unfinished. Is this the 100 days report card? BJP-JJP should reply."

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar-led government completed its 100 days on Friday.

This is Khattar's second term after the polls held in October in the state. He runs a coalition government along with Dushyant Chautala of the JJP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration, which came into office pledging to end endless wars, has now embraced weapons prohibited by more than 160 countries, and is readying them for future use. Cluster bombs and antipersonnel land mines, deadly explosives known for maiming and killing civilians long after the fighting ended, have become integral to the Pentagons future war plans  but with little public rationale offered for where and why they would be used.

These new policies, endorsed by Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, can be traced to 2017 when the Pentagon chief at the time, Jim Mattis, was drafting a military strategy that named Russia and China as the United States great power rivals. Both have significant ground forces, and mines historically have been used to deny an adversarys troops the ability to advance on the battlefield.

In a news conference on Monday, the Pentagons chief spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said that the policy change was the result of an extensive conversation with different departments of the executive branch. It is intended to provide the commanders on the ground nonpersistent munitions that are necessary for mission success in major contingencies in extreme or exceptional circumstances, he said.

Mr. Hoffman declined to specify who had requested the policy change.

Former Defense Department officials said the debate about reintroducing land mines and other so-called area-denial weapons came to a head in 2017 as the administration analyzed Russias rapid invasion and annexation of Crimea.
No reason or circumstance could ever justify the tilting of a residential building unless there was an earthquake. However, when a building tilts on a normal day when it shouldn't, the residents and people around are bound to be left shaken.

On February 5, the residential building located on the Vinayaka Nagar Street in Hebbal Kempapura shook and tilted. And it reminded us of the leaning tower of Pisa.

Twitter/Alamy

The building was reportedly built five years ago and its images of being precariously tilted are going viral on social media.

The residential building has eight apartment units and about two dozen residents all of whom were able to safely evacuate the building.

TOI reports the residents of around 30 buildings in the vicinity have been asked to temporarily vacate their properties.

Leaning building of Bengaluru: 31 flee as structure tilts https://t.co/NpmASVmPZ4 pic.twitter.com/10ic2r7h9j  Quickclarity (@quickclarity) February 6, 2020

According to authorities, illegal construction on a plot located behind the building could be a reason of the tilt. Plots owner has been detained by Bengaluru police.

The man reportedly had no prior permission to construct the plot.

A 5 storey building TITLED in Hebbal area, Bengaluru today .



Wonder how municipal corporation gives permission to such dangerous structures...



A wake up call for the authorities, before any TRAGEDY...



#DANGER20NE pic.twitter.com/yFQhxomAm8  Subba Rao (@yessirtns) February 5, 2020

Reportedly he was excavating earth of the plot using a JCB and that while doing so, it hit a beam of the building that tilted, causing foundational damage.

Fortunately the residents were able to evacuate in time.
(Newser)  The driver of a disabled vehicle who shot to death a Florida trooper didn't want to pay for the car to be towed, a witness has said. Joseph Bullock, 42, was killed Wednesday after stopping to help the motorist on Interstate 95 in Martin County. A tow truck driver called to the scene told witnesses the suspect was irate at having to pay to tow his car, WPTV reports. He said he was able to flee when the driver's gun jammed. The gunman then was shot to death by a passing police officer. "There was six shots," Randy Pitino said. "I heard gunfire first, and then I seen gunfire back from the Riviera Beach officer."

story continues below

The suspect was identified as Franklin Reed III, per CNN. The police officer wasn't injured. The director of the Florida Highway Patrol said other troopers are taking Bullock's death hard. "They're distraught. They're very upset," he said. "It's like losing a family member." (Read more state troopers stories.)
Heidi Klum says people derisively called her 'a white woman' after she defended America's Got Talent after former judge Gabrielle Union claimed she experienced a 'toxic work culture' while working on the NBC series.

The 46-year-old model opened up to Page Six during the amfAR gala held Wednesday at New York City's Cipriani Wall Street Wednesday.

'A lot of people got mad at me,' the German supermodel told the outlet. 'I was called, for example, "a white woman."'

The latest: Heidi Klum, 46, says people derisively called her 'a white woman' after she defended America's Got Talent after former judge Gabrielle Union, 47, claimed she experienced a 'toxic work culture' while working on the NBC series

Klum said she was criticized after defending the series last month at the Television Critics Association's winter press tour when asked about the controversy involving Union, who said she overheard racist comments and was told her hairstyle was 'too black' during her stint on the show's 14th season.

Klum said at the January industry event that she's 'only had an amazing experience' on the series, and 'didn't experience the same thing' as Union.

Klum, noting she couldn't 'speak for' Union, said that 'everyone [on the show] treats you with the utmost respect' and that she never witnessed 'anything that was weird or hurtful.'

In circling back to the remarks on Wednesday, Klum told the paper said that she was honest in relating her experience.

Tumultuous: (L-R) Howie Mandel, Union, Julianne Hough, Simon Cowell posed on the set of the show's 14th season last year. Union and Hough parted ways with the show after one season

Her truth: Klum said in NYC Wednesday said that she was honest in relating her experience

'I think it is important for everyone to speak their truth,' said Klum, who's returning to the series after appearing on it for six previous seasons beginning in 2013. 'I think that when there is a story, it should be told. I had a different story.'

The mom-of-four - to daughters Leni, 15, (with ex Flavio Briatore) and Lou, 10, and sons Henry, 15, Johan, 13 (with ex-husband Seal) - said that her interpretation of the goings-on on the set of the series had nothing to do with race or ethnicity.

'I can only speak to what I saw - it has nothing to do with what color I am,' she said. 'I am a human so I just looked at what I saw.'

After her initial remarks about the series, Klum later issued a statement to People emphasizing that she was speaking from her perspective.

'Recently, a reporter asked me to share my thoughts about Gabrielle Union's experiences while working as a judge on America's Got Talent,' she said. 'I told the reporter that I had not experienced similar issues while I was a judge on the show - my experience was a positive one.

'I can only speak of my own truth, and by no means is that meant to negate or question Gabrielle's truth.'

Beauty: Union looked amazing as she attended the 13th Annual Essence Black Women In Hollywood Awards Luncheon in Beverly Hills Thursday

Radiant: Klum appeared at the 2020 Winter TCA Tour in Pasadena, California last month, where she made the remarks about the show

Klum said she's 'aware' her 'experience may not be the same as Gabrielle's' while defending her own values.

'What I can tell you is that I am a fierce advocate for all people, no matter their race, age, religion, gender or sexuality,' she said. 'Everyone should be treated equally and with utmost respect.'

The mom-of-four - to daughters Leni, 15, (with ex Flavio Briatore) and Lou, 10, and sons Henry, 15, Johan, 13 (with ex-husband Seal) - continued: 'Personally, I have experienced very hurtful things while being married to a man of color and having three beautiful children with him.

'While everyone's challenges are different, I want nothing more than for a just world and for people to be kinder to one another.'
Amnesty International on Thursday accused Nigerian government and Cross River state government of manipulating the criminal justice system in order to keep detained Nigerian journalist, Agba Jalingo behind bars.

The human right group said Mr Jalingo's detention, besides being a stain on Nigeria's image, "shows just how far (Nigerian) authorities can go to silence critics."

Mr Jalingo, the publisher of CrossRiverWatch, was arrested on August 22, 2019, over a report alleging that Cross River governor, Ben Ayade, diverted N500 million belonging to the state.

Mr Jalingo, who is facing treason charges, is detained in Calabar prison. The court has refused to grant him bail.

If convicted, he could face up to life in prison or the death penalty, Amnesty said.

Amnesty is among the several organisations within and outside Nigeria putting pressure on the Nigerian government to free the journalist declared a prisoner of conscience last year by the human right group.

"While Agba Jalingo is detained for his critical opinions, both Cross River and federal governments are collaborating, through the manipulation of the criminal justice system to keep him behind bars," the Amnesty spokesperson, Sanusi Isa, told reporters in Calabar.

Other officials of Amnesty present at the press briefing were Damian Ugwu and Ayoola Emmanuel.

Amnesty said Mr Jalingo's trial falls short of international standard of fairness and has exposed the weakness of Nigeria's criminal justice system.

"Twice Agba Jalingo was denied bail. We are concerned that Agba Jalingo's trial falls short of international standards of fairness, especially because the court has allowed witnesses to be masked and the trial to be held in secret.

"The flawed charges and sham trial of Agba Jalingo have exposed the inadequacies and manipulation of the Nigerian criminal justice system and an unacceptable contempt for human rights and the rule of law," Mr Isa said.

"Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State and the government of President Muhammadu Buhari must stop filing bogus and politically motivated charges against critics and start listening to what they have to say.

"The case of Agba Jalingo is just one of many cases of blatant violations of the right to freedom of expression and media freedom in Cross River state and several parts of Nigeria. Joseph Odok was also unlawfully detained and later charged with terrorism solely for expressing critical opinion on social media.

"This pattern of repression in Cross River state flagrantly violates the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and international and regional human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights to which Nigeria is a state party.

"The Cross River state authorities must stop the repression. The authorities must respect, protect, promote and ensure the right to freedom of expression and media freedom," the group said.

Amnesty said it would continue to "push" for Mr Jalingo's "immediate and unconditional release."

It said it would also work with other NGOs to hold the Cross River state government "to account for the increasing assault on human rights".

Governor Ayade recently broke his silence on Mr Jalingo's case, saying it is the federal government, and not Cross River state government, that is detaining the journalist.

"In court, it is Federal Government versus Agba Jalingo, not Cross River State," Mr Ayade told reporters on January 27 at the presidential villa, Abuja, where he went to meet President Muhammadu Buhari.

"He's in court for treason, a state does not have power to try anyone for treason, it's not me."

Mr Ayade said the journalist's arrest and trial are in connection with Omoyele Sowore's #RevolutionNow protest.

Mr Jalingo, the governor said, wanted to overthrow the government of President Buhari.

Mr Ayade described Mr Jalingo as his "brother". He said he had been rendering help to the detained journalist until he (Jalingo) turned against him and began "blackmailing" him because, according to him, he was unable to give him some money he requested.

"Please don't get it wrong, Agba Jalingo is not just from Cross River State, he's not just from Obudu, where I also come from, he's my brother.

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"Please ask Agba Jalingo, that CrossRiverWatch, the first person to give him money to set up the office was myself. His official vehicle, it was me. I don't have to list all of these, he knows that I have funded and supported him, but journalism stops where blackmail becomes part of your strategy.

"Today you need something, then Ayade is a good man and you start writing all the good things, but if I take my phone and show you our WhatsApp communication, you will call me a godly man. Today I need money to set up a computer school, tomorrow I need money to feed my birds, the other day I need to be INNOSON's sole distributor in Cross River State, I do all that.

"But when I don't get a thing right you go to the social media and write something as careless as Governor Ayade has taken N500 million to Russia. You impugned my father's name, my character, my family name, for just a personal request that I've not met, out of many that I have met," Mr Ayade said.

The governor, however, said he was working behind the scene to get Mr Jalingo released from detention.
McDonald's has admitted it has 'lots more to do' in the fight against litter as it backed the Great British Spring Clean.

Britain's biggest fast-food chain said it was 'delighted' to get behind the campaign  run by Keep Britain Tidy and supported by the Daily Mail  after 2,500 staff got involved last year.

The UK arm of the American company organised 243 Great British Spring Clean litter-pick events across its franchises last year.

This time, the firm hopes to 'grow those numbers' and contribute to the one million volunteers the Mail is hoping to get signed up.

Analysis of branded items found on UK beaches revealed that McDonald's accounted for 6 per cent of all litter last year

But McDonald's admits it still has work to do to become more sustainable, after facing criticism for fuelling the litter crisis on Britain's streets.

A Keep Britain Tidy survey published in 2018 revealed fast-food-related waste contributed to 33 per cent of rubbish at sites across the country.

And last year, analysis of branded items found on UK beaches revealed that McDonald's accounted for 6 per cent of all litter  with 1,196 pieces of McDonald's waste picked up across 229 beach cleans.

The company does arrange regular collections around its premises but much of the packaging is dumped further afield as customers take their food away.

A statement on the fast food chain's website reads: 'We've made big progress so far, but we know there's lots more to do.'

A spokesman said: 'At McDonald's we are proud to be supporting the Great British Spring Clean once again this year.'

The campaign has also received the backing of Boris Johnson along with 180 MPs  representing more than a quarter of the House of Commons.
On Feb. 5, Margarita Simonyan, chief editor of the Russian state-owned media conglomerate Rossiya Segodnya, which includes RT, Sputnik International and RIA Novosti, boasted on Twitter that Sputniks audience in Belarus had increased.

Simonyan claimed that Sputnik.by had a record number of unique visitors in Belarus in January  10 million. She also said Sputnik.bys numbers exceeded the combined audience of all other foreign media in Belarus, naming just two -- U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty [branded Svaboda.org in Belarus] and the BelSat TV channel, which is co-funded by the Polish government and international donors.

This is partly false.

According to data provided by the market intelligence company SimilarWeb, Sputnik.by had 11.16 million total visits in January of this year but only 5.65 million unique visitors -- only about half what Simonyan claimed.

SimilarWeb is a globally recognized company analyzing 80 million websites and 3 million mobile applications in 60 countries.

In addition, SimilarWebs data showed that in January of this year, 74 percent of desktop visits to Sputnik.by were from Russia and only 17 percent from Belarus.

SimilarWeb does not provide geographical data for mobile traffic. However, it reports that 32 percent of all traffic was from desktop computers and 68 percent originated from mobile devices.

The one correct claim in Simonyans tweet was that Sputnik.bys audience in January exceeded the combined numbers of other foreign-funded media. The Voice of America sister-media, RFE/RL's branch in Belarus, Svaboda.org had about 259,000 unique visitors in January.
A teenager was reportedly shot in the head while rapping on Facebook Live.

Jeremiah Dickey, 19, was killed at Elton Street and New Lots Avenue, near his home in Brooklyn, New York.

Police arrived at the scene after receiving a phone call. They found Mr Dickey unconscious and unresponsive, with a gunshot to his head.

"I just miss my son," Debra Dickey, Jeremiah's mother, told CNN. "I shouldn't have to be sitting here sobbing while they're still out there running free."

"This is a terrible incident and our thoughts are with the victim and his loved ones," a Facebook company spokesperson said.

In a now removed Facebook Live video, CNN reported that the teenager can be seen rapping along to a song inside a car for 35 seconds.

After he takes a quick look around, five gunshots can be heard.
We are probably halfway to what maximum pressure could look like, said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity on White Houses insistence. Theres a lot of tools and a lot of targets at our disposal, and we plan to use as many of them as necessary in order to fulfill our goal of an end to this dictatorship and a democratic transition in Venezuela.
On Thursday, at approximately 7:30 a.m., 26-year-old Eric Diaz-Cruz was shot in the face by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in a working-class neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City. The shooting occurred as the federal agents were seeking to detain Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez, a construction worker with undocumented status who was on his way to work.

Avi Zlita, a Syrian immigrant who witnessed the incident, told AM New York Metro that ICE officers crashed their Ford Mustang, hitting Zlitas parked car from behind. Immediately afterwards, the officers ran out of their car, without identifying themselves or displaying any documentation, to apprehend Avendano-Hernandez, who was about to enter an Uber parked outside of his home. Avendano-Hernandez resisted, getting tasered and pepper-sprayed multiple times in the process.

While Avendano-Hernandez was getting assaulted by ICE, Diaz-Cruz, his girlfriends son, came to his defense and punched an officer, for which he was promptly shot. The bullet tore through Diaz-Cruzs hand and went into his face.

Kevin Yanez-Cruz, Diaz-Cruzs 19-year-old brother, later recalled to the New York Daily News: [The ICE agent] didnt even think twice. He just shot him. [Eric] had no weapons in his hand. Nothing.

Avendano-Hernandez was able to temporarily escape and barricaded himself inside of his home. New York Police Department (NYPD) officers were then called in to apprehend him. Avendano-Hernandez is currently under custody in the 62nd Precinct. It is unknown whether he will be handed over to ICE. Diaz-Cruz is currently recovering at Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn.

Special Response Team (SRT) within Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) participates in a training exercise utilizing an armored vehicle at Fort Benning in Georgia [Credit: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]

Responding to the attack, dozens of New Yorkers rallied outside of the hospital in support of Diaz-Cruz and Avendano-Hernandez, advancing the slogans No hate no fear, immigrants are welcome here and All immigrants are welcome, all refugees are welcome here.

Judy, one the residents at the rally, told the WSWS, The suffering thats happening to my community and friends, this is inhumane, its a horror. This is a nightmare which is destroying lives. I visit detainees in ICE custody on the weekends, one of the detainees there is my friend. Trump is a sick, sick man, but I dont trust any of the politicians. This is a frightening world.

ICE responded to the shooting with a public statement, writing that the justification for apprehending Avendano-Hernandez was his undocumented status, a 2011 assault conviction (no further details given) and possession of a forged instrument on February 3. The forged instrument was a fake Connecticut license plate. They had attempted to lodge an immigration detainer against Avendano-Hernandez and take him into custody while he was arrested for his fake license plate, but because he was released, this forced ICE officers to locate him on the streets of New York.

The shooting of Diaz-Cruz comes amid an intensifying struggle between New York City and the Trump administration over the formers sanctuary city policies. A sanctuary city is essentially a jurisdiction where police are prohibited from asking about an individuals immigration status. Under US law, being undocumented is not a criminal offense but a civil violation. Immigrants have rights under the Constitution, such as due process, which prevents authorities from detaining anyone who has not committed a crime. In most areas of the United States this fundamental right is constantly violated, with immigrants being held in detention till they are turned over to ICE, but in sanctuary cities there is a certain level of protection offered to immigrants.

For this and a recently passed state bill which prevents federal officials from accessing Department of Motor Vehicle records without a court order, the Trump administration has stepped up sanctions against New York City. On February 5, it blocked New Yorkers from enrolling in the Trusted Traveler Program, which has the effect of making air travel more difficult and costly for the citys residents.

However, this does not mean that cooperation does not exist between New York, other sanctuary cities and the federal government for detaining immigrants. In the case of Avendano-Hernandez, ICE could only have gotten the information that he had a forged license plate from New York City authorities or officials. In a report released by the citys comptroller office, from 2017 to 2019, deportations climbed 150 percent.

The violence inflicted on Eric Diaz-Cruz and Gaspar Avendano-Hernandez by federal agents is not an aberration but a norm within the activities of ICE. According to the Immigrant Defense Project, there have been many reports of ICE agents using violent force to conduct detentions, such as slamming family members against walls, dragging individuals from cars, and even pulling guns on people leaving court. A common practice within ICE is the impersonation of police officers or potential employers in order to detain immigrants. The actions of ICE agents are so blatantly criminal that many bystanders have dialed the emergency line 911 to report a kidnapping.

Once detained by ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies, the conditions faced by detainees are nothing short of torturous. On February 5, a US citizen detained by Border Patrol agents in south Texas was admitted to the hospital within three hours of his detainment and pronounced dead shortly after. Along the US-Mexico border, detained immigrant workers and their children are housed in modern day concentration camps where numerous cases of death, sexual assault and torture have been reported.

The demonization and brutalization of immigrants is made possible through the bipartisan support of the Republicans and Democrats in Congress, who recently passed a record $738 billion military budget of which a significant portion will be used to fund the US-Mexico border wall.

The shooting of Eric Diaz-Cruz in New York City is a part of a broader trend around the world with the breakdown of capitalism and the development of fascistic forms of rule. While immigrants are being assaulted in the streets by federal agents in the United States, Muslims are being demonized in India, fascist groups are carrying out terrorist attacks in Brazil, and state leaders in Germany are embracing fascism.
An Indian Army Major who had developed a bulletproof jacket for protection against sniper bullets, has now developed a helmet which is claimed to be first such in the world that can stop an AK-47 bullet round from a distance of 10 meters.

"The ballistic helmet has been developed under project Abhedya by Major Anoop Mishra who has also developed a full-body protection bulletproof jacket which can withstand even sniper rifles," Army officials told ANI.

The officer is part of the Indian Army's College of Military Engineering and had got into the development of bulletproof jackets after he had received gunshots on his vintage bulletproof jacket.

Besides this, Indian Army's College of Military Engineering jointly with a private firm has developed India's first and world's cheapest gunshot locator. It can locate the exact location of the bullet from distance of 400 meters which will help to locate and neutralise terrorists faster.

"During 2016-17, 50,000 bulletproof jackets had been procured for Indian Army through Revenue route. The Contract for procurement of 1,86,138 BPJs through Capital route, under Buy (Indian) category, has been concluded in April 2018. Further, a contract for procurement of 1,58,279 Ballistic Helmet through Capital route had been concluded in December 2016," the then Minister of State for Defence, Subhash Bhamre had informed Lok Sabha in a written reply in July 2018.

The College of Military Engineering (CME) at Pune, a premier tactical & Technical training institution is the alma mater of the Corps of Engineers. CME is responsible for training of personnel of the Corps of Engineers besides imparting instructions in Combat Engineering, CBRN Protection, Works Services and GIS matters to the personnel of All Arms & Services.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A top Democratic official said Thursday that he had warned Iowa Democrats last month against using an untested app to transmit returns in the Iowa caucuses, whose results were thrown into further disarray as the party's national leader called for a recanvass.

Jim Roosevelt, co-chairman of the Democratic National Committee's powerful Rules and Bylaws Committee, said that he and a colleague raised concerns over the phone with Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, and that Price assured them the app had been properly vetted.

"We said, 'At scale?' " Roosevelt recounted of the January conversation. "He said yes. But it turns out it's not the case."

That warning, which has not been previously reported, raises new questions about the decision-making of the Iowa Democratic Party in planning for its high-stakes caucuses, which have been engulfed in uncertainty since the app broke down on caucus night. A spokeswoman for Price said the state party chairman did not remember such a call.

Democrats had hoped Thursday to finalize the Iowa results so they could move ahead with choosing a nominee to take on President Donald Trump. Instead, the chaos continued as a breach opened between national and state Democrats, inaccuracies continued to emerge and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., declared victory even though the results had not been finalized and a winner had not been determined.

Sanders argued that with 97% of precincts reporting, it was clear he got more votes than anyone else. "When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory," Sanders said while campaigning in New Hampshire.

Several of his rivals ignored his declaration or framed the outcome differently. Former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, who also did well in the caucuses, according to the incomplete results, characterized the race as "neck-and-neck" on ABC's "The View." He had initially proclaimed victory Monday night with no official results reported.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, signaled that he was losing patience with the confusion and the Iowa party's handling of it.

"Enough is enough," Perez tweeted. "In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass."

The state party gave no indication that it planned to honor Perez's demand, instead issuing a statement noting that it is the campaigns that are entitled to request a recanvass. None has so far made such a request.

A recanvass would mean a hand audit of the math worksheets and reporting forms that are completed on caucus night at each of the more than 1,750 precincts across the state. It would differ from a full recount, which involves a hand count of each of the "presidential preference cards" completed by caucus-goers.

The state party, in new measures for 2020, introduced an opportunity for campaigns to request a recanvass, or a recount if necessary, if they could show that new figures could alter the allocation of delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

Any campaign requesting a recanvass would have to pay for it. Party rules do not specify what happens if a third party, such as Perez, intervenes.

Perez's comment arose from widespread concerns about lingering uncertainties in Iowa, including on whether new figures from the state's "satellite" caucuses square with guidelines for allocating delegates, according to a Democratic official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly.

More than 1,500 caucus-goers participated at these alternative locations, which are designed for Spanish speakers, night workers and others who have trouble attending a traditional caucus. The satellite caucuses were introduced for the first time this year.

It's not the first time tensions have erupted between national and Iowa Democrats over competing pressure for access, security and efficiency in the caucuses. Last year, the DNC effectively nixed a plan for "virtual caucuses," because of fears that the mobile software could not be secured against hacking.

Democrats had hoped Monday's caucuses would mark the triumphant launch of their effort to oust a president they despise and provide clarity to an unwieldy field.

Instead, three days later the party found itself with two candidates, Sanders and Buttigieg, locked in a close battle for first place with almost all precincts reporting. Sanders led in the popular vote, but the two were virtually tied in the number of delegates they will receive to the state and national conventions.

At a news conference in Manchester, New Hampshire, Sanders said the number of state delegates was "meaningless." More important, he said, were delegates to the national convention, where the two would derive equivalent backing from Iowa.

But the key outcome, he said, was that more Iowans had chosen him than any of the other candidates.

"What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night," Sanders said.

Buttigieg stopped short of reiterating his Monday night claim that he'd been "victorious" in Iowa. But at a stop in Merrimack, New Hampshire, he said his campaign had been "absolutely electrified . . . by the extraordinary validation of this campaign's vision that we had in Iowa on Monday."

Still, he added, "I'm also mindful and humbled by the fact that New Hampshire is New Hampshire. And New Hampshire is not the kind of place to let Iowa or anybody else tell you what to do."

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and former vice president Joe Biden have lagged behind Sanders and Buttigieg as the Iowa results have unfolded, putting pressure on their campaigns to bolster their showing in New Hampshire.

At least one contender was willing to accept Sanders's claim. "It sure looks like Bernie won Iowa," business executive Andrew Yang tweeted. "Excited to compete for the win in New Hampshire on Tuesday!"

So even while the Iowa chaos continued, the presidential hopefuls forged ahead in that state with an eye toward Tuesday's primary. A new Monmouth University poll showed Sanders and Buttigieg on strong footing in New Hampshire, at 24% and 20%, respectively, in a survey with a margin of error of four percentage points. Biden, who described his fourth-place finish in Iowa as a "gut punch," registered at 17%, and Warren was at 13%.

New Hampshire gained in salience as the closely watched contest in Iowa remained muddled. The caucuses were thrown into confusion Monday night as candidates and caucus-goers waited for results that never came, and it soon emerged that the mobile app hastily built to transmit precinct returns to the state party had failed.

A backup hotline for calling in the results then became overloaded - at least partly because of prank calls placed by Trump supporters, according to Mandy McClure, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Democratic Party. Quickly, the caucuses held out by Iowa Democrats as a model of participatory democracy became a lesson in the perils of conducting elections in the digital age.

The Iowa Democratic Party had initially solicited bids jointly for the mobile app and for its "virtual caucuses," which would have allowed Iowans to participate by phone and was later canceled.

The party initially hoped to identify a vendor for both as early as May 2019, according to an individual familiar with the request.

When plans for the virtual caucuses were scrapped in September, the state party pressed ahead with its aim to build a mobile app for transmitting results, as it had done in 2016. But it was only at the last minute that it was able to complete a contract with a Democratic-aligned start-up, Shadow Inc., to build the app, handing over about $63,000 in two installments in November and December.

But secrecy surrounded the process. The state party kept the name of the developer private and delayed the app's rollout to guard against hacking, according to an official with the Iowa Democrats who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. And Roosevelt, the DNC's Rules and Bylaws co-chairman, said state party leaders would not reveal who had vetted the software.

Roosevelt said that when he raised concerns with Bob Lord, the DNC's chief security officer, Lord told him the app was not a severe cybersecurity risk because it would be used only for transmitting results, not voting. Lord did not specifically examine the app, which the DNC saw as the domain of the state party, according to a Democratic official familiar with the matter, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The Iowa Democratic Party now plans to bring in a third-party group to examine what went wrong with the technology, said Jean Pardee, a member of the party's state central committee, whose members participated in a conference call Wednesday.

Iowa Democrats reiterated that however problematic the delays, the reliability of the results is beyond dispute. "Maybe efficiency and timeliness are fair critiques, but the integrity of this caucus has never been in question," said Jim Mowrer, former vice-chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party.

But Sanders joined the growing list of prominent Democrats sharply criticizing the Iowa party's performance.

"That screw-up has been extremely unfair to the people of Iowa," Sanders said. "It has been unfair to the candidates - all of the candidates - and all of their supporters."

- - -

The Washington Post's Michael Scherer, Amy B Wang and Cleve Wootson Jr. contributed to this report.
What I want to do today, three days late, is to thank the people of Iowa for the very strong victory they gave us at the Iowa caucuses on Monday night, Sanders said early Thursday afternoon. When 6,000 more people come out for you in an election than your nearest opponent, we here in northern New England call that a victory.




Cononavirus fears boost China's demand for Mexican beef



AMEG, Mexico's top cattle association projects demand from China for Mexican beef to rise 40% due to the coronavirus outbreak, reported Reuters.

China currently accounts for only 4% of Mexico's beef exports, but this number is expected to grow especially as most shipments have been only directed to Hong Kong. The United States accounts for 80% of Mexican beef exports.

In addition, the coronavirus outbreak has fuelled fears of China's domestic food security, as it is believed that the virus came from a market in Wuhan city, Hubei province selling illegal wildlife.

Rogelio Perez, a trade official for AMEG said the virus could boost sales of Mexican beef to a third of the overall 40% sales growth estimation. AMEG is a Mexican cattle growers association and projects future sales for the industry.

Perez said SuKarne and Grupo Gusi, two Mexican companies approved for exports to China, will benefit the most from the disruptions caused by the coronavirus. There are 42 other companies awaiting approval for export to China.

He added that the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak was another concern that has led more consumers to choose beef. ASF has caused dwindling pork supplies in China and increased prices for swine worldwide.

AMEG projected China purchased 250,000 tonnes of beef from Mexico in 2019, valued at US$40 million.

Data from the US Department of Agriculture showed China has the top global importer of beef. China is estimated to import 2.9 million tonnes of beef this year, with 390,000 tonnes of beef from Mexico - a 25.8% increase compared to 2018.

- Reuters
Bachchan Pandey: Akshay Kumar Starrer Will No Longer Be The Remake Of Veeram!
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark alleging that the Left government in the State was supporting anarchy in other parts of the country and asserted that 'the only weapon to undermine the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar is secularism'.

"The statement made by the Prime Minister with reference to Kerala during his reply to the vote of thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha is baseless and condemnable," Vijayan said in a statement.

The Prime Minister had on Thursday targeted the LDF government in Kerala and said that the Chief Minister had confirmed the hands of extremist groups behind the protests in the State, then why were they supporting the same anarchy in other parts of the country.

"The mention of the involvement of extremist groups such as the SDPI in some protests in Kerala was made with complete conviction. Kerala is convinced that the only weapon to undermine the communal agenda of the Sangh Parivar is secularism," Vijayan stressed.

"Since Kerala is at the forefront of the fight against the communal aims of the RSS and the SDPI, the Prime Minister of the country should not be among those who feel uncomfortable. It is not good for the democracy," he added.

Vijayan said that Kerala's secular tradition is to oppose and alienate all communal and extremist forces.

"It is this tradition that puts Kerala at the forefront of the fight against the black law governing Indian citizenship in the name of religion. There is no place for communalism. Kerala is raising popular opposition against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which discriminates and denies constitutional values," the Chief Minister said.

He said that religious scholars, leaders, artists, literary-cultural leaders, community organisers, secular-minded masses and people of all walks of life, regardless of the colour of the flag have joined in the fight against CAA.

"The CAA that the RSS is implementing with communal aims must be met with the force of secularism. That is why Kerala has become a model for the entire country. Secular Kerala has the strength to withstand and expose the communal forces infiltrating that movement," Vijayan said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In 'Brothers Like These,' Vietnam veterans tell their stories

Flat Rock Playhouse will host Brothers Like These, a special one day only performance, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9.



Presented by the North Carolina Veterans Writing Alliance Foundation and Blue Ridge Honor Flight, Brothers Like These will feature Vietnam veterans performing their own written true stories. Tickets will be available only on-site starting at noon the day of the performance. For more information, contact Marybeth Burns at (828)388.4448 or marybeth@summitresults.com.
Passengers at Noi Bai international airport (Photo: VNA)

VNAT Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh on February 2 sent a letter to international business partners and friends to inform them on the measures to curb the epidemic taken by the Government and all sectors of Vietnam, including the tourism sector.

He said immediately after China announced the outbreak of the 2019-nCoV outbreak and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the Vietnamese Government, the health and tourism sectors as well as all related State agencies have actively took part in responding to the emergency situation and promptly applied a series of measures to minimize the risks.

Vietnam has set up a national steering committee for nCoV epidemic prevention and control along with 45 rapid response teams. All border gates have been put under strict monitoring, and all suspected cases are being isolated and treated in hospitals.

The VNAT has issued alerts on the epidemic and guidance on preventive measures to the tourism sector nationwide in order to ensure safety for all visitors. The administration also set up a special page on its website at http://vietnamtourism.gov.vn to provide update information on the epidemic.

The VNAT chairman said with extensive experience in dealing with such epidemics as SARS, MERS in the past, Vietnam has a good health monitoring system to control the nCoV epidemic. He noted that two Chinese citizens infected with the virus had been cured in Vietnam and the situation is well controlled.

The VNAT believes the epidemic will soon be contained and tourism and community activities will return to normal, Khanh said in the letter.
By ANI

NEW DELHI: An estimated 80 Indian students are still living in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha on Friday, adding that 70 of them chose to stay behind at the time of the evacuation operation.

"By our estimate, there are about 80 Indian students who are currently still in Wuhan," Jaishankar said, adding that a total of 10 among these 80 students had expressed willingness to return to India but could not board the special Air India flight after they failed the screening process at the airport.

The minister said that the Indian Embassy in China is in touch with all the students in Wuhan and the Central government is regularly monitoring their situation.

As many as 640 Indians and 7 Maldivians had returned to New Delhi last week on two special Air India flights from Wuhan -- a Chinese city of more than 11 million people, which has been the epicentre of the new strain of coronavirus.

Jaishankar informed that India extended the offer of evacuating people from Wuhan to all its neighbouring countries including Pakistan, but only Maldives chose to take up the offer.

"We were prepared to bring back not only our people but also those from all our neighbourhood who would have liked to. This was an offer which was made to all our neighbours but only seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail the offer," Jaishankar said.

Coronavirus originated in China in December, last year, and has since then killed 636 people in that country alone, while cases have been registered in several countries across the world, including India.
NEW YORK (JTA)In a meeting Tuesday with Orthodox Jewish leaders in Brooklyn, U.S. Attorney General William Barr pledged to track and prosecute hate crimes more aggressively on the federal level while also blaming the rise of anti-Semitism on what he called militant progressivism.

Barrs concrete proposals for stopping anti-Semitism included an enhanced system for reporting hate crimes, as well as better tracking of white supremacists on social media. He pledged that the Trump administration and his Justice Department would have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism, which he said strikes at the very core of what this country is about.

He rejected the idea that President Donald Trump bore any of the blame for the national rise in anti-Semitism, a notion raised by one of the participants. Instead he put the blame on the left.

Unfortunately anti-Semitism is a very ancient disease, and historically the right wing has been the main perpetrators of it, but we also see progressivism and the left wing now participating in a variety of ways, Barr said, adding later, They demonize their opponents, people who disagree with them and resist, or dont fit into the mold or dont do the kinds of things that they think are the best way of organizing society.

He also said, I dont think that comes from the president, frankly. I think that comes from this militant progressivism.

The meeting follows two violent attacks on nearby Orthodox communities in Decembera shooting at a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, New Jersey, that killed four and a stabbing at a Hanukkah party in the upstate suburb of Monsey that left five injured.

Also in the past few months, Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn have been the targets of frequent harassment and assaults. According to the New York Police Department, anti-Semitic incidents through September rose 50 percent over the previous year and made up a majority of reported hate crimes in the city.

Barr outlined several steps that the Justice Department is taking to prevent anti-Semitism.

The attorney general is instructing every U.S. attorney to establish processes and an address in their office for reporting hate crimes and staying in touch with local Jewish leaders, as well as a system to determine whether those crimes should be addressed on the federal or state level. He also wants to define which ostensibly nonviolent symbols or actions could signal a physical threat toward Jewsakin to cross-burning as a racist symbol.

And Barr wants the department to watch out for antisocial or white supremacist threats on social media, similar to how it tracks jihadists. Previously, the Trump administration scaled back some efforts to track white supremacists online.

Barr also pledged to prosecute more hate crimes on the federal level. He announced that the Justice Department has charged Tiffany Harris, a Brooklyn woman who made headlines for slapping three Jewish women and then being released, with hate crimes.

These are the kinds of cases that maybe in the past would have been treated locally, but I think its important for the federal government to plant its flag, he said. We will move aggressively when we see this kind of activity.

Barrs indictment of progressive values struck a chord with the largely traditionalist group of leaders.

I personally appreciated very much what he said when he spoke about the larger moral climate and the values American society has always embraced, and how are they being undermined today in a progressive new world, said Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella haredi, or ultra-Orthodox, group.

The participants in the meeting thanked Barr for coming to Borough Park and praised his proposed changes.

They also called for increased federal security funding for houses of worship, as well as an increased police presence around synagogues. In December, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for the quadrupling of federal grants to nonprofit institutions at risk of terrorism, like synagogues, to $360 million from $90 million.

Longer range, wed like to see the Department of Justice really get behind a much greater development of resources to community police, said Allen Fagin, the executive vice president of the Orthodox Union, a major Orthodox group. The Department of Justice is in control of hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to local police authorities. We need to see some of that money devoted to community policing in Jewish neighborhoods.

The Orthodox leaders at the meeting also decried proposed regulations in New York State that would force Orthodox yeshivas to teach more secular subjects like math, science and English.

Barr claimed that in the near future, supporters of such efforts will try to equate traditional Judeo-Christian thought and doctrine as somehow related to hate. He spoke out multiple times in support of school choice and said his office would look into those educational regulations. Barr also said that the Justice Department would look into local efforts to use zoning laws to prevent Orthodox Jewish communities from expanding into suburban towns in New York and New Jersey.

What scares me the most is when I see the spiritual hollowing out thats been occurring in the Western world, and some of it here in the United States. One worries when barbarism is right below the surface, Barr said.

There should be separation of church and state, obviously, but weve always recognized that religion plays an important role in making sure that a pluralistic society like ours can move forward without these kinds of hatred and violence.
NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Attorney Advertising -- Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC notifies investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Sasol Limited (Sasol or the Company) (NYSE: SSL) and certain of its officers, on behalf of shareholders who purchased Sasol securities between March 10, 2015 and January 13, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Such investors are encouraged to join this case by visiting the firms site: www.bgandg.com/ssl.

This class action seeks to recover damages against Defendants for alleged violations of the federal securities laws under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Sasol had conducted insufficient due diligence into, and failed to account for multiple issues with, the LCCP, as well as the true cost of the project; (2) construction and operation of the LCCP was consequently plagued by control weaknesses, delays, rising costs, and technical issues; (3) these issues were exacerbated by Sasols top-level management, who engaged in improper and unethical behavior with respect to financial reporting for the LCCP and the projects oversight; (4) all the foregoing was reasonably likely to render the LCCP significantly more expensive than disclosed and negatively impact the Companys financial results; and (5) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On June 6, 2016, Sasol reported that the expected total capital expenditure for the [LCCP] could increase up to US$11 billion, including site infrastructure and utility improvements; a slower rate of capital resulted in an extended project schedule and contributed to further project cost increases; [t]he expected returns for the project have reduced due to changes in long-term price assumptions and the higher capital estimates; and [t]he increase in the estimated LCCP capital cost and extended schedule will reduce the expected project returns by approximately the same amount as the Companys lower long-term price assumptions.

Following these disclosures, Sasols American depositary receipt (ADR) price fell $3.53 per share, or 10.99%, to close at $28.60 per share on June 6, 2016.

On May 22, 2019, during pre-market hours, Sasol disclosed that the cost estimate for the LCCP has been revised to a range of $12.6 to $12.9 billion which includes a contingency of $300 million. Sasol cited a $530 million change in the projects cost forecast because of a [c]orrection for duplication of investment allowances of approximately $230 million; a [c]orrection for certain contracts and variation orders managed by Sasol, outside the primary engineering, procurement and construction contract, of approximately $180 million; and forecast improvements that were not expected to be realised and adjustments for potential insurance claims and procurement back-charges of approximately $120 million.

Following these disclosures, Sasols ADR price fell $4.50 per share, or 14.93%, to close at $25.64 per share on May 22, 2019.

Later, on August 16, 2019, during pre-market hours, Sasol issued a press release disclosing that it was delaying the announcement of its 2019 financial results because of possible LCCP control weaknesses.

On this news, Sasols ADR price fell $0.74 per share, or 4.02%, to close at $17.67 per share on August 16, 2019.

Then, on October 28, 2019, Sasol disclosed that its review of the LCCP control weaknesses had brought to light errors, omissions, and inaccuracies in the [LCCP] cost estimate, and a number of unethical and improper reporting activities that took place at the highest level of management. Sasol also announced the resignation of, inter alia, its Joint Presidents and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs), effective November 1, 2019, and Senior Vice Presidents and others previously in charge of the LCCP.

Finally, on January 14, 2020, Sasol issued a press release confirming that on January 13, 2020, the Company experienced an explosion and fire at its LCCP low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit. Sasol stated that [t]he unit was in the final stages of commissioning and startup when the incident occurred and has been shut down and an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident, the extent of the damage and resulting impact on the LDPE units [beneficial operation] schedule.

Following these disclosures, Sasols ADR price fell $1.70 per share, or 7.84%, over the following two trading days, closing at $19.99 per share on January 15, 2020.

If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint you can visit the firms site: www.bgandg.com/ssl or you may contact Peretz Bronstein, Esq. or his Investor Relations Analyst, Yael Hurwitz of Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC at 212-697-6484. If you suffered a loss in Sasol you have until April 6, 2020 to request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff acts on behalf of all other class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff can select a law firm of its choice. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.



Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC is a corporate litigation boutique. Our primary expertise is the aggressive pursuit of litigation claims on behalf of our clients. In addition to representing institutions and other investor plaintiffs in class action security litigation, the firms expertise includes general corporate and commercial litigation, as well as securities arbitration. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.



Contact:

Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman, LLC

Peretz Bronstein or Yael Hurwitz

212-697-6484 | info@bgandg.com
A local choreographer who is about to put on her first dance show in Belfast has revealed how the arts saved her from the misery of struggling at school to read and write.

Eileen McClory (37), from west Belfast, has opened up about her lifelong battle with dyslexia in the hope of breaking down the stigma and encouraging people to ask for help.

The highly qualified dance teacher was only formally diagnosed three years ago when she was studying for a Master's degree, although she had suspected for years that she had dyslexia.

"The biggest thing for me is to not have a stigma so that people can openly talk about it and ask for help," she says.

"When I am teaching I will tell the students that I'm dyslexic and there is always one person in the room you can spot reacting to it.

"I would openly say, 'Sorry can someone else please write that on the board as I am dyslexic'.

"When you struggle to read and write at school, you do start to think you are not smart, but that's not the case.

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"Your brain just works in a different way and it's about finding new ways for it to work, and for me that was visual learning through the arts."

Eileen is married to Gil David (38), who runs the marketing consultancy Run DMG, and the couple are expecting their first child in June.

She has just been commissioned by Maiden Voyage Dance to bring her first piece of dance theatre to The Mac, Belfast and the Market Place Theatre in Armagh this month.

Entitled Brink, it will be formed as part of a double bill alongside a second piece called 'The Here Trio' by Liz Roche, a choreographer from Dublin.

Her first local production comes after years of travelling the globe as a performer and teaching dance in local further education colleges and Ulster University.

She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance from Liverpool John Moores University and went on to complete a two-year professional training programme at Dance New Amsterdam in New York, before returning to Belfast to study for a Master's degree in dance at Ulster University.

Her dyslexia certainly hasn't held her back despite the challenges it poses.

Dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words. Also called reading disability, it affects areas of the brain that process language.

Eileen explains how it impacted on her school life which changed dramatically for her when she discovered music, drama and dance in St Louise's Comprehensive College, Belfast.

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"I was tested twice for dyslexia at school but because of the way I performed in the tests I wasn't diagnosed properly until I took another test three years ago," she recalls.

"I really struggled to read and write. If I was taught verbally I could remember and understand things but if I had to read, it took me ages and writing was very hard. I started to think I wasn't smart and I didn't like school because it was such a struggle.

"I was lucky to discover the arts and I studied music, drama and dance which all came quite naturally to me because they were verbally taught. I did dance at GCSE and A-level," she says.

"My mum and my sister also have dyslexia and they have great jobs - they are both nurses. I think you tend to end up in more practical jobs and you learn to put strategies in place to cope.

"I have danced all over the world and for me, movement is our language, a way to process our thoughts and communicate them with our body.

"You can go into any class in the world, and even if you don't understand the spoken word, you will understand what people communicate through dance."

Working in the arts, where form filling is necessary for funding, Eileen says she has had great support from colleagues as well as family and friends.

She has enjoyed an exciting career doing something she loves and feels strongly that her experience proves just how crucial the arts is in education.

"It is only when I have to write something or I'm asked to read that I start to struggle," she says.

"I have found lots of support from people within the arts community, especially with all the form filling you have to do for grants.

"I love my job - it's brilliant - but the arts sector is struggling and it's shrinking due to funding and yet it is so important that we have the arts in education as it certainly was a lifeline for me."

Eileen is excited to be bringing her first piece of work to the stage in Belfast. Inspired by Brexit, it will be performed by two professional dancers on a 1.5 metre high table.

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She explains the thinking behind it: "Since the Brexit referendum result, we've been in a state of constant, stressful negotiation - this feeling like we're on the brink of something, but we don't know exactly what it is and have no control over it.

"As the negotiations got smaller and smaller and boundaries got smaller and smaller, we ended up - instead of having a seat at the table - being on the table.

"Choreographically, the restriction on space presented by our high table has created a lot of obstacles, but also a lot of possibilities.

"We have really stripped back the choreography and ended up with two human beings laid bare as they try to negotiate and build a future together.

"There's a lot of risk in the piece - reflecting how one wrong word can throw a negotiation the wrong way."

She adds: "For us, it's one wrong move and you could be off the edge of the table!"

The Maiden Voyage Dance Double Bill will be performed at The MAC Belfast tonight and tomorrow at 8pm, and at the Market Place Theatre in Armagh on Wednesday at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now from www.themaclive.com and www.marketplacearmagh.com
New Delhi, Feb 7 : A petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court challenging the police bid to turn Jangli Ram Pahalwan Stadium in the city into a "temporary jail" for anti-CAA protesters on Delhi Assembly election day on Saturday.

The petition claimed that the stadium will become a facility for protesters detained en masse without a reasonable basis.

Terming it "alarming in a democracy that the protesters are agitating against a policy decision of framework of citizenship to be granted to foreigners under Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 which is ex facie discriminatory and designed to facilitate certain religious communities while excluding others", it opposed the police move, calling it an attack at the "very root of democracy".

The petitioner has demanded that the requisition be turned down by the court.A Arguing that it is also election day in Delhi, this may adversely affect the citizens right to vote, the petitioner also termed such jails "arbitrary".

Delhi Police wants to turn the stadium into a prison to lock down protesters on the polling day -- February 8. This is in view of simmering anger against the CAA, in the national capital.
Commonwealth Ombudsman Michael Manthorpe says that ambiguity in Australias data retention regime means that on some occasions law enforcement agencies have been able to obtain details of an individuals web browsing history without a warrant.

Manthorpe appeared today before a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) inquiry that is reviewing Australias data retention legislation.

The data retention legislation covers warrant-free access to metadata but not the contents of an individual's communications.

The piece of ambiguity we have observed throughout inspections is that sometimes the metadata in the way it's captured  particularly URL data and sometimes IP addresses but particularly URL data  does start to actually... in its granularity, start to communicate something about the content of what is being looked at, the Ombudsman said.

Manthorpe said that he believed when the regime commenced the concept of metadata was probably thought to be quite a clean and delineable thing, but we know that that there is a there is a greyness on the edges here that we thought we should call out.

The Ombudsman has identified multiple occasions when Australian telcos have handed over to law enforcement agencies information about the URLs visited by a customer in response to an authorisation issued under the data retention regime.

The legislation to implement data retention left to government-issued regulation the precise types of so-called metadata (also called historical telecommunications data) that service providers are required to retain for at least 24 months (although it does not restrict them retaining relevant data for longer periods, nor from gathering other data for their business purposes).

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are empowered, in almost all circumstances, by the data retention rules to self-authorise a direction to a telco to hand over metadata. The exception is where the data of a journalist is sought for the purposes of identifying the source of a story, which requires a journalist information warrant.

The relevant legislation states that access to the information that is the contents or substance of a communication is not covered by the data retention rules, nor is access to a document to the extent that the document contains the contents or substance of a communication.

The legislation itself includes an explicit prohibition on including web history as part of the data set outlined in the data retention regulations. The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act states that service providers are not required to keep information about subscribers web browsing history. That does not prohibit telcos from retaining information about their customers browsing habits, however.

The Committee may wish to consider whether the Act should be amended to include a definition of the term content or substance of a communication or document, the Ombudsmans submission states.

The Ombudsman in evidence before the committee today and in a written submission has also identified two other key issues related to data retention.

One is the lack of a framework for verbal authorisation to access telco data

What we have observed is that in some instances, law enforcement agencies, particularly I think, where they are operating in a in a spirit of urgency  they issue an internal authorization based on verbal advice, Manthorpe said.

And at an operational level, I can understand why that might occur, he added. But it isn't catered for in the legislation; we think that that that is a gap in the legislation.

There is a policy question as to whether all that should be permitted to occur and if it is permitted to occur then it should be clarified in the legislation, Manthorpe said.

The Ombudsman believes that there should be a sound framework within which verbal authorisations if they are to be permitted, occur.

A third issue identified by the Ombudsman was the absence of any rule requiring agencies to retain the data the obtain from telcos, which Manthorpe said could hinder oversight of the operation of the data retention scheme.
MaxHousethe multinational enterprise which set out to serve foreigner all over the world when it first appeared in 2013has today announced a new funding around of $8 million in equity and debt, raised from a combination of existing and new investors.

The funding will be used to help accelerate its expension domestically and internationally, where it plans to have up to 22 full-service branches over the next three year. SIMON KING principle at Octopus Ventures said From seed to todays ground-breaking fundraise, Octopus Ventures is proud to be investing in MaxHouse successfully offering foreigner customized solutions for their lives.

Specialized in services and activities of foreigner, MaxHouse has become the most popular Internaional Services platform across 3 cities and 2 countries by now. Customer can place an order or request such as Services, For Sale, Jobs, Housing, Community and Personals which will be completed by MaxHouse supplier. We would establish ourselves as the leader in China said NINTUNZE STEVE, MaxHouses CEO. Its important that we maintain our commitment to provide the best possible experience for both our clients and our employees. The new MaxHouse App will help ensure we meet that promise well into the future.

Founded on Dec 13th 2013, Wuhan MaxHouse International Services Co., Ltd () was opened as the headquarters in China. Through a fast-growing foreign population and great word-of-mouth recommendations, wuhan-based MaxHouse got six years of strong growth in quarterly revenue including more than 50% revenue growth. Were excited to build an international service brand and deliver the best experience for foreign client across the China said MAX YANG, MaxHouse Co-Founder and Co-CEO.

On Feb 22nd 2018, MAXHOUSE INTERNATIONAL SERVICES LIMITED () (TIN: C0010467971) was grand opening in Accra Ghana where giving African with award-winning customer service.

On Jul 24th 2018, Wuhan MaxHouse Catering Management Co., Ltd () was set up in China and EHSANULLAH SYED has been named CEO.

On Jue 6th 2019, Hubei MaxHouse International Services Co., Ltd () had a presence as the lead investor of funding round in China and NINTUNZE STEVE has become Chairman & CEO.

On Jue 28th 2019, Hubei MaxHouse International Services Co., Ltd. FuZhou Branch () was launched in China and MENSAH RAPHAEL ANUE has been appointed as CEO.

On Jul 4th 2019, Hubei MaxHouse International Services Co., Ltd. XiaMen Branch () came out in China and JACK GAO was selected to be CEO.

To further advance expected mission, the additional funding will go on building out their flagship hosting platform (MaxHouse App) So that all client can easily share what they need all over the world.

More information and cooperation are available at MaxHouse App Ios & Android and Service@MaxHouse.net & Max.Yang@MaxHouse.net
[February 07, 2020] Analytics Insight Magazine Names 'The 10 Most Innovative Global AI Executives'

Analytics Insight Magazine, a brand of Stravium Intelligence has named 'The 10 Most Innovative Global AI Executives' in its January issue. The magazine issue features ten seasoned disruptors who have significantly contributed towards the AI-driven transformation of their respective organizations and industries. These foresighted innovators are driving the next-generation of intelligent offerings across current business landscapes globally. Here are the AI Executives who made the list: Featuring as the Cover Story is Gary Fowler, who serves as the CEO, President, and Co-founder of GSD Venture Studios. Previously, he co-founded top CIS accelerators GVA and SKOLKOVO Startup Academy where majority of these companies achieved success soon after their launch. Most recently, Gary co-founded Yva.ai with David Yang, one of Russia's most famous entrepreneurs. The issue further includes: Lane Mendelsohn: President of Vantagepoint AI, Lane is an experienced executive with a demonstrated history of working in the computer software industry. He is skilled in Business Planning, Analytical Skills, Sales, Enterprise Software, and E-commerce. Chethan KR: Chethan is the CEO of SynctacticAI. He is an entrepreneur with 13+yrs of experience in the IT and software development industry. He looks at setting the vision for his company's platform, deriving growt strategies and establishing partnerships with industries.



Christopher Rudolf: Christopher is the Founder and CEO of Volv Global and has over 30 years of experience, as a technology entrepreneur and business advisor, working with many blue-chip organisations to solve their critical global scale data problems. Kalyan Sridhar: Kalyan Sridhar is the Managing Director at PTC, responsible for managing its operations in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He has 28 years of experience in senior executive roles spanning Sales, Business Development, Business Operations and Channel Sales in the IT industry.

Kashyap Kompella: Kashyap serves as the CEO and Chief Analyst of rpa2ai Research, and has 20 years of experience as an Industry Analyst, Hands-on Technologist, Management Consultant and M&A Advisor to leading companies and startups across sectors. Kumardev Chatterjee: Kumardev is the Co-founder and CEO of Unmanned Life and also serves as Founder and Chairman of the European Young Innovators Forum. He holds an MSc. in Computer Science from University College London. Niladri Dutta: Niladri, CEO at Tardid Technologies, has a background in protocol stacks, large transactional applications, and analytics. He ensures that the company has a long-term strategy in place that keeps the team and customers excited all the time. Sarath SSVS: Sarath serves as the CEO and Founder of two AI-driven companies, SeeknShop.IO and IntentBI. He is a seasoned innovator with over 13 years of experience in machine learning, data science, and product management. Prithvijit Roy: Prithvijit is the Founder and CEO of BRIDGEi2i Analytics Solutions. His specialties are business analytics, big data, data mining, shared services, knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), analytics consulting services, managed analytics services, and significant others. The disruptive wave of AI has made some significant impacts across multiple industries. AI breakthroughs have even influenced the vision and practices of top industry executives and pushed them towards becoming innovative AI pioneers of their own space. Ushering in the new era, more and more leaders are spurring the innovation and spearhead the transformation journey to translate their revamped vision into best AI practices. Read the detailed coverage here. For more information, please visit https://www.analyticsinsight.net. About Analytics Insight Analytics Insight is an influential platform dedicated to insights, trends, and opinions from the world of data-driven technologies. It monitors developments, recognition, and achievements made by AI, big data and analytics companies across the globe. The Analytics Insight Magazine features opinions and views from top leaders and executives in the industry who share their journey, experiences, success stories, and knowledge to grow profitable businesses. To set up an interview or advertise your brand, contact [email protected]. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005400/en/

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Derek Mackay sent the teen more than 270 messages. Photo: Reuters

Scotland's finance minister resigned yesterday hours before he was due to deliver his annual budget, after he reportedly sent hundreds of messages to a 16-year-old boy on social media.

Derek Mackay said in a statement he had "behaved foolishly and I am truly sorry".

"I apologise unreservedly to the individual involved and his family," he said. "Serving in government has been a huge privilege and I am sorry to have let colleagues and supporters down." The 'Scottish Sun' newspaper reported that Mr Mackay sent the teen more than 270 messages on Facebook and Instagram, telling the boy he was "cute" and offering to take him to a rugby match and to dinner. Mr Mackay (42) is not accused of breaking the law. But Scottish Labour Party leader Richard Leonard said his behaviour had been "nothing short of predatory" and "an abuse of power". First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Mackay had been suspended from the Scottish National Party.
Concurs repetat pentru selectarea unei companii sociologice, care sa efectueze un studiu tematic "Barometrul opiniei publice in domeniul schimbarilor climatice"
A second child among the Wuhan evacuees currently quarantined at March Air Reserve was taken to the hospital Wednesday night after developing a fever, health officials said Thursday.

The minor has no other symptoms of coronavirus, but was taken to Riverside University Health System-Medical Center out of 'an abundance of caution,' said Jose Arballo Jr, county spokesperson.

On Wednesday, the first child taken to the hospital for a fever (who also had no other symptoms) was returned to March Air Reserve after testing negative for coronavirus.

A test has been administered to the second child, and Arballo said he expected results sometime Thursday night.

A second child and their parent have been tranferred by ambulance from March Air Reserve (pictured), where they were being held under quarantine to a hospital for coronavirus testing after the child developed a fever. They have no other symptoms and the parent has none

The pediatric patient from the air base and their parent were under a 14-day federally mandated quarantine, the first ordered by US health officials in 50 years.





If the child was confirmed to have coronavirus, they would be the thirteenth in the US and the seventh diagnosed in California, but the first case among the quarantined passengers.





With no other symptoms though, health officials are currently doubtful that the child will be diagnosed with coronavirus.





Currently, the child is being held in isolation to ensure that, in the unlikely event that the child is infected, the chances of the disease being passed on is minimal.





If they are negative and don't develop any additional symptoms, the child and patient will both be returned to finish out their quarantine on March Reserve.





The passenger from LAX is among the first identified arrivals since the White House implemented travel restrictions requiring different levels of quarantines depending on travel history.





Meanwhile, a California couple confirmed to have coronavirus both took a significant turn for the worse and were admitted to a hospital late Sunday night, San Benito Country officials said in a statement.





Since then, CDC Director of the Center for the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said that patients who had been fairing worse had in fact improved, but there's been not confirmation that her statement was specific to those two people.





While the outbreak is ongoing, President Trump has also issued an order that will block all foreign nationals who have visited China in the prior two weeks - except for the immediate family citizens or permanent residents - from entering the US, which began at 5pm ET on Sunday.





On Wednesday, an evacuation flight with 195 Americans on board landed at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California (pictured). Those passengers are all now under federal quarantine. A child from the group has been hospitalized with a fever, officials said on Tuesday

At 11, the American case count remains low, but the virus has quickly spread in China and around the globe the Department of Health and Human Services and President Donald Trump are stepping up measures to contain the deadly new disease.

Citizens returning to the US who have visited Hubei province - where Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, is located - within two weeks of of coming back to the US will be under a mandatory 14 day quarantine.

Those who have traveled elsewhere in mainland China will be subject to a 14-day self-imposed quarantine.

To facilitate these measures, all flights returning to the US from anywhere in China will now be funneled through eleven airports. In total, screening measures are planned for implementation in some 20 airports nationwide.

US officials earlier Friday issued an 'unprecedented' federal quarantine for all 195 passengers evacuated from Wuhan, and said that their test for the new coronavirus may come back negative if someone hasn't developed symptoms - but they could later become ill.

During a Friday briefing, the White House's newly assembled task force for the ongoing coronavirus outbreak declared it a public health emergency in the US. HHS Secretary Alex Azar (center) announced that most foreign nationals will be barred from entry and citizens returning from China will face various grades of quarantines

Even as the US takes unusually drastic steps to more efficiently identify cases of coronavirus and prevent its spread, officials have continued to plead with Americans to remain calm.

HHS Secretary Azar reminded the American public that similar restrictions on entry to the US were placed on travelers coming from West Africa.

It came after the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Thursday. The US also advised against all travel to China and a quarantine was ordered for the 195 passengers evacuated from Wuhan after one attempted to flee March Reserve air base in Riverside County.

It was the first time the CDC had mandated a quarantine in 50 years.

A recent New England Journal of Medicine study documented the first case of coronavirus transmission from a patient who did not have symptoms to another person.

This revelation is particularly concerning in light of Dr Messonnier's Friday disclosure that a person can still develop the illness later after testing negative for coronavirus while they were symptom-free.

The stepped-up measures underscore the seriousness of the outbreak, which has now spread between humans in the US, but officials also reminded press that the disease is not spreading actively in US communities and any given individual's risk of infection is actually quite low.

Officials in hazmat suits met passengers as they stepped off the plane and onto awaiting buses (left and right). All 195 passengers are now under a federally mandated 14-day quarantine

There are now a total of seven confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, distributed across four states in addition to two cases in Canada. Cases are suspected in several additional US states

On Thursday, the World Health Organization announced in a press conference (pictured) that it was declaring the deadly coronavirus outbreak to be a global health emergency

'If we take strong measures now, we may be able to blunt the impact of the virus here in the US,' said Dr Messonnier.

There are still just six confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, but with an additional nearly 7,000 cases reported in the last week alone there's ample reason to believe that many more could occur in the US if containment measures - like the federal quarantine - aren't swift, and thorough.

'We understand that this may seem drastic,' said Dr Messonnier.

'But we would rather be remembered for over-reacting than under-reacting.'

Additionally, Thursday was the first time officials confirmed case of person-to-person case transmission of coronavirus in the US after a man in Illinois was infected by his wife, who had previously traveled to China.

'The main reason for this declaration is not for what is happening in China but because of what is happening in other countries,' Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, said at a press conference.

'Our greatest concern is for the potential for the virus to spread to countries with weaker health systems, which are ill prepared to deal with it.'

He added that the declaration didn't mean a 'vote of no confidence in China' and, in fact, congratulated the Chinese government for taking 'extraordinary measures' to contain the outbreak.

This marks the fifth time the WHO has made such a declaration since the rule to do was implemented in 2005: for the influenza pandemic of 2009, a resurgence of polio 2014, the Ebola crisis in 2014, the outbreak of Zika virus outbreak in 2016 and the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019.

Such a declaration does not give the WHO more money, but officials can make recommendation on travel or trade was well as mobilize public and political action.

The warning, officially known as a 'public health emergency of international concern', is the highest warning the WHO can give

It's the first time an American has caught the case without having traveled to China. Pictured: Passengers arrive at O'Hare International Airport as they in Chicago, January 24

The wife, 60, had traveled to Wuhan - where the virus originated - in late December to take care of her elderly father. Pictured: Medical staff in protective suits treat a coronavirus patient at Zhongnan Hospital of Wuhan, January 28

She returned to Chicago on January 13, but did not show symptoms until several days later. Pictured: Medical staff in protective suits treat a coronavirus patient at Zhongnan Hospital in Wuhan, January 27

More than 11,000 cases have been confirmed in 22 countries and territories around the world

It comes on the heels of news of the sixth confirmed case in the US of a man whose wife had already been infected.

The man's wife, who is in her 60s, became the second American after she returned from a trip to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak.

'Given what we've seen in China and other countries with the novel coronavirus, CDC experts have expected some person-to-person spread in the US,' Dr Robert Redfield, director of the CDC told reporters in a media call on Thursday.

'We understand that this may be concerning, but based on what we know now, we still believe the immediate risk to the American public is low.'

The couple, who have not been identified, are now both being isolated at St Alexius Hospital in Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago.

According to officials from the Illinois Department of Health, the wife is 'doing well' and the husband is 'stable'.

The wife traveled to Wuhan - where the virus originated - in late December to take care of her elderly father.

The couple, who have not been identified, are now both being isolated at St Alexius Hospita (pictured) l in Hoffman Estates, a suburb of Chicago

Several countries have advised against non-essential travel to the China. Pictured: Funeral workers disinfect themselves after handling a coronavirus victim in Wuhan on Thursday

She arrived at O'Hare International Airport on January 13, but did not begin experiencing symptoms until several days later.

CDC officials say they do not believe she infected her husband until she was symptomatic.

The husband had some pre-existing medical conditions, similar to many infected patients, but health officials would not elaborate on what those conditions were.

Health officials say that the man was not attending mass gatherings and they are monitoring close contacts.

'This person-to-person spread was between two very close contacts, a wife and husband,' said Ngozi Ezike, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health in the media call on Thursday.

'It is not spreading in the wider community.'

More than 8,300 people worldwide have been infected and 210 people have died. Pictured: A doctor attends to a patient in an isolation ward at a hospital in Wuhan on Thursday

There have been cases of human-to-human transmission reported outside of China, including in Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam. Pictured: A doctor puts on a protective suit and goggles at a hospital in Wuhan on Thursday

Medical workers in protective gear help a suspected coronavirus patient get out of an ambulance in Wuhan

Previously, all confirmed US cases had been in patients who travel to Wuhan, where an outbreak has been ongoing since December 2019.

However, there have been cases of human-to-human transmission reported outside of China, including in Germany, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam.

The four other cases have been confirmed in Maricopa County, Arizona; Orange County and Los Angeles County California; and Snohomish County, Washington.

Currently, 168 cases are under investigation in at least 26 states - 21 of those alone in Illinois.

The CDC say it is likely that more cases of the virus, known as 2019-nCoV, will be reported in the next several days and weeks.

Signs and symptoms of the illness include fever, cough, and shortness of breath, with 20 percent of cases becoming severe.

Health officials say the best steps Americans can take to stay safe is to practice basic hygiene including washing hands with warm water and soap and coughing or sneezing into an elbow.

Meanwhile in China, the coronavirus death toll has risen to 170 as of Thursday afternoon and several countries - including the US and UK - have advised against non-essential travel to the nation.

More than 8,300 people have been sickened by the deadly strain in at least 22 countries and territories amid an international effort to stop the spread.

US EVACUATES 195 AMERICANS FROM WUHAN AND PLANS SECOND RESCUE FLIGHT

On Wednesday, an evacuation flight with 195 Americans onboard landed at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, California.

They were greeted by in officials hazmat suits before being filed onto awaiting buses and taken to another building.

The plane, which also carried six members, departed Wuhan before dawn on Wedneday before stopping to refuel in Anchorage, Alaska.

Originally scheduled to fly to Ontario International Airport in Ontario, California, tje flight was diverted to the air base 25 miles away without explanation late on Tuesday night.

Currently, the passengers are under a voluntary 72-hour quarantine as officials check for signs and symptoms.

Prior to this, the passengers underwent four screenings: two before departure in Wuhan and another two during a refueling stop in Anchorage, Alaska.

There are more than 1,000 Americans still in Wuhan, bu the US State Department announced on Thursday it was planning a second evacuation flight.

WUHAN EVACUEE TRIES TO WALK OFF BASE AND IS PLACED UNDER MANDATORY QUARANTINE

One of the passengers on the US evacuation flight from Wuhan allegedly tried to walk off the March Air Reserve Base (MARB) less than halfway through the 72-hour quarantine.

The unidentified passenger was one of 195 who were asked and voluntarily agreed to remain on base for three days so they could be screened and monitored for any symptoms of coronavirus.

However, on Wednesday night, the traveler tried to leave the base, the details of which are unclear, forcing Dr Cameron Kaiser of the Riverside County Public Health Department to issue a quarantine order.

This means the passenger is required to stay on base for the entire 14-day incubation period or until authorities say he or she is free to leave.

'This action was taken as a result of the unknown risk to the public should someone leave MARB early without undergoing a full health evaluation,' Riverside County public health officials said in a written statement.
ChargePoint, which has more than 108,000 electric vehicle charging stations, and NATSO, the trade association for truck stops and travel plazas, will collaborate to build out a network of 4,000 off-highway charging stations, including in rural America, by 2030.

Row of ChargePoint electric vehicle charging stations

The two will use money from the Volkswagen "Dieselgate" emissions scandal settlement plus grants and plaza owner investment of up to $1 billion to knit the mostly direct current (DC) fast-charging network, which ChargePoint will manage. The plan addresses the growing number of electric cars and a nascent expansion of battery-powered commercial vehicles.

"We are embarking on a major shift in transportation with electrification poised to fundamentally transform mobility," Pasquale Romano, ChargePoint president and CEO, said in a statement. "Collaborations like this are vital for the rapid expansion of charging around the country and will ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of the EV revolution."

The National Highway Charging Collaborative intends to extend electric vehicle charging "to every corner of the nation," including underserved rural areas, Romano said.

"Range anxiety continues to rank as one of the biggest concerns among consumers who are considering purchasing an electric vehicle," said NATSO President and CEO Lisa Mullings.

NATSO has worked since 2016 with the Federal Highway Administration to expand the use of alternative fuels and infrastructure under FHWA's Alternative Fuels Corridor Program, she said.

That includes advocacy for the recent congressional extension of the biodiesel blending credit, which makes selling cleaner diesel fuel affordable at the pump by a $1-per-blended-gallon tax subsidy.

"Fifteen years ago, federal policies such as the Renewable Fuel Standard and the biodiesel tax credit created a strong incentive for fuel retailers to invest in the infrastructure necessary to bring cleaner-burning biofuels to market," NATSO spokeswoman Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman said.

Story continues

"This resulted in a vibrant market for biofuels because the private sector responded to those policy signals and incentives and made the investments necessary to bring new fuels to market," she said. "Our belief is that the same approach will work with respect to EV charging infrastructure.

ChargePoint and NATSO will work together to identify public and private sources to support the build-out. The deadline is Feb. 26 to apply for Volkswagen Settlement Appendix D Funds, money set aside by the German automaker following its 2015 diesel emissions cheating admission.

NATSO member companies, including large service plaza operators, are expected to invest in the infrastructure plan, said ChargePoint spokesman Darryll Harrison Jr.

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The coronavirus outbreak in China is wreaking havoc in the cruise industry, turning luxury Asian vacations into voyages to nowhere as the ships are denied entry at multiple ports.

All 21 large cruise ships that have visited China since January remain in the Asia-Oceania region, and some have been unable to confirm their next port calls, a Nikkei analysis of tracking data shows. A few vessels apparently have nowhere to go after being rejected by more than one destination.

Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam have all turned ships away.

Concerns about cruises becoming floating vehicles for the viral pneumonia have grown this week as Japan faced a mini-outbreak aboard a ship quarantined off Yokohama, near Tokyo. As of Friday morning, the number of infections found on the Diamond Princess was up to 61, after a startling surge of 41 from the previous day.

One of the ships now struggling to find a place to drop anchor is the Westerdam, operated by Holland America Line, a unit of U.S.-based Carnival.

The ship, which can carry about 1,960 passengers and about 800 crew members, left Hong Kong on Feb. 1, according to data provided by Refinitiv and Japan's IHI Jet Service. On Thursday, it came within 100 km of the port of Ishigaki in Okinawa but did not stop.

The Japanese government said on Friday that it had asked the Westerdam not to dock in Ishigaki. Originally, the cruise had been scheduled to call at Naha, also in Okinawa.

Data shows 11 of the 21 ships that had called in China since January stopped in Japan as well. These ships, together, were capable of carrying an estimated 35,000 passengers, or about 50,000 people including crew. Some called at the ports of Fukuoka, Nagasaki and Naha more than once. - Nikkei
The government must strike trade deals which ensure standards on imports match the UK's or risk living with double standards, the NFU Scotland president has said.

Speaking at the union's annual conference, Andrew McCornick called on legislators and policy makers to deliver for Scottish agriculture as Brexit enters its final stage.

He highlighted the areas which will most affect the industry in the coming months and years, including future trade agreements, future support, the supply chain and climate change.

The UK is entering into an 11-month transition period where the government are negotiating the UK's future trading relationship with the EU and the rest of the world.

Mr McCornick told delegates it is a critical time for everyone, none more so than Scotlands farmers and crofters.

We are entering as a nation of 60m rather being part of a bloc of over 500m and are going to be building new trading agreements with our biggest trading partner along with the rest of the world in very short order, he said.

We do not have the same leverage or power that we had so we must be more fleet of foot and flexible. There is an enormous responsibility on our politicians to get this right.

The EU is our main market beyond the internal UK market, with established trade routes and partnerships. NFUS has been campaigning for free and frictionless trade with the EU to remain after Brexit. Remember our economies are very closely integrated.

He added: On trade, standards on imports must match ours or we will be living with double standards; one set for us and one for the rest of the world entering our market.

Delegates heard how the UK's food safety, animal and plant health, welfare and traceability for farming will be 'sold to the cheapest bidder' if no measures are in place to prevent lower standard imports.

Mr McCornick said the UK would have double standards if cheaper imports are allowed on shelves - 'one set for us and one for the rest of the world entering our market.'

UK farming unions have frequently stated that they do not want agriculture and food to be a bargaining chip in trade deals or to be sacrificed in the quest for cheap food.

Mr McCornick added: The 2020s are going to be a massive decade and there are going to be a lot of bumps along the road, possibly collateral damage, but there are inevitably going to be opportunities.

I believe we have the opportunity to refresh and renew our industry from the stagnation that CAP has created and the failure to understand the market, which CAP support has perpetuated.

The public have different expectations now of rural Scotland than they had prior to our entry to the common market.

We are expected to deliver on all these expectations, including climate change mitigation as well as the necessary provision of food.
The much anticipated Nairobi performance of Jamaican Reggae maestro Buju Banton has been cancelled.

Buju Banton's management team, in a statement on Thursday, apologised to their Kenyan fans saying rescheduling of the performance was due to "circumstances beyond our control."

"Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are disheartened to inform the fans of Kenya, that Buju Banton's previous promoted show for February 8th 2020 in Nairobi Kenya has been postponed," the statement read in part.

The show had been slated for February 8 in Nairobi Kenya. The move by the Jamaican artiste has left his huge Kenyan fan base distraught.

NRG Radio confirmed the postponement blaming it on the death of retired president Daniel arap Moi.

"We have been forced to postpone the event following the announcement of a period of National Mourning. The viewing of the Former president Moi's body is slated for Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th at parliament which presents a logistical challenge to host the event at KICC," NRG management said in a statement.

The management team added that they had worked diligently with the promoters of the show to execute a well anticipated return to Kenya.

"We extended all possibilities to work with the constraints the promoters faced. It is with great regret to inform you that Buju Banton will not be performing in Nairobi Kenya on Saturday February 8th 2020," it added.

Postponement of the BUJU BANTON concert, Legends Edition - NRG Wave Nairobi. pic.twitter.com/njNg1zyjeA

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- NRG Radio (@NRGRadioKenya) February 6, 2020

In December, Buju Banton announced on his social media platforms that he would be in the country for an unforgettable performance on February 8, 2020.

He has since taken down the video clip he had shared on his social media platforms.

Buju was initially slated to headline the #NRGWave Show in Mombasa on December 31, 2019, but the show was postponed to this weekend.

This is after a number of Kenyans on Twitter requested the promoters of the show, NRG Radio, to ensure that the reggae maestro performs in Nairobi as well.

The hashtag #BujuAkujeNairobi trended with fans keen to attend what would have been the reggae legend's first live show in Africa.

The organisers also confirmed the 2020 Buju concert in Nairobi.

The reggae star was last year signed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation company to its jam-packed roster.

Roc Nation announced the partnership with the reggae and dancehall king, whose comeback concert held earlier last year in his native Jamaica was one of the country's largest shows.

More than 30,000 people attended the concert.

Banton, 46, will celebrate the new deal with a new music video release for his song Steppa.

The performer released his first album in the early 1990s and he's among the respected acts in reggae. His last album, 2010's Before the Dawn,won the Grammy for best reggae album.

Buju Banton was released in December 2018 after serving seven years in federal prison on drug charges.
Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought continued support of the European Union countries in order to ensure a safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the Rohingyas back to Myanmar. Hasina also extended her gratitude to the European Union including Italy for their support for the cause of the Muslim minority. A Bangladeshi newspaper issued a joint statement of Hasina with her Italian counterpart, Giuseppe Conte, after their meeting in Rome on February 6

Thousands of Rohingyas fled native Myanmar after violent persecution. It was after August 2017 that 700,000 people left Buddhist-majority Myanmar when the country launched a counterinsurgency campaign against the community in retaliation to an attack by insurgents.

ICJ had previously ordered Myanmar to prevent genocide from being committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority. According to international reports, Karim said that Conte appreciated the management by Bangladesh on Rohingya crisis. Conte also encouraged the Bangladesh PM for the country's policy of hospitality.

Furthermore, Hasinas Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim reportedly said in a press briefing that both sides have welcomed the decision by United Nation's top court, International Court of Justice taken on January 23 on the crisis faced by the Muslim minority.

Read - Bangladeshi Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus Faces Over 100 Lawsuits

EU urged Myanmar to comply with ICJ orders

Even though UN failed to derive a statement on ICJ orders, the European Union members of the council had reportedly urged Myanmar in a joint statement that it should comply with the orders by the top court as they are compulsory under International law. France, Germany, Belgium and Estonia along with a former member of the council, Poland had also adjured Myanmar to take credible action to bring justice and hold the ones responsible for violation of human rights.

Read - Stunning Visuals From Indo-Bangladesh Joint Military Exercise Sampriti-IX In Meghalaya

Myanmar must address the root causes of its conflicts, in Rakhine State, but also in Kachin and Shan States, the EU members said. Accountability of perpetrators of human rights and humanitarian law violations is a necessary part of this process.

Nearly 740,000 Rohingya were reportedly forced to flee into camps in Bangladesh after the military of Myanmar launched a violent crackdown on the group in 2017. This, according to the UN officials was 'genocide'. This case in the International Court of Justice was the first legal attempt by the peace-making body to bring the country into justice over the crisis. It was also a rare example of a country suing another over an issue to which it is not directly a party. The tiny west African state of The Gambia, which is acting on behalf of the 57-nation Organisation of Islamic Corporation asked the court to halt the 'ongoing genocidal actions'.

Read - Bangladesh Check Security At Pakistan Stadium Before Test

Read - Bangladesh Temporarily Suspends Visa-on-arrival Facility For Chinese Nationals
After being in a steady relationship for more than two years, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are set to get married in December this year, according to Rajeev Masands column in Open magazine. Their wedding will reportedly take place after the release of Ayan Mukerjis fantasy drama Brahmastra, which also happens to be their first film together, on December 4.

Preparations for Ranbir and Alias wedding are already in full swing and their extended families have been asked to save the date, the report adds.

Earlier this week, Ranbir and Alia made an appearance together at the wedding reception of the formers cousin Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotra. They were accompanied by Ranbirs mother Neetu Kapoor.

Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt with Neetu Kapoor at Armaan Jain and Anissa Malhotras wedding reception. (Varinder Chawla)

Alia has fit right in with Ranbirs family, and has been clicked with them on several occasions. Recently, Alia joined Ranbir and Neetu in Delhi, where his father Rishi Kapoor was hospitalised for an infection.

Also see: Deepika Padukone jets off on romantic getaway with Ranveer Singh, shares photo

Meanwhile, Alias family has warmed up to Ranbir, as well. Her father Mahesh Bhatt told The Telegraph in an interview last year that he loved Ranbir.

Well, of course theyre in love. You dont need to be a genius to get that! I love Ranbir hes a great guy. What they do to their relationship is something theyll have to figure out. Whether its heading towards that port called marriage  which is an institution that needs to be questioned in the second decade of the 21st century  is something for them to figure out, the filmmaker said.

On the work front, Alia is currently shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansalis crime drama Gangubai Kathiawadi, in which she plays a mafia queen. She will soon plunge into Karan Johars epic historical drama Takht, which also stars Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Vicky Kaushal, Janhvi Kapoor, Bhumi Pednekar and Anil Kapoor.

According to the column in Open magazine, Alia wants a break from intense roles and is looking for an easy and breezy film. It is being said that she might give her nod to Golmaal 5, the next instalment in Rohit Shettys popular comedy franchise.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a "disastrous turn of events" in the telecom market in India, his lawyers told a UK court on Friday as they fought a bid by top Chinese banks to recover USD 680 million from the Indian businessman.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012.

Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK - the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At a hearing at the Commercial Division of the High Court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the "conditional order" granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account.

"The value of Mr Ambani's investments has collapsed since 2012. The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian government's change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum," notes his defence.

"Whereas Mr Ambani's investments were worth more than USD 7 billion in 2012, they are now worth USD 89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account... Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not," said his barrister Robert Howe.

The banks' counsel called Ambani's claims into question and repeatedly referred to his "lavish lifestyle", involving access to 11 or so luxury cars, a private jet, a yacht and rent-free access to the exclusive Seawind penthouse in South Mumbai.

"So, Mr Ambani's assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India," questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing.

Ambani's legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play.

"The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of USD 700 million into court," said Howe.

At the end of the hearing on Friday, the judge indicated that he will hand down his judgement later in the day.

The Chinese banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China -- represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been "at best economical with the truth" in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means.

They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambani's defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans.

"Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons can't help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order," said Thanki, who claimed Ambani's evidence was akin to the proverbial "glossy lipstick on the collar" in terms of some "blatant" lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case.

"ADA's (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world. He has an estimated net worth of USD 55 to 57 billion," notes the banks' defence.

"Despite all of this, ADA has failed to address in any detail the possibility of financial assistance being provided by Mukesh or any other member of his family," it notes.

At the last hearing in the case in December last year, Justice Waksman said he was "very nearly prepared" to grant judgment against Ambani because he found the RCom chief's evidence "inexplicably incomplete, implausible and highly unlikely".

"I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false... I consider that this is a plain case for the making of a conditional order," Justice Waksman said, as he granted a conditional order in principle to the Chinese banks.

The order means the High Court, after hearing arguments on Ambani's financial means this week, will set an appropriate amount as an effective court deposit pending a full trial in the case.

On December 16, when the UK High Court dismissed an application filed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited for a 'summary judgement' in its claims of USD 680 million against Ambani, a spokesperson of the RCom boss had said: "Ambani was confident that he will have an opportunity to place the necessary evidence before the UK High Court, in the course of the trial to establish that Chinese banks claim are without any merit".

The spokesperson said in a statement that Ambani was confident that his position would be fully vindicated once all the facts and the entire evidence is before the Court.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Friday alleged that Opposition members misbehaved with Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan while he was speaking in the Lok Sabha.

"Dr Hash Vardhan mentioned that his (Rahul Gandhi) behaviour in the statement about the Prime Minister was outlandish. This should not have a reason for Opposition to come and misbehave with Dr Harsh Vardhan. This is unacceptable. Speaker adjourned the house till 1 pm," Rudy told ANI.

"The Opposition members who did this must apologise and must regret the action. I think Rahul Gandhi should also apologise," he said.

Speaking on the incident, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal said: "Union Minister Harsh Vardhan was speaking in the Lok Sabha on Rahul Gandhi's statement when Congress MP Manickam Tagore charged towards him. It is an unfortunate event for democracy."

The Lok Sabha was later adjourned over Gandhi's statement that youth will hit Prime Minister Narendra Modi with sticks if he is unable to address the issue of unemployment in the country.

"The Prime Minister is delivering speeches now, but six months later, he will not be able to even leave his home. The youth of India will beat him up with sticks and make him understand that this country will not be able to make progress until jobs are provided to them," the Congress leader had said while addressing a rally for the party candidate in Delhi polls.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

It is our policy and the steps taken that determine successful development and stability and form a positive mood in society, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his opening speech at the conference dedicated to the results of first year implementation of "The State Program on socio-economic development of the regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023", Trend reports.

I can say that from 2003 to the present, the economy of Azerbaijan has grown 3.4 times as a whole, said the Azerbaijani president. This is a record high in the world. One can study the statistics, but I don't believe that there are similar growth rates elsewhere. Over these 16 years, industrial production has grown 2.7 times, agriculture has doubled, foreign trade turnover has increased 6.4 times, exports 7.6 times, including non-oil exports 5.2 times. Our foreign exchange reserves have grown 27 times. In 2003, foreign exchange reserves amounted to $1.8 billion, last year to $51 billion and now constitute $52 billion. This in itself is a high indicator.

Poverty has declined from about 50 to 4.8 percent, Ilham Aliyev noted. This indicates that oil revenues were distributed reasonably and fairly. Using these revenues, we have resolved a significant part of the key infrastructure problems of our country, while also improving the well-being of our citizens. Over the past 16 years, the average wage has grown 11 times and the average pension eight times. More than 300,000 internally displaced people and 6,700 martyr families have received houses and apartments. In other words, these major social programs require a lot of money. Just imagine  we have built houses and apartments for 300,000 people. Over the years, we have built a city equal to Sumgayit or Ganja. This required political will, sound policies and opportunities.

As for infrastructure projects, 33 power plants with a generating capacity of 3,000 megawatts have been built over the years, said the Azerbaijani president. If these stations hadn't been built, half of our country would be in darkness now. We would still be importing electricity and spending a lot of money on it. However, having built these stations and received 3,000 megawatts of generating capacity, we now export electricity. Last year, our country earned about $60-65 million from these exports.

In 2003, the level of gasification in Azerbaijan was 51 percent, while in the regions there was no gas at all, Ilham Aliyev noted. Currently, this figure has reached 96 percent. There is not a single district where there is no gas. There is no district where gas supply is below 70 percent. In the districts, it is at 100 and 95 percent. We have built 16,700 kilometers of roads. We have modern highways connecting us with all neighboring countries. Roads in hundreds and perhaps even in more than a thousand villages have been landscaped.

Land reclamation measures, the Azerbaijani president added. Two large water reservoirs have been built  Takhtakorpu and Shamkirchay. If we didn't have them, there would be a shortage of water today in these districts. If the Takhtakorpu reservoir had not been built, it would hardly have been possible to provide the city of Baku with water last year because last year's drought may have never happened before. By ensuring the supply of water collected specifically from Takhtakorpu to Jeyranbatan, we achieved uninterrupted water supply to Baku. No-one in Baku even felt that there was such a severe drought.

We are doing all this for people to live better, said Ilham Aliyev. Every major project is underpinned by a thought-out policy. To improve water supply in the villages, more than 1,500 artesian wells have been drilled over the years, and this process continues. Modular-type water treatment plants have been built in hundreds of villages. Therefore, infrastructure projects occupy a special place in the implementation of our program. By carrying out these projects in parallel with social initiatives, we have achieved today's realities.

Over the years, Azerbaijan has become a space-faring nation, the Azerbaijani president noted. We have three satellites. Sixteen years ago, we couldn't even dream about it perhaps. But today it is a reality. We have not only three satellites. In two years, Baku will host a top global event  the International Congress of Astronautics, almost 50 years on, because the only congress in the Soviet Union was held in Baku in 1973. And now, 49 years later, this event will be held in Baku again, this time Baku as the capital of an independent state of Azerbaijan.

To the transport sector. Seven airports have been built, six of them are international, Ilham Aliyev added. According to the Davos report, Azerbaijan ranks 11th in terms of air services. Heydar Aliyev International Airport is already known as a five-star. There are about 10 such airports in the world. One of them is Heydar Aliyev Airport.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway has been built, the Azerbaijani president said. This is our historic victory. Not only because Armenia remains in an eternal impasse, although this is important, but because this road brings a lot of income today and, at the same time, expands our international cooperation. Currently, this railway transports goods from locations that were not provided for at the beginning of its construction. So the railway has become a very important infrastructure project for international cooperation, and Azerbaijan is the leading country here.

We have played a special role in creating the East-West and North-South transport corridors, Ilham Aliyev noted. We are a country involved in both projects. The Alat international seaport is the largest port in the Caspian. A shipbuilding plant can produce tankers, cargo and any other vessels for us. Today, our money stays in Azerbaijan and does not go abroad. Currently, we produce tankers and cargo ships ourselves. I have mentioned only the main highlights of the work done over 16 years.

In the field of energy, in the oil and gas industry, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was commissioned in 2006 and the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum gas pipeline in 2007, said the Azerbaijani president. If they hadn't been built, who would have ever invested in the oil industry of Azerbaijan, especially in offshore oil production? No-one! Investments would be nil. What would we be doing? We would be buying oil abroad. We built these pipelines in a difficult geopolitical environment, with minimum risks. Then the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was built. Because if those pipelines had not been built and that corridor had not been opened, there would never have been a railway corridor. And we would not have had money to build this railway. We could not have provided Georgia with a loan of about $800 million.

Then the Southern Gas Corridor, Ilham Aliyev added. It is also one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe worth about $40 billion. It connects several countries. It is a giant project with a length of 3,500 kilometers and consisting of four segments. Political skill, diplomatic steps, our economic power, our relations with international banks and fruitful cooperation with countries along this path have all played a role here. There were so many difficulties in the implementation of this project.

We would need to have a separate event just to talk about this, said the Azerbaijani president. But we brought it to the end. And Azerbaijan initiated it. For several years now, meetings of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor have been traditionally held in Azerbaijan. The next meeting of the Council will be held at the end of this month.

So everyone agrees that we, Azerbaijan, are the leading force, the initiator, the organizer of these projects, the country that has taken up the main financial burden, and we have done this, Ilham Aliyev noted. Each of these projects has historic significance. All these projects and the work done in general represent a great contribution to the Azerbaijani people. As I said at the beginning of my remarks, it is our policy and the steps taken that determine successful development and stability and form a positive mood in society.

We did everything we promised, said the Azerbaijani president. There is not a single unfulfilled promise. No-one can find anything of the kind. In 2003 and the following years, I did everything I promised. Therefore, people have great confidence in both our words and our deeds. I have always said that our words must be underpinned by our deeds, and it is the case today.

Of course, it is impossible and unnecessary to talk about all the work done over the past 16 years, Ilham Aliyev added. I believe that I have highlighted the main points for you and the Azerbaijani public to know. And now let's move on to discussions.
Hamid Lomani, right, is joined by his daughter on Nov. 22, 2019, in their home village of Si Abdikar, Morocco. Lomani's son Aziz was one of 45 who drowned Sept. 28, 2019, in an attempt to travel to Spain by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

ZENATA BEACH, Morocco  Just a few hours after Brahim Lhlo laid eyes on the Atlantic Ocean for the very first time, it almost swallowed him whole.

I was crying and asking God for help and the waves kept crushing us, he said. I never thought I was going to survive this experience  I was dying.

After years of struggling to contribute to his familys income, Lhlo, 27, left his central Moroccan village and joined 54 young Moroccan men and one woman on a voyage he had been considering for as long as he can remember  traversing the waters between Morocco and Spain to find work. In the early hours of Sept. 28, 2019, the migrants packed into a small inflatable boat only to be flipped into the violent waves shortly after. Lhlo, who managed to grab a rope when the boat capsized, was one of 11 left clinging to the wreckage until the tide washed them back to Zenata Beach.

Migrants dying in clandestine travel is all too common in Morocco, but the 45 Zenata deaths bore a particularly desperate complexion. While most migrants risk their lives in the calmer waters of the western Mediterranean Sea, the Zenata group took a drastically more dangerous route, attempting to travel more than 248 miles from a beach outside of Casablanca fronting Moroccos vicious Atlantic Ocean waves.

'Please support us': Richard Gere visits migrants stuck at sea in Mediterranean

As the Moroccan government heightens migration patrols at Mediterranean launch points at the request of the European Union, people leaving Morocco seeking better fortune in Spain have started making riskier migration attempts in the last year. The majority do not survive and those who do, like Lhlo, return to the impoverished villages from which they came, traumatized and even more financially burdened by the cost of their attempted transit.

I think about those boys everyday. It is like I am sick in the head, Lhlo said during an interview in his home village of Dwar Imhail.

Story continues

Aziz Fath is at his son Ayoob's headstone shortly after securing it to the grave Nov. 20, 2019, in the village of Dwar Imhail, Morocco. Two days after Fath sent his son off on the hope of finding work in Spain, Fath traveled to Zenata Beach, near Casablanca, to retrieve his son's body. Ayoob was 19 when he died.

He was joined by Mohamed Zrwal, Aziz Fath and Hamid Lomani  fathers of migrants from the same village. When Lhlo called them Sept. 28 to inform them of their sons deaths, they traveled to Zenata Beach, where they spent the next week watching the water for their childrens bodies. Twenty-five bodies never washed in. Zrwal, Fath and Lomani were among those able to recover their sons bodies and drive them home to Dwar Imhail.

Leaving Casablanca by car, the four-lane highway eventually diverges to a two-lane national road that reaches the provincial capital of El Kelaa des Sraghna, seat of the province where the Zenata Beach group came from. From there, a series of unkempt country roads dissolve to narrow dirt roads that connect to Dwar Imhail. This village, like the rest of the El Kelaa des Sraghna province, is economically dependent on olive farming. Zrwal says that whether people eat is dependent on rainfall, and that for the last two years there has been little.

Zrwals 17-year-old son Marwan made plans to leave after not being able to find work beyond occasional day labor, often for no more compensation than 20 dirhams, about $2, a day. On the day Zrwal was interviewed, he had just finished securing the headstone on Marwans grave.

Our kids left us looking for a bright future, and now they are dead, said Lomani, who lost his son Aziz, 25.

The 45 Zenata casualties joined the estimated 681 people who died trying to migrate to Spain in 2019, according to the most recent data from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Morocco has long been a country of origin and transit for migrants seeking opportunities in Europe.

For those migrants pursuing Europe from North Africa, crossing the Mediterranean to Spain is the shortest and safest route. At the Mediterraneans thinnest point  the Strait of Gibraltar  nearly 10 miles of fairly calm water stand between Andalusia and Moroccos northern tip. On a clear day in favored Moroccan departure cities like Tangier, Spain is visible across this tapered slice of the western Mediterranean. Of the 26,168 total clandestine sea arrivals to Spain in 2019, 75% crossed the sheltered waters of the western Mediterranean.

Mediterranean tragedy: 150 migrants drown in shipwreck off Libya coast

In response to these tides of migrants, the European Union has become Moroccos main financial backer in blocking migration, pushing 236 million euros, or more than $261 million, in funds into Morocco to increase migration control since 2014. In December 2018, after successful sea crossings in the western Mediterranean reached a record high of 58,569, the EU approved an additional nearly $155 million in funds for Moroccan border enforcement. In July 2019, the Spanish government approved an additional $33 million.

At the end of 2019, successful crossings in the western Mediterranean were down by 50% compared with the previous year, before the influx of funds. Journeys specifically across the Strait of Gibraltar were 73% fewer in 2019 than in 2018.

Stepped up patrols along the Mediterranean Sea has forced Moroccans to use a riskier migration route to Spain along the Atlantic Ocean.

But when certain routes become less passable, the desire to migrate doesnt cease.

This is what always happens. The people change to more dangerous routes, said Carla Hoppner, a representative from the migrant support line AlarmPhone. This is what the Atlantic route is.

AlarmPhone was launched in 2014 as a 24/7 emergency hotline for migrants in distress in the Mediterranean Sea. Hoppner has worked with AlarmPhone in Morocco since 2014.

The routes are always changing, said Hoppner, regarding the response from migrants when routes are more heavily enforced. When people are deported back from the North of Morocco, they organize themselves in the South again.

AlarmPhone catalogs every distress call they receive. Hoppner said they first started getting calls offshore of cities further south on the Atlantic coast in 2017, at beaches near Asilah and Larache. She said cases have been cataloged even further south near Rabat and Sale since 2019, although AlarmPhone was not involved with them. In the last year that the Mediterranean has become less passable, stories of riskier migration attempts on Moroccos Atlantic coast, like Zenata, have appeared.

Zenata Beach is an inconspicuous shore just outside of downtown Casablanca on the center of the Moroccan Atlantic coastline. More Moroccans are trying to reach Spain by traveling across the Atlantic Ocean.

All of this is more dangerous because it is the Atlantic, Hoppner said. The Atlantic is different.

About a month before Zenata, Lhlo and many of his fellow migrants joined a group attempting to cross the western Mediterranean. They were thwarted by rumors of police activity before hitting the water.

Now, after paying for two migration attempts with no steady work to show for it, Lhlo, as well as the victims families, are drowning in debt. Lhlo estimates that he owes a million dirhams, or nearly $300,000, to his family and friends, not to mention the family sheep that were sold to pay for the voyage in a village where livestock is the main food source.

Zrwal gave his son Marwan the money to migrate after Marwan pleaded that it would be the only way for him to find work. He expects to be paying off that, along with the cost of transporting Marwans body back to Dwar Imhail, for years.

Zrwal said that nobody from the government has come to speak with him or the other families since the deaths. Lhlo said that at least 14 journalists have managed to find him in his rural village since the accident, but never anyone with aid or reconciliation.

We can sell hash, we can take money from other people, but we dont want to do that. We just want to live with dignity, Lhlo said. We love our country but there are a lot of things they dont help us with. They dont help us live with dignity.

Ryley Graham researched migration in Morocco through a program of SIT Study Abroad. Hafida Boulahyaoui of Moroccos Connect Institute contributed reporting.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: European migration: Moroccans using risky route along Atlantic Ocean
TALLINN, Estonia, Feb. 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CoinField has released the very first decentralized wallet app for SOLO, XRP, and Tokenized Assets to support the Sologenic ecosystem.



Sologenic allows users to trade any cryptocurrencies against 30,000 tokenized Stocks & ETFs from 25+ stock exchanges across the globe.

SOLO is the native token of Sologenic, a platform built on the XRP ledger with the sole mission of merging crypto asset markets with traditional finance markets. This new ecosystem facilitates investing and trading of on-demand tokenized assets, including Stocks and ETFs on top of the XRP Ledger.

The decentralized wallet app will allow users to add, access, and manage multiple wallets, view live market prices, review their recent transactions and HODL, and transfer all their digital assets from a single XRP wallet address. Sologenic will be adding decentralized exchange (DEX) functionally to this app in Q2 allowing users to trade securely while they keep their own private keys.

When building the app for SOLO, the SOLO core team focused on Security, UI/UX, Transparency, decentralization, and ease of use.

Security, ease of use, availability, speed, and decentralization were amongst our top goals when developing the SOLO Wallet apps. The SOLO core team will continue working on the app and will release new updates such as advanced transactions, notifications and Decentralized Exchange (DEX) so users can securely trade digital assets while they keep their own private keys. Said Reza Bashash , Sologenic Technical Lead

The app is available to download globally for Mobile and Desktop via the Apple Store and Google Play . Download the desktop version for Windows and Mac .

About Sologenic:

Sologenic is introducing a sophisticated ecosystem that facilitates users with investing, trading, and on-demand tokenization of assets such as stocks, ETFs, and fiat on top of the XRP Ledger. Learn more on https://www.sologenic.com

About CoinField:

CoinField is a regulated European based fiat-to-crypto exchange supervised by Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the licence numbers FVR001049 & FRK000941. The platform supports the top six fiat currencies and a large number of digital assets in 193 countries. Learn more on https://www.coinfield.com .

Press & Media Inquiries

Darren Amner

darren.amner@coinfield.com
Last year, Varun Mittal, a Ludhiana-based manufacturer of knitted goods, observed an unusual trend in import of a key raw material (a fabric item) just after the government imposed anti-dumping duty on it to discourage imports. The import of this polyester component - trade items are identified by a globally recognised, harmonised system of nomenclature code (HSN Code or simply tariff code) - fell 99 per cent. But import under another tariff code, specified for a slightly different type of fabric item, went up by almost the same amount. "There are more than 400 HSN codes that deal with fabric. Each number has different rates. If you persuade the government to impose anti-dumping duty on some, the trade shifts to other tariff lines," says Mittal.

This is important as India has been increasingly using 'tariffs' to protect domestic industry in recent times. Its attempts are being defeated by the practice of exporters shifting from specific tariff lines to more generic categories. In fact, an unusual increase in imports under the 'others' category was one of the key problems the Narendra Modi government identified in the early days of its current tenure. "A Committee of Secretaries, set up by the prime minister, is looking into the issue. It has been observed that 78 per cent of the $18 billion (2018/19) imports (of products) that come under the administrative purview of the Ministry of Heavy Industries were in the 'others' category," says a Ministry of Commerce official. The numbers are high also for sectors such as steel, telecommunications, electronics and chemicals and petrochemicals (which covers the polyester that Mittal was talking about). Steel scrap and related products worth $4.9 billion were imported in the 'others' category in 2018/19. In telecom, the number was $13.8 billion, while in chemicals and petrochemicals, it was $9.7 billion. On the whole, 371 tariff codes, accounting for $68.8 billion of imports in the 'others' category, are under scrutiny. Anti-dumping duties are imposed for a limited period (normally five years) on imported items that are priced lower than their normal value in the exporting country to kill competition in the destination market.

India has increased customs tariffs on several products and is considering a number of cases for special anti-dumping duties over and above such normal duties. India, in fact, initiated 32 anti-dumping measures in 2018, second only to the US (41 cases) among the 164 WTO member countries. India also initiated 600 anti-dumping investigations, including 313 review cases, between January 1, 1992 and March 31, 2019. There are also other trade remedial measures that India can use like countervailing duties (subsidies and special duties to offset subsidies), safeguard duties and safeguard quantitative restrictions, apart from emergency measures to limit imports temporarily to safeguard domestic industries. But these have been used sparingly - there have been just 43 safeguard investigations and nine countervailing duties in 27 years.

Business Today has not been able to independently verify Ludhiana-based Mittal's claim, but there are enough indications to suggest that everything is not hunky-dory in India's efforts to check distortions in fair trade. Underinvoicing, misclassification, shifting of imports from countries where anti-dumping duties apply, etc., are just some of the practices that have been at the centre of attempts to dodge the goverment's efforts.

Though the primary purpose of trade remedial measures is not to generate revenue for the government but provide a level-playing field to domestic industry versus global competitors, the above mentioned measures can lead to evasion or circumvention of duties, making a loss to the exchequer. Sometimes, anti-dumping measures do not seem to be making a difference when imported raw materials are used to make goods for exports and duties paid on such inputs are reimbursed and so they do not act as a deterrent for exporters.

However, where anti-dumping duties work effectively, they can help strengthen domestic industry, as is evident from the reduction in import dependence and augmentation of domestic production capabilities in some sectors.

However, where anti-dumping duties work effectively, they can strengthen domestic industry, as is evident from the reduction in import dependence and augmentation of domestic production in some sectors. Take alloy wheels, where huge capacities came up after India imposed anti-dumping duty. Now, it is an example of India's potential as locally produced two-wheeler alloy wheels are cheaper than imported (mainly from China) wheels even without any anti-dumping duty at present.

"Today localisation in alloy wheels for two-wheelers must be to the tune of 60 per cent. We believe that in the next three years, this will be about 85 per cent. There is no anti-dumping on two-wheelers, but we have gained scale now," says Ujjwal Kant Munjal, Managing Director, Rockman Industries, India's largest alloy wheel maker for two-wheelers. Rockman has a capacity of 12.5 million such wheels per annum. "If the Chinese could do it with size and scale, we can also do it, and that's what we have done. The rest of the market put together, there are another 12 million (wheels) being manufactured in India. Scale and customer confidence is what matters," Munjal adds. Recently, the company started manufacturing allow wheels for passenger cars as well. One of the triggers was the anti-dumping duty on alloy wheels for cars.

The current capacity of Indian companies is about four million passenger four-wheeler alloy wheels a year, just a fraction of China's 120 million. But even that capacity came up only after the anti-dumping duty came into force. "Out of this four million, three million must have come up after the imposition of the duty. Once India starts producing 15-20 million wheels, we will be able to compete with them (China)," Munjal says.

This is where India needs its policies to aim at medium- and long-term goals of self-sufficiency. It's a complex game with high stakes. How well is it working?

The 'Others'

A cursory look at import trends in the 'others' category shows that the government's fear is not misplaced. In general, there has been an increase in not only the non-specified sections of each product group ever since India started increasing customs duties but also in the frequency of anti-dumping duty investigations over the last five years. The trend is consistent for both volume and value of imports.

"In every product group, one tariff line is the 'others' category, where imports are seeing a sharp increase. When it happens in products that carry a minimum import duty, as in case of steel, or anti-dumping duty, as in case of several chemicals, the decrease in imports of the targeted tariff line matches the increase in the 'others' category of the same product," says Murali Kallummal, Professor, Centre for Research on International Trade, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, New Delhi.

While one may not be able to point out a single reason for this trend in imports, there is a strong possibility that products with high duties find their way into India through the 'others' category, thereby diluting the impact of fair trade measures. Therefore, there is a need to revamp the existing trade classifications for better transparency. "The HSN system (tariff codes) should be more disaggregated to handle this. We have to make products as disaggregated as possible, and preferably (named or classified) as used by the industry," says Kallummal.

Ludhiana's Mittal has some tips for the government in this regard. "Tariff is the biggest area for the government to get into. In textiles, for instance, knit fabric comes under one definition, but you can produce knit fabric at Rs 220 a kg and also Rs 780 a kg. The gap is huge. So, evasion happens not only on the basis of rate and quantity but also quality." According to him, there should be a mechanism under which goods from a foreign country show their right value in the originating country. "Future free trade agreements should make it mandatory for the exporting country's shipping bill to carry the cargo value. In that country, all the benefits given on exports should be based on the value of that shipping bill and not the invoice. If the value of the cargo is mentioned on the shipping bill and the same is used by the exporting country to reimburse taxes and the importing country to levy import duties, the problem will be solved," says Mittal. He adds that an international e-way bill like the one India has can ensure fair trade and trade data at the same time.

Cause and Effect

A.K. Gupta, Founder, TPM Solicitors and Consultants, which handles close to 85 per cent of all anti-dumping cases on behalf of the domestic industries in India, says a quick analysis of 25 products where anti-dumping duties had expired till the end of 2019 shows mixed results. "In several cases, the performance of the industry improved as a result of the duties, due to which the DGTR (Directorate General of Trade Remedies, under the Ministry of Commerce) found it appropriate not to continue the duties. In some such cases, the domestic industries have been forced to file fresh applications as imports increased significantly post the expiry of the duties. For example, in case of nylon filament yarn, the expiry of the duty led to increased imports at dumped prices, affecting the industry," Gupta says.

In fact, of all the 25 cases, at least 10 proved to be tough nuts to crack because despite duties, the sectors continued to be hit by the imports. These included aluminium road wheels, electrical insulators, nonylphenol, hexamine, acetone, and mostly products in the chemicals and petrochemicals category. In some cases, sunset reviews (SSR) to continue or increase the rate of anti-dumping duties were initiated, too. An SSR led to duty enhancement and extension for Meta Phenylene Diamine, but in the case of some rubber chemicals, the duty was not continued and imports increased once it expired in early-2019.

Dumping of electrical insulators continued, but for a different reason. After the anti-dumping duty was imposed, Chinese producers started exporting polymer insulators, instead of glass and porcelain insulators, on which there was anti-dumping duty. The performance of the domestic industry improved for some time but gradually deteriorated when glass and porcelain insulators were replaced with polymer insulators.

There are success stories, too. The domestic makers of sodium nitrate made no request for extending anti-dumping duty on the product which is imported from the EU, China, Ukraine and South Korea. The duty imposed had restored the level-playing field for them. Gupta's analysis also shows that anti-dumping duty was effective in case of steel wheels and a chemical and petrochemical product, 4,4 Diamino Stilbene 2,2 Disulphonic Acid.

In some cases, the domestic industry wants the anti-dumping duty to stay as gaining scale and strength against cheap imports takes time. This has resulted in an increase in the number of appeals for reviewing the sunset clause. "In 2018/19, a number of investigations were terminated without recommending any additional duty.

This was especially true in case of sunset reviews, in cases where investigations were not initiated or were terminated if the performance of the industry had improved. But the authority should have examined if the performance would deteriorate in the absence of the duty. Since such industries felt that the duties should have been imposed or continued, it led to a number of findings being challenged," says Gupta.

When a duty is imposed on a product, there can be various consequences - import from the very same sources may change, import of the same product from other countries may change, and import of downstream and upstream products could also be impacted. All four possible scenarios need to be carefully tracked to understand the dynamics of the trade flow in the anti-dumping context.

With India keen to discourage non-essential imports, understanding these factors can only help frame regulations that are more effective and can strengthen domestic manufacturing.

The Committee of Secretaries, meanwhile, is trying to formulate a strategy to control the import of products in the 'others' category. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal is known to have asked the ministries with a high burden of such unspecified imports to identify at least 300 products, to begin with, to reduce the country's import dependence while promoting local manufacturing. A March 2020 deadline is also in place.

Unless the government finds a magic wand, ensuring effectiveness of trade remedial measures will remain a complex and critical problem.

@joecmathew
WASHINGTON  The president of the United States spoke for an hour on Thursday at the White House, a careening open-mic act that was by turns free-associative whirlwind, grievance fest, group shout-out and profane rant against his expanding inventory of political enemies  or, as he called them, the crookedest, most dishonest, dirty people I have ever seen.

Let the healing begin this was not.

Even by the standards of this most abnormal presidency, this was something. You have to understand, we first went through Russia, Russia, Russia  it was all bullshit, President Trump said on live television in the classical splendor of the East Room, referring to the special counsels investigation. He went on to call impeachment a hoax perpetrated by dirty cops and leakers and liars that began from the day we came down the elevator and never really stopped. (He presumably meant the escalator he rode at Trump Tower in 2015, when he announced he was running for president.)

The angry pep rally came a few hours after Mr. Trump served up a similar outburst at the National Prayer Breakfast. In between, Speaker Nancy Pelosi held a morning news conference and said that Mr. Trump had seemed a little sedated Tuesday night at his State of the Union speech (the one she tore to shreds). And in Iowa, there was continuing chaos as Tom Perez, the embattled chairman of the Democratic National Committee, called on the state Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass of its caucuses, which Mr. Trump had already called an unmitigated disaster  a statement that drew a rare measure of bipartisan agreement.

At this point, not normal feels a lot more like a permanent State of the Union. These first six weeks of 2020 have already made for an extraordinary year, and not in an uplifting way.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska announced Monday that she "cannot vote to convict" President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial but nevertheless called his actions "shameful and wrong."

In remarks on the Senate floor Monday evening, the senator had strong words for Trump, saying, "The President's behavior was shameful and wrong. His personal interests do not take precedence over those of this great nation."

She went on to say, "The President has the responsibility to uphold the integrity and the honor of the office, not just for himself, but for all future presidents. Degrading the office by actions or even name-calling weakens it for future presidents and it weakens our country."

But Murkowski was also highly critical of the House and the Senate, accusing the House of rushing its impeachment inquiry and critiquing her colleagues in the Senate for lacking impartiality.

"The House rushed through what should have been one of the most serious, consequential undertakings of a legislative branch, simply to meet an artificial, self-imposed deadline," she said.

"The House failed in its responsibilities and the Senate, the Senate, should be ashamed by the rank partisanship that has been on display here," she said.

Alluding to stances taken by both Democrats and Republicans, Murkowski said, "Some have been calling for the President to be impeached for years," while "others in this chamber saw little need to even consider the arguments from the House before stating their intentions to acquit."

"For all the talk of impartiality, it is clear to me that few in this chamber approached this with a genuinely open mind," she said.

Murkowski, who has a reputation as a relatively independent-minded moderate Republican, had been closely watched as a potential swing vote during the impeachment trial.

But after outlining many of her criticisms with the proceedings, the Republican senator said that ultimately she had concluded "that there would be no fair trial," and said she could not vote to convict in the trial.

"The response to the President's behavior is not to disenfranchise nearly 63 million Americans and remove him from the ballot. The House could have pursued censure and not immediately jumped to the remedy of last resort. I cannot vote to convict. The Constitution provides for impeachment, but does not demand it in all instances," she said.

Murkowski suggested that ultimately voters will decide Trump's fate.

"The President's name is on ballots that have already been cast," she said. "The voters will pronounce a verdict in nine months, and we must trust their judgment."
Six of the 23 patients in Korea who have tested positive for coronavirus were infected by members of their family, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.

Coronavirus spreads in the home because many patients with latent infections have relatively mild initial symptoms.

"When Middle East Respiratory Syndrome broke out, many patients were quickly hospitalized with severe symptoms in the initial stage, so the virus spread mostly in hospitals," said Prof. Choi Jae-wook of Korea University. "But coronavirus produces mostly mild symptoms like the common cold, and people who haven't been to China may not have seen the distinction and unknowingly spread it to their family."
The Supreme Court said it will hear the pleas against the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh next week as it did not want to "influence" the February 8 Delhi assembly elections by hearing the matter on Friday.

"We understand there is a problem and we have to see how to resolve it. We will take it up on Monday. We will be in a better position by then," a bench comprising justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph said.

When an advocate appearing for one of the petitioners said that voting for Delhi election is scheduled on February 8, the bench noted, "That is exactly why we are saying come on Monday. Why should we influence it?"



The bench also asked the petitioners to come prepared on Monday to argue on why the matter should not be remitted back to the Delhi High Court.

"We think it would be appropriate if the high court deals with the matter. The high court is the appropriate forum and we can issue directions to this effect," the bench said.

The apex court was hearing an appeal filed by advocate Amit Sahni, who had approached the high court seeking directions to the Delhi Police to ensure smooth traffic flow on the Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch, which was blocked by anti-CAA protesters on December 15.

The high court had urged local authorities to deal with the situation keeping in mind law and order.

Separately, former Delhi MLA Nand Kishore Garg, through his counsel Shashank Deo Sudhi, has filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking directions to authorities to remove the protestors from Shaheen Bagh.

Restrictions have been imposed on the Kaindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch and the Okhla underpass, which were closed on December 15 last year due to the protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The plea has said that various other arterial roads of Delhi have been facing traffic congestion due the protest at Shaheen Bagh.

Saying that the law enforcement machinery has been "held hostage to the whims and fancies of the protesters," the plea has sought laying down of guidelines for protests leading to obstruction of public place.

"It is disappointing that the state machinery is muted and a silent spectator to hooliganism and vandalism of the protesters who are threatening the existential efficacy of the democracy and the rule of law and had already taken the law and order situation in their own hand," the plea said.

It said the Shaheen Bagh protest is "undoubtedly within the constitutional parameter" but it has lost its legality as constitutional protection were being "blatantly and brazenly flouted and violated".

The state has a duty to protect the fundamental rights of its citizens, who have been facing trouble due to the road blockade, it said.

"Hence, it is urgently required that the public places must not be allowed to be abused and misused for ulterior and mala fide purposes such as staging protest against the constitution amendment in the heart of the capital city and thereby causing incalculable hardships and difficulties to the common people," it said.

It said a similar plea was filed by another litigant in the Delhi High Court, which on January 14 directed the local authority to deal with the situation. The litigant has filed an appeal in the apex court against the high court order and sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court.

Sahni has filed a special leave petition in the apex court against the high court's order directing the local authority to deal with the situation keeping in mind the law and order.

The plea has sought directions to the police to ensure smooth traffic flow on Kalindi Kunj-Shaheen Bagh stretch.

It has sought supervision of the situation in Shaheen Bagh, where several women are sitting on protest, by a retired Supreme Court judge or a sitting judge of the Delhi High Court in order to circumvent any violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
If you are among the last of your friends to visit the new North American capital of cool, cut through the tourist hoopla with this itinerary from native celebrity chef Gabriela Camara, who was the culinary darling of CDMX, home to her much beloved restaurant, Contramar, well before Hayes Valley foodies began lining up for stylish, authentic Mexican fare at Cala. Buen viaje!

Camara recommends staying either in Condesa, Roma, or Cuauhtemocthese neighborhoods, all easily walkable and within close proximity to each other, contain enough amazing restaurants, bars, and galleries to keep you busy during your stay. The neighborhoods are also within close proximity to each other and are easily walkable. Roma Norte in particular is like Mexico City's Mission Districtyou'll find fixies, skinny jeans, and ironic mustaches everywhere. Camara recommends staying in Airbnbs they're plentiful and inexpensive.

Eat + Drink in CDMX

(Courtesy of Restaurante el Cardenal)

Marisqueria El K-guamo

Camara is known for her love of seafood, so when she recommends a street cart specializing in mariscos, you know it's the best. El K-guamo has been serving some of the freshest, most delicious seafood in the Centro for more than 40 years. Camara suggests the mixed-fish quesadilla or the insanely yummy fried-fish filet slathered in mayo and topped with a bright salsa and creamy avocado. // Marisqueria El K-guamo, Ayuntamiento at the corner of Lopez 82 and 83 (Centro Historico), tripadvisor.com

El Cardenal



The original location of El Cardenalon Calle Palma in the Centro since the 1960sis Camara's preferred white-tablecloth spot. Suited servers bring traditional Mexican fare with no stuffy vibes or prices. Go for lunch and get the mole negrochicken leg is braised until tender and topped with a rich thick dark mole sauce that's smokey, sweet, and slightly spicy. Make tacos out of it with the accompanying tortillas for utter perfection in a meal. // El Cardenal, Palma #23 (Centro Historico), restauranteelcardenal.com

Maximo Bistro



Chef Eduardo Garcia has cooked in New York's Le Bernadin as well as Pujol, one of the best restaurants in Mexico City (and, for that matter, the world). Here, the food is a bit more accessible and familiar (think smoked salmon ceviche, or a mushroom risotto) using local and organic Mexican ingredients with European techniques. Reservations are recommended. // Tonala 133, Colonia Roma. maximobistrot.com.mx

Bosforo



Bosforo may be the coolest place in Mexico City. It's a super small, dark mezcal cantina with strong drinks. There's a DJ that constantly spins loud, moody, minimal wave that makes you feel like you're in space. It's attached to a restaurant next doororder the grasshopper quesadilla to help soak up all the alcohol. // Luis Moya 31, Col Centro, facebook.com

Tacos Hola



The perennially popular Tacos Hola offers some of Camara's favorite stewed tacos, or guisados, on fresh handmade tortillasthe braised chard with onions and tomatoes is particularly good. // Av. Amsterdam 135, Cuauhtemoc, Hipodromo, tripadvisor.com
Three South Florida business people bought millions of dollars of infant formula at steep discounts for supposed exports to South America, but instead they enriched themselves by selling the products at high prices in the United States, a federal jury has found.

The trio lied about having government procurement contracts in Suriname so they could qualify for buying the infant formula and other medical goods at reduced costs here, the Fort Lauderdale jury concluded Thursday after a two-week trial. Then, they falsified records and shipments to make it look like the products were actually exported to the small South American country.

Raoul Doekhie, 51, of Suriname, Sherida Nabi, 55, of Suriname, and Johnny Grobman, 46, of Golden Beach, were found guilty of conspiring to commit wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. A fourth defendant, Edgar Torres, 61, of Branford, Fla., pleaded guilty to the wire fraud conspiracy before trial. Their sentencings before U.S. District Judge Roy Altman are set for April 23.

According to trial evidence, the trios Fort Lauderdale-Suriname business operation was a sham. The three business partners did not have government procurement contracts in the South American country and did not intend to export the products there during the course of the scheme between 2013 and 2018, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Instead, Grobman and [the] others sold the products in the United States for tens of millions of dollars, which the three defendants later split among themselves, the office said in a news release. More than $61 million in illicit proceeds went to Grobman, and more than $69 million to Doekhie and Nabi, the office said.

The defendants hid their fraudulent activity from the U.S. companies that supplied the infant formula in three ways, according to trial evidence. The first was to send dummy shipments of powdered sheet-rock compound with the same weights as the infant formula; the second was to ship the actual infant formula but to bring it back to the United States in a U-turn; and the third was to falsify export shipping records showing the products were exported to Suriname when they actually never left the United States.

Story continues

The case, investigated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, illustrates the exploitation of the gray market, which involves the diversion and resale of certain goods that were not intended for distribution in the United States, according to prosecutors.

In December, five businessmen convicted of exploiting a Buy American program to fleece millions of dollars from U.S. medical and food suppliers in a global racket were sent to prison in Miami federal court.

Ringleader Bryamji Javat, a Pakistani who headed Dubai-based Uniworld Group, received a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to a wire-fraud conspiracy that enabled him and his associates in South Florida and other parts of the United States to profit off the sale of discounted American products under a government program promoting the domestic economy.
The Long Room. | Photo: Andrea C./Yelp

Wondering where to find the best bars near you?

Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top bars in Chicago, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best spots to venture next time you're on the hunt.

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. The Long Room

Photo: Sara G./Yelp

First on the list is The Long Room. Located at 1612 W. Irving Park Road (between Ashland and Marshfield avenues) in South East Ravenswood, the bar and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, is the highest-rated bar in Chicago, boasting 4.5 stars out of 292 reviews on Yelp.

2. Rudy's Bar & Grille

Photo: Matt S./Yelp

Next up is the Loop's Rudy's Bar & Grille, situated at 69 E. Madison St. (between Dearborn and Clark streets). With four stars out of 354 reviews on Yelp, the bar and New American spot, serving burgers and more, has proved to be a local favorite.

3. The Royal Grocer & Co

Photo: Michael W./Yelp

Bucktown's The Royal Grocer & Co, located at 2118 N. Damen Ave. (between Charleston Street and Shakespeare Avenue), is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the bar and New American spot four stars out of 88 reviews.

4. Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

Photo: Robin J./Yelp

Bavette's Bar & Boeuf, a steakhouse and bar that offers seafood and more in River North, is another much-loved go-to, with 4.5 stars out of 2,333 Yelp reviews. Head over to 218 W. Kinzie 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.
STAMFORD  Police say that two days before a troubled young woman threatened to cut the baby out of a pregnant co-worker, she went to an apartment with a bottle of gasoline and assaulted a woman.

On Wednesday, Astride Bue, 26, of Relay Place, was transported from the York Correctional Institution for women in Niantic and brought to Stamford, where she was charged with second-degree attempted assault and was ordered held on an additional $50,000 court-appearance bond.

According to her two-page arrest affidavit, a 31-year-old Vernon Place woman was awakened in the middle in the early morning of Nov. 18 by the smell of gasoline. When the woman went downstairs to see what was going on, she heard a knock on her door.

When she opened the door, she found Astride Bua, 26, on the other side and Bua kept asking her to come outside. The woman told police she had taken Bua in to her home about a year earlier for about five days but had to turn her out when she began exhibiting signs of mental issues, the affidavit said.

Bua asked the woman to come and talk to her outside and she told Bua to come inside. But when she did, Bua unexpectedly blew some powder into her eye and struck her in the head with a closed fist, she told police. When the woman grabbed Bua, both fell in the ground in the doorway.

At that point, Bua grabbed a metal pole that the apaqartment dweller kept for security reasons right outside the front door and Bua and struck the woman on the right side of her rib cage, the affidavit said. When Bua tried to take another swing with the pole at the womans face, the victim was able to grab the pole, cutting her hand in the process, the affidavit said. Bua then ran off.

But when the woman began looking around, she found a Heineken beer bottle that smelled like it had gasoline in it, which was later verified by police. The victim told police that although she did not see Bua holding the bottle, she thought Bua was trying to burn her home down.

Three days later on Nov. 21, Bua was arrested at Boston Market on High Ridge Road where she was working as a waitress. Apparently Bua became angry over some unwanted work advice and allegedly threatened a pregnant co-worker by telling the woman she wanted to cut the baby out of the womans stomach, police said at the time.

Prior to the attack, Buas pregnant co-worker received two phone complaints from customers about Bua and she pulled her aside to explain how things are supposed to work at the restaurant, Sgt. Michael Franzetti said.

The employee called her manager, who told her to go into the back office for her own safety. As the pregnant woman was walking away, another Boston Market employee stepped between her and Bua, attempting to deescalate the situation. Bua, however, grabbed a pair of scissors and tried to swing over the other co-worker in an attempt to stab the pregnant woman, Franzetti said. She was charged with disorderly conduct, second-degree threatening and carrying a dangerous weapon and has been incarcerated unable to post a $50,000 court- appearance bond.

During her arrangement Wednesday she was assigned a public defender and this case was ordered to become part of her ongoing competency evaluation to determine whether she can understand the charges against her and participate in her own defense.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
When India sent its aircraft to evacuate Indian students from Chinas Wuhan after the novel coronavirus outbreak, the government had made an offer to bring back people from neighbouring countries including Pakistan, foreign minister S Jaishankar told Parliament on Friday.

India had earlier this month brought back over 600 Indian nationals from Wuhan, a sharp contrast to Islamabad which had declined to evacuate its students to express solidarity with China. Beijing had later lauded Pakistan for its stand, describing Islamabad as its iron ally.

Jai Shankars statement on the evacuation efforts came after Health Minister Harsh Vardhan gave Parliament a status report on the coronavirus cases in the country and the steps taken by the government to limit the spread of the infection.

In the questions that followed, some wanted the government to spell out its stand on evacuation of nationals from other countries. BJP Rajya Sabha from Bengal Rupa Ganguly asked the government if the government would consider making efforts for the evacuation of Pakistani students or make some arrangements.

Jaishankar told the Rajya Sabha that an estimated 80 Indian students were still put in Wuhan. Seventy of them had volunteered to stay back but there were 10 other students who were running fever and were disallowed by Chinese officials.

Jaishankar said the embassy was in touch with them to track their welfare. He also made a special mention of two embassy officials who had travelled from Beijing to Wuhan at great personal risk to help with the evacuation process.

And, finally, the question regarding Pakistan. At the time when our two flights were going, we had told all the students and the larger community in Wuhan that we were prepared not only to bring back our own people but also bring back all the people of our neighbouring countries who would like to come back, Jaishankar said.

So, this was an offer which was made to all our neighbours. And, of these, seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail of the offer. But, I would like the members to know that the offer was made to everybody, the foreign minister told the Rajya Sabha.
The U.S. Navy's top leader has determined that 2020 will be the year to get ahead in hypersonic weapons development, with a crucial flight test scheduled for later this year.

In a memo sent last week to the service, Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly called the development of hypersonic technologies the "Sputnik" moment of the 21st century, comparing the early 1960s-era Space Race to a new global competition that could set the U.S. apart from its adversaries into the future.

With hindsight, the Soviet Union's Sputnik satellite launch "should heighten our awareness that major technological breakthroughs such as hypersonic weapons can destabilize the global security environment and pose an existential threat to our nation," Modly said in the memo.

"In fact, the possible applications of hypersonic technologies have already changed the nature of the battlespace, much as nuclear technology did in the past century. That is why, when it comes to hypersonic weapons, our command today must be 'All Ahead Full,'" he said.

Related: Pentagon Aims to Win Global Race for New Hypersonic Technologies

Like nuclear weapons, officials have said hypersonic weapons can act as deterrents, as well as game changers, in responding to conflict from hundreds of miles away -- especially weapons that move at five times the speed of sound or more.

Modly's memo outlined a robust schedule for the Navy, a lead service under the Pentagon's conventional prompt global strike program, which enables the U.S. military to strike targets anywhere globally within an hour.

A flight experiment has been scheduled later this fiscal year to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Navy-designed Hypersonic Glide Body.

Related: SecDef to Congress: Let the Pentagon Dump Old Gear to Fund New Weapons

The glide body vehicle accelerates to high speeds before separating its payload and gliding toward its intended target, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The Navy will also conduct launcher testing throughout the year, Modly said.

Last week, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the Pentagon has "nearly doubled its long-term investment -- almost $5 billion more in FY2020 -- in hypersonics alone in the next five years."

"And our 2021 budget will be even stronger," he said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

When asked Thursday at a National Defense Strategy-themed discussion at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies whether China or Russia has leapfrogged the U.S. in emerging technologies like hypersonic weapons, Esper said the premise of the question "suggests we're behind. I think we're ahead in many areas."

"I think the key is to sustain that overmatch and grow it over time," he said.

But some experts question the speed with which the military is moving forward.

Kingston Reif, director of disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association, said that, while much advocacy has centered on keeping pace with Russia and China, the Pentagon has yet to "specify a military rationale for rushing to test and field them."

"The relevant question is whether we need hypersonic weapons to ensure penetration of advancing adversary [anti-access/area denial] capabilities and strike targets more promptly," Reif said Thursday. "In my view, that case has yet to be made, certainly not to the extent that would justify the current pedal through the floor development approach. I think more attention needs to be paid to the crisis stability and escalation risks the weapons could pose."

Of note, Modly's memo called for the Navy and Marine Corps to work closely together to accelerate how the services explore hypersonic use.

"The bottom line is that our Navy and Marine Corps team will need to move forward together, reaping the keen intellects and experiences of everyone onboard today in order to fully leverage the full potential of these new weapons in the future," he said.

It speaks to an increased joint focus as part of a larger shift toward getting the sea services more closely aligned as they prep for possible large-scale naval battles.

Last month, Marine Commandant Gen. David Berger said it was imperative the Navy and Marine Corps integrate more often, getting back to their naval roots should a fight with China arise.

"The significant thing that's driven as to where we are right now is a paradigm shift by China in moving to the sea," he said during the annual Surface Navy Association conference. "We have watched them build and expand a conventional defensive force and kind of yawned for a long time until they went to sea.

"Game-changer," Berger added.

-- Gina Harkins contributed to this report.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.

Read More: SEAL Boss to Depart After 2 Years; Officials Say No Indication He Was Forced Out
Jaipur/Srinagar, Feb 7 : In an incident which the Kashmir police denied as a hate crime, a 19-year-old Kashmiri teenager died on Thursday night after a scuffle at a wedding ceremony in Jaipur. The Jaipur police said one person has been arrested in the case.

Ghulam Mohideen alias Basit, a resident of Kupwara in Kashmir, had sustained a head injury in a fight on February 4, officials said. He died on Thursday night at SMS Hospital in Jaipur where he was undergoing treatment.

Basit, hailing from Kunan village of Kupwara worked as a caterer at Harmada in Jaipur.

Contradicting reports in a section of the media, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kupwara Ambarkar Shriram Dinakar told IANS: "This is not a case of hate crime." "It was a case of rivalry between two catering agencies." The victim had recently left his catering agency in Jaipur and joined a new one.

Some of the family members have gone to Rajasthan to bring home the body.

Police have arrested Aditya, a resident of Delhi on murder charges and Basit's body has been handed over to his family members after conducting a post mortem on Friday, Jaipur Police Commissioner Anand Shrivastav said.

He said Aditya had asked Basit not to tap the glass of a car following which a fight broke out between the two.

He said a complaint was lodged by Sufita, Basit's friend and a resident of Kashmir, on Thursday in Harmada police station.

The complaint mentioned that a scuffle was reported on February 4 during a wedding ceremony between Basit and Aditya, both engaged in catering work.

Aditya had allegedly punched Basit in the head following which he started vomiting and was admitted to SMS Hospital.

Doctors said Basit suffered a head injury that required a surgery.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 18:49:18|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The genome sequences of five 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) strains on the National Genomics Data Center (NGDC) have been synchronized and shared with an American database, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) on Friday.

The five strains were provided by the Institute of Pathogen Biology under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences to the NGDC on Jan. 26.

With a data-sharing mechanism, the strains were synchronized with the GenBank database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in the United States. The strains' sequence numbers on the NCBI are from MT019529 to MT019533.

Since the release of the 2019-nCoV database on Jan. 22, the genome sequences of 82 virus strains worldwide have been collected and integrated.

By using the database, researchers carried out the variation analysis of the genome of 2019-nCoV and obtained detailed information on variation degree, variation region and variation base between the 2019-nCoV strains, 2019-nCoV strains and SARS-CoV and between 2019-nCoV strains and SARS-like coronavirus bat strains, said Bao Yiming, director of NGDC.

With over 300,000 sequence file downloads, the database has provided services for over 30,000 visitors from 106 countries and regions, said the CAS.
The owners a Beaumont lawn service company were convicted Wednesday of underreporting taxable income of about $1.5 million to the Internal Revenue Service.

Dick Brocato Jr., 68, and his wife, Judith L. Brocato, 65, were accused of misreporting the amount of money they received from customers to Superior Lawn Maintenance. According to an indictment handed up last year, the Brocatos failed to report more than $500,000 in income annually from 2012 to 2014.

They were each convicted in federal court in Beaumont of one charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States and six counts of making and submitting false tax returns. That followed a three-day jury trial.

Davilyn Walston, public information officer for the U.S. Attorneys Office in the Eastern District of Texas, said no other parties are expected to be charged as a part of this case and it appeared customers were unaware their payments were being misreported.

The couples son, Brandon Brocato, was also listed as an operator on the companys website, but he was not mentioned in the indictment or statement from the U.S. Attorneys Office.

The business was accredited by the Better Business Bureau, but did not have a rating. It had only one complaint in the last three years.

The obligation of all of us to pay our taxes is important, and no one should forget that there are criminal penalties for failing to pay your taxes as required, U.S. Attorney Joseph Brown said in a statement.

Sentencing has not been scheduled, pending investigations by the U.S. Probation Office. The charges are punishable by up to five years in federal prison.

jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com

twitter.com/jdickjournalism
A man flying from Delhi to Pune was admitted to an isolation ward of the civic-run Naidu Hospital here on Friday for possible exposure to novel coronavirus after he vomitted mid-flight, an official said.

The passenger was admitted to the hospital after the flight arrived at the Pune airport in the morning, an Air India official said.

"The passenger was traveling from Delhi to Pune on Air India flight. He complained of nausea and vomitted on board. After the plane landed at the Pune airport, he was immediately isolated and shifted to Naidu Hospital," the official said.

According to the Pune Airport authorities, the flight was sanitized later.

Naidu Hospital is one of the three hospitals in Maharashtra, where quarantine facilities have been set up to deal with suspected cases of coronavirus.

No confirmed case of the deadly virus, which has so far killed 630 people in China, has been detected in Maharashtra yet.

The virus - which first emerged in Wuhan city in China's central Hubei province - has spread to 25 countries, including India (three confirmed cases have been reported from Kerala), the US and the UK.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A wind power plant in Bac Lieu Province.-VNA/VNS Photo

The Government announced a feed-in tariff (FiT) in 2011 for wind energy of VND1,770 per kWh (7.8 US cents) and a power purchase agreement (PPA) duration of 20 years.

In 2018 it raised the FiT to VND1,928 (8.7 cents) for onshore wind projects and VND2,223 (9.8 cents) for offshore projects.

The rates apply to grid-connected power plants with commercial operations before November 1, 2021.

According to the National Load Dispatch Center (A0), nine wind power plants with a total capacity of 353MW were built before the Government raised the FiT.

Since the increase, plants with thousands of megawatts of capacity have signed PPAs and have been added to the countrys wind power plans, it said.

According to a report by the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), besides the nine plants that have begun commercial operations, it has also signed PPAs with 31 other plants with a total capacity of 1,645 MW that are under construction.

Besides, 59 others with a total capacity of around 2,700 MW have been included in the zoning plans for wind energy for the period up to 2025. More than 100 other projects have sought approval.

The proposed plants are mainly in Bac Lieu, Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Quang Tri, and Phu Yen provinces.

The AO warned that with many wind power plants going on stream this year the national grid and transmission system could be overloaded in Tra Vinh, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan.

A well-known renewable energy expert, who did not want to be named, said investing in wind power to enjoy pricing incentives is risky.

The preferential rate for wind power only applies to grid-connected plants beginning commercial operations before November 1, 2021, and many investors are racing against time to start operations, but a wind power plant cannot be built as quickly as a solar power plant, he explained.

To get a feasibility report, an investor must have wind measurement data for at least 12 months. When there is the wind data, an investor can design a plant.

Besides, sourcing wind power equipment is quite difficult. It is usually bought from Sweden, Germany, the US, or China. Suppliers only manufacture after receiving orders.

Citing the example of solar farms, he warned that if many wind power plants are built in any place before November 2021, the grid there would surely be overloaded and they would have to operate below capacity.

Bui Van Thinh, chairman of the Binh Thuan Wind Power Association, told Hai Quan (Customs) newspaper, Operating below their capacity will cause wind power investors to suffer losses.
'Dirty baker's dozen': 13 companies facilitating sexual exploitation

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Major corporations and one state were listed on the National Center on Sexual Exploitations 2020 Dirty Dozen List of entities that are complicit in perpetuating sexual exploitation in any form.

NCOSE, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to addressing the full-spectrum of sexual exploitation, has put out an annual Dirty Dozen List since 2013.

The list serves as an activism tool to pressure companies with business practices that contribute to the sexual exploitation of people to change course.

Over the years, NCOSEs campaign has had success in influencing organizations and companies to change their policies. Most recently, it was reported that United Airlines (named on the 2019 Dirty Dozen List) will better train employees to stop porn viewing on airline flights.

For the first time in its history, the list consists of a bakers dozen, said NCOSE Vice President of Advocacy and Outreach Haley McNamara during the rollout of the annual list Thursday at the NCOSE office in Washington, D.C.

No mainstream entity should profit or facilitate sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, many well-established brands, companies and organizations in America do just that, McNamara said. In todays world, corporations drive our culture. They influence how people communicate, what information they receive and what trends are accepted or rejected.

Right now there are mainstream companies that are normalizing pornography, facilitating online sex trafficking and grooming, selling sex dolls and incest materials or promoting eroticized child nudity books, she continued. A culture that accepts these things will continue to create more victims of sexual abuse and sex trafficking than can ever be rescued.

In the following pages are 13 entities listed on NCOSEs 2020 Dirty Dozen List.

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He recently paid a gushing tribute to his girlfriend Nicola Peltz after she posed a sizzling lingerie snap.

But Brooklyn Beckham cut a solo figure as he revealed his newly-painted red nails on a coffee run in West Hollywood on Thursday.

The photographer, 20, displayed his new manicure as he enjoyed the low-key outing, after sharing a gushing comment under his girlfriend's sizzling new lingerie snap.

Out and about: Brooklyn Beckham cut a solo figure as he revealed his newly-painted red nails on a coffee run in West Hollywood on Thursday

Statement: The photographer displayed his new deep red manicure on the outing

Brooklyn cut a casual figure in a classic white t-shirt, black jeans and white trainers as he grabbed a hot beverage in the California sunshine.

The star displayed his new dark red nails during the outing surrounded by silver rings, along with his array of arm tattoos.

Brooklyn didn't seem to have a care in the world as he stepped out for the low-key outing, after recently posting a sweet gushing tribute to his girlfriend Nicola.

Relaxed: The photographer displayed his new manicure as he enjoyed the low-key outing, after sharing a gushing comment under his girlfriend's sizzling new lingerie snap

Smitten: It comes after Brooklyn proved his devotion to girlfriend Nicola Peltz on Wednesday via her Instagram account, posting a gushing comment under her latest lingerie snap

On Thursday Brooklyn took to Instagram to share an adorable comment under his girlfriend's latest post, writing: 'Insanely gorgeous x x luckiest man ever.'

It comes after the happy couple posed for a smitten selfie together showing off their matching red manicures.

On Tuesday the British star shared snaps of an array of luxury gifts he'd picked up for Nicola, including a pair of white Nike Air Force 1 sneakers on which he scrawled: 'Love you to the moon and back.'

Also included in the batch of gifts, snaps of which he shared on his Instagram Stories, were scented candles, prices for which go as high as 85 apiece.

Matching: The besotted couple also posed for another smitten selfie together on Wednesday, showing off their matching red manicures

Uploading the images, Brooklyn, who is currently in Los Angeles, wrote: 'Picking up a few things for the mrs [sic],' accompanied by a pair of heart emojis.

The open show of adoration continued into the night, as Nicola shared a snapshot of a note on a torn piece of paper, which simply read: 'I love you.'

As the lovebirds enjoyed their day together, they also posed for a selfie off the reflection of a vase, alongside two bottles of his mother Victoria Beckham's recently released skin serum. He captioned the shot: 'So proud of you mum.'

Showered with gifts On Tuesday the British star shared snaps of an array of luxury gifts he'd picked up for Nicola

Hey, big spender: Taking to his Instagram Stories, the photographer, 20, showed that he'd picked up some pricey scented candles for the 25-year-old actress

Bearing my heart and sole: He also scrawled romantic messages to his American girlfriend on a pair of Nike Air Force 1 sneakers

Earlier in the day, the pair were seen looking casually cool as they stepped out for a romantic breakfast date.

Earlier this month, American actress Nicola declared that she and Brooklyn will be together 'forever' as she stressed the strength of their relationship alongside a steamy photograph shared to Instagram.

On Monday, the eldest son of Victoria and David Beckham posted a black and white snap of himself and his new actress girlfriend cosied up together, which he captioned: 'Me and u xx,' with Nicola adding 'Forever' in a comment beneath.

Proud: The lovebirds posed for a selfie alongside two bottles of his mother Victoria's recently released skin serum. He captioned the shot, 'So proud of you mum'

Love: The open show of adoration continued into the night, as Nicola shared a snapshot of a note on a torn piece of paper, which simply read, 'I love you'

Things appear to be getting serious between the two, who recently made their relationship Instagram official after posting pictures of one another on their accounts.

The new couple have barely touched the ground for weeks as they jetted between their families' homes and enjoyed holidays over the festive period.

Brooklyn had been linked to a string of women over the past few months, before meeting Nicola, following his split from model Hana Cross, including Canadian actress Natalie Ganzhorn, 21, and brunette actress Phoebe Torrance, 25.

Most recently it was claimed he and Lottie Moss had a 'secret fling' before he started dating his now ex-girlfriend Hana.

Snap: Brooklyn shared a snap of the two posing together as he marked her birthday last month

Open affection: Ever since embarking on their romance, the lovebirds have been far from shy about openly showing their affection for one another

Racy: Nicola recently shared a snap of Brooklyn sleeping in bed in a loved-up Instagram shot
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to bring some star power from the sports world to his game plan in Africa this week, as he pursues support for a seat for Canada on the powerful United Nations Security Council.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inspects an honour guard as he arrives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to bring some star power from the sports world to his game plan in Africa this week, as he pursues support for a seat for Canada on the powerful United Nations Security Council.

Trudeau arrived in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa Friday night, where he will attend a weekend session of the African Union. It's a chance for Trudeau to meet directly with several of the 54 African leaders, whose votes at the June vote at the UN will be critical to Canada's success.

He is travelling with three of his cabinet ministers but the celebrity element goes to Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, who Trudeau invited to join the delegation. Ujiri was raised in Nigeria, and played professional basketball in Europe before becoming a player scout and executive in the NBA.

Ujiri, whose foundation Giants of Africa uses basketball as a means to educate and enrich the lives of African youth, was planning to travel to the continent to promote his own work, but he joined the Canadian trip after Trudeau asked him to come.

"I have relationships with leaders here and anyway we can help, anyway I can help, it's a big part of making the world better," Ujiri said.

He said he has already had several conversations with Trudeau and with Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister for families, children and social development, about how he can use his work as an ambassador for sport to help. Hussen is also on the trip.

Ujiri flew to Ethiopia with Trudeau Friday and is participating in official events with Trudeau in both Addis Ababa and later in the week in Senegal. Ujiri was among those on hand with Trudeau for his initial meet-and-greet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Friday.

Abiy and several of Ethiopia's key cabinet ministers and diplomats met Trudeau at the airport, where an official welcome ceremony included an honour guard, a dance performance and a red carpet.

This is Trudeau's third visit to Africa as prime minister, but his first time in Ethiopia. He told Abiy in a brief conversation at the airport that he had intended to attend the African Union last year but wasn't able to. Abiy assured him this time was a better time.

The African Union is headquartered in Addis Ababa, which has become one of the biggest diplomatic cities in the world. Ethiopia is also a fast-growing economy, with per capita GDP soaring 189 per cent between 2000 and 2018. Trudeau praised Abiy's work to bring about reforms.

The theme for this year's summit is Silencing the Guns, as Africa works to reduce violence and conflict and promote economic growth and prosperity. Abiy himself just won the Nobel Peace Prize in part for his work to strike a peace deal with neighbouring Eritrea, that finally solidified a deal backed by the United Nations 20 years ago that had never been implemented.

Alice Musabende, who is completing her doctorate in international relations focusing on Africa, said for the African Union, peace and security are the biggest priority. Canada has been largely absent from those discussions, she said, while the European Union and the Americans are more involved.

"There is a lot of funding going in, there are a lot of missions," she said. "Most of the funding comes from the EU, a lot of help comes from the UN but also from the United States. The problem is Canada is nowhere to be found in these discussions."

Hussen said he feels like Canada has engaged well with Africa over the last four years. Hussen, who moved to Canada as a refugee from Somalia, said he visited the continent nine times in his previous role as immigration minister. He pointed to a number of programs to aid African immigration, particularly students from Senegal and Morocco, who want to study in Canada.

African students tend to be denied visas to study in Canada more often than those from most other countries. Hussen said the government is adding more visa application centres and introducing new services to help students, and has reduced processing times for applications in many offices.

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"We attracted a record number of students from Africa," he said.

Trudeau will have an official sit down with Abiy Saturday.

Africa has 54 of the 193 total votes that will decide the Security Council's non-permanent seats in June. Canada is in the running against Norway and Ireland for two spots at the table, each lasting for two years.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is also set to be at the African Union meeting this weekend. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited the continent in January, including a stop to visit Abiy in Ethiopia.

Trudeau is spending three days in Ethiopia, and will travel to Senegal and Munich, Germany before returning to Canada next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During Question Hour, when Gandhi asked a question related to establishment of medical colleges, Vardhan said before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leader's recent comment on the prime minister.

Vardhan said he "condemns in no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks of Gandhi. Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the written statement, Congress MPs came to the Well strongly protesting against the minister's stand.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manicka Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushasn Sharan Singh held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden tried to intervene. Several MPs from both sides and union ministers, including Smriti Irani prevented them from coming to blows.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 1 pm.

During a rally for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Congress leader had reportedly said that "youth would beat Modi with sticks over the lack of jobs".

On Thursday the prime minister had taken a dig at Gandhi for his remarks, saying he would increase the number of Surya Namaskars (a yoga exercise) so that his back can bear the attack.
The more than $34,000 in medical bills that contributed to Darla and Andy Markley's bankruptcy and loss of their home in Beloit, Wisconsin, grew out of what felt like a broken promise.

Darla Markley, 53, said her insurer had sent her a letter preapproving her to have a battery of tests at the Mayo Clinic in neighboring Minnesota after she came down with transverse myelitis, a rare, paralyzing illness that had kept her hospitalized for over a month. But after the tests found she also had beriberi, a vitamin deficiency, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield judged that the tests weren't needed after all and refused to pay  although Markley said she and Mayo had gotten approval.

While Darla learned to walk again, the Markleys tried to pay off the bills. Even after Mayo wrote off some of what they owed, her disability and Social Security checks barely covered her insurance premiums. By 2014, five years after her initial hospitalization, they had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield spokesperson Leslie Porras said company "records do not indicate that Ms. Markley had tests authorized that were later denied."

Markley said she never would have had the tests done if she had known insurance was not going to pay for them. "I feel for anyone that finds themselves in that predicament," said Markley, a nurse who was pursuing her Ph.D. in education. "You can go from an upstanding middle-class American citizen to completely under the eight ball."

The billing quagmire into which the Markleys fell is often called "retrospective denial" and is generating attention and anger from patients and providers, as insurers require preapproval  sometimes called "prior authorization"  for a widening array of procedures, drugs and tests. While prior authorization was traditionally required only for expensive, elective or new procedures, such as a hip replacement or bypass surgery, some insurers now require it for even the renewal of some prescription drugs. Those preapprovals are frequently time-limited.

While doctors and hospitals chafe at the administrative burden, insurers contend the review is necessary to ferret out waste in a system whose costs are exploding and to ensure physicians are prescribing useful treatments.

But patients face an even bigger problem: When insurers revoke their decision to pay after the service is completed, patients are legally on the hook for the bill.

Prior authorizations may now include a line or two saying something like: "This is not a guarantee of payment." This loophole allows insurers to change their minds after the fact  citing treatments as medically unnecessary upon further review, blaming how billing departments charged for the work or claiming the procedure was performed too long after approval was granted.

In other cases, a patient will be told that no prior authorization is needed for a certain intervention, only to hear afterward that the insurer wanted one in this particular case. It then refuses to pay. Oftentimes, approval conversations happen primarily between the insurer and the provider  leaving the patient further in the dark when the bill appears.

The American Medical Association drafted model legislation to combat the problem for lawmakers to introduce, but the measure has not been widely picked up.

Martha Gaines, director of the Center for Patient Partnerships at the University of Wisconsin Law School, co-authored an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the issue and sees firsthand the time and money patients lose fighting such retrospective denials  for coverage they thought they had.

"How broken can you get?" she asked. "How much more laid bare can it be that our health care insurance system is not about health, nor caring, but just for profit?"

The Push-And-Pull Of Prior Authorizations

Many physicians and health care providers consider the extra paperwork needed for prior authorizations a growing scourge that requires them to expand their staff to handle the back-and-forth with insurers. According to an American Medical Association survey released in 2019, 88% of providers reported that the burden of prior authorization has increased over the past five years, forcing them or their staff to spend an average of two business days a week completing them.

The process of prior authorization aims to establish medical necessity to prevent "unnecessary, costly, or inappropriate medical treatments that can harm patients," according to Cathryn Donaldson, a spokesperson for the America's Health Insurance Plans industry group.

It's unknown how many patients get stuck with bills for prior approvals gone wrong. But retrospective denials have become only more common as prior authorizations have increased, said Dr. Debra Patt, an oncologist and chair of the Texas Medical Association's legislative council.

Her practice has tripled the number of staff who deal with prior authorizations, and she said she is currently trying to get the Texas Medical Association to survey its members on the revocation topic after seeing its impact on her patients, one of whom she said recently had chemotherapy payments denied.

Donaldson said her insurance trade group realizes the process for prior authorizations could be improved and is working with tech companies to help streamline it for all involved. But she added that denials may be simple requests for more information.

"A denial usually occurs because the clinician may not have provided the documentation needed to show that the treatment is necessary," Donaldson said. "Once that documentation is received, claims may then be approved."

I wish people would understand that they are one illness away from totally losing everything they worked for. I lost it all in a day. Darla Markley

As insurers and providers argue over money, patients are often stuck in the middle.

After Rebecca Freeman's insurer, Moda Health Plan, approved a genetic test for the Portland, Oregon, woman's now 5-year-old daughter in 2018 to rule out a serious condition that could cause blindness, the insurer declined to pay after the test was performed.

Moda argued that the dates and billing codes didn't match up with what was authorized. It told Freeman's lab company, PreventionGenetics, it wasn't going to pay, and, eventually, PreventionGenetics billed Freeman.

"Everyone is pushing the blame on everyone else, and I'm left holding the bag  there's no recourse for the patient," Freeman said. "Worst case for them is they pay what they were supposed to. You don't get anything for all your stress and time."

When Kaiser Health News first asked about the case, Moda spokesperson Jonathan Nicholas said it was still an active claim. "As soon as the lab provides us with correct information, we anticipate prompt payment," he said.

But Freeman said Moda had denied five claims and appeals on the nearly $2,000 bill for more than a year.

Within days of KHN's questions, Moda paid the bill.

The Problem With Legalese

Pharmacist Melita Pasagic of Fenton, Missouri, was told by her provider  who had called UnitedHealthcare, her insurer  that her and her husband's genetic tests needed no prior authorization.

After the tests were performed, though, UnitedHealthcare told Pasagic it had deemed the tests medically unnecessary and would not pay for them. Later when she called, she said, the insurer cited a coding discrepancy. Although Pasagic spent hours on the phone appealing the decision, the insurer didn't budge. The genetic testing company sent the $5,000 bill to collections.

"How can you deny anything post-service for medical necessity?" she said. "If it didn't require a pre-review, why does it have a post-review?"

Pasagic said she plans to take UnitedHealthcare to court over it. The insurance company said the testing was never covered in the first place.

While certain procedures, tests and drugs may not require prior authorization, individuals should still confirm that the services are covered under their benefit plans," UnitedHealthcare spokesperson Maria Gordon Shydlo said.

Typically, there's no penalty for insurance companies that play games with prior authorizations, Gaines said, calling denials and delays integral to their business model.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has formed a working group to investigate the revocations following a presentation in December by Patt, of the Texas Medical Association. The Minnesota and Pennsylvania departments of insurance both said they had seen complaints regarding retrospective denials of prior authorizations. But quick fixes are unlikely.

"There's no silver bullet for this issue, so we encourage consumers to remain vigilant," said Katie Dzurec, acting director for the Health Market Conduct Bureau in Pennsylvania. "Ask questions, review documents and contact the insurance department."

Markley hopes this doesn't happen to more people.

"I wish people would understand that they are one illness away from totally losing everything they worked for," Markley said. "I lost it all in a day."
Hungarys Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto believes that Ukraine should not increase the number of Ukrainian subjects taught in Hungarian schools. That is why Hungary asks Ukraine to amend the new law on secondary education. This was stated by Szijjarto during a joint briefing with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

According to a new law on education that was approved in January, public language teaching in Hungarian schools in ninth grade should not be below 40%, and in high school  at least 60%.

Hungary assures that children will be able to learn Ukrainian without complying with the rules of law on secondary education and reducing the number of subjects taught in Hungarian.

"We believe that Hungarians will be able to learn the state language even without increasing the number of Ukrainian subjects. We are ready to help financially in order to make the teaching of Ukrainian language effective," Hungarys MFA stated.

He added that he met with Minister of Education and Science Anna Novosad during his visit to Ukraine and asked her to hold a meeting with representatives of the Union of Transcarpathian teachers in the near future, on the results of which a decision should be made.

As we reported earlier, Ukraine accommodated Hungary and implemented 6 of 7 recommendations given by the Venice Commission relating to the legislation on education.

"The way the law applies to them is being denoted in the new draft legislation on Secondary Education, our colleagues from the Ministry of Education are working on it and I think that these changes will be supported by the Parliament," he said.
Dividend paying stocks like Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings Limited (HKG:1001) 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. If you are hoping to live on your dividends, it's important to be more stringent with your investments than the average punter. Regular readers know we like to apply the same approach to each dividend stock, and we hope you'll find our analysis useful.

In this case, Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings likely looks attractive to investors, given its 4.6% dividend yield and a payment history of over ten years. We'd guess that plenty of investors have purchased it for the income. 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.

Click the interactive chart for our full dividend analysis

SEHK:1001 Historical Dividend Yield, February 6th 2020

Payout ratios

Dividends are usually paid out of company earnings. If a company is paying more than it earns, then the dividend might become unsustainable - hardly an ideal situation. So we need to form a view on if a company's dividend is sustainable, relative to its net profit after tax. Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings paid out 156% of its profit as dividends, over the trailing twelve month period. 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. Unfortunately, while Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings pays a dividend, it also reported negative free cash flow last year. While there may be a good reason for this, it's not ideal from a dividend perspective.

Story continues

We update our data on Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings 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. For the purpose of this article, we only scrutinise the last decade of Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings's dividend payments. Its dividend payments have declined on at least one occasion over the past ten years. During the past ten-year period, the first annual payment was HK$0.06 in 2010, compared to HK$0.02 last year. The dividend has fallen 67% over that period.

A shrinking dividend over a ten-year period is not ideal, and we'd be concerned about investing in a dividend stock that lacks a solid record of growing dividends per share.

Dividend Growth Potential

With a relatively unstable dividend, and a poor history of shrinking dividends, it's even more important to see if EPS are growing. Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings's earnings per share have shrunk at 43% a year over the past five years. A sharp decline in earnings per share is not great from from a dividend perspective, as even conservative payout ratios can come under pressure if earnings fall far enough.

Conclusion

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. Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings paid out almost all of its cash flow and profit as dividends, leaving little to reinvest in the business. Second, earnings per share have been in decline, and its dividend has been cut at least once in the past. In this analysis, Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings doesn't shape up too well as a dividend stock. We'd find it hard to look past the flaws, and would not be inclined to think of it as a reliable dividend-payer.

See if management have their own wealth at stake, by checking insider shareholdings in Hong Kong Shanghai Alliance Holdings 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.
For the Chief Public Health Officer's Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2019

Table of contents

Background

This reference list supports the Chief Public Officers Report on the State of Public Health in Canada 2019: Addressing Stigma  Towards a More Inclusive Health System (2019 CPHO Annual Report). This list will be of value to those who are interested in learning more about key stigmas related to social identities and health conditions in the context of the health system.

The references relate directly to Table 1 in the 2019 CPHO Annual Report, which outlines the stigma pathways of 7 different stigmas. They are organized by stigma type and according to pathways component (stigma drivers, stigma practices, experiences of stigma, and outcomes and impacts):

racism experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples racism experienced by African, Caribbean, and Black Canadians sexual stigma and gender identity stigma as experienced by LGBTQ2+ people mental illness stigma HIV stigma substance use stigma obesity stigma

The references are meant to serve as a starting point for those interested in exploring these stigmas further. The list is not exhaustive and does not capture all relevant literature for each category.

Methodology

These references were compiled from a rapid review conducted by the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer in the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The objectives of the review were to:

clarify the definition of stigma describe the impacts of stigma on health outcomes assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce stigma in the health system and to improve health outcomes analyze the policy landscape to address stigma in Canada

A literature search strategy was developed in conjunction with the PHAC Health Library. The search was performed in February 2019 using the following databases: Medline, Embase, ProQuest Public Health, and Scopus. Studies published after January 1, 2009, were included for initial screening. However, a time limit was not applied to publications that explored stigma concepts, drivers, frameworks, and models. Search filters were applied to identify articles focused on stigma related to key health conditions and social identities. Only studies from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States were included.

The search yielded 3,500 articles after removal of duplicates. Two independent reviewers screened 80% of the articles at the title and abstract level. Data was organized into 3 main stigma categories:

concepts and methods research related to the selected health conditions and social identities intervention research addressing stigma and health

Reviewers assessed full text articles for relevance and quality. A total number of 516 studies were included for full text review. Additional targeted searches were completed after February 2019, including bibliographic searches, reviewing grey literature, and ancestry searching. A final search was also completed in August 2019 to identify any new publications in this field. Systematic reviews, narrative reviews, and critical reviews were prioritized for the reference list. High-quality primary studies and other literature were also included. The strongest evidence found through the review was included.

Limitations

Scope

The scope of the 2019 CPHO Annual Report was limited to stigma and the health system. Consequently, literature that addresses broader factors that drive and fuel stigma and discrimination, including other social determinants of health and social drivers such as political movements, were not the focus of the rapid review.

Literature search

The searches conducted were not exhaustive and may not have captured all relevant literature. Only literature published in English and French was reviewed, and some literature may have been excluded on this basis. A detailed review of study quality and risk of bias was not assessed in this review. Finally, the review predominantly focused on articles published after January 1, 2009.

Table 1. Racism experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Metis peoples Drivers of stigma Allan, B. & Smylie, J. First Peoples, Second Class Treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. (The Wellesley Institute, 2015). Bombay, A., Matheson, K. A. & Anisman, H. Intergenerational Trauma: Convergence of Multiple Processes among First Nations peoples in Canada. Journal of Aboriginal Health 5, 6-47 (2009). Hunt, S. An Introduction to the Health of Two-Spirit People: Historical, contemporary and emergent issues. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2016). Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Social Determinants of Inuit Health in Canada. (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2014). Loppie, S., Reading, C. & de Leeuw, S. Aboriginal Experiences with Racism and its Impacts. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2014). Nelson, S. E. & Wilson, K. Understanding barriers to health care access through cultural safety and ethical space: Indigenous peoples experiences in Prince George, Canada. Soc. Sci. Med. 218, 21-27 (2018). Reading, C. & Wien, F. Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2013). Wilk, P., Maltby, A. & Cooke, M. Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canadaa scoping review. Public Health Reviews 38, (2017).

Stigma practices Allan, B. & Smylie, J. First Peoples, Second Class Treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. (The Wellesley Institute, 2015). Goodman, A. et al. They treated me like crap and I know it was because I was Native: The healthcare experiences of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouvers inner city. Social Sciences and Medicine 178, 87-94 (2017). Hunt, S. An Introduction to the Health of Two-Spirit People: Historical, contemporary and emergent issues. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2016). Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Social Determinants of Inuit Health in Canada. (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2014). Loppie, S., Reading, C. & de Leeuw, S. Aboriginal Experiences with Racism and its Impacts. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2014). Nelson, S. E. & Wilson, K. Understanding barriers to health care access through cultural safety and ethical space: Indigenous peoples experiences in Prince George, Canada. Soc. Sci. Med. 218, 21-27 (2018). Reading, C. & Wien, F. Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2013).

Experiences of stigma Allan, B. & Smylie, J. First Peoples, Second Class Treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. (The Wellesley Institute, 2015). Goodman, A. et al. They treated me like crap and I know it was because I was Native: The healthcare experiences of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouvers inner city. Social Sciences and Medicine 178, 87-94 (2017). Loppie, S., Reading, C. & de Leeuw, S. Aboriginal Experiences with Racism and its Impacts. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2014). Nelson, S. E. & Wilson, K. Understanding barriers to health care access through cultural safety and ethical space: Indigenous peoples experiences in Prince George, Canada. Soc. Sci. Med. 218, 21-27 (2018). Reading, C. & Wien, F. Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2013).

Outcomes and impacts Allan, B. & Smylie, J. First Peoples, Second Class Treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. (The Wellesley Institute, 2015). Bombay, A., Matheson, K. A. & Anisman, H. Intergenerational Trauma: Convergence of Multiple Processes among First Nations peoples in Canada. Journal of Aboriginal Health 5, 6-47 (2009). Goodman, A. et al. They treated me like crap and I know it was because I was Native: The healthcare experiences of Aboriginal peoples living in Vancouvers inner city. Social Sciences and Medicine 178, 87-94 (2017). Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami. Social Determinants of Inuit Health in Canada. (Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, 2014). Loppie, S., Reading, C. & de Leeuw, S. Aboriginal Experiences with Racism and its Impacts. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2014). Nelson, S. E. & Wilson, K. Understanding barriers to health care access through cultural safety and ethical space: Indigenous peoples experiences in Prince George, Canada. Soc. Sci. Med. 218, 21-27 (2018). Paine, S., Harris, R., Cormack, D. & Stanley, J. Racial Discrimination and Ethnic Disparities in Sleep Disturbance: the 2002/03 New Zealand Health Survey. Sleep 39, 477-485 (2016). Reading, C. & Wien, F. Health Inequalities and Social Determinants of Aboriginal Peoples' Health. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2013). Shepherd, C., Li, J., Cooper, M., Hopkins, K. & Farrant, B. The impact of racial discrimination on the health of Australian Indigenous children aged 510 years: analysis of national longitudinal data. International Journal for Equity in Health 16, 1-12 (2017). Wilk, P., Maltby, A. & Cooke, M. Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canadaa scoping review. Public Health Reviews 38, 1-23 (2017).



Table 2. Racism experienced by African, Caribbean, and Black Canadians Drivers of stigma Bailey, Z. D. et al. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 389, 1453-1463 (2017). Feagin, J. & Bennefield, Z. Systemic racism and U.S. health care. Soc. Sci. Med. 103, 7-14 (2014). James, C. et al. Race & Well-being: The Lives, Hopes, and Activism of African Canadians (Brunswick Books, 2010). Krieger, N. Discrimination and health inequities. Int. J. Health Serv. 44, 643-710 (2014). Prather, C. et al. Racism, African American Women, and Their Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Review of Historical and Contemporary Evidence and Implications for Health Equity. Health Equity 2, 249-259 (2018).

Stigma practices Bailey, Z. D. et al. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 389, 1453-1463 (2017). Feagin, J. & Bennefield, Z. Systemic racism and U.S. health care. Soc. Sci. Med. 103, 7-14 (2014). James, C. et al. Race & Well-being: The Lives, Hopes, and Activism of African Canadians (Brunswick Books, 2010). Krieger, N. Discrimination and health inequities. Int. J. Health Serv. 44, 643-710 (2014). Paradies, Y. et al. Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 10, e0138511 (2015). Prather, C. et al. Racism, African American Women, and Their Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Review of Historical and Contemporary Evidence and Implications for Health Equity. Health Equity 2, 249-259 (2018). Williams, D. R., Lawrence, J. A. & Davis, B. A. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu. Rev. Public Health 40, 105-125 (2019).

Experiences of stigma Bailey, Z. D. et al. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 389, 1453-1463 (2017). Becares, L., Nazroo, J., & Kelly, Y. A longitudinal examination of maternal, family, and area-level experiences of racism on childrens socioemotional development: Patterns and possible explanations. Social Science and Medicine 142, 128-135 (2015). Cozier, Y., Yu, J., Coogan, P. F., Bethea, T. N., Rosenberg, L. & Palmer, J. R. Racism, segregation, and risk of obesity in the Black Womens Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 179, 875-883 (2014). Feagin, J. & Bennefield, Z. Systemic racism and U.S. health care. Soc. Sci. Med. 103, 7-14 (2014). James, C. et al. Race & Well-being: The Lives, Hopes, and Activism of African Canadians (Brunswick Books, 2010). Thorpe, R. J. Jr., Parker, L. J., Cobb, R. J., Dillard, F., & Bowie, J. Association between discrimination and obesity in African-American men. Biodemography Soc Biol. 63, 253-261 (2017). Williams, D. R., Lawrence, J. A. & Davis, B. A. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu. Rev. Public Health 40, 105-125 (2019).

Outcomes and impacts Bailey, Z. D. et al. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 389, 1453-1463 (2017). Becares, L., Nazroo, J., & Kelly, Y. A longitudinal examination of maternal, family, and area-level experiences of racism on childrens socioemotional development: Patterns and possible explanations. Social Science and Medicine 142, 128-135 (2015). Cozier, Y., Yu, J., Coogan, P. F., Bethea, T. N., Rosenberg, L. & Palmer, J. R. Racism, segregation, and risk of obesity in the Black Womens Health Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 179, 875-883 (2014). Feagin, J. & Bennefield, Z. Systemic racism and U.S. health care. Soc. Sci. Med. 103, 7-14 (2014). James, C. et al. Race & Well-being: The Lives, Hopes, and Activism of African Canadians (Brunswick Books, 2010). Lukachko, A., Hatzenbuehler, M. L. & Keyes, K. M. Structural racism and myocardial infarction in the United States. Soc. Sci. Med. 103, 42-50 (2014). Paradies, Y. et al. Racism as a Determinant of Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLoS ONE 10, e0138511 (2015). Prather, C. et al. Racism, African American Women, and Their Sexual and Reproductive Health: A Review of Historical and Contemporary Evidence and Implications for Health Equity. Health Equity 2, 249-259 (2018). Thorpe, R. J. Jr., Parker, L. J., Cobb, R. J., Dillard, F., & Bowie, J. Association between discrimination and obesity in African-American men. Biodemography Soc Biol. 63, 253-261 (2017). Wallace, M., Crear-Perry, J., Richardson, L., Tarver, M. & Theall, K. Separate and unequal: Structural racism and infant mortality in the US. Health Place 45, 140144 (2017). Williams, D. R., Lawrence, J. A. & Davis, B. A. Racism and Health: Evidence and Needed Research. Annu. Rev. Public Health 40, 105-125 (2019).



Table 3. Sexual stigma and gender identity stigma as experienced by LGBTQ2+ people Drivers of stigma Alencar Albuquerque, G. et al. Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review. BMC International Health and Human Rights 16, 1-10 (2016). Hunt, S. An Introduction to the Health of Two-Spirit People: Historical, contemporary and emergent issues. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2016). Jaffee, K. D., Shires, D. A., & Stroumsa, D. Discrimination and delayed health care among transgender women and men. Medical Care 54, 1010-1016 (2016). Logie, C. et al. Automatic assumption of your gender, sexuality and sexual practices is also discrimination: Exploring sexual healthcare experiences and recommendations among sexually and gender diverse persons in Arctic Canada. Health & Social Care in the Community 27, 1204-1213 (2019). McCann, E. & Brown, M. Homelessness among youth who identify as LGBTQ+: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing 28, 2061-2072 (2019). Miller, L. & Grollman, E. The Social Costs of Gender Nonconformity for Transgender Adults: Implications for Discrimination and Health. Sociological Forum 30, 809-831 (2015). White Hughto, J., Reisner, S. & Pachankis, J. Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine 147, 222-231 (2015). Whitehead, J., Shaver, J. & Stephenson, R. Outness, Stigma, and Primary Health Care Utilization among Rural LGBT Populations. PLOS ONE 11, e0146139 (2016).

Stigma practices Alencar Albuquerque, G. et al. Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review. BMC International Health and Human Rights 16, 1-10 (2016). Casey, B. et al. The Health of LGBTQIA2 Communities in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Health. (House of Commons, 2019). Doan Van, E., Mereish, E., Woulfe, J. & Katz-Wise, S. Perceived Discrimination, Coping Mechanisms, and Effects on Health in Bisexual and Other Non-Monosexual Adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior 48, 159-174 (2019). Hunt, S. An Introduction to the Health of Two-Spirit People: Historical, contemporary and emergent issues. (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2016). Jaffee, K. D., Shires, D. A., & Stroumsa, D. Discrimination and delayed health care among transgender women and men. Medical Care 54, 1010-1016 (2016). Lyons, T. et al. A qualitative study of transgender individuals experiences in residential addiction treatment settings: stigma and inclusivity. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 10, (2015). Lyons, T. et al. Experiences of Trans Women and Two-Spirit Persons Accessing Women-Specific Health and Housing Services in a Downtown Neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada. LGBT Health 3, 373-378 (2016). McCann, E. & Brown, M. Homelessness among youth who identify as LGBTQ+: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing 28, 2061-2072 (2019). Reisner, S. et al. Substance Use to Cope with Stigma in Healthcare Among U.S. Female-to-Male Trans Masculine Adults. LGBT Health 2, 324-332 (2015). Saewyc, E. et al. Hazards of stigma: the sexual and physical abuse of gay, lesbian, and bisexual adolescents in the U.S. and Canada. Child Welfare 85, 195-213 (2006). White Hughto, J., Reisner, S. & Pachankis, J. Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine 147, 222-231 (2015). Whitehead, J., Shaver, J. & Stephenson, R. Outness, Stigma, and Primary Health Care Utilization among Rural LGBT Populations. PLOS ONE 11, e0146139 (2016). Ylioja, T. & Craig, S. Exclusionary Health Policy: Responding to the Risk of Poor Health among Sexual Minority Youth in Canada. Social Work in Public Health 29, 81-86 (2014).

Experiences of stigma Alencar Albuquerque, G. et al. Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review. BMC International Health and Human Rights 16, 1-10 (2016). Casey, B. et al. The Health of LGBTQIA2 Communities in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Health. (House of Commons, 2019). Colledge, L., Hickson, F., Reid, D. & Weatherburn, P. Poorer mental health in UK bisexual women than lesbians: evidence from the UK 2007 Stonewall Women's Health Survey. Journal of Public Health 37, 427-437 (2015). Doan Van, E., Mereish, E., Woulfe, J. & Katz-Wise, S. Perceived Discrimination, Coping Mechanisms, and Effects on Health in Bisexual and Other Non-Monosexual Adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior 48, 159-174 (2019). Jaffee, K. D., Shires, D. A., & Stroumsa, D. Discrimination and delayed health care among transgender women and men. Medical Care 54, 1010-1016 (2016). Knight, K. W. et al. The kids are OK: it is discrimination, not same-sex parents, that harms children. MJA 207, (2017). Logie, C. et al. Automatic assumption of your gender, sexuality and sexual practices is also discrimination: Exploring sexual healthcare experiences and recommendations among sexually and gender diverse persons in Arctic Canada. Health & Social Care in the Community 27, 1204-1213 (2019). Lyons, T. et al. A qualitative study of transgender individuals experiences in residential addiction treatment settings: stigma and inclusivity. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy 10, (2015). Lyons, T. et al. Experiences of Trans Women and Two-Spirit Persons Accessing Women-Specific Health and Housing Services in a Downtown Neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada. LGBT Health 3, 373-378 (2016). Reisner, S. et al. Substance Use to Cope with Stigma in Healthcare Among U.S. Female-to-Male Trans Masculine Adults. LGBT Health 2, 324-332 (2015). White Hughto, J., Reisner, S. & Pachankis, J. Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine 147, 222-231 (2015).

Outcomes and impacts Alencar Albuquerque, G. et al. Access to health services by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons: systematic literature review. BMC International Health and Human Rights 16, 1-10 (2016). Casey, B. et al. The Health of LGBTQIA2 Communities in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Health. (House of Commons, 2019). Colledge, L., Hickson, F., Reid, D. & Weatherburn, P. Poorer mental health in UK bisexual women than lesbians: evidence from the UK 2007 Stonewall Women's Health Survey. Journal of Public Health 37, 427-437 (2015). Jaffee, K. D., Shires, D. A., & Stroumsa, D. Discrimination and delayed health care among transgender women and men. Medical Care 54, 1010-1016 (2016). Logie, C. et al. Automatic assumption of your gender, sexuality and sexual practices is also discrimination: Exploring sexual healthcare experiences and recommendations among sexually and gender diverse persons in Arctic Canada. Health & Social Care in the Community 27, 1204-1213 (2019). McCann, E. & Brown, M. Homelessness among youth who identify as LGBTQ+: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing 28, 2061-2072 (2019). Miller, L. & Grollman, E. The Social Costs of Gender Nonconformity for Transgender Adults: Implications for Discrimination and Health. Sociological Forum 30, 809-831 (2015). Reisner, S. et al. Substance Use to Cope with Stigma in Healthcare Among U.S. Female-to-Male Trans Masculine Adults. LGBT Health 2, 324-332 (2015). Scheim, A., Bauer, G. & Shokoohi, M. Drug use among transgender people in Ontario, Canada: Disparities and associations with social exclusion. Addictive Behaviors 72, 151-158 (2017). White Hughto, J., Reisner, S. & Pachankis, J. Transgender stigma and health: A critical review of stigma determinants, mechanisms, and interventions. Social Science & Medicine 147, 222-231 (2015). Whitehead, J., Shaver, J. & Stephenson, R. Outness, Stigma, and Primary Health Care Utilization among Rural LGBT Populations. PLOS ONE 11, e0146139 (2016). Ylioja, T. & Craig, S. Exclusionary Health Policy: Responding to the Risk of Poor Health among Sexual Minority Youth in Canada. Social Work in Public Health 29, 81-86 (2014).



Table 4. Mental illness stigma Drivers of stigma Abdullah, T. & Brown, T. L. Mental illness stigma and ethnocultural beliefs, values, and norms: an integrative review. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 31, 934-948 (2011). Boksa, P., Joober, R. & Kirmayer, L. J. Mental wellness in Canada's Aboriginal communities: striving toward reconciliation. Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience: JPN 40, 363-365 (2015). Henderson, C. et al. Mental health-related stigma in health care and mental health-care settings. The Lancet Psychiatry 1, 467-482 (2014). Kirmayer, L. J. & Valaskakis, G. G. Healing traditions: The mental health of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. (UBC Press, 2009). Knaak, S., Mantler, E. & Szeto, A. Mental illness-related stigma in healthcare: Barriers to access and care and evidence-based solutions. Healthcare management forum 30, 111-116 (2017). Koschorke, M., Evans-Lacko, S., Sartorius, N. & Thornicroft, G. Stigma in different cultures in The stigma of mental illness  End of the story? 67-82 (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2017). Larkings, J. S. & Brown, P. M. Do biogenetic causal beliefs reduce mental illness stigma in people with mental illness and in mental health professionals? A systematic review. International journal of mental health nursing 27, 928-941 (2018). Leaune, E. et al. Ethnic minority position and migrant status as risk factors for psychotic symptoms in the general population: a meta-analysis. Psychol. Med. 49, 1-14 (2018). Sharp, M. et al. Stigma as a barrier to seeking health care among military personnel with mental health problems. Epidemiol. Rev. 37, 144-162 (2015). Young, C., Hanson, C., Craig, J. C., Clapham, K. & Williamson, A. Psychosocial factors associated with the mental health of Indigenous children living in high income countries: a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in Health 16, 153 (2017).

Stigma practices Coleman, S. J., Stevelink, S. A., Hatch, S. L., Denny, J. A. & Greenberg, N. Stigma-related barriers and facilitators to help seeking for mental health issues in the armed forces: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature. Psychol. Med. 47, 1-13 (2017). Donnelly, L. R. et al. Stigma Experiences in Marginalized People Living With HIV Seeking Health Services and Resources in Canada. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 27, 768-783 (2016). Haugen, P. T., McCrillis, A. M., Smid, G. E. & Nijdam, M. J. Mental health stigma and barriers to mental health care for first responders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Psychiatr. Res. 94, 218-229 (2017). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Kaushik A., Kostaki E., Fewings S., Thomas G. & Kyriakopoulos M. The stigma of mental illness in children and adolescents: A systematic review. European Psychiatry, S130 (2016). Pantelic, M., Sprague, L. & Stangl, A. L. It's not "all in your head": critical knowledge gaps on internalized HIV stigma and a call for integrating social and structural conceptualizations. BMC infectious diseases 19, 210 (2019). Ross, A. M., Morgan, A. J., Jorm, A. F. & Reavley, N. J. A systematic review of the impact of media reports of severe mental illness on stigma and discrimination, and interventions that aim to mitigate any adverse impact. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 54, 11-31 (2019). Young, C., Hanson, C., Craig, J. C., Clapham, K. & Williamson, A. Psychosocial factors associated with the mental health of indigenous children living in high income countries: a systematic review. International Journal for Equity in Health 16, 153 (2017).

Experiences of stigma Chambers, L. A. et al. Evidence informing the intersection of HIV, aging and health: A scoping review. AIDS and Behavior 18, 661-675 (2014). Coleman, S. J., Stevelink, S. A., Hatch, S. L., Denny, J. A. & Greenberg, N. Stigma-related barriers and facilitators to help seeking for mental health issues in the armed forces: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature. Psychol. Med. 47, 1-13 (2017). Donnelly, L. R. et al. Stigma Experiences in Marginalized People Living With HIV Seeking Health Services and Resources in Canada. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 27, 768-783 (2016). Furlotte, C. & Schwartz, K. Mental Health Experiences of Older Adults Living with HIV: Uncertainty, Stigma, and Approaches to Resilience. Canadian Journal on Aging 36, 125-140 (2017). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Kaushik A., Kostaki E., Fewings S., Thomas G. & Kyriakopoulos M. The stigma of mental illness in children and adolescents: A systematic review. European Psychiatry, S130 (2016). Shi, Y. et al. Correlates of affiliate stigma among family caregivers of people with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Psychiatr. Ment. Health Nurs. 26, 49-61 (2019).

Outcomes and impacts Coleman, S. J., Stevelink, S. A., Hatch, S. L., Denny, J. A. & Greenberg, N. Stigma-related barriers and facilitators to help seeking for mental health issues in the armed forces: a systematic review and thematic synthesis of qualitative literature. Psychol. Med. 47, 1-13 (2017). Donnelly, L. R. et al. Stigma Experiences in Marginalized People Living With HIV Seeking Health Services and Resources in Canada. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care 27, 768-783 (2016). Evans-Lacko S. et al. How much does mental health discrimination cost: Valuing experienced discrimination in relation to healthcare care costs and community participation. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences 24, 423-434 (2014). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Kaushik A., Kostaki E., Fewings S., Thomas G. & Kyriakopoulos M. The stigma of mental illness in children and adolescents: A systematic review. European Psychiatry, S130 (2016). Leaune, E. et al. Ethnic minority position and migrant status as risk factors for psychotic symptoms in the general population: a meta-analysis. Psychol. Med. 49, 545-559 (2018). Ross, A. M., Morgan, A. J., Jorm, A. F. & Reavley, N. J. A systematic review of the impact of media reports of severe mental illness on stigma and discrimination, and interventions that aim to mitigate any adverse impact. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 54, 11-31 (2019). Schnyder, N., Panczak, R., Groth, N. & Schultze-Lutter, F. Association between mental health-related stigma and active help-seeking: systematic review and meta-analysis. The British journal of psychiatry: the journal of mental science 210, 261-268 (2017). Shi, Y. et al. Correlates of affiliate stigma among family caregivers of people with mental illness: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J. Psychiatr. Ment. Health Nurs. 26, 49-61 (2019).



Table 5. HIV Stigma Drivers of stigma Auerbach, J. D., Parkhurst, J. O. & Caceres, C. F. Addressing social drivers of HIV/AIDS for the long-term response: Conceptual and methodological considerations. Global Public Health 6, S293-S309 (2011). Chambers, L. A. et al. Stigma, HIV and health: a qualitative synthesis. BMC Public Health 15, 848 (2015). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Jaworsky, D. et al. Geographic differences in the experiences of HIV-related stigma for women living with HIV in northern and rural communities of Ontario, Canada. Rural & Remote Health 18, 4522 (2018). Logie, C. H., Jenkinson, J. I. R., Earnshaw, V., Tharao, W. & Loutfy, M. R. A Structural Equation Model of HIV-Related Stigma, Racial Discrimination, Housing Insecurity and Wellbeing among African and Caribbean Black Women Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada. PLoS ONE 11, e0162826 (2016). Mahajan, A. P. et al. Stigma in the HIV/AIDS epidemic: a review of the literature and recommendations for the way forward. AIDS 22, S67-S79 (2008). Mason, S. & Sultzman, V. O. Stigma as experienced by children of HIV-positive parents: a narrative review. AIDS Care 31, 1049-1060 (2019). Monteiro, S. S., Villela, W. V. & Soares, P. S. The interaction between axes of inequality in studies on discrimination, stigma and HIV/AIDS: contributions to the recent international literature. Global public health 8, 519-533 (2013). Pantelic, M., Sprague, L. & Stangl, A. L. It's not "all in your head": critical knowledge gaps on internalized HIV stigma and a call for integrating social and structural conceptualizations. BMC infectious diseases 19, 210 (2019).

Stigma practices Alexandra Marshall, S., Brewington, K. M., Kathryn Allison, M., Haynes, T. F. & Zaller, N. D. Measuring HIV-related stigma among healthcare providers: a systematic review. AIDS Care 29, 1337-1345 (2017). Baugher, A. R. et al. Discrimination in healthcare settings among adults with recent HIV diagnoses. AIDS Care 31, 1-6 (2018). Forni J., Nicholson S. & Ford-Young W. HIV stigma and discrimination in primary care. HIV Medicine 17, 4 (2016). Geter, A., Herron, A. R. & Sutton, M. Y. HIV-Related Stigma by Healthcare Providers in the United States: A Systematic Review. AIDS Patient Care & Stds 32, 418-424 (2018). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Katz, I. T. et al. Impact of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence: systematic review and meta-synthesis. Journal of the International AIDS Society 16, 18640 (2013). Mason, S. & Sultzman, V. O. Stigma as experienced by children of HIV-positive parents: a narrative review. AIDS Care 31, 1049-1060 (2019). Rueda, S. et al. Examining the associations between HIV-related stigma and health outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS: a series of meta-analyses. BMJ Open 6, e011453 (2016). Saewyc, E., Clark, T., Barney, L., Brunanski, D. & Homma, Y. Enacted Stigma and HIV Risk Behaviours among Sexual Minority Indigenous Youth in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Pimatisiwin 11, 411-420 (2014).

Experiences of stigma Baugher, A. R. et al. Discrimination in healthcare settings among adults with recent HIV diagnoses. AIDS Care 31, 1-6 (2018). Chambers, L. A. et al. Evidence informing the intersection of HIV, aging and health: A scoping review. AIDS and Behavior 18, 661-675 (2014). Forni J., Nicholson S. & Ford-Young W. HIV stigma and discrimination in primary care. HIV Medicine 17, 4 (2016). Geter, A., Herron, A. R. & Sutton, M. Y. HIV-Related Stigma by Healthcare Providers in the United States: A Systematic Review. AIDS Patient Care & Stds 32, 418-424 (2018). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Katz, I. T. et al. Impact of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence: systematic review and meta-synthesis. Journal of the International AIDS Society 16, 18640 (2013). Mason, S. & Sultzman, V. O. Stigma as experienced by children of HIV-positive parents: a narrative review. AIDS Care 31, 1-12 (2019). Rueda, S. et al. Examining the associations between HIV-related stigma and health outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS: a series of meta-analyses. BMJ Open 6, e011453 (2016). Saewyc, E., Clark, T., Barney, L., Brunanski, D. & Homma, Y. Enacted Stigma and HIV Risk Behaviours among Sexual Minority Indigenous Youth in Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. Pimatisiwin 11, 411-420 (2014).

Outcomes and impacts Forni J., Nicholson S. & Ford-Young W. HIV stigma and discrimination in primary care. HIV Medicine 17, 4 (2016). Furlotte, C. & Schwartz, K. Mental Health Experiences of Older Adults Living with HIV: Uncertainty, Stigma, and Approaches to Resilience. Canadian Journal on Aging 36, 125-140 (2017). Geter, A., Herron, A. R. & Sutton, M. Y. HIV-Related Stigma by Healthcare Providers in the United States: A Systematic Review. AIDS Patient Care & Stds 32, 418-424 (2018). Jackson-Best, F. & Edwards, N. Stigma and intersectionality: a systematic review of systematic reviews across HIV/AIDS, mental illness, and physical disability. BMC Public Health 18, 919 (2018). Katz, I. T. et al. Impact of HIV-related stigma on treatment adherence: systematic review and meta-synthesis. Journal of the International AIDS Society 16, 18640 (2013). Mason, S. & Sultzman, V. O. Stigma as experienced by children of HIV-positive parents: a narrative review. AIDS Care 31, 1-12 (2019). Patterson, S. E. et al. The impact of criminalization of HIV non-disclosure on the healthcare engagement of women living with HIV in Canada: a comprehensive review of the evidence. Journal of the International AIDS Society 18, 20572 (2015). Rueda, S. et al. Examining the associations between HIV-related stigma and health outcomes in people living with HIV/AIDS: a series of meta-analyses. BMJ Open 6, e011453 (2016). Stockton, M. A., Giger, K. & Nyblade, L. A scoping review of the role of HIV-related stigma and discrimination in noncommunicable disease care. PloS one 13, e0199602 (2018).



Table 6. Substance use stigma Drivers of stigma Corrigan, P. W. & Nieweglowski, K. Stigma and the public health agenda for the opioid crisis in America. International Journal of Drug Policy 59, 44-49 (2018). Kennedy-Hendricks, A. et al. Social Stigma toward Persons With Prescription Opioid Use Disorder: Associations With Public Support for Punitive and Public Health-Oriented Policies. Psychiatric Services 68, 462-469 (2017). Kulesza, M., Larimer, M. E. & Rao, D. Substance Use Related Stigma: What we Know and the Way Forward. Journal of addictive behaviors, therapy & rehabilitation 2 (2013). Reisner, S. L. et al. Substance Use to Cope with Stigma in Healthcare Among U.S. Female-to-Male Trans Masculine Adults. Lgbt Health 2, 324-332 (2015). Scheim, A. I., Bauer, G. R. & Shokoohi, M. Drug use among transgender people in Ontario, Canada: Disparities and associations with social exclusion. Addict. Behav. 72, 151-158 (2017). Yang, L. H., Wong, L. Y., Grivel, M. M. & Hasin, D. S. Stigma and substance use disorders: an international phenomenon. Current Opinion in Psychiatry 30, 378-388 (2017).

Stigma practices Cooper, S. & Nielsen, S. Stigma and Social Support in Pharmaceutical Opioid Treatment Populations: a Scoping Review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 15, 452-469 (2017). Kelly J.F., Saitz R. & Wakeman S. Language, Substance Use Disorders, and Policy: The Need to Reach Consensus on an "addiction-ary". Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 34, 116-123 (2016). Kennedy-Hendricks, A. et al. Social Stigma toward Persons With Prescription Opioid Use Disorder: Associations With Public Support for Punitive and Public Health-Oriented Policies. Psychiatric Services 68, 462-469 (2017). van Boekel, L. C., Brouwers, E. P., van Weeghel, J. & Garretsen, H. F. Stigma among health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders and its consequences for healthcare delivery: Systematic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 131, 23-35 (2013). Vayr, F., Herin, F., Jullian, B., Soulat, J. M. & Franchitto, N. Barriers to seeking help for physicians with substance use disorder: A review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 199, 116-121 (2019).

Experiences of stigma Cooper, S. & Nielsen, S. Stigma and Social Support in Pharmaceutical Opioid Treatment Populations: a Scoping Review. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 15, 452-469 (2017). Kelly J.F., Saitz R. & Wakeman S. Language, Substance Use Disorders, and Policy: The Need to Reach Consensus on an "addiction-ary". Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly 34, 116-123 (2016). van Boekel, L. C., Brouwers, E. P., van Weeghel, J. & Garretsen, H. F. Stigma among health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders and its consequences for healthcare delivery: Systematic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 131, 23-35 (2013). Vayr, F., Herin, F., Jullian, B., Soulat, J. M. & Franchitto, N. Barriers to seeking help for physicians with substance use disorder: A review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 199, 116-121 (2019).

Outcomes and impacts Kennedy-Hendricks, A. et al. Social Stigma toward Persons With Prescription Opioid Use Disorder: Associations With Public Support for Punitive and Public Health-Oriented Policies. Psychiatric Services 68, 462-469 (2017). Reisner, S. L. et al. Substance Use to Cope with Stigma in Healthcare Among U.S. Female-to-Male Trans Masculine Adults. Lgbt Health 2, 324-332 (2015). van Boekel, L. C., Brouwers, E. P., van Weeghel, J. & Garretsen, H. F. Stigma among health professionals towards patients with substance use disorders and its consequences for healthcare delivery: Systematic review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 131, 23-35 (2013). Vayr, F., Herin, F., Jullian, B., Soulat, J. M. & Franchitto, N. Barriers to seeking help for physicians with substance use disorder: A review. Drug Alcohol Depend. 199, 116-121 (2019).


Traveling by bus sounds good to Sam Vogel.

In fact, its a nice change from living in airports, waiting for flights.

And I get to sleep as long as I want, Vogel quips during a recent interview. I have my streaming, gaming and recording at my side, so I can do any of it while Im on the road. I do wish I could bring my wife and dog with me. It would be complete.

Vogel has been carving out a niche for himself in the electronic dance music world.

Onstage, hes known as Jauz.

At 26, the Los Angeles-based producer and musician has gotten support from such heavyweights as Zedd, Skrillex and Diplo.

Hes been turning out music regularly, and his latest release is the EP Dangerous Waters.

He will stop at The Stage at Santa Ana Star on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Vogel has been traveling the world for six years.

Although hes quickly becoming a veteran of the industry, he remains humble.

I wake up and feel like its my first year, he says. I have the drive to always do better. Everything is still exciting and fresh. Im always thinking how Im going to push to the next level.

One thing that hasnt changed over the six years is his motto, Music has no boundaries.

The goal is to make all of these under one label or brand, he says. I think it helps a lot of Im not making bass house all the time. I can wake up every day and have 15 or 30 projects on my computer. Everything is going to be very different.

Vogel says the EP came together quickly.

He was already working on music with like the likes of Jump System, Nonsens, TYNAN and Franky Nuts.

These were projects I started with people that I work close with, he says. When I had enough, I wanted to get the EP out and do a tour.

Vogel last visited El Rey Theater a few years ago and is excited about his return to New Mexico, not only to perform, but to eat some food.

One of my best girlfriends is from Albuquerque, and she took me to Durans Pharmacy, he says. It was some of the best food Ive tasted. The show went well, too, and with this show, youll get a full-stage experience.
The medical technology industry is stepping up to help fight the spread of coronavirus in some cases deploying robot technology.

Doctors in the US have been using a telehealth machine to treat the first person in the country admitted to hospital with 2019-nCoV. The man is currently being held in a specially designed two-bed isolated area at Providence Regional Medical Center in Washington.

A hotel in Hangzhou is being used to isolate more than 300 people suspected to have the virus, and has been using a robot to deliver food to their bedrooms.

Likewise in Guangzhou City, at the Guangdong Provincial Peoples Hospital, autonomous delivery robots are being used to transport drugs around the hospital.

Xenex robots, which are manufactured in San Antonio, use pulsed xenon ultraviolet-C (UVC) light to wipe out pathogens. The company says its devices are currently being used to clean hospital rooms where there have been suspected cases of the new coronavirus. The robot can clean a room in as little as five minutes.

LA-based Dimer UVC Innovations, which has developed a germ-killing robot designed to sanitize aeroplanes, has offered its services to three US airports to address the coronavirus outbreak.

GlobalData medical technology writer Chloe Kent says:
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In a memo obtained by The Daily Beast, Fox News own research department  yes, they have one  is admitting that many of the people that appear on the network are regularly spreading propaganda.

According to the report, a 162-page internal research briefing book issued a warning to Fox News colleagues not to trust some of the networks top commentators claims about Ukraine.

More from the Daily Beast report:

An internal Fox News research briefing book obtained by The Daily Beast openly questions Fox News contributor John Solomons credibility, accusing him of playing an indispensable role in a Ukrainian disinformation campaign. The document also accuses frequent Fox News guest Rudy Giuliani of amplifying disinformation, as part of an effort to oust former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, and blasts Fox News guests Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenovaboth ardent Trump boostersfor spreading disinformation. The 162-page document, entitled Ukraine, Disinformation, & the Trump Administration, was created by Fox News senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy, who produces research from what is known as the networks Brain Rooma newsroom division of researchers who provide information, data, and topic guides for the networks programming.  The briefing book is also seemingly critical of Foxs own coverage, urging employees to note the role that unnamed US Media outlets played a role in the amplification of disinformation stories from clearly unreliable sources and non-disclosure of conflicts by guests. While Fox isnt specifically named in the introduction, much of the timeline focuses on appearances made on Fox programs, and Murphy writes that the most prominent outlets who amplified the disinformation campaign are mentioned in the timelinea possible reference to Fox News itself.

Mitch Kweit, senior vice president of the Brain Room said in a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, The research division of FOX News produces a briefing book for all major stories, which serves as a standing collection of extensive data on major topics for internal use by all those in editorial functions. The Ukraine briefing book is nothing more than a comprehensive chronological account of what every person involved in the Ukraine controversy was doing at any identifiable point in time, including tracking media appearances of major players who appeared on FOX News and in many other outlets. The 200 page document has thousands of data points and the vast majority have no relation to FOX Newsinstead its now being taken out of context and politicized to damage the network.

As Sam Stein of the Daily Beast pointed out on Twitter, the memo is basically an admission by the network that viewers shouldnt trust folks that regularly appear on Fox News.

Fox News side is basically admitting that the Fox News evening guest rotation is part of a massive disinformation campaign and shouldnt be trusted.  Sam Stein (@samstein) February 6, 2020

Without Fox News, the Trump presidency would have been over long ago

Its important to remember that Donald Trumps presidency would likely have been over  and may not have even existed in the first place  if not for the propaganda Fox News pushes on a daily basis.

The network has created a comfortable, alternative world for this president and his supporters to live in  one where facts dont matter and Donald Trump never does wrong. In this fictional universe, the unprecedented corruption of the past three years doesnt exist, and its actually the Democrats who are at fault for daring to hold the president accountable.

For those living in the real-world, its hard to comprehend how one might support this president  a self-centered child living in the body of a 73-year-old man  but the existence of Fox News is what makes Donald Trumps support possible.

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"It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

- Winston Churchill

"The people have spoken, the bastards."

- Dick Tuck (Defeated candidate for the California senate, 1966)

Tomorrow, it ends. The general election campaign is all but over. Now, the people will decide.

Many among them are sick of the endless hours on TV, the media obsession, candidates mugs looking down from telephone poles, the dreaded knock on the door.

Personally, I couldnt get enough of it. As an antidote to the post-Christmas blues, it was only the cats pyjamas.

There should be a general election every January.

Democracy makes some crazy demands on politicians, in general, and party leaders, in particular.

This occurred to me as I watched Taoiseach Leo Varadkar sitting cross-legged on the floor of a classroom in Castleknock Community College, in west Dublin.

He spoke with children about diversity, while keeping one eye on the media pack, which waited to catch him making a fool of himself.

From there, Mr Varadkar, an intelligent man with a good education, went into another room and picked up a ukulele, pretending to enjoy the experience.

He was doing this so that sufficient numbers would like the cut of his jib enough to entrust him with negotiations concerning Brexit, horse-trading in Brussels, and the guiding of the ship of state.

He, along with Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald in particular, also had to endure endless hours of kissing babies, listening to blather, and attempting to perform tasks that might cast them as everyman and everywoman.

And all the snacking, all around the country, must have played hell with their digestive systems.

All of this was done for the cameras, for the voters, for the people, for the bastards who have the power to elevate them or turf them out of a job.

This is one side of the sometimes ridiculous nature of democracy. Another is the power that politicians seek.

They put themselves through the ringer to acquire the purest form of power available to human beings.

Any fool can acquire power using the threat of violence, or the deployment of money.

Would-be politicians appeal to strangers to grant them access to the levers of power and thereby to have the capacity to impact hugely on the lives of everyone.

Electioneering is thus all about winning trust, or at least projecting the impression that you are trustworthy. Even if you arent.

One man who excelled at campaigning was Bertie Ahern.

He had the capacity to interact with people on the most casual basis  a knowing wink here, a warm handshake there  leaving them with the impression that he knew them, he knew their aspirations, their fears, what they were looking for.

That capacity is gold in an election campaign. The only leader who manages to come anywhere near Bertie today is probably Mary Lou McDonald.

Candidates campaign to the point of exhaustion during an election, and each and every one of them should be congratulated for merely putting their names forward and participating in the democratic process.

Quite often, their respect for democracy goes unreciprocated by the public.

A harsh reality of the exhausting campaigning is that up to a third of people whom would-be TDs encountered over the last three weeks are unlikely to even bother voting. This lack of engagement is depressing.

If you dont vote, you should forfeit the right to criticise, crib, or moan about how the country is being run.

In some countries  around a dozen  voting is compulsory and the law is enforced. There is a strong case to make for compulsory voting.

Every citizen should be obliged to turn up at a polling station, enter the booth, and do as they please with the ballot paper.

Compulsory voting would, in the first instance, put a value on the acquisition and retention of democracy.

It would also boost the legitimacy of a government, as the result would to a greater extent, reflect the wishes of society at large rather than a narrow electorate.

Unfortunately, there is no stomach for compulsory voting.

The two big parties certainly wont make the running, as the people who are currently least likely to vote are probably also least likely to vote for Fianna Fail or Fine Gael.

The campaign was fascinating. Irrespective of the outcome, the rise in popularity of Sinn Fein, over the course of the election, captured all the headlines.

Undoubtedly, it was a uniquely Irish expression of the kind of disillusionment with mainstream politics that in other countries has seen the rise of populist leaders.

Over the last week, in particular,the party has come under intense scrutiny.

Its members have, online and elsewhere, characterised this scrutiny as desperation from the establishment.

Maybe so, but when an entity soars in the course of an election campaign, the scrutiny is ramped up.

One recent example of this was Sean Gallagher in the 2011 presidential election. In the last week of that campaign, his past was examined every which way.

Its now public record that his candidacy went off the rails in the wake of a TV debate when a false tweet put him on the spot.

The account that issued the false tweet was associated with Sinn Fein during that campaign.

Were the Shinners then feeling the kind of desperation they now accuse others of harbouring?

There were two other notable features of the campaign.

Controversies about direct provision centres in the last year or so (which attracted some gutter-level comments from a small number of public representatives) had raised fears that the race card, or the anti-immigrant card, would be a feature of this election.

It didnt come to pass. All of the political parties, from Fine Gael right across to People Before Profit/Solidarity, deserve credit for holding the line in this regard.

The same applies to the vast majority of independent candidates, although a caveat is that we dont know what conversations took place on doorsteps.

There are a couple of candidates standing on anti-immigrant platforms, but they have been completely peripheral to the main thrust of the campaign.

The other feature of this campaign was the relegation of climate change from debate and within party manifestos.

A suspicion lingers that most political parties concluded that the electorate was not yet ready for the kind of disruption that might be required to deal with the climate threat.

Whether or not this reflects sentiment among voters will become apparent from early Sunday, as the count gets underway.

Go out and vote.
For the first time since the end of the Third Reich, a state premier was elected on Wednesday with the votes of a far right, fascist party, the Alternative for Germany (AfD). An alliance of three parties, the AfD, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the neo-liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), enabled FDP politician Thomas Kemmerich to assume the highest political post in the state of Thuringia, formerly part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). Twenty-two of the 45 votes for the new premier came from members of the AfD, the second largest parliamentary group in the state.

Due to enormous protests all over the country, Kemmerich announced on Thursday that he would resign. But until now he has refused to actually step down and thus still remains the first state premier to base himself on the votes of the fascists. It is unclear whether the parliament in Thuringia will dissolve itself and clear the way for new elections or if it will vote in another state premier. Kemmerich could remain in office for months to come.

Thomas Kemmerich [Credit: AP Photo/Michael Sohn]

The state head of the CDU, Mike Mohring, initially justified his cooperation with the AfD, saying, We entered the election on the basis of putting an end to red-red-green (a coalition of the Left Party, Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens) and we cannot break our own campaign promise. The German governments commissioner for East Germany, Christian Hirte (CDU), immediately congratulated Kemmerich and tweeted, Your election as a candidate for the political centre shows once again that Thuringians have voted against red, red, green.

FDP leader Christian Lindner also congratulated his candidate of the centre. The former head of Germanys domestic intelligence agency (Office for the Protection of the Constitution), Hans-Georg Maassen, a leading figure in an ultra-right faction of the CDU, described Kemmerichs election as a huge success. The main thing is that the socialists are gone, he declared.

The national chairman of the AfD, national spokesman Jorg Meuthen, described the Thuringia election as the first important piece in the mosaic of a fundamental political turnaround in Germany. The socialist spook was now finally over. At the same time, he proclaimed the AfDs right to take up ministerial posts in Thuringia.

After the election of Premier Kemmerich, Mohring, Kemmerich and the respective parties claimed that their alliance with the fascists was unintended. This claim is absurd. Kemmerich entered the election only on the last of three ballots, in which only a simple majority of votes was necessary for victory. The existing premier, Bodo Ramelow (Left Party), had received the most votes in the two previous rounds of voting, but failed to achieve an absolute majority. He relied on votes from his own Left Party, the Greens and the SPD, all of which sought to form a minority government.

Kemmerich knew he could win the election only if the AfD, CDU and FDP voted for him with almost total unanimity, in a coup that was highly unlikely to succeed without a prior agreement being struck. After announcing the result, the FDP politician accepted his election immediately and shortly afterwards made his first speech as premierthereby confirming his intention to govern based on the votes of the AfD.

Even if Kemmerich was forced to announce that he would be stepping down, the decision of the two parties to form a ruling majority with the aid of the AfD is a historic turning point. It confirms that the ruling class in Germany is once again resorting to fascistic and authoritarian methods to implement its policies of social inequality and militarism in the face of broad popular opposition.

The election evokes historical parallels. A state government was formed in Thuringia on January 23, 1930, which, for the first time, included Hitlers Nazi Party. Previously there had been a stalemate in the state election. Twenty-four members of the SPD and KPD (German Communist Party) faced off against 23 members of various bourgeois parties, which then secured a majority to govern with the help of the six Nazi members. Government participation in Thuringia contributed significantly to reviving the fortunes of the Nazis. Hitler took over as German chancellor just three years later.

The election in Thuringia has led to an outpouring of popular anger against those responsiblewhich is absolutely justified. As soon as the election results were known, thousands gathered in numerous cities to demonstrate in front of FDP and CDU headquarters. In Berlin alone, around a thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the FDP headquarters.

Due mainly to such massive opposition, the chairpersons of the CDU, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and the Christian Social Union/CSU, Markus Soder, were forced to distance themselves from the stance taken by the CDU parliamentary group in Thuringia. In his defence, however, Mohring stressed that he had discussed his action in detail with the national party leadership.

Expressions of outrage by the Left Party, the Greens and the SPD lack any principled basis. It was their right-wing policy of social cuts and hostility to refugees that boosted the AfD in the first place. Since the AfD took up seats in the Bundestag with 92 deputies in the autumn of 2017, all of the political parties have worked alongside the fascists.

With its entry into a grand coalition with the CDU and CSU, the SPD transformed the AfD into the main opposition party in parliament. The AfD is represented on all parliamentary committees and has been systematically integrated into the work of government. AfD deputy Stephan Brandner, who published anti-Semitic tweets after the recent fascist attack on a synagogue in Halle, owed his office as chairman of the Bundestag legal committee to the then-SPD parliamentary group leader Thomas Oppermann, who proposed Brandner for the post. Brandner was voted out of office only last November following a fresh series of fascist tirades.

Other AfD right-wingers, such as the neoliberal racist Peter Boehringer (budgetary policy) and the convicted hooligan Sebastian Munzenmeier (tourism), were elected committee chairmen in the Bundestag with the votes of the established parties.

Cooperation between all of the parties is particularly far advanced in Thuringia. A few weeks before the election, the head of the Thuringia State Chancellery, Benjamin-Immanuel Hoff (Left Party), said that on a number of issues both the government parties and the opposition had made clear that they wanted to find solutions in the countrys interest. He said such a nonpartisan exchange had been practiced in Thuringia under the red-red-green coalition in recent years.

Regardless of the different political and ideological lines" pursued by the parties, selective cooperation with the AfD on basic governing issues is not only possible but necessary, Hoff said, adding cynically, I will definitely not pass any laws with Mr. Hocke in which the Holocaust memorial in Berlin is referred to as a monument of shame. Problems of municipal financing could also certainly be discussed and solved with local politicians of the AfD, he said.

The AfD is the product of a shift to the right by the entire political establishment. It was deliberately groomed to carry through the policies of militarism and social counterrevolution that the ruling class has placed on the agenda. This is confirmed by the fact that the CDU and FDP in Thuringia rely on the AfD, whose state chairman, Bjorn Hocke, can, according to a court order, be described as a fascist.

The danger of fascism can be stopped only by the independent mobilization of the working class on the basis of a socialist programme, and not by appeals to the CDU, the SPD, the Greens, the Left Party or any other bourgeois party. History has already proven this and current developments are proving this once again.
In the immediate aftermath of the historic vote for Brexit, many cheered Britains decision to leave the European Union, hailing it as a win for freedom, democracy, and subsidiarity. Yet others were quick to claim the move was driven only by populist fear and an inward-looking protectionism.

In the years since, however, it has became readily apparent that possibilities for freer trade do, indeed, abound, with many of the countrys pro-Brexit leaders continuing to champion free and open global exchange.

As Richard Turnbull recently wrote here at Acton, reflecting on Prime Minister Boris Johnsons path forward, Leaving the EU will allow the U.K. to set its own trade policies, to renew commerce with the rest of the non-European world, to lower prices and open markets, and lead to new sources of prosperity.

This week, in a speech in Greenwich, London, Johnson further confirmed that path, proclaiming the promise of Britains post-Brexit role as a catalyst for free trade across the world. Far from promoting narrow insularity, Johnson made clear Britains intentions for their newly regained autonomy.

We have the opportunity. We have the newly recaptured powers, he says. We know where we want to go, and that is out into the world.

Watch the full speech:

While the speechs blatant bucking of various EU demands has sent skeptics fretting about Britains future, Johnson has plenty of faith in his countrys ability to move forward, regardless of any EU resistance.

We are ready for the great multi-dimensional game of chess in which we engage in more than one negotiation at once, and we are limbering up to use nerves and muscles and instincts that this country has not had to use for half a century, Johnson says. The question is whether we agree a trading relationship with the EU comparable to Canadas or more like Australias, and I have no doubt that in either case the U.K. will prosper.

The speech has plenty of detail about the particular political pressures at hand, including specific counterarguments to prevalent concerns. But it also provides a strong case for free trade more generally, while also promoting a fascinating fusion of national sovereignty and global cooperationone that wed all do well to consider.

I have highlighted key excerpts from the speech below.

On forgetting the power of free tradethis fundamental liberty:

We are re-emerging after decades of hibernation as a campaigner for global free trade. And frankly it is not a moment too soon because the argument for this fundamental liberty is now not being made. We in the global community are in danger of forgetting the key insight of those great Scottish thinkers, the invisible hand of Adam Smith, and of course David Ricardos more subtle but indispensable principle of comparative advantage, which teaches that if countries learn to specialize and exchange, then overall wealth will increase and productivity will increase, leading Cobden to conclude that free trade is Gods diplomacythe only certain way of uniting people in the bonds of peace since the more freely goods cross borders the less likely it is that troops will ever cross borders. And since these notions were born here in this country, it has been free trade that has done more than any other single economic idea to raise billions out of poverty and incredibly fast.

On the destructive meddling of politicians and bureaucrats:

My friends, I am here to warn you today that this beneficial magic is fading. Free trade is being choked and that is no fault of the people. Thats no fault of individual consumers. I am afraid it is the politicians who are failing to lead. The mercantilists are everywhere, the protectionists are gaining ground. From Brussels to China to Washington tariffs are being waved around like cudgels even in debates on foreign policy where frankly they have no place  and there is an ever growing proliferation of non-tariff barriers and the resulting tensions are letting the air out of the tyres of the world economy.

On how Brexit will allow the U.K. to expand its global relationships:

We are ready for the great multi-dimensional game of chess in which we engage in more than one negotiation at once and we are limbering up to use nerves and muscles and instincts that this country has not had to use for half a century. We will reach out to the rest of the Commonwealth, which now has some of the fastest growing economies in the world. It was fantastic at the recent Africa summit to see how many wanted to turn that great family of nations into a free trade zone, even if we have to begin with clumps and groups, and we will take these ideas forward at Kigali in June. We will engage with Japan and the other Trans-Pacific agreement countries, with old friends and partnersAustralia, New Zealand, Canadaon whom we deliberately turned our backs in the early 1970s. We will get going with our friends in America, and I share the optimism of Donald Trump. And I say to all the naive and juvenile anti-Americans in this country if there are anygrow up and get a grip. The U.S. already buys one fifth of everything we export.

On wanting Britain to be a catalyst for free trade across the world:

I say to our European friendsmany of whom Im delighted to see in this roomwe are here as ever, as we have been for decades, for centuries, to support and to help as we always have done for the last hundred years or more. And the reason I stress this need for full legal autonomy, the reason we do not seek membership or part membership of the customs union or alignment of any kind, is at least partly that I want this country to be an independent actor and catalyst for free trade across the world. I was there when they negotiated the Uruguay round. I saw it completed in Geneva when they gavelled it outand it was one of those events that people hardly reported, but it was a fantastically important event in the life of the world. And it was a critical moment in my view that helped to lead to almost two decades of global growth and confidence.

On how more global trade will help, not hinder, the U.K.s national cause:

It will help our national program to unite and level up and bring together our whole United Kingdom. And by expanding our trading relationships to improve the productivity of the entire nation by expanding infrastructure, education and technology, you know that our program is to bring this country together, combine that with greater free trade. And of course I hope you will see us exporting more fantastic ships built on the Clyde, more wonderful bone china pottery from Northern Ireland, beef from Wales. The opportunities, as I say, are extraordinary.

On Britains seafaring heritage and a proper global perspective:

This is the moment for us to think of our past and go up a gear again, to recapture the spirit of those seafaring ancestors immortalized above us, whose exploits brought not just riches but something even more important than thatand that was a global perspective. That is our ambition. There lies the port, the vessel puffs her sailthe wind sits in the mast. We are embarked now on a great voyage, a project that no one thought in the international community that this country would have the guts to undertake, but if we are brave and if we truly commit to the logic of our missionopen, outward-looking, generous, welcoming, engaged with the world, championing global free trade now when global free trade needs a global championI believe we can make a huge success of this venture, for Britain, for our European friends, and for the world.

For more on this topic, read the following articles at the Acton Institutes Religion & Liberty Transatlantic website:

Image: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (CC BY 2.0)
Almost 5,000 Africans study in Wuhan. Running short of cash and food, many are demanding to be airlifted home. But most African nations have ruled out evacuating their citizens.

Nigerian student Abdul Salam Aji Suleiman says he's hardly left his apartment for the past two weeks. He's studying in Wuhan, a city of 11 million which is at the center of the coronavirus outbreak. Wuhan has been locked down since late January and now Suleiman only goes out when it's absolutely necessary, such as to buy food.

"Before we go out, we have to wear these really good masks to cover the nose and mouth," Suleiman, a student at Huazhong University, told DW.

He wishes the Nigerian Embassy would get him and other Nigerians out of China.

"That's the feeling of all Nigerians who live here - they want to go home because they're scared of the virus," he says.

More than a dozen countries around the world have evacuated, or have plans to evacuate, their nationals from the virus-hit city.

More than 160 Moroccans arrived home last Sunday in an evacuation operation that will see them quarantined under medical supervision in two military hospitals for around 20 days.

Algeria has also airlifted out Algerians, Tunisians and Libyan citizens.

Kenya announces evacuation plans

On Wednesday, Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta said his country is preparing to evacuate Kenyan students trapped in Wuhan.

"We are also working, because we have got a good number of our students there, to see how we can support them and find out how we can ... ensure that they are put in quarantine for the required 14 days and ensure that they are not going to spread that virus around," Kenyatta was quoted as saying by Daily Nation, a Kenyan news outlet.

So far, Kenya is the only country from sub-Saharan Africa that has announced plans to evacuate nationals.

Senegalese President Macky Sall said earlier this week that Senegal couldn't match "big countries" in organizing emergency evacuations, pointing to the charter flights, medical personnel and quarantine facilities necessary for such an operation.

"We are in contact with the students and we are able to support them financially," said Sall. "But repatriation is not so easy."

On Wednesday, the families of 13 Senegalese studying in Wuhan demanded that the students be airlifted to safety.

"Our children demand a minimum, their right to be rescued by their motherland," said Yoro Ba, representing the families, at a news conference in Dakar.

No money, no food

The area around Wuhan has been cordoned off. The metropolis is now a quarantined ghost town. Public transport is shut down, most stores and supermarkets are closed, and the cost of some food products has increased tenfold.

The skyrocketing prices are making life even more difficult for the African students.

Seidou Keita, one of around 20 students from Guinea living in Wuhan, says that if his government can't bring them home, it should at least provide financial support. With banks closed in Wuhan, relatives can't even send money to help them out, Keita explained.

"We've nearly run out of cash. Other Guineans here have shared their money with us to get us through the past few days.

Masters student Nankouman Kieta added that the Guinean students had almost run out of food. "The situation is quite difficult at the moment," he said.

Guinea's embassy in Beijing has asked the students to be patient, he said.

A 20-year-old computer science student from Ethiopia also told DW she wants to return home. Although she's in good health, it's hard being cooped up inside.

"Because of the spread of the disease, we can't go out," she told DW. "Fortunately, we don't have any health problems at the moment. But for how long can you sit in a closed room? Let us return to our country!"

Fears coronavirus could wreak havoc in Africa

Africa hasn't yet had a confirmed case of coronavirus.

Ghana, however, reported on Thursday two suspected cases in foreign nations, a Chinese and an Argentine citizen, according to Ghanaian media.

The two presented themselves to a hospital in Accra on Wednesday and authorities have sent off samples for further analysis, local media reported.

"They've all developed some symptoms that fit the case definition [but] it doesn't mean they have the disease," Pulse online, quoted Dr Winifred Baah from the Ghana Medical Association as saying.

Ethiopia, Kenya, Ivory Coast and Botswana have also reported suspected cases; however, subsequent tests came back negative.

Africa and China have a many links. But seven out of eight African airlines with flights to China have discontinued these routes, the most recent being Air Algerie.

Only Ethiopian Airlines is continuing to operate its regular services of 35 flights a week to five Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hong Kong.

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Lessons learned from Ebola?

At a press conference in Geneva on Monday, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus compared the situation to the Ebola outbreak in DR Congo. Both epidemics showed the importance of being prepared instead of panicking.

"The [Ebola] outbreak has been steadily declining," he said. "This is an incredible public triumph. Five years ago, we had no vaccine and no therapies for Ebola. Now we can say, Ebola is preventable and treatable."

But although many African countries have learned from the Ebola crisis and developed early warning systems, WHO has said it is concerned about the virus entering countries with weak health care systems, as is the case in many African nations.

Virologist Ndongo Dia from the Pasteur Institute in Dakar says the most important thing is being able to quickly determine whether someone has contracted the new virus.

She thinks Senegal, at least, is well-prepared.

"We have already succeeded in meeting this challenge. We have everything we need," she said.

Zahraddeen Umar, Dutsen Kura, Reliou Koubakin and Lidet Abebe contributed to this article.
Bappadittya Sarkar, the 23-year-old poet from Jaipur who was allegedly harassed by the driver of an app-based car on Wednesday night, said that drivers must remain alert, but it is inappropriate to judge people by their clothes.

The alertness of the cab driver is very important. But to judge people by their dress or the things the passenger is carrying is not a good sign, he said, while speaking to HT on Friday. Sarkar who was invited for an event in south Mumbai said he had a bad experience in the city.

I love the beach, so I decided to go to Juhu and spend some time there. Around 10.30pm, I booked a cab to Kurla where I was staying. After the cab arrived, I called a friend and was speaking to him, said Sarkar.

Referring to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests, he said, I was just talking to my friend about the current scenario in the country, for instance about what is happening at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, and how could we could make the protest in Jaipur more effective. After a while, the driver stopped the cab and asked me if he can withdraw money from an ATM. I was okay with it. But he returned with two police officers who asked me to come with them to the police station.

Around 11.15pm, the police began questioning the poet. I messaged Rahul Chowdhary, the district secretary of Communist Party of India (MarxistLeninist) Liberation (CPI (ML)) Jaipur, and a few other friends. Around 1.15am, S Gohil, the state secretary of CPI-ML reached the police station, after which the police let me go around 1.30am, he said.

According to Sarkar, he was questioned by four-five police personnel were in uniform, while the remaining were in civil clothes. I respect the police and they were very polite to me. But I was uncomfortable with their questions. The asked me unnecessary questions such as why you are carrying a dafli (tambourine), what is your fathers salary, what organisations are you a part of, what are the names of Communist-ruled states in world, who is funding the protest, which partys ideology do you follow and why. I gave them my details and told them that I am from Jaipur, and was carrying the dafli because I was sloganeering at Mumbai Bagh in the afternoon, Sarkar said.

While he was at the police station, the cab driver intervened and urged the police to arrest Sarkar, the poet alleged.

He said, Sir aap isko andar lo, ye desh jalane ki baat kar raha hai. Bol raha hai Communist hai, Mumbai mein Shaheen Bagh bana denge, mere paas poori recording hai (Sir, you arrest him, he was talking about burning the country and that he is a Communist. I have the entire recording of him saying that they want to make Mumbai another Shaheen Bagh).

According to Sarkar, the driver also threatened him. I told the police to listen to the recording and arrest me if they find me saying these things. Later, I turned to the driver and asked him, what made him so upset to get me to the police station, to which he threatened and said, Be thankful that I took you to the police, I could have taken you elsewhere. But despite him saying this, the police didnt react, said Sarkar.

He also claimed that the police officers took his phone and wrote down the numbers of his friends. I had sent some messages to my friends along with some locations. The police went through my WhatsApp chats and asked me who my favourite poets were and asked me to recite the poems I have composed, said Bappadittya.

Paramjitsingh Dahiya, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) zone- 9 said, The driver had brought him to the police station. Both the men were verified and allowed to go.

Despite several attempts, the driver of the cab was not available for response.

An Uber spokesperson said, As soon as the incident was brought to our attention, we took it up on a priority basis. We are in touch with both the rider and the driver, and are reviewing the matter.
A Butte man allegedly behind an active-shooter ordeal in Uptown Butte is no longer free on his own recognizance pending further court proceedings because he had contact with a victim through Facebook.

Travis Ian Hunter, 29, was arrested and jailed Jan. 17 for violating bail restrictions and on Thursday, District Judge Kurt Krueger agreed with recommendations by prosecutors that his bail now be set at $150,000. He faces 14 felony charges, including assault with a weapon and kidnapping.

The contacted victim, a woman, was one of 10 people inside the Synesis 7 building on Dec. 27, 2018 when Hunter allegedly pointed a gun at one of them and then fired four or five shots before jumping out a second-floor window and getting arrested.

The incident began at the police station across from the Synesis 7 building on Alaska Street and although Hunter broke his pelvis, arm and knee in his fall, he was the only person physically injured.

But lead prosecutor Ann Shea says people in the Synesis building were still victims and one woman has had a very difficult time since the incident and had to quit her job as a result.

Hunter, who took months to recover from his injuries, pleaded not guilty to the 14 felony counts in December and was released on his own recognizance. But one of his bail restrictions was not contacting any victims or witnesses in any way, including by social media, phone or texts.

Shea said Hunter sent the woman a Facebook friend request on Jan. 16 and though she didnt accept it, she messaged Hunter and lashed out at him over the trauma she endured. He responded by trying to explain his actions, Shea said.

It caused great distress to the victim, Shea told Kreuger.

The victim says she had never met Hunter before the shooting incident and had not seen or heard from him prior to the Facebook contact.

Matthew Enrooth, Hunters attorney, said his client was doing well on his own recognizance, had undergone a drug-and-alcohol evaluation and was receiving mental health counseling.

He was trying to make new friends and expand his social circle when he sent out friend requests and inadvertently sent one to the woman without knowing she was a victim in the case.

When she lashed out, he realized who she was and ceased contact, Enrooth said. He asked Krueger to set bail at $25,000 with a new restriction prohibiting Hunter from accessing the internet.

Shea said Hunter didnt cease contact right away and couldnt be trusted to abide by that restriction.

He responded and defended himself, she said. It has traumatized the victim further.

Krueger said trial is set for April 6 and without further comment set bail at $150,000.

When free on his own recognizance, Hunter was ordered to live with his parents in Divide, remain there on house arrest and have GPS monitoring.

The incident in late 2018 began when Hunter entered the lobby area of the Butte-Silver Bow Law Enforcement building, pulled out a 9mm handgun and yelled that he was in danger and needed help, authorities say.

He then crossed the street, went inside the Synesis 7 building and pointed his handgun at a man, saying he was being chased by three assassins and he was going to shoot anybody without a badge. He then fired the gun several times and jumped out the window.

He is charged with 10 felony counts of assault with a weapon, three counts of criminal endangerment, and one count of kidnapping. He could be sentenced up to 240 years if convicted on all charges.

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That South Korea's defamation law is a powerful tool used by powerful men to turn real offenders into "victims" and to deter real victims from speaking out or to otherwise punish them for not enduring their ordeals in silence, has been most shockingly shown in the #MeToo debate.



The Korean defamation law seems to have its cultural background in traditions which value a certain image of "decency" and "social harmony" higher than truth and social progress. So, the peace is broken by those who "indecently" pull a harmonious community's dark secrets into the public light.



The problem is now, ironically speaking, that South Korea has nevertheless developed into an advanced democracy that basically allows freedom of speech to its citizens and residents. And the country seems, indeed, not entirely stifled in an atmosphere of intimidation and fear. So let's look a little closer at the defamation law and its effects.



First, you are free to tell whatever you want -- as long as no one claims to "feel damaged in their reputation." But even in North Korea you can, I guess, safely say that the soup is too salty -- unless the cook has powerful connections.



And of course, I am not talking about revealing embarrassing "truths" from people's private lives with the intention of humiliation. The latter would, though usually not falling under "defamation," still and rightfully be punishable in many democratic countries.



The danger of South Korea's defamation law is that you must not only be prepared to prove the truth of whatever you say or write publicly. But you have to, secondly, prove that it is "solely for the interest of the public" to say what you truthfully say. Many legal experts have pointed out that the second introduces an even trickier, subjective condition. Many problems in this world are, unfortunately, caused by people - who will often "feel personally offended" when those problems are addressed.



No wonder that some legal or pseudo-legal circles have grabbed the opportunity to establish a whole industry of "professionalized victimhood" around this law.



And no wonder that the most common "criminal offense" that some hundred residents of a major apartment complex in Seoul's Gangseo-gu have been accused of in recent years (see my previous article) is "defamation." This is especially the case for the collective mass accusations, targeting participants of whole neighborhood gatherings. No one has ultimately been found guilty, as far as I know. But being summoned to police, having fingerprints taken for identification, being advised on (expensive) legal assistance etc. intimidated many of those law-abiding citizens enough to "keep out of the affairs" of a local interest group.



My wife and I, too, have been warned multiple times not to "cross their lines." But morality does not allow us to be afraid.





The author (bergmann2473@yahoo.de) is a teacher in Seoul.






Parents have erupted in fury after an elite school set up a series of cameras in the same area where children were getting changed.

The two cameras were installed outside the toilet and changing cubicles in the amenities building at Coomera Anglican College, on the Gold Coast in Queensland.

The school said the cameras in the junior secondary campus had not yet been switched on and were originally set up to curb vandalism and behavioural issues, according to the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Parents have erupted in fury after a series of cameras were set up in the same area where their children were getting changed (stock image)

School principal Mark Sly said in a letter to parents on Thursday that they were not aware that students were changing outside of the cubicle area.

Dr Sly said the cameras had now been removed.

The principal then criticised parents for discussing the issue on a Facebook forum instead of bringing it to the school directly.

Parents said they shared their concerns online as felt unable to raise the issue directly for fear of reprisal.

'People worry that complaining might have consequences,' a mother said.

Another parent said said they were angry with the school's response which they believed was simply to blame the students.

'There are laws around this and policies around privacy which can't have been looked into,' they said.

'I just think if a school doesn't want something negative to be raised on Facebook just handle the issue to begin with.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Coomera Anglican College for comment.
CHENGDU, China, Jan. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --A As part of the 6th anniversaryA celebration activities, Chengdu IFS announced the global debut of new and limited offerings from top international brands such as FENDI, ZENITH, adidas Neo, Pomellato, Ports 1961 and TOM FORD BEAUTY as it continues to deliver unique and trend-setting shopping experiences to customers. Chengdu IFS, a flagship commercial real estate project in Mainland ChinaA by The WharfA (Holdings) Limited,A today kicked off a campaign to commemorate its 6th anniversary, celebrating the achievements made in the past six years by what is now the signature shopping and lifestyle destination in Chengdu, a leader of China's up-and-coming first-tier cities. Over the past six years, Chengdu IFSA has established itself as an iconic destination for domestic and foreign shoppers who are often attracted by the "I AM HERE" giant panda art installation which has become a new landmark in Chengdu -- a city that ranks fourth in Savills' China Retail Cities Report for six consecutive years,A thanks to its strong regional influence and consumption power. Chengdu IFSA is the leading mallA in Chengdu and is among the top 10 shopping centres in China in terms of sales,A achieving double-digit growthA for sixA consecutive years. With more than 300,000 VIP members, sales and retail traffic at Chengdu IFS grew by 330% and 300% respectively in 2019 compared with the opening year, and the occupancy rate has maintained almost 100% over the past years. First-store economy adds new vitality to the city's retail landscapeA As the concept of the "first-store economy" gathers steam, "first store" has become a key indicator of urban development. Chengdu IFS is now home to more than 250 global, national or regional first stores. These stores include global fashion brands such as Balenciaga, Chanel, Christian Louboutin, Lane Crawford, Moncler, Moynat, Roger Vivier, Tom Ford, LOEWE and Valentino; as well as international jewellery and watch brands such as Audemars Piguet, Bvlgari, Chaumet, Chopard, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels. In 2019 alone, more than 40 first stores of emerging brands opened at Chengdu IFS, including AHKAH, Cesare Casadei, Givenchy Kids, Goyard, Gucci Beauty, La Maison Valmont, MSGM, Pomellato and TOM FORD BEAUTY, becoming talk of the town and attracting throngs of interested customers. In 2020, Chengdu IFS will see many highly sought-after and anticipated brands to open their space in the mall, including Carven, De Beers, LANEIGE, Maison Kitsune, Moncler Enfant and Stella McCartney Kids. A A KOC development plan helps to driveA consumption trends Chengdu IFS has not only forged ahead in securing major brands, but also made solid achievements in customer relationship management. Since its inception, the retail destination has adopted an active CRM strategy and launched the "KOC (Key Opinion Consumer) development plan", targeting its core female members aged from 25 to 40 who are passionate about fashion and lifestyle. In the past 6 years, Chengdu IFS has grown together with consumers, cultivating a VIP membership group of more than 62,000 high-spending and loyal members who have sophisticated fashion taste and with annual spending ranges from 200,000 to 12 million yuan. Powered by its membership plan, Chengdu IFS has successfully pooled together the Gen Y Taitai group with the strongest consumption clout and fashion taste in the western region. Dance with "I AM HERE" across the city to celebrate 6th anniversary The "I AM HERE" art installation has been exhibited at Chengdu IFS for the past 6 years accompanying Chengdu citizens. It has since become an internationally renowned online celebrity. This year, the image that everyone loves moved for the first time, causing a wave of excitement across the city. Shoppers interacted with "I AM HERE", creating vivid memes, dancing and together celebrating the 6th anniversary of Chengdu IFS. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078867/Chengdu_IFS_1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078865/Chengdu_IFS_2.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078868/Chengdu_IFS_3.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078866/Chengdu_IFS_4.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1078864/Chengdu_IFS_5.jpg A
4:32 p.m. (EST), Wednesday, February 5, 2020.

That time and date will go down in history as when the United States lost its soul, and destroyed the rule of law.

At that moment, Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. announced the vote that acquitted President Donald J. Trump of two articles of impeachment, thereby shredding the U.S. Constitution, not to mention eroding our moral and ethical values.

Of course, it was not a surprise. For three years, we experienced an ugliness in our politics never witnessed before. Almost daily, we had to deal with lies, corruption, conflicts of interest, deceit, influence peddling, ignorance, hate, xenophobia, misogyny, anti-Semitism, racism and more.

In a sense, the two votes to acquit were a culmination of all that Trumpism brought to our body politic. In the early morning hours after his election in 2016, I wrote that like a CT scan which reveals a tumor a patient did not know he/she had, the Trump victory uncovered a malignancy we were unaware of.

I hoped at the time that the malignancy would not metastasize. My hope was in vain; the malignancy had spread.

In the last few months during the impeachment process, we heard leaders tell us black is white and white is black in defense of a man they would not want in their families.

Defense lawyers stood in the hallowed halls of Congress, ignoring the history within those walls, and lied blatantly.

Celebrity attorney and Harvard law professor, Alan M. Dershowitz, told us,If a president does something which he believes will help him get elected in the public interest, that cannot be the kind of quid pro quo that results in impeachment.

He and his colleagues will now celebrate the victory with their client, not understanding or, more accurately, caring what they have wrought on this country. The damage is incalculable.

It seems appropriate to paraphrase Joseph N. Welch, a lawyer who faced the demagogic Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 during the countrys Red Scare, and ask Trumps legal defenders, Have you no sense of decency, sir(s)? (Welch ended his question with shame.)

Alaska Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski had it right when she observed, It is sad for me to admit that, as an institution, the Congress has failed

She added, We are sadly at a low point of division in this country.

Regrettably, she lacked the courage to vote for additional witnesses and to acquit Trump, contributing to the failure of Congress.

Responding to Trumps invectives, former Vice President Joe Biden has continually assured us, This is not who we are. We are better than that.

Unfortunately, Trumpism has proven just the opposite: This, sadly, is who we are; Trump just brought all the ugliness to the surface.

In the last four years, including Trumps candidacy, nothing mattered. From cheating with his foundations, taxes, and businesses to his hideous diatribes, including stating that a respected deceased congressman may be looking up from Hell, to his thousands of lies, nothing affected his support. Despite his sordid sexual history, including assaults and charges of rape, women at his rallies sprang to their feet to cheer this totally amoral man.

On the eve of the vote on impeachment articles, Trumps support according to the polls stood at 49%, the highest in his presidency.

Each time we assured ourselves that this time he has gone too far we were proven wrong. The Republicans in Congress understood the real politic and sacrificed the country for the politics of survival.

Some are hopeful that all is not lost because Trump may be defeated in November. But the point is that he remains a strong candidate despite the corruption, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from supporters. And, should he lose, he will still garner millions of votes.

I am confused and puzzled about what I tell my grandchildren. In the face of what has happened, it would be hypocritical, not to mention a lie, to tell them the U.S. is a country that values morality, honesty, integrity, the rule of law, decency, civility and that no document is more important than the Constitution.

They are bright children, not easily misled. Yet, I do not want to destroy hope, even though I understand it will take years  if not decades  to undo the damage.

It will require a Lincoln to help restore basic values and faith in what was once one of the worlds greatest democracies. It will be a Herculean task to once again unite Americans, the challenge Lincoln faced after the Civil War.

So, I will do my best in describing the dismal future I foresee while faking some optimism.

But, as I said, my grandchildren are very bright. They will easily look through my facade. Given the reality, it will not be easy to hide my despair and hopelessness for the future.

Berl Falbaum, a West Bloomfield resident, is a veteran political journalist and author of 11 books, including Not One Normal Day, Trumpedia: A Tome of Scandal, Lies, Corruption and Much More.
The cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan City, Hubei Province of China was first reported on December 30, 2019 by the Wuhan Municipal Health Commission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) later determined and announced a novel coronavirus (CoV), denoted as Wuhan CoV (2019-nCoV), had caused the outbreak of the pneumonia. The current public health emergency partially resembles the emergence of the SARS outbreak in southern China in 2002, which led to more than 8,000 human infections and 774 deaths. As of January 15, 2020, there were more than 40 laboratory-confirmed cases of the noval Wuhan CoV infection with one death and multiple exported cases in Japan, and Thailand. Under the current public health emergency, it is imperative to understand the origin and native host(s) of the Wuhan CoV, and to evaluate the public health risk of this novel coronavirus for transmission cross species or between humans.

"To understand the origin of the Wuhan CoV and its genetic relationship with other coronaviruses, we performed phylogenetic analysis on the collection of coronavirus sequences from various sources.", said Professor Pei Hao at Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, the corresponding author of this study. The results indicated that Wuhan CoV belongs to the Betacoronavirus genera, and shares a common ancestor with the SARS/SARS-like coronaviruses (including those causing the 2002/2003 SARS epidemic). Their common ancestor more or less resembles the bat coronavirus HKU9-1. Based on the evolutionary relationship of betacoronavirus, bat is likely the native host of the Wuhan CoV, though it remains likely there is intermediate host(s) in the transmission cascade from bats to humans.

"Furthermore, to evaluate Wuhan CoV health risk for human transmission, we performed structural modeling of its spike protein that is critical for coronavirus-host interaction, and evaluate its ability to mediate human infection."said Prof. Hao. The binding free energy for Wuhan CoV S-protein to human ACE2 (receptor for human infection) is -50.6 kcal/mol, which is considered as a significant binding affinity to human ACE2, despite a little weaker than that between SARS-CoV S-protein and ACE2 (-78.kcal/mol). The results point to the important discovery that the Wuhan CoV S-protein supports strong interaction with human ACE2 molecules despite its sequence diversity from SARS-CoV S-protein. "So the Wuhan CoV poses significant health risk for transmission cross species or between humans throught the same infection mechanism of the SARS-CoV, e.g. S-protein - ACE2 interaction."said Prof. Hao.

These important results not only presented for the first time the evidence of human transmissions by the Wuhan novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), but also were indicative of its infection mechanism that is the same as that of the SARS virus responsible for the 2002/2003 epidemic, depite their considerable divergence in sequences.

###

This work was supported in part by grants from the National Science and Technology Major Projects for "Major New Drugs Innovation and Development" (directed by Dr. Song Li) (2018ZX09711003) of China, the National Key R&D Program (2018YFC0310600) of China, the

National Natural Science Foundation of China (31771412), and Special Fund for strategic bio-resources from Chinese Academy of Sciences (ZSYS-014).

See the article:

Xu, X.T., Chen, P., Wang, J.F., et al. (2020). Evolution of the novel coronavirus from the ongoing Wuhan outbreak and modeling of its spike protein for risk of human transmission. Sci China Life Sci, in press, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-020-1637-5.

This article was published online:

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11427-020-1637-5

http://engine.scichina.com/publisher/scp/journal/SCLS/doi/10.1007/s11427-020-1637-5
Hubei: Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who first broke out the information about a "SARS-like" disease in December last year, died of the coronavirus.

Wenliang died of the deadly disease in the early hour of Friday at the Wuhan Central Hospital. "Our hospital`s ophthalmologist Li Wenliang was unfortunately infected with coronavirus during his work in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic," the hospital statement read on Friday, as quoted by CNN.

Soon after the news of Li`s death broke out, Chinese people started pouring tribute to the doctor.

In December last year, Li informed his medical school alumnus about the patients affected with a "SARS-like illness in his hospital in Wuhan.

Live TV

Following his message, Li was told to stop making false comments by the local police. The deadly virus has so far killed 638 around the world with over 31,000 cases reported in mainland China alone.

The virus was diagnosed first in December in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province and has spread to most parts of the world.

While no reliable treatment currently exists for the virus, a very skewed number of health organisations has had some positive results with a mixture of HIV and other antiviral medicines.

As a precautionary measure several countries, including the US, Australia, and Singapore have temporarily shut their doors to non-citizens who have recently travelled to China.

Moreover, the World Health Organization declared a global health emergency in the wake of the outbreak.
Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, claimed before the trial court here on Friday that accused-turned approver Shyamvar Rai had demanded Rs 50 lakh from her for not testifying against her.

Mukerjea made the submission while arguing in person on her bail application before special CBI judge J C Jagdale.

While deposing in the court, Rai, her former driver, narrated a different sequence of events, while he had told something else to the Mumbai police (who probed the case initially), she said.

"If he is not going to say (state) important details then what is the role of approver?" she asked.

The sequence of events as presented by the prosecution was not supported by the call data record, Indrani argued.

Before Rai turned approver, he was lodged at Arthur Road Jail, and they used to travel to the court in the same van, she said.

"Before his deposition he had a conversation with me, 'Rs 50 lakh dedo kuch nahi bolunga' (give me Rs 50 lakh, I won't reveal anything)," she alleged.

"He came down Rs 10 lakh and then to 5 lakh...but I didn't budge... if I had to influence him I could have done then. But I didn't budge and said jo bolna hai bolo (say whatever you want)," Indrani claimed.

Indrani also pointed out the Bombay High Court's order on Thursday, granting bail to co-accused and her former husband Peter Mukerjea.

"If the high court doesn't feel that he could influence witnesses, why should this court (should feel that she would)," she asked.

The prosecution had opposed bail for her, stating that she could influence witnesses, especially Rahul, Peter Mukerjea's son from earlier marriage.

"Peter is more influential, prominent person in society, he is father of Rahul and he is out on bail," she said.

It is to be noted that Peter Mukerjea is still in jail as the HC stayed the bail order for six weeks.

"It is ridiculous that I committed murder for money thinking that if she (Sheena) gets married to Rahul, Peter will give property to Rahul... 75 per cent of immovable property is in my name and rest is in joint name with me....so logically I should kill Peter," she added.

This is Indrani's fifth bail plea.

Sheena (24) was allegedly strangled in a car by her mother Indrani, Indrani's former husband Sanjeev Khanna and her then driver Shyamvar Rai in April 2012. Peter Mukerjea is accused of being part of the conspiracy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Women officers have proven their mettle and courage under fire for nearly three decades, and there has never been an occasion of soldiers/men having refused or accepted their command, said the women officers in a written submission, blaming the Centre for delay in bringing the policy for grant of permanent commission to them.

The written submissions on behalf of the petitioners, filed by senior advocate Ashwarya Bhati, said: "The demonstrated fact is that the women officers have been serving in the 10 combat support arms, for the last 27-28 years and have proven their mettle and courage under fire.. To deny them command appointments would be an extremely retrograde step and will inflict irreparable injury to the dignity of these brave women." A bench, headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justice Ajay Rastogi, conducted the hearing on petitions seeking permanent commission for women in the Army. The apex court has reserved its order on the matter.

Moreover, the petitioners said that they have been found suitable by the organisation itself and have led platoons and companies of soldiers and men, both in peace locations as also hostile locations/operations, in the 10 combat support arms. "There has never been any occasion of soldiers/men having refused or not accepted the command of women on account of their perceived 'rural background, with prevailing societal norms'," said the submission.

The Centre had informed the apex court that "motherhood, childcare, psychological limitations" are vital factors, which have a bearing on employment of women officers in the Army. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had argued that lower physical standards of women, and composition of units that are entirely male, mostly from rural background, impact commander appointments.

At this, Justice Chandrachud replied that a combat role comprises only a fraction of the role in the military where women have not been inducted, if it were to be assumed they were not fit for this role. Mehta argued that different physical standards were a reality in a combat situation, and also there is a danger if women were taken as prisoners of war.

The petitioners countered this stating this stand of the Centre with regard to national security and operational effectiveness, battlefield scenario, capture by the enemy, command appointments and infrastructure are misconceived and based on misleading and erroneous basis.

The submission said: "Women Officers have been working shoulder to shoulder, with their colleagues in the Indian Army. Even as Short Service Commissioned Women Officers (SSCWOs), they have been working as company commanders and leading the soldiers from the front as per the ethos of the Indian Army." The women officers contended as young officers in the rank of captains and majors, they have been in hostile and combat zone and have displayed exemplary courage and bravery, acting exactly in the manner commensurate with the respect that Indian Army commands the world over.

For 10 long years, the Centre has delayed bringing the policy for grant of permanent commission to women officers, despite the Delhi High Court verdict in March 2010, as a consequence, the policy for grant of permanent commission in the army is yet to be made functional and operative, they said.

The Centre had appealed the High Court order holding that SSCWOs of the Army are entitled to permanent commission at par with Gentlemen SSCOs with all consequential benefits. The High Court had also directed that the benefit would be conferred to the serving women officers, as on the date of the order, and also women officers, who retired during the pendency of their writ petition, would get all consequential benefits, including promotion, at par with Gentlemen SSCOs.

The 'criteria appointments' are important appointments in the Army organisational setup and to confine women officers to 'staff appointments only', would effectively render them second grade officers in the Indian Army, the petitioners said.

"It is submitted that no such confinement of women officers to staff appointments only, has ever been contemplated or notified in any of the advertisements or policy decisions since 1992, when women were first inducted in the Indian Army. As SSCWOs, women have been entitled to 'staff appointments' as also 'criteria appointments' all along", said the submission.

(Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@ians.in)
HANOI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam said on Thursday it has confirmed two new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total to 12.

Both the new cases are Vietnamese nationals from the northern province of Vinh Phuc and had close contact with previously detected patients, the health ministry said in a statement.

The death toll in China from the coronavirus outbreak has exceeded 500. (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen; Editing by Alex Richardson)
Chinese factories are currently in a race against time and going at full capacity to manufacture face masks. With every measure being taken to ramp up production capacity, the shortage is expected to be alleviated.

(Photo/Workers' Daily)

At present, there are nearly 500 workers working on two face mask production lines at Winner Medical, a leading manufacturer in Huanggang, central Chinas Hubei province. They are working 24 hours a day on two daily shifts.

The production capacity of N95 respirators has increased from 36,000 to 45,000 per day, and the production capacity of surgical masks remained above 200,000 per day.

In addition to Hubei, other provinces in the country are also busy increasing their production capacity.

"There are two production lines and three shifts; we have manufactured 36,000 masks today," said Tang Yilin, chairman of Shengquan Group in Jinan, east Chinas Shandong province.

During this years Spring Festival, the company has not only maintained normal production, but also worked overtime. I realized there might be a shortage of masks, so I started purchasing raw materials urgently on Jan. 20 to arrange production during the Spring Festival," Tang said.

Shengquan Group has two automatic mask production lines that can produce N95 respirators. Normally, one production line with a dozen workers can produce 5,000 to 10,000 masks. During this years Spring Festival, two production lines were running at full capacity, with 60 to 70 workers on three shifts producing 30,000 to 35,000 masks per day.

Many enterprises across the country have returned to work urgently and are working overtime to catch up on production.

Data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology show that the maximum production capacity of face masks in China is more than 20 million per day.

Officials disclosed at a press conference on Feb. 2 that the actual production capacity of masks in China has recovered by 60 percent and daily production has exceeded 10 million.

According to the Department of Industry and Information Technology of Shandong province, Shandong is a major mask-producing province, accounting for 10 percent of the national production capacity, with a daily production of about 2 million.

In order to increase production, Shandong has addressed the needs for enterprise qualification and tapped potential open-source new capacity. For OEM enterprises that meet European, American or Japanese standards, Chinese labels will be affixed after filing for provincial sales.

At the same time, through the green channel for examination and approval and registration, the province has stepped up the issuance of pharmaceutical device registration certificates for enterprises, and a batch of masks and protective suits have been approved for the market.

With supply of face masks tight at home, many are turning to overseas sourcing. For instance, the China Overseas Development Association set up a working group to contact overseas resources.

"We immediately contacted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union, and so on, and further searched for supplies through them. At present, we have contacted companies in Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan and other countries that produce and market medical protective products," said He Zhenwei, Secretary General of the China Overseas Development Association.

Currently, in order to reduce the number of people queuing up to buy masks and ensure orderly market delivery, Shanghai, Hangzhou and other cities have successively implemented booking systems for purchase or registration for free distribution of masks.

Ms. Li, a Shanghai resident who has just received a purchase voucher for an appointment, said, "I can finally buy a mask."

"With the recent recovery of mask production capacity, this shortage is expected to ease gradually," an official at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said a few days ago.


We take note of laxity and negligence by administration and police in acting against those violently trying to disrupt peaceful protests It is unconstitutional, to determine citizenship on the basis religion. For the Church, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, is a non-negotiable ideal. In this ideal, any prejudice or discrimination of any group, contradicts the spirit of a world family and is contrary to the values of our Constitution.

The proposed provisions also raise serious apprehensions about the benefits to the country, against the huge expenditure incurred through the implementation of CAA, the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). There are also questions about the safety, security of the illegal immigrants; above all, the dignity and living conditions to those already confined (or may be confined) in detention centres.

We are in solidarity with the non-violent protests in the country, for justice, as an expression of ones right to freedom of speech and expression. We urge the following of ones conscience, in joining any peaceful protest. At the same time, we condemn any attempt to silence dissent and to suppress non-violent protests. We take note of the laxity and negligence by the administration and the police in acting against those who violently try to disrupt peaceful protests.

There are certainly several unanswered questions with regard to the NRC and NPR: for example, the availability of the stipulated document to prove ones citizenship; we also have serious doubts about the competency and the qualification of those responsible for determining the citizenship of another.

We consider it thoughtless and hasty to proceed with the implementation of the CAA, NPR and NRC without adequate reflection on the remedies and solutions of these issues related to human rights and human dignity, as well as national peace and unity; and without adequate consultation with the people of India

We humbly urge the Government, to immediately stay this Act and the associated procedures, until adequate thought is given to all human aspects related to it, so that the good of the entire human community residing in India is ensured and that India emerges in the world community as an exemplary nation, for its adherence to the Constitution and the protection of human rights!

May God our Father protect our beloved India!

Jai Bharat!

As loyal citizens of India, the Catholic community of Gujarat is committed to safeguarding the Constitution of the country and in ensuring that all communities living in the country, enjoy happiness, prosperity and human rights without discrimination.There has been widespread protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ever since it was passed by Parliament, about one and a half months ago; the Catholic Church of Gujarat, convinced that standing up for the truth is their religion, would like to clearly state their position on the issue.The Church welcomes the Government's attempt to provide citizenship protection to some refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan through the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA); however, it would like to express concern and apprehension about the exclusion of any particular group on the basis of religion, in the conferring of citizenship.
Very often, regulations aim to increase the quality of the goods and services we buy, and sometimes this is worth the cost. Next year, Virginia Democrats may impose a plastic bag tax. This presumably would improve the quality of the environment somewhat, but who is likelier to demand such policies? The rich, who may already employ reusable shopping bags, or the poor, who would be left holding the proverbial plastic bag?
Romania's Orban Renominated As Prime Minister

By RFE/RL's Romanian Service February 07, 2020

BUCHAREST -- The Romanian president has asked outgoing Prime Minister Ludovic Orban to form a new government, moving a step closer to snap general elections.

President Klaus Iohannis made the announcement on February 6, a day after Orban's center-right minority government was dismissed after losing a no-confidence vote brought by the leftist opposition.

Both Orban and Iohannis have said they want early elections, but the president can only dissolve parliament if two attempts to install a new executive within 60 days fail.

On February 6, lawmakers toppled Orban's Liberal minority government in a vote of no-confidence put forward by the opposition Social Democrats (PSD) and the ethnic Hungarian UDMR party.

Orban's cabinet took power on an anti-corruption ticket in November after the Social Democrats were ousted from government in October.

The PSD and UDMR had criticized Orban for pushing to alter electoral laws without public debate ahead of a mayoral ballot scheduled in late spring.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/romania-s- orban-re-nominated-as-prime- minister/30421112.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.

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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 10:53 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631a095 1 National Jiwasraya,corruption,insurance,insurance-holding-company Free

The Attorney General's Office (AGO) named on Thursday holding company PT Maxima Integra director Joko Hartono Tirto as a new suspect in a case of alleged corruption involving ailing state-owned insurer Asuransi Jiwasraya.

"We have questioned the suspect and will detain him on [Thursday] for the next 20 days before we hand over the case to the court," AGO spokesperson Hari Setiyono told the press, as quoted by tribunnews.com.

He added Joko would be detained at the Salemba Detention Center in Central Jakarta.

Joko became the sixth suspect to be charged in the case. The AGO previously named five suspects, including former Jiwasraya president director Hendrisman Rahim, former finance director Harry Prasetyo and former head of investment and finance division Syahmirwan. The other two were publicly listed property firm PT Hanson International president director Benny Tjokrosaputro and publicly listed PT Trada Alam Minera president commissioner Heru Hidayat.

Read also: Jiwasraya in talks with foreign, domestic investors over selling Jiwasraya Putra

The AGO's investigators had confiscated 41 apartments in Kuningan, South Jakarta that were previously owned by Benny.

"Investigators determined that the apartments were related to the Jiwasraya case. The court has granted us a warrant to confiscate the units, Hari said.

Authorities estimated the alleged corruption had caused Rp 13.7 trillion (US$1 billion) in state losses. The estimate, however, might still increase during the ongoing investigation.

The AGO launched the investigation into the country's oldest insurer last year, after the company failed to pay out policyholder claims worth about Rp 16 trillion that fell due in December. (eyc)
A leader from Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's party, who put up banners with a slogan offensive to the minority Hindus in the country, has apologised after he came under fire from netizens as well as the party.

Mian Akram Usman, a Lahore-based leader of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, put up posters in connection with Kashmir Solidarity Day, which was observed across the country on February 5, with the slogan "Hindu baat se nahi, laat se maanta hai" (Hindus cannot be reasoned with using words but by force).

The banners also featured the images of Usman, the PTI Lahore general secretary, along with Prime Minister Khan and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.

After coming under criticism on social media, Usman took to Twitter to apologise to "all peacefully living 'Hindus' [on] both sides of the border".

Usman told DawnNewsTV that he had asked his printer to prepare posters in connection with the Kashmir Solidarity Day which should have slogans critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The printer "misunderstood" his directions and replaced the word "Modi" with "Hindu" on the banners, the PTI leader claimed.

Responding to a Twitter user, Usman said the posters had been removed "immediately" after they came to his notice.

Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari in a tweet on Thursday said Usman had been "reprimanded and posters were taken off immediately".

She termed it "a shameful and ignorant approach by the individual".

In March last year, another member of the ruling party, Fayyazul Hassan Chohan was removed as the Punjab information and culture minister amid intense criticism over his derogatory remarks against the Hindu community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid Virus Outbreak, Funeral Home Officials in Wuhan Reveal Sharp Increase in Cremations

Statements by officials indicate Chinese authorities are underreporting deaths

A senior official at a crematorium in the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan, China, says their intake has skyrocketed in recent weeks, suggesting that more people are dying of the disease than officially reported.

Beginning around Jan. 22, the number of dead bodies received by the government-operated funeral home has drastically increasedpeaking at 127 bodies on Feb. 3, the official said, adding that hes been seeing about four to five times the usual workload.

The official made the revelations during a Feb. 4 phone call by an undercover reporter for the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times, who posed as a member of the central government task force overseeing the outbreak response. This publication is withholding the name of the official and funeral home to protect his identity.

The funeral home services eight of the government-designated hospitals for treating the virus, according to the official.

Four other Wuhan funeral homes that service such hospitals have also reported increases in their intake, based on undercover calls and revelations from crematorium workers.

All five facilities are among seven government-run funeral parlors with crematoriums in Wuhan. Three are in the downtown area, while the other four service suburban areas, according to the citys Civil Affairs Bureau.

Numbers on the Rise

The officials claim about an increase in cremations is similar to claims made by staff at several other Wuhan funeral homes.

An employee at Caidian Funeral Home located in a Wuhan suburb recently told The Epoch Times that they need at least 100 body bags every day.

The man, who identified himself as Mr. Yun, said that every funeral home in the city was facing the same situation.

A staff member at another Wuhan funeral parlor, who declined to be named, told The Epoch Times that beginning Jan. 28, around 100 workers at his facility have been working around the clock without food breaks. He said they would use up to 35 body bags each day.

In another undercover phone call to a senior official at another funeral home in Wuhan, the official said that the facility was cremating around 30 bodies every day.

Their claims add to mounting evidence that the communist regime is underreporting the number of infections and deaths from the illness.

On Feb. 1, Chinese health authorities announced mandatory cremation for people who died from the coronavirus.

The official at the first-mentioned funeral home said that about 60 percent of the bodies come from private homes, while 38 percent are transported from hospitals. Most of the corpses coming from homes are people who died from the new coronavirus, he said.

People who died at home from the virus are unlikely to have been officially diagnosed with the illnessgiven that diagnoses are issued at hospitalsand therefore do not count toward the official death toll.

Of the 127 bodies received by the crematorium on Feb. 3, eight were diagnosed with the virus, while 48 were suspected of having the illness, based on their death certificates, the official said. It is unclear what was specified as the cause of death for the remaining 71 bodies.

In five weeks, since the first official report of the disease, official figures of the outbreak have risen sharply to nearly 40,000 infections and more than 800 deaths in China. However, the actual number of cases is likely to be far greater.

Previous reporting by The Epoch Times has shown that the number of infections is being underreported due to several factors: the shortage of testing kits at hospitals, meaning the number of confirmed cases are capped; hospitals being at overcapacity, meaning many patients are turned away and unable to be diagnosed or treated; and a culture of secrecy within the Chinese Communist Party that restricts the free flow of any information during crises that might undermine its authoritarian rule.

Patients who are suspected of contracting the illness but unable to receive the accredited diagnosis are not counted toward the official figures. Likewise, suspected patients who later pass away are not part of the official death toll.

Meanwhile, medical experts have estimated that the number of infections in Wuhan alone could be many times higher than the reported number. A Jan. 31 study published in the medical journal The Lancet estimated that more than 75,000 could have been infected in the city by Jan. 25.

Stretched to the Limit

The senior official at the first-mentioned funeral home said his staff of around 110 people has been stretched to the limit, working round the clock to transport bodies from hospitals and private homes and cremate them.

We transport the bodies 24 hours a day, he said. Now every single male employee is involved [in this task]. As long as they can still move, they will work.

The facilitys 11 furnaces are cremating bodies nonstop every day, he said.

The official said that at this rate, he would need 40 to 50 additional staff to keep up with the workload, adding that current staff have not taken a day off since Lunar New Years Eve on Jan. 25.

Im on the brink of collapse, the official said.

We are exhausted and cant get any rest, he added. Now I would feel grateful if I can sleep for two or three hours a day.

The official added that hes been in touch with the Hankou Funeral Home, whose workload is even heavier than mine.

That facility, located in downtown Wuhan, is officially designated by authorities to cremate bodies of coronavirus victims from downtown Wuhan hospitals.

An undercover phone call by the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times to the Hankou Funeral Home confirmed that its crematorium was using 20 furnaces to cremate bodies 24 hours a day.
Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his 'danda' remark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that a person with the protective shield of mothers and sisters cannot be harmed.

The prime minister made the comments while addressing a public rally here, even as ruckus continued in Parliament over the comments that Gandhi made at an election rally.

"One with the protective shield of mothers and sisters of the country cannot be harmed," Modi told the massive gathering without naming Gandhi.

During a poll rally in Delhi on Wednesday, Gandhi warned Modi that in the next six months, the youth will hit him with sticks ('danda') if he doesn't address the issue of unemployment in the country.

The comment created a furore in Parliament with a few members of the BJP and the Congress almost coming to blows in the Lok Sabha when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan roundly condemned the remark and called it "outlandish".

Vardhan said the Congress leader's father Rajiv Gandhi was a prime minister and even he was not targeted like this.

Gandhi later alleged that the ruckus in the Lok Sabha was "orchestrated" to prevent him from questioning the government.

In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Modi on Thursday had said, "I heard an Opposition MP saying 'we will beat Modi with sticks in six months'. I have also decided I will do more 'Surya Namaskar'. This will make my back even stronger to face abuses. In any case, I have been abused so much for the last two decades that their negativity hardly matters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
York Regional Police have charged a man with manslaughter and drug trafficking following the death of a 23-year-old man who overdosed on drugs laced with fentanyl last year.

Police say that, in June 2019, they were called to a residence in the area of Stone Road and Bayview Avenue after a man was found dead. Following an investigation, they learned that the victim died as a result of using drugs laced with fentanyl.

On Thursday, police arrested Stanley Silvera, 32, of Aurora, and charged him with manslaughter and trafficking.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about the accused or the incident to come forward with information.

This is one of several recent investigations where an individual has been charged with manslaughter in York Region after a death has occurred as a result of fentanyl, police said in a news release on Friday.

York police communications officer Laura Nicolle pointed to separate incidents in February 2019 where police found a 33-year-old man dead in Markham and 28-year-old woman dead in Stouffville as a result of fentanyl-laced drugs. In both cases, suspects were charged four months later. The charges were related to manslaughter, drug possession and trafficking.

Fentanyl is a constant and ongoing concern, she said.
vrrraju BHPian



Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 186 Thanked: 35 Times

re: Kia might shift its plant to Tamil Nadu (EDIT: rumour denied by Kia) This is most unfortunate decision if Kia has to move to TN from Andhra Pradesh. This was one of the flagship projects after Andhra was carved out from Telangana.



It is political vendetta of new AP govt and it has created a very wrong impression in the minds of investors not only for AP but for entire India. Kia is not only moving because of the incentives review but it has been learnt that the incentives that were give to setup ancillary industries were rolled back thus creating a hostile environment for part supplies. The cost of shipment of parts from TN to plant in AP has almost got offset-ed. This will make the production cost of Kia motors unsustainable in long run.



Andhra Pradesh was never an automobile state, so getting a skilled resource will always be challenge, in order to fill the competency gap, it will take at least 3 years if you want to employee local people as per the new policy. Any further expansion at this facility will not be viable also.



It is in the best interest of business and economy, the Central Govt should intervene now and resolve any issues and raise the investor confidence. Last edited by vrrraju : 6th February 2020 at 10:15 . Reason: Removed unwanted spaces
One of the six pillars of the Chester County Historic Courthouse on North High Street will shine in blue light on January nights beginning Tuesday evening in recognition of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
Politicians "from Donald Trump down" who insulted teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg made themselves "absolutely ridiculous", says former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, while also calling politicians who cannot admit their mistakes "pathetic".

"There is nothing more ridiculous than middle-aged or adult people, politicians in particular, mocking or deriding teenagers for expressing political opinion," Mr Turnbull said on Friday.

Malcolm Turnbull and his daughter Daisy Turnbull Brown with students Alice Morgan, Ethan Cheung and Eloise Aiken at Sydney University on Friday. Credit:Christopher Pearce

"The pile-on onto Greta Thunberg was surely one of the most ridiculous, absurd exercises. It made all those know-it-alls in the media and politicians, from Donald Trump down, attacking her, look absolutely ridiculous and I hope they all had enough self-awareness to realise."

Mr Turnbull was speaking at the University of Sydney, at the Side by Side conference on social inequality run by Sydneys Wayside Chapel with which the Turnbulls have a long association.
Kigali, Rwanda (PANA) - Rwanda's State Minister for Constitution and Legal Affairs, Evode Uwizeyimana, has resigned just a few days after he assaulted a security guard at the entrance of a business complex in Kigali city this week, according to an official document obtained by PANA on Friday in Kigali
Kokrajhar: Nearly a week after signing of the historic Bodo agreement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Kokrajhar in Assam on Friday (February 7) to participate in the celebrations to mark the signing of the agreement. Posters welcoming Prime Minister Modi to the event to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Agreement have been put up.

At the event, he said, "I welcome you, the peace-loving Assam, peace and development loving Northeast, to the new resolutions of New India."

He further expressed his gratitude to the Assam government and Assam student body for the success in the signing of the accord. "Today is the day to congratulate the commitment of all the young cadres associated with the All Bodo Students Union (ABSU), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), BTC Chief Shri Hagrama Mohilary and the government of Assam, who played a very positive role for this agreement," he said.

Taking a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who recently said that PM Modi will be beaten with sticks for his policies, Modi said, "Sometimes people talk about beating me with sticks, with the love and support of mothers such as yourself no matter how many times I am beaten nothing will happen. Today I have come to embrace you from the bottom of my heart."

The visit comes days after the state government signed a tripartite agreement with representatives of all factions of the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in New Delhi on January 27. It is the first visit of Prime Minister Modi since the state witnessed anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

Live TV

Over four lakh people from the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) districts and all over Assam are expected to attend the programme, a government release said.

The Bodo groups have been demanding a separate state of Bodoland for the last 50 years. The movement has resulted in extensive violence and loss of hundreds of lives over the years. The Assam government will organise a cultural programme of ethnic groups of the state to showcase the diversity of the region.

The Prime Minister will also address the gathering to hail the historic Bodo Agreement signed in January this year, by including the leading stakeholders under one framework. He had said that the agreement is inspired by the mantra of "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas" and the spirit of "Ek Bharat, Shresth Bharat".
Reference is made to the resolution by the 2019 annual general meeting of Electromagnetic Geoservices ASA (EMGS or the Company) to authorise the board of directors of the Company to issue share options to the Companys employees as part of a long-term incentive plan.



In accordance with the authorisation, the Company has today granted 12,500 share options to each employee. This equals a total of 1,512,500 share options being issued by the Company.



The exercise price for the share options is NOK 2.1735, equal to the average volume weighted trading price for the share on the Oslo Stock Exchange over the 30-day period preceding the grant date. Each option gives the right to acquire one share in the Company. The options were granted without consideration.



The share options will vest over a period of four years from the grant date, with 25% vesting annually. The share options expire two years from each vesting date. Vesting is conditional on the employee still being employed by the Company at the vesting date.



A condition for receiving the new share options is that employees who currently hold options issued before this grant, waives such pre-existing options. As these pre-existing options are deemed to have no economic value, the Company expects that all employees will accept the new options and that following full implementation of the grant, the total number of options outstanding in the Company will hence be 1,512,500.





The following primary insiders of the Company have been granted share options on 7 February 2020:



* Aase Kornstad Aune, Office Manager and HR Coordinator, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



* yvind Greaker Bjrndal, Chief Legal Counsel, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and 11,000 shares in the Company.



* Knut Anders Eimstad, Interim CFO, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



* Dag Helland-Hansen, Global Exploration Advisor and BU President EMEA, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and 40,000 shares in the Company.



* Marte Vist Karlsen, employee elected board member, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



* Bjrn Petter Lindhom, CEO, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and 17,003 shares in the Company.



* Adam James Robinson, employee elected alternate board member, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



* Even Hofstad Selns, VP Human Resources, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



* Markus Skar, EVP Acquisition, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and 56 shares in the Company.



* Jon Gunnar Solheim, employee elected board member, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and 27,000 shares in the Company.



* Ellen Trolid, employee elected alternate board member, has been granted 12,500 share options. Following the grant, the primary insider holds a total of 12,500 share options and zero (0) shares in the Company.



Contact

Anders Eimstad, EMGS Interim Chief Financial Officer, +47 948 25 836



About EMGS

EMGS, the marine EM market leader, uses its proprietary electromagnetic (EM) technology to support oil and gas companies in their search for offshore hydrocarbons. EMGS supports each stage in the workflow, from survey design and data acquisition to processing and interpretation. The Company's services enable the integration of EM data with seismic and other geophysical and geological information to give explorationists a clearer and more complete understanding of the subsurface. This improves exploration efficiency and reduces risks and the finding costs per barrel.



EMGS operates on a worldwide basis with offices in Trondheim, Oslo, Houston, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro and Kuala Lumpur.





This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
WEST CHESTER  A former student at Church Farm School who secretly took intimate photographs of teachers at the West Whiteland school admitted he had a sex addiction that he allowed to get out of control while pleading guilty to privacy invasion charges in Common Pleas Court Thursday.

Working with my therapists has been helpful in understanding how my actions affected my victims, said Jamison Coby Brenner, whose crimes came to light after police discovered naked photos of a 16-year-old girl on his iPhone during an investigation into his alleged drug dealing.

Acknowledging that his behavior in filming so-called upskirt photos of two teachers at his former school was selfish and immoral, he offered an apology to the two women who sat in Judge Patrick Carmodys courtroom for the guilty plea proceeding.

I realize now the extent of the damage I have done, said Brenner, a tall, heavyset 20-year-old who graduated from the private school in 2017. There is no fix-all for the harm I have done. I humbly accept my sentence and recognize my crimes.

It will always be my greatest mistake, he said.

It better be, snapped Carmody, who appeared to be reluctant to accept the negotiated guilty plea for Brenner that saw him sentenced to six to 23 months in Chester County Prison on a single count of invasion of privacy. Its creepy. Its disgusting. And if I ever see you again (in court), youll go to state prison.

Brenner, of East Fallowfield, was found to have taken intimate photos of five victims in all, according to court documents. The plea concerned solely the charges related to the photos of the 16-year-old, but Assistant District Attorney Vince Cocco, who handled the case, told Carmody that he had consulted with all of the victims in the case about the proposed plea. None disagreed with the outcome, he said.

The two female Church Farm School teachers who attended the proceeding did not publicly address the court but sent letters to Carmody which he read beforehand in which they described the hell they had been through since learning Brenner had secretly photographed them. Neither did the 16-year-old at the center of the plea, who was not in court but whose father sat and listened tensely as Brenner apologized.

In addition to the prison term Brenner was sentenced to serve as part of a plea agreement worked out between Cocco and defense attorney Dan Bush of the West Chester firm of Lamb McErlane, he was also given five years consecutive probation on a count of corruption of minors. He also pleaded guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia.

Brenners photographs were discovered after he was arrested on drug delivery charges by West Chester police. He had sold marijuana to a confidential informant in February and March of 2019. Police then searched the apartment in the 100 block of Dean Street where he was living at the time and found seven ounces of the drug in his room, as well as packaging material, according to a criminal complaint by West Chester Detective Jason Francart.

During the search, Brenner gave police permission to search the contents of his iPhone. When it was examined by forensic analysts from the Chester County Detectives, they found two still images of what appeared to be Brenner pulling aside the clothing of a young female who appeared to be asleep, exposing her breasts and vagina, said Cocco.

When police later searched Brenners laptop computer, they found the other photos, from Church Farm School and elsewhere. All of the victims were contacted by police and said they had not given Brenner permission to take the photos or to record the videos.

None of the victims were named in the complaint.

Bush said that after he was charged with the marijuana case, Brenner immediately went to drug and alcohol in-patient rehab. When the photos surfaced, he then began sex addiction counseling, even enrolling in a week-long program in Tennessee.

He did everything humanly possible to address these problems, Bush said of his clients actions after his arrest. He dove in head-first. But he had demons that he was dealing with.

Carmody declined to allow Brenner to be released from prison while serving his sentence to continue working in West Chester, saying that the short length of time he would spend in prison was enough leniency and that seeing him taken from the courtroom to prison would help bring some finality in the matter to the victims. But he said they would continue to feel the crimes impact.

There is not full closure for them, because they are going to live with this for the rest of their lives, the judge said. You stole their privacy.

To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Iraq protesters defiant as they bury 7 killed in overnight clash



Najaf, Iraq, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Young Iraqi protesters pushed on with anti-government rallies across the country on Thursday as they buried seven fellow activists killed overnight in violence blamed on supporters of powerful cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Sadr -- a militiaman-turned-politician with a cult-like following -- had backed the rallies demanding the ouster of the entire political class when they erupted in October but has since then changed course.

In supporting ex-minister Mohammad Allawi as Iraq's new premier, Sadr split with the rest of the popular movement, and his diehard followers have turned on rival protesters.

Late Wednesday, Sadrists raided a protest camp in Iraq's shrine city of Najaf where demonstrators had been chanting against Allawi.

Seven anti-government protesters were killed by bullets to the head or chest, medics in the city said, and dozens more were wounded.

On Thursday morning, the dead were wrapped in white shrouds and carefully laid in coffins draped with Iraqi flags, then carried in a funeral march through the city.

Young Iraqis, sobbing, grasped at the coffins as they were carried past.

Despite the bloodshed, Iraqis gathered for renewed rallies, with hundreds of students flooding Baghdad's Tahrir Square.

"Whether ten or 100 die, I won't abandon this cause!" they chanted, as a girl stood silently nearby with a banner that read, "Our martyrs are our candidates".

High school student Tayba walked into Tahrir alone, an Iraqi flag tied around her shoulders.

"We've finally got used to it," she said somberly, of the violence in Najaf.

"In fact, we're even more determined. Before, the students used to hold just one demonstration a week, now there are three."



- 'Masks have fallen off' -



Nearly 490 people have been killed and 30,000 wounded since October, most of them demonstrators, according to a count compiled by AFP from security and medical sources.

The demonstrators have demanded a total overhaul of the ruling system and have rejected Allawi -- nominated on February 1 to replace Adel Abdel Mahdi, who stepped down in December -- as too close to the political elite.

Sadr's endorsement of Allawi prompted a sudden escalation in tensions with other demonstrators, which spilled over on Monday when an anti-government protester was stabbed to death in Hilla, south of the capital.

Sadr has ostensibly tried to calm the tensions in the days since, but for those in Tahrir, the damage was done.

"Did you see what happened in Najaf? The masks have fallen off," said Mohammad, a university student who has skipped class every day since October to protest.

"We've even told the Sadrists here that they were supposed to secure the square and their guys are the ones doing this -- but they don't listen to us," he told AFP.

For demonstrators in Nasiriyah further south, the deaths in Najaf are only the latest episode of their bloodstained uprising.

"Demonstrators were shot dead, kidnapped, assassinated, and now their camps are attacked in broad daylight under the watchful eye of the security forces," said Adnan Dafar, a protester.



- Allawi speaks out -



In Diwaniyah, protesters added Sadr to their chants denouncing the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi military network led by Hadi Ameri which many have blamed for violence against protesters.

"No Moqtada, No Hadi! My country will stay free!" they repeated.

On Thursday, the United Nations' top representative in Baghdad condemned the bloodshed in Najaf.

"Protection of peaceful protesters should be guaranteed at all times, not when it is too late," she said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said officials in his country were "outraged" by the violence in Najaf.

"It is unconscionable that the perpetrators continue to act with impunity," Pompeo said, urging the Iraqi government "to take immediate steps to hold accountable the militias, thugs, and vigilante groups in Najaf and other cities for their attacks against Iraqis exercising their right to peaceful protest".

Allawi made a televised statement on Thursday afternoon calling the situation "not acceptable at all".

"The next government's priority will be serious investigations into the violations against protesters and security forces and holding whoever was behind them responsible, whoever they may be," he said.

Allawi even hinted at a possible resignation, saying such attacks would make it "impossible to continue with the task assigned to me."

When he announced his candidacy, Allawi had extended a hand to protesters and urged them to keep up their rallies.

He has since met with representatives of the movement, pledging to release anyone detained for demonstrating, compensate the families of those killed in protest-related violence and work with the UN to implement demonstrators' demands.

Allawi also pledged to include demonstrators as he seeks to form his cabinet, which he must do by March 2.

Until it is confirmed by parliament with a vote of confidence, Allawi remains PM-designate.
The National Weather Service has issued a rare February tornado warning in parts of southern New Jersey, as strong thunderstorms have begun to develop, some of which are capable of producing a tornado.

A tornado warning is active in parts of Gloucester and Salem counties  along with Delaware County in Pennsylvania and New Castle County in Delaware  until 10:15 a.m. Friday.

The weather service office in Mount Holly said it spotted cloud rotation on weather radar, which prompted the warning to be issued at 9:54 a.m. (Update: The tornado warning has expired.)

In addition, the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Salem and Somerset counties, effective until 11:15 a.m. Friday. That warning was prompted by a strong cell of thunderstorms moving across southern New Jersey packing very strong winds.

UPDATE (11 a.m.): A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties, effective until 11:45 a.m. Friday. A storm cell moving through these areas could produce wind gusts as strong as 70 mph, along with hail up to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, the weather service said.

ALSO: Widespread power outages possible Friday as strong winds hit 50 to 60 mph

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Toms River NJ, New Brunswick NJ, Lakewood NJ until 11:45 AM EST pic.twitter.com/7MIFP8otQn  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 7, 2020

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Philadelphia PA, Trenton NJ, Camden NJ until 11:15 AM EST pic.twitter.com/ncDkZDb4vs  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 7, 2020

The weather service said some of the thunderstorm winds could get as strong as 70 mph, and the storms are also producing penny-size hail.

Update (10:20 a.m.): The tornado warning for South Jersey has been lifted, now that the tornado threat has ended. A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued for Hunterdon and Warren counties, effective until 10:45 a.m. Friday.

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Toms River NJ, Vineland NJ, Lakewood NJ until 11:15 AM EST pic.twitter.com/ycuqjalg2l  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 7, 2020

Tornado Warning including Wilmington DE, Newark DE, Bear DE until 10:15 AM EST pic.twitter.com/sr1Ib3qod9  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) February 7, 2020

Live weather radar

Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The SMM continues to experience restrictions to its freedom of movement, which hinders its ability to fulfill its mandated tasks.

Chief Monitor of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine Yasar Halit Cevik has said despite the positive impact of recent disengagement in the three agreed areas and the reconstruction of the bridge near Stanytsia Luhanska, a comprehensive ceasefire remains an essential element for progress.

Read alsoUkraine says OSCE SMM's freedom of movement in Donbas still restricted

In his address to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on Thursday, he noted that overall, the disengagement process remained on track in the pilot areas, and that discussions in the Trilateral Contact Group's Working Group on Security Issues continued to reach an agreement on the identification of new disengagement areas, the OSCE said in a press release on February 7, 2020.

"More efforts on mine action and the opening of new entry-exit checkpoints along the contact line are needed to alleviate the hardship civilians face every day," said Cevik.

He also emphasized that the SMM continues to experience restrictions to its freedom of movement, which hinders its ability to fulfill its mandated tasks.
Berkmann reveals wine industry trends for 2020 at annual tasting

The changing face, habits and expectations of wine consumers was the main topic of discussion at a key industry event in London.

Bringing together industry and trade press, Berkmann Wine Cellars' annual portfolio tasting on 4 February heard wine experts debating the trends which could shape the wine landscape in 2020.

With a new generation of wine consumers emerging, the event heard that producers are having to come to terms with new purchasing habits and attitudes towards consumption and sustainability.

The latter subject was hotly debated in the contexts of environment, society and culture, from thinking about what is sprayed on the vines to energy usage, packaging and relationships with local communities and employees.

The panel included:

Andrew Catchpole, editor at Harpers Wine and Spirit, who presented a wine from Unico Zelo - the Australian producer is nurturing varieties better suited to warm, dry climates, requiring no irrigation in a country where water is scarce.

Antoine Petrus, managing director of Les Maisons de Taillevent, who chose a 100-per-cent pinot noir champagne from Drappier - the first certified carbon-neutral champagne house - which is made without added sulphur.

Emma Dawson, senior wine buyer at Berkmann Wine Cellars, who presented Tblivino Qvevris Rkatsiteli, an orange wine from Georgia which exemplifies an increasingly popular variety that appeals to more adventurous consumers.

Food and drink writer Bill Knott, who chose a wine from T-OINOS in the Cyclades, which is not only an environmentally sustainable vineyard but also provides much-needed employment to the island community on Tinos.

7 February 2020 - Bethany Whymark
Why rare beetles are being smuggled to Japan at an alarming rate National Geographic

Hungry fungi chomp on radiation Nature. Paging Paul Stamets.

The only way to hit net zero by 2050 is to stop flying FT. One more reason to end mass tourism.

Lindblad Becomes First Self-Disinfecting Cruise Fleet Maritime Executive

The limits of high speed rail Mapping Ignorance

U.S., allies should consider Nokia, Ericsson investments to counter Huawei: Barr Reuters. Financially, this is possible. However, though Nokia and Ericsson are not Chinese company, they rely at least in part on China for, er, the means of production.

Brexit

Its Hard to Break Free from a Union (DJG):

The skies darken for Frances Sun King, Emmanuel Macron FT

Spains govt sets timing of talks with Catalonia leaders AP

Syraqistan

#2019-nCoV

Tamil-language anthem dropped from Sri Lanka independence party Agence France Presse

India

Brazil judge rejects hacking accusation against Greenwald AP

Right-wing Nicaraguan opposition boasts of support from US and EU in campaign to oust Sandinista gov The Grayzone

Bipartisanship:

It is my pleasure to welcome Interim President @jguaido of Venezuela to the U.S. Capitol. https://t.co/G9vsTsun0n  Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) February 6, 2020

Trump Transition

Impeachment

The House Impeachment: A Postmortem Lawfare. From the moment that activists made an unprecedented effort to lobby the presidential electors to overturn the results of the general election and embraced conspiracy theories about Russia stealing the election, any subsequent impeachment efforts would have been heavily discounted by Republicans. And not just Republicans. Also, activists is doing a lot of work, there. See Federalist 68, the Electoral College, and Faithless Electors. The kicker: The House failed to establish that this impeachment effort was anything other than politics as usual. Next time, hopefully, it will do better. Next time?! The whole article is well worth a read; it is not sparing of Pelosis leadership, which seems to have similarities to the management at Shadow.

2020
French soldiers killed more than 30 Islamist militants during three operations over the past two days, the French army disclosed Friday.

French troops operating under Operation Barkhane  an anti-insurgent mission in Africas Sahel region  killed more than 30 jihadists Liptako-Gourma zone, the army said in a statement.



The Liptako-Gourma  a hilly, sparsely populated border region straddling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso  has experienced an increase in violent attacks in recent months.



A Reaper drone, a Mirage 2000 fighter jet, a Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter and a Cougar transport helicopter were used in two targeted strikes on an area where terrorist fighters had been spotted, revealed French military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry.



The two separate operations were conducted in an area where the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS)  which France recently designated the number one enemy in the Sahel  operates.



More troops, less security



Last month, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the number of French troops in the Sahel would be increased from 4,500 to 5,100. The decision came at the end of a G5 Sahel in the southern French city of Pau, where Macron met with invited leaders of Mali, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Niger and Chad  countries that make up the G5 Sahel military grouping.



The Pau summit followed increasingly violent attacks, which in turn sparked anti-French protests in the region amid growing dissatisfaction over the military failure to secure the region.



Some experts meanwhile have questioned whether jihadists operating in the remote, chronically lawless transition zone between the Sahara and the African savannah pose a terror threat to France. They also question the Macron administrations continued military support for African leaders with poor track records on corruption, democratic values and tackling human rights abuses by local security forces, all of which, they say, swells the ranks of jihadist groups exploiting local grievances.

>> Read more: Macron ups anti-jihadist fight in Sahel, but solutions lie in Africa and may not be military



The bulk of the newly deployed French forces, who are scheduled to arrive by the end of February, will be concentrated in the Liptako-Gourma region. They will include troops experienced in combat, including commandos, accompanied by around 100 light and heavy armoured as well as logistical vehicles.



The reinforcements will also include substantial intelligence resources, both human and technical, according to French military sources. The deployments foreshadow the start of a new French-led European Takuba Task Force in Mali.


Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a star witness in the inquiry that led to the impeachment of President Trump, was dismissed from his post with the National Security Council and escorted from the White House on Friday, according to his lawyer.

Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth, David Pressman, Vindmans lawyer said in a statement. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful.

The Ukrainian-born officer, who came to the U.S as a child and received a Purple Heart for combat wounds in Iraq, testified about listening to Trumps July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

I was concerned by the call, what I heard was inappropriate, and I reported my concerns to Mr. Eisenberg, Vindman, who was the top Ukraine expert at the National Security Council, told House lawmakers about the call in which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

It is improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and a political opponent, Vindman testified. It was also clear that if Ukraine pursued an investigation into the 2016 election, the Bidens, and Burisma, it would be interpreted as a partisan play.

Trump and his supporters have criticized Vindmans account of what the president terms his perfect call with Zelensky, which led to a whistleblower complaint, not by Vindman, that kicked off the impeachment inquiry.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

Shortly before Vindman was escorted from the White House, Trump signaled to reporters that his ouster was imminent. Im not happy with him, Trump said of Vindman.

Vindmans twin brother, Yevgeney, who had served as an ethics lawyer for the NSC, was also dismissed from his position Friday, Bloomberg reported.

Vindman is expected to be reassigned to the Pentagon, where officials have pledged he will not face further retaliation.

We protect all of our service members from retribution or anything like that, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Friday.

Story continues

Vindman is not the only administration official who testified to the House inquiry to be sacked or reassigned: Gordon Sondland was also let go on Friday.

I was advised today that the president intends to recall me effective immediately as United States Ambassador to the European Union, Sondland said in a statement.

Sondland, who was appointed by Trump after donating $1 million to the presidents inaugural committee, described the quid pro quo that the president laid out for Zelensky.

I know that members of this committee frequently frame these complicated issues in the form of a simple question: Was there a quid pro quo? Sondland testified. As I testified previously, with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes.

On Monday, Jennifer Williams, a State Department employee on Vice President Mike Pences staff, was granted a request to leave her rotation at the White House early. Williams, who testified alongside Vindman during the impeachment inquiry, described Trumps call with Zelensky improper and unusual.

Bill Taylor, who served as the acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and testified in the impeachment inquiry, left his position in early January.

Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Taylor testified about the unusual channel of diplomacy being carried out in Ukraine by Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, and further established the presidents direct involvement with pursuing a foreign investigation of Biden.

Following the call with President Trump, the member of my staff asked Ambassador Sondland what President Trump thought about Ukraine, Taylor testified. Ambassador Sondland responded that President Trump cares more about the investigations of [Joe] Biden, which Giuliani was pressing for.

In a Friday interview with CNNs Jake Tapper, Taylor blasted critics of Vindman and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

It of course bothers me any time I see someone like Masha Yovanovitch or Alex Vindman unfairly attacked, Taylor told Tapper.

Trump recalled Yovanovitch from her post in Kyiv in May after complaints from Giuliani and others outside of the administration.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Like Vindman, Yovanovitch was portrayed by the presidents supporters as a Never Trumper.

Theres a reason why she got fired, Rep. Devin Nunes, D-Calif., said in an interview Thursday evening. This is one of the things we could never really get out because we couldnt bring in witnesses, but you know, we had people that we were ready to bring in that said that she was anti-Trump, espousing anti-Trump administration views while she was ambassador to Ukraine. Thats her boss.

In an op-ed published Thursday in the Washington Post, Yovanovitch, who is now a senior State Department fellow at Georgetown University, took issue with the Trump administrations handling of diplomacy.

This administration, through acts of omission and commission, has undermined our democratic institutions, making the public question the truth and leaving public servants without the support and example of ethical behavior that they need to do their jobs and advance U.S. interests, Yovanovitch wrote.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
With rise in Omicron cases, SC to conduct hearings virtually for next two weeks

Can't allow every person who thinks of some solution to COVID-19 to file petition: SC

SC notice to Centre on batch of petitions challenging citizenship law

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, Feb 07: The Supreme Court has issued notices to the Centre on a batch of petitions that challenged the newly amended citizenship law.

The petitions challenged the constitutional validity of the law. The court had on an earlier date refused to stay the new law.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal urged the bench to put on hold operation of new law and postpone exercise of the National Population Register (NPR) for the time being.

The court said it will not grant any stay on CAA without hearing the Centre on the matter.

"Will pass order on granting any interim relief to petitioner opposing the new law after four weeks," the bench said.

Plea to clear protesters at Shaheen Bagh to be heard on Monday

The new law seeks to grant citizenship to migrants belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Christian, Jain and Parsi communities who came to the country from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan on or before December 31, 2014.

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

President Ram Nath Kovind gave assent to the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 on December 12, turning it into an Act.

Several petitions have been filed challenging the constitutional validity of the newly amended law, including by RJD leader Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi.

Several other petitioners include Muslim body Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind, All Assam Students Union (AASU), Peace Party, CPI, NGOs 'Rihai Manch' and Citizens Against Hate, advocate M L Sharma, and law students have also approached the apex court challenging the Act.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh on Thursday took a stock of ongoing security-related projects, including those concerning women's safety, and asked police and other officials to expedite the work.

The state witnessed two horrific crimes against women earlier this week, where a 25-year-old college lecturer and a 50-year-old Dalit woman were set on fire in separate incidents. The Dalit woman died on Thursday.

An official said that Deshmukh reviewed the work of 'Dial-112', an emergency helpline connecting to police and other agencies during disasters, Mumbai and Pune CCTV surveillance projects, and CCTV installation in police stations.

He also reviewed Nirbhaya Women Security Fund projects including one where Emergency Call Boxes will be installed at isolated and crime-prone places.

The police should take precautionary measures with the help of modern technology to prevent crimes against women, the home minister said.

A separate cell will be set up at police stations so that women can lodge complaints comfortably before women police officers, the official said.

More than 10,700 CCTVs will be activated at 3600 places in the second phase of CCTV surveillance project in Mumbai, he said.

CCTV network installation is going on in Pune and Pimpri and approval for such networks for Mira Bhayandar, Solapur, Kolhapur, Chandrapur, Amaravati and Pandharpur will be given soon, he said.

The police department will purchase 1,502 four wheelers and 2,269 two wheelers to respond to emergency calls during disasters, he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Russian national, former vice-governor of the Irkutsk region Vladimir Pashkov, has been appointed one of the leaders of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic", or to be more precise, "the acting prime minister."

This is not the first Russian citizen to occupy senior positions in the "DPR" and "LPR". And his appointment is yet another proof that the puppet entities are exclaves fully managed by the Russian Federation.

For a former Russian official to get such a post is by no means an exile, but a huge raise

A spokesman for Putin, Dmirty Peskov, commenting on Pashkov's appointment, said that he emerged at the helm of the "government" of the "DPR" as a private individual, and wasn't delegated by Russia. However, this statement is nothing but a pathetic attempt to save face.

For a former Russian official to get such a post is by no means an exile but a huge raise. Indeed, through these two puppet entities, "LPR" and "DPR", millions are siphoned. And it's not hryvnias or rubles, it's U.S. dollars. Therefore, only truly "right" people are appointed to such positions by the Kremlin. Since we are talking about Donetsk, where all the processes are supervised by the GRU, Pashkov is part of the clan of the security forces, the military. Obviously, security officials perceive him as a reliable person who will act as a supervisor.

Remember Zakharchenko? After all, he was caught stealing fuel supplies for the Russian army, for which he paid his price: he had a network of gas stations, and he would sell fuel that was supplied to the armed forces of the Russian Federation deployed in Ukrainian territory. That is, they finished Zakharchenko because he became an unreliable and was caught ratting.

So the post of "prime minister" of "DPR" is an honorary appointment to supervise cash flows.

By the way, where has his predecessor Alexander Ananchenko gone? And here one should ask a question not about where he has gone, but whether he's still alive at all. Given that the DPR is handled by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, people in the pseudo-republic can simply disappear and no one will know where and how.

As soon as he begins to sing songs not in unison with the party's general line, he will suffer the same fate as Zakharchenko

Let us return to Zakharchenko. He was perfectly aware of what awaited him for stealing. Therefore, first he fled to Crimea, then to Abkhazia, ignoring the invitation to get to Moscow. When the GRU realized that it would be problematic to pull him out of Donetsk, they blew him up right there, in his favorite cafe.

Ananchenko, probably, was also "invited" somewhere. And that was it for him.

In this regard, it cannot be ruled out that for Pashkov there is a threat to completely disappear from this honorable position if he is not obedient, executive, and honest with his leaders. His task is to learn the "division table" day and night and observe it fully. As soon as he begins to sing songs not in unison with the party's general line, he will suffer the same fate as Zakharchenko. Nobody will play around because a lot of money is at stake.

Oleh Zhdanov is a reserve colonel, former operational control officer with the General Staff of the Armed Forces, military expert
According to his notes, Colonel Vindman said, the ellipses took the place of Mr. Trump saying there are recordings.

On that same page, the transcript recorded Mr. Zelensky promising that Ukraines next prosecutor general would look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue.

But Mr. Zelensky explicitly said Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company where Mr. Bidens son worked, and not the company, according to Colonel Vindman.

What Mr. Trump Said

I think thats when Comey announced he was leaking, lying and everything else, right?

False. As Mr. Trump praised Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, he claimed that Mr. Grassleys questioning of James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, in May 2017 resulted in Mr. Comey confessing to the misdeeds Mr. Trump has long accused him of. But Mr. Comey had said the exact opposite, denying that he had leaked classified information:

Mr. Grassley: Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?



Mr. Comey: Never.



Mr. Grassley: Question two, relatively related, have you ever authorized someone else at the F.B.I. to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?



Mr. Comey No.



Mr. Grassley: Has any classified information relating to President Trump or his association  associates been declassified and shared with the media?



Mr. Comey: Not to my knowledge.

What Mr. Trump Said

Tell me, why isnt Germany paying money? Why isnt France? Why isnt United Kingdom paying money? Why arent they paying money? Why are we paying the money?

This is misleading. Mr. Trump was talking about international aid to Ukraine. Those European countries are, in fact, contributing to Ukraines efforts to counteract Russian aggression. They provide more development and humanitarian aid to Ukraine than the United States does, though the United States is the largest provider of military assistance.

European countries have contributed $1.6 billion in development assistance from 2014 to 2017, compared with $807 million from the United States, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

What Mr. Trump Said

We just won two seats in North Carolina, two wonderful seats in North Carolina that were not supposed to be won.
When Nan Yong landed in Madrid on Wednesday, members of his family were waiting for him carrying face masks and the keys for two cars. Traveling in the first vehicle were the relatives who had come to welcome him after he spent several weeks in Wenzhou, China. Nan was in the other, headed for the house in which he is going to spend at least two weeks locked away alone. Its the only way to prevent a possible infection, explains the 49-year-old wholesaler.

While Nan doesnt believe that he has contracted the new coronavirus, which is behind an ongoing epidemic that has caused more than 560 deaths and has infected more than 28,100 people, he says that this approach is the most sensible one to take. Im shutting myself away in my house out of responsibility, he says via telephone. If I am sick, I dont want to pass it on to anyone else.

Im shutting myself away in my house out of responsibility Nan Yong

On his calendar he has crossed out the second day of his voluntary quarantine with a black marker pen. Like him, there are dozens of other Chinese citizens isolated for the two-week incubation time estimated by scientists for the new virus, which is a member of the coronavirus family and a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past. There are at least 61 Chinese residents of Spain shut away in their homes right now, according to a list that they themselves are keeping, most of them in Madrid. For now, none of them has shown any symptoms of the virus, which was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Nan hasnt had time to get bored, he explains from his apartment in the center of Madrid. He is reading all he can about the new coronavirus, taking his temperature three times a day, eating and resting. He went to China to visit his elderly parents before news of the outbreak hit the global front pages. Once there, Chinese cities began to go into lockdown, and chaos reigned. To return to Spain, where he has lived for the last 30 years, he had to request three authorizations. I told the authorities that I had not left Wenzhou, but that wasnt enough. They had to check it out with my neighbors. And they tested me before I got on the plane.





Nan Yong's calendar, with the two days of his quarantine so far crossed out with marker pen.

At that point he realized the magnitude of the epidemic and decided to mobilize his relatives in Madrid to prepare everything he needed. Face masks, food and a thermometer: all the essentials for an in-house quarantine. In his suitcase he was carrying books and clothes for the coming week. And if he needs to buy something? Im in virtual contact with my family, he replies. They can leave it at the door, as they do with the food.

Chen Enguan, the vice president of the Chinese Association in Spain, doesnt think that everyone coming from China should go into quarantine

Nan has it all planned out. Every three days his doorbell will ring. He will wait an appropriate amount of time for his relatives to leave and then he will open the door. Hanging from the handle will be a package of food for the coming days or anything else he has requested last minute.

Im not worried, he explains. I know that I dont have the symptoms, but this is what all of us should do.

Chen Enguan, the vice president of the Chinese Association in Spain, disagrees. While he thinks that quarantine is the responsible action to take, he doesnt think that everyone coming from China should do the same. We are not forcing them, its voluntary, he says. We only force them to do it if they have symptoms.

According to Chen, his association has been advising Chinese nationals coming back from their home country as to the prevention measures they should take and has even been helping to pay for the rent on properties where members of the community can spend their quarantine in case they dont have a second home and they want to avoid putting the rest of their family members at risk.

Nan Yong's supplies during his quarantine.

He Shaoqins husband did not go to meet her at the airport to avoid any risks. The 50-year-old instead took a taxi with her sister as soon as they landed in Madrid from Wenzhou, heading to her house in the Madrid city of Parla where she has lived since she arrived in Spain in 2007.

Her husband left beforehand with several relatives, who will be hosting him while Hes quarantine lasts. Their situation is halfway to returning to normal. There is just one week left. Inside we only eat and sleep, the wholesaler says with a laugh. She and her sister had traveled to their country to visit their parents. They arent nervous or concerned, but they are being very careful. They are taking their temperatures twice a day and they are regularly reporting to their relatives. They are also rationing the provisions of food that Hes sister-in-law left behind.

None of these Chinese citizens has been the victim of the wave of discrimination or racism that their community has been suffering in Spain since the epidemic began

None of these Chinese citizens has been the victim of the wave of discrimination or racism that their community has been suffering in Spain since the epidemic began to spread. Nan explains that he feared he would be detained when he arrived at the Spanish border. Many of the officers there were wearing face masks. They were very nice, he says. They said good morning to me and I smiled at them. Chen adds that discriminatory comments are not very common. In Spain theyve always treated us very well.

The social media accounts of these Chinese citizens are full of photos of people in quarantine and messages of support. The images features plenty of boxes of fruit, cereals, eggs and drinks. My family and I have arrived safe and sound in Madrid, reads one of the messages published in Wechat, the biggest Chinese social network. The food is ready for our isolation. Its the responsibility and duty of us all. In another photo, a bag of food is seen hanging off a door. Thanks for the great service, says one user, in reference to the volunteers who are distributing food to some of their compatriots who do not have relatives in Spain.

And among messages and images, there is the list of those who are in quarantine. On it are the He sisters as well as Nan. The list features names, their date of arrival in Spain, and the number of people with whom they are shut away. For now, the list has reached 61, but there are spaces up to 70, as though more arrivals were expected.

English version by Simon Hunter.
Congress said on Friday that the party or its leader Rahul Gandhi have at no stage expressed any intent to "cause any hurt" to Prime Minister and that his 'danda' remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi was an "expression about the desperation of the unemployed youth".

Party leader Anand Sharma told media persons here that several remarks have been made in the heat of Delhi elections and BJP leaders have also made "provocative remarks" for which they have faced campaign bans from Election Commission.

He said BJP is a political party and it cannot be equated with the country.

"The criticism of BJP or criticism of Prime Minister is not anti- act. We want to make it absolutely clear Congress party and Rahul Gandhi at no stage have expressed any intent to cause any hurt to the Prime Minister," Sharma said.

"We are a party which is committed to Gandhian values and principles. We do not encourage an expression about the desperation of the unemployed youth merely to a situation, should not be attributed as Rahul Gandhi's or Congress Party's intent to cause any hurt to the Prime Minister's person," he added.

The Congress leader said the BJP cannot state that the campaign of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah was "very serious and dignified".

"Their ministers have used provocative words and their continuation in the government reflects the true mentality (of BJP)," he said.

Sharma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had accused the opposition of trying to spread anarchy in relation to protests over the Population Register and Citizenship Amendment Act.

"These are big allegations but we did not interrupt the proceedings in Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha," he said.

Sharma said the party criticises the government and allegation is levelled that the party is speaking the language of Pakistan.

"This is an allegation no Indian can accept. Criticism of government is our right and responsibility," he said.

Gandhi had said while addressing a rally at Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi that Modi will not be able to move out of his house in the next six months as "youth will make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress."

"Narendra Modi, who is giving speeches, he will not be able to move out of his house in the next six months. The youth of India will hit him with sticks," Gandhi had said.

The Prime Minister on Thursday gave a reply to Gandhi over his 'danda' jibe, saying he been abused sufficiently in the last 20 years that he has become 'Gaali-proof'.

"I have decided that I will increase the frequency of 'Surya Namaskar' so that my back becomes so strong that it can bear the assaults," Modi said. As Gandhi attempted to interject, Modi said he had been speaking for 30-40 minutes but the current has reached there now. "Some tube lights work like this," he said.

Modi also took a jibe at Gandhi over his 'danda' remark at a rally in Kokorajhar in Assam on Friday. He said that some leaders talk about beating him with sticks but he is protected by the blessings of "all mothers of India."

The Lok Sabha on Friday saw three adjournments following a scuffle between Congress and BJP members over Gandhi's 'danda' jibe as Health Minister Harsh Vardhan sought an "unequivocal condemnation" from the House over his "outlandish remarks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
 An exclusive "by-invitation" networking event exposed insights from leading corporations about their banking needs

 Held at the picturesque Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, senior transaction bankers from the Middle East also met with the alumni of the School to get a glimpse into the immersive learning experience offered for senior transaction bankers

DUBAI, UAE, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Intellect Global Transaction Banking (iGTB), the transaction banking specialist from Intellect Design Arena Limited, today announced that its first iGTB Oxford School of Transaction Banking Alumni & Networking Event was held on 22 January, 2020 in Dubai, attracting 40 top bankers from 16 banks across the Middle East.

The afternoon and evening gave a unique opportunity for senior transaction banking executives to rekindle old friendships and interact with fellow graduates from the six incarnations of the School, which achieved NPS scores up to a stunning 94.4%. More importantly, learn from the personal journeys of their fellow graduates as they continue to develop winning strategies, improve decision-making capabilities and manage organisation-wide change in their banks, since graduating from the program.

The participants gained key insights into the immersive learning experienced by executive-level practitioners of transaction banking and got an exclusive opportunity to interact with leading corporates of the region with business interests ranging from retail, steel, healthcare, transportation, oil, steel and even diamond trading.

The special guest speakers including the alumni of School, Landmark Group, Diarough, Afri Ventures, Conares and SOCAR Trading shared their opinions. Additionally, Dr Tobias Miarka, MD, Greenwich Associates(the highly respected global financial services research firm)along with Gaurav Arora, Head - Corporate & Institutional Banking, Greenwich Associates presented the latest trends which have helped them succeed in transaction banking in the Middle East, providing insights from original research into corporate bank clients.

Rajesh Garg, Group Chief Financial Officer, Landmark Group, said: "It was my pleasure to have shared our thinking on digital initiatives in our operations especially the payment and treasury aspects including our recent initiatives in Blockchain and Robotic Process Automation. All the sessions at the iGTB Oxford event brought insightful perspectives from technology partners, transaction bankers to corporate treasurers."

Adil Driver, General Manager, Diarough Middle East DMCC, a diamond trading firm, and a former banker with ABN Amro, said: "The engaging panel discussion, really brought forth the impact of transaction banking on our businesses given the relevant constraints. A key takeaway, I believe, is that more constructive and more collaborative partnership with banks will go a long way to enhance the experience of the corporate finance functions."

Andrew England, Curriculum Director, Oxford School of Transaction Banking and Director & Head of Strategy, iGTB , said: "With an overwhelming positive feedback with an NPS score of 70% from the participants, the relevance of creating such networking forums goes a long way towards reaffirming the importance of this business, as well asunderstanding key variables that will affect everyone in the changing world of thetransaction banking ecosystem."

With around 200 alumni worldwide from the School, which has previously been run in Oxford, London and Singapore, and only open to senior, practising transaction bankers, the alumnus community now forms a powerful caucus for change and improvement in best practice in running a successful transaction banking franchise. This highly successful initiative brings together industry experts, bankers & corporate treasurers to Oxford(London), Singapore and now Dubai - within a program curriculum designed to leverage best practice, inviting colleagues to share their own stories, challenges, learning and successes.

The next full course will be held on 22nd-24th April,2020 in Oxford at the Rhodes House. It will conclude as usual in the Oxford & Cambridge Club in London. Visit igtboxford.com for more details on the program.

About Intellect Design Arena Limited

Intellect Design Arena Ltd.,a global leader when it comes to applying true digital technology, is the world's first financial tech company that covers the entire spectrum of banking and insurance needs with its wide suite of products. It does so via its four lines of business, namely, Global Consumer Banking, iGTB (Global Transaction Banking), Risk, Treasury and Markets and Insurance Software. With over 25 years of deep domain expertise, today Intellect is a brand name that progressive financial institutions look to for their digital needs, and for digital transformation initiatives.

Intellect pioneered Design Thinking for cutting-edge banking and insurance products and solutions, with that being the company's salient differentiator when enabling digital transformation. FinTech 8012, the world's first design centre for financial technology, reflects Intellect's commitment to continuous and impactful innovation, such that the growing need for digital transformation may be aptly addressed and answered. Intellect generates annual revenues of more than USD 208 million, by serving more than 240 customers through offices in 91+ countries, with a diverse workforce of more than 4,000 solution architects, domain specialists, and technology experts in key financial hubs around the world. For further information about the company and the various solutions it offers, please visit intellectdesign.com. For further information about the transaction banking solutions offered by iGTB, please visit https://www.igtb.com/.

For Media related info, please contact:



Nachu Nagappan

Intellect Design Arena Ltd

Mob: +91-89396-19676

Email: nachu.nagappan@intellectdesign.com
A British cage fighter has been jailed for 30 days and fined 58,000 after his drunken outbursts caused his plane to be diverted before he then attacked officers during his arrest.

Ben Iontton was on board the TUI Airlines 13-hour flight from London Gatwick to Los Cabos, Mexico, on January 30 when he began verbally abusing staff and passengers.

The 25-year-old was recorded being dragged from the grounded plane by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the flight was diverted to Winnipeg.

He was escorted directly to prison and has since appeared in a Canadian court where he admitted to charges of criminal damage and assaulting an officer.

The 25-year-old was recorded being dragged from the grounded plane by officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police after the flight was diverted to Winnipeg, Canada

A spokesman for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said: 'At approximately 11.45am officers were advised a plane from London en route to Los Cabos was being diverted to the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport due to an unruly passenger.

'The plane landed at 12.03pm and was met by officers at the gate.

'Officers boarded the plane and placed a 25-year-old male from the United Kingdom under arrest for causing a disturbance.'

Police later re-boarded the plane to arrest a second unruly British national, 34-year-old Natalie Walker, who police confirmed is unconnected to Iontton.

Ben Iontton (pictured), from Colchester, Essex, was initially charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft, uttering threats, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, assaulting a police officer and mischief over $5,000

Iontton, from Colchester, Essex, was initially charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft, uttering threats, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, assaulting a police officer and mischief over $5,000.

Walker was charged with mischief over $5,000 and disturbing the peace.

The pair have since appeared in a Winnipeg courtroom.

The court heard both had been drinking throughout the flight and that their actions delayed hundreds of passengers - who were forced to stay in Canada overnight - and cost the airline thousands of pounds.

Iontton (left and right) admitted to charges of criminal damage and assaulting an officer but the other charges were left to lie on file. He was sentenced to 30 days behind bars and given a 30-day period of unsupervised probation with orders not to drink or take drugs

Iontton admitted to charges of mischief (criminal damage) and assaulting an officer but the other charges were left to lie on file.

He was sentenced to 30 days behind bars and given a 30-day period of unsupervised probation with orders not to drink or take drugs.

Walker admitted both charges and was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment.

Both must pay $100,000 in restitution each - the equivalent to 58,000 - and a $200 victim surcharge.

They will be deported back to the UK once they are released.
MANCHESTER, N.H. - "I like Pete Buttigieg," Bernie Sanders said. "Nice guy."

But that is where the warm words ended.

The Vermont senator, speaking Friday morning at the "Politics and Eggs" breakfast at Saint Anselm College, went after the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, in newly sharp terms as the rival candidates each claimed victory in the Iowa caucuses, with Buttigieg ahead in delegates to the state convention and Sanders leading in the popular vote.

The muddle in the first-in-the-nation contest, where results were delayed by a technological breakdown, gave added salience to Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire.

In introductory remarks before he took questions, Sanders read aloud a series of headlines about the 38-year-old former mayor. Depicting his rival as too cozy with big-money donors, Sanders telegraphed his line of attack against Buttigieg as the two compete to replicate their Iowa success in other early states.

"How do we feel when we have candidates in the Democratic Party right now - I'm reading some headlines from newspapers about Pete Buttigieg," he said.

One described how Buttigieg "has most exclusive billionaire donors of any Democrat." Another characterized the former mayor and management consultant as the party's "big business candidate." The Washington Post reported this week that the candidate, who began the race with next to no national name recognition, is "getting an even closer look from big-money donors following what some described as a surprising performance in the Iowa caucuses."

A spokesman for Buttigieg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The headlines speak to the growing divide among Democrats - who lament the role of money in politics - over how to finance their own campaigns. Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have sworn off high-dollar fundraisers, though each has transferred funds from previous bids, when their self-imposed restrictions were less strict. Sanders also draws backing from Our Revolution, a nonprofit founded by the senator that takes large donations without fully disclosing their source.

Still, small contributions have been at the heart of his campaign war chest, which brought in $25 million in January alone. Buttigieg, meanwhile, raised $2.7 million in the three days that followed Iowa's caucuses, including from more than 22,000 new donors, his campaign told supporters in an email.

Sanders, speaking in Manchester four days before the New Hampshire primary, said the foundation of his financial base is distinctive - teacher is the most common profession among his donors - and illustrates his working-class support.

"Which side are you on?" he asked, adding, "Anyone remember old Woody Guthrie?"

He vowed not to break out in song.

"But we are in a moment where billionaires control not only our economy but our political life," Sanders said, suggesting Buttigieg's ability to lure billionaires meant his opponent would not break their grip on American government.

Buttigieg, for his part, has called for a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United, the 2010 Supreme Court decision that barred restrictions on election spending by corporations. Last year, in distancing himself from the label of democratic socialism, "the biggest problem with capitalism right now is the way it's become intertwined with power and is eroding our democracy."

When approached at a campaign event in December and asked whether addressing the role of money in politics meant no longer accepting donations from billionaires, the candidate answered flatly, "No."

Buttigieg also had a message for his rival as they jostled to portray themselves victorious in Iowa.

Reacting during a CNN town hall on Thursday to a final tally by the Iowa Democratic Party that gave him the most state delegate equivalents - the figure traditionally used to declare a winner in the caucuses - he said, "It's fantastic news to hear that we won."

He added, "Senator Sanders clearly had a great night, too, and I congratulate him and his supporters."

A Monmouth University poll released on Thursday showed Sanders and Buttigieg on strong footing in New Hampshire, at 24 percent and 20 percent, respectively, in a survey with a margin of error of four percentage points. Former vice president Joe Biden, who described his fourth-place finish in Iowa as a "gut punch," registered at 17 percent, and Warren was at 13 percent.
Sweethearts: Brian Queenan (24) from Castlebar, Co Mayo, with his girlfriend Lin, who are unable to leave Beijing. Photo: Owen Breslin

An Irishman who has no job and is desperate to leave coronavirus-hit China has appealed to the Government not to abandon him.

Brian Queenan (24), from Castlebar, Co Mayo, is stranded in Beijing unless an emergency travel permit is granted to his Chinese girlfriend allowing her return to Ireland with him.

He is "extremely" worried because his work visa expires in two weeks and his employment as a secondary school teacher has dried up because of the shutdown caused by the virus outbreak.

"My partner Lin, who is a 21-year-old student, is Chinese.

"Her family are confined to her hometown in Jiangxi in the far south of China.

"The roads into the village have been destroyed and she has no way to join them.

"Without me, she will have no home to stay in. I need to get her an emergency visa so that she can come with me to Ireland until the crisis has stabilised.

"Many Irish citizens with partners or wives and children in China face this problem.

"We hope we can get the necessary help and that the Irish Government and the Irish embassy will not abandon us."

Mr Queenan added: "My heart goes out to them, there is no way they can go to Ireland."

He is among a number of Irish citizens who remained because they had a Chinese partner who was not allowed to leave the country.

They are now facing weeks of confinement in their homes, deserted city streets and food shortages which have led to "people fighting over a carrot".

Mr Queenan said he was very dissatisfied with the inadequate response he had so far received from the Irish embassy in China.

"I called the embassy about my situation but they seem to rarely pick up the phone. I eventually got through and they told me to write my concerns in an email.

"They replied back saying that visa centres in Beijing are closed and that my girlfriend could not apply for a normal visa. They said they would let me know when they are open again. I felt totally ignored."

He added: "Who knows how long this will last for?"

A spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said the Irish embassy and consulates were keeping citizens in China appraised of the situation: "Alongside our community organisations, they are working night and day to provide our citizens with advice and support to manage the restrictions that have been put place to contain this new epidemic."

This was a challenging process, he said.

Ireland, along with our EU and other partners, "is in regular contact with the Chinese authorities to provide all possible assistance".
Otten, 70, says the lodge, which is now his eight-bedroom home, will be transformed into a newsroom of sorts, with about 80 journalists there to record the first votes cast in New Hampshire's 2020 primary. It's a great lesson in American democracy, says Otten, who has been spending his time getting ready for the media onslaught, including making sure that the Wi-Fi in his house can handle the extra traffic Monday night.

The walls of the lodge's dining room are covered with photographs of the past presidential hopefuls who have come through, from Ronald Reagan to George Bush to Bill Clinton to John McCain.

As soon as the five Dixville Notch voters vote, the poll will quickly be closed and the scores of journalists in Otten's home will report the results. The midnight voting only works if everyone who is eligible to vote shows up. That's because under state election law, if even one eligible voter doesn't show up, The Balsams polling place must remain open until that voter votes or until 7 p.m. Tuesday, the statewide closing time.

That won't be an issue this year, when all five eligible voters will be in Otten's living room at the appointed time. But in years past, as many as 29 people were registered in Dixville Notch, and it wasn't unusual for election officials to fan out through the town to search out all the eligible voters and get them to the poll at midnight.

History is preserved

Dixville Notch isn't necessarily a bellwether when it comes to who will eventually get a party's nomination. In 2016, nine votes were cast: four for Sen. Bernie Sanders of nearby Vermont, who ran in the Democratic primary, three for former Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich and two for eventual Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Dixville Notch also isn't New Hampshire's only midnight voting polling place. Millsfield, not far from Dixville Notch, and Hart's Location, about two hours to the southeast, both gather their voters at midnight to cast ballots. Hart's Location started the tradition in 1948 as a way to help railroad workers who had to be on the job before the polls opened. Tillotson says he doesn't consider it a competition  all three communities can claim the first-in-the-nation primary vote status.

"Here are these few towns that get up at midnight and 100 percent of the citizens vote, he said. If that encourages somebody else to get up at 9 a.m. and vote, it's a wonderful thing. It kind of begins the starting gun for the presidential election process."

Dixville Notch almost lost its place in voting history this year. Under New Hampshire law, five people must staff a polling place. Until last month, only four eligible voters lived there. That's when Otten stepped up and moved in. He was already in the process of trying to restore the resort, which closed in 2011. Dixville Notch is located just 20 miles from Canada and once provided a labor force for the paper and pulp industries. Those businesses have left, Otten said, but he is determined to bring The Balsams back to its former glory.

Otten is also determined to keep the midnight voting tradition alive  and see it grow. I would like in 2024 for there to be at least 50 people voting, he says, and for us to be in an utter panic to make sure everybody shows up."

Editors note: This article has been updated to reflect the New Hampshire primary results.
Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.

In this weeks Amicus, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate contributor Rick Hasen, professor of law and political science at the University of CaliforniaIrvine School of Law, for Part 2 of a five-part series on voting and elections. Lithwick and Hasen, who is also the author of the forthcoming book Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust, and the Threat to American Democracy, speak with Joel Kurth, managing editor of Bridge, a nonprofit news source in Michigan, about what happened in the state during the 2016 election, when candidate Hillary Clinton requested a recount to confirm the tally.

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A portion of that conversation has been excerpted below, lightly edited and condensed for clarity. The full episode is available here.

Dahlia Lithwick: This is the section where we just talk about how weird it is that in the 21st century, I can pick up my phone and order exactly the right number of milligrams of rice in my Chinese food, its delivered to my door, and yet still we lose boxes of ballots and [voting] machines dont work. I mean, theres a way in which so much of what youre calling incompetence is justwe run elections as though its still 1840?

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Rick Hasen: Well, so first of all, last night before we recorded this podcast, my Chinese food delivery was wrong twice. First they brought the wrong food, then they forgot the rice. But Americas democracy is not going to crumble if I didnt get my dinner right. Similarly, people say, Well, why dont we just vote with ATM machines? Well, theres $1 billion in fraud every year with ATM machines.

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If we had that level of error with elections, wed be in big trouble. I mean, think about it. Aside from going to war or maybe the census, holding an election is the most complicated thing we do as a country. And we have this history of decentralized elections, so we dont hold one election on Election Day. Were actually holding thousands of elections. Were even holding over a thousand elections just in the state of Michigan. And most election officials do a very good job in how they run their elections. But there are these places where there are still problems.

Lithwick: So remind us, Rick, what in the end happens with [the 2016 Michigan] recount?

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Hasen: The court stopped the recount. Not only does Michigan have some problems with how poll workers are administering their electionsthey also have some problems with the rules for running recounts. And this recount was stopped. Clinton didnt kick up more of a fuss because she didnt think she could win. Youd think that Detroit ballots are going to heavily favor Clinton, but they calculated it wasnt enough to make a difference. Maybe they didnt want to shine more of a light on the problems in Detroit because Detroit, [like] many American cities, is a city run by Democrats. The state board of elections did an investigation and their conclusion is

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Joel Kurth: It was mass incompetence. They found no evidence of any effort to try to stuff ballots. In fact, in Detroit at the end of the day, I think the difference was about 500 ballots that they couldnt reconcile. And the former state elections director, Chris Thomas, conducted an audit and they found that it was poor worker training. The ballot machines themselves were 10 years oldthey led to frequent jams. There were ballots misplaced, but there was no effort to throw the election.

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This is the result of an old citys aging infrastructure, poorly trained workers who work one day every four years or a couple of elections, and just really poor practices, rather than fraud.

Hasen: No malfeasance, but incompetence.

Lithwick: Correct me if Im wrong, but its race that actually plays a pretty big role in attacks on election administration in Democratic areas. Like Broward County in Florida and in Detroit.

Hasen: The fact is theres incompetence across the board, but when youre talking about where the large numbers of votes are and where Democratic voters are, theyre in the large cities, and its because of this that people like Trump focus on the incompetence of election administrators in places that have large minority populations often run by people of color who are the election administrators. Race just becomes a part of this conversation and often in ways from Trump that seemed tinged with racism.

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"When elections are administered badly, it can have a profound effect on peoples trust."  Rick Hasen

Broward County in 2018 was a very close race for the United States Senate between the incumbent Democrat Bill Nelson and the outgoing governor and Republican candidate Rick Scott. Brenda Snipes was the election [supervisor] in Broward County and she had a history of problems and how she administered elections. She wasnt transparent at all. Trump goes on the attack against Brenda Snipes, an African American woman. It was one of a number of attacks on African American women that Trump had [done] at the time.

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But there was no evidence that Brenda Snipes ever tried to steal an election. There was only evidence of incompetence. But Democrats are in a tough spot in terms of how they respond to such attacks because they dont want to call out their own people for messing things up.

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Kurth: Obviously this is their base. Its largely minority. You dont want to accuse them of being incompetent and you want to respect their autonomy. You see Republicans accusing Democrats of rigging elections, when a lot of times these are sort of really simple mistakes but they cant have good explanations for why they occurred. A lot of the heavily urban counties had similar problems to Detroits. There was Genesee County, which [inclues] Flint. I believe Saginaw County had similar problems.

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Hasen: Theres a very pernicious asymmetry here. When Democrats have problems with incompetence, theyre accused of voter fraud. Theyre accused of stealing the election, and Republicans look the other way when the incompetence is happening in Republican areas. And so I think the double standard gets applied once again.

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Kurth: I think its a real balancing act. I think in urban areas, obviously theyre dealing with many problems and decades and decades of disinvestment that led to some voting irregularities on wider scales. I will say though, too, that its not any different than whats happening on smaller scales in rural places. This is just a matter of volume.

Lithwick: But, lets be clear, this goes back to the fundamental point of [Hasens] book that whether were talking about incompetence in election administration, in Democratic areas, in Republican-controlled areasand to be sure Georgia has had some very serious problems, which well talk about in a later show in this seriesthe effect overwhelmingly is the same, which is, it undermines confidence in the electoral process. And its easier to believe a conspiracy theory than to believe incompetence is the sole cause.

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Hasen: The fact of the matter is that when elections are administered badly, when there are problems, it can have a profound effect on peoples trust.

Kurth: The Green Party is convinced that elections are stolen systematically in Detroit. And I think on the other side, the conservatives do as well. And I think that the vast majority of the 85 percent in the middle have a sort of a shoulder shrug of Thats just how things happen sometimes in Detroit. Its not a great way to run a democracy. I mean, you want utmost faith that your votes going to count. And unfortunately, especially in Detroit and sometimes in Michigan, you cant always be sure thats the case.

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Hasen: Heres the problem. When things go wrong in places like Broward County, Detroit, and Georgia, the news media and interested parties rarely differentiate between incompetence and deliberate abuse, or that differentiation comes later on down the line when the damage is already done. It took months for Michigan election officials to investigate. In the meantime, what did people who watch Fox News learnthat there were more votes than voters in the city of Detroit?

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Kurth: I dont think theres been any evidence of trying to throw elections that has been credible, but I think that its hard not to let your imagination wander if youre frequently having power outages in precincts during elections and youre losing ballots. Why wouldnt you have a conspiracy theory?

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Lithwick: Maybe this is a good corollary to your initial point, which is we only think about broken election systems in the week before elections. We only think about them again in the week after. And so if six months later a finding comes out, no harm, no foul, or no foul, but harm, its too late for anybody to care. And conspiracy theories not only get fixed in our imagination, but they have a pretty big megaphone in this current White House. The way in which election returns come in from urban areas absolutely amplifies some of the worst conspiracymongering, right?

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Hasen: Sure. So the larger the jurisdiction, the longer it takes to count the votes. The more people there that are voting with provisional ballots or, you know, might be new voters, the longer it takes to count the votes. These tend to be in urban areas. These tend to be in areas that have more Democratic voters. And thats why we see what professor Ned Foley has called the big blue shift, where votes start out being more Republican and as more votes are counted, you end up with a Democratic surge.

We saw this, you may remember, in the 2018 election as California was counting millions of absentee ballots. We saw election after election in Orange County, California, swing from Republicans in the lead to Democrats. That wasnt because there was any conspiracythats just because thats how election administration goes, and Trump was saying, lets just take the results as they are on Election Day. Right? He wants to freeze it in time when hes in the lead, but in fact, we do see this shift and theres not a nefarious reason for it. But if you are inclined to believe those conspiracy theories, you may indeed find that theres something problematic about it.

Listen to the full episode below or wherever you get your podcasts:
Ft. Worth, Texas, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As part of its effort to help designers, engineers and maintenance repair operators better locate exact products for their specifications, Allied Electronics & Automation now offers 360-degree, high-resolution imagery for more than 32,000 industrial control, sensing, switching and circuit protection products available on its website.

The new images allow customers to view products from all angles and zoom in to see precise details before buying, improving compatibility and ensuring that what customers see online is exactly what they receive when the product is delivered. Allied, with help from partner Snap36, has built an in-house photo studio equipped with robotic cameras and automatic workflow to scale the availability of this new product imagery.

While 32,000 images is a key milestone, and more than any other distributor has available, going forward our goal is to add more than 1,000 additional 360-degree images per month, with a focus on our most popular and most complex product offerings,, said Stacey Ostermann, Director of Digital Product Content at Allied. When you combine that with more than 1.1 million product data sheets available today, our recent investment to more than double our warehouse capacity in Fort Worth, an ecommerce engine optimized for nearly any device, and extended same-day shipping cutoff times, we are creating the best online experience in the industry.

About Allied Electronics & Automation

Allied Electronics & Automation is a high service level, authorized distributor of industrial automation products, electronic components, and electromechanical products with sales offices serving the Americas. With more than three million parts online, engineers and purchasers look to Allied for a broad range of product solutions from more than 300 world-class suppliers. Connect with us at www.alliedelec.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Attachment
James E. "Bookie" Turner was a colorful and controversial law enforcement officer and politician in Hamilton County from 1958-1975.



He was one of eight children and was a student at Chattanooga Central High School. He was a Navy Veteran who served on the battleship USS Tennessee during World War II. His nickname Bookie allegedly came from his other siblings who claimed that, although he professed a love of reading, he also used that as an excuse to get out of family chores.



Bookie was co-founder of Turner Funeral Home with two of his brothers. Eugene Turner became a colorful and also controversial politician in his own right. In 1940 Bookie was appointed Hamilton County coroner and claimed to the youngest person to hold that position in the United States. He defeated Republican V.W. Red Maddox in 1958 to become Sheriff of Hamilton County and served three two-year terms before being elected to the position of Fire and Police Commissioner for the City of Chattanooga in 1963. In 1971 he was defeated by former FBI agent Gene Roberts and lost his final race for mayor against Pat Rose in 1975.



He was re-elected for another term in 1967 while under indictment in Federal Court at Chattanooga for allegedly taking bribes for allowing the entry of moonshine whiskey into Chattanooga. According to the government, he was paid 50 cents per gallon for each quantity being delivered into the municipality without fear of criminal prosecution.



Turner was indicted for a conspiracy that included Gordon G. White, Sherill E. Penney, George G. Buddy Hendricks and 37 other unindicted (not charged) co-conspirators who were participants in the lucrative scheme.



Bookie hired famed Watergate and successful Jimmy Hoffa prosecutor James F. Neal of Nashville. His co-counsel was the widely respected civil attorney John K. Morgan of Chattanooga. The government was represented by two Department of Justice prosecutors from Washington, D.C. and local United States Attorney J.H. Reddy.

Because some of his three co-conspirators had lengthy criminal records and Turner had none his lawyers tried unsuccessfully to get a separate trial from them on the grounds of unfair prejudice. Bookie had refused to make any public statement but, on several occasions, claimed that he would tell his story when he took the stand.

The trial took over three weeks and the government presented a barrage of participants in the moonshine industry including manufacturers, drivers, distributors and purchasers of the illegal product that was sold in good time houses and to private citizens and clubs.

The government, relying upon Bookies repeated pronouncements that he would tell his story to the jury when he took the stand, made the fatal mistake of putting on just enough to overcome a Motion for Judgment of Acquittal at the end of the government proof to get the case to the jury and was saving all of its strong evidence to cross-examine Turner when he testified.

Senior District Judge Robert L. Taylor from Knoxville recessed the court until the next day and instructed the defense to meet and decide what would be their order of proof of witnesses. The defendants and their lawyers met as ordered and what occurred has been substantiated by two independent sources.

This history is not intended to be a criticism of Bookie Turners lawyers, James Neal and John Morgan. They had professionally attacked the governments case. An old-time lawyer (Crawford Bean) suggested the strategy that had the effect of the government being unable to further prove the case against Bookie by cross-examining him or by putting on what is known as rebuttal proof to contradict his testimony.

Juries acquit defendants for two reasons: 1.) they believe the accused was not guilty; or 2.) the prosecution failed to prove the guilt of the defendants beyond a reasonable doubt pursuant to the instruction given to the jury by the judge.

According to sources in the room when the defendants and their lawyers met, Neal and Morgan asked each attorney if they were going to put their defendant on the witness stand. Crawford Bean, attorney for George G. Buddy Hendricks, replied that his client was not going to testify because he had a criminal record.

Bean, after stating that his client was not going to testify, shocked the group by saying that Turner would be a fool to testify because the prosecution had produced very little evidence against him. Bean said that if Bookie took the witness stand, he would be devastated and convicted on the evidence they were holding back to use on his cross-examination.

This statement produced a turmoil with Neal and Morgan stating that their client had to testify because of his previous claims to exonerate himself from the witness stand.

After much discussion and attempted efforts by his lawyers to have him take the stand, Turner shocked the crowd and said, Im going with Crawford (Not to testify). Neal and Morgan, in order to protect themselves in the event Turner got convicted over their urging to testify, had Bookie write out a document that stated that they had advised him to testify and if he was convicted that he had not taken their advice. Said document has been lost in time.

Turner was acquitted and his co-conspirators were convicted.

The reader can reach his or her own conclusion as to whether Bookie would or would not have been found guilty if he had taken the stand to testify.

Neal and Morgan remained great lawyers throughout their illustrious careers. But for one case an old timer like Crawford Bean better understood the thinking of the 12 jurors who decided James E. Bookie Turners fate.

* * *
European diplomats working to try to leverage the Donald Trump administrations Iran maximum pressure campaign into a negotiation for a new deal are increasingly worried as they say US officials seem in recent months to have convinced themselves that the Iranian regime is nearing the brink of collapse and show little interest in getting back to the negotiating table, even as Tehrans nuclear program expands.

The Iranian regime is certainly under pressure, European officials acknowledge, including from recent protests and the US reimposition of crippling sanctions on Iran's energy and banking sectors after Trumps withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). But the Europeans do not share the Trump administrations apparent belief that the Iran regime is done and will eventually either just collapse or be forced to surrender to a long US wish list of demands for transformation into a normal country, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo often puts it.

We think the Iranians are able to absorb a lot of pain, a European diplomatic source, speaking not for attribution, said.

The problem with maximum pressure is, it is high risk, the European source continued. We really feel there is no answer to the problem, if maximum pressure pushes Iran out of the JCPOA entirely, and they resume expansion of their nuclear program, what is the plan?

Trump, who has previously said he is not particularly interested in Iranian regime change, mentioned the Iranian protests in his relatively brief remarks on foreign policy in his State of the Union address Feb. 4. He seemed to dangle the prospect of Iran getting out from under sanctions, but indicated it was entirely up to Iran to make any overtures, and then said officials in Tehran may be too proud to do so.

In recent months, we have seen proud Iranians raise their voices against their oppressive rulers, Trump said. The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons; stop spreading terror, death, and destruction; and start working for the good of its own people.

Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian economy is doing very, very poorly, Trump continued. We can help them make a very good and short-time recovery. It can all go very quickly, but perhaps they are too proud or too foolish to ask for that help. We are here. Let's see which road they choose. It is totally up to them.

European diplomats said it was chiefly Trump in the US administration who showed much interest in efforts spearheaded by French President Emmanuel Macron last summer and fall to try to broker US-Iran negotiations that Trump wanted kicked off with some sort of photo op with an Iranian counterpart. Meantime, the Iranians insisted that some form of sanctions relief be assured ahead of a meeting.

While the French say they got the United States and Iranians to agree on a four-part framework for future talks, efforts to engineer a Trump meeting or phone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani at the UN General Assembly in New York in September didnt materialize. Subsequent follow-up efforts to build on the agreed framework and advance de-escalation talks stumbled after protests broke out in Iran in November over a gas price hike, and the Trump administration became convinced that the Iranian regime would be under more pressure and to hold off on talks, said Ali Vaez, director of Iran programs at the International Crisis Group, which published a report last month that details the mediation efforts.

Because of the protests, the Trump administration now believes that the Iranians are in an even weaker position, and all in all, the US is not ready to make any significant concessions to the Iranians, Vaez said.

We have seen this movie before, Vaez said. The weaker party does not take the first step in any diplomatic initiative. The onus is on the stronger party to make a concession.

The French constantly said that the president [Trump] was much more flexible and open than almost anyone around him to the proposed diplomatic initiative, Vaez added.

Other European diplomats and analysts have shared the impression that Trump almost alone in his administration has shown any interest in getting to the table with Iran, with most everyone else focused only on maximum pressure.

I think everybody is trying to understand the concrete impact that the general interest of the US president for a new deal has on the administration itself and its willingness to prepare for negotiation, Charles Thepaut, a French foreign policy expert currently serving as a visiting scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al-Monitor. On the other side, the US administration itself is only focusing on maximum pressure. So, I think what everybody is trying to understand is whether this nuance or this difference of position between the president and his own administration is opening some space to work on a new negotiation with Iran, or not. And this is an open question, because the situation is very volatile.

Since the US killing of Iranian Quds Force chief Qasem Soleimani on Jan. 3, The US administration doesnt give signs of willingness to prepare for a negotiation, Thepaut continued. But the situation can change a lot depending on a number of factors.  No matter what people think about maximum pressure, the reality is that it led Iran to limit a number of its commitments, and to get closer to acquiring nuclear capabilities than before. And the clock is ticking.

And that is why the Europeans have triggered the dispute resolution mechanism, and are maintaining the door open between Iran and the United States, for negotiation, Thepaut said. Because the kind of counter-proliferation problem created by the weakening of the JCPOA constraints on the Iranian side means that some of the assumptions of the JCPOA  the limitations of uranium enrichment capabilities  are in danger.

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell, who made his first trip to Iran in his new job earlier this week, is due to meet with Pompeo at the State Department on Friday.

The Iranians were calm, cordial and polite in their meetings with Borrell and his delegation, an EU official, speaking not for attribution, told Al-Monitor. They did not rule out negotiations altogether, he said, but raised conditions for them to occur. These included that there would be no bilateral negotiation with the United States, and any negotiation would have to happen within the format of the P5+1 (the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), which negotiated the JCPOA with Iran. The Iranians also said sanctions would have to removed before negotiations on a new deal.

Iran is due to hold parliamentary elections later this month where conservatives and hard-liners are expected to become more dominant. As the result of Trumps Iran policies,  no one in Tehran has the courage to speak about the advantages of negotiation, let alone suggest a new round of talks with the United States, Al-Monitors Rohollah Faghihi reported from Iran on Jan. 27.
Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai gives her speech during the regular Government press conference on Wednesday in Ha Noi. The deadly coronavirus outbreak in China has been roiling the world financial market and the Vietnamese stock market is also seriously affected.-Photo nhadautu.vn

The statement was made by Deputy Minister of Finance Vu Thi Mai during a Government press conference on Wednesday in Ha Noi.

The deadly coronavirus outbreak has been roiling global markets and the Vietnamese stock market has also been seriously affected.

"In the two trading sessions that were mostly hit in January, on January 30 and 31, the VN-Index plunged a total 4.54 per cent," Mai said.

According to the Deputy Minister, this was quite a deep decline as investor sentiment had been dampened by the outbreak of the disease which has claimed more than 500 lives, mostly in China.

However, this decrease of the stock market is still lower than some other countries that had detected cases of coronavirus infection earlier, Mai said.

In the last two weeks of January when the epidemic began to spread out, the Asian stock markets witnessed strong declines with Hong Kong falling 9.4 per cent, South Korea dropping by 5.8 per cent and Thailand decreasing 5.4 per cent, Mai said.

Since early February, Viet Nams stock market has narrowed its decline. In the first two sessions of February, the VN-Index only dropped by 0.8 per cent, standing at 929 points. Particularly on February 4, the market rebounded and increased by 0.95 points compared to the previous session.

Following the instruction of the finance ministry, the leaders of the State Securities Commission need to ask the Ha Noi Stock Exchange and the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange as well as securities companies to report on daily transaction activities and to combat the use of the news about coronavirus to manipulate stock prices.

The Securities Depository Centre needs to strengthen supervision, make daily reports and co-ordinate with market regulators to strictly handle acts of profiteering and spreading fake rumours, Mai said.

Securities companies have to make daily reports, especially those on fund transactions, margin trading and strictly comply with regulations on transactions.

Regarding medium and long-term solutions, the Ministry of Finance will continue to improve institutions and issue a system of guidelines for the Securities Law, she said.

The ministry would also focus on the promotion of stock market restructuring, continue to strengthen inspection and supervision over trading activities, ensure market discipline and create trust among investors, she said.
Nigerians have taken to social media to criticise the members of House of Representatives over their refusal to endorse made-in Nigeria vehicles as their official vehicles.

In a report titled Reps reject Innoson made- in-Nigeria SUVs as official vehicles, Dailytimes reported that the lawmaker who made the suggestion to endorse the locally made vehicles was shouted down during the executive session on Wednesday.

The report from DailyTimes also stated that the lawmakers insisted on brand new imported SUVs against the locally assembled and made- in  Nigeria brands. Reacting to this, a twitter user said;



Every Nigerian should be proud of the high quality cars been manufactured by Innoson Motors. God bless Nigeria 

Another said;

Of course they would reject innoson cars as everyone will know the price of their cars & their tribalistic ass wont want them to thrive.

Another added;

Dont eat foreign rice, eat local rice, promote Nigeria.

Then when it comes to choosing official cars, Innoson motors isnt good enough, what happened to patronize Nigeria and promote Nigerian products?

Last last na we dey give them this long leg, na why dem dey flex am.

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Poland sees sharp rise in share of young labor migrants from Ukraine in 2019

23:58, 06.02.20 2267

The most active group of Ukrainian labor migrants were people aged 26-35.
A number of Chinese manufacturers including a subsidiary of Apple Inc partner Foxconn have refitted production lines to make masks and medical clothing, as a deadly coronavirus spreads across China.

The move highlights how private companies are pitching in to alleviate a nationwide shortage of medical gear amid the health crisis, at times expanding beyond their core lines of business.

In a social media post on Thursday, Foxconn - formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd - said it has begun trial production of surgical masks at its Longhua Park plant in Shenzhen, and expects to produce 2 million masks daily by the end of the month.

The Taiwanese company said the masks would initially be produced for internal use by its hundreds of thousands of employees, the majority of whom work in factories in mainland China.

SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile Co Ltd, a joint venture automaker formed by General Motors Co and two Chinese partners, also announced on Thursday via social media that it will set up 14 production lines with the goal of making 1.7 million masks daily.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

On Tuesday, Hongdou Group Co Ltd [HONGD.UL], a clothing manufacturer founded in the 1950s, wrote on social media it had refitted a factory to make disposable medical suits.

The company said it intends to produce about 60,000 protective suits a month and will send them to the government for allocation and distribution. Hongdou employs 30,000 people, its website showed.

Apparel peers Zhejiang Giuseppe Garment Co Ltd and Jihua Group Corp Ltd have launched similar initiatives, state media outlets reported this week.

Factories inside and outside of China have worked around the clock to keep up with demand since the outbreak of the virus at the end of last year in the eastern Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province. High street pharmacies have posted signs telling customers masks are not in stock.

One Czech mask manufacturer told Reuters in late January that orders had increased 57,000% with in four days.

To cope with the shortage, localities in China have set up rationing systems.

In Shanghai, individuals wanting to obtain masks must provide a neighbourhood committee with their ID and phone number, after which they are contacted when they can retrieve a set of masks.
Conor Murphy has a reputation for being one of the most moderate and reasonable voices in Sinn Fein. He's certainly someone with whom the DUP and the Government find it easy to do business.

He was described as a constructive force in the talks to restore devolution.

A highly ambitious politician, he was rewarded with the plum finance portfolio in the new Executive.

He was once widely tipped to succeed Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister. If Michelle O'Neill steps down, he is in prime position to take over.

Murphy has certainly been her right-hand man in recent months. His support was instrumental when she faced a leadership challenge from John O'Dowd. Without him by her side, she would have been in a very precarious position.

Now it's the south Armagh politician whose career is under pressure. It is very unlikely that he will voluntarily step down, or that Sinn Fein will tell him to.

Murphy's actions are far more damning than McElduff's. The former West Tyrone MP said he didn't know it was the Kingsmill anniversary when he balanced the loaf on his head

West Tyrone MP Barry McElduff resigned after he was caught up in controversy when he balanced a Kingsmill loaf on his head on the anniversary of the atrocity in 2018.

But McElduff was dispensable for his party. There was no equivalent in his area of the powerful south Armagh figures who back Murphy.

But even if he continues as Finance Minister, Murphy will generally be viewed very differently by the public now that Breege and Stephen Quinn have had the chance to tell their story to a wide audience.

It's one that shows Murphy in an unflattering light. The IRA murdered young Paul Quinn, and then the local Sinn Fein MLA called him a smuggler and a criminal and murdered his reputation.

Murphy's actions are far more damning than McElduff's. The former West Tyrone MP said he didn't know it was the Kingsmill anniversary when he balanced the loaf on his head.

When resigning, he spoke of the "deep and unnecessary hurt" he had caused the families. It was his "greatest regret". He accepted there were people who refused to believe that he didn't intend to offend the victims. He offered his "profound apology".

By contrast, Conor Murphy's words to RTE on Wednesday sounded colder and formulaic. Whatever the intention, the interview did not come across as heartfelt.

While McElduff's action was on the spur-of-the-moment in a garage late at night, Murphy's original words were spoken in a sit-down recorded TV interview. And he repeatedly refused to withdraw them for 13 years. His credibility is also brought into question by the fact that for so long he actually denied saying what he said.

Responding to the Quinns' demand that he withdraw his slur against their murdered son, he told the Irish News in 2017 that claims he had called Paul a criminal were "totally without foundation".

Mary Lou McDonald said on Monday night that Murphy had told her the same thing: "He is very clear he never said that." When RTE's Tommie Gorman asked Murphy on Wednesday if he had misled McDonald, he said he hadn't. He said the Sinn Fein president had "a misunderstanding of what I said".

"She'd assumed I said one thing. I made clear with her what my remarks had been at the time. There was no misleading here. There was simply a misunderstanding on her behalf."

Murphy added: "I dispute this idea that I'd not got a consistent story."

But how is his story consistent when he told the Irish News in 2017 - as Mary Lou originally said he had told her - that he hadn't made the offensive remarks? Murphy needs to be questioned on this.

The Finance Department's permanent secretary Sue Grey - once the most influential female civil servant in Whitehall - welcomed Murphy to Stormont last month. "Really looking forward to working with you and supporting you," she tweeted.

But regardless of how Murphy performs, it will be difficult for him to ever shake off those shameful words he spoke about young Paul Quinn.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Disinvestment department DIPAM is looking at completing the acquisition of government stakes by state energy giant NTPC in North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO) and THDC India Ltd (THDCIL) and IRFC listing and few Offer-for-sales (OFS) to reach the Rs 65,000 crore sell-off target, DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kant Pandey said.

"The government will reach the target of Rs 65,000 crore for the current fiscal. We have already reached a little over Rs 34,000 crore. It will be met from various ongoing transactions -- the NTPC-THDCI-Neepco deal will be concluded this fiscal. We plan to conclude the transaction this fiscal because we have progressed there. Apart from this there are others as well such as IPOs (IRFC-IPO) and OFSs also", Pandey told IANS in an interview.

Sources said NTPC may have to complete the buyout by the end of FY20 in a bid to help the Centre struggling to meet its disinvestment targets. The earlier target to garner Rs 1,05,000 crore through disinvestment is now revised by 40% to Rs 65000 crore. The estimated revenue from both these deals with NTPC could fetch government Rs 11,000 crore.

Pandey said the CPSE ETF received bids worth Rs 20,571 crore from seventh tranche and government decided to retain Rs 16,500 crore of funds from this recent tranche.

Pandey did not name the CPSEs who will be up for the OFSs, but sources said the OFS is being mulled for a number of CPSEs such as Coal India, NBCC, NLC and Hudco and Nalco among others.

IRFC has filed draft papers with markets regulator SEBI for its initial public offering (IPO). In the IPO, the Centre is likely to piggyback the company's proposed issuance of fresh shares to offload 5% of its equity in the company.

Post IPO, the government's holding in the company could fall to 86.4%. The IRFC IPO likely to fetch around Rs 1,000 crore to the exchequer.

According to the annual report of these companies for FY19, the net worth of NEEPCO was Rs 6,301.29 crore and that of THDCIL was Rs 9,280.78 crore as on March 31, 2019.

Currently, the government holds a 100 per cent stake in NEEPCO, which operates and maintains power stations in the north-eastern region, and 75 per cent in THDC. The Uttar Pradesh government owns the remaining 25 per cent stake in THDC India.

(Anjana Das can be contacted at anjana.d@ians.in)
Environmental Justice School

The Environmental School for activists (EJS) sets out to nurture a cadre of environmental justice activists. Its prime aim is to strengthen grass root environmental justice organisations and social justice movements. It draws on the activists particular experiences and then expands their knowledge base, understandings of environmental injustices and skills for democratic organising and campaigning.

The EJS is run annually, and it takes the participants through an intensive programme that runs over four weeks in residence, three weeks initially and then a follow up week three months later. The participants are identified in pairs by the fenceline organisations that groundWork works with. These environmental justice activists come from across South Africa, with some students from other Southern African and African countries.

History of the EJS

Early in their history groundWork acknowledged that government was entrenching a neoliberal economic approach that would make the environmental injustices experienced by ordinary people worse. The spark for the EJS came in 2002 at a chance meeting with people from Earth Rights International and hearing about the Earth Rights School being run in Thailand and the Amazon. The EJS itself emerged only gradually and the first EJS design was created in 2007. The design of the school recognises the environmental injustices people face and the need to challenge and shift power relations. In other words, it is concerned with deep systemic change through greater democratic participation.

It was only in 2014 that the first residential EJS was run. It took place over an intense two weeks. By 2015, it was run over three weeks and currently it is run over four weeks. There have been five schools so far, in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, the COVID pandemic caused the 2020 school to be abandoned until it can be safely run.

Curriculum

The EJ school adopts the radical and critical insights of Popular Education and so takes a See, Judge, Act approach. The aim of the EJS is therefore to build a cadre of informed environmental justice activists who, through mobilising and resisting, will contribute to the transformation to a more just society.

The curriculum is driven by the question, What do activists need to know in order to act and resist effectively? Our answer is three-fold. Activists need:

to acquire a strong knowledge base in relation to contemporary environmental justice challenges (including knowledge of the broad economic and social contexts, both local and global, that give rise to environmental injustices);

to develop appropriate skills for working within communities to develop and manage campaigns and resistance strategies against environmental injustices; and

to act creatively and strategically to foster social justice within a democratic framework.

Our approach to learning and teaching is participatory and draws on the life experiences and contextual challenges the participants bring with them. Deeper theoretical knowledge is added through videos, presentations, activities and field trips.

The curriculum is made up of three strands that combine theoretical and experiential learning:

OUR WORLD starts with the personal worlds and expands to consider the broader context. This includes a critique of the global neoliberal order of the economy.

THE GIGANTIC WASTE CREATION MACHINE moves closer to home again to investigate particular environmental injustices and develop deeper knowledge about them and the relevant rights and regulations.

BUILDING ACTIVISM FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE addresses activist skills and strategies. It includes planning, undertaking and reporting on an activist project with the support of a mentor.

Facilitators

The different elements of the school are facilitated by a range of teachers with deep knowledge and practical experience. It includes groundWork campaigners, adult educators, lawyers, and people selected for their specialised knowledge in particular areas.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  A prominent Taliban official who served as the groups spokesman during some of its most devastating attacks, including the attempted assassination of the young activist Malala Yousafzai, has escaped from detention in Pakistan, claiming he had made a secret deal with the countrys security forces.

If verified, the claim by the Taliban militant, Sajjid Mohmand, also known by his nom de guerre, Ehsanullah Ehsan, would bring renewed scrutiny to the countrys ties to the group. Pakistans security and intelligence forces have long been accused of harboring terrorist groups to use for their foreign and domestic policy objectives, which they have denied.

I have been in detention for three years and I honored the deal with great patience for three years, Mr. Mohmand said in an audio recording that was released on social media on Thursday. In the near future, I will make more revelations about the deal and people involved in it.

When reached by phone on Friday, Mr. Mohmand confirmed the authenticity of the audio recording and added that he and his family were in hiding. A spokesman for Pakistans military declined to comment on Friday.
BMW is still not interested in returning to Formula 1 in the 'power unit' era.

The German manufacturer pulled out of the sport in 2009, with its main motorsport programme now focusing on Formula E with the Andretti team.

F1 has introduced sweeping new rules for 2021, and one aim is to entice new manufacturers to the sport.

But racing boss Jens Marquardt says BMW is still not interested.

"The V6 turbo hybrid has nothing to do with what we do in (road) car production," he told Auto Bild.

"From an engineering perspective, I say hats off to what they do in Formula 1, but the technology has no relevance to the road."

(GMM)
Starbucks has launched a new transgender-friendly commercial and campaign that will benefit a controversial British charity that supports overturning the age limit when children can receive cross-sex hormones.

The #WhatsYourName campaign features an ad showing a transgender boy being called Jemma by friends and acquaintances until arriving at a Starbucks, where an employee asks, And whats your name?

James, the transgender boy answers.

The employee then writes James on the cup.

Starbucks says the campaign celebrates this signature act of a name change and was inspired by real-life experiences of people who were transitioning.

We discovered that they found Starbucks stores to be a safe space, where their new name was accepted, and they could be recognised as who they are, a Starbucks press release said.

But the #WhatsYourName campaign has drawn criticism for Starbucks partnership with Mermaids, a London-based charity that supports gender-diverse children and young people until their 20th birthday, according to its website. Starbucks hopes to raise at least 100,000 for Mermaids.

Mermaids has been the source of criticism in the United Kingdom and even within UK mainstream media for its push to overturn the nationwide ban on children under 16 receiving opposite-sex hormones.

Basing it on an age is completely inappropriate, Susie Green, head of Mermaids, told The Guardian in 2016. We believe it should be in line with the young persons maturity and their ability to understand whats involved and the implications of what treating and not treating are.

The effects of cross-sex hormones can be irreversible, and doctors in the UK who support the current policy say children, when they mature, might grow up to regret taking hormones.

National Reviews Madeleine Kearns, who was raised in Scotland, said Mermaids peddles dangerous nonsense to vulnerable children and families, using the ultimate emotional blackmail of suicide.

Kearns notes that Green took her own gender-confused son, Jack, to Thailand when he was sixteen to have his penis removed, a procedure that is illegal in Britain and now illegal in Thailand.

Before this surgery, Jack had gone on puberty blockers at age 13 which stunted his development, Kearns wrote.

Starbucks will sell a special edition Mermaid Cookie to raise funds for the charity. Kearns called the campaign shameful.

This campaign, Kearns wrote, furthers an agenda that violates basic safeguarding, fosters secrecy, and sets children down the path to irreversible harm. The word evil is overused nowadays. But using corporate power to persuade vulnerable youngsters to reject their own bodies is exactly that.

Related:

5 Things Every Christian Needs to Know about the Transgender Debate

What Does the Bible Say about Gender & Transgender Issues?

5 States Consider Banning Boy Athletes from Competing as Trans Girls

Court: Employee Can Be Fired after Tweeting, Male People Are not Women

Christian Doctors Cant Be Forced to Perform Transgender Surgery, Judge Rules

Judge Strikes Down Tampa Ban on Conversion Therapy: Parental Rights at Stake

Biden Backs Nationwide Ban on Conversion Therapy at LGBT Forum

Americas First Non-Binary Person Switches Back: There Is No Third Gender

Photo courtesy: Szymon12455/Unsplash

Video courtesy: Starbucks UK

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.
Core vaccines are administered to all cats and include, feline calicivirus (FCV), feline herpesvirus-1 (FHV-1), feline leukemia virus (FeLV), feline parvovirus (panleukopenia) (FPV), and rabies virus. Rabies vaccinations are given in the right hind leg and canine distemper-parvovirus and feline upper respiratory-panleukopenia (FVRCP) vaccines are given in the right foreleg.

Statistics:

The global companion animal vaccines market is estimated to account for US$ 4,682.2 Mn in terms of value by the end of 2027.

Global Companion Animal Vaccines Market: Drivers

Increasing burden of zoonotic diseases is expected to propel growth of the global companion animal vaccines market over the forecast period. For instance, according to GALVmed, a not-for-profit livestock health product development and access partnership, Rift Valley Fever, an endemic zoonotic disease throughout Africa and the Middle East, accounts for an expenditure of US$ 427 million, annually.

Global Companion Animal Vaccines Market: Opportunities

Increasing initiatives by private and government organizations related to animal vaccination is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities for players in the market. For instance, in January 2020, The United States Department of Agricultures (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced to award US$ 10.2 million to support disease prevention and emergency response training and to develop the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank (NAVVCB).

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Global Companion Animal Vaccines Market: Restraints

Adverse vaccine reactions, including type I and type III hypersensitivities, vaccine-associated fibrosarcoma, vaccine-associated disease enhancement and formation of autoimmune disease, can occur in veterinary medicine due to misuse of the vaccine or overvaccination, which is expected to hamper growth of the market.

Key Takeaways:

The Attenuated Live Vaccines segment in the global companion animal vaccines market was valued at US$ 930.6 Mn in 2019 and is expected to reach US$ 1,655.9 Mn by 2027 at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. Increasing incidence of zoonotic diseases in companion animals is expected to propel growth of the segment during the forecast period.

The Veterinary Clinics segment held dominant position in the global companion animal vaccines market in 2019, accounting for 41.4% share in terms of value, followed by veterinary hospitals and retail pharmacies & other segments, respectively. Increasing animal healthcare expenditure in developed and developing economies is anticipated to assist the growth of the market during the forecasted period.

The Canine segment held dominant position in the global companion animal vaccines market in 2019, accounting for 50.9% share in terms of value, followed by feline and avian, respectively. The growth of the canine segment is attributed increasing number of canine pet ownership around the globe during the forecasted period.

Market Trends

Major institutes are focused on developing effective vaccines against African swine fever. For instance, in January 2020, researchers from U.S. Department of Agriculture reported development of a vaccine against African swine fever that appears to be far more effective than previously developed vaccines.

Government and private organizations are focused on increasing vaccination against rabies. For instance, in January 2020, Caring for Creatures, Green Dogs Unleashed, Cat Action Team, and the Fluvanna SPCA collectively organized free rabies vaccination in Virginia, U.S.

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Regulations

Europe

The EUs Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP) is responsible for veterinary biologic manufacturing and product testing and approval oversight

Veterinary vaccines are manufactured in accordance with good manufacturing practices listed under standards (GMP Directive 200/94/Ec and Annex 16) and Directive 91/412/EEC

Availability of centralized procedures for scientific review and approval of license applications and lot release post-licensure facilitate vaccine manufacture and disbursement within the EU

Additionally, countries within the EU have separate consideration for commercialization of the veterinary vaccines

Global Companion Animal Vaccines Market: Competitive Landscape

Major players operating in the global companion animal vaccines market include Bayer Healthcare, Vetoquinol S.A, Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva Sante Animal S.A., Eli Lilly and Company (Elcano), Heska Co., Merck Animal Health, Merial (Boehringer Ingelheim), Virbac, and Zoetis.

Global Companion Animal Vaccines Market: Key Developments

November 2019: Zoetis launched Versican Plus Bb Oral  the first oral vaccine for dogs in Europe

September 2019: Boehringer Ingelheim announced its plans to donate 60,000 doses of its IMRAB rabies vaccine for dogs over the next three years to fight rabies in Puerto Rico

Segmentation

Scope of the report

Companion Animal Vaccines Market, By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines

Companion Animal Vaccines Market, By Species Type: Canine Avian Feline

Companion Animal Vaccines Market, By Distribution Channel: Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others

Companion Animal Vaccines Market, By Region: North America By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: U.S. Canada Latin America By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: Brazil Mexico Argentina Rest of Latin America Europe By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Russia Rest of Europe Asia Pacific By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: China India Japan Australia South Korea ASEAN Rest of Asia Pacific Middle East By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: GCC Israel Rest of Middle East Africa By Product Type: Attenuated Live Vaccines Conjugate Vaccines Inactivated Vaccines Subunit Vaccines Toxoid Vaccines DNA Vaccines Recombinant Vaccines By Species Canine Avian Feline By Distribution Channel Veterinary Clinics Veterinary Hospitals Veterinary Research Institutes Retail Pharmacies & Others By Country: South Africa Central Africa North Africa

Company Profiles Bayer Healthcare * Company Overview Product Portfolio Key Highlights Financial Overview Strategies Vetoquinol S.A Boehringer Ingelheim Ceva Sante Animal S.A. Eli Lilly and Company (Elcano) Heska Co. Merck Animal Health Merial (Boehringer Ingelheim) Virbac Zoetis.



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The Iowa Democratic Party announced Friday that it was pushing back deadlines for campaign to report irregularities or request a recanvass after counting debacle linked to an app following Monday's caucuses.

The decision allows campaigns an additional day for campaigns to to report evidence of 'documentary evidence of inconsistencies between the data reported and the records of result for correction.'

That deadline was set to expire Friday, and followed press reports of irregularities in the posting of results.

Candidates also got additional time to official request a recanvass or recount the vote until Monday at noon.

Precinct officials tally the votes during a caucus at Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Iowa. Campaigns have until Monday to seek a recanvass, the state Democratic party announced

So far, neither of the declared 'winners' of the caucuses have done so. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Thursday night: 'We've had enough of Iowa. I think we should move on to New Hampshire,' he said, when asked about the mess at a CNN town hall.

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg was less direct in his own comment. He said he would ''leave it to the party,' saying they should do 'whatever they need to do in order to make sure that the information is clear and verified.'

With each campaign snatching a claim to victory  Sanders in the popular caucus count and Buttigieg in state delegate equivalents  it may be that neither seeks to go back and take another look at the results.

The mess has caused a variety of political figures call for scrapping the caucuses or undertaking urgent efforts to fix them for the future.

Nevada's Democratic Party says it won't use any apps to keep track of its caucuses later this month  after a debacle over the app used for the Iowa results prevented the Associated Press from declaring a winner.

The party won't use any apps, spokeswoman Molly Forgey told the Nevada Independent. The last-minute decision is part of an effort to ensure the count is 'secure, efficient and simple,' she said.

The state party had already said it would not use two apps developed by Shadow Inc.  the same firm behind a failed app that contributed to the debacle in the Iowa count. Problems kept the state party from reporting on 100 per cent of precincts until Thursday, long after the caucuses closed Monday night.

The state party apologized for technical glitches with the app that slowed down reporting of results from Monday's caucuses and has spent the week trying to verify results. Precinct workers are pictured above counting the votes by hand. Iowa announced it will not rely on an app to tabulate the vote

The AP announced Thursday it was 'unable' to declare a winner, thanks in part due to reported irregularities. The state party was set to announce Friday whether there would be a recanvass of the results.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who appears to have won the popular vote out of Iowa, declared it a 'screw-up,' while former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who had a tiny edge in state delegates, on Thursday proclaimed 'fantastic news to hear that we won. Buttigieg also said the party should do 'whatever they need to do in order to make sure that the information is clear and verified.'

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez called for a recanvass in Iowa, but it was not expected to go ahead unless a candidate called for it.

Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez called for a recanvass in Iowa, but now faces pressure of his own

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez asked the Iowa Democratic Party to conduct a recanvass. The state party put out a statement saying it would not occur unless requested by a candidate

He is now taking heat for the failure  which deprived Democrats of critical publicity on the eve of the State of the Union, and potentially limited the boost that Sanders or Buttigieg might have gotten out of the state.Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio). 'We're a party in chaos.'

Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told Politico Perez should step down. 'We're a party in chaos,' she said.

Nevada, helped model its caucus system off of Iowa, had already said it wouldn't use the same app developed for Iowa following the fiasco there.

Nevada Democrats 'can confidently say that what happened in the Iowa caucus last night will not happen in Nevada on February 22nd. We will not be employing the same app or vendor used in the Iowa caucus. We had already developed a series of backups and redundant reporting systems, and are currently evaluating the best path forward,' the party said in a statement earlier this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:05:54|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At recent press conferences on the novel coronavirus outbreak, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether China has sufficient daily necessities to sustain its battle against the epidemic.

The "No. 1 central document" released Wednesday offered an answer to that question. China prioritized policy support and key tasks regarding the development of agriculture and rural areas in the document, shedding light on the country's determination to rise above difficulties caused by the novel coronavirus that had infected more than 31,000 people on the Chinese mainland as of Thursday.

The prime policy paper called agriculture, rural areas and rural people "the ballast stone" of economic development. As the new policies are expected to be one of the determinants of both high-stake damage control and post-epidemic recovery, the annual policy paper's significance is even greater this year.

Analysts scrutinized the document to find China's pledges to ensure supplies of important agricultural products, maintain the stability of grain output, and support the production of dairy and poultry products amid the ongoing battle.

The epidemic has posed great challenges to ensuring the supply of daily necessities due to the shortage of agricultural personnel and products. "The document sent a clear signal of down-to-earth preparations for spring plowing, smooth transportation and resuming production as soon as possible, which are important to the virus battle and economic growth," said Zhang Hongyu, a researcher with the China Institute for Rural Studies at Tsinghua University.

Actions have gathered momentum before the document's release. While containing the outbreak of the epidemic, local authorities have supported feed plants, slaughterhouses and animal product processors, while ripe vegetables are harvested and promptly delivered to retailers to ensure ample supplies, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

Noting the outbreaks of H5N6 bird flu and African swine fever have affected the supply of agricultural products, the document vowed to keep the impact of animal diseases under control and restore hog production capacity to normal levels by the end of 2020.

In highlighting the No. 1 central document's significance, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua called for measures to guarantee agricultural production as the farming season starts, and also underlined efforts on coronavirus control in rural areas.

To promote the healthy development of the farming industry, Hu stressed the need to restore hog production, strengthen the control and prevention of animal diseases and respond promptly to new outbreaks to curb their spread.

The novel coronavirus to some extent exposed rural weak links in terms of the urban and rural gap in medical capabilities as well as the public awareness of disease prevention, said Zhang.

Addressing issues in medical and health services, the document outlined steps to promote the building of standardized health centers in villages and towns, upgrade village clinics and strengthen primary-level medical teams to improve disease prevention and control.

The policy paper also urged efforts on poverty alleviation as the country strives to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The rural regions are the central battlefield in the country's fight against poverty, and rural development is also key to the country winning the battle this year.

As part of its efforts, China will increase support for areas in deep poverty by adding poverty alleviation funds and provide institutional guarantees to prevent people from falling back into poverty.

Releasing the No. 1 central document at this time clearly shows the epidemic will only have a temporary impact on China's development, and the government's determination to win the battle against poverty on time will not change, said Zhong Yu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Taking the coronavirus battle as a critical juncture, the country is beefing up efforts to improve the living environment in rural areas and the construction of the public health system while ensuring stable grain output and focusing on the three main issues related to rural work.

"With a slew of proactive measures and solid policy implementation in all industries, I am confident that China can defeat the novel coronavirus epidemic and build a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled," said Zhang Hongyu.
The Supreme Court on Friday asked Solicitor General Tushar Mehta to suggest by February 10 the names of advocates for appointment as special public prosecutor (SPP) for conducting trials on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money-laundering cases relating to alleged irregularities in coal block allocations.

A bench of Chief Justice SA Bobde and Justice Deepak Gupta said that they want the lawyers to have experience in these kinds of scam and regularly practice in trial courts.

"We need a trial court lawyer who regularly practices there, not a Supreme Court lawyer," the court said.

Solicitor General suggested the name of senior advocate Maninder Singh for the appointment and sought time till Monday to take instructions from the government on the suggestion of more names.

The court was hearing a plea filed by senior advocate RS Cheema, who was appointed as SPP in 2014 by the apex court in the coal scam cases, seeking to be relieved as the prosecutor from money laundering cases.

Cheema had said that he would like to continue as the SSP for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the coal scam cases but wanted to be relieved from the responsibility of representing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in money laundering coal scam cases.

The advocate contended that there was a shortage of law officers assisting him in such cases.

The top court had initially decided to appoint lawyer DP Singh as the SPP for ED, but Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that he wanted time to discuss the appointment for the post with senior lawyer Cheema who has been dealing with such cases.

Earlier, the apex court had sought the status of investigation and trial in the coal block allocation scam cases from CBI and ED.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
- Ghana discussing a decision to ban importation of overaged vehicles

- Currently, overaged vehicles are allowed into the country after payment of penalty

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

Government is considering a complete ban of the importation of of accident vehicles and vehicles which are 10 years old.

According to the Majority Leader Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, the decision by government to ban importation of overaged vehicles is because of the decision by many automobile companies to establish outlets in Ghana.

In the last three years of the President Akufo-Addo led administration some automobile companies have announced they will establish plants in Ghana.

READ ALSO: Chinese doctor who warned the world of deadly coronavirus dies of the disease

German car-maker, Volkswagen is one of the automobile companies set to open an assembling plant in Ghana in early 2020.

In 2018 the company announced plans to set up a plant in Ghana as it continues to expand across Africa.

Volkswagen already builds vehicles in Kenya and recently opened another car plant in Rwanda as part of its expansion project in East Africa.

Toyota is also another company that will start to assemble vehicles in Ghana in August this year.

ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

He noted that government has initiated processes to pass the Customs amendments bill into law to regulate the importation of vehicles.

READ ALSO: Photos: Zanetor Rawlings donates motorbikes to police stations within her constituency

For a start, maybe we may begin by banning the importation of vehicles that are older than 10 years and then also prevent the import of salvaged vehicles (Salvage vehicles are those that have been involved in an accident), vehicles that are floodedpeople claim them and bring them here, they are the reasons why we have so many accidents on our roads, so it is intended to amend the laws to suit the circumstances to draw down the curtains which will not happen overnight.

Currently, Ghanas laws allow overaged vehicles into the country after payment penalty.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that all nine suspected cases of the deadly coronavirus recorded in Ghana have proven negative, according to the Ministry of Health.

The minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu in a statement on Thursday, February 6, 2020, allayed the fears of Ghanaians saying the State is doing everything possible to prevent the deadly disease from reaching the country.

President Akufo-Addo is a "wicked old man" - Angry protester fumes | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: The identity of government official in Airbus scandal unnecessary - NDC

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
BATTLE CREEK, MI -- Western Michigan University aviation students are now on the fast-track to a job after graduation with a new partnership with United Airlines.

A partnership between the universitys College of Aviation and Uniteds career development initiative, Aviate, will help land students in a career after graduation, the university said in a press release.

We are very excited to be part of this new program with United Airlines, Capt. Dave Powell, dean of the College of Aviation, said in the release.

The university previously announced a similar partnership with Delta Air Lines to help mentor the airlines next generation of pilots.

Both partnerships will help address the airline industrys shortage of aviation professionals, the university said.

We are very proud United chose Western Michigan University to help the company continue to bring the highest qualified candidates into their pilot pipeline, Powell said.

WMUs aviation college offers undergraduate programs in aviation flight science, aviation management and operations and aviation technical operations.

WMU students who are accepted into the program will be put on an expedited trajectory toward a career at United, the university said.

Students will gain experience teaching as a certified flight instructor, accumulate the minimum number of flight hours to earn their restricted airline transport pilots license and then expand their experience flying with a United Express Aviate partner. After a minimum service requirement of 2,000 flight hours and two years with a United partner, the candidate will be able to transition to United.

We have consistently striven at WMU to produce the industrys best trained and most sought-after graduates, Powell said. "This partnership helps to validate how the aviation industry views the quality of our program and the type of professionals we are producing.

This program is the fastest route to a major airline and will significantly address the hiring demands, said Tom Grossman, executive director of flight operations at WMU.

The application window for students will open early in 2020. Interested students must complete two semesters of full-time coursework, pursue an approved aviation major, maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and uphold the universitys code of conduct.

The Delta Propel Career Path Program similarly accelerates WMU aviation students to a career in the industry. Announced in July 2018, the partnership was designed to put students on an accelerated path to becoming a Delta pilot. The airline began accepting students in August 2018.

The university previously announced a $20 million building expansion in the college. Construction of a new 67,000-square-foot center is expected to be complete this summer, with classes starting the following fall, the university said. It will address the programs growing enrollment and job demand in the industry.

Renovation and construction at the W.K Kellogg Airport in Battle Creek will add classroom space, a computer room, composites/paint laboratory upgrades, a state-of-the-art simulation center, premier research center, student briefing rooms, faculty office space, cafe and other amenities, according to the university.

The expansion announcement came less than three months after the university announced it would close its Punta Gorda, Florida, campus, effective in August 2019. The Florida campus offers classes for music therapy and aviation students. WMU said in February 2019 that substantially less than anticipated" enrollment was a factor in choosing to close the Florida campus.

Also on MLive:

Western Michigan College of Aviation announces $20M building expansion

Western Michigan University closes Florida aviation campus
A British woman visiting the Maldives was arrested for indecent exposure at a public beach in an incident that led local authorities to issue an apology.

The tourist, whose name has not been released, was somewhat violently detained by three police officers while visiting Maafushi, an inhabited island in the Kaafu Atoll, on Thursday, Feb. 6, around 6 p.m., according to reports.

A clip that has since been shared on social media shows the black-and-white-bikini-clad woman resisting against the officers as they drag her from the beach.

Another officer can be seen trying to cover up the woman with a sarong as she repeatedly screams, Youre sexually assaulting me!"

Maafushi rashu therey bikini laigen tourist eh hingan massakai kurumun fuluhunaai rayyithun naseyhai dhee ekan nuhuhtumun baaruge beynun koh hayyaru kohfi.



Ithuru mauloomaath: https://t.co/BzfpqEJUqspic.twitter.com/QTf250LHXF  #MvCrisis  (@MvCrisis) February 6, 2020

After footage of the arrest began receiving media attention, Maldives Police Service Commissioner Mohamed Hameed issued a public apology, stating that the incident was badly handled and that it was under investigation.

I apologize to the tourist & the public for this, Hameed said. The challenge I have taken up is to professionalize the police service & we are working on that.

Incident in Maafushi in which our officers restrained a female tourist seems to be badly handled. I apologise to the tourist & the public for this. The challenge I have taken up is to professionalise the police service & we are working on that. This matter is being investigated.  Mohamed Hameed (@M_Hameedh) February 6, 2020

In a Friday statement, the Maldives Police Service provided further details on the incident, revealing that a member of the public first reported the woman for being inappropriately clad and allegedly inebriated while walking along the islands main road.

Story continues

Tourists on local islands are requested to respect the communitys cultural sensitivities and local regulations by restricting the wearing of swimwear to certain areas of the island, authorities noted.

When police approached the woman and requested she cover up to comply with local regulations, she allegedly refused and was detained and brought to Maafushi Police Station. She was released that same day around 7 p.m.

The Maldives Police Service again apologized for the handling of the womans arrest, writing that the safety and security of our country including both residents and visitors alike are of paramount importance to us.

We would like to remind the many visitors who come to our country to be mindful of local sensitivities when visiting inhabited islands, police added.

The Maldives is an Islamic nation, and travelers to any of the countrys nearly 1,200 islands  particularly the 200 which are inhabited by locals  are urged to become familiarized with local decorum before visiting.

A code outlined on a Maafushi tourism website asks visitors to dress modest outside of tourist resorts as a sign of respect to the community.

Maafushi has made special arrangements with the lsland Council for tourists to sunbathe in bikinis on the private tourist beach (available to all tourists on the island), the website states. This is discreetly tucked away behind some palm-leaf screens. This is very fortunate as the Maldivian law does not permit bikinis on most inhabited beaches.

In October 2019, a Taiwanese woman was detained and hit with a fine over her tiny bikini bottoms while vacationing in the Philippines.

In light of that incident, officials urged tourists to observe proper decorum as a form of respect for Filipino culture and tradition.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) ("Lithium Americas" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into definitive agreements with Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd. (together with its subsidiaries, Ganfeng Lithium) in respect to their joint venture company, Minera Exar S.A. (Minera Exar or JV) (collectively, the Transaction). Minera Exar owns 100% of the Cauchari-Olaroz lithium project (Cauchari-Olaroz or the Project) currently under construction in Jujuy, Argentina. The Transaction includes the following provisions:



Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to subscribe for new shares of Minera Exar for cash consideration of US$16 million increasing its interest from 50% to 51%, with Lithium Americas owning the remaining 49%.

Both parties have agreed to the 2020 funding schedule, including investment of up to US$400 million, in accordance with the 2019 approved construction plan.

Cauchari-Olaroz remains on budget and schedule to commence production in early 2021.

Joint venture and related agreements will be amended as a result of the new ownership structure to preserve joint approval for substantive matters involving Minera Exar and to maintain the existing construction plan and management team.

In addition, Lithium Americas will receive US$40 million in cash from the proceeds of non-interest-bearing loans from Ganfeng Lithium (additional details below).

"The Transaction with Ganfeng Lithium further strengthens our balance sheet while ensuring Cauchari-Olaroz construction continues to advance as planned," commented Jon Evans, the Companys President and CEO. "For Lithium Americas, the Transaction reinforces our strategy of building a low-cost lithium operation in Argentina, and provides funding to advance our second flagship project, Thacker Pass, towards construction in Nevada.

"We remain firmly committed to investing in Argentina, Cauchari-Olaroz and the team at Minera Exar," said Xiaoshen Wang, Vice-Chairman and Vice-President of Ganfeng Lithium. "The Transaction provides increased financial flexibility and benefits to Ganfeng Lithium as we continue to invest in one of the largest and lowest cost sources of lithium carbonate globally alongside our partner, Lithium Americas.

Transaction Details

Under the terms of the Transaction, Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to subscribe for new shares of Minera Exar for cash consideration of US$16 million. Proceeds will be used by Minera Exar for the purpose of advancing the construction and development of Cauchari-Olaroz. Upon completion of the Transaction, the Company and Ganfeng Lithium will own 49% and 51% of Minera Exar, respectively.

In addition, Lithium Americas and Ganfeng Lithium have agreed to restructure Exar Capital BV (Exar Capital), a jointly controlled entity which provides funding to Cauchari-Olaroz, to reflect the proportionate ownership of Minera Exar. As part of the Transaction, Ganfeng Lithium has agreed to provide US$40 million to Exar Capital in non-interest-bearing loans, repayable in 2029 (subject to an additional one-year extension). Proceeds of the loan will be used to repay intercompany loans owing to Lithium Americas, with US$20 million to be paid on closing of the Transaction and an additional US$20 million payable on August 1, 2020 (or such earlier date as the parties may agree).

In connection with the Transaction, the parties have agreed to a funding schedule, including investment of up to US$400 million, in accordance with the 2019 approved construction plan. The revised structure of the JV, as set out in the Transaction, will improve Ganfeng Lithiums financial flexibility and position regarding regulatory approvals in China.

The parties have also agreed to an interim funding structure that would be implemented to maintain continuity of project funding until closing the Transaction, by which Lithium Americas would draw down funds under its loan facilities (the subordinated loan facility with Ganfeng Lithium and the senior credit facility with Ganfeng Lithium and BCP Innovation Pte. Ltd.). Proceeds of the loans would be used to fund Minera Exar with Ganfeng Lithium providing proportionate contributions on completion of the Transaction.

Upon completion of the Transaction, Ganfeng Lithium will become a controlling shareholder of Minera Exar while Lithium Americas will receive fulsome minority shareholder protections. The amended shareholders agreement will continue to require joint approval for substantive business decisions including material changes to:

Funding plans

Construction program

Project design and process

Capital and corporate structure

Production output level

Capital investment plan (including expansions)

Minera Exar will remain the operator of Cauchari-Olaroz and have agreed that Lithium Americas will enter into a management services contract with Ganfeng Lithium which will provide for the continued services of the Companys senior management, including Gabriel Rubacha as CEO and Franco Mignacco as President of Minera Exar.

Cauchari-Olaroz Construction Update

Construction activities at Cauchari-Olaroz continue to advance in accordance with the 40,000 tonne per annum (tpa) of battery-quality lithium carbonate construction plan approved in Q3 2019. There are currently close to 900 construction personnel on site, with 275 full-time employees in Jujuy, Argentina. The construction program, which is approximately 31% complete, continues to advance on schedule and on budget, with construction scheduled to be substantially mechanically complete by the end of 2020.

Construction Status Update:

The Project remains on budget and schedule to commence production in early 2021.

As of December 31, 2019, US$280 million (50%) of the planned capital expenditure has been committed of which US$181 million (32%) has been spent.

Contracts associated with the 33 kV powerline and the 13.2 kV distribution lines were awarded, the contractors were mobilized and the development activities have commenced.

The gas pipeline contract was awarded and the contractor commenced development activities at site.

The construction camp has close to 1,000 beds available and completion of the operations camp is expected by the end of Q1 2020.

Earthworks for the carbonate plant site have been completed.

87% of the total planned earthworks for the 12 square kilometer ( km 2 ) evaporation pond layout are completed and 33% of liner has been installed.

) evaporation pond layout are completed and 33% of liner has been installed. The concrete foundation for the boron solvent extraction ( SX ) plant is approximately 33% advanced.

) plant is approximately 33% advanced. Construction of buildings for storage of soda ash, reagents, finished products and other warehouses is 75% complete.

Evaporation Ponds & Production Wells

Construction of the remaining 13% of the earthworks for the 12 km2 of planned solar evaporation ponds is scheduled to be finalized by the end of Q1 2020, followed by completion of the remaining 67% of liner installation required to finalize the entire area in early Q3 2020. Currently, there are 15 production wells completed and 11 in progress, with 7 drilling rigs operating at site. Approximately 4.3 million cubic meters (m3) of brine has been pumped into the ponds for initial evaporation and process testing.

Infrastructure

Construction of the access roads and platforms for the wells is 94% complete. Gas pipeline engineering is complete, the pipes are at site and construction is underway. The engineering, purchase and construction for the main 33 kV power line and 13.2 kV distribution line has been awarded to provide power to the ponds and plant and the contractor was mobilized.

Lithium Carbonate Plant

The majority of the critical, long-lead-time equipment is currently under fabrication, including the crystallizer, SX plant, lime plant, reactors, centrifuges, micronizer, tanks, filters, dryer, and boilers. Lime plant equipment has been received at site and construction has started. The boron removal SX plant foundations are well advanced. The civil works contractor for the crystallizer/KCl removal plant has been selected and construction will commence following the completion of the SX plant. The first SX plant equipment is scheduled to arrive at site this month followed by the crystallizer equipment. Construction of the soda ash and finished products storage facilities are complete and additional warehouses are well advanced.

Capital Expenditures

Pre-production capital cost estimates for Cauchari-Olaroz, including a contingency, remain unchanged at US$565 million of which approximately US$181 million has been spent as of December 31, 2019. Approximately US$280 million of the total has been committed and remains within the budget. To date, most of the major contracts have been awarded or are ready to be awarded.

2020 Construction Schedule - Major Milestones:

Pond completion by the end of first Q1 2020 with liner installation finalized by early Q3 2020.

Lime plant to be completed by the end of Q2 2020 followed by commissioning and start up.

Power line and gas pipeline are scheduled to be completed in early Q3 2020.

Carbonate plant civil works to be completed in early Q3 2020.

SX Boron Extraction plant is scheduled to be completed in early Q4 2020.

Crystallizer/KCl removal plant is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2020.

Transaction Approvals & Closing

The Transaction constitutes a "related party transaction", as defined under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 ("MI 61-101") as Ganfeng Lithium is considered a related party (as defined in MI 61-101) to the Company. Ganfeng Lithium is a significant shareholder of Lithium Americas, holding approximately 16.7% of the Companys outstanding common shares as of the date of this press release. MI 61-101 provides that where an issuer borrows from a related party or sells, transfers or disposes of an asset to a related party, those transactions may be considered related party transactions for the purposes of MI 61-101. The Company has determined that the Transaction would not be subject to either the formal valuation or minority shareholder approval requirements, respectively, set out in MI 61-101 on the basis of the exemptions in Sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, being that the fair market value of the Transaction does not exceed 25% of Lithium Americas market capitalization (calculated in accordance with MI 61-101).

Lithium Americas formed a special committee (Special Committee) of independent directors to: (i) oversee the identification of strategic alternatives; (ii) evaluate strategic alternatives, including the Transaction; and (iii) supervise the negotiation and settlement of such alternatives, including the Transaction. The Special Committee retained National Bank Financial Inc. (NBF) as its financial advisor, and Miller Thomson LLP, as independent legal counsel. The Special Committee deliberated extensively in discharging its mandate. The Special Committee, having taken into account a fairness opinion of NBF (delivered orally) and such other matters it considered relevant and after receiving legal and financial advice, unanimously recommended that the board of directors of the Company approve the Transaction.

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP acted as legal advisor to Lithium Americas.

Closing of the Transaction is subject to receipt of all required regulatory approvals, consent of Lithium Americas senior lenders, settlement of an amended and restated shareholder agreement and other definitive agreements, and other customary closing conditions. The Transaction is expected to be completed by Q3 2020; however, there can be no assurance regarding timing of completion of the regulatory review process.

Qualified Person

The scientific and technical information in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dr. Rene LeBlanc, a Qualified Person for purposes of NI 43-101 by virtue of his experience, education and professional association. Dr. LeBlanc is the Chief Technical Officer of the Company. Information on the Companys data verification, and QA/QC procedures as contained in the technical report for the Project titled NI 43-101 Technical Report  Updated Feasibility Study and Mineral Reserve Estimation to Support 40,000 tpa Lithium Carbonate Production at the Cauchari-Olaroz Salars, Jujuy Province, Argentina with an effective date of August 19, 2019, a copy of which is available on the Companys Sedar profile at www.sedar.com .

About Ganfeng Lithium

Ganfeng Lithium is one of the largest lithium product makers in China, with a diverse product mix including lithium carbonate, lithium chloride, lithium fluoride, lithium metal, and butyl lithium. Ganfeng Lithiums business model is mainly procuring lithium minerals, both of spodumene and brine, from upstream suppliers and processing those materials into high-quality lithium products. Founded in 2000, Ganfeng Lithium is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX: 1772, SZSE: 002460).

About Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas is focused on advancing Cauchari-Olaroz, which is under construction in Jujuy, Argentina. Lithium Americas, through a wholly owned subsidiary, Lithium Nevada, owns 100% of the Thacker Pass lithium project located in Nevada and the largest known lithium deposit in the United States. The Company trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol LAC.

For further information contact:

Lithium Americas Corp.

Investor Relations

Suite 300  900 West Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 1E5

Telephone: 778-656-5820

Email: ir@lithiumamericas.com

Website: www.lithiumamericas.com

Forward-Looking Statements & Information

This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (which we refer to collectively as forward-looking information) under the provisions of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information. Examples of forward-looking information in this news release include, among other things: the timing and completion of each component of the Transactions, including, without limitation, receipt of all required regulatory approvals in connection therewith; statements regarding anticipated decision-making with respect to Minera Exar; anticipated rates of production at Cauchari-Olaroz; successful development of Cauchari-Olaroz , including timing of various construction milestones, timing for commencement of production, anticipated levels of production, and results thereof and the Companys ability to successfully fund, or remain fully funded for, such development; accuracy of estimates of mineral resources, whether mineral resources can ever be converted into mineral reserves, the continued advancement of the 40,000 tpa development plan for Cauchari-Olaroz; , that the Company is able to successfully monetize any increase in off-take from any such increased development plan and the expected benefits from the Transactions and other transactions described herein, including successful closing and timing thereof.

Forward-looking information may involve known and unknown risks, assumptions and uncertainties which may cause the Companys actual results or performance to differ materially. This information reflects the Companys current views with respect to future events and is necessarily based upon a number of assumptions that, while considered reasonable by the Company today, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingences. These assumptions include, among others, successful closing of the Transactions and other transactions described herein, forecasted demand for lithium products, the Companys ability to fund, advance and develop the Cauchari-Olaroz project into production, including results therefrom and timing thereof, accuracy of mineral resources, including whether such mineral resources can ever be converted into reserves, accuracy of current budget and construction estimates, maintenance of a positive business relationship with Ganfeng Lithium, and a stable and supportive legislative and regulatory environment. Forward-looking information also involve known and unknown risks that may cause actual results to differ materially, these risks include, among others, inherent risks in transactions similar to the Transactions, successful completion of all conditions precedent thereto (including receipt of all regulatory approvals in connection therewith), inherent risks in development of capital intensive mineral projects (including as co-owners), variations in mineral resources and mineral reserves, global demand for lithium, recovery rates and lithium pricing, changes in project parameters and funding thereof, changes in legislation or governmental policy, title risk, cost overruns, operational risks and general market and industry conditions. Additional risks, assumptions and other factors are set out in the Companys management discussion analysis and most recent annual information form, copies of which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks and assumptions, given the inherent uncertainties in such forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results to differ materially. Forward-looking information is made as of the date hereof and the Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Accordingly, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Bombay High Court order on the sale of the bankrupt Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) as a measure to facilitate the repayment of dues of crisis-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank.

The Reserve Bank of India moved the top court in an appeal challenging the Bombay High Court order.

A bench headed by Chief Justice S.A. Bobe and comprising justices B.R. Gavai and Surya Kant took note of this appeal and issued notice on RBI's plea to parties concerned, including Sarosh Damania, who had moved the Bombay High Court seeking a resolution ensuring payment of dues to the account holders in PMC Bank.

According to the RBI, the PMC Bank manipulated its core banking system to shield nearly 44 problematic loan accounts, which includes HDIL. Limited staff members had access to these accounts. Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Economic Offences Wing of the Mumbai police have registered offences against HDIL promoters and senior bank officials.

The Bombay High Court had constituted a three-member committee for evaluating and then formalize sale of encumbered assets of HDIL. The High Court, through this channel, was expected to expeditiously recover dues, which were payable by the firm to PMC Bank.

In September 2019, the RBI discovered the PMC Bank had allegedly created fictitious accounts to mask loans to the tune of Rs 4,355 crore approved for HDIL.

A PIL was filed in the High Court urging the court to pass directions for expeditious disposal of HDIL assets and properties, which were attached by various investigating agencies. The PIL contended the disposal of these assets would help in repaying PMC Bank depositors at the earliest.

Last month the Supreme Court had also stayed a Bombay High Court order connected with the shifting of the two main accused of the Punjab & Maharasthra Cooperative (PMC) bank scam, from Arthur Road jail to their residence to enable them to sell their assets.

The Enforcement Directorate rushed to the apex court challenging the relief granted to PMC bank scam accused and HDIL directors.

The Bombay High Court had ordered setting up of a three-member committee to conduct valuation and sale of encumbered assets of HDIL to recover the dues, which the firm is supposed to pay to the crisis-hit PMC Bank.

The High Court allowed the HDIL's father-son duo, Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawan, to shift to their house from jail under supervision of two jail guards and to ensure their cooperation with the investigating agencies.
MIAMI, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Students from the Miami Arts Charter in Wynwood participated in the fourth installment of the Art of Aromas Scholarship Competition, where they displayed their creative artwork inspired by a mystery fragrance during a reception last week. This year's competition had entries from more than 130 students, and featured a variety of works including photography, fashion, paintings, graphic designs and more.

Artist: Jade Peraza; Artwork: One of the Dangers of the World

The competition is sponsored by the Doctor Aromas Foundation, a local non-profit that focuses on fragrance research and incorporating the sense of smell into the creative process. Since its inception in 2016, the Doctor Aromas Foundation has presented more than $16,000 in scholarships to date.

Doctor Aromas Foundation is pleased to announce the following top winners of the 2020 Art of Aromas competition:

First Place - Maria Alejandra Espejo "Ethereal"

Second Place - Nathaniel Campos "Sytrine"

Third Place - Isabella Sanchez "Popsicream"

"This competition gave our students the chance to explore their skills in an exciting way. It was fun to see the students immerse themselves in the process of creating artwork inspired by fragrance while also making the fragrance an integral part of the finished artwork," says Gary Logan, visual art director for MAC Wynwood.

The mystery fragrance revealed during the reception was Alegria. This fragrance, created in collaboration with Cosmo Fragrances, consists of a soft and sensual blend of exquisite florals, combined with delicate jasmines, sweet vanilla orchid, and warm apple accents infused with orange and cedar-wood essential oils.

Winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included local curator Mali Parkerson, gallery owner Troy Taylor, and fragrance industry expert Florie-Ann Tanquerel.

"We look forward to continuing our relationship with Miami Arts Charter and supporting these very talented students," says Marcelo Zelicovich, founder of Doctor Aromas. "Fragrance is an important element to a multitude of creative endeavors, and we are proud to provide an atmosphere that encourages emerging talent to grow."

About the Doctor Aromas Foundation:

The Doctor Aromas Foundation is the philanthropic side of Doctor Aromas. Doctor Aromas is the only fragrance delivery system that works through your central air conditioning without using electrical power, to evenly distribute the most pleasant scents through your entire home or business. Containing the finest cosmetic grade fragrances and pure essential oils, Doctor Aromas' unique scents have the remarkable ability to help enhance both mental and physical wellbeing, while creating an extremely pleasant environment.

SOURCE Doctor Aromas Foundation
SANTA YNEZ, Calif., Feb. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, in Santa Ynez, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) met with federal and state agencies and leaders from the region's agriculture and food production industries to make progress on on-farm composting. Representatives from Central Coast farm and producer organizations joined a roundtable discussion with representatives from EPA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

The roundtable focused on enhancing communication with Central Coast growers on healthy soils practices and sharing lessons learned from environmental successes. Participants heard from growers to better understand barriers to implementation of healthy soils practices. The agencies also announced the launch of a new multi-agency work group that will address permitting challenges and create incentives to support on-farm composting.

"Meeting with local farmers is an opportunity for EPA to listen, learn, and develop new approaches to environmental challenges," said EPA Pacific Southwest Acting Regional Administrator Deborah Jordan. "We are excited to announce the creation of the interagency On-Farm Compost Work Group, which will support California's farmers, ranchers, and food producers and help bring about more efficient ways to work together as stewards of our natural resources."

"We are excited to announce the launch of the On-Farm Compost Work Group. This group of 15 federal, state, and regional agencies is committed to supporting California's agricultural community in their efforts to improve soil health," said CDFA Secretary Ross. "Healthy soil is key to sequestering atmospheric carbon while improving nutrient management, water management and agricultural productivity."

"Healthy soils are the foundation of a productive agricultural system and a key part of our efforts to fight climate change," said California Secretary for Environmental Protection Jared Blumenfeld. "California's EPA looks forward to working with our local and federal colleagues in supporting our state's farmers and ranchers in adopting carbon farming practices."

"I am very pleased that we will have stakeholder input from the very beginning," said NRCS State Conservationist in California Carlos Suarez. "Our farmers and ranchers have always been very conservation minded and understand very well the value of good land stewardship."

The On-Farm Compost Work Group, co-led by CDFA, NRCS, California Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. EPA, will include 15 federal, state, and regional agencies. The group will develop a regulatory pathway to address permitting challenges and create incentives for on-farm composting in order to decrease nutrient loading, reduce agricultural burning, and improve soil health.

For more information on the On-Farm Compost Work Group announced today, please visit: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/healthysoils/ofcwg.html

Learn more about EPA's Pacific Southwest Region. Connect with us on Facebook and on Twitter.

SOURCE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
LOUISVILLE, KY / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / TPC-KY Inc. isn't only one of the nation's most prominent label manufacturers and suppliers; it is an industry leader consistently improving and innovating. Recently, CEO Lawrence J. O'Bryan announced the company's latest venture: custom computer software to provide GE Appliances with QR code genealogy tracking for all U.S.-manufactured products. GE is one of TPC-KY Inc.'s biggest clients, with whom the company has an exclusive contract to produce labels for all products in their North American manufacturing facilities.

TPC-KY Inc. has been leading the way with new technologies and adaptive strategies for many years. In 1989, the manufacturer pioneered the "barcode age" at GE Appliances, streamlining production with custom-designed multi-part assembly forms printed on laser printers.

The barcoded & serialized forms were used to track production figures at the GE assembly plant and manufacturing facilities, which improved efficiency and thus, profits.

Larry O'Bryan, TPC-KY Inc. and GE have been collaborating for over three decades. Through the years, TPC-KY Inc. has received several accolades for its outstanding contribution to GE.

QR (Quick Response) Code Genealogy Tracking is yet another technology that will streamline the manufacturing process. By scanning the QR code, a matrix of dots which reveals a wealth of information when scanned with a special device or smartphone camera, operators can discover details about the product without having to consult other individuals or departments to retrieve the information.

Investing in technologies like these is a no-brainer, Larry O'Bryan says. The CEO has always eagerly embraced change and looked for ways to do things better, whether it's boosting a client's production efficiency or enhancing customer experience.

Also the founder of Pro-Active Media, Larry O'Bryan demonstrated his trailblazing character in the political realm as well. He was the first political media consultant to produce and air political ads in hi-definition and was for many years one of Kentucky's most respected political media consultants. Among other achievements, Larry O'Bryan led the successful Democratic effort to defeat four-term Republican incumbent State Senator Elizabeth Tori representing Hardin and Jefferson Counties. In 2012, he also provided the winning media for Court of Appeals Judge Irv Maze and Circuit Judge Angela Bisig.

Larry O'Bryan said he is excited for the future of TPC-KY Inc., which saw record growth in 2019 and added several new positions to its workforce. He also looks forward to many more years working with GE and utilizing more emerging technologies.

Learn more about TPC-KY Inc. here: https://www.tpclabels.com/

CONTACT:

Caroline Hunter

Web Presence, LLC

+1 7865519491

SOURCE: Web Presence, LLC

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575744/Larry-OBryan-and-TPC-KY-Inc-Roll-Out-Custom-QR-Code-Genealogy-Tracking-for-Client-GE-Appliances
by Sara Guaglione , February 7, 2020

The American Society of Magazine Editors (ASME) announced the 112 finalists for the 2020 National Magazine Awards for Print and Digital Media, or the Ellie Awards, via Twitter yesterday.

Sixty-two titles were nominated in 22 categories, from 245 national and regional publications that entered the awards this year.

They submitted 590 print, 531 digital and 133 multiplatform entries. The New York Times Magazine led the nominations with 10, the most in its history.

Three nominations  in the General Excellence, Podcasting and Public Interest categories  were for The 1619 Project, which aims to reframe the countrys history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative, according to the magazine.

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Pamela Colloff, ProPublica senior reporter and The New York Times Magazine staff writer, received her seventh nomination, for her False Witness story. Colloff now ties the record for most nominated female writer in the awards history, with The Atlantics Caitlin Flanagan.

New York magazine and National Geographic had nine and eight nominations, respectively.

Titles with multiple nominations also included Bon Appetit and The New Yorker with six each, and SELF and Texas Monthly with four.

Ten media organizations were first-time finalists: 1843, Catapult, Charleston Gazette-Mail, Emergence, Gimlet, National Parks, Quanta, Strangers Guide, Vox and The Washington Post Magazine.

The Ellie Awards are resurrecting the Feature Design and Profile Writing categories, which previously existed from 2000 to 2012.

The Magazine Editors Hall of Fame Award will be presented by journalist Tom Junod to David Granger, former editor-in-chief of Esquire magazine.

The Ellies are named and modeled after an Alexander Calder sculpture Walking Elephant.

More than 500 magazine editors and publishers are expected to attend the 55th annual event, which will be held on March 12 at Brooklyn Steel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The evening will also include the presentation of the 2020 ASME Award for Fiction to The Paris Review, as well as honors for the five winners of the 2020 ASME Next Awards for Journalists Under 30.
Description

GIS - 07 February, 2020: Free medication will be provided by a UK-based biopharmaceutical company, Gilead Sciences, to patients suffering from hepatitis C in Mauritius under a medicine donation programme, announced yesterday, the Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.

He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of a new Area Health Centre in Petite Riviere in presence of the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Jagutpal, and other eminent personalities.

Addressing the public, the Prime Minister underlined that Government is investing massively in the construction of state-of-the-art health infrastructures and in the upgrading of public healthcare facilities to enhance the quality of life of the population with better services put at their disposal.

This modern facility, he said, is the first in its kind to be endowed with a gymnasium equipped with essential healthcare services to serve some 16 500 inhabitants of the region. He indicated that it will help to decentralise the services of hospitals while also ensuring more proximity to the citizens.

Speaking on the novel coronavirus, he expressed satisfaction with regard to the precautionary measures put in place by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the World Health Organisation Office in Mauritius. He appealed to the population to fully collaborate and follow all preventive guidelines so as to be safe and pointed out that this situation will negatively impact on the economy of the country.

Prime Minister Jugnauth also dwelt on the various projects in the health sector aiming to improving healthcare services in the country. He spoke of the recently inaugurated ENT hospital costing some Rs 900 million. The other projects that are in the pipeline are a Centre for the treatment of cancer amounting to Rs 1 billion; a new eye hospital to the tune of some Rs 700 million; a University hospital in Flacq amounting to Rs 4 billion; a new laboratory to conduct medical tests; and an e-health programme to increase the overall efficiency and effectiveness of health services.

Government, he added, will revise the Overseas Treatment Scheme and will increase the financial assistance to patients proceeding abroad for treatment from Rs 800,000 to Rs 1 million. In addition, the cost of air tickets for a person accompanying the patient will be borne by Government, he added.

The Prime Minister also referred to the construction of other mediclinics namely in Quartier Militaire, Stanley, Bel-Air, Coromandel, Saint Francois Xavier and Roche Bois while recalling that a new mediclinic has been inaugurated on 30 January 2020 in Floreal.

He encouraged the population to maintain a healthy lifestyle by eating properly and doing physical exercises. He reiterated that Government will continue in its stride to put facilities such as health tracks and multi-use games areas at the disposal of people.

For his part, Minister Jagutpal stated that the Area Health Centre has been constructed to cater for a greater number of persons in the face of an increase in the number of patients. He underlined that more than Rs 12 billion is invested in the health sector so that the population remains in good health.

Petite Riviere Area Health Centre

The new Area Health Centre, constructed to the tune of some Rs 38 million will comprise basic health services, family planning/maternal and child health services, community-based rehabilitation services, obstetrics/ gynaecology and paediatric clinics, echography tests for pregnant women, dental clinic, Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) Clinic, and p harmacy services.

The Centre will operate on a daily basis as from 08 00 to 18 00 hours. On Saturdays, it will be open from 08 00 hours to noon. On Sundays and public holidays, the opening hours are from 09 00 till noon.
A couple who planned to have just a few children but went on to have ten offspring, have insisted that it's the best thing ever to happen to them.

Cassanda, 32, and Jacob Morrise, 35, from Utah, who laughingly remember feeling they had 'enough children to last a lifetime,' when they reached two, revealed they kept changing their minds and only felt their family was complete when baby number ten was born in July 2019.

The couple's huge brood includes two sets of twin boys, who were born one after the other.

And there is only one girl among all the siblings, their ninth child Lily, who was born in April 2018.

Cassanda, 32, and Jacob Morrise, 35, from Utah, have had ten children in a decade, pictured, the couple with Steven, ten, Christopher, nine, William and Ryan, both seven, Spencer and Max, both five, Thomas, four, Henry, three, Lily, one, and Peter, six months

Cassanda, 32, and Jacob (pictured with daughter Lily) who met met at Brigham Young University in Idaho in January 2008, initially planned to have a few children

Entrepreneur Jacob has a business designing and selling household gadgets in 2018, meanwhile Cassanda is a stay-at-home mother.

The mechanical entrepreneur said: 'I wouldn't change having such a big family for the world. By baby number two we thought we'd had enough. But turns out we hadn't, and it was the best decision we ever made.

'At the end of the day, we're just normal parents who happen to have 10 kids. Yes, the fact we have 10 might make us slightly less normal, but we love each and every one of them just the same.

'We do get the odd comments like, "You've got your hands full", or, "You must be some sort of day care center".

'And some people say we're irresponsible for having so many kids, but we just brush the comments off.'

Raising Steven, 10, Christopher, nine, identical twins William and Ryan, both seven, non-identical twins Spencer and Max, both five, Thomas, four, Henry, three, Lily, one, and Peter, six months, efficiently, but with plenty of love and affection, has made Cassanda confident she has the experience to give fellow parents solid advice.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the couple began sharing their parenting advice on a blog in June 2019

Cassanda and Jacob said their children (pictured) are well behaved, as being in a large family had taught them how to compromise

'People just assume we've got a bunch of unruly kids who rule the roost, because there's so many of them - but that's just not the case,' said Cassanda, who launched her blog with Jacob in June 2019.

'Being part of such a large family is actually good preparation for children, as they have to learn how to compromise and deal with different personalities. It's actually made our children better behaved.

'The blog offers advice to other parents and also gives us a way to document all the memories we make.

'I try and keep it real, but I also put a positive spin on every day and if one other mother can benefit from reading about how I stay on top of my laundry routine, then it's worthwhile.'

The couple who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints faith, which permits contraception, but encourages big families, claim that having a big family can be easier than just having a couple of children.

Cassanda said: 'I speak to people who have one or two kids and they're like, 'I have to entertain my kids and play with them all the time.' I'm like, 'Well, I don't.'

Cassanda (pictured with the children) who was one of eight siblings, had a whirlwind romance that led to her marrying Jacob in the same year that they met

'We've got so many children that they entertain and play with each other. We're also really lucky because the older kids dote on the younger ones.'

Jacob and Cassanda met at Brigham Young University in Idaho in January 2008. They embarked on a whirlwind romance and tied the knot in August the same year, and have revealed having such a big brood was not their initial plan.

'Cassanda was one of eight siblings and I was one of six,' Jacob said.

'We both loved being part of big families, but six children was always our limit.'

Then, after their first two, Steven and Christopher were born in August 2009 and February 2011 respectively, the couple thought their family was big enough.

'Steven was a fine baby, but Christopher was enough to put anyone off becoming a parent,' Jacob laughed.

'His cry was louder than any other child I'd ever heard - and he cried a lot.

'I just thought, 'This is not for me - two is more than enough'.'

The couple said Christopher's loud cry made them think that two children was more than enough, but they changed their minds after he finished teething

The pair admit they were surprised when they fell pregnant with identical twins, William and Ryan who were born in August 2012

But, once teething was finished, Christopher came into his own and the couple changed their minds.

Jacob continued: 'When Christopher mellowed out, we were like, 'Oh, this is fun, lets definitely have another one.''

However they were still taken by surprise when they fell pregnant with identical twins, William and Ryan, born in August 2012.

'I've got twin uncles and Jacob has cousins who are twins - but we never thought we'd have them,' Cassanda said.

The couple's 10 kids in 10 years August 2009 - Steven was born weighing 8lbs 7oz February 2011 - Christopher was born weighing 6lbs 11oz August 2012 - William and Ryan were born weighing 6lbs 4oz and 6lbs 12oz respectively April 2014 - Spencer and Max were born weighing 7lbs 5oz and 7lbs 13oz respectively November 2015 - Thomas was born weighing 8lbs 10oz October 2016 - Henry was born weighing 8lbs 4oz April 2018 - Lily was born weighing 9lbs 9oz July 2019 - Peter was born weighing 9lbs 9oz Advertisement

'I have to admit, I did get to the point where I just thought, 'How in the world will I ever cope with this?' and, 'How can I go on?'.

'I said to Jacob, 'I just can't go on any more I need more help.' But he turned to me and said, 'Cassanda, I've got nothing left.'

'But, admitting how hard it was made us stronger. After that, we both just got on with it. We didn't need to find a magic solution.'

Once they had everything under control, the couple fell pregnant again, this time with non-identical twins. Instead of despairing, Jacob remembers them feeling 'really chuffed.'

Speaking about the arrival of Spencer and Max in April 2014, he said: 'The shock wasn't nearly as profound as it'd been with the first twins.

'We knew it would be fine. We had a stroller we could fit all the babies in, so we knew we'd be okay.'

But the couple were so sure they were 'done' once they had six children that Cassanda gave their old baby clothes and her old maternity clothes away, only to swiftly retrieve them when Thomas, now four, was born in November 2015.

Cassanda said: 'I'm not sure why exactly we tried for another, but lots of people would ask us, 'So are you guys done now?' I think that put the idea of having another baby in our heads.

'We'd start asking ourselves, 'Are we really done?' After a while it just felt like someone was missing.

Cassanda said before baby Peter arrived last year, they were unsure if they wanted to have any more children

'Thomas was the best baby there ever was. He made us happier and made the other kids happier. He was such a lovely little baby, plus he slept through the night.'

Encouraged by Thomas' good behaviour, the couple decided another baby was on the cards, so, Henry, three, came along in 2016. And in 2018, Cassanda and Jacob welcomed their first baby girl, Lily.

'We were both ecstatic to be having a girl. As soon as we found out we went straight to the shops to buy a little girl outfit,' Jacob said.

'I was so happy I couldn't stop laughing and Cassanda was so happy she couldn't stop crying.'

In July last year, the couple finally decided that their family was complete, when baby Peter arrived.

'By then we were 100 per cent sure we didn't want any more kids,' Cassanda said.

'Before, we'd been unsure and we decided that if God wanted us to have more, then we would - but now it's like, "Please, no, no, no".'

Being part of a family of 12 has honed the couple's diplomatic skills.

Jacob said: 'When you've got 10 kids, it's impossible to get everything done.

The stay-at-home mother revealed that they spend $250 per week on feeding the family and dinner times isn't bad as the children aren't fussy

'We live by the mantra, "When you can't do what you've always done, do what matters most'.'

This is the kind of common sense they advise people to follow in their blog.

'I write lots of tips about how to stay on top of chores and how to run a household with so many children,' Cassanda said.

'When it comes to mealtimes, I like to be organised and I make a monthly meal plan, so everyone knows what they're getting in advance.

'Our kids aren't fussy, and they don't have any allergies either, so dinner times aren't so bad - we keep it simple and cook lots of soups, or pizza, enchiladas and salads.'

And the self-professed 'thrifty' shoppers only spend $250 per week to feed all 12 of them.

'We're savvy shoppers and save coupons or buy things on discount,' Cassanda said. 'Sometimes, people think we're having some sort of party and always ask 'Why do you need so many bananas?''

Cassanda who has been pregnant or nursing a newborn during most summers for the past ten years, revealed that the family enjoy staycations

Also, the seven oldest children are expected to help with the household chores.

Cassanda said: 'They have to do one chore every day.

'They each get given a room they have to tidy. It shouldn't take them longer than 10 minutes, because it's just picking toys up or wiping down the sides - it's not a deep clean.

'Some of the kids are done within 10 minutes, but others can take half an hour, because they spend most of the time crying about how hard it is!'

But it is not all work and the couple are careful to write about the fun their family has in their blog, too.

'During most summers over the last 10 years, I've either been pregnant or nursing a newborn,' she added.

'So, to be safe, we usually do staycations, where we stay at home, but we set aside some time for fun activities.

'We go to museums, to parks or on day trips to different places - but at the end of the day, we all come home to our own beds.

Cassanda revealed that she's not tempted to try for baby 11, although Jacob still loves tiny babies

'Last year, we went camping in Yellowstone National Park and that was great fun.

'Because our children are so little, all of us managed to fit in an eight-man tent.

'We even invested in a portable toilet, otherwise the kids would've been in and out of the tent about 20 times a night.'

Now, while Cassanda is not even slightly tempted to try for baby number 11, Jacob admits he still loves tiny babies.

'I do worry sometimes that whenever one of our friends has a baby, I'll get broody and want another one,' he admitted.

'But, as much as I would say "Never say never" to more babies, equally I would say, "Probably not".

'Plus, it won't be too long before we have plenty of grandchildren running around.'

In the meantime, the couple would not change their massive brood for the world.

Jacob added: 'Having a big family is so much fun and there's so much love flying about.

'It's lovely to know our kids will have so many people around them to love them and support them throughout their lives  we wouldn't have it any other way.'
Anti-CAA demonstrators from all faiths pray for withdrawal of law and communal amity at women-led epicentre of protests.

New Delhi, India  A Hindu priest lights up a sacred fire and chants from his scriptures, surrounded under a large tent by dozens of Muslim women, some sporting vermillion on their foreheads  a gesture of reverence usually displayed by the Hindus.

The priest was participating in an interfaith prayer ceremony held on Thursday at New Delhis Shaheen Bagh, a Muslim-dominated neighbourhood in Indias capital, where an all-women sit-in has turned into the epicentre of nationwide protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

The CAA fast tracks Indian nationality for non-Muslims from three Muslim-majority neighbouring countries  Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan  who came to India before 2015.

Opposition parties and critics say the CAA violates Indias secular constitution by making religion a marker of citizenship, and have challenged the law in the Supreme Court.

Faced with an ongoing National Population Register (NPR) and a proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) across India, Muslims, who form 15 percent of Indias 1.3 billion population, fear the steps are aimed at marginalising them.

Since the passage of the CAA pushed by the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in December, millions of Indians have hit the streets in sometimes deadly protests, demanding its withdrawal.

At Shaheen Bagh, protesters led by Muslim women have blocked a major highway since December 16, a day after police stormed into two Muslim-dominated universities to break anti-CAA protests, firing tear gas and stun grenades and wounding more than a hundred students.

People from various faiths participate in a community prayer at Shaheen Bagh in New Delhi [Sumaira Rizvi/Al Jazeera]

It has united us all

Since then, Shaheen Bagh has become a site of popular resistance, where people belonging to all religions join its women demonstrators, raising slogans such as Save the constitution and Peoples unity, long live.

On Thursday, an interfaith prayer ceremony was organised at the site, where priests from Indias major religions  Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity  read from their holy books to underscore communal amity.

I thank [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and [Home Minister Amit] Shah for giving us Shaheen Bagh. It has united us all, said Sant Yuvraj, the 52-year-old priest who performed the Hindu rituals.

The havan [sacred fire] is our response to whatever is happening in the country, he told Al Jazeera.

https://twitter.com/Nehr_who/status/1225623064135770112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Sister Daphne, 65, who led the recitation of the Bible at the ceremony, felt the communal prayers will ensure peace in the country.

We want to follow the policy of live and let live, said Sister Daphne, who belongs to the All Saints Church of Faridabad, one of New Delhis satellite towns.

A Sikh choir group sang hymns from their holy book, while a Muslim priest led a prayer, with the protesters joining their hands to ask for Gods blessings.

The plurality of the exercise was reflected in slogans raised, which ranged from the Hindu Jai Shri Ram (Hail Lord Ram) to the Muslim Allah hu-Akbar (Allah is the greatest), the Sikh Jo bole, so nihaal, Sat Sri Akal (Shout aloud in ecstasy, eternal is the Holy), and the Christian Jai Yeeshu (Hail Jesus).

The event also saw a breaking of sartorial stereotypes. Several Muslims, Christians and Sikhs were seen wearing the vermillion mark on their forehead. Some Hindu men came wearing skullcaps.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while criticising the anti-CAA protesters, had said they could be identified by their clothes, an oblique reference to Muslims.

A man holds the Holy Bible and the Quran during the interfaith prayer ceremony at Shaheen Bagh [Sumaira Rizvi/Al Jazeera]

Hate campaign ahead of Delhi polls

The interfaith meet came amid a relentless attack by the BJP leaders including Modi and Shah, who critics said were trying to polarise voters ahead of the crucial Delhi assembly election, to be held on Saturday.

The BJPs poll campaign saw its leaders invoking people to shoot the protesters, drawing reprimand from the Indian election commission.

On February 1, an armed man fired two rounds at Shaheen Bagh as he raised Hindu slogans. While the police were taking him away, he said only Hindus will prevail in the country.

Against such a tense backdrop, Fatima, a 30-year-old Muslim woman who had been participating in the sit-in for more than a month, described the interfaith event as a beautiful gesture.

The leaders of BJP are trying to malign Shaheen Bagh in order to polarise people and gain benefit in Delhi elections. But we will not let that happen, she told Al Jazeera.

Harinder Bindu, a 43-year-old Sikh woman farmer from the western state of Punjab, covered a distance of 200 kilometres (125 miles) to join the Shaheen Bagh protest.

She said the event showed how secular the anti-citizenship law protest was.

This meet busts allegations that Shaheen Bagh is mini-Pakistan. The people protesting here are from all religions and they all are Indians, she told Al Jazeera.

Agreeing with her, the Hindu priest Yuvraj added he had been performing the rituals for over three decades, but it never felt more gratifying than what he performed at Shaheen Bagh.

Activist John Dayal, a member of the National Integration Council of India, a body that promotes religious harmony, said such prayer meetings were a reminder that India is a plural country.

We need to be constantly reminded that we are diverse, and yet, we have an Indian identity, Dayal told Al Jazeera.
China lodges solemn representations to U.S. on Taiwan official visit: FM

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has lodged solemn representations to the United States regarding the recent officials exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Thursday.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying made the remarks at an online news briefing when answering a question about Lai Ching-te's visit to the United States.

China firmly opposes any form of official exchanges between the United States and Taiwan, Hua said, stressing that China's position is consistent and clear.

China has lodged solemn representations to the U.S. side for allowing Lai's visit, urging the U.S. side to abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiques, stop official exchanges with Taiwan, and cut off all forms of contact between Lai and U.S. leaders, government officials and Congress members, said Hua.

She said the United States should handle Taiwan issues prudently and properly and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces to avoid serious damage to China-U.S. relations.
To the Editor,

It is amazing that a Central New York city such as Oswego begins to take up sustainable alternatives to Styrofoam in order to aid the positive future for the environment (A CNY city leads the way as state looks to ban foam containers," Feb 5, 2020). Oswego is just a starting point in going from Styrofoam to renewable material. We need to go further than just one city banning Styrofoam  we need New York state.

Polystyrene (also known as Styrofoam) is a known risk to the environment as well as our health. Its useful for companies and thus is deemed as one of the prime materials for their commercial products. Yet when it becomes waste, Styrofoam does not easily decompose and is almost impossible to recycle. Styrofoam may also disassemble into small increments when attempted to be recycled into landfills or tossed away near bodies of water. This litter results in animals consuming the pieces of polystyrene, which is a choking hazard for them. Polystyrene is also proven to possess neurotoxins that can be absorbed into our bloodstream and tissue through contact with hot foods and liquid.

It is essential for communities to create alternatives in terms of Styrofoam products. Once local governmental leaders and the people in their communities agree to substitute this plastic product with sustainable materials, like Oswego has done, then it is possible for a change like this to occur in New York state. We need Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature to ban polystyrene products across New York and implement sustainable alternatives now.

Justin Cayago

Environmental Protection Project Leader

New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG)

Syracuse

How to submit letters and commentary to Syracuse.com
Russia will support deeper oil production cuts across OPEC and its partners, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told media at an event in Mexico.

We support this idea, the top diplomat said, adding that President Putin had recently discussed the coronavirus outbreak with the King of Saudi Arabia.

Of course it will have some consequences for the oil market, Lavrov said.

Yesterday, sources from the oil cartel told Reuters that the joint ministerial panel overseeing the current cuts had recommended adding 600,000 bpd to the total in response to the oil price flop that followed the coronavirus outbreak. Russia, the source said then, was against additional cuts, but supported an extension of the current ones.

Currently, the production cuts are around 2.1 million bpd after Saudi Arabia willingly cut its production more than it had committed to, adding 400,000 bpd to its cut quota. This means that with another 600,000 bpd off the market, the effective cuts could reach 2.7 million bpd at full compliance. They could also last until the end of the year if the group agrees to extend them beyond March  something that would be easier to agree on with Russia.

According to OPEC sources, the decision to recommend these additional cuts took into account not just the weaker demand following the Chinese outbreak, but also a return of Libyas production on the market at some point this year.

The 600,000 bpd has taken into consideration the expected return of Libya oil production and all scenarios for oil demand growth, the source told Reuters.

The news about Russia backing the additional cuts was positive for prices, but not by much at the time of writing. The full effect of the development should become evident later today, but it may turn out to be more limited than OPEC+ is hoping for as concern about the coronavirus outbreak continues to trump any positive news for oil.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Arthur A. Gianelli, President of Mount Sinai Morningside and Chief Transformation Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System Mount Sinai Morningside has grown into a top-tier health care facility that serves as this regions gateway to the Mount Sinai Health System," said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System.

Mount Sinai St. Lukes hospital will now operate under the name Mount Sinai Morningside, reinforcing the hospitals integral role as part of the world-renowned Mount Sinai Health System and the primary provider of health care to the 148,000 residents of West Harlem, including Morningside Heights.

The new name was approved by Mount Sinai Health Systems Boards of Trustees, the New York State Department of Health, and the New York Secretary of State. The change becomes effective immediately.

This new name not only reaffirms our 124-year legacy of serving the communities constituting West Harlem, including Morningside Heights, but also our commitment to delivering technologically advanced Mount Sinai-level care to our patients, who are increasingly coming to us from all five boroughs, Westchester, New Jersey, and even internationally, said Arthur A. Gianelli, President of Mount Sinai Morningside and Chief Transformation Officer for the Mount Sinai Health System. We have undergone a transformation that positions Mount Sinai Morningside as an integral part of the Mount Sinai Health System. Our patients now have convenient access to a vast network of world-renowned physicians and cutting-edge medical care.

Mount Sinai Morningside has grown into a top-tier health care facility that serves as this regions gateway to the Mount Sinai Health System, expanding access for Upper Manhattan, New Jersey, Yonkers, Westchester, and surrounding areas, said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System. The hospitals rebranding and transformation efforts reaffirm our commitment to setting standards for excellence and innovation in health care through technically advanced and groundbreaking procedures, equipment, and research that result in better outcomes for our patients.

Mount Sinai Morningsides transformation is the result of hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in clinical services, facilities, equipment, and information technology. Physicians with international reputations have been recruited, and a number of international clinical trials have been launched at Mount Sinai Morningside. Centers of excellence have been established in cardiology and cardiac surgery; diabetes, endocrinology and bariatric surgery; geriatrics; and trauma services. Numerous investments have been made to upgrade Mount Sinai Morningside, including the installation of new clinical equipment, the introduction of a state-of-the-art electronic medical record (EMR) system, acquisition of best-in-class surgical robotic technology, and the construction of a soon-to-open inpatient unit with all private rooms.

Mount Sinai Morningside has opened a new Ambulatory Care Center at 114th Street and Amsterdam Avenue. The Ambulatory Care Center includes outpatient exam space for a variety of clinical specialties, an imaging center, a cancer and non-cancer infusion suite, and numerous diagnostic and procedural centers. Primary care services are now available in a new space at 91st Street and Columbus Avenue, as well as at 147th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard in the Sugar Hill community.

The James P. Jones Daily Management and Incident Command Center was unveiled in 2018, launching Mount Sinai Morningside into a new era of technologically advanced hospital operations. The Command Center leverages the hospitals EMR system, using data science to provide descriptive and predictive information to decision-makers so that they can deploy resources to deliver the safest and most efficient care possible. The Command Center also facilitates rapid and comprehensive responses to emergency situations inside and outside the hospital. The Center was the first of its kind in the Mount Sinai Health System and is one of a select few in the country.

Mount Sinai Morningside has earned a number of important designations. Two of its clinical servicesdiabetes/endocrinology and nephrologyare ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News and World Report. Mount Sinai Morningside operates one of just two Trauma Centers certified by the American College of Surgeons located north of 60th Street in Manhattan. It has secured accreditation from the American College of Emergency Physicians as a Geriatric Emergency Department and by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as an Age Friendly Health System. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has awarded Mount Sinai Morningside a 4 out of 5 star rating for safety, quality, and patient experience. And the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society just granted Mount Sinai Morningside its highest rating (Stage 7) for the adoption and utilization of its EMR. Only 7 percent of hospitals across the country have achieved this designation.

Our communitys capacity to thrive and the enduring connections between West Harlem families is affirmed by the evolution of care found through this hospital, remarked Jennifer Beisser, Executive Director of Morningside Area Alliance. As one of our Alliances founders, we applaud the hospitals continued investment in our unique community.

About Mount Sinai Morningside

Mount Sinai Morningside, a 495-bed acute care hospital with a 174-year history in New York City, is the principal health care provider for the communities located in West Harlem, including Morningside Heights, and it operates one of Manhattans few certified Trauma Centers. One of eight hospitals in the Mount Sinai Health System, Mount Sinai Morningside enjoys an outstanding clinical reputation in cardiology and cardiac surgery as well as many other medical specialties, including internal medicine, cancer, geriatrics, trauma, diabetes care, bariatric surgery, and vascular disease. Mount Sinai Morningside is a full-service, technologically advanced, and nationally recognized hospital, and has an ambulatory platform that extends throughout Upper Manhattan. Its connection to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai provides access to world-class clinical care and research in a hospital known for its compassion, sensitivity, and commitment to delivering the safest care and best experience to all of its patients.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality carefrom prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty and our physicians in the top 1% of all physicians nationally by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Shocking animal welfare conditions have been uncovered at US government labs.

Mice were baked to death after a heating system failure, or left to die from hunger and thirst when researchers forgot to put food or water in their cages for a week and nobody noticed.

Primates were also kept in a room where the lights were on 24-hours-a-day for nearly five months because a facility manager was said to be overworked.

One vet failed to provide any care to a female owl monkey used for breeding after she became seriously ill and lost a fifth of her bodyweight, eventually succumbing to heart failure, fluid in the chest and abdominal hemorrhage.

Owl monkeys at a zoo in Columbia; documents from a US government lab show a vet failed to provide care to a seriously ill female owl monkey kept for breeding purposes

These animal welfare failures took place across a 22-month period from January 2018 to October 2019 at the laboratories of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the taxpayer-funded steward of medical and behavioral research of the United States.

A total of 31 internally reported incidents have come to light thanks to a freedom of information request made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

They took place at a variety of centers performing research in areas including diabetes, child health, mental health and more - mostly out of Bethesda, Maryland but also some at a facility in Hamilton, Montana.

In a statement, the NIH said it took all 'noncompliance' incidents seriously and all of them had been thoroughly investigated by its Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW), while changes to procedures had been made as a result.

But animal rights groups, including those that, unlike PETA, are not ideologically opposed to all animal testing, blasted the violations.

A total of 31 internally reported incidents have come to light thanks to a freedom of information request made by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)

Eric Kleiman, a researcher at the Animal Welfare Institute said: 'The laws and regulations exist to minimize animal suffering, pain, stress, and when even those minimal standards are not being addressed or not being followed, then you have significant suffering.'

'Training, veterinary care, food, water: this is the most basic of basics. If you can't do this kind of thing right you have no business doing anything with animals, it's as simple as that,' he added, calling the findings 'shocking.'

From historic breakthroughs like the discovery of insulin through experiments on dogs, to the development last year of an Ebola treatment via work on genetically-modified mice, and cutting-edge cancer therapies, many scientists believe animal research is crucial to medical progress.

But the testing is supposed to take place under strict laws and policies spelling out its conditions, including the size of cages, room temperatures and the animals' social needs, as well as vet visits and the need for hygienic surgery and post-operative care.

Federal research facilities are subject to the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, which in turns mandates compliance with the Animal Welfare Act, a landmark law signed by former president Lyndon Johnson 1966.

Unlike labs in universities and private facilities, they are not subject to site inspections by the US Department of Agriculture and are meant to regulate themselves.

Yet the repeated violations of policy show that this system is inherently flawed, said Alka Chandna, PETA's vice president of laboratory investigations cases.

On no fewer than five occasions, mice starved or dehydrated to death because employees forgot to give them food or water.

'The problem was not noted during the daily health checks,' said one report from June 2018.

An experimenter at a US government laboratory injected 18 zebrafish with a salt solution, even though this procedure had not been approved; 11 died and seven were euthanized

Other examples spoke to serial incompetence, said Chandna, including one where a dog sustained skin burns from an electric blanket used because the procedure room was too cold, but staff failed to monitor its use.

On another occasion, 13 mice baked to death after a heating system failure left them in 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38C) overnight.

In July 2018, an experimenter injected 15 zebrafish with a salt solution, even though this procedure had not been approved. Four of the zebrafish died immediately.

Three weeks later, the procedure was repeated in 18 fish - even though the protocol had still not been approved. Eleven of these fish were euthanized and seven were found dead.

Few incidents led to serious repercussions: A facility manager who allowed primates to remain in a room with the lights on for five months was 'counseled' and directed to monitor the lights daily, a report said in March 2018.

The vet who failed to attend to the owl monkey after having been notified by a vet technician that the animal was very sick was replaced, but it was not clear if they were fired or re-assigned.

Commenting on multiple surgeries that took place without regard to aseptic procedure or post-operative care - including on a primate - Kleiman said the question was not so much what had gone wrong as 'what went right?'

Activists with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) demonstrate during a protest against the US military treatment of animals in Washington, DC in 2012

Animal testing has broad backing from the scientific community even as some advocate for a transition to other forms of research, including computer modeling and test tube based studies in line with the so-called three R's: Replacement, Reduction and Refinement.

Paula Clifford, the executive director of Americans for Medical Progress that campaigns for animal research, said it was critical to place the new revelations in context.

'Given the size of the NIH and the very large number of animals it cares for, these incidents are actually quite rare and involve a very small percentage of the tens of thousands of animals involved in health research,' she said.

In its statement the NIH said: 'The incidents you have cited were thoroughly investigated by OLAW. The NIH intramural facilities have implemented numerous changes to prevent a recurrence.'

'There are cases where something goes wrong (as in any enterprise) but it is identified, corrected, and evaluated by OLAW to ensure that the correction is appropriate for the problem,' it added.
Sergey Pavlovich Polozov says he was so surprised to find his name included in special counsel Robert Muellers indictments that he told himself it couldnt be him  until he saw a more detailed document that included his date of birth.

Why it matters: Muellers indictment accused Polozov of providing material and technological support to the Internet Research Agency (IRA), the St. Petersburg-based troll factory on the front lines of Russias meddling in the 2016 election.

In an interview for the Russian documentary InterNYET: A History of the Russian Internet, shared exclusively with Axios, Polozov scoffs at the idea that he and the other 12 Russians indicted could have influenced American voters.

My position is pretty simple, Polozov tells interviewer Andrey Loshak. "I believe that what occurs in another country, its pretty hard for me to influence it.

Polozov essentially admits to one of the accusations against him  that, in Mueller's words, he oversaw the procurement of proxy servers that masked the firms location when conducting operations within the United States.

He says he configured but did not purchase servers, but claims not to know why the IRA needed them.

Russians working for the IRA posed as Americans, sharing provocative posts aimed at sowing disruption and boosting Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.

While the indictment describes Polozov as the IRAs IT manager, he says his company carried out a number of orders for the agency, but he was never an employee.

He compares his work for the IRA to that of an SEO consultant, and says blaming me is the same as blaming Zuckerberg for creating Facebook.

He says he did not usually work out of the IRAs headquarters but when I came there it differed nothing from an ordinary office with normal people who smiled, went in, smoked, talked.

It was not a Gestapo, or some sort of thing, he says, but quite an acceptable, decent place."

While Polozov denies having knowingly played a part in a Russian campaign against the U.S., he's no fan of America.

The history of America, he contends, shows that robbers came there, all the people who didnt succeed, and drove out the indigenous people and proclaimed themselves a superpower.

While America wants to check Russia influence, Polozov says, his country "has only defended itself over the past century, never attacking anyone or starting a war.

Reality check : That vision of recent Russian history does not stand up to basic scrutiny.

: That vision of recent Russian history does not stand up to basic scrutiny. Deflecting a question about Russian propaganda, he says he favors patriotic media over opposition media, and he believes Russians are better served by news that portrays their country positively.

The state of play: Polozov says hes surviving just fine under indictment, but wont travel abroad for fear of extradition to the U.S.

That's a "serious loss" for his family. Fortunately, he says, Russia is "such a big country"  and he'd always wanted to visit Siberia.

The backstory: The Russian-language interview was conducted in February 2019 by Loshak for his Current Time TV documentary, InterNYET: A History of the Russian Internet. The interview will be released this week.
Now that everyone has had a chance to absorb the news that Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are no longer senior royals, fans are wondering what theyve been doing and how things are going for them in Canada.

The pair announced in a statement via Instagram on Jan. 8, 2020, that they were going to step back as senior royals. Meghan and Harry also stated that they would be spending time in North America. Now, they are reports about just how the Sussexes are enjoying life more than 4,000 miles away from the royal family. Heres more on that, plus the one thing Harry is doing to cope with missing his friends back home.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Where the Sussexes are staying and where theyre house hunting

After their bombshell announcement was made, Meghan returned to Canada and was reunited with the pairs son, Archie. Harry meanwhile stayed behind in the U.K. for a few days to iron things out with his family and attend a meeting with the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William.

Since then, the couple and Archie have been staying at a $14 million mansion off the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island and have been house hunting for another lavish property in the area.

According to The Sun, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are looking at waterfront properties in Kitsilano. One home they are said to be interested in boasts 6,900 square feet of living space spread out over four levels with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. It also features six bedrooms, five bathrooms, 20-foot beach-side walls, and tall hedges for privacy. The asking price is $35 million.

Vancouver home where Prince Harry and Meghan are staying | MARK GOODNOW/AFP via Getty Images

The duke and duchess are enjoying a quiet life this way

So now that the dust has settled a bit and the prince and retired actress have been out of the royal family limelight, many are wondering just what theyve been up to lately.

An insider told People that they traded royal life for yoga and nature walks.

They are enjoying living a quiet life, the insider said, adding, They go for long walks, they do yoga, and Meghan cooks. They are real homebodies who love to chill out with Archie and the dogs. They both love to be outside and have been loving it there.

Harry is messaging friends back home

Prince Harry | Chris Jackson/Getty Images

While Harrys adjusting to life in a country hes never lived in before, he has been keeping up with his buddies back in England through a popular messaging app.

Harry misses his friends of course  anyone would. But he has been in a WhatsApp Group with his mates for years and he uses that more than ever now to keep in touch and send pictures, a source told The Sun. The group are always sharing funny video clips they find as well.

Although hes living on the other side of the pond at the moment, the duke doesnt believe it will hurt his friendship with his longtime pals.

The source revealed that Harry doesnt think being on the other side of the world means that he will lose touch with the people he has been mates with all his life.

Read more: Meghan Markle Pulled Out of Her First Post-Megxit Event With Prince Harry
Mud wasp nests have helped establish a date for the Gwion Gwion rock art in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

The Kimberley region hosts thousands of rock art sites with some earlier depictions in a remarkably good state of preservation, said Professor Peter Veth, from the Centre for Rock Art Research and Management at the University of Western Australia.

They provide a window into how Aboriginal people thought and lived in a socially and environmentally dynamic world and are of great significance to Kimberley Traditional Owners today.

One of the best known styles showing human figures with complex headdress and body ornaments is the Gwion Gwion.

Formerly known as Bradshaws, their extraordinary detail challenged European observers and led to more than a century of speculation about their age and authorship.

This is the first time we have been able to confidently say Gwion style paintings were created around 12,000 years ago, said Damien Finch, a Ph.D. student at the University of Melbourne.

No one has been able present the scientific evidence to say that before.

The rock paintings depict graceful human figures with a wide range of decorations including headdresses, arm bands, and anklets. Some of the paintings are as small as 15 cm (6 inches), others are more than 2 m (6.5 feet) high.

Lack of organic matter in the pigment used to create the art had previously ruled out radiocarbon dating.

But the researchers were able to use dates on 24 mud wasp nests under and over the art to determine both maximum and minimum age constraints for paintings in the Gwion style.

One wasp nest date suggested one painting was older than 16,000 years, but the pattern of the other 23 dates is consistent with the Gwion Gwion period being 12,000 years old.

A painting beneath a wasp nest must be older than the nest, and a painting on top of a nest must be younger than the nest, Finch said.

If you date enough of the nests, you build up a pattern and can narrow down an age range for paintings in a particular style.

The 21 new dates securely placed this style in the Pleistocene era (greater than 10,000 years), said Dr. Sven Ouzman, from the Centre for Rock Art Research and Management at the University of Western Australia.

While Aborignal people have always known this is their rock art, this current work helps make that knowledge more widely known.

More exciting dating work awaits, with Gwion Gwion imagery known to occupy the middle part of a very long chronology of making rock art in the Kimberley that continues to this day.

The findings were published in the journal Science Advances.

_____

Damien Finch et al. 2020. 12,000-Year-old Aboriginal rock art from the Kimberley region, Western Australia. Science Advances 6 (6): eaay3922; doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aay3922
Prep with your finest and bring out the bubbly  its a date with Hollywood! Take your pick from light-hearted superhero capers to Academy Award-winning dramas, from deftly crafted comedies to romances that cue fireworks. Tune in to HBO and HBO HD all through February for an unforgettable medley of silver screen magic!

Settle in your front row seats and give in to the awards season euphoria, as HBO and HBO HD unveil cinematic gold with Hall of Fame from 1st to 10th February, with movies like American Sniper, A Star is Born, The Departed, Saving Private Ryan and more. Oscar completists can binge on a hand-picked movie selection of Academy Award winners and nominees from the past years that have awed audiences and critics alike.

To add zany superhero flavour to your watch-list, meet Billy Batson. A foster kid looking for his mother, he is also an inadvertent successor to an ancient wizards magical powers. Hilarity ensues as 14-year-old Billy and his foster brother discover that to summon his freshly-minted arsenal of powers and chiselled physique, he just needs to #SayTheWord  Shazam! Zachary Levi brings alive the titular superhuman in this breezy, genre-defying feature film from the house of DC Extended Universe that combines charm, wit and effervescence. Tune in to HBO Mega Premiere Shazam on Sunday, 9th February at 1pm and 9pm! #ShazamOnHBO is presented by Associate Sponsor Nexon EV.

Bring in the Valentines Day with more than just rainbows and butterflies. Tune in to an entire day of movies that celebrate love, action, fantasy and comedy on 14th February! Follow Viktor Navroski who makes the airport his home as a stateless man in the comedy-drama The Terminal, or Debbie Ocean and her wild scheme to assemble an all-female crew of con artists for a diamond heist in Oceans 8. Pick from Thor, Captain America-First Avenger, The Dark Knight Rises and Superman Returns for a superhero vibe, or The Heartbreak Kid for an amusing love with dollops of comedy!

Check out HBO India on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to know more.

Buckle up, because February is going to be fantastic! #ExperienceTheMagic only on HBO and HBO HD!
A volunteer disinfects a residential compound to prevent and control the new coronavirus, in Ganzhou, Jiangxi province, China on Feb. 6, 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

Singapore Lifts Coronavirus Alert to SARS Level

Roughly two dozen countries around the world have taken precautionary measures to stem the spread of the new coronavirus as the death toll continues to rise. Reports are emerging from China suggesting that many more people the country are dying of the disease than officially reported. Scientists continue to probe the origin of the virus.

This page has updates from Feb. 7. For updates from Feb. 8, click here.

Panic in Singapore After Virus Alert Increased

Singapore on Friday raised its coronavirus alert level to orangea level reached during the 2003 Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak and the 2009 H1N1 influenza, which indicates the virus is severe and passes easily between persons.

The countrys infected tally hit 33, with more cases not linked to previous infections or travel to China, a move that sparked panic-buying of essentials in some shops across the island.

With the disease reviving memories of SARS, which killed more than 30 people in Singapore and hundreds worldwide, shoppers started clearing shelves of toilet paper, noodles and rice and formed long queues in supermarkets across the island on Friday evening, videos posted on social media showed.

People stock up on food supplies after Singapore raised coronavirus outbreak alert to orange, at a supermarket in Singapore on Feb. 7, 2020. (Edgar Su/Reuters)

I understand that people are concerned after the announcement this afternoon. However, we must  not hoard items unnecessarily. This will create undue panic and is unhelpful to the situation at hand, trade minister Chan Chun Sing said in a Facebook post about the panic buying.

Singapores highest alert level is red, which, if enacted, would indicate the virus is spreading widely and can result in significant disruption, such as closing schools.

As there are now a few local cases without any links to previous cases or travel history to China, we have stepped up our risk assessment, the health ministry said, announcing the new orange alert level on Friday.

It also said firms should be prepared for widespread community transmission and advised that non-essential large-scale events should be deferred or canceled.

Cruise Lines Ban Travelers with Chinese, Hong Kong, Macau Passports

The Royal Caribbean and Norwegian cruise lines announced Friday that they would deny boarding to any guest who holds China, Hong Kong or Macau passports, regardless of residency.

The two cruise lines are among members of the worlds largest cruise industry association, Cruise Line International (CLIA), who operate about 90 percent of the worlds oceangoing cruises. Other members include Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line, Disney Cruise Line, and P&O Cruises.

The CLIA announced on Friday that its members have adopted enhanced protocols to allow for informed decisions on a case-by-case basis whether a guest or crewmember will be permitted to board.

According to CLIA, the members are to deny boarding to all persons who have traveled from, visited or transited via airports in China, including Hong Kong and Macau, within 14 days before embarkation. They will also deny boarding to anyone who, within 14 days prior to boarding the ship, has had close contact with anyone suspected or diagnosed as having coronavirus.

CLIA members will also conduct preboarding screenings, and provide screening and initial medical support to anyone who shows symptoms that may suggest coronavirus.

The announcements come after four people on a cruise that arrived in Bayonne, New Jersey were sent to a nearby hospital early Friday after they were screened for the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, two shipsa Diamond Princess cruise ship docked at Yokohama, Japan, and a Dream Cruises ship docked in Hong Kongare being quarantined after a number of passengers on both ships tested positive for the virus.

Holland Americas cruise ship Westerdam has been denied entry by four countriesJapan, Taiwan, the Philippines and the US territory of Guamamid coronavirus fears, even though its Seattle-based operator has denied knowledge of any cases of the virus.

Funeral Homes in Wuhan Cremating Dozens of Bodies a Day

A senior official of a crematorium in the coronavirus epicenter of Wuhan says their intake has skyrocketed in recent weeks, suggesting more people are dying of the disease than officially reported.

Beginning around Jan. 22, the number of dead bodies received by the government-operated funeral home has drastically increasedpeaking at 127 bodies on Feb. 3, the official said. This is about four to five times the usual workload, he added.

The funeral home services eight of the government-designated hospitals for treating the virus, according to the official.

Four other Wuhan funeral homes that service such hospitals have also reported increases in their intake, based on undercover calls and revelations from crematorium workers.

Read more here.

China Starts Testing Antiviral Drug on Patients: Officials

U.S. officials and Chinese authorities said that antiviral drug remdesivir, used as a treatment for Ebola, is being tested on new coronavirus patients in China.

Gilead Sciences announced it would collaborate with U.S., Chinese, and other health officials to investigate whether the drug works.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a news conference that remdesivir tests have now begun in a randomized controlled trial in two separate trials in China by one of our colleagues, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said.

Read more here.

Appears Possible to Have Infection Without Symptoms: US Official

A top U.S. health official said that it appears possible to have the new coronavirus and not show symptoms.

It does appear that you can actually have this infection and not have symptoms. said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at a press conference in Washington on Friday.

Because of that appearance, U.S. officials think that the full spectrum of the outbreak has yet to be defined.

Some countries have reported asymptomatic transmission, or person to person transmission when the sick person doesnt show symptoms, and Redfield said at the press conference that it was very clear that individuals who dont have symptoms can, in fact, transmit the virus.

Medical and security workers stand at a checkpoint to screen for the new coronavirus in Anqing, Anhui province, China on Feb. 6, 2020. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Illinois Patients Discharged From Hospital

Two coronavirus patients in the U.S. state of Illinois have been released from the hospital and are at home after having been diagnosed last month, state health officials confirmed Friday.

The two patients, who are in their 60s, were released back to their home under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Illinois Department of Public Health, AMITA Health said in a statement. The two were being treated at AMITA Healths St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

With it being an uncomfortable situation, the care and the services weve received have been great. Everyones been very kind and very respectful, the couple said in a statement.

This has been the best healthcare experience weve ever had, but were definitely looking forward to getting home and getting life back to normal.

Read more here.

Luxury Days Are Gone: Passenger on Quarantined Ship

Some 3,700 passengers are quarantined on a cruise ship outside of Yokohama, Japan, after some passengers tested positive for the new coronavirus. Forty-one additional passengers tested positive on Thursday, including eight Americans, 21 Japanese nationals, and five Canadians.

David Abel, 74, a passenger on the Princess Cruises Ship, told CNBC that the luxuries one gets used to on a cruise ship arent happening during the quarantine.

All of the luxury of having someonea steward coming to the cabin, make the bed, put chocolate on the pillow, change the towels, face cloths, clean the bathroomthose days are gone, Abel said. It just aint happening.

Australians Paul and Coralie Williamson said their cabin was smaller than a motel room and they had heard complaints from others about not having medication, or enough information. Were here for a long haul. I think it is going to get a little bit testing, obviously. But I dont know. What do we do? We couldnt jump out of the boat; thats a bit cold, Jacqui Fidrmuc from the city of Cairns told Australias Nine Network.

Most passengers are confined to their cabins. The captain of the ship recently announced that people in the inside cabins, which have no natural light, will be allowed onto the open deck for exercise and fresh air. The outdoor time will be conducted under the guidance of Japans Ministry of Health, Princess Cruises said in a statement.

Princess Cruises said on Feb. 6 that it had activated new in-room entertainment offerings, including new satellite television channels, new videos, and a printed newspaper.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo, Japan, on Feb. 7, 2020. (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP)

WHO Chief: Global Shortage of Medical Masks

The world is running out of masks and other protective equipment against the coronavirus, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

The world is facing a chronic shortage of personal protective equipment, he remarked.

The health official added that he would be speaking to members of the supply chain network to produce more and deal with bottlenecks on mask production.

We have a common enemy which is dangerous and which can bring serious upheaval: social, political, and economic, he added.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, speaks during a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China, on Jan. 28, 2020. (Naohiko Hatta/Pool via Reuters)

Ireland Suspends All Mail to China

Ireland said it was suspending all mail services to China as a result of the coronavirus.

This follows the decision by a number of international airlines to suspend their services, An Post said in a statement.

Ireland has no confirmed cases of the new virus but a patient was being tested at a hospital in Derry, Belfast, reported Live on Feb. 6.

The child traveled from Hong Kong with family members about seven days ago.

4 Cruise Ship Passengers Hospitalized in US

Four people screened for the new coronavirus on a cruise ship arriving in New Jersey were rushed to a nearby hospital early on Feb. 7.

The Royal Caribbean cruise ship Anthem of the Seas docked in Bayonne. Approximately two dozen passengers of concern were screened, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.

Four of those screened were taken to a hospital in the area for further screening, he said.

At least one of the people transported from the ship was wheeled off on a stretcher, according to video footage.

Read more here.

Chinas Hubei Province Announces Partial Lockdown of Villages

Authorities in Hubei Province, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, announced partial lockdown measures for villages in the region in an emergency notice on Feb. 7.

One measure calls for leaving open a single road connecting villages while closing all other roads. It suggests using nets, fences, and water-filled barriers to seal those roads.

It also calls for certain individuals in each village to be responsible for buying living necessities for everyone in the village.

People will be severely dealt with if there are cases of virus transmission in communities or households due to villagers failing to adhere to seal-off management, the notice said.

A medical staff member showing a test tube after taking samples taken from a person to be tested for the new coronavirus at a quarantine zone in Wuhan, China, on Feb. 4, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Vietnam Records 12 Confirmed Cases

Local newspaper Hanoi Times reported two new cases on Feb. 6, bringing the national total to 12, citing local health authorities.

The two new patients are the mother and younger sister of a woman who has already tested positive for the coronavirus. The woman returned to Vietnam from Wuhan on Jan. 17.

The infected woman was among eight workers sent by Japans Nihon Plast Company to Wuhan for training, all of them returned to Vietnam on the same flight on Jan. 17. Five of the eight are now infected with the virus.

Toyota Delays Factory Opening in China

Japanese automaker Toyota will further postpone the restart of its four factories in China until after Feb. 17, according to local newspaper Mainichi Shimbun. The four factories are located in the Chinese cities of Tianjin, Chengdu, Changchun, and Guangzhou.

Originally, Toyota planned to reopen these plants in early February following the Lunar New Year holidays but postponed it to Feb. 10 or later.

According to the outlet, Toyota manufactured about 1.4 million vehicles at these four plants in 2019.

Amnesty International Criticizes China Over Handling of Whistleblower Doctor

Amnestys regional director Nicholas Bequelin said on Feb. 7 that the death of Li Wenliang, a Chinese doctor who shed light on the coronavirus outbreak in December but was reprimanded by Chinese authorities, highlights human rights failings in China.

Bequelin said: The case of Li Wenliang is a tragic reminder of how the Chinese authorities preoccupation with maintaining stability drives it to suppress vital information about matters of public interest.

China must learn the lesson from Lis case and adopt a rights-respecting approach to combating the epidemic.

Nobody should face harassment or sanctions for speaking out about public dangers, just because it may cause embarrassment to the government, he said.

Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang. (Courtesy of Li Wenliang)

Xi Jinping and Trump Discuss Virus Outbreak on Phone Call

Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in a phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday morning, said that the Chinese government is sparing no effort in its fight to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere tweeted that Trump expressed confidence in Chinas strength and resilience in confronting the challenge of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak during the phone call.

The two leaders agreed to continue extensive communication and cooperation between both sides, he said.

Read more about Chinas response here.

Chinas Anti-Corruption Watchdog to Investigate Whistleblower Doctors Death

Chinas National Supervisory Commission, an anti-corruption watchdog, announced on Feb. 7 that it will send an investigation team to Wuhan to conduct a full investigation over the case surrounding Li Wenliang.

Li, an ophthalmologist, died of coronavirus in Wuhan the morning of Feb. 7 after testing positive for the virus on Feb. 1. He was one of eight whistleblowers who initially took to Chinas social media to raise an alarm about an unknown pneumonia outbreak in December 2019.

On Jan. 3, he was summoned to a local police station where he was reprimanded for rumor-mongering.

First Case Reported in North Korea

South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo reported on Feb. 7 that a woman living in Pyongyang who recently returned from China has been confirmed to have the coronavirus, citing an unnamed source in North Korea.

JoongAng Ilbo did not provide any other details about the woman.

North Korea has closed its borders with China and Russia to prevent the spread of the virus. The North has also stopped airline flights and train services with the two neighboring countries, as well as suspending international tourism.

Former Workers Village Will House Australian Evacuees from China

Australias Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that a disused construction workers village near Darwin will be used to house more Australians being repatriated from Wuhan because Christmas Island can not take any more people, according to local media.

The village once housed about 3,500 workers for the construction of a gas plant on Darwin Harbour.

About 280 Australians are currently quarantined on Christmas Island after being evacuated from Wuhan.

According to The Guardian, the second Qantas evacuation flight will leave Wuhan just after midnight.

Read more here.

A Qantas Boeing 747 takes off from Melbournes Tullamarine International Airport. (Torsten Blackwood/Getty Images)

Malaysia, Singapore, and South Korea Report New Cases

In Malaysia, two new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed, with one being a local case of human-to-human transmission, according to local newspaper The Star.

Local Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr. Dzulkefly bin Ahmad said in a statement that the local transmission involved a 40-year-old Malaysian woman who did not have travel history to China. Her brother had earlier tested positive for the virus.

Her brother also did not travel to China recently, but he was in Singapore for a business meeting attended by Chinese nationals.

Currently, she is at the isolation ward at Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah in Alor Setar and is in a stable condition, Dzulkefly said.

The second new case involved a Chinese tourist from Wuhan who arrived in Malaysia on Jan. 25.

With the two new cases, Malaysia now has 14 known cases involving 10 Chinese nationals and four Malaysians.

Singapore now has 30 confirmed cases after two Singaporean men, who no recent travel history to China, tested positive, according to the local Ministry of Health.

One of the men, aged 27, who tested positive on Feb. 6 is one of four Singaporean residents being investigated by the countrys National Centre for Infectious Diseases after he took part in a private business meeting at the Grand Hyatt Singapore from Jan. 20 to Jan. 22 attended by participants from Chinas Hubei province.

The Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Feb. 7 that a 28-year-old Korean man who was recently repatriated from Wuhan has tested positive for the virus.

South Korean now has 24 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

See Johns Hopkins Universitys real-time tracking tool for known 2019-nCoV cases in other countries.

Canada and Hong Kong Report New Cases

The Ministry of Health in British Columbia issued a statement on Feb. 6 announcing two new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total in the province to four.

The new cases involved two visitorsone male and one female in their 30sfrom Chinas Hubei province.

The statement said: The people affected are in the same household and have been in close contact with the previously reported second confirmed case announced on Feb. 5. The three cases and all close contacts remain in isolation at home.

The two individuals are presumed positive based on local testing, and samples have been sent to the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for final confirmation.

If confirmed, Canada would have seven confirmed cases of coronavirus.

In Hong Kong, two women with no recent travel history to China have tested positive for the virus, bringing the citys total to 24.

A 63-year-old woman began having a cough on Jan. 26 and visited a private clinic on Feb. 5.

Another woman aged 65 began having a fever and cough on Jan. 28. She visited a local private clinic on both Jan. 29 and Feb. 1. She was hospitalized at Prince of Wales Hospital on Feb. 5.

First Italian Tests Positive for Virus

An Italian man, who was one of 56 Italian nationals repatriated from Wuhan on Feb. 3, has tested positive for coronavirus on Feb. 6, Reuters reported, citing the local health ministry.

The man is now at the Spallanzani infectious diseases institute in Rome.

The case marks the third confirmed case in Italy. The two previous cases were Chinese tourists who tested positive last week.

US Ambassador to UN Urges WHO to Engage With Taiwan

Andrew Bremberg, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, has urged World Health Organizations (WHOs) executive board to engage with Taiwan

For the rapidly evolving coronavirus, it is a technical imperative that WHO present visible public health data on Taiwan as an affected area and engage directly with Taiwan public health authorities on actions, Bremberg said.

Beijing views Taiwan as a renegade province and has tried to diminish the islands international presence by blocking it from becoming a member of international organizations such as the WHO.

Taiwans Ministry of Foreign Affairs has criticized the WHO for misreporting the number of confirmed cases in the island and calling the island the wrong name.

.@WHO, whats wrong with you? First you called us Taiwan, China, then you changed to Taipei. You misreported the confirmed cases, & now you call us Taipei & Environs. Look! Taiwan is #Taiwan & not any part of the #PRC. JW   Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan)  (@MOFA_Taiwan) February 6, 2020

A number of governments around the world have recently voiced support for Taiwans participation in the WHO, including Paraguay and Guatemala, according to local government-run Central News Agency, citing the islands foreign ministry.

I want to thank the representatives from #Eswatini, #Paraguay, & #Guatemala for taking a stand for global health & safety by supporting #Taiwans @WHO participation & highlighting ways that #TaiwanCanHelp combat the spread of #2019nCoV. pic.twitter.com/Q2niR21y7H   Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) February 5, 2020

British National Was Infected in Singapore: Reports

In the third known coronavirus case in the UK, the patient, a middle-aged man, became infected with the virus in Singapore, according to British media reports.

The case marks the first British national to be infected.

He tested positive while in Brighton before being taken to a specialist NHS facility at the Guys and St Thomas hospitals in London.

The first two cases in the UK involved Chinese nationalsa student at the University of York and one of his relatives. They tested positive after becoming ill at Staycity Aparthotel in York.

Read more here.

41 More Passengers Infected on Diamond Princess in Japan

Japans health ministry announced on Feb. 7 that an additional 41 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, bringing the total number of infected cases on the ship to 61, according to Japanese media reports.

Currently, the cruise ship is docked in the Japanese port of Yokohama.

Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun added that these newly diagnosed passengers will be taken to medical facilities in Tokyo and nearby prefectures, citing the health ministry.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is docked at Yokohama Port, near Tokyo on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. (Sadayuki Goto/Kyodo News via AP)

For updates from Feb. 6, click here.

Frank Fang, Melanie Sun, Cathy He, Zachary Stieber, Jack Phillips, Mimi Nguyen Ly, the Associated Press, and Reuters contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - The founder and leader of al-Qa'ida in Yemen, Qasim al-Rimi, was killed in a US airstrike ordered by US President Donald Trump, the White House said on Friday, thus confirming rumours that had been circulating in recent days.



Rimi, 41, was deputy to al-Qa'ida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.



He topped the list of most dangerous terrorists and the US State Department had offered a reward of up to 10 million dollars for information that would have brought him to justice.



A statement from the White House said al-Rimi joined al-Qa'ida in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden.



Under al-Rimi, the terrorist group "committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces", the statement said.



"His death further degrades al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the global al-Qa'ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," it said. In recent days, the New York Times reported that al-Rimi had been hit in a strike carried out not far from the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on January 25, in an area known as an AQAP stronghold.



Rimi had become the leader of AQAP in 2015 after the killing of Sheikh Abu Basir Nasser al Wuhaishi in a US airstrike.(ANSAmed).
By PTI

NEW DELHI: Efforts by authorities for a speedy hanging of the four convicts in the Nirbhaya case suffered a jolt as a trial court on Friday refused to issue fresh death warrants, asking how is it presumed that the fourth condemned prisoner is not going to seek the last available legal remedy for a reprieve.

Taking note of the Delhi High Court's February 5 order permitting the convicts in the gang-rape and murder case to exercise their legal remedies within one week, Additional Sessions Judge Dharmendra Rana observed, "It is criminally sinful to execute the convicts when the law permits them to live."

The judge said death warrants cannot be executed merely on the basis of surmises and conjectures even as the Supreme Court said no one can be compelled to take remedies.

The trial court on January 31 indefinitely postponed the execution of the four convicts-- Mukesh Kumar Singh (32), Pawan Gupta (25), Vinay Kumar Sharma (26) and Akshay Kumar (31), who are lodged in Tihar Jail.

In the application before judge Rana, the Delhi government said the President has already dismissed the mercy petitions of three convicts and that no application by any of the four is currently pending before any court.

ALSO READ: Nirbhaya case - SC to hear on February 11 Centre's plea against Delhi HC verdict

"What makes you (State) presume he (Pawan Gupta) is not going to use his curative plea?" At this, public prosecutor Irfan Ahmad, appearing for the Delhi government and Tihar jail, said, "He (Pawan Gupta) has not filed yet. Currently no application by any of them is pending before any court."

Pawan has not yet filed a curative petition -- the last and final legal remedy available to a person which is decided in-chamber.

He also has the option of filing a mercy plea.

The Delhi government had moved the trial court for issuance of fresh black warrants.

"It is criminally sinful to execute the convicts when law permits them to live. The High Court on February 5 has permitted the convicts, in the interest of justice, to exercise their legal remedies within one week from same order," judge Rana said.

"I concur with counsel for convicts that death warrants cannot be executed merely on basis of surmises and conjectures. The application is bereft of merit. Same is dismissed. State is at liberty to move appropriate application as and when required," he added.

The Delhi government informed the court about the high court's order which directed the convicts to take steps within a week, if they wished, to avail any remedy available under the law.

"It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that, keeping in view a week's time given to the convicts by high court, the fresh dates for execution of death warrants. May kindly be fixed specifying the date and time for execution/ hanging of convicts Pawan Gupta, Vinay Sharma, Mukesh and Akshay in the interest of justice," it said in the application.

The warrants, issued by the trial court on January 7, were postponed "sine die" by it on January 31, giving the condemned prisoners a reprieve for the second time in two weeks.

The date of execution, first fixed for January 22 in Tihar jail, was later postponed to February 1 by a January 17 court order.

In the Supreme Court, a 3-judge bench headed by Justice R Banumathi rejected Solicitor General Tushar Mehta's urgent request to issue notices to the convicts on the appeal of the Centre and the Delhi government against the high court order which also said the death row prisoners have to be executed together and not separately.

"The high court has granted them (convicts) one week time to avail all their remedies. This amply protects you," the bench, also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and A S Bopanna, told Mehta.

The bench also said that issuance of notices to the convicts at this stage will further delay the matter.

Mehta argued that convicts were adopting delaying tactics and Pawan Gupta has neither filed a curative petition in the apex court nor moved the mercy plea before the President yet.

"No one can be compelled to take remedies," the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on February 11.

The top court told Mehta that it may consider the aspect of whether notice was needed to be issued to these convicts on the next date of hearing.

Mehta told the bench that "nation's patience has been tested enough now" in this case due to delaying tactics of the convicts and the top court would have to lay down law on whether such condemned prisoners can be hanged separately or not.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy intern, who came to be known as 'Nirbhaya' (fearless), was gang-raped and savagely assaulted on the night of December 16, 2012, in a moving bus in South Delhi.

She died of her injuries a fortnight later in a Singapore hospital.

Six people including the four convicts, Ram Singh and a juvenile -- were named as accused.

The trial of the five adult men began in a special fast-track court in March 2013.

Ram Singh, the prime accused, 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.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), representing 600.000 journalists and media professionals from 146 countries, fully supports the actions initiated by more than 40 social groups to call on the Spanish government not to halt the public competition for the election of members of the Board of Directors of Radio Television Espanola (RTVE), the countrys main public media.

The IFJ demands that the new government of Spain urgently puts an end to the democratic anomaly that has meant that, for the last 18 months, the country's main media outlet has been run by a professional proposed by the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), the party that represents the main support of the current government of Spain.

The International Federation of Journalists stands in defence of the Public Competition for RTVE (approved by the Parliament, with the support of all political parties, in September 2017) because it is a guarantee of independence against interference of all kinds to which the media are exposed in all regions of the world.

Reinforcing public service broadcasting in Spain, through the development of Law 5/2007, is essential to strengthen the necessary alliance with which European public media must confront the various powers that seek to weaken their position in society.

As the IFJ recalls in the "Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists" (June 2019), the exercise of journalism is incompatible with any kind of government interference. "In this sense we are confident that the parties that make up the new government of Spain will understand, with the continuation of the Public Competition for RTVE, that reinforcing the pluralism and independence of the main public media in the country is an excellent way of strengthening the freedom of the citizens of Spain and the quality of democracy itself", the Federation said.
Taiwan has reportedly said that a Taiwanese couple who recently tested positive for the new coronavirus outbreak likely got infected on a flight from Hong Kong to Italy, according to the authorities. The couple in their fifties had no records of travel to the Chinese mainland and were admitted to the hospital on February 4, just three days after returning from a holiday in Italy. They travelled via Hong Kong on their journey to and from Europe. Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung told media on February 6 that after consultations with experts they came to a conclusion that the most likely place of infection was on the aircraft from Hong Kong to Europe where space was confined.

READ: Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 636 In China; Confirmed Cases Crosses 30,000

636 dead, more than 30000 infected in China

Coronavirus has claimed at least 636 lives in China, as per the latest government reports. The government reported more deaths on Friday morning, leading to the crisis worsening. The Chinese government also reported that the number of people infected has crossed 30,000 across the country.The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'.

READ: Taiwan To Fine Coronavirus Patient $10,000 For Hiding Illness

WHO launches $675 million donations

In order to tackle the spreading virus, the WHO stated that the international community has launched a USD 675 million preparedness and response plan covering the months of February through to April 2020. "The objectives of the plan are to limit human-to-human transmission of the virus, particularly in countries most vulnerable if they were to face an outbreak; identify, isolate and care for patients early; communicate critical risk and event information; minimize social and economic impact; reduce virus spread from animal sources; and address crucial unknowns," a statement read. Amidst the growing crisis, WHO has repeatedly stated that it stands by China for its efforts to tackle the crisis.

READ: China Imposes New Restrictions In Wuhan Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

READ: Canada: Man Tells Chinese Woman 'you Dropped Your Coronavirus' As Racism Spikes
FILE PHOTO: Tos Chirathivat, the Chief Executive Officer of the Central Group looks on during a news conference at a hotel in Bangkok

By Anshuman Daga and Scott Murdoch

SINGAPORE/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Thailand's largest retailer, Central Retail Corp, priced its initial public offering (IPO) near the top end of an indicative range, in a deal worth about $2.5 billion, making it the country's largest IPO ever.

With the IPO priced on Thursday at 42 baht ($1.36) a share, the company said it is raising 78.1 billion baht after fully exercising its overallotment option amid markets weakened by worries that a virus outbreak could dampen world economic growth.

Citing sources, Reuters reported on Wednesday that the company had priced the IPO at 42 baht per share.

"In these volatile markets, the launch of Central Retail's IPO shows the strength of its business and confidence from investors who look for equities that have strong fundamentals and industry leadership," said Anuwat Ruamsuke, managing director of Phatra Securities, a financial adviser for the deal.

Thailand's stocks index has fallen about 4% and the baht has also weakened since mid-January, when the deal's indicative price band was set, as the virus outbreak has escalated and its economic impact has been felt globally.

The death toll from the epidemic has surpassed 500 in China, mostly in and around the locked-down central city of Wuhan where the virus emerged late last year.

Central Retail, controlled by the billionaire Chirathivat family, set the indicative price band at 40 to 43 baht, and secured cornerstone investors such as Capital Research Management and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.

At 42 baht, the firm has a trailing price-to-earnings multiple of 30 times against the sector average of 33.9 times, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. It would have a market value of 260 billion baht ($8.37 billion), making it the 15th largest company on the Thai bourse.

The IPO, first announced in July, comes after Thailand took the top spot in Southeast Asia in 2019 with $4 billion in fundraisings, according to Refinitiv data. A slew of large issues is in the pipeline for this year.

"The negative sentiments surrounding markets and weakening Thai economy are short-term bearish concerns," said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, an equity analyst at LightStream Research, who writes on the platform Smartkarma.

Story continues

"Still, the quality of Central Retail's asset base justifies the IPO price."

As part of its listing plans, Central Retail is offering a share swap worth up to 34.1 billion baht to shareholders of its retail unit Robinson Pcl, and will delist the firm.

Central Retail's shares will start trading on Feb. 20.

Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and UBS are the main international banks working on the IPO.

($1 = 31.0600 baht)

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga and Scott Murdoch; Additional reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng in Bangkok; Editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)
The new USA anthology series is all about small towns, blackmail, tangled noir webs, and Rosario Dawsons impeccable suits. Photo: Scott McDermott/USA Network

There are many things to love about Briarpatch, USAs new mystery crime anthology series. Its almost unfathomably stylish, thanks to the involvement of Sam Esmail, who executive-produces alongside creator Andy Greenwald. Its full of oh hey, its that guy! faces, including Kim Dickens as the police chief and Jay Ferguson as a wealthy baddie with a lawn full of giraffes. The show is also led by Rosario Dawson, who strides through Briarpatch like an untouchable, unflinching force. Still, watching Briarpatch often feels like watching a show very carefully designed to be great TV. Its fast and quirky and colorful and distinctive, but it also feels empty at the center.

To explain why, we must turn to those aforementioned giraffes. Giraffes seem like they should be a side note when talking about Briarpatch, a show that has very little to do with giraffes and much more to do with Texas, small towns, car bombings, blackmail, criminal investigations, tangled noir webs, and Rosario Dawsons impeccable suits. But the giraffes are a fitting representation of Briarpatchs broader problem. They are beautiful  so striking and unusual that your eye is drawn to them immediately, distracting you from the details of whatever else is happening on screen. They belong to Fergusons character, Jake Spivey, and they roam around his yard as a symbol of his unbelievable wealth in contrast to the poverty in the rest of San Bonifacio, Texas.

The giraffes arent alone, either. As Rosario Dawsons character Allegra Dill arrives in San Bonifacio to solve her sisters murder, shes held up in traffic because theres been an incident at the zoo, and many of the animals are now roaming the town. After Allegras first shocked encounters with the wildlife, though, the zoo animals only arrive in notably weighty moments. A large feline prowls a hotel hallway, eating some symbolically rotting leftovers. In slow motion, a young girl reaches out to a zebra thats appeared in the middle of a crisis. The giraffes stalk around Spiveys lawn, and all of the animals taken together are guarantors that everyone both in and outside the fiction will recognize that this whole town is wild, man. Something wild is going on here.

Beyond that very direct signifier, though, Briarpatchs menagerie is mainly for show. The animals amp up the shows visual attraction, which is absolutely effective. Its a slick series, especially in scenes where it leans into its baseline visual weirdness. The problem is that the superficial stylishness and strangeness of occasional zoo animals doesnt come with a quirky or surprising story underneath. The proud external weirdness is a shell covering a fairly rote interior.

At the center of it all is Allegra, a character who mightve been able to fill the hollow in Briarpatch if shed been given even a little more space to be a person. Allegra isnt flawless, and when she nearly gets blown up early in the series, it feels like a response to a note that the character seemed too impervious. Giving her a concussion isnt quite enough to make her a person, though, nor is her funny nickname (Pickle Dill). The vast majority of her dialogue is dedicated to unraveling the many overlapping criminal enterprises in town, and theres very little space left for Allegra to create any kind of impression beyond badass looking for the truth.

Allegras main task is to figure out what happened to her sister, but shes also investigating a den of criminal activity in the town that weaves through old relationships and long-buried secrets. There is no shortage of suspects. One of the taglines in Briarpatchs promotional materials is its hard to find a killer when everyones a crook, and that may be true. But its also hard to hold on to any one gripping, propulsive plotline when crime seems to be lying in wait everywhere Allegra turns. A metaphorical briarpatch may be an interesting, evocative setting for a story, but it can also feel like being trapped in a tangled bramble. No one barb is any more piercing than any of the others  its just thorns everywhere you look. Briarpatch is lovely to look at and its story clicks along at an entertaining clip. The trouble is that the second you stop watching it, none of its burrs stick.
Democrats believe they won back the House majority in 2018 with a laser focus on health care and the economy. But they are also revolted by an unrepentant president and reluctant to abandon investigations into his conduct that might yield evidence of wrongdoing. With Mr. Trump emboldened by his acquittal, some say investigating him is more important than ever.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi seemed ready to make a pivot on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Senate verdict that he was not guilty ended a five-month impeachment drama that consumed the Capitol.

At her weekly news conference, Ms. Pelosi spent the bulk of her opening remarks talking about Mr. Trumps State of the Union address  appalling, she said  and pushing back on his claims that he is responsible for the nations economic turnaround.

But she also vowed not to let up on oversight of his policies and personal conduct.

We will continue to do our oversight to protect and defend the Constitution, Ms. Pelosi said.

Putting that into practice may prove fraught. Democratic leaders must decide in the coming days whether to carry on with the investigation into Mr. Trumps effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, which led the House to impeach the president on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
She gave birth to her third child, a son called Apollo, in August.

And Myleene Klass enjoyed a night away from parenting duties as she and her pals headed for a night out at Magic Mike Live at London's Hippodrome Casino on Thursday.

The radio presenter, 41, certainly made the most of her night out as she was treated to a saucy lap dance by one of the hunky shirtless male dancers.

Sizzling: Myleene Klass enjoyed a night away from parenting duties as she and her pals headed for a night out at Magic Mike Live at London's Hippodrome Casino on Thursday

Sharing all the action on Instagram, the star uploaded a series of videos which showed her sitting on a chair while a muscle-bound hunk worked his magic.

The night started out innocently enough as Myleene shared a clip of herself out to dinner with friends as they celebrated one of the group's birthday.

The ladies then headed to the show, where the watched the performance from the audience, including a tap dancer named Arty.

Fun night out: The radio presenter, 41, certainly made the most of her night out as she was treated to a saucy lap dance by one of the hunky shirtless male dancers

However, the very next clip saw Myleene herself on stage as she was treated to a seductive dance while she watched from her chair.

Captioning the image, she wrote: 'Booked the tickets in my name! Rookie error!'

But as the performance continued, it was clear that things took a very raunchy turn, with the star forced to censor one particular moment.

Thrilling: Sharing all the action on Instagram, the star uploaded a series of videos which showed her sitting on a chair while a muscle-bound hunk worked his magic

What a treat: Myleene was out celebrating her friend's birthday with a trip to see Magic Mike Live

Dancer: The ladies then headed to the show, where the watched the performance from the audience, including a tap dancer named Arty

The sizzling action was swiftly covered with a 'Parental advisory explicit content' sticker, but it was clear the action involved an eye-raising moment as the audience were heard squeeling and cheering with excitement.

She then finished the night by sharing a snap of the cast following the thrilling show.

The stunner was taking a night off mummy duty. Myleene shares daughters Ava, 12, and Hero, eight with ex-husband Graham Quinn.

She also has son Apollo with partner Simon Motson. Simon has two children from a previous marriage.

Uh oh! As the performance continued, it was clear that things took a very raunchy turn, with the star forced to censor one particular moment
Pakistan's parliament passed a resolution Friday calling for the public hanging of convicted child killers and rapists.

The non-binding resolution follows a spate of high-profile child sex-abuse cases that have provoked outrage and riots across Pakistan in recent years.

Child killers and rapists 'should not only be given the death penalty by hanging, but they should be hanged publicly,' said Ali Muhammad Khan, Pakistan's parliamentary affairs minister, who presented the resolution in the national assembly, or lower house.

A file photo shows a noose hanging. Pakistan has passed a non-binding resolution to hang child killers and rapists publicly today in parliament

'The Quran commands us that a murderer should be hanged,' Khan added.

Though a majority of lawmakers approved the resolution, human rights minister Shireen Mazari stressed it was not sponsored by the government.

The resolution 'on public hangings was across party lines and not a govt-sponsored resolution but an individual act. Many of us oppose it - our MOHR (human rights ministry) opposes this,' Mazari tweeted.

Human rights organisations have long called on Pakistan to reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty, which was lifted after the Army Public School massacre in Peshawar in 2014 that killed 151 people, most of them students.

In the years after the lifting of the moratorium,

Child sexual abuses are rampant in Pakistan.

In October 2018, authorities hanged a child rapist in an infamous case in Kasur, near Lahore, that sparked nationwide protests.

In that case, the six-year-old victim, Zainab Fatima Ameen, had been attacked by a 24-year-old man who went on to confess to her rape and murder.

Authorities in Kasur also uncovered a massive paedophilia ring in 2015.

Six-year-old Zainab Fatima Ameen was raped and murdered in Kasur, Pakistan in January 2018

Imran Ali, 24, was handed four death sentences after confessing to the crime, which have now were upheld during an appeal in 2018 in Lahore, Pakistan

Zainab's murder in 2018 sparked outrage across Pakistan, with riots erupting in Kasur as thousands swarmed police stations and set fire to politicians' homes

In a scandal that rocked the country, at least 280 children were sexually abused by a gang who blackmailed their parents by threatening to leak the videos.

There are currently no crimes punished by public execution in Pakistan.

Omar Waraich, Amnesty International's Deputy South Asia Director, told MailOnline in a statement: 'Pakistan should be moving to abolish this cruel relic of the past, not extending its use.'

'Lawmakers in Pakistan need to look at the facts - there is no evidence anywhere in the world that capital punishment deters crime any more than prison, and the grisly spectacle of public executions will be no different,' he added.

'Public executions, which are thankfully now very rare in the world, are a throwback to a crueller age. Pakistan should focus on proper child protection and crime prevention measures.'

'Public hangings are acts of unconscionable cruelty and have no place in a rights-respecting society,' Amnesty said in an earlier statement.

'There is no empirical evidence to show that public hangings are a deterrent to crime or in protecting the psycho-social well-being of children', Sarah Belal, executive director of Justice Project Pakistan, a non-profit group campaigning against the death penalty, said.

In March 2016, Pakistan introduced a law criminalising sexual assault against minors, child pornography and trafficking. Previously, only acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law.
When Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry got engaged in November 2017  royal fans were delighted about the possibility of a Fab Four. They envisioned the Sussexes and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge along with Prince William as an unbreakable foursome. Unfortunately, that never happened.

Tension had already eased into Prince Harry and Prince Williams brotherly bond when the elder prince warned his brother against moving to fast with Markle. Likewise, though the duchesses were always friendly with one another, Markle and Middleton never had much in common.

In January 2020 when the Sussexes announced they were stepping down as working members of the royal family, it came as a shock to everyone including the Cambridges. Though there was some animosity there, it appears that Prince William and Kate Middleton are ready to begin communicating with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle again.

The Sussexes and the Cambridges are relieved that Megxit is over

After announcing their intent to step down as senior members of the royal family, Markle rushed off to Canada while Prince Harry remained in the U.K. for two weeks to hammer out details with his family. The talks between the young prince, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Prince William were fairly tense.

However, now that a path has been laid out and the Sussexes have been living a quiet and low-key life on Vancouver Island, everyone is happier. This decision [to leave] had been weighing on them for a long time, and they are relieved to have it done, a friend explained to People. A weight has been lifted off their shoulders.

As for the brothers, they are slowly talking a bit more. Though Prince William was shocked by his brothers decision, it seems that he understands it. They didnt leave on good terms by any means, but they are both relieved that its over, another friend told People.

Kate Middleton misses Prince Harry terribly

Though Middleton and Markle never really bonded, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex were once extremely close. The strain between her husband and his brother was one thing, but now that Prince Harry lives halfway around the world, Midleton is terrified they will never be close again.

She wishes she could speak to Harry. She misses him and fears shell never be close to him again, an insider told US Weekly. Unfortunately, Megixt hasnt helped form a true friendship between the duchesses either. They couldnt be further apart, the source explained.

Prince William and Kate Middleton are ready to reach out to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Though there is a bit of bad blood still brewing between the couples, now that the smoke from Mexit is clearing, the Cambridges are ready to reach out to the Sussexes.

We have a source telling us that when Harry and Meghan left, it wasnt on good terms, People magazines senior royal editor Michelle Tauber explained. However, another source told us that they are both relieved and they are starting to be able to begin communications again and things are warming up. Its no single factor that led to this break from the family but rather a series of them. All families are complicated, the Royal Family is no exception and they have their own added complications. We know both Harry and Meghan felt increasingly estranged from the family, they were feeling frustrated by the limitations.

Hopefully, things will ease now that the couples are on their separate paths and their children will have the opportunity to become close now that this is all in the past.
Cote dIvoires former president Laurent Gbagbo on Thursday asked the International Criminal Court a release without conditions while awaiting the prosecutions appeal against his acquittal.

Gbagbo, the first former head of state ever to stand trial at the ICC, and his aide Charles Ble Goude were cleared on 15 January 2019 over involvement in a wave of violence that erupted after disputed elections in the west African nation in 2010.

More than 3,000 people died on both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to his internationally backed-rival  and now president  Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo and Ble Goude were accused of playing a role in murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts during the post-electoral violence

The Hague-based court acquitted Gbagbo on crimes against humanity charges, saying prosecutors had failed to prove any case against him.

He was then conditionally released from detention after more than seven years in custody. He was not allowed to return home and has to remain in Belgium and report to the court whenever a hearing in his case is called.

On Wednesday, his defense said Gbagbo would like to return home and possibly participate in some form in Octobers presidential election. Gbagbo has not said whether he intends to run again for the presidency.
On Friday, Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Life Insurance Corporation Chairman MR Kumar sought to assuage concerns over the decision to list the government-owned insurer on stock exchanges. Sitharaman had said in her recent Budget speech that the government would sell part of its 100 per cent holding in LIC through an IPO in the next fiscal year.

The finance minister, who was in Mumbai on Friday, told mediapersons: At the moment we are looking at an IPO (of LIC). And the IPO will in a way bring in retail investors into the picture and also make issue more ...
Try to imagine the worst thing that could happen to your family. Imagine that one of your children, one of your darlings, walks out of the home one day and never comes back.

Gone for ever, just like that. With not even a chance to say goodbye or tell them how much you love them before their sudden, shocking death. Leaving you with nothing but a scrabble of memories and a broken heart.

The future that you hoped for has been wiped out, now only the void of grief beckons. That is what happened to the Dunn family.

Their son Harry was 19 years old when he was killed in a road crash near his home in Croughton, Northamptonshire, last August.

Anne Sacoolas (pictured in Virginia) is clearly keen to avoid a potential charge of death by dangerous driving and possible imprisonment if she steps foot in the UK again

He was riding his motorcycle when it collided head-on with a Volvo XC90 being driven by Anne Sacoolas  the wife of a U.S. intelligence officer stationed at nearby RAF Croughton. In a fatal moment of forgetfulness, she was driving on the wrong side of the road, and she ploughed straight into Harry.

Her own son, with her in the car, was unharmed. After a 43-minute wait for an ambulance, Harry died of his injuries in hospital. It was a terrible accident, a tragedy for all involved. But most of all, I think we must agree, for the Dunn family.

Yet their agony has been exacerbated by the fact that Mrs Sacoolas promptly escaped justice and culpability by claiming diplomatic immunity and fleeing home to America before the law could catch up with her.

This week she was photographed getting on with her life, driving her children to school  the kind of happy, everyday family moments that are now denied to the Dunn family.

Nothing can compensate them for the loss of their son, but to wilfully deny them any frayed thread of justice is shameful.

Harry Dunn (pictured) was 19 years old when he was killed in a road crash near his home in Croughton, Northamptonshire, last August

If Anne Sacoolas had a shred of decency in her body, surely she would come back to the UK and accept responsibility for what she did? To look them in the eye and say I am so, so sorry for your loss  before accepting her fate in court?

It wouldnt bring Harry back, but at least the Dunn family would be comforted by the balm of righteousness and consoled by the fact that Mrs Sacoolas had finally accepted that not only did Harrys life matter, but that his death demands resolution, too.

Mrs Sacoolas is clearly keen to avoid a potential charge of death by dangerous driving and possible imprisonment if she steps foot in the UK again.

Yet such a terrible outcome is by no means guaranteed. (And certainly not if she had stayed to face the consequences in the first place.)

Last year another U.S. citizen who accidentally killed someone in very similar circumstances was spared a jail sentence.

American tourist Caroline Emmet, 56, was heading for Edinburgh Airport when she drove along the wrong side of the A198 road for 500 yards, not realising her mistake.

On a blind bend she crashed into another car, killing passenger Elizabeth Henderson, 83.

Mrs Emmet was indeed convicted of death by dangerous driving.

She was banned from driving for three years and sentenced to carry out 500 hours of unpaid community work in France, where she now lives.

The Scottish judge noted that Emmets previous driving record was exemplary and that there were no aggravating issues such as drink or drug-driving, driving too fast or using a mobile phone at the wheel. He also told Mrs Emmet: You have shown remorse which I accept is genuine.

Does this not seem like a far more civilised outcome for a terrible tragedy? A healing of some emotional wounds, a feeling of justice being done for all parties, yet the law being applied with compassion and understanding?

Far better than this queasy stand-off, as stony-hearted Anne Sacoolas gets on with her life and refuses even to acknowledge the suffering of Harrys grieving parents Tim and Charlotte.

This week they called the new images of Mrs Sacoolas getting on with her life sickening.

They have called on her to show a jot of compassion, to do the right thing  but there has been no response at all.

Since Harrys death, his family have campaigned with dignity and determination for some form of legal retribution but so far unsuccessfully. So far nothing.

President Trump hasnt been able to help, neither has Boris Johnson, nor the British Government.

They are the little people, stuck in the middle of a giant international standoff. For this, they deserve all our sympathy. But more than that, they deserve closure.

Anne Sacoolas should talk a long hard look in the mirror  and do the right thing. This isnt going to end until she does.

To be frank I pride myself on not really knowing who all the different Kardashians are  and never having watched their show.

Not snobbery, just that there is only so much trash telly my brain can take.

However, I do know that model Kendall Jenner is one of them  and just must congratulate her on this vintage-inspired bikini.

Isnt it gorgeous? So much more elegant and flattering those complicated, strappy porn-ready numbers often favoured by Kash-starlets.

Winter is coming. As Storm Ciara bears down upon our shores without mercy, lets comfort ourselves with the thought that somewhere far away, a girl is on a sunny beach in an even sunnier bikini playing with a hose for no good reason (unless its attached to a cask of rose) and appreciating stomach panels for the first time in her life. Whoever she might be.

Kendall seen in a dark-blue denim vintage-looking swimsuit with a thick-strapped bra top and high-waisted bottoms during a photo shoot in Miami

Tracy's dress WAS out of order

Labour MP Tracy Brabin wore an off-the-shoulder dress in the House of Commons and somehow lived to tell the tale. The Shadow Culture Secretary has hit back at the hateful online trolls who said she looked like a slapper and rightly so.

However, I do think that former Coronation Street star Tracy was inappropriately dressed for the Commons. Darling, that was a cocktail dress, an afterhours dress, a ready-for-my-close-up dress.

Sadly, it was not one of those dresses that fashion editors always insist can take women from desk to dinner  because we all know such a garment does not exist. Tracys dress would not have not passed muster as workwear in most offices across the land, and if she wants to be taken seriously as a politician she has to dress less like someone heading out on a hot Tinder date and more like someone tackling serious issues.

All male MPs conform to strict and smart dress codes and I am afraid females must, too  it is not Victorian, it is not draconian, it is not anti-feminist, it just is.

PSI felt similarly dispirited by Nancy Pelosi ripping up Trumps state of the union speech in the U.S. this week. Rather than being the empowering act of a strong woman  how she saw it  it was a regrettable descent into Trumpian levels of spiteful infantilism. Women, we can and must do better than this.

In the final moments that President Trump was in the House chamber Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood behind him and ripped up his State of the Union speech

Messy? I blame the parents

Sky News presenter Jacquie Beltrao outed her 19-year-olds bad behaviour by showing pictures of his untidy bedroom on social media. TV star Nicky Campbell did something similar with one of his children a few years ago, and everyone had a jolly good laugh.

However, hold it right there.

Is it really responsible parenting to expose your children to possible ridicule, running the risk  fully realised, in this instance  of the images of their messy rooms turning up in national newspapers? And compounding your childs misery by leaning in on your own celebrity and making it all about you? Look what I have to suffer!

Sky News presenter Jacquie Beltrao shared this tweet about her son's room to her 65,900 followers

For the truth is that Jacquie and Nicky  and other indulgent parents just like them  created these messy Franken-teen monsters.

They allowed the mess to happen. They stood by as the stalagmites of discarded clothes and socks multiplied and the striations of grot grew deeper. Why didnt they nip it in the crud?

Few teenagers are naturally tidy creatures. They live in the Age of Selfish; they are entirely focused on themselves and their own wellbeing. Perhaps stricter parenting, involving the implementation of boundaries and discipline, would help alleviate the problem, instead of shaming them on a national forum.

Bad Dad and Mean Mum! Go to your rooms immediately!

Am I missing something? Prince Charles has appointed Katy Perry as an ambassador for the British Asian Trust.

Is this what they call blind casting?

Pop star Katy is neither British nor Asian, but she has signed up to help the royals fight against child labour in India.

To be fair, she did get engaged to comedian Russell Brand there, after he proposed to her at the Taj Mahal. Does that count?

The couple later married outside the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary and even had elephants at their extravagant wedding. Sadly, the fraught marriage lasted less than two years. So lets agree that Katy knows all about suffering, at least.

Prince Charles has appointed Katy Perry (pictured in Los Angeles) as an ambassador for the British Asian Trust

Weinstein trial is raising troubling questions . . .

Unbelievable scenes from the Weinstein trial in America  and I dont just mean Harvey shuffling in on his walking frame like a frail old bloke in a care home, about to join the lunchtime tomato soup queue.

Nor the graphic detail about his intimate physical appearance, which has been relayed in distressing detail.

Its more that some of the testimony from alleged victims raises more questions than it answers.

Donna Rotunno, Weinsteins lead lawyer, has established that at least one woman  Jessica Mann  who had accused Weinstein of raping her carried on a cordial relationship with him long after the alleged incident(s).

Rotunno read out email exchanges when Mann had contacted Weinstein, asking not for juicy movie roles but if he could fix her up with membership of the Soho House private members club, secure red-carpet invitations for her and other assorted favours.

At one point, Mann cried when this evidence was cited in court.

Coverage in the Guardian newspaper, among others, suggests the aggressive Rotunno has gone too far. However, even though Weinstein may well be a monster, he is entitled to a fair trial and for all the evidence to be tested in court.

At the very least, some of these relationships seem to be more complex and of ongoing mutual benefit to Weinstein and his women than we have been led to believe. The public has a right to know all this, even if it doesnt feed into the victim narrative.
Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, has endorsed the start of the project and the rapid progress of works on the new resort by Range Developments, the leading developer of citizenship by investment developer of projects in the Caribbean.

"The Government of Grenada fully supports and welcomes the work of Range Developments, which has an outstanding record of delivering the finest world class resorts in the Caribbean," said Dr. Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada. "This project will impact significantly on Grenada's rural economy and it will also offer visitors a more unique experience, given its location outside of the traditional tourist belt."

The Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada will be a 100room, luxury resort, located on Grenada's La Sagesse beach. The resort will be one of two resorts on one of the most coveted sites in the Caribbean.

"We have achieved this important milestone in a record time," said Mr Mohammed Asaria, Managing Director and Board Member of Range Developments. The agreement with the government was only signed 10 months ago and, due to strenuous efforts of our team, we are proud to have completed the hotel design and commence construction within such a short timeframe. This timeline is unmatched from a standing start. We also feel privileged to be placing our resort on such prime land in Grenada and to be working with Six Senses, a brilliant combination. These are exciting times ahead, as we always strive to make a difference in the communities we operate in. The Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada resort, like all of our developments, will create a halo effect across the country's economy."

Grenada has one of the strongest CitizenshipbyInvestment programs in the world and is highly soughtafter by individuals looking for citizenship solutions. Upon investing US$220,000 plus government fees, into a governmentapproved CitizenshipbyInvestment project such as Six Senses La Sagesse, Grenada, an investor can enjoy multiple citizenship benefits including visafree travel to over 130 countries. Grenada is the only Caribbean CitizenshipbyInvestment jurisdiction that enjoys USA E2 treaty. By making a substantial investment into setting up a business in the United States of America, citizens of Grenada can apply for a nonimmigrant E2 visa to live and work in the USA.

About Range Developments:

Range Developments is an international property developer focusing on high-end hotel resorts in the Caribbean that are well-designed, sustainable and desirable.

Its flagship project Park Hyatt St. Kitts opened to guests on 1 November 2017. This luxury resort has received multiple awards and has been widely recognized in the international media. CNN has singled it out as 'the Best Hotel in the Caribbean' with Forbes naming it 'a grand Caribbean debut that was well worth the wait'. It has been included in Conde Nast Traveler's 2018 hot list 'Best New Hotels in the world'.

Range has other developments in the region, including The Cabrits Resort & Spa Kempinski, Dominica, the first government approved real estate project in Dominica under the country's Citizenship-by-Investment Program. The hotel opened in November last year and was named 'the most exciting new Caribbean property set to open in 2019' by the Caribbean Journal and Forbes magazine. A minimum investment of US$ 220,000 in the project entitles investors and their families to a citizenship of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

SOURCE Range Developments
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was 'apoplectic' with Boris Johnson during a phone call to discuss the British prime minister's decision to allow Chinese firm Huawei a role in Britain's 5G mobile phone network, the Financial Times reported on Thursday

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump was "apoplectic" with Boris Johnson during a phone call to discuss the British prime minister's decision to allow Chinese firm Huawei a role in Britain's 5G mobile phone network, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Citing unnamed officials in London and Washington, the FT said the president was livid during the exchange last week after Johnson's government said Huawei could have a limited role in building Britain's 5G mobile network, despite warnings from the Trump administration.

The paper said one individual who was briefed on the contents of the call on Jan. 28 said Trump was apoplectic. It cited another who said the call was "very difficult" and Trump's tone had taken aback British officials.

When asked about the FT report, Johnson's office said they had nothing to add to their statement released soon after the leaders' call to discuss the Huawei decision.

"The prime minister underlined the importance of like-minded countries working together to diversify the market and break the dominance of a small number of companies," that statement said. There was no immediate comment from the White House.

Washington argues Huawei is a security risk because it is an extension of the Chinese state and it helps Chinese intelligence to steal secrets - an accusation dismissed by the company.

The United States has applied strong pressure on countries to exclude the company, the world's largest maker of telecoms equipment, from mobile networks. Britain said excluding Huawei altogether would have delayed 5G and cost consumers more.

Trump has made no public comment about Britain's Huawei decision but U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo played down any rift when he visited London last week.

Although Washington has long suggested it could limit intelligence sharing with countries that failed to exclude Huawei, Pompeo said the "Five Eyes" relationship was strong and would remain in place.

The United States and Britain share intelligence through the "Five Eyes" group which also includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Johnson has also said the decision would not affect U.S.-UK relations and Pompeo spoke optimistically about the prospects of a post-Brexit trade deal between the two countries.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Ingrid Samuel of the SJCK Past Students Association, presents the cheque to Sister Martha.

A select number of students of the St Josephs Convent Kingstown will soon be assisted with transportation and meal costs, compliments that institutions Past Students Association.





The Association, last Friday, handed over a cheque of $500 to assist in this regard.





In making the presentation, head of the organization Ingrid Samuel remarked, "We know that some students come to school, who would need such assistance one way or the other, so we are making this small presentation this morning for that purpose.





Samuel noted that the schools authorities had identified several areas of need, from which her Association identified the students situation as something they could not ignore.





"Previously, we have done other projects, such as the painting of the school and improvements of other amenities, such as the restoration of the bathrooms, and we will endeavour to do more, Samuel projected.





Samuel disclosed that they plan to ramp up their fund- raising efforts, in order to be of greater help to the school.

The Past Students Association of the school was revived in 2010.
The Netherlands' only euthanasia clinic said on Friday there had been a 22 percent jump in people wanting help to end their lives last year compared with 2018.

The Euthanasia Expertise Centre, which helps doctors to carry out assisted death, said the 3,122 requests it received last year was "far more than expected".

The Netherlands is one of a handful of countries where euthanasia is legal and by law all Dutch people older than 12 are entitled to ask for it -- but they first have to meet strict criteria.

"Every working day there are 13 people who come to us and say: 'I cannot go on any longer'. There is a great need," said clinic manager Steven Pleiter.

He said the number of requests remained stable in 2017 and 2018, but then accelerated last year.

Clinic spokeswoman Elke Swart told AFP one of the reasons for the spike could have been a court case against a doctor last year who euthanised a patient with severe dementia, "possibly scaring off doctors with similar requests who then referred their patients to our clinic".

The doctor was later acquitted on charges of having carried out the euthanasia without following strict guidelines.

The rise in 2019 could also be demographic -- an ageing population that is more aware of the practice of euthanasia, Swart said.

Clinic manager Pleiter said some 900 requests to the clinic were carried out last year.

But he said the jump in euthanasia demands rang alarm bells as his clinic, based in The Hague, was battling to deal with the increase.

"We have openings on all fronts, for doctors, psychiatrists and nurses," Pleiter said.

Just over 6,000 assisted deaths were carried out across the Netherlands in 2018, according to official figures, with the Euthanasia Expertise Centre assisting in 727 cases. The Netherlands was the first country to legalise euthanasia in 2002. It can only be carried out under strict conditions set down in Dutch law.

Children up to 16 need the permission of their parents and guardians, while parents must be involved in the process for children aged 16 and 17. From 18, any Dutch citizen may ask for assisted death.

In all cases, the patient must have "unbearable and endless suffering" and must have requested to die "earnestly and with full conviction".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bola Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has dismissed a viral claim which described President Muhammadu Buhari as a religious bigot and an agent of destabilisation.

A 2003 quote which is currently being shared across social media platforms, and attributed to 2003 the APC chieftain, described Buhari as an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot, and religious fanatic.

Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilization, ethnic bigot, and religious fanatic who if given the chance would ensure the disintegration of the country. His ethnocentrism would jeopardize Nigerias national unity, read the quote.

This quote was said to have been made in 2003, when Buhari contested the presidential election under the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), while Tinubu was seeking a re-election as governor of Lagos, under the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD) and won.

Read Also: Nigerians Knock Buhari Over Comment That He Has Defeated Boko Haram

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had won the election that year.

Tunde Rahman, spokesperson to Tinubu in a statement described the quote as fictitious, and the handiwork of merchants of hate and fake news.

He said, This stuff has been going round and circulating as if its of a fact. It is not. Its the handiwork of merchants of hate and fake news. Asiwaju Tinubu could not have said such of then GMB. 

Lets dissect it: Yes Asiwaju and GMB as he then was were not in the same party in 2003. But they were not on each others path to warrant any hard feelings in the first instance. GMB was contesting for the presidency in 2003, Asiwaju was Lagos governor seeking re-election which he got. GMB was contesting against President Obasanjo.

Truth is Asiwaju would even wish that GMB defeated the dictatorial President Obasanjo who ruled the country on his whims. Against a clear decision of the Supreme Court Obasanjo seized Lagos allocation and did many unthinkable. Asiwaju would not descend so low as to label anyone ethnic bigot or religious fanatic.

These words are neither of him nor relate to him in any way. The agents of darkness who are bent on sowing seeds of discord at this time the nation is confronting challenges of insecurity and religious extremism should tell us when he uttered those words.

Where did he speak? Was it a newspaper interview? Was it a public lecture? No source. No attribution. The merchants of fake news just did a fantastic quote to cause mischief and create discord. We should not allow them.
The newly-adopted continental free trade treaty of the African Union could help reduce gun violence and other armed conflicts across the continent, an official prescribed on Thursday.

Albert Muchanga, AU commissioner for trade and industry, said the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) adopted in 2018 could enhance developmental policies and help silence the guns across the continent.

The advocates of free trade have long argued that its benefits are not merely economic, Mr Muchanga said at a press briefing Thursday night as part of the ongoing 33rd African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.

They also point out that free trade reduces the possibilities of war by making nations more economically interdependent.

Free trade makes it more profitable for people of one nation to produce goods and services for people of another nation, he added.

Mr Muchangas comments were tailored towards this years theme of the annual continental summit: Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africas Development, which has been underway at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

A series of largely unchecked attacks has left hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced across the continent, creating an enduring humanitarian crisis. The AU refugee office said on Friday that over $100 million has been budgeted for displaced people on the continent this year.

The AfCFTA was adopted as a continent-wide policy for economic development in 2018. A few countries that did not initially sign up to the policy, including Nigeria, have since done so, opening the path for a coherent, broad-based implementation.

Mr Muchanga said a thorough implementation of the policy, for which modalities are currently being drafted, would play positively into this years aim of reducing armed conflict in Africa.

Poverty and unemployment are some of the key factors that generate social and political tensions, the commissioner said. If left to linger, it can transform into tensions and conflicts.

No fewer than 54 of the 55 AU member states have signed the AfCFTA economic pact, with 28 countries already announced ratification by their respective parliaments.

Policymakers at the AU commission have commenced efforts to open a secretariat in one of the member countries that would help draft instruments to drive the policy  on which the continents economic aspirations now hang.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:29:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the African Union (AU) has noted that leveraging the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA) contributes to silencing the guns in Africa, through the process of delivering broad-based prosperity on the continent.

The 33rd AU summit is being held under the theme, Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development, at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

Speaking to the press on Thursday in the framework of the summit, the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Muchanga Albert, said the AfCFTA, as a development program, broadens policy space for development and compliments the program of silencing the guns.

"The advocates of free trade have long argued that its benefits are not merely economic. The advocates advise us that free trade also encourages people and nations to live in peace with another. They also point out that free trade reduces the possibilities of war by making nations more economically interdependent because free trade makes it more profitable for people of one nation to produce goods and services for people of another nation," he said.

Stating that silencing the guns in Africa is aimed at creating conducive environment for development, the Commissioner underlined on the need to implement the AfCFTA agreement effectively to be successful with the silencing of the guns.

"With the AfCFTA working and producing tangible benefits, Africa will be able to create conditions for ending poverty and unemployment; poverty and unemployment are some of the key factors that generate social and political tensions, which if left to linger, can transform into tension and conflicts," noted the Commissioner.

Fifty-four of the 55 AU member states have signed the agreement establishing the AfCFTA, and 28 countries have ratified and deposited the instruments of ratifications with the AU.

Speaking of the progress on the ratifications of AfCFTA agreement, the AU Commissioner said that more are expected to deposit instruments of ratifications during the summit, indicating that things are going in the right direction.

"When we look at the historical trend, it takes five years for the AU legal instruments to enter into force. The AfCFTA has been an exception; we opened for signature on the 21st March 2018 and in the period of one year, one month, one week, and one day, we got the minimum 22 ratifications required it to enter into force. This shows the strong political commitment of member states and governments have towards this agreement. So, we are confident that we are moving in the right direction and we are taking step," he said.

The main objectives of the AfCFTA are to create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union.

It will also expand intra-African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization and facilitation and instruments across the RECs (regional economic communities) and across Africa in general.

The AfCFTA is also expected to enhance competitiveness at the industry and enterprise level through exploitation of opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources.

The AfCFTA will bring together all 55 AU member states, covering a market of more than 1.2 billion people, including a growing middle class, and a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of more than 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars.

In terms of numbers of participating countries, the AfCFTA will be the world's largest free trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization.

Estimates from the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) suggest that the AfCFTA has the potential both to boost intra-African trade by 52.3 percent by eliminating import duties, and to double this trade if non-tariff barriers are also reduced.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Friday dismissed a plea against filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra's latest directorial "Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri".

The court's decision has been taken on the assurance from the Centre and state government that there will be no law and order situation arising out of the release.

On hearing the court's judgement, Chopra expressed his happiness and stated: "I am glad that the Honourable Court has dismissed the petition. This is a film about love over hate. I hope the message of 'todho nahi jodo' spreads across the country through 'Shikara".

"Shikara", which is set against the backdrop of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus from the Kashmir Valley in late 1989 and early 1990, in the wake of violent Islamist insurgency, has been released nationwide.

The public interest litigation (PIL) was filed last week in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court against the film, demanding a stay on release and the deleting of certain scenes.

According to the petitioners Iftikhar Misgar, Majid Hyderi and Irfan Hafiz Lone, the film portrays untrue facts and they have alleged that the film shows Kashmiri Muslims and Sikhs in "bad light".

"Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits" marks Vidhu Vinod Chopra's comeback to Bollywood as a director for the first time since his 2007 release, "Eklavya", starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Sheirgill.

Chopra introduces Aadil Khan and Sadia in the lead roles of "Shikara".
Cabinet clears Rs51,000-cr Vadhavan port project in Maharashtra

The union cabinet has approved a Rs51,000-crore project for the construction of a major port at Vadhavan in Maharashtra, as part of the Rs10,000,000 crore infrastructure investment proposed by the Narendra Modi government.

The cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave 'in-principle' approval for setting up a Major Port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra.

The total cost of the project is likely to be Rs65,544.54 crore.

Vadhavan port will be developed on "land lord model". A special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner with equity participation equal to or more than 50 per cent to implement the project. The SPV will develop the port infrastructure, including reclamation, construction of breakwater, besides establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All the business activities would be undertaken under PPP mode by private developers.

JN Port is the biggest container port in India and ranks 28th in the world, with a traffic of 5.1 million TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units). After the completion of fourth terminal at JN Port ,with a capacity of 10 million TEUs by 2023, JN Port will be the 17th largest container port in the world.

With the development of Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top 10 container ports in the world.

Maharashtra has India's largest container port at JNPT which caters to the hinterland of Maharashtra, North Karnataka, Telangana and secondary hinterland of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, NCR, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. There is a need for a deep draft port that will accommodate the largest container ships in the world and also cater to the spillover traffic from JN Port once its planned capacity of 10 million TEUs is fully utilised.

JNPT and Mundra, the two largest container handling ports of the country (for mid size container ships only), have drafts of 15 M and 16 M respectively, while the world's largest container handling modern deep draft ports require a draft of 18M-20M. The Vadhavan port has a natural draft of about 20 meters close to the shore, making it possible for it to handle bigger vessels at the port. Development of Vadhavan port will enable call of container vessels of 16,000-25,000 TEUs capacity, giving advantages of economies of scale and reducing logistics cost.

The ever increasing size of container ships makes it imperative that a deep draft container port in West Coast of India is developed. Increasing containerisation of cargo in the wake of value-added manufacturing sector makes it important to prepare our port infrastructure for handling value-added import and export to facilitate manufacturing activity.

Container traffic in the JNPT hinterland is expected to grow from 4.5 million TEUs currently to 10.1 million TEUs by 2022-25 when JNPT's potential will be fully exhausted. The demand for container traffic will further accelerate after the plans for improving logistic infrastructure fructify and the 'Make in India' push drives greater exports and manufacture sourcing to India.
Mr. Buttigieg, however, still enjoyed a slight lead according to the Iowa Democrats complex formula for allocating delegates, the traditional metric for determining a winner. At a veterans-themed event in Merrimack, N.H., on Thursday, he ignored the tightening results, citing the extraordinary validation of this campaigns vision that we had in Iowa on Monday.

But even as the two candidates trumpeted their performance, analyses by political scientists and The New York Timess Upshot section indicated inconsistencies in the results Iowa has provided. The Timess analysis found the Iowa returns riddled with problems, with over 100 precincts reporting results that were internally inconsistent, missing data or not possible under the complex rules of the Iowa caucuses.

There was no indication that the inconsistencies affected the order of the race or were a result of an intentional effort to rig the outcome, but they added to the questions raised about results that have been mired in chaos for three days.

Iowas caucuses suffered from cascading calamities. Volunteer precinct leaders either refused to download a new smartphone app designed for reporting caucus results or found it too cumbersome to use. Those who tried to phone in results found the phone lines jammed. And when the state party did receive results from its 1,758 precincts, the calculations to determine how many delegates each candidate won turned out to be incorrect in as many as 20 percent of precincts.

Mr. Sanders seized on the trouble to excoriate party officials.

What has happened with the Iowa Democratic Party is an outrage, he said at his news conference, that they were that unprepared, that they put forth such a complicated process, relying on untested technology.

The recanvass requested by Mr. Perez would involve examining work sheets from caucus precincts across the state and 87 satellite caucus precincts in Iowa, other states and overseas. But Mr. Perez has no authority to order Iowa Democrats to recanvass their results. And in an interview later in the day on MSNBC, he said had not been calling for a recanvass statewide  only in precincts where irregularities had been reported.

More troubling to Democratic strategists and elected officials was the growing strain between Mr. Perez, who has struggled to hold his divided party together, and Mr. Sanderss campaign.
FOREST RANCH, Calif.  A man involved in a drug trafficking organization known to fly to California to obtain marijuana and then use rental cars to take it back to Nebraska was arrested, according to the Butte County Sheriff's Office.

The investigation began when Deputies said they responded to a robbery at a home in Forest Ranch, on Jan. 13.

Through investigation, deputies learned that four people entered a home, held three victims at gunpoint, and then bound the victims with duct tape. The suspects took cash and marijuana.

Detectives learned one of the victims had spoken with a male who lived in the Midwest about a marijuana transaction.

That man was identified as 36-year-old Robert Johnson of Nebraska.

Deputies obtained phone records and said Johnson had traveled from the Midwest to the Reno Airport. Video surveillance showed that Johnson arrived at the Reno Airport and rented a vehicle the day before the robbery that happened on Jan. 13.

Deputies said they learned Johnson is involved in a drug trafficking organization. Where Johnson and his co-conspirators fly to California, obtain marijuana, and then use rental vehicles to transport marijuana to Nebraska.

Shortly after detectives learned this, law enforcement in Nebraska began attempting to locate Johnson. On the morning of Wednesday, Feb. 5, detectives learned Johnson was possibly at the San Francisco Airport.

Detectives drove to the SF Airport and learned Johnson had rented a vehicle. They said this concerned them that Johnson had traveled to California to commit another robbery.

Detectives began searching for the vehicle that Johnson had rented. The CHP located the vehicle traveling on Highway 80 in Placer County around 10:40 p.m. on Wednesday.

CHP Officers, Placer County Sheriffs Office, and the Auburn Police Department stopped the car and placed Johnson under arrest.

When Johnson was stopped, authorities found $28,000 and several cell phones.

Johnson was booked into the Butte County Jail for three felony counts of robbery.

Deputies said Johnson is required to register pursuant to the Nebraska Sex Registration Act.

Authorities are working with Nebraska law enforcement to determine if Johnsons trips to California violated the Nebraska Sex Registration Act.

Detectives said they are in the process of identifying the other three individuals involved in the robbery.
An internal report from the Fox News research department warns that several prominent Fox News guests, aided sometimes by omissions from Sean Hannity, have spread "disinformation" about Ukraine. The briefing, written by senior political affairs specialist Bryan S. Murphy and titled "Ukraine, Disinformation, and the Trump Administration," was first disclosed in a series of tweets from former Fox News freelancer Marcus DiPaola, then obtained in full by The Daily Beast. Murphy compiles reports for the Fox News "Brain Room," a research arm of the network's news division.

The report specifically points to "disinformation" on Ukraine from President Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Fox News contributor and Hill columnist John Solomon, and married legal team Joe DiGenova and Victoria Toensing.

DiGenova and Toensing are part of Trump's legal circle and also represent Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash, a fact not disclosed last fall when they were "spreading disinformation" on Fox News and "parroting ... beneficial narratives while employed by Firtash," Murphy wrote. Giuliani had a "high susceptibility to disinformation" from Firtash and former Ukrainian prosecutor general Yuriy Lutsenko, he added, and Solomon, an opinion columnist typically referred to as an "investigative reporter" by Hannity, "played an indispensable role in the collection and domestic publication of elements of this disinformation campaign." Trump cites Solomon's work, now under review by The Hill, while defending himself in the Ukraine scandal.

Mitch Kweit, senior vice president of the Brain Room, told The Daily Beast that "the 200 page document has thousands of data points, and the vast majority have no relation to Fox News  instead it's now being taken out of context and politicized to damage the network." Read more at The Daily Beast.

More stories from theweek.com

America's pig problem

American democracy is dying

Ireland's general election exit poll suggests 'unprecedented' 3-way split




By Chang H. Kim





One day, I took the subway to work. I was lucky to sit down. The person sitting next to me coughed and sneezed while, unperturbed, I checked my email via my smartphone. That was me just a month ago, but if this had happened on my way to work today, could I continue to focus on my phone?



Thanks to the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, all of us in 2020 are becoming very sensitive to one another's bodily functions. Dry coughing in public is enough to catch people's attention.



Armed with a weapon called the "mask," people are wary of everyone else. It's a battle against invisible viruses. It's human nature to want to maintain a healthy life for as long as possible and I am no different from them. For me, a mask is a minimal measure to take to protect myself.



Even with a mask, however, there are people who are not easily accepted by society. There are hundreds of Koreans who were trapped in Wuhan and returned home a few days ago. The government decided to quarantine these people in Jincheon and Asan, respectively. However, Jincheon and Asan citizens took collective action, fiercely protesting the government decision. Nothing was more important to them than their fear of the coronavirus.



Indeed, it's been a long time since I've seen NIMBY (not in my backyard), but this is not unfamiliar. In the past, we have witnessed multiple forms of NIMBY, which have varied according to government policy. At that time, the facilities opposed by local residents ranged from incineration plants to elderly care facilities.



On the other hand, locals have been pretty favorable to the establishment of new universities and shopping malls. They invited public forums and press conferences to actively argue why such facilities were needed in their regions. Their stance in conveying such a message was very different from that of Jincheon and Asan residents. They were displaying the YIMBY (yes, in my backyard) or perhaps even the PIMBY (please in my backyard) phenomenon.



One common notion that penetrates NIMBY, YIMBY and PIMBY is human selfishness. All of us are prone to the temptation to seek profit. Although there may be differences in the degree to which we do this, it is difficult for us to deny the proposition that we live for survival.



Those who cleverly grasp such human nature and use capitalism "correctly" always emerge at times like this. In recent weeks, the price of masks in the online market has soared two to three times compared to what they were a month ago. As the demand for minimum "arms" for families increases, this price spike will continue for some time.



The uncertainty of how much longer we will have to fight the novel coronavirus increases the likelihood of human selfishness becoming apparent. If the number of confirmed patients increases, people will be warier of one another. The government may face conflicts between locals.



As the general election nears, there will be a political party using the NIMBY phenomenon to incite conflict. Businesses that exploit the fears of the people to take advantage of the price of arms needed for battle will flourish. YouTubers who want to increase subscribers through fake news and pranks will also be on the rise. All this selfishness will contribute to lowering our odds in the battle against the novel coronavirus.



We have been living within this landscape since the first month of the new decade. Everyone started 2020 with a pledge of hope, but unfortunately today the world currently revolves around the novel coronavirus. Even so, we are all imperfect beings to blindly criticize the NIMBY phenomenon. That the year 2020 has begun with this naked and vulgar human nature makes me sad.



But what gives me a little comfort is that Jincheon and Asan residents finally changed their stance, showing favor for the government's decision and welcoming those returning from China. This case is a good example of how to overcome the NIMBY problem and reach a social consensus on thorny issues.



If there is another glimmer of hope, it is that we all have the common goal of survival. In times like this, a more mature national consciousness and corresponding government leadership are needed. I hope that the day we come together and win this battle with a mature mindset and attitude will come as soon as possible.





Chang H. Kim (changkim.phd@gmail.com) is a research fellow at the Cairns Institute, Australia. He serves as director of the Korean Association of Human Resource Development in South Korea. He tweets at twitter.com/ChangKIM_PhD.


Vital family support services based at the Bessborough campus in Cork have been saved following confirmation that a religious order plans to gift the buildings to the State.

But it has prompted renewed calls from Mother and Baby Homes campaigners for the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary to do more to identify the potential burial site of an estimated 840 children who died in Bessborough while the care of the order.

Fears for the Bessborough services and for the jobs of the more than 100 people who provide them were raised last October when the order announced plans to withdraw from the operation of the services, and to find a new service provider to offer the services at a new site. The order previously announced its intention to sell a significant portion of the site.

However, following an outcry from staff and sustained political pressure, the order has announced that it plans to gift the campus buildings to the State via the HSE so that the services can continue on the site.

The services, offered by the HSE and Tusla, and which benefit about 50 families a week, include a creche and early years service, a service for early school leavers, a family assessment and intervention service, a supervised contact service and a parent and infant residential unit.

The Bessborough Centre Company Limited by Guarantee (BCCLG) will continue as the operator and there will be no impact on employment levels, the nuns told staff.

In a statement, the order said it is pleased to have found a way of maintaining the services.

It said: It has always been the desire of the Sisters that the services would continue.

The Sisters will step down from the board of directors by the end of June 2020 and be replaced by lay members.

"The Sisters would like to thank the State (HSE) for its willingness to facilitate the continuation of the services into the future so that the needs of some of the most vulnerable citizens of the Irish State will continue to be met.

The nuns also said that they are still in negotiations about the potential sale of other lands there and hope this process will be completed by the end of June.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney welcomed the outcome and said he believes the order has acted responsibly. He also said talks have taken place between the city council, the department of housing and an approved housing body in relation to the other lands

Mr Coveney said: I think we are going to find a positive resolution in terms of future ownership of the lands, as well."

Solidarity TD Mick Barry welcomed the retention of services and jobs but questioned the term gift given the estimated 30m State investment in the campus and its services over the years.

He also repeated calls for the State to step in and buy the remaining lands, saying: The State must ensure that there is justice for survivors too and that means acquiring the lands now and properly investigating what lies beneath them.

The long-running Mother and Baby Homes Commission found that some 900 children died in Bessborough or in hospital after being transferred from Bessborough.

Records show that 470 infants and 10 women died there between 1934 and 1953. However, the commission could only establish the burial place of some 64 children who died between there between 1922 and 1928.
Michigan-based auto parts maker BorgWarner reached a deal last week to acquire Delphi Technologies in an all stock transfer worth $3.3 billion. The deal, which is expected to be completed in the second half of the year, is the latest move in the vast restructuring of the global auto industry as carmakers and suppliers scramble for the resources and technical expertise needed to dominate the emerging electrical and autonomous vehicle markets.

Both companies engine and transmission businesses are seen as vulnerable, with industry analysts predicting that the sales of internal combustion technologiesand perhaps even traditional carshave peaked and will be on the decline. The tie up is aimed at creating enough sales volume to sustain profitability and will no doubt be followed by the slashing of thousands of redundant employees.

BorgWarner expects to cut $125 million from its payroll by 2023, which can only mean a jobs massacre. Currently, BorgWarner, whose largest customer is German automaker Volkswagen and biggest market is Europe, has 30,000 employees worldwide. Delphi Technologies, headquartered in London, UK, has 20,000 workers, including 5,000 engineers.

I believe the merger to be one of many to come, and one of necessity, Marcus Hudson, executive director at Calderone Advisory Group in Birmingham, Michigan, told Crains Detroit Business. Suppliers are positioning themselves for the move to electric vehicles as well as declining automotive volumes. The merger allows BorgWarner, specifically, to continue to compete in traditional powertrains while setting it up to transition, however slowly, to the age of electronic vehicles.

Calum MacRae, director of automotive product development at data analytics firm GlobalData, said there would be other acquisitions involving old-school mechanical engineering companies looking to address the disruption coming down the road by making [their] core operations more efficient. This, however, was only a short-term fix for the long-term issues that these businesses face, he said. No doubt there will be other mergers of a similar ilk that will ratchet down costs but not lead to sustainable long-term competitive advantage.

Michelle Krebs, executive analyst for Autotrader, said the deal suggests greater consolidation soon. We are on the verge of significant transformation of the industry thats just requiring tremendous investment by automakers and suppliers, and yet no one knows where the tipping point is and more importantly when they (will) make money from these investments, Krebs said.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and the French producer PSA Group are expected to complete their merger later this year. Ford Motor has already established a strategic partnership with Volkswagen, even as both companies eliminate tens of thousands of jobs. At the end of October, Honda Motor Co. and Hitachi Ltd. spelled out a plan to merge four of their parts components divisions to create a single entity with almost $17 billion in sales. Bloomberg reports that electric cars could be a job killer for Japans No.1 industry, and several analysts have said the same about Germany.

Electric Vehicles (EV) with battery-operated motors, a single gear box and no fuel tanks have as many as 80 percent fewer moving parts and will require far fewer workers, according to industry analysts. Although EVs only account for a small percentage of all vehicles (one percent in the US, for example) they are expected to rise to 10 percent of the global market by mid-decade and over 50 percent by 2040. The scramble to dominate these new technologies is combining with a global downturn in sales and growing trade tensions to drive the restructuring of the world auto industry.

All of this is adding up to a new attack on the jobs, living standards and working conditions of autoworkers around the world. Last years strike by 48,000 General Motors workers in the US was largely driven by the demands of Wall Street that the traditional automakers shut plants, outsource production to new technology firms and create a workforce largely modeled on the gig economy, i.e., low-paid, temporary and disposable.

The 40-day GM strike was isolated and betrayed by the United Auto Workers union, which agreed to closure of the Lordstown Assembly Plant in Ohio and two transmission plants in Michigan and Maryland, and the expansion of temps. At the same time, the new contract will set up joint labor-management bodies for electric vehicles and other new technologies, guaranteeing the UAW officials cushy jobs as they oversee the slashing of jobs and wages.

The experience of Delphi workers is an indictment of the UAW, which has functioned as a tool of corporate management for decades.

Forty years ago, workers at the independent parts plants had wages and benefits that were near parity with their co-workers at Detroits Big Three automakers GM, Ford and Chrysler. Throughout the 1980s, the UAW betrayed a series of strikes in the parts industry, in a deliberate strategy to cut costs for the Big Three and help them compete with Japanese automakers and other competitors.

Between 1978 and 1998, GM built more than 50 parts plants in Mexicowhere workers averaged between $1 and $2 an hour, making Delphi the largest private employer in the country. Far from unifying workers across the border in a common fight against the auto giant, the UAW promoted anti-Mexican hatred even as it isolated and betrayed the 54-day strike at two GM plants in Flint, Michigan in 1998.

The year afterwards, GM spun off its Delphi Automotive Systems part division, creating the largest parts manufacturer in the world. That was followed Fords spinoff of its Visteon parts division. Within five years, both parts companies declared bankruptcy in order to use the federal courts to slash their labor costs. With the collusion of the UAW, Delphi imposed a 60 percent wage cut on its 33,000 unionized workers, gutted pensions, health benefits and working conditions.

At the time, Delphi CEO Robert Steve Miller declared that globalization had made the social contract between large employers and unions a thing of the past and denounced decent pay, fixed pensions and medical benefits as an anachronism that American business could no longer afford.

When workers labored until 65 and died at age 70, he said, defined-benefit programs perhaps made some economic sense, but workers were living 30, 40 years after retirement, he complained, and how can we afford it?

If the Big Three automakers were unable to extract sufficient concessions from their workers during negotiations, Miller said, it was a very realistic prospect that the Big Three will have to use the Chapter 11 process. These predictions came true when the Obama administration, with the support of the UAW, threw GM and Chrysler into bankruptcy, destroying tens of thousands of jobs, slashing the wages of new hires and eliminating their pensions.

BorgWarner workers have fared no differently. The company was founded in Muncie, Indiana and employed 3,700 workers in the city during the 1930s, a period of explosive labor struggles in the region. In 2009, the UAW sanctioned the shutdown of the last BorgWarner plant in Muncie, leaving 780 workers without jobs in the city, which currently has an official jobless and poverty rate of 8.2 percent and 30 percent respectively.

Over the last several years, there have been a growing wave of strikes by auto parts workers, including Lear (2014), Nexteer (2015) and Faurecia (2019), but these struggles were isolated and sold out by the UAW. If workers at BorgWarner and Delphi are to defend their jobs, they will have to take the conduct out of the hands of the corrupt UAW. This means establishing rank-and-file factory committees to carry out a joint fight with all auto and auto parts workers in defense of jobs and living standards. In opposition to the nationalist poison of the UAW, US auto parts workers should reach out to their brothers and sisters in Mexico and internationally to prepare a cross-border fight against the transnational corporations.
She celebrated her 30th birthday surrounded by pals at a glitzy party on Thursday night.

But Angie Kent appeared tense as she arrived at her star-studded bash, which was held at the Michael Arthur Boutique in Paddington, Sydney.

The blonde bombshell rocked a retro ensemble as she entered the event - leaving her doting boyfriend, Carlin Sterritt, to carry the bags behind her.

'It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!' Angie Kent (left) appeared tense as she arrived at her star-studded 30th birthday bash with boyfriend Carlin Sterritt (right) which was held at the Michael Arthur Boutique in Paddington, Sydney

Her face remained stern as she walked into the champagne-filled bash, as her beau wheeled along two suitcases - with an equally as tense look spread across his face.

It's no wonder The Bachelorette star appears strained- she's been back and forth between Sydney and Melbourne to train for Dancing With The Stars.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia at the event, Angie admitted she felt like a 'zombie' and had been 'crying on and off all day' as she hit the milestone birthday.

Stressed: The blonde bombshell rocked a retro ensemble as she entered her own party - leaving her doting boyfriend, Carlin, to carry the bags behind her

Party time? Angie's face remained stern as she walked into the event, as her beau wheeled along her suitcases behind her - with an equally as tense look on his face

'It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to! That's exactly what happened,' she laughed.

'I'm not a big birthday celebrator, even though it's my 30th. I thought I'd wake and feel really mature and together, but I've woke up and feel like a zombie and cried on and off all day.'

She also confirmed she's finally made the move to from the Sunshine Coast to Sydney to be near Carlin, yet still lives over an hour away from her genetically-blessed other half.

'I've moved to the east!' While at the event, Angie confirmed she and boyfriend Carlin were now living in the same city

'I've moved to the east. It's nice!' she said. 'I've lived here for the past nine years on and off, so it's good to have a solid base.'

Carlin added: 'We're still an hour away, because I live in Cronulla and she's here... but it's a lot better than a flight away.

'It's been about two months, and it's been pretty crazy and quite stressful - but I'm just trying to make life as easy as I can for her.'
A forest view from Mohawk State Forest.

Williamstown's Art Chairing Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership



Tom Matuszko, left, of BRPC and Hank Art appear before the Select Board to discuss the Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership last year. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  The Mohawk Trail Woodlands Partnership took a half-dozen years to come to fruition, but its member towns are wasting no time taking advantage of the opportunities it provides.

$25,000 $20,000 in grants from the state for trails and access improvement or carbon sequestration projects.  The towns will manage woodlands not just for saw logs and various products removed from the site but for sequestration as well. "We were only authorized in the fall , and there's been a round of small grants," Williamstown representative Henry Art said last week. "Ten towns have applied for$20,000 in grants from the state for trails and access improvement or carbon sequestration projects.  The towns will manage woodlands not just for saw logs and various products removed from the site but for sequestration as well.

"It's off and running."

Earlier in the week, Art was elected to chair the large MTWP board that will govern the partnership, a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.

"[The partnership] presents a model that brings the resources of the U.S. Forest Service with statewide forestry and environmental resources and people from UMass Forestry together for probably the first time to have regionwide sustainable and ecologically relevant management to our forestry resources," Art said. "The idea that we will have individual landowners educated and have resources available to them to undertake sustainable resource management on their property is a huge step forward.

"We're in a region with a lot of forests and a lot of forestry going on. But most of the operations are not looked upon as having criteria for sustainability. Often, what happens is someone is holding land of 10 acres or less. They want to sell it, so they have it logged, and the logging done is not necessarily done for the benefit of future generations of forest or for the landowners themselves, for that matter. The new owner is purchasing something of reduced value in terms of forest resources and the environment than it should be."

The board Art now chairs includes a representative from each of the 14 municipalities (including Adams, Cheshire, New Ashford, North Adams, Peru and Windsor in Berkshire County) who have signed on to the partnership, the USDA and 14 state and local organizations, including the BRPC, Lever Inc., the Hoosic River Watershed Association and the University of Massachusetts' Department of Public Health and Health Sciences.

That makes 28 members of the board total, plus the potential of seven more if towns like Clarksburg, Florida and Savoy choose to join the partnership at a later date.

Getting a quorum of that group together would be a daunting task for any chair. Art said fortunately the plan is to get the full board together just two to four times a year, starting with the partnership's first annual meeting, set for June 2.

"A lot of the work of the board will be done by subcommittees of probably five people drawn from a good representation of the municipal representatives and other kinds of expertise on the board," Art said. "We'll have some standing committees and subcommittees that are looking at specific issues that will do work in between the meetings of the entire board."

The partnership also will have a full-time administrator, who Art hopes to have on board by the first of July.

A lot of the group's infrastructure  like electing a full executive committee and finding a location for the administrator's office  remains to be determined. But at its most recent meeting, the board still was working without a budget, which will be determined by action in Boston and Washington, D.C.

Identifying the administrator will be a major step.

"It's something we want to move on in the next five months, having someone who can fill that role," Art said. "There is a considerable amount of work to be done, and I don't think you can expect an all-volunteer board to devote the time and energy to do all that."

One thing Art was clear on: the MTWP board has a clear purpose in mind. It wants to support forest conservation while fostering sustainable economic development in the region.

The economic development piece generated some concerns among a number of residents in Williamstown, one of the last municipalities to join the partnership. One thing that appeared to grease the skids for that decision was the commitment by Art, an emeritus professor of environmental studies at Williams College, to serve on the MTWP board.

He noted last week that while early discussions of the MTWP included suggestions that wood chip and biomass production could be part of the economic development strategy, the enabling legislation prohibited MTWP funds from supporting biomass or wood pellet facilities.

And he said it is more important than ever that healthy, sustainable forests be protected.

"In terms of forest management, we are entering a new situation in which it's clear forests have a role to play in mitigating climate change," Art said. "They will never be the complete answer because we need to do something on the production of greenhouse gasses, and forests can only do so much.

"I think [the partnership] is  a significant step forward and could serve as a model for a new kind of relationship aimed at natural resource stewardship and economic development that is quite unique."
Eight men have been convicted of 'committing indecent acts' and 'inciting debauchery' in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania after a video of them dancing at a party, originally thought to be a gay wedding, was shared on social media.

A local police commissioner acknowledged in a television interview on 22 January that this was not a gay wedding as was first believed, but said that the men had been arrested for 'imitating women.'

In addition to the eight men's two year jail sentences, a woman received a one-year suspended sentence for 'inciting debauchery' by being present at the event. The owner of the restaurant shown in the video was acquitted.

'Mauritania's authorities have no business sending someone to prison for attending a peaceful birthday celebration,' said Graeme Reid, the LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch. 'They should immediately release all those who were sentenced to two years for attending this party.'

When the video first circulated online it was met with much public outcry, as people thought it was Mauritania's first gay wedding.

At that time, there was a very real possibility that the men shown in the video could be sentenced to death.

Mauritania practices strict Islamic law, known as Shariah law, and homosexual conduct between Muslim adults is punishable by death for men, but a de facto moratorium is in place on capital punishment in the country.

Eight men have been sentenced to two years in prison in Mauritania after allegedly attending a gay wedding, which authorities later discovered was a birthday party (pictured)

The case shows a rare enforcement of Islamic Law in Mauritania, which according to Human Rights Watch has seen no known cases of people being jailed or sentenced to death for homosexual acts.

In the report submitted by the police to the courts, the party goers were described as 'imitating women' and as 'sodomizers.'

'The authorities appear to have imprisoned the eight defendants on the basis that singing and dancing at a birthday party is a crime in Mauritania,' Reid said.

'Mauritania can't shy away from its obligations to protect basic rights of all its citizens without discrimination.'

Despite the discovery that the party was for someone's birthday, the eight men have been sentenced to two years behind bars for 'imitating women'

According to the police report, the men admitted to being homosexual, but had no legal representation at the time.

At the trial, the defendants all pleaded not guilty and recounted their earlier statements.

'It is a serious attack on the individual and collective freedom of these young people who have the right to display their difference and intimate preferences,' said Brahim Bilal, the president of a human rights organization in Mauritania.

Over half of sub-Saharan African countries, 28 out of 49, forbid homosexuality, and in several it is punishable by death.

In recent years however, there has been a trend of countries becoming more accepting, with Angola, Mozambique and the Seychelles legalising homosexuality.
Taranjit Singh Sandhu, India's ambassador-designate to the United States, has presented his credentials to President Donald Trump who welcomed him at the the White House and wished him success in his new appointment, the Indian embassy here has said.

A 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service Official, Sandhu has had two successful stints at the Indian Embassy in Washington DC - the last one being Deputy Ambassador from July 2013 to January 2017.

He succeeds Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who has been promoted as the Foreign Secretary. Sandhu, till last week, was India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

President Trump, during the Oval Office credentials ceremony, warmly welcomed Sandhu, back to Washington DC and wished him success in his responsibilities as India's ambassador to the US, the Indian embassy said in a statement on Thursday.

"The President fondly recalled his friendship with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and their several interactions," it said.

Sandhu conveyed warm greetings from President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Trump and the First Lady, the statement said.

He also said that the vision and guidance provided by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump in the last three years had moved India and the United States towards greater strategic convergence.

Sandhu affirmed his commitment to work towards strengthening strategic partnership between India and the US, which is anchored in mutual trust and friendship, democratic values and people-to-people ties, the statement said.

"Extending my warmest welcome to @SandhuTaranjitS, India's new Ambassador to the US. A strong champion of US-India ties, Amb. Sandhu's proven record & deep experience augurs well for the future of our partnership. Welcome back to Washington! AGW," Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice G Wells tweeted.

"Thank you Alice Wells. Looking forward to working together to further enhance India - US engagement!," Sandhu replied.

One of the most experienced Indian diplomats on US affairs, Sandhu was First Secretary (Political) at the Embassy of India, Washington DC responsible for liaison with the United States Congress from 1997 to 2000. He has also been at the Permanent Mission of India to United Nations, New York from July 2005 to February 2009.

Sandhu arrived in Washington on Monday as India's ambassador-designate to the United States.

"Ambassador of India to the United States arrived this morning and assumed charge," the Indian embassy said in a tweet soon after his arrival.

Born in 1963 in a family of educationists, Sandhu studied at The Lawrence School, Sanawar, and graduated from St Stephens' College, Delhi, with History Honors. He pursued a Master's degree in International Relations at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Sandhu is married to Reenat Sandhu, who is Ambassador of India to Italy.

In a distinguished career spanning over 30 years in the Indian Foreign Service since 1988, Sandhu started his diplomatic career from former Soviet Union (Russia) where he worked as Third Secretary (Political) /Second Secretary (Commercial) in the Indian Mission from 1990 to 1992.

Following the breakup of Soviet Union, he was sent to open a new embassy in Ukraine. He served as Head of Political and Administration Wings in the Indian embassy in Kiev from 1992 to 1994.

Sandhu was Consul General of India in Frankfurt from September 2011 to July 2013. He has worked in the Ministry of External Affairs in various capacities: as Joint Secretary (United Nations) from March 2009 to August 2011; and later as Joint Secretary (Administration) heading the Human Resource Division.

He was Officer on Special Duty (Press Relations), Ministry of External Affairs from December 1995 to March 1997, and was responsible for liaison with foreign media in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sudan, on Wednesday, agreed to allow Israeli airplanes to cross its airspace, international media reported. The decision comes two days after the Sudanese military head of state, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan met with the Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu in Uganda.

The meeting between the two leaders sparked controversy in Sudan after the Israeli officials declared that it could lead to normalising the situation between the two former foes. The meeting did not go down well with the Cabinet of Sudan which held two meetings over it.

In its response, Sudans military issued a rare political statement describing Burhans meeting with Netanyahu as being in the highest interest of national security and Sudan.

Read: Malnourished Lions At Sudan Zoo Get Life Saving Treatment After Photos Cause Concern

Read: Meeting Of Sudanese Leader, Netanyahu Stirs Debate In Sudan

Elaborating on the meeting, Sudans military spokesperson Amer Mohamed al-Hassan told international media that there had been an agreement in principle for the use of Sudans airspace by commercial aircraft travelling between South America and Israel, though he added that technical aspects of the overflights were still being studied. He also said that Sudan has not yet agreed to overflights by Israeli carrier El Al. Talking about the Sudan-Israel relationship, he said that the South African country hasnt announced a complete normalisation with Israel but it is definitely exchanging interests.

'We will overfly Sudan'

On the other hand, Netanyahu - who is set to face elections on March 2 - in a campaign speech on Wednesday said that they are now establishing cooperative relations. In his speech, he also announced that they will overfly Sudan. The announcement comes just a week after he unveiled US President Donald Trumps Middle East Plan in Washington. The new air corridor would also include airspace over Chad and Egypt, the two countries with which Israel reconciled its severed relation in 2018.

It was agreed to start cooperation leading to normalization of the relationship between the two countries.



Prime Minister Netanyahu believes that Sudan is headed in a new positive direction and he expressed his views to the Secretary of State of the United States of America.  PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) February 3, 2020

Read: Israeli Security Search For Driver Who Rammed 12 Soldiers

Read: Meeting Of Sudanese Leader, Netanyahu Stirs Debate In Sudan
A second Qantas flight is set to arrive in Wuhan on Friday to rescue hundreds more Australian residents caught up in the coronavirus outbreak.

Australians trapped in Hubei province have now begun making plans to make their way to the airport to board the emergency flight, which is expected to land in Australia before the passengers are transferred to Christmas Island's detention centre.

The first Qantas flight from Wuhan arrives at RAAF Base Larmonth in Western Australia. Credit:Defence

However, it is unclear whether all passengers will go to Christmas Island with the North West Point Detention Centre on the island approaching capacity for the purposes of quarantining people.

While still subject to final approval by the Chinese government, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has scheduled the flight to leave just around midnight on Friday evening local time.
Venezuela has been suffering sociopolitical turmoil over the past few years and recently, it was labelled by Transparency International as the "most corrupt country" in Latin America and fifth most corrupt in the world next to Somalia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen, according to an article by the Miami Herald.

The rankings are based on a point system, where zero represents the worst performance in a country's anti-corruption practice and 100 is reserved for the best.

According to its recently-released 2019 corruption index, Venezuela plummeted to the fifth place in the world ranking from 12th place in 2018.

Corruption has increased in the country as President Nicolas Maduro's regime intensified its efforts in solidifying its totalitarian control of Venezuela, doing away with the checks and balances system practiced by previous leaders during the democratic years.

In a press release, Transparency International said Venezuela, which for years has been gradually tumbling down corruption's slippery slope, only managed to obtain 16 points out of the possible 100.

According to an article by Latin Post, Venezuela was once among the economic giants in Latin America, having the largest oil reserves in the world and huge gold deposits. But throughout the years, the corrupt practices of its socialist government leaders have ultimately ruined its economy.

In 2018, Venezuela widely-experienced blackouts. Meanwhile, protests against the Maduro's administration have become more and more fatal after the government ordered a crackdown on protesters.

The socioeconomic crisis prompted its citizens to result to cybercrime, stealing personal data from people in Latin America working in companies, such as financial institutions and retail industries and selling them on various public websites and on the dark web in exchange for cryptocurrency.

Widespread corruption remains to be an impediment to socioeconomic development in countries throughout Latin America. In fact, the region only garnered an average score of 43 for the fourth consecutive year on the index which indicates its failure to make significant progress to combat corruption.

Despite the efforts of many Latin American countries to increase transparency, implement new money laundering controls, and equip their police and court systems with the tools necessary to investigate and prosecute political corruption, most of the region performed quite poorly.

Following Venezuela as the most corrupt country in Latin America are Haiti, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Honduras (tie), Paraguay and the Dominican Republic (tie), Mexico, Bolivia, El Salvador, and Brazil.

The Global Corruption Barometer - Latin America and the Caribbean 2019 indicates a substantial lack of political integrity among political figures and institutions in the region especially in terms of electoral processes, which weakens the foundations of democracies and leads to mistrust in government leaders.

During the presentation of Transparency International's report, organization President Delia Ferreira Rubio said that countries must do more to combat corruption as it threatens the population's faith in democracy.

"Frustration with government corruption and lack of trust in institutions speaks to a need for greater political integrity," she said. "Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems."

The corruption index considered the perception of public sector organizations, experts and business people in determining which countries are most corrupt.
The National Conference on Friday condemned the slapping of the Public Safety Act (PSA) against party vice president Omar Abdullah, general secretary Ali Muhammad Sagar and others, saying the "atrocious" move is yet another blatant illustration of the Centre's high-handedness.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief ministers Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti were on Thursday night booked under the stringent PSA, barely hours before their six-month-long "preventive detention" was to come to an end.

NC leader and former minister Sagar and PDP leader Sartaj Madani were also booked under the PSA by the J and K administration on Thursday.

"The measure debunks the claim of the BJP-led central government on restoration of normalcy in J and K. The present situation in J and K is far from normal," NC leaders Muhammad Akbar lone, Hasnain Masoodi and Imran Nabi Dar said in a joint statement.

The invocation of the PSA on NC leaders and others is yet another atrocious move of blatant illustration of the Centre's high-handedness, it said.

Reacting to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks attributed to Omar Abdullah, the statement said, "It is indeed alarming that the PM is quoting a satirical website to attack the leader in Parliament."



"On one hand the home minister has been maintaining that he never referred to the former incarcerated CMs of J and K as anti-nationals, on the other hand we have the PM saying that they have been fanning terrorism. Who is to be believed then?" it added



The NC said the allegations against Omar Abdullah were baseless.

"On the contrary it is the NC that has been at the receiving end, and here we have the PSA invoked on a person who has all along been advocating peace and non-violence. The incumbent central government has chosen to belittle his contribution. We condemn the measure in strongest terms," the party statement said.

The NC said the world community is worked up to see how the BJP-led central government is treating the former CMs of J and K.

The same representatives, New Delhi once maintained, were the genuine and real representative voices of J and K, it said.

"For past many decades New Delhi has been flaunting political and diplomatic messages about the Kashmiris making their choices by using ballot boxes. However, the same party, and the same leaders on which people had reposed their faith are now been targeted, revealing all-encompassing crackdown of the BJP-led central government in J and K. The only reason why the NC leaders are under arrest is because they do not agree with Narendra Modi and Amit Shah," the party added.

Referring to the detention of NC president Farooq Abdullah under the PSA for past six months, the leaders said former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee during the Agra Summit had referred to the ex-CM as the "third party" to the issue of J and K.

"He undoubtedly qualified the claim owing to his representative character. But now the same person is under detention for the past six months. The same person who held high the torch of democracy in a state torn by conflict, at the risk to his life. But today we see how he along with his party colleagues is being treated. All the democratic voices of J and K have been thrown under the bus purely for their conscience," the statement said.

Farooq Abdullah was booked under the PSA in September last year which was reviewed again in December for a period of three months.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-06 20:26:52|Editor: huaxia

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Israeli police officers secure the area following a suspected shooting attack in which an Israeli policeman was injured in Jerusalem's Old City on Feb. 6, 2020. (Photo by Muammar Awad/Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Israeli border police officers shot dead a Palestinian gunman after he shot and wounded an Israeli policeman in Jerusalem on Thursday, Israeli authorities said.

According to the police, the suspect opened fire at a patrol of Border Police officers near the Lions' Gate in east Jerusalem's Old City, slightly injuring an officer in his hand. "Other officers quickly responded with fire at the assailant and neutralized him," read the statement.

A later statement said he was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity was not immediately clear.

The violence came amid an abrupt escalation between Israel and the Palestinians in the wake of the recently-released U.S. President Donald Trump's Mideast plan.

Israel said a Palestinian police officer was killed on Thursday by Israeli fire in the city of Jenin in West Bank as large Israeli forces entered the city to demolish the home of an assailant. During the clashes, Israeli forces also shot dead a 19-year-old police cadet.

Also on Thursday, a Palestinian driver slammed his car at a patrol of Israeli troops in Jerusalem, wounding at least 12 of them before fleeing the scene.

Hamas, an Islamist Palestinian movement, said the car-ramming attack was a reaction to Trump's plan, which the Arab world has widely denounced as biased and unfair.
There is a need to improve the collegium system of appointment of judges, former Supreme Court judge Justice A K Sikri said on Friday while stressing on the requirement of judicial reforms in the country.

Justice Sikri, who is currently international judge of the Singapore international commercial court, said that around 30 million cases are pending in courts across the country and the executive and the judiciary are equally responsible for delay in appointments of judges.

"There has to be some hybrid system. More than that we have to improve our collegium system because on many times only on impression about a particular person in the high court there is a deadlock or stalemate... This needs to be corrected," Justice Sikri said at the inauguration function of Cornell India Law Center.

Justice Sikri also said that appointments by the collegium were not made while the National Judicial Appointments Commission was pending in the Supreme Court as there were doubts as to under which law the appointments be made.

Commenting on the need of judicial reforms, Justice Sikri said there has to be efficient management of courts and tribunals and need to reduce the cost of adjudication along with alternate dispute resolution like mediation.

Senior Advocate and Member of Parliament Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who delivered lecture on 'Transforming India's Justice System', said there is an urgent need to make appointments in judiciary and improve the infrastructure of courts.

"Mammoth number of cases pending in courts should not be seen as a deterrent as they are meaningless numbers. There has to be a holistic approach which is not piecemeal," he said.

Outlining a series of urgent reforms needed in the Indian Justice system, Singhvi suggested creation of separate monitoring cell in the top court for filling up the vacant posts in the judiciary.

Justice Gita Mittal, Chief Justice Of Jammu and Kashmir High Court, was also present on the occasion.

Founding Vice Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University Prof. Raj Kumar also spoke on the occasion and said there are significant issues on rule of law which challenge the democracy and society.

"The Jindal Global Law School has been collaborating with the Cornell Law School and has implemented many forms of collaboration over the past one decade. Students and faculty members from both sides immensely benefitted from this mutually beneficial academic collaboration. The establishment of Cornell India Law Centre and proposed comparative study of Indian Law will prove very useful," Kumar said.

Sital Kalantry faculty director of the Center, Clinical Professor of Law, who delivered the welcome address on the occasion, said democracy today is being pushed to the brink and judiciary is the only defence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 10:17:15|Editor: zyl

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MEXICO CITY, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Japanese automaker Toyota on Thursday opened its second manufacturing plant in Mexico.

Toyota has so far invested 700 million U.S. dollars in the new plant located in Apaseo el Grande, in central Guanajuato state.

"The company is committed to investing another 247 million U.S. dollars over the next few years, since our pledge to Guanajuato in 2015 was to earmark 947 million U.S. dollars, when the initial project was to manufacture the Corolla sedan," the company said in a press release.

Due to changes in the North American market, the company decided to use the plant to manufacture Tacoma pickup trucks, a model it already makes at its plant in Tecate, in Mexico's northern Baja California state.

Toyota's Mexico output is mainly destined for export to the United States and Canada, both of which have a free trade agreement with Mexico.
Since House Bill 588 passed in 1997, students in Texas that graduate in the top 10 percent of their class are guaranteed automatic admission to all state-funded schools. But 23 years later, school districts have begun to rethink how they will handle the policy as students have come forward to express how the rule can put them under intense pressure.

Seven school districts  Carroll ISD, Eanes ISD, Friendswood ISD, Frisco ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Katy ISD, and Spring Branch ISD  are comparable to Conroe ISD and have already revised their policies.

CISD now will begin exploring possible changes as well.

At the Feb. 4 board workshop meeting, Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education, Gregg Colschen, presented to the board an overview of what district policy is, and how other districts have revised theirs.

A lot of districts have looked at the process of maybe making it less number-driven so that a student is not simply a number, Colschen said. There is more to our students than that class rank indicates, and also an opportunity to potentially reduce stress and anxiety on kids.

Students know what their rank is, and what their friends rank is, Colschen said. He told the board that he has also met parents of freshman students who are already talking about getting their students into the top 10 percent.

Were trying to put the emphasis on achievement rather than rank, he told the board.

Students are notified of their rank at the end of their fifth semester, and their seventh semester. The rank at the end of their eleventh semester is what is used for admission decision making.

CISD provides students with updates to their ranking more often than what is required, updating them at the end of each school year.

The seven districts who have changed their policy no longer issue rank except for the mandated top 10 percent. Some issue the GPA that is the lowest in the top 10 percent, so students know if they are or are not in the top 10 percent, but beyond that the rank is unknown. Some now issue quartile ranks.

Colschen said the district reached out to several universities to talk about how changing the policy could impact student admissions and received responses from 15 of them. They assured CISD that class rank is not a huge indicator in the admissions.

They continue to emphasize holistic admissions process and not only are they considering the students GPA and test scores, but also the experiences that theyve had in high school, Colschen said.

Some of the private schools indicated to the district that when they took rank out of the equation, it considered students who were not quite in the top 10 percent more holistically and consider more than grades.

They assured us they didnt feel that not ranking students would be a hindrance to our students being accepted into universities, Colschen said.

The district already gets more students accepted into state schools than just the top 10 percent (or top six percent at the University of Texas).

The board agreed that it was worth exploring the possibility of changing the policy after gathering more information. The board agreed to allow Coslchen to form a committee to explore the idea and said they want to support ideas that will reduce stress on students but dont want to diminish the benefits of competition.

Changing the policy would not eliminate awarding valedictorian, salutatorian, and other awards for top rankings.

jamie.swinnerton@chron.com
By Joey Roulette WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American astronaut Christina Koch, who led the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after a record stay on the International Space Station, ending a 328-day mission expected to yield new insights into deep-space travel. Koch, a North Carolina-born engineer who joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013, set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman. Her mission will provide researchers valuable data on how weightlessness and space radiation affect the female body on long spaceflights

By Joey Roulette

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American astronaut Christina Koch, who led the first all-female spacewalk in 2019, landed in Kazakhstan on Thursday after a record stay on the International Space Station, ending a 328-day mission expected to yield new insights into deep-space travel.

Koch, a North Carolina-born engineer who joined NASA's astronaut corps in 2013, set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman. Her mission will provide researchers valuable data on how weightlessness and space radiation affect the female body on long spaceflights.

"Women acclimate well to space, so I think this is a milestone that will be overtaken by women in the future and it's what we aspire to," said Lori Garver, NASA's former deputy administrator.

The Soyuz MS-13 capsule touched down on the snowy Kazakh Steppe at 4:12 am ET (0912 GMT) carrying Koch, 41, European astronaut Luca Parmitano of Italy and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov.

They will be flown by search and recovery teams to the Karaganda region to begin their journey home.

"I'm just so overwhelmed and happy right now," Koch said, sitting in a chair wrapped in blankets as she waited to be carried into a medical tent to restore her balance in gravity.

Koch also achieved a gender milestone in a spacewalk with fellow NASA astronaut Jessica Meir last October that marked the first time two women stepped out of the space station at the same time. They completed two more all-female spacewalks in January.

NASA's first attempt at an all-female spacewalk in March 2019 was called off https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-women-space/nasa-cancels-first-all-women-spacewalk-due-to-lack-of-small-spacesuits-idUSKCN1R71CE due to a lack of a spacesuit in the right size, which ignited a gender-equity debate.

Koch's 328 days in space eclipsed Peggy Whitson's record for an American woman on a single spaceflight at 289 days.

Scott Kelly holds the overall American record at 340 days, and Russia's Valeri Polyakov holds the global record of 437 days aboard the defunct Mir space station.

Astronauts on the space station, whose 20th anniversary in low-Earth orbit comes later this year, have made 227 maintenance spacewalks, nearly two dozen of which included women astronauts, according to NASA.

Studying the impact of lengthy spaceflights could prove useful for NASA's aim of building a permanent space station on the moon within the next decade.

Kelly's 340 days demonstrated that long-term spaceflight causes thickening of the carotid artery and retina, changes in gene expression, and slight cognitive impairment for men.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette; Editing by Sandra Maler, Giles Elgood and Bernadette Baum)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Trend

The Uzbek Energy Ministry held a meeting with a delegation from Kazakhstan led by Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, Trend reports citing Uzbek media.

During the meeting the sides discussed in detail the issues related to the development of bilateral relations in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy, the report says.

The sides also discussed the cooperation in development of joint efforts in information sphere and environmental impact assessment, as well as ecology.

Detailed information was provided on the progress in implementing the project on constructing a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan, measures taken to implement the state nuclear energy program as a whole and create nuclear infrastructure, as well as implementation of international legal instruments in the field of nuclear safety.

In addition, it is reported that, in accordance with IAEA international standards and requirements, public discussions on the environmental impact of Uzbek nuclear power plant operation are expected in Uzbekistan and neighboring countries, including Kazakhstan.

The Kazakhstan side appreciates the measures taken by Uzbekistan, and proposed close cooperation in this area in the future.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Melissa Page Peter, an Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) member in Philadelphia, is founder of Mi Casita Preschool, which offers a creative, project-based Spanish immersion curriculum with the goal of developing a generation of culturally aware students who become lifelong learners. We asked Melissa about her experience starting this innovative preschool. Here's what she shared:

Tell us about the aha! moment when you realized you wanted to start a Spanish immersion preschool.

About six years ago while having brunch with friends, I was lamenting my experience in teaching Spanish and French to high school students. I couldn't get those teenagers to engage no matter what cool project I tried in the classroom. I was wracking my brain for new ways to get them excited about learning this beautiful language.

I explained to my friends how it had been so easy for me to pick up Spanish because I grew up in Texas, and my family often traveled to Mexico on vacation. I felt so fortunate to be exposed to Spanish at a much younger age than my students, which made learning it so much easier. That was my aha! moment. I realized that I could start a school for younger kids who were at the prime age for picking up another language.

Why were you uniquely positioned to bring this concept into reality?

I'm trilingual, and I've always had a love for languages. I never set out to teach. My first job was in marketing with Telemundo. I got my MBA while working there. Then I shifted gears after the 2008 economic collapse, started teaching Spanish, and got a Master's degree in Spanish education.

Looking back, though it was never my plan, I got the ideal education to start a Spanish language immersion school. It worked out really well. Once I identified a gap in the marketplace, I made the leap into entrepreneurship.

What were the biggest challenges in launching a Spanish-language immersion preschool?

Our first location opened in Philadelphia as the first immersion preschool in the area. Parents were understandably daunted by the idea of sending their children to a first-of-its-kind school where the kids would be part of what they saw as an experiment in early education.

To help them understand why preschool is the ideal time for kids to learn a new language, I did a lot of parental education around immersion and why it's beneficial for a child. I had to introduce an entirely new concept to families and why it would be a good fit for their child.

I conducted a lot of marketing and hosted information sessions. I went everywhere I could think of to connect with young parents--art school, Stroller Strides, baby-and-me classes, library story times--and invited people to attend our school's information sessions. I was very hands-on with parents and met them for coffee to explain what Mi Casita was and why our concept was strong.

That was five years ago in March 2015. Within three or four months, we had a waitlist! Now we have three locations and plan to open our fourth school later this year.

What makes preschool the ideal time to teach in an immersive environment?

Age 0 to 7 is the prime window for kids to learn languages because that's when their brains are most elastic. They're not scared to take on another language, so it's the perfect time to introduce a second or third language. When kids are young, they don't identify whether someone is speaking to them in a specific language, they just recognize the sounds and know that one person communicates using these sounds while another communicates with a different set of sounds. It's fascinating to watch how quickly the kids adapt in an immersive environment.

Our families are extremely supportive of their kids' new language skills. We've built a community of alumni so that families can get their kids together to practice Spanish outside of school and keep their skills strong. Some even attend bilingual elementary education programs.

What's the demographic of families in your school?

I call us the United Nations of preschools because we have such a variety of families. In addition to families that are passionate about education, we have many international families and students from marriages where one parent is a native Spanish speaker, and they want the kids to be able to communicate with that side of the family in Spanish. It's a very nice multicultural mixture.

Our students range in age from 3 months to around age 6 when they're about to enter kindergarten. So we're a hybrid between daycare and preschool in that respect.

Why are you so passionate about helping children learn a foreign language?

One of our missions is to develop citizens of the world. We believe that we're helping students and their families understand and appreciate the many benefits of having a vibrant multicultural experience.

We don't "teach" Spanish in the traditional sense--we speak to the kids in Spanish and back that up with explanatory gestures and facial expressions to help them get it, all day every day. All of our teachers are native Spanish speakers. It's not like learning Spanish in high school, where they teach the words for different colors one day and foods the next. We're a workbook-free school--no conjugating of verbs here. We provide project-based learning around science, math and art. We want everything the child does to be authentic, and they learn to speak Spanish along the way.
Botswana, home to the world's largest elephant population, on Friday held its first major auction for trophy elephant hunting quotas since scrapping a hunting ban last year. The one-hour sale was conducted by a local firm Auction It from the premises of the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism in the capital Gaborone. President Mokgweetsi Masisi raised the ire of conservationists in May when he revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who introduced a blanket ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals. Masisi fended off criticism of his government's decision, saying the move would not threaten the elephant population. Seven hunting licences of 10 elephants each were on offer, and six were sold at the auction, according to an industry source. Prices ranged from 3.6 million to 4.7 million pula ($330,000 - $430,900). Government said hunting would be "controlled" and confined to areas most impacted by "human wildlife conflict," a reference to elephants roaming off game parks into communities. The 2020 hunting season is expected to start in April. According to an auction advisory, bidders had to have "demonstrable appropriate elephant hunting experience" and have no previous wildlife criminal convictions. Hunting of collared elephants will be prohibited. All elephant hunting expeditions will have to be accompanied by a guide and a professional, at all times, according to the auction notice. Masisi's decision to lift the hunting ban last year was highly praised by local communities but derided by conservationists and ignited tension between Khama and Masisi. The auction was barely mentioned in local papers, despite high interest among international news outlets. - Overpopulation - Masisi has defended his decision to end the hunting ban saying Botswana has an overpopulation of elephants, and pledged to regulate the practice. His predecessor Khama was bitter. "I have been against hunting because it represents a mentality (of) those who support it, to exploit nature for self interest that has brought about the extinction of many species worldwide," he told AFP in a phone interview. He said allowing commercial hunting could "demotivate those who are engaged in anti poaching, who are being told to save elephants from poachers but the regime is poaching the same elephant and calling it hunting". Audrey Delsink, Africa's wildlife director for the global conservation lobby charity Humane Society International said "the Botswanan elephant hunting auctions are deeply concerning and questionable". "Hunting is not an effective long-term human-elephant mitigation tool or population control method," she said from neighbouring South Africa. Neil Fitt, who heads Kalahari Conservation Society in Botswana, said hunting was a new source of revenue for the country, but cautioned it had to be practised "ethically and properly". With unfenced parks and wide-open spaces, Botswana has the world's largest elephant population with more than 135,000 animals -- about a third of the African continent's total. Most of the animals are in the northen Chobe National Park, an important tourist draw. But elephants invade villages located near wildlife reserves, knocking down fences, destroying crops, and at times killing people. "Elephants are a menace in our area," said Tshepang Mogogoma, who lives in the central village of Nata. "I don't know about the elephants auction taking place in Gaborone but I think they must sell as many elephants for hunting as possible."
As Valentine's Day draws closer, Bollywood is all geared up to celebrate. The glam couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are seemingly all set to make the most of their Valentine's with a getaway.

Taking off to a much-needed vacation, the duo shared pictures of their passports, the actress wrote, "His &Hers...#vacation". And while Deepika did not reveal where she and Ranveer are going, the flight number visible on their boarding pass suggests that they are in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The love birds are taking a break after a long and hectic year. Take a look below-

READ: Deepika Padukone Feels Shakun Batra's Next Is Lighter Than Her Past Films

Deepika and Ranveer jet off to a vacation:

The actress's post was flooded with comments enquiring about her holiday destination and also wishing the couple a "very happy journey!"

READ: Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor And Other Bollywood Stars Who Rocked Yellow Sarees

DeepVeer are among the most popular couples in the Bollywood-verse. Moreover, their fun banter has always grabbed attention whenever and wherever they visited.

Deepika and Ranveer, who are extremely guarded about their personal life, left us guessing their vacation destination, but due to the flight number, one was able to tell. The couple's much-deserved vacation comes after the 34-year-old actress released her film Chhapaak. Meanwhile, Ranveer wrapped the shooting of his new film Jayeshbhai Jordaar recently and is expected to begin his promotional duties for '83 once he's back from the vacation.

READ: Imtiaz Ali To Cast Deepika Padukone And Kartik Aaryan In His Next? Read Details

Deepika and Ranveer tied the knot in Lake Como, Italy in a traditional Konkani ceremony on November 14, 2018, while a Sindhi wedding was organised the next day, both of which were attended by close-knit relatives of the duo. Pictures and videos of the event went viral on the internet and became a No.1 hit!

READ: Deepika Padukone Feels Shakun Batra's Next Is Lighter Than Her Past Films

READ: Deepika Padukone, Kareena Kapoor And Other Bollywood Stars Who Rocked Yellow Sarees

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.
India has raised a strong objection to the mention of Kashmir in the joint statement of Pakistan and Malasia. India said that the Malaysian leadership should develop a better understanding on the facts and accept that Pakistan is the center of global terrorism.

Commenting on the statements of Pakistan and Malaysia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ravish Kumar said that India completely rejects the statement made in relation to Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. He said, 'We once again appeal to the Malaysian leadership that it should develop a better understanding of the facts and accept that Pakistan remains the center of global terrorism, it recruits terrorists against India. Provides training to them and provides financial support to cross-border terrorism.

For your information, let us tell you that during the conclusion of Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan's visit to Malaysia, a joint statement issued by Malaysia and Pakistan said that the Prime Minister of Pakistan, during the discussion with the Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahatir bin Mohammed, discussed the Kashmir issue. raised. Khan also thanked Mahatir bin-Mohammed for speaking on the Kashmir issue.

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Linkedin A. Muh. Ibnu Aqil (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 10:53 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631adcc 1 National marijuana,cannabis,marijuana-laws,cannabis-legalization,Indonesia,narcotics,#PostScript Free

Every now and then you might come across headlines about those who are arrested in Indonesia for smuggling marijuana, while some are nabbed for growing cannabis for medicinal use or producing marijuana-laced cake, and you might wonder: How illegal is cannabis in the country?

Despite growing calls across the world for marijuana legalization  with some countries, including Thailand, already allowing the use of the drug for medical purposes and other countries decriminalizing recreational cannabis  Indonesia still adamantly prohibits the consumption of marijuana, even as an alternative for medical treatments.

The 2019 Global Drug Survey (GDS) put cannabis as the worlds most commonly used drug after alcohol and tobacco. It is also the most used illicit drug in Indonesia, according to 2015 data from Indonesians National Narcotics Agency (BNN).

The psychotropic drug, which has mind-altering compounds known to give a sensation called "getting high", can be used in a variety of ways. It can be smoked, ingested after using it as an ingredient for food, vaporized and used as an extract.

According to the BNN, marijuana users make up 63 percent of the countrys 3.6 million illegal drug users aged 15 to 65 years old.

Illustration of a man rolling marijuana. (Shutterstock/File)

How illegal is marijuana in Indonesia?

Cannabis is strictly illegal in the country, meaning you cannot be found in possession of marijuana, or caught smoking weed or baking marijuana-laced brownies, unless you want to go to jail.

According to the 2009 Narcotics Law  one of the strictest drug laws in the world  cannabis is a type-1 narcotic alongside 65 other drugs including opium, cocaine and methamphetamine.

In general, there are three classifications of narcotics, and according to Article 7 of the law, they all can be used only for medical and research purposes, except for type-1 narcotics, which are also forbidden for medicinal use.

The production of narcotics is also heavily regulated, with type-1 narcotics explicitly banned except for certain research purposes.

Read also: Conservative Aceh proposes cannabis legalization

Unauthorized handling of marijuana is a criminal offense. According to Article 111 of the law, marijuana possession can result in a sentence of up to 12 years imprisonment and a Rp 8 billion (US$581,782) fine.

Producing, exporting, importing and distributing marijuana can result in charges under Article 113 and a sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment and a Rp 10 billion fine. Those involved in the marijuana trade risk a 20-year prison sentence and a Rp 10 billion fine, as stipulated in Article 114.

As for type-1 narcotics in general, possession can result in charges under Article 115, which carries with it a 12-year prison sentence and Rp 8 billion fine.

Providing others with drugs for consumption can carry up to 15 years imprisonment and a Rp 10 billion fine, according to Article 116. Using narcotics on ones own results in four years in prison, according to Article 127.

Illegal grows: Denpasar Police chief, Sr. Comr. Hadi Purnomo (left) shows marijuana trees seized from Bali fashion designer Nandi in a press conference on July 11, 2018. (JP/Ni Komang Erviani)

How strong is law enforcement against marijuana use?

Throughout 2019, the BNN and the National Police uncovered 33,371 illegal narcotics cases with a total of 42,649 suspects arrested for various charges.

Cannabis made up the bulk of the collected evidence in the cases, with 112.2 tons of marijuana seized in crackdowns. Other drugs seized in the operations included 5.01 tons of methamphetamines, 1.3 million ecstasy pills and 1.65 million PCC pills.

Marijuana cases brought to the countrys courts generally ranged from low-level cannabis possession cases and marijuana cultivation to the smuggling of weed, which in some cases reached up to more than 1 ton of marijuana.

In 2015, for instance, the Denpasar District Court in Bali sentenced an Australian national and an Indonesian to one year in prison for smoking weed. They were caught with a used marijuana joint weighing 0.1 grams and 0.86 grams of marijuana in brown paper.

Read also: Man jailed for cannabis for dying wife

In one of the most famous cases that triggered debate over the medicinal use of cannabis, the Sanggau State Court in West Kalimantan sent Fidelis Arie to eight months in jail in 2017 and gave him a Rp 1 billion fine after he was found guilty of using cannabis oil to treat his ailing wife.

Fidelis was arrested on Feb 19, 2017, and taken to court for growing 39 marijuana plants in his home and extracting cannabis oil for his wifes treatment. His wife, however, died on March 25, roughly a month after his arrest.

Late last month, a United States citizen was arrested in Jakarta for possession of 1 kilogram of marijuana-laced brownies and five bottles of vape liquid containing cannabis, with the police accusing him of smuggling the substance. The foreigner claimed he did not know that marijuana was illegal in Indonesia.

This photo taken on December 10, 2019 shows coffee roasted with marijuana brewing in Banda Aceh, Aceh province. The contraband mixture of cannabis and coffee is a hit with locals and buyers in other parts of the Southeast Asian archipelago, who pay Rp 1 million (75 USD) for a kilo of it. (AFP/CHAIDEER MAHYUDDIN)

Are Indonesian people consuming marijuana?

Historically, the cannabis plant was first brought by the Dutch from India in the 19th century  during the Dutch colonial era  as a pesticide for coffee plantations in Gayo, a mountainous area in what is known today as the Indonesian region of Aceh.

Although cannabis is widely known for being smoked, Aceh has traditionally used marijuana seeds as spices for various local dishes as well as for herbal medicines, such as to treat diabetes.

Despite the law, cannabis cultivation remains widespread in the conservative Muslim province, with farmers growing marijuana as commodities and households also often growing several cannabis plants in their backyard, though they are not often sold for commercial use.

Read also: Cannabis coffee: Indonesia's sharia stronghold sidesteps drug ban

Is medical marijuana really a thing?

According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, medical marijuana is a term that refers to using the whole, unprocessed marijuana plant or its basic extracts to treat symptoms of illness and other conditions.

The marijuana plant contains a chemical compound called cannabidiol (CBD), which is usually extracted into an oil and sold as pills, gels, creams and other forms of remedies to treat pain, seizures and other health problems.

Both scientific studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that cannabis can be used for medicinal purposes, including to treat nausea, pain, loss of appetite, Parkinsons disease, epilepsy, muscle spasms and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Fidelis, for instance, argued before the court that his late wife  who was diagnosed with a rare spinal cord disease called syringomyelia  saw her conditions improve after being treated with cannabis oil, as it allowed her to sleep well and gave her an appetite.

A police officer shows marijuana during a press conference in Jakarta on Nov. 5, 2019. West Jakarta Police precinct destroyed drugs seized during raids over the past three month raids. (AFP/ADEK BERRY)

Will cannabis use remain criminalized in Indonesia?

In most parts of the world, marijuana use is illegal for both recreational and medical purposes, following the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961 that put marijuana on par with opium and cocaine as narcotic drugs even though the substances are wildly different.

Some countries have started waves of decriminalization of cannabis, both for recreational and medical use, such as Canada, Georgia, South Africa and Uruguay, in addition to Washington, DC, and 11 states in the US, including California, Massachusetts, Illinois and Colorado.

Calls pushing for the legalization of marijuana are on the rise in Indonesia, with some figures from Aceh, including a House of Representatives member from the Islam-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), Rafli, saying that Indonesia should consider using cannabis from Aceh as an export commodity.

However, it appears there is still a long way to go for cannabis decriminalization in Indonesia, as even the Indonesia Cannabis Movement (LGN), which has pushed for a revision of the 2009 law on narcotics since 2010, has seen little success to date. (afr)
We have provisions in the agreement which require a country to notify us when it intends to enter into a [bilateral] free-trade agreement, said Albert Muchanga, the African Unions commissioner for trade and industry. And we also have provisions in the agreement which say any preferences given to a third party must also be given to other parties of the African Continental Free Trade Area. We are hopeful that the government of Kenya is going to brief us on the initiative that it is taking with the United States.
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Residents are bracing for a potentially dangerous storm sweeping Australia's east coast, bringing a weekend of heavy rain, massive swells and severe flooding.

The wild weather has been building in intensity as it made its way down the New South Wales coast this week, with parts of the state seeing their heaviest downpour on Friday in over a year.

Sydney was drenched by 79mm of rain on Thursday night, while Byron Bay was hammered with 281mm and forecasters have warned that heavy rain is on the way.

Sydneysiders will be reaching for their wet weather gear as the storm looks set to linger until at least Monday. There are also 'intense rain bursts' expected throughout the weekend.

Concern has now been raised after the torrential downpour wreaked havoc in Byron Bay on Thursday night - flooding streets and submerging cars.

Flood warnings have already been issued for Sydney, Wollongong, Lismore, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree, Newcastle, Gosford and Nowra.

Motorists have been told to avoid risking their lives by driving through flood waters as they could be deadly.

Police warned drivers they could 'die within minutes' if they are not prepared.

'Serious flash flooding under extreme rainfall areas could cut main roads and flood some yards, streets, businesses and houses etc. We will issue and post stern warnings very quickly if we identify live risks,' the warning read.

A backpacker is seen wading through the deluge after a record breaking 281mm of rain fell in Byron Bay on Thursday night

Keen surfers headed out to make the most of the large swells at Bryon Bay on Friday after heavy rain lashed the coast town

Shop keepers began the clean up on Friday afternoon after a severe storm wreaked havoc in Bryon Bay

'Drive slower in rain and don't drive into flood waters - or you could die within minutes.'

Bureau of Meteorology NSW manager Jane Golding said the coastal trough near the northern and central New South Wales coast was expected to deepen and gradually shift southwards over the next few days.

As the system moves, it will likely bring increased rainfall, dangerous wind and wild surf conditions along the central and southern parts of the coast and adjacent ranges.

She said there was a chance of an East Coast Low developing, which are a dangerous weather system that develops rapidly.

Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged after 107mm of rain fell in the area in the past 24 hours

A severe weather warning is in place across New South Wales. Byron Bay has already experienced the deluge, with streets flooded, cars submerged

Byron Bay residents were hammered overnight with a powerful downpour (Pictured: A submerged in Byron Bay)

'Awful events happened from East Coast Lows,' Ms Golding said. The pressure system has washed away bridges and swept away cars in previous years.

Police and SES have also urged residents to avoid beaches as king tides are also expected.

Rock fishers have been told to avoid coastal rock platforms exposed to the ocean and seek a safe location that is sheltered from the surf.

Boaters planning to cross shallow water and ocean bars should consider changing or delaying their voyage, BOM said.

Friday morning was grim in Sydney, commuters were seen hiding under their umbrellas as they made their way into their offices

A keen swimmer walks back from the beach holding an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney, on Friday morning

While the deluge of wet weather has helped fire-ravaged communities, with one third of blazes in NSW and the ACT being put out by the rain, concern has been raised about slips happening due to the decrease in vegetation, which typically stabilises the slopes.

A severe weather warning has also been issued for much of the NSW coast, stretching 1000km from Brisbane down to Sydney.

In Brisbane, the torrential rain has been wreaking havoc with more than 50mm of rain hitting the city in 24 hours.

Sydneysiders woke to heavy rain on Friday morning, many were forced to make their morning commute with umbrellas in tow

Saturday will see the worst of the rain dumped on Australia's east coast (pictured) with downpours from Rockhampton all the way to Victoria's East Gippsland

Pedestrians hold umbrellas during wet weather in Sydney, Friday, February 7

Communities near Tin Can Bay, in the Wide Bay-Burnett region, recorded falls of more than 200mm - eight inches in the old measure - in the 24 hours to 9am on Thursday.

Farmers in drought-stricken areas in the north of NSW and the south of Queensland were celebrating the recent downpour.

National Farmers Federation president Fiona Simson told The Australian the rain came 'at almost the exact right time of year'.

Commuters were also hit with delays as they made their way to work on Friday morning. Trains on the inner-west line were experiencing delays due to the wet weather. A fallen branch also caused delays on the Northshore line, near Artarmon

A pedestrian holds an umbrella during heavy rain in Coogee, Sydney on Friday morning

 HEAVY BURSTS OF RAINFALL WITH STORMS IN NORTHWEST #NSW. Severe #Thunderstorm Warning for Heavy Rainfall for parts of the Upper Western, Lower Western and Central West Slopes and Plains. Latest warnings at https://t.co/vrZOdcTJ9k. pic.twitter.com/PzDN8Mwg3V  Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) February 5, 2020

Forecasters predicted 200mm of rain would batter south Queensland and the NSW coast (pictured) on Saturday

'Farmers will be hoping that many millimetres of rain fall to replenish depleted soil moisture profiles and set up for the winter cropping season,' she said.

Grain Growers Ltd chief executive David McKeon said some farmers on properties in the Liverpool Plains in northern NSW and central Queensland and the Darling Downs planted sorghum thanks to the rain.

Panic has set in as residents in Western Australia as they prepare for the onslaught of Cyclone Damien.

Supermarket shelves were stripped bare of meat, fresh fruit and vegetables and suppliers were racing to re-stock as the countdown begins for heavy rainfall and damaging winds on Saturday.

Weather forecasters believe it will be the most severe weather event on the Pilbara coast in six years, leading to widespread destruction for communities around Karratha, Port Hedland and Dampier.

The cyclone started forming off the coast of Western Australia on Wednesday afternoon, and was named by the Bureau of Meteorology after developing into a category one cyclone.

The cyclone was upgraded to a category four on Thursday night, the second-highest intensity, with wind gusts of up to 279kph expected.

Large puddles had filled the streets in central Sydney on Friday morning after heavy rain pummeled the city overnight

Where did Summer go? Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House were difficult to see through the stormy conditions on Friday morning

Western Australian residents are also bracing wild weather as a cyclone is expected to hit on Saturday

Supermarket shelves have been stripped as residents prepare to bunker down for the weekend

The rainfall was caused by a coastal trough near the northern New South Wales coast

All outdoor activities may have to be put on hold this weekend for as much of the country looks set to be drenched.

There is a high chance of showers on both Saturday and Sunday for Sydneysiders - with the storms lingering long into next week.

Melbourians have a few nice days of sunshine before the storms hit on Monday.

Brisbane has little chance of reprieve as the wet weather looks set to stay too. The chance of showers begins to dwindle later into the week, however, residents shouldn't pack away their wet weather gear just yet.

The south-east of Queensland (pictured) will also be hit by torrential downpours, particularly around the Gold Coast - with flood warnings now in place

Brisbane and the Gold Coast (pictured) will be drenched with rainfall for at least seven days

There's a 70 per cent chance of rain in Canberra over the weekend, with temperatures dropping to a cool 20C most days.

Thunderstorms are expected to smash Darwin over the weekend, however, heavy winds should begin to ease on Saturday afternoon.

Hobart seems to be missing the severe weather but it will miss out on sunshine too as low clouds linger over the city for most of the week.

Whereas Adelaide and Perth have a high chance of sunshine.
A Florida developer is hoping to add medical office space to an area where UPMC Pinnacle has built a hospital and a cancer center in recent years.

Elysian Partners plans to build a two-story, 40,000-square-foot building at Cumberland Technology Park on Technology Parkway near Wertzville Road located off of exit 61 of I-81 in Hampden Township. The company is planning to build the building between Hoover Rehabilitation Services and the Pennsylvania Departments of Corrections.

Kevin Brown, a partner with Elysian Partners says that the company hopes to capitalize on the locations vicinity to several medical facilities. UPMC Pinnacle has opened a hospital and cancer center in recent years near its outpatient center on Technologay Parkway. UPMC is expanding its UPMC Pinnacle West Shore hospital and is adding 58 rooms onto its 102 bed facility that opened in 2014. UPMC Pinnacle said it expects to expand the West Shore Hospital by this fall. And Penn State Health, which is the parent company of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center is building a 108-bed hospital at Wentworth Corporate Park off of Wertzville Road. Penn State Health has said it hopes to open the hospital by June of next year.

Elysian Partners doesnt have any tenants yet for the medical office building and will submit plans to the township for the project in the future.

Cumberland Technology Parkway includes UPMC Pinnacles outpatient center, cancer center and its hospital as well Holiday Inn Express & Suites, PennLive/The Patriot-News, Delta Development Group, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Hampden Township Public Works, Harmony at West Shore, Novitas and Hoover.

A Belco Community Credit Union branch is also planned for Mount Zion Road in the office park. Belco Community Credit Union will build a branch on a vacant lot at 4600 Mt. Zion Drive. Belco hopes to start building the 2,292-square-foot facility this spring and the opening is planned for the fall.

Cumberland Technology Park in Hampden Township. (Daniel Urie, PennLive)

Elysian Partners is also planning to resubmit plans to Hampden Township for a hotel and two restaurants on Mount Zion Road at the front of Cumberland Technology Park near Technology Parkway and Wertzville Road. Plans for the project call for more than 100,000 square feet of space and more than 160 parking spaces. There are no tenants yet for the planed hotel or restaurants.

In addition to the hotel and restaurant project and the office building project, Brown says that there is still about 60 acres of land that could still be developed in the office park.

--Business Buzz

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D ame Karen Pierce is to replace Sir Kim Darroch as Britain's new US ambassador after he was forced to stand down amid a spat with the White House.

She will take up the role having previously been the UK's permanent representative to the United Nations.

Her appointment marks the first time a woman will hold the role.

The career diploma is renowned as a tough, hard-hitting envoy whom President Trump has praised as fab.

Boris Johnson hailed her as an outstanding and accomplished diplomat, adding: I can think of no better person to drive forward our hugely important relationship with the United States at this time. Im delighted shell be representing us in Washington.

In the position she will swiftly be tasked with attempting to ease tensions between the UK and the US, due to a row over Boris Johnson's decision to allow Huawei involvement in 5G operations.

Sir Kim Darroch stood down from the position last year / PA

Dame Karen previously showed her mettle after the Russian novichok poisoning scandal when she lambasted the Kremlin in public at the United Nations, where she has been permanent representative since 2018.

As ambassador she will be the key voice of Britain in Washington, a role that has been empty since the resignation last year of Lord Darroch following the leak of a diplomatic memo that offended the Trump administration.

She has served in numerous prestigious postings including Tokyo, Geneva and the Balkans and was the UKs ambassador to Afghanistan in 2015 and 2016. She was once tipped as a head of MI6.

Asked whether Dame Karen would be tasked with repairing relations with the US, a No 10 spokesman said: "The UK has an excellent relationship with the United States and I think Dame Karen's ability as a diplomat is proven by her career."

Dame Karen spoke of her honour to take on the role.

In a statement, she said: "I am honoured to have been asked to represent the UK in the US.

"I think it is the UK's single most important relationship. There is a deep bond between Britain and the US, built on many pillars."

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said: It is a time of huge opportunity for the friendship between the UK and US and I am delighted that Karen Pierce will take forward this exciting new chapter in our relationship.

Were proud to be sending to Washington such an outstanding diplomat.
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Get Jonathan Bernsteins newsletter every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe.

We may still not know if Bernie Sanders or Pete Buttigieg actually won the Iowa caucuses, but we do know one thing: Buttigieg has received a classic New Hampshire bounce from it. According to the 538 estimate, hes gained 4 or 5 percentage points this week and zoomed past former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Elizabeth Warren. The former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, now trails only Sanders in the New Hampshire polls.

Its unclear if that bounce will continue through Tuesdays primary, perhaps even allowing him to win in New Hampshire, or if it will level off or even deflate. The history of the New Hampshire primary suggests that the eight days between the two events leaves plenty of time for two, and sometimes even three, zigs and zags.

All of this makes tonights Democratic debate perhaps the most important one of the cycle. Earlier, there was plenty of time to recover from a bad night. Later on in the primary season, voters will tend to be more engaged, and more likely to have made up their minds  and less open to changing them.

For now, however, its still the case that undecided is leading the Democratic nomination contest. Can Buttigieg retain momentum by broadening his coalition? Can Biden, who still leads national polls, keep his core support if he finishes fourth in New Hampshire (after being fourth in Iowa)?

How many voters who told pollsters they supported Biden had really made a decision, and how many were just parked there while waiting for the once-enormous field to narrow down? If Warren matches her third-place finish from Iowa, will she have the resources to continue on?

As for Sanders, can he, as a factional candidate, expand his own coalition? And how much resistance is there to the Vermont senator, among both voters and party actors? There are plenty of moderate liberals who would prefer to see someone else nominated, but we don't know if they are collectively dead set against him.

Story continues

Adding to the uncertainty is Michael Bloomberg, who is spending unprecedented amounts of money but only in states after New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. (Disclaimer: Bloomberg is also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. He is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.) Waiting until after the early events has never been a successful strategy, and its hard to know what that spending can buy.

Bloomberg wont be at the debate tonight, but Sanders, Buttigieg, Biden and Warren will be, along with Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, whose relatively strong fifth-place finish in Iowa has at least temporarily allowed her to remain in the race. Also taking part will be Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang, neither of whom showed any strength in Iowa and have little support in New Hampshire, according to the polls.

Im not sure anyone will take on Buttigieg directly. Yes, each of his rivals wants to stop his momentum. But multi-candidate primaries are tricky. Four years ago on the Republican side, Marco Rubio seemed to be getting a post-Iowa bounce when Chris Christie attacked him in a New Hampshire debate and severely harmed the Florida senators candidacy. But it did Christie little good at all.

Sanders probably wants himself and Buttigieg to finish in the top two spots. Warren, if she has incentive to attack anyone, would probably be best served by going after Sanders, not Buttigieg. Biden certainly wants to deflate Buttigiegs bounce, but he probably needs to focus on reminding people what they like about him, and that isnt playing the attack dog. This leaves Klobuchar, who might hope that the other candidates bicker so she can jump in and play peacemaker rather than casting herself in the Christie role. (Yang? Not really his style. Tom Steyer just started running a negative ad against several candidates, so perhaps hell give it a try, but so far he hasnt demonstrated that he can land something like that effectively during a debate.)

My best guess, then, is that were not likely to see everyone ganging up on the surging candidate. But its only a guess. What Im more confident about is that lots of New Hampshire Democrats who only recently began to pay attention to the nomination fight will either be watching tonight, or will follow the coverage afterward. And that relatively few of them have made a firm final decision.

1. Sarah Binder at the Monkey Cage on Mitt Romneys vote.

2. Tom Pepinsky on democratic collapse.

3. Good Seth Masket item on how Trump will run for re-election by accusing his Democratic opponent of scandal. I think it undersells just how fictional the scandal might be  and the danger that Trump will push government agencies to generate a phony one.

4. Jennifer C. Lucas, Christopher J. Galdieri and Brian OConnor on changes in how candidates campaign in New Hampshire.

5. Hans Noel and a group of students on what they saw in Iowa.

6. David Freedlander on Rachel Bitecofer and forecasting elections.

7. Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes on what the Senate did.

Get Early Returns every morning in your inbox. Click here to subscribe. Also subscribe to Bloomberg All Access and get much, much more. Youll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, the Bloomberg Open and the Bloomberg Close.

To contact the author of this story: Jonathan Bernstein at jbernstein62@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Katy Roberts at kroberts29@bloomberg.net

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering politics and policy. He taught political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University and wrote A Plain Blog About Politics.

For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion

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The Supreme Court, on Friday, upheld the conviction and 12-year jail term given to Jolly Nyame, for misappropriation of funds while he was governor of Taraba State from 1999 to 2007.

A five-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous decision led by, Justice Mary Odili, said it found no reason to set-aside concurrent judgements of both the trial court and the Court of Appeal, which found Mr Nyame guilty of misappropriation of funds.

Delivering the lead judgement, Justice Amina Augie, held that the appeal the former governor filed to challenge his conviction and sentence, lacked merit.

The apex court, however, held that the appellate court was wrong to have imposed fine against the Mr Nyame.

Justice Augie, therefore, affirmed the imposed jail term but freed the convicted Mr Nyame from paying fine for the crime he committed against the state, while he was a governor.

The Sentencing

In May 2018, when Justice Adebukola Banjoko first sentenced Mr Nyame to jail, she summarised how she came about the judgement.

In her address, the judge identified various confessions of fraudulent transactions and said the evidence against the defendant was overwhelming. According to the judge, even the defence witnesses alluded to the crimes contained in the charge against the defendant. She likened the conduct of the prescribed offences to the story of Alibaba and the forty thieves.

Citing a memo which formed the basis of the fraudulent transactions, Mrs Banjoko questioned the motive behind Mr Nyames ratification of the said memo, despite the former governors claim that he knew nothing about the fraudulent transaction.

From the evidence alluded in court, transactions by the treasury of the Taraba State government began with a memo. Now a memo has a root course that is traceable to a decision, said the judge who added that where the said memo becomes a proven source of questionable transactions, it would only be natural to trace the said memo to its source.

The judge also questioned the failure of Mr Nyame to investigate the illicit flow of funds under his watch, adding that Mr Nyame confirmed in court that he never conducted any such investigation.

It is only under cross-examination that the defendant said he did not carry out the investigation, because the EFCC was already carrying out a similar investigation.

The judge further noted confessions by witnesses, including the managing director of Saman Global that the company was not involved in the delivery of stationery.

If Saman Global has no history of supplying stationery into Taraba State, then their injection into the flow must have been questionable.

Mrs Banjoko narrated the testimonies of Mr Nyames commissioner of finance, Abubakar Tutari who spearheaded the many cases of administrative breaches in the transfer of the funds to Saman Global.

The judge said although the defendant denies knowledge of the transactions, it is either that he; (Nyame) or Mr Tutari has lied to the court.

It is a question of Alhaji Tutaris words against that of the defendant. So the golden question is who lying among the two of them? Because somebody is lying, said the judge.

It is imperative to bring to the fore, the background of Abubakar Tutor. According to the defendant, he was a serving senator of the federal republic of Nigeria. Alhaji Tutari said he had known the defendant since 1992 when he was speaker of the Taraba State House of Assembly.

Their relationship sprang from that time till when he was governor, in 1999. During this period, he served as a commissioner in four ministries, namely; finance rural development water resources sport and youth development. So they were close, she said.

Mrs Banjoko found the defendant guilty of 27 of the counts, bothering on allegations of criminal breach of trust, receiving of gratification, obtaining without due consideration and misappropriation of public funds.

Before reading the verdict, the defence counsel prayed the court to consider the fact that the convict had never being convicted of such offences and that he was a family man who had served his state for at least eight years.

The prosecution counsel, Oluwaleke Atolagbe, however, urged the court to consider the effects of the charges on the people of Taraba and the need to set a precedent that would prevent future occurrences.

Mrs Banjoko, while stating her ruling, expressed disappointment at the conduct of the accused.

But I must say that I am morally outraged by the facts of this case. The people of Taraba State had elected the defendant, a clergyman, on three different occasions.

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There expectations must have been very high. How would he begin to explain to the people of Taraba State his actions? How would he explain such a colossal loss to the people? she queried.

The judge said Mr Nyama continued the commission of the allegations, even after finding out that the commission was investigating his offences.

She, therefore, sentenced the defendants to various terms based on the four categories of offences, to a maximum of 14 years in jail, without an option of fine.

The judge ordered the immediate return of forfeited funds from the treasury of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) to that of Taraba State.

Appeal courts decision

PREMIUM TIMES had reported how the Court of Appeal in Abuja in November 2018, ordered the former governor, to pay a fine of N495 million for the alleged misappropriation of funds while he was governor of the state.

The appellate court reduced the 14-year jail term, earlier given to Mr Nyame by a High Court in Abuja to 12 years.

The appeal court, however, said the law compels the court to add a fine for each of the various convictions.

During an initial judgement of the lower court in April, the court jailed Mr Nyame 14 years for various crimes whose penalties were to run concurrently.

The appellate court said Mr Nyame ought to have been given capital punishment, but for the constitutional constraint on the court to stick to the provisions of the law.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 13:13:33|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China's vice central bank governor said Friday that the country has plenty of policy tools to cushion the short-term impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the economy.

The epidemic might disturb economic activities in the first quarter of this year, but the impact is temporary, Pan Gongsheng, vice head of the People's Bank of China, told a press conference.

Given previous experience, the economy is likely to steady shortly after the epidemic is contained, as the unleashing of pent-up demands will make up for previous weak economic performance, Pan said.

"China's sound economic fundamentals for long-term and high-quality growth remain unchanged despite the epidemic," he said.

Pan pointed out that China has leeway in its monetary policies as the country's macro leverage level remains stable.

The central bank will walk a fine line between supporting economic growth and keeping a lid on the leverage level, Pan said.
As part of the nations efforts to assist Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, a total of 70,000 kilograms of fresh vegetables arrived in the city at 10 a.m. Feb. 5, from Wenchuan county, the epicenter of the earthquake that took place in 2008.

(Photo/www.scol.com.cn)

The goods have been distributed to six hospitals in the city to support their normal operations, according to Sichuan Online, a local news portal.

The goods, a token of love and care from Sichuan, traveled 1,300 kilometers via Chongqing, which connects Sichuan and Hubei provinces. They were loaded onto six trucks, each driven by two experienced long-distance truck drivers who are also farmers.

The vegetables were purchased by Wenchuan farmers with their own money. Zhao Yong, who was in charge of the delivery, said his village raised more than 100,000 yuan and all the money was used to buy vegetables.

(Photo/www.scol.com.cn)

A representative of a hospital in Wuhan expressed gratitude to people in Wenchuan, saying the goods reflected their goodwill and determination to help Wuhan get through its difficulties, and such assistance and care will never be forgotten.

Li Jiang, one of the villagers who helped distribute the vegetables upon their arrival, said like Wuhan, Wenchuan had encountered difficulties, and believes that the city will pull through with help from the rest of the country.
The Chattanooga Iron Sharpens Iron 2020 Mens Conference will be held at Christ United Methodist Church, 8645 East Brainerd Road, on Saturday, Feb. 29 from 8:30- a.m.-4:55 p.m. The conference is open to teenage boys and adult men of all ages. Dress is casual. Pre-registration is requested. Discounted student and group rates are available.



Iron Sharpens Iron, a nationwide mens ministry, is celebrating its 20th anniversary with 33 mens conferences this winter and spring in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin. More conferences are being planned for the fall.



The first Iron Sharpens Iron Mens Conference was held in metro Hartford, Ct. during the winter of 2001. Since then, the ISI ministry has grown into a nationwide ministry that has served over 500,000 men. "The ripple effect has extended to countless wives, children, grandchildren, churches and communities," organizers said. "Founder and President Brian Doyle is a champion for mens ministries. Prior to starting Iron Sharpens Iron, he served with The Navigators in New England, then as New England area manager for Promise Keepers and as director of Vision New England Mens Ministries. The goal of the ISI ministry is to equip local churches to train men for spiritual leadership in their homes, churches, and communities."

For details or to register, call 860-233-8136, visit the Iron Sharpens Iron page on Facebook, or browse www.IronSharpensIron.net.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA astronaut Christina Koch will participate in a postflight news conference at 3:30 p.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 12, from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The 30-minute news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website.

This will be Koch's first news conference after returning to Earth from a 328-day mission aboard the International Space Station, the longest spaceflight ever for a woman.

To attend the briefing in person, U.S. media must request credentials from the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than noon Wednesday, Feb. 12. To ask questions by phone, media must call the Johnson newsroom no later than 3:10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Those following the briefing on social media may ask questions using #AskNASA.

Koch launched in March 2019 with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. She landed Feb. 6 with ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Luca Parmitano and cosmonaut Alexader Skvortskov. On her first flight into space, Koch participated in experiments that will provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman. This will directly benefit the agency's plans to land the first woman and next man on the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for human exploration of Mars.



Koch's mission spanned 5,248 orbits of the Earth  a journey of 139 million miles -- roughly the equivalent of 291 round trips to the Moon. She conducted six spacewalks during her 11 months on orbit, including the first three all-woman spacewalks, spending 42 hours and 15 minutes outside the station. She also supported the arrivals and departures of more than a dozen Soyuz and cargo resupply spacecraft from the U.S., Japan, and Russia. Her mission was the second longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut after retired astronaut Scott Kelly, placing her seventh on the list of American space travelers with the most time in space.

For links to videos, b-roll, images, and additional information about her mission, visit:

https://go.nasa.gov/31uF1uv

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


But the professions growth has come with controversy. Some doctors groups are concerned medical providers are using nurse practitioners to cut costs at the expense of patient care. Nurse practitioners, they say, are not as well trained as doctors to identify certain conditions and may miss important red flags. And theyre particularly troubled some whove earned their doctorate degrees in nursing practice use the title doctor," which could be confusing for patients.
A blood test could help diagnose the world's most common cause of blindness  years before symptoms develop.

Age-related macular degeneration patients have much higher levels of the FHR-4 protein, scientists have discovered.

The breakthrough could lead to earlier detection when drugs are more likely to be effective and the development of medications that target it.

Ophthalmologists at the University of Manchester say the discovery could lead to a blood test to predict who will get the vision-robbing condition.

Age-related macular degeneration patients have much higher levels of the FHR-4 protein, scientists have discovered

Co author Professor Paul Bishop said the 'compelling' evidence  taken from a study of 1,000 patients  proves FHR-4 plays a role in the disease.

AMD is the most common cause of blindness, striking 600,000 adults in the UK and less than two million in the US.

Professor Bishop said the work 'provides a way of predicting risk of the disease by simply measuring blood levels of FHR-4'.

He added: 'It also provides a new route to treatment by reducing the blood levels of FHR-4 to restore immune system function in the eyes.'

Further analysis of eyes donated for medical research showed the presence of factor H-related protein 4 (FHR-4) in the macula.

In patients with the condition, the macula - the part of the eye responsible for central vision - stops functioning effectively.

WHAT IS AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION? Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a painless eye condition that leads to a gradual loss of central vision. It is the most common cause of visual impairment in the UK and US, striking 600,000 adults in the UK and less than two million in the US. AMD causes central vision to become blurred resulting in symptoms such as difficulty reading and problems recognising people's faces. It occurs when the macular - the part of the eye responsible for central vision - stops functioning effectively. AMD usually affects both eyes, but the speed of progression can vary between eyes. It is thought to be triggered by aging, smoking and genetics. Advertisement

It causes central vision to become blurred, resulting in symptoms such as difficulty reading and problems recognising people's faces.

AMD usually affects both eyes, but the speed of progression can vary between eyes. It is thought to be triggered by aging, smoking and genetics.

Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench, now 85, has been battling the condition since 2012.

She can no longer read her lines and needs the help of family and friends to stop her bumping into things, it has been reported.

The study, published in journal Nature Communications, offers hope of a screening programme that measures the amount of FHR-4 in the blood.

Drugs that destroy it may also provide promising future treatment options, said the researchers.

The protein controls part of the body's defence called the 'complement system' which plays a critical role in inflammation and fighting infection.

Previous studies have linked FHR-4 to AMD, showing genetically inherited faults in key proteins are strong risk factors.



The team, which included colleagues in The Netherlands, mapped the DNA of 1,000 people to identify specific mutations related to increased FHR-4 levels.

Results showed they overlapped with mutations first found to fuel AMD more than two decades earlier.

The combined findings suggest inherited gene faults can lead to more FHR-4 which causes the complement system within the eye to over-reacted, driving disease.

Researchers to compare blood levels of FHR-4 in 484 patients with the disease and 522 without, who acted as controls and were matched by age.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Azerbaijans government is interested to implement its reforms agenda as early as possible so that the results can be achieved earlier, Editor of Pakistan in the World magazine Tazeen Akhtar told Trend.

Akhtar arrived in Azerbaijan as a member of journalists' delegation from Pakistan to cover early parliamentary elections in Baku, Azerbaijan.

We have observed activity of the Central Elections Commission (CEC). CEC has taken all necessary measures that are required to make elections as free and fair as possible and to provide an even playing field to all candidates who are to take part in the election, Akhtar said.

He said that according to what the delegation have learned from their own observation is that Azerbaijan government is interested to implement the reform agenda as early as possible so that the results can be achieved earlier and reforms benefits can be made public.

That is the main thinking and the main view of the countrys government and that is why there are early elections, he said.

He also expressed hope that the elections will go smooth as information about every candidate and every party has been published on the main elections website so that everyone can familiarize themselves with it.

The parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9. There are 125 constituencies in Azerbaijan. Presently, the number of MP candidates is 1,321.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Kathmandu, Feb 7 : Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has directed authorities to bring back Nepalis stranded in from China amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak, a media report said.

At least 180 Nepali nationals, mostly students, have filed applications at the country's embassy in China seeking immediate evacuation from China where the virus has killed 636 people, The Himalayan Times said in the report on Thursday.

According to Oli's Press Adviser Surya Thapa, the Prime Minister also asked the authorities to exercise caution and make adequate preparations within the stipulated time to deal with the risk of coronavirus infection as per the government's work plan.

Oli made the decision after holding a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali, Minister of Health and Population Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, Tourism Minister Yogesh Bhattarai, Chief Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi and other high ranking officials on Thursday.

He asked the Ministers and the officials to also make adequate provisions for the returnees' quarantine at four places in Kathmandu valley.

Nepal has so far confirmed ine coronavirus case.

In South Asia besides Nepal, India has confirmed three, while Sri Lanka reported one case.

Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Vet visits good for early detection



AARP asked veterinary experts around the country, reviewed studies and looked at guidelines with these results:

 More frequent exams. Aging pets, those in the last 25 percent of their estimated life span, should have a physical exam at least every six months, twice as often as younger animals.

 Not-so-frequent shots. Vaccinations typically are not needed more often than every three years. So-called core or vital vaccines for cats are for herpesvirus type 1, panleukopenia, calicivirus and rabies, according to American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) guidelines.

Core vaccines for dogs are a combination vaccine against canine distemper virus, adenovirus type 2 and parvovirus (with or without parainfluenza virus) and rabies. Annual leptospirosis vaccines may be advised for dogs at risk, the AVMA says.

 Some pills necessary. Medication may aid with some conditions linked with aging, such as hyperthyroidism in cats and hypothyroidism in dogs.

Twice-a-year vet visits allow for key preventive care, experts said.

"One rectal exam can save a life by catching a mass early, said veterinarian Alison Mason, medical director at the VCA Hope Animal Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.

Cats senior years begin around age 11. Dogs vary widely; small dogs may be senior at age 11, large dogs at 6 years old.

"The difference can be a factor of two. A Maltese may live 15 years. A Great Dane may live six, seven, eight, said Kate Elizabeth Creevy, a specialist in dog aging and associate professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in College Station.

Talk candidly about costs

To ensure that pets age gracefully, owners should hunt down a vet they can trust, said Brian Collins, faculty veterinarian at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, New York. The veterinarian should explain the reasons certain tests are needed and give families time to think about it, even if that means pausing to weigh the costs, figuring out finances and making another appointment.

That's welcome advice in an era when consumers face potentially steep bills for canine diagnostic tests, from as much as $150 for an X-ray to as much as $3,500 for a dog MRI with anesthesia. But retaining a longtime neighborhood vet may be hard in a time of rapid consolidation.

Many smaller veterinary hospitals are selling to large firms such as Banfield Pet Hospital and VCA Antech, both now owned by a subsidiary of Mars Inc. that has its headquarters in McLean, Virginia. The same company is known for M&Ms and Mars Bars, and its Mars Petcare subsidiary manufactures more than a half dozen brands of cat and dog food including Iams, Nutro and Whiskas.

Some vets may remain at the businesses after they're sold. Still, some worry that this trend can lead to cookie-cutter corporate medicine. Others say it means better-financed practices, according an AVMA article.

An estimated 3,500 to 4,000 large/consolidated practices are operating nationwide, AVMA spokesperson Catlin Ulrich wrote in email. They include practices that corporations or private equity firms have bought as well as new practices those larger groups have opened.

Ask these questions about care

Whether at a one-person veterinary clinic or a national chain, pet owners should feel free to press their vets for answers, experts said.

Natasha Olby, a professor of neurology and neurosurgery at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh, where she holds a distinguished chair in gerontology, suggests specific questions:

 Why do you want to run this test?

 Which diseases are you most concerned about, and are they treatable?

 How would you treat them, and what would the outcome be with and without that treatment?

Two serious neurological diseases in older dogs are similar to human illnesses.

One is canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD), the equivalent of Alzheimer's disease. Symptoms can include soiling the house, anxiety and altered sleep cycles causing disturbed sleep at night, Olby said in an email. Those dogs may become disoriented.

"If they get under a table, they might be confused about how to get out from between the chair legs, she wrote.

The other is degenerative myelopathy, a progressive disease of the spinal cord that begins with weakness in the hind legs and is similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in humans.

As cats and dogs age, they may experience muscle atrophy, or muscle loss, and eat less. That's the biggest concern among customers of Amy Cross, longtime part owner of MadCat, a Madison, Wisconsin, pet supply store. She advises them to test different foods, she said.

"At some point, it's just, Let's get something that they'll eat. Different textures, adding chicken broth, warm water, Cross said.

Keep them moving

For both aging dogs and cats, Collins at Cornell recommends what veterinarians call environmental enrichment.

"Play with them. Make sure they're getting exercise, he said. He urges that owners practice preventive care, which he said can reduce veterinary costs as pets age.

For instance, obesity can promote diabetes in cats and increase the potential of arthritis in both cats and dogs, he said.

Like humans, pets can grow obese from overeating and lack of exercise. In 2018, 60 percent of cats and 56 percent of dogs were overweight or obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, based in Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina.

Owners can help ward off serious dental problems in older dogs, such as extractions, through regular toothbrushing when they're young as well as veterinary cleaning under anesthesia, Collins said.

For brushing, they can use an old human toothbrush, a new adult or child toothbrush, or one designed for animals. They should use pet toothpaste  pets appreciate the flavorings  and avoid human toothpaste because of its fluoride, Collins said.

Brushing only takes a minute or two, he said, and even cats will tolerate it if started when they're young.

"I brush my dogs teeth every day, he said. And they actually get to looking forward to it."

Deborah Schoch is an independent journalist who helped found the California Health Care Foundation's California Center for Health Reporting at the University of Southern California. Earlier, she worked for 18 years at the Los Angeles Times.
This year, Waitangi Day holds special significance for Tauranga street artist Graham Hoete, better known as Mr G.

Hes spent most of the day working on the last artwork in his HOME exhibition that opened at the Tauranga Art Gallery in November last year.

The final piece entitled Kotahitanga, meaning unity, togetherness and solidarity, is a portrait depicting Graham and his wife Milly that, he says, speaks to the heart, word and spirit of Te Tiriti o Waitangi.

Its one thing to talk about kotahitanga, you can campaign about it, sing about it, paint a picture about it, says Mr G. But the most powerful way to do it is to live it. Thats the guts of this painting - profiling and promoting Maori and Pakeha who love each other.

The only large-scale outdoor mural of the exhibition, Kotahitanga takes pride of place on a building owned by the University of Waikato in Tauranga and sits directly opposite the campus entrance on Durham Lane.

Mr G says it was always part of the grand plan for HOME to include an external piece in Tauranga Moana but it proved to be a challenge finding the perfect wall. Despite scoping out dozens of potential sites, nowhere seemed quite right until he drove down a quiet laneway and spied a wall with views through to Mauao and in the shadow of the universitys award-winning building.

A fortuitous meeting with Marcelle Wharerau, a lecturer with the Faculty of Maori and Indigenous Studies based at Waikatos Tauranga campus, set the wheels in motion for the wall to receive its artistic reinvention.

The universitys director of regional engagement Joseph Macfarlane says the university was supportive of the project and the concept that Mr G had proposed for the space.



The themes of kotahitanga and aroha are kaupapa that resonate with the campus and the cultural narrative within, and in the context of 180 years of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, these are the themes that provide inspiration to a nation, he says. We are excited to collaborate with Mr G as a local son of Tauranga Moana and look forward to seeing how the university community and the people around Durham Lane and across Tauranga City engage with the artwork.

Tauranga City Council community services general manager Gareth Wallis is equally thrilled that Kotahitanga found a home in the heart of the CBD. Its fantastic to be supporting Graham and the University of Waikato to produce this piece for students and the people of Tauranga Moana.

We are very proud to have worked with Graham on his first solo exhibition HOME at the Tauranga Art Gallery, and having a permanent piece of art in our community is the ideal way to conclude the exhibition, which finishes this Sunday 9 February.

With the various works that made up HOME, Mr G honoured his parents, turangawaewae of Motiti Island, Matakana Island and Tauranga Moana and even his favourite kaimoana, kina. When it came to the concept for Kotahitanga, he didnt have to look far for inspiration. On Sunday, he celebrated his 18-year wedding anniversary with Milly and shared a photo on social media along with the words, I just wanna say unapologetically as a Maori that I love, honour and adore my Pakeha wife! Love is our true north e te iwi. The public response was overwhelming. When other couples engaged and posted about their own relationships, it was beautiful, says Mr G. This will be the perfect way to top the whole exhibition off - to celebrate and honour our love for each other.

With the university year yet to fully start and few students on campus, tucked down the laneway and hidden from the main road, Mr G has simply gotten on with what he does best. He is grateful to those who have supported him in his first solo exhibition. Tauranga City Council have been amazing with their partnership and support of HOME, he says. I take my hat off to Gareth and Reena from the council who put their whole heart into making the exhibition happen. And Tauranga Art Gallery has given HOME a great home for the past three months.

While the eye-catching gold G on magenta background may soon disappear from the Tauranga Art Gallerys exterior wall when the HOME exhibition closes this Sunday, it is comforting to know that Kotahitanga will live on in Tauranga City.

On Monday 10 February, following a karakia at 12pm on Durham Lane by the universitys kaumatua Tamati Tata, Mr G will give a talk about the meaning and significance of Kotahitanga with everyone welcome to attend.
The first murder trial for Scotts Bluff County was held in the upper floor of the Gering and Sayre Building, the first brick structure to be erected in the county seat of Gering. It was at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Lincoln Street. Today, the location is 10th and M Streets.

Before the trial got underway, a defense motion for a continuance was denied, as well as a motion for a change of venue to Kimball County.

The trial itself was pretty straightforward, taking about five days. Arnolds attorneys put on a strong defense, but he was found guilty and sentenced to 47 years in the state prison. Ill get back to his story in moment.

Scotts Bluff County residents thought the unloading of the Arnold trial on them was unfair from the beginning. But with Cheyenne County refusing to cover the cost, the new county had to turn to the state Legislature.

Scotts Bluff Countys request for reimbursement was turned down for two sessions. Finally, about six or eight years after the trial, the Legislature passed a special bill to cover $7,000 for the trial.
GAUHATI, India - Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday his government will continue its peace push in insurgency-wracked northeastern India, where accords with key rebel groups have led to the surrender of thousands of fighters.

Modi said decades of violent insurrection ended in the Bodo tribal heartland in Assam state after the signing of a Jan. 27 agreement with the rebels.

He addressed hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Bodo tribespeople, while celebrating the signing of the peace accord Friday in Kokrajhar, a town 250 kilometres (150 miles) west of Gauhati, the state capital.

They included several hundred rebels from the National Democratic Front of Bodoland who turned out in their olive-green fatigues after surrendering to government forces at a ceremony on Jan. 30.

Leaders of the four factions that comprise the NDF welcomed the prime minister with traditional scarves on the dais, but they did not speak.

On Jan. 28, Gobinda Basumatary, one of the leaders who signed the accord, said that it would bring peace after three decades. Since enough of autonomy is given to us as part of the accord, the demand for a separate Bodo state is no longer necessary.

On Thursday, the Bodo tribespeople lit 70,000 oil lamps in their homes rejoicing in relief from long-simmering land and ethnic disputes in the region.

I can understand your feelings when you decided to bid adieu to your guns, bombs and pistols and return to normal life. I will ensure that no thorn shall hurt you now in the road to peace, Modi said.

The government plans to provide technical skills to those who surrendered to take up jobs in the near future.

Dozens of rebel groups have been fighting the government and sometimes each other for years in seven states in northeast India. They demand greater regional autonomy or independent homelands for the indigenous groups they represent.

The rebels accuse the federal government of exploiting the regions rich mineral resources but neglecting the local people.

Modi told the rally on Friday that insurgency was on the wane in the northeast and his government was trying to reach similar deals with insurgent groups mainly in Nagaland and Manipur states.
Ariha (Syria) (AFP) - Air strikes killed 10 civilians near a bakery and a medical clinic in Syria's last major rebel stronghold on Thursday, as government forces pressed a fierce ground offensive.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Russian warplanes hit the Idlib province town of Ariha, but the Russian defence ministry said its "aviation did not carry out any combat tasks in this area of Syria."

The government and its Russian ally have upped their deadly bombardment of northwestern Syria, which hosts some three million people including many who fled violence elsewhere in Syria.

Slowly chipping away from the south, pro-regime forces have shrunk rebel-held territory to just over half of Idlib province and slivers of neighbouring Aleppo and Latakia.

Damascus loyalists retook the strategic Idlib town of Maaret al-Numan on Wednesday.

Early on Thursday, Russian air strikes hit near a bakery and the Al-Shami clinic in Ariha which is now out of service, the Observatory said.

The monitor says it determines whose planes carried out strikes according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

A dust-covered doctor ran out of the clinic screaming following the strike, which partially damaged the facility's walls, an AFP correspondent reported.

Nearby, three entire buildings had collapsed and several vehicles were reduced to mangled wrecks.

The wailing of women and children rang out as rescue workers searched for corpses beneath the rubble.

Toufic Saado, a paramedic, said he was inside the medical facility when three air strikes ravaged the area.

"The wounded were lying on the floor outside the medical centre," he said.

- Ground offensive -

The latest deaths bring to 21 the number of civilians killed by Russian air strikes in Idlib since Wednesday, the Observatory said.

Earlier this month, Russia denied launching any combat operations in the region since a ceasefire it agreed with rebel supporter Turkey took effect on January 12.

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But the truce has become a dead letter and the number of reported Russian raids has risen sharply in the area, dominated by jihadists of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, led by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Moscow on Wednesday of "not honouring" several deals intended to avert a broad military offensive in the area.

It was a rare critical remark from Erdogan, who has largely sought good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin since a 2016 rapprochement.

Thousands of Russian troops are deployed across Syria in support of the army, while a contingent of Russian private security personnel also operates on the ground.

Moscow's military intervention in 2015, four years into the Syrian conflict, helped keep President Bashar al-Assad in power and started a long, bloody reconquest of territory lost to rebels in the early stages of the war.

Government forces pushed north from Maaret al-Numan on Thursday towards the town of Saraqeb, whose residents have mostly fled in the face of heavy bombardment.

The front line is now within two kilometres (one mile) of the town, the Observatory said.

Both Maarat al-Numan and Saraqeb lie on the key M5 highway connecting the capital Damascus to second city Aleppo.

The road has been a key government target as it seeks to revive a moribund economy ravaged by almost nine years of war.

Some 50 kilometres (30 miles) of the M5 remain outside regime control, the Britain-based Observatory said.

- Exodus of civilians -

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the government's advance, seeking safety closer to the Turkish border further north.

The violence in the northwest has displaced more than 388,000 civilians since December, the United Nations says.

At least 20,000 of them have moved in the past two days, UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs Mark Lowcock said on Wednesday.

"Unless the current hostilities stop, we will see an even greater humanitarian catastrophe," he told the UN Security Council.

Aid groups have warned the latest violence is compounding one of the war's worst humanitarian disasters.

Government forces, which now control around 70 percent of Syria, have repeatedly vowed to retake the entire country, including Idlib.

The war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half the country's population since it erupted following the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
About 250 U.S. citizens evacuated from Wuhan, the coronavirus-stricken epicenter in China, will soon be quarantined at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Click through the gallery to read what you should know about the evacuees arriving in S.A.:
Retired President Daniel arap Moi will be accorded appropriate Civilian and Full Military Honours during his burial on Wednesday at his Kabarak home.

This is follows President Uhuru Kenyatta's proclamation that the former head of state, who died on Tuesday at the Nairobi Hospital, shall be accorded a State Funeral, with all appropriate civilian and full military honors being rendered and observed.

MILITARY HONOURS

Moi's funeral will be the second one to have full military honours. The only other person who has been accorded with similar honours was the founding father of the nation Mzee Jomo Kenyatta when he died in office in 1978.

But unlike the first president, Moi might receive 19-gun salute and not 21 as his predecessor.

Twenty-one-gun salute is given to head of states who are the Commander-in-Chief at the time of their death (die in office).

However, the current Commander-in-Chief, who is President Kenyatta, can decide that Moi be buried in military uniform for his role as Commander-in-Chief during his 24-year rule.

In that case, he will be accorded the 21-gun salute.

Moi's casket will also be draped in the national flag on a Stately carriage to be dragged by the military platoon.

PUBLIC VIEWING

The funeral will also include 36 pallbearers from the military in the ceremonial uniform from the rank of Major and above.

There will be renditions from KDF bands and choirs and chaplains chosen from the military and religious groups.

Ten officers from the army have taken positions in two lines leaving a path between them on the steps of Lee Funeral Home where Moi's body is being preserved. Two others are positioned on the doorway.

The standing on guard is an indication of respect for their former Commander-In-Chief.

From Saturday to Monday Moi's body will lie in parliament building for public viewing between 8am to 5pm

Four other people have received State funerals in the history of Kenya, but without military honours.

They are former Vice President Wamalwa Kijana, Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai, former First Lady Lucy Kibaki and former Nyeri Governor Wahome Gakuru.
A chartered aircraft that left Wuhan, China, carrying 176 Canadians away from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak is enroute to CFB Trenton in Ontario after a refuelling stop at Vancouver International Airport Thursday night.

The evacuation flight organized by the federal government landed at around 9 p.m. PT.

It's expected to arrive in Ontario early Friday morning. Passengers will then be under quarantine at the base for 14 days.

There were 211 people on the initial manifest for Thursday's flight, which was delayed by one day due to bad weather in Vietnam, where the aircraft was pre-positioning to go on to Wuhan.

Of those, 194 had indicated they intended to be at the airport for the flight, including 34 minors and 13 permanent residents.

Petal Wang, a passenger on the plane who lives in Toronto, told CBC News the flight was uneventful.

She said passengers had their temperature taken before the plane took off at around 2 a.m. in Wuhan, and once again when they landed at YVR.

Upon landing, there was a crew changeover and passengers were told to expect to be on the ground for up to two hours for refuelling.

Passengers, including families and young children, mostly slept through the flight, she said.

Wang said she was grateful to leave Wuhan.

"The virus itself is not that scary but because Wuhan has a healthcare system that's so overwhelmed, once you catch it there you won't be able to get help," she said.

"So people are trying everything they can to try to get out of there. And we're glad that we're able to leave."

Wang said there were some empty seats on the flight.

The Canadian Press

In an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said it's possible that some of those 18 who didn't ultimately board may have been prevented from doing so because they were showing signs of illness.

"But it could also be that they changed their mind at the last minute," she told host Vassy Kapelos.

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"It's a big decision for people. There might be situations where there is a family member left behind that's in hospital. There might be situations where someone is studying or working. I think we'll have better clarity as the days evolve."

Before boarding the aircraft, passengers had to undergo multiple screenings by Chinese and Canadian authorities. Anyone who showed symptoms of illness was not allowed to board.

About 50 Canadians who couldn't find seats on the charter flight will be allowed to board an American aircraft in Wuhan that is scheduled to leave soon after the Canadian charter departs, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said.

Canadian officials have documented five cases of coronavirus in the country so far and say the quarantine is necessary to ensure the virus doesn't spread further.
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump beat back a lawsuit by 215 congressional Democrats who say he has been violating the Constitutions emoluments clause by profiting from foreign government spending at his Washington hotel and other properties, capping a triumphant week for the president.

A 3-0 federal appeals court in Washington on Friday said the House and Senate members lack legal standing to sue the president because they had not been injured by his alleged conduct. None of the judges was appointed to the court by Trump.

The ruling is the latest victory for Trump, who was acquitted in the Senate Wednesday on articles of impeachment brought by the Democratic-controlled House and found his opposition in disarray following their botched Iowa Caucus.

Trump addressed the ruling as he departed the White House for a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina. Its another phony case and we won it three to nothing, the president said.

The court left open the possibility that a congressional lawsuit might be able to move forward if a majority of either house authorized it. House Democrats are still reviewing the ruling and have yet to decide whether to hold a vote on a new suit, according to a senior aide. Nevada Democrat Dina Titus, one of the House members who participated in the dismissed suit, on Friday tweeted her support for such action.

Supreme Court

Fridays decision was the second by a federal appeals court throwing out an emoluments lawsuits against the president. Another appeals court allowed a third case to proceed though, potentially setting the issue up for consideration by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Constitution bars presidents from accepting things of value, or emoluments, from foreign governments without congressional consent. The Democrats who filed the lawsuit had sought an order requiring the president to get approval to keep any profits from foreign governments and state-controlled companies.

The appeals court overturned an earlier ruling that found the Democrats had standing because the president deprived them of the opportunity to give or withhold their consent [to foreign emoluments], thereby injuring them in their roles as members of Congress.

Trump opted to retain his domestic and international business holdings, including the luxury Trump International Hotel located just blocks from the White House, after winning the presidency. In lieu of divestiture, he said he was transferring control of those entities to his sons Donald Jr. and Eric and to Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

In their lawsuit, the Democrats claimed the president has been enriched by foreign governments including those of Saudi Arabia and China.

Limited Decision

The judges did not address Trumps argument that profits from an ongoing business shouldnt be considered emoluments. His family-owned company opened the Washington hotel, in a building leased from the government, a few months before the 2016 election.

The lawyer who represented Congress stressed the decisions limited nature. It is important to recognize that todays ruling is not a decision on the merits, Elizabeth Wydra, of the Constitutional Accountability Center, said in a statement. The Court of Appeals did not in any way approve of President Trumps repeated and flagrant violations of the Constitutions Foreign Emoluments Clause.

U.S. Circuit Judges David Tatel, a nominee of President Bill Clinton, Karen LeCraft Henderson, who was named to the bench by George H.W. Bush and Thomas Griffith, an appointee of George W. Bush, issued the ruling.

A federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, last year dismissed an emoluments suit filed jointly by the attorneys general of Maryland and the District of Columbia, though the court agreed in October to reconsider their decision An appeals court in New York revived a third suit in September, after a lower court dismissed it.

The case is Blumenthal v. Trump, 19-5237, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (Washington).

--With assistance from Jordan Fabian and Erik Wasson.

2020 Bloomberg L.P.
In a massive revelation, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Friday, informed the Rajya Sabha that India had offered all its neighbours - including Pakistan to fly out their students from the coronavirus-struck Wuhan province. He added that only Maldives chose to take up India's offer as 7 Maldives nationals were transported along with the Indians in the province. Pakistan has maintained that the 800 students in Wuhan and Quebec will not be evacuated for 'larger interests'.

India offered to Pakistan to evacuate students

"At the time of our flights are in Beijing- we are prepared to bring back our own people but also bring back all the people in our neighbourhood. This was an offer made to all our neighbours. But only seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail that offer," he said to the Rajya Sabha.

He added, "Around 80 Indian students still in Wuhan. 70 students volunteered not to come. But the embassy is in touch with students and is monitoring their welfare."

Pak envoy against evacuating students from Wuhan, says 'Pak cannot treat coronavirus'

Pak envoy advises against evacuation

Earlier on February 2, Pakistan's envoy to China Naghmana Hashmi stated that Pakistan's medical facilities were not able to treat a patient diagnosed with coronavirus, in an interview with Geo News. Furthermore, Hashmi has hailed the facilities in China saying it was equipped to treat the Pakistanis stuck in Wuhan, advising the government against evacuation. She said the government was monitoring the health of the 800 students in Wuhan and Quebec.

Coronavirus: Manipur bans import of packaged food from China, Myanmar, SE Asia

Pakistan refuses to evacuate students

Similarly, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza too took to Twitter and announced that Pakistan will not evacuate students from Wuhan province in the larger interest. But he added that Pakistan has the capability of diagnosing Coronarivus in Pakistan. PM Imran Khan is yet to react to Pakistani students who have been stuck in Wuhan, asking to be rescued.

Chinese nationals mourn death of whistleblower who first raised coronavirus alarm

Pakistani students in Wuhan appeal to PM Khan

Pakistani students trapped in the viral outbreak's epicentre Wuhan have posted videos on social media "pleading" for help and compared their government's response with that of India, which doesn't seem to ruffle a feather in Islamabad. India, on the other hand, has evacuated around 650 of its citizens from China, along with seven Maldivians. Countries like Japan, Germany, Bangladesh, Australia have all scrambled their airlines to get their citizens out.

Pakistani student in Wuhan shows how Indian students are being evacuated by their govt. While Pakistanis are left there to die by the govt of Pakistan: pic.twitter.com/86LthXG593  Naila Inayat   (@nailainayat) February 1, 2020

Pakistani student appeals to Imran Khan government to evacuate citizens from Wuhan
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - Evacuations have been ordered as crews try to contain a smoky wildfire burning near homes along a dry Southern California riverbed.

Flames broke out in the late morning and quickly churned through more than 30 acres of dry brush in Riverside. Residents of about 20 homes along two blocks were ordered to leave as winds spread flames.

RELATED: Fire Watch North State Fires

Fire officials ordered water-dropping aircraft to assist firefighters in protecting homes on the ground.

The area about 55 miles east of downtown Los Angeles has received only a minuscule amount of rain so far this year.
WASHINGTON  As the fallout from the Iowa caucuses continues, Rep. Andy Kim, a swing district Democrat from South Jersey, has endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president.

Kim became the most prominent elected official in the Philadelphia region to endorse Buttigieg, who is riding high after finishing in a virtual tie for first place in Iowa, the first state to hold a 2020 nominating contest.

Most elected Democrats in the region who have announced endorsements have sided with Joe Biden. But the former vice president is facing sharp questions about his viability after a distant fourth-place Iowa finish. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Ind., is now arguing that he, not Biden, should be the standard-bearer for more moderate Democrats concerned about appealing to swing voters.

In Iowa, Buttigieg won 21 of the 31 counties that voted twice for Barack Obama and then flipped to Donald Trump.

Kim, 37, and Buttigieg, 38, are friends who have known each other for years. They were part of the same Rhodes Scholar class at Oxford University in the mid-2000s, and both have national security backgrounds. Kim was a national security adviser in the Obama administration, while Buttigieg served as a Navy intelligence officer in Afghanistan.

I know Pete, I trust Pete, and I believe hes ready to move our country forward, Kim said in a statement. Ive known him nearly half my life, we shared the joys of each others weddings, and we had hard conversations about deployments to Afghanistan and what it means to serve our nation.

He added: There were three traits that I look for in a president: Have they been tested, do they know how to make a decision, and do they have a strong moral compass and a capacity for empathy where they can put themselves in other peoples shoes. Over the years Ive seen Pete not only step up to face some of our nations toughest challenges with calm and precision, but he also truly cares about helping people live their best lives."

On Friday, former congressman and past 2020 presidential candidate Joe Sestak of Delaware County endorsed another moderate in the race, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, also citing her ability to perform well in swing districts.

We need a nominee with a depth and breadth of experience to govern effectively, a proven track record of winning in red and blue districts and states so we can unite this country again," Sestak said in a statement. He plans to campaign for Klobuchar in New Hampshire this weekend ahead of Tuesdays primary vote.

In 2018, Kim flipped a Republican-held House district in Burlington and Ocean Counties that Trump had won in 2016. Other Philadelphia-area Democrats in similar battlegrounds have endorsed Biden, including Reps. Chrissy Houlahan of Chester County and Susan Wild of Lehigh County. So has Rep. Conor Lamb, from outside Pittsburgh. Reps. Brendan Boyle and Dwight Evans, both of Philadelphia, as well as Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey also support Biden.

Another similarly situated Democrat from North Jersey, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who also won a previously Republican-held district, endorsed billionaire Mike Bloomberg Thursday. Kim and Sherrill had previously endorsed their home-state senator, Cory Booker, before he dropped out of the race.
Delhi's Patiala House Court on Friday will hear a plea of Tihar Jail authorities seeking issuance of fresh death warrants against the convicts of 2012 Delhi gang-rape case.

The court had yesterday directed the convicts to file their response by today on the plea by Tihar Jail authorities.

The prison authorities moved the application under Section 413 and 414 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and sought to fix a new date for the execution.

This came after President Ram Nath Kovind rejected the mercy petition of convict Akshay Thakur. So far, mercy petitions of Vinay Sharma and Mukesh Singh have also been rejected.

Meanwhile, the Central government has approached the Supreme Court against the order of Delhi High Court, which rejected its plea to separately execute the four convicts in the case.

The Delhi High Court had, on Wednesday, granted a week's time to the four death row convicts to avail all legal remedies available to them and said that the convicts cannot be hanged separately since they were convicted for the same crime.

A Delhi court had earlier stayed till further orders the execution of the four convicts -- Akshay Thakur, Mukesh Singh, Pawan Gupta, and Vinay Sharma -- which was earlier scheduled to take place on February 1.

The case pertains to the gang-rape and brutal murder of a 23-year-old paramedical student in a moving bus on the night of December 16, 2012, by six people, including a juvenile, in Delhi. The woman had died at a Singapore hospital a few days later.

One of the five adults accused, Ram Singh, had allegedly committed suicide in the Tihar Jail during the trial of the case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress on Friday demanded an apology from Union Minister Harsh Vardhan accusing him of "unparliamentary behaviour" and "trampling the rights" of Rahul Gandhi as a member of Lok Sabha.

The demand was made by party leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury during meeting of Congress leaders with Speaker Om Birla.

Party leader Rahul Gandhi was also present during the meeting held following a scuffle in the House with BJP members.

"I proposed that the concerned minister should seek an apology for his unparliamentary behaviour," Chowdhury said.

He said the rights and privileges of a member had been "trampled upon by the minister".Gandhi said his "rights and privileges should be restored" and the opportunity given to him for asking the question for which he was listed and entitled.

He said that his rights and privilege should not be bulldozed and he may be given an opportunity to raise the question on Monday.

The ruckus in the House erupted after Gandhi asked a question pertaining to a government scheme on medical colleges. Harsh Vardhan said that before he gives an answer, he wants to condemn in no uncertain words "the outlandish language he has used against the Prime Minister of the country.

Soon after BJP and Congress members nearly came to the blows in the House after Congress member Manickam Tagore rushed towards treasury benches and tried to reach Harsh Vardhan, who was reading from a paper. BJP parliamentarian Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh stopped him and other members also rushed near Harsh Vardhan's seat and into the Well of the House.

The House witnessed three adjournments on the issue.

Chowdhury said they had also told the Speaker that their members will express regret if they have committed anything wrong.

"I said our member suddenly rushed to the well due to the emotional upsurge that had been triggered by the minister himself. If anything is found wrong, we are also ready to express our regret," he said.

He hoped that the Speaker will intervene "firmly and timely" to address the issue so that the members' privileges and their rights remain protected.

He said Gandhi, who is MP from Wayanad, had prepared for the question.

"When his turn came, Rahul Gandhi stood up and mentioned the serial number of his question as is customary during the Question Hour. The Minister concerned is supposed to first lay the paper on the floor of the House in regard to that question. This is the normal procedure," Chowdhury said.

"But instead he started accusing as well as abusing Rahul Gandhiji on some statement he had made outside the Parliament," Chowdhury said.

He said remarks made by Gandhi outside the parliament had no co-relation with the question.

"So we protested. The way the minister rolled out a paper before accusing Rahulji, it established that this was a deliberate, premeditated way of accusing Rahul Gandhiji," Chowdhury said.Answering a query, Chowdhury said the protest will continue on Monday.

Gandhi had said while addressing a rally at Old Delhi's Hauz Qazi that Modi will not be able to move out of his house in the next six months as "youth will make him understand that without employment, the country can never progress."

"Narendra Modi, who is giving speeches, he will not be able to move out of his house in the next six months. The youth of India will hit him with sticks," Gandhi had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Repatriations from China must be through proper channels: premier

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 03:14 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Premier Su Tseng-chang () said Thursday that there will be no more repatriations of Taiwanese nationals stranded in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak, unless such arrangements are made through the established communication channels between both sides of the Taiwan Strait rather than private groups.

Su said that the Feb. 3 return of the first group of more than 200 Taiwanese was carried out without government approval or oversight and that such an incident should never happen again.

He noted that one of the 247 evacuees from the capital city of Hubei Province later tested positive for 2019-nCoV, becoming the 11th person in Taiwan to be diagnosed with the virus.

Many of those who returned to Taiwan in the group were not on a priority list the Taiwan government provided to the China side.

The premier reiterated the government's stance that China should provide a complete list of the people to be evacuated at least one day before they are flown back to Taiwan, instead of only an hour beforehand, which is what happened with the Feb. 3 evacuation.

The government requires that priority should be given to people with chronic diseases, those who need regular medication, the elderly and children, and those who are in Wuhan on short business trips, Su said.

He also said that negotiations on possible future evacuation charter flights should be carried out through Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) and its Chinese counterpart, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS).

Such negotiations should not be undertaken by private middlemen in the future, he added.

Su was referring to Hsu Cheng-wen (), a Taiwanese businessman and opposition Kuomintang Central Committee member involved in arranging the first charter flight.

Hsu, who formed a self-help group to help stranded Taiwanese, stands accused of being responsible for compiling the final list of those who returned to Taiwan Feb. 3.

Local Chinese-language Next Magazine said Wednesday that at least 20 percent of the 247 evacuees are not Republic of China nationals but the Chinese spouses of Taiwanese citizens who have permanent residency in Taiwan.

Hsu admitted Wednesday that his rescue association originally listed only a total of 244 to be evacuated in the first batch and said he did not know how the other three that were not on his group's original list were able to board the plane. One of the three was the patient who later tested positive for coronavirus.

Hsu said Thursday in a Facebook post that his rescue association did not have the final say on the list of people who came back to Taiwan.

He said that he only formed the rescue group Jan. 29 after the governments on each side of the strait failed to reach a consensus on how to repatriate Taiwanese stranded in China.

Hsu said his association is also preparing a list of the remaining Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan that will be submitted to both the Taiwanese and Chinese governments in the hope that they can be brought back to Taiwan as soon as possible.

According to the Taiwan government, the SEF officially contacted ARATS Jan. 26 in the hope that both sides could come up with a mechanism to send back Taiwanese stranded in Wuhan after the city went into lockdown Jan. 23 to prevent the further spread of 2019-nCoV.

The Chinese side, however, did not make an official response until Feb. 1, when Hsu held a press conference saying that his rescue association group was planning to help Taiwanese return to Taiwan.

Hubei Province's cross-strait affairs office then finally said it was making arrangements to help to repatriate the stranded Taiwanese.

A spokesperson for the office said Wednesday that there are still 900 Taiwanese people in Hubei who have applied to the province for transportation assistance and are waiting to return to Taiwan.

(By Ku Chuan, Yu Hsiang, Miao Zong-han and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/J

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Coronavirus is striking a blow to U.S. airlines bottom lines, as carriers have no choice but to wait out an indeterminable number of cancelled flights and decreased demand to and from China and Hong Kong.

Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation suggests that cancelled flights between U.S. cities and China and Hong Kong are costing the airlines between $313,000 to $1.1 million for each day those flights are cancelled, depending on the carrier.

The scale of changes and cancellations is unprecedented, John Grant, senior analyst with flight data firm OAG, told Yahoo Finance. There has never been such a swift response in terms of cancellation of flights as we've been seeing with this particular event... Its quite a dramatic change of strategy than was previously applied when SARS was here.

Frankfurt, Germany - July 17, 2014: United Airlines aircraft logo at an aircraft in Frankfurt. United Airlines is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL), Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) and American Airlines Group Inc. (AAL) comprise the group of U.S. carriers with routes between the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. All have issued temporary reductions and cancellations to service in response to health precautions, decreased demand and government advisories against travel to the region. Collectively, the Big Three domestic carriers generated more than $186 million during the third quarter of 2019 from travel between U.S. locations and China/Hong Kong.

A traveler walks past a display board showing of arriving flights a canceled flight from Wuhan at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Grant said U.S. airlines remain in a resilient position, compared to their Chinese counterparts, most significantly, China Eastern Airlines Corp. Ltd., (CEA), which has reduced its international capacity by more than 31%. Among U.S. passenger carriers, United runs the majority of U.S.-China routes, with service to the region representing about 5.2% of its monthly international revenue, according to OAG. The Wall Street Journal reports that China routes made up 7% of Uniteds total passenger traffic, last year.

The most recent data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation concerning U.S. carriers comes from third quarter 2019, which Grant said can serve as a proxy to estimate the airlines future coronavirus-related losses.

Story continues

"Houston, USA - February 6, 2008: This picture was taken in 2008 before the merger of United and Continental Airlines. The airline has kept the Continental livery but uses the United name."

During the third quarter, Uniteds revenue from U.S.-China and Hong Kong passenger routes, approximately 24 flights per day, totaled roughly $99 million or approximately $1.1 million per day. United began decreasing its service to mainland China the first week in February and halted all of its previously scheduled flights starting Feb. 6. The company said flights between the U.S. and Hong Kong will cease Feb. 7, with plans to resume service on Feb. 20. In a statement, United said flights to mainland China are currently planned to resume on March 28 while it continues to assess and adjust to the fluid situation.

We remain in close contact with the [Centers for Disease and Control] CDC, as well as with authorities in the United States and Asia, to ensure the safety of our customers and employees, a United spokesperson said in an email.

Delta Air Lines, the American carrier with the second largest number of U.S.-China flights, runs 42 flights per week, averaging about 6 flights per day. The company temporarily halted all service to China on Feb. 2. OAG said the routing represents about 2.6% of the airlines monthly international revenue. For third quarter 2019, its China-route revenues totaled nearly $58 million or approximately $630,000 per day.

In a statement to Yahoo Finance, a Delta spokeswoman emphasized the airlines China footprint as a small fraction of its revenue saying, While it is too soon to know, its important to remember that China is approximately 2% of our revenue.

Among the Big Three U.S. carriers, American Airlines derives the least amount of revenue from flights between the U.S., China, and Hong Kong. The company ran about 12 flights per day between the U.S., China, and Hong Kong before the outbreak. The routing represents about 2.1% of its monthly international revenue, according to OAG. Revenues for service to the region in the third quarter 2019 totaled $28 million or about $313,000 per day. The airline stopped all service to the region on Feb. 4, and currently plans to resume flights between Dallas-Fort Worth and Hong Kong on Feb. 21, and between Los Angeles and Hong Kong on March 27.

The airline will continue to review its flight schedule to ensure that customers needs are accommodated and make additional refinements as needed, a spokesperson for American said.

Grant said the planning horizon for most U.S. airlines at this point in the year likely extends no further than the end of October 2020.

Chinese authorities first reported the coronavirus outbreak to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Dec. 31.

Shares of the Big Three U.S. carriers were down slightly just after 12:30 p.m. EST Friday with United (UAL) down 1.53%, Delta (DAL) down 0.57% and American (AAL) down .74%.

Alexis Keenan is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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TURKEYS President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not an Islamist, in the extreme sense of the word. He doesnt wear a suicide vest, he doesnt behead people, he doesnt even go around holding one finger up in the air to signify his hatred of those who fail to acknowledge the One True God. But he certainly does like the Islamists a lot.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

TURKEYS President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not an "Islamist," in the extreme sense of the word. He doesnt wear a suicide vest, he doesnt behead people, he doesnt even go around holding one finger up in the air to signify his hatred of those who fail to acknowledge the One True God. But he certainly does like the Islamists a lot.

In the heyday of the "Islamic State" in northern Syria and Iraq, it was Erdogan who kept the Turkish border open so that thousands of foreign fighters and their families could go to join that terrorist proto-state, which was a descendant of Osama bin Ladens original Al-Qaeda organization.

More recently, he has stationed Turkish troops in Syrias Idlib province, the one remaining rebel-held part of the country, where Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, another offshoot of al-Qaida, subjugated all the other rebel organizations last year and now rules unchallenged.

Unchallenged, that is, except by Syrian army troops backed by Russian airpower who are gradually winning back control of the province in a slow, grinding offensive that recently captured Idlibs second-biggest city, Maarat an-Numan. So its no surprise that the Turkish army in Idlib is now firing directly on Syrian forces.

The story is a bit muddy, with Turkey claiming that four of its soldiers in Idlib were killed by Syrian shellfire on Feb. 2. But the Turkish government said it had killed 35 Syrian troops in retaliatory fire, and Erdogan added: "Those who question our determination will soon understand they made a mistake."

He also warned Russia, Syrias ally, "not to stand in our way." The Russians will take this seriously, since Erdogan deliberately set up an ambush in 2015 and shot down a Russian plane that strayed into Turkish airspace for only 17 seconds. But Moscow wont back down, so Erdogan is now playing with the prospect of a shooting war with Syria and Russia.

That would be enough on his plate, you might think, but he is also intervening in the civil war in Libya. He backs the Islamist-dominated government in the capital, Tripoli, against the rebel army led by General Khalifa Haftar that controls most of the country, and he has just sent troops to support it.

The troops are Syrian Arabs, part of the same Islamist puppet army that Erdogan used recently to invade the Kurdish part of Syria. His intervention in Libya puts Turkey into a potential confrontation with France, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, all of which back Haftar. So does Russia.

Nothing daunted, Erdogan is spouting the same tough-guy rhetoric over Libya: "We will not hesitate to teach a deserved lesson to the putschist Haftar if he continues the attacks on the countrys legitimate administration and our brothers in Libya." So there are a few more potential enemies for Turkey. His plate is getting rather full.

But Erdogans not finished yet. He has also militarized a dispute with Greece and Cyprus over seabed oil and gas reserves, to the extent that Turkish fighter planes are now violating Greek airspace almost daily. He has demanded that Athens demilitarize 16 Greek islands that are close to the Turkish west coast (making them permanent hostages, totally vulnerable to Turkish invasion).

France has now sent warships to the eastern Mediterranean, and French President Emmanuel Macron has explained that "Greece and France are pursuing a new framework of strategic defence." "Defence" against whom? Turkey, obviously. Who else could it be?

Turkey is still formally a member of NATO, so technically France and Greece are its allies, but Erdogan doesnt seem bothered by that. Neither was he bothered by the fact the United States is also a NATO member when he invaded northeastern Syria last October to drive the Kurds, Americas key allies in the war against Islamic State, from their homes in the border region.

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He got away with that: the Kurds had served their purpose and U.S. President Donald Trump just abandoned them to their fate. But is he really wise to take on almost everybody else at once?

Like Vladimir Putin in Russia, Erdogan is a strongman ruler who has to win an election every four years. Putin is perennially popular in Russia and wins easily  but Erdogan usually scrapes through with just over half the vote. The country is divided down the middle, and the other half loathes him and his Islamist policies.

One reasonably small and successful war might actually benefit Erdogan by mobilizing Turkish nationalism, but three at once? Against Russia and Syria on one front, France and Egypt on another, and Greece plus France and perhaps other NATO and European Union members on a third?

He used to be a fairly competent strategist, but he has been in power too long (17 years) and he has finally lost the plot. This is megalomania.

Gwynne Dyers latest book is Growing Pains: The Future of Democ

racy (and Work).
John Bercow's chances of another peerage were dealt another heavy blow last night after he was rebuked by the House of Commons authorities and a new complaint was reported to have been made against him.

In an astonishing statement, they slammed the former Speaker for naming members of staff without their permission in his newly-published autobiography.

The slapdown came after Mr Bercow was accused of using 'sexually and racially inappropriate' language by his former most senior official.

Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the House of Commons, is understood to have set out details of Mr Bercow making inappropriate remarks in an official complaint submitted to the Commissioner for Standards, the Parliamentary watchdog.

John Bercow has been accused of using 'sexually and racially inappropriate' language by his former most senior official

While Lord Lisvane declined to comment, senior allies told the Telegraph that his complaint goes beyond allegations of bullying and harassment to include examples of comments made by Mr Bercow in his presence.

A spokesman for Mr Bercow dismissed the claims as 'unadulterated rubbish', adding: 'As Speaker [he] made constant efforts to increase diversity and inclusion.

'His record as a champion of gender, racial and LGBT equality speaks for itself.'

Labour peer Lord Mann tweeted: 'I am delighted to see the House of Commons at last standing up for those who work within it. Nobody is bigger than the staff who work alongside them. Ever.'

Bercow used his autobiography, Unspeakable, to hit out at former colleagues who accused him of bullying.

A Commons spokesman said it was 'unacceptable' to identify staff for 'financial gain or commercial success', adding they have 'a right to expect that their privacy be respected'.

Lord Lisvane, the former clerk of the House of Commons, is understood to have set out details of Mr Bercow making inappropriate remarks

Mr Bercow now faces fresh bullying allegations from Lieutenant General David Leakey  the former Black Rod.

In a break with convention, Mr Bercow was not offered a peerage by the Government upon leaving his role as Speaker.

However, he has been nominated for the honour by outgoing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Lt Gen Leakey said giving him a peerage would be a 'scandal' due to his behaviour.

Last night Mr Bercow's agent said he had every right to respond to 'unfounded allegations' in his autobiography.
Kuwait's country pavilion will be a star attraction at the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai with a sophisticated exterior design inspired by the Kuwaiti local environment expressed by sand dunes and the symbol of sustainability, said a key official.



Estimated at 4,550 sq m, it will be one of the largest pavilions participating in at the Expo site.



Kuwait's Pavilion will be a major icon attracting the attention of visitors from all over the world, remarked Kuwaiti Under-secretary of the Ministry of Information Muneera Al Huwaidi.



Addressing a press conference, Al Huwaidi, who is also the commissioner-general of Kuwait at Expo 2020, emphasised that the government's keenness to participate in this international forum stems from the quest to introduce the world to Kuwait and the strategic projects and ambitious initiatives it adopts to achieve development goals according to the vision of New Kuwait 2035.



"Kuwait chose to have its pavilion in the (Sustainability Axis) under the title (New Kuwait, New Investment Opportunities for Sustainability) mainly buoyed by the vision of HH The Amir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to rely on renewable energy and in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Programme," she was quoted as saying by state news agency KUNA.



Al Huwaidi said Expo 2020 was an important platform through which Kuwait could strengthen partnerships and relations and exchange experiences in various fields with other countries in addition to highlighting its progress in various fields at the international level, especially the humanitarian role.



"The pavilion will the hub for highlighting the vast Kuwaiti skills and creativity in various fields. Nine exclusive stages have been set up outside the pavilion (booths) for talented Kuwaitis to showcase their skills before millions of visitors over a period of six months from October 20 to April 2021.



Al Huwaidi said that the fraternal ties and the distinguished and long-standing historical relationship between Kuwait and the UAE "is the biggest motivation towards an active and distinguished Kuwaiti participation in the event, especially as it will coincide with the UAE celebrations of the golden jubilee of its National Day."



Consul general of Kuwait in Dubai Thiyab Al Rashidi said the Kuwaiti participation was co-ordinated for more than four years through continuous meetings with the UAE side to ensure effective and successful Kuwaiti participation at all levels.



"Kuwait is one of the first countries that have expressed their desire to participate in Expo 2020, adding that Kuwaiti ministries have exerted concerted efforts since the first day to make Kuwaiti participation successful, especially the fruitful co-operation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information," he stated.-TradeArabia News Service
A 73-year-old villager was struck to death by lightning while weeding his maize crop in Lupane on Tuesday.

Acting Matabeleland North police spokesperson Sergeant Namatirai Mashona confirmed the unfortunate incident and went on to identify the deceased as Patrick Ncube of Mafa village under Chief Mabhikwa.

"Police received a report about a villager who was struck by lightning while weeding his maize field on Tuesday. Patrick Ncube was alone in the field when he was struck by a bolt of lightning and died on the spot," said Mashona.

She said the incident occurred around 4pm.

Ncube's body was discovered an hour later by a neighbour who passed by the field going to fetch water from a nearby well.

The neighbour Andrew Sibanda, aged 88, informed other villagers who alerted police about the incident.

Ncube's body was taken for burial at his homestead as Lupane magistrate Ndumo Masuku waived post-mortem after police ruled out any foul play.

The case was treated as sudden death.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called the signing of the Bodo agreement a new start for the northeast as he said a special financial package will bring in development in the area.

The Prime Ministers visit comes days after the Bodo Accord, the third such deal after two earlier ones in 1993 and 2003 was signed at New Delhi on January 27 with leaders of all four factions of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), who were demanding a separate Bodoland state, taking part as signatories.

The deal is expected to bring peace to the Bodo-dominated areas in Assam. With the signing of the accord United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I), which is seeking a sovereign Assam, remains the only major banned militant outfit in the state.

Today is the day for the entire northeast, including Assam, to welcome a new beginning in the 21st century, a new dawn, a new inspiration, the Prime Minister said while addressing a rally in Bodo-dominated Kokrajhar town.

Also Watch l Protected by blessings of Indias mothers: PM Modi counters danda jibe

Under the accord, a commission will also be given to fix the boundary of the area falling within BTAD. This region will get a special development package of Rs 1500 crore, which will largely benefit districts like Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri, he said.

He also raked Congress leader Rahul Gandhis stick comment, without naming him, saying people talk about beating him with sticks but he is blessed and protected by the blessing of sisters and mothers.

This is also Prime Minister Modis first visit since the state has been witnessing anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.

Modi govt is a symbol of new hopes. #BodoPeaceAccord is yet another testimony of PM @narendramodis decisive leadership and his efforts to bring lasting peace in Assam. Today, PM Modi will join people of Assam to celebrate this historic accord, Union home minister Amit Shah tweeted before the rally.

Last week, 1615 cadres of all the factions of NDFB laid down arms in front of Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal at an event in Guwahati.

The Bodo groups have been demanding a separate state of Bodoland for the last 50 years. The movement has resulted in extensive violence and loss of hundreds of lives over the years.
Belinda Drake withdrew her campaign for the Indiana House of Representatives in District 89 and has filed to run instead for the Senate in District 32.

Drake, a Democrat, filed to run for the Senate seat Feb. 4.

One of the reasons Drake decided to run for the Senate instead is because of the additional time those lawmakers have to push for their agenda. Lawmakers in the House hold their seat for two years, but those in the Senate get four.

I think at the end of the day, its just about our communities having that representation and that voice in the General Assembly, she said in an interview. Im the person thats gonna do that and get it done.

Drakes campaign platform is LIFE*, which stands for legalizing and decriminalizing marijuana, improving gun regulation, fair and inclusive policies, equitable education, and environmental justice.

Other Democrats filed to run for the District 32 seat, but all eventually disbanded, so Drake will run unopposed in the May 5 primary.

Republican Aaron Freeman is the incumbent. He is in his first term.

Drake began her run for the Indiana Legislature following an unsuccessful campaign to run as an independent candidate for a seat on the city-county council. She didnt get enough signatures to make the ballot.

Drake had to run as an independent because the local Democratic Party did not allow her to run as a Democrat because she hadnt voted in a primary, which is partly how county parties verify affiliation.

Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.

Belinda Drake sets signs on tables at a Dec. 5 kickoff event for her campaign for the state House of Representatives. Drake has since withdrawn and is running for Senate instead. (Photo/Tyler Fenwick)
07.02.2020 LISTEN

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has said that the party has not bothered to respond to issues related to the Airbus SE scandal because no ex-government officials was cited in any part of the approved judgements for receiving a bribe or committing any offense.

The party said not even the unnamed Government Official 1 (GO1) was cited in the approved judgement for demanding or receiving a bribe or for committing any offense.

At a press conference in Accra yesterday, Sammy Gyamfi, National Communication Officer of NDC reading between the lines of the approved judgements of the Crown Court of Southwark and the District Court of Columbia on the matter showed that the entire case was about infractions by employees and agents of Airbus and nothing more.

He said according to the approved judgements of the two courts, while the use of agents or business partners was common practice with multinational companies, Airbus failed to follow the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Conventions in appointing their business intermediaries.

Mr Gyamfi said the courts further found that payment by Airbus of success-based commission to their intermediaries was in excess of the agreed 5 per cent commission as captured in the transaction agreement.

Whereas there have been claims that success-based commissions were paid to agents of Airbus with the intent to induce or reward improper favour by the said GO1, it is instructive to note, that, there is no indication either in the approved judgements by both courts that any such inducement took place, he said.

He said the issues were clear when juxtaposed with facts narrated in the approved judgement of the Crown Court of Southwark with regards to countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan where the United Kingdom, Serious Fraud Office made findings on how bribes were actually disbursed to senior executives of Airline companies.

We can state with a large degree of certainty that the UK SFO would have stated that bribes were paid to the said GO1 if they had found so in their investigations.

Instead, they carefully chose the words intended to induce while there is no indication that this intention was actualised, he said.

Mr Gyamfi said to the extent that the said GO1 was not cited for any offense in any of the approved judgements, his or her identity was totally immaterial, adding that any infractions arising from the engagement and payment of intermediaries by Airbus SE were entirely its business.

He however questioned President Akufo-Addos motive in swiftly calling for an investigation into the issue when he had ignored corrupt-related issues such as doling a whopping GH 136 million for the private hotel project of his in-law, the missing excavators scandal and the missing 400 tricycles which were brought to his attention.

Mr Gyamfi said that the Akufo-Addos government was losing the fight against galamsey (illegal mining) since it has become a public fact that many New Patriotic Party (NPP) and government officials were engaged in galamsey now.

---Ghanaian Times






Higher taxes dampen firms' R&D investment



By Lee Kyung-min



Korea should lower corporate taxes to provide an impetus for the country's economic growth amid fast-deteriorating business conditions in the global market, experts said Friday.



They stressed that the government should promptly revise its tax policies to favor businesses here, noting that a drop in corporate profits leads to slower-than-expected growth of Asia's export-reliant fourth-largest economy.



Corporate taxes being much higher than the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average is one of the key drawbacks for a country already beset by the drawn-out U.S.-China trade dispute among other global uncertainties. The OECD is a group of 36 economically well-off countries.





Lee Kyung-geun



"Korea is the odd one out," Lee Kyung-geun, a senior tax attorney at Yulchon LLC said.



"Most economies  both advanced and developing  have lowered and will continue to lower the rate to help their firms gain a competitive edge in the global market. Korea is the only one going backwards."



The chairman of the International Fiscal Association of Korea, a group of 10,000 international tax experts, said the government's job creation efforts would be severely undercut without a law revision to lower the current corporate tax that maxes out at 27.5 percent.



This is higher than the OECD average of 23.5 percent. In 2016, Korea's corporate rate of 24.2 percent was below the OECD average of 24.4 percent.



Korea is among nine countries that have increased the rate over the past decade, including Greece, Turkey, Chile and Latvia, mostly nations that are undergoing a slowdown.



The government in his view has to understand that companies are job creators and a combination of unfavorable businesses conditions is forcing companies out, having them seek more tax-friendly environments that are more conducive to profit generation.



Otherwise, it will be too late.



"A slew of policies that companies consider anti-business and labor-friendly continues to weigh on firms, for which labor cost reduction is always an option. If companies decide to shut down here and move somewhere overseas, the jobs lost here would mean major economic hardship for ordinary people. The government should understand this," Lee said.



The Trump administration lowering the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent in 2017 can be a sobering reminder of what would happen if the status quo continues.



The biggest change in U.S. tax policy in about three decades came after tech giants such as Google left the country in search of lower-tax jurisdictions, a move Lee sees could very well be replicated in Korea.



"Korea should learn from this and act fast," the former economy and finance ministry senior official said, adding the country should look to Japan's drastic rate cut from 39.5 percent to 29.7 percent.



"Japan is experiencing a jobs boom as of late with some young Korean jobseekers headed there seeking employment. A case study could help show how the economy that experienced lost decades managed to take a turn for the better."





Korea Economic Research Institute (KERI) economic policy team head Hong Sung-il
Officials prepare to load supplies to the cruise ship Diamond Princess which is anchored at Yokohama Port in Yokohama, south of Tokyo. Health workers said 10 more people from the Diamond Princess were confirmed ill with the virus, in addition to 10 others who tested positive. They were dropped off as the ship docked and transferred to nearby hospitals for further test and treatment. (Image: AP)
Veterans of the Obama administration say that the candidates have a lot of work to do to convince voters  even those who reject Mr. Trumps worldview  to focus on their approaches to building alliances, using force and competing with an aggressive Russia and a rising China.

Every presidential campaign Ive ever been a part of, theres a commander in chief ad, Wendy Sherman, who conducted the day-to-day negotiations with Iran for the 2015 nuclear agreement, told an audience at the University of New Hampshire last week. Everybody says at least once, you know, You can rely on me at 3 in the morning. But the issues are rarely central except when were in crisis.

She noted that only a month ago, with the targeted killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Iranian military leader, we were on the brink of war.

And the Democrats, it turns out, even disagree on whether that killing was legal, or wise.

Differing views on the use of military force

Perhaps the most striking takeaway from the survey was that the candidates have sharply different views on what circumstances justify the use of military force, aside from responding to an attack on the United States or a treaty ally.

Their disagreements were particularly clear on whether they would consider using force to pre-empt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test  in other words, to prevent a launch that was meant to prove a countrys capability, but not to attack American territory, troops or interests. Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama each faced that decision and decided not to strike.

Most of the candidates campaigning as moderates said they would consider it: Mr. Biden, Mr. Bloomberg, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado and former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts. Interestingly, one of the most liberal candidates, Mr. Sanders, said the same.
By Earle Gale, China Daily | Feb. 07, 2020

The boss of British Airways' parent company believes the world's aviation industry will face relatively mild turbulence as a result of the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak.

Willie Walsh, chief executive officer of the Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company International Airlines Group, said he believes the epidemic will have a marginal impact on global travel demand, something he believes the industry is capable of shrugging off.

"The aviation industry is very robust," Reuters news agency reported him telling journalists from the sidelines of a CAPA aviation summit in Doha, Qatar. "We may see some marginal impact."

He made the upbeat comment in the wake of dozens of airlines suspending flights into and out of China, where the number of confirmed cases of novel coronavirus rose to 28,018 on the Chinese mainland as of Wednesday, including 563 deaths.

Many of the airlines were reacting to edicts from governments, including the United Kingdom's, to avoid all unnecessary travel to the Chinese mainland.

Walsh said the suspension of BA's flights between London Heathrow and its two main destinations in China-Beijing and Shanghai-equates to around 1 percent of the carrier's overall capacity.

And, he said, he does not believe fear of the virus will stop people from traveling internationally in the coming months.

Walsh also noted that the industry is healthy enough to be able to absorb any downturn in China's economy that might result from the impact of the virus.

Travel to and from China had started to slow ahead of the airlines suspending services. Data from Forwardkeys, which analyzes global aviation capacity, identified a 6.8 percent slump in outbound travel from China during Chinese New Year and a 7.2 percent fall in numbers traveling into China during the same period.

Reuters said Alexandre de Juniac, chief executive of the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, echoed Walsh's comments, saying: "This industry has demonstrated its ability to overcome these types of difficult events and overcome them successfully."

Barron's, the US financial magazine, reported on Thursday that investors seemed to share the optimism, as airline stocks bounced back following an initial slump in the immediate aftermath of disruption caused by the virus outbreak.

The publication said stocks had been buoyed by reports that a breakthrough in the development of a vaccine was imminent.

Despite the upbeat assessments, Visit Britain, the UK's official tourism body, said there will be an "obvious and immediate knock-on impact" for the tourism industry from the virus outbreak

Air freight, meanwhile, had a poor 2019 and that trend is likely to continue this year.

Full-year figures from the IATA for 2019 show a 3.3 percent fall in demand in comparison to 2018, despite capacity increasing by 2.1 percent.

It was the first fall in air freight volumes since 2012.

The IATA said the drop was down to weak growth in global trade of just 0.9 percent and slowing GDP growth in manufacturing-intensive economies. It noted the novel coronavirus outbreak will have an impact in the months to come.

"Trade tensions are at the root of the worst year for air cargo since the end of the Global Financial Crisis in 2009," said de Juniac. "While these are easing, there is little relief in that good news as we are in unknown territory with respect to the eventual impact of the coronavirus on the global economy. With all the restrictions being put in place, it will certainly be a drag on economic growth. And, for sure, 2020 will be another challenging year for the air cargo business."

The IATA represents 290 airlines that are collectively responsible for around 82 percent of global air traffic.
The Crown casino high-roller and junket partner known as Mr Chinatown - who is also a business partner of the Chinese presidents cousin - has been arrested and extradited to China for suspected money laundering and corruption.

Crown Resorts regarded Tom Zhou as a very, very important person and paid him tens of millions of dollars to lure high-rollers from China to Australia even though he was implicated in foreign influence operations, extortion, money laundering and had associations with drug and human traffickers.

"Mr Chinatown", Tom Zhou.

Zhou was detained in Vanuatu late last year but then flew to Japan and onto Fiji where he was detained again before being deported to China earlier this year as part of a longstanding international red notice arrest warrant. Fiji police confirmed on Friday that Zhou, a dual Australian and Chinese citizen, was held by immigration authorities before being flown to China.

His dramatic detention comes as his multi-million dollar gambling empire in Australia  built on the back of his dealings with Crown  is collapsing due to media attention and investigations by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. His arrest has also been noted by the Five Eyes intelligence community, sources said, and senior ministers had also been briefed, a source in Canberra confirmed.
Family, food, and hospitality  the same three elements that are representative of Houston culture are the same three elements that entrepreneurial mother-son duo Nadereh Ahly and Iman Yarjani bring to their recently opened restaurant Ember & Greens.

Located in the Memorial area, Ember & Greens fires up modern American cuisine with international influences, focusing on locally sourced ingredients for food that is both healthy and nourishing. With Ahly being the executive chef and Yarjani the marketing director, the two have been in business together for over ten years and are continuously looking to expand their businesses alongside their Houston identity.

The duo has not always been in the restaurant business. Yarjani was about the farthest away one can get from Houston only a few a years ago, volunteering as a field coordinator in Greece during the Syrian refugee crises. By the end of his experience, Yarjani felt as if the modern conveniences of American society can make starting a business a piece of cake.

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All the resources are easily accessible, everything is right there and easy to find, said Yarjani. Even the simple things were so challenging (in Greece) that afterward, the experience allowed me to operate at a new level.

When Yarjani came back to Houston he was hungry to start something fresh. He didnt have to look farther than his own mothers cooking to spark an idea. Ahly has been feeding her family, dogs included, for many years and after a vets suggestion that the two spread their original dog food recipe, Yarjani quickly branded and started selling Lola and Baxter dog food at the local farmers market.

Fast forward three years and Ahly told Yarjani: You know what? We had this success with the dog food company using the framework of my food and your branding, lets do it again with a restaurant.

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The two already had the space for a restaurant and a coal-fired oven, which is where they got the name Ember from. Then they attached Greens to the name, centered around the ethos of eating locally sourced fresh foods.

Although the family is Persian, they describe their menu as modern American because they use simple ingredients but with an international influence that gives their flavors a rich but not too overpowering feeling.

One of their more popular dishes, the citrus roasted chicken, exemplifies their use of simple ingredients like cinnamon and turmeric that make the dish pop while still being a health-conscious choice. The same goes for their Picadillo Samosas  a generational recipe that turns out to be their highest-selling dish.

Our food makes people say what is this? Its different. While still being approachable, Yarjani said. Our family has been making our samosas for a very long time. Its my grandmothers recipe with an Indian flair to them. That sort of intersection of the community is what this restaurant is like and what we bring to the table.

Being Persian is majorly about family, food, and hospitality, Yarjani said. When we moved to Texas, for us, the culture was very similar. We say this restaurant is very much like our family. We are Persian but this is not a Persian restaurant.

As Yarjani and Ahly continue to grow as people, the more their entrepreneurial spirit grows. Yarjani hopes to expand their businesses to Colorado and Los Angeles. Until then, Yarjani is in the process of getting more productive and finding (his) stride as an entrepreneur and build that moment toward (his) own personal greatness.

Ember & Greens is located at 9403 Katy Freeway, Suite B, Houston, TX 77024. For more information go to www.emberandgreens.com.

ryan.nickerson@hcnonline.com
Buttigieg narrowly leads Sanders in Iowa Democratic caucus as vote tally problems persist

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Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg holds a narrow lead in the Iowa Democratic Caucus, with the full results finally being released following days of technical problems.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Buttigieg narrowly defeated Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Buttigieg has 26.2 percent of the state delegate equivalents, versus Sanders' 26.1 percent, reported Bloomberg. Sanders, however, won the popular vote.

Third place went to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with 18 percent, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden with 15.8 percent, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., with 12.3 percent.

There is still a possibility that a campaign might call for a recanvassing of Iowa due to the widely-reported problems associated with the calculating of the results.

"What I expect will most definitely happen is that Mr. Buttigieg and I will end up with the same amount of delegates  11 now, each probably a little bit more," said Sanders about the possibility of calling for a recanvass, as reported by The Washington Examiner.

"That's what will happen, ain't going to change, and what certainly is not going to change is the fact that in terms of the popular vote, we won a decisive victory."

Buttigieg celebrated his narrow lead, stating that regardless of what happens next, "nothing can take away what happened on Monday, just an extraordinary moment for the movement that we have built."

On late Tuesday afternoon, the state party released the results of 62 percent of the 1,765 precincts reporting, showing Buttigieg in the lead with 26.9 percent on state delegate equivalents, followed closely by Sanders with 25.1 percent, reported Matt Viser of The Washington Post.

Third place went to Warren, fourth to Biden, and fifth to Klobuchar.

By Thursday morning, with 97 percent of precincts reporting, Buttigieg's lead on Sanders narrowed, with him having 26.2 percent while Sanders had 26.1 percent, according to The Hill.

Iowa Democratic Party officials delayed announcing the results due to a mixture of technological problems and inconsistencies in reporting, in what The Associated Press described as an embarrassing twist.

State party spokeswoman Mandy McClure said they encountered inconsistencies in the reporting of three sets of results, according to the AP.

The main issue, noted the AP, was that the caucus used a new mobile app meant to report results, however organizers had problems downloading and using it.

The app was developed by Shadow Inc., a Democratic tech firm whose leadership has ties to the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign that was paid more than $63,000 by the state Democratic Party for the app, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"Some Democratic campaigns, including those of former Vice President Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg, have used a Shadow-built app to send text messages to supporters and solicit donations, according to federal campaign expense records and people familiar with the matter. The Biden campaign halted its use of that app amid concerns about its reliability," WSJ added.

Party officials went on to explain that the key problem was a coding issue with the app rather than the possibility of hacking. Nevertheless, many expressed displeasure with the delays.

I think there were some significant failures in the process last night that should give voters concern, said Biden deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield to CNN.

During a call earlier on Tuesday, the Iowa Democratic Party Chairman told the campaigns that they would have most of the caucus results available by 5 p.m. Eastern time that day.

Even before the results were announced, multiple Democratic candidates claimed victory and shifted their focus to New Hampshire, the first official primary in the election season.

Days before the caucus, Sanders had achieved his first national lead in the Democratic primary, according to a NBC News/Wall Street Journal national poll.

Released last Friday, the poll gave Sanders 27 percent support, 1 percent higher than the 26 percent of Biden, albeit within the +/- 4.74 percentage point margin of error, reported NBC News.

The same poll had Warren at third place with 15 percent and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in fourth place at 9 percent.

While the Democratic caucus was rife with uncertainty, President Donald Trump easily won the Republican caucus, getting around 97 percent of the vote.

In the same caucus, former Illinois Rep. Joe Walsh achieved 1.4 percent of GOP voters while former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld garnered 1.2 percent, noted Politico.

Regarding the Democratic caucus and the issues they had getting out the results, Trump took to Twitter to call their process an unmitigated disaster.

Nothing works, just like they ran the Country. Remember the 5 Billion Dollar Obamacare Website, that should have cost 2% of that. The only person that can claim a very big victory in Iowa last night is Trump, tweeted the president.

This stands in contrast to the 2016 Republican Iowa Caucus, where Trump came in second with 22 percent to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, who got 34 percent.

The next state competition will be the New Hampshire primary, the first official primary in the nation. It will take place next Tuesday.
Over 1.4 million surgical masks sold on first day of new rationing system

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 09:48 PM

(The article has been updated with the latest figure from the NHIA )

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Over 1.4 million disposable surgical masks were sold on Thursday, when a new rationing system was rolled out as part of the Taiwan government's efforts to ensure a consistent supply amid fears of the spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV).

The new system got off the ground at 9 a.m. Thursday, allowing Taiwanese and foreign nationals to buy two masks per week at drugstores and pharmacies on alternating days, based on the last digit of the ID number on their NHI card, Alien Resident Certificate (ARC) or entry permit.

As of 9 p.m., over 1.4 million face masks had been sold at the 6,000-plus National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) contracted drugstores and pharmacies nationwide, according to the NHIA.

Speaking to reporters, NHIA head Lee Po-chang () said the sales went relatively smoothly on the first day, except for a few technical glitches with the computerized system, which were quickly resolved.

The biggest challenge was dealing with overload, as thousands of stores were simultaneously accessing the computerized system to verify the NHI cards, he said, adding that the situation will improve as the sellers become more familiar with the new system.

Once the customer's NHI card is verified, the actual sale of the masks, at a price of NT$5 (US$0.16) each, takes less than a minute, according to Lee.

Even before the sales began at 9 a.m. Thursday, long lines of customers were seen at almost every NHI-contracted drugstore around the country, and some stores had to issue numbers to help create an orderly process.

In the central city of Taichung , Chen Chin-huo (), head of the local pharmacy association, told CNA that his store had to triple its staff to handle the launch of the new mask rationing system.

On average, he said, each customer was being processed in about 1.5 minutes at his pharmacy.

In Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan, a man surnamed Shen () happily displayed his purchase from a nearby pharmacy, telling CNA it was the first time in nearly two weeks he had been able to obtain disposable surgical face masks.

Shen said that although the new rationing system was somewhat inconvenient, he was not complaining because it guaranteed a consistent supply to consumers.

A Chinese spouse from Chongqing, however, complained that two masks per week is not enough and expressed hope that the government would relax the restrictions to allow more masks per purchase.

Under the new rationing system, each purchase is logged, based on the card presented by the buyer, which helps to ensure an equitable system, health officials said.

Each NHI-contracted drugstore is being allotted 200 adult masks and 50 children's masks per day, the NHI said.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, masks will be sold to people whose ID numbers end with an odd digit, while on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays sales will be made to customers with even-digit last numbers on their ID, according to the NHIA.

On Sundays, anyone will be able to buy the masks, which are limited to two per person each week, the NHIA said.

However, Chiayi City Mayor Huang Min-hui () has issued a call for the central government to allow people with special medical conditions to buy more than two disposable surgical masks per week.

In response, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung () said the government will review the policy on a weekly basis and make any necessary adjustments, particularly regarding people with special medical needs.

On Feb. 3, the government discontinued a rationing system it had introduced earlier to allow the sale of three disposable surgical masks per person at convenience stores and other retailers.

Under that system, people had complained of long lines, quick depletion of stocks, and unavailability.

As of Thursday, the number of confirmed 2019-nCoV cases in Taiwan had reached 13, while the number worldwide has soared past 28,000, with 566 deaths, mostly in China, where the virus originated.

(By Wu Hsin-yun, Hau Hsueh-ching, Chen Chi-feng, Ku Chuan and Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/pc

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20 Japan cruise tourists nCoV victims

Global Times

By Xing Xiaojing, Leng Shumei and Xu Keyue Source:Global Times Published: 2020/2/6 20:13:43

Ten more passengers on a cruise ship quarantined in Japan were confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus on Thursday, bringing the total number to 20, including three from Hong Kong and one from Taiwan, according to the Japanese authority.

A total of 3,711 passengers and staff on the cruise Diamond Princess were quarantined off the coast of Yokohama, Japan for 14 days after 10 passengers had been confirmed to be infected with the novel coronavirus on Wednesday.

Among the passengers, 22 are Chinese, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare told the Global Times on Thursday.

Besides four Chinese, seven Japanese, three Americans, two Canadians, two Australians, one Filipino and one New Zealander have been infected, the ministry said.

The confirmed patients have been sent to a designated institute in Kanagawa Prefecture, the ministry said.

Japanese authorities have carried out strict checks on people on board and will ensure transparency of information to the public, an official from the Japanese Embassy in China told the Global Times on Thursday.

The official noted that none of the confirmed patients is in serious condition.

Tokyo Broadcasting System estimated that the final number of infected patients may exceed 100.

The Japanese ministry said that it is possible that the number of infected patients will increase.

In response to some media reports of medicine shortage on the ship, the ministry said they are actively working with related authorities to provide food and medicine.

Oishi Kazunori, director of the health institute of Toyama Prefecture, told the Global Times that people on board are required to stay in their cabins.

"The 3,700 people are sacrificing to prevent the coronavirus spreading to Japan," he said.

Oishi called for attention to the mental health of people on board as anxiety and panic may occur during the 14-day quarantine period in a confined space.

The cruise company, California-based Princess Cruise, canceled another two trips scheduled from Yokohama on February 4 and 12, according to the company's website.

The cruise ship docked at Yokohama, and carried out medical tests on 273 people on board on Tuesday, as they showed suspect symptoms or had close contact with a previous passenger from Hong Kong who was confirmed to be infected.

The 80-year-old Hong Kong man boarded the ship on January 20 in Yokohama and disembarked in Hong Kong on January 25. His infection was confirmed on February 1, media reported.

Between January 25 and February 3, the ship had visited Vietnam, Taiwan Island and Okinawa.

Several cruise lines have announced precautionary measures amid the outbreak of the novel coronavirus which originated in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

Major cruise groups, including Princess Cruises and Carnival Cruises, have enacted controls barring guests from ships if they have traveled from or through Chinese mainland in the 14 fortnight prior to the departure date of the cruise. Royal Caribbean took a similar action, but extended the date to 15 days and also included Hong Konga, CNN reported Wednesday.

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I first met the anti-vaxxers in the spring of last year, at the height of the measles outbreak. It was just after sunrise, in the dim light of Jamaica Station in Queens, New York, where we had arranged to meet a bus to Albany. As we waited, in the glow of the brake lights on Sutphin Boulevard, freezing rain beaded red on the stations glass walls. Most of the women were meeting in person for the first time. But they knew each other well from endless conversations on an anti-vaccination group on WhatsApp.

WhatsApp, more than most other technological platforms, illustrates an uncomfortable truth for journalists: we all have our own informational realities now. MSNBC viewers live in a separate world from Fox News viewers and a different one again from readers of the Financial Times. I wanted to explore how those realities work, and how they are likely to develop. The ways they undermine, and even replace, reporting. An issue as sensitive, and as prone to misinformation, as vaccination seemed a good place to begin. I had followed the anti-vaxxers conversation since the measles outbreak reached a crisis point in March.

In the days ahead of the trip upstate, my phone had been buzzing with WhatsApp alerts. There was mostly an overwhelming rush of links, often to YouTube videos and court documents, many related to the measles vaccine. A study on gene mutation and the rise of autism; data on vaccine preservatives and mercury levels in infants; something known as the Stanley Plotkin deposition, in which an American physician testified that he used cells from seventy-six human fetuses in the development of vaccines. Pieces of mainstream journalism were shared either when they supported the anti-vax view, or in order to skewer them.

Finally, the bus arrived. Were like the Underground Railroad, a mother said as we climbed on. Its so nice to be with like-minded people. Its very reassuring. I knew from WhatsApp that those who boarded at a stop in eastern Long Island caught the bus at 3am. Many of the seats were already occupied by sleepers crumpled under coats, their faces pale and still.

Though the United States declared the measles virus eliminated in 2000, an outbreak last year had caused almost a thousand US cases by the morning of our trip. More than half of those cases were in Orthodox Jewish areas. Most reports blamed the epidemic on those communities. Patient Zero, they said, had been a traveler from Israel visiting Orthodox neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Michigan.

The anti-vaxxers were traveling that morning to protest New York State Senate Bill 2994, which had been drafted in response to the outbreak. It aimed to repeal a public health law that allowed religious exemptions from vaccines. Our bus turned north into the bands of rain, onward to Albany, where the group would lobby State Assembly members to vote against the bill. Some had prepared signs: Parents call the shots. I do not consent! and If there is a risk, there must be a choice! Vaccines are the devils work.

READ MORE FROM CJRS JOURNALISM AND FAITH SERIES

Four hours north, as we stood on line outside the New York State Capitol, Christian homesteaders and parents who favor unvaccinated schools chatted with teams of Jewish activists in matching T-shirts. I fell in with a group of mothers and grandmothers, all Orthodox Jews. Did you have measles when you were a child? one asked me. Yes. And? How are you? Her laughter was light and kind.

The women fell into an easy patter. It was chilly, and we puffed the damp air as our fingertips turned numb. Whos your obstetrician, is he in the city? Did you hear about the baby boy last week? The pediatrician said he wouldnt have survived the stress of a hospital birth. How many kids do you have? Seven. And theyve all had the measles. More laughter.

We entered the office of State Assemblyman Robin Schimminger. The carpet, the walls, the tables we sat around, even the very air we were breathing, seemed brown, or gray, or whatever color lies between the two.

Female constituents crowded at the end of a long conference table closest to the door. Most wore the uniform of Orthodox modesty: black coats, long black skirts, thick beige tights. They had silk scarves over their hair, or else hats over sheitels, or wigs. Rabbis, in long black suits, black brimmed hats, and fringed gartels, or prayer belts, gathered at the far end of the same table. A tiny boy in a yarmulke and red Wellingtons moved between the two groups, then lay down on the carpet.

Schimminger was a no-show. His aide took notes on a legal pad. A young rabbi spoke first. Two of his children had been injured by vaccines, he saidthe second after a yearlong argument with the familys pediatrician. Only now, he said, did the doctor admit that his children carried a genetic mutation that made it harder to process toxins in vaccines. Three days after the rabbis second child received the vaccine, he had been hospitalized with a high fever. The child faced lifelong, chronic illness. The guilt is unbearable, the young rabbi said. The aide scribbled. Im a parent, he said. I knew it. Why did I allow the doctor to do that to my child? Were commanded by our Torah to protect our children.

Well, do you think we changed anyones mind? a grandmother asked me after the meeting. There had been more than a thousand in Albany to protest the bill that day, one of the mothers said. Another guessed two thousand, but she predicted the press would underplay the turnout and fail to mention any attendees except the Orthodox Jews, of course. (The Wall Street Journal reported that hundreds had attended. The New York Times did not cover the Albany rally, but ran an Ethicist column with the headline Can I Get My Anti-Vaxx Sisters Kids Vaccinated?)

For anti-vaxxers, journalism is merely a tool of the industrial interests that seek to push vaccines whatever the cost. The mainstream media never wanted to cover this stuff, said one mother. One of thema reporterhad stopped her and given her a business card. Im never going to contact her, she said. Never.

The Orthodox womens anti-vax WhatsApp group, by contrast, hummed with the kind of organizing momentum that more traditionally rallied around newspapers. Emails and phone numbers circulated for top targets at the Capitol, those wavering on how to vote on the bill. Alerts went out when legislators werent in session, so members knew to start calling. They pressed redial until they got through. Separate talking points went out for use with Democrats and Republicans.

None of the messages contained misinformation. They just shared abundant evidence to support a worldviewthat the media, big pharmaceutical companies, and the government were working in league to shove aside parents rights, and childrens needs, in favor of profitable drugs.

The group was, and remains, strictly private. There are separate threads for women and men. Most of the ultra-Orthodox community would shun participants if the messages or identities of the senders were made public.

I vaccinate my child. But I remember a cold morning when she was three and I rushed her to the pediatricians office. Her symptoms were nothing out of the ordinary, but I had a gut feeling something was wrong. Later that morning, my daughter tested positive for flu-B. By nightfall, she was in the emergency room with a fever of 106 and chest retractions, a symptom of serious respiratory distress.

Like the parents at the rally, I knew all about instincts, about doubting them when they were impolite or inconvenient, about the grim loneliness of being right about terrible things. I was a first-time parent with no family nearby. I had no medical training. No desire or energy to terrify myself with studies and statistics I could not interpret on my own. Nothing except an inexplicable certainty.

In 1996, geneticists from the Boston Childrens Hospital studied blood samples from thirty-two pregnant women and from eight nonpregnant women who had given birth to males six months to twenty-seven years earlier. Nineteen of the women were pregnant with male fetuses at the time of the study, and thirteen of those women had cells with male DNA in their bloodstream. The elemental building block of their babies bodies had become elemental to their own.

What if we just know?

WhatsApp is not a social network. Its mostly messagingtext, audio, photo, or video, to individuals or groups of up to 256 members. Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, reported over 1.6 billion monthly active users last year. There are 68 million in the US alone. As of 2019 it was the third-most-downloaded app in the world. Its users send more than 65 billion text messages each day29 million a minute. There are more than a billion WhatsApp groups.

Messages are encrypted, most likely to protect Facebook itself from any liability for what happens on its platform. That means users can communicate entirely unpoliced, and it is very difficult to trace the source of any piece of information.

Take, for example, a post that spread across social channels in 2019. The image is a still from The Matrix. Keanu Reeves, as Neo, holds up a hand and stops dozens of bullets in midair. I have an immune system, reads the copy. No vaccines needed. If everyone in the first group shared it, the Matrix memecreated by a single user unvetted, unsignedcould theoretically reach thousands of users. Two more rounds of forwards and tens of thousands of viewersa small citys worthcould see the meme.

At the same time, the average group size on WhatsApp is six. It feels intimate. Group members feel that they share the same concerns and worldviewand mistrust the same institutionseven if they dont know each other personally. Each is confirmed and supported by the others.

When the pediatrician told me that my daughter had the flu, I was scared, but I was also, on some fundamental level, relieved that my intuition was correct. I was heartened that I wasnt as crazy as the doctor had made me feel when I had first called that morning. I was comforted that the world seemed to match my understanding of it.

WhatsApp mimics the way we make emotional decisions. It is settling to ride on a bus full of people who share your beliefs. Its a relief to be right instead of mired, as good journalism must be, in endless nuances of gray.

And the feeling persists, even if were later proven wrong. In a 2013 study on the effects of political misinformation, Emily Thorson, a political scientist at Syracuse University, found that even after we accept a correction intellectually, false facts still alter our attitudes. She has a name for that insidious residual impact: belief echoes. It doesnt matter if we know that a rumor about someone in our communityor a political candidate, or a public health crisisis false. It only matters that the first time we heard the rumor, it made us feel something.

WhatsApp has swept entire nations. Take Kenya. Hostility between the Kikuyu and the Luo ethnic groups is deep-seated there. In the past decade or so, more than a thousand people have died in ethnic fighting. And by the 2017 election, 88 percent of the population had access to the internet through their phones. More than half of those registered to vote were young, and active on platforms like WhatsApp.

During the campaign, incumbent president Uhuru Kenyatta hired Cambridge Analytica, the data firm used to build momentum behind the Trumpist and Brexit movements. Soon, disinformation whipped across platforms, unchecked. The Communications Authority of Kenya accused twenty-one WhatsApp groups of disseminating misinformation and hate speech. Ten days before the polls opened, the electoral commissions IT manager, whom Kenyans trusted to prevent tampering, was found tortured and murdered. According to Human Rights Watch, in the months following the electionwhich Kenyatta eventually won, despite charges of irregularities and illegalities on the first ballotingpolice and armed gangs killed at least thirty-seven people in Nairobi.

WhatsApp is even more pervasive in India, with approximately 400 million monthly active users. Thats roughly 100 percent of all Indians who own smartphones. The numbers there doubled between 2017 and 2019200 million new users in two years. In the midst of that explosive growth, a WhatsApp disinformation campaign preyed on communities fears for their childrens safety. In 2015, there were an estimated 42,000 child kidnappings in India. By 2016, that number had grown to 54,723. In the spring of 2018, rumors of child kidnappings circulated throughout the country on WhatsApp. The most persuasive material included a video of a supposed abduction, later found to have been edited from a child-safety video made in Pakistan; dozens of people were killed in lynchings for a false crime. Others have been battered for wearing their hair long, stoned for sharing chocolate with schoolchildren, or blinded and hanged from a bridge for having a mental disability.

In Brazil, the app is the primary news platform for middle- and lower-income people. In recent years, yellow fever has spread beyond the Amazon basin, where the disease is endemic, and raced south toward major cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. An urgent vaccination campaign in early 2018 worked to immunize 23 million people living directly in the path of the outbreak, but disinformation on WhatsApp had already taken hold. A widely circulated audio message, from a woman who claimed (falsely) to be a doctor, warned that the vaccine was unsafe; another WhatsApp story inaccurately linked a university students death to the yellow fever vaccine. Videos went viral, stating that the vaccine was created to cull the worlds population. The World Health Organization reports 1,376 human cases in the outbreak, including 483 deathsa 35 percent mortality rate, presumably preventable by vaccination.

Journalists in those nations never stood a chance of reaching as many people as fastand as persuasivelyas WhatsApp did.

Though the measles epidemic in the US seems to be over for nowby this November, there were only eight new cases nationwidethe risk of infection remains in communities with low vaccination rates. According to the Centers for Disease Control, of the 1,276 US cases reported in 2019, roughly two-thirds occurred in ultra-Orthodox towns in New York State. Ten percent of US cases ended in hospitalization, and 5 percent developed complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis. The WHO reported more than 140,000 measles deaths worldwide in 2018, most among children under five.

Ultra-Orthodox culture in the US is based on pre-industrial Europe. The rules bind communities. Women dont drive. Most families do not have computers or televisions and read only Yiddish newspapers. The shomrim, an auxiliary police force whose members serve as security guards for ultra-Orthodox enclaves, pick and choose when to involve official police. Ultra-Orthodox children attend yeshivas, where often the only language spoken is Yiddish, and where the boys education in particular is limited to the study of traditional religious texts. Almost 100 percent of male students graduate yeshiva without a high school diploma. With very few exceptions, ultra-Orthodox Judaism is isolating.

The mother of seven I met in Albany introduced me to her sister. They both live in fourth-floor apartments, in buildings next door to each other. They practiced a form of nonstop communication from a pre-WhatsApp era: they spoke through their kitchen windows all day.

Its no coincidence that socially isolated communities are hard for journalists and public health advocates to reachand therefore more vulnerable to health misinformation. Researchers at the Meedan Digital Health Lab, a center that addresses health misinformation online, call the phenomenon in which online health misinformation contributes to the spread of real-world disease misinfodemics. In a new report, the lab found that online material purporting to provide health information can influence antibiotics and treatment regimens, responses to epidemics, access to care for serious illnesses, and vaccination rates. Misinfodemics drive epidemics of measles, Ebola, yellow fever, even tooth decay.

A vaccination doesnt just shield the recipient from disease, it prevents those around them from exposureusually those most likely to become seriously ill from an illness like measles. Babies arent vaccinated for measles until they are a year old. Patients with cancer, HIV/AIDS, or type 1 diabetes have weakened or failing immune systems and cant be vaccinated. A small percentage of the population has serious allergies to components of vaccines. Older peoples immune systems may fail to respond strongly enough to a vaccine.

If a sufficiently high proportion of community members have immunity to a diseaseby vaccination, for examplepublic health officials say that there is herd immunity. Herd immunity is based on a social contract of sorts. Those of us who can be vaccinated agree to do so in order to protect community members who cant. For highly contagious airborne illnesses like measles, the herd immunity threshold is 93 to 95 percent of the population. For polio, it drops to 80 to 86 percent. For Ebola, pathologists say 33 to 60 percent immunity can stop outbreaks.

But herd immunity assumes homogeneous mixing, and the truth is anti-vaxxers tend to hang out with one another. The more isolated communities are, the more susceptible they are to falling below threshold levels. The Amish in Ohio, a Somali-American enclave in Minnesota, and Russian-language immigrants in Washington state have all suffered measles outbreaks in recent years.

Then theres the free-rider problem, in which citizens take advantage of a benefitimmunitywithout paying for it themselves. Anti-vaxxers argue that their children catch measles, or whooping cough, or chicken pox, and so, although they arent paying the price for a benefit, they arent enjoying that benefit, either.

But theyre not catching polio or diphtheria. And for the rest of the population, the measles vaccine is attenuated, or weakened. A milder case of measles is certainly a benefit. So is living in a country where our institutions arent bombarded by widespread epidemics.

Though New York City schools had average vaccination rates during the 201819 measles outbreak, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a Hasidic enclave, had one of the lowest rates of vaccine coverage among young children, ages nineteen to thirty-five months, in New York City. A 2013 measles outbreak there, with only fifty-eight reported cases, cost the city $400,000. The overarching instinct among the small but strong anti-vax community there seems to be to protect their children from vaccines for as long as is humanly possible.

After the rally, anti-vaxxers sent prayers on WhatsApp, and shared links to articles and YouTube videosa lecture arguing that the US government conspired to fake the polio epidemic of the forties and fifties, an interview with a microbiologist who worked on fighting polio and described tumors popping up out of these hamsters that had been exposed to the vaccine.

But in June, the New York State Assembly passed SB 2994, striking down religious exemptions from vaccines. As Assemblyman Nader Sayegh voted to advance the bill through committee so it could be debated on the floor, anti-vax activists wept. God help us! one of them cried out. As the results were announcedthe bill passed by just one voteshouts of shame came from the assembly gallery. Unable to stop the screaming, the chamber recessed.

On the WhatsApp group, anti-vaxxers mused wearily about what the next disease du jour would be for the mainstream media. Members watched CDC meetings online to keep track.

Soon they turned their attention to the flu shot. The CDC has a marketing budget to put that on the news this time of year, a mother said. RSVrespiratory syncytial virusis running rampant in our community, said another. Not sure if its lowered immune systems from kids having too many vaccines, or from overuse of antibiotics. The HPV vaccine is a good moneymaker, even though it only decreases probability of HPV by like three percent in people with less than three lifetime partners, so I doubt theyll pass that one up. Days after that exchange, Senate Bill 298B was introducedlegislation that would require all seventh graders to be immunized for HPV in order to attend school.

Last month, word of the coronavirus outbreak hit. The anti-vax community feared that the threat of infection would be used as a tool by the media to frame a virus/panic vs. government/savior narrative. The messages flew back and forth among the anti-vax WhatsApp group. There is a facility where they were doing experiments on a coronavirus patient within 3 miles of the market ground zero. There are several coronavirus vaccines they probably just have to tweak, but, in fact, its better for them not to have so they can pass mandates while people are being sensationalized and scared.

There have been no confirmed journalistic reports of the existence of such a facility. Which is evidence, to the members of the anti-vax group, that it probably exists.

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Amanda Darrach is a contributor to CJR and a visiting scholar at the University of St Andrews School of International Relations. Follow her on Twitter @thedarrach.
Use of Force Next: Iran

The Context

Presidents from both parties have taken an expansive view of their powers as commander in chief, deploying troops and ordering airstrikes without explicit congressional approval and, sometimes, without an imminent threat. The Democratic candidates frequently criticize such actions, but they have been less clear on the circumstances in which they would consider military force justifiable.

Apart from responding to an attack on the United States or a treaty ally, what are the conditions under which you would consider the use of American military force?

Would you consider military force for a humanitarian intervention?

Would you consider military force to pre-empt an Iranian or North Korean nuclear or missile test?

Would you consider military force to protect oil supplies?

Is there any situation in which you could see yourself using American troops or covert action in a regime-change effort? If so, under what circumstances would you be willing to do that?

Is it appropriate for the United States to provide nonmilitary support for regime-change efforts, as the Trump administration did in Venezuela?
Post Malone got a tattoo of a buzzsaw dripping with blood on his face on Wednesday evening in Kansas City.

The 24-year-old rapper was seen in a set of shots getting the new ink, posted by his tour photographer Adam DeGross and Junction City Tattoo tattoo artist Ruben.

The rapper, whose real name is Austin Richard Post, had just played a concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri on the same day the hometown Chiefs had their Super Bowl victory parade.

The latest: Post Malone got a tattoo of a buzzsaw dripping with blood on his face on Wednesday evening in Kansas City

Chiefs standouts Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce and were among the 14,000 people who attended the concert, according to the Kansas City Star. Actor Paul Rudd was also seen in a social media shot greeting the rapper.

The Stoney artist opened his one hour, 25 minute set announcing, 'Im here to play some [lousy] music and get [messed] up doing it!'

The Rockstar performer chat last month with Billboard about a tattoo of a gauntlet he had done on the right side of his face at the end of December by tattoo artist Kyle Hediger.

'That was me and my friend Kyle,' the Circles artist said. 'We've been trying to get a face piece for a long time. We were like, "Let's just do it!" I'm already ugly enough ... it's time for my face tattoos in real life.

Another one: The rapper was seen in a set of shots getting the new ink from Junction City Tattoo tattoo artist Ruben

After work: The rapper, whose real name is Austin Richard Post, had just played a concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri

Poised: The rapper was relaxed as the tattoo artist worked on his face

As for the pain, he said of the tattoos: 'They don't hurt too bad, but I got these really puffy cheeks.'

Post also has the phrase, 'Always tired,' tattooed under each of his eyes.

While in the Midwest, the rapper also visited the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in St. Louis, where he was seen petting a horse.

No pain, no gain: The rapper said of face tattoos: 'They don't hurt too bad, but I got these really puffy cheeks'

Beaming: Post looked content after the job was completed

Look at us! Actor Paul Rudd was seen in a social media shot greeting the rapper
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - NEWPORT GOLD INC. (OTC Pink: NWPG) (the "company") is pleased to announce an upcoming drilling program at its wholly owned Manitou claim, located in the Burnt Basin property in the Greenwood Mining division in British Columbia.

The company is planning to test two flat-lying conductors located at a depth of 50 and 300 feet below the surface on its Manitou claim. The latter conductors were a result of conducting an airborne survey over the company's former property and retaining the only claim hosting the conductors.

An interpretation by Condor Consulting stated that the flat-lying conductors were modeled at the depths stated above, but they could not estimate the thickness of the conductors nor their lateral extent. Condor also stated that their interpretation was based on what was energized by the survey and did not necessarily reflect the full potential of the conductors.

The two main targets are the horizontal anomalies which cover some, if not all, of the mineralization, described below in 1927, at a 60-foot depth, and another deeper zone at about 300 feet. The latter zone is presumed to be another mantos zone similar to what was found at the Gilman mine in Colorado, which hosts many mantos zones.

In 1927, the Halifax claims were worked on at a depth of 60 feet and the mineralized area was said to occur entirely within limestone and to extend for a length of at least 500 feet. The upper zone is described as being galena, sphalerite and pyrite in a quartz gangue, while the lower zone is said to contain pyrite and chalcopyrite. Development work included open cuts and a tunnel located below the outcrop. A sample of the ore extracted assayed 20.5% Zn, 17.7% Pb and 10.8 oz/ton Ag.

Dr. Donald Kohls, a former director of the company and formerly in charge of Goldfields Mining exploration program, which resulted in the discovery of several multi-million ounce gold mines, felt strongly that the airborne anomalies represented manto deposits. The latter conclusion was partly due to the presence in several areas on the surface of high-grade values of both copper and silver, which make up the pipe portion of these deposits. He had studied the multi-million ton Gilman deposit in Colorado, a classic mantos deposit. This interpretation explains not only the host rocks but the presence of the very high values of copper and silver in the immediate area.

Dr. T. Hoy, a renowned expert in base metal deposits, has visited the property and also considered it mantos-style mineralization. He thought the presence of high-grade values of copper and silver in the area east of the Halifax mine was perhaps the keel zone of a mantos deposit.

In addition, the company is planning to follow up on the Gold Knoll property discovered in late 2007. It was discovered following up on a strong soil geochemical anomaly. Quartz veins in that area returned values of 43.07 g/t Au and 42.78 g/t Au. The former sample also carried 204 g/t Ag and about 1% Pb with minor Zn, while the latter sample carried 46 g/t Ag and .38% Cu. The showing is situated northeast of the airborne conductors and northwest of the Eva Bell mine, which is located on the east part of the company's property. Of all the samples taken in the past by the company, this was the first time high gold values have been found with this amount of grade-wise base metals.

Dr. Hoy thought the high-grade gold system at the Molly Gibson, just south of the company's Manitou property represented the deeper part of the base metal system on the Manitou property and the Gold Knoll showing would be proof of his geologic analysis. He thought that gold would be present at depth with and/or below the base metal mineralization.

About Newport Gold Inc.

Newport Gold is a Nevada chartered company (incorporated July 16, 2003) involved in mining exploration and potential development of mineral properties in Canada. Newport has also made investments in various mining processing technologies and is currently reviewing the status of those investments and intends to provide an update in the near future.

DISCLAIMER ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Statements contained herein that are not based upon current or historical fact are forward-looking in nature. Such forward-looking statements reflect the company's expectations about its future operating results, performance and opportunities that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. When used herein, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "plan", "intend", and "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to Newport Gold Inc. or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the company and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the company's actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The company does not undertake any obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or for any other reason.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Newport Gold Inc.

Derek Bartlett, B.Sc. (Geology)

President, CEO and Director

905 542-4990

Website: www.newportgoldinc.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/52220
Esperanza base is a permanent, all-year-round Argentine research station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica. (Gerald Corsi / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Antarctica set an all-time record Friday when a weather station recorded the highest recorded temperature on the continent at 65 degrees Fahrenheit.

The new high was recorded in a research station in Argentine - a sector of the continent claimed by Argentina - at the Esperanza base. The previous record was 63.5 F, which was recorded on March 24, 2015. Both readings were recorded by Argentina's National Meteorological Service, Servicio Meteorologico Nacional.

Argentine is located on the peninsula of Antarctica that reaches toward South America. The Esperanza base is located at the very tip of the peninsula, in the area circled in the satellite image below.

(NASA / AccuWeather)

Esperanza, while serving as a research base, is also a residential community that houses just 10 families, as well as the first native-born resident of the continent in 1978 named Emilio Palma, according to Atlas Obscura.

In 1959, Argentina signed a treaty that bans territorial claims of the continent. Esperanza was formed prior to the signing of the treaty, in 1953, making it immune from the treaty.

Northern Antarctic Peninsula high altitude view. Elements of this image furnished by NASA. (Elen11 / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

Esperanza is one of only two settlements on the continent, the other being a Chilean colony on King George Island, Villa las Estrellas.

The weather service sent out a series of tweets announcing the new record. According to the tweets, the record-breaking temperature was measured at noon local time.

In the Twitter thread, weather officials announced that another base in Argentine called Marambio also topped its own highest recorded temperature at 57.4 F. The record was previously 56.8 F.

The Marambio base is located on a small island off the tip of the peninsula.

These new highs come just after the warmest January on record for the Earth, The Washington Post reported, with many records being broken in Asia and Europe - and some temperatures in Russia climbing up to 13 F above average.

Story continues

James Renwick, a climate scientist at the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, told The Guardian the new record was likely due to the warming climate and northwest winds hitting the peninsula.

"The reason the peninsula is warming faster than other places is a combination of natural variations and warming signals," Renwick told The Guardian.

"It's a sign of the warming that has been happening there that's much faster than the global average," Renwick said.

He also noted that strong winds coming from the northwest and warmer conditions often go hand-in-hand.

But there was another factor that had a hand in the temperature record, a meteorologist at AccuWeather who specializes in global weather trends, said.

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Jim Andrews said that in addition to regional northwest winds "influencing the peninsula," extremely localized southwest winds were occurring at the base when the new temperature record was set.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

The local southwest winds caused the air to warm and compress as it flowed down from mountains to the south of the base, which sits at sea level, and Andrews explained this is why the temperature was able to climb so high.

However, not all of Antarctica was warm that day. The temperature at Russian research station Vostok was below minus 50 F on Friday.

Vostok holds the last record low temperature recorded in Antarctica, which was set on July 21, 1983, when the mercury dropped to minus 128.56 F. The station is located farther inland than Argentine, and closer to Australia and New Zealand. That extreme reading also stands as the lowest temperature ever recorded on Earth, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

"This is a record from only a single station, but it is in the context of what's happening elsewhere and is more evidence that as the planet warms we get more warm records and fewer cold records," Steve Rintoul, an oceanographer and Antarctic expert at The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, said to The Guardian about the new high in Esperanza.

Polar circle boat heading towards Esperanza, an Argentinian base on Antarctica. (brytta / iStock / Getty Images Plus)

A climate researcher at the Ohio State University, David Bromwich, told The Washington Post in an email that the peninsula experiences fluctuating temperature trends in the summer especially, and made note of a cool trend in 1998.

"So overall, this record looks to be a one-time extreme event that doesn't tell us anything about Antarctic climate change," he said.

Bromwich said, however, that the peninsula has significantly warmed since the 1940s.

Eric Steig, a glaciologist studying climate change at the University of Washington, told the Washington Post that "although there is decade-to-decade variability, the underlying trend across most of the continent is warming."

He predicts that it won't be too long before the record is broken again.

The new record must be reviewed and approved by an ad-hoc World Meteorological Organization committee, of which Renwick is a part, but he said that while the record is still pending it is "perfectly valid."

The highest recorded temperature for the entire Antarctica Region - which is larger in area than the continent and considered any land or ice farther than the 60th parallel south - was 67.6 F at the Signy Research Station, located on an island 2,515 miles north of the continent in the South Atlantic Ocean. The high was recorded on Jan. 30, 1982, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Sen. Bernie Sanders remains at the top of the Democratic field in a new NBC News/Marist poll of New Hampshire released Friday, days before that state holds its presidential primary.

Sanders, who is from neighboring Vermont, gets 25% of likely Democratic primary voters in the poll. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, receives support from 21%. The difference is within the poll's margin of error. The New Hampshire primary is Tuesday.

The latest poll shows that Sanders and Buttigieg are well positioned to capitalize on any momentum they have coming out of the Iowa caucuses, which were marred by technical issues in the counting process. The two candidates were essentially neck and neck in the results that were released.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren registers at 14%, good for third place. Warren hopes the state that neighbors her home of Massachusetts can help to lift her after a third-place finish in Iowa.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, who had a dismal showing in the Iowa caucuses, comes in at 13%, potentially indicating another disappointing result for the man who was considered the Democratic front-runner for much of the cycle.

The survey, conducted Tuesday through Thursday after the caucuses, measured 709 likely Democratic primary voters and has a margin of error of plus-minus 4.7 percentage points.

The survey also comes just hours before the next Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire. Seven candidates will share the stage at the ABC News/Apple News/WMUR-TV event at St. Anselm College: Sanders, Warren, Biden, Buttigieg, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, billionaire activist Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

The Granite State will hold its first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday. It follows Monday's botched Iowa caucuses. The state took three days to release results after a range of reporting errors, and both Buttigieg and Sanders have declared victory in a tight contest as the Democratic National Committee calls for a recanvass.

For Buttigieg, another strong showing in New Hampshire could give the former long shot the legitimacy and fundraising needed to stay in the primary race for a while.

A Sanders win in the state would further solidify his position near the top of the 2020 Democratic primary race. He hopes to make a run for the top spot in the third and fourth nominating states of Nevada and South Carolina, and has a polling lead in California, a prize on the upcoming Super Tuesday.

In remarks earlier Friday, Sanders targeted Buttigieg. He cited multiple media reports saying the former mayor was a favorite of billionaire donors, framing the election as a choice between those who champion the working class and those who represent the wealthy.

"Which side are you on?" he asked at a "Politics & Eggs" event held by St. Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics.
By Trend

The prestige of the Council of Europe has fallen significantly in the region and the world, as a result of the unprincipled position of this international structure, which it has been unequivocally demonstrating in recent years, a famous Russian expert and a prominent public figure and publicist Dmitry Verkhoturov told Trend.

The Russian political analyst noted that this international organization is in a serious crisis, as evidenced by unjustified criticism and manifestation of a policy of double standards in relation to various countries.

In fact, this European organization is unable to exert any influence on the processes taking place in the world; nevertheless, it periodically promotes the dissemination of false and completely unreasonable information regarding certain countries that isnt confirmed by real facts, said Verkhoturov. For example, if we talk about the PACE resolution regarding the allegedly existing political prisoners in Azerbaijan, in this matter, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is completely right in his assessments.

This resolution is unproven and legally insignificant, the political analyst added. In essence, these are rumors. PACE and the Council of Europe claim that they uphold the principles of law. So they should have been guided in this matter by the principle of law, in particular the fact that the burden of proof lies with the accusing party, and doubts about guilt are interpreted in favor of the accused.

If PACE or the Council of Europe believes that there are political prisoners in Azerbaijan, then they should have: a) presented their list; b) provided a legal opinion that in their cases there is no corpus delicti envisaged by Azerbaijans Criminal Code; c) provided a legal opinion that these people were convicted in violation of Azerbaijans Criminal Procedure Code, Verkhoturov noted.

Then there would be a completely different issue, said the political analyst. However, the reality is that neither of these things happened. If they dont even have a list of persons, then these are just rumors that arent even subject to discussion. Therefore, I believe that the unfounded accusation, and any sanctions arising from it, is no longer a defense of the law, but political repressions quite in Stalinist style.

The expert added that the rumors spread by the Council of Europe regarding Azerbaijan are deprived of logic and reason.

The Council of Europe is an international organization that was created to facilitate cooperation among its members, states and countries of Europe in the field of standards of law, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural interaction. Moreover, unlike the decisions by the European Union, decisions of the Council of Europe are not binding.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
SPRINGFIELD  Anne Miller of Citizens for a Palmer Rail Stop said her advocacy group already has more members commuting to Boston than the state thinks would use frequent rail service through the town under estimates announced Thursday.

That, she said, is without there being any trains today and with frequent traffic tie-ups on the Massachusetts Turnpike, parking hassles and expenses related to driving.

"They're missing people," Miller said Thursday at an advisory committee meeting of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation East-West Rail Study Advisory Committee.

Millers observation was a common one at a meeting where MassDOT planners released cost and ridership estimates for six east-west rail options. The cost estimates range from the modest $2 billion, for some improved rail service along existing tracks, up to the eye-popping $25 billion, for an electrified, high-speed rail line following the Pike.

The public will get a chance to speak out on the project at a public meeting from 6-8 p.m. Feb. 12 at the UMass Center at Springfield in Tower Square, 1500 Main St., on the second floor of the shopping mall. The advisory committee will meet again Feb. 24 in Springfield. A final report is due in May.

In general, as costs go up, so does speed and estimated ridership. The cheapest option would attract 11,500 riders a year. The most expensive would draw a quarter-million riders a year.

But that's according to state estimates that few bought into Thursday.

Ben Heckscher, co-founder of Trains in the Valley, said Amtrak draws about 20,000 riders a year in Northampton. And that was before frequent north-south service began in August 2019 with the launch of the Valley Flyer.

He said MassDOT estimates showed 60,000 riders on the whole of an east-west line in one scenario. And Northampton has a third that many now, Heckscher said. The costs estimates are too high, and the ridership estimates are too low. This whole thing is skewed.

A federal study completed in 2016 pegged the cost of upgrading east-west rail tracks at $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion, Heckscher said.

MassDOT officials said their cost estimates changed because construction costs and standards have changed. The passenger estimates are based on similar projects around the country and the world and what officials know about commuting and population.

1/15/2020 -Springfield- The CTrail 1:50pm train pulls out of Springifeld's Union Station. The Springfield to New Haven CTrail line has been well received by people who commute to the Hartford area. (Don Treeger / The Republican)

MassDOT said its estimates dont consider changes in living and working behavior induced by availability of rail. That is, the numbers dont factor in the possibility that people will move out of high-cost Boston and commute, or that rail service will lead people to seek jobs they otherwise wouldnt.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, also called for the benefits of behavioral change in the population to be considered. In Washington parlance its called dynamic scoring and it was used in part to justify the Trump tax cuts of 2017.

In the case of east-west rail, boosters say dynamic scoring makes sense.

The whole point of the project is to change commuting patterns, said state Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow. We need to get a sense of what the benefits of this project will be. There is a cost of not doing this as well.

State Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, said the cost of doing nothing would be further declines in Berkshire Countys population and more congestion in Boston.

We have a chance here to completely transform the economy of the commonwealth, he said. This is a generational opportunity. Once in a 100 years.

Jonathan Butler, president and CEO of the economic development organization 1Berkshire, said the region has lost 40,000 people in the last two generations.

"That's been the result of public policy decisions," Butler said. "And those same public policy decisions have concentrated wealth and population in the metro Boston area. Now we can make another public policy decision."

Another Berkshires lawmaker, state Rep. William "Smitty " Pignatelli, D-Lenox, spoke out Thursday against any options that would rely on bus service west of Springfield.

For this to work, it has to be Boston to Pittsfield, he said. A bus option is not good enough.

MassDOT said Thursday that requiring passengers to change from a bus to a train in Springfield or Worcester, or even just to change trains, makes the service less attractive. Its called a one-seat ride and its very much preferred.

Hinds said MassDOT is missing an opportunity if it doesnt explore the possibility of extending at least some trains 40 miles west of Pittsfield to Albany and New Yorks Capitol Region, which is a whole new market and provides more connectivity with New York City.

Richard Sullivan, president and CEO of the Economic Development Council of Western Massachusetts, said east-west rail is about equity and addressing the needs of Western Massachusetts.

No one should blanch at the cost, he said. Not when you look at what we spend on the MBTA. This is a transformative project that could change the character of the state forever. The benefits will be felt for generations.

Nancy Creed, president of the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, wonders about the cost of a fare. Connecticut subsidizes CTrail service from Springfield through Hartford to New Haven. A one-way ticket to New Haven costs $12. The 18-month-old line just had its millionth passenger, besting expectations and spurring residential development along its path.

What good is a train to Boston for me if the fare is $60? she said. No one is going to take it if it isnt affordable for a commuter.
An IndiGo flight heading to Kolkata on Friday returned to Ahmedabad after one of the Pratt and Whitney (PW) engines in the Airbus A320neo aircraft faced a snag mid-air, according to senior government officials.

"One of the engines of 6E125 Ahmedabad-Kolkata flight developed high vibrations mid-air. Therefore, pilot returned the aircraft to Ahmedabad," the officials stated.

In a relief to IndiGo, aviation regulator DGCA on January 13 had decided to extend the deadline for the budget carrier to replace all 135 unmodified PW engines on A320neo aircraft from January 31 to May 31.

Four Air Turn Back (ATB)/In-flight Shut Down (IFSD) events were witnessed on Airbus A320Neo planes operated by Indigo in a week during October last year due to the failure of third stage LPT (low pressure turbine) blades.

Therefore, stating that "desperate measures" were required to "put things in order", the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had on November 1 told IndiGo to replace the PW engines in 97 A320neo aircraft "at all costs" by January 31 or they would be grounded.

IndiGo on Friday said, "This morning, an IndiGo aircraft operating Ahmedabad to Kolkata was returned to Ahmedabad. During the flight, the pilot momentarily observed a caution message and followed the laid down Standard Operating Procedures."



"Taking a precautionary measure, the pilot landed back at the Ahmedabad airport. The aircraft was back in operation after inspection," it added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taiwan's Foreign Minister blasts WHO for shifting designations

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 08:28 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Taiwan's foreign minister Joseph Wu () on Thursday blasted the World Health Organization (WHO) for repeatedly giving Taiwan "inappropriate designations" and reiterated that Taiwan is not part of China.

".@WHO, what's wrong with you? First you called us 'Taiwan, China,' then you changed to 'Taipei.' You misreported the confirmed cases, & now you call us 'Taipei & Environs'," Wu said in a Twitter post.

"Look! Taiwan is #Taiwan & not any part of the #PRC," the tweet further read.

The tweet came in response to the 16th edition of the WHO Novel Coronavirus Situation Report issued on Feb. 5, which referred to Taiwan as "Taipei and environs" under a table of confirmed cases of the coronavirus reported by provinces, regions and cities in China.

On Feb. 4, the WHO's situation report listed the confirmed coronavirus cases in Taiwan as 13, which was three more than Taiwan's official tally at that time, but was later corrected.

The reason the WHO keeps changing its designation for Taiwan, a self-ruled island claimed by China, is unclear.

On Sunday, Wu blamed Italy and Vietnam's decision to ban flights to and from Taiwan earlier this week on "inaccurate information" provided by the WHO, which Wu said includes listing Taiwan as part of China in its epidemic report.

"The healthcare and flight information regions in Taiwan and China are administered by separate and independent authorities," Wu said at that time.

Vietnam has since reversed its decision banning flights from Taiwan after Taiwan's government made clarifications. However, such flights remained prohibited by Italy.

Meanwhile, foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou () described the WHO's "series of inappropriate designations" of Taiwan as "unfactual" and "absurd" at a press conference Thursday.

"We expressed our solemn protest to the WHO after Taiwan's objection with regards to the matter through its representative office in Geneva and several other channels was ignored," she said, adding that Taiwan will continue to demand a correction.

The WHO referred to Taiwan as "Taiwan, China" on Jan. 22 in its second coronavirus situation report. The designation became "Taipei municipality" the next day, then it became "Taipei" on Jan. 25, and "Taipei and environs" on Feb. 5, according to MOFA.

The first WHO situation report on the coronavirus, which was issued one day ahead of its second report, did not mention Taiwan.

Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday criticized China for preventing Taiwan from participating in the WHO.

China continues to ignore support for Taiwan's participation in the WHO amid the spread of the Wuhan virus epidemic and prevented Taiwan specialists from attending emergency meetings on the disease, MAC spokesman Chiu Chui-cheng () said at a separate press conference.

"The Beijing authorities wrongly cite certain United Nations and WHO resolutions and connect them with its 'One China Principle' unilaterally. These political maneuvers obviously violate the WHO Constitution and principles of international relations," Chiu said.

(By Emerson Lim)

Enditem/AW



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A "chronic shortage" of protective gear in the battle to stem the coronavirus outbreak could hit across the globe, health chiefs have warned.

Kits such as masks, gloves, testing kits, respirators and gowns are in high demand and increasingly in low supply.

World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, speaking to the agency's executive board, said: "The world is facing a chronic shortage of personnel protective equipment, as you might imagine.

"This afternoon I will be speaking to the pandemic supply chain network to identify the bottlenecks and find solutions and push (for) fairness in distribution of equipment."

Wuhan, China: Convention Centre turned into a hospital for Coronavirus 1 /16 Wuhan, China: Convention Centre turned into a hospital for Coronavirus The view of the Wuhan International Conference and Exhibition Center on February 4th.2020 in Wuhan.Hubei Province,China. Wuhan epidemic prevention headquarters started converting three existing venues, including a gymnasium and an exhibition center, into hospitals to receive patients infected with the novel Coronavirus Getty Images Reuters AP REUTERS AP Getty Images Getty Images Getty Images AP AP AP AP

Speaking in Geneva, he said the rate of new cases had slowed across China, though warned off taking too much solace from that.

"For the last two days there had been fewer reported infections in China, which is good news, but we caution against reading too much into that," he said. "The numbers could go up again."

Areas in the nation have set up rationing systems, as they attempt to meet demand.

Research: Technicians talking with each other as they work on samples in Wuhan / AFP via Getty Images

In China, factories have switched up their productions to make extra masks and medical clothing.

Car manufacturers are among those assisting in making the supplies, while Foxconn, which works in making iPhones, also reportedly said it will assist.

This comes as the number of confirmed cases in China hit 31,211 confirmed coronavirus cases while the nation has seen 637 deaths.
The minister of communication, Isa Pantami, on Thursday said his office cannot help Nigerians complaining about the newly introduced 7.5 per cent Value Added Tax that has caused increased phone and text charges.

In a statement issued by the minister, he said the communication ministry, which has a level of policy control on telecoms firms, is not mandated to handle tax issues.

He urged concerned Nigerians to approach the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) for more information.

Telecoms firms have already started implementing the new charges which has been criticised by many Nigerians.

The Finance Bill 2019 was presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari last October alongside the 2020 Executive Budget Proposals and 2020 Appropriation Bill.

During the presentation, Mr Buhari had said the bill, when passed into law, will fulfil five strategic objectives, in terms of achieving incremental, but necessary, changes to our fiscal laws.

The major highlight of the bill was the review of VAT rate from 5 to 7.5 per cent, the reform of domestic tax laws to align with global best practices (such as taxes of digital business and e-commerce) and introduction of tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets.

The president gave his assent to the bill January this year to kick off a new tax regime in the country.

Denial

The office of the Honourable minister of communications and digital economy, Isa Pantami, has been inundated with complaints and enquiries concerning the recent 7.5% VAT deductions on voice calls and text messages, by some Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), the statement read in part.

According to Mr Pantami, the VAT issues do not fall under his ministrys purview; therefore, he is not mandated to handle VAT.

Mr Pantami directed the public to consult FIRS being the proper institution for tax matters.

Many Nigerians have continued to complain over the increased VAT on calls and text messages.

Some Nigerians on Twitter said the increase is contrary to the governments promise to reduce the economic plight of ordinary Nigerians who will now have to spend more on communication.

Pls see the screenshot that indicates the 7.5% VAT charge is now being applied on mobile phonecalls I guess only the rich make phone calls in Nigeria? Where are the Buharinomics experts & Ajurian economists that claimed the increase won't affect the poor? Purveyors of poverty! pic.twitter.com/ihoGghTBID  The Revolutionary Seeker (WAEC) (@The_Seeker76) February 5, 2020

Y'ello Bryan. The Federal Government has increased VAT (Value Added Tax) to 7.5% across several sectors, including telecoms. The total amount payable on voice calls, data rates and all other products/services reflects the new VAT as appropriate 1/2 ~MO  MTN Nigeria Support (@MTN180) February 7, 2020

7.5% VAT deductions on voice calls and text messages? These people are ins**e.  Ayemojubar (@ayemojubar) February 6, 2020

My mobile network provider increases sms charges, citing VAT Buhari is a SCAM!  Mustyy (@mustyy09) February 6, 2020

Daylight robbery. This is an abuse of VAT. You only pay VAT when transacting and not for what you are using. You pay VAT when you buy a TV and not when using the TV. What is the Value Added Tax in calls? You pay VAT when buying Recharge Cards and not when you use them. HABA! https://t.co/LoPDQ5E6wi  Olu-ni-fi-se Joshua (@niphijosh) February 6, 2020

Lord deliver us from this evil people called "the government". 7.5% increase in VAT. Poor economy and no job or improved development yet "they" deem it fit to increase VAT. @AirtelNigeria you are not well o. 13secs for N8? What a change indeed!!! @GEJonathan God bless your tenure  Home Appliances PLUG (@iamVkel) February 7, 2020

https://twitter.com/oluwaseun_Top/status/1225643883389808645?s=09

We are in trouble in this country. They have introduced VAT in telecommunication, yet, they seek to borrow more.

WHICH WAY NIGERIA!!! pic.twitter.com/vdI6X77FJu  #END SARS NOW! (@RealObyno) February 6, 2020

https://twitter.com/Akmonabiodun/status/1225052768383176710?s=09

https://twitter.com/TunjiOgunsola/status/1224980335303319554?s=09
There is a common belief that when European colonisers reached Easter Island, the native society was in spiralling decline following the collapse of its native culture.

But research has now found the local people were building their iconic monuments in the 18th century, contrary to the theory that it ground to a halt in 1600.

By the time Europeans arrived on the island in 1770, the society was still functioning well.

However, the introduction of the Europeans saw it enter rapid decline as disease, murder, slavery and other conflicts ravaged the nation.

Their is a common belief that when European colonisers reached Easter Island, the native society was in spiralling decline following the collapse of its native culture. But research has now found the local people were building their iconic monuments in the 18th century

EASTER ISLAND TIMELINE 13th century: Rapa Nui is settled by Polynesian seafarers. Construction on some parts of the island's monuments begins. Early 14th to mid-15th centuries: Rapid increase in construction 1600: The date that was long-thought to mark the decline of Easter Island culture. Construction was ongoing. 1770: Spanish seafarers landed on the island. The island is in good working order. 1722: Dutch seafarers land on the island for the first time. Monuments were in use for rituals and showed no evidence of societal decay. 1774: British explorer James Cook arrives on Rapa Nui His crew described an island in crisis, with overturned monuments. Advertisement

'The general thinking has been that the society that Europeans saw when they first showed up was one that had collapsed,' said Robert DiNapoli, at the University of Oregon's Department of Anthropology who led the analysis.

'Our conclusion is that monument-building and investment were still important parts of their lives when these visitors arrived.'

Easter Island, whose native name is Rapa Nui, is believed to have been settled in the 13th century by Polynesian seafarers.

They survived and flourished for hundreds of years, despite limited resources.

The research took radiocarbon data from 11 sites on the island and compared it with contemporary records of European settlers.

The researchers conclude that when Spanish and Dutch settlers landed on the island in 1770 and 1772 respectively, the statues were still in good condition.

Limited contemporary records remain but they indicate they society was thriving.

However, when James cook arrives in 1774, he notes an island in turmoil. Throughout his upheaval, the native people stuck to their traditions.

'Once Europeans arrive on the island, there are many documented tragic events due to disease, murder, slave raiding and other conflicts,' said Carl Lipo, an anthropologist at Binghamton University in New York, who co-authored the research.

'These events are entirely extrinsic to the islanders and have, undoubtedly, devastating effects.

Researchers took radiocarbon data from 11 sites on the island and compared it with the records of European settlers. The researchers conclude that when Spanish and Dutch settlers landed on the island in 1770 and 1772, respectively, the statues were in good condition

'Yet, the Rapa Nui people  following practices that provided them great stability and success over hundreds of years  continue their traditions in the face of tremendous odds.'

Dating of the iconic Easter Island heads revealed the erection of the monuments was a gradual process.

A central platform was made first, and statues, crematoriums and plazas were added afterwards.

'What we found is that once people started to build monuments shortly after arrival to the island, they continued this construction well into the period after Europeans arrived,' said Mr Lipo.

'This would not have been the case had there been some pre-contact 'collapse'-- indeed, we should have seen all construction stop well before 1722.

'The lack of such a pattern supports our claims and directly falsifies those who continue to support the 'collapse' account.

The research was published online in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Rapa Nui is believed to have been settled in the 13th century by Polynesian seafarers. Most of its famed sculptures were from Ranu Raraku quarry
Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of AQAP, was killed in counterterrorism operation in Yemen, US president says.

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that US forces have killed Qassim al-Rimi, the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), in an operation inside Yemen.

Al-Rimi claimed responsibility for last years deadly shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three US sailors.

The AQAP has long been considered al-Qaedas most dangerous affiliate for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland. Trump said the US and its allies are safer as a result of his death.

We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm, Trump said on Thursday.

While Trump confirmed reports that al-Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the US operation was conducted or offer any details about how it was carried out. Al-Qaeda has not confirmed his death.





Al Jazeeras Andy Gallacher, reporting from Washington, DC, said the attack that killed the 41-year-old took place last month.

The CIA and American intelligence officials have been very careful after previous strikes proved that their targets actually survived them, he said.

Al-Rimi is a significant target for the US authorities. He is one of the few leaders that predates the attacks of September 11, Gallacher said.

He trained at camps in Afghanistan before going back home to Yemen where he was in prison for five years for plotting the US ambassador there. He broke out of jail in 2006 and is thought to be behind the attack on the US embassy.

In late January, a suspected US drone attack destroyed a building housing al-Qaeda fighters in eastern Yemen.

Also, on February 1, Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the attack had killed al-Rimi.

Shooting

Al-Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the December 6 shooting at the naval base in Florida.

He called the attacker, Saudi Air Force officer Mohammed Alshamrani, a courageous knight and a hero.

The attacker opened fire inside a classroom at the base, killing three people and wounding two sheriffs deputies before one of the deputies killed him. Eight others were also hurt.

The attack focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in US military training programmes and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets.

In January, the US sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had contact with child pornography, including in internet chat rooms.
Gardai say that investigations into six killings that took place in Cork since July are progressing well.

A woman, 37, was the third person arrested in relation to the murder of Timmy Hourihane, 53.

The former chef, who was homeless at the time of his death, was fatally assaulted and left outside his burning tent in Cork city centre on October 13.

The woman was released without charge on Wednesday night and gardai are preparing a file for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Two other males have been questioned under arrest in relation to the father-of-one's violent death.

A man, 26, from Mayfield was first arrested by detectives and another man, 37, was later arrested in the Midlands. Both men were released without charge and gardai are preparing files for the DPP.

Gardai recently travelled to Romania where they questioned a person of interest in relation to the brutal killing of Frankie Dunne whose dismembered body was found in the grounds of a vacant house on Boreenmanna Road on December 28.

Gardai have also spoken to a number of other people in relation to the father-of-three's death.

Cameron Blair

A teenager has been charged with murder following the fatal stabbing of engineering student Cameron Blair, who was attacked at a house party on the Bandon Rd in Cork city last month.

The juvenile has been remanded in Oberstown detention centre where he is to be psychologically assessed.

A man, 46, has been arrested and a file is being prepared for the DPP following the death last October of James Duncan. Mr Duncan, 40, was seriously assaulted while attending a soup kitchen in Patrick St on September 12. He suffered traumatic brain injuries in the assault and died one month later in the Intensive Care Unit at Cork University Hospital.

Two people have been charged in relation to the death of Paul Jones, 55. Mr Jones sustained a violent assault in which he was stabbed a number of times and received a serious injury to his head. He was found dead in his home on Bandon Rd in September.

His sister, Helen Jones, and Keith OHara who lived with Ms Jones, were charged with trespass-related charges. A file on the case was sent to the DPP on December 10.

A woman has also been charged with murder following the death of toddler Santina Cawley. Santina died on July 5 after she was rushed to hospital with serious injuries from an apartment on Boreenmanna Rd.
London: The High Court of England and Wales here on Friday will set the terms for the "conditional order" of a payment into court it had granted to three Chinese banks last year against Reliance Communications boss Anil Ambani.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around $925 million in February 2012.

Ambani denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At the last hearing in the case in December last year, Justice David Waksman said he was "very nearly prepared" to grant judgment against Ambani because he found the Reliance Communications (RCom) chief's evidence "inexplicably incomplete, implausible and highly unlikely".

"I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false? I consider that this is a plain case for the making of a conditional order," Justice Waksman said, as he granted a conditional order in principle to the Chinese banks.

Live TV

The order means the Commercial Division of the High Court will hear arguments this week on Ambani's financial means and set an appropriate amount as an effective court deposit, pending a full trial in the case.

The focus of Ambani's evidence at the hearing last year revolved around a Power of Attorney (POA), which he claims he was unaware was being required as security by the banks.

There are references to a non-binding "comfort letter" and RCom executives, including Hasit Shukla, who allegedly kept him in the dark over the true nature of any personal guarantee.

"The essential thrust of Ambani's evidence is not merely that he was unaware that the POA was in respect of a guarantee, he was never aware at any stage that this was being required as security by the bank. He had no inkling of it at all," notes the judgment dated December 16, 2019.

"A truly remarkable feature of Ambani's case is that he has himself proffered no explanation as to why he should have been deceived in this way, nor has he provided any evidence as to what he did when he discovered, in early 2017, the existence of the guarantee signed by Shukla," the judge noted.

According to court documents, RCom had sought the loan from the Chinese banks in order to meet its obligations under certain foreign currency convertible bonds due to mature on March 1, 2012. It went on to default on the payments agreed under the loan arrangement and between February and November 2017, the banks made various demands for payment.

On May 24, 2019, the banks eventually issued an application for summary judgment, alternatively for a conditional order requiring Ambani to pay into court all or some of the sum claimed "on the basis that on any view his defence is improbable".

Following the hearing on Friday, the judge may give his verdict on the amount to be paid into the court or reserve judgment to be handed down at a later date.
BURNABY, BC, Feb. 6, 2020 /CNW/ - Acuva Technologies Inc. ("Acuva" or "the Company") today announced the closing of a $5.4M growth financing with a syndicate of existing and new investors to deliver the Company's innovative drinking water purification systems to global consumers.

"Securing this round of financing is further validation of Acuva's vision to enable clean drinking water globally and is a testament to the market's appetite for our technology and products," said Manoj Singh, CEO of Acuva.

The proceeds of the financing will be used to meet the rapidly growing demand for Acuva's proprietary products in global markets and to fund the growth of the Company's teams both in Canada and abroad.

Acuva has established global leadership is UV-LED disinfection technology and secured partnerships with several major international Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to commercialize its Strike series of products encompassing proprietary IntenseBeamTM technology.

Acuva's proprietary IntenseBeamTM technology, developed in partnership with the University of British Columbia, combines the proven performance of UV disinfection with the energy efficiency of LEDs, maximizing available UV power through optical lensing. This purifies drinking water with microbial disinfection rates up to 99.9999% to protect health and safety without adding any chemicals into the water, all without requiring any maintenance or ongoing servicing needs.

Through its Strike platform of customizable UVC-LED drinking water disinfection modules, Acuva is helping to make safe drinking water more accessible around the world.

"We look forward to continuing our work in enabling clean drinking water and beyond," said Singh, "We are in a strong position to capitalize on our many growth opportunities and momentum."

About Acuva Technologies Inc.

Acuva is a Burnaby-based clean technology company focused on delivering point-of-use water purification systems using leading-edge, proprietary UltraViolet Light Emitting Diode (UV-LED) technology developed at the University of British Columbia.

More information about Acuva is available at www.acuvatech.com .

SOURCE Acuva Technologies

For further information: Mr. Manoj Singh, President & CEO, (604) 771-0165, [email protected]; Mr. Michael Walsh, Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development, (604) 218-2661, [email protected]

Related Links

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A diabetic woman has claimed she was left without insulin for more than eight hours after easyJet staff refused her access to her hand luggage during a delay.

Adele Napier, 30, had been on a flight with her family from Hugharda Airport, Egypt, to London Stansted on Monday, February 3.

But the plane had to be diverted via Italy to allow for a change of crew, which meant all passengers were 'locked' inside a holding room at Milan Airport.

Ms Napier claims it was there that her hand luggage containing the insulin was taken away from her - with staff stating that it needed to be put in the hold for the second-leg of the journey as it would be too big to go back into the overhead lockers.

Adele Napier, 30, (pictured with her partner Nathan Fagg) had been on a flight from Hugharda Airport, Egypt, to London Stansted on Monday, February 3 when it was diverted via Italy

Ms Napier, from Dover, Kent, said that she had later tried to retrieve her medication but claims she was told to 'go away' by airport staff.

She was unable to access her medication until the flight eventually landed in London several hours later.

Adele said: 'It was like we were cattle being locked in a room with out fresh air water or any contact with staff.

'People were becoming very agitated and it was just horrific. Children sleeping on the dirty floor, it's made us as a family never want to fly with easyJet again.

'My diabetes became very unstable as stress drastically effects my sugar levels.

'I had a low blood sugar and had nothing to correct it no sugar or carbohydrates, it was awful.

'I didn't access my insulin until we landed at Stansted.

'Even then I couldn't use it as insulin freezes at those temperatures so had to wait until I got home. In total they ruined 10 of my insulin pens.'



Ms Napier claims it was at Milan Airport (pictured) that her hand luggage containing the insulin was taken off her with staff stating that it needed to be put in the hold on the second-leg of the journey as it would be too big to go back into the overhead lockers

The flight, which should have taken six hours, ended up taking nearer 16 due to the change in cabin crew that was required

Adele took to social media the next day to express her disappointment.

She wrote: 'Absolutely shocking how myself, my partner and my children were treated.

'First a 2hr 45min delay at Hurghada airport, where all the decent food places were closed so was unable to adequately feed my children.

'Then a stop off in Milan that turned into 4hr 45min wait locked in a holding room, unable to leave to get fresh air.

'I was told my ten-month-old baby had to sleep on the floor.

'No food or drinks for the first two and a half hours and told by an easyJet staff member if we wanted to drink water to use the tap in the bathroom.

'I was lied to about when we were getting on the plane to come home on more than one occasion.

'Genuinely never flying easy jet again, was supposed to be home at 11.55pm on the 3rd of February only to arrive at 9.30am today.'

Ms Napier (pictured with her two children Alfie and Emmie) took to social media the next day to express her disappointment

Her post prompted others to come forward about the ordeal.

Ros Sones wrote: 'I was there absolutely shameful, used Easy Jet many many times. Never again we were treated worse than cattle.'

Roberto Jupp Snr added: 'Total disgrace and a very stressful and unpleasant situation for everybody. Never using Easyjet again.'

The flight, which should have taken six hours, ended up taking nearer 16.

Ms Napier, along with the other passengers, has since been sent a generic compensation email.

EasyJet has apologised for the delay.

A spokesman for the company said: 'We are sorry for the inconvenience caused by the diversion and delay.

'On the outbound flight the aircraft diverted to Milan so engineers could resolve a technical issue.

'Due to the delay this caused, the crew were unable to operate the full return flight as they would exceed their legally permitted flying hours, so the aircraft diverted to Milan for a crew change.

'A complimentary service was offered on board before landing in Milan and refreshment vouchers issued, although we understand there were limited options available to redeem them due the time of day.

EasyJet has since apologised for the 'inconvenience caused by the diversion and delay' (stock image)

Ms Napier, along with the other passengers who had been on the flight, has since been sent a generic compensation email

'Breakfast boxes were also provided to customers.

'We would like to apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused.

'It is not correct that customers were locked in a room, however they remained airside.

'We would always advise passengers to keep any important medication in their hand luggage rather than in the aircraft hold.'

But, in response, Ms Napier reiterated her ordeal and said: 'My hand-luggage suitcase was taken off me at the Italian airport and put in the hold!

'They didn't even let me take it out and when I tried to explain it had important medication in I was told to go away.'
Not counting the recent State of the Union address, President Donald Trump has lied or made misleading statements more than 16,000 times in the last three years. Small lies, big lies, lies that threaten U.S. security. However, the biggest lie this year was possibly the one told by Chief Justice John Roberts when he called the Senate the greatest deliberative body in the world. Perhaps once upon a time that was true, but no longer, now that over half of its members are the willing lackeys of a demagogue.

Second in momentous effect on America were the lies told by Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio and 50 other senators when they swore an oath to be fair and impartial voters in the impeachment trial. They then refused to hear any witness testimony, having decided before the start of the trial to acquit and not wanting to have their prejudices challenged. Only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney, showed any backbone, any interest in learning the truth, and the rest have thrown him to the wolves. The U.S. Constitution has often been called a living document. After numerous attempts, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may have finally managed to murder it.

Gregory Leyes,

Mentor
Six executives with Houston refining company Citgo have been hauled back into custody in Venezuela after that nations opposition leader, Juan Guaido, met with President Donald Trump at the White House.

Citgo executives Jose Luis Zambrano, Alirio Zambrano, Jorge Toledo, Tomeu Vadell, Gustavo Cardenas and Jose Pereira had spent the past two months under house arrest in Caracas after their November 2017 arrest in Venezuela.

Five of the men known as the Citgo 6 are naturalized U.S. citizens, while the other is a legal resident. While working in Texas and Louisiana, the men were called to a meeting at Citgos parent company, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, in Caracas, where they were arrested on corruption charges  allegations they deny.

Held for more than two years without trial, the men were placed under house arrest by a judge in December. But hours after Guaidos meeting with Trump, the men were again in official custody, family members confirmed Thursday.

The Trump administration recognizes Guaido as Venezuelas president after a disputed 2018 election in which incumbent Nicolas Maduro claimed victory. The U.S. administration has imposed crippling sanctions, unsuccessfully aimed at unseating Maduro, that have left the nation with chronic shortages of electricity, food, medicine and other necessities.

Because there was no judges order to take the men back into custody, family members of the men were puzzled by the arrests. Cristina Vadell, Tomeau Vadells daughter who lives in Louisiana, said a family attorney confirmed he was taken into custody.

For 16 hours we didnt know where he was, Cristina Vadell said. Is he taking his medications? Is he eating? Is he sleeping? We dont know.

Politics: Citgo Six released under house arrest in Venezuela

While under house arrest, Tomeu Vadell stayed in the Caracas apartment of a family friend, sleeping on a mattress on the floor, she said. Family members sent food, medicine, vitamins and other supplies, and talked with him over a landline phone.

Even though there were some improvements, there were some new challenges, Cristina Vadell said. Every time I talked to him on the phone, he mentioned that he expressed an interest in coming home.

But those communications were cut short Wednesday. Vadells mother, Dennysse Vadell, last spoke with him at 4 p.m. Wednesday. A couple of hours later, they learned from the family of another jailed Citgo executive that their loved one had been taken into custody. They tried calling him, but nobody answered. Their fears were confirmed by the familys attorney Thursday.

Even under Venezuelan law, you cant hold someone for two years without a trial, Cristina said. Under Venezuelan law, you should be released when that happens. So, were not asking for any special treatment.

Fuel Fix: Get energy news sent directly to your inbox

In a Thursday afternoon statement, Citgo reiterated the companys support for the families of its jailed executives and called for them to be released.

"Citgo believes that the detention of these men violates their fundamental human rights, including the right to due process under law, the company said. We pray for their safety, and for their families as they contend with all of the challenges presented by this lengthy separation from their loved ones. We continue to support the detainees families, and we are grateful for the efforts of this administration and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to bring these men home.

Sanctions: Houston companies caught in political tug-of-war over Venezuela

Julian Cardenas, a law professor at the University of Houston who sits on the Guaido-appointed board of directors for Petroleos de Venezula SA, said the arrests come at a time when the Trump administration is increasing pressure on the Maduro regime.

It also comes at a time when Guaido is building support by touring Europe, Canada and the United States. The Venezuelan leader was a guest at Trumps State of the Union address Tuesday, a day before the White House meeting.

Retaking the men into official custody, Cardenas says, appears to be a political tit for tat.

One event was apparently retaliation for the other, he said.

sergio.chapa@chron.com

@SergioChapa on Twitter
Delhi votes on Saturday (February 8, 2020) to elect a new 70-member Assembly and the contest is fierce between the main rivals - Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the Congress trying to regain its foothold in the national capital which was its fiefdom for 15 years from 1998 to 2013. The Election Commission of India and Delhi Police have made all possible arrangements to ensure the smooth conduct of the election.

Security arrangements have been tightened with around 2,50,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary force personnel deployed. During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, 50,000 police personnel were deployed in the national capital, while the number has increased this time in view of the ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in many parts of the capital. Delhi Police will also be monitoring 4000 sensitive polling booths through CCTV cameras.

The voting for 70 assembly seats will begin at 8 am and continue till 6 pm but those in the queue at polling booths will be allowed to exercise their franchise even after the allotted time for polling.

In the last Delhi Assembly election in 2015, AAP won 67 seats while BJP settled at 3 seats. The Congress was not able to open its account and remained at zero.

As per the Election Commission of India, the total number of electors this year is 1, 47,86,382 out of which 66,80,277 are female and 81,05,236 are male. The number of senior citizens in the voter list is numbered at 2,04,830.

Key constituencies in Delhi assembly election 2020:

New Delhi: BJP has fielded Sunil Yadav against Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi Legislative Assembly seat. While Kejriwal has a stronghold in this constituency, Home Minister Amit Shah claimed that BJP is winning the New Delhi seat and the results will shock everyone.

Rohini: BJP had won 3 seats in the 2015 Legislative Assembly elections, one of which was Rohini where Vijender Gupta emerged victorious with a total of 59,867 votes defeating AAPs CL Gupta. BJP has once again fielded Vijender Gupta from Rohini who is facing a tough fight from AAP's Rajesh Nama Bansiwala. It will be interesting to see whether BJP will continue to maintains its legacy or some other party snatches Rohini.

Patparganj: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is contesting from this seat for the third time and BJP has fielded Ravi Negi whereas Congress has placed its bet on Laxman Rawat, who was the district president of the party twice.

Harinagar: BJP has given the ticket to Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga on the traditional Shiromani Akali Dal seat. AAP has given a chance to new candidate Princess Dhillon who replaced Jagdeep Singh. Being a Sikh dominated area, the BJP's is banking on Bagga to win the seat. Shiromani Akali Dal leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa along with Home Minister Amit Shah did roadshows for BJP here. There is a neck-and-neck competition between AAP and BJP. The Congress has fielded Surendra Setia as its candidate.

Tilak Nagar: In this Sikh and Punjabi-dominated area, all parties are trying to play the regional card by nominating a Sikh candidate. However, AAP leader Jarnail Singh's position looks strong but BJP's Rajib Babbar has run a well-organised campaign. Congress has given the ticket to Raminder Singh Sweeta who is a member of the Gurdwara Committee.

Najafgarh: BJP's Ajit Kharkhari is giving a tough fight to AAP candidate Kailash Gehlot from this seat. In the last assembly election, the margin of victory on this seat was quite small. With the nomination of Congress candidate Sahib Singh, the fight in this seat has become even stronger. No candidate has ever won this seat twice.

Interesting facts

In Delhi election 2020, nearly 132 voters are over 100 years old. Of these, 68 are men and 64 are women. The maximum number of voters over the age of 100 are in West Delhi which is 21, while the New Delhi district has 7 such voters.

Kalitara Mandal, a 110-year-old resident of CR Park in the Greater Kailash Assembly constituency of South Delhi, is the oldest voter in the list this year.

All of these senior citizens will exercise their franchise as 'VIP' voters.


NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A New Jersey jury has ordered Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) to pay $750 million in punitive damages to four cancer victims who charged that the company's iconic Johnson's Baby Powder contained cancer-causing asbestos.

In assessing the punitive damages on Thursday, the jury agreed that J&J had acted "maliciously or in wanton disregard" of the safety risks of the four plaintiffs. In addition to the size of the damages, the verdict is significant because it occurred just blocks away from J&J's headquarters, said trial lawyer Chris Panatier of Dallas-based Simon Greenstone Panatier, who represented the plaintiffs, along with Moshe Maimon of Levy Konigsberg in New York and Chris Placitella of Cohen, Placitella, & Roth in New Jersey.

"This case is really about the fact that J&J structured their last 50 years of conduct around concealing that there were, and have always been, asbestos fibers in their baby powder," Mr. Panatier said. "They designed test methods that they knew lacked the sensitivity to detect the asbestos that was present and then on the occasions when asbestos was found, took steps to make excuses, blame non-existent contamination, delete and alter test results. The jury saw all of that."

It was also the first time J&J CEO Alex Gorsky has taken the stand in a talc case. Under questioning from Mr. Panatier, Gorsky admitted that he had not made an effort to go through the actual relevant documents before going on national television to proclaim the safety of talc three days after a Reuters story alleging that J&J knew of and concealed the fact of asbestos in the product.

In September, a separate jury found Johnson & Johnson liable in the lawsuit by plaintiffs Douglas Barden, David Etheridge, D'Angela McNeill and Will Ronning and awarded $37.3 million in actual damages. That verdict set the stage for a separate trial to determine punitive damages.

The case is Barden, et al. v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. in the Superior Court of New Jersey Law Division, Middlesex County, Docket No.: MID-L-1809-17 AS.

Following the verdict, the judge who presided over the trial indicated that the award would be reduced to $186.5 million based on state law caps that limit punitive damages to five times the compensatory amount.

This is Simon Greenstone Panatier's most recent win against Johnson & Johnson. In May 2018, attorneys David Greenstone and Mr. Panatier won a $25.75 million verdict after a California jury found manufacturing and design defects in Johnson's Baby Powder due to the presence of asbestos. Shortly after the compensatory verdict in Barden, David Greenstone obtained a $40 million verdict in Los Angeles in Cabibi v. Johnson & Johnson, et al. The firm has earned numerous other verdicts on behalf of individuals in litigation related to talc-based products.

Simon Greenstone Panatier, P.C., is a nationally recognized trial law firm with a reputation for creative and aggressive representation of clients in a wide variety of catastrophic personal injury matters nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.sgptrial.com/.

Media Contact:

Mark Annick

800-559-4534

[email protected]

SOURCE Simon Greenstone Panatier, P.C.

Related Links

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By Martricia ODonnell McLaughlin

What remains scattered and in ruins after the proceedings to remove President Trump after his impeachment is not the reputation of the president, nor that of our major political parties. Trumps blatantly inappropriate, ignorant, incoherent, lawless and loathsome behavior toward the citizens and institutions of our country and those of our allies has, regrettably, become so predictable that it fails to shock or appall. What lies in ruins is the rule of law.

The Senates removal proceedings began with each senator swearing an oath to render impartial justice. This oath is specifically and only required when the senators consider the question of removing a public official from office. In these cases, and only in these cases, the oath is required by Article I, Section 3, Clause 6 of the United States Constitution. All sitting senators have, however, in addition sworn an oath to uphold the constitution in the performance of their day-to-day duties.

The Founding Fathers, so praised by conservatives  who supposedly adhere to a strict construction of the Constitutions words in their rendering of judicial decisions  are seen as having created an enduring structure for the governance of the United States by three separate but equal branches of government with distinct roles but often overlapping responsibilities. Scholars, governments and citizens in the Western world have held the United States Senate in high regard as the pre-eminent legislative point of reference.

The recent Senate removal proceedings have obliterated any right of that body to such adulation, or even to basic respect. From the outset, individual Republican senators brazenly and openly declared their clear intention to defy their sworn oaths. Republican senators indicated they would coordinate their actions with the accused president. Leaders promised, and the remaining senators agreed with their silence and action, that the trial would be conducted with speed that would please the accused  without, for the first time in history, calling witnesses who could challenge the accused, and without review of documents, but with name-calling, prevarication-, and outright lies. (Imagine the reaction if you were to discover that the jury foreperson had been taking instruction from the prosecutor in your criminal trial, or the opposing lawyer in a civil case, without assessing evidence.)

Certainly, party loyalists can disagree on the interpretation of facts. For instance, did the presidents withholding of military aid to an embattled ally for personal political gain constitute a high crime or misdemeanor? But if we are to continue to function, much less thrive, as a people, we must be able to agree that facts exist. Facts themselves must not be considered a matter of opinion.

More fundamentally, we cannot accept that those charged with upholding the law so publicly and hypocritically ignore their sworn duty. Many of the same senators who violated their oaths by proceeding with partiality are the same people who routinely promote themselves as upholders of Christian values and divine law.

The Senate vote has signaled that we can no longer lodge public trust in that legislative body as constituted. If the Senate is to regain its stature as a legislative body, voters must pay as much attention to the 2020 Senate elections as the presidential race. The preservation of our Constitution, and our democracy, demands no less.

Martricia ODonnell McLaughlin is an attorney and mediator in Easton.
The Turkish army has sent a military convoy of armored vehicles into Idleb province and deployed between the towns of Binnish, Maar Masrin and Taftanaz writes SANA.

The Army and Armed Forces General Command affirmed the readiness of the Syrian Arab Army and its determination to confront any aggression on the Syrian territories, and that the simultaneous Israeli and Turkish attempts to support terrorism will not prevent it pursuing its task of eradicating terrorism from all the Syrian territories.

The General Command said in a statement that, at 02:00 A.M. on Thursday and in a blatant synchronicity with the Israeli air aggression and even under its cover, a Turkish military convoy, which includes a number of vehicles and armored vehicles, passed from Oglinar area into Syria.

The statement noted that the Turkish military convoy, deployed on the line between the towns of Binnish, Maar Masrin and Taftanaz with the aim to protect terrorists, notably Jabhat al-Nusra, and to impede the advance of the Syrian Arab Army and to prevent it from completing the elimination of systematic terrorism, which besieges civilians in Idleb province and uses them as hostages and human shields.

The statement added that the Army and Armed Forces General Command, will continue its national tasks of defending the security of the homeland and the citizens, and it affirms at the same time the readiness of the Syrian Arab Army and its determination to confront the aggression regardless of its names and forms.

On the same note, an official source at the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry said in a statement to SANA on Thursday, Turkish forces, under the cover of the Israeli aggression breached the Syrian borders, and were deployed between the villages of Binnish, Maar Masrin and Taftanaz in a step. This, the official added, affirms the unity of goals between the Turkish regime and the Israeli entity, which aim to protect terrorists, particularly Jabhat al-Nusra, and to impede the advancement of the Syrian Arab Army in Idleb and Aleppo and to prevent the complete defeat of their agents in Syria,

This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
A day before Delhi polls, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and BJP's Delhi unit chief Manoj Tiwari on Friday paid obeisance at famous temples in the national capital.

Kejriwal, the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party, along with his wife Sunita offered prayers at the famous Hanuman Temple at Connaught Place.

After his visit to the temple, the chief minister said he prayed for the progress of the people of Delhi.

"Sought blessings of Hanuman ji at famous Hanuman temple at CP. Bhagwan ji said-'You are doing good work. Continue serving people like this. Leave the outcome to me, all will be fine," Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

Tiwari also visited the famous Chhatarpur and Kalkaji temples and offered prayers.

"I prayed for the happiness of the people of Delhi and also sought blessings of the goddesses to enable people to cast their vote judiciously," Tiwari said.

Voting for the 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi will at over 13,000 polling booths across the city will take place from 8 am to 6 pm on Saturday, a poll official from the Chief Electoral Office of Delhi said.

The counting of votes will take place on February 11.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
[February 07, 2020] BrainChip Showcases Vision and Learning Capabilities of its Akida Neural Processing IP and Device at tinyML Summit 2020

BrainChip Holdings Ltd. (ASX: BRN), a leading provider of ultra-low power, high-performance edge AI technology, today announced that it will present its revolutionary new breed of neuromorphic processing IP and Device in two sessions at the tinyML Summit at the Samsung (News - Alert) Strategy & Innovation Center in San Jose, California February 12-13. In the Poster Session, "Bio-Inspired Edge Learning on the Akida Event-Based Neural Processor (News - Alert)," representatives from BrainChip will explain to attendees how the company's Akida Neuromorphic System-on-Chip processes standard vision CNNs using industry standard flows and distinguishes itself from traditional deep-learning accelerators through key features of design choices and bio-inspired learning algorithm. These features allow Akida to require 40 to 60 percent fewer computations to process a given CNN when compared to a DLA, as well as allowing it to perform learning directly on the chip. BrainChip will also demonstrate "On-Chip Learning with Akida" in a presentation by Senior Field Applications Engineer Chris Anastasi. The demonstration will involve capturing a few hand gestures and hand positions from the audience using a Dynamic Vision Sensor camera and performing live learning and classification using the Akida neuromorphic platform. This will showcase the fast and lightweight unsupervised live learning capability of the spiking neural network (SNN) and the Akida neuromorphic chip, which takes much less data than a traditional deep neural network (DNN) counterpart and consuming much less power during training. "We look forward to having the opportunity to share the advancements we have made with our flexible neural processing technology in our Poster Session and Demonstration at the tinyML Summit," said Louis DiNardo, CEO of BrainChip. "We recognize the growing need for low-power machine learning for emerging applications and architectures and have worked diligently to provide a solution that performs complex neural network training and inference for these systems. We believe that as a high-performance and ultra-power neural processor, Akida is ideally suited to be implemented at the Edge and IoT applications." Akida is available as a licensable IP technology that can be integrated into ASIC devices and will be available as an integrated SoC, both sutable for applications such as surveillance, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous vehicles (AV), vision guided robotics, drones, augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), acoustic analysis, and Industrial Internet-of-Things (IoT). Akida performs neural processing on the edge, which vastly reduces the computing resources required of the system host CPU. This unprecedented efficiency not only delivers faster results, it consumes only a tiny fraction of the power resources of traditional AI processing while enabling customers to develop solutions with industry standard flows, such as Tensorflow/Keras. Functions like training, learning, and inferencing are orders of magnitude more efficient with Akida.



Tiny machine learning is broadly defined as a fast growing field of machine learning technologies and applications including hardware (dedicated integrated circuits), algorithms and software capable of performing on-device sensor (vision, audio, IMU, biomedical, etc.) data analytics at extremely low power, typically in the mW range and below, and hence enabling a variety of always-on use-cases and targeting battery operated devices. tinyML Summit 2020 will continue the tradition of high-quality invited talks, poster and demo presentations, open and stimulating discussions, and significant networking opportunities. It will cover the whole stack of technologies (Systems-Hardware-Algorithms-Software-Applications) at the deep technical levels, a unique feature of the tinyML Summits. Additional information about the event is available at https://tinymlsummit.org/ Follow BrainChip on Twitter (News - Alert): https://twitter.com/BrainChip_inc

Follow BrainChip on LinkedIn (News - Alert): https://www.linkedin.com/company/7792006

About BrainChip Holdings Ltd (ASX: BRN) BrainChip is a global technology company that has developed a revolutionary advanced neural networking processor that brings artificial intelligence to the edge in a way that existing technologies are not capable. The solution is high performance, small, ultra-low power and enables a wide array of edge capabilities that include local training, learning and inference. The Company markets an innovative event-based neural network processor that is inspired by the spiking nature of the human brain and implements the network processor in an industry standard digital process. By mimicking brain processing BrainChip has pioneered a spiking neural network, called Akida, which is both scalable and flexible to address the requirements in edge devices. At the edge, sensor inputs are analyzed at the point of acquisition rather than transmission to the cloud or a datacenter. Akida is designed to provide a complete ultra-low power AI Edge Network for vision, audio and smart transducer applications. The reduction in system latency provides faster response and a more power efficient system that can reduce the large carbon footprint datacenters. Additional information is available at https://www.brainchipinc.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005137/en/

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Osaka has lost its title as Japanas bag-snatching capital after the number of cases recorded by police in the prefecture fell by 146 in 2019 from the previous year to 254, police sources said Thursday.

A total of 259 cases were recorded in Tokyo, marking the first time in nine years that Osaka was not the top bag-snatching prefecture, according to Osaka Prefectural Police sources.

With the exception of 2010, Osaka has had the largest number of snatch-and-grab cases among the 47 prefectures every year since 1976.

After reaching a peak of 10,973 cases in 2000, the number of such cases within Osaka started to fall, with the total in 2019 coming to only 2.3 percent of that of the peak year.

The Osaka police believe that the decline stemmed from the growing presence of security cameras, arrests of repeat offenders and heightened awareness. Bag-snatching was excluded this year from the prefectural policeas list of crimes subject to intensive crackdown efforts.

The number of bag-snatching cases detected by the police in the city of Sakai last year stood at six, down significantly from the 47 recorded in 2017. Over the two years through March 2019, the number of security cameras installed in the city rose by some 400 to 2,035.


file photo A Delhi Court on Friday allowed NRI businessman CC Thampi, who was earlier arrested in a money laundering case but later bailed out, to travel for a week to the United Arab Emirates. Special CBI Judge Arvind Kumar allowed Thampi's application in this regard and directed him to furnish fixed deposit receipt for Rs 25 lakh. Thampi had sought permission to travel abroad for two weeks. Thampi who was arrested in January 2020 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering case allegedly involving businessman Robert Vadra after it was found that arms dealer Sanjay Bhandari along with co-conspirators Vadra and Thampi had evolved the money laundering scheme by transferring the proceeds of crime several times from one individual to another so as to make the money trail's investigation difficult. A special CBI court in Delhi had bailed out the NRI businessman on January 29, directing him to furnish personal bond of Rs 5 lakh and two sureties of the like amount.




Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Dmitry Kozak as deputy head of the presidential administration and principal representative for policy toward Ukraine, on top of Kozaks continuing mission as presidential envoy for Moldovan affairs. Kozak will be handling the conflicts in Donbas and Transnistria, as well as relations with the Ukrainian and Moldovan governments, on Putins behalf, in two parallel processes.

Ukrainian observers are alert to the parallels between these conflictsone active, the other frozen, and both involving Russia as instigator and belligerent. Along with this role and in spite of it, Moscow has also held the initiative in proposing political solutions. These typically consist of a federal or special-status arrangement, reinserting the Russian-controlled territory into Ukraine or Moldova in the form of a state-within-the-state: programmed to influence Ukraine or Moldova from within, but immunized against any effective Ukrainian or Moldovan control. Typically as well, Western diplomacy has accepted these Russian proposals as a basis for negotiations, such as the ongoing Normandy/Minsk and 5+2 processes.

Kozak will henceforth coordinate Russias participation in both of those processes. Kozaks name remains indelibly associated with the project to federalize Moldova in 2003, and he embarks on his new assignment haunted by that projects resounding failure on the cusp of success. Recently, however, Kozak has given ample indications of having learned from that experience.

The Kozak Memorandum provided the constitutional framework for federalizing Moldova with Transnistria. It would have turned the Russian-controlled Transnistria into a state-within-a-state, with blocking powers on Moldovas policies, and committing Moldova to a pseudo-neutrality under Russian guarantees. Brokered by Kozak between Chisinau and Tiraspol, on Putins instructions, this was a purely unilateral Russian project. Negotiated and finalized in deep secrecy, and revealed at the last moment, it triggered a strong backlash from Chisinau protesters and Western diplomats. Chisinau pulled back from Kozaks project only hours before Putins scheduled flight to the Moldovan capital to sign the federalization agreement.

Fifteen years later (2018), Kozak returned on Putins behalf to Moldovan affairs and proceeded to detail some of the lessons learned. In a lengthy interview, released in Chisinau soon after his reappointment that year, Kozak described Moldovas rejection of his plan as a huge error, stood by the original plan on its merits, and blamed its non-acceptance on Chisinau and Washington in equal measure, but did acknowledge that a federalization project can no longer be submitted in that form. While defending the projects content, he indicated that its outward form would have to change, the term federalization is too controversial, Russia should promote its conflict-resolution initiatives in multilateral frameworks rather than unilaterally, and that, instead of acting in deep secrecy, Russia should persuade public opinion that the reunification of the divided country is good for it in the specific form proposed.

Kozak went on to broker (alongside Western diplomats) the regime change in Chisinau in 2019, from Vladimir Plahotniucs rule to the broad left-right coalition (see EDM, June 21, 26, 27, 2019). In several interviews on that occasion, he suggested that Moscow could test a new model for regulating the competition between Russia and the West in this part of Europe. A constitutional settlement must be bipartisan or multi-party-based, not based simply on local pro-Russian forces. It must not be called federalization (as he had), but resort to euphemisms, such as special status. And it cannot be a unilateral Russian project, but needs to be concerted between Russia and Western powers. Kozak warned against hastening the process (which he did on his first try), calling instead for patience in a step-by-step process.

Both in Moldovas case and in that of Ukraine, the Kremlins representative envisages consensus-building among three types of stakeholders with regard to conflict-resolution terms (see EDM, February 5, 2020):

A consensus between the legislative and executive branches of power in Kyiv and in Chisinau. Negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol and between Kyiv and Donetsk-Luhansk. Submission of the results (if and when attained) to the Normandy format and the 5+2 framework for their ratification.

Moldovan President Igor Dodon has adopted this logic in his public statements. Those consensus-building stages are defined as prerequisites to a conflict-ending constitutional settlement. This logic is fully consistent with that of the Normandy/Minsk and 5+2 processes, which Russia itself largely shaped. Thus, Russia is allowed to play two roles simultaneously, as party to the conflict and mediator in the conflict. The terms of conflict-resolution (including the constitutional settlement) are to be negotiated between the legitimate government and Russias proxies on an equal basis, leading inescapably to a state-within-the-state outcome (if there is an outcome), or otherwise to protracted conflict (active or frozen). Either scenario would block or retard Ukraines and Moldovas European integration prospects.

Kozaks comments represent an undeclared lessons-learned process and are apt to make Russian diplomacy more effective on both of these fronts. While the 5+2 process remains stagnant, the Normandy/Minsk process seems to be advancing against Ukraines interests. In both processes, Moscow no longer operates with the antagonistic term federalization, but rather with the special statusthe official end goal in both.

A protracted frozen conflict (no outcome) is clearly preferable for Moldova and Ukraine, compared with a state-within-the-state outcome. Moldova does have the frozen conflict option at its disposal because it does not border on Russia, being shielded by Ukraine. For Ukraine, however, the freeze option is far more difficult to pursue while facing Russia directly across a Russian-controlled border and with active (if low-level) hostilities inside Ukraines territory. Russian diplomacy looks set to exploit these dilemmas more creatively under Kozak than was hitherto the case.

Read the full story here.
The most recent DuPage flu report categorizes the number of cases in the county as high for the week of Jan. 19-25. While county hospitals and doctors offices have been seeing fewer people coming in with flu-like symptoms, the numbers are up for emergency room and outpatient clinic visits, the report said.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey is recovering after undergoing surgery Thursday for a broken shoulder she suffered after being tripped by her dog.

Ivey spokeswoman Gina Maiola said the procedure went off without a hitch."

She is in high spirits and is doing well as she begins her recovery. The governor extends her appreciation to the people of Alabama for their continued support and prayers and looks forward to getting back to work on their behalf," Maiola said in a statement.

The 75-year-old governor broke her shoulder last week after tripping on her dog Missy, a 5-year-old rescue dog. The Republican governor gave her State of the State address Tuesday night with her arm in a sling.

Ivey told reporters Wednesday she would undergo a little repair work" for the injury.

Last year, the governor announced that she had been diagnosed with early stage lung cancer and was being treated with radiation. Her office said in January that medical scans showed a good response to treatment and that her doctor considered her cured.
By Trend

On February 6, the delegation headed by Fuad Muradov, Chairman of State Committee on Work with Diaspora met Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) within the framework of their visit to Saudi Arabia, Trend reports with reference to the committee.

Stressing that it is his first visit to Saudi Arabia, the Committee Chairman expressed satisfaction with his visit to the country, and added that the relations founded by the Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev and King of Saudi Arabia Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have been successfully developed thanks to the efforts of the heads of state of the both countries, President Ilham Aliyev and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, satisfaction with the development of the relations in the field of economy, trade and tourism, and the importance of strengthening cooperation in the humanitarian sphere were highlighted at the meeting.

Informing the Saudi side about the activities of the state body led by him, the Committee chairman told that the Azerbaijanis live in more than 50 countries of the world and easily integrate into local societies. He also added that nowadays various large-scale projects are being implemented for the Azerbaijanis living abroad.

The Committee chairman also informed the other side about the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the projects implemented by the Foundation in Azerbaijan and far beyond the borders, as well as about the international relations of the organization.

It was informed that the Azerbaijanis living in Saudi Arabia mainly work in public health services and contribute to the development of the country where they live.

Abdullah Al Rabeeah denounced that the supreme leadership of Saudi Arabia attaches particular significance to the relations with Azerbaijan, and they are ready to discuss the proposals of the Azerbaijani side regarding the cooperation and the cooperation relations with Azerbaijan.

Informing the Azerbaijani delegation about King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Abdullah Al Rabeeah spoke about the multidirectional activities of the organization led by him. He also added that the projects implemented by the Center serve for the improvement of the well-being of not only Saudi Arabia, but also the entire Muslim world.

The views on the development of cooperation between the two countries were exchanged, and certain proposals were put forward at the meeting.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Bharatiya Janata Partys national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya was detained by the Kolkata Police, along with other leaders of the party, for leading a rally in support of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in south Kolkata on Friday afternoon. Senior BJP leader Mukul Roy was also detained.

We dont expect such behavior from the police. The way we were stopped and arrested is authoritarianism and unconstitutional. We were supporting the CAA in a democratic manner. The entire country is supporting it. We condemn the way the government is trying to stop us, Vijayvargiya told reporters before boarding a police van.

Police, however, said that the BJP leaders were not arrested. They were just detained.

We have detained the BJP leaders. They have not been arrested, said Meeraj Khalid, deputy commissioner of Kolkata Police (south division).

The BJP rally was to start from Tollygunge Phari around 1 pm and was scheduled to reach Hazra about two km away. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjees residence is near Hazra. Police however put up several barricades to stop the rally since 11:30 am.

Minor clashes broke out between the BJP supporters and the police. Vijayvargiya was detained soon after he reached the venue and asked supporters to begin the march.
ISLAMABAD -- Pakistans lower house of parliament has adopted a nonbinding resolution calling for public hangings of people convicted of the sexual abuse and murder of children -- a move that was condemned by the opposition and human rights activists.



"Those who commit crimes against children deserve no mercy...They should be hanged in the middle of cities," Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said on February 7 after presenting the resolution in the National Assembly.



More than half of the lawmakers voted in favor of the resolution, which was supported by the ruling Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf party.



The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) opposed the text, saying that ramping up the severity of punishments would not result in a reduction of sexual abuse of children.



There has been a spike in sexual crimes against children in Pakistan in recent years, triggering street protests and national condemnation, but convictions are rare.



Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, who is also a National Assembly member, described the resolution as "just another grave act in line with brutal civilization practices.



Amnesty International said the death penalty was not the answer for the sexual abuse and murder of children, and called public hangings "acts of unconscionable cruelty" that have "no place in a rights-respecting society."



Pakistan lifted a seven-year unofficial moratorium on the death penalty after Islamist militants killed more than 150 people, mostly children, at a school in the northwestern city of Peshawar in December 2014.



Hundreds of prisoners on death row have since been hanged.



Executions "do not deliver justice," Amnesty International's Deputy South Asia Director, Omar Waraich, said in a statement. "They are acts of vengeance and there is no evidence that they serve as a uniquely effective deterrent."



Waraich urged the authorities to "focus their energies on giving children in Pakistan the protection they desperately need through strong safeguarding policies and procedures before abuse happens."



Laws against sexual abuse should be enforced and the perpetrators of abuse against children be held to account through "fair trials without recourse to the death penalty," he said.

Pakistan introduced a law in 2016 criminalizing sexual abuse against minors and child pornography.



The move came after a pedophilia scandal erupted in 2015 following revelations that hundreds of pornographic videos of children from a village in Punjab Province were being circulated. Arrests were made, but only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law at that time.



There were 3,832 reported cases of child abuse during 2018, according to the nongovernmental organization Sahil.

With reporting by dpa
Does it make sense for San Francisco to open a homeless shelter in every part of the city that doesnt have one?

Thats the question under discussion at City Hall, where the Board of Supervisors is considering a proposal by Supervisor Matt Haney to spread homeless shelters beyond the neighborhoods where theyre now concentrated.

The boards Government Audit and Oversight Committee discussed the proposal Thursday, but the vote was postponed so supervisors could consider new amendments. Its unclear when the legislation will reappear in front of the committee.

The debate that unfolded during Thursdays meeting highlighted two viewpoints on how to alleviate the citys homeless crisis: bulking up on temporary shelter beds to provide immediate respite to those on the streets versus doubling down on building long-term housing units.

Neither option is cheap. It costs an average of $6.3 million in one-time capital costs to build a Navigation Center and an average of $4.3 million to operate one annually, according to a report by the Budget and Legislative Analysts Office. Still, it costs about $700,000 to build one unit of permanent supportive housing.

There is no denying that we need to expand housing and shelter, but the goal of this (ordinance) is to address street homelessness, said Haney, who represents the Tenderloin and South of Market. But we also know we cannot rely on building more housing to solve the homeless crisis alone.

San Francisco has at least 8,000 homeless people, with about 5,000 of them sleeping on the streets. Haneys ordinance encourages the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing to open a Navigation Center  a shelter with extra resources  within 30 months in every supervisors district that doesnt have one, no matter how small its homeless population. Of the citys 11 districts, eight lack a Navigation Center.

The point of Haneys ordinance is to spread homeless resources around the city and have other neighborhoods  beyond the Tenderloin, SoMa, Bayview and Mission  shoulder the burden of the citys crisis.

Abigail Stewart-Kahn, director of strategy and external affairs for the homeless department, said pouring the citys finite resources into temporary shelter spaces would distract from the goal of creating more housing units. She said the city also needs more residential care units for the elderly homeless population, behavioral health beds, drug treatment programs and permanent supportive housing.

This pulls significant resources to one aspect of our homelessness problem, which solves for sleep and not for homelessness, she said.

Costs vary depending on how big the Navigation Center is and how many improvements it needs to open. The Navigation Center in Civic Center, for example, cost $1.4 million to renovate an existing building, according to the report.

The Navigation Center on the Embarcadero, however, cost $12.5 million because it was built from scratch on an empty lot. The plan is for it to stay open for two years, with the option to extend it. The Port of San Francisco hopes eventually to develop the lot.

Because Navigation Centers are meant to be temporary, the high price tags can quickly become hard to justify.

The proposed ordinance forces time, political capital, financial and personnel resources on expanding one component of our homelessness response, Stewart-Kahn said. And it does this at the cost of (building more) housing.

She noted that the city is already significantly expanding its shelter system. Mayor London Breed is poised to meet  and slightly exceed  her goal of opening 1,000 new shelter beds by the end of the year. Since she launched the initiative in October 2018, 566 beds have opened, and locations have been announced for an additional 500 or so beds.

Those new sites include a 75-bed facility for homeless youth in Lower Nob Hill and 200 beds near Gough and Market streets.

Still, Haney said 1,000 new shelter beds will make only a small dent in helping the population sleeping on the streets. He said the city has been sluggish in building more housing, and it needs more immediate solutions for those sleeping on sidewalks and in doorways.

The purpose is to offer respite from the street, Haney said.

The supervisor proposed the ordinance last year in an attempt to allay concerns that his district was the dumping ground for all of the citys homeless resources.

While the ordinance specifically calls on the city to create Navigation Centers, Haney said other models that focus on getting homeless people off the street immediately would qualify. For example, the safe parking lot near the Balboa BART Station for homeless people who live out of their RVs would count.

But, as the ordinance is currently written, permanent supportive housing, drop-in facilities, or board-and-care homes for the elderly and mentally ill would not count.

Supervisor Gordon Mar, who represents the Sunset, said he supports the sentiment of the proposal, but he plans to propose amendments that would broaden the qualifications.

Finding any site to build more homeless resources, however, has proved to be a difficult task for this Board of Supervisors. While nearly every member says they are open to building a shelter or increasing resources in their neighborhoods, each has complained of how difficult it is to find spaces that are the right size, location and price.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who proposed a lease for a Navigation Center on the edge of the Tenderloin, said officials should not distribute homelessness resources based on district lines  but instead focus on where the need is. It is unclear how he would vote on the ordinance.

His proposed site at 888 Post St. sits right on the border of his district and Haneys.

The city is a much more complicated set of neighborhoods than the district lines that are drawn every 10 years, he said at the hearing. Geography is important and fair share is important, but supervisorial lines dont cut it for me.

Trisha Thadani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani
With six cases of the novel coronavirus confirmed in California, 16 laboratories statewide, including one in the Bay Area, will begin providing tests for the virus, officials with the California Department of Public Health announced Thursday.

The state's Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory in Richmond will be among the 16 labs to start testing on Feb. 12, according to the CDPH.

The widespread testing by the health department will provide more rapid results than currently available and also provide medical care for people who may have been exposed. Currently, testing is being conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and those results take between two and seven days.

"Providing this test in California will deliver more rapid test results to improve care of persons who may be sick with this new virus," CDPH Director and State Health Officer Sonia Angell said in a statement.

Since the virus broke out in late December in Wuhan, China, six people in California have tested positive for the virus, including two people in Santa Clara County, two people in San Benito County, one person in Los Angeles County and one person in Orange County.

Earlier this week, five workers at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose were sent home because they had been exposed to the virus. The workers were told to stay home until Tuesday.

Although state public health officials said the risk of contracting the virus is low for the general public, health officials recommend people take precautions as they would with any virus. People are urged to regularly wash their hands with soap and water, avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth, and avoid contact with anyone who is sick.

The CDPH is continuing to work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to screen travelers coming from China at both the Los Angeles International Airport and the San Francisco International Airport.

So far, 293 people in the U.S. have been tested for the virus, and 11 of those cases have been confirmed.

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[February 07, 2020] ESS Announces 6th Annual Impact Award Winners

ESS, a leading national provider of education managed solutions for K-12 schools, announced six individuals as the recipients of the sixth annual "Impact Award" - the highest honor the company bestows on an employee. This year's winners include Megan Bilello (NJ), Laurie Ochnio (CT), David Hay (AR), Suzanne Dansby (TX), Harriet Gable (GA), and Gerlinde Braunberger (UT). As part of their recognition, each honoree received a $500 cash prize, an additional $500 to donate to their school of choice, and a crystal apple trophy. "The Impact Award is an ideal opportunity to recognize the exceptional work of substitute teachers and support staff," said ESS CEO, Buddy Helton. "These individuals were highly praised for their dedication and work ethic by principals, secretaries, teachers, and other staff members of their respective school districts. It is clear that they are making a significant positive impact on education and are deserving of this recognition." The ESS Impact Award was created in 2014 to recognize employees based on their exemplary record of service. More specifically, judges made their decision based on the following criteria: Total number of days worked in a one-year period

Feedback from the school district(s) that the employee serves

Proven commitment to going above and beyond what is expected of their role Megan Bilello has served as a permanent Support Services Assistant with ESS since 2011. She donated the $500 award check to Chairville Elementary School, part of the Medford Township School District in New Jersey. In his nomination, Chairville Principal John Karakashian recalled a specific occurrence in which Bilello went out of her way to help a student. According to Karakashian, "The impact that Megan had on this child's day is immeasurable She saw a child in need and made time for him." Gerlinde Braunberger worked 195 assignments at the Washington County School District in Utah ince joining ESS in July 2018. Most frequently, she works at the Snow Canyon High School, which is where she donated the $500 award check. Snow Canyon Attendance Secretary Darla Snow said, "Gerlinda's experience in teaching is invaluable as she takes on challenging teaching situations and adapts easily when things don't go as planned. She is well respected by her peers, appreciated by the administration, and adored by the students at Snow Canyon High School."



Laurie Ochnio has worked more than 100 assignments since joining ESS in August 2018. She donated the $500 award check to Highland Park Elementary School, part of the Manchester School District in Connecticut. Highland Park Kindergarten Teacher Jill Kilgus said, "Laurie has a special heart for students with special needs. She guides and encourages them with warmth and friendliness. Laurie can jump right into whatever plans are left for her and leaves everything neat and orderly for your return back to class." Harriet Gable has filled 194 absences since joining ESS in July 2018. She works at many locations throughout Floyd County Schools in Georgia and decided to give the $500 award donation to Model Middle School. ESS Regional Manager Dawn Spangler said, "I have fielded numerous accolades about Harriet Gable from the staff in Floyd County. She goes above and beyond in her role and is a positive influence on students, making sure they understand the material she teaches. She even volunteers at the school on days she's not working!"

David Hay has been substituting with ESS since 2009. In the one-year eligibility period, he worked 176 assignments at various schools within the Paragould School District in Arkansas and chose to award the $500 check to Oak Grove Middle School. Among several nominations, Paragould High School Principal Josh Shepherd said, "Mr. Hay is always friendly, helpful, and willing to do whatever is asked by schools when needed. He goes the extra mile in all that he does and is a joy to have on my campus." Suzanne Dansby has covered 259 absences since joining ESS in April 2019. She primarily serves the detention centers of the Denton Independent School District and chose to honor the Joe Dale Sparks Campus with the $500 donation check. Joe Dale Sparks Campus Secretary Jenneal Vincent said, "Ms. Dansby is the best substitute you could ask for When in the classroom, she follows the teacher's instructions well and because she knows the expectations/rules of our particular campus, the teachers and officers prefer her above most substitutes. She also understands and is flexible with the facility when unexpected changes occur." About ESS: ESS is the largest education-exclusive personnel and management company in the country, providing full-service programs to K-12 school districts. It recruits, trains, develops, and manages highly qualified substitute and permanent educational talent. ESS' solutions place educators in classrooms, improve the quality of education for students, and provide resources to district administration and staff so they can devote more time to raising student achievement. The company fills more than 15,500 absences for more than 700 school district partners each day. For more information, call (877) 983-2244 or visit ESS.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005047/en/

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A judge has ruled that denying bereavement payments to co-habiting couples is against the human rights law.

Mr Justice Holman delivered the landmark ruling at the High Court in London earlier today and found that the law on financial support for bereaved families currently discriminates against unmarried partners and their children.

He had been presiding over a legal challenge made by James Jackson, 40, of Nottingham, and Kevin Simpson, 40, of Chester.

Mr Justice Holman (pictured) today ruled that the law on financial support for bereaved families discriminates against unmarried partners and their children

The judge set out the background to the case and said that Mr Jackson lived with his partner Natalie 'seamlessly' for nearly 14 years until her sudden death in October 2018.

The pair had three children together - now aged 13, eight and four.

Mr Jackson said in his statement for the court that he and Natalie were engaged and planned to marry in summer 2019.

He said that her death was 'completely unexpected' and he was 'completely unprepared for it'.

He added: 'When I received the decision (on bereavement support payment) I was disappointed and felt it was unfair.

'Somebody who had only been married for six months could qualify whereas having lived together with Natalie for almost 14 years and having three children together apparently counted for nothing.'

He also said the family was 'just about managing' but that money is 'inevitably tight'.

Similarly, Mr Simpson and his partner Deborah lived together from 2008 along with her two children, now aged nine and seven, until her death from breast cancer in March 2018.

The pair also intended to marry but Mr Simpson said in his statement to the court that when Deborah became ill it 'took over and marriage was pushed to the back of our minds'.

The judge said Mr Simpson described a 'considerable financial struggle' for the family since Deborah's death.

He delivered the landmark ruling at the High Court in London (pictured) earlier today after presiding over a legal challenge made by James Jackson and Kevin Simpson

Alison Penny, director of the Childhood Bereavement Network, provided a witness statement in support of the case brought by the families.

She said: 'We estimate that every year, over 2,000 families like those in this case face the double hit of one parent dying, and the other parent realising that they and the children aren't eligible for bereavement benefits.

'And with cohabiting couples the fastest growing family type in the UK, the problem would only have got worse.

'Cohabiting parents have shared harrowing stories with us of the hardships they and their children have faced because they can't claim higher rate bereavement support payment.

'This money could provide a breathing space to help the family begin to adjust to life without their mum or dad as well as paying for new expenses such as childcare or bereavement counselling.

'This ruling paves the way for all grieving children to be supported whether their parents were married or not.'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI)Purdue University's Board of Trustees awarded a posthumous Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering to Trever Col.

You may remember Col died last year in a cave rappelling accident. Col was involved with Sigma Alpha Epsilon racing team and Purdue Outing Club.

A posthumous degree is awarded to deceased students who have completed 85% of their credit hour requirements.

Purdue trustee, JoAnn Brouillette, said it was the university's pleasure to honor one of their own.

"The Col family's loss was our loss and Trever will be forever a part of the Purdue family and Purdue for life," said Brouillette.

Col was 21-years-old.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:29:49|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Acts of deliberately or permissibly spreading the coronavirus shall be punished as the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous means, according to the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Public security departments across the country have attached great importance to such acts and have promptly filed cases for investigation.

Police in Jinghong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, have investigated a patient surnamed Li for endangering public safety by dangerous means.

Li had traveled to Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, from December 2019 to January 2020. After returning to Jinghong, she had a cough and other symptoms and was confirmed to be infected with the virus.

During isolation observation and treatment, Li refused to implement prevention and control measures, which caused the virus to spread to unspecified personnel, causing serious consequences.

After she was cured and discharged from the hospital on Feb. 3, Li was put under coercive measures by the police.

Other similar cases have also been filed for investigation across the country.

The MPS called on those who know that they have been infected or may be infected with the virus to seek and receive medical treatment in a timely manner, quarantine themselves at home and be responsible for the safety and health of themselves, their families and others.
A father has flown across the country to support the man who caused his son's death by accidentally driving off a cliff as he faces court for careless driving.

Corey Ring, 25, suffered fatal injuries after the Toyota Landcruiser he was a passenger in plunged 20 metres off a cliff and smashed onto rocks in Lyndon, a remote coastal town in Western Australia, in August 2018.

The vehicle was being driven by Mr Ring's mate Baxter Woodger, who suffered serious injuries in the crash, alongside his girlfriend Tahlee De Clouett.

Woodger, from the Illawarra region of New South Wales, was fined $8000 in the Perth Magistrate's Court on Friday after pleading guilty to careless driving causing Mr Ring's death.

Corey Ring (pictured), 25, suffered fatal injuries after the car he was a passenger in was driven off a cliff in Western Australia in 2018. His father supported Baxter Woodger in court as he was sentenced for careless driving causing Mr Ring's death

The vehicle was being driven by Mr Ring's mate Baxter Woodger, who suffered serious injuries in the crash, alongside his girlfriend Tahlee De Clouett (Woodger and De Clouett pictured together)

The 25-year-old was supported in court by Mr Ring's father Steve, who travelled to Western Australia from NSW, for the sentencing, the West Australian reported.

The father hopes Woodger will be able get on with his life following the tragedy.

'I said ''mate, I hope you can move on from here, you can pick up the pieces and get on with your life'',' he said outside court.

'He's got to live with this for the rest of his life, and if there's a sentence that's required, that's more than enough.'

Woodger's girlfriend Ms De Clouett was also in court for sentencing and reportedly appeared to be distressed.

The couple embarked on their dream road trip across Australia in June, 2018.

Woodger, from the Illawarra region of New South Wales, was fined $8000 in the Perth Magistrate's Court on Friday after pleading guilty to careless driving causing Mr Ring's death

Ms De Clouett shared numerous joyous pictures from their travels as they smiled with friends and visited some of the country's stunning beaches.

On June 17, she posted a picture on Instagram from Kimba in South Australia to notify her friends that they had made it halfway across Australia.

A few days later, Ms De Clouett shared a picture from the Nullabor and wrote: 'Nullabor- the land of no trees and straight roads.'

The couple hit the west coast around June 20, unaware that disaster would strike less than a month later.

Steve Ring, the father of Corey Ring (pictured), hopes Woodger will be able get on with his life following the tragedy. 'I said ''mate, I hope you can move on from here, you can pick up the pieces and get on with your life'',' he said outside court.

'2 weeks and 5,000kms later we have finally reached the Indian Ocean,' Ms De Clouett wrote alongside a picture of a clear blue beach.

Mr Ring had been living in Western Australia for about a year after moving from NSW.

He was on a week's break when he joined Mr Woodger and Ms De Clouett on their extravagant holiday.

The trio spent time together fishing, surfing and camping at remote beaches.

They were camping at Lyndon, south of the remote Warroora Station, when celebrating Ms De Clouett's 21st birthday.

Woodger agreed to take a friend back to his campsite and Mr Ring and Ms De Clouett decided to join for the journey.

He reached a fork in the road on his way back at about 3.30am and followed the track towards the cliff face.

Woodger's lawyer Simon Freitag said his client did what he could to 'save lives' by waking his unconscious girlfriend and pulling Mr Ring out of the car and onto the rocks.

Prosecutors suggested a suspended jail term, but Magistrate Mark Millington determined a fine was sufficient.

'There's no suggestion you intended for anything to happen that night and it only makes it worse that it happened to someone so close to you,' he said.

Woodger was also fined $300 for driving with 0.06mg/L of MDMA in his system. It was found the substance had 'no impact' on his ability to drive.

He is suspended for driving for six months.

Outside court Steve Ring said he stood by Woodger as a 'good friend' of his son. He is hopeful his family and the 25-year-old can move on following the conclusion of the court process.
South Koreas Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) will issue diplomas stored on blockchain to graduates thanks to coronavirus fears.

What Happened

POSTECH, located at Pohang, South Korea, will send its 828 new graduates an email that contains a QR code with a link to their diploma stored on blockchain. Cryptocurrency publication the Block reported that POSTECH does not believe its safe for students to assemble for a graduation ceremony. But instead of postponing the ceremony, the university has chosen to issue these digital diplomas.

A university official told South Koreas Maeil Broadcasting Network (MBN), In the aftermath of the new corona, it is impossible to hold a graduation ceremony on time. He added, Now, even if a student does not visit the school to receive the diploma, they can get an online digital degree secured by blockchain technology.

The diplomas are created using broof, a blockchain certification service run by the Korean company ICONLOOP.

Why It Matters

POSTECH already issued blockchain certificates for its blockchain CEO course in June 2019. Other educational institutions are exploring blockchain certification as well: MIT Media Lab, for example, has already created and tested a number of prototypes like issuing digital credentials to their Media Lab Directors Fellows and Media Lab alumni.

What's Next

POSTECH is also exploring blockchain-based voting and surveying by developing a blockchain-based voting survey system called Voting for Students. POSTECH and Yonsei University in Seoul had also announced plans to create a blockchain campus together in April 2019.

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Wisdom And Beyond: A nine-week devotional study on biblical wisdom and grace: a comprehensive yet powerful collection of the truths that are contained in Gods Word. Wisdom And Beyond: A nine-week devotional study on biblical wisdom and grace is the creation of published author Dr. Lafe A. Murray.

Dr. Murray shares, This is the book you have been looking for about biblical wisdom. First of all, it honors Jesus as the wisdom of God, and secondly, encourages a great relationship with God. Wisdom and Beyond is unique, so be prepared to be challenged as you will learn something new in each page. Love is the greatest of faith, hope, and love, but wisdom is supreme and above all other virtues. This book will change your life for the better. Becoming more like Jesus is the best life a person can live. Be wise and prosper.

Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Dr. Lafe A. Murrays new book is a thought-provoking pool of pages that will leave the readers motivated, challenged, and equipped for whatever life holds.

View a synopsis of Wisdom And Beyond: A nine-week devotional study on biblical wisdom and grace on YouTube.

Consumers can purchase Wisdom And Beyond: A nine-week devotional study on biblical wisdom and grace at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble.

For additional information or inquiries about Wisdom And Beyond: A nine-week devotional study on biblical wisdom and grace, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919.
Jamia Millia Islamia students, who have been staging protest outside the varsity against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, on Thursday said they would shift the protest venue to another gate for two days in view of the Delhi elections.

Respecting the Model Code of Conduct that prohibits canvassing by political parties within 100 meters of a polling station, we have decided to move our protest to gate number 4 of the university, even though we are not a political party, the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) said. It is only for the February 7 and 8 and the protest shall continue at gate no 7 after that, it added. The Jamia Millia Islamia appealed to its students on Thursday to not be a part of an agitating crowd protesting against the CAA outside its campus, days after the Delhi Police urged the university administration to remove protesters from the road near one of its gates.

Jamia Nagar station house officer (SHO) wrote a letter to the university registrar, stating that some students, former students and locals were sitting on the Okhla Road outside gate number 7 and protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Following the request, the varsity appealed to its students to not be a part of an agitating crowd on a public road and endanger their safety and security.

The university stated that the request of the local police needs to be taken seriously and its gravity must be understood.

The university is responsible for the safety and security of its students within the domain of the campus and can protect the students and staff when they, as a group, are independent of the crowd which is not a bonafide part of the university, it said.

The parents are also being approached and their support in personal capacity is also solicited to guide their wards in adhering to basic precautions to be confined within the premises of the university campus. The proctorial paraphernalia available to the university is limited, hence a collective effort is the need of the hour, it added.

The varsity had on Saturday prohibited students from holding any protest meeting or agitation inside the university campus, warning them of strict action.

The varsity administration also directed students to report to it any unauthorised entry of outsiders in campus to avoid disruption of peace.
South Africa: Free State woos investors

The Free State MEC for Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Makalo Mohale and his delegation have wrapped up their nine-day outward trade mission and investment drive in Turkey.

The trip kicked-off at the East Mediterranean International Travel and Tourism Exhibition (EMITT), followed by investment engagements in Bursa and Istanbul.

The province participated in the investment drive to promote the Free State brand and products to over 50 000 visitors at the EMITT.

The team embarked on networking, participated in business match-makings, as well as attended business sessions, said the provincial Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs on Thursday.

The delegation included government officials, business representatives and enterprises.

The province also took home the Most Challenging and Best Organised Stand of EMITT 2020 Award.

Winning the prestigious award at this years exhibition surely spurs Team Free State on to do more in unlocking global investments, said Mohale.

During the second leg of the investment drive, Mohale paid a courtesy call to the leadership of government in Bursa.

He also met with the top brass of Tekfen Construction and the Istanbul Chamber of Industry to assure them that the Free State stands ready to do business.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2020-02-07. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
By Feb. 07, 2020

Kids and families can attend the free event at any time during that three-hour time period, and snacks and gift bags will be given away while supplies last.





"I Heart Presidents Day" is hosted by Paducah Parks & Recreation, the Paducah Chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Captain Virgil McCracken Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution.





Recreation Specialist Taylor Morsching says, I Heart Presidents Day is an educational event that reminds us of our great American culture. The presidential-themed activities are fun for the entire family. This years event will have a variety of activities and crafts that will spark interesting conversations of our nations past and present.





Kids of all ages will have the opportunity to make crafts while learning about different presidents and early American culture. Specific activities include writing a letter to the President, taking a presidential portrait in costume, crafting a tricorn or mob cap, story time with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, making an Abe Lincoln log cabin, presidential ornaments, and coloring.





Presidents Day, also called Washingtons Birthday, is officially celebrated the third Monday of February.





For more information about I Heart Presidents Day and other Paducah Parks & Recreation activities, visit www.paducahky.gov/parks-recreation-department, call 270-444-8508, or visit the Parks & Recreation office located at 1400 H.C. Mathis Drive.

The city of Paducah's fifth annual "I Heart Presidents Day" is Saturday, February 8 from 10 am to 1 pm at the Robert Cherry Civic Center.
Nearly 2,000 older people who struggle to live at home alone are being refused help every day, figures suggest.

Age UK found more than half of the frail and vulnerable who apply to social workers for care at home are turned down  because they fall outside the increasingly tight limits governing who is eligible for help.

The figures indicate that the squeeze on home care has now reached the point where most of those who ask for assistance from their local council  such as meals on wheels, or carer visits to help with washing or cooking  do not get it.

Nearly 2,000 older people who struggle to live at home alone are being refused help every day, figures suggest. Stock picture

Councils have changed the rules for care at home by raising the thresholds of sickness or disability they must meet to receive free help. Once, moderate disability was enough qualification. Now only those with serious health and mobility issues are given free home care.

The effects can be devastating for the elderly and their relatives.

Help to carry out everyday personal care and basic chores is a major factor in keeping older people living in their own house rather than a care home.

The Daily Mail is campaigning for an urgent solution to the social care crisis  particularly for the thousands with dementia who are bearing the brunt of the scandal.

Age UK said in nearly a quarter of cases  23 per cent  those who ask for help are turned down flat.

In nearly half, councils tell people they do not qualify for help but refer them on to other services. These include paid-for care companies and charities such as Age UK itself. The report said 1.5million over-65s have at least one essential activity for which they are denied help.

Age UK found more than half of the frail and vulnerable who apply to social workers for care at home are turned down  because they fall outside the increasingly tight limits governing who is eligible for help. Stock picture

It added: If you ask for help from your council and are turned down for it and do not have family or friends to step in or enough money to fund your own service, you are likely to find yourself included in this growing army of older people soldiering on unsupported despite having some need for care.

Age UK director Caroline Abrahams said: The fact 2,000 older people are being turned down for care every day demonstrates both the enormous numbers impacted by our ramshackle care system and how serious the problems it faces have now become.

The Government has pledged to put together a cross-party consensus on social care reform within its first 100 days. But so far, with more than half the period gone, there have been no signs of movement.

Ian Hudspeth, of the Local Government Association, the umbrella body for councils, said: The serious funding and demand pressures facing adult social care, combined with councils legal duty to balance their budgets, inevitably means that difficult decisions have to be made.
FEBRUARY 7, 2020  The Alliance Francaise de San Antonio and the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at UTSA have partnered to present Journee de la Francophonie (French-Speaking Day) at the Main Campus. More than 250 French language students from area high schools have registered to participate in the first total immersion French experience of its kind on a San Antonio university campus.

The idea is to give students a wonderful, motivating experience outside the classroom. It will be as if they stepped off a plane in France, Canada or any other French-speaking country for a day, and they will hear and speak only French throughout the day, said Charles Matt, Alliance Francaises president.

The Consul General of France, Alexis Andres, will travel from his headquarters in Houston to attend the special event.

The idea is to give students a wonderful, motivating experience outside the classroom.

CHARLES MATT, President of Alliance Francaise de San Antonio

French-Speaking Day, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 8, is free and open to select San Antonio high school students who are studying French.

The unique day of enrichment has been in the works for nearly a year. French lecturer at UTSA Isabelle Hall is coorganizer of the interactive and diversity event. This partnership has also recruited a slew of French-speaking teachers and volunteers.

The inaugural, daylong event is aimed at Northside Independent School District, North East Independent School District and St. Marys Hall high school students. Each participating high school has chosen to represent a French-speaking country or regions food, customs, practices or economics. For example, John Jay High School will represent Morocco, Marshall High School chose Algiers and Taft High School chose Senegal. The grand vision is to expand this francophonic program to include other districts in the years to come.

The students, Matt said, will be participating in a variety of competitive events, including video making, sight reading, singing, poetry reading and diction. There will also be noncompetitive events for students, such as petanque.

The outdoor game petanque is similar to Britains lawn bowling or Italys bocce. Petanque is played in French-speaking countries around the world, including Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, India and many others.

 For more information, contact Charles Matt via email or by calling (210) 831-4157, or send an email to UTSAs Isabelle Hall.

The French-themed events will take place inside and outside of the McKinney Humanities Building. Students will also participate in noncompetitive events such as karaoke, a photo booth and a scavenger hunt inspired by a popular French television game show called Fort Bayard.

Alliance Francaises Matt will also play the starring role of Pere Fouras, who will provide participants with clues to help them find a hidden treasure chest. Fort Boyard was built by Napoleon Bonaparte in the 1800s. It has served as a garrison, a prison and now the location for the French TV game show.

Houston-based Sweet Paris Creperie, which opened its first San Antonio location in La Cantera recently, will also hold crepe-making demonstrations and sponsored the event.

The opening ceremony is scheduled at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the McKinney building. A breakfast for volunteers is at 8 a.m. on the third floor and will be the information center for competition results throughout the day.

All visiting students and volunteers are advised to use only Employee A and B and unmarked student commuter spaces. All other parking spaces are off limits and will be monitored by UTSA officials on the day of the event. Lot BK5 is reserved for 15-passenger vans and unaffiliated school/shuttle buses.
Dr. Jessamy Tiffen, a senior member of the Centenary Institutes Melanoma Immunology and Oncology Program has some sage advice for aspiring female scientists in advance of this years International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Dr. Jessamy Tiffen, Centenary Institute

A career in science can be exciting and fulfilling and gives you the potential to make a real impact in the world. There will be barriers to overcome but if you have a curiosity about the world we live in and are prepared to work hard, you might just be amazed where your scientific career can take you. Dr. Jessamy Tiffen, senior member of the Centenary Institutes Melanoma Immunology and Oncology Program

International Day of Women and Girls in Science held on the 11th February each year is part of a United Nations General Assembly resolution officially recognizing the critical role that women and girls play in science and technology. The UN hopes to see full and equal access and participation in science, for women and girls across the globe.

Cancer researcher

As a scientist at the Centenary Institute, Jessamy is focused on trying to better understand melanoma, a devastating disease responsible for more than 1,700 deaths each year in Australia. Jessamy seeks to understand why certain melanomas respond to treatment in some individuals while other melanomas do not.

Melanoma is the most common form of cancer affecting young Australians which is extremely sad but which is also extremely motivating, she says. Understanding the mechanics behind melanoma treatment resistance is essential to developing new drugs and finding new cures which will help save lives.

Jessamy credits some of her early interest in science from her grandfather who was a microbiologist. We used to talk about his work around the kitchen table and discuss his latest findings (on footrot!) so the importance and need for research and scientists was communicated to me at an extremely early age. His love of science certainly rubbed off on me, she says.

Teachers as role models

It was at school however where Jessamy really became captivated by science and much of this was due to the teachers that she was fortunate enough to encounter.

I had a series of fantastic female science teachers who were extremely passionate about their work and who were absolutely committed to their students. They were all so positive and allowed my curiosity to flourish. They also helped me to believe in myself  to realize that I was good enough to take my science to a higher level and that there would be career opportunities out there for me. Looking back, I realize how essential it was, having such supportive female teachers encouraging me at such a formative stage of my life. Dr. Jessamy Tiffen

Challenges

Jessamy notes that there are still challenges to overcome in the higher learning sector, as well as in the workplace, and that gender disparity still remains an issue in the Australian scientific community. Statistics for example show that women comprise more than half of science Ph.D. graduates and early career researchers, but less than a fifth of senior academics in Australian universities and research institutes.

Unfortunately factors such as stereotyping of women, a lack of flexibility in working arrangements for mothers and a lack of female role models still persists in our industry, she says. Many women I talk with have experienced barriers or a lack of fairness at some point in their scientific career.

Jessamy however, believes that this situation is improving. Organizations are slowly getting better at implementing inclusion and gender equity policies, even compared to a decade ago.

Ive benefited greatly in my current role, she explains. The Centenary Institute has policies in place allowing part-time work and flexible hours for mothers. I also have access to a research assistant and was awarded a Carers Travel Award that allowed me to attend a major scientific conference with my baby. Its this type of support that should be available in all organizations.

Value of mentors

Working closely with a female mentor has also proved valuable for Jessamy - in supporting her career aspirations as well as in providing perspective on achieving a work-life balance.

The Centenary Institute is an academic partner of Franklin Women, an organization supporting women working in health and medical research careers, she says.

I was fortunate enough to undertake their mentoring program which linked me up with a brilliant female mentor outside of my workplace and this has been fantastic. I meet with her on a regular basis and we talk about my goals, how Im doing at work and any issues or problems that I might be encountering generally. My mentor acts as an objective sounding board for me, she provides advice and has become a friend and advocate for me.

Advice

Final words of advice from Jessamy to any aspiring female scientist out there?

We need to encourage a new generation of female scientists to help tackle the major challenges of our time, to break-down barriers and to make it to the top. Dr. Jessamy Tiffen

If you have an interest in science think about embracing it. There are are so many career opportunities out there for skilled and motivated scientists in areas ranging from aerospace, to biotechnology, telecommunications, agriculture and the environment. Believe in yourself and dont be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. Just go for it and realize that overcoming the challenges makes it all worthwhile.
On May 2nd, 2011, Americans watched then-President Barack Obama walk solemnly down a red-carpeted White House hallway to a lectern in the East Room of the White House, so he could report to the American people and to the world that America had avenged the 2,966 people who'd been murdered in the September 11th terrorist attacks.

It was that scene which Donald Trump sought to evoke 3,202 days later, when, accompanied by the sounds of Hail to the Chief, he strode down that same hallway to begin exacting vengeance of an entirely different sort.

In a statement released shortly after the Senate voted on Wednesday to acquit, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham asked: Will there be no retribution?

Less than a day later, Trump delivered the answer to that question. For over an hour, the President of the United States held forth on national television to deliver expletive-laden denunciation of the myriad public servants whose attempts to hold the president within the boundaries of the law have made them betes noires for him and his supporters.

We've been going through this now for over three years. It was evil. It was corrupt. It was dirty cops. It was leakers and liars. And this should never, ever happen to another president ever, Trump said.

Over the course of his hour-long diatribe, he rattled off name after name of those at whom he feels aggrieved. At the top of the list was Utah Senator Mitt Romney, the only Republican to vote for his removal, who Trump accused of using his Mormon faith as a crutch to justify a vote cast out of bitterness over losing the 2012 election to Obama.

The others singled out for presidential scorn included former executive branch officials such as FBI Director James Comey  who Trump called a sleazebag  ex-FBI Agent Peter Strzok, former Justice Department lawyer Lisa Page, and Democratic legislators like Rep. Adam Schiff and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

He also went out of his way to sarcastically mock two National Security Council staffers, Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman  the combat-wounded Army officer who testified before the House Intelligence Committee last fall  and his twin brother Evgeny as really amazing.

Grisham said Trump would talk about just how horribly he was treated and that maybe people should pay for that during a Thursday morning appearance on Fox News to preview the Presidents remarks, and Trump appeared to confirm her prediction while attacking Comey, Stzrok, Page, and the top scum who run the FBI.

Let's see what happens  it's in the hands of some very talented people, he said, making an oblique reference to a Justice Department investigation into the origins of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. We're going to have to see what happens.

It appears that Trumpworld has already begun to collect, starting with those closest to home. According to one source familiar with the matter, the first to face retribution will be Col Vindman, the Harvard-educated Ukraine expert and Purple Heart recipient, who will soon be transferred to the Pentagon from his current post at the NSC, despite him being detailed there through late spring or early summer.

Asked about reports of Vindman's pending defenestration, Trump replied: Well, Im not happy with him.

Do you think I'm supposed to be happy with him? I'm not, he said, adding that they  presumably referring to Defense Department officials  would make a decision about Vindman's fate.

Trump's allies on Capitol Hill are also taking their cues to start drawing blood on his behalf. Though the Treasury Department refused to obey a law requiring IRS officials to turn over Trump's tax records to the Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had no such qualms about heeding a request for records belonging to Hunter Biden, when made by Senate Finance Committee Chair Chuck Grassley and Homeland Security Committee Chair Ron Johnson.

Grassley and Johnson have also asked the Secret Service to turn over travel records generated when Hunter Biden was an agency protectee, citing their committee review of potential conflicts of interest posed by the business activities of Hunter Biden and his associates during the Obama administration.

Tony Schwartz, who co-authored The Art of the Deal with Trump, said his acquittal has greatly increased the chance that the president will use the power of the federal government to retaliate against those who have spoken out against him.

At the moment of his acquittal the possibility or even probability that he would be positioned to do terrible things to exact revenge and to punish his enemies escalated, Schwartz said. I think of myself along with other people who've spoken out consistently against him as being incredibly vulnerable.

Schwartz said he worries that a newly emboldened Trump could take a page from Richard Nixon's playbook and use agencies like the IRS to target people like him, or worse.

What I'd really worry about is that he rounds up his enemies. He finds a pretext to use law enforcement to arrest them. It's what autocrats do, he said. They go after their enemies by using their power over law enforcement to arrest them even if on false grounds and imprison them. And I think Trump is every bit as capable of doing that if he believes he can get away with it as Putin, or Kim Jong-un, or any dictator or autocrat is.

While Schwartz predicted that the looming 2020 election might constrain Trump's impulses, he admitted that many of his worst fears of what his former collaborator would be like as president have come true, and many more could be realized if Trump is re-elected.

Trump, he said, could go so far as to use emergency powers to attempt to shut down media outlets or declare some form of martial law with little constraints on his power because nobody will stand in his way.

The Justice Department won't stand in his way. The Republican Senate won't stand in his way. The increasingly Trump-influenced court system won't stand in his way. I believe people vastly underestimate the level of danger that we're facing, he said.

Another onetime Trump confidante, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, also predicted Trump would seek to exact a price from his adversaries in the wake of his impeachment trial.

When asked how far the president would go to get back at Democrats, Bannon replied: Winning. Big League.

One of the House Democrats who played a role in the inquiry which led to Trump's impeachment, Rep. Jamie Raskin, also worried that Trump might misuse his power for personal advantage or revenge.

Obviously we've seen this president engage in retaliatory and vindictive behavior towards his perceived or real political enemies, said Raskin, a Maryland congressman who taught constitutional law at American University's Washington College of Law for two decades before his election to the House. But no president has the right to use governmental resources or offices to exact revenge on US citizens.

Raskin said he and his colleagues are now considering every tool at their disposal to maintain Congress' status as a legitimate check on the president's power.

The lawmaking branch of government is the superior and predominant branch of government, and the President's sole job is to take care that the laws are faithfully executed, Raskin said. He may be a king in his own mind, but he's not a king in our system of government. He is an impeached president, and he does not run the House of Representatives.

And while Trump, by all indications, is feeling newly unbound in the wake of his acquittal by the Senate, Raskin said many of his colleagues now feel similarly about the legislative branch's own inherent powers, including that of inherent contempt, a rarely used power of the House which allows the body to vote to order the House Sergeant-at-Arms to detain witnesses who ignore Congressional subpoenas.

There has been tremendous interest in using the inherent powers of contempt from the beginning, but most, most of the House did not want to distract from the dynamics of the impeachment process, he explained. With that being gone, there is revived interest in using the inherent powers of contempt that we have.

Moreover, Raskin said the House could also vote to cut off funds for the executive branch, including possibly zeroing out salaries of administration officials who defy Congress.

We have the power of the purse despite the fact that the President continues to reprogram money that has been appropriated for particular purposes, and we undoubtedly will get serious about our use of the appropriations power to get this President to follow the law, he said. We have a sworn responsibility to uphold and defend the constitution, so we have no choice.
Motorists in Lake Geneva may find parking rates boosted to $2 an hour throughout downtown, rather than facing a $3-an-hour premium charge for prime lakefront parking.

That is the compromise headed to the Lake Geneva City Council on Monday after months of debate about downtown parking rates.

Parking currently costs $1 an hour, with a $2-an-hour premium rate for the most popular lakefront spaces in the heart of the tourism and shopping district.

City officials had considered boosting those prime spots from $2 to $3 an hour, but downtown store owners complained that such a move would drive away too many customers.

So the city council on Monday will consider a committee recommendation to instead increase rates from $1 to $2 an hour throughout all of downtown. Members of the finance, licensing & regulation committee also recommend extending paid parking hours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Visitors to downtown currently must feed their parking meters only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Officials have calculated that the recommended compromise would generate about $400,000 a year in new parking revenue for the city.

The city council meeting Monday starts at 6 p.m. It is open to the public.

City officials also have discussed doubling parking fines from $20 to $40, but that matter has not passed through committee yet.

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Tbilisi takes third place in the best destinations of Europe 2020 - GeorgianJournal
From Bloombergs point of view, the campaign thus far has gone better than he had a right to hope. His stated thesis for his campaign is that President Trump must be defeated at all costs and that none of the other candidates is likely to beat him. He hopes to sell himself as the genuine article to Trumps fakery: an actual billionaire with the management skills to turn the country around. If one of the candidates who competed in Iowa were emerging as a strong front-runner, Bloomberg could look more like a self-indulgent ego-tripper than a potential savior. But that hasnt happened. And the chaos in the Democratic Party and Trumps White House are making Bloombergs argument for him.
A Canadian-American couple on-board a cruise ship that has been quarantined off the coast of Japan say they're "a little stir-crazy" from being confined to their room.

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This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The cruise ship Diamond Princess is anchored at the Yokohama Port in Yokohama, near Tokyo Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. Japan on Friday reported 41 new cases of a virus on a cruise ship that's been quarantined in Yokohama harbor while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

A Canadian-American couple on-board a cruise ship that has been quarantined off the coast of Japan say they're "a little stir-crazy" from being confined to their room.

A two-week cruise that Roger and Karey Maniscalco embarked on Jan. 24 has now turned into a nearly month-long stay after 61 people were tested positive for the new coronavirus aboard the ship.

Roger and Karey Maniscalco pose in this undated handout photo. A Canadian-American couple on-board a cruise ship that has been quarantined off the coast of Japan say they're "just a little stir-crazy" from being confined to their room. A two-week long cruise that Roger and Karey Maniscalco booked last July and embarked on Jan. 24 has now turned into a nearly month-long stay after 61 people were tested positive for the new coronavirus aboard the ship. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Roger and Karey Maniscalco

A statement from Princess Cruises, the operator of the Diamond Princess, said seven of the 61 passengers who tested positive are Canadians. The ship carrying 2,666 guests and 1,045 crew was first quarantined in Yokohama on Tuesday following a confirmed outbreak of the new coronavirus.

The couple were scheduled to disembark Feb. 4 but the statement said the quarantine end date will be Feb. 19, unless there are any other unforeseen developments.

"If we knew Feb. 19 we will be back home it will make it a lot less stressful than not knowing what's going to happen after this ... whether they'll let us go on the 19th," said Roger Maniscalco, who is Canadian but lives in the United States.

"Uncertainty is the worst. Not knowing information is the worst."

The couple first heard the outbreak from a friend, he said.

"We weren't going to mainland China so we weren't so concerned. And it just escalated like crazy."

On Monday, Japanese authorities began testing the passengers in their staterooms and gave them forms to fill out, which included their recent travels and whether they were feeling sick.

"They started at 11 p.m. and we were given the exam at 3:30 am in the morning and it went on and on for hours," Maniscalco said.

"It was almost another full day when they actually got everyone done. We were told on an announcement that we were being quarantined for 14 days and it was quite devastating."

Princess Cruises said local public health authorities will disembark the passengers who are infected with the virus for transport to local hospitals. The company said staff are doing their best to make the quarantined passengers comfortable.

Maniscalco said the couple is lucky they have a small balcony and can get some fresh air and sunlight.

Passengers without a balcony are taken out on the deck - a few at a time - with gloves and masks, he said.

The couple pass their time watching movies, talking to family and friends on social media and trying to get some exercise inside their room. They say they are healthy and have no symptoms.

"This is a tough situation for everyone," Maniscalco said.

"The food isn't the same as the normal food for cruise line either...everything's just changed and now we just want to get home."

The viral outbreak that began in China has infected more than 31,400 people globally.

China has seen 636 deaths and 31,161 confirmed cases on the mainland. In addition, Hong Kong has had 22 cases, including one death. Macao has had 10 cases. Most of the deaths have been in central Hubei province, where illnesses from the new type of coronavirus were first detected in December.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said foreign passengers on another ship, Holland America's Westerdam, won't be allowed into Japan. He said suspected coronavirus patients were on board, but the Seattle-based operator denied anyone had the virus.

At least four other cruise ships, two foreign and two Japanese-operated, are headed to Japan by the end of the month, Japanese Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said, urging port authorities around the country to turn them away.

Meanwhile, Maniscalco said he can either be devastated by the situation or take it in stride.

"We try to make the best of it," Maniscalco said, adding that it makes for a good story.

"It's a great way to break ice. It really is. Not the way I would like to but yes."

 With files from The Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
DU QUOIN  Nicki Rathert and Lindsey Baker saw something they wanted for their community, and decided to build it.

The two started Wayward Wovens about four years ago with Allyson Hyland, based on a mutual passion for baby-wearing and fiber craft. At the time, Rathert said, there was an active group of parents in Carbondale who used various baby-wearing systems. Commonly, these are long pieces of fabric wrapped securely around a person and their child. The systems are used both as a convenient way of moving a child and as a way to bond with the child.

Rathert and Baker said the three of them decided to purchase their first floor looms and get started learning how to weave.

We learned to weave specifically to make baby wraps, Rathert said. Since then, their business has developed largely into custom work for parents. Hyland also has shifted roles and currently is only involved in production.

While there are commercial options available for parents interested in baby-wearing, Baker and Rathert said customers from around the world come to them for pieces that are distinct to their relationship with their child. Some want pieces designed with their child's favorite color, some ask for wraps inspired by a family photo.

They end up becoming one-of-a-kind creations, Rathert said.

Success has found them, though they have been able to control the business growth  as parents, Rathert and Baker said they try to keep their projects to the fall, winter and spring, in order to spend time with their children in the summer. But, the Wayward team do have their eyes set on expansion.

Blocks away from Rathert's Du Quoin home is their next step. An unassuming storefront at 208 W. Main St. will soon be the public face for Wayward Wovens, and if Rathert and Baker have their way, a lot more.

The duo work on the inside of the space as often as they can with their husbands and, sometimes, children  though they admit when the children are in tow the sessions arent exactly productive.

The expansion was needed. Both Rathert and Baker said they are currently part-timers with the business, as each still has a child at home. But that wont always be the case, and Rathert said she wanted to be ready.

Future uncertain for Du Quoin's Grand Theater building DU QUOIN  After more than a century as a mainstay of Du Quoins downtown, the future of the Grand Theater building is in question.

If its going to scale  I feel like its got to move, she said. So her four looms and countless skeins of yarn, as well as much of the dye supplies she uses to color some of the fiber she weaves, will move to the new space whenever its ready. Baker said she plans to move part of her operation there, too. Each member of the team currently works on projects out of their homes.

Part of the decision to open the storefront is about business, and part of it isnt. Neither Rathert nor Baker are from Du Quoin, let alone Southern Illinois. Both moved here because of family and employment opportunities. But both said they see potential in their town and were anxious to capitalize on it.

Rathert said when she and her husband, Ben Rathert, moved to Du Quoin, they would take walks along main street.

Half of it is closed and its sad, she said. So, they opened up a coffee shop  at least in their minds. She said they just wanted to save one of those buildings. This morphed into a real opportunity, though, with the idea for their studio space.

Rathert said her hope is that the studio will become a gathering place where people feel comfortable coming to work on projects of their own or just meet friends. She said it also would provide an opportunity for people in the community to learn about what they do at the loom.

This means the possibility of public classes or workshops, as well as knitting and other craft groups. The details are still coming together. And, if no one comes, Rathert said, she will still have the space she needs to expand their business.

Rathert said there are small places here and there for people to work on craft projects or chat, but nothing with a perfect fit. She said people in their 30s and 40s may not feel at home at the early morning coffee klatches or similar spaces, especially if they are bringing a big bag of yarn and maybe a small child with them.

Rathert and Baker didnt want to wait around for someone else to do the work to bring the things they wanted to their community. If they dont exist, maybe we should do it, Rathert said.

Rathert said the team hopes to open their storefront sometime in the fall, but given the unpredictability of construction projects, she hasnt set a firm date yet.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 03:48:23|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Friday invited Lebanon to organize a Lebanese cultural week in Tehran to boost cultural ties between the two countries, Lebanon's National News Agency reported.

Lebanon is also invited to attend the international book exhibition in Tehran in April, NNA reported following a meeting between Lebanese Culture and Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada and the cultural advisor of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon Abbas Khama Yar.

The two officials discussed bilateral cultural relations and the importance of activating agreements between the two countries to strengthen cooperation in such fields as publishing, theater, cinema and music.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Ilhama Isabalayeva  Trend:

One of the priority spheres in the field of inbound tourism in Azerbaijan is the Chinese market, Member of the Council of Experts of the Azerbaijani Association of Travel Agencies Kanan Khanifayev told Trend on Feb. 7.

An increase in the number of Chinese tourists was predicted in the goals set for 2020, Khanifayev added.

"Despite difficulties in the implementation of these plans, we are trying to attract tourists from alternative destinations due to coronavirus, the member of the Council of Experts said. We hope that thanks to Novruz holiday, Formula 1 and UEFA EURO in Baku, we will achieve our goals to expand the tourist flow."

Khanifayev added that the operations of foreign airlines in Baku will create conditions for travel agencies to develop tours from other destinations.

China is one of the main priority markets for attracting tourists to Azerbaijan.

The State Tourism Agency stated in 2019 that numerous tourists from China will visit Azerbaijan.

In accordance with the "Memorandum of Understanding on the facilitation of group trips of Chinese tourists to Azerbaijan", signed last year between the Azerbaijani State Tourism Agency and the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the number of Chinese tourists who will come to Azerbaijan may reach 200,000 persons in the coming years.
TUNIS, Tunisia - Tunisias ambassador to the U.N. has been abruptly called home and fired for lack of consultation on a Security Council resolution he helped draft responding to the U.S. Middle East peace initiative, authorities said Friday.

Moncef Baati was faulted for an absence of co-ordination and consultation with the foreign ministry and with representatives of Arab and Islamic countries at the United Nations, the official TAP news agency quoted the Tunisian presidents office as saying.

Baati is a career diplomat who came out of retirement to take the U.N. post in September,

The U.S. plan would allow Israel to annex all its settlements as well as the strategic Jordan Valley. The Palestinians want an independent state in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem  territories seized by Israel in the 1967 war.

Baatis dismissal raised questions as to whether the draft resolution had gone too far in countering the U.S., a long-time ally of Tunisia  even though the Tunisian president lambasted the peace plan just a week ago as the injustice of the century.
Bespoke tailor Nick Lopez has announced that Nick Lopez Tailoring has moved a few blocks from its previous location.

Moving from one area of the Galleria to another, Nick Lopez Tailoring is now open at 2121 Sage Road, Suite 225, in Houston. The shop specializes in tailoring and alterations.

Our goal is to make sure our customers not only look great but also feel comfortable and exude confidence whether moving in the ballroom, boardroom, courtroom, or even on the green, Lopez said in a news release.

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Lopez is a third-generation tailor with a staff of 14 people who have been hand stitching bespoke suits and garments.

Our new store will continue to offer customers the opportunity to experience the inspiration, meaning, and craftsmanship that goes into the attention and detail of creating a custom bespoke suit, Lopez said. We look forward to the new ventures in this next chapter of our growth and to welcoming our customers and employees to our new tailoring shop in Houstons Galleria area.

Nick Lopez Tailoring has been operating in Houston since 1981, specializing in creating mens custom-designed bespoke suits and offers alterations for men, womens, and childrens garments.

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The shop hours are 9 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Saturday.

For more information go to www.nicklopeztailoring.com or call 713-621-5411.

rkent@hcnonline.com
TOKYO - Japanese automaker Honda reported Friday a nearly 31% dive in its October-December profit as strong demand for its motorcycles failed to make up for falling vehicles sales.

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This article was published 6/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

FILE - In this July 31, 2019, file photo, Honda cars are displayed at the automaker's headquarters in Tokyo. Japanese automaker Honda reported Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 a nearly 31% dive in its October-December profit as strong demand for its motorcycles failed to make up for falling vehicles sales. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara, File)

TOKYO - Japanese automaker Honda reported Friday a nearly 31% dive in its October-December profit as strong demand for its motorcycles failed to make up for falling vehicles sales.

Honda Motor Co. reported quarterly profit of 116.4 billion yen ($1.1 billion), down from 168 billion yen the same period the previous year.

Sales for the three months slipped 6% to 3.7 trillion yen ($34 billion).

Honda raised its full year profit forecast to 595 billion yen ($5.4 billion) from an earlier 575 billion yen ($5.2 billion), although the improved new forecast is still 15% below what it earned the previous fiscal year.

And Honda, the maker of the Accord compact, Odyssey minivan and Asimo robot, said the damage from the outbreak of a virus that began in central China is not reflected in its forecasts through March 2020.

Honda, like other Japanese automakers, has not resumed production at its factories in China since the Lunar New Year's holidays, which began Jan. 24.

Tokyo-based Honda said its three auto-assembly plants in Wuhan, the city at the centre of the outbreak, will remain closed through Feb. 13. Honda's other plants in China will remain shuttered at least through Sunday, the company said.

Thirty Honda employees have returned to Japan on chartered planes from Wuhan arranged by the Japanese government, and none of them are sick with the virus, it said.

Company trips to the Wuhan area are cancelled, and trips to China overall are being avoided unless absolutely necessary, said Honda, which also makes Super Cub scooters.

We are not expecting that much of a negative effect if production can resume as we foresee now, Executive Vice-President Seiji Kuraishi told reporters.

He said parts supplies and other preparations to restart production were coming along fine so far.

Of course, if this situation continues for a long time, that would be quite different, Kuraishi said.

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Other Japanese automakers have temporarily shut down production at their China plants.

Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's top automaker, said Friday it was extending the production stoppage at its 12 auto plants in China by at least another week, through Feb. 16. Four of the production sites are vehicle-assembly plants.

Toyota reported healthy profits and sales earlier this week and raised its annual forecast, but the virus remains a risk to its China operations.

Nissan Motor Co. said earlier it was considering reopening most of its factories in China on Monday, but would wait until at least Feb. 14 for facilities in and around Wuhan. Nissan reports earnings next week.

___

Yuri Kageyama is on Twitter https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
WYMORE  Until last semester, Southern High School had no agricultural education program.

Now that students have gotten their hands dirty, they're starting to see the fruits of their labor.

On Wednesday, members of the Farm Credit Services of America visited the school in Wymore and awarded its ag programs $2,000 through the Working Here Fund Grants.

Brady Meyer, the ag education instructor, said the money will go toward supplies for the new greenhouse that students built in the fall.

Growing things has been a passion of mine, and so I carry that on to my students and they kind of ran with it, Meyer said. We did some research, and we started constructing an 8-by-10 greenhouse and it took us pretty much the whole semester.

Meyer said the program was discussed during a community involvement meeting, as individuals stressed that they wanted agriculture classes in the curriculum and for students to learn vocational and trade skills to aid them before they go into the workforce.
Courtesy of Fireside Financial

EDWARDSVILLE  Citing the good works of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, Fireside Financial donated $700,000 Friday to help the diocese in its ongoing mission to spread and teach the faith and serve others.

This donation is a token of our appreciation for the good works of the Diocese of Springfield and our strong desire to see all their impactful efforts continue and grow, said Michael J. Bailey, managing partner. Fireside is excited to be part of the continued growth in Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area. This donation will help fund many projects that will benefit so many of our neighbors.
Senators Say Redacted Footnotes Contradict IG Report Statements

News Analysis

The chairmen of two U.S. Senate committees are disputing claims made by an FBI official to the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General (OIG), saying the claims are contradicted by four classified footnotes in a recent OIG report that delved into FBIs surveillance of Trump 2016 presidential campaign aides.

The report, released Dec. 9, 2019, found 17 significant errors or omissions in a surveillance warrant and its three renewals the FBI took out on one of the aides, Carter Page, under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) in 2016 and 2017 (pdf).

The senators, Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) of the Senate Finance Committee and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, asked Attorney General William Barr to declassify the footnotes, which have been mostly redacted in the public version of the OIG report.

The senators have access to the unredacted version.

This classified information is significant not only because it contradicts key statements in a section of the report, but also because it provides insight essential for an accurate evaluation of the entire investigation, Grassley and Johnson said in a Jan. 28 letter to Barr (pdf).

The letter didnt disclose which footnotes the senators were talking about or what information they believe they contradict.

A congressional staffer familiar with the situation told The Epoch Times that the footnotes pertain to what an FBI official told the OIG and that they arent all completely redacted.

There are 37 footnotes in the report at least partially redacted, four of them entirely, and of those, two seem to relate to a statement that an FBI official made to the OIG. Two more partially redacted footnotes seem to be related to the same topic.

The footnotes in question are numbered 339, 342, 347, and 350 in the report. All are in a section that discusses the Steele dossier, a collection of unsubstantiated claims about collusion between Donald Trump, his campaign associates, and Russia.

Dossier Source

The dossier, created by former British spy and former FBI informant Christopher Steele, was the cornerstone of the FBIs FISA application against Page. But the bureau failed to inform the FISA court, which approved the warrant, of a litany of information that undermined the allegation that Page was an agent of a foreign power.

As the OIG report discussed in the section relevant to the footnotes, the FBI and later the OIG learned that Steele used for the dossier only one source, a Primary Sub-Source, who had several sub-sources.

When the FBI talked to some of the sources, they had reservations about what Steele put in the dossier. The Primary Sub-Source said the information was word of mouth and hearsay and chat with friends over beerssome of it he or she heard made in jest.

One of the sub-sub-sources told the FBI that whatever information in the Steele reports that was attributable to him/her had been exaggerated and that he/she did not recognize anything as originating specifically from him/her, the OIG report said.

One of the fully redacted footnotes (No. 347) is attached to that statement.

Dossier Discrepancies

Another fully redacted footnote (No. 342) is attached to a statement by an FBI supervisory intel analyst (SIA) who worked on the counterintelligence investigation against Page and other Trump aides, which was dubbed Crossfire Hurricane.

He told the OIG that the cause for the discrepancies between the [Steele] election reporting and explanations later provided to the FBI by Steeles Primary Sub-source and sub-sources about the reporting was difficult to discern and could be attributed to a number of factors, the OIG report stated.

These included miscommunications between Steele and the Primary Sub-source, exaggerations or misrepresentations by Steele about the information he obtained, or misrepresentations by the Primary Sub-source and/or sub-sources when questioned by the FBI about the information they conveyed to Steele or the Primary Sub-source.

Oligarchs and Disinformation

One of the partially redacted footnotes talks about Steeles connections to Russian oligarchs.

Steele did some work for Oleg Deripaska, a Russian industrial magnate who was sanctioned by the Trump administration in 2018. The Crossfire Hurricane team members told the OIG they didnt know about that connection.

The OIG found that Steele communicated in 2015 with representatives of multiple oligarchs with connections to Russian Intelligence Services (RIS) and senior Kremlin officials.

Steeles FBI handler did not recall if he told the Crossfire Hurricane team about Steeles connection to Deripaska, but he said he did inform the team that Steele collected intelligence on Russian oligarchs and had tried to arrange meetings between the FBI and Russian oligarchs.

As the OIG noted, the FBI was aware that Steele was potentially spreading disinformation.

Counterintelligence investigations are complex, and often involve as I said, you know, double-dealing, and people playing all sides, said Stuart Evans, head of the Justice Departments Office of Intelligence, which oversees the FISA application process.

He continued by saying that had his office known of Steeles connection to Deripaska, it would have been yet another thing we would have wanted to dive into.

Footnote No. 350 was attached to his statements.

In addition to the information in Steeles Delta file documenting Steeles frequent contacts with representatives for multiple Russian oligarchs, we identified reporting the [redacted], the footnote says.

Delta files store information the bureau keeps on its informants.

By May 2017, the FBI did not assess it likely that the [Steele] [election reporting] was generated in connection to a Russian disinformation campaign, the OIG wrote, citing a December 2017 FBI memo.

The OIG concluded, that more should have been done to examine Steeles contacts with intermediaries of Russian oligarchs in order to assess those contacts as potential sources of disinformation.

PageSechin Claim

Another partially redacted footnote is related to one of Steeles claims that Page, during a July 2016 trip to Moscow, met secretly with Igor Sechin, head of Russian energy conglomerate Rosneft.

Theres no evidence the meeting occurred, and Page denied ever talking to Sechin.

The dossier alleged that Sechin offered billions in Rosneft stock in exchange for the lifting of Ukraine-related sanctions against Russia.

When the FBI interviewed Steeles Primary Sub-Source in 2017, the source said that the information was sent to him or her by another sub-source in a text message and that the sub-source never stated that Sechin had offered a brokerage interest to Page, the OIG said.

Footnote No. 339 is attached to that statement.

The Primary Sub-source also told the FBI at these interviews that the sub-source who provided the information about the Carter Page-Sechin meeting [redacted], the footnote says.
Colleagues, friends and family gathered recently in Canal Court Hotel, Newry to mark the retirement of one of ABPs longest-serving employees, Dickie Callan.

Dundalk man Dickie began work with ABP in Ravensdale back in 1966. Over the next fifty years, as the company expanded around Ireland in many diverse areas of the Agri Food sector, Dickie moved up and down the country, training staff, developing work practices and overseeing structural changes in often outdated facilities.

As Roger Sheahan, Plant Manager in ABP Newry, pointed out no matter the distance, Dickie always made it back to the family in Dundalk.

It was clear from the many personal tributes paid on the evening, the high esteem in which Dickie Callan was held. This was particularly noticeable from the warm words expressed by staff, many of whom had joined ABP Newry as young people or as foreign employees over the last twenty-five years.

It was clear that Dickie had gone way over and above in his role as floor manager to not only train and encourage these young people, but also ensure they were taken care off as they settled into work in what was for many a new experience or indeed living and working in a different culture.
Internet giant Google is looking to expand mixed mode commute option to cities across India that displays combination of available public transport for commuting to a particular destination.

"The public transport tab on Google Maps for Android now informs users about a journey that combines auto-rickshaw and public transport. It indicates how much time it will take, and which station they should take an auto-rickshaw to/from. The feature is available for Delhi and Bangalore and we're looking to bring it to other cities across India," Google Maps vice president Jen Jen Fitzpatrick said in a statement.

He was speaking on the occasion of Google Map completing 15 years.

Fitzpatrick listed 14 features that Google has incorporated in the maps of eight were first started in India and six were inspired from India and implemented in other foreign markets.

Information about public toilets inspired from Swachh Bharat Mission, digital address called "Plus codes" for location sharing including mixed mode commute are some of the features for which Google Map got inspiration from India.

"Google Maps now lists over 57,000 public toilets in 2,300+ cities across India. The initiative was launched in 2016 as a pilot in three cities -- New Delhi, Bhopal, and Indore -- in collaboration with the Swachh Bharat Mission and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs," Fitzpatrick said.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A group of First Amendment auditors has reached out to at least one local library threatening to come test the librarys free speech policies and evaluate whether they will protect citizens rights to film in public.

The auditors are a loose group of YouTube activists who enter public places like libraries, post offices or police precincts and film employees and patrons. They often post videos of confrontations with employees online with sensational titles like LIBRARY STAFF GETS OWNED ON CAMERA!!! 1st amendment audit FAIL."

They operate in a gray area of protected rights, according to experts, but can often be pushy or disruptive in attempts to create confrontation. According to one expert, their efforts dont seem to have any real value for defending citizens Constitutional rights.

In an email to Onondaga County Library staff, executive director Christian Zabriskie warned that these auditors had reached out to at least one county library. He outlined options for dealing with these people if they come into a library.

He recommended staff familiarize themselves with the librarys policies, designate a point person to deal with someone filming and call authorities if the person becomes threatening.

A lot of it just seems to be an effort to get hits on YouTube, Zabriskie said Thursday afternoon. You wont find an institution more dedicated to First Amendment rights than the public library. Thats at the heart of our mandate.

Roy Gutterman runs the Tully Center for Free Speech at Syracuse Universitys Newhouse school. He said the auditors are entering a gray area of legality when trying to film in libraries. Its legal to record in public places like sidewalks or parks or outside a government building, he said, but there are acceptable limits inside government buildings.

There are more limited rights for everything from filming to yelling, he said. You cant yell in a library. You cant be disruptive. Im just not sure the purpose of recording for the sake of recording.

Moreover, Gutterman said the auditors actions didnt really appear to serve much of a public service, like they claim.

Im all for keeping government officials accountable, even librarians, he said. But Im not quite sure what the value is of some of this. I understand recording in cases of abuse or corruption or police brutality... even public meetings...where theres real public discourse. Id like to see them do stuff like that, go to a city council meeting or school board meeting where theres an important watchdog function.

Despite the auditors claims, the right to record in public places has not been upheld by the Supreme Court, Gutterman said.

The most notable ruling on recording in public is the case of Glik v. Cunniffe. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit ruled on that case in 2011, determining private citizens have the right to record police carrying out their public duties.

That case arose from an incident at a public park in Boston. Simon Glik recorded two police officers on bicycles who were making an arrest. The officers then arrested Glik. Glik sued, arguing the officers violated his Constitutional rights. He won.

First Amendment Watch, a think tank at New York University, says the audits are often uneventful but sometimes have turned violent or led to litigation. The city of Colorado Springs, for example, paid an auditor $41,000 after police detained him for filming police cars in a parking lot.

American Libraries magazine wrote a feature story on the trend of First Amendment auditors for its January issue. According to the story, a caller to a library in Connecticut threatened to bring bodybuilders and an attorney with him to the library and said that if police were called, the bodybuilders would wrestle officers to the ground and perform a citizens arrest.

Zabriskie, the library director, said he wants the countys libraries to remain an inviting and safe place, and wouldnt want the threat of a few YouTube filmers to have a chilling effect on patrons. Ultimately, he called the whole thing a non-issue, since no one has tried this at any of the countys libraries.

Personally, if you want to exercise your First Amendment right in the library, go read a book, he said. Read a controversial book. Or write something. Build something...Those are a lot better uses of your time and resources."
A plane is due to evacuate 24 critically ill Yemenis from the rebel-held capital on Friday, a World Heath Organisation source said, as the UN seeks to consolidate a medical air bridge.

A first "mercy flight" evacuated seven children from Sanaa on Monday for medical treatment in the Jordanian capital Amman and the United Nations is eager to build the necessary confidence between the warring parties to enable more.

"A plane carrying 24 patients and their companions is scheduled to leave today from Sanaa to Amman," a World Health Organisation source told AFP.

A Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting in support of the beleaguered Yemeni government since 2015, has kept Sanaa airport closed to commercial flights since 2016.

But in November, the coalition announced that it was prepared to allow medical evacuations from the airport as a confidence-building measure to support UN peace efforts.

"This is the first of what we hope will be a number of flights in the medical air bridge," UN Resident Coordinator for Yemen Lise Grande told AFP after Monday's flight.

She said she hoped their would be more evacuations in the coming days, to Egypt as well as Jordan.

The reopening of Sanaa airport is a key demand of the Huthi rebels and one of the issues being pursued by UN mediators as they seek to relaunch peace talks.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The newly revised lower secondary curriculum that was scheduled for implementation this school term has been halted for the second time in four years to allow government to fix the deficiencies.

Parliament voted to halt the implementation on Tuesday after stormy proceedings. The House asked the Ministry of Education to suspend the curriculum until government is ready to implement it.

The MPs wondered how government, through the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC), could roll out the curriculum without textbooks to aid the teaching and learning and majority of the teachers are not yet trained on the new methodologies.

Masaka Municipality MP Mathias Mpuuga wondered how the ministry could table prototype documents with disclaimers as materials being used to train a few teachers.

"Content and images have been adopted from several sources, which might not fully be acknowledged. This document, therefore, is prohibited from being used for commercial purposes and content," Mr Mpuuga said.

He added: "This is called organised chaos. The supervisors of our institutions are head teachers. But they are green about this curriculum. I don't think we are ready. We ask the minister to retract the policy for the good of this country and our children."

When the matter was finally put to vote, the "Ayes" carried the day.

The Parliament debate on the curriculum followed State Minister for Primary Education Rosemary Seninde's statement in which she said the ministry was ready to implement the revised curriculum whose process they started 12 years ago.

"The new curriculum is competence-based aimed at exposing learners to issues of creativity and innovativeness and emphasises values which have been a challenge," she said. In a separate interview yesterday, Mr Mpuuga said there is a need to pilot the curriculum, identify the gaps and rectify them before rolling it out to schools.

Ministry's position

Mr Alex Kakooza, the Ministry of Education permanent secretary, on Tuesday asked the public to allow the ministry start the implementation and improve along the way.

"We had a slow start because we got money a bit late. We had logistical problems. We have improvised. Otherwise, we will never start. What do you want us to do? People are not looking at where we are coming from. We are not ready not because of our own making. We have finally got some money. We have some materials to start with. We have to start the challenges notwithstanding. We shall succeed," Mr Kakooza said.

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In 2016, as NCDC warmed up to implement a curriculum that had taken them about eight years, a meeting with the President and university chancellors resolved that it be suspended to allow more consultations and adjustments in some proposals. The Uganda National Teachers' Union secretary (Unatu), Mr Filbert Baguma, yesterday said they are not opposed to the new curriculum but want its implementation to be systematic in order to achieve the intended results.

"Little is known in this new secondary curriculum. The teachers have not been enough in the old curriculum. The new curriculum is going to be more demanding because it will require individual learner assessment. If they don't recruit more teachers, don't expect much from it," Mr Baguma said.

However, Mr Patrick Kaboyo, the secretary of the Federation of Non-State Education Institutions (FENEI), an umbrella organisation that brings private schools together, asked all stakeholders to support the ministry and allow them time to roll out the revised curriculum.

"There is goodness in the curriculum. The only problem is that people resist change everywhere. A curriculum is not an event," Mr Kaboyo said.

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com
The shows darker aspects sometimes drew the ire of studio executives, who insisted on using a laugh track over Mr. Reynoldss objections. (He got them to compromise in certain episodes and had it removed from scenes in the operating room.) He also successfully pushed for the use of blood on-screen and recalled having to battle even to show medical scenes in the series.
[February 07, 2020] KBRA Assigns Preliminary Ratings to Fair Square Issuance Trust, Series 2020-A

Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) assigns preliminary ratings to four classes of Fair Square Issuance Trust, Series 2020-A ("Series 2020-A"), a credit card asset-backed securities transaction. The collateral in the Series 2020-A deal includes $318 million of credit card receivables principal balance, as of the November 30, 2019 statistical cutoff date. The Notes are backed by a pool of near prime and subprime general-purpose credit card accounts under the MasterCard (News - Alert) brand. The transaction has a two-year revolving period where no principal payments will be made on the notes during this time unless an Early Amortization Event occurs. During the amortization period, no new accounts will be added, and available funds can be used to purchase new receivables from existing accounts, pay fees and interest and pay principal on the notes sequentially. Fair Square Financial LLC, ("FSF" or the "Company") is a privately held consumer finance company established in 2016. FSF has partnered with The Bank of Missouri ("TBOM) to originate general-purpose credit cards under the MasterCard brand, and with CardWorks Servicing, LLC ("CardWorks") to service its credit card accounts. The Company was founded and is managed by credit card industry veterans from leading credit card issuing banks. FSF is directly or indirectly owned by Pine Brook Card Intermediate, L.P., Orogen FSF LLC. and individual investors. In addition to $300 million committed equity funding, the Company has a $600 million collateralized credit facility. As of September 30, 2019, FSF had total assets of $490 million and total stockholder's equity of $92 million. The ratings reflect the initial credit enhancement levels ranging from 39.50% for the Class A notes to 0.00% for the Class D notes. Credit enhancement on the notes consists of i) subordination (except for the class D notes) ii) excess spread generated by the pool of credit card receivables and iii) a reserve account (if funded after the closing date). KBRA analyzed the transaction using the Global Credit Card ABS Rating Methodology published on November 28, 2017 and the Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology published on August 8, 2018. KBRA's credit card methodology incorporates an analysis of: (1) the quality and expected performance of the underlying collateral, (2) the originator's and servicer's business model and operational capabilities and (3) the transaction terms, including capital structure, credit enhancement and legal structure. To access ratings, reports and disclosures, click here. Ratings: Fair Square Issuance Trust, Series 2020-A







Class Rating Principal Balance A A (sf) $181,500,000 B BBB (sf) $84,900,000 C BB (sf) $19,500,000 D B (sf) $14,100,000

Related Publications: (available at www.kbra.com) Global Credit Card ABS Rating Methodology

Global Structured Finance Counterparty Methodology CONNECT WITH KBRA Twitter

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YouTube About KBRA and KBRA Europe KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an NRSRO. In addition, KBRA is designated as a designated rating organization by the Ontario Securities Commission for issuers of asset-backed securities to file a short form prospectus or shelf prospectus. KBRA is also recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as a Credit Rating Provider, and is a certified Credit Rating Agency (CRA) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). Kroll Bond Rating Agency Europe Limited is registered with ESMA as a CRA. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005521/en/

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Just across the Strait of Gibraltar, Tangier can feel more European than African.

The city is also acquiring a reputation as an artistic and cultural hub for those seeking winter sun (temperatures are around the 18-degree mark this month) only a short hop from home.

Indeed, Air Arabia has just launched a low-cost direct flight from London. Tangier can be divided into three areas: the Kasbah (a beautifully preserved walled fortress overlooking the city), the Medina (a narrow labyrinth of alleyways that contains the souk), and the marina, with an esplanade running the length of the city's Atlantic coastline.

The Moroccan city of Tangier, pictured, is located directly across the Strait of Gibraltar

The last is where you'll find the Atlas Marina Bay, a modern hotel over six floors. Opt for the Double Legend rooms on the fifth and six - from a remarkable 83 per night - and you get spectacular views over the marina that twinkles alluringly by night.

Along the corniche below is a ribbon of what appears to be public art installations; these are, in fact, glass elevators to the subterranean car parks built in response to the regular gridlock in the city.

And to the left is the old belle epoque train station - now a museum since they built the highspeed line to Casablanca. It makes sense to invest in a licensed tour guide, and ours, Abdelhaq, tells us: 'Tangier's history is of patronage by the French, Spanish and English, as well as a sizeable Jewish population, which accounts for the laidback and cosmopolitan vibe.'

I ask him if he drinks. 'Yes, of course, and when I go to a restaurant, my wife joins me without any sense of disapproval from waiters.'

A rooftop view of Tangier looking over the old town towards the modern marina and the sea

The ancient entrance to Tangier's Kasbah - a beautifully walled fortress overlooking the city

Shopping in the Medina is a perennial pull, albeit selling the usual fare of tagines, kaftans and carpets. But the Kasbah is the real draw - a walled fortress with wide boulevards and riads where the wealthy live.

Dar Sultan is a superb example of a riad hotel, a converted 300-year-old merchant's townhouse. Sumptuously furnished, it has the most opulent roof terrace in Tangier, its three levels lavishly restored in a Franco-Moorish style.

A few doors along is the El Morocco Club, a fine-dining room with a somewhat rakish piano bar downstairs where you'll often find the founder and owner, Vincent Coppee, a Belgian art collector.

The food here is superb, part-Andalusian, part-French and with a Moroccan twist. Try the plump oysters from Dakhla on Western Sahara's Atlantic coast, some 1,200 miles south, that arrive daily.

The nearly 100-year-old Cafe Hafa, pictured, was a favourite of writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac

Above the Kasbah is a local institution, Cafe Hafa, which opened just shy of a century ago and the aesthetic has changed little.

Beloved of the Beat Writers Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, who are said to have snacked and scribbled here, a hip crowd of locals still drink coffee and smoke on the sea-view terraces.

And be sure to take in the glorious Art-Deco monument Cinema Rif, opened in 1948. Inside, trendy locals come for cafe au lait and croissants.

Take a table outside and watch the bustle of Grand Socco, the main square, as men in djellabas trundle handcarts of goods through Moorish gateways into the Medina. It's a sight that has changed little in centuries.
IRON RIVER, MI  Another fatal snowmobile crash has been reported in the Upper Peninsula.

WLUC-TV6 reports one person was killed in the crash which occurred in Iron River during the evening hours of Feb.1

The driver of the snowmobile was airlifted to a hospital in Wausau, Wisconsin where he was later pronounced dead. The crash is under investigation.

The Iron River Police Department was assisted at the scene by the Michigan State Police and Aspirus Iron River.
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III

MANILA, Philippines  Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III on Friday issued an apology to the government of Dubai for his earlier statement that a Filipino worker there recently died of coronavirus.

In a statement, DOLE clarified that the death of Filipino worker, identified as Amalia Collado Daproza, was not a case of novel coronavirus.

Based on a belated report received by the office of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III from the Philippine Labor Office in Dubai, results of confirmatory tests conducted by the Pathology and Genetics Department of the Dubai Health Authority on Daprozas specimen yielded negative of the novel coronavirus, DOLE said.

Secretary Bello nonetheless wishes to apologize to the government of Dubai for the confusion and whatever anxiety that the announcement may have caused, it added.

Bello on Thursday told media that a Filipino in Dubai had died of coronavirus based on earlier information provided to his office.

He, however, did not say if the worker was infected with the novel coronavirus strain which caused the outbreak in China.

The Dubai Government Media Office in a Facebook post denied Bellos claim, saying tests conducted on the deceased person showed she did not contract the virus.

The Dubai government media office denied the validity of the statements by the Philippine minister of labor regarding the death of a Filipino woman in Dubai due to the new coronavirus, the post stated.

The deceased was suffering from a respiratory infection and laboratory tests showed she did not have the virus, it added.

The post PH Labor chief apologizes to Dubai govt over report on OFW death due to coronavirus appeared first on UNTV News.
While residents in northwestern Australia are on alert as Severe Tropical Cyclone Damien approaches the Pilbara coast, the eastern coast of the country has been dealing with an ongoing flood threat.

An area of high pressure that was sitting just south of eastern Australia has been promoting easterly winds over the past several days.

These winds have ushered in warm and moist marine air that has fueled periods of rain and thunderstorms across the region.

During the first week of February, widespread rainfall totals of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) have been observed across far eastern locations of Queensland and New South Wales. Along the southern coast of Queensland and northern coast of New South Wales, rainfall amounts of above 200 mm (8 inches) have been observed.

Flooded roadways were reported in the Sydney area on Friday, according to 10 News First.

The Bureau of Meteorology also issued flood warnings across eastern Australia and warned residents to limit unnecessary travel.

This wet pattern continued through the weekend as flooding downpours drenched the eastern coast of the country.

Onshore flow pulled more moisture into the area through the weekend, resulting in areas of rain and thunderstorms for much of New South Wales and eastern Queensland.

In just two days rainfall totals nearly doubled. As of Sunday, coastal areas reported 150-300 mm (6-12 inches) of rain with over 400 mm (16 inches) falling near the border of Queensland and New South Wales.

On Sunday, the high moved east, turning winds out of the northeast and causing rain and storms to spread into eastern Victoria.

Flooding downpours will continue along the coast of Queensland and New South Wales before expanding into coastal areas of Victoria early this week.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

While the wet pattern will help to end the fire threat and reduce drought conditions across eastern Australia, this amount of rainfall in such a short period of time will only exacerbate flood conditions.

Story continues

"In the fire burn areas, the winds and rain can cause mudslides and debris flows. The winds and loosening soil can cause trees to topple and trigger power outages," warned AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk.

Heavy rain will not be the only factor in the dangerous conditions developing in eastern portions of the country.

"Strong onshore winds sending in the warm, moist air will pile up large surf [and] when coupled with high tides will cause coastal water rise and flooding as well," Houk said.

The heaviest rain is expected to taper off into Monday as the area of high pressure continues to move east, but intermittent rain and thunderstorms are expected to continue across these areas through much of next week.

Residents in eastern Australia may also need to keep an eye on newly developed Tropical Cyclone Uesi near Vanuatu, as it has the potential to track toward eastern Australia during the middle to end of the week.

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com for the latest updates on this storm and your forecast.
The Right wing has tried desperately to turn Shaheen Bagh into a Muslim entity. In doing so, it is tapping into the hate politics centered around the global image of a Muslim as a terrorist, and how terror is premised only on Islam. The protesters at Shaheen Bagh have also been subjected to threats and hate speech by BJP leaders such as Anurag Thakur and Yogi Adityanath, among others. Organisations such as Hindu Sena have unsurprisingly joined this chorus.

The Right has also used the hijab [of the women protesters] as a symbolism of being Muslim, a symbol of being subjugated and domination. It must be acknowledged that subjugation and domination are not just an internal subject of Muslim society but as they go out in public, something they face from outside their society as well. Despite that, women retain their own subjectivity and voice, which might burst not as speeches or in daily exchange but as  for instance  poems and songs. This is what Lila Abu-Lughod has shown so powerfully in her work, Veiled Sentiments: Honor and Poetry in a Bedouin Society.

The project of saving and liberating Muslim women from subjugation and domination also emanates from just such a discourse around the veil, as anthropologists like Shery Ortner have rightly charged. This saving and liberating discourse is also dear to many liberal and post-structural traditions in the social sciences and humanities. The oriental and Eurocentric discourses have a problematic vision of Islam. Like them, Western feminism also tend to see the hijab as a symbol of subjugation  and Shaheen Bagh questions this in many ways. This is being stated not in order to romanticise or sanitise internal politics, but to observe that this [skewed discourse] should not be the only point of reference in speaking about Shaheen Bagh.

Mohammad Iqbal, an Indian poet and philosopher, compared Indian Muslims to the Jews of Europe. For Iqbal, writes Faisal Devji, Muslims in India will be trapped as a minority in their own private sphere. Iqbal complains to Him in Shikwa:

Am I then, always

to remain a victim?

What am Ia flower,

to bloom in silence?

This position of being trapped is attributed to the nature of liberalism by Iqbal, in terms of how liberalism turned time to be an independent principle of the spiritual world, to be experienced in private life. In other words, liberalism turned spiritual practice into a private entity. On the other hand, space remained a materialist conception of liberalism, to be separated from the spiritual. This separation of time and space in lieu of the spiritual and material respectively, which also defined the public and private sphere, is crucial to understanding the unease of liberals when something like Shaheen Bagh surfaces because certain private things have become public.

This condition is also made possible by how we think of the question of minority in India. Minority should not be only thought of in terms of religion. One ought to think of minority in terms of language, ones capacity to bargain [for] political, cultural and economic rights, and even to protest. Yes, religion does offer a standpoint and axis of evaluation of ones social location but minority cannot be reduced to only religion. Doing so undermines other factors that are intrinsic to making one a minority. Abul Kalam Azad voiced his concern about such a limited understanding of minority in a weekly called al-Hilal in 1912, and later revived it in his Presidential address at the Ramgarh Congress in 1940. This notion of minority  viewed just in terms of numbers and religion  still haunts us, which informs racism within India in multiple ways.

Our identities are multi-faceted. We perform different roles and functions as individuals, and they all define us. At the same time, we share a relationship with all the roles we perform. There are certain references that become a foundation for each of these roles. Religion alone is not that referent or background. However, discarding religion entirely as a reference or turning it into a stigmatised category is equally problematic. In short, we cannot speak about Muslims without considering religion and their belief in its entirety, nor ought we to reduce it to mere religiosity like Ranajit Guha did, and which Ortner exposed clearly in her work on ethnographic refusal.

One can see an interesting parallel between Shah Bano and Shaheen Bagh. One of the assertions from liberals is the call for women to act as rational individuals devoid of their religion. One ought to remember that the Muslim subjectivity imposed on these protesting women is not only a product of their religion, marriage, and family. Their identity is also a result of the kind of gaze thrown at Islam and their dress, which is constructed culturally, socially, historically and politically. This results in a complex subjectivity of Muslim women who are not freely choosing individuals, unlike the political subject in the western liberal social milieu, being pushed around by many external authorities.

Ortner asserts that we ought to retain their subjectivities, not just Muslim subjectivity, from the dominant ideological constructs. One might add, it is a result of the multiple subjectivities women are capable of, despite being dominated and subjugated.
By John Geddie SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun an investigation into three virus infections linked to an international business meeting in Singapore last month, heightening concerns about the spread of the disease outside China.

By John Geddie

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun an investigation into three virus infections linked to an international business meeting in Singapore last month, heightening concerns about the spread of the disease outside China.

The cases linked to the meeting provide more evidence that the coronavirus is spreading through human-to-human contact outside China, which the WHO has said is deeply concerning and could signal a much larger outbreak.

"WHO is coordinating with relevant ministries of health in relation to it," spokeswoman Olivia Lawe-Davies said in response to questions from Reuters.

"As countries are stepping up surveillance, the detection of more cases of local transmission can be expected."

The cases, in Malaysia and South Korea, have been linked to a 100-strong meeting in Singapore of staff from an as-yet-unnamed multinational sales firm, while one Chinese delegate was from the central city of Wuhan, where the virus originated.

The sister of a Malaysian who attended has since been infected, while Singapore said virus symptoms had surfaced in four of the firm's local staff.

Authorities have not revealed the name of the company, although Korea has said it was an international sales firm.

Malaysia offered the first revelation when it confirmed the case of a 41-year-old citizen who had attended the meeting at the plush Grand Hyatt hotel near the city-state's Orchard Road shopping district.

South Korea then confirmed two cases involving its citizens who had also attended. The Koreans and the Malaysian shared a buffet meal during the conference, South Korean media said.

Of 109 meeting participants, 94 were from overseas and have since left Singapore, its health ministry said, adding that four local staff were referred to the National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

The hotel will carry out "thorough sanitisation and deep cleaning" of guest rooms that were potentially affected and will monitor staff and guests for symptoms, its general manager, Willi Martin, said.

Singapore has reported 28 cases of the coronavirus, some involving domestic transmissions.

Several firms in Singapore have suspended business and media events, including a big travel fair and hotel trade show, but the Singapore Airshow will go ahead next week, although on a smaller scale.

On Thursday, China reported its biggest daily jump in deaths from the virus, an increase of 73 to 563, although only two deaths have been reported outside mainland China.

(Reporting by John Geddie in Singapore; Additional reporting by Liz Lee in Kuala Lumpur and Sangmi Cha in Seoul; Editing by Robert Birsel and Clarence Fernandez)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Julie Bishop's post-politics career is like a foreign ministry without the downsides. She still jets around the world, hobnobs with leaders and exercises her glittering contact book, but she no longer has to deal with parliamentary brawls, internal intrigue and media scrutiny.

Ms Bishop suffers no nostalgia for the old life. "Not the politics, no."

Take the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, which she attended in her new role as chancellor of the Australian National University with vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt, a Nobel Prize winner in physics.

Former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop in her new office at the Australian National University. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

They were a prestigious pair. "Not many doors didn't open to us," she said. And rather than have to squeeze meetings into every spare minute, Ms Bishop could take in the sights with her partner, the former pharmacist David Panton.
Introduction

Realme is a brand that has built a name for offering affordable handsets with decent specs, and the latest phone release definitely lives up to the expectations. The Realme C3 was introduced today with Helio G70 chipset and Realme UI, effectively making it the first Realme smartphone coming with the in-house interface out of the box.

The C lineup has always been about affordability and looks more than anything else. The Realme C3 comes in two neat colors and a price tag of just INR6,999, which translates to $100 or 90. There is 3 GB RAM, dual cameras on the back and a big 6.5" screen on the front for that price and it feels like a phone that can withstand an average daily use.

Realme C3 specs

Body: Plastic back, plastic frame Gorilla Glass 3 front

Plastic back, plastic frame Gorilla Glass 3 front Screen: 6.5-inch, HD+, IPS LCD

6.5-inch, HD+, IPS LCD Rear Camera: Primary 12 MP, f/1.8 lens; Secondary 2 MP depth sensor; LED flash; 1080@30fps video recording

Primary 12 MP, f/1.8 lens; Secondary 2 MP depth sensor; LED flash; 1080@30fps video recording Front Camera: 5 MP, f/2.4; 1080p@30fps video recording

5 MP, f/2.4; 1080p@30fps video recording Chipset: MediaTek Helio G70, octa-core CPU (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.7 GHz Cortex-A55), Mali-G52 2EEMC2

MediaTek Helio G70, octa-core CPU (2x2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6x1.7 GHz Cortex-A55), Mali-G52 2EEMC2 Memory: 3/32 GB or 4/64 GB, dedicated microSD slot

3/32 GB or 4/64 GB, dedicated microSD slot OS: Android 10; Realme UI 1.0, based on ColorOS 7 on top

Android 10; Realme UI 1.0, based on ColorOS 7 on top Battery: 5,000 mAh, 10W charging

5,000 mAh, 10W charging Connectivity: Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, FM radio, microUSB 2.0

Dual SIM (4G), Bluetooth 4.2, GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n, FM radio, microUSB 2.0 Colors: Blazing Red, Frozen Blue

Blazing Red, Frozen Blue Misc:Face Unlock, Reverse Charging

The Realme C3 comes with a huge battery which also supports reverse charging, meaning you can use the handset as a portable power bank - that's basically two gadgets for the price of one.
Unionists have backed plans to fly the Union flag to mark scandal-hit Prince Andrew's 60th birthday, while the SDLP has called it "morally wrong".

The birthday of the controversial royal is still allocated one of the 17 designated days for flying the Union flag on government buildings here.

It has been confirmed the flag will be flown as normal at Belfast City Hall and Stormont Estate on February 19.

A list of designated days is set out by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) - although the Government is to tell councils they are no longer required to fly flags to mark Andrew's 60th birthday.

The Duke of York is facing allegations he slept with Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew's friend.

He strenuously denies any wrongdoing but is facing calls to talk to the FBI and US prosecutors.

Councils here are allowed to decide if they wish to observe designated days.

In December 2012, a vote to only fly the flag at Belfast City Hall on designated days rather than all-year round sparked protests and riots by loyalists.

DUP group leader on Belfast City Council George Dorrian said it was not for his party to change designated days.

"Belfast City Council has agreed that it will fly the Union flag on the list of days set out by DCMS," he said.

"Any changes to that list are a matter for the department and the royal household, not Belfast councillors."

UUP councillor Jim Rodgers also supported the status quo.

"It's a difficult question. I'm not happy at what (Prince Andrew) has been accused of, it's concerning," he said.

"But if it's a designated day, for me, unless somebody brings another option to the table, it should still be a designated day.

"That's not going to please everybody, but there's those who support Prince Andrew and those who don't.

"To me, it's one of the designated days, so just let it go on."

The SDLP group leader on Belfast City Council, Donal Lyons, said it was no longer appropriate.

"The SDLP supports the agreed council position of designated days as a fair compromise," Mr Lyons said. "However, we're obviously dealing with an exceptional set of circumstances involving a particular individual and, in light of the ongoing investigation, I don't think it's appropriate to fly a flag to mark his birthday, and doing so would leave a bad taste in the mouths of many."

He added: "Prince Andrew's failure to co-operate fully with authorities is disgraceful and sends a worrying message.

"I don't think any flag should be flown anywhere in celebration of his birthday and DCMS needs to urgently reconsider their recommendation. I'd hope that the unionist parties would be clear-headed enough to recognise the problem here.

"Celebrating anyone who has these type of serious questions to answer is morally wrong."

Sinn Fein and the Alliance Party have yet to comment.

Both Belfast City Council and the Assembly said the flag will be flown on February 19, following guidance from DCMS.

However, Downing Street said the matter was being looked into after critics branded the celebration "crass and offensive".

A Government spokesman said: "The Department of Culture, Media and Sport will be advising councils that there is no requirement to fly flags on February 19 following the decision by the Duke of York to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future."
Abuja  President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan said on Thursday that there was the urgent need to revisit the privatisation of the power sector.

Speaking yesterday in Abuja when members of the Executive Committee of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria ((MAN) paid him a courtesy visit, Lawan said, "I think the privatisation has not worked. It has failed because the essence of privatisation is to create efficiency," Lawan told his guests who complained of the adverse effects of the sordid state of electricity supply in the country.

"It appears most of the companies, the DISCOs (Distribution Companies), have no sufficient capital and probably the same thing with the GENCOs (Generation Companies)."

The President who acknowledged the efforts of the government which, out of desperation to create a better situation for the privatised sector, gave out so much money to the companies, said, "I think the time has come for the government to take a very drastic but necessary decision. If we have privatised the DISCOs and the GENCOs, I think, the private sector, those who have taken them over, should be able to make them work better than they were before.

"If they cannot, I think we need to revisit this privatisation because we cannot go on like that. We should look at the larger interest of Nigerians, not of those companies that have taken over the power sector - the DISCOs and the GENCOs.

"We are going to support the executive arm of government... We will suggest that going forward we have to revisit the privatisation because apparently the companies are not able to provide the power that we thought they could by now."

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Lawan who noted that the issue of power has remained one of the major challenges of the nation's economy, said, "there is no way we can make any serious progress without adequate and steady power supply".

On the complaint by MAN on the delay encountered in clearing goods at the nation's seaports, the Senate President expressed his confidence that the federal government committee on Ease of Doing Business chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would address the issue.

The committee, he said has since its inception done a lot to normalize and restore efficiency at the ports.

He assured the Association of the National Assembly readiness to partner with it for the growth and development of the nation's economy.

"Feel free to always come to us when there is a need for legislative intervention," he said.

Earlier, MAN President, Engr. Mansur Ahmed who listed insecurity, delebitating power supply and delay in clearing goods as major challenges facing the members of the Association, said that the challenges have resulted in a lack of competitiveness by the nation's manufacturers.

vanguard
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

One more entrepreneur, Turkish businessman Koral Turkan, will start business in Azerbaijan through the Mobile Residency program provided by the Digital Trade Hub at Azerbaijans Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communication, Trend reports referring to the center.

Turkish citizen Koral Turkan, having studied Azerbaijans investment environment, appealed to the Digital Trade Hub in order to start a new business.

Manager of the Digital Trade Hub Nijat Asadli reports that Koral Turkan, who received mobile residency, a transnational digital identity in a short time, will register a legal entity online and open a corporate bank account to start ICT activities in Azerbaijan.

Registration of a legal entity is available in three languages and is completely free at www.dth.az.

Koral Turkan noted that the process is fast and convenient, adding that he will also recommend businessmen from his circle to join this program.

Electronic Residency and Mobile Residency is a government program that allows entrepreneurs around the world to set up and run a location-independent business in Azerbaijan, using all the cross-border e-services of the Digital Trade Hub of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is the worlds second country, after Estonia, to offer e-Residency and the first country to offer m-Residency.
The coverage on this live blog has ended  but for up-to-the-minute coverage on the coronavirus outbreak, visit the live blog from CNBC's Asia-Pacific team. Total cases: More than 33,800 as of Friday evening

Total deaths: At least 722 worldwide as of Friday evening

7:30 pm: Lockheed Martin drops out of Singapore Airshow over coronavirus concerns

The Pentagon shrunk the size of its delegation traveling to the Singapore Airshow and U.S. defense firm Lockheed Martin Corp said it would not attend, as the impact of the coronavirus has reduced participation in the event. Undersecretary of Defense Ellen Lord will no longer attend the event "due to extenuating circumstances," Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews said in a statement.

7:20 pm: China virus death toll rises to 722; new cases increase by 3,399

China's National Health Commission said there were an additional 86 deaths and 3,399 new confirmed cases in the country as of the end of Friday. That brings the total cases in mainland China to 34,546 as the death toll rises to 722, the government said. Correction: This article was updated to reflect that the new coronavirus has infected 34,546 people in mainland China. A previous version misstated the figure.

5:30 pm: Pace of new cases in China's Hubei picks up again

The number of deaths in China's central Hubei province from a coronavirus outbreak had risen by 81 to 699, the province's health commission said in a statement on its website. There had been a further 2,841 cases detected in Hubei, the epicenter of the outbreak, taking the total in the province to 24,953. World Health Organization earlier said it was encouraged by a slowing pace of new cases over the past two days, however, this latest data reverses that trend. Cheddar Berk with Reuters

5:24 pm: Yardeni says epidemic could trigger market correction

Yardeni Research President Edward Yardeni said the U.S. economy was showing signs of improvement before the deadly pneumonia-like virus started making headlines. The longer this situation persists the more likely the event could weigh on stocks, possibly sparking a correction, Yardeni said. He said he would keep new cash on the sidelines until there is more clarity around the spread of the illness. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 277.26 points lower, or nearly 1%, to 29,102.51. The S&P 500 dipped 0.5% to 3,327.71. The Nasdaq Composite also slid 0.5% to close at 9,520.51. Those losses snapped a four-day winning streak for the major average. Cheddar Berk, Imbert

4:51 pm: Norwegian Cruises bans Chinese-passport holders, passengers who traveled to China within 30days

Norwegian Cruises imposed the strictest measures yet to prevent coronavirus. It said, "Any guest that holds a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, will be unable to board any of our ships, regardless of residency." The company also announced that anyone who has traveled to mainland China or even visited an airport in the country in the 30 days prior to their cruise departure will not be allowed on the ship. The decision comes as several cruise ships around the world endure coronavirus outbreaks and scares.  Feuer

4:24 pm: Honda says operations in Wuhan suspended through Feb. 13

Honda spokesman Marcos Frommer said the company will keep operations with Dongfeng Motor in Wuhan, China suspended through Feb. 13, days later than initially planned. Facilities with GAC Motor and other companies in Guangzhou, located about 600 miles south of Wuhan, are scheduled to open Monday, according to the U.S.-based spokesman. Chinese newspaper Nikkei reported Friday that Honda will aim to restart production in the Wuhan area on Feb. 17. Frommer did not immediately respond for comment on the report. Wayland

4:02 pm: Apple extends closure of stores and offices in China

3:40 pm: Images from the epicenter of the outbreak

The coronavirus outbreak worsened this week, with more than 31,000 cases and at least 636 deaths. CNBC will deliver live coverage of the virus, including photos from Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, in a special report at 7 p.m. Lovelace @CNBC: The U.S. may see many more cases of coronavirus starting next week, former FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb says. Catch our interview with him, plus much more tonight at 7 p.m. ET on our special report: Coronavirus Outbreak.

2:55 pm: Illumina is working with China on testing and training

Illumina Chief Medical Officer Phil Febbo discusses the possibility of a cure for the virus. Cheddar Berk

2:36 pm: Trump administration commits $100 million to outbreak relief efforts

The Trump administration announced that it would commit up to $100 million in existing funds to help the World Health Organization, China and other infected countries fight the coronavirus outbreak. WHO has been asking member countries for donations to help with response efforts after tapping $9 million from its contingency fund for emergencies earlier this week. When asked about contributing additional funds, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that it was "premature" to discuss that. Lovelace

2:26 pm: Dow falls 300 points on coronavirus concerns

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 300 points, or 1%, as concerns over coronavirus outweighed stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The rising number of cases has fueled concern over the effects on China's economy. "China is really slowing and that's worrying people for sure," said Ed Hyman, chairman of Evercore ISI, on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." Imbert

1:34 pm: Automakers faced challenges in China, the virus makes that worse

With the virus extending factory shutdowns in China, the Detroit automakers are starting to look at contingency plans. All three declined to estimate potential losses. At an investor meeting this week, General Motors China President Matt Tsien said fallout from the outbreak could lead to a larger near-term sales decline than the automaker expected. GM operates 15 assembly plants in China with its partners. Ford has six and Fiat has two. Factory closures also can hurt supply chain. Wayland

1:12 pm: Royal Caribbean bans Chinese passport-holders from its ships amid coronavirus outbreak

After four guests on one of its ships were hospitalized to be tested for the new coronavirus, Royal Caribbean announced it is banning all Chinese passport-holders from its ships. "Any guests holding a Chinese, Hong Kong, or Macau passport, regardless of when they were there last, will not be allowed to board our ships," the company said. "Regardless of nationality, any guest or crewmember traveling from, to, or through mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau less than 15 days prior to their sailing will be unable to board any of our ships." Feuer CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Royal Caribbean in an earlier headline.

1:00 pm: Trump's coronavirus task force to hold press conference

Members of President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force are expected to provide an update on the disease at a press conference at 2 p.m. Last week, the task force announced that certain foreign nationals deemed to pose a risk of transmitting the disease would be temporarily denied entry into the U.S. Some returning American citizens potentially at risk would also be quarantined. Watch the press conference here. Lovelace

11:47 am: WHO says cases in China are slowing

The number of new coronavirus cases slowed in China for a second day, but it's too early to celebrate, World Health Organization officials said at a news conference. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the fewer number of cases is "good news," but cautioned the public not to read too much into the new data. "The numbers could go up again," he told reporters. "As you know, epi curves can zig zag," referring to a diagram that shows the distribution of cases over time. Lovelace

11:34 am: The Fed flags coronavirus as potential threat to US growth

The Federal Reserve on Friday announced that it's now monitoring the coronavirus as a potential threat to U.S. growth. The central bank wrote that "possible spillovers from the effects of the coronavirus in China have presented a new risk to the outlook. "Though recent reports have suggested steadier economic growth in Europe and China, the Fed warned the disease could "lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy." Franck

10:56 am: VP Pence praises China's 'unprecedented level of transparency' in dealing with the coronavirus outbreak

Vice President Mike Pence said Beijing has demonstrated "an unprecedented level of transparency" with world health officials amid the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak. "It's heartbreaking but we stand ready with China to provide them any and all support," he told CNBC's Wilfred Frost on "Squawk on the Street." Pence referenced Thursday's phone call between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, after which Trump tweeted that China will "be successful" in getting control over the deadly coronavirus. "Trump made it clear that the United States is ready, willing and able to deploy resources," Pence added. Bursztynsky

10:29 am: White House sees a minimal impact on US economic growth from outbreak

The White House's economic adviser said that President Donald Trump's administration does not expect the coronavirus in China will have a major effect on the U.S. economy. "There's a lot of variables involved and things we don't know. Internally we have looked at a drop in GDP of perhaps two-tenths of 1%  that's all we found so far. Again, based on the past and based on what we're seeing " National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters. Reuters

10:16 am: CDC removes four from Royal Caribbean cruise for testing in New Jersey

The Centers for Disease Control said a family of four have been removed from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship at the Bayonne Port in New Jersey. "The family has a travel history to mainland China, but not a history of travel to Hubei Province," CDC spokesperson Kristen Nordlund said. New Jersey Department of Health will facilitate the specimen collection, and the samples will be sent to CDC for testing." Health officials screened about two dozen for the virus, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis tweeted. Feuer

10:14 am: WHO holds press conference on outbreak

World Health Organization officials are holding a press conference to update the public on the new coronavirus outbreak. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the group's director-general, said the number of new cases is slowing. However, he expressed concern about supplies of items such as masks to protect against the virus, saying the prices of some of these items are skyrocketing. Cheddar Berk

9:48 am: The number of cases on Carnival cruise ship near Japan jumps by 41

The Japanese Health Ministry confirmed 41 new cases of the virus on a quarantined cruise ship off the coast of Japan. The Diamond Princess cruise ship, which is operated by Carnival's Princess Cruises, is carrying about 3,700 passengers and crew at the port of Yokohama. The new cases bring the total to 61 cases out of 273 people who were suspected to be exposed to the virus and tested for it. Among the newly infected people, there is one from Argentina, five from Australia, five from Canada, 21 from Japan, one from the U.K. and eight from the U.S. Feuer

9:20 am: Van's parent says 60% of its stores in China are closed for now

Shares of VF Corp., the parent of Vans, were down slightly after the company revealed it has been forced to close about 60% of its owned and licensed stores in China due to the outbreak. Stores in mainland China had accounted for about 6% of its fiscal 2019 revenue. In addition, the company sources about 16% of its total cost of goods sold from China, and about 7% of that gets shipped to the U.S. market. VF said it's "not possible" to gauge the impact of its supply chain at this time. Cheddar Berk

8:39 am: Canada Goose says travel restrictions are hurting sales

Canada Goose Holdings said its profits have been hit by fallout from the virus. The outerwear maker's stock dipped 4% after it announced that reduced consumer traffic and travel restrictions have hurt sales. The company cut its forecast for annual revenue growth from 20% to 13.8% to 15%, which could mean a loss of up to $51.6 million Canadian. Miller

8:15 am: Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi says outbreak is not hitting the business

7:49 am: Burberry closes a third of its China stores, revises guidance

Burberry warned of a hit to demand, withdrew its financial guidance for 2020 and said it had closed more than a third of its stores in mainland China. It said spending by Chinese tourists in Europe and elsewhere had not been hurt as much, but given widening travel restrictions, it forecast this would worsen in the coming weeks.  Reuters

7:20 am: Ericsson withdraws from major Barcelona conference over coronavirus concerns

Sweden's Ericsson has announced it will not attend Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, later this month, saying it cannot ensure the safety of employees and customers amid concerns over the coronavirus. "The health and safety of our employees, customers and other stakeholders are our highest priority. This is not a decision we have taken lightly," CEO and President Borje Ekholm said in a statement. "We were looking forward to showcasing our latest innovations at MWC in Barcelona. It is very unfortunate, but we strongly believe the most responsible business decision is to withdraw our participation from this year's event."  Meredith

6:35 am: WHO director-general warns of a chronic shortage of personnel protective equipment

The director-general of the World Health Organization has warned about the risk of a chronic shortage of protective equipment as countries work to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Speaking at an executive board meeting at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was concerned about a lack of masks, gloves and other protective equipment, Reuters reported. Tedros also said there had been fewer reported coronavirus infections in China over the last two days. However, "the numbers could go up again," he cautioned. Late last month, health experts told CNBC that the panic buying of face masks to protect against the coronavirus was "completely understandable," but ultimately unwarranted. They also warned a shortage of masks could pose a risk to health workers.  Meredith

5:55 am: Trump hails 'great discipline' in China to tackle coronavirus
Ministers should consider ending the practice of deporting people who arrived in the UK as children, according to the much-anticipated Windrush report, which has been leaked days before dozens of people are set to be removed on a controversial charter flight to Jamaica.

The Home Office is being urged to put the deportation flight on hold until the review, commissioned in the wake of the Windrush scandal, is published and the recommendations are implemented after it emerged that people set to be removed may be allowed to stay once this process is complete.

A draft copy of the Windrush Lessons Learned review, obtained by Labour MP David Lammy, states that the government should consider ending all deportation of foreign national offenders where they arrived in the UK as children.

A number of individuals scheduled to be deported on the flight to Jamaica, set to depart on 11 February, are known to have lived in the UK since they were children.

In one case, a man who came to Britain aged 11 and has a young British baby has been issued deportation orders on the basis that he was convicted under the now unlawful joint enterprise rule 10 years ago, for which he spent two months in prison.

In another, Joseph Nembhard, 38, who arrived in the UK when he was 17, told The Independent he felt heartbroken at being split from his partner and children  aged five and eight months  after he was detained and issued deportation orders due to an alleged assault several years ago.

Separately, Carline Angus, whose son is due to be deported after being in Britain since he was five on the basis that he was convicted of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply as a teenager, told Newsnight she believed he would be allowed to stay when they recommendations from the Windrush report were implemented.

My son came here when he was five, so why is he in this category? I think he should be given a chance. If you dont give him a chance to rehabilitate himself, how can he learn? He made a mistake, he apologised for it, hes moved on, she said.

I think they should deport people with the most serious offences, yes. [My son] made a stupid mistake when he was 17, 18. A lot of 17, 18-year-olds dont know what theyre doing.

It comes as the Home Office admitted there had been a mobile phone outage at Heathrow detention centres since 13 January, making it difficult for detainees to access legal advice and challenge deportation orders.

The department failed to take remedial action for 23 days, during which charter flights to Nigeria and Ghana and France departed from the UK  raising questions about whether those deportees had effective rights to legal representation.

 MPs Nadia Whittome and Dawn Butler raise point of status of people on next weeks deportation flight to Jamaica

Responding to the leaked Windrush report, Mr Lammy said: Its a scandal that the government is blocking and acting against its own Windrush Lessons Learned Review. The deportation flight to Jamaica next week must be cancelled. No more deportations until the reviews recommendations are implemented.

The draft copy of the review states: Government should review its policy and approach to foreign national offenders, if necessary through primary legislation. It should consider ending all deportation of foreign national offenders where they arrived in the UK as children (say before the age of 13). Alternatively, deportation should only be considered in the most severe cases.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said it did not comment on leaked reviews, adding: The planned charter flight to Jamaica is specifically for removing foreign criminals. Those detained for removal include people convicted of manslaughter, rape, violent crime and dealing class A drugs.

Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, said that among those set to be deported were clients who had lived in the UK since the ages of five and eight. They had all their families in the country  most of them British citizens  and almost no connection to Jamaica.

Its shameful that the government has suppressed the Windrush report while scheduling next weeks mass deportation flight to Jamaica, she said. We now know that one of the key recommendations of the review is that the automatic deportation of those that come to the UK as children should end.

Yet Tuesdays flight is full of such people, who, like so many of our clients, have deep roots and families in the UK. This cruel policy is double and discriminatory punishment, it rips children from their parents and causes deep and lifelong trauma. After the scandal of Windrush, government must now make amends to the communities it has shamefully scapegoated.
The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye has put on hold a request for the House to probe the Airbus SE bribery scandal.

The House approved an agreement for the purchase of the Airbus CASA 295 military aircraft after a heated debate in 2011.

A recent judgment on the airline's procurement processes in the UK and US alleging the payment of bribes in exchange of high-value contracts has re-ignited calls for public scrutiny.

Assin South MP, Rev. John Ntim Fordjour, presented a statement to the house urging members to set up a full-blown parliamentary inquiry into the matter.

Mr. Speaker, with due regard for the diligent commitment exhibited by President Akufo-Addo in respect of the judgment by the UK and USA courts in relation to the Airbus SE bribery scandal, as demonstrated by promptly charging the Office of the Special Prosecutor to collaborate with its UK counterpart to conduct inquiry into determining the complicity or otherwise of any Ghanaian government official, past or present and to take the necessary action required by Ghanaian law, I, in the spirit of patriotism, do accordingly implore the House to explore our legitimate option fortified by Order 191 of the Standing Orders of the Parliament of Ghana, to conduct inquiry into the matter, as an independent institution, to establish complicity or otherwise of Ghanaian government officials, past or present, relative to this Airbus bribery scandal, he requested.

But after a debate on the Floor of the House, the Speaker of Parliament ruled that the matter has been put on hold, and will be revisited due to its complexity.

As a House of debate, this House has competently, generally, dealt with this matter, considering the circumstances of this matter in its totality and the technical prerequisites for examining it in full and mindful of the referral already to the Special Prosecutor's Office and not forgetting that at any time, this House can by any of its appropriate procedures go further into the matter. We will hold our horses by what I will rule now and we shall revisit it in due season, he said.

citinewsroom
The police say they have lost two officers involved in a raid on a camp hosting members of the Ansaru terrorist group in Kaduna State.

The Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Abdulmajid Ali, disclosed this on Friday two days after the security operatives battled the terrorists.

Ali, who revealed that 12 others suffered critical injuries, said they were already receiving treatment at different hospitals in the Kaduna State capital.

Speaking during a visit to one of the medical facilities, the DIG was pleased that the injured officers were stable and responding to treatment.



He stressed that not even the casualty on the side of the police would deter the force from crushing the bandits from their hideouts in all parts of the country.

According to the DIG, the Force is currently executing about 50 operations in the North-West and North-Central regions of Nigeria.

He explained that the operations were aimed at flushing out members of the terrorist group and other criminal elements from their camps.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 06, 2020 | 05:16 PM | WINGO

Three students at Wingo Elementary School in Graves County got a big surprise on Thursday.

Brothers Philip, Hunter and Randall Wilson thought it was just another assembly in the school's gymnasium. Little did they know, Thursday's special guest was their dad, U.S. Army Seargent First Class P.J Wilson, who returned to Graves County this week after a nine month deployment in Afghanistan.

Upon seeing their father, all three boys immediately left their seats in the bleachers, and ran onto the gym floor to give their dad hugs and kisses.

PJ's wife, Mary Ann, helped orchestrate Thursday's surprise. She said she was excited and nervous.

This is the third time he's returned, Mary Ann said. We were able to surprise the boys this time. This is a first.

Middle son Hunter could hardly contain his excitement.

I haven't got to see him in so long, Hunter said. This is the first time I've ever got to see him back from deployment, because last time he came back I was too young.

PJ said he was happy to be home.

Just honored that the school gave us the opportunity to surprise them, PJ said. I was really happy with it.

PJ has 16 years of service in the Army. He recently helped with security during President Donald Trump's visit to Afghanistan.






UPDATE: 1 of 2 men wanted in connection with Valley drugs, guns and check scheme arrested

A raid last year on a squalid Bethlehem home as part of a stolen gun investigation uncovered an extensive check fraud ring in the Lehigh Valley, city police said.

A handful of people connected to 512 Hoch St. faced various criminal charges, after officers said they discovered drugs and a gun in the home, along with two kids living among the bugs and absolute squalor and filth.

Now, Bethlehem police are looking for one of the previous residents, 19-year-old Lovepreet Mundi, on 158 charges connected to the check scheme. The charges and a warrant in the case were filed Monday.

Mundi, who police believe is now homeless, most recently lived in the 500 block of Kingwood Street in Palmer Township, where police say he was printing checks.

Bethlehem police Capt. Benjamin Hackett said Mundi is considered dangerous, and if anyone sees him they should call 911. Anyone with information about Mundis whereabouts should call the citys crime tip line at 610-691-6660. Callers can remain anonymous.

Mundi is currently awaiting trial in Northampton County on a charge of carrying a concealed firearm without a license, for which he was arrested four days after the Bethlehem raid. He has been free since his bail was reduced to 10% of $10,000, court records show.

Mundi was in court Dec. 13, where he waived his right to a speedy trial. A pretrial conference in that case is scheduled for Feb. 12. A message left for his defense attorney in that case, James Connell, was not returned.

A filthy house with drugs and a gun

At the time of the June 6 raid, Mundi lived with Nathan Morales and Kevin Morales at the Hoch Street address, police said. In court paperwork, police said before the raid officers saw evidence on Instagram accounts that Nathan Morales and Mundi were involved in gun and drug crimes.

The raid led to warrants for Kevin Morales car, where police said they discovered more heroin in the trunk, as well as warrants for Nathan Morales cell phone, and his and Mundis Instagram accounts. Mundis account went by the name loudbreezo.

After the initial review of the pairs Instagram accounts, police got another search warrant for more Instagram records from 2019.

Investigators said they found a trove of information that is the lynchpin in the check fraud scheme investigation, as well as evidence of firearm trafficking and drug trafficking.

It includes Mundi recruiting people for the fraud ring, pictures of checks, more than 20 screenshots of spreadsheets with numerous names, addresses and credit card information of potential identity theft victims, and an image of the Fraud Bible, a how-to guide for a wide variety of fraud schemes, according to Bethlehem police.

A trail of IG chats

The records include an IG conversation from August between Mundi and Nathan Morales, where Mundi said he was involved in a new check fraud scheme, as well as a credit card scheme, according to police.

Police said Mundis check scheme began in February 2019, with Mundi getting photos of checks and forging them for larger amounts, in addition to identity theft and credit card fraud.

Photos of the checks were found on Mundis Instagram account, police said.

The forged checks include a $433 check that was changed to $1,967.89 and handful of others that were changed to $2,800 or $2,900 at various banks, police said.

Police learned that the day of the June raid, a juvenile girl passed a forged check at United Check Cashing on Stefko Boulevard.

Mundis girlfriend at the time was with the girl, who was arrested, police said. Police said a photo of her juvenile court paperwork was found in images on Mundis Instagram account.

A check from Oak Restaurants LP served as a template for some of the forged checks, investigators said. Police found evidence of an order of blank business checks, commonly used to make forged checks, was shipped in September to the Palmer Township address.

The credit card scheme involved buying cell phones with stolen credit information, and then selling the phones for cash, police said. Mundi sent Morales a photo of one of the phone orders, to be delivered to Mundis Palmer Township address, according to court papers.

One victim interviewed last month reported there was more than $5,000 in credit card fraud in her name last year.

Victims personal information was used for credit card applications and Paypal accounts, and police said Mundi bought things like an Army tactical ballistic vest, iPhones, a pair of $575 Saint Laurent sneakers and a Pizza Hut order delivered to his Palmer Township address.

Not all the orders were successful, and police said they have screenshots of order cancellations and accounts that were shut down.

Pennsylvania State Police Troop L was also investigating check fraud cases involving Mundi, known as Loud Breezo, according to court paperwork. On Thursday, Trooper David Beohm said the victim in their investigation did not want Mundi prosecuted, and their investigation is closed.

On Jan. 23 Bethlehem police raided Mundis Palmer Township address, where they found the blank check paper, financial documents in someone elses name and copies of checks that match photos in Mundis Instagram account.

Family at the apartment reportedly told police Mundi was printing checks at the home, and that he moved out, taking the printer with him.

Palmer Township police said they assisted Bethlehem police with the raid, but the township department does not have any investigations stemming from it.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Everton's Chloe Kelly in action / Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington

She might be a Londoner born and bred but no one needs to tell Evertons goalscoring sensation Chloe Kelly how much this weekends Merseyside derby against Liverpool means, writes Adam LeRoux.

Kelly has been in inspired form this season, netting eight times in 10 Barclays FA Womens Super League appearances, including her first hat-trick in the competition in a 3-1 victory over Reading in January.

The former Arsenal striker has made herself at home in the northwest after making the permanent move from London in 2018, and will be looking to add to her goalscoring tally when she comes up against Vicky Jepsons Reds on Sunday.

 Lower Gwladys - SOLD OUT

 Park End - SOLD OUT

 Family Enclosure - SOLD OUT

 Main Stand - ON SALE

 Upper Bullens - NOW OPEN



Seats now released in the Upper Bullens for Sunday's @BarclaysFAWSL Merseyside derby! #COYB



Get your tickets: https://t.co/hiWmi5VXzf pic.twitter.com/hJJnrzr24o  Everton Fan Services (@efc_fanservices) February 7, 2020

It was probably the best decision I ever made coming to Everton because I knew I needed minutes and I knew I needed to get on the pitch to be able to learn more about myself as a player and really push on my game, the 22-year-old said.

Im not from here myself but I know what it means to play for this badge and I really love playing for Everton, I love the club and its great here, so going into the derby I feel like a Scouser to be honest!

Its very exciting to be playing at Goodison Park, hopefully we can get as many Evertonians out to support us as possible and hopefully we delivery on the big stage.

Story continues

READ MORE: FA WSL preview: Goodison derby headlines weekends matches

Kellys goalscoring exploits will no doubt have caught the eye of England manager Phil Neville this season, as she looks to add to her solitary appearance for the Lionesses in November 2018.

And with the January additions of Izzy Christiansen and Hayley Raso to the Everton frontline, the young England star is looking forward to learning from some of the best.

Im really excited to be teaming up with Izzy, shes a great player and a great character as well, to get the chance play with her and learn from her and Hayley just shows the ambition of the club and how much we are improving season by season, Kelly said.

I can always work on the defensive side of my game and Im trying to do that now, as well as my positioning and off the ball work.

Im really hungry to learn and I try to learn from them every day and I just want to be the best that I can be. Im trying to sponge all the information I can get.

I will keep working hard until that England call comes, if it was easy everyone would be there so Ill just work hard and do all that I can. I have things to improve on but if I keep improving then hopefully that will help bridge the gap.

To follow the action, buy tickets and sign-up for The FA Players live Barclays FA Womens Super League coverage visit womenscompetitions.thefa.com
Park Yong-maan, second from right, chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), speaks during business leaders' meeting at the KCCI office in central Seoul, Friday, to discuss countermeasures against the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki, third from left, and presidential chief of policy Kim Sang-jo, second from left, also attended the meeting. / Courtesy of KCCI
BEIJING - The death of a young doctor who was reprimanded for warning about Chinas new virus triggered an outpouring Friday of praise for him and fury that communist authorities put politics above public safety.

In death, Dr. Li Wenliang became the face of simmering anger at the ruling Communist Partys controls over information and complaints that officials lie about or hide disease outbreaks, chemical spills, dangerous consumer products or financial frauds.

The 34-year-old ophthalmologist died overnight at Wuhan Central Hospital, where he worked and likely contracted the virus while treating patients in the early days of the outbreak.

A hero who released information about Wuhans epidemic in the early stage, Dr. Li Wenliang is immortal, the China Center for Disease Controls chief scientist, Zeng Guang, wrote on the Sina Weibo microblog service.

Police in December had reprimanded eight doctors including Li for warning friends on social media about the emerging threat. Chinas supreme court later criticized the police, but the ruling party also has tightened its grip on information about the outbreak.

Weibo users have left hundreds of thousands of messages below Lis last post.

A post by one of Lis coworkers, an emergency room nurse, said the freezing Wuhan weather was as gloomy as my mood.

To you, we are angels and so strong. But how strong a heart can watch the people around me fall one by one without being shocked? wrote Li Mengping on her verified account.

Others placed blame for the deaths on Chinese officials, not an animal species from where the virus might have spread, and said those who made trouble for the doctor should face consequences. The most pointed online comments were quickly deleted by censors.

The ruling party has faced similar accusations of bungling or thuggish behaviour following previous disasters. They include the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, a 2005 chemical spill that disrupted water supplies to millions of people in Chinas northeast, sales of tainted milk that sickened thousands of children and the failure of private finance companies after the global economic crisis.

In each case, officials were accused of trying to conceal or delay release of information members of the public said they needed to protect themselves.

The party often responds by allowing the public to vent temporarily, then uses its control of media and the internet to stifle criticism. Critics who persist can be jailed on vague charges of spreading rumours or making trouble.

On the streets of Beijing, the capital, residents expressed sadness and said that China should learn from Li.

He is such a nice person, but still didnt pull through, said Ning Yanqing. Those left do not dare to speak out. Alas, I dont know what to say.

Some online comments Friday hinted at broader dissatisfaction with the party and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has tightened controls on society since taking power in 2012.

The most powerful Chinese leader since at least the 1980s, Xi gave himself the option of remaining president for life by changing the Chinese constitution in 2018 to remove a two-term limit.

Referring to one of Xis propaganda initiatives, a message that circulated on social media said, My Chinese Dream is broken.

In Wuhan, local leaders were accused of telling doctors in December not to publicize the spreading virus in order to avoid casting a shadow over the annual meeting of a local legislative body.

As the virus spread, doctors were ordered to delete posts on social media that appealed for donations of medical supplies. That prompted complaints authorities were more worried about image than public safety.

Li was detained by police after warning about the virus on a social media group for his former classmates.

The latest episode is unusually awkward for the ruling party because Li was a physician, part of a group who are regarded as overworked, underpaid heroes who are Chinas line of defence against a frightening new disease.

He showed a responsible attitude toward the society, said Cai Lin, a Beijing resident. He is honest and faithful. So I think the whole society should reflect on this.

The World Health Organization, which has complimented Chinas response to the outbreak, said in a tweet that We are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Li Wenliang. We all need to celebrate work that he did on the virus.

The official propaganda apparatus tried Friday to mollify the public.

Some of Li Wenliangs experiences during his life reflect shortcomings and deficiencies in epidemic prevention and control, said state television on its website.

The Chinese ambassador to Washington, Cui Tiankai, said in Twitter, a service the ruling partys internet censorship blocks the public from seeing, Really saddened by the death of Dr. Li Wenliang. He was a very devoted doctor. We are so grateful to him for what he has done in our joint efforts fighting against #2019nCoV.

The government announced a team from Beijing would be sent to Wuhan to investigate issues reported by the masses involving Dr. Li Wenliang.

___

AP researcher Chen Si in Zhengzhou, China, and video journalist Olivia Zhang and researcher Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
On Dec. 16, 1846, the heads of a prominent family of native Californians seized the American-born alcalde of Yerba Buena and six U.S. sailors and held them hostage. As the previous Portals explained, the Californios were protesting the illegal seizure of their horses and other abuses carried out by an irregular militia acting in the name of the U.S. military, which was on high alert because of the Mexican-American War.

The 20 or so members of the Sanchez family who captured alcalde Washington Bartlett and the others escorted their prisoners to ranches across the Bay Area. All the rancheros had suffered abuses, and additional men joined the party as it zigzagged from the coast to San Jose to Half Moon Bay, back to the Peninsula and then back toward Mission Santa Clara, never stopping long in any one place. It was a circuitous protest ride, intended to force the Americans to negotiate.

Late on the afternoon of Jan. 1, 1847, the party crossed the Guadalupe River on an old bridge, near present-day Trimble Road in San Jose. The next day, they moved toward the coastal foothills. Bartlett and the other prisoners were treated well throughout.

Meanwhile, U.S. officers in Yerba Buena were mustering an expeditionary force to pursue the Californios and free their prisoners. On Dec. 29, about 50 Marines and Navy personnel, along with a motley crew of 11 local volunteers, left Yerba Buena, hauling a small cannon. They were under the command of Marine Capt. William Marston. At Mission Dolores, the force was joined by a 33-man mounted company from San Jose  the same militia that had committed the outrages against the Californios.

The first day of the march was not exactly a masterpiece of military precision. Just hauling the cannon across the 2 miles of sand and scrub brush between Yerba Buena and Mission Dolores was an ordeal. Then, as Dorothy Regnery recounts in The Battle of Santa Clara, two inebriated volunteers and the ominous breakdown of the impromptu gun carriage forced a halt less than a mile beyond the mission near the home of Carmen Sibrian and Jose Cornelio Bernal, which stood on the site of present-day St. Lukes Hospital in San Francisco.

The force marched down the Peninsula toward San Jose. On Jan. 2, the Americans emerged from the woods 3 miles west of Mission Santa Clara and finally saw the enemy  100 rancheros deployed on horseback across a muddy plain. Soon, the Battle of Santa Clara began.

It could barely be called a battle. The Californios only wanted to force the Americans to negotiate. A fight would have been suicidal: Their guns were practically useless, since they had so little powder and ammunition, and they were facing an enemy armed with muskets and a cannon.

So the Californios, famed as some of the finest horsemen in the world, shouted threats and performed equestrian feats from a safe distance, milling around the slow-moving U.S. force. In the middle of the plain, the U.S. cannon got stuck and the rancheros came closer, but they were driven back by cannon and musket fire. Soon the Americans extricated their cannon and marched on to the mission, 2 miles away. The battle was over. No one appears to have been killed on either side. (Published accounts that four Californios were killed are unreliable.)

After darkness fell, the Californios sent a message asking to speak with the American leaders. On the cold, rainy day of Jan. 3, a group of Americans rode out from the mission and met with the rancheros.

The Californios spokesman, Francisco Sanchez, said they were not fighting under the flag of Mexico. He said they had taken up arms simply because their property had been improperly seized and they feared for their families safety, and that they would be satisfied if the abuses they had suffered were stopped.

The Americans essentially accepted the Californios terms. The rancheros were to release their hostages, surrender their arms and return any horses that did not belong to them. In return, the U.S. government promised that any horses the military needed would be applied for respectfully and proper receipts given. The Californios were not to be punished and could return home.

On Jan. 7, a formal treaty ceremony was held on the plain west of the mission. More than 100 American servicemen faced the 100 mounted Californios, drawn up in a single line. Upon command, the rancheros dismounted in unison, and Sanchez presented his saber to Capt. Marston. The rancheros placed their arms in a cart between the two sides and released their hostages.

More Information Trivia time The previous trivia question: How many San Francisco homes did builder Fernando Nelson and his sons construct? Answer: More than 4,000. This week's trivia question: How much did tickets cost for the Beatles concert at the Cow Palace on Aug. 31, 1965? Editor's note Every corner in San Francisco has an astonishing story to tell. Gary Kamiya's Portals of the Past tells those lost stories, using a specific location to illuminate San Francisco's extraordinary history - from the days when giant mammoths wandered through what is now North Beach to the Gold Rush delirium, the dot-com madness and beyond. His column appears every other Saturday. Dig deep into Chronicle Vault Like what you're reading? Subscribe to the Chronicle Vault newsletter and get classic archive stories in your inbox twice a week. Read hundreds of historical stories, see thousands of archive photos and sort through 153 years of classic Chronicle front pages at SFChronicle.com/vault. See More Collapse

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

The Californios and U.S. servicemen then conversed amicably, their enmity forgotten. Thus ended the only formal military campaign waged in Northern California during the Mexican-American War.

In his report on the incident, Gen. Stephen Kearny, the top Army commander in California, wrote, The Californians ... have been most acutely and shamefully abused by our own people. ... Had they not resisted they would have been unworthy of the name of men.

The Californios were not a warlike people. Indeed, historians often compare the mostly bloodless civil wars that characterized California politics during the Mexican period to the wars in comic operas, in which armies march noisily back and forth without ever actually fighting.

The comparison is not inapt. But from another perspective, who was more civilized  the Americans who had seized territory that did not belong to them, or the Californios for whom the loss of a single family member was unbearable?

The Battle of Santa Clara was a swan song for the Californios, whose tranquil way of life was about to be swept away by the Americans. No single image can fully memorialize a people and an era, but this one is as good as any.

One hundred mounted men, all of them poorly armed, many of them elderly, are lined up on a muddy field in Santa Clara. They have accomplished their mission, with honor and without bloodshed. They dismount in unison and mingle with their former enemies. Then they ride home to their families.

Gary Kamiya is the author of the best-selling book Cool Gray City of Love: 49 Views of San Francisco, awarded the Northern California Book Award in creative nonfiction. All the material in Portals of the Past is original for The San Francisco Chronicle. To read earlier Portals of the Past, go tosfchronicle.com/portals. For more features from 150 years of The Chronicles archives, go to sfchronicle.com/vault. Email: metro@sfchronicle.com
RIO DE JANEIRO  A federal judge in Brazil on Thursday dismissed criminal charges against the American journalist Glenn Greenwald, sparing him for now from being prosecuted for his role in the release of hacked cellphone messages that have embarrassed prosecutors and prominent officials.

Judge Ricardo Leite said in a 10-page ruling that the criminal case against Mr. Greenwald could not move forward because he was shielded by a Supreme Court justices order, issued in August, that barred law enforcement officials from investigating the journalists role in the hacking case.

Experts in criminal law in Brazil were critical of the decision to charge Mr. Greenwald, 52, with cybercrimes, arguing that the criminal complaint filed against him did not clearly implicate the journalist in criminal conduct. Brazil has strong legal protections for reporters.

Judge Leites ruling, however, was far from exculpatory. He wrote that messages exchanged between Mr. Greenwald and his source portray the journalist as an instigator of the conduct of the other defendants and not merely a receiver of illegal content.
After dating for almost two years, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West tied the knot in Italy in 2014. Since then, they have been shelling out couple goals to fans with their adorable pictures that are all over social media. Ever since they have been together, their relationship has been one of the most talked-about things, all thanks to the media coverage. The couple is now settled down with four cute munchkins: Saint West, Psalm West, North West, and Chicago West.

ALSO READ | Kim Kardashian Says She Never Used Her Pool, Netizens 'can't Unsee' Kanye's Reaction

Even after almost six years, the love between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West never ceases to amaze us. They occasionally even indulge themselves with PDAs at social gatherings and online. Many fans across the globe fondly address the couple as Kimye.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye Wests car jamming sessions

A recent video that has surfaced on the internet is proof that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are the ideal couples. The video that has been shot by Kim Kardashian shows the couple singing a song while being on their way to the gym. Kim stopped singing to the song after one line, while Kanye West, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the jamming session the most.

ALSO READ | Kim Kardashian & Kanye West's $60m Home Has A Pool That Hasn't Even Been Used- Watch Video

Kim Kardashian looked chic in an athleisure attire with fishtail braids and sunglasses. On the other hand, Kanye West donned a camouflage jacket. The camaraderie between the two was unmissable.

ALSO READ | Kim Kardashian & Kanye West's Adorable PDA Photos That Fans Loved

On the other hand, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West recently gave fans a glimpse into the lavish LA Mansion. However, throughout the clip, it was their little daughter North West who grabbed attention. She kept popping every time and it looks like she did not want to leave her parents alone.

There have also been rumours that Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have been going through a rough time in their relationship. Reportedly, the couple has been undergoing therapy every week to save their marriage. In the therapy, both Kim Kardashian and Kanye West vent out their frustrations about each other to a professional and seek solutions to it.

ALSO READ | Kim Kardashian Sued For Posting A Photo With Husband Kanye West On Instagram. Here's Why

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.
A state district judge in Houston told Facebook on Jan. 29 that it must take down a privacy tool announced with much ballyhoo that same day and promoted with a blog post by founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

But if you go to the Off-Facebook Activity tool on either the social giants website or in its mobile app settings, the feature is still there, despite the temporary restraining order issued by Judge Tanya Garrison in Harris Countys 334th State District Court. [See Friday update below.]

Even sprawling, multinational corporations like Facebook must follow the law. So why is this particular order being ignored?

Facebook continues to be in contempt of Judge Garrisons order, said Annie McAdams, the attorney who won the TRO. She has filed for a contempt-of-court ruling, and Facebook has requested an emergency appeal with the Houston-based 14th State Court of Appeals.

PREVIOUSLY: Houston judges blocks new Facebook privacy feature

Both legal maneuvers are on hold because the two sides are talking, and met Thursday in San Francisco for the deposition of a Facebook executive.

Data collection

Facebook works with third-party sites and mobile apps to collect data about its users behavior on those sites. That data is then used to make Facebook ads  and those distributed through affiliated third-party ad networks  more personalized to user interests. This is so effective that it has caused some people to believe Facebook is using their smartphones microphone to spy on what they are saying.

The Off-Facebook Activity tool does two things: It lets you see a list of third-party apps and sites that funnel your activity back to Facebook. You can then instruct Facebook not to associate data from those apps and sites with your account in the future. You can also toggle a setting that disassociates your identity from all previous data that has been collected.

McAdams is concerned that the tool could delete or damage data needed for her case, filed on behalf of a client identified only as Jane Doe. As a 16-year-old girl, the client met a man on Facebook McAdams alleges groomed her with promises of money from modeling, then lured her into sex trafficking. After a meeting with the man, the girl allegedly was gang-raped by seven men.

The lawsuit, Jane Doe vs. Facebook, alleges the social giant does little to prevent such activity its platform. McAdams  who has other, similar suits against Facebook  requested as part of the discovery process data that the alleged perpetrator generated both on and off the platform. She said Facebook has so far not produced that data, though Facebooks attorney has said in court that the evidence has been preserved.

OFF THE GRID: How to lock down or delete a Facebook account

According to court documents, Facebook contends it is protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a part of that law that shields the operators of online services from liability due to content posted by its users.

But that does not explain why Facebook would ignoring a judges order to take down the privacy tool. The answer, said attorney Katie Sunstrom of Lorance Thompson not involved in the matter, may have to do with economics.

It might make more economic sense to not comply with the order, said Sunstrom, who specializes in internet, intellectual property and technology law. Whatever amount of damage Facebook might incur from not complying with the ruling would pale in comparison to the damage from taking it down.

Release Notes: Get Dwight Silvermans weekly tech newsletter in your inbox each Monday

In other words: Court fines for disobeying a TRO in Harris County would be pocket change for Facebook, which reported $7.3 billion in profit on $21.1 billion in revenue for the final quarter of 2019 alone.

Facebooks attorney handling the case did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Sunstrom said Facebook also is between a rock and a hard place, because an increasing number of states are passing laws that require online companies to provide a way for users to delete their data. Thats particularly true in California, which last year passed the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. Facebook may face more legal threats if it does not make tools such as Off-Facebook Activity available, she said.

McAdams said her ultimate goal is to acquire the evidence she needs from Facebook. If that occurs, she said she will pull down our motion for contempt.

We are not looking to stop Facebook from advancing its privacy applications, she said. We just want to understand and preserve evidence, and protect childrens interactions on Facebook.

Update 2.7.2020: Thursday's deposition in San Francisco apparently satisfied McAdams, because on Friday she filed an unopposed motion to dissolve the temporary restraining order and dropped motions related to it. The Off-Facebook Activity tool is no longer threatened by court action in Harris County.

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Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 00:02:06|Editor: huaxia

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DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said on Friday that a 300-km standard gauge railway (SGR) from the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, to Morogoro region is 70 percent complete.

Construction of the SGR uses local financial resources, tapping higher government revenues through such means as tax collection, Majaliwa said.

Adjourning the 18th meeting of the 11th National Assembly in the capital, Dodoma, the premier said construction of the 422-km Morogoro-Makutopora SGR is also in good progress.

In November 2019, Tanzanian President John Magufuli said the governments of Tanzania and Rwanda were in final stages of negotiations to construct an SGR from Isaka dry port in Tanzania to Rwanda.

Magufuli said the SGR will also serve landlocked countries of Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"In principle Rwandan President Paul Kagame has agreed to jointly implement the project," Magufuli said.

He said feasibility studies for the SGR linking Tanzania and Rwanda have already been undertaken, adding that the two countries are now looking for financiers of the project.

Also in November 2019, the Trade and Development Bank (TDB), a trade and development financial institution in Africa, approved a soft loan of 1 billion U.S. dollars to Tanzania for infrastructure projects.

A statement issued by the Directorate of Presidential Communication at Chamwino State House in Dodoma said the release of the loan was announced by TDB President and Chief Executive Officer Admassu Tadesse during talks with President Magufuli. Enditem
Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders were neck and neck Thursday in the chaotic Iowa caucuses with 100 percent of precincts reporting but no winner declared following technical issues. The tally comes hours after the Democratic party chairman ordered a review of the results following technology problems that prevented a complete vote count in the United States' first nominating contest Monday and some doubts were raised about the accuracy of the process. Sanders, the leftist senator from Vermont, and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, are separated by a razor-thin margin in the final results, which come three days after the caucuses. Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez, however, stepped in earlier Thursday, demanding a review of the caucuses. "Enough is enough," Perez said on Twitter. "In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass." Perez said it would involve an examination of the results from each caucus site rather than a full recount. With returns in from all of the 1,765 precincts in Iowa, Buttigieg was leading by 26.2 percent to Sanders's 26.1 percent in the delegate totals. Massachusetts progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren was next with 18.0 percent followed by former vice president Joe Biden with 15.8 percent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.3 percent. - 'Much too complicated' - Earlier in the day, Buttigieg declared himself the winner based on the number of delegates from the Midwestern state who will be sent to the Democratic convention in July while Sanders claimed victory based on the popular vote. "It has been an extraordinary week, and we are absolutely electrified... by the extraordinary validation of this campaign's vision that we had in Iowa," Buttigieg told military veterans and other voters Thursday at American Legion Post 98 in Merrimack, New Hampshire. He also turned an eye toward the state's primary vote, to be held Tuesday. "So I know in the days leading up to primary day it is my responsibility to seek to earn every vote in a state that famously thinks for itself, in a state that lives by the motto of 'Live Free or Die.'" Sanders, speaking Thursday in nearby Manchester, pointed to his lead in Iowa's actual vote totals. "In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else," he said. "From where I come from, the person who gets the most votes wins," Sanders said, arguing that too much emphasis was being put on delegate totals. At the end of the day, he said, the caucus system is "much, much, much too complicated" and it was a mistake for the state party to "rely on untested technology." Party officials have blamed the technical meltdown on a "coding error." President Donald Trump pounced on the debacle in the first-in-the-nation contest to decide which Democrat faces him in November. "The Democrats, they can't count some simple votes, and yet they want to take over your health care system," Trump said in remarks celebrating his acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial. Buttigieg appeared to be getting a bounce from his strong Iowa performance as the latest New Hampshire poll showed the centrist candidate in second place in the Granite State. The Boston Globe/WBZ-TV/Suffolk University poll had Sanders, who won the New Hampshire primary four years ago before eventually losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton, topping the field with 25 percent. Buttigieg's support surged to 19 percent from 12 percent on Monday, according to the poll, while Biden saw his backing slide over the same period. - 'Gut punch' - Biden, the national frontrunner who described his likely fourth-place finish in Iowa as a "gut punch," met with advisors on Thursday to map out strategy. "I expected to do better," Biden, 77, said as he launched attacks on rivals. "If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America... will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself," Biden said of the self-described democratic socialist. Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years before becoming Barack Obama's vice president, said 38-year-old Buttigieg's lack of experience was "a risk" for Democrats. The Sanders campaign announced, meanwhile, that it had raised $25 million in January, its largest fundraising month yet. Pat Clark, a 70-year-old New Hampshire salesman listening to Buttigieg in Merrimack, said he is opposed to Sanders. "I'm a moderate, so I'm not into giving away the whole store," Clark told AFP, referring to Sanders' plans for universal health care and tuition-free college. After New Hampshire, the candidates turn their sights on Nevada on February 22, South Carolina on February 29 and then the March 3 "Super Tuesday," when 14 states hold primaries. Pete Buttigieg (left) and Bernie Sanders are separated by a razor-thin margin in Iowa Buttigieg poses for photos with veterans and members of the public at a town hall event in New Hampshire on Thursday Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden speaks to a supporter in Somersworth, New Hampshire Democratic presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, pictured at a town hall meeting in Concord, New Hampshire, appears to be getting a bounce from his strong performance in Iowa Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren at a campaign stop in Exeter, New Hampshire
It started with lead impeachment manager Adam Schiff fearfully speculating that, if the Senate didn't convict President Trump on the two articles of impeachment, he might up and give Alaska to the Russians. Yes, Adam, that's precisely what a proud "America First" nationalist would do, isn't it? I bet he might give back the Louisiana Purchase as well. (Weren't you clowns just mocking him for musing about buying Greenland?)

And then came the Iowa caucus debacle. Though the evening grew long, the results did not. In fact, there were none. Vote totals weren't released to the public due to unexplained "inconsistencies." Precinct chairs were unable to connect with party leaders; the state party hung up on a phone call with at least one candidate's campaign. Sean Bagniewski, Democratic Party chairman of Polk County, Iowa's most populous, said of the state party in the wee hours of Tuesday morning, "I don't even know if they know what they don't know."

Much of the blame was placed on a new mobile reporting app that was developed by Hillary Clinton operatives and apparently financed in part by Pete Buttigieg, who, oddly enough, now appears to have won. Many placed the blame at the feet of Tom Perez, chair of the Democratic National Committee, who they claim didn't provide much oversight of the Iowa caucuses.

Derek Eadon, a former Iowa Democratic chairman, characterized the events as "a systemwide disaster." Adding fuel to the fire, reports indicate that Iowa Democrats refused an offer from the Department of Homeland Security to vet the new app prior to the election. Acting Homeland Security secretary Chad Wolf said on Fox & Friends that no one hacked into the app; it was "more of a stress or a load issue, as well as a reporting issue." He added, "Given the amount of scrutiny that we have on election security these days, this is a concerning event, and it really goes to the public confidence of our elections."

Yet all of this couldn't explain why the state party still hadn't released any results, even from the precincts that had successfully filed their results, as of late Monday night, February 3, the day of the election. The party cryptically noted that it was performing "quality control" efforts.

None of the chaos and uncertainty prevented candidates from claiming early victory, however. Sen. Bernie Sanders's campaign released what it claimed were very positive partial results. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was fairly giddy with what her campaign deemed early returns to be. And Mayor Pete Buttigieg essentially did claim victory, almost as if he had inside knowledge of the proceedings.

Moreover, despite their man's relatively strong showing, Bernie's Base is irate. They believe that their hero is already being shafted again, after being the victim of devious machinations by the Hillary-besotted DNC in 2016. They see Perez' efforts, or lack thereof, to ensure a fair contest  along with the Hillary Clintonsupporterdeveloped and Pete Buttigiegfinanced app  as ample evidence of establishment Democrats' continuing malfeasance.

As if this were not enough, it was then announced that the two top officials of Milwaukee's Host Committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention this July have been placed on administrative leave due to allegations that they have created a toxic work culture. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obtained a letter from the committee's board to staff members, stating that it had retained an attorney to investigate concerns about the work environment. The letter says Host Committee president Liz Gilbert and chief of staff Adam Alonso have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the probe.

Since the committee is responsible for raising the $70 million needed to stage the event and for recruiting the nearly 15,000 volunteers needed to staff it, this is an unwelcome development, indeed. (The chief executive of the Democratic National Convention Committee, Joe Solmonese, subsequently issued a statement acknowledging the seriousness of the allegations.) Somewhat humorously at this point, the board's letter averred: "We are committed to an inclusive, non-discriminatory, and supportive environment at the host committee and we will work to ensure that all employees live up to these ideals." (Ask Bernie Sanders how committed the Democratic National Committee is to inclusive, non-discriminatory, supportive environments.)

Then, on Tuesday, a new Gallup poll was released showing that President Trump's approval rating is now the highest to date. Perhaps even worse than all of this, on Tuesday night, speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tore up a copy of President Trump's State of the Union speech immediately upon its conclusion, in the process tearing up congressional tradition and etiquette and callously disrespecting the various heroes to whom the president had paid tribute just minutes earlier. This did not play well with independents, and even some Democrats.

The next day, President Trump was acquitted by the Senate, effectively rendering moot the Democrats three-year assault on the nearly 63 million Americans who voted for him.

And then, on Thursday, with 100% of the precincts reporting, there was still no announced winner of the aforementioned Iowa caucuses, due to "irregularities" and "inconsistencies." This prompted Tom Perez, the downtrodden Democratic National Committee Chairman, to demand that the Iowa Democratic Party immediately begin a "recanvass" in order to "assure public confidence in the results." An openly frustrated Perez tweeted, "Enough is enough."

Many of us have been saying that about the Democratic Party for some time now.
New research shows healthcare is the industry where staff are happiest with their wages, as two thirds of all Australian workers say they want a pay rise this year.

Global recruitment firm Adecco surveyed 3204 labour force participants and found healthcare workers are among the least likely to ask for a pay rise.

Less than 60 percent of healthcare workers who responded to Adecco said they would ask for a salary increase this year, compared with more than 70 percent of IT workers, real estate professionals and manufacturing workers.

Strong demand for healthcare workers led to better pay rises at 3.2 percent

Recruiter Robert Half Australia surveyed 1000 workers asking: 'Which do you anticipate will be your top career goals for 2020?' The top priority for most respondents was a pay rise. Experts say that is not going to happen for most workers as pay tensions rise in the workplace

Healthcare workers are believed to be relatively more satisfied as healthcare is one of the only sectors that has enjoyed salary growth over 3 percent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics wage price index for the September quarter last year showed the healthcare sector had annual salary growth of 3.2 percent.

Economist Leith Van Onselen, who has worked for both Treasury and Goldman Sachs, said the healthcare and social assistance industry was now the nation's biggest employer accounting for 13 percent of all jobs.

'It has also experienced the fastest employment growth as well as the fastest wage growth over recent years,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Some of the recent wage increases across the industry can be attributed to the rollout of the $22 billion a year National Disability Insurance Scheme.'

Mr Van Onselen said the industry would provide the fastest employment growth over the next five years as the population ages, but wages growth would be dampened by the growing number of migrants working in the sector.

World Health Organisation figures on health workforce mobility showing in the eight years to July 2016, a total of 48,936 foreign nurses were granted visas along with 33,675 other medical workers.

Years of widespread wage stagnation, which economists say is caused by high levels of immigration, has left most of Australia's workforce unhappy with their pay packet.

Adecco found in a recent survey that two in every three Australian workers, or 66 percent, would ask for a pay rise in 2020, up from 57 percent in 2019.

Rafael Moyano, CEO, Australia, The Adecco Group said there was growing wage tension in the workforce.

'There is a gap between the economy's ongoing poor wage growth and Australians' expectations for fair remuneration as their skills and contributions at work increase,' he said.

'From an economic perspective, there are few signs that Australia's poor wage growth will soon improve.'

A new survey by international recruitment agency Robert Half Australia, found 45 percent of all workers in Australia said getting a pay rise was their top career goal for 2020, as living costs rise.

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

The survey of 1000 respondents found more women than men were unhappy with their pay, with 46 percent of females saying they would seek a payrise this year compared with 44 percent of males.

Young workers are the most unhappy with their salaries, with 54 percent of workers aged between 18 and 34 ready to ask for more money.

'Remuneration remains a primary concern for employees, particularly as households face rising financial pressures,' said Nicole Gorton, Director of Robert Half Australia.

'Recognising their value through a generous remuneration scheme can contribute significantly to their engagement and workplace happiness.'

Ms Gorton said skills development could also be a win-win for workers and organisations alike, as the employee gets a desired skill set while the organisation gets an experienced, skilled worker who feels supported.

Workers are not likely to get a payrise even if they ask for it with the Reserve Bank warning wages are not likely to rise in the next couple of years.

A welder at work. Wages growth has stagnated since 2012 because of years of record levels of immigration bringing in more workers to compete for jobs. Wages are not likely to rise this year

Recruiter Robert Half Australia also asked workers: 'Thinking of your current job, do you feel you are underpaid/overpaid/paid fairly?' Almost half of all respondents felt they were underpaid, with Victorian workers the most unhappy

Reserve Bank of Australia Deputy Governor Guy Debelle said in November that wages growth has declined noticeably since around 2012 and was not going to rise in the next couple of years.

'The share of jobs that experience a wage change of more than 4% has fallen from over one-third in the late 2000s to less than 10% of jobs in 2018,' he said.

Wage increases fell below 3 percent per annum in 2012 and have not recovered.

Economist Leith Van Onselen, who has worked for Treasury and Goldman Sachs, said in January that record immigration levels are depressing wages growth with extra 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.

'A recent paper by Melbourne University Professor, Peter McDonald, found that around three quarters of employment growth in Australia between 2011 and 2016 was attributed purely to immigration. Thus, the strong reported jobs growth in Australia has been offset by more people coming here. This helps to explain the low wage growth.'
Agartala: In 2021, a region of Northeast India is going to join the neighboring country. Under this, millions of people will be able to go directly to the neighboring country. Actually, the much-awaited railway line between Agartala to Akhaura (Bangladesh) is going to be completed by September 2021. The process of acquiring land for this railway line and handing it over to the executive body has been completed in both countries.

Imran Khan warns India not to attack in his speech in POK

Authorities have given information in this regard. This railway line is 15.6 km long, with a 10.6 km stretch from Gangasagar (Bangladesh) to Nischintapur (India) and 5.46 km from Nischintapur to Agartala railway station. According to the Railways, the cost of laying 5.46 km of railway lines in the Indian part will be borne by the Ministry of Northeast Railways and the cost of laying 10.6 km of railway lines in the part of Bangladesh will be borne by the Ministry of External Affairs.

India takes big decision due to coronavirus infection, now e-visa facility will be invalid

IRCON is the implementing agency of this project. 580 crore rupees have been approved for Indo-Bangla rail work on the Indian side. Giving information, IRCON International Limited Deputy Chief Engineer Raman Singla has stated that work on the Indian side is in full swing and we hope to complete it before September 2021.

Uddhav and Raj Thackeray's war intensified, Posters stick on Matoshree to drive away 'intruders'
OTTAWA, Ontario, Jan. 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Yemen's National Wallet Company seeks Canadian fintech's help to launch financial inclusion project.A Yemen is facing the world's worst humanitarian crisis,A according to the United Nations .A For the 24 million people displaced by escalating hostilities, access to humanitarian aid is their only protection against deadly famine. Telepin and ONE, the go-to-market brand by the National Wallet Company (NWC), hope to improve that access and give Yemenis more control over their daily lives.A ONE will soon launch the country's first mobile money platform, designed to provide cashless e-wallet services to the Yemeni population. In a country where more than 90 percent of the population don't have a bank account, this platform will give users an alternative to the instability of cash.A The GSMA notes the potential impacts of such an initiative in a 2017 report , which explains how mobile money deployments "support financial inclusion, help to build resilience, and most importantly, can better serve displaced populations worldwide."A The platform, developed by ONE and Telepin, will allow customers to load and withdraw cash, send money to their friends and family, receive salaries, pay bills and most importantly transact with local merchants a all through an innovative platform accessible on both basic mobile devices or smartphones without the need for internet access.A The platform's key partners are Yemen's largest private companies, who have committed their network of more than 100,000 direct and indirect retailers and distributors in Yemen to support this initiative. Yemen's 11 major banks also support the initiative and will ensure the widest possible reach across the country, even amongst the most remote communities. This aims to support the financial needs of millions of Yemenis suffering the consequences of this crisis. As ONE's CMO Mohamed Hayel Saeed explains, "Working with domestic and international partners, ONE will help bring Yemen's economy into the 21stA century by delivering sustainable, long-term positive outcomes for today's Yemeni population and for generations to come. We have been working to create an innovative solution to give Yemenis back control over their daily financial activities and to secure their future. We want to reach the last mile and broaden access to financial services to as many of Yemen's 20 million 'unbanked' people as possible." Telepin CEO Vincent Kadar is equally optimistic. "The National Wallet Company has built a robust plan to give families reliable financial options in an unreliable world," he says. "With their vast merchant network and Telepin's experience developing complex and customized integrations, we're well on our way towards launching a tool that will have a meaningful and immediate impact on the lives of its users."A ONE and Telepin expect the mobile e-wallet platform to launch in 2020.A Read more about NWC and its vision for addressing the crisis in Yemen .A About ONE ONE is the go-to-market brand developed by the National Wallet Company (NWC). ONE isA a Yemeni-backed and run business focused on developing a mobile money e-wallet for the Yemeni population, which will support the financial needs of millions of Yemenis suffering the consequences of a humanitarian crisis. ONE's investors are fintech investment vehicle Murooj Electronic Services, WeNet (the Yemen Financial Services Company), owned by 11 banks operating in Yemen, and a group of private sector firms with a network of more than 100,000 direct and indirect retailers and distributors. ONE seeks to roll out a scaled mobile money platform that has the potential to make a significant and positive impact on daily lives of people in Yemen. About Telepin From our headquarters in Ottawa, Canada, we have become a global leader of mobile transaction platforms, serving tier-one operators in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Mobile network operators and financial service providers rely on us to maximize their revenue and deliver innovative mobile applications to customers, whatever their circumstances or location. More than 256 million of those customers are now using our platform, processing over 10 billion transactions to date.A www.telepin.com Telepin Software Systems Inc.

Joanne Kiskis

Director, Marketing

Telephone: +1-613-366-1910

Email: joanne.kiskis@telepin.com
US President Donald Trump has confirmed that in a major counterterrorism operation in Yemen the US forces have killed Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the jihadist group that claimed responsibility for a mass shooting at a US naval base.

Rimi, 46, a deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was placed on the United States' most-wanted terrorist list after taking over al-Qaeda's Yemen affiliate in 2015.

US government had offered a USD 10 million reward for information on Rimi.

"His death further degrades al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the global al-Qaeda movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security," Trump said on Thursday.

He said the major counterterrorism operation was carried at his direction.

"Rimi joined al-Qaeda in the 1990s, working in Afghanistan for Osama bin Laden. Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," Trump said.

"The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm," he said.

While Trump confirmed that Rimi had been killed, he did not say when the US operation was conducted or divulged any details about how it was carried out.

The AQAP has long been considered al-Qaeda's most dangerous branch for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland.

Rimi had said in an 18-minute video that his group was responsible for the December 6 shooting at US Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida, in which a Saudi Air Force officer killed three American sailors.

He called the shooter Mohammed Alshamrani a "courageous knight" and a "hero", according to media reports.

The shooting focused public attention on the presence of foreign students in American military training programs and exposed shortcomings in the screening of cadets.

In January, the US sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had "contact" with child abuse images, including in internet chatrooms.

Rimi was considered a potential successor to al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian leader of al-Qaeda's strategic operations who is reportedly believed to be in Pakistan.

This is the third major strike by the US under Trump administration and that too in recent months. In October, the US killed ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. In January, it killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.
Travel bans imposed on China increase fear and stigma, with little public health benefit: WHO Director-General

Editor's notes:

During the 146th session of the Executive Board of World Health Organisation (WHO) held on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated his stance on global cooperation against the spread of coronavirus. Without naming specific countries, Tedros claimed that some high-income countries are well behind in sharing vital data with WHO , adding that the reason is not because they lack capacity. In comparison, he praised China for the strong measures the country is taking at the epicentre, which has brought the world a window of opportunity.

The Director-General further expressed his disapproval of imposing travel bans on China, stressing that such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.

Following is the full speech of the Director-General.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the technical briefing on 2019 novel coronavirus

146th session of the Executive Board

Some high-income countries are well behind in sharing this vital data with WHO. I dont think its because they lack capacity.

Good afternoon,

I have already said a lot about the outbreak of novel coronavirus, at the Executive Board yesterday and at the PBAC meeting last week.

But allow me to underline a few key points.

The latest data we have is that there are 20,471 confirmed cases in China, including 425 deaths.

Outside China there are 176 cases in 24 countries, and one death, in the Philippines.

Its important to underline that 99% of the cases are in China, and 97% of deaths are in Hubei province. This is still first and foremost an emergency for China.

We continue to work closely with the Chinese government to support its efforts to address this outbreak at the epicenter. That is our best chance of preventing a broader global crisis.

Of course, the risk of it becoming more widespread globally remains high. Now is the moment for all countries to be preparing themselves.

WHO is sending masks, gloves, respirators and almost 18,000 isolation gowns from our warehouses in Dubai and Accra to 24 countries who need support, and we will add more countries.

Were sending 250,000 tests to more than 70 reference laboratories globally to facilitate faster testing.

Were sending a team of international experts to work with their Chinese counterparts to increase understanding of the outbreak to guide the global response.

Were convening a global research meeting next week to identify research priorities in all areas of the outbreak, from identifying the source of the virus to developing vaccines and therapeutics.

Tomorrow, I will brief the Secretary General and the UN senior management team.

Today we held a call with all 150 WHO country offices, to discuss the measures they need to take to be ready. On Thursday well have a similar briefing with all resident coordinators in the UN system.

We are also increasing our communications capacity to counter the spread of rumours and misinformation, and ensure all people receive the accurate, reliable information they need to protect themselves and their families.

And we plan to hold daily media briefings.

Full speech from WHOs official website.

Today I have three key requests for Member States:

First, I call on all Member States to share detailed information with WHO  including epidemiological, clinical severity and the results of community studies and investigations. This is the responsibility of all countries under the International Health Regulations.

Of the 176 cases reported outside China so far, WHO has received complete case report forms for only 38% of cases. Some high-income countries are well behind in sharing this vital data with WHO. I dont think its because they lack capacity.

Without better data, its very hard for us to assess how the outbreak is evolving, or what impact it could have, and to ensure we are providing the most appropriate recommendations.

Today I am writing to all ministers of health to request an immediate improvement in data sharing.

As I said yesterday, we can only defeat this outbreak with global solidarity, and that starts with collective participation in global surveillance. The commitment to solidarity starts with sharing information. Solidarity, solidarity, solidarity.

Second, we reiterate our call to all countries not to impose restrictions inconsistent with the International Health Regulations.

Such restrictions can have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.

So far, 22 countries have reported such restrictions to WHO.

Where such measures have been implemented, we urge that they are short in duration, proportionate to the public health risks, and are reconsidered regularly as the situation evolves.

And third, facilitate rapid collaboration between the public and private sectors to develop the diagnostics, medicines and vaccines we need to bring this outbreak under control.

We have a window of opportunity. While 99% of cases are in China, in the rest of the world we only have 176 cases. That doesnt mean that it wont get worse. But for sure we have a window of opportunity to act. Because 176 in the rest of the world is very small  no reason to panic or fear. Of course, people can have concerns and they should. People could be worried  they should [be]. But that concern and worry should be supplemented with action now while we have a window of opportunity.

This is what were saying from WHO: there is a window of opportunity because of the strong measures China is taking at the epicenter, at the source. So lets use this opportunity to prevent further spread and to control it. Lets not miss this window of opportunity.

Thank you so much.
Simply, Kuru argues that the alliance between Muslim rulers and religious scholars held back the Muslim world from freedom and progress. Because of this alliance, the rulers were able to get approval from the religious class even when they were involved in atrocities and economic failures. In contrast, Kuru argues, it was the prominence of intellectuals and the merchant class that helped Europe thrive in political and economic fields.

The support of religious scholars for the state is built on a tradition in the Muslim world that puts religion under the firm control of the state. From the time of the Muslim empires of the Ottomans, Safavids and Mughals to the contemporary era, the Muslim rulers took religion under their control. Today, from Saudi Arabia to Tunisia, the mosques are controlled by the states, and the imams of those mosques are under the state payrolls.

Many Muslim scholars call Muslims to obey the political leaders as a sacred duty even when rulers are excessively corrupt. They justify their support for the state with the motivation to prevent disturbance and sedition. Religious scholars bring evidence from the Quran, the prophets life and Islamic history to back up their state-friendly religious opinions.
A mother who lost her newborn son when he was eight days old has told how she donated his organs - and saved another child's life.

Valentina Daprile, of London, collapsed and stopped breathing a week before she was due to give birth in July 2016 and was resuscitated by her husband Luigi in front of their six-year-old son Leone.

She was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich, south London, where baby Angelo Ray was delivered by emergency C-section.

Afterwards Valentina was immediately taken away for life-saving blood transfusions, while her newborn son was transferred for specialist care to King's College Hospital in Camberwell.

Valentina Daprile, of London, lost her newborn son Angelo Ray when he was eight days old

But the parents were dealt the devastating blow that it was very unlikely their little boy would survive, as his brain had been starved of oxygen in the hours prior to his arrival.

He hung on for eight days - just long enough for his parents and older brother to properly say their goodbyes, and make the brave decision to donate his organs.

Baby organ donation is extremely rare in the UK; it has only been done 40 times in the last decade.

'We looked at each other and we thought, what can we do, let's just donate the organs - there was absolutely nothing else we could have done,' Valentina told the BBC.

Angelo hung on for eight days - just long enough for his parents and older brother to properly say their goodbyes, and make the brave decision to donate his organs

'[The nurse] Amy said, brilliant, we don't have anything in place, but I will find out and get back to you, and surely she did.'

She added: 'I guess for every mum that has lost a baby or a child, their worst nightmare is my baby will be forgotten.

'And that certainly was originally my fear. So legacy for me is all about him being remembered. He's touched the lives of many people.'

Angelo Ray was the first baby ever to donate organs at Kings College Hospital, which Valentina said was 'pretty special'.

'That's what I would like him to be remembered for, the legacy of the importance of organ donations,' she said.

Angelo Ray was the first baby ever to donate organs at Kings College Hospital, which Valentina said was 'pretty special'

'I know that Angelo Ray won't be forgotten, I know that.'

When the time came to switch off Angelo's life support, Valentina told how she and her husband accompanied their son to a private room in the hospital.

There Valentina held him for the first and last time.

'There was a moment when he was on my chest and it felt like our hearts vibrated together, I can't explain it. I like to think that he knew he was finally back with his mummy,' she said.

'He took his last breath on me, in the warmth of my arms. I know many mums don't have that privilege and it was an incredible gift I will cherish forever.'

Their decision to donate his organs was facilitated by nurse Amy Overend, a senior sister in neonatal intensive care at King's.

The couple's decision to donate his organs was facilitated by nurse Amy Overend, a senior sister in neonatal intensive care at King's (pictured hugging Valentina)

She told the BBC: 'Angelo Ray was the catalyst for some real proactive change in our thought process.'

This week the family were informed one of Angelo's heart valves was successfully transplanted to a newborn baby born with a congenital heart disease.

Overcome with emotion, Valentina said: 'Now we know a part of our baby is definitely living on and it is an amazing legacy.'

Valentina's courage inspired Amy to continue working in this area, and she now leads on end-of-life care at the Royal Bolton Hospital Nicu.

Thankfully Valentina was given a clean bill of health following her ordeal and is able to have more children. She welcomed son Mattia Rainbow (pictured) in August 2018

Following the example of King's, the hospital will make it standard practice to discuss organ donations in the Nicu.

Thankfully Valentina was given a clean bill of health following her ordeal and is able to have more children.

She gave birth to son Mattia Rainbow in August 2018, who is now 17 months old.
The Freedom Online Coalition, a group of 31 governments that work together to advance Internet freedom, mainly through shaping global norms through Joint Statements, multistakeholder engagement with their Advisory Network and through coordinating diplomatic initiatives and interventions at relevant international forums has held its annual conference in Ghana.

This year's Conference, under the auspices of the Ministry of Communications, aimed at creating awareness on the need to protect the fundamental human rights of individuals and ensuring the freedom of the citizenry on the use of the Internet.

The two-day conference which commenced yesterday, Thursday, February 6th will come to a close on Friday, February 7th was on the theme; "Achieving a Common Vision for Internet Freedom", brought over 150 delegates from over 30 countries, including Ambassadors and government representatives from member-nations of the Freedom Online Coalition.

Speaking at the opening session of the Conference, Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, urged the protection and promotion of the fundamental human rights and freedoms of persons online.

According to her, successive governments over the years, instituted various measures to enhance internet accessibility through policy formulation, investment in cyber security infrastructure and skill set in order for the nation to address the challenges with internet accessibility.

Adding that, access to the Internet is an important developmental tool for growth.

"indeed, access to the internet is an developmental tool tool across the world which provide growth and advancement", she said.

She also noted that, the government of Ghana has no intention to shout down or reduce the speed of internet this year as election approaches.

National Cybersecurity Advisor, Dr Albert Antwi-Boasiako, recounted that the Freedom Online Coalition, founded in 2011, is an inter-governmental body, currently comprising 31 countries which are deeply committed to working together to support Internet freedom and protect fundamental human rights online.

Ghana, he said, has been the Chair of the FOC beginning March 2019 and the National Cyber Security Centre of the Ministry of Communications is the focal point for the implementation of FOC activities.

He stated that the governments all over the world are the key actors in what is perceived as the current tension in the cyberspace and addressing these tensions require a human-right centered leadership from governments.
She known for her stunning physique and memorable Victoria's Secret catwalks.

And Alessandra Ambrosio swapped the runway for the pavement as she took her dog for a walk in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 38-year-old showcased her off-duty style in a pair of grey marl joggers and cropped white teddy coat.

A walk in the park: Alessandra Ambrosio swapped the runway for the pavement as she took her dog for a walk in Los Angeles on Thursday

The Brazilian beauty accessorised her low-key look with a pair of white trainers and white framed shades while her chocolate Labrador followed behind her.

She worked her brunette locks into a messy top knot, which was kept in place with a eighties-inspired scrunchy.

The runway star accentuated her radiant complexion by opting to go make-up free for the stroll.

Alessandra was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2004 to 2017 before announcing her retirement after 17 fashion shows.

Natural: The 38-year-old showcased her off-duty style in a pair of grey marl joggers and cropped white teddy coat

Low-key: The Brazilian beauty accessorised her low-key look with a pair of white trainers and white framed shades while her chocolate Labrador followed behind her

And in spring 2014, she launched her own fashion and lifestyle brand named Ale by Alessandra.

The runway star appeared to be without her beau model Nicolo Oddi, who she has been romantically linked to since July 2018.

She is mother to two children from her 10-year relationship with fiance Jamie Mazur, as the couple share Anja, 11, and son Noah, seven.

During her hugely successful career she modeled for high-profile brands such as Armani exchange, Next, Chistian Dior and Ralph Lauren.

Mane attraction: She worked her brunette locks into a messy top knot, which was kept in place with a eighties-inspired scrunchy

Alessandra's former workplace, Victoria's Secret is in hot water over allegations of 'misogyny and harassment' at the lingerie company.

The Model Alliance advocates for the protection of models and claims the 'culture of misogyny, bullying, and harassment' was 'even more egregious and more entrenched than previously understood.'

They've now written two open letters to CEO John Mehas; the second was published yesterday.

Signatories of the letter include catwalk stars such as Christy Turlington Burns, Iskra Lawrence, Edie Campbell, Amber Valletta and Felicity Hayward.

Chilled: The runway star accentuated her radiant complexion by opting to go make-up free for the stroll

Hot water: Her outing comes as 100 other models signed an open letter to the CEO of Victoria's Secret accusing the company of fostering an environment of 'misogyny, bullying, and harassment' (L-R Models Lily Aldridge, Adriana Lima, Elsa Hosk, Alessandra and Taylor Hill in 2016)

Models who have worked with Victoria's Secret such as Karen Elson and Caitriona Balfe also co-signed the document.

Alessandra was not one of the 100 nor were many of the VS big wigs like Giselle, Miranda Kerr, Behati Prinsloo, Kendall Jenner or the Hadid sisters.

A New York Times article described a 'culture of misogyny, bullying, and harassment' at Victoria's Secret among current and former executives, employees and contractors.

At work: Alessandra was not one of the 100 nor were many of the VS big wigs like Giselle, Miranda Kerr, Behati Prinsloo, Kendall Jenner or the Hadid sisters; Alessandra was a Victoria's Secret Angel from 2004-2017 (Pictured in 2017)

Accusations: Razek, 71, a former executive at L Brands who stepped down in October, allegedly asked women to sit on his lap and kiss him, according to sources who spoke to The Times (The signed letter pictured)

They allege a climate of misogyny was fostered by two top executives - Ed Razek and Les Wexner - at Victoria's Secrets parent company, L Brands.

'We believe that this moment can be a wake-up call for Victoria's Secret,' the letter states.

The group go on to allege they met with bosses at the firm but their complaints were not taken seriously.
As the nation reflects on the devastating natural disaster of cyclone Idai, Zuva petroleum have donated furniture to five primary schools in Chimanimani namely Hotsprings, Tonhorai, Ndima, Charleswood and Gwindingwe.

This is a follow up to an initial one hundred-thousand-dollar donation last year into schools by the company in an effort to mitigate the effects of the cyclone in schools.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Mutare, the company's Chief Operations Officer Zwelithini Mlotshwa said the effects of the cyclone still linger to date and as a corporate they are concerned.

"We found it prudent to once again play our part in the rehabilitation of communities affected by the disaster, targeting mainly schools.

"This donation is in recognition of the power of education . . . it is a pathway towards a prosperous, productive life and god citizenship we wish for all young Zimbabweans," he said.

Charleswood primary school Headmaster Godfrey Mandega expressed gratitude for the good gesture which will go a long way in rehabilitating the schools and provide a better schooling environment which is in line with the new curriculum.

"We are happy with this kind gesture because we had lost almost everything and pupils were learning seated on the floor which was not good for them.

"These tables and chairs will improve a lot of handwriting skills and boost confidence as the environment contributes towards the final product that we produce within these learning institutions," he said.

Cyclone Idai struck Zimbabwe last year in March causing massive destruction which saw water defying mountains resulting in loss of life and significant damage to infrastructure, crops and livestock.
Representative Image

Smruti Koppikar

Mumbaikars know well that they should believe their civic body, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), at their own risk. Even by this low standard, the budget document for 2020-21 evoked disbelief.

For the first time ever, the civic budget mentioned a Citizens Happiness Index and municipal commissioner Praveen Pardeshi linked this index to delivery of efficient civic servicesof global level. The reality is that even if the BMC were to provide basic civic services, citizens would be deliriously delighted.

This nugget in the Rs 33,441 crore budget  largest for a civic body in Asia and equivalent to the sum of eight state budgets of India  hid a disturbing development: the body in charge of the countrys commercial capital has little money to spend on maintaining it, or creating new infrastructure, and is on the verge of resorting to unconventional measures that could hurt Mumbai in the years to come.

Its revenue for 2019-20 was pegged at Rs 24,983 crore and the budgeted revenue for next year is Rs 28,448 crore; the revenue collection so far in FY 19-20 has been barely Rs 15,000 crore. A reason for this is its property tax collection  its largest independent source of revenue  has been stagnant or dipping in the last four years, given the poor state of the real estate market. Strangely, the budget has strangely forecast an increase next year.

The current years estimate was Rs 5,016 crore, but registers show that only about one-third the amount has been collected so far. Yet, the budget estimates Rs 6,760 crore next fiscal  a bewildering rise of nearly 35 percent. Does the BMC know of a fundamental shift in the property market that Mumbaikars are yet unaware of?

There is no question that the civic bodys finances took a major hit when its primary source of revenue, octroi, was replaced by the Goods and Services Tax. This hole is now filled by the Maharashtra government and forms the single-largest source of revenue for the BMC. This is about Rs 9,100 crore in the current fiscal and is budgeted at Rs 9,800 crore in next years. Additionally, there is a grant budgeted from the government at Rs 1,266 crore  a three-fold increase over last year.

Beyond money, this marks a clear fundamental shift in the relationship between the two: the BMC is increasingly dependent on the state government to run Mumbai. If the ruling parties in the state and local governments are aligned, as they now happen to be given the Shiv Senas dominance in both, the BMC will have a good run. Else, Mumbai will suffer.

This is a far cry from making cities relatively self-sufficient and competitive at the global level. Eventually, the BMCs authority to comprehensively plan for Mumbai and execute those plans will wane. Centralisation of power is rarely a good urban practise.

What measures does the BMC propose to make good its shortfall? One, it will dip into reserves and revise its capital policy to move some of its fixed deposits into bonds and debentures. Never mind if wise analysts say this is like selling family silver. Pardeshi, in fact, validated it as a desirable thing and said the reserve money would be used to provide better infrastructure services.

Two, it will bring down establishment costs by about 44 percent in the next fiscal. The cost-cutting measures include hiring apprentices for short-term periods to cover for about one-fifth of the civic bodys work, not replacing senior retired employees, freezing recruitment, and rotating rosters to save on overtime. Expect civic services to be disrupted and the BMCs 24 ward offices to be less efficient or responsive to citizens.

Three, the BMC proposes to charge higher fees for vendor licences and birth certificates. The last is not a laughing matter considering that the document is a pre-requisite for the imminent National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Four, and by far the most controversial of measures, is the proposal to legalise most of the irregular and illegal additions to commercial and residential buildings in the city. This is expected to cover nearly 7,500 properties and plots across Mumbai, and estimated to fetch the BMC a neat Rs 600-800 crore. However, its not as simple as it looks. This transforms the very basis on which licences were issued and penalties levied so far. Worse, it threatens to open the proverbial Pandoras Box.

Together, the proposed measures make it clear that the BMC is scraping the bottom of its resource barrel. At such a time, Pardeshi sees nothing wrong in allocating a massive Rs 2,000 crore for the controversial coastal road. This freeway, when done, should make at least a few lakh car-owning Mumbaikars of the citys 18 million happy; the rest can watch that happiness index.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Even though its winter, the regions farmers and fishing community are still busy. Hence the steady stream of patrons to the boroughs pair of Greenmarkets at the St. George and Staten Island Mall locations.

Both operations run on Saturdays, rain or shine.

Rabbits Run farmers Laurie Churchill and Dan Torrison still bring turnips and garlic to St. George from their organic harvests. This rounds out their stands soaps, candles and noteworthy goat cheeses.

Back at the Bucks County, Pa., farm, Torrison reports, Laurie will begin seeding again later this month for spring crops. Im still milking the cow and a few goats as nearly all are pregnant, and I expect the first newborns to arrive the fourth week of February.

Goats in winter at Rabbits Run. (Courtesy of Dan Torrison)

Other producers at the St. George market include: Stony Mountain ranch with grass-fed Piedmontese beef from Schuylkill County, Pa.; produce from Jersey Farm in Hunterdon County, N.J.; wild-caught whole fish and shellfish from American Pride Seafood in Suffolk County, N.Y.; and a broad assortment of baked goods from Francescas Bakery in Middlesex County, N.J.

The North Shore farm effort is located at the corner of St. Marks Place and Hyatt Street behind the St. George Theatre. It operates from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Saturday through April. Spring and summer hours vary.

At the Staten Island Mall in New Springville, visitors can expect orchard fruit and baked goods from Orchards of Concklin in Rockland County, N.Y. That market runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m at Marsh Avenue and Ring Road in the commuter parking lot.

Cash, SNAP/EBT, Debit/Credit, WIC & Senior FMNP coupons are accepted at both markets. For EBT users, every $5 spent in EBT, customers receive a $2 Health Buck coupon to purchase additional fruits and vegetables.

Greenmarkets started on Staten Island in mid-July 1995 when local supporters in the neighborhood of St. George lobbied for the farmers. The producers set up shop in a municipal parking lot formerly across from what is now Enoteca Maria and Maries Gourmet 2, the very modern site of the St. George courthouse. It moved to its current home at Hyatt and St. Marks Place in 2010 as courthouse construction began. Greenmarkets were then supported by the New York City Council on the Environment and are now operated by GrowNYC, a division of the city that promotes sustainability.

Some pioneers of the Saturday tradition include Ted Dorian, then president of the St. George Civic Association, and the first Greenmarket manager, William Ellis. His wife, Miriam, eventually became the market manager. Also a force in establishing the boroughs first Greenmarket was Roberta Bobbi Jacobowitz for whom the street corner is named. She was the executive director of the St. George-Tompkinsville Improvement Corp.

Jacobowitz told the Advances Food Editor Jane Milza in 1995, If people support the market, more farmers will come here." Her philosophy was that since most of the produce was grown organically, without the use of pesticides, it would attract more shoppers.
President Muhammadu Buhari will on Friday leave the shores of Nigeria to attend the 33rd Ordinary Session of Heads of States and Governments of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement, said Buhari would join other African leaders from 54 countries to participate in the summit with the theme, "Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa's Development."

The statement said the president would also attend the 29th Forum of Heads of State and Government of Participating States of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and the 27th Session of New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) Heads of States and Governments' Orientation Committee (AUDA-NEPAD). The meetings will precede the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly.

It also said in Nigeria's capacity as a member of the AU Peace and Security Council, Buhari will participate in the high Level meeting of the Peace and Security Council on the situation in the Sahel and Libya, and High Level Ad-Hoc Committee on South Suda adding that Buhari will deliver a keynote address on the margins of the summit at a high level side event on "Stop the War on Children: Dividend of Silencing the Guns," co-sponsored by the Governments of Nigeria, Uganda and Norway, and Save the Children International.

The statement added: "President Buhari and the Nigerian delegation will also participate in other High Level Side Events in furtherance of Nigeria's national, regional and international goals, priorities and aspirations namely, peace and security, countering terrorism and violent extremism, economic development, asset recovery and fight against corruption.

"The President will also hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the Summit. At the end of the AU Summit on February 10, the Nigerian President will commence a State Visit to Ethiopia on February 11, at the invitation of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral ties between Nigeria and Ethiopia and reinforcing cooperation in key areas of mutual interest between the two countries. Before returning to Abuja, President Buhari will also interact with the Nigerian community in Ethiopia."

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Shehu said Buhari would be accompanied by Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State, Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State; Senator Adamu Mohammed Bulkachuwa, Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs; and Hon. Yusuf Baba, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Also on the entourage are the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika; Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Niyi Adebayo; Minister of Defence, Major-Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd.), Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, Princess Gloria Akobundu, National Coordinator and Chief Executive Officer of NEPAD Nigeria, National Security Adviser, Major-Gen. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar.

He said Buhari would return to Abuja on Wednesday, next week.
Im proud to welcome Jake to the LP Insurance team, said Mike Talbot, principal and senior sales executive at LP Insurance Services. He brings amazing energy and passion to his work.

LP Insurance Services is headquartered in Reno, with additional offices in Las Vegas, Elko, Nev., Gold River/Sacramento, Calif., Truckee, Calif., and Phoenix.
[February 06, 2020] INVESTOR ALERT: Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces the Filing of a Securities Class Action on Behalf of Sasol Limited (SSL) Investors

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased Sasol Limited ("Sasol" or the Company") (NYSE: SSL) securities between March 10, 2015 and January 13, 2020 inclusive (the "Class Period"). Sasol investors have until April 6, 2020 to file a lead plaintiff motion. Investors suffering losses on their Sasol investments are encouraged to contact the Law Offices of Howard G. Smith to discuss their legal rights in this class action at 888-638-4847 or by email to [email protected]. On October 27, 2014, Sasol announced the construction of an $8.1 billion ethane cracker and derivatives complex called the Lake Charles Chemicals Project ("LCCP"). On June 6, 2016, Sasol reported "that the expected total capital expenditure for the [LCCP] could increase up to US $11 billion, including site infrastructure and utility improvements." Moreover, the Company disclosed that "the estimated LCCP capital cost and extended schedule will reduce the expected project returns by approximately the same amount as the Company's lower long-term price assumptions." On this news, Sasol's American depositary receipt ("ADR") price fell $3.53 per share, or approximately 11%, to close at $28.60 per share on June 6, 2016, thereby injuring investors. On May 22, 2019, during pre-market hours, Sasol revealed that "the cost estimate for the LCCP has been revised to a range of $12.6 to $12.9 billion which includes a contingency f $300 million."



On this news, Sasol's ADR price fell $4.50 per share, or nearly 15%, to close at $25.64 per share on May 22, 2019, thereby injuring investors further. On August 16, 2019, during pre-market hours, Sasol postponed its full year 2019 financial results because of "possible LCCP control weaknesses."

On this news, Sasol's ADR price fell $0.74 per share, or over 4%, to close at $17.67 per share on August 16, 2019, thereby injuring investors further. On October 28, 2019, Sasol disclosed that there were "errors, omissions, and inaccuracies in the [LCCP] cost estimate" and that the highest level of management had engaged in a number of unethical and improper reporting activities. Sasol also announced the resignation of, inter alia, its Joint Presidents and Chief Executive Officers ("CEOs") and Senior Vice Presidents and others previously in charge of the LCCP. On January 14, 2020, Sasol confirmed "an explosion and fire at its LCCP low-density polyethylene (LDPE) unit." Sasol stated that "[t]he unit was in the final stages of commissioning and startup when the incident occurred." On this news, Sasol's ADR price fell $1.70 per share, or nearly 8%, over the following two trading days to close at $19.99 per share on January 15, 2020, thereby injuring investors further. The complaint filed in this class action alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose to investors: (1) that Sasol had conducted insufficient due diligence into, and failed to account for multiple issues with, the LCCP, as well as the true cost of the project; (2) that construction and operation of the LCCP was consequently plagued by control weaknesses, delays, rising costs, and technical issues; (3) that these issues were exacerbated by Sasol's top-level management, who engaged in improper and unethical behavior with respect to financial reporting for the LCCP and the project's oversight; (4) that all of the foregoing was reasonably likely to render the LCCP significantly more expensive than disclosed and negatively impact the Company's financial results; and (5) that as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. If you purchased Sasol securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Howard G. Smith, Esquire, of Law Offices of Howard G. Smith, 3070 Bristol Pike, Suite 112, Bensalem, Pennsylvania 19020 by telephone at (215) 638-4847, toll-free at (888) 638-4847, or by email to [email protected], or visit our website at www.howardsmithlaw.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200206006029/en/

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A boy who was hit by a car after stepping off a bus is fighting for his life.

Police have been told the boy was struck by an oncoming vehicle at the intersection of Mary and Anderson streets in Heyfield, in Gippsland, about 3.45pm on Friday.

He suffered life-threatening upper body injuries and was airlifted to the Royal Children's Hospital in a critical condition.

The driver of the vehicle, who was uninjured, stopped to assist after the collision.
Auxiliary border gates between the northern province of Lang Son and Chinas Guangxi province will be reopened on February 10 to facilitate border trade between the two neighbours.

Vietnam-China auxiliary border gates to be reopened to facilitate trade

Vice Director of the provincial Lang Son Department of Foreign Affairs Ha Le Huu said his department received the announcement from Guangxi provinces Pingxiang city on February 5.

As concerns over the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) mounted, China decided to close all auxiliary border gates and markets, halting import-export activities from January 31.

Guangxi province announced trade with the Vietnamese side would be paused until February 9.

Meanwhile, customs clearance through Bac Luan II Bridge at Mong Cai International Border Gate in Quang Ninh province was resumed on February 7.

Quang Ninh and Guangxi provinces launched customs clearance via the bridge in March 2019. However, the procedure was suspended for a week due to the impacts of the coronavirus.

At recent talks between Mong Cai city and Guangxis Dongxing city, both sides agreed to prioritise customs clearance for feedstock for production at the Texhong Textile Group Co. Ltd. at Mong Cai Border Gate Economic Zone, as well as medical equipment and materials for the prevention and control of nCOV.

Customs clearance will be available for other products on February 8.

The two localities also reached consensus on tight health quarantine, with sterilisation for all vehicles transporting goods from China to Vietnam. Drivers and porters will undergo strict medical examinations as well.

The same quarantine rules will be applied for Vietnamese vehicles and drivers./. VNA
Close your eyes for a moment and imagine this scenario:

Not only will Donald Trump be re-elected for another four years in Novembers U.S presidential election. He will then be succeeded by his son Donald Trump Jr. for eight years, followed by his daughter, Ivanka, for another eight years. And then, perhaps, his youngest son, Barron, currently a teenager?

Is it morning yet? Can I wake up now?

It has been a rocky week, and that, in a nutshell, is what many frightened, panic-stricken, demoralized Democrats now fear will happen in Americas political future.

But theyre wrong.

In spite of Donald Trump, not because of him, the state of their union, as the fabled expression goes, is still strong.

This past week has appeared to be a good one for Trump, but only if you believe the Republican spin and the uncritical coverage from much of the U.S. news media.

Even though his approval rating on one poll this week increased to a record 49 per cent, polling experts suggest this is due more to short-lived Republican anger at impeachment than anything enduring.

Even though Trump was not removed from office in the Senates impeachment vote Wednesday  by a margin of 52-48  it came about as a result of a clearly rigged trial that brought shame to the Republican-controlled chamber, and the public knows that.

And even though TV critics were agog at the reality show production of Tuesdays State of the Union speech, viewers were clearly bored as the TV audience was the smallest in Trumps tenure, 20 per cent less than last year.

This meant that most Americans learned about it the next day when the fact-checking news coverage of the speech focused mainly on his misleading claims and distortions.

They included Trumps lies about the U.S. economy being the best it has ever been  not true. That he had passed the biggest tax cut in history  not true. That he had created more jobs than President Barack Obama  not true. And that his government has protected medical coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions when, in fact, his government supports a lawsuit that would completely eliminate that feature of the health-care law.

The notion that Trump is on the brink of another stunning election victory this November seems to be premised on a crucial assumption. It takes for granted that the majority of the American public  by voting for policies diametrically opposed to their own self-interest  are essentially stupid and uninformed.

Although I concede much of their media, and Americas political class, operates on the unspoken and hypocritical acceptance that this is so  with considerable success  I dont think that 2020s election will reveal that. Too much genuine, painful reality has crowded into the debate.

For now, that may be overlooked by the many Democrats who seem this week to be jumping off tall buildings as they lament their political fortunes.

Yes, the chaotic Iowa caucus results have been an embarrassment, but these will soon be forgotten.

And yes, the Democratic Party seems to be divided once again between two establishment and progressive wings, and at least four leading candidates: Biden, Sanders, Warren and Buttigieg.

But so what? American democracy has always been messy, and it is only February. There are many Democratic primaries to go.

Much of the noise and phoney outrage from these recent days will fade in the mists of time, but some things will endure.

Decades from now  a century from now  history will remember the eloquence of Mitt Romney as the first senator in American history to vote to remove a president of his own party:

History will also remember the extraordinary impeachment process in the House of Representatives that  in spite of the backbiting among politicians  turned out to be a public education of how a 21st-century democracy should comport itself.

One by one, in spite of bitter pressure from Republican partisans, dedicated American public servants  many of them diplomats  risked their own careers to testify because they felt it was necessary to tell the truth.

At its head, the American political system has become corrupt and self-serving  but at its core, the state of the union is still strong.

Most importantly, let us remember that, in spite of this weeks turmoil, the journey to next Novembers presidential election has only begun.

Tony Burman , formerly head of CBC News and Al Jazeera English, is a freelance contributing foreign affairs columnist for the Star. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @TonyBurman

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France has about 4,500 soldiers in the region and announced on Sunday that it plans to deploy 600 more.

French soldiers have killed more than 30 fighters in Mali in two days of operations targeting the ISIL (ISIS group) and al-Qaeda-linked groups, French armed forces have said.

France, the former colonial power that once ruled number of West African countries, has about 4,500 soldiers in the region conducting Operation Barkhane, which began in 2014.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has a 13,000-strong peacekeeping operation in Mali in what may be the world bodys most dangerous mission so far.

The French troops most recent operations took place on Thursday and Friday.

In the Gourma region, soldiers of the French Barkhane force killed about 20 fighters and destroyed several vehicles, while in the Liptako region, a stronghold for ISIL, 10 more were killed, the army said. The operations involved a drone, warplanes and two helicopters, it added.

In December, French forces killed 33 fighters in Mali using attack helicopters, ground troops and a drone near the border with Mauritania where a group linked to al-Qaeda operates.

Little progress in the region

The UN, France and the United States have poured billions of dollars into stabilising the Sahel, but with little success. The region has seen a rise in violence in recent months, feeding a feeling of increased insecurity among locals, with millions displaced.





Last month, the UN envoy for West Africa told the UN Security Council that attacks have increased fivefold in Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger since 2016. More than 4,000 deaths were reported in 2019.

In November, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed a thorough review of Operation Barkhane after 13 French soldiers died in an air collision in November.

Following a meeting in Ouagadougou in January with the leaders of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, Macron vowed to take measures to increase coordination with the local militaries.

He also said France would ramp up intervention in the tri-borders region of Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali, where much of the violence occurred.

On Sunday, France said it planned to deploy 600 more soldiers to the area. To date, 41 French soldiers have been killed in the operation.
Chinas Censors Go into Full Gear as Netizens Mourn and Raise Questions about Virus Whistleblower Doctors Death

Chinese netizens are mourning the death of Li Wenliang, the whistleblower doctor who first publicized information about the coronavirus outbreak in December 2019.

Early morning on Feb. 7, Li passed away after contracting the virus from a patient he had treated. Soon after, there was an outpouring of grief and anger on social media. Chinese censors quickly began deleting such messages.

Li and several doctors in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, had alerted the public about the illness before authorities confirmed it. But he was visited by local police and reprimanded for rumor-mongering.

After public outcry, Chinese authorities touted Li as a hero who warned people about the virus.

Grief

Todays Wuhan is our city tomorrow and I want free speech are currently among the hottest keywords on Chinese social media.

Netizens are angry that the authorities had punished Li for telling the truth.

Comparing his bravery to figures in Chinese history who risked their lives in pursuit of freedoms, some even shared photos of protesters during the Tiananmen Square movement of 1989a taboo topic that is banned from public discussion.

Soon after, such posts were removed by Chinese censors. Only posts by state-run media about his death were available. On the Chinese Twitter-like platform Weibo, netizen Lin Sensen complained that he tried eight times unsuccessfully to write a post, alluding to lingering questions he had about Lis death. He said: Im tired.

Wuhan authorities also arrested citizen journalists who shared information about the situation in Wuhan on social media.

Chen Qiushi is from Beijing. He arrived in Wuhan on Jan. 24 shortly after the city was locked down. Early morning on Feb. 7, Chens mother said that she couldnt reach Chen, and asked for netizens help in tracking him down. In the afternoon, Chens family received a notice from officials that Chen had been detained.

Netizen Fang Bin also shared videos he recorded inside Wuhan hospitals since late January.

On Feb. 7 afternoon, Fang said in a new video that plainclothes police had surrounded the residential area he lives in, and that he was concerned they could break in at anytime.

Lis Death

State-run media first reported Lis death at 9:30 p.m. Thursday. But hours later, they reported that he was still alive and being resuscitated. Shortly before 4 a.m., state-run media then announced that Li had passed away at 2:58 a.m. on Feb. 7.

Li, an opthamologist, studied in Wuhan. Some of his former university classmates are his colleagues. On Feb. 7, Lis classmates revealed that Li had actually died around 8:30 p.m Thursday, and claimed that the hospital did not give him proper treatment.

Though the posts were removed soon, netizens screenshot them and shared them on international social media platforms.

State media reported that hospital doctors tried to revive him, using a medical ventilator to supply the oxygen. Then they conducted an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ecmo) operation and roughly three hours of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

On Feb. 7, Lis mother revealed more about her sons death in a published video. His condition was stable about 20 days ago. He could eat and walk. But in the last two days, his condition deteriorated rapidly,

Because the disease is contagious, both Lis parents could not see him in person. They previously were infected with the virus but had recovered and returned home.

After they [the hospital] sent his body to a funeral home, they [authorities] took us to the hospital to collect his belongings.

The mother said Li Wenliangs wife Fu Xuejie returned to her hometown, a village in Zaoyang City of the Xiangyang municipality in Hubei Province, together with Fu and Lis five-year-old son after the doctor fell sick on Jan. 10.

Fu is also pregnant with their second child, due in June, the mother said.

A resident brings a bouquet of flowers to pay tribute to Dr. Li Wenliang at Lis hospital in Wuhan, China on Feb. 07,2020. (Getty Images)

Lis Wife

Lis wife Fu also posted a public letter onto social media.

My young brother was diagnosed [with the coronavirus] on Jan. 27. Both of my parents started to have a fever on Feb. 1, and are under quarantine at home, Fu said. After hearing my husband passed away, my body cant stand the pressure anymore. I started to have a fever today. Im worried about our baby in my womb.

Fu said all adults are required to be quarantined if they are suspected of contracting the virus. She is worried that no one would be able to take care of her five-year-old child if she were quarantined.

Fu asked for help for her son, as it would be difficult to relocate him back to Wuhan, where his grandparents are living. The entire province is currently under transportation lockdown.

The 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) first broke out in Wuhan, located in central Chinas Hubei Province, in early December 2019. Tens of thousands have been infected within China, while dozens of countries are also reporting cases.
A center for people experiencing methamphetamine-induced psychosis will open in San Francisco to help them get sober in a safe place, the latest effort to address the city's rising drug overdoses and rampant street drug use.

The center, believed to be the first in the United States specifically for people who are high on methamphetamine, will open late this spring on a city-owned parking lot in the Tenderloin neighborhood, where streets are littered with syringes and addicts congregate, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Thursday.

Mayor London Breed said the 24-hour center will get high people off the streets and connect them with addiction treatment and other services.

Each tent will have 15 beds.

The center, believed to be the first in the United States specifically for people who are high on methamphetamine, will open late this spring on a city-owned parking lot (above) in the Tenderloin neighborhood

Residents of San Francisco have long complained about rampant drug use on the streets of the city

A homeless man sleeps in front of his tent along Van Ness Avenue in downtown San Francisco in this June 2016 file photo. The city remains in the grip of a burgeoning homelessness crisis

'The reality is that drug use and overdoses are on the rise, and doing nothing is not an option,' Breed said in a statement.

'The public drug use we see every day hurts those who are suffering from addiction as well as the surrounding communities.'

The spike in methamphetamine addiction in the city has been a main driver for crowding of the psychiatric emergency room at San Francisco General Hospital, overwhelming medical staff and sometimes resulting in patients being released back to the streets before they are deemed ready.

From 2017 to 2018, 47 per cent of all visits to the psychiatric emergency room were related to methamphetamine use.

Officials hope the center will relieve some of that pressure.

People with methamphetamine-induced psychosis often have paranoia, hallucinations and behave aggressively.

The center, aimed at helping people come down from drug highs, will be staffed by nurses and counselors who will give addicts advice about longer-term help like treatment beds, shelter beds and how they should take care of themselves mentally and physically.

HealthRight 360, one of the largest San Francisco drug treatment providers, will run it.

A driver with a van will be posted outside the center to pick up people showing signs of methamphetamine-induced psychosis.

San Francisco is also among several cities in the country considering opening supervised injection sites to address drug addiction. The above stock image shows an injection room in Frankfurt, Germany

Injection sites (like the one above in Vancouver, British Columbia) are areas where addicts can get clean needles and a safe place to shoot up. Advocates say they reduce the number of fatal overdoses

Officials said the center may eventually accept patients from hospital emergency rooms, but will begin by accepting people only from the streets.

San Francisco is also among several cities in the country considering opening supervised injection sites to address drug addiction.

Advocates say injection sites have been successful in Canada, Europe and elsewhere and that when combined with on-site recovery resources, they can help prevent overdoses and help users.

But injection sites are illegal under US federal law.

In addition to rampant drug use on the streets, San Francisco is currently in the grip of a burgeoning homelessness crisis.

The Tenderloin district, found in the northern part of the city, is a particular grievance for residents who want to clean up the area.

The Tenderloin district hosts a series of addicts and homeless who reportedly leave behind human waste, as well as used needles.

Rampant street drug use and homelessness remain a problem for San Francisco. Residents in Clinton Park, placed two dozen boulders (pictured) on neighborhood sidewalks in an attempt to stop homeless people from camping in front of their homes in September

Advocates said the boulders (pictured), which were eventually moved by city officials due to road safety hazard, was a 'anti-homeless architecture'

The city set up public toilets in an attempt to combat this and last year the formation of the 'poop patrol', a special six-person team tasked with cleaning up the feces around San Francisco, was announced.

San Francisco also funded an initiative to hire people to collect used needles off the street.

The city has faced government criticism in addition to resident outcry.

President Donald Trump visited California in mid-September and subsequently unleashed a very public condemnation of San Francisco's homeless crisis.

Trump blamed 'liberal policies' for the crisis and said city officials were allowing waste to filter through storm drains leading to the ocean.

'It's a terrible situation that's in Los Angeles and in San Francisco,' Trump said of the issue.

The crisis has grown to the point where residents have taken matters into their own hands.

Last fall, a resident in the Ingleside District of San Francisco placed a plywood wall (pictured) in front of an alleyway to stop alleged drug deals and the homeless from using the path as a public toilet

The alleway, spanning Ocean Avenue and Urbano Street, has become a source of contention for neighbors and a constantly uses city resources to clean the area of human waste and drug paraphernalia

In September, Clinton Park residents placed two dozen massive boulders on sidewalks to stop people from making homeless encampments outside their homes.

Also last fall, a frustrated resident in the Ingleside District erected a plywood wall to block an alleyway riddled with drug deals and human excrement thanks to homeless people using it as a public toilet.

The alleyway, spanning Ocean Avenue and Urbano Street, is found between homes costing a million dollars or more.

The average household income for the neighborhood is $106,248.80 and it is overwhelmingly white collar.

According to ABC 7, neighbors say 'Ingleside Path' has attracted a wayward crowd and the City of San Francisco has done nothing on their part to make residents feel safe.

Vice-chair of the Ocean Avenue Association, Miles Escobedo, said: 'Once again San Francisco not taking care of its mentally ill and not taking care of the drug problem that is terrifying the entire city.'

The San Francisco City Performance Scorecard reports that there are 9,784 individuals that meet the federal definition of homeless in 2019 - rising 30 percent more than the 2017 count.

Jeff Kositsky, the director for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, estimates that 20,000 homeless people reside or pass through San Francisco any given year.

Even with the rise of the homeless crisis and residents calling for action, only five percent of the city's total budget is used to combat homelessness.

The person who erected the plywood wall wished to remain anonymous, but told ABC 7 that Ingleside Path has been a source of contention for some time.

'This walkway has been a burden on city resources for some time now. The walkway requires multiple trips a week for power washing and city records confirm that over 100 calls were received for emergency services,' the neighbor said.

Business owners are also up in arms as well.

'They come in here, they pee there, they poo there. Every day. The police cannot do anything, its dirty and disgusting,'resident and business owner Tom Pan told the San Francisco Examiner.

'In the summertime on a hot day, I cant even open my window because of the smell.'

The Trump administration blasted San Francisco and other California cities for its rampant homelessness crisis (pictured) in September and have put pressure on places like San Francisco to clean up their streets

The neighbor who erected the wall was given permission to do so by the city, but not everybody agreed with the decision.

After some people complained, the wall was taken down.

An estimated 130,000 people are homeless somewhere in California on any given day, more than any other state, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

California, home to about 39.6 million people, is the most populous state in the United States.
As the deadly coronavirus has spread worldwide, it has carried with it xenophobia -- and Asian communities around the world are finding themselves subject to suspicion and fear. When a patient on Australia's Gold Coast refused to shake the hand of her surgeon Rhea Liang, citing the virus that has killed hundreds, the medic's first response was shock. But after tweeting about the incident and receiving a flood of responses, the respected doctor learned her experience was all too common. There has been a spike in reports of anti-Chinese rhetoric directed at people of Asian origin, regardless of whether they have ever visited the centre of the epidemic or been in contact with the virus. Chinese tourists have reportedly been spat at in the Italian city of Venice, a family in Turin was accused of carrying the disease, and mothers in Milan have used social media to call for children to be kept away from Chinese classmates. In Canada, a white man was filmed telling a Chinese-Canadian woman "you dropped your coronavirus" in the parking lot of a local mall. In Malaysia, a petition to "bar Chinese people from entering our beloved country" received almost 500,000 signatures in one week. The incidents are part of what the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine has described as "misinformation" which it says is fuelling "racial profiling" where "deeply distressing assumptions are being made about 'Chinese' or 'Asian-looking' people." - Typhoid Marys - Disease has long been accompanied by suspicions of foreigners -- from Irish immigrants being targeted in the Typhoid Mary panic of 1900s America to Nepali peacekeepers being accused of bringing cholera to earthquake-struck Haiti in the last decade. "It's a common phenomenon," said Rob Grenfell, director of health and biosecurity for Australia's science and research agency CSIRO. "With outbreaks and epidemics along human history, we've always tried to vilify certain subsets of the population," he said, comparing the behaviour to 1300s plague-ridden medieval Europe, where foreigners and religious groups were often blamed. "Sure it emerged in China," he said of the coronavirus, "but that's no reason to actually vilify Chinese people." In a commentary for the British Medical Journal, doctor Abraar Karan warned this behaviour could discourage people with symptoms from coming forward. Claire Hooker, a health lecturer at the University of Sydney, said the responses from governments may have compounded prejudice. The World Health Organization has warned against "measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade", but this has not stopped scores of countries from introducing travel bans. The tiny Pacific nation of Micronesia has banned its citizens from visiting mainland China altogether. "Travel bans respond largely to people's fears," said Hooker, and while sometimes warranted, they often "have the effect of cementing an association between Chinese people and scary viruses". Abbey Shi, a Shanghai-born student in Sydney, said the attitude shown by some of her peers has "become almost an attack on students who are Chinese". While Australia's conservative government has banished its citizens returning from Wuhan -- the central Chinese city at the epicentre of the virus -- to a remote island for quarantine, thousands of students still stuck in China risk their studies being torpedoed. "Right now it looks like they have to miss the semester's start and potentially the whole year, because of the way the courses are set up," Shi said. According to Hooker, studies in Toronto on the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS -- another global coronavirus outbreak in 2002 -- showed the impact of xenophobic sentiment often lasted much longer than the public health scare. "While there may be a cessation of direct forms of racism as news about the disease dies down, it takes quite a bit of time for economic recovery and people continue to feel unsafe," she said. People may not rush back to Chinese businesses or restaurants, and may even heed some of the more outlandish viral social media disinformation -- such as one popular post imploring people to avoid eating noodles for their own safety. "In one sense you might think the effects lasted from the last coronavirus to this one, because the representation as China being a place where diseases come from has been persistent," Hooker said.
February 07 : Bollywood actor Sunil Shetty who is predominantly active in films, says that Jackie Shroff and Shahid Kapoor are the best dressers in Bollywood. The actor also expressed that one should keep himself fit. Fashion should not dictate them, they should dictate to fashion.

Talking about his fashion mantra, Sunil said, "My fashion mantra is to train high, maintain a small waist and a good shoulder size. The clothes will definitely look good on you. I keep my fashion simple. I love to wear jeans, cargos, t-shirts, whether I am travelling or going on dinner. I don't opt to wear different clothes at different places. My preferences are to always wear comfortable clothes, wherever I go. I believe that clothes are something that should look good on you and should be comfortable.

When asked whose fashion inspires him a lot, on this Sunil said, "I don't follow anybody's fashion trends, besides me. I believe in easy go clothing. But in case, if I have to choose any one in fashion, it will be always Jackie Shroff. And about today's fashion vogue, it's Shahid Kapoor. Whatever he wears looks good on him. He carries himself very nicely."

On the work front, Sunil Shetty will be seen in 'Mumbai Saga'. The movie is an action crime film directed by Sanjay Gupta, and produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anuradha Gupta and Sangeeta Ahir. It features Starring ensemble of John Abraham, Emraan Hashmi, Kajal Aggarwal, Jackie Shroff, Sunil Shetty, Prateik Babbar, Gulshan Grover, Rohit Roy, Samir Soni and Amole Gupte. The movie is a gangster drama set in the eighties and the nineties. It is scheduled to release on 19 June 2020.
Tyler Wallace, 19, of Joliet, Illinois, turned himself in to police on Thursday

A 19-year-old man suspected of spraying disinfectant inside a Walmart in suburban Chicago while announcing to startled customers that he was infected with the new coronavirus turned himself in to police.

Tyler Wallace, of Joliet, was scheduled to appear in bond court on Friday afternoon after turning himself in on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reported.

He is charged with misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct, retail theft and criminal trespass to property.

A 17-year-old boy who police allege was with Wallace at the store last Sunday was arrested on misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

Police allege that Wallace put a surgical mask over his mouth and put a homemade sign on his back that read 'Caution I have the coronavirus,' then walked through the store spraying Lysol on clothing, produce and other items, causing nearly $10,000 in damage.

Police do not believe that either teen has the new virus that has sickened more than 31,400 people worldwide and killed more than 630 people in China.

'It appears to have been a prank that went too far,' Joliet Police Sgt. Chris Botzum said.

Officers were called to the store but Wallace and his accomplice had allegedly taken off in a white 2003 GMC Yukon after being confronted by shoppers.

So far, there were two reported cases of coronavirus in Chicago.

A local husband and wife who late last month became the first person-to-person coronavirus patients in the United States were released from a suburban hospital, health officials said Friday.

In a statement, Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates said that they were 'discharged to their home under the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health.'

The hospital said the two, both in their 60s, are now in 'home isolation.' The hospital did not say when the two were discharged from the hospital.

The couple, who have not been identified, said in a statement released by the hospital that they are pleased with the care they have received.

'This has been the best healthcare experience weve ever had, but were definitely looking forward to getting home and getting life back to normal.'

The prank on Sunday was the second involving claims of coronavirus in as many days, after an Instagram star incited panic on board a flight from Toronto to Jamaica when he allegedly yelled he had coronavirus.

Potok Philippe, real name James Potok, was arrested and charged with mischief on Monday after crew on board the WestJet plane from Toronto to Jamaica were alerted to his actions and the aircraft was forced to turn back.

Police allege Wallace is one of two men caught on surveillance man wearing a yellow face mask and a sign on his back reading, 'Caution, I have the Coronavirus.'

Wallace and a 17-year-old accomplice allegedly walked into a Walmart store in Illinois on Sunday and sprayed Lysol on merchandise, police said

Wallace (left) and the accomplice (right) entered the store in Joliet at around 4pm and began spraying what turned out to be disinfectant on produce, clothing, and health and beauty items

The Walmart store in Illinois where the incident took place. There have been two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Illinois

A second flight was also cancelled as a result of the incident.

The 28-year-old from Vaughan, Ontario, told City News: 'It was simply a joke.'

The other 243 passengers didn't think it was funny when Potok stood up in the cabin and said: 'Can I get everybodys attention please. I just came back from Hunan province, the capital of the coronavirus. Im not feeling too well. Thank you.'

Airline crew asked him to put on a mask and gloves and the plane had to turn around.

Potok defended his actions, saying: 'It would be something else if I said hey guys I have a bomb strapped to me, I have a weapon on me, people blew it out of proportion. To me it was simply a joke.'

Investigators from Peel Regional Police Airport Division Criminal Investigation Bureau confirmed Potok was assessed by medical staff upon arrival at Pearson Airport and deemed to be symptom free.

The US announced on Friday that it is prepared to spend up to $100million to help China and other countries fight the outbreak.

Another prankster: An Instagram star caused chaos on board a flight from Toronto to Jamaica on Monday when he allegedly yelled he had coronavirus (pictured)

Potok Philippe, real name James Potok, (pictured right) was arrested and charged with mischief on Monday after crew on board the WestJet plane from Toronto to Jamaica were alerted to his actions and the jet was forced to turn back

The government also said it helped with the effort to deliver nearly 18 tons of medical supplies donated to the Chinese by the American people, including masks, gowns, gauze and respirators.

All but one the deaths in the outbreak have been in China.

Chinas National Health Commission said about 4,800 of those being treated, or nearly 17 percent, are in serious condition.

The vast majority of the infected are in China; roughly 290 others are in about two dozen other countries, including Japan, Thailand, Singapore and South Korea.

The US has reported 12 cases.

Hundreds more Americans evacuated from the stricken zone in China began arriving Friday in the US, where they will be quarantined on military bases for two weeks.

Japan confirmed 41 new cases of the virus on the quarantined Diamond Princess, adding to 20 escorted off the ship earlier.

The nearly 3,700 passengers and crew still on board remain under 14-day quarantine.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Doug Jones said today he was disgusted by the extreme partisanship displayed throughout the impeachment process, including by some in his own party.

They wanted him impeached from the time he took his hand off the Bible, Jones said of calls to impeach President Donald Trump soon after he took office. That was unfortunate.

Jones, returning to Alabama and visiting the law school he graduated from in Birmingham, said on Friday during a forum at Samford Universitys Cumberland School of Law that the impeachment of President Donald Trump was extremely partisan on both sides. The more extreme one side got, the more extreme the other side got, he said.

It was just that partisan, he said. It was like Alice in Wonderland.

Jones emphasized that he tried to be fair throughout the process, studying the case from all angles without partisanship.

I try to do what I believe is the right thing, he said.

Jones, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was immediately alarmed at the whistleblower complaint against Trump for his request that Ukraine announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who was on the board of the Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Jones said Republicans had made no issue of Bidens role in Ukraine until Biden announced he was running for president. That convinced Jones that the presidents motive was purely political and helped convince him to vote in favor of removing Trump from office on two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Trump was acquitted, with only one Republican, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah, breaking party ranks to vote in favor of removing Trump on the abuse of power charge.

Jones noted that he has been a friend of former U.S. Sen. Joe Biden since 1978, when Biden visited Birmingham to speak at Cumberland Law School. Ive been friends with him ever since, Jones said.

But Jones insisted he kept an open mind, studying both sides and assigning his staff to challenge him with the best arguments for removing the president and for acquittal.

I had a non-partisan view probably more than anyone, Jones said.

He criticized the U.S. House of Representatives for rushing its case and not pushing for more witnesses and documents and allowing court challenges to proceed. The House was moving against an artificial deadline, Jones said.

Although Jones detailed the exhaustive nature of taking part in impeachment proceedings, he said he was able to keep up his other duties.

We were still doing the peoples work, he said.

He mentioned legislation that was passed including the new U.S. trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

That was a remarkable achievement in the middle of impeachment, he said.

Jones said there is a lot to regret about how this impeachment was handled, especially the senate conducting a trial without calling witnesses.

There were a lot of precedents set that were bad ones, Jones said.

Jones said that unlike the senate trial for President Bill Clinton in 1999, when the senate closed doors, excused the chief justice and held private deliberation among the 100 senators following public statements, that didnt happen this time.

Some say the senate is the great deliberative body, Jones said. It is not. We dont deliberate anymore.
North Korea has become the twenty-ninth country or territory to record a case of the killer coronavirus, it has been claimed.

A native citizen returned from China before being tested positive for the deadly virus, according to local media.

Sources told an English daily newspaper that the woman is from Pyongyang, the capital of the hermit Asian nation.

No further details about how she entered the country have been given - North Korea was one of the first countries to shut its borders to contain the killer outbreak.

In further developments, a woman from China has taken ill at Copenhagen Airport, Denmark, prompting a small area to be cordoned off. If tests come back positive, she would be the first case diagnosed on Danish soil.

The coronavirus epidemic has been confirmed in almost 30 countries and territories around the world, killing 638 and infecting more than 31,500.

North Korea has becomes the twenty-ninth country to record a case of the killer coronavirus, local media report. Pictured, children in masks in Pyongyang

The North Korean citizen is believed to have been detected by officials who are doing thorough checks of any travellers from foreign countries. Pictured, Pyongyang Airport

The native citizen returned from China before being tested positive for the deadly. She is from Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea (pictured, where doctors are wearing medical masks)

North Korea borders with China, where 99 per cent of the 31,500 infected are. The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 638 lives and infected more than 31,500 people in 28 countries and territories around the world

The North Korean case has not yet been confirmed by officials, only reported by the English version of the South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo.

Officials have been vigilant in isolating travellers from foreign countries and testing them for the coronavirus at airports.

During this process, the woman from Pyongyang, with a population of almost three million, was flagged.

North Korea borders with China, where 99 per cent of the 31,500 infected are. But is the only neighbouring territory to have steered clear of the deadly virus so far.

The reclusive country was one of the first to completely shut its borders to travellers and flights from China, introducing the measure on January 21.

It is not clear, therefore, exactly where the woman was flying from if she was returning from China.

Considering North Korean news reported there were zero coronavirus patients on Sunday, it is believed the woman was detected on Monday.

Song In-bom, a North Korean health official, appeared on the state-run Korean Central Television Sunday evening to reassure the public.

Song, however, said it wasn't 'time to be relieved' because there was still potential the virus could read the North. 'Civil awareness' was urged.

A small area of Terminal 3 in Copenhagen Airport has been cordoned off after a woman fell ill after arriving from China at 7.40am this morning

The passenger contacted airport staff on arrival around because she was feeling unwell. She was found to have influenza-like symptoms and rushed to hospital

Officials in North Korea have been vigilant in isolating travellers from foreign countries and testing them for the coronavirus. Pictured, women wearing face masks in the capital city

The woman was showing symptoms of the virus while going through checks, a source told JoongAng Ilbo. Everyone who had close contact with the patient has also been quarantined.

South Korea has recorded 24 cases so far, and has banned all foreign travellers who have passed through Wuhan - the Chinese city where the coronavirus started - in the past 14 days.

In Denmark, a small area of Copenhagen Airport has been closed off while staff disinfect the area where a now hospitalised woman stood.

Copenhagen Airport press officer, Kenni Leth, said the woman arrived from China via Helsinki in Finland, The Guardian reports.

The passenger contacted airport staff on arrival around 7.40am on Friday morning because she was feeling sick.

She was found to have influenza-like symptoms characteristic of the novel coroanvirus and rushed to hospital in the city.

Leth said: 'Given that the passenger contacted airport staff with influenza-like symptoms we, in accordance with procedures agreed with authorities, contacted emergency services and the passenger was picked up by ambulance.

WHERE HAS THE CORONAVIRUS SPREAD TO? The vast majority of confirmed infections of the Wuhan coronavirus have been diagnosed in China. But more than 25 countries or territories outside of the mainland have also declared infections: COUNTRIES CHINA JAPAN SINGAPORE THAILAND HONG KONG SOUTH KOREA TAIWAN AUSTRALIA MALAYSIA GERMANY US VIETNAM MACAU CANADA FRANCE UAE INDIA PHILLIPINES UK ITALY RUSSIA BELGIUM SWEDEN SPAIN FINLAND NEPAL SRI LANKA CAMBODIA NORTH KOREA WORLD TOTAL DEATHS CASES 31,203 86 33 25 24 24 16 15 14 13 12 12 10 7 6 5 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 31,526 638 (2 OUTSIDE CHINA) Advertisement

'An area of terminal three where the woman contacted staff has been cordoned off and will be sanitised in accordance with procedure.

'You can still easily go to Terminal 3 and use most of the terminal. It is not affecting airport traffic.'

If the cases in North Korea and Denmark are confirmed, they follow an ongoing stream of countries or territories to announce coronavirus invasion, including the US, Australia, and UK.

The British Government is under mounting pressure to ban all travellers from coronavirus-hit China after 16 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia took the firm action.

Thousands of travellers from the disease-stricken China have been pouring into Britain every day without being properly tested for the infection, prompting calls for a similar blanket ban.

Downing Street issued updated travel advice tonight warning Britons flying back from nine countries to phone NHS 111 if they feel even slightly unwell.

Passengers who have arrived from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau, should call the NHS 111 service.

The third British patient was reported on Thursday - a businessman who had been to a conference of more than 100 delegates in Singapore.

He is being treated at an Airborne High Consequence Infectious Disease (AHCID) unit in Guy's and St Thomas' in London.

Only four hospitals in England are equipped with such wards in England. Access to these units is restricted to a team of trained medical staff who are made to wear protective gowns, face masks, visors and gloves before entering.

The first two patients are being treated in a specialist infectious diseases unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

A twelfth American, in Wisconsin, was diagnosed with the deadly virus that's spread rapidly since appearing at a seafood market in Wuhan, China.

In addition to the 12 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is testing 76 people for the infection.
Taiwan halts all tours to Hong Kong, Macau

ROC Central News Agency

02/06/2020 07:29 PM

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) The Tourism Bureau announced Thursday the suspension of all tours to Hong Kong and Macau until Feb. 29, with the exception of tour groups that are merely transiting through the two special administrative regions.

The measure is a response to the Central Epidemic Command Center's (CECC) raising of its travel alert for the two regions Wednesday to the second level in its three-tier warning system, the bureau said.

The bureau has barred tour groups from traveling to the rest of China since Jan. 25, due to the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

To date, over 28,000 people have been infected with the virus in China, leading to more than 560 deaths, including one in Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, as part of the latest CECC measures to combat the spread of the virus, all people from China, apart from those from Hong Kong and Macau, have been denied entry into Taiwan from Thursday.

From Friday, Chinese nationals from Hong Kong and Macau will be subject to a mandatory 14-day home quarantine when they enter Taiwan, while foreign nationals who have traveled to China, Hong Kong, and Macau in the past 14 days, or who are residents in the three regions, will be barred from entry to Taiwan.

Taiwanese nationals who have traveled recently to China, Hong Kong or Macau are all subject to a mandatory 14-day home quarantine, beginning Thursday, Chuang Jen-hsiang (), deputy-director of Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control, told CNA.

(By Wang Shu-fen and Chiang Yi-ching)

Enditem/J



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ALABNY, N.Y. - New York state will file a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Securitys decision to block New Yorkers from participating in trusted traveller programs in retribution for a new state law that could hinder federal immigration enforcement, officials said Friday.

Its an abuse of power. Its extortion. It is hurting New Yorkers to advance their political agenda. And were going to fight back, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, said at a news conference in New York.

The lawsuit is the latest salvo in an escalating fight over immigration policy between President Donald Trump and Democratic leaders in his home state.

In December, a new state law took effect allowing New York residents to apply for drivers licenses without having to prove they are in the U.S. legally. Part of that law also sought to protect immigrants in the country illegally who applied for the new licenses by prohibiting the states Department of Motor Vehicles from giving records to federal immigration agents.

On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security retaliated, saying it would no longer allow New Yorkers to enrol, or renew their membership in, certain federal programs that make it easier for people travelling internationally to get through border security, including Global Entry.

In announcing the change, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said New York had endangered public safety by barring federal agents from quickly accessing vehicle and criminal records to check for fugitive warrants or confirm someones identification.

The ouster is expected to affect at least 175,000 New Yorkers now enrolled in the programs, who will be kicked out as their permits expire, plus around 30,000 commercial truck drivers enrolled in a program that eases their crossings into the U.S. from Canada.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will oversee the lawsuit, called their removal from the program political retribution, plain and simple. In the suit, she will argue that the Trump administrations action is arbitrary and has violated New Yorks sovereign immunity and the equal rights and privileges of all New Yorkers.

Time and time again President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda, James said in a statement.

Cuomo called the move to block New Yorkers a joke Friday and said the president could simply ask the FBI for criminal records in New York.

Several other states have similar policies of allowing immigrants in the country illegally to get drivers licenses, but New York is the only state that bans the sharing of motor vehicle records with immigration agents, Department of Homeland Security officials said.

Trump has been singling out New York in recent months for especially harsh criticism over so-called sanctuary policies for immigrants.

The president assailed New York City officials in his State of the Union address over its policy of not turning over some criminal defendants wanted for immigration violations. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also recently sent subpoenas to law enforcement in Denver and New York seeking information on immigrants they hope to deport.
President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal by the Senate in meandering remarks made on Thursday, when he recited a familiar litany of falsehoods and misleading assertions about the impeachment trial against him, his political enemies and his own record

President Donald Trump celebrated his acquittal by the Senate in meandering remarks made on Thursday, when he recited a familiar litany of falsehoods and misleading assertions about the impeachment trial against him, his political enemies and his own record. Heres a fact check.

What Trump Said

A corrupt politician named Adam Schiff made up my statement to the Ukrainian president. He brought it out of thin air. Just made it up.

This is exaggerated. For months, Trump has decried a reenactment of his 25 July phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine, read aloud by Representative Adam Schiff, D-California, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

At a hearing in September, Schiff said he was conferring the essence of the conversation and later clarified that his summary of the call was meant to be at least part in parody. But he spoke in first person, leaving the impression that he was quoting Trump.

On Thursday, Trump took particular umbrage at one of Schiffs erroneous lines in the parody: By the way, dont call me again. Ill call you when youve done what I asked. According to the reconstructed transcript of the call, Trump said the opposite to Zelenskiy: Whenever you would like to come to the White House, feel free to call.

But while Schiffs account at points veered from the transcript in chronology and details, it generally tracked with the transcripts version of what Trump said on the call (for example, his description of Zelenskiys interest in a meeting and purchasing weapons, and Trumps asking for a favour). It was not fabricated out of thin air.

What Trump Said

They said they didnt add this word. I said, Add it, theyre probably wrong, but add it. So now everyone agrees that they were perfectly accurate.

This is exaggerated. Trump was referring inaccurately to testimony from Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander S Vindman, the top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council who heard Trumps call with Zelenskiy. Vindman said that the reconstructed transcript included a few omissions, and that he had tried to make some changes. Some edits were successful, he said, but two substantive corrections were not made.

On the fourth page of the transcript, Trump said former vice-president Joe Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into that 

According to his notes, Vindman said, the ellipses took the place of Trump saying there are recordings.

On that same page, the transcript recorded Zelenskiy promising that Ukraines next prosecutor general would look into the situation, specifically to the company that you mentioned in this issue.

But Zelenskiy explicitly said Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company where Bidens son worked, and not the company, according to Vindman.

What Trump Said

I think thats when Comey announced he was leaking, lying and everything else, right?

False. As Trump praised Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, he claimed that Grassleys questioning of James Comey, the former FBI director, in May 2017 resulted in Comey confessing to the misdeeds Trump has long accused him of. But Comey had said the exact opposite, denying that he had leaked classified information:

Grassley: Director Comey, have you ever been an anonymous source in news reports about matters relating to the Trump investigation or the [Hillary] Clinton investigation?

Comey: Never.

Grassley: Question two, relatively related, have you ever authorised someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports about the Trump investigation or the Clinton investigation?

Comey No.

Grassley: Has any classified information relating to Trump or his association  associates been declassified and shared with the media?

Comey: Not to my knowledge.

What Trump Said

Tell me, why isnt Germany paying money? Why isnt France? Why isnt United Kingdom paying money? Why arent they paying money? Why are we paying the money?

This is misleading. Trump was talking about international aid to Ukraine. Those European countries are, in fact, contributing to Ukraines efforts to counteract Russian aggression. They provide more development and humanitarian aid to Ukraine than the US does, though the US is the largest provider of military assistance.

European countries have contributed $1.6 billion in development assistance from 2014 to 2017, compared with $807 million from the US, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

What Trump Said

We just won two seats in North Carolina, two wonderful seats in North Carolina that were not supposed to be won.

This is exaggerated. Two Republicans, Representatives Dan Bishop and Greg Murphy, won their special House elections in September. Contrary to Trumps claim that his party pulled off upset victories, both districts were conservative strongholds.

Republicans have held Bishops district, North Carolinas 9th, since the 1960s. Murphy won his seat after the February 2019 death of Walter B Jones Jr, a Republican who had represented the 3rd District since 1995. Trump carried both congressional districts by wide margins of 12 percent and 24 percent.

What Trump Said

We are putting up walls in New Mexico, too; a state that has never been in play for Republicans is totally in play, right?

This is exaggerated. Trump has a point that the state has largely voted for Democratic presidential candidates in the past two decades, but he goes too far to say it has never been in play for Republicans.

Since New Mexico became a state in 1912, it voted for 15 Democratic presidential candidates and 12 Republican candidates, most recently George W Bush in 2004. According to the University of Virginias Centre for Politics, the state currently leans Democratic for the 2020 presidential election.

What Trump Said

Matt said, like five years ago, six years ago, and I made a speech. And then they do some kind of a straw poll. Who made the best speech? And he said I made the best speech.

False. Trump was addressing Matt Schlapp, the chairman of the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. But he had never won the straw poll at CPAC before he became president.

Ron Paul, a libertarian and former Texas congressman, won in 2011, and Trump, a write-in candidate who received about one percent of the votes, did not crack the top 15. Senator Mitt Romney of Utah won in 2012; Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky in 2013, 2014 (Trump tied for 14th place) and 2015 (Trump came in eighth place); and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas in 2016 (Trump came in third).

CPAC retired the poll for 2017 and 2018, but Trump did come in first place in 2019 with 82 percent of the votes, with Romney trailing in second at six percent.

What Trump Said

We had first time in 51 years where drug prices actually came down last year, first time in 51 years.

This is misleading. The Consumer Price Index for prescription drugs has declined under Trump, most recently in September. But that measure does not include all prescription drugs. Nor was it the first time in 51 years that the index had declined  it did so as well in December 2013, under the Barack Obama administration. And it has risen since September.

Other analyses show that drug prices have continued to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in the past. GoodRx, a website that tracks costs, has found that 639 drugs have so far increased by an average of six percent. Thats in line with other surveys from 3 Axis Advisors, a consultancy firm that estimated an average rise of 5.3 percent this year, and Rx Savings Solutions, a company that advises employers on how to reduce drug costs, which found an average 6.9 percent increase on more than 2,500 drugs.

Linda Qiu c.2020 The New York Times Company
Patna: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Sanjay Jaiswal on Wednesday praised the Narendra Modi government for coming up with the blueprint of the proposed Ram Temple in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram.

"By coming up with the temple plan barely 87 days after the Supreme Court gave its green signal, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again proved that he does what he says and there is no difference between his words and his works," Jaiswal said.



Showering Modi with praise for fulfilling his promises that he made during election rallies, the BJP state chief said that it was impossible to distract this 'hard-working' government that was determined to enhance India's cultural and historical reputation worldwide.

Speaking on the occasion, Jaiswal's predecessor and Central Minister Nityanand Rai also hailed the Modi government for forming the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Trust in Ayodhya in such a short span after the Supreme Court decision.

"This trust will be free to take all decisions related to the building of the Ram temple. Soon 67 acres of land will be transferred to the trust that would comprise of 15 trustees with one trustee representing the Dalit community. Once again, Prime Minister Modi has confirmed that he not just talks the talk but he also walks the walk," Rai said.

Bihar Road Construction Minister Nand Kishore Yadav also thanked the Modi government and expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister.
The TV surgeon and his model girlfriend accused of drugging and raping up to 1,000 women have spoken out to protest their innocence after having the charges against them dropped.

Grant Robicheaux, 39, and Cerissa Riley, 32, had been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting seven women when the women were drunk or incapacitated after meeting them for sex.

They were made an example out of in court, where former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said they may have abused as many as 1,000 women and that he had video evidence which proved it.

This week, before the case went to trial, the charges against the pair were dropped by the new DA, Todd Spitzer. He said there was never any evidence to support the allegations and accused Rackauckas of using the case to try to bolster his re-election campaign.

Despite the criminal case being dropped, Robicheaux and Riley are still being sued in civil court by some of the women who alleged they were abused, and one has submitted a victim impact statement to be read aloud at a hearing later on Friday.

However, the pair insisted on their innocence in an interview with Good Morning America on Friday, saying there was 'never' an occasion where any of the women they had sex with did not consent.

They said their lives had been destroyed by the 'disgusting' rape claims and that they now fear for their safety.

Scroll down for video

Grant Robicheaux and Cerissa Riley appeared on Good Morning America on Friday to speak of their relief at having the charges against them dropped

.@GMA EXCLUSIVE: Surgeon and girlfriend accused of sexual assault speak out. "I feel like I finally woke up from a bad nightmare, and feel like I can breathe again."@KaynaWhitworth https://t.co/GbRGN8e6Mj pic.twitter.com/VWMYYB8hmW  Good Morning America (@GMA) February 7, 2020

'I still can't believe this happened to us. I feared every time I'd walk my dog that someone was going to shoot or stab me, to follow through with these threats to me or my family,' Robicheaux, who has been stripped of his medical license because of the allegations against him, said.

He briefly appeared on a reality show, Online Dating Rituals of the American Male.

'The thing that stuck out in my mind and hurt the most is "unprecedented appetite for sex with unconscious women",' he continued, quoting Rackauckas' pre-trial description of him.

'I mean, I have sisters. I have a mom. It's disgusting,' he said.

Riley said she felt as though they were waking up 'from a bad nightmare'.

She insists that there was 'never a question' that all the women they had sex with had consented to it or were in a fit state to consent to it.

'We've maintained our innocence from day one. We never hurt anyone,' she said.

Rackauckas, however, doubled down on the pair's guilt. He called Spitzer's decision to drop the charges against them a 'disappointment' for the alleged victims.

'This is a huge disappointment for the victims.

'It's not easy for these ladies to come forward and to bare their soul about such humiliating things and to make their statement to the authorities and they've done that with the expectation that this case would be prosecuted,' he said.

When he announced the charges, he said there was extensive video footage to support the allegations.

Spitzer, however, said no such evidence exists.

'There is not a single piece of evidence or video or photo that shows an unconscious or incapacitated woman being sexually assaulted.

'Not one,' he said.

The pair said it was 'never a question' whether any of the women they had sex with were too inebriated to consent to it

The pair in their 2018 mug shots. They had been facing life in prison before the charges were dropped

Robicheaux briefly appeared on a reality show, Online Dating Rituals of the American Male. He has since lost his license

He said problems arose almost immediately in the case.

'Another prosecutor brought the issues to his attention, and he assigned a pair of lawyers who specialized in sexual assault cases to examine the evidence.

They spent three months looking at it but then concluded there was no evidence.

'It is a blatant abuse of power and misuse of government resources for personal gain by the former administration of this office.

'This office cannot suffer any more credibility setbacks given its history of prosecutorial abuse,' he said, in dropping the case.

An attorney for Robicheaux and Riley told Good Morning America on Friday morning that the life they had before has now evaporated.

'Their life is done.

Former Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas stood by the charges on Friday morning. He has been accused by his political rival and current DA of fabricating evidence claims to bolster the case and bring publicity to his failed re-election campaign

'That life, as they know it and they had a successful life professionally and a fulfilling life and relationships and friends, and that's gone,' Phil Cohen said.

Todd Spitzer, the new DA, dropped the charges this week

The pair have now been banned from using ride-sharing apps, they added.

The civil lawsuit that was filed before the charges were brought against the pair seeks $22.2million in damages.

That lawsuit echoes prosecutors claims that the couple used their good looks and charms to seduce women.

It specifically alleges that they met one woman at a Halloween party then drugged her with the date rape drug GHB and raped her in the bedroom of their home.

Rackauckas has admitted that the extensive 'video and photo evidence' his office had referred to did not always necessarily include incriminating footage.

Now, Riley and Robicheaux are considering legal action against the prosecutor's office.
Five French jihadists sentenced to death in Iraq have appealed to the UN to pressure France to bring them home, their lawyer has said, adding they were suffering inhumane treatment.

The prisoners are suffering "inhumane and degrading treatment inside Iraq's prisons," lawyer Nabil Boudi told AFP Thursday.

The French government is perfectly informed of the situation but has done nothing to stop it, he alleged, emphasising that the state had a duty to offer consular protection to all French citizens, without exception.

The five inmates are Brahim Nejara, Bilel Kabaoui, Leonard Lopez, Fodil Tahar Aouidate and Mourad Delhomme. They were among 11 jihadists sentenced to death last year in Iraq after being charged with belonging to the Islamic State armed group.

Boudi has appealed to the United Nations Committee against Torture, which monitors the implementation by member states of the UN Convention against Torture, to "take provisional protective measures (...) to avoid the complainants suffering irreparable harm."

He has also called on the UN to condemn France for refusing to repatriate the men and try them on French soil.

Public opinion against

In a letter sent to their families in January, published by French daily Liberation, two of the French convicts complained of "incessant threats, verbal and physical, from militias" working inside Baghdad's Rusafa prison.

"Some of us have been tortured and humiliated. The pressure is so great that some among us have closed themselves off and start talking to themselves and are better off dead," Brahim Nejara and Fodil Tahar Aouidate wrote.

A visiting French official had told them in December there was "nothing he could do", they added.

Last week, France's national consultative commission on human rights, which advises the government, recommended that they be brought back home.

But with public opinion in France, where over 250 people have been killed in jihadist attacks since 2015, firmly against allowing them to return home, President Emmanuel Macron's government is loathe to take them back.
Syrian government troops entered a strategic town in the country's last rebel stronghold Thursday after fierce clashes with opposition fighters, even as Turkey sent reinforcements seeking to curtail the offensive, Syrian state media reported.

The push by President Bashar al-Assad's forces into towns and villages in the northwestern Idlib province has caused the displacement of more than a half million people in just over two months, compounding a humanitarian disaster in the region packed with internally displaced people. It has also angered Turkey and risked a military confrontation between Turkish and Syrian troops.

The town of Saraqeb, near the Turkish border, has been at the center of intense fighting for days. Opposition fighters pushed out government soldiers who entered it Wednesday, while Turkey sent in new reinforcements Thursday and threatened to use force to compel the Syrian forces to retreat by the end of the month.

The town sits at the intersection of two major highways, one linking the capital Damascus to the north and another connecting the countrys west and east.

State news agency SANA and state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV said Syrian army units entered the town before nightfall and were combing it for remaining fighters and explosives.

Siege of town, military posts

The Syrian army had earlier besieged the town and at least four Turkish military posts set up to protect Saraqeb against the advance were also besieged.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war-monitoring group, said army units entered Saraqeb but had not yet taken control.

Video taken by The Associated Press showed rebel fighters lobbing shells at government troops from around the town of Binnish, northwest of Saraqeb. Fighters stacked artillery shells and burned tires.

Today, we are burning tires for the war thats hitting the town of Binnish," said one unidentified fighter, pledging to defeat anyone who tried to advance on the town. "Let them come here and we will stomp on their head one after another," he added.

Story continues

The government advance came after a rare confrontation between Turkey's and Syria's forces Monday that killed seven Turkish soldiers and a Turkish civilian member of the military, as well as 13 Syrian soldiers.

In Moscow, Russia's Foreign Ministry announced that Russian soldiers had been killed in a northern Syrian province alongside Turkish servicemen, without saying when the incident occurred or how many were killed. The ministry blamed terrorists for the deaths.

Russia is a main backer of Assad's forces, while Turkey supports insurgents fighting his government.

Syrian troops have been advancing since December into the country's last rebel stronghold, which spans Idlib province and parts of nearby Aleppo. Turkish troops are deployed in some of those rebel-held areas to monitor an earlier cease-fire that has since collapsed.

UN calls for cease-fire

The U.N. special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, called for an urgent and sustained cease-fire, restrictions on support for terrorist groups, serious exploration of a strengthened international presence with the consent of Syrian authorities, and a serious effort to tackle the issue of foreign fighters.

What we are now seeing creates the very real prospect of a bloody and protracted last stand on the Turkish border, with grave consequences for civilians  and the risk of dispersal of foreign terrorist fighters and ongoing insurgency afterward, he warned at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council called by Britain, France and the United States.

The Syrian offensive to retake the rebel-held areas in the northwest has led to a humanitarian crisis, with more than 580,000 civilians fleeing their homes since the beginning of December, according to the U.N. Many of them have sought safety in areas close to the border with Turkey. At least 53 health facilities have suspended work in the area, according to the World Health Organization.

U.N. humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock said the humanitarian catastrophe has substantially escalated as shelling and airstrikes on dozens of communities force civilians to move north and west into the ever-smaller enclave controlled by non-government groups. That area is now dramatically overcrowded and needs are growing exponentially, with hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk, in addition to those who have fled since December, he said.

Time is short. The front-line has now moved to within a few kilometers of Idlib city, the largest urban center in the northwest, Lowcock said.

Turkey has set up four military posts to prevent Syrian government forces from marching deeper into Idlib, Syria's Foreign Ministry said. It said Turkish troops have flagrantly violated Syria's border and deployed in several areas, including the villages of Binnish, Taftanaz and Maaret Musreen.

Idlib province is home to some 3 million people, many of them displaced from other parts of Syria in earlier bouts of violence.

EU also calls for end to fighting

The European Union called Thursday for an end to the fighting and urged warring factions to allow aid workers and supplies into the area.

"Bombings and other attacks on civilians in north-west Syria must stop," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and the bloc's Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic said in a statement.

They said the EU, a major aid donor, would continue to provide help but that unimpeded, safe and secure access was required.

The Observatory said Syrian warplanes on Thursday attacked a military air base in the village of Taftanaz, where Turkish troops deployed recently.

The Observatory said Syrian rebels later launched an attack under the cover of intense Turkish artillery shelling on the village of Nairab, which Syrian troops captured earlier in the week.

The insurgents carried out at least one suicide attack with an armored personnel carrier rigged with explosives, according to citizen journalist Taher al-Omar, who is embedded with the militants on the edge of the village.

Turkish leaders have repeatedly called on Russia to rein in Syrian government forces.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded Thursday that Russia was concerned about the concentration of insurgent groups in Idlib and their continuing activity. 

Peskov said the Kremlin doesn't rule out a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to discuss the situation in Syria.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said a delegation from Russia would arrive in Turkey soon for talks on the situation following the attack on Turkish soldiers. He said a follow-up meeting between Erdogan and Putin could also take place "if there is a need."

(AP)
The Halifax Regional Centre for Education is hiring three different transportation companies to provide bus services for students across the region starting this fall.

The change comes after mounting concerns with Stock Transportation, which previously held the contract and had been criticized for poor communication with parents and reliability issues.

It is one of the three companies selected and will be tasked with providing transportation for special-needs students beginning in September 2020.

"I think we've proven over the last eight months that we're making steps in the right direction," Pat Meagher, Stock's director for Atlantic Canada, said Thursday. "We've made some huge changes. We brought in some transportation specialists from different parts of Canada and Nova Scotia."

Last June, the province announced it was terminating Stock's 10-year contract three years into the deal, and the school bus service was put out to tender a month later.

Meagher said Stock had bid on covering all the routes again. "We were hoping for more. We're happy with what we got," he said.

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) said it is confident Stock's changes will prevent the problems of the past from occurring again.

"We have heard that a couple of years ago, the service delivery standard wasn't OK," said Elwin LeRoux, the executive director of HRCE.

He said with the new contracts, the regional centre will be building the routes, and parents will be contacting them if they have issues, instead of the bus companies directly.

Robert Short/CBC

Student Transportation of Canada and Southland Transportation have also been contracted to transport students beginning in September. Both are seeking to hire drivers currently employed by Stock.

"A lot of drivers get attached to their children and know the parents well," said Murray Glass, who works with Southland. "If they want to stay on the runs, as long as they meet our criteria, we're more than happy to bring them onboard."

Story continues

He points out his company has been in business for 60 years in the western provinces.

"Our minimum threshold that we strive for is 99.5 per cent preventable on time," he said. "By preventable, I mean we can't control the weather, or if there's traffic jams due to collisions and issues like that."

Contract details

Chris Harwood, president of Student Transportation, said his company has been "intrigued" by the Halifax market for some time.

"I am confident that we're going to be able to do this. In no way are we taking it lightly. However, we have done this before in similar and even larger-sized markets."

Student Transportation of Canada will provide service to the family of schools connected to Citadel High, Duncan MacMillan, Eastern Shore, Halifax West, J.L. Ilsley, Millwood, Lockview, Musquodoboit Rural and Sir John A. Macdonald.

Southland Transportation will provide service for the family of schools connected to Auburn High, Bedford, Forsyth Education Centres, Charles P. Allen, Cole Harbour District, Dartmouth High, Island View, Prince Andrew and Sackville High.

It's unknown yet if the two new companies will unionize their employees. Stock's drivers are currently members of the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union.

Union president Jason MacLean said he's been talking to Southland and Student Transportation, and hopes to have answers for his members soon.

Another change will be that communication will be led by HRCE, so parents will no longer have to contact the bus companies with questions and concerns.

The contracts are for five years, with the option of extending them for an additional two.

The projected cost could save HRCE $631,000, but there are many variables that could drive it up.

Busing through the remainder of this school year will continue to be provided by Stock.

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A man accused of injuring an elderly woman who later died was back in jail after he violated the terms of his probation in another case.

John Paul Maspero, 31, was arrested Wednesday on a DWI charge out of Comal County. He was expected to be released Thursday night from the Bexar County Jail after posting a $2,500 bond.

Maspero was previously arrested on Jan. 23 and charged with injury to elderly causing serious bodily injury after Phyllis Lili Maranto Bailey was hospitalized in critical condition, according to San Antonio police.

According to police, Maspero told officers that he had sex with Bailey the night of Jan. 22 at her apartment at the Carmel at Deerfield, 1440 W. Bitters Road, and that afterward she could not breathe. He did not think her situation was serious because she has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the report said.

He left the home, he said, but returned because he forgot his ID. She again told him she could not breathe and collapsed on the floor. He then called EMS, according to the report.

Hospital staff told police that Bailey was without oxygen for some time. She died at 5:56 p.m. on Jan. 25. according to the Bexar County Medical Examiners Office. Her cause and manner of death were pending as of Thursday.

Police noted that at the time of Masperos arrest, his speech was slurred.

Masperos arrest Wednesday stems from a September 2016 incident. According to Comal County court records, Maspero pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated with a blood alcohol content greater than or equal to .15. He was convicted in June 2018 and sentenced to 20 months probation.

On Monday, a motion to revoke probation was filed because he was arrested on Dec. 6 and charged with public intoxication by the Kerrville Police Department. Details on the arrest were not available.

On social media, Maspero often posted about his efforts to stay sober in his battle with alcohol addiction. In one video from December, he talks about how he came close to taking a drink.

In April 2017, he was arrested for resisting arrest and DWI in Kerr County. In October 207, his DWI case was dismissed, and he pleaded no contest to resisting arrest and was given probation, according to court records.

Brenna Brothers, Baileys daughter, said that she did not know of Maspero until the night she received a call that her mother was being rushed to the hospital.

Bailey, a mother of two with five grandchildren, was remembered by family for her fun-loving, youthful spirit.

She was also active in the recovery community, helping others struggling with addiction.

Her whole life was around helping other people, her daughter said.

She was a huge fan of Texas Country music star Ray Wylie Hubbard, and often enjoyed live performances at venues such as Gruene Hall in New Braunfels.

She was the life of the party. She loved to sing and dance, her daughter said. She didnt act like a 69-year-old woman. She was just all fun, all the time.

Brothers said that her mothers nickname, Lili, was inspired by her love of the lilies on Caddo Lake, where she lived for years just outside her hometown of Marshall.

Bailey moved to San Antonio to be closer to Brothers and her family. Her son James Barrett Horak, who retired last year after 20 years of service with the U.S. Marines, moved to San Antonio just before Christmas, her daughter said.

It cant get any sadder. We had all of us together, she said.

Jacob Beltran is a reporter covering San Antonio and Bexar County. Read him on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA
Five persons including a Chinese national have been quarantined in Pune, Ahmednagar and Jalgaon cities of Maharashtra for possible exposure to the novel coronavirus, an official statement said on Friday.

Three of them, including the Chinese man, are admitted to the isolation ward at the civic-run Naidu Hospital in Pune, while other two are at district hospitals in Ahmednagar and Jalgaon.

No confirmed case of coronavirus has been found in the state so far.

As many as twenty-five persons, quarantined on suspicion of exposure to the coronavirus, have been discharged from hospitals in the state after their blood reports tested negative for the infection, the statement said.

The Chinese national was on Friday admitted to Pune hospital after he vomited on Pune-bound Air India flight from Delhi.

Health Minister Rajesh Tope, meanwhile, urged people not to discriminate against those who have arrived from China and other countries where coronavirus infections have been reported.

"Medical certificates or laboratory reports are being sought from the people who have returned from coronavirus-hit areas at the time of joining (workplaces). This is wrong," the statement quoted Tope as saying.

Such people are kept under observation for 14 days upon arrival in India and they need not undergo tests again, so "medical certificate or laboratory report should not be sought from them," he added.

The minister also urged people not to believe and spread rumours.

Blood samples of the five persons who are under observation in hospitals have been sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune and reports are expected on Saturday, the statement said.

A total of 16,063 passengers have been screened at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, Tope said.

The virus has so far killed 630 people in China and spread to 25 countries, including India (three confirmed cases have been reported from Kerala), the US and the UK.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Adds details)

PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The European Union must not give

the UK concessions on access to EU financial markets in exchange

for rights to fish in British waters, Finance Minister Bruno Le

Maire said on Thursday.

French fishermen temporarily lost access to waters off

Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands situated near the French

coast of Normandy, when a European fisheries treaty expired

automatically on Jan. 31 with Britain's exit from the EU.

While the fishermen are due to regain access to the area off

Guernsey, future fishing rights in UK waters more generally are

likely to be a flashpoint in the negotiations between Brussels

and London on a post-Brexit relationship.

"We must clearly find an agreement on fishing, but not a

grand bargain. I am totally opposed to the idea of a grand

bargain where we would give ground on finance to get a deal on

fishing," Le Maire told a financial conference in Paris.

"I'm calling for great firmness towards Britain, they chose

to leave the European Union. If they want to have access to

European financial markets they can, of course, but on our

terms, with our rules and our supervisors," La Maire added.

Britain is seeking future EU financial market access based

on the bloc's system of equivalence, which requires a non-EU

country's rules to be similar to those in the bloc.

Le Maire said the EU had to show firmness and said any

future deal must ensure that British-based firms fully comply

with EU rules if they want to have access.

(Reporting by Leigh Thomas, Editing by Gareth Jones)
New Hampshire voters rarely rubber-stamp the results of the Iowa caucuses. And they won't follow the lead of Iowa's chaotic caucuses when votes are counted and reported from the state's first-in-the-nation primary, state officials said Thursday.

Both New Hampshire officials and outside experts agree the state is unlikely to experience the problems that plagued Iowas Monday contest for a variety of reasons: The New Hampshire primaries are run by towns and cities, not the political parties; voters mark paper ballots, which are counted by hand or by machines that are not connected to the internet; local election officials announce results to the public and the media on election night, and their handwritten tallies are delivered to the secretary of states office by state police the next morning.

As Secretary of State Bill Gardner is fond of saying, You cant hack a pencil.

Weve kept it simple. Ive always preached that the more moving parts that you have in the election process, the more room there is for something to not function right," he said earlier this week.

At a news conference Thursday, Attorney General Gordon MacDonald and others described the state's election preparedness and security for the Feb. 11 primary. New Hampshire has more than 6,000 local election workers who are trained by the secretary of states office. On election day, inspectors from the attorney generals office will visit each of the states 300-plus polling places and will have a team of attorneys responding to calls to a hotline for reporting problems.

The 2020 presidential primary will take place against the backdrop of New Hampshires long history of conducting elections that are fair, with complete integrity, well run and with a very high level of voter participation, he said.

Iowa kicked off the presidential nominating contests, but the results remained muddied days later by reporting delays. Officials initially attributed the delays to technical problems with an app that precinct chairs were supposed to use to record votes, then to backlogs as those volunteers tried to call in their totals.

Eddie Perez, global director of technology development for the OSET (Open Source Election Technology) Institute, an election technology research organization, said he expects things will be different in New Hampshire because "so many of the process failures that happened in Iowa and the uncertainty that resulted were really due to the uniqueness of the mobile app they were using, which of course is not going to be operative in New Hampshire.

If something big goes wrong, the Statehouse will be opened that night to the media and campaigns so officials can keep the public informed, said Deputy Secretary of State Dave Scanlan. But he and others said that was highly unlikely. Not only has New Hampshire had the first presidential primary for 100 years, it also elects its governor and 424-member Legislature every two years, meaning local election officials get lots of practice.

What youre hearing today about the incredible details that go into this process, the checks and the balances ... this is typically how New Hampshire runs its elections year after year after year, said Republican Gov. Chris Sununu said. We do it right, and frankly, we do it better than anybody else does.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation & Research, agreed that New Hampshire almost certainly will not have problems like Iowa, in large part because the primary is run by state and municipal election officials. But he does see room for improvement. Most other states that use paper ballots perform audits to check results before certifying them, he said, but New Hampshire does not.

Its very good to have a check on the machine, not just for malware, but for the much greater likelihood that machines sometimes malfunction, he said.

Michele Courser, the town clerk in Warner, said she doesnt anticipate any problems. The town has about 2,100 registered voters, and poll workers count ballots by hand.

Theres always pressure, but we know how were supposed to be running it, so as long as were running it that way, were not going to have issues, she said.

In Tamworth, former longtime town moderator George Cleveland said he did sometimes worry about elderly eyesight coupled with poor lighting as poll workers counted ballots. And there was that one year when the ballot box went on a bit of an adventure.

Cleveland, the grandson of President Grover Cleveland, said election officials had a long-standing tradition of going out to eat after the polls closed and before counting ballots. One year, he put the box in the police chiefs car, figuring that was as safe a place as any. It was a great idea, until the chief got called away to respond to a car accident and drove off with the ballots.

After that, we started having dinner brought in, he said.
Brian Pallister is enjoying time with his family instead of joining a delegation of Canadian premiers this weekend in Washington, where trade will be top of mind.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brian Pallister is enjoying time with his family instead of joining a delegation of Canadian premiers this weekend in Washington, where trade will be top of mind.

A spokeswoman for Pallister confirmed Thursday he would not attend. She said the premier was "enjoying some time away with his family."

Five of his peers -- Saskatchewan's Scott Moe, Alberta's Jason Kenney, Ontario's Doug Ford, Quebec's Francois Legault and New Brunswick's Blaine Higgs -- will take part in the winter meeting of the National Governors Association, a three-day event beginning on Friday.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will also be in Washington for meetings with U.S. officials at the same time.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will also be in Washington for meetings with U.S. officials at the same time. (Adrian Wyld / The Canadian Press)

Despite agreement on a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal last year, Canada remains concerned about Buy American policies and rising U.S. protectionist sentiment.

The United States is by far Manitoba's most important export market, with sales there totalling $10.9 billion in 2018. (The province's total exports that year stood at $15.7 billion.)

Key exports include farm products and machinery, electricity, aircraft parts, pharmaceuticals and buses.

"We're as dependent on the U.S. as any other province is. This is our big trading partner, there's no question about that," said Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce.

However, he said he would "give the premier the benefit of the doubt" as to why he chose not to attend.

"We're as dependent on the U.S. as any other province is. This is our big trading partner, there's no question about that," said Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

"Would it be ideal if he were at this? Probably. But I don't think it's going to negatively impact Manitoba businesses to any great extent," Davidson said.

Pallister has been more reluctant to show the flag at such events than his predecessors.

For example, former premiers Gary Filmon and Gary Doer were fixtures at western U.S. governors' meetings, and Greg Selinger attended them as well. But Pallister has avoided the events.

If Pallister went to Washington this weekend, he would likely have the opportunity to meet with important senate and congressional delegations.

One prominent businessman who asked not to be named said such face-to-face meetings are important.

"If you're mingling and talking, it makes it easier to deal with tough issues when they arise. If you don't take advantage of these opportunities to build a relationship, it's harder to solve the big problems going forward," he said.

"Everybody is entitled to a vacation, but I think as premier you have a duty to Manitobans to promote our exports, especially with our largest trading partner."  NDP finance critic Mark Wasyliw

NDP finance critic Mark Wasyliw said Pallister should have structured his vacation time so as to attend the event.

"Everybody is entitled to a vacation, but I think as premier you have a duty to Manitobans to promote our exports, especially with our largest trading partner," he said. "We need to grow our economy in Manitoba to pay for health care, for the services Manitobans rely on, and this is the government being asleep at the switch."

Manitoba did not send a cabinet minister or any other representatives in the premier's place, his spokeswoman said.

Manitoba did not send a cabinet minister or any other representatives in the Pallister's place, his spokeswoman said. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press files)

In an emailed statement, she noted that Pallister and Freeland "have an ongoing and extremely positive working relationship."

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"The two have met twice in the last two months to discuss a variety of topics of joint interest and concern, including (U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal) ratification, international trade and inter-provincial trade," she wrote.

Saskatchewan's Moe, this year's chairman of the Council of the Federation (comprising the premiers of each of Canada's 13 provinces and territories), is leading the provincial leaders in Washington.

He acknowledged earlier in the week that U.S. protectionist sentiment is on the rise, making it critical to continue to engage key trading partners on issues both within and outside the USMCA, such as the ever-present softwood lumber dispute.

"For Saskatchewan, that's over 150 countries around the world; 55 per cent of our product does go to the U.S. All the more reason for us to be on the ground in those particular areas of interest," Moe said.

-- with files from the Canadian Press

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
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Linkedin Tassia Sipahutar (Bloomberg) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 11:22 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20631caff 2 Business State-owned-Enterprises-Ministry,state-firms,McKinsey-Company,business,restructuring,Budi-Gunadi-Sadikin,erick-thohir Free

Indonesia is working with consultants McKinsey & Co. and Boston Consulting Group to revamp state firms with a combined revenue of US$172 billion and dominate sectors from energy to construction and telecom.

The global consultants will prepare a roadmap for the 114 state-owned enterprises, including oil behemoth PT Pertamina, power utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara and flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia, according to State-Owned Enterprises Deputy Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin. The revamp plan will be in line with President Joko Widodos 2020-24 national plan and is expected to be finalized by the end of February, he said.

Indonesia has far too long relied on state companies to execute its economic agenda including building ports, roads and airports and saddled them with huge debt in the process. Jokowi, as the president is known, last year appointed business tycoon Erick Thohir as the State-Owned Enterprises Minister with a mandate to build SOEs capable of expanding into global markets.

Erick, a former shareholder of FC Internazionale Milano SpA, or Inter Milan, D.C. United and the Philadelphia 76ers, has pledged to revamp the SOEs either through mergers or liquidation and reduce the myriad number of units the companies operate.

The SOEs will be restructured to promote business innovation, technological leadership and the ability to partner with world-class companies, Budi, a former chief executive of state-run PT Bank Mandiri, said in an interview. We would like to create an ecosystem, where all state owned CEOs have the skills to deal with international investors, he said.

Global partnerships will be key for state firms as Jokowi wants to transform Indonesia to a manufacturing powerhouse from being a supplier of raw materials. The country has set its eyes on becoming a hub for electric batteries with its huge nickel reserves and processor of crude palm oil and coal into fuel to power vehicles and substitute liquefied petroleum gas.

Sixty-four companies under Budis supervision have been divided into 12 clusters for easy monitoring and management. I will just have to deal with 12 CEOs instead of 64 CEOs, Budi said.

PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia will be revamped to boost return on its investment in building a nationwide telecom infrastructure, Budi said adding the carrier may explore collaboration with mobile phone application developers to boost margins.

State-owned companies in the basic industries will be encouraged to partner with foreign firms for advanced technology, Budi said. Pertaminas tie-up with Abu Dhabis Mubadala Investment Co. for a refinery and coal miner PT Bukit Asams joint venture with Air Products and Chemicals Inc. were moves to tap newer technology, he said.

State-owned enterprises posted a net income of Rp 138.1 trillion ($10 billion) in 2018 with sales of Rp 2,360 trillion, official data show. The companies had assets worth Rp 8,200 trillion while their liabilities stood at Rp 5,604 trillion.
After being witness to a fierce election campaign, nearly 14.79 million registered voters in Delhi will finally get an opportunity to vote on Saturday to choose representatives to 70 assembly segments across the national capital and decide who governs the city-state for the next five years.

In the first state elections of the new decade, whose outcome will be known on Tuesday, incumbent chief minister, Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is seeking to retain power in the face of a strong challenge mounted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has sought votes in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Delhi elections have four distinct strands.

The first is the AAPs attempt to replicate its success of the 2015 assembly election  when it won 67 of the 70 seats  versus the BJPs effort to replicate its success in the 2019 Lok Sabha election,when it won all seven parliamentary seats in Delhi. The second is the AAPs campaign, which is focused on local governance issues and its track record in the past five years versus the BJPs, which focused on the larger ideological issue of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, national security, and an effort to project all protesters  and the AAP  as anti-national. The third is an effort by the AAP to carve out a multi-religious and multi-class alliance versus the BJPs campaign to consolidate Hindu voters across regions, castes and classes. And the fourth is the question of leadership  where the CM is not pitted against a local rival but the PM.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has said the primary issue in the election will be the work done by his government, but hit out at the rival BJP for trying to change the discourse and make it about a Hindu vs Muslim issue. Ours is the first government in 70 years that is seeking votes entirely on the ground of work done on the development front, he told HT in an interview on Wednesday. People have to decide whether they opt for the politics of abuse and violence, or politics of development, he added.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said his partys agenda was development. We are talking about Ayushman Bharat for free medical care and PM Awas Yojana to provide housing to people... Non-implementation of these two schemes will be the main reason for AAPs defeat in Delhi, Tiwari told HT on Wednesday, adding that party did not endorse the provocative statements of some of its MPs.

Over the last four years, the city has voted distinctly for distinct elections.

During the 2015 elections, the AAP bagged 54% of the vote share in the polls. But its vote share decreased in the next two elections held in the city  the municipal elections in 2017 and the Lok Sabha polls in 2019. The AAP polled the highest share of votes in 2015; it stood second in the 2017 civic elections, with 26% of the votes, and finished third in five of the seven seats in the 2019 national elections, dropping to 18% of the votes and winning no seat.

On the contrary, both the BJP and the Congress improved in terms of vote share in this period. The BJP polled 56% votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, up from 36% in 2017 and 32% in 2015. In 2019, it had a lead in 65 of the 70 assembly constituencies. The Congress got just 10% of votes in 2015, 21% in 2017 and 23% in 2019.

Political observers believe that this election will significantly depend on whether voting patterns of the Lok Sabha election hold, or whether it reverts to the assembly pattern. A Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (CSDS)-Lokniti poll conducted during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls showed that only about half of the people who voted for the BJP or the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls would have voted for the same party in case of a snap assembly election. The corresponding figure was 82% for the AAP.

The second variable is the impact of the campaign on the polls.

The AAP  through government advertisements before the model code of conduct, public interaction programmes, townhall meetings by Kejriwal, hundreds of small corner meetings in Delhi neighbourhoods, dozens of rallies and roadshows, and a strong social media campaign  has advertised its governance record.

In particular, it has focused on the improvement in government schools, public health systems, provision of electricity and water supply and subsidised rates, and free public transport for women. It has also promised to focus on pollution, provision of clean water and cleanliness in its next term if elected to power.

At the end of last year, the BJP had two key campaign planks. Through a parliamentary legislation, and then an announcement by PM Modi at a rally in Delhi, the party claimed credit for providing ownership documents to four million residents of unauthorised colonies in Delhi.

It also promised triple-engine governance under Modi, for the BJP would then hold the reins of power at the central, state and local level if elected to power.

But the partys campaign took a turn in the wake of protests against the CAA, particularly in Delhis Shaheen Bagh area. Led by home minister Amit Shah, the party deployed its Cabinet ministers, MPs, former and current chief ministers, and the cadre of ideological affiliates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to project the protests as anti-national in character and which suited Pakistan. It blamed the AAP and the Congress for backing these protests, spreading anarchy and violence, and causing inconvenience to the citys residents.

Commenting on the nature of the campaign, Shakti Sinha,a former bureaucrat who has served in the Delhi government and former director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, said: AAPs subsidy policy has huge long-term development costs in terms of forgone investment in infrastructure and sustainability, but has created a huge constituency of beneficiaries. Will the BJP be able to sell its message of nationalism and empowerment? It has stemmed the tide that was flowing against it but would it be enough to bring it to power?

The third related strand was mobilisation of different segments. The AAP hopes to win the substantial support of the citys Muslim population  which is influential in close to 10 seats. While the minorities had shifted in large numbers to the Congress in the Lok Sabha election, reports indicate they may consolidate behind AAP for they see it as the party best positioned to defeat the BJP. The AAP also hopes to win the support of the Hindu poor and the lower middle-class, primarily on the ground of having delivered tangible benefits to these segments through its welfare schemes. AAP has also sought to quell the impression, pushed by BJP, that it is against Hindu interests, with Kejriwal reciting the Hanuman Chalisa, going to the Hanuman temple on Friday, and candidates repeatedly emphasising their religious identity  besides focusing on how the party has promised lessons in patriotism in school curricula and supporting moves such as the nullification of Article 370 that gave Jammu and Kashmir special status.

The BJP, for its part, is hoping to consolidate Hindus  across different demographic segments, from Punjabis, Banias, Purvanchalis (migrants from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar), and Dalits. This is based on the premise that the largely Muslim-driven protests against CAA would antagonise the majority community.

It is here that the performance of the Congress will also play a role, for if it retains its base of Muslims and the poor, weaning them away from AAP, especially in constituencies where it has put up locally strong candidates, it may benefit the BJP.

Ultimately, it may boil to how much vote the Congress attracts; the higher it is, the more AAP would suffer, Sinha said.

And the final strand is leadership. While AAPs mascot is Kejriwal, the BJP is primarily focusing on Modi as the face of the campaign. While the PM addressed only two rallies, it is his image that adorns the partys hoardings and advertisements. Just as in 2019, when the BJP asked who the opposition had to counter Modi, Kejriwal in 2020 is asking who the BJP has to counter him as the CM.

Arvind Kejriwal is the pole along which these elections are being fought. The AAP is fighting on Kejriwals charisma and his governance, said Neelanjan Sircar, who is affiliated with Ashoka University and the Centre for Policy Research. The BJP has ceded the governance narrative to the AAP, but is trying to paint Kejriwal as inimical to Hindu interests. And the Congress is a shadow of its former self.

It remains to be seen if the BJP had polarised the electorate enough to pull off a win in Delhi, he added. Otherwise, its advantage AAP.
Taking the strongest dose of sildenafil, the main ingredient in Viagra, could make you go colour blind for up to three weeks, doctors have warned.

A small amount of men who take the highest dose of 100mg  the strongest available prescription  may suffer the frightening side-effect for as long as 21 days.

The warning comes from medics in Turkey who reported a string of patients had visual problems after using drugs containing sildenafil for the first time.

Seventeen men visited the hospital with abnormally dilated pupils, extreme light sensitivity, prolonged blurred vision or tinted colour-blindness after taking 100mg of sildenafil. There is no suggestion they took Viagra - but sildenafil is the active ingredient in the impotence pill. Pfizer admits that sudden vision loss in one or both eyes is a rare side effect of the drug.

The doctors at Dunyagoz Adana hospital admit that all strengths of the erectile dysfunction drug are safe for the majority of men.

But they believe a small subset do not break it down properly in the body, leading to high concentrations in the blood even days after it should have been flushed out.

If someone has never taken the drug before then the body is not used to breaking it down. Taking it in such high doses for the first time only gives the body more work to do, the medics say.

Seventeen men visited the hospital with abnormal vision after taking 100mg of the active ingredient in Viagra, sildenafil. (stock image of a blue pill)

Viagra  the fastest selling drug in history - can be given on prescription or bought over the counter in 25mg, 50mg and 100mg doses.

It works on impotent men by inhibiting an enzyme called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), which widens blood vessels and improves blood flow around the body, including the penis.

But it also halts the production of another enzyme, known as phosphodiesterase type 6 (PDE6), which converts light into sight.

As a result some users report blurred vision that wears off within three to five hours maximum.

But in the recent study, published in Frontiers in Neurology, doctors highlighted the risk of prolonged visual side effects.

Dr Cuneyt Karaarslan noticed a pattern in 17 male patients who attended the Dunyagoz Adana hospital.

MAN LEFT WITH 'DOUGHNUT-SHAPED' VISION AFTER TAKING TOO MUCH VIAGRA A man who drank too much of sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, was left with 'doughnut-shaped' spots in his vision. After drinking a bottle of the liquid, used to treat erectile dysfunction, the man in his mid-50s began to see the strange shape. After two months, he went to a doctor at Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston, who told him he had problems with his retina - the light sensitive part of the eye. It is unknown if the man, who was not named in the JAMA Ophthalmology report in January 2019, ever recovered because there is no treatment for the condition. The man took around ten times the maximum recommended amount of sildenafil, according to the report, drinking 30ml in one go. The bottle contained 750milligrams of the erectile dysfunction drug, compared to the average recommended dose of 50mg. WHAT OTHER HEALTH PROBLEMS HAS VIAGRA BEEN LINKED TO? Viagra can be given on prescription as well as bought over the counter, and previous research has linked an overdose of the drug to visual disturbances. Loss of hearing In 2011, Viagra and similar impotence drugs were linked to hundreds of cases of sudden hearing loss around the world. Research published in the journal The Laryngoscope said it was not clear how long the problems lasted, but this type of hearing loss - more commonly due to infections and exposure to loud noise - usually causes permanent damage in up to a third of cases. Skin cancer In 2014, US researchers found that men who used Viagra were 84 per cent more likely to get melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. It is thought the impotence drug may affect the same genetic mechanism that enables skin cancer to become more invasive. Advertisement

The patients suffered numerous visual disturbances, including abnormally dilated pupils, blurred vision, light sensitivity, and colour vision disturbances, which included intensely blue coloured vision with red/green colour blindness.

All 17 patients had taken sildenafil for the first time, and all took the highest recommended dose of 100mg.

None of the men had been prescribed the medication, but had gone to buy it over the counter.

The visual side-effects began once the drug took effect, and were still present when the men arrived at the clinic 24-48 hours later.

The doctors in the clinic conducted various eye tests and monitored the patients over time to see how their symptoms developed.

Fortunately, in all 17 patients the symptoms had cleared up by 21 days later, but this was doubtless a difficult experience for the men involved.

Starting with a lower dose may have meant less severe side-effects.

In addition, taking the drug with medical guidance would likely have meant that the men would not have used such a high dose on their first time.

Dr Karaarslan said: 'Many men use non-prescription performance enhancing drugs to help with sexual anxiety and erectile dysfunction.

'For the vast majority of men, any side-effects will be temporary and mild. However, I wanted to highlight that persistent eye and vision problems may be encountered for a small number of users.

'Although these drugs, when used under the control of physicians and at the recommended doses, provide very important sexual and mental support, uncontrolled and inappropriate doses should not be used or repeated.'

Pfizer, the manufacturer of Viagra, said its not clear if the patients took their product. But the Turkish doctors said they all took sildenafil which active ingredient in the famous blue pill.

A Viarga spokesperson said: 'This is a retrospective study where the subjects took 100mg sildenafil (the highest dose) without a prescription (Viagra is only available at 100mg via prescription).

'Therefore there is no way of knowing where or how the individuals sourced the sildenafil.

'Based on this it is not known whether they took branded Viagra, sildenafil or whether the medicine was obtained from a legitimate source.'
The Willie Horton ad that successfully tanked Michael Dukakis 1988 presidential campaign worked because it played on every suburban mothers greatest fear, according to its creator. The infamous ad handed politicians a reliable strategy for winning in swingable suburbs: manipulate fear of violent crime.

For decades, the suburbs have existed in the American political imagination as a centrist bulwark, where voters concerned above all with property values and schools shy away from systemic reform. But these voters are proving that the caricature of small-minded, cautious suburbanites could be out of date, especially when it comes to criminal justice and crime. In 2019, progressive prosecutors swept Democratic primary and general elections in the prosperous suburbs of northern Virginia: Fairfax, Loudoun, and Prince William counties as well as the city of Arlington. Amid a blue wave in the state, promises to reduce cash bail, stop seeking the death penalty, and decriminalize marijuana possession won easily. The prosecutors elections in northern Virginia represent the most significant electoral victory for the reform prosecutor movement outside of big cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, or New York.

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I really do think the next frontier of criminal justice reform runs through the suburbs, said Steve Descano, newly inaugurated commonwealths attorney for Fairfax County, who hopes his success serves as a model to suburbs around the country: The response reformers get is, Oh, well, X county isnt like New York or Chicago. I want them to be able to say, Well, we are like Fairfax County, and look what they did. 

I really do think the next frontier of criminal justice reform runs through the suburbs.  Steve Descano

Descano unseated Raymond Morrogh, a 12-year incumbent with a more traditional approach to the job, in a heated Democratic primary fight. Descano promised to do away with cash bail, the death penalty, and marijuana possession charges. Jonathan Fahey, Descanos independent opponent in the general election, backed some mild reforms, like offering alternatives to incarceration, but he made fighting MS-13 gangs a central part of his platform. Fahey stressed his long career as a federal prosecutor and argued Descano would not have a constructive relationship with law enforcement. Steve Descanos programs, lack of experience and philosophy, Fahey said, will all make Fairfax County less safe. Fahey got nods from Morrogh, retiring prosecutors in neighboring Arlington and Prince William County, as well as the local Republican Party and police union. Descano received endorsements from state Democratic heavyweights, including former Gov. Terry McAuliffe, and a large donation from a George Sorosfunded PAC that supports progressive prosecutor candidates across the country.

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Descano quickly put his platform into action. He immediately stopped prosecuting personal marijuana possession, launched a probe into the fatal shooting of an unarmed motorist by federal law enforcement agents, and joined with local DAs to call for the Virginia legislature to abolish the death penalty.

Descanos victory amid the northern Virginia wave came two years after a more bare-knuckled Willie Horton strategy failed statewide: Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie lost after running gruesome ads warning MS-13 would flood the state if Democrat Ralph Northam won. Experts see the failure of tough-on-crime politics in the Virginia suburbs as a national bellwether. There are some who are fanning the flames, but communities arent buying it, said Miriam Krinsky, executive director of the nonprofit Fair and Just Prosecution, which advises left-leaning candidates for district attorney around the country. Theres a new normal thats starting to form among voters and elected prosecutors. Indeed, a 2018 Gallup poll found Americans fear of crime is at its lowest in more than a decade.

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The electoral success of criminal justice reform in northern Virginia is the result of decadeslong demographic trends and social pressures that can be found in suburbs around the country, experts and prosecutors said. Suburbs have seen explosive population growth and economic expansion in recent decades, leading to denser, more diverse electorates. Fairfax County, with its connections to cosmopolitan D.C. and the federal bureaucracy, has experienced an influx of highly educated immigrants as well. Descano believes he won because of these changes. As an area gets more diverse and densely populated, there is more interaction with neighbors who dont have the same life experience that you have, he said.

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Suburbs have also had to contend with public health challenges that were once seen as urban problems. Over the course of the past decade, CDC data shows suburbs went from experiencing lower rates of overdose deaths than rural and urban communities to suffering from higher rates of drug death than either cities or the country. The opioid issue in particular was an incredible eye-opener. Most people have a friend, a family member, a neighbor, someone they know has had an addiction problem or lost someone close to them, said Descano. People who live in the suburbs now start to see that these arent issues they can just move away from.

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The rise of the mass shooting, which frequently occurs in suburbs, as the quintessential American horror could have also sapped the effectiveness of more traditional right-wing scare tactics by displacing fears of a criminal underclass with the plague of poorly regulated guns and hate-fueled ideologies. Descano acknowledged a certain symbolic importance to the issue in his community, home to the headquarters of the National Rifle Association. The values of Fairfax County are not the value of the NRA.

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While the politics of crime in the suburbs have shifted, the practice of justice lags behind major cities. A 2019 Vera Institute report found that suburbs have the nations highest arrest rates. According to a 2017 study, racial disparities in arrests for quality-of-life violations surged to extreme levels as more poor, nonwhite people moved into suburbs. Perhaps its not surprising that a number of the incidents that sparked the Black Lives Matter movementthe deaths of Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin, for instanceoccurred in suburbs, not inner cities.

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Descano says thats due to the fact that its harder to push through sweeping reform when suburban counties are split between municipal governments that dont necessarily coordinate on policy and may not have the resources for initiatives like conviction integrity units. You can wrap your head around reforming a single big citys DA office or police department, Descano said. Big cities may be better able to recruit more progressive, sophisticated criminal justice professionals as well, said Rebecca Neusteter, co-author of the Vera Institute report.

Recent history could also pose an obstacle for progressives. Suburbs have been used to segregate, said Andrea Boyles, professor of criminal justice at Lindenwood University outside St. Louis and author of the book Race, Place, and Suburban Policing: Too Close for Comfort. Suburbs arent merely places with single-family homes and good public schools: As products of midcentury white flight, they represent safety as a predominantly white, affluent space. Suburbs were created in the first place so that white populations could live separately from poor, minority populations but not out of reach of the amenities of the city.

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Descano and his cohort are betting that suburbs have outgrown the segregationist impulse that birthed such places. During the campaign, he found Fairfax County was just too big and diverse to remain in stasis. There were days I started on a horse farm, had lunch at a strip mall, went to a mosque, went to a high-rise, went to a metro station. Theres an incredible diversity of experiences, he said, which the voters themselves recognized, meaning that attempts to scare constituents away from reform fell short. People have seen the county grow up and change, and they see that as a benefit. The old, broad, superficial message of fear doesnt work anymore.
Jhon Jairo Velasquez, hitman to Pablo Escobar, renowned Colombian drug baron, has passed away. The 57-year-old better known as Po...





Jhon Jairo Velasquez, hitman to Pablo Escobar, renowned Colombian drug baron, has passed away.





The 57-year-old better known as Popeye died of stomach cancer at the National Cancer Institute in Bogota, Colombias capital, in the early hours of Thursday, Colombian outlet La FM reported, citing a statement from the countrys National Penitentiary and Prison Institute.





Popeye was diagnosed of esophageal cancer on New Years eve and was referred to the institute where he had been receiving treatment before his death.





His death comes after being in prison for 23 years following his confession to various allegations pressed against him.

He is widely renowned for his romance with Escobar, whom he had a strong bond with until he was killed on December 2, 1993 after sustaining injury from gunshots.





Popeye is also said to have confessed to killing upwards of 300 people in Colombia during his time working for Escobars cartel.





In 2005, Popeye wrote a book titled Surviving Pablo Escobar: Popeye The Hitman, 23 Years and 3 Months in Prison, where he reflected on his relationship with the late drug baron as well as his experiences at the Medellin cartel.





He gained spotlight after giving up himself to government authorities in 1992 and consequently launched Repentant a YouTube channel with over one million subscribers  where he expresses controversial views on socio-political issues in Colombia.





Velasquez, on his website, described himself as another person, who learned from his life of crime.





I am repentant and determined to help build the truth for those who lived the reality of the Medellin of the 80s and 90s firsthand, he wrote.





I wake up daily and with the decision to show the scars that make me what I am but do not define what I will be today and tomorrow.





After several years of imprisonment, Popeye was released in 2014 but was rearrested again in 2018 and whisked to prison after his indulgence in criminal activities including extortion.




Hello there,

Its Friday, and for many parts of the world, the week has come to an end but for many others, Saturday would mark the beginning of the week. In India, at least, the week has drawn to an end. Now, whether the week is ending or beginning for us, Friday marks the start of the Valentine week.

If you are one of those who think the Valentine week is a drag on your pockets, you have only yourself to blame because you havent figured out economical ways to celebrate. And blame yourself some more if you have chosen a partner who forces you to spend more as a proof of your love.

via GIPHY

Just kidding. If only there was a way to skip through the week and shops that have red hearts dangling from their ceilings to announce the Valentine week, we would totally skip it. But since there is no such way, we would try to sail through it all as best as we can. And we are extremely sorry to be hurting your feelings if you are the kinds who had been looking forward to this week.

So, whats so special about the week?

It will have all that Hug Day, Kiss Day, Teddy Day, Propose Day, this day, that day. It will also have Monday, Tuesday... the usual way. And it all began today with Rose Day.

What happens on Rose Day? Each rose sells for Rs 150 and above  and it doesnt smell, at least not like a rose does. That is if you buy it from a not-so-posh market. But what do you do with the rose? Well, you buy it and give it to the person you are dating or wanting to date. In the latter case, we suggest you buy a whole bunch.

Amitabh Bachchan, on his part, bought a whole truck of it. No, he wasnt celebrating Rose Day. He did it for Sridevi because Sridevi had refused to work with him.

At one point in her career, Sridevi began to feel that working with Amitabh gave her little scope to show her talent in a film. So she refused to work with him.

When the plot of Khuda Gawah (1992) came before Amitabh, he grew desperate to have Sridevi share screen with him. To woo Sridevi, one day Amitabh sent a truckload of roses to where the actor was shooting. They made Sridevi stand next to it and the whole carrier was titled over her. And the roses did the trick. Sridevi agreed to work with Amitabh  but on one condition. She said she would only be a part of the film if she got to play both Bachchans wife and daughter.

Amitabh Bachchan so badly wanted Sridevi to work in Khuda Gawah that he sent a truckload of roses to impress her. (Source: Reuters)

No heroine had dared to demand a double role in an Amitabh movie till then. Sridevi dared and got it too.

Sorry about the digression. We were talking about Rose Day, which is how the love week begins. And since love week has begun, love is our Word Of The Day.

Love originates from the Middle English word luf, derived from the Old English word lufu. The word love is also known to have its roots in the Sanskrit word lubhyati, which means desire. Oxford dictionary defines love as a very strong feeling of liking and caring for somebody/something.

You know but things can get so complicated when people mistake the presence of liking, or caring, or both, as love. Lets just say love is difficult to define. Even poets find it easier to tell what love is not or what (being in) love feels like than what love is. We wont try to give you our two pence on love.

Its easier to pass through the love week with all its gaudiness than sit down to define what love is. Best to say it is something you feel. Now, what you feel is what you feel. Why spoil it with definitions.

But we do hope you stay loved in the years that follow the week we are in.

In all this talk of love, love week and Rose Day, we forgot to tell you that troubles for two former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir has increased. Wondering why?

Thats because Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been booked under the Public Safety Act by the Indian government. The two have been under detention since August 5, 2019, when Article 370 was scrapped from Jammu and Kashmir and Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories. Narendra Modi says a lot of progress has happened in the state of J&K since then. Sorry, the UT of J&K since then. But for Abdullah and Mufti, azadi is all elusive.

Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti have been under detention since August 5, 2019. (Photo: Twitter)

Imagine its been six months since they have been in detention and now with PSA they can be held under arrest for two years. Omars father Farooq is already in arrest under PSA. Farooq must be regretting the day he introduced the PSA law in the state. He did that to crack down on the timer mafia. If only he knew, it would one be used against him and his son.

We wonder how strongly people under arrest would want to escape.

That thought reminded us of how a cat was used by a convict to flee from jail. Let us tell you the story in some detail and for that let us take you to 1986.

In 1986, serial killer, aka Bikini Killer, Charles Sobhraj was lodged in Tihar Jail. In jail No. 3 of the prison, some prisoners discovered a cat lying unconscious in a corner. It was breathing, but unconscious. Nobody could figure out what was wrong with the cat. Some warders started taking care of it. Around the third day, the cat began to walk even though somewhat uncertainly.

Over the next couple of days the cat recovered completely and it then struck the jail authorities that the cat was a pig. Not really a pig, pig but a guinea pig that was used by Sobhraj to test the efficacy of the new sedative that Sobhrajs friends had smuggled to him in jail. Sobhraj tested the drug on the cat and once convinced about the right dose, he used it on jail wardens and fellow inmates to escape prison.

Sobhraj was being extra cautious because in an earlier instance when he tried to escape from Kabul (Afghanistan) to Tehran (Iran), he miscalculated the dose and ended up killing a Pakistani taxi driver.

Sobhraj is now 75 years old and currently serving a life sentence in Nepal. We wonder if he still has it in him to escape prison.

A BBC seven-part series on the life and crimes of Sohbraj will be out on Netflix this year. The series is called The Serpent, a title inspired by one of the many names Sobhraj earned for his notoriety.

While Sobhraj killed many people, filmmaker Quentin Tarantino once threatened to kill American TV host David Letterman.

Letterman was most recently in news for his show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction where his guest most certainly needed no introduction. Who was his guest? Shah Rukh Khan.

But we were talking about Tarantino threatening Letterman. So it all started after 72-year-old Lettermans reaction to a guest's revelation that Tarantino was dating a famous star. Letterman said the star was "so famous that I can't recall the name".

We say, that was funny, but Tarantino didnt agree with us. He instead called up Letterman and threatened to kill him. Anger can get the better os so many of us. Like it got the better of Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar.

The two actors couldnt see eye to eye. And it all began with Andaaz (1949). Director Mehboob Khan had managed a coup in terms of getting the two big actors in the same movie but the two actors got into a contest of showing they were better than the other. After this, the two never worked together.

Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor in a still from Andaz.

Kapoor is reported to have offered Sangam (1964) to Dilip Kumar but the latter refused to come on board. But when Raj Kapoor died in 1988, it is said Dilip Kumar was inconsolable. Now, that is why they say not to hold grudges forever. They say it because it is easier saying it than doing it.

But we can certainly try.

On that note we leave you for today. We will be back on Monday.

PS: If you are a Delhi voter, you can cast your vote on Saturday but if you are deeply disappointed in the politicians and dont want to vote, we can say, you cant be blamed for feeling so.

Also read: DailyOh! Hong Kong is out of toilet rolls. Giriraj Singh mustn't go to Hong Kong
Often, large corporations do things that cause you to wonder whether or not there's any common sense behind their actions. Take, for example, the case of a parents' group at a school in Berkeley, California, that hosted a fundraising event for students and screened a copy of the 2019 version of The Lion King. According to Berkeleyside, a local news site, the school was sent a notice of a $250 fine from Disney's licensing agency for showing the film without permission.

The story made its way to the top of The New York Times' most-read list, bringing attention to the fact that a massive media conglomerate was haggling a small organization over a few hundred dollars. To be fair, it's absolutely reasonable for content creators to expect others to respect their copyright, and technically, DVD's purchased at Best Buy (as this one reportedly was) are meant for personal viewings only. Still, sometimes you can do the right thing for your audience, and just let that be enough.

In this case, Disney's CEO, Bob Iger, found out about the situation and issued a public apology to the school on Twitter. Not only that, but he committed to personally contributing to the school's fundraiser.

Our company @WaltDisneyCo apologizes to the Emerson Elementary School PTA and I will personally donate to their fund raising initiative. -- Robert Iger (@RobertIger) February 6, 2020

First of all, Iger's move cost him and the company almost nothing. And it was absolutely the right thing to do from the perspective of being a good human being. That said, it was also a brilliant way to show corporate humility, and turn a potential embarrassment into a win for everyone involved.

The PTA group said it had raised $800 at the event, which means that paying a $250 fine would be a real cost for the school. To Disney, on the other hand, that's less than what you'd pay for a ticket and some snacks at its DisneyWorld parks. That's not a good look for any company, but especially one like Disney.

Disney's brand is families. It exists to create magical experiences through the stories it tells. There was nothing magical about this story. Instead, Disney was pretty much the big bad villain that audiences everywhere are used to cheering against. And it was the bad guy in a story about a school raising money for its students. These days, schools across the country find themselves raising funds for everything from basic supplies to needed upgrades.

But with a little common sense, and a simple tweet, Iger was able to change the story completely. By doing so, he reaffirmed Disney's commitment to its family-friendly brand and loyal customers. As a result, he created a win for both his company and the school group. Instead of being right, he decided to do the right thing, which is something we should all do more often.
By Online Desk

Did PM Narendra Modi in his Lok Sabha address quote fake news to target former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah?

Fact-checking websites, BoomLive and AltNews, have revealed that the PM quoted an article from satirical website Faking News to attribute a fake remark to the former CM on the abrogation of Article 370.

"Abrogation of Article 370 will bring an earthquake that will separate Kashmir from India," Abdullah had said, according to the PM.

Speaking on the separatist sentiments of Kashmiri leaders, currently, under detention, the PM can be heard quoting Omar Abdullah as saying, "If Article 370 is abrogated, an earthquake will come that will separate Kashmir from India."

The official Twitter handle of the Bhartiya Janata Party also put out a tweet quoting Modi's speech where he mentions the false quote.

The Prime Minister reportedly picked this from a satirical article published on Faking News on May 28, 2014.

Published under the username 'idiot420', the article details a 'sensational revelation' made by Abdullah on how 'removing Article 370 might cause sudden movement of tectonic plates in the region resulting into separation of Kashmir from India.'

Caption

The satirical piece further details that Omar Abdullah has held on to this secret which his family came to know after one of his forefathers found a quote written on a piece of stone in a remote area of Kashmir, which read, 'Three seventus removam, dhartis fatam, Kashmirus separatum.'

The satire piece in May 2014 came a day after Abdullah objected to a comment by Jitendra Singh, the then MoS in the Prime Minister's Office on the removal of Article 370.

The fact-checking website Altnews states that even searching on Google with relevant keywords, no news reports were found where Omar Abdullah has been quoted making the statement cited by the PM in the Lok Sabha on February 6.

Faking News is a self-acclaimed satirical website that indulges in humorous and sarcastic takes on current topics.

The 'About Us' section of the website also has a disclaimer that states the content is a work of fiction, unless categorized as 'Editorial'.
The Kerala government on Friday withdrew the 'state calamity' warning issued in the wake of the novel coronavirus (nCoV) scare as no new positive cases of infection were detected over the last few days, even as over 3,000 people are still under observation.

State Health minister K K Shailaja said of the 3,014 people under watch, 2,953 were home quarantined and 61 in hospitals due to minor symptoms of the virus.

"We have received the result of the repeat sample of the positive patient in Alappuzha, which was sent for retesting at the National Institute of Virology in Pune. It came out negative.

Considering all these circumstances, the government has decided to withdraw the 'state calamity' alert. But that does not mean that we are lowering our guard. The (28-day) quarantine period will continue.

Those who come from the affected areas will still have to report to health officials," Shailaja told reporters.

The state had on February 3 declared the novel coronavirus epidemic as a "state calamity" with a third student testing positive for the infection.

India's all three positive coronavirus cases so far-- reported from Thrissur, Alappuzuha and Kasaragod districts-- are Keralite students, two of them medicos, of a university at Wuhan, the epicentre of the nCoV.

Shailaja on Friday said the department had earlier identified those who came into close contact with the three and all their samples tested negative.

"Of the samples of the 72 Wuhan-returnees, including the three positive cases, 67 came out negative and results of two more are pending," the minister said.

The test results of of those Keralites who are staying in Delhi camps also came out negative, she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Illegal armed groups have violated the ceasefire regime four times on February 7, the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said on Facebook.

"During the day, Russia-occupation armed groups have violated the ceasefire regime four times. The enemy shelled our positions using 122mm, 120mm and 82mm mortars, which are prohibited by the Minsk Agreements, as well as anti-tank missile systems, tripod-mounted grenade launchers and heavy machine guns" the JFO said.

In the area of responsibility of the Skhid (East) task force, the enemy mounted one attack near Novomykhailivka.

In the area of responsibility of the Pivnich (North) task force, the enemy mounted three attacks: two near Orikhove and one near Krymske.

"No casualties among the servicemen of the Joint Forces Operation have been reported today, on February 7," the JFO said.
Court orders report on incidents in G4S-run prison to be made public

Today the High Court granted us access to a report into incidents at G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre and ordered G4S and the state to pay our costs

The High Court today ordered the release of an investigative report into incidents at Mangaung Correctional Centre, run by private security company G4S. CALS requested access to the report held by the Department of Correctional Services after becoming aware of claims that people incarcerated at Mangaung had been tortured by security personnel. The Court not only granted our request, but ordered both G4S and the state to pay costs in the matter.

CALS appeared in the Pretoria High Court today for judgment granting us access to a report held by the Department of Correctional Services. In late 2013, CALS became aware of a number of complaints made public by the Wits Justice Project that people incarcerated at the G4S-run Mangaung Correctional Centre had been tortured by the private security companys personnel. Following these reports and a number of other serious incidents at Mangaung, the Department of Correctional Services took control of the prison and began an investigation. Within ten months, the Department had concluded its investigation and handed control back to G4S.

Following this, CALS made a request to access information related to the investigation using the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). When this was refused, CALS approached the High Court for assistance in early 2015. After a number of delays by G4S, the matter was finally heard in December last year  a full five years after the initial access to information request had been submitted.

Today, Judge Rabie handed down judgment in the matter, granting our application and ordering the Department to release the full report to us within fifteen days. He further ordered the state to pay our costs and even made a special order as to costs against G4S for the court to show its disapproval at the manner in which they conducted this case.

This judgment marks a victory for the right of access to information, says Sithuthukile Mkhize, attorney at CALS. It is also a caution to private companies who may try to frustrate court processes or ignore their constitutional obligations.

Read the full judgment here.

For inquiries, please contact:
By Trend

Double standards and discrimination by the Council of Europe are applied to those who have their own opinion and dont seek to imitate the so-called European democracy, Russian political observer, conflict expert Yevgeniy Mikhailov told Trend.

The expert noted that in the Council of Europe, not only Azerbaijan, but also its partner, Russia, are subject to a policy of double standards.

If Baku put the so-called European 'multiculturalism' above its national interests, then the attitude towards Azerbaijan would be warmer, said Mikhailov. Since Azerbaijan is a strong, independent power that cherishes family and national values, like Russia, in contrast to Armenia itself, where gay parades are freely held, and the state leaders are directly dependent on Western subsidies, one shouldnt be surprised at the biased attitude side of the so-called 'civilized' Old World.

The political analyst noted that he completely agrees with the opinion of sane politicians and analysts who point out that the Council of Europe has actually become a place of propaganda for open hypocrisy and discrimination.

Moreover, I would like to note that this organization is openly degrading and losing influence in the world, Mikhailov added. At the same time, I would like to say that earlier this influence was also very conditional, mainly due to lobbying for the interests of the US and its transnational corporations. Now Europe is at a political crossroads because of the policies of its senior overseas partner, and doesnt dare to make its choice contributing to the strengthening of its sovereignty from external players.

The expert expressed confidence that the Council of Europe is a breeding ground for Russophobia and Islamophobia.

This should have been taken into account long ago, the Council of Europe isnt worthy to be a partner, Mikhailov said. Its clear that Europe is changing, and not for the better, and thats why one should realize that new alliances are needed, where Europeans wont play a dominant role, and the rights of all participants will be equally respected.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
This hypocrisy was on devastating display in December when the U.S. House voted to temporarily eliminate this de facto tax increase on millionaires and other high-income households, while raising the top income tax rate from 37% to 39.6%. As The New York Times reported, Many liberal policy analysts oppose raising the SALT cap, because it would mostly benefit high earners, and they would rather use the money for spending programs to help the poor and middle class. The nonpartisan Tax Foundation had calculated that removing the cap would almost exclusively provide tax relief to the top 20% of income earners, the largest tax cut going to the top 1% of earners.
KELEBIJA, Serbia (Reuters) - Dozens of migrants, trapped in Serbia, set out in freezing and windy weather on Thursday to walk about ten kilometres to the Hungarian border, demanding free and secure passage toward Western Europe, police said.

KELEBIJA, Serbia (Reuters) - Dozens of migrants, trapped in Serbia, set out in freezing and windy weather on Thursday to walk about ten kilometres to the Hungarian border, demanding free and secure passage toward Western Europe, police said.

The protest in the northern city of Subotica, just outside European Union member state Hungary, came after migrants' attempt to force their way through a border checkpoint last month.

The Serbian police were seen following the group along the road connecting Subotica and the nearby Horgos border crossing.

"We want to work, we want a better life for our children," Amira from Syria said.

"I am from Damascus city and they're shooting bombs. What else can we do?"

Serbia was a focal point for migrants in 2015 and 2016, when hundreds of thousands fleeing wars and poverty in the Middle East and Asia travelled up through the Balkans to reach wealthy Western Europe.

Although the Balkan route was closed off in 2016, there are currently over 6,000 migrants from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan in Serbia's government-operated camps.

(Reporting by Fedja Grulovic; Writing by Aleksandar Vasovic and Fedja Grulovic; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
MARQUETTE, MI  The life sentence for a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl was upheld by the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Gary Lee OConnell, 47, was sentenced to life in prison for criminal sexual conduct in May of 2017.

OConnell argued in his appeal that he was incompetent to enter a plea in March 2017 and that Marquette County Circuit Court should have allowed him to withdraw his guilty plea, TV-6 FOX UP reports.

The Michigan Court of Appeals said Thursday that it disagrees.

Court documents say the case stems from OConnells sexual contact with a 10-year-old girl during the summer of 2016. OConnells criminal history included a prior conviction of first-degree CSC involving sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl.

Read the full Court of Appeals decision here.
By the spring of 1967, Jimi Hendrix had become a star on the British rock scene. After decamping to London the previous year, the Seattle-born Hendrix recorded two singles that cracked the UK top 40 in the space of two months.

Hey Joe, his breakout song, peaked at No. 32 in January 67. His follow-up, Purple Haze, became a smash hit and vaulted all the way to No. 3 in March. Beyond that, Hendrix was the talk of London, with everyone from Eric Clapton to Mick Jagger and The Beatles singing his praises.

But, without any recordings released in the U.S., Hendrix remained unknown in his native country. When his debut single went out in May 67, that didnt change. It wasnt until Paul McCartney recommended Hendrix for the Monterey Pop festival that the guitarists fortunes changed.

Paul told the Monterey Pop organizers Jimi should play

Jimi Hendrix performs onstage at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967. | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Before Monterey Pop, no one had ever tried to put on a large showcase for rock groups and other artists appealing to Americas youth. But the festivals organizers, which included former Beatles press officer Derek Taylor and John Phillips of The Mamas and the Papas, wanted it to be historic.

Naturally, they wanted the biggest groups of the day (The Beatles and The Rolling Stones) to play. But neither would appear at Monterey. When Phillips asked McCartney who should play, the Beatle didnt hesitate. I recommended Jimi Hendrix, he said in Anthology.

Since Phillips had been on the West Coast with his band, hed never heard of The Jimi Hendrix Experience (or the groups superstar guitar player). Is he any good? McCartney recalled Phillips asking him when they met up in London. He assured Phillips he wouldnt regret getting Hendrix aboard.

Of course, no one had any idea just how good Hendrix would be at Monterey. The set the Experience played on the festivals final night has become one of the defining moments in rock history.

The Hendrix legend truly began in Monterey

Jimi Hendrix sets his guitar on fire on stage at the Monterey Pop Festival on June 18, 1967 in Monterey, California. | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

By spring 67, McCartney had seen more than enough of Hendrix to know he could knock out any festival crowd. One famous moment came just a few days after the release of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 26), in what would be a warmup for the Experience before Monterey.

That night, Hendrix played the title track to Sgt. Peppers with McCartney in the audience at Londons Saville Theatre. Realizing Hendrix had learned the song in a day or two for that show, McCartney later described the performance as one of the greatest honors of his career.

In Monterey, Hendrix went even bigger. With The Who delivering a blistering set  complete with the destruction of their instruments  before him, Hendrix knew he needed something the festival-goers would never forget.

After playing circles around Pete Townshend on the guitar, Hendrix played his own ace-card: He lit his guitar on fire in the center of the stage. Needless to say, it was a moment everyone has talked about since.

Later that summer, the Experiences debut album went all the way to No. 5 on the U.S. charts. Looking back, McCartney was glad hed put the word in for his departed friend. Jimi was great, he said, in the understatement of the century.

Also see: The Classic Line Jimi Hendrix Had About Bob Dylans Voice
A rarity in Alabamas 1st congressional district occurred Thursday in downtown Mobile: A televised debate involving the Democratic candidates for Congress.

The district has long been represented by Republican lawmakers dating back to the early 1960s, and recent elections between Democratic and Republican nominees havent been close.

But that isnt deterring the Democrats from giving the election a shot. A debate, hosted by the Kennedy 4 Alabama radio show and broadcast live on WKRG-TV, involved the three Democrats seeking their partys nomination on March 3. The candidates include longtime real estate broker Rick Collins of Mobile, research specialist and community college professor Kiani Gardner of Spanish Fort and longtime military police and corrections officer James Averhart of Mobile.

The primary winner will face the winner of the Republican primary featuring five candidates: Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl, state Rep. Chris Pringle, former state Sen. Bill Hightower, restaurant owner Wes Lambert and Army veteran John Castorani.

Here are six takeaways from Thursdays debate:

None of the three candidates forcefully voiced support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump, which ended Wednesday in the Senate with his acquittal.

Collins said he felt the Senate did a disservice by not calling witnesses to testify before them.

The Senate abdicated their responsibility, he said. Not calling witnesses is totally unacceptable.

Gardner and Averhart said they would rather focus on more topics pertinent to the congressional seat.

I want to talk about infrastructure, health care and education and we serve the district best when we avoid these hot button issues, said Gardner.

Averhart said, Lets talk about health care and issues affecting our senior citizens. These are real issues we should be having a discussion about.

Two of the candidates expressed disdain toward comments expressed by Republican U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne that suggested Democrats dont believe in God and that the left-wing in American wants to destroy religion.

Gardner said Byrne should feel shame for using faith in a transactional way.

I will not stand for it as a constituent, congresswoman and a voter, said Gardner. My goal is not to remove faith, but to lead on my faith.

Collins said he plans to ignore rhetoric like that.

True leaders unite people and only fools and cowards divide us, he said.

Averhart said he is a God fearing man, who understands the difference between a church and state, but declined to speak negatively to anyone during his campaign.

None of the candidates support government subsidization for four-year college.

The three candidates believe federal funding could support some loan repayments, but none of the candidates supported the notion of free college.

We know nothing in life is free, Averhart said.

Collins said he would support more partnerships between high schools and companies like Airbus.

College education isnt for everyone, he said. Plumbing and electricians  there are a lot of great careers out there.

Gardner said she supports government subsidization for two-year community colleges or in learning a trade. She said she would support loan forgiveness at around $50,000 per student.

Paying for it would come from a massive overhaul of our tax structure, Gardner said. We have an upside-down tax structure that benefits the overly wealthy. Democratize our education to give people real opportunities.

All three candidates believed Trump overstepped his duties in ordering a drone strike on an Iranian leader

The candidates believed Trump overstepped his authority by ordering a drone strike that killed top Iranian military commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani.

There was no evidence he was an immediate threat to American lives, said Gardner. It was a gross overstep in our executive branchs power. There was not reason for his personal attorney to be informed of this air strike ahead of the Speaker of the House regardless of his relationships in Washington, D.C. President Trump showed his scorn toward the American democratic process.

Said Collins, If we go around killing just bad guys, wed be pretty busy. Congress should be involved in these decisions.

Averhart said there are laws regarding war powers, and that he feels Trumps decision was an overstep.

The House shouldve been notified and they shouldve gone through the proper procedures, he said. Anything we do, there has to be accountability.

Candidates shared similar views on how to reach black voters and white, working-class voters who vote Republican.

Averhart said hes been visiting rural counties in Alabama and talking to people about establishing relationships.

I see that people have lost their trust in our current system, said Averhart. Theyve lost their trust and confidence. We need to talk create relationships and inspire people.

Collins said hes been spending time at African-American churches every Sunday since November, and that its changed me.

The warmth and welcoming is something I could not have imagined, he said.

Gardner said that as Democrats, there is a need to change the national narrative that members of their party dont believe in God, among other things.

Challenge the narrative and talk about the issues that matter to voters  we will find that voters will want to vote on issues she said. And I say this frankly to my Republican brothers and sisters  voting for a Democrat doesnt make you a Democrat.

Differences emerge on abortion

Gardner and Averhart are pro-choice candidates.

Gardner described herself as vehemently pro-woman in that she will oppose any legislation that purports to know a womans life better than her and her doctor.

Said Averhart, I dont believe Roe v. Wade will be overturned, and as a man, who am I to tell a woman on what she should do with her body?

Collins said hes a life-long Catholic and is pro-life.

This is a divisive issue, he said. Its regrettable.
This is one of the annual activities of the association to meet, exchange and look toward the homeland in early spring and traditional Tet.

The program was participated in by Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu and his spouse, some officials from the embassy, sponsors and German and international guests.





The students participated in the event





Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Nguyen Minh Vu congratulates the Berlin-Potsdam Vietnamese Student Association





Guests at the event









Art performances bring the traditional Tet atmosphere of Vietnam to students and guests in Germany.


The 20th annual Great Strides Walk and 18th annual 65 Roses 5k, which raises funds and awareness for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, will be held at Lee University on Saturday, March 28.

Cleveland community leader Beverly Phillips Johnson will serve a second year as community chair for Great Strides 2020, according to campaign officials at Lee University.

Beverly has brought such enthusiasm and commitment to cystic fibrosis awareness, said Vanessa Hammond, event co-chair and mother to a son with CF. We are grateful that she will continue in the effort this year, because wherever she engages in our community she makes peoples lives better.



"As a community member and an alumna of Lee, I am pleased to once again support this event that brings together the Cleveland community and the university in partnership for a common cause, said Ms. Johnson. After learning last year about the life-changing benefit the CF Foundation brings to people with this terrible disease, I am eager to put on my walking shoes and do what I can to help!

The Great Strides event consistently rallies hundreds of community participants and Lee University students to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Great Strides is the Cystic Fibrosis Foundations largest national fundraiser, raising more than $42 million with over 125,000 participants at events all across the nation. Last year, the event drew over 1,000 total walkers, runners, and volunteers. The Cleveland event has reached over $1.1 million raised for CF research since the local events founding in 2001.

"Great Strides truly harnesses the power of community, and there is no better example of that power than the community at Lee University and within Bradley County said Jolly Johnson, senior development director at the Tennessee Chapter Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. As we celebrate 20 years of Great Strides at Lee, we also celebrate the incredible impact this community has had on the Foundation and all those living with cystic fibrosis and their families. It is so inspiring to all, and together we hope to one day celebrate when CF stands for Cure Found!"

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just recently approved Trikafta, the first triple combination therapy available to treat patients with the most common cystic fibrosis mutation. Trikafta is approved for patients 12 years and older with CF who have at least one F508del mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene, which is estimated to represent 90 percent of the CF population.

The route for the 2020 walk and 5K run (3.1 miles) will begin and end on the Lee campus and travel throughout Clevelands historic downtown area. The walk and road race, in partnership with Terra Running Company, will begin at 9 a.m.

The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation is a nonprofit donor-supported organization dedicated to attacking cystic fibrosis from every angle. Its focus is to support the development of new drugs to fight the disease, improve the quality of life for those with CF, and ultimately find a cure. In the last 30 years, the life expectancy of a child with CF has doubled, and research is happening daily to find a cure and develop drugs available to those living with CF.

For more information about the Cleveland Great Strides or 65 Roses 5K, visit http://www.leeuniversity.edu/cf.

For sponsorship opportunities, contact Ms. Hammond at vhammond@leeuniversity.edu.

For more information about the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, https://www.cff.org/.
- Equatorial Guinea is Africa's third biggest oil producer

-The Central Africa country has donated GHC10.7m to China in its fight agaisnt the deadly coronavirus

- Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

President of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo has announced that the Central African country will be donating $2m (1.5m) (GHC 10.7M) to support China in the fight against the spread of coronavirus.

The viral outbreak has killed 636 people so far in China and infected over 20,000 people world wide.

READ ALSO: Coronavirus wont survive in Ghana and Africa - Korle Bu CEO

According to President Nguema Mbasogo, the decision to donate to China was taken at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, February 4, 2020.

He added that it is Equatorial Guineas show of support and solidarity to one of its allies and trade partners.

Although Equatorial Guinea is Africas third-biggest oil producer, more than half the population lives below the poverty line.

ATTENTION: Read the best news on Ghana #1 news app. Install our latest app for Android and read the best news about Ghana

Meanwhile, China boasts of the worlds second-biggest economy after the US.

READ ALSO: Galamsey: Gold seized from illegal miners gone missing

Chinas GDP is $13.6 trillion and Equatorial Guineas is $13.4 billion.

YEN.com.gh earlier reported that five Abuja residents have been arrested by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command for falsely claiming to have contracted the coronavirus.

Anjuguri Manza, the spokesperson for the command said the suspects who are alleged pranksters had visited the Wuse District Hospital claiming that one of them had been infected by the Coronavirus, Vanguard reports.

Mathew Anim Cudjoe showered with money after Hearts - Kotoko game in Accra | #Yencomgh

READ ALSO: Coronavirus wont survive in Ghana and Africa - Korle Bu CEO

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
Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty yearsa year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins (Numbers 14:34).

Moses had the responsibility of leading Gods people out of Egypt where they had been oppressed by the Egyptians. He was tasked to bring them to the land that God had promised them. However, after ten of the twelve spies that scouted out the promised land said that they would not be able to take it (Numbers 13:28), all of the Israelites ended up on a 40-year detour in the wilderness because of their lack of faith in God. The Israelites grumbled, wept and rebelled, longing for their previous life of slavery rather than trusting Moses to lead them out of the wilderness. They also chose not to listen to the two other spies, Caleb and Joshua, when they said that they could take the promised land (Numbers 13:30).

The miracles that the Lord had done amongst them seemed to be a distant memory. God wanted to destroy the Israelites for their continued contempt of Him (Numbers 14:11-12). However, Moses interceded for the people and turned the wrath of God away. The Israelites did eventually cross into the promised land after the unbelieving generation that doubted God had died, although Moses would not enter it due to his disobedience (Numbers 20:10-12). They were led by Caleb and Joshua who remained loyal to God.

In times of waiting, there may be temptations to not trust that God will do what He has promised. We may want to listen to the many voices around us which cause us to doubt God and instill fear in us, which is not from God (2 Timothy 1:7). May our attitudes be like Caleb and Joshua who did not rebel against the Lord, nor place their trust in man, but remained loyal to God knowing He was with them (Numbers 14:8-9).

Photo credit: Getty Images/Dorling Kindersley
The approach of Storm Ciara has not deterred 102 more migrants from trying to cross the dangerous English Channel on Friday.

Five inflatable boats carrying individuals claiming to be from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria were picked up by Border Force, the Home Office said.

Nine of the migrants managed to get to a beach in Kent where they were detained by police.

The 102 migrants  who included seven children  are believed to be a new record for a single day.

People thought to be migrants at the Port of Dover in Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The crossings come after 90 people were picked up on Thursday and as the UK braces for winds of up to 80mph and heavy rain when Storm Ciara hits this weekend.

Across the Channel, French authorities have also detained around 30 people.

The English Channel is the worlds busiest shipping lane, with 500 to 600 ships passing through the narrow strait every day.

On Friday, Border Force dealt with six incidents after being alerted to small boats that were headed towards the UK.

In the first incident, at around 1am, a Border Force vessel intercepted an inflatable boat which was carrying a group of 32 people  26 men and six women  who presented themselves as Iranian and Iraqi nationals.

A record 90 migrants were intercepted by UK authorities on Thursday (Gareth Fuller/PA)

At around 2.45am, a small boat was intercepted which was carrying a group of 13 people  12 men and one woman  who presented themselves as Iranian and Afghan nationals.

In the third incident, at around 3.55am, a Border Force vessel picked up a boat carrying a group of 15 people  14 men and one woman  who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

At around 8am, Kent Police detained a group of nine people  eight men and one woman- at Sandgate Beach who presented themselves as Iranian nationals.

In the fifth incident, at 10am, a Border Force vessel intercepted a boat with 10 men aboard who presented themselves as Iranian, Pakistani, Afghan and Iraqi nationals.

In the sixth incident, at around 10.45am, a group of 23 people  16 men and seven women  were found on a boat who presented themselves as Iraqi, Iranian and Syrian nationals.

Story continues

Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover & Deal said: It beggars belief that another flotilla of small boats got past the French again today.

These are serious security lapses and we need an urgent explanation from the French as to what they are doing to get a grip on this situation.

I am mindful that the search and rescue operations this week have involved all three border force vessels, RNLI lifeboats, HM Coastguard, a plane, a helicopter, ambulance services, police and much besides. These are emergency services for the UK, diverted from vital day-to-day operations.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-08 05:53:34|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese UN envoy on Friday called on the international community to remain vigilant against the resurgence of global terrorism, as the counterterrorism situation is still grim despite the defeat of the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and the death of its leader last year.

Wu Haitao, China's deputy permanent representative to the UN, said despite the setbacks, the IS is rapidly reorganizing in a form of covert networks and continues to attack official personnel and facilities in remote areas of Iraq.

"At present, the international counterterrorism situation is still grim with extremism and terrorism closely intertwined," he said. "Terrorist attacks in many parts of the world have wreaked havoc on the countries involved."

The settlement of foreign terrorist fighters, the links between terrorist organizations and transnational organized crimes, and the expanding underground channels of terrorist financing pose severe challenges to counterterrorism, he said.

"The international community must remain vigilant against the resurgence of global terrorism, foster an awareness of a community of shared future for mankind, and strengthen cooperation in our joint efforts to address the threat of terrorism," he noted.

In this regard, the Chinese envoy stressed as imperative the need to leverage the central coordinating role of the UN and the Security Council in counterterrorism.

He stressed that the fight against terrorism should follow the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect the sovereignty of the countries concerned and the primary responsibility of member states in counterterrorism.

"We should adhere to unified standards and comprehensively implement relevant council resolutions and the UN global counterterrorism strategy," he added.

Moreover, Wu emphasized the importance of eliminating the root causes of terrorism, urging the international community to promote the peaceful resolution of hotspot issues by political means, assist UN member states in poverty alleviation and achieving sustainable development, and encourage dialogue among civilizations and religions on an equal footing.

He also stressed the need for the world to strengthen education for youth and increase employment opportunities, promote social inclusion, and remove the influence of extremist ideologies.

"We should provide assistance to developing countries and help UN members states strengthen their capacity building in anti-terrorism and de-radicalization," he added.

Furthermore, Wu listed a number of new trends and features of international terrorism, including terrorists' abuse of the internet and communication technology, diversified channels for terrorist financing, and the collusion of terrorist groups with organized crimes.

He said focus must be placed on supporting UN member states in addressing those prominent issues.

On the prominent issue of foreign terrorist fighters, he said relevant departments of the UN Secretariat should boost the collection of information and the study of the situations in order to pave the way for UN member states to take measures.

In this process, he said, it is imperative to strengthen consultations with the countries concerned and respect their judicial sovereignty. "Priority should be given to the principle of territoriality. Each case should be dealt with according to law. Imposing solutions must be avoided."
SINN Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has said one of her councillors has "no information of that sort" about the unsolved murder of Joseph Rafferty.

The family of Mr Rafferty, who was allegedly murdered by a Provisional IRA member, has pleaded with Ms McDonald in recent days to ask Sinn Fein councillor Daithi Doolan to supply information to authorities that they claim he has about the case.

"Daithi Doolan has no information of that sort," Ms McDonald said today. "You know that."

Esther Uzell-Rafferty, the victim's sister, alleges that Mr Doolan has information that has not been provided to gardai about her brother's murder 15 years ago. Mr Rafferty (29) was shot dead by a lone gunman outside his home in the Hayward apartment complex in Ongar Park, west Dublin, on April 12, 2005.

Mr Doolan has always insisted that he has fully co-operated with the Garda investigation and urged anyone with any information about the case to come forward. He has previously described Mr Rafferty's murder as a "cowardly and brutal act" and said those responsible must face justice.

The Sinn Fein leader was speaking as she made a final push for votes with senior party figures while canvassing on Dublins Moore Street, in the heart of her Dublin Central constituency, on Thursday afternoon.

She said the best outcome would be a government without Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, but when challenged on which party she could work with after the election, Ms McDonald said she could be Taoiseach.

"The person who can command the right number of votes in the Dail will be Taoiseach and ultimately the decision on the numbers will rest in the hands of the electorate."

Asked if this could mean she could be Taoiseach, she responded: Yes, it could, I am the leader of a political party, yes it could. It's all dependent on numbers.

With Sinn Feins campaign dogged by controversy in recent days over its response to the 2007 murder of Paul Quinn, Ms McDonald said she would speak with Mr Quinn's mother, Breege Quinn, later on Thursday.

Asked if it had been a difficult matter to deal with, she said: "Look any time that you're asked to deal with something that involves trauma, that involves loss for any family, of course is difficult. I'm a human being, I'm also a mother, and of course, those are difficult questions to deal with.

"But that's the thing about leadership, you deal with the hard things and you do your best to manage and to deal with in a decent way, in a fair way, the most difficult of circumstances and it doesn't come any more difficult than a mother who has lost her child in such a brutal and a traumatic way."

She said her partys decision to change its policy on the Special Criminal Court - and drop its demand for the abolition of the non-jury court - was a decision taken in 2017. It now wants a review of the court.

"We want a review that's complete and it starts with reviews of garda numbers, garda resources, garda practices and procedures, the judicial process, including the special courts and we accept that you need special measures to deal with 21st century criminals," she said.

"We also need to deal with sentencing policy and we need sentencing guidelines. We need to ensure that the DPP's office is properly resourced and then we also need to invest in communities."

She said the party would accept the recommendations of the review which it wants a High Court judge to carry out if in government.

Ahead of Saturday's vote, Sinn Fein finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said voters needed to vote for "control" of their own destinies.

"People need to take this opportunity on Saturday to control their own destinies, to vote for their future, to vote for the change and Sinn Fein is that vehicle that will deliver change," he said.

This comes as Fianna Fail has called on Sinn Feins Conor Murphy to resign as Northern Irelands Finance Minister amid ongoing controversy over his remarks about Paul Quinn.

Jim OCallaghan, Fianna Fails justice spokesman, said he did not believe Mr Murphys apology was genuine and that he should resign.

However, he said Fianna Fail in government would continue to deal with Mr Murphy if he remains in office at Stormont.

On Wednesday, Mr Murphy apologised and withdrew remarks made in 2007 that Mr Quinn had been involved in criminality following demands from the murder victims family.

The Quinn family also want him to provide police with the names of IRA members he claimed he spoke to and who assured him the terror group was not involved in the murder. His party leader Mary McDonald has denied that Mr Murphy is withholding information and said that he has spoken with authorities.

Mr OCallaghan said: "I think Conor Murphy should resign, if his apology was genuine he would have issued that apology to the Quinn family 13 years ago. But the apology was really designed to protect and promote the interests of Sinn Fein in the run-up to a general election.

"What it reveals is that whenever there is a conflict between the interests of a family seeking justice on the one hand and the interests of the Provisional IRA or people involved in crime on the other hand Sinn Fein will always opt for the latter."

Mr OCallaghan also attacked what he claimed was Sinn Feins opposition to the Special Criminal Court.

While Sinn Fein has previously called for the abolition of the non-jury court its current manifesto calls for a review of the court and in recent days Ms McDonald has indicated she does not want it abolished.

Mr OCallaghan said he appreciated the concerns of human rights bodies such as the Irish Council for Civil Liberties but said the Constitution allows such courts to be established and the people voted in favor of it.

He said: "I'm waiting to hear a member of Fein identify for me or anyone else a miscarriage of justice that occurred in the special criminal court. I've never heard them being able to identify one of them.

"And notwithstanding that they still continue with their ambivalent view, their absolutely opposed view to Special Criminal Court because there's a vote every year in respect of this.

"Lets be clear as to why the leader of Sinn Fein says that she does not support the Special Criminal Court. The reason she cant say she supports it is because she is not allowed to say that because the cabal in West Belfast will not allow her to come out in favour of a special criminal court because if she does they know it undermines their revisionist view of what happened in this country for 30-40 years during The Troubles."

In the partys final press conference at Fianna Fail campaign headquarters in Dublin, Mr OCallaghan and Fianna Fail housing spokesman Darragh OBrien took aim at Fine Gael.

Mr OBrien said that the government party had run the most negative election campaign in modern history.

Mr OCallaghan criticised Mr Varadkars campaign messaging about having the best team to govern the country. "To listen to Leo Varadkar talk about the Fine Gael A-Team, youd swear he was Jurgen Klopp managing Liverpool and that Heather Humphreys and Eoghan Murphy and Simon Harris are like Mane, Salah and Firmino. Like, give me a break," he said.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald has insisted she is "not trying to spirit the past away" as she was challenged over a litany of IRA atrocities from the Enniskillen bomb to the murder of Garda Jerry McCabe.

It comes as she remains under intense pressure over how her party treated the family of murdered Paul Quinn. Ms McDonald was confronted with a series of IRA outrages that occurred since she was 16-years-old by Newstalk's Pat Kenny.

He made the point that the polls show that Sinn Fein is gaining support among younger people who do not remember the horrific violence but that older voters do.

Mr Kenny said: "They remember  Enniskillen 1987  you were 16 years old at the time. You werent a child. You remember that too. The Warrington bombing. You were 24. Thats when a three year-old child Jonathan Ball was killed and a 12-year-old boy Tim Parry was killed."

He said that Ms McDonald was 27 when the IRA killed Garda Jerry McCabe.

"A party member of yours, a TD [Martin Ferris] went to meet the killers of Jerry McCabe  a Garda killed on duty by the IRA".

Mr Kenny added: "You dont like it but it is important to remind those who dont have long memories what the violent history of your partys association with the Provisional IRA is."

Ms McDonald said it's "absolutely essential that the conflict is remembered" and that it's "not glossed over or glamorised because real people suffered".

Mr Kenny said he could give many more examples and Ms McDonald replied: "This isnt about trying to whitewash anything. What happened, happened and I feel a real sense of responsibility to put that to rights."

She said that she has met Tim Parry's father Colin and has visited Warrington.

Ms McDonald added: "Im not trying to spirit the past away. Far from it. The truth is that we need to look at the past in the eye and we need to deal with it."

Mr Kenny said he sees a continuum between the Enniskillen bombing and the murder of Paul Quinn in 2007 who was brutally beaten to death by a gang who were associated with the Provisional IRA.

Ms McDonald said: "those that carried out that diabolical act need to be apprehended and put behind bar."
An ultimatum that the price "has to be improved" or the future of the suckler trade is at stake, has been delivered to the beef factories by the IFA under a revitalised commitment to deliver for farmers.

And An Taoiseach, Leo Varadaker has been given a deadline of today Friday to pay out the 25m balance of the BEAM fund to producers with IFA "going to ramp up a campaign to ensure that he does it".



Just days after taking up office as the 16th President of the IFA and the fourth Tipperary farmer to hold the office, Tim Cullinan has reiterated his campaign commitment to " to put the fight back into farmers and into IFA" at a celebration function at the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh on Saturday night.



He told the gathering of more than 300 representatives of IFA grassroots from the four corners of the country that he has drawn up a "very clear road map for the recovery of farming" and with a strong mandate from the membership "we are going to fight" the crucial issues to secure recovery in farm incomes and " hold politicians to account" on their commitments.



"The reality is that if we can't get a solution on this (beef prices) we won't have an industry in Ireland. I already have met a number of the key players in the industry. I have met some of the CEO's of the larger factories and have put it to them that they have to do something about getting the prices or they won't have the farmers because it is very clear that is where we are at" he said.



"The Irish price to-day is 50c/kg behind the UK price and that is wrong. I will be putting a lot of pressure on the factories over the coming weeks because that price has to be improved" he added.



On the 100m BEAM fund he claimed that the herd reduction criteria in the scheme has been responsible for 25m being left in the fund.



"I have aksed the Taoiseach to ensure that money is paid out to farmers before the general election and we are now going to ramp up a campaign to ensure that he does it" he said.



"That money was put there to compensate farmers who lost a lot of money on beef animals and he has to deliver on that" he stressed.



He warned the Government that farmers will be insisting on a 1bn compensation fund for farmers if the Brexit deal goes wrong and will "have to ensure a trade deal that will not have WTO rules" because farmers must have the opportunity to get food exports off this island.



Suckler cow support of 300/hd, ewe aid of 30/head and 10,000 per farm environmental scheme for disadvantaged areas are also included in his programme for delivery.



The attendance included Brian Rushe, Deputy President, Damien McDonald, Chief Executive, John Dillon, former president, Michael Berkery, former Chief Executive, present and past county officers from the four corners of the country.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is boosting its response in Mozambiques Cabo Delgado province where recent escalation of violence forced thousands to flee for their lives. At least 100,000 people are now displaced throughout the province.

There has been a dramatic increase of brutal attacks by armed groups over the past months, with the recent weeks being the most volatile period since the incidents began in October 2017. In total, at least 28 attacks were carried out in the province since the beginning of the year. The attacks have now spread across nine out of the 16 districts in Cabo Delgado. The province is one of the least developed parts of Mozambique. Attacks are now spreading towards the southern districts of Cabo Delgado, prompting people to flee to Pemba, the provincial capital. One of the latest incidents took place only 100 kilometres away from Pemba.

Armed groups have been randomly targeting local villages and terrorizing the local population. Those fleeing speak of killings, maiming, and torture, burnt homes, destroyed crops and shops. We have reports of beheadings, kidnappings and disappearances of women and children.

The attackers at times warn the local population where and when they will strike, creating panic as people rush to flee their villages. Most leave everything behind, having no time to take any belongings, food or ID documents. So far hundreds of villages have been burned or are now completely abandoned as attackers carry out a wide and indiscriminate campaign of terror. Government institutions have also been targeted.

Civilians have fled in many directions, including to small islands, where many have nowhere to stay. Some, among them many children and women, are sleeping rough and have limited access to clean water. The majority of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) have taken refuge with families or friends adding pressure to already meagre local resources. Many displaced live in very poor conditions. Six people died of diarrhoea last month on Matemo island.

In response to the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, and at the request of the Mozambican Government to all humanitarian agencies, UNHCR is expanding its presence in the province to better respond to the growing needs of the displaced population. Many are survivors of violence and human rights violations and in urgent need of protection and psycho-social support.

UNHCR will help coordinate all protection activities in partnership with the Government. UNHCR will be deploying additional aid and staff to meet the need, initially for 15,000 IDPs and hosts communities in the coming weeks.

Many areas affected by the attacks have also been devasted by cyclone Kenneth in April 2019. At that time, some 160,000 people had been directly impacted and were in need of assistance. People in Cabo Delgado have also been seriously affected by recent floods, which destroyed bridges, further limiting their access to food and other resources.

UNHCR is appealing for urgent and strong support to scale up its response in Mozambique. Meanwhile, UNHCR is committing US$2 million from its operational reserve in order to meet the initial needs.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
MANILA, Philippines  The Agriculture Department sees banning shipment of live pigs as a measure to stop further spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) that recently affected thousands of pigs in the Davao Region.

Agriculture Undersecretary Ernesto Gonzales explained that ASF may have reached Davao City through the transportation of live hogs from Don Marcelino, the area where ASF was first detected in the Mindanao region.

Gonzales further noted that based on the regulations of the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), live hogs may be slaughtered in nearby slaughterhouses accredited by the agency.

In the case of San Marcelino, the nearest slaughterhouse is in Davao City.

But as an additional measure, Gonzales said, the pork meat should already be cut into blocks then sealed in boxes before they are transported to local markets.

Kung naka-box, meat iyan siempre ang transmission niya (Thats meat so its transmission) is through a different vehicle, not from the farm, explained Gonzales.

But to a group Samahang Industriya ng Argikultura (SINAG), it is more difficult to monitor the entry of ASF in an area if pork meat will be sealed in boxes.

Kung live mas madaling i-monitor kasi ilalagay nila sa mga sasakyan na dapat open, compare doon sa mga naka-box (Its easier to monitor live pigs because they are boarded on an open vehicle rather than placing them inside boxes), SINAGs president Rosendo So said.

But Gonzales maintained that the boxes will only be opened once they reach their destination to check and to make sure that they are not contaminated.

Authorities lang ang magbubukas niyan from point to point. Walang ibang makakabukas diyan kundisa pagdating doon ng NMIS o BAI (Only proper authorities may open the boxes from point to point, only those from NMIS or BAI), Gonzales clarified.

The official expressed concern over the possible rise in prices of pork meat once ASF continues to infect more areas in Davao Occidental.

Story continues

SINAG emphasized that Mindanao produces 20% of the countrys pork meat requirement.

Amid the ASF woes, the group assured that the country has enough supply of pork meat for the next three months.  MNP (with inputs from Rey Pelayo)

The post DA mulls ban on shipment of live pigs to curb spread of ASF appeared first on UNTV News.
The Australian government has asked its Chinese counterparts to relax the country's internet censorship rules so students affected by the coronavirus travel ban can access courses online, as universities scramble to hold onto their international students.

Sydney University told staff on Friday it would offer an entire semester online for a course popular with Chinese students, and would let students do five weeks worth of remote study for others. It is considering its options for exams.

The university is surveying students caught in the travel ban who are due to begin their degrees this year and has found almost 40 per cent are considering deferring, but more than 60 per cent want to continue online, the Herald has learned.

Among continuing students, 55 per cent want to carry on and 45 per cent are interested in deferring. The survey is still open.
Photo: Rob Bixby/Flickr

Missed the most recent top news in Jacksonville? Read on for everything you need to know.

21-year-old son of Jacksonville nurse arrested in connection with her shooting death

Deputies said around 3:15 p.m. on Thursday, Michael Joseph McPherson was arrested in Key Largo, FL, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS.

Jacksonville woman loses 90 pounds, says she's just getting started

Julie Dahlin has a wake-up call for those who believe weight-loss surgery is an easy fix.

Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS.

Vulgar anti-Trump signs return to Jacksonville Beach home

Signs lining Sonja Fitchs fenced yard read everything from peace, love, and a profane wide vocabulary.

Read the full story on FIRST COAST NEWS.

This story was created automatically using data about news stories on social media from CrowdTangle, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
A Selma man has been convicted in the 2014 shooting death of a 62-year-old man who was killed over less than $50.

A Dallas County jury on Thursday deliberated for only about 30 minutes before finding 27-year-old Maurice Pope guilty of capital murder, said District Attorney Michael Jackson. Pope was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Pope was one of two suspects charged in the Jan. 12, 2014 killing of Orlando Robinson. Rodney Walters, 28, is set to go on trial in June.

The deadly shooting happened in front of the Cheers Package Store on Selmas Broad Street. Authorities said surveillance video from the store that night showed the two suspects enter the store and stand inside. When Robinson approached the register, Walters made a gesture with his head toward Pope.

After Robinson made his purchase, the two suspects followed him outside and, after making sure nobody else was around, they tried to rob him, authorities said. As Robinson tried to get in his truck, Pope shot him from behind. After shooting him in the back, the suspects went through Robinsons pocket and stole his wallet containing $43.

Robinson was taken to the hospital, and later died. We have gotten another gunslinger off the streets for the rest of his life, Jackson said.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Fitch Ratings has assigned Indian Railway Finance Corporation's (IRFC) proposed US dollar Regulation S/144A senior unsecured notes a rating of 'BBB-'.

The net proceeds of the notes, which will be issued as part of the IRFC's existing $2.0 billion global medium-term note programme, will be used for funding the acquisition of rail assets that IRFC will lease to Indian Railways, and to meet the debt-financing requirements of various entities in the railway sector.

The rating is contingent upon the receipt of final documents conforming to information already received and details regarding the amount, coupon rate and maturity, Fitch said.

IRFC has also filed the draft prospectus with market regulator Sebi for its listing in India in the near future.

IRFC is to launch its global bond sale to raise up to $1 billion to support the railway infrastructure build-up.

The borrowing arm of the Indian Railways may launch the bonds with maturities up to 30 years. These bonds, known as 144A in market parlance, would be sold to all international investors, including in the US.

The 144A bonds fall under 'Rule 144A' issued in 1990 that modified a two-year holding period requirement on privately placed securities by permitting QIBs to trade these positions among themselves. Prior to this the holding period for such private stock was different.

A 144A bond offer is a US-based offering, and is typically considered an alternative to the costly initial public offering.
President of the Peoples Justice Party Anwar Ibrahim gives the keynote address during their general assembly in Melaka

By Joseph Sipalan and Krishna N. Das

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has dialled back his criticism of India after it sparked a boycott of Malaysian palm oil, his chosen successor Anwar Ibrahim told Reuters on Thursday, urging New Delhi to note the change in tone.

India, the world's biggest buyer of edible oils, last month imposed curbs on refined palm oil imports and informally asked traders to stop buying from Malaysia, the world's biggest producer and exporter of the commodity after Indonesia.

Sources said the move was in retaliation for Mahathir speaking out against a new citizenship law which critics say discriminates against Muslims. Mahathir has also angered India by accusing it of invading and occupying Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region whose autonomy New Delhi took away last year, and is disputed by Pakistan.

Anwar, who expects to succeed the 94-year-old Mahathir later this year under a deal worked out with his former foe, said the Malaysian leader may have gone beyond diplomatic expressions of concerns in his condemnation of the Indian government.

"Countries will not take strong objections when you express concern, but of course in this regard Tun Mahathir has been quite tough and strong," Anwar said in an interview, using an honorific for the premier.

"But since then in the past few weeks, he has tried his level best to contain and try to make the necessary adjustments. I'm sure the leaders in India will take cognisance of the fact that Mahathir did say it, but then he has now refrained from repeating it in the sayings or tone."

Anwar said he and Mahathir had discussed the tension with New Delhi and that it was important to maintain good economic and trade relations with countries like India and China without necessarily having to agree with each other's policies.

India's arch-enemy Pakistan, meanwhile, has pledged to buy more palm oil from Malaysia to help offset lost sales to India.

Story continues

Pakistan may have bought around 135,000 tonnes of Malaysian palm oil last month, a record high, India-based dealers who track such shipments told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

India's January imports of Malaysian palm oil may have plunged 80% from a year earlier to 40,400 tonnes, according to Refinitiv. India bought 4.4 million tonnes of Malaysian palm oil last year, according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

At a joint news conference with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Tuesday, Mahathir did not mention Kashmir. A joint statement released by Malaysia's foreign ministry, however, said issues such as Kashmir should be resolved on the basis of United Nations resolutions, international human rights and humanitarian law.

That drew objection from India, which has repeatedly rejected any third-party involvement in matters concerning the federal territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

"India completely rejects the references made in respect of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral and inalienable part of India," India's foreign ministry said on Thursday.

"We once again call upon the Malaysian leadership to develop better understanding of the facts ..."

Anwar said he would have crafted any criticism of India over Kashmir or the new citizenship law differently than Mahathir.

(Aditional reporting by CK Nayak in New Delhi; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore, William Maclean)
Logo of Aramco is seen as security personnel walk before the start of a press conference by Aramco at the Plaza Conference Center in Dhahran

By Marwa Rashad

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco has seen an increase in attempted cyber attacks since the final quarter of 2019, which the company has so far successfully countered, the state oil giant's chief information security officer told Reuters on Thursday.

"Overall there is definitely an increase in the attempts of (cyber) attacks, and we are very successful in preventing these attacks at the earliest stage possible," Khalid al-Harbi told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"The pattern of the (cyber) attacks is cyclical, and we are seeing that the magnitude is increasing, I would suspect that this will continue to be a trend," he said, without giving further details on who was behind the attacks.

Saudi Arabia has been the target of frequent cyber attacks, including the "Shamoon" virus, which cripples computers by wiping their disks and has hit both government ministries and petrochemical firms, the latest of these was in 2017.

Aramco, which pumps 10% of global oil supply, experienced its largest cyber attack to date in August 2012, when a Shamoon virus attack damaged around 30,000 computers and was aimed at stopping oil and gas production at the biggest OPEC exporter.

Aramco's facilities were also attacked in September by drone and missile strikes that temporarily shut down 5.7 million barrels per day of output - more than 5% of global oil supply. The U.S. blamed Iran for the attack, something Iran has denied.

Harbi also said that there had been attempts to infiltrate Aramco via Emotet, a malware that has been active globally, but it was successfully prevented.

The malware has impacted other small organizations in Saudi Arabia, he said, without elaborating.

Harbi said that identifying the source of the cyber attacks was the most difficult aspect of cyber security.

On Tuesday, Aramco CEO, Amin Nasser, said on the sidelines of a cyber security forum in Riyadh that his company puts cyber security among top corporate risks, "at par with market share loss, disruptive technologies, serious industrial accidents and geopolitical shocks."

In 2017, Saudi Arabian security officials said that the country had been targeted as part of a wide-ranging cyber espionage campaign observed against five Middle East nations as well as several countries outside the region.

(Reporting by Marwa Rashad; Editing by Jane Merriman and David Gregorio)
Aid to Houthi-controlled Yemen to be cut back over risk it can be diverted -sources FILE PHOTO: Workers dispose of sacks of World Food Program wheat flour which is reportedly expired or spoiled, on the outskirts of Sanaa

By Lisa Barrington

DUBAI (Reuters) - The world's biggest humanitarian aid operation will be scaled-down next month in Houthi-controlled Yemen, because donors and aid workers say they can no longer ensure that food for millions of people is reaching those who need it.

Aid agency sources told Reuters Houthi authorities in northern Yemen were obstructing efforts to get food and other help to those in need, to an extent that is no longer tolerable.

"The operating environment in north Yemen has deteriorated so dramatically in recent months that humanitarians can no longer manage the risks associated with delivering assistance at the volume we currently are," a senior UN official said.

Unless things improve, humanitarians and donors will have "no choice" but to reduce assistance, the official said. This would include curtailing some food aid overseen by the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), which feeds more than 12 million Yemenis a month, 80% of them in Houthi areas.

The United Nations describes Yemen as the world's biggest humanitarian crisis and says millions of people are on the verge of starvation. There is little precedent for a such a large aid program being scaled-back in this way, which the sources called a sign of the seriousness of the concerns.

The Supreme Council for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (SCMCHA), a Houthi body formed in November to oversee aid, did not respond to a request for comment.

Aid agencies have for the past year publicly and privately complained of worsening operating conditions, lack of travel permits and other access restrictions which have left workers in northern Yemen "exasperated", in the words of one agency employee, and unable to deliver to full capacity.

"At high levels this has left the agencies, NGOs and donors asking: can we continue like this or do fundamental changes need to be made?" said another source familiar with discussions between donors and aid distributors.

Story continues

Donors, U.N. agencies and charities have not publicly announced aid reductions. Two sources told Reuters cutbacks could begin at the start of March after consultation with donors this month. Two said they could begin sooner.

'NO ONE WANTS TO WALK AWAY'

Yemen has been mired in conflict since the Iran-aligned Houthis ousted the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi from the capital Sanaa in late 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition has fought to restore Hadi.

"No one wants to walk away from a crisis, certainly not a crisis as big as the one in Yemen, but humanitarians have to adjust what we are doing based on the risks we are facing," the U.N. official said.

Another source said discussions were ongoing about the extent of any suspension: "Any talk of suspension needs to be carefully considered before a decision is made."

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a major donor, said the United States was "extremely concerned by Houthi officials' interference in aid operations". Washington is working with donors, the United Nations and charities "to communicate unequivocally to Houthi officials to cease their obstructive behavior" so aid can continue, a spokesperson said.

One of the reasons for the suspension is a dispute over a biometric system designed to record who receives aid. The WFP partially suspended food aid delivery for two months in Sanaa in June in a dispute over control of the biometric data. Eight months on, the system is still not operational in Houthi areas.

A Houthi official told Reuters WFP's demand to control the data violates Yemeni law, and the group had proposed alternative systems for aid distribution.

U.N. documents seen by Reuters show that agencies have repeatedly asked Houthi officials over the past year to allow access and deliveries. Aid workers complain that they have been prevented not only from delivering food, but also from treating it in storage to prevent it from spoiling during delays.

In one case in the poor Hajjah district, around 2,000 tonnes of food that should have been distributed early last year is now scheduled for destruction. Permission was not granted to either distribute or treat it.

"We have seen a disturbing trend that when we inform [Houthi authorities] of the need to remove any infested stocks from the distribution centers, they arrange for media to accompany them and portray it as if WFP is distributing expired or infested food," one of the documents to Houthi authorities says.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Peter Graff)
A court here on Thursday remanded Hrishikesh Devdikar, arrested in the journalist Gauri Lankesh murder, in the custody of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad which is probing the 2018 Nalasopara arms haul case.

Devdikar, alleged mastermind of Lankesh's killing in Bengaluru in 2017, was arrested from Dhanbad in Jharkhand last month.

The ATS took his custody from the Karnataka authorities and produced him before a court here on Thursday, a senior official said.

The court remanded Devdikar in ATS's custody till February 11, he said.

The ATS had in 2018 recovered crude bombs, explosive materials, country-made pistols and weapons such as choppers during raids at Nalasopara near Mumbai and some other places in Maharashtra, and arrested members of a Hindu extremist group.

The group had also allegedly planned to carry out an attack during the Sunburn music festival in Pune in 2017 because it 'promoted western culture', but the attack did not materialise, the ATS had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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We all witnessed the greater level of attention given to Senate confirmation hearings at the beginning of President Trumps tenure.

If you were to ask the average pastor, parent, or schoolteacher to name the Secretary of Education before 2017, hardly any could tell you. It all changed when President Trump selected Betsy DeVos, a wealthy Michigan-based education advocate known for her support of school choice, voucher programs, and charter schools, as the newly inaugurated President Trumps choice to lead the Department of Education (ED).

Whether the political left was unfair to vehemently oppose Sec. DeVos or whether the political right was correct to receive her so emphatically, is irrelevant to the Hispanic evangelical community that I represent. As the director of the Faith and Education Coalition (FE Coalition) of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference that represents over 40,000 Hispanic evangelical churches, and as a minister with the Assemblies of Gods Texas Louisiana Hispanic District, I can attest that Hispanic evangelicals care about Sec. DeVos and EDs work particularly in public education. On the three-year anniversary of Sec. DeVos appointment, we evaluate her commitment to promoting access to high quality public education within the Hispanic community.

The FE Coalition recognizes the importance of high-quality public education in the lives of those we represent. Hispanics now make up 26% of public school students (roughly 14 million), up from 16% twenty years ago. Additionally, in 2017 nearly three-quarters of Hispanics (73%) said improving the educational system should be a top priority for President Trump and Congress. We do not ignore the various debates surrounding school-choice or voucher programs, and we wholly support the parents right to explore the various educational opportunities available to their children and to choose whats best. However, we recognize that the vast majority of Hispanic students in America will remain enrolled and continue to enroll in public schools in the coming years.

First, what we should acknowledge is that ED holds little legislative control over what happens in local public schools. Why? Because the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed in 2015 with bi-partisan support made substantial changes to its well-known predecessor, the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. Now with ESSA, the majority of the power to develop K-12 standards, accountability systems, and improvement measures shifted from the federal government back to the states. Also, public schools are primarily funded by local and state sources, and, on average, the federal government pays for less than 10 percent of K-12 education.

However, this has not prevented Sec. DeVos from rightly providing direction in areas which she does control and prioritize. For example, Sec. DeVos recently released guidance on constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary and secondary schools, which we saw as a huge win for not only Christians but members of all faith groups. Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and ESSA the department is required to revise this guidance every two years. The last update took place eighteen years ago.

Another win for Hispanic Evangelicals includes EDs and the Department of Justices (DOJ) 2017 Title IX guidance for public schools during a time when many questioned how transgender community members should be expected to use public restrooms. Protestants in general (68%) believe gender is determined at birth, and under the new guidance ED and DOJ clarified that the term sex unambiguously refers to biological sex. Sec. DeVos statement reiterated EDs commitment to ensuring that all students have the freedom to learn and thrive in a safe and trusted environment and are protected from harassment. She affirmed that solutions to these types of issues are best solved at the local and state level by the school, communities, and families, and I pray the Lord will grant us the wisdom to offer such remedies that honor God and honor the student.

Despite wins in the realm of conscience, other areas that matter deeply to Hispanic Evangelicals give us reason for much concern. Last year, scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the nations report card, revealed that aggregated 4th grade reading scores across 17 states and 8th grade reading scores across 31 states decreased. In addition to the decline in reading scores for 8th grade Hispanic students, the achievement gap between whites and Hispanics in both grades have shown no signs of improvement over the last 10 years.

These numbers came out under Sec. DeVos tenure, but ESSA reminds us that these results are more reflective of local and state level policies rather than her leadership. Also, concerning NAEP, educational experts disagree on what is driving the decrease in reading scores. Some point to education reforms, inadequate and inequitable funding, poverty, even large amounts of time spent in front of computer screens, and the list goes on. Of these experts, none point to Sec. DeVos as a probable cause.

Looking ahead to the remainder of her tenure, we ask Sec. DeVos to focus on promoting high standards in public education and encourage her to make college and career-readiness a top priority to further support Hispanic achievement.

High school graduation is no longer the benchmark for Hispanic K-12 students in America, but if we do not prioritize the implementation of high comparable reading and math standards across states it may stymie Hispanic academic achievement. Only 25% of Hispanic high school graduates meet college-ready standards and then must take remedial courses before they can earn college credit. We continue to urge ED to work with state educational leaders to ensure that an American high school diploma indicates that a student is college- or career-ready. We ask ED to critically evaluate state ESSA plans against standards that are high and rigorous, as well as bold and creative, before approving them.

Additionally, as Hispanic pastors and parents, we would like to know how a school ranks in comparison to other schools in the surrounding area and state. While some might argue that this information will only reveal what we already know about schools relative to zip-codes and a communitys socioeconomic status, the information could equip Hispanic faith leaders and parents to engage as community stakeholders that seek to partner with educators to improve local schools. Sec. DeVos has encouraged the evaluation of K-12 schools through her guidance on how state and local education leaders can ensure parents and caregivers have accurate and accessible information on how their schools are performing. Nonetheless, we ask her to encourage states to go beyond the minimum requirements in report cards and to highlight those whose efforts set the bar high.

Also, our English Learner (EL) population needs attention. The EL population continues to grow, and Hispanics make up more than 75% of ELs nationwide. We encourage DeVos to give increased attention to ELs in K-12 public education. Under Sec. DeVoss leadership, we have seen some positive steps forward. ED created a data tool that provides a richer understanding of the characteristics and location of ELs across the U.S. In addition, ED allocated $20 million dollars toward the professional development of educators and administrators who provide EL instruction. Still, we ask Sec. DeVos and ED to encourage transparent reporting by states that displays EL educational proficiencies or deficiencies in relation to aggregated scores. Also, in keeping with the spirit of learning, we ask that ELs be held to high and rigorous standards and empowered to achieve college- and career-readiness by graduation. ELs should not be tracked to receive a second-class education.

As the director of the FE Coalition, I try to encourage our ministers to think beyond buzz-word topics such as evolution vs. creationism, sex education, bathroom bill, school choice or common core, topics worthy of discussion but that often lodge us into some pro-this or pro-that camp and make us hostile to public education. Rather, I work to introduce into our dialogue (and at time give primacy to) issues of quality and readiness, especially as we evaluate the work of education leaders such as Sec. DeVos or those in our states and cities.

After President Trumps State of the Union Address, we know that school-choice efforts under Sec. Devos leadership show no signs of slowing down. As a Hispanic Evangelical minister who believes all students bear the imago dei, I ask ED to consider how they might be able to grant parents with more than school choice but quality choices. No student should be without access to a high-quality education, and every school should have the support it needs to offer one.

Forward and higher in Christ.
BJP MP Giriraj Singh was caught 'red-handed' distributing cash and liquor to voters in the Rithala area of Delhi, ahead of the Assembly election on Saturday, reports said. AAP leader Sanjay Singh, making the accusation against the BJP MP, demanded that the Election Commission take action on the matter.

BJP MP Giriraj Singh was caught "red-handed" distributing cash and liquor to voters in the Rithala area of Delhi, ahead of the Assembly election on Saturday, reports said. AAP leader Sanjay Singh, making the accusation against the BJP MP, demanded that the Election Commission take action on the matter.

"Union minister Giriraj Singh caught distributing cash in Rithala. MPs distributing cash and liquor in different areas," Sanjay was quoted as saying by CNN-News18. The AAP Rajya Sabha MP also tweeted on Friday evening saying, "The media have reached the spot at Budh Vihar, phase 1, Rithala constituency. The EC should arrest Giriraj Singh."

        1       ECI      @ECISVEEP       240               pic.twitter.com/BTHx295coa  Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) February 7, 2020

CNN-News18 also quoted Sanjay as saying that Giriraj "had been caught red-handed distributing cash".

On Friday, a day before 70 Assembly seats in the Union Territory goes to poll after a bitterly-fought election, a statement released by AAP said that the party had formed 272 teams in all the municipal wards of the city to keep a tight vigil after it received inputs that money and liquor are allegedly being distributed in some areas.

Sanjay, addressing a press conference, said that the party had filed a complaint to the Election Commission (EC) after some reports of many BJP MPs staying at different Assembly constituencies started doing the rounds.

"In this last leg of the campaign, BJP's electoral manipulations are in full swing. We have received inputs that money and liquor are being distributed in some areas. Like last time, we have formed 272 teams in all the 272 wards, which have also been equipped with sting cameras," he said in the statement.

The campaign for the Delhi assembly polls ended at 6 pm on Thursday, ahead of voting on Saturday.

The AAP MP said anyone who comes across such incidents, where money or liquor are being distributed by any political party, can send the party evidence over WhatsApp or call on 9355015501.

"In other news, it has been reported that BJP's 240 MPs will be staying in different Assembly constituencies from 4 to 8 February. This is an open violation of the Model Code of Conduct as after the election campaign ends at 6 pm today, no MP, cabinet minister, can stay in Delhi, unless he is a resident of Delhi," Singh said.

With inputs from agencies
By The Associated Press Feb. 06, 2020 | 06:53 PM | WASHINGTON

Exulting in his impeachment acquittal, a defiant President Donald Trump took a scorched-earth victory lap Thursday, unleashing his fury against those who tried to remove him from office and pointing ahead to his reelection campaign.

Triumphantly waving newspaper front pages that declared him ACQUITTED," Trump denounced the impeachment proceedings as a disgrace and portrayed himself as a victim of political foes he labeled "scum," sleaze bags and crooked" people. Hours earlier, he unleashed broadsides that stunned the crowd at an annual bipartisan prayer breakfast

It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops," Trump declared in a packed White House East Room, where he was surrounded by several hundred of his most loyal supporters. This should never ever happen to another president, ever.

He conceded nothing in regard to charges that he improperly withheld a White House meeting and U.S. military aid in an effort to pressure Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and other political matters.

We went through hell, unfairly," he insisted. "Did nothing wrong.

His comments were a clear sign that, post-impeachment, Trump is emboldened like never before as he barrels ahead in his reelection fight with a united Republican Party behind him.

The only contrition Trump offered was to his own family, apologizing "for having them go through a phony, rotten deal.

Trump had plenty else to say, however. Venting for more than an hour, he ticked off names of the vicious and mean" people he felt had wronged him: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and former FBI Director James Comey. And he reveled in the verdict handed down by the GOP-controlled Senate Wednesday, saluting one-by-one in Oscar acceptance speech-fashion the warrior GOP lawmakers who had backed him both in the Capitol and on television.

Now we have that gorgeous word. I never thought it would sound so good," Trump said. "It's called total acquittal.

One person unmentioned: Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, whose involvement with Ukraine helped drive Trump's push for investigations that led to his becoming just the third president in U.S, history to be impeached by the House.

Trump's remarks, delivered with the aid of scribbled notes but no teleprompter, served as a dramatic contrast to his State of the Union address earlier this week. Standing before Congress Tuesday night, Trump hewed closely to his script and offered an optimistic message to the country with no mention of impeachment.

This time, his remarks were rambling and replete with profane language, comedic interludes and plenty of tangents and asides. He ribbed Ohio Rep. James Jordan, a college wrestling champion, for rarely wearing a suit jacket, saying, He's obviously very proud of his body. And he delivered a dramatic reading of text messages between two of his favorite targets, former FBI agent Peter Strzok and lawyer Lisa Page, who played a role in the special counsel's investigation of Russian interference to help Trump in the 2016 election.

This is really not a press conference. It's not a speech. It's not anything," Trump remarked at one point. It's a celebration.

He declared that the Republican Party had never been more unified and predicted momentum from the acquittal would carry him to reelection this November.

But he also predicted that he may have to fend off another impeachment challenge, perhaps for something as trivial as jaywalking.

Well probably have to do it again because these people have gone stone-cold crazy," the president said.

Earlier Thursday, Trump shattered the usual veneer of bipartisanship at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington by unleashing his fury against those who tried to impeach him, with Pelosi sitting on stage.

As everybody knows, my family, our great country and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people," Trump said at the annual event.

His remarks were especially jarring coming after a series of Scripture-quoting speeches, including a keynote address by Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor and president of a conservative think tank, who had bemoaned a crisis of contempt and polarization in the nation and urged those gathered to love your enemies."

I don't know if I agree with you, Trump said as he took the microphone, and then he proceeded to demonstrate it.

I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong," he said in an apparent reference to Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, a longtime Trump critic who cited his faith in becoming the only Republican to vote for Trump's removal.

Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you' when you know that is not so,' he said, in a reference to Pelosi, who has offered that message for the president when the two leaders have sparred publicly.

The House speaker, who shook her head at various points during Trump's remarks, later told reporters they were so completely inappropriate, especially at a prayer breakfast." She took particular issue with his swipe at Romney's faith and said that, yes, she does pray for the president.

Trump later said he meant every word.

The president and his allies have been on a victory lap since Wednesday, gloating publicly and behind closed doors.

Indeed, the night of the impeachment vote was one of revelry for members of the presidents circle. In Washington, many, including Trump's eldest son, Donald Jr,, the son's girlfriend, former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle, and the presidents former campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski, gathered at the presidents hotel a few blocks from the White House, one of the few MAGA safe zones in the deeply Democratic city.

The president himself remained at the White House but worked the phones, calling confidants.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police have arrested a member of a criminal syndicate for allegedly spitting on an employee at a bar who denied him entry last year, reports TBS News (Feb. 6).

At around 8:00 a.m. on December 23, Jo Kawakami, a 21-year-old member of the Inagawa-kai, allegedly spit in the face of the male employee on a road near Machida Station in Machida City.

Prior to the incident, the employee told the manager of the bar that Kawakami is a gang member. The manager then instructed the employee to ban the suspect, which resulted in a dispute, according to police.

aI did not make any threats,a Kawakami was quoted by the Machida Police Station in partially denying the allegations.
President Donald Trump on Friday said the House should expunge its impeachment vote on him in the wake of his acquittal by the Senate.

'They should because it was a hoax. It was a total political hoax,' he told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before he left for a trip to North Carolina.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy originally suggested the House should expunge its December vote on the two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction of justice.

McCarthy, a close Trump ally, said the original impeachment vote shouldn't stay on the books since the president had been found 'not guilty' in his Senate trial.

President Trump said the House should expunge its impeachment vote on him in the wake of his acquittal

The House voted in December to approve two articles of impeachment against Trump

Speaker Nancy Pelosi gavels the impeachment vote in December to a close

'This is the fastest, weakest, most political impeachment in history,' McCarthy told The New York Post. 'I don't think it should stay on the books.'

On December 18, the House approved the two articles against the president.

The vote on Article One, abuse of power, was 230197, with one vote of present. All Republicans voted against the article, joined by two Democrats.

The vote on Article Two, obstruction of Congress, was 229198, with one vote of present. All Republicans voted against the article, joined by three Democrats.

If Republicans win back the House chamber in the November election, they could erase those votes.

Republicans need to flip 18 House seats in order to retake control of the House.

There is precedent for such an action.

In 1837, the Senate voted to expunge its earlier censure of President Andrew Jackson.

If the House expunged its vote on Trump, such a move would be largely symbolic although it would be something the president would see as a huge vindication.

After a three-month investigation, House Democrats alleged Trump with held nearly $400 million in U.S. aid from Ukraine in exchange for that county to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden, his political rivals.

The president denied the charges and the Senate cleared him of both articles on Wednesday after a contentious trial.

Trump held a victory celebration for his acquittal at the White House on Thursday.

'This is a day of celebration because we went through hell,' he told a packed room of about 200 supporters in the East Room of the White House.

The president spoke - without the use of a teleprompter - for a little more than hour that veered back and forth between thanking his allies and blasting his enemies.

He began his remarks with his favorite hit term on the investigations into him and his presidency: 'witch hunt.'

'We've been going through this now for over three years. It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops. It was a leakers and lawyers. This should never happen to another president, ever. I don't know that other presidents would have been able to take it,' he said.

House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy originally suggested the House should expunge its impeachment vote

Vice President Pence, President Trump and Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the State of the Union address

And he ended with an apology to his family, including young son Barron.

'I want to apologize to my family for having them have to go through a phony, rotten deal by some very evil and sick people,' he said. 'And Ivanka is here, my sons, my whole family. And that includes Barron. He's up there, he's a young boy.'

Ivanka left her seat in the audience to come up to the podium and hug her father after his apology. First lady Melania Trump did the same.

'I just want to thank my family for sticking through it. This was not part of the deal,' the president said.

Trump also name-dropped those he blamed for impeaching him, re-upping his litany of attacks against the same people he has blamed since the first investigation of his presidency started.

Former FBI Director James Comey was the first opponent who came up.

'Had I not fired James Comey - who was a disaster, by the way - it's possible I may not have even been standing here right now,' Trump said. 'When I fired that sleazebag, all hell broke out,' he later added.

He blamed the top FBI officials for his problems. 'It was the top scum, and the FBI people don't like the top scum,' he said.

The president also had choice words for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff, Sen. Mitt Romney, Hunter Biden, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe - and the FBI lovers, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

President Trump hoisted up a copy of the Washington Post in the East Room Thursday, marveling at the paper's good headline

President Trump hugs his daughter Ivanka Trump at his victory speech in the White House's East Room Thursday

First lady Melania Trump (left) kisses President Trump (right) at the end of his speech Thursday in the East Room

President Trump was surrounded by his political allies at the White House Thursday as he took a victory lap on being acquitted on impeachment charges by the GOP-led Senate

President Trump (left) had first lady Melania Trump (right) come onstage at the conclusion of his hour-long, free-wheeling speech where he talked about impeachment

Ivanka Trump (right) listens to her father President Trump (left) speak a day after the conclusion of the Senate's impeachment trial

Comey's May 2017 firing led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller who took over the Russian interference probe.

The president referred to the Russia probe as 'all bulls***' to the East Room crowd.That investigation wasn't directly related to why Trump was impeached - over a scheme to hold up around $400 million in military aid to Ukraine in order to pressure the president to announce investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden.

The East Room was filled with the president's Republican Congressional and political allies. Lawmakers like Doug Collins, Jim Jordan, Elise Stefanik and Matt Gaetz, who all vocally defended the president during the House impeachment investigation. GOP senators who voted to acquit him were there too, including Chuck Grassley, Mike Lee and, of course, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
A decision will be made on February 24 as to where the only soldier charged in connection with Bloody Sunday in Derry will face his committal hearing.

The case against Soldier F who is charged with two murders on January 30, 1972, was mentioned at Derry Magistrates Court today.

A spokesperson for the prosecution service said the barrister handling the case was unavailable and asked for an adjournment.

Granting the adjournment until February 24, District Judge Barney McElholm said he had received a letter from Liam Wray, whose brother was killed on Bloody Sunday, on behalf of his family and other families.

It is understood the letter asked for the soldier's trial to be held in Derry.

He said that letter was 'being given very serious consideration' and added that while 'no firm decision' had been made yet as to venue and timing that would be done by February 24.

The judge said that there was a suggested date but that may have to be changed.

Judge McElholm said that account must be taken of everyone's rights but there were also 'practical considerations'.

He added: "There are practical considerations as to venue and time among them the fact all the main players defendant and families are getting no younger."

Stating that on the 24th the intention is to set a venue and date, he went on to say all issues had to be taken into account.

He concluded: "As Mr Wray said in his letter justice must not only be done but seen to be done."

The case was adjourned until February 24.
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COLLEGE STATION, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / REALTOR Kristi Fox Satsky, of Century 21 Beal, is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a local top producing real estate professional, making the dream of homeownership a reality for buyers while getting sellers top dollar for their homes."I'd like to thank my team and clients, both past and present, for helping make 20 years in the industry possible," said Kristi. "Having a support staff is crucial for us to give our 5 star service, and I have a dedicated team assisting me so that my clients are never without the help they deserve. The goal that my team and I have is to always create that 5 star experience for each and every client that works with the Kristi Fox Team." During the course of her distinguished 20-year career, Kristi has been named to the Top 30 under 30 by REALTOR magazine and Top 50 REALTORS on the Rise by Real Estate Magazine. She has also been named Century 21 Beal's top producing agent nearly every year during her career, and has been recognized both regionally and nationally as a top producing agent in the Century 21 system, and named in the top 100 Century 21 agents nationwide, year after year. Kristi was also recognized as a Bryan-College Station Community Impact Award winner in 2018 by her local Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Texas A&M University Mays Business School. Kristi is a philanthropist working diligently in her community to leave it "better than she found it." Debra N., a client said, "From the moment she started until now and in the future, Kristi will give 110% working for you and with you. She is always looking out for her clients' best interests." Kristi is also a proud affiliate of Homes for Heroes, the largest nationwide network of real estate, mortgage, and local business specialists that are committed to providing monetary rewards to teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, military and healthcare professionals when they buy or sell homes. Since September 2015, Kristi has helped more than 200 local heroes purchase or sell their homes with nearly $300,000 in rewards given locally to her clients. Kristi continues to pledge $100,000 per year to everyday Hero buyers and sellers every year."When I first became a REALTOR I just wanted to help people. I didn't know enough to make goals, but I became a top agent by simply trying to help people," noted Kristi. "It has been an honor to continue that tradition for 20 years, and I look forward to the next 20 years of unlocking dreams, one key at a time." About Kristi Fox Satsky, Century 21 BealKristi Fox Satsky works with buyers, sellers and investors. She serves the Brazos Valley, including Bryan, College Station, Caldwell, Navasota, Madisonville, Snook, and Somerville. Kristi is a Listing Agent and Buyer Specialist that has been serving the Brazos Valley since 2000, with in excess of 100 properties sold per year, every year. In addition to real estate sales, Kristi is also a local volunteer and philanthropist who is dedicated to leaving her mark on her community through her gifts and service. For more information, please call (979) 255-5369, or visit https://kristifox.com/ For media inquiries, please call THE NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.SOURCE: Kristi Fox Satsky
Detectives have charged a man with attempted murder after a suspicious house fire razed a home in Brisbane's north this week and left a 50-year-old woman in critical condition.

Emergency services were called to the burning home on Bundal Street, Chermside, about 4am Wednesday.

Paramedics resuscitated the female resident at the scene after flames engulfed the house. Credit:Nine News Queensland

The 50-year-old woman was pulled from the building by firefighters after attempts made by neighbours to rescue her were unsuccessful.

She was then transported to hospital in a critical condition. Four neighbours were also treated for smoke inhalation.
New Delhi: Campaigning for a crucial state election in India's capital has reached a fever pitch as members of the Hindu nationalist-led government call for violence against minority Muslims.

Critics call the incendiary religious appeals a tactic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party to win at the polls and divert attention from the sluggish economy, which expanded at a 4.5 per cent annual pace in the last quarter, its slowest rate since mid-2018.

A student holds a placard during a protest against a new citizenship law in New Delhi. Credit:AP

The election on Saturday has also been seen as a referendum on the ruling party's response to nearly two months of protests across India against a new citizenship law that fast-tracks naturalisation for some migrants of neighbouring countries living in the country illegally of all South Asia's major religions except Islam.

An MP from Modi's party cautioned at a public rally that the sit-in demonstrators would "enter people's homes, rape women and then kill them off." Another minister characterised the protesters as "traitors" and led a crowd in chanting the slogan "shoot them".
As the deadly coronavirus has spread across the world, rising racism cases against Chinese and Asian communities are also being widely reported. Recently, in an act of racism, a White man in Canada was filmed telling a Chinese-Canadian woman that she had dropped her coronavirus. According to media reports, the man said, "You have dropped your coronavirus" in the parking lot of a mall. The video is being widely circulated across various social media platforms with many people calling the man ignorant and racist.

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: China To Probe Death Of Whistleblower Doctor

Growing racism against Asian communities

Not just Canada, the cases of racism have come under light from countries like Italy, Australia, and Malaysia. As per media reports, a patient in Australia's Gold Coast refused to shake the hand of her surgeon just because the doctor was of Asian descent. Dr. Rhea Liang shared the incident on her social media handle where she said that the patient refused to shake her hand citing the virus that has killed hundreds and added that her first reaction was that of a shock. But after the surgeon's post was flooded with a ton of comments, she learned that her experience was all too common.

Read: Chinese Nationals Mourn Death Of Whistleblower Who First Raised Coronavirus Alarm

In Italy, a family, based out of Turin was accused of carrying the deadly virus because of its Asian facial features. In Milan, the level of racism has gone up to the extent that mothers are reportedly taking to social media to call for children to be kept away from Chinese classmates. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, over 5,00,000 people signed an online petition asking for a ban on Chinese nationals entering the country. The title of the petition says, "bar Chinese people from entering our beloved country."

Read: Coronavirus Lockdown Disrupts Food Supplies For Birds, Animals In Wuhan Zoo

China is gripped by the deadly coronavirus since December last year and according to the latest media reports, the outbreak has claimed more than 630 lives in the country alone and the confirmed reported cases have reached up to 30,000 as of February 6. The disease is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Hubei's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, where animals were being traded illegally. As per US CDC, confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 27 other countries.

Read: World's Most Productive Factory Shuts Down Amid Coronavirus Outbreak


A 37-year-old Lithuanian tourist was reportedly murdered and his wife was allegedly raped at a rented residence on a remote beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to international media reports, the body of Adam Zindul was found by police in Praia do Sono on February 6 and his wife, who was taken to Paraty Municipal Hospital, said that she had been raped during the attack. Authorities have, however, not commented on a possible motive for the attack.

Following the attack, the police also reportedly arrested a 37-year-old suspect, who is the resident of Paraty. According to a Brazilian local media outlet, the couple had rented a house in the remote beach of Praia do Sono, on the Green Coast of Rio de Janeiro, which can only be accessed by boat or trail through the jungle. It was further reported that the tourist was found with his arms and legs tied to a chair and several wound marks on his body.

READ: Brazil Tourism Board 'by Mistake' Shares Tourist's Social Media Post About Being Robbed

According to the police report, the Lithuanian tourist was gagged, beaten and killed by the attacker. The police officers said that an investigation is underway after which Zindul's body will be taken to the Legal Medical Institute. The isolated beach which can only be accessed by foot or boat is also popular among tourists and residents of Rio. The beach is a few hours drive away and have a number of houses for rent and camping areas.

READ: Poland FM: Brazil President To Visit Poland

Drop-in crime rate

Rio is the port entry for millions of tourists who visit Brazil every year. Rio is also known for the breathtaking beauty of its sun-soaked beaches and emerald mountains. However, it is also known for its violent crime as the city reportedly registered nearly 4,000 murders and 120,500 muggings last year. Although, there has been a reported drop in the two crimes by 19% and 8% respectively. According to international media reports, safety concerns along with inconvenient flights, poor infrastructure and high costs have also held Brazil's tourist industry back.

READ: Brazil Starts To Plan For Wuhan Evacuation

READ: Brazil Downpour Displaces 30,000, Bracing For More Rain
A Russian military delegation is set to visit Ankara in the near future in order to discuss the situation in Syrias Idlib with the Turkish authorities, Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Ibrahim Kalin said.



According to him, it was agreed by Presidents of Russia and Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin. "Our observation posts in Idlib will remain within the framework of the Sochi agreement, there will be no changes here, the borders will remain the same," the spokesman added.

He noted that Ankara and Moscow have agreed on the locations of the observation posts of both countries in Idlib. "We will discuss with the Russian military the need to ensure the safety of our observation points," Sputnik cited Kalin as saying.
BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese doctor who was reprimanded for warning against a SARS-like coronavirus before it was officially recognised died of the virus on Friday, triggering a wave of mourning in China and rare online expressions of anger towards the government.

The death of Li Wenliang, 34, came as Chinese President Xi Jinping assured the United States that China was doing all it could to contain the virus.

Full coverage: here

The death toll in mainland China reached 637 on Friday, with a total to 31,211 cases, World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.

For the last two days there had been fewer reported infections in China, which is good news, but we caution against reading too much into that, he told the WHO Executive Board.

The numbers could go up again.

U.S. President Donald Trump, after speaking to Xi by phone, said China was showing great discipline in tackling the virus.

Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone, Trump said on Twitter. ...We are working closely with China to help!

Ophthalmologist Li was among eight people reprimanded by police in the city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the flu-like contagion in central Hubei province, for spreading illegal and false information.

Lis social media warnings of a new SARS-like coronavirus - a reference to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which killed almost 800 people around the world in 2002-2003 after originating in China - angered police.

China was accused of trying to cover up SARS.

Li was forced to sign a letter on Jan. 3, saying he had severely disrupted social order and was threatened with charges.

A selfie of him lying on a hospital bed this week wearing an oxygen respirator and holding up his Chinese identification card was shared widely online.

We deeply mourn the death of Wuhan doctor Li Wenliang ... After all-effort rescue, Li passed away, the ruling Communist Partys Peoples Daily said on Twitter.

Social media users called Li a hero, accusing authorities of incompetence.

Wuhan indeed owes Li Wenliang an apology, Hu Xijin, editor of the government-backed Global Times tabloid, said on social media. Wuhan and Hubei officials also owe a solemn apology to the people of Hubei and this country.

Lis death was a tragic reminder of how Chinas preoccupation with maintaining stability drives it to suppress vital information, Nicholas Bequelin, Southeast Asia regional director for Amnesty International said.

China must learn the lesson from Lis case and adopt a rights-respecting approach to combating the epidemic, he said.

GRAPHIC-Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS: tmsnrt.rs/2GK6YVK

GRAPHIC-Tracking the novel coronavirus: tmsnrt.rs/3aIRuz7

DATA WATCH

Some media described Li as a hero willing to speak the truth but there were signs that discussion of his death was being censored.

The topics the Wuhan government owes doctor Li Wenliang an apology and we want free speech briefly trended on Weibo late on Thursday, but yielded no search results on Friday.

The virus has spread around the world, with 320 cases in 27 countries and regions outside mainland China, a Reuters tally of official statements shows.

Two deaths have been reported outside mainland China, in Hong Kong and the Philippines, but how deadly and contagious the virus is remains unclear, prompting countries to quarantine hundreds of people and cut travel links with China.

There were 41 new cases among about 3,700 people quarantined in a cruise ship moored off Japan, taking the total on board to 61.

Chinese-ruled Hong Kong quarantined for a third day a cruise ship with 3,600 on board after three people who had been on the vessel proved infected.

Singapore reported three more coronavirus cases not linked to previous infections or travel to China, prompting it to raise its alert to orange, the level it reached during the SARS outbreak in 2003.

China has sealed off cities, cancelled flights and closed factories, cutting supply lines to global businesses, so that Beijing resembles a ghost town, with main thoroughfares and tourist spots almost deserted.

The majority of U.S. firms with operations in China expect the outbreak to cut revenue this year, and some are accelerating plans to shift their supply chains out of the country, according to a poll by Shanghais American Chamber of Commerce.

The ramifications are being widely felt.

Chinas central bank vowed further support for its economy, with the outbreak expected to knock two percentage points, or more, off its first-quarter growth, from 6%, analysts said.

Chinese stocks had their worst week since May, while elsewhere in Asia, financial markets slipped after several days of gains.

As Trump praised Chinas discipline, the head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice, Li Fuying, told reporters that people deliberately concealing contacts or refusing to go into isolation could be punished with death.






Display, semiconductor remain relatively unscathed



By Anna J. Park



Due to the global spread of a new coronavirus originating in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, various sectors face disparate paths ahead of them during the first and second quarters of the year.



While most people might think the epidemic would wreak havoc on all industries, analysts say the scope of the negative effects varies among them.



One of the most hard-hit industries by infectious diseases is undoubtedly aviation. What is worse is that the nation's airlines have already witnessed about a 30 percent year-on-year decrease in domestic demand for travel late last year, partly due to a downturn of the economy, even without the worldwide spread of the virus.



"Given that flights to China account for about 17 percent of Asiana Airlines' total annual revenue and about 12 percent of that for Korean Air, it is unavoidable that the current coronavirus spread would be a temporary blow to the two airlines," Bang Min-jin, an analyst at Eugene Investment & Securities, told The Korea Times.



"Low-cost carriers also operate various routes near mainland China, such as to Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. As people avoid China as a travel destination for the time being, they also tend to avoid nearby countries as well, which would impact low-cost airliners adversely," she said.



The analyst also pointed out that if the epidemic's spread does not drop off by the end of March, the aviation sector will see its second quarter also unfavorably impacted.



She added, however, as viral spreads are significantly weakened during summer, the airline sector could stabilize by the latter half of the year.



Considering declining demand in the sector in the final quarter of last year, the aviation sector would also see a year-on-year increase due to the base effect  the distorted tendency of a small absolute change to be perceived as a large change owing to previously-recorded abnormal levels.



The retail sector is also expected to take a blow, particularly duty-free shops, large retailers and department stores. Not only has the number of inbound Chinese tourist to Korea decreased, but also people tend to stay indoors, avoiding places where crowds gather such as big department stores.



Yet, market experts expect that their weak performance could partially be offset, as Korea's major retailers such as Shinsegae also operate strong e-commerce businesses. All in all, sluggish consumer demand due to the infection will negatively influence the sector at least during the first quarter.



The oil and refinery sector could also see growth hampered as it closely coupled with the country's overall economy. Yet what is more worrisome is that decreased consumer sentiment could negatively affect demand for various products made from oil or other chemical materials, resulting in a temporary fall in profits.



However some analysts see that the current crisis could also provide a chance to expand its weight in portfolios.



"The oil and refinery industry as well as the chemical sector are inclined to closely interlock with China's macro economy. However, adverse effects could be minimized as China has been using stimuli in these sectors to counter the fall in consumer demand," said Kim Jeong-hyeon, an analyst at Kyobo Securities.



"As the prices of major stocks in the sectors have excessively plummeted, it could be a chance to increase their weight in portfolios," he added.



The impact on the semiconductor sector, meanwhile, is expected to be relatively limited.



Analyst at eBest Investment & Securities Choi Yung-san said, "When it comes to memory chips, there do not seem to be any major supply issues. What is concerning comes from the demand side. Out of various types of demand, such as for servers, PCs and mobile phones, it is now expected that phone demand could be negatively impacted," Choi said.



"China accounts for about 70 percent of the world's smartphone production, which is highly labor-intensive, and extended periods of shutdowns due to holidays could hit the industry. In that regard, mobile DRAM or NAND could be further impacted," he said, adding the impact will be minimal if the epidemic's spread is largely stopped by the end of February.


NEW HAVEN  The Department of Parks, Recreation and Trees wants you to take a hike.

But the department also has love in mind (moonstruck?), with Valentines Day just around the corner.

With those and other goals (think fresh air, nature watching, birds, beaches) in mind, the department and Outdoor Adventure Coordinator Martin Torresquintero have shared several events coming up that could be a nice break for city residents.

And the moon walk is included.

Degree of difficulty noted for each.

Saturday, Feb. 8

10 a.m.-1 p.m.  Valentines card making workshop at Barnard Nature Center

Join Ranger Harry for a chance to make your own cards. All arts and crafts supplies are included.

Difficulty: Easy indoors

Family friendly

Barnard Nature Center is at the corner of Derby Avenue (Route 34) and Ella T. Grasso Boulevard.

Sunday, Feb. 9

2- 3:30 p.m.  Family Nature Walk through East Rock

Join Ranger Elizabeth to explore the Mill River on a family-friendly nature walk through East Rock Park.

Difficulty: Easy

Bring sturdy shoes. Participants will hike on a 1.5- to 2-mile flat loop around the Mill River and see what signs of life we can find in the woods. Though this hike is flat, it is not accessible for conventional strollers. Meet at the College Woods Pavilion, just outside the Ranger Station.

*Spanish speaking

4:30- 6:30 p.m. Snow Moon Hike at East Rock

Join Ranger Elizabeth for an evening hike up the trails in East Rock, culminating in a beautiful view of the city under a full moon.

Difficulty: Moderate

Bring sturdy shoes. Total hiking distance is 2.5 to 3 miles, elevation gain of about 350 feet.

Bring a headlamp and binoculars if you have them. Limited number available to borrow.

Meet at the College Woods Pavilion, just outside the Ranger Station.

*Spanish speaking

Wednesday , Feb. 12

10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Bird Walk at Lighthouse Point Park

Join Ranger Dan to explore the bird-watching trails along Lighthouse Point Park.

Difficulty: Easy

Bring sturdy shoes. Total Hiking distance 1-2 miles on flat terrain.

Bring binoculars if you have them. Limited number available to borrow. Meet at the bottom of the lighthouse.
A two-year-old Chihuahua with a prominent black eyebrow is often confused for a Disney movie villain, his owner claims.

When Natnicha Namakprasert, 29, was looking to adopt a dog, one adorable little pup raised a few eyebrows.

Lucky, a mixed-breed Chihuahua, was born in Bangkok, Thailand with a prominent, jet-black eyebrow over his right eye.

Looking more like a villain with a dastardly scheme, the household pup raises eyebrows when he's out for a walk in Bangkok, where he lives

Lucky, the mixed two-year-old Chihuahua, was born in Bangkok, Thailand, with an incredibly prominent, jet-black, raised eyebrow over his right eye

The pup can be seen with his comical 'raised eyebrow' as he lays down to take a snooze in Bangkok, Thailand

Looking more like a sinister movie villain with an evil scheme than a household pup, Lucky's inquisitive face only helped Natnicha fall more in love with the dastardly looking dog.

Natnicha said: 'The first time I saw his eyebrow, I thought it was unique. Along with his blue eyes, I thought he was amazing and drove me crazy so I wanted to adopt him.

'Most people say funny things like he was rushing to be born, so he couldn't draw another eyebrow in time, or some people said he should be a villain in a Disney cartoon.'

Owner Natnicha said: 'The first time I saw his eyebrow, I thought it was unique.' Natnica rescued Lucky, pictured looking a little less devillish, from a doggy-adoption centre in Bangkok

Lucky has been said to look like a bond villain or even Mads Mikkelsen, who played Hannibal in the TV-series, after photos of the pup went viral in Thailand

Lucky the mixed two-year-old Chihuahua is pictured in the car with owner Natnicha Namakprasert, 29, in Bangkok, Thailand

When the dog was first taken in by an adoption company in August last year, an internet post from a worker at the centre went viral over the pup's rare features.

At the time, people drew comparisons to a villain out of a Hollywood movie.

The dog, who was called Lucky while at the rescue house, has markings that make him look as if he has two completely different faces - an ordinary Chihuahua and a James Bond villain.

Astonishing photos show that Lucky has one brown-coloured eye, while the other is a vivid blue.

Looking devillishly dastardly, Lucky poses for a photograph with his owner Natnicha Namakprasert, 29, in Bangkok, Thailand

Lucky has such as prominently raised eyebrow that he has been confused for a Disney movie villain

Dressed in a stripy prison outfit, Lucky looks more evil than ever

One of the pictures of the pooch on Facebook got over 11,000 likes and over 600 comments.

One Facbeook user said: 'Looks like an evil master mind' while another said 'OBVIOUSLY a Bond villain.'

The post was also flooded with comments from people exclaiming how 'cute' they found the pooch.

'He looks like me in the morning when Im trying to do my make up and get distracted. So cute!!' one person wrote.
Thousands of patients across the UK can be tested for coronavirus every day with a new diagnostic test, the Government has said.

Preparation to control cases have been stepped up after a third British person tested positive for the virus yesterday and the Government faced a backlash for its 'passive' and 'weak' response to the advancing outbreak.

From Monday, twelve laboratories in the UK will have the capacity to analyse swabs taken from suspected patients. Until now, only one lab in London has been able to do this.

A total of 620 tests have been conducted on UK citizens, of which 617 were confirmed negative and three positive.

But experts have warned the UK to brace for more cases to emerge, as The World Health Organisation expects the 'peak' in China is yet to come.

Some 16 countries have barred travellers from China entering, but the UK has not followed suit, leading to a barrage of criticism for failing to protect the country with speediness.

Last night the Government issued 'updated travel advice' - which simply warned travellers from nine Asian countries 'to phone NHS 111 and quarantine themselves' if they feel ill.

Cases of coronavirus worldwide passed 31,000 today, while the death toll sits at 638. However, there have been an encouraging drop in cases in recent days.

In Wuhan, where the virus first emerged at the end of December, a pop-up laboratory was built in five days. It was designed to perform 10,000 coronavirus tests per day to cope with the outbreak.

Thousands more patients across the UK can be tested for coronavirus every day with a new diagnostic test, the Government has said. Pictured, a scientists in the pop-up Huoyan Laboratory specialized in the nucleic acid test on the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak started

The diagnostic test developed by Public Health England (PHE) is being rolled out to laboratories across the UK starting on Monday February 10. Pictured, a lab technician taking samples of suspected cases in a Wuhan, where up to 10,000 people can be tested a day

The UK's third coronavirus patient was confirmed on Thursday. It comes almost a week after two Chinese nationals were confirmed to have the lethal virus in York. Meanwhile 93 others are quarantined on the Wirral after being evacuated from Wuhan - while another among them was rushed to a hospital in Oxford. Experts have warned the UK to brace for more cases to emerge

Cases of coronavirus worldwide passed 31,000 today, while the death toll sits at 638. Some 28 nations or territories have reported the killer virus

The diagnostic test developed by Public Health England (PHE) is being rolled out to laboratories across the UK starting on Monday February 10.

With more scientists on board at 12 laboratories, it will 'accelerate the country's testing capabilities'.

A statement said the move is to make sure the country is prepared for further cases - three have been confirmed so far, but more are predicted to emerge.

The laboratories are in Scotland (two), Northern Ireland, Wales, London, Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Southampton.

The new measures will increase testing capacity to 1,000 people in the England alone. PHE could not give estimate a figure for the rest of the UK.

Scores of passengers fleeing the coronavirus-hit country have been pouring into Britain every day without being tested for the virus, leaving many baffled about what is being done to curb the killer virus accelerating in the UK.

One British man who got his family on the 'last available Air China flight to UK' blasted the Government as 'passive' and revealed he simply strolled through Heathrow unchecked.

Without proper screening in place for travellers from the disease-hit country, it's possible people can slip into the country with or without symptoms.

The third British patient diagnosed with coronavirus had visited a business meeting in Singapore before travelling back home to the UK.

Despite this, the Government are not believed to be hunting down people onboard any Asia-UK flight the latest sufferer may have travelled on. It has emerged his family have also not been quarantined.

UK health officials were today accused of a farcical response after they appealed to anyone who has been in contact with the man for 15 minutes - but refused to identify him.

Government sources have for days suggested that the UK is on the brink of declaring a ban on arrivals from China, a measure wanted by furious Brits on social media.

Dire coronavirus warnings from Britain's top experts Leading virologists and infectious disease specialists met at a hastily organised meeting by the respected Science Media Centre in London today amid the escalating outbreak. They made a series of dire warnings about the disease, including: A vaccine will not be ready until at least 2021

Even if we eradicate the virus in the next few months it could re-emerge in winter

An outbreak in late 2020 could be devastating for NHS staff juggling winter crisis

The death of a seemingly healthy Chinese doctor in his 30s raises fears it may have ability to kill people with strong immune systems

Don't be fooled by a decrease in confirmed cases in the last few days - this could be a lack of man power and errors in cataloging them in China

The virus may be spread to babies from pregnant mothers during childbirth

Cases are at least 10 times higher than the current 31,000 being reported The panel of six was made up of leading experts in the UK, including: David Heymann, Professor of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine; Dr Gail Carson, Consultant in Infectious Diseases, University of Oxford; Robin Shattock, Professor of Mucosal Infection and Immunity, Imperial College London; Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology, University of Oxford; Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia; and Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Advertisement

But ministers have yet to announce any hard ban  despite 16 other countries and territories around the world putting measures of some kind into place, including in Saudi Arabia the US, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

One MP on the All Party Parliamentary China Group admitted the epidemic 'is getting more serious'.

They claimed they would be surprised if the travel restriction was not imposed 'in the next week or two'.

The UK is still bound to EU immigration laws and obligated to fall in line with any decisions on travel restrictions made by the bloc until the end of the year, despite having technically left on January 31.

The Government is said to be considering imposing the ban anyway, against the will of Brussels.

But sources say it would be pointless if the EU does not follow suit because passengers could still enter Britain by going through other EU states.

'What is the point in one of you banning flights if none of the others are going to do it?' a senior government source told MailOnline. 'Because you just get in by an indirect route.'

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said on February 5: 'We can monitor flights from China landing back in the UK but we can't monitor those landing from China in the rest of Europe. EU freedom of movement does make us more vulnerable.'

It comes after China's ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, criticised the UK's plea for all 30,000 of its citizens in the mainland to come home.

He said it was an overreaction and a disregard of World Health Organisation (WHO) advice.

Mr Xiaoming said: '[There] should be no panic, no overreaction. We advise the British side to take professional advice of WHO.

'They told us they will follow WHO's advice. It seems to me the words do not match with the deeds.

'Life is still normal in most parts of China so I do say again in private and public I hope the British Government and public take an objective, cool-headed view of what is going on. We should support each other rather than weaken the other's efforts.'

The novel coronavirus cannot currently be cured - antibiotics do not work against viruses - and no vaccine exists yet.

PHE claims to be one of the first countries outside China to have assured testing capability for the novel coronavirus after scientists there released the genetic sequence of the virus to aid other countries in spotting it.

If a patient has suspected coronavirus, GPs can take samples from the nose, throat and deeper respiratory tract and send them for laboratory testing.

Using the diagnostic test, scientists can look for genetic clues that identify the novel coronavirus that originated in Wuhan city.

A confirmatory test will continue to be conducted at PHE's Colindale laboratories in London.

Professor Yvonne Doyle, medical director, PHE, said: 'Once China confirmed that they had identified a novel coronavirus, Public Health England was ready to test potential cases in this country.

'We have now trained scientists in labs across the UK to conduct the specialist test  ensuring that we are well prepared should we begin to see an increased number of cases across the country.'

PHE said it would also be helping the World Health Organization with testing samples from countries that do not have assured testing capabilities.

In other developments to the escalating outbreak today:
Afsos

Director - Anubhuti Kashyap

Cast - Gulshan Devaiah, Anjali Patil, Heeba Shah, Danish Sait, Dhruv Sehgal

On several occasions in Amazon Prime Videos latest Indian show, Afsos, youll see the word Fargo printed on random objects. Theres a large vehicle with Fargo written on its exterior, and inside the vehicle there is a notebook with the same word printed on its cover.

If youre fans of the classic Coen Brothers film, or of the spin-off series inspired by it, this reference would likely pique your interest in Afsos. Its like (a less subtle version of) Kundan Shah and Sudhir Mishra dropping Antonionis name in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro. But unlike that cult classic, the Fargo reference in Afsos has little thematic or intellectual relevance. Its just a word, like a throwaway mention of comedian Biswa Kalyan Rath in a later episode, presumably inserted in the show only to make you light up with recognition, and then wonder what to make of it.

Watch the Afsos trailer here

The emptiness of this allusion, unfortunately, is also emblematic of the rest of the show, which far too often relies on coincidences and illogical leaps to propel its plot. If it were truly a devotee of the Coens, it would have spent more time on constructing an airtight structure, on mimicking that irreverent tone the brothers are so recognisable for, and co-opting some of their masterful visual storytelling.

But writers and co-creators Anirban Dasgupta and Dibya Chatterjee, and director Anubhuti Kashyap seem to be unclear about what theyre trying to say with the story. Is it about big city loneliness? Is it about destiny and faith? Is it about the privilege of the urban male? Who knows. Its almost as if the writing duo came up with a killer set-up, but then balked under the pressure of landing a satisfying punchline.

Afsos tells the story of a suicidal man named Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah), who despite his best attempts, cant seem to be able to kill himself. When we first meet him, hes giving suicide another shot, lying on railway tracks, but making sure to not compromise on his comfort. His therapist is convinced his heart is not into it, and during one ridiculous confrontation, thrusts a knife into his hands and taunts him to slit his wrists.

But destiny (and poor writing) presents Nakul with another option, one that will get the job done without him having to do the dirty work himself. An enterprising woman has started a business through which she offers to assassinate suicidal folks willing to pay her for it. Shes the one who operates out of the van littered with Fargo references.

Except the lady, unlike Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormares small-time criminals from Fargo, works with a hired gun, to whom she assigns Nakuls contract. Like nearly everyone else in Afsos, it is virtually impossible to identify what drives Upadhyay, the hit-woman, to do what she does. She carries out her duties with single-minded devotion, and chases Nakul with the relentlessness of a T-800, but also with a suspicious ineptitude that sort of captures the vibe of the show.

Gulshan Devaiah in a still from Afsos.

There are also parallel plots involving a sadhu tasked with protecting a vial of elixir, an Uttarakhand cop assigned with tracking down a serial killer, and a couple of distracted house painters looking to kill time. The less we get into those the better. For one, it would be a spoiler, but more importantly, unraveling these threads would probably open Afsos up for more criticism.

We cant, and shouldnt, avoid discussing the uniformly poor performances of its cast, though. Besides Devaiah, who miraculously finds puddles of relevance in Nakuls barren landscape of a personality, the other actors are left at sea thanks to the thin writing. With so little to chew on, most of them feel the need to overcompensate, hamming it up in the hope that the pitch of their performances would distract from the meaninglessness of what theyre saying.

Its a pity (pun fully intended), that the show couldnt make a case for itself, especially after the surprisingly terrific The Family Man and the admittedly interesting premise, but in this competitive environment, it needed to be so much better than it is.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar
WB BJP leaders protest on Parliament premises against rising atrocities against women

India

oi-Mousumi Dash

New Delhi, Feb 07: The West Bengal unit BJP leaders on Friday held a protest on the Parliament premises in Delhi alleging that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has failed to stop crimes against women in the state.

All the senior state BJP leaders, including the Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh and MP Saumitra Khan, were also presented at the protest site near the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex in the national capital.

The state BJP chief added, "Despite being a woman and elected by the people of the state to represent them, Mamata Banerjee has failed to stop the rising crimes against women in the state."

NEWS AT NOON, 7th, FEBRUARY 2020

The leaders raised slogans and held placards that read "Save Democracy."
Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, (C), director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the U.S. Capitol on October 29, 2019 in Washington, DC.

Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a National Security Council staffer whose testimony about President Donald Trump at House impeachment hearings angered the president, was escorted out of the White House on Friday afternoon, his lawyer said.

Trump, "the most powerful man in the world  buoyed by the silent, the pliable and the complicit  has decided to exact revenge," said Vindman's lawyer, David Pressman.

Hours earlier, Trump had said of the Purple Heart recipient Vindman, "I'm not happy with him."

"Do you think I'm supposed to be happy with him?" Trump asked reporters. "I'm not."

NBC News, citing a source familiar with the situation, reported later Friday that Yevgeny Vindman, Alexander's twin brother who like him worked at the NSC as an attorney, was also escorted out of the White House. Yevgeny was not a witness at the House impeachment hearings.

Following Vindman's ejection from the White House, Pressman said, "There is no question in the mind of any American why this man's job is over, why this country now has one less soldier serving it at the White House."

"Vindman was asked to leave for telling the truth," the attorney said. "His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful."

"The truth has cost LTC Alexander Vindman his job, his career, and his privacy," Pressman said.

"He did what any member of our military is charged with doing every day: he followed orders, he obeyed his oath, and he served his country, even when doing so was fraught with danger and personal peril."
For decades, the photographer Oliviero Toscani helped make Benetton clothing a huge name. He did it with so-called shockvertising: provocative, socially progressive ads that spurred outrage and drew headlines, whether they involved an AIDS patient on his deathbed, Mafia vendettas, horses copulating or two actors depicting a priest and a nun kissing.

But on Thursday, Benetton decided that Mr. Toscani, who had returned in 2017 as the creative director after a hiatus in the early 2000s, had gone too far.

The company fired Mr. Toscani, 77, over comments he made about the 2018 collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, that killed 43 people.

The company and its chairman, Luciano Benetton, completely disassociates itself from Mr. Toscanis remarks, the brand said in statement, while renewing their sincere closeness to the families of the victims and to all those who have been involved in this terrible tragedy.
 Westport Continuing Education is offering staycation camps and workshops for kids and teens in grades K-12. Full and half day options for K-5 camps from Feb. 18-21 include Game Time and Bricks 4 Kidz at Greens Farms Elementary School and Kempo Karate Academy at 374B Post Road E. Kids ages 11-plus can get their American Red Cross Babysitters Certification in one day. Bob Ross Painting, for ages 14-plus, will be offered with a certified Bob Ross instructor at Staples High School. To register, visit www.westportcontinuinged.com or call 203-341-1209.

 Female entrepreneurs Shannon Dery and Jen Sollenne will celebrate the opening of their new salon  Salon 293 East  with a ribbon cutting on Feb. 7 at 4:30 p.m. at 293 Post Road E.

 The Board of Directors of United Way of Coastal Fairfield County has appointed Jeff Kimball, of Westport, as its new president and chief executive officer. Kimball assumes the role from Merle Berke-Schlessel, who retired after 17 years at the helm.

 Westport Community Theatre is producing Our Mothers Brief Affair, by Richard Greenburgh, with Joan Barere, Larry Gabbard, Celine Montaudy and Mark Sank cast in the production. Performances take place from Feb. 7-23, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on Sundays, with a performance on Feb. 13th at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25 ($23 for seniors) and can be purchased at westportcommunitytheatre.com or by calling 203-226-1983.

 The following Westport students were named to the deans list at the University of Rhode Island: Cole Brockwell, Megan Hines, Mary Luciano and Sophie Tricarico.

 The new restaurant at the Westport Inn, Bankside Farms Kitchen & Bar, is officially open. A grand opening event and ribbon cutting ceremony will take place Feb. 12 at 5 p.m.

 Daisy Brackett and Andrew Taets, of Westport, were named to Emerson Colleges deans list for the fall 2019 semester.

 The League of Women Voters of Westport invites the public to an afternoon tea on Feb. 9 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Leagues founding and the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. The free event will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at the Westport Womans Club.

 Tufts University named the following Westport students to the fall 2019 semester deans list: Cecilia Adams, Allie Agnew, Reid Baris, Sevie Browne and Zach Rogers.

 Sarah Duvall and Kevin Xiang, of Westport, graduated from Lehigh University in the fall.

 Elizabeth Mathis and Tyler Wright, of Westport were named to the fall 2019 deans list at Eastern Connecticut State University.

 Zachary Gurahian was named to the fall 2019 deans list at Quinnipiac University.

 The Emmanuel Church in Weston will celebrate its 175th year as a parish on Feb. 8 from noon to 2 p.m. Bishop Ian Douglass will speak on the history of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut. The event kicks off with a performance by the Bridgeport Boys Choir at noon, followed by a lunch of historic winter comfort foods.

 Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of Miracle on South Division Street, a comedy about family, faith, and adjusting to lifes surprises, by Tom Dudzick, on Feb. 24 at 7 p.m. Co-curators and co-directors of the Script in Hand Series are Anne Keefe, Playhouse associate artist, and Mark Shanahan, director, actor and playwright.

Tickets are $20 each. Memberships for the Script in Hand Series are $125 each, and include tickets for all five readings.

 On Feb. 13 at 10:30 a.m., LCB Senior Living, LLC will hold a dedication and groundbreaking celebration for its new premium Independent, Assisted and Memory Care Living community for area seniors at 1141 Post Road E.
Officials with the Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce and Crime Stoppers of Houston released Thursday a list of 10 most wanted suspects accused of animal cruelty in Houston.

The taskforce defines animal cruelty as a wide range of activities that are harmful to animals, such as failing to adequately provide an animal with food, water, shelter or veterinary care and torturing, maiming, mutilating or killing an animal, according to a release. The ten suspects are accused of various animal cruelty crimes such as abandoning animals at private homes and failing to provide animals with necessary medical care that allegedly cost some of the animals their life.

PACT: Animal cruelty is now a federal felony in the U.S.

One of the suspects, Arviah Tolliver-Robinson, is accused of failing to provide a dog medical care that allegedly resulted in the animal's death, Crime Stoppers Director of Victim Services Andy Kahan said in a Thursday press conference. Animal cruelty investigators were called out to Tolliver-Robinson's home in April 2019 in regards to a dog that was tethered. When they arrived on the scene, they found a deceased dog next to a vehicle. Medical exams revealed the dog was suffering from several severe diseases, including lung disease, and had a ruptured mass that was so badly infected it contained live maggots, Kahan said.

Another top 10 suspect, Trishawn Patrice Garcia, is wanted by police for a cruelty to non-livestock animals charge and is accused of failing to provide medical care for a paralyzed dog. Investigators were called to Garcia's home in June 2019 in regard to a dog that was unable to use its back legs. When investigators arrived on the scene, they found the dog, named Prince, underneath the trailer home. The dog had severe wounds from dragging his hind legs, had a severe skin infection and was heartworm positive. Prince later had to be euthanized because his injuries were so severe, Kahan said.

ON HOUSTON CHRONICLE.COM: Grant will help Houston SPCA fund animal cruelty investigations in Montgomery County

"These are our top ten fugitives that we are currently asking help from the public who are our eyes and ears out there," Kahan said. "We know somebody knows where these people are...It's time for you to take a stand and send a message out that we as a society are not going to tolerate animal cruelty and you will be prosecuted because animal cruelty is a crime."

This month marks two years since the taskforce's inception. Harris County Precinct 5 Constable Ted Heap said during the press conference that from 2018 to 2019, animal cruelty cases have increased. In 2018, the taskforce responded to more than 4,300 calls of animal cruelty, abuse, neglect and abandonment that resulted in more than 10,000 animal investigations and 174 charges. In 2019 the taskforce saw more than 4,315 reports that resulted in more than 1,200 animals rescued from situations that "would have resulted in their death," Heap said.

"You can see from the ten examples...the need for the task force, the need for the taskforce to continue [and] for its creation," Heap said.

To report animal cruelty or provide a tip on a suspect, contact the taskforce hotline at 832-927-PAWS or submit an online intake form at www.927PAWS.org. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS(8477).

Do you recognize these 10 suspects? Click through the photos above for a look at the 10 wanted suspects accused of animal cruelty in Houston...

Rebecca Hennes covers community news. Read her on our breaking news site, Chron.com, and on our subscriber site, houstonchronicle.com. | rebecca.hennes@chron.com
Making a scathing attack on the Central government, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac on Friday said the BJP-led NDA government was "strangulating" the southern state by denying funds.

Presenting the 2020-21 budget of the Pinarayi Vijayan led-LDF government, he alleged the centre has been "helping" corporates rather that the common man.

"The Centre has been strangulating Kerala by denying funds for the state and has been moving on a self-destructive path by corporate-friendly policies and privatisation. The GST implementation has not been beneficial for the state," he said.

In the budget, Issac set aside Rs 1,000 crore for coastal area development, Rs 1,500 crore for the public works department, Rs 1,000 crore has been allotted for village road projects and Rs 4,383 crore for drinking water projects in the state.

"The government proposes 2.5 lakh water connections in the upcoming financial year. We will also construct one lakh houses under Life Mission," the finance minister said.

The budget has allocated Rs 90 crore for Pravasi Welfare Fund and the government proposes power projects with a capacity of 500 MW.

"The government proposes Kochi development plan with a fund of Rs 6,000 crore. The city will get an unified travel card and Metro project will be extended," Issac said.

The state government has increased all welfare pension funds by Rs 100, allotted Rs 40 crore to paddy farmers and Rs 10 crore for startups in the state.

The local self-governments have been allotted Rs five crore for waste management, Rs 20 crore has been set apart for 1,000 food stalls under hunger-free Kerala, where meals will be made available at Rs 25.
Dublin, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Investigating & Security Activities Including Vehicle Tracking in South Africa 2019" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



This report on Investigating & Security Activities including vehicle tracking includes comprehensive information on the size and state of the industry, including private security services, vehicle tracking and background screening and verification. It covers relevant regulation and crime information, corporate actions, competition issues and trends.



There are profiles of 36 companies including notable players such as Fidelity and G4S, fleet management companies such as Cartrack, Mix Telematics, Tracker and Netstar and protective services such as Tshedza and TSU.



Investigating & Security Activities Including Vehicle Tracking



The private security sector uses guards and technology to offer protective services to deter, deny, detect or delay the commission of a crime and assist clients to respond effectively to and recover from untoward events. In South Africa private security officers and service providers are required to register with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority, which has over 500,000 security officers and approximately 9,000 security companies signed up.



The private security sector continues to grow as it provides a service not readily available from South Africa's poorly-functioning police force. Apart from the basic commercial and residential armed response service, the industry provides services ranging from special event parking and access control to mounted and dog units and asset protection services during strikes, plant closures and natural disasters.



Tech Developments



Technology is taking on many of the security tasks that used to be assigned to guards, but the number of registered guards is still growing. Technologies that lower costs and increase efficiencies aim to eliminate or at least manage the human element.



Security-related technology includes alarm systems using artificial intelligence to analyse behaviour and recognise anomalies and an internet of things systems that synchronise home automation systems and control lights, gates and air conditioning and provide access for parcel deliveries. Others include GPS-enabled tracking devices in security officers' armbands, portable scanning units and drone guards providing unmanned aerial surveillance.



Key Topics Covered



1. INTRODUCTION



2. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY

2.1. Industry Value Chain

2.2. Geographic Position



3. SIZE OF THE INDUSTRY



4. STATE OF THE INDUSTRY

4.1. Local

4.1.1. Private Security Services

4.1.2. Vehicle Tracking

4.1.3. Corporate Actions

4.1.4. Regulations

4.1.5. Enterprise Development and Social Economic Development

4.2. Continental

4.3. International



5. INFLUENCING FACTORS

5.1. Private Security Industry Regulation Amendment Bill and Regulations

5.2. Non-compliance with Psira Requirements

5.3. Crime Rate

5.4. Partnership Policing

5.5. Economic Environment

5.6. Rising Operating Costs

5.7. Labour

5.8. Research and Development, Technology and Innovation

5.8.1. Cyclicality

5.9. Environmental Issues

5.10. Electricity Supply Constraints



6. COMPETITION

6.1. Barriers to Entry



7. SWOT ANALYSIS



8. OUTLOOK



9. INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS



10. REFERENCES

10.1. Publications

10.2. Websites



Company Profiles



Stallion Security (Pty) Ltd

S B V Services (Pty) Ltd

Fidelity Services Group (Pty) Ltd

Excellerate Services (Pty) Ltd

G4S Secure Solutions (SA) (Pty) Ltd

National Security and Fire (Pty) Ltd

Top Security (Pty) Ltd

Bidvest Protea Coin (Pty) Ltd

G4S Cash Solutions (SA) (Pty) Ltd

Arcfyre International (Pty) Ltd

Computer Security and Forensic Solutions (Pty) Ltd

Guardian Forensic Services CC

Muvoni Technology Group Ltd

Servest (Pty) Ltd

A M G Security Management (Pty) Ltd

Brinks Armoured Security Services (Pty) Ltd

Netstar (Pty) Ltd

C-Track (SA) (Pty) Ltd

Tracker Connect (Pty) Ltd

GPS Tracking Solutions (Pty) Ltd

MiX Telematics Africa (Pty) Ltd

Afri Guard (Pty) Ltd

Izikathi Security (Pty) Ltd

Tshedza Protective Services CC

Managed Integrity Evaluation (Pty) Ltd

iFacts (Pty) Ltd

Transcash (Pty) Ltd

Cartrack Holdings Ltd

Blue Light Monitoring and Armed Response (Pty) Ltd

iMvula Quality Protection (Africa) (Pty) Ltd

Performanta Technologies (Pty) Ltd

Thorburn Security Solutions (Pty) Ltd

CSG Holdings Ltd

Securitas SA Holdings (Pty) Ltd

TSU Protection Services (Pty) Ltd

Polygraph Guys (Pty) Ltd (The)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/1wqgj7

Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research.
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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Fri, February 7, 2020 18:13 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206333cb7 1 Business imports,garlic,coronavirus,price,Medan,China Free

Over the past week North Sumatra residents have seen a skyrocketing rise in the price of garlic, a staple ingredient in Indonesia, as supplies run short with some believing the shortage is a result of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak in China.

The price currently stands at Rp 52,000 (US$3.81) per kilogram, more than double the usual Rp 25,000 per kg.

Looking at the trend, merchants in the province have expressed their concerns over possible higher prices, if the scarcity continues.

"The lack of stock makes [the garlic] so expensive, said M. Siddik, 40, a merchant at Medan Petisah Market on Friday, adding that the garlic supply mostly came from China.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, which was first detected in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province in China, the markets in the province have seen a decline in supply.

Siddik said that the high prices had caused his sales to decline. However, he had to continue selling the garlic at the current price as he had to pay similar high prices to his distributors.

Read also: Jokowi asks aides to assess coronavirus impact on economy, Indonesia-China trade

Jakson, a garlic seller in the Medan Metropolitan Trade Center, said the price was getting higher every day. He said he was concerned the price would hit Rp 70,000 per kg within the next few days if the supply remained limited.

"If the supply is still disrupted, the price could reach between Rp 60,000 and Rp 70,000 per kg, and maybe even higher, he told The Jakarta Post.

Garlic distributor Utari said she decided to double her supply to 2 tons per day as a strategy to maintain the price.

"The same thing is done by merchants. They stock up on garlic from us because they think tomorrow the price will go up again," Utari said.

According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), North Sumatras garlic imports declined by 58.4 percent to 29.24 million tons last year from 70.41 million tons in 2018. Of the 2018 imports, 70.18 million tons were imported from China, while the rest came from India.

The Trade Ministrys price monitoring team head for North Sumatra, Gunawan Benjamin, the continuous news about the coronavirus had shaken up domestic food prices  especially imported ingredients.

He urged the government to open imports of garlic from other countries to maintain the domestic stock at an affordable price. (eyc)

Topics : imports garlic coronavirus price Medan China
Baguio City (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The highland towns of Atok in Benguet province and Tinglayan in Kalinga have temporarily closed tourist attractions as part of heightened precautions against the novel coronavirus.

The local government of Atok has suspended all tourism activities in the municipality, which is home to a number of flower farms such as the Northern Blossom Flower Farm and Haight's Place, which have been attracting local and foreign tourists.

Atok Mayor Raymundo Sarac ordered the temporary closure of these farms starting February 6 until further notice amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus called 2019-nCoV.

Meanwhile, Tinglayan Mayor Sacrament Gumilab early this week directed all local policemen and barangay officials to put up checkpoints especially in Barangay Buscalan "to ban all tourists from entering the municipality."

Tourists come to the remote village of Buscalan to meet Apo Whang-od, the Philippines' oldest mambabatok or traditional Kalinga tattoo artist. The municipal government of Tinglayan has also set up a task force to prevent the spread of nCoV.

The Department of Health said there is no confirmed case of the novel coronavirus in the Cordillea region, but a total of four people are "under investigation" for possible infection  two from Benguet, and one each from Mountain Province and Baguio City.

READ: How to protect yourself from coronavirus

Baguio, also known as the country's summer capital because of its cold weather, earlier canceled the opening parade of this year's Panagbenga Festival and other crowd-drawing events.

There are now three confirmed cases of the nCov in the Philippines  all of them Chinese visitors. One of them, a 44-year-old man, died due to acute respiratory disease caused by the virus.

People with a history of travel from Wuhan, a Chinese city where the virus originated, and those who had contact with infected people are considered "persons under investigation" especially if they show influenza-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and cold. The Department of Health is awaiting test results of 127 persons under investigation.

The new coronavirus has killed more than 630 people mostly in China and infected more than 31,400 people across 25 countries and territories.
Rajnikanth backs CAA; says NPR is 'very, very essential'

Tamil Superstar Rajnikanth has come out in support of the central legislation, Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying that the Act meant to extend citizenship rights to persecuted refugees from the neighbouring Muslim nations of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, and is no threat to Indian Muslims.

The 69-year-old Rajinikanth also wondered how and why the Citizenship Amendment Act, which is a piece of benevolent legislation, sparked protests across the country. He also wondered how Muslims, who chose to stay back in India following Partition, will be sent out of the country.

Rajinikanth also backed the National Population Register (NPR), saying the drive is very, very essential, and added that the Congress-led government had also done it in the past.

CAA is no threat to Muslims. If they face trouble I will be the first person to raise voice for them, he said while speaking to reporters in Chennai.

He alleged that political parties in the country were instigating people against CAA for their selfish interests and also blamed religious leaders for supporting protests against the law and dubbed it very wrong.

Those who oppose the amended law say it discriminates against Muslims and accommodating only persecuted non-Muslims violates the secular principles of the Constitution.

The government, on its part, has said that it will help minorities from the three Muslim-dominated countries to get citizenship as they fled to India because of religious persecution.

The superstar had in December last year expressed concern over the violence in various parts of the country over the citizenship act.

Violence and rioting should not become a way to find a solution for any issue. I request the people of India to stay united and vigilant keeping in mind the nations security and welfare, he said in a tweet.
A model is seeking donations for 'extra spending money' during a trip to the United States to see her long-distance boyfriend.

Leah Pao, 29, met the 'love of her life', Sammy Abu-hijab, 26, in October while he was on a working visa in New Zealand.

But the San Francisco man was forced to fly home when his visa expired on January 31.

Now, the Auckland woman is raising funds to go towards 'cute couple stuff' when she flies north to visit him for a month in May.

Leah Pao, 29, (pictured) is asking for extra spending money to do 'couple stuff', like dining at restaurants and shopping, while on a trip in the U.S to see her long-distance boyfriend

'This money is just to make my trip extra bomb, it'll just make everything more amazing,' she told Stuff.

'I'm not pretending this is going to some holy organisation, it's literally just extra spending money for me and my man to have fun.'

Ms Pao said the couple were 'inseparable' over summer and have plans to visit restaurants and beaches in San Francisco, road trip to Texas, and go to Miami music festival Rolling Loud.

In three days, her Givealittle page has raised $369 of her $2000 goal.

The Kiwi said men from her country 'just don't cut it' and she was attracted to Abu-hijab, a massage therapist, because he is American.

She said: 'International men are more worldly and less closed-minded. I've had three serious relationships and they've all been with Americans.

The Auclkland woman met Sammy Abu-hijab, 26, (pictured together) while he was on a working visa in New Zealand

The retail manager has documented the couple's love story over Instagram with her 7200 plus followers and said donors will be able to keep up with her trip online.

'If you wanna get in on the fun, yall can literally share our journey w us via my Instagram,' she wrote on her fundraiser page.

'It will go towards cute couple stuff aka turning up, food, flights if we wanted to randomly go on a trip, shopping, touristy tingz etc.

'Im going to save up my own money, but the crowdfund money will DEF help out heaps. Itll make our trip even more litty!'

Abu-hijab intends to relocate to New Zealand on a partnership visa in October.

In 2018, Ms Pao featured in New Zealand Fashion Week dressed by Miromoda, an indigenous Maori fashion brand, and was one of only three models with a Polynesian background.
Enrique Salanic, an award-winning Guatemalan actor, could not attend his film premiere in New York City, according to a published report in We Are Mitu.

Enrique Salanic was about to make his U.S. theatrical premiere in Los Angeles and New York in his award-winning film 'Jose.' However, due to the U.S. travel restrictions, the leading actor won't be able to enter the United States for the film release.

The film is directed by Chinese-born American filmmaker Li Cheng who has won several awards internationally. He won during the international film festival in 2018-2019 and that includes the prestigious Queer Lion award in which he won during the 75th Venice Film Festival.

Enrique Salanic is a fast-rising actor who was educated in the United States and earned exemplary reviews for his performance during the Venice 2018 premiere. He played an impoverished 19-year-old gay man who lives with his mother and falls in love for the first time.

Latin America and Guatemala are conservative countries and strictly follow Catholic traditions and Evangelical Christian religious values.

The twist of the film started when he met a migrant man from Carribean Coast whom he fell in love with. This led Jose to rethink his restrained life as he contemplates the drastic change that requires a leap of faith in which he is reluctant to take.

Enrique Salanic has traveled and attended the Lido and other festivals in Spain and Panama in support of the film, however, it seems that the U.S. appears to be a step too far. It was found that the U.S. embassy has rejected his application visa twice.

The U.S. embassy in the Central American country has rejected his application for a non-immigrant visa. According to the embassy, Salanic could be a flight risk to enter the United States because he does not have a residence in Guatemala though he lives with his parents in the country.

The premiere of his film in the United States should have been celebratory for him and the entire cast. However, instead of celebrating success in his debut appearance it has become a nightmare.

According to Paul Hudson, head of the film's U.S. distributor, Salanic's first applied for a non-immigrant visa in November, but was denied. The embassy again argued that his application was denied as he could be a flight risk if he were to enter the U.S.

Meanwhile, Hudson asked for help from Congressman Ted Lieu who wrote a letter on behalf of the young actor to the embassy, but that too was denied. In a copy from the embassy's original letter as a response to Salanic's application, it was written that the non-immigrant visa applicant must have a residence in a foreign country and that the applicant does not have any intention of abandoning it.

Paul Hudson told The Wrap: "Denying Enrique Salanic his entry visa to promote his work in a film produced, financed and distributed by American citizens and companies represents just one way in which the current administration's immigration rules impact U.S. businesses, and it perpetuates the negative impression the world has of America. Denying entry to a man who has already successfully studied in the U.S. just because he is from Guatemala is unjust and cruel."

Robert Rosenberg of Outsider Pictures also said: "It broke my heart that such a talented young actor like Enrique, who is the star of our movie, is being thwarted in pursuing his career by our government in the U.S. Our policies should encourage this kind of ambition and success, not trap Central Americans in their countries as if they were less than human."

The director of the film also discussed the relevance of the film and said: "' Jose' is a page ripped from today's news headlines. The crises of young people, single mothers and dark-skinned peoples in Guatemala frames the film's story. Guatemala has become an increasingly violent and dangerous place, where more than half the people live in poverty. Indeed most of the children separated from their parents and locked in dog-like cages in Texas (shocking people around the world) are Guatemalan, not Mexican, as is often claimed."
An international team of entomologists has conducted a survey of experts from diverse geographic regions to identify the most prominent perceived threats to firefly population and species persistence. Habitat loss, light pollution, and pesticide use were regarded as the most serious threats, although rankings differed substantially across regions.

Since their evolutionary origin some 297 million years ago, beetles have been highly successful; they represent 38% of known insect species. Fireflies rank among the most charismatic beetles, with distinctive bioluminescent courtship displays that make them a potential flagship group for insect conservation.

With more than 2,000 species worldwide, fireflies exhibit surprisingly diverse life history traits, including nonluminous adults with daytime activity periods, glowworm fireflies with flightless females, and lightning bugs that exchange species-specific flash signals.

Fireflies also inhabit ecologically diverse habitats, including wetlands, grasslands, forests, agricultural fields, and urban parks.

Their predaceous larvae, which can be aquatic, semiaquatic, or terrestrial, spend months to years feeding on snails, earthworms, and other soft-bodied prey. In contrast, firefly adults are typically short lived and do not feed.

Fireflies are economically important in many countries, because they represent a growing ecotourist attraction. However, as is true for many invertebrates, fireflies have been largely neglected in global conservation efforts.

To better understand what threats are faced by fireflies, Tufts Universitys Professor Sara Lewis and colleagues surveyed firefly experts around the world to size up the most prominent threats to survival for their local species.

Lots of wildlife species are declining because their habitat is shrinking, so it wasnt a huge surprise that habitat loss was considered the biggest threat, Professor Lewis said.

Some fireflies get hit especially hard when their habitat disappears because they need special conditions to complete their life cycle.

For instance, one Malaysian firefly (Pteroptyx tener), famous for its synchronized flash displays, is a mangrove specialist.

One surprising result that emerged from the survey was that, globally, light pollution was regarded as the second most serious threat to fireflies.

In addition to disrupting natural biorhythms  including our own  light pollution really messes up firefly mating rituals, said Avalon Owens, a Ph.D. candidate at Tufts University.

Many fireflies rely on bioluminescence to find and attract their mates, and previous work has shown that too much artificial light can interfere with these courtship exchanges. Switching to energy efficient, overly bright LEDs is not helping.

Firefly experts viewed the widespread agricultural use of pesticides as another key threat to firefly survival.

Most insecticide exposure occurs during larval stages, because juvenile fireflies spend up to two years living below ground or under water. Insecticides such as organophosphates and neonicotinoids are designed to kill pests, yet they also have off-target effects on beneficial insects.

While more research is needed, the evidence shows that many commonly used insecticides are harmful to fireflies.

A few studies have quantified firefly population declines, such as those seen in the tourist-attracting synchronous fireflies of Malaysia, and the glowworm Lampyris noctiluca in England. And numerous anecdotal reports suggest that many other firefly species across a wide range of habitats have also suffered recent declines.

The researchers also highlight risk factors that allow them to predict which species will be most vulnerable when faced with threats like habitat loss or light pollution.

For instance, females of the Appalachian blue ghost firefly (Phausis reticulata) are flightless.

So when their habitat disappears, they cant just pick up and move somewhere else, said Tufts Universitys Professor J. Michael Reed.

Here in the U.S., were fortunate to have some robust species like the Big Dipper fireflies (Photinus pyralis), Professor Lewis said.

Those guys can survive pretty much anywhere- and theyre beautiful, too.

By illuminating these threats and evaluating the conservation status of firefly species around the world, scientists aim to preserve the magical lights of fireflies for future generations to enjoy.

Our goal is to make this knowledge available for land managers, policy makers, and firefly fans everywhere, said Dr. Sonny Wong, of the Malaysian Nature Society.

We want to keep fireflies lighting up our nights for a long, long time.

The report was published in the journal BioScience.

_____

Sara M. Lewis et al. A Global Perspective on Firefly Extinction Threats. BioScience, published online February 3, 2020; doi: 10.1093/biosci/biz157
A: Theres so much great consumer insight and information. People want to share things, whether its Twitter, or Instagram or whatever channel. Were able to kind of say, OK, wheres the conversation going? And what are people talking about? And we get consumer data from people too. Like, people call us directly all the time and give us their thoughts. But yeah, for sure, we can go back and look through and see where theres heat around our brands.
United Nations  Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) poses serious risks to the health and well-being of women and girls, but it also exacts a crippling economic toll, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

New modelling by the UN agency to coincide with the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, marked on Thursday, reveals that the cost of treating the total health impacts of FGM would amount to $1.4 billion globally per year.

The figure sees individual countries devoting nearly 10 per cent of their yearly expenditure to treat FGM; for some countries, it could be as high as 30 per cent.

"FGM is not only a catastrophic abuse of human rights that significantly harms the physical and mental health of millions of girls and women; it is also a drain on a country's vital economic resources", said Dr Ian Askew, Director of WHO's Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research.

"More investment is urgently needed to stop FGM and end the suffering it inflicts."

FGM a 'manifestation of gender inequality': UN chief

Female genital mutilation is a blatant manifestation of gender inequality, said UN chief Antonio Guterres, in his message to mark the International Day, noting that it was "deeply entrenched in social, economic and political structures. It is also a human rights violation and an extreme form of violence against girls."

He applaued the focus on the Day on the power of young people to make their voices heard: "We must amplify those voices and help them to advocate for change and for their rights. Together, we can eliminate female genital mutilation by 2030. Doing so will have a positive ripple effect on the health, education and economic advancement of girls and women."

More than 200 million affected

It is estimated that more than 200 million women and girls today have undergone FGM, which involves altering or injuring female genital organs for cultural or non-medical reasons.

The procedure is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and 15-years-old, and the impacts on their health and well-being can be immediate--from infections, bleeding, or psychological trauma--to chronic health conditions that can occur throughout life.

Women subjected to FGM are also more likely to suffer life-threatening complications during childbirth, and to experience pain or problems when they menstruate, urinate or have sex.

Medicalized FGM on the rise

The UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) further reports that around a quarter of FGM survivors, or roughly 52 million women and girls, were cut by health care providers. The death of a 12-year-old girl in Egypt last month highlighted the dangers of medicalized FGM.

Although the Egyptian authorities banned FGM in 2008, it is still common there and in Sudan, according to UNICEF.

Agency analysis indicates that medicalized FGM is increasing due to the misguided belief that the dangers of FGM are medical, rather than a fundamental violation of a girl's rights.

"Doctor-sanctioned mutilation is still mutilation. Trained health-care professionals who perform FGM violate girls' fundamental rights, physical integrity and health," said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore.

"Medicalizing the practice does not make it safe, moral, or defensible."

Abandoning FGM is possible

The trend toward medicalized FGM comes as opposition to the practice continues to grow.

Since 1997, global efforts have led to 26 countries in Africa and the Middle East enacting legislation against FGM, while 33 other countries with migrant populations from nations where it is practiced have also followed suit.

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UNICEF also found that the proportion of girls and women in high-prevalence countries who want FGM stopped has doubled over the past two decades.

"We are making progress. Attitudes are changing. Behaviors are changing. And overall fewer girls are getting cut," said Ms. Fore, the agency's chief.

Dr. Christina Pallitto, a scientist at WHO, added that many countries and communities are showing that abandoning FGM is possible.

"If countries invest to end female genital mutilation, they can prevent their girls from undergoing this harmful practice and promote the health, rights and well-being of women and girls," she stated.

This story was originally published by UN News
A man in Nevada has been charged with murder after cops discovered a body stuffed inside a suitcase at the home where another woman says she was sexually assaulted after being kidnapped.

Morgan Amaya, 22, was found dead at the Las Vegas home from a gunshot wound to her head, the Clark County coroner's office said.

Police made the discovery after a woman approached court marshals at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas and alleged she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by 55-year-old Gary Walker.

Walker had reportedly been attending the court with the woman.

She reportedly told detectives that the suspect had killed another woman at the home, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Walker was detained, and police raided his home and discovered Amaya's body inside a suitcase.

He was later arrested on charges of murder, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and sexual assault.

Morgan Amaya was found dead at the Las Vegas home. Amaya, who has a one-year-old daughter, was killed by a gunshot wound to her head

The 22-year-old was described 'as a loving and caring person' who was struggling to battle a drug addiction

Nicole Marie, Amaya's sister-in-law, told News 3 that she had been trying to fight a drug addiction and take custody of her one-year-old daughter.

She said Amaya had recently separated from her husband and she had thought Walker was a friend who was letting her stay with him.

Gary Walker is being held on charges of murder - and the sexual assault and kidnap of another woman

'She was a loving and caring person. We were family,' she said. 'I'm mad. I'm sad. She deserved way better.'

'Homicide detectives responded to the residence where a deceased female was found in a suitcase,' the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement Thursday.

Walker attended court on Thursday, where prosecutors alleged that he murdered one woman and raped another multiple times.

They recommended that Walker be detained without bail while his case goes through court, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

The defense requested high-level monitoring, saying that Walker has lived in Nevada and kept a job for six years.

Amaya's was said to have recently separated from her husband and was trying to take custody of her young daughter

Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure said Walker has seven felony convictions  including one of escape  and 14 misdemeanor convictions in other states. He denied the request for high-level monitoring, and detained Walker without bail.

Walker is scheduled to appear again in court on Monday morning.
SARATOGA SPRINGS  An ice storm snapped tree limbs and brought down power lines Friday, leaving around 88,000 customers without electrical service as night fell along a swath of eastern upstate New York stretching from the Capital Region into the Adirondack Mountains.

Strong winds snapped branches already weighed down by ice and snow and conditions worsened in the afternoon and evening before the storm moved on, leaving in its wake powerful winds that brought down more limbs and power lines.

The ice and snow were being blamed for countless car crashes including a 10:40 a.m. accident on Route 30 in Mayfield that left one driver dead.

Travel trouble from the weather was not limited to the eastern part of the state. The Thruway Authority imposed a 45-mph speed limit between Exit 29A in Little Falls and Exit 45 near Rochester.

The storm left thousands without power as upstate heads into a weekend deep freeze that could see parts of the Adirondacks hitting the single digits Friday night and Saturday morning. It will be slightly warmer in the Capital Region where meteorologists predict daytime temperatures will be in the 20s on Saturday.

A spokesman for National Grid said repair crews from around the state were being dispatched to replace broken wires and restore service. There was no estimate for when the work would be completed.

"The combination of ice and wind is never a good one," National Grid spokesman David Bertola said. He placed outages at around 80,000. Another 8,000 customers of NYSEG in Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Washington counties also were affected, officials said.

Ice began coating trees and wires overnight, but the outages did not begin until late Friday morning. Tree limbs snapped with a startling sound, each crack announcing another limb down and the potential for another house without lights.

Outages were initially reported in just a few pockets of Saratoga and Washington counties. But the damage quickly spread across those counties as well as Warren and Essex counties, leaving few communities in the region untouched. , and extended south into Albany County as the day went

Troopers said the deadly crash in Mayfield occurred when the victim's car collided with a tractor-trailer. State Police have not disclosed the identity of the driver.

The state had not issued travel restrictions in the Capital Region, but Trooper Kerra Burns, a State Police spokeswoman based in Colonie, said motorists should be cautious.

"Everything is kind of a mess," she said. "... Use your best judgment. It's icy out."

Sign up for our weather newsletter to be ready for winter weather

Much of Saratoga Springs was without power throughout the day.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Richard Frank was happy the generator turned on when an outage left his business, Four Seasons Natural Foods Cafe on Phila Street, and a number of other businesses in the city's Broadway corridor without power.

"It looks like a good half the town is out," he said.

Despite the weather and the need for back-up power to keep the place open, Frank said the cafe had a busy lunch crowd.

Much of the Capital Region is under a winter weather advisory.

In anticipation of the storm, school districts throughout the area hit hardest by the ice canceled classes on Friday. Saratoga Springs sent students home early.

Districts in Rensselaer, Albany, and Schenectady counties were canceling after school programs.

At Albany International Airport, flightstats.com reported at least 10 departures were canceled on Friday and another 16 were delayed.

CHECK THE LIST OF CLOSINGS

Robert Gavin contributed.
The White House confirmed in a statement on Thursday that an operation in Yemen killed Qassim al-Rimi, co-founder and leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Why it matters: Reports of Rimi's death via an airstrike circulated last weekend, but President Trump did not directly confirm the event. Al-Rimi had been a U.S. target for years, per the Washington Post, and was a deputy to standing al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Rimi also claimed responsibility for the 2019 shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, wherein three American soldiers were killed, AP reports.

What they're saying: "Under Rimi, AQAP committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and sought to conduct and inspire numerous attacks against the United States and our forces," per the White House statement.

"His death further degrades AQAP and the global al-Qa'ida movement, and it brings us closer to eliminating the threats these groups pose to our national security. The United States, our interests, and out allies are safer as a result of his death."

Go deeper: Trump's foreign policy of unwelcome surprises
By Trend





The Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia jointly with CBA Kaizen organized a conference in Tbilisi on the investment climate of Turkmenistan, Trend reports referring to the Turkmen Foreign Ministry.

An exchange of views took place on the development of the transport and logistics system of Turkmenistan, in particular along the Lapis Lazuli, the Caspian Sea - Black Sea transport corridors, and other projects.

The event was attended by representatives of ministries and branch departments, representatives of banking institutions, transport, logistics companies, French-Georgian and British-Georgian chambers of commerce and industry, and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation.

The unique nature of the economic development and investment climate of Turkmenistan was noted at the conference.

Turkmenistan is initiating a number of large international projects, including the Lapis Lazuli transport corridor along Afghanistan-Turkmenistan-Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey transport corridor.

The agreement on transit and transport cooperation Lapis Lazuli between Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Turkmenistan was signed on Nov. 15, 2017 at the ministerial meeting of the 7th Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan in Ashgabat.

According to the Lapis Lazuli project, railways and highways should connect the Afghan Turgundi city of Herat province with Ashgabat, then with the Caspian Turkmenbashi port. The corridor will extended to Baku, then through Tbilisi to Ankara with links to Poti and Batumi cities, then from Ankara to Istanbul. The project budget, which aims to facilitate transit logistics and simplify customs procedures, is estimated at $2 billion.
By Peter Nurse

Investing.com - Oil prices traded lower Friday, as doubts remained about the extent and timing of future production cuts from major producers, while concerns about demand continued to mount.

By 9:43 AM ET (1443 GMT), U.S. crude futures were 1.4% lower at $50.24 a barrel, down around 4% on the week. Futures in U.K. Brent, the global crude benchmark, were 0.9% lower at $54.42 a barrel, over 4% lower this week, and set for the longest streak of weekly drops since November 2018.

A committee of technical experts from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, recommended Thursday a production cut of 600,000 barrels a day. This would likely be on top of the existing 1.7 million b/d output cut accord that began in January and expires at the end of March.

But Russia asked for more time to assess the impact of the outbreak.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has since said his country supports the recommendation from the Joint Technical Committee to deepen OPEC+ global oil supply curbs, but didnt mention by how much.

The recommendation from the JTC is just a recommendation, said analysts at ING, in a research note. Russia still needs to be convinced but reportedly will make a decision in the coming days. Furthermore, any deal would need to be voted on by OPEC+ ministers, and up until now a new date for the extraordinary meeting has not been agreed. So as things stand, OPEC+ are still set to only meet in early March.

That said, cuts of this magnitude would be more than enough for the market, assuming the demand impact from the virus is in line with OPECs internal estimate, ING added.

OPECs own analysis indicates a drop of around 400,000 barrels a day for about six months, an average of 200,000 barrels for the year.

This is at the low end of recent estimates. For example, BP (LON:BP) stated that the coronavirus could cut demand by up to 500,000 barrels a day over the year.

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And the downgrades for the regions growth estimates continue to mount.

On Friday, S&P Global Ratings cut its Chinese 2020 growth forecast to 5%, down from 5.7%, saying the impact of the coronavirus outbreak could take a heavy short-term toll.

Singapore's biggest bank DBS on Friday downgraded its forecast for the city-state's 2020 growth rate to 0.9% from 1.4% previously, while Australias central bank said the virus could shave 0.2 percentage points off his country's economic growth in the current quarter.

Elsewhere, anecdotal reports suggested that Asian prices for liquefied natural gas had fallen to new all-time lows in the wake of Chinese state-owned oil and gas companies declaring force majeure on LNG contracts to avoid taking delivery of spot cargoes. Natural Gas Futures bounced, modestly but remained near historic lows at $1.89.

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Apple has been fined 25 million ($27.3 million) by Frances Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) for intentionally slowing down older iPhones.

Towards the end of 2017, it was discovered that Apple was slowing down older iPhones. After being caught, the company acknowledged that it was doing this intentionally as a part of the power management feature built into iOS. This led to Apple receiving quite a bit of criticism and made the company the subject of a lot of public class action lawsuits and investigations from government bodies.

The criticism led Apple to announce a discounted battery replacement program for its older iPhones which was available for an entire year. This also led Apple to rework the power management on its newer iPhones.

The DGCCRF started investigating Apple for its behavior in 2018 at the request of the Halt Planned Obsolescence (HOP) association. That investigation has now concluded with Apple paying 25 million in fine to the consumer body. The company will also have to run a banner on its website for the next 30 days in France saying it had to settle its deceptive business behavior by paying a fine to the body.

The National Service of Investigations of the DGCCRF therefore transmitted to the Paris Public Prosecutors Office in 2019 the conclusions of its investigations finding that this lack of consumer information constituted a misleading commercial practice by omission. With the agreement of the public prosecutor, the Apple group  which accepted it  was offered a transaction comprising the payment of the sum of  25 million and the publication, for one month, of a press release on its website.

The French law does not allow for planned obsolescence and a company could be fined as much as 5% of their annual sales for this behavior.

[Via DGCCRF
Mark Cuban is one of the world's most successful entrepreneurs. The 61-year-old owns the Dallas Mavericks, stars on ABC's "Shark Tank" and is worth an estimated $4.1 billion.

His career, though, has had its fair share of lows. In his early 20s, Cuban was too broke to open a bank account and shared a $600-a-month three-bedroom apartment with five other guys. Cuban slept on either the floor or couch.

He even had $82,000 stolen from the first company he started, MicroSolutions.

"I was 24 at the time and we had $84,000 in the bank," he recalls on an episode of the podcast "Pardon My Take." He was young and confident: "We had it all set up. I thought I used everything I learned at Indiana Business School."

According to Cuban, his receptionist at the time didn't send the company's checks to vendors. Instead, she forged the checks using correction fluid and a typewriter: "[She] whites it out, puts her name on it, takes it to the bank, the bank cashes it. So, within one day, we went from having $84,000 in the bank to having $2,000 in the bank."

Cuban went to the bank to try and get his money back, but it was gone.

"It was f----- up," he says, "but the best thing that ever happened to us because it made us get our s--- together. And then that company turned into a $30 million company that turned into another company that turned into streaming that turned into the Mavs."

Sure enough, Cuban sold MicroSolutions to CompuServe for $6 million in 1990, making him a millionaire at 32. A few years later, he co-founded a company called Audionet, which became Broadcast.com. In 1999, it was acquired by Yahoo for $5.7 billion, and Cuban became a billionaire at 40. In January 2000, Cuban paid $285 million for a majority stake in the Dallas Mavericks.
90,000 more Syrian civilians flee over last 4 days

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey the worlds top refugee-hosting country.

Around 90,000 more civilians have left their homes in Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria over the last four days due to attacks by regime forces and their allies.

ASSAD REGIME ATTACKS FORCE CIVILIANS TO LEFT THEIR HOMES

The attacks by Bashar al-Assad regime, Russia and Iran-backed terrorist groups in residential areas of Aleppo and Idlib continue to displace thousands of Syrians.

According to Syria's Response Coordination Group, the displaced civilians headed to areas near the Turkish border due to the attacks that violate the cease-fire agreement between Turkey and Russia.

The civilians, who left their houses due to the attacks, either flee to areas near the Turkish border or take shelter in areas cleared of terrorists by Turkey's anti-terror operations.
Two rail workers were killed and about 30 people injured on Thursday when a high-speed train derailed before dawn near Milan in northern Italy, authorities said. The crash occurred just after 5:30 am (4:30 GMT) near the town of Lodi, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Milan. "It was a serious accident that had a tragic end with the death of two rail workers" aboard the train, Lodi Prefect Marcello Cardona told reporters, who added that an investigation was underway. Cardona said none of the injuries suffered were life-threatening and all casualties had been taken to hospital. The Lombardy region's health department put the number of injured at 31. "It could have been a lot worse," Cardona said, adding that there were only 33 people on board the train. Only one person was in the first car and two people in the second when the accident occurred, he said. While noting that all possible causes were being investigated, Lodi prosecutor Domenico Chiaro said that "the train derailed near a railroad switch that was supposed to be in a position but was not." - 'Really loud roar' - "I thought I was dead," a survivor told local newspaper Liberta from hospital in Piacenza where he was being treated for minor injuries. "I closed my eyes and prayed." "The train was going very fast, perhaps 300 kilometres per hour (around 200 miles per hour)," said the unnamed man in his 20s. "Suddenly, I felt a violent blow. A really loud roar," said the man who was travelling with a friend in the second carriage. "We held hands tightly to avoid falling. The wagon overturned and while waiting for help we went out through a hole to save ourselves," he said, adding that they were stuck on the crashed train for 15 minutes. Two helicopters, hundreds of firemen, police and other authorities descended on the open farmland area outside of Lodi. - Ripped metal - The Milan-Salerno train was en route to Bologna when it came off the tracks before dawn. Video images showed ripped metal at the front of the first car, where the engine separated from the train. The first car was flipped on its side and appeared to be still attached to the rest of the train. The engine car could be seen resting on its side on the other side of a nearby railway building several dozen metres away. According to initial findings reported by the media, the engine went off the rails and struck a freight wagon on a parallel track before hitting the building. Italian media reported that work had been done on the track on Wednesday night, but Cardona said it was premature to jump to conclusions on a link between that work and the accident. "Line maintenance is done continually and it's much too early to associate the accident to maintenance," he said. Dozens of high-speed trains on the north-south route were cancelled following the derailment, while other trains were rerouted, adding an hour to the journey, operator Trenitalia said. Railworker unions said they would stage a strike throughout Italy on Friday from 1100 GMT to 1300 GMT in protest at the "very serious and unacceptable" accident. Italy's last serious train accident occurred in January 2018, when three women died and about 100 passengers were injured when a packed train derailed near Milan due to poor track maintenance. Managers and employees of Italy's state railway, RFI, as well as two former members of the national railway safety agency were charged with negligent homicide and other crimes.
The Birmingham Financial Center has filed a lawsuit against the Birmingham Parking Authority over 105 parking spaces it says it is legally entitled to in its adjoining parking deck on Fifth Avenue North.

In a 12-page lawsuit filed Jan. 29 in the Jefferson County Circuit Court, the center contends that the BPA, which manages Deck 5, is withholding access cards for the parking spaces, claiming no other spaces are available. However, the center ownership says the top floors of Deck 5 are empty during normal business hours on virtually all business days.

Because of this ongoing issue, the suit contends, at least prospective tenant whose proposed lease would have represented substantial revenue decided to lease space elsewhere because the center was unable to obtain access cards from BPA.

The suit asks for a declaratory judgment and damages.

The Financial Center is a 311,000-square-foot office building in downtown Birmingham built in 1982. The 17-story building is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and 20th Street. The property is owned in a partnership among the Daniel Corp. and various private and family office investors.

According to the suit, a 1980 agreement that created the Financial Center included an agreement for 350 parking spaces in Deck 5, for a 40-year term. The agreement was extended for 50 years in 2011 through August of 2051. When the Financial Center was purchased in 2016, the agreement was again confirmed in documents for 350 spaces.

But at the time of the purchase, the lawsuit says BPA had an agreement with the centers former owners, Birmingham Office Investment, for 240 spaces, based on the number of tenants. Over the last two years, the suit says, BPA has said that the ownership waived its right to the other spaces by accepting 240. BPA has provided another five access cards, leaving 105 spaces due, the center ownership says.

The current center ownership says it never agreed to 240 spaces.

According to the lawsuit, the BPA has changed its position repeatedly as to why it will not honor its written agreement and has refused to provide any of its records with respect to parking spaces that it claims it is licensing... The center says BPA would not lose any revenue by handing over access cards to the 105 spaces, since it would pay the standard rate for them, as it is doing with the other 245.

Attempts to contact representatives for the BPA were not immediately successful.
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Linkedin Agustinus Hari (The Jakarta Post) Manado  Fri, February 7, 2020 17:23 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206332968 1 National coronavirus,outbreak,toddler,manado,North-Sulawesi,Wuhan-coronavirus-in-Indonesia Free

The condition of a 2-year-old Chinese toddler who showed several symptoms of the coronavirus has improved after being put in an isolation room in the Prof. Kandou General Hospital in Manado, North Sulawesi.

The boy had been in Manado with his parents since Jan. 21. He was taken to the hospital on Monday after he showed symptoms of the coronavirus.

His health condition is stable and is starting to improve. There are no more complaints, his body temperature remains at a normal range of 36.3 degrees [Celsius] and his cough has begun to improve as well, the hospitals medical services division head Hanry Takasenseran said on Friday.

He, however, could not yet announce whether the toddler had tested positive for the novel coronavirus as he was still waiting for test results from the Health Ministrys research and development center in Jakarta. The hospital previously took two blood samples from the patient.

We are still coordinating whether we have to wait for results of both samples or just one of them to know his condition, Hanry said, adding that both of the toddlers parents were in good condition.

The isolation room in which the toddler was being observed was under strict guard, Hanry went on to say.

He previously stated that the toddler had been experiencing fever and cough for the previous nine days, according to his medical record. The toddler was referred to the hospital by a private hospital in Manado.

Read also: Chinese toddler becomes first suspected Wuhan coronavirus case in Manado

North Sulawesi Health Agency dismissed a rumor on social media that the toddlers family were hiding in the Four Points Hotel in Manado before eventually taking their children to the hospital. Rumor had it that the entire family was infected by the coronavirus. Residents were also told to stay away from the hotel as well as Manado Town Square shopping center, which the family visited.

Its not true that they were hiding here [in the hotel]. They were monitored by travel agents who brought them here, the agency head Debie KR Kalalo said. She also dismissed the report that the entire family was being put under observation in the hospitals isolation room.

Four Point Hotel spokesperson Novrico echoed Debies statement, saying the health condition of the remaining Chinese tourists staying at the hotel had been verified as good.

Debie added that there was no scientific evidence that the novel coronavirus could be spread by airborne transmission, such as through the hospitals air conditioning system. She went on to say that the virus would need respiratory droplets in order to survive.

AFP reported that the official Chinese death toll from the coronavirus outbreak rose on Friday to 636, with the government saying total infections had climbed past 30,000. Indonesia has yet to have any confirmed cases, although an Indonesian domestic worker in Singapore was tested positive for the virus on Tuesday. (syk)
As you might know, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) recently reported its yearly numbers. It looks like the results were a bit of a negative overall. While revenues of US$5.6b were in line with analyst predictions, statutory earnings were less than expected, missing estimates by 3.5% to hit US$12.38 per share. This is an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance in its report, look at what top analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there has been any change to expectations for the business. We thought readers would find it interesting to see analysts' latest (statutory) post-earnings forecasts for next year.

Check out our latest analysis for Chipotle Mexican Grill

NYSE:CMG Past and Future Earnings, February 7th 2020

Taking into account the latest results, the latest consensus from Chipotle Mexican Grill's 30 analysts is for revenues of US$6.30b in 2020, which would reflect a solid 13% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to bounce 47% to US$18.60. In the lead-up to this report, analysts had been modelling revenues of US$6.23b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$18.27 in 2020. So it's pretty clear that, although analysts have updated their estimates, there's been no major change in expectations for the business following the latest results.

It will come as no surprise then, to learn that the consensus price target is largely unchanged at US$928. That's not the only conclusion we can draw from this data however, as some investors also like to consider the spread in estimates when evaluating analyst price targets. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Chipotle Mexican Grill at US$1,050 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$670. As you can see, analysts are not all in agreement on the stock's future, but the range of estimates is still reasonably narrow, which could suggest that the outcome is not totally unpredictable.

Further, we can compare these estimates to past performance, and see how Chipotle Mexican Grill forecasts compare to the wider market's forecast performance. It's clear from the latest estimates that Chipotle Mexican Grill's rate of growth is expected to accelerate meaningfully, with forecast 13% revenue growth noticeably faster than its historical growth of 5.1%p.a. over the past five years. Compare this with other companies in the same market, which are forecast to grow their revenue 7.6% next year. Factoring in the forecast acceleration in revenue, it's pretty clear that Chipotle Mexican Grill is expected to grow much faster than its market.

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The Bottom Line

The most obvious conclusion from these results is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with analysts holding earnings per share steady, in line with previous estimates. Happily, there were no major changes to revenue forecasts, with analysts still expecting the business to grow faster than the wider market. The consensus price target held steady at US$928, with the latest estimates not enough to have an impact on analysts' estimated valuations.

With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Chipotle Mexican Grill. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Chipotle Mexican Grill going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.

We also provide an overview of the Chipotle Mexican Grill Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here.

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.
Out of all the members of the royal family, Prince Charles should always be the first person Queen Elizabeth II could rely on. However, there was this incident when he brought embarrassment to the monarchy -- showing the kind of behavior not befitting a future king.

In the 2017 Channel 4 documentary "The Royal House of Windsor," it was revealed that back in 1999, Prince Charles ignored the Chinese President who was on a state visit to the United Kingdom. Apparently, the Prince of Wales chose not to attend the state dinner held at the Chinese embassy in London.

The said dinner was part of the monarchy's long-standing traditional protocol. Making matters worse for Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II was the guest of honor during the said event.

According to royal reporter Richard Kay, Prince Charles' no-show was a sign of protest against China and a show of support to the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, Dalai Lama.

During that time, protests against China's human rights record were ongoing and its occupation of Tibet, giving the heir to the throne another reason not to attend the engagement.

"By not attending on this occasion, he was not only letting down the monarchy, he was embarrassing his mother," Kay said. "Those who work for the Prince of Wales didn't have an explanation other than that he had an unbreakable arrangement elsewhere."

Queen Elizabeth II Clueless?

What made Prince Charles' gesture even more unjustifiable was the fact that he did not inform the Queen about his absence.

In the same documentary, Kay continued to explain how his attendance could have played a vital role in the said occasion.

"The monarchy was expected to put on a show. We were trying to foster good trading relations with China, and to do that, all parts of the state system have to work smoothly," the royal reporter added.

Moreover, Queen Elizabeth II's arrival served as an indication that Prince Charles would not really show up. According to the protocol, members of the royal family must always arrive in ascending order based on importance -- with Her royal highness obviously coming last.

"And the way that the royals arrive at these banquets, the Queen is the last to arrive, so Charles would have been the second last to get there," Kay further explained.

Since people expected the Prince of Wales to be there, seeing the Queen walk in the room without seeing the heir to the throne shocked everyone and made them realize that something is going on.

Buckingham Palace Reacted!

Upon hearing the news, the Buckingham Palace got furious as the event embarrassed the Queen. They also called out Prince Charles for leaving his duty to the monarchy and violating the custom of the royal family to remain politically neutral.

His no-show to the dinner expressed his political opinion, and he ended up being called as "petulant and selfish" Prince by the senior officials.

"Having a significant figure like the Prince of Wales, the heir in line, signal his disapproval of what's going on in Beijing was damaging in the extreme," Kay went on.

Meanwhile, the Labor government also shared their dismay and saw the Prince's action as a breach of duty.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:53:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Calm has prevailed in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib in the past 16 hours after the Syrian army captured the city of Saraqeb in Idlib countryside, a war monitor reported Friday.

Both the airstrike and the ground artillery shelling have come to a halt for the first time since the military operation started in Idlib and Aleppo countryside 15 days ago, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Britain-based pro-rebel monitor, however, said the battles are still going on between the army and the rebel groups in the southern countryside of Aleppo.

The calm in Idlib comes a day after the army captured the key city of Saraqeb, the second most important city the Syrian army has captured in its efforts to secure the Damascus-Aleppo highway which is the main road connecting southern Syria with the north.

The Observatory says capturing the road is part of the 2018 agreement reached between Russia and Turkey in Russia's resort city of Sochi.
It seems that not a day goes past without news of another company being targeted by cyber-criminals. Although there have been many technological advancements, such as artificial intelligence-enabled tools, to help businesses tackle the growing wave of threats, its still an ongoing battle.

What is making matters worse for businesses is the global cybersecurity talent shortage. A recent report highlighted that the shortfall in cybersecurity professionals will hit 3.5 million  while the cost of cybercrime is expected to reach USD $6 trillion by 2021 for organisations worldwide.

As businesses continue to evolve, adopt cloud, make data accessible anytime anywhere to employees and partners, cyber threats and lack of qualified talent continues to be a burning issue that needs to be addressed.

reuters/representational image

Of course, businesses must invest in training their workforce talent to ensure that they are aware of the latest cyber threats and can do their bit to protect the organisation. Crucially, it also means that businesses need to re-look at how they structure their IT operations, ensuring that they build a team of individuals dedicated to cyber-security.

Rather than trying to find new talent externally in the small (and shrinking) pool of cyber-security experts out there, businesses should look to train their existing members of their IT team, many of whom might embrace the challenge to learn about and specialise in cybersecurity to future-proof their skillset.

Upskilling existing workforce

Developing the organisations existing talent to equip them with the much-needed cybersecurity expertise can often prove more valuable in ensuring that the business is protected rather than hiring new talent.

reuters/representational image

This can start with an assessment to identify the top talent to be reskilled, followed by a comprehensive training platform with ongoing re-training as new technologies, tools  and threats  emerge.

As the threat landscape is always evolving, it's imperative to retrain employees from time to time, not just internally but also give them access to external courses. Yet, 63% organisations are falling behind in providing training to their cybersecurity specialists.

This can be complemented by other initiatives to find and inspire new team members to join the ranks of cybersecurity experts and further boost in-house talent.

reuters/representational image

Recruiting talent from operations, compliance or networking, offers a sustainable solution, as they are already aware of the offering of the business, and can help bridge the gap between the cybersecurity team and the rest of the business.

Creating a cybersecurity ecosystem with industry academia partnerships

Building cybersecurity skills and capabilities by collaborating with the wider business ecosystem and industry is another approach that organisations should consider. One way to accomplish this is by incorporating cybersecurity training into services that businesses  such as ours  offer to their customers.

Industry academia partnerships is another route that has tremendous potential in this field which is both relatively new, evolving and promises growth potential. Businesses can equally benefit from specialised projects, hands on trainings, research groups and collaborations that can prove vital in the collective fight against cyber-crime.

reuters/representational image

At Tata Communications, we have, partnered with Tamil Nadu-based SASTRA University to establish a cybersecurity lab at the university, wherein students are trained on the basics of cyber security, are mentored by a diverse pool of industry experts and get opportunities to work on live projects through internships.

The result? A 360-degree exposure to the world of cybersecurity, which gives students a solid understanding of the sector and can inspire many to pursue this as a career path.

Furthermore, they enter the industry with an understanding of how businesses operate and best practices for safeguarding businesses Through similar such partnerships, Tata Communications is helping universities across the globe address cybersecurity challenges and nurture the talent of the future.

Tapping into emerging technologies

Artificial Intelligence and automation tools can help reduce the burden on the existing cyber security team. Every organisation needs to have a cybersecurity strategy that strikes the right balance between human and machine.

reuters/representational image

Incorporating automation into a security monitoring practise, across network and end point devices, can help save valuable time to detect and respond to threats while allowing experts to focus on issue resolution. This will also increase the effectiveness and efficiency of employees, empowering them to perform better in their roles.

This can be further complemented by the expertise of Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs) with services such as those performed by an advanced security operations centre.

At the end of the day, as the shortage of cybersecurity talent shows no signs of stopping, organisations need to explore new ways - upskilling their existing workforce and leveraging the cutting-edge tools and the expertise of specialist service providers - to ensure they are protected against cyberthreats which are growing in volume and complexity.
Minister of Internal Affairs Le Vinh Tan talks about Party and State policies to attract and utilise talents in the public sector.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has been assigned to set up a national strategy to attract and utilise local talents, while the Government has approved policies to attract top graduates and young scientists. How have these policies been implemented?

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has asked related agencies to implement Decree 140 and set up plans to draw excellent graduates and young scientists who meet the criteria to work at State agencies. This process must ensure openness, transparency and competitiveness following the requirements of the Politburo.

A number of ministries and State agencies at central and local levels have recruited excellent graduates and young scientists such as the Central Organisation Commission, Ministry of Finance and peoples committees in Bac Lieu, Quang Tri, Quang Ngai provinces.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs will follow and report the policy implementations progress to authorised agencies.

Localities have been given instructions on how to implement the policy, but progress has been slow. Why?

Attracting talents and creating favourable conditions for them to grow is very important.

However, a number of ministries, sectors and localities seem to lack the determination to implement these policies to create conditions for talented people to demonstrate their abilities.

Over the years, we have inspected personnel development at most ministries, sectors and localities and found no cases of people being appointed to positions in the Government and Party by illicit means.

Developing a contingent of officials at a strategic level as stated in Decree No 26-NQ/TW needs a series of strict processes. I think it would be very difficult to find a loophole to get a job by illicit means.

What positions need to be focused on to attract people to the public sector in order to make the best use of their talents?

According to the Government, we need mechanisms and policies to discover, attract and foster talents focusing on spearhead sectors to serve rapid and sustainable development. They include the economy, politics, socio-culture and science-technology.

Building mechanisms for sustainable development and developing a high-quality workforce are the two focuses.

Natural resources are limited but effective mechanisms and a quality workforce have endless potential.

Experience from developed countries including our neighbours like South Korea, Japan and Singapore show that priorities must be granted to sound mechanisms and quality human resources.

We must draw experience from developed countries in order to foster human resources, finance and science-technology to meet the sustainable growth demand of our country.

Criteria to attract talents are needed, but there are no detailed documents regulating this area. What solutions will the Ministry of Internal Affairs propose to address this shortcoming?

It is very difficult to assess people so it is not easy to form official criteria to define talented workers.

The Government has ordered State agencies to focus on three policies: discovering talents, attracting talents making use of them in spearhead sectors for rapid and sustainable development.

The current shortcomings also hinder the attraction and making use of talents. Policy enforcement will be the solution to address these drawbacks. VNS

How should state companies hire and use foreign talent? Vietnam needs talents to build an economy with modern corporate governance, but problems remain at the state level.
A section of scaffolding at the Four Seasons Hotel construction site in New Orleans collapsed onto at least a dozen cars on Feb. 5, leaving one person injured, as thunderstorms and high winds moved through the area.

The scaffolding was part of a pedestrian walkway alongside the construction, news outlets quoted New Orleans Homeland Security Director Collin Arnold as saying. One person was taken from the site and hospitalized with minor injuries, said New Orleans emergency services personnel.

High winds also shattered two revolving doors at office buildings in the Central Business District. Video shows the doors turning then the glass shattering. No injuries were reported.

The Times-Picayune/ The New Orleans Advocate reported pea-sized hail was seen in the Central Business District. The National Weather Service advised people to stay inside until the storms passed.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Training Development
The BJP had won three seats and the Congress was not able to retain even a single constirtuency despite being in power for 15 consecutive years.

New Delhi: The high-voltage campaigning for the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections ended at 6 pm on Thursday with an aggressive blitzkrieg between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP, and the Congress leaving no stone unturned to make it a triangular contest. While the entire AAP leadership hit the ground, centring the campaign around the five years of work done by the Arvind Kejriwal government, the controversial slogan of shooting dead traitors were chanted again by BJP supporters at Union home minister Amit Shahs roadshow in Hari Nagar. Targeting both the BJP and the AAP for not fulfilling their electoral promises, the Congress claimed that it would again spring a surprise like it did in the Assembly elections in neighbouring Haryana last year.

Soon after the campaigning came to an end, the AAP formed 272 teams in all the municipal wards of the city to keep a tight vigil after it received inputs that money and liquor were allegedly being distributed in some areas. AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the party had filed a complaint with the Election Commission after some reports of many BJP MPs staying at different Assembly constituencies started doing the rounds.

With the slogan, Achhe beetay 5 saal, lage raho Kejriwal, which also formed the peg of the AAP campaign song, party candidates tried to impress upon voters that considering the work of their government in the fields of utilities, health and education, there was no better option other than to elect Arvind Kejriwal again as chief minister of Delhi. Mr Kejriwal also reiterated that the development seen so far was only a work in progress, and needed to be carried forward.

The BJP, which has put its full might to return to power in the city after 22 years, ended the campaign by appealing to voters to vote for the countrys security and good governance. Exuding confidence, Mr Shah, who led the partys campaign from the front, claimed the BJP was going to form the state government by winning more than 45 seats. In 2015, the AAP had swept the polls by winning 67 of the Assemblys 70 seats. The BJP had won three seats and the Congress was not able to retain even a single constirtuency despite being in power for 15 consecutive years.

Addressing three roadshows, Mr Shah alleged that the anti-CAA protests at Shaheen Bagh was a joint venture of the AAP and the Congress and claimed that the tukde-tukde gang would get a shock when the election results were declared on February 11. He said the BJP would emerge victorious in the election as the people will vote for countrys security, development and good governance.

Amid chants of Jai Shri Ram at his roadshow in Hari Nagar, a group of BJP supporters also raised goli maaro slogans. However, policemen asked them to stop. Mr Shah said: Kejriwal and (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi are worried that Shaheen Bagh should not be discussed. I want to ask them why the security of the country should not be an electoral issue?

Sure of his partys success in the Assembly polls, Congress media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said: Some news channels were giving us just two seats in Haryana, but we won 31. It is going to happen again. He said: The AAP wants Dangal Wali Delhi and the BJP wants Dangon (riots) Wali Delhi, while the Congress wants Dil Walon Ki Delhi.

Terming the BJP, which is in power at the Centre, and the ruling AAP in Delhi as Jhoothon ki Sarkar aur Jhoothon ke Sardar, Delhi Congress president Subhash Chopra accused them of failing in areas of health, pollution mitigation, education, clean drinking water supply and public transport in the national capital. He said Mr Shah has panicked as he feels this time the BJP may not win more than the three seats it had won in the 2015 Delhi Assembly polls.
Joao Lourenco's presidency has blown many previous truths about Angola out of the water.

Take predictions about his ability to tackle the hold on power of the former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos who ran the country for 38 years. His children ran multiple businesses while also enjoying key appointments in the state. Despite numerous analyses claiming that he would continue to wield power (myself included), the fortunes of the family have in fact quickly fallen.

The former president is in unofficial exile in Spain, having controversially left on a commercial flight rather than through state channels. His second daughter Welwitschia lives abroad. She lost her parliamentary seat after failing to return to Angola.

The son, Filomeno, is on trial for his role in allegedly funnelling US$500 million out of the country. But it is the first daughter Isabel, until recently the international community's favourite African female entrepreneur, who is now on the defensive. In December her Angolan assets were frozen. This was only the beginning of an international shift in attitude towards her wealth.

Recently, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and its partners released a slew of articles and documents titled LuandaLeaks that detail Isabel dos Santos's financial activities.

The reporting suggests she has been involved in extensive high-level corruption, allegedly using family connections and shell companies to gain business deals, and funnel millions of dollars out of the country.

The Angolan government has formally charged her with money laundering, among other things. She has vehemently denied the veracity of the reports, threatening legal action.

The Dos Santos family and their supporters claim they are the objects of political persecution. They point to the comparative lack of action, for instance, against Lourenco's allies.

While there is no doubt that there is a strategic political element to the focus on Dos Santos's family, all anti-corruption campaigns must begin somewhere. In a context in which the former presidential family was the most prominent face of regime impunity, it seems like an obvious and necessary move to investigate them.

International complicity

While Isabel dos Santos is the figure at the centre of LuandaLeaks, the story is more broadly about how corruption is a product of transnational collaboration and facilitation.

The documents show that the siphoning off of Angola's money would not have been possible without some of the world's largest management consulting companies. They ignored flags that banks had paid attention to regarding Isabel dos Santos's status as a politically exposed person. In some cases they were involved in clear conflicts of interest.

Until late 2017, for instance, the global consulting firm PwC was the auditor and primary advisor to Angola's state-owned Sonangol, the parastatal that oversees petroleum and natural gas production. The head of tax at PwC's Portugal office has resigned in the wake of LuandaLeaks.

The leaks have also highlighted the global community's dismissive attitude towards African journalists and activists, whose concerns about the Dos Santos family went relatively unheeded. For example, companies and embassies systematically ignored ongoing reports by Rafael Marques de Morais, one of Angola's most prominent investigative journalists, about the Dos Santos family's suspect business practices.

Famous universities such as Yale and the London School of Economics invited Isabel dos Santos to speak about entrepreneurship and development, blatantly ignoring the controversy around her.

In 2015, the New York Times wrote a piece praising her husband Sindika Dokolo's reclamation of stolen African art, without raising any questions about the source of his income.

These actions tell Africans that despite feigning concern about corruption and human rights, institutions outside of the continent don't walk the talk.

How the new president has fared

The LuandaLeaks lend support to Lourenco's anti-corruption drive. But the direction in which is he is taking the country remains difficult to assess. Are his anti-corruption measures and other interventions merely a tool to remove his enemies? Or, are they a sincere attempt to change the way in which politics has worked in Angola?

There are some clear signs of political and economic change.

Under Lourenco, the country has opened up. Visa regimes have become easier, Angola has joined the African Free Trade Zone, requirements that foreign investors have Angolan partners have been dropped, and the government is moving ahead with the privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

Read more: Angolans feel let down two years into new presidency

Equally important, Sonangol's monopoly has been chipped away at with the recent creation of a new entity that will take over the role of national concessionaire in the oil industry.

That being said, the last time a slew of privatisations occurred in Angola was in the 1990s. These only served to buttress Dos Santos' power by benefiting his favourites. Questions remain about the transparency of the new round of privatisation, and who the actual beneficiaries will be.

Lourenco problem

A major problem facing Lourenco is that many Angolans are unhappy with the austerity measures his government has introduced. And, public frustration with unemployment is fuelling instability.

While he has made symbolic overtures to civil society by meeting activists who were harassed by the Dos Santos regime, protests are still being suppressed by police.

Lourenco has also made no move to weaken the extremely centralised powers of the presidency. Such action, critics argue, would clearly show that he does not seek to replicate Dos Santos's hold over the country.

Lourenco and others have cultivated a narrative that he faces significant opposition to change from entrenched interests within the governing party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). This is most likely true, but it remains unclear what it means for the country's politics.

The MPLA has historically presented a united front to the outside, and open discussion of fragmentation and discord is new. These apparent splits indicate a need to better understand the party as a political player, something that many scholars and analysts have failed to do in a substantive way for decades.

Looking to the future

With Dos Santos gone, it remains unclear to analysts used to focusing on one central figure to explain the country's direction just what the future portends as the country faces a new era of austerity and growing economic challenges.

Read more: Angolans feel let down two years into new presidency

LuandaLeaks provides further support for Lourenco's anti-corruption drive. The state's firmness in pursuing suspects heralds a moment of change for Angola. But, it remains unclear what future the country is heading towards.

Claudia Gastrow has previously received funding from the Wenner-Gren Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the American Council of Learned Societies. She is currently involved in research projects on African urbanism and politics supported by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Studies and the Norwegian Research Council.

By Claudia Gastrow, Lecturer in Anthropology, University of Johannesburg
Hawaiis largest union representing hotel workers has asked resort executives to allow employees to wear surgical masks as protection against a new virus, officials said.

Unite Here Local 5 organizers contacted hotels where the unions 12,000 members are employed, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Thursday.

The viral outbreak that began in China had infected more than 14,550 people globally as of Feb. 2.

The union asked the lodging industry to accommodate employee requests to wear masks to protect themselves.

We expect the hotels to cooperate with their workers who are concerned about their health and safety, said Bryant de Venecia, a communications organizer with Local 5.

De Venecia does not expect significant resistance from the hotel industry because there was widespread cooperation during previous health scares, including the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the H1N1 swine flu pandemic of 2009, he said.

But you never know, he said. Some ownerships have changed over the last five years, de Venecia said.

No laws prevent employers from restricting the use of masks by employees at the workplace, according to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

Hawaiian Airlines last week declined to let flight attendants wear masks while on duty.

Its a real misstep and lost opportunity, said Jaci-Ann Chung of the Honolulu base of the Association of Flight Attendants.

Hawaiian Airlines spokesman Alex Da Silva said the company is in favor of any measures that are proven effective.

Masks are not one of them, he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only recommends the use of masks when assisting a passenger who may be showing symptoms of being ill, Da Silva said in a statement.
I am guided by the law and my faith; dedicated to providing all who enter our courtrooms with an opportunity to be heard," Mathews said. I would like to thank Justice Robert Thomas and his colleagues on the Illinois Supreme Court for their confidence by appointing me to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Circuit Judge Ukena. Judge Ukena was a fair-minded, experienced, and knowledgeable jurist, and tremendous leader.
A lawyer banking on her father's legacy in the Congress, an Oxford graduate attempting her luck for a second time in elections on an AAP ticket and a BJP candidate relying on his party's aggressive campaign are the three major contenders in the Kalkaji constituency for the Delhi polls.

A section of voters feel that though the Shaheen Bagh protest site is far away from Kalkaji, the anti-CAA protests there, now running for over 50 days, will "have a bearing" on the elections that is largely being seen as a contest among the three parties.

Shivani Chopra, the younger daughter of three-time Congress MLA and its Delhi unit chief Subhash Chopra, is hopeful of leveraging the party veteran's legacy, besides the development-centric manifesto of the grand old party, which is seeking resurgence in the elections.

On Twitter, her profile describes her as a "Barrister; Cross-country cyclist; Certified yoga teacher; Travel blogger; Techno DJ; Animal/planet lover (hence Vegan)".

Pitted against the Congress' woman candidate is AAP's Atishi, who unsuccessfully fought the Lok Sabha polls from East Delhi last year.

An Oxford University graduate, she says education and health have been two of the main components of the Kejriwal government, besides, women empowerment.

"The AAP, in the last five years, has relentlessly fought to achieve what other states and governments couldn't, and will continue to do so in the next five years as promised in the new AAP manifesto," Atishi said.

She also claims that the BJP plans to fight elections "without a CM face or vision for Delhi's future".

"Reminds us of the times they bulldozed bills in the Parliament without any proper planning. #KejriwalChallengesShah to reveal BJP's CM candidate for Delhi," she said in a recent tweet.

Completing the triangular contest is BJP's Dharamveer Singh, who feels the Modi government's works in Delhi will give his party an edge.

The Kalkaji seat was won by the AAP in the 2015 Delhi polls, but the party has not fielded its sitting MLA Avtar Singh, which has upset many locals.

Kalkaji resident Satish Chhabra, a property developer, says, "Avtar Singh had done good work, but he was not given a ticket again. Why is that? Similarly, the one in Badarpur was not given the ticket again. This is not a good policy".

Pramod Kumar Gupta, 48, an auto-rickshaw driver, claims Shaheen Bagh protests, now a "major poll issue" will have a bearing on the elections on February 8.

"Political parties have been making provocative speeches on communal lines, and this will polarise people ahead of polls. Besides, the road blockade in Kalindi Kunj area has affected our movements, so many autowallahs are upset," he claimed.

Suraj Joshi, 35, an astrologer, who sits near Kalkaji Mandir, claims, "Modi magic will work this time, like Lok Sabha polls, due to Shaheen Bagh issue. But AAP is playing strong too and has put up a strong front."



Amit Lal, 18, who will vote for the first time, says, the Shaheen Bagh issue will "have an impact" but development agenda also cannot be ignored.

"I live in a JJ Colony in Madanpur Khadar that neighbours the protest site, and the anti-CAA protests have been made a major poll issue by parties. But, agenda should have been development, education and health and jobs."



Gupta agrees with Lal, saying, as a responsible voter no one should get "swayed by polarisation".

"But, people are getting affected," he claimed.

The Kalkaji constituency in South East Delhi district has 1,85,837 voters -- 1,03,535 men, 82,296 women and six transgenders, according to data shared by poll authorities.

The constituency has a diverse mix of people, including Purvanchalis, Sikh refugees, slum and JJ cluster dwellers residing under it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
tech2 News Staff

After spending 328 days on the International Space Station  the longest amount of time any woman astronaut has been in space continuously  NASA's Christina Koch admits she's happy to set foot on solid ground.

In an interview last week, Koch said she was eager to experience some very simple pleasures now that she's back on Earth. Among them, "the feeling of wind on my face".

If there's anything she's miss about her time in the orbiting space lab, it would be "the friendship of her crewmates" and "the spectacular views", she told the Guardian.

Koch was launched alongside fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin on a shuttle 14 March 2019. Her 328-day mission in space was also her first journey into space, and the second-longest spaceflight by any American astronaut, and places her seventh on the list of the combined total time that American astronauts have spent in space on one or more missions.

Supporting NASAs goals for future human landings on the Moon, Koch completed 5,248 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 139 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 291 trips to the Moon and back. She conducted six spacewalks during 11 months on orbit, including the first three all-woman spacewalks, spending 42 hours and 15 minutes outside the station. She witnessed the arrival of a dozen visiting spacecraft and the departure of another dozen.

During her 11 months on orbit, Koch managed to successfully conduct six spacewalks  among them, three of the first all-woman spacewalks in history. She also saw a dozen visiting spacecrafts arrive, and a dozen of them departure from the space station during her time there.

Koch, who is both a talented engineer and a willing subject of science, undertook an extended space mission for researchers at NASA to study the effects of prolonged spaceflight on the health and wellbeing of a woman. This is something NASA is (just as space agencies all over the world are) keen on exploring. NASA has plans to return humans to the Moon with the Artemis program, slated for 2025. With Artemis, NASA will land what would be the first woman astronaut in the world to set foot on the Moon, and eventually, Mars.

While it's easy to see how quickly Koch could become a role model figure for young women and girls world over. Both Koch and her fellow astronaut Jessica Mier who performed the all-woman spacewalk with Koch, are aware of their impact.

"We both drew a lot of inspiration from seeing people who were reflections of ourselves as we were growing up, and developing our dreams to become astronauts," Koch said in an interview from space after the walk. "Diversity is important, and it is something worth fighting for."

That said, Koch's gender could easily be the least significant thing about her. An electrical engineer and physics grad from North Carolina, Koch's career before being an astronaut was rooted in developing space science instruments and engineering for remote scientific fields like Antarctica and Alaska. Her research at the space station involved studying how protein crystals grow in space, and their potential use in treating Alzheimers and Parkinsons disease.
Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former Pakistan Taliban spokesman who was responsible for the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in 2012 has escaped from prison, according to an audio clip released by him

Islamabad: Ehsanullah Ehsan, the former Pakistan Taliban spokesman who was responsible for the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in 2012 and carrying out the deadly Peshawar Army school terror attack in 2014, has escaped from prison, according to an audio clip released by him.

In the audio clip, which surfaced on social media on Thursday, Ehsan said that he escaped the confinement of Pakistani security agencies on 11 January, claiming Pakistani forces failed to keep their promises made to him during his surrender in 2017.

"With the help of God, I succeeded to escape on 11 January 2020 from the confinement of the security forces," he is heard saying in the clip.

It would be a big blow to Pakistan and its campaign to eradicate the remnants of Taliban if the clip is proved to be authentic.

Without revealing his current location, Ehsan said that he would make a detailed statement about the days of his confinement in the coming days as well as about his future plans.

Malala, 22, the youngest Nobel Peace prize winner, was shot by a gunman for campaigning for female education in 2012 in Pakistan's Swat Valley.

Ehsan was also involved in one of the most gruesome attacks on children anywhere in the world when 8-10 suicide attackers wearing paramilitary Frontier Corps uniforms on 16 December 2014 entered the Peshawar's Army Public School and went from classroom-to-classroom shooting indiscriminately, killing 149 people including 132 students.

Ehsan in the audio clip said that he surrendered to the Pakistani security agencies on 5 February 2017 under an agreement but the forces failed to keep their promise made before the surrender.

"I followed the agreement for about three years. But these shrewd security institutions put me in prison along with my children in violation of the agreement, he said, adding that he finally decided to flee from the forces.

The authenticity of the audio and veracity of the Ehsan's claim was not verified by the security forces or the Pakistan government.
COOS BAY, Ore.  On Thursday afternoon Coos Bay Police responded to a dispute and found a man was stabbed.

Police said a 49-year-old man reported he had gotten stabbed just after 4 p.m. in the area of Morrison Street north of Newmark Avenue.

The Coos County Sheriffs Office and Oregon State Police were called in to investigate and they began looking for a suspect.

Coos Bay Police said they did not find a suspect but did find several pieces of evidence.

Investigators believe they know the identity of the suspect involved and are working to locate them.
Opposition leaders on Friday questioned the governments move to invoke the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA) against former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah.

The Public Safety Act is a 1978 Jammu and Kashmir law, often described as a draconian measure, allowing authorities to detain a person for up to two years without a trial.

The two leaders have been held under section 107 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) ever since the government diluted the provisions under Article 370 to revoke the special status of J&K to bifurcate the state into two Union territories.

The detention period was scheduled to end on Thursday night. However, the government invoked PSA to continue to detain the two leaders.

On what basis has PSA been slapped on @omarabdullah and @mehboobamufti? Congress party general secretary, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted.

They upheld the Constitution of India, abided by the democratic process, stood up to separatists, and never ascribed to violence and divisiveness, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra added.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram termed their detention without charges as the worst abomination in a democracy.

Shocked and devastated by the cruel invocation of the Public Safety Act against Omar Abdullah, Mehbooba Mufti and others, Chidambaram said in a series of tweets.

Detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy. When unjust laws are passed or unjust laws are invoked, what option do the people have than to protest peacefully? the former home minister asked.

Chidambaram even took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarks that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be followed.

He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela.

Chidambaram stressed the need to have peaceful civil obedience to oppose unjust laws. That is satyagraha, he said.

Nazir Ahmed Laway, a lawmaker from Muftis Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called the development unfortunate.

Former chief ministers continue to remain in detention and these are people who held Indian flag high in Kashmir. On January 26 this year, for the first time we saw no Kashmiri leadership unfurl the flag, Laway said.

If the idea of abrogating Article 370 was integration, then why are former CMs being slapped with PSA? he asked.

Congress Lok Sabha member Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury told ANI in an interview that Kashmir cannot be governed the way it is by the present government at the Centre.

Physically Kashmir is with us but not emotionally, said the leader.

The Prime Minister spoke against Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti in Parliament yesterday and they were charged with PSA at night. You cannot govern Kashmir like this, he said.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek OBrien tweeted against the Prime Minister for quoting fake news to attack Omar Abdullah in Parliament on Thursday, hours before PSA was invoked.

A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) functionary, who did not want to be named, said the law was equal for all.

Everyone has to follow the rule of law. This is a law-abiding government (at the Centre) and it will follow the due course of law, he said.
Restaurant sales are off to a great start in 2020 according to Januarys results. But, given the favorable weather conditions experienced by the industry during the month, the industrys enthusiasm may need to be tempered down. Same-store sales growth was 2.3% during January, the best result posted by restaurants in more than 4 years. This report comes from Black Box Intelligence (formerly TDn2K) data based on weekly sales from over 47,000 restaurants and $75 billion in annual sales.

Januarys impressive sales growth is not an accurate representation of the strength of the industry, shared Victor Fernandez, vice president of insights and knowledge at Black Box Intelligence. Winter has been mild during the first month of the year and headlines from different parts of the country mention historically warm temperatures for January. This seems to be the factor most responsible for the boost in restaurant sales experienced during the month.

A supporting argument for the positive effect of weather on Januarys strong sales growth can be found in the regional results. 5 regions achieved same-store sales growth over 4.0%. All of them are areas of the country that typically would have experienced extreme weather during January, which would have kept many restaurant guests dining at home: the Mid-Atlantic, New England, the Midwest, New York-New Jersey and Mountain Plains. On the contrary, the regions with the weakest same-store sales growth in January were those where winter weather is less of a factor: Florida, the Southwest and Texas.

Warm Winter Not Enough to Grow Guest Counts At National Level

Even if the industry is benefitting from unusually favorable weather conditions this winter, growing guest counts year over year continues to be unattainable for restaurants. Same-store traffic growth was -0.7% during January, the highest growth for the industry since August of 2018 and only the fifth month in the last 4 years with guest count growth better than -1.0%.

Regional results show a slightly different picture which can also be mainly attributed to warmer weather. The aforementioned 5 best performing regions based on sales growth were able to achieve positive same-store traffic during January. It seems warmer weather persuaded some consumers into venturing out, creating incremental restaurant visits during the month in these regions. The norm for most months during the previous 12 months was for all regions of the country to experience declining same-store traffic.

Sales Growth Positive For All Industry Segments

For the first time in the last 12 months, all industry segments were able to achieve positive same-store sales growth during January. The best performing segments based on sales growth were upscale casual, fine dining and casual dining.

The only two industry segments with same-store sales lower than 1.0% during January were quick service and fast casual. This segment data suggests growth was stronger in experience-based occasions during the month, while convenience-based occasions may have grown at a slower pace.

Economic Growth Moderate, But Consumer Demand Not Expected to Fade

The economy continues to expand at the moderate rate we saw for most of last year, commented Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors and Black Box Intelligence economist. Q4 growth came in at the expected 2.1% pace, but the details make it clear that it will be difficult for conditions to improve sharply during the first half of the year. The key household and business components were soft and should stay that way.

The wild card in the outlook is the uncertainty over the impact on world economic growth of the coronavirus. It will slow global activity as long as it remains unchecked, continued Naroff. Thus, the next quarter or two could be soft. But that doesnt mean consumer demand, including eating out, will fade. Consumer confidence remains extremely high, the unemployment rate is at historic lows and while wage increases are moderating, they are still decent. Thus, the forecast for modest gains this year in restaurant demand remains in place.

Service Revealed to be Biggest Differentiator in Marketplace, Restaurants Still Struggling With Staffing

Keeping their restaurants fully staffed remains one of the top concerns of operators as we start the new year. On one hand, the industry continues adding jobs at an accelerated rate, which has put significant pressure on those in charge of recruiting employees in this extremely tight labor market. Restaurant employment grew by 2.3% year over year during December.

With an unemployment rate under 4.0% for the last 22 months, labor-intensive industries such as restaurants have had a hard time finding enough qualified employees to keep up with employment growth. But, in the case of restaurants, the problem is greatly exacerbated by having to fill the vacancies created by turnover sustained at historically high levels for years. Turnover rates for both hourly, non-management employees and restaurant managers increased again during November according to Black Box Workforce Intelligence.

But the biggest concern for restaurants should be the enormous impact that their workforce has on their guest sentiment and the effect it has on its success in the marketplace. During 2019, service was the attribute of the restaurant experience that most differentiated top performing restaurant brands based on same-store sales and those underperforming. According to Black Box Guest Intelligence, the gap in guest net sentiment between top and bottom performers was greater in service than it was for food, beverage, ambiance or even value.

For years, guests have expressed through their online comments and reviews that superior service the aspect of the restaurant experience they are most likely to reward with incremental sales. Black Box Intelligence data also shows that lower turnover rates at the management and hourly employee level are undoubtedly linked to those top performing brands. To become a top performing brand in the marketplace, restaurants need to work on becoming a top performing company in the workplace.

Looking Ahead

The small positive sales momentum experienced by the industry in 2019 is expected to continue into the new year. Moderate economic growth and strong consumer confidence continue to support the idea of restaurants being able to achieve small year-over-year gains in their sales during 2020.

The first half of the year is faced with tougher sales comparisons year over year which suggested soft sales growth for Q1. But if relatively good weather continues to hold up, we could see a strong Q1 based on same-store sales growth. What is expected to remain unchanged is the unyielding trend of declining guest counts as restaurants continue to contend with an overbuilt industry in which guests have plenty of options on where to spend their dine-out dollars.

The expectation for labor shortages, high turnover and increased wage pressures remains for restaurants in the upcoming quarters. As long as unemployment stays this low, which is good news for economic growth and consumer spending, restaurants will have a tough time keeping their locations fully staffed.

Black Box Intelligence (formerly TDn2K) is the leading data and insights provider of workforce, guest, consumer and financial performance benchmarks for the hospitality industry. The Black Box Intelligence product suite is the industry standard for operators seeking to achieve best-in-class performance results. With the largest and most reliable set of real restaurant data in the marketplace, Black Box Intelligence currently tracks and analyzes more than 300 companies, over 2.8 million employees, 47,000 restaurant units and $75 billion in annual sales revenue. Black Box Intelligence is also the producer of the Global Best Practices Conference held annually in Dallas, Texas.
On Monday, Jan.13, the Belgian Ministry of Defense gave a restricted briefing to explain and illustrate what happened to an MPPV Dingo 2 armored vehicle a Belgian ISTAR detachment operating under German command in Mali in the framework of the MINUSMA (Mission des Nations-Unies au Mali).



Maj.Gen. Johan Peeters, Chief Joint Operations Belgian Armed Forces, explains the IED incident., with an MPPV Dingo 2 and ISTAR men in the background (Picture source: Army Recognition)

Maj.Gen. Johan Peeters, Chief Joint Operations Belgian Armed Forces, assisted by Capt. (capitaine de vaisseau) Carl Gillis, chief of the Ops Division, explained what happened on Jan.1 at 10:10 (loc., 11:10 GMT). Leading a German-Belgian convoy driving back to its base in Gao, a Belgian MPPV Dingo 2 drove on a detonator that triggered an IED made of 30kg of explosive material (still under analysis to identify who made it). The complete forward part of the vehicle was ripped out, the engine being propelled some 50 meters away. In spite of this spectacular explosion, only the driver and the front passenger were lightly wounded by unfastened pieces of equipment. They owe their lives to the very strong "survivability cell" designed for this vehicle based on a Mercedes Unimog chassis (had it be an Iveco LMV "Lynx", they would certainly have been killed).

The Belgian-German convoy immediately deployed in a safety position around the destroyed vehicle and a helicopter arrived quickly on the spot to evacuate the two wounded soldiers toward a French hospital Role 2 where they were taken care of during a couple of hours before being sent back to their unit. The wreck of the Dingo 2 was recovered and brought back to its base. It is foreseen it will be shipped back to Belgium for technical and judicial investigation. A spare Dingo 2 was equipped as needed and replaced the destroyed one. After checking that all the foreseen procedures had been fully applied, the Belgian HQ gave the green light to the unit to participate again to the usual missions. The wounded (and healed) soldiers asked to remain in Mali and to carry on with their duty.

85 members of the Belgian armed forces are currently deployed in Mali in the framework of the MINUSMA: 16 in Bamako (capital city) and 69 in Gao, their operational sector going up to some 100 kilometers north of this city. The 69 soldiers belong to the ISTAR battalion (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) encompassed in the MINUSMA-MULTISENSOR component to carry on reconnaissance tasks (the ISTAR battalion is the only one in the Belgian army trained and equipped to specifically perform this job, its main vehicles being MPPVs with RWS and Pandurs).

In 2019, about 180 incidents involving IEDs occurred in Mali, of which some 20 in the Gao area. Each time a weapon or an explosive device has been used, a German WIT (Weapons Inspection Team) is sent to the place for investigation.

MPPV Dingo 2 and ISTAR men (Picture source: Army Recognition)



MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020 (Picture source: Belgian MoD)

MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020 (Picture source: Belgian MoD)

MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020 (Picture source: Belgian MoD)



MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020. The wreck was recovered and trucked to the base for investigation and to avoid leaving a "trophy" to the islamist extremist group(s) operating in the region (Picture source: Belgian MoD)



MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020. The wreck was recovered and trucked to the base for investigation and to avoid leaving a "trophy" to the islamist extremist group(s) operating in the region (Picture source: Belgian MoD)

MPPV Dingo 2 of the Belgian ISTAR Bn destroyed by an IED south of Gao on Jan.1, 2020 (Picture source: Belgian MoD)
WASHINGTON  Even as House Democrats were holding impeachment hearings on President Donald Trump, they tackled a bunch of other issues important to voters who gave them the majority in 2018.

One of those issues was lowering prescription drug prices, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is coming to Trenton Saturday to highlight the effort, which remains stalled in the Republican Senate.

And while Trump used Tuesdays State of the Union address to call for legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices, he has threatened to veto the House legislation.

The event will take place at the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, and include patients, advocates, members of Congress, and state Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli.

We wanted to go to a location that services people of all backgrounds, said Courtney Cochran, a spokeswoman for Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who invited Pelosi to attend. Were focused on prescription affordability as part of this whole push to ensure that everyone has access to high quality affordable health care.

Also scheduled to participate are Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-6th Dist., the bills chief sponsor; and Reps. Donald Norcross, D-1st Dist., and Donald Payne Jr., D-10th Dist.

Its important now more than ever to show them and hardworking Americans across the country that Democrats will not allow President Trump to sabotage their health care and to cave to pharmaceutical companies," Pallone said.

Health care was the No. 1 issue in the midterm elections that saw Democrats win a House majority and capture four Republican-held congressional seats in New Jersey.

Even as they made Trump only the third president ever to be impeached, the new Democratic majority also passed bills to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, expand background checks for gun purchases and overhaul ethics rules.

Senate Republicans have refused to consider any of those bills.

Republican leaders and allied outside groups have focused their ire on rookie Democrats, especially those who won districts that Trump carried in 2016.

They have been an impediment to progress in Washington, New Jersey State Republican Chairman Doug Steinhardt said after the Senate acquitted Trump on Wednesday. They have spent their entire term pursuing impeachment and playing politics, not solving problems and representing their districts and our state.

The keynote speaker at last Octobers New Jersey Democratic State Committee convention, Pelosi also is scheduled to visit the state Feb. 29 to raise money for Norcross.

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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Nepalese liquor seized in Supaul

Supaul, Feb 7 (UNI) Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) today seized 300 bottles of Nepalese liquor near Kataiya Outpost along Indo-Nepal border in Supaul district.

Commandant of SSB H K Gupta said here that acting on a tip off, raid was conducted at a hide-out near pillar no. 207/9 on the border of Kosi river, leading to seizure of 300 bottles of Nepalese liquor. When police arrived on the spot, it was noticed that some people were carrying gunny bags on their heads and they dumped the bags before returning to Nepal area, on being chased for arresting them, police added.

"A total of 300 bottles of foreign liquor was recovered from the gunny bags dumped by the people who managed to return to Nepal during the police action", police said adding that seized liquor had been handed over to Bihar Excise Department after completing necessary formalities.
The story of how Mr. McConnell held Republicans together  even in the face of stunning revelations about the presidents conduct and uneasiness in his party about Mr. Trumps actions  reflects how a master Senate tactician deployed his command of procedure and keen political instincts to lock down a process that posed an existential threat to the president. In doing so, he may have cemented the presidents hold on his office and provided a defiant campaign message to propel him to re-election, uniting the party around a figure who brooks no dissent and dealing a death blow to Democrats hopes of removing him.

If this was all about politics, and it was, at least at the moment I think it is fair to conclude that we won and they lost, Mr. McConnell said in an interview on Thursday in his Capitol office, before he headed to the White House, where he was effusively thanked by the president and received a standing ovation in the East Room.

A Year of Preparation

Democrats contend that the victory is hollow, and that they won something as well, showing the public that Senate Republicans  including several who are facing re-election this year in politically competitive states  were unwilling to challenge Mr. Trump on either his behavior or his blithe dismissal of Congresss right to oversee the executive branch.

What we feel is we created Pyrrhic victory for them, Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said in an interview. This trial is regarded by most Americans as not a real trial, a sham. The acquittal has virtually no value because Americans know it wasnt fair.

But it evidently has great value to the president and to Mr. McConnell, who had spent nearly a year preparing for it. From the instant that Democrats assumed power in the House last January, denying that they had any intention of impeaching Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell, a six-term Kentuckian and the longest-serving Senate Republican leader, directed his staff to quietly dig into the history of impeachments and consult with outside experts.
ISG Provider Lens report finds German manufacturers looking for ways to update their processes

FRANKFURT, Germany, Feb. 07, 2020)), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider Lens Engineering - Service Partners Report for Germany finds German manufacturers interested in end-to-end contracts in which engineering services providers take ownership of an entire product, platform or process. This helps support manufacturers as they focus their internal teams on cross-functional, product-aligned delivery models.

Digital products and services and digital operations are high opportunity areas for providers. In the automotive product engineering sector, manufacturers are embracing emerging technologies such as 5G, big data analytics, AI and the IoT, as well as smart engineering methods such as simulations, virtual tests and validations. Collaborative development platforms are gaining prominence, to help launch products on time and on budget.

European automakers are seeking provider support to create autonomous driving platforms that use machine learning models to analyze massive amounts of data to develop innovative features and, some day, to operate and monitor autonomous fleets.

Consolidation in the provider market as well as partnerships among manufacturing OEMs has been a prominent trend in the engineering sector. "Smart products and smart manufacturing span all layers of the technology stack, from the physical to the virtual, with product definitions extending right up to the cloud," said Christian Decker, partner and lead, Smart Manufacturing, ISG EMEA. "This IT - OT [operational technology] integration is a key driver of provider consolidation."

Auto makers are also focusing on cybersecurity, with vehicle development increasingly becoming software driven and with shop floors being connected to the internet. Service providers are investing in cybersecurity centers of excellence to help manage the risk. They are also helping auto makers integrate IoT and Industry 4.0 technologies, and offering smart maintenance services to the German auto industry, the report says.

"There has never been a more challenging time for German automakers," said Decker. "On one hand, they are racing against new technology-driven innovations and, on the other, cost pressures continue to be a pain point. In some cases, providers are closely partnering with manufacturers on holistic cost take-out programs, which allow savings to be reinvested in innovation."

In the German aerospace industry, the report sees some manufacturers turning to providers to replace insourcing arrangements that have led to significant losses. European aerospace companies are now seeing value in outsourcing engagements for services that can't be carried out by their own organizations.

The report sees aerospace simulation and training technology evolving significantly over the last decade. Futuristic concepts such as urban air mobility and regional mobility, combined with electric propulsion and autonomous systems, open new opportunities for simulation and training vendors.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider Lens Engineering - Service Partners Report for Germany evaluates the capabilities of 36 providers across four quadrants: Automotive - Product (Design, Development and Pilot) Engineering; Automotive - Manufacturing Engineering; Aerospace - Product Engineering, and Aerospace - Manufacturing Engineering.

The report names Altran, HCL, Infosys, L&T Technology Services (LTTS), QuEST Global and TCS as leaders in all four quadrants and Capgemini and Ferchau as leaders in three. Alten and Wipro are named leaders in two quadrants and Bertrandt in one.

The 2019-2020 ISG Provider Lens Engineering - Service Partners Report for Germany is available to ISG Insights subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lens Research

The ISG Provider Lens Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe and Latin America, as well as in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France, the Nordics, Brazil and Australia/New Zealand, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

The series is a complement to the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, which offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 70 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries-a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.
Aiming to make multiple opportunities introduced by cutting-edge technologies accessible for its subscribers, Azercell Telecom is once again enriching its digital product portfolio by offering Busuu application - the best solution to learn foreign languages and improve language skills.

Busuu is one of the 10 best applications in the world to learn foreign languages and currently has more than 90 million users. There are 12 language courses offered: English, Russian, Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Turkish, Arabic and Polish. Busuu is a virtual teacher, which provides an opportunity to learn all these languages at the same time, improve grammar, writing, listening and speaking skills via special exercises, make new friends and interact with native speakers from around the world through Busuu social network and earn an international McGraw-Hill certificate. The another advantage of the service is that the level of language proficiency of each student is examined just after the registration, and the students are assigned to the appropriate study group.

Supporting iOS and Android operating systems Busuu can be downloaded from App Store or Play Store, for 0.20 AZN for daily package or 3 AZN for monthly package, accordingly. In order to subscribe to the service, it is necessary to dial *696#YES for daily and *969#YES for monthly subscription on your smartphone.

Now Busuu is more accessible with Azercell! Save your time and build your language skills with Busuu!

For more information about the service, please, head to: www.azercell.com

The leader of the mobile communication industry, the largest taxpayer and the biggest investor of the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan Azercell Telecom LLC was founded in 1996. Currently, 4.8 million subscribers choose Azercell services. Mobile operator controls 49% of market share; while its geographical coverage constitutes 99.2% (excluding the occupied territories); and population coverage 99.8%.

Azercell was the pioneering mobile operator to introduce a number of innovations in Azerbaijan, including GSM technology, advance payment system, mobile internet services, 24/7 call center service (*1111), 7/7 Front Office service, Azercell Express offices, M2M services, 4G technology and pilot version of 5G, mobile, online customer care services and customer services through social media, mobile e-signature service ASAN Imza etc.

Rapidly increasing 4G network of Azercell covers nearly 60 regions of the country, including Baku and Absheron peninsula. According to the results of mobile network quality and wireless coverage mapping surveys by international systems, Azercells 4G network demonstrated the best results among the mobile operators of Azerbaijan. Azercell is the only company in Azerbaijan and CIS region which has been awarded Gold Certificate of International Investors in People Standard.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
SHANGHAI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Psychological consultants have joined the hard-fought battle against the novel coronavirus epidemic outbreak in China, easing the anxiety and fear which might otherwise spread together with the virus.

The Shanghai-based audiobook platform Ximalaya FM told Xinhua that as the coronavirus outbreak evolves, there has been an increasing demand among Wuhan citizens for audio blogs related to psychological therapy and consultation.

Audio programs on Ximalaya like "Mindfulness training in 21 days: farewell to anxiety and insomnia" and "100 psychological lessons of Lin Zi" are increasingly popular in Wuhan, big data from the platform showed.

The massive media coverage and strict quarantine have impacted people's mental and emotional wellbeing as China takes tough measures to curb the spread of the virus.

By putting her mobile phone away for two or three hours every day, Ji Yunjing, a post-80s entrepreneur living in Shanghai, chooses to read and exercise instead, shutting her mind off from the epidemic.

Luo Wenjuan, a psychological consultant, suggested people reduce the accumulation of mental strain and muscular tension, and limit time spent online.

"Family hugs, especially between husband and wife and between parents and children, can effectively enhance the feeling of safety," Luo said.

Since Jan. 25, several psychological aid projects have been launched across the country, including many psychological counseling hotlines set up by official agencies, universities and specialized Internet platforms. Dozens of senior psychological consultants and hundreds of volunteers rushed to provide assistance to the public.

"Answering questions on a hotline is like bandaging people's wounds," said Jian Lili, CEO of My Therapist, an online platform for psychotherapy, noting that such psychological assistance can set people's minds at ease and provide emotional support.

Other platforms are also available to concerned citizens. Radio Shanghai has launched a program named "Guardian Angel" through its mobile app, inviting 16 psychologists to record programs for medical workers and the public, including music and talk shows.

Tongji University in Shanghai also published a self-help book both online and in print. The book's first run of 100,000 copies will be distributed to citizens in Shanghai and Hubei Province.

"The duration of the epidemic is closely related to people's mental health," said Zhao Xudong, director of the department of clinical psychology at Dongfang Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University and one of the authors of the book.
One of the investigating officers in a case in which businessman Matthew Kanyamunyu is accused of shooting child rights activist Kenneth Akena dead has told court that police are yet to find the murder weapon.

Mr Deogratius Obongo told court on Thursday that they searched Kanyamunyu's home and that of his girlfriend Cynthia Munwangari, who was with him at the time of the offence, but did not find any gun.

Explaining how he got involved in the case, Mr Obongo narrated that on November 13, 2016, he was contacted by his supervisor who informed him that there was a shooting victim (Akena) admitted to Norvik Hospital.

"Then our focus was to recover the firearm that had commissioned the crime so we went to Munwangari's residence at Luzira- Port Bell with the help of her brother, Rahul Munwangari and Kanyamunyu but we did not find anything evidential during the search. We proceeded to Kanyamunyu's residence at Butabiika Royal Palm but also did not find anything," the 44-year-old officer narrated.

Court heard that police recovered Kanyamunyu's shirt which he wore the day Akena was killed, four keys and two phones.

They also recovered one of Akena's shoes in Kanyamunyu's car, a Prado UAW 548M which was parked at Wadegeya police station.

Mr Obongo also told court that a scene of crime officer took photographs of Kanyamunyu's shirt but during cross-examination by one of the defence lawyers, Mr Caleb Alaka, he said they did not mark the photographs with descriptions which included the location.

A doctor who preferred to be called Witness X for security reasons also told court during cross-examination that Akena died as a result of excessive bleeding through the muscles caused by a bullet. He said a bullet was found stuck in Akena's rectal muscles. However, the defence team said it was not satisfied with the doctor's report arguing that no bullet was recovered during postmortem since it had already been removed from Akena's body during the surgery. Following the observation, the lawyers made an application before court to order witness X produce the hand -written rough notes he made while in the postmortem room. The case was adjourned to February 11 for further hearing.
There is a shortage of accommodation provided to government officials in the country, especially in Delhi and Chandigarh, Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Puri said in Parliament on Thursday while responding to a question raised by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member.

There is a total shortfall of 20,054 houses in Delhi with only 61,291 available as against a demand of 81,345 houses. In Chandigarh, the shortfall is of 207 houses  2,521 available as against demand of 2,728.

Puri said the shortage of General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) is due to non-availability of land at central locations in metropolitan cities and the fact that House Rent Allowance (HRA) admissible is not commensurate with the actual rent in these cities.

The allotment of central government bungalows is done through the General Pool Residential Accommodation (GPRA) Act under the administrative control of the directorate of estates under the ministry of housing and urban affairs.

Allotment of GPRA is governed as per the provisions of the Allotment of Government Residences (general pool in Delhi) Rules, 1963, and executive instructions issued there under from time to time.

Government has taken various steps to augment the general pool residential accommodation by way of construction of new residential units, outright purchase of ready-built flats or redevelopment of existing government colonies, Puri said.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) had approved the proposal of redevelopment of East Kidwai Nagar Government Colony in March 2012, Puri said. The project was started by NBCC (India) Ltd. in May 2013.

This redevelopment of East Kidwai Nagar will provide 4,608 Dwelling Units so far. The agency has provided 2,758 Dwelling units so far. Further the Union Cabinet in July 2016 approved the proposal of redevelopment of the seven government colonies at Mohammadpur, Nauroji Nagar, Netaji Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Thyagraj Nagar, Kasturba Nagar and Srinivaspuri. The project envisaged replacement of existing 12,970 dwelling units in these colonies with 24,917 dwelling units, Puri said.

In Chandigarh, Central Public Works Department of India (CPWD) is constructing 42 new flats, he told the House.
Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani was a wealthy businessman and now he is not as a result of a disastrous turn of events in the telecom market in India, his lawyers told a UK court on Friday as they fought a bid by top Chinese banks to recover USD 680 million from the Indian businessman.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, on behalf of itself, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China, had sought summary judgment against Ambani over an alleged breach of a personal guarantee on a debt refinancing loan of around USD 925 million in February 2012.

Ambani, 60, denies providing authority for any such guarantee, resulting in the High Court action in the UK - the jurisdiction agreed to as part of the terms of the loan agreement.

At a hearing at the Commercial Division of the High Court of England and Wales in London to set the terms for the conditional order granted to three Chinese banks last year against the Reliance Communications (RCom) boss, his legal team sought to establish that his net worth was zero once his liabilities were taken into account.

The value of Mr Ambanis investments has collapsed since 2012. The Indian telecom sector in particular has been dramatically hit by the Indian governments change of policy in relation to the grant of spectrum, notes his defence.

Whereas Mr Ambanis investments were worth more than USD 7 billion in 2012, they are now worth USD 89 million, and his net worth is zero once his liabilities are taken into account... Quite simply, he was a wealthy businessman, now he is not, said his barrister Robert Howe.

The banks counsel called Ambanis claims into question and repeatedly referred to his lavish lifestyle, involving access to 11 or so luxury cars, a private jet, a yacht and rent-free access to the exclusive Seawind penthouse in South Mumbai.

So, Mr Ambanis assertion is that he is massively personally insolvent, is bankrupt. Has he filed for bankruptcy in India, questioned Justice David Waksman during the course of the half-day hearing.

Ambanis legal team, including leading Indian lawyer Harish Salve, responded in the negative, followed by a brief reference in court to Indias Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) only recently coming into play.

The evidence overall is that Mr Ambani could not come close to paying a sum of USD 700 million into court, said Howe.

At the end of the hearing on Friday, the judge indicated that he will hand down his judgement later in the day.

The Chinese banks -- Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd Mumbai Branch, China Development Bank and Exim Bank of China -- represented in court by barrister Bankim Thanki, sought to establish that Ambani had been at best economical with the truth in his evidence statements to the court in relation to his financial means.

They also pointed to a series of instances where Ambani family members had stepped in to bail him out, even as Ambanis defence sought to establish that their client had no access to the assets and shares under the name of his mother Kokila, wife Tina Ambani and sons Anmol and Anshul in the form of loans.

Are we seriously to believe that his own mother, wife, and sons cant help him in his hour of need for the purpose of complying with a conditional order, said Thanki, who claimed Ambanis evidence was akin to the proverbial glossy lipstick on the collar in terms of some blatant lies despite the burden of proof lying with him in the case.

ADAs (Anil Dhirajlal Ambani) brother Mukesh is widely regarded as the wealthiest man in Asia and is ranked by Forbes as the 13th richest person in the world and by Bloomberg as the 14th richest person in the world. He has an estimated net worth of USD 55 to 57 billion, notes the banks defence.

Despite all of this, ADA has failed to address in any detail the possibility of financial assistance being provided by Mukesh or any other member of his family, it notes.

At the last hearing in the case in December last year, Justice Waksman said he was very nearly prepared to grant judgment against Ambani because he found the RCom chiefs evidence inexplicably incomplete, implausible and highly unlikely.

I think it is highly probable that at trial his defence will be shown to be opportunistic and false... I consider that this is a plain case for the making of a conditional order, Justice Waksman said, as he granted a conditional order in principle to the Chinese banks.

The order means the High Court, after hearing arguments on Ambanis financial means this week, will set an appropriate amount as an effective court deposit pending a full trial in the case.

On December 16, when the UK High Court dismissed an application filed by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited for a summary judgement in its claims of USD 680 million against Ambani, a spokesperson of the RCom boss had said: Ambani was confident that he will have an opportunity to place the necessary evidence before the UK High Court, in the course of the trial to establish that Chinese banks claim are without any merit.

The spokesperson said in a statement that Ambani was confident that his position would be fully vindicated once all the facts and the entire evidence is before the Court.
By refusing to call witnesses in President Donald Trumps impeachment trial, the Senate failed in its responsibility to hold the president accountable. It must not fail in its next opportunity to assure presidential accountability: Passing two House-approved measures which would limit a presidents power to take military action without congressional approval.

The first, the No War Against Iran Act, would block funding for military force in or against Iran unless Congress agrees. The second, would repeal the 2002 authorization for use of military force (AUMF) that opened the way to war against Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

These votes are a condemnation of the presidents recent military actions against Iran and Iran-linked targets in Iraq, especially the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, which were done without even consulting with Congress, much less obtaining congressional approval.

Given the expectation of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocking votes on both, or, failing that, a sure Trump veto, these votes have been dismissed as symbolic. They dont have to be! Enough pressure from Republican senators like Rob Portman could prompt McConnell to allow a vote. Then, at least the whole Congress could reassert its constitutionally mandated role, which requires its approval for the use of military force.

Suellen Roberts,

Fairlawn
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to bring some star power from the sports world to his game plan in Africa this week, as he pursues support for a seat for Canada on the powerful United Nations Security Council.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau inspects an honour guard as he arrives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to bring some star power from the sports world to his game plan in Africa this week, as he pursues support for a seat for Canada on the powerful United Nations Security Council.

Trudeau arrived in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa Friday night, where he will attend a weekend session of the African Union. It's a chance for Trudeau to meet directly with several of the 54 African leaders, whose votes at the June vote at the UN will be critical to Canada's success.

He is travelling with three of his cabinet ministers but the celebrity element goes to Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri, who Trudeau invited to join the delegation. Ujiri was raised in Nigeria, and played professional basketball in Europe before becoming a player scout and executive in the NBA.

Ujiri, whose foundation Giants of Africa uses basketball as a means to educate and enrich the lives of African youth, was planning to travel to the continent to promote his own work, but he joined the Canadian trip after Trudeau asked him to come.

"I have relationships with leaders here and anyway we can help, anyway I can help, it's a big part of making the world better," Ujiri said.

He said he has already had several conversations with Trudeau and with Ahmed Hussen, the federal minister for families, children and social development, about how he can use his work as an ambassador for sport to help. Hussen is also on the trip.

Ujiri flew to Ethiopia with Trudeau Friday and is participating in official events with Trudeau in both Addis Ababa and later in the week in Senegal. Ujiri was among those on hand with Trudeau for his initial meet-and-greet with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Friday.

Abiy and several of Ethiopia's key cabinet ministers and diplomats met Trudeau at the airport, where an official welcome ceremony included an honour guard, a dance performance and a red carpet.

This is Trudeau's third visit to Africa as prime minister, but his first time in Ethiopia. He told Abiy in a brief conversation at the airport that he had intended to attend the African Union last year but wasn't able to. Abiy assured him this time was a better time.

The African Union is headquartered in Addis Ababa, which has become one of the biggest diplomatic cities in the world. Ethiopia is also a fast-growing economy, with per capita GDP soaring 189 per cent between 2000 and 2018. Trudeau praised Abiy's work to bring about reforms.

The theme for this year's summit is Silencing the Guns, as Africa works to reduce violence and conflict and promote economic growth and prosperity. Abiy himself just won the Nobel Peace Prize in part for his work to strike a peace deal with neighbouring Eritrea, that finally solidified a deal backed by the United Nations 20 years ago that had never been implemented.

Alice Musabende, who is completing her doctorate in international relations focusing on Africa, said for the African Union, peace and security are the biggest priority. Canada has been largely absent from those discussions, she said, while the European Union and the Americans are more involved.

"There is a lot of funding going in, there are a lot of missions," she said. "Most of the funding comes from the EU, a lot of help comes from the UN but also from the United States. The problem is Canada is nowhere to be found in these discussions."

Hussen said he feels like Canada has engaged well with Africa over the last four years. Hussen, who moved to Canada as a refugee from Somalia, said he visited the continent nine times in his previous role as immigration minister. He pointed to a number of programs to aid African immigration, particularly students from Senegal and Morocco, who want to study in Canada.

African students tend to be denied visas to study in Canada more often than those from most other countries. Hussen said the government is adding more visa application centres and introducing new services to help students, and has reduced processing times for applications in many offices.

"We attracted a record number of students from Africa," he said.

Trudeau will have an official sit down with Abiy Saturday.

Africa has 54 of the 193 total votes that will decide the Security Council's non-permanent seats in June. Canada is in the running against Norway and Ireland for two spots at the table, each lasting for two years.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is also set to be at the African Union meeting this weekend. Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar visited the continent in January, including a stop to visit Abiy in Ethiopia.

Trudeau is spending three days in Ethiopia, and will travel to Senegal and Munich, Germany before returning to Canada next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has announced the killing of several Russian and Turkish military specialists in the Idlid de-escalation zone last month. In a statement released Feb. 6, the ministry details Russian grievances over what it calls dangerous escalations and a surge of violence in Idlib. The ministry said terrorists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group had hijacked the de-escalation zone and intensified the attacks in December and January. Moscow said that over the two last weeks, Russian, Syrian and Turkish military forces were targeted about 1,000 times while Russias Khmeimim air base in Syria has been constantly repelling drone attacks.

Why it matters: In the last few weeks, political pressure on Russia has been augmented by both Turkey and the United States. Al-Monitors Laura Rozen reported that Washington has pointed out the disastrous humanitarian implications of the latest Russia-backed Syrian army assaults in Idlib. So has Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  for whom the stakes are high as a new refugee crisis that would directly affect his country looms on the horizon.

[American] statements on solidarity with Turkey [over Idlib] is top-level cynicism: Earlier the White House sanctioned and condemned Turkey over its 'Peace Spring' operation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement following US Secretary of State Mike Pompeos remarks in support of Ankara.

By coming clean about the loss of its own people  a rare admission of casualties and painful news for Russia's domestic constituency  Moscow has gone on the counteroffensive. It is defending the logic of Russia's actions in Idlib, and seeks to affirm Moscow's moral high ground by framing the debate on the Idlib offensive as a just war on terrorists. Those who oppose it, this logic suggests, support Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is hiding behind the civil population.

Rising toll: The Foreign Ministry didnt specify the number of the Russian military personnel killed, nor did it reveal the circumstances of the incident. It only noted it took place in mid-January; this would have been after President Vladmir Putins Jan. 8 visit to Istanbul and an updated Idlib deal with Erdogan.

Three days ago, Novaya Gazeta, a Moscow-based newspaper traditionally critical of the Kremlin, reported the deaths of four Federal Security Service officers in Syria. Only one death was confirmed by the authorities. It is not clear whether these were the officers the Foreign Ministry referred to in its announcement. The newspaper report suggested the officers arrived in Syria to provide security at a high-level meeting of Turkish and Syrian officials.

Whats next? Russia seems determined to finish the Idlib issue once and for all  preferrably through a new deal with Turkey, or reluctantly through continued support for military assaults by the Syrian army. It sees the arguments on the humanitarian crisis as fairly hypocritical and thus is in no way is willing to cave under US pressure.

The Foreign Ministry minced no words when replying to the US criticism of Moscows actions. When the US and their allies presumably fought against terrorists in the notheast of Syria and literally leveled to the ground entire cities such as Raqqa, Hajin and Baghouz, no one spoke about a national cease-fire or truce. Having failed to defeat the Islamic State and finding any other good pretext for its unlawful presence in Syria, the Americans are shamelessly looting Syria by trading its natural resources, the ministry said.

The ministry added, The Americans themselves struck Idlib on a few occasions under the pretext of fighting terrorists, including the elimination of [Islamic State leader] Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The question is then: Who does Washington think controls Idlib  terrorists or the moderate opposition led by al-Qaeda warlords?

Know more: See Al-Monitor President Andrew Parasiliti lay out the three top takes of the week, including the developments in Idlib, and follow Turkey Pulse for more in-depth analysis on the issue.
Kiev initiates a meeting of foreign ministers of countries whose citizens died in a jetliner downed by Iran. The consultations are planned to be held in Munich on the sidelines of a security conference to be held on February 14-16. Tensions are mounting over Tehrans probe into the January downing of a passenger plane near the Iranian capital, as countries that lost citizens in the disaster criticise the Islamic republics reticence to share key information.

The Japan Times writes in the article Tensions mount over Iran's probe into Ukrainian jetliner it downed that Irans authorities are examining the incident in which its air defenses shot down the Kyiv-bound Ukrainian International Airlines flight a few minutes after takeoff from Tehran on Jan. 8, killing 176 people.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Tehran of knowing from the start that its missile had downed the Boeing 737, after leaked recordings emerged from Iranian air traffic control. The recordings, aired on Ukraines 1+1 TV channel on Sunday, feature a conversation between an air traffic controller and the pilot of an Iranian Aseman Airlines flight at the time the Ukrainian airliner was hit. The pilot describes a series of lights on our route, like a missile and an explosion and asks for explanation from the controller.

Countries whose citizens died in the disaster have criticized Irans refusal to hand the planes black boxes to Ukraine or one of the few countries capable of recovering and analyzing the data they contain.

The disaster unfolded as Irans defenses were on high alert in case the U.S. retaliated to Iranian strikes hours earlier on American troops stationed in Iraq  themselves in response to the U.S. assassination of a top Iranian commander.

Canada, which says it lost 57 citizens in the tragedy, suspected from the start that a missile had downed the plane, carrying mostly Iranian passengers as well as Afghans, Britons, Swedes and Ukrainians.

In the immediate aftermath, Iranian civilian authorities insisted the crash was likely caused by a technical malfunction, vehemently denying claims the plane was shot down. But in the early hours of Jan. 11, the Iranian military admitted that the plane was shot down due to human error.

The aerospace commander of Irans Revolutionary Guards, Brig. Gen. Amirali Hajizadeh, took responsibility, saying a missile had been fired due to a bad decision by a missile operator.

In the absence of information from military authorities, investigators initially said the crash was likely caused by an engine fire or an explosion on board the aircraft.

The Iranian government maintained it had not been informed of the true cause of the accident until the afternoon of Jan. 10, denying any cover-up and promising a transparent investigation open to all concerned parties.

Days later, a video circulated on social media indicating that not one but two missiles were fired at the aircraft, about 30 seconds apart. That was not confirmed until January 20 by the Civil Aviation Organization (CAO).

Once and for all, the government was not informed, the director of President Hassan Rouhanis Cabinet, Mahmoud Vaezi, said Wednesday, adding that the Iranian leader was not informed until the afternoon of Friday Jan. 10. On the recording broadcast by 1+1, Vaezi said it was transferred to the Ukrainians and therefore has nothing secret.

He noted that the pilot on the recording does not say that the plane was hit by a missile.

The CAO criticized the broadcasting of the recording, saying that the pilot had been interviewed by investigators. The lights seen by the pilot could have been the plane on fire, the CAO said, affirming it wanted to work with the concerned countries and calling for all parties to avoid politicizing the disaster.

Canada has repeatedly asked Iran to hand the planes black boxes over to Ukraine or France for expert analysis.

The community of grieving nations continues to call on #Iran to immediately release the black boxes, Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne tweeted on Tuesday.

The CAO, which acknowledges it does not have the means to retrieve data from them, said it asked its French and U.S. counterparts, the BEA and NTSB respectively, to provide a list of the equipment required.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde reiterated calls for the immediate release of the boxes in a tweet Tuesday. Iran needs to secure closure, accountability, transparency and justice for victims of #PS752, she said.
A team of volunteers have discovered a rare game piece believed to date back to one of the first Viking raids on the Island of Lindisfarne some 1,200 years ago.

The tiny worked glass is adorned with a small crown of droplets at the top and decorated with swirls of blue and white glass all around.

Archaeologists believe the piece is from the Viking game board 'hnefatafl' or King's Table, which is a strategic game similar to chess.

Although similar objects have been found in Ireland, Germany and Sweden, it's only the second such piece to have ever been found in the UK.

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Archaeologists discovered a rare game piece believed to date back to one of the first Viking raids on the Island of Lindisfarne some 1,200 years ago. The tiny worked glass is adorned with a small crown of droplets at the top and decorated with swirls of blue and white glass all around

Lindisfarne, or the Holy Island, is located off the northeast coast of England, which has a recorded history starting in the 6th century AD  and it was the location of the first major Viking raid in Britain.

The gaming piece was unearthed last summer in a trench, according to the project's lead archaeologist, David Petts.

He also noted that even if the piece belonged to monks living on the island, it 'shows the influence that Norse culture already had across the north Atlantic', as reported by The Guardian.

'We often tend to think of early medieval Christianity, especially on islands, as terribly austere: that they were all living a brutal, hard life,' Petts told The Guardian.

Experts believe the piece is from the Viking game board 'hnefatafl' or King's Table, which is a strategic game similar to chess

The piece is also valuable because it is providing experts a glimpse into 'actual lives of the people who were in the monastery, rather than just their cemeteries and their afterlives'

'The sheer quality of this piece suggests this isn't any old gaming set. Someone on the island is living an elite lifestyle.'

The piece is also valuable because it, as Petts notes, is providing experts a glimpse into 'actual lives of the people who were in the monastery, rather than just their cemeteries and their afterlives.'

The artifact was discovered through an excavation that is crowdfunded and staffed by volunteers and was found by a woman who was visiting the site to celebrate her birthday.

Another discover on the island in 2016 was also uncovered by volunteers  a small, round-headed sandstone marker, commonly known as a name stone, has been dated to the mid-7th to 8th century, the same time as the original monastery was built.

Lindisfarne, or the Holy Island, is located off the northeast coast of England, which has a recorded history starting in the 6th century AD  and it was the location of the first major Viking raid in Britain

The face of the stone is carved and some letters are clearly visible.

Experts are still deciphering the text, but it appears the name of the monk commemorated on the stone ended with the letters 'frith', which is a common element of Anglo-Saxon names.

Co-director and project academic lead Dr David Petts, of Durham University, said: 'This is a stunning find, of exactly the period we're looking for.

'This stone could have been carved during the time when the Lindisfarne Gospels were being written.

'This is really, distinctively, diagnostically, proper Cuthbertian period Anglo-Saxon.

'There's only been a few found here and at a handful of other locations.

'It's unimpeachable evidence for Anglo-Saxon activity and confirms we're hot on the trail of the very earliest monastery here in Lindisfarne.'

Brendon Wilkins, co-director and projects director for DigVentures, said: 'We've got evidence from the mid-7th to 8th century from all three of our trenches across the island.

'It's amazing to see the early monastery basically rising through the ground, and to get the sense of where the most important structures would have been located.

'We couldn't have hoped for a better result.'

The project was crowdfunded with 25,000 raised from around the world, with some donors joining the dig.

The Lindisfarne Gospels are believed to have been written by in the late 7th and early 8th centuries by a monk named Eadfrith, who later became the Bishop of Lindisfarne.
Colombo, Feb 7 : Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday embarked on a two-day state-visit to India, during which the two neighbours were expected to finalise an implementation agenda for a $450 million line of credit offered by New Delhi.

Rajapaksa was accompanied by a 10-member delegation, reports Xinhua news agency.

In a statement on Monday, Rajapaksa's office said that the line of credit was announced by his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi during President Gotabaya Rajapaksa state-visit to New Delhi last November shortly after being elected, the Daily Financial Times reported.

While $400 million will be for infrastructure projects, $50 million will be given as a grant for Sri Lanka to fund security needs including resources needed to fight terrorism, the office added.

The Prime Minister will hold high-level bilateral meetings with Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and other senior government officials.

Following his high-level engagements, Prime Minister Rajapaksa is scheduled to visit several historic religious sites including, Varanasi, Sarnath, Bodhgaya and Tirupati.

This is Mahinda Rajapaksa's first visit to India since assuming office on November 18, 2019, and he is the third Sri Lankan government leader to visit New Delhi following the presidential election last year.

Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had also visited New Delhi earlier this year.
Wyandotte police are seeking the publics assistance in identifying a man who is a suspect in retail fraud incidents at CVS/pharmacy.

According to police, the man has identified himself as Chad, but its not known if that is his real name.

The suspect is a white male in his mid-30s to possibly early 40s. He stands approximately 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet 1 inch tall and has a medium build. Based on images captured by store security cameras, he wears a heavy, long green jacket, has a slight unshaven face and has been described as having an unkempt appearance.

He enjoys 24-ounce beers, most notably Natty Daddy and Bud, police said in a Facebook post. His mode of transportation is a mountain bike.

Police are seeking this man for questioning regarding shoplifting incidents.

Anyone with information about this person is asked to contact Wyandotte police at 734-324-4434. If no one is available to answer, leave a message and reference case No. 20-00259.
Texas Executes Man Who Killed 5, Including Wife, Children

HUNTSVILLE, TexasA Dallas man was executed Thursday evening for a shooting in which he killed his wife, two children, and two other relatives during a drug-fueled rage nearly 18 years ago.

Prosecutors say Abel Ochoa was high on crack cocaine and looking for money to buy more drugs when he started shooting inside his home in August 2002.

Ochoa, 47, was pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m., 23 minutes after receiving a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the slayings of his wife, Cecilia, 32, and his 7-year-old daughter, Crystal. He also killed his 9-month-old daughter, Anahi; his father-in-law, 56-year-old Bartolo Alvizo; and his sister-in-law, 20-year-old Jacqueline Saleh, and seriously injured his sister-in-law Alma Alvizo.

I want to apologize to my in-laws for causing all this emotional pain, Ochoa said, strapped to the death chamber gurney and looking at several of his victims relatives who watched through a window a few feet from him. I love yall and consider yall my sisters I never had. I want to thank you for forgiving me.

As the lethal dose of the powerful sedative pentobarbital began, Ochoa closed his eyes and had no visible reaction.

Jonathan Duran, who watched Ochoa die, said he accepted Ochoas apology.

I accepted the fact as a child, at 12 years old, when I buried my mother, my sisters, my aunt, and my grandfather, Duran said. Nothings going to bring them back. Its up to us to keep their memory alive, rebuild what we lost. I cant ever replace my mother or my sisters.

After 17 years, me, my family  the whole tree. We can finally say we got closure, we got justice. 

Ochoa was the second inmate put to death this year in Texas and the third in the United States. Seven other executions are scheduled in the next few months in Texas, the nations busiest capital punishment state.

The execution was carried out after the U.S. Supreme Court turned down a request by Ochoas attorneys to halt it. They wanted a review of whether his rights were violated because he initially wasnt allowed to film a prison interview with his legal team for his state clemency petition.

A Texas appeals court this week turned down a different request for a stay on claims that there were problems with paperwork related to Ochoas death warrant. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also turned down a clemency petition.

Ochoas attorneys said in court documents that his death sentence should be commuted to a life sentence because of his deep and sincere remorse.

Ochoas trial attorneys had described him as a hard-working, law-abiding citizen whose life unraveled amid a two-and-a-half-year addiction to crack.

Ochoa spent up to $300 a week on cocaine and took out loans to support his drug habit. At one point, he underwent treatment at a drug rehabilitation center, but then continued to use cocaine, according to court documents. Ochoa had gone 10 days without using cocaine leading up to the shootings. Desperate for the drug, he persuaded his wife to take him to buy crack. After returning home, he smoked the drug in his backyard.

While I was lying on the bed my body started wanting more crack. I knew if I asked my wife for more money to buy some more crack she wouldnt let me have it, Ochoa said in his confession to police.

Ochoa told police he grabbed his 9 mm handgun, walked into the living room, and started shooting until he ran out of bullets.

He then went and got more ammunition and returned to the living room, where his 7-year-old daughter was still alive, he said.

Crystal saw me with the gun and she started running away. I chased after her and I shot her, Ochoa said.

Police later arrested him at a shopping center after he tried to get money from an ATM.

At trial, Ochoas attorneys argued that he shot his family in a cocaine-induced delirium and had brain damage from drug abuse. Ochoa testified that he didnt remember shooting his family.

Howard Blackmon, one of the Dallas County prosecutors who tried the case, said he argued that Ochoa killed his family in frustration and anger.

Its just a horrendous set of circumstances for a parent just to murder, gun down their own children, said Blackmon, who is now a criminal defense lawyer in Dallas.

Alma Alvizo testified that Ochoa had become aggressive toward his wife after learning she had a son from a previous relationship. Alvizo said her sister told her Ochoa had pointed a gun at her three weeks before the killings.

By Juan A. Lozano and Michael Graczyk
In a recent press release, Docs Friends, the organization which owns, operates and maintains the Boeing B-29 Superfortress known as Doc announced the following regarding their scheduled stop at Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio. Doc will be offering rides at the show, as will other, locally-based warbirds. It sounds like a marvelous, intimate event. More details are available in their press release below

The B-29 Doc History Restored Tour will land in Cincinnati, OH, for ground tours and B-29 Doc Flight Experience rides May 1-3, 2020. Doc will arrive at Lunken Airport Thursday, April 30, and will be available for warbird rides and ground and flight deck tours during the three-day event, Friday through Sunday. The tour stop in Cincinnati will be hosted by Cincinnati Warbirds EAA Squadron 18, which will also have vintage warbird aircraft on display and available for ride flights. Military vehicles, history exhibits and meet-and-greet opportunities with WWII veterans will also be available.

This will be our first major event of 2020 as we commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII in which the B-29 played a major role, said Jim Stitt, Cincinnati Warbirds president and commander. The tour stop for B-29 Doc in Cincinnati, OH will be the first stop on a nearly six week tour that includes Docs participation in the 2020 Arsenal of Democracy Flyover in Washington, D.C., that was announced earlier this week. Additional stops for the B-29 Doc History Restored Tour in May and early June will be announced soon.

We are excited to partner with the Cincinnati Warbirds EAA Squadron 18 to bring B-29 Doc to Cincinnati on our way to Washington, D.C., to give warbird fans in the tri-state area a chance to see one of only two B-29 Superfortresses still flying today, said Josh Wells, Docs Friends executive director and general manager. This will event will not only feature B-29 Doc, but other vintage warbirds, including the B-25 Axis Nightmare operated by the Tri-State Warbird Museum, and a host of others from the Cincinnati Warbirds team as we promote our mission of offering up-close and one-of-a-kind experiences that will honor the Greatest Generation, while educating future generations about our nations history.

Event Details for B-29 Doc in Cincinnati

Gates will open Friday, May 1 for static ground and flight deck tours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. WWII veteran TSgt. Howard Watrous, who served as a B-29 flight engineer stationed on Tinian Island will be available for meet-and-greet during the weekend. Ground and flight deck tours will also be available Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3 from 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., following morning ride flights. Admission for the static display event and flight deck tours will be $10 per person and $20 per family. The flight schedule for the B-29 Doc Flight Experience is 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3. For details about the B-29 Doc Flight Experience and to purchase ride tickets, visit www.b29doc.com/rides.

The public can enter the event at the Lunken Airport Terminal Building (262 Wilmer Avenue, Cincinnati, OH, 45226). Parking is free and restroom facilities will be available in the terminal building.

Additional tour stops for B-29 Doc in May and June will be announced soon.

We are still finalizing the remainder of our 2020 tour season, which will include return trips to EAA AirVenture in July, as well as a return trip to California in September and October, Wells said. In all, Docs 2020 tour season is expected to include stops in more than a dozen states from late April through late October of this year.
In October, the Wisconsin Elections Commission sent letters to more than 230,000 voters it had identified as having potentially changed their addresses.

In an attempt to help clean up Wisconsins voter rolls ahead of the 2020 elections, the letter asked those voters to re-register if they had moved or notify elections officials if they still reside at the same address.

Since then, some have clarified their situation, leaving about 209,000 still unknown.

Democratic members of the bipartisan commission are seeking to wait until after the November election before removing anyone from the list because it is known to contain some inaccuracies; specifically, officials suspect some voters on the list have not moved based on thousands of errors found in a similar mailing to more than 300,000 voters in 2017.

But Republicans on the commission and the conservative law firm Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty are seeking to have those names purged immediately, contending leaving the names on the list invites fraud. WILL is suing to have the commission act, and the case is now before a state court of appeals.

For now, the names are not being removed and may not be before the November election (they will almost certainly not to be removed before the Feb. 18 spring primary or the April 7 general election and presidential primary). But even if WILL prevails and the names are removed, voters who find they were placed on the list in error would be able to register again later or on Election Day if they have proof of residency.

To see if you are among the 232,000 voters who were sent a mailing in October, search the database below. (Note: The database has not been updated to reflect address confirmations and re-registrations since October.)

If your name appears on this list but you have not changed your address, you can update your status online at myvote.wi.gov, or you can call the Wisconsin Elections Commission at 866-VOTE-WIS (866-868-3947) or your municipal clerks office.

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I ain Dale stormed off Good Morning Britain during a fiery debate with other panellists.

The LBC radio presenter said he walked off the set because his fellow commentators were "closing him down".

It came amid a debate around mental health care and services and the duty of care of the mentally-ill teenager Jonty Bravery, who threw a child from a tenth-floor viewing platform at the Tate Modern.

A recording has emerged appearing to show Bravery telling one of his carers about how he would kill someone and go to prison.

A former carer said it was not the first time he had spoken about his plan and despite concerns being raised with senior colleagues he had been allowed to go out alone.

On Friday morning, Mr Dale appeared on the GMB panel with Nihal Arthanayake and Grace Blakeley to discuss how the attack had been allowed to happen.

After Ms Blakeley said the incident could be traced back to austerity, Mr Dale described her comments as "utter rubbish".

He added: "It's nothing to do with cuts; it's to do with people doing the sensible thing and reporting something."

Mr Dale walked off set during the debate / ITV

Both the other commentators pounced on his remarks and began speaking over him.

He was seen numerous times trying to make a point before saying: "OK I won't speak".

A few seconds later, he stood up and said: "Ok, right that's it" and walked off set.

Presenter Kate Garraway responded by saying "we'd like you to speak" and co-host Ben Shephard added "Iain don't go".

Mr Arthanayake then said: "Wow, what a fit of pique", before adding "he's a West Ham fan".

Mr Shephard then said "We do appreciate Iain's views".

He later posted on Twitter: "I enjoy my early mornings on @GMB with @Jacqui_Smith1 because theyre all about civilised discussion. Todays was not. It was about closing me down. I decided it wasnt worth hanging around. Apologies to @kategarraway, @benshephard & @CharlotteHawkns but enough is enough."

Many on social media jumped to his defense.

One person wrote: "Ian Dale walked off because there is absolutely no point trying to debate with 2 ignorant liberals like these pair. A man tells people he will kill someone by pushing them of a balcony, and is then left to hang around people on a balcony. But lets blame austerity."

Another added: "Bless you you could not get a word in, it was like watching 2 kids in a playground bullying the kid in the middle. I would of loved to of heard your point of view on the matter, such a shame."

While another said: It's unlikely I would have agreed with what @IainDale was trying to say on @gmb but I would have liked to have heard him! I believe austerity has caused untold problems in this country but unless you are prepared to listen to opposing views your own voice is weak."

But others called the move "childish".
Prince Harry and Meghan Markles exit is shaking up the royal family like never before, yet it may end up benefitting Prince William and Kate Middleton. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have looked more relaxed than ever in the wake of Megxit, sparking talk that they can finally rest easy now that Harry and Meghan are out of the royal family. Heres a look at how Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Sussex, have been pushing the boundaries since Harry and Meghans shocking exit.

Prince William and Kate Middleton | Samir Hussein/WireImage

What does Megxit mean for Prince William and Kate Middleton?

At the beginning of January, Harry and Meghan stunned the world by announcing they are stepping down as senior members of the royal family. The royals were reportedly blindsided by the announcement, which prompted a serious of meetings between Harry, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Prince William.

After the meetings concluded, Queen Elizabeth confirmed that Harry and Meghan will no longer be active members of the royal family. Although the couple will keep their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they will lose their HRH titles.

Prince William and Kate Middleton's "Hectic" Schedule Has "Brought Them Closer Together" https://t.co/8Rbp7SR2eU pic.twitter.com/AZ91LsdMfV  aedaily.net (@aedailydotnet) February 6, 2020

With Prince Harry and Meghan out of the mix, other members of the royal family will undoubtedly have to pick up the slack. This includes Prince William and Kate, who are expected to take on more responsibilities in the coming years.

Luckily, William and Kate are handling the added pressure like its no big deal. During their latest series of public engagements, the Cambridges have appeared very relaxed, and theyre even showing more PDA than ever before.

Kate Middleton and Prince William pack on the PDA

Ever since they tied the knot in 2011, William and Kate have kept their PDA to a minimum. In fact, the couple usually avoids showing signs of affection in public, a protocol set in place by other members of the royal family.

But in light of Harry and Meghans exit, William and Kate seem to be relaxing their stance on PDA.

According to The Sun, body language expert Judi James has examined photos from Prince William and Kates latest outing and believes they are showing more affection than ever. This includes more physical contact and non-verbal signs.

William and Kate do seem to be bringing more non-verbal signals and touches into their routine post-Megxit though, apparently understanding that they can push the boundaries a little without suffering from obsessive interest and criticism, James explained.

James added that William and Kate are showing more affection, but they are also making sure they dont totally disregard royal tradition. The two understand that it is okay to push the boundaries as long as they dont compromise tradition.

The Cambridges seem more relaxed

In addition to showing more love and affection, William and Kate have appeared much more relaxed during their latest royal engagements.

During their recent trip to Bradford, for instance, the Cambridges met royal watchers for some milkshakes at a local ice cream parlor. The couple appeared to have a great time at the eatery and were caught smiling more than once.

Prince William and Kate Middleton Show Their Sweet Side on South Wales Ice Cream Date https://t.co/hm2xtyFH3G  E! News (@enews) February 4, 2020

Kate tends to be more active and demonstrative but William mimics enough to make it mutual and he seems to mutter asides into Kates ear to prompt most of the joking, James shared.

Prince William and Kate also had a blast attending the BAFTAs over the weekend. The couple dazzled fans on the red carpet, while William gave a great speech in front of the UKs biggest celebrities.

Although Harry and Meghans exit has caused a lot of negative press for the royals, William and Kate seem to be embracing their new roles with confidence.

Did Meghan and Harry inspire William and Kate?

With William and Kate looking more relaxed and unafraid to engage in a little PDA, there has been some talk about how they are following Harry and Meghans lead.

Prior to their shocking exit, Harry and Meghan were widely considered the most affectionate couple in the royal family. The two never seemed shy about expressing their love in front of the cameras, and some experts believe that William and Kate are doing the same.

There is no telling if Prince William and Kate Middleton are consciously copying Harry and Meghan, but there is no denying that they have gotten more affectionate in recent months.

As part of their new plan, Harry and Meghan will be living in Canada for part of the year. It is unclear how long they remain in Canada, but it definitely means royal watchers will see less of them moving forward.

Prince William and Kate Middleton have not commented on the reports surrounding Megxit.
Gareth Bale made a hasty exit while his team-mates were still playing in their 4-3 defeat to Real Sociedad on Thursday night.

Zinedine Zidane's side crashed out of the Copa del Rey as loanee Martin Odergaard scored to pile on the misery at the Santiago Bernebeu.

It could have been worse for Los Blancos, who had been trailing 4-3 to their La Liga rivals, and the Welshman had decided to leave the ground before his team-mates spurred a fight back.

Gareth Bale was spotted making a hasty exit from the Bernebeu while Madrid were playing

The Real Madrid star left the stadium eight minutes before full time as his side fell to defeat

With eight minutes left on the clock, the 30-year-old was seen in his car leaving the Bernebeu. Spanish outlet AS shared video footage of the attacker driving away in his Audi.

Bale was watching from the sidelines, with club rules stipulating that non-participating players are allowed to leave games after the 80 minute mark.

It's not the first time the former Spurs man has left the ground before full time. In January 2019, Bale fled the ground following another defeat at the hands of Real Sociedad. On that occasion he left 12 minutes before the final whistle.

Bale didn't stick around for Real Madrid's 4-3 loss to Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey

The Welshman left at 4-1 and missed a late fight back from his Madrid team-mates on Thursday

Zidane fielded a strong team to face Sociedad on Thursday, with the likes of Sergio Ramos, Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos named in the starting eleven.

However, they were unable to overturn the 1-0 first left deficit for their side, with Sociedad running out winners. Ex-Arsenal captain Nacho Monreal lined up alongside Odergaard for the visitors, as did former Manchester United youngster Adnan Januzaj.

Barcelona were also sent packing after they lost to Atletico Bilbao to further compound the rift between Lionel Messi and the club's chiefs.
The Guardian reports:

The man shot dead by police after he stabbed two people in London on Sunday left prison only days ago and had previously been noted by police as having a fascination with dying in the name of terrorism, it has emerged.

Sudesh Amman, whose attack on Streatham High Road left one person initially in a life-threatening condition, was under active police surveillance at the time of the attack. He had been freed after serving half of his sentence of more than three years for the possession and distribution of extremist material.

Jailed aged 18 in December 2018, Amman had been released after serving part of his three year and four month sentence, but was deemed sufficiently high risk that he was under special monitoring by police.
Photo: (Photo : Pexels.com)

It's a common issue for homeowners in Florida to experience natural disasters which most of the time can cause serious damage. In case your home is flooded, you need to be prepared to take action right away to reduce the damage of your home. The first thing you need to do is to contact your flood insurance agency to specifically explain to you what's a priority before you begin the cleaning process. Also, you need to schedule a meeting with an adjuster to come and assess your property's damage. Do not start to remove the water until you ensure there is no risk of electric shock or physical damage. Before you enter your home, take pictures and videos and keep in mind that flood insurance doesn't cover any damage resulting from extreme weather. If you don't have additional floor insurance, the damage won't be covered completely. Down below you'll find some basic information about flood insurance in Florida.

What to Do in Case of a Flood

If your property is flooded, you need to make sure there is no danger when entering the house. For your own safety, the first thing you need to do is to check the source of flooding. If it comes from the waterline, you need to immediately turn it off to prevent any further damage. Make sure you disconnect all the electrical power even if there's no electricity, just to prevent the risk of electrocution. If you suspect any damage to your electricity, water, or sewage lines, call your utility workers because this requests professional attention. Another important thing that you can do and doesn't require professional care is to check your home for any damage caused by flooding, such as the floor or ceiling. If your home is rented, you're lucky. A bit, maybe. A part of the repairs will belong to your landlord's management company. However, you should still follow the steps above to diminish the damage to the property. Also, be aware that the insurance policy will cover the flooding only if it comes from an eruption pipe. So, to make sure you avoid these surprises, purchase your flood insurance to bring safety to your home.

Flood Water

Once everything is safe, make sure you take pictures and videos of any flooded areas. You'll need evidence when you'll claim for flood insurance. Remember, it's very important to locate the source of water. Also, discover what type of water caused the flood, as there are 3 types and each has a dissimilar risk. Let maintenance know about it to avoid exposure to these harmful risks. The darker the color of the water, the higher the health risks. Even if the color is clear, it may contain harmful chemicals. So, make sure you wear protective equipment to avoid contact with your skin. It's recommended to call your floor insurance company as soon as possible, to avoid unwanted delays and get everything repaired soon. If regional flooding occurs, then it's even more important to act quickly. Many houses can be affected and that is the moment when your insurance company can get extremely busy with claims from people. Also, if you live in an area that is declared a "disaster area", then the government should be responsible for providing you resources to help clean up your home. In some cases, maybe even pay for some damage.

Begin the Cleaning Process

As soon as you find out the source of the flooding and you announced your flood insurance company, you can start the cleaning process. It's manageable to do it by yourself, depending on how the flood was produced. If the contrary, you might need to call for a professional to deal with the situation. In the beginning, start with what's easy to do. Remove water that can cause even more damage, such as swelling the wooden floors. Second, open all your windows to make the space airy, unless it causes extra flooding. Get help from a professional to clean the furniture and throw away any soaked mattresses. If you have a wooden floor, make sure you remove a few pieces from it to make sure that swelling doesn't cause your floor to fold. Many damages can occur as you try to move your furniture, so always check carefully. There might be areas where you can cause injury. Remember that it's absolutely necessary to turn off the electricity before you enter in your flooded house. Wait for a professional to inspect the damaged area. Again, it's important to wear protective equipment to protect yourself from insects or other animals that may have entered your house.

Private Flood Insurance for Florida

Flood insurance in Florida can be expensive and may not cover all of your damage. Instead of buying two different policies, you can try another alternative. Private flood insurance can save you from a lot of complications. Flood insurance is the only way of coverage for your home. So, why not choose one that is affordable, offers replacement cost coverage, and is also available for seasonal homes? Of course, it's up to you what type of flood insurance works best for you. Wonder how much flood insurance costs? It may vary, depending on where your home is located, to coverage limits that you choose.

If you're interested in moving to Florida, ready to purchase a house, or just planning to rent a property, get ready! It's time to do some good research before you decide which flood insurance you choose. The insurance market in Florida increased its reputation over the years and people are trying to get the most affordable one out there. If you plan on renting a home in Florida, you should be aware that many landlords will require you to get home insurance, even though is not mandatory. The good news is that you'll pay only for your personal items, everything else will be paid by your landlord.
Women empowerment and gender experts have converged in Lilongwe to prepare for this year's global United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) meeting, which is scheduled to take place in New York in the United States of America.

The Malawi Government is hosting the delegates, which include leaders of civil society organisations (CSO), government officials, women living in rural areas and traditional leaders, with financial and technical support from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (UN Women).

The 2020 CSW 64 will take place in March and delegates are expressed to direct most of their energies on reviewing the implementation of the Beijing Declaration in the context of inspiring transformative action that will step up achievement of the Girls Empowerment and Gender Equality (GEWE).

And speaking at the opening of a day-long preparatory meeting at the Capital Hotel in Lilongwe, UN Women Head of Programmes, Yemi Falayajo, described this year's CSW meet as different because it seeks to step up action through the Generation Equality campaign whose major objective is to amplify women's voices and action to catalyse greater progress towards GEWE.

Falayajo therefore stressed that it is critical for Malawi to highly regard the CSW 64 session and hence prepare to meaningfully participate.

"Not only that, but also to garner commitment, galvanise action and ensure that beyond the session, we can move to undertake transformative actions that will drastically change the status of GEWE in Malawi," she said.

She added that the Generation Equality campaign is about bringing together the next generations of women's rights activists with the gender equality advocates and visionaries who were instrumental in creating the Beijing Platform for Action more than two decades ago.

In her remarks, the Director of Gender Affairs in the Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare, Mercy Safarao, said besides preparing for the New York meet, the Lilongwe gathering will review the progress on the CSW 63 resolutions, which include strengthening normative, legal and policy frameworks, among others.

UN Women and the Malawi Government have since assembled women empowerment and gender experts from across the country
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Taking a dig at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in an alleged bribery case of Rs two lakh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday said that traders were being targeted by the Kejriwal government.

Gopal Krishna Madhav, a senior Delhi government officer, was arrested on Thursday evening, two days before the election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly.

BJP's Delhi unit tweeted: "OSD to Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI while accepting a bribe of Rs 2 lakh in GST case. He was posted in Sisodia's office since 2015. The total amount, however, was fixed at Rs 10 lakh. The Aam Aadmi Party government has been exploiting such traders, but Kejriwal has always maintained his silence." Reacting to the CBI action, Sisodia said: "I came to know that the CBI has arrested the one GST inspector while taking bribe. This officer was posted in my office as an OSD. The CBI should get him punished strictly. I have myself got many such corrupt officials arrested in the last five years," he added.
A farmer sits at her paddy field hit by drought in Soc Trang Province in Vietnam's Mekong Delta, January 22, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Huy Phong.

Mekong River Commission will join with China to uncover the reason behind local water levels dropping below previous records.

"We have started working with China to conduct a joint study to find out what are the causes of the low flow last year," An Pich Hatda, MRC CEO told VnExpress on the sidelines of the 9th Regional Forum in Luang Prabang, Laos, that runs from February 5-6.

"I hope it'd provide a scientific evidence to explain why the water had dropped to its record low recently, because now people just blame a lot about the mainstream hydropower projects, but we need to properly understand the causes," he stressed.

A MRC report in mid 2019 showed water levels during last year's early flood season, from June to July, were among the lowest on record. Levels in Thailand's Chiang Rai Province hit 2.1 meters against the average 3.02 meters measured over the past 57 years.

From the upper reaches of the lower Mekong basin in Thailands Chiang Saen to Laos Luang Prabang and Vientiane and further down to Thailands Nong Khai and Cambodias Neak Luong, water levels fell below those of previous records experienced in 1992.

Downstream, Mekong Delta residents in southern Vietnam suffered serious droughts last year after seasonal rains and subsequent flooding occurred later than usual.

The delta, as the nations rice bowl and aquaculture hub, meets not only the country's food needs, but also boosts its export market.

Starting April, farmers across the region saw their paddy fields left bone-dry for months. With freshwater reservoirs drying up, locals bought water for daily use, a situation unimaginable only a few years earlier.

Annual flooding occurs late July or early August and lasts until November, fertilizing the soil as silt is transported down-river. Delayed flooding disrupts crop cultivation as well as fishing across the delta.

Last year, flooding only occurred in mid-September.

In December, MRC stated the Mekong River had turned blue-green in some places as opposed to its usual muddy color, possibly due to its extremely low water level.

For now, MRC researcher said the record-low water level may be caused by low regional rainfall, climate change turning the weather hotter and drier, and weak flow.

In August last year, China announced it had to retain water at Jinghong Dam in southwestern Yunnan Province, established as part of a hydro-electric power drive to help wean it off coal, in for "power grid maintenance."

The dam reduced water output from 1,200-1,400 m3/s to 800-1,000 m3/s in the first three days, before further reducing flow to 504-800 m3/s on January 4. Water output was restored to normal levels later, China's Ministry of Water Resources stated.

The Office of National Water Resources of Thailand last December warned eight provinces along the river to brace themselves for a dip in water levels as China bottles water flow.

Jinhong is one of eight Chinese hydropower projects upstream of the Mekong, called Lancang in China. All eight dams have been blamed for the sharp fall in water levels downstream, according to Mekong Freedom Network, a Thai group that studies the impact of dams constructed along the river.

From its research, the group stated the eight dams have blocked a combined total of over 40 billion cubic meters of water for use in electricity generation and irrigation, affecting the livelihoods of those residing along the Mekong.

Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on December 31 warned the Jinghong Dam trial run would adversely affect the Mekong Delta from late January. Water levels in the delta have dropped and its largest freshwater reservoir in Ben Tre Province has experience salinity intrusion.

Pich Hatda of the MRC said a memorandum of understanding inked between itself and Chinese Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Center in December last year would allow both sides to act on the matter.

Kol Vathana, deputy secretary-general of Cambodia National Mekong Committee, told VnExpress the fact that upstream dams hold back water during the dry season had intensified drought downstream.

These dams have also caused the amount of sediment and fish flowing downstream to fall, affecting the Cambodian agriculture sector.

Vathana said Cambodia is now extremely concerned about the impact on its economy and is making consulting regional peers to find solutions.

He added Cambodia has worked with other MRC members, including Vietnam, Thailand and Laos to enhance cooperation and share information with China, especially on the release of water from upstream dams.
But the negotiations also resulted in a bill backed not only by Gov. Ralph Northams administration, environmental groups and the renewables industry, but also the states two powerful regulated electric monopolies, Dominion Energy and Appalachian Power Company  a coalition that many said was the result of a new political landscape dominated by Democrats less sympathetic to the utilities.

Politics can change a lot of minds very quickly, said Harrison Wallace, Virginia director for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, one of the groups involved in crafting the legislation.

The version presented Thursday hews to the original bills four main goals of achieving zero-carbon emissions by 2050, establishing a mandatory renewable portfolio standard, as well as an energy efficiency standard and expanding access to rooftop solar. But timelines and some targets have changed, and exactly how the state will achieve those goals is more clearly sketched out.

Among the top-line goals of the legislation is the mandatory renewable portfolio standard, which dictates that 30 percent of all Virginias energy generation must come from renewable sources by 2030, and 100 percent must come from clean energy sources (including nuclear) by 2045 for Dominion and 2050 for APCo.
ALBANY  Though the new coronavirus has infected more than 28,000 people worldwide as of Friday morning, according to the World Health Organization, health experts say the risk to the Capital Region remains relatively low.

But concerns about the virus locally are prompting a rush to buy medical supplies. Workers at several Albany-area hardware stores reported this week that they've run out of, or they're running low on, equipment like face masks that have become ubiquitous in images and videos from the epicenter of the virus in China's Hubei Province.

A manager who answered the phone at the Latham Home Depot told the Times Union that his store had to order an emergency supply of masks this week. A worker at the Lowe's Home Improvement store off Central Avenue said that they've run out, so customers are buying "anything to cover faces," including painting goggles and masks.

Several customers at Lowe's said they were buying masks to ship to relatives in Asia, the worker said. Shelves at the Target off Central Avenue were bare of masks Friday afternoon, and customers at the Walmart Supercenter on Washington Avenue Extension have to ask employees in the store's pharmacy center to retrieve masks from behind the counter because people were buying them in bulk.

The United States as of Friday reported 12 confirmed cases of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  none of them resulting in a death. No cases have been reported in New York, but one was reported this week in nearby Massachusetts.

But healthcare workers say a face mask won't do much to prevent healthy people from contracting the virus.

"Those masks might offer a bit of protection  they help keep you from touching your face with your hands  but they're not going to be as effective as something like we wear in the hospital," said Kassandra Foley, the manager of infection prevention at St. Peter's Health Partners.

For one thing, the hospital has people who are specifically trained to administer a test to make sure the masks fit properly  something people probably aren't doing with the one-size-fits-all masks found in retail stores. Masks found in hardware stores are likely designed to block out only large particles like dust, Foley said, not bacteria.

Foley said her advice for people concerned about the virus is the same for any sickness  wash your hands frequently, sneeze or cough into your elbow, and avoid touching your face.

"The likelihood of you coming in contact with coronavirus is very rare," Foley said.

Foley said the hospital chain is starting to see a shortage in medical-equipment supplies  but not enough to impact patient care.

Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years.

Ken Turk, the manager of Robinson's Hardware on Western Avenue in Guilderland, said he's seen an influx of people looking to buy masks, but only recently realized what caused the rush.

"I didn't put two and two together," he said.

Kady Moran, who works in the purchasing department at Kamco Supply True Value, said one man came into the store a few weeks ago at the start of the outbreak and bought the store's supply of masks.

The man told Moran and had family in China and was also hoping to re-sell the masks. She said some of the face-mask suppliers are limiting the amount her store can purchase, or have run out altogether.

Asked whether she saw the same influx during previous years' flu season, Moran said this year was unique.

"No," she said. "It's strictly because of the coronavirus."

Michael.Williams@timesunion.com or 518-454-5018.
Manish Shah (pictured at the Old Bailey in March 2018) received three life sentences

A GP who molested women at his surgery was today jailed for at least 15 years after carrying out 90 sex offences against 24 female former patients.

Manish Shah, 50, of Romford, East London, even cited the cases of Angelina Jolie and Jade Goody to justify unnecessary examinations.

He exploited cancer fears to persuade patients aged between 15 and 39 to have unnecessary intimate examinations for his own sexual gratification.

Judge Anne Molyneux QC branded Shah a 'master of deception' as she handed him three life sentences with a minimum 15-year term at the Old Bailey today.

Between May 2009 and June 2013, he assaulted six patients of Mawney Medical Centre, the court was told.

He denied wrongdoing, claiming he had been practising 'defensive medicine'. But after a trial Shah was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against the six victims.

He had already been convicted of similar offences relating to 18 other women, bringing the total number to 24.

Judge Molyneux QC said Shah had deployed a 'mixture of flattery and fear' and used celebrity cases to carry out the sex assaults.

Shah cited the cases of Angelina Jolie and Jade Goody to justify unnecessary examinations

Quoting one of his victims, the judge said: 'You made up stories which got into heads and caused panic'.

The judge went on: 'You were a master of deception and you abused your position of power. This was a horrible abuse of trust and caused incalculable harm.

'The details show a pattern of behaviour over five years. Your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control and on occasions humiliate women.'

Earlier, the youngest victim described being left 'anxious, fearful and shaking' at the prospect of visiting the doctor after being abused by Shah.

Shah, who molested women at his surgery, was given a minimum term of 15 years

Speaking in court, the woman who was 15 at the time, said she felt different about men and worried about being seen as a 'sex object'.

He told young women they were 'pretty and beautiful' and remarked how one was 'tanned down there around the bikini line'.

Others told how he would rest an elbow on their knee and chat away as they lay naked from the waist down with their legs spread.

Summarising other victim impact statements, prosecutor Rosina Cottage QC said the 'lack of trust' created by Shah meant many of the women refused to see male doctors and that it had affected their relationships.

In mitigation, Zoe Johnson QC said: 'Manish Shah will never again be able to practice medicine.

'The opportunity to offend and the ability to offend only arose because of Manish Shah's profession.

'There is not one centile of information to suggest he would offend within the community. Stripped of that profession he is a rather weak man.

Shah assaulted six patients at Mawney Medical Centre in Romford, East London (file image)

'It goes without saying that all of these women feel grossly abused, humiliated, and that the trust that they placed in Manish Shah has been so dreadfully exploited.

'He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.'

Timeline of Shah's crimes, conviction and sentencing May 2009 to June 2013: Manish Shah sexually assaults six patients at Mawney Medical Centre in Romford July 2013: Shah's offending comes to light when four women make separate allegations that he had assaulted them August 2017: Police say Shah has been charged with 118 sexual offences December 2018: Shah is found guilty of sexual offences against 17 women December 2019: Shah is convicted of 25 sexual offences against the six victims at Mawney Medical Centre Today: He is given three life sentences with a minimum jail term of 15 years Advertisement

The court has heard how Shah picked on patients' vulnerability, because of their age or family history of cancer.

Shah brought up the news story about Hollywood star Jolie having a preventative mastectomy as he asked a woman if she would like him to examine her breasts.

He also mentioned Goody to another woman, saying an examination was in her best interests, it was claimed.

He would not always wear gloves and left one patient entirely naked on an examination table, jurors heard.

Shah attempted to justify an examination in medical notes by suggesting it was 'requested', the court heard.

He flouted NHS guidelines on giving healthy women aged under 25 smear tests and routine breast examinations on women under 50, which were said to cause more harm than good, jurors were told.

Shah, who lived in a 800,000 house in Romford, also breached guidelines on the use of chaperones during intimate examinations.

Speaking outside court, Alison Millar, of Leigh Day, who represents one of the victims, said the sentence reflected 'the enormity and gravity of his crimes'.

Shah (pictured in August 2017) exploited cancer concerns to persuade patients as young as 17 to undergo unnecessary intimate examinations for his own sexual gratification.

On the effect on her client, the lawyer said: 'It's had a huge impact on her. It's affected her ability to trust male health professionals.'

Ms Millar said Shah was 'incredibly cruel and callous' and although the scale of his crimes was 'unusual', it was not unique.

'This was a horrible abuse of trust': What a judge told Manish Shah 'You planned your offending carefully. You used a mixture of flattery and fear. 'You told them you cared about them and would carry out tests which other doctors would not do because you were a specialist. 'In the words of one victim, you made up stories which got into people's heads and caused panic. 'You presented yourself as a hard working and caring doctor.' But the judge added: 'You were a master of deception and you abused your position of power.' 'This was a horrible breach of trust. You have caused incalculable harm. 'Many of the women were targeted because of their personal circumstances which made them more vulnerable. 'Your behaviour was not only sexually driven but was also driven also by your desire to control and humiliate women. 'The full scale of your offending may never be known.' Advertisement

She added: 'These cases do have a knock-on effect on the wider confidence in healthcare professionals. There are questions to be asked (about) how Shah was able to manipulate patients, parents, other members of his practice, other people, for quite so long.

'It is the end of the road for my client in terms of this criminal investigation. I will be advising her on other forms of redress for her to consider.

'I think there needs to be reflection now and learning on how this could have gone on for quite so long and whether there were red flags, warning signs, that could be looked into in terms of preventing further cases of this nature in the future.'

Detective Superintendent Tara McGovern, of Scotland Yard, said: 'A case like this is extremely rare and, when the victim came forward and reported to the local surgery about her concerns, they immediately took action. They contacted the police and he was suspended.'

On why it had taken so long for the victims to get justice, she said: 'It has been a really complex case. We have spoken to over 130 victims. We have taken dozens of statements. We have sought advice from medical experts and all this has taken time.

'What we really are thankful for is the victims who have not only demonstrated courage and dignity but have also demonstrated patience in supporting us in bringing this man to trial.

'We will work with NHS England to review everything that happened in the lead-up and whether or not there were any signs, (whether) we could have acted sooner.'

She added: 'I would like any victim of sexual assault to come forward and be confident coming forward and speaking to us because we will listen to you, support you and work extremely hard to get you justice.'

Paul Goddard, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Manish Shah was a trusted family doctor, but he took advantage of that trust to abuse his female patients and then falsified their medical notes to try to justify intimate medical examinations that should not have taken place.

'The Crown Prosecution Service wishes to commend those women, who by bravely giving evidence convinced the jury of Dr Shah's guilt.'
Trump Romney

Mike Segar/Reuters

President Donald Trump posted a video attacking Sen. Mitt Romney over Romney's decision to vote in favor of convicting Trump of abuse of power on Wednesday.

Romney was the only GOP senator to go against Trump, who was acquitted of both impeachment charges he faced.

The video posted by Trump included footage of Romney praising Trump and failing to win the 2012 presidential election.

"Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine," Romney said in a speech explaining his decision.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday posted a video attacking Republican Sen. Mitt Romney after his stunning vote to convict the president of abuse of power at his Senate impeachment trial.

Romney was the only Republican to vote in favor of convicting Trump of abuse of power, though he joined the rest of the GOP in voting to acquit Trump of obstruction of Congress. Trump was acquitted of both charges.

The Utah Republican was the first senator in US history to cast an impeachment vote in favor of removing a president from his or her party.

Here is the video:

The video is a spliced-together collection of news clips, which at one point described Romney as "a Democrat secret asset."

It juxtaposes footage of Romney publicly praising Trump shortly after the 2016 election with narration describing how Romney later turned on the president.

It also includes news footage of Romney failing to beat President Barack Obama for the presidency in 2012, followed by footage of Trump beating Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, a moment Trump has returned to often on social media.

Romney in an impassioned speech on the Senate floor before the vote said he was compelled to vote for Trump's conviction despite agreeing with many of his actions as president.

Story continues

Romney said he could not ignore the oath of impartiality he took at the start of the trial. He said his faith compelled him to make an extraordinary break with his party.

Romney condemned Trump for his effort to urge Ukraine to launch investigations into political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden, who is a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

"Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine," Romney said.

Romney was promptly praised by Democrats while facing swift criticism from fellow Republicans after announcing his decision.

"I sat silently across the chamber, listening to my friend give one of the most important speeches I have ever had the good fortune to hear in person," Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut tweeted. "At a time when many wonder what honor is left in public life, there stands Mitt Romney."

Comparatively, Ronna McDaniel, the chair of the Republican National Committee and Romney's niece, in a statement said: "This is not the first time I've disagreed with Mitt, and I imagine it will not be the last. The bottom line is President Trump did nothing wrong, and the Republican Party is more united than ever behind him."

Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, called for Romney to be "expelled" from the Republican Party.

The House passed two articles of impeachment against Trump on December 18, one charging him with abuse of power over his dealings with Ukraine and the other charging him with obstruction of Congress over his efforts to stonewall the impeachment inquiry. Trump froze almost $400 million in crucial military aid to Ukraine, which is at war with pro-Russian separatists, as he sought to pressure Kyiv into helping him dig up dirt on his political opponents.

Democrats essentially accused Trump of using congressionally approved security assistance to extort Ukraine with the goal of soliciting foreign election interference.

The impeachment proceedings spiraled out of a whistleblower complaint centered on a July 25 phone call in which Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden as well as into a debunked conspiracy theory linked to the 2016 election.

The president wanted Zelensky to announce investigations into the Bidens in relation to Hunter's work for Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian natural-gas company, despite no evidence of wrongdoing or illegal activity on the part of the former vice president or his son with regard to Ukraine.

Documents and witness testimony gathered in the impeachment inquiry revealed a broad effort to pressure Ukraine that was engineered by Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and went well beyond the July 25 phone call.

Trump has maintained he did nothing wrong and has continued to call his July 25 conversation with Zelensky a "perfect" call.

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SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. -- A gray wolf was found dead in Shasta County on Wednesday. California Fish and Wildlife said she was likely born into southern Oregon's Rogue Pack in 2016.

CDFW does not yet know how the wolf died. It's under investigation.

The wolf, called OR-54, was the fourth Rogue Pack wolf known to have spent time in California. She was collared by an Oregon Fish and Wildlife biologist in October 2017.

Click here to learn more about Oregon ranchers' struggle with the Rogue Pack.

Wildlife officials said she cross the state line into eastern Siskiyou County on January 24, 2018. Since then, she spent much of her time in California. Wildlife officials tracked her making two trips back to Oregon.

She covered more than 7,646 miles after leaving the Rogue Pack. CDFW said she traveled further south than any other known wolf since the animal returned to California in 2011.

Gray wolves are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act as well as the California Endangered Species Act. It is illegal to kill a wolf.
In Chinese culture, jade is the stone of heaven and the love of it is deeply embedded in mythology. When China was invaded by the Mongols - or so one legend has it - the Imperial dragons wept tears that turned to jade.

It's still the most sought-after gemstone in China, attracting prices that compete with diamonds, rubies, sapphires and emeralds. It's different in the West. Without a deep knowledge of Chinese heritage and an appreciation of Eastern aesthetics, jade can be difficult to love.

Jade's main problem is that it doesn't sparkle and the Western world is bewitched by sparkling things. The diamond industry has made sure of this, but there's probably a deeper cultural thing going on.

To appreciate jade, you need to think differently. In China, jade is prized for a quality that roughly translates as "water content".

According to Fung Chiang, specialist at Christie's: "The crystalline structure of jade is finer, enabling rays of light to penetrate the stone more easily to create translucency. This creates a reflection and refraction, causing the viewer to see something like water inside the stone itself, which is what makes jadeite so special, and so valuable."

There are three pieces of jadeite jade jewellery coming up for sale at Adam's Valentine's Auction of jewellery and watches, which takes place on Tuesday at 6pm.

The most valuable of these is a jadeite jade and diamond dress ring (Lot 65: est. 12,000 to 14,000). It's a modern ring that balances the lack of sparkle in the central stone with carefully orchestrated peripheral bling. It's described as follows: "The translucent oval-shaped cabochon jadeite jade of green hue within a double four-claw setting, framed with brilliant and baguette-cut diamonds, to similarly-cut diamond shoulders."

Even if you know nothing about jade, the setting communicates that this is a valuable ring.

At the highest end, jade can be extraordinarily valuable. In 2014, the Hutton-Mdivani Jadeite Necklace by Cartier sold at Sotheby's for HKD 214,040,000 (around 25m).

The fact that the necklace was made by Cartier and owned by the Woolworth heiress Barbara Woolworth Hutton did its price no harm at all, but one of its selling points was the uniformity of the beads. This sameness is hard to achieve in jadeite because it is difficult to match the quality and size of the beads and adds to the value of a piece. In a Western culture that fetishizes the extraordinary, the love of sameness is counter-intuitive.

For English speakers, the word "jadeite" is misleading. It sounds like a lesser form of jade. In fact, the opposite applies. There are two types of jade: nephrite and jadeite. Of these, jadeite is much more valuable and, being lustrous and translucent, better suited for jewellery.

It's a relatively recent discovery. Jadeite arrived in China from Burma in 1784. Nephrite, on the other hand, is more opaque and has been used to make Chinese art for thousands of years. Once again, jade reverses expectations.

The more ancient material isn't always the best. In China, jadeite was popularised by the Empress Dowager Cixi (1861-1908), and massively promoted by the Imperial Court and all its hangers-on.

It became known as the Imperial Stone. But, when you hear jadeite described as "Imperial Green" that refers to the colour rather than the provenance of the piece.

Jadeite comes in many colours, most famously green or lavender, but the most highly prized is what Chiang describes as "strict green, with the highest saturation and a medium to medium-dark tone so that it is almost like a vivid emerald green, also known as imperial green."

In the Adam's sale, an early 20th-century jadeite jade and diamond ring (Lot 27: est. 2,500 to 3,000) comes with a report from the Gem & Pearl Laboratory in London describing the stone as "Imperial Jadeite Jade, with no indications of treatment." Lot 65 comes with similar certification. In terms of value, this is hugely important. Some jade is colour-boosted by impregnating it with polymer and will be worth between five and 10pc of the value of natural jade. It can also be dyed, which renders it almost worthless.

For jadeite to be truly valuable, it must be natural, untreated, and from Myanmar (Burma). There are human rights concerns about the jadeite industry in Myanmar. Antique pieces feel somehow cleaner. Whatever the injustices in their production, you're not contributing to an ongoing problem and some of them are rich with untold stories.

The third jadeite lot at Adam's - a pair of late 19th-century jadeite jade, ruby and diamond pendent earrings (Lot 39: est. 6,000 to 7,000) - seem to be of mongrel heritage. They're catalogued as follows: "each old brilliant-cut diamond surmount, suspending a translucent jadeite jade disc of green hue embellished with a central ruby cabochon and rose-cut diamond cluster, mounted in silver and gold."

The centre of one shows signs of careful repair, they have clearly been worn and loved, and they come in a fitted case by Hamilton & Co Limited of Calcutta, Delhi and Simla.

Hamilton & Co Robert Hamilton (1772-1848) started work in Calcutta in 1808 and became the most celebrated British silversmith in India. He is known as the inventor of the Toffee pot, a coffee pot that doubles as a teapot. And, while there is no mark to show that he made the jadeite earrings, there is nothing to say that he didn't.

See adams.ie.

In the Salerooms

De Vere's

If you're in the market for work by known Irish artists at affordable prices, online auctions are your friend. It's not difficult: you browse, you bid, you buy. De Vere's online Irish Art Auction is currently underway with around 150 art works, most of which are estimated at less than 1,000. Fancy a Henry Moore? There's a distinctive etching of his in the sale (Lot 7: est. 1,000 to 1,500). How about a Jack B Yeats? Horse by the Sea (Lot 2: 800 to 1,200) is signed by the great man. OK, it's few lines of pencil on paper, but what lovely lines they are Or how about a watercolour by Nano Reid (Lot 58: est. 300 to 500) or an oil by George Campbell (Lot 59: est. 600 to 900)? On view at 35 Kildare Street. Bidding continues until Tuesday at 6pm. See deveres.ie.

Victor Mee

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A Shamrock Whiskey advertising mirror, etched and gilded by hand by Kirker and Greer of Belfast in 1910 sold for 6,400 at Victor Mee's sale of Pub Memorabilia and Collectables on January 29. The mirror showed the iconic Shamrock lady in the centre, with gilded lettering and a hand-carved wooden frame. The sale also included an 1890s Ogden's Cigarette Dispenser (3,200, above. "These dispensers were usually only found within the most fashionable shops and would have served the most high-class shoppers," Mee explained. Other highlights include a vintage Sean Connery Is James Bond - You Only Live Twice film advertising poster (est. 40 to 80) fetched 420. See victormeeauctions.ie.
[February 07, 2020]

Electrolab Launches New Website to Enhance User Experience

BOERNE, Texas, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Electrolab, Inc., a technology design company specializing in precision measurement, monitoring, communication, and control devices, is pleased to announce the launch of its newly redesigned website (www.electrolabcontrols.com). The new website features a modern design geared toward simple navigation and functionality while allowing customers to view Electrolab's full product portfolio and engineering design capabilities.

With a fresh look and feel, the new site allows users to navigate through Electrolab's extensive product catalog with ease. The site delivers a fully responsive experience, allowing users to transition between desktop and mobile interfaces andconveniently access technical resources.







The new website reflects Electrolab's expanded technology focus on wireless communications, telemetry and IoT solutions. A new monthly blog feature provides a platform for Electrolab technical experts to offer insight on important topics related to Electrolab products and industries.

"As we continue to grow Electrolab's presence in our various markets, our objective is to upgrade the website features to better serve our expanding customer base. The new website makes it easier to share information with our visitors through the new blog, links to our social media pages (Twitter and LinkedIn) and our email newsletter," said Sharon Drees, Director of Marketing at Electrolab.

Electrolab, Inc. is a privately-owned company with headquarters in Boerne, Texas. For over 43 years, Electrolab has leveraged expertise in electrical and electronic technologies to design, engineer and manufacture sensors, precision measurement systems, communication and control devices for a variety of commercial products and industrial solutions. For more information please visit www.electrolabcontrols.com.

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/electrolab-launches-new-website-to-enhance-user-experience-301000513.html

SOURCE Electrolab, Inc.
Analysis Kachin Leaders Demand Charter Reform to Establish Peace

State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Kachin leaders are pictured together at a Kachin State Day ceremony in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, in January 2020. / Aung Kyaw Htet / The Irrawaddy

As the National League for Democracy (NLD) is pushing for charter amendments in the national legislature, ethnic parties are expecting changes that will help them realize their long-held dreams for equality and self-determination.

Ethnic Kachin leaders say they agree that amending the 2008 Constitution is an essential prerequisite for their aims.

While the Myanmar military or Tatmadaw has voiced concerns about ethnic states possible secession from the country as an undesirable consequence of federalism, none of the Kachin leaders whom The Irrawaddy interviewed mentioned secession.

They say they only want a constitution that guarantees equality and self-determination, allowing peaceful coexistence.

Any change to the constitutional provisions that provide democracy and federalism will benefit Kachin State, said Dr. Tu Ja, the chairman of the Kachin State Peoples Party.

He also served as the vice-chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), which is still fighting with the Myanmar military.

If the Constitution can be amended, though it will not achieve peace at once, we can gradually establish federalism. Power sharing must be done over time. Constitutional amendment is as important for Kachin State as it is for other areas, said Dr. Tu Ja.

President of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) Dr. Hkalam Samson said words could not explain the importance to the country of amending the 2008 Constitution.

I believe Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has many peaceful means to amend the 2008 Constitution. As the Tatmadaw has a tough stance regarding the Constitution, it is better for the NLD to consult with them in making changes, he said.

It is unlikely, however, that the NLD government will be able to amend the Constitution before the 2020 general election, he said. He is, however, optimistic that there will be some changes after 2020.

The Constitution must be changed for Myanmar to achieve peace, he said.

Armed groups dont want to establish [political] parties under the 2008 Constitution. They are ready to transform themselves into parties if and when the 2008 Constitution is amended, he added.

In Myanmar, there are approximately 20 ethnic armed groups that are fighting for their autonomy.

The NLD government is also working to hold political dialogue with ethnic armed organizations through the 21st-century Panglong Peace Conference to push ahead with its promise of a federal democratic union. But many say it is still difficult for the government to convince the armed groups to sign the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). It is mandatory to sign the agreement to join the peace conference for formal talks, while the governments implementation of the NCA with the ethnic signatories has been troubled.

Ten of the ethnic armed groups have signed the NCA.

The NCA is a correct approach. But I dont think it will be fast. I think it will be more effective if the peace process is implemented only after amending the 2008 Constitution, said the KBC president.

NLD lawmaker U Zarni Min, who represents Kachin States Shwegu Township, said his party could amend the Constitution through the Parliament.

There are many holes in the 2008 Constitution. We have seen holes that they [the Tatmadaw] did not know about. The NLD does not do what is impossible. There are other holes [that we can use to amend the Constitution]. More will be coming, said U Zarni Min.

While many of the politicians interviewed by The Irrawaddy questioned the NLDs plan to amend the entire Constitution, U Zarni Min said the entire Constitution must be amended to suit democracy and that incremental amendments would not be useful.

Some Kachin leaders, including Lower House Speaker U T Khun Myat, participated in the National Convention that drafted the 2008 Constitution.

Kachin participants at the National Convention told The Irrawaddy that they submitted research papers and recommendations with the hopes of establishing a reformed Union. The military leaders of the time happily accepted their recommendations, but none of them was included when the Constitution came out, they said.

Some [Kachin politicians] participated in drafting the Constitution. But they didnt discuss it seriously. The Constitution was written flippantly, as if the participants were on vacation, Dr. Hkalam Samson said.

He expressed strong opposition when the military regime took steps to ratify the Constitution in a national referendum in 2008.

The country will continue to face political problems if the charter reform is not successful, said Lower House lawmaker Nhtung Hka Naw Sam of Kachin States Myitkyina Township.

I think we will be successful though there might be obstacles in our way. Our party has the desire to amend the Constitution, said Nhtung Hka Naw Sam, who is also a Central Executive Committee member of the NLD.

Kachin leaders agree with the Tatmadaw that there must be a single armed force in the country, but it must represent all the ethnic groups.

Whether it is called the federal army or Union army, there must only be a single military in a country. That military must be based on the people and must be under the control of the people. It must not discriminate and must not engage in politics, said Dr. Tu Ja.

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This years edition of Art Basel Hong Kong, one of the most important destinations in the international art market calendar, has been canceled, with organizers citing the sudden and widespread outbreak of the coronavirus in China. The fair, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, and featuring premier galleries from Asia and beyond, was to run March 17 through March 21.

The decision to cancel Art Basel Hong Kong was an extremely difficult one for us, said Bernd Stadlwieser, chief executive of MCH Group, the Swiss-based company behind the fair. We explored every other possible option, including postponing the fair, and gathered advice and perspectives from many gallerists, partners, and external experts. However, today, we have no other option but to cancel the fair.

MCH cited numerous factors including the health and safety of fair workers and visitors, the logistical challenges of mounting the event, and the escalating difficulties of travel to Hong Kong, which reported its first fatality from the virus on Feb. 3.

Last week, as Hong Kong shut down museums and schools, and limited flights from the Chinese mainland, participating dealers called for the closure of the fair.
By Lucia Cheng

chengluc@grinnell.edu

On Thursday, Jan. 30, a group of prospective students from China visiting Grinnell College had their visit cut short by staff from Admissions and Student Health and Wellness due to concerns about the 2019-nCoV coronavirus.

The group, from Shenyang, China, was on a United States tour, a recurring trip that introduces students to over 20 colleges across the country within a 2-week period. Grinnell has been a regular stop for their visits, and Jon Edwards, senior associate director of admissions, has hosted them before.

Their tour leader contacted me directly and we made arrangements for the visit, wrote Jon Edwards in an emails to The S&B. I was expecting them that day and had been assigned to present our standard information session from 9 to 10 a.m. so that I could tailor part of the session to their needs as potential international applicants. They hadnt officially reconfirmed, but that doesnt always happen. They arrived on time and were greeted as usual. I spent the hour presenting Grinnell to the group and fielding their questions.

Edwards then learned that the group had only been in the country for 12 days, with the incubation period of the coronavirus being 14 days. Deb Shill, Director of Health Services, then began to conduct a risk assessment, taking the time to meet with each of the students to learn if they had travelled to Wuhan, the Chinese city identified as the origin of the recent coronavirus outbreak.

They were very understanding and in fact, I was able to help answer some of their questions regarding what symptoms to watch for should they fall ill, what the incubation period meant.  All of the students and teachers traveling with this group screened negative, wrote Shill in an email to The S&B. In addition, the group had been encountering similar screening checks from the other colleges on their tour, Shill wrote.

Knowing this, wrote Shill, I called ahead to the health centers located at Macalester College, St. Olaf College and Carleton College in Minnesota, to make them aware of their visit here with us and to let them know we had performed this risk assessment to help avoid them having to be screened again. These college health professionals were very appreciative of this partnership.

The 2019-nCoV coronavirus  named for its protein spikes likeness to a crown, or corona  outbreak began in mid-December, originating in Wuhans Huanan Seafood Market. The illness appeared right before the lunar new year, during which a high number of people travel to celebrate the holidays. Symptoms range from those of the common cold to pneumonia, including coughing, fever and other flu-like symptoms.

As health professionals, we are asked to follow the Centers for Disease Controls (CDC) recommendations when it comes to this world health situation, wrote Shill. In collaboration with the CDC, we are also consulting with the Iowa Department of Public Health as well as the American College Health Association to guide our steps moving forward.

Shill also encourages students to reach out to SHAW in person or via phone at (641) 269-3230 if they feel ill, where they can be treated by SHAW staff in a number of ways, including but not limited to free influenza testing, self-care and sick meal kits and free over the counter medications.

On Friday, Jan. 31, the Presidents office sent an email with the subject line Campus Visit by Prospective Students from China to all students on campus informing them of the incident. College president Raynard Kington stated that in an effort to curtail misinformation, the push to get the facts out as quickly as possible lead to a lack of cultural awareness in the memo.

A major factor that played into the hasty notification had to do with false rumors that had surfaced within the community, from speculations of misconduct to accusations of a coronavirus case cropping up on campus, culminating in a call from KCCI, the local CBS affiliate. History of similar situations, such as a flu epidemic at Grinnell in 1957, has also influenced the actions administrators took.

Theres a huge amount of uncertainty.  People immediately become very fearful, said Kington. And theres often this gap between final guidelines that come out to institutions about what to do, and the recognition that theres a problem, and were in that window.  I think we have an obligation as community members to act responsibly as an institution and that means taking reasonable steps to safeguard the health of our students, our community and our visitors. Our job is to be a source of credible information and to reassure people that were going to do what is being recommended by the experts.

Many students had negative reactions to how the College handled the visit of the students from China.

Theyre not the people who are experiencing this, so they dont know how to hurt, said Kexin Huang 22.

What the Chinese students were mad about was the fact that they used the word unannounced in their statement. Theyre saying that they just came here out of nowhere, said Huang, And, of course that would cause panic. Theyre adding to the discrimination against Chinese people. Imagine having this group of students, potentially carrying a virus, and it just comes out of nowhere. That would just be bad.

Huang, who is from Wuhan, finds that the epidemic hits close to home in more ways than one. With her family still in Wuhan, she says she cant help but compulsively check the news for more updates, adding to the stress she already feels from schoolwork. Even with her family reassuring her that they will be fine, she worries.

I saw this article about an old woman, said Huang. She wasnt able to be helped.  She had died, and I saw that the address was 20 minutes away from my house.

News of the virus has also come with stories of xenophobia and discrimination.

At first, it was everyone in China attacking Wuhan people. And now, its everyone in the world attacking Chinese people, said Huang. Its bad, but its also a normal thing to think about because if youre scared for your life, then you cant be rational. And irrational people cant come down and think about things in a way that they can stand in other peoples shoes. Because they just cant.

Shuhan Yi 22, who is also from China, shared this insight. Because its infectious, I dont think its pure discrimination, said Yi. It, to some degree, arouses a discriminating kind of opinion. Because theres kind of an excuse. But, thats also a very ambiguous point because we dont know if people are discriminating against us, or if theyre just being cautious.

In Grinnell, there has been a show of solidarity on campus for those whose lives have been affected by the coronavirus. The Office of International Student Affairs (OISA), run by Karen Edwards, is working closely with the President of the Chinese Student Association, Huandong Chang 22 to gain student input.

Student concerns have been broad ranging. Some had questions or offered opinions about campus messaging or policies, including the admissions visit. Some have expressed personal worries about friends or family at home, wrote Edwards in an email to The S&B. Some are concerned about how the U.S. entry ban may impact spring break travel plans or families who hope to attend commencement. We are hopeful that President Trumps China travel ban will be short-lived, but that is yet to be determined.  It is so important that we separate the geographic location of this virus from the people who come from, travel to or through, and/or have friends and family impacted by it.

To raise awareness and garner support for those in Wuhan, stickers have been created for both students and faculty to display, a tribute to those currently suffering.

I had a conversation with my friend [at a different college], said Huang. Shes like the most calm and rational person I know in my life, but shes been pretty angry about this stuff, about people attacking Wuhan people  if that could happen, that means everyone could get irrational because of this. Its perfectly reasonable to be scared, but if youre experiencing this fear, that means were experiencing it more. Just be considerate of other people.
Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, home of what they bill as "America's largest indoor water parks," uploaded more renderings to its website of its upcoming location in Round Rock.

The "authentically African-themed" Wisconsin-based company announced its plans in 2016 to build its first property in Texas.
The province announced Friday what communities will be the initial recipients of an initiative to make high-speed internet accessible to 95 per cent of Nova Scotians within two to five years.

In 2018, the Liberal government established a trust fund of $193 million to achieve that objective. Currently, only 70 per cent of Nova Scotians have access to high-speed internet.

Crown corporation Develop Nova Scotia, which is managing the province's high-speed internet initiative, announced the first round of projects Friday, which will use about $45 million from the trust fund.

About 4,600 homes and businesses in Clare will have access to a new fibre-op network, said Ronnie LeBlanc, the warden of the Municipality of Clare. He said the project should be completed in 18 to 24 months.

"It gives us the opportunity to compete and attract new businesses and residents to the area," LeBlanc said.

Warden gets calls about high-speed internet 'all the time'

Right now, he said internet connections are slow, unreliable and inconsistent across his municipality and some residents have no internet access at all.

This poses a problem for attracting new residents and visitors, LeBlanc said.

"As a councillor and as warden, we get calls all the time," he said. "And speaking to real estate agents and people who are dealing in real estate, that's usually the first question they get is, 'If I buy that property...can I get internet?'"

Clare is among dozens of communities that will gain access to wired, high-speed internet with help from provincial government funding. Areas that will see new projects begin this year include parts of Shelburne County, the Annapolis Valley, Cumberland and Colchester counties, and rural Cape Breton. The list also include parts of the regional municipalities in Halifax and Cape Breton.

In addition to the money from the province, $56 million will come from municipal governments and the private companies that have signed contracts with Develop Nova Scotia to provide the upgraded internet services: Bell Canada, Xplornet, Mainland Telecom, Cross Country and Seaside Communications.

Story continues

New projects should make internet accessible to 86% of population

When the new projects are complete, about 86 per cent of the province will have high-speed internet access, said the Crown corporation.

About 1,000 homes and businesses in the Municipality of Barrington will be covered by one of the new fibre-op projects. Warden Eddie Nickerson said slow internet is a topic of daily conversation in his community.

"It's pretty tough for those that are in the outlying areas to do business, and those with children in school, it makes it hard," he said.

Barrington's fibre-op project will mostly serve the western part of the community, said Nickerson, while the eastern half will remain "underserved." He said he hopes the rest of the community will be captured in future rounds of the province's high-speed internet initiative.

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Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter signs city council legislation and executive order decriminalizing 30 grams or less of marijuana on Wednesday, October 1, 2014. In background from left are Cathy Carr, Executive Director Community Legal Services, councilman Curtis Jones and councilman James Kenney. ( ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER ) Read more

Many of Pennsylvanias biggest cities have decriminalized marijuana. And while arrest numbers are dropping somewhat, theyre higher than they were 10 years ago. We dive into many of the factors experts believe are causing this trend. Also, in Philly and many other areas, coronavirus has evoked fear and racism that is hurting some businesses. Mayor Jim Kenney decided to take a message of support to Chinatown. Finally, who is supposed to pick up the bill when presidential candidates visit a city? Local leaders would love some clarity.

 Ray Boyd (@RayBoydDigital, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Most large cities in Pennsylvania have passed ordinances decriminalizing marijuana. Penalties for possessing small amounts have become like traffic tickets. In 2019, the number of arrests tied to marijuana declined. But they were still higher than the number posted a decade earlier  before any city in the state decriminalized possession.

Lt. Gov. John Fetterman calls that lunacy." So why are arrests happening at all? City ordinances cant repeal state or federal law, meaning that possession is still illegal and an officer can make an arrest. Another reason numbers remain high: Police may be muddying the data. My colleague Sam Wood takes a deep dive into the numbers across the state to further explain this trend.

The coronavirus has sparked fear and racism  across the world, including in Philadelphias Chinatown. Shops there are seeing decreases in business as rumors lead customers to stay away.

In an act of moral, political, and culinary support, Mayor Jim Kenney made lunchtime plans Thursday at the Ocean Harbor restaurant. Come back to Chinatown and eat  its great, Kenney said before taking a seat. Chinatown is safe. The city is safe. America is safe. Everybody should relax.

No case of the virus has been reported in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, but restaurant owners say the anxiety is evident when they see the empty seats in their eateries. And the financial loss is trickling down to their employees.

President Donald Trump made a quick stop in Wildwood last week to praise newly minted Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew while drawing a crowd of supporters to the often winter-dormant Jersey Shore town. A week later, Wildwood is still figuring out the costs for extra police and cleanup.

Mayor Pete Byron says he wants his citys money back. And as election season rolls on, Wildwood wont be the last city to have trouble with billing when a candidate stops by.

Across the country and party lines, candidates have racked up unpaid tabs  an issue bound to plague Pennsylvania ahead of the 2020 election as politicians flock to the swing state. So who pays? My colleague Oona Goodin-Smith seeks the complicated answer.

Pennsylvania is the ultimate political battleground in the 2020 election. And soon, well launch an email newsletter with everything you need to know. You can sign up to get it here.

What you need to know today

Through your eyes | #OurPhilly

Philly vs. Everybody! Love your energy with this pic, @thrudseyes.

Tag your Instagram posts or tweets with #OurPhilly and well pick our favorite each day to feature in this newsletter and give you a shout out!

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Opinions

All Im asking for, as an Asian American resident of this city, is to think about how you might make someone feel with your actions. Think twice before asking your Asian friends about the coronavirus, or boycotting your usual Chinese takeout spot. Speak up if you witness racist incidents. Remember that were Philadelphians and Americans, too.  Reporter Bethany Ao opens up about recent harassment tied to coronavirus and racism.

After the Senates acquittal of President Trump, columnist Will Bunch spent time among Trump resistance protesters who continue to hold onto what they believe is right.

Vice President Mike Pence, writing for The Inquirer, makes his case for why Pennsylvanians deserve school choice.

What were reading

Rhonda LeValdo, who teaches at Haskell Indian Nations University in Kansas, explains in a piece for the Kansas City Star why the Super Bowl Champion Chiefs Arrowhead Chop is racist and shouldnt fly under the radar anymore.

Have you ever heard of a ghost kitchen? If you havent, this piece from the Arizona Republic explains how this new trend is changing the restaurant industry.

PlanPhilly breaks down how SEPTA and its engineers drew inspiration from the hoagie to develop a method to repair cracking subway cars.

Your Daily Dose of | MLK Jr.

A Bible signed by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sits on display in Philadelphia. But its location might be the last place youd expect to find something so dear. The Bible signed by the civil rights champion is expected to be worth thousands.
When they werent coming and going from the office, they would both cover beats with such depth that they always had a phone number when it was needed, and they could almost always get someone to talk, which is among the most valuable commodities in journalism. They were trusted by police chiefs and prosecutors and politicians, who knew they would be objective and get it right.
Two Republicans are competing for the GOP nomination for state representative from the Ohio Houses 6th District  veteran Highland Heights Council member Ed Hargate and trade association executive Shay Hawkins, of Lyndhurst. The district reaches from Hunting Valley and Solon to Independence and Brecksville. Of the 99 House districts in Ohio, it has the smallest percentage of residents below the poverty level.

Hargate, 62, a lawyer in private practice, is a graduate of Grove City College and Cleveland State Universitys Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. Hes been a Highland Heights City Council member for more than 30 years and spent eight years as president of the Hillcrest Council of Councils representing the nine suburban Hillcrest communities.

Hawkins, 45, who graduated from Cleveland Heights High School, earned undergraduate and law degrees at Ohio State University and a masters degree in business at Columbia University. Hes CEO and co-founder of the Opportunity Funds Association, a trade group, and says he worked to get opportunity zone language included in the 2017 tax law, to bring investments to low-income census tracts, including parts of Cleveland.

Hawkins has Statehouse and U.S. Capitol experience, and has worked with U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a South Carolina Republican, and then-U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, an Ohio Republican. The Cuyahoga County Republican Party has endorsed Hawkins in this race.

Given his sterling resume, Hawkins would appear to be the kind of younger, gifted, public-spirited person Greater Cleveland needs. Hawkins said he isnt a far-right ideologue and would reach across the Statehouse aisle, noting he energetically backed then-Gov. John Kasich for president in 2016.

But we were troubled by Hawkins carefully hedged, vague positions on matters of major local import, from school funding to state support for local governments. Hawkins also lacks the intricate knowledge of local issues -- and clear record of bipartisanship -- that Hargate demonstrates.

Lawyer Ed Hargate is a longtime Highland Heights councilman.

As Hargate noted, some 6th District communities are heavily Democratic, others heavily Republican; hes worked with residents of both parties to solve local problems. Hargate said his extensive local government experience equips him to help protect state aid to communities. He supports home rule and is concerned about state funding of public schools and the legislatures redistribution, downstate, of locally generated revenues, weakening not just schools but also cities and villages.

Hargate also opposes bids to cap the taxes Hunting Valley property owners pay to the Orange schools. (Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed the tax break last year.) Hawkins doesnt have a specific position on that but said he wants to give parents and pupils more educational flexibility, such as wider use of tax-favored Education Savings Accounts.

Subject to specifics, Hargate said he supports extending Ohios civil rights law to cover LGBTQ Ohioans. Hawkins said hed need to make sure that nothing undermines religious liberty.

Ed Hargate is the better candidate in this race. His resume equips him powerfully to take part in one of Ohios most critical Statehouse debates  over the balance of duties and resources between the state and communities.

The 6th Districts Republican voters should nominate Ed Hargate for the Ohio House. The winner will face the freshman Democratic incumbent, Rep. Phil Robinson, of Solon, on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Early voting in the March 17 primary begins Feb. 19.

Ed Hargate and Shay Hawkins -- the two Republicans vying in their partys March 17 primary to appear on the Nov. 3 ballot for Ohio House District 6 representing a number of eastern and southeastern Cleveland suburbs -- were interviewed by the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer on Feb. 4, 2020 as part of its endorsement process. Listen to audio of this interview below:

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

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* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com.

Other resources for voters:

League of Women Voters vote411.org voters guide.
A grieving father who was desperate to bring his son's killer to justice went on to help uncover the biggest drug epidemic in American history.

Dan Schneider from New Orleans, explains how his search for justice for his son Danny Jr, 22, led him to uncover the early days of America's opioid crisis in Netflix's new hit true crime documentary, The Pharmacist.

Danny Jr was shot dead in the street in April 1999 in a crack deal gone wrong, days after telling his father he wanted to arrange a protest to discourage young people from taking drugs.

When the police failed to investigate the murder, dismissing Danny as just another 'lowlife' addict, his father launched his own fight to find the killer, offering a reward and approaching drug dealers for information.

But his mission would uncover a wider scandal, because around the same time he noticed a large number of young people Danny's age coming into his pharmacy for with high opioids prescriptions.

As he became fixated on solving his son's murder, he became swept up in an investigation to find the source fueling the drugs epidemic, and ended up teaming up with federal agents to take down a rogue doctor handing out prescriptions to young people.

Scroll down for video

Dan Schneider (pictured) reveals how the murder of his son Danny Jr, led him to uncover America's opioid epidemic in Netflix's The Pharmacist

Danny Jr was born a year after Dan became a pharmacist in the small town of Poydras, which has a population of less than 4,000 people.

Married to his childhood sweetheart Annie, Dan gave birth to their daughter Kristi four years later, in 1980.

Dan soon built a two-storey brick home, where the happy family would come together annually to decorate their 17-foot Christmas tree.

'We had a very happy life together. Then the nightmare happened,' said Dan.

Danny Jr was shot while sitting in his truck on 14 April, 1999, after telling his family that he was going to a friend's house to study.

The student who worked part-time delivering pizza and had a long-term girlfriend, was studying drafting at Nunez Community College with plans to get married.

When he was found with money in his hand that police believe he was planning to use to buy crack, Dan and Annie were in disbelief.

However, classes being skipped and grades lowering in the days before his death, were among the warning signs that not all was well with the ambitious student.

'The police had the attitude that these kids maybe got what they deserved, but I was determined to get the killer of the street. If the police wasn't going to do it, I was going to do it,' said Dan.

Dan (pictured with son Danny Jr and daughter Kristi as children) began investigating his son's death after police in New Orleans failed to seek justice

Three other young men has also been shot in the area where Danny was killed, within the previous year.

And around the same time, Dan noticed an increasing number of young people visiting his pharmacist with prescriptions for opioids, as the Gulf South became a hot spot for addicts.

As he worked to solve his son's murder, he would become increasingly involved in finding out what was fuelling the drugs epidemic.

Desperate for answers, Dan and his family handed out flyers throughout their close-knit community and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of their son's killer.

The father-of-two stepped into dangerous territory by communicating with drug dealers and attending Narcotics Anonymous meetings, after his search produced no leads.

He also began praying in local churches and contacting anyone who lived within a half-mile radius of Danny's murder scene.

Dan said Danny Jr (pictured) revealed a desire to warn children against trying drugs, just days before he was murdered in his truck

The father-of-two eventually discovered that 15-year-old Jeffrey Hall was the one who murdered Danny, after a witness finally came forward.

The unnamed woman had her tires slashed, windows broken and was forced to leave with her four children, the same day that word spread that she was helping the Schneider family.

But she was determined not to be intimidated, and provided authorities with a statement. Jeffrey was sentenced to 15 years in prison, after pleading guilty to manslaughter.

WHAT IS OXYCODONE? Oxycodone is the most commonly-prescribed opioid in the US, alongside hydrocodone. They are both classified as 'semi-synthetic' because they (like heroin) are synthesized from opium. The effects of oxycodone on the brain are indistinguishable from the effects produced by heroin. The most commonly-used brand is OxyContin, made by Purdue Pharma, which has come to be the poster child of the opioid epidemic. Despite attempts to make the drug less addictive - by making it harder to crush - the drug is still commonly reported in overdoses. Advertisement

Dan's investigation then changed course, when he partnered with federal agents and recruited informants in the continued hopes of stopping the drugs epidemic.

He realized that around 90 per cent of prescriptions he would get in the pharmacy for OxyContin around the time were written by pediatrics specialist, Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett.

The dangerous drug became known on the streets as an alternative to heroin.

Dan gathered boxes of evidence as he desperately searched for answers to who was supplying the community.

Meanwhile, his resistance to distribute pills in the pharmacy he worked at was viewed as bad for business.

He began warning those prescribed OxyContin of the risks associated and would talk to Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett's patients in a bid to gather evidence.

A presentation of his findings to the IRS and the FBI in January, 2001, complete with photographs from Dr. Jacqueline's clinic, didn't spark a reaction.

Dan then partnered with attorney George Papale who worked at Poydras Street law firm, to unravel the medical practitioner's web of illegal distribution.

Dan's investigation led to pediatrics specialist, Dr. Jacqueline Cleggett losing her license, when it was revealed that she was giving prescriptions for opioids to those who don't need it

Mother-of-three Dr. Jacqueline, had her license revoked and her clinic closed on 14 February, 2002.

Eight years after Danny died, Jacqueline pleaded guilty to her crimes and was sentenced to three years probation.

Since the true crime series debuted on Netflix, viewers have praised Dan for shedding light on the crisis.

One person wrote: 'Please let him know that everything he has done, everything he sacrificed is so very appreciated. As a pharmacy tech I have seen some scary things. I respect the pharmacists I have worked for, their integrity and dedication but Dan is King. Thank him for all of us in the field.'

Another said: 'I just binged The Pharmacist on Netflix and I've got to say that Dan Schneider is the hero we need but don't deserve. Totally respectable and definitely dependable'


Lately, it seems that the royal family has been completely revolving around Megxit. There are still many unanswered questions, and fans are constantly checking the news to see if there are any new updates regarding Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harrys decision to resign from their duties as senior royals.

Many people are wondering exactly what is going on behind palace doors, especially when it comes to family members such as Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Prince William. There is no doubt that they have a lot of work to do, as the details of the split get finalized.

While we know that Meghan and Prince Harry will be splitting their time between Canada and the United Kingdom  and they plan to become financially independent  a lot is still up in the air. We can only imagine the stress that the other royals are under as they try to figure things out, especially with so much speculation going on from fans and the news media.

In the middle of all the Megxit drama, Queen Elizabeth just gifted Prince William something special that has fans speculating shes rewarding the future king for his loyalty to the royal family.

What do we know about Megxit so far?

It was early in January that Prince Harry and Meghan made the surprising announcement that they were stepping back as senior members of the royal family. The split comes at a time when things were anything but easy for the couple, as they have been under intense stress for quite a long time.

The British tabloids have been relentless, and Prince Harry and Meghan just seem to have had enough. So, what do we know about the new chapter of life that they are about to embark on?

Well, according to MSN, they will no longer be receiving funds from the Sovereign Grant. They will also have to pay back the $3 million dollars of taxpayer money that was used in the extensive renovations of their Windsor home.

In addition, all of Prince Harry and Meghans staff are being released from their positions. While they will still have their private patronages, we will no longer see Meghan and Prince Harry carrying out duties on behalf of the queen.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are giving up their royal titles

One of the most complicated details of Megxit is that Meghan and Prince Harry will no longer be known as Their Royal Highnesses. Although a royal title is still relatively new for Meghan, Prince Harry has had a title since the day that he was born.

According to BBC News, Prince Harry and Meghan are no longer entitled to use the HRH titles now that they are stepping back and no longer carrying out official engagements. This is definitely a major change in their lives as they choose to live life out of the royal spotlight and raise their son, Archie, in a quieter environment.

Queen Elizabeth just gifted Prince William something special amidst Megxit drama

Prince William | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

While millions of royal fans are still shocked by Megxit, many people know that we have to take into consideration that the rest of the royals are dealing with the shock as well. While they are surely doing what they can to support Meghan and Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth knows that things wont be easy.

So, what special gift did she just give to Prince William in the midst of Megxit? Well, just as Prince Harry and Meghan are losing their titles, Prince William is gaining another one.

Us Weekly reports that the queen just gave her grandson the title of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. This means that he will be representing her majesty to the Church of Scotland, and will carry out official duties.

Although Prince William is not the first one to hold this title, we can imagine that he is honored by what he has been given.
Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, the Member of Parliament for Bosomtwe and the Deputy Minister for Education picked his nomination form today amidst jubilation at the constituency headquarters at Kuntenase.

According to the deputy minister, he has laid a solid foundation to accelerate the development of the constituency in his first term and all that is required to actualize the full developmental agenda for the constituents is the patience and support of the people.

Addressing the media at Jachie after picking a nomination form to contest the upcoming parliamentary primaries, Dr. Adutwum enumerated a number of projects that have been executed since he became the Member of Parliament.

Flanked by some constituency executives, the Deputy Education Minister said Bosomtwe has received its fair share of the national cake under the leadership of Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo.

He mentioned several road and school projects that are at various stages of completion and gave the assurance that most of them would be completed by the middle of his second term.

He said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is people-centered and would continue to pursue programmes and policies that would generally impact the lives of Ghanaians.

The free Senior High School Policy, he noted, is a testimony of a government that prioritizes the well-being of the people, adding that the policy has benefited virtually every household in Ghana.

Dr. Adutwum who is one of the few NPP MPs going unopposed in the upcoming parliamentary primaries in the region, underlined the need for the party to approach the 2020 election with a united front for a resounding victory.

He thanked members of the party in the constituency for their unflinching support and reminded them of the need to work hard to surmount the task ahead.

Mr. Aikins Adu-Poku, the Constituency Chairman said, Dr. Adutwum is undoubtedly, the best candidate the party could present, given the good job he has done in just three years.

He said the MP has effectively represented the people of Bosomtwe in both government and parliament, therefore, he deserves another chance to bring more development to the area.

The chairman therefore implored members of the party to join forces to secure not less than 90 per cent of the votes for both the Member of Parliament and the President in the December polls.
Emmanuel Macron is leading demands for the UK to be forced to commit to mirroring EU rules on employment and the environment forever if it wants a post-Brexit free trade deal with the bloc.

The French president has reportedly instructed the European Commission to tell Britain that the price of a deal will be a cast iron guarantee from Downing Street that when the EU upgrades its rules the UK will follow suit.

One diplomat told The Telegraph that 'France wants dynamic alignment across the board' while another said 'full dynamic alignment makes sense' as an 'opening bid' in trade talks.

The French demands echo those of an influential group of MEPs - the European Parliament's EU-UK coordinating group - which is also asking for 'dynamic alignment'.

A leaked document from the group calls for the UK to update regulations and red tape as and when the EU does in a handful of areas including workers' rights, environmental protections and state aid.

Emmanuel Macron, pictured in Paris on Wednesday, is reportedly demanding the UK agree to mirror EU rules forever if it wants a post-Brexit trade deal

The MEPs said that without a commitment to a 'level playing field', upheld by 'robust commitments', there could be no zero tariff, zero quotas trade agreement.

MEPs do not have a formal say in the negotiating process but they will have to vote on any final agreement which means EU negotiators will have to listen to their concerns.

The MEPs' negotiating suggestions will reportedly be voted on in the European Parliament next Wednesday.

The demands made by Mr Macron and the similar ones made in the MEPs' resolution which was leaked to the Guardian will spark Brexiteer fury and will be dismissed by Number 10.

They represent an even tougher stance than the one already adopted by the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier.

Mr Barnier has sought alignment on rules and regulations in core areas with formal trade talks between the two sides due to start in March.

Many in the bloc are adamant the UK must agree to sticking to the same standards as the EU in order to stop Britain 'undercutting' the rest of Europe.

They fear that a divergent UK would be able to become a more attractive destination for business than the bloc.

There are also concerns that the Brexit trade deal must be future-proofed so that the the UK cannot simply ditch regulations in the decades to come.

Brussels officials believe a legally binding commitment to mirroring future EU rules would protect against a more competitive UK emerging on the bloc's doorstep.

One diplomat told the Guardian: 'We are not going to agree that quota-free, tariff-free access, if there is no level playing field.'

Alignment on rules will be a crunch issue during post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and the UK.

Brexiteers believe the UK must be free to do what it wants on rules and regulations after the Brexit transition period ends in December this year.

Boris Johnson said at a speech on Monday this week there would not be 'alignment of any kind' between the UK and the EU after Brexit

Boris Johnson has adopted a hardline position on the issue, using a big speech on Monday to proclaim there would not be 'alignment of any kind' between the two sides.

He said he wanted Britain to be an 'an independent actor and catalyst for free trade across the world'.

The EU has made clear that the level of alignment the UK is willing to subscribe to will directly affect the generosity of any deal offered by Brussels.

A failure to accept any alignment would therefore likely result in a more distant and less beneficial future trading relationship.
Breege, mother of Paul Quinn, arrives at her son's grave in Cullyhanna on February 5, 2020 (Photo by Kevin Scott for Belfast Telegraph)

Conor Murphy's public apology to the parents of Paul Quinn - for branding him a common criminal and effectively exonerating the brutal IRA mob who beat him to death - is vindication for a mother's enduring love for a child brutally taken from her in the prime of his life.

As in the case of so many other families who have sought justice for loved ones murdered at the hands of the Provos, Breege Quinn found herself confronting a powerful and perfidious political entity with a proven record in silencing detractors.

The bravery of Breege and her husband Stephen cannot be exaggerated. They have campaigned for the past 13 years against the republican movement which dominates every aspect of life around them in the lawless zone of south Armagh, where the IRA army council reigns supreme.

Paul Quinn signed his own death warrant when he stood up to some of the bully boys in Cullyhanna. Like the Mafia, the Rafia does not tolerate disrespect or defiance.

As the political face and apologist for the organisation, Sinn Fein enjoyed huge success swatting away troublesome people like the Quinns by either ignoring, denying, demonising or dismissing them.

With polling day in sight, it seemed that the well-honed practice of dodging bullets and deploying diversionary tactics worthy of Donald Trump had served Mary Lou McDonald and her party well.

They were romping home with record levels of public support.

But they hadn't reckoned on Breege Quinn going public and gaining traction with her demand for an apology from Conor Murphy for his slur against her son, something that she has repeated over and over for 13 long years.

Sinn Fein first fell back on the default position by attempting to deny or diminish the mother's demand.

Mary Lou McDonald told RTE's Brian Dobson she believed Conor Murphy had not said those things.

Murphy had also previously denied that he ever said those words but was exposed in comments which had been recorded in an interview with BBC's Spotlight. And so we witnessed the spectacle of a leading republican being forced into a humiliating volte-face after years of denials.

The controversy has come as a huge shock to Sinn Fein. It casts an unwelcome light on the dark and shadowy forces that control every aspect of the republican movement - above the heads of its elected representatives - from behind the scenes. The party's attitude to the rule of law and the sins of the past have proved to be its Achilles' heel.

The only time that Mary Lou McDonald appears inarticulate, fumbling and vague is when she is hit with awkward questions about the likes of the Paul Quinn murder and the party's goal of abolishing the Special Criminal Court in Dublin.

Listening closely to her responses to these issues over the past week in the leaders debate and other interviews, one is left with the distinct impression that Mary Lou is answerable to a higher power - and that sure isn't God.

Shutting down the Irish state's most powerful weapon against organised crime, which blights the same working-class neighbourhoods where Sinn Fein gets its support, was a central plank of the party's manifesto.

Then came an act of shocking savagery in the Drogheda gang feud.

Sinn Fein then quickly decided that it would instead have the anti-Mafia court "reviewed".

The backroom men who control the party will never give up their ambition to shut down the court that convicted so many of them in the past, so the review will continue until the proponents of the long game decide to have another go when they control the southern government.

And the same shadowy figures will never forgive a loving mother for having the temerity to take them on.
Hyderabad: TRS and Congress leaders took strong exception to the remarks of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the bifurcation of undivided Andhra Pradesh, in Parliament on Thursday.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Presidents address, the Prime Minister, while targeting the Congress for its remarks on the BJP governments policies, referred to the manner in which Telangana state was carved out during the Congress regime.

Mr Modi said, People do not forget things easily. I want to remind the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, about the manner in which the proceedings took place during the creation of Telangana. Doors were closed and live telecast was prohibited.

Agriculture minister S. Niranjan Reddy, condemning the remarks, said, Formation of the Telangana state was the result of 60 years of struggle and sacrifices made by hundreds of people.

Stating that Mr Modi lacked understanding on the subject, he said, It is because of the Telangana movement that Mulki rules, 610 GO, Pranab Mukherjee committee and Srikrishna committee were constituted. But the process of bifurcation was delayed.

Reminding that statehood was granted only after the people fought relentlessly for years, Mr Niranjan Reddy said, There was no other alternative than to fulfil the long-standing dream of the people. It was the BJP that said it would grant separate statehood within 100 days of coming to power if the Congress failed to deliver the goods.

The minister said the Centre finally relented only after the final phase of agitation launched by K. Chandrasekhar Rao in 2011 and his fast unto death in 2009.

He pointed out, Modi, on an earlier occasion too, made a mindless comment that while carving Telangana, the mother was killed and the child was saved. Your closed doors comment is nothing but belittling the sacrifices of the people who died for the cause of Telangana.

TRS senior leader and Legislative Council Cha-irman Gutha Sukhender Reddy said that the PM not only insulted the people of Telangana but also the late Sushma Swaraj, who had supported statehood in Parliament.

Stating that the Prime Minister has to first ascertain the factual position, Mr Sukhender Reddy advised the Prime Minister to change his attitude towards Telan-gana state.

Telangana Pradesh Con-gress Committee treasurer Gudur Narayana Reddy said Mr Modi was not an MP then and might not be aware of what happened in Parliament. He said it was the Congress-led UPA government which created Telangana while BJP and other parties supported the move.

Asking the BJP leaders to clarify whether or not they supported the formation of Telangana state, Mr Narayan Reddy said Modi is apparently against division of Andhra Pradesh and therefore, he often refers to the process adopted to pass the Telangana Bill.
The founders of this country, conscious that they were creating a new form of government, leaned heavily on the available ancient precedents. They dressed their new republic in the architecture of Greece and Rome, asserting its legitimacy with pillars and pediments.

Now the United States is nearly 250 years old; it no longer needs to wear borrowed clothes. And modern federal buildings rightly reflect the diversity of this great nation, from the wavy blue glass of the federal courthouse in Miami to the salvaged timber planks in a federal office building in Seattle to the vertiginous white facade of a courthouse annex in Salt Lake City.
A drug bust in the International District last week turned up much more than dope.

New Mexico State Police say they found more than a dozen guns  some of them stolen  thousands in cash, a fair amount of fentanyl and a Los Lunas Police badge when they raided the home of 35-year-old Army veteran Claudio Chavez on Jan. 30.

Chavez was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center and charged with four counts of drug trafficking and three counts of possession of stolen property.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court:

Officers served a warrant around 4 p.m. at Chavezs home in the 500 block of Madeira SE, near Zuni and San Mateo, and detained Chavez. Inside the home they found 33 grams of heroin, 35 grams of fentanyl and 18 grams of methadone along with smaller amounts of PCP, meth and marijuana.

Officers also seized 18 guns  some with serial numbers ground down and at least three that were stolen  more than $11,000 in cash, a Rolex watch and several forms of identification, including passports, drivers licenses and a Los Lunas Police Deparment sergeant badge that were believed to be stolen.

Chavezs father, Dennis Chavez, declined to comment on the charges against his son.

To tell you the truth, I havent seen that guy in over a year, so I dont really know what hes up to, he said.

Chavez was last arrested in 2016 on several violent felonies, including

kidnapping, false imprisonment and six counts of aggravated battery against a household member in the brutal beating of his wife.

Police responded to the Mountain Run Shopping Center after Chavezs battered wife ran inside the Smiths grocery to hide from him.

The woman told police Chavez bound her inside his van and told her to write a suicide note  which she refused to do  before choking her to unconsciousness repeatedly and bashing her head against the concrete.

The 2nd Judicial District Attorney dismissed the case in January 2017, declaring it to be in the interests of justice.
Recently, I saw a world leader on TV announce that his armed forces had killed someone very significant. I dont know if you know what was happening, but he was planning a very major attack, the man said. And we got im! Later that night, I watched another world leader on TV making jokes about concentration camps and suggesting that in order to vote, every citizen should be made to take an IQ test and score above 70.

That first politician was the very real US President Donald Trump. The second was Vivienne Rook, a fictional character played by Emma Thompson in the UK TV series Years And Years.

This shows you just how frighteningly difficult it has become to tell present-day fact and dystopian fiction apart. The terror of Years And Years comes not just from its frantic pacing and unfolding revelations  theres a mass exodus of refugees from Ukraine, the US fires a nuclear device at a disputed Chinese territory, the UKs banking system implodes  but from how this all seems far from far-fetched.

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Series creator Russell T. Davies previously rebooted Doctor Who. In the age of Brexit, rampant nationalism and all-seeing technology, he no longer has to look to sci-fi to conjure up a creepy future.

We view all this through the lives of the Lyons family in Manchester from 2019 through to 2034.
"There will be a lot of clean-up and recovery, and people may need a secure place to store their belongings in the coming days," said Doug Weston, U-Haul Company of Western North Carolina president. "U-Haul is here to help by making these facilities available to our neighbors at no cost for a month."

U-Haul Company of Western North Carolina has made 11 stores available to offer its disaster relief assistance program. People seeking more information or needing to arrange 30 days free self-storage should contact the nearest participating U-Haul facility:

U-Haul Moving & Storage of East Asheville

387 Swannanoa River Road

Asheville, NC 28805

(828) 298-8551

U-Haul Moving & Storage of South Asheville

3161 Sweeten Creek Road

Asheville, NC 28803

(828) 483-5707

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Boone

849 NC Hwy. 105 Bypass

Boone, NC 28607

(828) 297-1723

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Hendersonville

1500 Airport Road

Hendersonville, NC 28792

(828) 233-5017

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Downtown Hickory

542 Main Ave. SE

Hickory, NC 28602

(828) 256-0209

U-Haul Moving & Storage of West Hickory

331 U.S. Hwy. 70 SW, Suite 101

Hickory, NC 28602

(828) 358-3669

U-Haul Moving & Storage at Roper Mountain

24 Roper Mountain Road

Greenville, SC 29607

(864) 254-9154

U-Haul Moving & Storage at Wade Hampton

529 Wade Hampton Blvd.

Greenville, SC 29609

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U-Haul Moving & Storage of West Greenville

1406 Grove Road

Greenville, SC 29605

(864) 269-8172

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Northwest Spartanburg

1500 International Drive

Spartanburg, SC 29303

(864) 574-2298

U-Haul Moving & Storage of Spartanburg

345 Whitney Road

Spartanburg, SC 29303

(864) 582-4140

U-Haul stores offer needed supplies to help with storm recovery like boxes, tarps, propane and propane tanks. U-Haul urges customers to ensure their tanks are topped off since propane is good to have in the event of long-term power outages.

With U-Box containers, you can conveniently pick up our custom-designed trailer and take your U-Box with you. U-Haul also can store your U-Box container in our secure warehouses or pick up and deliver it to a location of your choice.

U-Haul is the industry leader in do-it-yourself moving and self-storage with more than 22,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada. In addition to its 30 days free self-storage disaster relief program, U-Haul is proud to be at the forefront of aiding communities in times of need as an official American Red Cross Disaster Responder.

U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 is revolutionizing the moving industry through its more convenient, more secure way to pick up and return a truck. Since 2017, U-Haul Live Verify technology has allowed customers to conduct transactions entirely on their smartphones at any hour  day or night. There are no membership fees. Create an online account at uhaul.com to start skipping the lines and stop worrying about store hours.

About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of 22,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 offers secure access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the customer dispatch option on their smartphones and our proprietary Live Verify technology. Our customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to approximately 167,000 trucks, 120,000 trailers and 43,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers nearly 697,000 rooms and 60.7 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry, and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S.

Contact:

Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: [email protected]

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com

SOURCE U-Haul

Related Links

www.uhaul.com


The head of a key nonproliferation watchdog is making the rounds in Washington this week to reassure the Donald Trump administration and Congress that its still capable of monitoring Iranian activity, even as the 2015 nuclear deal unravels.

Iran, which pulled out of the nuclear deal following the US assassination of Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani last month, took center stage in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossis visit to the United States this week. Grossi sought to reassure Washington that the IAEA still has the ability to monitor Iran, even as it gears up to escalate its nuclear activity.

Its been the center of much of my discussions here in Washington, Grossi said at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on Feb. 5. Its a bit of a paradox, because I am verifying noncompliance. But this is the way things are. And the ones to say whether they are comfortable or not with that are those who subscribe to the agreement, and I havent heard from them that I shouldnt be inspecting anymore.

Iran announced after the Soleimani strike that it would abandon its commitments under the nuclear deal and no longer abide by the accords restrictions on the number of centrifuges it can operate to enrich uranium. Still, it remains unclear whether Iran intends to ramp up enrichment to 20% or beyond, a major threshold for weapons-grade uranium.

At the same time, Iran stopped short of expelling IAEA inspectors from the country after granting them unprecedented access under the nuclear deal. Grossi is also appealing to the international community to ensure that his organization is able to retain that access to Iran as tensions between Washington and Tehran skyrocket.

Of course, my preoccupation here is to make sure that I have all the conditions to do my job, said Grossi. One thing I need, not only from Iran, of course, but from all the others, is that they support me when I request Iran to work with us. People should hope countries will give me the necessary support that I will need when moments of difficulty will come, when I may have to ask Iran to do the right thing.

Grossi met with Trumps national security adviser, Robert OBrien, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Feb. 4. He also met with Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, and Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the chairman and top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Feb. 5.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said that Grossi and Pompeo discussed the IAEAs monitoring work in Iran, nuclear security and the importance of the IAEA to US security interests.

And Risch urged Grossi to push hard for full access for his inspectors and for full answers from Iran in a statement after the meeting. He called the IAEAs work especially important now, as Iran walks away from its nonproliferation commitments and as evidence has emerged of possible undeclared Iranian nuclear sites and activities.

The IAEA asked Iran in November to explain the presence of uranium particles at an undeclared nuclear site  before Tehran withdrew from most of the deal last month. The IAEA has not publicly named the site, but Israel had previously asked the agency to look into a location in Tehran based on an Iranian nuclear archive the Mossad said it obtained in 2018.

The archive prompted conservative critics of the nuclear deal to call on Trump to activate the accords dispute resolution mechanism, which could ultimately lead to the reimposition of UN sanctions on Tehran.

It is unclear whether Washington could actually trigger the mechanism, as it has already withdrawn from the accord, but the United Kingdom, France and Germany triggered it last month, after Iran announced it was also withdrawing. Nonetheless, the Europeans have indicated that they would refrain from referring the dispute to the UN Security Council, which is what would ultimately trigger the international sanctions.

I hope the political dialogue that is taking place now is going to bear fruit, said Grossi.
A social media user, Bosindelive has shared the amazing story of a man who was shot at his residence in Bayelsa in 2019.

According to the story, a bullet was lodged in his head and he was rushed to the hospital for surgery.

All efforts to remove the bullet proved abortive.

Read Also: Okada Ban: Stray Bullet Hits Schoolgirl As Police, Okada Riders Clash In Lagos

The surgeon then promised to do the surgery on him at a later date.

Shockingly, while he was going out to visit a friend, he then felt something moving on his throat at the same spot where he was shot and behold, he vomitted the bullet.

Read the full story below:
Pet therapy happens every month at Oakmonte Village in Lake Mary. In coordination with the Jewish Pavilion, Pet Rescue by Judy volunteers bring therapy dogs and cats to the residents for licks and hugs. This month Kathy Nevins, Jackie Jones-McAleer and Bhavya Prabhu from Pet Rescue brought Duncan and three sister kittens to play. Susan Bernstein, program director from the Jewish Pavilion, joined them directing Duncan to a woman in a wheelchair. The Pet Rescue team took the kittens from resident to resident for cuddles and purrs.
In a bid to take preventive measures, Saudi Arabia has banned all travel by its citizens to virus-hit China and incorporated penalties for any violations, according to the state media on February 6. A Saudi news agency said that the trips to China by its citizens are suspended in a bid to take preventive actions that the kingdom has adopted against the coronavirus outbreak. The expatriates are being barred from returning to the kingdom. Coronavirus has claimed at least 636 lives in China, as per the latest government reports. The government reported more deaths on Friday morning, leading to the crisis worsening.

READ: Coronavirus Death Toll Rises To 636 In China; Confirmed Cases Crosses 30,000

636 dead, more than 30000 infected

The Chinese government also reported that the number of people infected has crossed 30,000 across the country.

The outbreak took place in Wuhan in January and multiple countries have started evacuating their citizens from the country, and have decided to restrict the entry of foreigners returning from China. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus as a 'global public health emergency'.

READ: Coronavirus Crisis: Crew, Passengers Of Chinese Ships Barred From Mumbai Port

WHO urges for $675 million donations

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on February 5 has urged for $675 million (613 million euros) in donations in a bid to battle the deadly coronavirus, mainly through investment in countries considered to be at risk. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news conference held in Geneva that they are unveiling a strategic preparedness and response plan and are requesting $675 million to fund the plan for the next three months. He added that the WHO's message to the international community is invest today or pay more later.

He further added that the appeal for the funds was "much less than the bill we will have to pay if we do not invest in preparedness now". He reportedly said that $60 million of the funds would be for WHO operations and the rest of the amount would go to the countries requiring help to guard against the deadly coronavirus.

READ: China Air Force To Appear At Singapore Show Despite Coronavirus

READ: Staff Making IPhones In China's Plant To Be Quarantined Amid Rising Coronavirus Deaths
Lord Faulks is a former Minister of State at the Justice Department.

The Brexit conversation may have moved onto the next stage. But the fallout from the Supreme Courts judgment on prorogation in 2019 has left our constitution in a state of disarray.

The Conservative Party Manifesto and the Queens Speech make clear that the Government is serious about examining the changing constitution and restoring its balance if need be. The Supreme Courts judgment and its wider implications are likely to be relevant to this exercise.

Distinguished legal commentators have taken different views about the Courts decision to quash the September 2019 prorogation. Some have hailed the judgment as an historic vindication of parliamentary democracy against a rapacious, unbound executive, whereas others have decried it as an improper extension of judicial power into the heart of politics.

And some have split the difference, or at least changed their minds. Jonathan Sumption, remarkably, argued before the Supreme Court judgment that intervention would be legally improper and yet welcomed the revolutionary judgment that followed, apparently on the grounds that the Government was made up of fanatics (or had been acting like fanatics) and deserved a good kicking.

Policy Exchanges Judicial Power Project has been in the vanguard of the debate, publishing a series of incisive short comments for and against the judgment, convening a high-level discussion (with Lord Sumption amongst others, which John Bald wrote about on this site) about the judgment and its implications, and contributing to the inquiry by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, an inquiry cut short by the general election. (One hopes that the Committee, under the leadership of its new Chair, William Wragg, will choose to revive and complete the inquiry.)

Policy Exchange also published two substantial papers taking the Supreme Courts reasoning to task, one by Martin Loughlin of the LSE and the other by John Finnis of Oxford University. And in a new paper published by Policy Exchange today, Professor Finnis has produced what to my mind is the final word on the subject.

Why does it all matter? After all, when the Supreme Court ruled that the purported prorogation was unlawful, Parliament returned for a short period during which not very much, if anything, was achieved. And then we had a general election.

But the result of the ruling is that principled limits on the justiciability of the prerogative power to prorogue, including limits firmly imposed by Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689, have been set aside.

In other words, judges can now decide whether they are satisfied with the reasons (if any) the Government provides for its decision to prorogue Parliament. For many lawyers and commentators, this is an assertion of judicial power that cannot be justified by constitutional law or principle. That was also the view of the distinguished judges of the Divisional Court whose judgement was reversed by the Supreme Court without engagement with their reasoning. The decision to prorogue Parliament, however questionable it might have been, was the exercise of a clear prerogative power, the merits of which are the stuff of politics not law.

So the novelty of the Supreme Courts judgment should not be overlooked. In his masterful new paper, which complements and completes his earlier critique, Professor Finnis explains with care just how far the Supreme Courts judgment distorts the law of our constitution. One implication of his analysis is that the Attorney General had good reason to maintain, in the face of heated criticism in the Commons and elsewhere, that his advice that prorogation was lawful had been correct.

In the common law, how a judgment is received by lawyers often determines its relevance to the future of the law. This is doubly so in relation to a judgment that has provoked such strikingly different reactions on the part of legal commentators. Professor Finnis makes clear just how badly the Supreme Court mishandled the law of our constitution which it was duty-bound to apply and thus the damage it has done to the integrity of the UKs political constitution. Unless his analysis can be answered, which I very much doubt, lawyers and judges should look back on the Supreme Courts ruling as an historic mistake, a needless constitutional panic.

Unless and until the judgment is reversed by the Supreme Court or Parliament, it exposes decisions about prorogation  and by analogy decisions to seek a dissolution of Parliament or to form a government  to challenge in the courts. This may be good news for lawyers, and for those who want a second bite at the political cherry, but it constitutes a significant, unjustified constitutional shift.

What can the Government do? It can hope that the decision will simply be a one-off, and that later courts will decline to follow the judgment further. That might prove to be wishful thinking. Or it can invite Parliament to legislate to settle authoritatively the non-justiciability of the prerogative power to prorogue Parliament and perhaps also to impose further limits on the scope of that power. While they are at it, Parliament might want to legislate to protect other, related prerogative powers.

Legislation of this kind may be the only way to limit the courts incursion into political territory. It will almost certainly be misrepresented as some kind of revenge attack on the courts. Indeed, this charge has been made in anticipation of possible reform. Parliament has a constitutional responsibility to consider restoring the long-settled law of our constitution, including Article Nine of the Bill of Rights 1689, and if or when it chooses to act it will not be exacting revenge on the Supreme Court.

Indeed, it is more than a little odd to denounce legislation that would vindicate the powerful judgment of the Divisional Court  made up of the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, the Master of the Rolls and the President of the Queens Bench Division  as a populist attack on the rule of law.

Repeal of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 (a manifesto commitment) may provide an opportunity to act. (In another recent Policy Exchange paper, Stephen Laws explores further the opportunity repeal and replacement of the 2011 Act provides in this regard.)

Alternatively, the Government may choose to wait until it has the views of the Commission on the Constitution, Rights & Democracy, the remit of which appears certain to include an examination of the relationship between the legislature, the executive and the courts. For members of the commission, as for Parliamentarians in both Houses, Professor Finniss analysis of the Supreme Courts missteps should be required reading.
The White House announced on Thursday evening that the leader and co-founder of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, Qassim al-Rimi, was killed last month in a counterterrorism operation in Yemen.

Formed in 2009, Yemen-based AQAP claimed responsibility for last year's shooting at Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors. Rimi was a target of a January 2017 raid on an Al Qaeda compound in Yemen, and in the days following it he released a video taunting President Trump over the failed operation, saying, "the new fool in the White House received a painful slap across the face."

"The United States, our interests, and our allies are safer as a result of his death," the White House said. "We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm."

More stories from theweek.com

Elizabeth Warren's last chance

American democracy is dying

ABC News analysts say debate was a 'breakthrough' for Amy Klobuchar, but Joe Biden 'had the worst night'


Something to Dish?

Do you have a tip, question or recommendation on Bakersfield restaurants, trends or food news in general? Email thedish@bakersfield.com, and your input might wind up in a future column.
Mumbai, Feb 7 : Actor Aparshakti Khurana is right now gearing up for the romantic drama "Helmet", his first solo release as a Bollywood hero, opposite Pranutal Bahl. He was also recently seen the recent short film "Nawab", a relationship drama. The actor says in personal life he is driven by relationships. He adds that he always prioritises his loved ones over career and that does not make him a "less ambitious" person.

"I feel things will get worse in the future, considering we are getting obsessed with our careers. We rarely meet our real friends. These days, if someone prioritises relationships over professional life, people tend to call them 'less ambitious', and they are looked down upon by people who are living a life that only revolves around their career. That is untrue in my philosophy. I am someone who is very much driven by my family members and childhood friends, and I will never get so obsessed with my career as to miss out on the touch and warmth that I get from them. Does that makes me sound less ambitious? I do not know, but that surely makes me happy," Aparshakti told IANS.

"Nawab" released on YouTube channel Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films on Wednesday, and revolves around a young couple in a marriage that is revealing cracks owing to high ambition. The film also features Maria Goretti, Geetika Vidya, and Seema Pawha, and is directed by Mansi Jain.

Born and brought up in Chandigarh the actor made his Bollywood debut with a character role in Aamir Khan's 2016 blockbuster "Dangal". He has since then carved a niche as a credible actor with brilliant comic timing in films such as "Badrinath Ki Dulhania", "Stree", "Luka Chuppi", "Jabariya Jodi", "Pati, Patni Aur Woh" to name a few.

Talking about opportunities in the film industry, and carving own space, Aparshakti said: "I think I am fortunate to be part of some interesting stories. Also, although those parts were small, each one of them was different from the another, and that is how I managed to show my versatility." (Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blasted Donald Trump for his State of the Union address, accusing the president of turning the event into a game show that uses people of color as props.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who did not attend the event in person out of protest, was asked during an Instagram live session for her thoughts on the president highlighting so many people of colour during the speech.

In response, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said that the president knew exactly what he was doing  and that the tactic was deployed at all shows a rift between the way America views the rights of white people and the rights of people of colour.

Trump knows exactly what hes doing, she said. Donald Trump has started giving out cash to black Americans at his rallies. This whole State of the Union was like a game show where he was handing out prizes and surprises and reality TV moments, and this is exactly his political agenda.

The question posed to Ms Ocasio-Cortez referenced a specific portion of Mr Trumps speech, in which he highlighted an African American mother and her daughter from Philadelphia, Stephanie and Janiyah Davis.

Janiyah, he said, is a fourth grade student who loves art and math, but has been assigned a low-performing school. Then, Mr Trump used their plight to attack Pennsylvania governor Tom Wolf for vetoing a bill on school choice, and then told the child that she would be getting a scholarship so she can go to any school she would like.

It has been noted that his characterization of Mr Wolfs veto is slightly or somewhat distorted. A report last year by the Philadelphia Inquirer found that Philadelphia schools are startlingly segregated even as other schools in surrounding public schools have become more integrated, in spite of school choice policies there that the Trump administration supports. During the State of the Union, Mr Trump was plugging a scholarship program that would give tax breaks to private organisations that set up scholarships for religious or private schools, which critics say would funnel money away from public school systems even as Republicans cheer the effort for improving choice.

Story continues

In her response, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said that Mr Trumps speech showed that the rights of people of colour are constantly negotiated, and on the chopping block in politics in general.

When suddenly the rights of immigrants are controversial. Or issues pertaining to black Americans are controversial, but issues facing white Americans are not controversial, and they are bread and butter issues, this is what happens in our discourse, she said. And I think we need to be very careful about this because it is extraordinarily deliberate and it is being done with a very specific agenda.

Read more

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Auditions for Britain's Got Talent's new series are currently underway in Manchester.

And heading out in the city before filming on Friday, Ant and Dec were seen in great spirits as they met with young fans.

The TV presenters put on an animated display as they signed autographs, just hours after publicly sending their support to This Morning host Phillip Schofield, after he publicly addressed his sexuality and announced he is gay.

Smile: Ant and Dec were seen greeting young fans as they stepped out in Manchester on Friday ahead of hosting Britain's Got Talent auditions

Ant and Dec looked cheerful as they stopped for photographs on their way to the latest round of auditions held at The Lowry Theatre.

Both stars cut casual figures, with Ant favouring dark jeans, a checked shirt and a charcoal grey bomber jacket, while Dec sported a khaki green jacket and backpack.

Their appearance out in Manchester comes after Ant and Dec both showed their support for their fellow ITV star Phillip, who candidly spoke about his battle with his sexuality in an emotional interview on Friday morning's broadcast of This Morning.

Ahead of his interview, Phillip, 57, released a statement via social media that spoke of his decision to come out as gay, after gaining the support of his wife of 26 years, Steph, and their two daughters Ruby and Molly.

Fan favourites: The TV presenters stopped to sign autographs outside their hotel

Smart: Ant cut a smart yet casual figure in a checked shirt and grey bomber jacket

It read: 'You never know what's going on in someone's seemingly perfect life, what issues they are struggling with, or the state of their wellbeing - and so you won't know what has been consuming me for the last few years.

'With the strength and support of my wife and my daughters, I have been coming to terms with the fact that I am gay.'

Moved by his statement, Ant and Dec tweeted: 'Huge respect and admiration for our friend @Schofe. Sending love to you P, and to your 3 lovely girls.'

Interviewed by his close friend and co-host Holly Willoughby on This Morning, Phillip told her: 'It's funny because everyone I've spoken to, and you, have all been so supportive and so loving and caring, and my entire family to a person have grabbed us and said it's ok, we love you we're proud of you...

'Every person I tell it gets a little lighter and a little lighter, at the same time I have made this decision which is essential for me and essential for my head and that is principally the reason I have done this. They have been supporting while we get to this moment because we all know it was coming...

Support: His appearance in Manchester comes after Ant and Dec showed their support for their fellow ITV star Phillip Schofield, after he publicly announced he is gay

'Sending love to you': They tweeted they have 'huge respect and admiration' for Phillip for publicly revealing his battle with sexuality and showed their support for his family

Honest: Phillip explained in an interview with Holly Willoughby that he, with his family's - wife Steph and their two daughters Ruby and Molly - support, decided it was time for him to come out publicly

'We've never had any secrets. It is tough but it's not something that has happened quickly, I have had to deal with this in my head for quite some time, we've gone through this together, we have been honest and have been open and Stephanie as I said, you know, she's amazing.

'She's incredible, there's no one in my life who would have supported me. As a wife the way she's supported me, she's astonishing, literally astonishing... you know this has been bothered me for a very long time...'

Phillip has been inundated with support from his celebrity pals, including Ant and Dec's Britain's Got Talent co-star David Walliams.

David tweeted: 'I am sending all my love to @Schofe today. I have always held him in the highest regard, [and] now have nothing but respect and admiration for him. Lets hope we are moving towards a world where no-one has to come out anymore, they can just be who they are and celebrate that.'

Speaking out: Phillip was inundated with support by a slew of his celebrity pals, including David Walliams who posted a tweet 'sending all his love' to the presenter

Back to it: David has been filming for Britain's Got Talent's new series in Manchester alongside co-star Simon Cowell (pictured above)

He joins Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon on the judging panel for Britain's Got Talent's 14th series.

The Manchester round of auditions follow the London dates at the Palladium, which took place from January 18 to 23. Final auditions will be hosted on 10 February.

The show will return to screens with its new series after BGT: The Champions aired in the autumn, which saw contestants from international versions of the show compete to be crowned the ultimate winner.

After finishing runner-up on the show in 2010, dance duo Twist and Pulse were crowned the winners, while Greek father-son dancers Stavros Flatley finished as runners-up, after last competing on the show in 2009.

War veteran Colin Thackeray was crowned the winner of Britain's Got Talent last year, after stunning viewers with his amazing vocals.

ITV revealed in December that the much-loved talent competition, which sees its winners perform at the Royal Variety Performance, will run for the next five years as its been commissioned until 2024.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Moss Point woman has been arrested after being indicted by a federal grand jury on charges she filed fraudulent tax returns for others and herself.

The announcement was made by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the U.S. Justice Departments Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst for the Southern District of Mississippi.

Talvesha Glaude was operating a tax return preparation business under the names TMG Tax Service and Regional Tax Service. From 2014-2019, Glaude reportedly prepared and filed fraudlent tax returns for clients which claimed inflated refunds based on false income tax withholding and education expenses.

In addition, the indictment charges Glaude with reporting false withholding and education expenses on her personal tax returns.

If convicted, Glaude faces up to three years in prison for each count of the indictment. She also faces the possibility of post-release supervision, restitution and fines.

Zuckerman and Hurst thanked special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, who are investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stan Harris and Trial Attorney Kevin Schneider of the Tax Division, who are prosecuting this case
(ANSAmed) - BELGRADE, FEBRUARY 7 - Some 400 migrants who had been camping out since Thursday at the Serbian-Hungarian border crossing of Kelebija in hopes of crossing it to continue their journey towards western Europe, were taken away last night and moved to centers in Serbia including Subotica, Sombor, Bosilegrad, Presevo. The crossing was closed Thursday and reopened on Friday morning to cars. The commissioner for migrants and refugees, Vladimir Cucic, said that no incidents were reported and that migrants were transferred to hosting centers by bus.



Serbia, said Cucic, means to defend migrants' rights while guaranteeing stability in the country. He claimed that the migrants at the border crossing with Hungary were manipulated by foreign NGOs.



Last night, Serbian defense minister Aleksandar Vulin went to meet the migrants in Kelebija over fears of incidents while in Hungary security was tightened near the border. No incident was however reported at the border. (ANSAmed)
Six of the14 pupils who were killed during a stampede at Kakamega Primary School on Monday, died of suffocation, postmortem results have revealed.

Western Region Government Pathologist Dickson Mchana said one of the pupils, Simeon Waweru sustained a fracture on the left shoulder.

Speaking at the Kakamega County Hospital Mortuary on Thursday, Dr Mchana said they were conducting limited post-mortem tests on the bodies since the deaths were not contestable.

REQUIEM MASS

He said although the exercise was still going on, it was possible that the learners died from asphyxiation.

"We are also racing against time to finalise the post-mortems and prepare the bodies for collection by the families for a requiem mass to be held at Bukhungu Stadium Kakamega," said Dr Mchana.

This appears to reinforce reports indicating that the pupils fell over each other during the stampede.

Police are still carrying out investigations and have recorded statements from teachers, pupils and other witnesses to establish what triggered the commotion, which claimed 14 lives and left 39 learners nursing injuries.

Two of the learners are still in the Intensive Care Unit at the Kakamega County General and Referral Hospital, while four others in the wards had made a recovery and were due for discharge.

14 PUPILS

On Wednesday, parents of the 14 learners who died had demanded to be represented by a lawyer during the postmortem examinations. They complained that preparations for the postmortem examinations had been rushed.

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They later met the County Commissioner Ms Pauline Dola who requested them to allow the exercise to proceed as planned.

"We just don't want to have the postmortem examinations conducted as a formality, we want to establish what caused the death of our children," said Mr Obadiah Aluvisia who lost his son Fidel Kimbutie.

He added: "We are surprised that there are plans by the [Kakamega County General and Referral] hospital to conduct postmortem examinations without seeking our consent. If they want to do them as a formality, then we are requesting to be allowed to proceed to bury our children without the examinations," said Mr Aluvisia.

Ms Dola said the parents will get support from the national and county governments.

Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya said the county government will waive all the charges, including mortuary expenses and support the affected families.
The parents of three kids killed in a car crash in Sydneys northwest have issued a statement following the tragedy.

Sienna, 8, her sister Angelina, 12, and brother Antony Abdallah, 13  along with their cousin, 11-year-old Veronique Sakr  died after they were allegedly hit by a car in Oatlands on Saturday night.

The parents of the three Abdallah children, Daniel and Leila, are understandably devastated over the crash.

Samuel William Davidson, 29, who was allegedly behind the wheel of the car, has been charged with 20 offences including four counts of manslaughter, dangerous driving occasioning death and grievous bodily harm, negligent driving and drink driving.

Antony, 13, Angelina , 12, and Sienna Abdallah, 8, all died in Oatlands last weekend. Source: Supplied

His case was heard at Parramatta Bail Court on Sunday. He did not appear in court and did not apply for bail, which was formally refused by magistrate John McIntosh.

Davidson is scheduled to return to Parramatta Local Court on April 2.

The funeral for the Abdallah siblings will be held at the Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral in Harris Park on Monday morning.

Daniel and Leila Abdallahs heartbreak in their own words

On Saturday the 1st of February 2020 at approximately 7.50pm, our entire world came crumbling down with the senseless loss of three of our six children, Antony, Angelina and Sienna. A fourth child was also killed; our cousin Bridget Sakrs daughter, Veronique.

To begin to encapsulate or express the heart-wrenching pain and sorrow we are experiencing in this time would require endless words of despair. This is an unimaginable tragedy; unfathomable beyond all description.

Our children are our reason for living. Bringing them up in accordance with the ways of God, teaching them to love, affording them every opportunity and nurturing them into positive and impacting young men and women was, and is, our lifes purpose.

What is life without your children. How and where do we begin to pick up the pieces so that we may be effective parents to our three remaining angels?

Story continues

Antony's schoolmates pay a visit to a makeshift memorial. Source: Getty Images

We start with forgiveness.

We forgive the driver that killed our innocent children. His actions will be met before the earthly and heavenly judge. We have decided, in our hearts to forgive him  for our sake, for the sake of our children and more so for Christs sake.

Our faith in Jesus Christ remains the foundation of our family and we believe it will continue to help us through this difficult time. Each day that passes is a day closer to the day we are reunited with our angels. We will look toward this moment; not backwards at yesterdays pain.

As weve tried to make sense of the past week, the world too has been shaken by this mortifying event. It is our hope that through this, all will know that no matter the pain or despair, God will be a safeguard through this dark valley. He is in control, and eternity sits in the palm of his divine hand. Our life here on earth is but a vapour in comparison to his eternal plans, and the purpose God holds for his children.

Leila Abdallah stops at the memorial and mourns her children. Source: AAP

We would like to thank our family, our friends, our community, and so many others from across Australia and the world, for the overwhelming support we have received.

We are humbled and strengthened by the outpouring of love from each and every one of you. Please continue to join us in prayer during this time. This is a very heavy cross that weve been chosen to carry, but it is through Gods love that we keep going.

May the Peace of God through Jesus Christ be with us all.

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 two officials discussed general policy issues.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to close the illegal "offices" of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR") and "Luhansk People's Republic" ("LPR") in some Italian cities.

"I've called on the Prime Minister to close the illegal 'DPR' and 'LPR' offices opened in several cities of Italy," Zelensky told media representatives in Rome on February 7, according to the presidential press service.

Read also"Unintentional mistake": Italian TV host on "Little Russia" slip

Zelensky and Conte discussed general policy issues, it said.

As UNIAN reported earlier, it became known in February 2019 that pro-Russian forces in Verona (Italy) announced the opening of the so-called "representative office of the DPR."

In turn, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a note verbale to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Italy along with requests to the prefecture and questura [police headquarters] of Verona, protesting against undermining the pan-European position in support of the territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. The requests also sought clarification of the legal status of that "representation."
The family of a woman with disabilities, whose concerning behaviour has triggered more than 140 police and ambulance call outs since July, is worried she could be shot by police officers unaware of her situation.

Carol*, 33, was born with Smith Magenis Syndrome, a developmental disorder with characteristics that include intellectual disability, reduced sleep and sometimes increased aggression.

Elle Cooper and Mark say they are unable to get help for Mark's daughter Carol (not pictured) Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui

For most of her life Carol lived at home with her father Mark** in Geelong, who says she is a warm and loving person and the family matriarch because she remembers special occasions, checks on others welfare and organises coffee dates. But a year ago Carol decided to live independently - without adequate support, her father says - and her behaviour has become increasingly unpredictable and aggressive.

At least three disability services in Geelong now refuse to work with her, as do many support workers. Elle Cooper, the director of Liberty Disability Services, has taken Carol on as a client and says her situation is the most challenging Ms Cooper has ever seen.
Two illegal miners died and two others were injured, while more than 20 others are feared trapped underground after a tunnel at Globe and Phoenix Mine in Kwekwe collapsed yesterday.

By the time of going to print, the actual number of trapped illegal miners was not clear, but indications were that about 25 miners were underground at the time of disaster.

Chief Government Mining Engineer Michael Munodawafa, confirmed the accident, yesterday.

He said rescue efforts were ongoing.

Eng Munodafawa said mining inspectors were still trying to gain entry into the collapsed shaft through other channels.

"We can confirm that two artisanal miners died while two others were injured and taken to hospital, after a mineshaft they were working under collapsed," he said.

"We are still to get more causalities but there is a possibility that those who are said to be missing could have found their way out through other entrances and exit points.

"We are not ruling out the fact that there could be scores others missing, but they could as well have managed to escape; we will give a final update once the operation is over."

When The Herald arrived at the mine around midday yesterday, some artisanal miners were trooping out.

Various groups operating at the mine were trying to account for each other with unconfirmed reports saying at least 20 were still unaccounted for.

It also emerged yesterday that Globe and Phoenix Mine ceased operations in 2007 following an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which showed the shafts, most of which were right underneath Kwekwe central business district (CBD) were posing danger to the city.

Kwekwe District Administrator Mr Fortune Mupungu, who is also the District Civil Protection Unit chairperson, said scores of artisanal miners were operating at the mine illegally.

Some of the artisanal miners were evicted from Gaika Mine.

"We received the sad news that several miners were trapped underground following the collapse of a shaft this morning (yesterday).

"A team which went underground to assess the situation only found two bodies," said Mr Mupungu.

Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Ms Henrietta Rushwaya could not be reached for comment last night as her mobile phone was unreachable.

The Herald news crew spent the better part of yesterday at the scene.

Police only arrived around 3pm while officials from the Mines and Mining Development Ministry arrived at 4:30pm.

The police were assisted by some artisanal miners to retrieve the bodies from the shaft, before loading them into their van and left.

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It was a tense atmosphere with some self-styled security personnel at the scene threatening to beat anyone who dared to take photos.

Some of the artisanal miners who had gathered outside the mine were ordered to leave.

"We don't want any pictures taken from here. Those who came out of the shafts, please go home. We have stopped operations here. We only want to see relatives of those missing, everyone let's go," said one of the security people.

Eyewitnesses said the two miners, whose bodies were retrieved, were crushed by a boulder which fell off the collapsing shaft.

"The two were at the entrance of the shaft so there is a boulder which fell on them as the shaft collapsed, they were cut into halves but we don't know what became of their colleagues who were inside the shaft, about 20 of them," said an artisanal miner, Mr Mthokozisi Moyo.

Mr Moyo said the shaft where their colleagues were trapped was over 8km long.

"From outside up to the entrance of the shaft which collapsed, we need to walk for about 4km while underground, but the shaft itself is over 8km," he said.
Vice President Mike Pence said Beijing has demonstrated "an unprecedented level of transparency" with world health officials in dealing with the new, fast-spreading coronavirus.

"It's heartbreaking but we stand ready with China to provide them any and all support," he said on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street."

Health officials around the world are also scrambling to stop the spread of the new virus, which was discovered Dec. 31 in the Chinese city of Wuhan in Hubei province.

China's National Health Commission has raised its confirmed coronavirus cases in the country to 31,161. The death toll rose to 636, with one additional fatality in the Philippines and one in Hong Kong. Eleven cases have been reported across the United States.

The Chinese government has put several preventative measures in place, including issuing travel bans and monitoring citizens for fever and coughs. Several retailers have closed stores. While health officials believe the number of actual coronavirus cases to be much larger, some have praised China, Pence among them, for its quick reporting and its willingness to share information about the outbreak.

"We think that China has demonstrated an unprecedented level of transparency" with world health officials, Pence said.

However, a Wuhan doctor who sounded the alarm on social media in December about the new coronavirus was reprimanded by the police in January for spreading "illegal and false" information. The doctor, ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, died of the illness this week.

In the CNBC interview, Pence referred to Thursday's phone call between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, after which Trump tweeted that China will "be successful" in getting control over the deadly coronavirus.

"Trump made it clear that the United States is ready, willing and able to deploy resources," Pence added.

TRUMP TWEET 2

Medical experts have compared the current coronavirus outbreak to the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic, which also began in China. At the time, the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome sickened nearly 8,100 people and caused 774 deaths. That means the virus killed roughly 1 in 10 infected people. The new coronavirus has a much lower mortality of rate of about 2%  and it may be even lower, if the confirmed cases are indeed under-reported.

Even after SARS had spread beyond China and around the world, Beijing sought to conceal the number of actual cases and worked meticulously to avoid detection by World Health Organization experts. It wasn't until a physician spoke out that the concealment became known.

China has said this time will be different. Last month, the ruling Communist Party's central political and legal affairs commission warned that "whoever deliberately delays and conceals reports will forever be nailed to history's pillar of shame." At the time, Xi said people's health must be put first. "It is necessary to release epidemic information in a timely manner and deepen international cooperation."

By sharing information quickly, health experts can work to stop the spread of the disease and drugmakers can begin working on possibles vaccines.

 The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A 49-year-old man is charged with arson and a dozen other offenses in a fire that destroyed a vacant home last week in Carbon County.

Pennsylvania State Police responding to the Jan. 28 blaze say they spotted the suspect, Daniel Crum, leaning against a broken down SUV parked nearby.

Troopers found checks and other items in the SUV belonging to a previous resident of the home at 860 W. Sunset Road in East Penn Township outside Bowmanstown, according to court records.

Witnesses and neighbors told investigators the SUV had been parked directly in front of the house about a half-hour before the fire was first observed, police said.

Crum admitted to having been inside the home to steal copper prior to it catching fire, according to police.

State police determined the fire was set in multiple locations inside the home, and a K-9 found traces of a flame accelerant in several spots.

A trooper took Crum into custody for questioning then drove him home. He voluntarily committed himself Jan. 29 for mental health treatment at an area hospital, police said.

Crum was arraigned Friday before District Judge Casimir Kosciolek on charges of arson, burglary, criminal trespass, reckless burning, criminal mischief, reckless endangerment, theft and defiant trespass.

Other charges relate to marijuana and paraphernalia found in the SUV, which belonged to someone else and whose inspection had lapsed, court records say. Crum also was allegedly driving it under suspension.

Crum was sent to the Carbon County prison in lieu of $100,000 bail and faces a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Feb. 19 before Kosciolek to determine if there is sufficient evidence to send the case toward trial in Carbon County Court.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President Yulia Kovaliv met with representatives of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) headed by Counselor to the Chief Executive Officer Caleb McCarry on Thursday evening, the presidents press service has reported.

The participants of the meeting discussed the opportunity of establishing effective cooperation and attracting investments in Ukraine in areas like infrastructure, energy, healthcare, agriculture, technology and financial services.

Ukraine is looking forward to big investments. The whole team focuses its efforts to create the most comfortable conditions for an investor, she emphasized.

In addition, she outlined the main areas that currently require investment and could be of interest to U.S. partners. These areas include privatization of state-owned enterprises, modernization of infrastructure, healthcare, agro-industrial complex and technologies.

We open the land market, conduct concession tenders, and launch state online services. These are the preconditions that will make Ukraine more attractive to investors, the deputy head of the President's Office said.

The representatives of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, for their part, emphasized readiness to intensify cooperation and noted particular interest of international investors in Ukraine. In addition, they expressed interest in expanding cooperation areas with our country.

ish
The Ministers of State affiliated to the Justice and the Education docket have stepped down.

Evode Uwizeyimana, the Minister of State in charge of Constitutional & Legal Affairs and Isaac Munyakazi the Minister of State in charge of Primary and Secondary Education submitted their resignation letters to the Prime Minister on Thursday, February 6, 2020.

The news was confirmed by Prime Minister Edouard Ngirente's office through a tweet posted shortly before midnight.

According to the Prime Minister, the letters were to be presented to President Paul Kagame.

Uwizeyinama's resignation comes only four days after he was seen shoving to the ground a female private security guard who demanded he undergoes security procedures required prior to entry of public buildings in Kigali.

The incident was posted on the social media platform Twitter. The former Minister responded begging pardon.

Some reports have attributed Munyakazi's reason for stepping down to a case involving last year's national exams where a school was promoted to the top 10 best performers without merit.

It is alleged that Munyakazi was involved in that process and investigations are ongoing to get to the bottom of the matter and hold to account all those involved.

The Rwanda Investigation Bureau confirmed Tuesday that it was investigating the incident involving Uwizeyimana.

Both Uwizeyima and Munyakazi joined the cabinet in 2016.
TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- David Rosenkrantz ("Acquiror") announces that he has filed an early warning report under National Instrument 62-103 in connection with the acquisition of 1,579,000 voting common shares ("Shares") and 789,500 Share purchase warrants ("Warrants") of Aurora Spine Corporation (the "Company") for total consideration of USD$300,010.



On February 6, 2020, the Acquiror acquired Shares and Warrants of the Company, which in the aggregate, resulted in the cumulative acquisition of more than 2% of the outstanding Shares of the Company, thereby triggering the requirement to file an early warning report. Immediately prior to the acquisition, the Acquiror beneficially owned 7,207,500 Shares of the Company. As a result of the acquisition, the Acquiror beneficially owns 8,786,500 Shares of the Company, which, including the convertible securities held by the Acquiror, is equal to 18.81% of the Company's issued and outstanding Shares.

While the Acquiror currently has no plans or intentions with respect to the Company's Shares, depending on market conditions, general economic and industry conditions, trading prices of the Company's Shares, the Company's business, financial condition and prospects and/or other relevant factors, the Acquiror may develop such plans or intentions in the future and, at such time, may from time to time acquire additional Shares, dispose of some or all of the existing or additional Shares or may continue to hold the Shares of the Company.

A copy of the early warning report filed by the Acquiror will be available on Aurora Spine Corporation's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. The Company's head office is located at 1930 Palomar Point Way, Suite 103, Carlsbad, California, 92008 and the Acquiror's address is located at Patica Corporation, The Exchange Tower, 130 King St. W., Suite 2210, Toronto, Ontario, M5X 1E4.

Aurora Spine Corporation

760-424-2004
Operating since 1970, Goway Travel is celebrating its 50th year with an unprecedented trip giveaway. Its a landmark year, and we want to share the celebration with perhaps the most important part of our Goway family, our globetrotters! - Bruce Hodge, Goway President, owner, and founder.

Registration for Goway Travels 50 Trip Giveaway celebration opens April 1, but globetrotters can now submit their details to ensure they dont miss a chance to enter the big draw.

Part of the companys ongoing 50th Anniversary celebrations in 2020, Goways 50 Trip Giveaway offers globetrotters the chance to embark on one of Goways memorable and exciting signature trips.

The first phase of the draw will take place throughout April, 2020, with more trips to be given away later in the year. With 50 trips to be won, totalling over US$307,000 in value, this is believed to be the largest travel giveaway in North American history.

Not many travel companies get to turn 50, and see so many changes in our industry, says Bruce Hodge, Goways President, owner, and founder. Its a landmark year, and we want to share the celebration with perhaps the most important part of our Goway family, our globetrotters!

Advance registration ensures globetrotters receive a reminder notification when the draw opens on April 1. Prize destinations are drawn from Goways 2000+ trip product range covering Europe and the UK, to Australia and New Zealand, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Central and South America, the worlds most idyllic islands, and even the Polar Regions.

Since 1970, Goway has been providing unforgettable travel experiences to Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central & South America, Idyllic Island destinations and Europe. Today Goway is recognized as one of North America's leading travel companies for individuals, families and groups to select exotic destinations around the globe. Goway has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Manila, and Sydney, Australia.

For reservations and information, visit http://www.goway.com, or call 1-800-387-8850.
Don Hand was dejected, dismayed and desperate for what he thought would be a compromise.

Already, hed seen a Texas Methodist minister set his ordination papers ablaze, a protest that prompted another to come out as gay and a group of ministers to demand a more gay-friendly United Methodist Church, just a few years after its 1968 founding.

At the UMCs 1972 national meeting, where delegates tensely debated an official stance on homosexuality, Hand scribbled a half-sentence amendment intended to strike a middle ground. It left intact the resolutions language that all people are equal in the eyes of God, but added that homosexuality was nonetheless incompatible with Christian beliefs.

It passed.

There wasnt a whole lot of heat or anger, Hand, a San Antonio trial attorney and Methodist layman, recalled in an interview this week. It was just a smooth piece of business.

Nearly half a century later, Hands 16-word addition is at the core of a schism that many believe will fracture the nations second-largest Protestant group in May. The proposed divorce, announced last year, follows years of challenges to the so-called incompatibility clause, which more liberal United Methodists say has alienated LGBTQ congregants and ministers.

Those tensions came to a head last year, when UMC leaders put forward five proposed plans that would create anywhere from one to four new global Methodist denominations and, potentially, dissolve the current UMC. Most of the proposals would create new denominations based on ideological views, with traditionalists and progressives going their separate ways 52 years after the UMC was created through a merger.

And while at least one of the proposals is predicated on a desire for reconciliation and grace through separation, many expect a nastier divorce that could entangle local churches in battles over property, theology and parishioners.

This is now coming home to every zip code in America, said Terry Mattingly, a longtime religious commentator and current fellow at University of Mississippis Overby Center. Thats how widespread this is going to be.  Methodism has broken down, and there is no one in Methodism with the power to settle this.

Much of the in-fighting can be traced back to the 1972 meeting at which Hand proffered his amendment. But even before that, there were signs of conflict, said Ashley Dreff, a Methodist historian at High Point University in North Carolina.

Dreff said that the sexual revolution of the 1960s influenced some Methodists to adopt more progressive views on sexuality and other social issues, particularly in coastal cities such as San Francisco.

But those liberal bastions were outliers  the birth of the United Methodist Church came at the tail end of the Civil Rights movement. Interracial marriage had only been legalized a year prior, and explicitly racist or discriminatory laws were still on the books in many states, including Texas.

Dreff described the views on sexuality among more liberal Methodists as "extremely radical" for the time.

And so, after the 1968 merger of the Methodist Church and Evangelical United Brethren Church that created the UMC, Methodists needed to reconcile divergent views on theology, scripture and social issues.

Rather than truly hash out the differences, Dreff said, the UMC opted to uphold theological pluralism, creating with it a big tent and room for wide diversity in opinions and approaches.

It was a temporary  and flawed  fix, Dreff said.

I like to say it is the beauty and the bane of United Methodism because it's beautiful in concept, but it does not work in practice, especially when it comes to sexual ethics, she said. Because when you are creating a sexual ethic within a theologically plural society, someone's going to be left out.

That much became clear to Hand at a 1971 meeting of Texas Methodists. Months earlier, Wil Schaefer, a San Antonio-area minister, had been stripped of his ordination after a regional discipline board found hed had a heterosexual affair.

Incensed, Schaefer walked down the meetings aisle with what at first appeared to be a flaming bouquet. In fact, it was his ordination papers engulfed in flames.

Bishop, here are my credentials! he shouted.

Schaefers display of disobedience motivated another Texas minister to come forward and ask his Methodist brothers to deal publicly with what they have known privately, according to a 2017 paper by Methodist historian Robert Sledge.

Most of the ministers and leaders of the church have known this about me for some five years, Gene Leggett said at the meeting. We have lived by an unspoken agreement of you leave me alone and Ill leave you alone... I am a homosexual.

Like Dreff, Sledge noted that views on sexuality at the time were heavily influenced by social and political issues. The battle cry of the Age of Aquarius was if it fees good, do it! he wrote.

Months later, another meeting of southwestern Methodists was interrupted, this time by a protest from a group of young men calling themselves the Gay Liberation Front.

The group insisted that attendees take up no other business until the issue of homosexuality was settled, according to Sledge. And they brought with them a list of 10 demands. Those included that Methodists accept the authenticity of the gay lifestyle; cease to define gay people by their sexuality alone; acknowledge that oppression of gays is an extension of oppression of women and Third World peoples; and campaign against Texas anti-sodomy laws.

Hand later wrote that he was amazed at the rudeness and display of contempt hed seen. To him, the protests were expressions of entitlement by those who were unwilling to abide by centuries-old standards of Christian morality.

In 1972, Hand and others arrived at the meeting in Atlanta gravely concerned. The agenda called for delegates to vote on various doctrinal statements, including one on human sexuality.

The proposed statement called for more efforts to understand human sexuality, affirmed that sex outside of marriage could be exploitative within as well as outside of marriage, and stated that homosexuals no less than heterosexuals are persons of sacred worth.

Hand took issue with some of the language, which he saw as ambiguous and reflective of the ongoing sexual revolution and thus a serious departure from the teachings of Christian tradition.

He added his compromise, a caveat at the end of the proposals last sentence noting that we do not condone the practice of homosexuality, and consider this practice incompatible with Christian doctrine.

The compromise statement was kind of a papering over of the broader issue, Sledge told the Chronicle. It was a way for traditionalists to accommodate the concerns of the insurgents without sacrificing their convictions.

Since then, the incompatibility clause has been challenged at almost every UMC meeting.

Over the same period, the denominations regional bodies in the United States have continued to clash over discipline, race and gender issues, contrasts so stark that two Duke University sociologists once declared that there were, in reality, seven Methodist churches in America.

These differences may be so potentially divisive that the church, remembering the struggles of the past, prefers to ignore them, the papers authors wrote in 1985. ... Although some of the specific conflicts within Methodism appear on the surface to be over ideology, polity or between racial and cultural groups, the underlying causes may be regional differences.

Those trends persist today, Mattingly noted.

There never was a united Methodist Church  It was always a compromise.

Recent research by Ryan Burge, a professor of religion and political science at Eastern Illinois University, shows that support for gay marriage among United Methodists mirrors broader trends in America. Nearly 80 percent of United Methodist voters under 35 years old support gay marriage, Burge found. Less than half of those older than 76 held similar views. It also found wide variations in support for gay marriage based on region, education and church attendance.

Yet his research also found United Methodists care far less about gay marriage as a voting issue than they do national security, health care of government corruption.

Why is the split coming to a head now? Scott Jones, the resident bishop of the Texas Annual Conference, pointed to two things: The legalization of same-sex marriage in America, and the UMCs expansion in Africa and Asia, where attitudes toward homosexuality and other social issues are typically more conservative.

Thats shifted some power away from more liberal United Methodists.

We have been debating issues about human sexuality since 1972, Jones said. It has always been controversial.

Dreff, the Methodist historian, added that the legalization of same-sex marriage has forced ministers to take a side on the issue -- and risk losing their ministerial credentials.

All of a sudden, they're being asked to perform same sex marriages by their congregants, and are for the first time having to kind of confront how the United Methodist Church understands sexuality, she said.

Dreff agreed that the issue is likely to at least split the UMC. But she doesnt necessarily see that as a bad thing for Methodism, which has a history of schisms dating back to slavery.

Shes choosing to view it with optimism, as potential new life coming into the church that allows it to reach new people in underserved communities that are worthy of love and worthy of affirmation.

Hand, 90, stands by the balance he sought with the incompatibility clause, nearly five decades after he wrote the fateful half-sentence. But he added he doesnt mind if other Methodists see it otherwise.

I think its important that the members be happy, he said this week. And if they cant be happy together, they can divide.

robert.downen@chron.com
Topologically stabilized spin structures at the nanoscale magnets, including domain walls, vortices and skyrmions, have recently received much attention. Among the nanoscale non-linear spin textures, vortex is a typical and well-known magnetic domain in dimensionally confined systems with a symmetry determined by its polarity and chirality. Because of its stability at the nanoscale and its robust control on nanosecond timescales, the magnetic vortex can be a promising candidate for next-generation magnetic data-storage devices [1].

Recently, emergent phenomena were discovered in manganites with strong electron correlation, such as the nonvolatile tunable magnetoresistance [2], ultralow-current-induced domain-wall motion [3], anisotropic resistance switching [4], topological Hall effect [5] and the high-frequency spin-wave propagation [6] etc., which are strongly affected by their mesoscopic domains. Magnetic domains in manganites are sensitive to various external stimuli such as strain, size, electric/magnetic fields etc., making them a model system to manipulate their spin textures (e.g. vortex, chiral domain walls). However, magnetic vortices were usually observed in spatially confined nanostructures such as the square-shaped, triangle-shaped, and disc-shaped nano-islands, and the shape-induced magnetic anisotropy is assumed to be the major mechanism for the formation of the magnetic vortex.

Using variable-temperature magnetic force microscopy (VT-MFM) and in-situ magnetoresistance measurements, Chinese researchers in collaboration with German scientists discover that magnetic vortex clusters in epitaxial LSMO structure can be stabilized by artificially engineering its strain state. Phase-field modeling further supports that the vortex state in this one-dimensional manganite originate from the inhomogeneous strain. Enhancement of the uniaxial strain relaxation-induced magnetic anisotropy in wires and its competition with the shape-induced anisotropies plays an important role in stabilizing the flux closure spin structure. This work offers a new strategy to build up emergent spin textures in strongly correlated magnets and may trigger new designs for magnetoelectronic devices.

###

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFA0302300) and the Beijing Natural Science Foundation under contract No. Z190008 and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11974052 and 11474024). J. X. acknowledges the beamline 1W1A of the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility. X. W. acknowledges the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11604011) and Beijing Institute of Technology Research Fund Program for Young Scholars. J. W. acknowledges National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 11672264, 11621062). The group in Mainz acknowledges support by the German Research Foundation DFG SFB TRR173 Spin+X, project KL1811/18 and the Graduate School of Excellence Materials Science in Mainz (GSC266). The work in Peking University was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFA0300804), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11974023, 51672007), the Key R&D Program of Guangdong Province (2018B030327001, 2018B010109009). P.G acknowledges Electron Microscopy Laboratory of Peking University for the use of Cs corrected electron microscope.

References

[1] Shinjo, T., et al., "Magnetic vortex core observation in circular dots of permalloy", Science 289, 930 (2000). [2] Yang, W., et al., "Achieving large and nonvolatile tunable magnetoresistance in organic spin valves using electronic phase separated manganites", Nature Communications 10, 3877 (2019). [3] Wang, J., et al., "Magnetic domain-wall motion twisted by nanoscale probe-induced spin transfer", Physical Review B 90, 224407 (2014). [4] Wang, X., et al., "Anisotropic resistance switching in hexagonal manganites", Physical Review B 99, 054106 (2019). [5] Vistoli, L., et al. "Giant topological Hall effect in correlated oxide thin films", Nature Physics 15, 67 (2019). [6] Liu, C., et al., "Current-controlled propagation of spin waves in antiparallel, coupled domains", Nature Nanotechnology 14, 691 (2019).

See the article:

Iftikhar Ahmed Malik#, Houbing Huang#, Yu Wang#, Xueyun Wang, Cui Xiao, Yuanwei Sun, Rizwan Ullah, Yuelin Zhang, Jing Wang, Muhammad Abdullah Malik, Irfan Ahmed, Changmin Xiong*, Simone Finizio, Mathias Klaui, Peng Gao, Jie Wang* and Jinxing Zhang*, "Inhomogeneous-strain-induced magnetic vortex cluster in one-dimensional manganite wire", Science Bulletin, 2019, doi: 10.1016/j.scib.2019.11.025

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095927319306814
The US is locked in a technological and ideological battle with China that, if mishandled, threatens the nation's economic prosperity, values and way of life, America's top justice official said on Thursday.

"China has emerged as the United States' top geopolitical adversary," said US Attorney General William Barr in a speech at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). "For China, success is a zero-sum game."

Barr called on American universities, industry, society and its democratic allies to join together in countering the "blitzkrieg" threat posed by China's authoritarian system before it is too late.

At one point he suggested that US companies should take controlling stakes in the international rivals of Chinese tech giants to counter their rise.

FBI Director Christopher Wray (shown on Tuesday) spoke along with Attorney General William Barr and called the Chinese threat "diverse and multilayered". Photo: Reuters alt=FBI Director Christopher Wray (shown on Tuesday) spoke along with Attorney General William Barr and called the Chinese threat "diverse and multilayered". Photo: Reuters

Past administrations and many in the private sector had "too often been willing to countenance China's hardball tactics " and it has been this administration that has finally moved to confront and counteract China's playbook", said Barr, prompting enthusiastic applause from a handful of attendees in the packed hall.

He focused fully half his speech on what he characterised as an era-defining rivalry over 5G technology, an arena in which Chinese companies enjoy somewhat rare technological superiority over their US counterparts.

"The time is very short and we and our allies have to act quickly," Barr said.

Barr's past experience as a Verizon telecommunications executive was on display as he outlined the 5G challenge, diving into details on spectrum, base stations, US telecoms infrastructure shortfalls and the need to create a viable market alternative to Huawei Technologies.

Story continues

In the absence of any real competition, Huawei " which Barr's department has targeted with numerous criminal indictments over commercial espionage and fraud " is currently pursuing a campaign to supply critical 5G infrastructure to municipal and national governments around the world.

Most recently, and despite Washington's braying, Britain approved the limited use of Huawei technology in the development of its own 5G network.

Barr said on Thursday that the US should consider throwing its weight behind Huawei's closest " though still distant " rivals: Finland's Nokia and Sweden's Ericsson.

Such a strategy would see American companies take a controlling stake in one or both of the European firms, either directly or through an alliance with other private sector entities from US allies.

"Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms would make it a far more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power, or their staying power," said Barr. "We and our closest allies certainly need to be actively considering this approach."

Barr was delivering an update on the Department of Justice's "China Initiative", a US policy set up by his predecessor in 2018 to identify and counter the Chinese theft of trade secrets and other strategic assets.

The conference included a host of top FBI and Justice Department speakers.

FBI Director Christopher Wray said his agency was honing a variety of traditional and non-traditional tools and tactics to counter what he called the "diverse and multilayered" Chinese threat.

The FBI is conducting some 1,000 China-related investigations across all 56 of its field offices, bureau officials said, complemented by Department of Justice prosecution team leaders centred in five US offices: New York; San Francisco; Boston; Dallas, Texas; and Huntsville, Alabama.

Under the China Initiative, the FBI arrested 24 people during the fiscal year ending in September, up from 15 arrests five years ago, officials said. In the last four months, it said it had arrested 19 more people.

"We are not seeking a rise in cases for the numbers," said John Brown, assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division, but rather to check what he called the biggest US threat since Washington tried to counter Moscow during the Cold War.

The US government's aggressive pursuit of such criminal cases has prompted accusations " from individuals in academia, the private sector and even the military " of racial profiling.

On Thursday, officials sought to dispute that charge.

"This is not about the Chinese people as a whole and it's sure as heck not about Chinese-Americans," said Wray. "But it is about the Chinese government."

Barr, who has generally limited his public criticism of China to matters of commercial malpractice, also fired shots at Beijing over its treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, its internet censorship and its opposition to "self-determination" in Hong Kong.

According to recent reporting by The New York Times, which cited an unpublished manuscript by former national security adviser John Bolton, Barr has expressed unease at US President Donald Trump's apparent closeness with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In private conversations with Bolton, Barr raised concerns that Trump had led autocratic leaders, including Xi, to believe that he had "undue influence" over what should be considered independent judicial matters, The Times reported.

In May 2018, Trump announced that he was working with Xi to get ZTE, a Chinese telecommunications giant that Washington had banned from procuring US technology, "back into business". Several weeks later, the US administration lifted the ban under an agreement in which the company put US$400 million in escrow.

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 originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright  2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
MANILA, Philippines  Filipino tourists bound for Jeju Island in South Korea will no longer be allowed to leave the country without a visa amid the threat of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Friday.

The BI said it is implementing the new policy after the Korean Embassy in Manila informed the bureau that it was temporarily suspending the visa-free entry of tourists from the Philippines and other countries to Jeju Island.

We have already instructed our immigration officers not to allow the departure of any Filipino bound for Jeju unless the passenger was issued a visa by the Korean embassy, BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina said in a press statement.

Prior to the suspension, Philippine passport holders were allowed to enter Jeju Island without a visa through direct flights and sea trips.

The bureau said the Korean embassy announced the suspension a day after Filipino health authorities confirmed the first reported death outside China of an nCoV patient at the San Lazaro Hospital in Manila.

The Korean Government has announced that the visa-free entry to Jeju Island and visa free entry for transit passenger who depart from China, suspended until further notice, the announcement on its website read.

In addition, starting February 4, 2020 any foreigner (applicable to all foreigners) that have visited or stayed in the Hubei Province, China  within the last 14 days, are not permitted to enter Korea, it added.

The Philippine government has also imposed a temporary travel ban on passengers from China, Macau and Hong Kong in an effort to curb the spread of the virus.

Medina said nearly 300 foreigners were turned back at the airports as a result of the travel ban.

This does not include the ones that did not deplane and reach immigration during the first day of implementation, he said.

He added that airlines have also bene asked to screen Manila-bound passengers at the port of origin and disallow the boarding of those who have traveled to China, Macau and Hongkong for the past 14 days.

The post Jeju-bound Filipinos wont be allowed to leave sans visa amid nCoV threat  BI appeared first on UNTV News.
One of more than 40 women who was raped at knifepoint in her home by the notorious Pillowcast Rapist in 1984 says the attack left her emotionally crippled to the point where it 'probably squelched intense happiness for decades'.

Catherine, a 68-year-old part-time librarian from New Jersey, lived in the Pompano Beach section of Florida in August 1984.

At the time, South Florida towns in the Miami and Broward County areas were reporting several instances of women being attacked by a mysterious assailant who hid out in his victims' apartments, used a knife to threaten them, threw pillowcases over their heads, and proceeded to rape them.

On August 16, 1984, Catherine, who was 33 years old at the time, came home to her studio apartment in Pompano Beach after a day of work at a her job as a researcher.

When she opened the front door, she remembers scolding her two kittens who had torn up things inside the apartment.

Authorities say Robert Eugene Koehler, a 60-year-old registered sex offender who was arrested in Palm Bay on January 18, is the Pillowcase Rapist

Catherine then went into her bathroom, brushed her teeth, and changed into her bed clothes, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

She was looking forward to jumping into bed and turning on the television to watch People's Court with Judge Wapner.

But when she stepped out of her bathroom, she suddenly felt something sharp placed against her throat.

A man then appeared and put his lightly tanned arm around her, holding her in place.

The man had apparently been hiding out in the woman's apartment, waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom and head to bed.

He said she was 'crazy' for talking to her kittens.

The man then led Catherine toward the twin bed, put a pillowcase over her head, and tied her arms to the bottom of the bed before proceeding to rape her.

At least once, he was heard saying: 'Shut up.'

After he was finished, he went into her kitchen and drank a soda from her refrigerator.

The rapist then took cash from her wallet as well as her driver's license and left.

After he was gone, Catherine managed to untie herself and remove the pillowcase from her head.

She then went next door to a neighbor's house, where a man she never saw opened the front door after she knocked.

'As far as I knew it could've been him,' she said.

Police arrived and collected evidence. Catherine was taken to a hospital, where she was administered a rape kit.

Investigators told her they did not have a suspect, but that they would reach out to her if they found any new leads.

Weeks went by and nothing happened, Catherine said.

She appeared resigned to the fact that there would be no arrest and that a rapist was on the loose to attack again.

From the description given by one 36-year-old victim, a police artist created a drawing that was circulated throughout Coconut Grove, South Miami and Hollywood

'I just kept going,' she said. 'I didn't really have any choice.'

The Pompano Beach Police Department was later subsumed into the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

A few months later, she moved to Boynton Beach, about 25 miles north of Pompano Beach.

A year later, she read an article in the Miami Herald about a rapist who targeted numerous women in and around Miami and Broward.

The attacks fit the same pattern as that of her assailant - the use of a knife, a pillowcase to cover their face, hiding out in the victims' apartments.

After she finished reading the article, Catherine said she was physically shaking, especially after learning that the rapist was known to return to his victims' apartments.

'I was absolutely terrified,' she said.

Catherine then contacted the Miami Special Victims Unit, which was investigating the crimes.

Two detectives then interviewed her at her job in Delray Beach, but there was little in the way of information that she could provide since she could not recall any distinguishing features or characteristics of her assailant.

With no leads, life went on. A special task force formed to find the rapist was disbanded in 1987.

The next year, Catherine left South Florida for St. Petersburg. After a short stint at a job at a public library in Miami, she moved out of Florida and relocated to southern New Jersey, where she has lived since.

Despite finding a new home where she has lived for almost the last 30 years, Catherine says that fear and anxiety continue to haunt her.

'My whole life since then has been a series of breaking down and picking myself back up,' she said.

Catherine said that the trauma has at times been so debilitating that she has been forced to leave jobs and enter intensive therapy.

'There's a point where I can handle stress and then there is a point where it breaks me down completely,' she said.

In 2000, she went on a date with a man she liked.

As he drove her to dinner, Catherine was overcome with the thought that he was capable of locking all the car doors.

Even though the man had treated her well up to that point, Catherine began to panic.

Koehler already has a sexual battery conviction from 1991 in Palm Beach County

'I almost threw myself out of the car,' she said.

Catherine said she has been similarly triggered in other cases, including when watching movies, the 2016 presidential campaign, and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings.

She said she has had to suffer through nights of terrible dreams of being suffocated.

Catherine said that she also has trouble savoring moments of joy because the day of her attack had been such a happy one until she was raped.

'I have probably squelched intense happiness for decades,' she said.

Catherine told the Sun Sentinel that the trauma has reared its ugly head in recent weeks since it was learned that authorities apprehended a man they believe to be the Pillowcase Rapist, potentially solving a four-decade cold case.

Robert Eugene Koehler, a 60-year-old registered sex offender, was arrested in Palm Bay on January 18.

It is not known exactly what led to his arrest at his home in southwest Palm Bay, where more than two dozen cops cars from multiple agencies arrived.

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.

Catherine reacted angrily when authorities said that they failed to collect DNA samples from Koehler after one of his alleged rapes in 1990.

He was in court last month for his first appearance before Judge David Silverman via closed circuit

'It's horrible,' Catherine said.

'Who knows what he has been up to all these years?'

Since learning of the arrest, Catherine has had to relive the trauma.

'It has put me right back to being in that apartment,' she said, 'remembering things.'

Catherine said she was told by detectives in Miami that they would try to track down her old evidence from 1984 as they try to link past rapes to Koehler.

The Miami State Attorney's Office said it has DNA that ties Koehler to at least 25 unsolved rape cases from the 1980s.

Investigators anticipate there will be more incriminating evidence.

Catherine said it's important for her and other victims to come forward if it means securing a conviction.

'They may have 25 cases against him,' Catherine said, 'but I might be the 26th that puts a nail in his coffin.'
GAYLORD, MI  The Michigan Snowmobile Festival is all about exactly what one would expect: riding snowmobiles on Northern Michigans pristine trails.

This years event, nicknamed Michigans Richest Snowmobile Fun Run, has been extended to a two-day event with more stops. Its scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22, in Gaylord.

Gaylord is one of the best snowmobile destinations in Michigan and we want to celebrate that, said Paul Beachnau, executive director of the Gaylord Area Convention and Tourism Bureau.

Gaylord is listed by Pure Michigan as one of the top eight snowmobiling destinations in the state. The location perfect because its in Northern Lower Michigans Snowbelt and averages over 180 inches of fluffy lake-effect snowfall annually, according to Pure Michigan.

The free fun run, which can be completed individually or during a guided group ride, includes 10 stops that participants can visit for chances to win gift certificates and cash prizes. The guided ride will start at 10:30 a.m. at the tourism bureau, 319 W. Main St., on Saturday. Slips can be dropped off at businesses until 5 p.m. Feb. 22.

This years stops are: Beaver Creek Resort, Treetops Resort, Pauls Pub, Big Buck Brewery, Belle Iron Grille, Porter Haus, Mama Leones, Corwith Station, The Keg Bar and Elkhorn Grill.

Participants can pre-register online at gaylordmichigan.net or stop by the tourism bureau office from noon to 6 p.m. on Feb. 21 or 8 a.m. to noon on Feb. 22. All registrants must pick up their map and stop slips during those hours. The first 100 to pick up their packet will receive a free hat or t-shirt.

Beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, the public is invited to the Eagles Hall at 515 S. Wisconsin Ave. for live music with Straight Shooters, beverages and snacks. Gift certificate drawings will begin at 6:30 p.m. Cash drawings for $1,000, $500 and $250 will start at 8:30 p.m.

READ MORE:

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More than 100 vintage sleds crossed the Mackinac Bridge for Snowmobile the Mac'
CBIZ Inc., a provider of financial, insurance and advisory services, has acquired substantially all of the assets of Alliance Insurance Services Inc. (AIS) of Washington, D.C., effective February 1, 2020.

With roots dating back to 1986, AIS is an independent insurance agency providing property and casualty insurance as well as personal lines to small and midsized clients across many industries including charter schools, real estate, construction and technology in the D.C. metro area. AIS has nine employees and approximately $1.6 million in annual revenue.

CBIZ Inc. is a provider of financial, insurance and advisory services to businesses throughout the U.S. Financial services include accounting, tax, government health care consulting, transaction advisory, risk advisory and valuation services. Insurance services include employee benefits consulting, retirement plan consulting, property and casualty insurance, payroll and human capital consulting.

Source: CBIZ Inc.

Topics Mergers Washington
Emergency measures needed for virus-hit industries



The crisis surrounding the new coronavirus outbreak is taking its toll on Korean manufacturers  particularly automakers  that remain dependent on the supply of parts from companies in China.



Hyundai Motor, the country's biggest carmaker, said Friday it plans to halt all of its domestic car assembly lines due to a lack of parts. Its affiliate Kia Motors will follow suit, suspending operations at all of its assembly plants here next week.



The two firms and other carmakers here have already reduced production of cars as China extended the Lunar New Year holiday to fight against the spread of the virus. Thus, subcontractors in China have been forced to halt production. We are not sure how long the supply crunch will continue.



Hyundai suspended its entire domestic production lines only once before, back in 1997 at the height of the Asian financial crisis.



Given South Korean carmakers import roughly 30 percent of their auto parts from firms in China, a prolonged supply crunch is expected to deal a heavy blow to them. According to Hyundai Motor, if all its plants in Korea are closed for five days, it causes a production shortage of 30,000 vehicles worth up to 700 billion won ($589 million).



Of course, it is not only carmakers that are heavily affected by the spread of the coronavirus. What is occurring to Hyundai Motor is a symbolic case showing how the virus is having a direct impact on domestic production. The ongoing crisis has revealed the dark side of the country's closer economic ties with China. Needless to say, if the supply problem were to continue it will affect its corporate earnings, prices of its cars  and ultimately jobs there.



Automakers need to minimize supply chain disruption and normalize the production of cars as quickly as possible. The government said it is seeking to simplify import procedures for auto parts from other countries and provide emergency loans to help local parts makers expand their production lines.



On Friday, global credit rating firm Moody's Investors Service issued a report warning Korea Inc. of a rough road ahead. It said the spread of the virus in China was credit negative for Korean firms in many sectors because less consumption in China will limit South Korea's shipments as the virus poses the risk of disruptions to production and supply chains. The report predicted that Korea's retail and automobile industries will be most affected by the outbreak.



With no efforts spared at containing the virus here, the government should closely monitor these and other industries to reduce widespread economic damage. It is time to consider extraordinary measures and pre-emptive steps, such as tax cuts and emergency funding to firms in need, to persevere during these challenging economic times.


(JNS)With the presentation of its peace plan, titled, Peace to Prosperity: A vision to improve the lives of the Palestinian and Israeli people, the United States has essentially shattered the once-holy Oslo paradigm, having learned from the peace processs failures and establishes a new path forward to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, Israel and the Palestinians have been locked in a diplomatic holding pattern conditioned on future Israeli withdrawals from territories central to its biblical heritage and vital to its security, while receiving little in return. The Palestinians refused to even recognize that Israel is a Jewish state.

The Oslo process granted the Palestinians administrative and security control of key territory, an education system and media, and trillions of dollars in international funding, all while maintaining that any Israeli presence in Judea and Samaria represented an illegal occupation. All subsequent attempts to advance the peace process were predicated on Israels previous offers as the starting point of any new negotiations. The Palestinians understood that there was no downside to rejecting any of Israels offers; they could simply push for a better deal down the road.

The proposal currently being advanced by the Trump administration corrects fundamental flaws of past negotiation attempts, specifically because it is predicated on the probability that the Palestinians may ultimately reject it.

Yet the plan allows the Palestinians ample time to think it over. It commits Israel not to build on any territories being allocated for a future Palestinian state for the next four years. The clause justifies rolling out the plan just weeks prior to Israels upcoming election, and six months before a fateful American national election. (The U.S. administration had hoped to release the plan much earlier and would have if not for Israels electoral impasse.)

The four-year moratorium allows just enough time to give U.S. President Donald Trump, if he wins a second term, the opportunity to shift past the current offer should Palestinian rejectionism continue.

At the end of a second term, Trump could justifiably impose additional consequences on the Palestinians should they still choose to reject the generous offer on the table. It is completely possible that Trumpfed up with Palestinians stubborn refusal to take an offer deeply rooted in facts on the ground, plus $50 billion in financial incentivesmight then back Israeli annexation of much more territory than the plan currently outlines.

That unstated contingency provides backing to Trumps assertion that this may be the last opportunity the Palestinians ever get to declare a state. If the Palestinians reject this offer, they may find that there is no disputed land left for a state in the future.

Also, unlike previous negotiation attempts, the plan also requires the Palestinians to behave like a state before they can declare one. That means they must recognize Israel as a Jewish state; freeze all pay-to-slay payments to terrorists and their families; remove all calls to incitement from all educational curricula and state-run media; create fully transparent and corruption-free financial governance mechanisms; and completely disarm terror groups in what must be a fully demilitarized West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The requirements are a tall order for the current pseudo-state whose leaders have been encouraging and financially incentivizing terrorism since before Oslo was signed and who have cultivated an industry of government corruption, repeatedly siphoning off international funding for personal benefit and terror financing.

Nevertheless, failing to fulfill any of the plans requirements will essentially invalidate future Palestinian land rights under the proposal. The plan requires that both the United States as well as the State of Israel jointly certify that the requirements have been fulfilled before any Israeli land concessions are made. This joint certification requirement protects against the possibility of a post-Trump administration unilaterally asserting that these conditions have been met.

Alex Traiman is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and the Jerusalem bureau chief of the Jewish News Syndicate.
Princess Beatrice is getting ready to tie the knot with her fiance, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. But with the royal family going through some major drama, there has been a lot of questions surrounding Beatrices upcoming nuptials. The royals have yet to reveal details about the wedding, leaving fans to wonder if Princess Beatrice will be receiving a new title once she exchanges vows.

Princess Beatrice | Jonathan Brady  WPA Pool/Getty Images

When do royals hand out new titles?

Queen Elizabeth normally issues new titles after members of the royal family get married. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, for example, became the Duke and Duchess of Sussex following their wedding in 2018.

When it comes to duke and duchess titles, there are technically two ways a person can be granted those honors. A person becomes a duke or a duchess if they inherit the title or if the ruling monarch grants it to them.

The wedding of HRH Princess Beatrice of York and

Mr. Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi will take place on Friday 29 May 2020 at The Chapel Royal, St Jamess Palace.



Read the press release in full: https://t.co/o7g8feUwG9 pic.twitter.com/rHOHdm5r2t  The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) February 7, 2020

This seems pretty straight forward, but there are certain rules that might prevent someone from inheriting a dukedom. For instance, a female is not eligible to inherit her fathers titles, which is why Beatrice or her younger sister, Princess Eugenie, will probably never be called the Duchess of York.

Whats really strange about this setup is that a woman marrying into the family can take on the title of duchess, as long as her husband gains a dukedom.

Queen Elizabeth, of course, could overrule this antiquated protocol, but so far the royals have not set a precedent on this issue.

Will Princess Beatrice become a duchess?

When Eugenie tied the knot with Jack Brooksbank in 2018, she was not granted a duchess title. Based on that, it would seem as though Beatrice will also get snubbed following her wedding this year.

Although it is likely that Princess Beatrice does not get a duchess title in 2020, there is a small chance that Queen Elizabeth will grant her one. According to Express, Beatrices role in the royal family will likely increase now that Harry and Meghan have stepped down from their posts.

Princess Beatrice and fiance ask for wedding gifts to go to charity https://t.co/qmMuj74VvQ  The Independent (@Independent) February 7, 2020

If Princess Beatrice takes on more royal responsibilities, Queen Elizabeth might grant her a title that is more appropriate to her new station. The fact that Her Majesty is hosting Beatrices reception inside Buckingham Palace indicates that Beatrice will become more active in the coming years.

It was a really special gesture as it will be the first wedding celebration at Buckingham Palace since William and Catherines in 2011, a source shared.

The last time a wedding reception was held inside Buckingham Palace was when Prince William and Kate Middleton exchanged vows in 2011.

Royal experts believe Beatrice will get a royal promotion

Beatrice and Eugenie have always worked as part-time members of the royal family. They both have normal careers outside of the monarchy, which they would probably have to give up if the went full-time.

The royals have not said anything about Beatrice and Eugenies future in the monarchy, but some royal experts believe they will both step up in the absence of Harry and Meghan.

Its quite clear that one of the consequences is that Beatrice and Eugenie will now be brought forwardif theyre willing to be brought forward, Robert Lacey, a royal historian, explained.

The wedding details for Princess Beatrice have been set! https://t.co/WUZinr7NMS  Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) February 7, 2020

Beatrice is currently the vice-president of a company that develops software for American businesses called Afiniti.

It is unclear how much Princess Beatrice makes in the private sector, but we do know that she receives an annual stipend from her dad, Prince Andrew. The Duke of York was forced to step down from his royal duties last year amid his scandalous ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Will Princess Beatrices wedding bring the royals together?

Between Andrews sex scandal and Harry and Meghans stunning exit, the royals have been going through a lot of drama in recent months. Although few details have been released, inside sources claim that Queen Elizabeth hopes Princess Beatrices wedding will bring everyone together.

The queen has asked everyone to come together to put on a united front, an insider dished. The press officers of all the palaces hope to portray the Beatrice wedding as the big event that brings the family back together again.

FOX NEWS: Princess Beatrice's future stepson to be in her wedding, report says pic.twitter.com/yTi0bTymYS  BV-UPDATES (@benedict_chieme) February 7, 2020

The source claims that the wedding will take place at the end of May and that the reception will be held inside Buckingham Palace. The royals have not confirmed the wedding date, but there is little doubt that the ceremony could be what the family needs to repair their public image.

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi got engaged this past fall. The two shared a slew of adorable engagement photos on social media, and several members of the royal family congratulated them on Twitter and Instagram.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

A meeting dedicated to the results of 2019 and upcoming tasks was held at Azerbaijans Azersu OJSC, Trend reports on Feb. 7 referring to Azersu.

The meeting was opened by Chairman of Azersu OJSC Gorkhmaz Huseynov.

The chairman stressed that 2019 was full of significant events.

"The reforms carried out in the country under the leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev have contributed to the macroeconomic stability and dynamic economic development," Huseynov said.

In accordance with the presidents instructions to improve the water supply of the population, Azersu took a number of measures in 2019, the chairman said.

The water supply and sewage systems were commissioned in Agdash and Gabala districts with the participation of President Aliyev in 2019. At the same time, the relevant projects were implemented in Aghjabadi, Dashkasan, Shamkir districts and Khirdalan settlement, Huseynov added.

"The implementation of new projects was launched in Horadiz, Yevlakh, Neftchala and Gazakh districts," the chairman said. "The Shamkirchay water treatment plant was commissioned in 2019. Renewable energy facilities were constructed in Gadabay and Lerik districts."

"During the year, drinking water projects were implemented in 25 villages of 12 districts, as well as in five villages for internally displaced people in Bilasuvar district in which there were problems with drinking water," Huseynov said adding that the projects on drinking water, sewage system, as well as on the collection and treatment of rainwater, were implemented in more than 200 settlements of Baku and the Absheron Peninsula.

During the reporting period, 1,420 kilometers of highways and water supply lines, 480 kilometers of sewage lines and collectors were laid in Baku and the countrys districts, 16 water reservoirs with a total capacity of 30,000 cubic meters were built, and 17 sub-artesian wells were drilled.

As a result of the conducted work, the share of the population provided with drinking water in Baku increased up to 81.5 percent, in the districts - up to 63.6 percent, and on the whole in the country - up to 69.9 percent.

Then heads of the relevant departments of the company delivered speeches reported about the work conducted in 2019.

Summing up the results of the meeting, Huseynov informed the participants about the upcoming work, as well as the tasks arising from the instructions of President Aliyev given during the conference on the results of the first year of the implementation of State Program on the Socio-Economic Development of Regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 2019-2023.

It was noted that in 2020, the implementation of the projects will be continued to improve the provision of the population with drinking water.
The Maharashtra government has appointed well-known lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the case related to the incident where a 25-year-old woman lecturer was set on fire by a stalker.

Ankita Pisudde, the woman, suffered 40 per cent burns and her condition continues to be "critical but stable", according the Nagpur hospital where she is admitted.

Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted on Friday that the case would be tried by a fast-track court.

"Ujjwal Nikam will be the public prosecutor. All legal expenses will be borne by the state government," he said, with an appeal to people to pray for the victim's recovery.

Nikam was the special prosecutor in some high-profile cases including the 1993 Mumbai blasts case.

Pisudde, resident of Hinganghat in Wardha district, was allegedly set ablaze by Vikesh Nagrale (27) on Monday on the way to college.

The incident caused widespread outrage, with locals demanding death penalty for the accused.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five people have died in Alaska after a commuter plane crashed halfway through a scheduled flight.

Rescuers flew out to search for the aircraft, which had been on a 100-mile flight between Kipnuk and Bethel, after it was reported overdue at its destination on Thursday afternoon.

The Yute Airplane, a Piper BA-32, had a pilot and four passengers on board when it went missing. Authorities are now trying to contact next of kin.

The Federal Aviation Administration has said the plane crashed under unknown circumstances, reports the Anchorage Daily News.

A pilot and four passengers have died after a Yute Air flight crashed while travelling between Kipnuk and Bethel. (Pictured above is the plane type BA-32 in Biggleswade, UK)

An Army National Guard UK-60 Blackhawk helicopter that flew out of Bethel on a rescue mission found the wreckage 12 miles outside Tuntutuliak, a town of about 400 people.

A trooper and two LifeMed Alaska medics were flown to the scene.

Alaska State Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain told KTUU of Anchorage that the crash was found quickly but that it is expected to be difficult to access the site.

Four people were uninjured when a Yute Air plane crashed on its way from Aniak to Bethel in April last year.
COLLEGE STATION, TX / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2020 / REALTOR Kristi Fox Satsky, of Century 21 Beal, is celebrating her 20th anniversary as a local top producing real estate professional, making the dream of homeownership a reality for buyers while getting sellers top dollar for their homes.

"I'd like to thank my team and clients, both past and present, for helping make 20 years in the industry possible," said Kristi. "Having a support staff is crucial for us to give our 5 star service, and I have a dedicated team assisting me so that my clients are never without the help they deserve. The goal that my team and I have is to always create that 5 star experience for each and every client that works with the Kristi Fox Team."

During the course of her distinguished 20-year career, Kristi has been named to the Top 30 under 30 by REALTOR magazine and Top 50 REALTORS on the Rise by Real Estate Magazine. She has also been named Century 21 Beal's top producing agent nearly every year during her career, and has been recognized both regionally and nationally as a top producing agent in the Century 21 system, and named in the top 100 Century 21 agents nationwide, year after year. Kristi was also recognized as a Bryan-College Station Community Impact Award winner in 2018 by her local Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Texas A&M University Mays Business School. Kristi is a philanthropist working diligently in her community to leave it "better than she found it."

Debra N., a client said, "From the moment she started until now and in the future, Kristi will give 110% working for you and with you. She is always looking out for her clients' best interests."

Kristi is also a proud affiliate of Homes for Heroes, the largest nationwide network of real estate, mortgage, and local business specialists that are committed to providing monetary rewards to teachers, firefighters, law enforcement, military and healthcare professionals when they buy or sell homes. Since September 2015, Kristi has helped more than 200 local heroes purchase or sell their homes with nearly $300,000 in rewards given locally to her clients. Kristi continues to pledge $100,000 per year to everyday Hero buyers and sellers every year.

"When I first became a REALTOR I just wanted to help people. I didn't know enough to make goals, but I became a top agent by simply trying to help people," noted Kristi. "It has been an honor to continue that tradition for 20 years, and I look forward to the next 20 years of unlocking dreams, one key at a time."

About Kristi Fox Satsky, Century 21 Beal

Kristi Fox Satsky works with buyers, sellers and investors. She serves the Brazos Valley, including Bryan, College Station, Caldwell, Navasota, Madisonville, Snook, and Somerville. Kristi is a Listing Agent and Buyer Specialist that has been serving the Brazos Valley since 2000, with in excess of 100 properties sold per year, every year. In addition to real estate sales, Kristi is also a local volunteer and philanthropist who is dedicated to leaving her mark on her community through her gifts and service. For more information, please call (979) 255-5369, or visit https://kristifox.com/.

For media inquiries, please call THE NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361.

SOURCE: Kristi Fox Satsky

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/575650/Texas-REALTORR-Kristi-Fox-Satsky-Marks-20-Years-as-a-Top-Producing-Real-Estate-Professional
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The Filipino worker who died in Dubai City, United Arab Emirates tested negative for the novel coronavirus or 2019-nCoV, the government-run media reported on Friday.

Pneumonia was cause of death of the 58-year-old OFW, Dubai media office said in Twitter post, allaying fears that she succumbed to an infection caused by a strain of coronavirus.

The clarification was made after Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said that a Filipina household service worker died from a strain of coronavirus in Dubai this month. It was not clear if it was the 2019-nCoV.

The fatality, identified as Amalia Daproza, was not a domestic helper. She was an office assistant at Neazoefzlle Co., the Labor Department said on Friday.

The Philippine labor department, meanwhile, said it is now working to repatriate the Filipinas remains after cremation in Dubai.

The Labor Department on Friday issued an apology to the government of Dubai for the confusion that the announcement of its chief might have caused.

The United Arab Emirates has five confirmed 2019-nCoV cases, with no reported deaths as of Friday morning.
Philippe Lancon is billed on his memoir as the survivor of a massacre, but he will tell you that is not entirely true. Because the Philippe Lancon who was soon to be shot one morning in Paris was a different man on a different path, and try as he might, the author says, I cant go back.

Five years ago this month, Lancon physically survived a workplace attack that left him lying amid the blood and blown-out body parts of friends. And when he speaks now, while sitting in a K Street hotel lobby on a grey Washington day, his lasting wounds are evident in his poignant words spoken through surgically repaired lips.

Lancon was a contributor to the Paris newspaper Liberation and magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2015 when two terrorist gunmen entered Hebdos editorial offices and killed 12 people, including several well-known artists, after the satirical weekly published controversial cartoons depicting Muhammad. Eleven people were wounded including Lancon, a culture critic who was shot in the face and arm.

Lancon played dead on the floor, opening his eyes only to glimpse the legs of the gunman who had just been hovering over him.

Lancon says the attack, unfolding over a couple of minutes, overwhelmed his senses. Everything was simultaneously foggy, precise and detached, he writes in his award-winning book Disturbance: Surviving Charlie Hebdo, newly translated for the English-speaking market. The French title is Le Lambeau, which refers to a fragment, and the book tells of shattered teeth and shredded flesh, as well as fragments of time and memory and a tattered life.

One minute that Wednesday morning, Lancon was in an upbeat staff meeting, as cartoonist Georges Wolinski drew bawdy sketches, the artist known as Cabu marvelled at a Sixties photograph of jazz drummer Elvin Jones, and writer Bernard Maris and editor-cartoonist Stephane Charb Charbonnier teased Lancon about his next assignment. The next minute, Lancon heard sharp firecracker-like sounds from the hallway  not at all [like] the noisy detonations in movies, he writes.

All four of those colleagues would die in the attack. Immediately afterwards, Lancon, 56, felt that I was alive but almost already dead, he recounts in Disturbance, adding: What remained of me?

The shooting left a quarter of his face like a crater of torn, hanging flesh (Andre Chung/Washington Post) (Andre Chung/for The Washington Post)

Five years later, Lancon is describing how it took many people to bring him back from almost already dead. Lean and alert, his hair and beard close-cropped, he looks directly at you with dark placid eyes. A short time later, while heading to a bookstore appearance, he dons a navy-blue pea coat like the pierced one he was wearing during the massacre.

The most visible trace of the attack is the lower right side of Lancons face; his beard partially covers where his jaw had to be rebuilt with a leg bone. The shooting left a quarter of his face like a crater of torn, hanging flesh, as if applied as a gouache blob by the hand of a childish painter, he writes, adding that the wound had turned me into a monster.

Less immediately apparent is how the attack has affected Lancons mind. As he speaks, his words do not convey intense feelings, be it rage or sorrow. He attributes such emotional equanimity partly to being a reporter trained in detachment since his days decades ago dropping into hot spots like Iraq. Yet it also reflects his sense of acceptance.

Before, I used to be more angry, Lancon says, but now its very difficult for me to get angry. You have to let it go. He even harbours no fury towards the two gunmen, saying their actions were symptomatic of larger social sicknesses.

In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Show all 25 1 /25 In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police investigators search for evidence as an unidentified man is detained (L) during an operation in the eastern French city of Reims, after the shooting against the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A bullet impact is seen in a window of a building next to the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office, in Paris AP In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police set up a piece of cloth at the back of a truck as they carry out a body from the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris Getty Images In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police block the roads next to the 'Charly Hebdo' headquarter where a shoutout occurred in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A truck tows the car used by armed gunmen who stormed the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo Getty Images In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting An injured person is evacuated outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French former Youth and Associations Junior minister Jeannette Bougrab (C) is comforted by an unidentified person outside of the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French Justice Minister Christiane Taubira reacts outside of the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French soldiers patrol in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris as the capital was placed under the highest alert status after heavily armed gunmen stormed French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and shot dead at least 12 people in the deadliest attack in France in four decades In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A victim is evacuated on a stretcher after armed gunmen stormed the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A French Policeman is shot in the head in the street as two masked gunmen stormed the Charlie Hebdo headquarters, opening fire on staff In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A bullet's impact on the window of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after armed gunmen stormed the offices leaving at least 10 people dead In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A police car riddled with bullets during an attack on the offices of the newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting French President Francois Hollande (C) arrives after a shooting at the Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve (C, L) and Paris' Mayor Anne Hidalgo (C, R) arrive at the headquarters of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters and police officers gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters and police officers gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Armed gunmen face police officers near the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting A police officer stands next to the bicycle of a police officer who was hit by a car near the shell of a bullet (bottom R) not far from the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police forces gather in street outside the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Firefighters carry an injured man on a stretcher in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Charlie Hebdo shooting Charlie Hebdo shooting Police officers and firefighters gather in front of the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, after armed gunmen stormed the offices leaving "casualties", according to the publication's cartoonist, and "six seriously injured" police officers according to City Hall

When Lancon describes his traumatic experience, he, ever the culture critic, often relies upon the lens of art. Some aspects of the attack were like a Quentin Tarantino movie. And the aftermath was like a darker version of the painting La Danse, with the author writing that the dead were almost holding hands, like Matisses famous circle of interlocked figures. He references Shakespeare and Proust, and while in Washington, a stroll down a city alley reminds him of a scene in Three Days of the Condor, the spy thriller in which Robert Redfords character escapes an office massacre.

But perhaps most tellingly, Lancon turns to an American western when trying to describe how the massacre irrevocably cleaved his life in two.

Its like The Outlaw Josey Wales, says Lancon of the 1976 movie in which Clint Eastwoods civil war-era character on the run must cross a river by tethered barge and then cut off all possibility of return. I could see on the other side my former life, he says. I think it is not good to mourn that you cant go back to the other bank. Josey Wales has to forget the revenge and die a bit.

As he endured more than 20 surgeries, he watched just how many people helped reconstruct a life. Beyond the attack, Disturbance  largely written from Rome in 2017  is a keenly observed journey of recovery as Lancon chronicles the cast of characters in his hospital, from loved ones to caregivers to his bodyguard to patients worse off than he. I wrote this as a writer, not a patient, he says. This was not therapy.

Lancon discusses his memoir at a Washington bookstore on 25 January 2020 (Andre Chung/Washington Post)

Speaking about the critically acclaimed book also allows him to reflect on Charlie Hebdos form of dark and provocative satire. Some of the cartoons are good, some are not good. These cartoons are not democratic  they are not meant for everyone, says Lancon, noting that prior to the shooting, even his parents did not read Charlie Hebdo. Later, at the bookstore appearance, he says he does embrace the freedom for the cartoonists to do what they want to do. And then its very simple: If these are bad cartoons, then Charlie Hebdo wont have readers, and the magazine dies naturally.

Mostly, though, when he thinks about Charlie Hebdo, the sense of personal tragedy is still strong. Imagine you returned to where you work, he says, and half your colleagues are gone like ghosts.

And still, art and tragedy are intertwined. He once returned to the scrubbed former Hebdo offices and asked authorities to return his lost jazz book  the cherished one that Cabu looked at moments before he died. Bloodstains had melted into the books black and white photos. My blood, he writes, perhaps mixed with that of my neighbours  had stuck [pages] together as it dried.

And when Lancon sits on the edge of his hotel chair, as if leaning into life, he talks about men who return from the wreckage in Robinson Crusoe and the Tom Hanks-starring Cast Away. Lancon is a survivor sparked by curiosity. Life is strong and until you are dead, it brings you surprise, he says.

I am neither too optimistic or pessimistic. Now I take life as it comes.

 Washington Post
The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau. Sign up to get it by email. This weeks issue is written by Jamie Tarabay, a correspondent in the Australia bureau.

SYDNEY, Australia  As someone who has been living between Hong Kong and Sydney for the past few months, I have been engaged in a relentless, entirely circular conversation with family, friends and colleagues about the coronavirus that sprang into the global consciousness a couple of weeks ago and since then has claimed at least 563 lives, while sickening more than 28,000 others.

For people in Hong Kong, where the government still hesitates to act without the blessing of Beijing, the risks of exposure are higher. Some friends recalled being in Hong Kong during the SARS crisis, as we speculated how long schools would remain closed and wondered if the city, which has already known so much tumult over the past nine months, would ever truly recover.

Many people we know did what we did: got out of Dodge, children in tow, to where the air was microbe-free and public transport devoid of the face mask parade. Others have to stay for work, for elderly relatives, or because they do not have the means to leave. Theres a run on everything from hand sanitizer to toilet paper, and most residents are urged to work from home, if they can.

The scale of the virus and its impact remains a guessing game. Will the number of sick people explode, now that the Lunar New Year celebrations are over and everyone is back at work? Will Hong Kong finally close all its border checkpoints with China, as so many people are demanding?
Too much coal left unsold, industry needs reform  energy minister

12:40, 07.02.20 4801

The load on heat generation and the demand for energy production with the use of coal have shrunk in Ukraine.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The death of a Chinese doctor who tried to warn others about the coronavirus in Wuhan has unleashed a wave of anger towards government officials seldom seen in the communist country.

After a recent call with his counterpart in China, President Trump took to social media earlier today to express his confidence that the situation is under control. At the same time, U.S. officials have reached out to scientists to research the origins of the virus.

More than 31,000 coronavirus infections have been confirmed and the death toll has topped 600.

Live coronavirus tracker

Coronavirus news in the United States

Could coronavirus return every winter? (USA Today)

Reddit enlists users to combat coronavirus misinformation (The Hill)

How close are we to a vaccine (Slate)

Wisconsin patient making good recovery (KARE)

Oregon coronavirus scare is false alarm, health officials say (OregonLive)

Spring could impact the spread of the virus (AccuWeather)

PA college student being evaluated after trip to China (Morning Call)

Coronavirus news around the world

A man wearing face mask and plastic bag as a glove walks past empty shelf of tissue papers at a supermarket in Hong Kong, Friday, Feb. 7, 2020. In recent days, residents have been buying large amounts of products because they fear that border restrictions, which were enforced to control the coronavirus outbreak, may affect supply flows into Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)AP

World health authorities warn virus hasnt peaked after Chinas deadliest day (Wall Street Journal)

Middle East oil and tourism begin to feel hit from virus (CNBC)

Africa fears coronavirus outbreak (New York Times)

Why has North Korea not reported any cases of virus? (CNN)

Vietnam, Britain confirm new cases (Fox News)

Japan finds 41 more cases on quarantined cruise ship (KRON)

Third UK patient caught virus in Singapore (BBC)

Scientists say scaly anteater could be host (Fox News)

Local coronavirus news

Kent State students discuss virus, express concerns (KentWired)

Ohio Wesleyan launches coronavirus education team (The Transcript)

Coronavirus spread sparks anti-Semitic views and conspiracy theories, ADL says (Cleveland Jewish News)

Read complete prior coronavirus coverage on cleveland.com
The Context

In 2015, the Obama administration signed a deal with Iran that lifted sanctions in exchange for significant limits on Irans nuclear program. Many Republicans fiercely objected to the deal, saying it was not tough enough, and in 2018, President Trump abandoned it and reinstated sanctions. But Iran kept up its end of the agreement until last month, when Mr. Trump ordered the killing of a top Iranian general, Qassim Suleimani. The killing of General Suleimani brought the United States to the brink of war with Iran, which retaliated by attacking two military bases that American forces were using in Iraq.

What would you do with the now-abandoned Iranian nuclear deal, as negotiated in 2015?

Do you believe President Trump acted within his legal authority in giving the order to kill Qassim Suleimani? Was the killing justifiable? Was it wise?

Regarding possible future military action against Iran, is there any type of response that is off the table for you?

What would your military strategy to deter Iran be? What would your diplomatic strategy be?
US President Donald Trump is expected to start a three-day visit to India with a February 23 event in Ahmedabad, an Indian version of Prime Minister Narendra Modis Howdy Modi show in Houston that will be substantially bigger, before going on to Delhi and Agra, which will be his last stop before he heads home, according to people close to discussions for the trip.

With the impeachment trial over and done with  the US senate acquitted the President on Wednesday of both charges made in the two articles of impeachment  the visit (which was first reported by Hindustan Times in January) is now definitely on, said the people, who requested anonymity.

A trade deal is expected to be the crowning achievement of the visit, and the two sides are trying to have it ready by then, but the people familiar with the discussions insisted that the visit was not tied to the deal, and that it will go ahead even if an agreement is not reached by then.

But every effort is being made to resolve issues standing in the way, especially last-minute demands from the American side. US trade representative Robert Lighthizer, President Trumps tough chief trade negotiator who has struck up a relationship with commerce minister Piyush Goyal over several meetings and phone calls, is expected to visit India next week to resolve those differences, according to the people.

US President Trump is most enthusiastic about the rally in Ahmedabad. He had, in fact, asked for it specifically, according to these people involved with the planning, impressed by the Howdy Modi event he addressed with Prime Minister Modi in Houston last September, which was attended by an estimated 50,000 people.

The US President is looking at the rally as a way to boost his pitch to Gujaratis in the United States, and try to draw the larger Indian-American community away from the Democratic party. Most Indian-descent Americans vote for the Democratic party, but there has been a small yet perceptible shift towards Republicans in recent years, and 14% of them voted Republican in 2016. President Trump made his first pitch to the community in 2016, when he became the first presidential candidate of a major US political party to address a political rally exclusively for Indian-Americans, in Edison, New Jersey.

People familiar with the White Houses thinking on the visit said the President has an eye on the Indian-American community with a special focus on New Jersey, a familiar ground for him since the 2016 outreach, and Texas -- the two states have the largest population of Indian-Americans after California and New York, the two most Democratic of all US states.

Trump will reach New Delhi for a full day of meetings on February 24, and stay overnight. It could not be immediately ascertained if, when in New Delhi, Trump will address Indian Parliament like his predecessors Dwight Eisenhower in 1959, Bill Clinton in 2000, and Barack Obama in 2010.

In New Delhi, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi could announce the conclusion of a trade deal as the high point of the visit. If negotiations remain inconclusive, they could shift focus on other deliverables such as defence purchases worth an estimated $ 3 billion, of additional Apache helicopters and P8 maritime surveillance planes.

An announcement is expected shortly of the Presidents itinerary and engagements in India. But people familiar with the planning said after staying overnight in New Delhi, Trump will leave for Agra on February 24 to visit the Taj Mahal, a must-see for most visiting world leaders, and will leave for home after that.

The official announcement will also specify cabinet officials and other aides who will accompany the President and one of the most anticipated of names will be that of Ivanka Trump, the Presidents eldest daughter and adviser, who is emerging as the key White House figure on relations with India.

Trump first named her to lead the US delegation to the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit, a US initiative, held outside the United States, in Hyderabad in 2018.

The Presidents daughter was then seen in a most unusual role of delivering a readout on video of President Trumps meeting with Prime Minister Modi on the sidelines of the G20 meetings in Osaka, Japan in June 2019. The President could have chose anyone of his officials for it, it was pointed out then.

India is yet to announce Trumps visit. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said on Friday that both sides were in touch through diplomatic channels. He did not give more details.
The Moscow-based Memorial human rights center says unknown individuals have abducted four young men in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region of Chechnya.

According to Memorial, residents of the village of Gekhi in Chechnya's central-western Urus-Martan district told the center on February 6 that Movsar Vakhayev, Abdulla Zairayev, Zelimkhan Kulayev, and Akhmed Satayev were taken away the day before at around 10 p.m. local time by unknown individuals in two vehicles.

The witnesses of the apparent kidnapping managed to film the abduction of two of the men on their mobile phones.

Relatives of the abducted men say they have filed a complaint with local police. The kidnapped men's current whereabouts remain unknown.

Kidnapping, torture, and extrajudicial killings have been reported in Chechnya for years and human rights activists blame the Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Kadyrov to lead the rebellious region in 2007 and has relied on Kadyrov to stabilize Chechnya after two destructive wars, allowing him to rule the region like a personal fiefdom.
President Klaus Iohannis on Friday stated he is determined to negotiate "really hard" to get more money for Romania from the cohesion and agricultural funds, from the multiannual budget of the European Union.

"The idea is to identify a common ground in these discussions on the multiannual budget. I come with the ideas I thought about in Bucharest. We planned very well how to fight for the budget we want, starting from the premise that, regardless of the circumstances under which the budget for the next budgetary exercise is being negotiated, it must be a little bit higher than the budget for the last exercise. We have expectations related to the cohesion policy, for there are more funds in this category, which are vital for us to reach an acceptable convergence as quickly as possible. Also very important for us are the funds for agriculture. These are the two chapters I am very determined to negotiate on really hard to get more money for Romania, but there are also certain conditions to be met that are important, such as, for instance, the flexibility among funds. Also important is that the transition fund for a greener economy to not be part of the cohesion one, but an additional one. Today we have come with all the conditions we desire. It will be a discussion and, in the end, it will come to a negotiation, and everyone will try to get as much as possible from it," said Iohannis, before the meeting with the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
In the aftermath of the alleged abusive language used by husband of Bolar Kalans sarpanch, students of Classes 6-10 at Government High School here boycotted their pre-board examinations and staged a protest outside the office of district education officer on Friday.

Randeep Rana, husband of Meenu Rana, sarpanch of Bolar Kalan, had allegedly hurled abuses at some of Class 9 students during the prayer on Wednesday morning. It is learnt that the students were irked over the transfer of a social science teacher, Bhupinder Singh, that took place on Randeeps directions.

The students also alleged that A mathematics teacher Manjeet Singh, who was reportedly in Randeeps favour, had threatened to fail them in their examinations.

A Class 9 student said, As we came in late to school, Randeep started hurling abuses at five students, including me, in front of teachers and other students including girls who were also present at the prayer on Wednesday morning.

A students parent Gurpreet Singh said, Randeep told us that on his directions, Bhupinder was shifted to another school, following which the students staged a protest demanding that he should be reinstated.

On the other hand, Randeep Rana said, I scolded the students for coming late to school, however, I didnt use any abusive language. Bhupinder was shifted to another school by the education department on my directions, as he was misguiding villagers.

District education officer (secondary) Kulbhushan Singh Bajwa said, Students and their parents have submitted a memorandum demanding action against Randeep and Manjeet. Besides, the students want Bhupinders deputation should be revoked.
KYODO NEWS - Feb 7, 2020 - 18:29 | All, Japan

TOKYO - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Friday to advance bilateral peace treaty talks with Russia as supporters of the return of four disputed islands off Hokkaido held an annual rally.

For a second year in a row, participants in the event refrained from calling the Russian occupation of the islands "illegal," as they apparently sought to avoid raising tensions between Tokyo and Moscow over the territorial issue.

"I will step up joint work to find a solution that is acceptable to both sides and advance (peace treaty) negotiations steadily," Abe said at the rally held on "Northern Territories Day" that falls on Feb. 7.

Abe has been seeking to resolve a decades-old territorial dispute with Russia and conclude negotiations for a postwar peace treaty. But the two nations have made little headway due to a huge gap over the status of the islands in northern Japan.

Abe is planning to visit Russia to attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of Russia's victory over Germany in World War II on May 9. He has expressed hope to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin there.

Russia wants Japan to recognize that the islands -- called the Southern Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories in Japan -- were legitimately acquired following Tokyo's 1945 surrender in World War II. Japan, however, has taken the view that the seizure was illegal.

(Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a speech in Tokyo on Feb. 7, 2020.)

Participants including public and private groups adopted a statement calling for the return of what they described as Japan's "inherent" territories at an early date.

Still, they apparently took heed of the ongoing peace treaty talks and did not say the islands have been illegally occupied, a wording that could irritate Russia.

In the previous rally in February last year, the phrase "illegal occupation" was dropped.

Abe told the annual event that bilateral talks have progressed over joint economic projects on the disputed islands, adding that he hopes to realize them "without undermining the legal positions of Japan and Russia" over the territories.

The joint economic projects are designed to build mutual trust and pave the way for resolving the territorial issue that has prevented Tokyo and Moscow from signing a postwar peace treaty.

Abe and Putin agreed in 2018 to step up peace treaty negotiations based on a 1956 joint declaration between Japan and the former Soviet Union. The document states that two of the four islands -- Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- will be handed over to Japan following the conclusion of a peace treaty.

Abe has put his weight behind the return of the two islands rather than all four that include Etorofu and Kunashiri. Russia is concerned about the prospect of a U.S. military presence should any of the islands return to Japan as Tokyo and Washington are longtime security allies.

On Feb. 7 in 1855, Japan and Russia concluded the Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation, drawing a national border that put the four islands in Japanese territory.

Related coverage:

Japan PM Abe to visit Russia in May for talks with Putin: source

Russia releases Japanese fishing boat seized off Hokkaido

Putin calls Japan-U.S. security alliance a threat

Abe, Putin remain at odds over territory talks
Much like his acting chops, Rana Daggubatis sense of style is very nuanced - unlike most of his brethren from the Indian film industries, be it Bollywood or Tollywood, he does not dress overtly flamboyantly, and yet manages to turn heads wherever he goes.



 Instagram/ranadaggubati

An immaculate grooming routine for an extensive and a really impressive beard style, a tall and lean built, all of this contribute immensely to any ensemble that he picks.



 Instagram/ranadaggubati

Time and again, he has been spotted in one classy outfit the other, which, to be honest, is something that every guy should cop or at least try once. From a very basic ensemble comprising of a white full-sleeved t-shirt with dark wash denim, to an elegant, white shirt with a white sarong, the guy knows what works for him and what doesnt, that is, if any such thing actually exists.



 Viral Bhayani

Naturally then, when it comes to streetwear, he has worn some of the best outfits and ensembles we have seen. With that being said, his most recent, casual and laidback ensemble is what caught our eye. It was actually his sneakers that we couldnt take our eyes off of.



 Viral Bhayani

But first, lets get to his outfit.



Rana here is wearing very basic grey joggers with a black, v-neck tee and a cargo shirt in sage green. The outfit, as expected, isnt that flamboyant, and can be easily missed, sort of like white noise. However, Rana looks extremely dapper in the outfit, thanks to his lean built, that godly beard and some very dope accessories, namely the shades and the watch.



 Viral Bhayani

As basic the outfit is, it is really uplifted by the generous manner in which he has accessorised himself.



And then there are the sneakers themselves. They look like they are a part of the uniform of some paramilitary force. The sneakers that Rana is wearing are the LeBron Soldier 13 SFG from Nike. Now, normally, they look like clown shoes thanks to their zany and insane colours. Imagine the most outlandish neon colours that there are - you can find a pair that has one of those colours.



 Viral Bhayani

A pair in all black, like the one that Ranas wearing does bring out the silhouette of the sneakers and give it a very menacing appeal. We also like the super aggressive looking straps and buckles that the sneakers are adorned with.



 Viral Bhayani

Considering how technical they look, the Lebron 13s arent actually that expensive. These have been listed just shy of Rs 12,000 on Nike, so you can easily pick them up for much less if you play your cards right. A bargain if you ask us, considering how often we have seen celebs go bonkers with their sneakers.



 Viral Bhayani

 Viral Bhayani

All in all, a really good, achievable and practical lesson in street style. Take a bow Rana...


Elon Musk's spacex is planning to spin off its controversial internet satellite venture, Starlink, and pursue an initial public offering for the unit within a few years.

Chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell revealed the California-based rocket company's plans at a private investor event hosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co in Miami on Thursday.

'Right now, we are a private company, but Starlink is the right kind of business that we can go ahead and take public,' she said, according to Bloomberg.

'That particular piece is an element of the business that we are likely to spin out and go public.'

A company official confirmed to Reuters that SpaceX plans to list its space internet venture, Starlink, but not for several years.

Scroll down for video

Elon Musk envisions Earth's orbit swarming with SpaceX's Starlink satellites. The CEO has just filed paperwork with the International Telecommunications Union for the operation of 30,000 more small devices (pictured is a simulation of Starlinks blanketing Earth with broadband)

Elon Musk is behind SpaceX and its project, Starlink, which aims to launch thousands of satellites capable of providing high speed, low-latency internet

Starlink is a planned network of up to 30,000 satellites in low-Earth orbit intended to beam broadband internet globally.

The first batch of 60 small satellites for Starlink internet service was launched in May 2019, and there have been three more launches since then, bringing to total number of satellites in orbit to 240.

Musk said last year that Starlink was an important new revenue stream for his California-based Space Exploration Technologies company.

However, astronomers have condemned the project over fears it will blot out the night sky and make scientific research more difficult.

'Somebody puts up a shed that might obstruct my view by a foot, I can protest. But somebody can launch thousands of satellites in the sky and theres nothing I can do?' Krzysztof Stanek, an astronomer at Ohio State University, told The Atlantic.

'As a citizen of Earth, I was like, Wait a minute.'

The California company will have a total of 42,000 if the proposal is approved and it plans to launch hundreds, potentially thousands, into our orbit over the next year

Many stargazers and scientists have reported seeing a train of the satellites over the past few months in what would have been a clear night sky.

SpaceX has taken to covering some of its satellites in a dark coating before they are sent to orbit, to make them less reflective, but this has done little to appease astronomers.

'The night sky is a commons  and what we have here is a tragedy of the commons,' Imperial College London astrophysicist Dave Clements told the BBC in December.

The proposed constellations, he added, 'present a foreground between what we're observing from the Earth and the rest of the Universe.

'So they get in the way of everything. And you'll miss whatever is behind them, whether that's a nearby potentially hazardous asteroid or the most distant quasar in the Universe.'

Researchers fear that SpaceX's artificial constellation of broadband-providing satellites (pictured) could increasingly spoil views of the night sky and hinder astronomy

Experts claim that the Starlink project will lead to light pollution - in the form of streaks that can be observed from here on Earth (pictured)

SpaceX is not the only company planning to set up a internet satellite constellation around the Earth.

E-commerce giant Amazon.com plans to build a network of over 3,000 satellites to provide high-speed internet through its Project Kuiper.

And global communications company OneWeb today announced the successful launch of its second batch of 34 satellites from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

'Today's mission brings us closer to our next step, realising our ultimate vision of providing access to high speed, reliable internet to everyone, everywhere,' said Adrian Steckel, chief executive of OneWeb.
On 7 February 1992, Spain and Britain were among the 12 members of the European Community to sign the Treaty on European Union, informally known as the Maastricht Treaty after the Dutch city in which this took place. The other EC members at the time were Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Portugal.

Each country then ratified the Treaty, in the case of France, Ireland and Denmark after holding referenda, and it officially came into force on 1 November 1993. The European Union was born.

The Maastricht Treaty took several years to draw up and it had far-reaching effects. It established European citizenship for the first time, and meant citizens of member states were able to live and move freely between them.

Spain's Foreign Minister, Francisco Fernandez Ordonez, and Finance Minister, Carlos Solchaga, sign the Treaty. / SUR

A common foreign and security policy was agreed, together with closer cooperation between police and justice systems in criminal matters. It also laid the foundations for the single currency, the euro, and established the European Central Bank and the European System of Central Banks.

Thanks to Maastricht, citizens of EU states were given the right to vote and stand as a candidate in European and local elections in the country in which they lived; eligibility for diplomatic assistance and protection from the embassies and consulates of other member countries; the right to petition the European Parliament and take complaints of EU administrative malpractice to the European Ombudsman.

The aims of Maastricht were also to preserve peace and international security in line with United Nations' principles, promote international cooperation, develop and consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Treaty also included protocols which enabled some countries to opt-out of some of the terms, such as the UK and Denmark having an option on whether to join the single currency and, if so, when to do so.

Another 16 countries joined the EU after Maastricht, bringing the total to 28, but as everybody must know, Britain decided to leave following a referendum in 2016, and is currently in a transition period following its official withdrawal a week ago.
U.S. CPAs and South African chartered accountants have a pathway to have their credentials recognized in South Africa and the United States under a new agreement.

This cross-border recognition was enabled when the AICPA signed a mutual recognition agreement with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).

The agreement will facilitate the reciprocal recognition of the South African chartered accountant designation and the CPA license. The agreement was designed to increase mobility of accounting professionals to enable the professions growth in both countries.

The NASBA/AICPA International Qualifications Appraisal Board worked with the SAICA to establish the pathway. The board surveys and assesses professional practice standards and qualification in specified countries and recommends the feasibility of recognition of credentialed non-U.S. professionals.

A holder of the South African Chartered Accountant credential may be eligible to obtain the CPA license through this agreement if he or she is a member in good standing of the SAICA and meets the additional criteria set out in each applicable U.S. jurisdictions state laws and regulations as they apply to education, examinations, experience, and continuing professional education (CPE).

A licensed CPA in good standing with a state board of accountancy may be eligible for the South African Chartered Accountant credential provided he or she meets the CPE requirements of his or her board of accountancy and meets additional criteria set out in the agreement related to education, examination, experience, and CPE criteria.

Details on the eligibility requirements for CPAs are available at NASBAs website and also through email at iqex@nasba.org. Details on the eligibility requirements for South African chartered accountants are available on the SAICAs website or through email by contacting Adri Kleinhans at adrik@saica.co.za.

 Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is the JofAs editorial director.
Forms printed from the Internal Revenue Service web page that are used for U.S. federal tax returns. Read more

The city of Philadelphia has partnered with nonprofit agencies and Temple University to assist residents with free tax preparation services, starting Saturday.

For a full list, directions, and other information, go to www.youearneditphilly.com/#locate-eitc. You can also call the city hotline (215-686-9200and hit 3) or text FILE to 99000 and get updates on tax credits and deadlines.

This year the deadline for taxes is Wednesday, April 15.

The city has partnered with three nonprofit agencies to assist Philadelphians with tax preparation: the Campaign for Working Families, Ceiba, and PathWays PA.

Were working with well-established community leaders and organizations to provide information, as well as 27 free tax-filing locations in neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia that provide flexible hours, translation services, IRS-certified preparers, and access to additional city services, said Phillys Revenue Commissioner, Frank Breslin.

Dont forget to check whether youre eligible for the federal earned income tax credit (EITC), a benefit for working folks with low to moderate income.

If you qualify, thats a lot of money back in your pocket, potentially thousands of dollars, Breslin said. There are 200,000 Philadelphians who file and get this credit. About 45,000 Philly residents whom we believe qualify and dont file to get this money. Thats over $100 million we estimate is left on the table in refundable credits.

The earned income tax credit is a refundable credit available to individuals and families, and can be worth up to $6,500 or more per income tax return.

To qualify, taxpayers must have the following:

Minimum earned income of $1 to be eligible.

Income limits that range from $15,570 to $55,952, depending upon whether youre filing as single, head of household, or married filing jointly, as well as the number of qualifying children.

Be between ages 25 to 65 or have a qualifying child.

A valid Social Security number.

For more information, check the EITC website: www.youearneditphilly.com.

Temple University will again offer the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program on its Ambler campus.

The program will be offered Saturdays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Ambler Campus Learning Center from Feb. 8 through April 11. VITA is offered in association with the Internal Revenue Service.

Temple University accounting professor Steven Balsam said, VITA is a program for those with low to moderate incomes. If a family or individuals income is less than $56,000, they are eligible.

Alternatively, you can file online.

The IRS recently signed a new agreement with Free File, formerly known as the Free File Alliance, resolving the controversy surrounding free versions of consumer tax-prep software.

A series of articles by investigative news site ProPublica exposed problems with Free File, which was supposed to allow taxpayers who earn less than $69,000 a year to file for free using commercial software.

ProPublica instead found some vendors, such as Intuit and H&R Block, hid free versions on search engines, and consumers were steered toward paid products, instead, even if they qualified for free software.

Now, tax software vendors cant exclude their Free File landing page from online search. For 2020, vendors in the Free File program include 1040Now Inc., ezTaxReturn.com (English and Spanish), FileYourTaxes.com, H&R Block, Intuit, On-Line Taxes Inc., Tax ACT, TaxHawk Inc., and TaxSlayer (English and Spanish).

Below is a list of free tax-filing sites you can visit in person around Philadelphia: www.youearneditphilly.com/#locate-eitc. Click on that link and find the address for each site. Make sure to bring all the needed documents and last years tax return, if possible.

CENTER CITY

Center City Super Site

District 1199C Training Fund

Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation

GERMANTOWN

CareerLink Northwest

Indochinese-American Council

NORTH PHILADELPHIA

Campaign for Working Families headquarters

HACE Business & Visitor Center

St. Christophers Hospital for Children

Vaux EnVision Center

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA

Northeast Super Site

KENSINGTON

Ceiba

Congreso de Latinos Unidos

Impact Services

NKCDC  Orinoka Civic House

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA

Dixon House

United Communities

SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA

Ebenezer Church

WEST PHILADELPHIA

ACHIEVEability

CHOP Karabots

Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church

ParkWest Town Center

FREE FILE ONLINE SITES
(Kitco News) - What a week for American equity markets.



All three major indexes hit record highs this week, all in the face of growing uncertainty regarding the health of the global economy as the coronavirus continues to spread and dominate headlines.



However, while most people are focused on equity markets, I would like to point out the gold market. The yellow metal is ending the week with a loss. Still, despite all the headwinds, the prices continue to hold above initial critical support coming in around $1,550 an ounce.



The safe-haven metals bulls have stabilized their markets late this week, despite rallies in global stock markets this week, said Kitco.coms senior technical analyst Jim Wyckoff.



Even a standout U.S. employment report, which showed that 225,000 jobs were created in January, has had a limited impact on gold prices ahead of the weekend. This performance highlights comments I have heard from many different market analysts.



Many people I have talked to said that just underneath the bullish sentiment in equity markets is massive uncertainty and this is what continues to support gold prices. Although investors are jumping into the equities waters with both feet, they are not letting go of their gold.



Golds allure as a safe-haven asset can be seen in the latest data from the World Gold Council (WGC), which noted that holdings in gold-backed exchange-traded products (ETP) hit a new record high in January. The total value of assets under management from all the gold ETPs is just 2% down from their 2012 record highs.



But its not just retail investors; central banks are also getting into the game. In an interview with Kitco News intrepid leader Daniela Cambone, Juan Carlos Artigas, director of investment research of the (WGC), noted that governments are also interested in diversifying their holdings.



Central banks also cite safety and diversification in reasons why they invest in gold, and in some sense, gold is an asset that can protect their reserves over the long term, Artigas said.



Jerry Hicks, sales and business development manager at Perth Mint also talked about central bank demand with Cambone and said that it has been the biggest story in the gold market for the last ten years.



So, in this environment, the question remains: how high will gold prices go this year? According to the LBMAs annual survey, analysts see gold prices averaging the year around $1,550 an ounce; silver prices are expected to average $18 an ounce.



The most bullish vote among analysts voting in the survey was Ross Norman, an independent analyst who called for a gold price of $1,755 an ounce.
If it does becomes a prominent party once the results are in, it would look to work with those on the left of the political spectrum first, McDonald said. If Sinn Fein is the new power broker, things could get really interesting  not only for Ireland but the United Kingdom.
The number of criminal offenses recorded by police in 2019 dropped 8.4 percent from the previous year to 748,623, hitting a postwar low for the fifth straight year, the National Police Agency said Thursday.

The figure has declined 17 years in a row, according to a preliminary survey report from the agency.

The decline mainly reflected a fall in the number of cases of theft thanks to crime prevention efforts by local governments and volunteers, and the increased use of security cameras.

But police launched investigations into a record 1,957 child abuse cases in 2019, up 41.8 percent from the previous year, an official report showed Thursday.

The suspected abuse of a record 97,842 children under 18 was reported to child welfare centers, up 21.9 percent from 2018 and ballooning over 2 times over the past five years, the National Police Agency said.
British citizens flying back on Sunday from the Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, will be quarantined at a facility in Milton Keynes, Sky News understands.

It came as the UK stepped up its preparation for coronavirus, with the number of laboratories which can test for the deadly disease being increased from one to 12 in the coming weeks.

Earlier, a British man on board a cruise ship has been diagnosed with the coronavirus while on his honeymoon.

The flight arriving Sunday will be the third one that has brought Britons to the UK from Wuhan in recent days.

The first plane, carrying 83 UK evacuees, arrived at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on 31 January before they were taken into quarantine at Arrowe Park Hospital on the Wirral for a fortnight.

Another 11 British nationals were on a second plane that flew back to the military base on 2 February. Ten were then taken to the same NHS site to be quarantined, while the 11th went to a different hospital as they were unwell on the flight.

Meanwhile, Alan Steele, a passenger on the Diamond Princess which is quarantined off the coast of Japan, said he had contracted the illness and was being taken to hospital.

"Just to let you all know I have been diagnosed as having the virus and am being shipped to hospital," he wrote on Facebook.

"[I] would also like to say that at the moment I am not showing any symptoms so just possible (sic) a carrier.

"Will let you know how I am going on when possible."

The news came as:

Mr Steele, 58, told the Washington Post he married his wife Wendy last month - and the couple from Wolverhampton had been celebrating with a cruise on the Diamond Princess.

Mrs Steele, a 51-year-old nurse, told the paper that her husband was due to start a new job on 10 February.

"I have demanded that they test me," she said. "I will not be separated from Alan."

The ship's operator Princess Cruises said a total of 61 people on board, including the one Briton, had tested positive for coronavirus.

Story continues

Twenty of those infected passengers have been escorted off the luxury cruise liner for further treatment.

British passenger David Abel said he had been dining with Mr Steele before his diagnosis.

In a video on Facebook, he added: "He will almost certainly be leaving the ship today - real, real shame.

"I have no idea how he must be feeling... they're on their honeymoon.

"He will be going off in to quarantine in a medical facility and she has to stay on board the ship because she's not displaying symptoms.

"That's going to be really, really tough for him so just bear a thought for these passengers who just don't know what is going to be lying ahead of them."

About 3,700 passengers and crew on the Diamond Princess are being kept at the port city of Yokohama, about 25 miles from Tokyo.

Many have been consigned to their cabins, with one stranded tourist comparing the atmosphere to a "floating prison".

Princess Cruises said the quarantine on the ship is due to end on 19 February, barring "unforeseen developments".

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Of the 41 people who have most recently tested positive for the coronavirus, 21 are Japanese, eight American, five Canadian, five Australian, one Argentinian and one British.

The latest British case of the coronavirus comes after a third person in the UK was diagnosed with the illness, and is believed to have caught it in Singapore.

It is understood the man called the NHS 111 number and he was given clinical advice after self isolating.

The man was then told to go to his local hospital in Brighton, who were expecting his arrival, and he was then transferred to St Thomas' Hospital in London.

Two people in York have also been diagnosed with the virus - one of them is a student at the University of York, while the other is related to them.

They are being treated at a specialist hospital unit in Newcastle.
TORONTO - Ontario says it will negotiate trade agreements with individual U.S. states in a bid to work around federal "Buy American" policies.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2020 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ontario says it will negotiate trade agreements with individual U.S. states in a bid to work around federal "Buy American" policies. Ontario Premier Doug Ford cuts a maple leaf out of sheet metal before making an announcement at Sheridan College in Brampton, Ont., Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO - Ontario says it will negotiate trade agreements with individual U.S. states in a bid to work around federal "Buy American" policies.

Premier Doug Ford's government is set to announce the new strategy today during a trip to Washington, D.C.

The plan will see the province attempt to strike so-called Strategic Investment and Procurement Agreements with states to increase trade.

The premier promised the new strategy last week ahead of the trip to the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

Ford says that strengthening economic ties with U.S. states will create opportunities for Ontario businesses to bring their products and expertise to American markets.

Ontario is also continuing talks today with Ohio and other states to secure an agreement to bolster trade with those jurisdictions.

Ford's office says the premier has meetings scheduled over the weekend with the governors of Maryland, Wisconsin, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

Ontario is the top trading partner with 19 states and the second-largest trading partner with nine others.

Ford has repeatedly warned against American trade protectionism and vowed to push back against it.

"Anti-trade policies negatively impact businesses and jobs in Ontario and the United States," he said in a statement Friday. "By pursuing these new strategic agreements, we can build on our strong partnerships and unlock tremendous mutual economic potential."

Ford is part of a delegation of premiers that will be in the U.S. capital this weekend in a bid to strengthen cross-border business ties with their American counterparts.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe will head up a group of provincial leaders that includes Ford, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Quebec's Francois Legault and Blaine Higgs, the premier of New Brunswick.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland will also be there for meetings with U.S. officials on the margins of the conference.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2020.
Members of Destination Medical Center staff and its corporate board met Thursday in Rochester to discuss ongoing DMC projects.

In a discussion meeting, another topic came up  do people like DMC?

The 20-year, $5.6 billion economic development initiative was established in 2013 to improve infrastructure and draw investment and jobs to Rochester.

"My sense is the community is not with us," said R.T. Rybak, DMC corporate board chairman and former Minneapolis mayor. "I dont want to come down here and piss everybody off and make them think were taking over the town."

Some local community leaders agreed with that assessment.

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"Theres, Id say, anger in the community that this is being shoved down their throats," said Jim Bier, Olmsted County Commissioner and DMC corporate board member.

Some of that sentiment is in reaction to change that would have taken place with or without DMC, some observed.

"For too long DMC has been portrayed as the cause of or solution to every problem in the community," said Michael Wojcik, Rochester City Council member. "Things were going to change no matter what."

More downtown residents and employees were going to make investment in transit necessary and parking scarce, he said.

Working to create infrastructure to accommodate that change is one of DMCs missions.

Some projects are infrastructure improvement, including ongoing water and sewer improvements downtown. However, the results arent visible and the construction tends to be a nuisance.

"Seeing it right now, just means you have to drive around it," Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said in an interview after the meeting.

Thats not much of a selling point, she added.

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Wojcik said more investment in transit would be a tangible change people could see.

Norton agreed, but said too early investment in transit could make justifying the costs difficult.

"Its a chicken and egg situation," she said.

Wojcik said one transit initiative could be implemented this year -- making ridership free.

"No one can put their finger on something, my life is better because DMC is here," Wojcik said. "Lets do something significant to help people in the community."

Responding to community needs and working with groups that also do so could help, said Gregg Wright, Olmsted County Commissioner.

"We have groups working on a livable community  we need to help them," Wright said. "We can work with those neighborhoods and how they want to preserve their neighborhoods and how we can do that."

DMC to seek $7.3 million in TIF for Two Discovery Square
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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 07:36 704 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20630b4be 1 Editorial Wuhan-coronavirus,economy,Wuhan-lockdown,global-economy,wuhan,China,epidemics,coronavirus,#Editorial,health Free

Under normal circumstances, China and Japan would be at loggerheads over disputed islands or fighting for a sphere of influence in Asia through various means and exchanging fire over historical wounds. But at this time of disaster, humanity speaks louder than enmity.

Japan has been among the first to lend a hand to its coronavirus-hit neighbor. While evacuating its nationals from the now locked-down Wuhan metropolis, the epicenter of the deadly epidemic, Japan sent in masks, goggles and protective suits, which China badly needs, to help the Asian giant fight the spread of the new virus. The Japanese people, too, have shown their sympathy and encouragement to China through their online posts.

In response to such gestures of compassion, China, through its foreign ministry spokesperson, expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support from people from all walks of life in Japan.

Indeed, in this era of interdependence, not a single nation, not even a superpower, can do everything alone. Amid competition, there is always room to help each other, particularly in an epidemic of this scale, which has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency.

The novel coronavirus has sent shockwaves throughout the entire world since it emerged at the end of last year. As of Thursday the death toll from the virus outbreak passed 560, mostly in mainland China, with over 28,000 people across the world infected.

Japan and many other countries, including Indonesia, have repatriated their citizens from Wuhan and nearby cities. They have also imposed restrictions on travelers to and from China indefinitely, against the WHOs calls, with Indonesia making the ban effective as of Wednesday.

Problems have arisen as many Chinese nationals traveling overseas for holiday cannot return home due to the travel restriction. A number of Chinese tourists have refused to fly home for fear of contracting the virus. In Bali and Sabah in Malaysia, the local governments are helping the Chinese tourists secure extensions of their visas for humanitarian reasons.

Surely flexibility is the best policy if the international community intends to ease Chinas burden. Definitely China, the worlds second-largest economy, will suffer as the economic fallout of the virus outbreak unfolds. Chinas economic doldrums could be as contagious as the virus. Concerted efforts from all nations and global citizens to curb the spread of the virus, for which the WHO has appealed, is therefore pressing.

Indonesia can do its part to help China. Extending the visas of Chinese holidaymakers stranded in the country and preventing anti-Chinese fervor from spreading will contribute to Chinas struggle to combat the disease.

We may recall the generosity of our neighbors near and far when major disasters struck this nation in the past. This is an opportune time to pay them back through assisting them in these difficult times or at least refraining from exacerbating their problem.

Credit should go to foreign students in Wuhan and across Hubei province who have chosen to stay and help the local people and government fight the virus. There are other ways to show our solidarity, but we can share their motivational words, Wuhan, jiayou [stay strong]!
Weekly briefing: Trump acquitted, call to love at prayer breakfast, coronavirus death toll rising

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We've compiled the top stories of the week. Here's what you need to know:

Impeachment trial over: Senate acquits President Trump

Donald Trump is now the third president in U.S. history to survive an impeachment challenge. The U.S. Senate acquitted Trump on Wednesday of the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The following morning while at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump called his political opponents dishonest and corrupt and accused them of doing everything possible to destroy us and in turn, hurt our nation.

68th National Prayer Breakfast: Contempt is tearing our societies apart

During Thursdays National Prayer Breakfast, keynote speaker Arthur Brooks lamented that the nation is facing a crisis of contempt and polarization.

He reminded citizens that Jesus called on His followers to love their enemies.

How do we break the habit of contempt? Some people say we need more civility and tolerance. I say, nonsense. Why? Because civility and tolerance are a low standard. Jesus didnt say, tolerate your enemies. He said, love your enemies. Answer hatred with love.  Brooks

The call to love came days after Trump delivered the State of the Union address, after which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tore up an official copy of the president's speech.

Read about 11 guests who were recognized and honored at the State of the Union address

Coronavirus death toll surpasses 600; pastor calls for urgent prayer

The coronavirus has now led to over 600 deaths, with more than 31,000 people worldwide now infected.

A Chinese pastor in Wuhan  the epicenter of the deadly outbreak  penned a letter, calling it a test of our faith. He urged Christians to pray for those affected.

Christians are not only to suffer with the people of this city, but we have a responsibility to pray for those in this city who are fearful, and to bring to them the peace of Christ.  Wuhan pastor

Dirty Dozen List of entities that help perpetuate sexual exploitation

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation released its 2020 Dirty Dozen List. It includes major corporations and one state that are complicit in perpetuating sexual exploitation.

NCOSE called out Visa, Amazon and TikTok, among others.

Right now there are mainstream companies that are normalizing pornography, facilitating online sex trafficking and grooming, selling sex dolls and incest materials or promoting eroticized child nudity books. A culture that accepts these things will continue to create more victims of sexual abuse and sex trafficking than can ever be rescued.  Haley McNamara, NCOSE vice president of Advocacy and Outreach

In case you missed it:

Read Iranian Christian details how regime shut down her church

Read What is the future of the Intelligent Design movement?

Pray for:

Family of 18-year-old seminarian Micahel Nnadi, who was kidnapped and killed in Nigeria

New releases

Albums:

I Still Believe: The Greatest Hits by Jeremy Camp (Feb. 7)

The Sound of Freedom by JJ Weeks (Feb. 7)

Books:

Dangerous Prayers: Because Following Jesus Was Never Meant to Be Safe by Craig Groeschel (Feb. 4)

Praying Women: How to Pray When You Don't Know What to Say by Sheila Walsh (Feb. 4)
Instead of following EU-wide efforts to phase out coal, Poland wants to extend the life of Europes largest coal plant.

Warsaw, Poland  Stanislaw Skibinski is a retired dairy farmer from a village named Janow in central Poland.

He never thought he would become a green energy activist.

Today, solar panels flank the roof of his barn, generating half of the electricity that powers his family farm sitting among swathes of verdant fields; home to 130 cows.

In this pocket of Poland, 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Belchatow power station  which produces 20 percent of the entire countrys electricity and which is also the largest single CO2 emitter in the European Union  nearly all homes sport such panels.

This solar rooftop landscape, however, remains an exception in a country that generates 80 percent of its electricity from burning fossil fuels at ageing power plants. In 2018, renewable energy sources accounted for just 11.6 percent of electricity produced in the country, according to government data.

The EUs target for this year is that 20 percent of all energy used is generated from renewables; Slovenia and Bulgaria, for instance, surpassed this benchmark in 2018.





Skibinski, now 65, believes coal has outlived its place in Polands energy mix  as has the Belchatow power plant.

Photovoltaic and wind farms, he says. This is how I see the future.

To edge closer to that future, he has been at loggerheads with the owner of the power station, PGE GiEK  a subsidiary of state-run energy giant Polska Grupa Energetyczna  ever since he learned it wanted to dig for lignite, known as brown coal, in his back yard.

PGE revealed its plans for a new open-pit mine in Zloczew and Osreowek communes  or as Skibinski calls it, the cancer of Polish soil  in 2015. The project, expected to cost up to 3.5 billion euros ($3.8bn) would extend the life of the Belchatow power station past 2030, when the coal deposits that feed it from the current mine are predicted to dry up.

The mine will swallow up 30 villages, erasing state-of-the-art farms like that run by Skibinski, who is among the 3,000 villagers who face both the destruction of their livelihoods and displacement from their lands.

People live from farming here, he tells Al Jazeera, adding, we have no Plan B.

There will be nothing

In an effort to block PGEs plans, Skibinski and other farmers opposing the project set up the No to Zloczew open-pit mine association. Aside from protesting the destruction of their livelihoods, the farmers have been raising concerns over groundwater depletion  an issue with which the region has already grappled due to the water-intensive nature of coal exploration.

According to Skibinski, the mine will create a cone of depression, drying up arable land.

There will be no water, there will be no work, there will be nothing. This is the future, he says, visibly agitated.

The group has been fighting plans for the mine in court, successfully challenging city planning decisions in two communes and slowing down PGE in its efforts to secure its mining concession.

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Another blow to PGE came from Greenpeace, which appealed against the environmental approval for the project given by the Regional Directorate of Environment in 2018, with the activists alleging the investors assessment of future air pollution was inadequate.

According to Leszek Pazderski, an environmental policy expert at Greenpeace, the open-pit mine will emit hundreds of tonnes of suspended dust particles, significantly affecting air quality. This was omitted in the environmental report, he said.

The appeals body is yet to issue the decision that will either block or pave the way for PGEs mining concession.

Most recently, in September 2019, the project encountered a third hurdle. In an unprecedented filing, Client Earth, an environmental law firm, sued PGE, demanding that Belchatow stop burning coal or take steps to eliminate CO2 emissions by 2035.

Two visions of the future

Plans for the new mine have created a rift in the community, where opponents and supporters of the project live side by side and many villagers are counting on receiving lucrative compensation for their land.

I would like that [the mine] very much and my children would like it, too, a woman from Zloczew told Al Jazeera, requesting that her name be withheld. My neighbour doesnt want the open-pit mine, and I do.

Local authorities have been backing the project from its inception, hoping to attract investors and repeat the success story of the Kleszczow district  home to the Belchatow power complex and today the wealthiest commune in Poland.

This would definitely be linked to economic development, said Beata Swidnicka, a councilwoman from Zloczew. On top of the open-pit mine, other companies would also come to our region, like, for example, transport companies. The industry would develop.

The vast but soon-to-be-depleted Belchatow open-pit mine offers a stark vision of Zloczews future [Marta Soszynska/Al Jazeera]

But Greenpeaces Leszek Pazderski asserts that this time, history will not repeat itself  because the EUs climate change policies will render the burning of fossil fuels commercially inviable.

The world is different now, he said. The economic reality is different.

The problem is that this investment is structurally unprofitable because the profitability of coal has been decreasing due to rising costs for CO2 emissions. Ten years from now, electricity generated from this coal will be significantly more expensive than that generated by renewable energy sources, Pazderski told Al Jazeera.

Uncertainty and transition

In December, citing anonymous sources, Reuters reported Poland was close to abandoning its plans for the lignite mine in Zloczew for those very reasons.

But PGE denied the reports and said it continues to work to secure a mining concession for coal deposits near Zloczew.

The execution of the project, however, is largely dependent on [the] domestic and foreign regulatory environment, a spokesperson for PGE told Al Jazeera by email.

The final shape of Polands energy policy, the EU climate and energy policy, the needs of the power system or market models and the cost of financing specific projects  all of these will affect the final investment decision, they added.

Achieving the goal of climate neutrality is a big challenge for our economy and we need to know precisely what we can count on from the EU side Leszek Juchniewicz, economist

Asked about the future of the project, a Ministry of Assets representative directed Al Jazeera to Polands energy policy for 2040, which stipulates that Zloczew remains a prospective and strategic coal deposit.

Weaning Poland off coal remains a thorny political issue. For years, successive governments have been pledging support for the mining sector.

The development of the Zloczew mine, in particular, was one of the 2019 pre-election promises made by the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS).

Poland is the slowest EU member to adopt environmental protections, say campaigners, and it is the only country to be left out of the EUs climate neutrality agreement  which in December saw 27 member states commit to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The agreement is expected to come back to the negotiating table in June for a final decision.

Achieving the goal of climate neutrality is a big challenge for our economy and we need to know precisely what we can count on from the EU side, said Leszek Juchniewicz, chief economist at Polands largest employers organisation, Pracodawcy RP.

Official government documents put the necessary cost of Polands energy sector overhaul at 140 billion euros ($155bn) just to lower the countrys coal dependency to between 56 and 60 percent  with another substantial financial injection needed to reach any zero-carbon emissions target.

Meanwhile, the EUs Just Transition Mechanism has earmarked 100 billion euros ($110bn) to help fossil-fuel-dependent countries across the entire bloc to transition to renewable energy sources.

Although the Polish authorities have recently stepped up efforts to promote green energy, including the use of solar panels, Juchniewicz says there is no sensible plan for transforming these mining regions.

This is why we are facing such a dramatic challenge.
What this bill does is when there are kids who fail to meet the standards it gives them a second opportunity to grasp that that they need to know to succeed in life, Fillmore said.

Its also going to take and give our kids a heads up that there are no more social promotions, no more easy rides, that there is responsibility in this world, he continued. And those kids will be given a chance with this bill.

Fillmore said the education practices of the last 40 years are not working.

Our education system is declining, he said. Our children are not being educated. And self-esteem programs that sociologically people want to promote are not the thing.

The answer, he said, is making kids take responsibility for their own learning. They are like sponges wanting to learn.

Rep. Isela Blanc, D-Tempe, criticized the hard-and-fast rule the legislation would create. She said it presumes that teachers, and parents, cannot be trusted to determine what is best on a case-by-case basis. Fillmore doesnt see it that way.
As Bravo fans mourn the loss of Mexican Dynasties, they welcome a new series to Bravo about another family. The network dropped the trailer for the docudrama, Family Karma and the new series may allow Mexican Dynasties fans to scratch that itch.

Family Karma debuts March 8 on Bravo at 9 p.m. / 8 p.m. central. The series follows Indian-American friends and their families living in Miami, Florida, and tracks how a multi-generational families join tradition with modern life. The attractive young cast deals with trying to balance parents and grandparents expectations with their own independence.

Bali Chainani, Monica Vaswani, Brian Benni, Anisha Ramakrishna, Amrit Kapai, Vishal Parvani, Shaan Patel | Tommy Garcia/Bravo

With parents and grandparents instilling their cherished customs, and adult children who are drifting more towards the American Way, the two worlds collide in the most unexpected ways, according to Bravo. According to the trailer, collide is a great description as the drama, but also the usual Bravo fun appears to be ready to pop.

Were in Miami, baby

The trailer begins with Brian Bennis parents dogging him about finding a mate so they can have grandkids. No pressure. Previews show champagne corks popping and plenty of celebrating as the families party together in both traditional (and non-traditional) Indian attire.

None of our families are originally from America, cast member Vishal Parvani explains. Our families all migrated to Florida. Our parents basically founded this community. They had arranged marriages. We had arranged friendships.

The cast shares that they grew up within a traditional Indian environment, doing temple classes as children and performing together for Bali dances. Indeed, this tight-knit group of friends does everything together and considers each other to be family.

But friends and families fight

Previews show the struggle some of the adult children have with their parents. Indian families live together, Amrit Kapai shares. So you have mom, dad, grandmother, maid, maids mom.

Benni says theres extreme pressure to get married. Cameras capture a number of parents dogging the adult children about dating. Some of the young adult women in the group are getting pressure about their biological clock too. Anisha Ramakrishna had an astrologer tell her parents she had snakes in her chakra. They ended up spending a lot of money to get those snakes removed, she laughs.

The drama isnt limited to the adult children in the cast. The cast shares that their parents go out together and gossip about the kids. Its like 1-800 auntie, guess what I just heard, Kapai jokes. And while this crew loves each other, they appear to fight like siblings too. Parvani says the crew likes to sweep confrontation under the carpet  until it bubbles to the surface.

Fans are clearly ready for this show. I love the Bravo shows that have different cultures! Please keep it going, one person wrote on a post introducing Family Karma. Indians on Bravo! History in the making, another remarked. This fan wants in on the show. Im in South Florida! How do I get on this ??? 
Chinese medical authorities took great comfort initially from the fact the infections at the outset showed no tendency to spread between humans, a blessing which was dutifully reported.





by Larry Romanoff reporting from Shanghai





It is not possible to understand the situation of Chinas new coronavirus infections without some context. Lets place ourselves in the position of patient and physician. If you develop a headache, what is your first thought? Do you say to yourself, My god, I have a brain tumor and I will die? Not likely. Similarly, if you report your headache to a doctor, his range of thoughts is unlikely to involve your immediate demise. Both parties assume the event is merely one more common and typical occurrence and, barring unusual symptoms that indicate additional testing, the physicians advice would most likely be to take two aspirins and call me tomorrow.













This was essentially the circumstance in China with the new coronavirus. The initial symptoms of the first patients were quite mild, seemingly no more than a typical winter flu and thus of no special concern. It was only after about two weeks, when the symptoms became more severe and patients required hospitalisation, that medical experts realised they were dealing with a new contagion.





After that, things happened very quickly with extensive tests and investigation, the discovery of the new coronavirus, the decoding of its entire genome and the distribution of that genome to the WHO and other authorities, all accomplished within about two weeks. Chinas quick reaction and solid results generated worldwide praise from officials. Public announcements were made at the same time, revealing the facts available to date.





Chinese medical authorities took great comfort initially from the fact the infections at the outset showed no tendency to spread between humans, a blessing which was dutifully reported. No secondary infections had been identified, and no medical staff had become infected. Then suddenly, during that initial two weeks, perhaps due to adaptation or mutation, the virus began exhibiting contagious tendencies and about a dozen medical staff became suddenly infected, apparently from a single patient.





This constituted a material change in the circumstances, since a freely-contagious coronavirus could run rampant through the population. It was at this point that the authorities immediately instituted the effective quarantine first of Wuhan then of most of Hubei Province, a quarantine that has now expanded to several other cities in other provinces in an attempt to corral the virus and prevent wider contagion. And again, Chinas quick reaction and solid results generated worldwide praise from officials.





I want to create some further necessary context by imagining a hypothetical situation. A major pharmaceutical company discovers that some batches of a frequently-prescribed medication may have been contaminated. At the beginning, there are still few facts and little is known about the extent or the severity of the contamination. How would a responsible corporation deal with this?





This may be counter-intuitive, but making an immediate public announcement would be reckless, potentially creating needless public alarm and even panic, as well as damaging public confidence and the company as well. Of course, the prime concern is the public welfare, but the company must first (admittedly very quickly) gather sufficient facts and information to understand the scope of the problem and the gravity of the overall situation. This fact-gathering process should require only a few days or perhaps a week or two at most, depending on circumstances. Public announcements in the absence of facts would be premature and even irresponsible.





If the contamination is discovered to be limited to one small batch which can be identified and recalled before use, the problem is solved. If the evidence is that many or an unknown number of batches may have been contaminated and locations are unknown, the problem and the danger to the public clearly become greater. An additional concern is the nature of the contamination and the degree of danger it presents to the public health, whether the effects of ingesting a contaminated medication would be minor or potentially lethal.





If the facts indicate that the contamination could have major negative consequences to the public and that the scope is unknown or not easily determinable, meaning the contamination cannot be easily contained, then an immediate public announcement is warranted, and indeed mandatory. However, none of this happens in a vacuum. National health authorities must first be advised and their opinion and guidance sought as to the content and timing of the public announcement as well as instructions on appropriate methods of solution.





The decisions of timing and content of a public announcement are made by the management of both the company and the national health authority. Rank and file staff of either group are not involved in this process since they havent the knowledge or experience. Typically, executives of both groups will decide on content and appoint a spokesperson to convey the necessary information to the public, done in a manner to inform but not alarm or panic the public.





But what happens if someone short-circuits this process? What if a low-level staff member at the pharmaceutical company learns of a possible contamination, assumes incorrectly the contamination involves HIV or the Bubonic Plague, and posts messages on social media to this effect?





This is precisely what happened in China with the new coronavirus. Li Wenliang, a low-level physician at a hospital in Wuhan, learned at the end of that initial two weeks that some patients had been hospitalised with a coronavirus infection, impetuously presumed that virus to be SARS, then posted announcements on Chinese social media that SARS had returned to China with people in Wuhan already hospitalised. No one in China has forgotten SARS, these messages sparking alarm and panic, especially since they were forwarded in volume to many other recipients.





Li was picked up and questioned by the police, reprimanded, and released after an hour. This was when the Western media began their circus. According to CNN,





Li was accused of rumor-mongering by the Wuhan police. He was one of several medics targeted by police for trying to blow the whistle on the deadly virus in the early weeks of the outbreak. Further, Li was called to a local police station and reprimanded for spreading rumors online and severely disrupting social order over the message he sent in the chat group. Li had to sign a statement  which CNN has seen a photograph of  acknowledging his misdemeanor and promising not to commit further unlawful acts.





The above statements are essentially correct though tilted, but are misleading without context. First, it is a crime in China to fabricate and spread rumors that disrupt the social order, a portion of Chinese culture that Westerners either cannot understand or refuse to accept.





Li stated I only wanted to remind my university classmates to be careful, but when his startling messages went viral, he then admitted, When I saw them circulating online, I realised that it was out of my control and I would probably be punished. Hardly a surprise. If Lis concern were for a few friends he would have called them or sent private messages. Li is not a child, and he was fully aware of the virility of online posts as well as the protocols for dealing with potential epidemics. To have posted his claims openly on social media could obtain only one possible result  in fact the result it did obtain, which was to alarm and panic countless thousands of citizens.





Li was not reprimanded for telling the truth or for being a whistleblower, as CNN, CBS and the BBC tell us. Rather, he was reprimanded for reckless public behavior and for presuming authority he did not possess. No one appointed him the spokesman for either the national health authorities or the hospital. Li had no authority to make such premature public announcements, and he would know very well the result of a WeChat post with such content.





From the same CNN article, Li wrote, I was wondering why (the governments) official notices were still saying there was no human-to-human transmission, and there were no healthcare workers infected. The medical authorities released that information as soon as it was verified and public notification became necessary, but Li appears determined to denigrate them with backhanded insinuations of lying to the public. At first I felt some sympathy for this man but I must say that after investigating all the available facts, including his apparently eager and repeated accessibility to CNN, I find myself tempted to conclude Li had had prior contact with someone outside the medical circle. His entire case has developed an aroma of Liu Xiaobo, a gullible Western puppet useful for sowing mild unrest and providing the Western media with ammunition for trashing his own country.





CBS News, in an article by someone named Tucker Reals, is equally as dishonest, claiming Li was threatened by his government when he tried to raise the alarm about the new coronavirus, again totally misrepresenting the facts. If Lis intention were to raise an alarm, there were multiple official channels within which to do that. WeChat is not the first choice, neither for a medical emergency nor for a typhoon. (2)





In terms of social media disclosure, there was a second group of eight people, not medical practitioners but merely civilians, who also made similar posts on WeChat, but whose purpose was more clearly a reflection of concern for public well-being. These people were also questioned by the police, but released, and were later praised for their actions. In fact, in a big surprise, the Chinese Supreme Court made a public statement on this case, stating that these individuals did not fabricate a false story but presented largely factual news (though they mis-identified the virus). The Court statement defended their actions, specifically stating they should not be reprimanded. The Western media either ignore this event or conflate the two events to twist the context, since it firmly contradicts the narrative of the Chinese government censoring and silencing those who tell the truth.





CNN tells us, From the start, the Chinese authorities wanted to control information about the outbreak, silencing any voices that differed with their narrative  regardless of whether they were telling the truth. That is a twisted and very dirty statement, maligning China with no justification whatever. Of course the Chinese authorities wanted to control information about this outbreak, to prevent precisely the situation that arose with Li. CNNs reporters on this, Yong Xiong and Nectar Gan, are dishonest in the extreme in stating that the authorities purpose was to silence voices that differed. In fact, their purpose was to silence voices that were incorrect and speaking without authority. This would not be different in any nation. The suggestion by Xiong and Gan that the Chinese health authorities were lying and suppressing others who told the truth, is sufficiently slanderous to justify a defamation lawsuit against CNN and both reporters. And deportation. (1)





Wuhans mayor Zhou Xianwang admitted his government did not immediately disclose information on the coronavirus. As he stated in an interview with CCTV,





under Chinese law on infectious diseases, the local government first needs to report the outbreak to national health authorities, and then get approval from the State Council before making an announcement. For the late disclosure, I hope everyone can understand that this is an infectious disease, and relevant information has special channels to be disclosed in accordance with law. There is nothing sinister here.





There is another aspect to the Western reporting of events in China, relating specifically to the use of Chinese social media. I wont dwell on the details here but it is well-documented that various American government agencies, most particularly the CIA and NED have created thousands of accounts on Weibo and WeChat, purporting to belong to native Chinese resident in China but which are mostly managed out of Langley, Virginia, and which they use in attempts to promote disaffection in China. This so-called sock puppet software permits one single individual to create and manage as many as 1,000 of these individual accounts at one time, with such realism of detail as to appear to be physically on the scene at any event.





There is thus a problem in knowing which posts on Chinese social media are legitimate and which are by Americans seeking to cause unrest in China. It was primarily for this reason the Chinese government initiated a requirement for personal ID for maintenance of these accounts.





One post claimed, Dr Li Wenliang is a hero, and pretended to express concern that the governments criticism of his honesty would frighten all Chinese health professionals. The post continued, In the future, doctors will be more afraid to issue early warnings when they find signs of infectious diseases. This post is almost certainly false, since the Chinese understand their system very well, and no Chinese would be likely to express this sentiment. And, if doctors are more afraid to issue uninformed and incorrect early warnings on the social media instead of through proper channels, well and good.





According to CNN, On Lis Weibo, tens of thousands have left comments thanking him for speaking out and wishing him a speedy discovery. Dr Li, youre a good doctor with conscience. I hope you stay safe and sound, read one of the top-rated comments. If Wuhan had paid attention to [his warning] back then and taken active preventive measures, wrote another Weibo user, where we stand now a month later could be a completely different picture. Comments like these are at variance with the facts and are almost certainly fake, originating outside China.





In fact, the Chinese have been overwhelmingly supportive of their governments handling of this medical crisis, but it seems the Americans will never miss an opportunity to denigrate China nor to stir unrest and instability wherever an opportunity appears to present itself.





Li has since been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, CNN claiming His diagnosis has sparked outrage across China, where a backlash is growing against state censorship around the illness and an initial delay in warning the public about the deadly virus. But in fact his diagnosis sparked nothing in China, except perhaps sympathy, and there is no evidence of any nature to suggest a backlash against growing against state censorship around the illness, which censorship does not in fact exist, all evidence being very much to the contrary. Statements such as these, presented entirely without support, are merely Xiong and Gan trashing their own people to please their handlers at CNN.





Lastly, it would seem appropriate to recall the many instances where the US government and health authorities committed their own crimes against disclosure and timeliness, in many cases taking months to reveal information or to formulate a plan of action, and in some cases never acting. We shouldnt forget too soon that Vioxx was killing perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans over ten years while all were afraid to blow the whistle, nor should we forget that hundreds of millions of Americans have been injected with monkey viruses from contaminated vaccines, but that the whistle was never blown. In the US, many people die every year from contaminated vaccinations, most of which were unnecessary in any case, but those attempting to blow the whistle are threatened, harassed, and ridiculed. A mere listing of the significant instances of American failure to act, to disclose pertinent information, even to simply tell the truth, would be much too long to be included here.





I would suggest that Americans and their media concern themselves primarily with American problems. Since theyve demonstrated little ability to discover viable solutions for their own Pandoras Box of critical issues, perhaps they should refrain from either scolding or pretending to advise the rest of the world on items which are much smaller. It is unfortunate that the Western media have so little independence, their reporters little or no real-world experience on issues they discuss, view China in particular through blinding ideological lenses, display a strong tendency to extremism on every foreign issue, and are inevitably working to satisfy a hidden political agenda. Nothing here to justify even a mild thought of trust.





***





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A Nigerian artist and photographer, Adeniji Adekunle, has created a Museum model dedicated to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who he said truly has a great vision for Nigeria's politics.

Describing the elder statesman as an icon who loves his country, a patriot and a role model, Adekunle said, "Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a very rare example of an extraordinary leader which I simply love for making more leaders out of his followers in the last two decades."

The proposed structure to be named Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu Museum and Leadership Centre, the artist said, will be an innovative table top and wall exhibit which will showcase the past and present of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in pictures, drawings, newspaper publications and items that has a lot to say about Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

The museum, which the model designer and artist said can also be called JAGABAN Museum, will also house the collection of iconic and remarkable pictures, items and historical events in Lagos and Nigeria's politics.

"The museum will be a cost effective approach to present historical items about Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to schools systems, communities, colleges and universities throughout the nation and the world in general", Adekunle added.

He noted further that, "once a leading player in Nigeria's private sector, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu is now a leading political figure in Nigeria. Emerging as Lagos State governor in 1999, Tinubu has left landmark achievements for history to judge.

"One of his many successes was his ability to galvanise the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Lagos State from less than a billion naira in 1999 to more than N20billion, thus making the state one of the few that can survive without federal government allocations. He spearheaded the good governance that Lagos state is known for today."

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According to Adekunle, "Twelve years after, Lagosians are full of nostalgia. The welfarist legacy of the Tinubu administration in Lagos State has served as an enduring foundation for successive governments to build on.

"The achievements of former Governor Bola Tinubu between 1999 and 2007 underscored the power of diligent planning and execution of the famed 24-Year Socio-economic and Political Development Plan.

"The Lagos blueprint also attested to Tinubu's power of foresight and the import of team work. Lagos, according to observers, has remained a model state because it has evolved a standard that cannot permit deviations by successors.

"In the successive cabinet of talents are seasoned technocrats who cannot afford to play politics with the development of the state, and the most important factor in success is the judicious allocation of resources."

The artist explained further why he is drawn to Tinubu.

"Bola Tinubu has made more leaders out of his followers in the last two decades and have touched many lives positively and I believe a museum that will house the history of a living icon in his person", he added.

He therefore called on well-wishers, friends, and followers of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a living icon, to support this plan to make history by building a museum that will house his history where school students, communities, colleges and universities can come and learn more about this iconic personality.
Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac on Friday stirred a controversy when he carried the 2020-21 state budget document with a picture of Mahatma Gandhis assassination on its cover.

As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led state government, Issac justified it ,saying the move was meant to send out the message that the country will not forget who murdered Gandhi.

Yes, we remember Mahatma was murdered. We will not forget who murdered Gandhiji. He was murdered by Hindu communalists and many in the ruling party still revere them, he said

The picture on the cover of the Kerala budget document depicts Gandhi lying in a pool of blood as supporters surround him in mourning.

Defending the move, the state finance minister said it was a painting by an artist from the state and the depiction was more relevant now. This is important at the time when history is being rewritten. There is a concerted attempt to erase popular memories and use the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the country on communal lines. Kerala will stand united, he said.

Kerala has taken ben a strong critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register (NPR). Kerala was the first state to pass a resolution against the CAA and the first to move the Supreme Court against the amended law.

There is a lot of fear among people. Youth, who are the future of the country, are on the streets protesting. In such a situation, in an unprecedented move, both the ruling and opposition parties came together, he said.

Hitting out at Issac, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala of the Congress said, We have been fighting communal forces for long. But I dont think it was an appropriate gesture.

BJP spokesperson J R Padmakumar said, Sad, they dont have anything else to say or show. Muslim League leader K M Muneer also slammed the move.

Meanwhile, Issac tabled the states economic review in the assembly on Thursday. According to the report, Kerala has been witnessing a demographic transition, marked by a declining birth rate and a rapid rise in the number of elderly people.

Although the state has been witnessing the phenomenon for quite some time, the latest data shows the state is ageing fast, surpassing the national average. Out of a population of 33.4 million people, about 4.8 million people are above 60 years of age and out of these, 15% are above 80, it says.

In 1961, Keralas 60- plus population was 5.1 percent, which was just below the national average of 5.6 percent. Since 1980, Kerala has overtaken the rest of India and in 2001 the proportion of the old age population rose to 10.5 per cent as against all India average of 7.5 percent. By 2011, 12.6 percent of Keralas population was past 60 years, compared to the all India average of 8.6 percent. By 2015, population data show that it increased to 13.1 per cent in Kerala against the all India average of 8.3 per cent (SRS Statistical Report 2015), the review stated.

A large proportion of old age people in the state are widows. As per Census 2011, in the age group of 60-69, 23% are widows. By 2025, about 20% of the population would be elderly and the consequent demand on the social security system would be substantial, the review said.

Eyeing the trend, many entrepreneurs in the state have started geriatric care centres and old age homes.
Photo & report below sent by Caribbean Multhull Challenge / Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Another battle between Argo & Maserati Multi 70, towards the Caribbean 600, in the 2019 Edition Maserati won.

Below official preview for the 2020 Caribbean Multhull Challenge organized by the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. Race results & entries for 2019 here.

A Head-to Head Battle of Grand Prix MOD 70 Trimarans to Highlight 2020 Caribbean Multihull Challenge

By Herb McCormick

Simpson Bay, St. Maarten, D.W.I.  4 February, 2020

They are some of the most radical, cutting-edge boats on the planet, capable of slashing records and maintaining double-digit boat speeds for days or even weeks at a time. The 70-foot Multi OneDesign Class boasts some of the worlds best multihull sailors and provides some of yacht racings fastest, wildest competition. Yes, a powered-up MOD 70, as they are better known, is simply a sight to behold. And one of the best places to see them, from February 14-16, will be in the blue waters off Sint Maarten, as a pair of them will vie for top honors in this years Caribbean Multihull Challenge.

Maserati and Argo are the two MOD 70s currently entered in the CMC, and both trimarans are using the event to prepare for the upcoming Caribbean 600, which sets off from Antigua on February 23rd. A third CMC entrant, the 50-foot catamaran Addictive Sailing, is also using the CMC as a tune-up event for the longer ocean race. Its a growing trend, as the timing could not be better, and it provides crews with the ability to really sharpen their skills in close-quarters. The two events dovetail sweetly.

These are extreme high-performance craft, said Dave Reed, the editor of the U.S. racing magazine Sailing World, who has followed the inception of the MOD 70 class since its inception about a decade ago. These boats are legit ocean racers, and in the right hands of the right crews, theyre capable of winning big ocean races, from the Transpac to the Caribbean 600.

Legendary Italian offshore sailor Giovanni Soldini is the skipper of Maserati, the former Gitana which is now sponsored by the luxury vehicle brand. Soldini is perhaps best known for his rescue of fellow solo sailor Isabelle Autissier after she capsized in the Southern Ocean in the 1999 Around Alone singlehanded round-the-world race. Soldini never stopped competing after that adventure, and has been chasing high-seas records on a variety of vessels ever since.

Soldini has had a run of bad luck over the years, with unforced breakages from time to time, said Reed. But if anyone has proved his capability, its Soldini. Hes done thousands and thousands of miles. Hes really seen it all.

But Soldini will have his hands full with the other MOD 70 in the CMC, Argo, which was originally known as Oman Sail and skippered by Frenchman Sidney Gavignet when first launched in 2012. Today Argo is owned and captained by U.S. sailor Jason Caroll, a most formidable foe.

Argo was the first to finish in last summers 50th edition of the classic Transpac Race from California to Hawaii, vanquishing two other MOD 70s in the process. The boat just had a complete refit in San Diego, with new foils and rudders, before arriving in the Caribbean.

Jason Caroll is very much a hands-on skipper, said Reed. Hes worked his way up the sailing ladder, starting with a Melges 32. Hes very active, and very good.

Maserati versus Argo is pretty much a match for the ages, and will surely be a highlight of the 2020 Caribbean Multihull Challenge.

About the Caribbean Multihull Challenge Sint Maarten:

The Sint Maarten Yacht Club will host the second annual Caribbean Multihull Challenge from February 14-16, 2020. The event is open to all multihull sailors on racing catamarans and trimarans as well as chartered cats and cruising multis. For more information visit www.smyc.com/caribbean-multihull-challenge.
For two years, Hialeah Police Sgt. Jesus Menocal Jr. patrolled the streets of Miami-Dade Countys second-biggest city while FBI agents investigated him for allegedly detaining young women and sexually assaulting them.

Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez says he knew the FBI was pursuing a case against the decorated cop.

Yet Velazquez didnt pull Menocal off the street, leaving him with a badge and gun.

Why?

Velazquez wont say.

At a news conference in November after the Miami Herald published an investigative story on Menocal, the police chief said he reinstated the officer to patrol duties in mid-2016 because he was no longer facing sexual [assault] allegations at that time following a review by state prosecutors. But Velazquez refused to answer why he kept Menocal on the street when the chief learned months later that the FBI had opened its own probe into the same allegations.

Keeping Menocal on patrol was a baffling decision that put the public in potential danger and opened up the city of Hialeah to major liability, according to experts interviewed by the Miami Herald. And it contradicted how the chief treated Menocal when he fell under the earlier state investigation. In that case, Velazquez did relieve Menocal of police powers, sending him home on administrative assignment with pay for three months before putting him on desk duty as the SWAT coordinator.

Why you would allow this individual to interact with the public is highly questionable, said Jerry Hester, a former FBI agent in South Florida who worked on the bureaus public-corruption squad. Its a question of judgment. [The chief] is saying he went to all this trouble to cooperate yet hes not doing the most obvious thing, which is removing this person from public contact. It calls into question his judgment overall and what else hes not handling properly or not telling us.

Menocal was arrested in December and charged with violating the civil rights of two women in 2015. The feds allege that he used his badge to stop one of the women, a minor, and kidnapped her, forcing her to remove her underwear and turn around for his own sexual gratification, according to an indictment. Menocal is also said to have exposed his bare penis to [the other victim], placed her hand on his penis, and kissed her. He has pleaded not guilty.

Story continues

Hialeah Police Chief Sergio Velazquez holds a news conference on Friday, Nov. 15, 2019, about the case of Sgt. Jesus Menocal Jr., accused of sexual misconduct.

Menocal was investigated by the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office, but prosecutors decided in August 2016 not to charge him. Even before state prosecutors declined to file charges, Velazquez put Menocal back on the street, police records show. And while Velazquez did sustain an internal affairs complaint against Menocal  which found that the cop had broken departmental rules by taking, at various times, nine women into a camera-less room at a police station without filing reports  the chief never disciplined him.

Velazquez said at the November news conference that he took no action because the FBI opened a new criminal investigation. The chief suggested the criminal investigation prevented him from acting, saying his hands were tied by a Florida statute known as the law enforcement officers bill of rights and the police unions collective bargaining agreement.

When this case goes criminal [federally], its in the best interest of the case to stop any administrative procedure, Velazquez said at the news conference.

All police officers and correctional officers fall under the officers bill of rights, he elaborated. They have certain protective rights under that and also under our collective bargaining agreement.  When certain things happen, that [administrative case] gets tolled, and we go back to a criminal investigation, which is more important than the administrative investigation.

A spokesman for the department did not respond Thursday when asked to elaborate on that reasoning. The chief has refused interview requests, calling a Herald reporter a liar after a city meeting.

But Charles Nanney, former head of the Miami-Dade Police Departments special investigations division, said Velazquez did in fact have the authority to discipline his officer.

Hialeah mayor: Citys handling of cop busted in sex assault probe was great

Hes probably using [the FBI investigation] as an excuse for not taking disciplinary action against him, Nanney said. Its not a violation of the officers bill of rights.

As for keeping Menocal on the force while the FBI investigated, we wouldve relieved him of duty and placed him on the desk with pay, Nanney said, referring to how Miami-Dade would have handled the case.

Menocal, who comes from an influential South Florida law enforcement family, remained on the street for two years while under FBI investigation. It was only in early 2019 that Velazquez put him back on a desk. The chief has declined to say when exactly that happened. He has also not explained why he finally removed Menocal at that time, saying only that new information from the FBI had come to light.

Jesus Menocal Jr. posted this photo of himself on a social media site with the caption: Character: Its what you do when people arent watching. Its how you act when you are hidden from public view.

No women have stepped forward saying Menocal abused them during the time he was patrolling the streets while under FBI investigation. But he was accused of impregnating one of his police cadets while serving as a training adviser at the Miami Dade College School of Justice in the summer of 2017.

David Weinstein, a former federal prosecutor in South Florida, said the chief did have the authority to keep Menocal on patrol while he was under federal investigation, noting that Velazquez may have been seeking to avoid a conflict with Hialeahs police union.

The alleged affair with the cadet, however, should have made the right decision clear, Weinstein said. While the pregnant student recanted her story of an affair with Menocal and the case was dropped, Hialeah police investigators uncovered significant evidence that Menocal did indeed have sex with her and then pressured the woman to lie about it.

Quite frankly, when the allegations came out about impregnating the cadet at the police academy, at that point the chief should have put him back on the desk and reinstated his suspension, said Weinstein. You have to be conservative. ... Hes protecting the public against an officer  an officer who is also training other cadets.

Now, Velazquezs handling of the Menocal case is coming under scrutiny from several Hialeah City Council members. The council members have said they would like to examine Velazquezs decision-making. At a recent city meeting, a commissioner making a request for Menocals internal affairs file led to an angry outburst from Hialeah Mayor Carlos Hernandez, who has been closely allied to the chief after appointing him in 2012. (Hernandez called the Heralds reporting racist and anti-Cuban.)

Hialeah mayor: Citys handling of cop busted in sex assault probe was great

The chiefs public statements on the case have been vague and hard to corroborate through public records.

For instance, he said at the news conference that he had referred the case to the FBI in 2015.

At my request, this case was also reviewed by the FBI public-corruption task force, Velazquez said.

That referral did indeed happen, according to a source familiar with the investigation. But its not clear the chief had anything to do with it.

The source said Hialeahs internal affairs department alerted a Hialeah police sergeant who was detached to the FBIs public-corruption squad. The FBI didnt take the case at the time, deciding to step back while the state attorneys office reviewed the evidence.

The city could provide no records showing the chief had directed internal affairs to make the referral.

Asked if the chief made the referral, department spokesman Lt. Eddie Rodriguez did not indicate either way.

Hialeah police has a sergeant from the Internal Affairs Unit assigned to the FBIs Public Corruption Task Force, Rodriguez said in a statement. It was through our sergeant that the information was delivered.

Rodriguez did not respond when asked to clarify if that meant the chief ordered the referral.

Additionally, Velazquez said at the news conference that he had provided a memo to Miami Dade College about the incident involving the pregnant cadet. The college said it had not received any such memo.

Throughout the news conference, which the chief called on Nov. 15 in response to the Heralds first story on Menocal, Velazquez accused journalists of distorting the facts with misinformation. He zeroed in on the Herald reporting that he chose to give Menocal a 4.5 percent raise in 2016 while the cop was on desk duty and under state investigation.

Thats inaccurate and completely incorrect, said Velazquez, insisting that a police union contract required the raise.

But the raise was a merit step based on performance that could be approved or denied, not an automatic pay bump, according to Menocals personnel file, which was obtained by the Herald through a public records request.

Both Menocals immediate supervisor and Velazquez signed off on the raise. The supervisor wrote: No outcome has come as of yet from the criminal investigation and merit step [raise] is being recommended.

A fifth woman is accusing an ex-Hialeah cop of sexual assault. The FBI is investigating

Hialeahs police contract states merit steps can be withheld: If an employee, after he is reviewed, is denied the merit step, said employee will receive a written statement from the Department Head stating why the merit step has been denied.

Nanney, the retired Miami-Dade division chief, questioned the chiefs explanation.

Plenty of police officers have been denied merit raises based on performance, he said. Its not automatic.

At the news conference, Velazquez raised a variety of defenses about how he handled Menocals case, saying his department does not cover up.

Unprompted, he also denied that Hialeah police had been placed under the supervision of the federal governments largest law enforcement agency. (No reporter had asked any question about federal oversight.)

In case anybody feels that were being overseen now by the Department of Justice because of some wrongdoing in our investigation, Velazquez said, that is completely incorrect and inaccurate.
Crab export from West Bengal to China came to a halt following the outbreak of novel coronavirus (nCoV), adversely impacting the livelihood of thousands of small farmers.

The state government on Friday said it would look into the plight of the affected farmers.

The dragon economy is a major importer of crabs and tons of crab stock is lying idle in January and February when the demand is high in China due to Lunar New Year festive season there.

"Exports to China is our lifeline. Now that it has stopped, we need help," East Midnapore Crab Farmers' Welfare Association officials said.

The coronavirus outbreak in China has made an adverse impact on the local economy of East Midnapore district where the majority of crab farmers of the state are based.

Livelihood of around 5,000 crab farmers and more than 10,000 fishermen have been affected by the disease, the Association officials said.

They have submitted a memorandum at the office of the district fisheries department mentioning that their income has been dropped by over 50 per cent in the past month.

State Fisheries Minister Chandra Nath Sinha told PTI that he would do the needful to bail out the small farmers after reviewing the situation early next week.

The value of crab export is about five per cent of prawn shipment which is worth Rs 2,000 crore from West Bengal, but thousands of marginal fishermen are engaged in this business as it requires low investment.

Thankfully, China is not a major import of prawns, otherwise magnitute of the impact would have been very hard, fisheries department officials said.

Crab export from Odisha to other countries was also affected due to due nCoV scare, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A decade-long effort to have the Department of Veterans Affairs provide service dogs to veterans with mental health issues passed a major hurdle with House passage Wednesday.

The Puppies Assisting Wounded Servicemembers, or PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, would have the VA create a 5-year pilot to give grants to one or more organizations to train and provide service dogs to veterans with post-traumatic stress and other post-deployment mental health issues.

While the VA has been studying the use of service dogs for mental health treatment, it currently only covers service dogs for use in mobility issues.

The bipartisan bill was introduced by Rep. Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, who has served in Iraq in the Ohio Army National Guard.

"A soldier under my command during Operation Iraqi Freedom recently told me what his service dog means to him: he was able to fly on a plane for the first time in 10 years and he took his fiancee to dinner," Stivers said in a statement when H.R. 4305 was introduced. "That is the impact this bill can have on the lives of our veterans."

Related: Bill Would Cover Cost of Service Dogs for Veterans with PTSD

Lawmakers have long been exploring different ways to combat veterans' mental health issues . Statistics show about 20 veterans die by suicide every day.

"The process of obtaining a service dog is lengthy and costly, a cost that is out of reach for many veterans," Dr. Robin Ganzert, American Humane president, said in a news release. "This is long overdue."

Congress previously mandated that VA study the use of service dogs for PTSD and other mental health problems in 2010. But the pilot was suspended twice when two service dogs bit children and some dogs experienced health issues.

The VA has since restarted the study, and the first report on whether service dogs or emotional support dogs help veterans with PTSD will be released this summer. Six months later, the second part will show if the kind of dog factored into "health economics savings" such as reduced hospital stays or reliance on medication.

The bill now goes to the Senate, which has several of its own related bills.

-- Dorothy Mills-Gregg can be reached at dorothy.mills-gregg@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @DMillsGregg.

Read More: Pentagon Lethality Task Force Is 'Dead' if Army Put in Charge, Top Adviser Says
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on Wednesday titled Deported to Danger: United States Deportation Policies Expose Salvadorans to Death and Abuse, which found 138 cases of deported Salvadorans who were killed upon return to their country of birth between 2013 and 2019.

The report, which interviewed over 150 people over a one-and-a-half-year period additionally identified 70 other deportees who were beaten, sexually assaulted, extorted or tortured. These cases were collected largely from incidents that were previously reported in the media, meaning that the total number of deportees who were subsequently killed is likely much greater.

Those interviewed by HRW include a former Salvadoran policewoman who fled to the US after being threatened by gangs and was murdered several years after her deportation, a father of three who had lived in the US for several years and was shot dead two weeks after returning to El Salvador, a woman who fled sexual violence from a gang member and who was repeatedly raped by the same man upon her return, and two brothers who were accused by police of belonging to a gang and who were beaten for days in a police barracks without charge. Such is the brutality Central American refugees are fleeing from and cruelly forced to return to.

Many of those killed, including a number who were killed in the course of the study, chose to remain in El Salvador fearing that leaving the country or even their hometown would be enough to endanger them, their family or their friends. A number of others who stayed in the country nonetheless left their home and live in hiding.

Nearly everyone interviewed said that they were fleeing violence from police, gangs or government death squads, the lines between which are often blurry. The report notes that the current national police director is under investigation for threats and links to drug trafficking and, referring to the state sponsored death squads, extermination groups.

Police violence is as rampant as it is egregious in El Salvador. According to the HRW report, in 2019 the governmental Ombudsperson for the Defense of Human Rights in El Salvador (PDDH) reported that it had examined killings of 28 boys, 7 women, and 81 men In 70 percent, [of the cases] witnesses said victims were unarmed. In 37 percent, witnesses saw police move the body or place or hide evidence. In 30 percent, PDDH concluded that the body showed signs of torture, including sexual assault.

Originating in the Salvadoran Civil War, the Salvadoran extermination groups were used primarily against left-wing militants and continue to operate today. They are reported to either dress in all black or as police officers by those the HRW spoke to. According to the report, Experts have shown that during and after the civil war, [they] were deeply rooted in the countrys security forces.

The growing attacks on migrants are an international phenomenon in which no government is innocent. With Mexicos acceptance of and cooperation with the Remain in Mexico policy, it is complicit in the crimes of the Trump administration. By knowingly deporting immigrants back to a country where they would face persecution and violence, as well as whipping up nationalism and xenophobia, the Trump administration has flouted the legal principle of non-refoulement and violated both international and national law.

There is a double lie in the Trump administrations fascistic treatment of immigrants. While Trump uses dehumanizing rhetoric to slander and scapegoat immigrants, calling them everything from rapists to insects, the US has directly and indirectly supported the most violent and right-wing forces in Central America who are largely responsible for the refugee crisis to begin with. The legacy of US imperialisms atrocities in Central America is precisely what created the conditions that are driving millions to abandon their homes and depart on a treacherous journey to an unknown country.

In the course of the Salvadoran Civil War, the Salvadoran armys Atlacatl Battalion carried out a massacre of some 800 civilians, the majority of whom were children, in the rural town of El Mozote in 1981. The Atlacatl Battalion was created by the US Armys School of the Americas and even received training at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. US Special Forces advisers operated with the unit in El Salvador, and, according to some accounts, were present during the December 1981 massacre. The El Mozote massacre was only the most infamous of that war. An estimated total of 75,000 were killed by such forces.

Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are concerned about the peril facing deportees. While the terror directed towards immigrants in the US has substantially grown under Trump, the Obama administration broke records by deporting more immigrants than all 20th-century presidents combined.

The Obama administration also played a key role in the 2009 coup in Honduras. Despite international condemnation, the US refused to acknowledge what had happened as a military coup, allowing trade and financial aid to continue to Honduras. Mirroring the conditions in El Salvador, the country has since seen a poverty rate of around 70 percent, one of the highest murder rates in the world, the domination of the military and powerful gangs, and an outpouring of refugees.
Hong Kong on Friday announced new measures to prevent the spread of the ongoing coronavirus in the Asian finance hub. Hong Kong said that it will deploy an army of volunteers to implement plans to forcibly quarantine those coming from mainland China. As per media reports, Hong Kong said that people could even face up to six months in prison if anyone caught breaching the new rules.

Read: Hong Kong: Toilet Paper Shortage Rumours Create Panic In Public Amid Coronavirus Outbreak

According to media reports, the new rules will be implemented from Saturday and anyone coming from mainland China will have to undergo a 14-day compulsory quarantine. According to the new plans unveiled by cabinet ministers on Friday, Hong Kong residents arriving from mainland China will be allowed to self-quarantine at home. Chinese and international visitors will be allowed to self-quarantine at hotels or any other accommodation they have arranged. And if someone cannot arrange any accommodation, they will be taken to temporary facilities prepared by the government.

Read: Coronavirus: China Lodges Diplomatic Protests Over Suspension Of Flights By International Airlines

Reportedly, Hong Kong has taken the step to prevent residents from travelling to mainland China. Many countries have taken similar steps to tackle the outbreak. Saudi Arabia's national carrier, Saudia on Sunday joined other major airlines to temporarily stop operations in China. As per reports, countries like the United States have also taken drastic steps to prevent the spread of the virus in their country. Washington has barred entry of foreign nationals coming from China.

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: People Travelling To China Henceforth Will Be Quarantined On Return, Says DGCA

Coronavirus outbreak

According to the latest media reports, the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus has claimed more than 630 lives in China alone and the confirmed reported cases have reached up to 30,000 as of February 6. The disease is believed to have originated in a seafood market in Hubei's Wuhan city, the epicentre of the virus outbreak, where animals were being traded illegally. As per US CDC, confirmed cases of the virus have been reported in 27 other countries.

Read: Chinese Bride's Family Misses Wedding In WB's East Midnapore Due To Coronavirus Measures
In a graffiti-covered room at the South Street bar Tattooed Mom, State Sen. Larry Farnese took the microphone and tried to convince the crowd hes one of them.

I was progressive when, quite frankly, it wasnt that cool to be progressive, Farnese said during an event last month for the liberal group Philly for Change.

Farnese, a South Philadelphia Democrat, is facing a primary challenge from journalist and author Nikil Saval, a political activist who cofounded the group Reclaim Philadelphia.

Its shaping up to be the latest battle in the ongoing war between the old and new schools of Philadelphia politics. A win for Saval in the First Senate District, the former bastion of longtime power broker Vince Fumo, would be a remarkable symbolic victory for the new left.

But to some, Farnese, 51, seems like an odd target for progressives who notched big victories in recent years, including the elections of District Attorney Larry Krasner and City Councilmember Kendra Brooks. While Farnese is a product of the older machine politics, he has maintained a liberal voting record in Harrisburg.

In an interview, Saval, a self-described democratic socialist, avoided criticizing Farnese by name, but emphasized his experience as an activist.

I have a background in labor and community organizing, and that gives me a sense of the way that communities can not only hold legislators accountable, but back them when they want to do ambitious things and stick their neck out, said Saval, 37. What we have in mind is vastly more ambitious ... than anything weve seen thus far in the state legislature.

Reclaim, which was formed by alumni of Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign, is particularly strong in Center City, Fishtown, and the east-of-Broad neighborhoods of South Philadelphia in the district. But some skeptics of Philadelphias progressive ascendancy see Savals challenge as having less to do with principle than opportunism.

"Youre seeing an otherwise liberal or progressive elected official with a record who some people think isnt liberal or progressive enough, said Larry Ceisler, a public affairs executive and longtime observer of city politics. Its hard to believe its about ideology, so you have to wonder if its more about expanding the footprint of this new wave of progressive activists.

Raised in the Los Angeles area, Saval moved to Philadelphia in 2011 and lives in Queen Village.

It is an increasingly diverse and also an increasingly unequal district," Saval said. It is a place where people struggle and also a place where people have been organizing for a better life.

The April 28 primary will almost surely decide the November winner in the heavily Democratic district.

Its not Vince Fumos district anymore

Fumo, who represented the 1st District for three decades before going to federal prison on corruption charges in 2009, said he helped draw the district lines to split it into two ideological camps. Fumo was conservative on issues like gun rights and liberal on issues like reproductive rights.

His strategy: If challenged by a Center City liberal, play to his South Philly base. If challenged in South Philly, appeal to liberals in Center City.

It was perfectly balanced, Fumo said. You couldnt beat me.

The district stretches north and east, from Philadelphia International Airport through South Philadelphia, and Center City to Fairmount and Port Richmond.

That political balance now appears inverted. And Fumo said he told Farnese that, in Saval, now they found someone more liberal than you."

South Philadelphias 1st and 2nd Wards were taken over in 2018 by Reclaim members, who espouse a more progressive vision for the city than the Democratic City Committee. Saval was leader of the 2nd Ward until he stepped down in January to challenge Farnese. Another Reclaim member replaced him.

Farnese leads Center Citys 8th Ward. He and Mike Boyle, leader of Center Citys 5th Ward, are more aligned with party leadership.

 READ MORE: Big business in Philly campaigned for real change. Change came  but not the kind it wanted.

Saval and Farnese can both expect to benefit from the wards aligned with their wings of the party, past election results show. In the 2017 district attorney race, for instance, Krasners margin of victory was 10 points higher in the Reclaim-aligned wards than in the Farnese wards.

More than half the districts Democratic voters, however, live in wards whose leaders are aligned with neither Farnese nor Reclaim.

Farnese recalled being warned, after winning the 2008 primary to succeed Fumo, to keep quiet in the 1st and 2nd Wards about his support for abortion rights, raising the minimum wage, and environmental protections.

Ive always held these values," Farnese said. "And Im just really excited that its finally a time when parts of this district have actually caught up to me and my progressive bona fides.

Clash of titans

Farnese first won the seat in 2008 in a clash of two Democratic titans of the time, Fumo and John Johnny Doc Dougherty, leader of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

Fumo, then under investigation, dropped out and backed Farnese, who defeated Dougherty by 5 points, relying on Center Citys liberal voters. Doughertys more traditional base in South Philadelphia neighborhoods like Pennsport couldnt keep pace.

Farneses 2008 victory was seen as an upset then. He hasnt faced a competitive election since.

Boyle sees potential parallels with the coming primary.

Back then, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were still competing for the Democratic presidential nomination as Pennsylvanias primary approached. That drove voter enthusiasm, especially among progressives. Boyle thinks Dougherty would have won the 2008 primary if the presidential nomination had been settled.

 READ MORE: The Pennsylvania primary is looking like a bigger deal after the meltdown in the Iowa caucuses

Twelve years later, Boyle wonders if Sanders will help drive turnout that spills into the state Senate race. That could determine what happens here, he said.

Union involvement

Although Farnese is the candidate of the Democratic machine, he wont enjoy the backing of one of its major constituencies: the building trades unions, which are furious about his support for keeping the Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery in South Philadelphia closed after a catastrophic explosion last year.

While those unions are unlikely to support Saval, who is staunchly opposed to expanding fossil-fuel production, a loss of their support could hurt Farnese.

Farnese said he backs Mayor Jim Kenneys push for the site to be developed, which may end its use as a refinery. I certainly want to be supported by all labor and I want to work with them, Farnese said.

Jim Snell, business manager for Local 420 of the Steamfitters Union, invoked Farneses name during a City Hall rally in January to reopen the refinery.

Hey, look, we had a good relationship until that day," Snell said of Farnese. "This is serious. And when you turn your back on us, I cut you off. Youre done.

Staff writer Jonathan Lai contributed to this article.
Recently, a new case of crime has come to light from Panvel Rural Police Station in Navi Mumbai where five people have been arrested for allegedly forcing Surada Govind Mali (55) of Dundare village to commit suicide. According to the information received in this case, the police gave information about this on Friday.

Police are reported to have said, "The arrested accused include Alka Gopal Patil (45), Vanabai Arjun Dabane (60), Gopal Vitthal Patil (48), Hanuman Bhagwan Patil (42) and a minor." The family of the deceased woman has made serious allegations against the arrested accused. In this case they say that the accused tried to burn Sharada first by burning them.

After that the fight. Then he hung it on the noose. After the matter came to light, there is a sensation in the city and everyone is surprised by this. The police was also surprised due to this case. At present, the accused have been arrested and are being investigated. By the way, this case cannot be called the first such case, but even before that many such cases have come up which have surprised everyone.

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A frantic but farcical hunt is on for anyone who spent more than 15 minutes with a businessman who became the third person in the UK to test positive for coronavirus - but officials have not told the public who he is.

Officials are desperately hunting for anyone who came into brief contact with him, even though his own family have not been quarantined, MailOnline understands.

The man, who returned from Singapore by plane last week, took himself to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms.

The businessman, who has still not been identified, visited five-star hotel The Grand Hyatt in Singapore in which three other Asian delegates caught the disease after attending the same conference.

It has been reported that the conference the man was attended by more than 100 international delegates.

It is believed the event was organised by a UK company called Servomex, which describes itself as a 'provider of reliable, accurate and stable gas measurements' and is based not far away from Brighton, in Crowborough.

But officials have repeatedly refused to give away any more details about the man, who is thought to be in his 40s or 50s, and they have also not released details of which flight he arrived on.

The Government has already been slammed numerous times for its 'weak' response to the crisis after it failed to ban travellers from China, despite 16 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia having done so. The UK was also slow in repatriating British ex-pats stuck in the epicentre of Wuhan.

Almost 640 people have died from the virus, which can be spread through coughs, sneezes and touching contaminated surfaces and there have been more than 31,000 cases in 28 countries worldwide.

The hunt is on for anyone who spent more than 15 minutes with a businessman who became the first Briton and third person in the UK to test positive for coronavirus

The businessman, who has still not been identified, visited five-star hotel The Grand Hyat in Singapore (pictured) in which three other Asian delegates caught the disease after attending the same conference

It is believed the event was organised by a UK company called Servomex, which describes itself as a 'provider of reliable, accurate and stable gas measurements' and is based not far away from Brighton, in Crowborough

The man, who returned from Singapore by plane last week, took himself to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms. He was then transferred to Guy's Hospital in London (pictured)

He had been staying at the The Grand Hyatt hotel as it held a business gathering for more than 100 internationals between January 20 and 22

The hotel been linked to confirmed cases of the deadly virus in three countries since

Three other international delegates at the same conference caught the disease. Pictured, a swimming pool at the hotel

The British businessman was transferred to a specialist infections unit at Guy's Hospital on Thursday night and will now remain quarantined for at least two weeks.

He had been staying at the The Grand Hyatt hotel as it held a business gathering for more than 100 internationals between January 20 and 22.

The conference, thought to have been held by Servomex  which was founded in the UK and has worldwide offices, is said to have included delegations from China, where the virus originated.

Malaysia, where at least 17 cases are confirmed, said on Tuesday an infected citizen - a 41-year-old man - had also attended the meeting.

His sister has since been infected, while Singapore said virus symptoms had surfaced in four of the firm's local staff. 'We are calling this the first Malaysian-transmitted local case,' Malaysia's Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad said.

South Korea reported two confirmed cases of its citizens on Wednesday. The Koreans and the Malaysian shared a buffet meal during the conference, South Korean media said.

Of the Singapore attendees, four have also reported symptoms and been referred to its National Centre for Infectious Diseases.

A spokesman for the Grand Hyatt hotel, Gerald Kheng, said the hotel had been deep cleaned after it was first informed of the incident by Singapore's health ministry on Tuesday.

His case comes a week after a Chinese student at the University of York, along with his mother, tested positive for coronavirus. They have been quarantined at the Royal Infirmary in Newcastle

Saudi Arabia yesterday became the 16th nation to ban travellers from coronavirus-hit China from entering the country

The hotel will carry out 'thorough sanitisation and deep cleaning' of guest rooms that were potentially affected and will monitor staff and guests for symptoms, its general manager, Willi Martin, said.

The businessman was diagnosed after a Chinese student from the University of York, along with his mother, were confirmed to have the virus last week.

They have been quarantined at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

Almost 640 people have died from the virus, which can be spread through coughs, sneezes and touching contaminated surfaces

Given the fact that the businessman arrived in the UK by plane and will have interacted with other passengers, the search for people who came into contact with him is likely to be more complex than for the Chinese pair.

The latest case raises fears the virus is now circulating in higher numbers than previously thought outside of China.

Downing Street issued updated travel advice on Friday night which simply warned Britons flying back from nine countries to phone NHS 111 if they feel slightly unwell.

Furious Brits have today told the Government that 'serious guidance is needed'. Jon Noble asked on Twitter: 'Is it time to start wearing face masks in the UK?'

Debby Brooker said: 'Why is this country being so weak about letting people in this country travelling from Asia? 16 other countries have banned this!'

And discussing other countries banning travellers from China, Ralph Roberts asked: 'What is Matt Hancock waiting for?'

Passengers who have arrived from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau, should isolate themselves if they feel unwell.

But there is mounting pressure on ministers to ban all travellers from coronavirus-hit China after 16 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia took the firm action.

The Government's new advice added that the nine countries had been 'identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases.'

BRITISH MAN ON HONEYMOON IS AMONG 61 PATIENTS DIAGNOSED WITH CORONAVIRUS ON CRUISE SHIP IN JAPAN A British tourist was today hauled off a cruise liner and taken to hospital in Japan after testing positive for coronavirus on his honeymoon. Alan Steele was separated from his new wife Wendy and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results in Yokohama Bay today. Mr Steele said he was not yet showing symptoms of the virus and hopes he may just be a 'carrier' but faces a lengthy quarantine in hospital on the mainland. Mr Steele was one of 41 people who learned they had the virus after 171 remaining test results came back on Friday, trebling the ship's total of virus patients from 20 to 61. The newly diagnosed also include 21 Japanese nationals, as well as eight Americans, five Canadians, five Australians and an Argentine. The huge leap in virus cases has added to concerns among the ship's 2,600 passengers that they are being kept in the dark about the crisis. One American passenger told a journalist she was 'scared... I don't want to leave this ship in a box.' Passengers who show symptoms such as fever may now face additional testing, and some guests fear that the two-week quarantine - which is only three days old - could be extended even further. Advertisement

Furious Brits have today told the Government that 'serious guidance is needed'. Jon Noble asked on Twitter: 'Is it time to start wearing face masks in the UK?'

Debby Brooker said: 'Why is this country being so weak about letting people in this country travelling from Asia? 16 other countries have banned this!'

And discussing other countries banning travellers from China, Ralph Roberts asked: 'What is Matt Hancock waiting for?'

On Friday, leading British scientists said travel restrictions are 'worth implementing' because they 'buy valuable time' for virologists to create and mass-produce a jab that can prevent the spread of the SARS-like infection on home soil.

The stark warning comes from leading infectious disease specialists who today spoke at a hastily organised meeting by the respected Science Media Centre.

Professor Paul Hunter, from the University of East Anglia, said: 'The value of a travel ban is to give us time for vaccinologists to develop a vaccine, manufacture them and distribute them.'

But at the same briefing, experts admitted a vaccine to protect millions against the virus will not be ready until end of this year, at the earliest.

Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, agreed that travel restrictions would 'buy us valuable time'.

He added that such a measure would be 'worth implementing if we can' - but experts agreed travel bans would be needed before the virus takes hold in other countries, especially ones neighbouring China.

And Professor Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, told a press conference yesterday the patient caught the virus somewhere in Asia but 'not in mainland China'.

He said the Government was now advising people who have travelled to a number of Asian countries and returned to the UK with symptoms to immediately self-isolate and call NHS 111 for advice.

British honeymooner Alan Steele, from Wolverhampton, became the second confirmed UK national to be diagnosed with the lethal disease after catching it on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan.

Mr Steele was hauled off the Diamond Princess cruise liner and separated from his wife Wendy at Yokohama Bay this morning before being whisked into quarantine after testing positive for corona despite not yet showing any symptoms.

Downing Street has been slammed for its 'passive' response to the outbreak, with officials torn apart for being days behind other nations in launching a mission to evacuate British expats stuck in the epicentre of Wuhan.

Experts say the difficulty of containing the coronavirus is that so many patients have mild, cold-like symptoms and don't realise they have the infection  but it can quickly turn deadly

British honeymooner Alan Steel, from Wolverhampton, became the second confirmed UK national to be diagnosed with the lethal disease after catching it on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan (pictured with his new wife Wendy)

Alan Steele (pictured right) was separated from his new wife Wendy (pictured left on board the cruise ship) and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results in Yokohama Bay today

Meanwhile thousands of travellers from the disease-stricken country have been pouring into Britain every day without being properly tested for the infection, prompting calls for a similar blanket ban.

But the UK is still bound to EU immigration laws and obligated to fall in line with any decisions on travel restrictions made by the bloc until the end of the year, despite having technically left on January 31.

WHICH COUNTRIES HAVE BANNED PEOPLE FROM ENTERING? US The US has temporarily banned any non-US citizens who have been to China in the past two weeks from entering America. AUSTRALIA Australia has banned entry for any Chinese travellers or foreign passengers who been to China within the last 14 days or even have passed through the mainland during a layover. NEW ZEALAND New Zealand has closed its borders to any foreigners arriving from China after February 2, including passengers who passed through in transit. JAPAN Japan has barred entry for anyone with symptoms of the coronavirus and no travellers from Wuhan are allowed to enter  even if they dont have symptoms. MONGOLIA Mongolian citizens have until February 6 to return to their home country if they want to. Travellers from China  whether they are Chinese or not  are not allowed to enter the country. NORTH KOREA North Korea was one of the first countries to completely shut its borders to travellers and flights from China, introducing the measure on January 21. KAZAKHSTAN Officials have suspended all forms of passenger travel to and from neighbouring China. The country has also suspended the issuance of visas to Chinese citizens. TAIWAN Authorities have decided to ban entry to all foreign nationals who have visited mainland China in the past two weeks. SINGAPORE Singapore has banned travellers who have been to mainland China in the past 14 days. SOUTH KOREA South Korea has banned all foreign travellers who have passed through Wuhan in the past 14 days. THE PHILIPPINES Authorities banned all travellers from China, Hong Kong and Macau  except for Filipino citizens and holders of permanent residency visas. PAPUA NEW GUINEA Papua New Guinea has shut its air and seaports to all foreign travellers from Asia. Its land border with West Papua has also been closed. SAUDI ARABIA Saudi Arabia has banned travellers from coronavirus-hit China entering the country. The kingdom suggested it would tear up the passports of anyone who defied the ban. IRAQ Iraq has banned entry for all foreign nationals travelling from China. GUATEMALA Guatemala has banned non-resident travellers who had been to China in the past two weeks. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO Trinidad & Tobago have banned non-resident travellers who had been to China in the past two weeks. Advertisement

The Government is said to be considering imposing the ban anyway, against the will of Brussels. But sources say it would be pointless if the EU does not follow suit as passengers could still enter Britain indirectly via another EU state due to freedom of movement rules.

'What is the point in one of you banning flights if none of the others are going to do it?' a senior government source told MailOnline. 'Because you just get in by an indirect route.'

Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said last night: 'We can monitor flights from China landing back in the UK but we can't monitor those landing from China in the rest of Europe. EU freedom of movement does make us more vulnerable.'

Meanwhile Labour's Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth attacked the Government for being 'irresponsible' in demanding all citizens return home without offering any help.

He said: 'If Dominic Raab is saying everybody needs to return to the UK then I'm afraid the government has to do more to get those nationals home. You can't just make those announcements and not offer any serious help.

'The government can put in place plans to get them on flights, they can charter more flights if they think it is important as they presumably do because Mr Raab has said they should come home.'

Asked whether the government should be paying for people to return to the UK, he said: 'The Foreign Secretary cannot make these statements and not back them up with any action.'

Professor Qing Wang, a China expert at Warwick Business School, said the epidemic had 'exposed many of the inadequacies of the Chinese crisis response system'.

'There will be a period of reflection by the government and the public about why the lessons from SARS were not learned and the same mistake happened again.

'In particular there needs to be a more proactive, rational, and scientific approach to dealing with challenges, rather than relying entirely on the political will and centralised power of the government.

'The narrow focus on scientific research on publications, instead of solving real life challenges, should also come under scrutiny.

'Beyond the rising death toll, the adverse effect of the coronavirus on the Chinese and global economies is likely to be much greater than the SARS outbreak in 2003.

'The global economy is reliant on China, not only as an exporting nation, but as an increasingly important consumption market.'

Experts have warned the UK to brace for more cases after footage emerged of paramedics in hazmat suits swooping on a house in York.

Yesterday, China's ambassador to the UK criticised the Foreign Office's advice for all 30,000 of its citizens in mainland China to come home, urging the Government to take 'professional advice' from the World Health Organization.

At a press conference, Liu Xiaoming said: '[There] should be no panic, no overreaction. We advise the British side to take professional advice of WHO.

'They told us they will follow WHO's advice. It seems to me the words do not match with the deeds.

'Life is still normal in most parts of China so I do say again in private and public I hope the British Government and public take an objective, cool-headed view of what is going on. We should support each other rather than weaken the other's efforts.'

On Sunday, 10 Saudi students were evacuated from the Chinese city Wuhan, the epicentre of the outbreak, and quarantined upon arrival to Riyadh for two weeks.

It comes after British scientists claimed to have made a breakthrough in the race against time for a vaccine to protect millions against the killer coronavirus.

Infection specialist Professor Robin Shattock, of Imperial College London, revealed his team plan to begin trials of their experimental jab on animals next week.

Health workers wearing protective suits carry bags to an ambulance near the cruise ship Diamond Princess today, which is anchored and being held in quarantine near Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama

A team of health workers in hazmat suits on the shore in Yokohama today where Japanese authorities said the tally of coronavirus patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship had risen to 61

The team will then move onto humans in the summer, if they can achieve funding and that early tests are successful.

Researchers across the world are desperately trying to find a vaccine against the SARS-like infection, which can cause pneumonia.

CORONAVIRUS: WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR What is this virus? The SARS-CoV-2 virus has been identified as a new type of coronavirus. Coronaviruses are a large family of pathogens, most of which cause mild lung infections such as the common cold. But coronaviruses can also be deadly. SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, is caused by a coronavirus and killed hundreds of people in China and Hong Kong in the early 2000s. Can the Wuhan coronavirus kill? Yes  almost 3,000 people have so far died after testing positive for the virus. What are the symptoms? The infection which the virus causes has been named COVID-19. Some people who catch it may not have any symptoms at all, or only very mild ones like a sore throat or a headache. Others may suffer from a fever, cough or trouble breathing. And a small proportion of patients will go on to develop severe infection which can damage the lungs or cause pneumonia, a life-threatening condition which causes swelling and fluid build-up in the lungs. How is it detected? The virus's genetic sequencing was released by scientists in China and countries around the world have used this to create lab tests, which must be carried out to confirm an infection. Delays to these tests, to test results and to people getting to hospitals in China, mean the number of confirmed cases is expected to be just a fraction of the true scale of the outbreak. How did it start and spread? The first cases identified were among people connected to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan. Cases have since been identified around China and are known to have spread from person to person. What are countries doing to prevent the spread? Countries all over the world have banned foreign travellers from crossing their borders if they have been to China within the past two weeks. Many airlines have cancelled or drastically reduced flights to and from mainland China. Is it similar to anything we've ever seen before? Experts have compared it to the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The epidemic started in southern China and killed more than 700 people in mainland China, Hong Kong and elsewhere. SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK HERE TO SEE MAILONLINE'S FULL Q&A ON THE CORONAVIRUS Advertisement

The current record time for producing a vaccine is for Zika, which took academics seven months to go from the lab to human trials.

Doctors fear if it takes that long this time, the unnamed coronavirus could already have swept the globe.

Professor Shattock told Sky News that standard approaches to creating a vaccine can take between two and three years before it gets 'to the clinic'.

But he added: 'We have gone from that sequence to generating a candidate in the laboratory in 14 days.

'And we will have it in animal models by the beginning of next week. We've short-tracked that part.

'The next phase will be to move that from early animal testing into the first human studies.'

The World Health Organization yesterday called for countries around the world to pull together more than half a billion pounds to stop China's coronavirus.

Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, the director of the organisation, yesterday held a conference at which he called for donations totalling 521million ($675m).

More than 28,000 people have now been infected with the coronavirus in China, as well as 260 in other countries, and 565 have died.

The WHO money will be used for 'frontline efforts' to help countries contain the virus and to fund scientists trying to create a vaccine, as well as helping poor countries  potentially African nations  to prepare for possible infections.

Dr Ghebreyesus's rallying call comes as a leading statistician in the UK predicts another 3,000 people in China could die of the virus by the end of the month.

Dr Brian Jarman, an retired professor from Imperial College London and former president of the British Medical Association, has used statistics to predict how the outbreak could progress over the next three weeks.

He worked out how many new cases are being diagnosed each day and the rate at which this is increasing, then applied it as a formula to the next 22 days.

Dr Jarman found that there could be 31,810 cases and 636 deaths by the end of today, February 6.

By February 13, this could rise to 67,409 cases and 1,304 deaths.

By February 20, 116,444 cases and 2,214 deaths and, by February 29, 199,230 cases and 3,741 deaths.

The calculations assume that the outbreak will continue to escalate at its current rate. He said predicting any further ahead in the same way would be inaccurate because the virus should soon start to slow down naturally.

Dr Jarman told MailOnline: 'I find it very worrying both medically, because the infection seems to have a relatively long incubation period and therefore people are infective for a longer time before they realise they may have the disease, and financially because China is so important to the world economy.'

What do we know about the Wuhan coronavirus?

Revealed: The UK Government's 'shambolic' response to the outbreak so far The Foreign Office has been accused of poor organisation during the coronavirus outbreak and of leaving British citizens in China to 'fend for themselves'. Emily Thornberry, Labour's Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: 'From the very start of this outbreak, the government's response has been a total shambles, and now they appear to be telling British nationals in China simply to fend for themselves in terms of getting out of the country. 'How on earth has the Foreign Office not got plans and protocols in place for how these crises are managed?' Her comment followed a slew of shortcomings over the past two weeks that included: Dragging its feet before chartering an airlift When the epidemic started to ramp up in late January, the US, France and Japan all evacuated hundreds of citizens on chartered planes. Spain, Portugal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Australia and India all announced plans to rescue expats before Britain did. It wasn't until January 30 that the first wave of British nationals were flown home. Giving just two hours' notice before evacuating When the dithering Government finally organised the airlift, it gave stranded Britons just two hours' notice before taking off. This made it impossible for some citizens to make it to the airport on time because Wuhan was on lockdown, with public transport banned. Leaving expats to make their own way to the airport The Foreign Office made no attempt to arrange buses or taxis to transport British citizens to Wuhan airport. With the city completely sealed off, this reportedly made it impossible for Britons in the wider Hubei province to make the flight. British nationals told to abandon their loved ones Desperate expats were told there were no guarantees their Chinese partners or children would get on the rescue plane because Beijing was stopping its own citizens from leaving. Bus drivers did not wear masks Coach drivers who picked up the evacuees from RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire when they landed from Wuhan were photographed without any protective gear. It came despite the highly contagious virus being able to spread via a simple cough or sneeze, or by living on inanimate objects such as door handles and seats. The photos were even more jarring because medics in full hazmat suits were seen directly beside the bus drivers. Hotel with first confirmed cases allowed to operate as normal The first two patients to have confirmed coronavirus in the UK were staying in the Staycity hotel in York. The budget hotel said it was 'left in the dark' by the Government who refused to tell it whether its customers had in fact been infected with the disease. The hotel was told to 'operate as normal' but keep the room the patients were staying in shut and their belongings inside. This meant dozens of unwitting customers continued to stay and touch door knobs, cutlery and counter tops that may have been handled by the infected pair. Advertisement

Someone who is infected with the Wuhan coronavirus can spread it with just a simple cough or a sneeze, scientists say.

At least 566 people with the virus are now confirmed to have died and more than 28,200 have been infected in at least 28 countries and regions. But experts predict the true number of people with the disease could be 100,000, or even as high as 350,000 in Wuhan alone, as they warn it may kill as many as two in 100 cases. Here's what we know so far:

What is the Wuhan coronavirus?

A coronavirus is a type of virus which can cause illness in animals and people. Viruses break into cells inside their host and use them to reproduce itself and disrupt the body's normal functions. Coronaviruses are named after the Latin word 'corona', which means crown, because they are encased by a spiked shell which resembles a royal crown.

The coronavirus from Wuhan is one which has never been seen before this outbreak. It is currently named 2019-nCoV, and does not have a more detailed name because so little is known about it.

Dr Helena Maier, from the Pirbright Institute, said: 'Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that infect a wide range of different species including humans, cattle, pigs, chickens, dogs, cats and wild animals.

'Until this new coronavirus was identified, there were only six different coronaviruses known to infect humans. Four of these cause a mild common cold-type illness, but since 2002 there has been the emergence of two new coronaviruses that can infect humans and result in more severe disease (Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronaviruses).

'Coronaviruses are known to be able to occasionally jump from one species to another and that is what happened in the case of SARS, MERS and the new coronavirus. The animal origin of the new coronavirus is not yet known.'

The first human cases were publicly reported from the Chinese city of Wuhan, where approximately 11million people live, after medics first started seeing infections on December 31.

By January 8, 59 suspected cases had been reported and seven people were in critical condition. Tests were developed for the new virus and recorded cases started to surge.

The first person died that week and, by January 16, two were dead and 41 cases were confirmed. The next day, scientists predicted that 1,700 people had become infected, possibly up to 7,000.

Just a week after that, there had been more than 800 confirmed cases and those same scientists estimated that some 4,000  possibly 9,700  were infected in Wuhan alone. By that point, 26 people had died.

By January 27, more than 2,800 people were confirmed to have been infected, 81 had died, and estimates of the total number of cases ranged from 100,000 to 350,000 in Wuhan alone.

By January 29, the number of deaths had risen to 132 and cases were in excess of 6,000.

Where does the virus come from?

According to scientists, the virus has almost certainly come from bats. Coronaviruses in general tend to originate in animals  the similar SARS and MERS viruses are believed to have originated in civet cats and camels, respectively.

The first cases of the virus in Wuhan came from people visiting or working in a live animal market in the city, which has since been closed down for investigation.

Although the market is officially a seafood market, other dead and living animals were being sold there, including wolf cubs, salamanders, snakes, peacocks, porcupines and camel meat.

A study by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, published in February 2020 in the scientific journal Nature, found that the genetic make-up virus samples found in patients in China is 96 per cent similar to a coronavirus they found in bats.

WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE THREE CORONAVIRUS CASES IN THE UK? THE FIRST TWO CASES A University of York student and his mother became the first two confirmed cases of the deadly coronavirus on British soil when they were diagnosed on January 31. But neither have been named. Health officials repeatedly refused to give any details about the two cases, citing 'patient confidentially', and knocked back questions about where and when they entered Britain. But MailOnline later that same day revealed the pair had stayed at a budget hotel in York. Sources at the Staycity apart-hotel said the pair  who had been whisked away by paramedics on January 31  never returned or collected their suitcases, clothing or toiletries. It is thought their toiletries remain sealed in their room. Officials have already paid for a sterilisation company to disinfect the room the pair stayed in, as well as surrounding ones. It is not clear if they are open again but the 49-a-night hotel is still operating. Sources then confirmed that both the infected patients had been whisked off to quarantine at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, one of four specialist centres in the UK set-up to treat contagious airborne infections. The patients are still there being treated. The University of York confirmed one of the patients was a student on February 1. In hope of quashing fears, it said the infected student had not stepped foot on campus before or after he caught the virus. It was later revealed that the second patient was his mother. THE THIRD CASE The patient is thought to have been diagnosed in Brighton and whisked off to a specialist infectious diseases unit at a London hospital, where they will be kept in isolation for at least two weeks. Only four hospitals in England are equipped with these wards, two of which are in the capital - the Royal Free and Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. The others are in Newcastle and Liverpool. Public Health England said the patient did not catch the highly contagious disease in the UK, suggesting they had recently flown back from China. Officials have so far refused to offer any more details about the patient. But there has been no flights into the UK from Wuhan since January 22, when Chinese authorities made the unprecedented decision to put the city into lockdown and ground all flights to fight the outbreak. London Gatwick, the closest airport to Brighton  just 27miles (44km) north of the seaside city, has direct flights from Shanghai, another Chinese city that has recorded cases of the killer virus. Advertisement

There may have been an animal which acted as a middle-man, contracting it from a bat before then transmitting it to a human, researchers suggested, although details of this are less clear.

Dr Michael Skinner, a virologist at Imperial College London, was not involved with the research but said: 'The discovery definitely places the origin of nCoV in bats in China.

'We still do not know whether another species served as an intermediate host to amplify the virus, and possibly even to bring it to the market, nor what species that host might have been.'

So far the fatalities are quite low. Why are health experts so worried about it?

Experts say the international community is concerned about the virus because so little is known about it and it appears to be spreading quickly.

It is similar to SARS, which infected 8,000 people and killed nearly 800 in an outbreak in Asia in 2003, in that it is a type of coronavirus which infects humans' lungs.

Another reason for concern is that nobody has any immunity to the virus because they've never encountered it before. This means it may be able to cause more damage than viruses we come across often, like the flu or common cold.

Speaking at a briefing in January, Oxford University professor, Dr Peter Horby, said: 'Novel viruses can spread much faster through the population than viruses which circulate all the time because we have no immunity to them.

'Most seasonal flu viruses have a case fatality rate of less than one in 1,000 people. Here we're talking about a virus where we don't understand fully the severity spectrum but it's possible the case fatality rate could be as high as two per cent.'

If the death rate is truly two per cent, that means two out of every 100 patients who get it will die.

'My feeling is it's lower,' Dr Horby added. 'We're probably missing this iceberg of milder cases. But that's the current circumstance we're in.

'Two per cent case fatality rate is comparable to the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 so it is a significant concern globally.'

How does the virus spread?

The illness can spread between people just through coughs and sneezes, making it an extremely contagious infection. And it may also spread even before someone has symptoms.

It is believed to travel in the saliva and even through water in the eyes, therefore close contact, kissing, and sharing cutlery or utensils are all risky.

Originally, people were thought to be catching it from a live animal market in Wuhan city. But cases soon began to emerge in people who had never been there, which forced medics to realise it was spreading from person to person.

There is now evidence that it can spread third hand  to someone from a person who caught it from another person.

What does the virus do to you? What are the symptoms?

Once someone has caught the virus it may take between two and 14 days for them to show any symptoms  but they may still be contagious during this time.

If and when they do become ill, typical signs include a runny nose, a cough, sore throat and a fever (high temperature). The vast majority of patients  at least 97 per cent, based on available data  will recover from these without any issues or medical help.

WHERE HAS THE WUHAN CORONAVIRUS SPREAD TO? CHINA JAPAN SINGAPORE THAILAND HONG KONG SOUTH KOREA TAIWAN AUSTRALIA MALAYSIA GERMANY US VIETNAM MACAU CANADA FRANCE UAE INDIA PHILIPPINES UK ITALY RUSSIA BELGIUM SWEDEN SPAIN FINLAND NEPAL SRI LANKA CAMBODIA WORLD TOTAL 31,203 86 33 25 24 24 16 15 14 13 12 12 10 7 6 5 3 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 31,526 Advertisement

In a small group of patients, who seem mainly to be the elderly or those with long-term illnesses, it can lead to pneumonia. Pneumonia is an infection in which the insides of the lungs swell up and fill with fluid. It makes it increasingly difficult to breathe and, if left untreated, can be fatal and suffocate people.

What have genetic tests revealed about the virus?

Scientists in China have recorded the genetic sequences of around 19 strains of the virus and released them to experts working around the world.

This allows others to study them, develop tests and potentially look into treating the illness they cause.

Examinations have revealed the coronavirus did not change much  changing is known as mutating  much during the early stages of its spread.

However, the director-general of China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Gao Fu, yesterday said the virus was mutating and adapting as it spread through people.

This means efforts to study the virus and to potentially control it may be made extra difficult because the virus might look different every time scientists analyse it.

More study may be able to reveal whether the virus first infected a small number of people then change and spread from them, or whether there were various versions of the virus coming from animals which have developed separately.

How dangerous is the virus?

The virus has so far killed 566 people out of a total of at least 28,000 officially confirmed cases  a death rate of around two per cent. This is a similar death rate to the Spanish Flu outbreak which, in 1918, went on to kill around 50million people.

However, experts say the true number of patients is likely considerably higher and therefore the death rate considerably lower. Imperial College London researchers estimate that there were 4,000 (up to 9,700) cases in Wuhan city alone up to January 18  officially there were only 444 there to date. If cases are in fact 100 times more common than the official figures, the virus may be far less dangerous than currently believed.

Experts say it is likely only the most seriously ill patients are seeking help and are therefore recorded  the vast majority will have only mild, cold-like symptoms. For those whose conditions do become more severe, there is a risk of developing pneumonia which can destroy the lungs and kill you.

WHAT DOES DR BRIAN JARMAN'S CORONAVIRUS PREDICTION SHOW? (Note: Data for January are actual figures, those for February are predicted) Date Cases Deaths 23-Jan-20 901 26 30-Jan-20 9,692 213 06-Feb-20 31,810 636 13-Feb-20 67,409 1,304 20-Feb-20 116,444 2,214 27-Feb-20 178,913 3,367 28-Feb-20 188,934 3,551

29-Feb-20 199,230 3,741

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN SINGAPORE LINKED TO THREE VIRUS CASES At least three Asian businessmen who attended a meeting of more than 100 international delegates at a Singapore hotel have contracted coronavirus, while others are showing symptoms, authorities said on Wednesday. The cases are further evidence the virus is now spreading through human-to-human contact outside China. Malaysia on Tuesday said its first infected citizen - a 41-year-old man - had attended the meeting, which included delegations from China where the virus originated, in mid-January. South Korea also reported two confirmed cases of its citizens who visited the same business conference in Singapore on Wednesday. The cases are linked to a company business meeting involving 109 participants at the Grand Hyatt Singapore hotel on Jan 20-22, which included 94 overseas participants, Singapore's health ministry said. Of the Singapore attendees, four have also reported symptoms and been referred to its National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Authorities have not commented on the company or industry involved. A spokesman for the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Gerald Kheng, said the hotel had been deep cleaned after it was first informed of the incident by Singapore's health ministry on Tuesday but said it was not aware of any other cases among guests or staff. Singapore - one of the worst hit countries outside China in the 2003 outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) - has reported 28 cases of coronavirus, including some local transmission cases. The city-state says no evidence has emerged of widespread community spread but it announced new precautionary measures on Tuesday including halting group activities such as school assemblies. Several firms in Singapore have suspended business and media events, including a big travel fair, but the Singapore Airshow is set to go ahead next week albeit on a smaller scale. Advertisement

Can the virus be cured?

The Wuhan coronavirus cannot currently be cured and it is proving difficult to contain.

Antibiotics do not work against viruses, so they are out of the question. Antiviral drugs can, but the process of understanding a virus then developing and producing drugs to treat it would take years and huge amounts of money.

No vaccine exists for the coronavirus yet and it's not likely one will be developed in time to be of any use in this outbreak, for similar reasons to the above.

The National Institutes of Health in the US, and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, say they are working on a vaccine based on what they know about coronaviruses in general, using information from the SARS outbreak. But this may take a year or more to develop, according to Pharmaceutical Technology.

Currently, governments and health authorities are working to contain the virus and to care for patients who are sick and stop them infecting other people.

People who catch the illness are being quarantined in hospitals, where their symptoms can be treated and they will be away from the uninfected public.

And airports around the world are putting in place screening measures such as having doctors on-site, taking people's temperatures to check for fevers and using thermal screening to spot those who might be ill (infection causes a raised temperature).

However, it can take weeks for symptoms to appear, so there is only a small likelihood that patients will be spotted up in an airport.

Is this outbreak an epidemic or a pandemic?

The outbreak is an epidemic, which is when a disease takes hold of one community such as a country or region.

Although it has spread to dozens of countries, the outbreak is not yet classed as a pandemic, which is defined by the World Health Organization as the 'worldwide spread of a new disease'.

The head of WHO's global infectious hazard preparedness, Dr Sylvie Briand, said: 'Currently we are not in a pandemic. We are at the phase where it is an epidemic with multiple foci, and we try to extinguish the transmission in each of these foci,' the Guardian reported.

She said that most cases outside of Hubei had been 'spillover' from the epicentre, so the disease wasn't actually spreading actively around the world.
Two serving corps members identified as Mohammed Alhaji-Musa and Hauwa Yahaya-Bagudu will be getting married on Friday, February 7th, 2020 after meeting at NYSCs orientation camp in Kano almost a year ago.

Mohammed Alhaji Musa from Afo in Nassarawa State, met Hauwa Yahaya Bagudu from Nupe ethnic group in Niger State at the NYSC orientation camp kitchen in Kano State.

Recounting how he met his bride, Musa said; We met in camp during our platoon activities, especially the day we met during our platoon duty in the kitchen. Since then love took hold of me like breeze from nowhere. I was overwhelmed by her kindness and the kind of hospitality I received the first day I went to their house.



On her own part, Hauwa who said she never wanted to serve in Kano says;

Today I thank God because my being here has turned out to be a blessing.

Follow Us on Facebook  @LadunLiadi; Instagram  @LadunLiadi; Twitter  @LadunLiadi; Youtube  @LadunLiadiTV for updates
Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP

U.S. astronaut Christina Koch gestures shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. A Soyuz space capsule with U.S. astronaut Christina Koch, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, returning from a mission to the International Space Station landed safely on Thursday on the steppes of Kazakhstan.

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BY TANDA GMITER | MLive

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Michigan native and NASA astronaut Christina Hammock Koch returned to Earth on Thursday after an historic mission of nearly 11 months aboard the International Space Station. Her 328-day mission set a record for the longest single spaceflight in history by a woman.

Koch touched down in Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstana aboard a Soyuz capsule that was also carrying station Commander Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov.

Koch's nearly year-long mission was her first flight into space. NASA said it provided a wealth of information that will help future space travelers.

"Koch's extended mission will provide researchers the opportunity to observe effects of long-duration spaceflight on a woman as the agency plans to return humans to the Moon under the Artemis program and prepare for human exploration of Mars," NASA officials said today.

Among Koch's many accomplishments: She completed 5,248 orbits of the Earth and a journey of 139 million miles, roughly the equivalent of 291 trips to the Moon and back.

She also undertook six spacewalks, including the first three all-woman spacewalks, spending 42 hours and 15 minutes outside the station.

Born in Michigan, Koch grew up in Jacksonville, North Carolina, and now lives near the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston, Texas, with her husband, Bob, the Associated Press said.

Throughout her months in space, Koch gained an excited following on social media, posting photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Her posts from the last few weeks have been bittersweet as she savored her last days in space. We've pulled together some of our favorites below:

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Spacewalk time! After all the technical studying, airlock prepping, and conferencing, Jessica and I multitask as we do... Posted by NASA Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch on Sunday, January 19, 2020

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Its getting real. First time in the Soyuz with Alexander Skvortsov and Luca Parmitano for our suit leak checks in... Posted by NASA Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch on Friday, January 31, 2020

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We saw to the edge of all there is So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back. -Tracy K. Smith, US Poet Laureate Posted by NASA Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch on Friday, January 31, 2020

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Cant think of a better way to spend my birthday than with my crewmates working on science equipment in space. Thanks for all the well wishes! Posted by NASA Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch on Wednesday, January 29, 2020

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Living in space for nearly 1 year has given me a new appreciation for the Earth. At times gazing out at the planet has... Posted by NASA Astronaut Christina Hammock Koch on Thursday, January 23, 2020

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Star trails and solar array trails. pic.twitter.com/snzXl4RCPV  Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) January 17, 2020

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What will I miss? The exquisite beauty of both the planet Earth and this marvel that its amazing people created. pic.twitter.com/VWIFXuJMTp  Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 5, 2020

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This journey has been everyones journey. Thank you to all involved in the success of our mission, and for giving me the opportunity to carry everyones dreams into space. Im filled with gratitude to be back on the planet! pic.twitter.com/Mo2pk152vv  Christina H Koch (@Astro_Christina) February 6, 2020

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Sergei Ilnitsky

Russian space agency rescue team help U.S. astronaut Christina Koch to get from the capsule shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)

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U.S. astronaut Christina Koch reacts shortly after the landing of the Russian Soyuz MS-13 space capsule about 150 km ( 80 miles) south-east of the Kazakh town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool Photo via AP)
Suffolk has been polling New Hampshire voters constantly this week, releasing new results from its tracking poll every day. According to the poll, Mr. Buttigiegs support has doubled since the beginning of the week, when he captured just 11 percent of likely voters.

Campaigning around New Hampshire this week, Mr. Sanders and Mr. Buttigieg have each claimed victory in the Iowa caucuses. And as of right now, both have a legitimate argument: With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Buttigieg and Mr. Sanders are locked in a virtual tie in the delegate count.

While the Monmouth poll had a four-day collection period, which began on the day of the Iowa caucuses, the latest Globe/Suffolk poll was only collected on Wednesday and Thursday. That meant the news of Mr. Buttigiegs unexpectedly strong showing in Iowa had sunk in a bit more by the time that polls field period began.

A little over half of primary voters in both polls said they had yet to firmly settle on a Democratic candidate.

I dont think Iowa has sunk in yet  things are still shifting there, Patrick Murray, who runs the Monmouth poll, said in an interview. But even without an outright win, Mr. Buttigiegs strong showing has the potential to bring him more attention, Mr. Murray said  particularly if he performs strongly in the Democratic debate in Manchester, N.H., on Friday.

Thats because Mr. Murray sees the most uncertainty existing among electability-minded voters  those who say they are most interested in finding a candidate who will defeat President Trump. And Mr. Buttigieg tends to be more popular among these voters than among those who prioritize particular issues.

Some of these other supporters of Biden and Klobuchar are the ones taking a look, because theyre the ones most concerned about electability, Mr. Murray said, referring to voter curiosity about Mr. Buttigieg.
Despite operating within a common European framework the Austrian PhD is a very distinctive qualification, with a highly structured approach to students' training and development.

PhD programmes

Austrian universities don't tend to advertise specific doctoral research projects or invite PhD applicants to propose their own topics in advance. Instead they offer PhD programmes focussing on specific areas.

Some programmes are fairly general, with opportunities for students to work on a broad range of topics.

Others are offered as more specialised structured PhD programmes focussing on research on predetermined topics. These programmes are usually offered within separate doctoral schools (Doktoratskollegs) established by universities.

Programme length

The Austrian academic year runs from October to September and is made up of two teaching semesters:

Winter semester - 1st October to 30th January

- 1st October to 30th January Summer semester - 1st March to 30th September

You'll study within an Austrian PhD programme for 6-8 semesters (3-4 years) as a full-time student. It can be possible to take longer, but doing so as an EU/EEA student will incur fees at public universities.

In some cases the length of an Austrian PhD can depend on your existing qualifications. If you hold a Masters degree your PhD will normally be three years long. Students without a Masters may need to study for four years in order to complete additional courses.

The Austrian PhD process

Austrian PhD programmes typically follow a set curriculum involving organised study and training as well as independent research.

During the first part of your doctorate you will complete courses designed to advance your subject knowledge and develop practical research skills. These will be assigned a credit value and organised similarly to the classes and seminars that make up a taught degree (such as a Masters).

Towards the end of your first year you will decide upon an original research topic suited to your programme. This will need to be formally proposed to your supervisor and / or other senior researchers - a process that may also involve an examination procedure to confirm that your are ready to progress to the independent research stage of your PhD.

Once your research project has been accepted you will spend the remainder of your programme working towards an original doctoral thesis. This will be the core component of your PhD and the focus of your final assessment.

Supervision

You'll be assigned at least one academic supervisor to provide guidance and mentoring during your PhD. This person will oversee the development of your doctoral thesis and may also be responsible for assessing your progress through the programme curriculum.

It's quite common for Austrian universities to assign other support to students in addition to their main supervisor. This could include input from another 'second supervisor' or a more formal 'dissertation committee' made up of other academics associated with your programme.

Assessment and examination

Austrian PhDs use the ECTS credit system in accordance with the Bologna Process. A doctorate is worth 180 credits, all of which must be earned in order to gain the PhD qualification.

Roughly 20-30 credits will be awarded for completing courses within your programme. This may involve the completion of formal assessment such as coursework or credits may simply be awarded for attendance and participation.

The remaining credits will be awarded following the successful submission and examination of your PhD thesis.

This requires a formal thesis defence known as a Rigorosum. The process is similar to the viva voce used in the UK and other countries, but involves a public examination. Two or more academic experts will question you on your thesis in order to determine that your research is original and your subject knowledge is sufficient for the award of a doctoral degree.

Some programmes may also expect PhD candidates to have produced one or more peer-reviewed academic publications before their degree can be awarded.
Al-Qaeda's deputy leader has been killed in a US counter-terrorism raid in Yemen, the White House has said.

Qassim al-Rimi, the terrorist group's Arabian Peninsula leader and the deputy to al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, was killed in the operation, which was ordered by US President Donald Trump.

Al-Rimi had claimed responsibility for last year's deadly shooting at Florida's Naval Air Station Pensacola, where a Saudi aviation trainee killed three American sailors.

He founded the peninsula's affiliate, which has been long considered the global network's most dangerous for its attempts to carry out attacks on the US mainland.

Mr Trump said the US and its allies are safer as a result of his death. We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm, he said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

In January, the US sent home 21 Saudi military students, saying the trainees had jihadist or anti-American sentiments on social media pages or had contact with child pornography, including in internet chat rooms.

Mr Trump's announcement confirmed earlier indications that al-Rimi had been killed.

In late January, a suspected US drone strike destroyed a building housing al-Qaeda militants in eastern Yemen. Also, on 1 February, Mr Trump retweeted several other tweets and media reports that seemed to offer confirmation that the strike had killed al-Rimi.

Associated Press
GREENFIELD, WI / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2020 / 1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin, Inc. ("the "Company") (BCOW), the holding company for PyraMax Bank, FSB, announced that it has adopted a stock repurchase program for up to approximately 5% of its outstanding common stock (excluding shares held by 1895 Bancorp of Wisconsin, MHC), or 109,725 shares of its common stock. This is the Company's first stock repurchase program since completing its mutual holding company reorganization and related stock offering in January 2019, and is subject to regulatory non-objection.

Repurchases may be made no sooner than the termination of the Company's regular quarterly trading blackout after the Company publicly releases its results of operations for the period ended December 31, 2019, and consistent with the Company's trading policies.

Shares may be repurchased in open market or private transactions, through block trades, or pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The repurchase program has no expiration date.

Repurchases will be made at management's discretion at prices management considers to be attractive and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, subject to the availability of stock, general market conditions, the trading price of the stock, alternative uses for capital, and the Company's financial performance. Open market purchases will be subject to the limitations set forth in Rule 10b-18 of the Securities and Exchange Commission and other applicable legal requirements.

The timing and amount of share repurchases under this authorization may be suspended, terminated or modified by the Company at any time for any reason, including market conditions, the cost of repurchasing shares, the availability of alternative investment opportunities, liquidity, and other factors deemed appropriate. These factors may also affect the timing and amount of share repurchases. The Company is not obligated to repurchase any particular number of shares or any shares in any specific time period.

Story continues

SOURCE: PyraMax Bank





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/575539/1895-Bancorp-of-Wisconsin-Inc-Announces-Adoption-of-Repurchase-Program




ABUJA, NIGERIA - President Donald Trump doesn't want Africans flooding to his country. But let's be honest. Who really does? Certainly not any other world leader of this era. Trump just happens to be the one bold or uncaring enough to say the quiet part out loud. He's the rare white politician sparing us the trouble of deciphering what he might think. And Nigerians love him for it.

Nigerians are generally dismayed by his latest travel ban, which severely restricts immigration to the United States from our country and five others. The reason given for this collective punishment is our government's failure to share certain relevant security information with the United States and international security agencies. But the ban is not likely to dent the prevailing attitude toward Trump here. The data has been consistent for the past three years, and the most recent survey, published by the Pew Research Center in January, shows that almost 6 in 10 Nigerians believe that Trump will "do the right thing regarding world affairs."

My hairdresser, Yimi Kolo, a 37-year-old mother of four who speaks little English but listens almost all day to a radio station that transmits in pidgin English, told me last week that she just loves Trump for his toughness. He says what he is going to do, and he goes ahead and does it. Her opinion was unsolicited, inspired merely by the mention of Trump's name on the radio while she was plaiting my hair. The perception of Trump as tough, no-nonsense, blunt, pro-religion and entertaining could be in part why a majority of people in this deeply religious and most populous country in Africa like him. Like a fire eater, he swallows every challenge that comes his way: Stormy Daniels, Russia, Ukraine, impeachment. Each time it appears as if he's down, he rises, seemingly stronger. It's like watching an action movie, or the best reality show Nigerians have ever seen - expressions of wonderment and wild laughter can be heard when people gather to discuss him.

Utterances that make Americans cringe don't seem to faze. When he says or does something that Americans consider racist, I receive emails from American friends, most of whom proudly hate their president. They apologize on his behalf or express their embarrassment. And they expect that this will surely be the turning point, when Nigerians finally begin to join them in detesting Trump. "Hopefully his approval rating will go down over there," wrote my novelist friend James Hannaham. "This guy, we gotta get rid of him. So toxic! So unbearable!" But the 45th president of the United States has so far not done or said anything that Nigerians have not been able to rationalize. Not yet. Not even the travel ban.

Trump once described African nations as "shithole" countries. Many Africans agree. Ask the multitudes risking death by drowning to escape to Europe. In 2017, the bodies of 26 Nigerian young women and girls were recovered from the Mediterranean Sea, following their attempt to reach Europe in a rubber boat. Similar reports of Africans killed while trying to reach Europe have made headlines over the past few years. Out of 181,000 migrants who arrived by sea in Italy from Libya in 2016, about 11,000 women and 3,000 children traveling alone were from Nigeria, according to the United Nations. In 2015, the European Union agreed to a nearly 2 billion-euro trust fund for African countries to help stop migrants from reaching Europe. "EU development aid is increasingly being spent to close borders, stifle migration and push for returns of migrants to Africa," according to a report published by Oxfam in January. "European governments seem determined to prevent migration at any cost," said Raphael Shilhav, who wrote the report. Trump is giving voice to a sentiment apparently shared silently by others.

Nigerians have never been under any illusion about the world wanting to welcome random Africans with wide-open arms, but that has not stopped us from dreaming and trying anyway. In a 2018 Pew survey, 45 percent of Nigerian adults said they planned to move to another country in the next five years - the highest percentage of any nation surveyed. On reporting trips between 2016 and 2018 to Edo state in the south, the origin of most Nigerians crossing the Mediterranean, I came across villages where the majority of the youth had left for Europe and those who remained were mostly elderly. I saw advertisements for church services proclaiming themes like "Abroad Must Favour My Family This Year!!!" Across Nigeria, religious meetings offer special prayers to influence the hearts of consular officials. Those seeking divine intervention in their migration plans or visa applications are invited to attend.

In the past year, Nigerians I know have had cause to pray for God's intervention, after acquiring a U.S. visa suddenly became a task more herculean than ever. People who have traveled freely to the United States for decades were suddenly being denied visas without explanation. Newspaper columns registered their shock and anger, and local media covered the alarming situation widely. Even securing an appointment at the U.S. Embassy has become difficult, with applicants sometimes waiting up to five months for a chance to be interviewed. I confess to having needed emergency prayers myself as I waited at the American Embassy in Abuja some months ago and watched as dozens ahead of me were denied visas by the consular officers sitting behind glass screens. After I stood for three hours in a queue that snaked all the way out of the building, my tourist visa was successfully renewed.

International media reports on the travel ban have described Nigeria with glittering phrases: It's "Africa's largest economy," with a "booming tech ecosystem" and "among the most educated and successful immigrants in the United States." But it is also the greatly diverse country that has produced the Boko Haram terrorist group, which has pledged allegiance to the Islamic Stateand now parades as its West Africa arm; the "Underwear Bomber," Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who tried to detonate explosives hidden in his underwear on aflight headed to Detroit on Christmas Day in 2009; and the crowds that poured into the streets of northern Nigeria (a mostly Muslim region) to celebrate the attacks on the twin towers in New York on Sept. 11, 2001. I was chatting with a group of people in Abuja recently, and every one of us agreed that it would be unwise for Trump to pretend that threats from northern Nigeria don't exist. He needs to protect Americans from Nigerians whom even we Nigerians need to be protected from.

But Trump would surely have been accused of amplifying the fissures in our country if he had banned travelers from only a particular region, we conceded. And so we all must suffer for the transgressions of some.

Most local frustrations about the travel ban are directed at the government of Muhammadu Buhari, rather than at Trump. Multiple local media reports have said that the Trump administration tried for more than a year to work with the Nigerian government to upgrade our country's information-sharing procedures and avoid the ban. But Nigeria failed to meet the minimum security requirements for verifying travelers' identities and singling out those who may pose a national security threat. "The current Nigerian administration may have its deficiencies and deep faults," said Atiku Abubakar, an opposition leader and former presidential candidate, in an open appeal to the United States on Twitter, "but the Nigeria people ought not to be punished for their inefficiencies."

As soon as the ban was announced, quick action replaced lethargy. Buhari immediately set up a committee to "study and address" the security requirements that will get Nigeria off the list. In a meeting with the U.S. State Department this past week, Nigeria's foreign minister, Geoffrey Onyeama, promised that the government would soon complete the process of making information on criminal history, links to terrorism, stolen passports and the like available to Interpol and other relevant international agencies. It's frightening to think that none of this was being done before now. Nigerians' romance with Trump may end someday, but not over this travel ban, not when it is so difficult to prove beyond any doubt that Trump's motive was simply bigotry and malice.

During the 2016 presidential election, a prominent Nigerian politician tweeted that it would be good if Trump won because America would become too busy dealing with him and his drama to poke its nose into other countries' affairs. That joke went viral in Nigeria. Perhaps that is another reason Nigerians love Trump. With all the outlandishness his presidency has unleashed, he has shown that America isn't some ideal place where leaders and the media and the opposition always conduct themselves with decorum. He has exposed the "African" in all of you.

_ _ _

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a Nigerian writer and journalist based in Abuja. Her debut novel, "I Do Not Come to You by Chance," was named a best book of 2009 by The Washington Post. Her latest novel is "Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree."
English Finnish

Sanoma Corporation, Stock Exchange Release, 7 February 2020 at 8:30 EET

Sanomas Full-Year Result 2019: Net sales grew and operational EBIT improved

This release is a summary of Sanomas Full-Year Result 2019. The complete report is attached to this release and is also available at sanoma.com.

On 10 December 2019, Sanoma announced it had signed an agreement to divest its strategic business unit Sanoma Media Netherlands. Media Netherlands is consequently reported as discontinued operations in this report. Unless otherwise stated, all income-statement-related quarterly and FY figures presented in this report, including corresponding periods in 2018, cover continuing operations only. Figures related to balance sheet and cash flow cover both continuing and discontinued operations. Continuing operations include Sanoma Learning and Sanoma Media Finland SBUs, which are also Sanomas reporting segments starting from this report. After the divestment, the remaining Group costs have been allocated to Learning and Media Finland SBUs and SBU-level comparative information for 2018 and 2019 has been adjusted accordingly.

Q4 2019

Net sales grew to EUR 206 million (2018: 184) mainly as a result of the Iddink acquisition. Comparable net sales development was -1% (2018: -4%).

Operational EBIT excl. PPA improved to EUR 2 million (2018: -5).

EBIT was EUR -10 million (2018: -14). Items affecting comparability (IACs) totalled EUR -8 million (2018: -7). PPA amortisations were EUR 5 million (2018: 2).

Operational EPS was EUR -0.03 (2018: -0.05) and EUR 0.07 (2018: 0.06) including discontinued operations.

EPS was EUR -0.06 (2018: -0.09) and EUR -0.63 (2018: -0.03) including discontinued operations.

In November, Sanoma repaid a EUR 200 million bond.

On 10 December, Sanoma announced the divestment of its strategic business unit Sanoma Media Netherlands to DPG Media with an enterprise value of EUR 460 million. Due to the divestment, Sanoma booked a EUR 105 million capital loss in discontinued operations Q4 2019 result.

On 17 December, Sanoma amended its long-term financial targets with SBU-level targets on net sales growth and profitability.

During November-December, Sanoma announced three acquisitions in Learning: Essener, itslearning and Clickedu.

FY 2019

Net sales grew to EUR 913 million (2018: 891) mainly as a result of the Iddink acquisition. Comparable net sales development was -1% (2018: -4%).

Operational EBIT excl. PPA was EUR 135 million (2018: 123). The corresponding margin was 14.8% (2018: 13.8%).

EBIT was EUR 102 million (2018: 107). IACs totalled EUR -23 million (2018: -10). PPA amortisations were EUR 11 million (2018: 7).

Operational EPS was EUR 0.49 (2018: 0.49) and EUR 0.80 (2018: 0.84) including discontinued operations.

EPS was EUR 0.38 (2018: 0.44) and EUR 0.07 (2018: 0.76) including discontinued operations.

Net debt / Adj. EBITDA was 2.7 (2018: 1.4). Due to the Iddink acquisition and the implementation of the IFRS 16 standard, the ratio increased temporarily above the long-term target level (below 2.5).

Free cash flow was EUR 131 million (2018: 109), including continuing and discontinued operations. Free cash flow included a positive EUR 25 million impact due to the implementation of the IFRS 16 standard.

On 4 February, Sanoma signed a EUR 550 million syndicated credit facility.

On 14 February, Sanoma announced the divestment of Mood for Magazines, publisher of LINDA. magazine, in the Netherlands. The divestment was completed at the end of February.

On 28 June, Sanoma announced it had increased its ownership in the Finnish online classifieds company Oikotie Ltd. from 90% to 100%.

On 13 September, Sanoma completed the acquisition of Iddink, a leading Dutch educational platform and service provider.

The Board proposes a dividend of EUR 0.50 per share to be paid for the year 2019 in two instalments, EUR 0.25 in April and EUR 0.25 in November (estimated).

Outlook for 2020

In 2020, Sanoma expects that the Groups comparable net sales will be stable, and operational EBIT margin excl. PPA will be around 15% (2019: 14.8%).

Key indicators for continuing operations

EUR million Q4 2019 Q4 2018 Change FY 2019

FY 2018



Change Net sales 205.6 184.1 12% 913.3 891.4 2% Operational EBIT excl. PPA 2.1 -5.1 135.2 122.8 10% Margin 1.0% -2.8% 14.8% 13.8% EBIT -10.2 -13.8 26% 102.1 106.7 -4% Result for the period -10.2 -15.0 32% 63.1 72.6 -13% Operational EPS, EUR -0.03 -0.05 49% 0.49 0.49 0% EPS, EUR -0.06 -0.09 30% 0.38 0.44 -14% Average number of employees (FTE) 3,567 3,404 5% Number of employees at the end of the year (FTE) 3,953 3,410 16%

Key indicators incl. continuing and discontinued operations 1)

EUR million Q4 2019 Q4 2018 Change FY 2019

FY 2018



Change Result for the period -103.2 -5.0 13.3 125.6 -89% Free cash flow 75.0 69.4 8% 131.3 108.9 21% Impact of IFRS 16 standard 7.2 24.8 Equity ratio 30.5% 44.7% Net debt 794.7 337.8 Impact of IFRS 16 standard 188.4 Net debt / Adj. EBITDA 2.7 1.4 Impact of IFRS 16 standard 0.4 Operational EPS, EUR 0.07 0.06 18% 0.80 0.84 -5% EPS, EUR -0.63 -0.03 0.07 0.76 -91% Free cash flow per share, EUR 0.46 0.43 8% 0.81 0.67 21% Impact of IFRS 16 standard 0.04 0.15 Dividend per share, EUR 2) 0.50 0.45

1) In 2019, discontinued operations include Sanoma Media Netherlands and certain minor subsidiaries acquired in 2019 and planned to be divested in the future. In addition, discontinued operations in 2018 include Belgian womens magazine portfolio, which was divested on 29 June 2018. In 2019, result of discontinued operations include EUR 105 million capital loss related to the divestment of Media Netherlands. More information on discontinued operations financial performance is available on p. 35.



2) 2019 is a proposal of the Board of Directors.

President and CEO Susan Duinhoven:

2019 was a good year, marking the successful transformation of Sanoma into a learning and media company. We strengthened our learning business with four acquisitions  Iddink, Essener, itslearning and Clickedu  and announced an intention to divest Media Netherlands to DPG Media. After the divestment, we have two strong businesses, Learning and Media Finland, ready for growth, and a EUR 400 million headroom for M&A. Our business portfolio is well-balanced: after the recent acquisitions and the divestment approx. 45% of the Groups net sales and 55% of operational earnings will come from Learning.

In Learning, the most sizable step on our growth path in 2019 was the acquisition of Iddink, a leading Dutch educational platform and service provider, which was closed in September. Iddink operates in the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. It provides us direct access to the school management in addition to our earlier contact predominantly with teachers. Altogether, with the recent acquisitions we have grown our customer base by 50% to about 15 million primary, secondary and vocational education students and expanded our offering of blended learning materials and methods with learning material distribution, digital platforms for teaching and school administration as well as testing and analytics.

During the year, Learnings financial performance was strong. Operational earnings improved by EUR 10 million, or 15%. Half of this was attributable to the Iddink acquisition, while the other half was a result of the good work our teams have done as part of the High Five business development programme.

Rob Kolkman, CEO of Media Netherlands, was appointed as CEO of Sanoma Learning as of 1 January 2020. Rob is an experienced, well-respected and results-driven business leader for our Learning team and I am happy that he continues at Sanoma. Rob succeeds John Martin, who will leave Sanoma in spring 2020 to pursue other career opportunities.

In Media Finland, digital subscription sales of both Helsingin Sanomat and Ruutu+ continued to grow. The number of Helsingin Sanomat subscriptions grew for the third consecutive year and subscription sales were at an all-time-high  great achievements also in an international comparison. Advertising sales were stable, with digital advertising sales growing by 6%, and print advertising sales, which today represents only 7% of the Groups total net sales, declining. In total, Media Finlands net sales and earnings were stable at the previous years level.

The divestment of Media Netherlands creates a EUR 400 million headroom for acquisitions. We see solid M&A pipelines for both Learning and Media Finland. In Learning, we are looking for growth opportunities in new geographies and in expanding our offering in the current markets. In Media Finland, we will be interested in synergistic acquisitions in news & feature, entertainment or B2B marketing solutions. With growth in mind, we remain committed to our dividend policy: an increasing dividend corresponding to 40-60% of annual free cash flow. Our focus is especially on increasing dividend per share in euros and thus we may temporarily exceed the pay-out range of 40-60%. For 2019, the Board proposes a dividend of EUR 0.50 to be paid, representing 58% of free cash flow (incl. the settlement of a rental contract related to Belgian womens magazine operations paid in Q1 2019).

In December, we launched new SBU-level, long-term financial targets on comparable net sales growth and operational EBIT margin excl. PPA, while keeping our earlier Group-level targets on leverage, equity ratio and dividend unchanged. With the clear long-term vision on our SBUs net sales and profitability development, our outlook for 2020 is that the Groups comparable net sales will be stable, and operational EBIT margin excl. PPA will be around 15%. We are looking forward to another successful year in 2020.

Dividend proposal

On 31 December 2019, Sanoma Corporations distributable funds were EUR 354 million, of which loss for the year made up EUR 62 million. Including the fund for non-restricted equity of EUR 210 million, the distributable funds amounted to EUR 564 million. The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual General Meeting that:

A dividend of EUR 0.50 per share shall be paid for the year 2019. The dividend shall be paid in two instalments. The first instalment of EUR 0.25 per share shall be paid to a shareholder who is registered in the shareholders register of the company maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the dividend record date 27 March 2020. The payment date for this instalment is 3 April 2020. Record date for the second instalment of EUR 0.25 per share will be decided by the Board of Directors in October, and the estimated payment date will be in November 2020.

A sum of EUR 350,000 shall be transferred to the donation reserve and used at the Boards discretion.

The amount left in equity shall be EUR 482 million.

According to its dividend policy from 2017 onwards, Sanoma aims to pay an increasing dividend, equal to 4060% of the annual free cash flow. When proposing a dividend to the AGM, the Board of Directors looks at the general macro-economic environment, Sanomas current and target capital structure, Sanomas future business plans and investment needs, as well as both previous years cash flows and expected future cash flows affecting capital structure.

Analyst and investor conference

An analyst and investor conference will be held in English by the President and CEO Susan Duinhoven and CFO and COO Markus Holm today at 11:00 EET at Sanomatalo, Toolonlahdenkatu 2, Helsinki. To join the event at Sanomatalo, please register by email to ir@sanoma.com.

A live webcast of the conference can be followed via www.sanoma.com/investors. To ask questions by phone during the live webcast, please register by email to ir@sanoma.com. Dial-in details will be sent for registered participants. An on-demand replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the conference at via www.sanoma.com/investors.

Interview opportunities for media are available after the conference. Media representatives are asked to book interviews via Communications Director Marcus Wiklund, marcus.wiklund@sanoma.com.

Additional information

Kaisa Uurasmaa, Head of Investor Relations and CSR, tel. +358 40 560 5601

Sanoma

Sanoma is a front running learning and media company impacting the lives of millions every day. We enable teachers to excel at developing the talents of every child, provide consumers with engaging content, and offer unique marketing solutions to business partners.

Today, with operations in ten countries including Finland, the Netherlands and Poland, our net sales totalled EUR 900 million and we employed approx. 3,500 professionals in 2019. Sanoma shares are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. More information is available at www.sanoma.com .

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UPPER THUMB  The Tuscola County Economic Development Corporation is helping to promote the Employer of the Day hiring event for the new DTE Call Center in eastern Tuscola County.

The event will be held 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., this Saturday, at the GST Michigan Works office on Cleaver Road, M-24, Caro.

The Michigan Works computer lab will be open Saturday for job seekers wanting to be considered for DTE positions of customer service representative.

The plan is to hire 100 people for the call center at DETs North Area Energy Center at its electric operations facility in Cass City.

The company is hiring full-time customer care representatives. Entry level positions pay $15 per hour with benefits available. Also, there is an opportunity for pay incentives, and pay increases to $16.32 per hour after 12 months.

Cass City Village Manager Debbie Powell considers the new center along with well-paying jobs a boon for the community and surrounding area.

The skills and personal characteristics of a candidate should have intermediate oral and written communication skills, and pass a pre-hire assessment and pass a Department of Transportation drug test.

A DOT test refers to a drug test procedure required from individuals and private corporations under contract with or under the authority of the Department of Transportation.

Qualifications for the job include: a high school diploma and two years of experience in customer contact professional environment or one year with an associate degree.

During the hiring event, DTE representatives will be on hand to answer questions, and participants should bring their resume.

The new call center will be an addition to DTE's existing Michigan-based call centers in the Detroit and Grand Rapids areas. It also reflects DTE's commitment to providing jobs to Michigan residents and locally-based support to its customers.

"The new call center in Cass City, with 100 new service representatives, will enable us to improve our response time, answering calls quicker and solving problems sooner, said Hank Campbell, director of call center operations.


Bergen and Marystown, February 7, 2020



Grieg Seafood ASA (OSE: GSF) has signed Share Purchase Agreements (SPA) for the acquisition of Grieg Newfoundland AS in Newfoundland, Canada.

The Newfoundland project includes exclusivity for salmon farming in Placentia Bay, which has a farmable area bigger than the Faroe Islands.

The project currently comprises licenses for 11 sea sites. 3 licenses are approved, 3 are expected to be approved in 2020 and the rest are in different stages of application. The project also includes a high-end Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) facility under construction.

The project has a long-term annual harvest potential of 30 000 - 45 000 tonnes Atlantic salmon.



Grieg Seafood has an ambitious strategy for long-term sustainable growth and development. By 2025, the company aims to harvest at least 150 000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon, to achieve cost leadership and to re-position itself in the value chain from a pure commodity supplier to a customer innovation partner.



Growth will be achieved through post-smolt investments, M&A activity and organic growth. Value chain repositioning will be achieved through increased presence in the market with partnerships, category development and brand cultivation. The acquisition of Grieg Newfoundland AS strongly underpins the 2025 strategy. The first harvest will be in 2022/23, and the region is expected to contribute 15 000 tonnes annual harvest by 2025.

Commenting on the acquisition, Grieg Seafood CEO, Andreas Kvame, says:

For the past few years, we have focused on utilizing our existing licenses with success. This year, we will reach our target of 100 000 tonnes. Now we are ready for the next step on our growth journey. By developing salmon farming operations in Newfoundland, using cutting-edge technologies at all stages of the production process, we are strengthening our position as a global leader in sustainable salmon farming.

The US market is the worlds largest and fastest growing market for Atlantic salmon, but only a third of US demand is currently met by North American production. We already have a position in this market through our operations in British Columbia, where we have attained significant sales and marketing experience. With close proximity to important markets on the East Coast of the US, this acquisition significantly strengthens our US market exposure and opens up for synergies with existing operations.

A brief history of the Newfoundland project

The Newfoundland project was initiated by Grieg Kapital AS and Per Grieg Jr. in collaboration with their local partner Ocean Choice International Ltd. in 2014. Grieg Kapital AS is owned by the majority owner of Grieg Seafood ASA, the Grieg Group. Per Grieg Jr. is Chairman of the Board of Grieg Seafood ASA.

In 2015, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to produce Atlantic salmon on seawater grow-out sites across four areas of Placentia Bay was signed with the Province of Newfoundland. 11 licenses for sites are currently approved or in different stages of application.

The Newfoundland project received Environmental Impact Study (EIS) approval in August 2018 for Placentia Bay.

The Newfoundland project also comprises a high-end Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) facility. Construction of the onshore smolt-facility commenced in April 2019.



Specific conditions of the Newfoundland project

The Newfoundland project includes long-term exclusive farming rights to the Placentia Bay area.

The marine sites are in an area with favourable biological conditions for salmon farming.

Temperature profile is similar to the Grieg Seafoods Norwegian operations. Fluctuating temperatures in the water can occur in Newfoundland, with low temperatures in the winters and a recent incident of high summer temperatures in another part of the island.

The area is highly isolated from other salmon farmers in the region. Long distances and low interconnectivity between sites lower risk of biological contamination between sites.

Licenses require sterile salmon.



Equipment plan for the Newfoundland project

The sites are exposed to high seas and all sites will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology and systems for harsh environments.

40-meter-deep pens and underwater feeding will reduce risk related to super-chilled or potential warm water.

Grieg Seafoods post-smolt strategy will be implemented in the region, increasing robustness of the fish at all stages in the sea and reducing time in the sea to potentially comprise only one winter.

The fresh water RAS facility is planned to include a hatchery, a smolt facility and three post-smolt modules with potential annual capacity of 7 000 tonnes upon completion.



A stepwise approach to ensure risk management

The Newfoundland region will be developed gradually. Grieg Seafood will follow a stepwise approach to increased production and planned investments will be subject to frequent review and evaluation to ensure the viability and sustainability of growth and production. Grieg Seafood expects cost potential similar to its Norwegian operations and will leverage long experience producing in cold water. It also expects investment per kg to be similar to new sites in its Norwegian operations.

Production plan for the Newfoundland project

The first phase has an annual harvest volume target of 15 000 tonnes to be reached by 2025. First harvest in 2022/2023.

The second phase has an annual harvest volume target of up to 33 000 tonnes.

The long-term harvest potential in Placentia Bay of 45 000 tonnes will depend upon prudent risk management, approvals according to EIS plan and sustainable and profitable production.

On harvesting and processing, Grieg Seafood will collaborate with their local partner Ocean Choice International Ltd.



Grieg Seafood has close to 30 years of experience with fresh water, post-smolt and sea water production of Atlantic salmon. Going forward, we will increase our focus on sustainability, fish welfare, reduction of carbon emissions and responsible farming practices. We will bring our best expertise, technology and knowledge into the development of the Newfoundland region, to ensure that we create value for all of our stakeholders alike: investors, customers, employees and not least for the local communities in Newfoundland, says CEO Andreas Kvame.

Also commenting on the transaction, Stig Grimsgaard Andersen, Chairman of the Board of Grieg Kapital AS, says:

Over the last few years, we have been able to make significant progress in the planning and development of this project and in 2019 we started construction of an advanced RAS facility at Marystown Marine Industrial Park, close to Placentia Bay. At this stage, we are fast approaching the initial smolt and seawater production phase. We are therefore glad to hand the reigns over to an organization with exceptional operational experience, financial capacity and scale to take full advantage of this opportunity. Our confidence in the viability and potential of this project is even further strengthened with Grieg Seafood at the helm and we are very happy to retain exposure to- and participation in this project through our continued ownership in Grieg Seafood ASA.

Transaction details

Grieg Newfoundland AS is owned by Grieg Kapital AS (39%), Kvasshgdi AS (39%), Ocean Choice International Ltd. (OCI) (19.5%) and Knut Skeidsvoll (2.5%).

Agreement to acquire 99% of the shares of Grieg Newfoundland AS and Grieg Seafood ASA has an option agreement to acquire the remaining 1% of the shares, which is retained by OCI.

Settlement for phase one of the production plan includes an up-front payment of NOK 620.5 million. NOK 264 million of this amount is for the work that Grieg NL has done in the project so far, including licenses with harvest capacity of 15 000 tonnes (NOK 17.6 per kilo). The remaining amount is related to investments already made in the project by Grieg Newfoundland AS.

When phase two is initiated, a further potential settlement of up to NOK 930 million is triggered by harvest volume milestones to be reached during the first 10 years of operation following the transaction.

The first milestone payment will be made when the company reaches planned annual harvest volume of more than 15 000 tonnes and the last at annual harvest volume of 33 000 tonnes.

Milestone payments will amount to NOK 43 per kg from 15 000-20 000 tonnes and NOK 55 per kg from 20 000-33 000 tonnes.

NOK 250 million of the up-front payment will be settled through issuance of new Grieg Seafood shares to the sellers of Grieg Newfoundland. The subscription price for the consideration shares will equal the volume weighted average closing price of the shares in Grieg Seafood over the three days prior to signing. The rest of the transaction will be financed through increased debt facilities.

The transaction is conditioned upon approval from Extraordinary General Meeting.



SpareBank 1 Markets AS has acted as financial advisor to Grieg Seafood ASA in connection with the transaction, and Advokatfirmaet Schjdt AS has acted as legal advisor to Grieg Seafood ASA in connection with the transaction. Wikborg Rein Advokatfirma AS has acted as legal advisor to the sellers of Grieg Newfoundland.

Fairness opinion

Deloitte AS has conducted a third-party verification of the valuation of Grieg Newfoundland AS.

Conference call: February 7, 2020, at 08:00 CET

A conference call and audiocast followed by Q&A will be hosted by CEO Andreas Kvame and CFO Atle Harald Sandtorv at 08:00 CET. The call will be conducted in English.

The presentation is attached to this notice and available on https://www.griegseafood.no/inverstors/investor/ .

The audiocast with supporting slides will be available on https://grieg.eventcdn.net/202002/

Dial in details for the conference call and Q&A:

CA: +18447479615

DE: +4969222220377

DK: +4582333194

FI: +358981710523

IE: +35312232016

NO: +4723500236

SE: +46850558359

UK: +443333009031

US: +18446251570

Please note that it will only be possible to ask questions over the conference call.

For more information, contact:

Investors

Andreas Kvame, CEO, Grieg Seafood ASA

+ 47 90 77 14 41

andreas.kvame@griegseafood.com

Atle Harald Sandtorv, CFO, Grieg Seafood ASA

+ 47 90 84 52 52

atle.harald.sandtorv@griegseafood.com

Media

Kristina Furnes, Global Communications Manager, Grieg Seafood ASA

+47 48 18 55 05

kristina.furnes@griegseafood.com

About Grieg Seafood

Grieg Seafood ASA is one of the world's leading salmon farmers, specializing in Atlantic salmon. The Group has a production target of 100 000 tonnes gutted weight in 2020.

Our farming facilities are in Finnmark and Rogaland in Norway, British Columbia in Canada and Shetland in the UK. Approximately 780 people are employed by the Group. Grieg Seafood ASA was listed at the Oslo Stock Exchange in June 2007. Our headquarters are situated in Bergen, Norway. The business development of Grieg Seafood ASA focuses on profitable growth, sustainable use of the ocean and being the preferred supplier to selected customers.

To learn more, please visit www.griegseafood.com





This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act

Attachment
Top Iraq cleric condemns deadly attacks on protesters



Karbala, Iraq, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2020



Iraq's top Shiite cleric on Friday condemned recent deadly attacks on anti-government demonstrators, chastising security forces for not doing more to prevent violence in protest squares across the country.

Eight demonstrators were killed this week in attacks on protest camps by supporters of populist cleric Moqtada Sadr, including in the shrine city of Najaf -- home to Iraq's Shiite religious leadership.

In his weekly sermon delivered by a representative, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani condemned the bloodshed as "painful and unfortunate" and said state security forces are "indispensable" to keeping the country from "falling into the abyss of chaos."

"There is no justification for them to stop fulfilling their duties in this regard, or for anyone to stop them from doing so," Sistani said.

"They must bear responsibility for maintaining security and stability, protecting peaceful protesters and their gathering places, revealing the identities of aggressors and infiltrators, and protecting the interests of citizens from the attacks of saboteurs."

Earlier this week, Sadr called on his supporters to ensure the reopening of schools, roads and government offices that had been shut by months of dsemonstrations.

Nearly 490 people have been killed in protest-related violence since October, when rallies erupted in Baghdad and across the Shiite-majority south demanding an overhaul of the political elite.

Security forces responded with tear gas, live rounds and even machine gun fire, which Sistani had condemned in previous sermons.

This week, demonstrators said they faced a new threat from supporters of Sadr, who initally backed the protest movement but then threw his support behind the nomination of Mohammad Allawi as Iraq's new prime minister last weekend.

Most protesters rejected two-time communications minister Allawi as too close to the political elite they had been demonstrating against for months.

Sadr supporters turned on the other demonstrators, driving them out of their protest camps in the centres of major cities.

In Hilla on Monday, one demonstrator was fatally stabbed as Sadrists, wearing their trademark blue caps, clashed with anti-government protesters.

And in Najaf on Wednesday, seven activists were shot dead after Sadr supporters stormed their camp.

Sistani's sermon appeared to have buoyed the remaining demonstrators in Baghdad's central Tahrir Square on Friday.

"I was watching, afraid that he would be too general and it would allow for more suppression of the protests," said one activist who gave his name only as Ali.

"But he was able to deliver a message: he accepts only the official security forces, no 'blue caps' or anyone else."

In Diwaniyah further south, demonstrator Mohammad al-Bulani said the sermon showed Sistani's support for the protest movement.

"He is the only one that has stood with our demands and defended us," he said.

"We hope we don't lose this important support because everyone -- from political parties to militias and illegal armed factions -- is trying to annihilate us to end the demonstrations by any means."
: The Cochin Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Friday welcomed the announcements made by Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac in the state Budget 2020-21 presented in the Legislative Assembly.

"We appreciate the steps taken by the government to launch the Rs 66,079-crore Kasaragod Thiruvananthapuram semi- high speed rail corridor," a press release here quoted the chamber president V Venugopal as saying.

This ambitious project, when implemented properly, can be a game-changer in the history of transportation in India and the state, the release said.

Abu Dhabi Investment Authoritys Logistics Park promise of Rs 66,900 crore is one of the most important projects announced in this budget.

This would improve logistics infrastructure in the state if complemented with adequate upgradation in quality of transport infrastructure, it said.

The chamber also said the decision to facilitate monetary support to startups through KFC & KSIDC without the requirement of collateral security would trigger fresh investments in the sector.

The governments decision to bear the loss sustained in such cases would boost investor confidence, it said.

The chamber sought industry representation in the Expert Committee chaired by the IT Secretary in this regard.

The trade body welcomed the decision to setup 15 specialised land acquisition units to expedite setting up of industrial parks in Kerala.

The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) said the government has earmarked a substantial amount in the budget for the development of Kochi Metro.

"Petta station will be commissioned on March, 2020. Construction of Petta to SN Junction is fast progressing. We have completed the preliminary study for the project, including land acquisition and other preparatory work for the phase II and approval from the central government is expected soon," said MD of KMRL Alkesh Kumar Sharma.

Kochi Metro has introduced e-autos in the state well in line with governments commitment for green and electric mobility.

KMRL has plans to launch the water metro project in this calendar year,he said.

Construction of jetties is on the right track.

Cochin Shipyard would deliver the boats in November 2020, Sharma said.

In continuation to Kochi Metros Non-Motorised- Transport initiatives Kochi is going to get Rs 239 crore for developing pedestrian-friendly footpath, cycle track, road- rail-water transport connectivity, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Iowa caucuses were an absolute disaster.

On Friday, four days after thousands of Iowans gathered in high school gymnasiums and public libraries to select a candidate for president, the contest was still too close to call.

The caucuses were marred by both delayed results, which the Iowa Democratic Party blamed on a flawed smartphone app, and multiple errors in the results that were reported.

On ExpressNews.com: Garcia: Time for caucuses to face extinction

The chaos called into question the state's first-in-the-nation status and had some observers wondering: Why not make Texas the first state to vote?

Iowa's electorate  aging, rural, and 90 percent white  is not representative of the rest of the nation. Texas has a younger, more diverse population of roughly 19 million people that might provide a better sample to shape the primary process.

Here's what experts are saying about caucuses in general, changing Iowa's first-in-the-nation status, and replacing the midwestern state with Texas:

Dan Solomon, Texas Monthly

Texas makes the most sense. Its a roughly representative sample of the nation, large enough that candidates would have to prove their mettle to more than just a relative handful of hyper-engaged residents, but still small enough that winning here wouldnt effectively end the entire campaign in one shot. Candidates would have to be mindful of the concerns of people who live in coastal areas; on the border; in rural regions; in some of the nations largest cities; and in sprawling suburbs and exurbs.

They would need to address the needs of a growing population, and of diverse groups. The media coverage, and subsequent fund-raising boosts, would no longer be skewed by the priorities of a small collection of people in a state that cares about things (corn subsidies!) that the rest of America does not. The current primary system is broken. Texas can help fix it.

Gilbert Garcia, San Antonio Express-News

Iowas spot at the presidential starting line has been under scrutiny lately. Former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro spent much of his final weeks as a 2020 Democratic presidential contender questioning why a small Midwestern state with minimal racial or ethnic diversity always gets to begin the nominating process.

The obvious answer is for Iowa (and all other states with caucuses) to move toward a democratic, voter-friendly primary process. Some traditions arent worth preserving.

Sean Illing, Vox, and Caroline Tolbert, political scientist at the University of Iowa

SI: Wouldnt it be easier and more fair to let larger, more representatives state like California or Texas go first and allow them to set the tone for the primary battle?

CT: But if you do that, then everything is basically over and the smaller states that follow would be effectively disenfranchised. And, again, thats the same problem with just running a national primary. Youre going to get a certain type of candidate, mostly rich people who can afford to sustain the kind of campaign youd need to win in a big state.

Lyle Larson, Republican member of the Texas House representing San Antonio

Allowing Texas and other more diverse and populous states to hold presidential primaries first would result in a more robust discussion of issues facing millions of Americans by candidates in both parties. Allowing Texas voters to go first would ensure that issues that have been put on the back-burner while candidates campaign in Iowa and New Hampshire will be discussed sooner and in more detail.

Those issues include border security and immigration policy, military preparedness and veterans issues, rather than discussions on ethanol subsidies and other myopic issues exclusively affecting residents of early primary states.

Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio

We do need to change the order of the states, because I dont believe that were the same country we were in 1972. Thats when Iowa first held its caucus first. And by the time we have the next presidential election in 2024, it would have been more than 50 years since 1972. Our country has changed a lot in those 50 years. The Democratic Party has changed a lot.

Rick Pearson and Bill Ruthhart, Chicago Tribune

Mondays national embarrassment only amplified the growing criticism from party progressives that Iowas lack of diversity should disqualify it from having such influence over how such a racially, socially and economically dynamic party chooses its top contenders. The fiasco also only layered more condemnation on the caucus process itself, a lengthy evening commitment that critics argue makes participation difficult for those with young families or who work night shifts.

Its been a great ride, but were talking about the presidency here, were talking about the way this country looks on the world stage, said David Yepsen, who retired after 34 years at the Des Moines Register, including serving as the papers national political columnist. Lets not be parochial here anymore. If we cant do this right, then we ought not to do it."

Boston Globe Editorial Board

With each passing election, the privileged place of Iowa and New Hampshire becomes harder to defend. The vote-counting snafu in Iowa this week seems to have unleashed years of pent-up frustration about a system that is unfair to Americans in the 48 other states and continues to distort American politics.

New England loves its traditions, and many of them, like town meetings and Fourth of July parades, ought to be preserved. But in the century since New Hampshire seized the role as the first-in-the-nation primary, much has changed. The demographic makeup of the nation has changed. Now its time for the way we nominate presidents to change with it.
India's Reliance Industries and U.S.-based Chevron Corp on Thursday defended their business with Venezuela from White House criticism, noting that their marketing agreements and operations in the OPEC nation have been approved by Washington.

The White House imposed sanctions early last year on state-run oil company PDVSA as part of efforts to oust President Nicolas Maduro. The socialist president remains in power despite deep unpopularity and a years-long economic crisis.

Venezuelan exports declined sharply in early 2019, but have since ticked back up to roughly 1 million bpd, as several oil companies resumed marketing or buying the country's oil.

The White House has yet to enforce secondary sanctions announced in August aimed at non-U.S. companies buying Venezuelan oil.

The White House on Wednesday warned several oil companies, including Reliance, Russia's Rosneft, Spain's Repsol and Chevron, to tread cautiously in their activities in Venezuela, in an attempt to ramp up pressure on Maduro.

The suggestion of retaliation surprised those companies, according to executives from joint ventures with state-run PDVSA.

A Reliance spokesperson told Reuters that the refining firm is "in frequent communications with U.S. government officials regarding Venezuela and continuously keep them apprised of our actions."

Maduro's re-election in 2018 was viewed as a sham by most Western Hemisphere nations. The White House on Wednesday hosted opposition leader Juan Guaido, whom Maduro refers to as a puppet of the United States, even as dozens of nations recognize him as the rightful president.

Prior to sanctions, Venezuela exported roughly 1.5 million barrels of crude and fuel per day. The sanctions cut off Venezuela's top purchaser, the United States.

The White House announced secondary sanctions in August targeting non-U.S. companies buying Venezuelan oil, but its pressure campaign waned in the second half of 2019, and companies interpreted the announcement differently.

COMPANIES NOTE COMPLIANCE

Reliance, among PDVSA's largest customers, in October resumed direct purchases of Venezuelan crude after a four-month pause, helping the state-run company reduce mounting inventories of unsold oil. Reliance said at that time that it was supplying PDVSA with fuel permitted under sanctions in exchange for the Venezuelan oil.

Reliance's representative added that the company does not operate as an intermediary for sales of Venezuelan oil to third parties. "All Venezuelan crude sourced by Reliance is for processing in Reliance's refineries only."

Chevron resumed marketing of Venezuelan oil in October for the first time since sanctions were imposed, in tankers bound for Asian destinations, according to PDVSA records and Refinitiv Eikon vessel tracking data.

"We remain focused on our base business operations, in full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations" said Ray Fohr, a Chevron spokesman, adding that crude marketing is permitted under a license by the U.S. Treasury to pay for expenses related to the maintenance of operations.

Chevron said that shipments of Venezuelan crude taken by the company represented about 2 percent of the country's total exports in 2019. "If Chevron is forced to leave Venezuela, non-U.S. companies will fill the void and oil production will continue," it added.

Repsol declined to comment. Rosneft and PDVSA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

China's state-run CNPC suspended loadings of Venezuelan crude at PDVSA's ports last year, but it has not resumed them after Washington pressured Chinese energy companies to halt trade with PDVSA.

The U.S. administration has issued waivers for U.S. service firms and some PDVSA's joint venture partners to continue operating in the South American nation. The permits are not specific about trade transactions with Venezuelan oil.

Also read: India's Venezuelan oil imports in June highest in seven quarters

Also read: Reliance to resume Venezuela oil loadings after four-month pause
A Question Time audience member has slammed the dress at the centre of the 'shouldergate' row as 'like a disco outfit'.

The guest branded what Tracy Brabin wore at the despatch box in the House of Commons 'inappropriate'.

The furore erupted when the 58-year-old Labour MP's black off-the-shoulder dress slipped down her arm on Monday.

The guest (pictured) said what Tracy Brabin wore at the despatch box in the House of Commons 'looked like a disco outfit and not like a politician'

Labour MP for Batley and Spen Tracy Brabin, 58, sparked outrage this week after her black off-the-shoulder dress slipped down her arm at the despatch box

The shadow culture secretary was criticised for the 'inappropriate' Westminster attire and called a 'hungover tart' by trolls on social media.

She has put the 35 ASOS dress on eBay to raise money for charity - and bids have topped 1,300.

The Question Time audience member told how she had been asked to dress 'smart/casual' for the BBC show, to the surprise of host Fiona Bruce.

The woman continued: 'So I think there's a slight hypocrisy there and if I'm looking at the ladies on the panel you've all got, well two of you have got jackets on, and you've got a smart dress which is buttoned up.'

She added: 'Why didn't you wear anything like Tracy Brabin?'

The Batley and Spen MP has now decided to put the 35 ASOS dress on eBay to raise money for charity

Journalist Rachel Shabi replied: 'I mean I didn't wear a cold-shoulder top literally for that reason, because I get a cold shoulder.'

Labour MP for Walthamstow started 'Why aren't you asking the men why they chose some of...' but was interrupted by Ms Bruce.

The host said: 'Tracy Brabin did say she wasn't expecting to make a comment at the despatch box and she was actually going out that evening, so she was slightly taken by surprise.

'Nonetheless she was defending her right to wear what she liked.'

Ms Bruce hit back: 'So you as a woman are not defending her right to wear what she wants.'

The audience member said: 'No I think it's important what she said but I do think that there's a certain dress code if she's leading, she should lead by example and I don't think the off the shoulder was appropriate because it was too much off the shoulder.'

She added: 'It looked like a disco outfit and not like a politician.'

Ms Brabin, who used to be an actress on Coronation Street, tweeted after the show: 'Disco outfit now available on eBay with all proceeds going to @Girlguiding.'

Ms Brabin, who used to be an actress on Coronation Street, tweeted after the show: 'Disco outfit now available on eBay with all proceeds going to @Girlguiding'

Her eBay post had the comment: 'Black dress worn by Tracy Brabin MP in 'shouldergate' as widely covered across the media.

'This is an ASOS dress which has been flying off the shelves as a result of the coverage - and is now sold out!

'All money raised will go to Girlguiding UK to support their work helping girls build confidence and self-esteem, in the hope that they grow up to be leaders.'

The item has so far received more than 70 bids, with the highest currently at 1,320.

Ms Brabin, who won her seat in the by-election triggered by the death of murdered MP Jo Cox, admitted the dress was off-the-shoulder, but had slipped down further when she leaned across the despatch box to speak.

Tracy Brabin is pictured playing Tricia Armstrong on Coronation Street in 1996 alongside co-star Michael Le Vell

She claimed her broken ankle meant she had to stoop further while asking a question about the ongoing row about journalists in Downing Street, leaving her arm exposed.

One Twitter user shared a photograph of her wearing the dress and asked: 'Is this really appropriate attire for parliament?'

Critics including Piers Morgan called the outfit 'inappropriate for the Commons'.

TV commentator Carole Malone added: 'It wasn't just off the shoulder it was completely off the shoulder.

'There is a dress code in Parliament. If a male MP turned up in joggers and track suit he would be criticised and rightly so. When you wear something like that it detracts form what you're saying.'

In a sharply worded response, Ms Brabin, who played Tricia Armstrong on Corrie between 1994 and 1997, replied: 'Sorry I don't have time to reply to all of you commenting on this but I can confirm I'm not....

'A slag, Hungover, A tart, About to breastfeed, A slapper, Drunk, Just been banged over a wheelie bin. Who knew people could get so emotional over a shoulder.'

She later told Lorraine Kelly on ITV: 'I had been at an event with UK Music and the thing about the points of order, they come at you as a surprise, so you're not always camera ready when you are in politics.

'It did slip slightly, because I have a broken ankle and I had to lean a little bit on the dispatch box.'
Vietnam, which shares a long border with China, is imposing all restrictions necessary to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

British man Graham Calder took a train from China's Nanning to Dong Dang in Vietnam's border province of Lang Son on February 3.

He and a Vietnamese woman returning after traveling to Liuzhou, China, were the only two passengers on board the train.

The service from Hanoi's Gia Lam to Nanning, capital of Guangxi Province in southern China, was suspended a day later as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus (nCoV).

Both passengers had to enter a quarantine room for medical examination.

A border officer then explained to them that they had two options: either return to China or be quarantined for 14 days in Vietnam.

Calder agreed to return to Nanning on a train from Hanoi, one of the last trips before the Vietnam-China service was suspended, while the woman agreed to be isolated at a military barrack 15 km away.

Calder said before entering the isolation room at Dong Dang station: "I was not happy. When boarding the train in Nanning, nobody told me about this regulation."

He had flown from the U.K. to China, which is being rocked by a pneumonia epidemic caused by the nCoV, and took the train from Nanning planning to visit Hue in central Vietnam.

Graham Calder (R) talks to a border guard at Dong Dang railway station on February 3, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

WHO has warned that Vietnam is at high risk of nCov infection because of its long border of more than 1,500 kilometers with China.

Vietnam has deployed 1,400 border guards to its seven border provinces, where they set up camps to prevent people from crossing the border.

Lang Son Province, which has a 231-km border with China, has two international border gates -- the Huu Nghi road gate and Dong Dang railway gate -- besides two national border gates and seven border markets.

Before Vietnam declared the new coronavirus an epidemic, thousands of people used to cross the border every day.

Personnel working on the Nanning-Hanoi passenger train wait for medical screening. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

"I feel safer though my overtime pay will reduce," Nguyen Duc Chung, 34, an official at Dong Dang Station now responsible for controlling trains only running between Hanoi and Dong Dang.

He said the border area is highly vulnerable to nCov infection but luckily no cases have been reported in Lang Son so far.

On Lunar New Year's Eve, January 24, he saw all border guards and customs officers wearing face masks at work. The next morning railway workers were also told to wear masks.

Soon a sign was put up at the checkpoint saying all passengers need to undergo a medical examination before completing immigration procedures and visitors should not enter Vietnam if they have symptoms of coronavirus infection.

The notice is in three languages: Vietnamese, Chinese and English.

Border guards on duty at the Huu Nghi border gate in Lang Son Province. Photo by VnExpress/Giang Huy.

The number of people crossing the Huu Nghi border gate these days is down to a 10th of the 5,000 daily before Tet.

On February 2 more than 500 Chinese waiting to enter Vietnam were asked to return or be quarantined for 14 days.

On February 4, after others finished the procedures and boarded a car to the isolation area, eight people belonging to Nguyen Thi Loan's family were still waiting.

She had visited her husbands hometown in Chinas Jiangxi to celebrate the Lunar New Year on January 22 and was now returning to Vietnam. From Jiangxi, her family had flown to Nanning and sought to enter Vietnam through the Huu Nghi border gate.

But her Chinese husband was denied entry while those having Vietnamese passports were allowed to enter and be isolated for 14 days.

Jiangxi is one of the Chinese localities to be hit by the coronavirus that has so far killed 638 people.

Captain Nguyen Tuan Anh, deputy head of the Huu Nghi international border gate border station, explained: "The epidemic is very unpredictable and the risk of infection is high and therefore it is necessary to adopt strict preventive measures."

He said Chinese come to Vietnam for many purposes such as working, visiting relatives and traveling. It is not possible to "make concessions to any individual" whether or not they carry the disease, he said.

Everyone had to comply with the regulations, even diplomatic passport holders, he added.

In recent days the Lang Son Border Guard has stationed its personnel along the border and set up dozens of checkpoints to block trails and open paths to prevent Vietnamese from crossing over illegally.

In Quang Ninh, home to the world-famous Ha Long Bay and which shares a border with China, streets in Mong Cai Town are no longer crowded while the central markets are closed and restaurants are deserted.

Every few hours, a loudspeaker announces the disease status and provides instructions on how to prevent it. Every day medical teams go around to spray disinfectants in alleys and other places.

The temporary isolation area in Mong Cai border town in Quang Ninh Province. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Cuong.

"Local health workers and local officials come to each house to check people's health and create electronic records for monitoring," Nguyen Thi Thanh, a hotel receptionist in Mong Cai, said.

Before the restriction on entry, the town was flooded with Chinese, which had Thanh worried. After coming home from work every day she has to shower and disinfect herself before seeing her children.

The government suspended entry and exit through the Mong Cai border gate on January 31, and the number of Chinese tourists arriving in the town showed clear signs of falling.

Like in Lang Son, border guards here too strictly control immigration and travel across the border. They disinfect the Mong Cai border gate twice a day along with the luggage of travelers.

Quang Ninh has set up two isolation centers. Returning citizens with signs of cough and fever are quarantined. Those with normal body temperatures are isolated at a number places including hotels for 14 days.

In Cao Bang in the far north, border guards have set up groups to carry out preventive tasks. Each group consists of four people, including a police officer and a person from the local militia.

More than 6,000 medical masks and disinfectant solution have been provided to the troops stationed there.

The number of confirmed cases in Vietnam rose to 12 on Thursday after two more people tested positive for the virus. They belong to the family of an infected Vietnamese worker who had returned from Wuhan City last month.

The 10 earlier cases include a cousin of the worker, a Vietnamese-American visitor who transited in Wuhan, a Chinese man from Wuhan and his son who met him in Vietnam, and a hotel receptionist who served the two in Nha Trang.

Three of the ten have been discharged from hospital: the hotel employee, the younger Chinese man and one of the workers who returned from Wuhan.
OTTAWA - The mayors of Canada's biggest cities are pressing the federal government for immediate money to address climate change, as well as a promise of predictable transit funding down the tracks.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA - The mayors of Canada's biggest cities are pressing the federal government for immediate money to address climate change, as well as a promise of predictable transit funding down the tracks.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau, who met with the mayors Thursday, has billed the coming federal budget as one with an environmental focus.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante stand beside Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson as he responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, Thursday, February 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson, who chairs the big city mayors' caucus of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, said that's why the mayors are prioritizing budget requests that fit the environmental lens and match promises the Liberals made during the recent federal election.

The mayors are asking for help to fund zero-emission transit fleets and a top-up to the popular disaster mitigation and adaptation fund that helps municipalities deal with things like severe flooding.

In meetings with other architects of this year's budget  and opposition MPs whose support is needed to pass a budget bill  mayors say they have come away with a belief the Liberals will honour a campaign promise to make transit funding permanent when current funding programs sunset near the end of the decade.

"I think they intend to follow through on that," Iveson said.

"We really want to nail that down in the budget because that helps us turn back to a conversation about provinces."

Funding from federal infrastructure programs, valued at more than $180 billion, can't flow to cities until provinces officially green-light them for Ottawa's approval. Speaking to the big city mayors on Thursday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said "some challenges" had arisen concerning co-ordination with the provinces over the last few years, and he asked the group to lean on premiers.

The Liberals plan to force provinces to identify projects for long-term funding and submit lists by the end of 2021, or Ottawa will send the money directly to cities for their use. Discussion of changes to the annual $2-billion federal gas-tax program, which sends money directly to cities, will wait for another round of budget talks, but may take on more prominence if provinces continue to put up roadblocks, Iveson said.

"We really think it's important that there be a consequence to not playing ball in Confederation," Iveson said. "However, the lost opportunity in the meantime is an economic loss and a loss of a public benefit."

During closed-door meetings with Trudeau and senior ministers, mayors heard promises of getting infrastructure money out the door faster to them, speedier delivery of housing programs targeting high-density rental projects, a possible new bucket of funds in this coming budget, and redirecting existing cash for priority projects like electric transit vehicles.

Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna, who met with mayors one-on-one this week and Thursday as a group, has a mandate to make transit funding permanent post-2027.

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"It would bring predictability to our planning process because ... these major projects take years and years to get a shovel in the ground," said Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, whose city is in the early stages of planning an extension to its light-rail system.

Langley Mayor Jack Froese said Metro Vancouver mayors are hoping for money more quickly for zero-emission transit vehicles set to roll out this fall, while pushing for longer-term funding for a planned extension to the SkyTrain transit system, which connects B.C.'s Lower Mainland.

"Whether it's Montreal or Toronto or Metro Vancouver, we all have a big ask," Froese said in an interview.

"There's only so much money to go around. We would like to impress upon the federal government that we have shovel-ready projects that are ready to go."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.

Follow @jpress on Twitter
Amid the acrimony between the Trinamool Congress government and the Raj Bhavan, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar exchanged pleasantries with each other in the Assembly on Friday.

Dhankhar arrived at the assembly at 2 pm to deliver his customary address before the budget session and was greeted by the chief minister and Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee.

The governor averted a showdown by not deviating from the speech prepared by the Mamata Banerjee government for his customary address to the Assembly at the beginning of the session.

Dhankhar's adherence to the speech came a day after he said in Santiniketan that as the constitutional head of the state he was within his right to make suggestions and had hoped those would be incorporated in his speech.

This had raised speculation that he might follow Kerala Governor Arif Mohammad Khan who had injected in his address a disclaimer for the portions he did not agree with.

Governor Dhankhar's speech reflected the policies and programmes of the TMC government as he said "intolerance, bigotry and hatred" are the "new norms in the country" and "rejection of all forms of dissent is the new fashion in the name of patriotism".

At the end of his speech, he walked up to the chief minister's seat and exchanged pleasantries with her. Later Dhankhar held a meeting with Mamata Banerjee and the Speaker at the latter's chamber in the Assembly premises.

This is the first time that Dhankhar after delivering his address held a meeting with Mamata Banerjee and Biman Banerjee which lasted for half an hour.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On Wednesday, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) voted guilty on both articles of impeachment against President Trump.

Feinstein was Fridays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are her remarks announcing her decision:

The decision to remove a president at any point in their term  but particularly nine months before an election  is not something we should take lightly.

Impeachment should not be a tool that Congress uses to settle policy or personal disagreements.

Instead, it should only be used if a president engages in misconduct so egregious that their conviction and removal is necessary and in the nations best interests.

Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist #65 that the Founders chose the Senate as the most fit depository of this important trust to make such a weighty decision.

They actually had faith that this body could rise above pure partisanship to conduct a fair trial and reach a just verdict.

In this case, however, we could not reach bipartisan agreement  not even on how to conduct the trial.

Its a fact that, for the first time in this nations history, the Senate will render a verdict in an impeachment proceeding without hearing from a single witness  and without reviewing key documents that have been withheld by the executive branch.

As recently as last Friday, OMB admitted it continues to withhold key documents.

Let me provide an example. In a court filing, an OMB lawyer wrote that 24 White House emails were being withheld because they reflect communications by the president, vice president or top advisors on the scope, duration and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine.

Proceeding without such vital evidence is a real mistake.

I came to this trial with an open mind  to listen to the case presented by both sides and then to make a determination based on the facts.

After hearing the House managers case, it is clear that President Trump withheld U.S. aid in an effort to obtain Ukraines assistance to win re-election by asking that Ukraine launch and make public an investigation into Joe Biden, Mr. Trumps political opponent.

The presidents legal team tried to argue that this didnt happen.

But without seeing key documents and hearing from key fact witnesses such as John Bolton and Mick Mulvaney  top advisors with firsthand knowledge of the presidents conduct and motives  their arguments were not persuasive.

So after weighing the evidence available to us and considering the presidents pattern of similar misconduct, I will vote yes on the Articles of impeachment.

The House presented a compelling factual case.

Congress appropriated nearly $400 million in foreign aid to Ukraine, an ally engaged in a war with a major power, Russia.

It was signed into law by President Trump, who knew what he was signing and what it entailed.

President Trump also knew that Ukraine desperately needed the aid and Americas partnership in its efforts against a huge power, Russia.

He used that vulnerability to his advantage.

He privately demanded that, in exchange for United States aid and a White House meeting for Ukraines newly elected president, Ukraines leaders had to publicly announce an investigation that would damage his political rival, Vice President Joe Biden.

The president relayed those same demands to senior Ukrainian officials through both private and official government channels.

This was a clear quid pro quo. And its at the heart of the argument in the first Article of impeachment: abuse of power.

President Trump took this action to benefit himself personally and not for the good of the nation.

He violated the law by withholding appropriated funds in order to benefit himself and not our country.

President Trump did not withhold these funds because of concern about corruption generally.

Instead, he demanded just two specific investigations  Burisma and Biden  both intended to help him win re-election in 2020.

After hearing the House managers presentation, I think weve got to really ask ourselves, How can this president deal with any foreign nation after compromising himself in such a fashion?

How can he be trusted to ensure that American elections are free from foreign interference?

Other countries are watching.

After the president compromised himself this way with Ukraine, whats to keep them  or any other country  from seeking benefits from the president in exchange for political or personal assistance?

So if the Senate refuses to correct this precedent now, the door to foreign political influence in our elections will be opened.

The House managers also presented a strong case on the second Article of impeachment: obstruction of Congress.

Here, the facts themselves are not in dispute. President Trump ordered his administration to withhold all documents and ordered Executive Branch witnesses not to testify before the House began its inquiry.

The presidents legal team countered that he has a right to defy congressional subpoenas as a matter of executive privilege.

But there is no precedent for their sweeping claim of absolute immunity from congressional oversight, particularly in the context of impeachment proceedings.

President Trump has taken the position that there are no checks on his presidential authority, effectively placing himself above the law.

I dont believe the Senate can let this stand.

Unfortunately, the presidents actions are not isolated incidents. Both Articles of impeachment point to this.

The Articles note these actions were consistent with President Trumps previous invitations of foreign interference in U.S. elections.

And with previous efforts to undermine United States Government investigations into foreign interference in United States elections.

During the 2016 campaign, President Trump welcomed Russias assistance to defeat his opponent Hillary Clinton.

The Mueller report detailed exactly how the Trump campaign sought to work with Russia to improve his electoral chances, including:

providing internal campaign polling data to a Russian operative;

inviting Russia to hack Hillary Clinton after Russia had already successfully hacked the Democratic National Committee; and

obtaining information about upcoming releases of emails stolen by Russian agents, and weaponizing these stolen documents to harm Hillary Clinton.

When this conduct came under question, President Trump obstructed the investigation.

Special Counsel Mueller catalogued not one or two but 10 clear instances where President Trump sought to interfere in this investigation. This isnt my view, this isnt anyone elses view. Its a catalogue of a group of legal professionals indicating ten clear instances where Trump sought to interfere in the investigation.

This egregious pattern  of soliciting foreign interference and blocking any effort to investigate  continues to this day.

As recently as October, while the House impeachment inquiry was going on, President Trump stood on the White House lawn and asked China to investigate the Biden family.

This trial must do impartial justice, as is required by the oath we all took.

After listening to the arguments of both sides, its clear the House managers have proven their case.

The presidents conduct with respect to Ukraine has mirrored the rest of his presidency  and its all about what is best for President Trump.

If we vote to acquit and allow President Trumps behavior, we will set a dangerous precedent  one that has the strong possibility of inflicting lasting damage on our country.

We will be saying that any president  Republican or Democrat- can leverage their office for personal political gain.

We will be inviting more foreign interference into our elections and saying its acceptable to use the presidency to solicit that assistance. His defense counsel admitted as much.

And well be accepting the presidents extreme view that Article II of the Constitution gives him the right to do whatever he wants.

Im convinced this is a rare instance where the Senate has no choice but to vote to convict and remove this president.

I reach this conclusion reluctantly and with deep concern; but with the belief that this action is necessary and cannot and should not be ignored.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
The United States stands ready to spend up to $100 million to assist China and other countries impacted by coronavirus, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Friday.

This commitment  along with the hundreds of millions generously donated by the American private sector  demonstrates strong US leadership in response to the outbreak, Pompeo said in a statement.

He said the US governments commitment would be met through existing funds both directly and through multilateral organizations.
The 2022 ITB (Internationale Tourismus-Borse) Berlin, the worlds leading travel trade show, will be held in Tbilisi, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia said.



He noted that participating in this show will increase the number of tourists visiting Georgia.

"Tourism is one of the important keys for the development of our economy. It is a fast-developing and growing sector," Agenda.ge cited Gakharia as saying.



ITB Berlin is a business platform for global tourism offers with more than 10,000 exhibitors from 180 countries participating annually.
- Some women have given varied reasons most women find it hard to propose to men

- YEN.com.gh sought to determine via social media why most women are scared to pop the question

- From cultural to economic setbacks, many have shared powerful views

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

While most women have successfully shattered glass ceilings in most male-dominated fields, when it comes to marriage proposals, they somehow find themselves taking the backseat.

This phenomenon is caused by the permanence of deeply entrenched cultural traditions owing to years of male-dominated and economic inequality.

Although the phenomenon has improved with changing times, some women do not find it culturally acceptable to take the first step of proposing to the men.

READ ALSO: Video of school kids' 'out of this world' performance of Stonebwoys songs rocks the internet

They live with their partners, discuss marriage on several occasions and may have even helped their partners to pick a ring but would never pop the question would you marry me.

In Ghana, not a lot of marriages happened after female proposals and this is largely because of the awkwardness or social judgment women deal with for taking on a non-traditional roless.

This challenge is further entrenched partly by the educational system which shapes peoples paradigms to perceive women who propose to men as desperate or cheap.

Despite the knowledge available, YEN.com.gh sought to find out from people why women still find it difficult to propose to women even in the 21st century.

Following the post by YEN.com.gh, some social media users have reacted and shared varied opinion.

Maame Adjoa Antwiwaa McCoy said: ''I don't mind being rejected. But I am scared of being teased at. Especially in gatherings.''

Maa Abena said: ''Because they will take advantage of us and spend our money Maa Abena Because they will take advantage of us and spend our money .''

''I gathered all the courage in this world to propose to him but he told me he doesn't believe it.I was really hurt,'' Janet Angie Quarshie shared a personal experience.

Jenny Grendel said: ''I don't think they are "scared" but they know themselves its so wack, that's just one of the things I would not do, not in a million years.''

Adelaide Law accentuated the stereotype women experience when they propose to women.

She wrote: ''BECAUSE they will tell the whole area that you proposed to him.so if I love or like you,I will keep it to myself.''

''The fact is, guys propose n cater for the lady so if a lady is to propose meaning u're going to cater for the guy. Ladies too fear to take responsibility. Simple answer,''Opiesie Oduro said in reaction to the post.

In other stories, YEN.com.gh previously reported that a benevolent UK-resident young man has paid for the medical bills of six stranded new mothers at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for the new mothers to be released.

According to Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri, the founding editor of Ghanacelebrities.com and Human Rights Advocate, his friend was left heart-wrenched by the state of the women when he arrived in Ghana and visited the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

READ ALSO: Rihanna flaunts curves and fine legs in expensive African dress in stunning photos

Faces of Ghana: Ghanas 1st Female Police Bemoans High Rate of Police Indiscipline | #Yencomgh

Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 00:07:24|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli said on Thursday the government was in final touches of freeing and repatriating foreign prisoners, including 1,451 Ethiopians.

Magufuli said the move to free foreign prisoners serving jail terms in the country's prisons was aimed at reducing congestion in the overcrowded prisons.

He announced the release of the Ethiopian prisoners in an address televised live by state-run Tanzania Broadcasting Corporation to mark the climax of week-long celebrations of Tanzania Law Day.

"We are still in talks but I think I will sign their amnesty in two or three days to enable them return to their country," said Magufuli.

Magufuli blames the investigators of court cases saying delay in investigations was the reason behind overcrowded remand prisons.

"There are 13,455 inmates in the country's prisons and 17,632 remand prisoners awaiting trial. This shows that there is slow pace of investigations which amounted to denying the inmates' rights," he said.
Job hunters line up for interviews at an employment fair sponsored by the New York State Department of Labor in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 8, 2014. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)

Philadelphia Allowed to Enforce Ban on Employers Asking for Job Applicants Salary History

A federal appeals court has allowed Philadelphia to enforce a law that will bar employers from asking prospective employees about their salary history.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ruled in favor of the city (pdf) on Thursday, reversing a lower courts preliminary injunction blocking a provision of the Wage Equity Ordinance from going into effect.

The ordinance was signed into law in Jan. 2017 and following the laws passage, the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia and its business members challenged the law in a federal court, arguing that two of its provisions violated the First Amendment of the Constitution. The city claims that the ordinance would address the perceived wage disparity, for example between men and women, in Philadelphia.

One of the provisions, the inquiry provision, prohibited employers from asking job applicants about their wage history. The second reliance provision, meanwhile, made it illegal for employers to rely on the wage history of a job applicant to determine wages for the applicant at any stage of the employment process.

Violations of the ordinance subject employers to civil and criminal penalties, including up to $2,000 in punitive damages per violation, and an additional $2,000 and 90 days incarceration for a repeat offense.

During the case, the chamber argued that the city did not demonstrate how its ordinance would satisfy its objective, adding that the city had passed the law with only the barest of legislative records and had not provided sufficient evidence to show that the law would further the citys objective.

The district court held that the inquiry provision violated the First Amendment speech rights of employers and granted a preliminary injunction for that provision, however the court upheld the reliance provision, saying that it did not impact speech.

In Thursdays ruling, the majority opinion written by Judge Theodore McKee reversed the lower courts decision to block the inquiry provision, allowing both provisions of the ordinance to go into effect.

The citys Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement he was pleased with the 3rd Circuits ruling.

Liz Ferry, the chambers vice president of state legislative affairs, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that they were disappointed by the ruling.

We are clearly disappointed, but as we review the courts opinion and potential next steps, we look forward to continuing a productive conversation with the city on this important issue, Ferry said.

Other states have signed similar laws in recent years, including New York (pdf), Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross were every inch the showbiz hot couple when they were seen out in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The dynamic duo were attending the star-studded opening of a Beverly Hills shop called The Webster that evening.

For her night out on the town, the 35-year-old sister of Jessica Simpson wore a plunging off-the-shoulder blouse.

See and be seen: Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross were every inch the showbiz hot couple when they were seen out in Los Angeles on Thursday

Swank: The dynamic duo were attending the star-studded opening of a Beverly Hills shop called The Webster that evening

Her off-white ensemble was stylishly puffy, in sharp contrast to her fitted cream trousers that showed off her svelte legs.

Ashlee, who has pink hair these days, accentuated her features with makeup and balanced on a gleaming pair of silver heels.

Adding a splash of dazzle to the look with a pair of hoop earrings, Ashlee rounded off the getup with a see-through purse.

Meanwhile, the son of Diana Ross threw an immaculate maroon blazer over his white shirt and clasped on a couple of necklaces.

The brother of Tracee Ellis Ross clashed his top against a pair of loose-fitted black slacks and pristine matching dress shoes.

For its big opening party The Webster played host to a famous names including Rumer Willis, Charlotte McKinney and Dakota Fanning.

When you got it: For her night out on the town, the 35-year-old sister of Jessica Simpson wore a plunging off-the-shoulder blouse

Flair: Her off-white ensemble was stylishly puffy, in sharp contrast to her fitted cream trousers that showed off her svelte legs

Ashlee's latest outing comes in the wake of her sister Jessica's big memoir, which has been hitting the headlines for its revelations.

In Open Book, Jessica wrote about not only her childhood sexual abuse by an older female family friend but also shed light on her subsequent addiction battle.

She also laid bare her failed first marriage to pop hunk Nick Lachey, whom she lost $12 million to in the divorce after neglecting to get a prenuptial agreement.
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The director-general of Coastal Security, Colonel-Major Mohamed Al-Nouweisiri Thursday held discussions with the head of immigration and border management at the International Organization for migration (IOM), George Albo, over the activation and establishment of landing points in accordance with a plan established by management
Heroine of blocked publication about drugs ordered to be jailed for 20 months

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

15:09 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  The Kuzminsky District Court of Moscow has sentenced Teo Logos (Anna Glazova), the heroine of an article blocked by Russias communications watchdog Roskomnadzor, to 20 months in penal colony for drug possession, RAPSI has learnt in the court.

The defendant has failed to appear in court and has been put on the federal wanted list.

The woman was arrested in late January 2019 and placed in detention. Later, she was released on travel restrictions.

According to the Interior Ministrys spokesperson Irina Volk, a headline-making publication about drugs was reviewed for banned information. It formed a positive image of people using drugs.




/ -- Trujet, Hyderabad-based Turbo Megha Airways is proud to announce the addition of BIDAR to its network of UDAN services on Friday, 7th February 2017. The chief minister of Karnataka, Mr Yeddyurappa inaugurated the service. After the launching of a new service, the chief minister travelled in the same flight to Bidar. The ministers and other legislatures accompanied him. "We reached in Bidar in just one hour 40 minutes, instead of 12 hour travel by bus. With this Trujet service travel time considerably came down. This service will help to the development of 'Kalyana Karnataka' in Bidar area," he said.

BIDAR will be connected to Bengaluru with a daily service:



Flight No



OriginDestinationDep Time (IST)Arr Time (IST)2T625BengaluruBidar11:25 am1:05 pm2T626BidarBengaluru1:35 pm3:15 pmBIDAR will be the 24th station in Trujet's network. As a committed supporter of the Honourable Prime Minister's initiative the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) - Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN), more than 65% of Trujet's flights fly to RCS airports. It is also the only carrier to fully operationalize all the routes it was awarded under RCS I, II and III.

Mr. K V Pradeep, Director, Turbo Megha Airways Pvt. Ltd. said, "Trujet has come a long way since our first flight on 12 July 2015. We can truly claim to have answered, and continue to answer, the nation's call to spread socio-economic growth to India beyond the 1st tier cities. The air connectivity we provide to Tiers 2 and 3 cities supports business and leisure travel growth to and from these cities. As air connectivity is both an economy enabler as well as an employment growth engine, it will accelerate socio-economic development beyond the Tier 1 cities. We are proud to contribute to this growth."



Col, LSN Murty, CEO, Turbo Megha Airways Pvt. Ltd, said, "Trujet is here to stay and is becoming a strong provider of regional air connectivity. In a short span of four years we have added 24 stations to our network and we are proud to have fulfilled all our commitments under RCS I, II and III. We have charted a sustainable growth strategy to become a strong regional air bridge between the emerging economic centers of our country."



Trujet will celebrate the launch of its latest station Bidar, and the arrival of spring, with a Spring Surprise of a 4 day sale priced at a base fare of Rs 699/-* across the network.

About Trujet:



Trujet is a regional air carrier promoted by Turbo Megha Airways Pvt. Ltd and is headquartered in Hyderabad. Trujet schedule offers convenient connections between important business and religious destinations. With a fleet of seven ATR-72 aircraft, Trujet currently operates to 24 stations from three hubs, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chennai to Aurangabad, Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bidar, Cudappah, Goa, Indore, Jaisalmer, Jalgaon, Kandla, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Mysuru, Nanded, Nasik, Porbandar, Rajamundry, Salem, Tirupati, Vidyanagar and Vijayawada.

Trujet tickets can be booked at www.trujet.com or through Call Centre +91-40-4090-4090. Alternatively bookings can also be made through online portals or registered travel agents.

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1087589/Trujet_Bangalore_Bidar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scientists resurrect mammoths broken genes

The research builds on evidence that the last mammoths on a lonely Arctic island suffered from a variety of genetic defects

The take-home message is that the last mammoths may have been pretty sick and unable to smell flowers, so thats just sad. 

BUFFALO, N.Y.  Some 4,000 years ago, a tiny population of woolly mammoths died out on Wrangel Island, a remote Arctic refuge off the coast of Siberia.

They may have been the last of their kind anywhere on Earth.

To learn about the plight of these giant creatures and the forces that contributed to their extinction, scientists have resurrected a Wrangel Island mammoths mutated genes. The goal of the project was to study whether the genes functioned normally. They did not.

The research builds on evidence suggesting that in their final days, the animals suffered from a medley of genetic defects that may have hindered their development, reproduction and their ability to smell.

The problems may have stemmed from rapid population decline, which can lead to interbreeding among distant relatives and low genetic diversity  trends that may damage a species ability to purge or limit harmful genetic mutations.

The key innovation of our paper is that we actually resurrect Wrangel Island mammoth genes to test whether their mutations actually were damaging (most mutations dont actually do anything), says lead author Vincent Lynch, PhD, an evolutionary biologist at the University at Buffalo. Beyond suggesting that the last mammoths were probably an unhealthy population, its a cautionary tale for living species threatened with extinction: If their populations stay small, they too may accumulate deleterious mutations that can contribute to their extinction.

The study was published on Feb. 7 in the journal Genome Biology and Evolution.

Lynch, an assistant professor of biological sciences in the UB College of Arts and Sciences, joined UB in 2019 and led the project while he was at the University of Chicago. The research was a collaboration between Lynch and scientists at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University, University of Virginia, University of Vienna and Penn State. The first authors were Erin Fry from the University of Chicago and Sun K. Kim from Northwestern University.

To conduct the study, Lynchs team first compared the DNA of a Wrangel Island mammoth to that of three Asian elephants and two more ancient mammoths that lived when mammoth populations were much larger.

The researchers identified a number of genetic mutations unique to the Wrangel Island mammoth. Then, they synthesized the altered genes, inserted that DNA into cells in petri dishes, and tested whether proteins expressed by the genes interacted normally with other genes or molecules.

The scientists did this for genes that are thought or known to be involved in a range of important functions, including neurological development, male fertility, insulin signaling and sense of smell.

In the case of detecting odors, for example, We know how the genes responsible for our ability to detect scents work, Lynch says. So we can resurrect the mammoth version, make cells in culture produce the mammoth gene, and then test whether the protein functions normally in cells. If it doesnt  and it didnt  we can infer that it probably means that Wrangel Island mammoths were unable to smell the flowers that they ate.

The research builds on prior work by other scientists, such as a 2017 paper in which a different research team identified potentially detrimental genetic mutations in the Wrangel Island mammoth, estimated to be a part of a population containing only a few hundred members of the species.

The results are very complementary, Lynch says. The 2017 study predicts that Wrangel Island mammoths were accumulating damaging mutations. We found something similar and tested those predictions by resurrecting mutated genes in the lab. The take-home message is that the last mammoths may have been pretty sick and unable to smell flowers, so thats just sad.
Michael Barnes

South Florida rider Michael Barnes has signed with Squid Hunter Racing to compete in the upcoming Daytona 200 at the Daytona International Speedway on March 14, 2020.

Barnes is a successful rider who has raced at the Daytona International Speedway for over three decades. Barnes decided to retire from professional motorcycle racing after suffering serious injuries from a wreck in 2014 but couldnt stand being on the sidelines any longer. He decided to come out of retirement to take victory at the 75th Daytona 200 back in March 2016.

Peter Strack, owner of Squid Hunter Racing, has high hopes for Barnes going into the race because of his long-standing dedication to racing and experience at the high banks.

Weve spent a lot of time, money and energy to upgrade our team and logistics. We are excited to have Barnes on board to complement our team and to improve our strategy, said Strack.

Barnes shared, Between Squid Hunter Racings technical background, both of our crews, and my many years of experience, we are confident that we will have a strong effort.

Squid Hunters team experienced great success in the ASRA Team Challenge race back in October 2019 Race of Champions when Italian rider Simone Corsi rode for the team. They are very excited to see what the outcome will be at the upcoming race and have a good feeling Barnes can bring them to victory once again.

Chief mechanic Jordan Strange has been working countless hours on the Yamaha R6 that Barnes will be racing. We are very excited to see what Barnes can do with this bike, and after the great victory at our last race, we are hungry for another win. Strange and his team are eagerly anticipating how Barnes can make this happen.

About Squid Hunter Racing

Squid Hunter Racing, owned by Peter Strack and Jordan Strange, exists to provide motorcycle race support with better precision and to build high-end race machines. The goal is to achieve a better experience on and off the track for racers and custom bike enthusiaststhis means quality over quantity in every aspect of the company. Squid Hunter Racing is proud to be sponsored by Pirelli Tires. Visit http://www.squidhunterracing.com for more information about Squid Hunter Racing.

Additional Links:

https://facebook.com/SquidHunterRacing

https://instagram.com/SquidHunterRacing
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The press in Indonesia has long learned never to take its freedoms for granted. Although international watchdogs rate our press freedom as partly free, media outlets and journalists appreciate their independence compared with colleagues such as in neighboring Thailand, where the les majeste law applies. Yet various constraints emerge even as we continue to claim to be among the worlds largest democracies.

Media leaders on Sunday will celebrate Press Day with President Joko Jokowi Widodo in Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, where we will continue to remind each other to fight against hoaxes. Of equal importance is the struggle to retain independence amid less visible threats compared with the authoritarian era. As with a les majeste law, politicians working on revising the Criminal Code reportedly wish to reinsert legal bans on insulting state symbols, including the president and vice president. For all the struggle for civil liberties, such developments ironically emerged during the last term of hugely popular President Jokowi.

Unlike the old days, the government will not revoke our press publishing licenses for such perceived insults; that ended under then-president BJ Habibie. But still, the defamation clause of the Electronic Transactions and Information Law can make the press jittery, leading to possible self-censorship. Hundreds of citizens have faced trial for defamation while advocates for freedom of expression have demanded a review of the law.

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French defence firm Thales and Kanpur-based defence manufacturer MKU announced on Friday that they will jointly develop ELFIE night vision devices (NVD) for the armed forces in India and across the world.

With this, both companies have further solidified a MoU signed in 2018 for strategic co-operation on developing optronic devices. This co-operation involves co-development of these devices at MKU's facility in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, a joint statement issued by the companies on the sidelines of DefExpo 2020 here said.

A lightweight monocular with the widest field of view, ELFIE provides unprecedented mobility and night combat capability, the statement said.

Whether hands-free (on a face mask or helmet mount) or weapon-mounted, ELFIE is suitable for left or right eye use and provides stereoscopic vision in binocular configuration, it added.

ELFIE is ideal for vehicle-driving and for paratroopers and special forces operators. When mounted on a weapon, it provides a red dot sight or laser pointer to the user, the statement said.

The integration of the first pre-series of ELFIE at MKU's facility in Kanpur is expected to be completed in the first trimester of 2020. A true model of the made in India ELFIE night vision device is expected to be available in the first trimester of 2021, it said.

Pascale Sourisse, senior executive vice-president, International Development, Thales, said, "We are enthusiastic about taking our strategic association forward with MKU with the co-development of ELFIE. This embodies the government's Make in India initiative. Coming up in the Defence Industrial Corridor of Uttar Pradesh, this versatile night vision device will be offered to the armed forces in India as well as across the world. Together with MKU, we look forward to strengthening the industrial ecosystem while also contributing towards job creation in the country."



Neeraj Gupta, managing director, MKU Limited, said, "We are delighted about this partnership with a global technology leader like Thales. This association will combine Thales expertise with the manufacturing abilities of MKU and boost local manufacturing for the defence industry. We will develop the entire supply chain and the devices will be manufactured to exacting international standards.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hotel Association of Dharamshala on Thursday suggested foreigners to postpone their visit to Dharamshala in the wake of the spread of coronavirus in China and its threat elsewhere.

Ashwani Bamba, President of Hotel Association of Dharamshala said, "We are now suggesting the foreigner tourists who have booked rooms in the hotels here to postpone their visits."

However, the government has not issued any advisory regarding postponing the visit of foreign tourists. Sunaina Sharma, Deputy Director of Tourism department said that officials have been visiting the hotels in and around Mcleodganj and circulating a declaration form to get the details about the foreign visitors.

When asked about the suggestion by the Hotel Association of Dharmashala, She said, "It must be their personal suggestion. The government has not issued any advisory of that kind."

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Kangra district, Raghav Sharma, said, "According to the directions from Government of India we are registering all the persons who have visited China and southeast Asian countries after January 1, 2020, and we have a list of 20 such persons of Kangra district."

"They recently visited China in January 2020. We have contacted ten of them till Wednesday. A team of medical experts has monitored them. No symptoms of Coronavirus were seen but we advised them to stay in their homes at least for a fortnight. We are trying to contact the rest of the persons," said Sharma.

"Apart from this, we have issued an advisory to the hotel and travel agents that if any person comes to them, he or she requires to fill up a form giving details whether they visited China or other South East Asian countries in recent time," said Deputy Commissioner.

"We also had a meeting with the Tibetan administration and gave them declaration forms.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
This is an opinion column.

Christopher Shane McKinney may not have known exactly what he wanted when he went to the Etowah County Sheriffs office in Gadsden on January 24, 2018. I need some help, he told officers, according to a lawsuit filed against the Sheriffs department last December in Northern District Court. I just need some help.

He believed people were trying to hurt him, the suit says. Maybe even kill him.

He certainly did not come to the sheriffs office to die.

Yet he did--after a physical encounter in which he was tased, handcuffed and wrestled to the ground by Etowah County Sheriff deputies and officers, hitting his head on the ground at least once, the lawsuit contends.

Sheriffs department employees illegally detained him, rifled his pockets, attempted to handcuff him, subdued him by force, and ultimately killed him by deploying tasers into sensitive areas of his upper body, according to the lawsuit, filed in December.

McKinney, who is African American, died on the concrete outside Etowah County Sheriffs Department as its employee laughed and complained about having to use unwarranted force upon a person who had committed no crime, had no weapon, the suit says. (According to reports, McKinney was taken to a Gadsden hospital, where he was declared dead.)

McKinney was 39 and a father of three, according to his obituary.

In January, the Etowah sheriffs department filed a motion to dismiss a portion, but not all of the complaint, which was filed by James McKinney, Christophers brother, on behalf of the estate. The motion, in part, states the sheriffs department is not a legal entity subject to suit."

Christopher McKinney possessed a mental illness that affected one or more major life activities, including, but not limited to, thinking, working and communicating with others, the suit alleges.

On that fateful day, Jamie Capes, an Etowah County Sheriffs employee, allegedly noticed McKinney pacing the parking lot as she walked to her car. She then saw him walk up and down the entrance stairs, the lawsuit states.

She returned inside and told Deputy Anthony Davis and Sgt. William Langdale what she saw, and both went outside to investigate, the complaint says.

Davis and Langdale asked McKinney to come inside the office, which he did, then asked his name.

I just need some help, McKinney declared. People have been hurting me.

McKinney declined to give his name and said, Thats OK, according to the complaint.

Then McKinney attempted to leave the Sheriffs Office, sliding his body out of the door as Langdale was blocking the entryway, according to the complaint. (The defendants, in a January filing, deny this.)

Langdale asked McKinney if he had identification. When McKinney said he did, Langdale grabbed McKinneys arm in one hand and grabbed McKinneys wallet out of his back pocket, then twisted McKinneys arm in an attempt to handcuff him, the lawsuit says. (Defendants deny these descriptions of the encounter.)

I didnt do anything, McKinney said. Please help me.

What happened in the next few moments was chaoticand deadly.

Langsdale pulled away and tased McKinney, who, according to the suit, attempted to pull the Taser leads out of his [upper torso].

Langsdale and Davis both converged on McKinney trying to wrestle him to the ground, the suit says.

Davis deployed his Taser at close rage into McKinneys torso and again directly into McKinneys abdomen, according to the suit. (Defendants admit a Taser was used on McKinney.)

Other officers are alleged to have joined the melee, including Corrections Officers Brandon Hare and Logan Page, says the suit. Deputies called out on the radio for additional help.

Hare allegedly tased McKinney, who falls face down on the ground, after which Page tased McKinney again. Davis then double handcuffed the now prone and inert McKinney and left [him] face down on the concrete while a crowd of Sheriffs Department employees gathered. (Defendants admit two pair (sic) of handcuffs were linked together to handcuff McKinney.)

One officer is alleged to have declared he had wasted $100.00 worth of [Taser] cartridges on [McKinney]. Another claimed his sunglasses were broken in the scuffle. (Defendants admit both things occurred.)

After a long delay, the Sheriffs deputies decided to roll the now silent McKinney onto his back, allowing his head to hit the concrete with an audible thud, the complaint reads.

Officers discussed the incident, accused McKinney of being high on drugs, according to the suit.

For the first several minutes, no Sheriffs Department employee rendered any aid, other than to walk near McKinneys body and declare that he was still breathing.

Until he died. On the concrete. With no outstanding arrest warrants, no weapon, and no, it was later discerned, according to the complaint, illegal drugs in his system.

Christopher Shane McKinney almost certainly did not come to the Etowah County Sheriffs office that day to die face down on the concrete.

James McKinney alleges Langdale, Davis, Hare and Page subjected [Christopher] McKinney to physical abuse and did so without a warrant, violating McKinneys Fourth Amendment right  to be free from arrest without probable cause and/or to be free from unreasonable seizure.

McKinney, the suit says was harmless, that he had a mental illness

[Officers] knew or should have known that McKinney is a person with a disability because it was obvious and they were alerted to that fact by their co-worker, the suit says. [And] failed to reasonably accommodate that disability

McKinney died at the hands of these officers as a result of their failure to reasonably accommodate his disability.

The suit also alleges the department has not implemented any relevant policies or trained its employees on the application of the [Americans with] Disabilities Act or the Rehabilitation Act to the interactions with citizens who seek help ...

The estate, according to the suit, requests unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, plus reasonable attorneys fees, injunctive relief and such other relief as this Court deems just and proper.

The defendants denied 25 of the allegations outlined in the complaint, including that officers left McKinney face down on the concrete while a crowd of Sheriffs Department employees gathered.

On Friday afternoon, February 7, the case is set for a telephone conference before Judge Corey L. Maze.

In his obituary, it says McKinney graduated from Gadsden High School, worked for UPS for 15 years and was a member of Mount Calvary Baptist Church.

Among the items to be considered during the 2020 state legislative session, which began Tuesday, is providing the states too-long-neglected Department of Mental Health with $18 million to build three crisis centers.

A center that could have perhaps provided Christopher McKinney with a place to gosomeplace where he might have been able to get the help he asked for.

Someplace where he may not have been tased, wrestled to the floor, double handcuffed, and died.

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
A Border Force boat returns to Dover, Kent, carrying people thought to be migrants after the Coastguard rescued a record 90 migrants who were intercepted by UK authorities on Thursday.

More than 100 migrants, including seven children, have been intercepted in the English Channel - the highest number in one day.

Five inflatable boats were stopped by Border Force, the Home Office said.

The vessels contained 102 people, nine of whom managed to get to a beach in Kent before being held by police.

They are believed to be from Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Syria.

French authorities said they had detained "around 30 people".

Dover & Deal MP Natalie Elphicke hit out at "serious security lapses" and said it "beggars belief that another flotilla of small boats got past the French again today".

It is the second day in a row to produce a record high after 90 migrants were intercepted on Thursday.

There were six incidents on Friday, spanning a time period between 1am and 10.45am.

Those that reached the shore were held at Sandgate Beach by Kent Police, while the boats stopped by Border Force contained varying numbers of people.

Ms Elphicke called for an "urgent explanation from the French as to what they are doing to get a grip on this situation".

She added: "I am mindful that the search and rescue operations this week have involved all three border force vessels, RNLI lifeboats, HM Coastguard, a plane, a helicopter, ambulance services, police and much besides.

"These are emergency services for the UK, diverted from vital day-to-day operations."

Speaking previously, Home Office director Tony Eastaugh said: "We have extra patrols on French beaches, drones, specialist vehicles and detection equipment which has been deployed to stop small boats leaving European shores.

"And it's working. Last year one hundred people smugglers were convicted for a total of 320 years."

The English Channel is the world's busiest shipping lane, with 500 to 600 ships passing through it every day.
Copyright  2020 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A slim majority of adults in New Mexico support a red flag law that would allow for the temporary removal of firearms from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others, according to a Journal Poll.

The telephone survey found that 52% of adults support the law and 37% are opposed.

The rest had mixed feelings, said it depends or wouldnt say.

The poll showed strikingly different support levels among men and women and by party affiliation.

Support for the firearms proposal was 63% among women and 64% among Democrats.

Just 41% of men and 30% of Republicans supported the bill.

We found that gender was a very large predictor of peoples support levels for the red flag laws, said Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc., which conducted the survey.

The Journal Poll also shows substantial geographic variation  with support highest in the Albuquerque area and north-central New Mexico, including Santa Fe.

Attitudes were more divided on the east side of the state and in the northwest, where more adults opposed the bill than supported it.

The Albuquerque and Santa Fe areas are strongly behind it, Sanderoff said. The two rural, conservative areas are slightly against it, and the Las Cruces area is somewhere in between.

Add it all up, he said, and a slim majority of adults favor the legislation.

Emotional debate

The firearms bill is at the center of one of the most emotional debates of the 2020 session. Through tears, supporters have shared stories of relatives who died by suicide, and opponents have testified about surviving domestic abuse and the safety provided by a firearm.

Both sides are expecting a close vote when the bill is taken up by the full Senate, perhaps as early as Friday.

The legislation, Senate Bill 5, would establish an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order Act, often called a red flag law.

The proposal would allow law enforcement officers  acting on information provided by a relative or household member  to seek a court order prohibiting someone from having firearms.

The officers decision to file a petition would be based on whether theres probable cause to believe the individual poses a significant danger of causing imminent personal injury to self or others.

A court could order the immediate seizure of the persons firearms for up to 10 days, until a hearing can be held. After a hearing, the firearms ban could be extended one year.

The legislation is a priority of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams. Thirty of the states 33 sheriffs, however, oppose the bill.

The proposal has passed two Senate committees this session and is ready for consideration by the full Senate. If approved there, it will move to the House, where similar legislation was passed last year.

Subset differences

The Journal Poll found significant differences in support for the bill among men and women.

Support was 63% among women, with just 26% opposed.

Among men, 47% were opposed and 41% in favor.

Registered voters were about as likely as the broader adult population to support the bill.

Support for the bill among Democrats was 64%, and 60% of Republicans opposed it.

Independent voters  or those affiliated with a minor party  had support levels roughly in line with the broader adult population, with 50% in favor and 37% opposed.

Adults in the Albuquerque area were more likely to support the law than people in the state overall. Support was 57% in the Albuquerque area, or about twice the level of opposition.

Opposition to the bill ran higher on the east side of the state, near Texas, where 49% of those surveyed opposed the law and 45% supported it. In northwestern New Mexico  including Farmington and parts of the Navajo Nation  opposition was 49%, with support at 43%.

Although the adults in the conservative rural counties are less supportive of the red flag legislation, Sanderoff said, they are divided on the issue.

Polling information

Heres how the question was asked:

The New Mexico Legislature is considering a bill known as a Red Flag Law. This law will allow enforcement officers to temporarily remove guns from people who have been found by a judge to be a danger to themselves or others.

Supporters say this bill would reduce gun violence including suicides and lessen the risk of shootings, while opponents say it would deny people their due process and their constitutional right to bear arms, without having committed a crime.

Do you support or oppose this Red Flag Law?

The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, statewide sample of 515 New Mexico adults that is representative of the age, gender, race and geographical region of the states adult population.

The poll was conducted from Jan. 31 through Feb. 4. The voter sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points. The margin of error grows for subsamples.

All interviews were conducted by live, professional interviewers, with multiple callbacks to households that did not initially answer the phone.

Both cellphone numbers (75%) and landlines (25%) of New Mexico adults were used.

Journal Capitol Bureau Chief Dan Boyd contributed to this article.

Poll results: Support for NMs Red Flag Law by Albuquerque Journal on Scribd
Police composite of Juli Begum (left) and and daughters Anika and Thanha Khanum (Metropolitan Police/PA)

An abusive husband who fled the country after murdering his vulnerable estranged wife and their two young daughters more than a decade ago has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 40 years.

Chef Mohammed Abdul Shakur, now 46, spent years on the run after killing 26-year-old Juli Begum and their daughters Anika and Thanha Khanum, aged five and six, on New Years Day in 2007.

Shakur fled to his home country of Bangladesh on the next available flight to evade justice where he confessed his crimes to his sister-in-law, warning her: If you tell the police I will murder you and your children.

He later moved to India, illegally, and went to ground for several years before his whereabouts became known.

Shakur denied three counts of murder but declined to give evidence in his trial.

It is difficult to imagine three more vulnerable and defenceless victimsJudge Richard Marks QC

The jury deliberated for two days to find him guilty of all the charges.

Sentencing Shakur at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Judge Richard Marks QC said: This was a wicked, vicious and sustained attack on two little girls, and on your wife who at 4ft and 8in was a tiny woman.

By contrast, at around 6ft tall and well built, you were no match for her whatsoever.

It is difficult to imagine three more vulnerable and defenceless victims.

You, to this day, have not shown one iota of remorse for what you did.

He said: The tenor of your defence is that these killings were not done by you  a defence the jury saw through.

The judge sentenced him to a 40-year jail term, less the six years, six months and six days spent in custody in India and the UK.

The court heard Shakur had since accepted the jurys findings.

He showed little emotion as the judge returned his sentence.

Police went to the family home in East Ham, east London, on January 10 2007 after concerns from Ms Begums relatives.

The body of 4ft 8in Ms Begum was discovered beneath a bedcover with Anika laid across her and Thanha nearby.

By the end of the week, Shakur had fled to Bangladesh telling associates his father was gravely ill, but was eventually arrested in India in May 2013 before being extradited in April 2019.

The couple had an arranged marriage in Bangladesh when Ms Begum was 19, but Shakur had repeatedly been violent towards his wife and did not like their children much because they were not boys, the court heard.

Jurors were not told of Ms Begums further claim that he had raped her three or four times around the end of 2000.

While working in an Indian restaurant in Frimley, Surrey, Shakur was paid cash in hand and was allowed to live above his work, jurors heard.

He sent money to his family in Bangladesh while Ms Begum received child benefits, the court heard.

The couple had rowed over his immigration status and financial contribution to the household in the run-up to the massacre, jurors were told.

The sentence was handed down at the Old Bailey (Nick Ansell/PA)

Junior prosecutor Kerry Broome broke down in tears during a previous hearing as she read out how the murder impacted the victims distraught family.

In her statement, Ms Begums sister Sheli described how their mother, Karful Nessa, would cry in the middle of the night and was so depressed family members would have to sit with her.

Ms Begum said: She (Ms Nessa) suffered from depression and it affected her health.

She used to cry all the time, she told me all the time she couldnt concentrate and couldnt sleep.

She said she could hear Thanha and Anika crying out to her.

Ms Begum added: I see them in my mind.

The only thing I can think of is them, not my husband or my own children.

It has destroyed my life  I cannot watch the television or see a film without something triggering back to what happened.

It will be with us for the rest of our lives.

Speaking after the case, Detective Sergeant Amjad Sharif said: Shakurs sentencing brings to a close what has been a protracted and traumatic time for Julis family.

We will likely never be able to understand what could have driven Shakur to snap and end the lives of his wife and two daughters so violently and callously.

In the years since, Juli, Anika and Thanhas family have had to endure the most unimaginable torment.

At times it must have seemed that there would never be justice  Now at last Shakur will serve a substantial custodial sentence for the horrific crimes he committed.
MG Motor India's studio in Bengaluru's Residency Road is unique. It is small, just 500 sq. ft., and possibly one of the very few car showrooms in India without a car. Instead, it uses augmented reality (AR) tools to give potential customers the feel of MG cars. The customers get to customise technical aspects such as variant, transmission and fuel type, and even define the look and feel of the vehicle with over 70 accessories. "Traditional retail, due to spatial restrictions, cannot achieve such hyper-personalisation. This enhanced engagement will translate into increased conversion of enquiries into sales, better profitability and higher productivity. The dealers can minimise operational expenditures as they don't have to manage inventory," says Gaurav Gupta, Chief Commercial Officer, MG Motor India.

MG Motor is a small example of what is turning out to be a huge trend - use of AR by industries as diverse as oil & gas (HPCL/GAIL), manufacturing (Schneider Electric), real estate (Lodha Group) and retail (Urban Ladder, Pepperfry) to run plants efficiently, build/design projects, sell things and even carry out routine maintenance work more efficiently. AR is also helping healthcare providers plan complex surgeries.

AR enhances the viewing experience by superimposing computer-generated content - image, video or sound - in the real world, viewed through hardware such as smartphones, tablets and special glasses and headgear. According to Statista, the worldwide market for AR, is forecast to rise from $3.5 billion in 2017 to over $198 billion in 2025. "The AR market in India alone will be around $1 billion taking into account the opportunities in the consumer and enterprise space," says Hemanth Satyanarayana, CEO, Imaginate, a seed-funded extended reality start-up based in the US, with offices at Hyderabad and Bengaluru in India. AR is often clubbed with VR (virtual reality) and is graduating towards extended reality (XR). The latter includes all real-and-virtual environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. "AR and VR - collectively classified as XR - are transforming our connection with information, experiences and each other. However, XR as a concept is in its infancy in India and most solutions seem to be at the proof of concept stage," says Saurabh Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Manufacturing, Accenture Strategy. However, this is changing fast.

Simplifying Business

"AR helps users enhance and better visualise information. In oil & gas and aerospace sectors, it is being used to train people to run complex engineering parts. In real estate, it is being used to enable potential buyers to experience the spaces. It is also used during construction where, using the image of a particular site sub-section such as complex wiring or piping, the AR tab can give a step-by-step instruction on what action to take next," says N. Chandramouli, CEO, TRA Research.

Take Schneider Electric. The company's factory in Bengaluru has integrated digital tools such as AR to give operators visibility into operations and maintenance, driving a 10 per cent reduction in time taken to repair critical equipment. A common application on shop floors, especially in industries such as aviation and oil & gas, is use of live data and predictive maintenance using visuals that keep tabs on the status of the machinery. "Schneider Electric's smart factories in Hyderabad and Bangalore are equipped with EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor - an AR application which offers real-time information at all times. This application improves operational efficiency with AR - enabling operators to superimpose the current data and virtual objects onto machine, cabinet or plant," says Javed Ahmad, Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain-India, Middle East & Africa, Schneider Electric India.

"Use of AR in industrial sector for troubleshooting will transform the rudimentary servicing procedure and pave the way for Industry 4.0 revolution. AR servicing applications for devices measure parameters of gas and fluids in machinery and so on," says an ABB spokesperson. This helps the engineer in troubleshooting and involves identification of device through Quick Response (QR) codes provided in the device or image recognition, identification of error by decoding QR code and presentation of solutions through AR.

Oil & gas companies in many West Asian countries are using AR to increase productivity and safety. Those carrying out maintenance use remote servicing capabilities that connect technicians with technical experts using in-call AR on the device's screen. "As conventional AR devices and hardware cannot be operated in most classified zones in a refinery due to risk of explosion, special explosion-proof wearable hardware is used in such cases ," says Raman Talwar, Founder & CEO, Simulanis. Working on similar lines, New Delhi-based Simulanis has developed applications and content which help companies such as HPCL and GAIL train employees and carry out remote assistance and troubleshooting/repair. In oil & gas, Shell is using AR in geological data visualisation in collaboration with researchers worldwide. Simulanis has been building interactive and immersive AR-VR-MR/XR applications for industrial training across manufacturing sectors such as pharmaceutical, FMCG, automotive, automation, oil & gas, engineering and construction, paints, power, energy and chemicals, to name a few.

"AR technologies have advanced the experience of human-to-computer interactions for changing the customer experience. We are experiencing it in our day-to-day conversations with customers. From proof of concept to live projects, many innovations have shown to the world that AR has good commercial value and future potential," says Sumit Sood, Managing Director, Asia Pacific (APAC), GlobalLogic. GlobalLogic has developed a solution called Guided Installation which ensures more efficient assembling operations in the construction industry.

Siemens Healthineers has been using AR for education and training medical staff. Now, it is looking further. "We are working to combine AR with our cinematic rendering technology to improve communication with referrers and patients and pre-surgical planning," says Gerd Hoefner, MD and President, Siemens Healthcare. For example, while studying parts of a patient's anatomy, they can zoom in, zoom out, enlarge, rotate and also slice through the regions of interest. The 3D/4D technology brings images to life.

With increasing number of businesses using AR, Mindtree has established an Immersive Aurora facility that gives opportunities to enhance customer experience across AR and MR touch points in Bangalore. In January 2019, the Kerala Start-up Mission had joined hands with US-based Unity Technologies to launch a centre of excellence for AR/VR and gaming.

Consumer Engagement

AR has become a big platform to inform and engage customers in sectors ranging from automobiles to education, real estate to travel. Take Lodha Group. "AR gives us an edge as we take our business to a new level by meeting customers at their doorstep. The tool provides a detailed virtual tour of the property and the locality. We aim to integrate it with service providers such as packers and movers, home decor players and others to give buyers a seamless experience of moving into a Lodha property. Customers will be able to visualise the apartment and design the interiors, giving a new dimension to the property- buying experience," says Rahul Mahajan, EVP-IT, Lodha Group.

In construction, a lot of things such as 3D renders, elevation/floor plans, electrical looping/plumbing diagrammes and installation plans are created during the designing phase. These need to be referred to by members from different teams like suppliers, contractors and designers. "It is imperative that any change is communicated correctly to the right stakeholders as costs associated with not doing so are huge. We intend to operationalise the use of AR for this by late 2020," says Rohit Modi, Chief Technology Officer, Livspace. This means the different teams will be able to visualise the change made by any team and work out the changes required on their part in real time.

Even online furniture retailers UrbanLadder and Pepperfry are using AR to superimpose furniture in the room to help the buyer see how it will blend into the house. Lenskart is using it to help buyers try on spectacles in a virtual trial room.

AR has a role in marketing as well. Tagbin has a platform for designing experiential spaces. Recently, it created an experiential zone at the 50th International Film Festival of India at Goa. It has also created experience centres for BPCL, IOCL, GAIL and Myntra using AR. New Delhi-based Augtraveler has designed an AR app that helps users learn more about historical sites and monuments. Tata Motors recently used AR to help visitors experience cars at the Geneva Motor Show.

The Hardware Angle

Be it industrial use or consumer AR application, AR requires special hardware with cameras, sensors and apps for superimposing relevant content in real time as well as track real-time motion and movement. The hardware is divided into handheld devices such as smartphones, tablets and head-mounted displays, including smart glasses and headgears. "Most organisations are still using handheld devices because the companies already have them. Head-mounted devices (this includes glasses) are starting to get more traction because many organisations recognise the need for their workers to have their hands free for work," says Tuong H. Nguyen, Sr. Principal Analyst, Gartner. This depends on the application and the complexity of the application.

Among handheld devices, Apple's iPad is one of the widely used hardware for accessing AR apps across consumers and enterprises. The Vuzix Blade smart glasses use Waveguide optics to experience AR glasses, projecting real-time content for seamless integration of digital and real world for operations such as workplace instructions, quality assurance and maintenance. With Blade, users can choose between hands-free voice control or smooth touchpad navigation. Epson has a Moverio AR hardware with smartglasses for consumers and professionals and smart headset for feature-rich industrial applications.

Microsoft's Hololens is an MR headset that can project 3D holograms onto the lenses. "Today's AR devices do not have the right form factor for consumers. Rather than looking at small screens in our hands, meaningful data will be presented to us through lightweight, low-cost AR displays. Additionally, brain-computer interfaces and Natural User Interfaces will change the way we interact with future AR platforms," says Karan Parikh, CEO, Green Rain Studios LLP - a US-based real-time graphics studio.

The Challenges

Poorly designed experiences, high cost of solutions and hardware remain the problem areas. "Adoption, costs, content and talent are other issues of this industry. Since each is dependent on the other, unless there is larger adoption, the costs will not come down and the content will be expensive to create. Talent only gets attracted to where the future lies," adds Chandramouli.

The cost of developing an enterprise solution can range anywhere between a few lakhs to a few crores, depending upon the scale of the project. As the cost of hardware makes it expensive to implement, AR solution developers have started offering their services, including the solutions and hardware, as bundled propositions.

Expect an AR revolution when costs are really taken care of.

@nidhisinghal
Safety violations and patient overcrowding have long plagued a California psychiatric hospital that served as an inspiration for Portlands Unity Center for Behavioral Health, suggesting that some of the trouble local hospital leaders continue to face should have been foreseeable.

In 2014, Oregon hospital officials began eagerly promoting the California endeavor, dubbed the Alameda Model, as a humane, compassionate alternative that could be adopted in Portland to better treat people with mental illness.

What apparently went unspoken during their sales pitch to local leaders: Numerous red flags at the California center, culminating in a high-profile safety battle between nurses and hospital administrators only a few months before Unity opened its doors in early 2017.

The troubles in California are coming into sharper focus only now, as Unity struggles to remain financially solvent and complains of crowding so intense that it is always at capacity in its ER. The latest problems at Unity follow state and federal investigations in 2018 that revealed incidents of sexual assaults, neglect and even two preventable deaths. Unity is now asking the state for more money to help address its staggering operating losses.

The ongoing challenges at Unity echo several issues in California, raising important questions about the underlying premise behind the Unity Center and how it was supposed to benefit vulnerable patients.

Alameda Health System, which operates the California facility, declined to say if its officials told Portland hospital leaders about their challenges during on-site visits to the facility around 2014 or 2015. Because of staffing turnover, tracking down an answer would be difficult, an Alameda Health spokeswoman said.

Officials for Legacy Health, which spearheaded the Portland project, declined to say if they knew about problems in California or shared them with key decision-makers and dignitaries locally.

A former nursing supervisor at the California psychiatric facility told The Oregonian/OregonLive this week that he remembered pulling aside a Portland hospital official during their tour, hoping to temper excitement about the Alameda model.

I pulled her into a room and I told her, Look, this is bulls---, this is dangerous, said Fred Tatum, who worked as a nurse manager at the facility for four years, until 2018. Tatum said he was fired by the hospital in retaliation for raising safety concerns.

Officials and advocates in Portland say concerns about the California model never made it to them.

I wouldve liked to have known, said Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran, who advocated for Unity before she was elected to the county board.

I dont know if they knew or not, Meieran said of Legacy officials, but they absolutely should have known and they should have done something.

To be sure, the problems at the Unity Center and the California facility are similar but not identical, and psychiatric facilities often treat volatile patients. Both have extensive reports of patient and staff assaults. But the Unity Centers recent issues with constant crowding have been blamed on an inability to move patients to the Oregon State Hospital for longer-term care. Many of the challenges in California have been linked to overcrowding in the facilitys psychiatric emergency room, which sometimes admits twice as many patients each day as Portland.

Legacy officials who operate the Unity Center said a planning team not only researched best practices but visited and looked closely at several facilities, including the California hospital.

Ultimately the model implemented at Unity Center was based upon local expertise and the knowledge of our unique community needs, Legacy spokesman Brian Terrett said in a statement. The safety of Unity Centers patients and staff is our highest priority.

Alameda Health System said steps have been taken to reduce overcrowding by increasing the number of psychiatrists, working with community agencies and restricting some psychiatric patient transfers from regional emergency rooms. However, the health system did not directly address patient safety issues in its comment to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

Alameda County has embraced a culture of care when dealing with individuals who are experiencing a behavioral health emergency, spokeswoman Jeanne Herrera said in a statement. John George Psychiatric Hospital is proud to be a part of that culture, of getting individuals who may do themselves or others harm into appropriate care as opposed to being held in medical emergency rooms, county jails, or left on the streets.

California hospital example was convincing

The John George Psychiatric Hospital opened in 1992 and became a regional clearinghouse for people in Alameda County in need of acute psychiatric care. The facility includes a specialized psychiatric emergency room for up to 24-hour care, with recliners and benches, plus an in-patient branch with 69 beds for patients needing longer-term treatment of up to about a week.

The project began receiving national attention in response to a 2013 study co-authored by Scott Zeller, who at the time was Alamedas chief of psychiatric emergency services. The study argued that it would be cheaper and faster for hospitals to treat psychiatric patients in a single specialized facility, like John George, than in hospital emergency rooms across the region.

In Oregon, Legacy officials took notice.

Officials proposed consolidating psychiatric services under one roof for Legacy, OHSU Hospital, Adventist Health Portland and Kaiser Permanente. The facility in Northeast Portland, near the Moda Center, now features a psychiatric emergency room with about 40 recliners for up to 24-hour stays and an in-patient branch with 107 beds for longer-term needs  a near replica of John Georges set up.

As part of their pitch, local hospital officials created presentations highlighting John George as a success. They noted that three-quarters of patients at John George were discharged from the specialized emergency room and avoided unnecessary hospitalization.

We feel this is a new model that will address the needs of individuals, Chris Farentinos, the former Legacy behavioral health director and first head of Unity, said in a presentation to a community board on policing reforms in 2015.

Legacy officials even organized a trip to California to help sell the concept.

Meieran tagged along. An ER doctor and budding mental health advocate, she jumped at the chance to visit John George as part of a tour with Legacy and OHSU officials.

Not yet elected to the county board, Meieran said she paid her own way for one day of a two-day tour in 2014.

What Meieran saw and heard was convincing. She remembers an Alameda Health official telling the group that they used no restraints on patients and had no violence.

The Alameda officials admitted to bumps in the road at the beginning -- use of restraints had gone up initially, for instance. But Meieran and the others were assured that those problems had been figured out.

It was so inspiring and hopeful, Meieran said. Going from this horrible system we have where were torturing people essentially to going to this model where we can help people heal.

After the tour, Meieran became an enthusiast and adviser to the project even though she never held a decision-making role. She spoke at public meetings independently and backed up Legacy officials presentation, saying that she had seen the model and believed in it.

Meieran said she didnt learn about issues at John George until approached by The Oregonian/OregonLive this week.

Problems made headlines

John Georges regulatory troubles stretch back at least until 1998, according to media reports. Documented problems were still mounting in 2004, when a patient beat a doctor to death at the facility.

Regulators documented more workplace safety violations in 2009 and 2010, federal records show. Then, in late 2015 -- about a year before Unity opened in Portland -- problems exploded publicly.

Staff wrote an open letter in November 2015 saying the psychiatric emergency room was in a crisis of its own.

The lack of transparency and dishonesty about the feasibility and practical repercussions of the

Alameda Model has disallowed a larger, necessary conversation about what happens to Alameda

County's neediest patients, the letter read.

News reports soon described mass overcrowding in the psychiatric emergency room that led to dangerous situations, including assaults.

A TV news crew separately obtained undercover videos showing what was described as appalling conditions with patients sometimes sleeping on the floor in the psychiatric emergency room.

County leaders acknowledged overcrowding issues and worked publicly to find solutions.

But problems remain to this day.

Investigators for the California Department of Public Health have cited the facility about 15 time for continued patient safety issues since 2015, records show. In 2018, John George administrators had to send a letter to hospital employees reminding them that they are required to investigate and report allegations of sexual assault among patients.

State investigators found several patients in the past few years had made credible claims about being groped or penetrated without their consent that were not properly examined by staff, according to documents obtained by the newsroom through a public records request.

Media reports continued into 2019, highlighting more than six dozen instances of violence against staff over the past year.

One high-profile incident led to a $11,250 fine in 2018 for failing to protect employees. In that case, a patient with a documented history of violence at John George, admitted under an alias, punched an employee in the face and slammed the employees head into the ground, according to public records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The employee was knocked unconscious and suffered a seizure, records show.

State workplace safety inspectors issued another proposed fine, of $19,125, at the end of 2019. The facility lacked a written policy for communicating important patient information between staff, according to records obtained by The Oregonian/OregonLive. Staff didnt communicate a patients mental status to one another, and the patient didnt receive anti-psychotic medication as scheduled. The patient, who had a history of violence toward staff, pounded a nurse in the head and elbowed another staffer in the mouth in June 2019.

Hospital officials are contesting the fine.

In all, Californias Division of Occupational Safety and Health has conducted 19 on-site inspections and issued 20 citations tied to John George since 1993, a spokesman said. Since 2000, related fines actually paid by the hospital have totaled more than $50,000.

Cal/OSHA spokesman Frank Polizzi said that the psychiatric hospital industry is considered high-hazard in California because of the injury rate.

Rachel Odes, a nurse at John George who works in both the emergency room and the in-patient wing, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that problems continue, even after steps were taken to restrict emergency room admissions from as many as 80 patients to 50.

Odes said she has personally witnessed many assaults, including patients punching other patients in the face and attacking older staff members. Odes is listed in state records as a witness in to the June 2019 assault.

Rather than a therapeutic environment, she said, patients awaiting admission from the emergency center to the in-patient facility are left with others in mental health crisis inside an open living-room concept, sometimes for longer than a day.

Its 36 hours where they dont have a bed, cant close the door, they cant turn the lights off, Odes said of John George. Thats the big lie of it. What do those hours actually look like?

Ann Kasper has first-hand experience with John George and Unity Center.

The Portland mental health advocate said she visited John George a few months after Legacys tour, as part of her research to make suggestions about how Unity should be designed. Kasper has experienced several short-term stays in mental health hospitals and was invited to be part of several committees as an advocate who has experienced the system that helped guide Unity decisions before it opened.She was so disturbed by her visit, she had trouble getting out of bed the next day.

Kasper said she saw patients share plates of food because there wasnt enough for everyone. There were too many people packed into one room and the recliners were too close together. Everyone was on top of each other and the room wasnt inviting.

Kasper said she later told a Legacy official about her concerns with the Alameda Model, but nothing ever came of that conversation.

Later, she told a state committee that created rules to allow Unity to open about her concerns at John George. She pushed for Unity to admit fewer people in the emergency room and build more space in between recliners.

Kasper said she has been treated at Unity a few times, most recently Jan. 15. She still sees problems with the way Unity is designed, but said she doesnt feel as bad there as she felt at John George.

Being put in a room without barriers, she said of Unity, with 40 other people, and youre in the most sensitive time in your life doesnt work for everybody.

-- Molly Harbarger and Brad Schmidt

mharbarger@oregonian.com

bschmidt@oregonian.com

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
Of the 21 medical students of Dalian University, 15 are girls and they decided to return to India after the area in which they were residing witnessed a significant increase in the number of cases.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ministry of external affairs on Thursday initiated steps to bring back 21 Malayali students who are stranded in China following the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Efforts are being made to evacuate the students who are stranded at Kunming airport in China.

Of the 21 medical students of Dalian University, 15 are girls and they decided to return to India after the area in which they were residing witnessed a significant increase in the number of cases.

According to reports, the students could not return earlier as their visas were to be renewed. They got their visas renewed the other day. Subsequently they decided to return on a Scoot Airlines flight

via Singapore on February 3.

However, when the students reached the airport they were told that only Singapore nationals were permitted to board the flight.

This was due to the ban imposed on the arrival of foreign nationals from China in Singapore.
There were fears over the deadly coronavirus in a nine-month-old baby in Northern Ireland tonight after a mother rushed the infant to hospital following a trip to China.

The baby had travelled back from Hong Kong with its parents last week before it began having respiratory problems, Belfast Live reported.

The mother rushed the child to A&E at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry on Thursday after informing medics who were awaiting their arrival.

It comes as the number of confirmed UK cases was raised to three today after a patient, believed to be a man in his 40s and 50s, returned from Singapore.

The mother rushed the child to A&E at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry (pictured) on Thursday after informing medics who were awaiting their arrival

Public Health Agency NI said in a statement tonight: 'The Public Health Agency is continuing to work with partners across the UK including Public Health England and our local Health Trusts on this issue.

'As part of this, the health service here is monitoring for any potential cases of novel Coronavirus.

'A helpline has been established for anyone in Northern Ireland who has travelled to China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Macau in the past 14 days.

'We are not providing a running commentary on numbers of suspected cases in Northern Ireland. We will not be commenting on numbers of people being screened, and we cannot comment on any individual cases.'

The third person to test positive for coronavirus in the UK, believed to be the first Briton infected by the deadly contagion, went to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night.

He was rushed to Guy's Hospital in London on Thursday morning where he will remain quarantined for at least two weeks in a specialist infectious diseases unit.

It comes almost a week after two Chinese nationals, a University of York student and his mother, were confirmed to have the lethal virus and they have been quarantined at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.

The third person to test positive for coronavirus in the UK went to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms before being rushed to Guy's Hospital in London this morning. It comes almost a week after two Chinese nationals, a University of York student and his mother, were confirmed to have the lethal virus and they have been quarantined at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle. Meanwhile 93 others are quarantined on the Wirral after being evacuated from Wuhan - the epicentre of the virus - while another among them was rushed to a hospital in Oxford after falling ill on the flight back to RAF Brize Norton on Sunday night

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China.

The latest case raises fears the virus is now circulating in higher numbers than previously thought outside of the mainland. NHS bosses are expected to warn GPs to be on red alert for patients with symptoms from other Asian nations later today.

Downing Street issued updated travel advice tonight warning Britons flying back from nine countries to phone NHS 111 if they feel even slightly unwell.

Passengers who have arrived from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau, should call the NHS 111 service.

It comes amid mounting pressure on ministers to ban all travellers from coronavirus-hit China after 16 countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand and Saudi Arabia took the firm action.

The Government's new advice added that the nine countries had been 'identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases.'

The patient went to A&E at the Royal Sussex in Brighton on Sunday night after suffering from flu-like symptoms before being transferred this morning to Guy's Hospital in London (pictured)

Downing Street has been slammed for its 'passive' response to the outbreak, with officials torn apart for being days behind other nations in launching a mission to evacuate British expats stuck in the epicentre of Wuhan.

Meanwhile thousands of travellers from the disease-stricken country have been pouring into Britain every day without being properly tested for the infection, prompting calls for a similar blanket ban.

It comes as more than 28,000 people have been infected worldwide and the death toll has climbed to 630. The overwhelming majority are in China, but more than 200 people with the illness have been reported in over two dozen other countries.
A Cape May County man was sentenced to five years in state prison for soliciting a 14-year-old Canadian girl to send him sexually explicit images of herself, New Jersey authorities said Friday.

Shawn Patrick Rose, Jr. must also register as a sex offender under Megans Law and be subject to lifetime parole, according to the state Attorney Generals Office. The 22-year-old Woodbine man pleaded guilty in October to manufacturing child pornography and impairing or debauching the morals of a child for his chats with the Canadian teen.

New Jersey authorities began investigating Rose based on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which reported that an online hosting company found a customer who was uploading child pornography, officials said.

Detectives traced the illicit uploads to Roses account, IP address and email, according to authorities. Investigators also discovered Rose chatted with underage girls, including another 14-year-old from South Carolina.

A full forensic examination of Roses cell phone revealed sexually explicit files of the 14-year-old victim in Canada, authorities said. Those messages were sent on social media and involved explicit images. Rose was arrested May 11, 2017 when detectives with the states Division of Criminal Justice searched his home.

Through this interstate and international investigation, we uncovered an online child predator who, in addition to uploading child pornography, was sexually exploiting underage girls he met on social media, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said in a statement. This case is a cautionary tale for parents, who need to speak to their children about predators like Rose who use social media and chat apps to manipulate victims.

Rose pleaded to contributing to the delinquency of a minor in South Carolina and served 700 days in jail there after being arrested in New Jersey.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.coms newsletters.
Mexico is now the wall. President Trump got his wish.

The heart-wrenching images documenting a recent confrontation in the state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala, are evidence of this. Dozens of Mexican National Guard troops equipped with helmets, batons and transparent shields coalesced on the highway connecting the Mexican cities of Ciudad Hidalgo and Tapachula to stop a caravan of migrants heading to the United States from Central America.

The guardsmen used pepper spray on the caravan, which as of mid-January included about 4,000 people, many of them women and children. In the end, hundreds were detained, sent back to Guatemala or deported to Honduras. A spokeswoman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned the actions of the National Guard, saying that the use of force to stop and disperse immigrants should be avoided.

Mexico has effectively turned into an extension of Mr. Trumps immigration police beyond American territory. And this is the case on multiple fronts: On the southern border with Guatemala, they prevent Central American migrants from coming into Mexico; on the northern one, they block those seeking entry to the United States from leaving. The decision of Mexicos President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also known as AMLO, to follow this approach is misguided. He should let migrants continue their journey north.

Under the Migrant Protection Protocols program, which the Trump administration introduced in January 2019, asylum seekers who attempt to enter the United States at the U.S.-Mexico border may be required to stay in Mexico while the authorities make a decision regarding their case. As of November 2019, over 56,000 people had been sent back to Mexico to wait for the outcome of their applications, according to Human Rights Watch.
VICTORIA - Two more presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in British Columbia, where a total of four people have now been sickened with the illness.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry addresses the media during a news conference regarding the coronavirus in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VICTORIA - Two more presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in British Columbia, where a total of four people have now been sickened with the illness.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said a man and woman, both visitors from China, have tested positive for the virus that is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan.

Henry said Thursday the latest cases involve people who'd been in China's Hubei province and that they're linked to a woman who was diagnosed Tuesday in the Vancouver area.

Officials are confident one of the newly diagnosed people is the source of the virus in that household, she said, adding he's a young, healthy man who had a very mild illness and did not seek medical attention.

All the people in the household are isolated in a home and being monitored by the Vancouver Coastal Health authority, she said.

Anyone who has travelled to Hubei province should self-isolate for 14 days and contact public health officials for support, Henry said of new recommendations for people travelling to B.C.

"This is a really important measure for us to connect with people in the community, to provide them with the support and advice they need," she said, adding communities must work together as the virus spreads around the world.

However, she said some people from China have reported being ostracized and others facing the same reaction may fear contacting health authorities.

"We have been hearing some very disturbing references to China and Chinese people and the fact that Chinese communities are feeling at risk here," Henry said.

"If we start ostracizing people because they're sick that makes it much more difficult for us to do our job in public health, to identify people and to be able to support and monitor them when they have this illness."

Health Minister Adrian Dix said people should feel confident their privacy will be protected if they are ill and know that public-health officials will support them.

"It's not just the tolerance of Canadian society and something to be celebrated in the abstract it's a real strength for our public health-care system," he said.

As with all cases, the latest ones will be confirmed at a national laboratory in Winnipeg.

The virus has been linked to over 560 deaths, most of them in China. Canada now has seven cases of the illness, including three in Ontario.

The first plane carrying 176 people from China began its trip Thursday and was expected to refuel in Vancouver before heading to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Ontario, where it is scheduled to arrive Friday.

Those passengers will begin 14 days under quarantine at the military base.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.
What just happened? Microsoft has put its hardware and Windows Experience teams under a new single 'Device + Windows' unit that'll be led by Panos Panay, the current chief product officer. With Windows Client under his supervision, Panay will take over from Joe Belfiore, Microsoft's corporate vice president, who'll be moving to the company's Office group when the restructuring goes into effect on February 25.

Panos Panay has been leading Microsoft's hardware efforts for several years now and is best known for his work on the Surface lineup of devices, which he passionately speaks about during the company's hardware events.

Redmond has now decided to give him the reigns of the software experience underpinning those devices as well. Initially reported by ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, Microsoft's internal reorganization is set to combine the Windows Experience and Surface hardware teams into a single team, which will report to Panay.

Mary also shared an excerpt from Panay's internal email to Microsoft employees regarding his new role.

Personally I'm very excited to lead the Windows Client for Microsoft, which will help us streamline our decision-making processes, be clear on our priorities, and deliver the best end user experiences from silicon through operating systems across all Microsoft apps and service connected devices (OEMs and Surface). We believe this will make the Windows Client experience better for the entire PC ecosystem. Designing hardware and software together will enable us to do a better job on our long term Windows bets (dual screen, silicon diversity, connectivity, app platform, etc.) and having a single point of Windows Client Experience leadership driving consistent priorities and resourcing across all of Windows client will help all of us accelerate innovation and improve execution. This is such an amazing time and opportunity to bring more energy to Windows and our customers using Windows. It won't be easy, but extending our growth will be key for our company strategy.

It's also rumored that Panos was considering a leave of absence from Microsoft and could have ended up joining Apple. His new role, however, is certainly more empowering and would enable him to realize his vision by controlling both the software and hardware side of things.

It remains to be seen how the user experience of Windows benefits from Panos, though let's hope that sorting out inconsistencies with Settings/Control Panel and effective implementation of the company's Fluent Design System are some of his priorities.
On each season of Lifetimes Married at First Sight, there is often at least one cast member who doesnt seem fully committed to the process from the very beginning. On MAFS Season 10, there were already two grooms who took off their rings during their honeymoon in Panama, leading fans to believe they werent ready for marriage at all.

Meka Jones and Michael Watson argued on the plane ride to Panama and spent most of their honeymoon in separate rooms. Michael removed his ring and said he didnt want to put it back on until he felt worthy of it.

Meanwhile, Zach Justice and Mindy Shiben struggled due to Zachs lack of physical attraction to his wife. Zach, too, wasnt wearing his ring by the end of the couples honeymoon.

Married at First Sight viewers werent impressed with either new husbands lack of commitment to the experiment. Many of them took to Twitter to suggest both men shouldnt have signed up for the show at all.

Mindy Shiben | MAFS Lifetime via Instagram

Michael didnt wear his ring because he said he felt he was failing

Meka and Michael fell out after only one day of marriage because of Michaels insistence that the couple have sex on their honeymoon. Meka felt Michael was giving her an unfair ultimatum and wondered whether she could trust him.

The Married at First Sight couple spent most of their time in Panama in separate suites as a result. When they finally met up, Meka wondered why Michael was no longer wearing his ring.

My husband isnt even wearing his ring right now. Its hard, she told producers about her disappointment in her honeymoon.

Michael, meanwhile, explained that he didnt want to wear his wedding ring until he felt he was honoring the promises he made to Meka on their wedding day. Its disappointing, he said. I take the vows and the commitment very seriously, but I feel like Im failing as a husband.

Meka was hurt by Michaels decision. Still, she agreed to take off her own ring until he felt ready to put his back on as well. While they finally spent the night together on the last night of their honeymoon, Michael and Meka still werent wearing their rings by the time they left Panama.

Zach claimed he forgot to wear his ring

Mindy pointed out Zachs bandless ring finger on the last night of their honeymoon.

Youve really been listening to me and I really appreciate that, the Married at First Sight star told her husband at a romantic dinner. But today I noticed that you werent wearing your ring.



It hurt my feelings, she admitted.



Zach claimed that it was merely an oversight and that he didnt mean to take off the ring. I cant make excuses for it, he said. I just genuinely forget to put on jewelry.



While Mindy tried to be understanding, she confessed that it made her wonder, Is he taking this as seriously as Im taking it?

Fans werent impressed with the two MAFS grooms

For the most part, Married at First Sight viewers werent impressed with Zach and Michaels excuses for removing their wedding rings.

One Twitter user wrote, Zach is not wearing his ring? Oops I forgot seems so so hollowKick him to the curb, Mindy! Fast!

Many other MAFS fans noted that Zach was wearing both a watch and a bracelet at dinner, while he claimed he didnt put on his ring because he forgot to put on jewelry. Several others noted that the personal trainer is very image-conscious and hinted that he wasnt likely to forget anything to do with his appearance.

Not getting this one: Zach says he has a problem remembering to put on jewelry, while he wears a watch and a bracelet, one fan wrote on Twitter. So, the ring just missed the memo? Just an observation.

Some MAFS viewers also werent buying Michaels reasoning for taking off his ring. Many thought his insistence that he didnt want to wear it was a cover-up for his fear of commitment.

Michael: I take my vows and responsibilities in marriage very seriously, a Twitter user joked. Also Michael: Ive not lived up to expectations after TWO DAYS and I will not wear my wedding ring till I feel Ive earned it. Also, our honeymoon will be spent in different rooms.
Xiaomi has already offered a taste of the cameras in the Mi 10 Pro, and now the company has also confirmed other features about the Mi 10 series. The Chinese company will reserve premium features for only the Mi 10 Pro either, with the regular Mi 10 set to have bragging rights over the Galaxy S20 series in at least one area, too.

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

The Mi 10 series may arrive as early as next week, with Xiaomi currently rumoured to launch its next flagships on February 13. Correspondingly, more concrete information about the series is coming out now, with executives recently revealing camera samples of what may be the Mi 10 Pro's 108 MP main camera, along with a 10x zoom lens.

Now, the Deputy GM of Xiaomi Marketing and Xiaomi Japan has confirmed that the Mi 10 will feature LPDDR5 RAM, with it possibly being the first smartphone to launch with the new RAM type. Micron will supply LPDDR5 for the Mi 10 series, as the screenshot below demonstrates. According to the JDEC Solid State Technology Association, LPDDR5 offers double the memory throughput that LPDDR4 offers, along with reduced power consumption.

Xiaomi executives have also confirmed that all Mi 10 series devices will feature LPDDR5 RAM as standard. The company is yet to confirm how many handsets it will release under the Mi 10 name though, so this does not guarantee that a Mi 10 Lite, Mi 10 SE, Mi 10T or Mi 10T Pro are in the works.
Two police officers in Russia have been convicted of creating a drug den which they could close down to boost their crime-fighting statistics.

Put on trial in the Russian city of Kostroma, Yury Titov, the head of the police station, and senior detective Ivan Mantrov were both given suspended sentences of six and three-and-a-half years respectively, meaning they won't have to go to jail.

The two police officers convinced three people to produce the drug desomorphine, better known in Russia by its street name Crocodile, in a flat.

Desomorphine is a synthetic drug, similar to opium. It is often called the 'flesh eating drug' due to the damage it causes to the skin and bodies of addicts.

Their victims were already known to the police as drug users and were under investigation in another case. The officers promised to help them win bail if they cooperated and worked in the drug den.

The producers are believed to have used ingredients that from the police's evidence store, provided by the officers.

Footage on Russian news channel Russia 1 shows police officers breaking into a drug den with a crowbar, as people inside attempt to stop them from entering

Once through the door, they find a large quantity of drugs and drug paraphernalia which the police are shown sifting through

Titov and Mantrov then arrested the drug users, closed the den, and launched a case against one of the suspects, which has since been dropped.

Once Kostroma police's internal affairs unit caught on to the plot, it handed evidence over to Russia's Investigations Committee, the country's equivalent of the FBI.

The officers were charged with exceeding their lawful authority and encouraging drug use.

A drug sniffing corgi smells some bags at a train station. Police planting drugs on citizens as a way to increase arrest numbers is thought to be common practice in Russia

The practice of planting drugs as evidence is thought to be common in Russia as a way of meeting high performance targets.

In a recent case, Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov was investigating local corruption when the police claimed to have found drugs in his possession.

Following public outcry, Golunov was freed after widespread allegations that the drugs had been planted by the police.
A sperm whale stranded in the River Thames died on an empty stomach, marine experts have revealed.

The 12.44m-long mammal hit the headlines last week after being spotted in the Swale tidal channel in Kent.

The teenage male was stranded for three days unable to escape before dying over the weekend. experts from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have since examined his body.

The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) worked through the night at Peel Ports London Medway, dissecting and collecting samples in an attempt to find out how the deep-water mammal had reached Kent, how long he had managed to survive in the Thames Estuary, and help improve future conservation efforts.

ZSL London

They found he showed no evidence of recent feeding and died starving, with an empty stomach devoid of squid beaks - the sperm whales main food source.

ZSLs Rob Deaville, CSIP Project Manager, said the lack of food found in the whales stomach suggested the animal may have been in the southern North Sea for a long period.

He said: "The findings are consistent with live stranding of an out of habitat individual.

ZSL London

Sperm whales are normally found resident in much deeper waters, and the southern North Sea can be considered an abnormal habitat for the species as they are unable to feed there.

The experts also noted the whale had not ingested any marine debris or plastics, in a positive sign for the Thames Estuarys plastic pollution levels.

ZSL London

A sperm whale was previously last sighted in the Thames Estuary in 2014, according to ZSL, but there have been a series of unusual large mammals appearing in the Thames over the past 18 months.
The budget allowed the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation to raise deposit insurance coverage to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.

The hike in deposit insurance coverage has been a long pending demand from bank depositors and it recently came to fore after the crisis at PMC Bank.

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank does not see any major impact on the balance-sheets of banks due to the five-fold hike in deposit insurance to Rs 5 lakh.

Following the failure of a number of cooperative banks, with the city-based PMC Bank being the latest and the largest last year, the budget allowed the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) to raise deposit insurance coverage to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.

"The premium is something, which we consider, will increase from 10 paise to 12 paisa per Rs 100 for the time being. So, the impact on banks' balance sheets is not likely to be much," RBI Deputy Governor B P Kanungo told reporters during the post-policy presser.

The hike in deposit insurance coverage has been a long pending demand from bank depositors and it recently came to fore after the crisis at Punjab & Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. It can be noted that in 2019 alone more than 30 cooperative banks went belly up in Maharashtra alone.

The DICGC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Reserve Bank, provides insurance cover on bank deposits. At present, the DICGC provides Rs 1 lakh insurance to a depositor regardless of the deposit amount, in case the lender fails or gets liquidated.

The corporation insured each bank depositor up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh for both principal and interest amount held by them as on the date of liquidation/cancellation of a bank's licence or the date on which the scheme of amalgamation/merger comes into force.

It can be recalled that way back in 2009, the Raghuram Rajan committee on financial sector reforms had recommended strengthening the capacity of the DICGC, a more explicit system of prompt, corrective action, and making deposit insurance premia more risk-based.

On the PMC Bank crisis, Das said the administrator and the advisory committee now have greater clarity with regard to the financial position of the bank and they are working out the next course of action.

The multi-state co-operative bank has been put under an RBI administrator since September 23, 2019, after the regulator found financial irregularities including under reporting of loans and non performing assets of real estate developer HDIL.

The central bank also sacked the board of the bank and appointed an administrator.

In September, it was reported that the co-operative lender's actual exposure to the bankrupt HDIL was over Rs 6,500 crore -- which is 73 per cent of its entire assets of Rs 8,880 crore.

Meanwhile welcoming the budget proposal to make the RBI the full regulator of cooperative banks, deputy governor MK Jain said, handling the full regulatory control of cooperatives to the RBI will strengthen the hands of the regulator.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Everyone loves a good bargain. Unfortunately, sometimes the savings really are too good to be true.

Sen. Charles Schumer visited a Dollar Tree location in Grant City on Friday to urge the boroughs bargain-based businesses to stop stocking cheap, dangerous, over-the-counter drugs and cosmetics that are made in China and can potentially cause harm to users.

The senator was joined by local teens, Angelica and Tatiana Santos-Mroczek, who discovered that the potentially dangerous products are still being sold on Staten Island despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issuing a warning to Dollar Tree and Family Dollar in November, informing the companies that they were in violation of federal law.

We are here on Staten Island, with these great young leaders to make a public health push related to questionable products on Dollar store shelves that could be really bad for people, Schumer said. After we pushed Dollar Tree stores in Manhattan on this issue, they were seen clearing the shelves, but we cant do this store-by-store, the company needs to do it on its own and the FDA needs to keep the pressure on."

Schumer urged Staten Islands six Dollar Tree and five Family Dollar locations to immediately remove the products from their shelves, calling on the federal government to crack down on the companies with increased force, potentially in the form of hefty fines, should they refuse to stop selling the products.

To stem the continued influx of questionable and potentially unsafe over-the-counter drugs from being stocked on New York bargain store shelves, Ive asked U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the FDA to begin a targeted crackdown and answer new questions about the scope of the problem and the measures in place to prevent this from happening again with Dollar Tree or any other bargain store in New York and beyond, and while we are still waiting for a formal answer, I have confidence these agencies will act, Schumer added.

The senator claimed that there are over 100 products -- mostly consisting of creams, gels and makeups -- that pose a serious threat to consumers, with dermatological experts noting that the use of tainted topicals can cause skin irritations, rashes and, in some cases, serious infections.

All the products that the Santos-Mroczek sisters are holding up are made in China, and theyre the kind of products that the FDA says are bad, Schumer said. Theyve showed that a lot of these products that came here are unsafe or dangerous."

In November, Schumer held a similar event outside a Dollar Tree location in Harlem, where employees began immediately removing the potentially harmful products from the shelves. However, other stores throughout the city continue to stock them.

We found, after we called for this a few months ago, that Manhattan stores were taking it off the shelves, but they werent taking it off the shelves on Staten Island. Why should people who live on Staten Island be any less safe than people who live in Manhattan or other parts of the city? Schumer asked.

Dollar Tree and Family Dollar said that the companies are cooperating with the FDA and have strict testing programs in place to ensure that all of their products are safe.

We are committed to our customers safety and have very robust and rigorous testing programs in place to ensure our third-party manufacturers products are safe. Each of the items referenced in the letter are topical, and not ingestible, products. As always, we are cooperating with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said Kayleigh M. Painter, media relations manager for Dollar Tree and Family Dollar.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Feb. 06, 2020 | 05:02 PM | LYON COUNTY





On Tuesday troopers with the Kentucky State Police and deputies with the Lyon County Sherriff's Office executed search warrants at two separate homes near State Route 93 in Eddyville.







At the first home, deputies met 42-year-old Paula J. Hunter. While searching her home, deputies allegedly found two grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. At the home of 38-year-old Benjamin Trafford, deputies reportedly found 51 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, alprazolam, and cash believed to be the proceeds of illegal drug sales.







Hunter and Trafford were both arrested. Hunter is with first degree first offense trafficking in a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. Trafford is charged with firearm enhanced first degree first offense possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), possession of a controlled substance third degree, possession of marijuana, and drug paraphernalia.







They were lodged in the Crittenden County Jail.

Two Lyon County residents are facing drug trafficking charges after an anonymous tip.
WASHINGTON  The U.S. government on Thursday began enforcing restrictions on flavored electronic cigarettes aimed at curbing underage vaping. But some teenagers may be one step ahead of the rules.

Parents, researchers and students warn that some young people have already moved on to a newer kind of vape that isnt covered by the flavor ban.

These disposable e-cigarettes are sold under brands like Puff Bar, Stig and Fogg in flavors such as pink lemonade, blueberry ice and tropical mango.

The Food and Drug Administrations crackdown narrowly targets reusable vaping devices like Juul, the blockbuster brand that helped trigger the teen vaping craze in the U.S. Under the new policy, only menthol and tobacco flavors are allowed for those devices.

Critics of the FDA policy fear teens will simply switch to the cheaper disposables, which are widely available at convenience stores and gas stations.

They are very accessible and seem to be the new buzzy product, said Dr. Karen Wilson, a tobacco researcher and pediatrician at Mount Sinais medical school in New York.

The FDA confirmed that the flavor restriction wont apply to self-contained, disposable products, but only to rechargeable ones that use pods or cartridges prefilled with a nicotine solution.

The agencys rationale: Reusable vaping devices are far and away the most popular with underage users, preferred by more than 60% of high schoolers who vape, according to survey data collected last year.

The FDAs top tobacco regulator said it can still go after any vaping product that appeals to teenagers.

If we see a product that is targeted to kids, we will take action, Mitch Zeller, who heads the agencys tobacco center, said in a statement.

Matthew Perrone is an Associated Press writer.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse)  Fri, February 7, 2020 22:04 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad206338e07 2 Entertainment Radiohead,album,Ed-O-Brien,Guitarist,music Free

The guitarist revealed that his new solo album, Earth, will arrive on April 17.

To mark the announcement, O'Brien shared a new cut from his much-anticipated solo debut full-length, entitled "Shangri-La".

This new pop-infused single contrasts with the nine-minute "Brasil," which was released back in December alongside a short visual directed by Andrew Donoho.

Both songs will appear on O'Brien's forthcoming album, Earth, which gemmed from his move to Brazil following Radiohead's 2012 "King of Limbs" tour.

"As our time out there came to an end, we headed home and I found myself intuitively heading for the Welsh Hills. With a copy of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass', a couple of guitars, an amp, and some pedals (of course), I rented a cottage in the Cambrian Mountains and the songs that make up the album started to flow out..." he recalled in a statement.

Read also: Radiohead to take year away from music

Earth was notably recorded between the fall of 2017 and early 2019, with the help of producer Flood and mixing engineer Alan Moulder.

"Thank you to all the incredible musicians who helped me and the people who put it together in the studio. It was a proper journey getting here. Recorded in Wales and London. Phew, we made it!!" he recently wrote on Twitter.

The album includes guest contributions by Radiohead's Colin Greenwood, Portishead's Adrian Utley, Wilco's Glenn Kotche, Omar Hakim, Nathan East, Laura Marling, the Invisible's David Okumu and Adam "Cecil" Bartlett among others.

The 51-year-old guitarist is not the only member of Radiohead that has recently been focusing on his solo career.

Earlier this week, drummer Philip Selway announced that the band was taking a "year away" from the recording studio to focus on solo endeavours.

"There are always conversations going on, but we've always got other projects going on. This is kind of the year away from Radiohead, but we will pick that up again," he recently told NME, without revealing additional details about what fans can expect when they will return.

In the meantime, discover O'Brien's latest single, "Shangri-La" below:
U.S. President Donald Trump took a victory lap on Thursday in a pair of speeches, including at the White House, lashing out at his perceived enemies and revelling in the acquittal the previous day in his Senate impeachment trial.

Speaking from the East Room of the White House, Trump characterized his trials, including an earlier investigation into his campaign's interactions with Russian officials in 2016, as a years-long campaign by Democrats to smear him. Trump, occasionally resorting to profanity, repeated a litany of grievances about Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) surveillance procedures and the intelligence document known as the Steele dossier.

"We went through hell, unfairly, did nothing wrong," said Trump, repeating the last phrase.

The Senate voted on Wednesday to acquit Trump of abuse of power stemming from his request that Ukraine announce an investigation into Democrat presidential contender Joe Biden, as well as the charge of obstructing Congress by blocking witnesses and documents sought by the House of Representatives.

Trump on Thursday again insisted his controversial July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was "perfect" and questioned the earnings of Hunter Biden from his sinecure on a Ukraine energy board. The younger Biden served on the board of Burisma for over two years while his father was U.S. vice-president.

The president didn't rule out the possibility that he would be investigated at some future point by Democrats in Congress.

"We'll probably have to do it again, because these people are stone-cold crazy," he said.

WATCH | 'It was all bullshit': Trump gives an unvarnished assessment of the Russia investigation:

Shots at Pelosi, Romney

Earlier in the day, Trump triumphantly held up copies of two newspapers with banner "ACQUITTED!" headlines as he took the stage at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

Story continues

Trump was keen to tackle the impeachment topic early on in his breakfast speech.

"As everybody knows, my family, our great country and your president have been put through a terrible ordeal by some very dishonest and corrupt people," he said. "They have done everything possible to destroy us."

Patrick Semansky/The Associated Press

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the California Democrat who led the impeachment charge against the Republican president, was also at the breakfast. Pelosi, who had torn up the text of Trump's state of the union speech after his address on Tuesday night, preceded the president on the dais, asking for prayers for the poor and persecuted.

Trump did not acknowledge her. He then clearly took shots in his speech at both Pelosi and Mitt Romney, the only Republican senator to vote to convict Trump on one of the articles of impeachment.

"I don't like people who use their faith as justification for doing what they know is wrong," said Trump. "Nor do I like people who say 'I pray for you' when they know that that's not so."

Pelosi often says she prays for the president, while Romney in his speech Wednesday from the Senate floor justifying his votes on the two articles of impeachment, said he "swore an oath before God to exercise impartial justice."

Evan Vucci/The Associated Press

Pelosi, at her weekly news conference later in the day, called the comments "so completely inappropriate, especially at a prayer breakfast."

"He's talking up things he knows little about  faith and prayer," she said.

Trump, at the White House later, said he "meant every word of it," regarding his breakfast comments. Later, he called Pelosi "a horrible person."

WATCH | Trump calls Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer 'vicious and mean':

Pelosi said it was "up to him" if the two sides can work together on legislation going forward, pointing to the recent ratification of the trade deal with Canada and Mexico as an example.

Aside from Romney, Republican senators voted to acquit Trump, relying on a multitude of rationales for keeping him in office: he's guilty, but his conduct wasn't impeachable; his July telephone conversation with Ukraine's president was a standard example of politicians trading favours; and that there's an election in 10 months and it's up to voters to determine his fate.

During his breakfast speech, Trump urged his audience to get out and vote on Nov. 3.

Trump tweeted after the Senate vote on Wednesday that he would mark his acquittal with a statement at noon Thursday to "discuss our Country's VICTORY on the Impeachment Hoax!"

Leah Millis/Reuters

Overall, the tone contrasted with that of Bill Clinton, the last president to be impeached. Clinton, in a statement after being acquitted at a Senate impeachment trial in February 1999, said he was "profoundly sorry  for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people."

"This can be and this must be a time of reconciliation and renewal for America," Clinton said in his brief statement in the White House Rose Garden.

In his own statement, Trump apologized not to the country but to his family for what they had to endure and put the blame squarely on the Democrats.

Trump at the prayer breakfast highlighted his administration's record on the economy, citing historically low unemployment, as well as its efforts to champion pro-life policies and protect religious liberties around the world.

Pelosi shook her head at various points during Trump's remarks.

Just minutes earlier, Republican House Leader Kevin McCarthy of California asked for prayers to help guide a divided Congress, while the conservative columnist Arthur Brooks implored the audience to not hold liberals in contempt.

"They're just Americans who disagree with us on public policy," said Brooks.

"I don't know if I agree with you," Trump said to Brooks as he took the microphone.

Trump praises surrogates

At his weekly news conference, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer called the trial result a "pyrrhic victory" for Republicans.

The New York Democrat targeted Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as having "failed to live up to what this country's all about," by marshaling his side to vote against hearing additional witness testimony during the trial.

Schumer surmised that Republican senators feared the wrath of a "vindictive" Trump and conservative media outlets.

Trump at the White House implored McConnell to stand, praising his efforts on behalf of the White House.

"You did a fantastic job," the president said.

Trump also singled out for recognition some of his most vociferous defenders on Capitol Hill, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and members of congress Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan, Doug Collins, Debbie Lesko and Matt Gaetz.

"We've got your back," said North Carolina congressman Mark Meadows, another Trump loyalist.

Trump spoke for over an hour at the White House, largely unscripted, but did not take reporter questions.

Pelosi said the House will continue to provide oversight of the Trump administration, but did not specifically address a question whether Democrats in the chamber would subpoena from John Bolton, the former national security adviser. Bolton has written a book alleging the president pressured Ukraine and withheld military aid to announce investigations helpful to Trump's cause.
President Trump retweeted a statement from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) calling for the firing of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman on Friday as part of a larger tweetstorm against the National Security Council's top Ukraine expert.

Why it matters: With the retweet, the president is publicly endorsing the idea of removing a key national security official that testified during the House impeachment inquiry  a move that he has privately pushed for in recent days, per the Washington Post.

Flashback: Vindman testified before the House Intelligence Committee that Trump's July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky  which he listened in on  was "improper."

Vindman, who was born in Ukraine, used his opening statement during that testimony to tell his father that his ability to speak freely during the proceedings was "proof that [he] made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union ... in search of a better life for our family."

Leading up to his testimony, Vindman faced unsubstantiated cable news attacks that questioned his loyalty to the U.S.

The state of play: Trump also retweeted Tom Fitton, the president of conservative activist group Judicial Watch, who said that Vindman should be fired as soon as possible "to protect our foreign policy from his machinations."

And before departing the White House for North Carolina on Friday, the president told the press corps that he was "not happy with" Vindman after being asked if he wanted him to be removed.

"They'll make that decision," Trump added.

The big picture: The Post first reported late Thursday that Trump was preparing to push Vindman out "after he expressed deep anger ... over the attempt to remove him from office because of his actions toward Ukraine."

Asked by reporters Friday about the report, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said that the Pentagon "[protects] all of our persons, service members from retribution or anything like that."

Go deeper: Vindman dismisses offer to become Ukraine's defense minister
The official New Jersey Select Top Doctor 2020 Badge My goal in all procedures is to create great, natural-looking results. In rhinoplasty, this is dependent on changing a nose from a dominant facial feature to one where it complements the rest of the face.

The Glasgold Group, a Princeton plastic surgery center that has been serving patients since the 1960s, is proud to announce that Dr. Robert A. Glasgold was recently recognized as one of NJ Monthly Magazines Select Plastic Surgeons for 2020. The recognition was given for Dr. Glasgolds excellence in rhinoplasty, which is known as one of the most challenging plastic surgeries to perform and master.

Rhinoplasty, also known as a nose job, is performed to reshape the nose for an improved appearance and/or enhanced breathing and function. Because the nose is the most prominent facial feature and affects a persons facial balance, rhinoplasty must be carefully customized to suit each patients exact needs. It is extremely difficult to create a natural-looking result from rhinoplasty, but Dr. Robert Glasgold is known for his artistry and his ability to create a beautiful nose for each patient. He is fellowship-trained and specializes in this popular and versatile procedure.

During the rhinoplasty consultation process, Dr. Glasgold takes the time to get to know his patients and to truly understand their needs. He uses advanced imaging software to help them visualize the possible results of their rhinoplasty and ensures that all of their questions and concerns are addressed fully. This commitment to communication helps to ensure that Dr. Glasgold and his patients are on the same page and working toward the same goals.

Dr. Glasgold notes that theres nothing more important than customizing the rhinoplasty procedure:

My goal in all procedures is to create great, natural-looking results. In rhinoplasty, this is dependent on changing a nose from a dominant facial feature to one where it complements the rest of the face. Patients frequently note that after surgery their favorite features, be it their eyes, mouth or cheekbones, now shine through.

The acclaimed Glasgold Group plastic surgery center in Princeton, NJ, is run by Robert Glasgold, MD, FACS, and his brother, Mark Glasgold, MD, FACS, who also made the NJ Monthly Magazines list of top plastic surgeons in 2019. The practice was founded and run by their father, Dr. Alvin Glasgold, for decades and continues to flourish due to the brothers commitment to surgical excellence and unparalleled patient care.

At the Glasgold Group, patients can choose from a variety of facial surgeries and procedures, including rhinoplasty, facelift, eyelid surgery, browlift, injectable treatments, and much more. Drs. Robert and Mark Glasgold enjoy helping their patients achieve positive change and lead to more confident lives.

To learn more about rhinoplasty and other facial rejuvenation procedures at the Glasgold Group in Princeton, NJ, call 732-846-6540 or visit us online at glasgoldgroup.com. Prospective patients can schedule a consultation with our acclaimed plastic surgeons to find out if they are a candidate for plastic surgery.
(Newser)  Months after the Taliban released two hostages, an American and an Australian, another American has been taken in Afghanistan. Mark Frerichs, 57, of Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped last Friday, Newsweek reports. Frerichs is an executive for a US contractor, International Logistical Support, and a former diver for the Navy. No group has claimed responsibility, but US officials suspect the Haqqani networkwhich once was backed by the CIA but now is affilialted with the Taliban. In November, two American University of Kabul professors, Kevin King and Timothy Weeks, were freed after being taken at gunpoint in August 2016, per NBC. They were traded for three senior Haqqani network officials, which Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called a goodwill gesture and President Trump said he hoped would lead to a peace deal with the Taliban.

story continues below

US forces have launched efforts to find Frerichs, who has been traveling to Afghanistan since 2012. Winter weather has hampered surveillance flights by drones that are part of the mission, which includes the FBI, the State Department and the Defense Department. The FBI said that more than 180 Americans kidnapped by foreign terrorist organizations or criminal groups have been returned as of 2018. (Read more Afghanistan stories.)
VICTORIA - Two more presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in British Columbia, where a total of four people have now been sickened with the illness.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2020 (704 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry addresses the media during a news conference regarding the coronavirus in Vancouver, B.C., Friday, Jan. 31, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

VICTORIA - Two more presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus have been diagnosed in British Columbia, where a total of four people have now been sickened with the illness.

Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, said a man and woman, both visitors from China, have tested positive for the virus that is believed to have originated in the city of Wuhan.

Henry said Thursday the latest cases involve people who'd been in China's Hubei province and that they're linked to a woman who was diagnosed Tuesday in the Vancouver area.

Officials are confident one of the newly diagnosed people is the source of the virus in that household, she said, adding he's a young, healthy man who had a very mild illness and did not seek medical attention.

All the people in the household are isolated in a home and being monitored by the Vancouver Coastal Health authority, she said.

Anyone who has travelled to Hubei province should self-isolate for 14 days and contact public health officials for support, Henry said of new recommendations for people travelling to B.C.

"This is a really important measure for us to connect with people in the community, to provide them with the support and advice they need," she said, adding communities must work together as the virus spreads around the world.

However, she said some people from China have reported being ostracized and others facing the same reaction may fear contacting health authorities.

"We have been hearing some very disturbing references to China and Chinese people and the fact that Chinese communities are feeling at risk here," Henry said.

"If we start ostracizing people because they're sick that makes it much more difficult for us to do our job in public health, to identify people and to be able to support and monitor them when they have this illness."

Health Minister Adrian Dix said people should feel confident their privacy will be protected if they are ill and know that public-health officials will support them.

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.

"It's not just the tolerance of Canadian society and something to be celebrated in the abstract it's a real strength for our public health-care system," he said.

As with all cases, the latest ones will be confirmed at a national laboratory in Winnipeg.

The virus has been linked to over 560 deaths, most of them in China. Canada now has seven cases of the illness, including three in Ontario.

The first plane carrying 176 people from China began its trip Thursday and was expected to refuel in Vancouver before heading to Canadian Forces Base Trenton, in Ontario, where it is scheduled to arrive Friday.

Those passengers will begin 14 days under quarantine at the military base.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa yesterday presented 35 motorcycles to district directors of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to facilitate their activities.

At a brief handing over ceremony, Dr Letsa said that the motorcycles were given to them by government to retool NADMO, so that they can be very effective in their activities.

He urged the directors to maintain the motorcycles regularly, and use them for its intended purpose to be able to enhance their work.

The Volta Regional NADMO Director, Mr Divine Bosson cited that, in 2009 every district in the region was having a pick-up and motorcycles, but they were all auctioned.

He said that the provision of the 35 motorcycles was the beginning of retooling NADMO to aid its activities.

Mr Bosson disclosed that, the region will be receiving an ambulance and pick-ups to be able to respond to emergency calls.

He said NADMO should not only be known for distributing relief items, but identifying risk factors and mapping hazards out before they occur.

Mr Bosson said the regional disaster management committee, which is chaired by the Regional Minister, would be developing a disaster management plan to manage disasters in the region.

Mr Godfred Root Kudalor, NADMO District Director for Akatsi North, who received the motorcycles on behalf of the other beneficiaries, expressed his appreciation to the government and assured that it would be used for its intended purpose.

---Ghanaian Times
LONDON - Britains new ambassador to the United States said Friday she looks forward to expanding the traditional security and economic partnership between the two nations to new areas like artificial intelligence and to having talks with President Donald Trump, who has always been gracious and friendly to her.

Karen Pierce, a veteran diplomat who is currently Britains ambassador to the United Nations, was named to the new post Friday.

She said she thinks the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States will stay the same following Britains departure from the European Union, because some of what binds us together, particularly on the security side, is deep and enduring and its also two-way. She recalled U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeos recent statement in London that British intelligence has helped prevent attacks on American soil.

Pierce, 60, will replace Kim Darroch, whose critical portrayal of the Trump administration led to an embarrassing trans-Atlantic spat and his resignation from the Washington ambassadorial post in July.

Trump expressed fury when leaked diplomatic documents from Darroch, published in Britains Mail on Sunday newspaper, called the U.S. administrations policy toward Iran incoherent, said the president might be indebted to dodgy Russians, and questioned whether the White House will ever look competent. Trump tweeted that Darroch was wacky and a very stupid guy.

Pierce said in an interview with The Associated Press at Britains U.N. Mission after her appointment was announced in London that she has been lucky to have met the president several times, with the prime minister and the U.N. Security Council, stressing how gracious he was.

While one would always be nervous meeting a head of state, Pierce said, she looks forward to conversations with Trump about all the areas our countries care about so much.

One critical issue will be Britains need to strike a trade deal with the United States following its EU exit.

Pierce said there are also areas where we disagree, some where disagreements are quite deep  but I dont think that affects the overall health of the relationship.

Britain and the U.S. disagree about the Iran nuclear deal that Trump pulled the U.S. out of, the Paris climate agreement that the U.S. also exited and Chinese tech giant Huaweis 5G network, which the U.K. opted not to ban as the Trump administration sought.

Pierce recalled that when she served at the British Embassy in Washington in the 1990s, there was a big gulf between the U.S. and Europe over Bosnia and the Balkan war, saying the rift did leak into all different aspects of relations.

Im not seeing that now, she said. Obviously I will do my best to put the British point of view across and do my best to narrow differences. But I think its also about exploiting opportunities for both America and for Britain in this relationship.

In the announcement of her appointment, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said, It is a time of huge opportunity for the friendship between the U.K. and U.S. and I am delighted that Karen Pierce will take forward this exciting new chapter in our relationship.

Pierce, who was the first woman to be Britains U.N. ambassador and will be the first woman to be its U.S. ambassador, said she doesnt think Trump will be disappointed she was chosen rather than Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader who is Britains leading champion of Trump. The U.S. president had said Farage would make a great ambassador.

Pierce said she is looking ahead to expanding U.K.-U.S. relations.

Its a huge honour anywhere to represent your country, but to be able to do that in Washington ... at a really important time in Britains development of the nation, I have to say Im slightly overwhelmed, but I am really, really looking forward to it, she said.

America is really a land of opportunity, Pierce said, and now weve left the European Union I want to find out those new opportunities and exploit them, use them, develop them for the benefit of the U.K. but also for the benefit of America. She pointed to a whole swath of new areas including in science, artificial intelligence and cyber.

If you take something like the creative industries, we export something like over $100 million, some estimates say $200 million to the United States, Pierce said. We dont just export British villains. So, I think thats an area to really push forward on.

Pierce said she also wants to have more people-to-people links and feels the U.S. election campaign will be an opportunity for her to get to know America.

Americas demographic has been changing, she said. There are some people who perhaps dont know how deep the relationship with Britain has been and the potential is for the future. So, itll be my job to reach all the parts of America.

Britain has had two women prime ministers  Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May  and Pierce said the U.K. also has female ambassadors in China and Russia.

Has the glass ceiling been cracked for female British diplomats?

Were not there yet but were well on our way, Pierce said.

She expressed hope that seeing women diplomats and those from underrepresented groups in top jobs will encourage more people to give it a go, because I have been very lucky and Im determined to repay that luck.

___

Associated Press writer Danica Kirka reported in London and AP writer Edith M. Lederer reported from the United Nations.
Appointment

7 February 2020

Blondel, who is from France, will now take charge of the 236-key hotel's operations, ensuring profitability and return on owner investment.

She brings with her almost 20 years of hospitality industry experience, acquired from a number of hotel groups spanning Belgium and the UAE.

Blondel started her hospitality journey at Stanhope Hotel in Brussels, where she worked as an intern in the conference and banqueting department. She then climbed the ranks to become the hotel's general manager in 2009. She held the same position at Sofitel Brussels Le Louise in 2015 and then at Radisson RED Brussels in 2017, before moving to Dubai.
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For its residents, there will be no place like FirstSteps Community House
Donna Rotunno speaks to the media outside the courthouse following a bail hearing on 6 December 2019 in New York: BRYAN R SMITH/AFP via Getty Images

Harvey Weinsteins lawyer has come under stern criticism after making ignorant comments about sexual assault in an interview.

Donna Rotunno is part of the legal team representing Weinstein in his ongoing criminal trial in New York City, where Weinstein is charged with raping a woman in 2013 and performing a forcible sex act in 2006. He has pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of non-consensual sex.

Rotunno was interviewed in an episode of The Daily, a news podcast produced by The New York Times, released on Friday. Megan Twohey, one of the reporters who first reported on the allegations against Weinstein in 2017, asked Rotunno towards the end of the conversation whether she had ever been sexually assaulted herself.

I have not, Rotunno said, adding: because I would never put myself in that position. When Twohey pressed her on that comment, Rotunno said: Ive always made choices from college age on where I never drank too much. I never went home with someone that I didnt know. I just never put myself in any vulnerable circumstances ever.

The comments were met with a backlash, with many viewing Rotunnos remarks as an instance of victim-blaming.

Among those speaking out is Sarah Ann Masse, one of the women who has come forward against Harvey Weinstein. Masse has alleged that Weinstein hugged her while in his underwear as she was interviewing to be his childrens nanny.

The woman represents a serial sexual predator in court  nothing she says should be a surprise to anyone and yet it is, Masse told The Independent in response to Rotunnos comments.

The media needs to stop giving her a platform to spread her vile, outdated, lazy, victim-blaming tactics.

Louise Godbold, another of the women who has spoken out against Weinstein (Godbold has alleged that an office tour in the Nineties became an occasion to trap me in an empty meeting room, the begging for a massage, his hands on my shoulders as I attempted to beat a retreat), reacted on Twitter.

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How can this woman remain part of the legal system if she believes it is not the perpetrator but the crime victim who is guilty because they put themselves in that position? Lets just put all the victims in jail instead! Godbold wrote.

Laura Palumbo, the communications director of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, a non-profit based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, told The Independent in response to Rotunnos comments: Sexual assault happens when someone violates another persons boundaries and body. No one intentionally puts themselves in a position to be sexually assaulted. People who commit sexual assault strategically exploit the trust of their victims.

Victims are never to blame. It doesnt matter what someone was wearing, how they were acting, if they were drinking, or what type of relationship they had with the person who abused them.

Not only does saying this send a victim-blaming message but it is ignorant of the many ways sexual assault happens. Sexual assault also happens to children, teens, men, and older adults. No one is ever asking to be sexually assaulted, and most sexual is committed by someone the victim knows and trusts. The blame and scrutiny that victims face when they come forward is silencing, and sexual assault continues to be the most underreported violent crime.

Sexual harassment, assault, and abuse happen in every setting  homes, schools, workplaces, transportation, faith communities, military service, and beyond. Sexual violence thrives when it is not taken seriously and victim-blaming goes unchallenged.

Toni Van Pelt, the president of the National Organization for Women, a feminist group based in Washington, DC, told The Independent: It is irresponsible at best, and victim-blaming at worst to bring irrelevant details such as a womans attire or the amount of alcohol she consumed into a conversation about sexual assault.

The only person who is responsible for a sexual assault is the perpetrator. Period.

Abusers do not need to have excuses made on their behalf  their violent and horrific actions speak for themselves. This sort of commentary only serves to protect those in positions of privilege who have been caught abusing their power. It is reprehensible and it must come to an end. Abusers must be held accountable for their actions and survivors must be heard. Enough is enough.

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Weinstein silence breakers find solidarity amid trial
The government is aiming for a dam that can produce 1,460 megawatts of electricity for export to Thailand and Vietnam. Construction is expected to begin in late 2020 or early 2021. Critics want data on its economic, environmental and social impact.

Vientiane (AsiaNews/Agencies)  The imposing dam Laos wants to build in the northern province of Luang Prabang threatens the Mekong River and the survival of the millions of people who depend on it, this according to various civil society groups who raised concerns at 9th MRC Regional Stakeholder Forum, held in the city of Luang Prabang on Wednesday and Thursday.

Organised by the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the meeting brought together activists, academics, private sector representatives and investors as well as government officials from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

Participants focused on Laoss latest hydroelectric venture and the progress in the Mekong Basin Development Strategy 2021-2030. The consultation process is set to end in April.

According to an agreement signed by Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam in 1995, no country can exercise a veto on a project approved by another nation.

Laotian authorities intend to build their new dam near Houygno, a village about 25 kilometres from Luang Prabang, capital of the province with the same name, which is 2,036 kilometres from the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

Laos aims for the dam to produce 1,460 megawatts of electricity for export to Thailand and Vietnam with construction to begin either at the end of 2020 or in early 2021.

Meanwhile, residents of neighbouring villages say they still don't know if and when they will be relocated, whilst critics of the project want the Laotian government and other stakeholders to provide more data on the dams potential economic impact on downstream countries and communities.

Environmental groups stress that the dam is likely to cause greater river bank erosion, with devastating effects for agriculture. Fish migration and welfare would also be at great risk.

More generally, experts are worried by the impact of dam construction, pollution, and sand and gravel mining on the health of South-East Asias biggest river and the fate of its communities.

Stretching 4,350 km, the Mekong is the largest inland fishing reserve in the world and is second only to the Amazon in terms of biodiversity.

It is a source of livelihood for about 60 million people living in settlements along its course, which runs from the Tibetan plateau to Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam where it reaches the South China Sea.

For years, its waters have been intensively exploited, and some of its effects are already visible.

For the 2,390 km of the lower Mekong, 2019 was a difficult year with water levels at their lowest in 50 years.

The villages along the waterway are the most exposed to climate change and 11 dams that China built on its territory, which many believe are holding back water.

After years of opposition from environmentalists, Laos inaugurated the first two dams on the Lower Mekong in the past four months: the 1,200 MW Xayaburi and the smaller Don Sahong.

For the past 15 years, Laos has sought to become the "battery of Asia", building some 50 dams along its rivers and streams with at least another 50 under construction and a further 288 in the planning stage.

According to the Stimson Center in Washington, if all the projects were carried out, the country's hydropower capacity would reach 27,000 MW, up from just 700 MW in 2005.
Two Russian sisters have been reunited 78 years after they were separated by the turmoil of World War II, thanks to a television show and a police search.

In footage of their meeting late last month provided by the interior ministry, Yulia and Rozalina Kharitonova, now 92 and 94, hugged and kissed as their family members watched in tears.

"I was searching for her, I was always searching for her," said Rozalina, holding her sister's hand.

As teenagers, the sisters lived with their parents in Stalingrad, the city now known as Volgograd that saw one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

They were separated in 1942 as civilians were being evacuated to escape Nazi encirclement.

The younger sister Yulia, who was born in 1928, was evacuated with her mother to the city of Penza some 500 kilometres (310 miles) to the north.

Meanwhile the elder sister Rozalina, born in 1926, was evacuated with her factory workmates to the industrial city of Chelyabinsk some 1,400 kilometres (870 miles) to the northeast in the Urals.

"After being separated in their youth, these women never lost hope of seeing each other again over 78 long years," police spokeswoman Irina Volk said in a statement.

The two women met again in Chelyabinsk, Volk said, after Yulia's daughter asked police for help to track down her mother's sister.

Rozalina had already tried to find her sister, without success, through a television show that looks for missing family members.

Russian police found out that Rozalina had appeared on the show and made the connection, contacting both women and organising a reunion.

Russia is set to hold large-scale celebrations on May 9 this year to mark 75 years since Allied victory over the Nazis.

The USSR suffered particularly heavy losses of some 27 million people, according to official figures.

The Battle of Stalingrad saw devastating losses with more than a million troops killed on each side during fighting that lasted over six months.

The Nazi surrender in February 1943 proved a turning point in the war leading to the eventual defeat of Hitler's forces.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Education New Zealand (ENZ) has announced the return of its New Zealand Schools Scholarships (NZSS), a prestigious scholarships programme offered exclusively to Vietnamese school students.

Following the success of the first year of NZSS in 2019, the 2020 initiative sees an increase in the number of scholarships from 36 to 40.

The scholarships provide a 50% subsidy on the school tuition fees for the first year of study and are designed to target outstanding Vietnamese students with the required passion and competency to experience New Zealands world-class education offering.

New Zealand has become an attractive destination for Vietnamese students in recent years. In 2018 there were more than 2,700 Vietnamese students in New Zealand; and the number of Vietnamese secondary school students studying in New Zealand increased by 39 per cent compared to the previous year.

Much of this growth can be attributed to New Zealands strong education system which takes a high-quality, innovative teaching approach, enabling all students to gain the skills and knowledge to grow and contribute to the world.

For the past two years, New Zealand has been ranked as the worlds top English-speaking country in the Economist Intelligence Units Educating for the Future Index. Specifically, our schools offer new ways of learning and equip students with the creative and critical thinking skills necessary for a successful career. Students enjoy a balance of theoretical and practical learning in safe learning environments, allowing themselves to be challenged to reach their full potential, said Mr. John Laxon, ENZs Regional Director, Asia.

The first cohort of Vietnamese school scholarship recipients have impressed New Zealand teachers with their tenacity, academic performance, and vision of how they want to prepare for the future that will better themselves, their families, and their communities. We are happy to continue providing significant scholarship opportunities to high-performing Vietnamese students. All 40 schools joining the programme are highly regarded institutions, providing Vietnamese students with a wide range of great choices across different regions in New Zealand, Laxon said.

"New Zealand and Vietnam celebrate 45 years of diplomatic relations in 2020. Relations between the two countries have been going from strength to strength and there is significant potential to grow the relationship even further, especially in the field of education. Last year we signed Collaboration Arrangements with the Departments of Education & Training (DoET) in Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi, which has laid a great foundation to deliver key education initiatives. The NZSS highlights New Zealands continuing commitment to support Vietnamese students, said H.E. Wendy Matthews, the New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam.

Applications for the scholarships will be open from 10 February to 13 April 2020 via application website http://bit.ly/NZSS2020Application

To find out more information about the scholarships, please visit www.nzschoolscholarships.co.nz and https://www.studyinnewzealand.govt.nz/vn/nzschoolscholarships/

Thanh Van
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 15:30:48|Editor: huaxia

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#WuhanMoments: After 10 days' work, another makeshift hospital Leishenshan in Wuhan started to be delivered to combat #coronavirus.




In a rare move, a word from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in was expunged from records.

Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu expunged the word used by Modi on Thursday during his reply to the discussion on a motion thanking the President for his address to the joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session.

"Chairman was pleased to direct expunction of a certain portion of the proceedings of dated February 6 at about 6.20 and 6.30 pm," a statement issued by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said.

Naidu routinely expunges any remark found unsuitable from Rajya Sabha's records after going through the proceedings of the day. This has been done on several occasions but rarely was any remark of Modi expunged.

Modi had made the remark as he launched a strong defence of the NPR saying the country's population register was being updated with demographic information for better targeting of government's welfare schemes.

He had targeted the opposition Congress for making a U-turn, saying the party had brought the NPR in 2010 and was later updated in 2015 by adding photographs and some biometric information.

Naidu also expunged a word from Leader of the Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's statement made after Modi had finished his speech.

Azad had stated that the Congress was in favour of giving citizenship to persecuted migrants from Pakistan but was against framing of a law based on religion.
Pete Buttigieg holds a slim lead over Bernie Sanders in the Iowa caucuses with the Iowa Democratic Party announcing on Thursday night that 100% of precincts are reporting.

The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor leads the Vermont senator by one-tenth of one percentage point in the all-important state delegate equivalent count. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar are trailing behind Buttigieg and Sanders.

The Democratic candidates have until 1 p.m. ET/12 p.m. CT on Friday to file a request for a recanvass or a recount. If there are no challenges by that time, CNN plans to report a winner.

'That's fantastic news,' Buttigieg said during a CNN town hall on Thursday. 'First of all, I want to say, Sen. Sanders clearly had a great night too and I congratulate him and his supporters.'

The news came after another day of chaos in the wake of Monday's caucuses.

Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez called for a recanvass of all results in Iowa on Thursday, as the state's Democratic Party continued to struggle to verify the data from Monday night's caucuses, which represented a signficant step in the fallout from the chaos that followed the quadrennial event. In a recanvass, all the numbers released by the state party would be checked against the results that were recorded at caucus sites.

'Enough is enough,' Perez tweeted. 'In light of the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.'

Perez followed up his initial tweet by writing, 'A recanvass is a review of the worksheets from each caucus site to ensure accuracy. The (Iowa Democratic Party) will continue to report results.'

Perez, in the tweet, is specifically raising questions about how the Iowa Democratic Party is adhering to the plan they submitted to the national party. That plan guided how the state party would allocate delegates.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Troy Price released a statement responding to Perez, saying the party is prepared to conduct a recanvass 'should any presidential campaign' request one.

'Should any presidential campaign in compliance with the Iowa Delegate Selection Plan request a recanvass, the IDP is prepared,' he said. 'In such a circumstance, the IDP will audit the paper records of report, as provided by the precinct chairs and signed by representatives of presidential campaigns. This is the official record of the Iowa Democratic caucus, and we are committed to ensuring the results accurately reflect the preference of Iowans.'

CNN has reached out to the party for further clarity on its next steps.

In a news conference on Thursday after Perez's tweet, Sanders declared a strong victory, noting his lead in the popular vote, and called the delay in reporting results 'a big screw-up.' The Iowa Democratic Party released the popular vote totals for the first time this year, but CNN determines the winner of the Iowa caucuses by who leads in state delegates. State delegates are used to choose national delegates, which determines who wins the Democratic nomination.

A CNN analysis shows errors in the count reported by the Iowa Democratic Party.

Multiple counties have reported a different number of state delegate equivalents than they were supposed to have, even though all precincts in the county have been tallied. A similar problem appears in several precincts which awarded more state delegate equivalents than they were allotted by the Iowa Democratic Party.

Precinct-level data reveals multiple precincts where violations of the caucus rules may have occurred. In several precincts, the total vote reported in the final round of the popular vote exceeded the total vote in the first round, even though no one new should have been allowed into the room between the two rounds. And in some cases, a viable candidate lost support from the first round to the final round, even though supporters of viable candidates in the first round were supposed to be locked in to their first choice.

At satellite caucuses, the number of state delegate equivalents awarded per congressional district was calculated based on the turnout across all satellite caucuses within that district. The reported total state delegate equivalents appear to differ from the expected values based on the reported first round vote and the formulas announced by the Iowa Democratic Party.

Perez took the step of calling for a recanvass specifically because of issues around how the Iowa Democratic Party was allocating state delegate equivalents from satellite caucus sites and the broader inconsistencies that have become clear in recent days, two sources with knowledge tell CNN.

One person familiar with Perez's decision said it was done to get ahead of calls for a recount from candidates, something the party worried would look divisive.

The Iowa Democratic Party did not have advance warning that Perez was planning to call for a recanvass, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Left unsaid in Perez' tweet is that about a dozen DNC officials have been on the ground in Iowa since the caucuses, overseeing the process of verifying and chasing down data from precincts across the state.

But the tweet is indicative of the tensions between the Iowa Democratic Party and the DNC that CNN reported Wednesday.

This story has been updated.
Coronavirus halts crab export from India

by Anshuman Phadikar

February 07,2020 | Source: The Telegraph

The novel coronavirus outbreak that has spread from Chinas Wuhan has left the crab export economy in East Midnapore, West Bengal, India, poorer by tens of crores of rupees.



The Bengal district that has a nearly 100km coastline exports more than Rs 100 crore worth of crabs and Rs 2,000 crore worth of prawns internationally every year. A bulk of the crabs consignment is sent to China during the Lunar New Year festive season.



But in the wake of the deadly virus outbreak in China, East Midnapores crab exports have come to a halt  impacting local farmers incomes by more than 50 per cent.



January-February is the peak export season for crabs, said a district fisheries department official on Wednesday, explaining that at least 30 per cent of crab exports take place over these two months.



Major Chinese festivals take place during this time, so the demand is high because crabs are a delicacy. Not this year, however, he added.



District officials said that although no official instruction had been issued by the shipping ministry regarding freezing commerce with China, traders had themselves taken such a decision over the past couple of weeks in light of the rising number of coronavirus cases.



Although the crab economy has taken a severe hit, sources said the local prawn export business was doing slightly better owing to the presence of other buyers in the market. There are several interested countries other than China, said exporter Kamdev Jana.

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
Thursday night, the phrase "New Way Forward Act" suddenly began to pop up on conservative Twitter accounts. A little investigation revealed that Tucker Carlson, on his Thursday night show, did a segment on the New Way Forward Act, which is a proposed immigration bill currently pending in the House.

The bill, which Tucker says is roughly the length of the U.S. Constitution, seeks to rewrite America's immigration laws so as to subordinate the rights of law-abiding American citizens to criminal aliens, whether those aliens came here legally or illegally. It will destroy America as we know it. Significantly, the media have said nothing about it. This is strange, considering the bill's high profile in the House.

The bill's sponsors are vocal members of the Progressive class  Jesus "Chuy" Garcia (IL-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), and Karen Bass (CA-37)  and its supporters include Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In other words, the Squad is on it. All told, a third of the House Democrats support the bill.

And just how extreme is the bill? It does away with all border enforcement, stops the deportation of immigrants who have engaged in serious felonies or acts of moral turpitude, and allows immigration judges to step in and oversee federal criminal trials. The most shocking thing, though, is that, when it comes to criminals already deported over the last twenty years for serious felonies or acts of moral turpitude, the bill requires that American taxpayers pay the billion or so dollars needed to bring all 480,000 of them back to America.

Tucker's video explaining the law is slightly over 13 minutes long, but every minute of it is worth watching:

The reality is that the bill currently doesn't have any chance of becoming law during 2020. It probably will not pass in the House, and it certainly won't pass in the Senate. And if, by some bizarre concatenation of circumstances, it did pass in the Senate, Trump would veto it. But here are two things to think about, both of which concern the upcoming election in November:

1. If the Democrats were to take Congress and the White House, this bill could well become law. The same Democrat presidential candidates who want to have open borders and provide free health care for illegal aliens will be perfecting happy to add in non-American criminals.

2. This bill is a slap in the face to those law-abiding people, both citizens and non-citizens, who have to share their communities with the new protected class of criminal foreigners. It's not the bill's sponsors or supporters who have to share an apartment building with the child-molester who can't be sent away or have to hope their children won't be shot dead by the MS-13 gang member who's been flown back to America on the taxpayers' dime. Instead, it's inner-city people  often minorities  who are going to find themselves at the mercy of criminals who were once sent back to the places from whence they came.

That last point is the reason the mainstream media are completely silent about this bill. The bill makes it completely clear that the Democrats have no interest in their traditional supporters, especially African-Americans and Hispanic Americans. They expect votes from these groups but have nothing to offer them but pain and poverty.

It's time to get the word out about this bill, not because it can become law this year, but because it shows that the Democrats have moved on to a new voting population, one they import from abroad and one, moreover, that's shown by its past acts that it's unafraid to use brute force to help carry out the agenda of its political protectors.
MINNEAPOLIS - A senior care facility nurses aide did not violate state law when she posted a photo of a patient with Alzheimers disease on social media because the photo itself was not a health record and didnt violate the patients privacy, the Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled.

The ruling, issued last week, found that since the 2017 social media post provided no other identifying information, it wasnt a health record. The post included a demeaning message.

Madonna Summit in the southern Minnesota city of Byron told the aide to remove the post. The woman was later fired. Staff also received training on patient privacy and cellphone use. But the ruling alarmed some elder care advocates who say it essentially tells aide workers they can post images of patients online without legal repercussions.

This ruling could have serious implications for people living in residential long-term care, Joseph Gaugler, a professor at the University of Minnesotas School of Public Health, told the Star Tribune. Given that the majority of nursing home residents are living with cognitive challenges, the opportunity for anyone to post what could be personal and/or inappropriate posts on social media without the consent of residents or their legally authorized representatives is troubling.

In the June 2017 post on the aides personal social media page, the patient is sitting in a chair and the aide is wearing scrubs. Under the photo, the aide wrote, This little (expletive) just pulled the fire alarm and now I have to call 911!!! Woohoo.

The aide told investigators with the state Health Department that she posted the photo because she thought it was funny.

The patients husband sued Madonna Summit, alleging the post revealed information about the health of his wife, who died in 2018.

In its review, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals considered whether the post and photo should be classified as a health record. The Minnesota Health Records Act defines a health record as any information, whether oral or recorded in any form, that relates to the past, present or future physical or mental health or condition of a patient. Examples of protected records include lab reports, X-rays, prescriptions and other technical information used to assess someones health, the court said.

The photograph and accompanying caption are certainly not posted in the best taste, but they do not fall under the definition of a health record in the Minnesota Health Records Act, Senior Judge Roger Klaphake wrote. The decision upholds a lower courts ruling to dismiss the lawsuit.

Peter Sandberg, an attorney for the patients husband, said the court failed to recognize the potent threat posed by social media. Sandberg said someone who knew the aide could have identified where she worked and deduced that the woman suffered from a mental impairment based on the photos caption.

A smartphone is a potent tool for invading someones privacy, Sandberg told The Associated Press, and whats posted on social media can become a permanent stain.
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Linkedin N. Adri (The Jakarta Post) Balikpapan  Fri, February 7, 2020

Kazahra Tanzania, a stay-at-home mother who lives in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, advised residents in a Facebook post to wear protective masks because she had heard that a man in the city who had recently visited China had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.

The information, which she received from her brother who works at a local hospital, turned out to be false, and she quickly took down her post and issued an apology. Apologies for my previous post, which has been troubling residents of Balikpapan, she wrote.

But panic had already been sown. Residents rushed to get masks to protect themselves after reading the post. Kazahra was detained by the police on Monday for allegedly spreading false information, which, according to the Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law, carries three to ten years of imprisonment.

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Humankinds potential for self-destruction through the lusts of the flesh appears to be limitless. While there is nothing new in the sensual sins and wanton debauchery that we witness in our culture, technology has undoubtedly advanced its influence. And one such sin is being promoted in an apparently fanatical fashion: transgenderism.

What Is Transgenderism?

The subject of transgenderism, includes, specifically, Trans-sexuality, cross-dressing, and seeking gender identity development, i.e., physical identity through radical surgeries, and hormone treatment; and, more broadly, gender atypicality that includes myriad subcultural expressions of self-selecting gender, and intersectionality with other interdependence movements, i.e., feminism, homosexuality.[1] The idea of transgenderism has its roots in the primordial rebellion of humankind to the creation order of God.

Ancient pagan rituals would have included some aspects of transgender practice. More currently, social anarchists such as the otherwise brilliant French social critic, Michael Foucault, argued that Christianity, in particular, has leveraged its cultural powers (a recurring them with Foucault) to repress human sexual expression. Foucault taught that gender is a social construct, not a biological fact. The absurdity of such thinking was largely unchallenged in the 1960s and 70s when Foucault and others were teaching such dogma in prestigious universities in Canada, France, and the United States.

Perhaps, we felt that it was too ludicrous to engage. Recently, in 2019, when a former United States Vice-President was asked how many genders there were, he responded, At least three. Such a frighteningly fallacious response by a person of influence constitutes an unmitigated endorsement of Foucaults radical deconstruction of reality. For someone to affirm, with a straight face, in serious dialogue, There are at least three genders is an Orwellian case study in, doublethink, newspeak, and the thought police writ large. To speak seriously about a gender other than male and female is surely the untenable subordinating to the inconceivable.

The Medical Truth about Gender Dysphoria

At one time it would have been unnecessary, but it, now, has to be said: The American College of Pediatricians should be awarded a courage award for stating the obvious:

Human sexuality is an objective biological binary trait: XY and XX are genetic markers of male and female, respectively  not genetic markers of a disorder. The norm for human design is to be conceived either male or female. Human sexuality is binary by design with the obvious purpose being the reproduction and flourishing of our species. This principle is self-evident.

To those who suffer from gender dysphoria (the new diagnostic language in DSM-5 replacing Gender Identity Disorder in DSM-IV-TR), feeling trapped in a person of the opposite sex, the prestigious association responds with merciful scientific clarity:

No one is born with an awareness of themselves as male or female; this awareness develops over time and, like all developmental processes, may be derailed by a childs subjective perceptions, relationships, and adverse experiences from infancy forward. People who identify as feeling like the opposite sex or somewhere in between do not comprise a third sex. They remain biological men or biological women.

Then, how do otherwise smart people fall for the newspeak of Michael Foucault and Kimberle Crenshaw, and, increasingly, advocate for public school textbooks that endorse transgenderism? How is it that parents in Long Beach, California, who oppose transvestite drag queens (invited by former First Lady, Michelle Obama) reading to their kindergartners, are considered haters? And that leads us to the Scripture that describes this incredible cultural transformation.

Photo credit: Pexels/WendyVanzyl

The Biblical Truth about Gender

Sexual sins, including transgenderism, were among the most heinous practices of the peoples living in Canaan. The lessons of their judgment because of deviant sexual practices remain as ominous warning signs to us today. When we prefer unbelief to faith in God, in order to advance the lusts of our flesh, we inevitably, and often irretrievably, destine ourselves for judgment. In the cases before us, the people groups living in Canaan digressed from what is clearly shown in creation and in Gods Wordthat we are born as either male or female, and that our God-given human sexuality is divinely sanctioned, and most beautifully expressed as complimentary (man and woman), and within the covenanted bonds of matrimony (husband and wife)led to a veritable infestation of the land, which vomited the people from the land, and led to judicial hardening of their hearts, and their ultimate destruction.

1. Male and Female He Created Them

God has not left us without His Word and, thus, His will concerning sexuality. Firstly, humankind is binary. There is no third or fourth category of a human being. Nature attests to what Scripture reveals. Human beings are made in Gods image and created either male or female.

Male and female he created them, and he blessed them and named them Man when they were created (Genesis 5:2).

Our Savior, Christ Jesus, by whom the world was created and through whom it is sustained, appealed to His own Word in Genesis to affirm the divinely created order, and the sanctity of marriage (Colossians 1:16).

He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate (Matthew 19:4-6).

The Scriptures not only provide creation-background for what we see plainly in biology, but the texts also show us that Gods creation wasand is good. Male and female are perfectly complementary in biology, physiology, emotion, and spirit. Humanity finds its fullest expression in the unity of people being made one in marriage, a sacred and inviolable covenant instituted by Almighty God. Thus, it is not enough for us to merely point out the evil and, therefore, the consequent tragedy of sexual sin. We must also be diligent to lift up the beauty and blessings that flow from the created order of a loving God.

2. Sexual Sin as Abomination

Secondly, although the text I would cite is concerned with Gods command forbidding same-sex relationships, one could deploy the transgender movements intersectionality instrument to include the passage in our study. Nevertheless, the prohibition against same-sex relations is indicative of Gods abhorrence of such wickedness: You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).

3. Cross-Dressing Forbidden

Transgenderism is explicitly addressed in the Bible. This fact reminds us that the phenomenon of trans-sexual expression is not new. The practice is a deviant display of witness rebellion against the created order of God. For those, like Foucault, who saw gender as merely social constructs, enforced by puritanical power structures and subject to deconstruction, the voice of God in the Bible still speaks:

A woman shall not wear a mans garment, nor shall a man put on a womans cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 22:5).

4. Living in the Land of Unbelief

Thirdly, believers should walk carefully in this present, evil Secular Age, as the imminent Canadian philosopher, Dr. Charles Taylor, has described our Post-Christian culture. What did the Lord say to Cain?

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it (Genesis 4:7).

Every believer must be alert to the dangerous presence of anti-Christian powers, and demonic spirits of this world, using unrepentant sinners who are beating at the door of our consciences to demand that we accept and approve of what God forbids. God called Israel to be conscious of the seducing powers of the Canaanites, whose wickedness in sexual sins led to divine judgment:

For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 18:29-30).

Male prostitutes were marked out by God as those whose wickedness brought judgment: And there were also male cult prostitutes in the land. They did according to all the abominations of the nations that the Lord drove out before the people of Israel (1 Kings 14:24).

We would do well to mark the comments of the old pastor-scholar John Gill (1697-1771) instructing Christians who live in this present evil age (Galatians 1:4):

Now Christ gave himself a sacrifice for the sins of his people, that as in consequence of this they might be delivered and saved from the damning power, so from the governing power and influence of all that is evil in this present world; as from Satan, the god of it, who has usurped a power over it; from the lusts that are predominant in it; from the vain conversation of the men of it; from the general conflagration of it at the last day, and from the perdition of ungodly men, and their eternal destruction in hell.[9]

Romans 1 and Transgenderism

It is difficult to imagine a contemporary social movement that is more dangerously consistent with the downward spiral of Romans chapter one than transgenderism. Read these words from St. Paul and ask yourself if we are not living in the times that he describes:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools (Romans 1:18-22);

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done (26-28).

Though they know Gods righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:32).

In Romans 1:18-32, the Apostle Paul describes unbelieving mans descent into a hell of his own making. Unbelief in the presence of the undeniable coupled with intellectual and spiritual anarchy devolves into not only the normalization of the irredeemable but the codification of the indefensible. Reading Romans Chapter One is like living through the last twenty years. For as Dr. D. James Kennedy once said, When your code cracks, your creed crumbles. One is only amazed at the rapid rate of decline.

What's the Big Deal about Sexual Sin?

The truth is undeniable: God abhors sexual sins because it strikes at the image of God in Man. Sexual sin, including transgenderism, explicit and exemplarily condemned in the Word of God, degrades human beings. Our women and children will always suffer the most if we allow such corruption to continue without divine intervention. So, the Lord speaks to us today:

Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).

The gospel is a perennial word of hope. We do not have to fall into these sins. Paul wrote,

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).

Transgenderism is a sad symptom of a soul in torment. The sin is an especially virulent pathology of the human soul. And the disease is spread by normalizing the forbidden, trivializing its lethality to the soul and to the community; and by naively promoting its supposed gaiety. Behind the laughing drag queen, however, is always a tragic and dying soul in need of Jesus Christs love.

If, in fact, you or your loved ones have been infected by the strong spirit-killing viruses of this agent of our present evil age, then, you must know: you can be healed. Life and love may be pure and holy before God. You can be fully human. Gospel transformation is not just available but is inevitable when one confesses his sin, turns to the Lord Jesus Christ to receive His mercy, grace, and receives His cleansing power of the cross: His life lived will cover yours. His death offered as a substitute for the punishment of our sins brings you redemption from the devices of the devil and the fetters of the flesh. St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, a notoriously noxious group of sinners, who had been caught in every vile trick of the devil, especially in sexual sin. Pauls words are most instructive for our study:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Did you read that? And such were some of you (emphasis added). Our Lord welcomes you into the company of the redeemed. The sin that so easily besets you today will become the chains lying on the floor of that old cell where you used to exist. But, praise God, you are not what you were. You are not what you will be. You are who you are: a sinner saved by grace, a child of God, loved by Him, redeemed by Him, and destined for a life you only imagined.

Photo credit: GettyImages/taa22

Note

1. See S. Stryker and S. Whittle, The Transgender Studies Reader (Routledge, 2006), 1,2; https://books.google.com/books?id=HBRR1isU-VAC. The concept of intersectionality, attributed to UCLA and Columbia Law School professor, Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw (1959), an intellectually fertile academic who also coined Critical Race Theory. See, e.g., Kimberle Crenshaw, Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics, u. Chi. Legal f. (1989): 139.

Bibliography

Association, American Psychiatric. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). American Psychiatric Pub, 2013.

Crenshaw, Kimberle. Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics. u. Chi. Legal f. (1989): 139.

Cretella, M.D., Michelle A., Quentin Van Meter, M.D., and Paul McHugh, M.D. Gender Ideology Harms Children. American College of Pediatricians. Last modified February 2, 2016. https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/gender-ideology-harms-children.

Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality. New York: Vintage Books, 1988.

Gill, John. Galatians 1:4. In John Gills Commentary of the Bible. Bible Study Tools. Salem Media Group, 2019. https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/galatians-1-4.html.

Halperin, David M. Saint Foucault : Towards a Gay Hagiography. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Hardiman, Kate. Radical California Curriculum Wants to Start Teaching Kindergartners about Transgenderism. Washington Examiner. Last modified April 17, 2019. https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/red-alert-politics/radical-california-curriculum-wants-to-start-teaching-kindergartners-about-transgenderism.

Kel, Deplorable. Michelle Obama Library Promotes Tranny Demon, With Baphomet Crown To Children, n.d. http://silvanuspublishing.com/transgender/666-20/.

Lynskey, D. The Ministry of Truth: The Biography of George Orwells 1984. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2019. https://books.google.com/books?id=maBtDwAAQBAJ.

Orwell, G. 1984. Arcturus Publishing, 2014. https://books.google.com/books?id=uyr8BAAAQBAJ.

Stryker, S., and S. Whittle. The Transgender Studies Reader. Routledge, 2006. https://books.google.com/books?id=HBRR1isU-VAC.

Taylor, Charles. A Secular Age. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2018.

Foucault, Michel: Feminism | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://www.iep.utm.edu/foucfem/.

MICHAEL A. MILTON (Ph.D., University of Wales; MPA, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; MDIV, Knox Theological Seminary; Cert. in Higher Education Teaching, Harvard University) serves as the Provost and James Ragsdale Chair of Missions and Evangelism at Erskine College and Seminary. A Presbyterian minister (PCA, ARP), Milton has penned more than thirty books, hundreds of articles in journals, magazines, opinion columns, and newspapers. As president of the D. James Kennedy Institute and Faith for Living, Milton has served as a public theologian. His work has been cited on numerous national media outlets as he provides historic Christian insights into faith and life in a changing world. Dr. Milton's record of ministry includes seminary chancellor, president of three seminaries, senior minister of one of America's historic churches, founder of three congregations, and a Christian academy. A composer and artist, Mike and Mae Milton reside in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Learn more at michaelmilton.org/about. [from a press release by McCain& Associates.]
Local News

By Ls Cohen Published: February 07 2020

Money to be used to help continue with revitalization efforts.

The Town of Oyster Bay was awarded $150,000 from Nassau County to beautify downtown Hicksville and improve safety for pedestrians traversing the area to access parking and local stores. The grant came from the Office of Community Development through its Transit-Oriented Development fund.

Oyster Bay Town Supervisor Joseph Saladino said that Hicksville is currently experiencing a renaissance.

We will transform the downtown area into a vibrant destination with new housing opportunities, local jobs and open space, he said in a statement announcing the grant. I thank Nassau County for investing these Federal dollars in the project as they will assist us with pedestrian safety improvements and beautification initiatives.

Hicksville has been awarded almost $10 million in New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grants for revitalization of the downtown area near the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station. According to a Town of Oyster Bay press release, the funds will support increased access to transportation, improve walkability, and attract new housing opportunities. The Long Island Railroad is also investing $132 million in Hicksville station.

The grant comes as a new transit-oriented development is set to open at 35 Broadway, replacing a formerly vacant commercial space with 18 residential units above a Work Smart office-sharing concept on the ground floor.

The town is also reviewing zoning changes to complement its revitalization initiative.

The award of this new transit-oriented grant from Nassau County is just yet another sign that Hicksville is in the midst of a revival, said Oyster Bay Town Councilman Lou Imbroto. One that will help transform it into an important transit hub that fosters smart growth throughout our area while creating jobs and new housing opportunities for residents.
Oregon Craft Beer Month continues with the last weekend of the Oregon Beer Showcase, featuring beers from breweries throughout the state, and Zwickelmania the next two weekends.

The months larger upcoming events also include the McMenamins IPA Festival at its Cedar Hills pub, Migrations 10-year anniversary celebration and tasting events throughout the state.

That last weekend of the showcase, held at Function PDX in Northwest Portland and sponsored by the Oregon Brewers Guild and The Oregonian/OregonLive, will feature beers from ColdFire Brewing, Allegory Brewing, Ferment Brewing, Klamath Falls Brewing and Common Block Brewing.

GET INSIDER BEER NEWS VIA TEXT: Want to come to the #FakeBrewsIPA release party in February, get a free pint, and get text alerts from Andre about all things Portland and Oregon beer. Sign up now through this limited promotion. Youll not only get that pint of #FakeBrews IPA, youll also be among the first to know about future new releases, new breweries and new trends across the city and state. And the best part? This is a two-way street. What do you want Andre to look into next? Need beer recommendations? Hes there for you, just sign up here.

Today, ColdFire brewer Dan Hughes will talk with guests from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., with Allegorys David Sanguinetti at the showcase Saturday night, along with Ferments founding couple, Dan and Jen Peterson. On Sunday, Paul Arney from The Ale Apothecary will be at Pearl Districts Function PDX, at 919 N.W. 23rd Ave.

McMenamins on Saturday throws its craft beer month event, its first ever IPA Festival with IPAs from 22 of its breweries. The festival will feature hoppy, citrusy and hazy IPAs along with food specials starting at 11 a.m. at McMenamins Cedar Hills Pub, 2885 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd.

Next weekend kicks off the first of two Zwickelmanias, open houses at more than 100 breweries for tastings and behind-the-scenes tours. Zwickelmanias first Saturday, on Feb. 15, will feature Portland-area breweries. The next Saturday, Feb. 22, will see events at breweries in central Oregon, the Columbia River Gorge, the Oregon Coast, southern Oregon and the Willamette Valley. The events run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturdays.

The 12th annual Zwickelmania will also feature the release of State of Excitement 2020, a collaboration beer created by 30 breweries across Oregon. Cans of the West Coast IPA will be available at breweries participating in Zwickelmania. For more details on Zwickelmania, go to the Facebook page of the Oregon Brewers Guild, which organizes the monthlong celebration.

Also on Saturday, Feb. 15, Migration Brewing is celebrating its 10-year anniversary in conjunction with Zwickelmania. Migration has renovated its original Glisan Street pub, where a new 18-tap system doubles its beer offerings. Migration brewed 10 collaboration beers with some of the biggest-name breweries in the area. Those will be offered starting at 11 a.m.

-- Andre Meunier

Check out Andres beer reviews on Untappd, where hes andremeunier13, and follow him on Instagram, where hes @oregonianbeerguy.

More beer coverage:
By IANS

NEW DELHI: A day before the Delhi Assembly elections, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday visited the ancient Hanuman temple in the capital's Connaught Place to seek blessings.

In a tweet in Hindi, he said that God had told him "everything will be good".

"Prayed for the progress of the country and Delhi. God said - "You are doing good work. Keep serving people like this. Leave the fruit on me. Everything will be good."

Kejriwal is aiming to become the Chief Minister for a third time, as the city goes to the polls on Saturday.
Wearing high-heeled shoes may elevate your look (and your height), but it is by no means a walk in the park. Heels have hardly been anyones best friend at the end of the night, with aching arches and stinging soles making a regular appearance, but not anymore. A designer named Jazmine K Davis, who is also the owner of shoe brand Jazmine Kionna in North America, has invented luxury high heel shoes that provide pain-free wear for longer hours.

With their built-in sole technology, Jazmines shoes are touted to be more ethical and relevant while being comfortable for longer hours than other similar brands that look good but feel like hell. The insoles have been designed to take the impact of each step by conforming to the pressure point of the foot. I created Jazmine Kionna to provide an alternative shoe option that is both affordable and comfortable, said the designer in a statement.

Model and actress Jesse Randhawa opines that this is going to benefit the fashion world. This is a good invention for models because we have to stand for hours backstage wearing heels, she says, adding that it will benefit models if these kinds of heels are brought into the business.

Stylist Aastha Sharma adds that the line can be good for everyone. I would definitely want to see and use it. Its a blessing for all who want to wear heels every day. It is good for fashion runways and red carpets as well, she agrees.

However, she demands that the footwear should look stylish as well. If they make it in stylish colours and various designs then it would do good. It should be a combination of both comfort and style, she opines.

Since it is known fact that high heels disrupt the natural curvature of the spine by shifting the weight forward, leading to increased stress on the lower back, medical experts are wary of Jazmines line as well. I dont think there can be such footwear or any heel you wear that can protect your back. Any heel cant change your spinal curve, and it will be affected by any footwear which tilt in the balance, explains spine surgeon Dr Nikhil Arbatti from Nanavati hospital, Mumbai.

The doctor further elucidates that 80-90 percent of people should experience the benefit of that footwear followed by a clinical trial. If it is clinically approved then its fine. She (designer) must have experimented with a few people but this cant be for everyone, the doctor asserts in conclusion.
James Anderson, the feted boss of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, is a big fan of Elon Musk's Tesla.

His fund, the UK's biggest investment trust, is one of the electric car maker's top shareholders. And there is a large and growing possibility, he has claimed, that Tesla will one day become 'the most valuable company in the world'.

That will be music to the ears of anyone who has piled into the stock in recent months as its shares roar higher.

Tesla shares have risen 447% since June last year

Since June, when they skidded to lows of $177, they revved up to peaks of almost $969  and then back down to below $800 again.

From trough to peak, it amounts to an astonishing 447 per cent increase in a little over seven months. So what is fuelling the rise? And is Anderson a genius or just badly mistaken?

There are various theories about what is causing Tesla's surge, but no certain answers.

From the 'short squeeze'  shares getting a lift as investors who bet against Tesla unwind their positions  to the rush of retail investors wanting a slice of the action, there are several market forces that have helped push the stock higher.

But there is also the growing sense of optimism exuding from the company, which has posted two quarterly profits in a row, hit record production numbers, opened a factory in China and stands to benefit hugely from the coming electric car revolution.

And although much has been made about 'Tesla killer' electric cars being made by traditional car manufacturers, some analysts say none of these can match the range or capabilities of Musk's machines.

Or, as Anderson has put it: 'These companies cannot compete with what Tesla is doing.'

But before you jump on the bandwagon, it is worth remembering that a company's fortunes  especially one so closely linked to its boss  can change quickly.

Still, anyone wowed by the success of tech giants Amazon, Google, Facebook and Netflix in the past two decades, as most investors surely are, could be forgiven for feeling the fear of missing out.

Tesla's supporters claim it still has a lot of growth ahead of it.

So what should you do when a stock like this pops?

Russ Mould, investment director of AJ Bell, says Tesla's shares are 'either going to keep going up like a rocket or come down like the stick'.

He points to similar astonishing rises that were followed by meltdowns, from the dotcom bubble in the early 2000s to the rise and fall of Bitcoin from 2017 to 2019.

It's worth noting at the moment that Tesla, which produced about 370,000 cars last year, is worth almost three times more than General Motors, which makes around 10m cars each year.

Much has been made about electric cars being made by traditional car manufacturers, but some analysts say none of these can match the range or capabilities of Elon Musk's machines

Mould adds: 'Investors have two choices: let the trend be their friend, in which case they will just let the shares ride, or take the view that even a good stock with a strong narrative and entrepreneurial management has its price  and that, on a short-term basis at least, Tesla's valuation looks very, very rich.'

He recommends asking some back-to-basics questions from the checklist devised by Warren Buffett's business partner Charlie Munger: Do you understand the business? Does the business have a durable competitive advantage? Does management have integrity? Does the stock come at a sensible price?

Weighing up the answers truthfully is key to your decision.

Investors wanting a less risky way into fast-growing tech equities can turn to trusts such as Anderson's Scottish Mortgage, whose top holdings, as well as Tesla, include Amazon, Illumina, Tencent and Alibaba.

And notable others include rival funds Axa Framlington Global Technology, Polar Capital Technology Trust and iShares Automation & Robotics ETF.

But you should also take note of Anderson's investment strategy. His fund aims to invest early in the most disruptive tech companies and is prepared to stick with them for the long haul.

'Our view,' he told Citywire in 2018, 'is that the point of equity capital markets is to provide serious amounts of capital for the long term, for projects that are for the good and that are driving forward our societies and economies. That is what Tesla is doing.'

But he adds: 'One of the great difficulties in financial markets is the outrageous level of certainty that people have in their views.

'Our position on Tesla is we don't know if the company will be successful. We do not know where the share price goes.

'We certainly believe there is a good possibility that Tesla will prove entirely and highly successful  and the returns we make to that would outweigh the downside. But one should always try to phrase things in terms of probabilities and payoffs, rather than certainty.'

So don't bet the farm on runaway stocks such as Tesla  but don't write them off either.
A new study from the University of Oxford and the University of Warwick reveals a breakthrough for sportsmen and women in the treatment of Achilles tendon rupture.

Researchers found that early walking in a brace provides similar outcomes to plaster casting with no increase in the risk of complications, paving the way for a big change in the way that patients are treated.

The results from the UKSTAR trial are reported today (Thursday 6 February) in The Lancet.

The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and was a multi-centre collaboration between universities and hospitals across the UK.

"This research is particularly important for sportsmen and women of all levels and abilities," said Matthew Costa, Professor of Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery at NDORMS, University of Oxford. "Achilles tendon rupture keeps people away from sport for many months. For some, it stops them ever returning to their favourite recreational activities, and for professional athletes it can be a career-ending injury. Immediate mobilisation in a brace is a safe alternative to plaster casting after an Achilles rupture and patients report better early outcomes, probably because the brace allows them to walk earlier than the cast."

Rupture of the Achilles tendon is a serious and increasingly common injury with over 11,000 people from both the sporting and non-sporting populations experiencing the injury each year in the UK.

Some patients are treated with surgery, but non-operative treatment is increasingly preferred, with patients either being treated in a plaster cast to immobilise the foot and ankle or by the use of functional bracing that allows weight-bearing. However, before the UKSTAR study there was little evidence towards which was more effective.

Although traditional plaster cast treatment protected the tendon as it healed, there were problems with casts including the immediate impact on mobility, additional risks associated with prolonged immobilisation, and possible long-term issues arising from gait abnormalities and muscle weakness.

With the bracing method, there were questions around the safety profile, specifically whether the risk of re-rupture was higher, leading to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons being unable to recommend for or against functional bracing in their 2009 guidelines.

However, the study found that the risk of re-rupture of the tendon in bracing was lower that reported in existing literature. Matthew Costa said: "Traditionally, patients with a rupture of the Achilles tendon are immobilised for several weeks in a plaster cast which restricts their mobility. However, our new research shows that immediate weight-bearing in a walking boot allows the tendon to heal just as quickly and with no increase in the risk of further rupture. Plus, the walking boot treatment is cheaper for the NHS."

Associate Professor Rebecca Kearney is an academic physiotherapy lead at Warwick Clinical Trials Unit, who has worked collaboratively with Professor Costa in this research area across Warwick and Oxford universities. She said: "This research is answering a question that has been debated for over a decade; early research began at the University of Warwick in 2009 exploring the impact of plaster casts and walking boots on walking patterns and getting back to activities, which led to the development of this trial. We now know that patients who immediate weight bear in a walking boot have better early outcomes, but this is only the beginning of the recovery. We need to do further research exploring how we best rehabilitate patients after the walking boot is discarded. This trial highlighted large variation in rehabilitation provision across the UK for this injury."

The UKSTAR trial randomised 540 participants from 39 UK hospitals making it the largest study of its kind to compare the two treatments. Adult patients were randomly assigned to plaster cast or functional brace. The objective was to compare function and pain, quality of life, complications including re-rupture, and resource use in patients having non-operative treatment. The study found no difference between the patient-reported Achilles Tendon Rupture Score (ATRS) at 9 months, or in the rate of re-rupture of the tendon.

###

Notes to editors

The Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences (NDORMS) is a multi-disciplinary department focusing on discovering the causes of musculoskeletal and inflammatory conditions to deliver excellent and innovative care that improves people's quality of life. The largest European academic department in its field, NDORMS is part of the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford, and is a rapidly growing community of more than 500 orthopaedic surgeons, rheumatologists and scientists all working in the field of musculoskeletal disorders. The research work of the department takes place in several locations across the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, namely the Botnar Research Centre, the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology, and the Kadoorie Centre. The co-location with NHS services puts the department in an excellent position with basic researchers working alongside clinicians. This substantially improves research capacity, improving access for researchers to patients, and facilitating the interaction between clinicians and scientists that is essential for successful medical research.

http://www.ndorms.ox.ac.uk

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nation's largest funder of health and care research. The NIHR:

Funds, supports and delivers high quality research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care

Engages and involves patients, carers and the public in order to improve the reach, quality and impact of research

Attracts, trains and supports the best researchers to tackle the complex health and care challenges of the future

Invests in world-class infrastructure and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services

Partners with other public funders, charities and industry to maximise the value of research to patients and the economy

The NIHR was established in 2006 to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research, and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. In addition to its national role, the NIHR commissions applied health research to benefit the poorest people in low- and middle-income countries, using Official Development Assistance funding.

This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support and would not have been possible without access to this data. The NIHR recognises and values the role of patient data, securely accessed and stored, both in underpinning and leading to improvements in research and care. http://www.nihr.ac.uk/patientdata


The IAF Chief, Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria being presented a memento by Director (BD), BrahMos, Col. (Retd.) J P Uniyal in presence of senior BrahMos officials at DefExpo exhibition. Photo: Brahmand

LUCKNOW (BNS): Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, Chief of the Air Staff of Indian Air Force (IAF), made a visit to the BrahMos pavilion on Friday, the third day of DefExpo India 2020 exhibition being held in Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.



The Air Chief Marshal was apprised of the landmark achievements made by the powerful BRAHMOS weapon system and the remarkable progress made by the India-Russia JV entity BrahMos Aerospace in making the missile truly world-class.



The Indian Air Force, on January 20, 2020, formally inducted the new Tigersharks squadron of frontline Sukhoi-30MKI fighter aircraft armed with the formidable BRAHMOS air-launched cruise missile (ALCM) at the Thanjavur air base in Tamil Nadu. The worlds deadliest weapon-platform combination would keep a strategic eye over the Indian Ocean Region, ensuring peace, tranquillity and prosperity.



The highly advanced BRAHMOS air-launched cruise missile had validated its impeccable precision attack capability to knock off high value land and sea-surface targets after undergoing a series of successful test firings from the Sukhoi-30 air combat platform.



In an impressive display of its world-class missile making capability, BrahMos Aerospace is exhibiting the universal BRAHMOS supersonic cruise missile in land, sea, sub-sea and air configurations at the five day international exhibition.


Bobby Morrison is an anomaly among his teenage peers, who use social media to contact celebrities.

Hes a true believer in the personal touch of handwritten letters and the thrill that comes with getting a reply the old-fashioned way.

The 19-year-old Whitby man has even gotten responses from famous people like music superstar Billie Eilish, physicist Stephen Hawking and former CBC personality Rick Mercer.

Things were going swimmingly until he wrote a flattering letter to filmmaker Michael Moore last month. It never made its destination. It didnt even get past the U.S. border.

Ive gotten return to sender notices, but this one struck me as very odd, because when I got it back it was covered in tape from U.S. customs, Morrison said in a phone interview.

I found it very odd that, out of all the letters Ive sent to the United States and everywhere else, this was the one that got stopped.

Its a peculiar twist that has Morrison feeling his privacy was violated.

The Star contacted both the United States Postal Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection with a photo of Morrisons envelope to find out which department was responsible and why the letter was sent back to the Whitby man.

Since it appears from the photo that CBP (customs) opened the letter, we defer to them for comment, said postal service spokesperson Martha Johnson.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said its an odd occurrence, but its not part of their protocol.

A few things are agreed upon: the letter was opened; it had official U.S. Customs tape attached; and there was no return to sender note, a common practice when letters are returned to the point of origin.

U.S. customs spokesperson Kelly Cahalan acknowledged the letter is tagged with CBP tape. Cahalan said the department views letters consisting solely of correspondence as private and not an item that warrants checks.

I dont know why thats (tape) on there, she said, adding that U.S customs would have sent it on to the recipients address, if it was opened but not confiscated.

We wouldnt return it to the (sender).

She said the department shares joint international mail facilities with U.S Post, and it is within customs authority to open mail containing goods to verify the contents, but not letters.

CBP does not make it a practice to target or open such mail, Cahalan said. CBP does not have a procedure to return mail to sender, that would be a process that the United States Postal Service would have to initiate.

Morrison, a broadcast student at Durham College, says it wont dissuade him from forging ahead with a hobby he started about five years ago. Next up, another shot at writing to the controversial filmmaker.

Cahalan said Moore is definitely not being singled out for mail screening. Cahalan couldnt comment on whether Moore could have requested such checks, even though she said I have a hard time believing thats the case.

Morrison said it is a breach of his privacy and Im a bit weirded out they would want to open it and read it.

Even if they dont like Michael Moore, its no reason to stop his correspondence, Morrison said.

Attempts by the Star to reach Moore for comment were unsuccessful.

Morrison said he found writing letters cathartic since high school, where he was encouraged to write to pen pals.

The first famous person he wrote to was Hawking.

They sent a picture of (Hawking) that I have in my room right now, he said.

Morrisons bedroom wall is plastered with letters he got back from people like music superstar Billie Eilish, who sent him a handwritten note signed, Thank you for existing, love you, Eilish.

That doesnt top the list of favourites for the college student who spent 2016 writing to all of Canadas big city mayors.

The biggest one to me was when I wrote to Rick Mercer, said Morrison, who loves how the comedian took on politicians and told them what he had on his mind.

It took two years, but he wrote back, Morrison said.

It says, Bobby, Rant on,  he said. When I got it, I was very impressed.

Though frustrated by the recent border hiccup, Morrison is committed to writing more letters, something he knows is rare for someone his age to be doing.

I like old-fashion things, he said. Its something thats dying, but its something thats interesting.

Jason Miller is a breaking news reporter based in Toronto. Reach him on email: jasonmiller@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @millermotionpic

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An artist's depiction of magnetic switchbacks in the solar wind, one of Parker Solar Probe's earliest discoveries.

Solar scientists were excited that NASA would be launching a probe to fly closer to the sun than ever before, but they may not have bargained on already producing dozens of papers based on the data.

NASA's Parker Solar Probe launched in August 2018 and has since completed four close flybys of the sun. The probe will continue to study our star until 2025, creeping ever closer to the visible surface and, in turn, deeper into the solar wind, the constant outflow of highly charged plasma that stretches across the solar system.

But the mission is already producing a flood of science, with a new set of nearly 50 articles appearing in a single scientific journal. The set of papers, published as a supplement series to The Astrophysical Journal , includes some findings that have already been publicized after presentations at scientific conferences.

Related: See the sun flip out in wild new satellite view

For example, the set includes a description of Parker Solar Probe's observations of dust trailing off the asteroid Phaethon , which causes the Geminid meteor shower here on Earth. Those findings were announced in December at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. (Ironically, Phaethon is named for a son of the Greek sun god, although that name was inspired by the object's close approach to the sun, not in anticipation of the solar probe's observations.)

Other papers in the collection highlight the high-resolution images that the probe's Wide-field Imager for Solar Probe, or WISPR, can capture. WISPR has observed structures in the sun's atmosphere like coronal rays and coronal mass ejections , scientists reported in the series.

Parker Solar Probe is particularly focused on studying the solar wind that pours off the sun, and that phenomenon makes plenty of appearances in the new research. Scientists studied plasma waves, switchback structures and turbulence in the solar wind , for example.

Researchers want to better understand the sun and processes like the solar wind and coronal mass ejections because the consequences of such events, called space weather , ripple across the solar system. Around Earth, space weather can interfere with navigation, communication satellites and even the power grid during particularly serious events.

But the new papers also cover topics that are bonus science material, so to speak, less connected to Parker Solar Probe's core mission goals. One new paper analyzes the dust environment around the sun as a way of understanding the disk of so-called zodiacal dust filling our solar system.

Soon, Parker Solar Probe will have company in its close-up study of the sun: NASA and the European Space Agency are launching a mission called Solar Orbiter on Sunday (Feb. 9).

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.com or follow her @meghanbartels . Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook .
Travellers pass through a fever detection system developed by Chinese search engine Baidu at the Qinghe railway station in Beijing on Feb 6, 2020. (Photo: AFP/Greg Baker)

The toll was raised by 73 new deaths from the epidemic, the National Health Commission said in its daily update.

Another 3,143 new cases of infection were confirmed, bringing total infections in the country thus far to 31,161, it said.

The central province of Hubei where the virus originated continued to be hardest-hit, accounting for 69 of the new deaths reported in the 24 hours to Friday.

Of the reported infections, more than 4,800 of those people were in serious condition.

Chinese authorities are still struggling to contain the outbreak despite ordering millions of people indoors in a growing number of cities, with overwhelmed hospitals struggling to treat the surging numbers of ill.

The contagion emerged in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan in December, later spreading to the rest of China and more than two dozen other countries, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a global emergency.

The number of confirmed infections in China could still grow significantly, with the health commission saying that more than 26,000 other people were "suspected" of having contracted the virus.


The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation said this week it will provide up to $100 million to support action against the 2019 novel coronavirus. It says the money will help strengthen efforts to test people for the virus, separate healthy individuals from the sick and find treatment for them.

The donation includes the $10 million the Gates Foundation offered in late January.

Controlling the epidemic

Mark Suzman is chief executive officer of the Gates Foundation. He said that national governments, private industry, and aid groups must join together to help protect people who are most likely to get sick. The donation will help speed development of the tools to bring this epidemic under control, he said. He added, This response should be guided by science, not fear, and it should build on the steps that the World Health Organization has taken to date.

Worldwide emergency

The Gates Foundation is giving money and working with other donors to help the World Health Organization (WHO), Chinese medical workers and others worldwide. When WHO called the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, it noted the need for an organized international effort to fight the virus.

Chinas government has also declared a national public health emergency and launched a nationwide effort to contain the virus and treat those who are sick.

Increased efforts to find and treat the coronavirus

The foundation promised $20 million right away to hurry the process of identifying those who are sick, keeping them separate, and helping them get better. The goal is to stop the disease from spreading to more people and places. Some of the money is going to WHO and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Money is also going to public health officials in China and other countries with coronavirus patients. The gift is aimed at helping them pay the start-up cost of medical workers and supplies while governments and international agencies are paying for ongoing operations.

Protecting at-risk groups in Africa and South Asia

Recent epidemics, such as the H1N1 influenza pandemic of 2009, have had a big effect on people living in extreme poverty. Most of those people live in African countries south of the Sahara Desert or parts of South Asia. They do not have good basic health care, so they have higher than average health risks.

Another $20 million is going to public health officials in these areas to improve their emergency operations and to treat confirmed cases. One partner is the African Field Epidemiology Network, a non-profit service that currently operates in more than 30 African countries.

Developing Vaccines

Of the total donation, $60 million will go to speed the process of making vaccines to protect against the novel coronavirus. It will also support efforts to learn the best way to treat and identify those who are sick. If the outbreak continues for several months or more, public health officials will need to have safe and effective vaccines and medicines.

One organization working on developing vaccines is the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations. It has called on scientists to propose research on dealing with the coronavirus. They are already working with Chinese public- and private-sector researchers trying to find ways to stop the spread of the virus.

Im Jill Robbins.

Jill Robbins adapted a Gates Foundation release for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think of the efforts of the Gates foundation? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

epidemic  n. a growing number of cases of an infectious disease in a community

pandemic  n. a situation in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people over a wide area or throughout the world

epidemiology  n. the study of how disease spreads and can be controlled
Ive never understood Mitt Romney. Ive admired him, even warmed to him. The post-election documentary Mitt presents Mitt Romney as a man who is high in conscientiousness; he chases after the tiniest litter in his presence. It shows a winning self-effacing side of the man; it shows him admiring his father more than himself. In that film, he takes the slings and arrows of public life with some grace. Hes been on the right side of various controversies in his Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was, by everyones accounts, a sterling business partner who worked hard and intelligently building a business in a high-stakes field.

In my own reporting on him, Ive seen how his high energy and his chase for excellence come out in his family life. Ive seen how he taught his sons to make difficult choices in their high-pressure and high-status jobs to prioritize time traditionally set aside for Romney family get-togethers. Just a picture of his children, their spouses, and his grandkids is a visual argument for his greatness as a man. Ive long thought that one of his mistakes was not being more open about his faith and more candid. Hes an example of the way Mormonism seemed to be a frontier mutation of American WASP culture, one that endowed its members with a certain competitive flintiness, political realism, and actual family values where before there was merely graceful entitlement and a certain gin-blossom softness. And Ive even admired his ambition for higher office. Having proved himself as a son, a husband, a father, and in business, he sought to serve his country in a very special way, as his father did. And he seemed to conceive of doing so as a way of demonstrating not just his gratitude for his country, but proving the worth of the subculture of it that formed him.

But Ive never understood him. Once the subject turns to politics, law, and morality, the things Romney says and his actions dont quite match, or his reasoning doesnt cohere. Unable to understand him, Ive found him impossible to believe. And on two subjects in particular it has been impossible to reconcile his words and actions: abortion and Donald Trump. Exploring the first can help us illuminate his approach to the latter.

Story continues

In 1994, seeking to defeat Ted Kennedy, Romney argued vigorously, but implausibly, that he was as much or more pro-choice than Ted Kennedy. He and his wife went to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser and donated $150 to the organization, though later he claimed not to recall this. Sometimes Romney would hint that he had personal beliefs about the issue that werent relevant to the public. He then ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 as pro-choice and won, while vowing not to change the states abortion laws. He supported taxpayer-funded abortions for disadvantaged women, though he did end up signing some legislation supported by pro-lifers.

There have been multiple attempts to explain this. As he began to have presidential-sized ambitions in the Republican Party, Romney confessed that his initial position was a lie. He said, The greatest mistake was when I first ran for office, being deeply opposed to abortion but saying, I support the current law, which was pro-choice and effectively a pro-choice position. That was just wrong.

A friendly election-year biography attributed his position to mere political expediency. It was the result of polling done by Richard Wirthlin showing that he couldnt win statewide office with an effectively pro-life position.

But neither of these quite captures what Romney had argued or done. Romney actually took Wirthlin, a fellow Mormon with connections high in the Churchs hierarchy, to Salt Lake City to explain what his position would be and the necessity of having it to achieve his desired office to LDS leaders. He was looking for neither a blessing nor an endorsement. But, if we are to believe his latter claim about his greatest mistake, it seems as if this meeting was an attempt to receive tacit endorsement to lie to the public about his beliefs, or it was to lie to his most senior churchmen.

During the campaign, he said that his mother, Lenore Romney, had been for legal abortion, due to the death of a family member, Ann Keenan, during an illegal abortion in 1963. My mother and my family have been committed to the belief that we can believe as we want, he said, recalling that story, but we will not force our beliefs on others on that matter. And you will not see me wavering on that. In fact, Lenore Romneys position was muddled, a preference for more-liberal abortion rights, but she also publicly affirmed her exasperation with the argument that a woman should have the final word. Romneys interpretation of his mothers position was hotly disputed by veterans of her 1970 campaign for the U.S. Senate. And voters did see him waver on the issue, eventually.

And, while he claimed he would not impose his personal beliefs on others, as a bishop of his Church, he conscientiously counseled women against abortions that were impermissible by the standards of the LDS Church, which condemns abortion done for personal convenience as immoral, and offered counsel supporting the decision to abort in the case of an ectopic pregnancy.

Perhaps the personal beliefs distinction appealed because it served to rhetorically reconcile his political statements with his membership in his Church, but it represents its own kind of incoherence. Political beliefs about the rate of taxation, deficits, or public management of health care are just as much personal beliefs as convictions about the unborn. Romney is confessing that as governor he was willing to oversee the imposition of taxes, fines, and prison sentences for violations of relatively trivial personal beliefs translated into public, but questions of whom it might be legitimate to kill would be subject to this unsupportable distinction.

Romney would tell Katie Couric about his mistake when explaining his 2005 decision to reject a bill that would fund embryonic-stem-cell research: It became apparent to me when a bill reached my desk that would have created new life and destroyed it, and I simply could not sign it. It was unacceptable to me to . . . be associated with the destruction of human life. And I recognized that. It was a strange answer, to suggest that when the issue had been framed as a beloved family members death, it was merely an abstraction to him. But that when it involved a complex lab process, it became real. This is not very plausible. And it was made less so when he immediately revealed the continued incoherence of his views by saying that he would allow surplus embryos created by couples through in vitro fertilization to be donated to research and then destroyed if the couple chose.

Effectively, his position became that he had made a mistake and misrepresented his views to the public of Massachusetts, but having then realized he was wrong and that the destruction of human embryos could not be countenanced, he still privileged his campaign promise to not change the laws of the state over the personhood of the unborn.

On Bill OReilly, he tried to describe his thinking. I thought, Well, I can say and can understand the idea of leaving the law the way it is. Slate journalist Will Saletan wisely noted that Romney continued to avoid describing his convictions directly, referring instead to how he negotiated his conscience and public attitudes. This isnt a man talking about what he believes, Saletan observed. Its a man talking about framing a public posture under constraint. What Saletan observed is not so much Romney changing his views on abortion as changing his political identity on the issue.

What I would say is that Romneys consistent application of Mormon teaching on abortion as a bishop acting in a pastoral role and his various political personas show a man who is convinced that he had to condescend to the voters whose support he was soliciting. He manages it with some half-truths and self-deception but mainly through a lack of candor and logic.

This habit of studying voters and trying to learn what they want to hear is why my friend and colleague Jonah Goldberg says that Mitt Romney speaks conservatism as a second language. Romney called himself a severe conservative: a two-word phrase that communicated whole essays about his desire to pander to conservatives, his inability to understand them, and his low view of their political enterprise  and how he conceived of the unfortunate moral and aesthetic price of his own ambitions in winning their support. In both pretending to be more pro-choice or pro-life than he was, he was lowering himself to his audience.

He is far from the only politician who has shifted his views on Donald Trump, and he may not be the most incoherent. Ted Cruz started his chase for the Republican presidency by proudly declaring that he thought Donald Trump was awesome. But by the end, Cruz perhaps confessed to his own lack of candor when he said with the first genuine emotion Ive ever seen from him: Im going to do something I havent done for the entire campaign, for those of you all whove traveled with me, all across the country. Im going to tell you what I really think of Donald Trump. . . . The man is utterly amoral. . . . Morality does not exist for him. But then again, nobody I know is currently praising Ted Cruz for his moral consistency, courage, and conscience.

Romney also once claimed to tell us what he really thought of Donald Trump when he made an extraordinary intervention in the 2016 campaign. As the partys most recent nominee for president, he gave a blistering speech against the man who was already becoming the presumptive nominee. Think of Donald Trumps personal qualities. The bullying, the greed, the showing off, the misogyny, the absurd third-grade theatrics, he said.

He criticized Trumps nastiness and his racism, his willingness to scapegoat Muslims and immigrants. He said Trump didnt know anything about the economy and predicted that if Trump embarked on his trade war, it would plunge the American economy into deep recession. Heres what I know. Donald Trump is a phony, a fraud. His promises are as worthless as a degree from Trump University. Hes playing the members of the American public for suckers. He gets a free ride to the White House, and all we get is a lousy hat.

Romney did not have to wait for the 2016 election to form a low opinion of Donald Trump. In the middle of Romneys own 2012 campaign, Donald Trump had become an unwelcome sideshow, fanning the conspiracy theory that Barack Obama wasnt born in the United States. Romney dropped everything to fly to Vegas to collect Donalds endorsement when it was offered. Romney praised Trumps position on China and his understanding of the economy. Again, candidates always accept endorsements where they can help. But accepting it in the way he did was another form of condescension.

If Romney really believed that Donald Trump was a phony and a fraud, why did he seriously explore a role as secretary of state in Trumps administration? Some of my friends have argued that interposing oneself between an unfit president and foreign policy violates no moral code. As a moral abstraction, thats true. But the job of the secretary of state is not to interpose. Thats a job more properly for Congress. A Cabinet members job is to advise, appraise, and execute. Interposing is an extremely unconstitutional way of thinking about it. Romney had denounced Trumps foreign policy in public and then watched the American people elect him. Had Romney learned anything from this event? Had he been humbled in any way? He showed no evidence of it.

While it may not have gone very far, Romney did some diligence on the idea of the job. He contacted all the living secretaries of state. He said he spoke with Secretary Clinton, and in each case, each of them said: Please, please take that job, if its offered to you. We would very much like to see you serve in that capacity.

Now, theres something funny about consulting with Clinton. First, of course, is that she had just been rejected for the job of president. Her advice on who should be secretary of state is irrelevant. But second, in Romneys big anti-Trump intervention, Romney let fly with harsh criticisms of Clintons tenure at State. He said when she was guiding it  Americas interests were diminished at every corner of the world. She compromised our national secrets. She dissembled to the families of the slain. And she jettisoned her most profound beliefs to gain presidential power.

These are extremely grave accusations. If she did all that, why seek her input? Or was this criticism another attempt at condescending to Republican prejudices while trying to appeal to them? Am I supposed to believe his brief against Clinton? I dont know. Seriously considering the job at State and taking Clintons advice both seem to betray his public words.

But the inconsistency carries through again. Even though in 2016 he said he would have rejected Trumps endorsement for president had Trump said what he did about Muslims then, Romney happily accepted Trumps endorsement for Senate in 2018, and then, when he arrived in Washington, returned the favor with a Washington Post op-ed criticizing the president. All these gyrations can be explained in isolation, as attempts at conciliation and provocation come in their turns. But the movement taken as a whole is surprisingly snakelike.

And so I come to his speech explaining his vote to convict and remove President Trump. My own view is that what Trump did was wrong, but much less serious a violation of his duties than many things done under all the presidents of my lifetime. And so I think the proposed remedy of impeachment and removal is excessive, unless we intend to dramatically raise the standards of public conduct. Perhaps we ought to raise them in a way that would disallow vice presidents sons from sitting on the boards of state-linked corporations in a country where his fathers administration had just backed a change of government without an election. Perhaps a top adviser to the Romney campaign shouldnt have been on that same board either, given the appearance of corruption it gives to Ukrainians.

Romney waited for his moment until after all his Senate colleagues had committed to their course of action. Romney framed his decision in the most elevated terms possible. I swore an oath, before God, to exercise impartial justice. He said, I am a profoundly religious person. I take an oath before God as enormously consequential. Im happy for him to finally acknowledge his faith in this way. Though, I wish as governor of Massachusetts he had fought to allow Catholic adoption agencies to take their oaths before God as seriously as he does.

Romney talked about his duty as a senator-juror as he unfurled his surprise vote to convict and impeach. He and his office timed three exclusive media pieces in The Atlantic, the New York Times, and Fox News, in which he talked about his decision and his place in history.

But wouldnt a serious senator-juror from a one-party safe state talk, argue, and remonstrate with the other jurors? Shouldnt the most politically vulnerable members of his caucus and the ones most likely to change their assessment  Susan Collins and Cory Gardner  hear about his reasoning and decision before he tells the producers of Chris Wallaces television show? Apparently not.

If Romney really believes that Trump is acting akin to a tinhorn dictator, as he claimed in his explanations, he would logically be obliged to overcome his policy differences with Trumps rival Democratic candidate in 2020 and endorse him or her, or explain why Mayor Pete Buttigieg or Bernie Sanders is worse than a tinhorn dictator. I suspect he wont. And when he doesnt, hell once again have found a public persona and identity at the cost of candor and coherence.

At the risk of alienating any readers who have stuck with me, perhaps this is the downside of all the things I admire about Mitt Romneys Mormonism. Romney takes grave and costly moral stands and reverses them with unsatisfying and incoherent explanations. His Church does the same  on polygamy and on the admissibility of black people to the universal priesthood of his Church. The Church digs in, firing thunderbolts at its critics. And then a political opportunity (statehood) or a political cost (boycotts led by the Reverend Jesse Jackson) comes into view. No coherent explanation is given for the change; no rational account of Gods provident change is offered. A revelation just comes from on high.

In one of his rollout interviews, Romney was asked if this vote signaled his ambitions for higher office. According to the report: Romney erupted in laughter. Yes! Thats it! They caught me! he proclaimed. Look at the base I have! Its going to be at least 2 or 3 percent of the Republican Party. As goes Utah, so goes the nation!

Well, there it is, the great revelation. From his 2012 campaign, we know of Americans, he holds 47 percent in contempt. Now we know that of Republicans, the percentage rises to 97 or 98. He doesnt seek the esteem of the New York Times, which is fickle. And he understands that he will be subject to the sustained and sometimes hysterical criticism of his party. His moral and political beliefs shift constantly, and may yet shift again. And though they do not cohere, I credit his deep sincerity, a sincerity which is in its way uniquely religious.

Mere mortals think their actions define them. And if he were judged by his actions outside of politics, Romney would rank as one of Americas greatest men. But he always conceived of politics as a low business and so tried to make deals with himself and his audience about what he could say, rather than what he should. From more pro-choice than Ted Kennedy, to severely conservative, from Trumps greatest scourge to his potential senior diplomat, and back again, from consuming ambition for high office to indifference to it, Romneys actions never really meant anything or made a difference. The futility of his impeachment vote was the point, the rebuke of the other 97 percent of Republicans. But taken together, all of Romneys political actions bear witness to the one sincere, consistent, and abiding truth: He has always esteemed himself as the real elect.

More from National Review
" " Wikimedia Commons ( CC By 3.0 A vat of indigo blue dye in the process of production. Indigo was one of the first plants the British attempted to grow when they arrived in North America.

There was a time, not all that long ago, that if you wanted your toga or whatever to be a different color, you'd have to go find something in nature to dye it with: maybe mud, maybe an insect, or the seed, flower, root or leaves of a plant.

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Color Before Chemistry

Before 1856, when a teenaged British chemist named William Perkins accidentally formulated the first synthetic dye while trying to find a cure for malaria (he produced mauveine, which was an intense purple color), harvesting natural resources for dyes was a big deal.

"Until Perkins' discovery, anything that had color  clothes, shoes, rugs, tapestries  was dyed with either a plant, a bug or a mineral," says Donna Hardy, the president and founder of the International Center for Indigo Culture.

Perkins discovered the means of making purple cheaply and in large quantities  before that, purple dye was very precious; the most reliable source was to extract it from the dessicated mucus gland of a sea snail. Blue was easier to come by, and useful because it could be mixed with other colors to make purples and greens, but before the advent of synthetic dyes, getting pigment out of the land was laborious.

To make anything blue, you needed indigo, an organic compound found in the leaves of certain plants  most notably indigo plants in the genus Indigofera (from India or South America), although other plants such as woad (Isatis tinctoria) contain indigo compounds, too  just in much lower concentrations. The first Indigofera used by Europeans was grown in the Far East (the word indigo comes from the Greek word for India). Indigo was highly valued in the West, but Europeans wanted their own source of indigo that wasn't so expensive. That's where the New World came in.

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Indigo in North America

Until indigo dye was synthesized in Europe in 1882, a species of Asian Indigofera was a huge cash crop wherever it could be grown.

"In the 1600s, Europeans colonized North America, and immediately started trying to grow crops of economic importance," says Hardy. "Indigo is one of the first plants the British attempted to grow when they got to North America. They tried growing it in Jamestown, the Dutch tried it in New Amsterdam  present-day New York City. The French had some success in Louisiana, but nobody had much luck until Eliza Lucas came along."

In the 1730s, 16-year-old Eliza Lucas, whose father was lieutenant governor of Antigua and who had an interest in botany, was put in charge of three of her father's South Carolina plantations. She and her father had no idea what to grow there, but he sent her seeds from Antigua, and indigo seemed to Eliza to have the most promise. She married a man named Charles Pinkney who wrote down the instructions for how to grow and process indigo, and after a while they made enough seed to hand out to the neighbors, which started an indigo bonanza in the Southern colonies.

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Indigo and Slavery

"Before indigo, rice and deer hides were the main exports from Charleston," says Hardy. "Native American slaves were the first export."

Of course, Eliza and Charles Pinkney didn't figure out how to grow and process indigo  their slaves did. The import of African slaves began to ramp up in the southern colonies as a result of the indigo boom in the mid-18th century. In fact, one of the biggest indigo promoters of the time, Moses Lindo, who went to Charleston from England to act as inspector general of indigo coming out of the Port of Charleston, owned a slave ship called the Lindo Packet, with which he imported enslaved people from Barbados to Charleston. And the indigo fever and the dependence on slave labor that came with it didn't end in South Carolina.

"Slavery wasn't even legal in Georgia until indigo became the main export in South Carolina," says Hardy. "The [British] governors in Georgia decided to legalize slavery to keep the indigo industry going."

Georgia's ban on slavery ended in 1751, and by the beginning of the Revolutionary War 15 years later, the enslaved population of that state had grown to over 18,000. Though the American colonies winning their independence from Britain tanked the indigo market, it was quickly replaced by rice and cotton. For its part, England turned its attention to India for its indigo needs, where British colonists forced sharecroppers to grow indigo for hardly any money. The legacy of slavery followed indigo around until it was replaced by synthetic indigo in the early 20th century, when it slipped into obscurity.

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Is Indigo the Future of Sustainable Clothing?

These days, indigo dying is considered a curious historic oddity, but, according to Hardy, indigo has the potential to be part of the solution for the broken garment industry.

"The chemical formula for natural and synthetic indigo are the same, but the synthetic dye has stuff like formaldehyde in it, and synthetic dyes are all petroleum based," says Hardy. "The way we manufacture and dye clothes isn't good for people or the environment. And slavery is still a thing in the garment industry."

Now That's Ancient The oldest piece of indigo dyed cotton fabric was found in Peru in 2009. The scrap is 6,000 years old.
Event Overview:

SECURA North Africa is a tradeshow for fire, safety & security and is organised in Algeria to cover the whole North African region. The objective of this event is to gather all stakeholders and professionals in the field of industrial, commercial security, worker safety, firefighting and cybersecurity at the same place for the three days.
Under the patronage of the Commander-in-Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force (BNA), Field Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, several new departments were opened yesterday at the King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH), marking the BDFs 52nd Anniversary.

The commander-in-chief deputised Defence Affairs Minister, Lieutenant-General Abdulla bin Hassan Al-Nuaimi, to attend the opening ceremony, in the presence of Health Minister, Faeqa bint Said Al-Saleh.

The minister unveiled the plaque, officially opening the new sections - the Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET-MRI) department and the Intensive Care Unit, in addition to the Smart Pharmacy - equipped with the latest and most advanced diagnostic and treatment devices.

Al-Nuaimi also inaugurated the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and was informed about the Solar Energy Project which will provide clean energy to the KHUH. The minister then visited the Bahrain Oncology Centre, where he opened a Cancer Research Centre, and a paediatric ward. The KHUH Commander, Major-General Dr Shaikh Salman bin Atiyatallah Al Khalifa, presented the minister with a commemorative gift.
A laboratory technician working on samples from people to be tested for the new coronavirus at "Fire Eye" laboratory in Wuhan in central China's Hubei Province on Feb. 6, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

The Mysterious Origin of the Wuhan Coronavirus

China continues to refuse to release animal sampling testing data

Analysis

It has been two months since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan and its spread has shown no signs of slowing down in China. More than 35 Chinese cities have been put on lockdown by Chinese authorities in an attempt to isolate confirmed and suspected cases. The lives of millions of people are in danger as the virus shows signs of spreading further in China as well as internationally.

There are significant gaps in the official investigations into the origins of the novel Coronavirus. In order to contain the virus, one first needs to understand how a virus that allegedly originated in animals found its way to humans. For this to happen, the Chinese authorities need to release their animal testing data and samples. Testing results from animal samples collected at epicenters would give important insights into what animals might serve as intermediate hosts for the new coronavirus.

This is critical to the containment of the epidemic. For example, if rats are the intermediate hosts for this virus, it would be futile to shut down the cities to restrict peoples movements while infected rats are still moving freely. Results from animal samples could also guide policy decisions that would reduce the risk of another outbreak.

An Animal Origin of the Virus

Scientific studies based on phylogenetic analysis have researched the sequence of the novel coronavirus, compared it to other coronavirus sequences, and found it likely originated in bats. Researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology found the genome in the virus found in patients was 96 percent identical to that of an existing bat coronavirus, according to a study published in the journal Nature. But there have been other theories as well. One Chinese study suggested, for example, that snakes were the source of transmission to humans. However, many scientists believe that reptiles are a less likely source and that mammals like rats and pigs, and some birds, have been the primary reservoir for coronaviruses.

With this in mind, phylogenetic studies of viral genome sequences need to be supported by animal studies to confirm the origin of the infection, as well as to determine whether there is an intermediate host.

It is not an easy task for a virus to establish zoonotic transmission, and coronaviruses rarely leap from animal to human infection with high transmissibility. There is even less chance to see a coronavirus leap directly from bats to humans. To infect new hosts, mutations need to occur with the viral surface proteins and/or envelope and structural genes, so that the mutated viruses can bind and enter the cells of new species, and efficiently complete the replication cycles in the new hosts.

Some scientists have argued that coronaviruses can jump directly to humans, without mutating or passing through an intermediate species. However, an intermediate host was clearly needed to establish zoonotic transmission to humans in the previous outbreaks of coronaviruses. Many studies suggested that the bat coronavirus jumped from its natural host bats to civets and then to humans during the 2003 SARS outbreak, and it jumped from bats to camels and then to humans for the MERS outbreak. So, civets and camels would serve as intermediate hosts for zoonotic transmission.

Because bats were not sold at the Huanan market in Wuhanthe epicenter of the infectionat the time of the outbreak, this suggests the existence of another intermediate animal host that may have transferred the virus to humans.

What is the most puzzling is that there have been no reports on the testing of animal samples collected in any epicenters in Wuhan, especially at the Huanan seafood market, to identify what animals might be the host or intermediate hosts of this novel Wuhan coronavirus.

Chinese scientists published a report in Lancet recently which stated that the majority of the earliest cases included reported exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and that patients could have been infected through zoonotic or environmental exposures. Another report on Lancet by Chinese CDC scientists claimed that on the basis of current data, it seems likely that the 2019-nCoV causing the Wuhan outbreak might also be initially hosted by bats, and might have been transmitted to humans via currently unknown wild animal(s) sold at the Huanan seafood market.

However, so far, no information was released about the amount, and species, of wild animals present at the Huanan seafood market upon closure; nor about how the animals were managed or disposed of when the market was closed on Jan. 1, 2020. And no information was released about how many animal samples were tested for SARS-CoV or Wuhan Coronavirus via viral nucleic acid testing methods.

Official Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported on Jan. 26 that 33 samples out of 585 environmental samples collected at the Huanan Seafood market were positive for nucleic acids from new Coronavirus, suggesting the virus originated from wild animals or stocks sold there. However, these samples were from the environmentnot from animals.

It would be an ultimate failure of the Wuhan public health commission and Chinese CDC if no animal samples were collected and tested prior to, or at the time of, the shutting-down of the Huanan seafood market, where many animals were sold at the time of the outbreak. It would be similar to conducting an investigation on a food-borne disease outbreak without taking restaurant food samples related to the outbreak, and instead taking dining table surface swabs to test.

Background of the Huanan Seafood Market Closure

The 2019-nCoV has caused rapid infection in China and spread to other countries outside China, which has led to a global health crisis.

The Huanan seafood market is known to be a major outlet for the collection and distribution of live and dead wild animals. These included live wolves, hedgehogs, deer, birds, snakes, goats, hares, and boars that were sold and available in the east section of the seafood market.

A Wuhan medical and health committee identified multiple pneumonia cases associated with Huanan seafood market, which were announced on Dec. 31, 2019. The seafood market was closed by the Wuhan government on Jan. 1.

Chinese medical reporters visited the market on Dec. 31, 2019, the evening before its closure on Jan.1 where they observed poor hygiene, and wild animal bodies and organs disposed of in an unorganized manner. This suggested that a relatively large quantity of wild animals were still present at the market upon the forced closure.

No Information on Wild Animals at the Seafood Market Was Disclosed

Yet, no information was released about the amount, and species, of animals present upon closure, how many animals were tested for Coronavirus, and how the animals were managed or disposed of upon the closure of the market on Jan. 1. A Chinese media outlet, Yicai, inquired about the outcome of the wild animals sold at the market and confirmed that there was no disclosure from the Wuhan government.

Dr. Guan Yi, the current director (China affairs) of the State Key Laboratory for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Hong Kong, visited Wuhan on Jan. 21 with the goal of identifying the animal source. He mentioned in a media interview that locals refused to cooperate with him. He pointed out that with the market now closed, it would be difficult to investigate the origin of the virus. He said the Huanan seafood market was cleaned after the closure, the crime scene was gone, and how can you solve a case without evidence?

Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated, it is clear that the source of infection was from wild animals, but we dont know which species due to closure of the seafood market.

The Huge Risks of Not Identifying the Original or Intermediate Animal Hosts

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) stated that much is unknown about how 2019-nCoV, a new coronavirus, spreads. So far the understanding is that the major pathway of 2019-nCoV infection is respiratory droplet transmission and contact from humans to humans.

Guan Yi and Kwok-yung Yuen of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) et. al. identified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) from caged palm civets from live animal markets in China in 2003. Their studies lead to the subsequent ban on selling civets and the closing of all wild animal markets in Guangdong and helped to confine the SARS epidemic.

Typically, if an animal is identified as host or source of spread of disease, authorities and the CDC would initiate prevention and control measures such as an awareness campaign, proper quarantine of sick animals and disposal of carcasses as well as monitoring the potential route for how the disease spread zoonotically.

Rodents are known to infest seafood markets. For example, tens of thousands of rodents are expected to be unleashed in Japan as one big fish market is closed.

Huanan seafood market is also infested by rodents. If rodents were elucidated as being a potential host for coronavirus, the risk of rats infesting beyond the current quarantine zone still persists. Given the fact that coronavirus was detected from feces from patients from Shenzhen and that bat SARS-like virus strains were isolated from bat feces, the possible fecal-oral route of 2019-nCoV transmission in addition to respiratory droplet transmission would lead to a reasonable warning for people to avoid contact with animals like rats. Thus, if rodents are indeed a source or host of the 2019-NCoV infection, then, rodent contamination of food or water is a potential way for the disease to spread, which needs to be brought to the awareness of the international community.

Similarly, if birds or other species were the hosts of 2019-nCoV in the seafood market, the information pertaining to the species, amount, virus type, biological reactions, and potential routes of spreading of the virus also need to be identified or reported to the world so that appropriate prevention measures could be taken.

It would be serious incompetence and malfeasance if Chinese authorities did not attempt to collect nasal, fecal, and blood samples from animals and birds sold at the seafood market. Testing animal samples would reveal very important information regarding the zoonotic transmission routes, the trends of viral mutations in this outbreak, and the loopholes in the current countermeasures.

Were There Other Epicenters Besides the Huanan Seafood Market?

The Chinese CDC did release data from environmental samples from the seafood market and suggested that it is originated from wild animals with species uncertain.

A team which included Dr. Feng from the Chinese CDC published a report titled Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus-Infected Pneumonia, in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan. 29, 2020. The paper stated that Although the majority of the earliest cases were linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and the patients could have been infected through zoonotic or environmental exposuresthe majority of the earliest cases included reported exposure to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, but there was an exponential increase in the number of nonlinked cases beginning in late December.

The Possibility 2019-nCoV Originated From Bat SARS-Like Virus (Bat-SL-CoV)

One recent Lancet report on Jan. 29, 2020, titled Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding, stated that A Blast search of the complete genomes of 2019-nCoV revealed that the most closely related viruses available on GenBank were bat-SL-CoV-ZC45 (sequence identity 87.99%; query coverage 99%) and another SARS-like betacoronavirus of bat origin, bat-SL-CoV-ZXC21 (accession number MG772934;23 87.23%; Notably, the 2019-nCoV strains were less genetically similar to SARS-CoV (about 79%) and MERS-CoV (about 50%).

This message might be interpreted as 2019-nCoV being biologically closer related to SARS-like betacoronavirus of Bat origin and bats may be the original host of this virus. However, the authors did not claim that the only host to 2019-nCoV is a bat.

The paper stated that However, despite the importance of bats, several facts suggest that another animal is acting as an intermediate host between bats and humans. First, the outbreak was first reported in late December, 2019, when most bat species in Wuhan are hibernating. Second, no bats were sold or found at the Huanan seafood market, whereas various non-aquatic animals (including mammals) were available for purchase. Third, the sequence identity between 2019-nCoV and its close relatives bat-SL-CoVZC45and bat-SL-CoVZXC21 was less than 90%, which is reflected in the relatively long branch between them. Hence, bat-SL-CoVZC45 and bat-SL-CoVZXC21 are not direct ancestors of 2019-nCoV. Fourth, in both SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, bats acted as the natural reservoir, with another animal (masked palm civet for SARS-CoV35 and dromedary camels for MERS-CoV) acting as an intermediate host, with humans as terminal hosts. Therefore, on the basis of current data, it seems likely that the 2019-nCoV causing the Wuhan outbreak might also be initially hosted by bats, and might have been transmitted to humans via currently unknown wild animal(s) sold at the Huanan seafood market.

They mentioned that most bats in Wuhan are hibernating and no bats are sold at the Huanan seafood market. Thus, the chance of physical contact from bats to spread the virus to humans or animals at Wuhan is highly unlikely.

Studies From Wuhan Institute of Virology on Bat SARS-Like CoV.

Zheng-Li Shi and several other researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology published an article in Nature in 2013 titled Isolation and characterization of a bat SARS-like coronavirus that uses the ACE2 receptor.

In that study, their team harvested from anal swabs or fecal samples from bats and found 2 strains of sequences from Bat SARS-Like CoV that termed as RsSHC014 and Rs3367. They process 95% nucleotide sequence identity with human SARS-CoV Tor2 strain.

Isolation of a new bat virus in a study published in the Journal of Virology on Dec. 30, 2015, titled Isolation and Characterization of a Novel Bat Coronavirus Closely Related to the Direct Progenitor of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus, found that the virus, named SL-CoV-WIV1, was almost identical to Rs3367 with 99.9% genome sequence identity. The researchers identified that WIV1 can use human ACE2 as an entry receptor and has the potential to infect human cells in this study. Subsequently, the same research group isolated another bat virus that can use ACE2 and infect human cell lines in the lab in 2015.

In addition, Dr. Shis group conducted another study in 2018 to address the question of whether some bat viruses can infect humans via using human ACE2, without the need of an intermediate host. But to the date of their study, no direct transmission of SARS-Like CoVs from bats to people has been reported.

They collected serum from 218 residents who live close to bat caves with bats carrying the viruses. Those caves were the places where the Shi group collected the virus samples. Then ELISA assays were conducted to detect antibodies to bat SARS-CoV, since antibody existence would suggest a prior exposure to the bat coronavirus. They found that only 6 out of 218 (2.7 %) subjects showed seropositivity, which suggested likely infections to bat SARS-CoVs or related viruses. No clinical symptoms have been manifested in the 6 positive persons in the past 12 months. As a control, they collected 240 samples from random blood donors in Wuhan, 1000 km away from Yunnan, none of the Wuhan blood samples showed any positivity to bat SARS-like CoV.

This data suggests that the chance of bat virus infecting humans is very low, <2.9% if possible, and with no obvious symptoms in human beings that live very close to the bat caves. No infection from a bat to a human has been reported in Wuhan as of 2018.

Track Record of Wuhan Institute of Virology on Engineering Gain-of-Function Bat SARS-Like CoV.

Zhengli Shis group at the Institute of Virology at Wuhan was successful in isolating two infectious clones of bat SARS-Like CoV: SL-CoV-WIV1 and WIV16 from bats. In their further studies, they found out that these SL-CoV Spike protein (S protein) [were] unable to use any of the three ACE2 molecules as its receptor; Second, the SL-CoV failed to enter cells expressing the bat ACE2; Third, the chimeric S covering the previously defined receptor-binding domain gained its ability to enter cells via human ACE2, albeit with different efficiencies for different constructs; Fourth, a minimal insert region ( Amino acids 310 to 518 ) was found to be sufficient to convert the SL-CoV S from non-ACE2 binding to human ACE2 binding.

Therefore, Shis group found in a study published in the Journal of Virology in February 2008 that the natural bat coronavirus cannot use the human ACE2 receptor to infect humans. However, when inserted with some amino acids from position 310 to 518 for the bat CoV S protein sequence, the chimeric bat CoV can use the human ACE2 receptor.

Meanwhile, another research group led by Dr. Li published their finding in 2013 that 5 amino acid sites on CoV spike proteins are crucial in making the binding to human ACE2 on SARS virus (those positions are Y442, L472, N479, D480, T487). These 5 sites just lie in the region that the Shi group noted to be important above.

Later, Li and Shi jointly conducted a gain-of-function study published in the Journal of Virology in September 2015 on the MERS virus and a bat virus (strain HKU4) in 2015. Since MERS virus can enter human cells but HKU4 can not, they introduced 2 single mutations in the HKU4 spike protein and found that the new mutant S protein can enable HKU4 to enter human cells. If they mutated 2 sites in MERS spike, the resulting MERS pseudovirus (experimental virus) cannot enter human cells anymore.

Furthermore, Shis group joined an international group to generate a chimeric virus with the bat virus SHC014 they harvested in Yunnan. Since they know SHC014 is unlikely to bind to human ACE2, they synthesized the SHC014 spike in the context of the replication competent, mouse-adapted SARS-CoV backbone. So, that is a lab-engineered virus with SARS-CoV Mouse adapted backbone (MA15) but with SHC014 spike.

To their surprise, the chimeric virus (SHC014-MA15) can use SHC014 spike to bind to human ACE2 receptor and enter human cells. SHC014-MA15 can also cause disease in mice and cause death as well. Existing vaccines to SARS cannot protect animals from SHC014-MA15 infection. Therefore, these chimeric virus studies can lead to the generation of more pathogenic, more deadly CoV strains in mammalian models.

Due to the U.S. government-mandated pause on the gain-of-function (GOF) studies, this international research did not proceed further at that time. However, there is no evidence that Shis group in China stopped any further study on the track of introducing GOF mutations on the CoV. And it is clear that Shis group already mastered the reverse-engineering technology that is sufficient to introduce mutation in current SARS-CoV or SARS-Like CoV to create mutant infectious coronavirus.

Interestingly, Shis group published on bioRxiv on Jan. 23, 2020 that a new bat coronavirus that they detected in Yunnan, named BatCov RaTG13, shares 96.2 percent overall genome sequence identity with 2019-nCoV. However, this virus was never mentioned or published in their research before.

In the sequence information provided by them in the supplemental material and method section, 3 sequences are shared between the 2019-nCoV they collected and the RATG13 virus but not in any of the other SARS or Bat SARS-Like CoV families in the paper listed. The 3 sequences are located close to N terminus of the spike protein, they are GTNGTKR, NNKSWM, RSYLTPGD.

Possibilities of an Animal Host of 2019-nCoV at Huanan Seafood Market

One recent Lancet paper titled Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding, reported that as a typical RNA virus, the average evolutionary rate for coronaviruses is roughly 10 nucleotide substitutions per site per year, with mutations arising during every replication cycle. It is, therefore, striking that the sequences of 2019-nCoV from different patients described here were almost identical, with greater than 99.9% sequence identity. This finding suggests that 2019-nCoV originated from one source within a very short period and was detected relatively rapidly.

With mutations in every cycle, it is highly unlikely for different bats to host viruses with the same sequence. If bats alone are not enough for virus transmission, another animal is needed as the intermediate host, and the chance of the virus being identical is even slimmer. Since the seafood market is not the only source for the outbreak, it is reasonable to postulate that if another animal is the intermediate host for the virus, that animal needs to have contact with bats, allow bat coronavirus to proliferate in them, and, eventually, the animal needs to have the capacity to transmit viruses to human beings who may or may not have contact with the Huanan seafood market.

Therefore, there have been serious questions on whether this Wuhan coronavirus outbreak was due to a leak or mishandling of laboratory animals used in coronavirus studies. This is a reasonable public inquiry regarding the source of the outbreak and it warrants a transparent investigation from the Chinese authorities and foreign disease control and laboratory operation experts. This is not just about the accountability of medical ethics or laboratory safety operations, it is directly related to the current endeavors to contain the virus outbreak.

While the animal host of 2019-nCoV is yet to be identified, the data and information from possible animal hosts and potential zoonic infection is imperative for prevention and controlling disease on an international scale.

The Huanan seafood market has a high potential of harboring the animal host. Animal data and profiling results from the Huanan seafood market need to be disclosed immediately by Chinese authorities even if they are negative results. It is imperative for U.S. CDC and WHO officers to demand that Chinese authorities release the information about animal testing data.

If Chinese authorities refuse to disclose testing data for animal samples, it could imply an intentional cover-up of the true origin of the 2019-nCoV outbreak.
MULHEIM AN DER RUHR, Germany, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ALDI, one of the world's largest retail chains, has announced it is committed to selling only cage-free eggs at its stores in China. ALDI opened its first six stores in China in 2019, and has plans to expand to 50-100 stores in the coming years.

"ALDI CHINA is committed to transitioning to 100% of our shell eggs to be cage-free by 2025," the company announced in a statement circulated this week. ALDI's announcement comes on the heels of a similar commitment by retail giant METRO, which announced last month it was committing to sell only cage-free liquid and shell eggs at all of its stores globally, including at its nearly 100 locations in China.

"As an international company with global supply chains, the ALDI SOUTH Group is aware of its responsibility to respect animal welfare," said Juliane Bartel, Corporate Responsibility International manager at ALDI SOUTH Group, which runs ALDI operations in China. "In December 2017, the ALDI SOUTH Group issued an International Position Statement on Animal Welfare This includes our commitment to sourcing 100% of our shell eggs from cage-free supply chains by 2025. This commitment has already been adopted at the international level, and that includes our operations in China."

Leading animal protection and food safety organizations around the world encourage a switch to cage-free eggs, which are less cruel to animals and safer for consumers. On caged egg farms, each egg-laying hen is confined for nearly her entire life in a cage so small she can barely turn around. The European Food Safety Authority has found cage-free eggs are much safer for consumers, with a dramatically lower risk of salmonella contamination compared to eggs from farms that confine hens in cages.

"An increasing number of international and domestic retailers, including METRO, city'super, City Shop and now ALDI, have committed to selling only cage-free eggs in China," said Kirsty Tuxford of Lever Foundation, a non-governmental organization that works with food companies to help them shift to cage-free eggs in Asia. "With this announcement, ALDI joins a growing list of over fifty of the world's leading food companies-including Costa Coffee, Starbucks, Hershey, Mondelez, Tesco, Unilever, Nestle, and many more-that have committed to going cage-free in China and across Asia."

ALDI, which operates over 11,000 stores in 19 countries, is recognized worldwide as a pioneer of the European discount food retail market.

Lever Foundation is an international animal protection non-governmental organization with staff operating in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Europe and the United States.

CONTACT

Kirsty Tuxford: kirsty@leverfoundation.org, +34 622 01 69 65
The Indian Air Force came out with its official calendar for the year 2020 which depicted the Balakot airstrikes carried out by the Indian Air force back in 2019. The calender's image for the month of February depicted the Mirage-2000 fighter jets using its Spice-2000 bombs on Pakistan's training camp in Balakot. The aerial strikes were carried out by India on February 26, 2019, as a befitting reply to the Pulwama terror attack that had left around 40 of our jawans martyred.

Read: 2019 Highlights Part 1: From IAF's Balakot Blitz to 'Howdy, Modi', here's a look back

The Indian Air Force on its official calendar for the year 2020, has depicted the Balakot airstrikes carried out by its Mirage-2000 fighter jets using its Spice-2000 bombs, for the month of February. The aerial strikes were carried out by India on February 26, 2019. pic.twitter.com/fMP1GnTdUN  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2020

Read: EXCLUSIVE: 'Indian citizens realised that the Indian government can give a befitting reply too,' says Amit Shah on IAF's Balakot air strike and national security

Balakot Air Strikes

Days after the Pulwama terror attack that shook our nation, India on February 26, pounded Jaish-e-Mohammed's biggest training camp in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Balakot, Pakistan by carrying out airstrikes. In a pinpointed and swift airstrike that lasted less than two minutes, officials stated that the strike targeted 350 terrorists and trainers. This "preemptive and non-military" action by India was seen as a result of strong leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had on February 15 had said 'those responsible will pay a very heavy price' and 'security forces will be given a free hand to deal with terrorists.'

Read: Balakot msg was to tell Pak there will be cost for terror attacks:Former Air Chief Marshal

Pulwama Terror Attack

On February 14, an explosives-laden truck rammed into a CRPF convoy in Pulwama outside Srinagar, killing 40 soldiers in one of the biggest terror attacks in recent years. "Security forces have been given complete freedom, the blood of the people is boiling...Our neighboring country, which has been isolated internationally, thinks such terror attacks can destabilize us, but their plans will not materialize," Modi had said after the Pulwama terror attack.

Read: Congress absolves Pak of Pulwama attack, jumps to give religious spin on J&K DySP's arrest
Last month, 130 workers at the state-owned Kahatagaha Graphite Lanka Limited (KGLL), struck for three days to demand better pay and working conditions. They reluctantly agreed to call off the strike after a discussion with the industry ministry, labour department officials and company management at the Kurunegala Labour Office. State officials and the company promised to address workers demands within a month.

The three-day walkout and hunger protest inside the mine, which was held in defiance of the mine unions leadership, was the first industrial action this year since President Gotabhaya Rajapakse came to power. It was a clear indication of the nature of the struggles to come, the increasing radicalisation of the working class, and the rapid break up of illusions in the new government.

Graphite miners occupy the Kahatagaha mine

The two unions at the mine are local branches of the Nidahas Sevaka Sangamaya, which is affiliated to the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) that is now supporting the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), and the Jathika Sevaka Sangamaya, a United National Party (UNP) union.

KGLL workers complain that the senior leaders of these unions ignore their demands. These unions, in fact, are notorious for opposing workers demands and acting as strikebreakers. While the mine workers have previously taken action over their harsh working conditions and called for better pay, they have been systematically dodged by the successive governments with the support of their unions.

When the Sri Lankan government reopened the Kahatagaha graphite mine in 2006, following its closure by a private company that previously managed it, workers were compelled to sign an agreement that they would not form trade unions. Currently the workers are paid a meagre daily risk allowance of just 20 rupees (US 11 cents) to work 600 metres below the ground in Sri Lankas largest and deepest mine.

In 2016, KGLL workers demanded a 400-rupee daily risk allowance. This was rejected by management of the state-owned company, which introduced a 400- rupee daily incentive allowance but only if workers collectively achieved a monthly production target of 70 metric tonnes.

During last months strike, the government officials promised that the mine workers demandswhich included wage increments, reduction of Saturday working hours, 21-days leave per year and proper payment of all other allowanceswould be addressed by February 28. Until then, the workers were given a pittance increment of 50 rupees a day, as a temporary solution.

The 50-rupee temporary solution is an insult to the KGLL workers who have not received a wage increase since 2012 and would add just 1,200 rupees to their monthly salary.

The workers limited claims and their three-day strike and hunger protest sent a shock wave through the government. Industry and Logistics Management Minister Wimal Weerawansa ominously told workers not to cause any inconvenience to the government. The ministry also imposed a media blackout, fearful that the strike might encourage other sections of the working class to take action over their long-outstanding demands.

One of the KGLL workers main demands is that they be brought under the Office and Shops Act, instead of the current Wage Board Ordinance which currently determines their wages. This futile exercise, which seeks a resolution through the existing capitalist labour laws, will not win the mine workers fight for decent wages, working hours and conditions.

In the final analysis, whichever labour law is used, the settlement will be based on an agreement between the trade unions, which do not represent the workers, and mine management. Moreover, the new Rajapakse government, like its predecessor, wants to impose new labour laws, claiming that the existing arrangements are hampering foreign investment.

While slashing corporate taxes to lure investors, Rajapakse has promised the plantation workers a 1,000-rupee daily wage and told students that he will address all of their welfare issues. These promises are bogus and aimed at hoodwinking the population in the lead up to an early general election.

Under conditions of declining economic growth, the Rajapakse regime confronts a major financial crisisthe product of the global economic downturnand massive repayments on foreign and domestic loans.

At the same time, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is demanding that the fiscal deficit be reduced to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product, which means slashing subsidies, increasing the price of essentials, and the privatisation or commercialisation of state-owned corporations and departments.

President Rajapakse recently reactivated the Strategic Development Project Act, first introduced by his brother and former President Mahinda Rajapakse. Under this act, foreign investors are given tax holidays of up to 25 years and other profit-boosting incentives.

Sri Lanka has some of the worlds purest graphite so the government is specifically targeting the graphite industry for foreign investment.

On December 13, the Ceylon Graphite Corp, a public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with the blessing of the government, began mining and exploration operations at Karasnagala in Sri Lankas Gampaha District. It wants to expand the number of mines it currently operates in Sri Lanka from three to five this year.

Other operators include the Australia-based Bora Bora Resources company and the privatised Bogala Graphite Lanka, which is a subsidiary of Germanys Graphite Kropfmuhl GmbH which has other mining operations in Africa and Asia.

The governments drive to attract more foreign investors will see further moves to privatise KGLL. There was an attempt to privatise the company in 2016.

The IMF demand for more privatisation or commercialisation of state-owned enterprises is to increase productivity, slash jobs and drive up profits.

President Rajapakse is currently being promoted by his political henchmen, the corporate media and the pseudo-left as being unlike any other Sri Lanka president. He is, they claim, someone open to dialogue with protesting workers and students. This is a fraud.

Rajapakses feigned concern is a desperate and temporary manoeuvre to prevent the eruption of a mass movement over jobs, living costs and other basic rights, that would threaten not just his presidency but capitalist rule as a whole. Worker unrest in the graphite mining, an industry Colombo wants to open up to increased foreign investor, has to be avoided at all costs.

Rajapakse, in fact, is gathering his forces in preparation to crush the rising social opposition of workers, youth and the rural poor. This is why he has promoted extreme-right elements and military men into the key government positions. Rajapakses ultimate aim is to have constitution amended so he can establish an authoritarian regime supported by the military.

Rajapakses fight for the presidency was backed by Sri Lankas ruling elite who were fearful of, and determined to crush, the strikes and mass working class opposition that threw the Sirisena-Wickremasinghe government and the whole capitalist rule into a crisis.

As President Rajapakse declared during his visit to India last year, For a country to be governed successfully, you need stability. Without stability, investors wont come.

The Kahatagaha graphite minerslike other workers coming forward to defend their social rightsconfront not just mine management but Colombos pro-investor policies, IMF-dictated austerity, the drive towards an authoritarian regime and, most importantly, the outmoded profit system. Workers cannot defend their jobs, improve their social conditions and defend their basic rights without challenging capitalism.

In order to go forward workers need a new political strategy. Production and distribution must be reorganised to benefit the majority of society, not the wealthy few. This can only be achieved through the nationalisation of the major industries and enterprisesthe large estates, the mining corporations, and the banksunder the democratic control of the working class. This socialist program can only be implemented by bringing to power a workers and peasants government in the fight for international socialism.

As in other workplaces, the experiences of the Kahatagaha miners graphically demonstrate that the trade unions have become tools of the state and employers.

Miners and other workers must build action committees independently of the unions and take all decision-making into their own hands. By building these committees workers can unite with broader sections of the working class in Sri Lanka and internationally. Sri Lankan mine workers are already part of international class brothers exploited by same global corporations.

The Socialist Equality Party urges the Kahatagaha mine workers to take up this political challenge.
PR-Inside.com: 2020-02-07 04:17:55

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Real estate agency Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy Dadoun updated its range of services for seniors interested in buying and selling real estate in Richmond Hill, Ontario.VAUGHAN, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2020 / Real estate agent Mitzy Dadoun of Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy Dadoun announced the launch of an updated range of realtor services for seniors looking to buy or sell property in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Mitzy Dadoun has over 25 years of experience in real estate lending and appraisal.More information can be found at http://www.smartseniorsrealty.com/real-estate-sales-for-seniors When couples, families or seniors decide to finally sell the family home, there is much more to this process than merely selling and buying. The newly launched real estate services at Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy Dadoun aim to help seniors make the right decisions about their future housing.For many people, there comes a time when the lifestyle that used to fit them so perfectly no longer does so, prompting them to find something more comfortable and better fitting.The real estate team at Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy Dadoun understand that this transition requires patience and understanding and their goal is to streamline the process so that the move into a new home is manageable in every way.Mitzy Dadoun is uniquely qualified to assist seniors in housing sales and purchases by having additional education and experience helping seniors and their families with later-in-life real estate transactions.Mitzy Dadoun and her dedicated team work with seniors and their families as they navigate the financial, legal and emotional issues that accompany the sale or purchase of a home and assist them in relocating to their future home.With the latest update, the real estate experts aim to provide a comprehensive range of real estate services, specific to each client's life and financial situation.A satisfied client said: "Mitzy helped us get a fabulous pre-construction condo at the Platinum VIP Price. We saved thousands and got a free parking spot and locker and got first choice of a suite. What a fantastic experience! I would highly recommend Mitzy and her team to anyone looking to buy a property! Especially a pre-construction condo!"Interested parties can find more by visiting the above-mentioned website or accessing http://www.smartseniorsrealty.com/images/landing/homeworth/index.asp and http://gtabesthomebuys.com Contact Info:Name: Mitzy Dadoun, brokerEmail: Send EmailOrganization: Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy DadounAddress: 1206 Centre Street, Vaughan, Ontario L4J 3M9, CanadaPhone: +1-416-993-2532Website: http://www.smartseniorsrealty.com/real-estate-sales-for-seniors/ SOURCE: Sutton Group Admiral Realty Inc., Brokerage - Mitzy Dadoun
The Sarabha Nagar police have arrested a 47-year-old man for allegedly setting his fathers truck afire at his office in Canadian Enclave near Ferozepur Road on Thursday late.

The case has been registered on the complaint of Harbans Singh Sandhu, 82, of Rajguru Nagar, the owner of HS Sandhu Builder Company.

Sandhu said he has two sons, Upinderjit Singh and Rupinderjit Singh. He alleged that Rupinderjit is a drunkard and he had disowned him in 2012, following which he started living at a rented accommodation in Gurugram.

The complainant said his office guard, Sunakhar Sethi, called him at 6:30pm on Thursday saying that Rupinderjit came there, broke open the locks, rummaged for some documents but left after not finding any. The complainant said the accused returned around 11.30pm with a can of petrol and set his truck in a vacant plot nearby on fire.

Sandhu alleged that Rupinderjit had torched his JCB machine near Dugri area and also vandalised his car earlier in 2012 after being disowned.

Sarabha Nagar station house officer (SHO) sub-inspector Madhu Bala said, As per preliminary investigation, Rupinderjit wanted his share in Sandhus property. A case has been registered against him under Sections 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance), 457 (house trespassing), 380 (theft), 511 (attempt to commit an offence), 427 (mischief causing damage), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He will be produced before the court on Saturday.
Over 200 partnerships involving signing of MoUs, transfer of technology and product launches took place on the third day of DefExpo-2020 at a ceremony titled Bandhan. Image Source: IANS News

Over 200 partnerships involving signing of MoUs, transfer of technology and product launches took place on the third day of DefExpo-2020 at a ceremony titled Bandhan. Image Source: IANS News

Lucknow, Feb 7 : Over 200 partnerships involving signing of MoUs, transfer of technology and product launches took place on the third day of DefExpo-2020 at a ceremony titled Bandhan.

The pacts, aimed at forging and renewing partnerships for innovative collaboration and transformation of defence manufacturing in the country, were inked by representatives of various defence PSUs, Indian private and foreign companies.

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh termed the signing of MoUs as a step in the direction to achieve Prime Minister's $5 billion defence export target in the next 5 years.

"The Defence PSUs and Indian defence private industry were better placed today to lead India as the emerging research and development hub of the world leveraging the sharp minds of Indian youth," Singh said.

"The liberalised licensing regime brought out by the government would surely attract large investments by both Indian and global companies," the minister stressed.

Among those MoUs signed, 23 of them were by Uttar Pradesh government. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said these MoUs envisage Rs 50,000 crore investment in the Defence Corridor set up in the state which would generate 3 lakh job opportunities. He said investments coming to the state were secure and that the state investment policy was most attractive in the country.

He also announced that HAL would soon supply Dornier 19-seat civilian aircraft to UP.

Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary, said this DefExpo would be remembered for many firsts -- including for the signing of largest number of MoUs, transfer of technology and product launches.

The Bandhan ceremony witnessed more than 13 product launches, 124 MoUs between DPSUs, private and global defence manufacturing companies. A total 23 MoUs were signed between the UP government and private companies.

Defence Research and Development Organisation Chairman Sateesh Reddy said that it was DRDO's duty to ensure that the Defence Corridor in Uttar Pradesh flourishes. DRDO has, therefore, signed a technological partnership agreement with the state government, imparting skill training, hand-holding and providing guidance in all aspects related to technology.

"A collaboration cell was already set up in the state to facilitate the process," he said.

He also mentioned that a research and development centre would be set up in the state. "Technology transfer was made available at no cost to companies in order to further the defence ecosystem in the country," Reddy said.

Further, the patents held by DRDO were given free to Indian companies to further develop technologies that would benefit Indian companies.

During the ceremony, a major announcement in the form of issuing the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) certificate of Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) was issued to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). LUH is designed and developed as a replacement for Cheetah & Chetak helicopters which are currently being operated by Indian armed forces.

LUH is a new generation helicopter in its class, incorporating the state-of-the-art technology features which will meet the emerging needs in this class of helicopters in the coming decades.

The Ordinance Factory Board launched Sharang, the 155mm artillery gun with 36 km range and handed over a model to Chief of Army Staff Gen M.M. Naravane. The Board also launched JVPC Alpha gun with 100 mt range, a Light Machine Gun of 800 mt range and the UBGL (Under barrel Grenade launcher).

Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) launched Amogha-3, the anti-tank guided missile. It is a man-portable fire-and-forget missile. The BDL also launched Varunastra, the anti-submarine torpedo, manufactured under the technological guidance of DRDO.
The United States and Kenya on Thursday agreed to launch negotiations that could lead to the first US bilateral trade deal with a sub-Saharan African country.

The announcement, made at a White House meeting between Trump and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, directs US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to issue a formal notification to Congress under the fast-track trade negotiating law.

We believe this agreement with Kenya will complement Africas regional integration efforts, Lighthizer said in a statement. We believe a trade agreement between the United States and Kenya will receive broad bipartisan support in Congress.

Uhuru is in the US together with ODM leader Raila Odinga for a series of meetings. On Wednesday, they had a presentation on their handshake at an international luncheon at the US National Prayer Breakfast.

Uhuru said the East African nation was keen to secure its economic future ahead of the expiry of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which allows sub-Saharan African countries to export thousands of products to the United States without tariffs or quotas until 2025.

At the close of the last meeting in 2018, Uhuru bagged investments $238 million as two US companies agreed to invest the amount in Kenyan projects, mainly in energy and food security sectors.

Trump said the trade ties were getting bigger and some excellent deals for both countries were in the offing.
For collaborating on products for defence and non-defence applications

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bharat Electronics (BEL) during DEFEXPO 2020 at Lucknow on 06 February 2020.

The MoU aims at leveraging the complementary strengths and capabilities of BHEL and BEL to develop and market Products, Systems and Sensors for Defence and Non-Defence applications. The MOU will also enable BHEL and BEL to make joint efforts to explore markets for products individually developed or jointly developed by both companies.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
'Ray of Sunshine' Teacher Killed & 4 Others Injured After Tree Falls on Van During Tenn. Storm

A fourth-grade teacher was killed in Tennessee on Thursday after a storm knocked down a tree onto the van in which she was riding with her husband and others.

Brooke Sampson, 36, was pronounced dead at Blount Memorial Hospital after her van was struck by the tree around noon, the Sevierville City government said in a statement.

She and her husband Mike were two of seven passengers, all of whom besides Sampson were employees of the city, the statement said.

Four people  Bob Moncrief, Nathan Raulston, Joseph Dodgen and Eldon Denney  were injured and taken to local hospitals. Two have since been released from the hospital, WVLT reported.

The van was on its way back from an American Public Works Association meeting in the Townsend area when the tree fell, causing extensive damage, the statement said.

Sampson was a teacher at Sevierville Intermediate School, and had previously worked at Seymour Intermediate in the same district.

Seymour Intermediate Principal Peggy Oakes told PEOPLE in a statement that Sampson was a ray of sunshine wherever she went.

RELATED VIDEO: Mom Who Was Injured by Falling Tree in Central Park Files $200 Million Lawsuit Against N.Y.C.

She was a caring teacher who never gave up on her students. She has an infectious smile and laugh, which radiated her deep faith, the statement read. Brooke was an active member of her church serving in missions and with youth. We who knew Brooke are better people to have been a part of her joy.

Oakes also sent a letter to her faculty informing them of Sampsons death, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE.

RELATED: Tree Falls Through Home with Teens Inside  and They Avoid Being Crushed Thanks to Fridge

In the letter, Oakes wrote that Sampsons husband Mike was driving the van when the accident occurred, and referred to the late teacher as a cute little firecracker.

She was a great teacher that we had to sadly send to Sevierville Intermediate because of our declining numbers. When she and Mike married, she chose to celebrate along the Pigeon River, close to her Valley and Park, Oakes wrote. We celebrated with hot dogs. Such fun, so Brooke. For sure she was greeted in Heaven with songs..cheershugsand praises for all she packed into 36 years.

Story continues

RELATED: One Dead, Several Injured After Tree Falls on Wedding Party in Southern California

She concluded, Fly high Brookiewe will never forget your sweet smileyour little giggle and how much you loved to teach. Seymour Intermediate loved you.

Sevierville, which is about 30 miles from Knoxville, had been under flash flood warnings along with the rest of the states eastern portion, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Sevier County Schools are closed through Monday due to illness, according to an alert on the districts website.
Kerala Health Minister KK Shailaja on Friday said that the state government has decided to withdraw 'state disaster' status given to n-coronavirus.

However, she said that the alert will continue and health guidelines have to be followed.

"The state disaster status was declared after 72 returnees were in Kerala from Wuhan in China of which three tested positive. About 67 have tested negative. The test results show that the close contacts of all those three confirmed cases are negative," she told reporters here.

The Health Minister further said that in a big relief, in the second case of n-coronavirus admitted at Alappuzha Medical College, the repeat test result is negative. "But this has to be confirmed from NIV, Pune," she added.

Shailaja said that a total of 3,014 suspected coronavirus cases are being monitored in various districts of the state.

"Of these, 2,953 are under home quarantine and 61 in hospitals with symptoms. A total of 263 samples of suspected cases have been sent to Institute Virology for examination. Of the 261 samples tested, all the results were negative," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LOS ANGELES  Gene Reynolds, an adventuresome Hollywood director and writer who brought the absurdities of warfare into Americas living rooms with M*A*S*H and used the tough inner-city schools of Los Angeles as a blueprint for Room 222, has died at age 96.

A child star who became more intrigued with the other side of the camera as he grew older, Reynolds died Monday of heart failure at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, the Directors Guild of America confirmed.

During a long career, the director also turned to the Los Angeles Times, and particularly the city desk, when he was fleshing out early episodes of "Lou Grant," the popular prime-time drama in which Ed Asner  as the gruff yet ultimately kind-hearted city editor  prowls the newsroom at the fictional Los Angeles Tribune.

Reynolds told the Times that television had long depicted newspapers in a simplistic fashion  editors and executives cowering from their readers while reporters sleuthed their way through the city, more private eyes than actual journalists. Reynolds said he sought to show that the heart and soul of the newspaper was its newsroom, the final waiting room for a thousand different stories.

Lou Grant, like M*A*S*H and Room 222, had to overcome critics, poor ratings and nervous network executives to survive. Each, though, became a runaway hit, with the final episode of M*A*S*H drawing the single largest audience for an episode in a prime-time series. And Reynolds won Emmy awards for all three.

Good night old friend. I was blessed to know you. Thank you for for everything. https://t.co/h47nHuenOD  Ed Asner (@TheOnlyEdAsner) February 5, 2020

Eugene Reynolds Blumenthal was born April 4, 1923, in Cleveland. His father was a struggling businessman, his mother a model. The family moved to Detroit and finally Los Angeles as his father sought work. Reynolds broke into acting as an extra on "Our Gang" comedy short films and studied drama at the Pasadena Playhouse.

Reynolds was contracted when he was only 14 by Metro-Goldwin Mayer to play the younger version of lead actors in a long list of films, often in flashback scenes  Don Ameche as a boy in "Sins of Man," a young Jimmy Stewart in "Of Human Hearts" and a pint-sized Robert Taylor in "The Crowd Roars." Convinced his career would never fully blossom, he joined the U.S. Navy during the height of World War II.

When he was discharged, he turned to directing, working on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents," "My Three Sons" and "Hogan's Heroes," which he told the Times underscored his mounting concern that there was nothing  even life in wartime  that network television couldn't trivialize.

Reynolds had already met success with Room 222, which tackled pressing issues such as civil rights movement, feminism and the Vietnam War from the perspective of adolescents in urban Los Angeles, when he was asked to take on M*A*S*H.

CBS was hoping to capitalize on the enormous success of the Oscar-winning 1970 Robert Altman movie of the same name, but hoped to deliver its audience something more family-friendly and benign.

Reynolds, though, opted to stick closer to the comedic darkness Altman had found in the story of a group of medics stationed at a mobile Army surgical hospital near the front lines during the Korean War. Though the television series was set during the Korean conflict, the show was very much about the Vietnam War and its characters very much the tortured, hollowed-out pawns in a war that to them seemed pointless.

Reynolds said he sought to be sensitive to the horrors of combat and the valor of the medics and soldiers on the battlefield, but felt it necessary to focus on the absurdity of it all.

Put up against ABCs Wonderful World of Disney  60 minutes of family-friendly wholesomeness  M*A*S*H nearly skidded off the runway. Ratings were poor, reviews tepid and network executives skittish.

Reluctantly, CBS gave the show a second season, and it took off on an 11-year run, ending with a final two-hour episode that drew 105.9 million viewers.

During his career, Reynolds was nominated for 22 Emmy awards, winning six times. He served twice as the president of the Directors Guild of America.

He is survived by his wife, Ann, and a son, Andrew.

By Steve Marble Los Angeles Times (TNS)
What just happened? Remember when Apple in 2017 admitted it throttled the performance of iPhones with older batteries? The company has just been fined $27 million by the French government for not informing owners about what it was doing.

Following an investigation at the time that suggested a link between the performance capabilities of an iPhone and the age of its battery, Apple said it had released a patch for the iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, and iPhone 7 that did slow them down. While some claimed this was planned obsolescence, the company said throttling the speed of the devices kept them working longer.

"Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components," Apple wrote in 2017. It also offered a battery replacement program, which saw 11 million people pay $29 for a new component instead of the previous $79.

Frances Competition and Fraud body, the DGCCRF, still holds Apple accountable for not informing owners of what was going on, which it says: "constituted a misleading commercial practice by omission."

The DGCCRF has indeed shown that iPhone owners had not been informed that the updates of the iOS operating system (10.2.1 and 11.2) they installed were likely to slow down the operation of their device," the watchdog wrote in a press release.

Apple hasnt contested the decision, and it must display a banner on Apple Frances iPhone page for one month stating it had misled customers, and that it has paid a fine.

In response to the DGCCRF's announcement, Apple wrote: Our goal has always been to create secure products appreciated by our clients, and making iPhones that last as long as possible is an important part of that.
Signing Russia-Ukraine gas transit contract allows 20% gas price cut for Ukrainians  energy minister

12:20, 07.02.20 1665

In January, wholesale gas price for households was UAH 4.65 per cubic meter or US$0.19.
Roger Dale Becks bid for eventual release was rejected Thursday by the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision, which found the convicted killer of runner Kaye Turner in 1978 had taken few steps to improve himself while behind bars.

It was Becks fourth time asking the board to deem him likely to be rehabilitated, a finding that would have cleared the way for eventual parole. Each time, the board has rejected his request, concluding Beck, now 70, has failed to accept responsibility for his role in Turners murder and that he had not meaningfully participated in self-improvement programs or Alcoholics Anonymous in prison.

Turner, 35, of Eugene vanished on the day before Christmas while running along an isolated road in Camp Sherman in Jefferson County. The case was part of The Oregonian/OregonLives five-part narrative and documentary series, Ghosts of Highway 20, which published in 2018.

Beck has maintained his innocence, a stance he repeated in his appearance before the parole board last month.

Petitioners continued denial of his responsibility for the murder of Ms. Turner, which is wrapped up in a fantastical conspiracy theory involving at least six different independent actors, demonstrates that he does not have the maturity or stability which may promote conformity to the law, the board wrote in its decision.

The board said Becks insistence that he is innocent factored into their decision.

The board continues to be unable to discuss with petitioner how he has rehabilitated himself relative to the factors that led to the murder because petitioner continues to deny his involvement, the opinion said.

Beck and his friend John Ackroyd, a mechanic for the state highway department, were convicted in the case a dozen years after Turner went missing. A half-dozen witnesses testified that Beck bragged about the attack over the years, often while in a drunken rage. Ackroyds own damning statements implicated him in the murder.

They were found guilty in separate trials in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

Ackroyd died alone in his prison cell at the state penitentiary late one night in 2016.

Beck can make another appearance before the parole board in 2022.

His lawyer, Christian Eickelberg, declined to comment on the boards decision.

-- Noelle Crombie; ncrombie@oregonian.com; 503-276-7184; @noellecrombie

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Manappuram Finance Ltd on Friday said it plans to raise up to Rs 1,150 crore through issuance of debentures

New Delhi: Manappuram Finance Ltd on Friday said it plans to raise up to Rs 1,150 crore through issuance of debentures.

"Financial resources and management committee of the board of directors of the company held on 7 February, 2020 approved the issuance and private placement of rated, secured, redeemable non-convertible debentures up to Rs 1,150 crore," Manappuram Finance said in a regulatory filing.

A meeting of the financial resources and management committee of the board of directors of the company will be held on 14 February, 2020 to consider the proposed allotment for the said issue, it said.

Shares of Manappuram Finance were trading at Rs 166.90 a piece on BSE, down 2.03 percent from the previous close.
A woman who was raped and sexually assaulted by her then boyfriend multiple times while she slept has been awarded 1m in damages by a High Court jury.

Niamh Ni Dhomhnaill told the jury in evidence that she "felt unsafe everywhere" as a result of Magnus Meyer Hustveit's actions.

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, had been unable to continue her much-loved teaching job, left Ireland for several years and had tried at one stage to take her own life.

Becoming tearful during her evidence, she said: "There has never been a part of me that has not been profoundly impacted."

Lenient

The impact of the assaults on Ms Ni Dhomhnaill was about nine to nine-and-a-half out of 10 on a scale on severity, a psychiatrist told the jury.

Ms Ni Dhomhnaill, of Dublin, took civil proceedings against Hustveit, of JensBjelkes Gate Apartments, Oslo.

He was given a 15-month prison sentence following a finding by the Court of Appeal in 2016 that his original wholly suspended seven-year sen- tence was "unduly lenient".

Hustveit had pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and one count of sexual assault committed between 2011 and 2012.

In imposing a 15-month prison term, the Court of Appeal said the combination of factors including Hustveit's co-operation, voluntary return to Ireland to be charged, previous good character and positive life he was now leading in Norway justified and required a sentence appreciably less than would be normal in cases of multiple rapes.

Ms Ni Dhomhnaill sought damages for multiple acts of sexual assault on dates unknown between May 2011 and the end of April 2012 at an apartment in Belvedere Place.

She sought damages for personal injuries, loss and damage caused by the assault, battery, rape, sexual assault and intentional infliction of emotional harm on Hustveit's part.

Judgment was entered in default of defence and the jury was told by Mr Justice Max Barrett that its task was to assess damages only.

Aggravated

Having heard evidence from Ms Ni Dhomhnaill, her mother and a psychiatrist, the jury assessed damages in a total sum of 1m, comprising 350,000 general damages, 400,000 aggravated damages and 250,000 punitive damages.

Ms Ni Dhomhnaill said she was in a sexual relationship with Hustveit from May 2011 and they had moved in together to the Belvedere Place flat around September 2011 until the relationship ended around April 29, 2012.

She said he had repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted her while she was asleep.

She said Hustveit had admitted on April 29, 2012 that he had raped her and this had been going on for a period of time.

She received an email from him on May 27, 2012 admitting he penetrated her with his penis and/or hands, touched her and kissed her while she was asleep over a prolonged period of time and used her body for his own gratification.

Receiving the email was "extremely shocking" and disturbing as it detained in a clinical manner how she had been repeatedly violated in her sleep by him.

During the relevant period of time, she also discovered a fist-sized bruise on the inside of her upper thigh which took about a week to heal.

In September 2013, she tried to take her own life.

She had attended weekly therapy sessions and a psychotherapist, had issues around food and excessive exercising, was abusing laxative tablets and had at times struggled to leave her bedroom and home.

All her relationships and friendships had been affected, and she continued to feel frightened about trusting people, including her parents.

Unable to continue in her teaching job, she left for London where she sought to lose herself in studying psychology.

She continues to have disturbing nightmares and could not say how she would be in 10 years.
Most vendors operating from illegal structures in Harare's southern suburbs were yesterday left counting their losses after council employees descended on them as part of efforts to rid the city of such structures.

Harare City Council, which recently obtained a court order to destroy all illegal structures in the city, last week embarked on a clean-up of the city starting with the western suburbs.

Yesterday, council employees destroyed wooden cabins at Zindoga Shopping Centre before proceeding along Masotsha Ndhlovu Way on their way to Sunningdale.

The affected vendors accused the council of being selective after some structures allegedly belonging to foreign nationals were spared.

Fistfights broke out as the vendors turned on those whose properties were not destroyed accusing them of having a hand in the destruction of their structures in a bid to get rid of competition.

One of the vendors who spoke on condition of anonymity said: "I heard the municipal police demanding bribes from the Congolese and Rwandese and I even saw them receiving money from those people.

"This is corruption. We are not going anywhere. It's business as usual. As soon as they leave I am going to rebuild my tuckshop."

Another trader, Petros Mokwena, said they were shocked to see council coming to destroy their businesses as they were never given notices of eviction. "They did not respond to my question when I inquired why they did not demolish the other tuckshops and yet we are operating from the same place," he said.

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However, another vendor, Amanda Mujaji, admitted that council had served them with a notice a month ago, but they had ignored it.

"They gave us notice to vacate this area sometime ago but we refused to leave because they did not allocate us new places to conduct our business. I am a vegetable vendor here and I am earning a living through selling my vegetables. I do not know where to go from here," she said.

Council spokesperson Mr Michael Chideme said the exercise was ongoing and they will be demolishing more illegal properties across the city.

"The exercise is moving ahead as it is in line with our vision of creating a world-class city by the year 2025. Those people who have their structures demolished should apply for proper trading places and we will allocate them such spaces," he said.

On council employees who were alleged to have received bribes to spare some structures, Mr Chideme said: "If there are any officers taking bribes people must report them (to us) and we will deal with them accordingly."
58-year-old Gavin Bailey works in Gloucestershire. In November 1,980 was withdrawn from his account in a branch in Stockport, near Manchester, by a fraudster

A Barclays customer who became a victim of identity fraud after someone walked into a branch 140 miles away from where he worked and withdrew 2,000 has described feeling 'extremely vulnerable and incredibly stressed' after neither the bank nor the police considered it a crime.

On 25 November 2019, Gavin Bailey, 58, from Gloucestershire, had 1,980 withdrawn from his account after someone successfully impersonated his signature in a Barclays branch in Stockport, Lancashire.

The fraudster also tried to transfer 5,990 out of his account using his personal details before the payment was blocked by the bank's fraud team.

Gavin, the commercial director at a small manufacturing company based around half an hour from Cheltenham, tried to get both the bank and the police to look into the case, but neither did.

He even tried to get hold of Barclays' CCTV footage himself, but the bank firstly would not give it to him and then two months later told him the footage was no longer available.

While cases of identity theft rose 31 per cent year-on-year to nearly 28,000 in the first six months of 2019, and losses due to it rose 6 per cent to 18.5million, in many instances such as Gavin's they are not reported to the police.

Gavin reported his case to Action Fraud, the UK's fraud reporting centre, after initially trying to go through Gloucestershire Police.

Action Fraud stated in a 19 December letter: 'On this occasion the matter you reported to us cannot be classified as a police recorded crime.' - these are rules set out by the Home Office.

It added: 'The use of another person's identity, often referred to as identity theft, is not a police recordable crime.

'Where the details are used to obtain goods or services, we can only record a crime on behalf of the person or organisation which was defrauded as a result of the misuse of an identity.'

'An example of a situation in which we could record a crime would be where details were used to obtain credit, the use of which left the provider of credit with a financial loss.

'In these circumstances we would record a crime for the provider of the credit and look to establish if there was scope for the matter to be investigated.

How the fraud unfolded According to a letter sent from Barclays to Gavin Bailey, this is how an identity fraudster attempted to steal his money on 25 November 2019: - 12:20 - Visited a Barclays branch in Altrincham, south west of Manchester - no withdrawal attempt made; - 13:31 - Visited a Barclays branch in Stockport, 10 miles away, and withdrew 1,980 over the counter and tried to transfer 5,990 - the latter was blocked; - 15:20 - Visited a Barclays branch in Bury, 20 miles from Stockport, and attempted to withdraw 1,500 over the counter - blocked from doing so; - 16:27 - Fraudster attempted to release the payment of 5,990 which had been blocked by the bank's fraud team.

'Whilst the misuse of your identity cannot be classified as a police recorded crime, we do recognise that identity theft can cause significant distress and inconvenience.'

Action Fraud did not respond to a request for comment from This is Money at the time of publication.

The 5,990 payment was verified, according to the bank, by the use of Gavin's name and date of birth, and they told the fraudster to visit a branch with two forms of ID.

While Barclays refunded the 1,980 money and gave him 100 goodwill, they also did not report the case to the police.

It said in a letter sent 15 January: 'We wouldn't contact the police to report an incident such as this, but we'd always be happy to support their enquiries if we are to receive contact.'

The bank added in a statement to This is Money: 'Keeping customers funds secure is our top priority.

'We are committed to protecting our customers and have invested significantly in anti-scam and fraud prevention initiatives.

'We are committed to working together with other banks, payment providers, police, wider law enforcement and regulators to bear down on both scams and fraud such as this.'

Gavin told This is Money: 'This episode has left me feeling extremely vulnerable and incredibly stressed.

'There is still a fraudster at large who has personal information about me and who can, according to the bank's report, produce a signature with a 'true likeness' to mine.

'Surely it is only a matter of time before they target me again, yet both Barclays and the Police are unwilling to help me or to help apprehend this person.'

What about the other banks?

This is Money asked fellow big banks HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander for their stance if a similar situation happened with one of their customers.

Lloyds would report a case like Gavin's to the police, while Santander assesses identity theft on a case-by-case basis, but would report it to the City of London Police and assist any enquiry by sharing relevant CCTV footage.
Vigils were held Friday in Hong Kong and Wuhan to mourn Li Wenliang, an ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital who sounded the alarm on the coronavirus, for which Chinese authorities attempted to silence him. Wenliang reportedly died this week after contracting the virus.

The big picture, per the New York Times' Li Yuan: "For many people in China, the doctors death shook loose pent-up anger and frustration at how the government mishandled the situation by not sharing information earlier and by silencing whistle-blowers."

The Chinese government "delayed a concerted public health offensive" around the coronavirus by silencing doctors for raising red flags in the first seven weeks after symptoms appeared in December, the Times reports, citing two dozen interviews with Wuhan residents, officials and doctors.

A citizen pays tribute at Wuhan Central Hospital on Friday. Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

A woman holds a whistle to her mouth, while others at a vigil for Li in Hong Kong do the same. Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

A man bows at Li's memorial at his hospital in Wuhan. Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

The Hong Kong vigil on Friday. Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

The vigil in Hong Kong on Friday. Photo: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

Flowers at Friday's vigil in Wuhan. Photo: Stringer/Getty Images

A man carries a flower at Friday's vigil in Hong Kong. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

A woman grieves at Friday's vigil in Wuhan. Photo: Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images

Flowers are adjusted at Frida's vigil in Wuhan. Photo: Getty Images/Stringer

Go deeper:
City officials urged San Franciscans to attend Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations this weekend amid fears sparked by the new coronavirus that has infected thousands of people in China but resulted in only 12 cases in the U.S.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce, which organizes the Chinese New Year Festival and Parade, hosted a Thursday press conference where public safety and health officials said the coronavirus that is spreading out of Wuhan, China, does not present a threat to the local community. All Lunar New Year activities will be conducted as planned. The parade will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Of the 12 confirmed cases in the U.S., four are in the Bay Area. Two of those patients are Santa Clara County residents and two are from San Benito County and are being treated at a San Francisco hospital.

Norman Yee, president of the citys Board of Supervisors, said he grew up attending the citys annual Lunar New Year celebration and encouraged people not to be deterred by unfounded fear surrounding the coronavirus. More people are catching the flu, he said.

Yee condemned incidents of racism and xenophobia sparked by fear and misunderstanding of the virus that have targeting the Asian American community in recent weeks.

This is not the values of San Francisco, he said. We need to tell people this is not right, when you basically portray a whole group of people as something that is contagious  thats not what it is.

Police officers and sheriffs deputies will be stationed throughout the parade as usual. Anyone who needs help can call 911 dispatchers in a number of languages.

Everyone should be reassured that we are safe and prepared in dealing with anything that should arise, said Sheriff Paul Miyamoto.

Police Chief William Scott said people should be vigilant, avoid scams that target money and valuables, and report crimes and suspicious activity in order to avoid becoming a victim.

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.

Department of Public Health director Grant Colfax said there is no threat to the public in San Francisco. He said he recommends people maintain standard healthy practices like washing hands, coughing into their elbows, getting a flu shot and staying home if sick.

Yee said more than 1,000 people attended a New Year celebration last weekend in his district, and he hopes the community will show up to support the Chinese American community this weekend, too.

I urge people who have come year after year to continue coming to this parade on Saturday and have the fun that they always have, Yee said.

Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2
Will The Coronavirus Spark A Global Downturn Greater Than SARS?

By Tony Wesolowsky February 06, 2020

Before there was the coronavirus, there was SARS.

Shorthand for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the lethal, pneumonia-like virus emerged in late 2002 in China. It ultimately spread over several months to 37 countries, infecting more than 8,000 people, killing about 750, and briefly causing global panic.

Today, the coronavirus is spreading faster than SARS. As of February 6, the global death toll from the outbreak that began in December had already risen to more than 560, according to Reuters: all but two were in mainland China, with more than 28,000 confirmed infections there.Worldwide Impact

The current virus may end up not only being more lethal to humans but also more damaging to the world economy as well.

The coronavirus is expected to trim economic growth in China this year to 5.6 percent, down from 6.1 percent in 2019, according to a forecast by Oxford Economics cited by The New York Times.

What makes that more worrying is the role China plays in the world economy today.

Back in 2002, China accounted for 4.3 percent of the world economy. It was largely churning out low-cost goods like T-shirts and sneakers to be bought elsewhere, mainly in the West.

Today, China's share of the global economy is 16.9 percent. Some of that in the high-tech industry, including smart phones. It's the second-largest economy in the world, after the United States, which is the largest consumer market in the world and the number one export market for Chinese goods.

That means more Chinese have more disposable income to spend. They are no longer just makers, but buyers.

Apple, Starbucks, and IKEA have temporarily closed stores in China. Shopping malls are deserted. That means Chinese consumers aren't spending disposable income. And all those shuttered shops have global businesses worried, not least in the United States.

Goldman Sachs expects Chinese tourism to the United States and exports of American goods to China will take a hit because of the coronavirus. The U.S.-based investment bank predicts the virus will trim 0.4 percentage points from annualized growth in the United States over the first quarter of 2020. The bank foresees a slight rebound in the second quarter, but the risks are "skewed towards a larger hit," according to a report cited by the Guardian.

Coronavirus Costs Russia

For Russia, the costs of the coronavirus could be even higher.

Russia has fostered closer ties with China since relations with the West went south after Moscow seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and began backing separatists in eastern Ukraine in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000. China is now Russia's top trade partner. Turnover between the two amounted to $100 billion in 2018, according to figures cited by China's official Xinhua news agency.

But on January 31, Russia closed its more-than-4,000-kilometer-long border with China, shutting 16 border crossings. According to the Financial Times, the move risks "damaging a relationship that has bloomed over the past six years."

Not just goods but people are also being affected by the measures.

In late January, Russia announced it was suspending a visa-free travel program for Chinese tourists, the biggest driver of growth for Russia's tourist industry since 2015.

The Association of Tour Operators of Russia, a tourism lobbying group, said Russia could lose $100 million from the restrictions, and an extra $10 million from Russian tourists cancelling or postponing trips to China.

Russia's Foreign Ministry also announced that it had stopped issuing electronic visas to Chinese nationals, suspending a special permit that gives tourists short-term access to St Petersburg, the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad and parts of the country's Far East.

Globally, tourism is expected to be hard hit as people face travel restrictions to China.

"Tourism is vulnerable to the effects of public health emergencies and is already being affected by this outbreak. However, it is too early to fully estimate the impacts this outbreak will have," the United Nations World Tourism Organization said in a January 31 statement.

Governments are shutting the borders to non-citizens who have recently traveled to China. The United States is temporarily barring foreign nationals who have visited China unless they are immediate relatives of American citizens or permanent residents.

Less travel means fewer flights, and global airlines are already feeling the pain of coronavirus-linked travel restrictions.

Dozens of airlines around the globe from Air France to Air Astana to Delta Airlines have suspended or restricted commercial flights in and out of China. Beijing and Shanghai are among the most affected cities, and some airlines have cut service to Hong Kong, a semiautonomous region of the country. Only seven U.S. airports were accepting flights from China as of February 3, 2020.

As flight cancellations piled up, so too have losses for the global airline industry.

During the SARS crisis back in 2002-2003, Asia Pacific carriers lost $6 billion in revenue, according to the International Air Transport Authority. North American airlines lost $1 billion and European carriers came out largely unscathed, analysts said.

The coronavirus will "definitely" trump that $7 billion figure associated with SARS, said Ivan Su, an analyst with the financial services firm Morningstar.

Part of that has to do with the number of Chinese travelers now compared to 2003. Around 660 million Chinese passengers traveled by air in 2019  more than seven times as many as in 2003, according to state news agency Xinhua. The boom in China far outpaced the global increase in passenger numbers, which grew from 1.7 billion in 2003 to 4.2 billion in 2018, according to the World Bank.

"Airlines are more impacted today because China is the world's economic engine," Shukor Yusof, head of aviation consulting firm Endau Analytics in Malaysia, told CNN Business.

Yusof said that the sweeping flight cancellations made by American Airlines, Air Canada, British Airways, and others are "unprecedented."

The London-based Center for Economics and Business Research warned that unless a cure was found quickly, the coronavirus risked pushing a "fragile world economic recovery into reverse."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/will-the-coronavirus -spark-a-global-downturn-greater -than-sars-/30420877.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.

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Ryanair must reimburse a passenger for charging her a fee to take hand luggage on board a flight, a Spanish court has ruled.

The no-frills airline has been ordered to pay the traveller 40 (50 euros) plus interest after she claimed she was asked to pay to take carry on bags on a service from Liverpool to Alicante.

The plaintiff was not named in the five-page written ruling, which was made public today by a mercantile court in Elche near Alicante.

Ryanair must reimburse a passenger for charging her a fee to take hand luggage on board a flight, a Spanish court has ruled

But respected Costa Blanca newspaper Informacion identified her as Matilde Flora.

Judge Luis Fortea Gorbe said he had used article 97 of Spain's Law of Air Navigation to make his ruling.

It states: 'The transport provider will be obliged to transport free of charge in the cabin, as hand luggage, the objects and bags travellers carry with them, including items acquired in airport shops.

'Those objects and bags can only be turned away for safety reasons, linked to the weight and size of the objects, in relation to the characteristics of the plane.'

The judge also highlighted a September 2014 decision ruling by the Court of Justice stating excess charges for hand luggage were not justified in cases where passengers had not paid a priority boarding tariff.

The charge today's court ruling relates to is understood to centre on an excess fee linked to the priority tariff the plaintiff was asked to pay so she could return to Spain with three other passengers. The flight date was before Ryanair introduced its current hand luggage rules.

The judge's sentence makes it clear Ryanair initially contested the plaintiff's action before accepting the claim and paying the money she was demanding.

Ms Flora was quoted in her local paper as saying: 'Fifty euros is not a high sum of money but if we multiply that cost by all the passengers who pay it without having to do so, the amount would be extremely high.

'That's why I hope this ruling helps other travellers who have experienced the same thing as well as consumer organisations.'

Ryanair's current cabin bag policy, brought into force on November 1, 2018, states passengers can only bring one 'small personal bag' on board for free that has to fit underneath the seat in front of them.

The no-frills airline was ordered to pay the traveller 40 (50 euros) plus interest after she claimed she was asked to pay to take carry on bags on a service from Liverpool to Alicante (file picture)

Passengers who bring a second bag to the gate or have a bag that is too big are warned they will face a fee to take it on board.

Two bags can be brought on board the plane - one under the seat and one weighing no more than 10kg in the overhead locker - by passengers who pay for priority boarding.

Last October, a Madrid court ruled Ryanair's policy of charging a fee for hand luggage was 'abusive' and could no longer be levied in Spain, although the budget airline insisted it would not change its rules.

Meanwhile, last August, Spanish consumer rights group FACUA claimed Ryanair may be breaking the law with its luggage rules but the airline contested the claims.

Ryanair said in a statement today: 'This ruling will not affect the validity of Ryanair's baggage policy, it is an isolated case in Spain.

'Ryanair's baggage policy is transparent and beneficial to consumers.

'Up until five years ago, Ryanair only allowed one carry-on bag  now up to 50 per cent of customers will continue to bring two free carry-on bags as they travel on priority boarding.

'Non-priority customers can bring one free (small) carry-on bag, we have increased the size of this by over 40 per cent from 35 x 20 x 20cm (14,000 cm) to 40 x 20 x 25cm (20,000 cm).'
MICHIGAN -- The passage of Proposal 3 in 2018 allows all registered voters in Michigan without reason in any election.

The local clerk must receive requests for absentee voter ballots no later than 5 p.m. the Friday before an election. Those already registered at their current address can request an absentee ballot in person at their clerk's office up to 4 p.m. the day prior to an election.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump welcomed Interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido to the White House.

The visit is an opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of the United States to the people of Venezuela, and to discuss how we can work with interim President Guaido to expedite a democratic transition in Venezuela that will end the ongoing crisis, the White House said in a statement. President Trump highlighted U.S. support for democracy around the region in his State of the Union address in Washington the evening before, when he noted the United States is leading a diplomatic coalition of nearly 60 countries against the former regime of Nicolas Maduro.:

Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people. But Maduros grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken.

Interim President Guaido was re-elected president of Venezuelas National Assembly on January 5, 2020, with 100 votes  a clear majority of the 167-member legislature. Venezuelas constitution stipulates that, pending election and inauguration of a new President, the National Assembly president assumes the interim presidency. In order to cast their votes, members of the Venezuelan National Assembly were forced to meet in an alternate location after Maduro dispatched his armed security forces on election day to block Juan Guaido and National Assembly deputies from entering the Federal Legislative Palace.

In Washington, D.C., interim President Guaido attended the State of the Union address as President Trumps guest:

Here this evening is a man who carries with him the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of all Venezuelans. Joining us in the gallery is the true and legitimate President of Venezuela, Juan Guaido. Mr. President, please take this message back to your homeland: All Americans are united with the Venezuelan people in their righteous struggle for freedom! Socialism destroys nations. But always remember, freedom unifies the soul.

We will continue, said a White House statement, to work with our partners in the region to confront the illegitimate dictatorship in Venezuela, and we will stand alongside the Venezuelan people to ensure a future that is democratic and prosperous.
Bigg Boss 13: Arhaan Khan Opens Up About Receiving Legal Notice To Vacate Rashami Desais House
Earlier this week, Apple shut down its retail stores and corporate offices in China due to the Coronavirus outbreak. The company had originally announced that it would open its stores on February 10th as suggested by the Chinese government. However, it looks like Apple will continue to keep its retail stores closed even after Feb. 10th.

A memo sent by Apple to all its employees in China and as seen by MacGeneration points to the company determining the date on which it will reopen its offices and stores next week. The decision will take into consideration a number of other factors like health protocols, local restrictions, and more.

Apples Retail Stores are actively working to reopen at a date that will be determined next week. Additional cleaning, health protocols and local restrictions around public spaces will factor into this decision. Retail teams will receive updates from their managers on the opening date for their store and on other supportive steps we are taking.

The memo further says that managers will reach out to employees to provide them with an update on when they can expect to resume work. Employees are also encouraged to check out the dedicated coronavirus page created by Apple for its employees.

Apple is not the only one that will not open its offices on February 10th. Foxconn was also expected to resume production at its Shenzhen iPhone plant from Monday. However, the company has sent out a memo to its employees in the Shenzhen factory to not return to work on February 10th. The move has been taken in the interest of safeguarding everyones health due to the virus outbreak.

The coronavirus outbreak and Apple shutting down its retail stores is going to have a negative impact on iPhone and sales of other Apple products. In fact, the production of iPhones and other Apple products has also been hit due to the virus outbreak. This will also negatively affect Foxconns revenues for the entire year.

[Via MacGeneration
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Marina Maher Communications (MMC) announced today strategic hires and promotions across Digital, Influencer and Earned Media - reinforcing their continued commitment to delivering next-gen thinking fueled by top industry talent to achieve clients' business goals in 2020 and beyond.

Taylor VanAllen joins MMC as SVP of Influencer Marketing from Ogilvy, where she built and led the Influencer practice. VanAllen will further turbocharge Influencer Marketing across MMC and RXMOSAIC, reporting into Chris Iafolla , GSVP Digital.

joins MMC as from Ogilvy, where she built and led the Influencer practice. VanAllen will further turbocharge Influencer Marketing across MMC and RXMOSAIC, reporting into Brad Wellen joins MMC as SVP of Digital from Huge, where he oversaw Social and Content Strategy across a variety of brands including Zelle, Anheuser-Busch and Verizon. Wellen will lead Consumer Digital at MMC and partner with Iafolla to amplify Digital capabilities.

joins MMC as from Huge, where he oversaw Social and Content Strategy across a variety of brands including Zelle, Anheuser-Busch and Verizon. Wellen will lead Consumer Digital at MMC and partner with Iafolla to amplify Digital capabilities. Sara Baker was promoted to Executive Director of Earned Media to oversee earned media across MMC's consumer, corporate, and health & wellbeing practices. Baker has extensive experience and proven expertise for innovating how earned media enables breakthrough with target audiences, thereby yielding business results for clients across the ever-evolving landscape. The media team further expanded with a new hire, Danielle Burch , VP of Consumer Media, who brings extensive earned media experience across brands such as Colgate, Panasonic and Pandora Jewelry.

With 40+ award wins across the industry this past year, MMC is committed to redefining the industry standard and offering clients Digital, Influencer and Earned Media capabilities that yield true business impact. "As a next-gen comms agency, we know the importance of investing in agile talent and resources that amplify our capabilities, drive new innovations and deliver the most powerful business solutions for our clients," said Rema Vasan, Chief Innovation Officer.

MMC continues to evolve at an extremely fast pace, strengthening their talent and continually innovating. The agency has a number of digital innovations in the pipeline and expects to announce a new breakthrough capability at SXSW this March.

About Marina Maher Communications (MMC)

Marina Maher Communications is an integrated marketing and communications agency, encompassing MMC and RXMOSAIC. The firm was built by strategic innovators who leverage the power of influence to grow and protect brands. We are a collaborative group of creatives with a bias toward action and a passion for client service that fuels us forward. Our data and tech stack unlock deep audience understanding and is married with our unique ability to leverage culture, thereby creating powerful communications solutions that drive business results. Digitally driven, we are ahead of the curve in defining the next generation of communications, making MMC one of the most recognized and sought-after communications agencies across consumer, corporate and healthcare.

To learn more, please visit: HelloMMC.com. MMC is an Omnicom (NYSE: OMC) agency.

Media Contacts:

Ashley Makuh

[email protected]

212-485-1678

SOURCE Marina Maher Communications
In 2000, Donna Dees-Thomases celebrated Mothers Day by going for a walk.

About 1 million people joined her.

It was the Million Mom March, a giant grassroots mobilization of moms against gun violence that Dees-Thomases had organized over the course of just 10 months. A mother of two girls living in suburban New Jersey, she had watched the Columbine massacre open up a summer of violence that ended with an attack on a day camp at a Jewish Community Center outside of L.A. in August of 1999 that left one dead and five injured. The sight of terrified children fleeing a gunman shocked her into action.

At this point in the story, which Dees-Thomases is telling me from the backyard of her home in Louisiana, she interrupts herself to pet a dog that has wandered into her yard. I hear panting in the background, as she begins to talk again about governmental inaction in the face of gun violence. Then she adds, ecstatically, Two goldendoodles! Beautiful.

Its this kind of extreme, almost comic friendliness that helped her organize a historic event and launch a national movementand the reason Glamour honored her in 2000 as a Woman of the Year.

Dees-Thomases spent 10 feverish months working part-time as a publicist for Late Show With David Letterman, parenting, and organizing the Million Moms March. In the days before social media, before smartphones, before virality, Dees-Thomases used every connection she had ever made and worked every hour she could stay awake. As her plan, which had started as bullet points on scratch paper, grew into a national news event, she promoted it by debating the head of the National Rifle Organization on Meet the Press and securing a spot on Oprah. She wore denim overalls most of the time. On the day of the march, she was so tired she nearly put on mismatched sneakers. The day was a smash success, and honors, including Glamours Woman of the Year award, followed.

Story continues

And then? You know what happened, even if you dont know Dees-Thomases's story. The Million Moms March was a massive success. But the mass shootings of the Columbine era continued. Innocent people died. Children died, all the time. There was no runaway movement that defeated the gun lobby and changed federal regulations and took over state houses. In 2019 there were more mass shootings than days in the year.

Grassroots, progressive causes are not easy, says Dees-Thomases, who is remarkably open about her own shortcomings. We struggled so much to create an organization out of it. We attempted two mergers after the march, we struggled as an organization, we had branding issues. I think we overused our database for fund-raising. She shares these lessons with the leaders of the other organizations she supports (and thinks you should support too): Moms Demand Action, Brady Chapter, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Giffords, and March for Our Lives.

Twenty years later Im beating myself up a little less, because Ive watched groups like the Womens March struggle, she says. Its difficult when you go from a Facebook page to activists across the country. And gun-violence work, in particular, is hard (No one wants to have a movement created by trauma and death). She believesshe knowsthat grassroots organizing to change law and life is possible and necessary. Million Moms March was a grassroots group of women, many of whom had never organized so much as a carpool before, she says. But they found inner strength, used their talents and their ability to stand up to the gun lobby, and say, This is what were doing.

Glamour archives

Thats the nonnegotiable thing: women. Men cant organize a trip to the mens room, much less organize a march or a movement, she says, adding, I do have to tip my hat to the men who support the women who are doing this work! (Michael Bloomberg and Elizabeth Warren have the strongest gun-violence prevention platforms, she thinks.) She started organizing in 1999 because she thought there was no movement for gun-violence prevention. But that wasnt true, she said. There was a movement, mostly of women, unsung heroes who never had their stories told, and they had their successes coopted by mostly male-run organizations in D.C.

After the March, Dees-Thomases kept organizing, suffering a huge setback in 2004, when Congress failed to renew the expired Federal Assault Weapons Ban. In 2012, after Sandy Hook, she said she got 1,200 emails within a few hours of the shootings, and worked to mobilize the volunteers (If you dont catch people in the first 48 hours of their outrage, they move on). Starting in 2016, for three years, she organized Concert Across America, a community-based, coast-to-coast project to stop violence through music. "Oh my God, theyre so cute!" she exclaims, distracted from the topic at hand suddenly. Donna Dees-Thomases has found another dog.

I feel optimistic, she says. She sees progress everywhere. Every candidate has realized there are stakeholders in this election who care about this issue who are registering voters, she says. People dont realize that the Virginia Tech families have been slowly reshaping gun-violence laws in their state since 2007 (13 years, slugging along, being in the state where the NRA is based, and finally seeing progress). The women who first came together at the Million Moms March have kept up the work over the last 20 years, even if you havent seen them on OprahJohnnymae Robinson, a Million Moms Marcher, emailed her last week because she was just named to Mayor Bill DeBlasios Gun Violence Survivor Advisory Counsel. Eileen Filler-Corn, a Million Moms Marcher, just became the first female Speaker in the Virginia House of Delegates. (And they just spearheaded seven gun-violence prevention bills through the Virginia statehouse, and what an exciting day its going to be when Governor Northam signs those into law! And that was 20 years in the making, Eileens journey.) She says that its teens of color in Philadelphia and Chicago and New Orleans, not just the Parkland kids we see on TV, who are organizing sit-ins and changing gun laws.

Thats been Dees-Thomasess work since the march. Organizing, celebrating, and immortalizing women. Shes an activists activist, obsessed with the anonymous women, the overall-wearing women, the moms, the women of color who were ignored in the mediathe women whose stories and successes were coopted by men. In 2012, after Sandy Hook, working with the filmmaker Susan Willis (I hounded her for about six weeks), she started conducting interviews of unsung female gun-violence heroes: moms who devoted their lives to the movement after their children's murder. Dorothy McGann, now 90, who organized to pass New Jersey's first assault weapons ban. When Dees-Thomases went to mic her, McGann said she had never been filmed before.

In 2016 she released Five Awake, a 36-minute documentary (I personally wanted to make it a five-hour film) about the group of women who, in the wake of extreme domestic violence in Louisiana, swiftly overhauled the states domestic violence laws, including passing a bill that banned domestic abusers from owning guns for a decade. Dees-Thomases moved to Louisiana to promote the film, and her older daughter was inspired by one of the activists to become a social worker. (I say, damn you, Mary Claire, for being so inspirational! My daughter had graduated from business school!)

Dees-Thomases' work is almost all volunteer. And that work is really to uplift and promote the women activists, she says. They do things I could never do. Oh! When Dees-Thomases was honored by Glamour, she was too nervous to say more than a few words at her own massive march. She says shes inspired by Samantha Fuentes, one of the teen activist Parkland survivors. (She was giving her speech, she threw up onstage, and she got up and finished her speech. Shes my hero!)

Twenty years later she still believes that moms are the best advocates for gun-violence preventionshe loves the Parkland kids, she says, chuckling, I look at those kids and saythey have some great moms! You need moms to have a movement. You need moms to march, and then you need to know the march is meaningful only if you are prepared to do a database collection. You need to attract moms to marches because they are great volunteers, because they will help you create a database rich with passionate people who put their bus deposits on their personal credit cards, and then go out and fill them with 50 people. Thats the kind of person you want.

Dees-Thomses says, happily, petting a dog, that 2020 is the year, the year of change. The year of progress. Another great year, brought to you by moms.

Jenny Singer is a staff writer for Glamour.

Originally Appeared on Glamour
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the nations premier law firm fighting for racial justice, is looking for an agency that can provide media relations work to support the organizations upcoming anniversary gala.
BAD AXE, MI  A former Roman Catholic priest must spend a few days in jail for exposing himself while in a Bad Axe bakery.

Lawrence M. Ventline, 70, in January pleaded no contest to indecent exposure. The charge is a one-year misdemeanor.

A Huron County District Court judge on Thursday, Feb. 6, sentenced Ventline to one year of probation and 10 days in jail. Ventline is to be assessed to see if he qualifies for serving his 10 days on weekends, said Huron County Prosecutor Timothy J. Rutkowski.

The judge also ordered Ventline to pay $855 in fines and court costs and to perform 12 hours of community service. Ventline received no credit for time already served in jail.

The judge did not order Ventline be taken into immediate custody on Thursday, Rutkowski added.

Rutkowski previously said his office had surveillance video footage recorded the morning of Aug. 26 showing Ventline inside Murphys Bakery, 110 W. Huron Ave. in Bad Axe, with his privates exposed.

In pleading no contest as opposed to guilty, Ventline did not admit to having committed a crime. The presiding judge relied on court documents to enter a conviction on the record.

Bad Axe police were notified of Ventlines conduct in the bakery the day after it occurred.

We launched an investigation, interviewed witnesses, interviewed the store owners, and reviewed security video from within the store, Bad Axe Police Chief David W. Rothe previously told MLive. Once we had gathered all of that information, we tried to interview (Ventline). He refused to come in and give us a statement.

Ventline had resided in Huron Countys Port Austin but told police in a letter that he had recently moved to the west side of the state, Rothe added.

Ventline surrendered to authorities on Sept. 30 and was arraigned the same day.

As part of his probation, Ventline is prohibited from visiting the bakery.

Ventlines past

The Archdiocese of Detroit in 2016 restricted Ventline from public ministry after learning of abuse allegations against him. Prior to that, he had not been assigned to full-time parish ministry for nearly 20 years, the organization reports on its website.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel in May announced her office was suspending Ventlines license to practice as a limited-license counselor. In the May 15 order of summary suspension, Nessel alleged Ventline sexually assaulted an 11-year-old boy during the 1989-1990 school year, when Ventline was a pastor in a parish and school within the Archdiocese of Detroit.

Ventline has denied the allegation.

In public Facebook posts in May, Ventline responded to Nessels allegations, proclaiming himself a victim and writing the then-11-year-old boy he was accused of assaulting had told a fiction.

Kelly Rossman-McKinney, communications director for the Attorney Generals Office, previously told MLive/The Saginaw News that Nessel could not criminally charge Ventline due to the statute of limitations having run out. The case had been investigated by Oakland County Sheriffs Office personnel.

Former Catholic priest pleads no contest to indecent exposure in Michigans Thumb

Former priest charged with indecent exposure in Huron County

Catholic priest vows lawsuit against AG Nessel after his counseling license suspended
The PSNI have said they believe a bomb bound for a ferry to Scotland was planted by the Continuity IRA.

The bomb was discovered on a lorry on Tuesday at a commercial premises in Lurgan.

Assistant Chief Constable George Clarke declined to give specific details on the Lurgan bomb find, but said it was a viable device that could have caused death or serious injury.

He said a warning call was made to a media outlet last Friday, warning that a device had been left in a trailer in Belfast docks.

The lorry trailer had, in fact, never left Lurgan and remained undiscovered over the weekend.

The call was also claimed the bomb would explode on a midnight ferry, which did not exist.

Police at this time carried out a search on a ferry that left Belfast at around 11.15pm.

"It's very important to note that information was exceptionally sparse and limited. There was a police response in relation to that," ACC Clarke said.

A further call was made to same outlet on Monday with "substantially more detail".

This gave the name of a commercial haulage company, indicating the device had been left on a trailer connected to the company.

It was also claimed the intention was for the device to explode on Friday evening around the time the United Kingdom left the EU.

The PSNI worked with the owners - carrying out "a substantial clearance and investigative operation" - to identify the vehicle in Lurgan, discovering the device on Tuesday.

ACC Clarke said the second call indicated the bombers had intended the lorry would travel to Belfast.

He said those responsible needed to explain their exact intentions, but that they had "recklessly and callously" sought to put the device "on a public road, in a public place and expose members of the public to a very real risk of harm and death".

He confirmed the PSNI believe the dissident republican group, CIRA, made both warning calls and were responsible for planting the bomb.

ACC Clarke added there would be an increased security presence around ports in Northern Ireland as well as "covert activity" to keep people safe.

He also stressed the risk to life caused by leaving the bomb undiscovered for days.

"During that period of time, a viable bomb is in a commercial yard posing significant risk to anybody who comes within range of it."

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the discovery of the bomb highlights that there are those in Northern Ireland who "still attempt to drag us backwards into terrorism and violence".

"We understand there will have been good operational reasons that more details were not made public until now, but those that information is an even more chilling reminder of the threat posed by these terrorists," she said.

"The potential damage which could have been caused and loss of life either here in Northern Ireland, on board a ferry or in Great Britain do not bear thinking about.

"It is significant that information was available which meant police could search the ferry and ensure it was able to sail safely. The disruption of such potential attacks can save lives and we owe a huge debt of gratitude to all those working to keep the public safe and thwart the efforts of terrorists."

At a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board today, the UUP MLA Alan Chambers added his "condemnation and outrage" to the incident.

You talk about that if it had exploded on the M1 or the Westlink or the harbour estate the risks posed to not bear thinking about," he said.

The possibility was that had it been loaded onto that ferry and exploded at sea the consequences could have been horrendous.

Speaking after the meeting, the DUP MLA Mervyn Storey said: There are still organisations out there who have the intent and capability of carrying out these type of atrocities.

On the information they have given us to date, clearly there was intent to have a viable device that was going to cause some disruption and if possible to take life. I think it is very serious."

The SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said the terrorists had shown "complete wanton disregard" for the safety of the community, including lorry drivers and ferry passengers.

These people couldn't care less and then for it to end up in an industrial estate in close proximity to a residential area and over so many days," she said.

If the dissidents or whoever was responsible, and I believe that it was dissidents, had any greater concern for the people then it wouldn't have taken them three days to give more specific details about where the bomb was attached to to have helped the police, if they were putting people first.

That's never their consideration and they have learned no lessons from the Omagh bomb where there was misinformation. It's appalling and it's such evil."

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly said the device could have caused a "catastrophic loss of life" after attending a policing board meeting in Belfast on Thursday.

Mr Kelly said: They believe it was dissidents. This trailer could have been on a ferry and you can imagine how many people would be on a ferry if it have of went off in the middle of the sea.

We could have been in a catastrophic position here and we need to realise that. It may have been the worst-case scenario but it's a possibility that that's what would have happened."

He added: All elected representatives are one voice over this and condemnation came collectively from the board. I am adding to that condemnation personally and also as a spokesperson for Sinn Fein, they need to desist and they need to move away.

If anybody has any information about this, they should hand it over to police.
The X Factor will not return later this year as Simon Cowell plans to "rest" the talent show for 12 months.

The programme has been an annual staple on TV since 2004 but will not air in 2020.

Instead, there are plans to bring it back in 2021. It is part of Cowell's plan to see if the format can be refreshed.

The X Factor has experienced a decline in viewing figures and recent spin-off shows X Factor: Celebrity and X Factor: The Band failed to stem the losses.

A production source said: "Simon is planning to rest The X Factor this year. He and the producers want to take a breath to really think through the show and how to reinvigorate it for the future. And they don't believe they can do that if they go straight into another cycle of the show this year.

"Although The X Factor is contracted for one more series, ITV totally understand the rationale behind the idea of resting it this year and want to give Simon and the team the time to do what they feel is right."

In December, producers Thames and Cowell's company Syco signed a new deal for Britain's Got Talent for five years and The X Factor for one more series.

The X Factor was once one of the most popular shows on TV and helped launch the careers of chart-topping artists including One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs and Leona Lewis.

However, interest has waned and in November an average of 2.6 million viewers tuned in to ITV to watch former The Only Way Is Essex star Megan McKenna crowned the first winner of spin-off show X Factor: Celebrity.

A spokesman for Britain's Got Talent and The X Factor said: "Plans for this autumn are still being finalised and will be announced in due course. We are currently filming Britain's Got Talent 2020."
Medical staff members wearing protective clothing arrive with a patient at the Wuhan Red Cross Hospital in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 25, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

China Starts Testing an Antiviral Drug in Coronavirus Patients: Officials

U.S. officials and Chinese authorities said that antiviral drug remdesivir, used as a treatment for Ebola, is being tested on new coronavirus patients in China.

Gilead Sciences announced it would collaborate with U.S., Chinese, and other health officials to investigate whether the drug works.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the head of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a news conference that remdesivir tests have now begun in a randomized controlled trial in two separate trials in China by one of our colleagues, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said.

Theyre looking at the effectiveness of the drug in a randomized control trial, Fauci said. Pretty soon, we are going to get a definitive answer.

Gilead noted that remdesivir hasnt been licensed anywhere in the world to treat any viruses, noting that officials arent sure whether its safe or effective.

Gilead has provided remdesivir for use in a small number of patients with [coronavirus] for emergency treatment in the absence of any approved treatment options. Gilead is working with health authorities in China to establish a randomized, controlled trial to determine whether remdesivir can safely and effectively be used to treat [coronavirus], the firm said in a statement.

The firm, based in Californias Foster City, said the drug has shown to have activity against MERS and SARS, which are similar coronaviruses.

Ryan McKeel, a Gilead spokesman, told the New York Times in an email that two clinical trials will take place in Wuhan, China, where the outbreak has been centered. Five-hundred patients will get the drug and comparison patients will get a placebo.

It is important to keep in mind that this is an experimental medicine that has only been used in a small number of patients with 2019-nCoV to date, so we do not have an appropriately robust understanding of the effect of this drug to warrant broad use at this time, he said, referring to another name for the virus.

He noted that the firm has stockpiled the drug to use against Ebola and will now use those drugs against the virus in China and for patients in the United States, according to the NY Times.

At the same time, the Wuhan Institute of Virology said it has applied for a patent for remdesivir to treat coronavirus. Gilead, however, said that it has patents for the drug inside China and elsewhere, but its patent for the new coronavirus use is pending.

Gilead has no influence over whether a patent office issues a patent to the Chinese researchers. Their application has been filed more than three years after Gileads filing and will be considered in view of what is already known about the compound and pending patent applications, McKeel told The Associated Press.
Kiran Narayanan By

Express News Service

KOCHI: Tom Vattakuzhy, the Muvattupuzha-based artist is elated like never before. After Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar, now Finance Minister Thomas Isaac has used his painting 'Death of Gandhi' image as the cover of the state budget to make a political statement against the NDA-led union government.



"Painting has the power to grasp the pulse of society and document the changing times. It demands a visual sensibility to understand the deep meanings of the platform. When a state budget itself used the painting, it is a recognition to the art form and the artist," said Vattakuzhy.



Finance department officials have contacted him a month ago seeking his permission to use the image in the budget document.



Tom Vattakuzhy

"The painting is the result of several research. As history painting has never been a prevalent art form in India, it is an immense pleasure to see a government setting a good precedent. Most of the times, artists portrayed Gandhiji at their personal level. At a time when history and culture are being mutilated in the country, I wanted to make a lasting impression in every Indian's mind through the image," he said.



The history painting born back in July 2019 has previously used by national leaders such as Rahul Gandhi and Kanhaiya Kumar in their protest against the union government policies. However, Vattakuzhy has complained about the lack of credit for the artist while using the image. "When tall leaders like them act like a common man, it is a let down for the artist. The image shared like wildfire in the past few months culminating in the selection to the budget document. In that sense, the recognition is an example of visual literacy which will aware the art in the public," he added.



The 53 year-old artist completed his studies at Visva-Bharati University is Santiniketan and Baroda University.
As fear of coronavirus spreads, business drops more than 30% at Toronto Chinese restaurant

The operators of a popular Chinese restaurant in downtown Toronto say some owners are contemplating shutting their doors, as businesses begin to feel the effects of the deadly Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.

Jeanette Liu, manager of Yueh Tung restaurant, says business has dropped more than 30 per cent in recent weeks.

"The fact that we're seeing about 30, 35 per cent decline speaks to the fact, I think, that it is having a lot to do with coronavirus misinformation," Liu told CBC News.

"A lot of business owners that we know have been calling us, asking how's business," she added.

"We haven't seen a lot of the blatant racism that other fellow business owners have experienced in the last couple of weeks, but they're getting calls, they're getting people threatening them, telling them to go back home where they came from."

WATCH: The operators of Yueh Tung restaurant say business has dropped since coronavirus hit the headlines.

Liu said these businesspeople have never lived in Wuhan and come from places as diverse as India, like her family, and Jamaica.

"The fact that people are calling businesses, hardworking business owners who've contributed to the city and telling them to go back home where they came from, it's not funny," she added.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global health emergency over a new coronavirus that has killed at least 563 people in mainland China, with cases confirmed in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, North America and the Middle East.

On Thursday Ontario public health officials said 62 people are currently being tested for the coronavirus, but reaffirmed the risk to the public remains low.

Liu said there is a lot of misinformation and miseducation about the coronavirus, and this has kept some people from going out, and inspired some to specifically target Chinese restaurants and Chinese businesses.

"A lot of business owners, including ourselves, are trying to figure out operationally what steps we need to take now, whether that's closing up for an extra day, switching hours of our team, and people are also considering shutting their doors down just because business is so bad," she said.

Story continues

Liu's mother, Mei Wang-Liu, who owns Yueh Tung restaurant, said the fallout from coronavirus is being felt by Chinese business owners throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

"With the coronavirus going on now, it does impact all of us, especially Chinese restaurants," Wang-Liu told CBC News.

"A lot of them, from what I hear, have been shut down in Markham. Close to Chinatown, people are scared. When someone says, 'Oh, [let's go] to a Chinese restaurant,' you don't feel like going because you're scared of catching the coronavirus."

CBC

Craig McCarten, a long-time Yueh Tung customer, said he keeps himself informed so he knows there's no reason for him to stop visiting one of his favourite restaurants.

Additionally, he said General Tueh's chicken is the best in the city.

"Reasonably priced and it's consistently great," McCarten told CBC News.

McCarten also had high praise for the staff.

"At the end of the day they're all so very helpful and kind every day and it's just great. They're all so welcoming," he said.

His message to people who have been boycotting the restaurant is that they should educate themselves.

"There's no reason to stay away from any place at this point, it seems. So, until then I'm going to come to eat the best General Tueh's in the city," McCarten said.

Paul Huang/FTCCA

Paul Huang, the founding president of the Oriental Culinary Arts Society, says while people usually associate Chinese businesses with Chinatown, there are lot of them in Scarborough, Richmond Hill and Markham, and they are all being affected.

Huang said some owners have told him that business is down by as much as 50 per cent.

"If you've ever been to an uptown restaurant, like in Scarborough or Markham [in the afternoon], there is a line up. You have to get your number. Now you can just go and walk in," Huang told CBC News.

"You feel it right away, there is something missing."

CBC

Tonny Louie, chair of the BIA in Chinatown, has been going do-to-door talking to merchants and the message is the same from all the restaurant owners  business is down.

"Restaurants have been hit the most. They don't see as many customers, number one. And number two, they are opening later and closing down sooner, so maybe they're expecting the worst to come too," Louie told CBC News.

"It's pretty bad. It's [as] bad as when we had the SARS. I think in the next few weeks if we don't have a global situation on our hands, then maybe things will improve."
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday said that rights and privileges of Rahul Gandhi were violated by Union Health Minister Dr Harsha Vardhan during the Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, who instead of replying to the question asked by Waynad MP, started "accusing" him for his comments made "outside Parliament."

"Today, our leader Rahul Gandhi ji has been listed to ask questions in the House. When his turn came, as per the procedure of Parliament, he stood up and mentioned the serial number of the question. But much to our bewilderment, the concerned minister Harsha Vardhan ji in his reply ... he started accusing Rahul Gandhi of his comments made outside parliament, which does not have any relation with the content of the question," he said while addressing a press conference here.

"Being a senior minister of the NDA government, he must have known that the answer should be given against the questions that are asked. But he got wide off the mark and started abusing Rahul Gandhi ji. To that point of time, we strongly protested by saying that -- Minister, it is incumbent upon you to answer the pertinent question," the Congress leader added.

Chowdhury wondered if the entire exercise was "well planned" and deliberate.

"To the astonishment of all of us, the moment Rahul Gandhi asked the question, the Minister started rolling out some papers and accusing and abusing Rahul ji as if the entire exercise by the Minister was pre-meditated, deliberate, well planned. Otherwise, why he would have replied in such a manner which does not have any kind of relevance with the question that was asked by our leader," said Chowdhury.

The Congress leader, however, admitted that his party leaders became emotionally upset and rushed to the Well of the House.

"We must admit that when the concerned minister was accusing Rahul ji of an issue which does not have even any remote relation with the question asked, our members got emotionally upset and rushed to the Well," he said.

He demanded that the Health Minister should apologise for the incident.

"We lodged a protest to Speaker Om Birla that the right and privilege of Rahul Gandhi should not be trampled upon in such a brazen manner because he was the owner of the question and he has every right and privilege to ask the question. So we have lodged our protest with the Speaker while demanding that Minister concern should beg apology inside parliament," he said.

Earlier in the day, Rahul said the "orchestrated" ruckus that took place in Parliament today, was designed to prevent him from questioning the Narendra Modi government.

Taking to Twitter, he said: "The orchestrated ruckus in Parliament today was designed to prevent me from questioning the Govt. The youth of (photo of Indian Flag) can clearly see that the PM has no clue about how to tackle the unemployment crisis. To protect him, the BJP will keep disrupting Parliament, preventing debate."

The Lok Sabha was adjourned over Gandhi's statement that youth will hit Prime Minister Modi with sticks if he is unable to address the issue of unemployment in the country.

"The Prime Minister is delivering speeches now, but six months later, he will not be able to even leave his home. The youth of India will beat him up with sticks and make him understand that this country will not be able to make progress until jobs are provided to them," the Congress leader had said while addressing a rally for the party candidates in Delhi polls.

BJP MP Jagdambika Pal had alleged earlier that Congress MP Manickam Tagore had charged towards Union Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan in the Lower House.

"Union Minister Harsh Vardhan was speaking in the Lok Sabha on Rahul Gandhi's statement when Congress MP Manickam Tagore charged towards him. It is an unfortunate event for democracy," he said.

Gandhi has dismissed allegations about the attack on Dr Vardhan by Tagore and added that it was his MP who was rather attacked.

"There is an issue in Wayanad about not having a medical college. So, I wanted to raise the issue. The BJP obviously doesn't like it if I speak. We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. See visuals, Manickam Tagore didn't attack anyone. Rather he was attacked," he had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The finance minister said that taxpayers' charter is based on the idea that taxation regime should be on the foundation of trust among citizens.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Narendra Modi government has taken measures towards simplifying the tax regime and and will take steps so that civil offences are not treated as criminal offences.

FM #NirmalaSitharaman says we will take steps so that Civil offences are not treated as criminal offences. Govt is a facilitator, will invest in #infrastructure creation; no intention to play the role of Big Brother. pic.twitter.com/9LjUthQ2o3  CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) February 7, 2020

"Commencing from corporate tax simplification and reduction, we have shown our intent to move towards a simplified tax regime," she said while talking to reporters in Mumbai.

The finance minister said that taxpayers' charter, which was announced in the Budget 2020, is based on the idea that taxation regime should be on the foundation of trust among citizens.

Sitharaman said that the government will take steps so that civil offences are not treated as criminal offences.

Talking about the disinvestment of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), she said that the initial public offer (IPO) process will be a transparent one.

"We are looking at an IPO for LIC which will bring retail investors in the picture," the finance minister said.

Sitharman in her Budget speech had said the government intends to raise funds by selling part of its stake in LIC through an IPO.

Sitharaman said that the scrapping of the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) would put more money in the hands of the shareholder, particularly the middle-class shareholder. She further said that they would be taxed at the "applicable" tax rate, which would be lower than the 15 to 20 percent tax rate that was earlier charged on the company level.

On the cooperative banks in the wake of the PMC Bank scam, she said that changes in the laws governing cooperative banks would not affect the power of the cooperatives.

Sitharaman said that cooperative banks should be brought under the banking regulation. They must follow the norms which govern any scheduled bank in the country.

The cooperative banks should go to the prudential rules and regulations, if one comes to deposit money in the cooperative bank.

She said that the finance ministry is working on the contentious Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance (FRDI) Bill but not sure when it will be tabled in the house.

Sitharman's comments assume importance given the massive five-fold hike in deposit insurance and the recent changes in the insolvency laws that included insolvency solutions for financial institutions.

Sitharaman said that the government worked with states and private investors to come up with an infrastructure pipeline consisting of over Rs 6,000 crore of project.

"Government is a facilitator, and will invest in infrastructure creation. There is no intention to play the role of Big Brother," she said.

Earlier in the day, Sitharaman said the Budget presented by her last week provides a "discreet and considered" stimulus, reported PTI.

Speaking to industry representatives in Mumbai, Sitharaman said the Budget draws on experiences of all the past instances of a slowdown in growth where the government has had to provide for a booster.

It can be noted that some constituencies have expressed disappointment with the budget for not having any big announcements, especially at a time when growth has slipped to a decadal low.

"Based on the experiences that we had in the last round of government trying to provide stimulus, We've essentially made sure that we are doing it in a very discreet and considered manner," Sitharaman said at the interaction.

 With PTI inputs
T oday's Google Doodle is honouring the acclaimed German poet and artist Else Lasker-Schuler.

Born around 150 years ago, Lasker-Schuler is widely thought of as one of the greatest lyricists to ever write in the German language.

And it was on this day in 1937 that a Swiss newspaper published perhaps her most famous poem, the iconic Mein blaues Klavier (My Blue Piano).

Here's all you need to know about Else Lasker-Schuler.

Google

Who was Else Lasker-Schuler?

Lasker-Schuler was born to a wealthy and prominent Jewish family in Elberfeld, Germany on February 11, 1869. She was home-schooled by her mother, who encouraged her to experiment and explore her artistic interests, which eventually developed her voice as a poet.

Lasker-Schuler moved to Berlin after marrying dotor and chess master Jonathan Lasker in 1894, where she not only published her first poems but also where she became a well-known fixture of the city's artistic and bohemian circles.

She rubbed elbows with Berlin's top literary figures in the city's artistic cafes, and often dressed in flamboyant robes as she took on the persona of one of her vibrant characters, Jusuf, Prince of Thebes."

After divorcing her first husband in 1903, she married the artist Gorg Lewin, better known by his pseudonym, Herwarth Walden. However, the two divorced in 1912.

Lasker-Schuler soon became a key member of the Expressionist movement as she wrote numerous poems, plays, short stories and essays covering topcis from fantasy to loneliness, romance and religion.

She established herself as a leading and profilic poet, and a leading voice in the iconic Berlin literary journal Der Sturm (The Storm).

In recognition of her impact, Lasker-Schuler was honoured with the Kleist Prize in 1932, widely considered the highest Germany literary honour at the time.

However despite her apparent success, Lasker-Schuler spent much of her career riven by poverty and dependant on the financial support of her friends and was forced to flee the country following Hitler's rise to power.

Physically threatened and harassed by Nazis, she first fled to Zurich then to Palestine and Jerusalem. Stripped of her German citizenship in 1938, the outbreak of World War Two meant she could not return to Europe.

She continued portraying Jusuf, Prince of Thebes and publishing multiple works from exile, including Mein blaues Klavier.

She died in Jerusalem in 1945 at the age of 75 after she had a heart attack, and buried on the Mount of Olives.
RAMALLAH, West Bank  Thousands of Palestinians have taken to the mosques in Jerusalem and the West Bank in protest against Washingtons Middle East plan, known as the deal of the century, and its proposed arrangement of opening up Al-Aqsa Mosque compound to the worship of all religions.

Jerusalems holy sites should remain open and available for peaceful worshippers and tourists of all faiths. People of every faith should be permitted to pray on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, in a manner that is fully respectful to their religion, taking into account the times of each religions prayers and holidays, as well as other religious factors, reads the 181-page plan, designed by Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trump's son-in-law.

According to the plan, the sovereignty of the area is granted to Israel, including the Christian and Muslim quarters and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Jews have been able to visit the site  known as the Temple Mount to Jews and Haram al-Sharif to Muslims  for more than a decade, but successive Israeli governments allowed only Muslims to pray there. The Trump peace plan allows for Jewish prayer on Haram al-Sharif, which would be an unacceptable change from the status quo, said Martin Indyk, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, in his analysis in Foreign Affairs magazine.

As a reaction to the deal of the century and the ongoing Israeli attacks on mosques, the Palestinians initiated in November the Great Fajr Campaign, which draws thousands to early-morning "fajr," or dawn, prayers - the first of five daily prayers in Islam.

On Feb. 7, thousands of Palestinians performed the fajr prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosques in Jerusalem, despite the extensive deployment of Israeli police in the city, in response to the campaign. The Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, while policemen were deployed on the roofs of buildings. Dozens of military checkpoints appeared in Jerusalems streets and alleys. Buses carrying worshippers from inside the Green Line were stopped from access to Al-Aqsa.

On the same day, scores of Palestinians joined the prayers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City of Hebron, in the southern West Bank, and in other mosques in Nablus, Jenin nd cities in the northern West Bank.

Similar events have taken place the week before when more than 3,000 Palestinians participated in mass dawn prayers at the Ibrahimi Mosque and at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on Jan. 31. The Israeli police stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque at the end of the prayers, attacking worshippers and wounding about 10 people with rubber bullets and arresting many.

The collective dawn prayers started in Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque in November, at the initiative of the citys families and young activities who protest the Israeli incursions to the holy sites. Before long, several other families and citizens joined in as a reaction to the Israeli attempts to undermine the Palestinian presence and take over the mosque, Hafzi Abu Sunainah, director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, told Al-Monitor.

He noted that the campaign soon spread to various mosques in the West Bank, including Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, urging Palestinians to defend their holy sites that are constantly attacked by Israel.

In September 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Hebron and entered the Tomb of the Patriarchs. Netanyahu also pledged in September to annex the settlement of Kiryat and the Jewish areas in Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque.

Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi is the heart of the city of Hebron and is under constant Israeli attack. This prompted the Palestinians to attend the mass dawn prayers, regardless of the cold and rain, the military checkpoints and the harassment by Israeli soldiers, Abu Sunainah said.

The Ibrahimi Mosque was divided to accommodate Jewish worshippers following a 1994 massacre at the hands of a settler who murdered 29 Muslims  45% of the mosques area was dedicated to Muslims and 55% to Jews.

On Jan. 10, Palestinians in Hebron went in droves to Al-Aqsa Mosque for the Friday dawn prayers, as they were urged by Jerusalemites, in response to a Jan. 2 attack by the Israeli police on worshippers at Bab al-Rahma (Gate of Mercy), the eastern gate of Al-Aqsa Mosque compound. The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Madeleine Issa, an activist in her 20s from Kafr Qasim, performed the dawn prayer outside the door of the mosque compound on Jan. 31 for the second week in a row; she has been barred by the Israeli police from entering the mosque premises for three months per a Jan. 21 police order.

Issa told Al-Monitor that she travels from Kafr Qasim by bus to take part in the campaign every Friday. The attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque are no longer acceptable, she said.

On Jan. 25, the Israeli police also stormed the house of former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and head of the Supreme Islamic Council Ekrima Sabri and ordered him not to enter Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for four months. He was accused of inciting hatred against Israel during his Friday sermons.

The Israeli decision came after Sabri, who is seen as the highest Islamic figure in the city, defied a Jan. 19 Israeli police order barring him from visiting the mosque for one week. On Jan. 24, he entered the compound with dozens of worshippers who carried him on their shoulders.

These large crowds joining the prayers should be seen all the time, Sabri told Al-Monitor, saying that the campaign that made waves in the Islamic world is further evidence of the paramount importance of Al-Aqsa for Muslims. He said that the campaign has been exported to many Arab and Islamic countries.

The mass dawn prayer is a message to the Israeli occupation of the importance of Al-Aqsa to us. The Israelis were upset by the large turnout at the mosque, which they seek to control and prevent Palestinian presence, he added.

The campaign, which is expended to grow larger in the coming weeks, received political support from both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

We support the Great Fajr Campaign in the face of the Israelis who fear the large Palestinian crowds during the dawn prayers. We urge all Palestinians to join hands at Al-Aqsa to protect it from the Judaization policies, along the lines of what happened at the Ibrahimi Mosque that was divided and turned into a synagogue, Nayeb Jabour, a deputy for Hamas in the dissolved Palestinian Legislative Council, told Al-Monitor.

Adnan Ghaith, governor of Jerusalem and a member of Fatahs Revolutionary Council, told Al-Monitor, The deal of the century carries a clear threat to Jerusalem and its holy sites. The deal is a message for Jews to perform their prayers at Al-Aqsa and for the temporally and spatial division of the mosque.

He added, The Palestinians will not tolerate any undermining of Al-Aqsa and are capable of defending it, and the campaign is proof of that."
Seven 2020 Democratic hopefuls will take the debate stage Friday night with just four days to go before New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

The debate, which will kick off at 8 p.m. EST on the Manchester campus of St. Anselm College, will be moderated by a team from ABC News - George Stephanopoulos, David Muir and Linsey Davis - sitting alongside WMUR's Monica Hernandez and Adam Sexton.

It will mark the eighth time Democratic candidates have faced off onstage - but the first time after some votes have been counted, with the Iowa caucuses cementing the ascent of Sen. Bernie Sanders, giving former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg a burst of momentum and putting former Vice President Joe Biden on notice that he may not be the party's frontrunner for long.

The seven candidates participating (from left) are Andrew Yang, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar and Tom Steyer

Having essentially tied former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg in Iowa, Sen. Bernie Sanders has a geographical advantage in New Hampshire, representing the state next door, Vermont

BUTTI-BUMP: But after his strong performance in Iowa, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg is nipping at Bernie Sanders' heels in one new poll from the Granite State

And then there's former Vice President Joe Biden, who needs to pull himself out of fourth place in a race where he was long considered the frontrunner

Four years ago, the New Hampshire debate on the Republican side snuffed out the rise of Sen. Marco Rubio.

Rubio came in an impressive third in Iowa, after conservative Sen. Ted Cruz, a natural fit for GOP voters in the Hawkeye State, and Donald Trump, who had been leading national polls for almost the entire cycle.

But Rubio stumbled that night thanks to broadsides coming from then New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who mocked the Florida senator for using a canned response three times, saying he was only capable of delivering a '25-second speech.'

Like with the Republicans in 2016, the Iowa results - once they were finally almost tallied - shuffled the deck in interesting ways.

The most surprising result was Biden's fourth place finish.

The former vice president has long positioned himself as his party's best chance to beat Trump, but with his sluggish finish, he suddenly looked vulnerable to being beat in the primary by two left-wing rivals - Sanders and Warren - and a 38-year-old mayor.

After admitting he knew that he had underperformed - telling a crowd that he took a 'gut punch' in Iowa, he tried to right the ship by hitting both Sanders and Buttigieg harder.

He said Sanders' label of being a democratic socialist would not only hurt the Vermont senator should he be the nominee, but would trickle down to every Democrat on the ballot in 2020 as well.

'Donald Trump is desparate to pin the socialist label on our party,' Biden pointed out.

He then went after Buttigieg for his youth and inexperience.

'I do believe it's a risk - to be just straight up with you - for this party to nominate someone who's never held office higher than mayor of a town of 100,000 people in Indiana,' Biden said at a campaign event Wednesday in Somersworth, New Hampshire.

Friday night's lineup will look like it did in December, as Andrew Yang (far left) again made the debate stage after failing to hit the Democratic National Committee's requirements last month for the Iowa debate

Sen. Elizabeth Warren came in third place in Iowa, but like Sen. Bernie Sanders should have a geographical advanage in New Hampshire. The latest polls show her behind Bernie Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, but ahead of Joe Biden

Sen. Amy Klobuchar needs a boost out of New Hampshire, after coming in fifth place in Iowa. The latest polls have her remaining in fifth place

Biden also captivated an audience during his hour at a CNN town hall Wednesday night when he devoted 10 minutes to talking about how he overcame his stutter.

He then left the state and headed back to Delaware for debate prep, leaving his wife to do Biden campaign events on Thursday while his competitors continued to stump through the state.

In the early minutes of Friday, two new New Hampshire polls showed Biden also in fourth place in the Granite State.

The Emerson poll had Sanders far ahead of the pack.

The Vermont senator had 32 per cent, followed by Buttigieg with 23. Warren took the same position she did in Iowa - third - with 13 per cent support. Biden slipped into fourth at 11 per cent.

The Boston Globe-Suffolk University survey released Friday showed Sanders and Buttigieg neck-and-neck, with 24 per cent support and 23 per cent support respectively. Warren again follwed with 13 per cent support. And Biden, again, came in fourth with 11 per cent - the same per cent of Democrats who said they remained undecided in the primary, which happens Tuesday.

Friday marks the return of Andrew Yang to the Democratic debate stage after he didn't meet the Democratic National Committee's thresholds to participate last month

Billionaire Tom Steyer will also be onstage with the six other Democratic 2020 hopefuls. He continues to poll in the single digits

In both new polls, Sen. Amy Klobuchar came in fifth, the place she took in Iowa as well.

Later Friday an NBC New/Marist poll showed a similar lay of the land.

Sanders was in front with 25 per cent, with Buttigieg trailing within the poll's 4.7 per cent margin of error at 21 per cent. Warren and Biden followd at 14 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Klubuchar was at 8 per cent.

On the debate stage Friday night, these five top candidates will be joined by billionaire Tom Steyer and Andrew Yang, who are both polling in the single digits.

The New Hampshire debate marks Yang's return to the debate stage as he didn't meet the required thresholds, mandated by the Democratic National Committee, to make the debate stage in January in Des Moines, Iowa.

On Friday morning, Sanders previewed some of the attacks to come when he cast Buttigieg as beholden to billionaires at an event in Manchester Friday morning.

'How do we feel when we have candidates in the Democratic Party right now  and I'm reading some headlines from newspapers about Pete Buttigieg. 'Pete Buttigieg has most exclusive billionaire donors of any Democrat' that was from Forbes,' the candidate recited, using news reports tying the former governor to some of his wealthy backers.

'The Hill: 'Pete Buttigieg tops billionaire donor list.' Fortunate: 'Pete Buttigieg takes lead as big business candidate in 2020 field.' Washington Post: 'Pete Butigieg lures even closer look from Wall Street Donors following strong Iowa caucus performance.' Forbes Magazine: 'Here are the billionaires backing Pete Buttigieg's presidential campaign,' the candidate continued.

'I like Pete Buttigieg  nice guy. But we are in a moment where billionaires not only control our economy, but our political life,' Sanders said.

The Democratic candidates will debate two more times this month.

They'll take the stage in Las Vegas on February 19 in the run-up to the Nevada caucuses.

Then those who qualify will head to Charleston, South Carolina for a debate on February 25 in advance of South Carolina's primary.
High winds on the way: A runner enjoys the crisp morning in Dublin yesterday ahead of the arrival of Storm Ciara this weekend. Photo: Owen Breslin

A wind warning issued for Storm Ciara's arrival is likely to be upgraded further as the weekend progresses.

Voters heading to the polls this weekend will brave wet and blustery conditions.

Met Eireann has issued a status yellow rain warning from 12pm tomorrow until midnight on Sunday.

A status yellow wind warning is also in place between 12pm tomorrow and 3pm on Sunday.

Forecaster Gavin Gallagher said the "risk is definitely there" for the wind warning to be upgraded, particularly on Sunday.

"The rain warning will probably not go any higher than the yellow, but for the wind the potential is there for the warning to be upgraded. As with all warnings, it will be monitored.

"The risk is definitely there for Saturday but it's more likely Sunday that the yellow may be upgraded," he said.

The forecaster warned of southerly winds which are expected to reach mean speeds of 50kmh to 65kmh tomorrow before Ciara brings strong and possibly damaging gusts across Ireland on Sunday.

Meanwhile, today will be a blustery and cloudy day as temperatures of 9C to 11C will drop as low as zero, with sharp frost expected to develop in places.

Widespread heavy rain will arrive this evening.
An Australian doctor has offered her advice on whether Australians should all be wearing a mask amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Dr Preeya Alexander, a general practitioner from Melbourne, said the disposable masks are not fitted closely around the face so they are 'likely not that effective' at preventing you from the fast-spreading contagious virus.

'Should we all be wearing face masks with the current coronavirus issues? The short answer is no - we don't all need to wear face masks in the community to prevent coronavirus,' Dr Alexander said on Instagram.

'Most people don't actually wear them correctly - they don't get a tight fitting seal on the face. The regular face masks people are buying in bulk online - many sites have sold out - are likely not that effective at preventing coronavirus.'

Dr Preeya Alexander (pictured) said the masks are not fitted closely around the face so they are 'likely not that effective' at preventing you from the fast-spreading contagious virus

When should you wear a mask? If you are healthy, you only need to wear a mask if you are taking care of a person with suspected coronavirus infection

Wear a mask if you are coughing or sneezing

Masks are effective only when used in combination with frequent hand-cleaning with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water

If you wear a mask, then you must know how to use it and dispose of it properly Source: World Health Organisation Advertisement

The GP - who publishes medical insight on her Instagram page called The Wholesome Doctor - explained health care workers who are high risk of coronavirus with exposure to patients wear properly fitted specialised 'N95' or 'P2' masks.

'They are not the masks you're seeing people wear day to day on the street,' she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned the use of a face mask alone is not adequate protection against coronavirus.

Dr Alexander said washing your hands will do more to prevent the disease than any other method.

'Washing hands thoroughly particularly before eating or touching your face is going to do more for prevention than a face mask,' she said.

'Hand hygiene measures and avoiding contact with unwell people is still crucial.

'For those in contact with infected individuals (health care workers or family members) a mask, the right face mask, is helpful.

'If you're sick with a fever or cough - and you're not sure if it's coronavirus - a mask may protect others while you await testing - and be sure to warn the clinic/emergency department if you are going in to protect others.'

People around the world have been wearing face masks in public amid coronavirus fears (picture of people lining up outside a store to buy masks in Hong Kong on February 3)

Dr Alexander urged Australians to 'be careful' with what people are trying to sell you for prevention of coronavirus

Dr Alexander urged Australians to 'be careful' with what people are trying to sell you for prevention of coronavirus.

'[Spending] money on face masks, essential oils, lavender sprays or other homeopathic remedies is wasted,' she explained.

'The evidence is lacking and the simple stuff like hand hygiene is what we rely on in flu season - and the same stuff applies with coronavirus.'

Last month, Australia's deputy chief medical officer professor Paul Kelly said the virus is spread by close contact 'over a period of time' so it's 'virtually totally safe' to walk past an infected person on the street.

'For all of us walking down the street - not so much; close contact over a period of time is needed for transmission of the virus and walking past someone on a street is actually low risk,' Dr Alexander said.

The highly-contagious virus has infected tens of thousands of people worldwide - including 12 cases in Australia (picture of people lining up outside a store to buy sanitary masks in fear of coronavirus outbreak in Hong Kong on February 3)

Dr Preeya Alexander breaks down what you REALLY need to know about coronavirus Coronavirus is spread by respiratory droplets released from coughing or sneezing

However, experts have confirmed walking past an infected person on the street is actually low risk

A single contagious person with measles can infect 12 to 18 unvaccinated individuals. With coronavirus, it appears one contagious person can infect one to three other people

Garlic, mouth gargles and essential oil diffusers have no effect in preventing nor treating coronavirus

Avoid contact with unwell people and practice 'excellent' hand hygiene (washing hands thoroughly) particularly before eating or touching your face Advertisement

Her advice comes just days after she claimed while the coronavirus does appear to spread more easily than severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), it's 'not as contagious as measles'.

'Measles are highly contagious,' Dr Alexander said.

'A single contagious person with measles can infect 12 to 18 unvaccinated individuals. With coronavirus, it appears one contagious person can infect one to three other people.'

Dr Alexander previously said she wanted to bring some clarity to the hysteria surrounding the coronavirus epidemic.

'It's OK to feel nervous but please know as a medical community this is often how we feel in flu season - which occurs yearly,' she said.

'All the right people - researchers, WHO and governments are onto this. So don't panic, alert but not alarmed would be the way to go here.'

Last month, the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed tests proved humans caught it from animals at the Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market in Wuhan city.

As of February 7, there 15 cases of coronavirus in Australia - four in New South Wales, four in Victoria, two in South Australia, and five in Queensland, the Department of Health confirmed.
Dhaka, Feb 7 : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has sought continued support of the European Union (EU) to ensure safe, dignified, and sustainable return of the displaced Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, a media report said on Friday.

"The Bangladesh Prime Minister thanked the EU members, including Italy, for their support to the cause of the Rohingya," The Daily Star newspaper quoted a joint statement issued on Thursday after talks between Hasina and her Italian counterpart Giuseppe Conte in Rome, as saying.

Briefing reporters after the meeting, Hasina's Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim said both sides welcomed the January 23 decision of International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Rohingya crisis.

Karim said that Conte appreciated Bangladesh's management of the Rohingya crisis, adding that he encouraged Hasina to continue with the policy of hospitality.

In its January ruling, the ICJ directed Myanmar to prevent the alleged genocide against the Muslim minority community.

The court said Myanmar must "take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts" described by the convention.

Nearly 738,000 Rohingya refugees are living in camps in Bangladesh since Aug. 25, 2017, following a wave of persecution and violence in Myanmar that the UN has described as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide.

Myanmar does not use the Rohingya term and also doesn't recognize them as its citizens, arguing that they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
China's civil aviation authority has urged domestic carriers to continue flying international routes as they consider cuts in response to a drop in demand due to the coronavirus outbreak, state news agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday.

Airline capacity is being axed in the world's second-largest aviation market with "the most dramatic change in schedules", OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd said, adding that more than 25,000 flights to, from or within China will be canceled this week.

The coronavirus epidemic, which has killed more than 400 people in China, has resulted in bans or restrictions on travel to and from China imposed by countries including Singapore and Italy. The World Health Organization's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had said travel bans were unnecessary.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China's appeal to the country's airlines was reported on Xinhua's account on Chinese messaging app Weibo.

Data from aviation statistics provider VariFlight showed 41 Chinese carriers canceled nearly two-thirds of the 16,623 planned flights for Tuesday as of 10:30 a.m. Beijing time (0230 GMT).

In addition, 10 regional airlines from Hong Kong and Taiwan had canceled 162 flights, while 37 airlines from other countries canceled 168 flights on the same day, VariFlight said.

It also said that some 90,000 flights were canceled between Jan. 10 and Feb. 3, and that about 10,000 planned flights on average have been scrapped each day since the start of February.

The coronavirus outbreak has stopped millions of Chinese people from traveling, with the number of trips over this year's Lunar New Year break down 30% to 1.3 billion compared to last year, Ministry of Transportation data showed.

Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific plans to cut around 30% of its capacity over the next two months, including around 90% of its flights to mainland China, as it grapples with the epidemic, its CEO said on Tuesday.
Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Rolf Holmboe on Friday visited Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) along with delegates of Denmark embassy and wind turbine manufacturing company (VESTAS) to explore the future business opportunities in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 7th Feb, 2020 ) :Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Rolf Holmboe on Friday visited Alternative Energy Development board (AEDB) along with delegates of Denmark embassy and wind turbine manufacturing company (VESTAS) to explore the future business opportunities in Pakistan.

The Company keen in competitive bidding, already got LOI of 250MW Rojhan project Punjab/Pakistan under Cat-III,a press release issued here said.

The company showed interest in hybrid mode development, in addition to planning for O&M setup for repair and maintenance of installed wind plants in Pakistan.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE  Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE American: GORO) (the Company) announced today that it will hold its annual meeting of shareholders at 8:00 a.m. Mountain Time on Thursday, May 21, 2020 at Embassy Suites located at 10250 East Costilla Avenue, Centennial, CO 80112. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $113 million back to its shareholders in consecutive monthly dividends since July 2010 and offers its shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.

The Company has fixed the close of business on March 23, 2020 as the record date for determining shareholders entitled to notice of, and to vote at, the annual meeting and any adjournments or postponements thereof. Additional information, including details of the business to be conducted at the meeting, will be included in the Companys Notice of Annual Meeting and Proxy Statement, to be sent to shareholders and filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company targets low capital expenditure projects with potential for generating high returns on capital. The Company has returned $113 million back to its shareholders in consecutive monthly dividends since July 2010 and offers its shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRCs website, located at www.goldresourcecorp.com and read the Companys 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

Cautionary Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words plan, target, "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporations strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Companys 10-K filed with the SEC.
US, France and the UK call emergency talks to urge Syria to stop air, ground attacks in Idlib as displaced flee.

The United Nations Security Council has met to discuss the situation in Idlib in northwest Syria as Syrian forces, backed by Russia, attack the last rebel-held stronghold.

Hundreds of thousands of Syrians are fleeing towards the Turkish border and the UN has called for a stop in the attacks to give aid to the injured.

Al Jazeeras James Bays reports from the United Nations in New York.
The number of tourists in Montana jumped in 2019 but the visitors spent a little bit less than the previous year, according to preliminary estimates from researchers at the University of Montana. And one expert says the possibility of feral pigs coming across the border is a threat to the natural resources that draw those tourists and the jobs they support.

About 12.6 million nonresidents visited Montana in 2019 and spent around $3.6 billion combined, according to the Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research at the University of Montana.

Compared to 2018, the number of travelers visiting Montana appears to have increased 2%. But despite the higher numbers of tourists, there looks to have been a 2% total decrease in spending. The figures will be updated this spring to include fourth-quarter data.

"We weren't really expecting that," said Kara Grau, the assistant director of economic analysis with the Institute.

Based on the data, it appears that the average length of stay was down last year compared to 2018.

Montana had great weather and a relatively mild wildfire season last summer, she said, so it's a bit perplexing why people would stay for shorter periods of time.

"With the increase in the number of people coming, the spending on average per day was up," she said. "But it seems that they maybe stayed just a little bit less time."

And when that's multiplied by 12.6 million, it doesn't take even a slight decrease in the average length of stay to translate into decrease of about $100 million dollars. Based on the estimates, visitor spending dropped from $3.7 billion to $3.6 billion from 2018 to 2019.

Grau said she can't speculate as to why the length of stay dropped.

"When the final data trickles in the picture may change slightly," Grau explained. "We're having a meeting with travel industry representatives in Helena next week and maybe we'll start to get a little bit of light shed on that piece."

The Institute reports that visitor spending last year supported an estimated 40,700 jobs directly and more than 56,000 jobs in total. Those jobs supported over $1.08 billion worth of labor income.

Combined with the $602 million worth of labor income indirectly supported by nonresident travel spending, tourist money contributes more than $222 million in state and local taxes in 2019.

The spending is concentrated in just two areas of Montana, near Glacier National Park and near Yellowstone National Park's entrance. A total of 64% of all nonresident spending occurs in those regions.

Norma Nickerson, the director of the Institute, gave a presentation on tourism for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research's annual economic update series in Missoula last week.

During one short portion of her presentation in the overall industry, she showed a series of slides that showed a huge increase in the number of watersheds in southern Canada, near the Montana border, where wild pigs have been detected. The clusters are concentrated in southern Saskatchewan, but there are some in Alberta as well.

"Feral pigs are coming," Nickerson said. "Canadian wild pigs are amassing at our northern border. It's only a matter of time before they wander south and begin their destructive assault on everything from wildlife to agricultural fields and even archaeological sites."

Photos taken last year show feral hogs only 5 miles north of the U.S. border.

Many in the crowd laughed, but Nickerson said the concern level should be high.

If allowed to proliferate in Montana, Nickerson warned that the invasive species could hurt the environment and have a negative impact on tourism, recreation and the economy.

"Wild pigs are ecological train wrecks," Nickerson said. "They are prolific breeders, making them an extremely successful invasive species."

She said they can cause soil erosion, degrade water quality, destroy crops and prey on small mammals, amphibians and birds.

"I know it seems strange, but these pigs have cost other states millions of dollars and even changed the make-up of their state's economy," she said, referring to southern U.S. states where wild pigs have invaded.

She also noted that aquatic invasive species like zebra mussels could damage the fishing outfitting industry in Montana, which brings in $76.7 million every year in revenue.

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Police at the scene in Londonderry where 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was shot and killed (Brian Lawless/PA)

There has been an increase in the number of shootings, bombing incidents and paramilitary-style attacks in Northern Ireland over the past year, newly published police statistics have revealed.

There was one security-related death  the murder of journalist Lyra McKee by dissident republicans  over the last 12 months, according to records kept by the PSNI from February 1 2019 to January 31 2020.

That represents a drop from three deaths across the previous 12 months.

People bless themselves as they pass the scene on Fanad Drive, Londonderry, where 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee was shot(Brian Lawless/PA)

However there was an increase in the number of shooting incidents, bombing incidents and paramilitary-style attacks.

There were 19 casualties of paramilitary-style shootings compared to 13 in the previous 12-month period. The number included an almost doubling in Belfast from five to nine.

There were 63 casualties of paramilitary-style assaults, up from 53 in the previous 12 months. Of the 63 victims, five were under the age of 18.

PSNI Assistant Chief Constable George Clarke outlined the discovery of the device on the heavy goods vehicle (PA)

There were 19 bombing incidents, compared to 17 in the previous year and 40 shooting incidents, compared to 36 in the previous year.

The figures were released on Friday, a day after it emerged that dissident republicans had been plotting a Brexit Day explosion after a bomb was found attached to a lorry in County Armagh.

The PSNI said they first received a report about an explosive device in a lorry at Belfast docks on January 31.

In a call to a media outlet, it was claimed the lorry was due to travel by ferry to Scotland.

Meanwhile, the number of people arrested and charged for terror offences in the last year also dropped.

The PSNIs Security Situation Statistics covering the 12 month period 1 February 2019 to 31 January 2020 have been published today. The publication is available on the PSNI website at https://t.co/pQsNCLybgY pic.twitter.com/nhKypbKxzG  NISRA (@NISRA) February 7, 2020

There were 128 persons arrested under Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000, compared to 166 during the previous year.

The number of persons subsequently charged also dropped from 20 to 14 over the same period.
Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning with co-presenters Ruth Langsford, Holly Willoughby and Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay (ITV)

Phillip Schofield has defended "magnificent" Eamonn Holmes after the Belfast man was criticised on social media for lighthearted remarks he made on This Morning after his colleague revealed he was gay.

Schofield, who has been married for nearly 27 years, announced the news on Friday morning with a statement posted on Instagram.

After going live on air with co-presenter Holly Willoughby for a special episode of This Morning, the pair were joined by Eamonn and his wife, Ruth Langsford, who present the show on Fridays.

Despite recent rumours of a rift on the This Morning team, Eamonn and Ruth hugged Phillip and Holly, with the Belfast-born presenter offering his support to Phillip.

But the This Morning presenter took to Twitter to defend Eamonn for remarks he made about the announcement after they prompted a backlash from viewers.

Eamonn said: "Nobody should be embarrassed about their sexuality. It's fantastic that you have spoken out and there's so many people who will be strengthened by what you said."

But he admitted "disappointment" at the big announcement.

He said: "The second thing is, there's this great imponderable in life, which has always irritated me. I thought, 'How come he can sit in a hot tub with Holly 'Willoughbooby' and Steph [Phillip's wife] doesn't have a problem and Dan [Holly's husband] doesn't have a problem?"

This Morning viewers felt the comments were clumsy and insensitive after the heartfelt disclosure.

Phillip took to Twitter to defend Eamonn, praising the presenter and his wife Ruth for their support.

1/2 Can I just say that @EamonnHolmes & @RuthieeL were utterly magnificent with me today, privately downstairs just the three of us and upstairs in front of the world. I couldnt have hoped for a better, calming and loving set of hugs and support, I adore them both.  Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) February 7, 2020

2/2 and for the record, @EamonnHolmes made me laugh, he lightened a very emotional moment and Im very happy that he did   Phillip Schofield (@Schofe) February 7, 2020

Taking to Twitter after the show, Eamonn Holmes said Phillip "appreciated a laugh to break the tension".

"A picture paints a thousand words," he wrote.

Expand Close Video grab taken from ITV of TV presenter Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning being hugged by Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay. PA Photo. ITV/PA Wire PA / Facebook

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Whatsapp Video grab taken from ITV of TV presenter Phillip Schofield on ITV's This Morning being hugged by Eamonn Holmes after his announcement that he is gay. PA Photo. ITV/PA Wire

"This is a man who was in pain, who today confided in Ruth and I and who knows we stand in support of him, his family and his sexuality. Also unlike some, he appreciated a laugh to break the tension. @Schofe hoping you find happiness."

One Twitter user branded the presenter an "absolute a******".

"That wasnt funny... get off my TV. @ITV how does he get away with this?" she tweeted.

Another said: "But honestly Eamonn, that was disgusting. Using his moment to be a creep about "sitting in a hot tub with Holly", and how now he knows why his wife was okay with it.

"You ruined this sweet moment by turning it into something sleazy. You should be ashamed."

Another viewer agreed, writing: "Eamonn Holmes, foot ankle-deep in mouth, crashing in to stomp clumsily all over the moment in true Eamonn Holmes style."

But others thought it was "hilarious" and applauded Eamonn for lightening the mood.

One viewer branded said those who were angry at the remarks were "absolute wet blankets".

"Stunning moment on @thismorning with@Schofe and @hollywills. Also, brilliant veteran presenting from @EamonnHolmes, breaking the ice and giving everyone a smile at the end," another Twitter user wrote.
UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli Named to Business North Carolinas Power 100 List

UNCW Chancellor Jose V. Sartarelli has been recognized as one of North Carolina's most influential leaders by Business North Carolina. The publication's 2020 Power 100 list features CEOs, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and institutional leaders from across the state.

Chancellor Sartarelli and N.C. State Chancellor Randy Woodson are the only UNC System chancellors appearing on the list. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health Care, a UNC System affiliate, is also on the list. Leaders from Wake Forest University, Duke University and High Point University were also recognized by Business North Carolina.



Under Chancellor Sartarellis leadership, UNCW has expanded its research funding and has set record enrollment with nearly 17,500 students for the 2019-20 academic year, a 4.5 percent increase from the previous year. With 35 percent growth over the last decade, UNCW is the fastest-growing institution in the UNC System.

The university has also bolstered graduate programs, now offering doctoral programs in nursing practice, educational leadership, marine biology and psychology. To address a growing campus, Chancellor Sartarelli has overseen the more than $400 million in facility improvements, renovation projects and hurricane-recovery construction projects that are underway or planned over the next few years.



It is very flattering to be among the prestigious names on this list, commented Chancellor Sartarelli. Although we work in a variety of fields, we share a common goal: To do our part to help enhance life for the people who live, work and learn in North Carolina. It is my great honor to serve as chancellor of this nationally recognized university, and I am proud to serve alongside the world-class faculty and staff on our campus."



UNCWs efforts to advance research and scholarly activities earned the university the elevated designation of Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity institution from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in 2018. The university ranks 92nd among Top Public National Universities, according to U.S. News & World Report, tying with Ohio University and the University of Houston. It is the first time UNCW has been included in the national category since receiving the elevated designation of Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity institution. For the second consecutive year, the UNCW is ranked 8th on U.S. News & World Reports list of 2020 Best Online Bachelors Programs.



Recipients named to the 2020 Power 100 were identified based on interviews with business community officials, research and reader suggestions.


Civic Studios carried out a survey exploring ways in which people are engaging with the CAA and NRC, the factors that drive people to take a stand on the issue or participate in pro or anti CAA and/or NRC protests, obstacles keeping them from partaking in the dialogue, and further information/action citizens seek from the state, police or movement organisers.

Since December 2019, India has been in the midst of a fervent debate around the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The NRC will be a nationwide registry maintained by the Government of India for the purpose of mapping and identifying Indian citizens through the provision of certain key documents. The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019, provides a means of obtaining Indian citizenship to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian religious minorities, who fled persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan before December 2014.

The debate around the issue has manifested through various forms of expression  from online debates to large-scale on-ground protests. In an effort to understand this citizen action better, Civic Studios carried out a survey exploring ways in which people are engaging with the issue, the factors that drive people to participate in pro or anti CAA-NRC protests, obstacles keeping them from partaking in protests, in case of those who do not, and further information/action citizens seek from the state, police or movement organisers.

Over 1,500 respondents (while the number of respondents was larger than 1,500, data only up to this mark has been considered for the analysis) from 26 states, two union territories, and 15 countries responded to the survey, which was distributed via various social media channels in Hindi and English. The sample respondents reflect a vast age group, ranging from the youngest being 13 years old, to the oldest being 70. Maximum respondents (60.3 per cent) were women, followed by 36.9 per cent men, with 2.8 per cent preferring not to share their gender. 1,004, or a majority of respondents, belonged to the 20 to 29-year-old age group.

Ways in which citizens are engaging with the issue of CAA-NRC

Citizens are actively engaging with CAA and/or NRC through a variety of mediums. While the entire sample population responded in the affirmative to having participated in conversations,  the maximum with friends  a special emphasis was laid on starting a dialogue with relatives and those who are unaware of the act. A 30-year-old male participant in the study stated that the "fight to change mentality begins with those around", thereby summarising the emotions of many others.

Consuming newspaper articles, news on television channels, and leveraging social media to consume, repost news around the issue emerged as the next most common means of engagement. Interestingly, in addition to consuming secondary sources of information, respondents reported engaging with the issue by reading the CAA (along with the NRC and the CAB) and the Indian Constitution, as well as fact-checking and collating credible information to curb misinformation. Thus, gaining a complete understanding of the issue emerged as a crucial step in the engagement process.

The use of arts as a medium of expression and engagement emerged strongly, with various citizens noting their participation in open mics, street plays, creating street art and writing protest poetry. Signing petitions and attending protests were two more ways in which citizen action is taking place around CAA and/or NRC.

Reasons for attending anti-CAA and/or NRC protests

For citizens who chose to attend the anti-CAA and/or NRC protests, a unanimous reason for attending was their belief that the policies are unconstitutional and discriminatory towards certain minority groups, and it is a citizens duty to speak up against such open injustice. People expressed that the discriminatory nature of the acts is what motivated them to stand up against unconstitutional infringement of their rights, in order to reclaim the Constitution, reclaim democracy, and re-establish collective humanity.

A 42-year-old male respondent explained this further, saying that citizens are the last line of defence when the state is taking an iron rod to the Constitution's spine.

While one part of the population feels protests are useful to establish ones presence, to be heard, to show solidarity and establish strength in numbers, another part of the population feels its the helplessness of not knowing how else to engage in meaningful action that has driven them to participate in protests. What binds both these motivations to attend a protest is the bigger sentiment, which says that staying neutral at the time of oppression is standing with the oppressor.

A part of the sample expressed disagreement with the ruling governments economic policies, and believed CAA and/or NRC are distractions from the real and more pressing issues, such as economy, unemployment and climate change. In contrast, a bigger portion of the sample disagreed with the governments political ideology, claiming it is the divisive politics of the ruling party to divide along religious lines that has driven them to attend protests. Basis the survey, the feelings of disagreement with the ruling governments economic policies and political ideology seem to be on the rise, pushing citizens to believe that the CAA has merely galvanised a public dissent which has been building up.

Another strong reason behind attending protests that emerged was the states use of violence to suppress dissent and shut down citizen action, including for those who had not previously joined the protests. Respondents believed the actions of the government, their dismissive attitude towards protesting citizens and the violence and police brutality used against students was not acceptable. A 27-year-old female respondent from Kolkata noted: In times of dire hopelessness about the state of affairs, protests serve as a motivational factor  meeting like-minded people who're willing to fight for a good cause keeps your spirit alive.

Reasons for staying away from the protests

The responses around reasons for not attending protests ranged from logistical challenges to concern for personal well-being. A majority of the non-attendees in our sample explained that there was no protest being organised in their geographical locations. This was largely the opinion for non-residential Indians (NRIs) and citizens living in remote towns in India. Further, there emerged a section of people who wished to attend but could not due to lack of support from family  especially in case of minors and women, conflicting work hours, travel, and other commitments. It was also observed that the presence of fear around attending such protests due to their unpredictable nature and tendency to turn violent, along with the lack of a fellow companion, served as deterrents to participating in them altogether.

In comparison to the above sentiments, there was a segment of the sample who believed protests are not useful, but instead are inconvenient, turn violent and disrupt the daily life of citizens. Citizens expressed hesitation to attend protests, as they believe protests are largely politicised and take the larger tone of history and religion, which takes away from the main focus". They believe if protests are focused around environmental issues and the economy, then they would be more likely to attend.

A small segment of the non-attendees expressed that instead of protests, they prefer to take action through signing petitions, collaborating with professionals working on the act, and engaging in compassionate and patient dialogue with others. Lastly, protest fatigue and lack of clarity around their stance emerged as two additional reasons behind citizens being hesitant to engage (even continually) with protests. The latter is explained further by a 30-year-old female respondent from Udaipur: I have certain views and stances, but I would not be sure enough about them to protest on either side (pro or anti). I am finding it hard to discern truth from fake news in the current climate to stay well informed.

Questions citizens want to ask the government, police, and protest organisers

As a part of the survey, respondents were requested to write any additional questions they have for the state, the police, or the organisers of pro and anti protests, besides any other stakeholder. The maximum number of questions came in for the government, followed by questions for the police.

For the police, respondents expressed sentiments similar to those voiced by a 22-year-old male participant from Chandigarh, who asks: How are we expected to propagate the police exists to protect us narrative after what happened at the protests?

For the government, on the other hand, while one respondent questioned why the ruling party does not host open debates and engage in dialogue with citizens, another inquired if "the government intends to use our, that is, the tax-payers' money to remove citizens from their own country?"

***

 Namrata Sharma leads the qualitative and quantitative research on civic, social and developmental issues at Civic Studios. She is focused on using design thinking principles and research to develop effective social interventions, and measure their impact.
Work has gone on as normal for the British royal family following early January's announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be stepping back from their royal duties.

However, their decision to split from the royal family and move their family to Canada was not made lightly.

"I spoke to Harry a few days ago," said Harry's longtime friend, professional polo player Nacho Figueras, in a new ABC special "Royal Divide: Harry, Meghan, and the Crown."

"He has suffered a lot from all of the things that have happened to him. He suffers a lot from people judging him," Figueras added.

"He's being a father ... a guy who is trying to protect his cub and his lioness from whatever it takes. He has become an incredible man, a man that his mother would be proud of."

Many sources have been quick to pinpoint the shakeup on Meghan's treatment by the media, but those close to Harry also explain that the 35-year-old only wanted as "normal" of a life as possible.

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Figueras maintained, "He wants to live a normal life, as normal as his life is going to be. When you have 1,000 paparazzi outside your house in Canada waiting to get one picture of your son, that's not normal."

"He was the son of someone who suffered attacks from the press and it's undeniable. He doesn't want for that to happen for his family," the athlete continued.

Harry and Meghan announced earlier in January that they would no longer be working members of the royal family and will work to become financially independent from the Crown.

A week later, Buckingham Palace announced the couple will repay 2.4m of taxpayer money spent on renovating their home, Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor Castle, and that they will no longer use their His/Her Royal Highness titles.
Authorities have arrested three Rosharon men charged with aggravated robbery in connection to a Dec. 7 holdup at Walgreens, 104 E. Parkwood Ave., according to a bulletin from Friendswood Police Department.

Andrew Tyler Slaughter, 20, of Rosharon was arrested Dec. 19, and Selvyn Kelsean Williamson Jr., 18, of Rosharon was arrested Dec. 23, according to the report. Both are being held in Galveston County Jail on a $250,000 bond, police said. Williamson also had detainer warrants in Harris County and Brazoria County.

The third suspect, 20-year-old Dedon Njura Prince, of Rosharon was arrested on a robbery charge Jan. 18 in California and remains in the custody of the Los Angeles County Jail, police said.

Theft

A man stole two bottles of alcohol Jan. 24 at Potters Liquor, 412 N. Friendswood Drive, police said. The suspect, described as a light-brown-skinned man about 20 to 30 years old with short dark hair and a slim to medium build, wore a dark-colored jacket, white collared shirt with thin stripes, dark-colored pants, black shoes and a Houston Astros ball cap, according to the report. He allegedly left in a newer model, white-over-tan Ford Expedition.

Assault

Police charged a Friendswood man, 28, with assault, family violence Jan. 26. He allegedly assaulted his spouse in the 300 block of Brigadoon Lane.

An argument over a house key led to a 17-year-old Friendswood mans arrest on a charge of assault, family violence, according to a police report filed Jan. 26 in the 15500 block of Edenvale Street. He is accused of assaulting his mother.

Narcotics

Police charged a 22-year-old Alvin woman with possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop Jan. 23 in the 200 block of East Parkwood Avenue. A passenger, she allegedly was found in possession of Xanax and methamphetamine. Bond was set at $15,000, police said.

A Houston woman, 31, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and no insurance after a traffic stop Jan. 25 in the 3600 block of FM 528, police said. The officer reportedly observed pieces of marijuana on the womans shirt and pants.

Police charged a Houston woman, 25, with possession of a controlled substance after a traffic stop for expired registration Jan. 26 in the 4500 block of FM 2351. An officer found marijuna inside the false bottom of a Pringles can during a vehicle search, police said. The woman also was found in possession of 147 units of alprazolam and five units of fentanyl, according to the report.

Driving while intoxicated

Police charged a Friendswood man, 33, with DWI after a traffic stop for failure to maintain a single lane and failure to indicate a lane change Jan. 21 in the 200 block of East Edgewood Drive.

A Pearland man, 41, was charged with DWI after a traffic stop for speeding and failure to signal a lane change Jan. 23 in the 300 block of East Parkwood Avenue, police said.

Police charged a Houston woman, 39, with DWI Jan. 24 in the 1900 block of Falcon Ridge Boulevard. She allegedly was weaving in her lane and following the car in front of her too closely.

Police charged a Dickinson man, 24, with DWI after a traffic stop for speeding and no front license plate Jan. 24 in the 2000 block of Pilgrims Point Drive. He allegedly had been involved in a disturbance near FM 2351 and Blackhawk Boulevard but fled before officers arrived.

Police charged a League City man, 43, with DWI after a traffic stop for speeding and failure to maintain a single lane Jan. 25 in the 100 block of North Bay Area Boulevard. The passenger, a 40-year-old League City woman, allegedly was found in possession of marijuana and charged with public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

A Dickinson man, 38, was charged with DWI Jan. 27 in the 1400 block of FM 528, police said. He reportedly was found at an intersection asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle.

Public intoxication

Police charged a 65-year-old Pearland man with public intoxication Jan. 24 in the 300 block of Sunset Drive. He allegedly had been weaving in and out of traffic on a bicycle. A bottle of whiskey and beer were found in a trailer attached to the bicycle, police said.

A Friendswood woman, 32, was charged with public intoxication after a reported disturbance Jan. 25 in the 1700 block of White Wing Circle, police said. Officers arrived to find her sitting in her vehicle in the driveway, unable to go anywhere because her husband had the keys, according to the report.

Traffic

Police charged a Houston man, 25, with no drivers license and no insurance after a traffic stop for speeding Jan. 24 in the 3700 block of West Bay Area Boulevard.

An Alvin woman, 24, was charged with no drivers license and no insurance Jan. 25 in the 1600 block of South Friendswood Drive, police said.
Analysts debate whether Chinas leader will emerge from crisis unscathed, or face political and social instability.

A deadly coronavirus outbreak in Chinas Wuhan is proving to be one of the biggest tests of President Xi Jinpings eight-year leadership.

The rapid spread of the disease, which was first detected in late December, prompted Chinese authorities to place the central city and its surrounding areas under an unprecedented lockdown, confining millions to their homes.

Since the drastic measure was announced on January 23, anger has grown on Chinese social media, with some accusing authorities of withholding information from the public and being slow to react when the virus was first detected.

Some 636 people have died in the outbreak, while at least 31,161 others have fallen sick, according to the government on Friday.

Also on Friday, the Wuhan Central Hospital announced that Dr Li Wenliang, the Chinese doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the virus outbreak, has died.





Amid the anger and frustration, Chinas most powerful governing body acknowledged earlier this week shortcomings and difficulties in its response to the crisis. Though it did not elaborate further, the statement was a rare admission of fault for the Politburo Standing Committee.

Xi, who presided over the meeting, called for resolute actions in containing the spread of the epidemic and warned against disobeying the committees command, according to the state-owned Xinhua news agency.

Members of the committee also determined the outbreak to be a major test of Chinas system and capacity for governance and said we must sum up the experience and draw a lesson from it, according to Xinhua.

The statement, some observers say, is testament to a growing worry among Chinas top leaders of what the outbreak could mean for the countrys tightly controlled political system.

Xi Jinping (centre) with the six other members of the Politburo Standing Committee of China [File: Wang Zhao/AFP]

While the World Health Organization (WHO) has praised China for the extraordinary measures it took to limit the spread of the virus, as well as the speed with which scientists identified its genome, one expert told the Financial Times that authorities had not taken adequate steps in the early stages of the outbreak.

John Mackenzie, a member of WHOs emergency committee, said officials in Wuhan tried to keep figures quiet for a while.

Zhou Xianwang, the mayor of Wuhan, later told state media the local governments response was not good enough and offered to resign. He also said information about the outbreak was not shared quickly enough, but blamed the delay on government bureaucracy.

Li Mingjiang, the coordinator of the China Programme at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said local officials made a major miscalculation and there was no doubt that Xi would have ordered a quicker response had he been promptly informed of the situation in Wuhan.

Since then, Li said that the central government led by Xi has taken decisive steps to control the outbreak from spreading further, including the building of several large-scale hospitals to accommodate the patients.

China has also injected $174bn of liquidity into the financial markets to mitigate volatility in the economy.

In a call to US President Trump on Friday, Xi said Beijing has spared no effort in its fight to contain the outbreak, according to state media. In a separate statement confirming the call, the White House said Trump expressed confidence in Xis leadership in battling the virus.

Major global airlines have canceled their flights to mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 636 people and infected more that 31,000, mostly in China [Roman Pilipey/EPA]

For Steve Tsang, director of China Institute at SOAS University of London, President Xi should take responsibility for handling the emergency.

You cant have him as the undisputed, unchallenged leader of China on one hand, and then say that in his watch, under his charge, the virus is being handled badly and its got nothing to do with him, Tsang said, adding that Xi handled the crisis very badly.

Since becoming head of the Communist Party in 2012 and state president the following year, Xi has transformed his office, while also cracking down on dissidents, tightening controls over media and the internet and overseen a vast anti-corruption campaign, which critics say was aimed at purging opponents.

The Communist Party in 2018 also abolished term limits on the presidency, a move that could allow Xi to stay on as president when his second term ends in 2023.

Tsang predicts Xi will only impose tighter controls if public anger grew over the coronavirus crisis.

Anybody who would challenge Xi Jinping within the party will be crushed. They know that he is unforgiving.

Travellers wear face masks as they walk outside of the Beijing Railway Station in Beijing, Monday, January 20, 2020. China reported on Monday about 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 countrys busiest travel period, as millions board trains and planes for the Lunar New Year holidays. [Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo]

Richard Javad Heydarian, an Asia-Pacific political analyst and a regular contributor to the Council on Foreign Relations, said Xis cult of personality is at the core of the problem because it made local officials more fearful of delivering the bad news to Beijing.

The problem is with Xi Jinpings brazen and rapid centralisation of power like no-one since Mao Zedong, he said comparing the current Chinese president to the founding leader of the Peoples Republic of China.

This vast powers should have been sufficient for Xi to decisively address the latest health crisis, said Heydarian, who is based in the Philippine capital of Manila. Instead, local officials fearful of Xis wrath tried to hide the situation even as health authorities alerted WHO to the new virus.





The scientists were ahead of expectations. But in terms of China being open to its own people and putting in necessary measures domestically, we still saw significant delays, if not cover-up, Heydarian added.

That Chinese health officials notified WHO about a pneumonia of unknown cause on December 31 suggested the central government in Beijing was aware of the spread of the disease in Wuhan early on, but failed to act quickly, he said.

Economic fallout

The coronavirus outbreak has also hit the Chinese economy, which was already facing some headwinds before the crisis began, said Calvin Cheng, an expert on Chinas economy and trade at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In the short-term, the crisis is dampening spending, as numerous travel restrictions and shop closures mean more people are staying at home despite the Lunar New Year festivities, he said.

According to a Bloomberg report, as much as $140bn in spending during the Lunar New Year holidays was wiped out because of the outbreak. And one Chinese government economist said the outbreak could drag economic growth below 5 percent.

According to a Bloomberg report, as much as $140bn in spending during the Chinese new year holidays was wiped out because of the outbreak. [Aly Song/Reuters]

In the long-term, it could also cause disruptions to industrial production with many workers unable to return to work affecting not only factory revenues, but also worker incomes, Cheng added.

That would affect not only China, but also the wider world.

Overall, global economic growth will definitely be negatively affected. The only question is by how much. And this again depends on whether the outbreak will evolve as projected and on how fast and how effective Chinese monetary and fiscal stimulus will be, Cheng said.

However, Cheng said he doubts it will have a significant effect on Xis political standing in the long-term.

As with any crisis anywhere, likely there will be some grumbling, he said.

Local authorities and other provincial officials have got the most public pushback in lieu of the leader, in part due to censorship and related restrictions.
The clear blue sky is morphing into a dusky blush pink as Shalom Harlow sips ginger tea in the backyard of a rustic California cafe. In her vintage Levis, Patagonia flannel, Jungmaven hemp T-shirt, and scruffy boots, she looks more like a modern farmer than an off-duty supermodel who has graced every fashion magazine imaginable. A hippie at heart, Harlow is clearly content in her surroundings. "I spent my summers at a cottage in Canada where I roamed like a little wild creature, she recalls. I was barefoot the whole time. I just was oriented toward nature, always."

VIDEO: Shalom Harlow, Supermodel

The fashion world, however, cast Harlow in a very different role: that of catwalk queen and designer muse. Discovered at a Cure concert in Toronto in 1989 at age 15, she became one of the defining faces of the 90s. The industry fell for the former ballet dancer whose expressiveness and poise made everything she wore look like a work of art. Harlow seemed so at ease on the runways of Chanel, Christian Lacroix, and Yves Saint Laurent that she wore couture as casually as sweats. I really gave so much of myself to it, she says. I let my animal nature guide me, and thats why Ive been a dynamic cohort to these artists. I used to get scolded because I would be so insistent on being part of the creative process.

Balmain jacket and pants. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

When Harlow thinks back to her younger self, she laughs. I was sassy as shit, she says. A super little foot stomper. She grew up fast in this strange new world and took on responsibilities  and earned paychecks  she never would have imagined. For someone who came from a family run by a working-class single mom raising three children while cleaning houses, delivering pizza, and putting herself through night school, the financial rewards were significant, she explains. It allowed me a stability I didnt have during my childhood, and it let me stabilize my familys finances to a degree as well.

Despite all the trappings, Harlow held on to the New Age sensibilities instilled in her by her mother, a proponent of Ayurvedic medicine and ozone therapies decades before they were trending. As a young model, Harlow talked about sustainability before it was a buzzword and later pushed clients to support environmental initiatives, like a tree-planting program with Lancome in 2007 and a green fashion show with Earth Pledge in 2008. She bought carbon offsets to lessen the impact of her jet-set lifestyle and (TMI warning!) even used washable and reusable feminine-hygiene products. Nobody wanted to hear about that back then, she says, grinning. They would have gagged.

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RELATED: How Copenhagen Became the Coolest  Most Sustainable  Fashion Week

Carolina Herrera dress. Anita Ko ear cuffs and earrings. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

In 1997 Harlow added acting to her resume. She made her debut in a Kevin Kline film, In & Out, and appeared in a number of projects over the years, the biggest being How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a rom-com starring Kate Hudson. But despite its mean-girl reputation, the fashion world turned out to be a kinder place than pre-#MeToo Hollywood. I was told in casting rooms  to my face  that I could read because I looked fuckable enough, Harlow says, shaking her head. And thats how the audition began. After that experience, I was like, Ill go back and play with my sweet friends over here because that sandbox looks much safer.

Chanel top and belt. Spanx briefs. Anita Ko ear cuff (top). Hirotaka ear cuff. Mateo earrings. Laurence Dacade shoes. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

Her flair for the theatrical helped bring one of modern fashions most iconic moments to life  the finale of Alexander McQueens spring 1999 show, No. 13. Like a terrified silent-film actress, Harlow spun slowly on a wooden turntable as two giant robotic arms sprayed black and yellow paint across her voluminous white trapeze dress. As she explains it, what looked like a highly choreographed routine was anything but. I got straight off a red-eye flight and went right to the show, she remembers. The producers were like, Walk on that thing. Its going to spin, the arms are going to come alive, and theyre going to hit you with paint. Harlow insisted on a quick run-through in the high-heel mules that she was supposed to wear and then ran downstairs to use the bathroom. I came out to wash my hands, and Bjork was there. I was like, Oh my god. My favorite artist in the world is going to watch me not know what Im doing. But it was Lee [McQueen] putting me into an environment that he trusted I would know how to respond to.

Alexander Wang bodysuit. Anita Ko ear cuff. Saskia Diez earrings. Prada shoes. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

However, the breakneck pace was catching up with Harlow. She felt exhausted all the time. Her porcelain skin became plagued with cystic acne. I wanted to get to the bottom of what was wrong, she says, but her schedule made it hard to fit in doctors visits. There was no way to say no to the work, she remembers. My physical prowess and instinctual movements allowed me to collaborate with the worlds most recognized visual artists, but at the same time the industry said my body had no rights. The very thing that was celebrated was not protected. No right to rest. No right to eat. No right to say no. This was long before organizations such as the Model Alliance (Harlow was on its advisory board) and Model Mafia came on the scene to fight for the rights of its members and industry rules were put in place (regarding underage models). We were dressed up to look as if we were queens, but we were young maidens, she says of her early years. We were reflecting the face of the feminine to the world, but we didnt have the voice. Im so glad its better now for younger generations, but theres still so much potential for improvement.

Re/Done T-shirt. Oscar de la Renta skirt. Anita Ko ear cuff and earrings. Chanel shoes. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

Despite needing to take a break, Harlow didnt stop. She kept quiet about feeling unwell, having been advised that it would be bad for business. There was a lot of shame and secrecy around it, she says. There was a whole ecosystem that contributed to the glory of Shalom Harlow Inc. We all thrived from my ability to shine in front of the camera, but it was at the sacrifice of basic human needs and the bodys requirement to rest and digest. I was required to put the brand before my being.

Plus, she adds, there was no social media back then, so there was no way to represent your own narrative. You couldnt author your own story.

So in 2000 Harlow took a year off and then continued to model intermittently for the next several years. Her health issues worsened, finally coming to a head before her 40th birthday, in 2013. Harlow has never talked about this publicly, but her system was compromised by what she describes as a combination of Lyme disease, parasites picked up from work-related international travel, and black-mold poisoning from a home on the central California coast she shared with her partner at the time. She was bedridden and at one point needed a wheelchair to get around. Deep chronic illness will incite a nervous breakdown, Harlow says. I did have complex PTSD from the level of infections in my body. There were moments of grace and surrender and a lot of moments of digging in my heels. My unhealed physical, mental, and emotional wounds had finally caught up with me.

Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

Desperate for a solution, Harlow traveled to London for a fecal implant, a procedure in which stool from a healthy donor is introduced into the patients stomach. (The treatment is FDA-approved in the U.S., but only for fighting a specific type of bacteria.) It was the first in a series of major medical interventions that began the journey that saved my life, she says. Afterward, she decided it was time to do the emotional and spiritual work she felt she had long ignored. She moved to a small town on the West Coast with a gentler pace of life and has been training with healing-arts professionals, communing with nature, and raising her semi-feral rescue cat, Rocky.

RELATED: Hunter Schafer on Finding Comfort With Fame

But the fashion world was clamoring for its elusive star, so Harlow decided to begin working again. In 2018 she posted a photo of herself on Instagram in natural hair and makeup, wearing a white tank top, accompanied by the words Its good to be back and a dove and olive branch emoji. (The word shalom does mean peace, after all.) Then, in a long-awaited comeback, she walked the spring 2019 show for Versace, a brand she considers family. The first runway show I ever did was Versace in Paris, so there was something about starting again in this way, Harlow says. And Donatella [Versace] is such a survivor. She knows how to resurrect and radiate.

In photos of the show, Harlow looks sublime in a colorfully embroidered toga layered over a black tulle column, but her footwear made her a little anxious. I forgot the little stage tricks like sizing down your shoe size when youre wearing pantyhose so you dont slip all over the place, she says, laughing. I wobbled my way down the runway, but being back meant so much to me. No one in the audience knew my story or that I was previously not able-bodied enough to do this.

She then went on to star in the Versace spring campaign, shot by photographer and longtime friend Steven Meisel. While on set, Harlow, at full supermodel power, was filmed in a gloriously patterned bell-bottom jumpsuit, hair extensions flying, dancing wildly. Donatella Versace shared the clip, which went viral. Harlow truly was back. It was a pretty infectious moment, she says. I felt so encouraged and supported. It meant so much.

Issey Miyake dress. Anita Ko ear cuff and earrings. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

Since then Harlow has been very choosy about which assignments she takes on. There was a project with French shirt company Equipment that she art-directed; a Target ad with her dear pal, designer Isaac Mizrahi; a Vogue Italia cover shoot with photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin. If it seems like a slow burn, thats intentional. Im still healing, Harlow says. And I dont want to be on a plane every week flying halfway across the world. Its not sustainable for my body or the environment. She would love for the industry to find ways to work more locally and without such tight deadlines. Were all running around like maniacs, she says. We need to figure out a localized idea of what fashion is. Theres tons of talent everywhere.

Despite her constructive criticism, Harlows affection for the industry is clear when you scroll through her Instagram, past favorite career moments and fond birthday wishes for her colleagues and fellow supers. Is she nostalgic for the old days? Its not a longing for the past because I really feel like Im a present-time person, she says. Its reflecting and honoring the past. It all feels very alive for me.

Nanushka dress. Anita Ko ear cuffs and earrings. Rolex watch. Chris Colls/Serlin Associates

Her main focus now is finding a way to help those with similar health conditions so they dont feel so alone. These multilayered chronic illnesses and autoimmune disturbances primarily affect women, she says. And that is why prioritizing your own needs as a woman is so important.

Now that the model industry is evolving, self-care is a movement, and sustainability is a mainstream concern, would it be safe to say that the world has caught up to Shalom Harlow? Aw, I dont know if I have the chutzpah to frame it that way, she says. But I do feel like Im finally in the timeline I want to be in. If were all just jazz musicians improvising, the rhythm is here now.

Photography: Chris Colls. Styling: Julia von Boehm. Hair: Danilo for The Wall Group. Makeup: John McKay for Frank Reps. Manicure: Bana Jarjour for Star Touch Agency.

For more stories like this, pick up the March issue of InStyle available on newsstands, on Amazon, and for digital download Feb. 14.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 06:31:56|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN's envoy for Syria on Thursday said terrorists' presence and influence in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib is unacceptable, but a continued all-out military approach will not solve this problem.

Briefing the UN Security Council via video from Geneva, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Syria Geir Pedersen said that many fighters in the war-torn country sought refuge in Idlib, and terrorist groups and foreign fighters are a major force in Idlib.

"Their presence and influence in the area is unacceptable and a major challenge, first and foremost to the civilian population of Idlib itself and also in a wider sense for Syria and for regional and international security," he said.

However, the UN envoy warned that a continued all-out military approach will not solve this problem, and cautioned against the risk of dispersal of foreign terrorist fighters and ongoing insurgency.

He added such an approach "will only entrench and further harden the deep international divisions over Syria and lead to more and more pressure, weakening prospects for a step-by-step dynamic to build trust and confidence."

Nevertheless, he said the question of foreign fighters needs to "squarely tackled."

While noting the provision of support to "internationally proscribed terrorist groups" needs to be further restricted, he stressed that any use of force against those terrorist groups should be carefully targeted to avoid spillover casualties.

Idlib, with a population of 3 million, is the last rebel stronghold in the Arab country that has been suffering a nine-year-old war.

In May 2017, a de-escalation zone was established in Idlib as a result of the Astana talks, whose guarantors were Russia, Iran and Turkey. In September 2018, Russia and Turkey brokered a stabilization memorandum for Idlib. But fighting continues to erupt in the province despite these deals.

As to the latest escalation in northwest Syria, Pedersen echoed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' "enormous concern" that the recent direct clash between Turkey and Syria forces constituted a "change in the nature of the conflict."

Ankara established 12 observation posts under the September 2018 deal with Russia to prevent any major operation in Idlib.

On Monday, Syrian government artillery reportedly hit a Turkish observation post near Saraqeb. Reports also emerged saying that dozens of Syrian government forces were killed in Turkish strikes on Syrian government positions.

Guterres reiterated his strong appeal for a cessation of hostilities, but "so far these calls have not been heeded," noted Pedersen, adding that in the last two months, hundreds of civilians have been killed, and more than half a million civilians have been displaced.

Pedersen maintained that de-escalation agreements, including the ones reached in May 2017 and September 2018, can "enable prolonged periods of calm," and thus he is pushing for another such deal in his mediating efforts with Moscow, Damascus, Ankara and Tehran.

He noted that there could be "serious exploration of a strengthened international presence with the consent of the Syrian authorities."
(ANSA) - Bologna, February 6 - Bologna Mayor Virginio Merola said Thursday that he had reported a racist attack on a Italian-Chinese boy to the police. "I've learned of a very serous, intolerable episode to happen to an 11-year-old Italian boy of Chinese origin," Merola said on Facebook. "I've informed the police chief.

"It was a thuggish, racist attack by some youngsters who insulted and shoved the child, who is guilty only of having Chinese origins.

"Fortunately the boy is not hurt.

"This is not about the coronavirus. This is about propriety".


Burma Members of Religious Orders Should Have Right to Vote, Myanmars Cardinal Bo Says

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo in Yangon in December 2018 / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGONThe Archbishop of Yangon, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, has appealed to Myanmars government to repeal a constitutional provision barring members of religious orders from voting in elections, as it considers reforms to the charter.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the cardinal said that ahead of the upcoming general election he wished to voice his concern over the Constitutions Article 392(a), which denies members of religious orders including Buddhist monks and nuns, Catholic priests and nuns, other Christian clergy and Hindu priests the right to vote.

As Cardinal, I can make statements and speeches and encourage citizens to vote, but I am myself barred from voting, he said in a message released on Thursday.

Cardinal Bo, the leader of Myanmars Catholic community, said the prohibition was extremely unusual and he wasnt aware of any other democracy that enforced such a law.

We religious leaders are also citizens of Myanmar, he said.

Under Myanmars 2008 Constitution and the countrys electoral laws, members of religious ordersincluding more than 526,000 Buddhist monks and 67,000 nuns (according to 2018 data) and more than 4,000 Catholic priests, nuns and catechists (2016 data)as well as persons serving prison terms, persons determined to be of unsound mind and bankrupt persons are among those ineligible to vote or run in elections.

Prior to the last general election in 2015, some Buddhist nationalist groups demanded voting rights for monks, which has not been allowed in the country since before independence. The aim of the prohibition was to avoid monks involvement in social affairs and violations of monastic precepts.

The Southeast Asian nation, which was for more than five decades beleaguered by military rule, saw its first democratically elected civilian government come to power after the 2015 general election, and is planning to hold its next general election late this year.

Cardinal Bo, who is also the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, reminded people that voting is a sacred duty.

With patience, the people of Myanmar need to invest their faith in democracy through vigorous participation in the next election, he said.

The Cardinal said that as a religious leader, it is not his duty to tell voters which parties or leaders to support. However, he said, as a country steeped in a great religious tradition and where religious leaders serve as moral guides, it is the duty of every religious leader to encourage all citizens to vote for the leader and party of their choice.

He urged Myanmar citizens to identify those political candidates who actively support the realization of peace, reconciliation, harmony among communities, non-discrimination, human development and health.

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Michigans congressional delegation celebrated a rare moment of bipartisanship after pushing forward legislation to secure more funding to protect the Great Lakes.

The U.S. House passed legislation Wednesday to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and boost funding each year, increasing from $300 million in 2021 to reach $475 million by 2026. Michigans Republican and Democratic members of Congress worked together to secure the extra funding, which now awaits approval in the U.S. Senate, for much of the last year.

Michigans representatives said the program, created by the Obama administration in 2009, is critical to cleaning up lakes, beaches and waterways and fighting invasive species like Asian carp. Funding is distributed to address needs around the eight-state region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

Great Lakes Task Force co-chairs U.S. Reps. Debbie Dingel, D-Dearborn, and Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, said the funding creates good-paying jobs and protects the health and beauty of the freshwater resource. The legislation would restore funding to the original 2010 allocation.

"The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative has a proven track record of success in West Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes region, Huizenga said in a statement. A recent study by the University of Michigan found that every $1 invested from the GLRI has generated more than $3 in additional long-term economic activity.

Dingell said the Great Lakes are not only a natural resource, but a way of life that supports communities and jobs throughout the region.

Protecting the Great Lakes is critical," Dingell said in a statement. 'When the GLRI receives the funding it needs, we can properly take care of our regions most treasured natural resources.

U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, I-Cascade Township, was the lone Michigan representative to vote against the funding. He joined 44 Republicans who voted against the bill, which passed with the bipartisan support of 373 members of Congress.

A spokesperson for Amash said the congressman supports the GLRI, but said the relevant committee didnt justify the increase, especially at a time when the country is $23 trillion in debt.

This unsustainable debt will have a devastating impact on our environment and well-being over the long run, Amashs office said in a statement.

Projects funded in Michigan focus on cleaning up toxic substances, blocking the spread of invasive species, restoring habitats and reducing the causes of harmful algal blooms. Michigan Gov. Whitmer asked Congress to reauthorize the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative last year.

Michigan was allocated nearly $41.7 million for projects in 2018. According to the Great Lakes Commission, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative provided $726 million to 880 projects across the state.

Since 2010, the GLRI cleaned up one-third of the regions toxic hot spots, creating new business and improved access to waterfronts. Huizenga said activities to clean up legacy pollution around Muskegon is estimated to have increased property values by nearly $12 million and generated $1 million in new recreational spending in the community.

The GLRI was designed to be an environmental restoration program, but it has produced substantial economic benefits for the Great Lakes region, according to a 2018 report by the Great Lakes Commission. The study found every dollar of GLRI spending during this period will generate an additional $3.35 in economic activity for the region through 2036.

The Michigan Democratic Party questioned whether Trump will attack Great Lakes funding in a Thursday statement, saying the president fought relentlessly to slash critical funding to protect Michigans water.

President Donald Trump recommended the program receive a 90% funding cut in his Fiscal Year 2020 budget, but Michigan GOP lawmakers convinced Trump to fully fund the program during a trip from Air Force One to a Grand Rapids campaign rally earlier this year.

Trump recognized the importance of the Great Lakes during a Jan. 30 visit to an auto parts supplier in Warren.

Michigan is a steward of one of our nations most treasured resources, the incredible Great Lakes, Trump said. Anybody hear of the Great Lakes? Huh? Think so. And I told the members who are here with me that we are going to work together to protect the Great Lakes from Asian carp -- who would have thought that was going to happen? -- and other invasive species.

U.S. Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, traveled the state last year to raise awareness of an identical Senate companion bill they introduced. The bill appears to have bipartisan support.

This Initiative is a major success story and the most significant investment ever made to restore and protect our Great Lakes, Stabenow said in a statement. Thats why both Republicans and Democrats are united in support. I urge my colleagues in the Senate to pass our bill immediately.

If approved by the Senate, Great Lakes funding for the next six years will be allocated as follows:

$300 million for fiscal year 2021

$375 million for fiscal year 2022

$400 million for fiscal year 2023

$425 million for fiscal year 2024

$450 million for fiscal year 2025

$475 million for fiscal year 2026

Read more:

Michigan House OKs bills that ban commercial perch fishing on Great Lakes

Boating season at South Haven marinas in jeopardy amid high-water concerns

High water levels force popular Lake Michigan beer festival off beach
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Americans trapped aboard a quarantined cruise ship in Japan are pleading for help from President Donald Trump as they face up to a month under coronavirus lockdown in deteriorating conditions.

The Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, was quarantined on Monday upon arriving at Yokohama, after a single man disembarked in Hong Kong before showing any symptoms, but was later diagnosed with the virus.

Since Wednesday, the number of passengers confirmed infected has jumped to 61, including 11 Americans, as the remaining 3,700 passengers huddle in their quarters and wait to see if symptoms of the deadly virus appear.

'We are kind of worried because we've still got two weeks on here assuming that works out in our favor and we still have to get onto American soil,' passenger Gaetano Cerullo explained to Fox News over Skype from their cabin on board. 'And, if Donald Trump could help us in any way...'

'We need help. We are in a desperate, desperate state,' his wife Milena Basso pleaded. 'We're American citizens and we just want to get home.'

The Diamond Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, was quarantined on Monday upon arriving at Yokohama, after a single man disembarked in Hong Kong before showing any symptoms, but was later diagnosed with coronavirus

Newlywed couple Milena Basso and Gaetano Cerullo pleaded directly to President Donald Trump for help in a Skype interview with Fox News from aboard the quarantined virus ship Diamond Princess off Japan

The ship is docked of Yokohama but is under a strict quarantine order from Japanese officials that will last at least two weeks, and could be extended. So far 61 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus

Basso and Cerullo said that food and water have grown scarce, and that information from authorities has been limited as they wait out the quarantine in their cabin.

'Once the quarantine happened, what we could eat basically went downhill,' said Cerullo.

'The first day when we asked for two bottles of water it took four hours and the next day we got two cups,' he added.

The couple, who are on their honeymoon cruise, are among the estimated 400 Americans aboard the Diamond Princess, which is one of two cruise ships that Japan is holding under quarantine over coronavirus fears.

'It's not going to be a luxury cruise; it's going to be like a floating prison,' wrote passenger David Abel on Facebook from the ship.

'I think for many passengers, it's going to be absolute boredom,' Abel said in a separate interview. He considers himself lucky that he has a cabin with a balcony. 'The people I feel really sorry for are those with inside cabins who've got no natural light, no fresh air. It's going to be pretty grim for them for two weeks.'

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced Thursday that Japan will deny entry of foreign passengers on another cruise ship heading to Japan - Holland America's cruise ship Westerdam, on its way to Okinawa from Hong Kong - because of suspected coronavirus patients found on the ship.

The new immigration policy takes effect Friday to ensure border control to prevent the disease from entering and spreading further into Japan, Abe said.

As Japanese officials loaded the Diamond Princess with supplies to make the quarantine as bearable as possible, passengers took to social media to highlight kindnesses by the crew and to complain about dwindling medicine, the quality of the food and the inability to exercise or even leave their cabins.

Passengers of the Diamond Princess cruise ship walk on the deck as a sign written on a Japanese flag reading 'serious shortage of medicine' hangs from the vessel, at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Friday

A passenger stands on a balcony onboard the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship on Friday

An ambulance believed to carry a passenger infected with the novel coronavirus leaves the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal where the Diamond Princess cruise ship is docked. Japan's health ministry announced that a total of 61 aboard are infected

An updated map shows the spread of coronavirus cases worldwide and latest death toll

One female passenger on the Diamond Princess has voiced the fear that she will 'leave in a box'.

The passenger from Florida relayed her message to a CNN reporter late Thursday from on board the Diamond Princess, which is being held in a two-week lockdown off the coast of Japan.

'We are scared... I don't want to leave this ship in a box,' she said.

Among the other Americans quarantined aboard the ship are Rebecca Frasure and her husband. She was shocked when a doctor on board the ship knocked on her door to inform her that her throat swab had tested positive for the virus, as she had no symptoms other than a cough.

In a Skype interview with CNN, Rebecca said: 'I don't know what's going to happen an hour from now, tomorrow. For all we know, we could stay quarantined on the ship for a month.'

Another American couple on the Diamond Princess, novelist Gay Courter and her husband Philip, are in their 70s. While they are among the passengers that have access to a balcony, they have expressed concerns they are stuck in an unsafe environment with people breathing air which is circulated throughout the whole ship.

Courter said: 'We're in a contaminated prison, possibly...

'This is not a safe environment and we don't think anybody, let alone the Japanese government, wants to be responsible for making a bad decision about quarantining us in an unsafe place.'

Another American couple on the Diamond Princess, novelist Gay Courter and her husband Philip (pictured together left), are in their 70s. Rebecca Frasure (right) is another US citizen quarantined aboard the ship alongside her husband

Husband Phil posted a view from their balcony showing ambulances being loaded with passengers and crew sick with the coronavirus. 'We go to sea tomorrow to produce needed water and hope that the quarantine is successful in preventing more infections,' he said

Courter's husband Philip posted a picture of the view from their balcony showing ambulances being loaded with passengers and crew sick with the coronavirus.

'We go to sea tomorrow to produce needed water and hope that the quarantine is successful in preventing more infections,' he said.

'We likely won't hear news about that until tomorrow night. If there are no infections, we may have an end to the confinement on the 19th. Sure hope the microscopic virus organisms aren't circulating in the ship's air system.'

The number of infected people on board the ship tripled from 20 to 61 last night after another 41 people tested positive for the deadly virus.

There are eight Americans among the 41 newly diagnosed passengers, along with 21 Japanese nationals, five Canadians, five Australians, a Briton and an Argentine.

The eight new US cases bring the number of infected Americans aboard the ship to 11.

The huge leap in virus cases has added to concerns among the ship's 2,600 passengers that they are being kept in the dark about the crisis, with the quarantine expected to continue until February 19.

The new cases, all passengers who are in their 20s to 80s, will be taken to medical facilities in Tokyo and nearby Saitama Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures as well as Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan.

At least one person is reported in serious condition, although the person also has a pre-existing health matter. None of the others afflicted by the virus have severe symptoms, Japan's health ministry said.

A post from a Twitter user who said they also were on board the reveals images of medical teams in protective suits treating passengers, who also were shown congregating in a dining area.

Health workers in protective gear were still working in Yokohama Bay as darkness fell on Friday with the Diamond Princess in quarantine

Another post shows a team sorting medical supplies at the base of a staircase on the cruise ship

A post on social media reveals passengers congregating in a dining area on the Diamond Princess

A letter from the captain of the Diamond Princess sent to passengers Thursday

Posts from a Twitter user on board the Diamond Princess who posts under the handle @daxa_tw reveal images of medical teams in protective suits walking through the halls of the cruise ship.

Another post shows the a team sorting medical supplies, while a third reveals passengers congregating in a dining area.

The same Twitter user also posted a letter from the captain from Thursday, reporting updates on the numbers of people infected and the measures being taken by the crew, including delivering room service to 'over 1500 staterooms' to comfort passengers.

'I thank everyone for their patience,' the captain wrote, 'and that you understand the crew are working extremely hard for you.'

Two US passengers, Roger and Karey Maniscalco, told Good Morning America that 'inside, nothing has changed - we're still in our cabins. It's a little scary to be on board and the numbers just keep climbing.'

Passengers who show symptoms such as fever may now face additional testing, with the quarantine due to continue until February 19.

Others have voiced fears about dwindling medical supplies, including a Japanese passenger who held up a sign from her balcony declaring a 'shortage of medicine' in Yokohama Bay today.

President Trump weighed in on the virus outbreak today, hailing his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping for being 'strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack' against the virus.

There are also fears over a cruise ship arriving in New Jersey on Friday morning with 27 Chinese nationals aboard, after one of them had a fever. That person and four others were rushed to a hospital for isolation after the ship docked, but the CDC cleared the other passengers to disembark.

Separately, a student at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania is being tested for coronavirus after suffering from 'minor' respiratory issues.

It is not clear whether the student had visited China, but several other attendees of the college had visited the virus-stricken country in recent times.

A woman holds a Japanese flag that reads 'shortage of medicine' on the cruise ship Diamond Princess as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly coronavirus on Friday

Masked passengers are seen on the deck of the ship today, where passengers in windowless inside cabins have been allowed only onto open decks briefly under strict conditions

A team of health workers in hazmat suits on the shore in Yokohama today where Japanese authorities said the tally of coronavirus patients on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship had risen to 61

Passengers, some wearing face masks, are seen standing outside on the cruise ship Diamond Princess

Passengers on the deck of the Diamond Princess are seen wearing masks while they stroll outside

The Diamond Princess as it appears quarantined off Yokohama Port near Tokyo on Friday

Ambulances stand by at Yokohama Port where the Diamond Princess is quarantined in Japan

Officers wearing protective suits carry plastic bags next to an ambulance, near the cruise ship Diamond Princess

Experts say cruise ships are vulnerable to virus spread Cruise ships are vulnerable to the spread of infections such as coronavirus because of the high number of elderly passengers who are confined together and have forked out large amounts of money for their holiday, experts say. Professor William Keevil said some passengers may be unwilling to come forward with their symptoms to avoid putting an expensive holiday at risk. The University of Southampton professor said keeping guests in their cabins was the 'best option' until the incubation period - thought to be around 14 days - has passed. 'The cruise industry is well aware of the spread of disease onboard ship, considering that you can have hundreds or thousands of passengers in a relatively confined, isolated environment for days or weeks,' he said. 'They rely on the honesty of the passengers declaring if they are unwell or have had a recent illness as they board ship. 'The problem is that some potentially ill passengers, having looked forward to their holiday and spent a lot of money, do not want to miss out and board ship anyway. 'Alternatively, someone may innocently board the ship without any symptoms which subsequently develop onboard. They are required to immediately declare this and isolate themselves.' It is not yet known exactly how the new coronavirus spreads, but similar viruses spread through droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. 'Outbreaks of droplet spread diseases such as Influenza and Norovirus are relatively common on such ships,' said Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia. 'Cruise ships often have large numbers of passengers and crew, these people come from all over the world, and passengers at least are often elderly. 'Given that many passengers spend a large part of their time indoors, one would expect droplet spread diseases such as nCoV [the new coronavirus] to spread readily on board. 'As passengers will disperse back around the world then outbreaks on board such ships will have the potential to enhance the global spread of this current epidemic.' Advertisement

Japan ordered the Diamond Princess into quarantine after an 80-year-old former passenger who left the vessel in Hong Kong last month was found to have the virus, which has killed more than 630 people.

All 3,711 people on board were screened for the virus, and 273 of them were selected for further tests because they were either showing symptoms, had disembarked in Hong Kong or been in contact with the 80-year-old.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Japanese authorities announced that the first batch of 102 test results had produced 20 positive results.

Health minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters today that the remaining 171 test results had shown 41 cases of coronavirus, taking the total to 61 out of 273 who were tested.

'Today they will be sent to hospitals in several prefectures, and we are now preparing for that,' the health minister said.

Among the 41 who have tested positive for the virus originating in the Chinese city of Wuhan, 21 are Japanese, eight are American, five Australian, five Canadian and one each from Argentina and Britain.

The Briton was later named as Alan Steele, who was separated from his new wife Wendy and taken off the Diamond Princess after learning his test results in Yokohama Bay today.

The huge leap comes amid concern among its 3,700 passengers that they are being kept in the dark about the full extent of the deepening crisis, after 10 cases were discovered on Wednesday and another 10 on Thursday.

British passenger David Abel said today: 'We haven't had our temperatures taken we haven't been asked any more questions ... that has not happened for days so how are the medical people able to monitor the health situation of 3,600 passengers on board.

'So this is what needs to be answered.'

He also raised concerns that, along with the 78 other Britons on board, he might be quarantined yet again when he and his wife arrive home.

'It would really be good if the Home Office would put something on the news.' Abel added. 'It would certainly put the minds of the Brits on board at ease.'

Abel posted a follow up video minutes later, saying that the captain had announced over the tannoy that ambulances were arriving to ferry passengers off the boat.

This morning, Briton David Abel who is with wife Sally, said: 'My major concern now is to let the captain and the crew know, that we want to be informed of what is going on. We don't want second hand news, we don't want rumours, we want to know precisely what is going on'

Japan Self-Defence Forces officers use canvas sheets to cover the walkway from the cruise ship Diamond Princess on Friday as another 41 people tested positive for the deadly flu-like virus after 20 were rushed off to hospitals on the mainland earlier this week

The Diamond Princess cruise ship, with over 3,700 people quarantined onboard due to fears of the new coronavirus, is seen anchored at the Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama port

A passenger waves next to another wearing a face mask from the cruise ship Diamond Princess, where 10 more people were tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday, as it is anchored at Daikoku Pier Cruise Terminal in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan on Friday

A Japan Self-Defences Forces officer wearing a face mask is seen next to the cruise ship Diamond Princess as the ship was prepared for resupply

Passengers aboard the infected vessel look at to land today. Abel said officials had asked passengers to wear their masks when going out on their balconies and remaining at least a metre apart

A man wearing protective gear is seen at the port where cruise ship Diamond Princess as preparations were made for further supplies to be delivered this morning

Yesterday officials could be seen dressed in white hazmat suits, complete with face masks and helmets. An extendable white-tented passageway was wheeled to a door on the side of the massive cruise ship, apparently to protect the identity of people being evacuated from the boat.

As the massive cruise ship docked, passengers who have been told they will have to stay aboard days even if they test negative for the virus, came out onto balconies, some waving to assembled media or taking pictures.

People on board have described confusion and boredom after being confined to cabins following the decision by Japanese authorities to quarantine the vessel.

David Abel said yesterday: 'One lady hadn't had an evening meal last night, by nine o'clock and she went outside to try and say, 'Where's our food' and she was shouted at and told, 'Get back in your room', so it's really being enforced.

'There are people on every floor to make sure that people do not wander outside of their cabins.'

Among those stranded on board are 233 Australians, including Olivia Capodicasa, from Melbourne, who was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down.

Olivia Capodicasa (pictured) was on the final night of her cruise with her grandmother when the ship was locked down

For breakfast, quarantined cruisers yesterday were served a measly fruit salad, pastries, a Fru Fru yoghurt and a glass of apple juice

Health workers in protective suits put up hoardings on Wednesday as passengers who were diagnosed with the virus are moved

Officers in protective gear carry luggage cases after people who were transferred from cruise ship Diamond Princess on Wednesday when the first 10 people were taken off, another 10 were confirmed to have the virus on Thursday, and another 41 on Friday

She described the conditions as being like 'hell' and said she had been watching movies to pass the time.

'It has been a hell of a 24 hours stuck in here', she told Sunrise on Thursday morning. 'I think it is really starting to hit me now that this is the reality and I'm not going home anytime soon'.

The coronavirus epidemic has so far claimed 630 lives and infected more than 28,000 people in 28 countries and territories around the world - but 99 per cent of infections have been in China.

The outbreak has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency, several governments to impose travel restrictions, and airlines to suspend flights to and from China.

An ambulance and Japan Coast Guard members in protective outfit prepare for the arrival of infected passengers that were onboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship, at Yokohama port on Wednesday when another ten were rushed off to hospitals on the Japanese mainland

Despite some of the ship's 3,700 passengers complaining of 'prison' like quarantine conditions they were seen gallivanting on the colossal ship's galleries on Thursday within arms reach of their neighbors

Japan has now confirmed 25 cases of the new coronavirus - excluding the cruise ship infections - among them citizens returning from Wuhan, the Chinese city at the center of the outbreak.

Tokyo has evacuated more than 500 Japanese citizens from Wuhan, and attracted some criticism for its relatively loose quarantine approach.

There have been several incidences of apparent person-to-person transmission in Japan, including a tour guide and bus driver who contracted the virus after coming into contact with visitors from Wuhan.

Neither had visited China in recent months.

Trump tweets that 'great discipline is taking place in China' to counter-attack coronavirus: President says Xi Jingping is 'strongly leading' operation by 'building hospitals in days, but nothing is easy'

SOPHIE TANNO FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Donald Trump has tweeted his approval at Chinese president Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that 'great discipline is taking place in China'.

The US President made the positive comments after having a 'long and very good' conversation with the Chinese leader.

Earlier this week, China criticized the US for 'creating and spreading fear' over the virus as the US put in place a ban on the entry into America of foreign nationals who had recently traveled to China.

Donald Trump (pictured on Thursday) has tweeted his approval at Chinese president Xi Jinping's handling of the coronavirus outbreak, saying that 'great discipline is taking place in China'

In the tweet on Friday, Trump said: 'Just had a long and very good conversation by phone with President Xi of China. He is strong, sharp and powerfully focused on leading the counterattack on the Coronavirus.

'He feels they are doing very well, even building hospitals in a matter of only days. Nothing is easy, but he will be successful, especially as the weather starts to warm & the virus hopefully becomes weaker, and then gone.

'Great discipline is taking place in China, as President Xi strongly leads what will be a very successful operation. We are working closely with China to help!'

In a press briefing on Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the US 'hasn't provided any substantial assistance' in the virus and has only created 'panic' after Washington declared a public health emergency.

At least a dozen Royal Caribbean cruise passengers are screened for coronavirus by CDC after ship docks in New Jersey and medics

KEITH GRIFFITH FOR DAILYMAIL.COM AND LUKE ANDREWS FOR MAILONLINE

Sick passengers on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship containing 'isolated' Chinese nationals will be tested for coronavirus after it docked in New York Harbor this morning.

The Anthem Of The Seas docked in Bayonne, New Jersey around 6am on Friday morning, after steaming from the Bahamas with at least a dozen Chinese nationals in isolation.

At least three passengers were seen being rushed off the ship on stretchers for medical care and testing for coronavirus. The medics were not wearing protective masks or other protective garments, aside from gloves.

The other Chinese nationals were interviewed and screened by authorities. The U.S. currently bans any non-citizens from entering the country if they have traveled in mainland China in the proceeding two weeks.

It was not immediately clear where the sick passengers and other Chinese nationals would be transported, but Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, about 70 miles away, is one of 11 military facilities that has been designated to house suspected coronavirus cases under quarantined observation.

The Anthem Of The Seas docked in Bayonne, New Jersey around 6am on Friday morning, after steaming from the Bahamas with at least a dozen Chinese nationals in isolation

At least a dozen Chinese tourists on board the Anthem of the Seas were kept in isolation, and will be tested for coronovirus

Each of those facilities is equipped to house up to 20 people under quarantine at a time, according to the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, thousands of other passengers were seen disembarking the cruise ship later on Friday.

Coronavirus symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There are 31,481 cases across the world so far and 638 reported deaths, almost entirely in China. There are 12 cases in the US but none in the New York area.

Passengers were seen being taken off the ship on stretchers after it docked in New Jersey

The Royal Caribbean ship - Anthem of the Seas - docked in Bayonne, New Jersey this morning

There are 12 coronavirus cases reported in the US so far, but no cases in the New York area

Royal Caribbean said in a statement: 'We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place on board our ships.

'(We) are participating in elevated levels of guest screening (to combat the spread of the virus).

'We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.'

It is also unclear if the sick passengers on the cruise ship had recently visited mainland China.

Medical staff were seen boarding the Anthem of the Seas this morning as patients who will be tested for the coronavirus were removed

Before docking in New Jersey, Royal Caribbean issued a statement saying: 'We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place on board our ships'

The ship, Anthem of the Seas, is scheduled to arrive at the port next to New York city at 6am EST.

The vessel set off from Bayonne, New Jersey, on January 27 for a 12-day cruise taking in Puerto Rico, the Dutch Antilles, Antigua, St Lucia and St Kitts Island, before returning to New York.

It comes as 2,600 passengers were quarantined on board the ship Diamond Princess outside Japan after it emerged that more than ten were suffering from coronavirus.

Tests have shown that 61 people onboard have caught the infection, including a British honeymooner, following fears that it may have been spread via the ship's canteen.

The cases also include eight Americans, 21 Japanese, five Canadians, five Australians and an Argentinian.

Sick passengers will be tested for coronavirus. (Pictured: A pool on the Anthem of the Seas)

Royal Caribbean, which is running the cruise, has said it is 'closely monitoring developments' on board the ship (pictured above)
An uncrewed test flight of a Boeing spacecraft designed to carry NASA astronauts may have narrowly avoided catastrophic failure in December. A software error that could have resulted in loss of the spacecraft was discovered and fixed while the capsule, known as Starliner, was in orbit, and not long before it returned to Earth.

During a telephone news conference on Friday, Jim Bridenstine, the NASA administrator, said that the mission had a lot of anomalies, but that it was important that the agency continue to work with Boeing to fix them.

The agency is conducting an ongoing review with the company to assess what went wrong. But Douglas Loverro, NASAs associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said that the review had already found multiple failures in Boeings processes that should have caught the mistakes on the ground.
The government on Friday said it had offered to bring back people belonging to neighbouring countries, including Pakistan, from the novel coronavirus-hit Wuhan where 80 Indian students are still remaining after evacuation of 647 Indians and seven Maldivians.

IMAGE: Maldivian nationals who were brought along with Indians by an Air India aircraft from Wuhan. Photograph: ANI

On February 1, 324 Indians were brought back from Wuhan by first Air India special flight, while another batch of 323 Indians and seven Maldivians were evacuated from the Chinese city on February 2 through a second special flight.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar informed Rajya Sabha that the time when the two flights were going, India had told all students and larger community in Wuhan that it was prepared not only to bring back Indians but also all the people of our neighbouring countries who want to come back.

"So, this was an offer which was made to all our neighbours. And, of these, the seven nationals of Maldives chose to avail the offer.

"But I would like the honourable members to know that the offer was made to everybody," he informed Rajya Sabha in response to queries if Pakistan had requested India to bring back its citizens.

Jaishankar further said there are about 80 Indian students who are still in the coronavirus-hit Chinese city of Wuhan. This includes 10 students who had come to the airport when the flights were sent. But they were running fever and so the Chinese authorities, after screening, did not allow them to board the flight.

"About 70 odd people chose voluntarily to stay in Wuhan and not get evacuated in the two flights," the minister said.

Meanwhile, India has cancelled all visas issued to foreign nationals coming from China as it stepped up efforts to combat the spread of novel coronavirus after 150 passengers were identified with symptoms of the deadly virus and sent to isolation units.

Making a suo motu statement in Rajya Sabha, health minister Harsh Vardhan said the government has asked people not to travel to China - the epicentre of the deadly virus, and will mandatorily quarantine anyone returning from China.

Screening of passengers has been stepped up at 21 airports as well as 12 major seaports and all minor ports. Also, screening is being done at all integrated check posts on the Nepal border after the Himalayan nation reported a confirmed case.

While the Cabinet Secretary is taking daily reviews with all related ministries, a Group of Ministers comprising the Cabinet Ministers for External Affairs and Civil Aviation and the Ministers of State for Home, Shipping and Health and Family Welfare

has been constituted to monitor the situation.

"As of today, a total of 1,275 flights have been screened covering a total of 1,39,539 passengers, and 150 passengers identified with symptoms have been referred to isolation facilities," the health minister said.

Detailing steps taken to check the spread of coronavirus, Vardhan said the first advisory was issued on January 17 and the travel advisories are accordingly getting revised as situation evolves.

"Presently, existing visas (including eVisa already issued) are no longer valid for any foreign national travelling from China. People have already been advised to refrain from travelling to China through an earlier advisory. People travelling to China henceforth will be quarantined on return," he said.

"People having compelling reasons to visit India are asked to contact the Indian embassy in Beijing or consulate in Shanghai or Guangzhou," the minister added.

Vardhan informed that the screening of passengers has been done since January 18.

"Initially airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru , Hyderabad and Kochi were covered and subsequently expanded to a total of 21 airports. Universal thermal screening has been made mandatory for all flights from Singapore and Thailand besides Hong Kong and China and these flights will park at earmarked aero-bridges to facilitate screening," he added.

Signages have been displayed at prominent places in airports and ports, in-flight announcements are being made and self-declaration forms are being filled up by all passengers.

Stating that three positive cases have been reported so far in India, all from Kerala, Vardhan said, "All these cases have a travel history from Wuhan, China. They have been isolated and are reported to be clinically stable."

Besides screening incoming passengers, India has evacuated 647 Indians and 7 Maldivian nationals from China.

"After the evacuation, the people are presently undergoing quarantine at special facilities created by the Indian Army in Manesar and by Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) in Chawla Camp," he said, adding 10 of the evacuees who were symptomatic have been shifted to isolation facilities.

All of them have tested negative and are stable, he added.

Vardhan asserted that the ever increasing magnitude of this outbreak calls for a concerted effort by not only health ministry but all sectors of government.

He said screening of passengers has been initiated in 12 major seaports and all minor ports in the country to identify passengers & crew coming from China and to isolate them in case they are found symptomatic.

With reports of a confirmed case in Nepal, Vardhan said the Indian government has initiated screening in all integrated check posts from Nepal.

"Regular surveillance has been initiated across the country for all cases having travel history from China and for people having contact with such persons and having fever, cough or breathlessness. Through Integrated Disease Surveillance network all such persons are tracked and presently we are following 6,599 passengers across 29 States/UTs in the community," Vardhan said, adding that 305 symptomatic travellers have been referred to isolation facility and are being monitored.

Vardhan said China on December 31 reported an outbreak of coronavirus that was initially noticed in seafood market in Wuhan city in Hubei province in early December and spread to all provinces of China.

As on February 6, a total of 31,161 confirmed cases and 636 deaths have been reported in China.

Govt directs ports to put screening system; regular monitoring of situation by PMO

The government on Friday directed all 12 major ports to immediately put in place screening, detection and quarantine system for disembarking seafarers and cruise passengers to prevent the novel coronavirus even as officials said the situation was under control in the country and was being regularly monitored, including by the Prime Minister's Office.

A detailed statement regarding the situation and measures taken to check the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus (nCoV) was made by Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, Jaishankar tweeted that many Indian crew and some Indian passengers on-board the cruise ship Diamond Princess were quarantined off Japan due to the coronavirus.

"None have tested positive, as per the latest information provided by our Embassy (in Tokyo). We are closely following the developments," he said.

As the coronavirus continued to spread at an alarming pace in China with official death toll of 637 and confirmed cases of the infection over 31,000, India stepped up its efforts to detect and check the virus, which originated in Chinese city of Wuhan.

All the 12 major ports in the country were directed by the shipping ministry to "place a screening, detection and quarantine system immediately for disembarking Seafarers or Cruise Passengers", an official release said.

These ports were also instructed to procure N-95 masks as well as thermal scanners to screen passengers, besides obtaining self-declaration from arriving crews/passengers, it said.

In a detailed update, Union health secretary Preeti Sudan in a statement said as many as 1,39,539 passengers from 1275 flights have been screened for a possible exposure to the virus so far at the 21 identified airports.

"No new case has been detected in the country... The situation is under control and is being regularly monitored by the PMO, the health minister and the cabinet secretary on a daily basis for updates, status of preparedness and action taken so far," the statement said.

India so far has reported three confirmed cases of nCoV from Kerala. All three were medical students studying at the Wuhan University and had returned on their own recently. They self-reported at a hospital in the state and were tested positive for the respiratory virus.

As of now 1232 samples have been tested and 1199 samples were found negative apart from the three positive samples from Kerala, it said, adding 30 samples were under process of testing.

The statement also said 6,599 persons were presently under community surveillance in 29 states and UTs while 128 were admitted to isolation wards at various hospitals across the country.

All 647 people evacuated from China's Wuhan city who were lodged at the quarantine facilities set up by the security forces in and around Delhi, and had tested negative for nCoV will be re-tested on day 14 of the quarantine period, it added.

Sudan on Friday chaired a video conference with health secretaries from states and UTs along with senior officials from several ministries -- shipping, external affairs, civil aviation, tourism and home affairs -- to review their preparedness for the

prevention and management of nCoV.

Meanwhile, foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla met a group of envoys, including Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong.

Shringla conveyed India's appreciation to China for facilitating evacuation of Indians from the coronavirus-hit Wuhan city.

Apart from India, as per the World Health Organisation, the virus has spread to many countries, including Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, United States, Canada, Germany, France, Britain, Italy,

Russia, Finland, Spain, UAE and Sweden.
A chartered aircraft has departed Wuhan, China to bring home Canadians stuck in the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak, Global Affairs Canada has confirmed.

After the aircraft departed, a government official confirmed there are 176 passengers on board.

There were 211 people on the initial manifest for today's flight, which was delayed by one day due to bad weather in Vietnam, where the aircraft was pre-positioning to go on to Wuhan. Of those, 194 had indicated they intended to be at the airport for the flight, including 34 minors and 13 permanent residents.

In an interview on CBC News Network's Power & Politics, Health Minister Patty Hajdu said it's possible that some of those 18 who didn't ultimately board may have been prevented from doing so because they were showing signs of illness.

"But it could also be that they changed their mind at the last minute," she told host Vassy Kapelos.

"It's a big decision for people. There might be situations where there is a family member left behind that's in hospital. There might be situations where someone is studying or working. I think we'll have better clarity as the days evolve."

During a news conference Thursday, Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the Canadian flight is expected to arrive in Trenton, Ont. in the early hours Friday morning after a stopover in Vancouver.

"That was truly a whole of government effort and while we are not there yet, I would like to recognize the hard work of the incredible public servants who made this complex operation happen to help Canadians in need," he said.

Champagne said a small number of people did not show up for the flight because they changed their minds at the last minute. Between this flight and spots set aside for Canadians on a subsequent American flight, two-thirds of the Canadians who want to come home will be repatriated.

A second chartered flight carrying the remaining Canadians will leave Wuhan on Monday, Champagne said.

Story continues

Before boarding the aircraft, passengers must undergo multiple layers of screening by Chinese and Canadian authorities. Anyone who shows symptoms of illness will not be permitted to board.

National defence and public health officials will be on board and will take steps to isolate anyone who becomes ill during the flight.

About 50 Canadians who couldn't find seats on the charter flight will be allowed to board an American aircraft in Wuhan that is scheduled to leave soon after the Canadian charter departs, Champagne said.

Those passengers will land in Vancouver and a government-chartered plane will take them to the Canadian Forces base in Trenton, Ont.

The returning passengers from both flights will be under quarantine for 14 days at the base.

The Canadian Press

Hajdu said returning passengers will be assessed daily by medical professionals.

"The national microbiology mobile lab will be on site to test any symptomatic travellers and there will be general help provided to all travellers that includes clothing, food, diapers and games," she said.

Noting that it has been a "scary" and "very stressful" time for the evacuees, Hajdu said emotional and mental health support services also will be available.

Hajdu said on Power & Politics that the decision to quarantine was made to protect public health, noting that about 70 per cent of the cases of the new coronavirus stemmed from Wuhan.

"Out of an abundance of caution, this seems like a prudent course for us to take," she said.

Michael Bryant, executive director of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, wrote to Justice Minister David Lametti asking that individuals under quarantine be given access to independent legal counsel, recognizing their right to be free from arbitrary detention and to liberty and due process.

"It is unrealistic to expect them to arrange for their own lawyers to attend at a hospital or at Trenton, if that were even possible," he said. "The greater likelihood is that they may be denied legal counsel whilst their liberty is affected by quarantine."

Richard Schabas, Ontario's former chief medical officer, said he is skeptical about the practical effect of a quarantine, which he calls an "ancient" disease control strategy.

"It's a concept that almost has no place in modern public health because it just doesn't work," he told CBC News Network.

Short of a vaccine, which could take up to a year to develop for the novel coronavirus, case identification and case isolation are the best ways to interrupt the virus, he said, adding that the outcome will depend largely on the strength of the virus.

Advice for Canadians in China

The federal government is advising all Canadians in China to leave the country by commercial means unless it's essential for them to be there. Several airlines have suspended or limited their flights to China.

Global Affairs heightened its travel advisories for China after the outbreak, warning against all travel to Hubei province and against all non-essential travel to other parts of China.

GAC's website has been updated and now states that, for safety and security reasons, Canadians should "consider leaving China" if their "presence isn't essential."

Champagne repeated that advice again Thursday. "It's just common sense," he said.

There are now more than 28,000 reported cases of the novel coronavirus around the world; most of the cases are in China. As of Friday, the death toll in China reached 636, according to the country's National Health Commission.

In Canada, there have been five confirmed cases  three in Ontario and two in British Columbia  and public health officials say the risk to Canadians remains low.
Its only on February 4 that the Kerala government declared coronavirus a state calamity. This declaration came close on the heels of a third person in the state testing positive for the deadly virus that has left its dangerous footprint across the world, already claiming over 500 lives, mostly in China. Now, it is almost as if Kerala has become a part of the world community suffering from an epidemic outbreak.

On January 30 Kerala announced the very first case of coronavirus in India and in the process turned the spotlight on Indian students stranded in Wuhan, in China. Wuhan is an educational hub offering affordable medical education of international standard, with English as the medium of instruction.

What is it with Kerala and the ease it presents to the outside world while turning on its head the threat of a disaster or calamity? The resilience shown by the state to bounce back and in the process rejuvenate an otherwise flagging economy with slogans of Rebuild Kerala is now celebrated across the world.

In 2018, the people of the state grappled with the Nipah virus outbreak and the worst flood in the century that claimed about 500 lives and wreaked destruction running into almost Rs 50,000 crore.

Though not as ferocious as its predecessor, when the 2019 flood lashed Kerala, the State machinery was better equipped to manage the disaster, with quite a few standard operating procedures (SOPs) in place after the 2018 deluge. Given this, it should not take too many analyses to pinpoint why the states health ministry was up and running this time when the slightest whiff of another virus outbreak came its way, all the way China.

COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine  one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show

There is more to the Kerala story than merely getting the advantage of a mock run. Its not for nothing that Kerala has been ahead of other Indian states by a fair distance on many Human Development Indices. A robust health administration mechanism running on the wheels of government-run primary health centres, going all the way up to the taluk, district and state level of healthcare infrastructure at affordable rates, on par with the private hospitals in terms of technology and medical personnel, is what sets Kerala apart, allowing the state to rub shoulders with the developed world.

This is the reason why Kerala is seen to be more battle-ready than any other state in India when it comes to combating the outbreak of any epidemic or pandemic, unlike Maharashtra which buckled when it had to grapple with the H1N1 or swine flu outbreak in 2009.

Then, Pune was the epicentre of the virus outbreak with 14-year-old school girl Reeda Shaikh its first victim on August 3. In the course of the month, the dreaded virus claimed many lives primarily because of a fragile grassroots and even district-level government hospital network in the suburban areas, putting pressure on a handful of private speciality hospitals to handle the swelling number of swine flu cases.

There can never be any such fear in Kerala, whatever may be the health scare. Some of the district hospitals are more equipped than their private counterparts.

The healthcare sector in Maharashtra, and across India, has grown since then, and many achievements have been made  the eradication of polio from India being a stellar example  but, if more cases were to be detected across India it would be a challenge for the health ministry.

That said, only the naive can ignore the political nuance of the declaration, as the state is now on the global map. By announcing to the world that it is coronavirus stricken, Kerala seems to be hedging its bets against the central government getting into a position to snub its claims for relief and rehabilitation as was done post-floods in 2018 and 2019.

At another level, the enormous presence of medical students from Kerala in Wuhan is an endorsement of the fundamental theory in economics about demand and supply. To that end, sloganeering about duplicate Chinese-made products and services being no match to the original indigenous versions, will deliver the goods only up to a level. If the Wuhan-trained doctors deliver the goods, then other states too will make a beeline there. Surely, coronavirus will soon be a thing of the past.
The law already allows medical patients to buy up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks, rather than the one ounce allowed at any one time to recreational customers. But because of shortages, shops have been setting their own limits on purchases, such as one-eighth an ounce of flower, the smokable part of the plant. Under the new guidelines, shops must let medical patients buy 2.5 times as much as any limit they set for recreational customers.
With our partnership with MentorWorks, we are able to make the program more accessible and to empower a larger ecosystem of creators in immersive technologies.

MentorWorks Education Capital today announced an agreement to provide Income Share Agreement (ISA) funding for students participating in XR Terras AR/VR training program.

XR Terra students will be able to take advantage of this new funding source to finance their AR/VR training program. Upon completion, students will begin repayment of the ISA if they meet a designated minimum income threshold. MentorWorks will also assist with wrap-around career development support, as well as access to employers.

As an alternative to traditional student loans, ISAs create a new means for students to finance their education at an affordable cost through the MentorWorks ISA program. Rather than carrying many years of unmanageable private loan debt with high interest and no added value, students with an ISA only begin repayment if they secure a job above a minimum income level. The payments are an affordable and fixed percentage of their gross annual income for a fixed number of years. Combined with its leading career development and employer partnership programs, the MentorWorks ISA program catalyzes access to education for U.S. domestic students and is particularly beneficial to those from lower income and underserved minority backgrounds.

XRTerra has an impressive and thoughtfully designed program in an area with strong employer demand, and we look forward to working with them as partners. Were thrilled to offer these terrific students the option of ISA financing combined with our career enhancement platform and network of career advisors and employer partners, said Karthik Krishnan, CEO and Co-founder of MentorWorks. We have seen that the lack of financial and social capital inhibits education and career opportunities for students seeking additional training and skills. Students from underserved backgrounds have limited financial means and often lack the network and connections that can pick up the phone to help them connect to the right folks to get a job. Our program addresses both parts of the problem, creating a comprehensive solution to the current student debt crisis.

"The use of immersive technologies like AR and VR is growing fast across all industries, from industrial manufacturing to healthcare and education, and theres a high demand for new talent. XR Terras mission is to enable professionals from diverse backgrounds to become expert creators in AR and VR. With our partnership with MentorWorks, we are able to make the program more accessible and to empower a larger ecosystem of creators in immersive technologies. said Janet Kang, CEO and Co-Founder of XR Terra.

Interested students can compare an ISA to a private loan and start their XR Terra ISA application here: https://calculator.mentorworks.io/xrterra

About XR Terra

XR Terra was founded in 2019 in response to the growing need for a structured, outcome-focused training program to educate aspiring XR professionals. With a team of XR experts, edtech and worktech professionals and passionate entrepreneurs who believe in creating impactful learning models for the digital world.

To learn more about XR Terra visit: https://xrterra.com or reach out to XR Terra Co-Founder & CEO, Janet Kang at janet@xrterra.com.

About MentorWorks Education Capital

MentorWorks Education Capital provides Income Share Agreement (ISA) financing which enables students to complete their program without incurring up-front tuition costs. ISAs are an alternative to loans with which approved students will have their tuition paid and then will pay an affordable, fixed percentage of their future income for a fixed period of time, up to a maximum cap without incurring interest. Uniquely, MentorWorks also provides career development support, mentoring and access to employers.

To learn more about MentorWorks Education Capital visit: http://www.mentorworksedcap.com or reach out to MentorWorks Education Capital COO, Micha Sabovik at micha@mentorworksedcap.com. Follow MentorWorks Education Capital on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/mentorworksedcap/.
Russian lawmakers expect to vote on legislation that would allow dual Russian citizenship for foreigners as soon as this month.



The dual citizenship bill "will definitely be introduced in the State Duma in February," lawmaker Leonid Kalashnikov told the Kommersant business daily.



The Russian governments press service said it was finalizing the draft law and will submit it after approval by the Kremlin.



Foreign citizens could also be exempt from the five-year continuous residence requirement in order to become a naturalized Russian citizen, Kalashnikov added.

Under current Russian law, foreigners wishing to become Russian citizens must first renounce their other citizenships.
JOLIET, Ill. - A 19-year-old man suspected of spraying disinfectant inside a Walmart in suburban Chicago while announcing to startled customers that he was infected with the new coronavirus turned himself in to police.

Tyler Wallace, of Joliet, was scheduled to appear in bond court on Friday afternoon after turning himself in on Thursday, the Chicago Tribune reported. He is charged with misdemeanour counts of disorderly conduct, retail theft and criminal trespass to property. A 17-year-old boy who police allege was with Wallace at the store last Sunday was arrested on misdemeanour counts of disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

Police allege that Wallace put a surgical mask over his mouth and put a homemade sign on his back that read Caution I have the coronavirus, then walked through the store spraying Lysol on clothing, produce and other items, causing nearly $10,000 in damage.

Police do not believe that either teen has the new virus that has sickened more than 31,400 people worldwide and killed more than 630 people in China.

It appears to have been a prank that went too far, Joliet Police Sgt. Chris Botzum said.
Warren Buffett, reputed to be one of the smartest men in the world, jumped into the newspaper business eight years ago. Last week, he jumped back out. What happened? He was losing money, that's what.

Eight years ago, I wrote a rude article on AT about the print media committing suicide. They need readers, millions and millions of readers. Did they ever put pressure on the public schools to do a better job with reading instruction? No. Apparently, the who-cares-about-literacy-approach was fine with them. Newspaper people did not seem to grasp that they were committing suicide. Here we are, eight years later. Only one third of public school students are proficient in reading. There are probably fewer people in the country who can actually read and understand a newspaper, so fewer newspapers will be read  an obvious story, but try to find it in the archives of your local newspaper.

Reading is the central problem. Here is the larger failure. Students are not learning geography and history  i.e., people and places. So how can they understand a newspaper, even if, strictly speaking, they can read? As adults, why would they even try to read a paper? It will always be unfamiliar territory.

Apparently, the Media Establishment doesn't dare tell the Education Establishment: Hey, you incompetent people are doing a terrible job. Don't you know that you could do a much better job on the basics, especially reading? You could help the children, help the community, and help the country. You could demand that the schools do what is easily done and thereby help us sell more papers.

Did Warren Buffett, when he became the owner of 31 daily papers, do any better? Or try different approaches? Did he tell his editors to demand more from local schools? Apparently not. Apparently, people in the newspaper business accept illiteracy as a part of daily life, even though this attitude will slowly kill the newspapers themselves.

In the stories about the sale of Buffett's newspapers, there is mention of efficiency and scaled management. But there seems to be no notion of efficiency in the educational system. Kids can spend six or even twelve years in American K12 and graduate illiterate. This is the least efficient and most expensive approach to education imaginable. You pay each year to teach the same subject over and over again, in a way known not to work very well.

Here's what they should've done. Warren Buffett's editors should've had meetings with the education officials and said: Kids must learn to read in first grade. Make this happen, or we will start screaming. We'll put your picture in the paper with captions such as: Why doesn't this lady care about reading?

At that point, the ed professors would start yammering sophistries and alibis. Their excuses would have this much substance: yada, yada, yada. The reality is, you have to teach English phonics if you want children to read English. Our Education Establishment, never the brightest, has opposed phonics since 1931. But somebody like Warren Buffett and the combined weight of all those newspapers could certainly make a

The obvious need is to promote reading and the enjoyment of books in every way you can think of. That's the great opportunity Warren Buffett missed. He could've put more pressure on the schools to teach reading, and then reap the benefits when millions of people who never became fluent readers would've been reading his newspapers all these years.

In the future, a company named Lee Enterprises will run all of Buffett's papers and many more. Will they now be managed with the same scant concern for literacy that we have seen in the past? Apparently, the plan is to sell off everything and leave the country with far fewer newspapers. Please, somebody tell Lee there are exciting options here.

Perhaps the real question is, do the people running this society want everyone to read? Or do they actually set out to keep half the country ignorant and illiterate? Bill Gates put up a few billion dollars to push the egregious Common Core on the American people, even though they hated it. What is it about billionaires that makes them oblivious to the obvious? Did Warren Buffett and Bill Gates talk about reading at the bridge table? They should have.

A New Republic article says Buffett was a "terrible owner" of newspapers. Well, then, we would like to know if the New Republic has done anything better. There seems to be a silent consensus among upscale media types to ignore millions of illiterate children  a strange indifference.

Sad to say, Mr. and Mrs. America, you can't depend on your billionaires, education professors, and media mavens. Learn more about the science of reading, and then get more involved.

Bruce Deitrick Price's new book is Saving K12: What happened to our public schools? How do we fix them? Price deconstructs educational methods on Improve-Education.org.
ISABELLA COUNTY, MI -- Ian Elliott, the former Central Michigan University student body president accused of sexual assault, was sentenced Friday, Feb. 7, to five years probation.

The first year will be spent in the Isabella County Jail and the second year on a continuous alcohol monitoring tether.

The new sentence comes after Ian Elliott, 24, of Cheboygan -- who originally pleaded no contest to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in June of 2019-- withdrew his previous plea and entered a no contest plea to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.

Elliott withdrew the plea after officials discovered the case was mishandled by former Assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziej.

Former CMU student body president gets new plea deal in sex assault case

Todays sentencing closes a long and distressing case for many involved, especially the two victims, who have been put through a very difficult experience, Nessel said in the news release. While several factors contributed to this sentencing, the agreement made with the defendants counsel ensures Mr. Elliott will continue to serve time behind bars with additional conditions imposed throughout his probation.

Elliott entered a no contest plea to the reduced charge on Jan. 17.

Woman hopes for justice after plea could be set aside in CMU sex assault case

The new sentence by Isabella County Chief Circuit Judge Eric R. Janes is the result of an agreement between the defendants lawyer and the Michigan Department of Attorney General following the mishandling of the case, the release states.

Elliott was originally sentenced in the case in August 2019. At the time, Janes ordered Elliott be imprisoned with the Michigan Department of Corrections for a year and a day to 15 years. He also ordered him to pay $198 in fines and costs.

Now Elliott will complete the year in Isabella County Jail with credit for time served.

Plea could be set aside in CMU sexual assault case after AG investigation

Nessel agreed to set aside Elliots no contest plea following an internal investigation into the work of Kolodziej, who prosecuted the case. The investigation was launched in September after it was discovered Kolodziej had an improper relationship with a victim in a case.

In September, Rachel Wilson, one of two sexual assault victims who gave statements during the sentencing for Elliott, identified herself to MLive as the woman who had a relationship with the ex-assistant attorney general.

Victim in CMU sexual assault case says accusations against ex-assistant AG are tip of the iceberg
The Trump administration has bought cell phone location data that maps the movements of millions of cellphones in America and is using it to monitor the border.

The Wall Street Journal revealed on Friday that the government has been buying access to information gathered by Venntel, a Virginia-based company.

Venntel buys it first from private marketing companies who buy it from apps which have been granted access to a person's location services on their phone. Then, it sells it on - mostly to advertisers - but also branches of government.

It gets the information from apps which people have allowed to access their locations.

The Journal cited unnamed government officials who said the government was buying the data like any other commercial customer, but was then using it to track migrants along the border.

Specifically, they have looked for patches of desert or land that would ordinarily be deserted to try to hone in on people sneaking into the country.

The government has been buying information from Venntel which maps people's movements based on their cell phone location data

In some cases, it had led to arrests, the officials warned.

It was also what led federal agents to find a drug smuggling tunnel leading into a KFC in Arizona last year.

Officials claimed at the time that a routine traffic stop led them to make the arrest of the KFC's owner, Ivan Lopez.

The government last year spent $1.1million on three subscriptions including to one with Venntel.

Venntel bought the data from marketing companies and ordinarily, it sells it to advertisers.

The government, in essence, is no different to those customers, the officials said.

On its website, it says it 'supports our national interests through technological innovation, data reliability and proven results.

The website also says that Venntel says it offers defense-intelligence and national-security services.

Customs and Border Patrol agents have used the data to monitor movements along the border

The revelation that the government is buying the data is unsettling for those who celebrated a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that prevents officials from getting the data directly from the cell phone companies without a court ruling.

That ruling was based on the Carpenter vs United States case.

The Supreme Court ruled that the data revealed so much about the way Americans live their lives that it ought to be protected.

Critics say the act of buying the information rather than extracting it from the companies themselves is 'creepy' and encroaching on the privacy of millions.

'This is a classic situation where creeping commercial surveillance in the private sector is now bleeding directly over into government,' said Alan Butler, general counsel of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said.

Neither the government nor Venntel would comment specifically on the purchasing of the data.

'While CBP is being provided access to location information, it is important to note that such information doesnt include cellular phone tower data, is not ingested in bulk and doesnt include the individual users identity,' a spokesman said.
Photo: The Canadian Press

A plea for tolerance in reacting to the coronavirus has been issued by the provinces top government health officials.

Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer issued a joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in British Columbia.

"Now is the time for tolerance, says the statement. We call on all British Columbians to come together as a community to help one another. In this time of uncertainty, this is not only the right response, but the necessary one. Fear obstructs the important work of our public health officials to protect the health and safety of British Columbians.

The statement also updated details about the first Canadian-operated repatriation flight carrying returning Canadians from Wuhan, China that arrived at the Vancouver International Airport. The aircraft refuelled and proceeded to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton in Ontario. No crew members or passengers remained in B.C., the statement said.

"The returning Canadians will spend 14 days at CFB Trenton - which is the 2019-nCoV maximum incubation period - so they can be assessed and monitored, and to support their transition back to Canada, said the statement.

"We want to reassure people that the risk of spread of this virus within British Columbia remains low at this time. We are watching the evolution of the outbreak in China very closely and will notify the public if the measures we need to take in B.C. change. Together with our federal and provincial partners, we are asking people who have recently visited, or who have been in close contact with someone who has recently visited, the Hubei province in China to call public health officials and self-isolate for 14 days.
February 07, 2020





Over the course of a career that started remarkably early in life, with his first business founded at the age of just eight, Luke Lazarus has worked tirelessly to become one of Australias most sought-after consultants. Hes helped countless companies find much-needed direction, level up their business, and achieve greater success by overhauling their operations, finding much-needed vision, and taking on the qualities needed to attract venture capital when its needed.







Today, Lazarus joins us to share some of the techniques he uses to help startups achieve massive growth. Youll learn his proven strategies to get investors interested in companies, what he thinks modern marketing should look like, and how he helps make big business dreams come true.



Q: How do you build a successful business plan - and why, exactly, are business plans so important?

A: I cannot stress this enough: a cohesive, coherent business plan is an outline of your vision and also clearly defines the limitations and challenges that you will face as you build and scale your business - as well as the financial model that will help you realize it.

A successful business plan is one that shows partners, employees, potential investors, and customers everything they need to know about a company. Products and brands that learn how to tell and share their stories perform far better than those that fail to cultivate a clear sense of identity, and the story and product can grow hand-in-hand if included smartly in the business plan from day one.

Q: If thats the case, how do you present ideas and business plans?

A: It all comes down to storytelling. I tell stories to potential investors and in meetings with businesses to show the why behind the big asks, whether theyre for partnership in business or simply to drum up financial support.

When I work with startups, I do the same thing. I help companies streamline their messaging, books, and operations in order to attract potential angel investors and venture capitalists. Its important to note that many first-time entrepreneurs fail to close deals not because they dont have a great product or service, but because they dont truly understand how venture capitalists work or what gets investors excited about buying.

Q: What is your own personal daily routine? Are there any specific techniques you use in order to start working and build momentum with new clients?

I start my days with 15 minutes of meditation. Over the course of the workday, I make a very specific point to avoid wasteful multitasking and the potential distractions it can bring to the process, and I never take my eye off of the clock. I stay productive when working with clients on their terms, and I use a unique notetaking system to ensure that everything I plans to do gets done each day.

To bring my clients ideas to life, I start by examining the story - the why - underneath the venture or the product, and use this information to create a throughline and better understand why a business may not be currently achieving success. I see story and success as deeply linked, almost to the point that these two things are interchangeable. Theyre also a way to better understand the niche my clients create - as well as how clients can fill it once theyve created it.

Q: What advice would you give to your former self?

A: I was always ambitious. I always had a vision and a plan to go big, but this ambition prompted me to worry far more than I ever needed to. I regret letting my anxiety drive me to finish my education so quickly, and I do wish Id let my younger self take a moment to relax and be confident in the fact that my hard work would ultimately be rewarded. Had I been willing to be more confident in my strengths, I could have spared myself a great deal of headaches and unhappiness in my youth.

Q: How do you address failure in life?

A: Its always easy to worry about every aspect of every project you ever decide to take on. That said, its never to your advantage worry over your potential failure to the point that it dominates your life as an entrepreneur or human being. Self-confidence and a shift in mindset can give us the power to transcend so many of our deepest worries, and by simply betting on yourself - as I have so many times in my life, even in the toughest of times - you have the power to change outcomes for the better - and make a difference in business and in life.

To learn more about Luke Lazarus, click here.
Pakistan's bid to call an immediate meeting on Kashmir by Saudi-led Organisation of Islamic Cooperation seems to have failed after Riyadh showing reluctance to the move, according to a Pakistani media report on Thursday.

In December, there were plans to convene a meeting of the foreign ministers of the OIC on Kashmir by Saudi Arabia, in an apparent move by the kingdom to please Pakistan which skipped a recent summit of Muslim nations in Malaysia seen by Riyadh as an attempt to create a new bloc to replace the 57-member grouping led by it.

Prime Minister Imran Khan had confirmed Pakistan's participation in the summit hosted by Malaysia, but skipped the event at the eleventh hour due to pressure exerted by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - key financial backers of the cash-strapped country.

The report by Dawn News came ahead of the bloc's senior officials' meeting in Jeddah on February 9 to make preparations for the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM).

Islamabad's feeling of unease with the OIC over its failure to get the CFM's meeting appears to be growing, as Riyadh was showing reluctance to convene the meeting on Kashmir on Pakistan's request, the report quoted a diplomatic source as saying.

The Jeddah-headquartered bloc, which is the second largest intergovernmental body after the UN, has usually been supportive of Pakistan and often sided with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue.

Prime Minister Khan voiced frustration over the OIC's silence on Kashmir during his visit to Malaysia.

The reason is that we have no voice and there is a total division amongst (us). We can't even come together as a whole on the OIC meeting on Kashmir, he said this week.

Pakistan has been pushing for the foreign ministers' meeting on Kashmir since India abrogated the special provisions of Kashmir in August last year.

Although there has been a meeting of the contact group on Kashmir on the sidelines of UN General Assembly session in New York and a report by the OIC's Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission on the alleged rights abuses in Kashmir, no progress could be made towards the CFM's meeting.

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, while underscoring the importance of CFM for Pakistan, said it was needed to send a clear message from Ummah (community) on the Kashmir issue.

Support from Riyadh is considered a must for any move at the OIC, which is dominated by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries from the Gulf.

The kingdom has made several proposals to Pakistan to avoid the CFM including holding of a parliamentary forum or speakers' conference from Muslim countries and, according to a source, a joint meeting on Palestine and Kashmir issues. Pakistan has persisted with its proposal so far.

Saudi Arabia, soon after Pakistan's absence at the Malaysia summit, showed flexibility in December on the proposal for the CFM on Kashmir. The Saudi flexibility, however, was short-lived as Riyadh reverted to its position.

India, in a major diplomatic achievement in March last year, addressed the OIC meeting in Abu Dhabi for the first time.

India's participation came despite strong demand by Pakistan to rescind the invitation to then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to address the grouping of the OIC which was turned down by the host UAE, resulting in Pakistan's Foreign Minister Qureshi boycotting the plenary.
The Supreme Court on Friday said it will hear pleas seeking removal of anti-citizenship law protesters from Delhis Shaheen Bagh on February 10. Delhi will vote for a new government tomorrow.

When the petition filed by Advocate Amit Sahni came up for hearing today, a bench of justices comprising Sanjay Kishan Kaul and KM Joseph said that they will hear the matter on Monday next week.

The lawyer for the petitioner pointed out that elections to Delhi will be over by then.

Exactly why we are saying we will hear it on Monday, the bench said. Though the bench deferred the hearing, it acknowledged that there is a problem.

The plea says that the road closure at Shaheen bagh causes great inconvenience to the public at large. The road closure and the consequent traffic diversion have led to the wastage of precious time, energy and fuel, besides overburdening the DND, Akshardham and Ashram routes.

The Kalindi Kunj road, the petitioner argued, is a vital route since it connects three states  Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana  and the road closure has led to huge difficulties not only for the residents of the area but lakhs of commuters who are not able to use the road due to the blockade.

The petitioner stated that while people have the right to protest, the same is subject to reasonable restrictions and protesters cannot be allowed to occupy public roads indefinitely.

No one can be permitted to occupy the public road for any reason whatsoever under the pretext of peaceful protest and that too for indefinite period to make others suffer for the samethe fundamental right of the protesters do not exist in isolation in a watertight compartment. One fundamental right of a person may have to coexist in harmony with the exercise of another fundamental right by others, the petition said.

The plea was rejected by the Delhi high court on January 14 which stated that it is the responsibility of the police to maintain law and order and court cannot issue directions to the police on how to handle agitation, protest or traffic at the place of protest.

.
WASHINGTON  Joe Walsh, the conservative radio show host and former Tea Party congressman from Illinois who was running a presidential campaign challenging President Trumps fitness for office, announced on Friday that he was ending his bid for the Republican nomination.

That leaves Mr. Trump with only one Republican challenger, former Gov. William F. Weld of Massachusetts.

I am ending my candidacy for president of the United States, Mr. Walsh said in an interview on CNN Friday morning. I got into this because I thought it was really important that there was a Republican  a Republican  out there every day calling out this president for how unfit he is.
A paramedic who stayed on the job saw many victims who had died before the thinned ranks of first responders could reach them. Also, an important piece of equipment used to monitor vital signs was taken out of his ambulance because, the Fire Department told him, striking firefighters might damage it. So I called up and told my captain I was walking out and joining the strike, the paramedic informed a Tribune reporter. I was tired of pulling sheets over bodies.
In this photo taken on Feb. 3, supporters of Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man party) look on standing as a boy holds a mask of party leader Arvind Kejriwal (R) during a rally for the upcoming Delhi state elections in New Delhi. (Sajjad Hussain/AFP via Getty Images)
MOSCOW: An Airbus A320 with 172 passengers on board made an emergency landing in Russia -controlled Khmeimim air base after Syrian air defence nearly hit it, Russian state news agency RIA said on Friday citing Russian defence ministry spokesman.

The Syrian air defence was trying to repulse an Israeli attack near Damascus, RIA said.

According to the spokesman, after 2 a.m., four Israeli F-16 fighter jets struck eight air-to-ground missiles in the suburbs of Damascus without entering Syrian airspace, RIA reported.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.

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NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fields Kupka & Shukurov LLP is investigating potential securities violations and breach of fiduciary duty claims involving the board of directors of Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE: NX).



If you are a shareholder of Quanex Building Products Corporation and wish to receive additional information, free of charge, please visit us at:

https://fksfirm.com/investigation-quanex-building-products-corporation/

or contact William J. Fields, via email at wfields@fksfirm.com or by phone at (212) 231-1500. We will speak with you at no cost or obligation to you.

Fields Kupka & Shukurov LLP is a law firm which represents victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, or other corporate misconduct. For more information about us, please visit our website at www.fksfirm.com . Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A man of non-Spanish origin was unhurt after two armed men dressed in black fired shots at him on Wednesday afternoon in Nueva Andalucia.

After their apparent target took shelter behind some bushes, the attackers fled the scene on a motorcycle.

Police believe the incident was possibly a warning in an ongoing battle between rival gangs.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020 15:40 703 7f440ff09e92db75a02bbad20632c5b2 4 News labuan-bajo,coronavirus,Wuhan-coronavirus,tourism,travel,destination Free

The number of foreign tourists visiting Labuan Bajo on Flores Island has been increasing steadily since last year.

According to the October 2019 data from Komodo Airport, the town in East Nusa Tenggara saw a 16.17 percent year-on-year (yoy) increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

Shana Fatina Sukarsono, who heads the Labuan Bajo Flores Tourism Authority (BOPLBF), remains hopeful that the trend will continue this year, despite the travel restrictions as a result of the novel coronavirus outbreak. She admits that the town had been experiencing the effect of the travel ban the Chinese government had imposed on all provinces, as well as the Indonesian government's ban on all flights to and from China on Wednesday.

"Hopefully, we can maintain this trend in welcoming foreign and domestic tourists, and will be able to balance the effect of the decreasing number of Chinese tourists," Shana told kompas.com on Friday. She added that Chinese tourists were among the increase in visitor arrivals to Labuan Bajo.

Read also: East Nusa Tenggara tourism unaffected by coronavirus outbreak: ASITA

According to the data, the number of tourists from China who entered Indonesia via Komodo Airport had increased 51.39 percent yoy in 2019.

Shana said that no coronavirus case had been detected in Labuan Bajo, but that the airport had installed a thermal scanner and a special medical team as a preventive measure.

Indonesia has no confirmed cases of the 2019-nCoV virus to date.

Bali has seen a drastic decline in Chinese tourist arrivals from 3,000-3,500 people per day to 460-1,200 people per day, reported kompas.com, with other destinations across Asia also reporting a similar declining trend. (gis/kes)
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Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has put his 'dream' Aspen mansion including a hot tub, wine cellar and games room on the market for $14.5million.

The seven-time Tour de France winner, who has been stripped of his titles, oversaw construction of the property nestled in the Aspen and Tiehack mountains, Colorado, four years before he was charged with doping by the US Anti-doping Agency.

The five-bedroom five-bathroom home, which also has exclusive Banksy paintings, also has underground rooms with safety escape routes and ladders.

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong has put his five-bedroom Aspen mansion on the market for $14.5million

This is the media and games room (pictured). The family of seven reportedly moved to the home full-time last year

The home where each bedroom also has its own bathroom also boasts an extravagant wine cellar filled with hundreds of bottles

Pictured above is the hot tub at the secluded mansion, which became the family's full-time home last year

Disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong had his seven Tour de France titles removed following doping allegations. He is pictured at the One Day Ahead charity cycle ride from Muret to Rodez in July 2015

The grand stairway is flanked by windows to allow the home to be illuminated with natural light

A spacious bathroom inside the property is pictured above. It has a separate shower and bath and is marble-pannelled

The 5,815 square foot home is described as being based on a 'large, private plot', by estate agents, and boasting 'oversized bedrooms that have their own private baths'.

It also includes indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces, with numerous French doors opening onto fenced yards and several patios, and a patio lavishly kitted out with a fire pit and built-in seating.

'This is the perfect year-round Aspen retreat just blocks to downtown,' roars estate agent Douglas Elliman, which placed the property on the market.

The two-storey home is four hours from Denver by car and nearly five hours from Colorado Springs. It is based on the edge of Gunnison National Forest and White River National Forest.

Armstrong threw the doors open to the house he shares with wife Anna Hansen and his five children to Architectural Digest last year, revealing that the outdoor fire pit area is the families favorite place to relax.

The family moved to live at the secluded property full-time last year.

Pictured above is the formal living room, a focal point for the family of seven. They moved to the home full-time last year

Pictured below is a main room inside the house which is the family's main home

Two seating areas pictured inside the home. It is based near two forest national parks and four hours from Denver

One of the 'oversized' bedrooms inside the luxurious mansion. It is two storeys high, and has other rooms underground

The stairwell of the property with an artwork (left) and a sink inside one of the stunning bathrooms (right)

An outdoor seating area and fire pit at the lavish property. It has gone on the market for more than $14million

Aspen told Architectural Digest last year that one of the family's favourite place to entertain visitors is the fire pit (pictured)

World-renowned cyclist Lance Armstrong began to fall from grace in 2005, after winning seven Tour de France's in a row, when French newspaper L'Equipe reported that doping agent EPO was found in several samples provided by him during the 1999 tour, when these were re-tested for research purposes.

Former team-mate Floyd Landis then also alleges the cyclist has been doping in 2009, which he again denies

He withdrew from the sport in 2012 after the US Anti-Doping Agency launched an investigation into him and published a report accusing him of 'the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that the sport has ever seen.'

Armstrong was also stripped of a bronze medal he won at the 2000 Olympic Games.

One of the bedrooms inside the house (pictured). Each room in the house has its own private bathroom

Pictured above is another bedroom inside the house along with a desk and some exquisite artworks

Three bunk beds were also pictured inside this bedroom. Lance Armstrong lives there with his wife and five children

One of the bathrooms inside the mansion (pictured). Mr Armstrong oversaw the construction of the property

The house is based in Aspen, Colorado, next to the Aspen and Tiehack mountains and two national parks
A 51-year-old man was fatally struck by a hit-and-run driver Thursday evening in the Ardmore section of Lower Merion Township.

The incident occurred just before 5:50 p.m. on Ardmore Avenue near School Lane. The victim, who was walking across Ardmore Avenue when he was hit by a northbound vehicle, was transported to Lankenau Medical Center and pronounced dead at 6:15, said township spokesperson Thomas Walsh.

The Montgomery County District Attorneys Office identified the victim Friday as neighborhood resident Carter W. Wilson.

Lower Merion police said Friday that the driver, a 32-year-old man from Wynnewood, contacted police late Thursday and was cooperating with the investigation. His vehicle, a white Jeep Grand Cherokee, was turned over to investigators.

Police did not release the drivers name, and said the incident remained under investigation.
King Mohammed VI on Thursday launched in the region of Agadir the construction works of a local City of trades & skills and chaired the signing of the related funding agreements.

Agadirs city of trades & skills will be built over a 15 ha area. It will cost over $ 44.5 million. The City will be able to host annually up to 3,000 students who will be trained in various trades and sectors including industry, digital & offshoring, management & commerce, tourism & hotel business, health, construction, agriculture, fisheries, agro-industry, handicraft

This project is part of the $378 million program of the planned 12 Cities of Trades and Skills to be launched in all the regions of the Kingdom by 2023.

These Cities are expected to train annually a total of 34,000 students in various sectors.

The Cities of trades & Skills of Rabat, Sale, Kenitra, Nador and Laayoune are projected for 2021.

At the beginning of the signing ceremony of the funding agreements, director general of the Office of Vocational Training (OFPPT), Loubna Tricha, outlined, in a speech before the Sovereign, the reform and development projects undertaken by OFPPT in line with the royal guidelines for the modernization of vocational training.

The aim of these projects is to provide quality training responding to the needs of the labor market, making vocational training a driver of development, employment and social inclusion, she said.

The OFPPT is working with professionals to overhaul and upgrade its training offer, added Mrs. Tricha, noting that the Office has updated its training programs in all sectors to offer trainees new skills meeting the needs of industries and regional ecosystems.

In 2019, the OFPPT acquired a platform for foreign languages teaching which will be operational starting the next academic year, said Mrs.Tricha, affirming that the Office is busy working on a new program aimed to encourage entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives within the frame the Integrated Program destined to support enterprises and facilitate their access to funding.

The positioning of the City of Trades and Skills near the industrial center of the Souss-Massa region will establish the link between professionals and training centers. The city will open its doors in the academic year 2021.

King Mohammed VI inaugurated earlier on Thursday in Agadir, the Souss-Massa Innovation City.

The Agadir innovation city, which cost the State treasury $4.3 million, is part of the regionalization of the Industrial Acceleration Plan, launched by the Sovereign on January 28, 2018.

The City seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and the creation of innovative start-ups, support the local economic sectors & industrial ecosystems, and facilitate the transfer of technology and contacts between companies and R&D structures.

It boasts business incubators, a R&D Centre hosting several scientific laboratories, one-stop shop for entrepreneurs, 14 starts-ups, three clusters (Agadir Haliopole, Agrotech, Logipole) and three support structures (Reseau Entreprendre-Agadir, Associations initiatives Souss-Massa, X-HUB).

The inauguration of this City will give a new impetus to industrial development of the region, which offers huge business opportunities to investors in various high-value sectors, including fisheries, tourism, hotel industry, handicraft.

Minister of Industry, Trade, and Green & Digital Economy , Moulay Hafid Elalamy, told reporters that the projects launched in Souss-Massa primarily aim to create jobs for the benefit of young people in the region.

Highlighting the tremendous evolution witnessed by Souss-Massa in recent years, he recalled that the various projects launched in the region created 24,000 jobs, a figure that goes beyond the set target.

We are witnessing the emergence of concrete, operational projects that offer jobs to young people and in implementation of the royal instructions, the region is going through a historic moment, he said.
EU Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi has told Montenegro's leadership that the country needs to speed up the pace of reforms, especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom.



Varhelyi met in Podgorica with President Milo Djukanovic and Prime Minister Dusko Markovic on February 7 to discuss a new proposed methodology aimed at making the EU membership process more credible, predictable, and politically inclusive.



"The work needs to accelerate, the reforms have to accelerate, especially in the area of rule of law and media freedom where we have outstanding issues to address," he said.



Varhelyi's visit has come amid a political crisis sparked by the adoption in December of a new law on the freedom of religion.



The passage of the law last month has led to frequent protests organized by Montenegro's Serbian Orthodox Church across the country as well as in neighboring Kosovo and Serbia.



It also triggered the cancellation of a planned visit to Montenegro by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.



Montenegro's Serbian Orthodox Church, its supporters, and pro-Serbian opposition parties fear the law will enable the Montenegrin government to impound church property, though officials deny they intend to.



Varhelyi called on all sides to resort to dialogue in order to find a solution acceptable for everybody in Montenegro.



"We are interested in dialogue," he said. "If we could be of any help with that -- I dont think we can -- we would be happy to help."



The EU official arrived in Montenegro from Serbia, where he held talks on February 6 in Belgrade with Vucic, who voiced support for the new methodology.

If approved by EU member states, the new methodology would automatically apply to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and North Macedonia.

Serbia and Montenegro, which have already started accession talks with Brussels, would be able to choose between the current approach and the new one.

"My sympathies are with the new methodology," Vucic said on February 6 after talks with Varhelyi.

He said Serbia could benefit from the proposed plan, which would give member states a stronger role in accession talks and calls for more incentives for well-performing aspirant states.

However, backsliding or delays on required reforms could lead to a pause or reversal of the accession process, or even force EU hopefuls to restart entry talks in some policy areas.

Serbia would review the proposed reforms carefully before making a final decision, Vucic told a joint news conference with Varhelyi.

Varhelyi, who took office in December, said that EU enlargement in the Balkans was his "greatest priority."

"At the end of my term, I would like at least one country from the region ready for accession," the Hungarian diplomat said.

With reporting by dpa and AFP
Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During Question Hour, when Gandhi asked a question related to establishment of medical colleges, Vardhan said before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leader's recent comment on the prime minister.

Vardhan said he "condemns in no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks of Gandhi. Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the written statement, Congress MPs came to the Well strongly protesting against the minister's stand.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manicka Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushasn Sharan Singh held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden tried to intervene. Several MPs from both sides and union ministers, including Smriti Irani prevented them from coming to blows.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 1 pm.

During a rally for the Delhi Assembly polls, the Congress leader had reportedly said that "youth would beat Modi with sticks over the lack of jobs".

On Thursday the prime minister had taken a dig at Gandhi for his remarks, saying he would increase the number of Surya Namaskars (a yoga exercise) so that his back can bear the attack.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Trend

The Council of Europe behaves like a bully, Director General of the Russian Institute of Political Studies, well-known Russian expert Sergey Markov told Trend.

It is possible to talk to the Council of Europe only from a position of strength as it does not understand the values of an intelligent conversation, Markov said.

The Council of Europe is in crisis today and it is characteristic that it made a completely illegal decision in relation to Azerbaijan, the expert added.

The same position is shown in relation to Russia, Markov said. In other words, the Council of Europe has favorites that may commit any crime, violate freedom and democracy, kill a huge number of journalists and there is no investigation.

Moreover, these killers of journalists receive state grants, Markov said. They are involved in the governmental organizations, various expert councils. The Council of Europe does not conduct investigations against them and does not even condemn them. Several countries have been chosen by [CoE] for constant picking on and attacking. Among these countries are Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan. 

The expert reminded that the Council of Europe has recently deprived Russia of its rights.

In fact, the Council of Europe was not entitled to do this, Markov said. Only after Russia stopped paying full fees and threatened that it would withdraw from the subordination of the European Court of Human Rights, the Council of Europe returned these rights and the Russian delegation returned to the full-fledged activity in PACE.

Markov stressed that criticism towards Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan is nothing more than a demonstration of anti-Russian sentiment (Russophobia) and Islamophobia.

Instead of observing common standards (in fact, the Council of Europe was created for this purpose), the Council of Europe has been recently inventing various 'violations' in some countries and pretends that it doesnt notice flagrant violations in other countries, the expert said.

Thus, the common standards are destroyed, the expert said. Of course, when an organization created specifically to maintain common standards, which is its primary mission, destroys these common standards, the credibility of this organization is greatly diminishes and then disappears. As a result, a single European socio-political space is being destroyed.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
ITHACA, N.Y. -- Ithaca police say theyve received reports of possibly spiked drinks at a local bar and are asking people to to be vigilant.

Police did not say at which bar the drugged drinks were reported.

They recommended people not consume drinks prepared out of their sight, to never leave a drink unattended and to be aware of their surroundings.

Police say that if anyone has any information about drugged drinks that they should call the Ithaca Police Department.

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.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries' consolidated net profit fell 26.44% to Rs 913.52 crore in Q3 December 2019 (Q3 FY20) compared with net profit of Rs 1,241.85 crore in Q3 December 2018 (Q3 FY19).

Profit before tax declined 21.89% to Rs 1,351.33 crore in Q3 FY20 from Rs 1,730.11 crore in Q3 FY19.

Total revenue from operations for the December quarter stood at Rs 8,154.85 crore, up 5.36% from Rs 7,740.19 crore in Q3 December 2018. In Q3 FY20, EBITDA stood at Rs 1,725 crore with a resulting EBITDA margin of 21.5%.

India sales stood at Rs 2,517 crore, growth of 13% over Q3 last year. US finished dosage sales at $ 350 million, decline of 3% over Q3 last year. Emerging markets sales at $195 million, down by 4% Q3 last year. Rest of World sales at $155 million, growth of 24% over Q3 last year.

R&D investments at Rs 527 crore (6.6% of sales) compared to Rs. 465 crore (6% of sales) for Q3 FY19.

Dilip Shanghvi, managing director of the company said, "Our branded business in India recorded double-digit growth, for Q3 as well as for the nine month period. For the international business, we continued our efforts to enhance our portfolio in new markets by entering into a licensing agreement with AstraZeneca in China for some of our novel oncology products. Simultaneously, we continue to enhance our global specialty business which is gradually becoming a meaningful growth engine."

Shares of the drug maker were trading 1.08% lower at Rs 426.30.

Sun Pharma is a specialty generic manufacturing pharmaceutical company.

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
(Newser)  Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she believes the accounts of six minority women who left her campaign in Nevadaand she is sorry "they have had a bad experience." Warren issued the apology hours after Politico reported that six women of color have "bolted" from Warren's Nevada organization since November because they felt sidelined and "tokenized." "I take personal responsibility for this and I'm working with my team to address these concerns," Warren said in New Hampshire on Thursday. "It is important that we stay vigilant. These women have been courageous to come forward, and again, I apologize." Some of the women said they were "silenced" and complaints to management did not improve matters.

story continues below

"I felt like a problemlike I was there to literally bring color into the space but not the knowledge and voice that comes with it," one field organizer told Politico. "We all were routinely silenced and not given a meaningful chance on the campaign." Kristen Orthman, Warren's communication director, declined to comment on specifics to CNN, but said: "We have an organization of more than a thousand people, and whenever we hear concerns, we take them seriously." Some of the women who left the campaign say Spanish-language organizing lagged behind in the state, which votes Feb. 22. (Read more Elizabeth Warren stories.)
With a reprieve in surging water and weather, Pendleton city officials and emergency responders are trying to figure out a plan of action. Emergency management officers, business owners, community representatives and city officials gathered at City Hall on Friday evening to identify the next steps and priority needs for the community.

The biggest concern is the displacement of citizens and helping them get back on their feet, said Bob Patterson, Pendleton public works director.

The eastern Oregon town was one of the hardest hit by widespread flooding, which has prompted evacuations, highway closures and emergency declarations in eastern Oregon and southeastern Washington.

The National Weather Service said other areas like Hermiston and Walla Walla were heavily affected by the flooding, which has damaged many homes and swamped roads and highways.

Westbound Interstate 84, for example, was closed between Hermiston and Ontario, a stretch of nearly 200 miles, for much of Friday. By 10 p.m., all but a nine-mile stretch had reopened.

The flooding prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in Umatilla, Union and Wallowa counties Friday. U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, whose district covers the affected area, also said he and his staff were monitoring the situation and ready to help as needed.

Please reach out to my La Grande office at 541-624-2400 if we can be of assistance, he said.

In Pendleton, floodwaters impacted the Riverside Area, which spans a residential area home to two mobile home parks as well as an industrial park.

An estimated 45 residents, including all living at the mobile home parks, were evacuated to the Pendleton Convention Center on Thursday.

Umatilla County, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the city of Weston have all declared states of emergency, as well, according to the East Oregonian newspaper.

According to Patterson, the city of Pendleton estimates 200 structures were affected by the floods, and damage ranges from total submersion to the soaking of basements and first floors.

The city is working to provide information to evacuees and residents to help them access resources and insurance.

We will do whatever we can to help, said Patterson.

In addition to community displacement, floodwaters wrought damage to local businesses in the community, said Patterson, raising concerns about residents who wont be able to work until the businesses are recovered.

An industrial park that houses two of the towns largest employers, Keystone RV Company and Colby Plastics, were soaked with an estimated 3-4 feet of water, said Patterson.

The displacement of workers for Keystone is a concern, said Patterson, And the businesses also lost inventory in the flood.

Roger Cloutier, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Pendleton, said the flooding was historic for that area.

As far as I know, this is an all-time record, he said. Its happening in areas youd least expect, like Hermiston.

Peter Murphy, a state transportation spokesman based in Bend, said the agency is still assessing the damage to the interstate and surrounding roads.

He cautioned that the state is preparing for an extensive closure," but its not clear what that means. He offered no specific timeline, saying crews are assessing the damage.

Numerous other highways and roads are also closed, and multiple school districts canceled Friday classes. Some areas have been evacuated.

The Oregon National Guard also said it has rescued 10 people in less than 24 hours, including two National Guard Swift Water rescuers who were stranded while doing search and rescue work.

No injuries have been reported, however, weather service meteorologist Mary Wister told The Oregonian/OregonLive.

She said heavy snow fell in the region Wednesday. Warm air arrived afterward, and continuous rain fell for nearly 72 hours, causing significant runoff into rivers and streams, prompting the flooding.

The Umatilla, Grande Ronde and Walla Walla rivers are among those that have flooded, Wister said.

-- Jim Ryan; jryan@oregonian.com; 503-221-8005; @Jimryan015

--Piper McDaniel; amcdaniel@oregonian.com; 503-221-4307; @Piperamcdaniel

Andrew Theen, Lizzy Acker and Jayati Ramakrishnan of The Oregonian/OregonLive staff contributed to this report

Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday received an important briefing by the new Economic Advisory Council (EAC), giving firm commitment that his administration will be bound by their advice on economy related matters.

At a meeting with the Doyin Salami-led eight-member council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, President Buhari gave the first directive from their recommendations that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, address immediately the observed lapses in coordination between ministries and all agencies of government.

In his remarks after listening to the report of macroeconomic importance and their views and recommendations, President Buhari said on the issue of coordination, that "the lack of synergy between ministries, departments and agencies would no longer be accepted. We are working for the country, not for personal interests. We have the same objective of service to the people and we will resolve this."

Reviewing the work of the Council since its inauguration to replace the Economic Management Team (EMT), President Buhari said:

"I am highly pleased based on what I have read in your Executive Summary with the painstaking thoroughness of your preliminary report. I have noted the salient points of your report and these will be incorporated in government economic policies."

Speaking about the challenges facing the economy and the tasks that rest on the shoulders of the members, the President noted that "the economy is the most delicate and sensitive of all aspects of national life. A little change in the matrix can lead to major disruptions in the national economy. For example, international changes in oil prices, bad harvests, conflicts in strategic global locations, a major epidemic or pandemic like the current Coronavirus, tariff changes in major world economies, to mention only a few examples that readily come to mind, can significantly affect our plans."

President Buhari, who accepted that the EAC should now brief him more frequently, at least once every six weeks, instead of once every quarter, thanked the members for their patriotism and commitment in accepting the challenging responsibilities conferred on them.

"I cannot" he concluded, "thank you enough for your patriotism."

Earlier in the submission of their report, Mr Salami, a professor, supported by interventions by Council members, responded to questions by the President and his team in which they outlined a number of challenging opportunities facing the economy, and proferred solutions to most of them.

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In addition to the issue of synergy which the president addressed at the meeting, the Council raised concerns that the rate of the growth of the economy is slower than the rate the country's population is growing; the need to strengthen national statistical agencies; reform procurement processes; improve education; and the need for job planning in training offered by academic institutions.

The Council also brought to the government their views on borrowing, macroeconomic stability and the need to provide a friendly climate for foreign investment.

"We need an environment that will attract investment. People will come only when they feel confident and when they come, their exit will not be challenging," said Prof. Salami.

The council resolved to focus on legacy projects by the administration before 2023.

In addition to Mr Salami, the Chairman, the Council is made up of Mohammed Sagagi, Vice-Chairman and Ode Ojowu as members.

Other members are Shehu Yahaya, Iyabo Masha, Chukwuma Soludo, Bismack Rewane and Mohammed Salisu.

The two ministers in the Ministry of Finance also serve as co-opted members.

Garba Shehu

Senior Special Assistant to the President

(Media & Publicity)

February 6, 2020
We are unabashedly committed to making sure we have all we need, said state Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago. We dont want to take someone elses piece of the pie. We want to grow the pie so there is enough for everyone.
SAN DIEGO  Ben Capon and Nadine Bialostozky, Torrey Pines High School sweethearts who grew up in Carmel Valley, have been living in Israel for the past six years and boarded Holland America's Westerdam on Feb. 1 to start a long journey home.

With their wedding in five weeks, the couple has found that the global coronavirus outbreak has turned what was expected to be a relaxing prelude to starting a life together into a confusing float in the South China Sea. After an initial port call scheduled for Manila on Feb. 3 was canceled due to corona concerns, the ship was denied entry to Keelun and Kaohsiung ports in Taiwan, Capon said in an email dated Feb. 6.

What follows are unedited comments from Capon that offer a view of what is happening aboard the Westerdam:

"The two of us are actually in really high spirits.

"Cruises are basically floating resorts so we are still enjoying ourselves. The same cannot be said for everyone on board though. There is a lot of grumbling about the goings on of the ship, as well as rumors of where we are heading next. Last night they had an open bar, which seemed to quiet the crowds for a brief spell, only for the captain to release another statement declaring we would not stop in Ishigaki, our first port in Japan.

"This morning the captain made the announcement that Japan has denied us entry to all ports for the remainder of our trip and the cruise has been canceled, as well as the following two week cruise, which my fiancee and I were also supposed to be on. Apparently Holland America is in contact with the US State Department, the US Navy, and the Dutch government to decide what to do next. At this moment we are still sailing in an eastward direction, but the passengers aren't sure why. We have heard rumors that we will be docking in either Hawaii or Alaska, where will not be placed under quarantine for the necessary two weeks because the ship itself is basically under self-quarantine.

Officially, the destination has not been determined.

"The feeling on board about skipping each port is justifiable frustration. Each night before the expected stop the captain makes an announcement over the speakers that he regrets to inform us the Filipino/Taiwanese/South Korean/Japanese authorities have decided to deny our entry the following day.

"Initially we were supposed to complete our cruise in Shanghai, which was then switched to Tokyo, so everyone was requested to alter their travel plans to fly home from there. Holland America has only offered $250 of compensation for flight changes. At this moment, unsure of where we are headed, we are being advised to change flight plans again, but we don't know where we are headed! It's a bit odd they would say this. Also, upon request, passengers can receive a voucher for two hours worth of free WiFi.

"At every table are seated couples and families speculating the next move. The feeling of anxiety in the room is palpable. People do not seem to be holed up in their rooms yet, but with the news online about a potential case of the virus on board from the Dailymail and other news outlets, surely nerves will be rattled and folks will retreat to their staterooms. To be clear, the cruise has not definitely said one of the passengers is infected with the virus, but yesterday we asked a nurse what was happening in the sick bay, to which she sort of evaded the question but did note there was a lot of activity. Also, as a side note, very few people are wearing masks. If the cruise is offering complimentary masks to guests, we aren't aware of it (we have our own).

"To tell you a little bit about us, we are currently in transit back to San Diego. We have been living in Israel for the past six years and slowly making our way home. We both grew up in Carmel Valley (Torrey Pines graduates and high school sweethearts)! We have been living abroad for six years and slowly making our way home. My fiancee imports arts and crafts supplies from China to Mexico. We were supposed to go to China for two weeks to visit factories, but those plans were cancelled. I am a small business owner. Both of us are having trouble connecting to our business partners and colleagues without the internet we would be able to access on the expected port stops since we aren't stopping!

___

(c)2020 The San Diego Union-Tribune

Visit The San Diego Union-Tribune at www.sandiegouniontribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 22:07:46|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The commander of the Aerospace Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Iran has the technology to neutralize the U.S. RQ-4 drone flying thousands of km away from its borders, Tehran Times daily reported Friday.

"We have gained access to the RQ-4 drone's secret codes ... We can make the drone inefficient from a distance of several thousands of kilometers," said Amir Ali Hajizadeh.

A day earlier, Iranian media aired two videos showing what they claimed is the wreckage of a U.S. drone downed by Iran in June last year.

On June 20, the IRGC announced that its air force shot downed "a U.S. RQ-4 Global Hawk spy drone" when it entered Iran's airspace near Mobarak Mountain region in the southern coastal province of Hormozgan.
He reached his familys old property, in a field with a view of the sea and snowcapped mountains, and stood above a shin-high rectangle of stone. It was all that remained of the home where his parents took refuge during the Second World War. The migrants had taken the wooden walls, the windows, the doors and the roof. Everything, he said with a shrug.

About 6,800 asylum seekers are jammed into the camp and fighting the elements in the olive groves and pine woods of the hill. Below is a quaint port town that is home to about 6,200 locals like Mr. Meletiou.

Together, the locals and asylum seekers bear the shared brunt of forces beyond their control  Greek government dysfunction, the cold shoulder of the European Union, the chaos in the Middle East and the geopolitical calculations of Turkey.

And many here fear that this verdant tourist destination  famous as the birthplace of the goddess Hera and the philosopher Epicurus  is a preview of the future if the Continent doesnt get its act together.
Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group



By Baek Byung-yeul



Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Group, will become the first Korean to be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the industry's top honor, the country's leading automaker said Friday.



Established in 1939, the Automotive Hall of Fame has honored industry leaders who have greatly contributed to the advancement of the auto industry every year.



Since its establishment, the Automotive Hall of Fame has recognized notable figures of the industry such as Ford Motor Company founder Henry Ford; Thomas Edison; Karl Benz, founder of Mercedes-Benz; Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda; and Toyota founder Kiichiro Toyoda.



The organization said Chung would be added to the Hall of Fame as the chairman has been credited with the success of Hyundai Motor Group, adding his legacy is "on par with other legends of the industry who have launched and guided an automotive firm to global growth."



"Chairman Chung Mong-koo is the industry leader credited with the success of Hyundai Motor Group. Through Chung's leadership, Hyundai Motor became Korea's largest automaker and Hyundai Motor Group became the world's fifth largest automotive group," the Automotive Hall of Fame said in a statement.



"Chung is noted for many remarkable accomplishments, including acquiring Kia Motors for Hyundai Motor Group; spearheading the group's growth with new plants in key regions including the United States, Europe, China, India, Brazil and Russia; and creating a highly efficient vertically integrated business structure that produces everything from steel to vehicles," the organization added.



Chung will receive the honor at the awards ceremony scheduled to be held in Detroit on July 23. Other Hall of Fame inductees include Thomas Gallagher, CEO of auto replacement parts maker Genuine Parts Company (GPC); Helene Rother, who became one of the first female automotive designers for General Motors Co.; and Jay Leno, former host of "The Tonight Show" and automotive enthusiast.



Hyundai Motor said Chung has been "a steadfast champion for development of the nation's automobile industry and economy."



"Amid the collapse of the Korean automotive industry during the 1990s Asian financial crisis, Chung successfully revived Kia Motors and fostered it as a global automotive brand. Under Chung's leadership, Hyundai Motor Group rapidly expanded to compete head to head with the world's leading automakers. As a result, Chung's efforts affected lasting change in the global automotive landscape and the Korean economy," Hyundai said.



Hyundai added Chung also has made efforts to advance the global competitiveness of the automaker.



"He established a standard plant construction system that can be rapidly implemented anywhere to help assure consistent high-quality production evident in the many quality awards earned by Hyundai and Kia vehicles around the world. Chung has also established one of world's largest research and development centers to advance the company's competitiveness," the company said.


Few people can have any inkling of what it is like to kill someone accidentally, as Anne Sacoolas  the American woman who killed 19-year-old Harry Dunn by reportedly driving on the wrong side of the road  has done.

Sadly, I am one of them.

I was in Italy. I had driven out there with my family and we were enjoying a relaxing holiday in the sun.

One fine day, I left my wife and children at our holiday apartment and went to buy some supplies from the supermarket a couple of miles or so away.

As I tried to come to terms with this, everything came back to the bleak reality. A living, breathing, innocent man, called Carlo Civitelli (pictured with his wife, Elana), was dead

As I came out of a junction on a little rural lane, I forgot to turn onto the right-hand side of the road and approached a tight, blind bend on the wrong side.

I came around the corner and saw, for a split second of horror, a motorbike coming straight towards me.

I turned hard to avoid him, he tried desperately to avoid me, but there was no time and his bike hit the wing of my vehicle with a sickening thud. I saw him fly off his motorcycle and into the road.

I stopped, jumped out and rushed towards him. He had spun some way across the road and his helmet had come off. He lay crumpled and motionless.

That old expression about wanting to sink into the ground came true for me. For a few moments I simply wanted to cease to exist as I looked at my victim, mercifully unconscious but with blood pouring from his mouth.

I believe Anne Sacoolas (pictured) can find that peace, too, if she can find the courage to face up to what she has done

But I got a grip on myself: I had to make the situation safe before attending to the casualty. So I moved my vehicle, partially blocking the way so that another car coming round the bend would not run over him. Then I used the first-aid training I had learned in the Territorial Army to try to do what I could for the poor man, putting him in the recovery position and keeping his mouth clear of blood. My hands and arm became drenched in his blood.

After two or three minutes, people started to arrive on the scene. I didnt have a mobile on me  it was 18 years ago, before everyone carried one  but someone called the emergency services.

After some time, the police and then the ambulance arrived. The police led me off and the ambulance took the casualty to hospital. A kind German tourist who was staying near by said he would take a message back to my wife Kate about what had happened. Kate waited at home with the children while I spent a long time at the police station.

My preoccupation with making frantic efforts to treat the motorcyclist had taken my mind off the horror of the incident for a moment. But when he was taken off in the ambulance, I went back to simply not wanting to go on living.

For three or four days we waited to hear whether he would live. He had serious head injuries. All I had going round and round in my mind was: Is he going to survive?

Helping others, and facing up to the consequences of my actions, has brought me peace. Pictured is Julian Brazier

The thought that I might have killed a wholly innocent man was horrific. I tried to visit my victim in hospital but, struggling with no Italian, was turned away. I tried to do whatever I could to make good a terrible situation.

I got in touch with a leading neurosurgeon whose sister I knew, Professor T.J. Pentelnyi, and arranged for him to fly out to do what he could. But, tragically, just an hour before the surgeon arrived, I heard the news I had been dreading: the victim had died.

As I tried to come to terms with this, everything came back to the bleak reality. A living, breathing, innocent man, called Carlo Civitelli, was dead.

My lawyer told me Carlo had a loving mother, sisters and a brother  and hed had another brother who was killed by a drunken hit-and-run driver some years before. And now I had killed Carlo.

The subsequent weeks were, by a very long way, the worst I had ever experienced, despite amazingly sympathetic treatment from the Italian police. The station commander told me he had narrowly avoided a similar accident in Britain the previous year, coming off a roundabout.

Nevertheless, the guilt built in me and was a far bigger factor in my mental state than concern at my likely punishment.

Harry Dunns mother (pictured with her husband) said she is more determined than ever to secure justice after the American diplomat's wife wanted over her sons death was pictured on the school run in Virginia

It never occurred to me at any stage not to stay around, even though I fully expected to be sent to prison  and in any case, unlike Anne Sacoolas, I had no diplomatic immunity, so that was never an option.

The thing that went through my mind as I read about Harry Dunns tragic death is that our stories possibly started out the same.

Anne Sacoolas would have been driving out, perhaps in a hurry, and might have turned unthinkingly into a rural lane and met poor Harry. Initially she stayed at the scene, co-operated with the police and promised to return to face the music. She had the right intentions.

But then she decided to abandon the promises she had made to the police and fled to the U.S. using diplomatic immunity, leaving Harrys family in a terrible limbo.

Mrs Sacoolas reportedly admitted being on the wrong side of the road when she hit 19-year-old Harrys (pictured) motorbike

His death was an accident. But by fleeing she has compounded his familys agony, for until she faces trial they can have little hope of closure. But I dont believe the story has ended there: its not too late to do the right thing, for her own sake as well as for Harrys family.

Anne Sacoolas is married into a close-knit diplomatic community. The demons that worked on me will be working on her  and, I suspect, will be compounded by the knowledge that her husbands colleagues will see her in a new light. And that the Sacoolas family can never accept a posting to, or visit, any country with an extradition treaty with Britain.

Harrys death left his parents, Tim Dunn and Charlotte Charles, with a profound, agonising loss.

This bereaved family has behaved with extraordinary dignity. Tim and Charlotte called for justice, not vengeance, and made it clear that they would welcome a meeting  but only after Anne Sacoolas has returned to face justice. My heart goes out to them.

Their approach reminded me of the Civitelli family. Because of my status as an MP, journalists flooded out to Italy to bang on their door to ask for a comment, but the Civitellis simply said it was a tragic accident.

They were astonishingly generous about it, refusing to give any quotable quotes to anyone. I was allowed to return to the UK and told that, as I accepted my guilt, I was not required to attend the trial. If I had been, I would certainly have gone.

While I struggled to continue in my busy job and as a father, strange as it may seem, I never dwelt on the possibility of serving time in an Italian jail, far from my wife and children. At first I was too consumed by guilt to think about anything else, and later on my lawyer made it clear that a suspended sentence was by far the most likely outcome.

She was right. I was given a four-month suspended sentence.

I desperately wanted to meet the Civitelli family but felt the meeting could take place only after the trial. So I returned to Italy and met Carlos surviving brother, with our lawyers to interpret for us.

It was a very difficult meeting but he looked me in the eye and told me, through the interpreter: You did everything you could for my brother.

His incredible generosity of spirit brought me extraordinary solace. His conduct in that meeting will stay with me for the rest of my life.

The most harrowing moment was when he told me that Carlos wife had died from cancer not long before the accident. They had no children.

The two brothers had eaten lunch together on the day of the crash. Afterwards, Carlo said: What I really need to clear my head is a good run on the motorcycle. It was on that good run that I hit him.

The kindness I received from this down-to-earth man, and the forgiveness from the family, helped to lift the terrible burden of guilt I felt and left me with a sense of closure, which has stayed with me.

For years, not a day went by when I didnt think about Carlo and his family, replaying the dreadful scene in my mind. But now I am no longer as haunted by it, although it is still vivid in my mind.

I still pray for his family but their forgiveness meant I could, eventually, forgive myself for what was a terrible, catastrophic mistake.

It has left me with a heightened sense that I owe something. There is no way I can ever repay it, but I must do what I can to help others.

Now I am no longer an MP  the Canterbury electorate relieved me of my duties in 2017  I have become an occasional volunteer at the chaplaincy at a young offender institution.

The first time I addressed the young men at Mass, speaking on the forgiveness the Church provides, I started by telling them my story and reminding them that, like them, I was a convicted criminal. The guards told our chaplain afterwards that they saw several young men weeping. Certainly, a number of them told me it had helped them in their journey back to a decent life.

Helping others, and facing up to the consequences of my actions, has brought me peace. I believe Anne Sacoolas can find that peace, too, if she can find the courage to face up to what she has done.

I was lucky: the Italian legal system took the view that the degree of culpability must relate to the degree of intent: ghastly as the consequences of my action were, with the distance of time I can see that my guilt was limited  I wasnt drunk or speeding. The horror of Carlo Civitellis brutal death came from a lapse in attention, not a deliberate act.

By contrast, I fear there is a growing sense in this country that law should be about vengeance rather than justice. There has been a steady tightening up of motoring law and sentencing in Britain over the past few years so that, increasingly, the seriousness of the outcome is overtaking the extent of culpability.

In Canterbury today, had an Italian done what I did, I suspect he would have received a substantial jail term.

We dont know what advice Anne Sacoolas has been given and whether that was a factor in her decision not to return here. We shall never know  but we need to reflect on the importance of making justice just.

Nevertheless, whatever the state of the law, whatever the possible consequences, my advice to Anne Sacoolas is simply this: come back, stand trial.

Even now, I believe Harrys parents will forgive you if you do that  and whatever the penalty, you will have closure.

I was astonished not to be sent to prison in Italy and even more amazed by the forgiveness from the Civitelli family. The solace that gave me means that, while my huge regret at what happened will never go away, it has become a reason to help others, not a living nightmare.

I urge Anne Sacoolas to ask herself which is preferable: a life living in shame, or a life filled with hope and purpose.
A UK woman who as a teenager ran away to join the Islamic State group lost a legal challenge Friday aimed at restoring her citizenship, which was revoked on national security grounds.

Shamima Begum, one of three east London schoolgirls who traveled to Syria in 2015, resurfaced at a refugee camp in Syria last year and told reporters she wanted to come home. But her apparent lack of remorse has triggered criticism in Britain and the family has expressed its own shock at her lack of repentance.

Former Home Secretary Sajid Javid revoked her citizenship, but she challenged the decision before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission. She argued she is not the citizen of another country and that Javid's decision left her stateless.

But the tribunal ruled in Javid's favour on Friday.

Judge Doron Blum said the decision did not breach the Home Office's "extraterritorial human rights policy by exposing Ms Begum to a real risk of death or inhuman or degrading treatment.''



The tribunal ruled that she was a citizen of Bangladesh by descent,'' and therefore not rendered stateless.

Her attorney, Daniel Furner, said the decision was baffling and would be appealed.

Begum's family has long argued that she has never had a Bangladeshi passport and that she was from the UK.

Begum, now 20, was one of three schoolgirls from Bethnal Green Academy who left their homes and families to join IS after boarding a flight from Gatwick Airport to Istanbul.

Begum claims she married Dutch convert Yago Riedijk 10 days after arriving in IS territory, with all three of her school friends also reportedly marrying foreign IS fighters.

She gave birth to three children while in Syria, all of whom died. Although it's unclear whether Begum has committed a crime, her case has thrown into sharp relief larger questions about how Western societies will deal with others who joined IS, but want to return to their home countries now that the extremist group has collapsed.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dr Samuel Ankeli, the Special Adviser (SA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Disability, says 25 million Nigerians are living with disabilities.

Ankeli made the disclosure on Thursday in Ilorin while addressing physically challenged students of the University of Ilorin during the launch of the maiden edition of a programme titled "Ability in Disability", organised by the students.

The presidential aide pledged to assist the university in securing hostel accommodation and special centres for its physically challenged students.

In a speech considered by many as "motivational", Ankeli, who is also physically impaired, said the president was working hard to ensure that the rights of physically challenged persons were protected.

He said the president was keen on the Disability Act which, he said, would ensure justice and equality for those living with disabilities in the country.

According to him, it is the desire of the president that those living with disabilities are represented and are part of the social and political administration.

He said all people were born equal and urged the students to harness their abilities despite the challenges.

Ankeli also urged Nigerians to support those with disabilities rather than sympathising with them.

He tasked them on hard work, saying it will bring the best out of them.

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The aide harped on the imperative of having an adviser to the Kwara Government on disability for effective handling of such matters.

Earlier in his welcoming address, Prof. Sulyman Abdulkareem, the Vice-Chancellor of the institution, disclosed that the university was striving to ensure facilities were more friendly to special students.

Abdulkareem, who was represented by Prof. Olayinka Buhari, theDeputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, explained that the university's management ensured that its Law special students were made comfortable.

He appealed to government at all tiers to ensure job availability for the students after their education.

Dr Patricia Atejere, the Acting Director, Centre for Supportive Services for the Deaf (CSSD) of the university, decried the general lack of adequate understanding of disability.

She regretted that those with disability were discriminated against on the basis of stereotypes.

"We must systematically deconstruct the mindset of sympathy towards persons living with disabilities.

"Sympathy isolates persons with disabilities socially; it affects their access to education, employment and hinders their self-fulfilment," she said.

She disclosed that since inception, the centre has graduated 65 hearing impaired students from different departments of the university.

Mr Wisdom Oluwaseun, the President of Student Union Government (SUG), urged students living with disabilities not to despair but "use the ability in their disability".

[NAN]

Vanguard News Nigeria.
(Bloomberg) -- Sign up here to get the Brexit Bulletin in your inbox every weekday.

Whats Happening? After the lofty rhetoric of Brexit day, were getting a sense of what a trade negotiation might feel like.

Its less than a week after Brexit and the stage sets for upcoming trade talks are being built. There is much to be done: As well as hammering out a high-speed free-trade agreement with the European Union over the next 11 months, Prime Minister Boris Johnson wants the U.K. to undertake an ambitious multipronged set of trade negotiations with other major nations.

Johnson has long argued that the ability to strike trade deals is one of the great prizes of leaving the European Union, and he is prioritizing agreements with the U.S., Japan, Australia and New Zealand. He wants the right to diverge from EU rules, theoretically allowing Britain room to negotiate with multiple partners at the same time. (Sometimes referred to as a sort of three-dimensional chess game.)

Taking up the mantle on Thursday was International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, explaining how Britain wants mutually beneficial tariff cuts while protecting sensitive U.K. products. Simultaneously, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was deployed to Australia, which he hailed as a natural partner for the U.K. The scope for win-win is huge, Raab said.

Truss announced plans to simplify import tariffs after the post-Brexit transition period expires on Dec. 31, and Britain will be able to set its own rates. The smallest tariffs would be abolished, as would those on key components and on goods which the U.K. doesnt produce itself. Other rates would be rounded down to the nearest 2.5% under the plans, which are open to public consultation until March 5.

None of this is especially controversial, and the devil will be in the detail. There was clear daylight between Johnson and EU Brexit lead Michel Barnier when they set out their opening positions earlier this week. For some, that heralds trouble ahead. For others, a way forward lurks amid the rhetoric.

Story continues

Beyond Brexit

The best way to avoid the coronavirus on flights is not to wear face masks or rubber gloves. One writer used dark web ransomware to sabotage his editor. Heres how he did it. Kodak is backat the Oscars, at least. Several of this years best picture contenders were shot on Kodak film.

Brexit in Brief

Change in Dublin? | Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is poised to lose Saturdays election, betting odds indicate, with the party that oversaw the nations international bailout set to return to power. Paddy Power odds give Micheal Martin, who leads the biggest opposition party, Fianna Fail, a 94% chance of heading the government.

Bomb Plot Probe | Police in Northern Ireland are investigating a possible plot to blow up a truck on the day the U.K. formally left the European Union, broadcaster RTE reported Thursday.

Dream On | The U.K.s ambition to lift economic growth toward its post-war average of almost 3% is quite unrealistic, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research said.

Profiled, Again | What goes on inside the head of Dominic Cummings, Johnsons chief strategist? The Guardian is the latest to have a go at decoding his many thoughts. For the record, Bloomberg, the FT, the Telegraph, BBC Radio 4, New Statesman, Politico, CNN and Tortoise have already been there.

Rebecca Long Way Behind | Left-wing Labour leadership candidate Rebecca Long-Bailey is placed last among Labour voters in a London Evening Standard/Ipsos MORI poll. However, Labour members will elect the new leader, not just party voters  and that could boost Long-Baileys chances.

Peerage Politics | It feels like just yesterday that Boris Johnson was sacking Philip Hammond as chancellor and throwing him and pro-European Tory grandee Ken Clarke out of the parliamentary party. Now the prime minister is nominating both men to the House of Lords, the BBC reports.

Language Matters | Fresh from attempting to divide and conquer the Westminster press pack, Downing Street has made another attempt to rewrite the language of Brexit. After Johnson effectively banned the use of the B-word itself, the latest phrase under the microscope is that old favorite, no deal. According to The Sun, No. 10 instead prefers non-negotiable outcome.

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H.O.R.S.E. / Contributed photo

WASHINGTON  The Humane Organization Representing Suffering Equines, or H.O.R.S.E. of Connecticut, now celebrating their 38th year, will hold a special Valentines Day Celebration on Saturday, Feb. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (Snow Date: Sunday, Feb. 16), said a release from the organization.

Starting at 10 a.m., there will be hourly tours of the farm where you can meet many of the wonderful horses, ranging from a 30-inch Mini to a 19-hand Belgian draft. The Tack Shop is open and filled with everything from blankets to bridles and grooming equipment. There will be a large assortment of baked goods, and many gift ideas, such as gift bags with stuffed animals, candy, handmade bracelets and necklaces, all from $5 to $25. H.O.R.S.E. will also offer $50 sponsorships, which include four visits where you can groom and hand walk the horse of your choice.
MANCHESTER, N.H.  Elizabeth Warrens path to victory may have to go through fellow progressive Bernie Sanders. And after Sanders strong showing in Iowa, that path became far more difficult heading into Tuesdays New Hampshire primary.

The challenge for Warren is to somehow outshine Sanders in a state where he has a long record of enthusiastic and durable backing. There isnt much daylight between them to do that on the big issues that most excite the Democratic Partys liberal wing: universal, government-run health insurance under the Medicare for All plan, tuition-free college and aggressive plans to fight climate change.

Sanders, a Vermont senator, also has a large financial advantage. His campaign raked in $25 million in January alone  more than seven times the fundraising goal of $3.5 million that Warren set for herself over the same period. And Warren will have a harder time exciting donors about her third-place finish in Iowa.

Warren, a senator from Massachusetts, has more than 1,000 staffers in 31 states and says she has the sprawling political organization to compete nationwide. She insists her campaign is built for the long haul.

I see Iowa as showing them our team can work, she said when asked about her political ground game producing underwhelming Iowa results. We were out there all over the state and bringing in volunteers, and the Iowa team is now leaving Iowa and going to other parts of the country.

But Warren has also canceled $350,000 in planned television advertising for later this month in Nevada and South Carolina, which vote after New Hampshire. She said it wasnt a change in strategy but rather about the fact that we completely finance our campaign through grassroots, and I just want to be careful about how we spend our money.

Some of Warrens top allies argue that former Vice President Joe Bidens failure to crack the top three in Iowa gives her a chance to appeal to Democrats who were holding out for someone more electable to beat President Trump in Novembers general election.

Warren beats Pete (Buttigieg) and Warren beats Sanders if this gets down to one-on-one matchups  because voters across the party are inspired by her, said Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. The challenge in the next few weeks is making the case that Warren is the best combination of being a bold progressive who is effective and who can defeat Trump.

Sanders trounced Hillary Clinton by 22 points in New Hampshire during the 2016 Democratic presidential primary and has already predicted victory in New Hampshire and Nevada.

Will Weissert is an Associated Press writer.
He's not had the strongest record of matching lovers on Married At First Sight, with just a handful of the couples remaining together after filming concludes.

But away from the show, 'relationship expert' John Aiken is still charging couples in need of help a whopping $15,000 for a three day 'rescue your relationship' retreat, located in Sydney's Double Bay.

The relationship 'overhaul' will see couples pay $625 per hour for a 9am to 5pm programme, in the eastern suburb's exclusive Intercontinental Hotel.

He's charging what! Married At First Sight 'relationship expert' John Aiken is charging couples in need a whopping $15,000 for a three-day 'rescue your relationship' retreat - despite handing out advice for free on the show

According to the 49-year-old Sydney-based author's website, the retreats are designed to 'overhaul the couple and get them back on track and moving forward together as a team.'

The site adds that John will 'take the pair through a variety of specifically tailored science based relationship exercises and activities.'

It's unclear if the couples get anything else included for the hefty price tag, including accommodation or food.

John himself teams up couples on Married At First Sight alongside fellow dating expert Mel Schilling, and clinical neuropsychotherapist Dr Trisha Stratford.

Pricey: Couples in need are charged a whopping $625 an hour for the 9am to 5pm three-day programme, at the exclusive Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay

Quite the price tag! Despite offering his advice to thousands of Australians on television for free, couples wanting to attend one of these one-on-one retreats are required to pay an eye-watering $15,000. Pictured: The Intercontinental Hotel Double Bay

Back in 2018, John's title was subtly changed from 'psychologist' to 'relationship expert,' after a former contestant launched a complaint against him.

E-mails leaked exclusively to Daily Mail Australia in February 2018 showed that the former contestant made a formal complaint against John to the psychology Council of NSW in April 2017, after being unhappy with his involvement in the show.

The contestant claimed people were 'put in dangerous situations' and John was later subjected to a hearing with the board as a result of the complaints.

In an official email detailing the ruling, dated August 30th 2017, the contestant was told that the Council had determined that John could continue to work on the show, but he and the other 'experts' were no longer allowed to be referred to as 'psychologists.'

Subtle change: John is simply titled 'Relationship Expert' on Married At First Sight's official website, while Mel Schilling is given the title 'Dating and Relationship Expert'

'In that letter, the Psychology Council of New South Wales advised you that Mr John Aiken is no longer participating on the television program "Married At First Sight" as a psychologist and that he has updated his bio on the '9Now' website to reflect this,' part of the email read.

'Please note that Mr Aiken is still able to participate in the show, however, he is no longer able refer to himself as a psychologist or undertake psychological practice [on the show].

'This means that so long as all reference to him being a psychologist has been removed from the show, Mr Aiken can continue to work on it.'

It also added: 'In relation to his website, Mr Aiken is still a registered psychologist, and his website can reflect this.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Channel Nine and John for further comment.

Love story: There has been some success to come from Married At First Sight, including Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli's romance from last season. Pictured with John (centre)
Farm payments worth more than 330 million will soon enter Scottish farmers' bank accounts, the devolved government has confirmed.

In the coming months, eligible farmers, crofters and land managers will receive their Basic Payment Support, Greening and Young Farmer 2019 payment.

Around 75% of eligible claimants have already received up to 95% of their payment through a government loan in October.

Scottish government's Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing said Scotland's rural economy is on the 'front line' of the potential impacts of Brexit.

He said: In line with the payment schedule I published last year, I can confirm the first tranche of 2019 Basic Payment, Greening and Young Farmer payments have now begun  a month ahead of last year.

In the coming months, farmers, crofters and land managers will receive their final balance payment having already received 334 million through the successful loan scheme.

Those who did not choose to accept a loan are being prioritised in this payment run, as we continue to support investment, jobs and the rural economy moving forward.

Through our payment strategy and by our actions, it is the Scottish Government which is providing Scotlands farmers and crofters with certainty, with clarity, and above all else, with financial stability.

Common Agricultural Policy Pillar 1 and 2 payments will now be made in accordance with the published 2019 CAP Payment Strategy.

Under the Scottish government's current post-Brexit support proposals, farmers, crofters and land managers will continue to be assessed against the current eligibility rules and requirements.
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WARANGAL: Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara is conducted entirely according to tribal and adivasi traditions and showcases their colourful culture. However, over the years it has caught on with non-tribals, who worship the presiding deities Sammakka and Saralamma with equal reverence.

This is one of the reasons for the massive devotee-surge. There has been a steady increase and today it is acknowledged as one of the biggest religious congregations of the country.

The festival is celebrated to commemorate the sacrifices made by the tribal rulers Sammakka and Saralamma, who fought the mighty Kakatiya rulers opposing an unjust law in the 13th century.

Legend has it that while the tribal king Pagididda Raju and his son Jampanna were killed during the war, the daughter and mother marshalled resources, fought bravely and caused colossal damage to the Kakatiya rulers. However, they could not withstand the combat-trained Kakatiya knights. While Saralamma was killed in action, Sammaka, who was seriously wounded, disappeared into the thick jungle on Chilakala gutta cursing the Kakatiya dynasty. Almost immediately thereafter, the dominance of the Kakatiya dynasty started declining and ended. Since then, the Koyas, Waddaras and other Indian tribes and castes have been organising the festival dedicated to Sammakka and Sarakka.

Even as tribal started flocking from all over, a noticeable aspect was that non-tribal devotees began patronising the festival. According to data, they outnumber tribal devotees during the Jatara.

Traditionally, tribals used to visit Medaram on bullock carts or even by foot with family members and carrying cooking material. They spent some time at the temple after giving their offerings to the deities. People take a holy bath in Jampanna Vagu and offer bangaram (jaggery) of a quantity equal to their weight to the goddesses. There is no vedic or Brahmanic influence on this festival. Because of the huge crowd during the jatara and the security concerns, some of the rituals that were originally followed are being forgotten.
Heavy traffic as people return to Hanoi after the Lunar New Year holiday, January 29, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Ngoc Thanh.

Hanoi will get 70 more air monitoring stations this year as it continues to be plagued by poor air quality, authorities say.

Fifty would be set up at various locations by the first quarter, the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said at a meeting on Wednesday.

The remaining 20 will be installed by the end of the year. They will take the total number to 81.

The installation will be done by THT Development Company Limited, owned by South Korea's Daewoo E&C company.

According to the department, the air quality was at "good" levels, the best in many years, during the Lunar New festival from January 23 to 29 thanks to the long spells of rain and people leaving the city.

But as people returned to work after the holiday, the AQI levels worsened again.

Air Visual's AQI ranking on Thursday showed Hanoi to be the 11th most polluted city in the world with a reading of 142. A reading of above 100 is considered unhealthy for humans.

Air quality was at unhealthy levels at various spots in Hanoi at 4 p.m. on February 6, 2020, according to Air Visual.

Vietnams capital has been suffering from long periods of severe air pollution since September last year.

The PM2.5 particulate level reached a five-year high in September and environment officials urged residents to limit outdoor activities. PM2.5 refers to superfine particles that are 3 percent the size of a human hair.

The capitals AQI went past 200 for four consecutive days starting on November 7 before topping 300 on November 12, according to the department.

Authorities have blamed the pollution on vehicle emissions, domestic cooking coal, construction, and livestock.
Alcohol flows out of taps in Kerala apartment: report

In Kerala, touted as the liquor capital of India, reports say, 18 families living in a residential building in Chalakkudy found to their dismay that it is not water, but alcohol that flows out of their water taps.

On Monday residents of an apartment in Chalakkudy, in Thrissur, near Kochi, reported a foul-smelling liquid coming out of their water taps, which turned out to be a mixture of water and liquor.

Residents of the Solomons Avenue apartment near the KSRTC bus stand in Chalakkudy had on Sunday noticed the smell of alcohol near their building, only to receive drinking water mixed with liquor the next day, say reports.

The culprit, however, turned out to be the excise department and some officials from Irinjalakuda who disposed off 6,000 litres of beer and other spirits into a pit next to the apartment.

The liquor disposed off near the apartment building is reported to be from a bar next to the building, which was shut down six years ago. Disposal of the bars liquor was pending and the Excise Department took the easy way out by digging a pit in the compound and pouring all the liquor into it.

The pit happened to be close to the compound wall of the apartment and the liquor seeped from under the walls into an open tank of the apartment, spoiling the stored water.

The residents suspended all activities as they had no access to drinking water from the open well, and complained to the Chalakudy police and municipality, following which health officials tested the well water to confirm the presence of liquor.

Municipal authorities has arranged for supply of 5,000 litres of drinking water in tankers to the apartment on a daily basis until the issue is solved.
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 enable 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:A melroselabs.com

Twitter: twitter.com/MelroseLabsA

Facebook: facebook.com/melroselabsA

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.A 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
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Motorola on Monday began taking orders for its US$1,499 Razr foldable smartphone. Units are expected to start shipping on Feb. 6.

Motorola made its mark on the mobile handset business with the original Razr, introduced in 2004, which ushered in the era of flip phones.

The new Razr is a flip phone, too, but with a foldable display. The 6.2-inch OLED screen folds in half to create a compact package that comfortably fits in a shirt pocket.

Thats a departure from the recent crop of foldable phones that expand from phones to tablets.

A strong point of the Razr is that its actually a folding phone, said Frank E. Gillett, principal analyst at Forrester Research, a market research company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Its a phone that shrinks in size when you fold it, he told TechNewsWorld. Many of the competitors are really folding tablets that shrink to phone size when you fold them. 

Fragile Screen

In addition to its foldable screen, the new Razr, which comes with Android 9 Pie, has a second, 2.7-inch, glass-covered OLED screen on the outside of the phone. That display shows notifications and music controls, and has access to a selfie mode.

A concern about foldable phones has been fragility  especially after Samsung had to halt shipments of its Galaxy Fold last spring, after reviewers reported issues with its display. Motorola expressed confidence about the Razrs screen, though, asserting it will last for the average lifespan of any smartphone.

Nevertheless, it has warned consumers not to get the phone too wet  even though it has an internal nano-coating for splash resistance. If it does get wet, it should be dried immediately with a soft cloth.

Its not clear why individual users or larger markets will really want the Razr, especially since it will require them to adopt new habits and concerns, mainly related to the foldable display, observed Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT,a technology advisory firm in Hayward, California.

5G Razr Coming?

While the Razrs screen is flagship phone caliber, other components are less so. For example, it runs on a Snapdragon 710 processor, not the top of the line 855, and it has a 16-megapixel camera with neither a zoom or ultra-wide lens.

The Razr is not about whats inside, said Jack E. Gold, principal analyst at J.Gold Associates, an IT advisory company in Northborough, Massachusetts.

Theyre also not offering a 5G version, which will hurt them a bit, he told TechNewsWorld.

If youre spending $1,500 for a phone, you want to keep it for a while, he continued. Two years from now you want it to still be pertinent.

However, there are reports that Motorola plans to launch a 5G version later this year.

Thats not all thats coming down the foldable pike. Samsung is expected to announce its own flip foldable, the Galaxy Z Flip, on Feb. 11. Samsungs offering is expected to be the first phone to use bendable glass, and to be priced below the Razr with higher-grade components.

In Search of Old Glory

The Razr is a unique mix of classic and current handset designs that utilizes thoroughly modern materials, Pund-ITs King told TechNewsWorld.

It also demonstrates that Motorola isnt afraid to take risks and stand apart from the crowd, he added.

One of the challenges facing Motorola is that its not a well-known brand in smartphones, Forresters Gillett pointed out. They arent one of the big brands in phones as they were before the rise of smartphones.

Part of the new Razrs appeal is its connection to the old Razr.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Motorola is trying to get to a place where the market is looking at the company as it did in the old days  as an innovator, rather than part of a large Chinese commodity phone maker, Gold explained.

In the last few years, Motorola has almost been invisible, he continued. They havent had anything that people would write home about. They became like BlackBerry  irrelevant in the market place.

Playing to Elitists

The Razr is likely to appeal to a limited market.

Given its premium price, Motorola is going after high-end users who want to be seen using something new and different  young urban professionals and wannabees, King said.

This isnt for Joe and Jane Smith on Main Street, USA, said Ramon T. Llamas, senior research analyst at IDC, a market research company, in Framingham, Massachusetts.

Its for people with high disposable income who embrace technology, are Android users, and are willing to take a chance on being the first to own anything, he told TechNewsWorld.

The Razr is not meant to be a mass market device, added Gold.

This is for the elites. This is for folks who want to take something out of their pocket or handbag and say, I have something that you dont,' he said.

Thats a good strategy for Motorola to reestablish the brand, Gold maintained.

Market Impact

The new Razr will help advance the foldable phone market.

It always helps to advance the market when you have more players entering with their own devices, IDCs Llamas noted.

However, this is a new kind of usage paradigm. People have to wrap their brains around it. A change like this is going to take awhile to percolate and to get accepted, he added.

This phone is just one of many folding phone experiments in the market right now, said Forresters Gillett.

It should help consumers understand that there are really two kinds of folding phones  those that are phones and shrink in size when you fold them, and those that are really tablets that shrink to phone size, he added.

By joining the foldable fold, Motorola could catch the next big trend in smartphones.

If the Razr succeeds, it could signal that larger groups of consumers are ready for something other than slab-of-glass smartphones, King suggested. Thats a high hill to climb, but Motorola deserves kudos for taking a shot.
Ponzi Scheme Mastermind Bernie Madoff Says He is Dying, Seeks Early Prison Release

Bernard Madoff, the mastermind behind one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history, is terminally ill and is seeking compassionate release from prison to end his 150-year sentence.

Madoff, 81, asked a U.S. judge to release him early after serving just 10-and-a-half years of his term for running what prosecutors called a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, which was uncovered in December 2008.

His lawyer, Brandon Sample, said in a court filing on Feb. 5 that Madoff is dying of kidney failure and has fewer than 18 months to live. He added that he is confined to a wheelchair, often requires oxygen, and suffers from cardiovascular disease, hypertension, insomnia, and other chronic and serious medical conditions, Sample said.

Madoff is experiencing complications, including acid build up, which causes muscle and joint pain, itching, and edema, Samples filing to the U.S. District Court in Manhattan states. The former financier requires additional assistance for daily tasks including grooming, he said.

Madoff is perhaps the most prominent federal prisoner to seek compassionate release under the First Step Act, a bipartisan law signed by President Donald Trump in 2018 that lets some older prisoners end their sentences early, often for health reasons.

He had previously asked Trump to commute his sentence, but Trump had yet to act.

Madoff does not dispute the severity of his crimes nor does he seek to minimize the suffering of his victims. Madoff has expressed remorse for his crimes, Sample wrote in his motion. Now, after over 10 years of incarceration and with less than 18 months to live, Madoff humbly asks this Court for a modicum of compassion.

Madoffs defense attorney said that a sentence which was just and proportionate at the time of sentencing may become disproportionately severe based on changed circumstances, such as terminal illness, according to the Daily Mail.

Madoff received his 150-year sentence in June 2009 after pleading guilty to 11 criminal counts. Prosecutors said Madoff used his firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC to swindle thousands of individuals, charities, pension funds, and hedge funds in a $64.8 billion fraud.

Circuit Judge Denny Chin will consider Madoffs request for early release. At the time of his sentencing, Chin described his crimes as extraordinarily evil and as a kind of manipulation of the system that is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll.

Madoff is currently serving his sentence at FMC Butner, a federal prison in North Carolina.

Bernard Madoff is a broken man, and had a lot of personal loss, Sample said. Thats not to diminish the impact of his crimes on his victims, but there are larger ideals at work when we consider whether to show compassion on someone in their final days.

Sample said that if released, Madoff would most likely live with a friend, and spend the time he has remaining with the few people left in this world who care about him.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York told NPR they planned to file a response to Samples motion.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Lauding the Indian automobile industry for BS-VI adoption, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that electric vehicles is the future of mobility and the industry will become number one in manufacturing and export of electric vehicles.

Speaking after inaugurating Auto Expo - The Motor Show 2020, Gadkari said that the auto industry stood together and worked towards achieving the target of BS-VI adoption, in spite of the initial reservations and fear that surrounded it.

"I thank all the manufacturers of the auto industry and laud your efforts. The government is aware that the automobile sector is the most important contributor in the manufacturing sector and in generating large employment. The revenue derived from the auto industry is very important and therefore the government will support the industry throughout. The future is of electric vehicles and I have full faith that in the near future, the Indian automobile industry will become number one in manufacturing and export of electric vehicles," the minister said.

Gadkari continued: "To support this coveted dream, the government will be developing better infrastructure, adding approximately 40,000 Kilometres of road network and developing 23 express highways. The government will focus on the ethos of the conversion of knowledge into wealth and lay emphasis on investing in research and development."

Rajan Wadhera, President, SIAM, who was also present at the inauguration said that the auto industry is an angel of growth and a "beacon" of make in India for the country as it contributes 49 percent to the manufacturing GDP and 15 percent to GST and support host of other industries.

"We thank the government for supporting the industry for its transition towards BS-VI compliance, reducing emission and improving safety. The Indian automotive industry has circumvented many challenges, the biggest amongst them is reducing emissions, passenger safety and within those boundaries, to provide affordable mobility to the masses," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BERLIN  When a popular state governor was shunted aside this week, it might have been just another local political wrangle. But not in Germany, at the current moment, with the far right resurgent.

The maneuvering found Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives voting with the rival Alternative for Germany, raising alarms that they had violated a taboo among mainstream parties against working with the far right. The reaction was fast and furious.

A pact with fascism, one headline screamed. Another gasped about a coup. Protesters gathered spontaneously in major cities across the country, chanting anti-fascist slogans. Even the chancellor weighed in from afar during a visit to South Africa: It was a bad day for democracy, she said darkly.

Three years after the Alternative for Germany became the first far-right party to enter Germanys national parliament since World War II, the events underscored how the countrys beleaguered traditional parties are still struggling to deal with the new disruptive force.
A group of 'mean girls' at an exclusive $33,000-a-year private school have been terrorising classmates and teachers.

During an out-of-school camp the girls, who attend St Catherine's in Melbourne, allegedly convinced a girl to drink her own wee.

The Christian boarding school students told the victim the urine would cure her acne late last year, the Herald Sun reported.

When the camp learned about the alleged incident, the school was told not to come back.

During an out-of-school camp the girls, who attend St Catherine's in Melbourne (pictured), convinced a girl to drink her own wee.

Once back on school grounds, the girl-gang tore down fresh wallpaper and smeared blood all over the walls.

Students and parents were left shocked and disgusted by the behaviour. The police are not involved.

Principal Michelle Carroll said she was aware of the 'student issue'.

'The school takes a strong stance with regard to any peer interactions that are not in keeping with the values of the school,' she told the publication.

'The school responded at the time and the students involved were counselled in accordance with our established protocols.

'The school will not comment further on this matter.'

St Catherine's, which is known for its 'reputation as a leader in girls education', boasts of 'empowering' its students.

'St Catherines is committed to nurturing and empowering independent and globally responsive young women, enabling them to approach all their endeavours with confidence, wisdom and integrity,' their website reads.
A man chasing cattle thieves was shot at in Bahora village of Dera Bassi on Friday.

Police said the victim, Kulwinder Singh, was rushed to the Dera Bassi civil hospital with a bullet injury on his leg and arm, and later referred to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, Chandigarh.

Kulwinder told the police that he woke up around 4am after hearing noises from the area where his cattle were tethered. I checked and found two men loading two buffaloes in a Mahindra pickup truck. I raised an alarm, following which the accused fled, he said.

The victim followed the truck on a motorcycle, with his uncle, Bachitar Singh, riding pillion when the accused fired two gunshots at them, leaving Kulwinder injured before fleeing, the police said.

Bachitar, who escaped unhurt, told the police that each buffalo cost 2 lakh.

Investigating officer assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Narinder Kumar said, The accused fired at Kulwinder with a 32-bore weapon. He is out of danger. A case has been registered against the unidentified accused at the Dera Bassi police station.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Feb. 6, 2020

Minnesota

Minnesota

Peter Nystrom

Minnesota

Jason Sprague

Minnesota

/PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Relatient, the 2020 KLAS Category Leader for patient outreach, has announced that Nystrom & Associates, Ltd. the leading Mental Health group who serves, has selected Relatient as their partner in patient outreach and communications. Nystrom & Associates provides comprehensive mental health services, including: psychiatry, psychology, addiction and substance use disorder, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, and nursing, for children, adolescents, and adults with 16+ clinics, serving 40+ counties, throughout"As the care delivery leader in the mental health services industry, Nystrom & Associates has a commitment to offer the latest technology to its patients and partners to ensure seamless accessibility when it comes to scheduling and appointment management. This requires outreach strategies that are modern, mobile, and easy to use, which is why we partnered with Relatient," said, Chief Commercial Officer. "Relatient's platform is top-rated on KLAS with a strong reputation as the leader in patient-centered, mobile-first communication strategies. We're looking forward to our work together and are excited to bring our patients the latest in technology."Relatient's industry-recognized patient engagement platform will power bi-directional appointment reminders for patients of Nystrom & Associates' 750+ clinical care providers. The responsive reminders employ industry best practices for regulatory compliance and give patients the opportunity to confirm, cancel, or reschedule from within a text message, email, or voice call to optimize provider schedules and reduce patient no-shows. The platform is private and convenient for today's busy patients and providers."The Nystrom & Associates team has been a pleasure to work with, and we're excited to have the opportunity to help them reach their patients across the state of, and soon, beyond," said, Vice President of Enterprise Sales. "Nystrom & Associates, Ltd. provides high-quality, comprehensive care to their patients, and they have very specific needs for their practiceswe're thrilled they chose Relatient to meet those needs."About RelatientRelatient, Inc., the 2020 KLAS Category Leader in Patient Outreach, is a SaaS-based patient-centered engagement company that utilizes a modern and mobile-first approach to improve patient and provider communication. On behalf of U.S. medical practices and health systems, Relatient engaged patients with more than 132 million messages in 2019. Relatient's platform integrates with over 85 practice management systems and electronic health databases to drive operational efficiency, appointments and reviews, reduce no-shows, speed patient payments, and improve patient satisfaction, all while supporting health and care quality initiatives. For more information, visit http://www.relatient.net.About Nystrom & AssociatesNystrom & Associates, having 16+ clinic locations throughout, is a group of professional care providers from the fields of psychiatry, psychology, clinical social work, marriage and family therapy, addiction and substance use disorder, and nursing who are committed to helping individuals and families that are experiencing personal, substance use and addiction, emotional, marital, or psychological problems. Visit http://www.nystromcounseling.com, call 1-844-NYSTROM or follow Nystrom & Associates, Ltd. on Facebook and LinkedIn.SOURCE Relatient
Dozens of fertility clinics open and operating in the UK in past five years trigger concerns

There has been a sharp rise in the number of specialist canine fertility clinics, according to an investigation published in this week's issue of the Vet Record.

The journal found at least 37 clinics in operation - a rise from one known clinic in 2015.

Worryingly, many of these clinics do not appear to be run by vets and do not have a vet on site despite the fact that many seem to be offering veterinary services, such as taking bloods and performing caesarean sections. In two cases, clinics have advertised canine surgical artificial insemination, which is a banned procedure.

This increase has happened at the same time as the number of puppies born using artificial insemination (AI) has dramatically increased.

Kennel Club figures show there were more AI births in the past three years than there were between 1998 and 2015 - a trend linked to the rise in the popularity of brachycephalic breeds - dogs with short noses and flat faces such as Pugs, Shih Tzus, and Chihuahuas.

The journal's investigative feature suggests that the rise in the number of fertility clinics could be linked to a large growth in the popularity of brachycephalic breeds, with the vast majority being born by caesarean section, and where many cannot mate naturally due to an inability to breathe properly.

From its investigation, the journal found that some of the 37 clinics identified as specialising in offering canine fertility services were recognisably veterinary clinics based at a fixed location and with vets on site, but others were mobile businesses with rudimentary websites and only offering an anonymous mobile number as a point of contact.

Of the 37 clinics, the majority (20) offered a stud dog from breeds with an 80% caesarean rate (for example, English and French bulldogs, which require a caesarean section most of the time in order to give birth).

Of these, the majority also did not appear to offer a vet on site as part of their services. However, the journal acknowledged that could still mean the clinics were potentially hiring a vet to perform surgeries.

Some of these clinics appeared to advocate 'self-whelping' - whereby the bitch is not taken to the vet in order to give birth, even where this might be advisable - as well as raw feeding.

In the journal's feature, Madeleine Campbell, a specialist in reproduction and European diplomate in animal welfare from the Royal Veterinary College, said: "Artificial insemination is, of itself, ethically permissible in many situations. Indeed, it can sometimes have positive welfare effects, for example by removing the need to transport animals over long distances or internationally to breed, or through helping to maintain genetic diversity by facilitating crosses between animals who are geographically remote from each other.

"However, if artificial insemination is being used to achieve pregnancies in animals which for heritable anatomical reasons are not capable of either breeding or giving birth naturally, then that has negative welfare implications and is of ethical concern.

"Furthermore, if Vet Record's investigations imply that non-vets may be undertaking acts of veterinary surgery such as caesarian sections, then that is obviously worrying, and would be illegal.

"Concerns about non-vets undertaking acts of veterinary surgery should be reported to trading standards and the police."

In an accompanying editorial, Josh Loeb, senior news reporter at Vet Record, says: "Perhaps it's time the UK created its own laws to better regulate the burgeoning canine fertility and reproduction industry?

"At very least, there needs to be greater attention paid by the profession to how these clinics are conducting themselves and whether, in some cases, they should be considered not as veterinary but rather as 'pseudo veterinary' clinics."

###

Peer reviewed? No

Evidence type: Investigation; editorial

Subjects: Canine fertility clinics
Connective tissue is comprised of proteins and other substances and helps to provide strength and elasticity to the organs or structures that are associated with it such as skin, joints, muscles, ligaments, blood vessels and visceral organs. EDS is reported to be caused by an abnormality in COL5A or COL3A genes. This could lead to a defect in the structure, production, or processing of collagen or in the proteins that combine with the collagen. In the majority, these mutations are inherited in the autosomal dominant pattern.

Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is a group of inherited disorders that affect the connective tissues, mostly of the skin , joints and walls of the blood vessels. It is named after two physicians, Edvard Ehlers of Denmark, and Henri-Alexandre Danlos of France, who first described it in the beginning of the 20 th century. EDS is known to occur in 1 out of 5000 individuals. This estimate is not considered accurate due to the wide range of severities among patients across the world.

It is therefore common to find people with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome having extremely flexible joints and fragile skin which lacks elasticity. In those with a more severe form of the disorder known as the vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, the walls of the blood vessels, intestines or uterus can rupture. People with this subtype often share distinctive facial features and have translucent skin that bruises easily.

In those with certain subtypes of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, such as the vascular variety, there''s a 50-50 chance that the genes will be passed on to the next generation. It is therefore advisable for those with EDS to consult a genetic counselor before they plan to start a family.

The severity of the disease depends on the type of mutation present. As there is no cure for EDS, treatment should focus on support to the patient and closely monitoring the uterus, digestive, and the cardiovascular systems.

Symptoms and Signs of EhlersDanlos syndrome

Some of the signs and symptoms of the most common type of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome are as follows:

Overly flexible joints

Stretchy skin which feels soft and velvety

Fragile skin which does not heal well in case of wounds

Fatty lumps which are harmless growths at pressure points around the knees or elbows.

Diagnosis and Treatment of EhlersDanlos syndrome

Diagnosis of EDS is done by assessing the medical history and through a physical examination. Genetic and biochemical studies also help to identify affected people. Some effective diagnostic tests include -

Collagen gene mutation testing

Collagen typing via skin biopsy

Echocardiogram

Lysyl hydroxylase or oxidase activity

However, these tests are not of much help if the mutation causing the disease is unmapped. For those with a family history, it would be a good idea to do a prenatal diagnosis while starting a family.

There is no cure for EDS and the treatment is mostly palliative. There must be focus on improving the life of the affected person. Close monitoring of the patients functioning must be carried out. Treatment methodologies include -

Physiotherapy - exercises can help to strengthen the muscles around the joint

Occupational therapy - which is more focused on enabling the person to carry out specific activities which are work-related.

Use of orthopedic instruments (wheelchairs, bracing, casting)

Care must be taken to avoid activities that cause stress to the joints. In extreme cases, surgery is advised. Common surgical procedures include joint debridement, tendon replacements, capsulorraphy and arthroplasty; these have been found to improve patient mobility and bring about pain reduction. It must be noted that the use of catheters in procedures can increase the likelihood of hematoma in these patients.

Pain-relieving medications such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others) and naproxen (Aleve) are prescribed. Sometimes stronger medications may have to be given. Blood pressure lowering medications may also be administered to keep the stress on the blood vessels optimized.

EDS is a chronic condition that will last all through a persons life; prognosis depends upon the type of disease and the severity of the symptoms. These patients are also likely to face social obstacles and experience fears due to their disease. Although the risk for sudden death is high, the majority live a normal life span. It is important for those affected to increase their knowledge of the condition and build a support system involving friends and relatives to help counter the condition.

Some lifestyle changes to manage EDS include the following -
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

Trend:

On February 6, the delegation headed by Fuad Muradov, Chairman of State Committee on Work with Diaspora met Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Head of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) within the framework of their visit to Saudi Arabia, Trend reports with reference to the committee.

Stressing that it is his first visit to Saudi Arabia, the Committee Chairman expressed satisfaction with his visit to the country, and added that the relations founded by the Azerbaijani national leader Heydar Aliyev and King of Saudi Arabia Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have been successfully developed thanks to the efforts of the heads of state of the both countries, President Ilham Aliyev and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The high level of relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia, satisfaction with the development of the relations in the field of economy, trade and tourism, and the importance of strengthening cooperation in the humanitarian sphere were highlighted at the meeting.

Informing the Saudi side about the activities of the state body led by him, the Committee chairman told that the Azerbaijanis live in more than 50 countries of the world and easily integrate into local societies. He also added that nowadays various large-scale projects are being implemented for the Azerbaijanis living abroad.

The Committee chairman also informed the other side about the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the projects implemented by the Foundation in Azerbaijan and far beyond the borders, as well as about the international relations of the organization.

It was informed that the Azerbaijanis living in Saudi Arabia mainly work in public health services and contribute to the development of the country where they live.

Abdullah Al Rabeeah denounced that the supreme leadership of Saudi Arabia attaches particular significance to the relations with Azerbaijan, and they are ready to discuss the proposals of the Azerbaijani side regarding the cooperation and the cooperation relations with Azerbaijan.

Informing the Azerbaijani delegation about King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, Abdullah Al Rabeeah spoke about the multidirectional activities of the organization led by him. He also added that the projects implemented by the Center serve for the improvement of the well-being of not only Saudi Arabia, but also the entire Muslim world.

The views on the development of cooperation between the two countries were exchanged, and certain proposals were put forward at the meeting.
WESTBROOK  Richard Willard has restored more than a thousand vehicles over the last 30 years, but none as rich in history as the original 1928 White Truck now in his garage.

Its pretty neat, its bringing history back to life, says Richard Willard, owner of Vintage Motorcars, LLC. Its really neat.

The history began when Fred J. Hermann, alongside his wife Myrtle, launched the Hermann Forwarding Co. in North Brunswick, N.J. in 1927. With the 1928 White Truck, the couple began hauling watermelons for The Great A&P Supermarket.

The White Motor Co. was an American auto, truck, bus and agricultural tractor manufacturer from 1900 until 1980.

Restoring the antique truck is both extensive and expensive, requiring hundreds of hours of research, labor and parts procurement. It is expected to take a year to complete the work at a cost of over $100,000.

Some of these vehicles can take 2,000 to 7,000 man hours to restore, Willard said.

Theres just so much involved when you take all those pieces  theyre rusted, theyre worn, theyre rotten away, he said. You have to fabricate them; youve got to make them like new. Its very laborious.

Willard explains that over the years the rare White Truck underwent many changes, including a new engine and cosmetic alternations. Many hours of research are required to determine its original state.

You have to look at the truck like a forensic scientist; who did what and when, he said. A lot of greasy hands have been into that truck over the last 92 years.

You can learn a lot about the history of a vehicle while its being dismantled, he added. On the other hand, some things can be obscured and make it very difficult to determine what was done from the manufacturer.

Willards 87-year-old father, Sam Willard, is assisting his son with researching and locating original parts for the job.

He was able to locate an old chassis sitting in a field in Washington State that we had Hermann Trucking pick up and deliver across country to us in Connecticut, Willard said.

Plans are to have the fully restored White Truck on display in the lobby of Hermann Services new corporate headquarters.

Willard said he is honored to have been chosen to do this restoration job.

Between them coming here and looking at other shops and picking me, thats a pretty good feather in your cap, he said.

Vintage Motorcars, 2000 Boston Post Road, Westbrook, 860-399-2311; vintagemotorcardsllc.com; Facebook Vintage Motorcards LLC; Instagram vintagemotorcarsllc
Luanda  The US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo will visit Angola on the 17th February, as part of a tour to some countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, between 13 and 22 February.

The announcement was made today, Thursday, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto, who considered this to be a sign of support for the ongoing reforms in the country, kicked off by President Joao Lourenco.

Manuel Augusto stressed that the visit of the head of American diplomacy represents the consolidation of the excellent cooperation relations between the two countries.

For the Angolan government official, Mike Pompeo's visit to Luanda is an occasion for Angola to reaffirm its desire to remain inserted in the international context as a "subject of good".

In Luanda, the US Secretary of State should be received in audience by the President of the Republic, Joao Lourenco, and will meet with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Augusto.

Mike Pompeo's agenda also includes meetings with economic agents and the business community.

Trading

Trade between Angola and the United States of America reached USD 3.4 billion at the end of 2017, with the country exporting products valued at USD 2.6 billion, and the United States of America about 800 million dollars.

In 2016, the trade volume reached a total of 4.2 billion dollars, a decline of 16 billion dollars, after, in 2008, a volume of 20.1 billion dollars.

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In 2010, Angola and the United States signed an agreement for the creation of a bilateral commission entitled Strategic Partnership Dialogue.

Angola thus became the third African country with which the United States has a strategic partnership. The other two are South Africa and Nigeria.

In the framework of bilateral cooperation, the United States considers that Angola occupies an important geographical position of access to Central and Southern Africa and also close to the Gulf of Guinea.

Angola already exports oil and its derivatives to the USA, even before AGOA, having exported, between 1985 and 2003, goods worth US $ 42.9 billion.

After joining the AGOA in 2003, Angolan exports to the USA almost tripled in quantity and value, rising in the period between 2004-2014 to US $ 115.39 billion.

Angola exports to the United States of America, mainly oil and diamonds, while the North Americans sell food, equipment for the oil sector and diverse machinery to the country.
: Kia Motors India on Friday denied reports of moving its Andhra Pradesh plant to neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

The reports said Kia Motors was in talks with Tamil Nadu government to relocate its plant from Anantapur to the neighbouring state for a variety of reasons.

The Korean auto-maker, in a statement, said the company has been receiving full support from the Andhra Pradesh government under the leadership of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy.

Kia has a long-term commitment to the Indian market and has made an investment of USD 1.1 billion in the manufacturing plant at Anantapur. We will continue to offer worldclass, made-in-Anantapur vehicles and innovative mobility experience to our valuable customers in India..." Kia said.

The facility in Anantapur, spread across 536 acres, has an annual capacity of three lakh vehicles. The plant can produce hybrid and electric vehicles.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Adam Bandt, elected unopposed by Greens members of parliament on Monday, began his leadership with populist rhetoric in an attempt to win the support of young people who are outraged by the climate change crisis created by the capitalist profit system.

We are in the middle of a climate emergency and long-running jobs and inequality crises, Bandt told reporters. People are angry and anxious because the government has no plan for the big problems facing the country. I call on everyone, but particularly young Australians, to join our movement for a Green New Deal so together we can fight to save the future.

Adam Bandt [Source: Wikimedia Commons]

By installing Bandt, who is associated with the partys supposed progressive faction, the Greens MPs demonstrated their concern over the mounting public hostility, particularly among the youth, toward the entire political establishment, which has been intensified by the countrys bushfire disaster.

With the Liberal-National Coalition government now loathed and discredited, and the Labor Party lurching further to the right to woo the corporate elite after Labors vote fell to a century low at last Mays election, the Greens are seeking to channel the political disaffection back behind the parliamentary order.

In last years election, youth and workers did not believe that the Greens offered any alternative. Across the country, the Greens vote stagnated at just above 10 percent and was mostly concentrated in affluent electorates, even though the votes for both Labor and the Coalition fell.

Addressing the media, Bandt promised to seek a Green New Deal, which he claimed could help halt global warming, reduce inequality and provide free public education and dental care. At the same time, there would be no departure from the central axis of his predecessor, Senator Richard Di Natale, that of forming another power-sharing capitalist government, preferably with the Labor Party.

Demagogically, Bandt declared he wanted to turf this government out, accusing the Coalition and big business of killing people by making profits at the expense of human lives and safety. Yet, he also revealed that, far from calling for the removal of the government that he branded as criminal, the Greens remain committed to forming another pro-big business government.

Specifically, Bandt again hailed the record of the 201013 minority Labor government, which was propped up by a formal agreement with the Greens, as well as the current Labor-Greens coalition government in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and the present Labor-Greens-New Zealand First government in New Zealand.

Equally revealingly, Bandt made no call for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, an Australian citizen and the worlds most prominent political prisoner. Assange remains incarcerated in a British maximum-security jail, facing a US extradition hearing this month, because both the Coalition and the Labor Party support the US drive to lock Assange away for life for revealing US-led war crimes and abuses.

Acutely conscious of the growing opposition in Australia and internationally to Assanges persecution, Bandt last year joined a parliamentary grouping advocating Assanges release. Like the rest of the group, however, he has said virtually nothing since and organised no campaign, rallies or public meetings to demand that the government intervene to secure Assanges freedom.

Despite his anti-government rhetoric, Bandt told a media conference he would try to pressure Prime Minister Scott Morrisons government to take action on climate change. He cited the Greens 2010 agreement with Julia Gillards Labor government as a model, saying the only time that pollution has been cut in this country is when [the] Greens shared power.

This is a fraud. The Gillard governments carbon tax was a pro-business measure that sanctioned the increase of Australias carbon emissions from 582 million tonnes to 621 million tonnes by 2020. It served the interests only of green entrepreneurs and finance houses operating in carbon trading markets.

The Greens-backed Gillard government also signed up to the US confrontation with China, including through the stationing of US marines in Darwin, and fully backed the US vendetta against Assange. Domestically, it privatised disability services, undermined public education through NAPLAN standardised testing, and stripped parenting payments from thousands of single mothers.

Bandt, who told reporters he was happy to be described as a Greens social democrat, said Australia needed a carbon price plus program that included an orderly plan to phase out exporting coal and its domestic use by 2030.

In other words, the Greens propose an orderly plan that will not endanger the interests of the ruling class, including the energy conglomerates, which now claim to be gradually transitioning away from reliance on thermal coal, while ramping up the production of two other fossil fuelsoil and gas.

In an opinion piece for the Guardian this week, Bandt further insisted that change is possible within the capitalist profit system, echoing Barack Obamas campaign for the US presidency in 2008, and Senator Bernie Sanders current bid for the Democratic Partys presidential nomination.

Bandt wrote: With a Green New Deal, we can deliver a manufacturing renaissance, turning Australia into a renewable energy superpower exporting our clean energy to the world. This is a reactionary nationalist program, based on the profit interests of corporations and financiers that are moving to cash in on new technologies and carbon credit schemes.

Bandt himself cited a World Meteorological Organisation report that found even if all countries met the emissions reduction targets adopted at various international summits, the world would disastrously warm by up to 3.4 degrees Celsius. That demonstrates the impossibility of averting catastrophe without ending the domination of the planet by nation-state governments, each committed to enforcing the profit requirements of their national capitalist class.

Far from opposing the criminal corporate ruling class and its political servants, the Australian Greens have played a pivotal role as part of the political establishment for decades. They first shared power in the 198992 Labor-Green Accord in the island state of Tasmania and maintained a similar partnership with a Tasmanian Liberal government from 1996 to 1998.

The Greens have held cabinet posts in a coalition government with the Labor Party in the ACT, based in Canberra, since 2012, as they did in Tasmania again from 2010 to 2014, where Senator Nick McKimelected this Monday as the partys co-deputy leadertried to enforce a school closure program, provoking fierce resistance from teachers, parents and students.

In New Zealand, for the past two years the Greens have been part of Jacinda Arderns Labor-led coalition government, which has overseen increased poverty and housing insecurity and starved public services of funding and resources. Together with their other coalition partner, the right-wing xenophobic NZ First, Labor and the Greens have attacked democratic rights, strengthened the police, demonised immigrants and intensified preparations for war.

The Greens performed a similar function in Germany, joining the Social Democratic Party in a red-green ruling coalition between 1998 and 2005another model invoked by Bandt. That government imposed a sharp rise in poverty and low-wage employment through the Hartz IV welfare-slashing laws and conducted Germanys first overseas combat operation since the defeat of Nazism, joining the NATO bombardment of Yugoslavia in 1999.

Bandt entered politics as a student in the 1990s, aligned to pseudo-left groups and professing support for Marxism. He represents the progressive faction of the Greens, which has been concerned that the openly right-wing politics of Di Natale, who publicly canvassed sharing power with the Coalition, meant that the Greens could make no credible effort to head off the developing political radicalisation of workers and young people.

Any Labor-Greens government would seek to stifle and suppress the rising discontent to the ecological disaster, social inequality, assault on democratic rights and war danger produced by capitalism. This corporate-driven offensive can be answered only by the working class taking power, via workers governments, to completely reorganise society globally along socialist lines, placing the productive forces under democratic workers control to meet the urgent social and environmental needs, not feed private profit.

The author also recommends:

Australia: Alice Springs group condemns silence of Bring Assange Home parliamentary group

[31 January 2020]
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-06 15:13:08|Editor: zyl

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Photo shows the accident site of a plane sliding off the runway at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Turkey on Feb. 6, 2020. Two Chinese nationals were seriously injured in the accident, the Chinese Consulate-General in Istanbul said Thursday. Three people were killed and 180 others were injured when a plane slided off the runway at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport. (Xinhua/Xu Suhui)

ISTANBUL, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and 180 others were injured when a plane slided off the runway at Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, Istanbul Governor Ali Yerlikaya announced on Thursday.

The accident happened at 6:19 p.m. on Wednesday when a plane of Turkey's Pegasus Airlines with 183 people on board skidded off the runway shortly after landing.

At a press conference in the airport, Yerlikaya said 22 foreign nationals from 12 countries were among the passengers on the plane flying from Turkey's western city of Izmir.

Yerlikaya earlier noted that the plane could not grasp the runway because of bad weather conditions and fell toward a road from a height of 30 to 40 meters.

Video footage aired by Turkish TV broadcasters showed that the front part of the aircraft was torn apart, and the plane was split into three parts.
The Supreme Court has heard significant test appeals by two women over whether refugees who become Irish citizens are entitled to enhanced family reunification rights under the Refugee Act.

After hearing submissions on the appeals this week, the five-judge court reserved judgment to a later date.

Two women who got refugee status here and later became Irish citizens have appealed decisions of the Court of Appeal they are not entitled to enhanced family reunification rights under the Refugee Act 1996.

A person with family reunification rights under the 1996 Act does not have to meet certain requirements for family reunification under the Immigration Act 2004 or the Non-EEA National Family Reunification Policy.

In March 2019, the COA ruled neither woman is entitled to the enhanced rights under the 1996 Act because, as a result of citizenship, they are no longer refugees.

Their declarations of refugee status were revoked by operation of law once they acquired Irish citizenship and this was consistent with international instruments, including the Geneva Convention, case law and commentary, it held.

One of the women is aged in her thirties and from Somalia. She got refugee status in 2008 and became an Irish citizen in 2013. Before acquiring citizenship, she got permission for her children, her mother and her wards to join her here.

After re-establishing contact with her husband in late 2016, she sought family reunification in respect of him under the 1996 Act but was refused by the Minister for Justice on grounds of her Irish citizenship.

The second woman, aged in her forties and from Uzbekistan, got refugee status here in 2009. After getting citizenship in 2012, she sought family reunification rights under the Refugee Act for her eldest daughter and two young grandchildren but was also refused due to her citizenship.

Both women took separate proceedings against the Minister but their cases were rejected by the High Court's Mr Justice Richard Humphreys.

After losing appeals to the COA, they secured a fresh appeal to the Supreme Court.

Their lawyers Rosario Boyle SC and Colm O'Dwyer SC argued this week the COA erred in a number of respects, including in concluding the grant of citizenship has an effect on a declaration of refugee status.

It has no such effect, Ms Boyle argued.

The State opposed the appeal, arguing that granting the reliefs sought would give the appellants a form of "super" citizenship.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which says access to family reunification for people granted international protection has been narrowed as a result of legislative changes in 2015, was involved in the appeal as an assistant to the court on legal issues.

Its submissions focussed on the right to family unity as guaranteed by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In trying to strike a "fair balance" between the rights of the appellants and the State, the court should take into account the refugees' family separation had been involuntary and the only way they could reunite with their families was if the latter came here, it submitted.
Two staff members from Longford Law Centre were honoured for their service of more than 20 years with the Legal Aid Board.

Cathy Farrell and Dolores Flynn received their awards at an event in Dublin to mark the 40th Anniversary of the founding of the Legal Aid Board.

Established in 1979, the Board provides legal advice and representation to people with limited means. The Legal Aid Board was established following the recommendations of a government-established Committee, the Pringle Committee, and also the influential Airey v Ireland case, which saw Johanna Airey take Ireland to the European Court of Human Rights.



The Court found Ireland was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights because Ms. Airey could not afford the legal fees charged by solicitors in seeking legal separation from her husband. The Government of the day moved quickly to establish the Legal Aid Board in response to both of these events.

Key achievements over the past 40 years -

The Legal Aid Board currently employs 470 staff in 33 law centres, 16 family mediation offices and its Head Office.

Since its foundation, the Board has provided legal assistance to over 595,000 people.

Key milestones for the Legal Aid Board over the past 40 years include:



l The establishment of the Boards first seven law centres in 1980: in Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Sligo.

l The opening of 15 new law centres between 1991 and 1997, further expanding the regional reach of the Board.

l The introduction of the Civil Legal Aid Act in 1995, which placed the Legal Aid Board on a statutory footing for the first time.

l The broadening of the Boards service provision in relation to asylum-seekers with the establishment of the Refugee Legal Service in 1999.

l Taking responsibility in 2011 for the States family mediation services in 1986 with a view to improving outcomes for Board clients experiencing family breakdown.

l The introduction of the Abhaile scheme in 2016, which helps people struggling to pay their debts or at risk of losing their homes.

Speaking at the 40th anniversary celebration, John McDaid, Chief Executive of the Legal Aid Board, said: The four decades since the Legal Aid Board was established have seen extensive changes in Irish social thinking, values and the expectations of citizens. Ireland is a vastly different country to what it was in 1979.

"In the last 40 years we have had extensive legislation in relation to matters such as marital separation, divorce, domestic violence, refugee law and tenant and home-owner protections.



As Irish society has changed, so too has the work of the Legal Aid Board. This has been reflected in the expansion of our service provision to include supports for asylum-seekers and refugees; the Abhaile scheme, which provides legal assistance for people at risk of losing their family home because of mortgage arrears; and our family mediation services, with 16 family mediation centres nationwide.

The occasion of our 40th anniversary is also an opportunity for us to acknowledge the contribution of all of those who have been instrumental in our achievements over the past four decades and those who continue to do so on a daily basis.

"Some of our staff have served with us for over 20 years, such as Cathy and Dolores, and we are delighted that some of those involved in the establishment of the Legal Aid Board were honoured at our anniversary celebration.
Nigerian Ambassador, to the Peoples Republic of China. Ahmed Jidda, in a statement, forwarded to newsmen, on Friday afternoon, assured all Nigerian citizens living in China that the Embassy is communicating with relevant authorities in Nigeria to address their concerns in the midst of the current outbreak of Coronavirus in the country.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 12:15:28|Editor: Lu Hui

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said Thursday that his presidential campaign raised 25 million U.S. dollars in January.

The sum came from more than 648,000 individuals, with an average donation of 18 dollars, tweeted Sanders.

The contender for the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge sitting President Donald Trump reported this days after Monday night's Iowa caucuses, the first-in-the-nation nominating contests in the 2020 primary.

Sanders and Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, are in a tight race for the first place, showed partial results released by the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP).

With 97 percent of Iowa's precincts reporting, Buttigieg is leading with 26.2 percent of state delegates. Sanders, closely following him, garners 26.1 percent.

Both Sanders and Buttigieg have claimed victory in the Iowa Democratic caucuses.

Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), on Thursday called for a recanvass of the caucus results that has been delayed by a technical issue.

Perez, in a tweet, said he's calling on the IDP to "immediately begin a recanvass" in light of "the problems that have emerged in the implementation of the delegate selection plan and in order to assure public confidence in the results."

The proposed recanvass, according to the chairman, is "a review of the worksheets from each caucus site to ensure accuracy."

The IDP will continue to report results, he said.

According to the partial results, Senator Elizabeth Warren and former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, who's leading in national polls, round out the top four with 18.2 percent and 15.8 percent, respectively.

Senator Amy Klobuchar, garnering 12.2 percent, takes the fifth place. No other candidates received double-digit support.

Iowa also held Republican caucuses Monday night, in which Trump easily won, as he was facing no significant challenge.

The 2020 presidential race is shifting to the northeastern state of New Hampshire, whose primary is scheduled for Feb. 11.
Mumbai, Feb 7 : The Neeraj Kabi and Geetanjali Kulkarni-starrer "Taj Mahal 1989" gives a sneak peek into stories about love, friendship and heartbreak before dating apps and social media.

Netflix on Friday released the trailer for its upcoming series "Taj Mahal 1989", which showcases an amalgamation of love stories through different ages as the emotion matures. Also starring Danish Hussain, Sheeba Chaddha, Anshul Chauhan, and Anud Singh Dhaka, the series will release on Netflix on February 14.

Neeraj, who essays the role of Akhtar Baig, feels the series is a "relatable series of love, power and relationships".

"The slow and uncomplicated lives of the characters, and the premise of the series takes you back in time to an era when love and its manifestations were seemingly simpler, but a deeper look reveals otherwise. It's the simple complexity of the narrative that drew me to this story and I am excited that Netflix is taking this small-town love story to a global audience, because no matter where you are from, you will relate to the pain of love and heartbreak," he added.

Set in Lucknow in 1980s, "Taj Mahal 1989" weaves a tale of intersecting love stories, all of which fall victim to issues like jealousy, monotony, politics, and power. The trailer teases the plot of the show, which traces the simple yet complex lives of a Lucknow University professor couple, their students, a long-lost friend, his lover, and a schoolgirl in love with an older boy.

Geetanjali Kulkarni plays the pivotal role of Sarita Baig in the series.

Talking about the show, she said: "I've been working in films and television for decades, and being able to now work on a Netflix series is an opportunity for me to further explore my craft as an artist. My character in the series is honest, layered and finding love from her husband after marriage. 'Taj Mahal 1989', is not an ordinary love story; it's a complex web of emotions, and yet there is a sense of simplicity and relatability which makes this series the perfect love story to watch on Valentine's Day."

-- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text
DERRY, N.H.Elizabeth Warren is apologizing to six women of colour who left her presidential campaign office in Nevada before the states caucuses because they felt marginalized and that their concerns werent addressed by supervisors.

I believe these women completely and without reservation. And I apologize that they have had a bad experience on this campaign, the Massachusetts senator told reporters after an event in Derry, N.H., on Thursday night.

I tried to build a campaign and an organization that is diverse and welcoming, that celebrates people, that encourages people to bring their whole selves to work every single day, she said.

Politico reported that six women have left Warrens campaign office since November. Nevada holds its Democratic caucuses on Feb. 22.

Campaigning in New Hampshire for the states Feb. 11 primary, Warren said she understands the long legacy of racism in this country and what it means, how it creates power dynamics and inequities that are toxic and dangerous and thats why we need to be constantly vigilant and determined to do better.

I take personal responsibility for this, and Im working with my team to address these concerns, she added.

Asked what specifically she could do to address them, she said, I want to create enough space in our offices to make sure that were hearing from everyone and to determine where there may be concerns.
By Laman Ismayilova

YARAT Contemporary Art Space invites you to enjoy a wonderful music evening on February 13.

The event is timed to the closing ceremony of "Fragile Frontiers: Visions on Iran's in/visible borders" exhibition which displays works of 15 artists who view frontiers as precarious, ephemeral or frictional.

The concert will feature winners of international and republican competitions Alp Aliyev, Sara Dilruba, Ismayil Zulfugarov, Parvin Dadashova, Gulnaz Eldarli and Nazrin Mustafayeva. The musicians will stun the audience with music pieces of Azerbaijani and Iranian composers.

While examining the dilemma of borders within the Iranian context, alongside its neighboring nations, the art show "Fragile Frontiers: Visions on Iran's in/visible borders" raises such important topics as political identity and internal, interpersonal and international boundaries.

The exhibition brought together talented artists Nazgol Ansarinia, Kamrooz Aram, Dadbeh Bassir, Samira Eskandarfar, Ghazaleh Hedayat, Samira Hodaei, Gelare Khoshgozaran, Robin Mandel, Ali Momeni, Timo Nasseri, Jaleh Nesari, Navid Nuur, Leila Pazooki, Sara Rahbar, Neda Razavipour and the old master Mirza Kadym Irevani.

The exhibitions title is inspired by the essay Fragile Frontiers: The Diminishing Domains of Qajar Iran by Professor Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, which outlines two types of frontiers: literal, physical separation, and metaphorical "cultural" boundaries.

The exhibition at YARAT sheds light on non-violent divisions, that nevertheless disrupt constructive dialogue, uproot collective consciousness and negate common history, faith and culture.

On the first floor, art lovers can explore the invisible frontiers between body space and city space; chaos and order; social and personal space; "I" and "other".

Kamrooz Arams new multi-media work Elegy of Blue Architecture (2019) contains multiple cultural references from Iran, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan - countries united by a Persian heritage  through various materials and forms.

"If the object in question is hundreds of years old and the borders that delineate nations have shifted and evolved over centuries, then the claim of national origin assigned to an object is dubious (geographic and national origin, of course, are not necessarily the same," the artist explains.

His installation is set in dialogue with a masterpiece by Azerbaijani portraitist Mirza Kadym Irevani, famous for his "typical" Persian miniatures.

Leila Pazookis work Untitled  Room #3 (2012/2019) also explores the notion of barriers: "Unwritten rules, social and cultural taboos, conservative and traditional limitations, laws that we are not familiar with  those are all invisible borders we encounter every day, boundaries we dont realise we cross each minute."

The second floor offers a counter-position, focusing on the experience of boundlessness and exploration beyond physical limits, referencing elements of nature: earth, sky, water.

An immersive marble and mirror gateway by artist Navid Nuur acts as a mediator of time, creating an entrance to a parallel universe.

The cosmos is also discussed in Timo Nasseris commissioned work Its always night, or we wouldnt need light (2019), tracing the starry sky with small, black stone grains, dissolving and disappearing in the course of time.

In her commissioned work The fluid body (2019), Neda Razavipour investigates the notion of inner/intimate memory and collective memory, related to her childhood spent on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

The sound and video installation documents true stories gathered by the artist from Astara to Jolfa, Iran, including tales of people separated by the Aras river border. The Aras river border has also inspired the newly commissioned video by Jaleh Nesari, who whispers verses from poet Nizami Ganjavi, well known for his masterpiece Leili and Majnun (1188), where the protagonists bemoan their forced separation.

The exhibition is curated by Farah Piriye and Anna Fech. Admission is free.

---

Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz




A financial services company has suggested that the current Wuhan coronavirus outbreak could end up forcing a delay on the launch of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X next-gen consoles. Nintendo has also revealed that the virus has affected Switch console production. China is the worlds largest console hardware manufacturer.

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A report from Jefferies Group, reported by Business Insider, has stated that Sony and Microsoft may eventually have to change the scheduled launch dates of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, respectively. Both consoles were expected for the holiday 2020 period, but the devastating coronavirus epidemic could cause delays or restrict stock numbers of the PS5 and XSX consoles. The Nintendo Switch has already been affected, with the Japanese game company already apologizing for any future delays in production.

Production of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware will be based in China, which has been responsible for the majority of console manufacturing over the years. In fact, according to Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, it seems 96% of the consoles that ended up arriving in the US in 2018 had been made in China. With this revelation in mind, it seems likely that the coronavirus outbreak could cause issues with the manufacturing of the PS5 and XSX consoles.

The last thing either Microsoft or Sony wants is to have to inform their eager customers that the Xbox Series X or PlayStation 5 could be delayed until 2021. If the coronavirus does affect their production, it is possible that limited numbers of the next-gen consoles will be made available upon release, which regardless of the tragic cause behind it will still be received with considerable criticism. It now all depends on Sony and Microsoft to make official statements on whether production of the PS5 or XSX will be affected in a similar manner to the Nintendo Switch.

PlayStation 4 Pro on sale now at Amazon
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A Vietnamese woman without any illness symptoms has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in Vietnams first case of asymptomatic viral detection.

The Ministry of Health announced on Friday N.T.N., 29, who hails from the northern province of Vinh Phuc, is the 13th confirmed 2019-nCoV patient in the Southeast Asian country.

N. was among an eight-people group that returned to the country on January 17 after having attended a vocational training program in the central Chinese city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the viral outbreak.

Six of the eight group members have now been confirmed to catch the novel coronavirus.

N. was sampled by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology on Monday despite exhibiting no symptoms of illness.

Although she remained asymptomatic as of Friday, her test results show she is infected with 2019-nCoV, the health ministry said.

The groups remaining two members were also sampled on the same day as N., but their results were not yet in as of Friday evening.

The novel coronavirus, which first surfaced in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, has killed 638 people and infected more than 31,500 globally as of Friday evening, according to the South China Morning Post.

It has since spread across mainland China and to 27 other countries and regions, according to a Reuters report.

Vietnam has so far confirmed 13 cases of the virus, including ten Vietnamese, one Vietnamese American, and two Chinese.

Among them, one Chinese and two Vietnamese had fully recovered and been discharged from the hospital as of Thursday. They were all treated for free.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the new coronavirus a public health emergency of international concern.

The WHO said in a weekend report that "the main driver of transmission ... is symptomatic cases."

The organization said it is "aware of possible transmission" from asymptomatic individuals in a few instances but noted that this may be rare and not a major player in the spread of the virus.

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KENAI, Alaska - An Alaska legislator has introduced a bill to rename a road to honour a late professor of anthropology at Kenai Peninsula College.

The legislation to rename a road in front of the college for Alan Boraas was introduced by Rep. Gary Knopp, R-Kenai, the Peninsula Clarion reported Wednesday.

Knopps sponsor statement for House Bill 208 proposed that College Road near Soldotna be renamed Alan Boraas Road to honour the tremendous impact that Alan had on the Kenai Peninsula and around the state of Alaska.

Boraas is credited with locating numerous Denaina heritage and historical sites along the road.

The effort to change the name to memorialize Boraas came from the University of Alaska and the community, Knopp wrote.

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly passed a resolution Tuesday supporting the bill. The resolution called Boraas a pillar of the community.

Boraas moved to the Kenai Peninsula in 1972 and spent much of his career studying the history of the Kenai Peninsula. Along with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, he helped develop a Denaina language program.

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe granted Boraas honorary membership in 2002.

Boraas was recognized for his work with the Log Cabin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kenai Chamber of Commerce, the Edith R. Bullock Prize for Excellence from the University of Alaska Foundation and the American Book Awards Book of the Year accolade for Denaina Legacy, KtleghI Sukdu: The Collected Writings of Peter Kalifornsky.
Employees of the Nairobi City County government workers called off their strike after signing a return-to-work formula with their employer.

The strike, which was to begin on Tuesday, has now been halted after three days of meeting between the two parties.

The employees' union officials have been having meetings since Monday with a deal only being struck Wednesday.

Kenya County Government Workers Union (KCGWU) Nairobi Branch Staff Secretary Boniface Waweru said they have agreed to call off the strike after City Hall agreed to address all the 10 issues they had raised.

ADDRESS ALL ISSUES

"We have reached an agreement leading to the signing of a return-to-work formula. The county government has promised to address all the 10 grievances," said Mr Waweru.

Nairobi County Devolution Executive Vesca Kangogo confirmed they had agreed to implement all the 10 issues raised within three months with monthly meetings being held to discuss progress in the implementation.

"We are glad that we have come to an agreement on all the 10 issues raised by the workers," said Ms Kangogo.

GRIEVANCES

The county staff had last week issued a seven-day strike notice over stalled promotions and right placements, non-remittance of workers statutory deductions and a poor working environment.

Other complaints were re-designations, lack of remittance of retirees' benefits, lack of off-duty days and non-payment of overtime allowances, refund of tuition fees, work injury compensation, departmental structures, staff uniforms and resolution of pending disciplinary cases.

Ms Kangogo said it was agreed that the county government will promote all the 10,672 staff to a grade higher in the common cadre establishment.

She further stated that Nairobi County Public Service Board will review the grading structure after consultations with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission and give a proposal to the executive to review the structure to accommodate those at the end of their grades by creating extra grades which will have to be approved by the county assembly.

WORKING SESSION

Ms Kangogo said the board, chief officers and public service management will proceed on a 10-day working session to implement the promotions.

Concerning staff uniform allowances, it was agreed that a task force be formed to work on a draft policy that will then be given to the board with the payments set to be factored in the coming budget.

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Ms Kangogo stated that an advisory on re-designations with all relevant regulations will be issued within 14 days.

On retirement benefits, the head of county treasury was directed to request the Controller of Budget to initiate payment for 133 staff and the rest of pending payments in the budget be done by the end of the financial year.

Other issues settled include work injury compensation, off duty days and payment of overtime allowances.

Negotiations on unremitted pension deductions were also successful.

It was also agreed that all current contributions for the two pension schemes be paid in full with monthly salaries and any other arrears due for in current financial year be done by June 30, 2020.

However, Nairobi Branch Secretary Benson Olianga warned that should the grievances not be conclusively addressed in the stipulated timelines then the workers will have no choice but to resume the strike.
Explained: Will the Bodo Peace Accord irk the non-bodos

India

oi-Mousumi Dash

Guwahati, Feb 07: The people from Bodo community have gathered in their traditional attire in Kokrajhar, Assam on Friday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public meeting today and to celebrate the signing of the Bodo Agreement, the Bodo Peace Accord.

The Bodo accord that was signed on January 27, by the Union home minister Amit Shah with banned Assam-based rebel group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to fulfil its key political and economic demands, including safeguarding the Bodo language and culture has created a record of sorts in the annals of insurgency in India.

This is the first time that the separatist rebels has been inked an agreement with the government in such a brief span after crossing over from a neighbouring country.

The NDFB factions, which signed the pact, are led by Ranjan Daimari, Govinda Basumatary, Dhiren Boro and B Saoraigra. Saoraigra took over the NDFB faction in 2015 after removing chief IK Songbijit, who had allegedly ordered the killing of nearly 70 tribals in December 2014.

The National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) was already struggling for survival after raids on the rebel camps at Taga in January 2019, by the Myanmar military, Tatmadaw.

PM Modi to visit Assam today to celebrate signing of Bodo agreement

A couple of weeks later, all the NDFB factions including the overground groups joined hands with the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU) to sign the agreement in New Delhi considered more exhaustive and wide-ranging than the previous two accords with Bodo groups in 1993 and 2003. But it has also fuelled speculation over the consequences of the hasty pact.

Why the Bodo Peace Accord inked hastily?

This is the crucial period for the government as it is trying to wriggle out of the protests that has been continuing nationwide against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and NDFB's landing in Assam proved to be making hay while the sun shines for the NDFB factions.

Without this protest all around the nation, its predicament would have been the same as the other overground militant outfits in the region, especially those who staying in camps and engaging in talks with the government at regular intervals.

Certainly, the Bodo Peace Accord proved to be the first major fallout of the anti-CAA protest in Assam which has all the features to imbalance the political equations in the state.

As the Bodoland People's Front (BPF) and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) are two key parties of the BJP in the coalition government in the state and these two parties had won 26 seats out of the total 87 seats that the ruling partners bagged in the assembly polls in 2016.

Accord may upset non-Bodos:

Apparently, for some accord will hopefully accord significantly towards ending militancy in the BTAD, the likelihood of continuing unrest and agitations cannot be excluded as on the other side several non-Bodo leaders, the antagonised as they were never consulted by the government ahead of the agreement.

The non-Bodo communities have alleged discrimination by the Bodo leadership since the council was formed in 2003, this communities generally constitute an overwhelming majority in the four districts of the BTAD.

Only 10 seats are reserved for this community out of a total 40 elected seats in the council which will reportedly now be increased to sixty.

In 2019, many organisations held protests following the council's announcement that no person can sell land in the BTC area to a non-tribal community people without any approval.

But the current map of the BTAD is all set to change as the accord will also provide an inclusion of villages contiguous to the BTR with a majority tribal population and exclusion of villages with a majority of non-tribal population who are presently under the council's jurisdiction which abut non-Sixth Schedule areas.

Though, no other council under the Sixth Schedule in the Northeast has been conferred such wide-ranging powers as the BTC.

But this could also trigger demands from the other councils in the region. However, some complained of erratic disbursal of funds and that thery are being neglected by the state governments.

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Story first published: Friday, February 7, 2020, 11:09 [IST]
[February 07, 2020] Milan Saha, Esq., Outside General Counsel for PENNEXX, Has Made a Statement About the Company

Palm Harbor, FL, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Milan Saha, Esq., PENNEXXs outside counsel, has issued a statement which can be downloaded at http://www.pennexx.net/200207MilanSaha.pdf .

This statement is in response to allegations made against the company. The statement explains that due to the importance of accurate information about a company whose stock is publicly traded, Mr. Saha would like to clarify misinformation made by anonymous sources. In his statement he says, After again reviewing the companys conduct including all of its news releases, I see no violations of securities law or fraud by the company in any of the reporting of material information to the public. He also goes on to say, The company is reporting properly providing adequate current information as I stated in my published attorney letter and I ensure that it continues to do so.



Furthermore, he states, The most critical of the allegations made against the company is that it still does not have any real assets or business, and that the information published about the company is merely an attempt to pump the stock so certain holders of it can dump it later. I can categorically deny this allegation as being untrue. The company is now operating a real business with real technology with commercial applications. About Pennexx Foods Inc. (PNNX: OTCMKTS US). Pennexx, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, is a holding company within the Software/Internet Industry that is focused on social media, prepaid debit cards, BitGift TM, artificial intelligence, targeted marketing and consumer rewards.

Safe Harbor Act: This release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may," "future," "plan" or "planned," "will" or "should," "expected," "anticipates," "draft," "eventually" or "projected." You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report. For additional information, visit our website at www.Pennexx.net or call 866-928-6409. We are also on Twitter @Pennexx.

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(SCREENGRAB: Parliament)

SINGAPORE  A religious teacher censured by Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam for making xenophobic remarks by describing the coronavirus as retribution on the Chinese apologised on Friday (7 February), adding that his post was never meant to be public.

Abdul Halim Abdul Karim claimed that his private Facebook post on 29 January had been misread and was not meant to be racist.

In his original Facebook post, Abdul Halim had said the coronavirus was retribution to the Chinese for their oppressive treatment of the Muslim Uighurs. The post has since been taken down.

Responding in a Facebook post on Friday, Shanmugam said that Abdul Halim had stated that the Chinese do not wash properly after defecating and were not hygienic as Muslims and had suggested that this was the cause of the viruss spread.

Such comments are quite unacceptable from anyone, let alone someone who is supposed to be a religious teacher. I believe that society has to take a clear stand against such comments, said Shanmugam, adding that he had asked his ministry to look into the remarks.

The minister also cited past examples of others who have been dealt with for making racist comments against other races, including two pastors who were taken to task in recent years.

In his apology, made an hour after Shanmugams censure, Abdul Halim noted the ministers comments, replying, I would like to assure Minister Mr Shanmugam, I understand his concerns and also share his appreciation for the need for religious harmony in Singapore. it is with this realisation that I am making a public statement here.

Said Abdul Halim, The fact is that there is nothing in my post, written in Malay, that is intended to be racist. I am merely referring to the fact about those who do not use soap and water to clean themselves... after doing their business.

This is in light of reports about the spread of the virus through contamination with human faeces. It is in the context of this worrying development that I made my post.

Story continues

He added that his comments were not directed at a specific race, but were about hygiene and health across all races and ethnicities.

The man also claimed that his original post was private and was made public by someone in his friend list who had ill intentions against him.

It is very very unfortunate that people like to turn the said post which is not made public into a public circus by giving a twisted commentary of what I stated, he said.

Yahoo News Singapore has reached out to Abdul Halim for comment.

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Last week, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams told FAQ NYC podcast that he would carry a gun and reject his security detail if he were elected mayor of New York City. This statement is not entirely surprising, given the retired New York City Police Department officers pro-gun stances, including stating in 2018 that he carries a gun in church.

Yes I will, number one, said Adams when asked if he would carry a gun as mayor. And number two, I wont have a security detail. If the city is safe, the mayor shouldnt have a security detail with him. He should be walking the street by himself.

Under federal law, qualified retired officers like Adams are allowed to carry a concealed firearm.

Adams is not the only elected official with a New York gun permit, as the NYPD issues concealed-carry licenses in special cases unrelated to business. Although the state has among the strictest gun control laws, according to the Giffords Law Center, numerous New York billionaires and celebrities reportedly hold a concealed-carry license from the NYPD, including Robert De Niro, Howard Stern and President Donald Trump. The president acknowledged this during a 2012 interview with the The Washington Times, but has refused to comment on the matter since taking office. According to The New York Times, Trump allegedly received his license in exchange for a favor  making donations to two charities related to the department  without completing the required paperwork.

Heres what it takes to obtain an NYPD gun permit, according to the department.

How do you get an NYPD Gun License?

Since 2018, the NYPD only accepts online applications for handgun licenses, rifle/shotgun permits and renewals. The process includes registering a profile, submitting fingerprints and required documents, and paying the application and fingerprint fees. Once an application has been received and reviewed, the NYPD schedules an in-person interview. Within six months, the applicant will receive a letter stating whether the application was approved.

Who can carry a gun in New York City?

General requirements for carrying a handgun are that the permit holder is at least 21 years of age, of good moral character, and in a safe mental and physical condition to operate a firearm. Before issuing a gun license, the NYPD conducts a background check that includes a close review of the applicants medical and legal history, such as reports of arrests, summonses and domestic violence.

Applicants for a carry or premise license must also submit a letter of necessity. No training is required to obtain a gun permit, and the same application process applies to residents, part-time residents and people employed in New York City. Retired law enforcement officers are eligible to apply for a license, and those who were employed in New York City are even waived the handgun license application fee. Similarly, security guards can obtain a permit with appropriate documentation from their employer.

What types of licenses does the NYPD issue?

The NYPD issues five types of licenses, each for a term of three years. Not all permits allow for unrestricted concealed carrying. Licenses are issued for use in a residence or at a business and specify whether the licensee can carry it or use it in a specific location. Premise licenses are restricted to the address indicated on the permit, and licensees may transport their firearm and ammunition to an authorized range, shooting competition, hunting location and another approved location. To carry a concealed firearm, an applicant must obtain a carry business license, which is valid for a specific person, business, occupation or address. In special circumstances, the license can be issued for safety unrelated to business. The limited carry business permit is restricted to certain conditions and must otherwise be unloaded and stored away. A special license requires the permit holder to possess a valid carry country card. The NYPD issues carry guard licenses to security guards, which permits the carrying of a handgun only while actively engaged in employment or on transit to and from the place of employment. Retired officers can obtain a law enforcement retiree license.

So can anyone whos not an NYPD officer or retired NYPD officer get a license? Like current Mayor Bill de Blasio?

The NYPD may issue a carry business license for safety reasons. According to the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, anyone who completes an application, satisfies the NYPDs general requirements, as stated above, and passes the background check is eligible for obtaining a New York gun permit. This applies to anyone, and thus, with a letter of necessity, a public figure can obtain an NYPD firearm license. Should he want one, current Mayor Bill de Blasio could be granted a concealed-carry license, regardless of whether or not the mayor dismisses his security detail.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly suggested that President Donald Trump, Howard Stern and Robert De Niro were billionaires.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-06 23:12:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- China has stepped up efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Here are the latest developments:

-- China has dispatched 12 charter flights to fly more than 1,500 stranded Hubei residents home from overseas following the novel coronavirus outbreak.

-- Public security authorities across China have cracked 1,116 fraud cases related to the pneumonia epidemic caused by the novel coronavirus.

-- China will make all-out efforts to strengthen the diagnosis of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. Local disease control and prevention departments, medical institutions and third-party organizations should speed up the upgrading of laboratories and equip them with facilities needed for diagnosis.

-- The renovation of Xiaotangshan Hospital, formerly used to quarantine SARS patients in Beijing, is expected to be completed mid-February, as a precaution in the face of the epidemic outbreak.

-- Five children infected with the novel coronavirus have been cured and discharged from a hospital in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province, on Thursday.

-- No new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection had been reported in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region by Wednesday since it reported its first case on Jan. 30. Tibet is stepping up efforts to stabilize prices and production of food, energy and medical supplies.

-- The Beijing municipal government has announced a series of measures including rental reduction or exemption and financial support for small and medium-sized firms to reduce the impact of the coronavirus epidemic.

-- Another 10 novel coronavirus-infected patients including an 80-year-old woman were discharged from hospital in Shanghai on Thursday.

-- All schools in east China's Zhejiang Province are required to delay the opening of the 2020 spring semester until the end of February. The resumption date will be confirmed later in accordance with the development of the fight against the epidemic.

-- The registration for clinical trials on the antiviral drug Remdesivir has been approved, and the first batch of pneumonia patients infected by the novel coronavirus are expected to start taking the drug on Thursday.

-- The first makeshift hospital converted from an exhibition center in epidemic-hit Wuhan began accepting patients Wednesday.

-- Wuhan had set up 132 quarantine sites by Tuesday, providing over 12,500 beds to cope with the surging number of patients confirmed or suspected to be infected with the novel coronavirus.

-- Kunming Dounan Flower Market, the largest fresh cut flower trading market in Asia, suspended service from Thursday amid epidemic outbreak.

-- Chinese health authorities Thursday said it received reports of 3,694 new confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection and 73 deaths on Wednesday from 31 provincial-level regions and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Corteva Agriscience announced its decision to stop the production of the controversial insecticide chlorpyrifos, which is linked to neurological developmental issues in children, by the end of the year. The largest manufacturer of the chemical said the decision was taken due to declining sales amid weak demand, even though it continues to believe that chlorpyrifos is safe.



The news comes as California banned manufacturers from selling the agricultural chemical as of February 6, while farmers in the state cannot use chlorpyrifos products after December 31. Various states including New York, and the European Union are also preparing to ban the harmful chemical.



For years, environmental groups have been forcing the authorities to ban the neurotoxic pesticide that has been linked to low birth weight, lower IQ and attention disorders in children.



In the year 2000, the U.S. banned it from residential use after scientific study revealed that the pesticide poses a clear risk to children, farmworkers, and users of rural drinking water.



Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA continued to defend its safety for agricultural uses. Under President Donald Trump, the agency reversed the ban on chlorpyrifos use citing lack of enough evidence to link it to children's health problems. This was despite calls from EPA scientists and the American Academy of Pediatrics to ban the insecticide.



Corteva, the primary manufacturer of chlorpyrifos, was part of DowDuPont Inc. prior to the spin off in June 2019. The chemical, sold under the Lorsban brand, is used on a variety of crops, including almonds, corn, citrus, grapes, and cauliflower.



Along with competition from generic versions, the weak demand also reflects farmers opting for other chemicals, seeds coated with pesticides and genetically engineered crops.



Corteva recently agreed to sell chlorpyrifos assets in India.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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The Piedmont region in the heart of North Carolina is home to some of the state's largest and most pet friendly destinations! The area offers a unique blend of urban landscapes, complete with plenty of pet friendly things to do. North Carolinians and out-of-towners often bring their pups to the Piedmont to experience the wonderful cities in this thriving area.

High Point, NC

One cant-miss city for people and their furkids is High Point. It has a cozy and quaint charm with all the highlights of a metropolitan area. The outdoor activities here are abundant, with the many hiking trails and lakes, as well as parks and dog parks, for those who want to get outdoors with their four-legged sidekick and explore nature. After a fun-filled day of exercise and play, people can take their pup to one of the many pet friendly breweries and restaurants in the area. For pet travelers who are looking for a popular hotspot, along with scenic views and a lot of pet friendly things to do, then High Point, NC should be on the list as a cant miss spot!

Greensboro, NC

Just down the road from High Point is the booming city of Greensboro. When looking for a place to stay, pet travelers who visit Greensboro have many choices, such as hotels, inns, bed and breakfasts, and even vacation rentals. Then, when its time to go out and about, outdoor activities are prevalent here as well. There's even a local farm to roam and explore, with an on-site market that supplies fresh produce. The local brewery scene is also hopping, with many offering indoor and outdoor areas where dogs are welcome. Pet parents should check out Greensboro, NC for a great place to visit, stay, and play with their furry family members.

Winston-Salem, NC

Last but definitely not least is the unique town of Winston-Salem. Its often called the Twin City for its blended combination of culture and arts. However, pet lovers believe it can add a third component to its repertoire, for being such a dog friendly town! Winston-Salem has numerous historical sites to wander through, parks to visit, pet stores to peruse, and restaurants with outdoor seating spaces ideal for dining with pooches. And, heading out to a local dog friendly brewery is a breeze, as theyre becoming more popular and easy to find!

North Carolina is home to many unique destinations, and the Piedmont region offers plenty of exciting pet friendly places to visit! The Piedmont area welcomes people and their pets to visit and enjoy their outdoors, breweries, activities, accommodations, and culture.

About TripsWithPets:

TripsWithPets is the premier online pet friendly travel guide -- featuring online reservations at over 30,000 pet friendly hotels & accommodations across the U.S. and Canada. When planning a trip, pet parents go to TripsWithPets for detailed, up-to-date information on hotel pet policies and pet amenities. TripsWithPets also features airline & car rental pet policies, pet friendly activities, a user-friendly search-by-route option, as well as pet travel tips.

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Anti-CAA protestors here on Thursday sought heightened security at Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh, following the recent firing incidents at these sites.

The protestors alleged that more such incidents might happen on the February 8 Delhi Assembly elections.

Three firing incidents have taken place in Jamia Nagar area in a week.

On January 30, a minor fired at anti-CAA protesters preparing to march from Jamia towards the Rajghat, injuring a student. Two days later, a 25-year-old fired two rounds in air at Shaheen Bagh, where a protest against the new citizenship law has been going on. No one was hurt in the incident.

Thousands of people, including women and children, have been protesting since December 15 at Shaheen Bagh and nearby Jamia Millia Islamia against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.

Jamia student Mohd Hafeez Azmi told PTI, "The students at Jamia Millia and women at Shaheen Bagh have sought tight security with armed policemen at Jamia University and Shaheen Bagh. Till now, the disturbing forces were sending men with pistols to shoot and instigate us and disturb protests but on the day of polling they might trigger a bigger attack."

The Jamia students stated that since the protest at Shaheen Bagh has been an all-women one, the security at the spot is essential.

Areefa Ahmed, a Shaheen Bagh protestor, said, "The pro-CAA citizens have already maligned us, accused us and even abused us for carrying out these protests. Neither that deterred our spirits nor did firing. However, we don't want a miscreant to get inside and create chaos leading to a blame-game later where protestors are accused of disturbing law and order."

Delhi Police officials said they have categorised 3,141 'critical booths' and 144 'vulnerable booths' out of the total 13,750 polling booths. Two-hundred polling booths have been categorised as 'critical' and 90 as 'vulnerable' in North Delhi's Okhla (including Jamia Nagar and Seelampur).

The officials said 60,000 security personnel, including 38,400 police personnel, 19,000 home guards and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). In addition to that, the police will use drones and social media monitoring for the polling day vigil.
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 16:56:00|Editor: huaxia

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on Friday with his Colombian counterpart, Ivan Duque Marquez, on the 40th anniversary of their countries' diplomatic relations.

In his message, Xi said that China and Colombia, on the principles of mutual respect, mutual benefit and joint development, have over the past four decades deepened political mutual trust, expanded practical cooperation and maintained a positive momentum of development in bilateral ties.

Xi recalled that during Duque's state visit to China in July, the two heads of state reached important consensus through frank and friendly communication, which injected new impetus into the long-term development of China-Colombia relations.

Xi said he attaches great importance to the development of China-Colombia relations, and stands ready to work with Duque to take the 40th anniversary as a new starting point to advance bilateral relations into a new historical stage.

Duque, in his message, said that during his state visit to China last year, he and Xi reached a series of new consensuses, which injected new impetus into bilateral friendly cooperation in the political, economic, social and cultural fields.

The Colombian president said he highly appreciates and is sincerely grateful for China's important contribution to Colombia's economic and social development through bilateral cooperation.

On behalf of the Colombian people, Duque reiterated his willingness to continue to work with Xi to chart the course for the development of bilateral relations in the next 40 years, so as to lift bilateral relations to new levels for the benefit of both peoples.
Top Diplomatic Priority Next: Use of Force

The Context

The next president will be confronted with an array of foreign policy challenges, from North Koreas nuclear program to international efforts to combat climate change. It will not be possible to address all of them at once. This makes it essential to understand not only the candidates policies, but also their priorities.

What would be your top priority for your secretary of state?
Actor Peter Sarsgaard poses during a photocall to promote the movie Mr. Jones at the 69th Berlinale International Film Festival in Berlin, Germany, February 10, 2019. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke

Peter Sarsgaard has given a very brief update on The Batman, not only insisting that it is going to be raw, but also comparing its production to the music of the Pixies.

Sarsgaard, who is playing Gotham District Attorney Gil Colson in Matt Reeves re-imagining of Bruce Wayne, Batman and Gotham City, made these remarks to SiriusXMs Jessica Shaw earlier this week.

Read More: Matt Reeves shares the first set picture from 'The Batman'

Unsurprisingly, Sarsgaard avoided saying anything close to a spoiler about the DC blockbuster, although he clearly got a kick out of listening to the numerous rumours and conspiracy theories regarding his involvement in The Batman.

Thats when the conversation turned to the tone of The Batman, which Sarsgaard was more open about teasing.

2019 Governors Awards - Arrivals - Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 27, 2019 - Robert Pattinson. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

But rather than just coming out and giving a vague and generic description of the production so far, Sarsgaard instead compared the tone of the movie and the feeling he gets when he is in front of the camera to the music of the Pixies.

"It's so raw in that way, he declared. So, that's what I feel like about this. It is not sanitized. It's got a raw power to it, a raw emotionality."

Read More: The Batman star Zoe Kravitz praises 'strong femininity' of Catwoman

While that might not seem like a lot, Sarsgaards comments are inline with what Reeves and Robert Pattinson, who is taking on the titular role as the Caped Crusader, have been saying about The Batman.

It will be interesting to see exactly how much time Sarsgaard gets in The Batman, too, as the cast for the film is jam-packed full of stars. Not only does it star Pattinson, but Zoe Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Andy Serkis and Colin Farrell are all playing prominent characters, too.

Well see what they do with the roles when The Batman is released on June 25, 2021.
An Indian-origin doctor, who exploited women's cancer fears to carry out invasive intimate examinations, has been given three life sentences for 90 sexual assaults on female patients in London on Friday.

Manish Shah assaulted 23 women and a 15-year-old girl while working in London and was described by the sentencing judge as a "master of deception who abused his position of power".

"You made up stories which got into heads and caused panic," said Judge Anne Molyneux at the Old Bailey court.

"Your behaviour was not only sexual but was driven by your desire to control and on occasions humiliate women," she said.

The 50-year-old doctor who claimed the assaults were "defensive medicine" was found guilty of 25 sexual offences against six victims at Mawney Medical Centre last autumn.

At an earlier trial in 2018, he was convicted of offences relating to 18 other people, bringing the total number of offences to 90.

The general practitioner (GP) was found guilty following a trial in December last year, when the jury heard how he used a story during consultation with one patient about Hollywood star Angelina Jolie having a preventative mastectomy, before asking if she would like him to examine her breasts.

"He took advantage of his position to persuade women to have invasive vaginal examinations, breast examinations and rectal examinations when there was absolutely no medical need for them to be conducted," prosecutor Kate Bex told the jury during the trial.

Fear is an incredible motivator and few health concerns are scarier than cancer. Dr Shah exploited that and used it for his own personal gratification, she said.

Shah had denied any wrongdoing and his barrister, Zoe Johnson, told jurors he was a cautious, insecure, perhaps at times incompetent GP.

But the prosecution's case highlighted Shah's generally sexualised behaviour and also his tendency to flout state-funded National Health Service (NHS) guidelines on examinations.

He would reportedly give patients hugs and kisses, singling some out as special and his star, saying he had a soft spot for them.

Shah was suspended from the medical practice in 2013 when complaints came to light, resulting in a police investigation.

In mitigation at the end of the case, his barrister Zoe Johnson said: "It goes without saying that all of these women feel grossly abused, humiliated, and that the trust that they placed in Manish Shah has been so dreadfully exploited.

"He deeply regrets hurting them and cannot say sorry enough.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The coronavirus is spreading rapidly and widely. The outbreak has killed hundreds of people and sickened more than 28,000 worldwide, causing major upheaval across China, the epicenter of the illness. In the Bay Area, four people are being treated for the virus, including two Santa Clara County residents and a husband and wife from San Benito County who were transferred to UCSF for care on Feb. 3.

How alarmed should you be about your personal safety, and what can you do to reduce your risk of exposure? Health writer Erin Allday joins Editor-in-Chief Audrey Cooper on the Fifth & Mission podcast to discuss the outbreak, how it is spreading and what Bay Area officials are doing about it.
Openly Inc., an insurtech backed by Gradient Ventures, Googles AI-focused venture fund, has gone live in Tennessee.

The addition of Tennessee comes on the heels of the companys launch and funding announcement in late 2019, along with a recent expansion to other states, including Pennsylvania. Openly offers an exclusive homeowners insurance product.

According to Openly, over the last five years, industry homeowners claims relative to premium were lower in Tennessee than in most other states, which the company says has created an opportunity for a new entrant like Openly to undercut many competitors and still earn a fair return. Openly uses loss prediction models and advanced pricing methods to price its risks.

In addition, homes that qualify for the program include guaranteed replacement cost on the home up to $5 million dollars, as well as an HO5 contract instead of an HO3. The contract covers more types of losses and provides higher limits of coverage for things like jewelry, art, and collectibles.

Ty Harris, co-founder and CEO of Openly said the application process asks three questions and offers a quote within 20 seconds.

Openly is already available in Arizona, Illinois, and Pennsylvania and is based in Boston.

Topics InsurTech Tech Homeowners Tennessee
Mr. Buttigieg campaigned in 27 of the 31 Iowa counties that backed Mr. Obama in 2012 before swinging to President Trump in 2016, many of them along the Mississippi River. With a message of bridging divisions in the party and the country, he drew the largest crowds of any candidate in 20 Obama-Trump counties, according to his campaign.

His margins across Republican-leaning rural Iowa helped propel him to a narrow delegate lead over Mr. Sanders, carrying to New Hampshire the argument that he is the candidate around whom moderate Democrats should coalesce in opposition to the democratic socialist from Vermont.

We needed a new path forward, a path that welcomed people instead of pushing them away, brought them together instead of driving them apart, because this is our best and maybe our last shot, Mr. Buttigieg told supporters at his caucus night party on Monday in Des Moines.

But even as he gained a shot of momentum from Iowa, he enters a new phase of the Democratic campaign as a potentially weak prospective nominee, unable so far to broaden his coalition to minority voters and young voters needed to confront Mr. Trump in November. With the lackluster showing in Iowa by Mr. Biden  the candidate with the most support from black voters in national polls  the race has grown increasingly unpredictable.

For Mr. Buttigieg, the journey from unknown small-city mayor  whose lone experience on the national political stage was in a contest to be Democratic National Committee chairman that netted him a single vote  to a top finish in the Iowa caucuses ran through cornfields similar to the ones he says he can run to from his Indiana home.

Along the way, he became the only one of more than two dozen candidates in his partys 2020 primary to vault from near anonymity into the races top tier.
It wont tackle global carbon emissions yet, but a new technology from Australias national science agency, CSIRO, has found a way to pull carbon dioxide (CO2) out of the atmosphere and put it into beer and other beverages.

CSIRO's Airthena is a cost-effective, efficient and environmentally-friendly option to recycle CO 2 on-site, on-demand.

At a time when CO2 levels in the atmosphere are increasing, there have been shortages in industrial supplies of the gas over the past decade, impacting on fizzy beverage supply and food production.

CO2 is in global demand for purposes ranging from making fizzy beverages to food packaging and controlling the atmosphere in agricultural greenhouses.

The new technology is called Airthena, and was developed in partnership with Monash University, Energy Infrastructure and Resources and H2H Energy.

It draws on recent breakthroughs in advanced filtration methods to solve challenges around the water-food-energy nexus including sustainable resources, and environmental value and resilience.

Airthena captures CO 2 directly from the air using tiny sponges known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), and can be scaled up for commercial production.

Dr. Aaron Thornton's research into developing Airthena could be a boon for beer.

CSIRO project lead, Aaron Thornton, said the solution had broad applications across a wide range of industries.

As it requires just air and electricity to work, Airthena offers a cost-effective, efficient, and environmentally-friendly option to recycle CO 2 for use on-site, on-demand. It also provides a more reliable source of CO 2 for use in small-scale applications ranging from beverage carbonation to controlling pH in swimming pools, and industrial cleaning. Aaron Thornton, CSIRO project lead

A common method companies currently use to generate CO 2 onsite relies on burning natural gas, which is subject to market price and supply fluctuations.

CO 2 can also be bought from a supplier, which can involve expensive long-distance transportation and be prone to shortages.

Airthena only needs about two kilowatt-hours of electricity per kilogram of CO 2 , equal to around 20 cents per kilogram at minimum solar energy prices of $0.1 per kilowatt-hour at its current scale.

Jon Murphy is General Manager of Murphyfresh Hydroponics, which uses CO 2 in their greenhouses to grow tomatoes and other produce.

We spend a lot of money on buying in carbon dioxide, so were eager to see a new technology that can deliver CO 2 on-site, on-demand, Mr Murphy said.

Airthena is capable of capturing two tonnes of CO 2 from the atmosphere a year, making it suitable for small-scale applications right now, but Dr Thornton says it is scalable.

While Airthena wont make any immediate impact on cutting global CO 2 emissions due to its scale, it will help businesses with a more reliable source of the gas for their everyday operations, while reducing their carbon footprint.

We are now exploring options for taking Airthena to market, which include reducing the cost of the unit for small scale applications and having it tested to ensure it meets food quality standards, or working with the food production industry to scale up the technology for larger applications, Dr Thornton said.

Airthena could also be valuable for the chemicals industry which use CO 2 as a feedstock for making other compounds and materials such as methanol and methane.

The collaboration and development of Airthena was supported by $725,000 from the Science and Industry Endowment Fund.
Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome (PSAS) or Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder (PGAD) is a phenomenon relating mainly to womens sexual health , in which afflicted women complain of sudden and frequent feelings of genital arousal that are qualitatively different from the kind of sexual arousal that is associated with sexual desire or subjective arousal. Masturbation and orgasms offer little or no relief.

It is a very rare condition and it is possible that sufferers dont report the condition because of the shame and embarrassment the disclosure would involve.

Dr. Sandra R. Leiblum documented the condition first in July 2001, along with Dr. Sharon G. Nathan in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy. The reasons for Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome remain a medical mystery till date.

The first real research study on PSAS was conducted at Rutgers University in June 2007 and women with PSAS felt encouraged when doctors found evidence that it was not an imaginary syndrome. More than 400 women from different parts of the world have reported suffering from PSAS. According to a report in the Shukan Post last year, a growing number of Japanese women are suffering from PSAS. One woman said she was terrified because even her mobile phone vibration was enough to set her off and was told by her friend that she was stricken by what was called the cum cum disease.

It is not surprising that the women who have reported the condition are only from the developed countries, because the consequences of reporting such a syndrome by women in developing or under-developed countries or conservative societies would be disastrous. In conservative societies, women reporting this disease run the risk of being stigmatized or labeled as freaks by others.

Interesting to Know

Some theories that are doing the rounds on PSAS are discussed below:



a. Neurological hypersensitivity - In women with PSAS the normal or minor sensation from areas such as clitoris or pelvic organs get amplified and result in a persistent or permanent state of arousal at the brain level. Treatment with anti-depressants is advocated. The hypersensitivity may also result after some minor trauma to pelvic nerves or after an episode of neurological conditions such as meningitis or encephalitis. The glans penis of male has 4000 nerve endings and in comparison the equivalent smaller female clitoris has 8000 such nerve endings.



b. Venous congestion of pelvic organs - Women with PSAS may have some form of pelvic venous congestion syndrome (Allen-Masters Syndrome). The pelvic and sexual organs are rich in blood supply and sometimes the chronically dilated varicose veins do not respond well to neurologic and hormone signals to contract to normal size especially after the resolution phase of the sexual cycle leading to persistent arousal.



c. Endocrinal PSAS - Women who suffer from the condition after menopause or during a few days before the onset of menstrual cycle may have problems related to hormones such as progesterone. This maybe caused due to over-sensitivity to the arousal effect of Progesterone.



d. Prolactin release disorder - Role of Prolactin in orgasm is well studied. It has a role in maintaining the refractory and relief phase after orgasm. Men usually have a much larger release of prolactin after orgasm than women and hence they take time to be aroused the second time. Women have a shorter refractory period due to a smaller release of the hormone. In PSAS it is possible that there maybe no release or delayed release of the prolactin hormone.



e. Oxytocin deficiency  Oxytocin release from pituitary in orgasm gives the calming effect. It reduces stress and its release in clitoral orgasm is even more. That may be the reason why you fall asleep after great sex.



f. Tourettes syndrome variant of PSAS - Tourettes syndrome is a compulsive tic disorder and the most common tics are of eye blinking, coughing, throat clearing, sniffing, and facial movements. PSAS may be a variant of such a disorder that is associated with compulsive masturbation, intrusive thoughts, and there may be a family history of Tourettes syndrome or a similar disorder.
By Trend

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov and NATOs Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe Tod Wolters exchanged the views on strategic stability and the situation in the regions affected by crisis, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry said, Trend reports referring to RIA Novosti.

"Gerasimov met with Walters in Baku on February 6," the ministry said.

The military leaders exchanged the views on the strategic stability and the situation in the regions affected by crisis. The sides also discussed the military steps to prevent incidents caused by the military activity of the parties.

----

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Ekiti State Police Command on Friday raised the alarm over the influx of a large number of commercial motorcyclists into the state following the restriction of their activities in Lagos.

The police believe that some of the motorcyclists who are criminally minded need to be checked in order to keep the neighbouring state safe.

The commissioner of police in the state, Asuquo Amba, issued the warning in a statement on Friday in Ado Ekiti, warning that the development could raise the level of crime in the state.

The statement was signed by the police public relations officer, Sunday Abutu.

The governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, had last week, banned commercial motorcycles in 15 out of the 20 council areas of the state.

There have been clashes as the Lagos state government made efforts to enforce the ban.

The police commissioner expressed concerns that the development has forced the affected persons to spread to other neighbouring states of Ogun, Oyo, Osun and Ekiti States.

He said the suspected persons, in their multitude, entered into the state with motorcycles under the guise of being commercial motorcyclists.

Information at our disposal has it that these suspected persons could cause criminal act(s) in no distant time, ranging from stealing, armed robbery, and kidnapping, the statement said.

In view of this, the commissioner of police has directed that all motorcycles across the state must be properly registered with the relevant authorities and relevant document of ownership/registration.

The police shall henceforth arrest, impound and prosecute anybody (motorcyclist) found perpetrating criminal acts.

The command, therefore, implores all the good citizens of Ekiti State to promptly report to the nearest Police station or call the Police control room GSM number on 08062335577 whenever they see any person or group of persons suspected to be criminals around their environs.

The police also advised the landlords and caretakers to ascertain the proper identities of their present and future tenants to avoid harbouring criminals.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

Azerbaijani media outlets give equal attention to all candidates in the upcoming parliamentary elections, Presenter of Pakistans HUM news agency Shiffa Zakria Yousafzai told Trend.

Yousafzai arrived in Azerbaijan as a member of journalists' delegation from Pakistan to cover early parliamentary elections, scheduled for Feb.9.

Yousafzai, who is in Azerbaijan for the first time, said the first thing she noticed is the cleanliness and safety of Baku.

Yousafzai said that the delegation met with representatives of various Azerbaijani media outlets to see how they are covering the election process.

It was very interesting for me to get information about how does media cover the elections. They said that they give equal opportunities to all the candidates. They interview them, publish articles about them, Yousafzai said.

The parliamentary elections will be held in Azerbaijan on February 9. There are 125 constituencies in Azerbaijan. Presently, the number of MP candidates is 1,321.

---

Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh
Nicholas Stallcup was only three weeks into training to become an emergency medical technician when he saw a man overdosing from opioids at the Civic Center BART Station on Monday night.

He had been bounding down the station stairs to meet a friend to catch the 11:30 p.m. train to MacArthur BART station in Oakland when he saw a man sprawled out on the floor, blue in the face, his eyes rolling back.

Without hesitation, BART officials said, Stallcup began CPR until the unresponsive man, who was not identified, gasped for air.

He was unresponsive for what felt like 15 minutes when it was only three minutes. I thought he was dead, Stallcup said in a statement released by BART officials.

Just as Stallcup revived the man, BART said three of its police officers, Abraham Pena-Vega, Ryan Piol and Erik Rose, responded to the scene.

A photo taken by one of the responding officers shows Stallcup kneeling over the unconscious man, performing CPR.

Piol administered two doses of Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of a heroin, fentanyl or prescription opioid overdose, BART officials said. The man s pulse grew stronger after administering Narcan, officials said.

The man was taken to San Francisco General Hospital for treatment. His condition was unknown on Thursday.

It was a butterfly effect, I was waiting for my friend and if I hadnt, I might have missed this person, Stallcup said.

BART officials said Stallcup  who is studying at the City College of San Francisco  was the right person to jump into action to save the mans life. Pena-Vega credited his early intervention which made the difference in life-saving efforts.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

It is always great when riders have first-aid training, Pena-Vega said. A few seconds can make the difference between life and death.

Stallcup said he was inspired to pursue a career in the medical field after the death of a close relative. In a statement, Stallcup urged people to be compassionate to others, espcially amid the Bay Areas opioid epidemic.

Its easy to look at someone and think  oh, hes a junkie so lets not bother  and turn the other cheek, Stallcup said. They are still part of our community. They are not the most glamorous or healthiest part, but nonetheless, they are one of us.

In a response to the Bay Areas opioid epidemic, BART officials said starting in May 2019, all BART police officers carry Narcan while on duty in an effort to save the lives of people overdosing from opioids.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
NORFOLK, Va.  The former Navy secretary who was fired after criticizing President Trump endorsed Democrat Michael Bloomberg for president on Friday, saying the U.S. needs a leader with integrity who would have a steady hand on the wheel.

Former Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer announced the endorsement during a campaign event at a maritime center and museum in Norfolk, Va. Spencer said he is a lifelong Republican who says hes tremendously concerned that democracies around the world, and international alliances, are under threat.

I dont care if youre a Republican, youre a Democrat or independent, if we are to sustain this experiment we call democracy, America needs the best leader available, Spencer said. I do believe Mike can get it done.

Spencer was pushed out of his position after he clashed with Trump and military leaders over the fate of Navy Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher, a Navy SEAL who was accused of war crimes in Iraq.

Bloomberg, a billionaire former mayor of New York City who is skipping campaigning for the Democratic nomination in the four early states, has been focusing on states like Virginia that vote in the March 3 Super Tuesday contests, when the largest number of delegates are up for grabs.

Speaking in Norfolk, home to one of the largest naval stations, he pledged to support the military, veterans and their families, and to work to rebuild international alliances. Bloomberg also said he is a leader who has built teams and who listens to staff and doesnt retaliate against people who disagree with him  a not-so-veiled reference to Trump and his decision to fire Spencer.

When a president places more faith in what he is told by Vladimir Putin than by his own director of national intelligence thats a prescription for disaster, he said. Surrounding yourself with a bunch of yes people is the surest way I know to fail.

Bloomberg is running as a moderate who can bring together Democrats, independents and disaffected Republicans to defeat Trump. He entered the race among concerns from establishment Democrats about whether former Vice President Joe Biden, who was seen as the leading moderate in the race, would be able to clinch the nomination over more liberal opponents like Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and he has spent more than $300 million of his own fortune to air television ads.

Sara Burnett is an Associated Press writer.
Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2020) - The Securities and Exchange Commission's Investor Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Feb. 27. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. ET in the Multipurpose Room at SEC headquarters at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C., and is open to the public. The meeting will be webcast live and archived on the committee's website for later viewing.

The committee will hold two panel discussions: an update for investors regarding accounting and auditing trends, and a discussion regarding the potential impact of the LIBOR transition on investors. The full agenda is available here.

Members of the committee represent a wide variety of investor interests, including those of individual and institutional investors, senior citizens, and state securities commissions. For a full list of committee members, see the committee's webpage.

The Investor Advisory Committee was established to advise the SEC on regulatory priorities, the regulation of securities products, trading strategies, fee structures, the effectiveness of disclosure, and on initiatives to protect investor interests and to promote investor confidence and the integrity of the securities marketplace. The committee is authorized to submit findings and recommendations to the Commission.
UPDATE: One person has been reported dead, another is in stable condition.

____________

Police in Boston are investigating a report of a person shot near the Brigham and Womens Hospital.

A Boston Police spokeswoman confirmed a report of a person shot in the area of 60 Fenwood Road around at 9:20 a.m.

Police have said that Boylston Street on route 9 has been closed from Chestnut Hill Avenue to Hammond Street.

Brigham and Womens Hospital Security & Boston Police confirm that the active shooter situation is all clear, the hospital tweeted.

Law Enforcement Incident



There is a active law enforcement incident ongoing at #Brookline #Newton line at Hammond St & Route 9.



There is no current threat to the public. There are road closures. Please avoid area. More info will come as its available.  Mass State Police (@MassStatePolice) February 7, 2020

Sources tell MassLive authorities had been involved chasing the suspect.

Massachusetts State Police say to avoid area and will update the public when more information has been made available.

______

This is a developing news story.
A Russian military delegation will arrive in Turkey on February 8 to discuss the latest developments in Syria's Idlib, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

He noted that Turkish and Russian leaders recently had a phone conversation regarding the matter and may also hold a meeting to discuss the Idlib crisis.

"Our goal is to put an immediate end to the oppression and attacks of the regime and to resume Constitutional Committee talks to speed up the political process," he added.

"We will do whatever we can to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Idlib," Daily Sabah cited Cavusoglu as saying.
A group of Muslims, seeking support of the Sikh community in their protest against Citizenship (Amendment) Act, submitted a memorandum to Akal Takht secretariat on Friday.

The memorandum was submitted by a joint action committee from Ahmedgarh in Punjab, officials of the Akal Takht said.

The group also paid obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of the Golden Temple and offered Friday prayers outside the main entrance of the Sikh shrine.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New York's next fight with the Trump administration may determine how fast state residents get through security checks at the airport.

Letitia James, the state's attorney general, said on Friday she'll sue the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over a new policy barring New Yorkers from enrolling in the federal government's Trusted Traveler Programs, such as Global Entry, which let pre-screened passengers zip through passport control and customs.

DHS announced the plan this week, saying the restriction is necessary as a result of a fresh New York law that allows undocumented immigrants to get driver's licenses. James called the temporary policy a "shortsighted crusade" that will harm the state's economy.

James, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, has previously sued the administration over several immigration policies, including the so-called Muslim travel ban and restrictions on residency for undocumented minors who were taken to the U.S. by their parents.

"This is political retribution, plain and simple, and while the president may want to punish New York for standing up to his xenophobic policies, we will not back down," James said in the statement.

In a letter to New York's Department of Motor Vehicles, DHS said the new state law bars the agency from sharing information that the federal government needs in order to determine an individual's qualification for the programs, such as criminal history.

New York residents currently enrolled in the Global Entry program can continue using their passes until they expire, but between 150,000 and 200,000 a year will be unable to renew their participation, acting Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli said yesterday.

The department didn't immediately return a message seeking comment on the state's threatened litigation.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Trump's plan is tantamount to extortion.

"Time and time again President Trump and his Washington enablers have gone out of their way to hurt New York and other blue states whenever they can as punishment for refusing to fall in line with their dangerous and divisive agenda," Cuomo said in the joint statement with James.
Elizabeth Warren has apologised to six women of colour who left her campaign in Nevada after claims that the campaign fostered a "toxic work environment" that tokenised minorities.

The Massachusetts senator and 2020 candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination told MSNBC host Chris Hayes on Thursday that she believes the women "without any equivocation" and takes responsibility for their departure.

She said she's working to address those complaints with her staff despite her intention to "build a campaign and a work environment that's diverse and open, [where] everyone is welcome and celebrated and gets to bring their whole self to work every day".

She said she is also "very aware that racism and oppression in this country have left a long legacy, and it creates the kind of toxicity where power structures, people take advantage of other people  it's something for which we have to be constantly vigilant and constantly determined to do better."

Republican Senator Ted Cruz attacked Ms Warren on Twitter, invoking Donald Trump's slur "Pocahontas" to mock her allegedly fabricated claim to Native American ancestry to advance her career, though there's no evidence to suggest that it benefited her professionally.

Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Show all 18 1 /18 Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Jessica Canicosa, a precinct captain for Bernie Sanders, waits to greet caucus voters at Liberty High School in Henderson, Nevada REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Hotel workers at the Bellagio in Las Vegas get to grips with voting papers during the Nevada caucuses AFP via Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A caricature of Bernie Sanders is projected on to a tree during a rally in Las Vegas EPA Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A woman waits to have a photo taken with Elizabeth Warren during a town hall meeting in Las Vegas REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures The threat of coronavirus and other germ-borne illnesses was on some voters' minds at the Democratic caucuses in Henderson, Nevada Getty Images Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Former vice-president Joe Biden takes a selfie with a voter in Las Vegas ahead of the Nevada caucuses REUTERS Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Amy Klobuchar changes her shoes backstage after giving a speech in Exeter, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A warmly-wrapped-up dog attends an Elizabeth Warren event at Amherst Elementary School in Nashua, New Hampshire AFP/Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Bernie Sanders, who romped to victory in New Hampshire against Hillary Clinton in 2016, talks to the media in Manchester Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden was hoping to improve on his poor showing in Iowa in the New Hampshire primary Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren, renowned for giving time to supporters for selfies, works the crowd at the University of New Hampshire in Durham Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Joe Biden takes a selfie with a supporter and his child outside a campaign event in Somersworth, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders quarrel after a confrontation in a TV debate in which Sanders claimed that Warren was not telling the truth about a conversation in which she claimed he had said a woman could not win the presidency on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Supporter Pat Provencher listens to Pete Buttigieg in Laconia, New Hampshire on 4 February Getty Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Pete Buttigieg speaks at a campaign event in Concord, New Hampshire while awaiting the results of the Iowa caucus Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures Elizabeth Warren is presented with a balloon effigy of herself at a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire on 5 February Reuters Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A Trump supporter rides past a rally for Amy Klobuchar in Des Moines, Iowa on 14 January AP Democratic candidates compete on the campaign trail: In pictures A man holds up a sign criticising billionaires in the presidential race in front of Michael Bloomberg in Compton, Califronia. The former New York mayor skipped the first caucus in Iowa and instead campaigned in California on 3 February Reuters

Mr Cruz said: "One would think a Native American woman would be more welcoming."

The president retweeted the post to his timeline.

At his rallies and in his remarks ahead of the 2020 election, Mr Trump has revived his use of the pejorative nickname  using the name of the Native American teenager who was kidnapped, held to ransom, encouraged to convert to Christianity, and sent to London where she died at age 21 in the early 1600s.

Ms Warren is campaigning in New Hampshire ahead of the state's 11 February primary election following her third-place finish in Iowa on Monday.

On Thursday, an article in Politico said three out of six women who left her 70-person Nevada team ahead of that state's caucus on 22 February felt "marginalised" by the campaign, despite attempts to report their complaints to human resources staff and their superiors.

The campaign has not disputed the women's accounts and says their experience doesn't reflect the organisation's mission to promote an "inclusive environment".

Their departure follows a shift in Democratic party and campaign organisations to address its historic lack of diversity in leadership, with few women and people of colour in top positions.
SYRACUSE, New York., Feb. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PDO MAX, INC ( https://www.pdomax.com ) is pleased to announce that it has received 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (K190245) for its brand of PDO (polydioxanone) absorbable threads in cannula. PDO threads are used in aesthetic medicine and are a sterile, biodegradable, monofilament synthetic composed polymer. The clearance is for both the PDO threads and cannula combined into one device, unlike many of the other providers in the market.

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Erick Diaz, a 26-year-old Mexican national, was shot by the immigration and customs agents in Brooklyn on Thursday as they were trying to arrest his mother's boyfriend

Protesters have been gathering outside a New York hospital where a Mexican man is being treated after he was shot in the face by ICE agents.

Erick Diaz, a 26-year-old Mexican national, was shot by the immigration and customs agents in Brooklyn on Thursday as they were trying to arrest his mother's boyfriend.

ICE agents say they were serving a deportation order to Mexican immigrant Armando Gaspar Avendando-Hernandez when Diaz intervened.

Diaz allegedly got into a scuffle with one of the agents.

The officer then fired his gun and a bullet went through Diaz's cheek and became lodged in his neck.

Diaz was rushed to the Maimonides Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.

Immigration activists have since been gathering outside the hospital to protest the shooting.

Protesters have been gathering outside the New York hospital where Erick Diaz, a Mexican national, was being treated after he was shot in the face by ICE agents earlier on Thursday

Immigration activists have since been gathering outside the hospital to protest the shooting

The protesters slammed ICE and accused the agents of using aggressive force.

Among the protesters outside the hospital was chairman of the Immigration Committee and Councilman Carlos Menchaca.

'This is extremely distressing. My heart is heavy thinking about what has happened. ICE must answer quickly and clearly why force was used. The city needs answers and I'll be joining advocates in Brooklyn to support the community and learn what we can,' he tweeted.

Avendando-Hernandez, the man who was being served the deportation order, is currently in custody.

He was tased by ICE agents at the scene.

The shooting victim's family claim ICE agents didn't identify themselves before attempting to take Avendando-Hernandez into custody.

The protesters slammed ICE and accused the agents of using aggressive force

Immigration activists held signs outside the hospital as they protested against ICE

The immigration activists vowed to return again on Friday to continue their protests

Diaz's brother, Kevin Yanez Cruz, told ABC7 that he had picked up Avendando-Hernandez and they were on their way to work.

He said they had to quickly got back home after Avendando-Hernandez forgot something.

Avendando-Hernandez was rushing toward the home when ICE agents tackled him in the yard, Yanez Cruz claims.

Diaz the ran outside to see what was happening after hearing the commotion, which is when the agent pulled out his gun.

'He pointed the gun at my brother and didn't even hesitate and pulled the trigger,' Yanez Cruz said.

Yanez Cruz said his brother had only just come to New York from Mexico with his girlfriend. The couple planned to stay in the U.S. for six months before heading back to Mexico.

ICE agents were in the process of serving a deportation order to Armando Gaspar Avendando-Hernandez, 36, when his girlfriend's son, Diaz, allegedly intervened. Investigators at the scene on Thursday

ICE released a statement hours after the incident occurred, claiming the agents were attacked while trying to arrest Avendando-Hernandez. Investigators are seen where the incident occurred

ICE agents, however, claim they were attacked trying to arrest Avendando-Hernandez.

'A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Fugitive Operations Team discharged at least one firearm in Brooklyn, New York, Thursday morning when officers were physically attacked while attempting to arrest Gasper Avendando-Hernandez, a twice-removed illegal alien from Mexico with a 2011 assault conviction in New York City,' ICE said in a statement.

The agency was referring to an arrest that occurred on February 3 when New York police officers took Avendando-Hernandez into custody for 'possession of a forged instrument'.

That particular instrument was a forged Connecticut license plate, authorities said.

'ICE attempted to lodge an immigration detainer after his most recent arrest, however the subject was released from local custody before ICE could lodge a detainer. This forced ICE officers to locate him on the streets of New York rather than in the safe confines of a jail,' the statement said.

Authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
Teaching ASL in high school would have other benefits. It would destigmatize deaf students, who have interpreters in their classes, and, as hearing students learn to sign, give their deaf and hard-of-hearing students peers they can communicate with beyond fingerspelling and writing back and forth.

A related ASL bill heard by the Legislatures Education Committee last week would address deaf and hard-of-hearing childrens needs before they go through schoolhouse doors.

Sen. Mike McConnells LB965 would establish a language assessment program from children between birth and age 5, who are deaf or hard of hearing to track their language development and ensure they are prepared to enter kindergarten.

Being ready for school is critical for the deaf and hard-of-hearing youngsters, as Polk native and National Association of the Deaf board member Lindsay Darnell told the committee.

Darnell who grew up with deaf parents and a deaf brother, learned ASL from infancy, just as hearing people learn any spoken language. But when he arrived at school, he found that many other deaf students were delayed in their ASL
What 6- or 10-year-old has the wherewithal to do all that? And what parent is going to go through all that hassle just so their kids can have fun and make a buck?
Two people have been shot and one killed in the shooting near the Brigham and Womens Hospital.

The first was a valet at the hospital and the second is believed to have been shot and killed in a subsequent police-involved shooting after fleeing the scene near a shopping area on Route 9 in Brookline, according to the Boston Globe.

During this mornings active shooter incident, a member of our Valet team was shot. Our Emergency Department team responded immediately, and our colleague is currently in stable condition," the hospital tweeted. "There is no further threat to our campus.

 Parking and Access Update  pic.twitter.com/kqboJQFS57  Brigham and Women's (@BrighamWomens) February 7, 2020

The Suffolk County District Attorneys Office is actively involved in the investigations into shootings that occurred this morning near Brigham & Womens Hospital in Boston and in Chestnut Hill along Route 9.

Massachusetts State Police have reiterated that, there is no longer a threat to the public. Any locations that put themselves on a lockdown, no longer need to shelter.

The DAs Office is working closely and in coordination with our law enforcement partners in local and state government.

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A Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM), whose office here was vandalised two days ago, was arrested on Friday alongwith a local BJP leader for allegedly staging the attack to influence the hearing of a pre-arrest bail plea of a man.

SDM Anil Sabkale was found to be in cahoots with director of Shri Krishna University Pushpendra Singh Gautam, who did not want another private university to come up in the area, the police said.

Abhay Singh Bhadoria had purchased land for setting up his Khajuraho University in the district.

Gautam, with Sabkale's help, got the land declared as government property and filed a case against Bhadoria, said Chattarpur Superintendent of Police (SP) Tilak Singh.

The case was to come up for hearing on February 5, and Bhadoria was expected to file an application for anticipatory bail, the official said.

To establish that Bhadoria was a dangerous character and should not be granted pre-arrest bail, Sabkale allegedly conspired with Gautam and had his own office attacked.

The SDM then lodged a complaint against unidentified miscreants, SP Singh said.

The police, while tracking call records of suspects, realised that Gautam and Sabkale were in touch with each other before and after the attack.

Based on Call Detail Records, the police zeroed in on Gautam, Sabkale and the BJP's minority cell leader Javed Akthar, the official said.

It was Akthar who allegedly arranged goons for the attack, he said.

The SDM tried to establish in the court that Bhadoria and others were behind the attack on his office as he had launched a drive against land mafia.

The court, however, granted pre-arrest bail to Bhadoria.

Apart from Sabkale, the police arrested Gautam, Akthar, Amit Singh Parihar, Arjun Shrivas, Rajendra Singh and Santosh Soni under relevant sections of the IPC, additional superintendent of police Jairaj Kuber said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A teacher charged with drunkenly crashing her SUV through a pizza joint, injuring three people, lost her bid to get into a pretrial intervention program that could have led to the charges being dismissed.

Kimberly Killion, 35, a math teacher at Pennsauken Intermediate School and the daughter of then-Mayor Jack Killion, had appealed her October rejection from the diversionary program.

Camden County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Delaney on Thursday denied her appeal despite the arguments of Killions attorney, Dennis Wixted, that she is addressing her problem with alcohol and is a good candidate for the program.

The owner of Flying Crust Pizza and Wings and two employees were in the restaurant at 7709 Park Ave. at 10:18 p.m. on May 3 when Killions SUV crashed into the store. Security video obtained by 6ABC showed the vehicle striking the owner, Garris Eddington, and knocking the counter on top of at least one employee.

VIDEO: A suspected drunk driver slams into a Pennsauken pizza shop (5/3) @6abc pic.twitter.com/DxvbnXg2O3  Maggie Kent (@MaggieKent6abc) May 16, 2019

A cellphone video taken moments after the crash showed Killion. Asked if she fell asleep or was on medication, she replied, Im good.

A blood test after the crash showed Killions blood alcohol content was more than twice the legal limit to drive, according to court documents.

The Camden County Prosecutors Office took over the case and indicted her on three counts of assault by auto while driving under the influence of alcohol in a school zone.

Those accepted into pretrial intervention, or PTI, generally can have their charges dismissed after a year or two if they abide by certain conditions and are not charged with new crimes.

The prosecutors office vetoed her application for the pretrial program in October. Matthew Spataro, a special deputy attorney general acting as an assistant prosecutor in the case, noted in court Thursday that Eddington, who underwent knee surgery after the crash, objected to Killion being accepted into PTI. Spataro also said the denial was appropriate because of the seriousness of the allegations.

A car smashed through Flying Crust Pizza in Pennsauken May 3, 2019. The driver, a Pennsauken teacher, was charged Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (Flying Crust Pizza)

This is not a case of someone who had one too many, Spataro said. The level of intoxication here is highly reckless. Were dealing with I believe a .195, far in excess of the .08 legal limit.

Wixted argued unsuccessfully that Killion has never had more than a speeding ticket before and is a good candidate for PTI because under the supervision of the court, she could continue to attend Alcoholic Anonymous meetings and rehabilitate herself. He noted she hasnt had a drink since September.

Judge Delaney denied the appeal, clearing the way for the prosecution to continue until a possible plea deal or trial. She said prosecutors have a lot of discretion in granting or denying PTI applications, and Wixted failed to show that the prosecutors office abused that discretion in this case.

Rebecca Everett may be reached at reverett@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @rebeccajeverett. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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(Newser)  Congressional Democrats received some disappointing news this week over their emoluments lawsuit against President Trump. Per Politico, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that the complaint filed in 2017 by 200-plus Democratic House and Senate members, accusing the president of illegally profiting from foreign governments who spent money at his Washington hotel and other businesses, has no legal standing. The reason? Individual lawmakers can't sue, with Politico noting that suggests if the House or Senate had acted as a body to bring the suit, it may have had legal legs. Per NBC News, the unsigned, unanimous ruling noted that the 215 lawmakers involved in the complaint don't make up a majority of Congress.

story continues below

"Our conclusion is straightforward because the members29 senators and 186 members of the House of Representativesdo not constitute a majority of either body and are, therefore, powerless to approve or deny the president's acceptance of foreign emoluments," the judge's panel, made of one Democratic appointee and two Republican appointees, wrote, adding, "Only an institution can assert an institutional injury." The Wall Street Journal notes Friday's decision overturned a trial judge's ruling that allowed the lawsuit to move forward. Trump calls the ruling "a total win," NBC News reports. It's not clear if the plaintiffs will ask for a full bench review or head to the Supreme Court. Two other emoluments-related lawsuits against Trump are still pending in appeals courts in New York and Virginia. (Read more emoluments stories.)
Cham Wings plane

Shutterstock

Syrian troops nearly shot down an airliner attempting to land in Damascus in the confusing aftermath of Israeli airstrikes early Thursday morning.

A plane operated by Syrian airline Cham Wings was flying from Iraq to the Syrian capital Thursday when it was forced to divert to a Russian military airbase near Latakia, around 215 miles from Damascus.

Syrian anti-aircraft missiles had been fired at the plane, with forces on high alert after Israeli airstrikes in Syria on Thursday.

The plane, which was carrying 172 passengers, according to The Guardian, landed safely and no one was hurt.

Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Syrian troops nearly shot down an airliner attempting to land in Damascus in the confusing aftermath of Israeli airstrikes early Thursday morning.

Russian officials Friday confirmed a Cham Wings Airbus A320 flying from Najaf, Iraq to Damascus diverted its path to land at a Russian military airbase near Latakia, Syria, to avoid anti-aircraft missiles fired by Syria's air defenses.

Air defenses were on high alert after Israeli fighter jets on Thursday fired missiles into Damascus.

The plane, which was carrying 172 passengers, according to The Guardian, landed safely and no one was hurt.

The incident renewed fears that a broader conflict in the region could jeopardize the safety of air travel in an increasingly crowded and militarized area where such incidents grow increasingly commonplace.

Syrian jet almost shot down

Screenshot/FlightRadar24

Last month, Iranian air defense units, fearing a US air strike on Iran, accidentally destroyed a Ukrainian airliner killing 176 people. In 2018, Syrian air defenses destroyed a Russian surveillance plane off the coast of Syria, also in a panicked response to Israeli air strikes on targets in Syria.

Russia coordinates its Syria operations from Hmeimim Air Base, a major facility on the Mediterranean coast, where the Cham Wings flight took refuge from the missile fire, according to Reuters, which cited Russia's Interfax news service quoting Russian officials.

Story continues

Israel has conducted hundreds of air strikes on targets in Syria usually linked to Iranian or Hezbollah operations, as both have deployed sizable forces to Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al Assad's efforts to quell a nearly decade long rebellion against his rule.

In the aftermath of the 2018 incident, Russian military officials said that Russian advisors would take control of the longest range and most accurate missile systems, the S-300, they've provided to the Syrian government. It is unclear whose troops were operating the systems that fired over Damascus Thursday morning.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The ongoing closure of Nigerias land borders has been hailed by a key African development agency as necessary to curb economic criminalities in West Africa.

President Muhammadu Buhari has been widely criticised within Nigeria and by the leaders of other West African countries for ordering the closure of Nigerian land borders, shutting trade along crucial routes with its neighbours.

Critics hinged their argument on how badly-timed Nigerias decision was, coming as the continent was adopting the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The policy, signed in 2018 and now adopted by 54 out of 55 member states of the African Union, seeks to engender a more inclusive intra-African trade, policymakers said.

On Friday, Mr Buhari received a rare commendation for having the courage to institute the policy from Ibrahim Mayaki, the chief executive officer of the New Partnership for Africas Development (NEPAD).

The head of Africas foremost development agency said Nigerias decision was aimed at correcting a problem rather than jeopardising the spirit of the recently-adopted continental free trade policy.

His interview with PREMIUM TIMES comes as NEPAD prepares to receive Mr Buhari on the sidelines of the ongoing African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. The Nigerian president would be delivering an address on African economy and social development at a programme organised by the key intervention agency.

Mr Buhari ordered the abrupt closure of the countries land borders in August 2019, leaving commuters, majorly traders, stranded for several days.

The government argued that the decision was aimed at driving down illegal dumping of goods that had gone unchecked for several years from neighbouring countries. The government also added worsening insecurity and illicit exportation of essential goods, especially petroleum products, as amongst the grounds the borders were shut.

It is about applying the rules and the norms that comply with Ecowas policy, Mr Mayaki, a former prime minister of Niger, told PREMIUM TIMES in Addis Ababa Friday afternoon. I understand fully the Nigerian position.

The NEPAD boss said the closure has achieved significantly its aim  driving debates about cross-border criminalities.

It puts on the table crucial issues to reduce trade corruption, he said. People are making money [illegally] on both sides of the border.

Police, customs, other guards are making a lot and the level of corruption is very high, he added.

Mr Mayaki, 68, who has led NEPAD since 2009, said solutions were being worked out on how to reduce corruption at border posts.

We are working to boost the expansion of one-stop border post, he said, saying it would be better to conduct export documentation at a common border post rather than a two-way border post that would be too arcane for easy detection of sharp practices amongst traders and border security officials.
BOSTON  The New England First Amendment Coalition Friday honored Hearst Connecticut Media with its 2020 Michael Donoghue Freedom of Information Award for stories on sexual abuse cases tied to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country.

The FOI Award is presented annually to New England journalists who protect or advance the publics right to know under federal or state law.

A team of seven journalists at Hearst Connecticut spent more than six months digging through 1,600 pages of public documents and filing more than 100 public record requests. They found more than 100 cases of abuse involving 280 victims in 31 states over the course of 70 years tied to Boys & Girls Clubs of America affiliates.

Our commitment to holding a national organization to a standard that ensure safety for children remains strong, and its an honor to be recognized for the important journalism work of making public information accessible, said Lisa Yanick Litwiller, the lead editor on the investigation.

The Hearst staff used the documents it obtained to create a public database that allows parents sending a child to a local Boys & Girls Club to look up information about incidents and how they were handled by the organization.

This work was a testament to the expertise and unwavering determination with which this team of adept journalists carried out this vitally important investigation, said Wendy Metcalfe, VP of content and editor-in-chief for Hearst Connecticut. We are deeply honored by this award.

As a result of the reporting, Boys & Girls Clubs of America  which oversees 4,600 local affiliates  announced it will hire a third-party firm to review how it responds to complaints related to abuse and will provide additional safety training to its staff. Another youth organization also announced it would end all overnight visits between children and mentors as a result of Hearst Connecticuts investigation into Boys & Girls Clubs.

Hearst Connecticut staff members who worked on the project  Litwiller and reporters Hannah Dellinger, Viktoria Sundqvist, Meghan Friedmann, Peter Yankowski, Humberto J. Rocha and Tatiana Flowers  were honored at NEFACs 10th annual awards luncheon at the Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel. During the luncheon, A.G. Sulzberger, publisher of The New York Times, was honored with the Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award.

Previous recipients of the FOI Award are the Hartford Courant (2019); Todd Wallack of The Boston Globe (2018); The Sun Journal in Lewiston, Maine (2017); Jenifer McKim of the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (2016); James W. Foley (posthumously), the war correspondent and New Hampshire native killed by the Islamic State (2015); Brent Curtis of the Rutland Herald in Vermont (2014); and Don Stacom of the Hartford Courant (2013).
An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2018-19 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam....
A passenger plane was almost shot down near Damascus today after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's air defence systems intercepted Israeli missiles aimed at targets in southern Syria.

A Syrian Chams Airline Airbus A320 carrying 172 passengers made an emergency landing in Russia-controlled Khmeimim air base this morning after Syrian air defences nearly hit it, a Russian Defence Ministry spokesman said.

The Syrian defence ministry said on Thursday it had intercepted Israeli missiles over Damascus that were fired at military targets in southern Syria. Israel has declined to comment.

'At the time of the attack by Israeli planes... an Airbus-320 airliner was on approach to landing... in the death zone of air strikes and artillery,' the Russian ministry said.

The incident took place a month after a Ukraine International Airlines passenger plane crashed shortly after take-off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Iran later said its forces had shot it down unintentionally due to human error.

The United States imposed sanctions on Cham Wings in 2016 for allegedly transporting fighters to Syria to support Assad and for helping Syrian military intelligence transport weapons and equipment.

A 2019 file photo shows an image of a Syrian Cham Wings Airbus A320, similar to the one endangered by Syrian air defences early this morning

The flights, which almost always land late at night, do not appear in any airport or airline timetables, and fly in from either Damascus or Latakia, where Russia has a military base.

The Russian Defence Ministry spokesman praised the 'quick reaction' of air traffic controllers at Damascus airport enabled the A320 for moving out of the zone, 'which was in the firing line of Syrian anti-aircraft defence systems.'

'The recourse to civilian aircraft as cover or to block a riposte by Syrian forces during military air operations has become characteristic of the Israeli air force,' the ministry charged.

Israeli radars have 'a clear view of the situation in the skies around Damascus airport,' the Russian army said, accusing Israel of 'making a total mockery of the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians'.

Logged flight records indicate the plane was nearing landing after flying from Najaf in Iraq to Damascus. As the aircraft came under fire, it was forced to take off again and to land at the Russian-controlled airbase.

A locator map shows the Syrian Cham Wings A320 flying from Najaf to Damascus. The Airbus encountered fire near the Syrian capital and redirected to Hmeimim airport this morning

Israeli soldiers are pictured near the settlement Merom Golan in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights in November last year, following the launch of a 'wide-scale' attack on Syria by the Israeli air force

An image grab from a video posted to social media shows on smoke and fire billowing during a reported Israeli air strike on the outskirts of Damascus in November

A woman injured in an explosion in Damascus in November following Israeli air strikes receives medical treatment in a photo released by Syrian state media

Both Israel and Syria have been embroiled in intermittent military confrontations since the creation of the Jewish state, which Damascus has never recognised.

The two countries also have a territorial dispute over the Golan Heights, an expanse of land in northern Israel or southwestern Syria.

In March last year, US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation recognizing Israel's 'sovereign right' over the Golan Heights while stood beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

Deepening the cracks between the two nations is Iran's use of Syrian ground as a theatre for its proxy wars and Tehran's support of the Assad regime during the civil war.

In November last year, the IDF said they had intercepted four rockets being fired into Israeli territory, from Syria, moments before 'retaliatory' explosions were heard in Damascus.

Just one day later, the Israeli military said it struck dozens of Iranian targets in the Arab Republic, carrying out a 'wide-scale' strike in response to rocket fire on the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights the day before.

Syrian state media released images of damage to a residential building in Damascus claimed to have been caused by Israeli air strikes in November

A Britain-based war monitoring group said the Israeli airstrikes killed 23 people, including 15 non-Syrians who are most likely Iranians. Syrian state media only reported that two civilians were killed.

The Israeli military said its fighter jets hit multiple targets belonging to Iran's elite Quds force, including surface-to-air missiles, weapons warehouses and military bases.

After the Syrian military fired an air defense missile, the Israeli military said a number of Syrian aerial defense batteries were also destroyed.

Shattered glass at the entrance of a building in the Damascus suburb of Qudsaya reportedly caused by an Israeli air strike according to Syrian state media in November last year

The accusations were made less than a month after Iranian forces admitted mistakenly shooting down a Ukrainian International Airlines Boeing 737, killing all 176 people on board, just after take-off from Tehran.

The disaster unfolded with Iran on high alert fearing US retaliation to Iranian strikes hours earlier on American troops stationed in Iraq.

Thursday's Israeli strikes killed 23 Syrian and foreign fighters, a monitoring group said.

Israel has carried out repeated strikes in Syria since the civil war erupted in 2011, mainly targeting government forces and their Iranian and Hezbollah allies.
The 14-year-old Christian girl did not appear in court because she fears for her life. The judge has set a new hearing for 4 March to give police more time to check medical records. Age is the key factor in the case since forced conversions are not a crime.

Islamabad (AsiaNews)  The Sindh High Court on Monday dismissed a petition to have the marriage and forced conversion of a Catholic girl overturned because both are valid under Islamic law since a girl can marry after she has her first period.

Huma Younus (pictured, right), 14, was abducted last October and forced to marry a Muslim. For her lawyer, Tabassum Yousaf, this is shameful.

Speaking to AsiaNews, she explained that the hearing lasted only five minutes. They didn't allow us to see her even for a second, but we shall not stop until we get justice. If necessary, we will take the case to the Supreme Court.

Huma was seized from her home when her parents were away and taken 600 kilometres away. Her family lives in Zia Colony, a district of Karachi, whilst her husband-abductor is from Dera Gazi Khan, Punjab.

Tabassum says that the girl's parents havent stopped crying because the court, in just a few words citing the Sharia, has justified the violation of their daughter's body since she has already had her first period.

The court battle has been going on for months with constant delays and excuses cited so as not to present the underage girl into court.

Even in the hearing two days ago, Huma was supposed to be present but did not show up, her lawyer said. Why didn't they show her to us? Why don't they want her to testify? In fact, there were many other girls in court.

The judge said she didn't come because she fears for her life. But they allowed her to file an affidavit, the lawyer explained.

In the latter, Huma claims that she has married of her own free will, but the document lacks the number of the identity card issued when people reach the age of 18.

From a legal point of view, the husband claims that his wife is an adult; on the other hand, the family insists that she was born on 22 May 2005.

For the family, the whole case revolves around a key factor, age, since forced conversions are not illegal in Pakistan.

Sindh province passed the Child Marriage Restraint Act, which bans child marriages, but has failed to enforce it.

What is more, there is a major flaw in the law, that is, the marriage is not annulled if the minor's consent has been given.

Although child marriage is allowed in Pakistan, more and more people are speaking out against the practice to protect children. Meanwhile, a bill to ban child marriage across the country is stuck in Parliament".

The next hearing in the case is set for 4 March, Tabassum said. The judge gave police more time for medical tests to determine the girls age. We presented right away all the papers from the government, the town hall and the church. Why didnt they ask for this before?

Not one forcibly converted girl has been returned to her home, said the despondent lawyer.

For Huma, this doesnt bode well. As time goes BY, the less we will know about her fate. Statistics tell us that if pressure is not put on the kidnapper, the minors fate is always the same: she is forced into prostitution or ends up in the hands of human traffickers.

"If we don't succeed in the High Court, we shall go further. It is unfair that Christians are not recognised in their country. Yet we have made a great contribution to its development. (A.C.F.)
| By Laura Lee

One day after the United States Senates historic vote Feb. 5 to acquit President Donald Trump of impeachment charges, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, JD 67, a Democrat from Maryland and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, shared his thoughts on the trial with University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law students in an hourlong discussion at Westminster Hall.

U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, JD 67, shares his thoughts on the impeachment trial with University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law students at Westminster Hall.

Cardin, a 1967 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Law, voted guilty on both articles of impeachment in lockstep with Senate Democrats. In a statement dated Feb. 5 he wrote, The actions by the Senate today and throughout this trial reflect as poorly on the Senate itself as on the president. The failure of the Senate to conduct a fair trial has tainted this final verdict and has upset the balance of power between two constitutionally coequal branches of government.

Fresh off the grueling three-week trial, Cardin struck a cautiously hopeful tone at Westminster Hall as he thanked students for choosing law school and reminded them of their communal responsibility to the United States.

You are going to be the custodians of our legal system, he told the audience. You need to make sure that our rule of law, that our access to justice remains at the core of the values of this country. And its under attack.

Calling it a sad moment, Cardin said the Senate clearly failed in its constitutional responsibility to conduct a fair trial. I dont think you can find a reasonable judge who would have allowed a trial to take place in his or her courtroom without allowing the calling of witnesses or the production of documents, he told the students.

Third-year student Benjamin Dorfman attended Cardins remarks as part of a criminal procedure class taught by professor Lee Kovarsky, JD. Im really glad I came today because getting to hear from someone who was actually in the room and had firsthand impressions of what happened in the trial was really enlightening, Dorfman said.

Another third-year student, Zachary Lee, said it was exciting to get a glimpse of the proceedings from a primary source. The impeachment just wrapped up and its on the forefront of the American consciousness, so its phenomenal that Sen. Cardin was able to come down and talk to us, he said.

Cardin took questions from the audience before concluding his remarks on an optimistic note. I have great confidence in our system, he said. But I have more confidence seeing you here. Youre going to protect our system for the future.

Maryland Carey Law recognizes the achievement of its distinguished alumnus with the Cardin Requirement, named for the senator, which requires every student who enrolls as a first-year, full-time student to provide legal services to people who are poor or otherwise lack access to justice as a prerequisite to graduation.

The Cardin Requirement results in more than 150 students contributing over 75,000 hours of free legal service annually, making the Clinical Law Program one of the largest public interest firms in Maryland.
Nairobi  The proponents of the handshake-President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga-are in the US, basking in the glory of their March 2018 initiative that ended their political enmity following a disputed presidential election.

The two leaders joined hundreds of guests at the US National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on Thursday, where they were invited to speak about the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI)-a peace initiative they are spearheading in the country to entrench inclusivity.

At the breakfast attended by US President Donald Trump, the Kenyatta and Odinga spoke extensively about Kenya's electioneering period, which is often marred by bloodshed, ethnic violence and political tension-often leading to deaths and population displacement.

They were invited to speak about what inspired them to come together and how it has worked in uniting a country synonymous with violence during elections, the worst being in 2007 when more than 1200 people were killed and half a million others uprooted from their homes, in what led to charges against President Kenyatta and five others, among them his Deputy William Ruto, filed in The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC). They were all acquited for lack of evidence.

"They spoke about the negative effects divisive politics have on the growth of the economy and about their quest to work together to unite the country through the BBI," State House said.

While the intention is noble according to the President and Odinga, it has sparked political fireworks, with a section of leaders loyal to the Deputy President claiming the move is part of a wider plot to sideline him and eventually block his bid to succeed President Kenyatta in 2022.

The BBI report is likely to lead to a national referendum to change the Constitution, effectively introducing the post of Prime Minister and other seats in a move aimed at ensuring that the winner [in a presidential election] does not it all as is the case under the current system of government.

But Ruto's allies have interpreted this to mean, the PM's post is being created for President Kenyatta who is constitutionally barred from running for the top seat at the end of his second and final term in office.

They also believe that it is also a plot to propel Odinga to the top seat "through the back-door".

Both President Kenyatta and Odinga have dismissed these claims, saying "BBI is about the people and the country's unity."

In the US, the President met several players in global politics, where he explained to them more about BBI.

Among the leaders President Kenyatta met is US Senator Jim Inhofe, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington DC.

Senator Inhofe commended President Kenyatta's efforts in uniting the country through the BBI.

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Earlier, the President spoke at an event hosted by the Atlantic council- an American think tank on international affairs, where he said Kenya "is currently engineering its own homegrown solutions to political, social and governance challenges facing the country through the Building Bridges Initiative."

The President asked American institutions to support indigenous African solutions fashioned to address governance challenges facing the continent.

He said the US and the world at large have a lot to gain by making Africa work for its people.

"We must begin to look at Africa as the world's biggest opportunity if you can dare look at it with a fresh eye and a sense of history. And Kenya is a key country in converting that opportunity into mutual gain," he said.
No winner declared three days after chaotic caucuses amid close margin in delegate chase and technical difficulties.

US Democratic presidential candidates Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders were neck and neck late on Thursday with 100 percent of precincts reporting in the chaotic Iowa caucuses.

The tally comes hours after the Democratic party chairman ordered a review of the results following technology problems in the United Statess first nominating contest and some doubts were raised about the accuracy of the process.

Sanders, the progressive senator from Vermont, and Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, are separated by a razor-thin margin in the latest batch of results.

Democratic Party chairman Tom Perez, however, stepped in earlier on Thursday, demanding a review of the results from Mondays caucuses.

Enough is enough, Perez said on Twitter. In order to assure public confidence in the results, I am calling on the Iowa Democratic Party to immediately begin a recanvass.

With returns in from all of the 1,765 precincts in Iowa, Buttigieg was leading by 26.2 percent to Sanderss 26.1 percent in the delegate totals.

Massachusetts progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren was next with 18.0 percent, followed by former Vice President Joe Biden with 15.8 percent and Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with 12.3 percent.

Buttigieg, Sanders declare themselves winners

Earlier in the day, Buttigieg declared himself the winner based on the number of delegates from the Midwestern state who will be sent to the Democratic convention in July while Sanders claimed victory based on the popular vote.

It has been an extraordinary week, and we are absolutely electrified  by the extraordinary validation of this campaigns vision that we had in Iowa, Buttigieg told military veterans and other voters on Thursday at American Legion Post 98 in Merrimack, New Hampshire.

He also turned an eye towards the states primary vote, to be held on Tuesday.

So I know in the days leading up to primary day it is my responsibility to seek to earn every vote in a state that famously thinks for itself, in a state that lives by the motto of Live Free or Die.

Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks during a campaign stop at Community Oven in Hampton, New Hampshire [Brendan McDermid/Reuters]

Sanders, speaking on Thursday in nearby Manchester, pointed to his lead in Iowas actual vote totals.

In other words, some 6,000 more Iowans came out on caucus night to support our candidacy than the candidacy of anyone else, he said.

From where I come from, the person who gets the most votes wins, Sanders said, arguing that too much emphasis was being put on delegate totals.

At the end of the day, he said, the caucus system is much, much, much too complicated and it was a mistake for the state party to rely on untested technology.

Party officials have blamed the technical meltdown on a coding error.

Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during a campaign rally [Steven Senne/AP Photo]

President Donald Trump pounced on the debacle in the first-in-the-nation contest to decide which Democrat faces him in November.

The Democrat Party has given up on counting votes in Iowa. Looks like it all got computer fried, Trump tweeted on Friday.

Iowa and New Hampshire will not be moved from the Primary Schedule as long as I am President, he added, apparently referring to growing calls for the schedule to be adjusted so that a state that is more representative of the US kicks off the nominating contests.

Great tradition, he said.

Buttigieg appeared to be getting a bounce from his strong Iowa performance as the latest New Hampshire poll showed the centrist candidate in second place in the state.

The Boston Globe/WBZ-TV/Suffolk University poll had Sanders, who won the New Hampshire primary four years ago before eventually losing the nomination to Hillary Clinton, topping the field with 25 percent.

Buttigiegs support surged to 19 percent from 12 percent on Monday, according to the poll, while Biden saw his backing slide over the same period.

Sanders, Buttigieg, Biden, Warren, Klobuchar, businessman Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang will face off on the debate stage in New Hampshire on Friday night.

Gut punch

Biden, the national frontrunner who described his likely fourth-place finish in Iowa as a gut punch, met his advisers on Thursday to map out a strategy.

I expected to do better, Biden, 77, said as he launched attacks on rivals.

If Senator Sanders is the nominee for the party, every Democrat in America  will have to carry the label Senator Sanders has chosen for himself, Biden said of the self-described democratic socialist.

Biden, who served in the Senate for 36 years before becoming Barack Obamas vice president, said 38-year-old Buttigiegs lack of experience was a risk for Democrats.

The Sanders campaign announced, meanwhile, that it had raised $25m in January, its largest fundraising month yet.

After New Hampshire, the candidates turn their sights on Nevada on February 22, South Carolina on February 29 and then the March 3 Super Tuesday, when 14 states hold primaries.
Teresa Giudice said her separation from estranged husband Joe was a long time in the making.

'I've known for like a long time,' the Bravo beauty, 47, told PeopleTV on Thursday. 'Just because we've been apart for so long. Like, we've been apart for a really long time. I've had - after my mom passed away - like a lot of resentment, a lot of things that just happened after I lost my mom.'

She added: 'It's just been a build-up ... but I do wish him well and I just want him to be happy.'

The latest: Teresa Giudice, 47, told PeopleTV on Thursday that her separation from estranged husband Joe, 47, was a long time in the making

Teresa spoke to the outlet along with pal Dolores Catania amid a new Real Housewives of New Jersey episode in which she revealed to her brother Joe Gorga that it was 'hurtful to hear' Joe Giudice when he told her, 'I feel nothing for you.'

She told People of the remark, which Joe Giudice made while he was behind bars, 'I think where he was, he was really angry, just because of the situation and everything. And I think he just took out a lot on me.'

On the show, Teresa told her brother that her estranged husband told her that he wouldn't be mad if she found somebody else.

The mom-of-four, who shares daughters, Gia, 19, Gabriella, 16, Milania, 15, and Audriana, 11, with Joe, 47, told People that she remains on cordial terms with Joe, who was recently seen frolicking on a beach with multiple women in bikinis at an Isla Mujeres, Mexico resort.

Problems: Teresa said there was 'like a lot of resentment' between her and Joe

Got her back: Teresa spoke to the outlet along with RHONJ pal Dolores Catania

Simpatico: Teresa made clear she and Joe remain on fond and cordial terms

Teresa said she told both Joe and her daughters that for the sake of them, she would happily support Joe in any new relationship he begins.

'I even told the girls ... and him this,' she said. 'When [he's] with someone, I'll even come and hang out with you with her and with our daughters because I want to make it good.

'I want to make it good for my daughters because if I'm good with it, then they'll be good with it.'

Teresa made clear she and Joe remain on fond and cordial terms.

'I will always have a special place for him in my heart,' she said. 'He texts me all the time that I love you. I adore you. You're the best wife, best mother.'

She continued: 'We want the best for each other, I want him to be happy. He wants me to be happy. And that's it. We're going to be the best parents we could to our four daughters.'

Supportive: Teresa said she told both Joe and her daughters that for the sake of them, she would happily support Joe in any new relationship he begins

Moving forward: Teresa told the outlet that she didn't foresee any rekindling of the romance amid the ongoing legal circumstances

Picking up the pieces: Teresa served 11 months her a 15-month sentence and was released in December of 2015 in her 2014 conviction in connection with mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud

Teresa told the outlet that she didn't foresee any rekindling of the romance amid the ongoing legal circumstances.

'We're separated from the Atlantic Ocean - and from the federal government, so we really, how can I be with someone [when] he lives in Italy and I live here?' she asked.

The estranged couple remains picking up the pieces after their 2014 convictions in connection with mail, wire and bankruptcy fraud.

Teresa served 11 months her a 15-month sentence and was released in December of 2015, while Joe began serving his 41-month prison sentence in March of 2016 at Fort Dix, New Jersey's Federal Correctional Institution.

Things further got complicated for Joe, who was born in Saronno, Italy and but never applied for U.S. citizenship, when federal officials ordered his deportation following his sentence, due to his admission to 'a crime of moral turpitude' or 'aggravated felony.'

He was subsequently held in ICE custody at Pennsylvania's Clinton County Correctional Center from March 2019 until he eventually was taken to Italy in October.
Luanda  The minister of Economy and Planning, Sergio Santos, reaffirmed, this Thursday, in Luanda, the commitment of the Angolan Government in the creation of projects and programs aimed at reducing the incidence of extreme poverty in the country.

According to the official, who was speaking at the opening of the conference on "The fight against poverty", stressed the measures such as the redistribution of wealth, through active employment policies, promotion of entrepreneurship, reform of the social security system, social integration projects and financial education, support for family farming in rural areas, the Employability Promotion and Action Plan (PAPE),

He also highlighted the initiatives to maintain minimum income as some of the premises that have been implemented by the Government and served to reduce the incidence of extreme poverty.

The minister stressed that there is still a long way to go in order to guarantee the success and sustainability of the fight against poverty.

For Sergio Santos, it is not possible to find uniform and adequate solutions to the effective fight against poverty, as they have different causes, and in the case of Angola the consequences of the destruction of infrastructures and the socio-economic fabric during the long period of the armed conflict accentuated the poverty levels.

In his turn, the representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Mamisoa Rangers, said she believed that the set of social public policies will result in the creation of conditions for inclusive and economically sustainable growth.
The Government of Ghana must first be commended for the compassion showed toward the citizens of Ghana living in China, precisely Wuhan where the coronavirus epidemic is highest, through the donation of about 30,000 Chinese Yuan toward their welfare. This is in line with the president's firm belief in education and his commitment to be president of all Ghanaians throughout the world.

This is among various indications that no Ghanaian citizen is being left out in Akufo Addo's all-inclusive Government. Notwithstanding, Ghana's Ambassador to China should be highly rebuked for their consideration of only Ghanaian students in Wuhan for this duty-bound benevolence by the Office of the President of Ghana.

Wuhan, a city in Hubei Province is where the first case of the new deadly coronavirus was detected. Actually, there are approximately five hundred and twenty (520) Ghanaians living in Wuhan with four hundred (400) of them as students and the rest as workers as of January 2020.

These statistics, therefore, prove the existence of others aside Ghanaian students in Wuhan, and as a result, makes it appalling and wrong for the exclusion of non-students during the share of the donation from the President. I was of the view; the helping hand should have been extended to all Ghanaian residents in Wuhan.

Furthermore, there has been evidence of frantic creation of fear and panic by the media fraternity in Ghana from a very exaggerated point of view of the happenings in China with regards to the coronavirus outbreak and how Ghanaians are faring amidst the epidemic. Some of such information's being circulated by the media includes Ghanaians in China living in danger, having no access to food and flight, and with most of them detained/quarantined.

I think all this information is going about as a result of the failure of some media houses to verify the information's from the right sources before putting them in the public domain. A development which is worrying considering the press freedom we have and where we have reached as a nation.

These are all lies that must be completely disregarded by the public. In fact, Ghanaians in China are safe and are not being ill-treated in the nation, actually the Chinese Government has and is only doing the rights and ensuring that every safety measure is taken to safeguard the life of every soul in the nation.

The truth of the matter is that the universities in China provide services for any foreign student who wants to buy food, medicine or even wants to go home with Ghanaian students inclusive. Precisely, there are six thousand (6000) Ghanaian students in China as of the beginning of this academic year.

Moreover, it would be highly out of order and very unsecured for the Government of Ghana to evacuate all Ghanaians in China to Ghana because it takes fourteen (14) days for the coronavirus to be detected in a patient or victim, meaning lots with it can be undetected at the points of screening in Ghana, and may as a result, bring about an epidemic in the country.

In addition, Ghana currently has fragile health facilities and inadequate expertise, know-how and resources to contain, tackle and manage the virus even if one is detected, and more so if the evacuation brings about an epidemic. When this happens the pressure on or hospitals will be unbearable and I appreciate what the president of Ghana has done by acting decisively on this matter.

According to the National Health Commission of China; As of the end of the first three weeks (3) of the outbreak from the second week of January 2020 to the first week of February 2020, there has been 186,354 under medical watch with 28,018 confirmed, 1,153 cured and 564 dead.

Note, careful consideration of the entire statistics especially the number cured against the number of death, it clearly shows that the Chinese Government is gradually gaining control over the epidemic and are better placed to contain and tackle the epidemic than Ghana. Also, this is not the first of such epidemics in China, there were that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the Swine Flu in 2009 and others which the nation successfully controlled.

As it stands now, if there is any measure the Government of Ghana wishes to put in place to help Ghanaians in China with respect to this epidemic then the nation should continue to send money to the Ghanaians in China, and it should be made sure to include every Ghanaian, not only the students. The nation through the Ghanaian embassy in China should put in place emergency measures that can help keep track of the wellbeing of every single Ghanaian living in China. Parents and the entire Ghanaian citizens in Ghana and around the world can also support such efforts of Government by sending their relatives and loved ones in China money to help supplement their income.

Nana Moses II

Qingdao, China
If Culver City is rallying a city for everyone, as promoted by the October 11th event at La Ballona school. Why didnt Culver City use city owned land at Washington and Centinela for affordable housing? Instead the city sold this property to a developer who is creating Culver Hills Alliance, Fox Hills has over 3,000 units of racial and age diversity than any area of Culver City. Fox Hills cannot support more housing or population; they feel like they are suffocating.

Recently a source informed me of a rumor flying around town. I love listening, because it just might be true or false and it just might languish for months. The rumor not based on fact has to do with our super-duper Culver City Police Chief. The chief so the story goes will retire soon and the assistant police Chief Ron is a darn good guy who has everyones respect. Now many know Chief Bixby believes in Culver City and just might run and get elected to the Culver City Council. I am ready to get Bixby elected.

All over this country women have been making strides in the workplace. Take for example Brunswick, Georgia where Glynn County first all-female fire engine crew at Station 2 comprise the departments first all-female engine company.

The New York City Fire Department staffed its first all-woman fire engine company in September of 2018. Engine 503 on Manhattans East side.

On November 8, 2018 the Trump Administration proposed raising United States Citizenship and Immigration filing fees would increase by 8.3 percent. For example, the price to file for a green card by 79 percent from $1225 to $2195.

Did you know the UCLA Health 50 Plus is a free membership program that offers individuals age 50 and older access to educational lectures exercise opportunities, information on community and health resources, a free community flu-shot clinic and special events. Call 800-516-5323 to sign up.

The filing period for Police Chief for Nahunta, Georgia closed on December 15, 2019. I just wonder if a man or lady from Brunswick got the promotion?

The American Legion reports over ten percent of military age Americans do not meet the necessary requirements for additional training and are ineligible for service. Bad vision asthma for allergies, dental issues, depression, hearing loss can all disqualify from service.

USA Today says its going to happen before long and I believe the security people. Soon non-flyers will be allowed beyond check points albeit with some restrictions.

A legislative auditor says 18 cities towns and villages are close to reaching bankruptcy. No its not Culver City but, it is Baton Rouge.

In Missoula, Montana a former evidence tech was given a ten year suspended sentence for stealing opioids that were being stored as evidence.

In the nations capital a bill that would decriminalize sex work wont move forward this year. The Washington Post reports the bills death comes after an emotional hearing that lasted 14 hours.

Wondering how to steer your young kids into a good career path. According to Air Force Magazine the number of new airline pilots the industry will need by 2035 along with 679,000 maintenance technicians according to a Boeing projection released in August 2018.

The Montgomery Alabama city council has rejected a proposal to punish people who give cash to panhandlers with jail time.

Its been six months since L.A.P.D. opened an internal affairs inquiry in the Nipsey Hussle case. It was July 3, 2019.

Attorney Gloria Allred recently turned 78 years old.

In Buffalo, New York Spot Coffee workers voted in support of unionization.

The census is the once a decade count of the U.S. population started in January in a remote area of Alaska, the rest of the nation takes part starting in the Spring. The census count is so important California plans to spend $187 million or approximately $4.73 per person and even with that expenditure we could lose a sent in Congress.

I think may of us knew Jeffrey Epstein was murdered. We didnt need evidence just idle speculation. Could it be time will tell if my guess work is correct? The Florida Times-Union printed several articles which questioned the official point of view.

Sadly; we report in Northeast Florida in 2018 147 babies died before their first birthday.

Rhode Island has been awarded federal funding to protect students from lead in school drinking water. Even if you dont have 20/20 many will recall Ive said the same thing many times in this column.

Can someone give us an update on the Mayme Clayton Library and Museum?

Okay folks pack your suitcases for a trip to China where western tumor medicines are selling at a third the price.

I wonder what Culver City is planning to do to celebrate womens History  March 2nd through the 8th. Congress passed Public Law 100-9 in 1987 to recast March 2 through the 8th as Womens History Week, Congresswoman Karen Bass.

All weekly commentaries may treat the news with humor and satire. For those who missed an article, all my commentaries can be found at http://www.culvercityobserver.com; strolling down the page and underneath Opinion look for Rubenstein
Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Friday criticised the government for booking former chief ministers of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA).

The former Union finance minister tweeted to express his shock against the arrest of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and National Conference (NC) leaders along with two others.

Detention without charges is the worst abomination in a democracy. When unjust laws are passed or unjust laws are invoked, what option do the people have than to protest peacefully? Chidambaram asked.

The Congress veteran then tweeted to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela and why people protest.

PM says that protests will lead to anarchy and laws passed by Parliament and legislatures must be obeyed. He has forgotten history and the inspiring examples of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela, he posted.

Unjust laws must be opposed through peaceful resistance and civil disobedience. That is satyagraha, he said.

The move against the four leaders in Kashmir came on a day Prime Minister Modi quoted what the former chief ministers said in August last year after Parliament cleared the nullification of Article 370 to suggest that they were not in sync with the spirit of the Constitution.

Modi said Mufti called the move a betrayal, while Omar Abdullah warned of an earthquake in the aftermath of the decision. Modi added Farooq Abdullah said people would stop waving the Indian flag in the region and asked if any true Indian would advocate the cause of such people.

The two other leaders booked under the PSA include NCs Ali Mohammed Sagar and PDP leader Sartaj Madani.

A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the former chief ministers have been booked under the PSA since their preventive detention ended on Thursday.

Mehbooba Muftis daughter, Iltija, told HT that her mother was handed over the PSA detention order on Thursday evening.
Regulatory News:

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"):

Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 7 February 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 24,244 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,548 pence 20.02 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,530 pence 19.79 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,542 pence 19.94 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 7 February 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 15,743 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 19.94 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 19.80 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 19.89 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 7 February 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 27,596 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 20.00 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 19.80 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 19.93 USD

PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 26.59 USD 20.13 GBP which was calculated as of 31 January 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 203,933,976 Public Shares outstanding, or 209,595,716 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 7,022,774 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies.

The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected.

About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd.

Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200207005485/en/

Contacts:

Media Contact

Camarco

Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk
* China Feb nonferrous output to fall more than 10% y/y - assoc

* Copper, zinc and lead firms struggle with high acid inventories

* Two Daye Nonferrous staff have virus, 1,000 in self-isolation

By Tom Daly BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China's nonferrous metal output will fall at least 10% year-on-year in February as the world's top metals consumer battles a coronavirus but operations are expected to normalise after the second quarter, the country's metal association said. "If the epidemic situation can be effectively controlled in the next 20 days or so, and the manufacturing, real estate, and infrastructure investment are fully restored, market demand ... is expected to improve," an official from the China Nonferrous Metals Industry Association told its online news portal. China does not report monthly output figures for February due to the distortion of the Lunar New Year but the country produced 9.03 million tonnes of nonferrous metals in January and February 2019 combined.

The coronavirus, which has killed more than 600 people, has interrupted the recovery of the sector from late 2019, the unnamed official said in a Q&A, adding there have been "favourable policies" to mitigate the impact. Copper smelter Daye Nonferrous, located in central China's Hubei province close to the Wuhan epicentre of the outbreak, has been hit particularly hard, with two of its staff contracting the virus and almost 1,000 in self-isolation at home and unable to perform normal work duties, the official said. A Daye executive said the two were being treated in hospital.

He put the company's total staff at over 8,000. Copper producers such as Daye, as well as lead and zinc smelters, face output cuts due to high inventories of byproduct sulphuric acid, which is now being sold below cost price, the association official said.

Other challenges include logistical constraints as China looks to contain the spread of the virus and weak downstream orders as processing firms postponed their return to work after the Lunar New Year holiday.

Transport curbs have disrupted production of aluminium raw material alumina in several regions, including Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Yunnan, the official said. As of Feb. 4, 1.5 million tonnes of annual alumina production capacity, or about 2% of the country's total, had been cut. China's nickel output fell by a third in January, the association's research arm said on Thursday, but the association also warned of an impact on operations overseas, with Indonesia - home to several Chinese-invested nickel projects - temporarily barring visitors from China. This move will stop Chinese firms flying staff into the country and could affect construction schedules, the official said.

(Reporting by Tom Daly; editing by David Evans)
Kokrajhar : , Feb 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday arrived in Assam's Kokrajhar to attend celebrations marking the recently-signed Bodo peace accord.

Modi's Indian Air Force chopper arrived at a makeshift helipad from Guwahati at around 12.45 p.m.

He was welcomed by hundreds of Bodo girls who performed the traditional 'Bagurumba' dance.

Modi will address a celebratory rally at Jangkritai Fwtar, about 216 km from Guwahati, which will be attended by lakhs of people who started gathering at the venue since early Friday morning.

The state government earlier said it was expecting around four to five lakh people from the four Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD) - Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Chirang and Baksa - and other regions.

Kokrajhar has been decked up ahead of Modi's trip with banners, festoons and big hoardings seemingly omnipresent to "thank" him for the peace accord.

"Conveying sincere thanks on behalf of the people of Assam for your efforts to bring lasting peace through historic Bodo Peace Accord," said hoardings put up by the state government.

On Thursday night, 70,000 earthen lamps were lit to enhance the celebratory mood. The Prime Minister shared the visual on his Instagram handle.

On January 27, the Centre and the Assam government inked a peace agreement with representatives of Bodo organisations, attempting to put an end to the decades-old Bodo insurgency based on the demand for carving out a separate state.

The tripartite agreement announced by Union Home Minister Amit Shah provides for the economic and political development of Bodos without affecting the territorial integrity of Assam.

The accord is the third Bodo peace agreement to be signed since 1993. The demand for a separate Bodoland is almost five decades old.

As part of the accord, altogether 1,615 cadres of the three factions of separatist organisation National Democratic Front of Bodoland laid down their arms before Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal last week. They deposited 178 arms and 4,893 pieces of ammunition.
Stephanie Davis and her daughter Janiyah, attend the State of the Union address in the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, on February 04, 2020. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Personally Funds Trump-Promised Scholarship for Philly Girl

President Donald Trump promised Tuesday at his State of the Union address to give a Philadelphia fourth grader a scholarship that would allow her to attend a school of her choice. It turns out Trumps education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is going to pay for that scholarship out of her pocket.

An Education Department spokesperson told local news outlet Philadelphia Inquirer on Wednesday that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos would directly provide a scholarship to Janiyah Davis, and her mother Stephanie, who were invited to Tuesdays presidential speech in Washington.

During his speech, the president introduced America to Janiyah, who has sought a way out of her low-performing public school through Pennsylvanias school-choice program, which provides tax credits to individuals and businesses in exchange for donating to scholarships for students to attend private schools.

But last year, that future was put further out of reach when Pennsylvanias governor vetoed legislation to expand school choice to 50,000 children, Trump said, referring to a 2019 Pennsylvania bill that would have expanded the states school-choice program by $100 million. Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, vetoed the bill in favor of a more moderate expansion of the program reducing the funds available from $100 million to $25 million.

Janiyah, I have some good news for you. Because I am pleased to inform you that your long wait is over, Trump told the girl. I can proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship has become available, its going to you, and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice.

Janiyah Davis is a 4th grade student who loves art and math, but for too long she has been assigned to low-performing schools. Pennsylvanias governor recently vetoed school choice legislation, and Janiyah remains one of 50,000 students on a waitlist for tax credit scholarships. pic.twitter.com/rBM2XdXQOF  The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 4, 2020

The richest among Trumps cabinet members, Betsy DeVos is estimated by Forbes to have a net worth of $2 billion. The Education Department spokesperson told Philadelphia Inquirer that DeVos donates her salary every year to various organizations.

The Davises traveled back to Philadelphia on Wednesday with DeVos and Vice President Mike Pence on Air Force Two. Pence mentioned Janiyah when he addressed an auditorium full of third and fourth graders at St. Francis de Sales School in West Philadelphia, although neither the girl nor her mother attended the event.

The president added that no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school, and we will always work to ensure every parent in America has a choice on their childrens education, said Pence. Parents should choose where their children should go to school, and thats the principle that brings us here today.

DeVos also mentioned the Davises at the St. Francis de Sales when she addressed the attendees but did not say anything about personally funding Janiyahs scholarship.
CNBC's Jim Cramer explained why he thinks the stock market continues to rise, despite fears and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. The "Mad Money" host checked in with Cigna CEO David Cordani to get insight into how its multi-billion dollar merger with Express Scripts is panning out. Later in the show, he sat down with McCormick & Company CEO Lawrence Kurzius to understand why the situation in China could impact the company's bottom line.

Wall Street rises

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. Brendan McDermid | Reuters

CNBC's Jim Cramer on Thursday broke down why he thinks investors are being "disciplined" and the stock market continues to rise because of it, despite uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus outbreak. Since the major indexes took a big plunge on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is now 520 points above its Thursday close. The S&P 500 is up almost 2%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up nearly 3% in that same period. "Flow of funds can be a fickle way to invest, but right now the market is anything but mercurial or arbitrary," the "Mad Money" host said. "It's redoubtable. It's implacable. It's resolute. To buy on weakness isn't a stooge thing to do; it's the stooges who don't do the buying." There are four reasons the market is going up, according to Cramer.

Reaping benefits

David Cordani, president and CEO of CIGNA Corp., appears on CNBC at the New York Stock Exchange, March 8, 2018. Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Cigna CEO David Cordani took a victory lap more than a year after the health services group executed a controversial takeover of prescription manager Express Scripts. "We're proving the combination works. We're growing the company, as you noted," he told Cramer in an interview. "We increased our revenue guidance and our earnings guidance each of the last quarters of 2019 and we ended the year with another beat."

Lockdown impact

Lawrence Kurzius, CEO of McCormick. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Executives and investors are trying to gauge how the coronavirus outbreak could affect business in real time, and McCormick & Company head Lawrence Kurzius was candid on Thursday, saying, "It's hard to say that it's a positive." "Right now, it's hard to know the impact of the coronavirus in China. We have a large business in China," the chief executive told Cramer in a sit-down. "Part of it is supplying consumers, part of it is supplying restaurants. Consumers are not, you know, going out. A lot of the country's on lockdown."

Cramer's lightning round
(Natural News) The official story seems to be that novel coronavirus isnt that big of a deal, especially outside of China. But if this is actually true, then why is the communist Chinese regime cracking down on all independent reporting on the situation, calling it misinformation and rumors?

In partnership with Big Tech platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Google, communist China is right now trying to stamp out all news about coronavirus that doesnt first get the rubber stamp from Chinese officials, which apparently dont want anyone to know the true number of coronavirus victims.

It now appears as though there are two sets of coronavirus numbers: one for public consumption, and another for internal government tracking. And its the internal numbers, which are now over 154,000, according to leaked data, that communist China is trying to keep a secret for as long as possible.

The people of Hong Kong are fully aware of whats going on, which is why theyve been desperately trying to convince their own government officials to close all borders and entry points with China, citing the extreme risks involved to public health and the local economy.

But it appears as though communist China is trying to bar this from happening, just as its going after journalists and others who are blowing the lid on all the Chinese deception. As communist China basically implements its own form of martial law in response to the outbreak, it simultaneously wants the rest of the world to believe that everything is under control and not to worry.

In a stunning announcement by officials in Nanjing Province, authorities have unveiled what amounts to full martial law and furthermore, taking enforcement of reporting the sick extremely seriously, reports Zero Hedge.

Be sure to listen to the below episode of The Health Ranger Report in which Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, discusses all the deception coming from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the communist Chinese regime:

Communist China doesnt want the world to know how many people are dropping dead from coronavirus

One of the first Chinese people to warn others about novel coronavirus, a hospital worker from Wuhan, was actually targeted by local police and given a misdemeanor charge for allegedly spreading rumors online.

It turned out the guy was right, of course. But that doesnt really matter to communist China, which is only concerned with controlling the narrative and not with telling the truth.

A similar coverup is taking place here in the United States, where White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow recently declared that the coronavirus outbreak will have no impact on the U.S. economy, even though it already is in the form of a disrupted global supply chain.

Its not a catastrophe. Its not a disaster, Kudlow is quoted as saying recently. Weve been through this before and I just think the impact is minimal.

But is this actually true? And if it is, then why is Big Tech censoring information that suggests otherwise? What are they trying to hide? The answer, at least in part, is this: the numbers.

This is very strong evidence that the Chinese government has two sets of numbers related to the coronavirus pandemic and is choosing to deceive the public by releasing numbers which are roughly 1/10th the actual number of infections and deaths that the Chinese government itself has secretly recorded, contends Adams.

The WHO, not surprisingly, is praising China for its transparency, indicating just how many crooks or fools work at the WHO. Based on videos, reports, whistleblowers, doctors and independent journalists who are reporting from China, it seems rather apparent that China is radically downplaying the true number of infections and deaths associated with this pandemic.

For more up-to-the-minute news about coronavirus, visit Outbreak.news.

Sources for this article include:

ZeroHedge.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-07 07:26:00|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

TEGUCIGALPA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Some 73.9 percent more Hondurans were deported in January 2020 compared with the same month of 2019, the Consular and Migration Observatory of Honduras (Conmigho) said on Thursday.

A total of 8,193 Hondurans were deported last month, while in January of last year the figure was 4,711, representing an increase of 3,482 migrants.

The vast majority of Hondurans were deported from Mexico, the main springboard for undocumented migrants looking for work in the United States, followed by the United States and other Central American countries, the agency said.

Mexico returned 5,251 Hondurans, the United States deported 2,657 Hondurans, including 229 minors and 347 women, and 285 were returned from other countries in Central America.

Immigration from poverty- and violence-ridden Central America is on the upswing, leading to rising deportation figures.

In 2019, a total of 109,185 people were deported, in 2018, 75,279 and in 2017, 48,022, said the agency.
07.02.2020 LISTEN

NDC should take cognizance of the following strengths that NPP would take into the December 2020 elections

1. Psychological advantage

NPP would be defending a real and comfortable margin of victory from the 2016 elections when its presidential vote compared with NDCs was 53.85% to 44.4%. Even if supporters stayed away from the last elections, NDC still has the odious task of getting them and more back to the December elections to vote for the party.

2. NPP as political movement

Both the absolute per cent presidential vote and the margin of victory President Kuffour gained over the NDC in 2000 was greater than President Akuffo Addos in 2016. NPPs margin of victory over NDC was 14.8% (57.4  42.6) in 2000 compared with 9.45% (53.85 - 44.4) in 2016. On paper, it is more difficult for NPP to defend its mandate in 2020 than it was in 2004. With analyses, Nana Akuffo Addos NPP margin of victory of 9.45% is more secure than Kuffours 14.8% in 2000. This is why

- Kuffours victory in 2000 was due to a coalition of NPP and non-NPP political parties and groups that was unstable such that it barely survived the 2004 elections when Kuffuors presidential vote of 57.4% in 2000 decreased spectacularly to 52.5%. In contrast, Akuffo Addos NPP of 2016 was a solid party of faithfuls, albeit after some ruthless pruning, glued and dedicated to the partys base.

- NDCs resilience in bouncing back to win Election 2008 was entirely due to being a mass based grassroots political movement. Ironically NDC might find the same resilience in the NPP at Elections 2020 because the NPP of today is more of a political movement, even if not in the mode the NDC was.

- President Akuffo Addo has transformed the NPP into a political movement credibly competing for the ideological soul of Ghana. This the NPP has done by discrediting the revolutionary origins of the NDC through media documentaries/commentaries on the excesses of the NDC predecessor PNDC military Government; by chipping away at the legacy of Ghanas independence leader Dr Kwame Nkrumah while promoting and exaggerating the relevance of independence leaders of the Danquah-Busia-Dumbo tradition - through contrived rearranged public holidays and propaganda manipulation of public opinion; and by making significant inroads into low socioeconomic groups hitherto the preserve of CPP/NDC/PNDC, as in carefully targeted projects such as the ZONGOS, free SHS, local government new regions and one this one that schemes etc - in a manner akin to socialist modes of mass mobilization. NPP has therefore assumed features and strengths of an enduring political movement, features NDC took of itself for granted until rudely reminded by desertion of its mass support in 2016.

3. Power of incumbency

The NPP has secured significant administrative levers to win Election 2020. It has appointed, promoted or reshuffled significant numbers of judges, police and security personnel; cultivated a friendly electoral commission that would usher in a new voters register in an election year; tamed the media through asymmetrical application of licensing laws; amassed considerable digital power, penetration and control such as to dominate social media in the election campaign; finally the party is sufficiently cashed/cashing up for the elections through numerous contrived or timely projects while securing a friendly banking and financial sector.

4. Confidence in security management

The NPP has demonstrated immense security capabilities, as in the show of force in the Ayawaso West Wugon bye-election almost a year ago, in apprehension and prosecution of the alleged Citadel coup plot and the Western Togo sedition cases and the NDC Chairmans alleged plots to destabilise the EC - all currently before the courts and which cases may well be alive by Election Day. NPP is also secure under the 2018 strengthened Ghana-US Military security pact to neutralise any opposition party that may remotely blur the line between election brinkmanship and threat to peace and security of the state.

5. Bawumia

Dr Mahamudu Bawumia is unique in Ghanaian political history in being the most effective 2IC in complementing a Presidential candidate or President as in his roles as running mate or Vice President to President Akuffo Addo. Incredulously, Bawumia has been effective without being necessarily credible or accountable. He would remain indispensible to the NPP ticket in Election 2020.

Improving NDC chances in election 2020

Realistically the NDC leadership would have to strategize on the basis that Election 2020 is out of reach and model its election campaign on paving the way for a better showing in 2024. Rather than such approach being self-defeating, it would enable a more pragmatic approach to an NDC campaign based on policies and policy reforms informed by both its failings and the NPP failings in Government. In this approach, the NDC may well be successful in changing the minds of the electorate on the basis of a more serious, more thoughtful, more pragmatic policies, devoid of hubris and election patapaa, and on significant NPP failings in government despite the its formidable strengths in a country where voters are heavily dependent on Government largesse and patronage.

John Mahamas recent Facebook campaign gave a ray of hope that NDC has moved to the stage of a policy-based campaign, as it awaits finalisation of its election manifesto. In those Facebook posts and public pronouncements on the campaign trail, the former president severally spelt out policies the NDC would undertake when elected. Among them

- Replacing NPPs one district one factory programmes with staple processing zones as at: (https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/We-will-replace-one-district-one-factory-with-staple-processing-zones-Mahama-854815)

- Using a three tier banking and financial system based on financial capabilities to delineate financial obligations and responsibilities to customers as opposed to collapsing the weaker ones based on indiscriminate criteria for all of them. See https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/I-would-have-classified-the-banks-into-three-tiers-Mahama-853576

- Abolishing double track system in the free SHS scheme, at: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/business/Seven-promises-John-Mahama-has-made-to-Ghanaians-ahead-of-2020-Polls-843127

Airbus. Coincidence?

As soon as Mahama got into his strides in a pragmatic campaign mode, came report of an alleged bribery scandal against his Government.

See General News of Sunday, 2 February 2020 Airbus confesses paying bribes to Ghana during Mills-Mahama administrations at:

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Airbus-confesses-paying-bribes-to-Ghana-during-Mills-Mahama-administrations-854359

The pragmatic way Forward

Coincidence or not, the distraction at the onset of the NDC getting into its campaign strides illustrates both the strength and weakness of Mahama as the NDC flagbearer. On his strength, Mahama is the most qualified to defend NDC legacy in the most credible manner - it is in his personal interest as much as the NDC to do so, he has the institutional and historical memory of the exact events, and he was ultimately in charge of his government. On his and the NDC vulnerability, Mahamas failings would forever be an issue and a legitimate and effective campaign issue at that for the NPP, less so if someone else is the NDC flagbearer.

Realising Mahamas Achilles heel, a group calling itself the Patriots for Peace and Development called on the NDC to disqualify and re-elect a new NDC Presidential candidate. See Airbus saga: Replace Mahama to give NDC a chance in 2020 at:

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/politics/Airbus-saga-Replace-Mahama-to-give-NDC-a-chance-in-2020-Group-855523

The distinct likelihood that Mahamas record would assume centre stage in the election campaign, with all the distortions the NPP with Government resources can muster, was articulated by many prior to the NDC Presidential candidacy elections, including by myself at https://www.modernghana.com/news/914601/supporting-goosie-tannoh-in-ndc-presidential-primaries.html

John Mahama won the flagbearership decisively and the NDC would be setting a most dangerous precedent if it disqualified Mahama while he is honouring the trust and responsibilities reposed in him as the flagbearar. The only way out is if Mahama himself decides to step aside - none other would be in the short or long term interest of the NDC. If however Mahama decides to continue as NDC flagbearer as indeed is his prerogative, the NDC must fully and unequivocally rally behind him, having elected him decisively as flagbearer only a year ago

Regardless of who leads the NDC into the December elections, the NDC must

- Run a policy-based campaign informed by failings of the past and present

- Avoid reliance on politics of confrontation and brinkmanship

- Take a long-term view so that in the likelihood of defeat, not shocked into protests and disturbances.

This approach may well deliver victory for NDC in the December elections even against the odds

Nii Armah Kweifio-Okai

Melbourne

07 February 2020
A court on Thursday revoked all Mwea Settlement Scheme title deeds, saying the process was fraudulent and must be repeated.

Justice Yuvinalis Angima, of the Embu Environment and Land Court, said the entire process of subdividing and allocating the parcels was improper.

"The subdivision of the disputed land and issuance of title deeds was not properly done. Therefore this court revoke all the title deeds," he ruled.

He said the process must be carried out again under the strict supervision of the county commissioner.

REACTIONS

Makima MCA Philip Nzangi welcomed the ruling, saying it marked the beginning of prevalence of truth and justice in cases of land injustices.

Mr Nzangi said ward representatives had been agitating for a repeat of the process in Mwea and Makima to undo the fraud.

He called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of all land officials who were involved, saying a conflict ensued, leaving a man dead and several others with injuries they were yet to recover from.

Nominated MCA Edna Muisyo termed the ruling a milestone in the pursuit of justice.

He cited Makawani in Mwea, where he claimed land was acquired illegally.

THE PETITION

Nyaki Ngure, chairman of the Ngome Council of Elders, said they filed a petition against subdivision of the land after realising that some individuals got between seven and 100 acres while the deserving ones were left out.

"We asked the court to nullify the 320 title deeds which were unfairly issued. The unfair allocation left many, who were deserving, without land," he said.

He further said effort to get the list of beneficiaries and their acreage from concerned officials was fruitless.

The council, through lawyer Ann Kithaka, sued Embu, the National Land Commission and all beneficiaries given at least seven acres.
By Gabriela Mello

SAO PAULO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Brazil's economy risks becoming less competitive if a long-awaited 5G spectrum auction is further delayed, an executive of China's Huawei Technologies said in an interview.

Huawei is widely expected to take a leading role in deploying high-speed, next-generation telecommunications networks in Latin America despite U.S. efforts to block that growth.

But Brazil's 5G auction was delayed from an initially scheduled March date to the second half of the year because of concerns about frequency interference and uncertainties related to the rules governing the spectrum dispute.

Analysts have said it could be postponed further, which Carlos Roseiro, Huawei's director of integrated solutions for Brazil, said would be worrisome.

"We see it very realistically and we adapt to what we have, but the economy could become less competitive in the midterm if the auction is once again delayed," he said.

"If the auction takes place in the second half, Brazil is still perfectly capable of catching up with more advanced economies that first launched 5G networks," Roseiro said.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose administration has urged governments worldwide to shun Huawei, arguing its equipment could be vulnerable to Chinese eavesdropping. But Roseiro said he had seen no sign Latin America's largest economy would do so.

"We have never been informed about any intention to restrict our operation in Brazil," Roseiro said.

U.S. efforts to exclude Huawei were dealt a setback by the UK, another close ally, in late January, when Prime Minister Boris Johnson granted the company a limited role in the country's 5G networks.

Roseiro's remarks precede a Thursday meeting by local regulatory agency Anatel to discuss proposed rules for the auction.

"It is not just a matter of technology. ... 5G can only deliver the promise of one gigabyte per second if more spectrum is made available to the carriers," he noted, adding it would take at least six months to deploy a 5G network.

Story continues

Swedish rival Ericsson has voiced similar concerns, warning in an October study of a potential 25 billion reais ($5.90 billion) hit to public coffers by 2025 if the spectrum bidding is delayed to 2021.

Roseiro said Huawei is conducting "business as usual" and helping carriers to modernize their infrastructure before 5G deployment starts.

In August, Reuters reported Huawei would to invest $800 mln in Brazil's Sao Paulo state by 2022, in a push to ramp up its Latin American footprint. ($1 = 4.2398 reais) (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Christian Plumb and Jonathan Oatis)
OAKVILLE, Ontario, Feb. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a release issued under the same headline earlier today by ShariaPortfolio Canada, Inc., please note that in the contact information the website should be www.shariaportfolio.ca, not www.shariaportfolio.com. The corrected release follows:

ShariaPortfolio Canada, Inc. is a Portfolio Management firm, specializing in socially responsible and halal investing. They offer comprehensive Wealth Management Solutions that align with the Muslim faith, to help Clients achieve their financial goals in accordance with their personal values.



The firm recently received their registration approval in Canada with the Ontario Securities Commission and has opened offices in Vancouver and Toronto. The firm plans to expand their team, across multiples provinces in the near future. They are excited to kick off their launch with their full-service access program.

The firm also offers Institutional level services, allowing them to partner with conventional financial firms that want to add Islamic Portfolio Management to their offerings.

As the only licensed Portfolio Managers dedicated to Sharia Compliant Investing, ShariaPortfolio Canada Inc. upholds halal ethical standards in their Investment choices. With roots in value investing and fundamental analysis, they take a long-term perspective and a highly disciplined approach to Wealth Management, providing a full range of investment solutions for clients across the globe.

In business since 2003, their USA affiliate, ShariaPortfolio, has been successful in providing advice and knowledge to the Muslim, as well as non-Muslim community in the USA. With clients in 26 states, they are currently managing US$115M in assets under management.

In a recent interview, the firms CEO, Naushad Virji stated the following:

"We are beyond excited to be doing business in Canada and internationally. Islamic finance follows religious guidelines that exclude certain business sectors such as tobacco, alcohol and gambling as well as shunning excessive leverage. With more than a million Muslims in Canada, Islamic finance is a rapidly growing necessity. We are proud to be able to cater to these requirements. With our growing team of investment experts, we are confident we will grow quickly in Canada. We offer fully customizable portfolios and are able to cater to each clients individual requirements, depending on their financial goals."

Such an approach fits into the companys value-investing methodology, focusing on well-capitalized stocks rather than debt-burdened ones.

For more information:

Website: www.shariaportfolio.ca

Phone: 604-260-7150
A senior lawmaker stressed on Friday that the Armenian authorities are not obliged to consult with the Council of Europes Venice Commission before holding a referendum on controversial constitutional changes drafted by them.

The proposed amendments call for the dismissal of seven of the nine members of Armenias Constitutional Court accused by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian of remaining linked to the corrupt former regime. The Armenian parliament controlled by Pashinians My Step bloc decided to put them on a referendum on Thursday.

Amid a heated parliament debate on the issue, two representatives of another Council of Europe structure, the Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), urged the authorities in Yerevan to send the amendments to the Venice Commission for examination as soon as possible.

We believe that this opinion  would be valuable to all stakeholders, including the Armenian electorate if a referendum were to be held, they said in a joint statement.

Commenting on that statement, Vladimir Vartanian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on legal affairs, said the authorities are under no legal obligation to have the draft amendments examined by the Strasbourg-based watchdog.

Vartanian said they might consider doing so only after President Armen Sarkissian endorses the parliaments decision to hold the referendum.

Leaders of the two parliamentary opposition parties insisted, however, that requesting a Venice Commission opinion is essential for the legitimacy of the process. Naira Zohrabian of the Prosperous Armenia Party (BHK) said this would be a sensible move on the part of the authorities.

For his part, Bright Armenia Party (LHK) leader Edmon Marukian again claimed that the far-reaching changes sought by Pashinian are unconstitutional and were passed with serious procedural violations. They must also be scrutinized by the Constitutional Court, he told RFE/RLs Armenian service.

Marukian also accused Pashinian of illegally threatening and pressuring the seven judges in a speech delivered on the parliament floor during Thursdays debate.

The BHK, which is led by businessman Gagik Tsarukian, has been more cautious in opposing the proposed changes. Zohrabian said its final position on the referendum depends on the findings of the Venice Commission. But she would not say what her party will do if the authorities bypass the commission.
Ottawa residents trapped in Wuhan, China described their relief and exhaustion Thursday, hours before they began their journey home from the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak.

One Ottawa man travelling with his two parents is aboard the Canadian evacuation flight destined for CFB Trenton, which departed Thursday afternoon eastern time.

Three other locals took off from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport later in the day: 50-year-old Kai Huang, his 78-year-old mother, Yi Huang, and another male passenger.

If there were viruses around, I'm pretty sure it's on people's clothes, on people's items, passports. - Passenger

All three were cleared this week to board a U.S. charter flight travelling to Vancouver, which left the airport Thursday evening.

Passengers on the U.S. flight will disembark in Vancouver before travelling onward to Trenton, where returnees will be quarantined at a military base for 14 days.

Permanent residency an issue for mother and son

RCMP program analyst Kai Huang initially feared he would have to leave his mother behind in Wuhan because of her status as a permanent resident.

But a day before the flight, Huang and his mother Yi were given the green light to board a U.S. charter evacuation plane.

"My mother feels very excited," Huang said from inside the airport. "She...can leave Wuhan, the centre of the outbreak."

Huang and his mother were initially due to depart Wuhan two days after the city was placed on lockdown Jan. 23, which blocked travel in and out of the region.

Submitted by Kai Huang

But while Huang is a Canadian citizen, his mother  who moved to Ottawa in 2006  only holds permanent residency.

Huang said he was told by the Canadian government that Yi wouldn't be able to get a spot on an evacuation flight.

China previously determined that only permanent residents accompanying Canadian children would be permitted to fly out, but Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said Thursday that Canada was pushing to widen that allowance.

Story continues

The thought of abandoning his mother deeply concerned Huang, who said Yi suffered a stroke last year. The Barrhaven resident was worried his mother might need medical attention that would be hard to come by in the shuttered city.

"Her home is in Ottawa. She doesn't have a husband and also she only has one child to take care of her," said Huang, his mother's sole caretaker.

Submitted by Kai Huang

The uncertainty ended when Huang finally received confirmation that the pair would be able to travel together on an American flight.

"My mom is very happy about this and appreciates all the people who [supported] her," Huang said.

'I'm pretty exhausted,' passenger says

Another Ottawa man, who CBC agreed not to name due to concerns for his family's safety, described how worn out he felt before he boarded the Canadian charter flight with his parents.

"I'm pretty exhausted. I'm spent. I'm not even thinking right now," the man said from behind a white face mask.

He described the check-in process as "a little bit disturbing" because passengers needed to take off their masks multiple times.

"If there were viruses around, I'm pretty sure it's on people's clothes, on people's items, passports," he said. "Eventually those things will infect people if they do indeed exist among the population here."

Flight miscommunication frustrating

An Ottawa woman, who also preferred not to be named, said her husband eventually got a seat aboard the U.S. flight bound for Vancouver.

She said flight delays and miscommunication from Global Affairs Canada about which flight he would be on caused immense frustration for her family.

"We've been very anxious for the last two weeks," she said. "I think everyone is quite exhausted both physically and mentally."

Alex Filipe/Reuters

The woman explained that while she wants to see her husband again, she supports Canada's quarantine efforts in Trenton.

"I'm grateful that the government is doing that," she said. "It's safe for the public and safe for the families."

She said that if she's allowed, she hopes to pick her husband up at the Canadian Forces base after his period of quarantine is over.
Leopard population has declined 75-90 per cent in India, according to a study which has suggested that the carnivore demand similar conservation attention like tigers in the country.

The study was conducted by scientists from the Centre for Wildlife Studies (CWS India) and the Wildlife Institute of India.

The scientists have used genetic data from leopards sampled across the Indian subcontinent to investigate population structure and patterns of demographic decline, a CWS India press release said.

They investigated the demographic history of each identified subpopulations and compared genetic decline analyses with countrywide local extinction probabilities.

The study was conducted by Supriya Bhatt, Suvankar Biswas, Dr Bivash Pandav, Dr Samrat Mondol (all from Wildlife Institute of India) and Dr Krithi K Karanth (Centre for Wildlife Studies).

They collected faecal samples and identified 56 unique individuals using a panel of 13 microsatellite markers, and merged this data with already available 143 leopard individuals.

The study revealed population structure and recent decline in leopards.

"Coalescent simulations with microsatellite loci revealed, across India, a possibly human-induced 7590 per cent population decline between approximately 120200 years ago," it said.

The population-specific estimates of genetic decline are in concordance with ecological estimates of local extinction probabilities in these subpopulations, it was stated.

"Our results are both interesting and alarming- using two different methodological approaches we have established that even one most adaptable big cats in India has experienced decline in population structure and distribution," Krithi K Karanth, Chief Conservation Scientist at Bengaluru-based CWS, said.

The study suggested that leopards demand similar conservation attention like tigers in India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Second, transparency is key to public confidence in elections. People tend to distrust what they cannot see or do not understand, and that makes them vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation. Election officials and others should help demystify elections, quickly explain whats going on when there is a problem and what steps they are taking to prevent it from happening again.
The Anti-Corruption Court has denied Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko permission to travel to the United Arabs Emirates for a UN-Habitat conference on the city's sustainable development.

Milimani Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti explained that it was not clear how Sonko got the invitation from office, since he was barred last December over a Sh357 million corruption case.

The court said the governor should only access the officer under the supervision of an investigating officer attached to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

"He needed to explain how he got the access. The court does not know how he got the letter," the magistrate said, noting questions of the letter's verifiability, hence the need to authenticate it.

Mr Ogoti also noted that the government had not given Sonko clearance to travel to Abu Dhabi and that the prosecution said the trip was for leisure.

TRIP IMPORTANT

The magistrate ruled on Thursday on the governor's application to have his Kenyan and diplomatic passports and travel documents released by the court so he can travel to the conference next week.

His passports were surrendered to the court on December 11, 2019, in fulfilment of a condition for his release on Sh30 million bond or Sh15 million cash bail.

Upon release, the flamboyant county chief was to seek the court's permission to travel.

Sonko's lawyer George Kithi said he was invited in his capacity as governor to attend the 10th session of the World Urban Forum, which will take place from February 8-13.

"The forum is important to the people of Nairobi as it is a strategic opportunity for multi-stakeholder cooperation in implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient and sustainable," he noted.

BOOKINGS MADE

Mr Kithi said the city boss had already made bookings and reservations at hotels using his personal finances and resources.

He attached the booking documents, Sonko's temporary address in Abu Dhabi and the telephone numbers of the hotel that would accommodate him.

Further, the governor said he was willing to provide other sureties that the court would impose to ensure his return to Kenya.

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Mr Kithi also produced the invitation letter sent to the governor by UN-Habitat's Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.

DPP'S OPPOSITION

The Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) opposed the application on grounds that Sonko, having been barred from office, could not travel to the UAE for official duties.

The prosecution contended that the invitation letter needed verification, questioned the governor's intention in asking for his travel documents just days to the conference and noted the need for the government's clearance.

"Though the session is sponsored by the UN-Habitat, the accused has made personal reservations and made payments using personal debit cards," the DPP said.

"Therefore he is not travelling for official duties, rather personal luxury, and so should not be granted the requests."
The highest recommended dose of Sildenafil, a commonly used drug to treat erectile dysfunction under the tradename Viagra, is linked to the risk of light sensitivity, and colour vision impairment, according to a study.

While these effects appear to be rare, the research, published in the journal Frontiers in Neurology, suggests that first-time users of Sildenafil should start with a lower dose before increasing it, if necessary.

Sildenafil became available in 1998 as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

It soon became the fastest selling drug in history, demonstrating the phenomenal demand for treatments that enhance sexual performance, according to the researchers from Dunyagoz Adana Hospital in Turkey.

The effects of the drug normally last 3-5 hours, and although side-effects such as headache and blurred vision occasionally occur, they usually disappear relatively quickly, they said.

However, the researchers noticed a pattern in 17 male patients who attended the hospital.

They found that the patients suffered numerous visual disturbances, including abnormally dilated pupils, blurred sight, light sensitivity, and colour vision disturbances, which included intensely blue coloured vision with red or green colour blindness.

All 17 patients had taken sildenafil for the first time, and all took the highest recommended dose of 100mg.

None of the men had been prescribed the medication, the study found.

The visual side-effects began once the drug took effect, and were still present when the men arrived at the clinic 24-48 hours later, according to the researchers.

The doctors in the clinic conducted various eye tests, and monitored the patients over time to see how their symptoms developed.

In all 17 patients, the symptoms had cleared up by 21 days later, the researchers said.

"Many men use non-prescription performance enhancing drugs to help with sexual anxiety and erectile dysfunction," said Cuneyt Karaarslan of the Dunyagoz Adana Hospital.

"For the vast majority of men, any side-effects will be temporary and mild. However, I wanted to highlight that persistent eye and vision problems may be encountered for a small number of users," he said.

The researchers noted that it may be possible that a small subsection of the population does not break sildenafil down and eliminate it from the body efficiently, leading to very high concentrations in the blood compared with most users.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
More than two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in Asia have been postponed because of the spread of the China coronavirus, shuttering events where billions of dollars worth of deals have been signed in the past. The pushed back events, including some scheduled as late as the end of March, show the ripple effect the virus is having on businesses globally, with airlines cancelling flights as governments and companies curb travel, and thousand of factories and shops remain shut. The venue of China's oldest and biggest trade fair, the Canton Fair, has suspended ...
New Delhi, Feb 7 : In a major development in gang-rape and murder of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kathua, the Supreme Court on Friday stayed the proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) against a "minor" allegedly involved in the case.

The order by a bench headed by Justice N.V. Ramana and comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi and V. Ramasubramanian came as the Jammu and Kashmir administration contended before it that the Jammu and Kashmir High Court had made an error by affirming the order of the trial court, which upheld the accused as a juvenile at the commission of the offence in 2018. Last year, the JJB framed charges against the "minor" and continued the examination of prosecution witnesses.

Senior advocate P.S. Patwalia, representing Jammu and Kashmir, argued that the High Court on October 11, 2019 erroneously agreed with trial court decision delivered in March 2018, which did not take on record the date of birth of the accused in the municipal and school records were not similar.

He told the court the accused is one of the main conspirators of the entire horrific offence.

Patwalia also argued that the apex court had issued a notice last month to the accused following the appeal of the administration but the JJB continued its proceeding treating the accused as a juvenile.

After hearing the arguments, the court said the proceedings before the JJB shall remain stayed. The court has listed the matter on March 16 for further hearing.

Patwalia argued that the opinion of the medical board gains significance in the backdrop of contradictory records. He cited the board, constituted based on High Court order, opined the accused was aged between 19 to 23 years during the commission of the offence.

The top court on May 7, 2018 transferred the trial of the case from Kathua in Jammu to Pathankot in Punjab and ordered for day-to-day trial. Last year in June, the special court sentenced the accused to life imprisonment.

Sanji Ram, the caretaker of the "devasthanam" (temple) where the crime took place in January, 2018, Deepak Khajuria, a Special Police Officer, and Parvesh Kumar, a civilian -- the three main accused -- during the year-long in-camera trial in the court were sentenced to life.
UPDATE: Coronavirus screening on cruise ship docked in N.J. sends 4 to hospital for evaluation

About two dozen passengers on Royal Caribbeans Anthem of the Seas cruise ship that docked in Bayonne on Friday morning are expected to be screened by health officials for coronavirus, officials said.

Four passengers were sent to area hospitals for further screening, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said. I was advised the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) considers this a below low risk situation.

The ships other passengers were allowed to disembark normally, the mayor said.

Royal Caribbean issued an emailed statement acknowledging some passengers were checked.

Like airlines, we are participating in elevated levels of guest screening to check the spread of coronavirus" the statement said. "We are closely monitoring developments regarding coronavirus and have rigorous medical protocols in place onboard our ships.

"We continue to work in close consultation with the CDC, the WHO, and local health authorities to align with their guidance and ensure the health and wellbeing of our guests and crew.

Davis tweeted early Friday that he has consulted with health officials about the ship.

I have been briefed on the RC cruise ship arriving this morning," Davis said. " I am certain that the NJ DoH, CDC, and PA NY/NJ are prepared and equipped to address any concerns this morning.

There have been confirmed cases of coronavirus in 28 countries, according the latest numbers provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. In the U.S., 11 people from five states have tested positive, though none have been in New Jersey, New York or Pennsylvania. The results of 76 more tests are pending.

Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday launched a task force to make sure New Jersey is prepared for any threat from the surging coronavirus. The state launched a website and a hotline  1-800-222-1222  to answer questions about the virus.

Princeton University earlier this week ordered some students, faculty and staff who recently traveled to China to self-isolate

The coronavirus has sickened more than 28,000 people and killed at least 638  almost entirely in China  since it was identified in December.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst was added to a list of military installations near 11 major U.S. airports that could host additional passengers if local health care facilities become filled, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Defense.

On Friday, Japan reported 41 new cases of a virus on a quarantined cruise ship and turned away another luxury liner while the death toll in mainland China rose to 636, including a doctor who got in trouble with authorities in the communist country for sounding an early warning about the disease threat.

Two docked cruise ships with thousands of passengers and crew members remained under 14-day quarantines in Hong Kong and Japan.

#breaking Several ambulances just pulled up to the cruise ship.  Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas cruise ship docked 30 minutes ago in Bayonne New Jersey. We understand some passengers will be screened for #coronavirus. pic.twitter.com/wuDyslIMwo  Alex Butler (@AlexButlertv) February 7, 2020

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Linkedin Josa Lukman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, February 7, 2020

Its not just a trend clamoring for longer hemlines and looser fits, the State of the Global Islamic Economy report says the global modest fashion market was worth US$283 billion in 2018, with Indonesia being the third-biggest contributor at $21 billion in expenditure. The report projects the global market will be worth $402 billion by 2024.

So it comes as no surprise when a growing domestic market aims to become the next mecca of modest fashion worldwide.

The Indonesian Fashion Chambers (IFC) annual event Muslim Fashion Festival (MUFFEST), entering its fifth year, is planning its expansion with this market growth in mind.
By Online Desk

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that the Opposition MPs were being stifled inside the Parliament as they were not allowed to speak on important issues.

"Normally, a prime minister has a particular status, a prime minister has a particular way of behaving, a particular stature, our prime minister doesn't have these. He does not behave in a prime ministerial way," Rahul remarked on Modi's 'tubelight' barb on Thursday.

"There is an issue in Wayanad about them not having a Medical College so I wanted to raise.BJP obviously doesn't like it if I speak.We are not allowed to speak in Parliament. See visuals, Manickam Tagore (Cong MP) didn't attack anyone rather he was attacked," the Congress leader further added.

The proceedings of Lok Sabha were adjourned for an hour as soon as the House met at 1 pm on Friday.

The Chair adjourned proceedings till 2 pm as soon as the House met following an earlier adjournment over uproarious scenes in the House.

Treasury and opposition members nearly came to blows in Lok Sabha on Friday when Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan condemned in "no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During Question Hour, when Gandhi asked a question related to the establishment of medical colleges, Vardhan said before giving the answer, he would like to make a statement on the Congress leader's recent comment on the prime minister.

Vardhan said he "condemns in no uncertain words" the "outlandish" remarks of Gandhi.

"Sir, please excuse me. Before I begin answering this question of dear Shri Rahul Gandhi ji. I want to condemn in no uncertain words the outlandish language that he has used against the prime minister of the country," he said.

ALSO READ | Kashmir is physically with India, no longer emotionally, says Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury

Speaker Om Birla asked the minister to stick to his answer.

As Vardhan continued reading out the statement, Congress MPs came to the Well strongly protesting against the minister's move.

One of the Congress members from Tamil Nadu, Manickam Tagore, came to the treasury benches and attempted to aggressively reach Vardhan, who was sitting in the second row.

Immediately, BJP member from Uttar Pradesh, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, held Tagore by his arm to prevent him from reaching the union minister.

Congress MP from Kerala Hibi Eden tried to intervene.

Several MPs from both sides and union ministers, including Smriti Irani, prevented them from coming to blows.

"Guys, what are you doing. What is going on," Irani was heard saying.

ALSO READ | Lok Sabha Speaker chides Babul Supriyo; expunges his remarks against Adhir Chowdhury

Unnerved by the commotion, Vardhan continued reading his statement.

"In a recent speech, he (Gandhi) used words like 6 mahina baad, iss desh ka yuva, Narendra Modi ko dande maar maar ke desh se bahar karenge.

(After six months, youth of the country would beat Modi with sticks and throw him out)," Vardhan said.

The minister said, "I don't think in the worst of cases our party leaders have made such outlandish personal remarks against him threatening to beat him with dandas (sticks) and throwing him out of the country".

"The entire House present here must in unequivocal terms condemn his remarks against our prime minister. We demand," he said.

The speaker immediately adjourned the House till 1 pm.

After the House was adjourned, several MPs of the ruling BJP demanded expulsion of Tagore from the House.

"Sadan se bahar karo. Mafi mango (Expel him from the House. Seek apology)," BJP members were heard saying. Another member was heard saying, "Rahul Gandhi mafi mango (Rahul should tender apology). Gandhi made the remarks during a rally for the Delhi Assembly polls.

On Thursday the prime minister took a dig at Gandhi for his remarks, saying he would increase the number of Surya Namaskars (a yoga exercise) so that his back can bear the attack.

As soon as the House reassembled at 1 pm, Kirit Solanki, who was in the chair, adjourned proceedings till 2 pm.

(With Agencies Inputs)
Andre Bear remembers pain building deep inside him as he digested news of a controversial acquittal of a Saskatchewan farmer who shot and killed a young Indigenous man.

It really tore my world apart, Bear says from his home in Saskatoon.

It made me feel hopeless that I would never see justice in my lifetime as a young Indigenous man in this country.

It sparked a change inside him, he says, and he decided to become a lawyer.

Gerald Stanleys acquittal on Feb. 9, 2018 in the death of 22-year-old Colten Boushie prompted rallies and outrage across the country.

Bear, 25, is Cree and a member of the Canoe Lake First Nation. He was working towards an education degree at the University of Saskatchewan as the trial was going on.

Hes now a law student at the university and the student representative on the Indigenous Bar Association in Canadas board of directors.

He wants to spend his life challenging a system that he says needs to change if there is to be equal justice for everyone.

Jade Tootoosis, Boushies cousin, attended a conference hosted by the association last year. She urged the Indigenous legal community to make the second anniversary of Stanleys acquittal a day of action to highlight the treatment of Aboriginal people in the courts.

The association is calling on students, faculty and allies to dedicate this Sunday to Boushie.

The National Indigenous Law Students Association has organized a demonstration beginning with a vigil at the University of Ottawa. Participants will then walk to Parliament Hill and eventually to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Bear never met Boushie but he grew up with the young mans family members in North Battleford, Sask.

Court heard how Boushie, who was a member of the Red Pheasant First Nation, and four other young people drove onto Stanleys farm near Biggar, Sask., in August 2016. Boushies friends testified they were looking for help with a flat tire.

Stanley told court he thought they were trying to steal an all-terrain vehicle and he accidentally shot Boushie in the back of the head.

Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder. He later pleaded guilty to unsafe storage of an unrestricted firearm and was fined $3,000.

He has not talked publicly since the court case.

Boushies family called for changes following the verdict, including the end of peremptory challenges, which allow lawyers to reject potential jurors without having to provide a reason. The challenges were criticized during the trial with suggestions that they excluded Indigenous people from the jury.

The federal government brought in legislation that bans the challenges. However, an Ontario judge struck down the ban last November and similar decisions are expected to follow. Uncertainty remains about the bans longevity if it is brought in front of the Supreme Court of Canada.

Boushies family wanted a public inquiry, but Saskatchewans justice minister rejected that. He said the trial showed what happened and an inquiry wouldnt make a difference.

Boushies death and the trial inflamed racial tensions in Saskatchewan. At one point, then-premier Brad Wall asked people to stop posting racist and hate-filled comments online.

Bear says he believes the provinces response to the verdict, such as strengthening trespassing laws, did not do anything to repair the fractured relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

He has spoken with friends, students and colleagues and sat in on town-hall meetings in rural communities. He says Indigenous people still feel that there hasnt been justice and many farmers do not understand the laws on defending property.

Boushies family also has said they would like to see more Aboriginal judges and Crown prosecutors. Bear suggests all lawyers should be educated on anti-racism and Canadas colonial history.

Lawyers and law students hold a responsibility in decolonizing the legal system and understanding how Indigenous legal principles may guide Canadian law.
By Trend

The CIS observer mission has published an interim report in connection with the parliamentary elections to be held in Azerbaijan on February 9, Trend reports on Feb. 6 referring to the CIS observer mission.

The report published on the CIS Executive Committees website covers the period from January 19 through February 3.

The Observer Mission from the Commonwealth of Independent States monitors the process of preparation and holding of the Azerbaijani early parliamentary elections upon the invitation of the Azerbaijani government, the document said.

On December 5, 2019, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree setting the early parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan on February 9, 2020, the report said. The mission commenced its activity on January 19, 2020. The mission operates freely and independently, guided by the legislation of the Azerbaijan Republic, documents adopted within the Commonwealth, and observing the principle of non-interference in the electoral process and respecting the sovereignty of the state.

The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Azerbaijan (CEC) accredited 252 observers from the CIS countries, 18 of them work on a long-term basis, the document said.

The mission includes the representatives of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS member-states, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Belarus -Russia Union, and the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the report said.

"The Observer Mission from the CIS discussed the pre-election campaign with the CEC, the Office of the Azerbaijani parliament, the Foreign Ministry, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the General Prosecutor's Office, the Interior Ministry of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the report said. The meetings were held with representatives of the pre-election headquarters of a number of political parties that nominated MP candidates.

The mission works openly and transparently, the document said. The missions headquarters issues informational messages. The observers from the CIS who came for a long period are open for communication with the media representatives.

"The legal basis for holding elections consists of the Constitution, the Electoral Code of Azerbaijan, the norms of a number of other legislative acts, as well as decisions of the Central Commission adopted to develop the Code, the document said.

According to the CIS observers, the elections are organized and conducted by CEC, 125 district election commissions, and 5,573 precinct election, the report said.

The Central Commission consists of 18 members who are elected by the Azerbaijani parliament: six members represent a political party in which MPs have a majority in the parliament, six - political parties that make up a minority in the Azerbaijani parliament, and six represent independent MPs, the document said. "The district election commissions consisting of nine members are formed by the Central Commission.

The precinct election commissions consisting of six members are formed by the district commissions, the document said. When appointing the members of district election commissions and precinct election commissions, the same principle of equal representation is used as during the formation of the CEC.

The registered candidates and political parties that have nominated the candidates may send one representative to the corresponding election commissions as a member of the commission with the right of deliberative vote, the report said.

The mission stressed that the Central Commission is consistently working on the organization of the election campaign. The Central Electoral Commission approved a calendar plan of key events for the preparation and holding of early parliamentary elections, the report said. Moreover, a number of resolutions detailing certain provisions of the electoral law have been adopted.

CEC pays great attention to the training of the election organizers, the report said. The Central Commission conducted trainings with the participation of representatives of Prosecutors Office, courts and policemen to increase the professional training of members of the district election commissions and precinct election commissions, improve their knowledge and skills in the field of holding the pre-electoral campaign.

Moreover, explanatory posters on the procedure for filling out the ballot paper, on the actions of voters on election day, on the rights of observers were prepared for placement in the polling stations, the report said.

"The CEC also prepared a memo for MP candidates, which reflects the rules for nominating, collecting signatures, sending the documents for registration to the district election commissions, the rights and obligations of candidates, the report said. Furthermore, memos were issued for observers, police officers and media representatives. The expert groups have been formed under the CEC and district election commissions to consider complaints related to violation of citizens' suffrage.

The mission stresses the open and transparent work of the Central Commission, the collegial discussion of the issues under consideration, holding of meetings with the participation of international observers and media representatives, the report said.

As part of the monitoring of the pre-election campaign, long-term observers from the CIS reviewed the work of the district election commissions and precinct election commissions of Astara, Bilasuvar, Gabala, Geranboy, Goygol, Guba, Jalilabad, Yevlakh, Ismayilli, Kurdamir, Lankaran, Lerik, Masalli, Oguz, Salyan, Ujar, Shamakhi, Sheki districts, and Baku, Ganja, Lankaran and Sheki cities, the report said.

When communicating with members of district election commissions and precinct election commissions, the mission representatives receive the necessary information and have the opportunity to review the election documents, the document says.

The mission stresses that the premises of the election commissions are provided with office equipment, backup power supplies, the necessary methodological books and visual aids on elections, the report said.

According to the representatives of the mission, CEC, precinct election commissions and district election commissions take the necessary measures to prepare and conduct elections in accordance with the requirements of the law, the report said.

"A single voter list is compiled by the CEC and is updated annually on the basis of information provided by the precinct election commissions, the report said.

Since January 5, 2020, the lists have been posted on the premises of precinct election commissions for general review and are also available on the CEC website, the document said. Citizens can check the availability of information about themselves in the list, get information about the number of the polling stations and the location of the polling stations.

If the voter finds errors or inaccuracies about himself or other people in the list, the voter can inform the precinct election commission about this, the report said. On the election day, citizens who are residing in the territory of the polling station, but for some reasons are not included in the main voter list, may be included in the supplementary list upon the decision of the precinct election commission.

According to CEC, over 5.2 million voters are included in the lists for participation in the elections," the document says. "In accordance with the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 125 MPs are elected for a term of five years on the basis of a majoritarian electoral system.

In accordance with the Electoral Code, the right to nominate candidates belongs to the political parties, blocs of political parties and citizens, the report said. At least 450 signatures of voters must be collected to support an MP candidate on the territory of the constituency in which the candidate is nominated.

--

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
The Spring and Klein Fire Departments are continuing to grow along with their communities.

The department chiefs discussed effects of that growth, including some new training facilities, during the Spring-Klein Chamber of Commerces Feb. 4 luncheon.

Related: Spring Fire Department releases 2020 calendar

Spring Fire Chief Scott Seifert said his fire department covers about 62 square miles with 96 full-time firefighters, nine fire stations and 46 vehicles. To go with this, Seifert said they are planning to build a training facility on a 52-acre piece of property at the corner of Lexington and Louetta Roads. The property will also hold a logistics building for maintenance and equipment, and eventually an education building with props for training.

Training is the key to everything, Seifert said. In order to go to another facility, youre gonna be out of your district. The amount of time it takes to prepare for training takes a long time and to clean up takes longer.

The new training facility is still a long time from becoming a reality though. Seifert said it could take 10 years for the facility to be totally complete. He expects the first ground to be broken in two years.

On HoustonChronicle.com: Spring celebrates new fire station

Klein recently completed their new training facility, said Klein Fire Chief Mike Gosselin. The facility is now operational, he said, though much smaller than the training site being planned by the Spring Fire Department.

Gosselin said they dont do burns on the site but use generated smoke for their training.

The Klein Fire Department is also in the midst of transitioning to full staffing at their stations. They currently have eight fire stations staffed by 85 part-time and 100 volunteer firefighters. Gosselin said they have one station under construction now with quarters for sleeping at night and would have portable trailers outside other stations for firefighters to sleep in at night.

You need people staffing fire stations at night so when a citizen calls for help, we can get there in a reasonable amount of time, Gosselin said.

One other update Seifert gave was that his departments Insurance Service Offices rating was upgraded from class 3 to class 2 due to the addition of staff, trucks and stations. This is part of what the insurance cost for fire protection is based on for some insurance companies.

The state will send us a letter and once we receive that, the insurance companies will be notified as well, Seifert said.

Seifert said the ISO rating is part of what some insurance companies factor in when they are setting the price of fire protection for residents in the Spring FD service area. The rating scale goes from 1 to 10, with 1 being best and 10 being the worst. The Klein Fire Department also has an ISO rating of 2. The rating is based on factors such as the staffing and training of the local fire department, the homes proximity to a fire station, and the availability of water supply.

paul.wedding@hcnonline.com
While ransomware and leaky or completely unprotected databases dominated headlines in 2019, e-skimmers quietly made a killing. A major e-skimming compromise was discovered on Macy's website at the start of the holiday season in which hackers captured the payment information of a number of online shoppers. The retailer wasn't alone. American Outdoor Brands, Puma, Ticketmaster UK, British Airways, Vision Direct, Newegg, and many, many others were also infected by e-skimmers.

The best way to avoid getting skinned by e-skimming is standard issue: We all need to monitor our accounts, avoid using debit cards (because they are a direct money funnel), keep our password games strong, and generally practice good cyber hygiene. On the business side of things, it's crucial that software patches are applied as soon as they're released, and that employees are trained to recognize the signs of compromise.

As with many cyber threats, the best solutions are cultural. We need to get in the habit of putting security--which includes constant vigilance--first, second, and third in our online activities.

But while this is all perfectly sound advice, it's not going to solve the e-skimming problem, which is that e-commerce sites are increasingly complex and because of that more difficult to defend. They have an ever-expanding attackable surface in an environment where reducing that surface is the watchword.

E-Skimming 101: Cyber Pilot Fish

E-skimming is a hack. A small piece of code is added to an e-commerce website that intercepts payment information. The code can be added by compromising a website's server, via a phishing attack, exploiting a known software vulnerability, or luring a developer into using what seems like a legitimate plug-in or module for a website that includes the malicious code.

It doesn't matter if the site is encrypted or you see the green padlock by a URL. E-skimming doesn't intercept information in transit. It lives on the targeted website and records payment information and other sensitive identifying information as it is entered by the consumer during the checkout process.

Typically, the e-skimming software just sits there accumulating payment information and transmitting it to the hacker who put it there until it is discovered--something that often takes months. From there, the hacker can sell the stolen information in bulk, or cherry-pick a few payment cards to turn a profit.

In the high-turn world of online shopping, e-skimmers are like pilot fish getting a good meal by hitching a ride on super-predators at the top of the retail food chain.

Too Many Coders in the Kitchen

E-commerce websites are composed of huge shoals of code written and developed by hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

The Magento open-source shopping cart served as the namesake for the e-skimming group (or groups) known as MageCart. It has more than 4.5 million lines of code with edits and additions made by more than 500 developers. WooCommerce, another open-source solution, has a less unwieldy 175,000 lines of code, but still plenty for a hacker who wants to hide something.

That is just the dorsal fin. The core code of these platforms, while sprawling, is at least maintained by companies constantly searching for new vulnerabilities and patching them. The bigger problem is that e-commerce sites often implement a wide variety of plug-ins, extensions, widgets, and added bits of software, all of it introducing more code and expanding the site's attackable surface.

A single line of code added to a Magento extension infected at least 200 online e-commerce sites with e-skimming software last year. Inconspicuous, it was added via an account on a Microsoft-owned code repository. A quick search shows sites are still running the compromised version of the extension months after it was identified.

The issue isn't unique to Magento or WooCommerce. Other e-commerce platforms, including OpenCart, OsCommerce, and Shopify, have been targeted and compromised by similar attacks. While poor data hygiene is the cause of some attacks, many are detected by accident, or because a hacker gets greedy and a credit card company zeroes in on an affected site.
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With having published myriads of reports for global clients, Future Market Insights exhibits its expertise in the market research field. Our dedicated crew of professionals ride the wave of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, to project the adoption pattern and consumption trends regarding the market. A three-step quality check process - data collection, triangulation, and validation - is paramount while assuring the authenticity of the information captured.

Global Paper Pulp Disposable Tableware Market Report

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By Product Type -wise Segmentation Assessment:

Plates

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Commercial Use

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3. In which year, the global Paper Pulp Disposable Tableware Market has the lowest YoY growth rate?

4. At what rate has the global Paper Pulp Disposable Tableware Market been growing throughout the historic period 2014-2018 ?

5. By end use segment, which segment currently leads the global Paper Pulp Disposable Tableware Market?

And many more ...
The special operation was conducted at the direction of Donald Trump

The U.S. authorities stated on successful special operation on the elimination of leader of terrorist organization al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula Qasim al-Rimi as the White House reported.

At the direction of President Donald J. Trump, the United States conducted a counterterrorism operation in Yemen that successfully eliminated Qasim al-Rimi, a founder and the leader of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and a deputy to al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, the message said.

The White House noted that al-Rimi joined al-Qaida in 1990s when he worked for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. When al-Rimi headed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, this organization committed unconscionable violence against civilians in Yemen and tried to inspire its supporters to attack the U.S.

Washington explained that the elimination of al-Rimi degrades AQAP and decreased the threat level for the national security of the U.S. and allies.

We will continue to protect the American people by tracking down and eliminating terrorists who seek to do us harm, the statement said.

Earlier the number of American mass media reported about the elimination of al-Baghdadi. It was known that he detonated the vest with explosives to avoid the detention. However, the DNA test and biometric test should be held to prove it.

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed that leader of the terrorist organization ISIS Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed during the special operation held by the American military in the north-east of Syria.

As we reported, the grouping elected the new leader after the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his representative Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir in Syria during the special operation of the American military.
Sildenafil is commonly used to treat erectile dysfunction and is generally regarded as safe with limited side effects. However, a recent study in Frontiers in Neurology has highlighted the risk of persistent visual side-effects, such as light sensitivity and color vision impairment, in men who have taken the highest recommended dose of Viagra. While these effects appear to be rare, the research suggests that first-time Viagra users should start with a lower dose before increasing it, if necessary.

Erectile dysfunction can have significant psychological consequences for men who are affected by it, and it can make fulfilling sexual relationships more difficult to achieve. Sildenafil, more commonly known by its tradename Viagra, became available in 1998 as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. It soon became the fastest selling drug in history, demonstrating the phenomenal demand for treatments that enhance sexual performance.

Originally developed as a treatment for high blood pressure, the drug dilates blood vessels and relaxes smooth muscle in the penis, making it easier to achieve and maintain an erection. The effects of the drug normally last 3-5 hours and although side-effects such as headache and blurred vision occasionally occur, they usually disappear relatively quickly.

However, Dr. Cuneyt Karaarslan of the Dunyagoz Adana hospital in Turkey, noticed a pattern in 17 male patients who attended the hospital. In the new study, Karaarslan reports that the patients suffered numerous visual disturbances, including abnormally dilated pupils, blurred vision, light sensitivity, and color vision disturbances, which included intensely blue colored vision with red/green color blindness.

All 17 patients had taken sildenafil for the first time, and all took the highest recommended dose of 100 mg. None of the men had been prescribed the medication. The visual side-effects began once the drug took effect, and were still present when the men arrived at the clinic 24-48 hours later.

The doctors in the clinic conducted various eye tests and monitored the patients over time to see how their symptoms developed. Fortunately, in all 17 patients the symptoms had cleared up by 21 days later, but this was doubtless a difficult experience for the men involved.

"Many men use non-prescription performance enhancing drugs to help with sexual anxiety and erectile dysfunction," said Karaarslan. "For the vast majority of men, any side-effects will be temporary and mild. However, I wanted to highlight that persistent eye and vision problems may be encountered for a small number of users."

So, why were these men susceptible to such long-lived side-effects? It may be possible that a small subsection of the population does not break sildenafil down and eliminate it from the body efficiently, leading to very high concentrations in the blood compared with most users.

These men also took the highest recommended dose of sildenafil on their first time taking the drug. Starting with a lower dose may have meant less severe side-effects. In addition, taking the drug under medical supervision would likely have meant that the men would not have used such a high dose on their first time.

So, if you are struggling with erectile dysfunction, should you be worried about trying Viagra? In short, no. Such persistent side-effects appear to be very rare. However, it is always best practice to consult your physician first, it may be best not to start at the highest dose, and in case you are particularly sensitive, consider first using the drug under medical supervision.

"Although these drugs, when used under the control of physicians and at the recommended doses, provide very important sexual and mental support, uncontrolled and inappropriate doses should not be used or repeated," said Karaarslan.

###

Notes to Editors

Please link to the original research article in your reporting: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2020.00067/full

Article: Ocular side effects of sildenafil that persist beyond 24 hours - A case series

Corresponding author: Dr. Cuneyt Karaarslan

Email: aktifgoz@hotmail.com

Corresponding Author's Institution: Adana Hospital, Dunyagoz Hospital, Turkey

Frontiers is an award-winning Open Science platform and leading Open Access scholarly publisher. Our mission is to make research results openly available to the world, thereby accelerating scientific and technological innovation, societal progress and economic growth. We empower scientists with innovative Open Science solutions that radically improve how science is published, evaluated and disseminated to researchers, innovators and the public. Access to research results and data is open, free and customized through Internet Technology, thereby enabling rapid solutions to the critical challenges we face as humanity. For more information, visit http://www.frontiersin.org and follow @Frontiersin on Twitter.
Bernie Sanderss refusal to join the Democratic Party for most of his career has given him outsider credibility with many voters. Yet, after 30 years in Congress, he is in some ways very much part of the political establishment.

President Trump, who won the presidency in 2016 on the strength of an outsider message, will no doubt cite this very fact if Sanders becomes the Democratic nominee.

The Vermont senator, however, would severely test the presidents claim to the outsider label, according to Sanderss campaign manager, Faiz Shakir.

President Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Joshua Roberts/Reuters, Evan Vucci/AP, AP)

Trumps first presidential campaign was a bastardized version of antiestablishment rhetoric, Shakir said in an interview with Yahoo News. And going up against Hillary Clinton, it was successful. The question now is, can we, as the Democratic Party, put up somebody who challenges that on its head, successfully?

Shakir said Democrats should be ashamed that Trump has brought middle-class working people into the Republican Party tent, while the Democrats base is increasingly composed of the upper-income and highly educated.

Thats pretty embarrassing, Shakir said. Thats a dynamic you absolutely have to flip.

What makes Sanders uniquely antiestablishment is that he wants to disentangle the financial establishment from the political establishment.

Shakir said that understanding this distinction  between financial insiders and political insiders  is key to Sanderss case that he is the true outsider. Trump, he argues, is a fake Bernie Sanders who kowtows to big business.

Sen. Bernie Sanders during a campaign rally in Milford, N.H., on Tuesday. (Mary Altaffer/AP)

The whole point of Sanderss candidacy, in fact, is the argument that the political establishment has been co-opted by the financial establishment. The Democratic Party used to be more independent of big business and needs to be once again, he believes.

Sanders says he wants to reorient the Democratic Party to prioritize the poor and working class, taking it back to its roots in the New Deal and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Story continues

The Democratic Party has drifted from that focus  in the minds of anti-poverty crusaders like Sanders  since the mid-80s, when it started taking donations from corporations and Wall Street. Clintonism, in the minds of modern progressives, stands for the moment when political pragmatism and the need to keep up with Republicans in the arms race for political donations led them away from first principles.

The Republican Party in the modern era has been very comfortable with courting the corporate business and financial sectors, and its core ideology since Ronald Reagan has preached the virtue of tax cuts and trickle-down economics.

But Shakir said Trump has done very little to confront the influence of wealthy interests in American politics.

[Trump] said, OK, I'm going to go drain the swamp. Im going to take out Goldman Sachs. Ill take on the pharmaceutical companies, Shakir said.

Trump, in other words, promised to reform an economic and political system that many poor and working-class people see as rigged against them and in favor of the wealthy. But then he signed a tax bill that benefited corporations and the wealthy. He has also so far failed to support prescription drug reform already passed by House Democrats. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has declined to bring the bill, which is opposed by Big Pharma, to the floor.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump followed a long-established populist playbook by running against the establishment. And he won the presidency by promising voters to drain the swamp of all the self-dealers stealing money out of taxpayers pockets.

Sanders also targets those who feel taken advantage of but, in contrast to Trump, promises a political revolution to take on the rich, the 1 percent and the billionaire class.

It is an instructive contrast. Trumps message reflects how conservatives see the establishment as big government and those who make money off it. Sanders shows that progressives see big business, such as banking, pharmaceuticals and Wall Street, as the establishment.

President Trump at a 2018 rally in Johnson City, Tenn. (Mark Humphrey/AP)

This distinction is crucial to understanding the debate that could unfold between Trump, the incumbent president, and Sanders, if he becomes the nominee.

Shakir said Sanderss refusal to take corporate money is key to electing a president who will not be deterred by big-money influence from rebalancing the economy more in the direction of the poor and working class.

The only way to defeat fake Bernie Sanders is with real Bernie Sanders. That is how Ive felt about this entire campaign, right? Its like, if you want to campaign on draining the swamp, lets put somebody up there who actually will and has fought the establishment to drain the swamp. So lets have that debate, Shakir said.

Of course, Trump and the Republican Party will tell Americans to be terrified of the economic impact of Sanderss proposals: He wants to replace all private health insurance with a government-run program, cancel all student debt and levy a number of taxes on the wealthy and corporate interests.

And the president and his party will generously apply the term socialist to Sanders, since Sanders himself self-identifies as a democratic socialist, has traveled to the former Soviet Union and has associated in the past with the Socialist Workers Party.

Trump, in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, referred to Democrats as proposing a socialist takeover of our health care system.

We will never let socialism destroy American health care, Trump said.

Shakir acknowledged that the country may not be ready to embrace Sanderss call to upend the existing system at a time when the economy is strong and the stock market keeps rising.

Were going to find out a lot about ourselves, right? Shakir said. Maybe we find out people are ready. Theyre hungry for this. Theyre eager for it.

On the other hand, he said, maybe theyre not. Maybe theyre just not interested. I dont want to prejudge it, basically.

Faiz Shakir, Bernie Sanders's campaign manager. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
- A man resident in the UK has paid medical bills worth GHC5,000 for six stranded new mothers and their babies at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital

- The man made the kind gesture during a visit to the hospital when he visited the country

- Chris-Vincent Febiri, a Ghanaian UK-resident Human Rights Advocate, disclosed this in a post on social media

- Chris-Vincent also shared images of his friend and the women after they were discharged

Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in

A benevolent UK-resident young man has paid for the medical bills of six stranded new mothers at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital for the new mothers to be released.

According to Chris-Vincent Agyapong Febiri, the founding editor of Ghanacelebrities.com and Human Rights Advocate, his friend was left heart-wrenched by the state of the women when he arrived in Ghana and visited the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.

Crippled by the disheartening condition of women who had delivered new babies but were being held by the hospital for unpaid bills, his friend donated GHC5,000 to defray the debts of the women.

''He paid 5,000 GHS for 6 women he does not know from anywhereand they were soon discharged,'' Chris-Vincent disclosed.

READ ALSO: Curvy Ghanaian nurse causes massive stir with admirable photos

Chris-Vincent added that his friend described ''the joy on the faces of those women, as never seen.''

His friend however wondered why the gap between the rich and the poor keeps widening in Ghana without any real government social interventions to cushion the poor.

Chris-Vincents kind-hearted friend also quizzed why women after childbirth become stranded in a government hospital because they cannot pay their delivery bills and yet there is a National Health Insurance scheme said to be in place.

While details of Chris-Vincents friend were not shared along with the post, he posted awe-inspiring images of his friend, his colleagues and the new mothers who were discharged after his friend paid GHC5,000.

Slide to view images:

In other stories, YEN.com.gh reported that gorgeous photos of Rihanna in stunning African prints with matching accessories have been shared on social media and she looks like a 'goddess'.

Rihanna, who is known for her bold fashion choices owned her sense of style in the images widely circulated online.

The latest images of the power-house fashion leader of Fenty projecting African prints is a big deal because it puts the spotlight on the enormous and beautiful creativity the continent has to offer to the rest of the world.

READ ALSO: Video of school kids' 'out of this world' performance of Stonebwoys songs rocks the internet

Faces of Ghana: Ghanas 1st Female Police Bemoans High Rate of Police Indiscipline | #Yencomgh

Enjoyed reading our story? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news!

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: YEN.com.gh
One of his Liberal colleagues says: "Morrison is shifting. The question is how far he is prepared to go." His freedom to move will be determined largely by sentiment in his party and the Coalition. What the public saw this week was a Liberal senator questioning the reality of man-made climate change. Jim Molan was ridiculed for saying on the ABC's Q&A show on Monday night that "I'm not relying on evidence" in forming his opinion. But what happened out of public sight on Tuesday was more telling. When Liberal MPs and senators met for their first party gathering of the year, Queensland MP and former medical doctor Andrew Laming rose to his feet and eloquently rebuked climate deniers for arguing against the science. He was implicitly chastising Molan and Craig Kelly. When he finished, Laming was applauded. No one contested his point. This was seen as a sign of new mood in the Liberal Party, no longer Tony Abbott's.

Climate policy dominated the next meeting, when the Liberals were joined by the Nationals MPs and senators for the first Coalition party meeting of the year. There was a clash. Strikingly, it was a clash dividing the Liberals from the Nationals. There was no sign of division within the Liberals. Loading At this meeting, the first sign of the new mood in the Liberal Party was the speech by the woman who replaced Kelly O'Dwyer as the member for the Melbourne seat of Higgins, Katie Allen. Allen is a former professor of science and a former doctor of paediatrics at the Royal Childrens Hospital. Needless to say, she is a fan of science. She began by congratulating Morrison on his speech at the National Press Club last week when he set out the way forward as "technology, not taxes". "I'm very interested in supporting new technology to achieve a carbon-neutral future," she said. "As a scientist, I would like to see all technology options on the table."

In a piece in The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday, she explains how this might include new-generation nuclear power. Her key point is that she'll support any tech pathway, so long as it leads to the destination of a "carbon-neutral future". Loading This is a radical advance for the Liberal Party. By countenancing nuclear, she's trying to bring the Coalition's conservatives along for the journey. Allen was supported by other Liberal moderates. The member for North Sydney, Trent Zimmerman, said "the member for Warringah should be in the party room, but won't be unless we take climate change seriously", a reference to Tony Abbott's defeat. Zimmerman soon took to the airwaves and spoke to the ABC's Patricia Karvelas about using new technology to achieve "a carbon-neutral economy". Others to join the Coalition party room debate in favour of more action on climate change were Fiona Martin and Tim Wilson. The Nationals had just faced a leadership bid. The leader, Michael McCormack, survived a challenge by former leader Barnaby Joyce. But there was nothing chastened about Joyce or his band of followers. They took up the argument against.

Joyce and David Gillespie said people in their electorates didn't bring up climate change, "so we shouldn't be misled by the media and the Green left" into thinking this was a bigger issue than it really was. The most strident was the Nationals' George Christensen. The whole thing was "an assault by inner-city lefties and we shouldn't be worrying about them at all". So Morrison's trick is to make the lump of coal disappear, but no sudden moves. The Nationals leader is attempting a magic trick of his own. McCormack is hypnotising Australia, using his special skills to put everyone to sleep. Loading A member of the voting public this week told me that her nickname for the man she could recall only by his title, not his name, was Dial Tone. "Because he's about as interesting as one," she explained. 2GB radio's Ben Fordham said of McCormack that "he could bore for Australia, he's a gold medallist in the boring department". So it works. Morrison hopes McCormack will succeed in putting the Nationals back to sleep. He wants the Nationals to be quiet, submissive and thoroughly somnolent, their traditional state in the Coalition.

But as they learned anew this week, Morrison and McCormack have a problem. Just as McCormack's hypnosis is taking effect  "You're getting sleepy, sleepy"  Barnaby's troupe bursts into view, like clowns sent in to change the mood, waking everyone, saying funny things and setting off fireworks in each others pants. That's what happened this week. And it's set to continue. In staving off Joyce's challenge, McCormack has rewarded his supporters with all the spoils. His backers won posts in the ministry, while Barnaby's have all been left to languish on the backbench. Loading As Barnaby has explained to colleagues, "it got more difficult for Morrison this week because McCormack went out and picked all his friends for the ministry. He is too stupid. He should have embraced people from both camps. He should have learned from Lincoln. You can't ask for discipline if you give no recognition or respect to the people on the losing side". Barnaby & Friends can now be expected to bring forward private members' bills on things like the creation of senators to represent the regions, coal-fired power plants for Queensland, and nuclear power. All of this will be an unwelcome disruption for Morrison. And quite spoil McCormack's hypnosis trick.

And the new Greens leader, Adam Bandt? It's not really a magic trick, but he's having a go at setting his hair on fire. Contrary to reports, he's so far hewing closely to the policies he inherited from Richard Di Natale, who this week made the surprise announcement that he's quitting politics, pleading exhaustion. The policies that Bandt is giving new emphasis, such as a levy on coal, oil and gas producers of $1 per tonne of carbon dioxide emitted, are actually years-old policies, given a new polish. So, in the absence of new policies, he's trying out inflammatory language to get fresh attention. Loading He's already got a fair bit of attention, calling Morrison a "climate killer" and "climate criminal" and saying that big business makes its money by "killing people". But your hair can only burn for so long. It'll lose its attention-getting power. Unless he sets his beard alight next. Anthony Albanese is attempting the ever-amazing trick of sawing someone in half. Traditionally, it was a woman in the box smiling through her dismemberment to the astonishment of the audience, but it's 2020 so Albo has put Bill Shorten and his 300 policies from the last election into the box.
The vast amount of scientific advancements that have been made within the field of genomics have allowed for the field of precision medicine to transition from a previously hopeful fantasy to an impactful reality.

Image Credit: ktsdeisgn/Shutterstock.com

While this area of science has experienced a considerable amount of progress, there remains an urgent need for this substantial amount of data to be universally translated into clinical medical practice.

What is precision medicine?

Precision medicine has been defined as a novel approach for disease treatment and prevention that considers the genetic information, environment and lifestyle of each patient to ultimately establish specific strategies based on these factors.

To this end, precision medicine aims to create the most effective treatment plan for each individual patient in the hope of eliminating unnecessary diagnostic testing and therapies.

As compared to personalized medicine, which incorporates both the genetic make-up of an individual with their social and religious interests, precision medicine instead relies more heavily on data and analytics to create the ultimate patient-centered course of treatment.

Early breakthroughs

Although much of the work that has advanced the field of precision medicine can be attributed to the Human Genome Project that was completed in 2003, several early medical discoveries supported the use of therapies that were targeted towards individual patient characteristics.

In 1901, for example, Dr. Karl Landsteiner at the University of Vienna identified the ABO blood group system to further the understanding as to why certain blood transfusions were successful, while others were deadly.

Some other extraordinary discoveries made by Phoebus Levene, Erwin Chargaff, James D. Watson, Francis H. C. Crick, and Frederick Sanger elucidated both the structure and function of both RNA and DNA molecules.

The revolutionary breakthroughs made by these scientists allowed researchers, for the first time in history, to connect diseases and human health to a wide range of individual genetic and environmental factors.

Introducing personal medicine

The aforementioned scientific discoveries helped researchers to gain a better understanding of what specific molecules within the human body determine a patients individuality and, more importantly, their susceptibility to certain diseases.

As research in this area progressed, several pharmaceutical companies began to take a closer look into the molecular and genetic makeups of patients in an effort to design specific and targeted pharmacotherapies, thus introducing the world to the potential of personalized medicine. This work was also globally supported by health care providers, as the promise of individualized pharmacotherapy was to optimize the benefit for the patient while simultaneously reducing the potential of causing them harm.

Recent advancements

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama announced the United States government-funded precision medicine initiative that is more commonly known as All of US.

Under this project, over 1 million enrolled individuals will share their personal data that has been acquired from electronic medical records, DNA sequencing, personal reported information and other digital health technologies, such as RNA, protein and metabolite assays.

Taken together, the in-depth analysis of these data hopes to increase the understanding of the origin and ultimate pathogenesis of a wide range of diseases.

Furthermore, the United States Precision Medicine Initiative is aimed towards enhancing current diagnostic and treatment technologies to create more sophisticated and precise screening, detection and clinical management methods.

Future directions

The applications of precision medicine can currently be found at any point during an individuals lifespan, ranging from before conception to much later in an individuals life.

Despite the vast number of advancements that have been made within the field of precision medicine, there remains an unfortunate lack of translation of this data into clinical care and health policy.

Several ongoing initiatives aim to overcome these hurdles. For example, the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research (CSER2) Consortium, which has a total of $18.9 million in grants to offer researchers, aims to not only support the further discovery and interpretation of genomic variants but also ensure that such discoveries are integrated into clinical medical practice.

Similarly, the U.S. Implementing GeNomics In practice (IGNITE) projects, which have been granted approximately $30 million USD, will also improve the development, investigation and dissemination of genomic medicine.

To this end, one of the primary goals of the IGNITE projects includes the integration of genomic data into the electronic health records of patients to ultimately allow this vital information to create specific diagnostic and treatment plans for all patients.

Further Reading
Across black volcanic sand, U.S. Marines crawled, ran, and slipped towards the entrenched Japanese on Iwo Jima. Starting on the 16th of February, the U.S. Navy had engaged in a softening up operation and of the 30,000 men who were to wade ashore on the first day, it was predicted that reinforcements would not be needed. The island, although only a little over 4 miles long, was key to General Curtis Lemays bomber offensive on Japans home islands. On February 19, Marines were met by 21,000 Japanese soldiers and a dizzying network of caves, tunnels, and concrete pillboxes that a determined enemy used to deadly effect. The tenacious defense at Iwo forced Admiral Raymond Spruance to commit approximately 40,000 more men to the campaign.

Despite the iconic flag raising atop Mount Suribachi on February 23, the bloody battle would continue for nearly another month. However, the James V. Forrestal, the secretary of the Navy, observing the flag raising from a ship offshore, famously remarked to Major General Holland Smith that the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years. One Marine noted that because of the taking heavy casualties no one knew if they were winning or losing. The flag raising created hope and, to him, signaled that the Japanese were going to have to kill every last American if they wanted the island.

The 36-day slog horrified military planners and American citizens alike. In the end, 6,821 Marines were killed with another 19,217 wounded. And of the Japanese, 212 defenders  only 1 percent of the original garrison  were still alive to surrender.

Previous

Next The third and fourth wave moving onto the beach on February 19, 1945. (Defense Department)

Amphibious tractors, jammed with Fourth Division Marines, churn toward Iwo Jima at H-hour. These troops were the initial assault force. (Defense Department)



With shells and shrapnel screaming overhead, Marines crawl along the beach at Iwo and dig into the soft volcanic sand for protection from the terrific hail of enemy fire.

The first rounds take flight as Marine rocketeers launch pyramids of projectiles toward Japanese emplacements.

Two Marine privates hit the deck to throw a scorching inferno at the mighty defenses, which blocked the way to Iwo Jimas Mount Suribachi.

Battle at the foot of Mount Suribachi on D-Day plus three. (Defense Department)

A wave of charging Fourth Division Marines begin an attack from the beach at Iwo Jima, on D-Day as another boatload of battle-tested veterans is disgorged on the beach by an invasion craft. (Defense Department)

Marine artillerymen assume various poses as they stop up their ears against the concussion from a 155mm howitzer. Leatherneck cannoneers paving the way for a three division drive laid a terrific barrage on intricately fortified enemy positions in the rocky ridges of northern Iwo.

Tail assembly of a Japanese rocket bomb.

A Marine examines an entrance to a Japanese underground shelter.

Once used as a warehouse and pillbox by the enemy, the photo shows scarring by direct artillery hits. (Defense Department)

A Marine examines a cave on Iwo in which the enemy had hidden cached supplies. (Defense Department)

A bedding roll serves as a chess table for Marine airmen between flights at the Motoyama Airfield.

Tracer bullets from antiaircraft guns ashore and on ships, stab the black night as American forces send up a barrage to repel Japanese air attacks.

In the stiff breeze atop Mount Suribachi, volcano mountain on Iwo Jima Island, Old Glory whips against the sky as cheering Marines raise their voices and weapons in the historic moment for posterity.



A wounded Marine receives blood plasma in a shell hole when an aid station had been established.

This concrete Japanese shelter on Iwo suffered a direct artillery hit, but the standing portions were used as aid stations for wounded Marines.

The Third Marine Division's cemetery on the island's eastern beach.

*Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are courtesy of the USMC Archives. Story updated on February 16, 2021.
The AI2 Incubator program draws upon the resources of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle. (AI2 Photo)

Seattles Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence is kicking things up more than a notch for AI startups with a $10 million pre-seed fund for its incubator program.

The AI2 Incubators fund is backed by some of the nations top venture capital institutions, such as Seattles Madrona Venture Group, Silicon Valleys Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, and New Yorks Two Sigma Ventures.

But wait  theres more: The fund also draws upon high-profile investors and mentors including Tableau Software CEO Adam Selipsky, Drive.ai co-founder Carol Reiley and Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO Jeff Wilke.

The new fund announcement comes just a day after GeekWire first reported Apples acquisition of Xnor.ai, a Seattle startup incubated inside of AI2.

Oren Etzioni, AI2s CEO and one of the godfathers of the fund, said he expects it to set new precedents for startups on the frontiers of deep learning, computer vision and natural language processing.

This isnt a venture capital fund, he told GeekWire in advance of todays unveiling. This is rocket fuel for the AI2 Incubator.

With the aid of investors, AI2 has already been able to hatch a brood of successful AI-centric spin-outs, starting with Kitt.ai (acquired by Baidu in 2017) and continuing with the likes of Xnor.ai, Lexion, Blue Canoe and WellSaid Labs. When you round up the seed investments that have been made in the AI2 Incubators ventures over just the past few years, the total comes to around $30 million.

Investors are a crucial piece to building companies that scale quickly, Etzioni explained in a news release, and we are excited to create a more formal relationship through this fund.

The new fund draws upon the AI2 Incubators existing system for fostering new ventures through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program and its Future CEO / Technical Co-founder program. Pre-seed funding will be paid out according to a checkpoint system that could result in as much as $800,000 in support for a promising startup, said Bryan Hale, one of the incubators managing directors.

Story continues

Weve allocated 12 companies to spin out based on this fund, and thatll come in the next three years, perhaps a little bit less, he said.

Hale himself has seen both sides of the startup equation, as president and chief business officer at Seattle-based Resin.io (an IoT platform venture now known as Balena) and as a member of DFJs investment team. AI2 brought him on seven months ago to work alongside the incubators other managing director, Jacob Colker, and get the fund up and running.

The next wave of big tech companies are going to be AI-first companies, Colker told GeekWire. And we are continuing to work to prove that the AI2 Incubator is one of the best places in the world where entrepreneurs can build the next big AI-first company. This fund, and the people who have participated in this fund, is one more proof point to that effect.

The idea behind the fund was born last year during a springtime stroll that Etzioni took with Madrona managing director Matt McIlwain in Seattles Windermere neighborhood. McIlwain and his colleagues at Madrona have been early backers of AI2 spin-offs including Kitt.ai, Xnor.ai and Lexion.

We thought about this idea  Once there was an idea that had merit, would it be helpful to have some amount of capital to support that? What would that structure look like? And how would you think about potentially involving some people from outside the region in that as well? McIlwain recalled.

The aim would be to streamline the process of spinning out promising AI companies.

When we pushed our thinking through into the fall, and decided we were going to create this $10 million funding mechanism  then we reached out to some of our friends in the venture community that, in the case of Madrona, weve worked with closely over the years, he said.

Thats how Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins and Two Sigma entered the picture. Individual investors also signed on. In addition to Selipsky, Reiley and Wilke, the list features Charlie Bell, senior vice president of Amazon Web Services; Stanford Professor Chris Re, founder of Lattice; Laura Butler, co-founder of a stealth-mode startup; Whitepages CEO Leigh McMillan; veteran computer scientist and entrepreneur Nadia Shouraboura; Isilon co-founder Sujal Patel; University of Washington professor Shwetak Patel, who co-founded Zensi and Senosis;Health; and Techammer.cos Halle Tecco and Jeff Hammerbacher.

One of the benefits of the funding arrangement is that the whole $10 million will go to startups. McIlwain noted that AI2 is covering the expense of running the incubator  in line with the vision of the institutes creator, the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, to foster AI for the Common Good.

Colker noted that in order to get the funding, entrepreneurs and engineers will have to be accepted into the AI2 Incubator program. But he promised that great ideas for AI startups  and great people who can turn those ideas into reality  will be welcomed with open arms.

If you are technical, and you are thinking about being a technical co-founder of a startup, it would be irresponsible of you not to call the AI2 Incubator, Colker said Its not a deadline, its a rolling admission. At any point in time over the next three years, if amazing technical people have that light bulb go up  this is the place they should come hang out.

More from GeekWire:
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GIS - 07 Februay, 2020: T he Cambridge Higher School Certificate (HSC) 201 9 results were proclaimed this morning and the pass rate for the Republic of Mauritius totals to 74.9 5 %. The Prime Minister, Minister of Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth signed the official documents at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis .

The Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun proclaimed the names of laureates and commended the ir achievement s. She acknowledged their sacrifices , dedication and hard work as well as the efforts and support of their families and respective academic institution.

The Vice-Prime Minister encouraged the laureates to cultivate the values of courage, hard work and perseverance so as to face the upcoming challenges of the next phase of their academic career. She also conveyed her best wishes to the laureates in their future endeavours .

HSC 201 9 Results

A total of 8975 candidates sat for the 201 9 HSC examinations that is, 8657 for Mauritius and 3 18 for Rodrigues . The pass rate for 201 9 for the Republic of Mauritius totals to 74.9 5 % as compared to 74. 90 % in 201 8 .

The number of laureates by school is as follows: Royal College Port Louis  9; Queen Elizabeth College  7 ; Royal College Curepipe  6 ; Dr Maurice Cure State College  6; Rabindranath Tagore Secondary School  3; Droopnath Ramphul State College  2 ; Mahatma Gandhi Institute Moka 2; G.M.B Atchia State College  2; College Du Saint Esprit  2; Loreto College Quatres Bornes  1; M odern College  1 ; and Rodrigues College  4.

Government offers 6 8 scholarships each year based on the HSC examinations. A scholarship is also offered by the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) under the MCB Foundation Scholarship.

Forty-five scholarships are offered purely on the basis of performance and merit. Twenty-four additional scholarships are allocated on academic, merit and social criteria basis. The list will be proclaimed after a selection exercise by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity.
Number of applications lodged with Moscow Business Ombudsman rises twofold over year

 RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov

16:37 07/02/2020

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  The number of complaints received by the office of the Moscow business rights commissioner in 2019 increased by 2.24 times in comparison with the figures registered in 2018, and made 4,257, the business ombudsman Tatiana Mineyeva informs on Friday.

The number of applications is growing. In January only there were 51 written applications; the total number for 2020 will be perhaps 10 times more, Mineyeva wrote.

She believes the rise was caused not by the fact that businesses encountered more problems, but because of increased awareness of the business ombudsman institution in Moscow.

Most complaints concerned criminal proceedings, inspections, problems related to the provision of public services, state procurement, commercial disputes between businesses, and failures to act on the part of government agencies.

According to officers of the ombudsmans administration, the applications were used to develop initiatives aimed at the improvement of laws regulating the business community, for instance those in the sphere of criminal prosecution of entrepreneurs, banking services, land and property relations, taxes, outdoor advertisements, state procurement, hotel business, trade, and labor safety, which are to be included in an annual report to Moscow mayor Sergey Sobyanin.

The principal aim of the projects to be developed and initiated in 2020 is to improve business climate in Moscow, Mineyeva noted.
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A powerful winter storm killed at least five people and injured several more as it raked the Deep South with high winds, heavy rain and flooding across a dozen states.

Pastor Anita Rembert is the latest casualty to be announced. She was killed when a tornado destroyed the mobile home she was sheltering in with her husband, child and two grandchildren in Demopolis, Alabama, said the Emergency Managing Director for Marengo County.

Driver Terry Roger Fisher was killed when his truck hydroplaned in heavy rain and plunged down a 25-foot embankement and overturned in a Creek as he traveled through North Carolina, the state's highway patrol said.

And 36-year-old teacher Brooke Sampson, was also killed when a tree fell onto a van during heavy rain in Tennessee. A driver, who has not been named, also died in South Carolina when a tree fell on his SUV near Fort Mill, the highway patrol master trooper Gary Miller said.

An unidentified man was also killed, and two were reported injured, when a car hydroplaned into a truck in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Another driver has also been reported missing in Dekalb County, Alabama, after a witness said she saw an arm reaching out of a vehicle before it disappeared beneath the water.

It comes as heavy rains pounding the region left more than 300,000 homes without power and caused mudslides across Tennessee, and police in Dunwoody, Georgia, released a video of a tree falling onto a road.

Pastor Anita Rembert has been announced as the fourth person to lose her life as a powerful winter storm ravages America. She was killed when a tornado destroyed her mobile home in Demopolis, Alabama

Brooke Sampson, 36, (pictured with her husband Michael) was killed in Sevierville, Tennessee, around noon on Thursday after a tree tore the roof from the bus she was traveling in with her husband and four others during a severe storm

High winds flattened home and left more than 300,000 without power across the south. Pictured above is the Carter family struggling to recover what they can from their smashed home in Mississippi

Ms Rembert's husband was hospitalised with a leg injury, ABC3340 reported, but the rest of the family were unharmed.

Speaking to the broadcaster, superintendent Kyle Kallhoff at Demopolis City Schools, where she worked, said she was one of the most reliable substitute teachers and taught students at every level.

'She's always around and you're so used to seeing her. It's hard to imagine her not being here. That was what the whole consensus from all the children was like, "What are we going to do?", because they really loved her and it's hard to find a sub like that.'

Her church, the True Light Tabernacle Holiness, posted online to pay tribute to its minister and say it is 'deeply saddened' by the loss.

'While we are deeply saddened, we trust and respect God's will,' they said, 'may God comfort and grant peace to all effected by this tragic loss'.

One person was hospitalized in New Orleans after a section of scaffolding collapsed in high winds onto at least a dozen cars

This video highlights the danger from falling trees during storms. Please be careful! We are very thankful there were no serious injuries! pic.twitter.com/Us5I4td3cm  Dunwoody Police (@DunwoodyPolice) February 6, 2020

A tree was also filmed falling onto the road in Dunwoody, Georgia, and narrowly missing a car. It was posted online by police

No other deaths were reported despite high winds destroying two mobile homes in the area. Winds in Alabama left roadsides in that area strewn with pieces of plywood and insulation, broken trees and twisted metal.

Ms Sampson died when a tree fell onto a bus carrying herself and four others on Thursday morning. She was with her husband, city employee Michael Sampson, when the tree tore the roof off the vehicle near Sevierville, Tennessee.

'The City of Sevierville family asks that your thoughts and prayers be with Michael Sampson and his family, and the families of the injured employees,' the city said in a statement.

'We respectfully ask for your understanding as we grieve as a City family during this difficult time.'

The conditions of the others in the vehicle were not available.

Forecasters have warned that the storm could bring wind speeds of 50 to 60mph into New England, potentially toppling trees and making driving conditions hazardous.

Brooke Sampson, pictured with her husband Michael, is the third confirmed fatality as a result of the storms in the South

Four inches of snow fell overnight in Ohio, part of a band of snowy weather stretching from Tennessee to Maine. Blowing snow contributed to several accidents in the Akron area, and the Ohio Department of Transportation urged people to make room for nearly 1,300 state crews working to improve the icy conditions.

The weather destroyed mobile homes in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, caused mudslides in Tennessee and Kentucky and flooded communities that shoulder waterways across the Appalachian region. Rain kept falling over a path of splintered trees and sagging power lines that stretched from Louisiana into Virginia.

School districts canceled classes in state after state as bad weather rolled through.

Up to eight inches of snow was predicted in West Virginia, while Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency because of heavy rains and extreme flooding. More than 500 people in southwestern Virginia had to be rescued from their homes amid flooding, he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority warned that people residing near rivers and lakes should prepare for rapidly changing water levels. The TVA is managing rising water behind 49 dams to avert major flooding, but with more rain expected next week, the agency may have to release water downstream, said James Everett, senior manager of the TVA's river forecast center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Tornados caused caused minor damage in the Tampa Bay, Florida, area, where a tree was blown onto a mobile home, trapping an elderly woman who was later hospitalized, and a crane topped over at an interstate construction site on I-275.

In New Orleans, one person was hospitalized after scaffolding collapsed onto a dozen cars outside the Four Seasons hotel construction project, while high winds shattered the glass on two revolving doors downtown.

Vehicles sit on a main road in floodwater on Wednesday, February 6, 2020, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, with more rain predicted

Sheeting from a mobile home hangs from a tree in Pickens, Mississippi, after strong winds stripped it from a house

A portion of scaffolding fell on top of cars hospitalizing one person and injuring others at the former World Trade Center and Four Seasons Hotel construction site after severe weather in New Orleans on Wednesday, February 5, 2020

Afternoon tornado watches were in effect for a huge swath of the Southeast, from the Florida Panhandle up to southeastern Virginia.

In Harlan County, Kentucky, two mobile homes floated away as dozens of families were evacuated amid rising water, authorities said.

'It's a very bad situation that continues to worsen by the hour,' said Harlan County Judge Executive Dan Mosley.

He said about 20 people were sheltering in the Harlan Baptist Church, after being taken from their homes.

The rain kept falling over a path of splintered trees and sagging power lines that stretched from Louisiana into Virginia. School districts cancelled classes in state after state as the weather rolled through.

In Pickens, Mississippi, the ceiling caved in and furniture flew around 64-year-old Emma Carter's mobile home, but she considers herself lucky after surviving another apparent tornado.

Ms Carter, her two daughters and two grandsons, were inside the home when the strongest winds hit Wednesday afternoon. Her grandson, DeMarkus Sly, 19, told everyone to lie flat and cover their heads as aluminum sheeting from nearby structures slammed into their home.

'We are blessed that nobody got hurt, that nobody got killed,' Carter said.

DeMarkus Sly, 19, as he surveys the remains of his grandmother's home in Pickens, Mississippi, following Wednesday's storms

A flooded street in Pelham, Alabama, early Thursday, February 6, 2020 after a powerful winter storm delivered severe weather across the Deep South and left cars in waist-high waters as flooding is expected to worsen when rain continues

A Mississippi high school band's travel trailer was overturned after a severe storm raced through the town Wednesday night

Flooding, meanwhile, forced rescuers to suspend their search for a vehicle that disappeared with a person inside it in north Alabama's Buck's Pocket State Park.

'As the car started shifting because of the water we noticed what appeared to be an arm reaching out,' witness Kirkland Follis, who called 911, told WHNT-TV.

Eight agencies responded, but the vehicle quickly disappeared Wednesday and the water was too dangerous for divers to search, the station reported.

Authorities in many places pleaded with motorists to avoid driving where they can't see the pavement.

Tree limbs and fences were toppled when a confirmed tornado hit the Birmingham suburb of Helena, officials said, and some roads and parking lots were covered by floodwaters. Downtown streets also flooded near the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

A yellow taxi was abandoned in high water early Thursday on an interstate ramp in Birmingham.

Severe rain is predicted to fall in parts of the south on Thursday night but is beginning to move further north

From Friday onward, much of the winter storms will have moved further north as the south looks to clean up damage

The winter storms will continue to cause icy weather further north on Friday night as it moves from southern states

A winter weather alert remains in place as the storms ease off in the south on Friday and move north at the weekend

'Anyone who lives near rivers and lakes in the Tennessee Valley should prepare for rapidly changing water levels,' said James Everett, senior manager of the TVA's river forecast center in Knoxville, Tennessee, yesterday.

He said the TVA is managing water levels behind 49 dams to avert major flooding, but with half a foot of rain falling already and more expected next week, the agency may have to release water downstream.

In Kentucky, Harlan, Bell and Knox counties declared states of emergency. Bell Judge-Executive Albey Brock said the heavy rains washed out roads and led to rock slides and water rescues.

In Georgia, a tree crashed onto the interstate in Dunwoody, north of Atlanta, crunching a car but causing no serious injuries, authorities said. Huge trees toppled and snapped in the state's northwestern Gordon County, smashing a home and blowing roofs off outbuildings.

Students were told to shelter in place while tornado warnings were in effect in the Atlanta suburbs and at the University of Georgia in Athens. Children in the Lawrenceville area huddled in school hallways as the weather moved through.

In southern West Virginia, residents at a nursing home were asked to remain inside after a road leading directly into the facility buckled during heavy rains.

No injuries were reported as rescue personnel inspected car that was damaged by a falling tree on Interstate 285 in Georgia

A multi-vehicle pileup on Wednesday on Interstate 70 on the bridge that spans the Missouri River near Rocheport, Misouri

Charlotte, North Carolina, was under the threat of severe weather as a storm rumbled through the Deep South on Thursday

The airport in Charlotte, North Carolinas largest city, evacuated a control tower and advised people to shelter in place because of a tornado warning.

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport said in a tweet, however, that an inspection of its airfield showed no damage.

More than 193,000 homes and businesses were without power across the South, according to poweroutage.us, and the rain was forecast to continue into Friday across much of the region. Temperatures fell more than 15 degrees in places as a front passed.

In Blountstown, Florida, Ladona Kelley waited in her darkened home after being roused from bed early by strong wind gusts. The heavy rains predicted for the area were yet to arrive, prompting worries that still-damaged homes from Hurricane Michael could get another soaking.

'The winds are already very strong, and the storm hasn't even reached us yet,' she said.

Earlier, the storm dumped four inches of snow along the Texas border with Mexico, and caused dozens of highway accidents in Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
Fairbanks, AK (99707)

Today

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low -8F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low -8F. Winds light and variable.
Senator Elizabeth Warren hit others on how they were financing their campaigns.

And Senator Amy Klobuchar swung both at Mr. Sanders for his down-ballot impact and at Mr. Buttigieg for being, as she put it, a cool newcomer.

The pace and intensity of the debate were befitting a primary that is now at the stage of actual voting  millions of ballots landed in California mailboxes this week  and the urgency, if not desperation, of some campaigns to score big among small donors and generate political momentum after the messy outcome in Iowa.

While the debate was held in New Hampshire, a state with an overwhelmingly white electorate, some of the most intense and memorable moments came as the candidates clashed over race and racism. Tom Steyer pressed Mr. Biden to denounce one of his surrogates. Mr. Buttigieg was, yet again, pressed on his record as mayor. Ms. Warren spoke of the need to address racism beyond the criminal justice system. And Andrew Yang said to Ms. Warren, With respect, you cant regulate away racism with a whole patchwork of laws that are race specific.

The exchanges were among the most passionate of the night, but also a clear nod to South Carolinas growing importance as a pivotal primary later this month, where black voters will make up a majority of the Democratic electorate.
Across Delhi  from those living in small tenements to residents of big bungalows  everyone has benefitted, to some extent, from AAPs promise to reduce their power bills. Ever since it came to power, for 49 days in 2013 and for five years in 2015, AAP, in its manifesto, had promised and claimed that it had reduced citizens electricity dues by 50 percent.

At 80-plus, Raj Rani Bhalla who lives with her working daughter in a four-bedroom apartment in East Delhi, manages every aspect of her household. The matriarch reads all the news relevant to her, and keeps an eye on all the discounts of food essentials in the stores in her neighbourhood. The former government employee has seen plenty of life and politics in the National Capital and never fails to do her duties by democracy as an unfailing voter.

So, when the Aam Aadmi Party promised to halve the of residents of the capital territory in the winter of 2013, repeated it in 2014 and is repeating the promise again for the February 2020 Assembly elections in Delhi, she initially took it lightly. But she got a pleasant surprise when she saw her electricity bill of last August. She had to pay only about Rs 1,700, even though the bill was for a little over Rs 2,500. It was the lowest electricity bill she has paid in a long, long time. It happened the next month too. But even more joy awaited her. The bills for November and December 2019 was zero.

Malini S, a resident of the plush Azad Apartments near IIT-Delhi, rarely bothered to take a close look at her monthly electricity bills which were generally over Rs 6,000. It took her some time to notice that she has been getting a "rebate/subsidy" of Rs 761 in her bills since last August.

But the biggest saving has been for the poor in the various re-settlement colonies dotting Delhi. "My electricity bill has been zero the last five six months though I dont believe in giving or receiving anything for free," said Dinesh Kumar, who lives in Geetha Colony where almost all the unbranded jeans and jackets sold in Janpath or Sarojini Nagar s flea markets are made in small units. Dinesh, who runs the most bustling tea shop in the capitals Fleet Street, doubts if this can go on forever, but said honest politicians not taking cuts can definitely fund it from taxes they receive. Everyone in his neighbourhood is thrilled, because like Dinesh, they too have got the subsidy on electricity consumption that translates to a considerable saving every month.

Actual benefits

Across Delhi  from those living in small tenements to residents of big bungalows  everyone has benefitted, to some extent, from AAPs promise to reduce their power bills.

Ever since it came to power, for 49 days in 2013 and for five years in 2015, AAP, in its manifesto, had promised and claimed that it had reduced citizens electricity dues by 50 percent. The then first-time chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made that promise, applicable to those who consumed upto a maximum of 400 units a month, was three days after he became chief minister of Delhi on 28 December, 2013. He also slashed the cost of power to consumers from Rs 5 per unit to Rs 2.90, though this was reviewed and revised later with certain caveats.

While consumption upto 200 units got a 20 percent subsidy, consumption between 201 to 400 units got 35 percent subsidy. Those who consumed more than 400 units got no subsidy and had to pay the full price from the very first unit. According to Kejriwal, the subsidy covered 28 lakh out of 34.61 lakh power consumers in the capital. But consumers were slow to realise or appreciate the move, and Kejriwal had to resign as chief minister, with Delhi put under presidents rule, till Kejriwal returned to power in 2015 with a thumping majority.

Though the independent regulator Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) negotiates with the discoms and decides the bulk, grid and retail tariff, as well as transmission costs, the Delhi government provides the subsidy, bridging the shortfall through budgetary allocations. The DERC, set up in 1999, also has to regulate the power purchase and procurement process, including transmission and distribution, and set the price at which power shall be procured. Besides, it promoted competition, efficiency and economy within the electricity industry.

The very next year, the Delhi government enacted the Delhi Electricity Reform Act, 2000, and the list of tasks before DERC went up to 16. The most important additions were to ensure a fair deal for customers and to forecast demand and publish the data. It also was to aid and advise the government on policy issues.

Detailed coverage of Delhi Assembly Election 2020

Subsidised electricity was something the nascent political party was determined to do. A Jan Lok Pal and devolution of power to people through Swaraj were also promised, but it was the slashing of power bills and the free 20,000 litres of water that caught public imagination and dominated political discourse.

AAPs manifesto spelt out how it would cut electricity bills:

A more efficient, transparent and accountable system to regulate and audit power generation and distribution companies is the need of the hour and AAP will do everything within its command to achieve that. Discoms should purchase power from economical sources and wriggle out of expensive and unsustainable Power Purchase Agreements. AAP will take measures to provide relief from rising power bills, namely by generating cheaper electricity, improving transmission efficiency, fixing billing defects and correcting meter defects.

When there were power outages in the winter of 2018, the Kejriwal government took up the matter with DERC, which directed the discoms to compensate consumers for power cuts.

Creating a buzz

But there was no buzz about the implementation. To make matters worse, in March last year, the DERC increased fixed charges across all slabsfor 2-5 kw from Rs 35 to Rs 140; for 5-15 KW from Rs 45 to Rs 175; for 15-25 kw from Rs 60 to Rs 200; and for more than 25 KW, from Rs 100 to Rs 250. So in August last, the Kejriwal government tweaked the subsidy scheme that enabled more people receiving an electricity bill to notice the reduced amount and the subsidy they were getting.

In fact, Kejriwal announced a 100 percent subsidy for those who consume up to 200 units for power a month, and Rs 800 off their bills for those consuming between 201 to 400 units. For the first time, the Delhi government will be covering the fixed charges and surcharges of domestic consumers with a sanctioned load of up to 5 kW, an officer explained. Simultaneously, the power regulator slashed the fixed charges for those with 0-2 kW, 2-5 kW and 5-15 kW load.

Fixed charges, one component of electricity bills, are levied on the connected or sanctioned load. Like data plans of telecom service providers, the load is the total wattage of all the bulbs, fans, air-conditioners and electrical appliances being used in a home (one Kilowatt load is 1000 watts). The DERC reduced the fixed charges for domestic consumers from Rs 125 to Rs 20 a kW a month for load upto 2 kW, from Rs 140 to Rs 50 a month for sanctioned loads between 2kW to 5 kW , and from Rs 175 to Rs 100 a month for loads between 5kW to 15kW.

With this, even those consuming between 400 units to 1200 units and having a sanctioned load of up to 15kW saw a reduction in their power bills. According to an officer in the Delhi government, the scheme that Kejriwal called smart governance implies that anyone consuming between 201 to 250 units, with a sanctioned load of 2kW, ends up saving as much as 68 per cent on their power bills.

The formula is such that if a household consumes 400 units a month, it can enjoy the maximum benefit if it has a sanctioned load of 5 kW. Which means, if I consume 400 units with a load of 2kW, I would save only about 18.56 per cent on the bill. But if I shift to 5kW the savings would go up to 28.43%, explained the officer.

Which essentially meant that a household with 5kW load will save Rs 90 per kW on account of lower fixed charges, and also get about Rs 800 by way of subsidy on 400 units, taking the total reduction to about Rs 1250 a month. And a household with 2kW load, will save Rs 105 a kW and Rs 800 for 400 units, a total of Rs 1010.

Consequently, from August 2019 onward, the implementation of the high voltage election promise made in 2015, which has been carried forward into the 2020 elections, not only became far more visible to voters, but shocked the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress. Manoj Tiwari, president of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party, charged the AAP with fooling the people and maintained that the subsidised electricity scheme will expire in March 2020.

Ten Guarantees

Undeterred, Kejriwal expanded the scheme to include tenants under the 'Mukhyamantri Kirayedar Bijli Meter Yojana' to cover tenants who produce a rental lease deed. And in his Guarantee card release last week, subsidised electricity was again one of the 10 guarantees he gave the voters of Delhi.

There were other equally vote-securing guarantees  better and cheaper transport, world class school education, and substantial reduction in air pollution, along with cleaning the Yamuna and waste management. All of these directly touches the lives of people, like free rides for women in buses run by the Delhi Transport Corporation which has been on for a few months now and has been promised for students as well. But the electricity subsidy is likely to resonate strongly with voters.

This subsidy mechanism is so generous that over 80% of homes get the subsidy, said Brookings India fellow Rahul Tongia in the think tanks Impact Series Papers of 2017. Due to its monthly nature, outside the extended summer, some 90-96 percent of consumers qualify. This is not just the common man, but even the rich! The subsidy has since been extended to benefit more people.

The fiscal cost of these subsidies have been quite substantial. In its first year in office, the AAP government had allocated Rs 1200 crore for power subsidy. The next year it went up to Rs 1,577 crores, then to Rs 1,697 crores in 2017-18 and in Rs 1,759 crores for 2018-19. In its 2019-20 budget, an allocation of Rs 1,720 crore has been made, but that was before the latest tweaking of the scheme. The subsidy is now expected to cost the government Rs 2,500 crore annually.

Incidentally, Kejriwal had also promised to make Delhi a solar city by facilitating a phased shift to renewable and alternative sources of energy, with incentives to individuals, housing societies and enterprises and industry. The AAP had also maintained it was committed to ensuring that 20 per cent of Delhis energy needs are met through solar energy by 2020. That, however, is still work in progress.

As electricity subsidy turned up the heat on the upcoming assembly election campaign, Kejriwal came up with his side of the narrative: I did not buy an airplane for myself, he said, We have given free facilities to the people by saving on extravagant spending. We are providing 24-hour free electricity. Electricity bills of most people are coming out (to be) nil.

Taking a dig at the BJP in particular, Kejriwal pointed out, "Each MP gets four thousand units of electricity free but when the poor get 200 units of electricity free, then these netas have a problem. The opposition is saying that all these schemes will stop after the election. Today, I am announcing that when our government returns to power, the free services will all continue for the next five years. You will get 200 units of electricity free for the next five years."

This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative
(Natural News) A recent interview with Dr. Francis Boyle that was conducted by Geopolitics & Empires Hrvoje Mori is making waves across the internet because the suggestion was made that theres actually a vaccine ready for novel coronavirus, and the political elite may have already received it.

Its almost undeniable at this point that novel coronavirus is a genetically engineered bioweapon that was produced in Chinas only BSL-4  which just so happens to be in Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak. And whether or not it escaped on accident or on purpose is beside the point because Big Pharma is already feverishly developing a vaccine for it  or perhaps this vaccine already exists?

In Boyles view, both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are criminal organizations that have repeatedly been complicit in covertly developing biological weapons. And by the looks of it, novel coronavirus is no different.

A BSL-4 is the most serious type of bioweapons lab, Boyle explains, adding that such facilities are often used to develop biological weapons with DNA genetic engineering.

So, it does seem to me that the Wuhan BSL-4 is the source of the coronavirus, he adds. My guess is that they were researching S.A.R.S., and they weaponize it further by giving it a gain of function properties, which means it could be more lethal.

This full eye-opening video interview, which has been published at Brighteon.com, is also available for viewing below:

Novel coronavirus now has a fatality rate of around 15 percent, according to Boyle

As it turns out, and as we also reported, there was a scientist by the name of Dr. Peng Zhou, Ph.D., who had been working at this BSL-4 lab in Wuhan on projects involving highly communicable diseases and bats, which is the official source of novel coronavirus, according to health authorities.

Putting two and two together, it would appear as though novel coronavirus was some kind of experiment gone wrong  or perhaps right, if it was intentional  and that the establishment is now trying to play cleanup in preventing the full truth about what happened from going public.

We also know that, compared to S.A.R.S. (severe acute respiratory syndrome), novel coronavirus is already much more deadly, which makes it a potentially much more significant threat than previous global outbreaks.

The latest report now [says] its a 15 percent fatality rate, which is more than S.A.R.S. at 83 percent infection rate, Boyle is quoted as saying about novel coronavirus.

A typical gain of function travels in the air, so it could reach out maybe six feet or more from someone emitting a sneeze or a cough. Likewise, this is a specially designated WHO research lab.

As for a vaccine, Boyle says its already been developed, or at the very least patented, by the Pirbright Institute in Great Britain.

Partially funded by billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, the Pirbright Institute is directly connected the United Kingdoms own biological warfare program, and Boyle is of the persuasion that theres already a vaccine and some people may have already received it.

You cant patent a vaccine with the United States patent office unless the science is there. So, there is a vaccine, he says.

Everyones lying about that, no ones pointing this out  theres a vaccine but instead Big Pharma wants to make money and the researchers say, well, itll take three months and were racing forward, you know. Everyones going to make a buck off of this, thats for sure.

Be sure to watch the full interview at Brighteon.com.

For more related news about novel coronavirus, visit Pandemic.news and Outbreak.news.

Sources for this article include:

NaturalNews.com

Brighteon.com

NaturalNews.com

NaturalNews.com
Whether youre playing Warcraft 3: Reforged or just waiting for Cyberpunk 2077 to arrive, 2020 is a monster year for games. That means you need a great monitor, and today weve got a bevy of great Freesync-ready displays for you at rock-bottom prices.

First we have the 144Hz AOC G2590FX for $150 at AmazonRemove non-product link, 25 percent off its $200 MSRP. This is a 25-inch 1080p display with the aforementioned 144Hz refresh rate and a 1 millisecond response time. AOC says this monitor has 96 percent fidelity with sRGB, and its rocking DisplayPort, HDMI, and VGA. Its also a frameless design with minimal side bezels and supports both FreeSync and G-Sync, though without native support for Nvidias variable refresh rate technology.

Next, Newegg has the Acer VG270U for $200Remove non-product link instead of the usual sticker price of $280. This is a 27-inch 1440p monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time. It has built-in speakers, and FreeSync as well. Its also got a built-in tilt feature going from -5 to 20 degrees. And finally, Dell is selling its SE2417HGX for $100Remove non-product link, which more than half-off the original MSRP of $220. This monitor is a 24-inch 1080p display with a 75Hz refresh rate over HDMI and a 1ms response time.

Whichever one you pick, youll be all set to game on with all the awesome titles coming our way in 2020.